General

As the firestorms across Southern California continue to threaten millions of residents, trained amateur radio operators are serving critical volunteer roles to help officials spot fires before they get out of control. Dry conditions and wind gusts of up to 100 miles per hour have fueled days of devastating wildfires. Entire neighborhoods have been leveled by infernos.

Damage from the Eaton Fire. US Air National Guard Photograph by Tech. Sgt. Joseph Pagan.

The Eaton fire burned to the top of Mount Wilson, a critical logistical post for broadcast radio and television stations, as well as communications across the Southland. Federal agencies, air traffic control, local emergency responders, radio amateurs, and others all share tower space onthe mountain.

While the main fires have been burning north and northwest of the central section of Los Angeles, just to the south, hams are standing watch. Orange County Fire Watch (OCFW) is a program locally organized by the Orange County Parks Department and the Irvine Conservancy. During severe fire weather, volunteers go to preassigned locations within parks and open spaces to report conditions. Many of them are hams, using the amateur radio bands to fill in mobile network weak zones.

ARRL National Instructor Gordon West, WB6NOA, is among the deployed volunteers. He said hams are stepping up. “We’re all over the ARRL Orange Section on hilltops, reporting the wind and humidity, ash seen coming down, scanning for spot fires (none so far), smoke from the LA fires, guest activity at the parks, and being a presence at trailheads with reflective vests and vehicle signs indicating Fire Watch,” he said.

Ray Hutchinson, AE6H, is a retired firefighter who serves as the chief radio officer for Fire Watch. He says local clubs are key to providing the needed RF infrastructure. “Our local club, the South Orange Amateur Radio Association (SOARA), an ARRL Special Service Club, provides linked 2-meter and 70-centimeter repeaters: one high level and one coastal, for use by-OCFW hams during deployments. There is a formal OCFW Net Control Station (NCS) for the entirety of these events.

Radio amateurs are also ready and able to serve at evacuation centers, providing support as needed. Members of ARRL Headquarters staff have been in touch with ARRL volunteers and other ham radio groups around the affected area, and are offering material support for any activations. “It has been a busy start to the year for ham volunteers,” said ARRL Public Relations and Outreach Manager Sierra Harrop, W5DX. “Whether it’s firestorms or ice storms or any other need, ARRL volunteers selflessly serve their communities. We’re mindful that large-scale events like this impact the hams who are active serving,” she said.

ARRL Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, has been on calls with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other served agencies, offering ARRL resources. Efforts are being coordinated locally by Emergency Network Los Angeles (ENLA), the Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) group in Southern California. Johnston urges hams in the affected regions to be ready to take care of themselves and their families before needing to deploy. He points to resources shared by ARRL’s Amateur Radio
Emergency Service® (ARES®) during National Preparedness Month last September. “These are stressful events for everyone, and being a ham volunteer is really second to keeping yourself and your family safe,” said Johnston.

SEE ARTICLES:
Resilience Through Amateur Radio for National Preparedness Month
National Preparedness Month: Ensuring Family Safety
National Preparedness Month – Station Readiness
National Preparedness Month – Get Involved
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Used with permission from ARRL Ohio Section

The Southwest Ohio DX Association (SWODXA) in conjunction with ICOM® America, Inc. is announcing a program to recognize and reward amateur radio operators who have played a key role in helping other amateur radio operators achieve DXCC. The purpose of this program is not to bring recognition to those that achieve DXCC but rather to recognize those amateurs that assist others in achieving their first 100 confirmed entities.

There is an application form and a judging committee staffed by SWODXA representatives and a representative from both the NCDXF and INDEXA. Those amateurs receiving the mentoring must be under 30 years of age during the calendar year for the award. The intent of targeting this audience is to attract and retain those amateurs that are most likely to remain engaged in the hobby after achieving DXCC.

SWODXA is uniquely positioned to bestow this award at the annual SWODXA DX Dinner®. The DX Dinner, held annually in conjunction with the Dayton Hamvention®, is arguably the largest gathering of active DXers in the world. We present the DXpedition of the Year Award®, the DXpeditioner of the Year Award, when applicable, and host the DX Forum there. CQ
Magazine announces their CQ DX Hall of Fame inductees at the DX dinner as well. As a technology leader in our hobby, there is no better partner to promote and celebrate this award than ICOM. Ray, N9JA, has been a constant promoter of ham radio, even coining the phrase “For the Love of Ham Radio”. ICOM has selflessly supported amateur radio over the years and is taking this opportunity to promote the mentors of DX. Thanks to ICOM for their support!

More information and the entry form can be found at www.swodxa.org/DX Mentor-Program or by emailing  hedxmentor@gmail.com. I wanted to repeat the above because this is a NATIONAL PROGRAM that comes from an Ohio
Section club! I also wanted to clarify that the deadline for your nominations is April 30th
.
Share the Magic of Radio. 73,
Tom Sly – WB8LCD
Ohio Section Manager
wb8lcd@arrl.org
330-554-4650

Do you know a young leader who is passionate about disaster preparedness and community resilience? Encourage them to join FEMA’s Youth Preparedness Council (YPC).

The YPC is a nationwide program that brings together young leaders who want to make a difference in their community and build valuable leadership skills. Council members serve for one year and collaborate on projects that promote emergency preparedness, participate in engaging discussions with FEMA leaders, and gain insight into careers in emergency management.

