Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net for Monday January 7 at 8:30 PM

Hello to all…

The monthly ARES Net for January is Monday the 7th, at 8:30 PM on the MMRA Repeater system. For frequencies that will be linked into the ARES Net on the MMRA Network, please see the following link from the MMRA web site detailing the repeaters that will be linked in through Hub 1: http://www.mmra.org/repeaters/repeater_index_by_linkstate.html

We look forward to your participation and remember, we are always looking for Net Controls to run the ARES Net.

As part of our relationship with MARS and our own situational awareness gathering we will be asking for any known infrastructure issues that you are aware of. The information must either be personally observed, or obtained “over the air” via amateur radio. Items considered to be infrastructure include but are not limited to: electrical power, water, medical facilities, sanitation, communications, and transportation. Examples of failure would be: small or large area power failure, water main breaks, hospitals’ ER closed, sewage issues, TV/radio station off the air (including public safety), interstate highway or major road closed. No known issues are just as important as reporting failures.

Additionally we are interested in relay of any weather information from airport ATIS/ASOS stations that you can directly receive via radio. These stations broadcast continuously in the 120.000 – 138.000 MHz frequency range using amplitude modulation. Information from the ATIS should include airport, temperature, altimeter (barometer), wind, precipitation, and visibility.

A list of stations with their frequencies and a map can be found at: https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/weather/asos/?state=MA
A brief introduction to ATIS can be found at: https://www.vatsim.net/pilot-resource-centre/general-lessons/understanding-atis

We will have several interesting announcements for the net that evening and we look forward to everyone’s participation. Updates will be posted via email and on the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Web Site at http://ema.arrl.org/ares

Thanks for your continued support of ARES!

Rob Macedo, KD1CY
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator

Eastern Massachusetts Hospital Net – Saturday January 5th, 2019 at 1000 AM

Good Morning Everyone,

Net Control for the January 5, 2019 Eastern MA Hospital Net will be W1SSH the South Shore Hospital Amateur Radio Club. The net will commence at the usual time of 10:00 AM using the following repeaters in the order listed.

1. Plymouth 146.685 Tone 131.8
2. Boston 145.230 Tone Encode 88.5 Tone Decode 100.0
3. Norwood 147.210 Tone 100.0
4. Simplex 147.42

The Net will then return to the Plymouth Repeater for final comments and Net closing.

NET Protocol: Please wait for Net Control to ask for Check-ins. When asked to check in please use the standard net check in procedure which is: Here is.., un-key, wait 3 seconds to check for doubling, then give your or your facilities call sign, your first name, and your facility’s name.

We extend an invitation to any health care facility or EOC of any city or town that is served by one of the participating hospitals to join the Net. We also extend an invitation to any RACES or ARES member to check in during the NET.

Any hospital wishing to join the net that needs assistance with equipment or personnel should contact us at ssharc@gmail.com. We can assist you with getting your location on the air.

We are always looking for groups or organizations to try their hand at Net Control duties. If you are interested please let us know. Our goal is to rotate Net Control practice and the experience among as many groups as possible.

We thank the repeater trustees for their generosity in allowing us to conduct the monthly nets and the use of their systems in an actual event. The following list of repeaters are available for our use. Only a few systems are used each month with the selection of those used made by Net Control for that month. More systems are being added to the list on a regular basis.

REMINDER: The BARC Repeater is now using split tone. Boston 145.230 tone encode 88.5 tone decode 100.0

Repeaters
Attleboro 147.195 tone 127.3 (Sturdy Memorial Hospital)
Belmont 145.430 tone 146.2
Boston 145.230 tone encode 88.5 tone decode 100.0
Bridgewater 147.180 tone 67.0
Danvers 145.47 tone 136.5
Dartmouth 147.000 tone 67.0
Fall River 146.805. tone 67.0
Falmouth 147.375 tone 110.9
Mansfield EMA 446.925 tone 100.0
Mansfield 147.015 tone 67.0
Marshfield 145.390 tone 67.0
Norwood 147.210 tone 100.00
Plymouth 146.685 tone 131.8
Salem 146.88 tone 118.8
Sharon 146.865 tone 103.5
Weymouth 147.345 tone 110.9 (South Shore Hospital)
W. Bridgewater 146.775 DCS 244
Wrentham 147.09 tone 146.2

We look forward to hearing you all on the Net.

