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!
CV19 -- Finally turned the corner?
Posted by Jim KN6PE, 14 Mar 2021
updated: 3/14/2021. After the much-anticipated surge over the last few months, do we now see the downward trend in County Covid-19 infections? The Santa Clara County Covid-19 Cases Dashboard seems to point in that direction. That is indeed good news. That, along with reports from some CARES members that they are starting to get appointments for the vaccine, or have received the shorts already, puts us all on the road back to a sense of normalcy.However, this will not change our operations immediately. We are still operating under the IDR Plan Protocol for responding during an infectious disease. We will still use zoom, possibly through the end of the year. And we will continue to look for ways to exercise safely.
Lightning Watch; Bay Area Fires
Posted by Jim KN6PE, 26 Aug 2020
After the multitude of files triggered by lightning the weekend of 16-August, and given our proximity to the foothills, the City of Cupertino requested CARES to staff a lightning watch this past weekend. Fortunately, there were no strikes either within or in the surrounding ares of the City.In the meantime, the Bay Area continues to have fires burning on almost all sides. Track the progress and conditions on our Wildland Fire Resource page.
Managing the response during a Pandemic
Posted by Cupertino Citizens Corps, 2 Aug 2020
Given that the COVID-19 pandemic will be with us for a while, it is prudent to have a carefully though-out plan that guides a Cupertino Citizen Corps (CCC) emergency response. The complication of such cascading emergencies -- earthquake during a pandemic, or a wild-land fire threat during a pandemic -- must be factored into our existing plans to ensure we can not only meet any assigned mission, but also maintain the health and safety of both city responders and community members.To this end, supplemental procedures and protocols for handling a response during a pandemic event was developed by CCC and approved by Cupertino OES. These changes are now in effect. The Infectious Disease Response Plan outlines new procedures, roles and responsibilities, and policies that we need to follow for the foreseeable future. Go-kit material additions are also called out.
A review of the plan will be held in at the September monthly CARES meeting.
A different kind of Field Day
Posted by Darryl KI6LDM, 4 Jun 2020
In recent years, California has seen a series of destructive wild fires, mud slides and other related disasters. One critical component of being prepared for such events is communications. For instance, during last year's PG&E PSPS events, vital communication infrastructures ‐‐ cell phone, Internet and land lines -- failed during the power outage.This is where the CARES comes in. On Saturday, June 27th, CARES will be participating in this year's Amateur Radio Relay League sponsored Field Day; a national contest and test of our ability to operate under adverse conditions. Unfortunately, due to COVID‐19, we will not be setting up in public but will be participating virtually.
However, if you are interested in listening to Field Day communications, check out the KFS WebSDR HF receiver, a live stream of the Amateur HF bands as heard on the Pacific Coast. We hope to see you again at next year's Field Day!
Update 20 Jun: Details for CARES participants: Presentation Slides, 2 meter Band Plan, and Field Day Packet which includes the rules, details, and more. More Details...
Upcoming Activities
26 Jun 2021, (virtual) Field Day!
National Amateur Radio event that promotes emergency communications preparedness. Location... from home, check-in at 10:00am on zoom (link pending), TAC1.