Open House at Heart Bar (7/27/2013)

Smartphones and the SAR Mission, Part III: Management

While not specifically a smartphone application, in this installment I'll discuss a tool that you may find helpful for incident management and team administration. Incident management is an interesting problem for technology. On one hand, incident management is well adapted to techological solutions for word processing, mapping, and communications. On the other hand, we operate in envrionments that don't lend themselves to easy techological solutions. Cell coverage is spotty or non-existent, power is not available or reliable, and often the command post is the front seat of a pickup truck. For this reason, my preference for technological solutions are those that work in the developing world. They must work with older computers in areas with compromised cell coverage. Keep in mind, however, that technology marches forward, so what is new today is "older" in a year or two. Also, cell coverage in the "wilderness" grows every year.

Team Administration

For the past two years, the Cave Team has used a handy tool tool to administer the team. We use it to track hours, certifications, calendar RSVPs, and gear. One of the great features of this tool is that it is free, and maintained by a fellow SAR commrade in San Diego. The tool is called Mission Manager, and it is more than a team administration tool; as its name implies it can also be used for mission management. Mission Manager is a cloud application, so all that you need to access it is a web connection and a web browser. Since we use it primarily for team administration, I will expand upon these features. Visit the link above for a comprehensive overview of its features.

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Retractable Outdoor Products

This is a short discussion about some retractable products I have used for recreation and search and rescue. I do a lot of canyoneering which often involves swimming through hydraulics or jumping off rocks up to 13 meters above the water. I have lost many knives and a couple carabiners to this turbulence. For search and rescue I hike a lot as well as hang out on the side of rocks or in caves. Over the years gear has disappeared in these environments as well. I have been using a small retractable gear tether for a few years made by Key-Bak (www.keybak.com). I use it to attach my whistle to my helmet. It has functioned well through many swims.

Over the past year I have housed my point and shoot waterproof camera in a T-Reign ProCase. (www.t-reignoutdoor.com/collections/procase) It has been great. There is a retractable cord that attaches to the camera. With one hand I can pull the camera out, activate it, take pictures and return it to the case. It is easy to detach the camera and hand it to someone else to use. The case is quite durable. A few years ago 4 members of the Cave Team tested some prototypes. They got a bit carried away, even backing a car over a case! The cases survived the assault. I can attach the case to my back pack shoulder strap or improvise a strap to wear over my shoulder. It can also be worn on a belt. The case handles the abuse of search and rescue, climbing, mountaineering and swimming. 

Recently I obtained the ProHolster. This is very similar to the ProCase but without a lid. Instead it has a strap. The small case fits my submersible WX370S radio perfectly. It is my primary SAR radio. It too has an easily detachable retractable strap. It has the same attachment system as the ProCase. Hence I can wear my radio in a variety of ways:  pack strap, over my shoulder, on my belt. Over the years I have witnessed many SAR radios lost. This case should solve that problem. The video presents the product well. www.t-reignoutdoor.com/collections/proholster The attached picture shows my radio and the holster.

OHV for SAR July 20-21

Check out the flyer for details on the upcoming OHV course hosted by Bear Valley SAR on July 20-21, 2013.

Missing Woman in Big Bear

The Big Bear Sheriff’s Station is requesting assistance from the public to be on the lookout for missing person Karen Dalman. Dalman was last seen at approximately 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 14, 2013. Early on Tuesday morning, Dalman and a friend, 56-year-old Bruce Jackson, drove to the area of Crystal Mountain near the Eye of God on 2N02 for a day-hike with Jackson’s dog, described as a white pitbull with dark stripes and a white and black face. Dalman and Jackson were separated after the dog got away and was running in the area. Shortly before 7:00 a.m. today, Jackson reported Dalman missing, stating he had been lost in the area since Tuesday after not being able to find the dog. Jackson reported that he had made his way back to the vehicle this morning and returned to his home in Erwin Lake, but was unable to locate Dalman. Medical aid was called to Jackson’s residence where he was treated for dehydration.

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Bear Valley SAR Hosting Pizza Fundraiser , May 21

Smartphones and the SAR Mission, Part II: Land Navigation [Android]

In the last installment, I discussed options for keeping your phone going throughout a SAR mission. Now, let's put it to work to keep you going in the right direction. Your smartphone is chockfull of a variety of sensors. It is probably the closest thing that we have to Dr. McCoy's "tricorder" from Star Trek. Aside from a GPS, most smartphones also have a compass, accelerometer, barometer, proximity detector, gyroscope, and light sensor. For land navigation the GPS, compass, gyroscope, and accelerometer are all used.

As SAR team members, our needs differ slightly from most recreational GPS users. For us, the typical GPS use case involves entering a number of waypoints and searching a particular area. Along the way, we will keep a tracklog of where we went, and mark clue locations or other waypoints along the way. For many, many years I longed for an inexpensive GPS with a simple numeric keypad. If you have ever had to enter a waypoint using the up/down/left/right keys on a typical GPS, then you know the tedium! GPSes are much better adapted to the recording of waypoints than they are for entering a remote location. Enter the smartphone. Now, we have a GPS platform that has a terrific keypad, where entering numbers and letters is a snap. Couple this with a fancy display, and voila! You can easily overlay your position on a map.

