• January 2007: Eric Swanson, WB6MVT, ACS Outstanding Volunteer for 2006:
Click on photo for larger image.
Congratulations to Eric Swanson, WB6MVT, South County Unit Leader, on being nominated as the ACS Outstanding Volunteer for 2006! Eric took on the position of Unit Leader at a time when The South County Unit was taking on the cities of Rohnert Park and Cotati in addition to Petaluma so the South County Unit Leader responsibility was increasing dramatically. During his tenure as Unit Leader, Eric has managed to increase the number of volunteers for the South County Unit by organizing and staging a unique recruitment technique for ACS. He put on a pancake feed and breakfast that not only managed to grow our ham radio volunteer numbers in South County but it has also interested new recruits toward obtaining their ham radio licenses so they can actively participate in ACS.

Not only has Eric done outstanding work in opening, retaining and building communications and relationships with city leaders, he has participated in a number of community meetings regarding disaster preparedness and communications and one of those meetings was even broadcast on local TV.

Eric Swanson is a very conscientious and dedicated volunteer for the department and has gone far out of his way to help integrate ACS and emergency / disaster communications and preparedness in the community and with city leaders and truly deserves to be named our Outstanding Volunteer for this past year.

• September 19, 2006: Another ACS Training Class: On Tuesday evening, Sept. 19, ACS held another BASIC ACS training class at the County EOC Training Room. We took on another 10 new recruits to add to our growing number ACS of Volunteers. If you are interested in becoming an ACS Volunteer, please visit our sign-up page. If you have any questions about scheduling of upcoming classes, you may e-mail the .

Roger Sigtermans, KF6RWE, instructs new volunteers on basic ACS concepts at the Sonoma County EOC Training Room

• September, 2006: ACS Comm Van 2945 work getting underway: The ACS Comm Van was recently striped and plans are being made for the configuration and rework of the interior. A listing of the equipment ordered: Kenwood TK-780 (VHF) Public Safety Radio, Kenwood TK-880 (UHF) Public Safety Radio, Kenwood TM-D700A dual-band w/TNC (2 ea.), Alinco DR235 220 MHz radio, Kenwood TS-480SAT HF Mobile (6m - 160m) w/built-in tuner, Motorola Low Band Public Safety Radio, Uniden BC-898T TrunkTracker 500 Ch. scanner, Various antennas to make all the radios work, Laptop Computer w/extra flat panel monitor, Honda EU3000IS 3KW Super Quiet portable generator, Astron RS-35M 35 Amp power supplies (2 ea.), 120 V. 1100 Watt modified sine wave inverter, onboard 10 amp X 2 battery charger, 40 Watt solar module w/controller, RigRunners, and last, but not least, a Coleman Polar Cub 7700 BTU low profile air conditioner w/heater module.

Here are some photos of the new striping job:

• Friday July 14, 2006: ACS and ARES work together on Santa Rosa COPE Program: ACS and ARES representatives began work on developing a plan to provide communications to the Santa Rosa community as part of the City's COPE emergency preparedness program. Working together on Santa Rosa's COPE program will be a great opportunity for a collaborative effort between ACS and ARES that will move both groups forward and establish protocols and procedures that facilitate efficient operations where both groups are involved in emergency communications.

If you have any questions, please contact the .

Notes from meetings:
July Meeting Notes
August Meeting Notes
September Meeting Notes

City of Santa Rosa COPE Program:
Citizens Organized to Prepare for Emergencies (COPE)

	Roger Sigtermans, KF6RWE, facilitating one of the COPE / SR Communications meeting.
Jeff Foster, KD6RC, aiding the discussion.
	Members from MARA and ACS Central County Unit.
ARES members in attendance.
	ACS Central County Unit Leader, Bob Rosenhahn, KE6LNI (right) and Assistant Unit Leader David Dammuller, KD6FIL (left), look on.

• Saturday April 15, 2006: Sebastopol ACS Radio Installation. This is an example of a radio installation from one of our city EOCs. This particular install was done by ACS Radio Officer Ken Harrison, N6MHG, utilizing a spare cabinet that Sebastopol PD had available. As can be seen from the photo, we have commercial radios covering VHF and UHF, and Alinco radios in the 222 MHz band. We are also set up for battery operation using a 98 Amp/Hour battery. This is kept charged with a float charger that also has enough current to bring the battery back up after usage. Regular operation is accomplished using a 35 Amp power supply. Power distribution is via RigRunner.

Sebastopol EOC Radio install at the PD.

Sebastopol Monopole antenna tower

• Sunday Feb 5, 2006: Healdsburg Fire ACS Radio RE-Re-install. Alec, K6ASM, Peter, KF6AVX, and Ken, N6MHG, took a run up to Healdsburg Fire Department to do a little radio work. The existing dual-band antenna was switched out with a new tri-band Comet antenna. This allowed the installed Alinco 220 radio to finally be operational. The Kenwood TK-780 and Kenwood TK-880 were moved from where they were installed and placed on either side of the Alinco 220 radio. Programming on the Kenwoods was double checked and all was pronounced in good working order.

Peter, KF6AVX, left, and Alec, K6ASM, pose by the nice work they did.

Kenwood TK-780 VHF Commercial radio on left, Alinco 220 middle, and Kenwood TK-880 UHF Commercial radio on right.

• Monday May 16, 2005: Doug Reid, KG6EW, and Bob Olsten, WD6DPE, receive thanks for many years of Low Band radio testing.

• March 16, 2004: A big THANK YOU! to our local good corporate neighbor, Advanced Fibre Communications, for their generous donation of surplus equipment for our ACS program. This donation will help us continue to support our community's emergency communications needs in the future!

• August 2003: ACS Volunteers had quite a good time (and show!) when they volunteered to help out with the Pacific Coast Air Museum's 2003 Airshow. Check it all out here!

• March 14, 2003: ACS / ARES sign MOU