Minutes of the May 3, 1997 Meeting
Special Announcement: The June 7th meeting will be held at the Kaiser administrative offices, 1950 Franklin St, 2nd floor conference room F. The July 12th meeting will be at the Oakland Office of Emergency Services; 505 14th St; 7th floor, between Broadway and Clay St..
Fire season has arrived early this year. One of the first grass fires of the year directly threatened one Oakland ARES/RACES member's home and caused concern for at least three other members. Several operators reported the fire on the WB6NDJ repeater. Further, at least three licensed amateurs were among the firefighters responding.
All RACES operators should check their gear for readiness. Fire patrols and other responses could start BEFORE July 4!
The tests on April 12 demonstrated that, to be reliable, operators need an external antenna in the north hills. In the east hills area operators need up to 50W to reliably communicate from a vehicle. If you've changed your phone number (work or home) recently, make sure ARES/RACES has the current one. If you have questions about response procedures or practices, please contact Jim, N6OIK ; Mark, N6RCG ; or Chris, KQ6JZ .
Chris KQ6JZ reported that on April 12, the CORE Drill (AKA - Communications Dead Spot Drill) provided valuable information regarding reception in the North and South areas of the city. Operators participating in April 12 communications test: Chris, KE6MQW ; Chris, KQ6JZ ; Ted, W6NPB ; Bernie, KE6TYY ; Mark, N6RCG ; Adele, KE6HKY ; Roger, KE6STB ; David, WB6NER ; Lisa, KF6BYI ; and Jim, N6OIK .
Doug N6TQS pointed out that frequencies below 145.00 programmed into the fire station radios at memories 16 thru 20 should only be used during state and county RACES declared emergencies, as they are not standard simplex frequencies in the band plan. These frequencies are normally reserved for weak signal and SSB transmissions, not FM. The list on the newsletter has been updated to indicate this.
At the May meeting, it was decided to exercise the fire stations on the first Thursday of each month beginning June 5th. Operators are requested to visit their assigned station and check into the net. Net control stations should now request check-ins from operators at fire stations before the general check-ins. In addition, 70cm will be used for simplex at the discretion of net control.
The following stations still need operators: 2 (100 Jack London Square), 3 (1445 14th St), 13 (1225 Derby Ave), 18 (1700 50th Ave), 23 (7100 Foothill Rd), 20 (1401 98th Ave), and 27 (8501 Pardee Dr). If you can exercise one of these stations please contact Chris, KQ6JZ .
Station assignments are: 1 (KE6MRK), 2 (KM6NY), 4 (EL2BG), 5 (KB6MYV), 6 (N6RCG), 8 (W6LL, KE6DVT), 10 (KE6MQW, KE6HKY), 12 (KF6GYW), 13 (KM6NY), 15 (K6MDH), 16 (KD6PLN), 17 (KF6GZY, KF6BYI), 19 (KE6YLT, KF6KNS, N6TQS), 21 (W6BUR), 24 (KF6EPQ), 25 (W6NPB), 26 (KE6TYY).
David, WB6NER reports: Fire station 18 (50th & Bancroft) is the last to get a Measure I radio installed. The July 4 fire patrol will take the opportunity to do a media event for the fire station installations.
Liaison report by Dave KF6EPQ : The Red Cross will rent the building or portions from the new owners (Oakland Public Schools) so there is no need to move the radio equipment yet.
Training: Brian W6LL , gave a report on the number of students passing their test and receiving licenses. There will be another class coming up, the date undecided. Brian recommends that the ARES group get CORE training. Also firefighters are showing interest in Ham radio.
Operations: Next month's meeting June 7 will be at the Kaiser EOC. Parking is available in the Franklin St. garage and bicycles will be accommodated.
The July 12th meeting (2nd Saturday) will be meeting at Summit Medical Center. A possible future meeting site might be a local High School.
S The recent MS Walk-a-thon gave Oakland ARES/RACES members a chance to operate bicycle-mobile. All operators were able to communicate effectively, but a simple antenna system assembled by Chris, KQ6JZ , and Roger, KE6STB , proved most reliable.
MFJ manufactures a flexible 2m j-pole which retails for $14.95. The mast used is a bicycle flag assembly (about $10 retail). The flag comes mounted on the end of a 6 foot fiberglass whip. The antenna was attached to the whip with several short pieces of shrink tubing. No ground plane is needed, and the antenna comes with a BNC connector ready for most HT's.
Three operators used these antennas during the walk-a-thon. They were able to work simplex at all times from Crown Beach to Bay Farm Island. There were several occasions when these stations had to relay messages for other operators. Other bicycle-mobile issues which need to be explored include battery type/location, microphone/earpiece which can be worn with a helmet, and a handlebar mounted PTT button.
M.S. Walkathon: On the morning of Sunday, April 13, the National M. S. Society held walk-a-thons at sites throughout the country, including one in Alameda. Eleven hams provided communications in Alameda using fixed, mobile, and bicycle-mobile stations. Net control duties were handled by Herb, WA6CUY and Dale, KD6KMU . Ted, W6NPB operated mobile. Mike, KI7FQ ; Robin, KE6MRH ; and Gary, K6QDJ staffed stations at rest stops. Doug, N6TQS ; Dave, KF6EPQ ; Roger, KE6STB ; Andrew, KF6CDY ; and Chris, KQ6JZ operated bicycle-mobile. Thank you to all the participants.
Field Day: A $200 budget has been approved.
Web sightings: Amateur Radio Newsline now has its own web site: http://www.arnewsline.org/ This on the air bulletin service relies on listener funding.
The Oakland ARES meeting came to order at the Oakland Red Cross at 9:00 AM. Present were:
|
Modesto M Alvarez |
KE6KPK |
|
Kathy Dodge |
KF6GZY |
|
Paul Millner |
KE6VSK |
|
Debbie Barragan |
KE6MRK |
|
Doug Faunt |
N6TQS |
|
Harry Myler |
KE6VSU |
|
Adele Bertaud |
KE6HKY |
|
Bob Firehock |
KE6IUE |
|
David Otey |
WB6NER |
|
Herbert Bowen |
WA6CUY |
|
Curtis Floray |
KA6MJO |
|
Jim Ploss |
KB6MYV |
|
Chris Burgardt |
KQ6JZ |
|
Marvin Kay |
K6GHE |
|
Margery Service |
KF6GTT |
|
Elaine Carter |
K6SZT |
|
Edward Kilmartin |
KE6WPG |
|
Theodore Stewart |
W6NPB |
|
Jim Carter |
K6LWA |
|
Bob Mayes |
KE6DVT |
|
Donald Street |
K6EHQ |
|
Susan Chan Rogers |
pending |
|
Dave McGuinnes |
KF6EPQ |
|
Jim Tiemstra |
N6OIK |
|
Louis Cobet |
K6MDH |
|
Art McLaughlin |
W6THD |
|
Brian Treusch |
W6LL |
Meetings are normally held on the first Saturday of each month.
The next meeting will be Saturday, June 7, 1997 at 9:00 AM
at the Kaiser administrative offices, 1950 Franklin St, 2nd floor
conference room F