D.A.R.E.N. NEWS JULY 19, 1992
                 by Ken Harris WA8LLM
 
D.A.R.E.N. News, are short articles about the D.A.R.E.N. Net-
work.  We hope to have new articles and updates every week.
Any one having information about the network may leave it SP
WA8LLM on PKBGWV 145.09 or 145.69 Mhz.  D.A.R.E.N. NEWS will
be available on PKBGWV on 145.09 for one week, and posted and
left on WOODES on 145.69.
 
Five NODE/DIGI/PBBS's are in operation at present time.  They
are Marshall County (MARSWV/MARS/MDSVWV), Wetzel County
(WETZWV/WETZWV/NMARWV), Wood County (WOODWV/WOODWV/PKBGWV),
Jackson County (JACKWV/JACKWV/RPLYWV), and Kanawha County
(KANAWV/KANAWV/CHASWV).
 
There is a path problem between MARSWV and WETZWV that was
created when WETZWV was moved to it's permanent location at
the State Police tower In New Martinsville, this problem will
be corrected shortly.  The MARSWV transceiver has been
upgraded to a 45 watt radio, this makes a good path between
WOODWV and MARSWV.
 
Pleasants County is ready to mount the antenna on the county
tower on Rt 16 east of St. Marys. The elevation of about 1200
feet.  As soon as the antenna is installed, PLEAWV/STMYWV
will be placed in operation.
 
We are still waiting for paperwork to go through for
permission to use the C & P Telephone Company tower site on
Maulden Mountain in Kanawha County, and the tower in Ripley
owned by Sterling Cellular of Atlanta Georgia.  The engineer
for Sterling Cellular has advised where to install the
outside cabinet and that power and coax must be buried to it.
 
The Preston County Emergency Services Director picked up Dumb
Terminals for use on the network in Preston and Mononagalia
Counties.  Preston County will only have a Terminal Station
at their E.O.C. for now.  Mononagalia County will have both a
Terminal Station, and a mountain top Remote Station in the
network.
 
Randolph County has most of the equipment to put both their
Remote and Terminal Stations on the air.  They are waiting
for their antennas.  Their Remote Station will be going on
Price Mountain.
 
Wood County R.A.C.E.S. has received a letter from Fayette
County stating they will be going on the air soon, but may
have trouble, since they will only be having a Terminal
station at their E.O.C.
=============================================================
 
             D.A.R.E.N. NEWS JULY 26, 1992
George (K8QEW) says all the equipment for the Hancock County
NODE and E.O.C. has arrived except for the KPC-2 Controllers.
That equipment should shipped by July 30th.  A letter has
been sent to the State Police asking permission to install
the NODE on their radio tower in Weirton.

There is a Terminal Station at the State Office of Emergency
Services.  The call on that station is W8GK, but leave any
traffic for that station at CHASWV in Kanawha County.

A temporary NODE/DIGI/PBBS (WASHOH/WASHOH/MRTTOH) was placed
in operation to be used as a demonstration to the Industrial
Plants in an organization called COVIEO (Central Ohio Valley
Industrial Emergency Organization).  The station will be left
on the air until there is a need for the equipment at another
location.

Don (WB8ZTV) says the 5.0 firmware for the MARSWV NODE has
been ordered, and will be upgraded when time permits.

The Pleasants County NODE/DIGI/PBBS (PLEAWV/PLEAWV/STMYWV)
has been installed near St Marys, West Virginia. It has
direct paths to WETZWV, WASHOH, WOODWV, and WOODES.

The old radio at the Wood County E.O.C. has been changed out,
there are now direct paths from WOODES to PLEAWV, WOODWV,
JACKWV, and WASHOH.

The Preston County E.O.C. has their Terminal Station
installed, but they are unable to make a path to anyone.
They are able to see the receive light flicker when WETZWV is
transmitting.  Crystals will be ordered for an old radio they
have, and purchase the rest of the equipment needed to
install a Remote Station on one of the mountain top in
Preston County.

The Call Sign for the Terminal Station at the Wood County
E.O.C. has been changed from WA8LLM-14 to WA8LLM-15, and the
Call Sign of the ARES/DATA (FINDERS) System has been changed
from WA8LLM-15 to FINDER. The only access to FINDER at the
present time is VIA WOODES.

A correction to the July 19, 1992 D.A.R.E.N. NEWS. The Remote
Station in Randolph County will be Rich Mountain, not Price
Mountain.

=============================================================

             D.A.R.E.N. NEWS Aug. 2, 1992

The Wyoming County NODE has been installed.  The path is very
marginal between the two nearest NODEs, KANAWV and JACKWV.
The NODE/DIGI/PBBS is WYOMWV/WYOMWV/PINEWV.

The official permission has arrived for the use of the State
Police tower in Weirton for the Hancock County NODE.

For those who have not ordered controllers for their Remote
and Terminal stations, Kantronics has just released their new
controller.  The new controller is the KPC-3.  The new
controller does almost everything the KPC-2 does except it
does not have the ability to operate TTL, which is needed if
using Commodore Computers.  Everything else is the same as
the KPC-2, including 5.0 firmware, and it is only $119.00
dollars.  The KPC-3 also will hold any messages in it's PBBS
even in loss of power.  This feature is good for those Remote
Stations that are not using battery back-up, but does have
access to emergency generators.

=============================================================
             D.A.R.E.N. NEWS Aug. 9, 1992

The Washington County, Ohio NODE (WASHOH) that was placed in
operation, is to be taken off the air the week of August the
9th.  The NODE was installed for use in a demonstration in a
presentation to the C.O.V.I.E.O. organization.  The NODE will
be put back on the air at a later date.

