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Nevada Section News Archive 2007
January 10, 2008 - ARES Monthly Report for December'07 SEC Summary - Emcommwest 2008 in Reno May 2-4 at Circus Circus in Reno. New chair will be Kevin, KE7BQX, is rolling full steam ahead. Keep up with constant additions of information on the website, www dot emcommwest dot org. Some exciting things are coming, so check often for updates. One of the sessions will be to help train and prepare future EC's and AEC's for working with served agencies. This makes ECW08 important for attendance by those who are preparing for leadership duty. Skywarn Recognition Day, was a tremendous success, with all 3 districts well represented. I think all 3 worked each other, and made great showings nationally. Nice job everyone! We are working on getting a new EC for Pershing County after the first of the year. More later. Section tech coordinator Kent, W7AOR now working on putting an IRLP node in Winnemucca, so we will be able to have them on the statewide intercom soon. We used IRLP as well as HF for an informal New Year's Eve Net and nearly all points of the state were heard from. HF conditions were fairly good. All 3 districts were represented on both modes. Thanks Kent for all the hard work on helping us get closer to each other on the air. By the time you read this, it will be January 2008 already, so I hope that everyone had a great Christmas, New Year's and is off to what I hope will be a great year ahead. Thanks again for everyones dedication and hard work. 73 Don Carlson, KQ6FM SEC.
SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORT: Glenn Hale, KB7REO, So.DEC: The month was busy with exercises and SKYWARN events. Jeff KC7PK, Gary WA4PDM, Frank KL7IPV, John N7UR and myself participated in SRD 07. We had IRLP, 40M and 20M stations operating from the NWS office in Las Vegas. We had contacted 34 NWS stations.
No. Nye Co. ARES EC Report by Randy KB7TRI, AEC Acting EC organized paperwork for ARES, filled out form. Acting EC was Net Control for 1 Statewide Net. Several members participated in Skywarn and ARES weekly nets.
So. Nye Co. ARES EC Report by Jerry KC6ILH Started off with the Red Cross exercise, then we went and did some teaching and radio demonstrating at the local middle school and ended up distributing Christmas baskets and gifts towards the end of the month. Hope all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 2008 is going to be better for all.
Lincoln Co. ARES EC Report by Lee K7NKH I regret to inform you that Roland (Rolly) Simmons KK7LS became a silent key December 20,2007. Rolly was RACES officer for Lincoln County.
Clark County ARES EC Report by Charlie AA5QJ - Red Cross Flash Flood Exercise was also held on Dec 1. 12 members of CC NV ARES/RACES, coordinated by Jack N8RRL, AEC Red Cross, provided communications for operations at Disaster Relief Operations Headquarters, 2 shelters and 1 pet shelter, plus Damage Assessment Teams and supply operations. Cal KE6OEH, AEC Salvation Army, led a Salvation Army team in providing meals to 'victims' and workers at all 3 locations from their new Mobile Canteen. Members of So Nye County ARES/RACES provided communications for the EOC and shelters in Pahrump, and were linked to the Las Vegas HQ via VHF/UHF. Vern K0EGA participated in a tabletop exercise on Dec 10, the scenario being New Years Eve operations in Las Vegas, and was attended by local city, county, state and federal agencies. Prior to each CC NV ARES/RACES Monday evening net, a net using a local GMRS repeater is held, taking check-ins from ARES/R ACES members with GMRS capability, REACT members, and other locals wishing to participate. There were 44 check-ins in December. The Monday Night net on New Years Eve was kept open into the New Year with Tim W9AYK as net control. There were 22 check-ins throughout the evening. Next meeting: Jan 26.
NORTHEAST DISTRICT REPORT: Joe Giraudo - N7JEH NE. DEC The Elko Amateur Radio Club participated in Skywarn Recognition Day 2007. Three HF stations were operated from the Elko NOAA Office under the WX7LKN callsign. The scores are not in yet but overall contacts neared 400! The Saturday HF net is thriving. Propagation continues to improve and several new stations have checked in. No other activities took plce during the month of December.
NORTHWEST DISTRICT REPORT: Acting DEC Don Carlson, KQ6FM: As the year draws to a close, we hope that everyone will gear up toward preparation for winter and the storms ahead. I ve heard of a couple of folks who have their eye on having Santa bring them a nice generator - not bad for a wish list. Those can be expensive, but will come in very handy during emergencies. -Don
Paul Wilcoxen KE7CRZ Churchill County reports: December was a rather quiet month in Churchill County. On Sunday December 16th, the 145.35 repeater failed so we were forced to use simplex for our net. We will be doing some needed training on programming simplex frequencies for the output of our repeaters. Fortunately the repeater self healed and we suspect that the antenna became ice loaded and caused the problem. Our monthly meeting for January 2008 has been scheduled for 10 A.M., Saturday January 19, 2007 at the Round Table Pizza Restaurant in Fallon. The MOU's for the City of Fallon Police Department and Department of Emergency Management have been submitted to the Emergency Manager and we are awaiting their approval and signatures.
Dick Creley, KJ7UK Douglas/Carson City Counties report: Not much to report for December. No major events or callouts to report. Working with Bob Miller, WA6MTY from Washoe County on having a packet training session after the first of the year. Also, much of the upcoming training will be taken on by Otto Tune, KV7J. Monday night nets are conducted at 1830 hrs. on the W7DI repeater at 147.270+ PL. 123.0. The only exception is the third Monday of the month when the monthly DCART meeting is held rather than conducting the on air net. Members rotate for NCS duties. (Reported by KQ6FM for KJ7UK)
Bob Miller, WA6MTY Washoe County report: Andy KD7ZEV and I took delivery of the 62 Pentium III industrial grade computers that were donated by International Game Technology to the Regional EOC for exclusive use by Washoe County ARES as Packet computers. After several hours of testing we re-configured the computers from Slot Machines to Packet computers then transferred them to a storeroom at the REOC. The next project is to obtain keyboards and mice and produce a video to train all of our team in setting up the software for use. Now our entire packet infrastructure will consist of identical computers using the same software. On December 29th Gary Grant K7VY and I coordinated One Day Ham Cram . Over 30 people tested at the end of the day, half tested for the Technician and the other half tested for the General, plus two tested for the Extra Class. Only three people didn t make it.
Patty Polish, - Lyon County report: We plan on having monthly meetings on the last Monday of the month. The first meeting this year will be January 28th at 7pm at the Silver Stage High School in Silver Springs. The entrance is located by the bus pickup area on the North side of the school. I would like to thank all LCARES members for their enthusiasm and willingness to assist those in need. This makes my job easier. (Note: As this is written after the first of January, Patty and her Lyon County ARES team worked the Lyon County/Fernley flood disaster. Details in next month's report.)
December 30, 2007 - QCWA Outstanding Amateur Radio Operator of the Year -
The Quarter Century Wireless Association, Silver State Chapter #190, N7QC presented
the Outstanding Amateur Radio Operator of the year at our annual Christmas Party on Friday, December 14th.
The award was presented by Gary Grant, K7VY, Don Freeman, W7FD, and Larry Oakley, W7AB, to Dale Anderson. KV7S of the Carson Valley. The award was an original piece of art made by Steve Appel of Prescott, Arizona. Steve made an amateur radio operator sitting at his ham station next to a three element yagi antenna made of bolts.
If you were licensed 25 or more years ago and wish to join our local chapter drop an email to W7ab@sbcglobal.net. for an application for the National and local chapters.
Our next brunch is Saturday, January 12th, 10 AM at the Black Bear Diner in Reno across from the demolished Park Lane Mall. All amateur radio operators and their guests are invited to attend. Please email W7fd@sbcglobal.net to confirm.
Check out the Silver State QCWA webpage at http://www.qcwachapter190.org
(tnx to Larry, W7AB for this)
December 26, 2007 - Results from the NV QSO Party 2007 -
The Nevada Mustang Roundup 2007 (Nevada QSO Party) was held on May 11 for 24 hours starting at 0000Z. The purpose of the Mustang Roundup is to provide an opportunity for ops everywhere to contact Nevada stations for awards, rig testing or just plain fun. The results of the contest are below:
| Call | OP | Category | #QSO | #Nv Co. | #States | #Provinces | #DXCC | Total | |
| N7N | NA7RF | SO LP | 16 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 112 | |
| KC6ZZT | KC6ZZT | SO LP | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| K7VC | K7VC | SO HP | 77 | 0 | 27 | 2 | 9 | 2926 | |
| NW7O | NW7O | SO LP | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25 | |
| VE3BLH | VE3BLH | SO LP | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| W7GK | W7GK | SO LP | 51 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 714 | |
| Category: | Station: | Op: |
| Single Op Low Power Nevada | N7N | Jack Parker NA7RF |
| Single Op High Power Nevada | K7VC | K7VC |
| Single Op Low Power Out state | NW7O | Jim Frye NW7O |
| Single Op Low Power DX | VE3BLH | Betty Huider VE3BLH |
December 9, 2007 - ARES Monthly Report for November'07 SEC Summary - Emcommwest 2008 in Reno is still in planning stages. Looks like we're on for May 2-4 at Circus Circus in Reno. New chair will be Kevin, KE7BQX, who will be putting together a new department chair roster and rounding up volunteers for duty. We are formulating some neat things, so stay tuned. All 3 Districts are gearing up for Skywarn Recognition Day, which will be the weekend of December 1. Looks like the annual rivalry will be on again. Elko in Northeast District always seems to take top honors, but they may have a tough time this year, or at least so I hear. Good luck to all. A couple of new EC's around the section as you will read. Many thanks to all of those who step up to the plate and take on such an awesome responsibility. You don't know how grateful we are for your help and dedication. Don Carlson, KQ6FM SEC.
SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORT: - November 2007 from Glenn Hale, KB7REO, DEC. Clark and Nye Counties began coordinating for a, first ever, joint exercise drill. The Red Cross Las Vegas Chapter asked Clark County ARES/RACES to participate in the drill, which was slated to include Laughlin, Pahrump and Las Vegas. Planning for the exercise began in October. In addition, planning for SKYWARN Recognition Day was well underway. Jeff KC7PK, AEC for SKYWARN provided the lead role in organizing the local event.
South Nye Co. EC Report by Jerry KC6ILH - Did a SKYWARN Training class, and some Thanksgiving food basket deliveries. Been a nice slow month. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all the ARES/RACES members in Southern Nye County.
Clark County EC Report by Charlie AA5QJ - No ARES/RACES activities in November, but members did participate in the communications support of the MS150 bike ride and the Silverman Triathlon.
North Nye Co. EC Report by AEC Randy KB7TRI, Acting EC - Organized paperwork for ARES, filled out form. Acting EC made inquiries on a repeater for regular local nets, and made inquiries on local emergency resources. Participated in ARES Statewide nets. Net Control for Statewide Net.
NORTHEAST DISTRICT REPORT: This month was pretty quiet. No emergency operations occurred. This month's focus was on continued Boy Scout training and field preparation for Skywarn Recognition Day on Dec 1. Three HF field antennas were erected at the Elko forecast office of the National Weather Service. An A4S beam was erected on the EARC Mobile tower, a Butternut vertical was set up and a skeleton cone wire antenna was hung from the NOAA communication tower. Permission was granted to the Club to install a yard arm on the NOAA tower for more rapid antenna deployment during these events and actual weather emergencies. IRLP node 3227 located at N7JEH's QTH returned to operation this month. This node offers a backup to the 3806 node operated by the EARC for emergency net purposes. This brings the number of active IRLP nodes in the Elko area to three. The third node is 3723, owned by Phill Cheety WB7BTS. The Section HF net continues on Saturday mornings on 3996.5 khz at 8:00 AM. Propagation seems to have actually improved since the change to Pacific Standard Time. New participants are joining the net weekly. Join us! - Joe Giraudo - N7JEH NE. DEC
NORTHWEST DISTRICT REPORT: Having just taken over as acting DEC for Northwest District, I will defer my comments to what I ve already said in the SEC report, and will list those comments made by the EC's for the Northwest District. We are working on getting a new Northwest Distrtict EC soon, but for now, I will have to do. ASEC, Dick Creley KJ7UK has just taken over as acting EC for Douglas and Carson City Counties. No direct report from Dick, but I will fill for him below. We have a new EC for Humbolt County. We welcome Stephen Ski WOYTOWICZ AB7FB. He is also the county RACES officer, and has been involved with emergency communications there for some time. It is good to have such an experienced EC on the team. No report from Ski, as he is just getting started, and no membership to report yet! 73
Paul Wilcoxen KE7CRZ Churchill County reports: Once again we had a quiet month in Churchill County. I have been attending the regular meetings of the Local Emergency Planning Commission and receiving regular briefings regarding Vigilant Guard 2008. We have been working to get Packet Stations at the Churchill County EOC as well as the NAS Fallon EOC. There have been several radios as well as computers donated to the cause and we should have those stations on the air and operational very soon. I have been asked by Under Sheriff Wood, to meet with him regarding emergency communications and hope to schedule that meeting soon. Things are really coming together here and the cooperation is great with all the agencies involved. This of course is due to the tremendous support of all the members of ARES of Churchill County.
