Amateur Radio HF Emergency & Hurricane Nets

AMATEUR HIGH-FREQUENCY EMERGENCY & HURRICANE NETS

FREQ MODE LOCATION

03808.0 LSB Caribbean Wx

03845.0 LSB Gulf Coast West Hurricane

03862.5 LSB Mississippi Section Traffic

03865.0 LSB West Virginia Emergency

03872.5 LSB Mercury Amateur Radio Assoc / hurricane info net

03873.0 LSB West Gulf ARES Emergency (night)

03873.0 LSB Central Gulf Coast Hurricane, Louisiana ARES Emergency (night), Mississippi ARES Emergency

03910.0 LSB Central Texas Emergency, Mississippi ARES, Louisiana Traffic

03915.0 LSB South Carolina SSB NTS

03923.0 LSB Mississippi ARES, North Carolina ARES Emergency (Tarheel)

03925.0 LSB Central Gulf Coast Hurricane, Louisiana Emergency

03927.0 LSB North Carolina ARES (health & welfare)

03935.0 LSB Central Gulf Coast Hurricane, Louisiana ARES (health & welfare), Texas ARES (health & welfare), Mississippi ARES (health & welfare), & Alabama Emer.

03940.0 LSB Southern Florida Emergency

03944.0 LSB West Gulf Emergency

03950.0 LSB Hurricane Watch (Amateur-to-National Hurricane Center), Northern Florida Emer.

03955.0 LSB South Texas Emergency

03960.0 LSB North East Coast Hurricane

03965.0 LSB Alabama Emergency

03967.0 LSB Gulf Coast (outgoing traffic)

03975.0 LSB Georgia ARES, Texas RACES

03993.5 LSB Gulf Coast (health & welfare)

03993.5 LSB South Carolina ARES/RACES Emergency

03995.0 LSB Gulf Coast Wx

07145.0 LSB Bermuda

07165.0 LSB Antigua/Antilles Emergency and Weather, Inter-island 40-meter (continuous watch)

07225.0 LSB Central Gulf Coast Hurricane

07232.0 LSB North Carolina ARES Emergency

07235.0 LSB Louisiana Emergency, Central Gulf Coast Hurricane, Louisiana Emergency

07240.0 LSB American Red Cross US Gulf Coast Disaster, Texas Emergency

07242.0 LSB Southern Florida ARES Emergency

07243.0 LSB Alabama Emergency, South Carolina Emergency

07245.0 LSB Southern Louisiana

07247.5 LSB Northern Florida ARES Emergency

07248.0 LSB Texas RACES

07250.0 LSB Texas Emergency

07254.0 LSB Northern Florida Emergency

07260.0 LSB Gulf Coast West Hurricane

07264.0 LSB Gulf Coast (health & welfare)

07265.0 LSB Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio (SATERN)

07268.0 LSB Bermuda

07273.0 LSB Texas ARES

07275.0 LSB Georgia ARES

07280.0 LSB NTS Region 5, Louisiana Emergency

07283.0 LSB Gulf Coast (outgoing only)

07285.0 LSB West Gulf ARES Emergency (day), Louisiana ARES Emergency (day)

07285.0 LSB Mississippi ARES Emergency, Texas ARES Emergency (day)

07290.0 LSB Central Gulf Coast Hurricane, Gulf Coast Wx, Louisiana ARES (health & welfare day), Texas ARES (health & welfare), & Mississippi ARES

14185.0 USB Caribbean Emergency

14222.0 USB Health & Welfare

14245.0 USB Health & Welfare

14265.0 USB Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio (SATERN) (health & welfare)

14268.0 USB Amateur Radio Readiness Group

14275.0 USB Bermuda & International Amateur Radio

14300.0 USB Intercontinental Traffic & Maritime Mobile Service

14303.0 USB International Assistance & Traffic

14313.0 USB Intercontinental Traffic & Maritime Mobile Service

14316.0 USB Health & Welfare

14320.0 USB Health & Welfare

14325.0 USB Hurricane Watch (Amateur-to-National Hurricane Center)

14340.0 USB Louisiana (1900)

21310.0 USB Health & Welfare (Spanish)

28450.0 USB Health & Welfare (Spanish)

Central States VHF Society Annual Conference for 2015

The Central States VHF Society Annual Conference for 2015 will be held in the Denver Colorado Metro area between Thursday July 23rd and Sunday July 26th. The local sponsor this year is Rocky Mountain Ham Radio with the convention venue being the Denver Marriott Westminster Hotel. 

