Toledo Police Christmas Broadcast 2009

I have posted an Audio Log file from one of Toledo Police's Christmas Eve 2009 Broadcasts. There is a link to the file in the Selected Activity Library (http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/audiologs.html) on the Audio Logs page.

The following broadcast is a Toledo Police tradition:

[Alert Tones:] "Attention all cars and listeners. Be on the lookout for a short jolly individual dressed in red and trimmed in white, who is constantly saying 'Ho! Ho! Ho!'. Subject was last seen operating a sleigh being pulled by eight reindeer, southbound from the North Pole. This subject's method of operation is that he spreads joy and cheer everywhere. If this subject is observed, all units are advised to assist this subject as much as possible. If found, this subject will bring you happiness all year long. All the members of the Toledo Police Division, the operators of the Communications Section, and this officer would like to wish all our listeners a very Merry Christmas. WNCE682 and KTS670. It's Christmas Eve 2009."

[Followed by a radio response in reply to Officer James Ogle's broadcast:] "It's good to hear your voice Jimmy."

Direct Link: 12/24/2009 - Toledo Police - Christmas Eve 2009 Broadcast (1.7 MB)

See the following articles from the Toledo Blade "Just like Santa Claus, TPD dispatcher delivers" (http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091225/NEWS02/912250365/-1/NEWS) and WUPW "Christmas Eve police tradition" (http://www.foxtoledo.com/dpp/news/local/Christmas-Eve-police-tradition) for more information.

Audio Log from Oregon FD House Fire

I have posted an Audio Log file from Christmas Eve's house fire in Oregon Ohio. There is a link to the file in the Selected Activity Library (http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/audiologs.html) on the Audio Logs page.

This file contains 20 minutes of fire ground audio from the Oregon Fire Department operations starting at 11:30 AM and through 1:00 PM during the day of Thursday, December 24th, 2009. Firefighters from Oregon FD Station 1, Station 2 and Station 3 responded to the historic 170-year old Johlin house at the 3900 block of Corduroy Road in the City of Oregon.

Direct Link: 12/24/2009 - Ohio, Lucas County, Oregon FD - House Fire (9.0 MB)

See the following article from WNWO "Johlin Winery family home spared after fire" (http://www.toledoonthemove.com/news/story.aspx?id=394151) for more information.

Radio Shack holiday Scanner sales

While this year's Radio Shack holiday Scanner sales don't include any of their digital scanners, and these sales have not been as exciting as last season, they still have some decent discounts. Radio Shack is offering $50 off three handheld analog scanner models and you may find some discount codes for additional savings.

PRO-137 Racing Scanner: $79.99
PRO-164 1000-Channel Handheld Scanner: $149.99
PRO-107 Handheld iScan Trunking Scanner: $179.99

"Sale valid until 01/02/10"

The most interesting model is the new GRE built PRO-107 Handheld iScan Trunking Scanner. This model is analog only and won't cover the Toledo/Lucas digital system, but this scanner still could be a good choice for those in other areas. It provides a fresh and revolutionary design that offers ease of use and flexibility, as well as simplicity of operation. The included memory storage card holds programming information for all analog frequencies and trunking systems in the entire US based on information from the Radio Reference database. It will be exciting to see some of these features incorporated into possible future models. Hopefully a Digital iScan is on the horizon.

Jeff KC8NNO

Selfridge ANGB Michigan Air Show 2009 pictures

Hello all,

I finally got around to uploading and annotating my pictures from the previous month's Selfridge ANGB Michican Air Show:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jeffreypryor/SelfridgeANGBMichiganAirShow2009

There is an interesting collection of DHS assets included, and some neat pop up-communication tower shots, along with all the static aircraft and pictures from some of the flying acts.

Jeff KC8NNO

Test emergency prepardedness and practice communications skills with ham radio operating events and contests

I had the opportunity to work a couple ham radio HF (short wave) operating events/contests during this past September. These activities provided for both a good test of emergency preparedness in the field as well as the ability to practice communications skills from the comforts of home. I worked the 80 Meter HF frequency band exclusively for these particular events, in both voice and digital modes, with each event needing different configurations, and having different goals and setup requirements.

