News

Next Ham Crams: Wed 7/22 & Sat 7/25

2009-06-07T06:01:20Z

Our next HamCrams are scheduled for Wednesday, July 22 at San Joaquin General Hospital and Saturday, July 25 at a location yet to be determined. Both events run from 8:15am-4:45 p.m. More details will be posted soon.

Field Day for Tracy and Manteca

2009-06-07T05:31:44Z

The Manteca and Tracy Amateur Radio Clubs invite you to join us for Field Day 2009, Saturday, June 27, 2009.

During this annual event, hams across the country set-up portable stations that simulate emergency conditions and attempt to contact other Field Day stations across the U.S. and Canada.

In Tracy: The Tracy Club will be operating from 10am until dark on Saturday at Fire Station 94, 16502 West Schulte Rd, in Tracy. Talk-in on 146.655 - PL 100.0. Click here for a map to the site.

In French Camp: The Manteca Club will be operating from 10am Saturday until 11 a.m. Sunday on the campus of San Joaquin General Hospital in French Camp. Talk-in on 146.985 - PL 100.0. Click here for a map to the site, located on the west side of the hospital, next to the EMS Building, located at Service St. and Support Rd.

The main Field Day operation will be at the hospital. The Tracy Field Day will be smaller. All hams are welcome to operate our Field Day stations and non-hams can operate, too!

We will offer new ham training at both locations. Details soon!

43 New/Upgraded Hams During May

2009-06-01T01:46:27Z

Thanks to the two HamCrams during May, we added a monthly record of 43 new and/or upgraded hams during the month, including several who went from zero to General (two in a single day!).

Mark Engebretsen, KG9Y, organized the 5/30 event at the LDS church in Lodi, where his wife and 9-year-old daughter both got their licenses. I am not sure I have ever seen a happier dad. This event generated 28 new Techs and four upgrades. Thanks to Mark for organizing this event.

The Tracy event was held at Sutter Tracy Community Hospital and generated 13 new Techs. Thanks to Kim Nadon at the hospital for making the rooms available to us.

HamCram 5/30 at Lodi LDS Center

2009-04-25T05:14:50Z

Amateur Radio One Day License Class and FCC Exam
Saturday May 30, 2009, Lodi Stake Center

The Lodi Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is hosting a one day intense question study session (HamCram) designed to help participants pass the FCC Amateur Radio Technician License exam. The FCC exam is given at the end of the day.

Our Ham Cram instructor is David Coursey, N5FDL, a very active emergency communications leader in our area. If you already have your Technician Class license, we can use this time to ham-cram for your General Class exam and provide that exam as well.

Who May Attend

First priority is given to members of the Lodi Stake with a desire to assist in emergency communications. We have room for 30. This course is designed for intense question pool study and coaching. Children until 12 may attend, but please be sure they can handle the long hours of attention and memorization required.

This is not a course in amateur radio, rather a course to get you over the first hurdle of the 35 question multiple choice license allowing you to operate. We will teach emergency communications and radio operations as a follow on.

After May 17, as space is available, we will open seats to any and all members of the public interested in emergency communications. If you are in the Lodi Stake and want to secure a spot, the cut off is May 17.

Non-Lodi Stake people may pre-register for when open slots become available. No fee is required to pre-register, and it puts you on the waiting list. You must have an email address to pre-register.

Date, Time, Location

Saturday May 30, 2009 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 1510 W Century Blvd, Lodi, CA 95242
Bring a lunch, drinks and snacks. You may use the refrigerator in the kitchen.

Advance Fee Payment and Registration is Required

Cost: $30 Covers FCC Exam Fee and printing of study materials. Due by May 24!

Check or PayPal (preferred) required by May 24 so we can print materials. To be fair to others, we must release your seat to another if payment is not received on time.

Mail checks (to arrive before May 24) Payable to Mark Engebretsen, 703 Summit Lakes Way, Galt, CA 95632

To Register or for More Information, contact: Mark Engebretsen 209-251-9116 K9ZY@Yahoo.com

HamCram Licensing Events 4/25 and 5/23 in Tracy

2009-04-18T01:47:46Z

Amateur Radio operators played an important role in the search for Sandra Cantu, providing communication between search-and-rescue teams in the field and the incident command post at the Fire Administration building downtown.

Hams also assisted in organizing the distribution of search flyers, working alongside Tracy Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members for several days during the search. Ham radio is a recommended part of Tracy CERT training.

To help prepare for future emergencies, the Tracy Amateur Radio Club, in cooperation with CERT and the Tracy Fire Department, will be holding two training events for those interested in getting an amateur radio license in just one day.

