In this issue:
-> THE TECHNICAL
COORDINATOR
-> AFFILIATED CLUB
COORDINATOR REPORT
-> THE SECTION EMERGENCY
COORDINATOR
-> THE PUBIC INFORMATION
COORDINATOR
-> THE SECTION TRAFFIC
MANAGER
-> OUT AND ABOUT IN
SOUTHEAST OHIO
-> FROM THE “SARGE”
(W8SGT) STATE OF OHIO EOC
-> HAPPENINGS FROM CENTRAL
OHIO
-> FROM THE EDUCATIONAL
OUTREACH ASM
-> LET'S TALK
-> THE OFFICIAL OBSERVER COORDINATOR
-> OHIO QSO PARTY RULE
CHANGES
-> SUMMITS-ON-THE-AIR
-> SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS
IN OHIO
-> OHIO HAMFEST CALENDAR
-> HELP WANTED
****************************************************
THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jim Yoder W8ERW - TC
w8erw@arrl.net
Here it is the middle of
August and it seems although our summer just began, it will soon be over. From
my vantage, fall is the best of our Ohio seasons. Complete with nice warm days
and cooler nights, a lot of sunshine and of course those beautiful fall colors
to enjoy, fall is my favorite. This year, I'll not be enjoying an Ohio fall
season, but rather a new experience for me from a new location as I move to the
North Texas Section and take up residence in the Fort Worth area.
This does mean of course,
that I must step down as your Technical Coordinator, a decision that was not
taken lightly. During my tenure over the last 5 years, I have been very
fortunate to meet up with many of you as I attended club meetings, Ham Fests
and other gatherings that we as Hams enjoy. Our Ohio Section is well
represented with dedicated Amateurs who not only enjoy this great hobby of
ours, but also take a special effort to support ARES and share freely the
experience and knowledge of Amateur Radio. Being a part of the largest of ARRL
sections has been the most enjoyable for me and I will miss this fine
organization and the many fine fellow Hams who call Ohio home. Thank you all
for your support and friendship. These are memories that I shall never forget
as I leave Ohio and head to Texas in September.
Before I leave, I would like
to encourage each of you to support the ARRL effort to pass the Amateur Radio
Parity Act in congress. I have been fortunate while being an Ohioan in not
having to deal with antenna restrictions imposed by Home Owners Associations
and Deed Restrictions. The vital and important services of ARES in support of
local public service agencies does however on occasion come into conflict with
these often unreasonable regulations that deny adequate and necessary antenna
structures. Your support is necessary to get this legislation passed in
Congress and put a stop to the disadvantage many Hams are required to live with
because of where they live. Antenna restrictions are the norm in most new
housing developments and although you may not have an issue now, you may in the
future as you choose to downsize and/or relocate. The ARRL website has all the
latest information and now that both houses of congress have bills pending, it
is important that we all make our Senators and Representatives know our desire
to gain relief from unreasonable antenna restrictions. Please take time to have
a look at the information and take action on this critical issue. Here is the
link to the ARRL page with all the details: http://www.arrl.org/amateur-radio-parity-act
The link is also available on
the ARRL Ohio website along with all the current information on happenings in
the Ohio Section http://arrl-ohio.org/ This is a great resource for all Ohio Amateurs
and I encourage you to visit the site regularly. SM Scott Yonally N8SY does a
super job of keeping the site current and you will always find a treasure of information
there.
As this will be my final
report and contribution to the Ohio Section Journal, let me again say thank you
for your support and wish everyone continued enjoyment of our Amateur Radio
Hobby. Please feel free to contact me at any time. The following contact
information will continue as I leave Ohio for Texas.
73,
Jim Yoder W8ERW
w8erw@arrl.net
(419) 930-8544 VOIP
(817-692-7455 Cell
73, Jim, W8ERW
****************************************************
THE AFFILIATED CLUBS
COORDINATOR
John Myers, KD8MQ - ACC
Hi everyone, how’s your
summer going? After a bit of a wet and rainy start, it’s actually turned out to
be a pretty nice summer. I hope you’re still finding time for Amateur Radio,
even though the beautiful weather beckons us outside.
Some clubs kind of go on
hiatus during the months of July, and August. There’s nothing wrong with that,
mind you. After Field Day, we all need a bit of a breather, but, it’s not the
only game in town during the summer. there are still plenty of opportunities
for club activities in the summer.
Besides the obvious, club
picnics, how about setting up an information booth at a County fair, or local
festival? By the way, I just read a great article in the September QST. The
Road Show ARC set up a special event station at the North Carolina Mountain
state Fair. It’s a great read, and if you aren’t careful, it may get you fired
to do a SES (Special Event Station) of your own.
If your clubs not tried this,
I encourage you to give it a try. There’s usually something going on in your
area that warrants some on the air recognition.
Here are some examples:
• The Thomas Edison Memorial
ARC who puts on a SES each February, celebrating the birthday, and birthplace
of Thomas Edison.
• This October, the Cambridge
ARA will be doing a SES commemorating Zanesville’s famous Y Bridge.
• In November, the Scioto
Valley ARC will be commemorating the end to Daylight Savings Time.
So, for a very low cost, you
can get some club members together, and have some on the air fun. You can use
your club Call sign, or reserve a 1X1 call sign. The Call sign is free, and is
a real attention getter on the air. More information on the 1X1 call signs can
be found at http://www.1x1callsigns.org/ QSLs & certificates are dirt cheap. If you have
someone in your club who is good with Microsoft Publisher, then it’s real easy
to “Roll Your own”.
Here’s some other club events
that are a lot of fun.
• How about an Amateur Radio
Cruise-In? The Portage County ARS (PCARS), hes been doing this for several
years now, and it’s absolutely not what you think it is. It always seems to be
well attended. Cars are judged on such categories as “Best Mobile
Installation”, and best DX from a mobile during the cruise-in.
