EMC275 ALE Experiences 5/5
To:   Emergency Communications Units - Information Bulletin
To:   Emergency Management Agencies via Internet and Radio
By:   Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS) of the
      California Governor's Office of Emergency Services  

EMC275 ALE Experiences 5/5          Release 2/5/01

The prior bulletin described how the Harris Radio ALE system
is unattended and operates automatically pursuant to commands
of the built-in controller unit when the telephone-type handset
is lifted and a 3-digit number entered. (now, to continue:)

That's so much like a telephone order wire that FEMA calls it an
order wire or order line. The entire process can take a minute or
two to establish the radio connection via the telephone handset.

When the ALE process is on, and properly set for periodic ALE
sounding FROM a designated FEMA Regional Station, the system is
in the best mode for fast operation. In our case, the sounding
comes from the FEMA Bothell, Washington radio station as the HF
link designated by FEMA. Let's call that "master sounding" and
it's what allows the very fast response time using stored data
in the OES radio.

When the Harris radio was originally installed it was programed
for local sounding (i.e, by the radio at State OES) as it lacked
certain upgrades. The result took as much as 20 minutes before
radio contact was made when the remote unit was dialed. After the
ALE upgrades were installed and the system was set with the master
sounding FROM Bothell it allowed the system to operate in its
best mode significantly reducing connect time (to 1-2 minutes.)
The sounding interval (such as every two hours) is entered in the
radio at Bothell as the control point for 12 ALE addressesin FEMA
regions 9 and 10.

When CommCenter personnel are designated to operate the Harris
radio in a non-ALE mode, then a pre-trained operator goes to the
radio, disables ALE and the remote setup, then selects a channel
manually and operates the radio from that location, either for
data or voice. There is a five step process to select a manual
channel for voice. If contact is not made, there is a three step
process to go to another channel. These require specific radio
operator training. It should be obvious that the automatic ALE
operation (handset and dial 3 digit code) is superior to manual
multiple-step radio entries. ALE addresses are preset and are
for FEMA stations since the purpose of the unit is to provide
emergency radio linkage between FEMA and the State.

In summary, ALE can provide considerable benefits to government:   
  a. In systems that those who are not familiar with such usage
     may not understand, such as FEMA to State OES facilities. 
  b. When installed with a remote telephone-type handset it can
     be used by those with no knowledge of radio operations and
     no need to tune, find the best frequency, etc, which means
  c. Personnel who use the phone and computer all the time in
     their work do NOT need to be trained in radio useage, all
     of which is
  d. Faster and more efficient than calling an operator in the
     radio room and asking that person to establish the radio
     contact and setup a phone patch or going to a radio and
     manually entering the needed data. Instead, just pick up a
     handset, dial a number and talk to the answering party. 
  e. Which amounts to a reliable system ready to use 24 hours a
     day 365 days a year without RADIO operator involvement.
      
There are other ALE systems and radios, and other experiences.
Of necessity this article is limited to my experiences and
observations.
Series end

 Cary Mangum, W6WWW        E-mail: cary.mangum@macnexus.org
                           ---
Bulletins are on the ACS Web page: http://acs.oes.ca.gov  -and a
Landline BBS: 916-262-0856 (graphical & standard interface)
EOM