May 2026 Dane/Iowa County ARES/RACES In-Person Meeting

This coming week we’ll be having our last Wednesday of the Month In-Person meeting at the EOC. I’ve learned that a mesh network is being built out around the county and I’ve asked Nicholas , KB9SKW to let us know how it has been going, what kind of mesh it is, how we might get involved and I’d like us to consider how we might take advantage of it for emergency and public service purposes.

I’ve been working on some software that I think is ready to share with you all as well if we have time.

Last Month Jeremy, N9VHT walked us through the latest version of skylog.net, which is logging software we use for logging severe weather events and most of our bike events. I have uploaded a copy of his presentation here: youtu.be/MClVh029yo0

I am populating the information for Horribly Hilly Hundreds even as we speak so we can use it and take advantage of all the new features he is building in.

As usual we will meet at the Dane County Emergency Operations Center at 2982 Kapec Rd, Fitchburg, WI 53719 (fillian.net/eocmap) on Wednesday, May 28, at 7:00 pm.

If you are unable to attend there is a Google meet connection that is available. The link information went out in the email I sent along to the team email addresses. If you didn’t receive the email and would like to attend virtually let me know at k9unz@arrl.net.

Can you Help at the Horribly Hilly Hundreds this year?

My, my look at the time!

The 2026 Horribly Hilly Hundreds will ride on June 13, 2026 out of Blue Mound State Park. (Officially) the first riders set out at 6:45 AM and can arrive back at the park as much as 12 hours later. We have 4 rest stops and as many as 7 water stops (if I am counting correctly). In addition to needing communicators at the water and rest stops we will need SAG (Support and Gear) drivers with bike racks and Net Control Officers at the park to manage communications. If you are willing and able to help staff this event please fill out the information form and let me know how you are able to help.  Remember, we get fed after the event and SAG drivers get reimbursed mileage. We also have access to some loaner equipment for those who might need.

The registration form can be found here: https://fillian.net/hhh2026

Jeff, K9UNZ

March 2026 Membership Meeting

Our March In-Person membership meeting will be held on March 25 (2026) at 7PM. This month we will be meeting at the Cross Plains Fire Department, 1501 Bourbon Rd, Cross Plains, WI 53528, which has an Amateur Station. Steve, KC9FKV will introduce us to the station at the fire department and in addition to checking out that station, Kyle, KC9SDK our Wisconsin ARES State Emergency Coordinator will be on hand to tell us what is happening at a state level and answer any questions we might have.

We will NOT be meeting at the Dane County EOC this month.

As usual we will be sending out a reminder with virtual connection information for anyone who is unable to join us in person. You can expect that information about a week before the meeting.

Feb 2026 Membership Meeting – Change of Plans

I realized that I don’t want to step on our PL-259 work or give short shrift to our APRS work.

Soooo….

We will hold the APRS work until a later date. But if we have time I would like to spend a few minutes talking about using AllStar to connect to the MARA “15” repeater. There are Ham purists that might suggest that using the internet to connect to a repeater is cheating but I think it fulfills our “by any means necessary” You’ve heard a number of folks joining us using the AllStar link lately, including me from Connecticut. Let’s also talk about that as well.

See you on Wednesday (2/25/2026). 7:00 pm at the Dane County EOC at 2982 Kapec Rd, Fitchburg, WI.

and for those who cannot be there in person you should have received an email with the virtual connection information, otherwise drop a note to k9unz@arrl.net.

February 2026 General Membership Meeting

Our February meeting will be held on February 25 at the Dane County EOC at 7:00 PM. The Building is behind the KwikTrip and is located at 2982 Kapec Rd. Fitchburg, WI 53719.

Our plan is to demo NVIS (Near Vertical Incidence Skywave), a way to connect to one another at relatively close proximity using HF. Often we need the power of HF for a local incident but HF typically works better for longer distances. NVIS bounces a signal virtually straight up so it will bounce nearly directly down for local traffic.

We also plan to spend some time demo-ing and testing our ability to connect a PL and SO 239 to coax. If you’ve not checked off that capability on your ARES Taskbook, here is a perfect opportunity!

You should receive an email later this weekend with the connection information for those who cannot come in person. If you do not receive that email by Monday please send a note to K9UNZ@arrl.net and let Jeff know.

January 2026 Dane/Iowa County ARES/RACES Membership Meeting

Our January meeting (often referred to as our Meeting of Record) will be held on January 28 at the Dane County EOC at 7:00 PM. The Building is behind the KwikTrip and is located at 2982 Kapec Rd. Fitchburg, WI 53719.

  • We will look at the coming year.
  • Fill out Radiograms or ICS-213s for those who have not already filled them out indicating your interest in participating in ARES activities for 2026
  • We will see how the State ARES Standard Operating Procedures effect membership
  • And (I am quite tardy on this) get final information on those for whom I have not yet requested State IDs. 

I think that will do for the night. 

If you are unable to join us in person you can join us virtually by using the meeting information below. 

Obviously there will be NO net meeting this week!

See you there, 

Jeff, K9UNZ

You should have received the virtual meeting information in a separate email. If you do not have that information and would like to attend virtually, please send an email to K9UNZ@arrl.net and ask. Please be sure to include your call sign.