This years conference will feature technical programs, noise figure measurements, rover vehicles and more, The featured speaker for the Saturday evening banquet is Rick Roderick K5UR. Roderick is the First Vice President of ARRL and an avid VHF'er.

Conference registration, as well as a link to the conference venue for bookings is now available at

http://2015.csvhfs.org/

2015 QRP To the Field

The official rules for QRP To the Field have been posted.

http://www.zianet.com/qrp/qrpttf/2015/ttf.htm 

Muskegon County Walking Challenge

Muskegon County Generational Walking Challenge encourages all ages to get active.

Has the winter kept you cooped up indoors for too long? Has it become difficult to climb the stairs? Have the kids been spending more time online than enjoying the fresh air? Health and recreation partners in Muskegon County are hosting an eight-week Generational Walking Challenge this spring to get all ages active in the great outdoors.

The Generational Walking Challenge will begin Monday, April 6, with a kick-off event at the Snug Harbor day-use area of Muskegon State Park. Bring the family to register for the walking challenge, then check out fitness presentations, free health screenings from the Health Project and information about local trails and parks. 

“This is part of the large partnership to promote healthy lifestyles using Michigan state parks and recreation areas as part of the ‘Big Green Gym’ program,” said Ron Olson, chief of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' Parks and Recreation Division.

"This short-term commitment can have a lifetime of benefits, and it all starts with the first step,” said Ann Conklin, chief operating officer for Michigan Recreation and Parks Association.

Registration for the challenge also is available by emailing bucke1@michigan.gov. All registered participants will receive a form to track their activity during the challenge. 

Muskegon State Park will host a weekly walk Mondays at 5 p.m. (meeting at Snug Harbor) to help participants complete their walking goals. The Generational Walking Challenge also encourages people to get out to local parks and trails and get active with running, bicycling and more. 

At the end of eight weeks, on May 9, participants can turn in their activity-tracking forms for a chance to win prizes. The grand prize for the family or group that logs the most minutes of activity is a two-night stay at Muskegon State Park’s yurt (limit seven people per team). P.J. Hoffmaster State Park will host a completion celebration Friday, May 29, at 5 p.m. Completion celebration attendees also can get information about other active living opportunities and resources in Muskegon and around Michigan. 

 

“This event not only gets people active, but it’s also a chance to spend time with loved ones,” said Elissa Buck, recreation programmer for the Michigan DNR. “It’s a great way for residents to explore Michigan’s parks and trails with their family and friends, and maybe start a new family activity tradition.”

This program is funded by the Department of Community Health's Active Living Grant, in partnership with Michigan Recreation and Park Association and the Michigan DNR. Other partners include the Health Project, EcoTrek Fitness and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. 

For more information about the Generational Walking Challenge, please contact Elissa Buck at 989-313-0000 or email bucke1@michigan.gov. 

Inside Michigan’s Great Outdoors subscribers are always the first to know about reservation opportunities, state park events and other outdoor happenings. Visit www.michigan.gov/dnr to subscribe now.

There is no charge to participate in the Generational Walking Challenge, but a Recreation Passport is required for vehicle entry to Muskegon State Park and P.J. Hoffmaster State Park for the kick-off event, weekly walks and the completion celebration.

A Recreation Passport grants vehicle access to any Michigan state park, boat launch, state forest campground or nonmotorized state trailhead parking. Residents can purchase the Passport for just $11 ($5 for motorcycles) at the time of Michigan license plate renewal through Secretary of State. Forgot to check “YES” during renewal? Residents and nonresidents can purchase a Recreation Passport window sticker during regular business hours at state parks. Learn more about how the Recreation Passport supports state parks and local outdoor recreation opportunities at www.michigan.gov/recreationpassport.