• Soon after you read this,
we’ll have the Ohio QSO Party, and then the Ohio State Parks On The Air
contest. I know, I can hear you grumbling. “There he goes, trying to make us
into contesters again”. But, these are both fun contests, not cutthroat, and
perfect excuses for a club social event. Throw in a few pizzas, maybe a
bonfire, and before long, you won’t care how many contacts you did, or didn’t make.
It won’t be too long at all
before a lot of us will be holding club elections. Please don’t forget to
update your club record with the league.
Let’s take a moment to
congratulate the following Special service Clubs:
Alliance ARC –Special Service
Club renewal
Canton ARC –Special Service
Club renewal
Mahoning Valley ARA –Special
Service Club renewal
Also, it looks like we have a
new Special service Club in our midst. Congratulations to the Mound ARA, from
Miamisburg.
I see a lot of you who are already
qualified for SSC status, the upgrade is usually just paperwork. If you have
questions, just get in touch with me, and I’ll be glad to help.
And with that, we are going
to tie the ribbons on it for tonight.
73 everyone, see you next
month. DE KD8MQ
****************************************************
THE SECTION EMERGENCY
COORDINATOR
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Stan Broadway, N8BHL
DRILLS
and HIPAA
I
have thoroughly enjoyed some visits around Ohio this past month. I was able to
watch EC Dave Schultz, AD8WSA and some real “pros” do their thing at the
Cleveland VA/Burke Lakefront disaster drill. The new computerized tracking
program apparently failed shortly into the exercise, and hams picked up the
duties like normal. The hams even managed to track ~all~ the “victims” while
the official method lost four. Great work to Cuyahoga ARES!
By
the way, there was a very interesting item there which can affect all of us
across Ohio- I know, we’re talking here in Central Ohio right now about the
same issue. That is, patient tracking and what information HIPAA allows over
the radio. I did a study and worked up some training on HIPAA, and the whole
crux of the issue is that NO portion of our transmission may personally
identify a patient. So, as Cuyahoga did, a message such as “Patient 234, Red,
en-route Cleveland VA” is perfectly acceptable. Vitals, other details might be
included if necessary. I figure if all that got past the Cleveland Clinic’s
immense law review, it ought to fly pretty much anywhere else! So imagine a
major medical emergency with lots of victims. Put a laptop-carrying ARES
communicator at the Transport Command, and send lists of information to each
hospital (you DO have radios in the hospitals, right??) about what patients
they’re getting. This MAJOR improvement and a great backup even for areas with
computer or bar-code tracking can be worked out with your EMA/hospital directors.
And these days, we don’t have to wait for a tornado or natural disaster to get
into a mass casualty event. (I’d be glad to bring the HIPAA training with me on
a visit to your ARES group.)
Summit
ARES was faced with a technical dilemma in their planning for a major foot
race. The new event envisioned placing Incident Command inside a nice
conference room at Goodyear…only problem was the room was deep in the interior,
with no functional access to the roof or outside. Guess what that does to RF signals,
not only ham but police and fire? EC Ken Dorsey KA8OAD, and DEC Dennis Conklin
AI8P were puzzling over that during a pre-meeting dinner. Their site research
~prior~ to the event saved a catastrophe come setup time!
I
have to tell you about a meeting in Cincinnati to do a turnover for a new EC!
DEC Steve Lewis, N8TFD, and several others involved had scheduled this meeting
at a nice pub close to downtown for 1PM. At about 11, the prosecuting attorney
announced a press conference to reveal his actions on the case where a UC
police officer shot and killed a civilian. First, that squashed my tour of the
EOC, which was fully activated to watch the situation. Second, as I found out
on arrival, the pub we’d picked was DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET FROM UC!! Oh….my.
UC immediately closed, and basically everybody just evaporated from the area.
Except for the police. I parked in an empty garage, and walked into the pub to
find a dozen police officers (all getting carry-out) and NOBODY else. Turns out
our little group was the ONLY group in the place, which was airing the press
conference on TV’s all over. At least we had good attention from the wait help.
I was seriously considering a rear entrance for a quick exit, but as it turned
out the streets stayed “spooky quiet”. When the meeting ended, I was very happy
to make tracks!
PERSONNEL
NOTICES
In
any large organization there is regular turnover of members. ARES is no
different. I simply don’t have words to express my appreciation to those who
have served (most for a number of years) and who are still supportive of ARES
in Ohio! You are my heroes and champions! I have amassed several turnovers in Ohio
counties, and I want to keep you up to speed with “who’s on first”. Again,
these are my friends and I just want to say a heartfelt “Thank you!” for your
service.
First,
as you who know me will attest, I need lots of help! I am thankful that several key performers have
accepted Assistant Section EC responsibilities. I have one existing AEC, Gary
Stephenson WW8O in Portsmouth.
Gary
Hollenbaugh, NJ8BB, has championed the Ohio Digital Emergency Net since its
inception. You all know this in my opinion is our strongest suit to play for
safety agencies. Gary has agreed to become ASEC for OHDEN, in order to spread
the ‘gospel of digital’ across Ohio. This is a great fit! And, the EC changeover in Licking County has
freed up former AEC Eldon Peterson, W5UHQ, to accept Net Manager duties for
OHDEN. Eldon’s a subject matter expert on digital, and he’ll do a great job
managing the daily operation of OHDEN!
Another
key initiative is ARESMAT! A great deal of credit for the organized formation
of this program goes to Matt Curtin, KD8TTE. Matt finally acquiesced and
accepted the ASEC rank to formally manage and place into operation the Ohio
ARESMAT program.
The
ARES NVIS Antenna Day was a huge success, and the reason for that goes to ADEC
Tim Price, K8WFL. Tim has agreed to an ASEC position (while continuing ADEC
duties in Dist. 10) to manage NVIS activities. Tim is our “Idea Guy,” and if we
launch a new, fun program in ARES you can figure Tim has been involved!
With
huge thanks to the outgoing, retiring EC’s and with grateful appreciation to
the incoming EC’s who’ve picked up the challenge, I have a list of county
changes.
