Reporting Month: January
Reporting Year: 2019
Total Number of ARES Members: 1710
Change since last month: 27
Number of DEC's reporting this month: 10
Number of ARES nets active: 464
Number of nets active with NTS Liaisons: 10
Call Signs of DEC's reporting: (All)
Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 566
Person Hours: 4328
Number of Public Service events this month: 47
Person hours: 441
Number of emergency operations this month: 23
Person hours: 881
Total number of ARES/RACES events this month: 636
Total Person Hours: 5650
Comments: 44 counties participated in "Snow Net"- providing situational awareness to the Ohio EMA through HF and DMR nets A revised Ohio Emergency Operations Plan (OSERP) was published. ARES VHF Simplex contest in early January was a success. Some Winter Skywarn training took place in several counties. .
Submitted by and call sign: Stan Broadway N8BHL
Email: stan@standi.com
Files to upload?:
Reporting Year: 2019
Total Number of ARES Members: 1710
Change since last month: 27
Number of DEC's reporting this month: 10
Number of ARES nets active: 464
Number of nets active with NTS Liaisons: 10
Call Signs of DEC's reporting: (All)
Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 566
Person Hours: 4328
Number of Public Service events this month: 47
Person hours: 441
Number of emergency operations this month: 23
Person hours: 881
Total number of ARES/RACES events this month: 636
Total Person Hours: 5650
Comments: 44 counties participated in "Snow Net"- providing situational awareness to the Ohio EMA through HF and DMR nets A revised Ohio Emergency Operations Plan (OSERP) was published. ARES VHF Simplex contest in early January was a success. Some Winter Skywarn training took place in several counties. .
Submitted by and call sign: Stan Broadway N8BHL
Email: stan@standi.com
Files to upload?:
We’re off to a really solid start for 2019! Our
membership reported was up, activity was fairly heavy for a January. Some was
due to “Snow Net” with state and local nets in operation! Thanks so much for
your enthusiasm- it provided useful information and GREAT awareness of amateur
radio to our agencies!
Membership:
1710
Net sessions:
Voice 373
Net sessions:
Digi
91
Total net
hours:
2443
Training sessions:
566
Training
hours:
4328
Public Service events:
47
Public Service hours:
441
Emergency
ops:
23
Emergency
hours: 881
Total events logged 636 Total hours
logged 5650
January, 2019
ARES Monthly Report
OH SEC
We have been working on content for the April Ohio
ARES Conference! It will be held April 6, Saturday, at the Marion Technical
College/ OSU campus as before. We want
to provide a very useful session worth your time! Our NVIS day is scheduled for Saturday, April
27.
We have submitted a profile of amateur radio potential
and ability to the Ohio EOC’s Watch Desk- the group that maintains a 24-hour
staff within the EMA.
Your SEC completed a “Wide Area Missing Persons
Search” course staged by Hardin County. We hope to bring some of that
information to you all as amateur operators can be an important adjunct to a
search activity.
A revised version of the Ohio Emergency Response Plan
(OSERP) has been posted on the website.
EC’s are advised to download this and replace your existing OSERP
documents.
The ARES January VHF Simplex contest was another
success this month! Our SEC article profiles the winners, but thanks to ALL who
participated. I hope you learned more about your station’s capabilities during
an emergency.
Thank you all for your enthusiastic participation in
“Snow Net!” After conversation with SM
Scott, N8SY, and with the Watch Desk, we had also received word that several
county EMA Directors had placed ARES on standby as the forecast storm bore down
on Ohio. Predictions were dire enough that we opted to call a net on both HF
and DMR to provide situational awareness to the desk. We entered our logs into
WebEOC on regular intervals. We heard from 44 counties with over 150 reports,
split about evenly between HF (which stayed strong through the evening) and
DMR’s Ohio Talk Group, which also stayed strong. It was a great test of the
system and produced some much appreciated information. Scott received at least
5 calls from EMA Directors who were very complementary of our work. My hat’s off to you all!! Great work and
great PR for amateur radio in Ohio!
