Yolo County ARES Meeting Minutes

Yolo ARES Meeting Minutes for 9/15/2009

YOLO ARES MEETING
September 15, 2009

ATTENDANCE
KG6FJL - Darrin
K6KN – Bill
K6LAV – LaVonne
KG6SJT – Greg
W6SZ – Wes
KE6GCV – Todd
KF6HHH - Daniel
KG6GNI - Bill
KI6OBF - Jason
N6KLB – Rick
WA6TQJ – Gary

The Yolo ARES meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. at the Yolo County Red Cross.

FCC RULING
Discussion held regarding the FCC interpretation of “Business Communications” (97.113(a)) as posted in an article on the QRZ.com Web site. . The FCC has recently stated that professional public safety workers--including firefighters, police officers, EMTs, and other personnel--may not use Amateur Radio to communicate on behalf of their agencies except during actual emergencies. The issue will be further discussed at the Section EC level and Yolo ARES will follow and support their decisions accordingly. Darrin (KG6FJL) encouraged ARES members to read the posted article on the QRZ.com Web site and continue to pay attention to this issue as it develops.

OPERATOR TRAINING
Gary (WA6TQJ) discussed the operator training that is being planned for UC Davis. Trainers will be Bill (K6GNI), Ken (K6WLS), Greg (WG6SJT), and Gary (WA6TQJ). The program will be Sept. 23rd from 5:30 to 7:15 p.m. Program content will include message construction, sending and receiving, and using the proper message forms.

PRINCESS PROMINADE
Gary (WA6TQJ) noted that the Princess Promenade will be October 4th, 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. on the American River Bike Trail. The Sacramento Radio Club and ARES groups will provide ham coverage for this all ladies event. There will be a need for seven bicycle mobiles plus fixed mobiles. The Princess Promenade offers ride distances of 5k, 15, 26, 55, and 64 miles. Vehicle access to the American River Parkway is limited in many areas; hams will be using bikes. Contact Gary (WA6TQJ) if you are able to participate.

DAVIS AMATEUR RADIO CLUB
Gary (WA6TQJ) reported on the activities of the Davis Amateur Radio Club, noting that their repeater is yet to be correctly set up and installed.

TURKEY TROTT
Todd (KE6GCV) described the November 21 Turkey Trot, noting ham radio coverage is needed for this 5K and 10K event; he provided detailed maps of the routes. At least 10 hams will be needed to cover the course adequately. Todd is the point person to coordinate ham volunteers. Contact him if you are available to assist.

YOLO ARES ICS 213 MESSAGE FORM
Greg (KG6SJT) reported that UC Davis will be using the Yolo ARES ICS 213 message form. Discussion ensued as to whether the current form should be edited eliminating the year from the date field in the header information since it is generally not necessary to include the year for messaging purposes. However, since the Red Cross and Davis Fire Department would need the year on message forms, the consensus was that no changes would be made to the Yolo ARES form. Date will be continue to be included in the six-digit MMDDYY format. Darrin (KG6FJL) reported that he has received numerous communications from ECs across the country who have adopted the Yolo ARES form for their use.

PRESENTATION
Wes (W6SZ) and Jason (KI6OBF) provided an excellent demonstration of OpenStreetMap (Openstreetmap.org). OpenStreetMap is a free, editable map (wiki maps) of the world, editable by any user. Their presentation included detailed description of how the system works, the ease with which maps are viewed and edited, and the possible uses of these maps by Yolo ARES.

NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will be held October 20, 2009, at the Yolo County Red Cross in Woodland.

ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 PM

Yolo County ARES