First, on Friday night, September 11th, I participated in an 80 Meter PSK31 digital mode contest, sponsored by the Penn-Ohio DX Society's "PODXS Ø7Ø Club" (http://www.podxs070.com/). The Ø7Ø comes from the "070" frequency suffix that is commonly used for PSK31 text chatting signals in the various HF bands (7.070, 14.070, etc) and the digital modes focus of this particular club. This specific contest was a short "sprint" from 8PM to 2AM local time with the goal to work as many stations on 80 Meters as possible using solely PSK31 during the six hour time period. For this event I was able to shoe horn my full size 80 Meter dipole into the backyard using somewhat of a inverted V configuration. I operated in the Low Power category (less than 50 Watts) and was able to make 42 contacts from 18 unique states and three countries, with the farthest contacts being in Utah and Puerto Rico.

Next, during Saturday on September 12th, I packed up my HF equipment and setup in the field to activate Maumee Bay State Park for the Ohio State Parks On The Air 2009 event. This operating event was sponsored by the Portage County Amateur Radio Service and was their 2nd annual Ohio State Parks event (http://parks.portcars.org/). This contest was an all day event from Noon until 8PM and it placed a premium on working stations at the State Parks. This provided an opportunity for hams to visit and activate parks across the state, along with the goal to work other Ohio stations on HF via deployment and utilization of NVIS antennas. The weather for this event was also ideal. For this particular setup, I utilized my full size 80 Meter wire dipole antenna in a Near Vertical Incidence Skywave configuration, having strung it up about 5 feet off the ground between a tree and a light pole at my location overlooking the inland beach area. This NVIS configuration sends the majority of the radiation straight up and the radio signals are then refracted back down to blanket a circular region surrounding the transmitter. I had no troubles hearing and working stations at the various parks from all around of Ohio using 80 Meter voice. Overall I had 52 total contacts at 30 unique state parks. Thanks to the Portage County ARS and Ohio State Parks for sponsoring this now annual event that takes place the weekend after Labor Day.

While I don't consider myself a really serious ham radio contester, I do find these kinds of operating events provide an opportunity to get on the air and work many contacts during a short time frame. These activities can help test your emergency preparedness capabilities to deploy a solution to meet specific needs. Along with practicing communications skills, this gives you a chance to have fun and work with other hams while trying to reach similar goals that often require rapid exchange of specific information. Give a ham radio event like these a try, and I look forward to working you on the air!

73 Jeff

Photo caption: Station KC8NNO at Maumee Bay State Park

Recap of Field Day via Twitter Pictures

For those not following me http://twitter.com/jpryor223 on Twitter, here is a brief recap of Field Day activities from this past weekend:

Bob W8NYY helping with launching antenna lines over trees via his industrial grade sling shot http://twitpic.com/8kdxu

Steve W8TER and Mike WA8SYD hanging up the TMRA information sign inviting all to stop by a ham radio field day site today http://twitpic.com/8khsu

A ham radio slow scan TV image (SSTV) from Joe KJ0EYT at TMRA field day site in Maumee Ohio as received over the air via ham radio and then uploaded over the air via wifi http://twitpic.com/8lfnz

Steve KC8YRK and Nancy KC8ZLZ on the W8HHF 20 meter Field Day station working and logging voice contacts via ham radio http://twitpic.com/8lpcm

Steve W8TER the TMRA Field Day chair and others, what's a ham radio field day without food http://twitpic.com/8m35z

Digi Classes: APRS program at June TMRA meeting

Jeff KC8NNO and Steve KB9UPS will be offering an Introduction to APRS presentation and conduct a basic APRS equipment demonstration at the upcoming Toledo Mobile Radio Association (TMRA) monthly General Meeting. APRS stands for the Automatic Packet Reporting System. This educational APRS program will take place at the Wednesday June 10th TMRA General Meeting which starts at 7:30 PM at the Electrical Industry Building in Rossford Ohio.

This program is a continuation of the latest series of 'digi classes'--covering ham radio digital communications topics--and TMRA's overall commitment to providing ongoing educational opportunities. The program will consist of a presentation covering some of the basic functionality and uses for APRS, an interactive 'on the air' equipment demonstration, and as well as time for questions and answers and any additional discussion.

The Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) is an amateur radio based system for real time tactical digital communications of information of immediate value in the local area. In North America, APRS data and activity is primarily found in the 2 Meter band on 144.390 MHz. In addition, all such data is ingested into the APRS Internet system (APRS-IS) and distributed globally for instant access. In addition to messages, alerts, announcements and bulletins, the most visible aspect of APRS is its map display. Anyone may place any object or information on their map and it is distributed to all maps of all users in the local RF network or monitoring the area via the Internet. Any station, radio or object that has an attached GPS is automatically tracked. Other prominent map features are weather stations, alerts and objects and other map related amateur radio volunteer activities including Search and Rescue and signal direction finding.

Individuals looking to learn more about the Automatic Packet Reporting System and where they can apply APRS digital communications are encouraged to attend the program and participate in the demonstration and discussion. Plenty of information is also available via the Internet with http://www.aprs.org/ being a good place to start.

Google Wonder Wheel gets "kc8nno" call sign search correct

I noticed that the Google Wonder Wheel feature got my amateur radio call sign "kc8nno" search correct with the spokes being "ham radio operator", "weather spotter", "oregon oh", "dayton hamvention", "lucas county" and "aprs fi".

About NW Ohio Live Services: "Live Mapping (APRS)"

This is the fourth entry of a series of seven blog entries that will provide additional details surrounding all the elements at NW Ohio Live Services (http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/).

Today's topic is the "Live Mapping (APRS)" component (http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/livemappingaprs.html).

The Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) is an amateur radio based system for real time tactical digital communications of information of immediate value in the local area. In addition, all such data is ingested into the APRS Internet system (APRS-IS) and distributed globally for instant access. In addition to messages, alerts, announcements and bulletins, the most visible aspect of APRS is its map display. Anyone may place any object or information on their map and it is distributed to all maps of all users in the local RF network or monitoring the area via the Internet. Any station, radio or object that has an attached GPS is automatically tracked. Other prominent map features are weather stations, alerts and objects and other map related amateur radio volunteer activities including Search and Rescue and signal direction finding.

The Live Mapping APRS (Amateur Automatic Packet Reporting System) feature on NW Ohio Live Services is made possible by the APRS-IS network and APRS.fi (Google Maps APRS) as well as all of the stations that provide RF APRS digipeaters and gate RF APRS traffic to the Internet. Find me on APRS via APRS.fi at http://aprs.fi/?call=KC8NNO*

This concludes the in depth look at the details surrounding the Live Mapping (APRS) element. Stay tuned for the next topic which will cover the Live Mapping (AIS) component in more detail.

(About NW Ohio Live Services - Blog Entry 4-A of 7)

2009 NW Ohio Live Services

Ham Radio in the spot light for Glass City Marathon support

The Lucas County ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) and ham radio are in the spot light this year for providing Glass City Marathon radio communications support. The marathon race was held on Sunday, April 26th, 2009 and race day weather was much warmer than normal. Ham radio operators worked from various fixed and mobile locations all along the 26 mile marathon race course that crossed through both Lucas County and Wood County in the Greater Toledo Ohio area.

This year thanks to Jim Duggan, KD8CIJ, ARRL Public Information Officer for Ohio ARES District One, we also had plenty of media coverage and articles high lighting our ham radio communications support role.

Local Toledo television station WTOL Channel 11 featured two live shots and on air interviews regarding ARES support and ham radio on their Your Day Friday, April 24th, 2009 morning program:
http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?s=10242385

The American Radio Relay League's national weekly ARES electronic "E-Letter" newsletter on May 20th, 2009 features a "Hams Rally for Glass City Marathon" article:
http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/ares-el/index.html?issue=2009-05-20#toc04

And the Ohio ARRL website includes a more detailed article with additional pictures from marathon race day operations:
http://www.arrlohio.org/glass_city_marathon_09.htm

Thanks go out to all the Lucas County ARES members who volunteered, including those operators from Wood County, Hancock County, and Monroe County (Michigan) that came out to help as well. And special thanks to Rick Sharpe, K8RKS, our ARES Race Coordinator from Lucas County.

Photo by KD8CIJ: Jeff Pryor (KC8NNO) Handles radio traffic for race officials / ARES Net Control--Command Center in background.

Heading down to Dayton Hamvention on Saturday

Hello all,

I'm heading on down to Dayton Ohio for Hamvention 2009 tomorrow. I'll be going via the Toledo Mobile Radio Association (TMRA) charter bus with about 50 other local ham radio operators. Follow our progress while enroute and returning via the Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) at http://aprs.fi/?call=KC8NNO-13 and watch for me walking around Hamvention at http://aprs.fi/?call=KC8NNO-7 also via APRS. You may also see my relative location via Google Latitude. Also feel free to follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jpryor223 for some mobile updates during the day.

