The 73rd Annual Bellbrook Lions SummerFest Parade will step off at 2:00 PM Saturday, August 24.

The Bellbrook Amateur Radio Club (BARC) will help line up the parade and provide safety and logistics communications support

BARC members will gather at the Bellbrook Community Church parking lot [Vemco Drive & West Franklin Street (SR-725)] at 12:30 PM to pick up a safety vest, a line-up sheet and an assignment.

Operators need to be at their assigned posts by 1:00 PM.

BARC’s Public Service Coordinator Don Parker KB8PSL will be making the assignments and directing operations.  No additional operators are needed at this time.

Greene County License Courses Begin Sunday, 8 September 2019.

Concurrent Technician Class, General Class and Extra Class courses at three different locations. 1900 to approximately  2100 weekly for nine weeks.

For full details, see the Ham Radio License classes and Test sessions page.

The latest ARES E-Letter has been released.

In This Issue:

• Pikes Peak International Hill Climb — ARES Meets Demanding Communications Needs
• ARES Emergency Communicator Individual Task Book Available
• Major US Contest Station, Winlink Support Mexico Fire Response
• Communications Response to Catastrophic Events: Pacific Northwest’s Venerable Communications Academy Convened in April
• ARRL Simulated Emergency Test More Important Now Than Ever: Start Planning for Fall SET
• Keeping Lines of Communication Open–CERT & Ham Radio
• K1CE For a Final: Hurricane Barry and the Hurricane Watch Net
• ARRL Resources Available

ARES Links, Briefs

WX4NHC operators at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami were active for two days gathering surface reports for use by the hurricane forecasters from stations located in the affected areas of Tropical Storm/Hurricane Barry in Louisiana and Mississippi over this past weekend.

“We received many reports about flooding, downed trees, road closures and power outages,” said Julio Ripoll, WD4R, Assistant Coordinator of the NHC station. Although Barry only reached a

Category 1 Hurricane level on the Saffir-Simpson scale, the major concerns were about the amount of rain and the flooding for low lying areas. “WX4NHC is very grateful for the support and the outstanding operations of the Hurricane Watch Net and the EchoLink VoIP Hurricane Net (WX_TALK),” Ripoll said.

Ripoll offered special thanks to James Lea, WX4TV/M, for his many eyewitness reports from Louisiana, and to Joe Glorioso, N5OZG, for reporting from the New Orleans EOC. “Thank you to all reporting stations and we hope everyone fared well through the storm,” Ripoll said. [See editorial note at the end of this issue. — ed.]

Here is a link to the video of NHC Director Ken Graham, WX4KEG, featuring Amateur Radio at NHC. The Amateur Radio portion starts at 5:00 minutes into the video.

Approximately 70 amateur radio operators are needed to support the USAF Marathon at Wright Patterson Air Force Base on Saturday, September 21, 2019 to provide the USAF Marathon Staff with emergency and logistic communications. This world class event has over 20,000 participants, volunteers, and spectators in attendance every year.
Amateur radio operators are indispensable in rapidly communicating information on runner’s locations and status, heat index settings, severe weather notifications, as well as emergencies and logistic issues. Plus, APRS is utilized to track lead runners and “Tail End Charlie’s”, thus allowing race officials and emergency services to more accurately monitor the race progression.
According to Brandon Hough, the USAF Marathon Race Director, the senior base leaders rely on the communication skills of our amateur radios operators and use them as a vital resource.

Multiple races are held on this day including: 10K, Half Marathon, Full Marathon, and Wheelchair. The volunteer registration website for the USAF Marathon is now open. If you will be in the Dayton, Ohio area on Saturday, September 21, 2019 and would like to take part in this world class event, please go to the USAF Marathon website at http://www.usafmarathon.com/volunteer  and click the volunteer now link, scroll down to the amateur radio section to register. Training will be provided prior to the event.
How to register on line:
1. Go to the website above.
2. Click on the Volunteer Now button.
3. Acknowledge that you’re going to a new website.
4. On the new website, ignore the “password” entry box near the top of the page. Scroll down to the “Amateur Radio Operator” section and click the check box for the Amateur Radio Operator Position and only that position.
5. Scroll to the bottom, past all the other volunteer positions, and fill in your name and other required data.
6. Check the box below the waiver paragraph and then type in your name for a digital signature.
7. Click the “Sign Up to Volunteer” button.
8. You’re done!
9. You should get an automated email response from Jeanette Monaghan acknowledging your registration.
10. Contact Phil Verret if you have any questions or concerns.
Registration closes August 31, 2019.

Training and Assignments

There will be two meetings to provide training and hand out assignments, both on Saturday, September 14:

3:00PM in the  AF Museum classroom (2nd floor of the museum above the gift shop and behind the café), main session.

6:00PM in the meeting room (in the basement) of  Fire Station #61, 2195 Dayton Xenia Rd, Beavercreek , backup session

If you have any questions please email:
Phil Verret, KA8ZKR
USAF Marathon Amateur Radio Lead Volunteer
KA8ZKR @ ARRL.NET

Amateur radio support is needed for the 2019 Twisted Pretzel Tour on 28 September 2019.

