EMCOMMWEST® 2008
ARRL Nevada Section Operating Specialty Convention
Friday-Saturday-Sunday
May 2-3-4, 2008

Featuring Riley Hollingsworth K4ZDH, Banquet Speaker and Session Presenter on “Regulatory Concerns of Emergency Communications” and Dennis Dura K2DCD, Keynote Speaker, ARRL Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager

Location:
Circus Circus Hotel and Casino
500 N. Sierra Street
Reno,Nevada 89503
http://www.circusreno.com/

Talk-in: 146.610(-) PL 123.0; 147.030(+) PL 123.0

Friday Night BBQ . Saturday Ham Swap Meet
Commercial Vendor Booths . Saturday Night Banquet
Free Licensing Exams . Great Speakers and Sessions
Fantastic Door Prizes

Event Information:
http://emcommwest.org
E-Mail info@emcommwest.org
EMCOMMWEST is a Registered Servicemark of EMCOMMWEST, Inc.

The State of California, Department of Motor Vehicles, has the following information on their website: http://www.dmv.ca.gov/ham/ham_plate.htm
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Amateur Radio (HAM) License Plates
 
These plates are issued, upon request, to holders of Federal Communication Commission (FCC) amateur radio station licenses. The alpha-numeric series reflects the call letters assigned by the FCC (Vehicle Code section 5005 and Revenue and Taxation Code sections 10751, 10752).
 
If you have Amateur Radio (HAM) License Plates that have spaces between the numbers or letters and you would like plates without the spaces follow this link to the application. Complete the application and a Statement of Facts indicating that you wish to retain the old plates until the new plates arrive, at which time you will properly destroy the old plates. Mail both documents to the address on the bottom of the application form. No fees are required.

If you have questions or concerns regarding your Amateur Radio (HAM) license plates, please call Customer Communications at (916) 657-6560. 

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When you go to the DMV website, you will be able to click on the links to receive a PDF of the indicated application form, and the Statement of Facts form, which you can print and mail to DMV for obtaining replacements for your current plates that contain spaces.  Future applications for Amateur Radio call sign plates will result in the receipt of plates with no spaces.

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ARRL Pacific Division
Director: Robert Vallio, W6RGG
w6rgg@arrl.org

WASHINGTON - The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today released the on-line IS-800.B National Response Framework (NRF), An Introduction training course. The NRF, which focuses on response and short-term recovery, articulates the doctrine, principles and architecture by which our nation prepares for and responds to all-hazard disasters across all levels of government and all sectors of communities.

Course Information: The course introduces participants to the concepts and principles of the NRF.

Course Objectives: At the end of this course, students will be able to describe:
* The purpose of the National Response Framework.
* The response doctrine established by the National Response Framework.
* The roles and responsibilities of entities as specified in the National Response Framework.
* The actions that support national response.
* The response organizations used for multi-agency coordination.
* How planning relates to national preparedness.

Audience: This course is intended for government executives, private-sector and nongovernmental organization (NGO) leaders, and emergency management practitioners. This includes senior elected and appointed leaders, such as Federal department or agency heads, State Governors, mayors, tribal leaders, and city or county officials - those who have a responsibility to provide for effective response. Senior leaders, emergency management practitioners, disaster workers, and first responders who have previously completed IS-800 or IS-800A are not required to complete IS-800B as part of NIMS compliance activities. However, FEMA strongly urges emergency management professionals across the nation to complete this new independent study course on the NRF. Additional information on the NRF can be obtained from the NRF Resource Center at www.fema.gov/nrf

Course Completion: This course is available at http://www.training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS800b.asp. When individuals complete the course, they should take the online test, fill out the student information and submit the test for scoring. FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute’s Independent Study office will notify individuals via email of their successful completion of the course and a link will be included to access and print a course certificate.

Questions: Individuals may contact the Independent Study office via email Independent.Study@dhs.gov or contact the call center at 301-447-1200 or toll free at 1-800-238-3358, extension 1200. Independent Study Program office hours are 7:30a.m.-7:30p.m. (EDT).

Pre-requisite: None

Course Length: The overall length of the course will vary for each individual. IS800.B takes approximately 3 hours to complete.

Continuing Education Units (CEUs): FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute (EMI) awards 0.3CEUs for successful completion of this course.

Additional NRF training will be released soon highlighting the Emergency Support Function (ESFs), Support and Incident Annexes.

IS120.A: An Introduction to Exercises

Course: IS120.A: An Introduction to Exercises

Course Information: IS120.A An Introduction to Exercises introduces the basics of emergency management exercises. This independent study (IS) course also builds a foundation for subsequent exercise courses which provide the specifics of the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) and the National Standard Exercise Curriculum (NSEC). The IS120.A replaces the IS120 An Orientation to Community Disaster Exercises on this date of issuance.

Independent Studies will continue to accept OPSCAN answer sheets for the original IS 120 examination <http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/downloadexamnotice.asp?eid=is120> until March 15, 2008. For new students, you are required to complete the IS 120.A examination to ensure student learning.

Pre-requisite: None

Course Length: The overall length of the course will vary for each individual. IS120.A takes approximately 5.0 hours to complete.

Continuing Education Units (CEUs): The Emergency Management Institute (EMI) awards 0.5 CEUs for successful completion of this course.

