Oakland County Amateur Radio Service Corp (ARPSC) Weekly Net: Thursday at 8 pm on 145.250 MHz/100pl Web Site: http://www.qsl.net/w8oak Meeting Minutes for 1 June 2005: On 1 June 2005 at 7 pm, Barry Kaufman, WD8JWM, Deputy Emergency Coordinator (DEC) 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 Deputy Emergency Coordinator – Barry Kaufman, WD8JWM: Joel Goldberg, W8HIU, Emergency Coordinator (EC) is out of town. Assistant Emergency Coordinators (AECs) are requested to report their plans, projects, problems, and on-going activities. The date for the next ARPSC General Membership Meeting is still under consideration. (II). Comments from Steve Iannucci, Emergency Preparedness and Response Oakland County (ER&P): Mike Lopar, ER&P asked to Steve to extend ER&P's appreciation of ARPSC assistance at the 2005 Ottawa District Spring Boy Scout "Camporee" held at Springfield Oaks Park on 14 May 2005. Certificates acknowledging this service were passed out to the volunteers. President Bush issued a Homeland Security Presidential Directive to the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop and administer a National Incident Management System (NIMS). NIMS provides a consistent nationwide template to enable all government, private-sector, and nongovernmental organizations to work together during domestic incidents. In order for first responders in the ARPSC to comply with these standards, they must complete a FEMA IS-700 course – National Incident Management System (NIMS) – An Introduction. This course is now required in order to be eligible for governmental grant money. In addition, Mike recommended we also take the FEMA class, IS-800 National Response Plan (NRP) - an Introduction. Barry Kaufman added that this course can be taken as a home study course directly from http://www.fema.gov and/or with an IS-700 class by the Oakland County ARPSC. The class will be scheduled at a future date for a minimum of ten students. If the EOC is activated, this class is essential in order to know the language and functions of the incident management system. All Assistant Emergency Coordinators (AEC's) need to take this course to whom we rely on in case of a domestic emergency incident. The IS-700 course has an estimated 120 pages to print from the FEMA website and Ralph Greenberg, K8CAR will look into the possibility of printing a limited number of copies. Barry also emphasized that members completing any course training should send a copy of their completed Certificate of Achievement to Lorretta at the EOC so that the ARPSC has a record. (III). Long Range Planning and Coordination by Barry Kaufman, WD8JWM (DEC): The 2005 Oakland County Simulated Emergency Test (SET) needs to begin planning now for setup this fall. Justin Stabenow, KC8UQF volunteered. (IV). Public Service Information: Upcoming Activities Saturday, 4 June, 2005 Oak Apple Run – Royal Oak. Amateur radio volunteers are needed as there are more than 40 positions to fill. Please contact Mike Van Buren, WD8S at wd8s@arrl.net. Website is at http://www.oakapplerun.org. June 24-26, 2005 Field Day Weekend with the ARPSC at the EOC. The contest will operate as class F and volunteers are needed to help. Operations will be at the EOC and not out in the field. Dispatch will need to know that you are coming in order to let you in the building, so please check with Randy Love, WF5X at wf5x@arrl.net. July 16-17, 2005 MS Bike Tour begins at Springfield Oaks County Park and runs to Michigan State University and back. This is a two day event with radio volunteers needed for either or both days. On Sunday, a mountain bike race runs out of Springfield Oaks. Contact George Schutte, K8GEO at k8geo@prodigy.net. More information is at http://www.nmssmi.org/bike.htm. (V). Woodward Dream Cruise from Jim Walden, N8DHZ, DEC: For the Oakland County ARPSC volunteers, Dream Cruise events extend for two days. On Friday evening, 19 August 2005, the Berkley Kick-off Parade takes place (http://www.berkleycruisefest.com/classic_car_parade.htm). The Classic Car Parade will begin staging at 5:30 pm at the Roseland Park Cemetery, and at 6:30 pm, the parade will start from the entrance of the Cemetery (12 mile road near Woodward) and proceed west on 12 Mile road to Ellwood (1 block east of Greenfield.). Cars will be directed south on Ellwood to exit