DELARANEWS

ARES

Delaware County ARES

I would like to sincerely thank everyone for your interest, your time, and your energy! After last month’s training (fldigi and digital transmittion), we decided to stage a practice net on Thursday afternoons at 2 PM. Most present were retired, and an afternoon meant we didn’t have to give up another evening. There have been people on the net every Thursday, working to get their fldigi skills up to par, and it shows! There have been a few evening sessions as well, where members are helping other members make it all work. Elmering is a great thing! I recently met with Sandy N8YS at the Delaware EMA. They have one full-scale exercise coming up probably in April some time (date to be confirmed later). We are welcomed to participate, and it’ll be up to us to decide what elements of our service we’d like to test. Would we like traffic and fldigi? Setting up at remote locations such as shelters? YOU come up with aspects we need to practice and let me know! Speaking of the EOC, approval has been given for a complete redecoration and renovation of the EOC. Sandy’s eyes lit up when she talked about some of the changes. Amateur radio is a ~required~ part of the EOC, so we’ll have a slot for gear. We also need to make a time for a brief test of our MESH into the EOC. I’m not sure it’s connected anywhere at present. We can make arrangements to visit and test, however it might be smart to wait for the renovation to be completed later this year. Der Wolsfrudel Trail Runs We do have one activity that will require some preparation. We have been asked to support the winter run at Alum Creek March 7. Last year we were there at the request of the Arnold Volunteer Medical Team. This year, we have specifically been requested by the event coordinator. Since our mission did not, and does not involve any medical aide, I don’t feel like we are violating any allegiance to the Medical Team. This run starts at the New Galena Boat Ramp and tracks on a circular path to the north. Delaware EMS is providing care, and careful plans have already been made. This course is wide and well manicured, but it traverses some deep cuts and dips and more important is buried in the woods. We will need to be there early, and ~well dressed for the weather~ since we probably won’t have a lot of opportunity to change locations during the brief run. We will be able to mountain bike to our posts, and in fact Delaware EMS’ bike medic teams will be on the course. Safety is a consideration because of the rough nature of the course and the weather, so we’ll need at lest 8 volunteers for that morning. We’ll train more at the ARES monthly meeting. We have also been requested to help manage a triathlon August 15 and another triathlon September 19. Both are held at Alum Creek, more information will be forthcoming. In addition to training for the run, our February schedule will involve Go-Boxes! We’ll open our voice boxes, and we’ll take a look at YOUR equipment. it’s always a fun show-and-tell session so BRING YOUR GO-BOX to the training, and bring any MESH video boxes you might have. In other news, Donn and I have attended several meetings at the city with Ironman leadership. We’re working up changes to the bicycle course, and possibly other logistics to make this feature event even better!

Ohio ARES - Activities are coming up!

