MIRO Newsletter for MARCH 2020

EMERGENCY PRACTICE NET Thursday, March 12th, 7:00 PM Mike Post KI7FIF - Net Control, Scribes: Vadim Volkhov N7PIX, Dan Witmer W6DRW The net will start on the VHF MIRO repeater frequency of 147.160 MHz + offset, with a CTCSS tone of 146.2 Hz for business and check-ins. It will then shift to the UHF repeater on frequency 440.150 MHz + offset with a CTCSS tone of 103.5 Hz for a roll call of the participants on the VHF repeater. In the event of a repeater failure, first try the other repeater; if that has failed, shift to the Mercer Island Simplex 147.440. PLEASE SPEAK SLOWLY AND CLEARLY ON THE NET! Information being sent over the net is recorded by hand in the Radio Room. Practice Prepares!

MIRO MEETING at the North Fire Station – FD91 Thursday, March 19th, starting promptly at 7:00 PM: This is the final planning session for the Mercer Island Half Marathon that is on Sunday, March 22nd. Assignments will be made, and the race manual and map will be handed out. This is a very important meeting for those who will be working the race. We are currently short-handed because of the General Exam Class which finishes on Sunday. Even if you’ve never participated, the race is the closest thing to experiencing the communications that would be expected in a real emergency on the Island. Net Control operates out of a police van stationed at the Mercer Island Community and Event Center (MICEC.) MIRO members are positioned at the water stations on the course around the island and report activities as they occur at their station. Please email Woody Howse at whowse@me.com if you are interested in participating.

NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS: 1. February 20st MIRO meeting: Stop the Bleed was an amazing educational event. With the MICEC room at its full capacity of 40 registrants, nurse instructors Susanna Cunningham WB7CON and Sandy Motzer KI7KYS and their nurse assistants did an extraordinary job of teaching us what we can do if we encounter profuse bleeding. A person can bleed to death in 3-5 minutes, often before First Responders can arrive. All of the attendees were able to practice on dummies, applying tourniquets and packing wounds.

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TOURNIQUET PRACTICE

MIRO March 2020 Newsletter Page 3 of 6 2. March 7th 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM: Annual Mike & Key Hamfest at the PAVILION EXHIBITION HALL, WASHINGTON STATE FAIRGROUNDS, 9th Ave SE. & Meridian ST S., PUYALLUP, WA 98372. The Mike & Key Electronics Show & Swap Meet is one of the largest annual Amateur Radio events in the Pacific Northwest. Up to 3,000 Hams and non-Hams alike are drawn to a modern, 40,000-square-foot facility located on two floors of the Exhibition Hall with room for over 300 tables set up for selling radios, computers, and general electronics equipment. Lots of radio and computer related items are available for sale and/or trade. If you are interested in carpooling, please contact Bob Tykulsker, rtykulsker@gmail.com. 3. March 20th, 21st, & 22nd, Amateur Radio General Licensing Class: David Okrent W7DAO will be teaching at the Mercer Island North Fire Station. On Saturday, March 28th, license exams will be administered at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 4001 Island Crest Way. We currently have eleven students signed up for the class and can accommodate up to nine more. Flyer attached on page 5. 4. March 22nd, Mercer Island Half Marathon: Dave Uhler W7DDU is leading MIRO’s support for the Annual Rotary MI Half Marathon. Our March 19th MIRO meeting will be the final organizational effort. As in the past, we will need 15 – 20 hams to support the operation. Besides serving as communicators on the race route around the island, members have the opportunity to serve as Net Controls and scribes. Please let me know (email: whowse@me.com) if you are able to participate. We do need some new participants, as several of our past volunteers are no longer active or are taking the General licensing class that weekend. This event is one of our best for practicing the kind of communications we may need in an emergency,and we work ‘hand in glove’ with the Mercer Island Police Department. 5. April 16th MIRO Meeting at North Fire FD-91: This regular MIRO meeting, starting promptly at 7 PM, will be CPR Training by Lt. Steve Mair, MIFD. The number of participants is limited by the space and the number of dummies, so 20 reservations will be the limit for this meeting. Pat Hackett K7PTH will be acting as Chair for the meeting. Please contact Pat (pat@pathackett.com) to make your reservation. We will have a waiting list if reservations exceed 20. You may also reserve to bring one family member. 6. RADIO ROOM DISINFECTING: In an abundance of caution, a bottle of Formula 409 (“….kills 99.9% of bacteria and viruses…”) is in the corner file cabinet, 2nd drawer down. Rolls of paper towels are on top. Please don’t spray the radio equipment directly. Spray 409 onto a paper towel and wipe. When you’re finished in the Radio Room, please clean everything you’ve touched including, but not necessarily limited to: Radio(s) face/buttons; mics; power supply face/switch; computer keyboard and body; mouse; front door keypad; and touch points on the table and cabinet top(s)/edges; chair armrests; pens/stapler, etc.; file drawers, entry door face/edge/frame; keys. Use the Electronic Wipes for the computer keyboard and body.

MIRO March 2020 Newsletter Page 4 of 6 Hand washing (20 seconds with soap & water) is an important step in the prevention of infectious disease! Do so before and after use of the radio room. If the door is not open, use the key available in the Radio Room. When finished with the 409, please close/twist the nozzle tip and replace the bottle in the drawer. And please note in the black logbook that you did this. Then go wash your hands. Thanks! Keep our MIRO Members healthy.

