NF4CA
License
CARES
Constitution
Florida
ARES Task
Book
Welcome to the Columbia County ARES
program!
The primary partner we support is the Columbia County Emergency
Management. Members who meet
all
requirements and accept a preassignment for deployment to a local
shelter will be issued an ID card. All other amateur radio operators
may participate as ARES® operators from their home unless deployed
through another agency such as American Red Cross, Salvation Army,
MARS, etc. Locally, in Columbia County, all ARES members who
desire to participate in emergency deployments for county shelters or
the Emergency Operations Center must meet the basic requirement of at
least the IS-100,
IS-700, and pass a level 2 background check. Hams who wish to be called
up as mutual aid
communications resources for regional, statewide, or national
deployments will also need IS-200 and IS-800 certifications.
Columbia ARES Application
FEMA Student ID
ICS Online classes
ARRL Online classes
Band Plan
Area Nets
Older Headlines
2022 Training Survey
Help us as we plan for new training
opportunities.
Please take a few minutes to answer the questions in this survey. As we
do exercises, we discover areas we need to train in. We also would like
to know what you are interested in learning.
Take
Survey
Here.
Online NTS/Radiogram Training
Some of the feedback that was received during the month of March is
that many
operators know how to fill out a radiogram form, but some aren’t aware
of where to find a net to transmit it on or how to read them on the
air. To help with this, our Section Traffic Manager Helen-WC4FSU, and
Matt-KD8TTE who spoke in Orlando, will provide an open training
session for those interested to learn about where and how formal
traffic can make its way into the NTS. Training will be held via Zoom
on April 20 at 5:30P CDT/6:30P EDT. No registration is required, simply
click this
link when it is time to join.
Field Day 2022
THE PRACTICE
We held TWO practice days for 2022. April 2 and April 16.
They both were at our practice yard at 148 SW Slash Lane, Lake City.
You can read the plan
here
THE EVENT
June 25 and 26, 2022
Again in 2022 we held our Field Day Event at Aligator Lake
Park in Lake City. We had a good time and we
increased our effort to have 3 stations instead of 2.
All the details are in the ExPlan which is posted here (link below) for
you to read.
Read the plan
here
Field Day 2021
As always Field Day is the fourth
full weekend of June.
Read the updated plan
here.
View
the planned layout
here.
Hurricane Season 2021
NOAA predicts another active
Atlantic hurricane season
May 20, 2021--NOAA's Climate Prediction Center is predicting another
above-normal Atlantic hurricane season. Forcasters predict a 60% chance
of an above normal season, a 30% chance of a near-normal season, and a
10% chance of a below-normal season.However, experts do not anticipate
the historic level of storm activity seen in 2020.
Read
rest of story here.
Watch this
video summary of
the Outlook.
Field Day 2024
Yes, It's coming! Field Day is always the last full weekend in June
THE EVENT
June 22 and 23, 2024
This
year we will be holding our Field Day Event at Westside Elementary
School in Lake City. We added another
station last year and at the previous location we were on top of each
other. We have more room at the school and are looking forward to
racking up the contact and bouns points! We hope to
increase our score this year and hope to see you there..
All the details are in the ExPlan which will be posted
here
for
you to read. Set-up will begin at 8:00am and the
event officially starts at 2:00pm. This year we are inviting our
guests, elected officals, and others, to come between 2:00
and 4:00 pm.
In order to have the four stations and generate more points we will
need as many operators as possible! Please use the link below and
schedule some time that you will be willing to operate. You can sign up
for as many 2 hour blocks as you want. Someone will be
able to help you get comfortable with the equipment and procedures if
this will be your first time.
Register
on this Google form
New Columbia County ARES Net Schedule
Effective January 1, 2024 the name of this net is changed from
Suwannee
Valley ARES/Skywarn Net to
Columbia
County ARES Net
The net will continue to meet on Thursday night at 7:00pm local time.
The frequency used will vary according to the following schedule.
First Thursday on the WA4ZFQ
Repeater at 146.940 Mhz, pl 123.0
Second Thursday on 146.420
Simplex, NCS will use a different script and
will ask for relays
Third Thursday on the NF4CQ
Repeater at 145.490 Mhz, no pl
Fourth Thursday on the NF4CA
Repeater at 147.180 Mhz, no pl
Months with a
Fifth Thursday
will start with voice on 146.420 Simplex
and may switch to a digital mode. NCS will announce at the beginning of
the net.
Colorado State University issues Forcasting for 2024 Hurricane
Season
More active than normal, again!
Read
Forcast here.
