Sunday, April 29, 2018

Calling the MAYDAYl

It's the OFFICIAL emergency call ... "MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY this is YOURCALL YOURCALL YOURCALL OVER" or on CW "SOS SOS SOS de yourcall yourcall yourcall K"

That's not taught much anymore but it should be.  Another blog discussed it.

First, receiving the call is easy (and difficult).  Acknowledge the caller and inquire of the nature of the emergency.  If it's a local emergency, call 911 on the phone.  One should also know the local number for emergency services apart from 911.  Can you reach your fire department, police department, emergency medical services, public works without calling 911?  It's important you do so.

The hard part of the receiving part is in listening.  A recent Amateur Radio Newsline Report noted an amateur radio operator answering the MAYDAY but the report also noted caller had to  call on a half-dozen repeaters before he got an answer.

If folk insist on putting up devices, one would expect them to also insist on monitoring them.

Next, stay on channel.  Assure the caller that help is on the way.  Be prepared to offer first aid tips and other information, ex. weather conditions that may change the way the emergency will play out.

If you are on High Frequency and have requested Federal Assistance, ex. Coast Guard, Military, FEMA, give them the frequency of the emergency.  Coast Guard and other Department of Defense resources have frequency-agile radios capable of tuning to ham radio frequencies.  Once they are on your net, listen in case they lose contact with the station.

If you are not going to monitor 24x7, use the Wilderness protocal.  Listen at the top and bottom of the hour for five minutes.  Proposed by K0NR, the protocol is simple and takes the guesswork out of 24x7 monitoring.

At night, it would be easy to sleep with a radio tuned to 146.52 for that important MAYDAY call.

Finally, you have done the MAYDAY.  Folks are rescued.  The fire is out.  The medics have started the line.  Call your section manager to let him know the story for QST and other ham radio media.  Help others learn.  


Sunday, April 22, 2018

American History ReWrite

A few weeks ago, @60Minutes Tweeted

Now a personal note, folks in the South can't help where they lived.  So many can't help that "Bobby Lee" is a cousin. 

It's really interesting that over 100 years after the "losers" lost, the statutes and building names are coming down.  If the person was so vile, one would think the statutes and building names would have come down within years of the of the War of Northern Agression, much less be put up years after the tragic time.  Who says Civil War ancestors can NOT be remembered by their offspring?  It's HISTORY.  It's not a pleasant part of our Nation's history but, if we don't remember it, we will be doomed to repeat it.

Andy Stanley said it well when he mentioned that, if the church had done the ONE commandment Jesus said to do at the Last Supper, THIS war, World War I, and even World War II would have been unnessary. 

Can't we spend our time and money on something more productive?  Don't we need to focus on LOVE rather than HATE?


Sunday, April 15, 2018

Being Storm Ready in a Weather Ready Nation

By this time, Oklahoma weather has produced a tornado warning or 15.

Are you just now getting ready? 

Weather Ready Nation participants know how to get ready.  Skywarn volunteers have been preparing in the "off-season" for "show time"

If you're reading this, it's not too late for you to get #OKready.

1.  Make a plan
2.  Build a kit to support the plan.
3.  Practice the plan.
4.  Help others #UntilHelpArrives



Sunday, April 08, 2018

Green Country Hamfest coming soon

Oklahoma's Largest & Most Attended Hamfest!!!
 2018 Green Country Hamfest - April 13th & 14thin Claremore, Oklahoma.Only 30 minutes from Tulsa! Claremore Expo, 400 Veterans Parkway, Claremore, OK, 74017  MAP: https://goo.gl/maps/X9kEaTalk-in on: 147.09+  
Free Parking!!! - Low Cost ON-SITE RV Parking!
 
Terrific Prizes! Fantastic Forums - Learn something new! See 
Flea Market - Great Bargains!
Free Test Table - Check It Before You Buy It!
On-site VE Testing Get or upgrade your license!
Admission is $10.00 per person at the door (One ticket covers both
Days) Children 12 and under are Free!
Hours: Fri. 4pm-9pm  -  Sat.8am-3pm
Flea Market Tables are $15.00 at the door 


Sunday, April 01, 2018

Sound the Alarm with @RedCrossOK #volunteer

This spring, join fellow Red Cross volunteers in more than 100 communities across the country as we launch Sound the Alarm, a series of home fire safety and smoke alarm installation events to help save lives.

Did you know that the American Red Cross responds to a disaster every 8 minutes, and the vast majority of these are home fires? Sadly, every day seven people die from home fires, most in homes that lack working smoke alarms, with children and the elderly disproportionately killed. That’s why the Red Cross launched the Home Fire Campaign in 2014. Since then, volunteers and partners have made over 300,000 households safer. Now we’re on the cusp of something big, and we need your help.

This year in the State of Oklahoma, 2,057 homes made safer by installing  5,232 alarms and together with volunteers across the country we have saved over 381 lives. This year, from April 28th – May 13th, we will install 100,000 smoke alarms in over 100 cities across the nation. We are counting on volunteers like you to help us achieve this major milestone! Here is how you can help: Volunteer to help Sound the Alarm. Save a Life Registration is open! Click here Sound the Alarm OKC - Red Cross Volunteer Registration to sign up for our May 5th OKC Sound the Alarm event and commit to joining 35,000 volunteers across the country to make homes safer by installing smoke alarms, replacing smoke alarm batteries and helping families create escape plans.

Support Sound the Alarm through Personal Fundraising You can amplify your impact through Personal Fundraising with your friends and family to help save lives! Join your chapter’s fundraising team and then ask your network to donate to your page and help save lives. Join your chapter’s fundraising team page here: www.crowdrise.com/stacentralsouthwestok

Spread the word! Invite your friends and family to volunteer with you or to join your fundraising efforts! Ask them to sign up at www.soundthealarm.org.

Thank you for all that you do to serve communities in Central & Southwest Oklahoma. Together, we can Sound the Alarm about fire safety and help save lives

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