Inside..
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FirstNet Project
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ARES Leadership Conference
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NIMS / ICS
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Handbook Give-Away
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NORC net
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Getting this Newsletter
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We’ve Gotten New Bands to Operate On
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My Final
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FirstNet
Project
The United States Government is going to award
AT&T with FirstNet Project – it’s a $6.5 billion deal with AT&T to build a nationwide
wireless broadband network for first responders, a project that was proposed
after the 9/11 terrorist attacks but has struggled to get off the ground.
The
decision is a major step forward for FirstNet,
as the program is called. A nationwide wireless broadband network that police,
fire and other first responders could use exclusively during an emergency was
one of dozens of recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission in 2004. Currently, first responders share
wireless networks with regular customers, meaning communications can get
clogged due to network congestion during an emergency.
Commerce Department
Secretary Wilbur Ross announced the 25-year contract to AT&T and its
partners, which include Motorola
Solutions, according to people
familiar with the matter.
We're
going to make history building America's first nationwide broadband network
dedicated to public safety.
Working
with the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), AT&T will build and
manage a network that will strengthen and modernize public safety's
communications capabilities, enabling them to operate faster, more safely and
more effectively when lives are on the line.
Randall
Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO, said, "We are honored to work with
FirstNet to build a network for America's police, firefighters and EMS
personnel that is second to none. This is an unprecedented public-private
investment in infrastructure that makes America a leader and public safety a
national priority."
AT&T
will work with FirstNet to deliver a dedicated, interoperable network and
ecosystem that will cover all 50 states, 5 U.S. territories and the District of
Columbia, including rural communities and tribal lands in those states and
territories.
The
network will help improve communications among members of the public safety
community. And that's something that everyone – first responders, employees,
customers, shareholders, and even those who don't do business with us – can
benefit from during an emergency.
Our
work on FirstNet is expected to create 10,000 U.S. jobs across our company and
contractors over the next two years. The network buildout will begin later this
year.
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ARRL Ohio ARES
Leadership Conference
The
2017 Ohio ARES Leadership Meeting is being held on April 01, 2017 at the Marion
Technical College / OSU - Marion Campus, 1467 Mt. Vernon Avenue, Marion. Check-in
is at 8am. Folks, that’s this coming Saturday!!. This conference is open to
anyone and everyone that is interested in emergency communications and the Ohio
ARES program. We do ask that you register so that we know just how many to plan
for.. The conference room as electrical
hookups for your laptop or tablets and there’s very comfortable seating
provided as well.
You
won’t be sorry that you came and spent the day!! Here’s where to register..
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NIMS / ICS
Training
The
numbers are growing for sure! Here’s the latest count we have on everyone.. Members
in the database 701. Members
completing all 4 required NIMS courses 491.
Total Number of the Courses taken by everyone in the database 4628,
Here’s the link so that you can find out if your name is on the
list..
During
a recent conversation, it was mentioned that some folks in border counties in
Ohio may be registered in our surrounding Section ARES programs (Kentucky, West
Virginia, Indiana, Pennsylvania or Michigan) and that these other Section’s may
not require the 4 basic courses for ARES membership as Ohio does. Please take
note, it IS a requirement for
membership the Ohio ARES, and you still need to get these courses in, and
copies of your certificates to your Ohio County E.C. and to me, regardless of
another Section’s requirements.
Also,
for those outside of Ohio in the bordering states, if you have these 4 courses
in, please feel free to send me copies of your 4 certificates and we’ll be very
happy to get them entered into our database as well. Please make sure that you
have your call sign either in the email or as part of the file name on the
certificate.
For
those just starting out, we have a webpage with all the information about how
to get started.. http://arrl-ohio.org/SEC/training.html. This page
contains a lot of information about what is needed. Each course takes about an
hour or so to take, that’s really not much to ask now is it? You spent way more
than that to get your Amateur Radio operators license!
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Handbook Give-Away
Have you gotten
registered for the “Handbook Giveaway” drawing yet, tonight is it! That’s
right, April 1st is tomorrow!
To
enter the drawing all you need to do is fill in a couple of boxes on the form..
(your name and email). That’s you need to do to be entered into a drawing to
win a 2016 ARRL softcover Handbook. There’s nothing else required (Oh.. You do
need to be a resident of Ohio to win..)
The
winner will be mailed the Handbook at my cost. This is being offered just to
see how many folks are really checking in on the website. Got the idea? Best of
luck to you!!