Dick Creley, KJ7UK Douglas/Carson City Counties report: Dick has just taken back over the leadership of the area and of DCART. Monday night nets remain the same at 6:30pm on the K7DI 147.270 and 441.250 linked repeaters. Dick is currently putting together a new AEC leaders team with several areas of need being filled. November meeting attended by SEC, Don Carlson, KQ6FM. Many members expressed an interest in learning more about Winlink and packet, and interest building in a renewed packet program. De KQ6FM, for KJ7UK.
Bob Miller, WA6MTY Washoe County report: Not much happened in November. Had a small packet workshop at our monthly training session. On November 28th Kaydie Paschall the CERT coordinator did a disaster prepardness class for a small group of Girl Scouts at the REOC and after that class Zahra W7ZMA and I did a presentation and demonstration of Amateur Radio to the Scouts and their leaders. May have a few more Hams in the area. Andy KD7ZEV announced final approval from his company IGT will be donating around 60 Pentium III Class industrial computers to the REOC to be used soley by ARES for packet computers. All computers will be the same with the same packet and Winlink sofware for the Northwest District ARES team. Kevin KE7BQX donated a new KENWOOD TS-480 HF transceiver to the REOC and I donated an all band Windom antenna to be deployed in an Inverted-V configuration to be used in conjunction with the Hi-Q dipole already on the tower.
No report from Lyon County this month. 73 de KQ6FM, Acting DEC
December 3, 2007 - News from Oregon -
Seems the state of Oregon is having a rough time today. The message below came from HQ. While I realize that we
are a little farther south, I believe we should monitor HF frequencies if we can (I will try to find out exactly what
they are using, and if YOU find anything, please let us all know). I am going to contact the SEC up there to let him
know that we will be listening in case they need contacts, relays or etc. from Nevada Section. Please keep our
brothers and sisters up there in your prayers ... sounds like all hell is breaking for them. See message from HQ via
Allen Pitts below. Thanks. --Don KQ6FM SEC/NV
For Immediate Release:
At about 6 am this morning, the 9-1-1 lines that would normally be answered in Seaside and Astoria for callers in Clatsop County were diverted by the phone company to Columbia 9-1-1 Communications Center, on a temporary emergency basis. The emergency phone calls are being taken by Columbia 9-1-1 staff who are relaying the information via Columbia County and Clatsop County Amateur Radio Emergency Services Volunteers to the police fire and emergency medical dispatchers in Clatsop County, who then are activating Clatsop County first responders. Columbia 9-1-1 has doubled up on staff to handle the extra call load. Both counties are experiencing severe flooding causing numerous high water situations, road closures, flooding and evacuations.
Columbia County emergency operations center, Clatskanie, Vernonia, St. Helens, Columbia City, Rainier, Scappoose city emergency operations centers are activated.
/s/Sally J. Jones, ENP, Administrator
Columbia 9-1-1 Communications District
PO Box 998, St. Helens, OR 97051
December 3, 2007 - Steve Smythe, KE7HLS, SNARS "Ham of the Year" -
CONGRATULATIONS !!!
Steve Smythe, KE7HLS, has been awarded
"Ham of the Year" by the Sierra Nevada Amateur Radio Society.
Lee Edwards, KE7KPY, has been awarded
"Young Ham of the Year" by Sierra Nevada Amateur Radio Society.
Both of these Hams were part of the Reno QRP 2007 ARRL Field Day Team.
(tnx to Steve, NU7T & Reno QRP for this)
November 23, 2007 - Reno QRP Lunch -
Like at the October lunch, many items appeared at the November lunch
for Show n' Tell. Bruce, W7JBB, fine craftmanship was seen in his Nor Cal
40 Wilderness Radio. Swede, K7UAL, passed around a Touchtapper TT-1 key,
Hal MKB-1 key board he uses for digital and a Drake W-4 watt meter. Carl,
K5HK, showed off an Elecraft KX1 he built along with his new American Morse
Key. Steve, NU7T, gave everyone a peek at the Vibroplex Collector's Guide.
Fred, N6FME, is in Arizona until April. He will be on 20m, 30m and 40m.
Stan, K7NUU, who has been producing radio dust covers for the past few
years is still in business until the materials are used up, but that will be
some time yet. The covers are high quality and customized to the particular
model of radio (see attached). He does make covers for the new Elecraft K3.
srl at citlink.net.
Through the grapevine, Frank, W6MN, has returned to the area.
Welcome back Frank. frank at w6mn dot reno dot nv dot us.
Send all ideas for 2008 Field Day sites, NOW, to Ed wd7y at sbcglobal dot net. Ed is our Chairman of the Exploratory Committee for 2008 Field Day Site Selection. The site selection committee will meet in January to schedule on site workshops.
(tnx to Steve, NU7T & Reno QRP for this)
November 12, 2007 - ARES Monthly Report for October'07 SEC Summary - Where do I begin for such a busy month! First, on Saturday, October 13, in conjunction with the Washoe County and Carson City County's POD exercise, we used the opportunity to hold a statewide SET. The event was coordinated by Bob Miller, WA6MTY, Washoe County EC who was working with the Health Department. Once word got out, several other hospitals around the state wanted to join in. During the SET, contacts were made all around the state between Las Vegas, Reno/Sparks, Carson City, Pahrump, Incline Village at Lake Tahoe and Tonopah. Traffic was passed between stations using a variety of modes including IRLP/Echolink, HF and Winlink. We learned a great deal, and many thanks to Bob and all of the operators who participated. Many of the hospitals were delighted with our performance, and the Health Department now knows it can count on amateur radio for emergency communications if needed.
Next up was our Pacific Division convention Pacificon October 19-21 at the Marriott Hotel in San Ramon. A Pacific Division HF and IRLP net schedule was set up between the SMs and SECs of the division in order to stay in close touch during emergencies. Acting SM Joe Giraudo, N7JEH and I attended meetings held at Pacificon.
I was able to attend the Clark County ARES/RACES meeting on October 27 in Las Vegas. Great meeting, and even a portable Winlink demo, which we hope to bring to EMCOMMWEST 2008 in Reno which by the way has been announced for May 2-4 at Circus Circus in Reno.
Also had dinner Friday night 10/26 with Kent, W7AOR and the NARRI group working with IRLP and Echolink. Great progress in those areas thanks to Kent and group. Remember that fall leads to winter, so please take time to make preparations soon and start gearing up.
We have a new PIO for South Nye County. She is Carol Bird, KE7KHD. Welcome Carol, I know you will do a great job!
Last but not least, it is a pleasure to announce that Dick Flanagan, K7VC has once again taken the helm as SM, after weeks of recovery from back surgery. He is doing well, and continues to recover. Many thanks also to ASM/Northeast DEC Joe Giraudo, N7JEH for stepping in as interim SM in K7VC, Dick Flanagan's absence.
Finally, I would like to thank Glenn Thomas, WB6W who will be leaving us as DEC for Northwest in November. Glenn has a superb background, and his expertise and knowledge has been an enormous resource to us. Thank you Glenn for a job well done. You are very much appreciated. I will assume the DEC duties on an interim basis at that time.
That's it for this month. Thanks to everyone for your hard work and dedication. Don Carlson, KQ6FM SEC.
SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORT: October 2007 - The 2007 SET was held this past month with several local hospitals participating in Clark County. Thanks to all operators who assisted with the exercise.
The major lessons learned dealt with preparation, planning and improved communication with the lead organization. One major benefit of the exercise was introducing ARES/RACES in the District to a group of hospitals who weren't previously aware of amateur radio. Planning was well underway for the next exercise in Southern NV in support of an upcoming Red Cross exercise.
South Nye Co. EC Report by Jerry KC6ILH - This month started out with our annual fall parade, for which we provide safety communications and parade line up assistance. Then we went on Tiger patrol. Someone spotted a tiger and the school district had us patrol one morning while the buses picked up the students. (What we would have done if we had seen it was another story unto it's self).
Then the state SET, of which we just monitored and checked into the HF and IRLP/VOIP nets. Still dry conditions so fire watch is still on around our area.
Clark County EC Report by Charlie AA5QJ - No report this month.
North Nye Co. EC Report by AEC Randy KB7TRI Participated in SET. 1st time Nye Regional Medical Center has participated. Ran local ARES Net prior and during the test on local repeater. All Amateur participants monitored and checked in on multiple frequencies. All participants had the capability to operate without commercial power.
NORTHEAST DISTRICT REPORT: This year's SET was a resounding success. The Elko team ran a scenario that included the National Weather Service and the Northeast Nevada Regional Medical Center. It revolved around a chlorine gas leak at the rail yard east of town. An on-air HAZMAT briefing was held by one of the members who is certified in HAZMAT operations. Safe zones were established for all communicators. Evacuation shelters were simulated and resource requests were made to Reno on behalf of the Red Cross even though they chose not to participate.
Communications between Elko and Reno and Las Vegas were maintained via the IRLP system through the Nevada Gate on the Western Reflector. This was a first for the Nevada Section. Additionally, a mobile HF Pactor-based Winlink 2K station was deployed in Elko at the hospital. It made successful e-mail contact with both EOCs in Reno and Las Vegas via 20 meters through a PMBO in Texas, yet another first for the Nevada Section.
The Elko Amateur Radio Club has been assisting a local Boy Scout Troop gain their Radio Merit Badges. Several members have attended weekly meetings, demonstrating the various Amateur systems including repeaters, IRLP, HF and simplex VHF operations. One night the Scouts built, erected and operated their own HF inverted vee antenna, making several successful contacts. They are now studying electronic theory and have built several circuits under the watchful eye of Jack Larason, KE7HTY.
The Saturday Nevada Section HF Net operates weekly. Propagation has been status quo. Participation has been good statewide. There have been several instances of QRM during the net, but that's Amateur Radio. It is yet to be seen how the time change will affect propagation. See you all next month! - Joe Giraudo - N7JEH NE. DEC
NORTHWEST DISTRICT REPORT: DEC Glenn Thomas WB6W - October was a busy month. In addition to the statewide SET and the Nevada Day parade, we saw several personnel changes. Long time EC for Pershing and Humboldt counties, Jim Shepherd N7WVZ, stepped down. Also stepping down is Douglas county & Carson City EC Dick Young KD7JMR. Many thanks to these gentlemen for their service as EC. We will miss them.
Stepping up to the plate as EC for Humboldt county is "Ski" Stephan Woytowicz, AF7NB. Ski has hit the ground running, already being selected to be the Humboldt county RACES RO.
This will be my last report as DEC. Effective November 13 I am resigning as DEC. I've enjoyed working with ARES/RACES as DEC/RO and as EC before that. I expect to be available for special assignments as an AEC and to advise other ARES officials as requested. However I need more time to devote to family issues.
Churchill County - EC Paul Willcoxon KE7CRZ - It's been another quiet month in Churchill County. The Sheriff s Department had a repeater failure earlier this month but was able to continue communications on an alternate frequency. I have been attending meetings for Vigilant Guard 2008 and the group is preparing to work the exercise with Churchill County, City of Fallon as well as NAS Fallon. All three will have communications failure scenarios in their plan, so we should be busy for a few days.
We are continuing on air training for ICS courses and will be starting message traffic handling on a regular basis.
Carson City/Douglas County - EC Dick Young KD7JMR - Douglas County ARES members were privileged to visit the State of Nevada Division of Emergency Management, receiving a very comprehensive tour from Otto (KV7J), the DEM Communications Specialist. This after-hours tour included a thorough briefing of the amateur radios and other equipments available to ARES/RACES members.
