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MIRO Operating Authority and Affiliations

MIRO operates under the authority of the Mercer Island Emergency Preparedness organization headed by Mercer Island Police Officer Jennifer Franklin who is the Mercer Island Emergency Preparedness Officer. Mercer Island Emergency Preparedness Website.  MIRO operates under the aegis of the ARRL Western Washington Section Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES).  We report directly to the Mercer Island Emergency Operations Center EOC and, as directed, to the King County EOC.

Meetings

Emergency Practice Net: Second Thursday of the month at 7:00 PM

The net is conducted on the MIRO VHF repeater frequency of 147.160 MHz positive offset tone 146.2 Hz. The check-ins are by assigned neighborhood region.  After announcements the net shifts to the UHF repeater 440.150 MHz positive offset tone 103.5 for a role call of those who have checked in on VHF.  The purpose is to practice shifting frequencies.

In the event of a repeater failure, the net will switch to the simplex frequency of 147.440 MHz.

Monthly Meeting: Third Thursday of the month at 7:00 PM

The MIRO meetings are typically held at Mercer Island Fire Station 91 (North Fire Station), 3030 78th AVE SE, Mercer Island WA 98040.

All MIRO members, prospective hams, and visitors are encouraged to attend.  The monthly MIRO Newsletter will specify meeting location and subject.

Mission

MIRO is a group of amateur radio operators who volunteer their time to provide back-up communications for the City of Mercer Island and its Police and Fire Departments in the event of natural or man-made emergencies.

History

Ron Elsoe, Former Mercer Island Public Safety Director and Bob Farmer, N7SJW, founded this organization in 1993 under the name Mercer Island Amateur Radio Emergency Net. They sent out a questionnaire to the all of the FCC licensed amateur radio operators on the Island and asked them to respond for an initial roster. From this initial response the group has continued to grow and now has over 70 members.

Current and Planned Infrastructure

MIRO has a radio room at the Mercer Island City Hall located adjacent to the MI Police Department Operations Center. MIRO also has a back up radio room located in the Mercer Island Community and Event Center at Mercerview (MICEC). Additionally there are VHF and UHF voice radios at the north and south fire stations on Mercer Island.

Voice communications are facilitated through the use of VHF and UHF radio repeaters located on a shared communication tower located at the Mercer Island water reservoir on the highest point on Mercer Island. These repeaters accept low-level signals from radios around the island and repeat them so that they are clearly audible on most parts of the island as well as on many off island locations.

MIRO also provides for email and other digital communications capability on two VHF and two UHF gateway frequencies. These digital communications allow computer-to-computer connections for those MIRO amateurs with digital equipment. When all other internet service is down, as long as the emergency generators are powering the gateways, email can be sent anywhere in the world.   Additionally with the appropriate software and HF radio capability an operator can communicate with email without the gateways in operation.  The services are called WINLINK and WINMOR.

Repeaters and Operating Frequencies

MIRO Winlink Support

MIRO File Downloads

These are public files that you are free to download and redistribute.

• To view, click the link in the File column.
• To download, right-click the link in the File column and choose “Save Target As…” from the pop-up menu.