Called a “HamCram,” each event takes place from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. on a Saturday and involves studying the test questions followed by a 35 question multiple-choice FCC examination. Last year, more than 150 San Joaquin County residents participated in a HamCram, with a pass rate of greater than 95 percent.

What is a Hamcram?

No Morse code is required and you need only attend one of the two scheduled events to get your ham license. Additional training in use of ham radio equipment will be available to all participants.

The HamCrams will take place on Saturday, April 25 and Saturday, May 23 in Tracy. The events run from from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. Participants must be present all day. Cost is $30 and preregistration/prepayment is required to reserve a space.

For more information, contact David Coursey at (209) 740-4300, visit www.tracyarc.org, or send email to n5fdl@arrl.net.

New Ham Training April 18 in Manteca

2009-04-13T07:55:16Z

The Manteca and Tracy Amateur Radio Clubs are offering a free beginner’s “how-to” and “what’s that?” class for new and recently-upgraded hams.

When: Saturday, April 18, 2009. 9am-1pm or so. The Technician Class will end before Noon.

Where: Manteca Fire Station #1, 290 S. Powers Ave., Manteca, CA. This is the usual meeting location.

Talk-in: Manteca repeater 146.985 - PL 100.0 or the Tracy repeater 146.655 - PL 100.0

No question is too simple for this class, which will cover topics such as:

How does my handie-talkie work? What’s a repeater? How do I talk on one? How do I program my radio? What is a “net” and how do I participate in one? (For new Technician licensees — if you have a radio, bring it).

and

How does HF work? What does my General license allow me to do? How do I make an HF contact? (For new General licensees)

For everyone, we will help configure new CAHAN emergency notification accounts and will test the system.

The goal is to help new hams become comfortable using their (or somebody else’s) radio. The class will be taught by Mike K6MDS, John AF6JP, Steggy WY6E, and Jim KO6UW. David N5FDL will be programming radios with the UPDATED ARES frequency plan. You need not own a radio to participate as the instructors will bring several (dozen, probably).

If you wish to RSVP for the class or have questions, please contact John, AF6JP (john@pimmer.com).

We still need additional instructors for this class.

Please share this announcement with anyone who might be interested.

Announcing EMCOMM U

2008-12-23T19:58:25Z

Northern California Emcomm University

Saturday, March 14, 2009 0800-1700 PST
San Joaquin County Ag Center, 2101 E. Earhart Ave., Stockton CA 95206
www.emcommuniversity.org

Presented by San Joaquin County ARES
Benefitting the American Red Cross of San Joaquin County

Registration information will be posted in January.

Announcement and Call for Speakers

EMCOMM U is a one-day multitrack ARES/RACES/ACS workshop that will be held on Saturday, March 14, 2009 in Stockton (San Joaquin County), CA. All interested emergency communicators are invited to participate.

The purpose of EMCOMM U is to provide advanced training to the members and leaders of volunteer emergency communications groups in Northern California. The training will fall into three major areas: Emerging Technology for Emergency Communication, Management of Volunteer Emergency Communication Organizations and Emergency Communication Incident Operations. There will also be an open Emcomm Show-and-Tell offered as part of the conference.

Cost for the event is $25 per attendee and includes a box lunch and beverages. Five dollars of the registration fee will be donated to the San Joaquin County Chapter of the American Red Cross, which has been facing severe financial hardship.

Limited scholarships and discounted registrations are available for low or fixed-income, persons with disabilities, and students. Registration is limited to 100.

The content and timing presented below is for planning only — session length may be increased and the number of sessions reduced, for example. Session topics are not fixed—send us your ideas.

Emcomm Show-and-Tell will provide designated parking for emergency response vehicles and indoor tables for demonstrations of radio boxes, go-kits, and other items of interest to attendee. Please inquire for additional information.

Call for Speakers

If you would like to present, know of someone who should present, or wish to offer program suggestions, please contact the event organizer, David Coursey, N5FDL.

Copy for Net and Newsletter Announcements

All amateurs are invited to attend EMCOMM U, a one-day emergency communications workshop sponsored by San Joaquin County ARES. It will be held on Saturday, March 14th in Stockton, CA at a brand new county-owned meeting facility.

The three-track program features sessions on emerging technology for emergency communication, how to organize and manage volunteer groups, and improving emergency response and operations.

There will be sessions on emergency uses of D-STAR and packet, as well as discussion of real world traffic handling, how to develop better exercises, how to operate more effectively during emergencies and other topics.

The Emcomm Show-and-Tell invites amateurs to bring emergency vehicles, response kits, and other items to show and demonstrate for attendees.

Registration is limited to 100 people. The $25 workshop fee includes lunch and a $5 donation to the San Joaquin County Chapter of the American Red Cross.

