OH8STN: Radio Preparedness vs Emergency Communications

This information comes from Radio Prepper by way of introduction from Julian – OH8STN.

Hello Operators.

Today I’m sharing another video from Gil F4WBY, the Radio Prepper. The topic is disaster Communications. More specifically preparedness communications vs traditional amateur radio emergency communications. Gil does a very good job of going over the mission differences between Communications for preparedness, versus emergency communications for disaster relief. This is something we’ve all talked about on the grid down Communications for preparedness series.

It’s important to remember it’s not a competition. There isn’t (or at least shouldn’t be), a one or the other mentality here. Radio operator should be quite Versed in the guerrilla nature of preparedness Communications, in addition to the more structured and traditional emergency communications, as laid out by organizations like ARES. It’s a good discussion and one I think all of us should be watching.

OH8STN: Emergency Power for Communications

Amateur radio enthusiast, blogger and vlogger OH8STN (Julian) has posted the second video in his Grid Down Communications series. In this video he addresses peoples’ concerns with how they will keep their communications online when the grid is down, including batteries, solar generators, solar panels, and other alternative power.

2019 NW APRS Summer Gathering, North Bend, SEP 6-8

8/19/2019 Update:

The agenda has come together, with a varied list of topics providing lots of opportunities to learn about what’s happening today in digital radio. Time has been built in to get your questions asked and answered. Open social time will be available both days to help you put a face to the voice you hear on the radio.

Before we get to the agenda we have a few housekeeping items we need to cover:

  • If you plan to stay overnight at Valley Camp please contact Teena at info@valleycamp.org There are a few dry camping RV sites still available, several bunks in the lodge, and lots of tent sites. There is a new Hampton Inn and Suites on Snoqualmie Ridge, we hear it is very nice and not far away.
  • If you have a reservation already and have to cancel please let Teena know very soon, we have a wait list
  • If you would like to join us for meals watch for the signup survey coming out next week. This is required so enough food can be purchased for the 5 meals that will be provided
  • The Tailgate Swap-meet is scheduled for 1600 – 1800 Saturday but if you want to trade or sell Ham Radio related items at any time please do so from your campsite or vehicle so as to not interrupt the presentations.
  • Talk-In Frequency will be simplex 146.52 (everyone uses this, right?)

The current agenda. Also available here
Friday
Anyone wanting to arrive Friday and have made your reservations we will be hosting a social time at 1900 in the large pavilion and providing dessert. If you wish to bring your favorite delectable treat to share you will be greeted warmly.

Saturday
We begin at 0700 with breakfast at the large pavilion, serving until 0830.  Coffee will be served all day.
Then after a brief welcome and introduction to the event will begin:

0900 – 0945: DStar – Scott, N7SS
1000 – 1045: Digital Mobile Radio, (DMR) – Brad, N7ER
1100 – 1145: APRS – Tom, WA7TBP
1145 – 1250: Lunch (Burgers & brats)
1250 – 1300: 22nd Annual Group Photo in front of Pavilion
1300 – 1345: Balloon Launch. – L. Paul Verhage, KD4STH
1400 – 1445: HAMWAN update. – Kenny, KU7M
1500 – 1545: 9600 baud packet & DRAWS. – Bryan, K7UDR
1600 – 1800: Elmer stations, tailgate swap-meet & social time
* DStar – Scott Honaker, N7SS
* APRS – Tom Needham, WA7TBP
* DMR – Brad Estill, N7ER
* WINLINK – Bob Stephens, AF9W
* 3D Printing – Phil Moscinski, N2EU
* FL-DIGI – Bob Tykulsker, KM6SO
1800: Spaghetti feed at pavilion. Social time the rest of the evening
1900: APRS Bunny Hunt. – Tom Needham, WA7TBP

Sunday
Begins with a Pancake Feed organized by Brad, N7ER at 0730 – 0830

0900 – 0945: 3D Printing, Phil, N2EU
1000 – 1045: FL-DIGI. Bob, KM6SO
1100 – 1150: PAT Winlink. Bob, AF9W
1150 – 1300: Lunch provided
1300 – 1500: Elmer Stations and social time. This will be a great time to get specific questions asked and answered by the presenters as well as subject matter “experts” staying the weekend at Valley Camp.
We will introduce those “experts” to the group Saturday morning.