This is not something we’ll expect for ~every~ winter storm, but for
those which at least have potential to be damaging we can easily activate and
provide a similar service.
District 1
District 1 Skywarn
meeting at the Seneca County Safety Building in Tiffin, OH.
District 2
No activity, no comments submitted
District 3
DISTRICT 3
SUMMARY: 100% of Nine Counties
reporting: 306 Members (+1 change); (57 Voice Net Sessions, 16 Digital Net
Sessions (73 total Net Events & 341 Net man-hours); 19
Meetings-Drills-Training-Tests (441 man-hours); 0 Public Service Events (0
man-hrs) and 5 Emergency Operations (459 man-hrs); for 97 Total Events and 1241
Total man-hours.
CHAMPAIGN
COUNTY: (23 members,
0 change): 5 weekly voice net
sessions (50 Net man-hours); 0 Public Service Event (0 man-hours); 0 Emergency
Operations (0 man-hours) and 1 other ARES events (10 man-hours) for a total of
6 events and 60 man-hours.
CLARK COUNTY: (33
members, 0 change): 3
weekly net sessions (16 Net man-hours); 0 Public Service Event (0 man-hours); 0
Emergency Operations (0 man-hours) and 1 other ARES events (16 man-hours) for a
total of 4 events and 32 man-hours.
DARKE COUNTY: (14 members, 0 change): 4 weekly voice net sessions (9 Net
man-hours); 0 Public Service Event (0 man-hours); 0 Emergency Operations (0
man-hours) and 1 other ARES event (32 man-hours ) for a total of 5 events and
41 man-hours.
GREENE
COUNTY: (57 members, 0 change): 18 weekly voice net sessions, 5 weekly
digital net sessions (110 Net man-hours); 0 Public Service Events (0
man-hours); 0 Emergency Operations (0 man-hours); and 7 other ARES related
activities (65 man-hours) for a total of 30 events and 175 man-hours.
Comments:
Weekly Net participation: GCARES, GCARES/MVMA Mesh Discussion, BARC,
UVARC, GCARES Digital, Dayton East Emergency Response Net (DEER), OHDEN, &
OH EM. PREP, D3. Other activity: Continuing Mesh and Winlink maintenance,
demonstrations, DMR repeater planning & testing, equipment testing &
training, served agency meetings, D-3 Snow Net participation.
LOGAN COUNTY
(RACES UNIT): (10 members): 4 weekly voice net sessions (2 man-hours);
and 1 other RACES activity (16 man-hours) for a total of 5 events and 18
man-hours.
MIAMI COUNTY: (25
members, 0 change): 7 weekly voice nets,
4 weekly digital nets (35 Net man-hours); 0 Public Service (0 man-hours); 0
Emergency Operations (0 man-hours); and 0 other ARES events (0 man-hours) for a
total of 11 events and 35 man-hours.
Comments:
MCES ARES/RACES Net 145.23(-) held each
Sunday evening at 2100hrs, 147.21 (+) held each Thursday at 2000hrs, Digital
nets using MT63-2KL on 145.23 held each Sunday at 1900hrs & Wires X net on
Sunday at 1800hrs. Miami County took part in the 1/22 Snow Net, no hours
provided or number of Miami County operators working this net.
MONTGOMERY
COUNTY: (89 members, +1 change): 3 weekly voice net sessions, 3 weekly digital
net sessions (18 Net man-hours); 0 Public Service Events (0 man-hours); 0
Emergency Operations (0 man-hours); and 2 other ARES related events (20 man-hours)
for a total of 8 events and 38 man-hours.
Comments:
MoCo ARES had a total of 3 voice and 3 digital nets during the month.
Attended the Montgomery County COAD meeting on the 24th & we had our MoCo
ARES Planning Meeting on the 29th.
PREBLE
COUNTY: (16 members, 0 change): 4 weekly net sessions (2 Net man-hours); 0
Public Service Event (0 man-hours); 0 Emergency Operations (0 man-hours); and 2
other ARES events (66 man-hours) for a total of 6 events and 68 man-hours.
