Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet Counties Public Service Communications Organization

2001 Old Mackinaw Road

CHEBOYGAN, MI 49721

Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet Counties Public Service Communications Organization

CCECPSCO – Public Service, RACES

The CCECPSCO is a 501(c)(3) non-profit public service organization located in Northern Michigan and formed to train Amateur Radio volunteers to be capable of providing assistance to area professional emergency communications services, increasing the Charlevoix, Cheboygan, and Emmet Counties emergency response effectiveness, and speeding the recovery effort in the event of a communications emergency. The CCECPSCO  participates in emergency drills and activations, and is the “go-to” organization for RACES activities in those counties. Licensed Hams are encouraged to join, learn, and participate to advance their skills and provide a benefit back to the community.

RACES is the “Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service”.  RACES is activated by a state, county, or local government to provide communications in time of a civil emergency. To participate in RACES, an Amateur Radio operator must have the training and certification as required by the government body doing the activation. The CCECPSCO was formed for the purpose of organizing and training such participants and to provide other types of communications support to our three counties, our communities, and the surrounding areas in Northern Michigan.

Icebreaker Mackinaw and CCECPSCO QSL Cards

Those who have made contact with the Icebreaker Mackinaw W8AGB, including during Museum Ships Weekend and general Icebreaker contacts, or with other CCECPSCO operations using the W8CCE call may request a QSL card by sending an SASE along with your QSL card for the contact to the following address…

W8AGB or W8CCE
Doug Barbier
P.O. Box 844
Harbor Springs, MI 49740 USA

Recent Activities

Check back often as we will update with the latest events and activations

2022 Field Day

Seven club members and visitors operated Field Day at the ship.  A G5RV antenna was erected at the trailer and a dipole was used onboard the ship. Operators included N8APX, N8NXP, N8DWM, KE8UFF & W8JDE.  We operated both CW and SSB.  283 contacts were made using 100 watts or less.

Museum Ships Weekend 2022

Eight members of the club made over 500 contacts during the June 4th weekend, including 17 ships during the event weekend.  Members in attendance were N8DWM, N8NXP, N8APX, N8DMH, WN8Q, N8MJL, KE8BNV & N8SVT

2022 Mackinac Bridge Walk – 9/5/2022

Members of the CCECPSCO activated the Mackinaw City Emergency Operations Center aboard the Icebreaker Mackinaw to provide Auxcomm support to served agencies overseeing the bridgewalk.

The EOC was active from 5:00 am to 1:00 pm and even managed to operate a special event station on HF.

CCECPSCO News Items

Gary WB8MWR and Chuck N8DNX adjusting the actuator.

A few years back, CCECPSCO members installed the new Tarheel “screwdriver” antenna on top of the communications trailer. The antenna is mounted to a repurposed satellite antenna mount to provide motorized deployment and storage of the antenna. In the standard configuration the antenna includes the motorized coil section, a short mast, a capacity hat, and a large whip. Other whip configurations have been donated to provide better operation on both lower and higher bands.

The antenna can be set to any angle from stored horizontally through straight up and on to 45 degrees over the back of the trailer to provide for NVIS operations (full regional coverage). Remaining work to complete is extension of the antenna control and coax cables that have already been run to just inside the trailer, and final installation of custom controls for the elevation actuator and antenna adjustment.

Members attending were Mike W8VPC, Ron W8DR, Gary WB8MWR, Chuck N8NXP, and Chuck N8DNX.