BREAKING NEWS! FCC Amends Part 97 regarding employee participation in emeregency drills

The FCC has just announced that it is changing the Part 97 rules to
allow unlimited paid employee participation in government sponsored
drills and exercises, and will also allow limited paid employee
participation in non-government exercises and drills.  This is truly a
great breakthrough for EmComm.
Here is the actual NPRM http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2010/db0714/FCC-10-124A1.pdf

ARES-NIMS Training

Clarksville Operating Radio Enthusiasts to promote severe weather awareness at the Customs House Museum.

As we move into Spring the question is not IF middle Tennessee will see severe weather but is instead how much and how bad.

In recent years scarcely a year has gone by where Middle Tennessee communities have not suffered damage from wind, heavy rains, lightning and tornadoes.  How to deal with severe weather is something that anyone in Middle Tennessee should know.

With this though in mind the Clarksville Operating Radio Enthusiasts will be operating a special event station at the Customs House Museum on Saturday March 27 2010 from 10:30 to 3:30.  Amateur Radio operators will be on hand to demonstrate Amateur Radio communications and to discuss how Amateur Radio operators provide support during severe weather through initiatives such as SkyWarn and ARES. 

The Clarksville Operating Radio Enthusiasts invite all members of the community to come join us for this event.

For those interested in obtaining an Amateur Radio License testing will be offered from 11:00 am until 2:00 pm.  The cost is $15.00 to take any test and if you pass one test you can take the next at no additional cost.  There are 3 classes of Amateur Radio licenses; Technician, General and Extra.  Each test is more involved and technical than the previous test and each license class includes privileges on more frequency than the last one.  Amateur Radio Exams MUST be passed in the following order; Technician, General, Extra.

The Clarksville Operating Radio Enthusiasts look forward to seeing you on Saturday March 27.

Amateur Radio Stations will be operated in the Coca Cola Cafe and testing will be in the classroom downstairs.

Thank You
The Clarksville Operating Radio Enthusiasts

Local Amateur Radio Operators assist red cross with disaster drill

On the morning of February 20 an F1 tornado touched down in North Clarksville leaving a path of devastation in it’s wake… Ok, not really, but this was the scenario for an American Red Cross disaster drill which was held on Saturday February 20.  The drill parameters dictated that communications towers in the area had been destroyed making cell phones useless. 

Clarksville hams stepped up to the plate to assist the Red Cross in this drill just like they would in the event of an actual disaster.

Amateur Radio operators from the Clarksville Operating Radio Enthusiasts and the Clarksville Amateur Transmitting Society showed up and provided all of the communications for the excercise.

Net control functions were provided by CATS Vice President John Freed, KX6F

CORE members James Kennedy, WU5E; David Abney, KG4EUU;  and Eric Gregory, KJ4GXU acted as drivers and communications specialists for the Disaster Assessment teams while CATS member Lee Daniel, KI4LEL acted as the communcations operator for the Disaster Assessment supervisor Karina Aponte, KJ4LCG.

Shelter communications were handled by CATS President Jim Shelton.

Together with the Red Cross these operators were able to coordinate shelter operations and communications with other local agencies all while a mock damage assessment was performed on several thousand homes in the space of a few hours.

This drill was a perfect example of how Amateur Radio operators can act in cooperation with local agencies and each other to provide services to the public in times of crisis.  Both major Amateur Radio clubs in the area, The Clarksville Operating Radio Enthusiasts and the Clarksville Amateur Transmitting Society showed their willingness to give of their time, skills and equipment to support the Red Cross and our community.

It was through the contributions of these operators and all of the red cross volunteers which included nurses, shelter volunteers, administrative staff and more that this drill was able to successfully accomplish the tasks set forth.