the parade. After the parade, amateurs are requested to walk the commercial area as "eyes and ears" for Berkley. On Saturday, 20 August 2005, the 11th Annual Woodward Dream Cruise will take place officially from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. (http://www.woodwarddreamcruise.com). Cruisers and spectators will be along a 16 mile route in nine communities from Ferndale to Pontiac, with amateur radio volunteers serving the communities of Berkley and Royal Oak. Our job is to spot and communicate car fires, break downs, accidents, lost children, alcohol and parking problems to net control, who then will communicate with Berkley officials. The Berkley Fire Station (12 mile, east of Coolidge) will again serve as the operational headquarters. Last year, Oakland County radio installed two amateur radios antennas on their own tower 70 feet up. There is some talk that this remote site could be used with our repeater. Food will be provided by Berkley for those volunteers south of 12 Mile Road and by Royal Oak at the Parker School for those north of 12 Mile Road. When one leaves for food, please inform net control. When using a handheld transceiver, one may need to use a tone squelch control because of cable inference within our frequencies. There will be two shifts on Saturday for volunteers, and hours may be changed from last year to be better balanced. Parking is always a problem and one needs to carefully consider the most reasonable and safest location. According to Jim, a special plaque card for the volunteer's car dashboard can be issued at the Berkley Fire Station. This will allow parking in many areas, but check details with them on what "areas" before utilizing. According to Assistant Fire Chief North, amateur radio volunteers must both sign in and sign out at the Fire Station for their insurance coverage. Last year, Jim planned to drive to assigned areas for sign-ups, but Lt. North stated that this was not acceptable. (VI). ARPSC Two-meter Net Activities: Barry Kaufman, WD8JWM, DEC requested a volunteer to compile data on the weekly net activities, including topics discussed, message traffic, call-ins, etc. Larry Hornsby, KB8POD volunteered. A published list of emergency radio frequencies will be reviewed and updated as formulated by the Michigan Net. Ralph Greenberg, K8CAR, Hospital Net, reminded members that if the 145.25 repeater should become inoperative, then one switches to the Clarkston repeater at 146.84. A member suggested that during such a problem, a simplex message could be given on the inoperable repeater frequency output for members to switch over to the next repeater. A discussion took place on access to St. Joseph Hospital's amateur radio for hospital net activities, and Ralph will contact Gail Novak for assistance. (VII). Siren Net Activities by Jim Walden, N8DHZ: For this month's siren test on 4 June 2005, there are only four hot sirens to check. That shows how well participation in the monthly siren tests is working. At the Oak Park Siren #2, we had two conflicting reports from last month; one stating the siren failed and another that it worked. For those interested in helping with sirens, check into one of the subnets before 12:30 am on the first Saturday of the month or contact Jim at n8dhz@sbcglobal.net. Jim also requested as soon as the sirens sound off at 1 pm, individuals from different points in the county call in on the W8OAK repeater to confirm that the sirens sounded. Larry Hornsby, KB8POD reminded the subnet operators to check the accuracy of call signs for individuals covering their sirens, so that correct persons can be credited with their coverage. Larry is most appreciative with the coverage and clearness of call-in information. (VIII). Comments From Members: Jim Poehlman, K8ABZ, asked if a new ARPSC membership list was being complied. Barry Kaufman replied that he is working on the list. The most recent mailing requesting information was most successful. Regarding sheriff's clearances for ARPSC members, Barry stated the sheriff has still 40-50 applications pending. Larry Hornsby, KB8POD has copies of a very useful J-Pole Antenna diagram for anyone interested. He stated parts to make the J-Pole cost him approximately $5. Respectfully submitted, James R. Murphy, N8SML Secretary Oakland County ARPSC 2 June 2005