Jeff KC8NNO

I am determined to tweet my Twitter more often

Hello all. I am determined that I will tweet on my Twitter account more often. I now have Twitter on my Windows Mobile phone and can access via mobile web, and have TweekDeck up for real time access while at home. So along with occasional posts on ScanMiamiValley I'll have other random tweets via my personal account.

Follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jpryor223

What is this Twitter thing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter

Putnam County celebrates kickoff of MARCS radio system

Article about Ohio MARCS communications upgrades in Putnam County:

LimaOhio.com - Glandorf, Ohio: Sunday, April 5th, 2009

"It's like writing the final chapter of a best selling novel," Putnam County Sheriff Jim Beutler told state and local officials at the county's Multi-Agency Radio Communications System kick off on Sunday ...

http://www.limaohio.com/news/county_35982___article.html/system_state.html

Jeff KC8NNO

Holy High Altitude Balloons: HALO II Launch this Weekend!

According to the Amateur Radio High Altitude Ballooning Launch Announcements site (http://showcase.netins.net/web/wallio/ARHABlaunchannouncements.htm) there will be a large number of coordinated balloon launches this weekend.

The HALO II Project involves 15 Universities from across nine different states simultaneously launching high-altitude balloons to create a balloon-to-balloon network in order to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) Education and conduct cutting edge multi point science experiments.

The purpose of the HALO (High Altitude Launch Opportunity) project is to set up a high altitude communications network. When one balloon comes over the radio horizon of another balloon they will link and and start communicating. This project and Part-15 900MHz Spread Spectrum HALO NETWORK is managed by Taylor University (Indiana). Cooperating universities from Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia are also launching balloons.

The launches for these balloon flights are scheduled for this Saturday, April 4th at 11:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time. All high altitude balloons are equipped with Amateur Radio APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) transmitters on 144.39 MHz. Refer to the ARHAB site for more specific launch locations and tracking call signs.

The primary Talyor University balloon (KB9ZNZ-1) will likely have the normal Cross-band Repeater capabilities (Uplink ↑ 144.360 MHz & Downlink ↓ 446.025 MHz). The Wright State University balloon (W1WSU-11) is listed as having telemetry (145.050 MHz AX.25 TLM), Fast Scan television (427.250 MHz AM ATV) as well as a 2 Meter beacon (146.565 MHz DF Beacon).

Severe Weather Week Announcements

In conjunction with Ohio's Spring Severe Weather Awareness Week, and the Statewide Tornado Drill, Lucas County will be activating the outdoor warning sirens on the morning of Wednesday, March 25th at 9:50 AM Eastern Daylight Time. Lucas County Skywarn will be conducting a special session net that will take station check-ins, stand by for the outdoor warning siren test, and then conclude with a brief roll call of all stations that have checked in. This special Skywarn net will be activated Wednesday Morning at 9:40 AM on the primary Lucas County Skywarn frequency (the 147.27 MHz TMRA repeater). All stations that are available at that time are encouraged to check in to the net.

And also, as a general reminder, the National Weather Service, in conjunction with Lucas County Skywarn and the Lucas County Emergency Management Agency, will be holding Skywarn Severe Weather Spotter Training class this Saturday morning, March 28th at 10:00 AM at Saint Luke’s Hospital Auditorium in Maumee, Ohio. The program is updated every year and the National Weather Service recommends spotters take the training every 2-3 years as a refresher. All individuals are encouraged to attend.

TMRA Toledo Hamfest this Sunday

The Toledo Mobile Radio Association annual Hamfest is this Sunday, March 15th, 2009. The Toledo Hamfest takes place at the Lucas County Recreation Center at 2901 Key Street in Maumee, Ohio. The hamfest hours are from 8:00 AM till 2:00 PM.

See the TMRA Website for additional information:

http://www.tmrahamradio.org/hamfest.htm

Navigate to the hamfest via APRS:

http://aprs.fi/?call=HFEST-15t

Toledo Fire Last Alarm Call for Fire Fighter Paramedic Michael Darrington

I have posted an Audio Log file of the Last Alarm Call for Fire Fighter Paramedic Michael Darrington from the Toledo Department of Fire and Rescue Operations. There is a link to the file in the Selected Activity Library (http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/audiologs.html) on the Audio Logs page.

