Bible
Verse
Jeremiah 29:11-12 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. (NIV)
President's Report
Well fellow HAMS, here we are three months into 2016. I have been up to the repeater site and have good news, the cabinet that was donated some years back has been moved into another corner of the hut and is now in place and ready to receive the shelving material that was donated to us. I will have photos of the relocation process, and by relocation I mean from the concrete pads it is on now to the shelves in the cabinet. I would like to thank all of the participants that have donated the equipment and resources so far to make this repeater site more secure and reliable to serve everyone both in the area and passing through the area.
The meeting has been moved back to Saturday mornings at 10:00 am for awhile, please make note of the time and join us at the Checkerboard on the 5th this month. All members that show up to the meeting and for the regular Saturday coffee sessions will be entered for a drawing later on in the year. Hopefully we will make this a monthly drawing later on and the prizes will vary.
73's and may GOD bless
Charles KB5SZJ
Next MARC Business Meeting
The next business meeting will be held at the Checker Board Restaurant on Saturday, March 5th, 2016 beginning at 10 A.M. Come join us for breakfast, coffee and fellowship.
New Repeater 145.410- no5c/R w/100hz tone access
A request was made on February 16, 2016 for SERA coordination of the new 145.410- no5c/R w/100hz tone access. Call sign and PL tone will be changed if coordination is approved. It will become the 145.410- w5LRG/R with141.3 tone access. It also encodes same tone on the Transmit signal if you want to run tone access on your rigs.
Thanks to everyone who has helped get this thing up and going. Only one antenna was able to be replaced at the tower site the other day. More will come. The repeater is providing as gud/better coverage than we've ever had. More/better performance improvements will be attempted. Work it and see how it works fer you.
146.970/R and 444.500/R will also remain on the air.
There is a Yaesu Fusion repeater running on the 146.970- pl100hz /Repeater. It is set to auto/in, fixed FM out at this time. The 444.500 /Rptr will probably go Fusion as well. Hopefully when the repeaters are all set we can take advantage of all the capabilities of Fusion Digital radio. Study up on Fusion and the capabilities it offers. I have a lot to learn fer sure.
TNX and 73,
Dennis no5c
Lauderdale Repeater Group w5LRG
Mississippi Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator’s 2015 Year End Report
Rez Johnson, K1REZ, ASEC
December 31, 2015
The Status of Emergency Communications in Mississippi
SUMMARY:
During 2015 Mississippi ARES made major improvements in the status of emergency communications preparedness in Mississippi, on both the statewide and local level.
Mississippi ARES Teams, Section Nets, and Local Nets tested, proved, and improved their emcomm response capabilities through participation in the annual Simulated Emergency Test on August 8, 2015. Each team and net exceeded its previous SET scores, some astronomically. We don’t yet know how the other states performed, but Mississippi improved its scores in 2015 to a level which is on par with the top three states in the nation during the 2014 SET. These scores show that Mississippi ARES and Mississippi's Nets greatly increased their emcomm preparedness capabilities during 2015.
The emergency preparedness of our ARES Teams and Nets was again tested, proved, and improved in 2015 during the recent ARES activation in response to the tornadoes which ravaged north Mississippi during the week of Christmas. After Action Reports reveal that Mississippi ARES played a significant and vital role in warning, response and recovery before, during and after this emergency event.
FULL REPORT:
Concerned citizens have recently inquired about the status of Amateur Radio Emergency Communication Preparedness in Mississippi. When it comes to emergency communications there is always room for improvement. The very nature of emcomm demands continued improvement. For this reason, our state’s ARES Teams are constantly growing, improving, and adjusting to meet the latest emcomm needs of our served agencies.
I am happy to report that during 2015 Mississippi ARES made major improvements in the status of emergency communications preparedness in Mississippi, on both the statewide and local level.
IMPROVED THROUGH SIUMALATED EMERGENCY TEST:
On August 8, 2015, Mississippi ARES and Mississippi Nets participated in the annual ARRL / ARES Simulated Emergency Test (SET). This annual SET tests our teams, nets, and officials in the most important emcomm response criteria. To help ARES teams, nets, and states know how well they are doing, ARRL assigns scores to each of these criteria.
Mississippi’s results in the 2015 test proved that Mississippi’s ARES Teams and Nets are capable of effectively handling emergency communications when our served agencies’ normal means of communication fails. In Mississippi 443 ARES members, 15 local nets, and 6 statewide section nets participated in the SET, with a total of 1916 check ins and 3578 pieces of traffic passed on behalf of served agencies.
Each of our county ARES Teams that participated in the SET exceeded their previous SET scores, some astronomically. Mississippi ARES scored a total of 4450 points, an outstanding improvement over our 2014 score of 445 points. Each of our Local and Section Nets that participated also exceeded their previous SET scores. Mississippi Nets scored a total of 6433 points, an outstanding improvement over our
2014 score of 567 points. These scores give Mississippi ARES and Mississippi Nets a very good chance of placing within the top three states in the nation in ARRL’s national SET Report.
Reasons for this year’s major improvement include:
1. Extensive planning, promotion, administration, coordination, implementation and follow up on the state level by the Mississippi ARES Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator.
