St. Louis County ARES® Minutes of the June 11, 2007 meeting

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Minutes of the June 11, 2007 Meeting

Steve Wooten, KC0QMU, the Emergency Coordinator presided over the monthly meeting of the St. Louis County ARES^® group on June 11, 2007. The Meeting was held at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital.

Steve said that the St. Louis Veterans Administration Medical Center anticipated finishing installation of the amateur radio equipment in the Cochran and Jefferson Barracks Hospitals around June 16th or 17th. He said that they plan to participate in an earthquake drill on June 20, 2007 between 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM and would like two operators at each hospital during the drill. After that, the VAMC would like amateur radio drills performed at least on a quarterly basis.

Steve said that the next hamfest at which St. Louis County ARES^® would have a table would be the Zero Beaters hamfest in Washinton, Missouri. The hamfest will take place on July 15, 2007 from 6:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

Steve said he had received a letter from the local Zombie Squad saying that they will be holding a Disaster Awareness Fair on July 21, 2007. They would like St. Louis County ARES^® to set up a table at the Fair.

Steve mentioned the Moonlight Ramble and the Race for Rivers and Clean Water Challenge, both of which will take place in August. Both events need volunteer amateur radio operators.

Steve said that St. Louis County ARES^® has tentatively scheduled a Field Station Demo and Picnic for October 13, 2007 in Queeny Park. It will probably start at noon or 1:00 PM and run until 5:00 PM. A variety of different field stations running in different modes will be on display.

Steve said that Field Day will be June 23-24, 2007 and that he would visit several different sites. (Clubs earn extra points if the local ARES^® Emergency Coordinator visits their sites.)

Steve said that he had been contacted by Rick Crockett, W0PC, who has been holding amateur radio technician classes for members of the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) and Missouri Motorist Assist. He said that MoDOT had a well-equipped communications trailer which included amateur radio gear. Rick invited Steve to visit the trailer and participate in the recent SEMA drill.

Corey Chaney, KF0UN, attended the meeting. He is the lead operator for the Missouri Highway Patrol Troop C dispatchers. Also attending was Kevin Turnbeaugh, N0UIJ, one of Corey's co-workers. Corey said that the recent earthquake drills had exposed many problems with the current systems and that the MHP was now beginning to take an interest in amateur radio.

Steve said that Dale Huffington, AE0S, who is the manager of the Missouri Emergency Services Net, was very pleased with the performance of St. Louis County ARES^® during the recent SEMA drill.

Steve said that he would like to do a member survey at some point in the future. He would like to get the location, description of equipment, and capabilities of the members and plot them on an area map.

Don Mueller, KC0UJB, said that the group should develop and write up standards of what equipment is needed to run the various digital modes it is using.

Craig Hirsh, K0CMH, Assistant Emergency Coordinator - Planning & Development said that the group needs to do another digital workshop. He said that the only way to adequately help members set up for digital modes is to do so in person and one-on-one.

Ed Harris, KC0UKR, displayed a simple field station he had built for under $100. He stressed that field stations did not have to be exotic, expensive, or complicated.

Congratulations were given to Eric Bueneman, N0UIH, for passing the general class exam.

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