Additional information about the new Kantronics KPC-3, is the
ability to expand it's memory to 128K or 512K.  When the KPC-
3 is expanded to 128K, the PBBS can have as much as 122000
bytes available for messages.  Even though is suggested that
only 7K of memory be used to Remote NODE/DIGI/PBBS, the KPC-3
can be used for PBBS's at locations such as EOC's where
additional messages can be stored.  The TNC at WOODES, which
has 24K of memory and stores several records such as
D.A.R.E.N. NEWS, RACES BULLETINS, and ARES BULLETINS, will be
changed to
a KPC-3 and memory expanded to 121K.

While watching the J-heard List, I have noticed the ALIAS of
PINERC, it looks like there may be a Terminal Station at a
Red Cross location.  In the next few weeks, there will be a
Terminal Station installed at the Parkersburg Red Cross.
When installed the ALIAS will be PKBGRC.

=============================================================
             D.A.R.E.N. NEWS Aug. 16, 1992
 
The Wetzel County NODE (WETZWV) has not been heard for a few
days.  With the reports of a severe lightening storm going
through Wetzel County and several businesses reporting radio
and telephone systems being hit by lightening, WETZWV may
have also been taken of the air by Mother Nature.  I hope to
make a trip to Wetzel County August 17th to get it back on
the air, and also move the antenna to the other side of the
tower.

Plans are being made to go to Randolph County August 29th to
help install the NODE (RANDWV).  This NODE should allow
Preston County E.O.C. a path to the outside world.

George K8QEW said the antenna at the Hancock County E.O.C.
has been installed, so it should be on the air soon.

Don WB8ZTV says the Kantronics 5.0 version firmware for the
Marshal County NODE (MARSWV) has arrived and as soon as he
gets time will be up-grading it.

It has been brought to my attention that Bulletin type
messages that are not of the Emergency, Priority, and NTS
Type Traffic are showing up on some of the PBBS's.  If we are
to keep this Network from becoming just another regular
system, we need to govern the type of messages that are
placed a on them.  We need to limit the messages to the above
type traffic.

=============================================================
             D.A.R.E.N. NEWS Aug. 23, 1992
 
The Wetzel County NODE (WETZWV) was off the air for about a
week before we could get up there to find the problem.  At
first we thought it might have been hit by lightening, but
all was fine, except there was no power output.  The trans-
ceiver was replaced with a temporary one.  When the NODE was
first put on the air at the State Police Tower site, all we
had was an SWR bridge, and didn't have any idea of the
power.  We thought the tower was shadowing the signal going
to the Marshall County NODE, and were going to change it
while there, but with the new radio, and only 4 watts, the
path to MARSWV was solid.  The radio must have only been
putting out MILLIWATTS of power, when first put on the air.
 
Don WB8ZTV has upgraded the Marshall County NODE to version
5.02 Firmware, all NODEs on the network are now at least 5.0
Firmware.
 
The TNC at the Wood County E.O.C. has been changed out, and
replaced with a Kantronics KPC-3. It has been expanded to
121K of memory in the PBBS.  For the time being we still
want to keep the main NODE/DIGI/PBBS on the hill tops at 7K
of memory, this is sufficient to handle most of the
messages that should be left on them.  PBBS's that are "Low
Profile" such as those located in E.O.C.'s, Red Cross
Locations, Sheriff's Department, etc should have more memory
if they are not being used as NODEs.
 
John N8JEL left a message stating that the Boone County NODE
should be on the air soon.  I have noticed on the "J HEARD"
list that he has tried to contact it.  It's possible, it may
be on, but has no path to the outside world.
 
Preston County Emergency Services Director says their NODE
should be on the air soon, he has received crystals for the
radio.  When it is put on the air the NODE/DIGI/PBBS will be
PRESWV/PRESWV/KINGWV.  There is a Terminal Station at the
E.O.C. now which is PRESWV, but will be changed to PRESES
when the Hill Top NODE is installed.
 
Mark KJ4QQ will be ordering a KPC-3 within a week and a half
to put the Mercer County NODE on the air.
=============================================================
             D.A.R.E.N. NEWS AUG 30, 1992
 
The Paper work for the tower site at Ripley has arrived, been
signed, and sent back to Sterling Cellular.  The cabinet and
wiring will now be installed and the NODE JACKWV will be
moved.

George K8QEW says the Hancock County NODE is ready to be
installed, and the computer they have been waiting on should
be installed by August 27 at the E.O.C. for their Terminal
Station.

Wood County will be holding a county-wide disaster drill
September 15.  The Disaster Planning Committee Chairman has
seen D.A.R.E.N. and Ares/data in operation, and wants to have
Packet Stations set up at each of the hospitals.  The
Chairman is also on the Red Cross disaster committee, and
would like to have a station at the Red Cross Building.  We
have already planned on a permanent Terminal Station at the
Red Cross, and may be installed the first or second week of
September.

A Terminal Station will be installed in the Wood County
Emergency Services Communications Trailer. It will be set up
as a KEYBOARD/DIGI/PBBS using the Call and ALIAS of WA8LLM-
14/WOODCT/WOODCT. This station should be installed before the
trailer is taken to Southbound Rest Stop of I-77 for the
Safety Break over the Labor Day Weekend.

From the JHEARD List I have seen the Boone County NODE,
BOONWV.  It looks like the PBBS is DANVWV, but I have had
difficulty connecting to it, the best way is via Wyoming
County.  Maybe we can get the Kanawha County NODE moved and
will make a better path to it, and WYOMWV.

