Category Archives: ARES/RACES

General comments about ARES/RACES operations.

EC – ACS/RACES officer attends conference

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Carmine, K3CWP, and Elaine, K3ERP attended the first day of the annual Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency Conference held in Harrisburg on September 24, 2011.  Subjects covered at the conference included:

  • An update on the Auxiliary Communications System program
  • Keynote address by Glenn Cannon, PEMA Director
  • Report on the South Central Task Force Wide Vigilance Exercise held in 2010
  • Individual Group Briefings, including a briefing by Carmine, K3CWP, on the progress of ACS organizing and equipment installation in Centre County
  • Developing an ACS/EmComm Annex to an Emergency Operations Plan
  • Integration of ACS into an Incident Communication Center

All the sessions presented valuable information and were enhanced by the ability to work and talk with other amateur radio operators involved in Emergency Preparedness.

 

Amateur Radio Operators Provide Communications for MS Ride

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On Saturday and Sunday, July 23 and 24 amateur radio operators from Centre, Blair, and Huntingdon Counties provided communications assistance for the Annual Keystone Country Ride of the Keystone Division of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.  The ride is a fundraising event that runs from Hollidaysburg, PA to State College, PA and back. That’s a total of 150 miles, and this year there were 640+ riders!  Amateur Radio Emergency Services assistance has become an important part of the event.  The ride moves through a number of areas where cell phone coverage is non existent but amateur repeaters provide very good coverage and a network that allows all of the communications units hear what is happening.

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ARES/NARC Members Provide Communications Assistance for Bicycle Race

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On Saturday, April 23, 2011 eight members of Amateur Radio Emergency Services and Nittany Amateur Radio Club provided communications assistance to the Penn State Cycling Club.  The club held the Easter Collegiate Cycling Conference District 1 Eastern race in the Black Moshannon State Park near Philipsburg on the western end of Centre County, Pennsylvania.

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Amateur participation in MS Keystone Country Ride Successful

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On Saturday and Sunday, July 24th and 25th seventeen amateur radio operators from the Nittany Amateur Radio Club (NARC) along with operators from the Horseshoe Amateur Radio Club (Altoona, PA) participated in an Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) drill by providing communications assistance for the 2010 Keystone Country Ride of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Keystone Branch.

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Centre County ARES Meeting Scheduled

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K3CWP, Carmine Prestia, Centre County EC has scheduled a meeting of Centre County ARES for:

Tuesday, June 29, 2010 at 7:00 PM
Centre Region Council of Governments
General Forum Meeting Room
2346 Gateway Drive
State College, PA 16801

Registered ARES members and any amateur interested in ARES are invited to attend.

Meeting subjects will include but not be limited to:

The Multiple Sclerosis Keystone Country Ride on July 24 and 25, 2010, and

Demonstration and instruction on the Kenwood 710 VHF/UHF radios available for County ARES operations.

Contact Carmine with questions:
814-238-7857
k3cwp@arrl.net

NBEMS Digital Modes software for SET

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As I’ve mentioned here there is a new set of software available for digital modes. It is commonly called NBEMS for Narrow Band Emergency Messaging System. I’ve installed the software on one of my PCs and find that it works very well and covers all of the available digital modes that I can see. I would like to see other amateur radio operators in Centre County using the software. Click below to see more information:
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