The 55^th Annual Marathon will be on Sunday May 20, 2012

The 2012 Des Plaines River Canoe Marathon will be held on Sunday May 20th, 2012. We could use your help to monitor various checkpoints along the route.

The Marathon starts near Libertyville and ends up in Prospect Heights. We need at least 2 people per site, only 1 needs to be licensed. Good opportunity to bring wife, kids, or friend and get them interested in the hobby.

For more info about the event, look at the Canoe Marathon web site at:

http://www.canoemarathon.com
 

Sign up to assist here.

ARRL Introduction to Emergency Communication course

A basic knowledge course for emergency communications volunteers

The Lake County IL Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services / Amateur Radio Emergency Services® is pleased to announce they will be holding a ARRL Introduction to Emergency Communication training class at the Lake County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) classroom on May 12 & 19, 2012 from 0800 until 1600.

This is one class, which spans two Saturdays. At the conclusion of the class, you will be afforded the opportunity to take the ARRL EMCOMM certification test through our Field Examiners program to obtain a recognized certification. To take the exam you must provide completion proof of FEMA Independent Study class IS-100 and IS-700.

This class is open to any individual interested in Emergency Communications protocols and procedures. Although originally developed for amateur radio operators the course has many aspects used by served agencies, their equipment and processes.

Seating is limited. Registration deadline is April 27, 2012.

To register contact Dave Hartnett K9DRH k9drh at arrl dot net

More details here

Anyone serious about Emergency Support should have a go-kit, or maybe more than one. It may be something you keep in the car or something mostly packed and ready to go at home. Even if you don't have one, you should think about what you might need to have in case of an emergency.

This is a presentation that Dan O’Connor, KE7HLR made at EMCOMMWEST in 2008. It's a rather large PDF file (about 3Meg). If you don't have a high speed connection, I suggest downloading it, and reading it off line. It's great 'food for thought' and well worth the read. I found myself mentally comparing Dan's ideas to what I have assembled and thinking about what I might want to add.

PERSONAL GO-KIT FOR EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS