July 2014 MAINE ARES SEC Newsletter The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) is affilaited with the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) www.arrl.org PREPARE PROMOTE PLAY! Introductory newsletter from Maine s new ARRL ARES Section Emergency Coordinator - Phil Duggan, N1EP To all Maine amateur radio operators: My name is Phil Duggan, N1EP and I reside in Milbridge, Washington County. Our new Section Manager, Bill Crowley K1NIT, has appointed me as the Section Emergency Coordinator. First, I would like to thank my predecessors, including John Goran K1JJS, Bryce Rumery K1GAX, and all the others who committed their time and effort into maintaining the Maine ARES Program. Thank you also to all the DECs, ECs, and ARES members and all who volunteer in Public Service Events in Maine. A few guiding principles will be my focus as I join you in the public service forum. 1. Let s put more FUN into our training and exercise activities. Help me brainstorm and plan some fun events to go along with our mission. Unless it is a true emergency that calls us into action, fun should be a priority. Cookouts, contests, special events, JOTA, and of course Field Day AND Winter Field Day. Bring food and hams will come! 2. KISS principle - Keep It Simple Sam? Especially for this year, I think simplifying training and exercises will help us focus on our basic emergency communications skills. Later on we can plan and execute more comprehensive exercises, such as joining in multi-agency exercises, but our role in them should still adhere to the KISS principle. 3. As my favorite ham radio motto states above: Prepare - Promote - Play! By checking into ARES and Traffic nets, and General Class at Age 10 Cherryfield ham Abby Merritt worked ARRL Kids Day on 20M, and enjoyed checking into the Maine Sea Gull Net 3940khz June 21! [1]
NET SPOTLIGHT Jerry Burns K1GUP Sea Gull Net Manager since April of 1973 attending training seminars, we continue the ongoing PREPARATIONS that help hone our communication skills. Improving skills can be more than that though. Trying unfamiliar modes of operations, joining in a contest such as the Maine QSO Party or New England QSO Party, and experimenting with antennas all make us better and more knowledgeable operators. Every one of us should PROMOTE amateur radio at every opportunity. Tell the young, old, and in-between. You just might spark that first interest in our great hobby inside a potential new ham. The more people that obtain their licenses, the larger the pool of operators ARES can dip into. Lastly, PLAY has multiple meanings. Obviously, the play we engage in while operating our equipment and participating in the wide variety of modes and frequencies available to us is just plain FUN. We also need to be team players with our ARES groups (and NTS) and join in as many activities as we can. Of course, family and work comes first, as always. But as a member of our team, try and be active in nets, drills, training, and exercise opportunities. Not only will your skills improve, but you will form a bond with a great group of people. Take the Maine Sea Gull Net, for instance. I enjoy checking in regularly, not only to practice relaying radiograms, but to hear what my SGN friends days have been like. This year s Bangor Hamfest in Hermon was one of my favorites because I got to have an eyeball with several SGN regulars, whom I otherwise rarely see in person. So, if you want to join in a rewarding public service where our skills can really make a difference during or after a disaster, and have loads of fun, and form lasting friendships during the normal day-to-day operations and training opportunities, then fill out the Maine ARES membership form and send it to me. Any licensed amateur radio operator is eligible to join ARES. We would love to have you join the team! The Value of Being Prepared "We did not anticipate that airliners would be commandeered and turned into guided missiles; but the fact that we practiced for other kinds of disasters made us far more prepared to handle a catastrophe that nobody envisioned." Rudolph W. Giuliani, former mayor of New York City John Huffman, K1ESE Another regular check-in and net control station AND the Maine Section Traffic Manager! ARES & Other Nets (Visit http://www.arrl.org/sections/view/maine for a more complete list of nets) More regulars: (L-R) K1HHC, KB1ORM, AF1L Maine Sea Gull Net 2014 is the Diamond Jubilee 75th Anniversary of the founding of the net. General class or higher hams can check in Monday through Saturday at 1700 (5PM) local on 3.940 kilocycles LSB. Look for special nets throughout the year making tributes to years and hams of the past! Maine Public Service Net, Sundays at 0900 on 3940 kilocycles LSB. 12-County Emergency Net, Sundays around 0930 immediately after the Maine Public Service Net ends. KQ1L linked system, incl 146.820, 146.850, 146.880 (all minus offset and 100PL) and some other repeaters. See www.kq1l.com for complete list and details. Maine HF Emergency Net, Sundays, 1630 on 3940 kilocycles LSB. Maine Slow Speed Net (Cw Traffic), M - F at 1800 on 3585 Kilocycles. Hancock County EMCOMM Net, Tuesdays 1900 on 146.910- (PL 151.4) Androscoggin ARES/RACES Net Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. on the 146.610 MHz (no PL) repeater. Backup frequency 146.460 MHz simplex. [2]