Comments:
Operated the section VHF simplex contest. We operated from the repeater
site in the year’s first snow storm. We took the county repeater off the air
and used the antenna system (400 foot, 50 watts) as a base station under K8YR
club call. We worked 18 counties, all of District 3 and as far east as Coshocton.
As a big bonus, we worked W8SGT, state EMA with good signal strength. We now
have the ability to work into the state EMA on 2 meters direct. We will be
adding this ability to our county’s communications plan by using the repeater
system as a base station. We had 10 people participate in the event, many new
operators. All took a turn at the mic. In addition, several members operated
from their home QTH and had a good time. This was a great way to test our
capabilities as a group and individual stations. All had a blast! All the snow
this month has activated several local weather nets. We responded to a call by
the SEC Stan Broadway to be on standby and test our nets and activation
capabilities. Our net control operators took turns over the 24 hour period without
the EC asking to do so. What cooperation and dedication—very proud of them. We
had one new ham pass his test in the county. But with the government shut down,
his call has not been issued yet. The new operator has indicated interest in
ARES and we’ll accept his application once he has received his call. We will be
holding our annual local ARES conference in April 27, 2019. We will be holding
several round robin classes on subject of interest to emergency communications.
We are looking into CPR/First aid classes for our members.
SHELBY COUNTY: (39 members): 4 weekly net sessions; 4 digital net sessions (40 man-hours); 0 Public Service Event (0 man-hours); 1 Emergency Operations (7 man-hours); and 4 other ARES events (217 man-hours); for a total of 13 events and 264 man-hours.
SHELBY COUNTY: (39 members): 4 weekly net sessions; 4 digital net sessions (40 man-hours); 0 Public Service Event (0 man-hours); 1 Emergency Operations (7 man-hours); and 4 other ARES events (217 man-hours); for a total of 13 events and 264 man-hours.
Comments:
1-12-2019 Ohio ARES Simplex Exercise, 1-19-2019 District 3 Snow Net
444.250, 1-26~1-27 2019 Winter Field Day, 1-27-2019 VEC Testing, 1-27-2019
SCARES Monthly Meeting/Training.
DISTRICT 3
ACTIVITIES: 5 weekly voice net sessions (59
Net man-hours); 1 Emergency Operation (191 man-hours); and 0 other
District 3 ARES activities (0 man-hours); for a total of 6 events and 250
man-hours.
Comments:
West Central Ohio District 3 ARES
Snow Net was activated by the DEC at 0600L Saturday 19 January and operated
in Standby Mode with over 42 ARES and non-ARES participants including 9 (8 ARES
and 1 non-ARES) who rotated as Net Control Operators for 24 hours and 10
minutes until the Net was terminated by the DEC at 0610L Sunday 20 January 2019.
Each D3 County was
requested to appoint a Liaison Station to monitor the District 3 Snow Net which
operated on the District 3 Primary Tactical Net 444.250 Repeater (TAC-1) with
the D3 442.750 TAC-2 Repeater designated as backup. No equipment problems occurred.
D3 ARES assigned
Liaison Operators to monitor and maintained communication with Ohio ARES via
the HF Voice Net, OHDEN and the DMR Group.
Those operators reported that 80m propagation was generally good for
Voice Net, DMR Net worked very well and very little activity on OHDEN--during
the time those net, respectively, were operational.
Because of the
anticipated potentially dangerous travel conditions, all District 3 Snow Net participants operated from
their home stations.
District 4
Warren County had
representation on "SnowNet". Highland County was active in Winter
Field Day. There was also WFD activity in Hamilton County as a cooperative
effort between two of the clubs.
District 5
Accountability for
District 5 reports: Reported for three counties submitting Mahoning, Stark, and
Summit. Two counties not submitted Portage and Trumbull. Two counties with no
EC currently Carroll and Columbiana.