The Randolph County NODE is on.  It went on August 29th.  The
NODE/DIGI/PBBS is RANDWV/RANDWV/ELKNWV.  They will soon have
their Terminal Station on at the E.O.C.  All that is needed
is the antenna installed and a power supply.  The Terminal
Station will be a KEYBOARD/DIGI/PBBS with the Call and ALIAS
of N8POB-8/RANDES/RANDES.

=============================================================

             D.A.R.E.N. NEWS SEPTEMBER 6, 1992
 
George K8QEW has the Terminal Station at the Hancock County
E.O.C. installed, but is having trouble getting a Packet
Program working in the computer.

Bob KB8FVU says within the next two weeks, he will be
installing two Terminal Stations.  One will be at the
Pleasants County E.O.C., PLEAES, located in the St. Marys
City Building, and the other in the Pleasants County Sheriff
office, PLEASH.

The Terminal Station has been installed in the Wood County
Communications Trailer.  When the trailer is in operation, it
will be a KEYBOARD/DIGI/PBBS, WA8LLM-14/WOODCT/WOODCT.

The Preston County E.O.C. Terminal Station has, or had a
wiring problem in it, but the director said he would have one
of the operators try to connect to RANDWV.  If they can hit
it, they will have contact with the rest of the system.

A meeting was held with Jack Pace, Communications director of
the Southern E.M.S.  He said there would be no trouble moving
the Kanawha County NODE to their tower on Malden Mountain.
If all goes will, this may be done within a month or so.
This should allow BOONWV, and WYOMWV better access to the
system.

Duane N8LDM has had another phone call from Jefferson County,
wanting to know how much of the system is in operation.  They
are hoping to install a Terminal Station in their E.O.C.
within the next week or so.

=============================================================
             D.A.R.E.N. NEWS SEPT 13, 1992

Dick Calcaterra with the National Weather Service, in Beckley
, said a Terminal Station has been installed in his office.
He's not to sure about the station, or if it is even in
operation.  He will let me know more about it later.  He also
said there will be a Terminal Station installed at the E.O.C.
 
Pete KB8DA left me a message saying there has been some talk
about a Terminal Station to be installed in Cabell County,
but doesn't have any particulars about it, or any NODEs.
 
Bill N8JXO has the latest version of the D.A.R.E.N. Plan
finished, and ready to make copies.  The latest version of
the plan has information about the new Kantronics KPC-3.
e who hasn't sent in a Registration Card, and would like
a copy can either leave me a message @ PKBGWV on 145.05,
145.09, or 145.69, or drop me a postcard at: Wood County
RACES, 1810 Staunton Ave., Parkersburg, WV, 26101.
 
There has been some concern that only NTS (National Traffic
System) messages are the only ones allowed on the D.A.R.E.N.
system.  This is not so.  The NTEXT and PTEXT on the NODEs
and PBBSs should say "EMERGENCY, PRIORITY, NTS TYPE TRAFFIC".
NTS TYPE TRAFFIC is any traffic, or messages that have some
form of heading that makes it look formal, including MARS
traffic.  All messages do not have to be formal, and have a
formal header, it just looks better, and is good practice.
The traffic contained in these messages does not have to be
Emergency or Priority, it can be personal messages from one
person to another.
 
Mark KJ4QQ said the equipment for the Mercer County NODE was
ordered September 8, and the site for it is ready to go.
 
The antenna has been installed at tss office in
Parkersburg, and the station should be installed so it can be
used for County-Wide disaster exercise September 15.
=============================================================

             D.A.R.E.N. NEWS SEPT 20, 1992
 
The Parkersburg area Red Cross now has a full time Terminal
Station.  The station was installed September 14, and was
used for the first time in a county wide disaster drill.  The
station is set up as a KEYBOARD/DIGI/NODE/PBBS using the call
and ALIASs of N8POB-6/WOODRC/WOODRC/PKBGRC.  With the use of
the "F" keys on the dumb terminal, non amateurs are able to
connect, list, read, and send messages to the PBBS at the
station, without even being on the air.  This same set up is
being used at the directors terminal in the Wood County
E.O.C.

Because of the problems that were recognized at the Wood
County disaster drill, trying to digipeat thru 2 or 3 DIGI's
during heavy traffic, it was necessary to have NODEs
installed in the Terminal Stations.  To do this, the PBBS at
the Wood County E.O.C. was changed from WOODES to PKBGES.
WOODES is now used as a NODE and DIGI.

A message from Mark KJ4QQ says that part of the equipment for
the Mercer County Node is in, and the system is set up at his
house till the rest of the equipment arrives.  The NODE is
MERCWV, the PBBS is BLFDWV (Bluefield).  He is hoping to have
the NODE at it's permanent location, on East River Mountain,
this weekend.  He is also planning to have a Terminal Station
at Emergency Services in Princeton.  He is going to talk to
his local Red Cross Director, in hopes she might consider a
Terminal Station at the Red Cross Office.

The Hancock County NODE is now in operation.  It went on the
air September 18.  The NODE is HANCWV, the PBBS is WEIRWV.
The E.O.C. has a Terminal Station, but it is not a 24 hour
station.

Charlie K8SOR said the equipment for the Nicholas County NODE
and Terminal Station is being programed and should be in
operation soon.  The E.O.C. needs a dumb terminal for the
Terminal Station.  If all goes well the dumb terminal will be
delivered this weekend.

=============================================================

             D.A.R.E.N. NEWS SEPT 27, 1992

I picked up a message from Mark KJ4QQ right after I had
posted last weeks D.A.R.E.N. NEWS, that the Mercer County
NODE is at it permanent location.  It is located on East
River Mountain. The NODE/DIGI/PBBS is MERCWV/MERCWV/BLFDWV.