For more information, visit www.emcommu.com or send email to the organizer, n5fdl@arrl.net.

More Information

To find out more about Emcomm University, visit www.emcommuniversity.org or send email to the event organizer, David Coursey, N5FDL, ARES Emergency Coordinator for San Joaquin County.

Sponsors

Emcomm University is sponsored by San Joaquin County ARES; San Joaquin Valley Section, ARRL; the San Joaquin County EMS Agency; Tracy Amateur Radio Club; and Manteca Amateur Radio Club. Benefitting the San Joaquin County Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Please share this information with fellow amateurs, clubs, ARES/RACES/ACS groups, etc.

SJ ARES "Standards" Sought

2008-11-17T23:01:16Z

I am working on compiling a list of “standards” that will make life easier for our emergency responders. There are a few obvious ones, like Anderson PowerPoles and, well, what else is obvious?

Here are some of the categories I am thinking about, but would appreciate your input and suggestions:

1. DC Power Connection — 30 amp Anderson PowerPole (compatible with 15 and 45 amp PowerPoles as well)
2. State Map — State Thomas Bros. map book (this is what CAL FIRE uses)
3. San Joaquin County Map — ?? (Thomas Bros. or Compass or ?)
4. Stanislaus County Map — ?? (Thomas Bros. or Compass or ?)

5. GPS Settings — I need to know what Lat/Long format is most appropriate, along with the appropriate map datum. I also need to know which should be used with UTM coordinates. (UTM is based on the WGS 84 datum, though I need to make sure that UTM used on topo and forest maps is also WGS 84.)

The value of UTM is that it make it easy for a human to find or plot a location on a (UTM) map using nothing more than a metric ruler. Lat/long locations are much more difficult to plot by hand, which is why the military developed and uses UTM for its mapping needs.

If you have thoughts about this, please send me an email or post a comment.

Manteca Flood Drill a Success

2008-11-13T20:45:50Z

On Wednesday, November 5, more than a dozen hams participated in a flood evacuation drill in Manteca, sponsored by the cities of Manteca, Lathrop, and Stockton, San Joaquin County, FEMA, and other agencies.

This was the first time in recent memory that hams were invited to participate in such a large-scale event, intended to simulate the response to a levee break and subsequent flooding.

The amateurs taking part were: KO6UW, KE6UTO, N5FDL, WB6AGR, W6JCG, KI6OAD, KI6OEE, WY6E, KI6LVA, KI6QLE, W6MJA, KD6YWO, KE6UWE, and a non-ham who is planning to attend the HamCram on December 6.

According to event organizer, Jim, KO6UW, Manteca fire officials were very impressed with amateur radio particpation in the event and we look forward to participating in more exercises in the future.

Read more about the event on N5FDL’s blog.

Next Round of PAVE PAWS Mitigation Contacts Begin

2008-10-24T19:53:20Z

PAVE PAWS radar, Clear AFB, AlaskaZCZC AG16
QST de W1AW
ARRL Bulletin 16 ARLB016
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT October 24, 2008
To all radio amateurs

SB QST ARL ARLB016
ARLB016 Next Round of PAVE PAWS Mitigation Contacts Begin

On Wednesday, October 22, the FCC notified the ARRL that they would
immediately begin making direct contact with owners or trustees of
approximately 40 repeaters. The US Air Force identified these
repeaters earlier this year as contributors to the harmful
interference affecting the Beale Air Force Base PAVE PAWS radar
installation near Sacramento, California.

“ARRL understands that contact with individual amateurs will be made
from the DFCC’s San Francisco office,” said ARRL Regulatory
Information Branch Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND. “The owners of these
newly identified repeaters will be provided the operating parameters
determined by the Air Force engineering unit’s testing to be
necessary to mitigate the interference. The owners will be requested
to meet signal strength limits as soon as possible. The ARRL Lab and
staff are available to answer specific questions for the owners of
these newly identified repeaters and to provide technical
information to assist them in implementing the mitigation.”

Henderson said that as the Amateur Radio Service is a secondary user
on the 70 cm band, “It is important for amateurs to remember that it
is 100 percent our responsibility to eliminate harmful interference
to the primary user. While we realize that this is and will continue
to be an ongoing process, this third round of mitigation should mean
that each of the known repeaters in the affected area have been
tested at least once. How the FCC will address approximately 50
repeaters previously identified as interference contributors — but
which have not apparently completed the required modifications —
still remains. Nor is it clear when a process by which new
coordinations can be issued in the area might commence.”

Henderson reminded amateurs that “It is important to remember that
this isn’t a one-time solution. The amateur community needs to
remain aware of this problem and responsibly utilize the band in the
future to avoid any large-scale problems such as those we have
experienced in this situation.”
NNNN
/EX