07/02/2007 | W2MPX METROPLEX AND RAMSEY OEM JOIN FORCES

The Metroplex Amateur Radio Club, a New York City Metropolitan Area repeater association and the Ramsey, New Jersey Office of Emergency Management collaborated for a fifth year in a row to run a 5F station from Ramseys Emergency Operations Center. If you are going to hook-up with an OEM, with a radio room and eating and sleeping accommodations, its nice to find one in which the mayor of the community is a ham, the OEM coordinator is a ham and most of his staff are hams, commented John Acovino, KB2VVO, Metroplex President.

Mayor Christopher Botta, KA2CQH, OEM Coordinator Michael Adams, WA2MWT, OEM Deputy Coordinator Bruce Greenwood, K3OEM, and RACES Officer Lou Janicek, N2CYY, greeted the MARC operators as they prepared for the twenty four hour emergency exercise. Also on hand were Bergen County Freeholder Julie OBrien, a Ramsey resident, and Councilmen Art Nalbandian and Andrew Siemsen,

Adams, who along with Greenwood, is a member of Metroplex, told the group, Although we do not have to use temporary antennas and emergency power, we will be using both, to demonstrate our flexibility. Janicek, a member of MARC, and Acovino, a life member of Ramsey OEM, accepted proclamations and resolutions from the county and the borough of Ramsey.

The amateur radio operators immediately keyed-up the radio rooms ICOM 746 PRO, the Kenwood TS50, an ICOM IC910 and an Alinco DR 150. We got off to a slow starta really slow start, with band conditions, Club Vice-President Walter Lange, AE2AA ruefully noted, Once we got our PSK 31 station on the air, we were in better shape. Photos by Lou Janicek, N2CYY

Mike Adams -- WA2MWT