DAREN of WV News October 4, 2009 (.899)
Kenneth Harris WA8LLM (304) 679-3470 wa8llm@yahoo.com
WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
P.O. BOX 3328, PARKERSBURG, WV 26103
http://www.wc8ec.com
DAREN News, are articles and information about the Digital Amateur Radio "Emergency" Network of WV, which operates on 145.69 MHz. Anyone having any information about DAREN, or Amateur Radio in general, and would like to share it with others, may send it to WA8LLM @ PKBGWV on 145.69 MHz, or to my E-Mail: wa8llm@yahoo.com. A State Wide DAREN NET is operated every Saturday from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, and lately, before and after those hours. The DAREN Net Announcement, showing the MAIN NCS, ALTERNATE NCS, NODEs accessible to both, and the previous week's check-ins, are posted by Thursday on most of the Main county DAREN PBBS'. The DAREN News can also be found on the wc8ec.com website.
Bob Tuckerman, W3RUA, called me on Thursday and said that he was having a problem with the Pendleton County NODE/PBBS of PENDWV/FKLNWV after he got it moved to North Mountain. He said the time on the TNC didn't seem to be working right. I suggested that he do a RESET on the TNC. I've noticed over the years that if you do a RESET once in awhile, the TNC seems to clear itself of little problems that seem to creep into them over time. That's why I suggest that any time you need to make changes in your TNC, like changing the time for Daylight Savings Time, that you do a RESET after you are done. The RESET command is actually a soft reset, like turning your TNC off and then back on again. Speaking of turning your TNC off and then back on, I want to warn everyone to take your time turning it off and back on. Several years ago one of our operators turned the power off of the TNC on one of our main Packet stations, and then right back on without waiting a few seconds. All of the information in the TNC was lost, like it had just come out of the box. When you turn the power off to any electronic device, be sure to leave the power off for a few seconds before turning it back on. Turning the power off and then back on seems to clear a lot of problems on computer based electronic devices, just take your time. I even got $25 from H&R Block for fixing their computer system when I went to have my taxes done once. When I got there for my appointment, they told me the computers were down, due to a short power failure during a storm. They had called for a service technician. He suggested they turn the computers off and then back on. They turned them off and back on several times, but that didn't help. I asked them if they had unplugged the computers from the wall, or just them off. They had just turned them off. Even though computers are turned off there is still a little current coming out of the power supply going to the computer boards. After they turned the computers off again, we unplugged them from the wall and let them set for a minute or so. When they were turned back on, everything came back up and I got my taxes done. They submitted some kind of "outstanding customer" report to their main office, and in a month or so, I received a check for $25. All I wanted was to get my taxes done. I did go ahead and cash the check.
Gene Roy, N8ER, sent me a message saying the Tucker County NODE/PBBS of TUCKES/PRSNES is back in operation. He said the station is at a low elevation, but it is on the air. He has a couple of Amateurs that are looking for TNCs to put together Packet station. If you know of any TNCs that are available, you might want to get a hold of Gene.
There were 55 check-ins to this week's State Wide DAREN Net. Terry Mills, KC8TUE, needs only one check-in to make 300.