Section News for November 2007 Page 1 of 34
Section News for November 2007
Atlantic Division Delaware WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Seasons Greetings, As the year 2007 comes to an end it is time to review where we were and where we are going. The year started with the Winter Field Day that was held at Indian River Inlet during January. The weather was delightful for a winter event at the beach with temperature in the vicinity of 70 degrees. This year’s event will be held Saturday 26 and Sunday 27th of January 2008 at two locations Dover and Georgetown Delaware. February is the Delaware QSO Party again I wish to thank Jose Lugo KB3KYZ for all the work and effort in putting the Delaware QSO Party together. This year the Delaware QSO Party will be held Saturday 3 February and Sunday 4 February 2008 mark your calendar! March blew in with the Delmarva Task Force Tri-State Federal Exercise with a realistic exercise in that it was conducted during a workday with just a few stations able to participate. This year DEMA has planned REP Radiological Emergency Preparedness exercises for April 29th and May 20th 2008. May 2007 the Delaware Section was treated to a local Hamfest and Convention hosted by Bill Prettyman W3DR andWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO the Sussex Tech High School in Georgetown. This year we hope that it will not fall the same week as the Dayton Hamvention. June 2007 Summer Field Day – 2007 the weather was cooperative no rain, turnout in all areas of the state Lewes, Georgetown, Claymont, Talleyville and Woodside turned out better than we could have expected. Delaware's highest elected official, Governor Ruth Ann Minner, who proclaimed June as Amateur Awareness Month in Delaware, was on hand in Georgetown along with our Secretary of Homeland Security, Dave Mitchell; Sussex County Administrator, David Baker and Georgetown Mayor, Mike Wyatt. Similar proclamations were made by each, along with thanks to, and promise of support for, Amateur Radio and emergency Communications in Delaware! Our General Assembly also passed a resolution officially making June Amateur Radio Awareness month in Delaware. IT WAS GREAT!!! Field Day is Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th of June 2008. It was on Saturday 14th of July that Nanticoke Amateur Radio Club demonstrated Amateur Radio at the River Fest in Seaford Delaware. The October Simulated Emergency Test was conducted on the 6th with many stations contributing to the testing of amateur radio equipment and operators in support of disaster communications. Walt Palmer W4ALT did a fantastic job of getting the public aware of ham radio with his media campaign. Don Durk KA1DWX on short notice activated the Kent County EOC and Pat Ryan KW3Z created a detailed information package during the simulated tsunami exercise. October 7th the LEWES Amateur Radio Society demonstrated Amateur Radio at the University of Delaware Coast Day. December was stated with Skywarn Recognition day. With 2008 fast approaching what changes are coming: At this time I would like the Delaware Section Cabinet members to indicate if they wish to remain active as officer appointees during the up coming year. As of this date I will be entertaining candidates for the position of Section Emergency Coordinator as well as Emergency Coordinator for Kent County. Justin Kates KB3JUV will be stepping down as SEC as of January. Justin stated I've taken on far too much work at school, to the point that I'm unable to promote the ARES program, as I would like. As I've found out, I need to dedicate my time to my studies first. I am looking for a candidate to fill the vacant position of EC Kent County. As RACES officer I have been asked to submit names of radio operators who are interested in RACES to DEMA beginning early 2008 if you are interested in working with the state or county agencies please submit your name and personal contact information to me at [email protected] so that I can forward this info to DEMA Director Jamie Turner. Mr. Turner is also requesting a minimum of 12 operators willing to serve at the state EOC in Smyrna, Delaware if needed for 24/7 operations lasting up to two weeks in case of emergencies. Thank you, Frank Filipkowski AD3M
Southern New Jersey
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SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY NEWSLETTER FOR DECEMBER 2007 SECTION MANAGER, JEAN PRIESTLEY, KA2YKN It is with a very sad heart that I give you the news that John Fisher, K2JF, age 87 and a member of the Gloucester County Amateur Radio Club has passed away. On this day December 11, 2007 John became a silent key. I have known John about 20 years and I am proud to call him fellow ham and friend. He is survived by two sons and was husband to Gladys whom he absolutely adored. John retired from RCA in 1983 where he was employed as an engineer for 30 years. He was a member of the PitmanWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Masonic Lodge #197 F & AM 32nd Degree, the Consistory at Collingswood and the Crescent Temple of the Shriners and elder member of the 1st Presbyterian Church of Pitman. John also found time to be a member of the VFW and to work with the Boy Scouts. As a ham he was a card checker for the ARRL, VE tester and just so many other things over the years. I am proud to say that when I tested for code for 13WPM, I tested with John. He would crack a joke and suddenly all the tension of the test would drain from your shoulders. Memorials may be shared at www.kelleyfhpitman.com. Over the years I have met members of other clubs, given awards and seen many familiar faces each year at hamfests. Jim Hepburn, W2IIC from Old Barney one of those people and someone I enjoyed talking to every time I seen him. Jim, too, has become a silent key. We lost Jim in September of 2007. He joined OBARC in 1985 and was an active member ever since. He and his wife Edna, “The Coffee Lady” was active in all events. He was a Trustee from 1989-1991, Secretary and Activities Manager over the years and wrote for the newsletter. May he rest in peace? Steve Lipsky, W2VVN,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO was among the first ARRL members I presented an ARRL Membership award to. Steve is now a silent key. He joined OBARC in 1998. He is remembered for roaming the aisles at the various hamfests. Steve also wrote for OBARC. May Steve also rest in peace. Also missing from the OBARC meetings is Mary “KAY” Coursey. She passed away in September 2007. She was well known for her “Irish” brogue as well as her happy disposition. She and her husband were both members and she was active with Miss American Special Events. Every time I opened my emails this week to start this newsletter, I found another name of a silent key. This is a new record for silent key mentions in one month. The last one I want to mention is Chester W. Klabe, Jr, WA2YDS of Riverton NJ. Chester was a member of the Battleship Amateur Radio Club. Gloucester City Amateur Radio Club has activated a 447.775 repeater with an offset and 146.2 PL at 65 watts. All are welcome to use it but, of course, are asked to observe the same rules that apply to all repeaters. The Camden County SKYWARN Coordinator is looking more people to become active in the Camden County SKYWARN program. Especially needed are New Control Stations. You would be trained before being asked to run any nets. If you have an interest in this, contact Rick Tighe, Coordinator. He can be found on the Camden County SKYWARN Training New 2nd Thursday of the month at 7:30 on the Camden County RACES Repeater 145.895 PL 192.8. This information is for Camden County, but if you are in a different county, check with you local coordinator to see if they are in need of trained people. JSARS Is still holding their testing sessions the third Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm at the Riverwood Recreation Building on Riverwood Drive in Toms River, NJ. For more information call Ed, GENOINO, WA2NDA at 609-693- 3729. Holiday City ARC is also still holding their test sessions every other 2nd Saturday from 10am to 12pm, (May, July, Sept, Nov). Sessions are held at the Holiday City South Clubhouse area in meeting room #1 on Mule Road at the corner of Santiago Dr in Toms River. Your contact person is Bill Haldane, AC2F and the phone is 732-240-7064 or [email protected]. When going to any test session, you must have your original license and at least one Xerox copy and original and one copy of any credit sheets you may have. Also bring 2 forms of id. Testing sessions by SJRA are on the 4th Tuesday of each month at the Winslow Senior center. Contact is Mark, K2AX at [email protected] or (609)820-1523. Testing is also available in Atlantic County. The location is at the Canale Training Center at 5033 English Creek Avenue in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. There will be no walk-ins so please call Robert, WA2ARP at 609-338-7038 to reregister. The sponsor is the Southern Counties Amateur Radio Association (SCARA). Next session is Sept 29th If you haven’t already, please make a note or bookmark the following site: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/phi/skywarn/index.html. The Battleship New Jersey will soon be going on winter hours. Check their website for hours and other information. If your club is thinking about visiting the NJ2BB club station, please be sure to make arrangements ahead of the
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scheduled date to insure that someone will be there. Just go on our website at www.nj2bb.org for information to schedule a visit. If you have worked NJ2BB and want to send a card, the QSL manager is Margaret Burgess, KB2BRR 150 Schooner Ave, Barnegat, NJ 08005. Please send your cards with an SASE to insure receiving a card in return from NJ2BB. http:// www.nj2bb.org If you have an activity coming up or want to report something that happened, please send a short write up to me and I will put it in next month. Please remember that if you work traffic to report it to Dan, K2UL. Traffic report for August, Traffic manager,WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO K2UL, Dan Ostroy SNJ/NNJ Section Net Reports QNI reports NJM 84 N2GJ NJPN 186 W2CC NJSN 159 K2PB NJN(E) 193 AG2R NJN(L) 163 AG2R (the above nets are dual section nets of both SNJ and NNJ. Liaisons with 2RN) SNJ Local Net Reports JSARS 138 WA2NDA SJTN 23 KB2RTZ NO REPORT SJVN WB2UVB NO REPORT SCARS NO REPORT NW2Y Station Activity Reports (SAR) WA2CUW 83 KB2RTZ 74 K2GW 60 WA2NDA 54 AA2SV 36 40 K2UL 30 W2QOB 9 KB2VYZ 2 Public Service Honor Roll (PSHR) K2GW 135 N2HQL 116 KB2RTZ 110 KA2YKN 105 K2UL 102 WA2CUW 90 WA2NDA 80 KB2VYZ 36 STM reports that the past six years have been posted on the web at http://k2ul.home.att.net/stm_monthly.htm When you are making out your Christmas card list this year, please include the following: A Recovering American soldier, C/O Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 6900 Georgia Avenue, NW, Washington, D. C 20307-5001 Thank you We would like to wish every a very Merry Christmas and a safe and healthy Happy New Year.
WesternWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Pennsylvania
2007 is quickly coming to an end. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that has helped since I was appointed section manager here in Western Pennsylvania. Without your help and support we could not have made the changes we have started. Several individuals have stepped forward and assumed the duties of emergency coordinator in various counties. I am grateful for these people who have volunteered to perform these duties. We are still in need of others to fill vacancies in some counties and also need individuals to assume the duties of District Emergency Coordinators. Both of these positions require that the individual be a member of the ARRL. Also an important duty is the monthly filing of reports to the Section Emergency Coordinator. This is a requirement that must be completed by all appointees. I am also looking for volunteers to perform other duties in the section and in various other areas of importance. One area I am looking for is someone to perform the duties of Public Information Coordinator. This individual will coordinate the efforts of the local PIO’s in getting information out to the public with regard to the way amateur radio plays an important part of the communities and agencies we serve. With the closing of the year 2007 I reflected in the many fun times I personally had during the past year. The several contests that I was able to operate in, the hamfests I attended and of course field day operations are a few of the enjoyable times. . I cannot forget the PA QSO Party which I look forward to each year and the chance to chat with many old friends and new ones. Another enjoyable duty for me is the chance to attend club functions throughout the section and visit with members that I do not get to hear from as often. My schedule is open in many time slots if your group would like me to speak at one of your meetings or events. Amateur clubs are an important part of the building of the radio service. I also would like to hear from the clubs via their newsletters so please put me on your mailing list [email protected] . I would like to congratulate the Triple A Amateur Radio Association on their 75th anniversary this month as an affiliated club. That is a tremendous milestone for a club to accomplish. I want to remind all clubs that they need to go to the ARRL site and complete the annual report yearly to continue their active affiliation. The web site for this report is as follows: http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/club/forms/fsd2/ To each and every one of you I want to wish you a joyous holiday season and a prosperous new year. Let wish for increased sunspots and do not forget to join me on New Year’s eve as I take part in the straight key night. Put away the paddles and keyers and dust off the straight key for a night of fun. I dug mine out and have it set up on the rig ready to go. Don’t forget now during the winter months is also a good time to set up your station and maybe experiment in some of the many digital modes that are available to us. I am getting involved in a few myself and having a great time. Happy Holidays to everyone and best 73. John N3MSE
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Central Division
Illinois
QST DE KA9QPN------From the top... **An Apology...Since last year, I have been erroneously referring to the Fox River Radio League by various and sundryWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO names not necessarily related to the one under which they incorporated in 1924. The good ladies and gentlemen of the club have been patient with me over time, and have been too polite to correct me. Last month, I got a string of emails and a phone call from a gentleman who explained my error. I am red-faced. All that I have to say in my defense is that somehow my brain locked on ARRL and transferred some of that to FRRL. I meant no disrespect nor effort to disparage the work being done in the Fox Valley by these fine people, and the rest of my etchings over time hopefully have made that obvious. Dale Carnegie said that the sweetest words in anyone's vocabulary are their own name. Inversely, the worst one can do is to disasterize that name. I have screwed up and will continue to do so until I'm made perfect in the Hereafter. Until then, I ask your pardon. And please...I am not perfect and accept correction happily. Don't let me stand on my tongue for that long again! ------**FINALLY, our first 'What We Are Doing Right' submission! Fritz Bock WD9FMB, our Section PIC and stalwart of the Peoria Area ARC, sends the following: 'One of the eventsWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO we planned for a club meeting was a "Mobile Cruise-In". Many of us move from an HT to a mobile installation sometime in our ham radio career. A mobile cruise in allows club members to bring their car, trucks etc to the club meeting while letting others see how they have installed their mobile rigs, ask questions about the complexity of such an installation and see what mobile equipment other club members have. The idea came from Mark, W9WGN. Highlights from the 2007 PAARC Mobile Cruise- In was the semi of Frank, N9GQR complete with internet accessible web cam, APRS and HF installation and the Radio Direction Finding (Doppler) set up of Phil, WX9U. Over the two years we have done this, about 10 mobile set ups are shown.' WWADR submissions are that easy. Again, I've never met an idea that I thought was too good to steal. How about you? And thanks to Fritz for starting us off. ------**Note to all: the IARU Region 2 bandplan is a suggestion which does not carry the force of regulation until it is incorporated into rules by member nations' regulators. Amazingly, people who never pay any attention to IARU proceedings are now crying 'foul' and 'secret deal', and once again the tinfoil hat factory is working overtime as displayed in other publications. This is a proposal and a suggestion. The only thing that ARRL is doing with this is duly reporting it as a member society of IARU. There is no proposal before the FCC to adopt these suggestions, nor is one planned until our community can develop a consensus on what that needs to look like. If it's a Bad Idea, then it will go away just like the last 'regulation by bandwidth' idea. No need to make more out of it than what it is. Comments to [email protected]. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Get informed... **Hopefully, a small blurb and picture about the Bolingbrook ARS 'teleconference' meeting last October submitted by John Dinella WA9IL makes it into an upcoming QST. ------**Not to be outdone by BARS, the Rockford ARA carried their November meeting via ATV on the W9ATN repeater atop St. Anthony's Hospital in Rockford. ------**The LaSalle Peru NewsTribune carried an article describing Amateur Radio featuring Mike O’Connor KN9T and Mike Schrowang N9GZ. The interesting bit of the article was the reference to our fraternity as 'hamateurs', which greatly amused ARRL Media Manager Allen Pitts W1AGP. He hadn't heard that one before. Not to steal anyone's thunder, but a small group of us who met for coffee in the southern Chicago suburbs about twenty years ago used that term to refer to ourselves. Just like our wives have learned with fashion: put it back in the closet long enough, and it will be back in style eventually. ------**Don't forget Straight Key Night, starting at 0000 GMT on 1 January 2008. Beats participating in the activities of the 'other' amateur night on the roads. SKN takes on more of an importance this year as CW becomes a specialty rather than a requirement. I expect that we will see
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more activity than in previous events. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Around the Section... **To add to their recently donated repeater, the Central Illinois RC now has a monster battery and trickle charger to back up the machine. It's wonderful when the community recognizes the importance of reliable emergency communications and acts to support it. ------**From a little east, Jim Kouzmanoff K9KUZ comes word that Vermilion CountyWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO EC Jim Kiser KB9AZA, has entered into an agreement with Provena United Samaritan Hospital to install an entire HF-VHF-UHF station in the hospital featuring multiple transceivers and antennas. The hospital, recognizing the benefit EmComm, is purchasing the equipment. I like this a lot, as it gives a total solution for backup communications, addressing both the short and long haul needs. I'd like to see this catch on among the other hospitals in the Section who have ham stations in residence. ------**From the Western Illinois ARC comes news that their next Technician class begins 8 January, culminating in the test on 11 March. If you are in the area served by WIARC and have an interested prospective ham, contact Joe Huie K2PEY at [email protected]. Again, nice work by WIARC on the IL QSO Party. ------**SET reports are still coming in. From Roy Eades KA9MZJ, comes his report of the Iroquois County SET: 'Iroquois County ARES group conducted their first SET this morning at 9 am. It was a simple test of emergency communication stations setup at the American Red CrossWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO office in Watseka and the Ham Station setup at Iroquois Memorial Hospital in Watseka. The exercise consisted of a test message from NWS of a winter storm warning, asking for the Skywarn net to be activated for reporting weather in the county. We had a total of 18 licensed operators along with the Iroquois County ESDA Director on site and hospital emergency room staff listening in. Formal traffic was passed. The two meter repeater was linked with the 444.625 and alternate NCS was using the 146.85 in Loda IL. The ESDA Director is also the news director for WGFA in Watseka along with on air disk jockey KC9GNH, this station KA9MZJ was interviewed LIVE on air via cell phone at 0910 CDT while test was in progress, reporting on what a SET was all about and what we were trying to accomplish. HF was at the home of KC9HHT who was NCS of the Skywarn, and had linked up his Mobile UHF with his home HF rig. One station in Onarga reported in with complete emergency power for all equipment, including satellite communications.' Neil Ormos N9NL reports that Cook County ARES conducted its SET on 30 November with a readiness drill. ------**Joe Tokarz KB9EZZ, new EC of LaSalle County is exercising his troops with the Nuclear Accident Reporting System form. As always, you hope that you never need such a thing, but with the concentration of nuclear power facilities in that area, it pays to drill. *********************************************************************** **Whatever your reason for celebration at this time of the year, I hope that the season is the happiest that you've ever had. Merry Christmas or Happy Hannukah if you're so inclined, otherwise, I beg your pardon and enjoy the season anyway. May the New Year bring you health, prosperity, and sunspots. It's a pleasure to serve you.
Wisconsin
WISCONSIN: SM: Don Michalski, W9IXG, SEC: KB9ENO, STM: K9LGU, SGL: AD9X, OOC: KC9IS, PIC: KB9NUM, TC: K9GDF, BM: WB9NRK, ACC: N9LVS ASM: K9UTQ, W9DGI, N9VE ** With regret, I am informing you of the passing of the following Amateurs: -- Joseph Mezera, WA9SOQ, 64. -- Ron Moody, K9RWM, 66. Ron was a member of the Chippewa Valley ARC -- George McArthur, N9ZGY, 53. He was a member of Yellow Thunder ARC and Sauk County ARES. -- Wanda Horak, formally N9FPU, 89, mother of W9IXG. ** The West Allis Radio Amateur Club 36th annual midwinter Swapfest will be held on Saturday, January 5, 2008, 8 A.M. to 2 P.M. at the Waukesha County Expo Center Forum, Waukesha, WI. Directions: I-94 west from Milwaukee to County Hwy J (exit 294), south to County Hwy FT, west to the Expo. Special Events: VE session (9- 11:15 A.M.) at AMF Waukesha Lanes (across from Expo) and Badger Contester's meeting. Costs:
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Admission: advanced $4, door $5. Eight-foot tables only: advanced 1 or 2 tables $18, 3 or more $16; door $20 (if available), electrical outlet $19 (advance only). Registration: Send advance registration form and #10 business size SASE to WARAC Swapfest, PO Box 1072, Milwaukee, WI 53201. Advance reservation deadline is December 30, 2007. Information: Phil Gural, W9NAW, 414.425.3649 or visit www.warac.org ** THE FOUNDATION FOR AMATEUR RADIO, INC., a non-profit organization with headquarters in Washington, D.C., plans to administer fifty-six (56) scholarships for the academic year 2007 - 2008 toWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO assist licensed Radio Amateurs. Licensed Radio Amateurs may compete for these awards if they plan to pursue a full-time course of studies beyond high school and are enrolled in or have been accepted for enrollment at an accredited university, college or technical school. The awards range from $500 to $3000 with preference given in some cases to residents of specified geographical areas or the pursuit of certain study programs. Here are some awards for Wisconsin-only residents: The OZAUKEE Radio Club Scholarship pays $1000. It is available to Wisconsin residents pursing a Bachelor's or Graduate degree in any course of study. The South Milwaukee Amateur Radio Club Scholarship pays $1000. Applicants must be Wisconsin residents and intend to seek an Associate or Bachelor's degree from a college or university in the U.S. Preference will be given to applicants studying Electrical Engineering or related technology. The WARAC Memorial Scholarship, sponsored by the West Allis Radio Amateur Radio Club, Inc. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, pays $1500. Applicants must be Wisconsin residents pursuing an Associate, Bachelor's or Graduate degree in any course of study. More informationWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO is available at the FAR site: http://www.amateurradio-far.org/index.php Email applications can be obtained by contacting Diane Zimmerman [email protected] ** Family Disaster Plan -- Disasters can strike anyone, anytime, and anywhere. The emergency may require you and your family to evacuate your home or to stay at home without electricity or water. Advance planning can save precious time in an emergency. This free on-line course provides step by step instructions for developing a family disaster plan. (It is based on the course "Personal Preparedness" which provides similar information for anyone who might be required to respond to an emergency as a worker or volunteer. More information and registration is available on this website: http://www.ualbanycphp.org/learning/registration/tab.cfm?course=fpp&s=Overview Skip Sharpe, W9REL. Planning and Preparedness; Wisconsin Emergency Mgmt ** Y.A.C.H.T. The Young Amateur Contest Ham Team is moving ahead. Organized by Ed Engleman, KG8CX, the group has expanded to lower Michigan and Northeastern Wisconsin. There are currently 11 youth members of the group and 6 adult advisors. The group is open to any licensed youth. Contact Ed, KG8CX, [email protected] ** STM Report - Wisconsin Section November 2007 FAQ # 76 -- What does a net manager do and how can I become one? Your question couldn't be more timely. We're going to need a net manager or two in the near future, so let's consider that position. First, what are the hours, duties, requirements, pay, and benefits? The time required to be a Net Manager is as long as one would like to devote to the tasks. The NM appoints net controls, represents the net at WNA quarterly, on-the-air meetings, issues net certificates, and reports the net's monthly activities to the Section Traffic Manager by the 7th of the following month. Reports include the number of check-ins, the traffic cleared (and traffic offered, if available), the time spent in session, and the number of nets held. NMs may also conduct testing of candidates for Official Relay Station appointment if they consider it necessary before making appointment recommendations to the STM. Net Managers also have the function of requiring that all traffic handled through an NTS net or node be in proper ARRL form. Requirements? Novice class license or higher, full ARRL membership, and a desire to serve the NTS in our section. That's it. Pay for this valuable service comes in the form of satisfaction -- the gratitude of the net members, the feeling of a job well done, the appreciation of the STM, and knowing one is part of a valuable, nationwide system devoted to service and training. The most significant benefit comes from working with some great operators. Interested? Talk with a current NM, and please let me know if you could serve. 73 -- K9LGU/ STM - WI MONTHLY NET ACTIVITY SUMMARY November 2007 NET QNI QTC QTR SSNS NM BWN 2359 2974 5894 30 W9IXG BEN 543 80 1200 31 KE9VU WSBN 499 57 783 30 K9FHI WNN 98 9 261 20 KB9ROB WSSN 76 10 189 25 N9JIY WIN/E 93 12 216 27 WB9ICH WIN/L 124 27 270 30 W9UW WRACES 24 0 50 3 N9VAO TOTALS 3816 3169 8863 196 MWCRN 218 93 517 4
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WA9ZTY BWN is Badger Weather Net; BEN is Badger Emergency Net; WSBN is Wisconsin Side Band Net; WNN is Wisconsin Novice Net; WSSN is Wisconsin Slow Speed Net; WIN/E is Wisconsin Intrastate Net/Early; WIN/L is Wisconsin Intrastate Net/Late; WRACES is Wisconsin Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service net. MCRN is the Midwest Classic Radio Net Details on all these nets are found on this site: https://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=WI under Wisconsin Traffic Nets. Wishing everyone a very happy and safe holiday season!! 73, Don, W9IXG WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Dakota Division
Minnesota
ARRL MINNESOTA SECTION SUMMARY FOR NOVEMBER 2007 SUMMARY FROM SM ++ The MN section OOC, TC, ARES and Traffic summaries are enclosed below. ++ See the ARRL Section web site for up-to-date information and bulletins. ++ Go to the section website at http://www.mn- section.com for other news. ++ Antenna work is now complete on Dakota County H&W station but ARES net start-up is still delayed until further notice. ++ Please send me your plans for Amateur Radio Classes for the winter. ++ The St. Paul Radio Club is planning an EMCOMM I class to start in January. Please see the section website or SPRC website for details ++ Two new classes are posted on the web for FebruaryWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO and March. ++ Have you any local stories for the section news? Please send to me. Respectfully submitted by Skip Jackson, KS0J, MN SM ------MN OOC & TC REPORT SUMMARY FOR NOVEMBER 2007 Reports from Official Observers received for November 2007: WB6AMY, KB0OHI, N0OH, WO0A, & W3FAF. Some technical activity reported from two TS appointees: WO0W & K0MU. Respectfully submitted by John H. Thomas III, W3FAF, MN OOC ------MN SEC REPORT SUMMARY FOR NOVEMBER 2007 Total number of ARES members reported: 99 (partial) Cook (KBØBDN), Itasca (KG0FD), Lac Qui Parle (KC0QED), Lincoln (WD0BZU), Lyon (WD0BZU), Scott (N0BHC), St. Louis-North (WD0GUF) Local Net Names: Anoka County ARES Net, CCART, River Valley, SEMARC, Scott County, Chisago County, Carver County, Washington County, Fox Valley Monday Night Net, Lac Qui Parle Phone, Lac Qui Parle Packet, Mankato Area Radio Club Emergency Services Net, Marshall Area Emergency Net, Redwood County, Wadena Area Ham Net, Northern Lakes Radio, NE MN Public Service, SE St. Louis Emergency Service, Dakota County ARES, Scott County ARES Total sessions: 41 NTS liaison is maintained with the MN Section, Tenth Region, and NTSD Traffic Nets by N0UC, W0LAW Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 14 Person hours: 25 Number of public service events this month: 2 Person hours: 18 Number of emergency operations this month: 0 Person hours: 0 Total number of ARES operations this month: Total Person hours: 43 RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, MN SEC ------MN STM SUMMARY FOR NOVEMBER 2007 NET FREQ TIME QNI/QTC/SESS MGR ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ MSPN/E 3860 5:30 P WO0A MSPN/N 3860 12 P K0BLR MSN/1 3605 6:30 P K0WPK MSN/2 3605 9:50 P K0WPK PAW 3925 9A-11AM 1500-1700 KA0IZA MONTHLY STATION ACTIVITY REPORTS (SAR) STATION ORIG. REC'D. SENT DLVD. TOTAL BPL NO.OPS. ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~ W0LAW 0 60 79 5 144 KB0AII 0 18 41 0 59 K0WPK 0 33 16 1 50 W0HPD 1 17 24 1 44 K0BLR 3 31 3 13 40 KB0AIJ 0 18 18 0 36 KA0IZA 0 29 5 1 35 KA0RMP 0 3 2 2 7 WD0GUF 0 4 1 0 5 N0JP 0 0 5 0 5 PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) STATION 1 2 3 4 5 6 TOTAL ~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~ W0LAW 40 40 20 20 120 K0BLR 40 40 10 10 100 WD0GUF 40 5 30 75 SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER MONTLY REPORT NET ABBR. SESS. TFC. NMCALL NTS LIASON ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ MINNESOTA SECTION MSPN/E WO0A MSPN/E C/2 PHONE/NET EVENING 1,492 30 51 1730 LOCAL MINNESOTA SECTION MSPN/N K0BLR PHONE NET/NOON 1200 NOON 752 30 83 MINNESOTA SECTION MSN/1 K0WPK RN-10, C4 NET (CW) 6:30P 108 26 27 MINNESOTA SECTION MSN/2 K0WPK RN-10, , C4 NET (CW) 10:00P 21 12 7 PICONET ALLDAY PAW HRS KA0IZA ALL DAY WATCH 4,186 94 57 RESPECTFULLY
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SUBMITTED: Robert Meyer, W0LAW, MN STM
North Dakota
NORTH DAKOTA: SM, Kent Olson, KAØLDG - Merry Christmas! Maybe Santa will bring that special ham radio item you’ve been wanting this year. Slow down and have a good holiday season. Not too many things happeningWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO around the state this month probably due to the holidays. A lot of clubs have had their Christmas parties, and SKYWARN Recognition Day was held on the 1st. The Bismarck hams received some money from a Homeland Security grant. Clubs should contact their county ECs and see if they can do the same. Please pass on condolences to the family and friends of Larry Manthe, AB0QI, who passed away recently. If you have any Girl Scouts that participated in the JOTA recently, they can get a patch by e-mailing Pat, KBØFJM , at [email protected] for more information. It’s not too early to start thinking about Field Day, and maybe even participating in the un-official upcoming winter Field Day. If your club is hosting a licensing class, please volunteer some time and help out. You’ll be glad you did, and your club will be too. Upcoming hamfests: Bismarck, February 23dr, Fargo, April 26th. Section's web site: http://home.earthlink.net/~qtipf16/. HF NM K8BBM net reports for November: Weather Net: 51/1014/6. Data Net: 21/335/6. Goose River Net: 3/30/1. For the rest of the winter, thereWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO will be an early Data Net at 5PM central time. South Dakota
Here is the section news for South Dakota, if there are any clubs that have material that they wish to have posted please email me the information no later than the 5th of the month so that I can get it posted to both the summary and the web site before the cut off date. Rapid City NWS and Black Hills ARCs The Rapid City NWS and Black Hills ARCs participated again this year in the Skywarn Recognition Day special event sponsored by the National Weather Service. The special event recognizes the contributions of the Amateur community to public safety with regard to inclement weather spotting and reporting. In 2002, the National Weather Service installed an antenna support on one of its towers for use by Amateurs during the special event. This has greatly reduced the amount of setup time needed for our Amateur equipment, and was put to good use again this year to support the Pennington County ARES group’s G5RV antenna. The ARES group’s IC706 transceiver & LDG100 autotuner were used during the event. Band conditions, in general, were poor. Although some CW contacts were attempted, none were completed. 59 total contacts were made, 22 of them were with other Weather Service stations across the U.S. The Weather Service personnel again put out the red carpet for our club members providing lots of Christmas treats during the entire event. Many thanks to Dave Carpenter, site manager, and the rest of the NWS staff for their hospitality.
Delta Division
Louisiana
LOUISIANA SECTION NEWS – NOVEMBER 2007 Please remember that the application period for the LA Memorial Scholarship is now until February 1, 2008. Many of our clubs must know at least one licensed amateur radio operator planning to attend college next year who should be encouraged to apply for the scholarship. Application forms and other details are available at http://www.arrlf.org/ A nifty new program for ARES, SKYWARN, and other emcomm-minded hams is WXSPOTS, which operates in a similar fashion to the spotting software used by many DXers around the world. Rather than DX, however, information about severe weather is posted and shared in a real time environment. Visit http://www.wxspots.com/ to learn the details of this free software program. The 2007 LA Section Field Day plaques were presented during the ARRL Forum at the Twin City Hamfest in Monroe. W5DDL
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(Acadiana ARA), N5RD/KB5WFE (Minden ARA) and K5DF/K5LSU (Baton Rouge ARC) received plaques in recognition of their outstanding performance in the 1A, 2A, and 3A category, respectively. I've just learned from W5XU (BRARC FD Chairman) that K5DF/K5LSU came in FIRST place in the country in the 3A Battery category! A quick check of the on-line scores on the League web site also shows that W5DDL came in fifth place nationally in the 1A category. Congratulations to the three plaque winners and kudos to everyone who participated in this year's Field Day. W5PY (LA Traffic Net Manager) has singledWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO out N5AVN, KA2BRS, W5CDX, KD5DFL, KE5EEE, AB5G, KN5GRK, KA5JNL, W5JZQ, N5KWB, KA5LMZ, WA5LQZ, KD5MLD, KF5NA, N5NVP, K5QNT, KB5SDU, KA5SUR, and AD5XM for their regular participation on LTN. For their regular participation on the LA CW Net, K5KV (LCW Manager) has recognized WA5CAV, W5CDX, W5NK, N5NVP, N5KWB, WA5LQZ, K5MC, and W4DLZ. For the LA Slow Net, N5KWB (LSN Manager) has acknowledged the regular participation of W5NK, KD5IGG, WA5CAV, WC5M, and N5NVP. All of these traffic handlers have been issued net certificates and many of them were personally presented during the ARRL Forums at the CLARC Hamfest in October and the Twin City Hamfest in November. The six-week amateur radio course sponsored by the Acadiana ARA in conjunction with the Children's Museum of Acadiana has produced a lot of new hams. The LA Section welcomes the following amateur radio operators who passed their exams at the AARA test session in mid November: Cheri Valenti KE5RPE, Paula Roberts KE5RPD, Jack Myers KE5RPJ, Karen Marshall KE5RPI, Joe Fain KE5RPQ, Barbara Fain KE5RPP, Jim WattignyWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO KE5RPK, Leah Wyatt KE5RPF, Glenda Tucker KE5RPG, Jo Ann Pugh KE5RPL, Robert Roy KE5RPC, Catherine Roy KE5RPH, Archibal Hill KE5RPM, Gayle Guidry KE5RPN, and Donald Guidry KE5RPO. The 2008 Southwest LA Amateur Repeater Club officers are WB5OZA, President; KE5HSW, Vice President; KE5QQB, Secretary; and KB5RXS, Treasurer. The incoming officers for the Central LA ARC are WD5HAI, President; AC5PW, Vice President; KE5ASQ, Secretary; and KD5LNU, Treasurer. The Baton Rouge ARC officers for 2008 will be AD5JV, President; K5DF, Vice President; KD5UDB, Secretary; and KC7MOC, Treasurer. N5NVP (Affiliated Club Coordinator) has been busy assisting our clubs with their annual ARRL Club Big List updates. Jim reports that the LA Section now has 34 active affiliated clubs and 22 inactive affiliated clubs. Nine of these clubs are Special Service Clubs! Several leadership and station appointments have been made since last month's report: KD5Z is now our Technical Coordinator; N5PSL is the new Emergency Coordinator for St. Tammany Parish; N5NVP is now the Emergency Coordinator for Acadia Parish; and KD5IGZ is a new Official Emergency Station. I appreciate Lonnie, Marc, Jim, and Duffy for their interest in serving the LA Station in these important roles in the League's Field Organization. I am very sorry to report that W5YDC, W5HEZ, W5CRR, and KE5CMU are all now Silent Keys. Emergency Coordinators should have their SET reports to K5GLS (LA SEC) by now. Gary will submit the LA Section's SET report to ARRL HQ in early January. Upcoming LA hamfests include the SELARC Hamfest in Hammond on January 19 and the 2008 LA State Convention/AARA Hamfest in Rayne on March 21-22. Traffic totals: N5KWB 85, W5CDX 80, WC5M 79, N5NVP 65, W5PY 57, K5MC 47, WA5LQZ 32, N5MEL 1. Public Service Honor Roll: N5KWB 125, N5NVP 120, W5HUD 120, W5PY 110, K5MC 110, N5MEL 107, WC5M 72, AE5V 48. Section net reports: sessions/check-ins/messages handled. Louisiana Traffic Net: 30/605/55. Louisiana CW Net: 57/269/65. Louisiana Slow Net: 9/49/12. Louisiana ARES Net: 4/97/0. Local/district net reports: sessions/check-ins. Allen Parish ARES Net: 5/7. Caddo/Bossier Parish ARES Net: 4/45. Calcasieu Parish ARES Net: 1/7. East Baton Rouge Parish ARES Net: 4/25. Lafayette Parish ARES Net: 4/24. Orleans Parish ARES Net: 3/25. Ouachita Parish ARES Net: 4/56. Rapides Parish ARES Net: 5/44. Richland Parish ARES Net: 4/42. St. Charles Parish ARES Net: 1/12. St. Mary Parish ARES Net: 4/32. St. Tammany Parish ARES Net: 4/46. Tangipahoa Parish ARES Net: 4/92. Terrebonne Parish ARES Net: 4/29. Vermillion Parish ARES Net: 4/30. Vernon Parish ARES Net: 8/120. Washington Parish ARES Net: 4/32. ARES reports: parish/EC. Allen/W5ELM, Avoyelles/KD5IGG, Beauregard/W5MVP, Caddo/Bossier/NZ5S, Calcasieu/KC5FGO, Caldwell/KD5ETB, Cameron/W5JFW, Claiborne/KD5JJP, Concordia/N5AVN, East Baton Rouge/N5ULA, Franklin/N5ASA, Lafayette/WA5TNK, Lafourche/N5PZJ, Livingston/W5RR, Morehouse/KB5SAR, Orleans/NO5FD, Ouachita/W5DSG, Plaquemines/AI5B, Rapides/KD5DFL, Red
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River/KD5IUZ, Richland/N5MEL, St. Bernard/AI5B, St. Charles/K5CFJ, St. John/AI5B, St. Mary/KA5LMZ, St. Tammany/N5PSL, Tangipahoa/KD5PKS, Terrebonne/AD5XJ, Vermillion/KE5JXC, Vernon/W5JZQ, Washington/AI5B. ACC report: N5NVP. PIO report: KE5DJA. 73, Mickey Cox K5MC LA Section Manager Email: [email protected] LA Section Website: http://www.laarrl.org/ Mississippi WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO The 2007 Mississippi SET was held October 27. Based on reports filed by the District Emergency Coordinators and Emergency Coordinators the following counties were active: Alcorn, Copiah, Forrest, Harrison, Hinds, Lauderdale, Leake, Madison, Newton, Pearl River, Rankin, Smith, Stone, Sunflower, Tishomingo, Union, and Warren. Comments provided by the DEC/EC are provided below. WB5CON reports that the Alcorn ARES convened a Skywarn Net in response to a severe weather event scenario and passed formal traffic destined for MEMA and the NWS. As a result of problem areas identified during the SET, Alcorn County ARES has now started a weekly 2 Meter training net meeting each Sunday Evening 15 minutes before the MSPN. KD5GWM in Lauderdale County reports that the SET was productive and a lot of fun. The SET Scenario (lost person) was followed that afternoon by the real thing. Unfortunately, the lost person was later found deceased. From Rankin County WM5A reports that 11 operatorsWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO arrived at the Rankin County EOC on the Saturday Morning of the SET with most being members of the Central Mississippi ARC. After a coordination meeting, N5XXX deployed to the NWS at Thompson Field and AD5ED and KD5RWF set up net control at the EOC with the remainder of the operators being assigned to five simulated shelter locations. This was the first time that this ARES Group had a chance to work together which was a major step toward developing an effective emergency response group. Warren County EC K5NRK reports that K5ZRO was on the air for the first time during a SET from the EOC in Warren County Courthouse. Russ reports reliable HF/VHF capability to the rest of the state with some 15 pieces of formal traffic being sent and received. Forrest County EC KD5XG reports that the Hattiesburg Area Emergency Net was activated for the SET with 27 check ins. Traffic was passed via the ‘Coast to Capital Link’ thanks to the efforts of K5GVR and N5LRQ, who put the VHF linked system into place. Lex reports that the SET gave amateurs in the Hattiesburg area a chance to test their capabilities with a few areas noted that need to be tweaked to improve future performance. If you haven’t already read the article, check out KK5PM and RA3DNC’s article on the 1957 Sputnik launch at www.arrl.org/news/features/2007/09/28/03. This is really a well-written and informative article. During the period of November 16 -17, the Andrew Jackson Council of the Boy Scouts of America held its second ‘Winter Camp.’ About 275 Scouts were in camp and worked on Merit Badges that were not usually taught at summer camp. 21 Scouts signed up for Radio Merit Badge taught by Ron Brown, AB5WF. 17 passed all the requirements. Some of these boys were really interested and may want to follow up with a license class when one is conducted. Clubs that are holding training classes may want to provide Boy Scout units in their area information on the sessions. N5WLW has prepared a summary of Mississippi Club and individual Field Day results over the past 5 years. Check this out on the section web page under Press Releases. New Officers of the Alcorn County ARES Club are K0RIS, President; K5TJB, VP; K8OUX, Secretary; and W5JOR Treasurer. SKYWARN Recognition Day was conducted Friday Nov 30 and Saturday Dec. 1. The Jackson Amateur Radio club operated station WX5JAN at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Jackson for about 16 hours during the event. The station contacted 31 National Weather Service offices around the country. A total of 56 Contact were made, 16 of those via WinLink. Operators who helped were: AB5WF, K5BLL, KM5GE, WB5TTE, K5CID, and KE5KTU. Union County EC W5LMW reports that money has been identified by the EMA Manager to purchase equipment for the EOC; however, the problem now is to find room for the station at the EOC. Gregg also reports that he, W5UBG, and WB5TTM attended a NIMS tabletop exercise sponsored by Gulf States Transmission, Compliance Associates, and the County EMA. Sounds like Ham Radio is getting its foot in the door in Union County. Welcome to new Mississippi Hams: KE5QXD, David – Ocean Springs; KE5QXE, Collie – Gautier; KE5QXF, Patrick – Gulfport;
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KE5QXG, Carl – Gulfport; KE5QXH, Stephen – Gautier; KE5QXI – Jerry, Biloxi; KE5QZM, Michael – Gulfport; KE5QZN, Glen – Gulfport; KE5RAV, Lisa – Lena; KE5RAW, Daron – Madison; KE5RBA, George - Jackson; KE5RDO, Adam – Oxford; KE5RDP, Edward – Water Valley; KE5RDQ, Benjamin – Oxford; KE5RFC, Eric – Mississippi State, KE5RHF, Glenn – Biloxi; KE5RHL, James – Coldwater; KE5RHM, Randall – Southaven; KE5RJK, Bobby – Hattiesburg; KE5RJL, Gloria – Hattiesburg; KE5RJM, Stephen – Hattiesburg; KE5RJN, Stanley – Hattiesburg; KE5RJO, Linda – Hattiesburg; KE5RJP,WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Debra – Hattiesburg; KE5RJQ, Marvin – Hattiesburg; KE5RJR, Kenneth – Seminary; KE5RJS, Brian – Hattiesburg; KE5RJT, Phillip – Magnolia; KE5RJU, Ashley – Petal; KE5RJV, Lonnie – Hattiesburg; KE5RJW, Dorothy – Petal; KE5RJX, James - Brooklyn; KE5RJY, Linda – Seminary; KE5RJZ, Jasmine – Long Beach; KE5RON, Steven – Aberdeen; KE5ROO, Brandon – Hamilton; KE5ROP, Darrell – Columbus; KE5ROQ, Casey – Iuka; KE5ROR, Curtis – Columbus; KE5ROT, William – Columbus; KE5ROT, Lemario – Columbus; and KE5ROU, Lenard – Columbus; Also welcome to KA1ZIA as ORS and OES. Congratulations to the following on their upgrades: KE5EDO – Whitfield; KE5HJN – Tupelo; KE5IXN – Gulfport; KD5JXJ – Tupelo; KE5LCN – Oxford; KE5MVP – Gulfport; KE5OTJ – Verona; KE5PCH – Meridian; KE5PLM – Gulfport; KE5PXF – Long Beach; N5PYH – Enterprise; KE5QCS – Gulfport; KE5QHJ – Walnut Grove; KE5QHK – Lena; KE5QHR – Ocean Springs; KE5QVR – Lauderdale; KE5QZN – Gulfport; KB5SSG – Olive Branch; and N5UDK – Wiggins. Also congratulations are in order for the Northeast Mississippi Radio Amateurs and the PearlWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO River County ARC upon their affiliation with the ARRL. And congratulations to WD2XSH/6 (W5THT), who now has made 15 CW QSOs on 600 Meters including a QSO with WD2XSH/20 in Oregon (2079 miles), and to KB5CSQ on her recent election as YLRL District Chairman. Welcome to new ARRL members: WA5CJP – Hattiesburg; KA5EPR – Diamondhead; N5GDM – Ridgeland; WA4JVL – Picayune; KE5JYV – West Point; KE5KBG – Falkner; KB7PJT – Carriere; N5PPR – Wesson; KE5QHV – Gulfport; KE5QHQ – Ocean Springs; KE5QQH – Tishomingo; KE5QVR – Lauderdale; KE5QZN – Gulfport; KE5RDO – Oxford; KE5RDQ – Oxford; KE5RHM – Coldwater; K5TJB – Corinth; N5TPA – Clinton; KA5UHV – Flowood; KC4YNL – Summit; and K4ZLC – Snow Lake Shores; Club Newsletters/Reports: Hattiesburg ARC (AC5E), Meridian ARC (W5MAV), and Pearl River County ARC (N5WLW). Regret to report the passing of KB5FLC of Michigan City. Several of the reports listed below were filed in October (as noted), but were not listed in the October Section report because W5XX was out of pocket during the late October and early November reporting period. DEC/EC Reports: October – WB5CON (NE MS/Alcorn), KD5CQT (Jackson), KC5EAK (Pearl River), WB5GUD (Newton), W5LMW (Union), K5NRK (Warren), N5TBB (Tippah/Benton); N5UDK (Stone), KD5XG (Forrest); AG5Z (SE MS). November – KD5CQT (Jackson), KC5EAK (Pearl River), WB5GUD (Newton), KD5GWM (Lauderdale/Clarke), WX5N (Tishomingo), N5TBB (Tippah/Benton), KC5TYL (Lamar), AB5WF (West Central MS), and N5ZNT (Southwest MS). Net reports: sessions/QNI/QTC (Net Manager); DRN5 62/Miss 100% Rep by XXXX (WB5ZED); MS Section Phone Net 30/2126/21 (K5NRK); Jackson County EN 30/504/10(KD5CQT); MS Section Slow Net 20/47/1 (W3TWD); Hattiesburg AEN 4/101/0 (N5MZ); Newton County ARES 5/42/0 (WB5GUD); Tishomingo County ARC 4/74/1 (WX5N); Jackson ARC Em Net 4/ 41/0 (AB5WF); Meridian Area EN 4/60/0 (KD5GWM); Lowndes Co ARC Net 4/56/0 (AD5DO); Pearl River ARES 4/46/0 (KC5EAK); NE MS ARES 4/64/0 (W5LMW); MS-LA EN 4/27/0 (K5NRK); Monroe ARC 4/44/0 (AD5DO); Metro Jackson ARES 2/10/0 (AB5WF); Itawamba County ARES 5/42/0 (KB5NMB); PSHR: October - WB5ZED 200, KA1ZIA 143. November – WB5ZED 150, AB5WF 105. Traffic: October – KA1ZIA 101. November – WB5ZED 2,550. Compilation of Net and Traffic Statistics provided by KB5RCJ.