Before we go further, it is important to point out, that SAR team members need to have a GPS that can easily be configured for different map datums and coordinate systems. Sure, many maps are NAD83 or WGS84 nowadays, but there are still plenty in service that used NAD27. As such, we need the ability to move between at least these datums. Likewise, when using paper maps we use the UTM coordinate system, but when talking to air resources, we often need to use DM.M or DMS. Moreover, some e911 and CAD systems use decimal degrees (D.DD), so that is also handy. I was on a mutual aid search a few weeks ago where the coordinate system in use was MGRS, so that should be an option too. For me, any apps for land navigation must be coordinate system, and datum agile. This is what separates SAR-worthy apps, from those that are handy for tracking your mountain bike adventure or road race. One more thing...I am an Android user, and don't own an iOS device. As such, the apps mentioned below are Android apps that I have used on actual SAR missions. I suspect that there are iOS equivalents, so please let me know of your iOS favorites in the comments below.

Lat Long Calc ProIf you are looking to record waypoints, and quickly convert locations to different datums and coordinate systems, then Lat Long Calc Pro is for you. You can simultaneously show your current location in a variety of formats, and you can use this tool to convert between formats and datums, store waypoints, "go to" a waypoint, and measure the distance between two waypoints. The pro version includes neat functionality that allows you to email or SMS your location to somebody, where it sends all the position formats in one shot as well as a link to your location on Google Maps. The only criticism that I have is that the user interface can take a while to master. The "pro" version costs $1.99, but there is a free version that maintains most of the functionality. As a rule, I always prefer purchasing the pro versions of software so that I can help support the developers of such cool tools.

SAR missions occur mostly in wilderness areas. This means that for aBackcountry Navigator tool to be useful under all conditions, it should be able to be used without a data connection. Currently, Backcountry Navigator is my favorite land navigation app. This tool has all of the features of a typical GPS and allows for offline topo map use. Also, you can export your GPS tracks to .gpx or .kml format, so that you can give them to the command post and/or import them into Google Maps. This tool allows for switching between WGS84 (same as NAD83) and NAD27. Also, waypoints can be quickly entered and viewed in a variety of formats without having to hunt through settings. Aerial photography is also available for download, which can often be handy for finding landmarks not shown on a typical USGS topo map. Backcountry Navigator also has the ability to import additional, premium, map sources for additional cost. While not free, this app is well worth the price.

I have found many of the compass apps to be more novelty than tool, but this is not the case with the compass that is available in Backcountry Navigator. It is a completely, field-worthy compass that I have used to complete a BSAR Skills check-off on a couple of occasions. It functions the same way as your typical orienteering compass, and with proper calibration, yields similar results.

Other mapping/navigation apps with similar functionality that I have used are Trimble Outdoor Navigator and MyTrails.

Finally, I wanted to take a second to mention a tool that I use regularly in rope rescue operations: a pocket theodolite. A theodolite is a device that is used to measure horizontal and vertical angles. When you couple this with a camera, compass, and GPS, you have an interesting tool. I mention it here due to its compass and GPS features, but I find it is most useful as an inclinometer. In rope rescue, determining the angle of a slope is important when it comes to calculating loads on your anchors and equipment. GeoCam is a tool that makes the measurement of slope angle very easy. Using the camera as a "viewfinder", you aim the phone at an appropriate landmark, and your vertical angle is measured. You can also get a compass heading, and GPS location at the same time. Check out the image below that I took during a recent litter evacuation.GeoCam

 Sorry about being so Android-specific, but this is the only platform with which I have direct field experience. Please let me know your favorite iOS apps in the comments.

Stay tuned for the next installment where we will discuss apps useful to the incident manager.

Director's Dialogue (May 2013)

HELITAC TRAINING:

was held on Saturday, April 6th , hosted by the SAR Council. It is amazing, we had 26 sign up, 4 cancelled and we ended up with 31.… Lol. Go figure!It was a great turnout and we would like to thank Mike Ells for a very informative class.

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SHERIFF’S 10K RUN

March the 6th was the date of this run and we would like to thank all of our SAR personnel for their help. Most of the proceeds were going to go to the SAR Council, however at the meeting on the 20th it was determined and voted on by the Unit Reps, that we were going to donate those fund to S.E.A.T. to lend a hand to the deputy wounded in the Dorner shootings. We would like to thank everyone for supporting this worthy cause.

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Smartphones and the SAR Mission, Part I: Portable Power

For the past several years I have found a smartphone to be invaluable in my work as a SAR team member. It can function as a geo-tagging camera, notepad, inclinometer, compass, GPS, map, calculator, as well as a communication device. Anymore, unless the weather is very poor, I hardly use the GPS that sits in my pack. I wanted to take a few moments to share some of the Android applications and web services that I have found useful in discharging my SAR duties. I have previously mentioned tools to use your phone as a pager, but I will begin this series with extending your battery life.

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Petzl Recalls ZIGZAG

Petzl Action Plan

Petzl has decided to immediately recall all ZIGZAGs.

As a measure of precaution, we ask that you:

• immediately stop using the ZIGZAG
• return the ZIGZAG, with proof of purchase, to the Petzl distributor in your country (at our costs). 

You can then choose from the following options:

• credit for other Petzl products (total equal to the retail price of the ZIGZAG + 30%)
• a complete refund at the purchase price (including taxes and shipping)

For more information about this recall download the recall notice