Emergency & Community Service

Purpose: To maximally prepare for, and provide, emergency and community services to the County and to the community.

The Carroll County Amateur Radio Club (CCARC) Emergency Management Team serves as a vehicle to coordinate ham related emergency and community activities that support providing auxiliary emergency communications for Carroll County and community service to both Carroll and local events and activities.

You do not have to be a member of CCARC to be on this team.  By registering as a volunteer with the Team you will be added to the list of hams to be notified of opportunities to help the community.  [this seems weak]

Chair: Don, W3DVG

Packet POC: Tony, KF3AK

Nets & Amateur Development: Larry, WX3F

Packet Winlink Info; how to contact or use, maybe links to winlink, list of local nodes?, maps?, test address?  Can use mine so I keep in practice

The CARET Net

Thursday, 7:00 pm, any CCARC repeater

Winlink Packet work

Winlink nodes

operating status as of

Station map

  • Add list of VHF infrastructure (call signs and locations)
    • Extract from my status chart
  • Maps
    • Map of “local” infrastructure (I’ll generate)
    • Map of wide-area infrastructure (Rockville-Cascade (I’ll generate)
  • Mention UHF/9600 infrastructure is “in the works” but no details (It’s too feeble to use at the moment and can only frustrate those who attempt it)
    • My rationale (and I ramble):
      • Two-way signals must be at or very near full scale on S-meter to achieve success
      • Requires expensive hardware (special transceiver or TNC)
      • Gorsuch Road site is critical to the network, but unavailable until the “new antenna” is usable (apparently, there is a cabling problem that the new antenna did not fix)
      • The Frederick RMS is months away from operation, if at all (and this was the “driver” for UHF)
      • The Carroll Lutheran Village (CLV) digipeater is all but useless on UHF (gangbusters on VHF)
        • (Pete—did you or Fred use an analyzer on the CLV antenna?  There is a likelihood that it is not dual band. Months ago, I used my HT to use 449.875 and that repeater was full scale, leading us to plan for UHF at CLV)
      • Intended to support emcomm at the county’s critical sites (both EOCs and Carroll Hospital)
        • Fewer “noisy” stations on the frequency are better

Suggested Technical Capabilities

The following are CCARC’s suggestions for amateur radio emergency communications capabilities:

  • VHF portable
  • Winlink via VHF
  • Winlink via HF
  • MT63 via VHF  {this could be were we put set-up directions}
  • Portable operation with these capabilities (go-kit)
  • Battery or off-grid power option
  • [can we bring together resources and provide real support to folks getting these capabilities?  possible hardwares, softwares?
  • Tech Capabilities & Training topics
    • Introduce HeyWhatsThat profiling tool (http://www.heywhatsthat.com/profiler.html)
      • Works good on VHF and UHF (and higher)
      • Possible Tech Talk
    • Winlink via HF
      • Winmor (soundcard mode)
      • Pactor 2/3 (requires special/expensive hardware) 

Suggested Training

[ICS, SKYWARN?]

Contact or Register

How to?  Don, me?

Other

We had a handbook on the pod kits in draft.  maybe that should be revisited?\

Configurig FLDIGI for MT63-2KS

Audio Tab:  what is checked?

Devices Tab:
PortAudio: Check mark
Capture: Microphone
Playback: Speakers

File I/O only: No Check mark

Device supports full duplex: No Check mark

UI Tab:
General Tab:
Check for updates:
Check for updates when starting program: Check Mark

Modems Tab:

MT-63 Tab:
8-bit extended characters (UTF-8): Check mark

Tone Duration (secs): Select (1)
Low tone at 500 Hz: No check mark
Centered at 1500 Hz (SHARES): Check mark
Manual Tuning: No check mark

ID Tab:

RsID Tab: No Check Marks anywhere!

CW Tab:
Transmit callsign: No Check mark

Misc Tab:

NBEMS Tab:
NBEMS data file interface: Enable (check mark)
Open message folder (No Check mark)
Reception of flmsg files:
Transfer direct to executing flmsg: Check mark
Open withn flmsg: Check mark
Open in browser: Check mark
flmsg: (File location to flmsg.exe)
Time out: 2.0

Every other setting: Default

Click: Save
Click: Close