 

Propagation: Realtime Band Conditions Web-Site

REALTIME BAND CONDITIONS WEB SITE 

Bandconditions.com is a new experimental website designed to provide 24 hour a day, 7 day a week, 365 day a year real time band condition information to SSB, contesters and other operators interested in increasing their scores. It can also be of benefit to other Radio Amateurs to determine band conditions for nets and casual QSO's. 

This information is not based on any software predictions or any kind of satellite based readings. Instead it uses a new Ionospheric sounding method called "HF Ionospheric Interferometry" which operates very similarly to the PolSAR system used by NASA. Its in cybderspace at http://www.bandconditions.com/  (OPDX)

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to Lead Fight to Maintain Net Neutrality

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler confirmed on Wednesday, February 3rd that he intends to bring wired and wireless broadband services under utility-style rules based on Title II of the Communications Act of 1934. He said Title II would bring to end the debate over how to ensure that the Internet remains open to everyone, a concept known as Net neutrality.

In an op-ed published Wednesday on Wired.com, Wheeler said the new rules will ban paid prioritization. Thats the idea that an Internet company can pay a premium to ensure that its traffic gets to the consumer faster than everyone else's.

Wheeler also said he would reinstate rules that had been part of the previous open Internet regulation, which went into effect in 2010, but was overruled last year by a federal appeals court, leading to the current situation. The previous rules banned an Internet service provider from blocking traffic or slowing down access to content on the Internet to favor their own services.

Title II of the Communications Act holds the potential to radically change how the Internet is governed by giving the FCC unprecedented authority over it. The provision originally gave the FCC the power to set rates and enforce the "common carrier" principle, or the idea that every customer is treated fairly, on telephone service. FCC Chairman Wheeler hopes to apply that principle to Internet traffic, preventing broadband providers from favoring one bit of data over another.

Net Neutrality is important in all aspects of today's society including amateur radio since more and more emerging communications technologies are dependent on it. And in the years ahead it will be even more so.

ARRL Legislative Objectives Announced

he ARRL has made public some of its legislative objectives for the coming 114th Congressional year. 

The League says that it will continue to secure passage of legislation instructing the FCC to extend the requirement for “reasonable accommodation” of Amateur Radio station antennas to all forms of land-use regulation. The League also will continue to oppose legislation leading to the reallocation of amateur spectrum, or to sharing arrangements that reduce the utility of existing allocations. Any legislation that diminishes the rights of federal licensees in favor of unlicensed emitters, or that encourages the deployment of spectrum-polluting technologies will also be opposed by the League.

Among the other objectives, the ARRL will seek recognition of the unique resources, capabilities, and expertise of the Amateur Radio Service in any legislation addressing communications issues related to emergencies, disasters, or homeland security. 

The League says it will support complementary legislative objectives of other radio communication services, particularly the public safety and scientific services that require spectrum access and protection from interference for noncommercial purposes that benefit the public. 

Support will also be given to legislation authorizing the FCC to appoint an electrical engineer or scientist as an additional staff member to ensure the Commissioners have adequate access to technical expertise when making decisions.

The ARRL continues to oppose “distracted driving” legislation that does not clearly define the class of devices included in the regulation, so as to exclude two-way mobile radio transmitters or receivers used by Amateur Radio licensees.

Source: ARRL

Governor Snyder signs Senate Bill 493. now PA 556

With just one day left, Governor Snyder signed Senate Bill 493, 
essentially a Michigan PRB-1

The announcement is here:

http://www.michigan.gov/snyder/0,4668,7-277-57577_57657-345450--,00.html

Scroll down a ways to see SB 493

Note, PA 556 has not been loaded up to the state website yet:

A HUGE thank you to all who wrote and emailed their support.

PRB-1 Last Minute Call to Action

Senate Bill 0493 was presented to Governor Snyder at 10:08 AM on January
2, 2015. He has until 10:08 AM on January 16 to sign it in order for it
to become law.

As of this writing (8:00 PM) on January 12, 2015 our bill (along with
many others) has not been signed by the Governor. We are down to the
final days and we need your help.

This call to action is for those Michigan amateurs and other interested
parties that HAVE NOT yet contacted the Governor’s via email or the
Governor’s website to make that contact. If you have already
expressed your opinion by web site and telephone, thank you. You have
done your job.

Duplicate requests by the same medium do not help our cause. Each of us
can use each method once.