The dumb terminal for the Nicholas County E.O.C. has been
delivered to Charlie K8SOR, and their TNCs for the NODE and
Terminal Stations are partly programed. In a few weeks we
should be seeing them on the air.

For those programing the KPC-2, or KPC-3, a minor mistake was
located in the D.A.R.E.N. Plan.  The mistake is located in
the section "SUGGESTIONS FOR FORMATTING SIGN ON TEXT:". The
example for PTEXT should be:

cmd:PTEXT   
WELCOME TO RACES/ARES/NTS MESSAGE CENTER (IN or NEAR) (name
of city) WV  
***EMERGENCY, PRIORITY, NTS TYPE TRAFFIC ONLY PLEASE***
 
 .

The line ***EMERGENCY, PRIORITY, NTS TYPE TRAFFIC ONLY
PLEASE*** was left out.  This will be corrected in the next
printing of the plan.

Alan N8POB said he had to reset the time on the Randolph
County NODE.  He checked and found that the battery which was
not installed when the NODE first went on the air, has now
been installed.

=============================================================

             D.A.R.E.N. NEWS OCT 4, 1992

Greg Groves, Director of Preston County Emergency Services,
said the problem with the radio for their Terminal Station
at the E.O.C. has been worked out and should have it on the
air shortly.  There seems to have been a wiring problem
inside the radio.  He also has the radio for the County Node,
but doesn't have a controller.  I told him about the new
Kantronics KPC-3, and suggested he might want to get one of
them, move the KPC-2 to the Mountain Top with 7K of memory,
and upgrade the KPC-3 to 128K for use in the E.O.C. for a
local, low profile PBBS.

As visits are being made to each of the NODEs that Wood
County has in service, the assigned callsigns are being
changed.  Some of the Wood County RACES/ARES members will be
responsible for a NODE.  The SSI on each of the NODES will be
"callsign-7".

A question has been asked if other states can be part of the
D.A.R.E.N. System.  The answer is YES.  Amateurs that live in
at least three states surrounding West Virginia, have said
they would like to part of the system, but thought it might
just be for West Virginia.  Emergencies don't just stop at
the state border, so if anyone asks, tell them to join in.
All they need to do is change the last 2 letters of the ALIAS
to the State they are in.  If they need a copy of the plan,
just have them drop us a note.

Alan N8POB went to the Forest Festival in Elkins.  While
there, he reprogrammed the Terminal Station TNC at the E.O.C.
to a DIGI/NODE/PBBS named  RANDES/RANDES/ELKNES.  He also
programmed the "Hot keys" on the Dumb Terminal to allow the
Emergency Services Director access to the Terminal Station
PBBS of ELKNES, with out being on the air.  The only thing
left to do is install the antenna and it will be in
operation.

=============================================================

             D.A.R.E.N. NEWS OCT 11, 1992
			 
Does anyone have any news about the DAREN?  I've been out
of town for the last week and haven't been able to watch the
network.  I did see a message from Bob N8UOQ, looking for
information about setting up a Packet Network for Emergency
use.  He also was looking for information about ARES/Data.
I left him a message telling him about DAREN and that we have
ARES/Data in operation and on line 24 hours.  His call is
fairly new and not sure where he is at, but his local BBS was
some where in Ohio.  If anyone can get me his address I
would appreciate it.
 
On my way back into town I ran into Greg Groves, Emergency
Services Director, Preston County, and he said there is still
a problem with the Preston County NODE, so it will be a little
longer before it goes on the air.
 
Since it has been such a hassle getting permission to move
the Kanawha County NODE to the C & P Tower, I may be taking
a trip to Charleston to look at the EMS tower on Malden
Mountain.  Maybe before the weather turns bad we can improve
the path into the lower part of the state.
 
Remember, if anyone has anything about DAREN, be sure and
leave me a message on PKBGWV or PKBGES on 145.09 or 145.69,
or PKBGWV on 145.05.
=============================================================
 
             D.A.R.E.N. NEWS OCT 18, 1992
 
I received a message from Buzz, K8CFT, that the Fayette
County NODE will soon be on the air at the Fayette County
E.O.C.  I received this information too late to have it in
last weeks news.  The NODE will be called FAYEWV and the
PBBS will be OAKHWV.  The system is only on the air
temporarily till he gets it moved to the E.O.C.  He said he
will keep us posted.

I had a telephone call from Gary, WV8D, in Lewisburg,
requesting information about D.A.R.E.N.  He said the club in
Greenbrier County is interested in getting involved with the
system.  He said if they do put a NODE on the system it may
take awhile, maybe even as late as next spring.  The
elevation where the NODE would be is about 4000 feet.

Tim, KC8IT, says he has been doing some antenna work on the
Wyoming County NODE, WYOMWV, and has a real good path into
the Jackson County NODE.

I learned a little trick from Bill, K8BS, the other day.
Using the NODEs to go thru several Remote Stations doesn't
take much longer than going thru DIGIs.  I used to wait for
the response "LINK MADE" followed by the node text.  After
you have made contact with your first NODE, just start
typing the rest of your paths. As an example, after I
connected to WOODWV, and got my node text back, I typed C
PLEAWV  C WETZWV  C MARSWV  C HANCWV
 C RANDWV  C PKBGWV < return>, and sat back
and waited.  The whole path went thru without a hitch.  By
using the NODEs as opposed to DIGIs, if there is an error
any where along the path, it is corrected between the NODEs
it happens at, without having to go all the way back to the
originator.

