WCARES Virtual Monthly Meeting April 2020

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WCARES held its first Virtual Monthly Meeting this morning via the ZOOM platform. There were 54 attendees!

Here is a link to a recording of the video: https://youtu.be/PXWY7x_6jnk

Contents:
0:05 Greeting

0:48 Announcements
– Every Tuesday morning on-the-air meetup
9am 6m: 50.125 MHz
10am 17m: 18.150 MHz
11am 800: 3.980 MHz
– This coming Monday night: 6m Alter-Net
– Mike Lee – SK (Obituary: https://williamsonsource.com/obituary-michael-joseph-lee/)
– 2019 ARRL CW Sweepstakes – N4FR 1st place Delta Division

2:50 Presentation by Ed Hudgens – How WCARES Assists the Williamson County EMA

10:04 Presentation by Laura Marler – The WCARES SKYWARN Net

38:08 Field Day 2020
Plans are up-in-the-air but we have several options…

WCARES holds a FD competition among its members
We work FD by remoting into the EOC radios
We work FD as normal, with members screened for health beforehand

Ed Hudgens will make a decision next month on how WCARES will conduct Field Day 2020

Stay Safe,
Cliff (N4CCB)

Canceled events and sources of information

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Updated Friday March 27, 2020

Canceled WCARES and related events

Due to concerns over the potential risk of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) infection spread by group gatherings, our EC, Ed Hudgens, WB4RHQ has made the decision to cancel the March 21st monthly meeting.

Self-isolation is currently considered a best-practice for reducing the risk of infection and may be key in slowing the virus so as not to overwhelm our medical infrastructure.

This may be a good time to stay in touch with each other using our local repeater system. If anyone becomes ill and needs groceries or other items dropped off at your doorstep, please reach out. We’re all in this together.

Please also note that the informal weekly Chew & Chat has been canceled until further notice and that the Hamvention Executive Committee has decided to cancel Hamvention for 2020.

Sources of information:

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has established the COVID-19 Unified Command Hub to streamline coordination across the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), Tennessee Department of Health and Tennessee Department of Military. This page provides information, maps and resources about the coronavirus response in Tennessee, symptoms and recommendations:

https://www.tn.gov/unifiedcommand.html

Williamson Co. COVID-19 Related Closures, Resources & Procedures:

https://www.williamsoncounty-tn.gov/1876/Covid-19-County-Closures-Procedures

Williamson Co. Office of Public Safety status:

http://www.williamsonready.org/266/Coronavirus-Disease

Tennessee Department of Health information related to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) can be found here:

https://www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov.html

See the CDC for more information on the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19):

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/

and steps to prevent illness, to protect yourself and others:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/prevention.html

How do antenna tuners work?

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Dave, KI4PSR gave the Technical talk at the February Monthly Meeting with the first in a series of presentations on antenna tuners.

In this first installment Dave covered the basics of antenna tuners and dispelled some myths (a tuner does not improve the radiation efficieny of the antenna.) An overview of reactance concepts, reactive matching and an introduction to L-network tuner configurations were next followed up with a brief demonstration.

Dave says this presentation was inspired by the work of Davide, IZ2UUF

https://www.iz2uuf.net/wp/index.php/2019/03/22/how-does-a-tuner-tune/

and provided a link to one of IZ2UUF’s youtube videos on tuner losses:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmVMQbXmaHA .

Dave’s presentation is here:

https://wcares.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KI4PSR_HOW_DOES_AN_ANTENNA_TUNER_WORK.pdf

along with pictures of his demonstration setup:

Delta Division – a presentation by WCARES EC

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WCARES EC Ed Hudgens, WB4RHQ gave the ARES Presentation at February’s Monthly Meeting.

The Tennessee Section of the ARRL is one of 71 sections in the United States and is part of the Delta Division which also includes Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Ed gave an overview of the ARRL Divisions and Sections, the Delta Division and spoke about Division and Section nets, how the Sections coordinate during emergency events.

Ed announced a new division initiative to promote amateur radio through local libraries. Outreach to Williamson County libraries will include donations of ARRL book packages such as handbooks, license manuals and related materials and offers to host meetings about amateur radio and WCARES.

Ed’s Delta Division presentation includes more information (PDF)

Ed also talked about a recent presentation he gave at a meeting of the Cumberland Plateau Amateur Radio Club, CPARC. Dudley Pitts, KM4IYQ, past member of WCARES is now the CPARC club president. Ed spoke about WCARES and the Williamson Co. EMA, how the ARRL sees ARES evolving and some of the initiatives Ed has started during his tenure as WCARES Emergency Coordinator (EC).

Ed’s presentation to the CPARC meeting (PDF)

ARES – an introduction by WB5WAJ

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At the January Monthly Meeting, Jeff Standifer, WB5WAJ (WCARES EC Jan 2016 – Dec 2017) gave a presentation on ARES, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service and how it applies to WCARES.

Jeff’s presentation included an overview of ARES along with some discussion about how WCARES is organized and what training WCARES members should be completing.

Cliff, N4CCB recorded a video of the presentation. You can find this and a copy of the presentation at the links below:

Video of the presentation

Presentation PDF