Inside..
-
NIMS / ICS
-
Stuff
-
Handbook Giveaway
-
New Image Database
-
Getting this Newsletter
-
Weekly DMR Nets
-
Final
************
NIMS / ICS
Training
Hey
Gang, get those oh – so important ICS certificates in to me and to your Emergency Coordinator!!
Ok,
hold it a minute. I’m sure by now that all of you are sick of seeing this
article appear each time I send the updates out. Why in the world am I pushing
this so hard? It’s this simple. There will be a day when something bad happens,
and when that day comes, it will be too late for you to get that training in so
that you’ll be of use to not only us, but your EMA, Red Cross, Salvation Army
or any of the other served agencies.
We
have over 28,000 licensed Amateurs in Ohio, of which we have 1,700 that are
members of our ARES program. If you look at the numbers below we still have a
lot of folks out there that either aren’t taking courses, or have not turned in
their course certificates yet. WHY? None of us want to be told that we can’t
participate when something happens, so why let that happen? Please, if you
haven’t started taking these classes, do so now. If you have, and just haven’t
turned in your certificates to your E.C. AND me, get it done NOW, before that
time comes.
Every
Ohio ARES member needs to have at least these 4 basic courses completed. Why
are these courses so important? The simple answer is this - we need these
courses as part of our requirement for our state credentialing system. As you
know, the State of Ohio has a credentialing system that we are a big part of,
and to obtain your credential when the time is needed, means that you need to
have these courses completed and turned in to the database. So, without these
courses being completed, you won’t be able to get credentialed!
Here’s
the latest count we have on everyone.. Members included in the database 631, Members completing NIMS 418, and Total Courses taken 4,131
These
are fantastic statistics for sure, and they just keep growing. These numbers
were from yesterday and they are already outdated with more coming in. This is
the way it should be, but PLEASE, make sure that you get these certificates to
your local Emergency Coordinator too.
************
Stuff
Did
you know that this newsletter gets out to more than just the Amateur Radio
folks? It does. It’s sent out to our partners at the Ohio VOAD (Volunteer
Organizations Assisting in Disasters) who in turn send it out to all of their
members. Wow.. What a neat way of getting our message out all over the state!
Thanks Ohio VOAD!
************
Handbook
Giveaway
Hey, hey, hey.. this month is drawing to a close
fast! Don’t forget that February this year only has 28 days in it and we are
getting to the end very quickly. So, if you haven’t seen it yet, the NEWEST
“Handbook Giveaway” drawing is now in progress!!
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 2017 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!!
************
QRZ
Announces New Image Database
(from QRZ.COM)
Did you know that QRZ has the world's largest collection of amateur radio related images? Sure, as a regular user of QRZ you've no doubt noticed that the site has always had some great images, but never before have they all been brought together as collection in their own right. Let's face it, there are probably thousands of pictures that you're not likely to ever see unless you have a reason to lookup a specific call sign. That's too bad because there are a lot of great images that almost never get seen by others.
Well, all of that changes today with the release of QRZ's exclusive Amateur Radio image gallery which we lovingly call the Picture Safari or PicSafari for short.
The reason it's a "safari" is because browsing through the collection will certainly take you to places that you've never been before, seeing things that you've never imagined were there. The entire collection is keyword searchable and we are asking for your help in adding keywords, known as Tags, to the collection. Once a tag has been added, the image becomes searchable by that tag. It's easy and extremely powerful. Images can have multiple tags and all are weighted equally. There's even a voting system whereby if you noticed that someone has mis-tagged an item, you can vote it down and/or add your own, improved tag. Need convincing? Just visit the page and type in a simple keyword such as Kenwood or Icom and watch an unbelievable number of results come rolling in.
There are other unique things about the page that you just have to see to believe. For starters, the main display page has no end, no bottom of the page. As you keep scrolling, more pictures keep arriving and will do so until your mouse finger gets tired. We can tell you that so far, nobody has seen the entire collection (however, every image has been "seen" and vetted by our administrators at least once).
We hope that our members will find new uses for this information that we didn't think of. Please feel free to let us know what you think and how it can be improved.
Check it out from the Database menu from the home page, or click here to check out PicSafari !
73,
-fred AA7BQ
************
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
can always “Opt-Out” at any time if you feel this is not what you
were expecting.
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
************
Weekly
DMR Net
Hey
gang, don’t forget to check-in on the weekly Wednesday night DMR net tonight,
there are averaging around 50 check-ins each week, and it’s really growing in
popularity for sure. Come join in on the fun, Wednesday nights at 8:30p local
on the 3139 Ohio statewide Talkgroup.
The
North American Tech Net is also on Wednesday night at 9pm EST on Talkgroup 3,
as well as The After HamNation Net, following the HamNation program on
Talkgroup 311 as well.. Lot’s of good nets to check in to on Wednesday’s for
sure..
************
Finally..
Interesting
thought.. The term HOT WATER HEATER is
an oxymoron. If the water is already hot, why do you need to heat it? – George
Carlin
Remember,
life is short, go have FUN..!!
73,
Scott,
N8SY..
eof..
