In his Augment Your ARES® Mission with FirstNet® article (a free preview from the September 2020 issue of QST Magazine), Randy Richmond, W7HMT, discusses how ARES members can apply for a subscription to FirstNet and use this tool for public service applications.
On Wednesday, August 5, 2020, the Red River Regional Dispatch Center notified current CodeRED subscribers about an important upcoming change to the emergency notification system for Cass County, North Dakota, and Clay County, Minnesota:
Compare your signal strength, voice quality, and PTT technique to your fellow operators with this recording from the May 10, 2020, Sunday Night UHF/VHF Net
Check-ins missing a portion of the first word indicate that insufficient time was allowed between the operator pressing their PTT button and starting to speak.
Compare your signal strength—and voice quality—to your fellow operators with this recording from the April 19, 2020, Sunday Night UHF/VHF Net
This recording was made from the VHF side of W0ILO, Moorhead, and was edited to include only unique participant check-ins. Duplicate check-ins were included only where there was a substantial difference in signal quality.
Check-ins missing (a portion of) the first word indicate that insufficient time was allowed between the operator pressing their PTT button and starting to speak.
The answer is an emphatic NO if all you’ve done is turn in a paper form at an RRRA meeting.
Applying for a Cass County ID Badge is now a two step process which requires the completion of two forms. One of these forms must be completed on-line.
You will not receive your ID Badge until you complete both steps of this process.
