In this issue:
-> SAFE ROOMS – REBATE
PROGRAM UNDERWAY
-> WINTER RESOURCES
AVAILABLE
-> WINTER SEASONAL OUTLOOK
-> SKYWARN TRAINING
-> THE TECHNICAL
COORDINATOR
-> AFFILIATED CLUB
COORDINATOR REPORT
-> NATIONAL PARKS ON THE
AIR
-> THE SECTION EMERGENCY
COORDINATOR
-> THE PUBLIC INFORMATION
COORDINATOR
-> THE SECTION TRAFFIC
MANAGER
-> OUT AND ABOUT
-> ARES TRAINING UPDATE
-> LET'S TALK
-> THE OFFICIAL OBSERVER COORDINATOR
-> WEBSITE STATS
-> SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS
IN OHIO
-> OHIO HAMFEST CALENDAR
****************************************************
SAFE ROOMS – REBATE
PROGRAM UNDERWAY
Ohio EMA to Begin Accepting Safe Room Applications
The Ohio
Safe Room Rebate Program is once again accepting applications, beginning
January 9. The program provides a rebate for the purchase and
construction/installation of tornado safe rooms for Ohio homeowners.
“The
entire state of Ohio is at risk of an EF5 tornado, which produces 250 mile per
hour winds capable of destroying most structures,” said Steve Ferryman, Ohio
EMA mitigation branch chief. “A safe room is built to withstand these winds and
resulting airborne debris and provides near absolute protection for occupants.”
A
safe room is an extreme-wind shelter or space that provides protection to
people during a tornado. It can be constructed/installed in one of several
places in the home: in the basement, beneath a concrete slab-on-grade
foundation or garage floor, or in an interior room on the first floor. A safe
room may also be buried in the yard or be a stand-alone structure near your
home.
Residents
selected for the program are eligible for a rebate up to 75 percent of the cost
to install or construct a safe room – up to a maximum of $4,875. To apply for
the Ohio Safe Room Rebate Program, homeowners have until 5 p.m. March 10, to
register on the Ohio EMA website: https://ohiosharpp.ema.state.oh.us/SafeRoom2017/, beginning January 9.
The
Ohio Safe Room Rebate Program will use a computerized random selection process
to select applicants. A priority list of applicants will be created from the
selected applicants. Chosen homeowners will be notified by e-mail of their
position on the priority list on or after March 13. Ohio EMA anticipates grant
funding will become available this year and having a list of participants who
meet program requirements will expedite the rebate process.
Funding
for the rebate program is through a partnership with the Federal Emergency
Management Agency’s (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grant programs.
Ohio homeowners would be responsible for 25 percent of the construction costs
and any additional costs over the 75 percent maximum rebate of $4,875.
Safe
rooms must meet FEMA requirements in FEMA publications 320 and 361, and cannot
be constructed/installed prior to the rebate drawing and notification from Ohio
EMA to proceed with construction. Ohio EMA plans to offer this rebate program
on an annual basis. When and if HMA funding becomes available, the amount of
funding will determine the number of rebates.
****************************************************
WINTER RESOURCES AVAILABLE
With winter upon us, it is
always a good idea to remain prepared in the event of a winter storm or extreme
cold. DisasterAssistance.gov has a number of helpful resources available for the
general public and disaster survivors facing winter weather. DAIP has partnered
with other government agencies to provide information to keep you safe. Great
information is available on DisasterAssistance.gov under Disaster Information.
The page contains comprehensive resources from the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC), National Weather Service, FEMA’s READY.gov, the Environmental Protection Agency and the American
Red Cross with links to important information about the threat of winter
weather and cold.
For example, the CDC’s Winter
Weather page provides online resources to help you learn how to deal with the
extreme cold and its health hazards. You can also get winter weather checklists
and learn how to prepare your home and car for winter emergencies.
Ready.gov provides additional
information about winter storms and extreme cold. On their site you can take
the Pledge to Prepare, learn what to do before, during and after a storm and
get important facts on carbon monoxide. DAIP is committed to keeping the most
up to date information about winter weather available on DisasterAssistance.gov so check these websites out often.
****************************************************
WINTER SEASONAL OUTLOOK
Hey Gang.. Want to know what
this January will bring as far as our weather outlook? I’ve got the predictions posted on the
website.. It’s really fascinating just
to see how these predictions stack up so far.
****************************************************
SKYWARN TRAINING – WHERE CAN I GET IT..
Hey Gang, it’s time to start
thinking of either renewing, or obtaining your Skywarn training for 2017. Do
you know where the training is being made available?
Here’s are links to all 5 weather
offices that cover Ohio. Depending on where you live will depend on which
weather office you’ll want to look at. It’s your choice as to which area you
want to go to, but just be sure to get that training in!
You can also find these links
on the Ohio Section ARES webpage under Skywarn too
****************************************************
THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak – TC
Hey gang,
In early January I did some
traveling. Both intrastate and
interstate. Of course, I took my radios
to play around and see what activity there was.
The first trip was to western Ohio and the second to south-western
Pennsylvania (Johnstown area). I have been
a buff for keeping updated lists of repeaters between my usual travel
spots. Places I don’t frequent, I’ve
relied on Internet sites.
I’m always screwing around
with programming in my radios and I have programming software for each. When traveling, I program repeaters along the
way and near where I’m staying. My
programming application of choice is the RT Systems programmer (https://www.rtsystemsinc.com/). Their
solution is about $50 for an entire package including the cable ($25) and
programming software ($25). However, 4
of my radios use the same cable so I only needed to purchase the cable once and
the software for each radio. CHIRP (http://chirp.danplanet.com/) is another popular solution for only the cost of a
programming cable (~$15 each), the software is free. CHIRP doesn’t manage radio settings like
RT. I like this ability because I tend
to have different profiles depending how I’m using the radio. Manufactures release their own software
too. Some are free downloads, others a
premium accessory. I gave up on these
solutions because the couple I tried were horrible experiences and very
barebones packages. They were janky to
operate and didn’t have an, what I consider to be essential, import/export
function.
