[Alexandria Radio Club Reflector] FW: July 2015 Section Manager Report

Sat Jul 11 15:55:50 EDT 2015

Some info on ARES

-----Original Message-----
From: ARRL Members Only Web site [mailto:memberlist at www.arrl.org] 
Sent: Saturday, July 11, 2015 7:31 AM
To: N4ASX at cox.net
Subject: July 2015 Section Manager Report

Virginia Section Report 07/07/15

Virginia Section Mission Theme---“Moving Forward with Amateur Radio for our Future”

Well folks, summer is here and storm season is living up to its name.
Field day is over and while propagation was not as good as we hoped, everyone I/we visited had a great time.

Bill Morine, N2COP who is Vice Director of our Roanoke Division, and I spent Saturday, the first day of FD travelling to various FD sites to visit with all the hams, families, and club officers.  This was my first time doing this and it was a blast as well a very enlightening experience seeing all of equipment, antennas, installations, and power sourcing systems.  While this was only a small portion of FD operations in Virginia, I can honestly say, “Virginia Hams are Prepared for Emergencies”.

I/we wish to thank the following clubs, etc., who invited and met with
us:  Virginia Beach ARC, Chesapeake Amateur Radio Service, Western Tidewater Radio Assn, Southern Peninsula ARC, Peninsula ARC, Hampton Public Service team, Williamsburg area ARC, Richmond Amateur Radio Telecommunications Society, Richmond Amateur Radio Club, DDXG Club and ARES District 6. These are the clubs, etc., Bill and I visited together while we drove through the storms that were active in middle and eastern Virginia.  On Sunday Bill visited a few more club FD operations in Virginia alone as I had Ministry duties at church.

I must add that both Bill and I received many more invitations from all around the state.  Unfortunately, the hours, distances, and endurance did not allow us to visit with everyone. Please, be assured we will make additional efforts to visit with many of those next year who we could not visit year.

ARES News

We are making remarkable progress with our ARES program. Ed Krom, WD4KHP our SEC is working very diligently with his appointments to vacant DEC positions and with EC’s in vacant EC positions.

The following appointments have been made: KW6GB-Greg Butler-DEC 1, KI4LYP-Justin Wylie-EC Portsmouth, K4USS-Lee Philips-EC Clarke County (also OES), N1XP-Roger Pience-DEC 15, and K4OLW-Jeff Heavlin-EC Green County (also PIO).

Our “Virginia ARES Emergency Operations” plan is under final review now is expected to be presented to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management within the next 30 days.  This is a comprehensive logistical plan which has been needed for many years and now will be finally completed.  This will complement the MOU which was signed in 2008 between the State of Virginia and the ARRL.

As part of our ARES commitment, part of these plans are the recommendations for adoption of a standardized list of training courses which will provide all ARES members with at minimum a basic training schedule.  This will allow a member to move around the state and be accepted by any organization with the knowledge of him/her having a basic emergency communications certification.

VIRGINIA HAMFEST’s

August 1st         Roanoke Hamfest  2015,  Roanoke Valley Amateur Radio
 Club,  http://w4ca.com

August 2nd       65th Annual Berryville Hamfest, Shenandoah Valley
Amateur  Radio Club               http://www.shenvalarc.org/hamfest    

Setember12th   Virginia Beach Hamfest (Virginia Section Convention) ,
Tidewater Radio Conventions,  http://vbhamfest.com  

Glen Sage will be hosting an emergency communications forum at the Roanoke Hamfest and Ed and I will be participating with him to answer questions and discuss our Virginia Hams connection to the state EOC operations during declared emergencies .

As I noted in my earlier report, I hope to visit with as many clubs as possible in Virginia over the next several months.  I would like to extend a big thank you to the Virginia Beach ARC for recent invitation and opportunity to discuss our section and listen to ideas and answer questions from all members.

The Virginia ARES web site is up and running and lists of DEC and EC appointees and contact information is now available.  In addition, the web site is open to the general public, you do not need to be an ARES member to access this information. This site is separate from the ARRL site.

FCC & LEGISLATION

HR 1301 AMATEUR RADIO PARITY ACT OF 2015 – The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 – known as H.R.1301 – was introduced in the US House of Representatives on March 4th.  The Bill would require the FCC to amend its Part 97 Amateur Service rules to apply the three-part test of the
PRB-1 federal pre-emption policy to include homeowners' association regulations and deed restrictions, often referred to as "covenants, conditions, and restrictions" (CC&Rs).  At present, PRB-1 only applies to state and local zoning laws and ordinances.  The FCC has been reluctant to extend the same legal protections to include such private land-use agreements without direction from Congress.  H.R. 1301 was introduced by Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and as of March 28th, it has 31 co-sponsors, including Representative David Price (D-NC-4).  The Bill  has been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  Representative GrHeg Walden, W7EQI (R-OR), chairs that panel's Communications and Technology Subcommittee, which will consider the measure.  ARRL members are urged to contact their US House members and ask them to sign on to the bill as a co-sponsor.  For further information, see http://www.arrl.org/hr-1301 

FCC SEEKS COMMENT ON RADAR SHARING SCHEMES THAT COULD DISPLACE AMATEUR RADIO AT 76-81 GHZ (REMINDER) – The FCC is seeking comment on issues involving expanded use of various radar applications in the 76-81 GHz band, which Amateur Radio shares with other services.  For further information, see http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-seeks-comment-on-radar-sharing-schemes-that-could-displace-amateur-radio-at-76-81-ghz

ARRL ELECTIONS
Please be advised our Roanoke Division Director and Vice Director are up for election at this time. Be sure and cast your vote as soon as it is available.

Dr. Joe Palsa
K3WRY-ARRL Section Manager
804-350-2665
K3WRY at ARRL.ORG

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ARRL Virginia Section
Section Manager: Dr Joseph G Palsa, K3WRY k3wry at arrl.org
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