Serving the Communities of Central Georgia

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Central Georgia ARES

Central GA ARES - July 2010

Wednesday, 07 July 2010 15:49 Dave Stewart
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The HURREX 2010 hurricane exercise at the end of June brought an opportunity for training and practice for ARES groups statewide.  Even though GEMA and other state authorities were only asking for communications with Bibb and Laurens counties, ECs across the state jumped at the chance to get in a little drill time for their local organizations.

Charles, K4GK, handled the ARES HF net at various times through the day Tuesday, and the last I heard from Charles, he'd taken almost 300 check ins during the day on HF alone.

That's quite a turnout.

But it's nothing compared to what you guys in the Central District did...

Collin, N4TUA, called 3 VHF nets on the Peach State Intertie system, each one an hour before the scheduled HF net.

Collin logged 113 check ins, from 17 counties!

Dooly county to the southwest, and several of our northwestern (nearly metro Atlanta) counties aren't in range of any of the linked repeaters, but we did have check ins on the linked system from Richmond county (Augusta), from Wheeler and Telfair counties, even one from way down in Appling county.

In Bibb county, Darrell, KJ4PEO, had assistance from hams from Peach and Houston county, and the Bibb EOC responded to every call and checked in on every net.  A great job by those guys.

Laurens county was where the action was.  Several agencies "staged" from Dublin, giving Mark, KF5TA, the biggest job by far, as he was asked to have amateurs man each staging location to test backup communications from each one.

With help from Dodge and Houston counties, Mark was able to fulfill every request.

All across central Georgia, you guys showed through the whole exercise, what the amateur radio spirit is all about.  And our served agencies noticed.

Great job, gang!  And great practice for the October SET.

On July 31, we'll have a "post exercise debriefing meeting" for all Central District ARES members at Empire Baptist Church in Empire, Georgia.  The meeting will start at 9:30am, so mark it on your calendars now, and we'll see you there!

 

Central GA ARES - June 2010

Tuesday, 15 June 2010 22:12 Dave Stewart
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First of all, I want to say thanks for the kind words from all of you.  I've already heard from several folks, and I'm looking forward to working with you guys to continue building the best ARES program in the state.  I think we already have that, so let's keep working and make it the best ARES program in the nation!

 

We already have the best group of hams I've ever had the pleasure of being around.  It's great hearing you guys on the air, hearing your ideas for improvements put into action, and watching the growth of the amateur community in middle Georgia.  There's no place that's more active, and more pro-active, than right here.

 

The Peach State Intertie continues to work very well, and for that, we should all take some time and thank Jimmy, WB4NFG, for his hard work.  Jimmy, KC4YNB, and Robert, AB4RT, put in long hours up on towers, too, so be sure to thank them when you see them.  If you're not sure of a repeater in your area, see http://www.peachstateintertie.com to find out which repeater that you can use is linked.  The Intertie is a great asset to middle Georgia, and all the repeater owners on the Intertie are great folks!  Thanks, guys, for your participation in the Intertie!

 

A lot is coming up over the summer months and as we head into fall.  Many of you may have heard about the statewide hurricane drill that's coming up soon.  I'm trying to find out more about that, but it's reportedly only a couple of weeks away (the last 3 days of June), so keep an ear out in case it really does get "sprung" on us (and EMAs across the state)!

 

But before that, we have Field Day on June 26 &  27.  I hope to hear many of you on the air, and see more of you at the MGRA/CGARC Field Day site in Warner Robins.  We'll be on the air as K4R.

 

Then, in July, we're working on a ham cram in Dublin, though we don't have a date set yet.  Dr. Wil will be heading over from Augusta to handle this ham cram.  When we do know the date, we'll pass that on to everybody so you or your friends can attend.

 

As we go through the next few months, tropical storms and hurricanes are possible, and the experts say it should be an active year.  Here in central Georgia, if a tropical system moves through, the primary concern is usually wind (including tornados spawned by storms) and heavy rain that can lead to flooding.  We'll all have to keep an eye on any systems that develop, and be prepared to step up for our served agencies.

 

Along those lines, the statewide Simulated Emergency Test in October is going to feature a hurricane moving across Georgia this year.  Our Section Emergency Coordinator, Mike Brown, KE4FGF, pointed out that it might be a case of testing lessons learned during previous storms.  The SET is still being developed, but will include Florida and Alabama this year, so it will be an interesting test of capabilities.

 

Finally, let me point out that I'm here to help you.  If you need anything at all to help out with the ARES program in your area, please let me know, and I'll do everything I can to get you that help.

 

My cell # is 478-335-2852, and email is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 

 

Last Updated on Monday, 21 June 2010 19:42
 

Welcome

Thursday, 15 April 2010 01:31 Clifford Morey
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Welcome to CentralGAARES.org

Welcome to the new website for the community of the Central Georgia Amatuer Radio Emergency Services.  Please feel free to complete the registration form and join the forums. The more information that we can share, the more we can colaborate the better prepared we will be.

Last Updated on Thursday, 06 May 2010 02:11
 

Purpose for ARES

Monday, 19 April 2010 15:50 DR WiL NM4W
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Amateur Radio Emergency Service, which has developed since 1935, is a part of the AmateurRadio Relay League (ARRL) Field Organization.

Part 97 of the FCC's RULES and REGULATION, which covers the Amateur Radio Service ,states under "Basis and Purpose" in 97.1 (a) that: "Recognition and enhancement of the value of the amateur service to the public as a voluntary non-commercial communication service, particularly with respect to providing emergency communications."

Amateurs have been involved with Public-service communications, emergency communications, since 1913. In the early days the involvement was unprepared and without any coordination. As stated in the PUBLIC SERVICE COMMUNICATIONS MANUAL, published by the ARRL, "As time progressed, the need for and value of organization became evident, resulting in the establishment of organized trunk lines and net systems; later the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and the National Traffic System (NTS) were formed to complete the organization."

Today, "The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes. Every licensed amateur, regardless of membership in ARRL or any other local or national organization, is eligible for membership in the ARES. The only qualification, other than the possession of an Amateur Radio license, is a sincere desire to serve. Because ARES is an amateur service, only amateurs are eligible for membership. The possession of emergency-powered equipment is desirable, but is not a requirement for membership".

 

Last Updated on Thursday, 06 May 2010 02:17