DAREN of WV News March 22, 2020(E46)
(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 Statewide 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.
With the Coronavirus now getting into West Virginia, things are starting to look different. I don't know what Amateur Radio, or the DAREN system, can do to help things out, but we need to keep our eyes and ears open for anything we can do. I received an E-Mail this week from Mike Dooley, KJ4VZU. Mike just moved into the Bridgeport area and is looking for a path into the DAREN system. He wanted to know if I had an up-to-date DAREN Map. The one that is on the www.wc8ec.org website is out of date. Some of the NODE/PBBS stations that are no the map are longer in operation. I gave him a list of the DAREN stations that he may be able to hit from his location. I told him that at one time there 34 out of the 55 WV counties that had a major NODE/PBBS in them, and that we had near 100 percent Packet Radio coverage in West Virginia. I don't know what we can do to get that kind of coverage again. Hopefully Mike can find a path into the Statewide DAREN Net. If anyone has any ideas how to get the DAREN system back up to near 100 percent coverage, I'd like to hear about them
There were 36 check-ins to the Statewide DAREN Net this week. John Western, KC8ODI, who has been participating in the net since March 13, 2004, has completed 700 check-ins and will be receiving his certificate. Morris (Mo) Kittle, AD8T, needs only one more check-in to make 200.
That's it for this week. If you have anything you would to pass on let me
know.