District 6
No comments submitted
District 7
Fairfield
County:ARES/K8QIK Nets, ARRL Testing, ARES Yagie antenna building &
functional testing training, Winter weather standby coordination and
monitoring, 26-29 January 2019 : established Comm with ARES Team Members,
Fairfield County EOC, FMC, Fairfield County Sheriff, Licking County EC/Operators,
additionally established Comm with Franklin and Champaign County's, Reciprocal
monitoring and Comm wth Licking County on 146.880, 146.700, 147.030 &
444.500 Frequencies.
Marion County: Even
though the Marion Ball drop was cancelled we still had to take the portable
tower down. January 19 we were in line for a significant amount of snowfall and
strong winds so we opened a Marion County "Snow NET'. We called for hourly
check-ins and status updates. We continue to improve our FLDIGI skills and are
seeing more people getting involved.This months training was a basic course on
Amateur Radio and Emergency Communications. Still trying to figure out ARES
Connects.
Licking County: January was a bit of a slow month for us. Planning and building of the new EOC continues along with meetings of upcoming events and training. Thanks to all of the Licking Co. members for being on stand-by during the state wide snownet, though we did not have to much happen here, we did get layer of ice and several inches of snow. Thanks Stan N8BHL for running the snownet, You did an awesome job! We are looking forward to what 2019 will bring and it's looking like it could be a busy year.
Union County: Things were busy in January. The EMA started moving into the new Station 720 on Northwest Parkway. The EMA received the new 2 meter repeater equipment that had been ordered. We will be working on getting this setup and operational so it will be easy to move to the new location after the new tower and antennas are installed there. We had a winter storm that prompted the Statewide Ohio Emergency Net "Snow Net" to form on 80 meters as well as the Ohio state wide DMR talk group. We started a local Weather Conditions Reporting net on the 2 meter repeater in Union County. We had a total of 16 stations participate that covered reports in Union, Campaign, and Logan counties. The net ran from 1pm until 10pm on Saturday taking reports on weather conditions around the top of each hour. A spreadsheet was used to log check-ins and weather information. I later created a google doc spreadsheet, copied and pasted the information from my spreadsheet into it. This made it easy for Grant, KE8JOU to take over as the NCS by sharing the google doc with him. I also shared the google doc with our county EMA director and a few other people so they could see the weather conditions information as soon as it was entered. Our local net was well received by the Union County EMA. The stations that participated in it enjoyed doing so. One of the interesting things that were discovered was how different the weather conditions were in and around the county and in some cases, from 1 side of town to the other side of town. The Union County EC completed the ICS 300 course that was held in Greenville OH in January. Madison County: EC still needed. At this time not sure what members are even active.
Delaware County: Several were on standby for "Snow Net". Planning started for a March 2 "Viking Dash" in cooperation with The Arnold sporting event.
Franklin County: FCOHARES enjoyed a presentation from the Columbus Regional Airport Authority Emergency Coordinator in January. We learned how the airport is coping with the record 8+ million passenger enplane/deplane traffic. Additionally the Emergency Coordinator discussed an upcoming June drill at Rickenbacker Air Base where FCOHARES will be participating. We're gearing up for the Arnold Sports Classic in late February making some improvements in radio coverage inside the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
Licking County: January was a bit of a slow month for us. Planning and building of the new EOC continues along with meetings of upcoming events and training. Thanks to all of the Licking Co. members for being on stand-by during the state wide snownet, though we did not have to much happen here, we did get layer of ice and several inches of snow. Thanks Stan N8BHL for running the snownet, You did an awesome job! We are looking forward to what 2019 will bring and it's looking like it could be a busy year.