Respectfully,

John Barbuto

KS1Q



South Shore Hospital Amateur Radio Club – W1SSH
55 Fogg Road, Box 42
South Weymouth, MA 02190

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net for Monday December 3 at 8:30 PM

Hello to all…

We will be continuing our monthly ARES Net in November. The monthly ARES Net for November is Monday the 5th, at 8:30 PM on the MMRA Repeater system. For frequencies that will be linked into the ARES Net on the MMRA Network, please see the following link from the MMRA web site detailing the repeaters that will be linked in through Hub 1:

http://www.mmra.org/repeaters/repeater_index_by_linkstate.html

We look forward to your participation and remember, we are always looking for Net Controls to run the ARES Net.

As part of our relationship with MARS and our own situational awareness gathering we will be asking for any known infrastructure issues that you are aware of. The information must either be personally observed, or obtained “over the air” via amateur radio. Items considered to be infrastructure include but are not limited to: electrical power, water, medical facilities, sanitation, communications, and transportation. Examples of failure would be: small or large area power failure, water main breaks, hospitals’ ER closed, sewage issues, TV/radio station off the air (including public safety), interstate highway or major road closed. No known issues are just as important as reporting failures.

Additionally we are interested in relay of any weather information from airport ATIS/ASOS stations that you can directly receive via radio. These stations broadcast continuously in the 120.000 – 138.000 MHz frequency range using amplitude modulation. Information from the ATIS should include airport, temperature, altimeter (barometer), wind, precipitation, and visibility.

A list of stations with their frequencies and a map can be found at: https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/weather/asos/?state=MA
A brief introduction to ATIS can be found at: https://www.vatsim.net/pilot-resource-centre/general-lessons/understanding-atis

We will have several interesting announcements for the net that evening and we look forward to everyone’s participation. Updates will be posted via email and on the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Web Site at http://ema.arrl.org/ares

Thanks for your continued support of ARES!

Rob Macedo, KD1CY
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator

Eastern MA Hospital Net, December 1, 2018

John O’Neill, K1JRO writes:

Net Control for the December 1, 2018 Eastern MA Hospital Net will be  W1SSH The South Shore Hospital Amateur Radio Club . The net will  commence at the usual time of 10 AM using the following repeaters in the  order listed. 

  1. W. Bridgewater 146.775 DCS 244
  2. Salem 146.88 tone 118.8
  3. Marshfield 145.390 tone 67.0
  4. Simplex 147.42

The Net will then return to the  W. Bridgewater Repeater for final comments and Net closing.

NET Protocol: Please wait for Net Control to ask for Check-ins. When asked to check in please use the standard net check in procedure which is:   Here is.., un-key, wait 3 seconds to check for doubling, then give your or your facilities call sign, your first name, and your facility’s name.

We extend an invitation to any health care facility or EOC of any city or town that is served by one of the participating hospitals to join the Net. We also extend an invitation to any RACES or ARES member to check in during the NET.

Any hospital wishing to join the net that needs assistance with equipment or personnel should contact us at ssharc@gmail.com. We can assist you with getting your location on the air.

We are always looking for groups or organizations to try their hand at Net Control duties. If you are interested please let us know. Our goal is to rotate Net Control practice and the experience among as many groups as possible.

We thank the repeater trustees for their generosity in allowing us to conduct the monthly nets and the use of their systems in an actual event. The following list of repeaters are available for our use. Only a few systems are used each month with the selection of those used made by Net Control for that month.  More systems are being added to the list on a regular basis.

REMINDER: The BARC Repeater is now using split tone. Boston 145.230 tone encode 88.5 tone decode 100.0

Repeaters
Attleboro 147.195 tone 127.3 (Sturdy Memorial Hospital)
Belmont 145.430 tone 146.2
Boston 145.230 tone encode 88.5 tone decode 100.0
Bridgewater 147.180 tone 67.0
Danvers 145.47 tone 136.5
Dartmouth 147.000 tone 67.0  
Fall River 146.805. tone 67.0
Falmouth 147.375 tone 110.9  
Mansfield EMA  446.925 tone 100.0
Mansfield 147.015 tone 67.0
Marshfield 145.390 tone 67.0      
Norwood 147.210 tone 100.00
Plymouth 146.685 tone 131.8
Salem 146.88 tone 118.8        
Sharon 146.865 tone 103.5    
Weymouth 147.345 tone 110.9 (South Shore Hospital)
W. Bridgewater 146.775 dcs 244 
Wrentham 147.09 tone 146.2

We look forward to hearing you all on the Net.

