Ever wish you had a simple way to plot your ARES/RACES team addresses as an overlay in Goggle Earth and use the cursor to scroll over the markers and quickly retrieve member info? I ran across a website that makes this easy.

batchgeocode.com

If you already keep a membership list with street addresses in MS Excel, then you're only a few steps away from having that data geocoded (converted to mappable lat/long). The instructions on the batchgeocode webpage lead you through the steps.

I simply open the membership Excel file and do a copy/paste into the open field on the webpage. Press the soft buttons in each step and then output the results to a Google Earth KML file.

When I want a plot, I start Google Earth, use the <FILE> <OPEN> pulldown menu options and load the KML file created by batchgeocode. The team roster is plotted on the Google Earth map and I can see member attributes such as equipment, completed training, license class, etc that were included as separate columns in the Excel spreadsheet. Clicking on a member's marker displays all the attributes.

You could expand this useful tool to other location lists. Consider a map of area fire stations, repeater towers, possible incident staging areas, etc. You can open multiple KML files for display in Google Earth.
You can produce hardcopy maps from Goggle Earth. Give it a try. Both pieces of software are free to use although you might consider a donation to the batchgeocode site if you use it a lot.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with batchgeocode or it's owners. I found a neat tool and thought others would find it useful.

Joseph, K9RFZ

Do you have an FT-60R or a VX-6R? Never heard of a FT-6R. I own the FT-60R and I can point you to the correct instruction manual page for that radio.

Joseph, K9RFZ

I recommend using Nashua Stretch and Seal silicone tape. You can buy it in the plumbing dept at Home Depot and it has the same properties as the 'Rescue Tape' suggested earlier. It comes in clear or black color, is completely waterproof, and doesn't leave any residue when you remove it. Once I found Stretch and Seal, I got rid of my last roll of coax seal. I wouldn't give that messy junk to a friend.

Joseph, K9RFZ

KD8IXU;

It's tough for a teenager to get started in ham radio wihtout the benefit of some elmers. I personally know some licensees who have been operating for decades and they don't know (care?) that it's illegal to open up the transmit on a radio and then transmit on GMRS, MURS. or FRS. They'll argue the point claiming their ham license gives them some kind of immunity because the ham radio doesn't require type acceptance and their license allows them to homebrew and experiment, blah blah, blah. They are flatly wrong, but no amount of part 97 reference will convince them otherwise.

You have been given good advice in this thread. It's not illegal to modify your HT, but it is illegal to transmit on other service frequencies that require the radio to be certified for use on that band. Even if you purchase the GMRS license, your HT is not certified for operation on that band and so it is still illegal to transmit on GMRS frequencies.

Others make the valid point that enforcement of this regulation is practically nil. You now know the facts about the regulation. It may be inconvenient to do what is right, but that's what distinguishes a person with integrity from one without - doing the right thing even when you don't expect to get caught.

Joseph, K9RFZ

SSBSWLFAN,

Since you chose to single out the Fort Wayne hamfest as an example of a person getting robbed, let me share a counter-example that happened to me at the 1997 Fort Wayne hamfest when I was newly licensed.

I purchased a 2m FM/SSB amplifier from a flea market vendor and he took down my call sign for his records. I walked away from his table, planning to do more shopping. A few hours went by before i found something else to purchase. I opened my wallet and realized I was $50 short. I thought I had dropped the bill and some lucky person probably got a bonus that day.

The Sunday evening following the hamfest, I received a phone call from the ham who sold me the amplifier. He asked if I had lost a $50 bill at the hamfest. Apparently when I handed him the cash, the fresh $50 bills stuck together and he couldn't reconcile where the extra money came from, but he remembered I paid cash with fifty dollar bills. He invited me to his house and returned the $50 to me.

Sorry to say not all ham operators have high ethics like the guy who returned my $50 bill. A person can be 'robbed' at any hamfest. I know the Fort Wayne hamfest uses security volunteers to watch for suspicious activity, but they don't check your bags and receipts like Walmart when you leave either.

Joseph, K9RFZ

I own the FT-7800 and it will work split for the FM satellites, but it is not full duplex. You do not hear yourself on the downlink while you transmit. I have used it to work satellites and high altitude balloons flying crossband repeaters. For the money, the FT-7800 is a good two band radio IMHO.

Joseph, K9RFZ

I specifically watch for interesting state QSO parties and the major contests to work a few stations. I don't submit a log, but I'll QSL every contact quickly so the contester has a verifiable record and can easily count my contact. If he takes the time to recognize me while he's trying to run up a big score, then I'll do the courtesy of making sure he gets credit.

Joseph, K9RFZ

I know repeaters on balloons are not considered satellites, but when the balloon rises to 80,000 feet before a controlled descent, you can work it like a very very LEO satellite. I received this info about an upcoming launch and thought many of the Eham satellite folks in the midwest might be interested. Chide me if this is considered off topic.