Herb Kelly, technician for EMS, Bill, K8BS, and myself made a
trip to Malden Mountain, in Kanawha County, to survey the EMS
tower where we may be moving the Kanawha County NODE.  While
at the site, we tested a few paths to see what kind of
improvement there would be.  We were only using an antenna,
20 feet off the ground, so it wasn't the best test.  We were
now able to connect to Wyoming County, but still weren't able
to connect to Boone, Mercer, or Randolph Counties.  If moved
to this location the antenna will be mounted about 50 feet on
the side of the tower, and may make a big improvement.

============================================================

             D.A.R.E.N. NEWS OCT 25, 1992

Dr. R.S. Nutter at West Virginia University Amateur Radio
Club, Morgantown, has requested, and been sent the latest
version of the DAREN Plan.

I received a phone call from Tom Burns, State Office of
Emergency Services, requesting a list of the counties that
are now in operation with packet on DAREN.  He sent a list of
those counties, with FEMA Funding, for packet.  On the list
were four counties that may be on DAREN soon.  Those counties
are: Berkeley, Harrison, Marion, and Ohio.

I talked to Terry Brown, E/S Director of Putnam County, and
he showed interest in establishing a hilltop Remote Station
NODE for his county.  The latest copy of the DAREN Plan, a
NODE list, and Path Map were mailed to him.

Tim, KB8EHT, left me a message he found on the W8SP BBS.  The
message was from Rob, N8RAS.  He said he has established a
DAREN NODE/PBBS in Morgan County.  The NODE is MORGWV, the
PBBS is BKSPWV (Berkeley Springs).  There is no path to the
rest of the system yet.  He would like to find someone
between Morgan County and NODE RANDWV that he could DIGI
thru.  I will be looking for a location to put a Remote
Station to get a path into the Eastern Panhandle, possibly in
the Mineral County area.

I will be going to an Emergency Services Director's meeting
Tuesday, October 27, in Charleston.  I will be taking
packages of information about the DAREN system, to give to
the directors.  If the director from your county goes to the
meeting, be sure to contact him when he gets back.  With any
luck, I will try to persuade them into helping to fund a NODE
in those counties that have none.

Charlie, WB8CNN, has left me a couple of messages about the
stations in Raleigh County.  There is a Terminal Station at
the National Weather Service, at the Airport, and a NODE/PBBS
at the E.O.C.  The NODE is RALEWV, and the PBBS is BECKWV
(Beckley).  He had the NODE/PBBS on the air experimentally
Thursday the 22nd and moved it to the E.O.C. Friday the
23rd.  He says the E.O.C. is not at a very high location, and
the only path into it is thru the Wyoming NODE, WYOMWV.

Statewide DAREN NET to start October 31, 1992.  Watch for
more information coming soon.

=============================================================
             D.A.R.E.N. NEWS NOVEMBER 1, 1992
 
At the Emergency Services Director's Meeting at the State
O.E.S. Tuesday, October 27, 18 County Directors and the City
of Charleston were present. Those Counties were: Boone,
Braxton, Calhoun, Fayette, Hancock, Harrison, Jefferson,
Kanawha, Marion, Marshall, Mingo, Monongalia, Nicholas,
Preston, Randolph, Tucker, Tyler, and Wood.  If the Director
of your county was at this meeting, he was given a package of
D.A.R.E.N. information to be given to the Amateurs providing
Amateur Radio Communications for that County's Emergency
Services.
 
Fred Smart, Director, Harrison County Emergency Services said
the radio equipment for the Harrison County NODE has been
received, and should be installed in the near future, maybe
within the next two weeks.
 
Calhoun County has expressed an interest in installing a NODE
in their county, assuming that equipment can be made
available.  They have a tower site that has an elevation of
about 1100 feet.
 
Jim (WA8HPD) has given us the name and telephone number of an
organization, in Grant County, that we might be able to get
tower space from at a site on Mount Storm.  From his tests,
at that location, there is no path to RANDWV, but does have a
good path in Preston County.  This might be a good location
to get a path into the Eastern Panhandle.
 
Rob (N8RAS), in Morgan County, used a beam antenna on NODE
MORGWV to get a marginal path to NODE RANDWV.  With this
arrangement, Bob (WB8OIF), in Jefferson County and Mark
(WB8ZLQ), in Berkeley County were able to establish a paths
to the rest of the network.
 
The DAREN NET held October 31, went very well.  A total of 22
station from all over the state checked in.  There were a
couple of stations that had checked in that may not have
gotten the CHECK-IN message, but we did get their calls.  A
list of those who checked in will be on the NET Announcement
Thursday.  The NET Announcements will be placed as a Traffic
Message on several DAREN PBBSs on Thursday before the NET.
=============================================================
 
             D.A.R.E.N. NEWS NOVEMBER 8, 1992

When the D.A.R.E.N. Plan was first written, there wasn't
enough emphases placed on a couple of items.  The first is
that DAREN is primarily a backbone system using hilltop and
mountain top tower sites in as many counties as possible.  By
placing the Remote Stations on high locations, they are on a
dedicated frequency, have longer direct paths to other Remote
Stations, and are in operation 24 hour a day.  Remote
Stations, staying on a dedicated frequency make them ideal
mailboxes for storing messages to be picked up and delivered.
Having Terminal Stations at locations that may be operated,
from time to time, on other frequencies, leave a chance of
being left on the wrong frequency, and not being available as
a part of the Backbone.  Some Terminal Stations will be
located in areas that have no path to a dedicated Remote
Station, and will not have access to the network.  Another
item that should be addressed is the naming of NODEs and
PBBSs.  NODEs that are at Remote Stations, and are dedicated
to DAREN, should be named, using the first four letters,
of the County they are in, followed by WV.  PBBSs at Remote
Stations, and are dedicated to DAREN, should be named, using
a four letter abbreviation of, the City they are in or near,
followed by WV.  Terminal Stations that are primarily DAREN,
but are located in places that may be operated, from time to
time, on other frequencies, and have the ability, should be
named as follows. NODEs should have the ALIAS named after the
County they are in, using first four letters, followed by the
agency they are serving, example: ES (Emergency Services), RC
(Red Cross), PD (Police Department), etc.  PBBSs should have
the ALIAS, using a four letter abbreviation, of the City they
are in or near, followed by the agency they are serving, the
same as Terminal Station NODEs.  Other ALIASs may be used in
special incidents.

