Short Wave News –
Illinois Teams with Amateur Radio Operators to Create RACES Program
A newly forged partnership between Amateur Radio operators throughout the state of Illinois and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) will provide an additional layer of emergency communications during disasters. The agreement creates the State Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES) program. Under the agreement, IEMA Director Andrew Velasquez appointed ARRL Illinois Section Emergency Coordinator Brad Pioveson, W9FX, of Benton as the volunteer State RACES Officer. Pioveson will serve as the single point of contact between IEMA and the Illinois Amateur Radio community.
2010 Field Day Packets Now Available
It’s that time of year again — time to start gearing up for ARRL Field Day, June 26-27, 2010! ARRL’s flagship operating event — always held the fourth full weekend in June — brings together new and experienced hams for 24 hours of operating fun. Field Day packets are now available for download and include the complete rules (including changes for 2010), as well as other reference items such as forms, ARRL Section abbreviation list, entry submission instructions, a Frequently Asked Questions section, guidelines for getting bonus points, instructions for GOTA stations, a kit to publicize your event with the local press and more.
NCVEC Releases Second Technician Question Pool
In January, the Question Pool Committee (QPC) of the National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC) released the 2010 Technician (Element 2) Question Pool. Upon further review of the pool, members of the QPC found and corrected more than 50 minor typographical errors and clarified the questions and answers, making them easier to understand. These adopted changes are now incorporated in a revised question pool. The errata list, as well as the revised Technician question pool, is available on the NCVEC Web site. The previously released pool dated January 4, 2010 is invalid for use. The newly revised Technician question pool will become effective for all examinations administered on or after July 1, 2010; it will remain valid until June 30, 2014. The current Technician question pool that became effective July 1, 2006 will expire June 30, 2010. The new Technician pool contains approximately 400 questions, from which 35 are selected for an Element 2 examination; it will contain graphics and diagrams, something new for this element. The current General class question pool was effective July 1, 2007 and is valid through June 30, 2011. The current Amateur Extra class pool was effective July 1, 2008 and is valid until June 30, 2012.