If you are looking for some additional EmComm training, a friend of the Red Cross EmComm Drill, Gordon Gibby in Florida, has his annual training event coming up very soon.  Here’s the info:  

All volunteer radio amateurs & groups are welcomed to join in our training exercise March 19th, Fri 7-9 PM EDT –  from local simulated shelter volunteers, city/county/state groups or plain individual volunteers accepting simulated disaster agency and personal traffic to move via working email if out of the simulated disaster area. 

This exercise is structured as a DHS HSEEP exercise, helping participants gain experience and familiarity with structured voice & data traffic.  Every means of moving traffic is encouraged.  The more volunteers engage with authorities such as in this exercise, The more likely they will actually be productively utilized in a real disaster.  View https://www.qsl.net/nf4rc/whirlwindboom.pdf for more info or reach out to Gordon at docvacuumtubes@gmail.com.  

Hunter, K3IE, did an overview of the radio, computer and software setup used to take part in a recent ARRL CW Sweepstakes.

A video of the presentation is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngJ6_y5eBVQ

A Flex 6500 radio was used along with a number of software packages including SmartSDR, CWSkimmer, Slice Master and DAX:

• SmartSDR
   
• CWSkimmer is the software that takes the I/Q output from the radio and decodes the CW
   
• Slice Master 6000 which sits between SmartSDR and CWSkimmer (SDR Bridge is another option here)
  
  Slice Master does a number of things but is primarily responsible for syncing the radio and CWSkimmer. This lets someone click on the CWSkimmer waterfall and have the radio automatically QSY to the frequency on which the user clicked. In the same way, a user can click on the SmartSDR panadapter and CWSkimmer will automatically scroll to that signal in its display. Slice Master is the “glue” that makes these two programs stay in sync when the user clicks either.
   
• DAX is Digital Audio Transport
  
  It’s Flex software that creates virtual audio cables for the signals coming into and out of SmartSDR.
  It does this by creating a virtual soundcard for the incoming, outgoing, and I/Q signals.
  By having these signals show up on your PC as soundcards, you can use any off-the-shelf ham radio software and configure that software to use the DAX signals. So, in your ham radio software for digital modes like PSK-31, FT8, etc…. if you want to tell the software where to get the incoming audio for decoding, you’ll select the “soundcard” in your PC’s audio picklist called “DAX Audio RX 1”. And, to tell the software where to send the encoded audio for transmission over-the-air, you’ll pick the soundcard called “DAX Audio TX”.
   
• N1MM Logger+
  
  N1MM is the gold-standard software used by contesters
   

At the January, 2019 Monthly Meeting, Paul, WD9IOK gave a talk on his experiences making and using loop antennas mounted to fences. Check out the attached PDF and discover how to find those stations previously lost in the noise while complying with your HOA.

https://wcares.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Receive_Antenna_Loops_For_Your_Fence.pptx.pdf

WCARES Winter Field Day 2019 starts today, Saturday, January 26 at 1PM CT and runs until 1PM tomorrow, Sunday, January 27. Address and parking information below.

Directions/parking: Moores Lane to Moorehead Blvd and turn right onto Tartan Drive and park in the clubhouse parking lot which will be on your right after Vineland Ct. ( https://www.google.com/maps/@35.970481,-86.8170025,19z )

If you haven’t signed up yet here’s a link to the registration form. If you think you would like to take part, simply fill out the form and submit. We will get back to you soon.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdRJzK7WoBxuYmAXWdAMH02OS0T2J80D_ZyzbkLdYiy2sICgQ/viewform?usp=pp_url

Photos showing entrance, streets and parking (click to enlarge):

Carl, KB9DKR is organizing a 10 meter net. The primary purpose is to encourage WCARES members to practice on-air operating tactics and learn how to be efficient and assertive with passing traffic in a high volume communications environment like Field Day.  More details to come today and Monday, so watch this post and be listening Monday night.

• Monday nights, after the regular net for several weeks ahead of Field Day
• Practice on-air operating tactics
• Technician portion of the 10m band: 28.300 – 28.500 MHz so that everyone can take part.
• Exchange will be name and zip code
• Mobile stations can be worked in multiple zip codes
• Coaches include some seasoned WCARES operators:
  • Tim Kreth, AD4CJ
  • Jack Cox, KA4OTB
  • Jeff Standifer, WB5WAJ

The plan is to have folks spread out and alternate between running a frequency and search & pounce. There is a google doc courtesy of Cliff, N4CCB, that you can use to report the list of contacts you made:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XcSueCESRf0X5t_cPyk-NcU4pZKlYBQfmZChxhYYn2I/edit?usp=sharing

The exchange format will depend a lot on the conditions and the operator; how easily can you hear the call-signs etc.?
Here’s a simple example – I (KK4CQD) hear Carl, KB9DKR calling CQ:

Running station: CQ WCARES KB9DKR
Search & pounce station: KK4CQD
Running station: KK4CQD COPY CARL 37064
Search & pounce station: QSL COPY DAVID 37067
Running station: THANK YOU QRZ KB9DKR

Any existing antennas (dipoles, beams) will be fine and there is certainly no requirement to build a special antenna.