Audience: IS120.A An Introduction to Exercises is designed for local, State, trust territories, tribal nations, Federal, volunteer organizations, and private industry emergency management/response personnel with the responsibility for exercise program management and/or who serve as members of an exercise planning team.

Course Objectives: At the end of this course, students will be able to:
* Identify the five phases of the exercise process.
* Distinguish the tasks necessary to complete each phase of the exercise process.
* Understand how exercises complete the emergency preparedness cycle.
* Comprehend the role of exercises in the testing of facilities, equipment, and personnel in a performance based environment.
* Recognize how exercises prepare communities to respond to and recover from major emergencies.

Course Completion: This course is available at http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS120A.asp. When you have completed the course, you may take the online test, fill out the student information and submit the test for scoring. FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute’s Independent Study office will notify you via email of your successful completion of the course and a link will be included in the email for you to access and print your course certificate.

IS130: Exercise Evaluation and Improvement Planning

Course: IS130: Exercise Evaluation and Improvement Planning

Course Information: IS130 Exercise Evaluation and Improvement Planning is a new independent study (IS) offering which introduces the basics of emergency management exercise evaluation and improvement planning. It also provides the foundation for exercise evaluation concepts and practices as identified in the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP).

Pre-requisite: Individuals who wish to enroll in the IS130 Exercise Evaluation and Improvement Planning must complete the IS120.A: An Introduction to Exercises.

Course Length: The overall length of the course will vary for each individual. IS130 takes approximately 5.0 hours to complete.

Continuing Education Units (CEUs): The Emergency Management Institute (EMI) awards 0.5 CEUs for successful completion of this course.

Audience: IS130 Exercise Evaluation and Improvement Planning is designed for local, State, trust territories, tribal nations, Federal, volunteer organizations, and private industry emergency management/response personnel with the responsibility for exercise evaluation.

Course Objectives: At the end of this course, students will be able to:
* Understand the exercise, evaluation, and improvement planning steps.
* Comprehend the process of designing and developing exercise evaluation criteria.
* Identify the necessary tasks in conducting an exercise evaluation.
* Understand methods of analyzing exercise data.
* Identify the steps necessary to prepare an After Action Report (AAR) and conduct an After Action Conference (AAC).

Course Completion: This course is available at http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS130.asp. When you have completed the course, you may take the online test, fill out the student information and submit the test for scoring. FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute’s Independent Study office will notify you via email of your successful completion of the course and a link will be included in the email for you to access and print your course certificate.

Questions: You may contact the Independent Study office via email Independent.Study@dhs.gov or contact the call center at 301-447-1200. Independent Study Program office hours are 7:30a.m.-7:30p.m. (EDT). You may also contact the course manager, Lowell Ezersky, at email Lowell.Ezersky@dhs.gov , toll free at 1-800-238-3358, extension 1355 or (301) 447-1355

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Jim Tittle, K6SOE, as our new East Bay Section Official Observer Coordinator (OOC).

He started to study for his first Amateur Radio license while at Pleasant Hill High School in 1968. Frustrated by his inability to learn the code successfully and distracted by other studies in general electronics, cars/motorcycles, etc., as well as general aspects of life at age 16 — amateur radio became low priority. Fast-forward to Field Day 1988: Not knowing any better, Jim accepted an invitation to visit the Mt. Diablo ARC FD site atop Mt. Diablo by longtime friend Keith Lattin, N6PMF. After being put on the air on VHF FM for a few dozen Q’s, he was hooked on Ham Radio again.

Jim was first licensed in March 1991 as KC6SOE (Technician) and soon joined Mt. Diablo ARC/Rocky Ridge Repeater Group, ARRL, and Contra Costa County ARES/RACES. During the Oakland Hills Firestorm in October of that year, he was deployed to the Red Cross HQ in Oakland, and then to the main Fire Staging area at Broadway Terrace, where he set up a station. This experience encouraged him to become active in the ARES/RACES Training Committee, which is responsible for developing and deploying resource manuals, as well as classroom- and field-exercise programs. He became Assistant District Emergency Coordinator for East Contra Costa County in 1993, and later served as District EC from 2003 to 2007. Jim finally mastered enough CW to upgrade to General and became an ARRL Life Member in June 2001; then in 2002, he changed his call to K6SOE (January), and later made Amateur Extra (April).

With his extensive background in electronics, he has been a working member of the MDARC/Rocky Ridge Repeater Technical Committee for the past 17 years; most of his fun involves keeping the W6CX ATV repeater on the air. He also served as Chairman from 1993 to 1996.

His day job for the past 29 years has been with a worldwide precision optics company in Berkeley and Richmond (CA), where he started out as an Electro/Mechanical Technician. These talents allowed him to help design and build many cutting-edge, multiple-axis CNC (Computer Numeric Controlled) figuring and polishing machines used in myriad projects, including the 1993 COSTAR fix for the Hubble Space Telescope. In addition, he has spent the last 10 years as a practicing Network Administrator for the company’s Richmond division. He says “it has been a great source for funding my radio habit, but working all day gets in the way of my activity on HF/VHF/UHF SSB, Data and ATV, but retirement should fix that problem someday. And the best thing is that the XYL always lets me go to Field Day — even if it is on our wedding anniversary 6/22!” In November 1992, he joined the OO Program and is still listening today.I ask you all to welcome Jim on-board and to cooperate with him as he helps maintain order and the traditional high standards on the Amateur bands. Congratulations Jim!!Jim Latham, AF6AQ
Bay Section Manager