Great Lakes Division
Michigan
Holiday Greetings everyone, As the year draws to a close, we are pleased to announce elections for club
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officers for 2008 in two of our Michigan ARRL Affiliated Clubs: The Michigan Amateur Radio Alliance held its election for 2008’s board members. Pres is K8JX, VP KB8VOZ, Sec WD8LGN and Treas W8MSK. Newly elected for the Genesee ARC ARE Pres K8KZB, Treas WA8MY, Sec K8LJG, Trustee K8LJG. Of special note, the GCARC will be celebrating its 75th Anniversary in 2008. Congratulations to all. 2007 brought some minor struggles and some great victories for the ARRL Michigan Section. We faced the challenges of some personnel changes, but these went well and some new faces are in placeWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO to help our continued progress. Our sincere thanks go out to each of these new members of our staff and extended team. Next month we will be able to report some of the details for CY 2007 and let you know how the Michigan Section performed according to our plans. Our 2008 Youth Forum plans continue to progress well. The response to our initial inquiry has been good. It seems many are waiting for the time and location to be announced before commenting. The comments we have received are driving the site selection and date. We have narrowed the available dates based upon conflicts such as hamfests, holidays and other events, and are targeting Feb 23. Travel considerations and the need for overnight accommodations will drive the location for the Forum. At this point, it will most likely be held in the Gaylord area to afford equal travel for attendees, while minimizing overnight stays for most individuals. As announced earlier, it is critical to bring together as many of our young operators ad possible. Simon KC8ZYD [email protected] is formatting the sessions and promises a good time for everyone. Feel free to contact Simon for details or to offer your suggestions.WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO If your club is active with young hams, YOU need to drop Simon an e-mail to arrange for him to make contact with them. Please insure that all of our young hams are able to take advantage of this opportunity. We now have endured the season’s initial snowfalls without too much inconvenience. Some ice-related power outages hit various sections of the state but despite some prolonged down-time, most everyone fared well. Our weekend snowfall here in the very southeast of the state was about 8 inches and as I was snow-blowing the driveway Sunday (and crabbing because the Sunday paper had not arrived), everything seemed to be going well. Then, “whump, screeee” from the snow blower and I found the Sunday paper. Ten minutes later, after a little work with the Sawzall® and a pry bar, I was happily back at work enjoying the great outdoors. The whole thing was just too funny for me to be upset about the loss of the paper, I was simply happy no pins had sheared and I could continue, (with a little more caution). Oh, and the newspaper was reduced to three little tightly compressed frozen cubes, yet another minor inconvenience. Our thoughts go out to our friends in the central south where ice storm recovery efforts are still underway and amateur radio is playing a vital part in communications. Michigan Nets reporting for November: MACS, WMTN, QMN, MiTN, UPN, TMMTN, WSSBN, SEMTN, NLEUPN, Hiawatha, and MIARPSC. Total Operator-hours for November: 2841. To include your net’s monthly activities, contact WB8RCR. Station Activity Reports (SAR) for November, 2007: WB9JSR 914, KC8WSE 388, AB8SY 209, K8LJG 110, KD8ADD 94, K8RDN 69, W8RNQ 52, K8AMR 30, WB8RCR 26, AB8WF 18, WD8USA 16, KC8MLD 13, K8ZJU 13, KD8BGQ 8, KC8ZCF 7, KC8ZGB 6, KC8RMV 4, WA8OOH 2. Missing from last month’s report, K8LJG 106. Public Service Honor Roll Reports (PSHR) for November, 2007: K8MFK 186, WB8RCR 159, WB9JSR 130, KC8WSE 115, K8RDN 97, WD8USA 94, KD8BGQ 93, AB8SY 80, K8AMR 75. SARs are reports of all the radiogram traffic you have handled in the past month. PSHRs include your net and public service activities for the month. PSHRs and SARs should be filed monthly with WB8RCR. You can access a simple reporting form at: http://www.mi-nts.org/PSHR_entry.shtml to provide your reports to WB8RCR. November Official Emergency Station reports came in from K8COP, KC8ZCF, W8WRB and W8RIT. Your OES reports should be filed with WA8EFK with a copy to your EC. In all cases, reporting by radiogram is encouraged. Packet messages can be routed to [email protected] and [email protected] . The very best wishes for this Holiday Season to each of you from Judy and me. 73 until next month, Dale WA8EFK
Midwest Division
Kansas
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Kansas Section News Summary- November 2007 SM, Ron Cowan, KB0DTI-- SEC/OOC: Robert Summers,K0BXF ASM: Orlan Cook,W0OYH ASM-Youth: Emily Stewart, KC0PTL SGL: Steve Hamilton, KB0JYL PIC: Larry Staples, W0AIB ______Silent Keys W9YNL - Donald Thomas, Topeka WØRZF - Hampton "Tony" Shirer, Lawrence NØISS - George Brannan, Wichita KFØR - Eugene Benzing, Shawnee WØNSW - Milo "Mac" McNall Jr., Topeka, ______WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Trojan club members participated in Skywarn Recognition Day from the flagship office in Goodland. They had two operating positions set up. The crew worked Russia and at the end of the event had nearly 700 contacts in the log. Trojan officers for 2008: President Jim - KCØHBR; Vice Pres Bob- KCØWJT Sec/Treas. Gary- NØXNK ; Program & Training Director Mike- KØFJ Douglas Co. ARC repeater was hit by lightning and the club has been conducting the Tuesday nite nets using a combination of the repeater and simplex. DCARC holds a 6 meter net on Friday nites on 50.130 USB at 8P followed by 2 meter net on 144.230 USB. Technical Specialist WN8P reports that progress is being made with the noise receiver he and WAØCBW are working on. Reminder- Kids Day is around the corner. Mine Creek ARC hamfest will be on February 2nd 2008 in LaCygne. Opens up at 9A. Contact Ron-KBØDTI ______SEC REPORT of OCT ARES activity Seasons greetings from this station to all. Hope your wishes all come true. ARES activity for the month of OctoberWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO is as follows: 15 EC zones reporting total of 157 net sessions 1427 QNI and 68 QTC handled. Chapter 110 QCWA net 4 sessions 31 QNI and RACES net reported 7 counties represented, Brown, Johnson, Finney, Wyandotte, Sedgwick, Linn and Shawnee. Still would like to see each county send at least one rep each month to 3940 khz at 7PM the first Thursday of the month. Band conditions are going to clean up one of these days soon, or at least we all hope so. When they do, I will attempt to let you all know which counties still need reps to the Kansas Sideband net. We should strive to have each zone at least represented and 2 reps per county if possible. You never know when that overload of traffic might appear. We know the ole saying, 'different stroke for different folks'. However when it comes to ham radio communication we should all have at least one common goal and that is to be a little PUBLIC SERVICE minded. Supporting your local Emergency Coordinator and the State RACES and traffic nets is one way to do so. How can I, We assist you? Best 73 from Bob Summers K0BXF ARRL Section Emergency Coordinator ______Newsletters received: Feed Back, Grounded Grid, Trojan ARC Harmonic, QRZ, QNU H.A.R.C. , DCARC, Shawnee Mission Med. Ctr. ______Oct. Sessions/QNI/QTC/Mgr: KSBN/ 31/ 882/ 30 N0KFS KPN/23 / 248 / 28/ N0KFS KMWN/31/ 729 / 589 /WB0YWZ KWN/31/816/ 500 / WB0YWZ CSTN 27/1939/45 N0BFB QKS/ 43 /173 /39 NB0Z QKS-SS / 4 /10 /0 KB0DTI Traffic: KI0BK 198 W0OYH 71 KC0MRJ 66 NB0Z 27 K0BXF 19 KB0DTI 12 N0ZIZ 9 See KSN on ARRL and more Kansas news: http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=KS To receive or contribute to Orlan's Kansas Amateur Radio News E-mail News Letter contact Orlan-W0OYH-Editor at [email protected]
Missouri
DECEMBER 2007 MISSOURI SECTION NEWS DALE BAGLEY, KØKY MO SM Best wishes for a great Holiday Season and a Happy New Year to everyone in the Missouri Section. I hope that Santa fills all your stockings with lots of great Amateur Radio accessories and maybe a FT 2000D, IC 256 PRO III, or ELECRAFT K3 under your tree. I saw recently that there were actually some sunspots showing up so I’m optimistic that 2008 will have a great improvement in HF propagation. The contest scores reported during the current difficult conditions are a tribute to the operating skills, improved radio equipment, and antenna that are being used today. The moral is perhaps… “Sunspots! We don’t need no stinking Sunspots to work the world!” Congratulations to all the clubs and individuals that participated in the ARRL Field Day and to those that operated in the November Sweepstakes this year. My experience in the SSB Sweepstakes this year was a bit of a disaster. I decided this year to operate portable at a nearby
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lake camping area and after the usual Field Day like problems, my logging computer died and I had to install Writelog on another computer during the contest. Conditions were not optimal and with 10 m and 15 m almost empty, most of my operating was on 20m and 40m not the best place for a person with below average hearing to operate low power. A young ham chose to operate SS in a pup tent next to the camper and kept a long wire warm as well as his tent with his tempo-one. It was great fun and next year….look out! JANUARY HAMFEST 2008 The Northwest MO Winterfest will be held January 19, 2008 at the RAMADAWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO INN in St Joseph, MO. The Winterfest opens it’s doors at 7:00 a.m. Admission is three tickets for $7.00 or $4.00 at the door. Tables are $20.00 with electricity limited. Talk in is n 146.850- PL 100 or 444.925- PL 100. For more information contact Roy Burtnett, KA0SIU, by phone 660-446-3589 or 816-387-3758 or e-mail him at [email protected] . The St. Louis and Suburban Radio Club Winterfest 2008 will be in Collinsville, IL on January 26, 2008 at the Gateway Center in Collinsville, IL. To request the same location as last year contact your request must be received before Jan. 1, 2008. You can reserve your tables for $22.00 each or $35.00 each with electricity by sending a check payable to the St. Louis and Suburban Radio Club, Inc at P.O. Box 4096 Hazelwood, MO 63042- 0696. For more information send an e-mail to [email protected] or call (314) 504-1104 or (636) 584-8888. AFFILIATED CLUB NEWS KEITH HAYE, WEØG, ACC The Mississippi Valley DX & Contest Club’s “ DX HOG” reports that John WB9PNU and Herbert AF4JF have been working to get into Moonbouncing (EME) communication. John’s first QSO was made in July 06 and Herbert got his first EMEWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO contact in September 06 on 2-meters. Recently with the help of George WBØIIS and Roger KØGOB, they have obtained a large dish from a Satellite TV system that will be put to use in their quest for more EME QSOs. The Southeast MO ARC operated Field Day at Heartland Xpress this year and really got lots of attention for Amateur Radio. Their Giant Dr Pepper Field Day sign and set-up interested several in becoming Hams themselves. Their very public Field Day site was a real plus and it looked like everyone was having a good time. The Ozark Mountain Amateur Radio Group provided a range of services at the 2007 Ozark Regional Hamfest and Homeland Security Convention. D-Star technology was on display and available for those who bought new radios and needed that service. The WØOMD 2-meter digital repeater was busy with traffic from all over the U.S. via the new D-Star Gateway feature. The OMAR presented two D-Star Icom radios at the Hamfest. One to the Greene County Emergency Management and one to the National Weather Service. The Southwest MO ARC got some bad news last month when their SMARCalling Editor, Tracy Shafer, WØTLS found that employment was cutting into the time needed to put the newsletter together. The December issue will be Tracy’s last effort as Editor and hopefully someone will volunteer to take on that important task. Congratulations to Tracy for the excellent effort and dedication as SMARCalling Editor. SECTION ARES REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 2007 DON MOORE, KMØR SEC Total # of ARES members: 697 Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 83 Man hours: 920 Number of public service events this month: 3 Man hours: 8 Number of emergency operations this month: 6 Man hours: 100 Total number of ARES operations this month: 92 Total Man hours: 1028 Comments: 5 of 9 districts reporting To view this and other Monthly Section ARES reports go to http://www.ares-mo.org/currentsec.asp SECTION TRAFFIC REPORTS FOR NOVEMBER 2007 DALE HUFFINGTON, AEØS, MO Phone Sessions 30 QNI 980 QTC 105 NM KØRWL MESN Sessions 4 QNI 55 QTC 3 NM AEØS Audrain Co AARC Sessions 5 QNI 65 QTC 0 NM KBØKWC Boone Co Sessions 4 QNI 73 QTC 1 NM WMØH Howell HCARC Sessions 8 QNI 56 QTC 0 NM KØRWL Jackson Co ARES Sessions 4 QNI 78 QTC 0 NM KØUAA CSRC Wellsville Sessions 3 QNI 16 QTC 2 NM KCØYNE Macon Co Sessions 4 QNI 31 QTC 1 NM KØKY Rolla RRARS Sessions 30 QNI 370 QTC 12 NM KB9ZBO St Louis CO ARC Sessions 5 QNI 86 QTC 12 NM KBØH Sullivan ARC Sessions 9 QNI 103 QTC 5 NM KBØROX Taney Co TLARC Sessions 1 QNI 5 QTC 296 NM KBØOFD WAARCI Sessions 4 QNI 71 QTC 0 NM WBØTOM 10th Reg Sessions 62 QNI QTC 100 MO 92 with K9ZTV, NDØN, WØSJS, WØSJS, NM WØSS
New England Division
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Connecticut
Greetings to you all on a very cold winter day. Weather has certainly been a major topic of discussion for the ARES program this past month. But before I tell you about that, I first want to wish each of you a very happy and healthy Holiday season. I hope those of you who celebrated Chanukah had a terrific holiday. During that time, I was in Germany on a river boat touring some of the fabulous Christmas markets—and yes;WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO they’re outdoors in the cool, rainy weather! Handmaid goods galore and the best sausage and lots of food and spiced wine of course—good for a ham fest—right? That hot wine sure tasted good in the windy weather. Seriously, I brought back some nice treasures. And when I got back, there we were ready for the first of two storms. And as usual, Sky Warn ops were standing by giving proper reports to coordinators for relay to NWS. We did have an NWS activation. Many thanks to DEC Steve K1SJW who kept us all updated on the progress of the storm and the criteria for reporting. You may not realize it if you’re not involved but there is definite criteria for reporting that include precise definitions of weather events and conditions. If you haven’t taken the Sky Warn training, come on out to a class when it’s offered—it’s fun and very interesting. While I was away, ASM Jim, KD1YV and Barb K1EIR were in charge in my absence; thanks to both for helping out. Congrats to Mary K1MMH who will be inducted as the new president of NARL right after the New Year at their annual holiday party! Congrats, too, to the following new hams who attended the class given by ECARA: KB1PRW – Tim - Thompson,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO CT; KB1PRX - Keith - Brooklyn, CT; KB1PRY - Dottie - Niantic, CT; KB1PRZ - Alan - Stafford Springs, CT. If you have completed teaching a class and want to get me your list of new hams, I’ll surely try to post it here. All new ops get a letter of welcome from me which includes details about clubs and other Section activities. If you want to volunteer to help out with the CPTV Fund Drive on New Year’s Eve day, contact Mary, K1MMH [email protected]. Volunteers need to be at CPTV studios, 1049 Asylum Street, across from St. Francis Hospital by 11:00 a.m. for training. You will be needed until about 2:30. Please wear shirts that represent Amateur radio that are NOT white. Thanks. I bet Amateur Radio will get a bit of publicity that day! On January 5, I plan to join many club presidents and Section Managers and attend the New England Division cabinet meeting. Twice per year, our director Tom Frenaye, K1KI hosts a Division meeting to receive input from leaders and clubs before the upcoming Board meeting. Club presidents and Section Managers and assistant directors are invited. It’s a good chance to touch base with volunteers who have similar positions in other Sections and learn about what they are doing. Then I plan to link each of your club Web sites to the Section Web site: http://ct.arrl.org. If your club does not have a Web site, you are invited to write a short description of your club, perhaps listing your officers and meeting times and whatever else you feel is pertinent and sending it to Jim, KD1YV, our Webmaster for inclusion. Email: [email protected]. That’s all for this month—again, enjoy this special time with family and friends and certainly, enjoy Amateur radio!
Eastern Massachusetts
Hello to all Amateur Radio Operators in E. MA.; I would like to wish everyone to have a MERRY CHRISTMAS AND CHANUKAH, and a Happy New Year to all!! Drive safe this holiday, party hardy, and forget any problems. Enjoy this time of year, "OH YES" eat all the goodies that you enjoy!! Myself and Shirl send the above message after talking with ARRL Headquarters, I will forgo the usual information, except to say a prayer for the "SILENT KEYS" we all lost this past year. Happy Holidays to all!! 73 Art Greenberg E.MA.SM/OO GOOD AIR WAVES TO ALL
Rhode Island
Greetings fellow Rhode Islanders: Last month, I was taken to task by several RI Amateurs who disliked and objected to the IARU band plan submitted in September. Most notable in the objection to the band plan were several specific points that were misquoted by a few AM operators who concluded that ARRL was trying to eliminate authorization for AM except for 10 meters. An explanation from President Joel
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Harrison W5ZN is posted on the ARRL website at http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2007/12/07/100/? nc=1. The communication from President Harrison suggests that members provide their input to their elected official, listed on page 15 of QST. These are your Directors and Vice Directors. I have written to our Director, Tom Frenaye, K1KI with my thoughts. You are all invited to do the same. More important for us all to keep in mind is the fact that this is an IARU plan. What's more important, it does not supercede our US band plan. The national band plan we are asked to follow is detailed at http://www.arrl.org/FandES/WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROfield/regulations/bandplan.html . In this band plan, you will see that AM is suggested to be used on 1.843-2.000 MHz. As far as we know, ARRL is not planning to change this national band plan. I have updated my manual listing of every living Rhode Islander who has qualified for DXCC by confirming 100 or more entities. I will post it on our RI website http://www.ri.arrl.org/ and send a personal copy to the 300 RI League members who have elected to receive e mail bulletins from the Section Manager. Does that list include you? If not, please go to http://www.arrl.org/members- only/memdata.html?modify=1 and check the boxes you wish to enable. We list 88 DXCC qualified hams currently but one of our serious DXers, WA1MKS became a Silent Key in 2007. After this posting of his achievement in confirming 314 entities, I shall remove him from the list. We have eight who are on the Honor Roll, signifying that they are within ten or fewer of confirming all entities in the world, which currently stands at 317. Three sit at the top of the Honor Roll, signifying that they have worked and confirmed all 317, a very admirable achievement. Congratulations! You should be proud. While thinkingWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO about DX, has anyone noticed that the Solar Flux Index has been running in the low 90s, about 25 points above where it was only a month ago? This isn't any indication that the new Sun Spot Cycle 24 has begun but it surely is good news. Our RI ARES organization, under K3OQH's leadership is continuing to provide net operation and development of plans to provide communications in time of emergency. The group recently provided some real life service by maintaining a snow desk through the recent snow events. Real time snow measurements during the storm were taken and called in from points all over RI to the National Weather Service people in Taunton. This was the first time the latest version of the KA1RCI repeater network was utilized in an actual emergency. With a new repeater added in Westerly, the network is now fully operational from any point in RI to any other. It functions seamlessly as a single repeater, accepting input on any of eight or more repeaters on four different bands and your voice will be repeated on all the repeaters simultaneously. Through the snow, ice, wind and rain, the network performed flawlessly. Terrific work by Asst SM, Steve KA1RCI. Steve is always planning additions to his network, so stay tuned. If you wish more information about ARES, please contact our acting SEC at [email protected] . On a very sad note, we wish to report the addition to the Silent Key listing of Zaven Tenkarian W1IUX on December 9th. Zaven was very well known among old timers and a strong supporter of the Providence Radio Association and worked tirelessly over the past decades to build and operate their impressive station, W1OP in nearly every major contest and at all hours of the day and night. If you heard or worked W1OP in any contest, it was likely that Zaven was operating. Finally, on behalf of your ARRL team, I want to wish you and your family a very happy holiday season. Whether the holiday you follow at this time of year is Christmas, Chaukah, Kwanzaa or any other joyous occasion, we are all brethren as Amateurs and share a toast in your celebration. Together, we look forward to a very happy and healthy New Year in 2008. Very 73, Bob Beaudet, W1YRC
Northwestern Division
Montana
We are a bit late with this month's report. Finals for school this week and the normal buildup for Christmas and the Holidays is in full swing. Still many tasks to accomplish and settle in for a celebration. Our state has already experienced some cold weather blasts from old man Winter the past few weeks, along with some heavy winds and snow. I'd like to ask everyone to consider what emergency gear they have packed in their outfit and if they could make an overnight stay inside of the car or truck.
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Some extra water, blankets and some granola bars, candy for some additional body heat and of course, some spare batteries for your flashlights. Always remember to keep the exaust pipe clear from snow and keep the engine warm by putting a piece of cardboard or a winterfront on the outside of the radiator. Every bit of heat conserved may make an important difference for you and your family. Always, always carry a shovel too. Bands are pretty well dead, this being the bottom of the Sunspot Cycle and Winter to boot. I do believe we'll see some improvement coming this Spring and we'll be off into the next cycle with improved DXWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO and activity on the upper bands. I'd like to wish everyone a great Holiday Season and hopefully time with those that you love. 73 to all Doug, K7YD MTN-AE7V, QNI-1118, QTC-57 IMN- W7GHT, QNI-415, QTC-109 MSN-K7YD, QNI-134, QTC-5
Oregon
2007 STORM AND FLOODS Visit the section website at http://www.arrloregon.org/news.php to learn about much of the information that occurred during the storm and floods. At the bottom of the front page of the website, be sure to select the second page for more news. The flood activation news continues onto a third page as well. Significant problems existed as a result of this in Clatsop County, Columbia County and Tillamook County. These counties received support primarily from Washington County, Clackamas County and Multnomah County. To a lesser degree, there were also storm and flood problemsWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO in parts of Yamhill County and Curry County. If the phones had not begun returning when they did, it may have been necessary to bring in support from ARES groups in other parts of the state. Bill Morris, W7IH, the Section Emergency Coordinator, began surveying DEC's to find about availability of support early in the event. Some areas were completely isolated for a period of time. Steve Sanders, KE7JSS, the Section Public Information Coordinator, did a great job of bringing the ham radio response to the attention of the media and the governor. While this was going on, a meeting of the house Emergency Preparedness and Ocean Policy Committee was scheduled at the capitol. Some members of the committee came from Clatsop County and Curry County. At the time they left their homes with no telephone or power, they weren't sure what the drive to Salem would be like. I attended the meeting. Vince VanDerHyde, K7VV, Emergency Coordinator (EC) for the Oregon Emergency Management (OEM) Amateur Radio Unit (ARU) attended as well, even though the unit was activated. Some members of the Salem Amateur Radio Club attended the meeting as well. We are continuing to have an amateur radio presence at these committee meetings so that when they think of emergency communications, they will think first of amateur radio. STATEWIDE ARES NET FREQUENCY The frequency used for the statewide ARES net at 1730 on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday has been moving around to find a good location. This week's net will be on 3964 kHz. Bruce Bjerke, K7BHB, stated that this move is being made in an attempt to get out from under the AM Nets from Texas and the Southeast US that have proved to be so troublesome during recent Nets, as the band has gone long earlier and earlier. A couple frequencies have been tried since it was determined that 3993.5 kHz was not working very well for the ARES nets. This month the net is the responsibility of District 6 and is being operated from Ontario, Oregon. On the earlier net this month, conditions were such that I was able to hear the net control and logging station from Ontario, but I could not hear most of the other stations on the net. OFFICIAL OBSERVER COORDINATOR I am pleased to announce the appointment of Ed Ewell, K7DXV, of Klamath Falls as the Official Observer Coordinator (OOC). Ed's responsibilities will include overseeing the Official Observer/Amateur Auxiliary program in the Oregon Section. If anyone has interference issues they would like assistance or guidance in monitoring, do not hesitate to contact Ed Ewell, K7DXV, or any of the Official Observers. They are listed under the Volunteer Appointments tab on this website. Ed would like to build the OO organization across the state with observers who are interested in improving the operational practices of amateur radio operators. He would like the organization to be visible at clubs and conventions, letting everyone know they are glad to check anyone's signals and advise them as to how to operate their station within the rules when requested. He would like to make presentations at club meetings about proper station operations and encourages the official observer appointees to do the same. As he recruits new OO's, they will be provided with a
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mentor to help them get started. Official observers are observers, not enforcers, and their job is help their fellow ham radio operators. Don't hesitate to ask any of them for assistance or advice. OO Reports for November: Four observers reported a total of 178 hours observation time. CLUB NEWS Remember to send any club news and recognition of members to Pat Roberson, N7PAT, at [email protected] so we can recognize your activities in the next Oregon Section Club News that he prepares. OREGON STM REPORT DECEMBER 2007 NET ACTIVITY NOVEMBER 2007 (ALL REPORTING NETS HAD 30 SESSIONS): WESTERNWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO OREGON VHF EMERGENCY NET, QNI 400, QTC 41, K7WWB NET MGR OREGON EMERGENCY NET, QNI 3996, QTC 13, N7RBO NET MGR NORTHWEST TRAFFIC AND TRAINING NET, QNI 448, QTC 97, N7YSS NET MGR OREGON SECTION NET/1, QNI 191, QTC 121, WS7L NET MGR OREGON SECTION NET/2, QNI 84, QTC 63, KC7SRL NET MGR BEAVER STATE NET, QNI 591, QTC 48, N7CM NET MGR STATION ACTIVITY REPORT (SAR, TOTALS) NOVEMBER 2007: W7RRC 276, N7CM 196, W7IZ 174, N7YSS 92, KC7SRL 44, KK1A 40, K7EAJ 40, KD7ZLF 40, K7PMB 39, W7VSE 30, WS7L 23 PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR, TOTALS) NOVEMBER 2007: N7CM 170, K7EAJ 150, KK1A 120, N7XG 110, N7YSS 110, KD7ZLF 105, KK7TN 74, W7VSE 70, KD7THV 65
Western Washington
In DistrictWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO 1, Snohomish County reports that John Gates, N7BTI, worked to get all hospital packet equipment working. They are consolidating their hospital teams and actively working with the American Red Cross in an effort to be able to communicate with all locations. On November 6th, San Juan County ARES/RACES supported the county health department’s pandemic flu training. Over 200 regular flu shots were given by the health department in a 4 hour period at the fire station on Orcas Island. People, simulating a situation where human contact must be minimized, stayed in their cars for their standard flu shot and put only their arm out the window for the injection. Peter, K2SPR, and Wayne, WA6MPG, manned the packet station on Orcas Island at the fire station and Dave, K9MRQ, and Jerry, WA7ZTT, manned the packet station at the county health department on San Juan Island to relay critical information to the temporary site. District 3 held their regular quarterly EC meeting in Montesano. Lewis County continues to monitor for QRM on the Sheriff's Office frequency. Pacific County has installed a new Pactor modem and Rigrunner in their EOC. In District 4, Clark County continues to provide the CEM NET check-in for the county each Tuesday. At the digital packet meeting on November 12, a system to have one member on each team packet capable was discussed. The ARES/RACES group met at the Silver Star Search and Rescue building in Washougal where Rick, KE7HKR, the president gave them a fine tour of the building and discussed their operation. Cowlitz County EC Randy, NU7D, represented the team at (2)Citizen Corps Meetings, an LEPC Meeting, a SAR Council Meeting and a Communications Exercise Meeting. District 5 No Report. In District 6 the PSE team was on standby status during the storm of Nov. 12, 2007. The Sammamish Team has done a review of all active members and adjusted the roll to reflect an accurate count of active members. District 6 team members also support the Seattle Marathon. In District M, the Pierce County Medical Services Team (MST) participated in Operation Yellow Leaf with the Pierce County hospitals. The King County MST had a training session on Winlink and packet operations. Planning is ongoing for Communications Academy 2008. The SEC would like to wish everyone Happy Holidays. It is not too early to mark you calendar for Communications Academy 2008. April 5 & 6 at South Seattle Community College.
Pacific Division
East Bay
Holiday greetings to all. Congratulations to Jim Latham, AF6AQ, the newly elected Section Manager
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for the East Bay Section. Jim has been my ASM, assisting me take care of business in the Livermore Valley. He has also served as Alameda County ARES DEC. Jim is active with Livermore Amateur Radio Klub as well as Alameda County Sheriff’s Communications Team. Jim takes office Jan. 1, 2008. Thank you to the following section volunteers; it has been a real honor to have you on my staff: KF6WNH (EC) Richmond, K6JNW (EC) Castro Valley, KI6EGL (EC) Newark, K6BQ (PIO) Dublin, N6CUK (EC) Concord, N6BHX (EC) Martinez, K6JEB (PIC) Richmond, KG6OBQ (PIO) Martinez, W6UAB (OES) Oakland,WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO W6HPC (EC) Lafayette, KI6KYI (OES) Concord, N6JOX (EC) Moraga, WA6ZAP (OES & EC) Concord, K6DF (ORS) Fremont, K6DF (OES) Fremont, K6NCX (OES) Alameda, KB8VAO (AA) Walnut Creek, KQ6OL (EC) Orinda, AD6AM (EC) Antioch, KE6QR (ORS) Vallejo, KF6FGH (EC) Brentwood, KD6GLY (EC) Brentwood, K6CKT (PIO) Livermore, WB6UZX (NM) Berkeley, K6HEW (DEC) (ASM)Vacaville, W0VJO (EC) Vallejo, W6OMF (AA) Vacaville, WA6CCF (EC) Albany, K6APW (ORS) Albany, AD6KV (EC) Pleasanton, N6RO (ORS) Oakley, KG6N (EC) Fremont, AF6AQ (ASM) Livermore, W6DOB (ORS, OES & STM) , Pinole, KD6ZMP (EC) Pleasant Hill, N6SPX (AA) Concord, K6WX (TC & TS ) Fremont, K6MCM (EC) El Sobrante, KK6ZL (EC) Pleasanton, NN6E (DEC) Oakley, N6JGA (EC) Walnut Creek, KA6SHE (EC) Walnut Creek, KB6MP (OES) Oakland, K6SFD (AA, EC) Danville, W5HQJ (EC) Concord, KE6J (EC) Walnut Creek, WB6ETY (EC) Livermore, KM6QX (EC) Lafayette, K6HS (EC) Walnut Creek, KG6HM (EC) Alameda, K6SOE (AA) Pittsburg, W6STW (OES) Livermore, K6BIR (EC) Hayward, AD6X (EC) Livermore,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO KG6HJU (EC) Dublin, KA6S (ASM) Fremont. From the club newsletters: Oakland Radio Communications Association: had over 30 participants for their annual SET. North Bay ARA: Roy W6LRT gave a presentation on several bean can antennas. He made contact with a station in Napa from our meeting location using his Roy bean antenna mounted on his portable "tower". Bob AB4AL also tested an antenna he made also. Home brewing antennas out of spare parts at zero cost is truly what amateur radio is about in addition to public service and traffic handling. Welcome aboard new members Ed, KG6OQK and Linda, KG6OQL Silverado ARS: We received a nice thank you letter from the St Helena Fire Chief for the work that David, KG6YRY and his family, and other SARS members did at Fire Safety Day. AlCo Sheriff’s Comm Team: Thanks to Steve Hawes, WB6UZX for conducting an excellent message handling exercise at our last meeting. The Halloween Patrol on Oct 31st was a great success. Command Staff was very happy with the 14 Comm Team volunteers that worked that night. The Comm Team participated in the County-wide exercise on Thursday, November 29 at the AlCo EOC. ORCA, EBARC and ARCA finished up their fall license class graduating 16 new generals at the post class VE exam. New Ham Report: Muriel D Montague, KI6MTI; Suzanne D Christensen, KI6MTT; Jennifer L Strahan, KI6MTL; David M Strahan, KI6MTB; Elizabeth A Chan, KI6MTR Joseph W Chan, KI6MTQ; Lee F Rosen, KI6MTJ; Marianne Schenone, KI6MTU; Elizabeth C Lin, KI6MTO; Alfred C K Lin, KI6MTP. All from Alameda.Daniel E Muth, KI6NGU, American Canyon; James R Bergsten, AF6FO, Danville; David S Christensen, KI6NDD; Patricia Mathews, KI6MTA, Alamo; Craig Jepson, KI6NHZ, Antioch,; Derek S Dwyer, KI6NCP, Calistoga; Terrell N Hagen, KI6NBX, Danville, Jeff Leung, KI6MUP, Fremont; James E Clenney, KI6MXM, Livermore; George T Tickner, KI6NHY, Martinez; William L Burrow, KI6NGX; Thomas J Martin, KI6NGY; Nina B Hayes, KI6NGR, All from Napa; Mitchell W Aiken, KI6NCM; Chris P Phelps, KI6NHH; Don Richardson, KI6NCR; Daniel H Richardson, KI6NCQ; Christopher Collins, KI6NCN; Peter J Collins, KI6NCO, All from Saint Helena; Robert G Smith, KI6MZC, San Leandro; Lucas A Hirst, KI6NIA, San Ramon; Richard Ozer, KI6NBT; James W Jenkins, KI6NGS; Michael K Goen, KI6MTH; Zachary R Dinkmeyer, KI6MWT; Hubertus A Nanlohy, KI6MTE; Matthew K Madson, KI6MTM; Janet L Johnson, KI6MTN; Brian H Shott, KI6MXE, All from Oakland; Jamie A Winning, KI6MTG, Emeryville; Christopher D Jaquette, KI6MTD, Berkeley; Silinda Neou, KI6MXB, Richmond; Gary R Waddell, KI6MTC, & Douglas S Ellis, KI6MWR Vacaville; NTS Report KE6QR :r-8d-8s-0o-0 Total 16 WB6UZX: Orig 1 Recd 143 Sent 106 Deld 53 Total 303 PSHR: 1/40 2/40 3/10 4/10 Total 100 NTS Traffic Nets: • 1200 hours-Noon Net SSB net on 7268.5 KHz and 3970 KHZ • 1900 hours- Golden Bear Net-SSB net 3975 KHzM • 1530 hours-Sixth Region CW net 7275 KHz or 3916 KHz • 1900 hours- Northern Ca High speed Cw 3533 KHz • 1945 hours-Sixth Region CW net 3575 KHz • 2100 hours-
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Northern Ca. Slow speed CW 3533 KHz • 2130 hours-Sixth Region CW net 3575 KHz Local VHF Nets 1930 hours - Sundays -145.110 MHz (pl 82.5) • 2100 hours - Tuesdays- 146.640 MHz (pl 162.2) Your check-ins are always welcome!!!
Nevada
Nevada Section NewsWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Summary - See the complete, unedited stories at http://nv.arrl.org. December 9, 2007 - ARES Monthly Report for November'07 - SEC Summary - Emcommwest 2008 in Reno is being planned for May 2-4 at Circus Circus in Reno. New chair will be Kevin, KE7BQX. All 3 Districts are gearing up for Skywarn Recognition Day, the weekend of December 1. The annual rivalry will be on again. Elko in Northeast District always seems to take top honors, but they may have a tough time this year, or so I hear. Good luck to all. A couple of new EC's around the section as you will read. Many thanks to all of those who step up to the plate and take on such an awesome responsibility. We are grateful for your help. Don Carlson, KQ6FM SEC. SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORT: - November 2007 from Glenn Hale, KB7REO, DEC. Clark and Nye Counties began coordinating for a joint exercise drill. The Red Cross Las Vegas Chapter asked Clark County ARES/RACES to participate in the drill, which was to include Laughlin, Pahrump and Las Vegas. Planning for the exercise began in October. In addition, planning for SKYWARN Recognition Day was well underway. Jeff KC7PK, AEC for SKYWARNWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO provided the lead role in organizing the local event. South Nye Co. EC Report by Jerry KC6ILH - Did a SKYWARN Training class, and some Thanksgiving food basket deliveries. Been a nice slow month. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all the ARES/RACES members in Southern Nye County. Clark County EC Report by Charlie AA5QJ - No ARES/RACES activities in November, but members did participate in the communications support of the MS150 bike ride and the Silverman Triathlon. North Nye Co. EC Report by AEC Randy KB7TRI, Acting EC - Organized paperwork for ARES, filled out form. Acting EC made inquiries on a repeater for regular local nets, and made inquiries on local emergency resources. Participated in ARES Statewide nets. Net Control for Statewide Net. NORTHEAST DISTRICT REPORT: This month was pretty quiet. No emergency operations occurred. This month's focus was on continued Boy Scout training and field preparation for Skywarn Recognition Day on Dec 1. Three HF field antennas were erected at the Elko forecast office of the National Weather Service. An A4S beam was erected on the EARC Mobile tower, a Butternut vertical was set up and a skeleton cone wire antenna was hung from the NOAA communication tower. Permission was granted to the Club to install a yard arm on the NOAA tower for more rapid antenna deployment during these events and actual weather emergencies. IRLP node 3227 located at N7JEH's QTH returned to operation this month. This node offers a backup to the 3806 node operated by the EARC for emergency net purposes. This brings the number of active IRLP nodes in the Elko area to three. The third node is 3723, owned by Phill Cheety WB7BTS. The Section HF net continues on Saturday mornings on 3996.5 khz at 8:00 AM. Propagation seems to have actually improved since the change to PST. New participants are joining the net weekly. Join us! - Joe Giraudo - N7JEH NE. DEC NORTHWEST DISTRICT REPORT: I've just taken over as acting DEC for Northwest District. We are working on getting a new Northwest DEC soon. ASEC, Dick Creley KJ7UK has just taken over as acting EC for Douglas and Carson City Counties. We have a new EC for Humbolt County. We welcome Stephen Ski WOYTOWICZ AB7FB. He is also the county RACES officer, and has been involved with emergency communications there for some time. It is good to have such an experienced EC on the team. No report from Ski, as he is just getting started, and no membership to report yet! 73 Paul Wilcoxen, KE7CRZ Churchill County reports: Once again we had a quiet month in Churchill County. I have been attending the regular meetings of the Local Emergency Planning Commission and receiving regular briefings regarding Vigilant Guard 2008. We have been working to get Packet Stations at the Churchill County EOC as well as the NAS Fallon EOC. There have been several radios as well as computers donated to the cause and we should have those stations on the air and operational very soon. I have been asked by Under Sheriff Wood, to meet with him regarding emergency communications and hope to schedule that meeting soon. Things are really coming together here and the cooperation is great with all
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the agencies involved. This of course is due to the tremendous support of all the members of ARES of Churchill County. Dick Creley, KJ7UK Douglas/Carson City Counties reports: Dick has just taken back over the leadership of the area and of DCART. Monday night nets remain the same at 6:30pm on the K7DI 147.270 and 441.250 linked repeaters. Dick is currently putting together a new AEC leaders team with several areas of need being filled. November meeting attended by SEC, Don Carlson, KQ6FM. Many members expressed an interest in learning more about Winlink and packet, and interest building in a renewed packetWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO program. De KQ6FM, for KJ7UK. Bob Miller, WA6MTY Washoe County report: Not much happened in November. Had a small packet workshop at our monthly training session. On November 28th Kaydie Paschall the CERT coordinator did a disaster prepardness class for a small group of Girl Scouts at the REOC and after that class Zahra W7ZMA and I did a presentation and demonstration of Amateur Radio to the Scouts and their leaders. May have a few more Hams in the area. Andy KD7ZEV announced his company IGT will be donating around 60 Pentium III Class industrial computers to the REOC to be used soley by ARES for packet computers. All computers will be the same with the same packet and Winlink sofware for the Northwest District ARES team. Kevin KE7BQX donated a new KENWOOD TS-480 HF transceiver to the REOC and I donated an all band Windom antenna to be deployed in an Inverted-V configuration to be used in conjunction with the Hi-Q dipole already on the tower. 73 de KQ6FM, Acting DEC December 3, 2007 - CONGRATULATIONS !!! Steve Smythe, KE7HLS, has been awarded "Ham of the Year" by the Sierra Nevada Amateur Radio Society. Lee Edwards,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO KE7KPY, has been awarded "Young Ham of the Year" by Sierra Nevada Amateur Radio Society. Both of these Hams were part of the Reno QRP 2007 ARRL Field Day Team. (tnx to Steve, NU7T & Reno QRP for this) November 23, 2007 - Reno QRP Lunch - Many items appeared at the November lunch for Show n' Tell. Bruce, W7JBB, fine craftmanship was seen in his Nor Cal 40 Wilderness Radio. Swede, K7UAL, passed around a Touchtapper TT-1 key, Hal MKB-1 key board he uses for digital and a Drake W-4 watt meter. Carl, K5HK, showed off an Elecraft KX1 he built along with his new American Morse Key. Steve, NU7T, gave everyone a peek at the Vibroplex Collector's Guide. Fred, N6FME, is in Arizona until April. He will be on 20m, 30m and 40m. Stan, K7NUU, who has been producing radio dust covers for the past few years is still in business until the materials are used up, but that will be some time yet. Through the grapevine, Frank, W6MN, has returned to the area. Welcome back Frank. frank at w6mn dot reno dot nv dot us. Send all ideas for 2008 Field Day sites, NOW, to Ed wd7y at sbcglobal dot net. Ed is our Chairman of the Exploratory Committee for 2008 Field Day Site Selection. The site selection committee will meet in January to schedule on site workshops. (tnx to Steve, NU7T & Reno QRP for this) -30-
Sacramento Valley
November Summary ‘Tis the season…and we all know what that means. The ARRL 10 meter contest is December 8-9, both CW and SSB. This has been my personal favorite for a long time because of the possibility of unusual DX and the probability that the deader the band, the more exciting each contact becomes. Check page 78 in the December QST, or http://www.arrl.org/contests for an electronic version. On the December 1-2, there is the 160 meter contest, CW, and as it says in QST, ‘Antennas want to work…. Load up what you’ve got and prepare to be pleasantly surprised.’ For several years my 160m antenna was a 10-80m off center fed dipole (some call it a Windom) that loaded and performed adequately on 160. I did not put it through a contest, and won’t this year. We have Pacific Division Cabinet meeting on Saturday and a family event Sunday. And on the subject of 160m antennas, look at http://butthead.campus.luth.se/~micke/images/oh8x/ to see the construction photos of a 160m yagi! This is also the season for holiday parties and celebrations. Most clubs are having a party-dinner and offering the chance for family involvement. A new club in Placer County is forming with just that in mind. Placer Amateur Radio Club intends just that. ‘All persons interested in Amateur Radio communications shall be eligible for membership.’ A November 15 meeting in Lincoln, CA, at Kim’s Country Kitchen drew about a dozen interested in joining the new club, plus friends from the Yuba Sutter club. The beginning membership assures ARRL affiliation. Most are seasoned ham operators with long
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experience. Our Assistant Section Manager for Youth, Curtis, KI6ESK, will also be a charter member of this new organization. Interested in joining? Contact PARC at http://www.PARCNET.NET or contact Steve Harding, KA6ETB, 236 Chambers Drive, Lincoln CA 95648. Another event to put on your calendar now is the National Pony Express Association (NPEA) re-ride of the actual Pony Express…just like the one in 1860-61 which traversed parts of eight states to deliver mail between Sacramento and St. Joseph, MO. This remarkable service was in advance of the wired telegraph and mail was carried from April, 1860, to NovemberWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO 1861. Mail and news crossed the West in as little as seven days, 17 hours. The re-ride won’t push man nor beast so hard, but could use some amateur radio operator assistance. To get the dates in 2008 for this event, California XP, and possibly sign up as an operator, contact Ron Norton, KJ6XI, at [email protected] or 1505 Lakehills Dr., El Dorado Hills, CA 95762. Another club is considering the ‘Ham Cram’ style of training new Technician licensees. Yuba Sutter ARC runs a class each January. This normally takes 6 to 8 weeks to complete the course. They have a very high pass rate. Nearly everyone who signs up gets a ticket. Amador County ARC ran their Ham Cram in September, a one day effort culminating with a test about 2 PM. More and more clubs are going this route with the idea being, ‘get them licensed--they have the rest of their lives to become a ham.’ The key is mentors. If this is to work, each new tech needs a personal Elmer. The Oroville Amateur Radio Society will have a similar effort but take most of one weekend to complete it. They will teach all day Saturday and Sunday morning, then have the students appear in Chico to test with the Golden Empire Amateur Radio Society VE team.WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO As the moving force behind ham training in the Yuba Sutter area for 20 years, I know how dangerous it is to be the guy responsible for ordering the books, writing and distributing the news releases, obtaining the classrooms, and conducting most of the training. If I were to lose interest or be incapacitated at the wrong time, the whole thing might fall flat. It is a wonderful idea to distribute the load. It gives everyone a chance to do part of the job. We have a great wealth of instructor talent, but the other tasks are important too. This leads me to reiterate the need for each club to have a Public Information Officer to do the public relations job in our communities. If we can get a PIO in every club the public notices will be easier to get out. Contact Bob McClard, W6OWH, our PIC, or me if you can serve as a PIO. November 11 saw Veteran’s Day parades in many communities. Marysville’s parade was marshaled by a dozen ham operators and controlled by Yuba Sutter ARES. Marysville intersperses marching units, motorized units, bands, horse-drawn and mounted riders. All these units have sequence numbers but are put at the parade start point in the correct order by the marshals. It is a demanding task. To all who participated in Veteran’s Day activities, congratulations. Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) units in the Sacramento Valley Section are organized in many ways. In some areas, Fire and/or Police auxiliaries are formed. In others, no formal organization exists beyond self training and public service events for experience. Some others, like Shasta County ARES have formed non-profit corporations as the foundation of their effort. They train and serve at a high level of professionalism. At the November 12 meeting in Redding, each SCARES member reported his activity for the previous month. The average as I recall was thirty hours per member. They have trained to a high degree, each having taken the ARRL ARECC courses 1 and 2, and some have completed the third level. They also have SEMS training and CERT training. When you are ready to take this training, check the ARRL website, http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html#ec001 and follow the instructions. CERT, or Community Emergency Response Team training was given in our area in 2004, but not since. The other training courses prepare you to work as an adjunct to professional local and state emergency first responders. You will not become a first responder with this training. November 15 was the date by which all the 440 repeaters interfering with Pave Paws radar at Beale AFB were supposed to be identified and the trustee/operators of the repeaters notified by FCC. On that date at least five trustees were notified to call K4ZDH, Riley Hollingsworth, at his FCC office in Gettysburg, PA. KJ6RA, Rich Zanni, of Mt. Shasta, one of our Assistant Section Managers, got such an e-mail, called Riley and will be shutting down one of his Patio System Repeaters until further notice. I don’t have information on the other repeaters, only that four others were addressed in the same e-mail. If your 440 repeater was not nominated this time or last time, continue your operation. Continue to observe the requested power limitation of five watts power output from the transmitter. There will be more to come on this subject. If you are mystified by
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the sunspot number reporting system, it would be oh so educational to read that part of the Propagation Forecast Bulletin nr. 48 from November 21. Tad Cook, K7RA, does an excellent job of taming this critter. Ever wonder why there are no sunspot numbers between 1 and 10? Sure, there can be a zero day or week; we have all seen that lately. But the rest of the story makes interesting reading. Go ahead, it is only a paragraph. While on this general topic, you get the opportunity to get Propagation Bulletins and all the other up to date news by signing up at the ARRL members only part of the website. Your profile allows you to specifyWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO which items you want to show up in your electronic mailbox. Review it and you may be amazed at all the material waiting for you. NCN/V, 2nd edition, or Northern California Net, VHF voice, will start on a trial basis Monday December 3 at 7:30 pm on the 147.00 MHz, minus offset, 136.5 hz tone, Mt. Vaca Repeater Club's K6MVR repeater. This nightly traffic net will move and deliver messages in and out of our section. Sunspots cooperating or not, our section net continues on the second Wednesday of each month. For December that is December 12. At 7 PM join us on the WD6AXM repeater, 146.085 MHz plus offset, PL 127.3 hz. At 7:30 PM, the HF version of the net begins at or about 3987 kHz LSB. We had to move down a bit in November due to a contact in progress. We will pass on whatever news there is, take questions, etc. Please join us if you can. 73, Ron Murdock, W6KJ ARRL Sacramento Valley Section Manager San FranciscoWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO San Francisco Section News - December 2007 At Pacificon in October, Sonoma County DEC Richard Freitas KF6SZA was awarded the ARRL Pacific Division’s Ham of the Year award for his work with multiple agencies in and out of Sonoma County on behalf of ARES. Rich was selected out of group of nine candidates for the award. Job well done, Rich! Thanks for all the effort. In from Humboldt PIO Rachael Shryne KE6SDB - SPECIAL EVENT KA6PGN WAS A SUCCESS - Humboldt Amateur Radio Club members participated in Special Event KA6PGN for 24 hours on the weekend of October 13-14, 2007. The event was held on the LCI(L)–1091, the last surviving operational LCI known, berthed in Eureka, California. With publicity in QST’s Special Events page and Michael Brennan KA6PGN’s planning and hard work, Amateur Radio operators from all over the country contacted us to help HARC commemorate this historic ship. See photos on the Section web page. In Lake County, Monte Winters K6FE has taken on the role of an EC in the county. Working with Lake County DEC Dick Vander Jagt KQ6YH, Monte will be concentrating on recruitment of new ARES members and updating the training program to comply with the new ARRL standards. Monte has completed many of the FEMA courses as well as the ARECC Level I and II courses. Monte also serves as an emergency services liaison with the Lake County Board of Supervisors. Thanks for stepping up and taking the lead, Monte! And while we are on the subject of Lake County, on December 3rd, the Hams in Lake County participated in a county- wide communications exercise using simplex and repeater frequencies to connect the local hospitals, the county Office of Emergency Services, the Department of Health and other agencies. This was the first exercise of this scale in several years. The Hams were able to demonstrate the capability and adaptability of communications through Amateur Radio to the county leaders and agencies. Nice job, everyone! Please visit the San Francisco Section website http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=SF to see photos of some of the activities. I can hardly believe that the year is coming to a close. 2007 has flown by with all the projects and activities that have blurred the memory. Many thanks to all those in the Section who have taken on a staff position and helped with the job of serving and promoting Amateur Radio. It can’t be done without you and I greatly appreciate the time and energy you devote to my favorite hobby. Thank you! I wish you and yours a safe, terrific Holiday Season and a Merry Christmas. I’ll see you in the New Year! 73, Bill
San Joaquin Valley
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY SECTION Report for the month of November 2007: SM Charles McConnell, W6DPD- ASMs K6YK and N2NS, ACC W6DPD, SEC N6ZFN, OOC N1VM, STM
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K6RAU, PIC KE6IGJ, TC W6TE. Greetings from the ARRL San Joaquin Valley Section. Your section staff wishes everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year. If you desire your club information and events to be listed in Section News, please send the information to [email protected]. I get very little information. If your club has a newsletter, please send it to me, email to [email protected] or via U.S Mail. Mark your calendars. Radiofest is February 23-24, 2008 in Monterey. Check www.radiofest.org for information. The International DX Convention is April 25-28, 2008 at Visalia. CheckWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO http://www.dxconvention.org/ for information. EMCOMM West is May 2-4, 2008 at the Circus Circus in Reno NV. Check www.emcommwest.org for information. Pacificon 2008 is October 17-19, 2008 at the Marriott Hotel in San Ramon CA. Check www.pacificon.org for information When your affiliated club elects officers for the next year, be sure to update your club’s information on the affiliated club area of the ARRL web page so you club will get any information sent from the ARRL Club department. If you fail to update your clubs information for 2 years, your club will be placed in the inactive file. Your club will be notified if the 2-year period is about to take place. Need to take an Amateur exam? Check the ARRL web page, www.arrl.org for exam information. You can also search for Amateur Radio Classes in your area. The Northern California Net (NCN), the Section Traffic Net, meets nightly on 3.533 MHZ at 7 PM Pacific Time. The slow speed training session of the net meets nightly on 3.533 MHZ at 9 PM Pacific Time. Handling traffic on CW is a good way to improve your CW skills. The Daytime Region 6 Traffic Net meets daily at 3:30 pacific time on or near 7.275 MHZ. The CaliforniaWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Traffic Net meets daily on 3.906 MHZ and 6:30 PM local time. The noon time net meets on 7.268.5 MHz. This net handles a lot of messages. EMCOMM West for 2008 has moved to the Circus Circus in Reno. The dates are May 2 to 4, 2008. This is an ARRL specialty convention devoted entirely to emergency communications. Information can soon be found at www.emcommwest.org. If you are involved in emergency communications, this is an event you should plan to attend. WA6HIP, Jerry; N6AJ, Jerry; and KG6KWZ, Mark are Silent Keys. They will be missed. Oak Tree Radio, KI6MUT, is a new club in Oakdale. Stockton Delta ARC 2008 Officers are pres W6INP, vp KD6FVA, sec and editor N6LHL, treas KD6CPA. The club meets the second Thursday at 7:30 PM at the Bear Creek Community Church in Stockton. Check www.w6sf.org for information. AA6K has a SteppIR antenna. K6YK participated in the CQ World Wide DX and the Worked All Europe RTTY Contests. The Turlock ARC members provided communications support for the Turkey Trot in Turlock. Amateur Radio Association of Central California 2008 officers are pres W7POR, vp WA6PTG, sec KI6JCY and treas KI6FLR. Check www.aracc.org for information. Mountain ARC 2008 officers are pres W6LSU, vp KB6CLV, sec WB6JAY, and treas W6HYY. The club meets the 4th Thursday in Oakhurst. Check www.w6bw.org for information. Sequoia Amateur Radio Group 2008 officers are pres KA6IYS, vp W6SV, sec KC6RIZ, and treas KA6CZS. Check www.sarg-krv.org for information. QCWA Fresno Chapter 213 2008 officers are pres W6YEP, vp W6VPS, and sec/treas W6DPD. The chapter meets the 4th Tuesday at Noon at Carrows Restaurant on Blackstone in Fresno. K6PTS has earned WAC and the IARU Region III award. Congratulations Phil. SJV participants I the July 2007 North American QSO RTTY Party were WK6I, NN6NN (W6XK) and KE6SHL. SJV Scores in the 2007 ARRL June VHF QSO Party were 1st W6TV (W6YEP, KW6N, and K6MI), 2nd W6BW (KF6CNV, and third K6YK. Traffic for November: K6RAU 26, W6DPD 0, and W6SX 17. Total 43. PSHR: K6RAU 81 and W6SX 44.