The broadcast was part of today's full departmental funeral services and went out over the air just after 3:00 PM. This Last Alarm Call transmission was also simulcast on the NPSPAC Interoperability channel "8 ITAC2" (867.0125 MHz Analog Conventional Repeater) as well as the Ohio MARCS Emergency Common channel "ECOMM 21" (800 MHz Digital Trunking System).

Direct Link:
03/06/2009 - Toledo Fire Last Alarm Call - FF Mike Darrington (1.3 MB)

Fire Department Communication Channels for Funeral Services

Firefighter Michael J. Darrington
August 25th, 1963 - February 27th, 2009

Visitation:
Thursday, March 5th, 2009 5:00PM-8:00PM
House of Day Funeral Home
2550 Nebraska Ave.
Toledo, OH 43607

Last Alarm:
Thursday, March 5th, 2009 7:00PM-8:00PM

Funeral Services:
Friday, March 6th, 2009 11:00AM
Friendship Baptist Church
5301 Nebraska Ave.
Toledo, OH 43607

Fire Department Communications Channels:
Out of state Fire Departments can use the NPSPAC channel "8 ITAC2".
Ohio Fire Departments can use the MARCS channel "ECOMM 21".
These channels will be active beginning at 0800 hours, on March 6th.

Tentative Schedule for March 6th:
8:00 AM - NPSPAC "8 ITAC2" and Ohio MARCS "ECOMM 21" Activated
9:30 AM - Apparatus Staging @ Friendship Baptist Church
11:00 AM - Funeral Services @ Friendship Baptist Church
~1:00 PM ~ 2:00 PM - Procession (Church to Station 16 via Dorr St)
~2:00 PM - Station 16 Drive By [times dependent on turnout]
~2:00 PM ~ 3:00 PM - Procession (Station 16 to Memorial Park via Monroe St)
~3:00 PM - Internment @ Toledo Memorial Park
Afternoon - Evening - Repass @ Erie Street Market

For More Information:
Toledo Fire and Rescue Department
Toledo Firefighters Local 92

Severe weather season fast approaching: Spotter Training 2009

Being a storm spotter not only means dedication, but also training. Each spring the Cleveland office of the National Weather Service trains members of police & fire departments, emergency management officials, amateur radio operators and weather interested citizens on spotting techniques. Typically the training is coordinated by a local group (such as an emergency management agency), and a NWS meteorologist serves as the guest instructor. The goal of the training is not just to recognize tornadoes, but to have some understanding of storm structure, which in turn better prepares the spotter for the extreme and unusual circumstances.

The National Weather Service (NWS), in conjunction with Lucas County SKYWARN® and the Lucas County Emergency Management Agency, will be holding a SKYWARN® Severe Weather Spotter Training class on Saturday, March 28th at 10:00 AM at St. Luke's Hospital Auditorium in Maumee, Ohio.

The class will last around two hours and includes a multimedia presentation. Gary Garnet, Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Cleveland, Ohio, organizes the training each spring. It is open to all citizens interested in severe weather recognition, reporting, and safety and covers: Basics of thunderstorm development; Fundamentals of storm structure; Identifying potential severe weather features; What and how to report; Basic severe weather safety.

The program is updated every year and the National Weather Service recommends spotters take the training every 2-3 years as a refresher. All interested individuals are encouraged to attend this free training and it is not necessary to pre-register. Those who complete the program with be registered with the National Weather Service Cleveland Forecast Office and will be issued a SKYWARN® Spotter ID card.

NWS Cleveland SKYWARN® Spotter Training Schedule for NW Ohio District 1 Counties:

March 5th @ 6:30 PM - Seneca County
March 12th @ 6:30 PM - Wood County
March 16th @ 2:00 PM - Online Webinar*
March 19th @ 6:30 PM - Sandusky County
March 28th @ 10:00 AM - Lucas County
March 31st @ 2:00 PM - Online Webinar*
April 6th @ 6:30 PM - Hancock County
April 13th @ 6:30 PM - Wyandot County
April 14th @ 6:00 PM - Online Webinar*

* Cleveland also offers SKYWARN® Webinar Training, Visit their Website for more information.

