W2EMS appointed Section Emergency Coordinator
Fred Halley W2EMS has been appointed Eastern New York Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC) by Section Manager John Fritze K2QY. The appointment, effective January 1, 2024 is to replace David Galletly KM2O who served as ENY SEC for over a dozen years and requested to step down at the end of 2023.Halley has served as EC for Saratoga County and District Emergency Coordinator (DEC) for the Northern District for many years. He is ARES Level 3 qualified and completed FEMA IS- 300 and IS-400 as well as AUXCOMM training. Please welcome him to this new post..
2023 SET Exercise to Test Skills and Emergency Preparedness
(09/15/2023) The ARRL Simulated Emergency Test (SET) is scheduled for October 7 - 8, 2023.The SET is ARRL's annual national emergency exercise designed to assess the skills and preparedness of Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®) volunteers, as well as those affiliated with other organizations involved in emergency and disaster responses. The SET is open to all radio amateurs and partner organizations, in addition to national, state, and local officials. Besides ARES volunteers, those active in the National Traffic System (NTS), Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), National Weather Service's SKYWARN® Storm Spotter program, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), and a variety of other allied groups and public service-oriented radio amateurs are needed to fulfill important roles in this nationwide exercise.
During the exercise, volunteers can assess equipment, modes, and skills under simulated emergency conditions and scenarios. Individuals can use the time to update a go-kit for use during deployments and to ensure their home station's operational capability during an emergency or disaster.
To get involved, contact your local ARRL Emergency Coordinator or Net Manager. National level ARRLSET guidelines and report forms can be found at: ARRL Simulated Emergency Test (SET) Guidelines+
To assist local groups in participating, ENY will conduct a section-wide SET on the morning of October 7.
Here are links to ENY SET 2023 related files:
NVIS Antenna Theory & Practice (PDF)
Value of Volunteer Hours Updated
(08-22-23) New data from Independent Sector places the latest estimated national value of each volunteer hour at $31.80. The same data places the value of a volunteer hour in New York State at $35.71. -KM2Ohttps://independentsector.org/resource/value-of-volunteer-time/
ENY Section Emergency Plan Updated
(11/16/22) A newly updated Eastern New York Section Emergency Plan with updated appendices has been posted to the Documents section of this website. (See menu on left) The updated plan has been approved by Section Manager John Fritze K2QY and Section Emergency Coordinator David Galletly KM2O. The new document has made changes consistent with the July 2022 ARES Plan approved by the ARRL Board as well as several updates and corrections. Thanks to Gerrald Murray WA2IWW for assisting in the updates and proofreading. -KM2O
Value of Volunteer Hours Updated
(07-20-22) New data from Independent Sector places the latest estimated national value of each volunteer hour at $29.95. The same data places the value of a volunteer hour in New York State at $34.59. -KM2Ohttps://independentsector.org/value-of-volunteer-time-2022/
Online Membership Application Site is Now Open
(12-20-21) ENY ARES is pleased to re-open an online membership portal for those seeking to register with their local county ARES group. The link is on our Membership page. The online system will allow new members to be placed in touch with their county Emergency Coordinator and be added to the roster of members in that county. An existing member login to the system will be available shortly on the same page.
ARES Connect Shut Down by ARRL
On July 15, ARRL shut down the ARES Connect membership platform. While ENY and some other sections used the system with success, the decision was made after ARRL determined the system had not achieved enough usage nationwide and that the developer was unwilling to make changes to the system that the League felt were needed. At the recent ARRL Committee and Board meetings, it was disclosed that a new developer has been secured and a first step in a replacement system will be up and running shortly. This first step will be an online portal for Section Emergency Coordinators to file monthly reports with ARRL HQ. This will be followed by a similar online portal for Emergency Coordinators at the county level to file monthly activity reports. Details of any further developments were not revealed.ENY will shortly reopen a non-ARRL based section ARES Membership system along with other sections in a project led by the Eastern Massachusetts section. Presently ENY ARES members using the Volunteerhub login link will find a "Page not found" site. The links at enyares.org will shortly be updated as the replacement system comes on line. We apologize for any inconvenience in the interim. -KM2O
ARRL, American Red Cross Renew Memorandum of Understanding
ARRL and the American Red Cross (ARC) have renewed their long-standing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for another 5 years. The MOU spells out how ARRL and the American Red Cross will work cooperatively during a disaster response.“We are pleased to extend our partnership with the American Red Cross,” ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, said. “This agreement details how ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES) volunteers will interface with Red Cross personnel within the scope of their respective roles and duties whenever the Red Cross asks ARES volunteers to assist in a disaster or emergency response.”
