ARES-RACES members attended the February BARC meeting where Carl Zager KB9RVB discussed Emergency Communications in the first of two local training presentations on emergency communications:

0. Overview of ARES and RACES
3. Basic Operator Course -- Unit 3 (Directed Net Fundamentals: Operating a Tactical Radio Net.)

AJ Ragusa KC9EVU has supplied an address for the proposed Propagation study, The PropNet Project, at http://www.propnet.org/

HF operators interested in looking at the effects of power, antenna, and propagation on signal and contacts, check out PropNet and e-mail Carl at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to volunteer for a working group on HF Propagation.

Both of the EmComm PPT files from the BARC meeting have been uploaded to http://groups.google.com/group/mc_ema_races in the Files section. Members may open the Home page for MC_EMA_RACES and select Files at the top right or bottom left. We will e-mail copies to non-members on request.

A Training Menu of ARES-RACES, FEMA (DHS), ARRL, NWS, Red Cross, and Salvation Army opportunities is a PDF in the Files section. We will be
adding PDFs (and Word DOCs where necessary) of log files, asset lists, Operations Briefs, message forms, and other ICS and ARES documents as they
become available. Check back regularly. It is our plan to begin offering local study groups and presentations using the Red Cross training room adjacent to the ARES-RACES shack on the second floor at 411 E 7th St., in Bloomington. We are looking at Sunday afternoons, once a month, as possibilities. Topics would include the ARES-RACES training as well as the 4 required FEMA IS courses. Others have suggested we cover some operating modes, such as PSK, APRS, and ... CW.  Let us know what you think.