Fire Dispatch Training - Part II

April 11, 2009
10:00 amto11:00 am
April 13, 2009
7:00 pmto8:00 pm

We’re having two training workshops to focus on the FDOC dispatch area and field stations for the upcomming dispatch drill. Please attend one of these workshops. We’ll be meeting at the FDOC located in the basement and gathering in the parking area. 18311 Gothard Street, Huntington Beach, CA  92648. Please use caution driving on the property. Use the KH6FL/Repeater (City Hall Machine) for assistance arriving and parking.

Homebrew suction cup antenna mount

When using the suction cup mount on fiberglass or other non-metallic surfaces you may find that your antenna will work significantly better if you provide a ground plane or counterpoise for the antenna to work with. Without a ground plane, most mag mount antennas perform poorly and exhibit a high VSWR. Two solutions to this problem are shown in the attach photos. In the first photo, 3 brass rods are shown spread out perpendicular to the antennas whip forming the ground plane; in the second photo, 4 orange stranded wires are shown. When using stranded wires, a small amount of tape is used to hold the wires in position on the fiberglass roof forming the ground plane.  The length of the rods or wire radials should be approximately 10% longer than a ¼ wavelength at the operating frequency. For 2 meters a ¼ wavelength is 19 inches, so the radial should be about 21 inches. The radial length is not critical something in the ballpark of 21 inches will in most cases work fine for a temporary antenna setup. We’ll be discussing these technical issues as well as other fundamentals of FDOC operations and Field Station operation.
Radials on scution cup antenna mount

Management Team Meeting

January 5, 2009
7:00 pmto8:00 pm
February 2, 2009
7:00 pmto8:00 pm
March 2, 2009
7:00 pmto8:00 pm
April 6, 2009
7:00 pmto8:00 pm
May 4, 2009
7:00 pmto8:00 pm
June 1, 2009
7:00 pmto8:00 pm
July 6, 2009
7:00 pmto8:00 pm
August 3, 2009
7:00 pmto8:00 pm
August 31, 2009
7:00 pmto8:00 pm
October 5, 2009
7:00 pmto8:00 pm
November 2, 2009
7:00 pmto8:00 pm
December 7, 2009
7:00 pmto8:00 pm
HB RACES 2009 Management Team
Huntington Beach RACES 2009 Management Team

The 2009 Huntington Beach RACES Management Team held their first meeting of 2009 on January 5, 2009.  HB RACES goals for 2009 include:  a strong effort on completing training materials and providing training opportunities for both new and seasoned communicators, documentation of standard HB RACES procedures and methods that have been established over the years and are working well for our group, continuing an ATV awareness effort within the city departments and our RACES groups including the periodic testing and verification of our ATV equipment and procedures, and facilitating each officer to manage and accomplish their specific goals for the organization.

The 2009 HB RACES Management Team includes:

  • Chief Radio Officer – Peter, N6RAS
  • Assistant Radio Officer – Vaughn, KE6V
  • Events Officer – Steve, KE6OCE
  • Training Officer – Jim, KG6ZDP
  • Personnel Officer – Robert, KE6RKG
  • Technical Officer / Financial Officer – Pedro, AD6TN
  • Documentation Officer – Manny, KG6IQL
  • Public Information Officer – Wayne, KH6WZ
  • American Red Cross Liaison – Shelley & Roy, KC6ZOW/N6SLD
  • Repeater Liaison / IT Officer – Tim, WD6AWP

In addition our past Training Officer from the 80s, Gordon, K6DAA, will be joining the officer team for special assignments and offering his assistance to all officers as needed. Gordon’s extra help and perspective will be helpful in the accomplishment of our ambitious goals.

Dates for 2009’s management meetings have been set and are on the first Monday of the month with the exception of September. In order to observe the Labor Day holiday we will be meeting twice in August - the first Monday and the last Monday. All officers are asked to attend these meetings and all interested communicators are also invited to attend. The meetings are normally held in the Huntington Beach EOC. If you have an issue that needs to be addressed by the HB RACES Management Team please contact the officer that best matches the area of concern or contact the Chief Radio Officer.

All of the 2009 officer’s are looking forward to making 2009 another great year of service to our city and continued learning of our radio skills with our vast radio family of friends. Together we will continue to make HB RACES the flagship organization it has become.