DAREN of WV News August 9, 2009(.891)
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, or to my E-Mail: wa8llm@yahoo.com. A State Wide DAREN NET is operated every Saturday from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, and lately, before and after those hours. The DAREN Net Announcement, 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'. The DAREN News can also be found on the wc8ec.com website.
Don't forget the West Virginia ARRL State Convention will be coming up soon. The date of the convention will be Saturday, August 22nd. The location is still at the Jackson Mills at Weston. This will be the first time in several years that I won't get to attend. The Parkersburg Homecoming will be the same weekend, and I'll busy with several activities during the homecoming. Our communications group will be operating the BINGO games on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. On Saturday morning the group will be providing the safety and coordination communications for the Parkersburg Half Marathon, which starts at 8:00 am and is over by 11:00 am. Then after the race is over, we will be doing coordination for the Parkersburg Homecoming Parade. After those two events are over, the group will start operating the BINGO games at around 12 noon until 10:00 or 11:00 pm when the fireworks start. This is the first time that I can remember that the homecoming and convention fell on the same weekend.
Ann Rinehart, KA8ZGY, the WV ARRL Section Manager, ask me if I had any idea for a State Wide Simulated Emergency Test for this year. I've been thinking about something on line of the Flu outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been concerned that when the regular Flu season starts up, and schools go back in session this fall, the spread of Swine Flu will increase. If that happens a lot of people will either not be able to work, or they won't want to go to work where they will be around others who may have the Swine Flu. In cases like that, those people who are involved with critical services such as telephone, power, and other utilities may not be available to perform their jobs, and those services could be crippled. Maybe each county ARES group could come up with communications problems that could happen in that case, and try to work around them.
There were only 54 check-ins to this week's State Wide DAREN Net. Charles King, KB8YIT, who's been participating in the net since February 19, 2000, has completed 400 check-ins. And, Jim Woodford, KC8MLK, who's participating in the net since February 7, 2004, has completed 250 check-ins. Both of these operators will be receiving their certificates. I want to welcome Stephen Ritchie, KB8CCQ, back to the net. Steve has been gone from the net since February 17, 2007. I had one certificate that I had mailed out returned to a wrong address. I had fat fingered the address label for James Stephenson, KE8YB, I will re-send the certificate tomorrow.