If you are interested in making an antenna, here are a couple of simple ideas for a 10m antennas from Carl:

The 10 meter antenna that Carl made for his attic installation was constructed in about 15 minutes. This is a classic “vertical ground plane” design with only two tuned radials. The key is to elevate the radials.

1) Cut 3 wires to 8 feet, 4 inches (for SWR centered on 28.400 Mhz).
2) Strip about 1/2 inch of the insulation from the ends.
3) Solder one wire to the center coax conductor and solder the other two wires to the shield.
4) Assemble it like an inverted T or Y, if necessary bend to fit and then staple in place.
5) For tuning (mine required none), it is okay to simply bend the wire back onto itself.

Here is an externally mounted version of this antenna using 102 CB whip:

Click to access 10M-Vertical-1995-07-QST.pdf

For local use in WCARES be sure to get the antenna as high up as possible. A 10 meter vertical signal will tend to carry over the ground and bend over the hills a little better than 2 meters, but for our expectations assume line-of-sight pathways.

ZIP codes:

Williamson County:
http://www.williamsoncounty-tn.gov/DocumentCenter/View/664/Zipcode24x36

Davidson County:
http://maps.nashville.gov/webimages/MapGallery/PDFMaps/Zip%20Codes.pdf

Others?

The 2017 license classes have been announced and will take place every consecutive Saturday from Saturday February 4th, 2017 through Saturday Marth 11th, 2017. 

The classes will focus on review material with the goal of training up individuals wishing to take the Technician license class or the General license class.

Seating will be limited and participants are encouraged to sign up for the class they wish to participate in.

To signup for a class please use the form below.

WCARES Severe Weather Procedures

Severe weather in Middle Tennessee can come in many forms to include severe thunderstorms, tornados, snow, sleet and ice.  The local commercial broadcast radio and TV stations do an excellent job in warning residents about possible severe weather conditions.  For WCARES members the important thing to remember is that whenever a severe weather watch or warning is issued for Williamson County you should monitor the repeater system.  Remember, if we activate the weather net, we do not take check-ins.  We know you are there.  We will monitor and send out updates immediately from NWS, etc.  If you wish to monitor online, the Nashville NWS information can be found at http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ohx/.  Please only send reports that meet standard reporting criteria, shown below. The WCARES EC and members of the Planning Committee are routinely included in severe weather webinars with the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Old Hickory.  The EC and Planning Committee have procedures in place to deal with severe weather events that might affect not only our county but the entire Middle Tennessee area.  The normal day to day status for everyone is “Normal”.  When severe weather is approaching we may shift to the “Stand-By” mode which means we are at a higher level of awareness.  You may still use the repeater system but keep your transmissions short and leave some extra time between your transmissions so the Net Control operator can break in if necessary.  Net Control operators will make regular announcements on the repeater concerning the weather threat and the anticipated time that Williamson County might be affected.  A liaison link between the county and the NWS office will already be established and a plan is in place to address the specific weather threat.  If the weather threat is serious enough to warrant, the Net Control operator will announce that our weather net is now “Active”.  When this happens, formal net procedures apply and you should not use the repeater to make any calls without getting permission from the Net Control operator.  The Net Control will normally not take check-ins but he will take reports of the specific conditions that need to be reported to the NWS.

Reporting Severe Weather
Spotters provide an invaluable service to their communities and to the National Weather Service.
Spotter reports help your community by assisting local public safety officials in making critical decisions to protect lives – when to sound sirens, activate safety plans, etc.
Spotter reports also help the NWS in the warning process. Your report becomes part of the warning decision making process, and is combined with radar data and other information and used by NWS forecasters to decide whether or not to:

• Issue a new warning
• Cancel an existing warning
• Continue a warning
• Issue a warning for the next county
• Change the warning type (from severe thunderstorm to tornado, for example)

For your reports to be the most useful, they should be as detailed, accurate and timely as possible.  Use the guidelines below to help you make your report:

WHAT TO REPORT
Although reporting criteria may vary slightly depending on the spotter network and local needs, these are the events the National Weather Service would like to know about as soon as possible:

• TORNADO
• FUNNEL CLOUD, if organized, persistent, sustained rotation
• WALL CLOUD, if organized, persistent, sustained rotation
• HAIL, quarter size or larger, report the largest size hailstone
• WIND GUSTS, 58 mph or higher, specify estimate or measurement
• FLOODING, flooding that impacts roads, homes or businesses.
• STORM DAMAGE
  Damage to structures (roof, siding, windows, etc.)
  Damage to vehicles (from hail or wind)
  Trees or large limbs down
  Power/telephone poles or lines down
  Damage to farm equipment, machinery, etc.