Joseph, K9RFZ

*****************************
Taylor University will be launching from Fishers Indiana as part of the 150th anniversary of air mail.

The first airmail flight was in 1859 by John Wise in his jupiter balloon check out the site below for info.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/object-aug06.html

We will be launching from the grounds at Conner Prairie, since this is a outreach flight the APRS and the crossband repeater will be onboard.

Flight #: 202
Flight ID: CP001
Date: 8-15-2009
Time: 3:00PM EST

APRS: 144.390 KB9ZNZ-1
CROSSBAND: Uplink: 144.36 Downlink: 446.025 FM voice repeater

Thank you

Jeffrey F. Dailey
Center for Research & Innovation
Research Engineer
Taylor University
236 W. Reade Ave.
Upland, IN 46989
(765) 998-4365 Fax (765) 998-4396

WB6BYU wrote, "So if you have one you can use it, and I think it is legal to buy or sell it at a swap meet, but not to import or sell them commercially."

The Communications Act of 1934 makes no distinction between commercial sales and private sales of these non-certified radios. I would infer that either sale is still illegal. It may be done all the time at hamfests, but that doesn't make it legal. Also, if the intent of criminalizing the import and sale of these radios is to keep them out of user's hands, then I wonder why owning and using one isn't also illegal. It seems like a loophole in the law. I wish someone from FCC Enforcement would occasionally read posts that deal with legal matters and provide authoritative direction. This isn't the first time the legality of imported non-certified radios that transmit on and outside the ham bands has been discussed on Eham.

Joseph, K9RFZ

Owen,

It's not self-righteous, it's the regulation. Check FCC part 97.313a for reference.

Joseph, K9RFZ

Interestingly, in each of the DHS drills (4) that the local ARES group has been requested to join in the past two years, the professional responder's 'sophisticated' communications systems failed due to at least one of the following;
1) interoperability issues - radios not programmed consistently
2) operators inadequately trained to use the radios
3) confusing operating protocols

During one scripted drill, two different agencies set up separate incident commmand posts unaware of each other. When I directed an ARES operator to the location nearest the evacuee buses that we were assigned to support en route, the leader at 'that' incident command grabbed the operator and ordered him to stick close. Amateur radio was the only communications that spanned the incident scene and so that location became the defacto IC.

I'm not one of the EmComm propagandists that claims amateur radio owes its continued existence to the public service mission. On the other hand, people who claim the EmComm aspect of amateur radio is killing their 'hobby' are prejudiced and ignorant.

Amateur radio can take a lesson from another hobby - amateur astronomy. Although professional astronomers use some of the most sophisticated optical instruments ever devised to peer deeper out into the universe, there is still need for well-trained amateur astronomers to monitor changing phenomena such as variable stars and solar activity. Ever hear of the American Relative Sunspot Count? It's the sunspot number derived from observations of more than a hundred volunteer amateur astronomers around the world and submitted monthly to the Solar Division of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)in Boston, MA. This program started during WWII to support the war effort and ensure the Allied forces had solar activity data for predicting radio propagation. The other source of this information was published by the Zurich Observatory with no guarentee the data wouldn't be halted by the Nazis. The AAVSO Solar Division maintains this contract with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adm. (NOAA) even today. Amateur astronomers may not have Kitt Peak National Solar Observatories at their disposal, but they do have tenacity and skill that meet the professional astronomer needs.

Likewise, even if served agencies improve their communications systems beyond the means of amateur radio operators, their system may be overwhelmed as the scale of an incident grows. Amateur radio can still fill the useful niche at the neighborhood level by providing situational reports from where we live. ARES/RACES can still serve as the interface from the neighborhood ham operators to the EMA. This gets amateur radio back where it started in EmComm, as a neighbor helping neighbor grass roots resource rather than a pseudo-professional communications volunteer corps waiting at the EMA beckon call.

Joseph, K9RFZ
ARRL Indiana Section, District 3 ARES EC
AAVSO Solar Div. Chairperson 1998 - 2001

You can find kevlar cord (braided or tubular) at sites supporting high power rocketry. Do a search on 'kevlar shock cord' and you'll get many sources.

Joseph, K9RFZ

This is not intended to start a flame war discussing the FCC regulations pertaining to RACES operations. I believe the regulations are fairly clear, but I'd like to know how this is handled in your region.

During RACES nets and tests (or at least nets called RACES nets), do you allow stations not registered with your local DHS / EMA office to check-in?

Joseph, K9RFZ

The examples I specifically asked about in the original post deal with professional (compensated) emergency management and responders using amateur radio bands in the course of an incident response or drill. The questioon arose at our local DHS office if the licensed Director could initiate an ARES or RACES activation by using amateur radio frequencies. From the cited references, the answer appears to be yes.

Joseph, K9RFZ
Allen County Indiana ARES EC

Thanks AA4PB. I found a similar answer on the ARRL webpage, but you replied before I could answer my own question.