Five ARES members participated in the communications requirements necessary for the successful health, safety and welfare of participants in the Nevada Day Parade.
Lyon County - EC Patti Polish KE7JIV - This month was perhaps one of the slowest months for members of LCARES. Three members, John Abrott, KD7NHC, Al Penaluna, N7RAA, and Leonard Mitchell, KE7PET, assisted with the Nevada Day Parade by providing much needed communications along the parade route. I understand from John that the Board of Direcotrs for the parade was pleased with the work of all those that helped this day, and they should be proud of the community service that they provided.
Washoe County - EC Bob Miller WA6MTY - On Saturday October 13th was the Washoe County Health Department POD exercise at Reed High school. Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) participated in the event practicing emergency communications between the POD, WC Heath Department Operations Center (DOC) the Regional Emergency Operations Center (REOC).
At the same time the Nevada Section ARES held a Section Emergency Test, which was part of a nation wide ARES test where we participate with various agencies in a training exercise within Nevada. We were in communications with Clark County Nye County and Elko County. Participants statewide included: Barton Memorial Hospital, Carson Tahoe Hospital, Clark County Emergency Communications Center (ECC), Desert Springs, Elko Emergency Operations Center (EOC), National Weather Service (NWS), Reno, Nevada Department of Emergency Management (DEM), Northeastern Nevada Medical Center, Elko, Northern Nevada Medical Center, Nye Regional Medical Center, Reed High School (POD), Regional Emergency Operations Center (REOC), Saint Mary's Medical Center, Spring Valley Hospital, Tahoe Forrest Hospital, UNR Emergency Operations Center (EOC), VA Medical Center, WC Health Department Operations Center (DOC).
Approximately 45 Amateur Radio Operators State participated wide, handling approximately 40 messages. There were 5 planning sessions in September and October plus the exercise for a total of 236 volunteer hours in Washoe County alone.
November 5, 2007 - South Nye County ARES -
South Nye County ARES, Inc has elected new officers for 2008. They are:| President | Fred Jones | KE7APH | |
| Vice-President | Steve Bird | KE7KHE | |
| Sec/Treasurer | Richard Gamble | K7RTG |
South Nye County ARES meetings are now held in the NEW "EOC". Starting in January they will be held on the 2nd Wednesday of each month.
(update on 12Nov07) The new EOC is in the New Ny County Emergency Management Office at 1510 E. SIRI LN. Pahrump NV 89060 Takeing Hwy 160 to Basin turn East on Basin go approximately 6 blocks to Kittyhawk and turn left on Kittyhawk then go 2 blocks to SIRI LN. Turn right on SIRI ln and then left into the compound at 1510 SIRI Ln. The first building on the left is the Emergency Management Building and the EOC. The other building is for Hazmat vehicles. This is all behind the Nye County Office complex on E Basin which includes County Courts, Auditor, Sheriff, Jail and Animal Control.
November 5, 2007 - Field day Scores -
The ARRL has released scores for Field Day 2007. ARRL members can look at the results
here.
In perusing the results, special mention is due to the Reno QRP Group, who won national honors in the QRP 2A class! W7FST had 313 Q's for 3,670 points,
October 30, 2007 - Nevada Day Parade -
On the 27th of October 2007 the Nevada Day Parade took place on a beautiful
day. The weather was perfect for the event. Members of the Sierra
Intermountain Emergency Radio Association and ARES/RACES
Operators provided communications along the parade route. Operators were
stationed at each of the announcer stations, and other key locations to
relay changes in the lineup of entries.
At times the noise levels from the bands, and other entry’s made communications difficult. If a transmitting station waited for a quiet time to transmit, the receiving stations would be experiencing the band or other noise,.….go figure!
An event such as this most likely should use a headset and a noise canceling microphone. Something to keep in mind next year. Any other ideas in operating in a high noise level location? Please let me know.
The Parade Board of Directors is extremely pleased with the communications we provided. We had a few minor problems that were identified and corrected. The net control must be in a quiet location, to insure the ability to relay information. One major disconnect was multiple names for some locations, and that caused confusion, and a duplicate assignment of operators. A lesson well learned.
I would like to personally thank everyone that volunteered for the event. We ended up with more operators than requirements. Thank you Terry KG0DU and Kris KD7HFA Philbin; John KD7FPO and Tim KB7TIM Thompson; and June Bennett N7OWV for volunteering, and being available if we needed additional operators.
The following Amateurs operated during the event: WB6W Glenn Thomas, N7CPP- Bruce Pfeiffer, KE7DZY- Austin Cathey, KE7EAA- Ed Goldberg, KD7ERR- Kathryn Pfaffle, KE7HXD- Daryl Haines, KD7LBJ- Gary Budd, KE7NCJ- Tom Tabacco, KD7NHC- John Abrott, KE7NML- Robert Lapp, KC7PET Leonard Mitchell, N7RAA Al Penaluna, and KV7S- Dale Anderson. (Tim KB7TIM made some relays from his home for us).
We were able to provide a public service, overcome high noise levels, got the information passed, and learned many things. Applying lessons learned to future events, and not making the same mistakes makes us better communicators.
Thank you again for a job well done.
John Abrott
KD7NHC
President SIERA
October 15, 2007 - Reno QRP Club -
At the October lunch of the Reno QRP Club, Ed, WD7Y, showed off his MFJ QRP transceiver and BLT,
Balanced Line Tuner. Gary, K7VY, proudly passed around his Heathkit 1250 Dip meter with plugs.
Tim, W7YQ, ARRL Field Day Marshall, presented ARRL Field Day pins to participants who were present.
Go to our web site,
www.renoqrp.org
and click on "last meeting" to view photos.
Now is the time to begin planning next year's activities. Send all your comments, questions and suggestions to Van, w7iex@sbcglobal.net who is the 2007 Activities Committee Chairman, elect.
(TNX to Steve, NU7T, for this)
October 15, 2007 - ARES Monthly Report for September'07 SEC Summary - September has been a month of planning for the upcoming SET we plan statewide on Saturday, October 13. Bob Miller, Washoe County EC has been working with the Health Department who will be doing a focus on a widespread pandemic, which is an area of real concern that we have not dealt with before as an exercise. They tell us that this could be a real situation one day, and want to prepare for it. That said, many of the hospitals around the state would like to join in, along with other served agencies. Hopefully we can pass traffic around the state and show them what we re made of and how amateur radio can be a real resource in time of disaster or other such situation.
Our Pacific Division convention Pacificon will take place the following weekend, October 19-21 at the Marriott Hotel in San Ramon. Check the web site for information, www.pacificon.org Our Thursday night ARES/RACES VoIP net picking up steam and good support. It's a great way for everyone around the state to get to know each other and share events and planning together. Thanks to all for both helping and checking in.
Remember that fall leads to winter, so please take time to make preparations soon and start gearing up.
Finally, thanks also to ASM/Northeast DEC Joe Giraudo, N7JEH for stepping in as interim SM in K7VC, Dick Flanagan's absence. We wish Dick the very best in his recuperation following surgery. Reports I get say that he is doing well, and may be back with us again soon. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. - Don Carlson KQ6FM SEC
SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORT: - September 2007 Effort to coordinate and plan for the 2007 Section SET was underway most of the month. We're planning to involve the Clark County ECC as well as other EOC's in the District for the exercise. Howard K3HM and Randy KB7TRI of Tonopah have been busy coordinating with local hospitals to include their EOC's in the Statewide SET.
North Nye County EC, Dave KE7LC has given Randy KB7TRI the responsibility of 'acting' EC for the next year while Dave focuses on other personal commitments.
A Tornado Warning was issued briefly for southern Nye and Clark Counties. I initiated a SKYWARN net on the ARES/RACES repeaters. Shortly after calling the net, the NWS cancelled the warning. No spotter reports were noted over the repeaters.
South Nye Co. EC Report by Jerry KC6ILH - Did a long day the 29th to support a trail ride of 33.5 miles long. It ran from Crystal to Pahrump. It was a Pony Express ride to start off an event, which ran the entire weekend. We also combined our annual SET with it. This was done because we will be supporting a parade the weekend of 6 Oct when the SET is supposed to be run. We will also have an HF station to support the state SET the 13th.
Clark County EC Report by Charlie AA5QJ - Jay Peskin KE7EGO, AEC Henderson, and Mike Lee WB6RTH, AEC Las Vegas, led a team including Bill Smith W4HMV, Bob Mathewson K7RJM, and Jim Bilan KC7UXB to evaluate ham radio communications at Hoover Dam in preparation for a major exercise at the dam next spring. Mike's comprehensive report set a new standard for others to follow.
14 members contributed to the safety communications for the Silver State Classic Challenge open road race from Lund to Hiko on Sept 16. - Glenn Hale KB7REO SO DEC
NORTHEAST DISTRICT REPORT: Summer open road race and bicycle events have all been completed and it is time to ready the repeater fleet for the long cold winter ahead. The Elko Amateur Radio Club put the finishing touches on the new repeater to be installed in the Winnemucca area. Additionally, the new Pequop Summit repeater which covers I-80 well into Utah continues it's flawless operation in it's first month of service. The Final PA was replaced on the Jackpot repeater which communicates well into Idaho.
Preparations for the Simulated Emergency Test in October were being made. This year the scenario will be a Haz-mat incident. Elko will also tie into the exercises in the Northwest and Southern Districts. - Joe Giraudo N7JEH NE DEC
NORTHWEST DISTRICT REPORT: DEC Glenn Thomas WB6W - The statewide Simulated Emergency test (SET) is coming up on Saturday, October 13. Many of the hospitals in the state have chosen to play with Washoe county and their mass vaccination drill. This has provided an opportunity to introduce Amateur radio into the emergency plans .
Churchill County - EC Paul Willcoxon KE7CRZ - Once again we had a quiet month in Churchill County. We have changed the time of our Sunday evening net to 7:30 P.M. on the Fairview Repeater, 145.35 PL 123.0. We have a new member, Matthew Gull-KX4W, welcome aboard Matt. We have begun on net training for the ISC-200 course and the training is going quite well.
I am currently planning to conduct on air HAZMAT training and will be working on obtaining appropriate training material for the members as well as a plan for training.Our next monthly meeting is scheduled for Saturday October 20, 2007, 10 A.M., at the Round Table Pizza restaurant in Fallon.
Carson City/Douglas County - EC Dick Young KD7JMR - 10 Douglas County ARES members provided excellent communications for a Lake Tahoe bike ride. The mountainous terrain provides challenges for amateur radio (other forms of communication are impossible) but ARES members always rise to the challenge.
Lyon County - EC Patti Polish KE7JIV - On September 5th and 6th LCARES provided communications for a ground search being conducted by the Lyon County Sheriff's Search and Rescue in south Lyon County for Steve Fossett. On September 19th Dennis Maginot, KE7JIS, and myself were assisting in the Fossett Search by reviewing emails from volunteers all over the world at the Operations Center in Minden, Nevada and then moved to the Nevada Division of Emergency Management EOC in Carson City, Nevada. On September 20th and 21st Dennis Maginot, KE7JIS, Brian Freitag, KE7JIO, Rex Geissinger(non LCARES member), KA6SQM, and myself assisted the search efforts by manning phones, and receiving faxes and emails. This information was then used to determine if it was a previously known crash site or information that should be forwarded to Command for further action. I must say that your communication skills are more than important when one talks to people from all over the world as we did.
Dayton Valley Days was held on September 15th and 16th in Dayton Nevada. LCARES assisted with the parade and throughout the event with communications.
Washoe County - EC Bob Miller WA6MTY - We continue to organize and plan the Nevada SET for October 13th in conjunction with the Health Department exercise. Anyone that has not heard about the event and would like to participate, contact me at WA6MTY@gbis.com The D-Star team continues to prepare the Health Department POD radio systems. Andy KD7ZEV and Steve KE7HLS got the ARES packet system setup to operate with D-Star radios.