October 2018 – Eastern Massachusetts Section ARES Report

The following is the Eastern Massachusetts Section ARES Report for October 2018 highlighting the number of community or public service events, regular ARES nets (under training and exercises) and SKYWARN Activations completed in the section in the past month. The report can be seen here:

https://ema.arrl.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/ARES-Monthly-Section-Emergency-Coordinators-Report_ARES-004_KD1CY_October_2018.pdf

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box


Falmouth CERT Class Begins January, 2019

CERT logoThe Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office has announced dates for its next winter Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program for volunteers interested in becoming a CERT member. Classes start January 15, 2019 and run six consecutive Tuesday evenings from 6:00 to 8:30 PM through February 19, 2019. Classes are held at the Harborview Conference Room, 3195 Main Street, Barnstable Village. To qualify for CERT you must be at least 16 years of age and willing to attend each session.

The BCSO CERT Program is taught by emergency personnel to train residents, community organizations or workplaces in basic response skills. CERT members are then integrated into emergency response capability for their area so that if a disastrous event overwhelms or delays the community’s professional response, CERT members can assist by applying the basic response and organizational skills that they learned during training.

There is no charge to participate in the program. All participants must complete and submit a CERT application and CORI form which can be found on the Community Programs page on the BCSO website at www.bsheriff.net. For questions please contact the BCSO Emergency Management Director Joe Gordon at (508) 563-4319 or jgordon@bsheriff.net.

Falmouth CERT manages the Falmouth High School’s shelter which is equipped with an Amateur Radio station.

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net for Monday November 5 at 8:30 PM

Hello to all…

We will be continuing our monthly ARES Net in November. The monthly ARES Net for November is Monday the 5th, at 8:30 PM on the MMRA Repeater system. For frequencies that will be linked into the ARES Net on the MMRA Network, please see the following link from the MMRA web site detailing the repeaters that will be linked in through Hub 1:

http://www.mmra.org/repeaters/repeater_index_by_linkstate.html

We look forward to your participation and remember, we are always looking for Net Controls to run the ARES Net.

As part of our relationship with MARS and our own situational awareness gathering we will be asking for any known infrastructure issues that you are aware of. The information must either be personally observed, or obtained “over the air” via amateur radio. Items considered to be infrastructure include but are not limited to: electrical power, water, medical facilities, sanitation, communications, and transportation. Examples of failure would be: small or large area power failure, water main breaks, hospitals’ ER closed, sewage issues, TV/radio station off the air (including public safety), interstate highway or major road closed. No known issues are just as important as reporting failures.

Additionally we are interested in relay of any weather information from airport ATIS/ASOS stations that you can directly receive via radio. These stations broadcast continuously in the 120.000 – 138.000 MHz frequency range using amplitude modulation. Information from the ATIS should include airport, temperature, altimeter (barometer), wind, precipitation, and visibility.

A list of stations with their frequencies and a map can be found at: https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/weather/asos/?state=MA
A brief introduction to ATIS can be found at: https://www.vatsim.net/pilot-resource-centre/general-lessons/understanding-atis

We will have several interesting announcements for the net that evening and we look forward to everyone’s participation. Updates will be posted via email and on the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Web Site at http://ema.arrl.org/ares

Thanks for your continued support of ARES!

Rob Macedo, KD1CY
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator

November 3, 2018 Eastern MA Hospital Net Announcement

John O’Neill-K1JRO writes:

Good Morning Everyone,

Net Control for the November 3,2018 Eastern MA Hospital Net will be W1SSH The South Shore Hospital Amateur Radio Club . The net will commence at the usual time of 10:AM using the following repeaters in the order listed.