2. The development and use of a detailed written SET Manual.
3. An increased understanding of, and appreciation for, the importance of participating in the annual SET by our DECs, ECs, and Net Managers due to the realization that:
A. the annual SET is an important test for improving their team’s emcomm capabilities before they are needed, by first determining their weak and strong points.
and
B. participating in a SET in early August insures that their team members are freshly practiced and their equipment freshly tested before Hurricane Season begins peaking in Mississippi in late August.
4. Number 3 resulted in increased pre-event planning by DECs, ECs, and Net Managers and greater participation by our County ARES Teams and by our State and Local Nets.
5. Increased usage of Mississippi’s Digital Traffic Nets (MS-NBEMS-Net, MS-P2P-Email-Net, MS-WinLink-Net, and RACES Pactor Net)
The most important result of participation in the 2015 Mississippi ARRL/ARES SET was its improvement of emergency communications in Mississippi. After the SET Mississippi ARES Teams and Nets utilized the lessons they learned during the SET to improve the level of service they give to the state and local agencies whom they serve during emergencies and disasters.
Mississippi ARRL holds this annual test in early August of each year to insure that our teams and their equipment have been freshly tested and are well prepared prior to the start of Mississippi’s peak hurricane season.
In December of 2015 the lessons learned from the August SET were put into practice during an ARES activation in response to tornadoes which ravaged north Mississippi during the week of Christmas. After Action Reports reveal that Mississippi ARES played a significant and vital role in warning, response and recovery before, during and after this emergency event.
PROVEN THROUGH DISASTER EVENTS:
During Christmas week our ARES Teams and Nets in north Mississippi had their level of emcomm preparedness tested and proven by 150 miles of devastating tornados which destroyed 241 homes, damaged 400 others, and killed 11 people in 7 counties.
Before, during, and after this emergency event, Mississippi ARES played a significant and vital role in warning, response, and recovery. ARES Teams in north Mississippi activated, using simplex for tactical communications, relaying storm warnings, damage/injury reports, and running repeater nets for served agencies, command posts and staging areas. They handled traffic for SKYWARN, NWS, EMA, EOCs, MEMA, Sheriff’s Department, Fire Services, Search and Rescue, NWS Survey Teams, and Damage Assessment Teams,
During this event, the Mississippi Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator contacted the district level ARES officials in North East and North West Mississippi to determine if more ARES personnel and equipment needed to be deployed to north Mississippi to assist in their emcomm response. The DECs and their ECs and county ARES Teams were doing such an outstanding job handling emcomm that no deployments from unaffected counties were needed. Since the normal statewide emcomm channels were not down, the state section net was not needed by served agencies for contact with MEMA and other state agencies. However, the above mentioned local nets were established and played a significant role during this event.
ARES response to this event proves that our county ARES Teams and their leaders can and are providing an important service to the communities they serve during emergencies and disasters in Mississippi.
FUTURE PREPAREDNESS:
And this brings me back to the initial question asked about Mississippi amateur radio operators’ level of emergency communications preparedness. When you measure us based on our performance during simulated emergency tests, the results show that we are near the top in the nation. When you measure us by our performance during actual emergencies and disasters, the results show that we are effectively providing vital emergency communications for the agencies we serve.
Can we be better? Of course! How? We are only as good as the hams who volunteer their time and equipment in service of our ARES Teams and established nets.
To those watching from the sidelines who question Mississippi ARES’s emcomm effectiveness I say, “Get involved. If you are not actively serving on an ARES team, or passing traffic on one of our established nets, please be a part of the solution by joining, by participating, by passing traffic. Study the ARRL Emergency Communications manual, take the ARRL Emergency Communications Courses, get set up with digital capabilities and start using the Mississippi Digital Traffic nets. Don’t simply ask what Mississippi ARES can do for you. Also, ask what you can do for Mississippi ARES, to help us make it better. You are the future of emergency communications preparedness in Mississippi. We are only as good as you make us. Send an email to K1REZ@ARRL.Net if you would like contact information for the ARES Emergency Coordinator in your area.”
I am looking forward to another year of serving this great state of ours, through ARRL and ARES, as we continue growing and improving our ARES Teams and Nets in Mississippi in 2016.
Blessing and 73, Rez
Rez Johnson, K1REZ
Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator
Mississippi Section ARRL / ARES
Treasurer Report
It's that time again; Please bring your dues to the Checker Board Restaurant on Saturday mornings or mail them to the address below. Thank you for your support. Dues are:
- $23.00 per Year per Member
- $25.00 per Year for Family
- $15.00 per year if 65 or older
Meridian Amateur Radio Club
P.O. Box 522
Meridian, MS 39302
73, Shelly, KI6DES
Memphis FreeFest
HAMFEST/CONVENTION April 09, 2016
Start Date: 04/09/2016
End Date: 04/09/2016
Location: Bartlett Station Municipal Center
5868 Stage Road Bartlett, TN Website:
http://www.maraonline.org
Sponsor: Mid-South Amateur Radio Association (MARA)
Talk-In: 147.03 (PL 107.2)
Public Contact: Anthony Tony Brignole , WA4KHN
2444 Lacosta Drive Bartlett, TN 38134
Phone: 901-372-2738
Email: abrigno@comcast.net
Quote of the Day
“Worse than not realizing the dreams of your youth would be to have been young and never dreamed at all.” Jean Genet
Have a great month
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Month
March 2016