Doug KA7FOO organized the communications for the Tahoe Sierra Century Bike ride fund raiser for the North Tahoe Middle and High School Music Departments. Thanks to Andy KD7ZEV, Bob WA6MTY, Frank KE7AJO, Fred WA6GOG, Harold WA1RAT, Jim WA6OOU, Darrell W6ADZ, Adrian KD7ZEM, Patrick KC7ORU, Dan KE7HLR, Richard N7TGB, Joe WA6RKN, Ed KB7ZBN for pulling off the event. No thanks to Mother Nature dumping snow on the highest elevations of the course, the event went successfully yet short. - Glenn Thomas WB6W NW DEC
September 28, 2007 - Help needed for Nevada Day parade -
The Nevada Day Parade is taking place on the 27th of October. SIERA is working
with the Board of Directors of the Nevada Day Parade to furnish
communications. If you are interested in volunteering to work the parade, as
a Amateur Radio operator, please contact John Abrott at
jabrott@tele-net.net,
or by telephone at (775) 465-2330..
Purpose: Establish and maintain VHF/UHF communications for the Nevada Day Parade on the 27th of October in Carson City. This is an Open net. Pass information to and from parade officials between the different locations on the parade route.
Equipment: Portable (handheld) 2 meter or 70cm radios. (We will be using local repeaters that are linked VHF to UHF covering the Carson Valley). Enough battery's) for the duration. (a mag mount antenna would improve signal in some areas of the route)
Most locations are fixed, (announcers, reviewing stands, staging area, etc). The operator will be seated next to/near the parade official. 2 positions are mobile - an HT with a mag mount would be great.
That Saturday morning, we will meet for a breakfast sponsored by the parade committee. We will have a final briefing, and receive our event ID's. Detailed information will be made available for interested operators.
For additional information, or to sign up contact John Abrott at jabrott@tele-net.net, or by telephone at (775) 465-2330.
September 25, 2007 - Nevada section ARES plan has been updated -
Don Carlson, KQ6FM, the NV SEC has updated the Section ARES Plan.
The plan will undergo an annual review and revision as needed.
The plan can be viewed on this website by clicking on the "Nevada ARES" button above and then
clicking on the "Section Emergency Plan HTML" or "PDF" buttons. The HTML version is a much smaller file and will load a lot faster than the PDF version.
Either version may be printed though the printed version will not have any later updates.
September 21, 2007 - Hams Participate in Steve Fossett search -
Patricia Polish, KE7JIV, ARES EC for Lyon county, and Dennis Maginot, KE7JIS, both of Lyon County,
are assisting in the Steve Fossett Search by manning phone lines, FAX
and E-mails at the Nevada Division of Emergency Management in Carson
City along with others from the Lyon County Search and Rescue Team.
They are receiving tips from volunteers worldwide who are assisting in
the search by scanning photo maps for aircraft wreckage. They receive,
sort, associate the tip with map coordinates, determine if a known,
previous aircraft crashed in that particular area and then forward the
information into the search area for further check out.
If you have a tip or lead in the Fossett search, call:
| (775) 687-0335 or | |
| (775) 687-0336 or | |
| (775) 687-0337 or | |
| (775) 687-0338 or | |
| Fax to (775) 687-0367 or | |
| E-mail to fossettsearch@eoc.nv.gov |
September 17, 2007 - Pacificon'07 is October 19, 20 and 21 NEXT MONTH! -
It's time to register for the Pacific Division Convention, PACIFICON!
Information is available at the
Pacificon'07 website, http://www.pacificon.org
This is the Pacific Division Convention, and we hope to have a good showing of members from the Nevada Section. NV section officials will be there and will share progress we've made on several key issues. Pacificon includes a lot of activities beyond the tech sessions and the
"hucksters hall"
If you've never been, make this your year!
See if you can find the whizzing rettysnitch!
September 15, 2007 - K7VC in good shape- On September 2, ARRL NV Section manager Dick Flanagan K7VC sent the follwing message:
I will be temporarily transferring my authority as ARRL Nevada Section Manager to ARRL Nevada Assistant Section Manager Joe Giraudo N7JEH. During this time Joe will have full authority to expend funds, manage (hire/fire) field appointments, review/approve/disapprove MOUs and exercise all normal Section Manager functions as listed at http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/org/sm.html without limitation.
This transfer will take effect at 0000 GMT Wednesday, September 12, 2007, and shall remain in effect until and unless I explicitly rescind them. I estimate the duration of these transfers to be from two to four weeks. In no case, however, will either of these transfers cease without my explicit announcement of this fact.
Joe Giraudo N7JEH can be contacted in several ways:
Surface Mail: Joe Giraudo, 720 Holyoke Drive, Spring Creek NV 89815
Home E-mail: jgiraudo@citlink.net
Work E-mail: jgiraudo@barrick.com
Home Telephone: 775-738-7110
On September 12, Dick's wife Melissa wrote, "Just wanted to let you know that Dick's surgery went very well today! The surgery took less time than expected."
September 15, 2007 - ARES Monthly Report for August'07 SEC Summary - August has seen more fires yet, as a very dry and fire-prone season continues. We have not seen a lot of activation for our services, yet we have been prepared and has been a good opportunity for us to realize the importance of what we do. Plans are being made to incorporate a state exercise on Saturday October 13 into a statewide SET. Details will be coming soon, with the hope that we can get most areas of the state involved. Planning meeting scheduled for September 8. Great exercises and Skywarn activity in southern district, as you will read. Good work by all, and thanks to all who participated. Our Northwest DEC, Glenn Thomas, WB6W has been touring into Canada and Alaska, and in his absence, turned his DEC duties over to Washoe County EC, Bob Miller, WA6MTY. He just got home so I'm sure pictures will follow. Don't forget our IRLP/Echolink Statewide ARES Net on Thursday nights at 7pm. It is on Western Reflector Channel 8, 9258 and Echolink Nevadagate 152566 . We're having great response and check-ins from all over the state. Nice to hear from everyone. Pacificon 2007 scheduled for weekend of October 19-21 at San Ramon Hilton once again. If you are planning to attend, you should make reservations soon, since the room blocks fill up quickly. Details online at www dot pacificon dot org. Have a great month, and 73 to all. Don Carlson, KQ6FM SEC.
SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORT: Exercises and late night SKYWARN activation dominated the ARES/RACES activity in Clark County. See Charlie's report for the details on the SNHD exercise. Southern Nevadans awoke to thunder, and heavy rain due to remnant moisture from Hurricane Dean. The storm took out a power substation, left localized flooding and debris filled roads for early morning commuters. SKYWARN activated late that night forwarding reports to NWS. At least one amateur radio report was noted in the NWS bulletins issued that evening. Thanks to all the SKYWARN operators who helped with the late night SKYWARN net effort.
South Nye Co. EC Report by Jerry KC6ILH - Started some informal training on HF. With a lot of people not knowing that much about how it sounds, what to listen for, how to set up the equipment and so on. Decided that something needed to be done. After our normal weekly net we switch to an HF frequency and just check in and make sure our equipment is on the correct frequency, sideband etc... Have discovered some problems and have been able to correct them. It will help the people that do not use HF that much (if at all) to understand some of the ins and outs of it. Have had a few regulars and some that just are there once and awhile. Once our new EOC becomes operational I plan to have Saturday morning check in from it as well as training. The more we know about our equipment the better we can perform when needed.
Clark County EC Report by Charlie AA5QJ - Vern K0EGA, AEC Operations/Training, attended 2 planning meetings for the Southern Nevada Health District POD exercise. The Southern Nevada Health District POD exercise was held on Aug 24 at 2 operating locations. Locations and members participating were: Henderson: Ken Johnson W7BES, Sam Sottosanti N2CGG, Jay Peskin KE7EGO, Charlie Kunz AA5QJ, Dan Starr AA7I, Andy Gagliardo N7SGV, Primm: Arnie Zelig WA2SOE, Jeff Green KC7PK, Jack Cook N8RRL, Bill Smith W4HMV, Vern Garman K0EGA, Keith Aurich KD7TOF. The Health District held 3 days of training for over 100 of their personnel in supporting a public health emergency. ARES/RACES provided communications for the exercise portion of their training between multiple Points of Distribution and their Mobile Command Post, all in Primm, and their Alternate District Operations Center in Henderson. Vern K0EGA, AEC Operations/Training, and Art K7ZE, AEC North Las Vegas, attended a planning meeting for an Incident Command Post Rodeo to be held in October. It will be a functional exercise to task command resources and their communication capabilities. Many of the mobile command posts operated by first responder agencies in the County will participate. One of the items to be evaluated is their amateur radio capabilities and interface with ARES/RACES.
Lincoln County EC Report by Lee K7NKH - This month Chuck AD7OY met with county officials. It looks like a good possibility that we may get funding for radios at Pioche and Alamo and to equip a mobile (retired ambulance) with radios that can be used in the field if needed or at Caliente and Panaca. We also set up a special events station W7P at the town park for the labor-day celebration, which Chuck operated Friday and Saturday. I was only involved in the set up and take down due to a houseful of company.
NORTHEAST DISTRICT REPORT: The Elko Amateur Radio Club provided emergency communications for the Pony Express 100 Open Road Race in mid August. Communication were provided through a linked commercial itinerant repeater system with backup communications provided through a portable linked 2-meter Amateur system. An accident occurred during one of the last high speed racers' runs, requiring response by the site stationed air and ground ambulances and crash crews. The injured parties were transported to hospitals in Elko and Battle Mountain. The race was "black flagged" which means it was terminated before all racers could run and before the return leg of the race was held. This event takes two days to set up communication equipment and consumes the entire day on race day. De Joe Giraudo, N7JEH Northeast DEC
NORTHWEST DISTRICT REPORT: DEC Glenn Thomas WB6W - This month a big thanks goes out to our newest ADEC (and EC for Washoe county) Bob Miller WA6MTY for filling is as "DEC pro tempre" while I was on an extended trip. It's great to have a team with so much depth that we can fill in for weach other when needed. Thanks Bob!
Churchill County - EC Paul Willcoxon KE7CRZ - It's been a quiet month here in Churchill County. We are currently working on a scenario for a next quarter exercise which should be some time in October or November. I have been distributing ICS-200 student manuals to the members and as soon as everyone receives one, we will begin on air training. We had our monthly meeting on August 25th and it was a great meeting. Once again Otto and Cynthia attended and their presence is most appreciated. We look forward to their attendance in the future. Our next meeting is scheduled for 10 A.M. September 22, 2007 at Round Table Pizza in Fallon and all are welcome. On August 14th, Mark Beadle-KD7ZPP, Patrick McCartin III-KC70RU and I were able to operate from NAS Fallon s Mobile Command Unit at the Fallon Farmers Market. The Navy brought several pieces of equipment to the event including fire equipment and Explosive ordinance disposal equipment as well as the MCU. Mark was able to make several contacts on HF, one as far away as Mexico. It was a lot of fun and several people were interested in the communications capabilities of the MCU.
Washoe County - EC Bob Miller WA6MTY - On August 25th we held the first workshop of the WC D-STAR Team. Thanks to Jim Miller N7JNG the WC Health Department has 6 new IC2820 D-STAR radios and all the accessories to setup portable stations. We had a workshop this Saturday the 25th at 10:00 to unpack, setup and test these systems. Thanks to KB7ZBN, KE7DZZ, KE7FGP, KA7LOZ, AA7WB, KD7ZEV and KA7FOO for helping setup this equipment. Further tests to follow. We will be participating in the WC Health Department POD Exercise using these new systems on October 13th.
August 13, 2007 - ARES Monthly Report for July'07 SEC Summary - July was a fairly quiet month, except for the many standbys due to a horrendous fire season this year. The Northeast District saw one of the largest fires in the nation's history, which meant our folks were sitting on pins and needles with breath held for a long period. Toward the end of the month though, much of this activity was winding down, thank God! It is a good time to remind everyone to stay prepared and to be ready, because the season is not over yet. Several events going on which used our support in July, and from what I have heard, kudos to all who participated on a job well done. SM, Dick Flanagan K7VC made the trek (or flight) to Las Vegas to visit the quarterly ARES/RACES meeting. I plan on attending the next one in October. I enjoyed working a Washoe County Ride For The Red in support of the ARC, which went very well. Thanks to Bruce Wade, N7ZA, AEC to Reno ARC for helping to put this together, and a great job as NCS. These events help us to stay sharp, and everyone is encouraged to do several each year if at all possible. Try getting some of the newer folks to take a hand at being NCS. With some coaching and with help from some of the seasoned Elmers , we can help develop these skills. Have a great month, and 73! De Don Carlson, KQ6FM, SEC.
SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORT:It was a busy month with ARES/RACES meetings, and SKYWARN activations. Monsoonal moisture arrived during the typical time of the year and SKYWARN groups were active reporting significant weather from Tonopah to Las Vegas. New coordination efforts are underway to improve exchanging information between neighboring counties in the CWA.
Northern Nye Co. ARES Report by EC, Dave KE7LC Skywarn activation conducted with Reno NWS:2 Fire assistance standby: 1 (brush/forest fires) Western Nevada Noon Net: 2 Also Tonopah ARC meeting (not recorded above): Discussion on establishment of Packet Node in Tonopah and future experimentation on 6 meters.
Southern Nye Co. ARES Report by EC, Jerry KC6ILH Well I can take the picture of a Rain Drop down from my wall. We had about two tenths of an inch from a nice rain fall event. No fires and no flooding. Had some wind prior to the rain, however, once it started to fall the wind went away. Back to normal weather again, hot and dry. Still high fire danger and we are starting in to the monsoon season so flooding will be on the list of things to watch out for. Nothing else to report this time, see all next month.
Lincoln Co. ARES Report by EC, Lee K7NKH - Meeting with Lincoln Co. Sheriff and county commission this month. More later.
Clark County ARES/RACES Report by EC, Charlie AA5QJ - Memorandum of Understanding signed with the City of North Las Vegas to provide them with backup radio communications. Vern K0EGA, AEC Operations/Training, attended a planning meeting for the Southern Nevada Health District POD exercise on Aug 24 in Henderson and Primm. The quarterly ARES/RACES Meeting was held Jul 28 with 40 members in attendance. Dick Flanagan K7VC, NV Section Manager, flew down and joined us for the meeting, briefing on EMCOMMWEST and current ARRL updates. Several members provided safety communications for the 16 hour Lake Mead Night Adventure Race Jul 28-29
NORTHEAST DISTRICT REPORT: The Elko Amateur Radio Club provided emergency communications for the gamblers' Run, high speed open road race north of Elko on Saturday July 14. They utilized the W7LKO 147.300 mhz. repeater which is part of the Club's extensive linked repeater network and the 2-meter remote base as well as the linked commercial repeater system for safety communications. No accidents occurred during the race. A large wildland fire threatened the town of Winnemucca early in July. Joe Giraudo, NE NV DEC received a call that a Red Cross shelter was being opened to accomodate families evacuated from their homes on the south side of the city. This fire was also threataning critical infrastructure including power and telephone lines. Due to this threat, the Elko Amateur Radio Club connected their IRLP-capable W7LKO 444.95 repeater to their hard-linked 2-meter repeater system to facilitate communications between Winnemucca and the Reno area by way of the IRLP western reflector 9258. Elko hams monitored the system throughout the night in case communications issues arrose within the system. This was the first time the two systems had been interconnected and with a the exception of a few minor technical issues, the test went extremely well. Due to terrain shielding, communications were not possible from the shelter site, but were available on the northern side of Winnemucca. The system was not needed, but was there should the need have arrisen. Communication options for this community are being explored by the Elko Amateur Radio Club since there currently is not an active repeater that can talk out of the area. Fires raveged the northeastern portion of the state in July. These fires measured in the thousands of square miles. Evacuations were made of several remote comunities and ranches. Power was interrupted for an extensive time to several communities including Mtn. City and the Owahee Indian Reservation. Public Safety communications were interrupted and the Amateur Radio community was consulted to see if they could be of assistance. Due to the fact that there was extreme fire behavior and a lack of escape routes, limiting the ability to safely provide a service, the decision was made to err on the side of personnel safety not to deploy. The Saturday morning HF Section Net continued through the month. Propagation has remained surprizingly good, while not as good as winter, the 75 meter band is still usable at net time. Participation is off a little due to summertime demands on members time.
NORTHWEST DISTRICT REPORT:
Churchill County - EC Paul Willcoxon KE7CRZ - Our monthly meeting was held July 7th in Fallon. It was our pleasure to have Ed "Otto" Tune-KV7J and Cynthia Bagley-KB7BZE attend the meeting. We welcomed their attendance and hope to have them both attend again. The exercise for the group was scheduled for July 28th and simulated a large earthquake east of Fallon. The following stations participated in the exercise: Bob Moore-AD7CP, KE7CRZ-Paul Willcoxon, K6GAF-Gary Fahl, KC7ORU-Patrick McCartin III, KX7B-John Hughes, KD7TRT-Judy Nay, KD7UKX, Everett Nay, KD7ZPP, Mark Beadle. Special thanks go out to Ed "Otto" Tune, for taking the time to work with us from Carson City and accept traffic from the Churchill County EOC which was activated for the exercise. This is the first exercise for the group in quite a while and was an excellent example of good emergency communications procedures. Everyone was enthusiastic and performed exceptionally well. Mark-KD7ZPP acted as net control and Patrick-KC7ORU was operating from the EOC and both did an excellent job and were kept quite busy. There were some small problems, however, all traffic was sent and received accurately and the problems have been resolved. Thanks to all who participated for a job well done!
Carson City/Douglas County - EC Dick Young KD7JMR - Our primary public service event this month was participation by 13 ARES members supporting the well known "Death Ride". Average time by the membership was 9 hours of active radio communications, with the longest time being 16.5 hours. The "Death Ride" is a gruelling bike ride of 129 miles in the Sierra Nevada range in Alpine County, requiring climbing of over 15,000 feet. This ride, for 3300 bikers, could not be accomplished without the health and welfare reports provided by Amateur Radio, primarily ARES members.
Washoe County - EC Bob Miller WA6MTY - On July 14th, Kevin Marriott KE7BQX transmitted ATV pictures of two locations south of Reno up to the Regional EOC as we are doing field tests to show the EOC director the effectiveness of ATV for damage assessment. On July 19th, the USFS Type 1 Communications Management Team for the Hawken Fire just West of Reno contacted Deputy Mike Mathews of the Washoe County Sheriff's department Search and Rescue Communication unit looking for assistance for their communications unit. The Sheriff's department turned the request over to CERT who contacted Washoe County ARES and the Search and Rescue Communication unit. Frank Walsh KE7AJO my Assistant EC for Washoe County, took on the task of coordinating the ARES team in cooperation with the Washoe County CERT and Citizens Corp leaders. Frank and I reported to the Incident Command Post at 1800 hours to help with the first shift and learn about what our job was going to entail. On more than one occasion the Type 1 Communications Managers expressed their appreciation for the support. As we learned in EMCOMM Level-I, a Served Agency may ask us to use their radios, not our own. ARES members also helped with the cloning of fire fighters radios, inventorying of the com-unit equipment as it was returned form the field, and any other tasks the com-team needed help with. All in all we were able to provide support for a total of 114 hours, thanks to Frank Walsh KE7AJO, George Njirich KD7VOL, Dee Arnold KA7LOZ, Joe Consolo KD7QDL, Gary Grant K7VY, Dan O Connor KE7HLR, Fred Twigge K7DTU, Joe Wolfe WA6RKN, Rob Gilmore KI6DWX who drove down from Truckee, Doug Abramson KA7FOO and David Serviss, Richard Swartzendruber and Norman Erickson of the Washoe County Search and Rescue communication Unit. Great job every body. On July 24th I met with the Emergency Manager of the Reno Sparks Indian Colony and gave a presentation on Amateur Radio and ARES to a group of teenagers. On July 29th ARES members Bruce Wade N7ZA, Joe Consolo KD7QDL, Don Carlson KQ6FM, Harold WA1RAT, and Dick KD7JMR provided communications for the Red Cross Ride for the Red, a motorcycle poker run.
July 22, 2007 - ARES Support for the Hawken Fire preliminary report -
by Frank Walsh
KE7AJO,
Assistant Emergency Coordinator,
Washoe County -
On July 19, 2007, the Type 1 Management Team for the Hawken Fire contacted the Washoe County Sheriff’s department looking for assistance for their communications unit. The Sheriff’s department turned the request over to CERT who contacted Washow county EC Bob Miller through Andy Munoz. Bob Miller called me, Frank Walsh, at about 1430 hours. During this time, Deputy Mike Mathews paged the Washoe County Search and Rescue requesting that the Communication unit check in. I then started a net at 1500 hours requesting all ARES members on frequency to check in. I also sent out several emails alerting ARES members and leaders about the need for operators.
(an alert was placed on the NV section website at this time - w) A second request for members to check in and an announcement was made with details about the request from the USFS Type 1 Management Team at 1600 hours.
Bob Miller and I reported to the Incident Command Post at 1800 hours to help with the first shift and learn about what our job was going to entail. Coordinating the call out with Kaydie Pascal and Jeanie Knowles of the Washoe County Citizens Corp, we were able to respond to the request made by the Type 1 team. The Type One team secured on 1300 Sunday July 22, 2007. We were able to provide operators from 1800 hours July 19, 2007 until 1300 Hours July 22, 2007 for a total of 114 hours.
Gary Grant and Rob Gilmore even got to ride with the Communication Unit Technician to help with checking radio equipment at the different sites and collect the repeaters on Sunday, July 22.
I would like to thank the following people who assisted the Type 1 USFS Communication Team. ARES volunteers: Bob Miller WA6MTY, George Njirich KD7VOL, Dee Arnold KA7LOZ, Joe Consolo KD7QDL, Gary Grant K7VY, Dan O’Connor KE7HLR, Fred Twigge K7DTU, Joe Wolfe WA6RKN, Rob Gilmore KI6DWX who drove down from Truckee, Doug Abramson KA7FOO and David Serviss, Richard Swartzendruber and Norman Erickson of the Washoe County Search and Rescue Communication Unit. Thank You to all who assisted.
/s/ Frank Walsh KE7AJO
July 20, 2007 - SIERA meeting -
The SIERA meeting was an opportunity to build a dual band (2 meter & 70 CM) copper
J-pole.
The design
is a bit different than the ones we
have done in the past.
SIERA meets the third Thursday of the month and starts promptly at 7:00 PM. Meetings are held at:
| The United Methodist Church building | |
| 1375 Centerville Lane | |
| Gardnerville, Nevada. |
July 19, 2007 - Governor declares state of emergency for Nevada -
Carson City – Governor Jim Gibbons issued the following executive order declaring a state of emergency for Nevada due to the numerous wildfires that exist throughout the state and the need for resources and funding to protect the health and safety of residents.
"The State of Nevada remains committed to providing fire support to the fullest extent possible during this exceptionally challenging fire season. High winds and dry conditions allow wildfires to spread rapidly across Nevada ’s vast expanse,” said Governor Gibbons. “The State of Nevada remains dedicated to protecting the livelihood and safety of those residents affected by the fires. Our fire crews and first responders are working day and night to contain fires and prevent loss of infrastructure and land critical to our agricultural industries."
July 10, 2007 - ARES Monthly Report for June'07 SEC Summary - June has seen summer get off with busy start with many wildfires popping up almost daily in many parts of our section. While there have been few callouts and activities, we have been ready and prepared in case calls should come which will probably happen before the fire season is over. One major player in our activity this month is thanks to NARRI Chair and section technical coordinator Kent Johnson, W7AOR, who has seen that we have full time IRLP coverage to most of the state via node 9258, which is channel 8 of the Western Reflector. Through this, our DECs, SM, many ECs and myself can have a virtual intercom to each other. Our statewide VoiP net is held on Thursday evenings there at 7pm. All ARES leadership, and membership as well are encouraged to check in and join us. There is a temporary node in Reno/Sparks now which will hopefully facilitate this to a greater degree. Thanks again, Kent for a great job of helping us achieve our goals. June was also Field Day month, and although I have not received any hard totals yet from those who participated, but I do know that both Elko and Reno's clubs enjoyed making a lot of contacts and consuming plenty of food (why is it that hams LOVE to eat like they do? Just an excuse to operate radios I guess). Dick Flanagan, K7VC our SM is due to head down for the quarterly meeting in Las Vegas at the end of July. More on that later. Great newsletters coming from all parts of the section. Just a few deserving of kudos include: PIO/ASM Gary, KK7LV for his coming from Las Vegas, Linda, WO0HOO (gotta love those calls), for the SNARS Cracklin Static, and Zahra, W7ZMA for WADG's newsletter. Great job you guys! I will be attending more club meetings over the next few months, so please say hello when I do. SNARS on my dance card for first Saturday in July. That s it for now. 73 from Don, KQ6FM SEC.
SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORT: This past month was quite busy. Field Day for me consisted of participating in Leavenworth, MO. We were visiting my wife's family in the Kansas City area. The Leavenworth station was KS0LV. I operated primarily for 4 hours on 40M SSB. Weather was in the 90's, but I was told that it's typically 100 degrees during most Field Day events. I attended the Las Vegas Regional SKYWARN meeting as well as the SKYWARN refresher training class. For the first time, the IRLP node 9258 was used to coordinate the State during the So. Lake Tahoe fire. Noon time updates were discussed between Sparks, Las Vegas, Tonopah and Elko.
South Nye Co. EC Report by Jerry KC6ILH - 72 Hours spent selling raffle tickets for our Field Day event and to put some coins in our coffer's. Our Field Day went well. We had more personnel spend the full 24 hours than ever before and we had more help set up and break down than last year. We made over 150 contacts and put in a total of 159 manhours. Some contacts where made for the first time by some new HAM's and I know of one that was very elated when she made it. Know that she will be back next year for sure. Now that the fun part is over we can start planning for SET. Have a coooool summer if you can.
Clark County EC Report by Charlie AA5QJ - Red Cross Exercise held Sat Jun 9. Jack N8RRL, AEC Red Cross, submitted details in a Public Service Activity Report to the ARRL. This was probably the best exercise we have had to date - most activities; lots of comm required - no cell phone use was allowed, and simplex was the primary mode; innovation was required at every location. 25 members participated, many for the entire period 0700 to 1700. SKYWARN Net Control Meeting Jun 25th. Note that 250 additional hours were previously reported for the Red Cross Exercise.
by Glenn Hale, KB7REO Southern DEC.
NORTHEAST DISTRICT REPORT: The major activity for the month of June was communications support for the Bonneville 100 Open Road Race. This event was held on June 8-12. The Elko Amateur Radio Club supplied two seperate communications systems comprised of portable commercial and Amateur linked repeaters for communicatons down the race course, US93A between Wendover and Laggies Junction. On the commercial side, a licensed itinerant system was used by race officials and course workers while the Amateur system was used as an emergency backup in the event of system failure. No emergencies occurred during this event. The other event of interest this month was Field Day. The Elko Amateur Radio Club held their operation at the Spring Creek Marina, south of Elko.
By Joe Giraudo, N7JEH Northeast DEC.
NORTHWEST DISTRICT REPORT:
Churchill County - EC Paul Willcoxon KE7CRZ - One of our members has moved out of the area. W7VPK, Gale Conard, has moved to Helena Montana and will be missed here in Churchill County. Patrick McCartin, KC7ORU and I, were available to assist the Pony Express Riders in their annual ride. They did a great job and it also allowed us to determine the areas covered by our local repeater. The on air training of ICS-100 has been completed and the members have been encouraged to take the test on line for their certificate. I plan to start ICS-200 training in the near future. We will have our monthly meeting on Saturday July 7th in Fallon at Jive and Java Coffee Shop. We will discuss our upcoming exercise at that time and the date of the exercise will be determined. We have a new member, Dan Gibbs, KE7NCL. Welcome to the group Dan!
Carson City/Douglas County - EC Dick Young KD7JMR - Public Service Events include a Auto Rally Race, Carson Valley Days Demonstration Booth, "America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride" and "Wings of Change" Airshow. Emergency Operation consists of manning two Red Cross Shelters (Incline High School and Carson High School) in support of the Red Cross for the Angora fire.
Lyon County - EC Patti Polish KE7JIV - On June 5th we asisted the Lyon County Sheriff's Search and Rescue (LCSSAR) with communications from SR208 and Upper Colony Road to the Como mine site. (LCSSAR was looking for a person who took an incorrect turn and did not know where he was - there was also a medical issue with this person). Net Control was located at the EOC in Yerington. On June 16th we assisted LCSSAR with communications from Buckland Station in Weeks to the Salt Caves East of Hooten Wells. (LCSSAR was looking for an overdue "green" endurance rider) Communications were supplied both by personell in vehciles and on ATVs. On June 23rd we trained with LCSSAR in Desert Creek Canyon. This training pointed out some weaknesses with individual hardware and procedures. Therefore, we will be reviewing the basics at this months quarterly meeting. On June 23rd we assisted the LCSSAR with communications in the area East of Sunrise Pass. (LCSSAR was looking for a stuck camper)
Washoe County - EC Bob Miller WA6MTY - Sunday June 24th the Angora Fire started in South Lake Tahoe. On Wednesday the 27th the Northern Nevada Chapter of the American Red Cross activated two shelters, Carson City High School and Incline High School in preparation for additional evacuees from Angora Fire in South Lake Tahoe. ARES AEC Bruce N7ZA called for ARES team members KD7QDL Joe and KE7DOS Nancy to open Radio Station NN7RC at the Red Cross Chapter and notified Don KQ6FM, the Nevada ARES Section Manager to put ARES on standby as additional Shelters may also be opened at Dayton High School, Galena High and Carson Valley Middle School if needed. Fortunately the winds were not as bad as anticipated and additional evacuations were not needed.
73 de Glenn Thomas, WB6W - NW District EC
July 9, 2007 - Reno QRP Field Day Wrap -
Tim, W7YQ writes,
The results are in for the 2007 Field Day effort by the
Reno QRP Group. Thanks to Ed, WD7Y, and Steve, NU7T, for
compiling this information and the comparison data that
follow:
This Year 2007 FD Reno QRP Group
Classification 2AB
With 10 participants,
313 total Q's,
261 CW Q's X2=522 Pts,
52 Phone Q's X1=52 Pts,
All QRP X5 = 2,870 total Pts.
We also are asking for 800 bonus points to be added to the
2,870
The operators at the 2007 event at Slide Mountain were: Operating station W7FST: WD7Y Ed, W7IEX Van, K5HK Carl, W7YQ Tim. Operating the GOTA station, WD7Y: KE7KPY Lee, KE7HLR Scott, KE7HLS Steven, W8ENG Michael, K7UAL Swede, Bernadette.
The GOTA station operators did a fine effort and put in long, dedicated hours. Thank you! Food was carefully planned and cooked by Van, W7IEX. Hats off to Van for a job well done!
Our main adversary was the weather... with non-stop winds blowing at a seemingly 100 mph, we were forced to retreat to the two RV's supplied by Ed and Van, abandoning any plans for outdoor operations. GOTA operators took refuge in Steve's SUV.
Although NU7T was unable to attend the actual event, his hard work and devotion before and after the event are truly appreciated. Thanks, Steve! In an email sent to me, I think Ed summed it up quite well when he wrote, "... last of all the whole effort was a great experience, there were no personality conflicts, everybody had a great time and before the whole thing was over people were already talking about next year. I have been on lots of FD events, I feel that this was the happiest group that I was ever with for FD."
Ed, thank you my friend.
Thanks everyone!!!
73, W7YQ
...and thank you Tim! Any other Nevada clubs that would like to see their FD description on this web page, please send it to me. 73 de Glenn wb6w@arrl.net
May 30, 2007 - Nevada Ham Plays Role in Radio Rescue -
This web page usually doesn't repeat stories that are on the main ARRL web site. In this case we want to
recognize and honor one of our own, Eric Christianson, KE7DZZ. for his timely assistance to an injured
hiker. The
full story is available on the main ARRL web site
.
Well done, Eric!
May 18, 2007 - Carriers (, Aircraft) ON THE AIR! -
(thanks to Paul L. Willcoxon KE7CRZ for this - sorry about the "screamers")
YOUR PARTICIPATION IS ENCOURAGED IN USS MIDWAY MUSEUMS INAUGURAL
ON-THE-AIR OPERATIONS FOR SPECIAL EVENTS.
THE USS MIDWAY AIRCRAFT CARRIER MUSEUM IN SAN DIEGO WILL BE ON THE AIR ON 7242 KHZ LSB ON SATURDAY 2 JUNE 1600Z TO 2300Z TO COMMEMORATE THE 65TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY. MIDWAY THEY WILL USE THE CALL SIGN NI6IW. QSL CARDS WILL BE ISSUED.
THE USS MIDWAY AIRCRAFT CARRIER MUSEUM IN SAN DIEGO AND DOZENS OF OTHER MUSEUM SHIPS, INCLUDING 4 AIRCRAFT CARRIERS AND 4 BATTLESHIPS, 2 CRUISERS, 3 DESTROYERS, SEVERAL SUBMARINES AND SHIPS AROUND THE WORLD WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM SHIPS RADIO EVENT 8-10 JUNE. MIDWAY WILL OPERATE ON FREQUENCY 7260 KHZ LSB. CHECK OUT HTTP://USERS.TELLURIAN.COM/FREDDIE/NJ2BB/SHIP-EVENT.HTML FOR MORE DETAILS.
May 18, 2007 - DHS "Highway Watch" training -
Washoe county is offering the "Highway Watch" training at the Regional Emergency Operations Center (REOC) in Reno. This is a simple 2 hour training program sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security. For more information on the class, see
http://www.HighwayWatch.com
Graduates of this class will receive a reference booklet, a certificate, and an identification number that they can use to report suspicious activity that they may encounter during the course of their normal duties out on Northern Nevada roads.
They are offering this class at the REOC (5195 Spectrum Blvd) on Thursday May 24th at 9:00 AM, and again at 1:00 PM.
There is plenty of room in both classes. The target audience is County/City Public Works, Bus Drivers, Truck Drivers, Private Businesses, and Citizen Volunteers. Again, anyone who spends their time driving our public roads is welcome to attend.
Washoe County Emergency Manager Aaron Kenneston looks forward to hearing your feedback for potential attendees. This will be a great opportunity to familiarize our "eyes and ears" out on the street with this valuable program, as well as our regional emergency management facility/plans. Please call (775-337-5898) or email Aaron if you would like to attend.
May 17, 2007 - SIERA meeting -
SIERA heard from Steve and Carolyn Notterman. Steve is the President of the Nevada Division of the Pony Express. They spoke about the history of the Pony Express from its start to the end, including what today's riders face as they travel day and night across the Nevada terrain.
Bruce N7CPP followed with the communication plan for this years Pony Express Reride, which is supported every year by SIERA. They will be using VHF and HF to pass the information to the hotline. Each year brings something new and challenging. They are looking forward to having a fun time, and a learning experience.
The Carson Valley Days Festival takes place this year from the 6th - 10th of June. JD Fowler AD7CD, and Ed Goldberg KE7EAA are managing the SIERA booth at Lampe Park again this year. The booth is located at Lampe Park, in about the same location as last year. Look for the SIERA banner. The talk-in-frequency is 146.550 simplex.
SIERA meets the third Thursday of the month and starts promptly at 7:00 PM. Meetings are held at:
| The United Methodist Church building | |
| 1375 Centerville Lane | |
| Gardnerville, Nevada. |
May 10, 2007 - ARES Monthly Report for April'07 SEC Summary - As we finalize and prepare for ECW 07, things were quite busy in April especially in the Northwest District. Looking forward to a grand time with some outstanding speakers and forums this year. Full report on the outcome in the May SEC report stay tuned! I had a wonderful visit on 4/28 with the Clark County Folks and others from the southern District. Worked with Southern DEC, Glenn Hale, KB7REO and Kent Johnson, W7AOR on information which is needed to finalize and complete the updates on the Section Emergency Plan, which should be done soon. Things have changed so much that we have lots of updates coming. It will be posted on the NV ARES website once completed and all will be notified through the DECs. Gary, KK7LV has resumed his position as PIO for Clark County and we are happy to have him in this position. Planning on a visit to DCART group in Douglas County at their May meeting, and Elko sometime in the not too distant future. Have a great month! --Don Carlson, KQ6FM - SEC
SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORT: Don Carlson KQ6FM, NV SEC visited Las Vegas this past month. Kent W7AOR, Don and I discussed section plans for IRLP in Reno to be dedicated to western reflector channel 8. Final revisions were made to the NV Section Emergency Plan. We had pretty good turn out during the NV Section VoIP ARES Net on Thursday nights. The net provides a platform for exchanging ideas to improve ARES programs and communications across the State. Dave Downing KE7LC, North Nye Co., EC completed ARECC Level III training. Clark County ARES Report by Charlie Kunz AA5QJ, EC ARES/RACES Meeting held Sat Apr 28. Don Carlson KQ6FM, Section Emergency Coordinator, briefed on the State RACES Plan and RACES Officer appointments, and the updates being made to the Section Emergency Plan. Updates were given by leaders in attendance. Gary Hartman KK7LV volunteered to fill the vacant Public Information Officer position. He discussed the success of his 'brainchild', the ARES/RACES Quarterly Newsletter that he emails to local emergency personnel. He receives numerous encouraging emails after each issue and requests to be added to the distribution list. Dave Blankenburg KD7CMA volunteered to fill the vacant Net Manager position. He briefed on the National SOS Drill to be conducted May 19 from 1-3 PM by Las Vegas United REACT. Press releases have been sent out to encourage Las Vegas area residents to check in with REACT using their FRS radios on channel 1 to demonstrate the value of FRS in a major emergency and to see what the coverage is throughout the area. Dan Starr AA7I briefed on the coordinated GMRS network being set up with a repeater on each of the 8 repeater frequencies, all with a 141.3 PL tone. He also discussed the use of WebEOC for the Baker-Vegas Law Enforcement Relay, and the ARRL booth at NAB. Jay Peskin KE7EGO has been appointed AEC for Henderson, replacing Gary Hartman KK7LV who has accepted the appointment as PIO. The Red Cross will conduct a full-scale exercise on Sat June 9, and ARES/RACES will participate. South Nye County ARES Report by Jerry Fuge, KC6ILH, EC Meeting/training, Baker to L.Vegas Race. Getting set for a dry summer and bad fire season. Think the entire state is in the same dryness.
