SAR COORDINATES

October 2008

TONTO RIM SEARCH AND RESCUE SQUAD, Inc.

P.O. BOX 357
STRAWBERRY AZ 85544

www.trsar.org

A self-supporting, not-for-profit group of volunteer citizens dedicated to improving safety in the Arizona wilderness.

Operating under the authority of the Gila County Sheriff's Office

John Armer; Sheriff

TRSAR Squad meets monthly

General Public Welcome
2nd Thursday @ 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Payson Public Library Meeting Room
328 N. McLane Road - Payson, Arizona

Commanders Corner

Quick Reminders:

We will have a "pack-peek" after the October general meeting. This is educational and entertaining for all. Bring your packs, show off unique ideas you have, and learn from others. There is always something new to learn.

Saturday, Oct 4, we have an opportunity to show who we are and what we do to the public. There will be a Emergency Services fair at the Home Depot parking lot from 10:00AM to 3:00PM. Fire Departments, Posse, GCSO, TRSAR, and others will be on hand to talk and demonstrate our capabilities. Join us if you can.


Mission Summaries:

9/4, 9/6 - San Carlos - Search for missing person. TRSAR searched on two different days for someone missing under suspicious circumstances. This became a criminal investigation.

9/11 - Houston Mesa Trail System - missing elderly couple - found by quads teams.

9/15 - Missing mountain bikers - Found on the network of roads between Rye and Doll Baby Ranch road.

9/25 - Four Peaks, missing hikers - They were found with the assistance of dog teams and helicopter on the Alder Springs Trail after two unplanned overnights. TRSAR had hiking teams in beyond the point where they were ultimately located, so they apparently were headed in the right direction by their 2nd day out.


Preparation:

Colder weather is on the way. Forecast right now is possible snow on the higher peaks this coming weekend (weekend of 10/04). You packs should be rolled over to cold weather by now, and you should have cold weather gear in your vehicle. It is amazing how cold you can get standing around the command post waiting for an assignment.



Stay safe and stay prepared.

Bill Pitterle - Commander, #500
 

Don’t forget; the meetings this month are October 7th for the Board and Oct 9th for the General Meeting.

October 2008 Training & Events Schedule

9-Oct (Thu) - General Meeting We will have a backpack check and a look at yours.
So bring yours and show it.

11 Oct. (Sat.) Tracking - Long Line Tracking Exercise – Time: as assigned – Place: Houston Mesa Road
( First Crossing ) Les Hulse in charge (come to the general meeting for details)


25-26 Oct. (Sat.-Sun.) Rope Certification - Place: Squad Building-Time:0800 - Instructors: Roger Miotto
1-2 Nov. (Sat.- Sun.)
 

Training Sessions (Coming this Year)

8-Nov (Sat) Line Search Exercise – Time: TBA – Place: TBA – Kathy Baas & Les Hulse in charge.

Tracking - Coming in 2009:

Planned Navigation Training – Compass and GPS
 

If you would like to volunteer to run a training session, or if you have a training session request contact any Board Member or Don Johnson 

Italics = Sign-up required to attend this training                                          

* See following notes:

 To reserve use of squad ATV, contact Don Johnson at 928-474-5335
Jacket, gloves, boots, helmet, and eye protection required to operate Squad ATV
 

 Active: Members wishing to remain on active status must attend at least three official Squad functions per quarter of the calendar year, as well as two training exercises per six months of the calendar year.

 Reserve: Members who wish to remain on reserve status must attend at least one official Squad function per quarter of the calendar year as well as one training exercise per six months of the calendar year.

  Laws that are still on the books

Any animal that is out after dark in Berea, Ohio, must display a taillight.
Chicken thieves in Kansas are not allowed to work during daylight hours.
In Quitman, Georgia, it's illegal for a chicken to cross the road.
 

Business Cards for Active Members

All active members are permitted to have business cards with your SAR info on them. If you do not have them yet, or if you have used up the ones you had, contact Mike Taylor to place your order. They are nice to have when you are doing any Squad activities, and the best part is they are free. A common use for them is to hand out to family members of the search/rescue subject.

Email miket@trsar.org or call 978-8009.

Don’t forget; the meetings this month are October 7th for the Board and Oct 9th for the General Meeting.

Computer Tips, Techniques, Rants, Raves, and Netiquette
Submitted by Les Hulse

This month we re-visit the subject of electronic mail (E-mail) and see if we can make it better. Previous columns dealing with E-mail are in the newsletter archives for 2006-August, 2006-September, and 2007-September.