Wrap up and cleanup will begin around 1500.

Things to know

  • Summer Gathering is held at Valley Camp, 49515 SE Middle Fork Rd, North Bend, WA 98045, If you enter this into a GPS and it is something other than a newer model Garmin it will take you to a different place so be aware and check your Google Map to find the exact location. Sadly the Tom-Tom GPS has a bad database and will take you on a wild goose chase. Better yet use these coordinates:   47.46805° -121.68081° For us location precision nuts the GPS coordinates for a point near the center of camp are: 47.4662216  -121.6804046  (Highly accurate GPS control point)  The WA7VC Banner may be out near the entrance, this will confirm you have arrived.
  • When entering Valley Camp please stay to the left and keep your speed at or below 5 MPH keeping an eye out for small critters and humans crossing the road and remember only you can prevent speed bumps.
  • Cellular coverage is spotty in camp. If your phone has WiFi calling capabilities the Valley Camp WiFi will support that service. WiFi in camp covers just about the entire camp however due to bandwidth limitations of CenturyLink’s equipment the system can not support video streaming, or OS updates. Please turn off Automatic Updates on your equipment so there is plenty of bandwidth for Web searches and emailing for everyone. Please do not use WiFi extenders or personal hotspots as these interfere with the camp WiFi. Network login information will be available in the pavilion.
  • Valley Camp is a No Smoking facility. If we see you smoking we will assume you are on fire and take sudden and appropriate fire fighting measures.
  • If you have a comfortable folding camp chair bring it along. The picnic benches are 60 year old very hard 2×12’s.
  • Pets – If you must bring your pet it has to stay on a 6 foot leash and stay connected to you at all times. We also expect you to clean up after it and be very careful feeding it, any spilled food attracts wild animals, some you don’t want to meet at night.
  • Parking while at the event – Please be aware that not all RV’s in the campground are attending the Summer Gathering so please do not block vehicles parked in front of RV’s. Parking is best accomplished west of the RV area along the road towards the Lodge and Roundhouse.
  • The Summer Gathering is funded only through donations of the attendees, no outside organization financially sponsors the event. Please consider what this event is worth to you and donate appropriately. In the past it was suggested that $25 per day for the event was appropriate, adding $30 for meals on Saturday, and $20 for meals on Sunday.  There will be several places to leave your donations, the main one being the green MAILBOX marked DONATIONS in the shelter and if you would like to make a donation using a credit card see Teena.
  • Valley Camp is the conduit for all donations and it is a 501(c)3 not for profit organization.
  • Online donation opportunities can be found here on the first page:  https://valleycamp.org

More information and a signup survey coming soon!

See you in a few weeks,

73
WA7VC Group and Friends
https://wa7vc.org/


The 2019 Northwest APRS/Digital Summer Gathering will be held on Sept. 6th through 8th at Valley Camp in North Bend, WA. WA7VC is the Valley Camp Amateur Radio Group, serving the Upper Snoqualmie Valley community since 1995.

Valley Camp is location about 30 minutes east of Seattle. (Directions from their website are located below)

Address:
49515 S.E. Middle Fork Rd
North Bend WA 98045

Coordinates:
47.4680, -121.6806

WA7VC on air contact info:

There are a number of ways to reach us either via good ‘ol RF or the internet:

  • 70cm Simplex: 446.525 (no tone)
  • Echolink: Node 98045 (or Valley Camp)
  • IRLP: 7808
  • DSTAR: WA7VC B on 440.01250Mhz + 5.000Mhz
  • APRS: WA7VC 10 Digi-iGate 144.390
  • DMR: NorthBend-ValleyCamp 440.7250 + 5.000Mhz

Our on-site EchoIRLP node is powered by a Raspberry Pi. It offers the following commands:

  • Read the current time
  • Read data from Snoqualmie Falls river gauging station
  • Read data from North Fork river gauging station
  • Read data from Middle Fork river gauging station
  • Read data from South Fork river gauging station

 

AmRRON: T-REX “News” 2019 Continues

AmRRON continues to release TEOTWAWKI Readiness Exercise (T-REX) 2019 related news. You can find the T-REX news page here. The active exercise begins on July 26th. This post will be updated as additional exercise/drill news is published.