Santa Clara Valley
Monthly Summary for November 2007 Santa Clara Valley Section News Summary. December 17, 2007 =December 1st was the Naval Postgraduate School (www.k6ly.org ) club monthly breakfast. A record forty-two persons attended and a VE Session was held as well. A new Tech Licensee passed to join the ranks. =I had an awesome good time at SKYWARN Recognition Day (SRD) also on Saturday, December 1, at the National Weather Service in Monterey. I operated WX6MTR from the center as did several local Hams. Much thanks to Matt and the NWS folk for hosting the event. =The County of Santa Clara has appointed Kirstin Hofmann Ruf as its new Director of Emergency Services, effective January 7, 2008. This appointment follows an intensive search. Ruf has extensive experience working with
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emergency management organizations. She began her professional career with the American Red Cross in 1999 in Seattle, serving initially as Youth and Young Adult Services Coordinator and a member of the National Rapid Response Corps. She was promoted to the position of Community Outreach Coordinator, and later to Health and Safety Services Instructor. =Bill Ashby, N6FFC, (408) 267-3118, [email protected] is now the new Affiliated Club Coordinator (ACC). Contact him for all club issues and affiliation requests. Thanks for your support, Bill! =Section positions still open include Section Emergency ManagerWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO (SEC), Net Manager (NM), and Section Traffic Manager (STM), Public Information Coordinator (PIC) and Public Information Officers (PIO) and several others. Among them are an ASM for Scouting and Youth and several more ASM position to cover the five counties. This is YOUR Section; please consider helping all of us by filling one of these important positions. See http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/org/ for information on the ARRL Field Organization and all appointee positions. =The wiki-based SCV web site on PDARRL.org is up and running. Tom, K1TW, [email protected], is getting the content on both old and new sites up to date. Send him your corrections and get your club access to the wiki. Here's the link: http://www.pdarrl.org/scvsec/index.php. =The FARS/PAARA Banquet is set for January 25, 2008. See http://www.fars.k6ya.org/events/banquet. The Santa Clara Valley Section Convention, RadioFest 2008 is on February 23rd and 24th. See http://www.radiofest.org/. And in Reno, NV, EMCOMMWEST 2008 is officially on for May 2-4, 2008 at the Circus Circus Hotel. =Ham Classes: Amateur Radio ("Ham") License & Communications Course, Tuesdays:WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO 6:30 pm - 9 pm: Jan. 15, 22, 29 & Feb. 5 (Feb. 5 is exam night.) The Location is Menlo Park Fire Sta. 77: 1467 Chilco St. COST: $35.00 [make check payable to "Menlo Park Fire Protection District"] The ARRL Ham Radio License book will be provided for this class. Instructors: David Fichou (Menlo Fire ARES) & Ken Dueker (Palo Alto P.D.) Register with Ken Dueker: [email protected]. Sponsored by: Menlo Park Fire Protection District CERT: =Emergency Communications Class: Emergency Communications Course for Ham Radio & CERT Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2008: 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm. Location TBA (Menlo Park area) COST: FREE! Bring your radio(s) & instruction manuals. Register with Ken Dueker: [email protected]. Sponsored by: Menlo Park Fire Protection District CERT: www.menlofire.org/cert. =New Event Exhibit Materials online ordering form is now available. The ARRL Web page has a new on-line page that enables someone to conveniently place an order (using credit card) for event and exhibit kit materials. The direct Web page link is http://www.arrl.org/brochures/. Merry Christmas to all and Happy New Year!
Roanoke Division
North Carolina
NOVEMBER NORTH CAROLINA SECTION NEWS 2007 - THE YEAR IN REVIEW 2007 was a great year for ham radio in North Carolina! A state PRB-1 bill was passed unanamously and went into effect in October. We had a great Field Day and SET with lots of media coverage. A North Carolina ham was named "Young Ham of the Year" and we had five NC hams win FAR or QCWA scholarships. Duke Energy announced they are moving away from using BPL in our state. ARRL membership is up in the section by 4%, to 3,954. ARES membership is also higher and our list of ARRL affliated clubs has grown. But an old boss of mine used to say "Nothing wilts faster than laurels that are rested on!" So how can we build on this success in 2008? 2008 - THE YEAR AHEAD I'm scheduling a January conference call with your section leadership to discuss our priorites for 2008. Please let me know if you have any ideas. I want to see us complete the section digital plan and improve our ability to handle digital traffic. There are open appointment positions that need to be filled, especially among our emergency coordinators. We also need more public information officers. I want us to develop an ARES mutual aid agreement with our neighboring sections and continue to promote national incident management system training among ARES members. Expect around a dozen ARRL affiliated hamfests in the section next year and these events need your support! What are your priorites for 2008 and how can the ARRL field organization help? MEDIA HITS The New Bern Sun Journal featured an article on SKYWARN
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appreciation day in their November 30 issue. NOVEMBER TRAFFIC KI4YV 281, K4IWW 194, N3BW 163, W4DNA 142, W2EAG 131, W4LN 64, W4TTO 58, KE4AHC 46, W4FAL 44, WA2YBM 43, W4NCD 42, W4EHF 41, WA4OBR 35, K8SKX 28, W3HL 26, KD4WAX 9, KD4ZPS 8, KR4ZJ 7, WX4MMM 7, KI4QHM 4. NOVEMBER PSHR W4DNA 160, W4FAL 130, K4IWW 120, W2EAG 110, W4LN 110, W4TTO 105, WA2YBM 100, KI4YV 90. NOVEMBER NC ARES MEMBERS: 1,734 WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO South Carolina
South Carolina Monthly News Summary Greetings to all Amateur Radio Operators. This is Dr. Jim, N2ZZ with the December 2007 South Carolina Section Manager's Report! Please remember that the SC Section website can be found at: www.arrl-sc.org/ where my full SM report will be listed as well as up- to-the-date information on Amateur Radio in South Carolina! As I write this report late this month, I hope that everyone is enjoying the holiday season. The temperatures have not been extreme, and the Sun has been peeking through the clouds from time to time. I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy New Year 2008! Our first hamfest of 2008 will be the Greenwood Hamfest on Saturday January 12th at the Greenwood Civic Center, 1610 Hwy 72 / 221 East. Talk-in will be on 147.165+, alternate 443.900+. Several indoor vendors have registered, and there is ample tailgating space availableWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO outdoors! VE exams will be "walk-in" and the ARRL forum is scheduled for 12 Noon. Door prizes will be given, and food will be available on-site and nearby! Further information is available on the www.arrl-sc.org website under "Hamfest Alert". Please make plans to attend! Last month I issued a call to those who could assist in developing a PRB-1 type legislation for our State. PRB-1 is a document issued by the FCC which states on a national level that Amateur Radio antennas must be "reasonably accommodated" by municipalities. This document does not address private contracts such as deeds, covenants and restrictions. Many states are now enacting PRB-1 type legislation to protect our ability to erect antennas to communicate. I am happy to say that I did get a response from a few hams who wish to help, and I have provided those individuals with the information they needed to begin their efforts. I hope to receive an update soon! Good news for the DX world! A "new one" is out there! From the ARRL Letter, vol. 26, No. 50: "The ARRL DXCC Desk is pleased to announce the addition of St Barthelemy (FJ) to the DXCC List, making the island entity number 338 with an effective date of December 14, 2007. Cards with contacts dated December 14, 2007 or after will be accepted for DXCC credit. New card submissions for St Barthelemy will not be accepted until January 1, 2008 in order to allow time for administrative adjustments. On February 21, 2007 the French Ministry issued a decree making St Barthelemy an Overseas Collective, where its status is now equal to that of Guadeloupe, Martinique and other French territories currently on the DXCC List. On November 8, 2007 the President of Association Des Radio Amateurs De St Barthelemy, Philippe Delcroix, FJ5DX, contacted the DXCC Desk, requesting that St Barthelemy be considered a new DXCC entity." Best of luck on working the "new one" in our midst! The Aiken County Amateur Radio Emergency Trailer is again in the news! Bob K4NJN ASM6 Reports: Under the leadership of Aiken County Emergency Management Officials, the Aiken County Amateur Radio Communications Trailer has received a second Homeland Security Grant from the Department of Homeland Security to enhance emergency communications. The $32,000 grant has been awarded to Aiken County, South Carolina to enhance voice and data communications by upgrading the on-board satellite system, by adding Voice over Internet Phone lines (VOIP) as well as a Tellular Phone line, and adding an additional radio rail with fixed antenna positions. The project also includes installing a new elevated antenna rail on the existing Wilburt mast that will support both VHF/UHF and 800 MHz antennas. David Ruth, KI4DLR, Aiken County's Emergency Management Director stated that he was glad to see the State of South Carolina through Federal DHS funds enhance the already successful amateur radio project. "It is important to include the amateur radio trailer whenever we improve our abilities to communicate, and through this grant we will be able to accomplish just that." It is time for the Sandblast Rally again! From the FARC QSO: "We are pleased to announce that the annual Sandblast Car Rally to be held in the Sandhills State Forest near Cheraw on
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February 9th will be adding motorcycles to the schedule. Any of you who have helped in the past know how much fun it is to watch these little cars run through the hills on the sand truck trails approaching 100 miles an hour. This year we will have motorcycles doing the same thing following the car stages. Several of the FARC members who usually participate in this event will not be able to help this year due to conflicting obligations so we will need extra Hams to man the start and end of the nine stages and at least four spectator locations. The addition of the motorcycles will increase the time each operator is needed at a particularWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO location. All you need is either a mobile or an HT. All participating Hams receive a Tee Shirt, lunch and a Pizza Party in the evening. Please think about helping andhaving a great time." For additional information, go to www.sandblastrally.com. The SCHEARTS program is moving along. Here is an update from John Crocket KC4YI: "On Tuesday December 11, 2007 the 146.76 repeater was installed at Awendaw. The repeater is a Motorola MSF5000 with a Sinclair Q202G duplexer, same as installed in Columbia during November, 2007. The repeater is operating with handheld coverage in Charleston and mobile coverage to sixty miles out. Wednesday December 12, 2007 the 146.715 repeater at Columbia was added to the IRLP system as node 7. Today, Monday December 17, 2007 the 146.76 repeater at Awendaw was added to the IRLP system as node 4. Now that four nodes are on line at two locations, there will be an opportunity to test the system using the *0 reflector feature. This will give SC HEART the ability to demonstrate the full system capabilities at the SC Hospital Preparedness Program Summit in Columbia on January 15 - 16, 2008. January and February should bring equipment installationsWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO and linking at Conway and Florence and equipment upgrades and linking at Whitehall." I had the opportunity to speak with John this past week, and I can tell that he was very thankful for all the cooperation he has received from the amateur radio community in South Carolina for this very important project! Thanks to John and ALL involved in moving the SCHEARTS project along so well! Well, that is it for December! See you next month! November 2007 National Traffic System Report for South Carolina by Mac Heaton N4MEH, STM Net Reports Net/Check Ins/Traffic/Sessions/Reported By Anderson Radio Club 2M Net/793/31/30/N4MEH Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Net /2310/51/30/K4SUG Carolina's Net/297/86/60/W2EAG Carolina Slow Net/144/30/30/N0SU Columbia ARC 2 Meter Net/227/0/9/W4RWL Grand Strand ARC 2M Net/171/13/12/KI4HEE Greater Pee Dee 2 Meter Net/677/37/30/K4DTT Greenwood ARC 2 Meter Net/124/6/5/W4DEW Greenwood Friendly Net/319/35/30/W4JAK Lancaster County 2 Meter Net/111/15/12/N4WMB Oconee 2M Net/297/19/12/N9GSX SC SSB Net/1052/47/30/WB4DLD Station Activity Reports: Station/Sent/Received/Delivered/Originated/Total: KA4LRM/8/10/2/0/20; KA4UIV/15/40/40/0/95; WB4DLD/2/29/3/2/36; N4MEH/9/47/12/6/74; Public Service Honor Roll: Station/Cat1/Cat2/Cat3/Cat4/Cat5/Cat6/Total N4MEH/40/40/20/0/0/0/100. Have a Great Month!! '73 de Dr. Jim N2ZZ, ARRL Section Manager, South Carolina Section www.arrl-sc.org
Virginia
Virginia Section Managers Report for November of 2007 The month of November has been both a busy and exciting month. There have been a number of notable ARES activities in recent weeks. The Virginia Section Emergency Plan continues to progress as Daniel Sullivan, KO1D serves as editor and has been busy fielding documents submitted by a number of Section Cabinet members. The issue of reasonable tower ordinances continues to be a problem in a number of jurisdictions within the section. We are continuing to see the impact of greater expectations in the area of security requirements and training expectations from the agencies that we serve. ARES has had a couple of major drills in recent weeks. Jimmy Flanary, K4GV from Scott County reported on their recent interoperability exercise. "We held an interoperability exercise with the county and the VA National Guard on October 13th. It went really well, better than I expected. The equipment that the National Guard flew in worked on all frequencies used in Scott County. The only thing that didn't work was the video satellite uplink. They had a software problem and they couldn't get the video to work. The satellite voice communications worked just fine. We really learned a lot about the military equipment. Actually, it's not that much different from ours." The Twin County ARES unit (Carroll, Grayson and the City of Galax) worked with Wythe County in a
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Region 4 VDEM exercise. This was a two-day event with the tabletop taking place on November 2nd and this was followed by a full-blown exercise on Saturday November 3rd. VDEM, law enforcement from the Twin Counties, Twin County Regional Hospital, Wythe Hospital, area rescue squads, fire departments, and nursing homes, Twin County and Wythe County ARES and the Woods River Chapter of the American Red Cross were all active participates. The exercise involved the passing a heavy volume of traffic totaling 525 formal written messages. This included 250 via Winlink and 275 voice messages. Over 150WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Winlink messages were sent across the section at the beginning of the exercise. These messages were requesting 4-wheel drive radio equipped vehicles with operators. By the end of the 6-hour drill we had confirmation that 18 of these vehicles would be ready for deployment. Within a couple of days we had commitments from 45 hams with 4-wheel drive, radio equipped vehicles that were willing to serve. Others indicated that they would have been willing to assist if the distance had not been so great. Our contact information resource was the ARES online registration forms completed by the section ARES membership. Without this tool it would have been impossible to contact such a large pool of volunteers. We would have been in a position to make these contacts if telephone service, local Internet service via dial-up, cable or wireless would have been down. Even with the absence of AC electrical power, our Winlink satellite Telpac gateway would have been up and running. Within the past several weeks our section has used HF voice, CW, HF digital (Chip64) and Pactor, VHF/UHF voice and digital such as packet, and Winlink 2000 Airmail. D-Stars was used at the Marine Corp. Marathon on 23 cm. We WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.ROhave a broad array of resources in our toolbox and each has an area where they excel. The communities and agencies that we serve should rest a little easier because we are packed and ready for deployment. In the area of ID and security requirements, Verlan Hall, AA4HQ the DEC for District 5 reports of recent changes in his district. The Sheriffs Dept. of Middlesex County has asked that the ARES Members be officially "sworn in" along with all of the other county emergency personnel. This will allow access to areas where sensitive information and operations may be inadvertently revealed. A County I.D. will be issued to each ARES Member, which would allow passage through any roadblock during emergency responses. Bart Bartholomew, N3GQ our ASM and DEC for District 4 reports plans for upgrading skills within their district. “We are making plans to offer monthly 1-hour Saturday morning training sessions (starting at 0700) that will culminate in certification at Level I of the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Communication Courses. CDR Luis, KI4QIY, our surgeon member, and his office will be offering us FREE CPR/AED and First Aid certifications. We will open the classes up to District IV ARES/RACES members after members of the Stafford Amateur Radio Association have signed up (class limit will be 40)”. With this offering and ICS/NIMS online courses ARES members may complete all the requirements for inclusion on the national major response database as well as requirements for the Virginia Section Emergency Response Team. Gordon Winn, WW4GW EC in Buckingham/Cumberland Counties is currently involving county emergency management people in meetings with his ARES group: “We met with the EOC coordinator for Cumberland County and discussed further plans for the ARES presence within his county. We have established a regular monthly meeting in Cumberland to include the EOC, County Administration, Sheriff's office and emergency dispatch center along with ARES members. This meeting will take place the third Thursday of each month; holidays excluded, and will begin in January of 2008. The E-911 coordinator for Buckingham will be invited to attend these meetings as the two counties work closely with each other, and share some joint communications for their emergency backup needs.” These are the kinds of partnerships that all ARES groups need to work to develop. Local tower ordinances continue to be one of the greatest threats to the future of Amateur Radio in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This is in spite of the fact that we have one of the 5 best state laws in America. Our state code goes a step beyond the federal law (PRB-1). The 15.2-2293.1 of the Virginia code defines that a locality “shall impose the minimum regulation necessary to accomplish the locality’s legitimate purpose. The code then defines tower height based on population density. This code allows a minimum of 200-foot towers in areas of low population density and 75-foot towers in highly populated jurisdictions. Most local planners back off ordinances that state a tower height below state code when they are made aware of this violation of law. We still have a number of counties that define the height of an Amateur Radio tower as being 50 feet or less.
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Some of these codes have been written since 15.2-2293.1 became law. Every Amateur Radio club or ARES groups should check the ordinance in their communities prior to some ham making a decision to install a tower at his or her station. If local code is in violation of state code this needs to be addressed. The second problem that is faced with tower construction is a question of what is the “reasonable minimum regulation?” This gets into the arena of setback and screening requirements. Counties can write a code that allows for the height to be consistent with state code but make the setback and screening requirementsWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO to where someone that doesn’t own a farm can’t comply. For example we have a county that is proposing code that requires a 100 % setback from neighboring property lines. Two neighboring counties with greater population density require a minimum of 40% setback to an occupied dwelling on the neighboring property. These two counties have defined a tower as an accessory structure that requires as little as a 10 feet setback from property lines. To my knowledge these counties with less requirements have never had an Amateur Radio tower fall and do damage to people or neighboring property. One of the counties with these oppressive setback requirements have also proposed requiring “Certified Engineers” to sign off on prints, foundation plans and grounding systems. This would create costs for tower constructon to a point that only the affluent hams can comply. In time, “what is the minimum requirements necessary” may require testing through litigation. Once a precedent is established then jurisdictions will be less likely to attempt to eliminate Amateur Radio towers in their jurisdiction by this backdoor approach of restrictive ordinances. On a sad note, Tom Jones, K4JM passed awayWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO at his home on December 7th. Tom became a silent key after 75 years as a ham. For additional details see our STM’s report for this month. This can be found on the Section website. Our website is found at http://www.aresva.org/
Rocky Mountain Division
New Mexico
The Estancia Valley radio club has recently filed for affiliation with the ARRL. Welcome. This club is getting active in ARES and will be an asset to the county and the state. Darryl Clutter, NX5W, has been instrumental in getting things moving in Torrance County and we owe him a vote of thanks. If you missed the Socorro Hamfest, you missed a good event. You really should have been there. The group in Socorro puts on a good event and the VLA tour was very well received. I heard nothing but favorable comments about the hamfest, the banquet, and the VLA tour. Put this event on your schedule for next year. The Upper Rio FM Society will hold its first quarterly meeting of 2008 on Tuesday, January 8, at 7:30 pm in the fellowship hall of Immanuel Presbyterian Church, 114 Carlisle Blvd, S.E., in Albuquerque. Do you use the mega-link? Do you use a number of the repeaters located at various sites throughout the state? Do you use the 146.94 or the 146.96 repeaters? If you can answer “yes” to those questions, can you answer “yes” to this one - Do you belong to the Upper Rio FM Society? If so, good for you because you’re helping keep those repeaters operating. If not, consider joining. That way, you’ll be helping keep the system running and help with the planned upgrades. It’s only $30.00 a year for full membership ($15.00 if you’re over 70), plus $1.00 for each added family member on a family membership. More information is on the web site, www.urfmsi.org. The 13th annual Winter Tailgate Swapfest will take place Saturday, January 26, 2008, in Albuquerque. This is another event you shouldn’t miss. Tom Ellis, K5TEE, and the 146.58 simplex gang do a good job organizing the event. The location will be the Del Norte High School north student parking lot, located east of San Mateo Lane, one block north of Montgomery. Admission is free and tailgating is free. Talk-in via the 145.33 (negative offset, 100 Hz tone) or 444.00 (positive offset, 100 Hz tone) repeaters. We lost two hams recently, Brian Richardson, KD5RPO, and John Price, W5ADX. Brian was a regular on a number of the local nets. John hadn’t been active for a while, but each will be missed. Our condolences to their families. Net counts for October were: NM Roadrunner Net 1316/94; NM Breakfast Club 1137/154; Yucca Net 716/18; High Desert ARA 38/9; Four Corners Net 393/21; Rusty’s Raiders Net 710/67; SCAT Net 651/17; Caravan Club Net 40/4. Net counts for November were: NM Breakfast Club
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1225/81; NM Roadrunner Net 958/59; Rusty’s Raiders Net 664/69; Valencia County ARA Net 57/14; Four Corners Net 448/44; SCAT Net 693/21; Caravan Club Net 52/3; High Desert ARA Net 53/13. Leo Oyler, W5GOW, had some equipment stolen out of his truck in early November. The missing gear is an ICOM IC-706, S/N 1504320; an ICOM IC-2720, S/N 508021; and a Garmin GPS-5, S/N 3061268. There is a reward for return of the gear. When Joe Knight, W5PDY (SK), “volunteered” me for the job of Section Manager I really didn’t know what was required. I learned rather quickly that I had a lot to learn. Many of youWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO helped me do just that and I thank you for your patience and hour help. It’s been a good four and a half year run and I’ve had fun doing it, but I think it’s time to let somebody else have fun for awhile. When I announced I would not seek another term, Don Wood, W5FHA, stepped forward and said he would take the job. He may try to tell you a slightly different story, but that’s the way I remember it. Don has gotten off to a good start and we are all looking forward to working with him. In the meantime, just remember – if the world didn’t suck, we’d all fall off. 73, de KM5FT CL
Southeastern Division
Georgia
SM: Susan Swiderski, AF4FO; ASM/South GA: Marshall Thigpen, W4IS; ASM/Legal: Jim Altman, W4UCK;WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO ASM/Webmaster: Bob Smith, K4PHE; ASM/Youth Activities: Brittney Hancock, KI4WNY; ASM/Youth Advisor: Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM; ASM/ Scouting: David Pearce,ABØNG; SEC: Jim Cote, N4PJR; STM: Charles Pennington, K4GK; OOC: Mike Swiderski, K4HBI; TC: Jim Worsham, W4KXY; PIC: Norm Schklar,WA4ZXV; SGL: Bill Cherepy, WB4WTN; ACC: Robin Cutshaw, AA4RC www.arrl-ga.org www.gaares.org Greetings, All! So, are the stockings all hung by the chimney with care? Better hurry! Santa's already paid a visit to LaFayette, GA, and with his handy dandy drill, filled a need by drilling a hole. Yup, it's true. Now, not many of us have visions of holes in the wall dancing in our heads or have such an unusual item on our wish list, but that's just what teacher JODY CARTER, KI4TVE, of Rambler Middle School, has been wishing for, and that's just what he got. Thanks to the brand new hole in his classroom wall, he and his radio club students will be able to get on the air a lot more quickly now. Gives them more of a sense of permanence, kinda like putting the clothes into the dresser drawers, instead of living out of a suitcase. So, congratulations to Jody and his students, not only for getting that little round hole, but for the big round seal of approval and support it represents. When you were dragging out your Christmas decorations this year, did you come across some interesting vintage items? You know, those things you haven't actually used in decades, but for some reason, keep stashing back in the attic year after year? NED MOUNTAIN, WC4X, has been hanging onto a vintage 1955 aluminum tree for years, and this year, he decided to have a little bit of fun with it. Why not turn it into an antenna? After sticking the 30 or so aluminum branches into the trunk, he added a little inductance to the base, and was able to get a match on 40M. Worked two stations in Ohio on the thing! Pretty cool, huh? Ya just never know until you give it a try... Time to get serious about planning the 2008 statewide ARES meetings. As announced earlier, they will be held at the Public Service training facility in Forsyth, GA, on January 26. SCOTT ROYLE, KK4Z, has graciously taken the reins on setting the agenda, but he needs YOUR help. If you want to make a presentation or have a suggestion as to a topic you would like to see covered, please send that information to him ASAP. You can reach him at [email protected] Thank you. Another note on the statewide meeting. There will be NO EmComm testing this time around. Time simply wasn't on our side. Turns out, new test booklets are being released for all three levels of the EmComm courses, and as of January first, this new material must be used for any testing. That doesn't leave much time for proper preparation, so we've decided to drop it. Also, after the first of the year, the cost for taking one of these tests will be increasing to $14, to bring it in line with VE testing. GA clubs have been busy lately. Providing communications for Christmas parades and various other activities. Lots of parties. Lots of eating. Great fellowship. Elections. Hams of the Year. A couple more clubs applied for ARRL affiliation. Busy, busy, busy. If you have any news about your club's recent activities, please send it to me before the end of the year, for inclusion in the January
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newsletter. SILENT KEY: I'm very sorry to announce the death of GENE SPRAYBERRY, W9NXC. Gene was the moving force behind the creation of the GA Traffic and Emergency Net, and has been a much-respected member of the amateur radio fraternity for many years. He will be missed. Sincere condolences to his family and friends. Well, folks, that's about it for now. May all your Christmas wishes come true. Until next time, this is AF4FO, signing clear. Take care of yourselves. And each other. 73, Susan QTC November: K8GA-121; K4GK-79; WA4UJC-67; WB4BIK-30; K4BEH-14; K4BAI-3 +++ No WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROtrees were killed in the sending of this message. However, a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced. (and one aluminum tree was agitated by electrons, as well...) +++
Southern Florida
Hi everyone, Here is a bit of time travel. These are excerpts from the first section news that I wrote. It was written in October 2002 for inclusion in December QST: This is the first, and last, Section News I will do for QST. The Section News will be removed from QST next month and most members will receive the information electronically. The September appointees meeting and the Melbourne Hamfest were well attended and successful. Many clubs participated in the Boy Scout JOTA in October. Photos from Melbourne and JOTA are on the section news page. The dedicated folks of the Hurricane Watch Net and W4EHW were busy with Isidore and Lili. KU4GY reports that the Palmetto Radio Club repeater WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.ROwas connected via IRLP to repeaters in Louisiana to collect reports from stations in the affected area that do not have HF radios. The 2002 SKYWARN Recognition Day event will be held on December 7. Look for the NWS offices on the air. Skywarn groups will operate at Miami and Melbourne NWS. Martin county has been working on the new amateur station at the EOC and all equipment should be in by year end. The Harris/Intersil club in Brevard participated in the GHz and Up contest and more outings are planned for the upcoming VHF and UHF contests. They set up on high bridges and atop the hospital parking garage. Collier county amateurs participated in a 9/11 memorial program with the Red Cross at Naples City Hall and the August meeting presentation was “Intro to Disaster Services” by the Red Cross. Need new ideas for club activities? Visit the section news page where I will feature photos and ideas from clubs in our section or visit www.arrl.org/pio/100Ideas.ppt. Note: the Okeechobee Hamfest is 11/30 at the old location – the Agricultural center. Things change yet remain the same. I am still writing about club activites, ideas to help clubs and sending you the monthly traffic reports. The news is more timely when it is delivered electronically. The Melbourne hamfest and JOTA are two months in the past. Martin county has moved out of the EOC that I wrote about in ’02, Skywarn Appreciation Day is still being held, W4EHW is now W4NHC and it has been assisting for over 25 years, the Okeechobee Hamfest is still popular and even new locations don’t deter attendees. Another thing that has not changed is the Holiday Boat Parade in Fort Lauderdale. The name of the parade has changed over the year but the hams have been involved for many years. If you want to know more read a great article written by one of our PIOs, Carl Zettelmeyer, WA4CZ. The article is live now on the web at http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2007/12/14/2/?nc=1 December ARES report from Karen Briggs, K8KB Total number of ARES members in counties reporting: 504. ECs reporting: WA2DXQ, N5KFR, AA4BN, WA4ASJ WA4GUK, AI7Q, K4FLC, AD4RZ, AG4AN, AJ4BP. In the reporting counties there were 14 ARES nets holding 53 sessions and 8 of the nets maintain NTS liaison. Reporting counties held 39 drills, tests and training sessions and 3 public service events. Total volunteer person hours reported: 156. Traffic Report from Phylisan West, KA4FZI SFL SAR for NOV 2007: K4SCL 575, KA4FZI 459, KE4CB 126, K4FQU 82, AA4BN 53, KC4TM 22, KI4OUD 6 ======SFL PSHR for NOV 2007: KA4FZI 120 ,K4FQU 110 ,K4SCL 100 ,KE4CB 85 ,AA4BN 81 ======Bulletin Report from David Smith KE4UEI: Recd 17, Sent 4, Total 21 ======Net Reports: NET ABB. SESS QNI QTC MGR All Florida CW Traffic Net QFN 60 467 301 AD4DO Florida Amateur SSB Traffic Net FAST 30 246 67 K4SCL Florida Medium Speed Net FMSN 30 242 65 AG4RJ/AB4XK Jupiter-Tequesta Repeater Group JTRG 5 66 31 AG4BV/W4FK Palm Beach County Ares Net PBCAN 8 90 28 KG4PFY Saint Lucie Repeater Association SLRA 4 4 42 KE4UEI Southeast Florida Traffic Net SEFTN 30 552 47 AG4RJ/AI4GE Southwest Florida Traffic Net
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SWFTN 26 377 53 K4FQU Instructions on how file your SAR and PSHR will be posted to www.arrl.org/sections/SFL.html soon (not enough room here). Osceola ARES EC Luis Candalerio, AG4AN has stepped aside to take care of family matters. We will miss his leadership. Luis gets a big Thank You for all of his work building the local organization over the past two years. Section policy has been and will continue to be: if health, family or work matters interfere with an appointee performing the duties of the appointment he/she may step aside without hard feelings and may apply for an appointment at a laterWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO date when the other matters are settled. Amateur radio in Oregon received a lot of favorable press and praise from government officials for their work during and after the recent storms. Why? Because there were PIOs (Public Information Officers) working with ARES to get the information out in real time and the PIOs were available to the media. Where does your ARES group stand in this area? What’s in store for 2008 for the Southern Florida section? We will be reviewing the volunteer appointments. There will be several Simulated Emergency Tests. As always your section leadership will make as many visits to clubs and hamfests as possible. I have two resolutions for 2008 for my involvement with the section: get the news posted on the web more timely and strive to have members feel that the ARRL is a membership organization with dues, not a subscription to QST. Like you, I have a busy holiday season. Check the web page frequently because I will update it a little at a time. May the remainder of this holiday season be happy and safe for you and your family. Very 73, Sherri, W4STBWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Southwestern Division
Arizona
ARIZONA SECTION NEWS December 2007 SUMMER HAMFEST Thank you for all the emails concerning the summer hamfest Williams vs. Ft. Tuthill. Most of you emailed me saying that you would like to see the summer hamfest in Phoenix with a greater emphasis on classes than a swap meet. Yesterday, the summer hamfest ballots were opened at the Amateur Radio Council of Arizona (ARCA) meeting which was at the Superstition Amateur Radio Club Hamfest. 16 clubs voted and the results were 10 votes to keep the summer hamfest in Williams, 1 vote to remain in Williams for 2008 but move to ft. Tuthill in 2009 and 5 votes to move the hamfest to Ft. Tuthill in 2008. Because of the number of emails that you sent me, Cliff Hauser KD6XH ARCA Chair tasked Doug Collins KE6JUK 1st Vice Chair to investigate the best possibilities concerning time, place and format of the State Convention. Lee Ilse KD7OED 2nd Vice Chair volunteered to assist Doug. The committee will provide a preliminary report at the Springfest ARCA meeting in Scottsdale and a final report at the 2008 State Convention in Williams. YOUTH AND SCOUTING I have been asked to introduce Cub Scouts to Amateur Radio at the Winter Day Camp in Tucson at the end of the month. We have been given four days with eight classes a day of 30 boys a session. It should be a lot of fun. If you are in Tucson and can help out on Dec 21, 22, 27 and 28th let me know. Jim Fagan KE7IDC Assistant Section Manager (ASM) Youth and Scouting [email protected] SOUTHWESTERN DIVISION CONVENTION 2008 The Southwestern Division Convention work is moving along. We have some great speakers lined up, we are discussing a construction project or two, and we were contacted by our Arizona Diamondbacks to see if we wanted to have a ham radio night at the ballpark! Mr. Mark Sloan will be our banquet speaker, and this is a presentation you will not want to miss. If you haven't signed up for the convention, go to http://www.azhamcom.org/Register/Register2.Aspx fill out the form, print it, fill out the check and mail it in. All the math is done for you, including the early bird discount. Do it now as seating at the banquet will be limited. Don't miss this opportunity to meet with old friends, learn something new at an informative talk, build something useful, or just come and work W1AW/7. There will be something for all skill levels and interests. Check the website regularly to see what's new: www.azhamcom.org Rick Aldom W7STS EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS Each day on my commute I see more signs of Christmas and the holidays. As we wrap up this stressful month, remember to take a breather now and then. Turn on the radio and toss your call sign out into the ether and see who strikes up a conversation.
