Site Updates and Fixes

Posted on by February 6, 2019

Hello Everyone,

If you’ve visited our site in recent weeks, you may have noticed some problems trying to navigate your way around, and some things that didn’t seem to update like they should. I’m happy to report that most of those issues have now been resolved. I’m going to give a quick rundown of what we’ve done.

Along the right side of the page is what we call the sidebar, which has all sorts of very helpful information. Starting at the top and working our way down, the following items have been updated or fixed:

  • Current NWS Watches, Warnings, & Advisories for Grayson County – added the posting date under each message
  • NOAA Weather – updated the app to correct a problem updating weather conditions on a regular basis
  • ARES Training Net Control Operator Schedule – added information for upcoming nets in February and March. Unlike past listings, we now have two people working each net, one on net control and the other providing the training lesson.
  • Local Links: Grayson County Office of Emergency Management – updated link to go directly to the OEM page instead of the main Grayson County Government page
  • Local Links: NOAA National Weather Service Fort Worth/Dallas Office – old link was broken; updated link and name to reflect office name change from Fort Worth to Fort Worth/Dallas

Those links may be found on other pages of the website, and they have been updated as well.

Several FEMA ICS training course links on the Links page had also stopped working. This is because FEMA updated most of these courses and changed the links. We fixed those too!

Hopefully these updates will make getting around our site a lot easier and a little less irritating. Be sure to have a good look around and let us know if you find anything we missed.

73
Mike KF5NPM

 

Testing and Preparing

Posted on by October 24, 2018

10/22/2018

I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has helped us with our simplex and repeater tests recently. You never know when you might need information about who you can hear and who you cannot hear via simplex if the repeaters fail. With three quarters of our testing completed, we have some excellent data in case we have to operate simplex in an emergency situation. Our last test phase will be in the Northeast quadrant of the county which includes Preston Peninsula, Denison, Carpenter’s Bluff, and Ambrose. Weather permitting, we hope to complete this phase of testing at the end of this month.

Also, a big thanks to all who helped test the 147.00 W5RVT repeater on the second Sunday of this month during our ARES net. This phase of testing was very important and provided a good bit of information. Once the repeater and its permanent home are ready, we will move our primary operation back to it with the W5COP 147.280 repeater returning to the role of our secondary frequency. At the time of this writing we do not have a good timetable but I will keep you posted as things develop.

Finally, I would like to say a word of thanks for everyone who checks in and helps with our ARES mission. I hope to talk to you on the air soon!

73

Wade

Wade Graves, EC

Grayson County ARES

The Last Hurrah

Posted on by February 26, 2018

Well if you don’t know by now, it’s old news that like so many things now a days after a couple of weeks is just a distant memory. At our last face to face training I introduced our New ARRL Emergency Coordinator, Wade Graves KF5AUD. Wade will do a fine job, and I hope you will encourage him and give your support as he works to improve our abilities.

Continue reading →