NORTHEAST DISTRICT REPORT: Elko area amateurs started checking into the Nevada Section IRLP net this month. It was simulcast on two Elko-area IRLP nodes on 2 meters and 70 cm for increased accessability. HF Section Net participation has increased slightly due to a few newly upgraded General Class licensees. Propagation is deteriorating as can be expected due to the onset of summer. Joe Giraudo met with newly elected Elko County Sheriff Dale Lotspeich. He stated that in the Incident Command training he recently received, Amateur Radio was recommended as a resource that should be utilized. He expressed interest in forming a relationship with the Amateur community. He stated that the LEPC command bus was to be renovated and that he was planning on building a command vehicle as well and would welcome assistance from the Amateur Radio operators in the community. Report de Joe Giraudo, N7JEH DEC NE.
NORTHWEST DISTRICT REPORT: Churchill county: EC Paul Willcoxon KE7CRZ: I have scheduled a meeting with the Emergency Manager for Churchill County on Friday May 4th. I look forward to this meeting with him and feel it will be beneficial to all. I will be contacting the Emergency Manager for The City of Fallon to set up an emergency communications plan for the city. I also plan to have a meeting with both Emergency Managers, to develop a combined communications plan for both city and county. Training is continuing on a weekly basis. A phone tree call up was conducted and 9 of 12 members were contacted successfully. We are currently working on a suitable date for our May meeting. Our quarterly drill is still in the planning stages. Our newest member is Gary Fahl, K6GAF, welcome aboard Gary.
Douglas county & Carson City: EC Dick Young KD7JMR: On 09 April, 2 ARES (DCART) operators responded to a call by El Dorado County (CA) for communications assistance in a SAR effort to locate a downed aircraft in the Sierra Nevada mountains. A public service event is scheduled for 23 June, requiring 12-20 ARES operators. This will be a kick off function for a week of activities planned by the Carson Valley Visitor Center and Chamber. Event location is Minden-Tahoe Airport.
Washoe county: EC Bob Miller WA6MTY: I attended the Planning Meeting for the Incline Evacuation Exercise that will take place on May 11th. I helped Aaron Kenneston with a tour at the Regional EOC of members of the Elder College here in Reno. Frank KE7AJO and I attended the 800Mhz radio training with the County Communciations Technician. I met with Jim Miller N7GNJ of the County Health Department with the selection of portable emergency communications systems for the Health Department. Still looking for operators to help out during the evacuation Exercise on May 11. If you CAN help, please email ke7ajo@gbis.com and wa6mty@gbis.com.
DEC Glenn Thomas WB6W: I've rewickered the weekly district ARES/RACES net. The purpose of the net is to add cohesion to the district ARES/RACES organization and to assist the EC's/RO s in their two main jobs, recruitment and training. It adds cohesion to the organization by providing a forum for EC/ROs, AECs and ARES/RACES members throughout the district to be become acquainted with each other. It assists in recruitment by providing a place for people who are new to ARES/RACES to be connected to their local EC/ARES/RACES group. It assists in training by providing a small amount of training that will reinforce the training done locally by the EC's and by providing a forum for EC's to announce events in their area that folks in other areas might be interested in participating.
May 1, 2007 - Rural Amateur Radio Association -
The RARA
“The Loneliest Ham Club in America” newsletter is out.
It's available via the RARA website
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/w7fun.
There is an excellent article by Dave Hough W7GK describing in words and pictures several repeaters in rural Nevada.
The Rural Amateur Radio Assn. or RARA for short is a statewide organization of more than 125 amateur radio operators throughout Nevada. RARA's purpose is to serve hams living in rural areas where there are no local ham radio clubs. RARA is dedicated to providing emergency radio communications through ARES and SKYWARN. RARA is also an ARRL affiliated club.
The annual RARA Meeting will be at 9:30AM on Sunday, May 6, 2007 at the Atlantis in Reno as an EMCOMMWEST'07 session. The regular weekly on-the-air RARA meeting is every Saturday at 7:30AM Pacific Time on 3965 KHz.
April 23, 2007 - CQ Contest Hall of Fame -
Congratulations to Tom Taormina K5RC of Virginia City for being elected to
the CQ Contest Hall of Fame. Tom will receive his official presentation at
the Dayton Hamvention Contest Dinner on Saturday, May 19th.
Tom is the Storey County ARES Emergency Coordinator, a world-class contester and has always bent over backwards to help anyone interested in the sport. He is a credit to the amateur radio community and a good friend to all.
April 22, 2007 - Lyon County ARES meeting -
was held on March 29, 2007. The guest speaker was Glenn Thomas, Northwest District Emergency Coordinator for ARES and RACES. There is a push to merge the 2 organizations.
New EC - Harry and Gay Anne will be moving to Oregon. Patty has been appointed the new EC. Patty thanked Harry and Gay Anne for all of their hard work and said that they will retain their memberships in the LCARES organization.
New Officers – Patty is the EC. Gretchen is our new treasurer and Jim is the new secretary
Membership – Harry said that Jeff Paige has great plans for LCARES, but we won’t be able to do all that is expected with the current membership. We need to see if we can attract a larger membership.
New Members – Leonard Mitchell (Stagecoach) and Collin Watts (Silver Springs) are new prospective members. To obtain full membership a person needs to have attended at least one formal meeting and two training exercises.
New Business – A confidentially statement will need to be signed by all LCARES members. We need to make sure that we don’t release any information to anyone prior to the public release of information.
November 2nd is the scheduled date for a county-wide readiness exercise.
April 20, 2007 - Nevada Nets - There is a new Nevada section ARES/RACES net that all Hams can check into. In addition to the regular HF net (3965KHz Saturday at 0800L) there is now an additional statewide net on VHF. At 7PM every Thursday there is a VHF net, linked by both IRLP (Western Reflector 9258) and EchoLink (NV-GATE 152566). All Amateurs are invited to check in. To learn what repeaters carry the net in your area,
check with your local DEC or EC.
Your humble webmaster doesn't know exactly what repeaters carry this net. SO... it would be very much appreciated if you would let him know (wb6w@arrl.net) so that the listing on the section net list can be updated. Info on other nets in the state would also be very much approciated.
April 19, 2007 - Sierra Intermountain Emergency Radio Association -
heard from Major Douglas Williams of the Salvation Army in Reno on SATERN and the Salvation Army in general.
The Salvation Army has a HF network of Hams to pass information in times of Emergency. SIERA also discussed
a number of upcoming club projects, including the Pony Express ReRide, support for the Nevada Days parade,
the technition class the club is sponsoring and many other events.
Starting on April 10 the SIERA weekly 2 meter nets will be conducted on the SIERA Repeater, 147.330 MHz, positive offset, and a PL of 123 Hz. The repeater antenna system has been repaired, thanks to Dorothy, N7MXA, Bill, K7NHP, and George, WW7E.
SIERA general meetings are held at 1900 hrs the third Thursday of each month (except January, July, and August) at:
| Carson Valley Methodist Church | |
| 1375 Centerville Lane | |
| Gardnerville, Nevada |
April 12, 2007 - Reno QRP Club -
The lunch time meeting will be the third Monday of April, 16th, 11:30 am at Amelia's restaurant inside the Mercury Air Center on Rock Blvd in Reno. Bring your show'n tell.
Reno QRP will have a booth at EMCOMM West convention, May 5 and 6, at the Atlantis in Reno. If you wish free entrance, help man the booth. Those wishing to work at our booth must contact Steve nu7t@gbis.com by the end of the April lunch.
Last months lunch was attended by Fred, N6FME; Tim, W7YQ; Steven guest prospective Ham; Ed, WD7Y; Carl, K5HK; Dave, WB6ZFG; and Steve, NU7T who showed a 40m, handheld, battery powered, single tube transceiver.
Field Day - June 23 and 24 at the Slide Mountain Lodge, 8260' elevation, 24 hour operation, multi-op, all QRP----We need digital, CW and SSB operators. Time slots of 1 hour and more are available. To volunteer your time, comments or suggestions, contact Tim, W7YQ at kk0g@yahoo.com, Field Day Marshall
Welcome new member Steve, KE7JIP who runs an Argonaut 515 to 187' long wire.
April 10, 2007 - ARES Monthly Report for March'07 SEC Summary - Emcommwest 2007 planning continues at light speed. Lots actitity on the website, and many recent updates (thanks to Glenn WB6W), including some additional program schedule changes. Please check the site often for updates. You can still register online with the link to the Atlantis for booking of rooms. We especially would like to have those who plan on attending the Saturday night banquet register as soon as possible, since seating is limited and we need to get a firm head count. Swap meet sign ups online too. Some new vendors added, and from what I hear, more on the way. For information or questions, please write to info@emcommwest.org.
I am very sad that Lyon County EC Harry Bryant, KC7HVM will be leaving us to move to Oregon. Harry has been a mainstay there for many years, and has done a fantastic job. Thanks Harry, you will really be missed. Our Thursday night ARES/RACES VOIP Net is off to a great start. 13 checkins for the first week, and more people interested in joining in. You can check it out at 1900 Hrs. on IRLP Node 9258, the Western Reflector, as well as Echolink # 152566. Many thanks to the system owners and NARRI s Kent Johnson, W7AOR for putting in a lot of time to help get us up and running. This is a great chance for all of us around the section to check in and become better acquainted. We hope to get good participation from around the state as weeks progress.
I will be traveling to Las Vegas on April 28 to attend the Clark County ARES/RACES meeting, and looking forward to seeing everyone again. 73 Don Carlson, KQ6FM - SEC
SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORT: Spent the month assisting the ARES leadership with putting together a weekly NV Section ARES VoIP Net. I was net control for the first VoIP ARES net introduced this past March. I met up with Ron WB5KLJ at his home QTH during a visit to Tonopah. Announced the changes to the NV State RACES Plan to ARES/RACES members during the Monday night nets in Clark County. South Nye County ARES(r) report by EC, Jerry KC6ILH - Meeting/training the only thing to report. Glenn Hale KB7REO.
