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PARC Testing
Monthly Testing Program ContinuesThe PARC VE
Team normally begins testing at 6:00pm, prior to the monthly PARC
meeting. Candidates must be present by 6:45 to be
tested.
This past month had more candidate activity than
we've seen in a while. Six people passed tests of one sort or
another and many took Technician and General on the same
night!
James Cox and John Rand passed both the Technician and
General tests. Doug Banister and Allen Pearson both passed the
Technician test. Randy Digby and Thomas Spruill both passed
their Generals. Congratulations to all of them and thanks to
the VE team for continuing to work to improve our
hobby.
FDNY Tests Wireless
TechnologyFDNY drill tests wireless
technology. Fire Department of New York (FDNY), Technology
Department, and Port Authority officials tested a new wireless
system designed to give first responders fast access to video and
other data during a fire drill on Sunday, April 29, at the World
Trade Center site. Some 100 firefighters participated in Sunday's
simulated fire at 7 World Trade Center, which stands in the shadows
of ground zero in downtown Manhattan. The exercise included 20 mock
injuries and a rescue from an elevator shaft, said Joseph Pfeifer,
chief of counterterrorism for FDNY. Officials tested sending
surveillance video from the building's 50th floor to the network
operations center and from there to the fire department's operations
center in Brooklyn, allowing them to monitor the scene remotely,
Pfeifer said. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which
owns the trade center site, also participated in the
drill.
Source:AP/Auburnpub.com
Membership Renewal
Overdue
If you haven't paid your annual dues then now is the
time! Just visit the PARC website to download the
application with mailing information. Annual dues are $12.
Current membership, after renewals, is over 60, help us bring that
number up to 70 by renewing, joining, or recruiting new
members!
We'll also be putting an online membership
system in May. You'll be able to pay by e-check, MasterCard,
Visa, and American Express.
If you're not a member of PARC,
why not join now?
Governments Test Interoperable
RadiosMay 02, Contra
Costa Times (CA) – California counties team up for unified radio
system. In California, Alameda and Contra Costa counties' officials
moved a step closer Tuesday, May 1, to eliminating potential
communication breakdowns during the next Bay Area disaster. The
boards of supervisors of both counties approved the formation of a
joint powers authority between the counties that would manage the
implementation and operation of the digital regional radio system.
This system would allow public safety agencies in both counties to
communicate directly with each other via radio. Although such
communication may seem fundamental, it's rarely the case in either
county. There are a handful of different radio systems emergency
services in use in the East Bay, none of which is easily compatible
with each other. The new East Bay Regional Communications System
joint powers authority will consist of a 23−member board of
directors made up of representatives from a variety of public safety
agencies and cities in both counties, as well as officials from the
counties themselves.
Source:Contracosta
Times.
PARC Repeater, HF & Simplex
Nets
New HF net
added!The addition of an HF net
on the Technician HF band has been made to our Sunday Simplex Net
activities. The HF net will begin at 4:45pm Sundays on
28.495(usb) and run until 5:00pm and later if needed. HF
check-ins will be relayed to the VHF simplex net beginning at
5:00pm.
Don't forget that PARC is running two nets each week.
The first, and most challenging, net is our weekly Emergency
Simplex Test Net on Sundays at 5:00 PM. This net operates on 146.52.
We rotate Net Control from person to person, so read-on to learn how
and where to volunteer yourself as Net Control.
In addition,
other clubs and ARES groups are now following our lead and planning
their own similar nets as well. We'll post information about those
nets as it becomes available.
Remember, in an actual
emergency it's quite possible repeaters will be down, requiring that
we return to the tried-and-true simplex mode of communication. This
net routinely sees over 30 check-ins, more than many repeater
nets!
Those interested in more information or wishing to host
the net can contact Tom Burkhart (KI4MDU) by visiting our website at
http://www.pauldingarc.com/
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In addition to testing our ability to simplex communicate,
the ESTN has induced many members to fine-tune their equipment and
even uncover antenna problems. Many of us forget that a poorly
operating system can often hit a repeater despite radio or antenna
issues, but simplex requires we squeeze all we can from our
equipment, providing a good environment to test your equipment and
verify it is functioning at peak performance!
Each week a
member volunteers to be Net Control Station while members from all
over Paulding (and beyond) attempt to make contact. Relays are
allowed, but only if the relayed person makes actual radio contact
with someone who can ultimately pass his or her message to the NCS.
Be sure to turn CTCSS off and your squelch all the way down to
maximize your ability to hear stations.