Dist
3, Miami - Dave Robinson, WB8PMG - incoming: Dave Stein, KC9NVP
Dist
4, Hamilton - Aaron McKnight, KD8ILV - incoming: Brian Hoffman, KC8EGV
Dist
6, Crawford (vacant) - incoming: Matthew Miller, KD8OHN
Dist
7, Licking - Weldon Matthews, K8NQ - incoming: Bret Stemens, KD8SCL
Dist
7, Madison - Paul Yackey, KD8RMV - incoming:
Keith Hughes, KD8UFD
Dist
8, Gallia - (correction) Bob Adkins, KE8EC
Dist
8, Meigs (vacant)
Dist
8, Ross (vacant) - incoming: Todd Johnson, KD8UND
Dist
9, Noble - Larry Mason, N9RAF - incoming: Gary Oliver, KD8OSI
Give
them your cooperation, and a hearty “Thank you!” when you see them!
GREAT
LAKES CONVENTION
Thanks
for your attendance at the Great Lakes Division Convention in Columbus! We were
welcomed in our ARES and NVIS sessions. Thanks to “ARES-MATT”, KD8TTE, and “The
Sarge” operator Richard Wynkoop, KD8PHG for bringing their expertise to the
sessions.
S.E.T.
IN OHIO
The
weekend of October 3 and 4 is the national Simulated Emergency Test by ARRL.
Ohio was number 3 in points last year, and we hope to do more this year! Our
exercise will center on a “Grid-down” power outage that affects the eastern
U.S. We hope you will be able to flesh this out into a really large, effective
event! We’ll activate and deploy (re-read your OSERP!) and then begin dealing
with message traffic that might be seen in such a disastrous event. I will be
emailing a more detailed account (minus the curve-balls which will be thrown!)
so you can ready your groups! To give you the riveting, scary truth behind this
event, check the Ohio ARRL website for a video. This is REAL information that
you might find disturbing. Remember that feeling going into October.
Don’t
forget your county can file its own S.E.T. any time. I know several counties
(such as Licking and Dayton Metro) have had huge exercises, so feel free to
make use. But, I hope you’ll participate October 3 because this is about as
real a threat as it gets!
As
always- thank you for everything you do! Let’s keep the enthusiasm going - and
PLEASE consider registering as an ARESMAT operator!!
73, Stan, N8BHL
****************************************************
THE PUBLIC INFORMATION
COORDINATOR
John Ross, KD8IDJ
Newsletter Contest Post Script..
This year's newsletter
contest is worth at least one more mention. The entries were all winners and
the effort to produce, edit and publish monthly newsletters is outstanding.
Not in any other hobby will
you find this much dedication and knowledge. At the award ceremony I said that
many of this sections' newsletters are better that some of the commercially
produced publications that call themselves newspapers! I really believe that.
Unlike my local daily newspaper, your newsletters arrive on time and are full
of good, new information.
Keep up the great work and
congratulations to this year's winners. We keep setting the bar higher each
year and all of you are up to the challenge.
Public Information Education
Even experienced PIO's, and old
journalists, need a refresher now and then just for a reality check of the
basics to compare them to today's new trends.
I have the great opportunity
to be able to meet with a group of current and former journalists and PIO's and
we discuss just that...changes in our profession.
The ARRL has an outstanding
course...PR-101...that reviews all of the basic PR skills as well as some
advanced material for websites and video work. You can learn more about it on
the ARRL website...just search for the keyword Public Information. You can
download the course from the ARRL website and once you've completed the study
materials you'll be directed to a location for the final exam.
This is great stuff presented
in an adult learning format. I'm a big fan of this kind of learning especially
when it's put together for a more "mature" audience!! Take a look
next time you're online. I think you'll like it.
I've saved all of my PR and
journalism books from college and occasionally dust them off to see if there is
anything I missed. The PR-101 course is much easier and won't make you sneeze!
Helping Old Hams
If you remember several
issues ago, we talked about the Veterans home in Sandusky helping resident hams
start up a new club. That program was a great success and there are hopes of
extending it to other Veteran's facilities.
I've been talking to the Ohio
Department of Aging to see if there is any possibility to help older hams at
other facilities around Ohio. The department supports programs for music and
memory as well other important programs for older adults. I know from personal
experience over the past three years there are hams in nursing homes that are
capable, and qualified, to get back on the air but lack the help, support and
facilities they need. I would like to help change that if possible.
I'll have more info next
month and you're welcome to send me any suggestions and ideas.
That's all for this month.
I've got some catching up to do on a couple of other ideas. Hopefully I can
share those with you in a few weeks.
73, John, KD8IDJ
****************************************************
THE SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER
David Maynard, WA3EZN - STM
The Great Lakes Convention at
the Columbus Hamfest and was well attended. Thanks to Great Lakes Director Dale
Williams, WA8EFK and Great Lakes Vice Director Tom Delaney, W8WTD for all their
efforts to organize such a great event for the distinct.
Congratulations to Dick,
N8CJS, who received the OSSBN Garlock award for his outstanding service to the
OSSBN and National Traffic System. Dick is a regular net control station and
does most of the Eighth Region phone liaison work for the OSSBN.
Congratulations again Dick and thank you for all the work that you do.
I would like to remind our
traffic handlers about handling instruction HXC. If you deliver a radiogram
with this instruction you are to send the originating station a delivery
report. This can best be done by using ARRL routine messages forty seven and
sixty seven.
In ARRL forty seven you are
to report the message number, who it was to and the date and time of delivery.
In ARRL sixty seven you are to report the message number and the reason for non-delivery.
It is also very helpful when reporting non delivery to include the phone number
if it was not a good number. This allows the sending station to know that the
correct number was received by the delivering station
Do You Have Emergency Power
for your radios?
In a major wide spread
disaster the power will probably fail. In turn the communications
infrastructure will crash. There will be no am/fm radio, television or cell
phone use unless backed-up by emergency power. Only hams with radios which are
capable of or are running on emergency power will be able to communicate. As an
emergency communication amateur radio operator, you need to have at least two
sources of emergency power. Three
sources are even better.
