- Ohio State University Meteorology Club’s Severe Weather Symposium
- Nuclear Preparation
- FCC License Fees
- Hamvention 2022
- Field Day Heat Safety
- Ham Radio on YouTube
- Heat Safety
- VOAD and KY Floods
- Disaster Ready: Ways to Stay Calm in an Emergency
- EMP Protection Document
- ARRL ARES Site
Registration is now open for the 26th Annual Ohio State University Meteorology Club’s Severe Weather Symposium. This free learning activity will be held on Friday, March 11, 2022 from 9AM to 5PM at OSU’s Ohio Union, 1739 North High Street, Columbus, Ohio. You may register to attend in person or via a Zoom meeting.
Nine speakers are scheduled from National Weather Service offices, broadcast meteorology and academia. Parking at the adjoining South Garage is $12.50 for the day, and you should also make financial arrangements for lunch, snacks and any OSU souvenirs.
To register for this event, visit https://u.osu.edu/metclub/2022-symposium/ .
Submitted by Michael Schulsinger, N8QHV
2. Nuclear Preparation
Several times in my life I have experienced periods of heightened risk of nuclear warfare. I regret to share with all of you that the war in Ukraine has all of the earmarks of just such an event.
One unfortunate aspect of nuclear exchanges is that anyone who intends to survive must begin planning long before the detonation of the first bomb. You need a supply of potable water that doesn’t depend on electric pumps, a supply of food that doesn’t require regular trips to the grocery and a place to stay while the radioactive fallout decays to a relatively safe level. And if you happen to be too close to any of the detonations none of this will help.
I don’t have all of the answers to ensure your survival, but I can suggest a place to begin. Go to https://www.ready.gov/nuclear-explosion .
Submitted by Michael Schulsinger, N8QHV
3. FCC License Fees
On Tuesday, April 19, 2022 the Federal Communications Commission will begin collecting a $35 license fee for new licenses, renewals and vanity callsigns. License class upgrades are exempt. This new fee is in addition to any fees associated with license tests.
If your license has recently expired, or comes up for renewal within ninety days of Monday, April 18th it would be to your advantage to renew before April 19th. That $35 would be better spent on a Hamvention ticket and some fairground snacks.
By coincidence my Extra Class license was due to expire on May 15th, so I filed for renewal earlier today. I suggest that each of you examine your license to see if renewal would be appropriate before the new fee structure kicks in.
If you need help with the FCC website, I found the ARRL web pages quite useful. Go to: www.arrl.org . Type renewals into the website search at upper right.
Submitted by Michael Schulsinger, N8QHV
I’ll start by wishing you all a happy Star Wars Day! May the 4th be with you! Now back to our program.
Hamvention 2022 is now just over two weeks away. We are all a little out of practice when it comes to preparing for the show, so here’s a refresher. First, if you don’t have your tickets yet, get them before you arrive, if possible. Midwest Surplus in Fairborn, Ohio and R&L Electronics in Hamilton, Ohio may still sell them over the counter, but I would call first to confirm. At $26, advance tickets are $5 cheaper than at the show.
If you need emergency antennas or backup power sources, Hamvention has often been a good place to look around for them. Take time to make a shopping list of the items you seek. If you don’t you’ll certainly forget something. I man an inside booth and have perhaps two hours off out of the twenty hour show so I must shop efficiently.
Too many Hamvention attendees forget to check out the emergency communications forums. The Homeland Security and SHARES forums are on Friday, and SATURN is on Sunday. Several blocks of time are reserved for the ARRL, and one may possibly be for ARES.
And while attending Hamvention 2022, don’t forget to have a little fun as well!
Submitted by Michael Schulsinger, N8QHV
As I sat in the driver’s seat of my sparingly airconditioned Clark County Combined Health District transportation van this afternoon, I started thinking ahead to Field Day 2022. While I can’t see our Ohio ARES District 3 forecast for Field Day weekend yet, next week in general looks like another scorcher. Therefore, Field Day participants should plan accordingly.
