Welcome to the website for the Ventura County Amateur Radio Emergency Service/Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS/ARES).
The Ventura County ACS mission is to serve the County in support of any possible communications need in an emergency. ACS members act as emergency communications reserves to support the County in providing reliable, point-to-point voice and data communications anytime, anywhere. In addition to emergency activations, ACS is involved in promoting emergency preparedness. If you would like to know more, please contact ACS Radio Officer/ARES District Emergency Coordinator, Rob Hanson – W6RH at ec@vccomm.org.
We will also stream the meeting via Zoom. To get Zoom credentials please refer to our discussion group at: https://vc-acs.groups.io/g/main.
If you haven’t see the ACS station there, you are missing out on an excellent example of a Ham operation.
The meeting will start promptly at 7:30 P.M. (1930). You are encouraged to arrive at 7:00 for a bit of social time before the meeting.
Talk-in frequency is the county repeater (channel 9) 145.200 – PL 127.3
The meeting is open to all – members, non-members, and the curious. Anyone interested in what we do is encouraged to attend. Feel free to pass on this information to others you believe might be interested. This is a chance to put a face to the people you may only know as a voice on the radio.
We will review progress on our systems, and new information about upcoming events will be discussed.
• Progress reports on EOC and infrastructure systems
• An update on the ACS-ARES web portal
• Info on the HF net
• An overview of Winlink activities
• Report on past events and information on future ones
If you have a subject that you would like to discuss or have discussed, please let me know and I will put it on the agenda.
On Wednesday, April 3, Congresswoman Brownley presented $963,000 to the County of Ventura to upgrade the region’s 15-year-old analog simulcast radio communications system. The funds will go toward establishing a state-of-the-art digital radio communication system which will utilize 700MHz frequencies. The upgraded radio system will be used by all public safety entities throughout the county to improve communications interoperability for public safety and first responder individuals as they respond to incidents and disasters.
It’s time for µField Day again…and at last, it looks like the weather is on our side. It’s expected to be a bright sunshiny day in the mid 70s. Same location, the Ventura County Fire Department’s Regional Fire Training Center. Thanks again to the Ventura County Fire Department as well as Dan Dicke KE6NYT for arranging the site (details below). The event is Sunday, April 21 from 1100 to 1500.
Sunday is also the ARRL’s Rookie Roundup, which is a fun low-pressure contest just for people that have been licensed for three years or less, with any license. And to get as many people on the air as possible, Ventura County Amateur Radio Society VCARS will be there with equipment and Elmers. So even if you’ve never come to µFD because you don’t have an HF setup, you should come this week. As we say on the net every morning, it’s an opportunity to exchange ideas, share news, ask questions, practice skills, make announcements, and most of all hang around with some good people. We may also have one of the YouTube personalities that are slated to speak at the µExpo there to stream for a while.
Put “34.2087, -119.0726” into your phone and it will get you there, or use what3words timeless.budget.glitter. Take the 101 to the Las Posas exit and head South to Pleasant Valley Road, and turn right/West. Then turn right on Airport Way (there’s a traffic light there.) Take that a few short blocks until it ends, and make another right on Durley. It will curve first to the left and then the right, and come to a gate.
As always, µFD is open to EVERYONE, all hams, all clubs, all people with or without licenses interested in ham radio and having a good time with like-minded people. Try new things, get questions answered, maybe try some Random Metal Objects of your own after seeing Keith’s talk on the subject at the CVARC General Meeting March 21st. Plus, we’ll be showing off some of the merch N6XEW has designed to help support the µExpo coming up on August 31st.
Put “34.2087, -119.0726” into your phone and it will get you there or use what3words timeless.budget.glitter. Take the 101 to the Las Posas exit and head South to Pleasant Valley Road and turn right/West. Then turn right on Airport Way (there’s a traffic light there.) Take that a few short blocks until it ends and make another right on Durley. It will curve first to the left and then to the right and come to a gate. Turn right again and look for the hams.
From the 101 Freeway, head northeast on N Lewis Rd and travel 2.2 miles. Turn left onto E Las Posas Rd and travel 0.6 miles. Destination will be on the right.
The meeting will start promptly at 7:30 P.M. You are welcome to arrive at 7:00 P.M. for a bit of social time before the meeting.
Micro Field Day is back again at the VCFD training center at the Camarillo airport, from 1100-1500 on Sunday, January 21. There’s a possibility of some rain, but nothing heavy predicted. Plus, last year we got POURED on at the airport and still had a great time. Keith will bring a couple of pop-up canopies. Bring more if you’ve got one.
The following week is Winter Field Day, so it’s a good chance to haul out your Field Day rig and make sure you remember how it works 😉 We’ve got a couple of people planning to activate some nearby SOTA peaks as well. Last month we took part in that, and several people had their first HF contacts, as well as a chance to try some Morse Code. If you’re wondering how to set up your own shack, or curious about what other hams are doing for portable setups, µField Day is a great place to be. Plus it’s always a good hang.
Put “34.2087, -119.0726” into your phone and it will get you there, or use what3words timeless.budget.glitter. Take the 101 to the Las Posas exit and head South to Pleasant Valley Road, and turn right/West. Then turn right on Airport Way (there’s a traffic light there.) Take that a few short blocks until it ends, and make another right on Durley. It will curve first to the left and then the right, and come to a gate.
Novemeber’s µFD was a success at the Ventura County Fire Department’s Regional Fire Training Center at the Camarillo Airport, so we’re going back. Temps will be in the 70s, wind will be mild, the sun will be shining…it’s almost unfair to have such nice weather four days before the winter solstice, isn’t it?
Sunday the 17th, from 1100 to 1500 as usual. As always, the purpose of the event is to hang out with hams from all over the area, and play with radios! Could there be a better way to spend an afternoon? Plus, it’s a chance to make sure you keep your familiarity up with your portable gear over the winter.
For SOTA enthusiasts, December 31st is “Zulu New Year” at 4 in the afternoon, so here’s a chance to give the gear a shakeout before heading out for that double-dose of points. If you still haven’t come to a Micro Field Day yet, we typically have 10-15 stations operating and 40-50 people just having a nice time. Last month, we had representatives of 5 different clubs on hand.
As before, the easiest way to find the spot is to put 34.2089, -119.0707 into your favorite GPS navigator. Take the 101 to the Las Posas exit and head South to Pleasant Valley Road, and turn right/West. Then turn right on Airport Way (there’s a traffic light there.) Take that a few short blocks until it ends, and make another right on Durley. It will curve first to the left and then the right, and come to a gate. Turn right again, the two very short blocks to Post. Make a left and drive to the end.
