Oakland County Amateur Radio Public Service Corp

Oakland County Amateur Radio Public Service Corp (ARPSC)
W8OAK Repeater – 146.900 MHz/100pl
    Weekly Net 8 pm Thursday
          Hospital Radio Net – 7:30 pm last Thursday of month
          Except for 18 December 2008
    W8OAK Repeater – 444.325MHz/107.2pl
          Packet 144.950 MHz/1200 baud
          W8OAK-3 BBS, and W8OAK-7 KA-Node
          APRS – 144.390 MHz
    Web Site: http://www.arpsc.com

Meeting Minutes for 3 December 2008

On 3 December 2008 at 7:00 pm, Joel Goldberg – W8HIU, Emergency Coordinator (EC) for the Oakland County, ARPSC, called the meeting to order in the County Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The order of business included:

(1). Report from the Emergency Coordinator (EC), Joel Goldberg – W8HIU:

Members must have the new Oakland County ARPSC identification card with the blue stripe. If you don't have this, see Steve Iannucci at the meetings.

A general membership meeting is planned for Wednesday, 4 February 2009. Ideas are needed for a presentation at this meeting. Several were suggested, including (1) information on the new ICOM 2820 radio for hospitals, and (2) ways to obtain a zoning permit for a ham radio antenna-supported system and the Federal Communications Commission Order PRB-1.

Although our membership list has 270 members, a number appear inactive or haven't taken any required IS classes. Do we keep them as general membership members or do we classify them differently? Also, there seems to be more than one list of members. Jim Poehlman – K8ABZ, Membership, added that there has been enough time for active members to return their membership update forms. The totals from this update should give a good estimate of active members. The remaining are not dropped, but put into an inactive file which can be easily upgraded.

Query: Could the IS classes be a better way to define the active list? Both Jim and Joel will meet later for more discussion.

(2). Report from Steve Iannucci, Oakland County Emergency Response and Preparedness (ER&P):

There will be a free CERT class at Oakland University beginning Saturday, 10 January 2009 for the next six Saturdays. Seating is limited and one has to commit to all 6 classes. To sign up, contact Mike Lopar (ER&P) at loparm@oakgov.com.

IS-317 – "Introduction to Community Emergency Response Teams" is another way to get CERT training and can be completed over the internet.

(3). Report from Bill Bond – W8WRB, Assistant to the District 2 Michigan Section ARPSC Emergency Coordinator:

Finding a replacement Oakland County ARPSC EC is the main business for District 2. John Fleming, N8UP has been reviewing various people.

(4). Report from Randy Love – WF5X, AEC and Repeater:

Our repeaters and computers appear to be working. If not, please let Joel Goldberg – W8HIU or Randy know. The repeater's "time" has been corrected. Our own VE testing is not yet available. The ”tropo" season is over and this should reduce weird sounds over the frequencies.

(5) Report from Jim Poehlman – K8ABZ on Call-up Procedures and Membership:

Call-up: Recently, Jim received an email from Marsha Fleming –N8FE stating she needs additional information to complete call-up procedures.

Membership: Jim believes that the update forms from members are all or nearly all in. For the few that haven't filled one out, go to the http://www.arpsc.com website and complete the form there.

(6). Report from Mike Smith – N8GUZ, Training:

Our last net control operator's class was held 15 December 2008, and will again take place Saturday, 10 January 2009 from 9 am to noon. If interested, please contact Lorretta in the EOC office at 248-858-5300. Because our instructor for the IS-22 class will not be available for 17 January 2009, this will be rescheduled for a later date.

CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) class will be held Saturday, 13 December 2008 in Waterford at the Waterford Fire Department, 2495 Crescent Lake Road (Hatchery Road at Crescent Lake Road). This training will include infant, child, and adult resuscitation as well as defibrillator training. The charge is $20 which includes the manual.

A first aid + adult CPR class will follow one hour later from 2 to 6 pm. If you attend the earlier CPR class, you need only to attend the first aid portion. Cost for this course is also $20 which covers the manual and materials. At the end of either course, you will be certified for two years and receive a card.