The MOU calls on both parties to maintain open lines of communication and to share information, situation, and operation reports, as allowed to maintain confidentiality. They also will share “changes in policy or personnel relating to this MOU and any additional information pertinent to disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.” ARRL and the American Red Cross also will encourage their respective units to discuss local disaster response and relief plans. They may further cooperate in joint training exercises and instruction. The Red Cross will encourage regions or chapters to participate in ARRL Field Day, the Simulated Emergency Test (SET), and other emergency exercises.
“This agreement keeps in place the strong and mutually beneficial bond between ARRL and the ARC,” said ARRL Director of Emergency Management Paul Gilbert, KE5ZW. “The Red Cross is a primary served agency for ARES teams, and it’s important that we be able to work together toward common goals when responding to an emergency.”
The agreement points out that any ARRL volunteers who are interested in also becoming Red Cross volunteers should understand that a background check is a requirement. Although ARES has no background check requirement, radio amateurs who register as Red Cross volunteers must abide by the Red Cross’s background check requirement.
ARRL and the Red Cross also may cooperate in the sharing of equipment.
A Statement of Cooperation between the two organizations at the local level may be developed separately from the MOU to spell out the role of each in providing services to communities during or after a disaster event.
The new MOU was signed by Trevor Riggen, Senior Vice President, Disaster Cycle Services, American Red Cross, and by ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR.
-arrl.org
NOTE: The new MOU is linked on our Documents page.
May 8 is World Red Cross Day: Participate in Nationwide Spring Drill
(04-21-21) The Red Cross Emergency Communication Training Group is holding its nationwide Spring Drill on World Red Cross Day, May 8. Individuals are invited to participate.In February 2020, an organizing phone call was held with a dozen Red Cross-affiliated radio amateurs to consider creating a nationwide radio drill. By May, the group had more than 100 people on the team calls, and more than 1,000 participated in that first Spring Drill. Synthesizing lessons-learned from the first event, the managing group simplified and narrowed the focus for a Fall Drill last November, choosing to concentrate on Winlink involvement.
Red Cross forms are built in as templates in Winlink Express, and hams using Winlink can also send messages to non-hams. The group's goal for the Fall Drill was to attract as many hams as possible using Winlink at a basic level. Over 1700 participated from over 40 states and a few foreign countries.
For next month's Spring '21 Drill, the goal is the same, but now the bar will be raised in Winlink Proficiency, and, being World Red Cross Day, more international participation will be solicited. The group has been holding regular Winlink training sessions, with the last one occurring April 8. Winlink Thursdays have been attracting over 500 participants.
- ARC Emergency Communications Training Group & ARRL ARES Letter
New Value of Volunteer Hours Released
(04-20-21) New data from Independent Sector places the latest estimated national value of each volunteer hour at $28.54, a 4.9% increase over the previous year. The same data places the value of a volunteer hour in New York State at $33.17, an increase of 6.0% -KM2Ohttps://independentsector.org/value-of-volunteer-time-2021/
MARS Announces 60M Inoperability Nets
(04-9-21) MARS will be hosting regularly scheduled NETS on 60 meter Channel One, the first week of each month, at 1200 HRS (Noon) for local operations, and at 2000 HRS Local Time for intermediate to long distance operations for the remainder of 2021.60 meter Channel One nets will include test message traffic in voice, and plain text MS-110A data mode. All amateur radio stations are welcome to participate. Please see the announcement for additional information.
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Thank you, Sean Mooney, K2NEL Civil Affairs Officer Army MARS Region 2