BEECN Caches

Equipment Caches - General

PBEM is ultimately responsible for, and has complete discretion over, the design, purchase, placement, content, and security of BEECN caches.

Equipment Caches - Placement

1. The location of a BEECN cache is NOT public information. It is information that should be known only to, and kept confidential by: PBEM, a hosting property owner, and volunteers responsible for the cache. All persons who know the location of a cache or have possession of a BEECN profile should treat the information as confidential.
2. Optimally, a BEECN cache is secured in an indoor location that volunteers have access to in the event of a deployment. An indoor location’s structure should be reasonably expected to endure a major earthquake sufficiently that volunteers can recover the cache safely.
3. The property on which a BEECN cache is stowed may be a school, a business, a place of worship, or a private residence. In any situation for deployments and exercises, volunteers should act as guests and take care not to damage the premises or (during drills and exercises) interrupt other activities on the site. Volunteers will defer to the authority of a property owner, or the owner’s representative.
4. The agreement between a property owner who hosts a cache and PBEM is written into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Supplementary Equipment in BEECN Caches

1. If there is space available, members of a BEECN cohort or nearby NET may place their own equipment in the cache to supplement the PBEM provided equipment.
2. PBEM is not responsible for the loss, theft, recovery, or replacement of supplementary equipment placed in a BEECN cache.
3. Supplementary equipment must not include food, prescription medications, or drugs.

BEECN Cache Inventory

A complete BEECN cache consists of the items found in the table below.

Item		Qty.	Notes	Item Brand	Vendor
UHF transceiver (BEECN handheld radio)		1	Batteries should never be left inside when not in use!	Icom F4001 series UHF transceiver
AA batteries		18	Check batteries for signs of corrosion. The batteries that power the 4-watt UHF BEECN radios work extremely well for our purposes. The batteries also power the flashlight/lantern in each cache. Here are some battery factoids: Disposable batteries lose about 1% of remaining energy per month if stored at room temperature. When stored in cool or cold conditions disposable batteries last much longer than if stored at room temperature. When disposable batteries are used in cool or cold conditions, they use up more of their power than when they’re used at room temperature. All BEECN radios and batteries are stored in cool or cold conditions – most of the storage locations stay very cool, even in summer. Talking on the radio draws much more power than listening.		Grainger
10' x 10' pop-up canopy w/ sidewalls		1	The canopy top is red, with four (4) white sidewalls and a white aluminum frame.	E-Z UP
SKED or MegaMover(s)	OR	1+	SKEDs are in bright orange bags. Shortly after starting the BEECN program, PBEM began replacing SKEDs with MegaMovers. Since MegaMovers are inexpensive, a cache may include more than one. SKED Drill: https://hcpaw.portlandoregon.gov/u/zlZiPCfWYlzcVmI_/79f26d1d-9717-4c39-b311-34380b0740b0?l	SKED or MegaMover	SKED or Life-Assist
All-weather AM/FM/NOAA radio		1	All-purpose rechargeable weather radio with hand turbine power generator. Received AM/FM/NOAA weather bands (one minute of cranking willpower the radio for 15 to 20 minutes). Includes LED flashlight.	Eton CRC FRX 1 Survival Radio (discontinued)