Category Archives: Public Service

Please join OSECA net Tuesday @ 7 PM

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A new net will meet Tuesday December 2nd at 7 PM on any of the KA1RCI Repeater Nodes.  For the Newport Area, the best choice will be the Exeter node which is 146.985 with a -600 Offset and a Tone of 67.0 Hz (the Portsmouth Node is currently down for repair).

OSECA is the Ocean State Emergency Communication Alliance, and it was created through cooperative discussion with local EMA and Ham Radio Teams throughout the state.  Our own John King, WA1ABI, is very involved in this process and has asked NCRC members to please support this new net.  He has written the following:

Good People:

A brand new 2-meter EmComm net is starting up next Tuesday, Dec 2nd at 19:00 on the KA1RCI repeater network.  This net will be open to all hams, but the primary purpose is to connect the hams who serve in the various EmComm teams in Rhode Island.  Several other EMA’s have EmComm teams like our Portsmouth EMA EmComm Unit, but at present we have no connections between those teams.  We hope to improve this with the Ocean State Emergency Communications Alliance (OSECA) Net.

Please make every effort to check in to this first net session on Tuesday. The net will be an informal directed net, something like the NCRC nightly net. I expect that we will have folks from all over RI checking in. I have been working with the EMA ham radio teams in Coventry, Providence, and Westerly to get this net going, and I am asking for your support in making it a success. Please check in if you are able. Note: The KA1RCI 147.075 Portsmouth repeater is temporarily off the air. The nearest KA1RCI repeater for most of us will be the 146.985 repeater in Westerly.

Additional information about OSECA can be found here

Aquidneck Island Emergency Preparedness Expo

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Members of the Newport County Emergency Communication Technician team (NCECTs) will representing our club and Amateur Radio’s roll in emergency preparedness, along with the Newport, Middletown, and Portsmouth EMA Directors, National Grid, the American Red Cross, the National Weather Service, the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency, Rhode Island Department of Health, and others at the Edward King House, on Saturday, November 15, 2014, from 1:00 to 3:00 PM for the Aquidneck Island Emergency Preparedness Expo.

The residents of Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth are invited to attend this first ever island-wide informational event to speak with public safety representatives about the importance of being prepared in the event of a natural disaster.

Aquidneck Island Emergency Preparedness Expo
Edward King House
35 King Street
Newport, RI
Saturday, November 15, 2014, from 1:00 to 3:00 PM

For more information call: 401-846-7426

EdwardKingHouse

 

NCECT Participates in Multi-Agency Shelter Communication Drill

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NCECTs John King, Ted Wroble, Rick Brendlinger, Dave Brown, Chuck Kesson, Dermid Gray and Bob Beatty, along with three other Red Cross hams planned for and participated in a multi-agency Shelter Communication Drill held this past Saturday at the Middletown and Jamestown shelters.  Willy MacLean was also instrumental in the planning process.

Communication facilities located at the Gaudet School (Middletown Shelter), Middletown EOC, Melrose School (Jamestown Shelter), and Providence Red Cross were utilized.  Participants were from NCECT, Middletown EMA, Portsmouth EMA, Jamestown EMA, and the Red Cross.

By any estimation, the drill was a great success.  It demonstrated an ability to develop and coordinate a multi-agency communication plan, and successfully carry out Shelter to EOC communications using four different communication channels (Landline, Red Cross Repeater, Ham Repeater, and Ham Simplex).  Despite three drill “failures” (Phones down, Red Cross Repeater Down, Ham Radio Repeater down), the plan proved to be resilient, and messages were successfully transferred using NIMS/ICS procedures.

The resourcefulness of Ham Radio was well apparent as one system after another “failed”.  The Ham’s technical skills, and frequency agility came to the rescue.

Hats off to our own John King for all his hard work in developing the plan and setting up the drill.  We know RIEMA was paying attention, and hopefully this sort of drill activity will spread throughout the state.

ChuckKessonShelterDrill

Chuck Kesson, KB1ZZX, passes a message at the Middletown EOC during the July 26 Shelter Communication Drill

NCECT Forms With 11 Members

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Newport County Radio Club, under the leadership of John King, WA1ABI, has formed a Newport County Emergency Communication Team (NCECT).  John has been holding training classes since February, and as of last night, 11 Members took and passed the final exam.  Ted Wroble, W1GRI, was elected NCECT Team Leader.  You can email Ted at NCECTL@W1SYE.ORG

You can find more information on NCECT on our website by CLICKING HERE.

NCECT also has a Twitter Account, and you can follow us on @NCECT

Congratulations to John King and the new members of the Newport County Emergency Communication Team.