September 27 @ 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm PDT

Held at the Sierra Flow Fitness Gym:
21051 Crystal Falls Drive, Suite 4
Sonora, CA 95370

THIS IS A FREE CLASS, limited to the first 25 people. REGISTER BELOW.

Learn how to use your handheld radio during a simulated emergency. This class will give you hands-on radio experience by simulating 2 different emergency situations: 1) your own family; and 2) your neighborhood/community. By the end of the class you will also learn more about how to get the best performance out of your handheld radio. Finally, you will develop a plan to take home with you, on how to use a handheld radio during an emergency, for your situation.

If you have a handheld radio (FRS/GMRS/Amateur (Ham)), bring it to the class. If not, we will have extra radios for use. 

Hands-on skills training will get you up and transmitting right away, with instructions on emergency communication.

STAY INFORMED when cell phones are down and power outages occur.

RADIO CLASS AGENDA

• Introduction to Planning for an Emergency – Developing a Personal/Family Plan
• How to Get the Best Performance Out of Your Handheld Radio
• Simulation of an Emergency Using Handheld Radios on Simplex (Radio to Radio)
• Simulation of an Emergency Using Handheld Radios and a Local Repeater (Directed Net)
• Discussion & Lessons Learned
• Turn in a Copy of Your Personal/Family Plan

OPTIONAL: Tuolumne County has 6 GMRS, and 5 ham radio repeaters on hill tops that allow wide communications across the county and parts of the Central Valley. A GMRS and/or Amateur Radio license is required for repeater usage. Apply for your GMRS license today. One GMRS license will cover your entire extended family, even if they don’t live in the same home. There is NO TEST, only a FCC $35. application fee. Follow these step by step instructions to get your NO TEST GMRS License. FCC processing time usually takes one to three days and has a $35.00 fee. START NOW.

• SEPT 27, 1:00 PM (~3 hours) Please check in by 12:15 PM, thanks!
• Limited to the first 25 people
• TBA

REGISTER NOW AND SAVE YOUR SEAT!

The post Training on How to Use Your Handheld Radio During an Emergency appeared first on TCARES.

Scroll through this presentation or download the whole file to view it any way you prefer. Enjoy.

The post Groveland Grind Mountain Bike Adventure Results appeared first on TCARES.

ORIGINAL POST HERE

The post First Photos of the new Ham Radio Comms Trailer Project! appeared first on TCARES.

October 17, 2024 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am PDT

Ham Radio Operators will be assigned to key County locations like Resiliency Centers, Airports, Fairgrounds, Hospitals, etc to check in to prove county wide VHF communications between key operational buildings.

The Earthquake will be at 10:17 am tomorrow (OCT 17, 10:17)

NEW – The NET sequence will be…. (STARTING ABOUT 10:30 am)

1. ASSIGNED LOCATION NET (the below 15 locations)

2. GENERAL ANY HAM ANYWHERE NET (mobile or at home, out of county, etc)

3. NRW GMRS NET CONTROL reports from Hams.

CAN YOU HELP?

We will need 10 to 14 (possibly more) hams to take assignments to drive to a specific building parking lot and check in to a special NET Thursday morning.

What will you do?

• Drive a few miles to assigned location.
• Use hand held or mobile radio
• Listen to NET and wait for your turn.
• Check in when called and ready from provided script.
• Finish listening to the Net and wait to be dismissed.
• Go Home, the whole thing might last 60 minutes or so.

The post OES Emergency Drill appeared first on TCARES.

April 18 @ 7:30 am – 10:00 am PDT

Find the TCARES Communications Trailer in the middle of Columbia state park to check in and get a vest and your assignment. Be there at 7 am for the briefing meeting. Contact Grayson Rehn at papabird.ke6kyi@gmail.com if you’re interested in volunteering, or if you have questions. We hope to see some of you there!

The post 2026 Old Mill Run Radio Support appeared first on TCARES.

June 15, 2024 @ 9:00 am – 3:00 pm PDT

TCARES ham radio club will set up a public information and radio demonstration table at the 2024 Father’s Day Fly-in with other vendors and public agencies and organizations.

Will you volunteer? The information booth will be open for about 6 hours on Saturday, can you work a 2 or 3 hour shift and help hand out flyers and demo radios? if so, please email info@tcares.net and indicate when you can help in the booth.

Schedule of Events – Saturday

(from https://fathersdayflyin.org/event-schedule)

9:00 – Vendor Booths Open & Rides Begin

11:30 am to 3:00 pm – Runway Closed for Aerial Demonstrations

8:00 am – Admission Gates Open

The post 2024 Father’s Day Fly in Ham Radio Info Table appeared first on TCARES.

