W8SGT is facilitating an HF net every Tuesday at 1800L (6PM) on the Ohio ARES Admin frequency 3875 KHz LSB and 7240 KHz at about 1820L (6:20PM) also on Tuesday nights local time. All frequencies +/- QRM
Once the voice nets are completed, look for a digital net:
The Dial frequency is 3582khz USB
Mode (starting out) is Olivia 500/16, with a center waterfall frequency of 1000hz.
The nets are run from the State of Ohio EOC and ALL are welcome to check in.
From the Ohio Section ARES Page
The Ohio Section is developing plans to use Digital HF for emergency communications. Part of this will be a regular ARES Digital HF Net.
To head development of this net, OH SEC, Matt, W8DEC, has appointed Official Emergency Station and Preble County AEC Gary Hollenbaugh NJ8BB as the Net Manager for the Statewide Digital HF Net. Gary has been given the “green light” to develop and implement this project as he deems fit.
District 3 DEC Al, KB8RPO, is fully behind this effort and encouraged everyone to download the chosen software during the District 3 ARES Net on 15 August.
The software packages are fldigi and flmsg. They can be downloaded for free at: http://www.w1hkj.com/. There is an online wiki and there is a downloadable PDF with good information located at and even a YouTube video
Please note that fldigi runs on a variety of platforms such as Windows, Linux and Mac, and can be used as a general purpose HF digital program for general PSK31, etc. operations .
The Montgomery County ARES UHF Repeater, 444.250 (+), PL of 123.0 Hz is now up and running. Please start monitoring and trying it so we can determine its coverage area across West Central Ohio.
The Montgomery County ARES K8MCA Repeater, 146.640 minus offset, will implement a 123.0 Hz PL encode tone for repeater access after December 23rd.
The PL tone access will be deactivated when the “Double Beep” is heard signifying that the Dayton Skywarn Net is in operation.
73’s
Robert M. Flory – KA5RUC
Emergency Coordinator
Montgomery County ARES
Former DEC Ron Moorefield retired effective October 1, 2011 after many years of service in this position.
Al Stone, KB8RPO, was confirmed as his replacement on 15 October 2011
Email: kb8rpo@frontier.com
More details to follow.
From the Ohio Section Notes, November 2011
Hello,
If you attended the Ohio ARES Management Meeting last spring in Mansfield, one thing rang LOUD and CLEAR, and that was training. After discussions with the Section Manager and our new ASM/Training John Frederick N8GOU, it was decided that before we establish training on a local/county level, ARES leadership will need to step up and fulfill some training minimums.
Effective December 31 2011, to be considered for appointment in the Ohio Section for the positions of District Emergency Coordinator, Assistant District Emergency Coordinator, or County Emergency Coordinator, the applicant must have taken and passed FEMA Courses IS-100, 200, 700 and 800.
Effective January 1, 2013 all holders of the positions of District Emergency Coordinator, Assistant District Emergency Coordinator, or County Emergency Coordinator the applicant must have taken and passed FEMA Courses IS-100, 200, 700 and 800. In my discussions around the Section, most of you, if not all have completed all or the majority of the above requirements, or will soon. Many DECs and ECs have mentioned that many of the County EMA offices ask IS-100, 200, 700, and 800 before they are issued credentials, or allowed into emergency facilities during an emergency. Remember these are MINIMUMS ONLY. There are many of the FEMA IS courses available on line at http://training.fema.gov/IS/ . Also remember that the ARRL offers the EMCOMM classes, and you can view that catalog at http://www.arrl.org/online-course-catalog.
So PLEASE take advantage of the educational resources available to you, and I am sure programs will become available as our new ASM John Fredrick, N8GOU talks to other ARES Leadership across the Section. If you have any questions on the topics above, please contact me.
73,
Ohio Section Emergency Coordinator
More discussion of the training requirements by John Frederick, N8GOU can be found on the Ohio Section News page
05/25/2011
In an FCC forum on earthquake communications preparedness, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate described the Amateur Radio operator as “the ultimate backup, the originators of what we call social media.” The forum– held May 3 at FCC Headquarters in Washington, DC — brought together officials from the White House, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), FEMA, the FCC and the private sector. Fugate and FCC Bureau of Public Safety and Homeland Security Chief Jamie Barnett gave the opening remarks.
Later in the forum, Fugate spoke more on Amateur Radio. “During the initial communications out of Haiti, volunteers using assigned frequencies that they are allocated, their own equipment, their own money, nobody pays them, were the first ones oftentimes getting word out in the critical first hours and first days as the rest of the systems came back up,” he told the forum. “I think that there is a tendency because we have done so much to build infrastructure and resiliency in all our other systems, we have tended to dismiss that role ‘When Everything Else Fails.’ Amateur Radio oftentimes is our last line of defense.”
