The presentation covers the use of the Big Three — Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube — plus the new myARRL and homebrewed social networking sites that can benefit amateur radio by connecting amateur radio operators together and expose non-licensees to our hobby. Other new online technologies related to amateur radio are discussed in the presentation.

Some of the websites mentioned have been discussed on this weblog before, and other websites will also be discussed on this weblog at a later time.

If you missed the presentation, you can download the presentation in the following formats:

• PPT PowerPoint format (10 megabytes, in a ZIP file)
• PDF Adobe Reader format (42 megabytes)

The websites that were featured in the presentation (plus some bonus websites) are listed below:

• Des Moines Radio Amateurs’ Association
• Amateur Radio Technical Society
• Mid-Iowa Skywarn Association
• Facebook
  • Iowa ARES
  • ARRL
• Twitter
  • DMRAA
  • Mid-Iowa Skywarn
  • Hashtag search for #hamr or #hamradio
  • KC0ZMX’s APRS-to-Twitter gateway
• YouTube
• ARRL
  • How to navigate the new ARRL website
  • myARRL profile management (must be logged in)
• 73s.org
• Ham Radio Nation
• The Practical Amateur Radio Podcast
• This Week in Amateur Radio Podcast
• QRZ
• Google Maps APRS
• K6IB 3D APRS
• K5EHX Repeater Mapping
• callbyTXT
• RadioReference
• DX Clusters
  • DX Watch
  • eHam
  • QRZ
  • ham-radio.ch
  • F5LEN
  • DXFUN
  • 2-meter propagation
• Reverse Beacon Network

The presentation will cover the use of the Big Three — Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube — plus the new myARRL and homebrewed social networking sites that can benefit amateur radio by connecting amateur radio operators together and expose non-licensees to our hobby. Other new online technologies related to amateur radio will be discussed.

Executive board members will also be elected at the meeting. Friend and mentor George, KK7FM, has been nominated for president, and I have again been nominated for re-election as vice president.

You do not need to be a member to attend the meeting, but if you are a new ham (within the last year), your first year of membership is completely free.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the Waveland Room of Plymouth Congregational Church, located at 42nd and Ingersoll in Des Moines. We have plenty of room, so bring a friend!

This, of course, meant that there would be new blood coming into those various leadership positions. I am pleased to announce that I was elected through a close write-in vote to serve as the next president of Mid-Iowa Skywarn, which is effective immediately. I am grateful to be elected to this position, and I do indeed have some big shoes to fill and expectations to exceed. I learned this evening that Jim and I have very similar reasons for joining Skywarn, which I will likely write about later down the road. I plan on hitting the ground running, and I have plans to act on. Tom N0VPR was also elected to the role of secretary/treasurer — Tom has been working with Skywarn and ARES for quite a while as well, and we have worked with each other as president/vice president for the local club.

The Mid-Iowa Skywarn Association is the organization that mans the amateur radio station in the Des Moines National Weather Service office, using call sign K0DMX. It takes storm reports from all corners of the NWS Des Moines’ 51-county warning area through an extensive VHF/UHF linked repeater network. We’re lucky to have a great relationship with the Des Moines meteorologist-in-charge and warning coordinator.

After the brief meeting, we moved on to our annual two-hour spotter training class presented by the NWS. It was a great presentation, I thought. It included some new pictures and videos. It was certainly a good crowd, probably more than last year. If maybe a half-dozen more people showed up, we would have run out of seats. A lot of new faces I haven’t seen around — either they are hams that don’t usually come to our “normal” club meetings or this was their first time attending a storm spotter course.

Tom set out some amateur radio information brochures and fliers, along with business cards that listed information about the DMRAA and its meetings. After the presentation, non-hams were mingling with the hams asking how to get involved in amateur radio, and most of those business cards were gone, so I’d say the training session also sparked some interest in amateur radio. It turned out pretty well.

DMRAA member KC4VG Mike Greenwood will be operating as J6/KC4VG from February 2-10 on St. Lucia, as part of the eight-person Caribbean Buddies 2010 DXpedition team. As usual, he will be the logistician for the group, but will be operating as time permits.

The team will be operating from a villa in the very north of the island as well as portable on the beach and other locations. They will be operating on all bands (including possibly 160 meters) as conditions permit.

For more information, visit their website at http://sites.google.com/site/caribbeanbuddies/ and their blog (which will be most active) at http://caribbeanbuddies.blogspot.com/.

If you are unfamiliar with the term DXpedition, check out the Wikipedia entry.

Mike gave us a good presentation on the DXpedition he went on last year in St. Martin and Saba. It looked like tons of fun! He will also be working on the team with Steve WG0AT, but something makes me think that Rooster and Peanut will not be able to make the airplane ride.

The video that Mike used in last year’s DXpedition presentation can be viewed below:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 10, 2009

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Kevin Sanders, DMRAA Public Information Coordinator, (515) 770-7332
kevin at k0dsm.com

DES MOINES, Iowa — Area emergency management officials will be on hand at the next Des Moines Radio Amateurs’ Association (DMRAA) meeting on Tuesday, September 29 to discuss preparedness for the expected comeback of the H1N1 influenza virus.

Polk County Emergency Management Coordinator A.J. Mumm and Mercy Hospital Emergency Management Coordinator Brenda McGraw (KD0EDJ) will address the threat, explain EMA’s role during a public health emergency and provide tips on how to protect yourself and others from the flu. The role of emergency amateur radio operation during a health emergency will also be explained. The 50-minute presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the public.

“The information to be presented is both relevant and timely given the scope and severity that is possible from the H1N1 strain,” DMRAA President Tom Reis said. “Our amateur radio services could prove vital and our understanding of the threat vital as well.”

The meeting will be hosted by the DMRAA on Tuesday, September 22 at 7 p.m. in the Waveland Hall of the Plymouth Congregational Church on the corner of 42nd and Ingersoll in Des Moines (map). The meeting is free and open to the public.

ABOUT THE DES MOINES RADIO AMATEURS’ ASSOCIATION
The Des Moines Radio Amateurs’ Association, a non-profit organization and one of the oldest amateur radio clubs in the midwest, was established to conduct its programs and activities to advance the general interest and welfare of amateur radio in the community. The club regularly hosts programs, activities and exercises and maintains radio communication systems to benefit the community. For more information on the DMRAA, visit the club website at http://www.dmraa.com/.