Mark (KJ4QQ) says since the Mercer County O.E.S. doesn't
have a dedicated room for Amateur Radio Communications yet,
MERCES has been placed on Dismal Peak on the Giles/Bland
Counties line, Virginia, for demonstration and testing.
There is a good path to both MERCWV and WYOMWV.  He hopes the
ARES people in the Roanoke and New River Valley areas will
check it out, and spark some interest in DAREN.

There were 23 check-ins to the November 7, DAREN Net. most of
those checking in were within the first 15 minutes.  There
were several new calls noted.  All of the calls will be
posted on Thursday, with the Net Announcement, on several of
the DAREN PBBSs.  The Net is in operation from 8 to 9 pm on
Saturdays.  Any comments about the net can be addressed to
WA8LLM @ PKBGWV.

=============================================================

             D.A.R.E.N. NEWS NOV 15, 1992
 
I have seen on the JHEARD List at RANDWV the ALIAS of MONOWV-
15.  It looks like Monongalia County may be experimenting
with their NODE.  With any luck, we may be seeing a new NODE
on the air.

It looks like Bill, K8BS, is setting up a Terminal Station
that will be located at the Charleston/Kanawha Metro Center.
He has the station at his house at the present time during
the "Burn In" period.

Do to some technical problems, the Wyoming County NODE,
WYOMWV will be off the air for awhile.  Let's hope it isn't
off too long, without it there is no path for the NODEs
MERCWV, MERCES, BOONWV, and RALEWV to the rest of the
network.  This is one reason we need as many "High Profile"
mountain top, hill top Remote Stations as possible.

For those who don't know it, there are "Low Profile" PBBSs,
that are used to store messages, newsletter articles, and
other items that pertain to DAREN, RACES, and ARES.  The
information on these PBBSs are not private, and can be read.
Articles, such as DAREN NEWS, Newsletter information, NET
REPORTS, and others, are stored on these PBBSs, so they can
be transferred from place to place, while waiting to be made
available for all to read.  One of these PBBSs is PKBGES.  If
using the "Low Profile" PBBSs, you might think about how to
use the "List" command.  If you have listed all the subjects
on the PBBS the first time, you might want to use the "LL x"
command the next time.  The "LL x", x meaning the number of
message subjects you would like to see, will allow you to
list the last few messages on the PBBS.  Using this command
will keep from tying up the frequency.  If you have articles
that you would like placed in the "Wood County RACES
Newsletter" or "DAREN NEWS", you might want to leave them on
"PKBGES".  "PKBGES" is NOT a full blown BBS, and only the
above type articles should be left, NO Buy, Sale, Trade type
messages.  The thing to remember is: DAREN is a network
dedicated to "EMERGENCY, PRIORITY, and NTS TYPE TRAFFIC", and
if it's not abused, can be a real time saver when needed in
an emergency.

With the loss of WYOMWV, the DAREN Net had a loss of check-
ins.  There were only 13 check-ins on the November 14th Net.

=============================================================

             D.A.R.E.N. NEWS NOV 22, 1992
 
A message from Mark, KJ4QQ, says he hasn't heard any more
about the Wyoming County NODE, WYOMWV.  It has been off the
air for about two weeks now, and has sure been missed.  Those
planning to install NODEs in the DAREN System, might want to
consider installing their main County NODE on a hill top, or
mountain top.  Until the system has several good, "High
Profile" NODEs, the loss of just one NODE can cripple the
system.  Without WYOMWV, Boone, Mercer, Raleigh, and Wyoming
Counties, have very little, or no access to the rest of the
system.  Mark has been able to connect back into the system,
by way of MERCWV to JACKWV, but it is very marginal.  There
is an IMTS transmitter that desenses the MERCWV NODE.  He
says they will be trying a notch cavity to eliminate the
problem.

Richard, N8KGK, in Upshur County, has written a letter to
National Guard State Headquarters requesting financial
support for a DAREN NODE in Upshur County.  The request was
approved and will be forthcoming.  The request included a
station at the ARNG State Headquarters, and one in
Buckhannon.  Richard has a NODE on 145.05 Mhz, called UPSHUR.

Pepper, KA8ZOO, has been in telephone contact with Duane,
N8LDM, and has had many questions.  The location, where the
Monongalia NODE will be located, has a very good path to the
Wetzel County NODE, WETZWV.  He says there is a big Football
Game in Morgantown this weekend, so nothing will get done on
it, but says within two weeks, MONOWV will be up and running.

There are still some, who think, that DAREN can not be used
except during emergencies.  DAREN should be used every day,
for passing most formal traffic.  There has been several NTS,
MARS, and other Formal types messages passed over the system
since it was first established.  Most of the messages are in
the system less than 24 hours before they are picked up and
delivered, some as little as 30 minutes.  When placing
messages on any of the DAREN PBBSs, you should place them as
"ST" (Send Traffic).  This does two things, (1) it allows
anyone connecting, and listing, see the Title/Subject, and
(2) if it is a message that can be delivered, allows those
delivering the message the ability to "Delete" the message
from the PBBS.

