March 18, 2007 (.766)
Kenneth Harris WA8LLM (304) 679-3470 wa8llm@yahoo.com
WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS, P.O. BOX 3328, PARKERSBURG, WV 26103 http://www.wc8ec.com
DAREN News, are articles and information about the Digital Amateur Radio "Emergency" Network of WV, which operates on 145.69 Mhz. Anyone having any information about DAREN, or Amateur Radio in general, and would like to share it with others, may send it to WA8LLM @ PKBGWV on 145.69 MHz A State Wide DAREN NET is operated every Saturday from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm. DAREN Net Announcements, showing the MAIN NCS, ALTERNATE NCS, NODEs accessible to both, and the previous week's check-ins, are posted by Thursday on most of the Main county DAREN PBBS'.
At the Charleston Hamfest yesterday I got to talk to a lot of the DAREN operators. There was several subjects talked about, but the one talked about most was Winlink 2000 (WL2K), the Telpac Nodes, used to send and receive E-Mail messages through the Internet. Those who have been using WL2K on the DAREN system like the idea of being able to pass E-Mail traffic using radio. Most of the operators said they wanted to thank Randy Thomas, K8KHW, and Dick Wilt, K8TPH, for installing and maintaining their systems.
During the ARES Forum at the Charleston Hamfest yesterday, Tina Clark, K8TAC, had me talk about the DAREN system. It is hoped that it might get some more interest so that it will be used more during drills and exercises such as the Simulated Emergency Test (SET) which was held on Saturday, October 7, 2006. I talked about the different types of Packet Programs that are on the DAREN system such as the Winlink 2000 (K8KHW-10 and K8TPH-10), the X1J4 Chat Room (DAREN), and the ARESData (FINDER) system. I suggested that stations with Packet Radio capability play with the DAREN system to become familiar with the NODEs and PBBSs, and try different paths from time-to-time to connect into State Wide DAREN Net held every Saturday.
There were 67 check-ins again to this week's State Wide DAREN Net. Bob Steele, N8HGL, who's been participating October 9, 1993, has completed 450 check-ins. William Loftis, N8RKU, who's been participating in the net since November 12, 1994, has completed 100 check-ins. These stations will be receiving their certificates. Berlin Jones, WA8FG, needs one more check-in to make 350. And, Don Hale, N8EVP, needs only one more check-in to make 150. There was one new station that checked into the net this week and that was Shane Harper, KD8BMX, from Elkins, Randolph County. Shane attended the Packet Class which was held here in Wood County on January 6th. It was also good to see Shane at the Charleston Hamfest yesterday.