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Don't let stress ruin your holidays! On the ARES front, I see we have more than 420 registered members. Registration is easy, and gives you a place to keep track of your participation in emergency operations, drills and public service events. Emergency Coordinators are given tools to marry people's skills and equipment to the needs of the deployment thus making it easier to execute comm plans. We always need more people, so if you haven't already registered, now is as good a time as any. Please go to: www.az-arrl.org/secure to register for Arizona ARES! www.az-arrl.org/secure Rick Aldom W7STS SEC Arizona NEWWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO HAMS The following Arizona hams just received their FCC license, Congratulations! Nancy Chidester KE7PCX, David Cook KE7PCY, Jonathan Hanson KE7PDX, Roseann Hanson KE7PDY, Thomas Jarman KE7PDZ, Steven Yaple KE7PEA, Randall Ortlinghaus KE7PEB, Jeffry Scott KE7PED, Ethan Beneze KE7PEK, Dennis Cannon KE7PEL, Lynn Cannon KE7PEM, Sharon Drechsler KE7PEO, Gregory Haben KE7PEP, Jonathan Shannon KE7PGT, David Reynolds KE7PGU, Bryce Rockrich KE7PGV, Juanita Cason KE7PGW, Harold Cason KE7PGX, Virgil Silhanek KE7PGY, Marcia Silhanek KE7PGZ, Seth Hinton KE7PHA, Cynthia Hinton KE7PHB, Robert Thompson KE7PIW, Ricky Beswick KE7PIX, Melody Allen KE7PIY, Chester Kraft KE7PIZ, Barbara Gross KE7PJA, Ryan Feremz KE7PJB, Franco Macchia KE7PJC, Warren Fernandes KE7PJD, Troy Langhey KE7PJE, Weylin Leaviti KE7PJF, Edward Yurkiewicz KE7PJG, Alex Fleshman KE7PJH, Camdon Cady KE7PJI, John Brough KE7PJN, Jared Koch KE7PJP, Victoria Westmont KE7PJR, Joseph Celauro KE7PKQ, Rolando Ferolino KE7PKU, F Elgin Ward KE7PKV, David PufnockWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO KE7PKW, Lei Anne Ward KE7PKX, Travis Kunz KE7PKY, Dane Farnsworth KE7PKZ, Samuel Kunz KE7PLA, Thomas Cady KE7PLB, A Stephen Farnsworth KE7PLC, Benjamin Ricks KE7PLD, Melvin Stradling KE7PLE, Linda Peterman KE7PLF, Eugene Geisler KE7PLG, Marian Wahl KE7PLH, Deblen Oke KE7PMH, Gary Kartchner KE7PMI, Carol Mauch KE7PMJ, Matthew Knatz KE7PML, Simon Dalzell KE7PMM, Leif Larsen KE7PNL, Sreekar Krishna KE7PNO, Scott Brady KE7PNP, Richard Westmont KE7PNQ DX CARD CHECKER Congratulations to Reinhard Geissler, DL1UF. Reinhard has been chosen as the new DX Card checker for Arizona replacing Ned Stearns AA7A. Reinhard is a member of the Central Arizona DX Association. He can be reached at [email protected] HAMFESTS/CONVENTIONS/SPECIAL MEETINGS It rained during the superstition ARC hamfest on December 1st, but, that did not keep the hams away. It was another great hamfest, VE session and ARCA meeting. Arizona Amateurs on Television (AATV) Annual “Pig Feast” Sunday December 9th, 2007 at 1:00 PM. 6101 W. Michelle, Glendale, Arizona. Talk in frequency 146.84 pl 162.2 contact [email protected] for more information. January 12, 2008 WestFest hosted by the Thunderbird ARC will be held at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Greenway and 59th Ave in Glendale. The first all indoor hamfest for Arizona. http://www.w7tbc.org January 20-26, 2008 Quartzfest 2008, a gathering of Amateur Radio Operators in RV's near Quartzite Arizona. For more information go to www.quartzfest.org February 15-17, 2008 Yuma HamExpo at the Yuma County Fairgrounds www.yumahamexpo.com September 12-14, 2008 ARRL Southwestern Division Convention Mesa AZ Come check us out at www.AzHamCom.org Mesa Convention Center Rick Aldom W7STS 2008 SWD Chair [email protected]. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about ARRL. If your club or group has an activity or event that would be of interest to other hams throughout our section please email me with the specifics. 73, Tom Fagan WB7NXH ARRL Section Manager Arizona Tucson Arizona (520) 574-1129 [email protected] http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=AZ or http://www.az-arrl.org/
West Gulf Division
South Texas
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and didn't gain weight where weight wasn't needed. We had a great time at the SKYWARN Recognition Day. I was able to present Larry Eblen with a certificate of appreciation for all his hard word and the many times he spent training the hams and giving us so much support. Now that he is retiring he may now take time to study and get his ham ticket. When I talked to
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Larry he really seemed to take an interest in ham radio. We will try to supply him with the books. We do want to welcome our new South Texas Section Emergency Coordinator, Mike Schwartz, KG5TL. He knows the importance of working with our EOCs and volunteers. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Prosperous and Happy New Year. God Bless America and our Troops. Ray N5NAV WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO
WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO
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Section News for December 2007
Atlantic Division Delaware WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Delaware Section News Monthly Summary January 2008 I wish to report that as I travel the State of Delaware this year is off to many activities and changes. In the area of recent activities the amateur radio community was represented on WHYY television by Dick Drevo W3GNQ and Mike McClanahan W3RMM featured on a news cast appealing for hams to enroll in Sussex and State RACES programs, more on this topic further down in my report. On Tuesday 8 January met with Chuck Hanavin W3FJJ and 5 freshman interested in amateur radio at the University of Delaware Dupont Hall Newark, Delaware. Tuesday evening attended Kent County Amateur Radio Club meeting in Dover and was treated to an excellent presentation on Echolink by Rick Truitt K3GRT. DARTT VE Team at Sussex Tech High School 9 January 2008 Georgetown, Delaware met with K3DJS Dennis Smith Class Instructor, KF4BT Herb Quick, W3DR Bill Prettyman, W3ANT Anthony Pirchalski Class Instructor, KB3MJ Denny Karol, N3ME Tony McClenny, KB3PIX Steve Heder, W3FIS Paul Ross, KB3ISA Willie Merchant,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO KB3ISA XYL Ruth Merchant, W3DEL Chuck Betyeman, KB3KYH Bill Duveneck, K1RY Roy Gould, AD3M Frank Filipkowski. All except instructors K3DJS and W3ANT administered 98 FCC Technician, General and Extra Class examinations to students this date. That evening I attended the Sussex ARES Amateur Radio Emergency Service meeting led by Patrick Ryan KW3Z who presented and discussed the ARES emergency operating plan. Thursday evening attended the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service informational meeting in the conference room Sussex County Emergency operations center. In attendance were Joseph Thomas Director Sussex EOC and Jamie Turner Director Delaware State EOC. The State and Counties are requesting assistance in joining RACES by distinct stages. Stage one basic registration allows anyone with a valid FCC amateur radio license to participate in activations, exercises and training activities. You may register by email at [email protected]. Stage two volunteer would be supporting either local or state Emergency Operations Centers in either the county’s or state and would be issued credentials or badges, additional training in FEMA courses would be required. Volunteers interested in supporting Stage three would receive additional training to be possibly deployed outside the State of Delaware in a National communications emergency for up to a minimum two week period. I would encourage registering with the stage one! As a minimum include your ham call phone numbers and if you have passed any FEMA courses. The following are the members of the Delaware Section Cabinet for 2008 Assistant Section Manager John Di Giovanni N3LUD Affiliated Club Coordinator Chester Thayer WA3I Official Observer Coordinator William Hammond Jr. N3IOD Public Information Coordinator Walter Palmer W4ALT Section Emergency Coordinator Wilson Merchant KB3ISA State Government Liaison Douglas Rambo KA3KHZ Section Traffic Manager Edmund Pajewski N3KYA Technical Coordinator Randy Murray W3LF I wish to thank all of the above volunteers supporting me in supporting you and the amateur radio community in Delaware. Wilson Merchant KB3ISA joins the team replacing Justin Kates KB3JUV who served the past two years as Section Emergency Coordinator, thank both of you. Willie comes to us with experience as a fire and EMS services volunteer for 21 years, was a paid EMT off and on for 14 years, and worked as a 911 dispatcher for 7 years, a Delaware State Fire School Field Instructor for 12 years, Past President of the Sussex Amateur Radio Association. I am also announcing that Robbie McCray W3RSM has been appointed Emergency Coordinator for New Castle County. Robbie and Mike Hall WB3FUP have been working with Dave Carpenter Director New Castle County EOC with training perspective ham radio operators. Mike Hall WB3FUP is assigned as Emergency Coordinator for the City of Wilmington working with George Giles. If you wish to contribute to the advancement of the amateur radio community by volunteering please contact me. Dont forget THE DELAWARE QSO PARTY SATURDAY 3 FEBRUARY AND SUNDAY 4 FEBRUARY MARK
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YOUR CALANDAR! MORE INFO AND DETAILS www.fsarc.org 73 Frank Filipkowski AD3M
Southern New Jersey
SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY NEWSLETTER FOR JANUARY 2008 SECTION MANAGER, JEAN PRIESTLEY, KA2YKN Happy New Year everyone and welcome to 2008. We have to wonder what new things will comeWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO to pass and what will be the major player events in ham radio for 2008. We have the standard activities such as Field Day. There will be new displays on the Battleship New Jersey. The Venture Scouts ages 14 to 20 will be having an Adventure Weekend at Pine Hill Scout Reservation from 4 to 6 of April. The Southern New Jersey Council would welcome a demonstration of ham radio anytime during the weekend Are there any takers, maybe a PSK31 demo or APRS, RDF, satellite, SSB, 2M FM There is a large picnic shelter with AC power available. Plenty of trees for wire antennas. Contact Tom N2FMH [email protected] In the spring there will be public service events. Of course, there will be hamfests and transmitters hunts. Ham radio has lost two big guns. I am sure most people in the area know the name Dusty Rhoads. For many years Dusty ran the testing sessions at the Franklin Institute up on the 3rd floor. Born William E Rhoads, SR, age 64, Dusty became a silent key on Jan 8 2008. He calledManayunk his home. He was husband to Marie and brother to one sister and 3 brothers. Our second SK is Janice R Scheuerman, WA2YL. Jan died on December 24, 2007. Jan receivedWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO many awards as a ham and in several other fields of life. She was active in CW traffic nets, Field Day and the Miss American pageant. Jan was a great ambassador for our hobby. She was a member of the YLRL and QCWA. She was also part of the first all woman DX-pedition team. They operated from Nuie Island in the South Pacific. For more information visit http://www.wa2yl.com/index.html. Gloucester City Amateur Radio Club has activated a 447.775 repeater with an offset and 146.2 PL at 65 watts. All are welcome to use it but, of course, are asked to observe the same rules that apply to all repeaters. On Saturday, Jan 5th 2008 55 Boy Scouts from Central New Jersey earned their Radio Merit Badges at the David Sarnoff Library in Princeton. This was the 4th year that the library and David Sarnoff Corporation hosted the event, run by Amateur Radio Operators from the DVRA and the David Sarnoff Radio Club. The group was taught by Dr. Alex Magoun, the library director and Dr. Joe Taylor, K1JT. There was a hands on activity were they located a hidden transmitter on the property. The list of amateurs working with the scouts are AA2F, AA2WN, AB2IO, AB2SN, K1JT, K2GW, K2JMK, KA3IAX, KB2RMS, KC2CKI, KC1MI, KCPKQ, KE2MM, N0TAZ, N2FMI, N2GJ, N2JVP, N2MPM, N2RMS, N;U2I AND NU3E The Camden County SKYWARN Coordinator is looking more people to become active in the Camden County SKYWARN program. Especially needed are New Control Stations. You would be trained before being asked to run any nets. If you have an interest in this, contact Rick Tighe, Coordinator. He can be found on the Camden County SKYWARN Training New 2nd Thursday of the month at 7:30 on the Camden County RACES Repeater 145.895 PL 192.8. This information is for Camden County, but if you are in a different county, check with you local coordinator to see if they are in need of trained people. JSARS Is still holding their testing sessions the third Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm at the Riverwood Recreation Building on Riverwood Drive in Toms River, NJ. For more information call Ed, GENOINO, WA2NDA at 609-693-3729. Holiday City ARC is also still holding their test sessions every other 2nd Saturday from 10am to 12pm, (May, July, Sept, Nov). Sessions are held at the Holiday City South Clubhouse area in meeting room #1 on Mule Road at the corner of Santiago Dr in Toms River. Your contact person is Bill Haldane, AC2F and the phone is 732-240-7064 or [email protected]. When going to any test session, you must have your original license and at least one Xerox copy and original and one copy of any credit sheets you may have. Also bring 2 forms of id. Testing sessions by SJRA are on the 4th Tuesday of each month at the Winslow Senior center. Contact is Mark, K2AX at [email protected] or (609)820-1523. Testing is also available in Atlantic County. The location is at the Canale Training Center at 5033 English Creek Avenue in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. There will be no walk-ins so please call Robert, WA2ARP at 609-338-7038 to register. The sponsor is the Southern Counties Amateur Radio Association (SCARA). Next session is Feb 9th, 9:30 A.M. Testing
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also available at: 96OVERTHEHILLGANG/METRO-COMM .March 1, 9:30 AM (Walk-ins allowed) Contact: MARIE-KATHLEEN STAFFORD (856)881-6777 [email protected] SAINT LUKE'S CHURCH 37 E GRANT ST., WOODSTOWN, NJ 08098 TALK-IN 443.050+PL-156.7 If you haven’t already, please make a note or bookmark the following site:http://www.erh.noaa.gov/phi/skywarn/index.html. The Battleship New Jersey is now on winters as of Jan 1, 2008. The ship will only be open Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Mondays from 10 am to 3pm. On those days the WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROshuttle will be available. Check their website for hours and other information. If your club is thinking about visiting the NJ2BB club station, please be sure to make arrangements ahead of the scheduled date to insure that someone will be there. Just go on our website at www.nj2bb.org for information to schedule a visit. If you have worked NJ2BB and want to send a card, the QSL manager is Margaret Burgess, KB2BRR 150 Schooner Ave, Barnegat, NJ 08005. Please send your cards with an SASE to insure receiving a card in return from NJ2BB. http:// www.nj2bb.org If you have an activity coming up or want to report something that happened, please send a short write up to me and I will put it in next month. Please remember that if you work traffic to report it to Dan, K2UL. Traffic report for December, Traffic manager, K2UL, Dan Ostroy SNJ/NNJ Section Net Reports QNI reports NJM 78 N2GJ NJPN 206 W2CC NJSN 149 K2PB NJN(E) 195 AG2R NJN(L) 172 AG2R (the above nets are dual section nets of both SNJ and NNJ. Liaisons with 2RN) SNJ Local Net Reports JSARS 325 WA2NDA SJTN 15 KB2RTZ NO REPORT SJVN WB2UVB NO REPORT SCARS NO REPORT NW2Y StationWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Activity Reports (SAR) KB2RTZ 127 WA2CUW 77 K2GW 61 WA2NDA 54 K2UL 36 AA2SV 21 W2QOB 2 Public Service Honor Roll (PSHR) KB2RTZ 110 K2UL 108 K2GW 106 KA2YKN 96 WA2CUW 90 N2HQL 85 W2QOB 31 STM reports that the past six years have been posted on the web at http://k2ul.home.att.net/stm_monthly.htm If you are registered to vote, please vote If you are not registered please get registered We have a great gift and we need to use it.
Western Pennsylvania
Now that we are into the new year and the holidays are behind us our attention can focus on upcoming activities. I want to ask that all the DEC and EC’s of Western Pennsylvania help us to make sure that contact information is up to date accurate. For this reason I am asking that each of the Ec’s and Dec’s submit a renewal application when they send their January report to the SEC. The form is found at the following url: http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/forms/#fsd-156 . Please complete this and send with your January report to Kathleen Peca W. Pa. Sec. at [email protected] and also a copy to me at [email protected] . Monthly reports are very important and this renewal process will help us to make sure that individuals listed as EC’s are still functioning in that capacity. If we do not receive this information with your report prior to the 8th of February we will assume you are no longer in the position. Don't forget that Kathleen is still looking for individuals to fill vacancies in counties that do not have an Emergency Coordinator in place. You may also submit the above mentioned application if you are interested in filling one of these vacancies. The same holds for the DEC's on the section. You must be a league member and be willing to submit the required monthly reports. You must also be willing to work with all amateurs and clubs in your county. I want to again clarify a mistake that was reported last month about club affiliation anniversaries. HQ had an error in a message sent out with regard to clubs in W. Pa. celebrating years of affiliation. Once again I congratulate the Beaver Valley Amateur Radio Association for their 75 years of affiliation. The Triple “A” Amateur Radio Association celebrated it’s 35th year of affiliation. The Edinboro university amateur radio club is a newly affiliated club and I will be presenting their certificate at their meeting on Feb. 7th. On January 22 I will be speaking at the Mercer county ARA at 7:30 pm. Interested parties are welcome to attend that meeting. Speaking of club functions on February 16 the Atlantic Division will be hosting a webinar for clubs and Dec’s/Ec’s as well as members of the section staff’s of the 7 sections. This will be the first of many webinars being conducted to distribute information without the cost of travel associated with getting people together ina central location. Katie Breen, W1KRB ARRL membership manager and Norm Fusaro,W3IZ ARRL affiliated club manager will be presenting on the webinar. If you are interested in attending check out the
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enrollment at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/867561606 The webinar will be 10 AM to 12 noon on February 16. One area of concern as of late is the need for operators to participate in the various traffic nets for our section. Recently we have had a growing number of messages being returned to the originators as undeliverable because we had no one in that area to handle the message. Please participate in the traffic nets and help us so we no longer return messages as undeliverable. I will be posting in future messages the areas we have difficulty in getting messages handled. The WPA Phone and Traffic net is currently beginningWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO at 5 PM local time due to propagation on 3983KHz. Finally mark your calendars for the first hamfest of the year. The Washfest will be on February 24, 2008. More information is available in QST and on the club website at http://www.n3sh.org/washfest_2008.htm Remember if you would like to arrange for me to speak at your club function drop me an email at [email protected] and I will try to make one of your meetings. 73 John Rodgers N3MSE W. Pa. Section Manager
Central Division
Illinois
QST DE KA9QPN From the top... **There's a lot going on this month! We start with an ongoing response along several rivers in Eastern Illinois. Unusually warm weather, a fast snow melt, and additionalWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO rain contributed to an early flood along waterways prone to such events. Fortunately, the hams were ready. Even as I write this, ARES® members again are filling the breach to provide shelter communications in Iroquois County. EC Roy Eades KA9MZJ reports: 'Local ARES® members of Iroquois County have been called into service assisting ESDA and Red Cross in Watseka due to the flooding of the rivers in that community. So far, cell phone service and agency radios are keeping up with demand for communication. The Watseka repeater W9QKF 444.625 - 103.5 is being used to coordinate the amateur operators between agencies. Following ARES® members responded to call for communications assistance by American Red Cross office located in Watseka Illinois: W9QKF Sam Ripple-Assistant EC (PIO), KC9HHT Mike Marcier-Assistant EC (Skywarn NCS), K9CS Carl Schroeder, KC9GWD Benny Marcier, W9TRF Tim Focken, W9KVR Troy Simpson. Primary duties have been assisting with communications using Red Cross radios between the ARC office in Watseka and shelters. The first shelter was set up in a basement of a local church and had to be relocated due to flooding of church basement.' Incredibly, the SKYWARN nets crackled to life on the afternoon of 7 January for Tornado Watch Number 2, issued by the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, OK. When the watch was cleared, a swath in Boone and McHenry Counties and on into southern Wisconsin was carved by an unbelievable EF3 January tornado. Reports from that area have yet to be received here. The lesson is that whether or not you believe in 'global warming' or other such things, our area climate has apparently changed, and none of the old rules apply. We need to be prepared for any eventuality. Spotter training, anyone? Get informed... **Look for scheduling for NWS Spotter Talks on the website of your nearest forecast office. Or better, contact your local EMA/ESDA and start that relationship. If the month so far is any preview, it's gonna be a wacky spring! ======**Late, but still nice to see: The Big Bend ARC got some local ink on their last hamfest in early December. The article emphasizes the club's connection with the county EMA. More here. ======**Pat Ryan KC6VVT, SEC sends the following: 'Congratulations to Vince Berman W9OES who retires December 31, 2007 after nearly 22 years service as an ARRL Emergency Coordinator in Morgan County, IL. Vince W9OES will be presented the ARRL Certificate of Merit in recognition for his long and outstanding service to the amateur radio community, an ARRL EmComm Commendation certificate in recognition of his meritorious service in the Amateur Radio Emergency Service in Illinois, and a Local Net Certificate for his long participation in the ILARES HF net. Vince W9OES has held an amateur radio license since 1951, and will continue his ARRL Field Service as an Official Emergency Station (OES) and a Technical Specialist (TS) in the Illinois Section. Our hearty thanks for a job well
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done go to Vince upon his retirement as one of our senior EC/IL, along with our grateful appreciation that this experienced and knowledgeable senior operator will remain active in his other Illinois Section roles, including EmComm.' ======**Results of the recent IL QSO Party are here. Congrats to all who participated. ======**Gayland Grant WB9SKB,WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO EC Saline County reports that hams from Saline, Franlkiln, and Perry Counties were involved with Civil Air Patrol and other authorities in a search for a downed aircraft early in December. Around the Section... **In a more seasonal weather event, John Cotner KC9IED, EC Winnebago County, reports that on 11 December 'Winnebago County, IL - ARES® was placed on Standby Alert during a NWS - Ice Storm Warning period. The County EOC was opened and was manned for 6+ hours by ARES personnel. An informal ARES Net was operated during the warning period with three stations checking into the net with storm reports.' +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **Eric Lorenz KC9FQV, EC Kane County reports that they activate a 'snow net' to solicit snowfall reports hourly. These nets are activate in response to a Weather Service issued Snow Advisory or Winter Storm Watch/Warning, with results going to the NWS. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **The KankakeeWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO ARS is organizing license classes for their local CERT, according to the 'KARS Key Klicks' newsletter. Seems that the ESDA folks were duly impressed with the performance of ham radio during the county's last emergency drill. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **Congratulations to the Gebhardt boys! Neil KB9ZGZ, ASM for Youth, passed his EmComm EC-001 on 7 January at the Starved Rock RC test session. His dad, Mark K9ZQ, passed EC-003 Revision 2 at the same session. One of these days soon, I need to get going on that! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **The Lamoine Emergency ARC assisted the Salvation Army over the holiday by acting as bell-ringers in the area. Nice way to assist our SATERN brethren. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **The Chicago Suburban Radio Association notes that they've moved both their meeting day and location. More at their excellent website. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **Jack Tomlianovich AA9YA, reports that the Fulton County ARC's new officers are President - KS9A, Colin Adams; V.President - KB9NKT, Jimmie Smith; Secretary - AA9YA, Jack Tomlianovich; Treasurer - N9GA, Gary Adams. Check out their website here. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **Once again, The Fox River Radio League (didn't think that I could do it twice in a row, did you?) mounted a nice effort in support of Kids' Day on 6 January. Greg Braun N9CHA and Eric Lorenz KC9FQV were directly mentioned. I don't have a full listing of participants, as what I got was an 'in-progress' report. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **The Egyptian Radio Club now has its club call W9AIU on the license plates for its new (to them) Communications Van. This is a work-in-progress which can be tracked here.
Wisconsin
WISCONSIN: SM: Don Michalski, W9IXG. BWN 3985 0400-0715 W9IXG. BEN 3985 1200 KE9VU. WSBN 3985 1715-1800 K9FHI. WNN 3555 1800 KB9ROB. WSSN 3555 1830 N9JIY. WIN-E 3555 1900 WB9ICH. WIN-L 3555 2200 W9UW. (All times are Central time) ** With regret, I am informing you of the passing of the following Wisconsin Amateurs: -- Bill Johnson, N9PHO, 69. -- Pat Giese, AB9NY, 64. Pat was a VE and member of Sheboygan County ARC. -- Jim Paul, N9LKY, 56. Jim was one of the founders of Badgerland Amateur Television Society and he was also a member of the Yellow
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Thunder ARC. -- Dolores Lopes, KB9IRD, 80. Dolores was a member of the Fox Cities ARC. -- Walter Kalata, WA9FFT, 74. Walter was a member of the Fox Cities ARC. -- Daniel Imanski, N9EJD, 80. He was an Amateur for over 40 years. -- Ray Wolfe, K9RI, 56. Ray was a member of and past president of Lakeshore Repeater Association; president of SPARK (South Port Amateur Radio Klub); vice president of ARLOW (Amateur Radio League Of Wisconsin); member of Racine Megacycle Club. He served as ARES EC for Kenosha County for many years. ** I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Edward Engleman,WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO KG8CX, as the Assistant Section Manager for Wisconsin Youth. Ed is the coordinator for the D.A.R. Boys and Girls Radio Club- K8DAR and the Young Amateurs Contest Ham Team (YACHT). http://community-2.webtv.net/dx2100/16thAve/. Ed is willing to advise and assist anyone who is interested in developing programs to encourage youngsters to become active in Amateur Radio. Individuals or groups that show interest can come up to Menominee and see for themselves how the K8DAR station is operated, talk to the kids, the adult leaders, and learn, firsthand, how the Youth ham programs function, and what it takes to keep it operating successfully and relevant to the needs and interests of the participants. Contact him at [email protected] Thank you, Ed! ** Congratulations to Steve Smith, W9GPI, Emergency Coordinator for Fond du Lac County on his election to president of the Fond du Lac ARC and, also, for receiving the 2007 Ham of the Year award! Certainly, well deserved recognition for his contributions to the club and his service to Amateur Radio. ** The fourth generation ECARC member, Alexis, K9LXI, is featured in this nice ARRL article: http://www.arrl.org/news/features/WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO2007/12/25/1/?nc=1 Alexis is an active ECARC member and worked the 2007 GOTA Field Day station. Well done!! ** STM Report Wisconsin Section December 2007 FAQ # 77 -- Time is short. Can you just give me the highlights? Yes. (1) The section nets in Wisconsin survived 2007 very well -- considering a noticeable downturn in conditions towards the end of the year. Check-ins and traffic are up significantly. Look at this. 5-year comparison 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 QNI 42010 43083 41259 43174 49322 QTC 23597 25966 28211 31194 36855 SSNS 2548 2463 2414 2277 2482 (2) There is still a need for volunteers to serve as net control stations and liaison stations to other nets. (3) WD9FLJ has graciously offered his services as Net Manager for the BEN, replacing KE9VU who completes many years of dedicated service. (4) Don't forget to include traffic handling as part of your training as you offer courses for Technician and General Class licenses. (5) Remember that we are part of a much bigger system -- but we are still an important part. (6) Thank you for your support of the NTS in Wisconsin, for your camaraderie, for your careful listening, for your relays, for your attention to detail in nets and traffic handling. 73 -- K9LGU/ STM - WI MONTHLY NETACTIVITY SUMMARY DEC 2007 NET QNI QTC QTR SSNS NM BWN 2379 3351 6215 31 W9IXG BEN 619 68 1257 31 KE9VU WSBN 484 23 636 31 K9FHI WNN 65 4 138 12 KB9ROB WSSN 83 9 144 25 N9JIY WIN/E 116 23 249 28 WB9ICH WIN/L 141 23 267 30 W9UW WRACES 51 1 99 4 N9VAO TOTALS 3938 3502 9005 192 MWCRN 300 112 645 5 WA9ZTY ** Calling your local TV station It is the curse of the salesman -- the "cold call." Trying to sell widgets to someone who has given no indication that they even know what a widget may be, let alone want to buy one. People fear them on BOTH ends of the conversation. We really do not like disappointment or refusals. We take it personally. Unfortunately, too many hams see contacting their local TV station as the same thing. They fear making a "cold call" and being rejected. They would rather just comfortably edit a club newsletter that never reaches their community. That's most unfortunate because contacting a TV news desk is FAR from being even similar as an experience. As many as 8 out of 10 stories on the evening news get there because somebody called to pitch an idea. They WANT to hear your stories. They NEED to have stories. They LOSE MONEY if they do not get stories. If you have a decent story, you are providing them a service they cannot live without and your club gets publicity. ** Plan NOW for Your Hamfest The snow may still be flying but NOW is the time to make or break your next hamfest. 1. Invite your local volunteer firefighters to have a free display -- They learn about you and our EmComm operations Everyone wins! 2. Invite a politician to drop by Maybe to even talk a bit about what you mean to the community. There's a major election coming and they want face time 3. What other groups have you provided communications for in the past year? Give them a free table 4. Looking for brochures? It does no good to give promo brochures to hams -- they ARE hams already! But if they will pass them on to
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NON-hams, then it may do some good. www.arrl.org/brochures The more community involvement you get, the more family and friends they will bring in with them. But to do it right, you need to get working on it and the invitations out this month while other organizations are also planning their own schedules. 73, Don, W9IXG Dakota DivisionWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Minnesota
ARRL MINNESOTA SECTION SUMMARY FOR DECEMBER 2007 SUMMARY FROM SM ++ The MN section OOC, TC, ARES and Traffic summaries are enclosed below. ++ See the ARRL Section web site for up-to-date information and bulletins. ++ Go to the section website at http://www.mn- section.com for other news. ++ Antenna work is now complete on Dakota County H&W station but ARES net start-up is still delayed until further notice. EMI problems have been rectified at this site so receiver an operate normally. ++ The St. Paul Radio Club EMCOMM I class is underway with a full class. Brian McInerny is the certified instructor he and will probably do another. ++ Two amateur radio classes are posted on the web for February and March. ++ Have you any local stories for the section news? Please send to me. ++ Please send me your plans for future Amateur Radio Classes. Respectfully submittedWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO by Skip Jackson, KS0J, MN SM MN OOC & TC REPORT SUMMARY FOR DECEMBER 2007 OO reports received from KB0OHI, WO0A, N0OH and W3FAF. No further reports were filed on the 3900 +/- interference and poor operating practices. 73, Respectfully submitted by John H. Thomas III, W3FAF, MN OOC MN SEC REPORT SUMMARY FOR DECEMBER 2007 Total number of ARES members reported: 224 County EC’s reporting: Carver (KB0CQ), Cook (KBØBDN), Itasca (KG0FD), Lac Qui Parle (KC0QED), Murray (KC0YKX), Olmsted (AB0BW), Redwood (KA0ISD), Scott (N0BHC), St. Louis-North (WD0GUF), St. Louis-South (KB0LC), Sherburne (N0JHU), Washington (AB0XE), Local Net Names: Anoka County ARES Net, CCART, River Valley, SEMARC, Scott County, Chisago County, Carver County, Washington County, Fox Valley Monday Night Net, Lac Qui Parle Phone, Lac Qui Parle Packet, Mankato Area Radio Club Emergency Services Net, Marshall Area Emergency Net, Redwood County, Wadena Area Ham Net, Northern Lakes Radio, NE MN Public Service, SE St. Louis Emergency Service, Dakota County ARES, Scott County ARES Total sessions: 78 NTS liaison is maintained with the MN Section, Tenth Region, and NTSD Traffic Nets by N0UC, W0LAW Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 9 Person hours: 25 Number of public service events this month: 4 Person hours: 199 Number of emergency operations this month: 4 Person hours: 80 Total number of ARES operations this month: 17 Total Person hours: 303 RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, MN SEC MN STM SUMMARY FOR DECEMBER 2007 NET FREQ TIME QNI/QTC/SESS MGR ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ MSPN/E 3860 5:30 P WO0A MSPN/N 3860 12 P K0BLR MSN/1 3605 6:30 P K0WPK MSN/2 3605 9:50 P K0WPK PAW 3925 9A-11AM 1500-1700 KA0IZA MONTHLY STATION ACTIVITY REPORTS (SAR) STATION ORIG. REC'D. SENT DLVD. TOTAL BPL NO.OPS. W0LAW 0 81 93 6 180 W3FAF 0 41 50 0 91 KB0AII 0 15 46 0 51 K0BLR 9 30 10 12 40 KA0IZA 0 27 5 0 32 KB0AIJ 0 15 15 0 30 KA0RMP 0 14 10 5 30 N0KCM 4 6 4 6 20 WD0GUF 0 5 5 0 10 N0JP 0 1 5 1 7 ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~ PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) STATION 1 2 3 4 5 6 TOTAL ~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~ W0LAW 40 40 20 20 120 K0BLR 40 40 10 10 100 WD0GUF 40 10 30 80 SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER MONTLY REPORT NET ABBR. SESS. TFC. NMCALL NTS LIASON ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ MINNESOTA SECTION MSPN/E WO0A MSPN/E C/2 PHONE/NET EVENING 1,508 31 22 1730 LOCAL MINNESOTA SECTION MSPN/N K0BLR PHONE NET/NOON 1200 NOON 778 31 84 MINNESOTA SECTION MSN/1 K0WPK RN- 10, C4 NET (CW) 6:30P 120 19 48 MINNESOTA SECTION MSN/2 K0WPK RN-10, C4 NET CW 2150 35 8 NET (CW) 10:00P PICONET ALLDAY PAW PICO NET ALL DAY WATCH 4,287 94 57 KA0IZA RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Robert Meyer, W0LAW, MN STM
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North Dakota
NORTH DAKOTA: SM, Kent Olson, KAØLDG - Happy New Year, and best wishes to you and your family. It’s time for those pesky resolutions again, and I’m back to honing my CW skills. I even dusted off the straight key for “Straight Key Night” - I can tell it’s been a while since I’ve used one. Have you made your Ham Radio resolutions yet? This month is great to hunker down and start or finish some fun radio projects aroundWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO the shack. Thanks to all the ND Section volunteers who give a little more back to Amateur Radio and their communities. I know you have been doing great things in Amateur Radio, so why not drop me a line, and I’ll print it here. Upcoming hamfests: Bismarck, February 23rd, Fargo, April 26th. Section's web site: http://home.earthlink.net/~qtipf16/. HF NM K8BBM net reports for December: Weather Net: 61/1142/8. Data Net: 31/468/8. Goose River Net: 5/69/2. For the rest of the winter, there will be an early Data Net at 5PM central time in addition to the regular time at 6:30 PM central time. Thanks to all the Net Control Stations.
South Dakota
Here is the section news for South Dakota, if there are any clubs that have material that they wish to have posted please email me the information no later than the 5th of the month so that I can get it posted to both theWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO summary and the web site before the cut off date. HOT SPRINGS AMTEUR RADIO CLUB Our December meeting featured a very interesting talk by Robert, KC0WID, on the history of radio and his fun with short wave listening. His Zenith radio collection was great to see. The holidays slowed things down a little but we are looking forward to some neat projects this spring. Our annual club supper will be on Saturday Feb. 2 at 6:00 pm. We will have it at Joel's Steak House, formerly Scotty's Restaurant. Everyone is welcome to join us. Please contact W0PAM or K0OR by January 28. This is always a fun time with a few special awards given out each year. Lon, WS0V, and Sue, KA0FUI, have been appointed as our club DARN representatives. 73 K0OR Tim PIERRE AMATEUR RADIO CLUB Greg, WBØRJH, reported that he had met with Pierre Capitol Journal reporter Bronson Peshlakai who subsequently did an article on the club that appeared in the November 4, 2007 Journal. Bronson attended the club picnic and indicated an interest in joining the club and becoming a ham. Activities: Discussed participating with the Islands On The Air (IOTA) program on one of the islands in the area. Club should be working to do this. John, NØPIZ, asked if we have any plans for the 2008-2009 Capitol anniversary celebration. Greg, WBØRJH, will contact John Moisan to see about our participation. Technical: The Snake Butte batteries still need charging. There was a discussion about charging the batteries. Jim, KCØWVF, will get them charged. FT100 HF still needs to be installed. Old Business: The President appointed representatives to the Dakota Amateur Radio Network (DARN). They will be KDØS, Jim Z, Primary and WØRTD, Eldon, Secondary. New Business: The Christmas party was a success. Everyone enjoyed themselves and got an opportunity for an eyeball QSO. Report on the ARRL 10 meter contest. KDØS, WDØT and KCØZHF are currently 5th in the world although it will be some time before all participant reports on in. Meeting was adjourned at 8:38 p.m. Minutes recorded and submitted by AAØLY. NORTHERN HILLS AMATEUR RADIO CLUB The Public Service Event Schedule for 2008 was discussed. The Tri-State Emergency Weather Net has net controls for every evening. The Pierre club will be the Net Control for the State Link Net on Wednesday evenings for the month of January and the South Dakota Amateur Radio Council will do the future scheduling. Matching donations to the State Link from Club members was discussed with none to date. The NHARC will match up to a total of $100. The ARES Hermosa meeting will be at Hermosa on February 3. A card was received from Diane Burch with her new address. The UHF repeater is not operational and is at Chris’s. The IRLP node is working and is at Chris’s shack. Jerry gave the update on DARN. There will be a meeting in Pierre on January 12 at the Pizza Ranch, in Fort Pierre. Carol, KCØZDA, will be representing the NHARC at that meeting. The dues for the club were discussed and motion was made and carried to increase the club dues. The following is the wording to amend the by-laws: “Dues for full membership will be $20.00 per year (October 1 – September 30). Renewal of full membership will be in
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full annual amounts and may be paid at any time during the year but not later than September 30. Reinstatement of membership may be made by paying the current years dues.” The deadline to enjoy the $10.00 dues for this term was extended to the first of February as many members were not present at the meeting. Carroll will try to notify those members. The President reminded members that to remit your ARRL dues to the club. Chris reported that the cavities did not reduce the interference at Terry, so they were not installed. The interference was coming in thru the antenna directly. The old 76 repeater was declared surplus byWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO motion by Chris and seconded by Jerry, motion carried. Tony bought the repeater for $25.00. The President reminded everyone about the swap meet in Rapid City on February 16. There will be testing that day also at the SDSM&T campus. Meeting adjourned at 2009 Next meeting will be at the Sturgis Fire Hall Bruce Conlee KØNLE, Secretary
Delta Division
Louisiana
LOUISIANA SECTION NEWS – DECEMBER 2007 It's still not too late for a college-bound ham to apply for the LA Memorial Scholarship. Please encourage any LA ham you know who is planning to start college next fall (or is already attending college) to fill out an application form. Since the deadline of FebruaryWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO 1 is very close at hand, don't delay in passing the word to a deserving young ham. Application forms and other details on the LA Memorial Scholarship and other ham scholarships are available at www.arrlf.org/ Don't forget that the LA QSO Party starts at 1500Z on February 9 and ends at 0300Z on February 10. You can be a casual participant by handing out a few contacts or you might be a serious competitor trying to make as many QSOs as possible during the 12-hour event. Regardless of your degree of participation, the main purpose of the LA QSO Party is to have fun! More details on the QSO Party are available from the Thibodaux ARC, the event's sponsor, at http://www.w5yl.org/ The 2008 officers for the West Central LA Amateur Radio Club are W5LPJ, President; WB5LYB, Vice President; W5BLN, Secretary; WB5LHD, Treasurer; and W5ASA, Sergeant at Arms. The new Thibodaux ARC officers are AD5YP, President; KC5OKP, Vice President; KE5DNE, Secretary; WA5PRI, Treasurer; and N5OEQ, Activity. The 2008 officers for the Atchafalaya Amateur DX Association are KC5OKP, President; N5DVI, Vice President; and KD5GAG, Secretary/Treasurer. The incoming officers for the Twin City Ham Club are W5PEM, President; AD5XM, Vice President; and KK5VM, Secretary/Treasurer. Congratulations to the Southeast LA ARC on its new status as a Special Service Club and to KD5NVE on becoming the new Emergency Coordinator for Ascension Parish. I also want to congratulate KF5NA/AAA6LA on his new appointment as the LA State Director of Army MARS. In addition to his new duties in MARS, August has been serving as a regular net control station on the LA Traffic Net. He reports that there are only 4 or 5 active members now in LA Army MARS. MARS (Army, Navy, and Air Force) has become more involved in homeland security/civil defense activities in recent years rather than focused on relaying messages between overseas troops and the folks back home. Drop August a message at [email protected] if you are interested in learning more about MARS. My last congratulations (or, perhaps, condolences!) are directed to K5GLS. ARRL Headquarters has notified Gary that he will be the new LA Section Manager starting April 1. K5GLS has been an excellent Section Emergency Coordinator and I have no doubt that he will be a great SM. I am very sorry to report that KC5FES, N5LSS, KC5ZPA, and K5AAM are now Silent Keys. Upcoming LA hamfests include the SELARC Hamfest in Hammond on January 19 and the 2008 LA State Convention/AARA Hamfest in Rayne on March 21-22. Traffic totals: N5NVP 72, WC5M 71, K5MC 59, N5KWB 56, W5PY 39, AE5V 15. Public Service Honor Roll: N5KWB 135, N5NVP 130, W5PY 109, K5MC 109, WC5M 86, KB5SDU 50, W5HUD 46, AE5V 45, N5MEL 33. Section net reports: sessions/check-ins/messages handled. Louisiana Traffic Net: 29/578/35. Louisiana CW Net: 62/311/71. Louisiana Slow Net: 8/42/15. Louisiana ARES Net: 5/76/0. Local/district net reports: sessions/check- ins. Allen Parish ARES Net: 5/3. Orleans Parish ARES Net: 3/15. Ouachita Parish ARES Net: 5/69. Rapides Parish ARES Net: 2/12. Richland Parish ARES Net: 3/45. St. Charles Parish ARES Net: 1/8. St.
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Mary Parish ARES Net: 5/27. St. Tammany Parish ARES Net: 3/24. Tangipahoa Parish ARES Net: 3/60. Union Parish ARES Net: 4/31. Vermillion Parish ARES Net: 4/38. Vernon Parish ARES Net: 8/12. Washington Parish ARES Net: 4/74. ARES reports: parish/EC. Acadia/N5NVP, Allen/W5ELM, Avoyelles/KD5IGG, Beauregard/W5MVP, Calcasieu/KC5FGO, Caldwell/KD5ETB, Claiborne/KD5JJP, Franklin/N5ASA, Livingston/W5RR, Morehouse/KB5SAR, Orleans/NO5FD, Ouachita/W5DSG, Plaquemines/AI5B, Rapides/KD5DFL, Richland/N5MEL, St. Bernard/AI5B, St. Charles/K5CFJ, St.WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO John/AI5B, St. Mary/KA5LMZ, St. Tammany/N5PSL, Tangipahoa/KD5PKS, Union/KA5JNL, Vermillion/KE5JXC, Vernon/W5JZQ, Washington/AI5B. ACC report: N5NVP. PIO report: KE5DJA. 73, Mickey Cox K5MC LA Section Manager Email: [email protected] LA Section Website: http://www.laarrl.org/
Great Lakes Division
Michigan
Greetings for a good start to 2008. As we start out each new year, your Michigan Section staff meets to review the past year and plan for the new. That meeting was held on January 19. I am pleased to report that Michigan continues to make gains in the areas we targeted for the year. Our efforts with Public service haveWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO shown improvements both in the increase in membership (we now stand strong with more than 2400 individuals in the ARES®/RACES program) and despites horrific band conditions where copy is often problematic, our NTS traffic counts are higher. Details will be posted at http://arpsc.mi- nts.org/ and http://www.mi-nts.org/. The state’s digital infrastructures are growing and we have continued to expand our packet coverage and this year, we have seen implementation of D-Star® and P25 digital voice systems, with more scheduled to start in both Districts 1 and 7 and others in the early planning stages elsewhere. Check http://www.mi-drg.org/ for details. Our OO/AA program has been successful in working with the FCC in eliminating scofflaw users of ham frequencies for unlicensed purposes. Plans are in place for the 2008 Michigan Section Outing to be held in Lupton the weekend of July 11, 12, 13. The Technical Specialists have resolved several EMI/RFI issues during the recent months and assisted hams in solving some interesting problems. Club growth continues and more groups are opting for ARRL affiliation. Work with Local governments continues with very positive results and our relationship with state level officials is demonstrated with the continued growth with the support of the RACES Program. Local officials are being offered our Power Point® presentation on amateur radio. For 2008, the focus is heavily on youth and our planned Youth Forum is being scheduled for the March timeframe. The date has been a moving target and efforts to nail it down should be completed the week of January 21. We are expecting to host the conference in Gaylord and learn from the younger attendees exactly what makes amateur radio attractive to them. This information will then be shared with our local ARRL Affiliated Club leaders to help all of us bring more young folks into this hobby. Reports of club elections are in the news this month. Newly elected officers for the following clubs are to be congratulated for stepping up to the challenges of growing amateur radio: Cascades ARS Officers Pres WD8PM, VP N8RWK, Sec N8GEJ, Treas KC8VMJ, Asst. Treas KC8IJ, Trustees:KA8VLN, N8CDK, KZ6ZZ, N8BNE. Southern Michigan ARS new officers for 2008 are: Pres KD8DCS, VP WB4BKO, Sec. KC8WMM, Treas KC8LSI and Past Pres KB8WXS. Lanse Creuse Officers: Pres KB8LFE, VP N8QOQ, Treas N8RLP, Secretary KC8NWK, ARRL Liaison N8NLK, Activities Chair WA8BIJ, Technical Chair N8YPN. Muskegon Area AR Council: Pres AB8RD, VP W8AMZ, Sec KD8BGQ, Treas N8CTT,Directors N8YJT,K8PUJ. Arrow's annual election results: Pres WB8WSF, Sec W8FSA, Treas W8SGZ, Tech Coordinator K9TRV, Public Service Officer N8CBW, Activities Coordinator AB8ZI, Trustee Rep KT8K. Saginaw Valley ARA Officers: Pres. N8XD, VP. WA8GRI Sec. KC8BDQ, Treas. KC8BYI, Board members KC8YVF, KD8AVA, W8LPV. Michigan Nets reporting for November: MACS, MVTN, QMN, MiTN, UPN, TMMTN, WSSBN, GLETN, NLEUPN, Branch County, and MIARPSC. Total Operator-hours for December: 2539. To include your net’s monthly activities, contact WB8RCR. Station Activity Reports (SAR) for December, 2007: WB9JSR 982,
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KC8WSE 663, AB8SY 259, K8LJG 213, K8RDN 147, KC8AAD 142, W8RNQ 58, WD8USA 40, WB8RCR 30, KC8MLD 29, KD8BGQ 16, KC8BMV 8, KC8ZCF 4, AB8WF 2, WA8OOH 2, KC8LXS 1, KC8ZGB 0. Public Service Honor Roll Reports (PSHR) for December, 2007: K8MFK 155, WB8RCR 127, WB9JSR 125, WD8USA 120, KC8WSE 115, KD8BGQ 88, K8RDN 83, AB8SY 80, W8QOI 23. SARs are reports of all the radiogram traffic you have handled in the past month. PSHRs include your net and public service activities for the month. PSHRs and SARs should be filed monthly with WB8RCR. YouWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO can access a simple reporting form at: http://www.mi-nts.org/PSHR_entry.shtml to provide your reports to WB8RCR. You can check http://www.mi-nts.org/ for the details on all of our reporting nets. December Official Emergency Station reports came in from K8DD, KC8ZCF, N8HA, W8QOI, W8WRB and W8RIT. Your OES reports should be filed with WA8EFK with a copy to your EC. In all cases, reporting by radiogram is encouraged. Packet messages can be routed to [email protected] and [email protected] . 73 until next month, Dale WA8EFK
Midwest Division
Kansas
Kansas Section News Summary- December 2007 SM, Ron Cowan, KB0DTI-- SEC/OOC: Robert Summers,K0BXFWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO ASM: Orlan Cook,W0OYH ASM-Youth: Emily Stewart, KC0PTL SGL: Steve Hamilton, KB0JYL PIC: Larry Staples, W0AIB ______Silent Keys KØJPW - Don Weaver, Osawatomie WBØOQB - Bill Peck, Salina KBØEC - Scott Kohr, formerly of Salina ______Greetings and welcome to a new year ! A great big thank you to everyone that helped Kansas amateur radio last year. I’m talking about participating in, relaying for and hosting our nets, those stations holding an appointment and reminding me of it each month, the attendees of our state convention, the clubs that put on a hamfest and you for being an active member of our ARRL. All of these things go into making a healthy amateur radio. I feel this year will be a very good one for us. The PRB-1 campaign, started last fall, will soon be in full swing so please be ready to respond, there are rumors that Sunspots have been seen and the Central States VHF Conference will be in Wichita this summer. There will be some changes in the Field Organization of Kansas of witch I will update you on as they occur. I have a feeling that Kansas is Great in 2008 ! Frozen rain and ice caused power outages and other problems in mid December. Several SATERN hams traveled to St. Joseph, MO to provide communications at shelters that had intermittent telephone service. Phone/SSB net manager NØKFS was off the air several days after his antenna came down near Atchison. KCØMLF lost his antenna at Wheaton, WØFCL reported spotty power at Great Bend and WAØCCW the same at Beloit. WGØQ reported that SW Reno County was hit hard by the storm. KØFJ received his Kansas Certified Emergency Manager Certificate. Congratulations ! Mine Creek ARC hamfest is February 2nd at LaCygne. Contact KBØDTI ______From KØBXF / SEC: Only 13 EC Zones reporting activity this month with 90 net sessions, 695 QNI and 27 QTC. RACES had 7 counties represented on the monthly net Greenwood, Mitchell, Montgomery, Shawnee, Johnson, Phillips Neosho and Riley counties were there. Army MARS reported 523 Man hours of activity with 1428 messages originated. Time for annual reports to be completed for the year 2007. Let us not forget. Any one interested in involvement of a state ARES training net? Let me hear from you, especially if you want to be a part of the setup operation. Hope you all had a good past year and are planning on a better more active new year ahead. As always your suggestions for improvements are always encouraged. Our SM says 2008 is great. Let us help him make it that way, 73 Bob K0BXF SEC KS ______Newsletters received: Feed Back, Grounded Grid, QNU H.A.R.C. , QRZ, DCARC Trojan ARC Harmonic, Kaw Valley Transceiver ______Nov.. Sessions/QNI/QTC/Mgr: KSBN/ 30/ 585/ 41 N0KFS KPN/21 / 255 / 20/ N0KFS KMWN/30/ 745 / 589 /WB0YWZ KWN/30/ 666 / 448/ WB0YWZ
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CSTN 26/1946 /65 N0BFB QKS/ 34 /93 /18 NB0Z QKS-SS / 4 / 9 /0 KB0DTI Traffic: KI0BK 234 W0OYH 17 NB0Z 53 K0BXF 15 KB0DTI 15 N0ZIZ 11 Misc. Reports: Technical Specialist WN8P See KSN on ARRL and more Kansas news: http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=KS To receive or contribute to Orlan's Kansas Amateur Radio News E-mail News Letter contact Orlan-W0OYH-Editor at [email protected] Missouri WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO JANUARY 2008 MISSOURI SECTION NEWS DALE BAGLEY, KØKY MO SM Winter has really got a grip on Missouri this month, but we still have our vintage radio to keep us warm. My Ham Shack (probably like many others) is in my downstairs part of my home. Winter keeps that the basement of the house about 10 degrees colder than the toasty upstairs where my wife prefers to stay. It is good know that Amateur Radio operators are a hearty bunch that can rough it on Field Day and during emergency operations. Perhaps it’s the winter training that one gets operating from the basement with sweaters and space heaters that prepares us to endure the weather at any time of the year. Roger Volk, KØGOB, reports that the Missouri Emergency Radio Service has a new website. Check out the website at www.mersweb.org and take a look at the MEPN 2007 activities report. The MERS is a 501(c) (3) qualified organization and donations to the Missouri Emergency Packet Network, and the SMI (the Show-Me-IntertieWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO (SMI), the 440 FM voice link between St. Louis and Kansas City along the I-70 corridor). Bruce Frahm, KØBJ, Midwest Director for the ARRL, announced that the Midwest Division Convention would be in Sioux City, IA and will probably be held in South Sioux City, NE at the same location as past conventions. I’ll get that information between now and the May 2nd and 3rd date of the event. We were fortunate in Missouri to have the 2007 Midwest Convention here and as expected the 2008 Convention will be held in the northern part of the Division. The Convention in Sioux City is usually a great one, but it will have to be to compare to this years event in Lebanon, MO. Mark your Calendars and let’s have a good turn-out of Missouri Section Amateurs at the 2008 Midwest Division Convention. JANUARY HAMFEST 2008 The Ozark Mountain Hamfest on January 12, 2008 at the Faith Lutheran Church 1517 E Valley Water Mill Road in Springfield, MO is being sponsored by the Ozark Mountain Amateur Radio Group. The Hamfest in addition to many top vendors like Associated Radio, WBØW, will feature demonstrations of Digital modes, a D-Star Station, HF operation, APRS- GPS, Antenna Analyzing and much more. The admission is $5.00 and the event will last from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. For more information call Connie KBØZSG at 417-830-0336. The Northwest MO Winterfest will be held January 19, 2008 at the RAMADA INN in St Joseph, MO. The Winterfest opens it's doors at 7:00 a.m. Admission is three tickets for $7.00 or $4.00 at the door. Tables are $20.00 with electricity limited. Talk in is n 146.850- PL 100 or 444.925- PL 100. For more information contact Roy Burtnett, KA0SIU, by phone 660-446-3589 or 816-387-3758 or e-mail him at [email protected] . The St. Louis and Suburban Radio Club Winterfest 2008 will be in Collinsville, IL on January 26, 2008 at the Gateway Center in Collinsville, IL. To request the same location as last year contact your request must be received before Jan. 1, 2008. You can reserve your tables for $22.00 each or $35.00 each with electricity by sending a check payable to the St. Louis and Suburban Radio Club, Inc at P.O. Box 4096 Hazelwood, MO 63042-0696. For more information send an e-mail to [email protected] or call (314) 504-1104 or (636) 584-8888. AFFILIATED CLUB NEWS KEITH HAYE, WEØG, ACC Individuals in the Kansas City area have an opportunity to take a Ham Radio License Course at the Union Station building at 30 West Pershing Road. The Course is being organized by Brian Short, KCØBS (913-638-7373 or [email protected] . The course is tailored for weather spotters and disaster response teams, but the public is also invited. Mark Widner, Independence (MO) Emergency Manager stressed the importance of effective weather spotters being Amateur Radio Operators. Mike McCrann, WDØGSY, of the St. Charles ARC, reports that again this year the 100 Acre Wood Road Rally will be held near Salem, MO. Amateur Radio Operators provide the majority of the communications for the February 22nd and 23rd event. Positions include sweeping, first aid, medical, wrecker, start, finish, road marshals, and net control. This event is part of Rally Americas sanctioned
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events so it is a national event. We expect close to 60 vehicles. Who ever would like to see amateur radio in the fast lane, please contact mike, wd0gsy at [email protected] for further details. This year Hams will get together on Friday February 22, 2008 at the Holiday Inn for their assignments. The Bootheel Amateur Radio Club, newsletter the QRM reports that Three students from the Kennett Middle School Radio Club sponsored by Robert Gill, KCØGHY passed their Technician exam and looked really excited about joining the “Ham” community. Congratulations go out to Phyllis Piatt, KCØBNY, who received this yearsWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO WBØVAM Ham of the Year award for the BARC. Tom Hammond, NØSS, of the Mid-MO ARC reported that SB NO. 887 had been filed and it regulates the use of wireless telephones while operating motor vehicles and imposes penalties. From reading the bill it does not seem to impact mobile Amateur Radio operation, but it needs to be followed just incase any amendments present a problem. The newest Technician licensed operator is Will Brantley, KDØCMO, of Columbia, MO. SECTION ARES REPORT FOR DECEMBER 2007 DON MOORE, KMØR SEC Total # of ARES members: 718 Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 83 Man hours: 535 Number of public service events this month: 3 Man hours: 27 Number of emergency operations this month: 1 Man hours: 4 Total number of ARES operations this month: 87 Total Man hours: 566 Comments: 5 of 9 districts reporting To view this and other Monthly Section ARES reports go to http://www.ares-mo.org/currentsec.asp SECTION TRAFFIC REPORTS FOR DECEMBER 2007 DALE HUFFINGTON, AEØS, MON-CW Sessions 50 QNI 83 QTC 20 NM K9ZTV MO Phone SessionsWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO 31 QNI 1032 QTC 118 NM KØRWL MESN Sessions 5 QNI 160 QTC 4 NM AEØS Audrain Co AARC Sessions 4 QNI 44 QTC 0 NM KBØKWC Callaway CARL Sessions 4 QNI 42 QTC 0 NM KBØHKN Boone Co Sessions 4 QNI 83 QTC 4 NM WMØH Howell HCARC Sessions 7 QNI 43 QTC 0 NM KØRWL Jackson Co ARES Sessions 4 QNI 56 QTC 0 NM KØUAA Macon Co Sessions 4 QNI 28 QTC 0 NM KØKY Rolla RRARS Sessions 31 QNI 315 QTC 11 NM KB9ZBO St Louis CO ARC Sessions 5 QNI 86 QTC 12 NM KBØH Sullivan ARC Sessions 11 QNI 166 QTC 5 NM KBØROX Taney Co TLARC Sessions 1 QNI 5 QTC 222 NM KBØOFD WAARCI Sessions 5 QNI 115 QTC 0 NM WBØTOM 10th Reg Sessions 60 QNI QTC 125 MO 92% with K9ZTV, NDØN, WØSJS, WØSJS, NM WØSS
New England Division
Connecticut
Today, January 16, 2008 is a special day: it is the ninetieth birthday of Alexander Cohen, W1FXQ of Newington! This issue of the Section News honors Al and all ops in CT who have reached this age; we all benefit from their wisdom and unique perspective on life. Al was born in Hartford and has always lived in this area. In 1932, he and several classmates decided to study for the Amateur license. They practiced CW chatting with each other (in CW of course) going to and from school! At the age of 14, he and other school friends took the FCC exam in Hartford. At that time, the operator’s license and station license were two different documents. Now all of his other friends received both licenses together in December of that year but poor Al only got the operator’s license. It was not until March when he got his station license showing the call W1FXQ! You can imagine how he must have felt, anxiously waiting for that magic piece of paper! Of course, he was able to operate from other stations which he did often when visiting his friends! Just think of it: one document received at age 14 and the final license at age 15. Al operated CW using a transmitter and receiver that he built. His first transmitter was a 171A Hartley oscillator; the receiver was a regenerative receiver which used UX199 tubes; Al built it on an inverted pie pan. He remembers cutting socket holes with a sharp knife and having ruined tubes when a screw driver slipped! Tubes were a dime apiece but tough to come by for a boy his age. But he was successful and spent many hours operating CW during those first few years. He had to wait until he could afford to upgrade his station and operate phone! Al currently holds an Amateur Extra Class license; he was mentored by Fred W1CKV. Al and Phil W1KSC (SK) studied together! He operates an Icom 757 transceiver as well as 2 meter mobile and handheld transceivers. Al enjoys public relations. He
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continually disseminates the news about Section activities both within and outside the Amateur radio community. His most recent article about the NARL Holiday Party was published in the Newington Town Crier. He has served on my cabinet continuously since 1991 as PIC and currently ASM. He said “he wanted to slow down” a few years ago so he resigned his post as PIC and presently is one of our public information officers. I continue to enjoy his unique perspective on various issues and activities. It’s great to have Al on board! Believe me, Al has not slowed down at all. He is presently president of the Nutmeg ChapterWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO of QCWA, handles the PR for NARL, is a member of NARL, GNARC, Middlesex Amateur Radio Society, and the Insurance City Repeater Club. He has served in several community organizations: The Newington Kiwanis Club, American Legion and The Jewish War Veterans to name a few. Mary K1MMH president of NARL, presented Al with a plaque for 75 years as a licensed radio amateur at NARL’s holiday party earlier this month. At this writing, I am inquiring about Al’s ARRL membership; your SM will surely celebrate his many years as a loyal, contributing ARRL member at some occasion in the near future. Al credits Amateur radio for his diverse skills which led to an interesting and varied career. Today, with so many different technologies offered by our service, young people have a terrific opportunity to use their new skills offered by this many-faceted service we know as Amateur radio to motivate and enhance careers. While in high school, Al, like many others, had a paper route. Ah, but his was unique: he repaired radios for his customers! Before finishing high school, he worked part time at The Hartford Times radio station whose call was WTHT. He really wanted a job there fulltimeWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO but he needed the first class radiotelephone license. Again, he studied and was successful! After high school, he worked at Hub Stores on State Street. Hub stores was one of the bigger radio stores after the flood of 1936. People traded radios and it was al’s job to make one good radio out of a few, challenging to say the least. He later worked at WTHT as an engineer and really enjoyed that experience. Radio stations at that time typically had live programs with mayors, governors, poets, philosophers, educators and the like. Al delighted in telling me about the days he worked at the FM transmitter site where he put up a 20 meter dipole and worked 20 meters whenever he could while monitoring the station equipment. Intermixed with his career, Al served in the Air Force as a communicator where he traveled to the Arctic, Okinawa and Africa. Al later worked in sales at WTHT where he became regional sales manager where he learned to write commercials and work with people to solve conflicts. Al said, “the key to solving conflicts is to always look for the good in the other.” Some years later, he and a partner formed a very successful electronic supply company called Signal Electronic Supply. I haven’t included every detail of his career but I’m sure you get the idea—W1FXQ took advantage of opportunities that were afforded him because of his skills he gained as an Amateur Radio operator. Have you met Al’s wife Myra? Well, she’s also amazing—she’s been elected to her eighth term on the Newington Town Council. Congratulations Myra! Al, this really comes from the heart. From all of us in CT, happy birthday and best wishes for many years to come. You can email Al by writing [email protected]. Next month, I’ll tell you about the NARL Holiday Party at which Mary K1MMH was installed as NARL president, where we heard from George Hart, W1NJM by telephone, we enjoyed a fine talk by ARRL CEO Dave Sumnerabout the latest state-of-the-art computer-related technologies being applied by radio amateurs worldwide , and where several exciting awards were presented. And now, I’ll close with an invitation that was distributed by our SEC Brian, K1BRF and comes from Mario Bruno, Senior Director, Preparedness and Response & Information Technology Connecticut State Relations Disaster Liaison: The Charter Oak Chapter of the American Red Cross will be receiving a national Emergency Communications Response Vehicle (ECRV) next week. This vehicle will be the only one with these capabilities in the Northeast at this point, greatly increasing The Red Cross capacity and readiness to respond to large disasters in the area. Two of these vehicles will be in Farmington for a few days as we train twenty responders who will be ready to deploy it during large disasters. This note is an invitation for anyone interested in taking a tour of the vehicle, learning about what it can do and what the Response Technology Team accomplishes during large disasters. Instructors from all over the country will be available to talk about these matters. The vehicles and trainers will be available for anyone interested on Saturday January 19th from noon to 1 pm. Our office is located on 209 Farmington Avenue. Farmington, CT 06032. We are looking forward to seeing you.
