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

On September 24th Raytheon of State College participated in National Preparedness month by showcasing their Emergency Operations Center at their State College Facility. David Hege, K3DWH, Raytheon Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, noted their corporate commitment to including amateur radio operations in their facilities and plans.

See the linked photos below:
The Raytheon Lobby
The Raytheon EOC

Shawn Kauffman, Centre Region Council of Governments Emergency Management Director, also attended the event. Mr. Kauffman and Mr. Hege are discussing the possibility of the Raytheon EOC being used as a backup EOC for the COG.

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.

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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.

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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.

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