Events

Upcoming events

Several events coming up will be good training opportunities.  The Sept 30 "Reach-the-Beach" event needs hams to cover the event, The Simulated Emergency Test on Oct 7/8 will be an intensive test of your equipment and knowledge, the Great Washington Shakeout on Oct 19 will be yet another test of your equipment and knowledge of Winlink.  Start preparing now so you will be ready for these events.

.OARS, TC-ARES 2023 Calendar

2024 Calendar *=confirmed ?=not confirmed or virus uncertainty

https://www.contestcalendar.com/contestcal.html

Tuesday is net night with all invited to attend on the OARS repeater system. 7 pm is the Thurston County ARES net that starts with a formal member roll call but is followed by an invitation for visitors to check in. At 7:30 begins the OARS Information Net with organized informal checkins, reading of the radio calendar, discussion of club business, q&a and swap and shop.

OARS Repeater information:

Location          Frequency        Offset     PL tone     Call sign

Olympia          147.360 MHz    0.600     103.5         NT7H

Crawford Mt    224.460 MHz   -1.600     103.5        NT7H

Crawford Mt    441.400 MHz    5.000     103.5        NT7H

All three repeaters are linked for greater coverage of Thurston County.

Nets, meeting, Zoom, testing information at Olympia Amateur Radio Society (www.olyham.org) Testing information at OARS Exam Page (www.oars-ve.duckdns.org) Thurston County ARES information at Thurston County Amateur Radio Emergency Service www.wa7oly.org  An expanded list of regional events is at: Pacific Northwest Hamfairs (n7cfo.com)  All known contests are at WA7BNM

April   * 8-Solar Eclipse QSO Party

*11-ARES meeting 7pm Tilley road EOC

         *17-Testing-See above links starts at 5

         *17-OARS meeting – Tug Boat Annies

         *21-ARRL Rookie R'up SSB

         *18-National & International Amateur Radio Day

         ???—Oly Trail Runners--ARES

         *20-21-Olympus Road Rally

May *4-5--7QP 7 area qso party

         *9-ARES meeting 7 pm Tilley Rd EOC

         *15-Testing—5pm Tug Boat Annies

         *15-OARS meeting 7 pm Zoom & Tug Boat Annies

         *17-19—Dayton Hamvention

         *17-19—Oregon Trail Road Rally

         *18-19—Lacey Spring Fun Fair  & STEM fair

         *19-Capital City Marathon-- TCARES organizes

         *25-26—CQ WW WPX-CW

         *May 31—SeaPac starts--ARRL Northwest Division Convention-

June *1-2-SeaPac ARRL Northwest Division Convention-

         *1-2—ARRL Int DX Contest

         *1-2—Museum ship weekend Battleship New Jersey ARS - Museum Weekend Event (nj2bb.org)

         *1-16—Lewis and Clark Trail OTA (Lewis & Clark Trail on the Air (lctota.org) )

         *8-10-ARRL VHF contest

         *13-ARES meeting 7PM Tilley Road EOC

         *14-18—Tahoe 200 Ultra

         *15-ARRL Kids day

         *19-Testing—See above link 5pm Tug Boat Annies

         *19-OARS meeting 7 pm Tug Boat Annies

         ?18-Cap Forest Endurance ride, Evergreen Sportman’s club,  (CNX-will be in 2024)

         *22-23—Field Day

         *29—ARES 5th Saturday exercise

July     *1-7 13 Colonies event

         *13-14—IARU HF World Championship

         *11-ARES meeting 7pm Tilley EOC

         *17-Exam-see olyham.org for information

         *17—OARS meeting 7pm Tug Boat Annies

         *20-21—CQ WW VHF contest

         *20-21—NCJ  North American QSO Party, RTTY

         *20—Gravel Unravel bike race or ride

         *20—CVARS Hamfest--Swapmeet_2024.pdf (cvars.org)

August *3-4—NCJ North American QSO Party CW

         *4—Cycling, Senior Games, Boston Harbor Elementary School

         *8—ARES Meeting 7 pm  Tilley RD EOC

         *9-13—Big Foot Ultra Marathon—Already sold out!!!

         *17-18—NCJ North American QSO Party, SSB

         *18—ARRL Rookie Round Up, RTTY

         *17-18-ILLW

         *21-Exam-see above information

         *21—OARS meeting Tug Boat Annies

         *24-25—WW Digi-DX Contest

September *7—Goat Run, Clallam county ARES  Clallam County ARES Public Service - GOAT Run (clallamares.org)

         *12—ARES meeting Tilley RD EOC

         *14-16—ARRL September VHF Contesting

         *14—Plain 100 ultra near Lake Wenatchee on Stevens pass.

         *21-22—Washington State QSO party Salmon Run

         *18—Testing--See above information

         *18—OARS meeting 7pm Tug Boat Annies

         *28—Thurston County Preparedness expo at Yelm Community Center

         *28-29—CQ WW DX RTTY--only

         *28—Reach the Beach bike ride

October ?5&6-SET for ARES

         *5—Tour de Forest rally

         *10—ARES meeting Tilley RD EOC

         *11-16--Moab 240, a cousin of the local Big Foot 200

         *16-Exam—See above for information links

         *16—OARS meeting 7pm Tug Boat Annies

         *17—Great Washington Shakeout at 10:17 am

         *19-20—Stew Perry Top band challenge-CW

         *19-20—JOTA Jamboree on the Air

         *21-25—School Club Contest

         *26-27—CQ WW DX SSB

November *2-4 ARRL Sweepstakes CW

         *3—DST ends

         *10—NA SSB Sprint

         *14-ARES meeting 7pm, Tilley EOC

         *20-Exam—See above instructions

         *20-OARS meeting 7pm Tug Boat Annies

         *16-18--ARRL Sweepstakes Contest SSB

         *22-23 Scout Night Hike, Camp Thunderbird

         ?9-10—Repeater Roundabout--https://web.psrg.org/repeater-roundabout-november-11-12/