List of possible sources of
power:
1. power generator
2. extra handheld battery
packs and charger
3. Alkaline battery pack
4. car battery
5. charged gell cell
6. solar power source
7. wind power source
Whichever emergency power
sources you pick, you need to know the limitations and problems of those
sources. All sources are explained quite well on the internet and this is
intended to be a brief introduction.
For some hams, their
emergency plan is that they will respond to a call from the amateur radio
emergency communication organization. They intend on letting the organization
worry about emergency power. This is all
right as long as it is in the plan for that organization. What if there is an
emergency, no call is received, there is no call up or the organization has no
back-up power?
Some hams emergency plan is
limited to only the battery power left in the existing charge of their handheld
transceiver. Their ability to respond is very limited and their hours of
operating will be even more limited. It is not that hard to have a back-up
battery plan for you HT.
It does not necessarily have
to be a duplicate of the HT battery. Some larger hamfest have good used
batteries for a few bucks that will extend the use of you radio or HT for
emergency communication. Even better would be the ability to run or charge the
radio from the car 12 volt system.
Some hams have older handheld
radios and are not in a financial position to afford something newer. Older
radios may have more current drain. Also older handhelds ni-cad batteries fail.
There are hams who have handhelds who bought extra ni-cad battery packs but
over the years as those packs were rebuilt they reached their rebuilding limit,
of one or two times and they may be down to one ni-cad pack for a twenty year
old handheld that has been out of production for 15 years. Some of these older
handheld radios do not have the necessary CTCSS tones to access the repeaters
and many organizations will not open up the repeater when necessary for those
radios to work.
These hams should not feel
guilty over being financially challenged in an economy as volatile as the
present one. Nor should hams who have emergency communication manage
responsibilities gave them a hard time. Managing hams should in fact be aware
of the fact some hams cannot afford to go out and spend several hundreds of
dollars on new equipment to use only during an emergency that they cannot
foresee coming.
Some hams have an emergency
power plan of using their own and whatever car batteries they can get their
hands on in an emergency. These hams are advised to have jumper cables made up
before hand in case they drain their batteries. Some hams store charged car
batteries as their battery backup. This can be dangerous for they out gas
hydrogen gases which are very explosive. Car batteries must be kept in a well
ventilated place while charging. If hams live in a condominium or in rental
housing they should confer with their CC&Rs or rental agreements. Some
CC&Rs prohibit storing car batteries.
Other hams have gone and
bought their own generators. It is commendable that these hams have gone to
this expense. When using a generator it must be kept in the open so carbon
monoxide fumes may safely dissipate. Running a generator in an apartment's balcony
or courtyard is unsafe. Never run a gasoline generator inside a house, building
or garage unless it is properly and professionally installed as the exhaust
fumes are deadly. Never connect the generator to the house electrical system
without professional help as this could cause damage when the electricity comes
back on or it could back feed into the power grid and cause death or injury to
an electric company employee fixing the power lines.
The gas powered generator
presents a gasoline storage problem. Again, hams in condos or rental may be
prohibited from storing gasoline. There may even be municipal ordinances in
some jurisdictions outlawing residents from storing gasoline. Gasoline is
highly explosive. It could be a bomb even in small quantities. Terrorists and
criminals use small containers of gas to make Molotov cocktail bombs. You
stored gasoline may become such a bomb accidentally.
Even leaving gasoline in the
generator in between uses is a problem - a spark may cause a fire or explosion
in some cases. Now with the E10 and E15 gasoline the generator can be damaged
if you leave gasoline with ethanol in the generator tank.
There are propane gas generators
that use the propane tanks like you use on you gas grill but these are hard to
find and very expensive. Some generators are specifically made to run on
natural gas and can be professionally installed in a permanent location, some may
even have automatic start system attached.
Solar panels are a clean
energy source. They offer low power output. The problem with solar power is it
usefulness diminished when the sun is not out or it is an overcast day. Another
disadvantage of solar power is you have to have storage (batteries) and a
charging regulator. Solar panels are an expensive solution but new technologies
have made them more efficient and in some cases less expensive. They are worth
the effort to checking them out for your power needs.
That is enough for now. Until
next time find a local or state traffic net to check into and learn how to
handle formal written traffic. It come in handy during an emergency.
73 and 88 if appropriate,
David, WA3EZN
****************************************************
OUT AND ABOUT IN SOUTHEAST
OHIO
Lyn Alfman, N8IMW - Assistant
Section Manager (SE)
In the last month I attended
the Cambridge Amateur Radio Association (CARA) and Zanesville Amateur Radio
Club (ZARC) meetings, the Muskingum County A.R.E.S. meeting, and the Guernsey
County Emergency Management Agency Long Term Recovery Committee, and I participated
in an amateur radio test session.
Section Manager Scott
Yonally, N8SY, attended the July 25 CARA meeting and presented President Sonny
Alfman, on behalf of the club, its new Special Service Club certificate. Scott
also talked about the changes in the Vanity call sign fees and the reason for
the new ARRL membership fees starting next year. Thanks, Scott, for the visit
and presentation!
I also attended the Great
Lakes Division Conference in conjunction with the Columbus Hamfest. I did check
out the indoor vendor tables, but I didn’t have time to check out the outdoor
vendors because I sat in on the A.R.E.S., NVIS, and HF Digital Sound Modes
forums.
I also attended the GLD ARRL
Forum where I enjoyed listening to the keynote speaker, Debra Johnson, K1DMJ,
who is the ARRL Education Services Manager. I very was surprised and pleased to
learn that I had received Honorable Mention as Editor of the CARA Communicator
in the Ohio Section Newsletter Contest. I also took part in the ARRL Wouff Hong
Ceremony. It was fun! After the Conference, we stopped by Universal Radio aka
the Candy Store for some supplies.
I am typing this with just
one hand since I had carpal tunnel release surgery on my left hand on August 5.
