It’s been really great getting to meet all of the new licensees and rag chewing on the repeater. A number of people have approached me to ask the question – “What’s next? How can I get more involved with WCARES?”

Here are a few points to set you on the right path.

Study The Website

There is a lot of great information on the website contributed by members. Spend an hour just surfing the site paying specific attention to the Members Only area.  If you’re new and having trouble accessing parts of the website please email webmaster@wcares.org.

Print and Read The Emergency Ops Plan

The emergency operations plan has been created to serve as the official WCARES plan of action when dealing with a disaster or emergency. There is a lot of great information about frequencies, policies and procedures that pertain directly to WCARES members and volunteers. It’s very important that you have a printed copy of this plan in the event that a disaster disrupts Internet service.

For members the document can be found here.

Check Into A Net

The WCARES net meets every Monday night at 7pm central. Listen in to the net and wait for the appropriate time to check-in. If you are an active member of WCARES your name should be called during the roster check-in. Alternatively there is an opportunity for anyone (member or non-member) to check in at various times.

Participate in Net Activities

Serving as shadow backup for net control will be a big help and also give you good training for net procedures. It’s very easy and very important to WCARES as an organization.  Once you’ve gotten your feet wet and put in some time as a shadow backup – you can step up and run your own net.

Further Your HAM Education

Remember that there are 3 license classes and if you’ve just gotten your Technician license then you still have an opportunity to get your General class license and your Amateur Extra class license.  There are dozens of highly experienced Elmer’s in WCARES that can help explain and offers hands on training in almost any area of amateur radio.

The Incident Command System

During an emergency WCARES will follow the Incident Command System. ICS was developed at the Federal level and is a set of procedures and rules that are necessary to create an effective chain of command and efficient flow of communication from the man on the ground to the top level decision makers.

It’s suggested that all WCARES members begin by passing ICS-100, ICS-200, ICS-700 and ICS-800 before moving on to other components of ICS study.  Proof of a passing grade in all four of these ICS courses will be required for certain activities within WCARES.  These classes are free and available online only.

Volunteer For WCARES Activities

Throughout the year there are dozens of volunteer opportunities that are fun and effective in honing your skills as a radio operator.

• Field Day – A 24 hour exercise which involves the entire country and gives you an opportunity to go hands on in a high-paced communication simulation.
• Races – There are numerous foot and bike races that give you an opportunity to be in a fixed location or mobile in a vehicle.  You will be assigned a position and a specific set of criteria for the communications that you will pass to net control.
• Organizational Activities – you can help with Chew & Chats, severe weather watches, on the antenna team, mobile installation team or one of many WCARES “pods” that are helpful in the local community.

Check the website calendar to see a list of upcoming events that you can volunteer for.

Become A SkyWarn Trained Weather Spotter

SkyWarn is a group of over 20,000 trained weather watchers that are educated on what qualifies weather as severe and how to communicate with local responders and become a helpful member of the weather spotting community.  In middle Tennessee we are subject to seasonal thunderstorms frequently activate a severe weather net.  SkyWarn training is essential in being an effective member of the local weather response community.

In Closing

Being an active WCARES member can be very rewarding on many levels. Investing just a little time and energy will yield high rewards in knowledge and friendship as you gain responsibilities within the organization.

-KJ4YJG ( kj4yjg@wcares.org )

See the Scientific American article here.

Tired of accidentally engaging your Yaesu FT-8800 Internet and broadcasting it’s tone to the whole repeater community?  Well – so are we.  But don’t fret, now there’s an easy way to disengage that annoying beep once and for all.

You can follow the instructions in this pdf.

From our Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator for Middle Tennessee, Paul, N4AAN:

“I have been thinking of ways to further enhance communication among ARES membership in Middle Tennessee.  Toward that goal, I have created a Yahoo group,

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/midtennares/

The group is open to all ARES members in Middle Tennessee.  To join send an E-mail to:  midtennares-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or visit the website.  I hope you all choose to join.  It is an excellent tool for keeping informed and for expressing ideas.”

The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) Special Committee on the Future of Shortwave Broadcasting foresees a dim outlook for the medium. The Committee in 2014 released its assessment of the current and projected use of shortwave radio as a platform for programming by US international media.

“United States international media must optimize delivery by audience/market,” one main finding concluded. “While there is still a critical need for shortwave in key countries, it is a medium of marginal and continuously declining impact in most markets.” The report said that even in countries where shortwave radio will enjoys significant usage levels, “audiences will migrate to other platforms as they become more accessible.”
Among other things, the Committee reviewed audience-based research, including analysis of user experiences and user choices, as well as opportunities and limits of the medium. It also examined “the characteristics and listening experience of shortwave users in the BBG’s target markets, the use of shortwave radio by the BBG’s networks, the networks’ relative success in reaching their target audiences through shortwave, and the costs of operating the BBG’s shortwave transmitting facilities.”
The panel recommended that the Broadcasting Board of Governors take “an aggressive approach to reduce or eliminate shortwave broadcasts where there is either minimal audience reach or the audience is not a target audience based on the BBG’s support of US foreign policy.”
The report said that its evidence suggested that declining use of shortwave radio is primarily due to the availability of high-quality content on “preferred platforms” such as AM and FM radio, podcasts, and mobile streaming, which are more widely used for audio consumption.
The committee found that shortwave use does not increase during times of crisis. “Audiences continue to use their existing platforms (TV, FM, and the Internet) or seek out anti-censorship tools, including online firewall circumvention, private chat software, flash drives, and DVDs to access content,” the report said.
The report also said that shortwave radio was “a relatively expensive platform to operate and maintain” and that digital shortwave radio (ie, Digital Radio Mondiale or DRM) “is unlikely to become an established mass media distribution methodology in enough of the BBG’s current or future markets to justify the costs.”
The committee said it largely supports the reductions in shortwave radio broadcasts previously approved by the Board. Those include recent cutbacks in a number of Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Radio Free Asia broadcasts. But, the committee added that given the current situation in Ukraine and nearby states with significant Russian-speaking populations, it recommended that the BBG revise its fiscal year 2014 operating plan to ensure that “shortwave broadcasts in Russian to Russia and the Caucasus be continued at current levels, subject to re-evaluation during FY16 budget formulation processes.”

If you own a Kenwood TM-D710, TH-D72, Yaesu FTM-400D, FT-1D, Icom IC-2828DG, or ID-92 and you want to add the ability to view received packets on a Google Map or Offline Street Map (OSM), there is an Android app out there to help you. It’s called W2APRS and it’s not available on the Google Play Store. If you’re interested in learning more, follow this link:

http://www.qsl.net/ja7ude/SmartPhone/w2aprs/indexe.html

While I haven’t used this app (I don’t have one of the listed radios), I thought I’d pass this along for those who do.

Take it from me. If you can’t see the APRS world around you, you’re missing out on some of the fun of amateur radio.

Dallas Clements, K7DCC