Here's how it's going for ARES/RACES in Juneau County.
Click here for information about how Juneau County is rebuilding their ARES/RACES organization.
Wausau & Marathon County Field Day Activity Press Release
“Radio Hams” from Wausau and Marathon County join in national deployment Public Demonstration of Emergency Communications June 26 – 27, 2010.
Wausau, WI – Wausau’s “hams” will join with thousands of Amateur Radio operators who will be showing off their emergency capabilities this weekend. Over the past year, the news has been full of reports of ham radio operators providing critical communications during unexpected emergencies in towns across Wisconsin including, winter storms, tornado and high wind events, the southern Wisconsin flooding in 2008, the Weyauwega train derailment in March of 1996 and each year participate with the Wisconsin Emergency Management and other agencies in training for a possible disaster involving one of the three nuclear power plants in or near Wisconsin.
During Hurricane Katrina, Amateur Radio – often called “Ham Radio” - was often the ONLY way people could communicate, and hundreds of volunteer “hams” traveled south to save lives and property. When trouble is brewing, Amateur Radio’s people are often the first to provide rescuers with critical information and communications. On the weekend of June 26 - 27, 2010 the public will have a chance to meet and talk with Wausau’s ham radio operators and see for themselves what the Amateur Radio Service is about.
Showing digital capabilities, voice communications and even historical Morse code, hams from across the USA will be holding public demonstrations of emergency communications abilities.
This annual event, called "Field Day" is the climax of the week long "Amateur Radio Week" sponsored by the ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio. Using only emergency power supplies, ham operators will construct emergency stations in parks, shopping malls, schools and backyards around the country. Their slogan, "When All Else Fails, Ham Radio Works” is more than just words to the hams as they prove they can send messages in many forms without the use of phone systems, internet or any other infrastructure that can be compromised in a crisis. More than 35,000 amateur radio operators across the country participated in last year's event.
We hope that people will come and see for themselves, this is not your grandfather's radio anymore," said Allen Pitts, W1AGP, of the ARRL. "The communications that ham radio people can quickly create have saved many lives when other systems failed or were overloaded. And besides that – it’s fun!”
In the Wausau area, the Wisconsin Valley Radio Association will be demonstrating Amateur Radio at Sunnyvale Park on June 26-27, 2010. They invite the public to come and see ham radio’s new capabilities, talk with storm spotters, ask questions and learn how to get their own FCC radio license before the next disaster strikes.
There are over 650,000 Amateur Radio licensees in the US, and more than 2.5 million around the world. Through the ARRL’s Amateur Radio Emergency Services program, ham volunteers provide emergency communications for thousands of state and local emergency response agencies, all for free! To learn more about Amateur Radio, go to www.emergency-radio.org .
To learn more about the Wisconsin Valley Amateur Radio Club, go to www.wvraclub.org.
The public is most cordially invited to come, meet and talk with the hams. See what modern Amateur Radio can do. They can even help you get on the air!
David Levorson, N9KNY
WI ARES/RACES, DEC NE District
Click this link for a video from the Wausau TV station for a Field Day site interview: http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/97274314.html
WebMentor Online Platform is being Retired November 1, 2010
The WebMentor online learning system platform is being retired by our platform host, CTDLC on November 1. Accordingly we have been enrolling students for final session offerings of our courses that provide adequate time for completion of the prescribed course session. Registration for the final session of Emergency Communications Level 1 course ends July 25 and the final online session of that course on the current platform will be August 6- October 1.
We will revise and re-develop courses that will be re-launched for a new online learning platform. The first course slated to be redeveloped for re-launch in late 2010 is Basic Emergency Communications (formerly Level 1, EC-001). Other courses will follow in 2011.
The new Public Service and Emergency Communications Management for Radio Amateurs course (EC-016) is available and will continue to be offered. It can be accessed on the ARRL website without entry into an online learning platform. You can find it at: http://www.arrl.org/ec-016-course.
EmComm Level 1 Field Instruction and Exams
Even though the online Emergency Communications Level 1 course will be suspended while we revise and re-develop it, field instruction and examination using the existing course material may continue. Once the new course content is available we will transition to the new material for field instruction and exams.
Debra Johnson, K1DMJ
Education Services Manager ARRL,
the National Association for Amateur Radio