June 15, 2024 @ 9:00 am – 3:00 pm PDT

TCARES ham radio club will set up a public information and radio demonstration table at the 2024 Father’s Day Fly-in with other vendors and public agencies and organizations.

Will you volunteer? The information booth will be open for about 6 hours on Saturday, can you work a 2 or 3 hour shift and help hand out flyers and demo radios? if so, please email info@tcares.net and indicate when you can help in the booth.

Schedule of Events – Saturday

(from https://fathersdayflyin.org/event-schedule)

9:00 – Vendor Booths Open & Rides Begin

11:30 am to 3:00 pm – Runway Closed for Aerial Demonstrations

8:00 am – Admission Gates Open

The post 2024 Father’s Day Fly in Ham Radio Info Table appeared first on TCARES.

K6NED / WRPM781

“This is a drill. Drop! Cover! Hold on!” was the mantra for the Great ShakeOut exercise on October 19, 2023, at 10:19 AM in Tuolumne County, California.

The Great ShakeOut is an annual international event that promotes awareness of how to prepare for and react to an earthquake. For the past 2 years, TCARES has used this event as an opportunity to test our ability to provide backup communication for the county public safety agencies. Considering that over the past year there have been two instances where primary communication systems went down — one due to a fire, and the other due to a damaged T1 fiber optic cable — this was a timely opportunity. It is a great chance to partner with first responder agencies, build trust, and develop awareness of mutual capabilities and needs.

There was an amateur radio operator stationed at the Tuolumne County Emergency Operations Center, which was operated by the Office of Emergency Services. After a preparatory simulated 5.0-magnitude San Francisco earthquake preamble at 10:19 AM, Ned Sudduth, K6NED, began taking check-ins from amateurs throughout the county with his wife Toni, K6TNI, who logged the reports. County Geographic Information System (GIS) staff loaded the real time of those hams on a map that was displayed on a TV. Tuolumne County is fortunate to have a backbone of four linked, 2-meter repeaters that cover almost the entire county.

There were 38 amateur radio operators providing reports on conditions throughout the county. In addition, we had four Neighborhood Radio Watch (NRW) communities using Family Radio Service radios, General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) radios, and a few GMRS repeaters to add an additional 28 reports. Each NRW community has an embedded ham who monitors the NRW traffic, and then provides a summary to the Incident Commander during their check-in.

Considering it was a Thursday morning, we felt this was a great response. Participation increased from last year’s check-ins. Although Tuolumne is a large county by area, it has a population of just more than 55,000, and it is primarily rural and mountainous in character. Nonetheless, the combination of NRW communities with embedded ham radio operators and a robust repeater system has shown that even when the power and internet are down, first responder operations can continue to operate, and communities can immediately communicate and mobilize to help themselves. During the net, net control began by asking for regional checkins, Starting with the most remote corners of the county. Roll call was not conducted, but check-ins in small batches of three or four allowed for concise reporting with “yes” or “no” comments on the availability of grid power and telephone services. Most stations checking in had clear audio and delivered their local status professionally. Some stations learned they needed to make improvements. Stations at sites of interest, like schools or government buildings, were asked to state their affiliation with organizations like the Community Emergency Response Team, Search and Rescue, etc. Mobile units also checked in and made reports. Those in nearby counties checked in, too, and they reported their local situation reports.

Ideas for next year are already underway with plans to assign operators to specific locations like the local fairgrounds, hospital, Red Cross, fire stations, etc. The Automatic Packet Reporting System can also provide value next year with real-time location and status updates from mobile operators. Thanks to TCARES, the Tuolumne County Sheriff, the Office of Emergency Services, and GIS staff, and the radio operators who have made this an outstanding exercise for the last 2 years.

73, Ned, K6NED

The post This is a drill. Drop! Cover! Hold on! appeared first on TCARES.

April 6, 2024 @ 9:00 am – 2:00 pm PDT

Can you HELP for an hour or two? email info@tcares.net to sign up.

TCARES has been invited to have a public information table at the event. We will help the public understand more about Ham Radio and GMRS as well.

• Defensible Space
• Home Hardening
• Ready Set Go
• Evacuations
• Go Bags
• Team Elite
• CERT
• NWR
• Firewise Community

The post Tuolumne County OES Wildfire Awareness Town Hall appeared first on TCARES.

April 15, 2023 @ 7:00 am – 11:30 am PDT

Rain or Shine

TCARES will provide Radio Communication support for the runners along the course of the run. More details to follow soon. Save the morning of APRIL 15 to help out with your Hand Held Ham Radio and wet weather gear. Charge your batteries!

https://oldmillrun.org

The post OLD MILL RUN Run Radio Support appeared first on TCARES.