25 July 2019 EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE AmCON
QST QST ALL AmRRON OPERATORS… Commercial power and telecommunications failure is imminent, and expected within the next three to six hours. nsur uo s S. I. n net ss reor.

25 July 2019 EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE*** Liberty State Beacon – Early this morning, the Securities Exchange Commission announced a bank holiday effective at the end of the business day. Additionally, all U.S. stock exchanges will be closed until Monday, July 29 at 9:00 Eastern. This comes as more ATM’s are now offline across the nation and law enforcement in several cities report an increased call load as customers make a run on banks.EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE***


20190725 – 1500z EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE*****AmRRON Readiness Condition has been raised to Level 2. Due to the pervasive cyber attacks on major infrastructure, coupled with increasingly widespread telecommunications and power systems failures, the AmRRON Network is preparing to activate.Persistent presence nets are in place by multiple volunteer radio operators on the HF bands. SIGCENs are mobilizing, either already establishing on-air presence or preparing for operations.
-Have plenty of cash on hand
-Store up on water and if able to do so safely, make last-minute purchases of perishable items, fuels, batteries, etc.
-If you have not been participating in on-air radio practice session, do so immediately.
-Be prepared to have your communications operational within the next 12 hours.
-Avoid metropolitan areas, public transit, and venues with crowds. -Avoid traveling beyond your vehicle’s fuel capacity to make your way safely home or other safe location.EXERCISE EXERCISE*****

*** EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE

AmRRON TREX19*** 20190725 – 1500z

Early this morning, several nuclear facilities throughout the US report cyber-attacks on their PLCs and resultant reactor “scrams”. These attacks were accompanied by widespread internet outages and cell phone service lost in several regions on the country.

EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE***

24 July 2019 EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE*** Liberty State Beacon – In a press release earlier today from the Securities Exchange Commission, authorities announced they were still working to restore all brokerage accounts after Monday’s lockdown.  While they are working diligently to resolve the problem an immediate resolution has not been identified and may require a shutdown of financial activity on the NYSE and other commodity exchanges.  Across the world, financial exchanges are reacting to the announcement with record losses.  Currency exchanges are fluctuating and the dollar is down by 40%.  In other news, sources near a nuclear power plant in Georgia report rumors of a reactor “scram” as a result of a failed PLC and false data.  Officials from the plant indicate they had some unusual readings and shut the plant down for recalibration but there is no immediate danger to the public.  They expect the system to be operational again within 48 hours.  Additionally in the East, power plants remain at reduced power output.   Several South Eastern cities are having intermittent internet outages and Cell phone companies have announced that several of their regional hubs have been hit by a cyber-virus. EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE***

EXERCISE**** ***EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE***** Due to the threats to the recently reported cyber attacks on banking and infrastructure computer systems, we are raising the AmCON to Level-4. There is an increased risk to the telecommunications grid across the United States. Inventory all communications gear, update software, print reference documents, and participate in all scheduled AmRRON nets to ensure your station is ready for service. EOM EXERCISE EXERCISE*****

AmRRON Intelligence Brief (AIB) 23 July 2019 Current AmCON: Level 5
*** EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE ***** 1. SEC announcement – NYSE and Chicago mercantile will delay opening for 2 hours to address cyber security measures. News reports of several brokerages are locked out of some of their accounts and are aggressively pursuing a solution. They urge clients to remain calm and not try and access their accounts until they announce a fix. Many ATM’s remain inaccessible. 2. News reports of several AEP power plants have experienced turbine failures due to PLC problems. They are rectifying the problem but will have to shut down operations for 72 hours. Expected brownouts and intermittent power outages are expected through the Mid-Atlantic states to include Metropolitan Washington D.C. and Baltimore areas. ***** EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE *****

