Fellow Radio Amateurs,
We got the official word from MS Society that the 2020 Bike MS: Glimcher Keystone Country Ride has been cancelled as a face to face event. The Ride would have occurred over the weekend of July 18 – 19, 2020. The MS Society is working on a virtual event to replace this year’s Ride. The planning team had expected that this year’s Ride would be cancelled but we wanted to wait for official word from the MS Society before reaching out to you all. Continue reading
Please consider reserving time in your calendar for participation in the below listed events. Planning is a continuous process given the COVID-19 quarantine. If any are canceled, we will let you know.
Please consider helping out with these events. We’ll provide more information as we get it.
Thank you.
Attempting to standardize amateur radio planning in Centre County with the Incident Command System I have tried to use ICS forms found on the Internet. There are many and there are many that are quite sophisticated. Some even operate as ‘books’. Entering recurring information will populate it to all the forms.
Unfortunately most of these forms have been very difficult to use. At least for me. To resolve this problem, I designed my own forms in Microsoft Word. Click on ‘Continue Reading’ to see more and find links to these forms. Continue reading
The Western Pennsylvania Simulated Emergency Test for Spring 2020 was held on 4 Apr 2020. Because of the Pennsylvania Stay at Home order from Governor Wolf all operations were done from the homes of individual hams. No one went anywhere. Click ‘Continue Reading’ to see files related to the event: Continue reading
The First Responder Center For Excellence has some information that may be helpful for First Responders coping with the COVID-19 situation. Many amateur radio operators are already first responders in their communities and may be considered same if called to service.
If you are wondering what to do or how to prepare for emergencies here are a couple links to good emergency planning guides for families:
Assemble an emergency kit for your family.
For amateur radio operators here is some further information on the ARRL website.
At this time, it does not look like a “communications emergency” is likely to occur. Unlike weather and wildfire disasters which often cause extensive damage to communications infrastructure, a biological emergency typically has a low likelihood of disruption to services and utilities such as electricity, gas, water, sanitation, cable, landline and cellular phone service.
Federal, state and local governments are closing or restricting non-employee access to schools, government facilities, offices and agencies, including many local facilities that have been in regular use by the amateur radio community. Clubs and VE exam sessions may not be able to utilize their usual locations. Meetings, hamfests, training events and other amateur radio gatherings may be curtailed for an indefinite time, and this could have a significant impact on local participation. As more and more events and activities are canceled, the associated amateur radio involvement in those activities will not be able to take place either.
Rather than make an immediate blanket cancellation of all amateur radio activities in our Western Pennsylvania Section, we should seek and comply with the guidance of our partner agencies. For example, if your club meets in your county EOC, your club leaders should immediately contact your county EMA leadership for guidance. If your EOC is currently closed, or the school where you hold your meetings is closed, then your club cannot have a meeting—because the agency who owns the meeting place has closed it.
That last part is important. The responsibility is upon the owner of the facility, not on its guests, like amateur radio clubs.
It is also important for all leaders to communicate with their members about all closures, as soon as possible. Keeping our amateur radio communities informed of changes in a timely manner will maintain the trust and goodwill that we have all worked so hard to establish.
We can categorically state that the ultimate decision of whether or not to participate by any radio amateur rests entirely with each individual. Ultimately, each of us is responsible for our own safety and security, and that of our dependents.
We encourage everyone to put safety first, and if they have any doubts, to follow the wisdom of the old saying, “Better safe than sorry.”
Stay safe and stay healthy!
/s/ Joe, W3BC, WPA SM by Carmine, K3CWP
October 5th was the 2019 ARRL ARES Simulated Emergency Test. Centre County amateur radio operators participated in the SET from 11:00 to 13:00. We simulated a flooding disaster to test communications throughout the Western Pennsylvania in a disaster. Continue reading
On August 17, 2019 Centre County Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) participated in a Water Rescue Drill at the Foster Joseph Sayers Lake sponsored by the South Central Mountain Regional Task Force (SCMRTF). ARES was invited to participate by the coordinator, Chief Lou Brungard of the Pleasant Gap Fire Company. The drill started with a safety briefing at 09:00 at the Howard Fire Company and ended at 11:54 when all units were recalled to the Incident Command Post for an after action briefing. ARES participation ended after the briefing. Planning and execution of the drill followed Incident Command System guidelines. Evaluators for fire and rescue services were also in attendance.
On July 20 and 21 nine Centre County amateur radio operators helped provide communications for the Multiple Sclerosis Glimcher Keystone Country Ride. Over 25 hams from Centre, Blair, and Huntingdon Counties as well as hams from as far away as Maryland participated in the two day event, most for both days. Continue reading