The second, our
weekly repeater net, is at 8:00 PM on Monday night. For those that
find 8:00 PM a little difficult, our Net Control, Gill Maddox
(KF4ZNG) runs an early-bird edition at 7:30 PM. We've usually seen
check-ins in the mid-to-upper twenties, but it's been dropping off
lately, so remember to check in on 146.895+(pl 77), 224.880-(pl 77),
or 444.700+(pl 77). |
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PARC CommitteesPaulding Amateur Radio Club's 2007 Committee assignments were
a major topic of discussion at the January meeting, where several
positions were filled. Others have volunteered afterwards, so we
thought we'd update you on the current committee
assignments.
The current assignments are as
follows:
Public
Relations: Danny Allen (chair)
Recreation: Susan
Graham (chair)
Emergency Response: Tom
Burkhart
Welcoming: Sammy Graham (chair), Shane
Whitehead
Ham Fest: Bill Houston (chair), Andy
Peltier
Youth Committee: Nicholas
Hensley
Sunshine: (open)
Special Projects: Andy
Peltier (chair)
Field Day: John Brimmer (chair), Shane
Whitehead, Brian Golden.
Field Day Preparations
Underway
Field day is not that far away and PARC is getting ready
for the annual event. Our newer and older members are doing a
great job of working together to make this what could be the most
successful (fun) event in our club's history!
John Brimmer, Shane
Whitehead, and Brian Golden are heading up the event and will
most certainly need the help of other members, so please contact
them and volunteer to help wherever you can.
Rhode Island To Stage
Drill
Editor's Note: Government Interoperability A High
Priority!Rhode Island
to stage massive hurricane drill. Rhode Island is prepping for the
worst hurricane to ever crash into New England — on paper at least.
About 250 federal emergency management officials plan to stage a
response to the fictional "Hurricane Yvette." The storm will burst
dams, flood streets and whittle away the coastline. Officials will
be charged with preparing the evacuation of 130,000 Rhode Islanders.
The hope is that the federal government team will score well during
the drill, improving upon the botched response to Hurricane Katrina
in 2005. The drill is one of several major emergency−preparedness
exercises taking place across the nation over the next three weeks.
The federal agencies will focus on whether communication systems
with state and local authorities are more compatible today than they
were in chaos following Katrina. "This is an extremely valuable
drill," Robert J. Warren, executive director of the Rhode Island
Emergency Management Agency, told The Providence Journal. "It's
going to test the guidelines they put in place after Katrina. I
think it's valuable for the state to go to this level, the national
level."
Source:Boston.com
Article Submissions
If anyone has articles to submit, please feel free to
send them along to me for inclusion in future
newsletters.
Connecticut Responders Get New
Radios. First responders all
across the state of Connecticut will soon be in sync through their
radios. It will be the first state in the nation to arm emergency
personnel with radios linking each town and city. It's called STOCS,
the State Tactical On−Scene Channel System. The cross−band radio
devices will allow local police and fire officials to talk even if
they have different radio frequencies and systems. The new equipment
plugs into existing radios, which means towns do not have to buy new
radio systems.
Source: WTNH
Area
NetsMonday
08:00 pm - Paulding ARC -
146.895+(PL 77).
Tuesday
Wednesday
09:00 pm - S.E. Linked
Repeater - 146.895+(PL 77).
09:00 pm - Cobb ARES - 146.880- (PL 100)
Thursday
08:30 pm - Kennehoochee ARC -146.880- (PL
100)
Friday
06:00 pm - N. GA Disaster
Relief -147.015- (PL
100)
Saturday
10:00 pm - Hoot Owl - 147.015- (PL
100)
Sunday
04:30 pm -
Pickens County ARES -146.70-(PL
123)
04:45 pm - PARC HF Net
-28.495(usb)
05:00 pm - PARC Simplex Net -146.52.
05:00 pm - Pickens ARES Simplex - 146.555
05:00
pm - Floyd County ARES - 145.210-(PL 131.8).
07:30 pm - N. Fulton
ARES - 145.47-(no pl)
Interesting Links
Feel free to pass along any amateur radio related links
you think may be useful or interesting to PARC members.
FEMA
Independent Study Program - Free Online Courses
FCC - Federal Communications
Website (Wireless).
QRZ -
A ham radio resource website.
ARRL
Website - Study, online store, articles, etc.
DXScape - Propagation & DX
site w/reporting.
eham.net - Ham Radio
reviews and forums.
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