1. Attleboro 147.195 tone 127.3 (Sturdy Memorial Hospital)
2. Boston 145.230 tone encode 88.5 tone decode 100.0
3. Danvers 145.47 tone 136.5
4. Simplex 147.42

The Net will then return to the Attleboro Repeater for final comments and Net closing.

NET Protocol: Please wait for Net Control to ask for Check-ins. When asked to check in please use the standard net check in procedure which is: Here is.., un-key, wait 3 seconds to check for doubling, then give your or your facilities call sign, your first name, and your facility’s name.

We extend an invitation to any health care facility or EOC of any city or town that is served by one of the participating hospitals to join the Net. We also extend an invitation to any RACES or ARES member to check in during the NET.

Any hospital wishing to join the net that needs assistance with equipment or personnel should contact us at ssharc@gmail.com. We can assist you with getting your location on the air.

We are always looking for groups or organizations to try their hand at Net Control duties. If you are interested please let us know. Our goal is to rotate Net Control practice and the experience among as many groups as possible.

We thank the repeater trustees for their generosity in allowing us to conduct the monthly nets and the use of their systems in an actual event. The following list of repeaters are available for our use. Only a few systems are used each month with the selection of those used made by Net Control for that month. More systems are being added to the list on a regular basis.

REMINDER: The BARC Repeater is now using split tone. Boston 145.230 tone encode 88.5 tone decode 100.0

Repeaters
Attleboro 147.195 tone 127.3 (Sturdy Memorial Hospital)
Belmont 145.430 tone 146.2
Boston 145.230 tone encode 88.5 tone decode 100.0
Bridgewater 147.180 tone 67.0
Danvers 145.47 tone 136.5
Dartmouth 147.000 tone 67.0
Fall River 146.805. tone 67.0
Falmouth 147.375 tone 110.9
Mansfield EMA 446.925 tone 100.0
Mansfield 147.015 tone 67.0
Marshfield 145.390 tone 67.0
Norwood 147.210 tone 100.00
Plymouth 146.685 tone 131.8
Salem 146.88 tone 118.8
Sharon 146.865 tone 103.5
Weymouth 147.345 tone 110.9 (South Shore Hospital)
W. Bridgewater 146.775 dcs 244
Wrentham 147.09 tone 146.2

We look forward to hearing you all on the Net.

Respectfully,

John O’
K1JRO
– – –
South Shore Hospital Amateur Radio Club – W1SSH
55 Fogg Road, Box 42
South Weymouth, MA 02190

MARS Members To Support Defense Department Radio Comms Readiness Exercise

Tom Kinahan, N1CPE, writes:

As part of this COMEX, MARS members will reach out to amateur radio operators (on October 24-26) for any information on real life infrastructure failures. We have been practicing this sort of reporting as part of both Western and Eastern Mass ARES nets. If there are any know local failures of infrastructure, defined as Power, Water, Medical, Sanitation, Communications or Transportation, just let the MARS operator know with information on your county name, or your zip code (which is easy to determine county name with). 

MARS operators will use non-internet connected VHF/UHF repeaters as well as 60 meter channel 1 in our area, to gather these reports.

MARS stations will be operating from Oct 22-26, but the participation of Amateur Radio operators is expected on Oct 24-26.

Amateur Radio operators are asked to monitor 60-meter channel 1 (5,330.5 kHz, USB) at 0001 UTC (8:01 PM ET) on October 24, for a high-power broadcast of updated information regarding this exercise and how the Amateur Radio community can participate.

Contact Tom Kinahan, N1CPE, with any questions.

See: http://www.arrl.org/news/mars-members-to-support-defense-department-radio-communication-readiness-exercise

Eastern Massachusetts Hospital Net for Saturday 10/6/18

Hello to All,

Net Control for the October 6, 2018 Eastern MA Hospital Net will be W1SSH, The South Shore Hospital Amateur Radio Club. The net will commence at the usual time of 10:00 AM using the following repeaters in the order listed and last approximately 1 hour.

1.Sharon 146.865 tone 103.5
2 Marshfield 145.390 tone 67.0
3.Bridgewater 147.180 tone 67.0
Simplex 147.42

The Net will then return to the Sharon Repeater for final comments and Net closing.

NET Protocol: Please wait for Net Control to ask for Check-ins. When asked to check in please use the standard net check in procedure which is: Here is.., un-key, wait 3 seconds to check for doubling, then give yours or your facilities call sign, your first name, and your facility’s name.