RT Systems has a good
importer where, in many cases, the output of a webpage can be copied and pasted
into the programmer. It will attempt to
determine the content of each column (transmit frequency, PL, etc.). It’s not always successful but the data type
can be specified during the import process though, this needs to be repeated
each time. If a CSV file (plain text file
with comma separated values) is not available, I found it much easier to paste
webpage results into an Excel spreadsheet.
This will retain the data columns.
Insert a blank row above the data and type in labels that match the
column headers in the programmer. Other
columns, like city or distance, can be deleted or left blank – and will be
ignored. Copy all data including headers
and repeaters from the Excel sheet and paste them into the RT programmer. The import wizard will appear. Check that the data is being detected
correctly in each step. Clicking finish
will complete importing the data into the programmer. This helps greatly in importing data straight
from a webpage so I don’t have to assign data types each time I import
data. This spreadsheet approach is not
needed when using “External Data” sources built into the programmer. Here are some header conversion examples: the
webpage column label is on the left and the spreadsheet (RT) header on the
right:
* Frequency -> Receive Frequency
* PL -> CTCSS
* Call -> Name
* Notes -> Comment
* Distance -> *delete column or no label*
* City -> *delete column or no label*
Aside from the programming
software, sources are needed for data.
I’ll share my experiences with some that I’ve used. I used the Repeater Directory, Ohio Area
Repeater Council (OARC) website, RFinder, K1IW Amateur Repeater and Broadcast
Transmitters Database Websearch, RepeaterBook, Radio Reference, and the
ArtSciPub Repeater database.
General comments about these
sources: much of the information is old, dated, stale, or wrong based on information
I knew about repeaters in my home area and observations about the resulting
data in my travels. Most make some claim
to pull data from a ‘number of sources,’ which almost always means the local
repeater coordinating body for that area.
In Ohio, that is the Ohio Area Repeater Council. Others take a crowdsourcing approach which
enlists the services of a large number of people – or at least those who do
contribute.
Contributors can submit
add/delete requests for repeaters as necessary, update call signs, PL tones,
locations, features, network affiliations, Internet links, DMR Talk Groups, and
so on. It appears the Repeater Directory
is used as a starting point for most databases.
ARRL Repeater Directory and the Ohio
Repeater Council website (http://www.oarc.com/): The Repeater Directory and OARC Repeater search are supposed to be
one-in-the-same so that’s why I grouped these two together. The OARC is the source for the printed ARRL
Repeater Directory. Recent updates may
appear on the website with those changes appearing in the print edition a year
or more later. I did find differences
between the printed edition and online version.
I’m unsure why but they should be
the same. In both the printed and online
searches, there are a lot of, what hams refer to as, “paper repeaters.” That is someone who correctly holds a
repeater frequency pair coordination but does not have a repeater in operation
on that pair. Repeaters in the testing
phase or down for repairs are not considered paper repeaters, unless that time
reaches 6 months of inactivity. This
timeframe is determined by the local repeater frequency coordinator. Something else I noticed: there are repeater
pairs turned over to the OARC, nearly a decade ago, that are still listed as
active or coordinated. The OARC website
is free to use and results can be copied and pasted from the webpage for
importing. No export of the OARC database
is available.
The Repeater Directory comes
in pocket sized ($10.95 - https://www.arrl.org/shop/The-ARRL-Repeater-Directory-Pocket-size) and desktop editions ($15.95 - https://www.arrl.org/shop/The-ARRL-Repeater-Directory-Desktop-Edition). An
electronic version is available through RFinder (see below). Importing from the paper Repeater Directory
into programming software is, well, impossible without typing it in or
utilizing character recognition. J
RFinder (https://www.arrl.org/shop/RFinder-The-World-Wide-Repeater-Directory/): Also known as the World Wide Repeater Directory (WWRD). It started out as a project by Bob - W2CYK as
the place to find repeater data. He has
partnered with the ARRL, RAC, RSGB, and many other organizations throughout the
world including software companies for the ability to import directly from the
RFinder database. In partnering with the
ARRL, RFinder is the online version of the printed Repeater Directory. There is an iOS and Android app available. The Android app is feature-rich which
includes the ability to preload a continent (if you don’t or won’t have
Internet access), different sort methods (frequency, distance), display
estimated coverage maps, list Internet Linked nodes (EchoLink, IRLP, and
AllStar), and ability to submit updates (crowdsourcing). In addition to the mobile apps, much of the
functionality is available through a web interface. My favorite feature is the map displaying my
current position and tower icons indicating repeaters nearby. Though not the best implementation because a
city with multiple coordinated repeaters has the icons for each stacked on top
of each other. A popup balloon listing
all would have been more useful. A lot
of work has been put into developing features but, the interfaces could use
some fine tuning as the map was one example of multiple problems I encountered. RFinder suffers from paper repeater and stale
data problems due to the source of the data.
An annual subscription of $9.99/year is required with multi-year and
lifetime discounts available. The
Android app comes with a 30-day limited trial.
Purchasing the iOS version includes a 1 year subscription.
K1IW Amateur Repeater and Broadcast Transmitters
Database Websearch (http://www.amateur-radio.net/rptr/): This website
serves a single purpose: find repeaters and/or broadcast transmitters (FCC
listed AM, FM, and TV) within an area.
Enter a city, state, radius, and select at least one band and the
results will be a listing of repeaters within that radius – including Canada
and DC. The search aggregates various
coordinating organizations along with a couple other sources. Searching Toledo, Ohio brings up both Ohio
and Michigan results. Usefulness of the
results are based on accuracy of the sources.
There are paper repeaters and stale data here as well. Resulting lists can be copied and pasted from
the webpage for importing. This service
is free.