Read
an
interesting State/County Impact Probability Forcast here.
Columbia County ARES Hurricane Idalia AAR/IP
There were several successes and challenges during this Hurricane. We
publish these AAR/IP documents
here so we can celebrate, learn, and grow.
Columbia County ARES Meeting – Saturday September 16th 2023
Upcoming Columbia ARES meeting on Saturday September 16, 2023 at
10:00am. Since our club station room at Lake City Baptist
Temple is currently unavailable,we will meet at my house on the patio,
weather permitting. Among other items we will talk about our Hurricame
Idalia response. Bring your NFL ARES Taskbook if you need things signed
off, and if you need help with digital methods including Winlink
P2P and Vara FM, bring
your laptop and radio.
Colorado State University issues Forcasting for 2023 Hurricane
Season
More active than normal, again!
Read
Forcast here.
Read
Extended Forcast here.
Field Day 2023
THE PRACTICE
Yes, It's coming! Field Day is always the last full weekend in June,
and now is the time to practice and test our equipment.
We will be holding a practice day again this year on Saturday April
29th. Our plan is to set up the same antennas and radios in the same
configuration we will use at Field Day. The location will probably be
in our practice yard at 148 SW Slash
Lane, Lake City.
THE EVENT
June 24 and 25, 2023
Again this year we will be holding our Field Day Event at Aligator Lake
Park in Lake City. We had a great time last year! We added another
station that operated CW for the first time in a number of years adding
significally to our point total. We hope to
increase our effort this year and plan to have 4 stations instead of 3.
All the details are in the ExPlan which will be posted
here
for
you to read. Set-up will begin when the park opens at 8:00am and the
event officially starts at 2:00pm. This year we are inviting our
guests, elected officals, and others, to come between 2:00
and 4:00 pm.
In order to have the four stations and generate more points we will
need as many operators as possible! Please use the link below and
schedule some time that you will be willing to operate. You can sign up
for as many 2 hour blocks as you want. Someone will be
able to help you get comfortable with the equipment and procedures if
this will be your first time.
Register
on this Google form
Columbia County ARES Meeting – Saturday March 11th 2023
Upcoming Columbia ARES meeting on Saturday March 11, 2023 at
10:00am. This will be in our club station room at Lake City Baptist
Temple. Among other items we will talk about the NFL ARES Taskbook,
re-scheduled S.E.T., EOC exercise, and digital methods. Bring
your laptop and radio/go-box.
Columbia County ARES Meeting – Saturday November 19th 2022
Upcoming Coulmbia ARES meeting on Saturday November 19, 2022 at
10:00am. This will be in our club station room at Lake City Baptist
Temple. I will try to publish an agenda but the plan is to finalize the
After Action Report from Ian and do Winlink setup and training. Bring
your laptop and radio/go-box.
November 7, 2022
Governor Ron DeSantis Declares State of
Emergency for Nicole
Read the
declaration here.
So far Columbia County is not included in this declaration. We are in
the three day cone as issued by the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Please check into the tuesday night net (11/8/22)on the 146.940
repeater
to see if there are any updates from the Columbia EOC.
There will be an
ARES net starting on Wednesday (11/09/22) at 7:00pm on the 145.490
repeater until we are clear or activated. This will be a short net each
night to give updates on the storm.
September 24, 2022
The October S.E.T. has been postponed.
September 23, 2022
Governor Ron DeSantis Declares State of
Emergency for Ian
Read yesterday's
declaration here.
WX4NHC Annual Station
Communications Test – Saturday May 28th 2022
The annual WX4NHC On Air Communications Test has been set for Saturday
May 28th, 2022 and WX4NHC will be on the air on the VoIP Hurricane Net
system Echolink conference node: 7203/IRLP 9219 from 4-5 PM EDT
(2000-2100z). Other Amateur Radio modes will be utilized and those
details are listed in the announcement below from WD4R-Julio Ripoll,
Assistant WX4NHC Coordinator.
Announcement from WX4NHC
Armed Forces Day
This Saturday, May 14th will be a special DOD Drill. We will have the
opportunity to interact with some Department of Defense stations. They
will transmit on out of Ham frequiencies and will announce where they
will be listening in the Ham frequiencies.
Watch the YouTube
video by our friend Matthew, KD8TTE in Ohio, and
check out the
pdf.
National Forcast Chart:
National Weather Service
Jacksonville
Latest
Weather
Briefing
Upcoming
Virtual Storm Spotter Classes - Register Here
Tropical
Weather Outlook:
Tropical Storm /
Hurricane Lee:
