Many have asked about Skywarn training. The following classes are scheduled. Some of these say there is no registration required, but I would encourage you to track down someone to confirm date and time. See www.weather.gov for your local office. In Norwalk, our local office is http://www.weather.gov/okx/
Listed below are the Basic Spotter Training Sessions that have been scheduled so far for the spring of 2015. Nothing has been scheduled yet for the southern counties covered by NWS New York, (Upton). When they are they will be announced.
Litchfield County Monday April 13th 6:30PM Warren Fire Dept 2nd floor 11 Sackett Hill Road Cornwall Bridge Pre-registration required but the registration link has not been set up yet at the NWS Albany webpage www.weather.gov/aly
Tolland County Thursday May 7th 7:00 PM Andover Firehouse 11 School Road Andover Pre-registration required contact rmacedo@rcn.com
Windham County Tuesday May 12th 7:00PM Ashford Town Hall Room 104 lower level 5 Town Hall Road Ashford No Registration required
Hartford County Monday June 8th 7:00 PM Granby Senior Center 15 North Granby Road Granby (Behind Town Hall) No registration required
ARES
The Amateur Radio Emergency Service ® (ARES ® ) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communications duty in the public service and when disaster strikes. Every licensed amateur, regardless of membership in ARRL or any other local or national organization is eligible to apply for membership in ARES. Training may be required or desired to participate fully in ARES. You can read the official ARRL material on ARES here.
ARES is organized regionally. The regions match the regions used by the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. In Southwest CT, we are in region 1. There are five “district emergency coordinators”, or DECs that report into the SEC. You can learn much more about ARES in Connecticut here: www.ctares.org.
ARES members can participate in public service events to provide communications support that enhances the safety of the operation. Events like charity bike rides and runs are classic examples where amateur radio provides the organizers with communications that cover a wide area. These events help ARES members practice their skills in deploying their equipment and operating on a “controlled net” to practice effective communications skills.
At this time, we are looking to create relationships with local agencies and organizations to provide assistance during large events and during emergencies. It is important to realize that ARES members don’t “self deploy” during disasters, but are part of an overall emergency preparedness team.
Local Nets
There is a periodic region 1 CERT/ARES net. When called, this net occurs on Tuesday at 8:00 PM. All amateurs are welcome, and encouraged to check into the net. Frequencies for the CERT/ARES net are 146.475 (+ 1 MHz Split) with a PL of 100.0 Hz. At this time GNARC officers are looking into a way to link one of our repeaters into the statewide net that occurs on Sundays.
You can also learn more about CERT, which is a fast growing emergency preparedness organization across the country, see http://www.fema.gov/community-emergency-response-teams. You can also contact local CERT leaders in Wilton, Stamford, Fairfield, Westport and other Region 1 towns. More towns are turning to CERT to help in emergencies, and the addition of amateur radio to the CERT is important to operations.
For more information, please contact Paul Lourd, WB2JVB, DEC Connecticut Region 1.