Emergency Radio Club of Reno County
Hutchinson, Kansas

 

Bi-Monthly Meeting

March 6^th, 2008

President Scott, KCØBHE, called the meeting to order at 1900 hours in the EOC. Members present were, KCØBHE Scott, KA4CKR Tim, KØSFV Larry, WØUY Tom, KBØFJI Dwayne, NØLQE Vivian, KCØWPJ Raymond, KCØWPI Beth, KCØWPH Joyce, KBØSQL Charles, KCØZBO Nancy, and WØGUY Bill.  

Bill, WØGUY, revealed that the new totals for the state on the ice storm had been adjusted even higher and this ice storm is the costliest disaster in Kansas’s history. Bill was interviewed for the media to gauge his reaction to this news and it was not a surprise.  

Tom, WØUY brought up having a designated “message originator” each month during the weekly nets in order to generate some traffic for training purposes. The group discussed this and it was agreed on since it seems like a good idea and a way to practice sending and receiving tactical traffic. We will begin with tactical traffic and start to mix in formal message handling later. The originator will send the message to an individual receiver, but everyone should copy the message so they get the practice. 

Tim, KA4CKR,  covered the severe weather repeater guidelines that were created last year. The main goal of these repeater guidelines is to keep the repeater as clear as possible, so stations can report if they have something to report. Make sure the frequency is clear before transmitting. Enter the repeater with as brief an entrance as possible (i.e. “KBØFJI, Listening” or “AD6P, This is WØZC”).

Don’t say BREAK unless you have EMERGENCY traffic. Keep transmissions short and to the point during severe weather. Don’t kerchunk the repeater. Don’t say “this is KDØACL for ID, as this is redundant. Your callsign IS your ID. Give your callsign using phonetics for the first time to new contacts so they can clearly understand your call. Cooperate with the Net Control Station and follow their instructions. Give meaningful signal reports if asked. There is no need to acknowledge negative contacts.  

A group discussion on severe weather operations followed this and it was further discussed what kind of reports are needed. Hail the size of quarters, winds in excess of 58 mph (takes down 2-3” branches), funnel clouds, rotating wall clouds, SIGNIFICANT cloud to ground lightning, water crossing roadways, etc. It was also brought up that if you aren’t asked, there is no need to report a negative. That is, don’t report that the wind is barely blowing, it’s not raining yet, or you don’t have any lowering in the clouds at your location, UNLESS YOU ARE ASKED TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION. You may be asked to confirm or deny something that is being indicated on radar or to confirm or deny an “eyewitness” report from an untrained civilian. Above all, stay safe.

The meeting was adjourned at 2000 hours. 

Minutes taken and submitted by KA4CKR.