We extend an invitation to any health care facility or EOC of any city or town that is served by one of the participating hospitals to join the Net. We also extend an invitation to any RACES or ARES member to check in during the NET.

Any hospital wishing to join the net that needs assistance with equipment or personnel should contact us at ssharc@gmail.com. We can assist you with getting your location on the air.

We are always looking for groups or organizations to try their hand at Net Control. If you are interested please contact us at the email address listed above. Our goal is to rotate Net Control throughout the year among as many groups as possible.

We thank the repeater trustees for their generosity in allowing us to conduct the monthly nets and the use of their systems in an actual event. The following list of repeaters are available for our use. Only a few systems are used each month with the selection of those used made by Net Control for that month.

Attleboro 147.195 tone 127.3 (Sturdy Memorial Hospital)
Belmont 145.430 tone 146.2
Boston 145.230 tone encode 88.5 tone decode 100.0
Bridgewater 147.180 tone 67.0
Danvers 145.47 tone 136.5
Dartmouth 147.000 tone 67.0
Fall River 146.805. tone 67.0
Falmouth 147.375 tone 110.9
Mansfield EMA 446.925 tone 100.0
Mansfield 147.015 tone 67.0
Marshfield 145.390 tone 67.0
Norwood 147.210 tone 100.00
Plymouth 146.685 tone 131.8
Salem 146.88 tone 118.8
Sharon 146.865 tone 103.5
Weymouth 147.345 tone 110.9 (South Shore Hospital)
W. Bridgewater 146.775 dcs 244
Wrentham 147.09 tone 146.2

We look forward to hearing you all on the Net.

Respectfully,

South Shore Hospital Amateur Radio Club – W1SSH
55 Fogg Road, Box 42
South Weymouth MA 02190

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net for October – Monday 10/1/18 at 830 PM on MMRA Network

Hello to all…

We will be continuing our monthly ARES Net in October. The monthly ARES Net for October is Monday the 1st, at 8:30 PM on the MMRA Repeater system. For frequencies that will be linked into the ARES Net on the MMRA Network, please see the following link from the MMRA web site detailing the repeaters that will be linked in through Hub 1:

http://www.mmra.org/repeaters/repeater_index_by_linkstate.html

We look forward to your participation and remember, we are always looking for Net Controls to run the ARES Net.

As part of our relationship with MARS and our own situational awareness gathering we will be asking for any known infrastructure issues that you are aware of. The information must either be personally observed, or obtained “over the air” via amateur radio. Items considered to be infrastructure include but are not limited to: electrical power, water, medical facilities, sanitation, communications, and transportation. Examples of failure would be: small or large area power failure, water main breaks, hospitals’ ER closed, sewage issues, TV/radio station off the air (including public safety), interstate highway or major road closed. No known issues are just as important as reporting failures.

Additionally we are interested in relay of any weather information from airport ATIS/ASOS stations that you can directly receive via radio. These stations broadcast continuously in the 120.000 – 138.000 MHz frequency range using amplitude modulation. Information from the ATIS should include airport, temperature, altimeter (barometer), wind, precipitation, and visibility.

A list of stations with their frequencies and a map can be found at: https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/weather/asos/?state=MA
A brief introduction to ATIS can be found at: https://www.vatsim.net/pilot-resource-centre/general-lessons/understanding-atis

We will have several interesting announcements for the net that evening and we look forward to everyone’s participation. Updates will be posted via email and on the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Web Site at http://ema.arrl.org/ares

Thanks for your continued support of ARES!

Rob Macedo, KD1CY
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator

Operation Equinox – Portable HF Ops Event Update – 9/28/18

Cape Ann ARES Emergency Coordinator KA1BTK-Gardi Winchester II, writes:

All:

‘Operation Equinox’ is definitely taking on a life of its own! From it’s humble beginnings as a suggestion that we try setting up a CAARA member’s new portable antenna mast to an event almost as big as Field Day itself, it has blossomed in just five days! The ideas have come down so fast that I just can’t keep up with administering it! With the numbers of people who are informed and planning to attend, I doubt making many QSOs are going to be likely.

But that is not what it’s all about!