If you have called on the telephone, but not sent a request via the
website, by all means use the website medium and vice-versa. Be sure
that you have made contact by both mediums.

Michigan family members and friends of voting age, ham or non-ham can
participate.

Our message is simple: “I respectfully encourage Governor Snyder to
sign Senate Bill 493.” There is no need to add anything to the
message as additional information gets in the way of what we want to
get across at this point.

This message needs to be sent via email at:

https://somgovweb.state.mi.us/GovRelations/ShareOpinion.aspx 

This web site will take you a form to be filled out. Easy to do and
painless. No need to compose your comments. For the bill category, use
"Other/Unknown" and simply insert the provided verbiage.

By telephone at 517-335-7858, simply tell the person answering the
phone (or leave a message if calling after hours) “this is (your
name) and I am a resident of (your city, town, village, or township)
and I respectfully encourage Governor Snyder to sign Senate Bill
0493.” 

After contacting the Governor's Office, please send a note to
wa8qje@arrl.net and wb8r@arrl.org advising us that you made contact
with them. 

We are very hopeful that this will accomplish our goal and get our bill
signed into law.  

Thank you for your assistance and I look forward to giving you good
news in the coming days.

73,

Larry, WB8R

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ARRL Michigan Section
Section Manager: Larry Camp, WB8R
wb8r@arrl.org
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UPDATE--- PRB-1

This is an important UPDATE 

As this PRB-1 drama unfolds with the Michigan House of Representatives,
we find ourselves reacting to breaking news. This happens as a result
of the House currently not being in session. Nothing is official and
everything is speculative. 

As you will remember, we just started a letter writing campaign which
targeted the members of the Committee that we were told would be
handling our bill. Things change and it now appears that we will deal
with different committee.

Don’t think that all of those letters that we sent to the first
committee members were sent in vain. Nothing could be further from the
truth. Each of those representatives are now aware of our bill and
aware that there are a lot of amateur radio operators that have an
interest in having SB 0493 pass out of committee and out of the House
itself. No wasted letters here.

It is time to shift gears. 

Please go to our PRB-1 website at http://www.miarrlprb1.org/. 

Click on the ‘Sample Letters’ tab and click on ‘House of
Representatives’ and enter your information to locate your
representative’s website. Back on the Sample Letters tab, scroll down
to Sample House Letter. Copy the letter and paste it into your
Representative’s email form. 

Be sure to add the Representative’s information as well as your
information at the end of the letter to personalize the document.
Sometimes it is easier to copy the letter from our website and paste it
into a word processor to get it prepared and then paste into the
Representative’s email form.

Once again, please send a copy of what you send to wb8r@arrl.org and
wa8qje@arrl.net.

Thank you for all of your efforts and with your help we can accomplish
this important task.

73,

False FEMA Alert Message

FALSE FEMA ALERT MESSAGE ON ATT U-VERSE ON OCT 24

AT&T has confirmed that it accidentally relayed an incorrect emergency alert message from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to its U-verse customers in parts of Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, Michigan and Mississippi.

The alert messages began popping up on screens around 10 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on October 24th. Red banners appeared the television screens of viewers in the affected areas alerting them to stand by for an important message.  

Soon after the incident FEMA spokesperson Rafael Lemaitre stated that there had been an inappropriate playing of the national emergency alert notification tones on a syndicated radio broadcast. He went on to state that there is not a national emergency but that the broadcast triggered alert notification in states where it had been played. Lemaitre said his agency was working with the FCC to quantify the scale of the incident.

Source (TechTimes)

Michigan PRB -1 Call to Action – Michigan Senate

To the hams of Michigan:

Subject: Michigan PRB -1 Call to Action – Michigan Senate

On September 16, 2014, members of the Michigan PRB -1 Committee
attended a Senate Hearing in Lansing regarding Senate Bill 0493. We are
extremely pleased to report that SB 0493 Substitute S-2 to codify the
language of 47 CFR Part 97.15 into state law was unanimously passed out
of the Energy and Technology Committee. You can see SB 0493 S-2 on our
PRB-1 website located here: http://www.miarrlprb1.org/

It is time for us to begin our letter writing campaign targeting our
Michigan Senators in a effort to encourage them to look closely at SB
0493 and to vote in favor of the bill when it comes up for a vote on
the Senate floor. A very important part of communication with our
elected officials is that we need to keep our focus on the positive
side. This is not the place to discuss his or her voting record or what
other legislation they have supported or not supported. It is vital that
we stay on topic and deal with only the subject at hand.

