Palo Verde Siren Test
November 18, 2009

If you are interested in doing the Palo Verde Siren Test please email me, David N7TWT (n7twt@arrl.net), and I will put you on the list. As far as I know there are 47 Sirens this year. Sirens are added as the population grows.

The night before, on NOV 17th, at 7pm there will be a short NET on the 146.94 to answer any questions that you might have.

We will use the 146.94 White Tanks repeater for talk in and for the exercise. We will meet out at the Buckeye Municipal Airport as early as 7am at the APS Hangar but you need to be there by 9:30am. The Airport is just 1/4 miles South of I-10 on Palo Verde Rd on the West side of the road.  If you are coming from the Sun City Area then you can take Bell Rd. West behind the White Tank Mountain and the road is called Sun Valley Parkway. It changes to Palo Verde Rd below I-10. There will be refreshments provided by APS. You will need to sign in and you will have time to get to know other hams.

Around 10:30 am the Teams will meet up with the APS team leader and you will be escorted out to your siren. There are 47 siren arranges according to where the population is located  in 10 one mile rings around the power plant. If there was an actual problem, the sirens could be turned on according to the wind direction.

As you get to your assigned siren check in with Net Control to let him know that you are in place by telling me your siren number and what team that you are on. The sirens will be set off 2 times. Once at Noon and again at 12:30 pm. If your siren did not turn on, then you need to let Net Control know. Some on from APS may go by to check it out before the second time.

There is some simple paperwork to fill out and your APS Team Leader will drive by your location and lead you back to the Buckeye Municipal Airport. APS does not want anyone to come back on their own because of the possibility of getting lost and they want to make sure everyone is off of the desert safely.

Once you are back at the Airport you need to check in and turn in your paperwork and there will be a nice catered lunch and a small gift of appreciation given to you by APS. You should be finished by 1 pm.

I have been a HAM for 18 years and this is my 16th siren test. As you can imagine I really enjoy doing this and it is a lot of fun meeting other Amateurs in person and doing public service.

GPS Coordinates
N33 25.230       W112 40.850

Here is a Google map link of the Buckeye Municipal Airport

http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=33.41912,-112.687798&spn=0.072929,0.184364&z=13&om=1