December 2024 presentation – Overview of the Incident Command System

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Have you ever wondered “Who is in charge?” when you see Police, Fire, and EMS personnel on scene at emergency? The answer is spelled out in the Incident Command System, or ICS. And because WCARES exists to serve Williamson County for emergency communications support, all of us should be familiar with this important system. Phil Sherrod (W4PHS) was our featured speaker at the December 2024 WCARES monthly meeting and gave this comprehensive overview of the Incident Command System.

November 2024 presentation – Portable Emergency Radio Kits (PERKs)

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In this video, Hilton Dean (W4GHD) walks you through the design and completion of the WCARES go-kits or PERKs, Portable Emergency Radio Kits.

The radio kits consist of a rack case of radio and power gear AND a separate Milwaukee PackOut rolling toolbox that contains the cabling, etc.

This presentation was recorded on November 16th, 2024, at the monthly WCARES meeting.

Apologies to Hilton for my assumption that he would be standing behind the lectern during his presentation. My camera position and lens choice were inappropriate for optimal capture of his presentation. However, I don’t think it detracts too much from his excellent talk. – Cliff (N4CCB)

October 2024 presentation – EZNEC Antenna Software

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In this video, Ted Edwards (W3TB) shows us how to get started with EZNEC by modeling a dipole. Several versions are created. This is a very good introduction to get you up-and-running quickly with EZNEC.

Ted finishes with a discussion of fractal antennas, with examples shown.

September 2024 presentation – Multimeter Usage in Ham Radio

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In this video, Tim Kreth (AD4CJ) explains the many uses of multimeters for Ham Radio enthusiasts. Embedded in this video is an informative short video from Fluke about True RMS and why it’s so important.

Recorded at the WCARES monthly meeting on Saturday, September 21st, 2024.

February 2025 presentation – The Williamson County Emergency Operations Center

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How does the Williamson County EOC actually operate during an emergency activation? There are many tables and computers, but how does it all come together to support the mission? Ed Hudgens (WB4RHQ) and Jeff Standifer (WB5WAJ) give us a great overview of how it works.

February 2025 presentation – Embracing Nature Using POTA

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Brian Hendrix (N0DBH) has been visiting parks almost every weekend and has thousands of POTA contacts from his activations. His presentation is packed with photos and information on what he takes and how he prepares.

WCARES Winter Field Day 2025 – video

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January 25th-26th, 2025
David Rogers shot and edited this brief video showing activity at the recent Winter Field Day event. Thanks, David!

January 2025 presentation – Introduction to Discord

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The WCARES Discord server has been nicely enhanced and organized for greater application to the WCARES group and beyond. In this presentation from the January 18th, 2025 WCARES Monthly Meeting, brothers Ryan (KN4VKW) and Blake (KN4VKY) Pearson gave an update on DISCORD and all it can do for us.

January 2025 presentation – Severe Weather / Storm Forecasting

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The featured presenter at our January 18th, 2025 WCARES Monthly meeting was Ryan Husted, National Weather Service Coordination Meteorologist in Nashville. Ryan has been with the NWS for over 16 years. His topic will interest all Skywarn enthusiasts: Severe Weather/Storm Forecasting in Middle Tennessee: Understanding the Watch and Warning process of the National Weather Service.

Special thanks to Paul Havlik (WD9IOK) who worked with NWS to schedule this presentation.

WCARES licensing classes 2025

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WCARES is again offering free classes to help prepare for the ARRL license exams for both the Technician (beginner) and General (intermediate) amateur radio licenses. The classes are open to everyone interested in getting their first license, upgrading or simply auditing the classes as a refresher.

You can find more details along with links to the sign-up forms here:
https://wcares.org/wcares-university/