DAREN of WV News February 9, 2014 (.B27)
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.
While I was posting the DAREN News and Net Announcement for the State Wide DAREN Net last week, I found the Randolph County NODE/PBBS of RANDWV/ELKNWV, was off the air. I had a hard time getting the two items posted, so some of the PBBSs may not have them. I got three E-Mails from DAREN operators who were unable to make it into the net yesterday, so I wrote them in. If at any time you have a problem getting checked into the State Wide DAREN Net, let me know, either by the DAREN system, or by the Internet. I want to make sure everyone gets credit for at least trying to get checked in. I would love to have more NODEs and PBBSs on the DAREN system so we would have the state wide coverage that we used to have. There needs to several more NODEs so there would be alternate paths through the state. I don't know what the problem might be with the Randolph County station, but I hope it comes back on the air soon. It's possible there may be a commercial power failure going up the mountain since there has been a lot of snow.
Do you realize that Field Day will be in about four months? Now is the time to plan and think about what you want to do on Field Day. Since the weather is cold and snowy, now is the time to just sit back and think about Field Day and how warm it will be. The ARRL has their Field Day Package available, and ready to download on their website.
Don't forget the Oakhill Hamfest is this coming Saturday, and the Charleston Hamfest is coming up on March 15th.
That's all I have for this week. If you have anything you want to tell others, let me know.
There were 47 check-ins to the State Wide DAREN Net this week. Howard Peek, N8SCS, who has been participating in the net, on and off since November 27, 2004, has completed 50 check-ins, and will be getting his certificate. Michael Whitco, KC8OAN, needs only one more check-in to make 450. And, Opie Nutter, KC8ZBQ, needs only one more check-in to make 50.