DAREN of WV News December 6, 2015(.C22)
WA8LLM (304) 679-3470 wa8llm@yahoo.com
WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS, 319 COMMUNICATIONS DR, WAVERLY, WV 26184
www.wc8ec.com or 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 www.wc8ec.com and www.wc8ec.org websites.
Things have slowed down around here, and I haven't heard from anyone around the state. The Wood County Emergency Communications (WCEC) group participated in a couple of Christmas Parades yesterday. One of the parades was in Vienna, and the other one was in Parkersburg. Ten WCEC members (all Amateurs) decorated their float, and had an operating HF station. The radio was tuned to the National Weather Service (NWS) Special Event Station in Melbourne, Florida. The group had a Public Address system connected so those watching the parade could hear the weather reports being sent to and from the NWS. I just wonder what those watching the parade were thinking when they were hearing the temperatures in the 70s and 80s, while they were standing with temperatures in the 40s.
The WCEC group is preparing to participate in a Hospital Exercise this coming Thursday. The group plans to install additional radios in the fourth floor conference room of the Mid Ohio Valley Health Department, where the main operations will be held. The forth floor conference room will be the Communications Center. The Command Center for the exercise will be located in the first floor conference room. The group will be setting up a portable telephone PBX so those in the Command Center will have telephone access at each of their operating positions. The group also plans to install two or three telephones in the Communications Center, so the can communicate with the Command Center, and pass messages via radio to other locations who has Amateur Radio operators.
There were 42 check-ins to the State Wide DAREN Net this week. Randy Thomas, K8KHW, who has been participating in the net since February 13, 1999, has completed 600 check-ins, and will be receiving his certificate. Judy Peterson, N8UFQ, needs only one more check-in to make 1200. There were two new operators who checked into the net this week and they were Nina Yoho, KC8PPS, and Kelly Yoho, KC8PZL, both from Williamstown, WV. I want to welcome both operators to the DAREN system, and hope they can participate as often as possible. Those who don't live within the area, and have been waiting for their net check-in participation certificates should have them in hand by the time they read this DAREN News. The certificates went in the Post Office this past Friday. I'll try to do a better job of keeping up with them from now on.