23 July 2009 EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE*** Liberty State Beacon – Earlier today, multiple inside sources reported repeated attacks into commercial and private computer systems by an unconfirmed nation state. One of these sources, going by the code name “Big Al”, indicated a mutating computer virus has infected computer systems across the nation. “Big Al” reportedly works for a large bank in the IT Watch Center and has proof of this worm. He indicates that teams are in place to eradicate the worm but by the time they identify the virus, it has mutated and cloned itself to prevent eradication. Big Al stated that people should do everything they can to have cash on hand because things were going to become very bad, very soon. END T-REX TRAFFIC***

23 July 2009 Exercise,Exercise,Exercise
///MSG/// Disruptions to railroad operators computer systems have disruptions to the national rail industry. Operators have assigned personnel to manually operate switches along key rail lines but trains running these routes are forced to move at a much slower pace for safety purposes.Exercise, Exercise, Exercise. ///END OF MSG//
22 July 2009 Exercise,Exercise,Exercise

///MSG/// Liberty State Beacon – Today the Securities Exchange Commission announced both the New York Stock Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile will delay opening for two hours to address cyber security measures. Sources internal to several brokerages report numerous locked accounts and are aggressively pursuing a solution. Clients of these brokerages are urged to remain calm and delay access to accounts until a fix is announced. In a press release from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Chairman Maury Fifer promises the public that “everything is stable and not to do anything rash.” Mr. Fifer wants to remind the public that large withdraws from banks will only create more panic and lead to further instability. Patriot sources urge the public to have plenty of cash on hand as a reserve.Exercise, Exercise, Exercise. ///END OF MSG//
15 July 2009 Exercise,Exercise,Exercise-Traffic .

///MSG/// The Department of Homeland Security has issued a warning advising all commercial and public internet users to be vigilant for possible cyber intrusion into commercial cyber controllers, Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), and internet servers. All commercial and public internet users are advised to review the following document: https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/content/overview-cyber-vulnerabilities
Exercise, Exercise, Exercise. ///END OF MSG//

Related:

AmRRON: T-REX “News” Has Begun

AmRRON: T-REX “News” Has Begun

AmRRON has released the first TEOTWAWKI Readiness Exercise (T-REX) 2019 related news. You can find the T-REX news page here. The active exercise begins on July 26th, but you can expect escalating drill news to be released periodically, ramping up to the main event.

15 July 09 Exercise,Exercise,Exercise-Traffic .
///MSG/// The Department of Homeland Security has issued a warning advising all commercial and public internet users to be vigilant for possible cyber intrusion into commercial cyber controllers, Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), and internet servers. All commercial and public internet users are advised to review the following document: https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/content/overview-cyber-vulnerabilities
Exercise, Exercise, Exercise. ///END OF MSG//

Here is some background for this year’s T-REX:

This years T-REX is primarily centered around a cyber attack on PLC’s (programmable logic controllers). These small devices provide computer control of many of our industrial and infrastructure mechanical devices. You may remember the “STUXNET” virus that struck Iran’s nuclear program. The virus attacked PLC’s that controlled the speed of uranium centrifuges and caused them to spin out of control resulting in failure and damage to the centrifuges. It is hypothesized that the STUXNET virus was introduced into the Iranian computers through a compromised USB drive.

In addition to the cyber attack on the PLC’s, this T-REX will incorporate other types of cyber attacks into commercial infrastructure and ATM’s, medical devices and communications services.

