Welcome to Cupertino ARES/RACES
This site is operated by and for Cupertino Amateur Radio Emergency Service (CARES) members interested in emergency preparedness and amateur radio communication. Visitors are welcome to check us out.
What's News!
Sunrise over the 2018 Big Bunny Fun Run!
Posted by Jim KN6PE, 31 Mar 2018
Well, it was that time of year again when Cupertino residents ran the 5km course in Cupertino's annual Big Bunny Fun Run! Twenty-five CARES and CERT members provided event support by keeping the City Staff informed on the progress of the 1000+ runners as well as the traffic conditions along the route.We actually see a practical application for the event. What if the city needed to move all occupants from one shelter to another? And it had to be on foot? And we couldn't lose anyone and everyone must make it to the destination? We would do it the Big Bunny way!
Wildland Fire Exercise Planning starts with SCCFD
1 Mar 2018
It was apparent that last year's wildland fires throughout California were a wake-up call that was hard to miss. So, with the Tubbs Fire and Thomas Fire still fresh in our minds, the CARES' Spring exercise will be a Wildland Urban Interface Fire that threatens our City.To kick off the first of 3 training events on this topic, Santa Clara County Fire Department Battalion Chief Jason Falarski lead an informative session on how wildfire works, the risks we face in Santa Clara County, and what we could expect if one did occur (See the presentation here). Both CARES and CERT joined in to hear the details, with an excellent Q&A session that went into further detail. In short, there is a risk, and we need to be prepared for it.
Citizen Corps completes the Zone 4 Assessment
Posted by Jim KN6PE, 11 Feb 2018
Its clear that in the event of an emergency, checking on each other and our neighbors is critical to ensure the City can get the right help to those in need. This was the scenario with Lawson ARK as the target for this year's Cupertino Citizens Corps Zone Assessment exercise.Originally planned for last October (cut short due to smoke from the wildland fires), CARES, CERT, and MRC members responded and staffed several teams that were deployed throughput the surrounding neighborhood to put eyes on every residence.
The key take-aways from this event is a recognition that, with sufficient participation from all of Citizen Corps, we can perform a complete city assessment within a reasonable amount of time. And this will be just what the city will need to speed the recovery.
Cross-band repeaters... what's the opportunity?
28 Dec 2017
This was the question that came out of our December CARES meeting. Judy KK6EWQ lead the membership in a terrific discussion on the what's, how's, and when's of cross-band repeaters. See the the presentation here for the details.The aspect of the presentation that was most interesting was the live demo using a Kenwood TM-V71 in cross-band repeat mode. With one side of the room on a VHF channel and the other side on UHF, we had a chance to not only see how the mode works, but also get to hear the self-Identification feature that the V71's have built in.
So, what's the opportunity? The picture on the right says it all... CARES will include a cross-band repeater test deployment as part of its May 2018 field exercise. This should confirm for us whether we have a new tool for our toolbox.
Upcoming Activities
23 Jun 2018, Field Day
National Amateur Radio event that promotes emergency communications preparedness. Quinlan Center, rear parking lot, 8:00am to 5:00pm.
4 Jul 2018, Fourth of July!
CARES, CERT, MRC support for Cupertino's annual Fireworks event. 4:30pm to 11:00pm. More Details...
6 Sep 2018, General Meeting
Topic: TBD. Quinlan Center, Social Room. 7:30pm to 9:00pm
15 Sep 2018, Fall Festival -- TENTATIVE
Memorial Park, 10:00 am to 5:00pm
4 Oct 2018, General Meeting
Topic: TBD. Quinlan Center, Social Room. 7:30pm to 9:00pm
25 Oct 2018, SCC OES Alternate EOC Exercise
Details to follow.
1 Nov 2018, General Meeting
Topic: TBD. Quinlan Center, Social Room. 7:30pm to 9:00pm
3 Nov 2018, Sheriff's Heroes Fun Run
This public service event and fund raiser supports Santa Clara County Pediatrics. City Hall, 8:00am to 12:00pm,
6 Dec 2018, General Meeting
Topic: Earthquake Drill Prep. Quinlan Center, Social Room. 7:30pm to 9:00pm
15 Dec 2018, Earthquake Exercise
Full communications deployment, CARES and CERT, ARK Level 2 Activation, two shifts. 8:00am to 4:00pm
4 May 2019, Spring Communications Exercise
Save the date!