Oakland County Amateur Radio Service Corp (ARPSC) Weekly Net: Thursday at 8 pm on 145.520 MHz/100pl Web Site: http://www.qsl.net/w8oak Meeting Minutes for 6 April 2005: On 6 April 2005 at 7 pm, Joel Goldberg, W8HIU, Emergency Coordinator (EC) for the Oakland County ARPSC called the meeting to order in the County Emergency Operation Center (EOC). The order of business included: (I). Comments from the Emergency Coordinator – Joel Goldberg, W8HIU: New ICOM IC 2720 transceivers and a HF rig are being or have been ordered for Oakland County's ARPSC center. An unused sheriff's tower near the EOC might be a possible location for a HF tri-band antenna. Steve Iannucci from Oakland County Emergency Response and Preparedness (ER&P) added this tower no longer has a power source. The distance from the EOC to the tower appears too long for a coax link. Two e-mail letters from a new "Western Oakland County Severe Weather Net" were sent to ARPSC members. The second e-mail stated support for the Oakland County ARPSC and Skywarn, but complained that W8OAK was too weak for transmission in his area. An ARPSC member drove out and found that W8OAK was useable near this individual's apartment, but did not know whether the actual apartment was located in a dead zone. A future exchange of thoughts of could be helpful for all parties. An Incident Command System Class is available to members. Funds are available to defray costs and this class would require two days. Lunch would be provided. The membership needs to indicate their interest in order to determine if there are enough members to meet the minimum fifteen needed for the class. This class is not the same as offered by FEMA for home study. The ARRL also has a similar class. Should one take the ARRL class, a deposit is required but is returned when the student successfully passes the exam. The opportunity window for the ARRL class will end in a few months. George Schutte, K8GEO stated he recently took the ARRL class and recommended it to be most beneficial to members. The City of Southfield plans to establish their own EOC with ham operators and will work with the county. Their tier of authority will begin at Southfield, and then to the county. Steve Iannucci from ER&P noted their members will also be members of the Oakland County ARPSC. In his opinion, this is a win-win for both groups. Currently, Southfield EOC has only two ham operators. A sign-up sheet for Skywarn first responders was passed around at the meeting for those available and willing to participate. Should Skywarn be activated, either Jim Thompson, N8USP; Barry Kaufman, WD8JWM; or Joel Goldberg, W8HIU will begin the net at their own home. This year, the National Weather service will be using a more differential activation for various counties. Loretta in the EOC office is asking hams who are getting new Oakland County Emergency Management cards to come in and sign their new cards. (II). Comments from Emergency Response and Preparedness - Steve Iannucci: Tracy Smith (ER&P, Sirens) commented that siren testing is coming off well and that 95% of the sirens were covered recently. Bad weather may be coming and hope everyone will be prepared to help. New radios are being ordered for the EOC/ARPSC office, and include the ICOM IC2720H and a HF band transceiver. The portable case with its own folding table has come in and will be used for a grab-and-go emergency transceiver. The generator at the Bald Mountain tower is still not fixed and continues to be a problem should electrical power go out. With the Bald Mountain site being sold in the future, a new tower site is needed. Another company has offered a site for the antenna – reported to be at Daimler-Chrysler Headquarters. There is no further information at this time. The National Weather Service has also offered to put an antenna on their site. A Milford antenna site has become a problem again. Oakland County gave the Milford tower to a private firm, so Oakland Radio is looking for another tower site in the area. A member suggested that the ARPSC check into the White Lake Police Tower, but doubts on its possible use were expressed. (III). W8OAK Website – from Gary Bouwkamp, N8HMP: Both our Oakland County ARPSC website and the county's website have several documents duplicated on both. These will now be posted on the Oakland County website with a direct link from the W8OAK website. (IV). W8OAK Repeater Activity – Randy Love, WF5X: The repeater malfunctioned last Thursday, 31 March 2005 during the weekly net. According to Steve Murphy, N8NM, County Radios, the voter was not passing audio to the transmitter and has been since fixed. (V). CERT Training – George Schutte, K8GEO, Assistant Public Service: George recently took Citizen's Emergency