TO: ALL WOOD COUNTY ARES MEMBERS (OFFICIAL)
ALL ARES AND NON-ARES AMATEURS ANYWHERE (INFORMATION)
FROM: KEN HARRIS WA8LLM ARRL DISTRICT 3 EMERGENCY COORDINATOR
WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS INC.
ARES BULLETIN NR 16.07 DATE: February 14, 2016
SUBJECT: DON'T RELY ON YOUR EQUIPMENT
Just by testing your equipment every day doesn't mean that it will work when you need it. Also have a backup plan in case your regular equipment fails to met your needs. Just because you used your voice repeater an hour before your want to use it for an exercise, drill, or other communications activity doesn't mean that it will work when you want it to.
From the last time that you used it, the power at the repeater tower site may have went off, and left the repeater dead. Or, the power may have went off for several hours before, and the batteries where on their last leg.
What happens if your main voice repeater is dead when you want to use it, have you got a back-up plan to switch to another one? What happens if your backup repeater is also dead, then what? These things do, and have happened.
Do what comes natural for a properly trained Emergency Communications Technician, think about other ways to provide the communications that you need. This is what back-up and emergency communications is all about.
Ken Harris WA8LLM
WV ARES District 3 Emergency Coordinator
WCEC
Wood County WV