ARES Red Cross Survey Ohio ARES considers the Emergency Management Agency our ‘primary customer’ – our first priority should always be to the EMA for emergency and exercise activities. In most cases, other ‘Partner’ agencies will have a seat at a county EOC table, making it easy for us to coordinate service to them as well. Another primary partner that we need to consider is the Red Cross. In many cases, Red Cross facilities are made available to our ham radio organizations. We regularly envision staffing Red Cross shelters with ARES operators… but how well do we know our Red Cross partners? We decided to take a simple survey to find out! Thanks to 36 EC’s, we can put together a picture of ARES interaction after gathering responses to our “Survey Monkey” questionnaire. Exactly half of those who responded report they have a Red Cross chapter in their county. Contact with the Red Cross varies. When asked about regular contact, the results varied. I’m guessing that some of the responses take into consideration the lack of chapters in that county, but I’m sure there are others with chapters who do not have regular contact. A great deal 5.56% 2 A lot 16.67% 6 A moderate amount 25.00% 9 A little 22.22% 8 None at all 30.56% 11 One of the benefits afforded to many counties is the use of the chapter facility. When asked if you had meetings or functions at your local chapter, 10 answered yes. In some counties, such as my home county of Delaware, our club meets regularly at the chapter, and we maintain a fairly large all-band station with a tower and wire antennas. We also stage Field Day at this location. I have been with several other counties who have the same benefit. It’s good for us, and it’s good for the Red Cross! In more detail, 9 counties report having a permanent radio installation with antennas. 3 Report portable temporary installations (no existing facilities. The majority (21) report having no arrangement. 1 does not permit access. So what kind of relationship do we have? When asked if you had a response agreement with the chapter, 12 (35%) reported they do, while 23 (65%) said they had no agreement. (Remember those counties without a chapter will affect this result.) With or without an agreement, there are occasions when we can work with the Red Cross to keep our relationship alive. In the past two years, 15 (42%) say you have worked a Red Cross event or drill. 21 (58%) said you had not. These are interesting results, and they do point out a need to rejuvenate our relationship. On the state level, I’m making arrangements to meet with the regional communications group this month to see if we can step up our game! The winter months are great for meeting with your Directors to see if there are plans for drills in which we can participate, opportunities to discuss and demo new technology and just stay in touch! As the saying goes, “The middle of an emergency is NOT the time to be exchanging business cards!” It’s time to mark your calendar for April 4! That is the date for our 2020 Ohio ARES Conference! We will gather at the Marion Tech / OSU Marion campus at 0800 for a day of information and training. This year’s theme will be something we can ALL apply at home: managing events. We will talk about communicating for small to gigantic events- and we hope there will be plenty of tips and tricks you can take back home! Thanks to the Marion County ARES for hosting us again this year. I truly hope to see you there! VHF Contest One of our regular activities has been the January VHF Simplex Contest, and this year was a fun time for many operators. Our scores have been posted on the ohsimplex.org website. Many thanks to those who participated! It appears that more counties were included in many logs, so conditions must have been a bit better than last year. We also have received suggestions to enhance the rules for next year, and I appreciate that attention to detail! Many thanks to Jason for posting the website- it makes us look to be a real, bona fide contest!! Top Score & Top Rover: WW8TF Top Portable: K8GQB Top Fixed Location: N8LRG Call County QSO Points Counties Total Score WW8TF (Rover) 710 21 29845 K8GQB Columbiana 659 17 11303 KE8LND Ashland 320 11 7165 N8LRG Knox 136 24 3264 N8ESG/R (Rover) 195 14 2755 K8EMR Seneca 193 14 2702 N8JLM Medina 293 8 2320 KI8B Wayne 183 9 1647 K8EMA Shelby 198 6 1238 W8DPK Madison 102 12 1224 W8KKC Scioto 130 6 1060 KW8EMA Medina 82 10 952 N8EE Marion 77 12 924 K8BCR (Rover) 64 7 921 W8UCO Union 64 21 818 K8ZT Summit 68 11 748 W8THV Franklin 79 8 682 W8BDE Summit 118 4 572 KD8CMN Wayne 65 7 555 K8QIK Fairfield 58 7 506 KE8ECT Marion 61 9 495 W8NFM Hamilton 163 3 489 N8MPF Cuyahoga 117 4 468 KM8V Cuyahoga 140 3 444 KC8PUW Coshocton 60 7 420 N8WAC Wood 60 6 360 W8OMR Franklin 63 4 302 KD8ODF Mahoning 35 5 290 W8ZX Tuscarawas 44 5 270 KB8VIP Coshocton 28 6 268 AA8BN (Rover) 22 5 245 N8ME Madison 46 5 230 K8SAS Cuyahoga 11 3 194 KE8MSX Cuyahoga 35 4 140 WC8RK Warren 22 6 132 KC8PSW (Rover) 21 2 109 AC8UJ (Rover) 11 6 91 KD3WCO Greene 29 3 87 AC8AP Erie 70 1 70 W8KVK Athens 14 3 42 AD8CM Franklin 13 2 26 N8FJ Montgomery 7 2 14 KE8NNX Summit 7 2 14 KG6DI Meigs 3 3 9 KE8DKC Greene 1 1 1 WD8SAB *(no score attached)* DON’T FORGET OHIO NVIS ANTENNA DAY, APRIL 25!

Amateur Radio is more than

a hobby- it becomes an

important service when

other forms of

communication fail. It’s up

to all of us to stay ready,

stay trained, and stay

available. We could be

required on a moment’s

notice.