Fugate said that he thinks “we get so sophisticated and we have gotten so used to the reliability and resilience in our wireless and wired and our broadcast industry and all of our public safety communications, that we can never fathom that they’ll fail. They do. They have. They will. I think a strong Amateur Radio community [needs to be] plugged into these plans. Yes, most of the time they’re going be bored, because a lot of the time, there’s not a lot they’re going to be doing that other people aren’t doing with Twitter and Facebook and everything else. But when you need Amateur Radio, you really need them.”
You can watch a video of the forum on YouTube. Fugate’s remarks begin at 18:55.
In July, the FCC released a Report and Order (R&O) that amended Part 97 — more specifically Section 97.113 — stating that government entities sponsoring disaster and emergency drills will no longer need to apply for a waiver to hold these drills. Additionally, employees who wish to participate in non-government-sponsored drills and exercises may do so under certain conditions. Part 97 is the portion of the Commission’s rules that govern the Amateur Radio Service. In the August 4th edition of the Federal Register, the FCC issued a summary of the R&O entitled Amendment of the Commission’s Rules Regarding Amateur Radio Service Communications During Government Disaster Drills –noting that the effective date of these new rules will be September 3, 2010.
In a Report and Order (R&O) released Wednesday, July 14, the FCC amended Part 97.113 to allow amateurs to participate without an FCC waiver in government-sponsored disaster preparedness drills on behalf of their employers participating in the exercise. The FCC also has amended the rules to allow employees to participate in non-government drills and exercises up to one hour per week and up to two 72-hour periods during the year.
“Experience has shown that amateur operations can and have played an essential role in protecting the safety of life and property during emergency situations and disaster situations,” the FCC noted in the R&O. “Moreover, the current Amateur Radio Service rules, which permit participation in such drills and tests by volunteers (ie, non-employees of participating entities), reflect the critical role Amateur Radio serves in such situations. However, as evidenced by recent waiver requests, state and local government public safety agencies, hospitals and other entities concerned with the health and safety of citizens appear to be limited in their ability to conduct disaster and emergency preparedness drills, because of the employee status of Amateur Radio licensees involved in the training exercises. We therefore amend our rules to permit amateur radio operators to participate in government-sponsored emergency and disaster preparedness drills and tests, regardless of whether the operators are employees of the entities participating in the drill or test. We find that extending authority to operate amateur stations during such drills will enhance emergency preparedness and response and thus serve the public interest.”
In order to allow participation in non-governmental disaster drills — such as those sponsored by ARES® or private hospitals — the FCC will now allow amateurs employed by an agency participating in such a drill to participate up to one hour per week. In addition, they may also participate in up to two exercises in any calendar year, each for a time period not to exceed 72 hours. “This time limitation, which is consistent with the timeframes contained in the waiver requests filed with the Commission, should serve to further ensure the use of Amateur Radio for bona fide emergency testing,” the R&O stated. “We emphasize that the purpose for any drills we authorize herein must be related to emergency and disaster preparedness. By limiting the purpose in this manner, we further ensure that such drills will be appropriately limited.”
In amending the Amateur Radio rules, the FCC reiterated that it does not intend to disturb the core principle of the Amateur Radio Service “as a voluntary, non-commercial communication service carried out by duly authorized persons interested in radio technique with a personal aim and without pecuniary interest. Rather, we believe that the public interest will be served by establishing a narrow exception to the prohibition on transmitting amateur communications in which the station control operator has a pecuniary interest or employment relationship, and that such an exception is consistent with the intent of the Amateur Radio Service rules.”
The effective date of the R&O is to be determined and will be at some time after its publication in the Federal Register. A more detailed story will be forthcoming from the ARRL.
Ernie Hudson, KI8O, The Montgomery County Ohio ARES EC, became a Silent Key 2 August 2002 at age 69.
From Sam, N8VES
This was the text of the eulogy that Sam read during the ARES net of 7 August 2002. Ernie had been scheduled to be Net Control that night. Randy, KAØAZS assumed Net Control. We started the Net with a moment of silence. For the Montgomery County EC report, Sam read the following:
It will be difficult to describe the loss of Ernie this evening. I’m sure that he would say “Well good evening Randy and all the members of the net. I really appreciate you being there and you’re doing a great job.” Unfortunately we will never hear those words from him again.