RepeaterBook
(https://www.repeaterbook.com/): RepeaterBook relies on crowdsourced data and not
sources like the Repeater Directory.
Upon navigating to a particular state, there is an extensive list of
quick search options including: band, features (Autopatch, EchoLink, IRLP,
linked), emergency service (ARES, RACES, Skywarn), coverage of a route
(highway, US route, state route), town, county, and ratings. Advanced search options provide radius,
nationwide, travel, niche (digital modes, linking), and frequency
vacancies. Results can be copied and
pasted from the webpage for importing.
Creating an account will enable exporting to the software applications
CHIRP, G4HFQ, RT Systems, and TravelPlus.
Though most are CSV files, they nicely include the correct column
headers and break the data into the correct fields like 146.610- into “Receive
Frequency” and “Offset Direction.” Since
the data is crowdsourced, the listings are not entirely accurate. I noticed a good number of repeaters in the
Repeater Directory and on-the-air but, missing from RepeaterBook. When I brought up the Pennsylvania Turnpike
(I-76) for the jog around Pittsburgh, no repeaters were listed. The first one returned was nearly 3 hours
east of the PA border. This means no
repeaters in Pittsburgh have been submitted as covering I-76 which was
incorrect seeing as I could hit a number of repeaters. The website can use some unification because
different options are available on different screens. Mobile applications are available for iOS and
Android and they support BlueCAT BlueTooth (http://www.zbm2.com/BlueCAT/) available for a limited number of radios. Clicking a repeater listing in the mobile app
will tune the radio to that frequency and set correct offsets and PL
tones. This service is free.
Radio Reference
(http://www.radioreference.com/): Radio
Reference is geared toward the scanner listener and contains mostly crowd
sourced data for public service frequencies.
Scanner listeners who are travelers have definitely used this site. Once you locate an area in the Frequency
Database, often there will be a list of repeaters in the “Amateur Radio”
tab. This list is minimal and not
comprehensive but includes mostly popular, emcomm, and Skywarn repeaters. These will likely be ones of interest and
will actually be on the air when you key up.
Results can be copied and pasted from the webpage for importing. Downloading a CSV file requires a premium
subscription of $15 for 180 days, $30 for 360, or by providing an audio scanner
feed.
ArtSciPub (http://www.artscipub.com/repeaters/): ArtSciPub stands for Arts & Sciences
Publications. They started as a software
company and now do science related publications. One of their projects is a repeater database.
Start a search by selecting a state,
entering a zip code, or frequency. The
resulting list can be resorted by clicking any of the column headers. Repeaters can be added or modified without an
account. This database is very old as
changes that happened 15 years ago are still not listed. Results can be copied and pasted from the
webpage for importing. A Repeater
MapBook is available for purchase. A
membership of $20/year will allow access to larger maps, customized content,
removal of advertisements, and high-quality PDF maps.
In this realm, there are
currently no great solutions with perfectly accurate data. Some repeaters never change, others are
changing all the time - which is a reason why it’s hard to keep accurate
records of such as large population of repeaters. I think my best option is using RepeaterBook
in conjunction with the ARRL Repeater Directory or K1IW to get a good
representation of the repeater landscape while traveling.
I got the chance to finish up
the project of getting LEARA’s Fusion repeater on the air New Year’s Eve. I mentioned the first in a series of tips
back in November. With the help of Bill
- K8SGX (Technical Specialist), we punched some holes, ran some jumper cables,
and finally, the machine was on the air!
Other DR-1X owners who are using the repeater in Automatic Mode Select
were reporting the repeater locking in transmit when a digital and analog
signal were simultaneously received by the repeater. Cycling the power would be required each time
the repeater locked up. Our club decided
to configure the Fusion repeater in digital only mode as a result. Today, it is a stand-alone repeater but
things are looking promising for an Internet link. If you’re in the Cleveland area, try out the
444.700 YSF repeater on the west side.
No tone, digital squelch, or digital code options are required. Thanks again to K8SGX and my dad Tom – N8ETP
for their help with this project.
Thanks for reading and 73… de
Jeff – K8JTK
73… de Jeff – K8JTK
****************************************************
THE AFFILIATED CLUBS COORDINATOR
John Myers, KD8MQ - ACC
Hi everyone,
Well, we made it through
2016. We’ve had a mixed bag of weather this week, with freezing rain, snow,
& flooding. It’s definitely been a good week to stay indoors. In this month
column, I’m going to re-run the New Club Officers To-Do list. This originally
ran last January, but I’ve updated it a bit.
But first, let’s welcome our Newest
Special service Club; the West Central Ohio Amateur Radio Association. This
brings us to 28 Special Service Clubs in the state with more on the way.
Congratulations!
I'd like to again offer
congratulations and a hearty thank you to all club officers, and trustees. I
know that this can at times seem like a thankless job. But, it can also be a
very rewarding one!
So, on we go to the club
officers To-Do List. Not all of these suggestions will apply to you, or your
club. But, I've tried to put together as many items as I can think of. Feel
free to contact me with any additions, or corrections.
* Meeting room reservations - Believe it or not, sometimes this very important
task falls between the cracks. At my home club, we make a formal request each November
to the Hospital which hosts our meetings. We take care of the entire upcoming
year at that time.
* Pavilions, Field Day sites, etc. – My club does a Special Event Club each August. So,
in January, we reserve our park pavilion. Same goes for any other sites that
may be needed during the upcoming year. Our local park department begins taking
reservations at the beginning of January, and it is first come – first served.
* Update your club record at arrl.org - I can't stress enough the importance of this one.
This can be done from ARRL.org. Just click on “edit” at the upper right hand
corner of your club record page.
*Check the expiration date on your clubs SSC Status - The best way to check this is still to contact
Scott, N8SY, or myself. Either of us will be happy to look it up for you.
*Legal Stuff -
If your club is registered with Ohio secretary of state, you can check your
status here. - http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/Businesses.aspx. This needs to be done every five years.