Delaware County ARES is part of the national ARRL program. We rely on our volunteers. We operate during several large public events including the national-level Ironman competition. We hold a radio net on the 145.19 repeater (no tone) on the first Thursday of every month at 8PM. We hold a training meeting on the second Thursday of every month at 7:30 usually at the Red Cross building. All amateurs are invited! For information, contact Stan, N8BHL the Delaware County Emergency Coordinator, or Joe, K8MP or Craig, W8CR.
DELARANews

ARES

Delaware County ARES

I would like to sincerely thank everyone for your interest, your time, and your energy! After last month’s training (fldigi and digital transmittion), we decided to stage a practice net on Thursday afternoons at 2 PM. Most present were retired, and an afternoon meant we didn’t have to give up another evening. There have been people on the net every Thursday, working to get their fldigi skills up to par, and it shows! There have been a few evening sessions as well, where members are helping other members make it all work. Elmering is a great thing! I recently met with Sandy N8YS at the Delaware EMA. They have one full-scale exercise coming up probably in April some time (date to be confirmed later). We are welcomed to participate, and it’ll be up to us to decide what elements of our service we’d like to test. Would we like traffic and fldigi? Setting up at remote locations such as shelters? YOU come up with aspects we need to practice and let me know! Speaking of the EOC, approval has been given for a complete redecoration and renovation of the EOC. Sandy’s eyes lit up when she talked about some of the changes. Amateur radio is a ~required~ part of the EOC, so we’ll have a slot for gear. We also need to make a time for a brief test of our MESH into the EOC. I’m not sure it’s connected anywhere at present. We can make arrangements to visit and test, however it might be smart to wait for the renovation to be completed later this year. Der Wolsfrudel Trail Runs We do have one activity that will require some preparation. We have been asked to support the winter run at Alum Creek March 7. Last year we were there at the request of the Arnold Volunteer Medical Team. This year, we have specifically been requested by the event coordinator. Since our mission did not, and does not involve any medical aide, I don’t feel like we are violating any allegiance to the Medical Team. This run starts at the New Galena Boat Ramp and tracks on a circular path to the north. Delaware EMS is providing care, and careful plans have already been made. This course is wide and well manicured, but it traverses some deep cuts and dips and more important is buried in the woods. We will need to be there early, and ~well dressed for the weather~ since we probably won’t have a lot of opportunity to change locations during the brief run. We will be able to mountain bike to our posts, and in fact Delaware EMS’ bike medic teams will be on the course. Safety is a consideration because of the rough nature of the course and the weather, so we’ll need at lest 8 volunteers for that morning. We’ll train more at the ARES monthly meeting. We have also been requested to help manage a triathlon August 15 and another triathlon September 19. Both are held at Alum Creek, more information will be forthcoming. In addition to training for the run, our February schedule will involve Go-Boxes! We’ll open our voice boxes, and we’ll take a look at YOUR equipment. it’s always a fun show-and-tell session so BRING YOUR GO-BOX to the training, and bring any MESH video boxes you might have. In other news, Donn and I have attended several meetings at the city with Ironman leadership. We’re working up changes to the bicycle course, and possibly other logistics to make this feature event even better!

Ohio ARES - Activities are

coming up!

