ARRL has named John Gendron, NJ4Z, as the South Carolina Section Manager.

He will complete the term of Marc Tarplee, N4UFP, who passed away after a brief illness.

John Gendron, NJ4Z, Section Manager of the ARRL South Carolina Section.

Gendron, an Amateur Extra-class operator, is President of the York County Amateur Radio Society (YCARS) and a member of the Swamp Fox Contest Group. In addition to being an avid contester and DX chaser, Gendron enjoys participating in Parks on the Air. He has earned numerous ARRL awards, including the Worked All States and Triple Play Worked All States awards, and is closing in on 5-Band DXCC.
Gendron also hosts a YouTube channel, called From the Hamshack. In 2022, he became the 55th recipient of the Vic Clark Roanoke Division ARRL Service Award, the Division’s highest honor.
Gendron is the CEO and an owner of a regional systems integration company based in South Carolina, and he earned a degree in electrical engineering from Youngstown State University in Ohio. He and his family reside in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Gendron’s appointed term as Section Manager will continue through December 31, 2024.

The Amateur Radio Emergency Services team is always looking for new members. People excited about providing communications in an emergency situation.  So how do you join ARES and what is the difference between level 1 and level 2?

ARES level 1 is the entry level, join the team come on in and look around. Talk to others that have been on the team for years and get the feel of what is expected as an ARES volunteer. You do not need to take any FEMA ICS or ARRL course to join ARES.

ARES level 2  So now you know what it is and you want to continue. You want to build your own go box and you want to deploy to a local emergency operations center (EOC). At this level you will increase your skill level by completing several FEMA ICS courses and the ARRL course.

ARES Level 3 You like everything ARES stands for and you want to contribute more.  To be appointed into a leadership position you need to step up to level 3. At this level you will learn about more advanced subjects.   Only the Section Emergency Coordinator can make ARES leadership appointments.

ARES level 1 you are required to do the following:

1) Get a copy of the ARES Task Book.  Click on the menu item above and download the latest copy.

2) Fill out and send in the ARES membership application. Again this is a menu item above.

3) Study for and pass the Technicians license test. Many local clubs have study groups and they provide the testing. If you need a contact then click on CONTACT above and let us know, we will find a local club for you to study and test with. You must have a Technician license, or higher to join ARES.

That is all you need to do to join the ARES team. After you join you might consider advancing your skill level by working on ARES Level 2, which you can read about in the Task Book.

In a typical disaster situation a county EOC might ask you to deploy to a VOAD site and establish emergency comms to the county EOC and state EOC. Your go box, portable antenna’s and your knowledge of all the possible methods to establish those comms links are essential. Here is a list of every VOAD in South Carolina. Many VOADs on this list would not deploy until after the comms infrastructure was back online. But others would deploy right away and they may ask for a comms link back to the county or state EOC. This is where ARES can engage and make a difference.

Effective 5/3/2023 the FCC RF exposure rules are in effect. Under the new rules, every radio amateur is responsible for determining that their station does not cause exposure that exceeds the FCC MPE limits to any person, either in their homes or outside of them. This is required for handheld, portable and mobile operations. The FCC does not require that the results of a stations exposure analysis be submitted. But you should keep a record of it just in case a complaint is made on your station.  This applies to the amateur radio hobby and amateur radio emergency services. As ARES volunteers we routinely setup our radios in or around the public. If a complaint is made the FCC will ask you for your RF exposure analysis.

As of May 3 2023, every station must be assessed for exposure before it is operated.  No exceptions.

ARRL provides an RF exposure calculator at RF Exposure Calculator (arrl.org) More information on how to use it can be found in QST magazine May 2023 on page 64. Thanks to the ARRL and QST for providing this.

Another suggestion is to use FCC Bulletin 65, supplement B, table 4 prepared by ARRL & W5YI.  The disadvantage of using this method is the assumptions used create an overly conservative result. Which means you might be putting up yellow caution tape in an uncontrolled space and not need to.

Many of us use a dipole as part of our Emcom go kits. A dipole antenna is very popular.

Click to see a short 6 minute youtube video that shows us the radiation pattern of a dipole antenna and shows the actual location the antenna is transmitting at.  This is very interesting and it might help you next time you setup your Emcom portable dipole antenna.

While this group of folks is not associated with ARES they are committed to emergency comms specifically Winlink ICS traffic. So if you need some training and practice this group is the place to spend your free time.

EmComm-Training Group