Category: Training & Certification

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.

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.

Our last meeting was the best attended ever! Thank you all. We were in the annex out back at the fire station, so we were crowded. It was pretty chaotic, but we got a lot accomplished. This month will be part two of our push to get members ARRO certified.

With the large membership numbers, printing is getting to be a challenge, so I will be emailing the traffic handling training materials to you. I hope you will become familiar with the contents and bring your questions to the meeting. We will spend the majority of our training time in small groups (in the usual BIG room!) actually practicing passing traffic. See you all on March 27.

Thanks for your enthusiasm and support of this training program.

We have state approval of our training plan! The program is getting its big kick start at the February meeting. We will be working in our teams to check off as many items as possible in our effort to get all members ARRO (ARES/RACES Radio Operator) certified. Bring your hand held radio, manual, cheat sheet if you have one, and your 24-hour go-kit to the Meeting on February 27! The go-kit for this meeting should have the basic items you would need if you were to be deployed for 24 hours. This should include a radio (HT or mobile), power supply (car battery or extra batteries works), food and water, and any personal items you will need to be totally self-sufficient for 24 hours. You do not need to bring bedding.

If you are not on a team, come prepared anyway and we will get you into a work group. If you don’t have a portable radio, you will be working with the orange go-kit supplied to our group by Multnomah County Emergency Management.

The March meeting will be a hands-on traffic handling workshop. Participating in these two meetings will get most members very close to ARRO certification.

Remember to submit your ICS class completion certificates if you haven’t already done so! These are needed for ARRO certifications. You can bring copies to a meeting, or email them to Deb at dprovo [at] yahoo [dot] com. Contact Eli at eliza [dot] pride [at] gmail [dot] com if you need information on how to take these free on-line classes.

The Training Calendar for 2014 has been posted on the website. Thanks to all who attended the December meeting for your input.

Five members of the leadership team have already received their ARRO (ARES/RACES Radio Operator) and NCFO (Net Control and Field Operator) certificates. More certificates will be awarded at the January meeting. Team leaders are or will soon be working with their teams to get their members ARRO certified. Those who wish may also work on their NCFO certificates.