February weather this years has been more like March. With temps up and down, high winds, tornados, and other forms of severe weather. As I write this, it’s Severe Weather Awareness Week sponsored by the National Weather Service and the State of Missouri. This is a good time to hold a practice Skywarn Net and look over the spotting requirements for severe weather. NWS takes our spotting reports seriously, as most of the Section ARES members are spotter trained. If you have not been to a spotting course either in person or online for at least two years, consider updating your spotting information and skills. NWS posts the class on the their respective websites for the warning areas in Missouri. Be safe this severe weather season.
District News/Comments:
District A: Richard Fretwell, W0KRF, DEC
- Benton: BC ARES Members participated in the following nets: MTN, MESN, ARES, Region A Healthcare, and various club nets. KE0AVT ran the Region A Healthcare Net in February. There were 15 check ins with 7 being from Healthcare facilities. Benton County ARES was again requested to assist another station in an attempt to locate, via DF, a transmitter that has been interfering with another net. KD0WXT assisted in the attempt to locate. It was determined that the interference was caused by an antenna located near the repeater.
- Clay/Platte: NL ARES February 2023 meeting: Programming > Hand Held radios for area Repeater and Simplex operation for upcoming ARES activities. “Repeater TONES” What & How they are utilized in Duplex / Simplex operation.
- NL ARES Digital Training Net – Sunday 8:00 PM CST 147.330 (151.4)
FLdigi “MACRO” resources along with “File Manipulation” exercises. FLmsg – ARQ application tests were conducted across the region. K0KEX Rick Net mgr. additional info: k0kex628@gmail.com - FEBRUARY 2023 “MODES” “Missouri Digital Emergency Service”
MODES 3.598 MHz Thursday 10:00 am CST. FOUR sessions QNI 66 QTC 4 34 hours. Additional testing on 7 Mhz during Daylight hours provided communications info for future net operations for Primary/Secondary frequencies. ZOOM Mtg concurrently for Technical Discussion. NCS utilizes FSQcall triggers to expedite responses from participating stations. Additional “MODES” info at https://modes.groups.io/g/main/topics. FLdigi-FSQ or FSQcall for net interaction. New members are welcome. KA0OTL Jeff, Net mgr. - Johnson: Members attended NWS spotter training
District D: John Wall, K0EAV, DEC
- Barry County: Spent the month reorganizing and updating the ARES Group and reestablishing connections.
- Greene County and DEC: Still trying to activate Stone County, and as of this month there is a possibility that Polk County may rejoin. In mid-March K0EAV is going to help install equipment in the Polk County Health Department.
- Jasper County: There are 3 nets Mondays; Weather net 145.350 @ 7:00PM/ Joplin ARC net 147.210 @ 7:30 PM/ ARES net 444.625 @ 8:00PM. Feb. 8th ARES mtg 10hrs/ 21st training 10hrs/ Feb. 26th Skywarn 5 hrs.
District H:
- Grundy Co. – Held a joint exercise/meeting with Livingston Co in February.
- Livingston Co. – Our monthly meeting training covered mapping, coordinates, & grids.
The following are the reports of activity in the Missouri Section by District:
73,
Jeff Young, KB3HF
Missouri SEC