AFTER EVENT LOG: VIEW WHO PARTICIPATED AND FROM WHERE

UPDATED: The objective of the net would be to see who we could reliably contact on a simplex frequency.  The simplex net would start at 1030 hours and use the simplex frequency of 147.540.  We would collect call sign, name and location information.   I would take the roll for Stanislaus County and log my contacts.   We would next pass to San Joaquin County for their contacts, then to Calaveras, then to Tuolumne then to Mariposa and finally to Merced.  After the net we could share the contact list that we documented via e mail.

This could come in handy if we needed to contact each other if repeater systems suffered catastrophic malfunctions.  Some stations may be able to check in with all of the counties, others may be heard within their own county.  We may even hear from some other stations than in our specific counties.   I think it would be a good ARES exercise of our simplex capabilities and follow our physical distancing practices.

If any of you want to check their simplex connection with me let me know and we  work out a time to make contact.  George N6GEO and I did a test today.

If any of you want to monitor or check in as a guest on the Stan ARES net on Saturday please fell free to check in as a guest.  The net will start at 10am on Saturday prior to our ARES simplex net.  SARA repeater is 145.390 – pl 136.5.

ORIGINAL: Good Afternoon Everyone,

Stanislaus ARES will be conducting training on May 2, 2020.  As part of that training we would like to conduct a simplex net with our surrounding counties.  The purpose of the net would be to see who we could reliably contact on a simplex frequency. 

The simplex net would start at 1030 hours and use the simplex frequency of 147.540.  We would collect call sign, name and location information.   I would take the roll for Stanislaus County and log my contacts.   We would next pass to San Joaquin County for their contacts, then to Tuolumne and finally to Merced.  After the net we could share the contact list that we documented via e mail.

This could come in handy if we needed to contact each other if repeater systems suffered catastrophic malfunctions.  Some stations may be able to check in with all of the counties, others may be heard within their own county.  We may even hear from some other stations than in our specific counties.   I think it would be a good ARES exercise of our simplex capabilities and follow our physical distancing practices.

Let me know if your group is interested in participating.  I anticipate that this drill will take no more than 1 hour to complete (probably less).  I have attached a sample documentation sheet.

Lucian Thomas

KF6NPG@aol.com

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Amateur Radio Emergency Service Transitioning to New Online Reporting System

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) will phase out the traditional ARES report forms later this year in favor of an online system called ARES Connect, a volunteer management, communications, and reporting system. The new system will allow information to be logged by ARES members and managed through the Field Organization. The advent of ARES Connect was among other highlights in “The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) 2017 Annual Report,” released this week.

“ARES Connect is a volunteer management system that covers event signup, reporting, and roster management,” ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U, said. “It does not change how ARES operates when serving a partner entity; it is simply a system that will make managing volunteers and events easier.” Beta testing of ARES Connect will begin in March. ARES made changes to its report forms last year to make it easier to process information at ARRL Headquarters and to standardize the format for all forms. ARES Monthly Reports have been posted to the ARRL website, providing regular information on Amateur Radio public service communication activity, the report noted.

According to the 2017 report, ARES membership stands at 31,332, up by nearly 13% from 2016. The number of emergency operations events reported was up by 665 from the previous year, with 1,913 reported in 2017. The top three states in terms of ARES membership in 2017 were California (2,265), Texas (1,930), and Ohio (1,858).

Reported ARES events amounted to 51,673 in 2017 — a 4% increase — accounting for 718,930 volunteer hours at a calculated value of more than $17.3 million.

“There was a noticeable increase in reported activity during August through November,” the ARES 2017 Annual Report said. “During this period there was Amateur Radio response activity for hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria; wildfires in the western states, and the total solar eclipse that occurred on August 21.”

What is ARES Connect?

ARES Connect is a volunteer management system that will allow each ARES group to manage their roster, create and staff events, and track nets and training. Each ARES group and ARRL Section will have a unique page on the platform with appropriate admin control given to the ARES Emergency Coordinator.

ARES members will be able to create a user profile that connects them to their local ARES group. Through their profile they can register for ARES (pending EC approval), sign up for events, log volunteer hours, and log training.

Reporting will be different through ARES Connect. As users log activity, data is created that allows ECs, DECs and SECs to run custom reports. The current ARES report forms will continue to be used through 2018 as the system is being built, but our current plan is to shift all reporting over to ARES Connect.

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