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.
WOOD COUNTY ARES BULLETIN NR 17.50 DATE: December 10, 2017
SUBJECT: TEST IT ANY TIME YOU CAN
If you had an emergency right now, do you know if what you need, is going to work? You never know for sure if it will or not, but you will have a better chance if you just tested it in the past few days. Example, if you needed to pump up a tire, do you know if your air pump is working, or better yet, do you know where it's at? As communicators we have a lot of equipment that sits around for long periods of time, and doesn't get used.
if you see something that hasn't been used for some time, you should test it and make sure it still works. If it doesn't work it will give you a chance to fix it before it's needed. If something is tested on a regular basis, there's a better chance that it will work when you need it.
Radio nets are a good time to test your radios and antennas. If you check into a net on regular basis, you will know how well your radio system is working. It will allow you to know how well you normally hear others, and how well they normally hear you. If a problem starts to develop, maybe you can get it fixed before you need it in a real emergency.
Ken Harris WA8LLM
WCEC
Wood County WV