March, 2010    

Our March meeting will be on Tuesday, March 2, at 7:00 PM in the EOC Training Room. Please plan to attend.

Our members should be reminded that we have several pieces of test equipment that are available for loan. Phil, WB9URL, is the keeper. We have the following items available: Bird Wattmeter with elements for: 2-20 Mhz/100 Watt, 100-250 Mhz/5, 25 & 100 Watt, 200-500 Mhz/5 & 50 Watt. We also have a frequency counter and a deviation meter. If you want to test your equipment, antennas, etc. contact Phil to borrow them. We need to get a dummy load to go along with the wattmeter. Let’s address that at the meeting.

We (County EMA) have the new antenna and feedline for the .82 repeater (it’s at Lectro) & as soon as the weather is acceptable we’ll get the replacement made. The Club has already approved the cost of the actual installation. The other project is to retune the duplexer. These upgrades should improve the repeater sensitivity prior to the Stormnet season.

Our Stormnet training will be held on Tuesday, March 16, at 7:00 PM. This year the class will be held at the Pendleton Fire Department, 100 South Broadway, downtown Pendleton. Come early to get a good seat. Parking is to the west of the building. Our primary instructor will be Dave Tucek of the National Weather Service in Indianapolis. We anticipate a large turnout from the fire departments in the southern part of the county. Be sure to invite anyone who wants to help out with our Stormnet program this year. It’s not necessary to be a member of EMA.

The State Tornado Test is on Wednesday, March 17. I suspect that there will be tests at about 10:30AM and 7:00PM, so please monitor the repeater and check in when you hear us activate the alert.

The list of paid up Club members for 2010 is current on the web site. We have 31 paid to date. If you have not yet made your contribution please do so at the meeting or your earliest convenience. We appreciate your continued support of the Club and the repeaters. I will have your membership card at the meeting, or if you aren’t able to attend I’ll mail it next month sometime.

Larry, KB9SCC, has added a picture of his shack to the web site. We would really like you to provide a digital picture of your operating position too. Send along a brief description of your equipment if you wish. Submit it to Paul Hughes, or the Club email address listed on the site.

Spring is just around the corner, and Field Day is soon to come. The Madison County Club always has a good presence at FD. This year we (meaning EMA) may have an additional opportunity to test some soon-to-be-acquired equipment that will make the FD set-up quite a nice environment. It’s still in the planning stage but come to the meeting and Tom, KA9SYP, will have the details.

The following is from the ARRL ARES E-Letter of February 24, 2010 (just came out). It is such a good article that I wanted you to see it in the event you are not on the regular distribution. I take no credit for it and give the ARRL full credit for this timely advice:

Disaster Prep Tips

As we start a new decade, let's review some of the basics of Amateur Radio disaster preparedness. The following are tips from John Covington, W4CC, of Dallas, North Carolina.

You must make sure you're personally prepared for a disaster before you can even consider helping with Amateur Radio. If you are preoccupied with personal matters, you won't be able to help ARES®. To be ready for disaster communications, do the following: Train regularly with your local ARES® group.

Think about how you might best be able to help during a disaster. Some of us are good at installing antennas and equipment, others of us are better at operating on the air. Not everyone is suited to doing every job. Sometimes just having helping hands, spare equipment or supplies can be helpful even if you cannot operate the radios yourself. Generators need fuel, operators need coffee, and stations need to be set up. Figure out where you best fit in. Decide how you can help out if you stay home: Can you deploy at a shelter or EOC for a few hours?

Operate from home? If you must evacuate, can you deploy from where you have evacuated to, such as a shelter? Have all resource materials you need in printed form. Don't depend on computers, PDAs and so forth as they may not work in a disaster, require electricity and are relatively fragile.

If you use a computer regularly in your on-the-air operations, make sure you practice doing things such as calling nets and handling traffic the pencil-and-paper way once in a while. Remember, you may not be able to spare the amp-hours or the table space to run a computer.

Have an Amateur Radio ready-kit to supplement your personal ready kit. Some items to include:
*Portable radio, antenna and power supply or batteries (2 sets)
*Headset or earphones (you may be operating in a noisy area)
*Any cables you could possibly need
*Pencils and Paper
*Clipboard (firm writing surface, you may not have one otherwise)
*Radiogram forms (helpful but not absolutely required)
*Operating aids (pink card, Field Resources Manual, list of ARRL numbered radiograms, and anything appropriate for your local area)
*Small tools (multi-tip screwdriver, multitools, etc.)
*ARES® Identification Card, if appropriate
*Important phone numbers and frequencies
*Map of the area
*Flashlight
*Poncho - very small to store, only around $2 and can be useful when you least expect
If carried in lieu of a personal ready kit, a few other items may be helpful:
*For a short deployment, a bottle of water plus some crackers or something to eat requiring no preparation could make things much more bearable for you
*Medicine
*Toilet paper - small packets from MRE kits are very handy and don't take up much room
*Moist towelettes

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Here are a few other suggestions from your editor based on his perspective as a Registered Nurse:
*Know CPR.
*Know the location of the Automated External Defibrillator (AED), and how to use it.
*Know the signs/symptoms of a heart attack and stroke.

Also, be prepared physically, mentally and emotionally for the sometimes overwhelming demands of a disaster or emergency environment. Hope for the best, but expect the worst. You are at risk for witnessing horrific scenes. Protect your self and especially young hams; participate in psychological and grief counseling, if necessary. Your mental health is just as important as your physical health.

I hope to see you on Tuesday at the meeting.
73,
Steve, WA9CWE
Secretary, ARC