If your group is an IRS 501c3 Non-Profit, you can check your status here: https://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Exempt-Organizations-Select-Check. Choose the “Exempt organizations Select Check Tool” near the bottom of the page. This site will tell you if your club is a valid 501c3.
If your group is an IRS 501c3 Non-Profit, you can check your status here: https://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Exempt-Organizations-Select-Check. Choose the “Exempt organizations Select Check Tool” near the bottom of the page. This site will tell you if your club is a valid 501c3.
*Officers E-mail - One club I belong to has e-mail addresses for each officer. They
follow the convention of <officer>@ <club name>.org. That way, when
we change officers, no one has to remember new addresses. If your club does
something similar, make sure that those addresses are updated.
* Website -
Make sure that your officers names, and contact info are updated whenever
appropriate. Your website is your clubs front door. Make sure it’s up to date
*Banking information – If you’ve had a change in officers, Check the signature card for
your bank account. If any of the information is no longer accurate, it's time
to fill out a new one.
*Miscellaneous club information - Make sure to transfer all information to the new
treasurer, and/or Secretary promptly. This includes passwords for bank
accounts, insurance, websites, etc. Anything that requires a password to access
should be in the possession of the officer who needs it. It should also be
archived with the Secretary.
*Audit your books - Do your by-laws require a regular audit of the books of your
organization? Perhaps now is the time to begin thinking about it.
Moving along to another
subject, I hope a lot of you got involved in the VHF FM Simplex contest on the
14th. Monitoring on 6 Meters, I didn’t hear a lot of activity, and
I’m temporarily off of VHF/UHF. It seemed like a good day to sit indoors, and
play radio.
On the subject of radio,
Winter Field Day is coming up on the weekend of January 28/29. Operating WFD
can be a great club activity, and does not have to be operated out of doors.
You can find out more about Winter Field Day at www.winterfieldday.com/.
So that will wrap up this
month’s column. Stay warm, everyone!
73 DE KD8MQ
***************************************************
NATIONAL PARKS ON THE AIR
John Myers, KD8MQ - ACC
Well,
it's over. The final on-the-air Hurrah happened on December 31st.
As 2016 ended, so did NPOTA. I’ll miss it, as it was one of the best Ham
Radio years that I’ve seen. . .
ever! Lots of folks were wishing that it would not end. But, I believe
NPOTA needed to end on schedule, if nothing else, to give us all a chance to
take a breath, and rest up for the next big thing.
What’s
the next big thing, you ask? I don’t know. For now, I guess it’s whatever you
want it to be. I offer the following suggestions to help you transition to a
Non-NPOTA world.
* Try the Parks On The Air program. You can
start by uploading your NPOTA logs to Jason, W3AAX. You can learn more about
this at http://wwff-kff.com/. I found that most of
the NPOTA units are included in the program. All state parks are also on the
list of POTA units. The awards are free, though donations are appreciated.
* Several States are having State Parks on
the air contests, or events; Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Texas, & Indiana are
some states that come to mind. The Ohio State Parks On The Air Contest is held
each year on the Saturday after Labor Day. You can learn more at ospota.org.
* Offer to organize your clubs 2017 Field Day
operation. It’s not too soon. A lot of clubs begin planning the day after their
previous years Field Day.
* Do a club program on your experience with
NPOTA, and what you've learned in the past year. Think you didn’t learn
anything? Surprise! I bet you did! Share your enthusiasm, and newfound
experiences with others.
* Chase counties, or activate them. I don’t
claim to be an expert on County Hunting, but one place where I found a bunch of
information is the Mobile Amateur Radio Awards Club website at marac.org.
* Chase islands – Check out usislands.org for more information.
There’s also the RSGB Islands On The Air Program at https://www.rsgbiota.org/.
* Chase Lighthouses on the air. The Amateur
Radio Lighthouse Society can be found at http://arlhs.com/.
As
you can see, there’s a lot of on the air possibilities to keep you occupied. If
you are going through NPOTA withdrawal, why not give one of these a try?
We
have a couple more weeks to go before the January 31st upload
deadline is reached. Last week, I took an evening to audit my log, and managed
to bump my chaser numbers over the 100 mark which was my goal. In a lot of
cases, I had simply forgotten to upload the contact. In other cases, I simply fat-fingered
the Callsign.
The
ARRL certificates for chaser, Activator, and Honor Roll are available. From
what I’m seeing on line, they are arriving quickly. You can order your
certificates through npota.arrl.org. They are $19 each,
and come printed with your score at the time of ordering. So, my recommendation
is to wait until after January 31st before ordering.
Lastly,
you’ve probably seen this if you are a member of the NPOTA Facebook group. But,
here it is again:
Top 10 things on a
NPOTA Activator's To-Do list
1)
Post a well-worn set of Hamsticks to the club swap & shop reflector
2)
Buy another new set of tires
3)
Design an operating chair for the shack that is as comfortable as a car seat
4)
Get to work on a Year-long backlog of To-Do list items around the house
5)
Continue to hound Emily, KB3VVE for her cookie recipe.
6)
Reconnect with family. Apologize to daughter for missing wedding.
7)
Clean a years’ worth of fast-food bags from backseat
8)
Re-introduce myself to the neighbors.
9)
Design an operating desk that looks like a picnic table
10)
Hit F5 yet again; watch for any change in the leaderboard standings
And
that’s it for this month. 73, and watch for my final NPOTA column in the
February Ohio Section Journal.
73,
John,
KD8MQ
****************************************************
THE SECTION EMERGENCY COORDINATOR
Stan Broadway, N8BHL
The year 2017 for ARES
First, I want to promise you
all that we are NOT doing anything on the scale of the RNC this year. That is a
once-in-a-lifetime event as far as I’m concerned.