Again, reports should provide as much detail as possible to describe the where, when, how, etc. of the event.
Some commonly used hail sizes
Pea .25 inch
Half-inch .50 inch
Dime .75 inch
Nickel .88 inch
Quarter 1.00 inch
Half Dollar 1.25 inch
Ping Pong Ball 1.50 inch
Golf Ball 1.75 inch
Hen Egg 2.00 inch
Tennis Ball 2.50 inch
Baseball 2.75 inch
Tea Cup 3.00 inch
Grapefruit 4.00 inch
Softball 4.50 inch

General Guidelines for Estimating Wind Speeds
30-44 mph (26-39 kt) Whole trees in motion. Inconvenient walking into the wind. Light-weight loose objects (e.g., lawn furniture) tossed or toppled.
45-57 mph (39-49 kt) Large trees bend; twigs, small limbs break and a few larger dead or weak branches may break. Old/weak structures (e.g., sheds, barns) may sustain minor damage (roof, doors). Buildings partially under construction may be damaged. A few loose shingles removed from houses.
58-74 mph (50-64 kt) Large limbs break; shallow rooted trees pushed over. Semi-trucks overturned. More significant damage to old/weak structures. Shingles, awnings removed from houses; damage to chimneys and antennas.
75-89 mph (65-77 kt) Widespread damage to trees with large limbs down or trees broken/uprooted. Mobile homes may be pushed off foundation or overturned. Roof may be partially peeled off industrial/commercial/ warehouse buildings. Some minor roof damage to homes. Weak structures (e.g., farm buildings, airplane hangars) may be severely damaged.
90+ mph (78+ kt) Many large trees broken and uprooted. Mobile homes damaged. Roofs partially peeled off homes and buildings. Moving automobiles pushed off the road. Barns, sheds demolished.

HOW TO REPORT
Your severe weather report should be detailed but concise, and should address the following questions:
WHAT did you see?
WHERE did you see it?   Report the location/approximate location of the event. Be sure to distinguish clearly between where you are and where the event is thought to be happening (“I’m 5 miles north of Mayberry. The tornado looks to be about 5 miles to my northwest”).
WHEN did you see it?   Be sure that reports that are relayed through multiple sources carry the time of the event, NOT the report time.
Any other details that are important – How long did it last? Direction of travel? Was there damage? etc.

You are invited to Amateur Radio Roundtable, a new series of W5KUB.com live weekly webcasts. The webcast is every Tuesday night at 8:00 PM CDT (0100 UTC Wednesdays) at http://www.W5KUB.com.

Amateur Radio Roundtable is an informal discussion of all aspects of ham radio with the intent of allowing viewers to watch this live webcast at W5KUB.com. A question and answer session with viewers will follow each topic.

The show covers all aspects of ham radio; such as, balloon launches, satellite, go-kits, emergency communications, SDR, digital modes, DXing, home brewing, and much more.

To watch Amateur Radio Roundtable go to W5KUB.com, click on Live Events and sign in with your existing User Name and Password. If you don’t have a user name and password, just enter your call or name, leave the password blank and hit sign in.

During the last half of the roundtable, viewers are invited to be a guest and make a virtual appearance on the show. Guests will need a Google+ account, microphone, and camera. A link allowing you to join will be provided during the show. This part of the show is very informal; you can just pop in to say hello, or stay a while and join in on a wide range of topics. Google Hangout will allow up to 10 people at a time.

We need your help with topics. If you have a specific subject that you would like to present in a future show, send an email to tom@W5KUB.com.

Join us for fun and interesting ham radio discussions. We’ll see you on the webcast!

Tom Medlin, W5KUB

On March 14, 2015, Jim Fergusson (KC9VKV) reached out to the WCARES repeater system via Echolink from his home in New Albany, IN. Some of you who were listening that day may have heard his story as a man who spent his whole life fulfilling his childhood dream to become a radio broadcaster.

Jim documents 50 years of his life as a broadcaster with actual audio recordings from 1956 (when he was 12 years old and had a 5-watt pirate broadcasting station) onward, culminating in his becoming the production director for a major 50 Kilowatt AM broadcast facility.

He has spent several years putting this extensive documentary together, which can be accessed here.
Thank you, Jim, for reaching out to the WCARES repeater system and letting us in on your story.