We will no longer be passing around a sign-up sheet for net control at the monthly meetings. Instead, each team will be assigned a month. This will give more folks a chance and we hope that every member will do it at least once. If you want help or moral support for your first time, just ask your team leader. An orange Go-Kit will be available for those needing a higher powered radio.
The Digital net has been very successful and several members are gaining expertise in sending images both with sound card (SignaLink) and acoustic coupling, which only requires a radio and a smart phone. The Open Camera app for Android devices and Solocator for Android and iOS devices are camera apps that can embed GPS coordinates as well as time/date stamp onto the image. GPS coordinates must be included for images to be of any use to Emergency Management. Both apps are free. The DroidSSTV app for Android devices costs $6.99 and is what most of the smartphone users are using to send pictures from our phones; there is also an iOS app for this. You just hold the phone to the radio, hold down the PTT and send. You can check into the net for help in setting these up.
The Traffic Handling Training Net (THTN) is gaining ground. We had 18 checkins on our last net. We sent two ICS 213s and a radiogram, and got lots of questions answered. You can use sample 213s to practice sending on the net, or compose your own NTS Radiogram.
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SSTV
Thanks to everyone who responded to the annual survey. The leadership team meeting in December reviewed and tried to address your requests and suggestions. This year’s calendar reflects many of your requests for more training and additional certification opportunities. The new monthly team drills are small scale exercises involving two teams. They are designed to give everyone more experience with our served agencies and field operations.
On January 7 we were informed that the Multnomah County office of Emergency Management and the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management (PBEM) were opening a joint ECC for weather issues. It seemed like a great opportunity to show our abilities with a quickly put together SSTV demonstration. Adam took our new digital go kit to PBEM and eight of our members were able to send from their homes images of the current snow fall and conditions. The pretty cool part is that the pictures were uploaded to WebEOC and displayed on the map using the GPS coordinates embedded on the photos. The Portland EM staff had their first look at this ham radio technology and seemed pretty impressed.
Robert WX5TEX will be leading the Q&A sessions at 6:15 PM prior to our monthly meetings. Bring your questions and he will help you get the answers. New members are encouraged to attend also.
Nate will be reviewing the changes for 2017 and he will cover logging and ICS forms with us all at the January 26 meeting. Hope to see everyone there!
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SSTV
Please join us for our first general membership meeting of 2017!
There will be a Q&A session and informal gathering for new members from 18:15 to 19:00. The main meeting will run from 19:00 to 21:00 and will cover Leadership updates for 2017 as well as provide training on logging and forms. Everyone is welcome!
The meeting will be held on Thursday, January 26 at the Portland Fire & Rescue Training Center at 4800 NE 122nd Avenue in Portland.
Please join us in welcoming our new member, Bill K7WXW.
Just in case you missed it, at the October general meeting our Emergency Manager, Chris Voss, presented us with the Oregon Emergency Management Association award for innovation! Congratulations to all Multnomah County ARES members for your contributions and support of the trailer project. The plaque we received is proudly displayed inside the trailer.
Thanks to all who participated in the Fall SET. We had 40 members check in, which was a really great response. County Emergency Management was kind enough to let us use their Everbridge system for the text notification. Adam did a great job in figuring out how to use it as it did not come with an owner’s manual. Sorry to those who received more than one text; we are still figuring out the function boxes. But next time we will know better. If you did not receive a text or voice message, please let me know so we can update our records with your correct phone number. Send an email to Deb at dprovo [at] yahoo [dot] com. Congratulations to the Bravo team for having the best percentage of member check-ins!
John K7TY is preparing the yearly membership survey. Your input is greatly appreciated to help guide us into 2017. There will not be a general membership meeting in December, however the leadership team will meet for an all-day planning session to set the training schedule and goals for the New Year.
Thanks to every one for a great year!
With the build complete, the next phase is developing policy about the trailer’s use; developing a user manual on how to move it, set it up, and run it; and training.
Now that we have it, we need to maintain it. There are ongoing expenses, including keeping the propane tanks full, insurance, and over time there are sure to be maintenance issues. To that end, we will have a Trailer donation box by the door at every meeting. Drop a dollar or two in there when you can. If you need a tax deductible receipt, PARC is still handling those contributions. Send a check to PARC, P.O. Box 33454, Portland, OR 97292-3454. Write “ARES Trailer Fund” on the memo line of your check. Thank you!
Our November general membership meeting will be one week early due to the Thanksgiving Holiday. Adam KF7LJH will give an introduction to mapping using online tools.
The meeting will be held on Thursday, November 17, from 7:00PM to 8:30PM at the Portland Fire & Rescue Training Center at 4800 NE 122nd Avenue in Portland.
As of October 25, MCARES now hosts a semi-monthly Traffic Handling Training Net (THTN). The net meets the second and fourth Tuesday of every month at 20:00 on the Portland Amateur Radio Club (PARC) 147.180 MHz (103.5 Hz Tone) repeater. This is not one of the standard MC# repeaters so you will need to program this new frequency and tone into your radio. Eli, W7ELI, is the net manager and net members will be encouraged to volunteer for net control. This is a practice net only. Messages will not go beyond this net and will not be delivered.
We will practice sending by voice ICS 213 messages as well as NTS formatted messages, and we will practice logging these messages on the ICS 309 form. The net will include discussion of voice traffic handling and suggestions for improving one’s traffic sending and message formatting. Questions are encouraged and mistakes are simply a learning opportunity.
You can make up your own messages to send on the net, but we also have some sample messages available. Traffic handling guides and information can be found in the Traffic Handling section of our Training page. ICS 213 and 309 forms can be found on the Docs page.
Please join us in welcoming our new members, John KH6XG and Bob K7ENA. This brings our total for the year to 30 new members. Way to go everyone for putting in so much effort to grow our membership!!!
Get the credit you deserve! If you worked communications for the Portland Marathon, Hood to Coast, the Airshow or any public service event, please let me know and include your assignment or tactical callsign. There is a minimum amount of participation that must be met to maintain your active membership status, and for some of you, getting credit for working these events may be the deciding factor.
It has been a busy few months with public service events and ARES activities. Thanks to all who have participated to keep their radio operating skills sharp and provide valued service to the community.
A special thanks to Peter KH6CTQ for his donation of equipment to Multnomah County ARES. Among the many items donated were 2 military antenna masts which will enhance the Mobile Comms field capabilities. Thanks also to John KH6XG for getting in touch with us to arrange the donation.