E-mail has become nearly as important as a telephone for those of us connected to the Net. But just because E-mail is easy doesn't mean it can't be civilized.

As the Internet has matured, a few ground rules and rules of thumb for E-mail have emerged. Avoiding a few basic no-no’s can make your E-mail transactions more effective. Some of the following is just my opinion (and how I respond to things), but it may be useful when you are composing E-mail messages. You may have heard some of these tips before, but something new may have been added.

1 – Don’t send the message too soon: Have you ever pressed the “Send” key and then remembered that you forgot something in the message - or maybe forgot to add the attachment? Then you have to send a second message to finish what was not included in your first message. One way to help is to never put the recipient’s E-mail address in the “To:” line until you are ready to send it. This way, if you accidently press the send button, the message will not be sent because there is no recipient specified. It gives you a second chance to make sure your message is complete.

2 – Have the correct E-mail address: Hopefully this will not happen too often, but sending an E-mail to the wrong person can be embarrassing for all parties (especially when done in a work environment). To prevent this from happening, you should always double check the recipient's E-mail address before you send it off. Otherwise, it could end up going to the wrong person and that's just no good at all.

3 – Write a good subject line: I use a program that scans incoming E-mail documents before I download them to my PC and I always look at the subject line. The subject line is supposed to give you some indication of the content of the E-mail and it should give you a reason to actually open the E-mail and read it. There are many E-mails I don’t even bother to download (I just delete them at the source) because the subject line is vague, confusing, or totally missing. The subject line is very important if you're dealing with work related E-mails. If the E-mail message doesn't have a good subject line to go by, your recipient may just skip past it and miss something important. Friends or family members will also appreciate it if you just spend a little time to make the subject line informative.

4 – Don’t send an unclear message: I get some E-mails that have no clear message as to what they're really about. When I try to read incomplete sentences using incorrect grammar and incorrect spelling with many different topics all thrown together, it gets a little frustrating. There is a tendency to just delete it and move on. Please, take time to really get your message across - if you don't make what you want to say clear enough, your recipients will be left dazed and confused. Plus, they probably won't bother replying to you, because they won't know what the heck to say in return.

5 – Don’t ramble: When you're typing your E-mail, the best thing to do is be short and to the point. Keep to your topic and use short sentences and paragraphs. Keep your message clear (see above) and just say what you need to say and be done with it. Your recipients will better appreciate a nice clean E-mail.

6 – DON’T SHOUT: I've mentioned this in a previous article, and I'll say it again: don't use all capital letters when typing out an E-mail. Anyone who gets the E-mail will think that you are shouting at them. Many times I will just delete the E-mail when I see all capital letters and not even bother to read it. So, make sure the Caps Lock key is turned off before typing and you will have a more pleasing E-mail for the recipient.

7 – Be careful of your tone: It is very difficult to express your tone of voice in your E-mail, but you have to do your best with the way you write. For instance, if you're trying to crack a joke to one of your friends, make sure they'll take it the right way. If they don’t, you might end up offending them. If you think something will be interpreted the wrong way, it's best just to leave it out.

Also, if you're writing an emotional E-mail, don't send it right away. Instead, let it sit in your mailbox (with the To: field blank) for a few hours or days. When you reread it, you'll be calmer and more relaxed, and you'll be more likely to catch any errors.

8 – Identify yourself: It's a good idea to include at least your name at the bottom of all your E-mails. You don’t have to use a fancy signature made of pictures, quotations, animations, or any combination of the above (these can also be quite annoying). If you are not on a first-name basis with someone, your recipients may not know who you are and they could by-pass your E-mail. You can also include your physical address and phone number if you want to give your recipients more ways to contact you.

9 – Be careful with attachments: Do you like to send attachments along with your E-mails? That's just fine, but if the attachments are too large, or if you send too many attachments, you may end up annoying your recipient. There are still persons with dial-up connections out there and it is hard to tell what type of Internet connection they will have or if their computer will even be able to handle a big file. If there's any doubt in your mind, just don't send it. You can, of course, mention in your E-mail that you have an attachment they might find interesting. If they want it, they can let you know and they will be expecting a large-sized E-mail – let the recipient make the decision.

10 – Don’t overuse E-mail: If you find yourself rambling on in a message or if you're afraid the message can get mixed up or confused, you're probably relying on E-mail too much. E-mails are generally used for quick communication. If you find that you have a lot to say, maybe you should probably just pick up the phone and call the person or talk to them face to face. E-mail is convenient and easy to use, but with certain things, it can be a little too much.

