On Monday, May 12 at 0628 UTC, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Sichuan, China. The Chinese Radio Sports Association, the Chinese IARU Member-Society, has designated the following frequencies for emergency services involved in the rescue: 14.270, 7.050 and 7.060 MHz. The ARRL encourages US amateurs to be aware of the emergency operations on those three frequencies.
There is no corresponding effort in Myanmar/Burma in the wake of the recent cyclone. Amateur Radio has been tightly controlled by the military government there.
From the top... **While perusing a number of Amateur
Radio related forums, I note the disturbing trend of some of our fellow
hams referring to ARES®/RACES participants as 'whackers'. I prefer not to
think as to
what
that exactly means or how the general public might react to that appellation.
Some
folks
in
Amateur Radio don't get what the NRA, AARP and other special interest groups
have
known
for
years:
All
pursuits within a worthy discipline have merit and must be defended vigorously
as
a
package.
In our case, the
experimenter
and
the
builder
advance
the
art.
The Elmer freshens our ranks with new blood and guards our traditions by passing
them on.
The
club
member organizes, encourages, and showcases our pursuits. The
contester and award chaser
sharpens
his
communications
skills for use in other venues.
The
traffic-handler
preserves
our
most basic
function. The ARES®/RACES member serves the public and helps pay the rent
on our spectrum. The rag-chewer fosters good will and the fine art of conversation.
What
has
the
namecaller ever
brought
to
the
table that is positive? Tom
Paine
said it years ago: 'If we do not hang together, we shall surely hang separately.'
**Several severe weather events have come and gone already. Fortunately,
none have had much significance. It is good to finally get out and observe
real clouds rather than video and pictures.
**I had the extreme pleasure to assist the Kishwaukee ARC on 26 April as they
supported the March of Dimes Walk for Babies in DeKalb. The walk passed uneventfully
except for a flurry of activity to provide transport for a couple with a child
who'd had enough fun for the morning. If you get a chance, join in with your
local club and help out in an operation such as this. You'll enjoy yourself,
do some good, and help showcase this wonderful Service to the public.
Get
informed...
**It's time for Dayton again! Time for the annual pilgrimage
to see who's who and what's what in the world of Amateur Radio. Everyone needs
to go to Dayton at least once for the experience. My only trip there was a
wonderful, crazy event, concluding in a wild RV ride home in order for one
of our group to beat the stork (we did...I still hold the land speed record
for motor home on I-70 and I-65)! Don't forget to stop by ARRL
EXPO during the Hamvention®. Now, if only
it wasn't on the same weekend as my wife's birthday...
**What
is a 'memristor'? Until now, a piece of science fiction. A memristor is a component
that retains the information that it has acquired even after power is removed
from it. The device has been postulated as the fourth fundamental circuit component
in electrical engineering for years. HP
Labs has not only mathematically proven the memristor but has fabricated
and demonstrated the component! Stay tuned, as this will upend the computing
world as it is developed. (I thought that it was a gag until I read the press
release.)
**Field Day preparations continue throughout the Section. Don't forget to check
out the rule changes as
you plan. There's still time to partner with your area Emergency Management
in order to establish that Class F station in their EOC.
**In the April issue of the Podunk
Hollow News of the Egyptian RC, Walter Wise
WB9BRQ uses the privilege of the editor's chair to reprint the Amateur's Code
with
some
personal
additions. The Code, written in 1928 by Paul Segal W9EEA, embodies everything
that we should strive for. Walter's suggested additions on respectfulness and
honesty bear consideration if not addition. And Walter...as frequent readers
can verify, I've never found it necessary to be apologetic for an honest opinion.
**Tod West KB9AIL, has been a fixture in Madison County EmComm for years. All
good things come to an end though, and Tod has decided to step back as EC of
Madison County. In recognition of his devotion to service, Pat Ryan KC6VVT
and Curtis Williams W5DTR presented Tod with a Certificate of Appreciation
at the recent Hamfest in Godfrey. Tod continues as an OES, as we don't let
good volunteers go completely. Tod has been a friend and supporter since I
began my activities several years ago, and I join Pat
and Curtis in saying 'WELL DONE!' Pictures below.
