en_US http://ares.ema.arrl.org http://ares.ema.arrl.org/article.php?sid=377 Mon, 05 May 2008 07:40:16 -0400 Hello to all... The following RACES exercise information came from Bob Mims-WA1OEZ: Mass. State Police, Mass. Highway, MEMA, VOAD, and several Cape Cod communities will be conducting a hurricane drill to exercise the new Cape Cod Emergency Traffic Plan (CCETP). As part of this exercise the Region II manager has asked us to open the Region II RACES Network on Tuesday evening, May 13th, leading up to the main exercise day on Wed. May 14TH 2008. We will open all four Region II RACES Nets at 7:00 pm and will have exercise traffic for any and all Region II communities that wish to participate For further information contact Bob Mims, WA1OEZ, Region II RACES Radio Officer at 508-823-7443 or wa1oez@arrl.net http://ares.ema.arrl.org/article.php?sid=375 Sun, 20 Apr 2008 14:18:54 -0400 Emergency Communications Workshop in Concord Massachusetts... Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Workshop Saturday May 17th, 2008: There will be an Emergency Communications Workshop on Saturday May 17th, 2008 from 9:00 AM-4:00 PM at the Emerson Hospital in Concord, Massachusetts. This session is being put on by the ARES Section Staff through the efforts of Middlesex County ARES DEC, Steve Telsey, N1BDA, and the cooperation of the Concord Hospital staff. This Emergency Communications Workshop will provide the background and information to serve Amateur Radio Operators when they need to respond to a communications emergency. It will feature an Introduction and Conclusion to Emergency Communications, and five 1-hour training sessions on topics including: Overview of Eastern Massachusetts ARES-RACES-SKYWARN Programs Net Operations NTS Traffic Message Handling Basic Overview of ICS Go Kits This training will also feature a 1-hour lunch that will be provided at no coerced cost to any Amateur who attends the session. The presentations will be given by other Amateur Operators well versed in the topics listed above. The training will be a worthwhile endeavor not just for emergency communicators but for anyone who is an Amateur Radio Operator, and wants to learn more about the hobby. Preregistration is requested but is not required in case anyone would like to attend at the last minute. Please try to preregister by Monday May 12th, 2008 to assure the meeting place is setup properly and we have enough refreshments for breaks between lectures and for the lunch break. We will, however, accept any last minute preregistrations after that day or any walk-ins as long as space permits. Directions to the Emerson Hospital: http://maps.yahoo.com/#mvt=m&lat=42.459915&lon=-71.347799&zoom=13&q1=Concord%2CMA http://www.mapquest.com/maps/Emerson+Hospital:Concord+MA/#a/search/l:::Concord:MA::US:42.4603:-71.349403:city:Middlesex+County/m::7:42.43637:-71.255405:0:0:/so:Emerson+Hospital:::d::25:::::/e From the North: Rt 495 South to Rt 2 East or Rt 128 S to Rt 2 West Emerson Hospital is on the south side of Rt 2 about 1 mile east of the Concord Rotary From Boston: Rt 2 East over Rt 128 Emerson Hospital is on the south side of Rt 2 about 7 miles from Rt 128 From the South: Rt 495 North to Rt 2 East or Rt 128 North to Rt 2 West Emerson Hospital is on the south side of Rt 2 about 1 mile east of the Concord Rotary Parking, both outdoor and indoor, is available at the hospital for a fee. There is free parking in lots on the north side of Rt 2, but crossing the highway can be difficult. There will be talk-in on the Concord 145.11 (pl 110.9) repeater. For any additional information and to preregister for the workshop, please contact: N1BDA-Steve Telsey steve.n1bda@verizon.net KD1CY-Rob Macedo rmacedo@rcn.com This training should be a worthwhile endeavor for anyone interested in learning more about emergency communications and amateur radio in general. Respectfully Submitted, Robert Macedo (KD1CY) ARES SKYWARN Coordinator Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator Pager #: (508) 354-3142 Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM) Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM) Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM) Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com http://ares.ema.arrl.org http://www.wx1box.org http://ares.ema.arrl.org/article.php?sid=345 Mon, 13 Aug 2007 07:32:04 -0400 The following is from Tom Kinahan, N1CPE, Massachusetts State RACES Radio Officer. The following new courses have been added to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency's training calendar: Incident Command System 200 at Somerset Police Department on April 22, 2008 Incident Command System 300 at John Augustus Hall on April 22, 2008 Incident Command System 200 at Brockton Fire Station 1 on April 28, 2008 Incident Command System 300 at Northern Essex Community College on April 28, 2008 Multi-Hazard Emergency Planning for Schools at VTA Authority on April 29, 2008 Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program at Wellesley Police Department on April 29, 2008 Incident Command System 400 at Blackstone Public Library on May 1, 2008 Incident Command System 300 at Ma-Task Force 1 on May 5, 2008 Basic Public Information Officer Course at MEMA Headquarters-Training Room on May 6, 2008 HSEEP Toolkit Training Workshop at MEMA Headquarters-Operations Room on May 8, 2008 EOC Management and Operations Course at Middleton Police Department on May 12, 2008 Incident Command System 400 at Plymouth Cty. Sheriff's Dept. Regional Training Center on May 13, 2008 Incident Command System 300 at DelValle Institute - O'Neill Room on May 14, 2008 Incident Command System 300 at Dalton Fire Station on May 14, 2008 Refresher Training For 718A Radiological Survey Meter at Lexington Armory on May 14, 2008 EOC Management and Operations Course at Wilmington Public Safety Building on May 15, 2008 Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program at Springfield-Raymond Sullivan Public Safety Complex on May 19, 2008 Incident Command System 400 at Northern Essex Community College on May 28, 2008 Hurricane Preparedness Workshop at Mass. Maritime Academy-Charleston/Nantucket room on May 30, 2008 Hurricane Preparedness Workshop at Ma-Task Force 1 on June 5, 2008 EOC Management and Operations Course at Middleton Police Department on June 9, 2008 Incident Command System 100 at Burlington Town Hall Annex Basesment on June 10, 2008 Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program at Plymouth Cty. Sheriff's Dept. Regional Training Center on June 10, 2008 Incident Command System 300 at Franklin Fire Headquarters on June 16, 2008 Incident Command System 400 at DelValle Institute - O'Neill Room on June 18, 2008 NIMS-700 / ICS-100 at Winchester Hospital Conference Rooms A&B McKay Bldg. on June 28, 2008 Visit our web site at <A HREF=http://www.mass.gov/portal/index.jsp?pageID=eopsmodulechunk&L=3&L0=Home&L1=Public+Safety+Agencies&L2=Massachusetts+Emergency+Management+Agency&sid=Eeops&b=terminalcontent&f=mema_mema_dept_training&csid=Eeops /> MEMA Training Calendar <a> for more details. http://ares.ema.arrl.org/article.php?sid=343 Sun, 12 Aug 2007 09:11:24 -0400 Hello to all.... The two announcements on WinLink 2000 have been added to a separate link under Departments/Programs called Winlink 2000. In addition, a Power Point presentation on Winlink 2000 that was done at the Boxboro Hamfest in 2006 has also been added with updated frequency information for those that want a larger overview of the Winlink system. The file is 5.5 to 6 MB so those with low bandwidth connections may want to save the file to the hard drive before viewing it. Phil McNamara-N1XTB has also prepared a document on how to view WinLink 2000 Bulletin messages and how to view lists of bulletins known as catalogs. This has been added to the WinLink section. 73,Rob-KD1CY. Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator http://ares.ema.arrl.org/article.php?sid=342 Sat, 11 Aug 2007 15:40:39 -0400 Hello to all.... From Tom Kinahan-N1CPE, Phil McNamara-N1XTB and Gil Follett-W1GMF, here is some important information on Packet and WinLink RMS-Packet stations in the region: Gil W1GMF has assembled a group of RMS-Packet stations in Eastern Mass that are available to all: KK1X-10 AYER,MA 145.07 N1OTX-10 WOBURN,MA 145.09 W1GMF-10 ABINGTON,MA 145.09 N1XTB-10 MIDDLEBORO,MA 145.01 N1YHR-10 FORRESTDALE,MA 145.01 KE1AB-10 CRANSTON,RI 145.05 In addition to: WC1MA FRAMINGHAM, MA. 145.75 N1CPE-10 MILFORD, MA 145.75 WC1MAA-10 TEWKSBURY, MA 145.01 N1OTS-10 GREENFIELD, MA 145.05 The following link provides additional information on the Packet system across Eastern Massachusetts: http://www.powersrvcs.org/EMAPACKET/ As we move into the active part of Hurricane Season, now is a good time to try technologies such as WinLink and Packet to add to your Emergency Communications capabilities. Respectfully Submitted, Robert Macedo (KD1CY) ARES SKYWARN Coordinator Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator Pager #: (508) 354-3142 Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM) Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM) Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM) Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com http://users.rcn.com/rmacedo http://ares.ema.arrl.org/article.php?sid=341 Sat, 11 Aug 2007 15:24:06 -0400 Hello to all.... WinLink is becoming a popular way to utilize digital communications over radio despite the low speed of which digital traffic can flow on VHF and UHF. John Ruggerio-N2YHK and Tom Kinahan-N1CPE demonstrated this technology at the last Western Massachusetts ARES Meeting. The following are instructions they have provided that I modified slightly to be more generic. If you haven't tried Winlink 2000 out yet, give it a shot. Winlink 2000 is E-mail for ham radio, where regular Internet E-mail is extended from the Internet by radio and can be used to get E-mail into an area without Internet access by radio from an area with Internet access. You can access Winlink 2000 via the Internet, via VHF packet to a RMSPacket station which is connected to the Internet or via HF (Pactor III preferred, but will work with Pactor I and Pactor II). The network also continues to function locally if Internet access is lost. To get started, go to http://www.winlink.org, click on Downloads, go to the Airmail web page, download the program and run it. Answer all of the usual Windows installation questions - You don't need to install the PTC-II drivers if you're not using HF. Then run the program. When you run it for the first time, click Cancel when it starts popping up the Setup dialog boxes to get to the regular "E-mail" screen. Then click on Tools - Options - Settings and enter your callsign. Click on Modules and make sure Internet Access (Telnet) is checked off. If you're using VHF Packet, also check off VHF Packet Client and click Setup. Choose your TNC, Com Port and Baud Rate. Click twice to get back to the "E-mail" screen. Then click Modules - Internet Access - Settings. Enter these: Remote Callsign: WL2K Remote Host: server.winlink.org Port: 8772 Timeout (sec): 120 Local Callsign: Password: cmstelnet Protocol: B2 Include in Auto-check: checked Then click OK and click the Green Circle and you should see the connection made in the window, ending with an FF, FQ and disconnect. Then click close. To connect using VHF Packet, click Modules - Packet Client. Enter the call-sign of the Telpac you want under Connect to:. Your callsign should be in Connect As:. Dial your radio to the frequency of the Telpac you want to connect to and click the Green Circle. You should see the connection made in the window, ending with an FF, FQ and disconnect. Then click close. Click on File - New to start a message. Click Cancel when the address book pops up. Enter the call-sign or email address you want to send the message to in the To: field. Enter a subject and some text, then click Message - Post to prepare it to be sent. Then open up Modules - Internet Access and click the Green Circle. The E-mail should go out. Once you connect to a RMSPacket station, you are automatically registered for 90 days. Just login once every 90 days to keep your account active. If it goes inactive, mail to you will bounce. Just login again to reactivate it. Your E-mail address is callsign@winlink.org. All E-mail coming from the Internet to your Winlink account is automatically blacklisted with a notice to you. To allow mail to come through, first send a message from your Winlink account to the address you wish to whitelist. You can also sign up for Webmail access by clicking the Webmail tab on http://www.winlink.org. You can also control your whitelist from there. To send a message to the Internet from Winlink, just enter the E-mail address in the To: field. Mail to other Winlink users only needs a callsign - You don't need to enter @winlink.org after it. If you get on the system, feel free to send a message to me at KD1CY at winlink dot org or send a message to Tom-N1CPE at N1CPE at winlink dot org. For Western Mass Hams, send a note to N2YHK-John Ruggerio. Let me know if you have any questions. Respectfully Submitted, Robert Macedo (KD1CY) ARES SKYWARN Coordinator Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator Pager #: (508) 354-3142 Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM) Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM) Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM) Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com http://www.wx1box.org http://ares.ema.arrl.org