There were 22 check-ins to the November 21 DAREN NET.  A list
will be posted Thursday Nov 26 on most of the DAREN PBBSs.

=============================================================

             D.A.R.E.N. NEWS NOV 29, 1992

After I had posted the DAREN NEWS last week, I noticed the
Wyoming County NODE, WYOMWV was back up and running.  I'm not
sure, but it seems to be better.  I have seen it in JHEARD
Lists, that had never seen it before, it could be just band
conditions, but I am glad to see it back in operation, thanks
a bunch.

I have received a letter from Buzz, K8CFT, saying that
FAYEWV may soon be in operation.  The NODE will be placed on
Gauley Mountain in Fayette County.  The Hamfest Committee,
for the Fayetteville Hamfest, has ask us if we would like to
present a forum on DAREN.  There is a good chance that we
may take them up on the offer.  Their Hamfest is set for
February 21, 1993.

Jack Bowen, Emergency Services Director for Raleigh County,
says they are planning to install another NODE in the
county.  At present time the only station in Raleigh County
is NODE/PBBS, RALEWV/BECKWV.

Bob, KB8FVU, now has another NODE/DIGI/PBBS on the air.  The
station is a Terminal Station located at the Pleasants
County Sheriff Despatch Center.  The NODE/DIGI is PLEASH,
and the PBBS is STMYSH.

Letters will be sent to most of the Emergency Services
Directors requesting a contact person (Amateur) for a
project that may help install several NODEs in DAREN.  We
have been in contact with an organization that MAY be
willing to sponsor and fund NODEs in those counties that
have no access to the DAREN Network.  If you would like to
have a DAREN NODE in your county, let me know your interest
ASAP.  If this goes through, the organization will be looking
at the project the first part of 1993.

Don't be surprised to see POCAWV/SNOWWV on the air from time
to time.  Alan N8POB, a Paramedic, who works at the Snowshoe
Ski Resort, during the skiing season, will be having it on
during his work tours there.  From POCAWV there is a good
path to RANDWV, WOODWV and MERCWV.  This would be an ideal
location for a permanent NODE.

There were 39 check-ins to the DAREN NET Nov 28th. Look for
the list this Thursday on the DAREN NET announcement.

=============================================================

               D.A.R.E.N. NEWS DEC 6, 1992

The Terminal Station MERCES that Mark, KJ4QQ, had put on
Dismal Peak for testing has been removed.  He has the station
at his house until it is ready to be installed at the Mercer
County OES.

Another 24 hour Terminal Station has been placed in operation.
The station is located at the Randolph County EOC.  The NODE/-
DIGI is RANDES, and the PBBS is ELKNES.  Ashby Craft, the
Randolph County Emergency Services Director, who used to be an
Amateur, but let his license expire, has taken and passed his
Novice test, and 13 WPM code.  He will be coming to Parkers-
burg to take his Technician, and General tests December 12th.

I received a nice letter from Lynn, AI8I, with a lot of good
information.  He has been talking to Jim, WB8DMS and Gary,
WV8D about a NODE in Greenbrier County.  I have talked to Gary
on the phone before, and I have his name on the list of
contacts for the possible funding.  Lynn sent me a message
right after the November 28th DAREN Net stating he would like
to see the temporary NODE, left on Dismal Peak.

In the past couple of weeks I've noticed a couple of things
that may help Packet Operators.  During the DAREN Net some
operators Digipeat through the NODEs as opposed to connecting
to them.  When the system is quite busy, as it is for the Net,
and during times of actual emergencies, there will be several
packet collisions, causing many retries.  When you Digipeat,
any retries has to be retransmitted from one end of the path
to the other, adding more interference to the system.  If you
connect to the NODEs, as you go through the system, and there
is a collision, the retry only has to go back to the last
station that had it correct.  The other thing I've noticed is
stations trying to connect to a PBBS, while they are connected
to the same NODE as that PBBS, example: trying to connect to
PKBGWV, while connected to WOODWV, this is not possible.

In case you hadn't noticed, the DAREN NET Control was at the
southern part of the state this week, Mark, KJ4QQ.  It was
interesting, monitoring and printing the traffic for further
study. There was a total of 26 stations that were able to
check into the net, and a least 7 that were unsuccessful.
Next week's D.A.R.E.N. NEWS will touch on some of the findings
of this week's net.  A list of those check-ins will be on next
week's DAREN NET Annoucement, which will be posted Thursday.

