Wood County
Emergency Communications

Serving Wood County West Virginia and surrounding areas

DAREN News

November 25, 2007                  (.802)

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'.

After I finished writing the DAREN News and posting it last week, I started putting together a suggested procedure for the DAREN Chatroom Net.  I have most of it completed and will be posting it when I post the DAREN News and Net Announcement for this coming week.  It is just a suggested procedure, but we needed to start somewhere.  If you have any suggestion to add or change, on the procedure, let me know.  In the mean time we will use this procedure during the Communications Exercise that will be held on December 8th.  If you need more information about the exercise, connect to the website: www.wc8ec.com.  I would like to get as many participate as possible for the exercise.  Even though the exercise will last from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, you don't have to stay that long, but I would like for you to participate sometime during the exercise.

Within the last two weeks I have received an E-Mail and a letter about new DAREN NODE/PBBS stations that may be coming on the air before long.  Monte Tremont, WV8WU, said that he had a Packet station that he wants to install in Doddridge County.  He had sent the E-Mail prior to the Simulated Emergency Test, October 6th, but I didn't receive it.  After I got the E-Mail that his re- sent, I mailed him a DAREN package with a copy of the DAREN Plan in it.  If he gets the station on the air, the NODE/PBBS should be DODDWV/WESTWV.  He said that it may be awhile since they are looking at different tower sites.  I got the letter from Joe Forren, ND4B.  Joe wants to put a DAREN NODE/PBBS on a mountain top in Greenbrier County.  When he gets the station on the air the NODE/PBBS will be GREEWV/FAIRWV.  At the present time there is, or was, a NODE/PBBS located in one of the county buildings in Greenbrier County, but I haven't been able to connect to it for several months.  I got a message from someone once who said the DAREN station is located in a meeting room that has people coming and going all the time.  It's possible the station may have been turned off again.  I asked Joe to check on the station and change the ALIASs so that it won't cause a problem with the new one.  Maybe in a few weeks we will see a couple of new DAREN stations on the air.

That's all I have for this week, but I'm still getting ready for the December 8th drill.  It's going to be big and I would like to get as many Amateurs as possible involved.

There were 60 check-ins to this week's State Wide DAREN Net.  My wife Dot Harris, KC8HAI, who's been participating in the net since May 3, 1997, has completed 550 check-ins and will be receiving her certificate.  My daughter, Cathy Wotring, KC8DJJ, needs only one more check-in to make 600.  Robert Klinger, WD8MTN, needs only one more check-in to make 300.  And, Krista Mills, KC8VLJ, needs only one more check-in to make 200.  I want to welcome Joe Wigal, W8JTW, from Marietta, Ohio, to the DAREN system.  I've talked to Joe several times on voice, and I didn't even know he had Packet.  I hope to see Joe check in as often as he can.