WCARES Monthly Meeting

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The WCARES Monthly Meeting takes place the 3rd Saturday of every month with the possible exceptions of May (Hamvention) or August (Huntsville Hamfest) in which case it is held on the 2nd Saturday to allow members to attend those events.

We meet at the Williamson County Public Safety Building, located at:

304 Beasley Drive in Franklin, TN.

Meeting starts at 8AM in the EOC.  Members periodically give presentations covering a wide range topics including emergency communications,  propagation and antennas, operating techniques and best-practices, kit building, hardware and software, Winlink, weather, ARRL, new modes and more.  Upcoming events are also discussed.

Meet other WCARES members and learn more about WCARES and Amateur Radio.

WCARES Monthly Meeting

Written by

The WCARES Monthly Meeting takes place the 3rd Saturday of every month with the possible exceptions of May (Hamvention) or August (Huntsville Hamfest) in which case it is held on the 2nd Saturday to allow members to attend those events.

We meet at the Williamson County Public Safety Building, located at:

304 Beasley Drive in Franklin, TN.

DISCONTINUING REGULAR USE OF ZOOM

Beginning with our November 2024 monthly meeting, we have discontinued use of ZOOM during our meetings. We are not going to be routinely broadcasting our meeting. Future meetings will be an in-person meeting.

Meeting starts at 8AM in the EOC.  Members periodically give presentations covering a wide range topics including emergency communications,  propagation and antennas, operating techniques and best-practices, kit building, hardware and software, Winlink, weather, ARRL, new modes and more.  Upcoming events are also discussed.

Meet other WCARES members and learn more about WCARES and Amateur Radio.

WCARES Monthly Meeting

Written by

The WCARES Monthly Meeting takes place the 3rd Saturday of every month with the possible exceptions of May (Hamvention) or August (Huntsville Hamfest) in which case it is held on the 2nd Saturday to allow members to attend those events.

We meet at the Williamson County Public Safety Building, located at:

304 Beasley Drive in Franklin, TN.

DISCONTINUING REGULAR USE OF ZOOM

Beginning with our November 2024 monthly meeting, we have discontinued use of ZOOM during our meetings. We are not going to be routinely broadcasting our meeting. Future meetings will be an in-person meeting.

Meeting starts at 8AM in the EOC.  Members periodically give presentations covering a wide range topics including emergency communications,  propagation and antennas, operating techniques and best-practices, kit building, hardware and software, Winlink, weather, ARRL, new modes and more.  Upcoming events are also discussed.

Meet other WCARES members and learn more about WCARES and Amateur Radio.

Updated sign up link for Siren Test Monitoring

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There is a new link for the Siren Test Monitoring sign up page and you can find this in the updated Event calendar entry here:

https://wcares.org/events/siren-test-monitoring/

SET 2024 – UPDATE (PSC parking changes) – WCARES Simulated Emergency Test Tomorrow 11/ 02 /2024

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PSC parking for tomorrow

They will be painting parking stripes in the PSC visitor parking area tomorrow. If you are participating in the SET deployment you will need to park in the employee parking.

1 Go Past Charlie Meeks Blvd to end of CulDeSac
2 Turn right on driveway heading north
3 Go to end of drive and park.

Talk In: use the WCARES repeater for talk in if needed.
Alternative contact the EC Jeff Schwartz by phone at 860-235-5030

Please read the below information carefully for instructions relating to the SET Exercise. You may download a copy of the instructions here.

There are three ways for you to participate in the SET:

1 Come to the Williamson County Public Safety Building Saturday morning at 07:00 and participate in person. No need to register or sign up.
2 As a mobile station.
3 Check In to the SET from your home.

Mobile Stations – You will drive to different communities (e.g. Franklin, Fairview, Nolensville, etc.) and give Command Net Control your name, call sign, location and a weather report. Please visit as many communities as you can and check in with Command at each stop. The exercise net will be opened at 08:00 for mobile station check-in and will be asked to secure at 10:00.
Home Stations – The net will open up at 10:30 for check-in by those operating from home. Please provide your name, call sign, location, and a weather report to Command.

*** REMEMBER TO BEGIN AND END ALL MESSAGES WITH “THIS IS AN EXERCISE”***

2024 SET SIT REP
THIS IS AN EXERCISE – THIS IS AN EXERCISE – THIS IS AN EXERCISE

Friday November 1st 2024
Williamson County and its surrounding areas have been affected by the remnants of Hurricane Jeffrey, which moved through as a Tropical Depression on Thursday night. Reports indicate that high winds have damaged cell towers and caused numerous trees and power lines to fall. Flooding risks are also increasing, with the Cumberland, Duck, and Harpeth rivers approaching record flood levels. The combination of flooding and high winds has led to widespread outages of cell phone networks and most internet service providers in the county.

Williamson County EMA (WCEMA) has asked WCARES for assistance. Our activity begins on November 2nd at 09:00, when we will establish communications at several WCEMA-selected sites. WCARES will collaborate with WCEMA staff to create a vital link between these locations and the Williamson County Emergency Operations Center. We will be among the first teams deployed to ensure reliable communications are set up quickly before WCEMA sends assets to the affected areas.

Please report to the Williamson County Public Safety Building at 07:00 on Saturday morning, November 2nd, for more information and to receive your assignments. Be prepared for a six-hour deployment and ensure you are fully self-sufficient, as the sites will lack public utilities and cell/internet service. WCEMA is working to provide generator power at each site, but those generators have not yet been deployed.

THIS IS AN EXERCISE – THIS IS AN EXERCISE – THIS IS AN EXERCISE
—————————————————————————————————————

***Be sure to have a copy of the WCARES Emergency Operations Plan with you***

*** REMEMBER TO BEGIN AND END ALL MESSAGES WITH “THIS IS AN EXERCISE”***

August 2024 presentation – Ham Clock overview

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Randy Moore (KK4SRO) gives an overview of the software-based Ham Clock by Clear Sky Institute
( https://www.clearskyinstitute.com/ham/HamClock/ )

July 2024 presentation – Understanding Weather Radar

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As amateur radio operators involved in weather spotting, many of us use free or low cost weather radar apps. But weather radar can be a complex tool. Meteorologist Davis Nolan will join us by Zoom to give us insights beyond basic viewing to properly interpret as we weather spot. Davis has been forecasting weather for over 42 years on Channel 2 WKRN-TV, and is one of the few broadcast meteorologists in the nation to earn “Certified Consulting Meteorologist” from the American Meteorological Society. Paul WD9IOK is coordinating this presentation, the third he has coordinated this year on weather-related topics.

July 2024 presentation – Antennas at the PSC

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In this video, Cliff Batson takes the mystery out of the antennas and antenna routing at the Williamson County Public Safety Center… the HQ of WCARES.

Recorded on July 20th, 2024 after his presentation during the July 2024 WCARES monthly meeting.

WCARES Field Day 2024

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2024 Field Day
June 22-23

Where: 
3000 BrightStone Pkwy
Franklin, TN 37064
Click here to see the location on Google Maps

May 2024 presentation – Tornado Observing and Safety

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In this presentation, Ron Howes (KD4MV) and Paul Havlik (WD9IOK) provide outstanding education on the lifecycle of tornados, examples of local tornados, cloud identification, and best practices for safe observation of tornados. Recorded during the WCARES monthly meeting on May 11th, 2024.