If you have problems dealing with extreme heat, which many of us do, consider operating from someplace air conditioned such as an Emergency Operations Center or your residence. Field Day is important, but not worth risking your health over.
The rest of us who plan to operate away from air conditioning should still take precautions appropriate to the environmental conditions. Have means to cool off during the afternoon heat and a place to hide during the electrical storms so common to Field Day weekend.
Remember, Field Day is supposed to be fun and educational, but not dangerous.
Submitted by Michael Schulsinger, N8QHV
Greetings from Clark County, currently celebrating two weeks without a tornado!
Have you ever looked into the Amateur Radio resources available on YouTube? Simply going to the YouTube home page and typing Amateur Radio Emergency into the search line leads to bunches of videos on related topics.
You may already know that some of these videos are from foreign sources, so watch for things like bands available overseas that are not for use locally. But the equipment reviews may be very useful when trying to upgrade your mobile rig or your go kit.
Anyway, check out YouTube and let us know what you find.
Submitted by Michael Schulsinger, N8QHV
7.Ohio District 3 has had some pretty warm days so far this year, but nothing like what’s happening in much of Europe. Eastern England shattered its all-time high temperature record yesterday when the temperature reached 104.6 degrees F. Note that eastern England is roughly the same latitude as Newfoundland!
Our ARES district might be tasked to work in such conditions, so think about if and how you could safely do so. To be candid, it might not be possible for me to perform under such conditions, as I take prescription medications that make me heat intolerant.
But if you can respond during such conditions, remember to have a gallon of drinking water available daily. Take frequent breaks. Follow the instructions of the incident medical staff, even if you feel fine and don’t wish to stop working.
Remember, heat related illnesses can sneak up on you with little warning, and thousands in southern Europe are dying during the current heat wave.
Submitted by Michael Schulsinger, N8QHV
8. Yesterday I received an email from an American Legion contact regarding two Legion Posts in northeastern Ohio that were collecting shoes and clothing items for residents of eastern Kentucky that were impacted by recent flooding. While such activities are well intentioned, you might not believe the problems they create.
I shared a few of those problems with my Legion contacts, but rather than repeat those here I’ll just suggest that anyone interested in helping the affected families in eastern Kentucky go to www.kentuckyvoad.org first for recommendations and suggestions.
VOAD is short for Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster. They work closely with state and federal authorities to support local governments in disaster relief.
To assist other locations experiencing disasters, you might start with www.nvoad.org , or National VOAD.
Submitted by Michael Schulsinger, N8QHV
9.Disaster Ready: Ways to Stay Calm in an Emergency
We’re going to revisit the Disaster Ready website tonight. Disaster Ready consolidates emergency training and videos from multiple sources. The advantage here is recalling only one sign in procedure for all training offered.
They recently added a video entitled Ways to Stay Calm in an Emergency. The video includes tools for keeping your cool when things go wrong.
To access this video and all other training here visit www.disasterready.org to set up and use an account. As usual, most training here is free.
Submitted by Michael Schulsinger, N8QHV
Today I received an email from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security regarding Recommendations to Protect the National Public Warning System from EMPs.
Electromagnetic Pulses, or EMPs, may be manmade or naturally occurring, and can severely disrupt radio transmissions. Some of these recommendations may be applicable to your amateur facilities as well.
Therefore, I’m attaching a copy of this document for use on the ohd3ares.org website.
Submitted by Michael Schulsinger, N8QHV
11.The American Radio Relay League home page notes that September is National Preparedness Month. If you click on that headline or visit www.arrl.org/ares you will drop down to the Amateur Radio Emergency Service pages.
There are several documents linked to the ARES page. Among them are the ARES Manual, the ARES Field Resources Manual and a couple of different versions of the ARES Standard Training Plan Task Book.
You can store these files on your computer or print copies as desired. Farther down this ARES page is more ARES training information.
Submitted by Michael Schulsinger, N8QHV