1.Ohio Distracted Driving Law: Ham Radio Exception
2. 27th Annual Weather, Water and Climate Symposium
3. 2024 Solar Eclipse – NASA Request
5. Ohio Distracted Driving Law goes into effect 4 April 23
6. Annual Armed Forces Day Cross Band Test Saturday 13 May 2023
9. ARES display at the Clark County Fair
10. Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium
11. HamSCI Eclipse experiments
1.Ohio Amateur Radio organizations have an unusual opportunity to increase their memberships this year. On Tuesday Governor DeWine signed a new, strengthened distracted driving law. In April Ohio drivers caught just holding a cellphone or other electronic device may be pulled over for a warning by law enforcement, and six months later may be ticketed and lose 2 driving points for doing so.
There are a few exceptions under the new law, one of which is by being a licensed Amateur Radio operator. CB, FRS and GMRS operators do not seem to have any such protections, which should thrill truckers and RV operators to pieces.
Anyway, those conducting ham classes should publicize this exception to the new law, as it gives non-hams in Ohio a stronger incentive to get their license. For the cost of one $150 ticket for violating the new law, a person could purchase their FCC Technician textbook, a starting handheld and have money left over!
Any thoughts?
Submitted by Michael Schulsinger, N8QHV
2. 27th Annual Weather, Water and Climate Symposium
Every winter I plug The Ohio State University Meteorology Club’s symposium. This year there is a slight change in name and orientation from Severe Weather only to the 27th Annual Weather, Water and Climate Symposium.
The symposium will again be held at the U.S. Bank Conference Theater, Ohio Union, 1739 N. High St., Columbus, Ohio 43210. The date is Friday, February 10th from 9AM to 5PM. You may register to attend in person or participate through a Zoom Webinar at this internet address: https://forms.gle/TfGMhr4LomS1cDH67 .
The event is free, but parking at the adjoining South Garage is now $17 per day, and lunch is on you. Still, I have attended for over 20 years. Join me?
Submitted by Michael Schulsinger, N8QHV
3. 2024 Solar Eclipse – NASA Request
Greetings from Clark County, now celebrating two days without a tornado!
Many people in western Ohio are already considering their plans for the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse. While most in Ohio ARES District 3 will attempt to experience totality visually, typical cloud conditions here may interfere with such plans.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, would like to recruit some citizen scientists for experiments during the eclipse. These experiments could be carried out no matter how much cloud cover exists.
To learn more go to: Citizen Science | Resources – NASA Solar System Exploration .
Submitted by Michael Schulsinger, N8QHV
Greetings from Clark County, now celebrating nine days without a tornado, five days without a river flood and four days without a major train derailment!
Earlier this month the Clark County Medical Reserve Corps sent me an email asking if I knew of anyone interested in joining up? The Covid pandemic has not been kind to the local health departments in Ohio, with many MRC volunteers unable to continue volunteering or just plain burning out.
Every Ohio county has at least one Medical Reserve Corps, and just because I waited to be asked doesn’t mean that you must! Many positions do not require a medical license, so don’t assume that you need one. Contact your local MRC if you have time to spare for a little training and an occasional call out.
For some background on the MRC experience, go to https://aspr.hhs.gov/MRC .
Submitted by Michael Schulsinger, N8QHV
5. Ohio Distracted Driving Law goes into effect 4 April 23
Earlier this year I mentioned the new Ohio distracted driving law, as well as the exemption for FCC licensed Amateur Radio operators. Well, this law takes effect on April 4, 2023, with a six month grace period when only warnings will be issued.
The exemption for hams is buried deep within that section of the Ohio Revised Code, so I strongly suggest that all hams operating mobile print out a copy of the updated Ohio Revised Code Section 4511.204, and keep it in every vehicle that you operate from. I further suggest that you highlight the amateur radio phrase, as few law enforcement members will be aware of this exemption to a very complicated document. And don’t forget that you will need to prove that you are an FCC licensed Amateur Radio Service operator as well as a licensed driver, so keep your ham and driver licenses together.
This law will also affect out of state drivers transiting Ohio, so share this information with those hams as well. Maybe we should find a place for it in the Hamvention program!
