ARES operators provided communications assistance for the 2024 edition of the Rothrock Grit Gravel Grinder in Pennsylvania’s Rothrock State Forest. About 200 riders participated over the three different courses, the longest being 65 miles. Amateur radio operators staffed three aid stations; Headquarters at Tussey Mountain Lodge, Penn Roosevelt State Park, and the Hammer station at North Meadows Road and Treaster Kettle Road. Although there was only one minor emergency the stations relayed operational information to and from headquarters. Continue reading
Category Archives: ARES/RACES
Senate Bill 37 and Amateur Radio – update
After all the discussion about Senate Bill 37 many amateur radio operators contacted their senators and other legislative contacts about the effect this bill would have on mobile operation, especially for drills and training. Thank you to those who took the time. Several days ago Bob, KC3KVS did further research and found that the language of the bill is forced by federal requirements. Bob’s research is below. Continue reading
Results of the 2024 Western Pennsylvania (WPA) Simulated Emergency Test (SET)
On Saturday, 6 Apr 2024 The WPA and EPA sections of the ARRL and the American Red Cross conducted the annual WPA Spring SET to test emergency communications in the sections. Below is a summary of those efforts in Centre and Clearfield Counties. Continue reading
ARES/ACS/RACES Net Repeater Outage Test Successful
For years the ARES/ACS/RACES net on the W3YA repeater in Boalsburg/State College (21:00 Sunday Evenings, (146.85 mHz -) has opened with a preamble that instructs amateur radio operators what to do if the repeater fails. Amateur radio operators should expect the net to move to the W3GA, (146.76 mHz -) repeater on Rattlesnake Mountain. To test this procedure Centre County EC, Carmine, K3CWP, arranged to have the repeater shut off by Trustee Woody, K3YV, midway through the net on Sunday, March 31, 2024. To Carmine’s knowledge this has never tested before. Continue reading
Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, & Snow (CoCoRaHS) Network
If you are interested in greater participation gathering weather data for the National Weather Service you might want to look at the CoCoRaHS program for reporting precipitation totals to NWS. As the name implies CoCoRaHS seeks to record accurate daily precipitation data for the NWS. Click on this sentence to find out more information.
FREE ON-LINE AMATEUR RADIO OPERATING CLASS
A free, weekly, 3-hour Amateur Radio Operating Class on Zoom will begin on Thursday April 4 and run through June 20 at 6:30 PM Eastern time. The presenters will be various experienced folks in the various subjects.
A detailed syllabus will be published before the classes begin. Attend them all, or any that you like, but you must register for the classes. To receive registration information, contact Rol Anders, K3RA, at roland.anders@comcast.net. Continue reading
PEMA/ARC National Mass Care Exercise/Red Cross Announcement
From WPA Section Manager, JoeShupienis W3BC:
Attention all District Emergency Coordinators and County Emergency Coordinators! Our partner agency, Red Cross of Greater Pennsylvania is requesting the service of all ARES members in both Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Pennsylvania Sections to participate in an upcoming drill. Information follows, and reflects the work of many hams and Red Cross volunteers across the state in planning and coordinating these exercises. Participation is voluntary, however we encourage all ARES members to try to participate in at least one of the run-up exercises and the main event on May 22. we expect a good number of ARES members to offer their services. Continue reading
Weather/Skywarn information links
Bob Fenner, K3RDF, an NWS Employee provided a number of links to weather information that is of interest to Skywarn Spotters and Amateur Radio Operators in General. You can find them by clicking on “Links” in the menu above.
Thank you Bob!
Results of Skywarn Net Jan. 24, 2024 on W3GA, 146.76
As announced a Skywarn was conducted from the National Weather Service State College Office (NWS CTP) on January 24th at 19:00. NCS used the NWS CTP call sign WX3CTP. Carmine, K3CWP and Greg, K3HOT staffed the station.
Nineteen stations checked in from seven counties as listed below. The showed that the coverage for W3GA will be useful for Skywarn activations should other local repeaters fail. Thank you to the stations who checked in. They are listed below. Continue reading
Skywarn net announced for Jan. 24, 2024
On Wednesday, January 24, 2024 at 19:00 local time we will conduct a Skywarn net on the W3GA repeater. Frequency is 146.760 mHz, -600 kHz shift, 146.2 Tone. Net control will be operating from the National Weather Service Office in State College using the callsign WX3CTP.
Net control will call for stations to check in from Centre and surrounding counties. Stations checking in are asked to give their callsign, name, and a brief report of weather observations at their location.
This will give us a test of coverage into the areas west, south, and north of Centre County from the repeater’s location on Rattlesnake Mountain.
Any amateur radio operator is welcome to check in, not just Skywarn spotters.