| NIHRAC (K3YGG) NIH Building 13 Room G-903 Bethesda, MD 20892 |
Emergency Communications Center NIH Building 11 Room 308 phone: 301 496-5311 |
NIHRAC Web site http://nihrac.od.nih.gov
The next meeting will be held at noon on Thursday, November 5, 1998 in the Emergency Communications Center (ECC) located on the third floor of Building 11. We will recap our participation in the October 3 Clinical Center Power Outage test and plans will be made for our support of the B-CC Turkey Chase on Thanksgiving morning.
The meeting was called to order by President Walter Stewart at 12:10 p.m. The minutes of the September 3, 1998 meeting were accepted as written.
Members attending the meeting included Jack Brinley K3EVC, Bill Hook W3QBC, Frank Nice,
Chuck Sherman N3WTO and Walter Stewart WM3Z.
SWR measurements were made on 8 ham bands using the MFJ-259 antenna analyzer by Trent Smith and Bill Hook on September 8. These were graphed and made available at the meeting. Andy Mitz will include the plots on the NIHRAC Web site.
John Muller, Trent Smith and Bill Hook were on hand to operate K3YGG and MEMA Unit 48. Contact was established with MEMA via the 147.105 MHz Davidsonville repeater and by simplex on the MEMA VHF Voice Network frequency. We also used 75 meter SSB to contact Montgomery and St. Mary's counties. The new R7000 antenna was used for the latter test. A packet radio message was sent on 145.75 MHz to the Rockville EOC where it was automatically printed. A similar arrangement would be useful at K3YGG whereby an e-mail or packet message directed to the NIHRAC ECC would autostart our printer. Sysop Jim Hobbs will be asked if this feature can be added to the k3ygg packet mailbox.
Albert Lock provided access to the ECC for two representatives from the Division of Engineering Services to inspect our air conditioner. They concluded that the machine should be replaced and stated that the ECC had not been included in the renovation plans for Building 11. They will write a report and Albert has offered to help prepare a work order.
Tom Vegella and Albert Lock set up a laptop computer running Procomm Plus, a PK232 multimode controller and an ICOM 2 meter transceiver in the ECC. They are seeking assistance in getting the computer to communicate satisfactorily with the TNC.
Team members made ready to deploy to the Caribbean area on September 22. Later that
day, after FEMA assessments indicated that the public health infrastructure there was
sufficiently intact, they were stood down and put on alert for a possible deployment to
Florida. PHS-1 DMAT equipment including communications gear was transported to Andrews AFB
and made ready to send along with the team in the event they are needed during the
hurricane season.
The application for affiliate membership submitted by Gary Shipley N5GDQ was approved by a unanimous vote. Gary holds a General Class license, is active with PHS-1 DMAT communications and is employed downtown by GSA. He is active on 2 and 40 meters and plans to become active in packet radio activities.
The next Clinical Center Power Outage Test is scheduled for Saturday, October 3 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Members have been contacted by electronic and paper mail and urged to participate. A report of NIHRAC's participation in the outage will be sent to members.
Walter Stewart and daughter Andrea volunteered to operate as VHF and UHF Net Controls at the NIHRAC ECC. Walter announced that Andrea formerly licensed as a Novice Class operator recently passed the Technician-plus written exam with a perfect score.
NIHRAC has again been asked to serve as volunteer communicators for the annual
Thanksgiving Day Turkey Chase 10k race to benefit Bethesda Youth Services. A portion of
the course travels through the NIH campus. Walter Stewart and Larry Martin will be asked
to help in making contact with the YMCA to learn final details. We will make plans for
this event at our meeting on November 5.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:50 pm.
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