We added a few more items to the list of possible activities for 1997 listed in the last issue. Brian, KJ6LL pointed out that we neglected to mention having fun! Several members would like to form a bicycle mobile and a packet radio special interest group. Interest in doing Field Day again this year was high, this time with better planning. People requested group attendance at a First Aid/CPR training class at the Red Cross. With the recent increase in attendees, alternate meeting spaces were mentioned such as the Rockridge Library. Finally there was a long discussion of going 501(3)c non-profit. It would enable us to accept equipment donations. Berkeley has experience doing it. We would need by-laws and file yearly reports. A call was made for anyone in our group experienced in forming a non-profit to form a committee to investigate its feasibility.
Several of our members have expressed an interest in operating bicycle mobile for public service events like walk-a-thons and parades. Past experience has shown that operators on two wheels are invaluable when pedestrians may be spread over a large area. At the January ARES meeting about a dozen members were identified who would be interested. These people are interested in creating a pool of operators who have tackled the problems of power supplies, antenna mounts, and handlebar PTT buttons. Anyone interested in pedaling with ARES please contact Chris, KQ6JZ .(e-mail: burgardt@hooked.net).
As this newsletter went to press, Station 24 is having a grand opening media event on Friday Jan 24. The Fire Department had requested at least a temporary installation of its ham station by then. Roger, KE6STB and Ed, KE6WPG have the physical requirements under control. Station 18 has also been scouted. Masts has not yet been installed at either location, so final installation will happen later.
In 1996, Oakland ARES/RACES members installed amateur radio stations in nearly every fire station in Oakland. Now, the challenge is to maintain and test the stations on a regular basis. To complete this task and to help every member become more familiar with the standard radio installation, we need members to "Adopt-a-Station." Each fire station will be assigned a volunteer (and an alternate) who will check in to a Thursday night net approximately once a month from their fire station. This ensures that the radios remain in working order and that any problems are discovered in a timely manner.
Interested operators should contact Chris, KQ6JZ (e-mail: burgardt@hooked.net). A sign-up sheet will be circulated at the February meeting as well. Please remember that some stations are not in residential areas, so you may want to consider adopting a station near your place of employment.
Ongoing maintenance continues at other stations. Station 10 will need to have a seismic retrofit done to the wall where we installed the radios. There are known problems with reception and transmission at Station 17. Doug, N6TQS suggested we add an extra power wire to every Fire Station's power supply with the ARRL standard Molex 1545 connector (Radio Shack part 274-222). This would enable those of us who have built the rig end of the connector to attach our personal radios to the power supply. Follow the wiring diagram below to make your own power connector. For minimum safety, place a fuse in the positive lead of the power source cable.
All Oakland ARES/RACES members are encouraged to participate in at least one of this year's parade or walkathon events. The experience gained at these events is just as valuable as the practice in a formal emergency drill. April has the M. S. Walkathon and Baker to Vegas. Look for Field Day and possibly Festival at the Lake in June. August brings National Night Out. There's two walkathons in September: American Heart Association and Diabetes. The end of daylight savings time heralds the Head of the Estuary, and finally the roving Veteran's Day parade appears in a city near you. So why wait for fire patrol or SET?
Portable mast: Brian, KJ6LL brought in a 20 foot mast suitable for emergency antenna erection that collapses into a 4 foot tube. He can get it for $20 in quantity. Almost immediately a dozen people signed up to order one for themselves. You know who to call.
Web sightings: Flood information at the California Environmental Resources Evaluation System: http://ceres.ca.gov/ and at the California State OES: http://www.oes.ca.gov:8001/
AEC Liaison: Dave, KF6EPQ has volunteered to be the Oakland Assistant Emergency Coordinator for liaison with other organizations.
EOC Construction: Construction of the Oakland Emergency Operations Center has been delayed 2-3 months while some funding issues are resolved.
The Oakland ARES meeting came to order at the Oakland Red Cross at 9:00 AM. Present were:
|
Modesto M Alvarez |
KE6KPK |
|
Richard Gabor |
KO6TI |
|
David Pompa |
pending |
|
Lisa Askew |
KF6BYI |
|
Roger Gilbert |
KE6STE |
|
Mike Pompa |
KD6PLN |
|
Adele Bertaud |
KE6HKY |
|
Steve Healy |
KF6GYP |
|
Tim Roberts |
KF6BYG |
|
Herbert Bowen |
WA6CUY |
|
Roger Jung |
KE6STB |
|
Bernard Schormann |
KE6TYY |
|
Chris Burgardt |
KQ6JZ |
|
Marvin Kay |
K6GHE |
|
Theodore Stewart |
W6NPB |
|
Susan Chan Rogers |
pending |
|
Dave McGuinnes |
KF6EPQ |
|
Donald Street |
K6EHQ |
|
Jose Diaz |
KM6NY |
|
David Otey |
WB6NER |
|
Brian Treusch |
KJ6LL |
|
Doug Faunt |
N6TQS |
|
Chris Peeples |
KE6MQW |
|
Mark Violet |
N6RCG |
|
Curtis Floray |
KA6MJO |
|
Jim Ploss |
KB6MYV |
|
|
|
Meetings are normally held on the first Saturday of each month.
The next meeting will be Saturday, February 1, 1997 at 9:00 AM
at the Red Cross Headquarters, 2111 E. 14th Street, Oakland
535-2800