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NORC Net
(from
Dan Stahl, Seneca County EMA)
The
Northwest Ohio Regional Communications or “NORC Net” is designed to provide
backup emergency communications between the 18 County Emergency Operation
Centers in Northwest Ohio. Check-ins from the County EOC’s are encouraged, but
all check-ins are welcome on this net.
Ohio
Counties in the NORC area, almost the same footprint as Ohio ARES District 1
& 2, are: Allen, Auglaize, Defiance, Erie, Fulton, Hancock, Henry, Huron,
Lucas, Mercer, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam, Sandusky, Seneca, Van Wert, Williams
and Wood, and recently there have been 2 additions to ARES District 1, Hardin
and Wyandot. We want to include them in this net too.
The
net will be begin on 3.915 +/- Once
we’ve got all the check-ins that we can get there, they we will switch over to
7.215 +/- and get all the check-ins
there as well.. This net is generally held monthly on the 1st Saturday of the
month at 11:00 AM.
Let’s
have some fun, let’s get everyone that can get on this net!
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Are you getting
those emails
from me? If not, all you have to do is to “Opt-In” to receive them.
Heck,
just send me an email: n8sy@n8sy.com and let me know
that you want to be added. It’s really just that easy. Please, if you know of
anyone that would be interested in this information, feel free to pass it on to
them. You don’t have to be an ARRL member or even a ham to receive these
emails.
You
are always free to “Opt-Out” at any time
if you feel this is not what you were expecting. Just send me an email with the
email address that you used to opt-in on, and you will be removed. It’s that
simple.
Also..
are you viewing the Ohio Section Website on a regular basis? You should, it
changes all the time. Here’s a link to it.
http://arrlohio.org
************
New Bands! FCC
Issues Amateur Radio Service Rules for 630 Meters and 2,200 Meters
(from
the ARRL Bulletins)
[CORRECTED
to UPDATE information on effective date: 2017-03-31 @ 1315 UTC] It’s been a
long time coming, but the Amateur Service will get two new bands in the near
future. The FCC on March 28 adopted rules that will allow secondary Amateur
Radio access to 472-479 kHz (630 meters) and to 135.7-137.8 kHz (2,200 meters),
with minor conditions. The FCC Report and Order (R&O) spells out the
details. It allocates 472-479 kHz to the Amateur Service on a secondary basis
and amends Part 97 to provide for Amateur Service use of that band as well as
of the previously allocated 135.7-137.8 kHz band. The R&O also amends Part
80 rules to authorize radio buoy operations in the 1900-2000 kHz band under a ship
station license. Just when the new Part 97 rules will go into effect is
difficult to determine just yet; more on that below.
Here
are the highlights:
Amateurs
operating on 472-479 kHz will be permitted a maximum equivalent isotropically
radiated power (EIRP) of 5 W, except in parts of Alaska within 800 kilometers
(approximately 496 miles) of Russia, where the maximum would be 1 W EIRP. [EIRP
is the product of the power supplied to the antenna and the antenna gain in a
given direction, relative to an isotropic antenna (absolute or isotropic gain).
EIRP is equal to ERP multiplied by 1.64.]
Amateurs
operating in the 135.7-137.8 kHz band will be permitted to run up to 1 W EIRP.
The
FCC is requiring a 1-kilometer separation distance between radio amateurs using
the two new bands and electric power transmission lines with PLC systems on
those bands. Amateur Radio operators will have to notify the UTC of station
location prior to commencing operations.The FCC Wireless Telecommunications
Bureau will provide details on the notification process later, but ARRL is
urging radio amateurs interested in operating on either band to register at the
earliest opportunity, to avoid having to protect any “post-notification” PLCs.
The
FCC placed a 60-meter (approximately 197 feet) above-ground-level (AGL) height
limit on transmitting antennas used on 630 meters and 2,200 meters.
The
bands would be available to General class and higher licensees, and permissible
modes would include CW, RTTY, data, phone, and image. Automatically controlled
stations would be permitted to operate in the bands.
In
an unrelated action, the FCC allocated 1,900-2,000 kHz to the maritime mobile
service (MMS) on a primary basis for non-Federal use in ITU Regions 2 and 3,
and limited the use of this allocation to radio buoys on the open sea and the
Great Lakes.
Amateur
Radio was upgraded from secondary to primary in the 1900-2000 kHz segment in
2015. The FCC said it believes Amateur Radio and radio buoys “can continue to
share this frequency band as they have done for many years.” It declined to
make additional spectrum available for radio buoy use.
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My Final..
Today
is March 31, it’s National Tater Day! It’s also TGI Friday, the last day of the
week, and anything after 4pm is considered the weekend!! Now, go and have FUN this weekend!!
73,
Scott,
N8SY..
eof..