As of right now, the basic plan is for a portable equipment test and set-up practice of our (your) remote emergency communications response plans, on a more individual level, as opposed to Field Day exercises that run more at a club level. We’ve been ‘dodging the bullet’ as of late, and the latest hurricane, Florence, was certainly a big Red-Flag. There are still areas of the Carolinas and Virginia that are relying on Amateur Radio communications for life support.

Are YOU ready?

So, come and bring your Go-Kits and exercise your emergency operations plans and test your equipment for readiness, Check out the plans of other Hams and maybe get some new and fresh ideas. Help us show the public what Ham Radio can do for their safety and well-being, and show newer Hams what the craft holds with higher license grades.

While there has been very little time to plan for this event, we’re sort of ‘winging-it’ this year. But, that works a bit in our favor, as a real emergency will give very little time to prepare and may give a more accurate assessment of our responses. Plans and possibilities for future events are endless!

Hope to see you there!

Operation Equinox:
Sunday, September 30th
12:00 Noon until 5:00PM +
Hospital Hill, Top of Summit Ave.
Rockport, MA, 01966

Semper Paratus! & 73’s ___________________#\____

Gardner H. Winchester II, KA1BTK, ARRL EC Cape Ann

“The most important tool for disaster recovery is communication”.
gardiw2@gmail.com
http://www.google.com/profiles/gardiw2

Portable HF Ops Event

Cape Ann ARES Emergency Coordinator KA1BTK-Gardi Winchester II, writes:

Who:  All Amateur Radio Operators:

What:  Portable HF Operations and equipment exercise.
When: Next Sunday, September 30th (Weather permitting) from about 12:00 Noon – 5:00 or 6:00 PM
Where: Hospital Hill, at the top of Summit Avenue (through the stone pillars) in Rockport, MA, 01966
Why:  Fellowship, practice, making sure your go-bag plans are complete and all of your equipment is functional, and a whole host of reasons!
Come and join fellow Hams in exercising and testing your equipment and plans, and have fun walking all over one another in a remote area!  Hospital Hill is a large field area and Dog Park (Yes, bring your pets) that we have been using as our portable operations base for some time.  We have running permission to operate from there.  There are some nice hiking and walking trails to explore and beautiful vistas to see from up on the hill!  There is no power so bring a generator or hook into your vehicle power.

Please pass this along!

 
Semper Paratus!  &  73‘s  ___________________#\____
 
Gardner H. Winchester II, KA1BTK, ARRL EC Cape Ann
 
“The most important tool for disaster recovery is communication”.
 

Cape Cod ARES Participates in Falmouth Public Safety Fair

Cape Cod ARES District Emergency Coordinator WQ1O-Frank O’Laughlin writes:

I felt just well enough to attend the Falmouth Emergency preparedness/Safety fair day here on Cape Cod to support my new ARES ADEC Henry Brown K1WCC who headed up the event for the Falmouth ARES area of the Cape Cod and Islands ARES District. I was pleased to see the aluminum case kit that I built for him a few years back and the cooler based kit he personally built. I only brought my small camera bag radio kit. It was well attended and organized by Assistant Falmouth EMD Kim Strohm. Several Falmouth ARES folks were there. It was nice to see Henry get interviewed by Falmouth TV. It was also great to see our partners such as CERT, MRC, CC DART, Red Cross, DCR, public safety, MEMA, NWS and many others at the public safety fair.

Display of Cape Cod ARES Go Kits at the Falmouth Public Safety Fair

Close-up of Cape Cod ARES Go Kit

Close-up of Cape Cod ARES Go-Kit

Close-up of a Cape Cod ARES Go-Kit

 

Cape Cod ARES Assistant District Emergency Coordinator, K1WCC-Henry Brown being interviewed on Falmouth Cable Access Television

Amateur Radio Newsline Highlights Eastern MA ARES Standby for Merrimack Valley Incident, VoIP Hurricane Net Support

Section Emergency Coordinator Rob Macedo, KD1CY, writes:
 
Amateur Radio Newsline #2134 for Friday, September 21, 2018, featured a story about the recent Eastern MA ARES standby for the Merrimack Valley gas explosions and fires, and the VoIP Hurricane Net report. The text transcript and audio can be found at:
 
