When: Monday, October 27, 2025, at 7:00 pm
Place: Community room, BTFD Station 61, lower level
Topics:
Review of SET
Discussion regarding weekly nets
Training opportunities, plans, desires
GCARES has three weekly nets. The voice net is held at 9 pm every Tuesday on the 146.91 (-) repeater (442.725 repeater on the fourth Tuesday). The digital training net follows the voice net and uses mode MT63-2KL. The Winlink net is check-in only and participation can take place anytime on any Tuesday by sending a message to W8GCA (see, below).
What can we do to increase participation in the weekly nets? Should we read notices from ARRL/ARES/??? Should we conduct a drill of some sort? Suggestions, please.
Besides providing a platform for certain announcements, a regular net provides a known time and frequency to check out equipment and to fine-tune your skills as a participant in a directed net.
The Public Safety radio systems have migrated significantly away from the often incompatible systems unique to each jurisdiction and there is now much redundancy in the radio part of the systems. I believe that the old ARES motto of “When all else fails…” has fundamental truth, but it implies a situation that is unlikely to the extent that most agencies no longer include amateur radio in their back-up plan. What will always be true is that the people in the agencies will become overloaded with tasks when a major incident occurs. Amateur Radio can provide help via Auxiliary Communicators. This requires an understanding of the National Incident Management System and training is available to enhance knowledge and skills when AUXCOMM is requested. AUXCOMM may not require the use of amateur radio, but the knowledge and skills are likely to be of use.
There will always be some use for voice communications, but the world does business using digital messaging. What can GCARES do to help you acquire the skills to support the evolving digital communications networks over radio?
I am hoping to arrange for CISA to come to the Dayton area sometime in 2026 to conduct their DHS/FEMA AUXCOMM course. (20 hours of instruction over 3 days, no fee, requires FEMA self-study courses IS-100, IS-200, IS-700, IS-800). The resulting AUXCOMM certificate has meaning, but if you really want to establish yourself as a proven Auxiliary Communicator, consider completing the Position Task Book for AUXC. You assemble a complete Go-Kit HF station, set it up and operate it (sending real messages (voice and digital), dealing with exercise injects, all under sometimes difficult conditions). You also need to demonstrate proficiency as Net Control and assemble a small library of the documents that public safety agencies use as their directives. The tasks in the PTB must be witnessed by a representative of the Governor. Here is a link to the AUXC PTB:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/15LHCCiAPj4cw7Iw23bquNOH9wKXME6_I?usp=sharing
There are three AUXC’s in Greene County and we are all participating in the development of a back-up communications capability in support of the Ohio Strategic Defense Force.
Here is info about the weekly Winlink net:
(Begin—————–)
GCARES Winlink Net Check-ins
We have 14 check-ins to the Greene County ARES Winlink Net for this week.
Of those, 9 are from OH with 4 from Greene County. Thanks to all for checking in!
Requested check-in format – please include in your check-in message:
Subject: GCARES Winlink Net Check-in
Call, Name, City, County, ARES District, State (via frequency/gateway/protocol)
For example,
Subject: GCARES Winlink Net Check-in
KE8NHT, Mark, Beavercreek, Greene, D3, OH (via 145.01 W8GCA-10 AX.25 Gateway)
(The RMS gateway in this example is back online and also available as a digipeater.)
Including these in your message helps make completing this net report easier and is much appreciated. If the requested check-in information line is not included in the message, your check-in still gets counted and the information included in this report will be limited to information copied from one line in the message.
The GCARES Winlink Net has always been on Tuesdays. However, there also is a “Winlink Wednesday” event in which many amateur operators participate. We still operate on Tuesday, but I will keep the report open through Wednesday for any who choose to check in on the same day as other nets.
As this net is intended to provide practice for communicating when normal local infrastructure is compromised, participants are encouraged to try various RMS portals on several modes and bands to the extent of your station’s capabilities and license privileges. I would encourage everyone to read through this and previous net reports then try some of the gateways listed if they are accessible.
Volunteers to serve as Net Control Station are welcome – please send a note to W8GCA, Subject: NCS Volunteer
73,
Mark Avery, KE8NHT (AUXC)
GCARES Winlink NCS
(End——————)
To get started with Winlink, see the excellent training material on the District 3 ARES website:
Also, even if you do not have packet radio or a digital radio interface, you can use Winlink via a Telnet Session on a computer with internet access.
Hoping to see many of you at the monthly meeting. Please note that we will NOT be meeting in November or December.
73,
Bob Baker N8ADO AUXC
Greene County ARES Emergency Coordinator