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Eastern Massachusetts
Hi Everyone, First of all I want to announce who our "NEW" (ACC) Affliated club Co-ordinator is for E.MA., Chris J Smith, K1CJS of Fall River, MA.. A man who beleives in supporting the operators and clubs, and will bring more control to our section, advising them on proper procedures and stop the go around habits to ARRL, and special interest groups. I am quite sure you all will be hearing from Chris! Recently, I have noticedWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO clubs deleting CW, from their exams. That might be a mistake. I have heard a lot of amateurs prefer to take the CW test, it makes them feel prouder when taking it. I also hope everyone had a good time on ARRL "STRAIGHT KEY NIGHT", Jan 1, 2008. I still enjoy my J-38's & key collection years starting at 1936 to 2008. Good Luck!! To everyone on their upcoming elections and projects for 2008. We must try to be more informed on the issue of license expiration traffic and SILENT KEYS. Please try to keep on top of these issues at all clubs and organizations. It could save "ACUTE EMBARRASEMENT" for all concerned!! Check out the "NEW WINTER SCHEDULE" for W1AW on the ARRL web site. A great job!! By Tom Frenaye "K1KI" our New England ARRL Director at the N.E. DIV. CABINET meeting on Jan. 5th, 08, in Springfield, MA>. There was a decussion about how to attract new amateur's, some suggestions: GREAT IMPUT!! #1 Getting new amateur radio operators on the air quickly is a key to retention #2 Use assigned elmers! My thoughts are the same, but elmers should leave them to theirselves after a short session, so they won't resent the help. Loosen theWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO ties!! #3 Organization, should follow up with the new anateurs in your clubs to keep their interest high. #4 Some clubs offer "FREE" membership. #5 Keep abreast with ARRL, new amateur lists available. #6 Focus all your resources to new amateurs!! Prograns, building equipment, hands on soldering and design for new modes and frequencies. #7 Build a larger base on growth among our youth. HQ supports programs, scholarships, Etc. for school participation, recruit teachers, State and local Police, Fire Dept., Church Groups, Nursing Homes. Intergrate everyone within the community. #8 Active club primer available online or in PFD format. 73 Art Greenberg K1GBX E.MA.SM GOOD AIR WAVES
Rhode Island
Greetings fellow Rhode Islanders: Happy New Year everyone! This should be a good year for HF hams. The opening of sunspot cycle 24 was announced and we should start seeing more openings on 15, 12 and 10 meters even though there are more reports that state Cycle 23 is still demonstrating activity. I don’t think both cycles can exist simultaneously. Regardless, that old triband antenna in the barn can soon be put to full use once more. DX IS! It’s been quite a while since I mentioned the RI call letter registration plates in my report. For anyone wanting to apply for new call letter plates at our wonderful DMV, the experience will be frustrating and probably a failed effort because most DMV clerks don’t know what you’re talking about and others will not know that a call letter plate is NOT a vanity plate and subject to a large extra fee. Since 1958, call plates in RI have been available to Amateurs free of any extra charge beyond your regular registration rate. Further frustration will come if you try to Google for more information. A search on the RI DMV page for ham radio, Amateur call letter or any similar phrase will return nothing. But, make a note of this public law because it really does exist. Go to http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/Statutes/TITLE31/31-3/31-3-39.HTM and make a hard copy of RI General Law 31-3-39. Take it along with a copy of your FCC license when you visit the DMV. Your results will be much more productive. But please do not pay any additional fee, even if the registry clerk tries to collect it. The law states that your call letter plates are issued “upon the payment of the regular registration fee”. It is NOT a vanity plate. From NE Cable news: Lawmakers in both Massachusetts and Rhode Island are presently considering a measure which would ban all cell phone use while in the car. Drivers who talk or text on their phones could be hit with fines or have their (driver’s) licenses suspended. Drivers who use hands-free headsets would exempt from penalties. K3HI, SGL of Massachusetts has advised his section, “While the bill does not explicitly prohibit the use of amateur radios while driving, its definition of "cellular telephone" is rather vague. Hams could easily get tangled
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in this broadly-cast net. It is in our interest to ask the legislature to include an explicit exemption in the law to permit amateur radio operators to use their equipment while driving.” Read further details about this activity at http://www.necn.com/category/1/1389 . RI ARES has been active under Rick K3OQH’s leadership. DECs W1JPZ (south) and W1VH (north) have taken on greater responsibility for administration of their regions and “snow desk” operations held in December and during the January weekend storm that failed to live up to its forecast provided strong baselines to maintain round the clock watches for our stateWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO and regional officials. Thanks especially to K3OQH’s unfailing faith, support of fellow hams and lots of plain hard work; the Amateur radio service has been written into state and metropolitan plans for future planning. The political and military leaders have witnessed how effectively our practice demonstrates what we’ve been stressing concerning “When All Else Fails..Amateur Radio”. It appears that the states leaders now believe that we really can carry the ball down the field. Great work Rick, John, Bill and all ARES members. The grandson of ARRL co-founder Hiram Percy Maxim, W1AW, died at home in Lyme, Connecticut on Saturday, January 12 after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer. Hiram Percy Maxim II -- called HPM just like his grandfather -- was 72. He was not an Amateur but fully realized what an important contribution his family made to the advancement of Amateur Radio. More details may be found at http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/2008-arlx001.html . 2008 is an even numbered year. That means the Boxboro Convention will take place in August. Pat Atwood, NG1G of the CTRI Contest Group has written to all RI club presidents in an effort to promote Boxboro and recruit volunteersWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO to perform various fun jobs at the convention. CTRI club has always taken a leadership role at Boxboro and this year, they’re reaching out to other clubs for help. There are considerable benefits available in return for your help. Please contact Pat at [email protected] if you are interested in learning more. Pat will be making presentations to different RI clubs in the next few months. Also check with your club president to see if Pat will be personally visiting your club. As I was writing this report, I learned of the very sudden and unexpected passing of Rick KB1MLA’s XYL at home in Pawtucket on Jan 14th. She was only 45 years of age and suffered a fatal heart attack. They have a 24 year old son. Our most sincere sympathies, Rick. These sudden events remind us how unpredictable our lives can sometimes be. Try to stay warm until we meet again. Days are getting 2-3 minutes longer every day now. With Cycle 24 starting, Red Sox spring training schedule a little over 40 days from opening and the Pats playing perfect football, we have plenty to keep us warm. Oh, how could I forget? ARRL CW DX Contest is February 16-17, the 160 meter CQ WW Contest is January 26-27 and the ARRL VHF Sweeps are January 19-21. We should have enough reason to spin up our amps and keep the shack nice and warm. Good luck to all. 73, Bob W1YRC
Northwestern Division
Oregon
$250,000 OADN (OREGON ARES DIGITAL NETWORK) GRANT The Governor's remarks about Ham Radio Operators being "the real heroes" are well known and widely disseminated by now; but what you may not know is that the Governor's Special Assistant for Emergency Preparedness spent a lot of time observing things in the OEM ECC (Oregon Emergency Management Emergency Communications Center) and ARU (Amateur Radio Unit) during the flood incident. He was particularly impressed by what he correctly identified as a "digital message" system that was getting hard-copy messages to and from the affected areas on the Coast. More than 170 messages in fact. Vince VanDerHyde, K7VV, gave him a brief overview of the Winlink system, and explained that the equipment was all personally owned by individual hams, and that the availability of it varied greatly by county, with some parts of the state not having any, other parts with some, but only to the extent that one of more local hams or organizations were willing to pay for it and allow its use for disaster purposes. Even the SCS Pactor modem at OEM was paid for by private monies of the ARU, not the State. A few days later he was back asking, "how much money do you need to put one of these systems in every County EOC in the State?" That is how it all started. A group of the ARES/RACES leadership along with OEM staff are working
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on out the details and as more information is available, it will be distributed through the ARES/RACES leadership. I will also post appropriate details on the section website and distribute throughout the section as more information is known. NEW APPOINTMENTS Doug Asay, WS3X, has been appointed as EC (Emergency Coordinator) for Marion County. Doug moves up from his previous position as AEC for Digital Operations in Marion County, where he most recently oversaw a tremendously successful response to the November SET (Simulated Emergency Test). Dean Davis, the previous EC, has moved up to membership WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROin the OEM ARU, where he will oversee the operation of the OEM ARU Digital System, manage the Winlink PMBO station, and supervise the many new Digital initiatives under way at OEM's ARU as AEC for Digital Operations. Dar Rasmussen, KA7GNK, has stepped down as the Curry County EC. The newly appointed EC is Bob Wilkinson, W7VN. Bob is a familiar sight at all the ARES leadership events, along with his wife Lorraine W7RFC. They are also reliable check-ins on the nets. There is also a new EC for Jefferson County, Kermit Kumle, WT7K. Jefferson County has been covered in the recent past by the Deschutes County EC, Drew Holmes, W7GER. Kirby Wheeler, KL7VK, of Jackson County, passed the Official Observer exam and is newly appointed to that position. PIC ACTIVITIES Steve Sanders, KE7JSS, reported attending a regional PIO meeting. He was the only volunteer attending. The Clackamas Fire PIO gave Amateur Radio some very nice plugs and encouraged the others to use us when there own communication systems were down. The meeting concerned itself with formulating a regional method of linking PIO's and establishing a PIO chain of command, as taught by a consultingWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO firm from Boston. He mentioned that the new FEMA ICS 215 did the same thing and asked the consultants if their program was different than FEMA's and if so, how would the two integrate. OREGON STM REPORT JANUARY 2008 Oregon Emergency Net, QNI 4610, QTC 13, N7RBO NET MGR Western Oregon VHF Emergency Net, QNI 458, QTC 32, K7WWB NET MGR ARES District #1 Net, QNI 1228, QTC 30, SESSIONS 28, KC7ZZB NET MGR Oregon ARES Traffic Net, QNI 514, QTC 91, WA7FXF NET MGR Oregon Section Net/1, QNI 186, QTC 65, WS7L NET MGR Oregon Section Net/2, QNI 98, QTC 79, KC7SRL NET MGR Northwest Traffic and Training Net, QNI 424, QTC 125, N7YSS NET MGR Station Activity Report (SAR, Totals) December 2007: N7CM 148, W7IZ 139, W7IG 109, K7EAJ 87, K7PMB 87, N7YSS 70, KC7SRL 52, KD7ZLF 33, W7VSE 31, WS7L 23, KK1A 4 Public Service Honor Roll (PSHR, Totals) December 2007: N7CM 375, K7EAJ 370, W7IG 140, KK7TN 129, N7YSS 110, N7XG 110, KD7ZLF 83, KK1A 81, KD7THV 81, W7VSE 77 ARRL EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS COURSE COMPLETIONS David Warner, KA7IJK, of Clackamas County, and Robert Batcheller, K7RHB, of Malheur County, completed ARRL’s Level I – Introduction to Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course (EC-001). SOUTHWESTERN OREGON ASM REPORT Dan Bissell, W7WVF, the Southwestern Oregon Assistant Section Manager reports that the big challenge to amateur radio this past month has been the weather. Many repeaters and home stations have been damaged and are off the air or have limited capability. Road conditions make it difficult to get to mountain tops and make repairs. In some cases, repairs have been made and the next storm has caused another failure. Repeater operators are doing their best, and are keeping us informed. The City of Bandon proposed new ordinances that would restrict height of any structure to 35 feet. The only exception was that chimneys could go up to 5 feet above a 35 foot structure. Dan attended the hearing held by the planning commission on December 13 and addressed the commission. He took multiple copies of the State law and the Beaverton model ordinances, as well as his statement. The commission apologetically said that they had forgotten about Amateur Radio, recognized its importance in emergency response, instructed staff to add an exemption for amateur radio towers and antennas, and to let him review them. This was briefly reported in the Bandon Newspaper, the "Western World", in their article about the hearing. OO REPORTS Ed Ewell, K7DXV, OOC for the Oregon Section reported a total of 732 hours observing by nine official observers. He is keeping busy working with a wide variety of Amateur Auxiliary/Official Observer issues. Several more individuals have been recommended for the Official Observer appointment and have been sent the materials and exam.
Pacific Division
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East Bay
Monthly Summary I am Jim Latham, AF6AQ, your new East Bay (EB) Section Manager having recently been elected to take over from Ti-Michelle Connelly, NJ6T who decided not to run for re- election. I would like to express my appreciation to Ti-Michele and her entire staff for their service to the Section. I am in the process of reviewing ARRL Field Service Appointments in the EB Section. I have sent an emailWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO or letter to all appointees that I am aware of. Please contact me if you believe you hold an EB Section appointment but have not received an email or letter from me requesting confirmation of your appointment. I am also accepting volunteers, nominations, and/or suggestions for candidates to fill open positions in the Section. The purpose of this monthly summary is to recognize the accomplishments of individual hams and of Amateur Radio related clubs. I need your input so that I can be properly informed and to avoid overlooking the accomplishments of the EB Section. Individuals may send me information at [email protected]. I would like to receive your club newsletters also, if I am not already on the distribution. Congratulations to these new hams: Josh M Libby, KI6NMS, Alameda; John P Murphy, KI6NKR, Moraga; David L Sword, KI6NKH, San Ramon; Nicole M Leonard, KI6NMV, Vallejo; Colin E Little, KI6NKP, Emeryville; David I Zucker, KI6NKL, Emeryville; Brian B Gaetano, KI6NKC, Vacaville Congratulations to these upgrades: David M Strahan, KI6MTB, Alameda; James F Ellis, KI6JQY, Fremont; Timothy E Roberts, KF6BYG, Oakland; Albert P Mossman, KG6VMA,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Oakland; William C Wright, KA0CZW, Emeryville; Per W Brashers, KI6JJS, Oakland Congratulations to Andy Oppel, N6AJO, on his re-election as Vice Director of the Pacific Division. ARCA finished in second place on Field Day operating 3A Battery with a total of 2100 points. Congatulations! ARCA, EBARC, and ORCA are working together to offer a Technician class in Richmond in the spring. This will be a 5 week course followed by a VE session. A three week class on “How to program your HT’ will be presented next and will be able to accommodate existing license holders. They are also planning a General upgrade class and another Technician class to be presented in Alameda. Date, Time and class size details are still to be determined for all of these classes. INFORMATION ABOUT YOU OR YOUR CLUB COULD GO HERE Send your material to me at [email protected].
Nevada
Nevada Section News Summary - See the complete, unedited stories at http://nv.arrl.org. January 12, 2008 - New Hams Net QSY's - The New Hams Net in the Reno area is moving to the Pond Peak repeater 146.76 minus (-) pl 123.0. The New Hams Net meets every Sunday at 1300 hours local. (tnx to Steve KE7HLS for this) January 10, 2008 - ARES Monthly Report for December'07 SEC Summary - Emcommwest 2008 in Reno May 2-4 at Circus Circus in Reno. New chair will be Kevin, KE7BQX, is rolling full steam ahead. Keep up with constant additions of information on the website, www.emcommwest.org. Some exciting things are coming, so check often for updates. Skywarn Recognition Day, was a tremendous success, with all 3 districts well represented. Nice job everyone! We are working on getting a new EC for Pershing County after the first of the year. Section TC Kent, W7AOR now working on putting an IRLP node in Winnemucca, so we will be able to have them on the statewide intercom soon. We used IRLP as well as HF for an informal New Year's Eve Net and nearly all points of the state were heard from. HF conditions were fairly good. All 3 districts were represented on both modes. Thanks Kent for all the hard work on helping us get closer to each other on the air. By the time you read this, it will be January 2008 already, so I hope that everyone had a great Christmas, New Year's and is off to a great year ahead. Thanks again for everyones dedication and hard work. 73 Don Carlson, KQ6FM SEC. SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORT: Glenn Hale, KB7REO, So.DEC: The month was busy with exercises and SKYWARN events. Jeff KC7PK, Gary WA4PDM, Frank KL7IPV, John N7UR and myself participated in SRD 07. We had IRLP, 40M and 20M stations operating from the NWS office in Las Vegas. We had contacted 34 NWS stations. No. Nye Co. Report by Randy KB7TRI, Acting EC was Net Control for 1 Statewide Net. Several members participated in Skywarn
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and ARES weekly nets. So. Nye Co. Report by Jerry KC6ILH Started off with the Red Cross exercise, then we went and did some teaching and radio demonstrating at the local middle school and ended up distributing Christmas baskets and gifts towards the end of the month. Lincoln Co. Report by Lee K7NKH I regret to inform you that Roland (Rolly) Simmons KK7LS became a silent key December 20,2007. Rolly was RACES officer for Lincoln County. Clark County Report by Charlie AA5QJ - Red Cross Flash Flood Exercise was also held on Dec 1. 12 members of CC NV ARES/RACES, coordinated by Jack N8RRL, AECWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Red Cross, provided communications for operations at Disaster Relief Operations Headquarters, 2 shelters and 1 pet shelter, plus Damage Assessment Teams and supply operations. Cal KE6OEH, AEC Salvation Army, led a Salvation Army team in providing meals to 'victims' and workers at all 3 locations from their new Mobile Canteen. Members of So Nye County ARES/RACES provided communications for the EOC and shelters in Pahrump, and were linked to the Las Vegas HQ via VHF/UHF. Vern K0EGA participated in a tabletop exercise on Dec 10, the scenario being New Years Eve operations in Las Vegas, and was attended by local city, county, state and federal agencies. Prior to each CC NV ARES/RACES Monday evening net, a net using a local GMRS repeater is held, taking check-ins from ARES/RACES members with GMRS capability, REACT members, and other locals wishing to participate. There were 44 check-ins in December. The Monday Night net on New Years Eve was kept open into the New Year with Tim W9AYK as net control. There were 22 check-ins throughout the evening. Next meeting: Jan 26. NORTHEAST DISTRICT REPORT: Joe Giraudo - N7JEH NE. DEC TheWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Elko Amateur Radio Club participated in Skywarn Recognition Day 2007. Three HF stations were operated from the Elko NOAA Office under the WX7LKN callsign. The scores are not in yet but overall contacts neared 400! The Saturday HF net is thriving. Propagation continues to improve and several new stations have checked in. No other activities took plce during the month of December. NORTHWEST DISTRICT REPORT: DEC Don Carlson, KQ6FM: As the year draws to a close, we hope that everyone will gear up toward preparation for winter and the storms ahead. Paul Wilcoxen KE7CRZ Churchill County: December was a rather quiet month in Churchill County. On Sunday December 16th, the 145.35 repeater failed so we were forced to use simplex for our net. We will be doing training on programming simplex frequencies for the output of our repeaters. Fortunately the repeater self healed and we suspect that the antenna became ice loaded and caused the problem. Our monthly meeting for January 2008 has been scheduled for 10 A.M., Saturday January 19, 2007 at the Round Table Pizza Restaurant in Fallon. The MOU's for the City of Fallon Police Department and Department of Emergency Management have been submitted to the Emergency Manager and we are awaiting their approval and signatures. Dick Creley, KJ7UK Douglas/Carson City Counties: No major events or callouts to report. Working with Bob Miller, WA6MTY from Washoe County on having a packet training session after the first of the year. Also, much of the upcoming training will be taken on by Otto Tune, KV7J. Monday night nets are conducted at 1830 hrs. on the W7DI/R 147.270+ PL. 123.0. The only exception is the third Monday of the month, the monthly DCART meeting. Bob Miller, WA6MTY Washoe County: Andy KD7ZEV and I took delivery of the 62 Pentium III industrial grade computers that were donated by International Game Technology to the Regional EOC for exclusive use by Washoe County ARES as Packet computers. After several hours of testing we re-configured the computers from Slot Machines to Packet computers then stored them at the REOC. The next project is to obtain keyboards and mice and produce a video to train all of our team in setting up the software for use. Now our entire packet infrastructure will consist of identical computers using the same software. On December 29th Gary Grant K7VY and I coordinated One Day Ham Cram . Over 30 people tested at the end of the day, half tested for the Technician and the other half tested for the General, plus two tested for the Extra Class. Only three people didn t make it. Patty Polish, KE7JIV- Lyon County: We plan on having monthly meetings on the last Monday of the month. The first meeting this year will be January 28th at 7pm at the Silver Stage High School in Silver Springs. The entrance is located by the bus pickup area on the North side of the school. I would like to thank all LCARES members for their enthusiasm and willingness to assist those in need. This makes my job easier. December 30, 2007 - QCWA Outstanding Amateur Radio Operator of the Year - The Quarter Century Wireless Association, Silver State Chapter #190, N7QC presented the Outstanding Amateur Radio Operator of the year at our
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annual Christmas Party on Friday, December 14th to Dale Anderson. KV7S of the Carson Valley. The award was presented by Gary Grant, K7VY, Don Freeman, W7FD, and Larry Oakley, W7AB. If you were licensed 25 or more years ago and wish to join our local chapter drop an email to [email protected]. for an application for the National and local chapters. Our next brunch is Saturday, January 12th, 10 AM at the Black Bear Diner in Reno across from the demolished Park Lane Mall. All amateur radio operators and their guests are invited to attend. Please email [email protected] to confirm. December 26, 2007 - Results from the NV QSO Party 2007 - The Nevada Mustang Roundup 2007 (Nevada QSO Party) was held on May 11 for 24 hours starting at 0000Z. The purpose of the Mustang Roundup is to provide an opportunity for ops everywhere to contact Nevada stations for awards, rig testing or just plain fun. The winners for 2007: Single Op Low Power Nevada N7N Jack Parker, NA7RF Single Op High Power Nevada K7VC Dick Flanagan, Single Op Low Power Out in-state NW7O Jim Frye NW7O, Single Op Low Power DX VE3BLH Betty Huider. - 30-
Pacific
Hurricane season officially ended on November 30. Last months statement that it ended November First was in error; however we are never completely out of danger from storms. As if to emphasize that fact, the earlyWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO December storm had winds that exceeded Hurricane force winds. Sky-warn was activated and there was flood damage, wind damage, high surf and blizzard conditions on the Mountains. Several areas had power outages including an extended outage on Haleakala that took several TV and radio stations off the air. As we came up to the end of 2007, many clubs had and are having elections. Please tell the SM who the new officers of your club are and please update your club webpage. The following clubs have reported so far. Kohala Hamakua Radio Club reported last month. President: Steve Milner, WH6N Norm Cohler, NH7UA, reports light activities in Waimea/Kohala with only 13 ARES related events during December. Big Island ARC reported last month. President: Fred Honnold KH7Y BIARC held their monthly meeting Jan 12 at Puna Congregational Christian Church. The program was Beau Mills, NH7WV, on alternate power with a demonstration of the HELCO van. The $20 annual dues are now payable. The shirt order in now in and QSL cards may be picked up. Thanks Barbara, NH7FY Emergency ARC reported last month. President: Wayne Greenleaf - KH6MEI Marians ARC on Guam reported last month President: Mike Wendt, WH2M Please join the MARC International Net which starts at 7:00 p.m. Monday, Guam time, or 11:00 p.m. Sunday HST which is 0900 Monday UTC. It is on the Club repeater 146.91(-) and on the IRLP Reflector 9254. There is also an Echo-Link bridge to Reflector 9254. Your SM used IRLP on Nov 18 (HST) & Echo-link on Dec16 (HST) and it works fine. Thanks to Carter Davis, KH6FV and Kent Johnson, W7AOR, for setting up the IRLP and Echo-link. MARC had an informal lunch at noon Tuesday Nov 20 Guam time at the VIP House. They had their elections on December 14th at their Christmas Party held at the KSTO studio. Mike Wendt, WH2M, reports that the Marianas ARC was the first club to hold a meeting in 2008. They met on Jan 1 Guam time which is Dec 31st here. In Kailua-Kona KARS had its annual meeting on the 16th of December which was attended by 20 people. The theme was ham for Hams and elections were held. Pres: Roland Spoon, AH6RR; VP: Dewey Proietti, NH6M; Sec/Treas: Van Malan, NH7IT Directors: Stu Johnston, KH6DX; Tom Daniel, AH6KW -Thanks Van, NH7IT Honolulu ARC Pres: John Peters, K1ER; VP: Dan Greeson, KH6P; Sec: John Peters Treasurer: Needed; Directors: Eran Agmon, WH6R; Ted Chernin, KH6GI; Tom Seale, KH6AAA and Lee Wical, KH6BZF Honolulu ARC will hold exams on Saturday, 19th January 2008. Deadline to pre-register is not later than, Thur, 17th January 2008 at 9PM. The time, location and other details will be disclosed at registration. Pre-registration is done by telephone, daily, between 9AM and 9PM so as not to disturb the household. The Oahu telephone number is (808) 247-0587. The next HARC Amateur & Commercial exams will be: January 19 March 15 May 17 July 19 September 20 November 15 Again contact the phone number above by Thur 9PM before each exam for details. -Thanks John Peters, K1ER, President HARC Kauai ARC Pres: Tom Ellis, K4XV; VP: Jerry Hill, KH6HU; Secretary: Dick Olsen, KH6DO; Treasurer: Robert B. Anderson,
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KH6AS; Repeaters: Ron Crown, KH6JI Jerry Hill, KH6HU, reported their January 5, 2008 ham cram and test session on Kauai was very successful. The club planners have separated the island of Kauai into five sections. Each area has a separate simplex frequency and an alternate. The simplex frequencies will be used for local traffic and/or when the repeaters are down. -Thanks Jerry, KH6HU Maui ARC Pres:Bob, N0DQD; VP: Joe, AH6RQ; Sec: Tom, KH7CC; Tres: John, K6GSS 2008 Amateur Radio License Examination Schedule Saturday, April 5, 2008 Saturday, August 2, 2008 Saturday, December 6, 2008 Send e-mail toWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO [email protected] or call Mel, KH6H at 250-5530 and leave a voice mail at least two weeks before the scheduled exam date. Please pay the $14 by check or money order. No Cash please. Maui Ham Swap Meet on Wednesday February 13th starting 7 PM. At the last MARC meeting we decided to have a swap meet at the next meeting. So this is advance notice to bring your goodies, or junk, to the EOC next month. No, we're not going to be as big as the Dayton Hamvention, but it's a start. We'll bring the small stuff into the EOC. The big boat anchors you can leave in the car. -Thanks Bob, N0DQD & Mel, KH6H Koolau ARC Pres: Walt Niemczura, AH6OZ; VP: Kimo Chun, KH7U; Tres: Al Kaopuiki, AH6PT; Sec: Mike Burger, AH7R -Thanks Kimo, KH7U ARRL records show the Molokai ARC has not sent in a report for several years. Merv K9FD/KH6 reports little activity. Any Molokai Hams that is interested in reactivating the club can contact him at 808-552-2349. The HURT 100 is an Ultra Marathon of 100 miles. It will be held January 19th and 20th. The plan is to run four shifts to communicate between the three aid stations located at Paradise Park, Makiki and Nuuanu. Shifts are approximatelyWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO 0600-1600, 1600-0000, 0000-0700 and 0700-1500. CD ARC plans on handling the Paradise Park aid station located in Manoa Valley. There are plans on using some digital communications. Contact Bart Aronoff, WH6AA at [email protected] for more information or to participate. The Great Aloha Run will kick off on President's Day. This is Monday February 19, 2008 at 0700 HST. Route is as usual, from Aloha Tower to Aloha Stadium. Thanks to Wayne Jones, NH6K ARRL HQ reports that with 60 scholarships awarded in 2007, the ARRL Foundation is pleased to announce the addition of two new scholarships for 2008. The scholarship application period runs from October 1, 2007 to February 1, 2008. For more information go to the ARRL Foundation Web site at http://www.arrl.org/arrlf/scholgen. The Pacific Division Director Bob Vallio, W6RGG asked if we will please get as many letters as we can, send to Senator Inouye on directing the FCC to control interference from Broad band over Power Lines (BPL). An example might be; I request that you support passage within the Senate Commerce, Science and Technology Committee, of S. 1629, the “Emergency Amateur Radio Interference Protection Act.” We would like him to sign on as a co-sponsor of the measure. The letter should be sent as soon as possible. Also please send a copy of each letter to: [email protected] and/or [email protected] Senator Inouye's committee position makes his signature very important for any passage of the bill to be possible. Draft copies are available from several sources. If you can not find the draft example copy contact Director Bob Vallio or your SM. It's well done, but each member is free to reword it to his liking, as long as the message is clear. Your SM sent a letter to all four of our Congress people. Warren, KH6WM, is organizing an Intermediate Amateur Radio class at Kaimuki Adult Education expected to go Feb 12 to April 29. There will be a 2 week spring break. Time is 6:30 to 8PM. Emphasis will be on General license preparation so the students are expected to have either a Technician License or equivalent knowledge. Registration January 12 to January 25 at Kaimuki Community School Office on Kaimuki High School campus. Cost is $15 cash tuition plus approximately $20 for the Gordon West General Class manual. Text can be ordered ahead of time from W5YI or ordered at first class. Students must be over 18 years of age. For more information call Kaimuki Community School at 733-8460 or Warren at 487-1863. You may also e-mail to [email protected]. Thank to all those who have helped at recent classes. Warren KH6WM
Sacramento Valley
December Summary Be sure to keep March 8, 2008, open if you are interested in emergency communications. Section Emergency Coordinator, Richard, WO6P, will chair a section emergency response conference on that date at the U.C. Sierra Foothills Research Station near Oregon House in
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Yuba County. Our host will be Yuba/Sutter EC, Art Craigmill, K6ALC, director of the station. We know this is a bit of a drive for many in our section, and are scheduling 8 am-4:30 pm for duration, but the opportunity to compare notes and get the latest ideas in emergency communications is just too good to miss. We invite all Sacramento Valley DEC, EC, AECs to this one day conference. Please contact Richard Cloyd, WO6P, [email protected] , or Ron Murdock, W6KJ, [email protected] if you can attend. Plan to bring a bag lunch. Coffee, tea, soft drinks will be provided. Silent Key report: With great sadness I report the passingWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO of two more active amateurs from our Section. Andrew Jackson Cooper, W6KQK, age 89, of Meadow Vista passed away early on 3 December 2007. He would have been 90 this month. Andrew and his wife of 66 years, Nancy, were both Pearl Harbor survivors. After the Navy, Andrew worked at and became president of an electronics company in Palo Alto, CA. In 1993, Andrew and Nancy returned to the area of his birth (Placerville.) Thomas Seabron Robinson, N6PGK, age 71, passed away 22 December 2007, at his home in Olivehurst, CA. Robby, as he was known, was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi. He married his wife Betty 51 years ago. He served 22 years in the USAF, attaining the rank of Master Sergeant. Robby had been a member of the Yuba Sutter ARC for years, helping in countless community and ham-help projects. He helped me raise or lower my quad at least three times. Robby was an avid ham operator, genealogist, mechanic, roofer, and loving husband, father, grand-father, and great-grandfather. He will be missed by his many friends and a large, loving family. A growing number of clubs are offering ham radio training with heavy emphasis on individual instructors. Fully 35WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO percent of new licensees never get on the air. Many do not renew their licenses at the first ten year point. Trying to reverse this trend takes more than just the dedicated instructors who have been devoting their time to the initial classes. Yuba Sutter ARC is one club trying the intensive method. On January 8 and 10, they will introduce prospective hams to Elmers who will guide them through the first steps in Ham Radio, and stay with them as advisors after that. Call Herb, W6HBU, at 530-674-3648, or Ron, W6KJ, at 530-674-8533 to become a member of this class. Just getting someone through the first license exam can be exhilarating. But keeping them involved and active throughout the first months is the key to a growing ham operator population. Terry Cobb, K6ME, reports that Lassen ARC starts a Ham Cram on January 12. They have room and supplies for 30 students. Call Jack Hembold, K6INM, at 530-253-2889, for more information. The class is free but the examination fee is $14. The examination will be held at 5 pm on the same day. Yolo ARES offers an introduction to Ham Radio on January 26, 2008, at the Woodland Office of the American Red Cross, 120 Court St., Woodland, CA, from 10 am to 12 noon. It will be followed by a March 1st Ham Cram class and examination. A VE exam for all classes will be the next day, Sunday, March 2nd. Contact Gary, WA6TQJ, at 530-756-1413, or Diana, 530-662-4669 ([email protected] ) for details. A new licensed operator’s on the air practice session will follow later in March. Congratulations to the officers elected by Sacramento Valley Section affiliated clubs. You are in positions of leadership, and will in large part determine how our hobby and service grows during the coming year. A good example of leadership these past two years has been Bob McClard, W6OWH, who served as president of the Yuba Sutter ARC. During Bob’s tenure, club membership grew by 20 percent. He has been appointed as Assistant Section Manager. Did you have a great Straight Key Night over New Year’s Eve? If you missed (or slept through) this initial operating event of 2008, there are plenty more on the immediate horizon. January 5-6 is the ARRL RTTY Roundup, Kid’s Day, and the EUCW 160 Meter Contest. January 12-17 look for the North American QSO Party (CW), the DARC 10 meter contest, NAQCC Monthly Straight Key Sprint, the Midwinter Contest—CW/SSB, Worked All Britain Top Band Phone Contest, Hunting Lions in the Air, and the 070 PSKFest. January 19-20 we have the ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes, North American QSO Party, the HA DX Contest, the LZ Open Championship, the International United Teenager Contest, and the UK RTTY DX Contest. January 26-27 brings us the CQ World Wide 160 meter Contest, the BARTG RTTY Sprint, the REF French Contest, UBA Contest-phone, Winter Field Day, the YLISSB QSO Party, and finally, the Classic Exchange on CW. Check pages 98-99 in our January 2008 QST for details. If you know an ARRL member who uses e-mail but who is not registered with ARRL.org for e-mail updates, please ask them to register. All they need is the ARRL membership number which appears above their name on the label of QST. This message, among other timely updates could be in their inbox if they
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register. Many items of member interest news are no longer covered in a timely way by QST magazine. The printing delay inherent with hard copy publications keeps time-sensitive correspondence out of QST. Nearly half of our membership nationwide does not receive e-mail updates. This is too many wasted resources. So, if you can persuade a member to sign up for e-mail, maybe even help them to do so, that will increase our ability to keep everyone up to date on the latest ham radio news. Once again we note the utility of the Sacramento Noon Net on 442.8 MHz, tone 100 Hz. Each day at noon, amateurs with an interest in WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROemergency communications can monitor and check in to this area net which features the latest news from government and non-government agencies, ham radio groups and clubs, and individual stations. The net takes about 10-15 minutes. If you have a question regarding meetings, training, or public service events in the greater Sacramento area, the Sacramento Noon Net is the place to check it out. On VHF, you can link into the net on 146.91 MHz, tone 100 hz. Please do check into one of the two Section Nets on the 2nd Wednesday of each month, January 9 for the first month of 2008. We meet first on the WD6AXM/R machine at 146.085 plus offset, tone 127.3 hz at 1900L. At 1930L, we repeat the net on HF 3.987 MHz. We hope for good conditions, but this is winter, and relay stations are appreciated. If you can join us, I will promise to get all the latest news. Have a happy and prosperous 2008. 73, Ron Murdock, W6KJ, ARRL Sacramento Valley Section Manager San JoaquinWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Valley SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY SECTION Report for the month of December 2007: SM Charles McConnell, W6DPD- ASMs K6YK and N2NS, ACC W6DPD, SEC N6ZFN, OOC N1VM, STM K6RAU, PIC KE6IGJ, TC W6TE. Greetings from the ARRL San Joaquin Valley Section. Thanks to all the ARRL Field Organization Volunteers who make the Field Organization work. The volunteers donate countless hours working to make Amateur Radio better. Keep up the good work in 2008. Special thanks go to Rex Emerson, KE6ZOC, for maintaining the SJV page on pdarrl. Thanks Rex. Keep up the good work in 2008. If you desire your club information and events to be listed in Section News, please send the information to [email protected]. I get very little information. If your club has a newsletter, please send it to me, email to [email protected] or via U.S Mail. Mark your calendars. Radiofest is February 23-24, 2008 in Monterey. Check www.radiofest.org for information. The International DX Convention is April 25-28, 2008 at Visalia. Check http://www.dxconvention.org/ for information. EMCOMM West is May 2-4, 2008 at the Circus Circus in Reno NV. Check www.emcommwest.org for information. Pacificon 2008 is October 17-19, 2008 at the Marriott Hotel in San Ramon CA. Check www.pacificon.org for information When your affiliated club elects officers for the next year, be sure to update your club’s information on the affiliated club area of the ARRL web page so you club will get any information sent from the ARRL Club department. If you fail to update your clubs information for 2 years, your club will be placed in the inactive file. Your club will be notified if the 2-year period is about to take place. Need to take an Amateur exam? Check the ARRL web page, www.arrl.org for exam information. You can also search for Amateur Radio Classes in your area. The Northern California Net (NCN), the Section Traffic Net, meets nightly on 3.533 MHZ at 7 PM Pacific Time. The slow speed training session of the net meets nightly on 3.533 MHZ at 9 PM Pacific Time. Handling traffic on CW is a good way to improve your CW skills. The Daytime Region 6 Traffic Net meets daily at 3:30 pacific time on or near 7.275 MHZ. The California Traffic Net meets daily on 3.906 MHZ and 6:30 PM local time. The noon time net meets on 7.268.5 MHz. This net handles a lot of messages. EMCOMM West for 2008 has moved to the Circus Circus in Reno. The dates are May 2 to 4, 2008. This is an ARRL specialty convention devoted entirely to emergency communications. Information can soon be found at www.emcommwest.org. If you are involved in emergency communications, this is an event you should plan to attend. N6HUH, Robert, K6JAG, Paul, and W6ECP, Ernie are Silent Keys. They will be missed. Oak Tree Radio in Oakdale now has the call sign KD6OAK. The Turlock ARC members provided communications support for the annual Turlock Christmas Parade. The Los Banos ARC members provided communication support for the annual Los Banos Christmas Parade. The Fresno ARC, Amateur Radio Assn of Central CA, Turlock ARC, Central California DX Club, and West Mesa DX and
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Contest Club sent representatives to the pacific Directors meeting on December 1. Where were the rest of the club representatives? Fresno ARC 2008 officers are pres KG6KYU, vp WA6OIB, sec WA6NIF, and treas W6ALE. Check www.w6to.com for information. The Kern County Central Valley ARC 2008 officers are pres N6ZFN, 1st vp WA6KLB, 2nd vp WI6J, sec KD6UQZ, and treas KG6UFB. Check www.w6lie.org for information. The club conducts a road and weather net on the 145,15 MHz repeater with a pl 100 Hz during the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Holiday travel periods. This is a great service for thoseWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO traveling during these weekends. Bakersfield ARA 2008 officers are pres KB6JFL, vp KC6KGH, sec vacant and treas KA6VXC. Check www.w6bar,org for information. WA6HZN, Bart, is the 2008 president of the Western Public Service System, and KG6UCW, Curtis, is a director. The net meets daily on 3.952 MHz at 0230UTC. KC6TTZ, Tim, operated from South America. WS6X, Jim, was first in the 2006 Stew Perry Top Band Distance Challenge search and pounce category. K6PTS, Phil, has qualifies for the Worked All States Award. Congrartulations. Traffic for December: K6RAU 27, W6DPD 0, and W6SX 25. Total 52. PSHR: K6RAU 82 and W6SX 44.