=============================================================

              D.A.R.E.N. NEWS of WV DEC 13, 1992

                      DAREN NET SPECIAL

On the DAREN NET December 5th, I noticed several items that may
help in checking into the NET, as well as using the system in an
emergency.  First several stations tried to connect the Net Cont-
rol Station from the same NODEs they have always used.  Last
week's Net Control was Mark, KJ4QQ, in Bluefield, VA., just
across the border from Bluefield, WV.  Access to KJ4QQ is best
from either WYOMWV or MERCWV, which ever is closer to you.  Some
stations connected to WYOMWV through KANAWV.  At the present
time, there is only a marginal path between KANAWV and WYOMWV,
and a fair path between JACKWV and WYOMWV, this is why we need
more Hi Profile NODEs in the system.  Another problem is the
amount of NODE channels available (3), with the Kantronics KPC-2
and KPC-3, when there is 7K of memory in the PBBS. Granted, it is
best to connect to the NODEs when working through the system, but
that is not always possible.  If you are able to connect to one
NODE in the direction you are going, but the next NODE is "busy",
try to Digipeat through it, to the next NODE.  When the system is
loaded with traffic, as is the case with the NET, or in a large
scale emergency, it may take a little longer to connect through
the system.  I noticed that some stations would "force disconn-
ect" if they didn't connect as fast as usual.  If a station is
already connected to a NODE or NODEs and forces a disconnect,
without ABORT and BYE, that channel of the NODE is tied up, until
it times out, by trying to re-connect to the station, that "force
disconnected" limiting the amount of NODE channels available to
other users.  Some stations tried to extend the path, farther
than is possible, example: trying to connect to WYOMWV from
WETZWV.  This would be nice, but highly unlikely.  The purpose of
the NET is to accustom users to work through the system smoothly,
as if it were a real emergency, and be familiar with the routes,
or paths available.  To add to the confusion, BEACONs are sent
out, during the NET, to remind those monitoring of the NET, and
the NODE or NODEs from which to connect to the Net Control Stat-
ion.  This was the first time the NCS was in another part of the
state, which gave us a chance to see what happens when 30 or more
stations try to go the same direction.  I want to thank Mark for
being NCS and hope to try other directions in the future.  We are
trying to put together a NODE PATH MAP, that can be placed on a
PBBS for those that are not sure of what paths are available.  In
the mean time, anyone wanting a NODE PATH MAP can leave me a
message, and we will mail you one.  The best way to learn the
system is to get on it, and try connecting to different NODEs.
The more everyone knows about the network, the smoother traffic
will flow in a real emergency.  There were 29 check-ins to this
week's DAREN NET.  Watch for the list this Thursday.  73's Ken
=================================================================

              D.A.R.E.N. NEWS of WV DEC 20, 1992

Since letters were sent to 41 County Emergency Services Direct-
ors, I've received names of 6 more Amateurs that are hoping to
get High Profile NODEs in their county.  The letters were in
reference to an organization that MAY provide funding for
additional NODEs for the DAREN system.  Some of these counties
have Low Profile Terminals Stations, and some have no stations
at all.  We are still trying to get names for those wanting
NODEs in their county.

After the NODE, WYOMWV was moved to another location, there is
now a good path to KANAWV and JACKWV, but only a marginal path
to BOONWV.  A better route to/from BOONWV may be corrected when
the Kanawha County NODE gets moved to Malden Mountain.

Ken, KA3SKW, in Garrett County, Maryland, is putting a Terminal
Station in operation.  For awhile he will have it on the air
from about 6 pm to 11 pm., and during emergencies.  The ALIAS
for the NODE/DIGI is GARRMD, the PBBS is OAKLMD.  Ken has a
fair path to RANDWV.  The DAREN System is not limited to West
Virginia.

Mark, KJ4QQ says MERCWV was off the air, but is back on now.
At the time of his first message, he was unsure of what the
trouble was, but a later message confirmed the problem.  Heavy
ice, from an ice storm that went thorough the area, broke the
antenna off at the base, and only the ground radials were left.
He was hoping to have it back on the air for the December 19th
DAREN NET.  He said he knew of at least 7 Business, Public
Safety, and Amateur towers that are now laying on the ground,
from the storm.

Mark, WB8ZLQ, does have the Berkley County NODE, BERKWV, in
operation.  It is located at his home, in Kearneysville, WV,
but does have limited range.  He is waiting for better weather,
to install the NODE antenna about 1/3 way up the 200 foot WYVN-
TV tower located on North Mountain, elevation about 1800 feet.
He said Jefferson County has their NODE equipment, but it is
not in operation yet.  They are waiting for the Emergency
Services tower to be installed.

I received a message from one Packet Operator that was unsure
of whether or not to delete an NTS Type traffic message from a
PBBS after it has been picked up and delivered.  Any time a
message for delivery is placed on any of the DAREN PBBS's, they
should be placed as "ST" (Send Traffic), that way when they are
picked up and delivered, they can be deleted.

There was 23 check-ins to the December 19 DAREN NET.
===============================================================

              D.A.R.E.N. NEWS of WV DEC 27, 1992

I have a list of about 25 names of contacts for counties that
don't have High Profile NODEs that will be sent in for possible
funding.  Before I send the list in, I will be sending a letter
to all those on the list.  The letters will explain what we are
wanting to do, and an estimated cost of the parts necessary to
put a Remote Station NODE together.  If there are any other
counties that are interested in POSSIBLE funding for a High
Profile NODE in their county, let me know as soon as possible.

Ashby Craft, Emergency Services Director of Randolph County,
has passed his test to upgrade to Advanced, and will be on the
air, as soon as his Novice License arrives.

Greg Groves, Emergency Services Director of Preston County,
says they are still having trouble getting their Terminal
Station at the EOC working.  He is thinking of getting another
TNC to put in a High Profile Remote Station.

There has been no reports of new Stations, or other activities
about DAREN this week, but there is something we overlooked
when we put four NODEs on the air.  The NTEXT for the four
NODEs were all programed using the same laptop computer.  In
the file of the laptop, only the NODE name needed to be changed
for each NODE.  When you connect to the NODEs, "HANCWV",
"WETZWV", "JACKWV", and "RANDWV", you will notice the word
"EMERGENCY" was left out of "DIGITAL AMATEUR RADIO EMERGENCY
NETWORK".  As trips are made to each of the locations, the
NTEXT will be corrected.

There were 24 check-ins to the DAREN Net December 26, 1992.
The calls will be posted by Thursday, January 1, 1993.  I want
to wish every one that is operating on the DAREN system a very
Happy New Year, and we hope to have a larger network by this
time next year.  73's Kenny WA8LLM
===============================================================