Alister van Tonder, ZS1OK reports:

The 2018 Sanlam Peace Trail run took place on Saturday 22^nd of September in support of the trail running taking place on the slopes of Lions Head and Signal Hill.  This event forms part of the larger Cape Town Marathon, which took place on the following day, Sunday 23^rd.

The Hamnet operators consisted of ZS1JMT Michael and Virginia holding the fort at The Glen in the vicinity of the Round House Restaurant in Camps Bay, and the team at Signal Hill consisting of John ZS1JNT and Ian ZS1OSK, and with Alister ZS1OK at the base.  Matt ZS1MTF assisted by setting up a VHF/UHF cross-band repeater in a vehicle parked on the slopes of Table Mountain which provided a relay between The Glen and to the base located, located at the new Green Point Athletics Track, as well as to the Signal Hill team.  While there was no directly line of sight between the cross-band repeater to the base – it was well within the lee of Signal Hill, the cross-band repeater worked very well.  Matt set the VHF transmitter power to 20 watts which ensured that with the extra power a good signal was provided whereas the line of sight UHF link to The Glen was using 5 watts.

The base was operational by 05h30 with the comms being verified between the different locations by 06h00.  The start of the race was delayed by more than 30 minutes due to race safety issues, but once it started the well planned operating procedures by the race organisers ensured things went smoothly.

There were a handful of minor runner injuries, but overall no major incidents.  As with most competitive sports it was vital to verify runners were not taking short cuts or taking advantage, and matters of this nature took up some bandwidth.

The team of Michael ZS1MJT and Virginia were the first to stand down after the race sweep had progressed well beyond their location.  The team Signal Hill is very busy as both the long and the short course runners pass through their check point.   By the time the sweep passed the Noon Gun, they also stood down, since any injured runners would thereafter had to continue down the slopes rather than being taken back up to Signal Hill.   Support was concluded when the based stood down at 13h30.

This was the second year we have used cellular APRS for the race sweeps.  Last year we had some teething problems with the cellular APRS, but this year it worked really well and we had regular fixed interval position updates via aprs.fi for both race sweeps.  There were only small areas that did not have cellular coverage.

Yes, radio based APRS has its place – the race sweeps find the mangoes APRS radios bulky and heavy – but having cellular based APRS provided good operational feedback.  To provide effective VHF digipeater coverage for this event would be quite a daunting task, requiring many suitably located digipeaters.

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Alister van Tonder ZS1OK writes:

HAMNET was invited to participate by the Disaster Risk Management of the City of Cape Town with their annual Koeberg Nuclear Disaster Exercise.  This was the first time we participated with this particular exercise and the second time we’ve participated with the City of Cape Town’s Disaster Risk Management exercises.

We had seven volunteers who participated, consisting of David zs1dav, Dean zs1kp, Hendrik zs1eee, Philip zs1pvv, Rob zs1sa, Stephen zs1bsw, and Alister zs1ok.

The exercise simulated a nuclear leak at Koeberg, and we had HAMNET personnel in the following roles:

• Joint Operations Centre – Dean as a former mechanical engineer at Koeberg sat with the rest of the members in the JOC and from here all the aspects of the exercise was managed.

Figure 1. A view of the various role players managing the exercise from the JOC

Figure 2 The video walls inside the JOC depicting information relevant to the exercise

• HAMNET Communications Room. Rob zs1sa and Stephen zs1bsw were behind the controls relaying messages as and when required, using the VHF/UHF and HF equipment.
• Command Bus – David zs1dav represented HAMNET at the Command Bus, which at one stage departed at high speed to a new location quite some distance from where they were due them being put at “risk” by the a change in wind direction which carries “radiation” with it. Dave’s multi-faceted ability came to the rescue of some of the very hungry participants when he was able to open their tuna cans, which was part of the day’s ration packs, with his Leatherman.

Figure 3 One of the two locations where the Command Bus was parked, together with various role players also taking part in the exercise.

• Hendrik zs1eee and Philip zs1pvv were stationed at the Koeberg Volunteer Centre from where they operated on both VHF/UHF and HF.
• Alister zs1ok was a part-time roving participant during the event. One of the advantages of living in Cape Town was setting up a cross-band repeater on Blouberg Hill .

Figure 4 A cross-band repeater set up on Blouberg Hill – with a magnificent view from there

In general the exercise and the HAMNET participation went off well.  Everyone learnt a great deal in various ways, and since this was the first exercise of this nature with the City of Cape Town’s Disaster Risk Management there are several areas where we could definitely improve on.

 Feedback, Suggestions and Improvements

We would love to get more HAMNET operators to participate, despite the exercise being run during normal working hours.

We need to make use more of digital technologies, in particular systems that can be used to send text to other operators or participants.  This requirement is particularly relevant for information or formal communications issued from the JOC and the HAMNET Comms Room.  Using text based system is the best way to keep operators well informed without interrupting them with their parallel activities. An operator can re-read a text message rather than having to request a voice message to be resent for clarification.  Specific terminology can be used in a text based message which would be more difficult to convey in a standard voice message.  The other major advantage of a text based system is that it automatically provides a log of all messages, communication and whatever else needs to be recorded.

