From the ARRL Website:

09/21/2020

Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) volunteers will take part in the Department of Defense (DOD) Communications Exercise 20-4, starting on October 3 and concluding on October 26.

The MARS focus is interoperability with ARRL and the amateur radio community. “Throughout the month of October, MARS members will interoperate with various amateur radio organizations that will be conducting their annual simulated emergency tests with state, county, and local emergency management personnel,” said MARS Chief Paul English, WD8DBY.

“MARS members will send a DOD-approved message to the amateur radio organizations recognizing this cooperative interoperability effort.” MARS members will also train with the ARRL National Traffic System (NTS) and Radio Relay International (RRI) to send ICS 213 general messages to numerous amateur radio leaders across the US. “This exercise will culminate with MARS Auxiliarists sending a number of summary messages in support of a larger DOD communications exercise taking place October 20 – 26,” English added.

Throughout October, MARS stations will operate on 60 meters, and WWV/WWVH will broadcast messages to the amateur radio community. English assures no disruption to communications throughout the month-long series of training events.

ARLB022 5-MHz Interoperability Channels Designated for Wildfires and Hurricane Sally Response

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced that two 60-meter channels have been made available, as necessary, for interoperability between US Government stations and US amateur radio stations involved in emergency communications related to the wildland firefighting response in California, Oregon, and Washington, and to Hurricane Sally. These interoperability channels will remain active until the need for these channels no longer exists:

* Channel 1 – primary voice traffic 5332 kHz channel center, 5330.5 kHz USB voice.

* Channel 2 – digital traffic 5348 kHz channel center, 5346.5 kHz USB with 1.5-kHz offset to center of digital waveform.

Frequencies may be modified or added to by FEMA Region 10 for their area or operations due to existing 5-MHz/60-meter interoperability plans for their region.

Amateur radio is secondary on the 5-MHz band and should yield to operational traffic related to wildland firefighting and hurricane response. Although the intended use for these channels is interoperability between federal government stations and licensed US amateur radio stations, federal government stations are primary users and amateurs are secondary users.

The Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS – https://netcom.army.mil/mars/ ) is following FEMA’s lead on the interoperability channel designations for the wildfire and hurricane response. Army MARS Program Manager Paul English, WD8DBY, says he has alerted all MARS members of the FEMA channel designations and MARS members are prepared to support response efforts as needed.

The latest ARES E-Letter has been released.

In this issue:

• Amateurs Support Hurricane Laura Disaster Response
• Public Information Officers’ Key Role in Emergency/Disaster
• Former FEMA Administrator Advocates Using Mesh Networks for Disasters
• September is National Preparedness Month
• ARRL Learning Network Seeks Speakers on Emergency Communications

Congratulations to Elizabeth Klinc, KE8FMJ, who has been appointed as the Greene County Emergency Coordinator. She takes over from Henry Ruminski W8HJR.

N8QHV’s latest training was on the appointment of the ARRL’s new Director of Emergency Management.

See the complete training archive here.

The latest ARES E-Letter has been released.

In this issue:

• ARES® Top Stories, Briefs, Links
• Nationwide, Large Scale Red Cross Drill Success Summary
• New Winlink Form Submits DYFI Earthquake Data Directly to USGS Database
• ARES CONNECT Update: Connecting Amateur Radio Volunteers with a Purpose
• Letters: Convert Used Construction Light Towers to Tower Trailers
• Georgia ARES to Support American Red Cross Drill Simulates Shelter Operations During a Major Hurricane Strike
• K1CE for a Final: 2019 SET Results Review

From the June 2020 ARES E-Letter, comments of Ohio SEC Stan Broadway, N8BHL:

Stan Broadway, N8BHL, Ohio Section Emergency Coordinator, reported “We did well for the Red Cross exercise on May 30; we had more Winlink activity than expected. So we need to increase the penetration and use of Winlink along with/as a part of the Ohio Digital Emergency Network (OHDEN), which principally supports the Ohio state EOC, and our traffic nets.”

The Hamvention Executive Committee has been monitoring the COVID19 pandemic. We have worked very closely with our local and state health Departments.

It is with a very heavy heart the Hamvention Executive Committee has decided to cancel Hamvention for this year.

This decision is extremely difficult for us but with around two months until the Great Gathering we felt this action necessary.

More specific details regarding the closure will soon be posted on our website www.hamvention.org.

Thank you for your understanding in this time of International Crisis.

Jack Gerbs
General Chairman HV2020

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