Category: Training & Certification

  • How to Earn Your Net Control Certificate

    Earning your Net Control and Field Operator (NCFO) certificate is a self-led process.

    1. Go to the Training page and print out the task list.
    2. Complete the FEMA online IS 800 class and send the certificate to me at eliza [dot] pride [at] gmail [dot] com.
    3. In some order, serve as net control for:
      • A regularly scheduled weekly net – preferably our own Wednesday night net, but the D-1 or NTTN net work too. CC a copy of your net report to me
      • AND Either two MCARES exercises or team drills, or an exercise/team drill and a public service event. Have the team leader or person in charge at the net control location sign off your task list for each of these net control experiences. Be sure one of them checks off the items on page two of the task list and the two items under “Knowledge.”
    4. Verify with your team leader that you have a complete 72 hour go kit and have them sign that off on your task list.
    5. Send your completed task list to me.

  • August General Membership Meeting

    This month’s training will focus on SSTV, a mode we may use after a disaster to send damage reports to the County. Matthew AF7PV will give a demonstration on sending and receiving images using the MMSSTV application, and Robert WX5TEX will discuss photography concepts and techniques for taking quality photos for use with SSTV.

    Please join us for our general membership meeting on Thursday, August 24 at the Portland Fire and Rescue training center at 4800 NE 122nd Ave in Portland. 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. Everyone is welcome!

    Additional information about our monthly meetings can be found on the meeting page.

  • Training & Certification News

    The updated Training Plan and its summary have been posted to the website under Training. The update reflects changes at the state level. The ARRO Task List has also been updated, to be more in line with what is actually presented at the Basics Workshop.

    The next ARRO workshops will be Thursdays, October 5 and 19. If you do not have your ARRO Certificate, please save these dates. Until then, be working on completing the IS-100, IS-200, and IS-700 online FEMA classes.

    Please email me your completion certificates (to eliza [dot] pride [at] gmail [dot] com) as you get them so I know you are making progress. New members have one year from their join date to complete the FEMA classes and the two workshops.

    Out of our 81 active members, 73 are ARRO certified. That is AWESOME! Also, 19 have Net Control certificates, 24 are HF certified, and 21 have their Packet RMS certificates.

  • June General Membership Meeting

    Participating in and running a directed net are important skills we employ in every exercise and public service event, so at this month’s meeting we’ll have our annual refresher on net protocol.

    Please join us for our general membership meeting on Thursday, June 28 at the Portland Fire and Rescue training center at 4800 NE 122nd Ave in Portland. 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. Everyone is welcome!

    Additional information about our monthly meetings can be found on the meeting page.

  • May General Membership Meeting

    Winlink is quickly becoming our most used mode for passing formal traffic for our served agencies, and it is crucial that all members are comfortable and proficient with this mode. This month’s training will include a review of the Winlink system and some hands-on practice in small groups. We will have several Winlink stations set up in the meeting room, so everyone will have a chance to send and receive a few messages.

    Please join us for our May general membership meeting on Thursday, May 25 at the Portland Fire and Rescue training center at 4800 NE 122nd Ave in Portland. 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. Everyone is welcome!

    Additional information about our monthly meetings can be found on the meeting page.

  • Training & Certification News

    If you are or would like to be working on getting your HF, RMS Packet, or Net Control certifications, please email me at eliza [dot] pride [at] gmail [dot] com. I’ll will get you hooked up with the appropriate trainers.

    The Basics and Traffic workshops in May are for those members who are not yet ARRO certified. If you have not already registered, please email me. The Amateur Radio Public Service Handbook is now available at Multnomah County Library. If you have a library card, you can go on-line and place a hold on it.

    General Licenses Classes through Hoodview Amateur Radio Club
    Hoodview Amateur Radio Club provides structured classes so that it becomes easy for you to pass your General class exam. We have had great success in helping students with the Technician material and now we are starting a General class. General classes will start on May 6 and will continue on May 13, with testing on May 18 at Mt. Hood Community College’s Fisheries building. Classes are from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. We will have a VE session on the last day at 9:00 AM. Classes are free, but the book is $22 and the VE test is $15. Textbook: “Ham Radio School” by Stu Turner (available online; be sure to get the General book). A limited number of books are available from Cory. Call 503-781-9095 to get your book prior to class. To register, call or email Cory (ka7iug [at] frontier [dot] com).

  • April General Membership Meeting

    Good traffic handling skills are key to our role as emergency communicators. For this month’s training we will have a brief review of traffic handling techniques, and then we’ll break into small groups to practice sending, copying, and logging ICS 213 and NTS Radiogram messages. Multnomah County ARES members and Portland NET radio operators are highly encouraged to attend this training.

    Please join us for our May general membership meeting on Thursday, May 25 at the Portland Fire and Rescue training center at 4800 NE 122nd Ave in Portland. 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. Everyone is welcome!

    Additional information about our monthly meetings can be found on the meeting page.

  • Training News

    Have technical questions? Call or email your team leaders! If they can’t help you, they will refer you to someone who can.

    Want to get your General ticket? Hoodview Amateur Radio Club is offering General Class ham classes on May 6 and 13 with testing on the 20th. Contact Cory at ka7iug [at] frontier [dot] com or Jim at 503-702-2760.

  • March General Membership Meeting

    Our next general membership meeting will be on Thursday, March 23 at the Portland Fire and Rescue training center at 4800 NE 122nd Ave in Portland. 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 start with general business and announcements from the Leadership team. We will then have a presentation from a guest speaker: Alice Busch, Division Chief of Operations for the Multnomah County Office of Emergency Management.

    Anyone who is interested in emergency communications is encouraged to join us! Additional information about our monthly meetings can be found on the meeting page.

  • Training & Certification News

    Due to weather and other issues, the ARRO Basics workshop that was scheduled for February 11 had to be canceled. It will happen on February 25. The ARRO Traffic Handling and Logging workshop will be on March 18. Both workshops are from 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM at the Portland Fire & Rescue Training Center where our monthly general meetings are held. To attend these workshops you must have a membership form on file and have submitted completion certificates for the online FEMA classes IS-100, IS-200, and IS-700. Preregistration is also required to ensure there are enough trainers present to get everyone through by noon. To register, contact me at eliza [dot] pride [at] gmail [dot] com.