Thanks to the 31 people who responded to our survey. We appreciate all the positive feedback and the suggestions for improvement. The anonymous responders who indicated you wanted to get more involved or to help out in various ways need to let us know who you are. We welcome your help and participation.
In response to your survey comments, we will have more hands-on workshop type training at our monthly meetings in 2015. We will also be much more visible on social media with Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter. For those of you who are not into social media, you will still get all the information you need from email, the website, the newsletter, and attending monthly meetings.
Looking forward to and wishing you all a fabulous new year!
Watch your email for a survey we would like all members to fill out. We need and value your thoughts on how we can improve MCARES, as well as what training topics you want, and any other suggestions for how we can make 2015 truly awesome. Please get it back to us no later than December 13 so we can incorporate your ideas into our 2015 planning. Have a safe and warm Thanksgiving!
Wow! We now have 41 ARRO certified members! Of those, 13 are also NCFO certified and 8 are HFO certified. At least five more are very close to completion of their ARRO certification. I sincerely appreciate the effort and dedication you have all shown is getting this done!
The ARRO certificate is required of all active members and is a prerequisite for the optional NCFO (Net Control and Field Operator), HFO (High Frequency Operator) and the soon to be launched DRO (Digital Radio Operator) certifications. You can find the check sheets on the website under the Docs tab. Be sure to let me know if you are working on an optional certificate so we can be sure to assign you for drills and events to get you the experience you need.
Huge thanks to Robert for developing the HF Certification and his HF Check-off workshop coming up before the next meeting, and to Adam for his work on creating the Digital Operator Certification and his presentation at this month’s meeting.
We are making good progress toward our goal of having all team members basic ARRO certified by the end of the year. There are several folks who just need to send a 213 and an NTS message to finish their certification. You will each be contacted to arrange to get this done. You are so close!
The drill on August 9 went quite well over all. It did bring up several things where we could do better. I strongly encourage all who participated to attend the general meeting on Thursday, August 28 when we will go over the items we can improve upon. Thanks to the drill participants who gave us feedback on how we can better organize the drills and provide better drill documents. These were discussed at the leadership meeting and your concerns have been addressed.
The Race for the Cure is coming up and this is another great opportunity to get some operating experience. It’s also a whole lot of fun! If you want to be buddied up with a more experienced ham, let Pat know. If you are willing to be partnered with a newer ham, also let Pat know.
We are in a final push to get all our team members ARRO certified by the end of the year. We are arranging some extra workshops. If you are not yet certified, contact me and I will help you finish up.
Robert WX5TEX gave a very good HF 101 class at last month’s meeting: a good balance of technical info and basic how-to to keep everybody interested. Thanks, Robert!
John KF7ZWX will be presenting Electrical Safety and Grounding this month, a topic we should all know something about! Thank you, John!
All team leaders should give their team members who are not yet ARRO certified their check off sheets. This way you will all know what you have left to accomplish. Take your sheet with you whenever you work a drill or event and see if the person in charge can check you off on any of the tasks. When the sheet is complete, give it back to your team leader or to Eli either at a general meeting or you can scan and email it to eliza [dot] pride [at] gmail [dot] com.
Robert WX5TEX has completed and leadership has approved the qualifications for the High Frequency Radio Operator (HFRO) certification. The check sheet will be on the web site soon and we will have copies available at the July general meeting. Basic ARRO certification and a General class license or higher are prerequisites. This is an optional voluntary add-on certification for those who are interested. It is recommended for team members whose served agency has HF capability.
Adam KF7LJH is working on the Digital Radio Operator (DRO) certification requirements and those will be coming soon. ARRO certification is a prerequisite. This is also optional and voluntary for anyone who is interested. It is recommended for team members whose served agency has digital capability. Adam will also be giving another WinLink presentation at the September meeting.
A big thanks to John KF7ZWX for his soldering classes. Hopefully he will do a repeat later in the year. Thanks also to Robert WX5TEX for the HF training at this month’s meeting.
The May go kits in the parking lot meeting was a huge success. The weather was great and we had fun setting up and showing our gear, sharing ideas, and socializing.
The mini orange go kit and traffic handling workshop went very well. I will be scheduling another one soon. Watch your email. I hope you all are working toward your basic ARRO certification. If you need help contact your team leader or me at eliza [dot] pride [at] gmail [dot] com.
Garrett AF7RF was the star of the show for the April meeting. He did a great presentation on antennas and also took pictures and back ground check releases so that he can distribute ARES/RACES ID Cards at the May meeting. (Do I hear cheering?)
Our meeting this month will be a Go Kit show and tell in the parking lot (weather permitting). If the weather is horrible, we will make do inside. Everyone is invited to bring their personal survival go kits and/or radio go kits to show. Those who need to be checked off for their certificates can snag someone from leadership. This is a fun night to chat, share, and get some really good ideas to enhance your own kits.
Robert WX5TEX is working on the task list for the HF track certification. For members with a general or extra license, this will be a voluntary track to add on to your ARRO certification. Most of our served agencies have HF capability so HF operators are needed.
When we joined the Corbett NERT team in 2005, the group was in desperate need of ham radio operators. We signed up with the Clark County Amateur Radio Club for technician class. We walked out of the exam with our PASS slips and wondered, “Now what?” Off we went to HRO pleading total ignorance of all things electronic but professing an interest in emergency communications. The very patient salesman recommended a Yaesu VX6R HT. We each bought one and they turned out to be a good choice.
The CCARC put us to work right away, partnering us with an experienced ham, Jack (now a silent key) for the Diabetes Walk. We quickly learned that a rubber ducky antenna doesn’t get very far, so back to HRO for a quarter-wave for the HTs and a mag mount for the car.
The only ham we knew was our friend Jerry who lives on San Juan Island. A little experimenting with linked repeaters and we were talking almost to Canada! We scanned the two meter band listening to anything we could find and stumbled on the Northwest Traffic and Training Net. We listened a long time and learned the basics of message handling, then finally got up the courage to check in and try sending a message to Jerry. Back to HRO. 5 watts even with a better antenna still wouldn’t get us out of Corbett. But 50 watts did! We grew up as hams on the NTTN.
However, we still wanted to get into emergency communications. We went to a couple of Multnomah County ARES meetings but there were only three or four other folks in attendance and there was no apparent training going on. At the EmComm Conference in Seattle we met David Kidd KA7OZO, then EC for Clackamas County and District 1 EC. He encouraged us to come to Clackamas County and we were again put to work on drills, SETS, and public service events. We upgraded to General class in 2008 so we would be able to operate HF at a served agency if needed.
When Multnomah County got a new EC in 2009, Dave asked us to help rejuvenate the group, so we returned to our home county ARES to see what we could do. Three years ago we moved from Corbett to Fairview and left the NERT team behind. Now all our volunteer time and energy is devoted to Multnomah County ARES. It has been so exciting to be a part of the growth and development of this great team of hams. We are fast becoming the best in the state thanks to the entire leadership team and all of you!
We will be presenting some ARRO and NCFO certificates to several members at next Thursday’s meeting. We take a break from the certification-focused training at this meeting to get a lesson on antennas used in emergency communications in our county, presented by Garrett AF7RF.
The New Member Orientation will be an overview of who we are and what we do, how we fit into the big picture of disaster response, and communication channels within the organization.
