Meeting Tuesday 9/27 and CARC Activities

Posted on by September 26, 2016
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So, what is happing at the CARC these days? You would be surprised!

First of all, I want to remind you that we have a club meeting coming up on Tuesday evening, September 27th:

Montserrat

Montserrat

As usual, we will gather at the Salvation Army at 7:00 PM. This month we have a great program being presented by Jack, KB8RJ, and his wife Christina who have gone on two DXpeditions to Montserrat. They have a very interesting slide program to show us. You may recall that Montserrat has a history for having disasters such as volcano eruptions, and hurricanes.

I’ve never been on a DXpediotion, but I have contacted a whole lot of them over the years. It will be interesting to see what it is like operating from a remote location.

 

Also, we will have an update on some of the operating events that the club participated in this summer.

Do you know who found the fox at this years fox hunt? We’ll also fill you in on our participation at the Cherry Capitol Airport FEMA exercise. How about pictures of us putting the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on the air this month. Might I add that we did this during a monsoon! Wow, what an event! We also participated in the Paddle Antrim kayak event in Antrim County. Oops, I almost forgot that we set up a booth at the Prepare Fair this month with lots of folks interested in ham radio.

The Fox

The Fox!

In addition to Jack’s and Christina’s presentation we will have a short video of the intrepid crew operating on top of the dunes. Yes, we really were that wet

 

NPOTA

NPOTA

 

 

 

So, as you can see we have been very busy operating various events. I hope you had a chance to participate in some of these events. These are the activities that keeps the hobby fun and sharpens our operating skills.

I hope to see you at this months meeting. Summer is over so let’s get back in the ham radio groove again!

73,
Ernie, K8RCT
CARC President

 

 

Winter Weather Spotting Classes

Posted on by September 26, 2016
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NWS Gaylord will begin winter weather spotter classes in October, continuing through the middle of November. These classes are free, last about 90 minutes and are open to everyone.

Some topics they will cover this year include how the warm Great Lakes this year may impact the winter, winter forecast challenges in the Great Lakes, snow measurement techniques, a winter re-cap of last year and a winter outlook for this year.

If you are interested in learning more about winter weather in the Great Lakes, we encourage you to attend one of these classes.

  • Please go to the link below for details on the talks including dates, times and locations.
  • If you have any questions about anything, contact the office at 989-731-3384.

http://www.weather.gov/apx/outreach_events

Additional questions or comments should be sent to w-apx.webmaster@noaa.gov
or call NWS Gaylord at 989-732-9306.

Ham Radio Classes begin October 26!

Posted on by September 17, 2016
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The Cherryland Amateur Radio Club will be conducting Amateur Radio (Ham radio) classes starting on October 26. The classes will offer instructions on the radio theory, rules and regulations and also how to operate a ham radio station.

This is an opportunity to join the hundreds of thousands of hams around the world in this exciting hobby. Did you ever think you could talk to the decendents of Tom Christian on Pitcairn Island, or maybe talk to the King of Jordan? How about communicating with the International Space Station or using one of the ham radio satellites that we have put into orbit? Wow! Locally we participate in the Skywarn program for the National Weather Service, the Salvation Army emergency communications network and other public service agencies. There are hundreds of different activities once you earn your FCC issued license.

When: The classes will begin on Wednesday, October 26 at 7:00 P.M. The classes will meet every Wednesday and will continue for about 12 weeks.

Where: The classes will be held in the training room for New Approaches Center, 5123 N. Royal Drive, Traverse City.

The classes will be combination of both workbook study and practical instruction.
Requirements: Although there is no charge for the class, participants must have a copy of the American Radio Relay Leagues (ARRL) Technician Class workbook, third edition. This workbook can be purchased directly from the ARRL from their website http://www.arrl.org/shop/ARRL-Ham-Radio-License-Manual-3rd-Edition/ or from Amazon. This workbook is essential for taking the class. (it is also easily obtained, sometimes at a huge discount, from eBay or from others who have passed their examination and no longer require the book)

At the conclusion of the workbook-based classes, the Cherryland Amateur Radio Club will administer a special FCC exam session for participants (and others). Students passing the exam will be issued their own FCC Technician class ham radio license.

After the examinations, the classes will then continue with instruction on the practical operation of a ham radio station.

To sign up for the Technician Ham Radio classes:

SIGN UP USING THIS FORM
(click here)

if you are having issues using the Google Form,
please email or call Ernie using the below contact information:

Contact Information:
Ernest Abel, President
Cherryland Amateur Radio Club
231-922-3672
Email: enabeler@gmail.com

TBARG Update

Posted on by September 12, 2016

At the August board meeting, new bylaws were enacted providing for yearly elections. A new board of directors was chosen and the following people were elected to office: Glen Johnson – President, Ernie Able – Vice-President, Ward Kuhn – Treasurer, and Mike Ruppert – Secretary. A goal of re-vitalizing the TBARG program was established with the following actions taken:

Work with Munson Medical Center – Glen and Ernie will be meeting with Munson Medical Center management to discuss how TBARG can assist in their disaster training exercises.

Work with Grand Traverse Emergency Management – Glen and Ernie meet with Gregg Bird. Glen was named Radio Officer. Gregg announced the formation of the Grand Traverse CERT (Citizens Emergency Response Team) which is in the very early stages of planning. Gregg will require any prior/new members of RACES to submit new applications and receive background checks.

Have Greater Visibility to Local Emergency Agencies – Glen and Ernie attended the Active Shooter Exercise held at the Traverse City Airport. In addition, they attended the Local Emergency Planning Committee September meeting. The goal is to have a member of TBARG attend ALL of these meetings. In 2017, we would like to present to this group how TBARG and ham radio emergency communications and services can be of benefit to the local community.

Establish Cooperative Relationships with other Agencies and Counties – Glen and Ernie are members of the Benzie CERT Team. They have a very well trained, staffed, and funded program. The majority of their team members have ham licenses. In a real world disaster, we will need outside help. It makes sense that we establish pre-disaster cooperative relationships. Glen and Ernie will be discussing with Benzie, Salvation Army, and other local organizations joint training exercises and ways to become familiar with each other’s emergency equipment, base of operations, policies and procedures.

WE NEED YOUR HELP! – Ham radio operators have always had a tradition of helping when the need arises. That need is right now. We have a limited window to show what ham operators can do. Please fill out the TBARG application and become part of a group that can make a real difference in your community.

You do not have to be a member of Cherryland Amateur Radio Club but you are welcome to join them as well. They have been generous in allowing TBARG to use their repeaters.

To fill out and application, click here.  On the form is instructions on how to get it back to Glen.

The TBARG web site is here: http://tbarg.org/

To subscribe to the TBARG mailing list, click here.

The TBARG email address is gtskywarn@gmail.com

Glen Johnson – President
Ernie Able – Vice President
Ward Kuhn – Treasurer
Mike Ruppert – Secretary