Hopefully, I will be completely healed by the time the next report is due.
On a local note, several CARA
members are planning to carpool to DX Engineering to check out their in store
only August Hot Deals on August 15 and 16. I am looking forward to
participating in the Ohio QSO Party on August 22. My husband, Sonny, and I are
hosting a QSO party from our home in Muskingum County. We will be operating
under W8FHF. Other members of CARA will be operating from AB8P Jim Shaw’s home
in Guernsey County under the club call W8VP. Also, on August 23 at 2 PM, CARA
is having a picnic at Jackson Park in Byesville, which is open to hams,
“wannabees”, their families, and guests. Attendees are requested to supply a
covered dish, their own place settings, and beverages. After the meal, new
members will be paired up with a seasoned member for a Fox Hunt because most
have never seen or participated in one. I look forward to having a good meal
and a fun time with great friends—old and new! Come join us.
Until next month, remember to
be Radio Active!
73, Lyn, N8IMW
****************************************************
FROM THE “SARGE” (W8SGT)
STATE OF OHIO EOC
By Gayle Adams, W8KWG
w8kwg4@gmail.com
When was the last time you
participated in a drill? What was the scenario and what did you learn from it? Was
there an after-action meeting or report?
Think about these things the
next time you participate in a county or statewide drill. We can participate in
drills until we are blue in the face, but we never know what we will face when
we do the real thing. Drills are great for honing your skills and can prove to
be great eye-openers.
Have you ever planned an
exercise for your local club or county EOC? If not, now is the time to start
putting on your thinking caps and pull out some pencils and paper and bouncing
off ideas in your club.
Think of a scenario. This
needs to be as realistic as possible. You don’t have to have a complicated
scenario in mind, but it needs to be real. You could have a drill in which a
cyberattack takes place in your state, which disrupts 9-1-1 services, the
Internet in general, and maybe even the power grid. You could even have a
scenario where bio-terrorism plays a major role.
Assign roles. Everyone needs
to know his/her role in the exercise. Everyone needs to make use of specific
talents; for instance, being an NCS or handling incoming traffic using ICS 213
forms.
Set a date and time. You can
be spontaneous if you like, but also keep in mind that club members might have
day or evening jobs and/or families to attend to. Set a date and time everyone
agrees to. We all know disasters can be spontaneous and can happen at any time.
Keep communication logs. Logs
must be clear and concise. When a drill is in progress, this usually falls in
the hands of the NCS. Keep records of any inbound/outbound traffic, if
necessary. You don’t need to write down every little thing that happens, but if
it’s important, jot it down. Take this information to the debriefing.
Hotwash. This is the time
when all members who participated in the drill can sit down and discuss what
went wrong and what went right, as well as what members learned during the
drill. The communications log can be shared during this time. You may ask
yourself “What if this had been the real thing?” Could we have done things
differently? The hotwash should also take place after a real disaster, so that
all those who volunteered their time and talents can not only share ideas but
learn from the exercise or disaster as well.
What do you hope to achieve
during your next drill? SET is not very far off, so let’s start thinking about
that as well. You will be hearing more about SET in an upcoming article from
W8SGT.
See you all on Tuesday night.
Speaking of which, we had only Four check-ins this past Tuesday, (8/4) all on
75 meters. Hopefully, fall will be here soon, and the check-ins will increase.
73, de W8KWG
****************************************************
HAPPENINGS FROM CENTRAL OHIO
Fritz Tender, WD8E -
Assistant Section Manager (Central)
Dateline August 2, 2015
I had the pleasure of
attending the Columbus Hamfest / Great Lakes Division Convention hosted by the
Voice of Aladdin (VOA) Amateur Radio Club (W8FEZ) at the Aladdin Shrine Center
3850 Stelzer Road Columbus. It is my understanding that Amateur Radio was the
last activity and demolition has begun.
A tip of my hat to everyone
involved in the planning and operation of the event. I recall a time when the
Columbus Hamfest was on the mat but, through hard work the event has seen a
steady resurgence. I do not have official figures but, I did hear a ticket
numbered in the 600’s pulled from the prize drum.
This year I had an inside
table where I sold excess equipment. You know the stuff we accumulate through
the years for a project we are sure to complete someday. The best part of
having a table was the opportunity for eyeball QSO’s with old friends as they
walked by. Again, a testimony to the growing popularly of the “fest”.
Let’s not forget the forums,
presentations, and ceremonies that took place. The Wouff Hong was a hit. If you
never attended a Wouff Hong I encourage you to do so. It’s a fun event with a
serious message the goes all the back to “The Old Man”.
However, in this case the end
of one era is the beginning of another. A new Shrine Center has been procured
and renovations are taking place. Watch for updates as this project move toward
the 2016 Columbus Hamfest / Great Lakes Division Convention.
C U Down the Log, 73, Fritz,
WD8E
****************************************************
FROM THE EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH
ASM
Anthony Luscre, K8ZT
k8zt@arrl.net
Back to School with Amateur
Radio..
As usual, I really need your
help in identifying schools and/or individual teachers that are interested in
bringing Radio Technology into their classroom instruction. If you can let me
know of interested parties, I will be happy to work directly with them.
A few tips on contacting
potential teachers/schools, “Education Speak” can go a long way to breaking
down normal barriers to accepting new things in their schools:
• Stress the phrase “Radio
Technology in The Classroom” as your description, not Ham or Amateur Radio in
the classroom. This often scares them away. Don’t worry I will work on the
Amateur Radio aspects of the project once I have them “hooked”.
• Let them know that this
includes “free standards aligned curriculum and lesson plans”
• Let them know that “this
works very well in conjunction with new or existing STEM programs”
• Tell them there is “free
professional development available” for interested teachers/schools.
• Have them email me at my
“work/school” email anthony.luscre@apps.sparcc.org not my usual k8zt@arrl.net.
• Do not limit your
solicitation to High Schools, teachers/schools at middle school and younger are
often the prime targets.