 

Lawrence/North Andover, Mass Natural Gas Related House Fire Situation and Eastern Massachusetts/North Shore ARES Monitoring

Section Emergency Coordinator Rob Macedo, KD1CY, writes:
 
While we have Eastern Massachusetts Amateurs engaged in Hurricane Florence monitoring, we are well aware of the incident and are prepared to support any agencies if necessary. Please see our status update from North Shore ARES DEC, KB1KQW-Jim Palmer. We are sending this to Mike-KI1U as well at his request as he wanted a status update
 
Hello to all…
 
At approximately 5:00pm this evening, an incident involving several home explosions and fires began unfolding in the Merrimack Valley, specifically affecting the towns of Andover, North Andover, and Lawrence.  There have been numerous evacuations as a result of the incident which remains very much in progress, and North Shore and Eastern MA ARES teams continue to closely monitor the situation.  We have informally activated on the Danvers-145.47 repeater to pass along pertinent information to people in the affected area and take availability reports as needed.
 
At this time, there have been no requests for ARES support at any of the shelters.  If you would like to pass along your availability for the next 24 hours, please send me an e-mail and we will add it to our list in the event an activation becomes necessary.  As always, please do not self-deploy and if you are in the area follow the directions of your local public safety officials.
 
This will be the only message planned for this event unless there is a change to the situation.  Thanks again for your continued help and support of ARES!
 
Jim Palmer – KB1KQW
North Shore ARES DEC
978-609-0967 (cell)
 
Please also let me know of any questions or concerns. Thanks!
 
Respectfully Submitted,Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box
 

UPDATE:

 

The Danvers-47 repeater was activated at approximately 5:30pm to monitor the situation in the Merrimack Valley. At this time no requests for support have been received but have been in communication with Jonathan Goldfield-KB1ZRB from Red Cross and they are gathering general availability on their end for overnight operations. We are doing the same and gathering availability in the event our services are needed. Mark-K1MGY is requesting availability from his area as well. Otherwise we are passing along pertinent information over the repeater and on my Facebook page as well to get the word out.

Cape and Islands ARES participation in the REPC Regional Shelter exercise 0900 8-25-18

Hello to all,

Cape Cod and Islands ARES will participate in the Barnstable County Regional Emergency Planning Committee shelter exercise on Saturday.

August 25th. This will be a functional exercise using the volunteer agencies in our multi agency shelter at D-Y Regional High School. Our Red Cross partners, ARES, MRC, CERT, and the Disaster Animal Rescue Team will participate.

Cape and Islands ARES will be providing in shelter communication coverage by UHF radio between the agencies. External communications will be using a new kit featuring a 75 watt VHF 2m radio.

Our 2m VHF station will call a simplex net on 146.580 MHZ FM at about 0900 in the morning. The 2m VHF test will last about 30 minutes. All stations within range are welcome to check in. Please report our signal strength to the net control station along with your antenna type, height, and the equipment/power level you are using.

At 0930 a test will begin with the new PAC digital software created by our own Ron W2CTX. It will last 30 minutes. Only stations with PAC will be able to participate. The software is in its late developmental stages, but has not gone live yet. There will be training for our members before that occurs.

Frank O’Laughlin WQ1O

Cape Cod and Islands ARES DEC

WQ1O and Cape Cod ARES Receives Certificate of Recognition From Barnstable County Commissioners

Certificate of Recognition awarded to WQ1O on August 1, 2018Frank O’Laughlin, WQ1O, and the Cape Cod ARES team  received high praise from the Barnstable County Commissioners for his hard work during the intense storms that impacted the Cape in March.

The ARRL Cape Cod and Islands ARES District Emergency Coordinator and the Cape Cod ARES team were awarded a Certificate of Recognition from Commissioners Ronald Beaty, Mary Pat Flynn, and Leo Cakounes at a Regional Emergency Planning Committee Meeting on August 1, 2018.

“I want to give thanks to all and especially to my crew who worked hard and long hours last winter during storm operations. Our group devoted several hundred person-hours to the operations,” writes WQ1O. “As Cape and Islands ARES insists on self sufficiency, our volunteers are self-equipped regardless if there is equipment on scene. This helps guarantee redundancy.”