For your situational awareness, aerial patrols of Mid-American electric transmission lines will take place September 10th -12th. To complete the patrols, the helicopter will be flying at low levels. Please be advised that it will be in the vicinity of Mid-American’s substation and generating facilities.  The contracted helicopter is a white and brown with gold stripe […]

Polk County ARES provided communication operators for the recent NDMS (National Defense Medical System) full scale exercise.   This time the radios were provided by the hospitals and utilized their own 800 Mhz system.  Net control struggled a bit to get the information out using a 800 Mhz HT.  That said we all adapted and […]

  Three plastic foil-envelope balloons carrying Amateur Radio payloads and launched from the UK by Leo Bodnar, M0XER, remain aloft and continue to circle the Earth. The oldest, identified as B-63, was released on July 8 and became the second of Bodnar’s balloons to circumnavigate the globe. The first to do so, B-64, went up […]

The Great Ames Adventure Race (GAAR) will be held Sunday morning, September 7th at Ada Hayden Heritage Park in north Ames.  Individuals or teams up to four will compete on a course consisting of a three-mile canoe race, followed by a 15-mile bike ride and finishing with a 5K run.  See www.greatamesadventurerace.org for more information.  The Story County […]

The latest Static Sheet is now posted.   Just Click on the cover page to open the August 2014 Static Sheet.  Enjoy!  

The Des Moines NDMS (National Defense Medical System) full scale exercise is scheduled for Thursday September 4th.  This exercise occurs every 3 years.  About 15 operators will be needed at the airport and local hospitals.  You will not need to bring any personal equipment Contact Scott Kirstein NØOOD at (515) 490-7414 or [email protected]

The 2014 edition of the Show & Shine featured cars equipped by the Iowa State Patrol and Des Moines Police Dept.  Club members were all eyes as they looked at the latest versions of police mobile units.  From License Plate Recognition to state of the art communication equipment, club members were very impressed.  We also […]

Please see the attachment in regards to the upcoming VE Testing for August 2nd in Marshalltown. Please feel free to pass along the information to your ham radio friends. We will test all license classes, and no pre-registration required. If you have any questions please let me know! Click on link below for more information. […]

The ARRL has launched a web page devoted to HR-4969, the Amateur Radio Parity Act. Learn how you can help support this bill and get it to a vote in congress.

The next Polk County ARES Quarterly Meeting is July 21st at 7:00pm. Meeting is at the Polk County Emergency Operations Center 1907 Carpenter. All interested hams are encouraged to attend