Please also send me an email,
so I can watch for and/or remind them of your conversation with them. Thank you
for your help.
73, Anthony, K8ZT
****************************************************
LET'S TALK
Scott Yonally, N8SY - Section
Manager
Hi Gang,
Wow, can you believe it, summer
is almost over already! Some schools have already started, and that means
Friday Night Football and all sorts of school activities are resuming. This has
been one of the busiest summers that I can ever remember. I’ve traveled all
over the state visiting with all of you at your hamfests, club meetings,
picnics and breakfast’s. It’s been fantastic! I’ve enjoyed every minute of it!
Being the editor of this
journal I get to read every article before it gets sent out.. By now I’m sure
you are aware that Jim Yoder, W8ERW is stepping down. Jim is moving to the big
state of Texas where he’ll be taking up residency. I’m sure that everyone would
agree when I say “Jim, we wish you the very best of everything and we will miss
you for sure! Texas is getting a really super guy!! Thanks for your friendship
and service to the Ohio Section over these many, many years.”
Columbus Hamfest / Division
Convention wrap-up.. What can I say, it was a “GREAT DAY.” The attendance was
great ( way over 500 ), the forums were great, and attended extremely well. The
vendors were great, lots of neat things to buy and swap. The flea market
outside was great. Heck, even the weather was great. It was the absolutely
perfect hamfest/convention! We even had over 40 people stay way after the
hamfest was wrapping up and go through the Wouff Hong. By the way, even that
was great. The Wouff Hong was the very last performance to be given on that
stage, as that the building will be coming down very shortly to make way for
more shopping. Everyone that I have talked to at the fest and afterward has
said the same thing, it was great!! Don’t you just love it when a plan comes
together like that!! I do want to thank the Director and Vice Director of the
Great Lakes, as well as the guys from the Aladdin Shrine Amateur Radio Club for
bringing this all together like they did.
Newsletter Contest results..
What can be said that hasn’t
already about the quality of newsletters in the state of Ohio!! Joe Phillips,
K8QOE would be extremely proud of all the editors that work so very hard to get
each edition of their newsletters out. It truly is a testament to Joe and the
work he did as PIC and SM over his many years in wanting/demanding that the
quality of our newsletters improve every year.
So, without further Aude, here
are the results straight from John Ross, KD8IDJ - our PIC / Newsletter Contest
Manager..
“WOW! What a night. I just
came from one of the liveliest discussions/debates that journalists have had
since Watergate!!!
All of the talk was about the
Ohio Section 2015 Newsletters. It was increditable, insightful, and
unpredictable.
At the end of the night,
almost simultaneously, the judges used the word...EVOLVE! They were surprised
that, in just a year, our newsletters were changing, evolving and adapting to
both their audiences and to technology. They all thought that after last year
the judging would be easier...but our folks made it harder...in a good way by
raising the bar and showing why Amateur Radio is what it is...the greatest
hobby in the world!
The newsletters reflect what
hams do every day...evolve with the technology, experiment with new ideas and
concepts, and push the limits of communications to new heights. It's a great
explanation point for our member's efforts and a reflection of their passion
and dedication.
So, here are the 2015 ARRL
Ohio Section Newsletter Contest winners:
1st Place...DELARA NEWS.
Great graphics, easy to navigate, draws you in and easy to read.
2nd Place...The TM&K.
Informative, unique, "smooth" graphics and easy to find special
sections. One of the judges commented that if he were looking to learn more
about amateur radio, the TM&K would be a great start.
3rd Place...a three way
tie!!! The MVARA Voice Coil, the Mount Vernon Radio Club and the PCARS
Radiogram. All slick publications, well organized, great layouts and easy to
read articles and information.
Honorable Mention...The CARA
Communicator. Well thought out, well laid out and good use of BOLD headlines to
separate stories and articles.
After tonight, it's easy to
see why the Ohio Section has the best and most talented crop of editors,
writers and newsletters. There was no doubt in the judge's minds that Ohio newsletters
win hands down against any other section! I knew what to expect. I read every
newsletter and it was hard to hide my enthusiasm and joy watching the judges
actually get excited about this contest!!!
That's it for tonight. It's
been a blast and an honor to be a part of this process.” Thanks John..
Now for my part in all of
this. I was asked to manage the Great Lakes Division Newsletter contest. My
judges had even a harder time of picking a winner since they were judging the
“Best of the Best.” But, they did choose one, and I’m proud to announce “DELARA
News” from Ohio was the winner. Stan Broadway, N8BHL is their editor.
Congratulations Stan and the Delaware Club for the outstanding job that you all
do each month!
As many of you have noted in
your newsletters, I’m making a very conscience effort to get to as many club
functions and meetings as I can all around the state. As you know, the Ohio
Section is the largest Section in the country. It’s even bigger than a Division
or two. So, with that in mind, it’s only fair to say that Ohio also deserves to
have a full time Section Manager. So, don’t be surprised when I just “pop-in”
at your meeting or function.
I have four Boy Scouts that
have been studying very hard over this summer and will be taking their
Technician Class license exams very soon. I figure as hard as they all are
studying and asking questions of me, and a number of other folks proctoring
them, they will ALL pass with flying colors. Keep your fingers crossed for
them. They will be taking their exams at the end of this month.
Now, if you’ve never visited
a Boy Scout Troupe meeting, I would encourage you to do so. It’s a lot of fun
and wow.. are these kids ever bright! I am working on scheduling more visits
with the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, and YES, even the Girl Scouts this next
coming fall/winter. There’s a lot of potential there that needs tapped for
sure.
CLUB LEADERSHIP.. You need to
make sure that your club is involved with youth groups. Make sure that you have
a contact with the local Boy Scouts / Girl Scouts as well as a teacher or
teachers from the middle schools involved with your club.. Don’t forget, the
youth of today will be taking over this great “hobby” of ours, but not without
your support and willingness to bring them along. These kids are out there, YOU
just need to take the first step forward and approach them on it.