But what ~are~ we going to
do? We have a lot of items on our
agenda! First, acting on Proverbs 11:14: “Where there is no guidance, a people
falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety” I want to bring the
leadership of ARES together January 29. All ASEC’s and DEC’s and the crew from
The Sarge have been invited to collaborate on how we can continue the growth
and excellent posture of ARES in Ohio. You have all worked so hard to achieve
what we did in 2016, I want to honor that with a solid program for the future!
Here are some of the things
we already have on the agenda—get your calendars out!
First, January 14th
will be the second annual ARES
VHFSIMPLEX CONTEST. Rules are basically the same as last year, with the
addition of 6 meters! I would prefer
using 6 FM simplex rather than SSB but I think there may be MORE people on 6
SSB…so run what ya brung! I am more
interested in numbers, and in coverage areas so we can get an idea of what we
would need in order to put together a reliable state network on 6. I am enthusiastic, but my enthusiasm is
tempered by those old heads with years of 6, who are saying it might not be
what I hope. We’ll just have to test and see!
For DEC’s and ASEC’s we’re
having a planning meeting January 29. We hope to discuss a lot of items,
including (with the Sarge’s crew) how we’re going to cope with the next few
years of lousy band conditions.
For everyone, April 1 is the
date set for the 2017 OHIO ARES
CONFERENCE! Write it down, and get
ready for some really good stuff! The
conference will be held again at the Marion Technical campus (OSU Marion) as it
was last year.
Here’s another new date: Mark down April 22 as this year’s NVIS ANTENNA DAY! We’ll have more
information as time moves along, but be researching your antennas now!
We are doing very well in
training Many thanks to Jim Yoder, W8ERW, who is keeping track of our Ohio ARES
Training Database! What is happening, I
suspect, is that we do not have ALL your certificates in the database. Many
members have handed them to their local EC’s which is great, but we need to
have jpg copies of your certificates in the state database! So EC’s- and anyone, actually- you can go to
the ARRL-Ohio website’s ARES pages and find the list of who’s included by name
and by county. Double check your people, and send those we don’t already have!
There are 500 names in that
database, with 3.263 courses logged! 303
have the four FEMA courses. Again, my
suspicion is we have far more than that, so check! At any rate, we are far ahead of the rest of
the country and you are all to be commended!
Those who haven’t done these courses, try dedicated a couple winter
evenings and get ‘r done!
You might be interested to
know that because of our work with Red Cross during the RNC, a fresh interest
has brought the Red Cross and ARES much closer. We have been meeting to discuss
how amateur radio and the Red Cross can partner more closely to provide
statewide communications. They have a few MARCS radios, but ARES is in a great
position to become much more active with the ARC. This will be another great
arm of service we can provide! Stay tuned!
Again my congratulations and
my sincere thanks for all you do!! Now…a
new year, a new opportunity, and off we go!
For the latest Section
Emergency Coordinator’s monthly report go to:
73, Stan, N8BHL
****************************************************
THE PUBLIC INFORMATION COORDINATOR
John Ross, KD8IDJ
2017 Newsletter Contest
Yee Haw!!! That’s public
information speak for…the 2017 Newsletter Contest is off to a great start!
I’ve received over a dozen
January newsletters so far and, as I expected, the trend of excellence is
continuing. Keep them coming. Remember you need to submit two copies from
different months to qualify but most folks send one in every month…and I
appreciate that.
If you have a web-only
newsletter…shoot me a quick email to let us know the new version is ready for
viewing. I’ll save the link and the judges will look directly at the website.
The rules are on the Ohio
Section website: http://arrl-ohio.org/pic_page/pic.html but call or
email if you have concerns. Goo
SOS
When I was learning Morse
Code as a kid the fist “word” I learned to send was SOS. It was easy since
the all of those letters pretty much make up my last name (ROSS)!
Well, one of the Christmas
gifts I received was an LED flashlight that automatically sends SOS with a
couple of button pushes! I’m pretty amazed how I discovered it. I was working
changing a recessed light bulb and trying to check the socket. I pushed the on
button and the light begin to flash and…somehow…I knew almost immediately it
was SOS!!! The old ham who taught me code did a pretty good job.
And while we’re on the
subject of flashing objects...the Capitol Records building in Los Angles has a
tall spiral on top with a red light that flashes, in code, CAPITOL RECORDS!!!
The light can be reprogrammed to flash the title of their new CD or any
other message they want. I’m not sure Mr. Morse would approve.
So the next time you’re in
LA…drop by and brush up on your code practice.
Social Media…We Were
First!
As Social Media…Twitter, Snap
Chat, Texting…continues to grow the analysis of its impact is becoming more
challenged. Just how effective are these new forms of communication and do they
do more harm than good.
Well, when it comes to new
methods of communicating it’s important to remember that Amateur Radio is, and
always been, first…in every way…creating and improving just how we talk to each
other. We have the high bands, the low bands, microwave, satellite, code,
sideband, RTTY, EME, SSTV, Packet and now DMR. We have repeaters, a technology
known today and Cell Phones! Nearly a dozen or more ways to effectively to
communicate…and consistently communicate…without interruption and without
damaging reputations and world order.
What we do as Amateur Radio
operators is all for the good…and all good…and we keep doing it and improving
every day. When it comes to the real Social Media…WE WERE FIRST!
I suppose this all seems a
little esoteric but I think about it every time I see new headline quoting
social media as the source of a major story. It makes me cringe and appreciate
what we as hams do and the way we do it. We report and educate our stories
responsibly using reliable technology with ethics and professionalism.
One final word from the
soapbox…. We have one other form of communication that works…the newsletters
our clubs send every month. Well written papers without hidden agendas from
editors and writers who care about their readers and the hobby they’re writing
about.
WOW! What a great movement
with which to associated!!
73,
John, KD8IDJ
****************************************************
THE SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER
David Maynard, WA3EZN - STM
WHO OWNS THE NET
DISCLAIMER: The article below
pertains to the State of Ohio only. It
contains some of my opinions and some information gleaned from some websites.
