News and Announcements

1) Upcoming Events
9/2-4/2006 Paradise
10/14 Cochise Perimeter Cycling Classic

2) Paradise 27th Anniversary Outing - Just a reminder that we are 
getting closer to the annual Paradise outing and training event.  
As always, we will be using the Labor Day weekend as a training 
event to provide an opportunity to familiarize RACES members with 
the MCU and its various capabilities.  Since the MCU is still 
relatively new, there are a number of members who will benefit 
from this opportunity, not to mention the fun of operating the 
Special Event station from Ghost Town of Paradise.  We will 
depart from Green Acres in Sierra Vista at 7:30 on Saturday 
and convoy to Paradise to set up and operate over the weekend.  
Lee is providing a new HEX Beam antenna to experiment with 
this year.  That should be fun as well as taking advantage 
of the pneumatic mast to put it in the air. I need a headcount 
for the permit from the Forest Service so please let me know 
before 1 August if you intend to join us for the weekend. 
Thanks.

3) MCU Training - I am planning to conduct another MCU training 
this coming Saturday (7/29).  We should have some satellite 
time left so we can bring up the Satellite Link and do some 
computer training using the Internet connection, the ACU 1000 
software,  as well as the internal network.  We also now have 
the same topographic map software that the SAR coordinators 
use for working their missions.  I'd like to split it into 
two different groups 8-10 and 10-12.  Let me know if you are 
available and we will meet out at the CARA club site to conduct 
this MCU orientation/training.  We have also got a new video 
camera to be mounted on the mast.  That is scheduled for 
installation early next week.  We will have to conduct training 
on that as well.

4) ARES Sign Up and Website - The AZ Section Emergency Coordinator 
has been working with a couple folks to provide a secure website 
for AZ ARES members.  The purpose of this site is to provide a 
convenient registration site for ARES members as well as to provide 
a resource data base of amateur operators.  There are places to 
identify your training and equipment.  Recently they added a location 
to keep log volunteer hours so that statistics on the number of 
volunteer hours can be used for reporting purposes.  I encourage 
Cochise County members to log on to this site and create an account. 
I will also tell you that it is voluntary and that you can put as 
little or as much of the requested information as you are comfortable 
with.   The website is: www.az-arrl.org
From there you can go to the secure part of the site and create your 
own log in.

5) Coaster Race After Action -  Earlier this week I spoke to the race 
organizer and he want to pass along his sincere "thank you" for all 
the participating stations.  He also commented that next year he 
wants to add something to our duties.  As a result of the accident 
at the bottom of the course, he wants to issue a red flag to each 
of the RACES members to assist in stopping coasters on the course 
in the event of a repeat of the accident.  He feels very confident 
that he can count on us to ensure that racers on the course are made 
aware that an accident has occurred and that anyone on the course 
needs to stop to avoid running into anyone further along.  Racers 
who are stopped midway due to an accident will be given the opportunity 
for a new start. This will add an extra level of safety to the existing 
procedures.

6) Other RACES nets - I thought I would take this opportunity to let 
everyone know about a couple other state or region nets that are available 
to those with HF privileges.  On Sunday morning there is a state wide 
net on 3.990 +/- at 07:30.  This runs until about 08:00 or 08:15.  On 
Saturday morning the Southern Region Home Unit folks run a net at 07:15 
on 3.990 +/-.  This group conducts some training and focuses on low 
rf power and operating on backup power.  Many station in southern AZ 
check in using 25 watts or less on battery. We have also tried some VHF 
simplex tests to see how well we can connect using that mode.  And finally, 
there is the Arizona Traffic and Emergency Net (ATEN) operating at 19:00 
each evening on 3.992 to send and receive any traffic from the National 
Traffic System for our area.  Again, another good net to check into and 
practice your traffic skills.

Training - 
On the last net there was included an event identifier called "SLIDING 
SNOW". MY apology, I had copied the list of identifiers that included 
a couple that were proposed but never approved.  "Sliding Snow" was one 
of those that never made it and should not have been included.

Just a reminder tonight to double check your go-bags.  Have you changed 
out or replaced any of your meds in your kit?  How about any of your 24 
or 72 hour food supplies or water?  Are they fresh?  In this recent 
spate of hot weather things can get pretty stale or old. Flashlight, 
handie-talkie, or GPS batteries can also be affected if they are left 
in your vehicle and exposed to high heat for extended periods.  

That's all for this evening, now let's go down the roster for comments.  

Bob
Robert L Hollister