**Club Presidents.. Are you
passing along that vital information that needs to go to your successor?? I’m
finding that the reason for a lot of clubs being behind on their club record
updates to not only the League, but also to the State of Ohio and the Internal
Revenue Service (for those who are 501 (c) (3) organizations) is primarily
because the newly elected club president wasn’t informed that this was
something needed to be done. Let me make a suggestion here.. Put a paragraph or
two into your by-laws that state ALL club records are to be reviewed at least
once each year, and definitely when a new president takes over. This will help
not only the president, but the club members as well. Everyone looking out to
see that the club records have been updated is a good thing. You might also
want to make sure that it states somewhere who’s supposed to be responsible for
making sure that the records are completed as well. This way everyone knows who
is responsible for what.
Are you getting those emails from the Great Lakes Director or Section Manager? Now, for those of you who may not want to go to all the bother of checking your account with the League, or you are just not League members, you still have a chance to get these important emails. All you have to do is to “Opt-In” to receive them. There’s a link to do this on the Ohio Section website, it’s on the bottom left corner.. For your convenience, here’s a direct link to it:
http://arrl-ohio.org/forwarder/forwarding.html I urge all of you to make sure that everyone,
regardless of whether they are a League member or not, get signed up for one of
these options. You can always “Opt-Out” at any time if you feel this is not
what you were expecting. But, who in their right mind would want to miss out on
anything coming out of the Great Lakes Director or the Ohio Section Manager?
Switching gears a bit.. I want to talk to all of you about the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 -- H.R.1301 in the US House of Representative and S 1685 in the US Senate -- It would direct the FCC to extend its rules relating to reasonable accommodation of Amateur Service communications to private land use restrictions. Now I do want to stress this, even if this passes, it doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be able to construct an antenna farm on top of your 20 story apartment building. What it will do however, is at least give you a voice to the HOA’s for something everyone could live with!
The Amateur Radio Parity Act would require the FCC to amend its Part 97 Amateur Service rules to apply the three-part test of the PRB-1 federal pre-emption policy to include homeowners association regulations and deed restrictions, often referred to as "covenants, conditions, and restrictions" (CC&Rs). At present, PRB-1 only applies to state and local zoning laws and ordinances. The FCC has been reluctant to extend the same legal protections to include private land-use agreements without direction from Congress.
Everyone.. whether ARRL members or not, I want to urge you to write to your members of both the House and the Senate, asking them to sign on to the bill as a co-sponsor. Please, route your letters for your member of Congress to:
ARRL
Attn HR 1301 grassroots campaign
225 Main St
Newington CT 06111
Remember - a big bag of letters from the constituents is always more impressive than ones trickling in day after day.
Ohio's Speaker Bureau.. Need
a speaker for your club meeting? I’m available. Please, feel free to give me a
call. I’ll do my very best to be at your function.
Yes, there’s another NEW –
one question – questionnaire on the Ohio Section Website. I’ve been changing
the questions about once every couple of weeks or so. It only asks one question
and it will take all of about 2 seconds for you to answer it, and you can see
how your answer stacks up with others instantly. If you haven’t done it yet,
please do.. I really want to hear from you.
Are you a member of the
ARRL?? If you aren’t a League member, this is a great opportunity to become
one. Want more information on how to join? Here’s the link: http://www.arrl.org/membership-levels. There’s even a 90 day FREE trial that you can apply
for if you’ve never been a member.. Got questions about being a member or what
the League is all about? Send me an email.. n8sy@arrl.org I’ll be happy to call or write to you or even call
you if you’ve given me your phone number. We can even have coffee if you’d
like.. and I’ll buy!!
Ok.. I know that I push the
website and website edition of the Ohio Section Journal a lot.. I’m even sure
some of you think it’s way tooooo much. But, the main reason for pushing this
so hard is that it’s where all the news is.. Yes, I know that there are some
who don’t even own a computer and won’t own one either, and that makes me very
sad. Not that they won’t own a computer, but they are missing out on so much
that’s going on because of it. These a lot of very good and exciting news and
happenings on the Ohio Section website.. If it isn’t your home page on your
browser, it should be!!
Do you follow us on Facebook
or Twitter? Many folks have started picking us up on Facebook and Twitter now.
Yes, we definitely have a presence on both of these social media areas! Why,
well that’s an easy one to answer, it’s because that’s where the younger folks
are hanging out these days.. It’s also a very quick way to post a short blast
to everyone following us when something is happening. So, with that in mind,
there’s a lot going on up on Facebook and Twitter for the Ohio Section. Right
now, we have over 1,300 followers from all over the world, with that number
growing every day. So, do you follow us? On Facebook just type in:
https://www.facebook.com/ohio.section On Twitter type in: @arrlohio
There’s a new link on the
left side of the main page of the Ohio Section Website “Follow The Section
Manager” Come on, follow me as I go around the state visiting with all of you
folks. I post pictures of where I am and have a lot of great folks commenting
and liking my posts. Hey, I even have Kay Cragie, the President of the ARRL
following along with me. It’s a lot of fun and you’ll get to see all the places
I go and the folks I meet along the way. Not on Facebook? It’s easy to join in
and the best part of it is, it’s FREE!!
73, Scott, N8SY
****************************************************
THE OFFICIAL OBSERVER
COORDINATOR
John Perone, W8RXX
If you have a complaint about
something you’ve heard or observed on the air, please contact me and we can
discuss it. You also have the ability to file a complaint directly with the FCC
as well. Go to: https://esupport.fcc.gov/ccmsforms/form2000.action?form_type=2000F and complete the on-line form, it will then be
forwarded to the appropriate person for follow up action.
Here’s the stats for July in
Ohio..
Total Ohio OO Hours monitored
= 920
OO Cards sent = 2
Good Cards sent = 2
73, John, W8RXX
****************************************************
OHIO QSO PARTY RULE CHANGES..
Jim Stahl, K8MR
The Mad River Radio Club and Ohio
QSO Party Committee are pleased to announce significant changes in the Ohio QSO
Party, effective for the 2015 event which will be held on Saturday, August 22.
