DAREN of WV News November 21, 2010 (.958]
Kenneth Harris WA8LLM (304) 679-3470 wa8llm@yahoo.com
WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
P.O. BOX 3328, PARKERSBURG, WV 26103
http://www.wc8ec.org
DAREN News, are articles and information about the Digital Amateur Radio "Emergency" Network of WV, which operates on 145.69 MHz. Anyone having any information about DAREN, or Amateur Radio in general, and would like to share it with others, may send it to WA8LLM @ PKBGWV on 145.69 MHz, or to my E-Mail: wa8llm@yahoo.com. A State Wide DAREN NET is operated every Saturday from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, and lately, before and after those hours. The DAREN Net Announcement, showing the MAIN NCS, ALTERNATE NCS, NODEs accessible to both, and the previous week's check-ins, are posted by Thursday on most of the Main county DAREN PBBS'. The DAREN News can also be found on the wc8ec.org website.
The News is a little late getting out this week because of the holiday. I've been busy getting the group's trailer ready to be used as a concession trailer for a Free Coffee Safety Break to be held over the Thanksgiving Holiday. Then I had to take it down and set it up. I also worked a midnight shift. Things should start looking better.
While I was posting the News and Net Announcements last week I saw what Gene Roy, N8ER, was talking about. The Randolph County NODE/PBBS of RANDWV/ELKNWV, is a lot better shape then what it has been for the last few months. I thought it might have been just band conditions, but I don't think that is the reason now. Gene sent me an E-Mail saying that he had talked to Zane Hammack, WV8ZH, who owns the tower site, about the station. He said he didn't want to bother Zane about the station, but he may have been the one who put it back in the shape that it used to be. When I posted the News and Announcement, I notice the message numbers on PBBS had been reset. It looks like the station has been put back in tip top shape again. I can even see the station from my house, something I haven't been able to do in a long time. I'm not able to connect to it from my house, but I can see it. Gene says the antenna is the same one that we installed with the station on August 29, 1992. Gene says the antenna had repairs to it about 10 years ago, but is still working. The antenna is mounted on a telephone pole that we put in the ground the same day we installed the station. He said that Zane had to do some repair work on the building the station is located in, and that Zane had also put a new bank of batteries some time ago. Other then that, everything else is the same. If Zane did work on the station, and got it back in good working order, I want to thank him. If he didn't, I still want to thank him for allowing the DAREN station to be located where it is.
There were 58 check-ins to this week's State Wide DAREN Net. Krista Mills, KC8VLJ, who has been participating in the net since December 28, 2002, has completed 350 check-ins, and will be receiving her certificate. Gene Roy, N8ER, needs only one more check-in to make 900. Anna Hendershot, KC8JWW, needs only one more check-in to make 650. And, Jim Perry, KB8LSR, needs only one more check-in to make 150.