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 4 May 2005: On 4 May 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: Updated information is requested on members who change phone, fax, pagers, home and e-mail addresses. Greg, W8VIJ advised by letter on how to deal with interference on 145.250 MHz from a local cable company. One should begin by researching the interference carefully, such as how bad and if it continuous or not. Inspect all of your own house cable connections to be sure they are tight. See if you can locate the neighborhood source by walking or driving around with your radio tuned to 145.250 (with the tone squelch turned off). The closer the problem, the stronger the signal will be. Note the address of the source, but is probably best not to talk to the homeowner. The problem could also be a line transformer outside of the home. Then contact your local cable company's "Communication Technician Supervisor." Do note this person's name, date, and time of conversation. Do not be afraid to offer your assistance. Provide your phone number to the cable company and invite them in to see how much interference you are experiencing. If you cannot get resolution from the local cable company, only then contact Ron Hranac, NO1VN by e-mail at RHranac@aol.com. Steve Murphy, N8NM, Senior Radio Technician for Oakland County Radios wrote Joel about tips on operating the W8OAK repeater. Steve stated one often gets better results by using low power instead of high power. High power stations may produce a "full quieting" signal at more than one receive site. This causes the voter to toggle back and forth between different sites during the transmission, creating a "picket fencing" output. The bottom line is that, when it comes to transmitter power, use the least amount necessary. Not only will this produce better results when using the repeater, but it's also required by FCC part 97. Joel Goldberg passed out a two page flyer on how an amateur radio operator can apply for an Official Emergency Station; this being an official Michigan/ARRL Field Organization appointment. Requirements and qualifications include full ARRL membership, experience as an ARES registrant, regular participation in the local ARES organization including drills and tests, participation in emergency nets and actual emergency situations, and regular reporting of activities. Responsibilities, minimum equipment required, and how to apply were detailed in the paper. (II). Comments from Mike Loper, Emergency Preparedness and Response Oakland County: On 13-15 May 2005, The 2005 Ottawa District Spring Boy Scout "Camporee" will be held at Springfield Oaks Park in Davisburg, Michigan in the 4-H Club area. On Saturday, 14 May 2005, Amateur radio volunteers from the Oakland County ARPSC will be needed to set up and operate radio stations in six locations. The opening ceremony begins between 8-9 am and then the scouts will go through a number of CERT modules having four stations within each module. At the fire suppression module, in particular, ham communication would be very helpful. Hams will be furnished lunch and should be finished by 3-4 pm. They are invited to attend later scout activities and are welcome to join a pig roast dinner that evening. When one arrives at the park, there will be a scout directing traffic. Just tell him "ham radio operator" and he will direct you to the correct location. According to Joel Goldberg, there will be two volunteer shifts, one in the am and the other pm and more volunteers are needed. Information is available from Joel Goldberg at w8hiu@arrl.net. (III). Comments from Barry Kaufman, WD8JWM, DEC: Barry met with the City of Southfield Emergency Operations personnel who desire to set up their own EOC. Discussions followed and they agreed to follow suggested standard Oakland County procedures. They are planning to appoint a liaison to coordinate with the county. There will be mutual aid between organizations and, if needed, volunteers could be sent to assist. Because emergency operations could involve both organizations using the same W8OAK frequency at the same time, they will need to have their own simplex or repeater frequency, unless this is somehow coordinated. Recommendations to the Southfield group included tuning in to our Thursday night net to see how our net operations work. In addition, Barry recommended their amateur radio volunteers pass the FEMA IS-22 class or its equivalent and become RACES certified. The number of their radio operators is not known at this time. (IV). W8OAK Webmaster Comment from Gary Bouwkamp, N8HMP: Two handouts on ARPSC operation are now posted on the web. (V). Hospital Net Comments from Ralph Greenberg, K8CAR: Joel Goldberg, W8HIU requested the Oakland County Hospital Net to begin again. The volunteers to begin this will be: 1. Troy Beaumont Hospital – Bill Bond, W8WRB 2. Henry Ford, West Bloomfield – Gary Sklar, K8IKW 3. Huron Valley – Dell Brown, KC8IJF 4. Botsford Hospital – Gary Bouwkamp, N8HMP 5. Providence Hospital, Main Campus – Ralph Greenberg, K8CAR This monthly net will join with the regular 8 pm W8OAK net