SACRAMENTO VALLEY SECTION WEB RESOURCES

Section News: www.arrlsacvalley.org
Section Nets: http://sites.google.com/site/arrlsacvalley/nets
Sacramento Valley ARES: www.sacvalleyares.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ARRLSacramentoValley
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ARRL_SV

Thanks to Greg Kruckewitt KG6SJT for maintaining our Section ARES web page and assisting with our Facebook page and Twitter feed.
Thanks to Les Cobb W6TEE for maintaining the Section Net list.

ARRL Affiliated Club web resources are now listed on this web page

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Boy Scouts Pioneer Express District Seeks Amateur Radio Support at Oct. 19 Scout Fellowship Weekend
Posted October 2, 2019

Attention Sacramento Area Hams and Groups:  The Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts (Pioneer Express District) request support for an amateur radio station at the Saturday, October 19 BSA Pioneer Express District Scout Flag Retirement Event at Gibson Ranch in Elverta. From 300 to 500 Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, and Girl Scouts are expected to attend the event that lasts from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and features exhibits and booths related to scouting. Volunteers would answer inquiries about amateur radio and help youngsters communicate with other scouts during this Worldwide Scouting Jamboree on the Air Event.  

If you wish to share the joy of amateur radio with these young people, please contact Greg Kramer of the BSA Pioneer Express District at ikonsac@gmail.com.

Carol Milazzo, KP4MD, ARRL Sacramento Valley Section Manager

CalFire and Amateur Radio Repeaters

Posted October 5, 2019

Section members may have heard reports claiming that "California declares Ham Radio no longer a benefit, severs ties across state" and "CalFire is causing removal of ham radio emergency communications infrastructure from entire State of California."  Our ARRL Pacific Division Director, Jim Tiemstra, K6JAT, offers the following facts that explain the issue that has arisen with few amateur repeaters on CalFire premises that have not properly identified their association with local emergency support.

"The State of California has not made any determination we can find 'that Ham Radio [is] no longer a benefit.'  What happened is that CAL FIRE has transferred responsibility for its communications sites to its property management department. That department has the task of evaluating each site, its condition, use and tenants. If a repeater not known to be associated with the emergency management function of a local jurisdiction is found in a CAL FIRE vault, the default action is to move it out or subject it to commercial rental rates."

"Our contact in the California Office of Emergency Services suggests that, if any affected repeater is in any way involved with local emergency or government support activity, they should ask that agency to engage with CAL FIRE concerning the repeater. If the agency makes the case, there is a good chance that the repeater will be unaffected."

"Their advice is not to elevate this to State Legislators or the Governor's office. In Southern California, wherein sites managed by the U.S. Forest Service have required repeater owners to post bonds to cover the dismantling of their sites if they cease operation. Negotiation has resulted in considerable easing of the original requirements and a modification of terms to help mitigate the short-term financial impact on those repeater owners."

73, Jim Tiemstra, K6JAT, Pacific Division Director

In episode 414 of the Ham Radio Now podcast, David Goldenberg, WØDHG, and Jim Aspinwall, NO1PC, discuss and explain this and other considerations for amateur radio EmComm equipment that shares space with government radio facilities.

No ARRL SV Section-Wide Net Scheduled for October

ARRL Sacramento Valley Section Nets are conducted only on months when announced, on the third Thursday of that month following the 7 pm Pacific Time Yuba-Sutter ARES net on the WD6AXM 146.085 MHz FM repeater, followed by the HF Section Net on 3880 kHz LSB +/- 3 kHz. During spring and summer months the HF net may be conducted on 5330.5 kHz USB as propagation permits.

All Sacramento Valley Section radio amateurs are welcome to check into our Section Nets. The nets carry announcements of interest to our section and test our section-wide station communication capabilities.

Don't have an antenna or HF radio?  Click a link
and Listen to our HF net on a web receiver. W6DRZ receiver at Half Moon Bay 3880 kHz No 60m WO7I receiver in Northern Nevada 3880 kHz 5330.5 kHz Northern Utah web receiver 3880 kHz 5330.5 kHz

Hourly Northern California NVIS Observations 

This chart shows colors that represent the recommended HF frequencies for contacting stations for a particular hour. Both stations should use the SAME frequency denoted by the color at the location of the target station. The chart is in Universal Time (UTC). More information at http://www.sws.bom.gov.au/HF_Systems/6/6

Update from Bob Wortman, WB6VYH, Section Technical Coordinator
Posted August 1, 2019

Pacificon is coming on Oct. 18 to the 20th. http://www.pacificon.org/ Don’t forget the Western Placer Amateur Radio Club Ham Fest, September 21, 2019, more info. at https://wparc.us
The Boomtown swap was good this year and the weather was not that bad.
I will be all over Northern California, Northern Nevada, Idaho (still thinking about moving to Idaho and looking for a place) and Oregon this summer. If you have cards to check for DXCC, VUCC or WAS and can’t get out or find someone in your area let me know, I may be in that area sometime this year. I will need advance notice so that I can advise the ARRL Awards Desk especially for the out of state ones.
Watch that sun out there and like always, keep the SWR flat.

73, Bob Wortman, WB6VYH, wb6vyh@arrl.net, wb6vyh@comcast.net
ARRL Pacific Division DXCC Awards Manager, Sacramento Valley Section Technical Coordinator, WAS Award Manager, VUCC Awards Manager

Placer County ARES participate in SRMC MCI Exercise
Posted July 7, 2019

On June 19th Placer County ARES participated in a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) exercise at Sutter Roseville Medical Center (SRMC). The exercise was a drone strike on a Black Hawk Helicopter landing on the SRMC helipad causing it to crash and start a fire. There were nine "victims" with varying degrees of injuries. Placer Count ARES were located at the Emergency Department, and at the scene. The relayed "victim" injury information from the scene to the emergency department, so the emergency department could be properly prepared to treat the injures. The exercise was a great success. I would like to thank KM6RIW, WH7QC, WH7DH, KC3PO, KM6RIX, K6ABJ, NI2U, N6UWQ, and KK6GLP for participating.

Carl First N6CKV Placer County ARES EC

The pictures are from Mike KK6GLP

October 12, 2019 - Sacramento County ARES Training
Posted September 28, 2019

The next Sacramento County ARES training and meeting is scheduled for Saturday October 12, 2019 from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon at the Sacramento Sheriff's Central Division, 7000 65th Street, Sacramento, CA 95823.

Vince Cracchiolo KI6NHP is the Sacramento County EC.

For more information, visit the Sacramento County ARES web site at www.saccountyares.org

Update from Jim Piper, N6MED, Red Cross Liaison to Amateur Radio
Posted June 1, 2019

Changes are afoot in the American Red Cross Gold Country Region.

The ink will be dry on the changes this coming January 1. Nationally, the Red Cross is aligning its previously uncorrelated disaster response and blood services regions.

The Gold Country Region will be giving up San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties which will be absorbed by the Central Cal Region. We will be gaining the north coast Del Norte, Humboldt, and Mendocino counties and Lake county to increase our regional response area by two counties to 26. Along with these counties comes additional disaster potentials, not the least of which are more wild land fire and tsunami risk.

Homogeneous training for voice and digital disaster comm skills between ARES districts becomes ever more important.

Thanks to ARES for all that you do and best regards, Jim / N6MED