[W1SMH] Fw: Reminder: May 1st, 2023 MEMA RACES/ACS Communications Test Net

Sun Apr 30 18:37:19 EDT 2023

Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS

Begin forwarded message:

On Sunday, April 30, 2023, 5:57 PM, wc1mab at gmail.com <wc1mab at gmail.com> wrote:

<!--#yiv3820118951 filtered {}#yiv3820118951 filtered {}#yiv3820118951 filtered {}#yiv3820118951 filtered {}#yiv3820118951 filtered {}#yiv3820118951 p.yiv3820118951MsoNormal, #yiv3820118951 li.yiv3820118951MsoNormal, #yiv3820118951 div.yiv3820118951MsoNormal {margin:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri", sans-serif;}#yiv3820118951 a:link, #yiv3820118951 span.yiv3820118951MsoHyperlink {color:#0563C1;text-decoration:underline;}#yiv3820118951 span.yiv3820118951EmailStyle17 {font-family:"Calibri", sans-serif;color:windowtext;}#yiv3820118951 .yiv3820118951MsoChpDefault {font-family:"Calibri", sans-serif;}#yiv3820118951 filtered {}#yiv3820118951 div.yiv3820118951WordSection1 {}#yiv3820118951 filtered {}#yiv3820118951 filtered {}#yiv3820118951 filtered {}#yiv3820118951 filtered {}#yiv3820118951 filtered {}#yiv3820118951 filtered {}#yiv3820118951 filtered {}#yiv3820118951 filtered {}#yiv3820118951 filtered {}#yiv3820118951 filtered {}#yiv3820118951 ol {margin-bottom:0in;}#yiv3820118951 ul {margin-bottom:0in;}-->

Hello to all,

      This email is a reminder that this evening, May 1st, 2023 is the first non-holiday Monday of the month and, as such, is our RACES/ACS/Preparedness Net night. We will be holding our sector nets on the normally assigned frequencies. I have attached the information regarding the upcoming ARES exercise and I would like to encourage all RACES operators to participate if possible. I will be sending out an updated exercise document from Frank, WQ1O soon. Frank is well known for his exercises as they are interesting, challenging and thorough.  

      As always, I am looking for Net Control stations to staff our sector nets for the evening. This month I will not be able to run the Sector 2A net and will be looking for someone to run this net in my absence. I am also looking for NCS operators to lead the Sector 2B (Plymouth County) net. Sector 2D has already arranged for an NCS operator for this month’s net and Sector 2C is a Winlink only net on a monthly basis. 

           The 6-meter net has generally been a very informal net. We have received an update that repairs have been implemented on the repeater. Please report any comms testing on the repeater so that those repairs can be verified. 

              For any operators interested in performing the duties of Net Control Station (NCS), there are materials available to make the task fairly simple and straight forward. The net pre-amble and role call lists are available at http://wc1mab.org/RACES_R2_Interim_Preamble.pdf and http://wc1mab.org/Month.php with the role call lists on the left column near the bottom. If anyone is worried that they mess up running a net, please remember that, in many cases, a less than perfect net is WAY better than no net at all! At the conclusion of any net, any operator that acted as Net Control Operator should send a note to WC1MAB at gmail.com letting me know who ran the net and who checked in so that the proper numbers can be reported to our served agencies. We can not always count on our normal net control operators to be available in the event of a large scale emergency, so every RACES operator should be prepared to act as NCO if needed when disaster and emergency strikes! 

Winlink Net Instructions From Don Rolph:  

Winlink Net:

In prep for an exercise on Sat May 13, please:

- use an ICS-213 form in Wilink

- include in the body of the message answers to the following  5 questions:

  1. Did you receive more than 2” of rain in the last two hours? (Yes/No) then value in inches and time 

2. Did you record a wind gust of 40mph or more? (Yes/No) then the wind value in MPH and time 

3. Did you record a wind gust of 58mph or more? (Yes/No) then the wind value in MPH and time 

4. Did you experience any damage at your location? (Yes/No) then type and time 

5. Give your location (street and town)  

A completed ICS-213 form might look like:

- Use setup to add: 

Eastern MA ARES Pre-exercise 0501 THIS IS A DRILL

- When you submit the form, add WX1BOX  AB1PH addresses and the message should look like:

--- END INSTRUCTIONS ---

   I continue to ask that any operators who have the time, please try to check into sector nets from near-by sections. This will allow our Net Control Operators to practice fielding nets with a strong check-in count and will also serve to help practice with relays or modified sector assignments in the event that a single repeater is out of service. 

   For those operators who serve as Net Control Operators, please try to remember to send me a list of the stations and communities that check into your nets. The numbers are reported to MEMA to show them our level of participation. I am continuing to work on a graphical map based report to show which parts of our section have strong coverage and which areas may need a more targeted recruitment campaign to improve our ability to provide back-up communications in an emergency.

The Region #2 and State Net Schedule for this evening is as follows:

| 
Net
 | 
Frequency/Offset
 | 
Time
 |
| 
Sector 2A
 | 
147.00 /+0.60  PL
 | 
19:30 Local
 |
| 
Sector 2B
 | 
145.39/-0.60  PL 67.0
 | 
20:00 Local
 |
| 
Sector 2C
 | 
Winlink Net Check-In
 | 
6AM-Midnight Local Time
 |
| 
Sector 2D
 | 
146.865/-0.60  PL 103.5
 | 
19:30 Local
 |
| 
6-Meter State Net
 | 
53.31 / -1.0  PL 71.9  

Note: 53.31 has been reported as being repaired and back online. Please report tests on this repeater so that we can verify the repairs/improvements made to the repeater. 
 | 
19:00 Local
 |
| 
MA RACES HF Net
 | 
3930 KHz LSB moving up to 3955 KHz until there is a clear frequency
 | 
18:45 Local
 |
| 
MA MEMA NBEMS Net
 | 
Frequency:  3584.5 MHx, Center Frequency: 1500 Hz, Initial mode: THOR22
 | 
19:00 Local
 |

    I appreciate you all answering the call to help our communities remain prepared. Thank you all for helping us keep things on track and prove that we remain a consistent source of communication capability to the Commonwealth. This net provides a monthly reminder to our communities and served agencies that we stand ready with a quiet professionalism prepared to serve as a voice to whomever needs one to get help and resources to where they need to be.

 If you know someone who would benefit from being on this list, please have them contact me at   WC1MAB at gmail.com and I will add them to this distribution. Thank you all!

      If anyone has any questions or comments I can be reached by e-mail or cell phone. Thanks for being a part of our team and I look forward to hearing back on who can participate this month.

Sincerely,

Michael Leger (N1YLQ)

MEMA Region #2 RACES Officer

C: 386-566-7666