Club Events

  • SMRA Participates in Fall 2023 SET Exercise

    Fall 2023 Amateur Radio Emergency Service Simulated Emergency Test
    Eastern Pennsylvania ARES and Pennsylvania American Red Cross

    On October 7th, 2023, Pennsylvania amateur radio operators participated in an exercise to test their
    ability to communicate with Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and Pennsylvania Red Cross
    Regions.

    ARES conducts Simulated Emergency Tests (SET) twice per year. These exercises provide ARES
    organizations opportunities to train for eventual real-world activations and deployments where they will
    provide emergency communication (EMCOMM) support to communities in need.

    The Fall 2023 SET had two elements: 1) The American Red Cross “ARC” element, a general call from
    Red Cross to Pennsylvania hams to simulate a check-in message from a Red Cross shelter and 2) The
    “ARES” element. Eastern Pennsylvania ARES Emergency Coordinators (ECs) were asked to alert their
    units and provide a listing of resources available to deploy.

    This exercise simulated a severe Internet outage. Radio operators utilized Winlink combined with VARA HF to send email with attached ICS-213 forms via HF Radio. The day began with Andrew, W3AND and others discussing how to install and configure Winlink w/VARA HF. W3AND also provided a presentation on how the Winlink infrastructure worked. With this software, one can email other HF stations without Internet using only your PC connected to your HF Radio. If parts of the Internet were functional, it is then possible to communicate to regular email addresses as well as HF recipients.

    At Noon, SMRA EMCOMM members relocated to either their home shacks or to our Field Day site at the Emergency Services Training Area (ESTA) and sent digital messages related to the exercise.

    The full report is located at https://kc3smw.net/octset2023

  • SMRA’s Participation in ARRL’s Simulated Emergency Test (SET)

    The July 2023 issue of QST Magazine they wrote an article on the ARRL Simulated Emergency Test (SET), an annual exercise that tests the readiness and skills of amateur radio operators in emergency situations. The 2022 ARRL Simulated Emergency Test (SET) demonstrated the long-time tradition and importance of amateur radio operators training and practicing to be effective on-the-air communicators when emergency situations arise. The annual exercise was conducted at local and Section levels nationwide last fall. Leaders and participants of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®), the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), the National Traffic System (NTS), and the Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS) worked closely together. They trained with partners like the American Red Cross, the National Weather Service, SKYWARN®, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and their state and local counterpart agencies, such as the Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) and many other allied groups. The following written reports and exercise results represent the efforts to be better prepared to provide needed communications.

    Jack Himes, NC3O, Emergency Coordinator During the 2022 ARRL SET, members of the South Mountain Radio Amateurs (SMRA), N3TWT, club operated from four locations in Cumberland County along with other counties in the ARRL Eastern Pennsylvania Section. The SMRA members included Bob Single, N3ACP; Patti Single, KC3CDL; Robin Cartwright, W3KAT; Ed Otto, W3ETO; Paul Harig, KC3QIU; Ed Irwin, AB3X; Doug Motter, N3UTN; Deb Robinson, KC3RTP; Pat Robinson, KC3UBZ; Jeff Kisner, W3JWK, and Jack Himes, NC3O. In addition, John Jaminet, W3HMS, checked into the emergency net at the EOC from his home station, and the EOC station made radio contact with teams in Columbia/Montour counties. Our team sent and received four ICS213 and four radiogram messages each that Robin had prepared ahead of time. Each member was then asked to prepare, send, and receive their own ICS213 and radiogram message to and from other locations. Operators at each location kept an ICS-214 activity log of their traffic and other notable events. The four Cumberland County sites were the EOC RACES Radio Room in Carlisle, the Emergency Services Training Academy (EOC2) in Carlisle, the Lower Allen Fire Department and Township building in Camp Hill, and the New Cumberland Township/Police building in New Cumberland. The whole team of radio amateurs felt that this drill was beneficial, and they learned a lot about sending and receiving messages via amateur radio.

  • SMRA’s QRP Outings

    SMRA Members Jack Himes NC3O and Tracey Richard W3EH operate QRP at King’s Gap Park in Carlisle PA. QRP refers to voluntarily lowering the output power of transmitters to 5 watts or less. Operating modes can be Voice (Phone), Morse Code (CW), and Digital. Using low power makes the chase and the contact all that more exciting.

  • SMRA Member’s Educational Demo

    Members of the SMRA demonstrated various aspects of Amateur radio at the Cumberland Valley Ninth Grade Academy on 6 JUN 23. The Team provided a learning opportunity for the students and allowed them to get on the air! Thank you Jack NC3O, Doug N3UTN, Ed AB3X, Keith KC3JVG for coordinating an excellent demo. We hope many students come to our Field Day on 24-25 June to see even more SMRA members utilizing and demonstrating their equipment.

  • Want to Learn to be a HAM with Free Local Training?

    The South Mountain Radio Amateurs is pleased to announce that our Current Technicians Class began on Saturday, 14 October. Classes will run from 9 a.m. through 11 a.m. and will be held at the Cumberland County Public Safety Building, 1 Public Safety Drive, Carlisle. Our next class is scheduled for Feb 2024 at the Cumberland County Library.

    If you are interested, please email techsession@n3twt.org and you will be added to the class roster.