on the last Thursday of each month beginning 26 May 2005. Since Ralph Greenberg, K89CAR will use the Providence Hospital radio, Larry Hornsby, KB8POD will take over as Net Control for the Thursday night W8OAK Net. Joel will work on the parking problem for the volunteers at each of the hospitals. Currently, the Oakland County identification badge should be enough to gain entrance into the hospital, except for Beaumont Royal Oak. (VI). W8OAK Net Report from Rory Locke, KC8SZR, Net Manager: This is to remind members that the W8OAK Net meets every Thursday night at 8 pm on 145.25 MHz. Net controls now include Larry Hornsby, KB8POD and Gary Sklar, K8IKW. Also volunteering is Bill Wallace, KC8JAY. (VII). W8OAK Repeater Report and Field Day 2005 from Randy Love, WF5X, Repeater Manager: The repeater is working well. While driving around this week, Randy noted full scale repeater interference in several locations in Troy. Randy recommends that any member living in the area investigate and pinpoint the inference as suggested by Greg, W8VIJ above. June 24-26, 2005 is Field Day Weekend with the ARPSC at the EOC and not in the field. The Contest will need operators. Sign-up and more information is available with Randy at wf5x@arrl.net. (VIII). Digital and Packet Operations Report by Bob Kusk, N8LPS: Bob reports that software has arrived for the laptop. (IX). Public Service Information from Gary Sklar, K8IKW, Assistant Emergency Coordinator – Public Services: Upcoming Activities Saturday May 7, 2005, Oakland County Siren Tests at 1 pm. Saturday May 14, 2005, Boy Scouts – CERT Training: See previous detailing above. Sunday, June 5, 2005, Chelsea Swap by the Chelsea Amateur Radio Club. More information at http://www.qsl.net/wd8iel Saturday, June 18, 2005, Midland Hamfest by Midland Amateur Radio Club. Information at http://www.qsl.net/w8kea Sunday, June 19, 2005 Monroe Swap, Monroe County Radio Communications Association. Information at http://www.mcrca.org/hamfest.htm Saturday-Sunday, July 16-17, 2005 Metro Detroit MS – 150 Bike Ride beginning at Springfield Oaks Park (Davisburg) and runs to Michigan State University and back. This is a two day event with radio volunteers needed for either or both days. Contact George Schutte, K8GEO at k8geo@prodigy.net. More information at http://www.nmssmi.org. Friday-Sunday, August 5-7, 2005 Point Aux Barques Lighthouse Event sponsored by the Milford Amateur Radio Club. Everyone is invited. This lighthouse is near Port Hope in Michigan's thumb. For information, contract Gary Sklar at K8IKW. Saturday, August 20, 2005 Woodward Dream Cruise. No new information is available at this time. (X). Hot Siren List for Saturday 7 May 2005: Jim Thompson, N8SUP reported the hot siren list for Saturday, 7 May 2005: Addison (ADD-1); Farmington Hills (FMH 06 and 07); OCC (Campus); Oakpark (OPK-M1); Rochester (RCR-M1); Troy (TRY 03 and 05), White Lake (WLT-03.). The following have not been checked recently, but are not critical: Addison (ADD 04 and 05); Pontiac (PTC-02); Springfield (SPF-01); Wixom (WXM 04 and 05). Jim Walden - N8DHZ and Jim Murphy - N8SML will be coming into the EOC to assist the siren coverage. (XI). Oakland County ARPSC Training Program from Jim Thompson, N8USP, DEC: In review, the current ARPSC training recommendations are: Level One: Member is currently registered with Oakland County ARPSC; Holds valid FCC Amateur Radio License; 18 years old or older; Operational 2 meter radio with minimum of 5 watts output and adjustable frequency and pl capabilities; passed criminal background check. Barry Kaufman emphasized the importance to members of quickly obtaining the background check. They would then be eligible to obtain a RACES card which needed for ARPSC emergency action. Level Two: Member has valid Skywarn card, checks into Thursday ARPSC Net once a month; total of 10 net check-ins (local, national, weather, siren) over 24 month period (self kept log); understands T.E. L. system for reporting severe weather; operation 2 meter 35 watt mobile radio with variable frequency and pl (UHF optional). Level Three: Passed FEMA IS-2 (now 22) class, valid RACES card, participation in one or more public service events annually. Level Four: Passed FEMA IS-3 – Radiological Emergency Management; Passed FEMA IS-5 – Hazardous Materials; Passed FEMA IS-271 – Anticipating Hazardous Weather. Level Five: Passed FEMA IS-7 Citizen's Guide to Disaster Assistance; Passed IS-120 – Orientation to Community Disaster Exercises; Passed IS-195 – Basic Incident Command; performs net control duties at least twice annually for general, weekly net, Skywarn, siren tests. Level Six: Completed training with certification for Operations Center Radios: VHF, UHF, HF, Grab and Go radios, APRS, Packet. Jim requested suggestions from the membership on future classes. These ranged from ARRL Emergency Management Level One and Level Two to other FEMA classes. A questionnaire was passed to members concerning classes they have already taken. Practical on-site classes may be a consideration. Respectfully submitted, James R. Murphy, N8SML Secretary Oakland County ARPSC 5 May 2005