MARA

[NC4WX]

What ever happened to MARA?  I have listened on the given frequency at the correct time for the Southeast MARA but have never heard the net.  Does Southeast MARA still exist?

[K4BSC]

Perhaps this e-mail will answer your question:

From: Chris Pixton
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2012 9:26 AM
To: ERC-East ARO's :
Subject: ERC-East “News To Use” # 1

Brothers & Sisters, Hello!!

One of the primary methods I will use to keep everyone informed of the activities and events of ERC-East is “News To Use”. Once we get past the next few months, you can expect four to six e-mails a year updating you on the Church and ERC-East EmComm (Emergency Communications).

Those of us living in the North America Northeast Area, which for ERC purposes includes the entire State of Illinois and Wisconsin, or the North America Southeast Area have been asked NOT to check into the 20, 40, 80 meter, PSK31 or CW Hqs ERC nets on Tuesdays. We are now being asked to check into our respective Area nets on Saturday mornings.

This will be quite change a for those who have diligently and faithfully checked into the SLC Hqs ERC nets Tuesday afternoons and evenings over the past years. Rest assured this is a well-planned and thought out change that will strengthen the local, stake and area nets.

From its inception the Hqs ERC nets have been for the storehouse and stake ECS’s. Visitors have been welcome to check in as time and conditions have allowed. The Area nets are also designed for the ECS’s. As with the Hqs ERC nets, we welcome visitors and are currently encouraging all LDS Amateur Radio Operators to check into your respective Area nets.

As you are aware from previous e-mails June 16th was the last of the ERC-East weekly nets. However, our NE & SE Saturday morning nets are alive and active. The statistics for Saturday, June 16th are:

NE 75 meter 13 check ins
NE 40 meter 26 check ins
SE 75 meter 12 check ins
SE 40 meter 14 check ins

We invite all who have HF capabilities to join us Saturday mornings on their respective nets -

NE 75 - 3.835 at 8:00 ET
NE 40 - 7.280 at 8:15 ET
SE 75 - 3.8725 at 8:30 ET
SE 40 - 7.2830 at 8:45 ET

We would strongly encourage you to check in on 80 meters as an “early bird” up to 20 minutes early so as to speed up the process. With a 15 minute window, the 80 meter nets need to have as many early check ins as possible. PSK31 and CW nets will be added to the Area nets in the near future.

As a “heads-up” we are 90% sure that on the Saturday of General Conference rather than checking into your area nets, we will be holding an ERC-East net for everyone in the NE, SE and SLAP-N to check into. More information to follow. 

As circumstances warrant, we will be looking for opportunities to establish other nets. For instance, at the moment we are in the process of establishing a HF net for the Carolinas.

If you are holding a local or stake VHF or HF net please report your numbers to your area ECS (Emergency Communications Specialist) -

For the NE that’s Dan Goodson, NE3Z - DanGoodson@mac.com

For the SE that’s Bill Stewman, W5RQR - bill.stewman@gmail.com

Your numbers will be consolidated into your area report and sent to Church Hqs.

President Monson has said -

“When we deal in generalities, we shall never succeed.
When we deal in specifics, we shall rarely have a failure.
When performance is measured, performance improves.
When performance is measured and reported, the rate of performance accelerates.”

And so we measure and report.


I have been asked “what’s the difference between MARA and ERC?” and “do I check into MARA or ERC nets”.

So to the question “what’s the difference between MARA and ERC?”, ERC is an integral part of the Church organization. From its inception, as mentioned above, ERC nets have been for stake and storehouse ECS’s and have been led by, operated under and supported the Priesthood at the local, stake, area and Church levels of government. MARA is not part of the Church anymore than the American Red Cross or ARES or RACES is. MARA is a separate, autonomous, social, fraternal organization of LDS Amateur Radio Operators with its own officers and chapters across the country.

One point should be made here. During the time MARA and the Church had a relationship the leadership and members of MARA provided a great service to the Church and are owed a debt of gratitude for that service.

So to answer the question “do I check into MARA or ERC nets” - the answer is we strongly encourage all LDS Amateur Radio operators, including those affiliated with MARA, ARES, RACES or any others, to check into their respective weekly ERC NE and SE nets. This is one of your sources of information about the activities of the Church and ERC.
As you can see I protect the e-mail list I use by not having all the names showing. If you change your e-mail address please let me know.

Also, please share this and other “News To Use” with all LDS EmComm operators on your e-mail list. I would rather folks get two or more copies than no copy at all. Those of you who receive this from a friend please send me your e-mail address so I can add you to the master list.

Again a reminder about confidentially. It is very prudent for us to not to use any Church terms or slang on any of our nets. Rather than saying “Bishop Jones needs the information” please say “Bob Jones..........”. Same with any member - no titles, just names. No “chapel, missionaries, priesthood, sisters, bishop, president, etc, etc, etc please.

If you have questions or comments about any of the subjects covered or any EmComm questions, please feel free to contact me at W0HEC@yahoo.com.

Safety First!!

Chris Pixton, KC9EIZ
ERC Operations Manager,
Eastern US & Canada