The appropriate documentation has been prepared on our Michigan PRB-1
website located at http://www.miarrlprb1.org/ and you can read more and
find sample letters there. 

It is very important that we concentrate ONLY on the Senate right now.
When and if the Senate passes the bill, then we will change the
emphasis to the members of the House. The letters are identical except
for the appropriate changes to reflect where the letters are going. 

All you need to do is to copy the prepared letter from our website, add
your Senator’s information and your information to the letter and
email it to your Senator asking for his or her support. You can find
out who your Senator is and how to reach him or her here:
http://www.senate.michigan.gov/findyoursenator/michiganfys.asp

The website noted above will give you a direct email address for your
Senator. When your letter is customized with your Senator’s
information and your information, you can send your letter direction to
your Senator. The lack of a physical signature is not important here. By
the very nature of the method of contacting them, an actual signature is
difficult to accomplish.

Please send me a copy of your letter (wb8r@arrl.org) as this will help
our committee to gauge our effectiveness.

If things work the way we would like them to, our efforts will turn to
the Michigan House once our bill passes the Senate. And when and if our
bill passes the House, then we will turn our attention to the
Governor’s office to urge him to sign our bill into law.

This is the very best opportunity we have to make a difference for the
hams of Michigan. Talk it up, and step forward to make sure that your
friends (ham and non-ham) have the information and that they are
encouraged to act. We need to add our voices to this bill to help
ensure that our representatives act on our behalf.

Thank you in advance and 73!

Larry, WB8R 

Michigan ARRL Section Manager

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ARRL Michigan Section
Section Manager: Larry Camp, WB8R
wb8r@arrl.org
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"The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2014"

The just-concluded ARRL National Centennial Convention in Hartford, Connecticut, helped to impart added energy into efforts to line up co-sponsors for "The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2014" also known as House of Representatives measure H R 4969.

H R 4969 was introduced in the US House of Representatives with bipartisan support in late June. It asks Congress to direct the FCC to apply the "reasonable accommodation" three-part test of the PRB-1 federal pre-emption policy to private land-use restrictions regarding antennas. 

The measures primary sponsor is Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois. It received initial co-sponsorship from Democrat Joe Courtney of Connecticut. Four additional members of the House had since signed aboard to co-sponsor the bill by July 24th. On July 29th, ARRL Hudson Division Director Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, posted to Facebook that two more House law makers had thrown their support to H R 4969. . 

By way of background, right now present PRB-1 only applies to state and municipal land-use ordinances. The FCC has indicated that it will not act to provide the same legal protections from private land-use agreements -- often called covenants, conditions, and restrictions without direction from Congress. As such, the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2014 is an attempt by the League to muster the needed push to get the FCC to act on this matter.

Speaking at the convention, ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, says that there already is precedent for the FCC to act. He explains that the Commission's so-called Over-the-Air Receiving Device rules currently preempt private land-use agreements to permit the installation of television antennas and satellite dishes. Based on this, Imlay suggests that making the leap to reasonably accommodating outdoor amateur radio antennas is within the FCC's regulatory scope. This, given the established strong federal interest in effective amateur radio communication.

On the other side, Imlay said the bill faces opposition from the Community Associations Institute and an organization called Associa. The latter has already suggested to Representative Kinzinger that he "re-think" the bill. As such, Imlay says that a lot more co-sponsors are needed for this bill.

While the ARRL has been very successful in getting HR 4969 before the House of Representatives it appears as if not every ham is in favor of its being passed into law. In an interview on the video podcast HamRadioNow, viewer Mike Alexander, N8MSA takes what he calls a principled stand against the measure.

N8MSA spends about 40 minutes explaining his point of view and answering questions from moderator Gary Pearce, KN4AQ. You can see the interview in episode 158 of the video podcast HamRadioNow at hamradionow.tv. (HamRadioNow)

Source Gary Bernstein, N9VU