The following link will give a good overview on how to prevent cyber intrusion into infrastructure devices and is worth reading. Overview of Cyber Vulnerabilities

Recommended Reading: Countdown to Zero Day: Stuxnet World’s First Digital Weapon
VPN- NORD VPN

 

ARRL Field Day, June 23-24, 2018

Field Day is ham radio’s open house. Every June, more than 40,000 hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations in public places to demonstrate ham radio’s science, skill and service to our communities and our nation. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills all in a single event. Field Day has been an annual event since 1933, and remains the most popular event in ham radio.

Field Day is a picnic, a camp-out, practice for emergencies, an informal contest and, most of all, FUN! It is a time where many aspects of Amateur Radio come together to highlight our many roles. While some will treat it as a contest, other groups use the opportunity to practice their emergency response capabilities. It is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate Amateur Radio to the organizations that Amateur Radio might serve in an emergency, as well as the general public.
Field Day is always the fourth full weekend of June, beginning at 1800 UTC Saturday and running through 2059 UTC Sunday. Field Day 2018 is June 23-24.
The Yakima Amateur Radio Club will be operating out of West Valley Community Park.
The N7YRC (a group supporting Yakima Red Cross) will operate from somewhere SW of Naches.
The Spout Springs Repeater Association will be operating from a private residence in the Finley area. The Spout Springs group is inviting non-licensed persons to come get on the air.

Suggested Radio Equipment for Community Safety

Several people have asked what our recommendations are for radios; not only amateur radio equipment, but also scanners and shortwave monitoring. Communications are a vital aspect of our every day lives. Communication will be just as important, or more so, in a disaster or emergent situation. Having reliable equipment relieves the end user of much frustration and could be a life saver.

First, a very brief discussion of radio frequency is in order for those readers who have not made any study of radio previously. Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation which moves at the speed of light from the transmitting antenna. This radiation takes the form of electromagnetic waves. Higher energy waves have a higher frequency (number of waves per second) and a shorter wavelength (distance between each successive wave peak).  Lower energy waves have a lower frequency and longer wavelength. Frequency is measured in megahertz (MHz) or millions of waves per second. Different portions of the entire frequency range are grouped together and given shorthand names to aid in their discussion.

Electromagnetic wavelength

The portion of spectrum which interests us for purposes of this article runs from approximately 3 MHz up to 3,000 MHz. This range has been grouped into three sections.  High Frequency (HF) runs from 3 MHz to 30 MHz. Very High Frequency (VHF) goes from 30 MHz to 300 MHz, and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) runs from 300 MHz to 3,000 MHz.

HF is primarily used for long-range communication. HF signals are reflected from the ionosphere which allows them to propagate beyond the horizon. HF signals may take several reflections off the ionosphere and off the earth to travel great distances. This kind of atmospheric reflection is referred to as skywave propagation. VHF and UHF are considered line of sight frequencies. VHF and UHF are limited to distances not much greater than the distance to the horizons, assuming no obstructions to the line of sight. In certain atmospheric conditions, VHF signals may be reflected by the atmosphere, allowing for greater range, but this happening at UHF is exceeding rare and neither should be relied upon for communication. Most VHF/UHF signal propagation is direct wave or surface wave propagation, and reflection.

HF Skywave Propagation

 

VHF/UHF Propagation; Direct wave, Surface wave, and Ground reflected wave

Continue reading “Suggested Radio Equipment for Community Safety”

Wenatchee Hamfest, June 8-10, 2018

The Apple City Amateur Radio Club invites you to their 50th anniversary hamfest, June 8th – 10th, 2018 in Dryden, WA, at the Dryden Gun Club. The location is just five miles from Leavenworth.

Registration is $7 per person. Tickets are only available at the door.

Activities begin Friday at noon. The grounds open for tents and RVs (no hookups) on Thursday afternoon.

  • Free camping
  • Prizes, bingo, rabbit hunt
  • Ice cream social, Friday night
  • VE testing
  • Breakfast Saturday morning
  • Continental breakfast Sunday morning
  • Swap meet/tailgating
  • Raffle

Contact: Tracy Lathrop – KD7KBE@msn.com, (509) 393-2579 (please leave a message)

Talk-in: W7TD repeater 146.68 MHz ( – / 156.7 tone)

Click here to download pdf event flyer.