It does not pertain to any other state, section or region but only to nets
within Ohio. No individual or organization owns any Amateur Radio Frequencies.
The frequencies we operate on belong to the government and we are given the
privilege to use the frequencies through the licensing procedure.
WHAT IS A NET?
An amateur radio net, or simply net, is an on the air meeting of licensed
amateur radio operators. Most nets convene on a regular schedule and specific
frequency and are organized for a particular purpose, such as relaying
messages, discussing a common topic of interest, in severe weather (for
example, during a Skywarn activation), emergencies, or simply as a regular
gathering of friends for conversation
The word net is short for
network. Networks can be defined as groups of equipment, individuals, and/or
agencies acting together to increase efficiency and effectiveness through
shared information and resources. The word network can be further broken down
into its two components. Net implies a capture and holding effect. Work implies
that something productive is to be accomplished.
The purpose of any net is to
provide a means for orderly communication within a group of stations. In a
directed net, a net control station (NCS) organizes and controls all activity.
Directed nets are the best format when there are a large number of member
stations. Nets are either directed (formal) or undirected (informal or
open). Ham radio operators and nets
capture, record, hold, and distribute information so that they may work more
effectively.
It is an enjoyable and
valuable public service to acquire and maintain traffic handling proficiency.
Traffic handlers and traffic nets are prepared to handle both routine and
emergency traffic, whenever the need arises.
WHO OWNS THE NET?
Some nets in Ohio connected
with the ARES Group(s) or a club may be owned by those organizations. Other
nets like most traffic nets are not owned by any individual. They were formed by individuals with a common
interest and are governed by bylaws and/or operating procedures. The net manager is in charge of the net.
What
is a Net Managers?
Nets are run by either an
appointed section net manager or an elected net manager. Elected net mangers are elected by the voting
members of the net. The net manager is responsible for the running of the net,
appointing assistant net managers, net control stations and liaison
stations. In the absence of the
appointed net control station or liaison station volunteers fill the positions
for that net.
The number of Net Managers
may depend on an area's geographical size, the number of nets operating in the
section, or other factors having to do with the way the area is organized. In
some cases, there may be only one net manager in charge of the one area net, or
one Net Manager for the phone net, one for a CW net. In larger or more
traffic-active areas there may be several Net Managers for HF and VHF nets, for
a RTTY or a digital net. All ARRL Nets
not controlled by the Emergency Coordinator should work under the Section
Traffic Manager (STM) and report their activity to the STM monthly.
WHAT IS A NET CONTROL STATION?
A Net Control Station (NCS)
calls the net to order, takes check-ins for the net and directs the flow of
traffic during the net. Its the job of
the NCS to control traffic and enforce circuit discipline within a given net. He or she keeps track of the number of
check-in, how much traffic is passed and the length of the nets. The NCS reports this information to the net
manager or his designated statistician along with the call letters of any
Liaison stations. This is an important
job that any licensed amateur can do.
WHAT IS A LIAISON STATION?
A Liaison Station is a
station that takes traffic from one net to another. If we had a message on the
VHF net that needed to go to Texas we would pass it to a liaison station who in
turn would take the message to an HF, where a liaisons station will take the
traffic to a higher level net that moves traffic to nets around the country.
The Liaison station while on the HF net would look for traffic for the
Liaison's state or area to take back to it's VHF net for delivery.
As you can see the Liaison
Station would need to have a General class license or higher because he must
work with an HF net. All other positions
on a VHF net can be filled by Technicians licensee.
WHERE DO YOU FIT IN TO A NET?
Stations that want to
participate in the net check in at the invitation of the NCS. This is
accomplished when the NCS asking for check-ins. Often nothing more is needed
than a short check in with one's callsign. The NCS will acknowledge your
checking in with your callsign to let you know you are checked in. Now you are
a member of the net. The NCS logs your call for the session count and if you
don't have any more to say or report then you just monitor until you are called
or the net ends. If you know of a net
and have never participated in it and don't know what to say, just announce
your callsign. You should always be welcome!
But your responsibility does
not end there. If you are going to be a
regular check-in you have a duty to support the net. Joining a net is like
owning a car. You open the door and set
in the seat, start it up and go. But if
you don't put gasoline in the tank, check the oil and service the car it won’t
be long before the car doesn't go.
It’s the same with a
net. If all you ever do is simply check
in and nothing more the net will “run out of gas” and cease to operate. As an
amateur radio operator and net check-in you cannot and should not expect the
Net Manager or any one person to be the only net control station or liaison
station. You have a responsibility to
help the net grow by volunteering.
HELP WANTED!
Ask you net manager if you
can help. Otherwise he or she will never
know you are willing to help. We are always looking for additional Net Control
Stations to help out. There are two possibilities – one, as an occasional
relief operator, and two, as a “regular” NCS one evening per week. Plenty of
free coaching and advice is available if you’re interested. All Net Control
operators are nervous when first starting out, but it soon becomes a rewarding
experience. Please contact your net manager and help keep your net alive.
SO WHO OWNS THE NET?
So you can see that if you
check into the net you own a piece of the net.
If you don't help run the net there will eventually be no net as those
doing all the work will get “burned out.”
If you only have a Technician
license these are some of the Ohio VHF Traffic Nets.
BRTN Burning River Traffic Net serving
Cleveland and North Central Ohio
W8DJG NET MANAGER
COTN Central
Ohio Traffic Net serving Columbus and Central Ohio
W8ARR NET MANAGER
MVTN Miami
Valley Traffic Net serving the Dayton area
KC8HTP NET MANAGER
NWOH
ARES Northwest Ohio ARES Net
N8TNV NET MANAGER
TATN Tri-State
Amateur Traffic Net
WG8Z NET MANAGER
TCTTN Tri-County Traffic and Training Net
serving Lake, Geauga, Ashtabula and Surrounding Counties KI8U NET MANAGER
Here is where and when they
meet.
