The next month has a few special radio activities going on that might interest you.
SC Emergency Management Division (SCEMD) is holding a full-scale exercise on Saturday 24 April 2021 (https://ares-sc.org/2021/02/20/statewide-full-scale-exercise-2021/). According to what we were told at the monthly club meeting, this will focus on amateur radio support to state agencies. While they have some very fancy equipment, sometimes it doesn’t work. This is a good opportunity to read the latest tactical plan (https://ares-sc.org/tactical-communications-plan/) and become familiar with the interface between ARES and the served agencies. One of the key points to remember is that you should communicate with your county EOC if possible, not the state EOC — go through the chain of command.
One of the topics that ARES has discussed is the need to use more digital communications. Relaying detail reports via phone is inefficient and error-prone. SC ARES will be trying out VARA (a modem used for messaging) over VHF FM to get traffic to Columbia (https://ares-sc.org/2021/03/21/winlink-vara-fm-p2p-request/). The goal is to do all simplex, point-to-point links without using internet-based Winlink nodes. Part of the challenge is that they don’t know what the population capable of doing this looks like, and how many hops it will take to reach Columbia.
I’d like to propose that we take some time to experiment locally with VARA over VHF FM. Let’s find some volunteers to establish a node and schedule some tests. Ideally the primary nodes will have a good VHF base station, high vertical antenna, and a computer interface. Participating stations need a radio and interface — the VARA modem switches between transmit and receive too quickly to do the speaker-and-microphone-PTT trick like PSK31. If you’d like to experiment send me a note at aj4uq at arrl.net. Maybe we can add some stations to the list (https://ares-sc.org/vara-fm-stations/). If you use Winlink email and have a VHF-capable radio (like a Yaesu FT-991) you should be able to participate.
Museum Ships Weekend is going to happen, according to the organizers at NJ2BB. We’ve registered the Yorktown, Laffey, and Clamagore. We’ve also asked to add the MK1 PBR Boat from the Vietnam Experience at Patriots Point. More info as we get closer.
And finally, some fun. The TV show Last Man Standing has included amateur radio as a realistic part of the show, and has an active station on the set in Hollywood. As part of the show’s finale they’re activating a special event 24-30 March 2021. As part of their public relations the show would send a QSL card for the fictional KA0XTT character in response to your sending a card; this is a chance to get a real QSL card from KA6LMS. More info at https://www.qrz.com/db/ka6lms.
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