Thanks to everyone who participated in our No Frill New Year Drill. It was a great opportunity to try out the new Winlink mapping option. The information gathered showed both the sitrep and local weather information on the map with real time data. Pretty cool stuff. It also points out our need to know our GPS coordinates both from home and in the field. I have written my coordinates on a sticky note at my radio station and I have a new GPS app (free) on my phone. Hopefully you can do or have done something similar.
We have news that the Multnomah County EOC that is located at the Juvenile Justice Center will be dismantled by June 1. We are hopeful that we can move the K7MCE-10 Winlink gateway to the Multnomah Building at 501 SE Hawthorne Blvd, at least until a new EOC is formalized. Years ago there was an HF and VHF/UHF amateur radio station there and the antennas are still on the roof so we are hopeful that they are still useable or fixable. We will keep you posted on this change as things develop.
It is time to dust off and tune up your mobile and portable radio equipment as this year we hope to practice much more from the field. We have committed to providing communications for the Mt. Hood 50 marathon this summer (July 9 and 10) and we will soon be recruiting MCARES members to help. Our annual GPS food drive will also be on the list of activities. Time to get out of the house!