BRTN NIGHTLY 147.150 110.9 9:30
NEED NET CONTROLS
COTN NIGHTLY 146.970 23.0 7:15
MVTN MON
THUR SAT 146.640 7PM
NWOH ARES NIGHTLY 146.940 103.5 6:40
TATN NIGHTLY 145.370 8:00
TCTTN SUNDAY TUESDAY
FRIDAY 9 PM 147.015 110.9HZ
Unfortunately, the BRTN will
be scaling back to two days a week on their nets do to a lack of support from
its membership and a lack of net control station.
You will need a General class
license or higher to check into the HF nets. These Ohio NTS HF nets meet daily
and here are their frequencies, times and net managers. All licensed hams are welcome to check in
with or without radiogram traffic.
BN(E) Buckeye
Net Early – CW – WB8YLO NET MANAGER –
3580 at 6:45 PM
BN(L) Buckeye Net Late – CW –
WB9LBI NET MANAGER – 3590 at
10:00 PM
OSN Ohio
Slow Net – CW – W8OLO NET MANAGER – 3.53535 at 6 PM
OSSBN Ohio Single Sideband Net – Phone –
KC8WH NET MANAGER –
3972.5 at 10:30 AM, 4:15 PM AND 6:45 PM
Well that's my story and I'm
sticking to it. Just remember if you are
not part of the solution you will be a part of the problem.
73
David WA3EZN
Ohio Section Traffic Manager
****************************************************
OUT AND ABOUT
Lyn Alfman, N8IMW - Assistant
Section Manager
Sonny and I attended many holiday gatherings with friends and family
members. We went to Ogleby Park to see
the light display as well as visited downtown Cambridge with its Dickens
Victorian Village and the courthouse, which has three light shows each evening
in sync with Christmas music being played, with some family members. We spent the entire week between Christmas
and New Year’s Day with family since those in South Carolina came for a visit.
We visited with all seven of the children, fourteen of seventeen grandchildren,
and two of the seven great grandchildren during the month of December. We had a
good time, and we hope your Holidays were as enjoyable!
I, along with other members of the Cambridge Amateur Radio Association,
helped with registration and communications for the first annual Byesville
Christmas Parade on December 3.
Some of the amateur radio clubs locally - Zanesville Amateur Radio Club
and Cambridge Amateur Radio Association-did not have regular meetings this
month, but CARA had five Thursday amateur radio lunches. CARA also had its Awards Banquet on December
10.
I will be attending the Sunday Creek Amateur Radio Federation Hamfest in
Nelsonville on January 15, but I will be on a cruise until January 28, so I may
or may not attend the TUSCO Hamfest on January 29 at Strasburg.
Remember to be “Radio Active”!
’73 Lyn, N8IMW
****************************************************
ARES TRAINING UPDATE
Jim Yoder, W8ERW/5
Winter time doesn't leave us
with much excitement other than the inconvenience of snow, ice and frigid
temperatures. Perhaps you do enjoy
skiing, ice skating or sledding which I did when I was much younger. However, you may look forward to the Hamfest
season beginning anew, I do. Otherwise,
after the holidays, hibernation isn't a terrible thought. I'll wake up refreshed and ready for antenna
projects outdoors as soon as the sun shines longer each day and it packs some
heat along with its daylight.
Now for some serious thought
on ARES training. The Ohio Section has
been quite busy amassing a lot of FEMA NIMS training along with the ARRL EC
series classes and others. When I
started logging this training over two years ago, I could see the potential for
perhaps 2,500 classes being taken and 250 ARES members participating. It was a little slow initially as I started
working with the data I had received.
Not much was being added with an occasional email submitting a class or
two. My focus was to get all of this
into a database that could be easily used to document the training and preserve
the information for quick reference as may be needed anytime in the
future.
SM Scott Yonally N8SY
mentioned a few months ago that he felt the training submissions were about to
increase and I should expect quite a bit of activity. He was certainly correct. It's been a blur of submissions on a daily
basis for the last month. Normally, I
was receiving a few additional classes with an occasional submission including
all four of the NIMS required courses.
That has changed and many of you are now sending certificates for all of
the NIMS required courses and more. You
are also reporting the ARRL EC series classes and relevant training associated
with your emergency responder work.
Let me share these impressive
numbers with you. I hope this stirs up
some excitement and motivates those of you who have not taken or submitted your
NIMS training to do so. The momentum
here is amazing.
01-05-2017 01-11-2017 01-15-2017
Members included in the database - 529 554 561
Training Classes
Submitted - 3,400 3,570 3,631
Members completing Required NIMS
- 333
348 356
I've been reporting these
numbers back to your Section Manager and Section Emergency Coordinator and the
comments I get are "Awesome", "Super" and "This is
Great". The sustained effort you
are putting into this has also been noticed by ARRL in Newington. Ohio is a great place to be a Ham and the
great Hams of Ohio never fail to pick up a ball and run with it. Thank you for this effort.
You might have dismissed this
push for NIMS training like I initially did.
I have never been a fan of big government and this looked like another
attempt to run roughshod over us by an ever increasing "Big Brother"
poking his nose into our lives. Luckily,
I thought better of it and decided to have a look. You can't change things or complain if you
don't know what you are talking about.
The NIMS training is well
thought out and you will find like I did, that it is the process many of our
employers are using to deal with business emergencies as well as disasters that
touch their business operations. NIMS has
been and continues to be developed with input from everyone who has a vested
interest in managing disaster. It is a
well thought out process that is entirely logical and capable of delivering the
result we all want to achieve, quickly responding to and resolving an emergency
situation in the most efficient way possible.
NIMS is the vehicle being used on a local, state and national level to
respond to disaster. This training is
essential for those of us who volunteer during a disaster. You simply will not be of much use if you
don't understand this process. No, you
won't be an expert, but you will have the knowledge required to be of critical
value as a communicator within ARES.
