DAREN of WV News January 1, 2012(.A17)
WA8LLM (304) 679-3470 wa8llm@yahoo.com
WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
P.O. BOX 3328, PARKERSBURG, WV 26103 http://www.wc8ec.org
DAREN News, are articles and information about the Digital Amateur Radio "Emergency" Network of WV, which operates on 145.69 MHz. Anyone having any information about DAREN, or Amateur Radio in general, and would like to share it with others, may send it to WA8LLM @ PKBGWV on 145.69 MHz, or to my E-Mail: wa8llm@yahoo.com. A State Wide DAREN NET is operated every Saturday from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, and lately, before and after those hours. The DAREN Net Announcement, showing the MAIN NCS, ALTERNATE NCS, NODEs accessible to both, and the previous week's check-ins, are posted by Thursday on most of the Main county DAREN PBBS'. The DAREN News can also be found on the wc8ec.org website.
I hope everyone had a safe and Happy New Year. I understand that we are supposed to get our first measurable snowfall of the season starting tonight. If we do get the snow, everyone needs to refresh their driving skills since it's been a few months since we had to drive in it.
On Friday I meet with Duane Jones, N8LDM, the Assistant Director of the Wood County Emergency Services, at the Wood County tower site. As soon as I plugged the computer into the WOODWV/PKBGWV Terminal Node Controller, I found out why it went off the air last week. I don't know how it happened, but the TNC was brain dead, just like it had came out of the box. The radio and TNC are powered by the backup batteries used by all of the Public Safety radios at the tower site, so it was not a power failure. There's been no lightening, so it wasn't a nearby lightning strike. It was like the TNC had been turned off and the internal back-up battery removed. This is the second time in a couple of years the TNC went brain dead. Anyway the Wood County NODE/PBBS is back in operation. While at the tower site I removed the Wood County APRS (Automatic Position Reporting System) station and brought it home with me. Sometime this coming week I'll try to put it back in operation at one of the towers here at the house.
There were 57 check-ins to the State Wide DAREN Net this week. Ray Gorrell, WV8RG, who's been participating in the net since December 25, 1993, has
completed 900 check-ins. And, Jim Perry, KB8LSR, who's been participating on and off in the net since April 15, 1995, has completed 200 check-ins. Both of these operators will be receiving their certificates. I want to welcome Earl Cutlip, KB8FHW, back to the DAREN Net. Earl has been missing from the net since September 14, 2002. I will be posting the total check-in list this week on most of the PBBS'. This is the total check-ins that operators have made since they started checking in. Stations who have only one check-in on the State Wide DAREN Net, and have not participated in over one year, and those who have more than one check-in, and have not participated for over two years, will not be on the list. If any of those stations start participating again, their check-ins will be added to their previous check-ins.
For the past few weeks there has been a station checking into the net with the callsign of "TEST". After going back over the check-in records of when stations check into the net, and how many NODEs they go through, I think I have come up with a callsign of the station that has been checking in. That station may have the "MYCALL" in his TNC set as "TEST". If that's the case let me know so that I can give you the check-in credits that you deserve. I won't let anyone know who may have made the mistake, heaven knows, I've made some big ones myself from time-to-time.