Cherryfield Family All Hams Dan Merritt, KF5FKO, moved his family from Oklahoma back to his native home in Cherryfield, Maine a while back. A desire to stay in contact with wife, Rachel, and 10-year-old daughter, Abby, while Dan was at work or away motivated them all to attend a VE Session in April where Dan upgraded to General Class, and Rachel and Abbey earned their Technician Class tickets. Just a few weeks later, Mom and daughter joined Dad as General class hams when they successfully upgraded. With three generals in the home, it resembles the Pentagon! At ten years old, Abbey has got to be one of the youngest, if not youngest, general class hams in Maine. She is not mic-shy either. She has already worked some European DX as well as stateside HF contacts, and checks in every week to local club and ARES/EMCOMM VHF nets. During ARRL Kids Day last month, Rachel and her friend Randi checked into the Maine Sea Gull Net. Abby might just have started something in her area of Washington County, as a couple other youngsters are thinking about studying for their ham radio tickets. Maybe there will eventually be enough of them to have a kids net on the local frequencies! SECTION MUGS June 21st was ARRL Kids Day and 12-year-old Randi Bolen (center) checked into the Maine Sea Gull Net, as did Abby Merritt KC1BKR (age 10). Net Control was Randi s Grandpa N1EP (right) Section Leadership KIDS DAY on the Sea Gull Net! Our Maine ARES team will be working close with the leaders pictured above. Top: Section Manager Bill Crowley, K1NIT Middle: Government Liaison Rod Scribner KA1RFD Rod is also the Net Manager of the 12-County Emergency Net held Sundays on the KQ1L linked repeater system. The net starts around 9:30am after the Maine Public Service Net on 3940 khz secures. We will also be working closely with Section Traffic Manager John Huffman K1ESE, pictured on page 2. [3]
SECTION MANAGER From the Shack of K1NIT COMING EVENTS Tour of State EOC for SEC/DECs/ECs There will be a tour of the Maine Emergency Operations Center in Augusta on July 23 at 10AM for the Section Emergency Coordinator and DECs/ECs, followed by an ARES meeting and lunch. DECs/ECs planning on attending should RSVP Phil N1EP n1ep@arrl.net Welcome to the Team! Thank you for stepping up to be part of Maine s public service/ emergency response network. It is folks like you who make amateur radio operators shine, and in fact, carry out the basic purpose of the service, as established by Congress back in 1939. I have the utmost confidence in Phil, N1EP, and his choices for DECs and ECs. Our goals are to have an EC in every county, and as you read this, we are very close to accomplishing that end. I know that your experience, whether it be in ham radio, emergency management, public safety, or military operations, will greatly enhance our ability to respond when needed, and to help out with public service events when asked. Again, thank you for agreeing to be part of the team. I look forward to working with you. 73, Bill, K1NIT Maine Section Manager Maine HF Emergency Communications Net All ARES members with General Class privileges are encouraged to check into the Maine HF Emergency Communications Net on Sundays at 1630 on the 75 meter band. The frequency is 3940 khz. The primary purpose of the net is for the ARES leadership to coordinate plans and share Maine ARES informations, and also to conduct brief training sessions that could benefit all those interested in emergency communications. It is not a ragchew net, so please keep your comments brief and related to public service communications. Saturday - Aug 9 8:00 AM to Noon American Legion Post 41 18 West Main St, Milo VE Exams, Prizes, Great Stuff! ARES meeting with SEC (All Are Welcome!) Maine Simulated Emergency Test Saturday, October 18 Details coming soon... Remember that no one individual or net owns a frequency, so if you don t hear net communications on 3940 khz, check a few kilocycles up and down for the MECN. The net might have moved because the frequency was busy. (If the net control operator breaks into an ongoing conversation at net time, and uses good manners and operating practices, most hams will gladly relinquish the frequency for a routine EmComm net. However, if they do not, it is no big deal to find a nearby clear frequency for the net.) We also have an alternate HF meeting place on 40 meters 7262 khz. I would like to try that frequency on occasion to see how it suits our needs. For optimum net communications, check-ins should be using a horizontally polarized antenna, such as a dipole, set up as NVIS - Near Vertical Incidence Skywave. Try to avoid using a vertical antenna if possible. In addition to your local ARES/EmComm net, when time permits, all ARES members are also encouraged to check into the Sunday morning 12-County Emergency Net about 0930 on the KQ1L linked Repeater System for ARES-related announcements & other info. [4]
First Name or Nickname: Call Sign: Maine ARES/RACES Registration Form (Please fill out and sign in ink.) Last Name: License Class: License Expiration Date: Street Address: City: County: State: ZIP Code: Work Phone: ( ) Home Phone: ( ) Pager: ( ) Cell ( E- Mail Address: 2 nd E- Mail Address: Please indicate the bands and modes that you can support with your personal equipment, using the following symbols: F = fixed/base, M = mobile, P = portable, H = handheld (use as many in each box as apply) ) Mode 160M 80M 40M 20M 15M 10M 6M 2M 1.4M 70cm 23cm other Voice CW SSB RTTY AMTOR PACTOR PSK31 Packet SSTV APRS Response- Related Information: Would you be willing to travel to another county to assist in their response? Y N Member of other Amate ur Radio special interest groups (e.g., MARS, Red Cross, Salvation Army)?: Y N? Y N : Y N If yes, : CERT Member? Y N If yes, Team or Neighborhood: Signature of Applicant: Date: [5]