We have decided to replace
the serial number in the contest exchange with a signal report. While it was
fun to watch the competition in real time, we believe the confusion caused with
an exchange format different from that used in other concurrent events caused
people to avoid participating in the OhQP if they were also involved in one of
the other contests. So now, one can just treat the multiple contests as one big
one covering several states and work everybody with the same exchange.
Secondarily, keeping track of
serial numbers made things difficult for mobiles while in motion, and often caused
confusion for multi-operator efforts using several operating positions.
We will be contacting
software developers to update their software to the new OhQP exchange. While we
hope all will be able to get updated logging software in time for the 2015 OhQP,
for now we will still be able to process logs showing a sent serial number;
just log the received RS(T) in the received number field.
In a second, relatively minor
change, the use of CW Skimmer and similar automated spotting tools will be
allowed for single operator stations. (Note - the use of the regular spotting
networks by single operators has been allowed for many years). We do hope that
stations using Skimmers will share their bounties of cool OhQP stations found
with the rest of the world via the regular DX Clusters.
We're looking forward to
seeing lots of you in the 2015 Ohio QSO Party, Saturday, August 22, 1600Z to
0400Z August 23!
****************************************************
SUMMITS-ON-THE-AIR
Elliott Pisor, K6EL
North America SOTA Activity
Weekend 2015 (September 12th & 13th) is a casual event involving
tiny battery-powered radios on mountain summits. It is not a contest but is
intended to introduce "Summits on the Air" to newcomers with home
stations who try to work summit operators during one or two days. There are no
rules regarding power levels, modes or number of bands worked, but please be
courteous when more than one station is trying to talk to a SOTA operator on a
summit. The SOTA operators have just climbed mountains as high as 14,000 feet;
they use low power; and they don't receive on split frequencies.
Check SOTAWATCH.org to spot
who is on which mountain. Summits are numbered, and you can hover your cursor
over the number to see the name and point value for each summit. Expect the
website to show activity near 7.032, 7.185, 10.110, 14.342, 18.095, 18.155,
21.350, 24.905, 24.955, 28.420, 146.52, 446.00, and 61 Khz up from the bottom
of 20, 15 and 10 meters CW. Participants are invited to collect points toward
certificates and trophies offered by the thirteen-year-old international SOTA
group (SOTA.org.UK). As we learned in past years, this is a barrel of fun for
both hill climbers and home operators. See you then.
****************************************************
SPECIAL EVENTS STATIONS IN
OHIO
09/03/2015 | 193rd Great
Geauga County Fair
Sep 3-Sep 7, 1500Z-2200Z,
W8G, Burton, OH.
Geauga Amateur Radio
Association.
14.280 7.245. QSL.
Jackie Williams, N8JMW
PO Box 192
Windsor, OH 44099.
****
09/12/2015 | The 164th Annual
Wyandot County Fair "Worth Crowing About"
Sep 12, 1400Z-2000Z, KD8BNV,
Upper Sandusky, OH.
Wyandot Area Ham Operators
Organization.
28.360 21.360 14.260 7.260.
Certificate & QSL.
Ron Wilch
6497 County Highway 61
Upper Sandusky, OH 43351.
****************************************************
OHIO HAMFEST CALENDAR
08/23/2015 | Cuyahoga Falls
ARC's 7th Annual Tailgate Hamfest
Location: Stow, OH
Sponsor: Cuyahoga Falls
Amateur Radio Club
****
09/13/2015 | Findlay Hamfest
Location: Findlay, OH
Sponsor: Findlay Radio Club
****
09/19/2015 | OH-KY-IN ARS
Hamfest
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Sponsor: OH-KY-IN Amateur
Radio Society
****
Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds
09/27/2015 | Cleveland
Hamfest and Computer Show
Location: Berea, OH
Sponsor: Hamfest Association
of Cleveland
****************************************************
HELP WANTED
As you know, we have a
Cabinet level position to fill, Technical Coordinator. I am taking applications
for the position through the end of August. If you have what it takes to fill
the position, please apply. You’ll find the job description for Technical
Coordinator just below. Please send me your Amateur Radio resume along with
your contact information to: n8sy@arrl.org
to be considered
*****
Technical Coordinator (TC)
The ARRL Technical
Coordinator (TC) is a section-level official appointed by the Section Manager
to coordinate all technical activities within the section. The Technical
Coordinator reports to the Section Manager and is expected to maintain contact
with other section-level appointees as appropriate to insure a unified ARRL
Field Organization within the section.
Requirements: Novice class
license or higher; Full ARRL membership
Responsibilities:
Supervise and coordinate the
work of the section's Technical Specialists (TS).
Encourage amateurs in the
section to share their technical achievements with others through the pages of
QST, and at club meetings, hamfests and conventions.
Promote technical advances
and experimentation at vhf/uhf and with specialized modes, and work closely
with enthusiasts in these fields within the section.
Serve as an advisor to radio
clubs that sponsor training programs for obtaining amateur licenses or upgraded licenses in cooperation with the ARRL Affiliated Club Coordinator.
In times of emergency or
disaster, function as the coordinator for establishing an array of equipment
for communications use and be available to supply technical expertise to
government and relief agencies to set up emergency communications networks, in
cooperation with the ARRL Section Emergency Coordinator.
Refer amateurs in the section
who need technical advice to local TS.
Encourage clubs to develop,
and TS to serve on, RFI and TVI committees in the section for the purpose of
rendering technical assistance as needed.
Be available to assist local
technical program committees in arranging suitable programs for ARRL hamfests
and conventions.
Convey the views of section
amateurs and TS's about the technical contents of QST and ARRL books to ARRL HQ.
Suggestions for improvements should also be called to the attention of the ARRL
HQ technical staff.
Work with the appointed ARRL
TA's (technical advisors) when called upon.
Be available to give technical
talks at club meetings, hamfests and conventions in the section.
****************************************************
eof..