Union County: Things were busy in January. The EMA started moving into the new Station 720 on Northwest Parkway. The EMA received the new 2 meter repeater equipment that had been ordered. We will be working on getting this setup and operational so it will be easy to move to the new location after the new tower and antennas are installed there. We had a winter storm that prompted the Statewide Ohio Emergency Net "Snow Net" to form on 80 meters as well as the Ohio state wide DMR talk group. We started a local Weather Conditions Reporting net on the 2 meter repeater in Union County. We had a total of 16 stations participate that covered reports in Union, Campaign, and Logan counties. The net ran from 1pm until 10pm on Saturday taking reports on weather conditions around the top of each hour. A spreadsheet was used to log check-ins and weather information. I later created a google doc spreadsheet, copied and pasted the information from my spreadsheet into it. This made it easy for Grant, KE8JOU to take over as the NCS by sharing the google doc with him. I also shared the google doc with our county EMA director and a few other people so they could see the weather conditions information as soon as it was entered. Our local net was well received by the Union County EMA. The stations that participated in it enjoyed doing so. One of the interesting things that were discovered was how different the weather conditions were in and around the county and in some cases, from 1 side of town to the other side of town. The Union County EC completed the ICS 300 course that was held in Greenville OH in January. Madison County: EC still needed. At this time not sure what members are even active.
Delaware County: Several were on standby for "Snow Net". Planning started for a March 2 "Viking Dash" in cooperation with The Arnold sporting event.
Franklin County: FCOHARES enjoyed a presentation from the Columbus Regional Airport Authority Emergency Coordinator in January. We learned how the airport is coping with the record 8+ million passenger enplane/deplane traffic. Additionally the Emergency Coordinator discussed an upcoming June drill at Rickenbacker Air Base where FCOHARES will be participating. We're gearing up for the Arnold Sports Classic in late February making some improvements in radio coverage inside the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
District 8
Counties reporting:
Athens, Gallia, Hocking, Lawrence, Ross, Scioto EC Comments: Athens: ACARA
participated in Winter Field Day from the new Red Cross of Southeastern Ohio HF
station.
Lawrence: We had a great turn out for the program "Ham Radio from Across the Street to Outer Space." The program was presented at the Briggs Public Library. After the program The Southern Ohio Amateur Radio Association presented the library with a copy of the 2018 ARRL Manual.
Ross: Working with ECs in NW Ohio to plan for communications during the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure.
Lawrence: We had a great turn out for the program "Ham Radio from Across the Street to Outer Space." The program was presented at the Briggs Public Library. After the program The Southern Ohio Amateur Radio Association presented the library with a copy of the 2018 ARRL Manual.
Ross: Working with ECs in NW Ohio to plan for communications during the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure.
District 9
COSHOCTON CO: This month
an LEPC meeting attended..., monthly ARES mtg... Ohden nets... Simplex event
was worked by 7 ARES.......Also a couple snow events, of which one was on
standby per, SEC. 13 volunteers were there Saturday and Sunday morn. Mostly a
rain event until around midnight when freezing rain snow developed. EC Steve
Wheatcraft, AA8BN ..............
GUERNSEY CO: The monthly ARES training covered our new first aid kit. Members also filled out an ICS 205 for a simulated communication event. During the Jan 12th VHF contest three members operated from the EOC. Several in county contacts were made and contacts with three surrounding counties were accomplished. All were made on two meter and 440. For the state "Snow Net" on Jan 19th a Skywarn net was operated on two meters from 3PM to 11PM. Also HF communications were accomplished with state SEC and messages sent. Check in and reports were conducted every two hours and the rest of the time was monitoring. Additionally, one of my AEC's sent many reports via the internet directly to the NWS in Pittsburgh. EC: Richard W Wayt, WD8SDH ..............
NOBLE CO: The American Legion Post 641 ARC, W8BVL will start holding information and training net on the second and fourth Thursdays of every month beginning this February at 7:30 PM. The net will be held on the Noble County 2 meter Repeater NC8OH, 147.285 MHz Pl 91.5. We will then hold a session afterwards on the N2LC Six Meter repeater 53.13 MHz and Pl tone 91.5. The reason for using two frequencies is to determine coverage of both repeaters in Noble County and surrounding areas. EC Gary Oliver, KD8OSI..............
