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Oneida-Madison Counties ARES Information

Oneida-Madison Counties ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) is part of the Central District, of the Western New York Section of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL).

OUR MISSION: Our mission is to provide Emergency Communications to our Served Agencies during times of need. We work closely with RACES Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service).

SERVED AGENCIES: Our Served Agencies are the three local Chapters of the American Red Cross (Oneida, Rome and Utica Chapters) and the National Weather Service. Agreements with other local agencies are in the works.

LEADERSHIP: The leadership of Oneida-Madison ARES is appointed according the ARRL rules. The head is the Emergency Coordinator (EC). The EC is appointed by the ARRL Section Manager (SM). The EC then appoints Assistant Emergency Coordinators as needed. Other members of O-M ARES leadership group include the RACES Radio Officers of both counties and the liaisons to each of the local American Red Cross Chapters. The core O-M Leadership is:

EC — John Sallustio, Rome, NY AB2QZ

AEC for Planning and Administration — Mike Little, Rome, NY KB2CCD

AEC for Operations — Doug Arvidson, Camden, NY AK2Z

AEC for Membership and Outreach—Chris Roy, Utica, NY KC2HSU

MEMBERSHIP: Membership is made up of Licensed Amateur Radio Operators residing in the greater Oneida-Madison Counties Area. Membership applications for O-M ARES should be sent to the AEC for Planning and Administration, KB2CCD (see above).

OMEN: OMEN (Oneida-Madison Emergency Net) meets twice a month on the 145.170 MHz W2MO repeater located in Oneida, NY. The repeater has a negative offset and no PL tone. OMEN is an ARES/RACES training net. Nets are held on the first and third Tuesday of every month at 1915 local time and typically last from 15 to 30 minutes.

SNOW SPOTTERS NET: Central New York Snow Spotters Net is held each night at 1930 local time on the 145.170 MHz W2MO repeater whenever there has been a significant snowfall (generally greater then 3 inches) in the greater Oneida-Madison County area during the previous 24 hours. Reports measured to the nearest inch are forwarded to the Binghamton Office of the National Weather Service (NWS).

SKYWARN: SKYWARN is a program in which ARES members act as in the field real-time weather spotters for the National Weather Service during Severe Weather (Severe Thunderstorms and Tornados) and when requested. SKYWARN Spotter training is provided by the NWS in the form of basic and advance courses. Oneida-Madison Counties ARES automatically activates SKYWARN whenever, there is a Severe Thunderstorm or Tornado warning—other activations will be at the request of the NWS.

PUBLIC SERVICE EVENTS: Throughout the year, O-M ARES and the three local clubs participate in various Public Service events to both generate the publics awareness in amateur radio and to practice the same skill sets that will be need in the event of a real communications emergency. Information about each event is generally disseminated via the local club’s newsletters and websites, emails, and on the air announcements during OMEN and the local NTS traffic net (OCTEN).

SIMULATED EMERGENCY TEST (SET): Each year, ARES and NTS hold a Simulated Emergency Test to practice the skills that will be needed if a real communications emergency were to arise. This past year's SET was held on the morning of 8 Nov 2008. Thank you to those amateurs that participated in the SET. A report was written and submitted to the ARRL in Jan 2009. A lessons learned discussion was held during the 18 Nov 2008 OMEN session. View Report . This year’s SET will be held on Saturday November 14th. Info on the SET can be viewed here.

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Last Updated 11/10/09 11:03:45 PM

Web master: Mike Little, KB2CCD, AEC for Planning & Administration, Oneida-Madison Counties ARES

Useful Information:

· O-M ARES Information

Operations Manual

O-M ARES Frequencies

Nets

Announcements as of 04-29-09

Supporting the Local Red Cross Chapters

OMEN Script

SKYWARN Script