Helpful websites:

National Weather Service Cleveland: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/cle/
NW Ohio District 1 SKYWARN®: http://www.nwoskywarn.org/
Lucas County SKYWARN®: http://www.lucascoskywarn.org/

Toledo Fire Line of Duty Death Notification

City of Toledo Ohio Firefighter and Paramedic Michael Darrington passed away yesterday afternoon, Friday February 27th 2009, while on duty at Toledo Fire Station 14.

Toledo Blade Article:
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090228/NEWS16/902280259

I have posted an Audio Log file of the Line of Duty Death (LODD) Notification annoucement from the Toledo Department of Fire and Rescue Operations. There is a link to the file in the Selected Activity Library (http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/audiologs.html) on the Audio Logs page.

Direct Link:
02/27/2009 - Toledo Fire LODD Notification - FF Mike Darrington (0.7 MB)

Interesting Live Feed with Pro96Com Screen Visual

Here is an interesting live scanner feed that is using Pro96Com software for a screen visual. This feed is from Westmoreland County in the State of Pennslyania. Head on over to www.gmans.net and click on the "LIVE FEED PAGE" on the left menu (or direct link to the page at http://www.gmans.net/live_audio-video_scanner_feed_page.htm). The screen visual is displaying live talk group, radio ID and radio description along with the radio system audio.

Audio Logs from Lake Erie Ice Rescue

I have posted a series of Audio Log files from this weekend's ice rescue operations on the western basin of Lake Erie. There is a link to the files in the Selected Activity Library (http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/audiologs.html) on the Audio Logs page.

The files contain selected audio communications from Jerusalem Twp and the mutual aid provided by Oregon, Toledo, and Washington Twp. Ottawa County, the United States Coast Guard and numerous other agencies also participated significantly in the rescue operations.

The morning of Saturday, February 7th, 2009 saw warm temperatures and a strong southwest wind that pushed hundreds of ice fishers out into the lake on an 8 mile long ice flow (or floe). A large 100 yard wide crack developed from Davis Besse and west to Maumee Bay. (The Lake Erie MODIS Ice Coverage Satellite Imagery actually shows a pretty good visual.) Most of the rescue operations were conducted off of the Crane Creek, Metzger Marsh and Magee Marsh areas in Lucas and Ottawa County.

The VHF Marine channel file contains communications between the USCG Rescue Helicopters "65xx" and the C-130 "2005" (based out of Elizabeth City NC), as well as Sector Detroit, Station Toledo, and Lucas County. The Oregon Ops 5-2 talk group from the Lucas County P25 county wide digital radio system was the primary Interop and Incident Command channel for Jerusalem Twp FD, and I have included some additional agency specific communications.

Direct Links:
02/07/2009 - Lake Erie Ice Rescue - VHF Marine Ch 23 (8.2 MB)
02/07/2009 - Lake Erie Ice Rescue - Oregon Ops 5-2 (9.4 MB)
02/07/2009 - Lake Erie Ice Rescue - Toledo FD Ch 7 (2.0 MB)
02/07/2009 - Lake Erie Ice Rescue - Oregon FD Ops (1.9 MB)
02/07/2009 - Lake Erie Ice Rescue - Jerusalem Twp FD Ops (4.5 MB)
02/07/2009 - Lake Erie Ice Rescue - Washington Twp FD Ops (7.0 MB)

The feed archive over at Scan America has plenty of the communications as well (search between 11AM and 2PM on 02/07/09):
http://lucas.oh.scanamerica.us/modules.php?name=FeedArchive

Significant Ice Rescue Operations in Progress on Western Lake Erie

Significant ice rescue operations are in progress on the western basin on Lake Erie. Jerusalem Twp FD (Lucas County) is the lead agency, with Oregon FD, Toledo FD, Washington Twp FD assiting as well as agencies from Ottawa County. There are reports of upwards of 150-500 people trapped on ice flows. A significant 100 yard wide crack from Davis Besse plant west to Maumee Bay has developed. Staging and command posts are at the Metzger Marsh and Crane Creek State Park areas. A USCG helicopter from Air Station Detroit is overhead, ProMedica Air 1 helicopter is also enroute. Live feed scanner activity is on www.ScanAmerica.us (Lucas County, Ohio Live Police, Fire, and EMS Scanners).

