MASSIVE EMERGENCY ALERT TEST – OCTOBER 4, 2023

*** GENERAL QST MESSAGE ***

On Wednesday, October 4 at 14:20 hours ET (12:20 hours Mountain), every TV, radio and cellphone in the United States should receive an electronic warning tone of an emergency alert, accompanied by a notice similar to the following:

“This is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, covering the United States from 14:20 to 14:50 hours ET.  This is only a test.  No action is required by the public.”

This test is being run by FEMA to ensure the system is in working order on a national scale.  Local agencies will be participating with FEMA in conducting this test.  This test is being conducted to make sure the national alert system is still an effective means to warn American citizens about emergencies, natural catastrophes, attacks and accidents at the national level.

Salt Lake County ARES will conduct an emergency check-in net immediately following the announcements sent from FEMA.  The check-in net will be conducted on our primary SLCo ARES repeater, 146.700 MHz (100 Hz PL Standard Load ARES1 channel 72).  All stations wishing to participate on this net may do so using normal net-control protocols.  We will also be using our simplex frequency of 147.540 MHz (ARES3 channel 74) to simulate the use-case of the repeater going down during the net.  If you do not hear net control on the repeater this means that we have moved to the simplex frequency.

Any questions about this event, please contact Dan Lundwall via email, n7xdl.dan@gmail.com.

Jan (KD7ZWV) briefs us on the Incident Command System and standardized forms that we may encounter as amateur radio operators.

Slides are available:  Intro to ICS Forms

Hey, folks, I just realized I never posted this video.

Slides:
The_eComms_Net

As you may have heard on our net and on the marc-announce mailing list, we have cancelled the club meeting scheduled for 20 July due to a personal conflict.  Fortunately, the Sandy ARC has planned our same agenda for the following week, 27 July 2023, and we have been invited to attend.

If you want to get online with Winlink, this will be a great opportunity!  The meeting will be on 27 July 2023 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM and will be held at the Sandy Fire Department Station #31, located at 9010 S 150 E in Sandy.  Please park in the North parking lot.

The primary goal of this meeting will be to get Winlink Express (the client software) installed and get people configured with at a minimum of telnet access into the Winlink system.  Those who are more motivated and have the equipment will be encouraged to get at least one RF mechanism (VHF Packet, VARA FM, ARDOP, and/or VARA HF) set up and tested.

If you plan to attend, please e-mail Jan (KD7ZWV) [you can also use our Contact Form] your name, call sign, and what equipment you have and can bring.  You'll want (at a minimum) a Windows PC/Laptop to run Winlink Express.  If you have a radio and some kind of interface (e.g. SignaLink or DigiRig, or a radio that has a built-in soundcard), bring that, too!

We have talked about Winlink in a previous class... you can watch the old presentation (from September 2021) here:  Winlink Overview.

Jan (KD7ZWV) describes how to put together and run a scheduled, directed amateur radio net.

Video:

Slides:

Jan (KD7ZWV) talks about two sample public service events:  the Boston Marathon and LOTOJA.

Slides:

Links:

• Stephen's Boston Marathon Presentation on RATPAC
• Tyler's LOTOJA Presentation
• Boston Marathon Official Site
• Boston Marathon Communications Standards
• LOTOJA Official Site
• LOTOJA Amateur Radio Operator's Bible

Jan (KD7ZWV) talks about antennas, how they work, and how the signal gets from your vocal cords to radiated electromagnetic energy in the air.

Slides:

Links:

• Antennas Youtube Playlist

Hey, folks, while we did Zoom the meeting tonight, I did not take a recording because a large portion of the meeting was watching a couple of videos by Jason (KM4ACK) and I didn't want to get into any copyright trouble on Youtube.  If you weren't present (live or virtually) then I'm afraid you missed out on my comments and commentary.  I will post the slides below and link in the two videos we watched.

For those not in the know, JS8 is a protocol based on FT8 and the WSJT weak signal protocol, and JS8CALL is some software that uses JS8 to give a good, useful communications interface.  JS8CALL works on Windows, MacOS, and Linux (including the Raspberry Pi) and lets you make solid digital comms with other stations.  Check it out!

Hey, folks, I thought I would share with you all just how well received our web site and presentations have been lately.  We'll start with the video recordings of our meeting presentations that have been made available on Youtube.

Here are some of our more popular presentations, sorted by which has had the most views:

Curious about our past presentation?  Check out the "News" link at the top of every page.  Whenever we record a presentation, we publish it via Youtube and post about it on the web site.

Jan (KD7ZWV) walks us through getting licensed, buying a radio, and making that first scary transmission.  Additional topics include round tables and nets.  Plenty of discussion from the group, as well.  If you're a new ham who hasn't been on the radio, watch this presentation!

Also check out the slides, here:

or download them here:  Your First QSO (pdf)