**The LaSalle and Grundy County ARES® assisted in a full-scale exercise
involving the Exelon (ComEd) nuclear facility in LaSalle County. This is
a required biennial effort involving plant personnel, the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, FEMA, IEMA, and county and local EMA/ESDA. Bob Cockream AB9EE and
Joe Tokarz
KB9EZZ led the charge of volunteers in various EOCs in Grundy and LaSalle Counties
using FM voice, packet, and Echolink. Owing to intense preparation, the folks
gave a good accounting of themselves and the Service. Joe KB9EZZ tells it this
way: 'During the April 30th drill, 11 volunteer hams worked with the LaSalle
County Emergency Manager Mike Jobst, KC9KWA, to pass Nuclear Accident Reporting
System (NARs) messages between the County EOC and townships within the 10 mile
Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ). During the exercise debrief,
a FEMA evaluator recognized the hams and how they strengthened the extremely
important
function of communications. This strength would not have been possible without
over 50 ham-hours of pre-exercise
on-air training sessions. During the training, the hams became proficient in
accurately passing the 15-line NARS using voice. And, following the old EmComm
adage of 'failing to plan is planning to fail', once it got too easy using
the Starved Rock Radio Club's 147.120 repeater, we continued the training by
sending
NARs over 150 miles using a backup 2M simplex frequency. We will continue honing
our 2M traffic-handling skills using voice. Before the 2010 exercise, we will
also practice using packet radio and Outpost (see
April 2008 QST). Thanks again to these Communication Specialists: Peru Red Cross--Keith
KB9VFX and Bonnie KC9IZT using Repeater and Simplex voice and packet,
LaSalle EOC--Frank KF9NZ and Joe KB9EZZ using Repeater and Simplex voice and
packet,
Grundy EOC--Ann WD9JHP, Art N9ZZK and Bob AB9EE using Repeater voice and packet,
Marseilles--Oggie N9JNK using Repeater and Simplex voice and packet, Grand
Ridge--Jim KC9FGU and Gene N9MRG using Repeater and simplex voice and Seneca--Mark
K9ZQ using Repeater and Simplex voice.' Take
that, namecallers!
**The Jackson County ARES®
got some positive mention in the local
paper for their efforts in their last SET. (Link may be time-sensitive) Notable
is
both
a
mention
of
ARECC courses by a professor at SIU and the prophetic quote from Bill Stevens
K9YP,
EC Jackson County: 'If someone feels the ground shaking even more than
this last 5.2 one, the amateur radio operators will probably activate themselves
and scan the frequencies looking for where they're needed.' Which is what happened
during the string of quakes beginning on 18 April. Numerous ARES®/RACES
nets spontaneously activated in anticipation of wider involvement. Fortunately,
other than minor damage near the epicenter, no other ill effects were reported.
Unless of course, you count the disappointing feeling of the ground beneath you
no longer being stable...
Around the
Section...
**The Bolingbrook ARS is still fighting the good fight in
trying to get their 220 and 440 machines back at full strength after a mishap
in the water tower site that the club shared. 440 is up on a loaner box at
a temporary site. A word to the wise: Even if you are the best of friends with
your repeater site manager, make sure that everyone understands who is responsible
for what if the unforseen occurs. This way, there are no hard feelings or unrealistic
expectations if the worst happens. And lesson number two...it ain't just lightning
that can put a repeater out of action.
**It's been bad repeater karma this month! The Vermilion County ARA also lost
their repeater for a time when a tower failure caused a near-catastrophe. A
quickly called work party prevented serious damage, and the W9MJL machine is
back using a temporary antenna mounting until the tower issue is resolved.
**The April meeting of the Western IL ARC was held at the WGEM-TV studios in
Quincy.The meeting's high point was a tour of the station's Weather Center. If
you have a local TV outlet, here's a meeting idea that is worth swiping. Information
sharing between the TV weather guys and your local SKYWARN component is never
a bad idea, either.
**The price of gasoline is going to put the pinch on many hamfests.
Now would be the time to organize a carpool to spread the cost of the summer
scrapping season. There's no need to let all of the good junque go to eBay.
**Joe Gutwein WA9RIJ recently retired after thirty-nine years as Secretary
of the fabled Six Meter Club of Chicago. He was honored by his fellows with
a plaque in recognition of his service. Remember this story when your club
comes looking for volunteers in the fall. Picture below (it sure is fun to
point that out).
**The reference to the Rockford
Marathon which previously occupied this space turned out to be so rife with
errors that I elected to remove it before I made
a bigger mess. Any questions on this event, including offers of assistance
should be directed to Gene Stankiewicz KA9BOD at his ka9bod@arrl.net address.
I apologize to both RARA and Winnebago County ARES for the mess that I made.
Ye Olde Traffic
Report...
** IL ARES®
Net -- QNI xx -- QTC 0 -- 3 Sessions KC6VVT
** Lake County ARES®/RACES Phone Net --QNI 86 -- QTC 0 -- 4 Sessions K9DRW
** W9VEY Memorial Net -- QNI xx -- QTC x -- 5 Sessions
WA9RUM
** IL Emergency Net -- QNI 55 -- QTC 5 -- 4 Sessions K9HEZ
** IL Phone Net -- QNI 168 -- QTC 15 -- 26 Sessions K9HEZ
** North Central Phone Net -- QNI 102 -- QTC 14 -- 21 Sessions K9HEZ
Madison County Acting EC Dave Miller K0RJL with Tod West KB9AIL, retired EC at Godfrey Hamfest (KC6VVT Photo)
Curtis W5DTR, Tod KB9AIL and Pat KC6VVT with presentations for KB9AIL retirement as EC/IL, at Godfrey Hamfest (KC6VVT Photo)
Curtis W5DTR, DEC/IL with Tod KB9AIL retiring EC, and Dave K0RJL, Acting EC Madison County at Godfrey Hamfest (KC6VVT Photo)
Joe Gutwein WA9RIJ receiving a plaque for 39 Years of service as Secretary of the Six Meter Club of Chicago from Club President Jim Novak, WA9FIH. (DE WD9GJK)
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