Connecticut ARES - Region 3
DEC: George Lillenstein, AB1GL
Asst DEC: Bill Storey, AB1LZ
Where to Find Us:
CT ARES Section 3 DEC
(District Emergency Coordinator)
George Lillenstein, AB1GL
39a Downey Dr
Manchester, CT 06040
Phone: +1 860 289-1445 (H)
860 716-3367 (Cell)
860 645-5449 (Work) (leave voicemail here only)
AB1GL@winlink.org
The DEC's schedule:
2018
1st Mon each month - NARL club meeting, Newington Sr Center (2nd Mon in January)
1st Wed each month - Emcomm elmer session, Manchester EOC
2nd Wed each month - BEARS meeting, Manchester EOC 7 pm
3rd Wed each month - PVRA meeting, Marcus Communications, Manchester CT
4th Wed - Manchester CERT briefing
AB1GL Nets:
Sundays 8 pm - the CT ARES SM net
Mondays 8 pm - the ARES Reg 3 net
Mondays 9:15 pm - the BEARS traffic net
Tuesdays & Thurs - 7 pm - Manchester CERT net
Wednesdays 9:30 pm - Nutmeg Traffic Net
------------------------------
Oct 10 - BEARS meeting
Oct. 13 - Hartford Marathon
Oct 20 - CERT teams on display
Oct. 21 - Nutmeg Hamfest, Meriden
NOV 5 - NARL meeting
Nov. 22 - Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving Day
Alert Level: 0
Watch WWW.CTARES.ORG for near real-time level changes.
ARES is the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, the field arm of the American Radio Relay League.
Our special focus is the use of Amateur Radio for emergency communications, and the recruiting and training of a pool of skilled radio operators to be available in times of emergency.
ARES in Connecticut partners with state and municipal governments, public health entities, and non-profit providers such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army.
ARES members have their own radios and many can respond from their homes and vehicles, allowing ad hoc ARES nets to form using operators who are already in place when a disaster wipes out communications infrastructure. This means ARES functions even when the roads are blocked and the electric and telecom grids are jammed or down.
Amateur radio can be used to
- pass welfare traffic ("Aunt Minnie made it safely to the community shelter"),
- forward requests from stranded facilities ("the XYZ nursing home urgently needs oxygen bottles"),
- Pass status messages from outlying hospitals to the central reporting agency ("hospital A has 23 beds available"),
- Digitally convey sitreps, ICS forms, maps and photos to an incident command post
- Act as an email gateway to a functioning part of the Internet via long-distance HF radio to another state or country.
To keep our operators trained and equipment working, we provide Public Service communications at no charge. ARES members volunteer for service at charity races, runs, walks, parades, and other large events. Operators man checkpoints, observe along the course, circulate in large venues. They contribute to public safety, guiding first responders to where they are needed, clearing the way for emergency vehicles, and reporting incidents to the Unified Command post.
Our radios work where cell phones can't get dial tone or coverage, and are interoperable where the specialized public safety and commercial radios are not.
For a detailed list of training available, see the training page of the state ARES web site, CTARES.ORG.
IMPORTANT! Whenever there is an ARES activation, leadership will notify and assign tasks ONLY to those who have current records in the ARES member database. Go to www.ctares.org and update your record now!
CT ARES SET was Sat. Oct 6, 2018
FROM the Region 3 DEC:
The Connecticut ARES Simulated Emergency Test was held on Saturday, October 6, 2018.
Thank you to everyone who participated.
For anyone in Region 3 who ran a net or collected checkins from their local town or team, please submit one of the reports downloadable from the CTARES.org website and send copies to myself and the SEC, W8ZY.
Send "lessons learned" or comments about your experience to dec@ctares-region3.org.
I have already heard that many people were disappointed with their experience attempting to send messages via Winlink. In the coming year I will hold a workshop to show how Winlink can be used in many modes other than relying on local VHF nodes and/or the State Police network as an RF gateway.
The program has many positives, including an excellent user interface and good message tracking, so let's not "throw the baby out with the bathwater."
Skywarn Weather Nets in Region 3
Weather nets are held routinely by ARES Skywarn Coordinators, and on special schedules during severe weather.
For Region 3, there is a weather net every Thursday at 9 pm on the W1HDN repeater in Tolland.
Tune to 146.790, minus 600kHz offset, PL tone 82.5.
To report severe weather, please give the information in the order below. Also indicate if it is measured, averaged, or estimated, and if it is storm total or since last report,
| Temperature | Precip intensity | Depth | Damage |
Monthly Reporting method for Region 3 EC's
The ARRL has posted fillable PDF forms for use by EC's to report monthly and annual activity. Please go the DOWNLOADS page and pull down the three PDF forms. To use, fill in the form, SAVE AS a new file name, and email the file to the SEC (w8zy@arrl.net) AND to the DEC (dec@ctares-region3.org)
This week's learning moment from the DEC
Some calendar items of note:
- October 13 - The Hartford Marathon. AB1LZ is still looking for more volunteers for this event. Email him: wtstorey@aol.com
- Oct. 21 - The Nutmeg Hamfest -- don't forget WA1SFH is holding a "Go-box" competition!
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