This bike ride takes place s around the Farmersville and Germantown areas of Montgomery County.

Hams are needed from 0700-12 Noon

I am pleased to announce the appointment of John Massie, WX8JDM, as the new Net Manager (NM) for the West Central Ohio District 3 ARES Weekly Net, effective today 15 March 2019.  John serves in the regular rotation of Net Control Operators (NCO) and spent a number of hour as one of the several NCO’s during the District 3 Snow Net Saturday/ Sunday 19/20 January.

I also want to recognize and express thanks and appreciation to retiring co-Net Managers Keith Burnette, KB8GYB, and Randy Allen, KAØAZS, for their respective many years of service to and support of the D3 Weekly Net.  They have expressed desire to be replaced for some time now and we finally are able to accomplish that for them.

The current Net procedures and guidelines will be maintained for the present time but the D3 EC’s and I are considering future changes to make the weekly net more interesting, efficient and effective.  I welcome and encourage Net Control Operators, Net participants and ARES personnel within the nine District 3 counties to email me any ideas and suggestions you may have for accomplishing these goals.  We also need your regular participation in the weekly Net as often as you can make it!

A “purpose and mission statement” for the D3 ARES Weekly Net and a “Position Description for D3 ARES Net Manager” will be published/distributed soon and also posted on the D3 ARES website—which Randy will continue to maintain as webmaster.

My “door” always is open so don’t hesitate to email me any time with any questions, idea and suggestions.  Thank you for your continuing participation in and support for West Central Ohio District 3 ARES.

73,

Fred Stone W8LLY

District Emergency Coordinator

West Central Ohio District 3 ARES

From Ohio ARES Section Emergency Coordinator Stan Broadway, N8BHL:

Gang, the enclosed news release has the details, but the short version is twofold: the EC-001 course is back on a new hosting system. It appears to be the same course as before.  The good news is in part two: the course is free.

If you have volunteers new to ARES  this is a good basic course for readiness and expectation.  Feel free to pass on this information to your members!

Here is the official release:

EC-001 Launch 2019

ARRL’s Lifelong Learning Department is excited to announce the launch of the recently revised Introduction to Emergency Communications (EC-001) course. As part of this new initiative, the course has been updated, beta-tested by a group of course mentors, and transferred into a new online learning platform.

With the closing of the Connecticut Distance Learning Consortium (CTDLC) in mid-2018, EC-001 lost its virtual home and was taken offline. At that point ARRL’s Emergency Preparedness staff started working with the new Lifelong Learning team to explore short and long-term alternatives for offering the course. After a period of careful evaluation and review, the decision was made to move the course from the previous Moodle platform to a more modern Learning Management System called Canvas, which will be used while the new Lifelong Learning Initiative program is being developed. The EC-001 course will eventually become part of this new, comprehensive online learning environment.

EC-001 is designed to provide basic knowledge and tools for any emergency communications volunteer. We hope this course will be the starting point for you in your service to your community as radio amateurs and inspire you to think outside the box and look at new and useful ways the radio amateur can lend a hand to the public that has given us the trust of our spectrum of skills. With the online format, students can access the course at any time from anywhere during a 9-week period, so you may work according to your own schedule.

“We’re very excited to be able to offer Introduction to Emergency Communications EC-001 once again” states Kris Bickell, ARRL Lifelong Learning Manager. “The Emergency Preparedness staff at ARRL has been incredibly helpful while we’ve worked together to get the course back up and running. And the input from previous EC-001 mentors has been an invaluable part of the testing phase. The timing is right to put the course back online.”

As in the past, students will be able to register and take the course entirely online. The Canvas platform is also mobile-responsive, meaning that students can view the course materials, interact with fellow students, and complete assignments from any mobile device.

Each course will run for nine (9) weeks, with a group of up to 30 students who will be supported by an experienced mentor. There will be no cost for the course, although students must meet certain pre-requisites to be eligible to participate, which are listed on the registration page.

To view the 2019 course schedule and to register:

http://www.arrl.org/online-course-registration

Emil Constantine, KC8HYK, became a Silent Key on February 3rd, 2019

Emil served many years as a Net Control Operator for the Ohio District 3 ARES Net.

He was a long time member of the Kettering Medical Center Amateur Radio Association (KMCARA) and was a founding member of the West Central Ohio Amateur Radio Association (WCOARA) when it was formed from the KMCARA in 2000.  He served on the WCOARA Board of Directors, was Chairman of the Science and Education Committee and held several other positions.

He was also active in supporting Public Service Events as well as the Amateur Radio point of contact for the Kettering Medical Center.

A memorial service for Emil has been scheduled to occur at 4pm on Saturday, 2 March 2019, at the Centerville Seventh-Day Adventist Church,  456 W. Spring Valley Pike.