Santa Clara Valley
=Welcome back after the Holiday Season. I visited my daughter and grandson in Maryland. Near them is the www.qth.net and www.qsl.net run by Al Walker, K3TKJ. I’ll have pictures of the visit to his setup and the newWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO 250 foot tower he has put up. Yep 250 feet with rotator at the base. =Bill Ashby, N6FFC, (408) 267-3118, [email protected] is now the new Affiliated Club Coordinator (ACC). Contact him for all club issues and affiliation requests. He was recently in the hospital for the flu and is now home recovering. Thanks for your support, Bill, and get well soon. =Section positions still open include Section Emergency Manager (SEC), Net Manager (NM), and Section Traffic Manager (STM), Public Information Coordinator(PIC) and Public Information Officers (PIO) and several others. Among them are an ASM for Scouting and Youth and several more ASM position to cover the five counties. This is YOUR Section; please consider helping all of us by filling one of these important positions. See http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/org/ for information on the ARRL Field Organization and all appointee positions. =The wiki-based SCV web site on PDARRL.org is up and running. Tom, K1TW, [email protected], is getting the content on both old and new sites up to date. Send him your corrections and get your club access to the wiki. Here's the link: http://www.pdarrl.org/scvsec/index.php. =The FARS/PAARA Banquet is set for January 25, 2008. See http://www.fars.k6ya.org/events/banquet. The Santa Clara Valley Section Convention, RadioFest 2008 is on February 23rd and 24th. See http://www.radiofest.org/. And in Reno, NV, EMCOMMWEST 2008 is officially on for May 2-4, 2008 at the Circus Circus Hotel. =Emergency Communications Class: Emergency Communications Course for Ham Radio & CERT Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2008: 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm. Location TBA (Menlo Park area) COST: FREE! Bring your radio(s) & instruction manuals. Register with Ken Dueker: [email protected]. Sponsored by: Menlo Park Fire Protection District CERT: www.menlofire.org/cert. =New Event Exhibit Materials online ordering form is now available. The ARRL Web page has a new on-line page that enables someone to conveniently place an order (using credit card) for event and exhibit kit materials. The direct Web page link is http://www.arrl.org/brochures/. =Check at www.thunt.org for Fremont’s monthly transmitter hunt. Tons of fun! =The State of Oregon's Office of Emergency Management (OEM) received $250,000 from Governor Ted Kulongoski's Strategic Reserve Fund to further develop and enhance a statewide Amateur Radio digital communications network, announced ARRL Oregon Section Manager Bonnie Altus, AB7ZQ. This grant is the result of the outstanding effort made by Oregon Hams during the wicked weather in November and December. The Section PIC also did an outstanding job getting the word out. See the articles on the ARRL site at http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/01/08/100/ =There are various issues relating to the DMV and Ham Radio. The short answer is NO the cell phone law does NOT apply to Ham Radio and Ham Plates will not have an extra space added. =Santa Clara County ARES/RACES will be hosting an Introduction to Packet class on Saturday, February 2, 2008, from 0900-1200, at the Sheriffs Auditorium, 55 W. Younger Ave, San Jose, CA. To register for this class, go
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to the county web site http://www.scc-ares-races.org, and click on the link labeled "Intro to Packet Radio." =I found these nets listed on the SWOT web site http://www.swotrc.net/index1.html as 2 meter SSB nets in No. CA. Sunday at 8:00P Northern CA. 144.250 W6OMF Larry and Tuesday at 8:00P CA.NO CTYS NORCAL 144.250 KN6NG Tony and a Thursday net too. I listened in on Tuesday and did hear some activity. My vintage IC-706 and discone would not get in at 15 watts. Check here: http://www.swotrc.net/norcal.html. =Boy Scout Hi-Sierra International Rendezvous 2008 will be held August 10-16, 2008.WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO A Ham Radio station will be a feature of this event and operators are needed. This is a unique week-long international encampment at Camp Hi-Sierra. There may be Scouts from England, New Zealand, Japan, Trinidad-Tobago, Ireland, and from other countries. Make new friends as you participate in Mountain Man skills -- black powder rifle, tomahawk throwing, cooking and lots more. For more information please contact Gary Hendra, W6NOE, [email protected] or [email protected]. =The Deadline for ARRL Foundation scholarship applications is February 1, 2008. The Foundation has added four new scholarships for 2008. Up to 60 scholarships will be awarded in May. All the information about the ARRL Scholarships for FCC-licensed radio amateurs, including descriptions, application forms and instructions can be found on the web at www.arrl.org/arrlf/scholgen. William Dale - N2RHV - Santa Clara Valley Section Manager, ARRL mailto:[email protected] RoanokeWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Division North Carolina
DECEMBER NORTH CAROLINA SECTION NEWS TRAFFIC HANDLING TRAINING NET STARTS FEB 3 In early 2007 an ARRL committee released a report on Amateur Radio's response to Hurricane Katrina. One of the issues raised by this "National Emergency Response Planning Committee" was that too few of us are skilled at traffic handling. The aftermath of a disaster is not the time to learn how to send NTS traffic! The North Carolina section and local nets provide daily opportunities for you to practice your traffic handling skills. Another opportunity begins soon. Mark Rappaport, W2EAG will lead a traffic handling training course, the "Carolinas Training Net", which will begin Sunday, Feb 3 at 5pm local time on 3.861MHz. The net will continue every Sunday thereafter until the course is completed. The course will be a good refresher for experienced operators and offer those new to traffic handling a thorough introduction. A training manual for the course has been posted at www.ncarrl.org and certificates will be issued to those who complete the course. Thanks to W2EAG for his hard work on this program. CHANGES AT NC4DP John White, WB2NHQ, Station Manager It was recently announced that Charlotte's Discovery Place will be closing in 2009 for extensive remodeling. The Amateur Radio Education Center, NC4DP, will be off the air, packed up and stored about the first week of 2009. The building will be vacated while construction is being done. Planning is underway to have NC4DP refurbished and back on the air early in 2010. We expect to be moving to an expanded main exhibit floor. Our communications capabilities should remain similar to what we have now, but with improved station visibility and more visitor traffic. We also plan to replace the existing 16 year old feedline. I’ve made a list of requirements so that we can continue to do contests, special events, programs, and ARES drills at NC4DP. There will be lots of details to keep up with during 2008, and lots of dust raised during 2009. Support from the Ham community is very reassuring. With the greater visibility we expect to have in the remodeled museum, I expect that we’ll need even more volunteers to work regular shifts at NC4DP. We'll also have to be more attentive to our station housekeeping, and more innovative in our displays and appearance. I'm already thinking about that Special Event Station on March 6, 2010! Our main purpose is to explain Amateur Radio to our community. My gratification comes when one of “our young visitors” gets interested in radio and the science that comes with it. I get a real kick out of talking with parents and their kids about how Amateur Radio might make a good family project. If you'd like to volunteer at NC4DP, contact John White, WB2NHQ at [email protected]. NORTH CAROLINA QSO PARTY The 2008 NC QSO party will start at noon local time on Sunday, February 24 and run until 10pm. Sponsored by the Forsyth Amateur Radio
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Club, W4NC, the event is one of the most exciting state QSO parties and can be especially fun if you're new to contesting. The power limit is 100W, so you don't need a big amp to compete. The object of the contest is for out of state stations to work as many NC stations in as many NC counties as you possible. Stations within NC try to work as many NC counties, other states, Canadian provinces and DXCC countries. We need as many counties as possible on the air to give folks contest multipliers! Why not make this a special club event? How about working the contest mobile to get more counties on the air? For more informationWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO check out www.w4nc.org. UPCOMING EVENTS Jan 26: Skywarn Spotter Training Class, Shelby - www.ccarsnc.orc Feb 24: NC QSO Party - www.w4nc.org March 2-8: Severe Weather Awareness Week March 8-9: Charlotte Hamfest - www.w4bfb.org April 6: Down East Hamfest, Kinston - www.downeasthamfest.org April 12: Raleigh Hamfest - www.rars.org/hamfest April 12: State ARES meeting, Raleigh April 19: Catawba Valley Hamfest, Morganton - cvhamfest.com May 10: Rockingham County Hamfest, Reidsville - www.rcarc.com May 24: DurHAMfest, Durham - www.dfma.org May 25-31: Hurricane Preparedness Week June 14: Winston-Salem Classic Hamfest - www.w4nc.org June 28-29: ARRL Field Day DECEMBER TRAFFIC KI4YV 200, K4IWW 196, W4LN 150, WA2YBM 119, WA4OBR 94, W3HL 75, W4TTO 72, W4NCD 48, W4FAL 41, KE4AHC 35, W4EHF 32, KD4WAX 18, WX4MMM 16, K8SKX 13, KI4PNL 13, KD4ZPS 8, KI4QHM 7, KR4ZJ 7. DECEMBER PSHR W4DNA 190, W4FAL 130, K4IWW 120, W2EAG 110, W4TTO 110, W4LN 100,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO WA2YBM 95, KI4YV 90. DECEMBER NC ARES MEMBERS: 1,734 South Carolina
Greetings to all Amateur Radio Operators. This is Dr. Jim, N2ZZ with the January 2008 South Carolina Section Manager’s Report! Please remember that the SC Section website can be found at: www.arrl- sc.org/ where my full SM report will be listed as well as up-to-the-date information on Amateur Radio in South Carolina! I enjoyed participating in our first hamfest of 2008 in Greenwood,sponsored by the Greenwood Amateur Radio Society. The hamfest was held on January 12th, and was greeted with great weather, although a bit cold at first! There was a good turnout for the event, and hamfest goers had a vast selection of new and vintage equipment. The ARRL forum was held at noon, and in addition to my report, we had an update from John Crockett KC4YI on the SCHEARTS system, and from Charlie AE4UX, SEC regarding new NIMS forms. Bob K4NJN, ASM6 reported on updates to the Aiken County Emergency Services Trailer as mentioned in my report last month. Thanks to all for a great hamfest! During my discussions with several hams at the Greenwood Hamfest, I was told that Rodney Grim WA7ZIA from ICOM is now living in the greater Charleston area with a strong interest in D*STAR digital systems. I understand he will be giving a forum at the Charleston Hamfest in February. Speaking of the Charleston Hamfest, the 35th annual Charleston Hamfest will be held on February 2nd in the same location as last year, the Exchange Park Fairground, 9850 Hwy 78 in Ladson, SC, Exit 203 off I-26, College Park Road. Talk-in will be via the WA4USN linked repeater system, 146.79- Charleston, 145.250-/PL 123.0 Summerville, and 147.045+ /PL 103.5 St George. This is the South Carolina State Convention! I am happy to report that Dan Henderson N1ND from ARRL HQ will be attending the hamfest! Dan is the Regulatory Services Specialist from ARRL HQ and will give a presentation at the ARRL forum-and for you DX’ers, Dan is a certified ARRL QSL card checker, and will be handling QSL card checking at the ARRL table! John Crockett KC4YI will also be giving a presentation on the SCHEARTS system at the ARRL forum, so be sure to be there! Please make plans to attend the Charleston Hamfest, the South Carolina State Convention! Each month, Brian KR4SP, ACC provides a report about club activities throughout South Carolina. I encourage all to take a look at his report. I also encourage all who write newsletters for their club and/or run club websites to send Brian their monthly information at [email protected]. Brian indicates he is unable to obtain broadband internet coverage at his location, so reviewing changes in club websites is very time consuming. Any help he can receive would be greatly appreciated! If you read Brian’s report, please send him an e-mail thanking him for his efforts! April 7th will mark the 50th anniversary of the South Carolina Sideband Net! Jim WB4DLD Net Manager would like to pass on the following information: April 7, 2008 will be
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the 50th Anniversary of the SC SSB Net. We are planning a very special Net for the 7th which is on Monday. Place this date on your calendar and check-in. On April 5th which is the Saturday prior to the 7th at Noon, we are going to have a meeting in Columbia to celebrate our 50th Anniversary. What we need you to do is let us know if you will be attending. Right now we need to poll you and see what type of facility we will need. Whether it be a Restaurant or a facility with a caterer. Our intentions will be a Dutch Meal at a restaurant or a Catered meal. Expected cost would be limited to about 10 bucks a person. We encourageWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO you to bring your Spouse and include your family if you like or a friend. Give your total count to Jim WB4DLD or Tom WA4VYS as soon as possible if you believe you will attend. Once we have an idea on how many to expect we can firm up our reservations with a meeting place and offer more details. This is a special time for all of our Net Participants and you will not want to miss being there. Please call or send E-Mail to: Jim [email protected] or Tom [email protected] News for the Sandblast Rally comes from Mac K4AVR: The 2008 Sandhills Sandblast will be held Saturday February 9th. Volunteers are needed to provide communications along the course. To volunteer, contact John Eskridge, KD4VIF, at [email protected] or Tommy Hyatt, KD4ZMR, at [email protected]. Volunteers will also need to check in at the net control location in Patrick. T-shirts will be handed out to volunteers here. You need to check in and be at your assigned location at least an hour prior to the start of your race stage. That really means check in at Patrick as soon after 7AM as you can. The race organizers will hold a drawing for a new Icom V-8000 drawn from the names of the hamsWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO participating in the event during the Awards ceremony; you do not need to be present to win. Additional information can be obtained by visiting the website at www.sandblastrally.com. As more hams are volunteering to support hospitals in South Carolina as trained communicators, my local hospital is in need of more amateuradio operators. training classes are currently being offered at rcecable.com. Marc N4UFP, TC brings news that Tyler, KT4XD, was nominated as a Systems Administrator for the Winlink Development Team. He and another gentleman from Missouri were the two selected for this role. This is truly an honor, as this team has received "Honorable Mention" from Congress and the FCC. Anyone interested in knowing more about Winlink can check out the home site for Winlink: www.winlink.org. You will see the contributors at the bottom of the home page. I wish to congratulate Aiken County’s Emergency Management Director KI4DLR on his upgrade to General Class. I am fortunate to be in a county where both EMD directors are hams! That’s it for January! See you next month! December 2007 National Traffic System Report for SC by Mac Heaton N4MEH, STM Net Reports: Net/Check Ins/Traffic/Sessions/Reported By Anderson Radio Club 2M Net/812/34/31/N4MEH; Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Net /2400/33/31/K4SUG; Carolina's Net/237/151/62/W2EAG; Carolina Slow Net/252/25/31/N0SU; Columbia ARC 2 Meter Net/198/0/9/KE4TLC; Grand Strand ARC 2M Net/119/13/12/KI4HEE; Greater Pee Dee 2 Meter Net/707/40/31/K4DTT; Greenwood ARC 2 Meter Net/119/4/4/W4DEW; Greenwood Friendly Net/370/60/30/W4JAK;Lancaster County 2 Meter Net/105/18/11/N4WMB; Oconee 2M Net/273/20/13/N9GSX; SC SSB Net/1541/81/29/WB4DLD; York Co. ARS 2 Meter FM Net/671/2/47/KI4NBA. Station Activity Reports: Station/Sent/Received/Delivered/Originated/Total KA4LRM/0/7/6/0/13; WB4DLD/2/29/3/2/36; N4MEH/7/42/7/2/58. Public Service Honor Roll (Station/Cat1/Cat2/Cat3/Cat4/Cat5/Cat6/Total) KA4LRM/40/13/20/0/0/0/73; N4MEH/40/40/20/0/0/0/100; Have a Great Month!! '73 de Dr. Jim N2ZZ, ARRL Section Manager, South Carolina Section, www.arrl-sc.org.
Virginia
Section Managers Report for December 2007 The month of December was a quite month as we moved through the Christmas and New Years holidays. It is with a sense of sadness that we report the death of Tom Jones, K4JM, on December 7th. Tom was first licensed in 1932 and was active for a 75-year span in Amateur Radio. Tom was one of the founders of the Virginia CW (VN) back in 1947. He was active as a net manager, CW contester, Official Relay Station, ARC president along with many other ham activities. He will be missed all those that knew him. Amateur Radio antenna support structures (towers)
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continue to be a “Hot Button” within the Virginia Section. It appears that some progress is being made in Franklin County and we are hopeful for a reasonable resolution for the difference in state law and the local ordinance. In other counties and cities there is local code in place that allows Amateur Radio antenna support structures to be 50 feet or less. If the antenna support structure exceeds this height then the ham must comply with cell tower type restrictions. Few hams would be able to comply with these restrictions. The good news is that the code of Virginia § 15.2-2293.1 gives us protection from restrictive codes thatWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO restrict towers to less than 75 feet in jurisdictions with high population densities and 200 ft with low population densities. Local county planners are either unaware of the law or have chosen to ignore the Code of Virginia. I have researched many counties on the Internet and have found a number that do not comply with state code. It is important that local clubs and ARES groups go to their local courthouse and research the most current code for their jurisdiction. Sometimes Internet articles are out-of-date. Bring this issue up at you next club meeting and take action to ensure that you are not confronted with a problem when someone applies for a permit to put up a tower. A number of local Skywarn groups are beginning to take advantage of new free software (WXSpots) that is an excellent tool for Skywarn spotters. This software allows for real time spotting and also provides for text messaging and chat room functions. Many spotters supporting the Blacksburg National Weather Service office are using this software extensively. You can download a copy at www.WXSpots.com. Our SEC Henry Wyatt, K4YCR has reported that we are getting in most of the Simulated Emergency Test reports that are dueWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO the last of January. Our SET this year enjoyed strong participation from across the Virginia Section but some jurisdictions that had high rates of activities have yet to report. These SET reports need to be sent to Steve Ewald [email protected] with a copy to Henry Wyatt, K4YCR and your DEC. The Virginia Section congratulates the Portsmouth (PARES) Amateur Radio Emergency Service for being named the “heavy weight” champion of the Portsmouth Citizens Corp. Since 2005 they have supported 44 public service events. During Hurricane Katrina, they sent 5 hams to the gulf coast and provided 505 volunteer hours in providing communications for the community of Cameron Parish Louisiana. Outstanding performance PARES! A recent joint FBI and Marine Corp communications exercise was supported by Gordon Winn, WW4GW EC for Buckingham/Cumberland Counties, our SEC Henry Wyatt, DEC for District 12, Gordon Howell , WA4RTS and repeater owner Brian Justin, WA1ZMS. When WW4GW, Gordon introduced himself to the FBI representative as the ARES EC for Buckingham/Cumberland Counties he was pleased to learn that the FBI had full knowledge of ARES and who we were. This in itself is a real compliment to all the volunteers that have given countless hours to provide a service to others in need. It’s the special moments of recognition like this that let you know that what you are doing is worthwhile and very much appreciated by others. Thanks to all those that went the extra mile for the military and a government served agency in this exercise. Our state ARRL Convention is being held at the Frostfest in Richmond Virginia on Saturday, February 2, 2008. We will have a special forum from 9 am until 10 am. Presentations will be made by Mac Mc Neer, K4YEF Virginia RACES Officer and Dan Sullivan, KO1D. Dan will be presenting the working draft of our Section Emergency Communications Plan and Mac will follow this with a presentation on the working relationship between Amateur Radio and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management(VDEM). We will also have a table for the section at the hamfest. 73 Glen Sage, W4GHS Virginia Section Manager
Rocky Mountain Division
New Mexico
Section News, December, 2007 Albuquerque Winter Tailgate The annual Winter Tailgate will take place January 26, 2008, in the north student parking lot of Del Norte High School in Albuquerque. From the intersection of San Mateo and Montgomery, take San Mateo north to McLeod, go east on McLeod to San Mateo Place, and south on San Mateo Place to the parking lot. The activities start at sunrise and last until around 1 p.m. Entry and tailgating is free, so bring your treasures and have a good time. This
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Tailgate is dependent on weather conditions, as there are no indoor areas available. Remember, this is in January, so dress accordingly. Talk in frequency is 145.330 (negative off-set, 100 Hz tone) and 444.000 (positive off-set, 100 Hz tone. For more detailed information, contact Tom Ellis, K5TEE, at (505) 291- 8122. Upper Rio FM Society, Inc. The situation with the Upper Rio hub building has changed slightly. Yes, the building must be vacated but there has been a change in the eviction date. The Upper Rio Board of Directors is examining the most promising sites for relocation, one at the old Kirtland AFB Officer’s Club on Gibson andWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO the other at an AT&T site at Nine Mile Hill. More information on this will be available from the Upper Rio web site as it becomes available. By the way, you do belong to the Upper Rio don’t you? Your membership helps maintain the system we all use and in many cases depend on for emergency communications. Check out their web site for information about the organization and about joining at www.urfmsi.org. Duke City Hamfest The Duke City Hamfest Board of Directors needs volunteers to fill positions on the board, and to help with the planning and holding of the event. This is your chance to help make this year’s event another success. Contact Mike Pendley, K5ATM, at [email protected] for information on how you can assist. We don’t want to lose this event, so please consider volunteering. Silent Key It is with a deep sense of regret that we report the passing of Warren Frain, K5PPG. Warren was a virtuoso on the electronic organ and enjoyed playing and entertaining people at Field Day and other events. December Net Counts New Mexico Breakfast Club: 1273/140 New Mexico Roadrunner Traffic Net: 931/74 Rusty’s Raiders Net: 699/65 Valencia County ARA Net: 62/15 YuccaWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Net: 782/35 Four Corners Net: 466/39 SCAT Net: 563/21 Caravan Club Net: 70/6 High Desert ARA Net: 47/3 Closing Thought If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments. 73, de KM5FT
Southeastern Division
Georgia
SM: Susan Swiderski, AF4FO; ASM/South GA: Marshall Thigpen, W4IS; ASM/Legal: Jim Altman, W4UCK; ASM/Webmaster: Bob Smith, K4PHE; ASM/Youth Activities: Brittney Hancock, KI4WNY; ASM/Youth Advisor: Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM; ASM/ Scouting: David Pearce,ABØNG; SEC: Jim Cote, N4PJR; STM: Charles Pennington, K4GK; OOC: Mike Swiderski, K4HBI; TC: Jim Worsham, W4KXY; PIC: Norm Schklar,WA4ZXV; SGL: Bill Cherepy, WB4WTN; ACC: Robin Cutshaw, AA4RC www.arrl-ga.org www.gaares.org Greetings, All. It was nice to see a little bit of the white stuff (snow!!!) here last evening. And it was just as nice to see that it's almost gone this morning. That was enough winter for me. This past Saturday was the Gwinnett Amateur Radio Society (GARS) Tech Fest. Tell you what, if you missed it, you missed a fantastic event. LOTS of people there. Our new SE Division Director GREG SARRATT, W4OZK, even made the trip, and like everyone else, he seemed to like what he saw. For the first time, the SE DX Club offered a couple of forums on DX-ing, and both forums were packed. I mean PACKED. SRO. And also for the first time, there was a VE session, and a number of people took advantage of the opportunity. This session was supposed to be offered by the W5YI team of HOWIE GOULD, W9HG, but that dear man became a silent key the week before. Anyone who knew Howie knows that he was a force to be reckoned with. Served as president of the club for three terms in the mid-90's, and under his strong leadership, the club membership soared to over 300. Failure was never an option for him. If he needed volunteers for something, he had no problem with locking the door and saying that no one was leaving until he GOT those volunteers. Know what? He always got 'em, too. For more than 50 years, he was an outspoken active advocate for amateur radio, and a much-respected Air Force MARS member. And he was my friend. He will truly be missed. After Howie became an SK, the Alford Memorial ARC's ARRL VE team led by BOB VARONE, W4ETN, graciously offered to host the VE session at Tech Fest, even though they were already handling another session earlier that morning in another location. Many thanks to Bob and his team for their service. When clubs pull together and help each other like that, it truly makes you proud to belong to the ham community. Tech fest, as always, was a great event. More info on it in the February newsletter. There
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are a lot of unsung heroes in this hobby, but it's time to sing about one of them. (Cue up the music... something nice like "Stardust"...) This man served a term as SM, and became an Assistant SM under SANDY DONAHUE, W4RU, who's now our favorite Director of Vice. He graciously agreed to continue as ASM after I took office, and continues to serve today as our ASM/Legal. That man is JIM ALTMAN, W4UCK. (music should segue to something rousing and patriotic now) He's been instrumental over the years in working with various county and municipal authorities to insure that ordinances governingWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO amateur radio towers and antennas are fair and reasonable. Always goes the extra mile, and always pays attention to the legal details that you or I might overlook. Georgia truly owes him a debt of gratitude. He's been working his magic in the city of Norcross for the past few months, and as a resident of that city, I sincerely thank him for all his efforts. Because of him, looks like the good guys are gonna win again. (that's us!) We're not popping the champagne corks yet, but we got it on ice. Thanks, also, to each ham who has attended all of the city meetings, some of whom stood up and said a few words on behalf of the amateur radio service. It was, to some extent, a team effort, but it was Jim who deserves the accolades. So, thank you, Jim. Coming up on January 26 is our statewide ARES meeting, to be held at the GA Public Service Training Center in Forsyth. ALL are welcome to attend. If you have any interest in emergency communications, that's the place to be. Not an ARES member? Doesn't matter. We'd love to have you RACES members there, too. You can tell us about RACES, and we can learn from each other. In addition to some great presentations, there will also be time set aside for you toWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO share your success stories and problems, and gain insight from some of the other ARES members from around the state. See our www.gaares.org website for additional information. Did you know that you don't have to send your QSL cards off to ARRL HQ to have them checked for awards? We have a great group of volunteers right here in GA who can do that for you. I'll remind you who they all are in the February newsletter, but I do want to CONGRATULATE and welcome our newest awards manager, MIKE WEATHERS, ND4V, who serves that function on behalf of GARS, one of our Special Service Clubs. Does your club offer a VE session? Is the info about your sessions accurate on our www.arrl-ga.org website? People all over the state rely on our website to provide them with accurate information when they're ready to take a test, so please check it to make sure your sessions are included and the info is accurate. (Click on "Exam Sites" at the top of the homepage.) If you need to add your sessions, or make any changes to the information provided, please send that info to our esteemed webmaster BOB SMITH, K4PHE, at [email protected]. Thank you. SILENT KEYS: CHUCK FAIRBROTHER, KA4ARB and HOWIE GOULD, W9HG. Sincere condolences to their families and friends. Both of these fine men will truly be missed. Well, folks, that's about it for now. Until next time, this is AF4FO, signing clear. Take care of yourselves. And each other. 73, Susan QTC December: K8GA-148; K4GK-110; WA4UJC-54; K4BAI-34; WB4BIK-34 +++ No trees were killed in the sending of this message. However, a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced. +++
Southern Florida
Hi Everyone, Happy New Year. May 2008 be happy, healthy and prosperous for you. I have updated some photos and some of the club news on the section page. I hope to complete the update later this week. Please continue to send your lists of new club officers to me and to our Affiliated Club Coordinator, Jeff WA4AW at [email protected]. First, some help wanted ads for public service events: The South Florida Fair runs from Jan.18 thru Feb.3, 2008. The Palm Beach Amateur Radio Council and the Yesteryear Village Radio Club will operate amateur radio displays in Yesteryear Village. Volunteers are needed to meet and greet the fairgoers and to introduce them to the wonderful world of amateur radio and the public service we provide the community. Volunteers will receive a pass to enjoy the fair. Shifts are from 10 AM-2 PM & 2 PM-8 PM. For more info or to sign up, contact Myra, K3PGH at 561 791 0956 or email at [email protected] The Miami Marathon is Sunday Jan. 27, 2008 if you or anyone else you know would like to volunteer, please contact Ben at [email protected] or cell 305-439- 7190. There will be an Ultra Run once again this year around Lake Okeechobee on February 23 and 24, 2008. It will begin from Okee-Tante Park (Where the Kissimmee River enters Lake Okeechobee) and
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will go counter-clockwise around the lake for 116.4 miles before ending where it began. We will need coverage at several points around the lake, and over fairly large distances. Mobile or portable stations work best--especially in areas far from the Okeechobee and Belle Glade repeaters. This is a great emergency exercise and a lot of fun. It does require some stretching of our capabilities from what is normally required in these public service events. Josh Osterman, K4JHI and Tom, KK4TA will be co- chairing the event. If contacting us please email Tom at [email protected] and copy Josh at [email protected] ------ARES and TRAFFIC REPORTS: Total number of ARES members in the 9 counties reporting: 859 ARES nets active: 17 Sessions 59 # with NTS liaison: 6 DECs/ECs reporting: N4LEM, KF4MJJ, WA4ASJ, AI7Q, K4FLC, AD4RZ, N4QPM, AJ4BP Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 66 Person hours 1206 Number of public service events this month: 2 Person hours 195 Total number of ARES operations this month: 68 Total Person hours:1401 SFL ARES Net Report --- QNI 27 QTC 1 Time 33Min. SARs December 2007: KA4FZI 460, KE4CB 129, K4FQU 78, AA4BN 52, KC4TM 20 ------PSHRs for December 2007: KA4FZI 120, K4FQU 114, AA4BN 88, KE4CB 85 ------Bulletin Report from David Smith KE4UEI: Recd 17, Sent 3, Total 20 ------Net Reports NET, ABB, SESS, QNI, QTC, MGR All Florida CW Traffic Net, QFN, 62, 509, 295, AD4DO Florida Amateur SSB Traffic Net, FAST, 31, 239, 63, K4SCL Florida Medium Speed Net, FMSN, 31, 230, 63, AG4RJ/AB4XK Jupiter-Tequesta Repeater Group, JTRG, 5, 49, 11, AG4BV/W4FK Palm Beach CountyWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Ares Net, PBCAN, 8, 76, 20, KG4PFY Saint Lucie Repeater Association, SLRA, 5, 38, 20, KE4UEI Southeast Florida Traffic Net, SEFTN, 31, 636, 57, AG4RJ/AI4GE Southwest Florida Traffic Net, SWFTN, 26, 205, 38, K4FQU Wishing all of you a happy and prosperous 2008. KA4FZI ------On December 24, 2007, Janice R. Scheuerman, WA2YL became a Silent Key. Jan was a special person who was always seen with a smile on her face no matter what problems she faced in life. She served as SFL Traffic Manager for several years. She was an excellent operator and would often work CW from her car. She participated in many amateur radio events including Field Day and for many years operated from the Miss America site at Convention Hall in Atlantic City. She would spend countless hours during Pageant Week, not only working stations around the world but also meeting and greeting the Miss America contestants and encouraging them to send Radiograms back home. Jan was a member of the YLRL (Young Ladies Radio League) and the QCWA (Quarter Century Wireless Assn.). Jan and another YL, NM7M, Mary Brown (SK) were the first all woman DXpedition team. They operated from Nuie Island in the South Pacific. One of her good friends, Tad Burik, K3QC, had this to say about Jan: One day, while at one of our luncheons, she asked me to come to Atlantic City and operate from the special event station at the (Miss America) pageant because they needed operators. The rest is history. She is responsible for some of my best operating memories. For more information about Jan go to her website at: http://www.wa2yl.com/index.html. Jan was a truly remarkable woman and amateur radio operator. She will be missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing her. ------That’s all for now. Please continue to send me information about clubs and local ham activities. Also keep me posted about items that need ARRL attention in your area. Other section volunteers and I cannot help you with these issues after they are settled in a manner that does not please you. Rather than complain that the ARRL does not help let me know early in the game so I can attempt to assist and find resources for you. ARRL is a membership organization and one of the benefits is the Field Organization volunteer group in each section. Till next month, stay safe and stay on the air. 73, Sherri
Southwestern Division
Arizona
ARRL ARIZONA SECTION NEWS January 2008 NEW CALLSIGN After 32 years as WB7NXH, I broke down and applied for a vanity callsign that I really liked. Great news is that I got it. My new callsign is K7DF. Please update your address books to [email protected]. YOUTH AND SCOUTING In
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the last two weeks we were able to introduce 400 Cub Scouts and their parents to Amateur Radio. Amateur Radio was one of 16 activities at the Winter Day Camp at Double V Scout Camp in Tucson. The theme was space and the boys were able to talk on HF and VHF, solder two wires together, put together two snap circuit projects, practice Morse code, learn phonetics, learn about Earth-Moon-Earth communications and learn why astronauts become amateur radio operators. I would like to thank: Lloyd N7GV, Bill N7CHN, Sharon KA9GPY, Jack AD7NK, Gene W0KAD, Bob AD7FP, Ron Gross AD7FV, Tom W1HRO,WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Dee Gross AD7NM, Tom W8TK, Dave KE3HF, Brandon KE7ODY and Tom K7DF for their time making this possible. So far 15 scouts were very interested and wanted to know more. One of the scout leaders wrote it up in his blog at http://www.kr7rk.com/blog.htm His son thought it was the best activity. Jim Fagan KE7IDC Assistant Section Manager (ASM) Youth and Scouting [email protected] SOUTHWESTERN DIVISION CONVENTION 2008 The Southwestern Division Convention is plugging along. We need your support, if you haven't taken the time to register, please do and show your support for the convention and it's dedicated committee members. Check the website regularly to see what's new: www.azhamcom.org Rick Aldom W7STS EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS The Arizona ARES database has been slowly picking up members. We are up to 425 statewide who have added their names to the list. Thank you to all who have registered. The database is the easy part of ARES. It's electronic nuts and bolts. What makes ARES special is the people who volunteer. People with a wide variety of skills and knowledge. People who know how to setup and operate aWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO digital HF station. Those who can link repeaters and those who will work when they haven't had any sleep. That's what ARES is about, and my hat is off to all who volunteer. Please go to: www.az- arrl.org/secure to register for Arizona ARES! www.az-arrl.org/secure Rick Aldom W7STS SEC Arizona SILENT KEYS Ronald G. Reynolds N7WTF passed away Dec. 24, 2007, at his home in Prescott Valley. He was a past president of the Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club. In 2001 he was named Amateur Radio Council of Arizona (ARCA) Ham of the Year. He was very active with ARCA as well as volunteering many hours as the ARRL District Emergency Coordinator of Maricopa County. Ron was also actively involved in public service events (MS 150) and training. NEW HAMS The following Arizona hams just received their FCC license, Congratulations! Douglas Viste KE7PZR, Thomas Traynor KE7PTV, Joshua Hoover KE7PQW, Peter Decker KE7PTY, Rhonda Eastin KE7PTW, Jose Medina KE7PQV, Mario Zepeda KE7PZT, Christopher Dreher KE7PZO, Theodore Donahue AD7QS, Patrick Burke KE7PZP, Steve Lepetich KE7PZN, Tiffany Picquet KE7PZQ, Ronald Zimmerman KE7PZS, William Heilman KE7PTU, James Lyman KE7PQY, Neva Lyman KE7PQX, Max Kartchner KE7PUA, Phillip Warner KE7PTZ, Maria Ngomba KE7PXW, Gregory Allen KE7PXX, David Wilson KE7PXZ, Donnie Kearbey KE7PYJ and Kimberly Smith KE7PYL. HAMFESTS/CONVENTIONS/SPECIAL MEETINGS January 12, 2008 WestFest hosted by the Thunderbird ARC will be held at the Thurderbird School of Global Management at Greenway and 59th Ave in Glendale. The first all indoor hamfest for Arizona. http://www.w7tbc.org January 20-26, 2008 Quartzfest 2008, A gathering of Amateur Radio Operators in RV's near Quartzite Arizona. For more information go to www.quartzfest.org February 15-17, 2008 Yuma HamExpo at the Yuma County Fairgrounds www.yumahamexpo.com March 2008 SpringFest hosted by the Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club, Scottsdale Community College, Chapparel & Hwy 101, Scottsdale, AZ, ARCA Meeting - 11:00 AM April 2008, AARC Hamfest, hosted by the Arizona Amateur Radio Club, DeVry University, Dunlap, Rd, Phoenix, AZ May 2008, CARA Hamfest, hosted by the Cochise Amateur Radio Association, Club Site, Moson Rd, Sierra Vista, AZ ARCA Meeting - 11:00 AM July 18-20, 2008 ARCA/Williams Hamfest hosted by the Amateur Radio Council of Arizona Williams Rodeo Grounds, 800 Rodeo Rd, Williams, AZ www.arca-az.org September 12-14, 2008 ARRL Southwestern Division Convention Mesa AZ Come check us out at www.AzHamCom.org Mesa Convention Center Rick Aldom W7STS 2008 SWD Chair [email protected]. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about ARRL. If your club or group has an activity or event that would be of interest to other hams throughout our section please email me with the specifics. 73, Tom Fagan K7DF ARRL Section Manager Arizona Tucson Arizona (520) 574-1129 [email protected] http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=AZ or http://www.az-arrl.org/
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Santa Barbara
Your Club's Dues are Due Is your club sending its yearly dues ($5) to the ARRL Santa Barbara Section Council of Clubs? The next meeting and Payment of Yearly Dues will be: 10 A.M. February 9, 2008 at the regular location: 10060 Telegraph Road, Ventura, California. See the Council Web site for registration paperwork.< http://www.qsl.net/arrlsb/SBSCC/openletter.html > Here are the minutes from the last meeting ofWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO the council: ------ARRL Santa Barbara Section Council of Clubs - Official Meeting Minutes ARRL Director Addresses Council Meeting Minutes of the regular meeting of the ARRL Santa Barbara Section Council of Clubs that was called to order at 10 A.M., 8-11-07 by the Chairman, Lloyd Oleson, KE6BBP. Other officers present were: Jack Bankson, AD6AD Vice Chairman and Don Milbury, W6YN Secretary/Treasurer As the meeting registration record revealed there were six designated representatives present, and as those persons represented a majority of the seven paid member organizations a quorum was declared. These represent a majority of the active ARRL Santa Barbara Section affiliated clubs. Opening Remarks One elected ARRL official was present: ARRL Division Director, Richard J. Norton, N6AA Two appointed ARRL officials were present: The Section Internet Manager, Jack Bankson, AD6AD, and An Assistant Section Manager, Don Milbury, W6YN Director Norton addressed the group and covered several important subjects: + The Division Convention coming next month in Torrance. http://www.hamcon.org/ + ARRL's challenge to the FCC'sWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Broadband over Power Line (BPL) rules. + ARRL Filing of objection to Ambient's BPL experimental authorization renewal request. + D-Star and other digital technology meeting amateur radio requirements. + New efficiencies as implemented within ARRL obtaining better return for member's dues. + Improved resources available to Amateurs involved in antenna cases. + New ARRL Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager + The newly enhanced DXCC Card Checker program. Dick Norton's e-mail address is [email protected] The Chairman called for any new business from the floor There was considerable discussion from the floor concerning such issues as: - Support to SARC for Santa Maria Swap Fest - JOTA (Jamboree On The Air) - Using the Council mailing list and Web site - ARRL help to clubs - Section site selection for ARRL SW Division Convention - Objectives and vision for future council activities A primary subject of the meeting was the election of officers for the coming year. The current officers were nominated to continue their responsibilities for another year and were confirmed by acclimation. There being no further business at the meeting, Chairman Lloyd Oleson adjourned the meeting. Those in attendance were offered certificates for complementary complete prime rib dinners for two at the Hungry Hunter Restaurant on Harbor Blvd. in Ventura courtesy of the Ventura Radio Club.. The next meeting and Payment of Yearly Dues will be at 10 A.M. on the second Saturday in February at the regular location: 10060 Telegraph Road, Ventura, California. Respectfully submitted, Donald L. Milbury, W6YN, Secretary/Treasurer Attachments (1) ------Santa Barbara Section Council of Clubs List of member clubs with dues payment current thru 2007 ARC at Univ. of Calif., Santa Barbara, W6FRU Rabbit Radio Network, W6RRN San Luis Obispo Emergency Communications Council Seaside Radio Association, W6NE SMRA Emergency Repeater Network, K6SMR (Thru 2010) Ventura County ARC, K6MEP Ventura Radio Club, W6VRC ------List of delinquent clubs with dues unpaid since 2006 Amateur Television Network, W6ATN Estero Radio Club, W6JU Paso Robles ARC, W6LKF Santa Barbara ARC, K6TZ Satellite Amateur Radio Club, W6AB Valley Emergency Radio Association (VERA), K6VER
West Gulf Division
South Texas
January has been a bad month for Silent Keys. January 1: Terry Parker, KC5EFD, who will be missed by all who knew him. On January 12, Ray Miller, W5REC, well known on all the nets. Also James Moehle, N5RSJ, on the same day (January 12). I just got an e-mail from him last Friday night, and they
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found him dead Saturday in his office. Same day as Hiram Percy Maxim II. On January 12, the San Antonio Radio Club Hamfest was honored to have the President of ARARM, Jose Lopez Solis, XE2OZ. ARARM is the national organization supporting amateur radio in Mexico. Also in attendance were Jose Andres, XE2MZQ, State Representative from Nuevo Leon and Luis Carlos Yepiz, XE2NBW, a technical writer for ARARM. They had a good group with them. We had a great time with the group and many pictures were taken. Maybe I can get some to put up on the web site. Those that didn't make the event missed a greatWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO one in the new location, and gas prices didn't seem to make much difference. Nacogdoches Radio Club will be sponsoring a special event station in memory of the Space Shuttle Columbia recovery on Saturday February 2, 2008, starting at 8 AM to 3 PM on frequencies 21.350, 14.250, and 7.250 +/- QRM. February 16 is the Smithville Swapfest. This one is always a great one also. Hope to see you there. Robby, W5SEG, wanted me to let all know that he now has a Packet BBS on 145.09 with NTS traffic and bulletins. Also Telpac for ARES as soon as a cable gets here for his radio. Robby's greatest interest in ham radio has always been in digital communications, and he always does a great job. Winter has finally gotten to South Texas. They said we should have ice tomorrow night. God Bless America and our Troops. Ray N5NAV
WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO
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Section News for January 2008
Atlantic Division Delaware WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Delaware Section Monthly Summary for February, 2008 On January 26th & 28th, 2008, winter field days were held in the Sussex and Kent County Amateur Radio Clubs. Band conditions were poor and both organizations managed fairly good scores. On Tuesday, January 29th, 2008, there was a dinner meeting of emergency communications operators at DEMA in Smyrna, Delaware. We received a presentation from Justin Kates on Communication Corps and the various other communication agencies including the CAP, Coast Guard Auxiliary, and MARS, all who attended the meeting. One of the interesting topics was the classifications of operators. Dave Carpenter, an emergency manager from New Castle County questioned our abilities and where he could put these operators based on their experience and training levels. Currently it is proposed for four classes of operators and different levels of training to obtain each class. This subject will be discussed in more detail at the next emergency coordinators meetings. I am happy to report that Jay Brackin W3NUR has agreed to and been appointed emergencyWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO coordinator for Kent County, Delaware. Although, Jay is a fairly new amateur radio operator, being licensed in 2006 and upgraded to general in March, 2007, he has steadily increased his radio knowledge by participating in exercises and taking additional courses. Jay has passed all three levels of the ARRL emergency courses. Thank you, Jay, for volunteering for this important position. Re: Delaware House of Representatives Bill #291 Doug Rambo KA3KHZ Delaware Section Government Liason has reported that this bill has been withdrawn by Representative Hudson, If enacted would have restricted the use of mobile telecommunications devices in vehicles. On February 16, 2008, there will be a webinar hosted by Atlantic Division Director, Bill Edgar N3LRR from 10 am to about noon. Club officers and emergency coordinator personnel are invited to participate. For more information, visit the Delaware ARRL section website. Upcoming Events: February 16 and 17 ARRL International DX Contest CW February 23 and 24 CQ WW 160 Meter SSB Contest and North American QSO Party RTTY March 1 and 2 ARRL International DX Contest Phone March 29th and 30th – the greater Baltimore Amateur Radio Club will Hamboree and Computerfest be held at the Maryland State Fairgrounds, Timonium. MD. http:www.gbhc.org April 12 - Sussex County Hamfest in Georgetown, Delaware at the Sussex County at Sussex Technical High School. Up comming DEMA Radiological Emergency Preparedness Exercise will hold a dress rehearsal on April 29th between 9 am and 4 pm. The graded exercises will be held on May 20th. After 3 pm. Please mark you calendar.