OK, I’m done ranting for this month. If you have made some of these bloopers in the past, don't feel bad. We've all done it, but at least you now know what you can do to correct them. Proper E-mail etiquette is very important and it will help you stay in good relations with all your E-mail buddies as well.
 

Question: Do any of you find this section useful?

We can rant and rave about many topics, but do not know if it is appreciated. Also, we will most likely choose topics that “tick us off” and ignore the ones that you may be interested in. We can give you our opinion on just about anything (opinions are cheap).

 So let us know if this section is useful, and if you would like us to tear into some topic, just tell us.

 Send any comments and/or suggestions to the editor; Mike – address at bottom of newsletter.

Website

Tonto Rim SAR Members can now have your very own email address through our site. Just contact our Webmaster at jack@jackswebs.com  to arrange for it, no cost to you or us.

Related SAR news

I got this from the newsletter of the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) the HAM radio organization I belong to. Thought TRSAR might be interested in it.
Some definitions for the codes used;

QSO - Conversation
CW - Best known as Morris Code such as used on the repeater automatic identifiers.
N7ODM, W7AU, K7URU are the call signs issued to the HAMs involved. Mine is KC7NOJ
 
Bill Daily

MONTANA HAM ASSISTS IN RESCUE OF FELLOW AMATEUR 600 MILES AWAY

On Sunday, September 21, Bob Williams, N7ODM, of Bozeman, Montana, was just tuning around on 40 meters, giving his rig a test just before a scheduled QSO with his brother Rich, K7URU, in Spokane, when he heard a faint CW signal around 1 PM (MDT): Glenn Russell Ruby Jr. W7AU, of Corvallis, Oregon had broken his leg and was using a portable radio and Morse code to send out a call for help. Williams said he was able to understand the injured man's code even when his signal became very weak.

"He called me. He must have heard me testing out the radio. When I finished, I signed off with my call, and then I heard, 'N7ODM, this is W7AU/7,' so I answered," Williams told the ARRL. "I told him to go ahead, I had solid copy. He told me that he was a hiker that had fallen and broken his leg. He identified himself as Russ, provided information as to his GPS coordinates, the shelter, food and water on hand, as well as his detailed physical condition. He told me exactly who I needed to contact for assistance."

According to Williams, Ruby had slipped on a wet rock and broken his leg while out hiking in the Buck Creek Pass area of the high Cascades in Western Washington, 600 miles away from Williams. "Russ really had his act together," Williams said. "Before he even called for help, he set up his tent. It was raining when he fell, so he climbed into his tent and got into some warm clothes and had a snack of sunflower seeds and dried apricots. After that, he strung up a wire antenna, fired up his Elecraft K1 and called me." Williams said that Ruby told him he had a "couple of week’s worth of battery power" for the radio.

Ruby asked Williams to notify the Snohomish County Search and Rescue in Washington State. "I didn't have their number, so I called my local 911 dispatcher. All they had was the info for King County in Washington, so I called them and they gave me the number for Snohomish. When I got a hold of Snohomish County Search and Rescue, they asked me to obtain additional info from Russ, such as the color of his tent and if he was in a clear or wooded area, and remain in contact with him as long as possible," Williams said.

"Russ and I were able to maintain contact until about 8 PM on Sunday, during which time I was able to pass additional traffic between Russ and Search and Rescue, but then his signal got so weak where I couldn't copy it anymore. Before he faded, we had agreed to try and make contact in the morning. I tried, starting around 6:30, but he never heard me. I finally heard him calling me around 9 on 7.051 MHz. We kept in contact until he was evacuated from the site by Search and Rescue at about 10:35 AM," Williams told the ARRL.

On Sunday, rescue crews reached Ruby, who had set up camp on Buck Creek Pass, at about 6000 feet just west of the Chelan County line. He was taken to safety Monday on horseback. Williams said that bad weather Sunday prevented a helicopter rescue: "It was snowing all night; Russ told me that when he woke up Monday morning, his tent was all covered in snow."

"I just happened to be at the same frequency," Williams said. "It's just a stroke of luck that turned out great. It was quite an experience. I'm just glad that he was a ham radio operator and that I was able to talk to him. It made the difference for him. What I did was not anything special. I'd like to think that any ham in Montana would've done the same thing."