[HIham] SM Report

[Ron Hashiro]

 From Bob Schneider, AH6J


September SM Report 2007

As we come up to the end of 2007, many clubs are doing elections. Please 
let the SM know who the new officers of your club are.

Early in September ARRL HQ tried an experiment by sending test messages 
by internet in an attempt to find out how effective and quickly the 
messages got through however it didn’t work too well. Some test messages 
didn’t get through and some were very late. Even though the test didn’t 
go well it was successful in terms of showing the weakness. Some servers 
rejected the messages as spam and some addresses were not up to date. 
Further study may work out some of the kinks.

On September 13^th Hurricane Humberto, a category 1 storm, came ashore 
in Texas and continued inland. ARES groups were quickly activated. It 
was the first hurricane to make landfall in the US in two years. The 
problem is that it developed suddenly so there was very little warning. 
This should be a warning to us in the Pacific. Hurricane season does not 
officially end until November first and storms can come up quickly here 
too. After November 1^st we are not completely out of danger either 
since Hurricanes can’t read.

ARRL had a Pacific Division Teleconference on September 13^th . There 
was SMs Ti-Michelle Connelly, NJ6T (East Bay); Bob Schneider, AH6J 
(Pacific); Ron Murdock, W6KJ (Sacramento Valley); Bill Hillendahl, 
KH6GJV (San Francisco); Charles McConnell, W6DPD (San Joaquin Valley); 
Bill Dale, N2RHV (Santa Clara Valley). Also on the call were 
Headquarters staff members Dennis Dura, K2DCD, Chuck Skolaut, K0BOG, 
Katie Breen, W1KRB, and Steve Ewald, WV1X. The main subject discussed 
was how to improve communications between HQ staff, Directors and SM’s . 
The other main subject was planning for Pacificon the weekend of October 
19, 20 & 21. The conference started at 9PM EDST which is 3PM HST. The 
conference was over at 10PM EDST which is 4PM HST and 7PM PDST.

On September 12^th at 12:20 PM there was an 8.2 earthquake near 
Indonesia. This was followed by many major aftershocks. There was no 
Pacific Wide tsunami but there were some local waves. This is just 
another reminder about the possible dangers that can cause us problems.

Saturday, September 15^th , was the 61^st Aloha Festival Parade and an 
air show featuring the USAF Thunderbirds that performed off Waikiki 
Beach. Volunteer Amateur Radio operators helped provide communications 
for the parade.

Also on September 15^th there was the first “Movers and Shakers” meeting 
in Hilo on the Island of Hawaii. Fifteen invited Amateur Radio Leaders 
met and discussed happenings and problems in the Pacific Section. The 
main emphasis was on the various aspects of emergency communications and 
how to improve it. Specific subjects were weather, the Big Island 
repeater system, the Maui repeater system, HF nets, Healthcom, Voice 
over IP, supported agencies and future plans. Other ARRL matters were 
also discussed. Thanks go to all that participated and especially to 
Harvey Motomura, AH6JA, that provided the HCC electronic shop and 
classroom where the meeting was held.

Guam did testing September 21 and Carter Davis, KH6FV, visited to help 
upgrade the IRLP links there.

Kauai ARC participated in the “General Atomics Science Show”. This is 
primarily for 4^th to 6^th graders and is a good way to introduce young 
people to various technical fields. On Saturday September 22^nd there 
will be a special presentation called Together We Prepare at the Kukui 
Grove Shopping Center, Kauai. Thanks WH6KS

State CD had a SET on September 29^th . Ron Hashiro, AH6RH, State RACES 
coordinator, State CD Warning officer and ARRL EC coordinated State 
RACES with ongoing ARES operations. Russell conducted the Oahu SET with 
a DEM on linked repeaters and simplex. There were not a lot of check ins 
and HF bands were bad. NH7UA managed to pass one message to SCD.