Southern New Jersey
SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY NEWSLETTER FOR FEBRUARY 2008 SECTION MANAGER, JEAN PRIESTLEY, KA2YKN In a time when so many young people are going down bad paths in their young lives, I ask myself how can we stop all the craziness. One thing we can do is get them interested in the various aspects of our hobby. We can show them how much more interesting a conversation is with someone from another state or another country or someone from the South Seas islands than someone in a stuffy, unsafe chat room where we have no idea who is on the other end of the conversation. The way to do that is to let them see and hear someone in a conversation. The possibilities are only limited to our imagination. For example, 55 Boy Scouts from central New Jersey earned their Radio Merit badges at the David Sarnoff Library in Princeton. Other classes of interest were radio theory, electronics circuits, electrical safety and Amateur Radio They also got the chance to speak to hams across the country and on the Battleship New Jersey. As with any hobby or organization, new blood is needed to keep the organization growing and new ideas are needed to keep things fresh. In the last several months I have
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reported several SKs and today I am reporting that Andrew F Philp, Jr. WA2QOR has been added to the list. Andrew served in the US Air Force during the Korean Conflict and was honorably discharged in 1955. He was employed by Bell Telephone for 30 years and was known to his friends as the “Mayor of Elberon Avenue” in Atlantic City. One of the most important aspects of running a club is money. One major source of money is club dues. With the holidays and all the normal things that we have to think about, we tend to forget about club dues. If you are a member in a club, please check and see if you have paid yours. You canWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO check with your club treasurer. It is important because a club needs to who they can look to in the upcoming year for various activities and where they are financially. The new Amateur Extra class Question Pool has been released. The national Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators has released the new pool of question for the Amateur Extra class license. This pool will become effective for examinations given on or after July 1, 2008 and should be in service until June 30, 2012. The pool, which consists of 741 questions and 12 graphics, can be downloaded from the NCVEC website in Word, PDF for RTF formats. There is a Hamfest coming up on April 5, 2008 and it is hosted by the Ocean Monmouth Amateur Radio Club N2MO. It is a Tailgater Hamfest and the location is Infoage Learning Center, Project Diana Site, Former Camp Evans Complex on Marconi Road in Wall Township New Jersey. Talk-in will be on 145.110(_600, PL127.3). Buyers are $5 per car with free parking. Sellers are $10 per space (outside only). GPS Coordinates N 40 11.70 WO74 03.390. The Gloucester City Amateur Radio Club has activated a 447.775 repeater with an offset and 146.2 PL at 65 watts. AllWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO are welcome to use it but, of course, are asked to observe the same rules that apply to all repeaters. The Camden County SKYWARN Coordinator is looking more people to become active in the Camden County SKYWARN program. Especially needed are New Control Stations. You would be trained before being asked to run any nets. If you have an interest in this, contact Rick Tighe, Coordinator. He can be found on the Camden County SKYWARN Training New 2nd Thursday of the month at 7:30 on the Camden County RACES Repeater 145.895 PL 192.8. This information is for Camden County, but if you are in a different county, check with you local coordinator to see if they are in need of trained people. JSARS Is still holding their testing sessions the third Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm at the Riverwood Recreation Building on Riverwood Drive in Toms River, NJ. For more information call Ed, GENOINO, WA2NDA at 609-693-3729. Holiday City ARC is also still holding their test sessions every other 2nd Saturday from 10am to 12pm, (May, July, Sept, Nov). Sessions are held at the Holiday City South Clubhouse area in meeting room #1 on Mule Road at the corner of Santiago Dr in Toms River. Your contact person is Bill Haldane, AC2F and the phone is 732-240-7064 or [email protected]. When going to any test session, you must have your original license and at least one Xerox copy and original and one copy of any credit sheets you may have. Also bring 2 forms of id. Testing sessions by SJRA are on the 4th Tuesday of each month at the Winslow Senior center. Contact is Mark, K2AX at [email protected] or (609)820-1523. Testing is also available in Atlantic County. The location is at the Canale Training Center at 5033 English Creek Avenue in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. There will be no walk-ins so please call Robert, WA2ARP at 609-338-7038 to register. The sponsor is the Southern Counties Amateur Radio Association (SCARA). Next session is Feb 9th, 9:30 A.M. 96OVERTHEHILLGANG/METRO-COMM .March 1, 9:30 AM (Walk-ins allowed) Contact: MARIE-KATHLEEN STAFFORD (856)881-6777 [email protected] SAINT LUKE'S CHURCH 37 E GRANT ST., WOODSTOWN, NJ 08098 TALK-IN 443.050+PL-156.7 If you haven’t already, please make a note or bookmark the following site:http://www.erh.noaa.gov/phi/skywarn/index.html. The Battleship New Jersey is now on winters as of Jan 1, 2008. The ship will only be open Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Mondays from 10 am to 3pm. On those days the shuttle will be available. Check their website for hours and other information. If your club is thinking about visiting the NJ2BB club station, please be sure to make arrangements ahead of the scheduled date to insure that someone will be there. Just go on our website at www.nj2bb.org for information to schedule a visit. If you have worked NJ2BB and want to send a card, the QSL manager is Margaret Burgess, KB2BRR 150 Schooner Ave, Barnegat, NJ 08005. Please send your cards with an SASE to insure receiving a card in return from NJ2BB. http:// www.nj2bb.org If you have an activity coming up or want to report something that happened, please send a short write up to me and I will put it
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in next month. Please remember that if you work traffic to report it to Dan, K2UL. Traffic report for January. Traffic manager, K2UL, Dan Ostroy SNJ/NNJ Section Net Reports QNI reports NJM 75 N2GJ NJPN 1936 W2CC NJSN 179 K2PB NJN(E) 199 AG2R NJN(L) 180 AG2R (the above nets are dual section nets of both SNJ and NNJ. Liaisons with 2RN) SNJ Local Net Reports JSARS 331 WA2NDA SJTN 17 KB2RTZ Station Activity Reports (SAR) KB2RTZ 105 K2GW 66 AA2SV 36 K2UL 35 WA2CUW 20 WA2NDA 16 W2QOB 4 KC2IYC 1 Public Service Honor Roll (PSHR) K2GW 123 KB2RTZ 110 K2ULWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO 105 N2HQL 75 WA2CUW 70 W2QOB 61 KA2YKN 60 KC2IYC 21 STM reports that the past six years have been posted on the web at http://k2ul.home.att.net/stm_monthly.htm TRAFFIC NEWS: The NJ traffic Handlers award committee honored Gary, K2GW with a Special Recognition certificate for his packet relays and honored KB2RTZ with the W2UEZ Memorial Rookie of the Year Award for 2007. Congratulations
Western Pennsylvania
Our friend the groundhog has seen his shadow and predicted 6 more weeks of winter. At least during that time we have two hamfest to attend and prepare for better weather. The first hamfest will be on February 24 at the Castle Shannon Fire Department Memorial Hall 3600 Library Road (route 88). This is Washfest 2008 and more details are available at http://www.n3sh.org/washfest_2008.htm . I look forward WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.ROto seeing you at the hamfest. The second one will be on March 9 at Greensburg VFD Hose Co. #1 12 McLaughlin Drive. This is the Foothills ARC hamfest. Additional information for this hamfest is available at http://w3lww.org/Hamfest2008.pdf . Plan to attend and support the clubs that sponsor these events. Several appointments have recently been made in the section most of them in the ARES organization. The first appointment is that of Dave Heims, KA3SMF, has been appointed technical coordinator for the section. Also all four districts now have a district emergency coordinator appointed for each region. First appointment is Vic Pears, KX8V, from Mercer county is appointed as DEC of North 1. All reports from emergency coordinators in N-1 should be sent to Vic at [email protected] . Don Cripe, KE3MM, of Beaver County is now the DEC of the south 1 district. All reports from S-1 should be sent to Don at [email protected] . The next appointment is of Jason Bange, KB3PJF, of McKean County. Jason will be responsible for district N-2. Reports for N-2 should be sent to Jason at [email protected] . Finally Drew McGhee, Ka3EJV, will handle the responsibilities of the S-2 district till someone is appointed so that Drew can continue his duties as EC for Blair County. The records we have from HQ shows that we also are in need of emergency coordinators for the following counties: Beaver, Westmoreland, Warren, Somerset, Bedford, Fulton, Cambria, Elk, Cameron and Potter. Individuals interested in these positions or if someone is in the EC position for this county contact me for the appointment. We have found errors in the database before so it is possible you were overlooked. Anyone wanting to be considered for an appointment to one of the counties should go to http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/forms/fsd156.pdf and complete the form, then save the form and email to me at [email protected]. I will review and forward to the appropriate individual. The board of directors has created the position of assistant SEC and Dec. Anyone interested in these positions should also complete the form and email to me. John Szwarc, N3SPW, has volunteered for the position of section emergency coordinator. John can be reached at [email protected]. I want to thank all for their support of the ARES program as well as the NTS program. These two groups must work together to provide emergency communications in times of need. Remember the WPA Phone and Traffic net meets on 3983 KHZ every evening at 5 PM. This time will change back to 6 PM with the time change on March 9. On Saturday February 16 the Atlantic Division sponsored a club webinar to help clubs with ideas and assistance in increasing the membership for the local clubs. Many great ideas were presented by the group of panelists that served as presenters for the webinar. A thank you goes out to everyone that participated in the event. A very special thanks goes to ARRL Membership Manager - Katie Breen W1KRB and ARRL Member Volunteer and Program Department Assistant Manager - Norm Fusaro W3IZ for presenting the programs for the event. More webinar events are being planned to help various programs in the division. Copies of the presentations will be made available at a nominal
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fee from the division in the near future. Looking forward to seeing everyone at upcoming hamfests and club meetings in the near future. I still have some dates available to attend your club function so contact me to schedule a talk at your club event. Also remember that Field Day 2008 is only about 4 months away. It is not too early to begin planning and check out the many items available in the online ARRL catalog at http://www.arrl.org/catalog/ 73 John Rodgers N3MSE W. Pa. Section Manager Central DivisionWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO
Illinois
QST DE KA9QPN From the top... **The insanely see-sawing weather is still at the top of our news this month. The flooding on the Iroquois River is again an issue, according to Roy Eades KA9MZJ. At this time, there is no ham radio involvement, but it's early. Last month, Roy celebrated his appointment as EC of Ford and Iroquois Counties by supervising the ham radio response to the January rise of the river, and accounted himself well according to Pat Ryan KC6VVT, SEC/IL. ------**At the time of this writing, a swath from Arkansas into Alabama was cut by sixty-two confirmed tornadoes. Fifty-nine people are dead, mostly residents of all-too-prevalent manufactured housing. Sadly, by all reliable accounts, the local NWS offices did their jobs in a timely fashion. WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.ROThe victims in the threatened areas either didn't get the warning, made no provisions for or had no shelter, or in some cases did something really dumb, like run out to look at the storm. Where am I going here, you ask? It's spotter training time, and those of us affiliated with SKYWARN groups are planning our sessions (ours is 26 February at 7PM at the Sandwich Opera House Community Room...stop in and get a refresher class if you are in the neighborhood). We all need to take the extra step of planning for our families when we go out. In your pile of radio equipment, is there a working NOAA All-Hazards Radio? Is it out and ready and programmed? Have you identified a shelter area in your home? (No, getting in the car and looking for an overpass is not a good solution!) Does that shelter area have the proper equipment: thick blankets, a working flashlight, and a battery-powered broadcast radio? Do the extra planning and drilling with your family. They will appreciate it. ------**Speaking of training issues, I was thinking of the FEMA NIMS/ICS courses that have become a suggested requirement for working with EMA/ESDA. Wouldn't it be nice if those served agencies adopted the NWS model of training, and prepared/offered a streamlined version of those courses for folks who weren't steeped in the public safety culture? Even a canned train-the-trainer program by FEMA to help the served agencies bring along the volunteers? After all, it is in the served agencies' best interest to help produce assistance that is trained in the necessary skills. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Get informed... **Sadly, we learn of the passing of Jim Heyen WA9FDP from Gillespie IL, right after the posting of last month's News. Not only was he an active operator, building and running the local repeater, but was also active in the County ESDA. Jim was also a long-time vocational educator at Carlinville High School who touched many lives with his direct, hands-on approach. He leaves a big void and will be missed. (via Brad Andrews KB9BPF) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Around the Section... **A lot of us are also 'railfans', railroad enthusiasts, due to the use of radio in rail operations. To indulge that interest, several members of the Chicago Suburban Radio Association took a trip to the Santa Fe Prairie in Hodgkins IL in late December, according to the CSRA newsletter. On the property is a restored caboose, a visitors center, and a possible site for a future CSRA demo. We'll follow this with interest. ------**Gary Auerswald WB9UDJ, EC Lawrence County, reports the following activity: 'Big event for January was the near Hurricane conditions on the evening of 1-28-08. We experienced straight line winds of sustained 60 MPH plus and gusts in the 80 MPH range over our area. We activated our R.A.D.I.O. weather at 1630 and terminated at 1930. We had 10 operators reporting their local conditions to net control who then relayed that to NWS Paducah, KY. We hate to report this but there were two (2) fatalities in our covered
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area, two women, 83 year old Mother and 57 year old Daughter, in their mobile home just north of Poseyville, IN. We made 7 reports to NWS of Hail, heavy rain and extreme winds. We monitored the storm line until it was out of our area in Indiana.' ------**An item by Don Russell W9EIC in the Vermilion County ARA newsletter suggests trying AM as a winter project. That piques my curiousity and sounds like a very relaxing, laid back way to enjoy a QSO. Thanks for the suggestion. ------**The York Radio Club of the WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROwestern suburbs of Chicago held their officers' elections in December; the following slate of candidates was unanimously elected to serve during 2008. President: Joyce Oravec W9JO, Vice President: Dragan Dragojevic NN9L, Secretary: Marv Jelonek KB9ZGR, Treasurer: Jeff Oravec W9JT. Congratulations and good luck! (DE Gehl Entwhistle KB9DVC) ------**The Central Illinois RC has some useful links on lightning protection on their web page. Having had multiple lightning events over my radio career, I urge you to look at lightning protection. It's not an 'if', it's a 'when'. Chances are that you won't save your gear even if you do everything right. You will have a fighting chance of keeping your home from burning down. ------**The Kankakee ARS February meeting topic was severe weather EmComm. It's wise to talk about organization before the lightning and thunder start. ------**After their successful sponsorship of the IL QSO Party, the folks at the Western IL ARC remind us via their newsletter that the ARRL DX Contests are fast approaching.WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO CW version is 16/18 February, with the Phone Contest on 1-3 March. ------**The latest newsletter of the Rockford ARA offers a reminder that the League has some excellent audiovisual material for use as program help and instruction. RARA is using a video on antennas for their next meeting program. Other items can be found here, most of which are downloadable via a broadband connection. There is a lot of good stuff here, ranging from basics of operating to technical issues to public service operating. ------**The DuPage ARC has elected their new officers for 2008. Brian WB9UGX sends 'Congratulations to new incoming Board members for the DuPage Amateur Radio Club (W9DUP). President: Eric K9VIC, VP: Bruce KA9H, Secretary: Brian WB9UGX, Treasurer: Joe: N9SHC, Sergeant at Arms: Pat KC9DKM. The club would like to thank outgoing President John N9HRT, VP Jef KC9GBX, and Treasurer Maureen KB9WVJ for their years of service.' ------**The Six Meter Club of Chicago in their HALO Newsletter reminds us of their Roundtable Net each Tuesday at 2000 on 50.130 MHz USB. The purpose is both social and to increase band activity. There are a lot of shiny new multimode whiz-bang radios out there with 6m sitting in there unused. Why not find something to radiate and join in the club's net? ------**The Peoria Area ARC had a presentation by John Fidler AA9VT on sharing home weather station data via APRS...which is a project long overdue at this QTH. I've posted my data from here at Weather Underground for years, as the provided widget looks purty on my EMA web page. This bears some investigation, along with that back-burner project of converting my unused OnStar unit for APRS use. ------**I'd like to publicly thank the Fox River Radio League for their kind invitation to their Winter Banquet. It was a wonderful time with great company and great food. It was an honor to watch this hard working group reward their own with awards.
Wisconsin
WISCONSIN: SM: Don Michalski, W9IXG, SEC: KB9ENO, STM: K9LGU, SGL: AD9X, OOC: KC9IS, PIC: KB9NUM, TC: K9GDF, BM: WB9NRK, ACC: N9LVS ASMs: K9UTQ, W9DGI, N9VE, KG8CX. ** Regretfully, I am informing you of the passing of these Wisconsin Amateurs: -- Bradley Reeves, N9KXA, 54. -- Dave Miller, NZ9E, formerly K9POX, 67. He published articles for Hints and Kinks and wrote a column in 73 Magazine for several years called "Ham to Ham". -- Jim Burow, KC9EZT, 72. Jim was Emergency Coordinator for Waushara County. ** The Apostle Islands Sled Dog Race Communications support for their checkpoints was a huge success due to the hard work and
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dedication of, Dave W9DJE, Chuck N9CZM, Tim KB9TJI, Dave KC9LJO, Jay KC9GSK, and AJ KC9LPO. ** The Wisconsin QSO Party is coming up next month! March 9, 2008 from 1800Z to 0100Z March 10 (1:00PM CDT to 8:00PM CDT) Note: This is the first day of Daylight Savings Time! Logging software and full rules are given on the WARAC WIQP site: http://www.warac.org/wqp/wqp.htm ** This is the time to prepare for the upcoming storm season. Storm spotter training sessions are available around the state. They are listed on the Wisconsin site http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sectWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO=WI under Amateur Radio Classes and Workshops. Sign up for these free courses! ** If you have an opportunity to give a presentation to the general public about Amateur Radio, there is some material available to you from the ARRL. There is the popular Walter Cronkite 6 minute video on Amateur Radio Today. http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=8861#top Also, I have a very good Power Point presentation for the general public that shows a public service/emergency service angle. It corresponds with the 2007 PR theme on "Ham Radio--Getting the message through for your family and community." If interested, let me know and I can email this 3.6 Mbyte file to you. ** STM Report Wisconsin Section January 2008 FAQ # 78 -- I can't hear the net. Conditions are terrible! What can I do? No, it's not time to throw the big switch, ground the antenna and head for the reruns on TV. Poor conditions have been plaguing us for months and there will be more as we crawl out of the bottom of the sunspot cycle. The Badger Weather Net has to wait until most of the net is over before the band gets decent. The Wisconsin Sideband Net fights the carrier from foreign broadcast only a few cycles off net frequencyWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO (just enough to produce the carrier tone) and a band that might drop out after fifteen minutes of net. The CW nets are crowded into a narrow window trying to avoid QRM, QRN, and extremely long skip -- not to mention the nets that tell us now (after we changed frequency and registered our nets with the ARRL Net Directory) that they've been on that frequency for years, and they're not moving. So what's a good net operator to do? It's possible to learn some important lessons here. No, I'm not making this up. We can use this opportunity to make things better. When a disaster strikes, it may not be at a time of good radio propagation. We should be prepared just as we're learning to be by fighting the bad conditions. The BWN still works very efficiently -- shifting frequency to 3982.5, using a good protocol, relays, and net controls from out of state. The WSBN changes frequency to its alternate, 3982.5, or elsewhere as the NCS may direct when foreign broadcast interferes. The CW nets strain to hear, use filters, relay for each other, and sometimes QSY to two meters to pass traffic. If 3555 KHz is busy, look for the CW nets up 1 KHz. The point is, our sections nets are still working. True, it's a battle, but we're learning some important skills along the way. Keep trying. Keep those relays coming. And, by the way, any ARRL member who handles traffic on our section nets is eligible for appointment as an Official Relay Station. Contact me for details or an application. 73 -- K9LGU/ STM - - WI MONTHLY NET ACTIVITY SUMMARY NET QNI QTC QTR SSNS NM BWN 2270 3145 6138 31 W9IXG BEN 573 76 1231 31 WD9FLJ WSBN 581 54 825 30 K9FHI WNN 135 4 278 23 KB9ROB WSSN 92 16 218 28 N9JIY WIN/E 100 22 224 29 WB9ICH WIN/L 123 57 294 30 W9UW WRACES 66 0 111 4 N9VAO TOTALS 3940 3374 9319 206 MWCRN 235 87 598 4 WA9ZTY ** It was a pleasure to see many of you at the WARAC hamfest! There are more coming up in March, including AES Superfest, so please stop by the ARRL table for an eyeball QSO and free material to help you in your hobby! 73, Don W9IXG
Dakota Division
Minnesota
ARRL MINNESOTA SECTION SUMMARY FOR JANUARY 2008 SUMMARY FROM SM ++ The MN section OOC, TC, ARES and Traffic summaries are enclosed below. ++ See the ARRL Section web site for up-to-date information and bulletins. ++ Go to the section website at http://www.mn-section.com for other news. ++ Antenna work is now complete on Dakota County H&W station but ARES net start- up is still delayed until further notice. EMI problems have been rectified at this site so receivers now can operate normally. ++ A major ham radio event is planned for August 8-10 in Rochester. This will be a
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Dakota Division Convention and DX conference combined. Stay tuned. ++ Have you any local stories for the section news? Please send to me. ++ Please send me your plans for future Amateur Radio Classes. Respectfully submitted by Skip Jackson, KS0J, MN SM MN OOC & TC REPORT SUMMARY FOR JANUARY 2008 OO reports received from WB6AMY, KB0OHI, N0OH, WO0A and W3FAF. No Technical activity to report in January. Respectfully submitted by John H. Thomas III, W3FAF, MN OOC MN SEC REPORT SUMMARY FOR JANUARY 2008 Total number of ARES members reported:WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO 232 Change since last month: (incomplete report) County EC’s reporting: Carver (KBØCQ), Cook (KBØBDN), Itasca (KGØFD), Lac Qui Parle (KCØQED), Murray (KCØYKX), Redwood (KAØISD), Scott (NØBHC), St. Louis-North (WDØGUF), St. Louis-South (KBØLC), Sherburne (NØJHU), Steele (NØUW), Washington (ABØXE), Local Net Names: Anoka County ARES Net, CCART, River Valley, SEMARC, Scott County, Chisago County, Carver County, Washington County, Fox Valley Monday Night Net, Lac Qui Parle Phone, Lac Qui Parle Packet, Mankato Area Radio Club Emergency Services Net, Marshall Area Emergency Net, Redwood County, Wadena Area Ham Net, Northern Lakes Radio, NE MN Public Service, SE St. Louis Emergency Service, Dakota County ARES, Scott County ARES Total sessions: 84 NTS liaison is maintained with the MN Section, Tenth Region, and NTSD Traffic Nets by NØUC, WØLAW Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 98 Person hours: 368 Number of public service events this month: 5 Person hours: 359 Number of emergency operations this month: 0 Person hours: 0 Total number of ARES operations this month: 103WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Total Person hours: 727 RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, MN SEC MN STM SUMMARY FOR JANUARY 2008 NET FREQ TIME QNI/QTC/SESS MGR ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ MSPN/E 3860 5:30 P WO0A MSPN/N 3860 12 P K0BLR MSN/1 3605 6:30 P K0WPK MSN/2 3605 9:50 P K0WPK PAW 3925 9A-11AM 1500-1700 KA0IZA MONTHLY STATION ACTIVITY REPORTS (SAR) STATION ORIG. REC'D. SENT DLVD. TOTAL BPL NO.OPS. W0LAW 0 81 93 6 180 W3FAF 0 41 50 0 91 KB0AII 0 15 46 0 51 K0WPK 0 63 19 0 82 K0BLR 9 30 10 12 40 KA0IZA 0 27 5 0 32 KB0AIJ 0 15 15 0 30 KA0RMP 0 14 10 5 30 N0KCM 4 6 4 6 20 WD0GUF 0 5 5 0 10 N0JP 0 1 5 1 7 ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~ PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) STATION 1 2 3 4 5 6 TOTAL ~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~ W0LAW 40 40 20 20 120 K0BLR 40 40 10 10 100 WD0GUF 40 10 30 80 SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER MONTLY REPORT NET ABBR. SESS. TFC. NMCALL NTS LIASON ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ MINNESOTA SECTION MSPN/E WO0A MSPN/E C/2 PHONE/NET EVENING 1,508 31 22 1730 LOCAL MINNESOTA SECTION MSPN/N K0BLR PHONE NET/NOON 1200 NOON 778 31 84 MINNESOTA SECTION MSN/1 K0WPK RN-10, C4 NET (CW) 6:30P 156 29 9 MINNESOTA SECTION MSN/2 K0WPK RN-10, C4 NET CW 2150 30 16 2 NET (CW) 10:00P PICONET ALLDAY PAW PICO NET ALL DAY WATCH 4,287 94 57 KA0IZA RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Robert Meyer, W0LAW, MN STM
North Dakota
NORTH DAKOTA: SM, Kent Olson, KAØLDG - Yes, that pesky groundhog predicted another six weeks of winter. No problem for us North Dakotans though, as I know you are keeping busy with Amateur Radio. The TRARC of Dickinson, is planning a Special Event Station on May 31st. It will be to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the North Unit of the Teddy Roosevelt National Park. This should be a great event, and I invite all to try and contact them. License classes have been held around the state, and we now have a bunch of new hams out there. Let’s not forget them. It seems that a lot of hams are excited to get their ticket, then fade away. I encourage all the clubs who teach these classes to follow up with the students and keep them involved - welcome them and get to know them. An Elmer or Mentor program comes to mind. There’s no better way to grow your club by getting and keeping the new hams involved. I hope to see you at a hamfest near you - stop by, say hi, and visit. Upcoming hamfests: Bismarck, February 23rd, Fargo, April 26th. Section's web site: http://home.earthlink.net/~qtipf16/. HF NM K8BBM net reports for January: Weather Net: 54/1090/7. Data Net: 41/760/9. Goose River Net: 4/49/1. For the rest of the winter, there will be an early Data Net at 5PM central time in addition to the
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regular time at 6:30 PM central time. There will be an eyeball NCS meeting with Dave, K8BBM, at 10:30 at the Bismarck Hamfest.
South Dakota
Here is the section news for South Dakota, if there are any clubs that have material that they wish to have posted pleaseWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO email me the information no later than the 5th of the month so that I can get it posted to both the summary and the web site before the cut off date. HOT SPRINGS AMTEUR RADIO CLUB We held our annual Christmas/ Valentines supper on Feb. 2. There were 43 in attendance that came from Scottsbluff, NE to Sturgis. Bill, KC0WIC, was awarded his "First Contact" certificate. Glen, KA0SIN, received the "Old Timers Club" award and Josh, KC0WIA, was honored with the "Field Day Muscle" award. John, KC0WIB, presented a super video that he produced of our 2006 Field Day. Everyone had a great time. K0OR is starting a new Technician license class. There are at least 7 in the class, with a majority of the group being school age youngsters. Stay tuned! 73 K0OR Tim Hub Area Radio Klub A very good program was presented by WD0HWL Ron on pl 259,s and rg8 coax. Rolly brought up communications for CERT and ham radio operators: volunteers Randy Imberi-Rich Kezar Adjourn Rolly/Randy K PIERRE AMATEUR RADIO CLUB President’s Time: 1) WBØRJH, President Greg Hall thanked Jim W for his help with the State. 2) He also thanked Jim Z for his help on the backgroundWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO work on many items and for taking nets when others were not available. 3) He indicated that help is needed in running the Link Net and encouraged others to help out. Activities: Islands On The Air (IOTA) awarded La Framboise Island to a ham from New Mexico. We will look into activating more islands in the area. $400 was paid for the electric bill for the Reliance repeater. This was paid by Eldon from funds received from the Medicine Butte repeater organization. There is about $500 left in this fund. No electric payment has been made for the Murdo tower. The Snake Butte digi will be moved to Phillip. It is duplicating the service of the Grasslands digi and will be of more use at Phillip. Old Business: KDØS and WØRTD are our representatives at the DARN meeting on Saturday January 12, 2008 to be held at Pizza Ranch in Ft. Pierre. Everyone is invited to attend. New Business: Dave and Mark are interested in setting up a ham club in the Mission area. They want to know when we will have a test session. Jim Hammond has had bypass surgery. The club sends him our best wishes for a speedy recovery. Greg H brought up the subject of CERTS. The club and members needs to decide if we wish to become certified. Meeting adjourned at 9:01 p. m. Minutes recorded and submitted by AAØLY. NORTHERN HILLS AMATEUR RADIO CLUB The regular monthly meeting of the Northern Hills ARC was held on Friday, 25 January 2008 at the Sturgis Firehall. The meeting was called to order by President Gene McPherson at 7:30 pm with 15 members and guests Scott Rausch reminded members of the ARES planning meeting to be held in Hermosa on Sunday 03 February and encouraged all members to attend who are interested in emergency preparedness or participating in this summer’s public service events. An agenda for the meeting was previously emailed out by Jerry Hawley and Frank Shaw. Scott Rausch represented the club at the Dakota Amateur Radio Network (DARN) meeting held in Pierre on 12 January. Highlights of the DARN meeting were: discussion of the constitution and by-laws, establishment of a committee to write a state wide emergency plan, and a tour of the new communications facility. Scott Rausch announced that the several area hams have volunteered to organize Boy Scout merit badge classes in Rapid City on 7 & 8 March: - Chris Stallkamp: Electronics - Ken Kjar: Electricity - Scott Rausch: Radio Other possible merit badge classes to be hosted by area hams have not been firmed up as yet: - Energy - Chemistry - Nuclear Science - Medicine Scott Rausch reviewed the public service events for 2008. Chuck Palmer, Jack Brand, and Scott met earlier in January with the intent of reducing the number of events (from 15 to 9). Chuck contacted the event managers and confirmed our participation and passed along our regrets for the events we proposed not to support. Chris Stallkamp reported that the 9:00pm 2 meter net is continuing in fine shape, with the number of check-ins about 20 per session. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:15 pm. Bob Streich gave a presentation on Red Cross frequency allocations and the status of the Rapid City Red Cross communications system. Scott Rausch Scribe for the Evening
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Delta Division
Louisiana
LOUISIANA SECTION NEWS – JANUARY 2008 The 2008 Delta DX Association officers are N5KGV, President; AE5RN, Vice President; W5ZE, Secretary; and N5VN, Treasurer. The 2008 club officers for the AcadianaWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Amateur Radio Association are KI5XP, President; WA6MDI, Vice President; N5MLJ, Secretary; and N5YCS, Treasurer. This year's officers for the Washington Amateur Radio Club are KE5KMC, President; KE5PWL, Vice President; and KD5UUQ, Secretary/Treasurer. KE5FYR reports that his XYL (KE5FYS) just received her Worked All States Award. WA5KBH recently received his VUCC-Satellite Award for working 100 grids using the various hamsats. (George reports that his XYL is usually his logger!) Congratulations, KE5FYS and WA5KBH, for achieving these major milestone ARRL operating awards. The dates for the ARRL 2008 Teachers Institute have been announced. This year six four-day expenses-paid sessions are scheduled, offering 72 teachers (12 teachers per session) the opportunity to explore wireless technology basics, teaching basic concepts of microcontrollers and robotics, bringing space technology into the classroom, and more. The application deadline is May 15; applicants must be an active teacher at the elementary, middle, or high school level, or they must hold a leadership position in an enrichment or after-school program. A ham license is not required.WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Visit the ARRL Teachers Institute at http://www.arrl.org/FandES/tbp/ti.html for more details and please encourage any teachers you know who might be interested in this program. The rules and forms for Field Day are now available from the ARRL Web site. There are several rules changes this year, mainly concerned with "Get on the Air" (GOTA) stations and the elimination of the Demonstration Mode Bonus Category. More information is available at www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/02/08/101/? nc=1 and a full 2008 Field Day page will be posted on the League Web site very soon. In preparation for his new duties as LA Section Manager on April 1, K5GLS has decided to step down now from his Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC) position in favor of AI5B. Jim has been serving as the Southeast LA District Emergency Coordinator (DEC) and I know he will do a great job as the new LA SEC working under Gary. I am also happy to announce that WB5TUG has been appointed Assistant DEC for Southwest LA and AD5XJ is a new Technical Specialist. The LA Section welcomes the following new hams: Maryann Jones KE5RSY, James Roberts KE5RUM, Shirley Youngblood KE5RXH, Josh Bates KE5RXI, Elijah Young KE5RXM, Floyd Mire KE5SBJ, Spencer Parnell KE5RZB, Franklin Skiles KE5RYZ, Russell Landesman KE5RZA, Benjamin Argeanton KE5RYX, Kellie Argeanton KE5RYY, Carl Duhon KE5SAE, Christopher Mancuso KE5SAC, James Magin KE5SAD, Jeff Larsen KE5SFZ, James Swayze KE5SCK, Donald Kimbell KE5SJN, John Abernathy KE5SJM, and Timothy Bird KE5SBI. I am very sorry to report that KA5STZ, N5OUN, and W5TUD are now Silent Keys. Upcoming LA hamfests include the 2008 LA State Convention/AARA Hamfest in Rayne on March 21- 22 and the Northeast LA Regional/TCHC Hamfest in Monroe on April 26. Note that the Monroe Hamfest has been moved from its traditional date in November! Traffic totals: N5NVP 95, WC5M 87, K5MC 63, N5KWB 54, AE5V 8, KB5SDU 1. Public Service Honor Roll: W5PY 124, N5KWB 116, N5NVP 110, K5MC 110, WC5M 95, W5HUD 60, AE5V 52, KB5SDU 51, N5MEL 32. Section net reports: sessions/check-ins/messages handled. Louisiana Traffic Net: 31/710/30. Louisiana CW Net: 62/348/102. Louisiana Slow Net: 9/38/18. Louisiana ARES Net: 4/83/0. Local/district net reports: sessions/check-ins. Allen Parish ARES Net: 5/5. Ascension Parish ARES Net: 4/129. Calcasieu Parish ARES Net: 1/6. Cameron Parish ARES Net: 1/1. East Baton Rouge Parish ARES Net: 4/45. Orleans Parish ARES Net: 3/20. Ouachita Parish ARES Net: 4/71. Rapides Parish ARES Net: 4/48. Richland Parish ARES Net: 4/44. St. Mary Parish ARES Net: 4/28. Tangipahoa Parish ARES Net: 4/80. Terrebonne Parish ARES Net: 5/5. Union Parish ARES Net: 4/39. Vermillion Parish ARES Net: 5/35. Vernon Parish ARES Net: 9/270. Washington Parish ARES Net: 4/48. ARES reports: parish/EC. Acadia/N5NVP, Allen/W5ELM, Ascension/KD5NVE, Avoyelles/KD5IGG, Beauregard/W5MVP, Calcasieu/KC5FGO, Caldwell/KD5ETB, Cameron/W5JFW, Claiborne/KD5JJP, East Baton Rouge/N5ULA, Franklin/N5ASA, Jefferson Davis/K5WNV, Livingston/W5RR, Morehouse/KB5SAR,
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Orleans/NO5FD, Ouachita/W5DSG, Plaquemines/AI5B, Rapides/KD5DFL, Red River/KD5IUZ, Richland/N5MEL, St. Bernard/AI5B, St. John/AI5B, St. Mary/KA5LMZ, St. Tammany/N5PSL, Tangipahoa/KD5PKS, Terrebonne/AD5XJ, Union/KA5JNL, Vermillion/KE5JXC, Vernon/W5JZQ, Washington/AI5B. ACC report: N5NVP. PIO report: KE5DJA. 73, Mickey Cox K5MC LA Section Manager Email: [email protected] LA Section Website: http://www.laarrl.org/ Mississippi WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Thanks to the Jackson ARC for hosting another great Capital City Hamfest at the Trade Mart in Jackson. Chairman K5XU reports an attendance of 1,101. Mike gratefully acknowledges the assistance of WM5A, K5BLL, K5CID, W5GEJ, N5GT, KE5IMJ, AK5J, KD5JPB, KE5JKD, K5KKD, KC5LK, KE5MDF, KD5NHJ, N5OH, KC5OSM, KE5PTL, W5RUE, K5RWB, W5SGJ, KA5TJW, K5TMA, WB5TTE, N3TZJ, K5VU, AB5WF, AB5XR, W5XX, N5XXX as well as Paula Drake, Jo Ann Jones, Griffin Sekul, Annie Spencer, Cheryl Waltman, and Marianna White. W5JDX has already completed the editing of AmateurLogic.TV Episode 19 featuring the Capital City Hamfest. Episode 19 is now available for download and viewing at www.amateurlogic.tv. There has always been some question as to how far back the Capitol City Hamfest goes. W4PQW from Pensacola sent K5XU an email after the Hamfest saying that he attended his first Hamfest at the Hotel Heidelberg in 1948! DEC KD5FUO reports thatWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO ARES activated on the afternoon of January 10 following an EF3 tornado hitting Caledonia, Mississippi. The tornado caused major damage to the town of 1000 people; an elementary school gymnasium was severely damaged. The Lowndes County Emergency Operations Center activated area storm spotters in advance of the approaching storm. Hams assigned to the EOC activated the station there and started to gather information on the weather. After the storm passed, EOC personnel requested assistance from radio operators to help with reports of major damage to homes and buildings in the town. The EOC set up a command post at the fire station downtown and asked members of ARES to provide communication between the EOC and Red Cross. The Red Cross had set up a shelter at a local church not too far from the affected area where local hams set up portable lights and generators. Hams maintained communication until 7 PM local time. Members of the Monroe County Amateur Radio Club set up their portable repeater for a secondary emergency contact frequency. The Hattiesburg ARC Emergency Net was activated January 31 at 3:45 PM in response to a rapidly intensifying weather system moving into Southeast Mississippi from southwest to northeast. Reports of local flooding, hail, power outages, and traffic hazards were passed on the Net. The most significant severe weather events were damage to structures and the closing of Southbound I -59 with trees down from a possible tornado between Hattiesburg and Purvis. Rain which lead to more flooding continued until 7 PM. Stations participating in net operation included W5TUT, KD5XG, AG5Z, K6OJN, KE5JPH, K5TLL, N5CFN, K5YVA, N5LRQ, KB5VE, KE5AJI, KC5TYL, N5SP, KD5WCR, KD4NUE, KE5IUJ, KE5JJE, KC5MNM, KB5EKW, KE5MSW, KD5GGL, K5MIQ, KD5NOI, N4FF, and W4KGJ. A severe tornadic storm event broke out in the Middle Mississippi Valley on February 4. Marshall County EC KB0ZTX reports that the SKYWARN Net was broughtup a bit after 4:00 PM Tuesday as the first thunderstorm warnings were being issued for the area. The warnings were quickly elevated to a tornado warning. Spotters reporting in the immediate area observed the first touchdowns that occurred which were destroying buildings in Southaven. Operators in the field were the first on scene and were applying their CERT training, calling out for potential victims in the damage. At the same time they were relaying information on to the NWS in Memphis and deploying emergency resources to thedamaged areas. This rapid response got help out fast and helped get the warnings into Shelby County before the storm crossed the border. KB0ZTX further reports that hams continued to supply storm and damage reports throughout the evening into Wednesday morning, and also helped with logistics and welfare aid in the areas stricken by the tornado. They maintained the net for approximately 8 hours as more severe weather entered the region. Those Hams participating were AC5JB, K4MPG, K5OMC, KA5JNK, KA5WGF, KA5WX, KB0ZTX, KB5LJE, KC5YYW, KD4OFA, KD5NDS, KD5VMV, KE4GYV, KE5BVL, KE5BXL, KE5EOR, KE5EOS, KE5FUL, KE5JIX, KE5MFV, KE5MXY, KE5NBC, KE5NBD,
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KE5OPL, KE5RHM, KI4OGX, N5PYQ, N5UOV, W5DFD, W5KK, W5LJD, W5SSR, W9IK, WA4PTD, WB5VHX, and WD5EED. Lee County EC K5TV reports that the Lee County EOC now has a Ham Station ready for service. This project was headed up by KD5RTF and other members of the Tupelo ARC including AD5YB, WB4VYB, KJ5JR, W5LMW, KB5MDD, and K5TV. All involved braved cold temps and high winds to install VHF and HF antennas on the roof of the Courthouse. After about six hours the radios and antennas were up and operational. Speaking of Ham Stations located in county EOCs, the followingWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO have checked in the past year during the monthly EOC Checkin on 3862 on the 'First Thursday' of each month session: DeSoto -- KD5VYB, Forrest -- KC5WFM, Harrison -- W5SGL, Itawamba -- KE5LUX, Lafayette -- W5LAF, Lamar -- KD5RMM, Lauderdale -- WX5MEI, Lowndes -- KD5FUO, Pearl River - K5PRC, Rankin -- K5RKN, Simpson -- KA5LNY, Stone -- N5UDK, Tippah -- K5DGL, Tishomingo -- W5TCR, and Warren -- K5ZRO. Are there other counties that have stations at their EOCs? AA5ED reports that the Brandon K5RKN Gateway is now on the global network. N5WLW notes that the ham station at Picayune Fire Station 1 is now on the air. As a side benefit several firefighters indicated an interest in Ham Radio. Pearl River County now has a ham station for emergency communications at both Poplarville and Picayune. Those finishing up the station installation at Picayune were KD6PJW, KA5ZII, and N5WLW. AB5WF has retired as Section Government Liaison. Ron was instrumental in the Mississippi PRB-1 Bill passing through the Legislature in 2006 after multiple efforts to circumvent the state bureaucracy. Thanks for your efforts, Ron! AK5JWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO will be taking over as SGL. Jim was also closely associated with the PRB-1 effort. Welcome to new Mississippi hams: KE5RZS, Samuel -- Gulfport; KE5SJO -- Donna, Magee; KE5SGD, Gregory -- Oxford; and KE5SGE, Robert -- Aberdeen. Also welcome to new ARRL Members: KC5FXD -- Batesville; K4GAC -- Holly Springs; W9IK -- Nesbit; KE5MVP -- Gulfport; WT4N -- Nesbit; KD5NDU -- Water Valley; KE5QAP -- Picayune; KE5QCQ -- Perkinston; N5SPL -- Pelahatchie; KB5SVF -- Pearl, N5TF -- Gulfport; K5TLL -- Hattiesburg; and KB5ZKT -- Hattiesburg; In addition, welcome to N5YY as OO and WB5HQH as EC for Franklin County. Congratulations to the following on their upgrades: KD5DCU -- Poplarville, KD5JOJ (now AE5FQ) - Union, KE5QHK (now (AE5FR) - Lena, and KE5QMP -- Columbus; Annual DEC/EC Report: WB5CON (Alcorn), KC5EAK (Pearl River), W5GEJ (Madison), WB5GUD (Newton), KD5GWM (Lauderdale/Clarke), W5LMW (Union), W5MPC (Lafayette), KB5NMB (Itawamba), N5TBB (Tippah), KC5TYL (Lamar), and N5ZNT (SW MS). DEC/EC Monthly Reports: WB5CON (Alcorn/NE MS), KD5CQT Jackson), KC5EAK (Pearl River), KD5FUO (Lowndes), WB5GUD (Newton), KD5GWM (Lauderdale/Clarke), WX5N (Prentiss/Tishomingo), N5TBB (Tippah), N5ZNT (SW MS), and KB0ZTX (Marshall). SET Report: WB5CON (Alcorn), KC5EAK (Pearl River), KD5GWM (Lauderdale/Clarke), W5LMW (Union), K5NRK (Warren), KC5TYL (Lamar), AB5WF (West Central MS), WX5N (Tishomingo/Prentiss), and N5ZNT (Southwest MS). Skywarn Report: KE5PTL Club Newsletter/Reports: Hattiesburg ARC (AC5E), Pearl River ARC (N5WLW), and Vicksburg ARC (W5WAF). Regret to report the passing of W5TUD of Water Valley and KE5BYF of Columbus. Net reports: sessions/QNI/QTC (Net Manager): DRN5 62/MS 100% Rep by KA1ZIA, W5MLO, WA5FB, and W5XX (WB5ZED); MSPN 31/2940/41 K5NRK); Magnolia Section Net 31/889/3 (AD5J); Jackson Co ARES 31/537/7 (KD5CQT); MS Slow Net 22/36/0 (W3TWD); Stone County ARES 5/135/0 (N5UDK); Magnolia DX Assn 5/113/0 (N5FG); Itawamba County ARES 5/41/0 (KB5NMB); Lowndes Co ARC Net 5/40/0 (AD5DO); MCARA CARES 5/51/0 (KA2KMU); Meridian Area EN 5/60/0 (KD5GWM); Tishomingo County ARES 5/112/4 (KU4WW); Miss/Lou WX Net 4/27/0 (K5NRK); MS Baptist Hams Net 4/29/0 (WF5F); Hattiesburg Area EN 4/110/0 (N5MZ); Monroe ARC 4/32/0 (AD5DO); Jackson ARC EN 4/42/0 (AB5WF); Pearl River ARES Net 4/43/1 (KC5EAK); Newton County ARES 4/30/0 (WB5GUD); Metro Jackson ARES 4/43/0 (AB5WF); NE MS ARES 4/63/0 (W5LMW); Alcorn County ARES 4/34/0 (WB5CON); SW MS ARES 4/30/0 (N5ZNT) Dec 07 4/35/0; South MS YL Net 4/80/0 (KB5CSQ); PSHR: WB5ZED 165, KA1ZIA 100, and W5XX 75. Traffic: WB5ZED 4,054 (BPL), KA1ZIA 73, W5XX 7. Compilation of Net, PSHR, and Traffic statistics provided by KB5RCJ.