7. FLDIGI: For those interested in becoming more facile in FLDIGI, we will return to having FLDIGI sessions following some of our regular emergency nets. You can also join the 8 PM, Monday evening FLDIGI practice-group on 444.500 MHz + 141.3. Have your apps ready to go to receive the FLDIG messages. You do not have to check in for reception. But these hams are very helpful Elmers; it’s worth checking in. Useful information: http://www.w1hkj.com/beginners.html#toc1 8. AMSAT: Initial reports indicate considerable interest among amateurs in tracking and capturing data from the newly deployed HuskySat-1. The satellite, designed at the University of Washington, was launched to the International Space Station last November and subsequently deployed into a higher orbit from the ISS on January 31, and began telemetry transmissions on 435.800 MHz. HuskySat-1's 1,200 bps BPSK beacon is active and decodable with the latest release of AMSAT's FoxTelem software: https://www.amsat.org/foxtelem-software-for-windows-mac-linux/ The HuskySat-1 CubeSat will demonstrate onboard plasma propulsion and high-gain telemetry for low-Earth orbit that would be a precursor for an attempt at a larger CubeSat designed for orbital insertion at the moon. HuskySat-1 is expected to carry out its primary mission before being turned over to AMSAT for activation of a 30 kHz wide V/U linear transponder for SSB and CW. -- Thanks to AMSAT News Service (2020) PROJECTS:

1) Increase MIRO use of Winlink and FLDIGI 2) Increase number of licensed General Hams in MIRO 3) Commence training and qualification for HF and VARA for Winlink 4) Continue MIRO training and qualification program starting with Net Control

MIRO January 2020 Activity Report: During January 2020, 29 MIRO members, driving 179 miles, gave 73 hours of volunteer time in support of 2 public service events and 8 drills, meetings and exercises. 73, Woody Howse K7EDH – MIRO Volunteer Chair Email: whowse@me.com Phone: 206-849-5370

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Announcing a newAmateur Radio General Licensing Class

Sponsored by theMercer Island Radio Operators

Now is a great time to upgrade and get access to more of what amateur radio has to offer.

Dates:Friday, March 20, 2020 : 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Saturday, March 21, 2020: 8:30 AM – 4:30 PMSunday, March 22, 2020: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Class Location:Mercer Island North Fire Station

3030 78th Ave. SE, Mercer Island, WA 98040(parking in the back of the station)

Licensing Test and Location:Saturday, March 28, 2020, 10:00 AM

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints4001 Island Crest Way, Mercer Island, WA 98040

Alternate test dates, times, and locations available

Cost: $15 examination fee, no fee for class

Textbook:Recommended: The ARRL General Class Licensing Manual, http://www.arrl.org/shop/ARRL-General-Class-License-Manual-9th-Edition/. Please purchase the book when you register and begin reading it prior to class. You are not obligated to use this book, but if you select another resource make sure it has the current questions pool.

Registration or Questions:email pat@pathackett.com

MIRO March 2020 Newsletter Page 6 of 6 MIRO Current Schedule 2020

Date Topic Mar 7 Mike & Key Electronics Show and Swap Meet – WA State Fairgrounds, Puyallup Mar 12 WHX Emergency Net NCS - Mike Post KJ7FIF Mar 19 MIRO Mtg FD-91 - MI Half Marathon final planning Mar 22 MI Half Marathon Mar 20,21,22,28 General License classes and exam Mar 31 Last Tuesday Apr 9 Emergency Net NCS - Dan Witmer W6DRW Apr 16 WHX MIRO Mtg FD-91 Lt. Stephen Mair MIFD – CPR Training - Pat Hackett actg Chair Apr 25&26 Comm Academy Apr 28 Last Tuesday May 14 Emergency Net NCS – Eva Banbury W7EVA May 21 WHX MIRO Mtg – MICEC, Daniel Liefer, MD BioTerrorism – Bob Tykulsker actg Chair May 26 Last Tuesday May 30 Fifth Saturday EOC-EOC (to participate contact B. Tykulsker (rtykulsker@gmail.com) June 11 Emergency Net NCS – Laurent Lathieyre K2BRC June 18 MIRO Mtg - Preparations for Emergency Preparedness Day/ARRL Field Day June 27 MI Emergency Preparedness Day and ARRL Field Day July 9 Emergency Net NCS July 16 MIRO Mtg – Jim Pearman, FEMA & Mercer Island July 28 Last Tuesday Aug 13 WHX Emergency Net NCS Aug 20 MIRO Summer Social Meeting – Howse House 3621 80th Ave SE, MI Aug 25 Last Tuesday Aug 29 Fifth Saturday EOC-EOC (to participate contact B. Tykulsker (rtykulsker@gmail.com) Sep 10 Emergency Net NCS Sep 17 MIRO Mtg Sep 24 Last Tuesday Oct 8 Emergency Net NCS Oct 15 MIRO Mtg Oct 27 Last Tuesday Oct 31 Fifth Saturday EOC-EOC (to participate contact B. Tykulsker (rtykulsker@gmail.com) Nov 12 Emergency Net NCS Nov 19 MIRO Mtg Nov 24 Last Tuesday

Unassigned Topics: • WINMOR on HF, VARA • WEBEOC training • Optimizing HT radios – Introduction of Tiger Tails counterpoise. • Hands on soldering • “Summits On The Air: An Overview” by guest presenter Tim Nair KG7EJT. • WHX = Woody out of town