ARRL HQ has not specified one date for the 2007 SET so Hawaii will have 
three. State had one on September 29^th . Saturday October 6^th will be 
primarily for the Big Island and October 13^th is the “official” 
statewide SET. The state RACES system, HF, the BIWARN system and simplex 
will be used. The general rule is to pass traffic off the main 
frequencies. Net control will direct stations to QSY as appropriate.

The Oct 6-7 Big Island SET scenario will be (surprise!): a magnitude 6.7 
earthquake has just hit off Kiholo Bay, and power is off and cell phone 
service is clogged. Some roads are blocked with boulders, and some 
bridges are damaged. No fatalities. There are many homes with light to 
heavy damage. (If this sounds familiar, it is exactly what happened last 
year.) Norm Cohler, NH7UA, will be NCS on HF. The State RACES system 
(147.02, 04, 06+) will be primary with BIWARN as secondary. It starts 
1000W after the Healthcom net.

Saturday October 6: Emergency ARC/Koolau ARC Swap Meet on Oahu. Testing 
will be available. It is at Aiea Elementary School – 99-370 Moanalua Rd. 
Honolulu from 8AM to noon. Guest Bob Schneider, AH6J, Hawaii's ARRL 
Pacific Section Manager, and
the KH6 Card Bureau, hosted by EARC. Contact Kevin Bogan, AH6QO. Talk in 
146.88(-) Here are links to the updated Swap Meet flyer & directions: 
http://www.karc.net/SwapMeet/Flyer.htm 
<http://www.karc.net/SwapMeet/Flyer.htm> and 
http://www.karc.net/SwapMeet/DrivingInstructions.html 
<http://www.karc.net/SwapMeet/DrivingInstructions.html> .
DXCC/WAS card-checking - John Peters, K1ER. Contact info can be found on 
the flyer link above. There are very specific rules & instructions - 
please contact John to find out what they are before bringing your cards.

EQUATORIAL GUINEA, 3C. Operators (our own) Fred Honnold, KH7Y, EA5BRE, 
EA5YN and EA5BYP are QRV as 3C7Y from Bioko Island, IOTA AF-010, until 
October 14. Activity is on all bands and modes with two stations. QSL 
via EA5BYP.

Saturday October 13^th is the Kona Emergency Preparedness fair sponsored 
by Kona Ward LDS church.

Saturday October 13^th 2007 is the scheduled statewide Simulated 
Emergency Test however part of the Kona ARC will be supporting Iron man 
on October 13th. Since October 13^th is the statewide SET part of the 
Big Island will use the race as their "emergency." The rest of us will 
be supporting State CD.

Saturday October 20^th is the ARRL Big Island International Hamfest in 
Waimea (Kamuela) It will be at the Waimea Community Center from 10AM to 
3PM. Doors open at 9AM for set up. It is sponsored by the Big Island 
ARC, Kona ARS and the Kohala-Hamakua RC. The event is free however 
donations will be accepted to offset costs. Sellers are asked for a 10% 
donation of their sales. There will be no commercial exhibits. There 
will be ARRL sponsored Amateur Radio License tests given. Talk in on the 
BIWARN system. ((Kona) 147.16+, (Waimea) 147.32+, (Hilo) 146.82-, 
(Volcano) 146.76-, (Kau) 146.92- and sometimes (Maui) 146.94-)

Thanks KH7T/AH6J

Pacificon will October 19^th , 20^th and 21^st in San Ramon, California. 
See http://www.PACIFICON.org <http://www.PACIFICON.org> for details.

Saturday October 27^th is the Kauai United Way Walk-a-Thon. Thanks WH6KS

A member from Guam asked about the availability of equipment insurance 
on September 7^th and was told by both an underwriter and ARRL official 
that coverage is not available in Guam even though the ARRL web site and 
insurance company website clearly state the “plan is available to all 
members of the ARRL who reside in the United States, its territories and 
possessions”. Upon further inquiry it was claimed the insurance company 
(in this case AIG) is not licensed to write this particular insurance in 
Guam. The websites were supposed to be corrected. Upon further checking 
neither website has been updated.