Monday, 15 December 2009 at 7 pm, OCARS will have ham radio testing for tech, general, and extra licenses at Lake Orion Senior Center in downtown Lake Orion, 21 East Church Street.

(7). Report from Bill Bond – W8WRB on Hospital Radios:

November's Hospital Radio Net had 13 out of 15 hospitals check-in. Genesys Hospital did not report. Sinai Hospital radio needs its wiring repaired. Of the new digital-analog ICOM IC-2820 radios, three are now in operation, but haven't been installed in a hospital. Unfortunately, there is no nearby digital repeater, with the nearest being K8LCD on 147.21 at Hell, Livingston County, Michigan. Bill is able to sometimes connect with this station, but it is rather distant. A member commented that an UHF digital repeater might be installed in Southfield in the future. One ICOM IC-2820 will be installed into the console at the EOC. At some future meeting, there will be a presentation on how to operate the IC-2820. Also, do not forget that the December Hospital Radio net will be one week earlier this year.

(8). Report from Murray Scott – KE8UM on Logistics:

The packet PK-232 has been taken out of the console cabinet to upgrade the software and insert an USB connection. If anyone knows where the PK-term software is, Murray can save money by upgrading it rather than purchasing the whole software.

(9). Report from Lloyd Suter – N2NGQ, National Weather Service (NWS) Liaison:

The NWS at White lake is most appreciative of the Oakland County ARPSC volunteer services for Skywarn. So far in 2008, White Lake NWS has issued 139 severe weather reports including one tornado.

The next Skywarn class will be Wednesday, 1 April 2009. Skywarn spotter training sessions are held to train individuals to accurately observe weather phenomena such as wall clouds, funnel clouds, tornadoes, shelf clouds associated with squall lines, and clouds that resemble funnel clouds and tornadoes but really aren't. Topics also covered include the role of the spotter, the NWS and emergency services, severe weather safety tips, severe weather terminology used at the National Weather Service, and how to report information to the National Weather Service. The NWS is looking forward to volunteer participation in Skywarn.

Larry Hornsby, KB8POD also mentioned that if you only suspect a wall or funnel cloud, do report it to the Skywarn Net. The net operator will then look for someone else to confirm it.

(10). Report from Joe Miller – KJ80 on Public Service – Special Events:

This coming Friday-Saturday, 6-7 December 2008 is Skywarn Recognition Day which runs for a period of 24 hours. This day is an opportunity for NWS to test its HF equipment. This is a special event and volunteers are needed to help even if it is for an hour. Do not forget to help on setup and break-down. Set-up time has not yet been determined, but will be announced on the 4 December 2008 net. If interested in helping, please contact Joe Miller.

(11). Report from Mike Nebel – N3BEL, Sirens:

During the 2008 year, 108 different hams checked into the Siren Net. There are 230 sirens in Oakland County, and all but 34 were checked at least once this year. Thanks go to the volunteers for all their help.

March 29 to April 4, 2009 is National Severe Weather Awareness Week for Michigan. On Wednesday, 1 April 2009 at 11:30 am, sirens will be tested. Please note there will not be any siren testing on the following Saturday. Joel Goldberg, W8HIU mentioned that the siren function is to warn anyone outdoors to seek shelter. It is not for indoor warnings.

Larry Hornsby, KB8POD added that volunteers checking sirens in 2009 will be asked to visually check the sirens for vines and obstructions that could damage their operation. Already this year, one siren was found to have vines growing into the siren mechanism and around the transformer.

(12). Other Items of Interest:

Joel Goldberg, W8HIU states the December 2008 issue of QST has our field day results under the EOC heading on page 80.

The Hazel Park Amateur Radio Club monthly meeting has been changed to Wednesday, 17 December 2008.

Sunday, 18 January 2009 is the Hazel Park ARC Swap.

Happy Holidays to Everyone!

Respectfully submitted,
James R. Murphy, N8SML
Secretary, Oakland County, ARPSC
4 December 2008