Communications Academy, April 14-15, 2018

The Communications Academy will be held at South Seattle College on the weekend of April 14th and 15th. Keynote speakers for 2018 include the Director of Washington Military Department’s Emergency Management Division (EMD) and ham radio author and editor Ward Silver (N0AX). There are six sessions designed for ham radio beginners:

  1. ) Session #5 Radio basics: How to Choose Your First Radio – Carl Leon, N7KUW
  2. ) Session #11 Radio basics: I have my Radio – Now How do I Turn It On? – Joel Ware, KD7QKK and Bill Thomassen, N6NBN
  3. ) Session #15 Radio basics: Radio Safety for Beginners – Jon Newstrom, KL7GT
  4. ) Session #22 Radio basics: But I am Afraid to Talk into the Microphone – Alan Jones, KD7KUS
  5. ) Session #27 Radio basics: This is Fun – What’s Next? – Don Marshall, KE7ARH
  6. ) Session #31 Radio basics: Where Do I Go from Here? – Carl Leon, N7KUW

There are also sessions on the incident command system, ham radio IP networks, Winlink, Hurricanes Harvey and Maria response, and much more.

Communications Academy is a non-profit coalition of volunteer communications teams to provide a high quality, professional-grade training opportunity for the various emergency communications teams around the Pacific Northwest. By providing a once-a-year large-scale venue for training, volunteer communicators are exposed to topics in emergency management, communications techniques and protocols, real-life emergency responses, and other pertinent subjects, which might not otherwise be available to them.

In past years the academy has been able to attract several nationally known speakers for the keynote sessions.

The Communications Academy is open to anyone with an interest in emergency communications, volunteer or professional. The presentations are designed to promote the development of knowledgeable, skilled emergency communicators who will support their local communities during a disaster or emergency response.

Click here to view the Saturday schedule
Click here to view the Sunday schedule

ARRL: Radio Amateur on St. Lucia Relays Hurricane Reports

From ARRL.org, Radio Amateur on St. Lucia Relays Reports of Hurricane Devastation on Dominica, a reminder of the usefulness of alternative communications methods during a disaster:

As “potentially catastrophic Hurricane Maria” is headed for the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Frans van Santbrink, J69DS, on St. Lucia checked into the VoIP Hurricane Net to relay damage reports he gathered via repeater conversations with hams on Dominica, which was hit by Category 5 Hurricane Maria.

He recounted a damage report from Kerry Fevrier, J69YH, in Roseau, Dominica. “Trees down, river has flooded half the village, cars are all over, most houses have lost their roofs or are destroyed, the area between his house and the church is just flattened…in his words, ‘devastation is total,’” van Santbrink told the net.

He also heard from J73CI, who has lost his roof; J73WA on the northern end of the island, who lost his tower and was uncertain how he was going to weather the back end of the storm, and J73MH, who also lost his roof and was “just hunkering down and hoping for the best.”

Click here to read the entire article

ARRL: Emergency Net Activated for Mexico Earthquake. 9/8/2017

From the American Radio Relay League, Emergency Net Activated in Wake of Earthquake in Mexico:

The National Emergency Net of the FMRE — Mexico’s national Amateur Radio association, has activated on 7.060 MHz (the Net also may operate on 3.690 MHz) to handle any emergency traffic after a late evening earthquake occurred off Mexico’s coast. Radio amateurs not involved in the earthquake disaster should avoid those frequencies.

The potent magnitude 8.2 earthquake off Mexico’s Pacific Coast — the strongest in 100 years — has resulted in multiple fatalities so far, including 23 in Oaxaca, seven in Chiapas, and 2 in Tabasco. Rescue and recovery efforts are under way to free victims trapped in the rubble.

The tremor was felt around Central America. At 0500 UTC, Jose Arturo Molina, YS1MS, reported feeling a strong temblor within a few minutes of the earthquake in Chiapas, which is near Mexico’s border with Guatemala. In Honduras, Antonio Handal, HR2DX, located on the North Coast, also reported feeling the quake.