         *23-24—CQ Worldwide DX Contest CW

December *2-Lacey Parade of Lights

         *6-8 ARRL 160m Contest

         *7-Skywarn Recognition Day

         *12-ARES meeting 7pm Tilley EOC

         *14-15--ARRL 10 meter SSB & cw contest 10 Meter (arrl.org)

         *18-Exam—See instruction above

         *18-OARS meeting 7pm Tug Boat Annies

         *22—ARRL Rookie Roundup CW

This list is best viewed along with the WA7BNM contest calendar for a more complete list of world wide contests. WA7BNM Contest Calendar: 12-Month Calendar  The ARRL also has a contest calendar at Contest Calendar (arrl.org)  

WSDOT ARES 

Christopher Larsen  WB0BZD 

Thurston County ARES Teams with Washington Department of Transportation; Statewide Partnership Planned 

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Amateur radio has a long history of working with governmental and local organizations during crises and disasters. A new partnership between the Washington Department of Transportation and Thurston County Amateur Radio Emergency Services is looking to take that cooperation to a new level. 

After nearly a year of talking, planning, and coordination, WSDOT and TC-ARES tested the new amateur radio communications room at WSDOT’s Olympia site on April 29, during a statewide disaster exercise focusing on roads and bridges.  

The exercise, which linked WSDOT regions and ARES chapters around the state, resulted in the handling of over 120 messages between the stations.  

“I’ve been so impressed with the with the hams,” said Littleton “Lit” Dudley, WSDOT Olympic Region’s emergency manager. “They’re willing to do what it takes to get the job done. 

“They’re very community-minded,” Dudley added. "The day turned out to be extra rewarding for me; learning about and being exposed to it (amateur radio) was impressive.” 

Eric Frank, WSDOT Southwest Region emergency manager, agreed. 

“Amateur radio volunteers have always been one of the best-engaged and organized volunteer groups in public safety,” Frank said. “They’re problem solvers, exactly what emergency management and our communities will need during a disaster.” 

The exercise took place at WSDOT’s Olympic Region Maintenance HQ facility in Lacey and was the first time TC-ARES and the department used a newly set-aside area for radio communications.  

The room, located next to the facility’s emergency operations center, is a wide-open space with room for tables, chairs, and radio equipment. In the event of emergency or natural disaster, the EOC and ARES operators would swing into action. 

The events leading up to the new partnership happened over a year ago, with a chance meeting during a community event. 

“We were at the Lacey Fun Fair with my granddaughter,” said WSDOT’s Rick Reimer, “and saw the [Olympia Amateur Radio Society] booth.” 

Reimer said his granddaughter thought the booth and equipment “was cool.” Reimer started talking to the hams running the booth, asking questions about their capabilities, and the idea came up to have OARS and TC-ARES join with WSDOT to coordinate communications during disasters. 

Washington has 22 maintenance facilities, known as ‘sheds,’ located throughout the Olympic Region alone.  There are over 100 sheds in Washington. Each shed is fitted out with sand, salt, rock, and more to help repair or reinforce roads, bridges, and other infrastructure in the event of a disaster.  

Additionally, many sheds are located near law enforcement facilities where hams could also set up communications stations. 

“That way, we can get messages to counties faster and acknowledge reports,” Dudley said.  

The cooperation between WSDOT and TC-ARES is part of a bigger effort to link other ARES elements in the state with their respective WSDOT regions, Dudley said. 

“We have four clubs working with regions right now,” he said. “The Southwest Region has one solid partnership, and there are six total in play statewide.” 

Dudley said the eventual goal is to have all 39 Washington counties involved in partnerships with ARES chapters around the state. 

“Southwest Region has the most capability right now,” he said. “They have a room, radios, and other equipment.” 

The Lacey facility’s ARES workspace is still being prepared. WSDOT is providing antennas, which are being installed on the building’s roof, with coaxial cables being run through the walls to the communications area. The ARES operators supply their own radio gear, either base stations with power supplies or handhelds.  

During the April exercise, operators ran cables along the floor and mounted portable antennas on the balcony outside a pair of double doors. It was crude, but it worked, said one operator. 

It gives us a chance to stress-test our equipment,” said Steve Tomlin, W7SLT, the TC-ARES liaison. 

Even though the first exercise used a temporary setup, the capabilities of the TC-ARES operators impressed WSDOT officials. 

“Even the first time was faster than our own crews,” said Reimer.  

Damaris “Dee” Deschner, WSDOT’s Eastern Washington’s emergency manager, covers three of the department’s regions east of the Cascade Mountains, and is starting to build up their cooperative programs with the ARES chapters in that part of the state. She’s hoping that in the future, there will be an annual ARES exercise with WSDOT, including with what she called ‘spontaneous volunteers.’  

“That’s using a WSDOT representative in a county EOC testing communications procedures,” she said, “along with having a ham radio volunteer at a WSDOT regional headquarters, testing procedures there.” 

Dudley, the Olympic Region emergency manager, said they hoped to have the ARES operators take part in more exercises, such as the International ShakeOut Day earthquake drill, scheduled for Oct. 19. 

“It’s a statewide exercise, with full activation of our EOC,” he said.  

Another ARES member said the partnership between WSDOT, and the hams is beneficial to both groups. 

“It’s yet another agency we can help,” said Phil Cornell, W7PLC, “and it provides endless training for operations.” 

Reimer said it was hard to find a downside in the partnership between WSDOT and TC-ARES. 

“I see working with them as a ‘plus-plus’,” he said. “If the big one happens, ham radio is going to save our bacon.” 

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