ROARS NEWS
We will post new ROARS or Ham information here as we have it. (If you have information or events we should share here, please email them to Steve.K6SRS@gmail.com)
FEB -
RIP San Diego HRO. Sniff . . .
MAR - The ROARS nets under the new management of John German, W6IET, and our monthly meeting.
APR - The 2023 "International DX Convention" is returning and added to the calendar in April. It's been quiet for three years.
JUN - Field Day is the 24th and 25th
NOTES:
The ROARS application and ROARS dues can be done online anytime on the ROARS Application and Payment page. This takes you to the appropriate single or family payment page for your credit card.
On Jan 27 & 28 2023, ROARS was a participant in the "Winter Field Day" annual exercise. Like summer Field Day, this is to practice being prepared for a major disaster, but in cold and wet weather. As usual, the club trailer was the foundation for battery power and antennas. For shelter, three stations were set up in available shipping containers at All Day Radio. No heat or other facilities, just some protection from cold and rain during the 24 hour exercise. Peter (WA6HXM) and Mark (KD6WQK) were the work horses for contacts and station setup, tear down and logging. A few others came by from time to time. A very useful event to better understand the best use of our trailer, antennas and radios.
ROARS
ROARS is a 501(c)(3) Amateur Radio club established in 1989, headquartered in Ramona CA and serving the rural back-country of San Diego county. Our ROARS club logos are based on a member's well house (not an out house) that was truly the location of the club's first repeater. See the ROARS History page for much more information.
You can quickly find information about most everything we do on this ROARS web site by clicking items on the Table of Contents on the left or click the "three lines icon" at the top left corner of the screen. In addition you can join our Facebook site, participate in our bi-weekly ROARS net, and attend our monthly meetings. Net and meeting details follow below. You can also download and print a PDF file describing ROARS and an application to join ROARS. Both attachments are listed at the bottom of this page. Mail the application in with your check, or better yet come to a meeting.
RAMONA
Welcome to Ramona CA, the geographic center of San Diego county, with access to repeaters that cover most of southern California and links beyond. This is particularly important because almost all of Ramona's commercial and emergency communications systems are located on Mt. Woodson. Should the power or systems on Mt. Woodson be lost, we would loose cell coverage and more, becoming highly isolated. In the worst case conditions, Amateurs with their HF/VHF/UHF radios may be the only communications in and outside Ramona.
ROARS wants to help you be ready for this!
ROARS AREA WEATHER, FIRES & other Emergencies
One of ROARS top priorities is to help our members (and others) during major local disasters. In addition to our emergency communications net, three tools below can help you anytime to better understand what is happening around us; An SDG&E county-wide micro-weather monitoring system, strategically placed webcams around the county and web emergency broadcast monitoring. You can also (should also!) become a Skywarn weather spotter and report what you can see.
San Diego county is unique in the nation because SDG&E has 170 weather stations located along all their circuits all around the county. These sensors drive their own micro-climate simulations to report very localized San Diego weather, reportedly the best micro-climate system in the country. This is an amazing tool to see local temperature, humidity, wind everywhere around the county. Click here for the best San Diego County weather information available 24/7! To find a weather station close to you, click on the "More Data" tab at the bottom of the page.
These Webcams on Mt. Woodson, at the Ramona airport and around the county allow you to quickly see weather or fire conditions all around you:
Looking north from Mt. Woodson toward Palomar Mtn.
Looking east from Mt. Woodson over Highway 67, the Ramona airport, downtown Ramona and much of the Ramona valley. Your first place to look for smoke, fire or storms that may impact us.
Looking west from Mt. Woodson over Poway and to the ocean.
Looking south from Mt Woodson over Highway 67 and toward downtown San Diego
Ramona Airport CalFire Attack Air Base (AAB)
SDG&E Wildfire cameras. Cameras with azimuth shown so you can tell direction. Believe SDG&E can pan the cameras in times of need. Pick any camera you want.
Webcams on mountains all around Southern CA. A system of webcams established by UCSD that let you can see almost everywhere.
You can monitor Incident and First Responder communications in San Diego (or around the country) on the web. Click Here for Broadcastify!
As a Ham, you can be an official "Skywarn" weather reporter of your weather and conditions for the National Weather Service, a great service for the Ramona community. The details on how to do this are on our Skywarn Page.
ROARS Bi-Weekly Net:
ROARS welcomes all amateur radio operators in the San Diego County area. We use the net to enjoy our hobby and to practice emergency communications procedures. It is an on-the-air social time for everyone, so join in!
For more information on all the repeaters that the ROARS club maintains, CLICK HERE.
CLICK HERE for current HF band conditions
When: 1st, 3rd, and 5th Wednesday of the month starting at 7 PM
Where: We typically (but see the calendar for details on each net!) start on the PARC 147.130 repeater, move to the 145.300 MHz ROARS repeater and finish on 145.710 simplex. This is to test our ability to communicate throughout our community with and without repeaters. Net Details here!
Who: All licensed radio amateurs are more than welcome. More is better. Please join in!
Why: We use this net to let everyone practice three levels of communications challenges from easy to hard. And have fun!
ROARS Monthly Meeting:
ROARS meetings are held on the Fourth Wednesday of each month. PLEASE check the calendar above for the location each month. Meetings are free and open to all radio amateurs and anyone that is interested in Ham radio or SWL.
Where: Usually at the Ramona library, BUT see the calendar to confirm location!
When: 4th Wednesday of each month (except Nov and Dec) starting at 7 PM
Who: Everyone is invited! Bring your family or friends! You do not need to be a Ham. We will help you get there.
FIELD DAY:
Field Day is the single most popular on-the-air event held annually in the US and Canada. On the fourth weekend of June of each year, more than 35,000 radio amateurs gather with their clubs, groups or simply with friends to operate from remote locations. It is sponsored by the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL). There is also a Winter Field Day each year. For 2022, ROARS set up at the north side of the Chapel Lane cul-du-sac, across from CalFire station 82. In the spirit of practicing continuous worldwide communications in a simulated emergency environment, ROARS operates on solar and battery power simulating primary power failure. CLICK HERE for prior Field Day photos.
ROARS PICNIC
Club members gather annually for food and talk on a beautiful cool day. Many world problems are solved. There is also a hidden transmitter you can try to hunt down, so bring a HT radio and DF antenna if you have one.