Submitted by Michael Schulsinger, N8QHV
6. Annual Armed Forces Day Cross Band Test Saturday 13 May 2023
The Department of Defense will host this year’s Armed Forces Day (AFD) Crossband Test, scheduled for May 13, 2023. This annual event is open to all licensed amateur radio operators and will not impact any public or private communications. For more than 50 years, military and amateur stations have taken part in this event, which is an interoperability exercise between hobbyist and government radio stations.
The AFD Crossband Test is a unique opportunity to test two-way communications between military communicators and radio stations in the Amateur Radio Service (ARS), as authorized in 47 CFR 97.111. These tests provide opportunities and challenges for radio operators to demonstrate individual technical skills in a tightly controlled exercise scenario that does not impact any public or private communications.
Military stations will transmit on selected military frequencies and will announce the specific ARS frequencies monitored. All times are ZULU (Z), and all frequencies are Upper Side Band (USB) unless otherwise noted. The frequencies used for the test will not impact any public or private communications and will not stray outside the confines of the exercise.
Full details at: https://www.dodmars.org/mars-comex-information-website/armed-forces-day
I never seem to be entirely ready for Hamvention when it rolls around each year. Still, it’s best to at least be as prepared as humanly possible.
Check the weather the night before each day. Have shorts, t-shirts, long pants, long sleeve shirts, rainwear and a jacket on hand. Have another pair of shoes in case the mud is so thick that the pair you’re wearing isn’t dry by next morning. Have sunscreen and sunglasses for those rare occasions when the sun comes out for more than an hour!
Make a shopping list of things you plan to purchase, but don’t expect to follow it too rigidly. There are always targets of opportunity. Will you need to bring a cart of some kind, or have you made arrangements for friends to help you home with that stuff?
Please tell me that you plan to attend some forums. People spend weeks preparing these presentations, and I try to get to a couple each year despite the fact that I’ve seen over 75 since my first year at Hara Arena.
Bring your meds, a big bottle of water and some snacks. But don’t ignore the food vendors or they won’t be able to come back.
I’m sure I forgot something – I forget something different every year! Now that I‘m seventy, I’m surprised that I didn’t forget to write this column!
Submitted by Michael Schulsinger, N8QHVmbn
Greetings from Clark County, celebrating 48 hours without a funnel cloud! A tornado has not been confirmed.
Many members of Ohio District 3 ARES have taken First Aid and/or CPR classes as part of their disaster preparedness plans. But far fewer have taken a Psychological First Aid class.
The value of Psychological First Aid is beginning to be recognized, as there are far fewer mental health professionals than physical health pros in the world.
DisasterReady offers a free online course entitled Principals of Psychological First Aid. After registering at www.disasterready.org you can select this choice from the many free titles offered here.
Submitted by Michael Schulsinger, N8QHV
9. ARES booth at the Clark County Fair
The Clark County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) has invited Clark County Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) to demonstrate amateur radio activities at the EMA booth at the Clark County Fair. Additionally, both amateur radio and emergency preparedness materials will be offered there as well.
Booth workers will also help any Clark County residents register for HyperReach, the county mass notification system. Landlines are automatically added to the system, but cellular telephones must be added individually, as those numbers are not linked to any address.
I know that some county fairs have already passed, but it yours hasn’t why not offer your services to some appropriate fair participant?
Submitted by Michael Schulsinger, N8QHV
10.Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium
It’s been some time since I mentioned the Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium (RDPC) here. This collection of colleges and universities presents FEMA courses at no charge primarily targeted to communities under 50,000 in population.
While local governments may request many of their courses, just over 25 are available as online offerings to almost anyone with a FEMA student ID number, or SID. There are a few courses limited to sworn law enforcement officers.
Anyway, if you would like to look over their offerings or register for an online course, the place to go is https://ruraltraining.org/online-training/ .
Submitted by Michael Schulsinger, N8QHV
11. HamSCI Eclipse Experiments
On Saturday Ohio ARES District 3 will experience a partial solar eclipse, as will most of the country. And most of District 3 will be fortunate enough to experience a total solar eclipse in April of next year.
A number of ham radio operators are planning to conduct scientific experiments during these eclipses, and you can as well. Go to www.hamsci.org to read up on the planned experiments. By the way, one of the partner universities involved is Case Western Reserve in northern Ohio.
Let us know here if you participate!
Submitted by Michael Schulsinger, N8QHV