This isn't "Big Brother".
It is all of us participating together doing our part in a well
organized effort toward a common goal. I
encourage all of you who want to be a part of ARES and volunteer your time and
skills to also get involved with NIMS training.
When you do, be sure to submit your certificates to the database. This will insure that when needed, your
training can be documented to the appropriate agency that will require it.
So, let me say Thank you
again and I will continue to update you on this really great momentum in the
Ohio Section. Also, you can look on the
Ohio Section Web Site, arrlohio.org in the ARES section for a current listing
of those who have completed all four of the required NIMS courses. SM Scott Yonally N8SY updates the list
regularly for your reference. You can
also email me with any questions regarding the training database, w8erw@arrl.net Training
documentation can also be sent to me along with any changes to residence, call
sign, email address etc. The preferred
method of submitting training is in .pdf format. You can scan the certificates, save to .pdf
and email them. FEMA will also send an
electronic certificate after class completion.
You can forward those as well as requesting online, your current
transcript electronically. I am storing
the certificate copies in the following format:
W8ERW-IS-00100.b.pdf This will
make it easy to locate them and provide them to any serving agency we support
when required.
The Mansfield Hamfest is
coming. Do enjoy it and take those FEMA
NIMS courses while you're resting.
Thanks and 73,
Jim W8ERW
****************************************************
LET'S TALK
Scott Yonally, N8SY - Section
Manager
Have you seen the NEWEST
“Handbook Giveaway” drawing on the website yet? It’s there..!! To enter the
drawing all you need to do is fill in a couple of boxes on the form.. (your
name and email). That’s you need to do to be entered into a drawing to win a 2016
ARRL softcover Handbook. There’s nothing else required (Oh.. You do need to be
a resident of Ohio to win..) The winner
will be mailed the Handbook at my cost. This is being offered just to see how
many folks are really checking in on the website. Got the idea? Best of luck to
you!!
Are you getting those emails
from me? If not, all you have to do is to “Opt-In” to receive them. Heck, just
send me an email n8sy@n8sy.com I’ll
get you added to the mailing list. 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, gets 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.
Let’s talk about the Ohio
Section website. You can find the Ohio Section Website at: http://arrl-ohio.org If you don’t
have this website set as your home page, I urge you to do so. It changes a lot
and it’s so important for you to be kept up to date with the very latest
information.
On that same subject, there’s
another NEW – one question – questionnaire on the Ohio Section Website! This
question is really important for me to know. It will only take 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@n8sy.com I’ll be happy to call or write to you. We can
even meet and have coffee if you’d like, and I’ll buy!!
I’m sure all of you have
heard me say that I’m always available for you, whether you’re an ARRL member
or not. It’s true, and you can feel free to write or call me anytime. If you
have any questions, concerns, or would just like to sit and chat awhile over a
cup of coffee or something cold to drink, feel free to call or write me
That’s going to do it for
this month. I hope to see you all at your hamfests, club meetings or on the
air!
73, Scott, N8SY
****************************************************
THE OFFICIAL OBSERVER COORDINATOR
John Perone, W8RXX
Total hours were 696
4 OO cards were sent
0 Good operator cards
73, John, W8RXX
****************************************************
WEBSITE STATS – ** arrl-ohio.org **
December 2016
Pages
|
Hits
|
Bandwidth
|
49,621
|
125,618
|
2.21 GB
|
****************************************************
SPECIAL EVENTS STATIONS IN OHIO
01/28/2017 | 2nd Annual Cabin Fever Special Event
Jan 28, 1700Z-2300Z, K8PRC
Loudonville, OH.
Pedestrian Amateur Radio Club.
14.250 14.050 7.250 7.050
QSL. K8PRC, 1661 Manor Ave NW
Canton, OH 44708
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Portage County Amateur
Radio Service, Inc.
PCARS - K8BF
Twelfth
Annual "Freeze
Your Acorn Off"
(FYAO)
Special Event Station
When:
Saturday - Feb. 11, 2017
Operating
Time: 10am - 4pm EST
We will be active on CW,
Digital & Phone in the
10, 15, 20, 40 and 80 meter
bands (Repeater & Echolink
on the K8SRR echo link node
for a certificate)
and anything else we can get
working.
Club Call Sign K8BF for
a certificate.
Other participating stations
will be using their own
callsign/FYAO, or calling “CQ
FYAO” (only stations at the Freeze
Your Acorns Off event should
use the /FYAO designator).
Yes, we'll be braving the
cold snowy weather of North Eastern
Ohio to set up QRP stations
using portable power and antennas.
A beautiful color (suitable
for framing) 8" x 10"
certificate is available if
you contact K8BF and
send your QSL with a large
SASE to the club call trustee:
Bob Hewett, K8FEY - 3670 Sea
Ray Cove
Reminderville, OH 44202
So, from the comfort of your
warm radio shack –
give us a contact while we're
out freezing.
We'll need all the contacts
we can make to help keep us warm.
Your support will be very
much appreciated!
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
02/18/2017 | WRARC 7th Anniversary
Feb 18, 1500Z-2300Z,
W8WRC, New Springfield, OH.
Western Reserve Amateur Radio
Club.
21.300 14.305 7.200.
QSL. Western Reserve Amateur
Radio Club,
2050 East South Range Road,
New Springfield, OH 44443.
****************************************************
OHIO HAMFEST CALENDAR
01/29/2017 | TUSCO Amateur Radio Club Hamfest
Location: Strasburg, OH
Sponsor: Tusco Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://tuscoarc.org
Location: Strasburg, OH
Sponsor: Tusco Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://tuscoarc.org
02/19/2017 | Mansfield Mid Winter Hamfest
Location: Mansfield, OH
Sponsor: Intercity Amateur
Radio Club
****************************************************
A final – final..
eof..
eof..