I have received word that the documents published earlier are work product of a PEMA working group and thus are not generally releasable. Additionally, they are in the process of change as I write. In fairness to the process and to prevent misinformation I have removed them from the blog.
Thank you.
Carmine Prestia
The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency held its ACS/RACES Conference on Saturday September 26th. I was able to attend and saw many familiar faces from Western Pennsylvania. Below are a couple of points that were discussed at the conference that I thought were noteworthy.
The file linked below contains a listing of the Western Pennsylvania ARES nets, their frequencies, schedules, and other pertinent information. Prepared by WPA SEC, John, N3SPW.
On October 31ST from 09:00 hours to 12:00 hours local time the ARRL Western Pennsylvania Section will be conducting a Simulated Emergency Test, or SET. The Centre County ARES organization will be participating in the SET.
The purpose of the SET is to test readiness to handle emergency communications in Centre County and the ARRL Western Pennsylvania Section. All amateur radio operators are welcome to participate.
Interested volunteers may contact me at k3cwp@arrl.net, on the air, or after the Sunday night ARES net on 146.85. Again, the simulated emergency test will be held on October 31ST from 09:00 hours to 12:00 hours local time.
73, Carmine, K3CWP
K3CWP, Carmine, Centre County EC attended a meeting of the ECs of the ARRL Western Pennsylvania Section. The meeting was held in Brookville, PA on Saturday August 15, 2009. N3SPW, John called the meeting to discuss a number of items related to amateur radio and emergency preparedness in the section.
K3ARL, Karl, co-owner of Centre Communications, recently shifted the antenna on his digipeater, K3ARL-1, to provide better APRS coverage to the north of Centre County.
On Friday, August 7, Nittany Amateur Radio Club and Amateur Radio Emergency Services volunteers provided communications for the Gatesburg, Pennsylvania bicentennial parade. Gatesburg is a small town in Ferguson Township, Centre County to the southwest of State College.
Amateur radio operators from the Nittany Amateur Radio Club and Centre and Blair County Pennsylvania ARES provided vital communications for the Wilderness 101 bicycle race on Saturday, August 1, 2009. This is an aggressive mountain-bike race that runs for 101 miles through state forest trails in central Pennsylvania.
Welcome:
I established this blog to record information relative to Amateur Radio emergency preparedness in Centre County. In addition to a “news” vehicle it will provide interested parties with a historical recording of the progress of Amateur Radio participation in Centre County’s emergency planning and preparation.
My name is Carmine W Prestia Jr. I currently hold Amateur Extra Class license K3CWP, having been licensed since 1972, and am the Emergency Coordinator for Centre County appointed by the American Radio Relay League. I am also the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) Radio Officer for Centre County appointed by the County Emergency Management Agency Director.
My background in emergency services includes:
Any interested amateur radio operator or emergency services worker is welcome to view the information here.
Thank you and 73
Carmine, K3CWP