ARES Red Cross Survey Ohio ARES considers the Emergency Management Agency our ‘primary customer’ – our first priority should always be to the EMA for emergency and exercise activities. In most cases, other ‘Partner’ agencies will have a seat at a county EOC table, making it easy for us to coordinate service to them as well. Another primary partner that we need to consider is the Red Cross. In many cases, Red Cross facilities are made available to our ham radio organizations. We regularly envision staffing Red Cross shelters with ARES operators… but how well do we know our Red Cross partners? We decided to take a simple survey to find out! Thanks to 36 EC’s, we can put together a picture of ARES interaction after gathering responses to our “Survey Monkey” questionnaire. Exactly half of those who responded report they have a Red Cross chapter in their county. Contact with the Red Cross varies. When asked about regular contact, the results varied. I’m guessing that some of the responses take into consideration the lack of chapters in that county, but I’m sure there are others with chapters who do not have regular contact. A great deal 5.56% 2 A lot 16.67% 6 A moderate amount 25.00% 9 A little 22.22% 8 None at all 30.56% 11 One of the benefits afforded to many counties is the use of the chapter facility. When asked if you had meetings or functions at your local chapter, 10 answered yes. In some counties, such as my home county of Delaware, our club meets regularly at the chapter, and we maintain a fairly large all-band station with a tower and wire antennas. We also stage Field Day at this location. I have been with several other counties who have the same benefit. It’s good for us, and it’s good for the Red Cross! In more detail, 9 counties report having a permanent radio installation with antennas. 3 Report portable temporary installations (no existing facilities. The majority (21) report having no arrangement. 1 does not permit access. So what kind of relationship do we have? When asked if you had a response agreement with the chapter, 12 (35%) reported they do, while 23 (65%) said they had no agreement. (Remember those counties without a chapter will affect this result.) With or without an agreement, there are occasions when we can work with the Red Cross to keep our relationship alive. In the past two years, 15 (42%) say you have worked a Red Cross event or drill. 21 (58%) said you had not. These are interesting results, and they do point out a need to rejuvenate our relationship. On the state level, I’m making arrangements to meet with the regional communications group this month to see if we can step up our game! The winter months are great for meeting with your Directors to see if there are plans for drills in which we can participate, opportunities to discuss and demo new technology and just stay in touch! As the saying goes, “The middle of an emergency is NOT the time to be exchanging business cards!” It’s time to mark your calendar for April 4! That is the date for our 2020 Ohio ARES Conference! We will gather at the Marion Tech / OSU Marion campus at 0800 for a day of information and training. This year’s theme will be something we can ALL apply at home: managing events. We will talk about communicating for small to gigantic events- and we hope there will be plenty of tips and tricks you can take back home! Thanks to the Marion County ARES for hosting us again this year. I truly hope to see you there! VHF Contest One of our regular activities has been the January VHF Simplex Contest, and this year was a fun time for many operators. Our scores have been posted on the ohsimplex.org website. Many thanks to those who participated! It appears that more counties were included in many logs, so conditions must have been a bit better than last year. We also have received suggestions to enhance the rules for next year, and I appreciate that attention to detail! Many thanks to Jason for posting the website- it makes us look to be a real, bona fide contest!! Top Score & Top Rover: WW8TF Top Portable: K8GQB Top Fixed Location: N8LRG Call County QSO Points Counties Total Score WW8TF (Rover) 710 21 29845 K8GQB Columbiana 659 17 11303 KE8LND Ashland 320 11 7165 N8LRG Knox 136 24 3264 N8ESG/R (Rover) 195 14 2755 K8EMR Seneca 193 14 2702 N8JLM Medina 293 8 2320 KI8B Wayne 183 9 1647 K8EMA Shelby 198 6 1238 W8DPK Madison 102 12 1224 W8KKC Scioto 130 6 1060 KW8EMA Medina 82 10 952 N8EE Marion 77 12 924 K8BCR (Rover) 64 7 921 W8UCO Union 64 21 818 K8ZT Summit 68 11 748 W8THV Franklin 79 8 682 W8BDE Summit 118 4 572 KD8CMN Wayne 65 7 555 K8QIK Fairfield 58 7 506 KE8ECT Marion 61 9 495 W8NFM Hamilton 163 3 489 N8MPF Cuyahoga 117 4 468 KM8V Cuyahoga 140 3 444 KC8PUW Coshocton 60 7 420 N8WAC Wood 60 6 360 W8OMR Franklin 63 4 302 KD8ODF Mahoning 35 5 290 W8ZX Tuscarawas 44 5 270 KB8VIP Coshocton 28 6 268 AA8BN (Rover) 22 5 245 N8ME Madison 46 5 230 K8SAS Cuyahoga 11 3 194 KE8MSX Cuyahoga 35 4 140 WC8RK Warren 22 6 132 KC8PSW (Rover) 21 2 109 AC8UJ (Rover) 11 6 91 KD3WCO Greene 29 3 87 AC8AP Erie 70 1 70 W8KVK Athens 14 3 42 AD8CM Franklin 13 2 26 N8FJ Montgomery 7 2 14 KE8NNX Summit 7 2 14 KG6DI Meigs 3 3 9 KE8DKC Greene 1 1 1 WD8SAB *(no score attached)* DON’T FORGET OHIO NVIS ANTENNA DAY, APRIL 25!

ARES

Stan Broadway, N8BHL

Section Emergency Coordinator - Ohio Emergency Coordinator - Delaware County