Students currently in grades 8 through 11 may apply. Applications can be submitted in either written or video format by March 3 on FEMA’s YPC application page.

Former national YPC member Georgia Bukata, who served on the national YPC from 2023-2024, shared how her experience had a positive impact on her life. “My time on the Youth Preparedness Council taught me invaluable skills that continue to shape my life today,” said Bukata. “Collaborating with diverse peers from across the country, I learned how to harness different strengths and perspectives to tackle complex projects. The YPC taught me how to work efficiently, communicate clearly, and adapt to new challenges—all skills that have been essential in my academic and volunteer work.” Bukata also shared how the experience shaped and inspired her to take action. “The YPC deepened my passion for emergency preparedness and public service,” she explained.” It inspired me to pursue opportunities like teaching a course on preparedness at Duke and to explore the intersection of health policy and community resilience. The connections I made (…) opened my eyes to the broader impact we can have in shaping future preparedness efforts.”

Mark your calendars! FEMA will conduct two informational webinars to provide additional details about the YPC and answer questions. Both webinars will cover the same content.

• Thursday, Jan. 30, at 8 p.m. ET. Register in advance on Zoom for government.
• Tuesday, Feb. 11, at 5 p.m. ET. Register in advance on Zoom for government.

Don’t miss this opportunity to make a difference and shape the future of emergency preparedness!

To learn more about the YPC, please visit the Youth Preparedness Council page on FEMA.gov

Disclaimer: The reader recognizes that the federal government provides links and informational data on various disaster preparedness resources and events and does not endorse any non-federal events, entities, organizations, services, or products. Please let us know about other events and services for individual and community preparedness that could be included in future newsletters by contacting 

FEMA-prepare@fema.dhs.gov.

HAM Radio is a whole new world for you, and you want to jump into it ASAP, however you are bound to make mistakes on occasion and that’s alright. Play nice with everyone you speak to. Here are a few tips and even unwritten rules in Ham Radio to help you avoid pitfalls and maybe some embarrassing situations:

On the air:

After pressing your PTT button, wait about ½ second before speaking, especially if you’re communicating through a repeater. The repeater takes a second to “catch up” with you.

When speaking into your microphone, keep the microphone a little bit away, don’t talk into it like you see in the movies. This will make sure you don’t sound bloated on the air.

Place your hand microphone about four to six inches from your mouth when transmitting. Speak clearly and use your voice without yelling in to the mic.

When announcing your call sign along with that of another ham, the rule is to put yourself last, as in “KI5LMR, this is KI5WTR” if your call sign was KI5WTR.

While it’s customary to call out CQ on HF bands, it’s best practice on the 2-meter and 70-cm bands to announce your call sign instead, especially on a repeater.

If another ham points out a problem with your transmission (“you’re sounding a little scratchy”), always assume the problem is with you (location, orientation, power too low, etc.) or your equipment first, and always admit your mistakes

If you’d like to jump into an ongoing conversation, avoid using the word break ; instead, say your call sign between their transmissions. Usually they will acknowledge you and allow you to speak.

After your contact releases his PTT (Push-to-talk) button, wait one to two seconds before you press yours, in case another person wants to join the conversation or has an emergency.

Avoid “kerchunking“, which is repeatedly pressing and releasing your PTT button without announcing your call sign; it’s not only illegal, but irritating to others, especially those listening on a repeater. Remember…good practices!

When speaking through a repeater, try and keep your conversations to under a few minutes. Most repeaters will have a time out. The repeater I use times out every two minutes. Don’t sweat it, you will get used to this. Remember, this is all new to you right now.

Personal:

While it’s not always possible, try and make your conversations positive and upbeat; sounding positive attracts friends, while negative comments tend to turn other hams away from you, even if well-intended.

Don’t get offended just because another ham can’t remember your name or call sign, most likely until later on, you will have the same issue. People will eventually get to know you around your area. I used a pen and paper to write down call signs and names when I was on the radio to help me remember who I talked to.

If another ham does offend you, let it go; don’t retaliate or try and belittle the other ham for it; be the adult in the encounter, even if you’re a kid. This is not a place to troll others. Save that for Facebook!

Be considerate of your contact’s time, and minimize dead-air time by at least thinking of what you’re going to say before keying up.

Avoid making insulting or disparaging remarks about others on the air; what people hear you say about others, they’ll also believe you’ll say about them. You are trying to make new friends here after all.

If you feel you must correct the behavior of another ham, do so off-air, tactfully, and out of earshot of others.

Within reason, avoid burping, coughing, sniffing, clearing your throat, smacking your lips, and making other bodily or disgusting noises on the air. Why? It’s just gross…EWWWW!

Whenever possible try not to engage in political or religious conversation. These are too hot topics that can easily get out of hand due to varying feelings on the matters. There are thousands of other subjects you can talk about.

Equipment:

Make sure your radio is programmed with an appropriate frequency list before you stash it away, but be sure to accompany it with a card or sheet to remind you of what the frequencies or channel names are for. If your radio has an SD card as a backup, this will save you a lot of grief later if something happens.

Learn how to manually program your radio; you might not know when you need to travel through a location where there is no cell signal available for your phone or tablet

Join a regularly held net, which will give you weekly practice on your radio, to keep you acquainted with your equipment operation and limitations

As far as practical, keep your radio equipment clean; you might never know when you’ll need to share your microphone with somebody else, and keeping your controls clean will help ensure that they’ll work for you the next time. You paid for it, take care of it!