Antenna Party v930410 ===================== Thanks to K5FXB, N5YGR, KB5WAR, KB5RUI and Clendon Gibson (no call ... yet 8-)) for their help at Saturday's antenna party. We were able to dismantle Carlos' antennas in good time due in no small part to Carlos' skill as a home-brewer. (And Hey! No injuries!) NWAARC Repeater Agreement ========================= At last Friday's NWAARC meeting the reciprocal agreement between that Club and ours regarding use of their repeaters was renewed. The agreement allows ARCUA members the use the 146.76-, 146.70- and 147.03+ repeaters as well as the autopatches on those "machines". Accessing the 'Patch -------------------- Autopatch facilities are available on the 146.76- Fayetteville and 147.03+ Bella Vista repeaters. Both machines use an RC-85 repeater controller (with "Herb, the Talking Repeater Guy" 8-) ). The procedure for using the autopatch is as follows: 1. Identify yourself. (ex. "This is N5YGR for the autopatch") 2. Key in '*'. This is entered as one sequence. (ie. '*5756588' 3. Herb (The Talking Repeater Guy) replies: "Autopatch [pause] 5756588 [pause] Timeout". (n.b. Herb knows not to say "Timeout" if you let the call go through) 4. If you click your PTT during either [pause], the call will go through and you will here a ringing signal on the air (a click during the first [pause] will cancel the read back). If you click *during* the read back, the call is canceled. If you do nothing, the controller times out and the call is aborted. 5. When the call is complete, press the # key to "bring down" the autopatch. Herb will reply: "Phone call complete". 6. Identify yourself again: "N5YGR clear of the patch". Emergency Auto Dial ------------------- The RC-85 has an Emergency auto dial feature as well. The procedure for its use will follow in a separate emailing. Summary ------- Please remember that even though these repeaters are "open" that we are GUESTS of the NWAARC. Common sense applies: if you can go simplex, go simplex! If you find yourself using the autopatch more than once or twice per month for non-emergency traffic, you should strongly consider joining NWAARC. Repeaters are expensive to operate and maintain. That's why we don't have one 8-). And above all else: DON'T DO MORE THAN ONE SIGNAL TEST PER WEEK!!!!!!!!!! We have an image to maintain... 73 de N5UWY Emergency Auto Dial ------------------- The RC-85 has an Emergency auto dial feature as well. The procedure for using it is as follows: 1. Identify yourself and mention the fact that it is an emergency phone patch: "KB5WPM emergency phone patch". 2. The following emergency numbers are preprogrammed into the controller on the Fayetteville machine ('*9' is the same on Bella Vista): Dial to reach ---- -------- *0 Central EMS (Washington Co.) *1 Fayetteville PD *2 Springdale PD *3 Ark. State Police (Troop L, Springdale) *4 University of Arkansas DPS *5 Washington Co. SO *6 Fayetteville FD *7 Springdale FD *8 West Fork PD *9 9-1-1 (Washington Co. PSAP) Please note: To call 9-1-1, DO NOT DIAL '*911' !!! Instead, dial '*9' (Herb will respond, rather excitedly, "Autodial Nine One One!"). Dialling other emergency numbers will produce different "Herb" messages (ie. '*1' will produce "Autodial F P D"). Key in '*' and the appropriate number and release PTT. 3. Click the PTT after Herb's message. 4. After completing the call, use the '#' key to bring down the patch. 5. Identify yourself again: "KB5WPM clear of the autopatch" You do not need to remember all these *numbers! Just remember *4 (UAPD) for on-campus emergencies, and *9 (Washington Co. 9-1-1) for off-campus emergencies. A call to *9 will be routed to the Washington County Sheriff's Office PSAP (Public Safety Answering Point -- Benton Co. SO if you are on the 147.03+ repeater). The PSAP can further route your call to the appropriate Agency. Both Washington and Benton Counties are blessed with state-of-the-art "enhanced 9-1-1" systems which allows the dispatcher to instantly get both the phone number and location of the caller. What this means to you is that you *must* be specific in describing your location, including the name of the city you are in. Why? Because the dispatcher's screen gives the *repeater's* location when you dial '*9' ! Find out, as best you can, your location BEFORE you key your mike! Write it down first if you need to (trust me -- adrenalin scrambles your brain faster than many illicit drugs...). A few other notes on reporting emergencies: Dispatchers are, generally speaking, not interested in Ham radio, autopatches (and how they function), your call sign, your name, etc. They ARE interested in your exact LOCATION, the NATURE of the emergency (fire, medical emergency, crime-in-progress, 747 crash), and the number and extent of INJURIES (if any). These factoids should be in your first transmission. S/he may also want to know if Hazardous Materials are involved, how many vehicles are involved, if traffic is obstructed, etc. Once you given the initial details, allow the dispatcher to guide the call -- they know what information they need. The big question is, of course, What consitutes an Emergency? It might be oversimplification but: Save a Life, Stop a Crime, Report a Fire. A motor vehicle accident with personal injury is an emergency. One with property damage only is not. Use your own judgement as to what situations fit those categories. The rule of thumb that I use is that if it can wait until I get to a payphone, I do. 73 de N5UWY