Response Team (CERT) classes and believes hams would benefit by taking these classes. This allows them to better understand CERT activities. He reported that Mike Lopar (ER&P) would like to give another CERT class, this time to hams. (VI). Basic Cardiopulmonary Resuscitiation (CPR/BLS) – Jim Murphy, N8SML: Murph noted that ARPSC members often volunteer for activities involving large crowds. In his opinion, the knowledge of how to perform basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use an automatic defibrillator is needed. The county has no objection to ARPSC members being certified and could help to schedule such classes. Joel Goldberg is worried about liability issues and will discuss this with Gail Novak. (VII). W8OAK Net: Larry Hornsby, W8POD, Assistant Net Control, noted that last Thursday's 8 pm net was down due to a repeater malfunction. Net activity transferred to the Clarkston repeater on 146.80. Members should be aware that if the primary repeater fails to work, then check with alternate sites, the first being the Clarkston repeater. Larry Hornsby, W8POD thanks the owner of the Clarkston Repeater for the use of his repeater. Rory Locke, KC8SZR, Net Manager stated that Gary Sklar, K8IKW and Larry Hornsby, W8POD are now helping at net control. Should any ham club member know of forthcoming activities, the net at W8OAK is a good place to pass on information. (VIII). Hospital Radio Net – Ralph Greenberg, K8CAR and Joel Goldberg, W8HIU: The Hospital Radio Net is waiting a go-ahead from Joel Goldberg to start again. Joel reported 6-7 hospitals of the total of 13-14 already have their own radios and funds have purchased amateur radios for the remaining. Joel Goldberg and Ralph Greenberg are currently inspecting the hospitals for their antennas, radio installations, and what is and is not in place. Three to four volunteers are needed for each hospital to service the amateur radio. The photo I.D. provided by the county will be enough identification for a volunteer to enter his/her hospital, except at Royal Oak Beaumont Hospital. Hospital parking is being worked on and we are requesting it to be free. Each hospital is expected to have a different setup for parking. Volunteer hams for his/her hospital will need know where the equipment is located and to be familiar with the ICOM IC-2720H transceiver. Hospital administration needs to know when we are there. (IX). Siren Testing – Jim Walden, N8DHZ: Township maps showing both one-way and two-way sirens are being handed out. Two way sirens need to be checked once a year. Everyone's help is most appreciated. In the March siren test, all but one hot siren were checked. During Severe Weather Day on 22 March 2005, there was a new record with 36 check-ins. The next siren test is on 6 May 2005 at 1 pm. If anyone needs a siren list or maps, please let Jim know. To the subnet coordinator, please let central know when and if the sirens go off. That way we know if all the tones went out to the sirens and worked. (X). Classes and Activities Coming Up – Gary Sklar, K8IKW; Randy Love, WF5X, Jim Poehlman, K8ABZ: April 16, 2005 Milford ARC Swap at Milford High School, 2380 Milford Road, Highland, Michigan. Info: http://www.qsl.net/w8ydk April 16-17, 2005 Michigan QSO Party, sponsored by Mad River Radio Club. April 21, 2005 – Skywarn Class at Highland Senior Center at 205 North John Street, Highland, Michigan. For reservations, please call 248-858-5300. This is the last Skywarn class for the year in Oakland County. Class is reported to be almost full, so be quick. April 30 – May 1, 2005 Weekend Walks. Hams are needed for multiple walks on this weekend, beginning with: 30 April - Multiple Sclerosis 2005 Walk in Warren. 1 May – (1) Multiple Sclerosis 2005 Walk in Birmingham; (2) March of Dimes 2005 Walk America in Troy; (3) March of Dimes 2005 Walk America at Metro Beach, (4) March of Dimes 2005 Walk American with help of L'anse Creuse ARC on East Side. For more information, contact George Schutte, K8GEO and he will let you know who to contact. June 24-26, 2005 Field Day Weekend with the ARPSC at the E.O.C. From Randy Love, WF5X: Contest will operate as a class F and hope to break in new HF equipment. Volunteers are needed to help. Operations will be here at the EOC and not out in the field. We need to know in advance who will be here so that Dispatch will know to let you in. This is because the EOC is in a secure building. For more information, check with Randy Love, WF5X. 20 August 2005 – Woodward Dream Cruise. Information at: http://www.woodwarddreamcruise.com From Joel: There is nothing yet for hams on this event but expect Berkley to be active. Respectfully submitted, James R. Murphy, N8SML Secretary Oakland County ARPSC 7 April 2005