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!
What's in your Go-Kit?
Posted by Jim KN6PE, 6 Mar 2019
Technically, a Go-Kit is a pre-identified collection of equipment and personal gear that you will need to perform your duties as an Emergency Communicator in the event of an activation.Yet, they are also a reflection of our personal style on how we respond to the field. The parts we assemble, how we store them, power them, and use them help ensure our success during a deployment. This is the topic for the March 2019 CARES meeting.
See the Go-Kit presentation for all the details.
A fresh look at generators and batteries
Posted by Jim KN6PE, 3 Jan 2019
Every so often, you attend a meeting and listen to a topic where, as you look around the room, everyone is leaning in to listen attentively to something new and exciting. This was the case at tonight’s CARES January 2019 general meeting.We had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Richard Wheeler / AI6RW discuss his work on extending the operating time of radios during electrical power blackouts after an earthquake. This topic was very relevant given that Cupertino Citizen Corps just wrapped up its 2018 Earthquake Exercise this past December.
This was not just another topic on batteries and generators. Richard walked us through his work looking at gasoline and propane generators, comparing 2 different propane generator models, generator efficiencies, Lithium generators (battery systems), solar charging, and the conclusions he reached on the combined use of low-cost propane generators with Lithium generators.
This brief introduction does not do his work justice. Instead, check out his presentation titled Goal Zero Lithium Power Stations for all the details!
Earthquake 2018 End to End Exercise
Posted by Jim KN6PE, 15 Dec 2018
CARES plans to invoke several response activities during an earthquake-related activation, including the Preliminary Safety Assessment, Infrastructure Safety Assessment, Field Operations, and EOC communications support. While each process has evolved over the years, we never ran a full end-to-end exercise that touched on them all at the same time.This was the challenge with our Earthquake 2018 exercise.
Leveraging the U.S. Geological Survey 2018 Haywired Scenario, CARES exercised all of our response activities over 2 shifts and at our Alternate EOC. The scenario was a Bay Area 7.9 earthquake on the San Andreas Fault. Twenty-five CARES and 14 CERT members responded over 2 shifts in this joint field deployment. Alternate 911 message passing was one of our key objectives (with some interesting side-benefits). Resource Management was the other big objective and the focus for a good portion of the EMCOMM management activities.
As always, a lot was learned and we now have a plenty of follow-up actions on which to work to keep us busy. See the event page for all the details!
Cupertino family, fun, and fireworks!
Posted by Judy KK6EWQ, 6 Jul 2018
Independence Day in Cupertino brings hundreds of families together every year to watch a great fireworks show, and it provides an opportunity for Cupertino CARES, CERT, and MRC to work side by side in partnership with Cupertino Recreation and Public Works, the County Sheriff's Office, and County Fire.This year we staffed road closures, parking lots, first aid stations, and viewing venues. We identified and reported safety issues, lost children, and illegal fireworks. We assisted the deputies with crowd movement and safety. With Comm 469 stationed next to the sheriff's command post, CARES was able to provide quick and accurate communications between the volunteers and the command post about dangerous activities, residents' concerns, crowd sizes, and crowd movements throughout the event. And finally, we all enjoyed the show!
Upcoming Activities
23 Mar 2019, Preparedness Fair
Memorial Park, behind Quinlan Community Center, 10:00am to 3:00pm
6 Apr 2019, W6TDM Repeater Traning
Learn the basics of how repeaters work and how to be a W6TDM controller. This is knowledge all CARES members should have. City Hall EOC Room, 9:30-11:00 am
13 Apr 2019, Pop-Up Packet Practice
SCCOo RACES opportunity for field packet practice. 9:00am to 12:00pm, Location TBD, More Details...
20 Apr 2019, Big Bunny 5K
CARES support for this annual family friendly 5K run/walk. 8:00am to 11:00am, Cupertino City Hall. More Details...
4 May 2019, Spring Communications Exercise
Save the date!
22 Jun 2019, Field Day
National Amateur Radio event that promotes emergency communications preparedness. Location TBD, 8:00am to 5:00pm. More Details...
4 Jul 2019, Fireworks Event!
CARES, CERT, and MRC support for Cupertino's annual Fireworks event. 4:30pm to 11:00pm. More Details...
2 Nov 2019, Sheriff's Heroes Fun Run
Public service event and fund raiser that directly benefits children’s health services at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. City Hall, 8:00am to 12:00pm More Details...