In prior discussions with ESCOM they expressed specific interest in HAMNET’s ability to offer backup communications because of their ability to transfer text messages and files (using digital modes, e.g. fldigi) as well as sending of emails (e.g. using Winlink) via radio.

The ability to provide nomadic HF comms rather than mobile HF comms.  We generally do not require HF comms to be used while driving a vehicle.  In this context an HF station requires the ability to up and leave to a new location within minutes.  The operator should therefore ideally operate from their vehicle or a go-box and all that is required is to pack away their HF antenna.  The operator must be able to set up to use 80m and 60m comms with the current propagation conditions.  During winter months being able to use 160m would also be required.

HF comms is important to test and maintain since there is a requirement with certain of the Koeberg exercises for the Koeberg region to be “vacated” and for the command teams to relocate to rural areas such as Citrusdal, Mooreesburg or even Ceres to get away from “nuclear fall-out and contamination”.  During such events it is vital to maintain comms via HF due to these areas not necessarily being served via VHF/UHF repeaters.

During a real Koeberg incident HAMNET would be required to assist for several days.  It is therefore important having sufficient HAMNET volunteers to permit operations to run over multiple days using 12 hour shifts.

1. JOC – Joint Operations Center

Meticulous notes were maintained by Dean during the development of the exercise.

It was felt that using an electronic version of this which could automatically share vital information with all the HAMNET role players and would be of much more value than only using voice communications.

This concept was reinforced by the fact that it is impractical to use radio communication (handheld radio) in a controlled environment such as the JOC, and the audio from the radio caused disruptions.  Even using a headset with the radio was said to be impractical in this setup.

2. HAMNET Communications Room

At least two operators are required for the Control room as there is just too much happening in parallel for one operator to manage appropriately.

Since it was the first time that both Rob zs1sa and Stephen zs1bsw operated from the HAMNET communications room they were not very familiar with the facility’s equipment despite them being skilled amateur radio operators.  During an emergency it is vital for operators know their equipment well and are able to optimally use the equipment.  It is not a static operating environment and there are ongoing changes required on the equipment.

Despite having sound dampening facilities, which is ideal for a very active comms control centre, the one drawback of the facility is that it is isolated from where real the rubber hits the road.  As a result they have insufficient information about the development exercise.  Having the text based system mentioned above would also greatly assist.

3. Command Bus

It was the second time David zs1dav has been with the Command Bus and fortunately the staff operating from the bus were well informed of his presence and his role.  Since the bus may be redeployed to more suitable or different locations at any time it is vital for this HAMNET operator to be set up and proficient at using mobile comms.  Even their HF equipment needs to be setup such that they can redeploy at short notice – and merely recover their long wire antenna deployed from their vehicle.

4. Volunteer Centre

Hendrik zs1eee and Philip zs1pvv are quite adept at setting up a station in a new location.  This was their first involvement at this facility and as we also intended testing HF communications, the HF antenna had to be set up in a manner that the environment remained safe for other staff participating in the event.  We did not want people to get RF burns from the antennas.

One of the drawbacks of using a cross-band repeater is that it does not provide any feedback (i.e. a whiplash) when pressing your PTT. Thus an operator using a cross-band repeater needs to have two radios – each one tuned to one of the frequencies of the cross-band repeater.  When transmitting on the one radio you should hear yourself on the other radio.

All the personnel at the Volunteer Centre were required to relocate to a new location necessitating moving the radio station elsewhere.  Thus this nomadic requirement makes the ability to have a go-box very practical.  Basically unplug your power (if you are only using mains), pack away your antenna, and load your equipment in the vehicle and move to the next location.

5. Rover One

Alister zs1ok was mobile during part of the exercise, and being mobile leaves an operator with a limited ability to effectively participate with communications while driving.  You need a second person to assist –  either as driver or as communicator.  Particularly once you start using digital comms (text or graphics) it would be safer and better to have one to assist you.

Once again thank you to everyone on the team who made this event a learning event and an enjoyable one!!

Alister van Tonder  ZS1OK

A group of six Hamnet operators from the Western Cape, assisted with the event communications at the Kogelberg WIldrunner which took place in rainy conditions at Kleinmond on Saturday morning, 12th of August. The six operators consisted of: Matt (ZS1MTF) and Steven (ZS1DAD) who operated from a location where having vehicles with high ground clearance was essential. John (ZS1JNT) and Douw (ZS1DGK) operated from the golf course parking area while Peter (ZS1PDE) and Alister (ZS1OK) operated the base station located in the parking area of the Kleinmond beach and lagoon. It was the first time for Steven and John were involved in a trail running event.