Live Scanner "Mini Console" Page is Back

Folks who had visited the NW Ohio Live Scanner page in the past may have remembered the "Mini Console" page with multiple embedded live streams all on one page. Well the "Mini Console" page is back. The Mini Console page features all three of my NW Ohio live streams from ScanAmerica embedded on one page. This page allows folks to listen to the NW Ohio Digital & MARCS feed, NW Ohio Fire / Emergency Analog feed, and Toledo and Lucas County Fire & EMS Digital feed all at the same time.

The Live Scanner Mini Console is designed for use with Windows Media Player. Each feed is 16 Kbps so a decent connection is needed to listen to all feeds at the same time. You may need to adjust your web browser settings to accept more than two downloads at the same time. Individual feeds can be muted and volume levels custom mixed to your needs. Stereo balancing provides pseudo surround sound and distributes the audio from each feed from the left to the right speakers. In Windows Media Player, the "Visualization" / "Bars and Waves" / "Fire Storm" provides for a good graphical activity indicator.

Algosteel makes Mid-January arrival at Port of Toledo

The Algoma Central Corporation's cargo vessel Algosteel has made a mid-January arrival at the Port of Toledo (01/16/2009 @ 6:00 PM Local Time) in Toledo, Ohio. Based on AIS mapping data, it appears that the USCGC Neah Bay is helping to clear ice. The CCGS Griffon may have also been assisting with ice operations in the western basin of Lake Erie. The Algosteel is currently reporting as being moored in the Maumee Channel, just off the at the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority Facility No. 1 (Midwest Terminals of Toledo International) docks. Discussions on VHF Marine Channel 81 are indicating a failure at the CSX Railroad Swing Bridge, and a maintainer has been called to get the bridge back in motion. The vessel also discussed at least two additional scheduled loads of salt from Goderich, Ontario are planned (one to Detroit and one to Chicago).

This might be the last Live Mapping AIS activity in a while for here in Toledo.

TARE Meeting this Thursday

For folks wanting to get together with others from the NW Ohio area and chat about radio communications, the monthly TARE meeting is coming up this Thursday 01/15 at 7:00 PM.

TARE (Toledo Area Radio Enthusiasts) meets every third Thursday of the month at Schlotzsky's Deli on Reynolds Rd in Maumee Ohio (Schlotzsky's Deli‎ on Google Maps). There is always a good handful of folks there and the get together is pretty informal. Just look for the tables pushed together with radios and some laptops. Discussions usually range from shortwave listening, scanning and public safety monitoring, amateur radio communications and more (or less).

Folks that may have purchased or received newer radios from over the holidays, feel free to bring your equipment and questions. There are usually others with most of the common brands and models of scanners present, and there is always somebody that can help.

Audio Log from Oregon FD Barn Fire

I have posted an Audio Log file from this morning's barn fire in Oregon Ohio. There is a link to the file in the Selected Activity Library (http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/audiologs.html) on the Audio Logs page.

This file contains 25 minutes of fire ground audio from the Oregon Fire Department operations starting at 12:36 AM and through 9:19 AM on the morning of Friday, January 2nd, 2009. Firefighters from Oregon FD Station 1 and Station 3 battled the barn fire blaze that occurred at the 7100 block of Corduroy Road in the City of Oregon.

Direct Link: 01/02/2009 - Ohio, Lucas County, Oregon FD - Barn Fire (11.5 MB)

See the following articles from WTOL "Oregon barn fire kills animals, damages house" ( http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=9606529) and "Oregon farmer talks of deadly fire" (http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=9608592) for more information.

Interesting Internet Integrated Services

Here are a couple of interesting Internet integrated services that I have stumbled upon over the past few weeks.
---

The first interesting service comes courtesy of the Laclede County Office of Emergency Management (http://www.lacledeoem.net/) in the State of Missouri. They are providing a "Live Radio Console Feed" stream of their dispatch console system from their Emergency Operations Center. Windows Media Encoder is being used to provide access to a ZETRON Console screen view and related audio:

http://broadcast.lacledeoem.net/

See the following Radio Reference thread for additional discussion:

http://www.radioreference.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75442
---

The second interesting service comes courtesy of the Lebanon County Emergency Management Agency (http://www.lebanonema.org/) in the State of Pennsylvania. They are providing an ongoing real time log of decoded Lebanon County dispatch pages. A data slicer monitors the POCSAG paging radio transmissions off the air:

http://lebanonema.org/pager/html/monitor.html

See the following thread on their site for additional details and information:

http://www.lebanonema.org/lema/Radio+Project/277.aspx
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Jeff KC8NNO