By Mark Abramowicz, NT3V
Many of us know the Boy Scout Motto is “Be Prepared.”
And for many of us, we’ve learned it doesn’t just apply to those who are or have been members of the Boy Scouts of America – now branded as Scouts BSA.
It’s a good way to live – prepared for whatever life puts in front of you.
That’s the goal of the Multi-County Simplex Radio Test sponsored by the Reading Radio Club and scheduled for Saturday, May 11, 2024 beginning at 1 p.m. Local Time.
This exercise will be conducted on 146.550 MHz VHF Simplex.
For those who are familiar with the monthly Simplex Radio Test conducted in Berks County, you know our purpose is to enable a check of the simplex set-up of a base, mobile or hand-held unit for power output and receive of the radio.
The test is conducted as part of our amateur radio responsibilities tied to the Amateur Radio Emergency Service.
Simplex may be the only VHF means of communication in the event our repeater systems go down during an emergency.
On Saturday, May 11, we will be expanding our reach of this Simplex Radio Test calling for check-ins from not only Berks, but surrounding counties and beyond.
The Simplex Radio Test Team will be setting up operations at the William Penn Memorial Fire Tower along Skyline Drive overlooking the City of Reading.
We will be putting our antenna at the top of the fire tower’s porch and using high power to reach out to amateurs with an invitation to check in – providing their call sign, name and location.
Multiple net controls will be handling the check-ins from the counties.
We will begin this special net with a call of the list we have for the monthly Simplex Radio Test in Berks.
We will then call for check-ins from the following counties: Bucks, Carbon, Chester, Dauphin, Delaware, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, and York.
After running each of the counties, we will call for any late check-ins from any operator who hears us regardless of the county in which they live. Depending on radio conditions that day, we could skip beyond the counties we’re planning to call and reach even further.
Once the test is completed, lists of all who checked in will be provided to the emergency coordinators in each of the counties for analysis and discussion of possible coordination and emergency planning.
You are the key to making this Simplex Radio Test a success.
There will be emails, announcements on nets, social media posts and lots more to get out the word. Do your part to talk to your fellow hams and make sure they know how important this May 11 net event is.
Be prepared! It’s a motto we, as amateurs, should practice as part of our operating routine!