Conditions were rather wet, with regular rain squalls during the event and this impacted the runners having to negotiate areas of large standing water in some of the trail areas. Because of the wet conditions we mostly operated from within our vehicles.

Fortunately there were no serious incidents during the event and support of the comms went off well without issues.

HAMNET Western Cape was again invited to assist with communications during two cycling events in February.

The first was the el Shaddai 99er Cycle Tour, on 11th February, involving some 4000 riders and 14 mobile radio stations. The race started at the racecourse in Durbanville, and progressed out towards the R44 between Paarl and Wellington, before crossing the countryside along the Philadelphia Road, and then down to the N7 via van Schoorsdrift, before entering Durbanville again up Vissershok, a total distance of just over 100km. A shorter route trimmed off some of the circuit for the less ambitious riders.

The JOC was established at the Racecourse, where Metro EMS’ Disaster Bus and my ancient Autovilla were parked next to each other. The medical contingent for the race plus ambulance dispatch and sweep vehicle dispatch occupied the disaster bus, while Carol, ZS1MOM,  and I occupied the van under a roof for coolth, and ran the radio comms. We communicated with the ambulance and sweep dispatch by means of a handheld VHF radio. Two VHF repeaters in the Cape were isolated from the inked system for our transmissions, a simplex frequency between the rovers was organised in case one of them could not be heard at the JOC and needed a message relayed, and a mobile stand-in APRS digipeater was installed on the top of the Meerendal Hill by Alister ZS1OK, to give better APRS coverage to all the vehicles tracked. All the 14 rovers had trackers in their vehicles, and we installed portable trackers in the 5 rescue ambulances and the three organiser’s race marshal’s vehicles.

The day started cool, but rapidly became very hot, and by lunchtime, the temperature on Vissershok, where the last riders were entering Durbanville was 35 degrees. In fact the medical team pulled the last few riders off the race (in any case the cut-off would have disqualified them) before they finished the climb up Vissershok, because of the heat, and the risk of exhaustion.

There were no major incidents during the race, and the course was declared cleared before 13h00. My thanks to  ZR1FR, and ZS1’s AGP, MUP, JM, BTD, V, PXK, LN and his wife PTT, DAV, JNT, DUG, PVV, PDE, and of course, MOM and OK.

The second race was the Lion’s Journey for Sight and Service, held on the same Sunday as the Dischem ride for Sight in Gauteng, namely the 19th February. This race is usually held on the first full weekend of the New Year down in the extreme Southern Suburbs of the Peninsula. For some reason not clear to me, it was postponed to a week after the 99er, and then held roughly in the same area as the 99er had been! This had a huge effect on the entries and the enthusiasm of the riders, and the Lions are to be pitied for the hard work they put into a race that was never going to be very profitable for the charities usually supported.

The Race started and finished at Killarney Race track North of Milnerton, and the route followed the Contermanskloof Road and then Tiekiedraai over the Durbanville Hills to enter Durbanville up the well known avenue of trees. After circling around the centre of town, the riders left via Wellington Rd, turned on to Fisantekraal, and then out to the four-way stop at the R304, where they turned left and up to the crossing with the Philadelphia Rd at the Silos, left towards Philadelphia, and then left again to come down the Adderley Rd (M58), right on to Malanshoogte, and finally back to Killarney via the Contermanskloof Road again, a distance of 74km. A shorter route clipped off some 20km for the less ambitious.

For this race, we ran the JOC out of my Autovilla at Killarney, situated next to the medical and organiser contingents in a large workshop on the site. Eight rovers manned the route, Alister ZS1OK again installed his mobile APRS digipeater on Meerendal, and I managed the JOC on my own. We equipped two ambulances and the two back markers for the races with APRS trackers, so I could report to the organisers on the state of the race.

However, this was the first race we have managed in Cape Town entirely on UHF repeaters. It being Sunday morning, the usual VHF repeaters were occupied with bulletins, and so we used the 434.625 UHF repeater on Tygerberg, which was pretty central to the course, and HAMNET’s portable UHF repeater at the same site as the
APRS digipeater, on 438.700MHz, to cover any gaps. It turned out that there were almost no gaps, and the route was well covered by the 434.625 repeater.

The entries for this race were far fewer, and there were no important incidents, so the field was back at the finish by about 11h00. HAMNET received grateful acknowledgments from the Lions organisers, and we in turn promised to be back for both races next year. Hopefully, the Lion’s race will be separated both geographically and chronologically from the 99er next year, to allow both races to benefit from the number of riders entering.

During the event, a call from Wilderness Search and Rescue was received for helpers to retrieve the body of a climber who had fallen on Table Mountain the night before. ZS1GS and ZS1OSK were given permission to leave their rover duties early, to be able to proceed to the call-out. Please see the report on that retrieval by ZS1GS on this same website.

My thanks go to ZS1’s LN and his wife PTT, PXK, EEE, PDE, YT, OSK, GS, BTD, and OK at the digipeater site. Without ZS1OK, neither of these races would have been as successfully marshaled as they were.