North Carolina
ARRL
Section Information

I would like to THANK all persons who participated in this two day drill. It was amazing as I was at the Eastern Branch for awhile yesterday to hear all the stations checking in, and listening to the net while mobile going to work. It really showed what we can do when all work together to accomplish one goal, which is to provide our citizens of NC backup, and sometimes primary communications to emergency management. Special thanks to those who attended many hours of meetings with emergency management officials who were planning this drill. Also to those who helped in getting the very valuable Winlink System setup at the State EOC, and the Western Branch, and soon to be at the Eastern Branch, which really came through.
 -- Bernie Nobles, WA4MOK

North Carolina ARES members are currently participating in a "graded" North Carolina Emergency Management/FEMA exercise involving an earthquake centered in Buncombe County. The Tarheel Emergency Net is activated, operating on 3.923MHz earlier this morning and has now moved to the daytime frequency of 7.232MHz. Stations from across the state are encouraged to check in and help relay traffic from the affected areas in western NC. In addition to the Tarheel net, stations in western North Carolina are using VHF repeaters in the area linked together on the Piedmont Coastal Repeater Network. Packet and Winlink is also in use. While the drill began this morning, most of the activity will occur tomorrow (June 24) with an agency interoperability exercise which will overlay the western branch earthquake exercise and promote testing of facilities/pathways between various government agencies and the Amateur Radio community. This event is the first statewide interoperability test across disparate facilities and will form the basis for follow-on exercises to test overall interoperable capabilities across the range of State agencies and the Amateur Radio community.
 
The drill runs today, June 23 until 8:00pm and will run tomorrow, June 24 from 7:00am to 5:00pm.

The Tar Heel Emergency Net will be activated in coordination with the statewide emergency drill beginning at 7:00am Tuesday, 23 June. This drill will be used to evaluate working relationships between ARES and served agencies, evaluate equipment and techniques used to respond to specific scenarios, introduce new operators to ARES, evaluate participation and interest in ARES programs at all levels, and to evaluate cooperation between ARES and other programs of the ARRL Field Organization.
More information is available on the THEN Page.

If your club is interested in having visitors and media, be sure to register your site at arrl.org so that it can be found.
If you are not part of a field day group check out the site to find a place nearby to participate.

Attached as a PDF file is the 2009 proclamation from Gov. Bev Perdue proclaiming Amateur Radio Appreciation Week June 21-28. Please pass along to your affiliated clubs. HINT: a printed out copy of the proclamation on display at your club’s Field Day public information table makes a nice 100 point contribution to your club’s total FD score.
Governor's Proclamation (pdf)
--Bill Morine, N2COP

The Tar Heel Emergency Net now has its own web site. Take a look. It is linked from the menus of the NCARRL pages and the NCARRL ARES^® pages.

Here are the PowerPoint Presentations from the May 2 Statewide ARES Meeting: Bob Conder would also like to add that the ban on sending Text Messages while driving passed the legislature. This ban has absolutely no effect on Amateur Radio. (ETA except to make the roads safer for us -- web master.)

A new Section Guide with handy information needed during Emergencies or traveling around the section is now available on the right hand menu and here. Print copies to put in every car, your desk at work, your briefcase, your emergency box and anywhere else you may need this valuable information.
NC Section Guide (Word Document)

The Dayton Hamfest has selected our own Danny Hampton, K4ITL, as "Amateur of the Year". Danny is the architect of the Piedmont Coastal Repeater Network, established in the early 1970s, which today sports more than 40 machines in North Carolina. The system is heavily used for public service work. Hampton has enhanced the network's utility with custom audio processing boards and RF components. The North Carolina Office of Emergency Management and SKYWARN have recognized the network's vital role in emergency communications. Recently, Danny helped coordinate the development of the "CARES" system - a local hospital-based Amateur Radio emergency repeater system that ties 10 facilities together. A ham since 1958, Danny is the Southeastern Repeater Association (SERA) technical committee chairman as well as the ARRL North Carolina Section Technical Coordinator.

SKYWARN Recognition Day takes place on December 6, 2008. Over 100 NWS offices across the country will participate in the event, including the Raleigh National Weather and Central Carolina SKYWARN.
More

James (Jim) Rogers N4EUX Area 12 DEC passed away early Sunday morning, November 22, at Caldwell Memorial Hospital. He passed on after having surgery last Wednesday on an aenurism on an artery. The service will be at 3pm Tuesday, November 25 in Lenoir.

The Statewide SET is Saturday, October 4, 2008. Contact your local or district EC for information on participating. The plan for the statewide exercise is attached below.
  2008 SET Plan (Microsoft Word Document)