The Central American Network operates at 7.090 kHz, and Guatemala at 7.075 MHz. No reports have been heard yet from Guatemalan radio amateurs. In Southeastern Mexico, FMRE has a link to the WL2K Network with capacity to cover Mexico and Central America. — Thanks to IARU Region 2 Coordinator Cesar Pio Santos, HR2P, for some information

ARRL: Amateur Radio Preparations Ramp Up for Hurricane Irma

 

From the American Radio Relay League, Amateur Radio Preparations Ramp Up as Irma Strengthens to Category 5:

Hurricane Irma, making its way through the Caribbean with the possibility of affecting South Florida by week’s end, has, in the words of the National Hurricane Center (NHC), become “an extremely dangerous category 5 hurricane.” The NHC urged that hurricane preparations be rushed to completion in areas now under hurricane warnings…

The HWN will activate at 1800 UTC (2 PM EDT) on its primary frequency of 14.325 MHz and will remain in continuous operation until further notice, Graves said. Daytime operation will begin at 1100 UTC each day continuing for as long as propagation allows. Operation on 7.268 MHz will start at 2200 UTC and continue overnight. “If propagation dictates, we will operate both frequencies at the same time,” Graves said. The HWN marks its 52nd anniversary this week.

He noted that HWN operation on 7.268 MHz will pause at 1130 UTC, and, if required, resume at approximately 1230 UTC, to allow the Waterway Net to conducts its daily net…

IARU Region 2 Emergency Coordinator Cesar Pio Santos, HR2P, has compiled a list of emergency frequencies, subject to change, for use in the Caribbean in anticipation of Hurricane Irma.

  • Puerto Rico: 3.803, 3.808, 7.188 MHz. Radio amateurs in Puerto Rico also will cooperate with the HWN on 7.268 and 14.325 MHz.
  • Cuba: Daylight hours, 7.110 MHz (primary) and 7.120 MHz (secondary); Provincial Net — 7.045, 7.080 MHz, and on other lower frequencies as necessary. Nighttime, 3.740 MHz (primary) and 3.720 MHz (secondary) and on other lower frequencies as necessary.
  • Dominican Republic: 3.873 MHz (primary), 3.815 MHz (secondary), 7.182 MHz (primary), 7.255 MHz (secondary); 14.330 MHz (primary), 21.360 MHz (primary), 28.330 MHz (primary).
  • Caribbean Emergency and Weather Net (CEWN): 3.815 MHz and 7.162 MHz (when necessary). NOTE: Net will activate continuously starting this evening until the hurricane has passed through…

The FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) reminded licensees this week that FCC rules address operation during emergencies. “These rules allow licensees to provide emergency communications during a period of emergency in a manner or configuration not specified in the station authorization or in the rules governing such stations,” the FCC said.

Read the whole article by clicking here

6 Meters: Survivalist Magic

NC Scout writes of the utility of the six meter amateur radio band, while also encouraging people to acquire better radio gear than the cheapest thing they can get.

These days, nearly exclusively, when someone brings up survivalist communications, the default always resigns to some sort of chinese dual bander with the added justification “because its cheap!” Nevermind the fact that the build quality is junk and the thing will likely fail the person using it sooner rather than later, they keep being bought because the personality cults of the Internet tell them to…only because they’re cheap. But if one thought critically, all those folks having the ability to listen to hi band VHF and UHF might be a bad thing- especially if you’re looking for any sort of security.

Your area may be different, but around here there’s next to no activity on some of the other bands…you know, the ones Baofeng doesn’t make a radio for. Especially interesting for Survivalists is the capability the 6M band offers- with little to no overall traffic, great capability in rural terrain and many older repeaters sitting idle, 6M really needs more consideration for those actually concerned with creating a capable net versus those just cosplaying…

Source: 6 Meters: Survivalist Magic  Click to continue reading.