Ventura County ACS/ARES Communications

ACS-ARES Meeting Set for July 10

The next ACS-ARES meeting will be held Monday July 10^th at the Camarillo EOC 3701 Las Posas Rd, Camarillo, CA .

The meeting will start promptly at 7:30 P.M. You are encouraged to arrive at 7:00 P.M. for a bit of social time before the meeting. Yellow shirts are appropriate, either the county one or ARES shirts. Wearing your ACS ID is suggested. I will have ACS-ARES patches if you want to add them to your clothing or gear. Bill Boyd will have the new ACS badges. Be sure to bring your current badge, as getting the new one is by exchange only.

June is Amateur Radio Month in Ventura County

Rob Hanson-W6RH received the proclamation from Board Chair Matt LaVere.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors proclaimed June 2023 as Amateur Radio Month in Ventura County. The June 20^th presentation was held in the supervisors’ hearing room in the Hall of Administration at the County Government Center in Ventura. The event was well attended by ACS volunteers, ham radio club members and other amateurs from throughout the county.

2023 Mountains 2 Beach Marathon

ARRL and FEMA Sign Agreement: Ham Radio is as Relevant as Ever (via arrl.org)

The agreement emphasizes the importance of skilled Amateur Radio Operators in times of crisis and the role of ARES leadership within the emergency communications space.

May 13 µField Day

Another special edition of µField Day is coming with the Ventura County Amateur Radio Club, at their wonderful home digs at the Dudley House in Ventura. It was a fantastic location last year, with plenty of room plus all mod cons like restrooms and a kitchen. Lots of trees for antennas, lots of really great people. And this year is special. VCARC is holding a VE session at the same location just before µFD, so all those new hams and new upgrades will be able to step right out the door and get on the air! The club is also firing up the barbecue on the site, so bring your own food and have it cooked up in style. As always, everyone is welcome…come rub elbows with hams from all over the county.

ACS-ARES Meeting May 1 in Camarillo

Our next ACS-ARES meeting will be held May 1st at 3701 Las Posas Rd Camarillo CA 93010. The meeting will start promptly at 7:30. You are encouraged to arrive at 7:00 for a bit of social time before the meeting.

There are no mask, testing, or vax requirements, but you are welcome to take any precautions that you wish.

March µField Day

The February µField Day was a surprise…despite rain (and being just one day after a historic downpour), 30 people showed up at Freedom Park at the Camarillo Airport. A lot of good operating, but the highlight had to be AI6YR’s torchiere lamp antenna on 15m. I’d love to see someone model that.

This month – March 19th we’re back at Rancho Potrero from 11:00 to 3:00pm.

It looks like we’ll have neither rain nor wind for a change! The Point Mugu Airshow will be going on at the same time, so we’ll be likely to get a bit of an airshow ourselves. ARRL Field Day is approaching. If you’re planning to participate in that, THIS is the time to be hauling all that gear out.

But as always, it will be fun whether you bring a rig or not.

On maps it’s the “Rancho Potrero West Entrance” This is next to the horse rental/boarding facility on Potrero Road in Dos Vientos, up the hill from Cal State Channel Islands. The GPS location is 34.155935, -118.982024. If you’re familiar with what3words.com, it’s barbershop.state.ribbing. Bring your own refreshments. There are restrooms at the site, but no electricity-so bring those batteries. Hope to see you there!

Keith Elliott-W6KME

ACS-ARES District Meeting Monday

The next ACS-ARES District Meeting with be held Monday, November 7^th at 7:30 P.M. in Camarillo at 3701 East Las Posas Road. The meeting will start promptly at 7:30. You are welcome to arrive at 7:00 for a bit of social time before the meeting. There are no mask, testing, or vax requirements, but you are welcome to take any precautions that you wish.

Yellow shirts are appropriate. Either the County one or ARES shirts. I will have ACS-ARES patches if you want to add them to your clothing or gear. Wearing your ACS ID is suggested. 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.

ShakeOut 2022 is on October 20th, 10:20 A.M.

Thursday, October 20th, is the Great California ShakeOut, and ACS will conduct an exercise that you can do from home or work. We will have a voice check-in on ACS channel 9 (145.200 – PL 127.3) and Winlink check-ins using the USGS form.

The time of the mock earthquake is 10:20 A.M. Please check in by voice 10:20 and 10:45 A.M. using your member number and FCC call sign. If you have only a handheld radio, look for a high, clear spot to operate from. An external antenna will generally provide better results than will a stock handheld-mounted antenna

If you have Winlink capability, please also send a Winlink DYFI form using the built-in template to DYFI@vccomm.org after 10:30 A.M. Please include your location’s latitude and longitude (decimal degrees with the longitude being a negative number) on your Winlink check-in form, as we will be mapping the results. If you are unsuccessful, wait a few minutes and try again.

Link to our exercise plan.

ACS/ARES Meeting Set For Monday September 12

East County Sheriff’s Station at 2101 E Olsen Rd, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360

The meeting will start promptly at 7:30 at the East County Sheriff’s Station. You are welcome to arrive at 7:00 for a bit of social time before the meeting. There are no mask, testing, or vax requirements, but you are welcome to take any precautions that you wish. Yellow shirts are appropriate, either the County one or ARES shirts. I will have ACS-ARES patches if you want to add them to your clothing or gear. Wearing your ACS ID is suggested.