TUSCARAWAS CO: 4 voice nets with 69 participating-138 hours; Tusco Hamfest with 10 operators in attendance; "Snow Net" with 2 net controls and 12 stations reporting- 3 reports to w8sgt; one monthly meeting; communication with county EMA reference Snow Net; Hamfest as the public service. EC Tracy Goddard, K8TAE ..............
WASHINGTON CO: Several Washington County ARES hams participated in statewide "Snow Net" both on HF and DMR. Relayed stations that checked in on HF to the Net control station. EC Joseph Wigal, W8JTW ............
DEC_9: Participated in the State "Snow Net", communicated with the state SEC on HF and DMR over 6 hour period, for a total of 6 Hours. DEC G. Sonny Alfman, W8FHF.
GUERNSEY CO: The monthly ARES training covered our new first aid kit. Members also filled out an ICS 205 for a simulated communication event. During the Jan 12th VHF contest three members operated from the EOC. Several in county contacts were made and contacts with three surrounding counties were accomplished. All were made on two meter and 440. For the state "Snow Net" on Jan 19th a Skywarn net was operated on two meters from 3PM to 11PM. Also HF communications were accomplished with state SEC and messages sent. Check in and reports were conducted every two hours and the rest of the time was monitoring. Additionally, one of my AEC's sent many reports via the internet directly to the NWS in Pittsburgh. EC: Richard W Wayt, WD8SDH ..............
NOBLE CO: The American Legion Post 641 ARC, W8BVL will start holding information and training net on the second and fourth Thursdays of every month beginning this February at 7:30 PM. The net will be held on the Noble County 2 meter Repeater NC8OH, 147.285 MHz Pl 91.5. We will then hold a session afterwards on the N2LC Six Meter repeater 53.13 MHz and Pl tone 91.5. The reason for using two frequencies is to determine coverage of both repeaters in Noble County and surrounding areas. EC Gary Oliver, KD8OSI..............
TUSCARAWAS CO: 4 voice nets with 69 participating-138 hours; Tusco Hamfest with 10 operators in attendance; "Snow Net" with 2 net controls and 12 stations reporting- 3 reports to w8sgt; one monthly meeting; communication with county EMA reference Snow Net; Hamfest as the public service. EC Tracy Goddard, K8TAE ..............
WASHINGTON CO: Several Washington County ARES hams participated in statewide "Snow Net" both on HF and DMR. Relayed stations that checked in on HF to the Net control station. EC Joseph Wigal, W8JTW ............
DEC_9: Participated in the State "Snow Net", communicated with the state SEC on HF and DMR over 6 hour period, for a total of 6 Hours. DEC G. Sonny Alfman, W8FHF.
District 10
District 10:
Reserve March 2, 2019 on your calendar for the District 10 Training day at
Tri-Point Medical Center in Lake County! ***
Ashtabula County: No comments submitted. ***
Cuyahoga County: We resumed the ARES nets, increasing them to every week. Our monthly training meetings also resumed. The Emergency Activation was a SkyWarn Net, on January 8th. All members are now used to reporting their hours on ARES Connect with very few problems. As long as we keep using this FSD-212 form, the totals for each activity still need to be calculated by hand. ***
Geauga County: No comments submitted. ***
Lake County: Reported into the State wide Snow Net 10.5 inches in Lake Co. ***
Lorain County: No comments submitted. ***Medina County: Sorry It is late.
Ashtabula County: No comments submitted. ***
Cuyahoga County: We resumed the ARES nets, increasing them to every week. Our monthly training meetings also resumed. The Emergency Activation was a SkyWarn Net, on January 8th. All members are now used to reporting their hours on ARES Connect with very few problems. As long as we keep using this FSD-212 form, the totals for each activity still need to be calculated by hand. ***
Geauga County: No comments submitted. ***
Lake County: Reported into the State wide Snow Net 10.5 inches in Lake Co. ***
Lorain County: No comments submitted. ***Medina County: Sorry It is late.