NORTHEAST DISTRICT REPORT: Planning continues for Field Day 2007. The Spring Creek Marina is the proposed site to be used again this year. This site offers good public exposure and has good facilities including BBQs and covered tables. Planning is also underway for communication support for the Open Road Races to be held in Wendover, Elko, and Battle Mountain this summer. The snow is rapidly retreating up the mountains in Elko County. The snowline is currently at about 7,000 feet. This looks to be a dry season so far. Several small wildland fires have already erupted throughout the area, but have been rapidly contained. The Section HF ARES Net continues to grow. Average net counts have risen from 15 to 17 this month. Some new members are newly upgraded General Class licensees. Propagation is improved due to the early shift to daylight savings time. Some QRM has been encountered from a nearby shortwave broadcast station. Joe Giraudo, N7JEH
NORTHWEST DISTRICT REPORT: We have two new EC's this month. Paul Willcoxen KE7CRZ has picked up the reins and is doing an excellent job of reviving the ARES/RACES organization in Churchill county. In Lyon county, EC Harry Bryant KC7HVM is leaving the state. Many thanks to Harry for his excellent work as EC in Lyon county. Welcome to the new EC is Patty Polish KE7JIV. Patty has extensive incident management experience with SAR. We are looking forward to using that experience to further build and improve ARES/RACES in Lyon county. 73 de Glenn WB6W
Churchill county - EC Paul L. Willcoxon KE7CRZ- Training will continue on a weekly basis on the local net. The new RACES plan for Nevada has been distributed to all of the membership. Members have also received applications to update any of the information that may be out of date. New I.D. cards are being made in order to update pictures and properly sign the cards. A formal drill is being planned for the second quarter and the scenario will be submitted for approval to the DEC upon completion. A monthly meeting of the membership is planned and the first of these is to take place in April 2007. Recruiting is ongoing. More work must be done with Churchill County and their Emergency Manager to allow us to participate in their exercises and better access is needed for the EOC so routine radio testing can be accomplished. I have contacted Mert Mickelson, Churchill County Emergency Manager as well as Steve Endacott from the City of Fallon. I received a response from Steve Endacott and he wants to set up a meeting as soon as he returns from vacation. I have not heard from Mert Mickelson as yet.
Lyon county - EC Harry Bryant KC7HVM - Boy, have things been slow lately. I hope this isn't the calm before the storm. This is my last report as EC of Lyon County. Patty Polish has assumed the reins as of the 1st. I am positive that she will take LCARES to the next level and beyond. Good luck to her and the group. I wish all well.
Washoe county - EC Bob Miller WA6MTY- On March 9th I attended the Inter-Hospital Coordinating Committee meeting. On Friday March 23nd, Frank KE7ZAJO and I attended the Incline Village Evacuation Drill planning meeting.
April 10, 2007 - Training recommendation - It is highly recommended and suggested that all ARES/RACES members take FEMA courses 100, 200, 700
and 800. These are independent study that can be taken at your own pace. Upon
completion, the certificates will be mailed to the address you specify
when you register. Information and the classes themselves are available at
http://www.training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/crslist.asp.
April 7, 2007 - Outpost v2.2 is available -
For those not on the OutpostPacket Yahoo Group list, Version 2.2.0 is now
available on the Outpost website
www.outpostpm.org/v220ov.html.
It also adds a
variety of features requested by the user community and resolves several
problems found since the v2.1x release. There is no compelling reason for
installing v2.2 other than to take advantage of these new features. See the
Release Information page at
www.outpostpm.org/release-info.html.
for specifics.
(thanks to Jim KN6PE for this)
April 2, 2007 - HR 462 in Congress -
Please consider writing a letter in support of HR 462, the House bill that requires the FCC to report back to congress on interference issues associated with the BPL technology. There is an article on BPL in the March issue of QST. If you are not familiar with the kind of interference that BPL can cause, please see:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdcY0Eetvsw
or
http://reast.asn.au/vk7bplwatch.php#bpltours
The first video is about 8 minutes and the second about 4.
The Bill is currently with Members of SUBCOMMITTEE ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND THE INTERNET. A congressman’s address is simply their name at:
2243 Rayburn House Office Building
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
At present there are three Congressmen supporting the bill. They have stepped up to the plate to help the ARRL and Amateur Radio, the least we can do is support their efforts.
April 1, 2007 - New ARES(R) EC in Lyon county - Lyon county has a new ARES Emergency Coordinator as of today. She is Patty Polish KE7JIV. Patty has extensive incident management experience with SAR. We are looking forward to using that experience to further build and improve ARES/RACES in Lyon county. Former EC Harry Bryant KC7HVM is leaving the state. Many thanks to Harry for his excellent work as EC in Lyon county.
March 22, 2007 - New Hams net -
There is a New Hams Net every Sunday afternoon at 1 PM
PDST in the Northern Nevada area on the WADG radio system 147.150 PL 123
linked 147.210 PL 100 linked 444.925 PL 100.
Many questions/topics for new and older hams as well. Many "Elmers" are
standing by to help out.
Out of town and still like to get involved? Your information is requested! Join the New Hams Net Yahoo group. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NewHamsNet For more details or information contact the Net Manager Steve Smythe KE7HLS steve@smythefamily.com.
March 23, 2007 - New ARES(R) EC in Churchill county - Churchill county has a new ARES Emergency Coordinator as of today. He is Paul Willcoxon KE7CRZ. Paul has been very active in the reorganization of ARES in Churchill county. Paul is also very active in Navy MARS. Welcome aboard Paul!
March 15, 2007 - SIERA meeting -
Have you ever wondered how they measure the snow depth and water content of
the Sierra snowpack as well as transmit that information from the mountain
back country to their offices for analysis? The March SIERA
meeting heard from the person who makes those
measurements.
Dan Greenlee is a Hydrologist for the Federal Government.Dan brought some of the new equipment they are using, plus a snow tube used to measure depth and water content of the snow. There was a 30 minute power point presentation showing such things as meteor scatter, used to send signals from the remote sites to Reno. Dan checks remote sites from Pickle Meadows in the south to much of western Nevada.
SIERA meets every third Thursday at the United Methodist Church building, 1375 Centerville Lane in Gardnerville.
March 10, 2007 - ARES Monthly Report for February'07 SEC Summary - First off, welcome to our new DEC; Glenn Thomas, WB6W. For those you who are not familiar with Glenn, he has a glorious and decorated past, which includes gigs as SM, SEC, DEC, EC and, gee Glenn, did I forget anything? Oh yes, he is also currently our Section's ACC, and EMCOMMWEST Webmaster whew! We could not be happier that he agreed to accept the position and I know he will do a great job for all of us. His first report is listed below. Glenn and I are currently working on several projects to revive several areas of the District and there will be more on that in the near future. Tip of the hat to the guys in Washoe County for starting an ATV team. More on that as it takes shape. Hard work continues on EMCOMMWEST, which is fast approaching May 4-6 at the Atlantis in Reno. There will be a lot of new material introduced from some great speakers who will be coming to us from Southern California, Arizona and of course, our keynote speaker, Allen Pitts W1AGP from the League HQ in Newington, CN. If you have not checked out the website lately, you might want to every now and then. www.emcommwest.org. Lots of recent updates (thanks to Glenn), including the program schedule. You can register online NOW, and there is also a link to the Atlantis for booking of rooms. If you wish to take part in the Saturday morning swap meet, be sure and check the box for that. Registration for the banquet Saturday night is on there too, and it is already filling up. Seating is limited for this one, so be sure and register early. Lots of neat vendors will be coming this year, with tons of stuff for us to look at and maybe even spend money on (I know I'm saving mine right now). As it looks, all 3 DECs will attend and many of our ECs too, and much of our cabinet so Nevada will be well represented. For information or questions, please write to info@emcommwest.org 73 de Don KQ6FM SEC/NV
SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORT: Southern NV ARES(r) DEC Report for February 2007: This past month was focused on working with the ARES leadership on revising the Nevada ARES and RACES plans. A proposed plan to have a 3-tier level of membership based on training was proposed. The proposal suggested an entry level ARES applicant, followed by an intermediate level and a full ARES/RACES member. This was in response to future training requirements anticipated for all volunteers. The plans are still under review. I had visited with the Tonopah area members and we discussed training. I've finally had a chance to complete ICS-700 as well. It is highly recommended that all ARES/RACES members consider completing the online courses for ICS-100, 200, 700 and 800. Check the FEMA site at: http://training.fema.gov/emiweb/is/crslist.asp South Nye County ARES(r) report by EC, Jerry KC6ILH - Other than our monthly meeting/training nothing else of interest this month. Planning for up coming fire season under way. Thinking that with lack of rain it is going to be bad. North Nye County ARES(r) report by EC, Dave KE7LC Group conducted a meeting this month and has decided to form the "Central Nevada Amateur Radio Association." Other titles were unavailable to us. KE7LC and KB7TRI have completed IS-100 and 700. Reports not difficult - only 2-3 hours to study manual and take the test.
Glenn Hale, KB7REO, DEC
NORTHEAST DISTRICT REPORT: No emergency deployments this month. The Elko Amateur Radio Club has been sponsoring training classes on the use of the Motorola Service Monitor, recently donated by Dave, W7GK. Dave and Gerry, KG7TD have also been presenting weekly basic electronics classes aimed at preparing candidates for the General and Amateur Extra examinations. Plans are being made for the upcoming Nevada QSO Party and Field Day Operations. 3 Open Road Races will be run this year in Wendover, Elko and Battle Mountain. Emergency communication support will e supplied. The Elko IRLP Node has been repaired at is operating at this time. The Section HF Net on Saturday continues with good participation. An average of 16 operators have checked in weekly.
Joe Giraudo, N7JEH - DEC
NORTHWEST DISTRICT REPORT: Hi all. This is my first report at DEC. Thanks to Doug Abramson KA7FOO for all his work as my predecessor. Doug's will be a tough act to follow! EC reports follow:
Douglas County - Douglas County ARES has rebuilt the Amateur Radio facility located within the Douglas County Dispatch Center. This rebuild is in line with the upgrade of the Dispatch Center to meet DHS requirements. Douglas County has provided upgraded antenna systems and negotiations are underway for the County to provide new HF transceiver capabilities. - de KD7JMR
Washoe county - NEVADA STATEWIDE EVACUATION CONFERENCE: This was a busy month so I will be brief. On January 11th, 2007 I attended the Nevada Statewide Evacuation Conference in Las Vegas. From the lessons learned after Hurricane Katrina, each state is required to develop a mass evacuation plan and Aaron Kenneston, manager of our Regional EOC took on the task of coordinating the evacuation plan. (Details on http://washoeares.hopto.org soon)
IHCC: On February 8th, Frank KE7AJO and I attended the IHCC Inter-Hospital Coordinating Council Meeting and gave a presentation on Amateur Radio and ARES. We were very well received. Lots of good questions from the Council members.
SNCAT: The WC-ARES ATV team went through three days of intense training at Sierra Nevada Cable Access Television in the proper use of their cameras, studio and control room as well as the editing software. The first Public Service Announcement has been airing on Cable Channel 16. Anyone interested in attending this class or for more information about the PSA s that are being produced contact Andy Munoz at KD7ZEV@arrl.net. The first attendees were myself WA6MTY, Andy KD7ZEV, Frank KE7AJO, Ron K6RON, Kevin KE7BQX, Mark KE7FPR, Joe WA6RKN and Adrian KD7ZEM.
LEPC I was able to attend the Local Emergency Planning Committee where we saw a presentation on what the Fire Department had to do to make the Mizpah Hotel safe during the disaster. AEC VA Medical Center Thanks to Bill Nichols AA7WB for accepting the position as AEC for the VA Medical Center. AEC COMMUNICATIONS ENGINEER Thanks to Steve Kometz N7KP for accepting the position as AEC Communications Engineer. - de WA6MTY
73 de Glenn Thomas, WB6W-DEC
March 6, 2007 - SchoolTalk -
The Washoe County Sheriff's Search & Rescue Communications Unit in a joint
effort with the Washoe County School District and in cooperation with NASA
are planning a SchoolTalk program.
For those of you not familiar with that program, the School District invites an organization of amateur radio operators to come into a school, set up a station and establish communications with an astronaut on the International Space Station. NASA coordinates the date and time of the event and authorizes time in an astronauts daily mission schedule. The school district determines which school will be used and designates ten or so students to ask the astronaut a question via amateur radio.
We are asking those members of the Comm unit with amateur radio licenses, for assistance with the technical matters. If you have had experience working the amateur SATS or ARISS, or have the equipment that can work the amateur SATS we really need your help and guidance. For those of you that are not licensed amateur radio operators we could still use your assistance with the logistical matters.
This event will be videoed live and webcast on the Internet by the school district. The local media, Print, TV and Radio will be invited to attend.
If interested, please contact Mike Lorman (N6NBD) at lorman8@charter.net.
March 8, 2007 - Nevada Mustang Roundup 2007
(Nevada QSO Party) -
...will be this May 11 for 24 hours starting at 0000Z.
The purpose of the Mustang Roundup is to provide an opportunity for ops everywhere to contact Nevada stations for awards, rig testing or just plain fun. For details, see the
Nevada Mustang Roundup
web page.