Great Lakes Division
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Michigan
Greetings all, Well, this year is off to a real roll. With March and Michigan's spring storm season just a couple of weeks away, please get your plans in place for Skywarn training. The National Weather Service has been booking sessions and insuring NWS participation early will make your training program thoroughly effective for 2008. A note to hamfest planners: your Section Manager attempts to attend all of the MichiganWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO hamfests that are sanctioned by the ARRL. The reality is that time conflicts can prevent my attendance at every swap. I do ask those who would like to assure the League is represented at your swap to contact me by email to request my attendance or to insure that an alternate can be with you. That will be a real help and assist me in being available to meet with ARRL members in the field. Your SEC John WB8RCR is encouraging ARES/RACES members to check in to the Michigan ARPSC Net each Sunday evening, 3932 kHz, at 5:00 PM. This net has served as a point of information sharing for our EC, DECs, NTS, RACES and staff members for many years. You are urged to check in or monitor the net for the latest information and ideas relating to EmComm. Those unable to check in to 3932 can find a review of the net's discussion on your local packet radio JNOS converse bridge, node number 41 at 8:00 PM. Affiliated Club Coordinator Dan KB6NU has issued the invitation for interested persons to participate in the 2008 Newsletter Contest. Dan is also looking for judges with journalism experience. If you know of someone who may be interested, please contact Dan at [email protected] Congratulations to these newly elected officers: Central MI ARC Officers for 2008: Pres W8ERV, VP K8RDN, Sec KC8HJQ, Treas WD8BCS, Directors WB8LZG, KD8BDI, Under 22 KD8BOQ, Cards & Flowers KC8NOI, Membership NG8L. Monroe County RCA 2008 officers are Pres N8YQW, VP W8RRI, Sec KB8KQC, Treas KA8EBI, Directors W8PI, KB8VIU, WB8FBG. Lansing CDRA officers are Pres W8BCI, VP WB8NUS, Sec/Treas KD8DJS, Directors K8DRB, KB8RAD. Michigan Nets reporting for November: MACS, MVTN, QMN, MiTN, UPN, SEMTN, NLEUPN MACS, and Hiawatha. Total Operator-hours for December: 1843. To include your net’s monthly activities, contact [email protected]. Station Activity Reports (SAR) for January, 2008: WB9JSR 1007, KC8WSE 425, K8LJG 290, AB8SY 223, K8AMR 147, K8RDN 127, KD8AAD 110, W8RNQ 62, WB8RCR 48, KC8MLD 24, KC8BMV 24, WA8OOH 11, WD8USA 10, KD8BGQ 9, KC8NTE 8, KC8LXS 6, KC8ZGB 1. Public Service Honor Roll Reports (PSHR) for January, 2008: KC8NTE 597, WB8RCR 207, WD8USA 199, K8AMR 110, WB9JSR 110, KC8WSE 110, KD8BGQ 107, K8RDN 83, AB8SY 80, W8QOI 12. SARs are reports of all the radiogram traffic you have handled in the past month. PSHRs include both your net and public service activities for the month. PSHRs and SARs should be filed monthly with WB8RCR. You can access a simple reporting form at: http://www.mi- nts.org/PSHR_entry.shtml to provide your reports to WB8RCR. You can also check http://www.mi- nts.org/ for the details on all of our Michigan Section reporting nets. January Official Emergency Station reports came in from K8COP, N8HA, W8QOI, W8RIT, and W8WRB. Your OES reports should be filed with WA8EFK with a copy to your EC. In all cases, reporting by radiogram is encouraged. Packet messages can be routed to [email protected] and [email protected] . 73 until next month, Dale WA8EFK
Midwest Division
Kansas
KANSAS IS GREAT IN 2008 ! Kansas Section News Summary- January 2008 Silent Keys KØODA - Keith Davidson, Larned W9VWK - Oswald "Ozzie" Goering , McPherson WB4VSO - Robert Miller, Louisburg (October) ______Antenna Legislation is in the House ! The Wheat State Wireless club has done a fine job getting us to the point that a hearing is scheduled for Feb. 19 in Topeka. But, this is just the beginning. We are now ready for all of you to write letters to your state representatives encouraging them to pass HB2805 the Kansas Emergency Communications Preservation Act. Our window of opportunity is short so don't delay. You can find
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more info at: www.hamsforkansas.org Pilot Knob announces award recipients. At the club's Christmas Dinner Ed Menard- KD7QOR was presented the coveted Buffalo Chip Award. This is a highly respected traveling trophy. Dick Quinlan- KAØDJR was honored as the Leavenworth Co. Amateur of the Year. Pilot Knob ARC has a newly acquired club station on the South side of Leavenworth and are working to outfit it with gear. Both the Weather Net and Side Band Net have returned to their normal times in February. Wichita ARC is celebrating their 75th year as a club. Congratulations ! Kansas Club Officers for 2008: WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROPilot Knob: President: W9JXZ – Dan; Vice President: NØXCM - Richard Secretary: KCØLPS – Shawn; Treasurer: WO4AVN - Evan Chanute Area ARC: President: KCØUBR – John; Vice Pres: KBØZMN - Bill Secretary/Treasurer: KBØBSG – Mike Trojan ARC President: KCØWJT- Bob; Vice Pres: KCØHBR- Jim Sec / Treas: NØXNK- GAry; Program & Training Director: KØFJ- Mike Iola (Allen Co.) has a new club. President: AC7CP – Red; Vice Pres: WAØKHP – Ralph Secretary/Treasurer: NØTZT - Dave Wichita ARC : President: Bob-KCØZRX; Vice Pres: David- NØJWY; Treasurer: Brenda-KDØCDK Central Kansas ARC: President: KCØKCO-Terry; Vice President: WAØJFC-Leon Secretary: WØME- Alvin; Treasurer: KBØNOV- Neil ______SEC KS report of ARES activity Dec 2007 Hope all had a grand Christmas season and now looking forward to bigger and better things for Ham Radio to be involved in during 2008. Activity down a bit during December but that was to be expected. Zone EC reporting activity, only 11. We did manage to hold 97 net sessions with 577 QNI and passed 28 messages.WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO There appears to be several changes in a number of the zones about to take place. Be sure you watch them as reported in the near future. Many thanks to recent EC for Zone 3A and 3D activity in the past and if any one would like to jump in and try your hand at an EC spot, contact me ASAP. Perhaps it won't be long before the band conditions change back for the better and we will be able to communicate better on the HF frequencies. Check your equipment and antenna in preperation for the upcoming storm season. Monitor 3920 a little more. Join WD0DMV on 3940 for RACES activity the first Thursday of each month at 7PM. Think about cleaning off that CW key for a bit of good communicating every now and then. Best 73 Bob Summers K0BXF ARRL SEC KS ______Newsletters received: Feed Back, Grounded Grid, QNU H.A.R.C. , QRZ, QSP, DCARC Trojan ARC Harmonic ______Dec.. Sessions/QNI/QTC/Mgr: KSBN/ 31/ 664/ 42 N0KFS KPN/23 / 218 / 27/ N0KFS KMWN/31/ 685 / 543 /WB0YWZ KWN/31/ 691 / 466/ WB0YWZ CSTN 26/1974 /51 N0BFB QKS/ 36 /95 /25 NB0Z QKS-SS / 3 /10 /0 KB0DTI Traffic: KI0BK 284 NB0Z 46 W0OYH 26 K0BXF 24 KB0DTI 19 N0ZIZ 5 Misc. Reports: Technical Specialist WN8P See KSN on ARRL and more Kansas news: http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=KS To receive or contribute to Orlan's Kansas Amateur Radio News E-mail News Letter contact Orlan-W0OYH-Editor at [email protected]
Missouri
FEBRUARY 2008 MISSOURI SECTION NEWS DALE BAGLEY, KØKY MO SM The National Weather Service schedule of spotter training has been set for the months of February, March & April. To find out when and where the NWS Spotter training will be conducted in your area check out the NWS website provided to get the dates of the training nearest to you. In the Kansas City and Western MO the NWS site is found at http://www.crh.noaa.gov:80/eax/?n=outreach-schedule For the Springfield NWS Training schedule is at this site http://www.crh.noaa.gov/sgf/?n=spotter_classes_index and in the St. Louis and in the eastern MO region you can find the information at this site. http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lsx/?n=schedule Dave Propper, K2DP, of the Boeing Employees Amateur Radio Society, reports that the annual Missouri QSO Party will be held this year on April 5th-6th, 2008. Operating periods are from 1800 GMT April 5th thru 0500 GMT April 6th and again beginning at 1800 GMT on April 6th thru 2400 GMT April 6th. The object of the contest is to QSO with as many Missouri amateur radio stations as possible and to contact as many different Missouri counties as possible. You may work each Missouri station once per band and mode. CW frequencies are 40khz up from the lower
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band edge. Phone frequencies are 1880 khz, 3980 khz, 7180 khz, 14280 khz, 21380 khz and 28380 khz. The contest exchange is RST, serial number and Missouri County or S/P/C. Logs are to be submitted no later than 30 days after the contest to MOQSOPARTY@WØMA.ORG or to the CBA for K2DP.Complete contest information is available at www.WØMA.org/mo_qso_party.htm APRIL 2008 HAMFESTS On April 12th the Springtime Hamfest sponsored by the Ozark Amateur Radio Society at the Senior Center at 425 North Main St in Mount Vernon, MO. For more information contact Julie Frank, KDØBSK, WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO20500 Highway W Verona, MO 65769 or phone her at 417-440-9438 or by e-mail at [email protected] . You can check their website at http://W0OAR.com Talk-In: 146.970 (no tone) The April 19th HAMBASH 2008 is sponsored by the Ararat Shrine Amateur Radio Club and it will be held in the Ararat Shrine on 5100 Ararat Drive in Kansas City, MO. For more information you need to contact Dave Hinkley, KAØSOG 1221 SE 11th Street Lee's Summit, MO 64081 Phone: 816-525-4826 or you can Email: [email protected] Check out their website at http://www.hambash.com/ AFFILIATED CLUB NEWS KEITH HAYE, WEØG, ACC The Four State QRP Group encourages Amateur Operators to make plans to attend this year's OzarkCon QRP conference on April 25 & 26, 2008 at Joplin, Missouri. This year they are expecting more visitors from the United Kingdom at OzarkCon! Come join them and scores of American QRP'ers in April for the biggest and best QRP convention in mid-America. I know many MO Section Hams have reported how much fun and how much they have learned at this conference. The Callaway Amateur Radio League has elected their new officers at the January meeting the followingWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO officers were elected for 2008. President – Gene WBØHKN;Vice President, Dave KCØLYA; Secretary/Treasurer, Dave KCØQKL. The local repeater needs the continued support of those in the area and to emphasize that point the CARL Newsletter the SPARK GAP explained that electric cost alone, to power the repeater for a year will run about $375.00. We all need to support our local repeaters with what ever we can afford. The Mid-MO ARC was proud to announce “It's that time again... time to rev up your favorite chili, chowder, curry, etc., and to come to the Nth Annual MMARC Chili CookOff to be held Saturday, Feb. 23rd, starting at 5 p.m., and ending when the last dog's kicked out of the house...!” FYI that is the house of Tom Hammond, NØSS in Lohman, MO and from what I read, he and Jeri will provide cookin facilities, chips and soft drinks and a bunch of other stuff. Along the lines of “Great minds thing alike” the Heart of America Radio Club in Kansas City is hosting their own Chili Cook-off on February 19, 2008 at the Red Cross Headquarters, 211 W Armour Boulevard, Kansas City, Missouri with parking in the rear of the Building. There will be prizes for 1st and 2nd places and the Chefs need to R.S.V.P. to KA0FSP, Craig Schley - [email protected] or phone at 816-564- 8725 The Editor of the Mississippi Valley DX & Contest Club Joe Duerbusch, KØBX was profiled in the Japanese CQ Magazine September 2007 issue. Joe answered a series of questions about his experiences in Amateur Radio and his extensive work in DXing using the RTTY mode. He noted that he has worked 320 countries with 318 confirmed on CW. Joe got into RTTY during his service in the U. S. Navy as a Radio Operator. At the MVDXCC meeting Merle Bone, WØEWM then gave those at the meeting a handout on DX SSB Speech Processing Techniques. His talk covered AF(microphone) compression and AF and RF clipper circuits. Larry Staples, KØJPR’s List of activities in the Kansas City area forwarded a report by SkyWarn Chairman John Seals, WRØR that this year’s training for Net Control Operators and Responders will be Saturday Feb 16th at the Pleasant Hill NWS office. The class which starts at 9:00 a.m. is not a spotter training session, rather training to serve as a Net Control Operator and/or a Responder. More information is available from John at his e-mail [email protected] . SECTION ARES REPORT FOR JANUARY 2008 DON MOORE, KMØR SEC Total # of ARES members: 676 Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 102 Man hours: 589 Number of public service events this month: 3 Man hours: 27 Number of emergency operations this month: 7 Man hours: 210 Total number of ARES operations this month: 114 Total Man hours: 1217 Comments: 5 of 9 districts reporting To view this and other Monthly Section ARES reports go to http://www.ares-mo.org/currentsec.asp SECTION TRAFFIC REPORTS FOR JANUARY 2008 DALE HUFFINGTON, AEØS, The MOPN (Missouri Packet Net) has been re-started under the leadership of Jim, KUØG. The net meets daily on 3580 +/- at 1715 Hours local time. Check-ins are invited. Congratulations to Larry Wilson, KØRWL for the increase in activity on the Mo Phone Traffic Net and
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to the Rolla RRARS outstanding net activity. MON-CW Sessions 53 QNI 142 QTC 36 NM K9ZTV MO Phone Sessions 31 QNI 1091 QTC 210 NM KØRWL MESN Sessions 4 QNI 249 QTC 3 NM AEØS MOPN Sessions 7 QNI 12 QTC 0 NM KUØG Audrain Co AARC Sessions 5 QNI 77 QTC 0 NM KBØKWC Callaway CARL Sessions 4 QNI 57 QTC 0 NM KBØHKN CSRS Wellsville Session 4 QNI 20 QTC 1 NM KCØYNE Boone Co Sessions 4 QNI 99 QTC 1 NM WMØH Howell HCARC Sessions 9 QNI 65 QTC 3 NM KØRWL Jackson Co ARES Sessions 5 QNI 87 QTC 0 NM KØUAA Jackson and Lafayette CountiesWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO SET Rpt. Sessions 1 QNI 24 QTC 40 KØUAA Macon Co Sessions 4 QNI 32 QTC 0 NM KØKY Rolla RRARS Sessions 31 QNI 346 QTC 16 NM KB9ZBO St Louis CO ARC Sessions 5 QNI 126 QTC 14 NM KBØH Sullivan ARC Sessions 13 QNI 186 QTC 5 NM KBØROX Taney Co TLARC Sessions 1 QNI 5 QTC 517 NM KBØOFD WAARCI Sessions 4 QNI 109 QTC 0 NM WBØTOM 10th Reg Sessions 62 QTC 195 MO 99% with K9ZTV,KCØN,W7FB,WØSJS,KCØM NM WØSS
New England Division
Connecticut
Section Leadership: K1EIC SM; ASMs: K1STM, KD1YV, W1FXQ, NK1J; OOC W1GC; PIC KA1TCH;WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO SEC K1BRF; ASEC N1FNE; SGL K1MK; STM K1HEJ; TC N1KHB. The following sad news comes from ASM Al Cohen, W1FXQ: It is my sad mission to report the passing of Harold Chase Sr., W1EES. Harold was a member of the National Board of QCWA for many years and served as President of QCWA Nutmeg Chapter 149 many times. Harold's son, Hal Chase N1URW, reports that his dad passed away peacefully in his sleep. May he rest peacefully forever and ever, and may his good name remain with us as a blessing.—W1FXQ I had the honor of knowing Harold and Gladys W1VPF (sk) for many years and always enjoyed their company. The CT Section extends our sincere sympathy to N1URW and the family.—K1EIC SM ********************* Mark your calendars! February 24 this coming Sunday: CSMA Meeting 10am, Marcus Communications, 275 New State Road, Manchester, CT. Contact president Paul N1TUP [email protected] for further information. March 15—ECARA Ham Fest Pomfret Community School Pomfret Center, CT; contact Paul KE1LI [email protected] for further information. March 30—Southington Ham Fest and Annual ARES Meeting at Southington High School; contact Chet KA1ILH, [email protected] about the Hamfest and SEC Brian, K1BRF [email protected] for info on the ARES meeting; May 2—NEAR-Fest Deerfield, MA http://www.near- fest.org; June 21—NARL Ham Fest; contact president Mary Hobart K1MMH, [email protected]. Three very active volunteers are moving away from the Section. Greg N1AEH is off to The Villages in Florida, a very nice retirement community. Greg has managed the Section CW net CN since 1993 providing liaison stations to 1RN, the first region net which handles out-of-state traffic. Greg has been incredibly faithful to NTS in CT and in the region and area through changing times. In addition, he served as treasurer of the Hampden County Radio Association in Agawam, MA for over 30 years. We will miss you very much Greg. Don and Martha Babbitt, KB1IET and KB1IES have been members of the Candlewood Amateur Radio Association and the Northville ARA for many years. Both of them have spent hours teaching amateur radio with great successin the Newtown School System. Several students have been licensed and coincidentally, are high honor students! Don and Martha are moving to upper New York State. CARA President Frank N8WXQ presented them with a gift from the club. I’ll sure miss seeing you at the club meetings—we’ll all miss your enthusiasm and hearing about the classes. Thanks Greg, Martha and Don for your time and work in this Section—it is truly appreciated. Greg participated in a meeting with other members of The Connecticut CW Net to talk about ways in which this net might continue to move forward. So everyone, we’re starting a slow speed net twice per week on Wednesday’s and Saturday’s at 1900 hours local on 3.533. Andy NX1Q will be control on Wednesday and Bill KW1B on Saturday. Come join us! The net meets each night of the week; we are beginning to add more net controls. So give it a try—you will be welcomed and mentored! Have you worked a newly-licensed operator lately? Are you their first contact? Why not go to
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http://www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/award/certificate/1contact.html, fill out the form and present that person with a First Contact Award certificate to mark the occasion! And speaking of awards, there were several given at the NARL Holiday Party in early January. K1MMH was inducted as president of NARL— congratulations Mary! AB1GL was honored with a plaque for his service as past president and Chuck K0BOG for his work as treasurer for several years. Many thanks George and Chuck for your hard work during an active year! DEC Jonathan Hardy KB1KIX received the John Hennessee N1KB Distinguished Service Award--theWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO first one given in memory of John. Jonathan, who continues to work tirelessly for NARL, was a close friend of N1KB so this was very special. Steve Ewald, WV1X received the NARL Ham of the Year Award which for the first time was named The George Hart W1NJM Leadership Award. Your SM was a bit choked up when this award, in honor of George Hart, W1NJM—author of the NTS-- was presented to a NARL member and an ARRL staff member who works closely with SMs and other field appointees. I must say, Steve was really surprised and felt very special to be honored in this way. Honorary life member plaques for 25 years of service to the club were given to Steve WV1X, and Joel Kleinman N1BKE. And Al W1FXQ received a very nice plaque in honor of 75 years in Amateur Radio! Another treat was to hear George’s voice on the phone congratulating Mary and saying hello to the whole gang. The whole evening was wonderful—we had several new directors and vice directors in attendance, as they were in the area for their orientation meetings. And we were treated to a great keynote address given by Dave Sumner, K1ZZ, CEO of ARRL: Not Your Grandfather’s Amateur Radio. MoreWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO news next month! Enjoy the snow.
Eastern Massachusetts
Hi Folks!! First I would like to congradulate all the one (1) stations in N.E. for their hard work in the 2007 ARRL (Sept) VHF QSO PARTY, and also those who participated in the ARRL 10 GHZ and up contest also. The 2007 I.R.A.U. HF World Championship!! There was quite a nice representation from E.MA. and the rest of N.E.. Just a few calls; K1TOL, K1TEO, KA1ZE, K1RZ, KA1LMR, W1RM, K1XM, WQAW/4, N1UR, KK1L, W1OP, AA1CA, WA1Z, KB1T, W1UE/VE1, K1TTT, W1KLM, WA1FCN, K1PT, KU1CW, NU1AW, K1ZZ, WC1M, and last KK1KW "WOW" and a great job by all!! "CONTESTING" a great way to really enhoy our avocation, as amateur radio operators who help protect our great Nation communicating our friendship over the air waves!! Also a great job by CAARA, holding a winter Field day/Introduction to contesting on Jan. 26th & 27th.. Assisting new Radio operators how to work different bands with hands on experience!! Best way to learn!! Many THANKS go out to all the ARRL members that went into the State Capital, about the H-4477 Bill, to stop cell phone use while driving, they were able to get amendments into the bill, to allow our Emergency people to be able to operate while driving to a disaster!! There were so many that I can not name all, because so many areas where covered in this bill for MA., that I just can't name or thank them all. From me personally, THANK YOU!!!!!!! I proposed on Feb. 5th, 2008, about a "REGIONAL MUSEUM", I spoke with ARRL HQ's and they support the idea. There is a building on the North Shore, I will give use for this purpose. Everyone well be welcomed to operate all the equipment and antennas with towers. Just one more thing, there is homebrew repair being done on amateur equipment, and building also is GREAT to hear the technical communication locally!! That is happening, here is some advice that should tune everyonne on safety. * As the users of equipment and parts, also have a responsibility and need to use caution even though you maybe skilled, to do the work technically. The Amateurs continued safety every part must be used carefully and used properly. Also, be aware of hazards of all types!! Also, don't forget about the SM meeting being hosted by CAARA!! On March 8th. 10a.m. to 1 p.m.. Directions: MAP QUEST HAS THE WRONG NAME OF THE STREET!! FROM THE SOUTH; RT. 128 N. TOWARDS BEVERLY/GLOUSTER ENTER NEXT ROUNDABOUT AND TAKE 3RD EXIT, ONTO RT. 127N/WASHINTON ST. 1.6M TURN RIGHT ONTO STANWOOD STREET. 0.1M END AT #6 STANWOOD STREET. Please drive safely!! Hope to see you all! 73 Art Greenberg K1GBX E.MA.SM GOOD AIR WAVES
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Northwestern Division
Montana
At least we got a Winter here in Montana this year! Lots of snow and wind, and apparently more to follow. But, thanks to the weather gods as we'll be drinking this snow come July. Planning is already underway for the BozemanWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Hamfest this coming October. The staff is busily rounding up speakers and participants along with more tables and hopefully, even more gear to buy, sell and trade. Looking forward to it. This Feb 23, the Stevensville Hamfest will again be held at the Middle Burnt Fork School, now the American Legion Hall on the Middle Burnt Fork Road. As usual, the hamfest is being put on by Argus Barker, W8QMD, and his sweetheart Marcie. I dont remember how many of these they've put on, but it's been quite a few. Bring all your junk to sell or trade, Tables will be available at a nominal fee to hold your "stuff". A great time to meet the faces you've been talking to for years, come and have a good time with the rest of us. IMN-W7GHT, QNI-355, QTC-76 MTN-AE7V, QNI-2008, QTC-80 MSN- K7YD, QNI-126, QTC-6 73 all Doug, K7YD
Oregon
FIELD DAYWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Pat Roberson, N7PAT, Assistant Section Manager – Administrative, will be compiling a list of field day sites. Please let him know what your plans are. If he doesn’t hear from you, he will be contacting those who are likely to be aware of field day plans for a specific group. I would like to have it available to share with legislative members and others when appropriate. Please indicate whether you welcome visitors to the site. I have not decided yet what part the state I will visit but I will visit different sites than I visited last year. SALEM HAMFAIR I look forward to seeing everyone at the Salem Hamfair this Saturday. There will be an NTS (National Traffic System) meeting at 11:00 a.m. and an ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Services) meeting at 1:30 p.m. PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICERS NEEDED Steve Sanders, KE7JSS, needs more volunteers to function as public information officers. During the December floods, he spent a significant amount of time publicizing the activities. In a more recent minor activation he wasn’t able to do much since he was on the road going to jobs for his business. He needs to be able to call on others to help. He will provide training on submitting the news releases and contacts. Please contact him if you would like this appointment. It would be great to have more ARES groups designate a public information officer that he can work with. Those should come to him through the Emergency Coordinators. FLOOD POSSIBILITIES Vince VanDerHyde, K7VV, Emergency Coordinator for Oregon Emergency Management Amateur Radio Unit, passed an email on to me that said the snow pack in low to mid altitudes is similar to 1996. A lot of warm rainfall this season could cause flooding at the same scale as in 1996. So keep your go-kit ready and maintain your ARES unit requirements so we are ready to respond. SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER REPORT See the Oregon Section website at http://www.arrloregon.org for the complete report from Scott Gray, W7IZ. Net Activity January 2008: District #1 ARES Net, QNI 1262, QTC 39, KC7ZZB Net Mgr Oregon Emergency Net, QNI 4510, QTC 19, N7RBO Net Mgr Northwest Traffic and Training Net, QNI 541, QTC 140, N7YSS Net Mgr Oregon Section Net/1, QNI 191, QTC 111, WS7L Net Mgr Oregon Section Net/2, QNI 90, QTC 60, KC7SRL Net Mgr Oregon ARES Traffic Net, QNI 524, QTC 114, WA7FXF Net Mgr Beaver State Net, QNI 638, QTC 32, N7CM Net Mgr Station Activity Report (SAR) Totals for January 2008: W7IZ 239, N7CM 116, W7IG 111, N7YSS 104, K7PMB 99, K7EAJ 87, N7DRP 62, KC7SRL 36, KD7ZLF 30, W7VSE 23, WS7L 19, KK1A 2 Public Service Honor Roll (PSHR) Totals for January 2008: K7EAJ 195, N7CM 160, W7IG 120, KD7THV 115, N7XG 110, N7YSS 110, N7DRP 90, KD7ZLF 80 NEW APPOINTMENTS At the last ARRL Board Meeting, two new appointments were approved. They are Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator and Assistant District Emergency Coordinator. Bill Morris, W7IH, has now been able to officially appoint Bruce Bjerke, K7BHB, as an Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator. He has been functioning in that capacity for some time. Scott Hampton, KB7DZR, was appointed as an Official Emergency Station. He
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lives in Wallowa County and the appointment was requested by Gary Cooper, N7ZHG, the District Emergency Coordinator for District 3. Doug Asay, WS3X, has been appointed as the Emergency Coordinator for Marion County. Doug replaces Dean Davis, N7XG, who is continuing with numerous other roles within ARES and the Section. New Official Observers who have passed the required open- book examination are Dana Nelson, KD7VMM, and Al Crotts, KF4LEC. EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS ACADEMY Western Washington is planning the TENTH Annual Communications AcademyWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO “08” which will be held April 5-6, 2008 at South Seattle Community College. The theme for this year’s conference is: “The Next Disaster is Ready for You – Are You Ready for it?” For more information see their website at http://www.CommAcademy.org. OFFICIAL OBSERVER REPORTS Ed Ewell, K7DXV, Official Observer Coordinator reports that the Oregon Official Observers reported 259 hours monitored for January 2008 by six observers. Ed continues to encourage the official observers to be visible and look for opportunities to educate people on good operating practice, including making presentations to clubs on the topic. NEW HAM CORNER I have become aware that there are some pieces of information related to licenses that some hams are not aware of. A recent item that has arisen a couple of times is related to club calls. These calls have a trustee designated who is responsible for the use of the call. The trustee needs to be aware of when and how the call is being used since that person is responsible for any misuse. The call also must be used within the frequencies that the trustee’s license class allows him or her to operate. A specific individual who is workingWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO with an agency does not have to be the trustee of the call sign in order to support that agency and use the call when appropriate. Although many times a person who is using a club call, also gives their own call sign, it is not required that they do so. The club call is sufficient.
Western Washington
In District 1, Snohomish County reported a drill involving all operational sites: PEMC, Stevens Hospital, Valley General, and ARC. A frequency matrix chart was completed which established a number of usable frequencies with 146.88 (no tone) as the most reliable. They continue to perfect their packet airmail capabilities. EC Catlin Goss, WB7JNE, gave a PowerPoint talk to MRC that at least 30 people attended. The title "Amateur Radio" created a lot of interest. Island County EC, John Acton, K7AC, reports planning sessions for the new year are under way. San Juan County holds an ARES CW and Airmail Packet net each week with up to 5 stations on the air. Whatcom County was very active with 568 drill person hours in January. In District 2, at the January Clallam County general meeting, Dan Abbott, N7DWA, took over as EC and gave a presentation on ARES organizational structure. Dan also presented the annual refresher hazmat course. Members present also signed up for 2008 ARES/RACES participation. The program for February includes Dr. Locke, from the Jefferson and Clallam County Health Dept. The March program will feature a visit from a representative of the border patrol. An MOU between Jefferson and Clallam counties is in process. Jefferson County is encouraging their members to visit various potential shelters and marshalling areas around the county so they will be familiar with them in the event they are assigned to one of them. They are also exploring opportunities to better assist with emergency communications in the western portion of the county. A technician license class is scheduled for March 8th and 9th, with the test on the 9th. This class will focus on personnel of Jefferson Healthcare (the local hospital), but additional seats are open for the public. Kitsap County ARES held their quarterly face-to-face team meeting (as opposed to their weekly on-air meetings) in January. At the request of their served agencies discussions and presentations included the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the Incident Command System (ICS) and how to get the training. Also, digital communications were discussed with the goal of educating team members in the use of packet and pactor systems and how to help team members become active in the digital modes. Two major goals this year are to get as many members trained in NIMS and ICS as they can, and to bring all of their pre-staged packet stations to a higher level of performance and readiness. There was no District 3 Report this month In District 4, Cowlitz County EC Randy, NU7D, attended a debriefing meeting for a multi-agency communication exercise that took place in December with the hams, law
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enforcement agencies and fire districts testing their own systems. 23 Hams that participated in the exercise used two VHF repeaters and simplex to test their radio system from a variety of areas of the county to determine their communications capabilities. The exercise uncovered a concern in the Toutle area. Randy will re-test the Toutle area in April from several locations, noting the type of equipment, antenna and power levels. The Hams also tested the radios at St. John Hospital and CEMNET from the LCARA Clubhouse. Randy attended a Citizen Corps meeting where the main focus was a Prepare Fair that is going to takeWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO place April 12. At the ARES/RACES January meeting held at the Cowlitz County EOC, those attending approved the creation of an ARES/RACES web page. Wally, WM7U, is heading up the web page project. The web URL is: www.cowlitzradio.org. The site is still under construction, but should be up and running soon. The teams main goal for 2008 is training. Randy also met with Cowlitz County DEM Director Grover Laseke, KE7PAV, to finalize the Cowlitz County RACES plan. Grover did a great job with the plan! Thanks Grover. Clark County ARES/RACES covered 4 of the CEMNET check-ins for the County in January. The Digital packet group met to plan a digital presentation at the March ARES/RACES meeting. Team leaders and assistants met to plan the January, February and March ARES/RACES meetings. At the January ARES/RACES meeting, Gary, K7GJT, presented a PowerPoint on Navy MARS and how their long distance capability might be of assistance to the ARES/RACES program. Gary also presented a PowerPoint on the Jim Creek VLF Station in the Puget Sound area. There was no report from District 5 this month. In District 6, the Sammamish Team is installingWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Amateur Radio gear in the three East Side Fire & Rescue (ESF-R) stations on the Plateau as well as getting the EOC equipment staged and ready to be commissioned once the antenna work is finished. Work on the ESF-R Communications vehicle is proceeding well with radios and the PC based console equipment still to be installed. The truck should be ready to participate in the Sound Shake '08 drill. District M, the Region 6, King County, team hosted a training meeting in January with a presentation on the Regional Medical Resource Center in King County. The first Thursday of every month, the team conducts their weekly net on the K7PP wide-area coverage repeater system instead of the normal mednet system. This enables team members from all over Western Washington to check in to the net. It has been quite successful with about 40 people checking in each month.
Pacific Division
East Bay
The Section News has beeen moved to the East Bay Section web sit at http://www.eastbaysection arrl.org. You can find more detailed information and current events on this web site. Two new East Bay Section, cabinet level, appointments were made in January. Please join me in welcoming and congratulating our new SEC, Jim Tiemstra (K6JAT) and our new OOC, Jim Tittle (K6SOE). NALCO will have their annual “Earthquake Preparedness” meeting in April. The California Ham license plate issue has been resolved CONGATULATIONS TO: Mike Berke, KI6EGL on being accepted to EMT Boot Camp; ORCA on their 10th anniversary. RadioFest, the ARRL Santa Clara Valley Section Convention, will be held February 23 & 24, 2008 in Monterey CA (go to http://www.radiofest.org/ for more information). EMCOMMWEST is 3 months away May 2-4 at the Circus Circus in Reno, NV. Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH is the guest speaker at the Saturday banquet ($39), Dennis Dura, K2DCD is the keynote speaker Saturday morning. Congratulations to these new hams: Josh M Libby, KI6NMS; John P Murphy, KI6NKR; David L Sword, KI6NKH; Nicole M Leonard, KI6NMV; Colin E Little, KI6NKP; David I Zucker, KI6NKL; Brian B Gaetano, KI6NKC Congratulations to these upgrades: David M Strahan, KI6MTB; James F Ellis, KI6JQY; Timothy E Roberts, KF6BYG; Albert P Mossman, KG6VMA; William C Wright, KA0CZW; Per W Brashers, KI6JJS; Elizabeth R Brashers, KI6JJR; Christopher D Jaquette, KI6MTD NATIONAL TRAFFIC SYSTEM (NTS) Call Sign Originated Sent Received Delivered Total WB6UZX 3 95 133 28 259 W6DOB 0 61 54 0 115 KE6QR 1 1 9 9 20 PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) Call Sign Categories 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total W6DOB 40 40 30 110 WB6UZX 40 40 10 10 100 (Requires at least 70 points)
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Pacific
February SM Report 2008 - This report covers mid Jan to mid Feb. Even though hurricane season officially ended on November 30, 2007 continued weather problems remind us that we are never completely out of danger. Early February proved it again when heavy rain caused flooding in many parts of the state. Sky Warn and several nets were activated. Information came in from several areas including Hawaii County CivilWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Defense. IRLP and Echolink were used in conjunction with VHF and HF radio to keep the information flowing. AH6JA also sent several test messages from Hawaii County CD by winlink to prove that e-mail is still possible even if wire and cable connections are lost. Winlink is an HF protocol that allows e-mail to be sent over HF radio. Kauai ARC (KARC) normally meets the first Monday but for at least the last two months it has been on the first Wednesday. The last meeting was February 6, 2008: at 7:00 PM, at KCC Technology Center. The Emergency ARC (EARC) will hold their next meeting Thursday February 28 at the American Red Cross at 4155 Diamond Head Rd. There will be a presentation and tour by Mike Zanoni, AH6WA. SM Bob Schneider, AH6J, will attend. There will be a pot luck. Honolulu ARC (HARC) will next meet on March 15. They still need a treasurer. Battleship Missouri ARC (BMARC) reports KH6BB generally operates from 9AM to Noon every Tuesday. Ned Conklin, KH7JJ, received the Battleship Missouri Memorial Award as the outstanding volunteer of the year. He is a volunteer since 1998 and president of the Battleship Missouri ARC. West HonoluluWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO ARC will next meet April 3, 2008. They are not an ARRL affiliated club. Koolau ARC Next Meeting will be Saturday March 08 at 9:30AM. The Oahu Civil Defense Amateur Radio Club is not an ARRL affiliated club. It holds examinations at one of two locations in Honolulu. The locations are the Honolulu Municipal Bldg, Basement B1, 650 S. King St. and State CD Bldg, Birkhimer EOC, 3949 Diamond Head Rd. The schedule is: Wednesday January 18 at 18:30 at State CD Wednesday March 15 at 18:30 at HNL muni Wednesday June 21 at 1830 at HNL muni Wednesday August 16 at 1830 at HNL muni Wednesday November 15 at 1830 at HNL muni. The Maui ARC had a mini swap meet on Wednesday February 13 for their meeting. Their next meeting will be Wednesday March 12, at 7PM. SM Bob Schneider, AH6J, plans to attend. For information on the 2008 exam schedule send e-mail to [email protected] or call Mel, KH6H at 250-5530 and leave a voice mail at least two weeks before the scheduled exam date. Please pay the $14 by check or money order. No Cash please. Saturday, April 5, 2008 Saturday, August 2, 2008 Saturday, December 6, 2008 On the Big Island, BIARC had a presentation on solar activity and propagation at their last meeting Feb 9. Their next meeting is Saturday March 8th. Kohala Hamakua Radio Club (KHRC) reported light activity except for one emergency road incident. They next meet Sunday March 9th at 2PM in Hawi. Kona ARS next meets on Sunday March 16 at OTEC park at 2PM. Marians ARC (MARC) Please join the MARC International Net which starts at 7:00 p.m. Monday, Guam time, or 11:00 p.m. Sunday HST. This is 0900 Monday UTC. It is on the Club repeater 146.91(-) and on the IRLP Reflector 9254. There is an Echo-Link bridge to Reflector 9254. Thanks to Carter Davis, KH6FV and Kent Johnson, W7AOR, for setting up the IRLP and Echo- link. Thirty Oahu hams supported the 8th annual HURT 100 (miles) Ultra Marathon endurance race. It lasts 36 hours. It was held January 19th and 20th. They ran four shifts to communicate between the three aid stations located at Paradise Park, Makiki and Nuuanu. Digital communication proved very effective. With real time updates available. Thanks especially go to Sprint for donation of the wireless access. The pages were accessed more then 20,000 times from throughout the world. See: http://aditl.com/hurt/ . Photos can be viewed at: http://www.aditl.com/photogallery/main.php?g2_itemId=10173 The ham radio and web support for the race was organized by a team of Bart, WH6AA, Bev, AH6NF, Jim, WH6GS and Kimo, KH7U. The Great Aloha Run will kick off on President's Day, Monday February 18, 2008 at 0700 HST. Route is as usual, from Aloha Tower to Aloha Stadium. Contact Wayne Jones, NH6K, if you can help. Warren Munro, KH6WM, is holding an Intermediate Amateur Radio class at Kaimuki Adult Education expected to go Feb 12 to April 29. Emphasis will be on General license preparation so the students are expected to have either a Technician License or equivalent knowledge. For more information call Warren at 487-1863. You may also e-mail to [email protected]. Warren says thanks to all who have helped in recent classes. Special thanks go to Warren for sending information on various
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happenings. An example is the change of the alternate frequency of the 1900Z (9AM Local) Daily Friendly net. The primary frequency is 7,290Khz. The alternate of 3860Khz has been changed to 3888Khz. If you have information and are not sure if it is newsworthy, send it anyway. Several stations reported hearing the Special 40 meter HAARP station reflected back from the moon. Rick Ward, WH6FC, and the South Point ARC aka SPARC are now in the process of assembling a repeater to tie the “soft underbelly” of the Island of Hawaii into the Big Island Wide Area Network known as BIWARN. The mostWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO southern repeater is now located in Naalehu. With the new machine the southernmost repeater will be at South Point and it will cover South Kau and Hawaiian Ocean View Estates. The BIWARN system was used to feed weather and road information to CD and Sky Warn during the recent storms. There are now 576 members of ARRL in the Pacific Section however only 308 are receiving the SM and Directors newsletter by e-mail. The ARRL Board has created two new Field Organization positions. They are Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator and Assistant District Emergency Coordinator. The Board authorized Dave Patton, NN1N, Manager of the Membership and Volunteer Services Department, to develop and implement terms of reference for these positions. These two positions require ARRL membership. The board also decided that members in the ARRL Pacific Section (which includes Hawaii and the US Pacific Island Territories) would have their ballots mailed via First Class Mail to ensure timely arrival. Ballots are currently mailed via bulk mail. European full Reciprocal Licenses may now be limited to Advanced and Extra Class Licensees. The European ConferenceWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) have revised its table of equivalence between FCC amateur licenses and the CEPT license effective February 4, 2008. If you plan to operate overseas recheck the requirements for the country you are going to. Makani Pahili hurricane exercise will be in mid-May. This year we will attempt to have ham activity during the week of the exercise in addition to the two hour segment on Saturday. More details are pending. 73, Bob Schneider, AH6J - ARRL Pacific Section Manager
Sacramento Valley
January Summary, The March 8, 2008 Section Emergency Communications Conference agenda is taking shape. We have OES, Red Cross, and a speaker on OUTPOST already scheduled.Other planned presentations include Digital Modes, Packet, and the impact on EMCOMM activities of the PAVE PAWS/440 repeater loss issue. Each county EC is invited to bring a copy of their County Emergency Communications Plan to compare with others, and to help get a Section Emergency Communications Plan going. The last such conference was five years ago. The conference will take place at the U.C. Sierra Foothills Research Station, 8279 Scott Forbes Rd., Browns Valley, CA 95918. Our host for the day is Station Director Art Craigmill, K6ALC, EC for Sutter and Yuba Counties. Richard Cloyd, WO6P, SV SEC, will be in charge of the day’s activities. Agenda items you wish to see included should be sent to Richard at [email protected]. If you can attend this conference, plan to bring a bag lunch (water, coffee, tea, and soft drinks will be provided.) Contact WO6P or Ron Murdock, W6KJ [email protected] if you can attend. We have more sad news to report. Lou Anne Keogh, KB6HP, SK, former editor of WorldRadio magazine, passed away at her home January 17, 2008. She had attended and enjoyed the North Hills Radio Club Christmas dinner in December. Lou Anne will be missed by many friends and family. In 1997, Lou Anne asked me to submit an article for WorldRadio on the Yuba and Sutter County ARES flood disaster response activity. I enjoyed working with her on that occasion. K6ZMG, SK, Gordon Lee Hutchings, 75, of Citrus Heights, passed away in early January. Gordon was born in 1932 in Utah. He was raised in Grass Valley, worked at McClellan AFB as an electronics engineer in ground communications for 34 years, and had been employed by Aerojet before moving to Citrus Heights. He was an avid ham operator and fell ill shortly after he retired. A major blow to UHF FM repeaters operating within 150 miles of the PAVE PAWS radar at Beale AFB, CA, fell on repeater owners, trustees, and clubs operating UHF repeaters at the end of January. FCC began notifying those in control of 75 more repeaters operating in the 440-450 MHz band that they needed to reduce interference to the radar—some by as much as 50 dB. When the repeater is already operating at 5 watts maximum
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transmitter output, this means taking it off the air entirely. Many are hoping that the real interference is outside the band and that when all the repeaters are off the air within the area around the radar, perhaps we will regain use of the repeater band there. Of course, USAF has to determine our repeaters are not the issue. No problems have been mentioned with the other amateur uses of the band, only repeaters. It is not a good idea to compile and publish a list of the repeaters, for obvious reasons. One repeater that has been operating at .5 watt output power is W6AK/R, which is used for the 440 side of the Sacramento Noon Net. FCC toldWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO the operators of this repeater they must reduce the interference by 22 dB, so this repeater will go off the air for a time. We must remember that amateur radio is secondary to radiolocation in this band. Major upgrades to the radar system at Beale AFB, CA, and Otis AFB, MA, have resulted in UHF repeaters being nominated as interfering devices. In California for many years now, our Department of Motor Vehicles has issued call sign license plates to amateurs holding an unexpired amateur operator’s license. Starting a few years ago, DMV put a space on the license plate (and on the registration document and in the data base) after the number in the call sign. My call sign thus would appear as W6 KJ both on the license plate and on my registration. Since my plates are 12 years old, only the registration appears that way. The plates are correct. But for people getting their plates recently, this ‘space’ issue has been an unnecessary irritant. Another aspect of the problem is if I was stopped by police and the plates were run against the data base. My registration says W6 KJ, but the plates don’t have a space in the call sign. I would need to tell the officer that it is an amateur radio plate and to makeWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO sure to insert the space or the data base search might show the plate was not issued. After several SV members complained about this I began researching the issue. I found online a letter from the director of the DMV in which he noted he could not correct the problem. The space had been inserted to differentiate between vanity plates and amateur plates. This was an arbitrary decision. So I wrote to my legislators requesting relief and advocated that others in the state do the same. Two days later, but after many letters had been written before I got into the act, an Assemblywoman in Lancaster, CA, got the answer from DMV for which we had all hoped. DMV will remove the space from license plates and our registrations. Thanks to many who acted on this issue, including our Division leadership who had been working behind the scenes at ‘various’ levels to correct the problem. There were also questions about the new hands free (cell phone use while driving) law going into effect in July in California. Confusion arose because of erroneous examples on the DMV website. These appear to have been resolved by DMV. Andy Oppel, N6AJO, our Pacific Division Vice Director, reports: ‘The Hands Free Issue appears resolved to me. The DMV reworded the example on their web page to say just the opposite of what it used to say. See for yourself at http://www.dmv.ca.gov/cellularphonelaws/. The specific example is: Q: May I use a dedicated two-way radio while driving? A: Yes. The use of dedicated two-way radios such as walkie-talkies and Citizen Band (CB) radios, which are not part of a wireless telephone, is not affected by the new law.’ With the end of the Official Bulletin Stations a few years ago, we need a way to get the basic ham radio news out to more people. If you can download the ARRL audio news and play it over your local repeater, we could keep more hams informed. He link is: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/. When you have established a schedule for playing this news, notify S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA, [email protected] at ARRL HQ. She will put your organization in the queue for a plug played during the news. Let me know too, with a note to [email protected] . Placer Amateur Radio Club qualified for and has been granted ARRL affiliation by Headquarters. Congratulations, PARC! Ham Crams, the short duration, highly concentrated licensing classes for Technician, have been successful in a number of cases in our section. Lassen Amateur Radio Club, LARC, conducted their examination January 12 after a Ham Cram. Seventeen new Technicians were successful, their licenses appearing on January 17. Congratulations LARC, and thanks to K6ME, Terry, for the good news. Several more should result in more new Techs in February. As always, we would like to hear you on one of the two section nets, the second Wednesday of each month. For February, that is February 13. We start with a VHF net on the WD6AXM/R (146.085 MHz, plus offset, 127.3 hz tone) at 1900L and then at 1930L we repeat the net on 3987 KHz with the latest news. Special thanks are due to the people who send me the links to their club newsletters, who take the time and expend the effort to send in obituary notices for silent keys in this section, and who, in other ways, provide the information
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for the Section Summary. We appreciate your interest. 73, Ron Murdock, W6KJ, Sacramento Valley Section Manager
San Joaquin Valley
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY SECTION Report for the month of January 2008: SM Charles McConnell, W6DPD- ASMs K6YKWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO and N2NS, ACC W6DPD, SEC N6ZFN, OOC N1VM, STM K6RAU, PIC KE6IGJ, TC W6TE. Greetings from the ARRL San Joaquin Valley Section. If you desire your club information and events to be listed in Section News, please send the information to [email protected]. I get very little information. If your club has a newsletter, please send it to me, email to [email protected] or via U.S Mail. Mark your calendars. Radiofest is February 23-24, 2008 in Monterey. Check www.radiofest.org for information. The International DX Convention is April 25-28, 2008 at Visalia. Check http://www.dxconvention.org/ for information. EMCOMM West is May 2-4, 2008 at the Circus Circus in Reno NV. Check www.emcommwest.org for information. The 65th Fresno Hamfest is May 31, 2008, at the Salvation Army in Fresno. Check www.w6to.com for information. Pacificon 2008 is October 17-19, 2008 at the Marriott Hotel in San Ramon CA. Check www.pacificon.org for information. When your affiliated club elects officers for the next year, be sure to update your club’s information on the affiliated club area of the ARRL web page so you club will get any information sent from theWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO ARRL Club department. If you fail to update your clubs information for 2 years, your club will be placed in the inactive file. Your club will be notified if the 2-year period is about to take place. Need to take an Amateur exam? Check the ARRL web page, www.arrl.org for exam information. You can also search for Amateur Radio Classes in your area. The Northern California Net (NCN), the Section Traffic Net, meets nightly on 3.533 MHZ at 7 PM Pacific Time. The slow speed training session of the net meets nightly on 3.533 MHZ at 9 PM Pacific Time. Handling traffic on CW is a good way to improve your CW skills. The Daytime Region 6 Traffic Net meets daily at 3:30 pacific time on or near 7.275 MHZ. The California Traffic Net meets daily on 3.906 MHZ and 6:30 PM local time. The noon time net meets on 7.268.5 MHz. This net handles a lot of messages. EMCOMM West for 2008 has moved to the Circus Circus in Reno. The dates are May 2 to 4, 2008. This is an ARRL specialty convention devoted entirely to emergency communications. Information can soon be found at www.emcommwest.org. If you are involved in emergency communications, this is an event you should plan to attend. Dennis Dura, K2DCD of ARRL, and Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, of the FCC are the featured speakers. ARRL Membership in the SJV Section increased in 2007 by 4.2% over the 2006 membership numbers. Keep up the good work in recruiting new and renewing ARRL members. KE6HCJ, Charles and W6ECP, Ernest are Silent Keys. They will be missed. Southern Sierra ARS 2008 officers are pres KD6RPJ, 1st vp KA6PTJ, 2nd vp W6TSP, sec KI6EOG, and treas N6MLD. The club meets the 2nd Thursday in Tehachapi. Tuolumne County ARES 2008 officers are pres WA6AWC, vp KBCEG, sec KE6RGP, and treas WA7MOB. Check www.lodelink.com/tcares for information. Clovis Amateur Radio Pioneers 2008 officers are pres AE6GE, vp K6OSX, sec KI6KRI, and treas KD6WAW. Check www.k6arp.org for information. San Joaquin Valley ARS 2008 officers are pres W6TTF, vp K6YRZ, sec N6EY, and treas KF6FGP. Check www.sjvars,com for information. Sierra ARC 2008 officers are pres WA7RIW, 1st vp KC6UMM, 2nd vp KG6STR, sec N6VGW and treas KC6UUS. Check www.qsl.net.wa6ybn for information. Club members provided communications support for the Over-the-Hill Track Club’s ultra marathon. Stanislaus ARA 2008 officers are pres KF6TEZ, vp KD6YWO, sec KF6TSY, and treas KC6TVE. Check www.saraclub.net for information. Traffic for January: K6RAU 17, W6DPD 0, and W6SX 35. Total 52. PSHR: K6RAU 79 and W6SX 72.
Santa Clara Valley
Monthly Summary for January 2008 Santa Clara Valley Section News Summary. February 17, 2008 =Section Convention at RadioFest 2008 – THIS WEEKEND! The Santa Clara Valley Section Convention (RadioFest 2008) sponsored by the Naval Postgraduate School Amateur Radio Club will be
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held on February 23rd and 24th near Monterey, CA. The event will be held at the Monterey Moose Lodge 876, 555 Canyon Del Rey (Hwy 218) in Seaside, CA. See the RadioFest web site for hotel accommodations and event schedule. The "Ham Cram" is on Saturday and FREE Exams on Sunday. Talk-In: 146.970- (PL 94.8) SATURDAY NIGHT BBQ with Keynote Speaker Harold Kramer the ARRL Chief Operating Officer. SATURDAY & SUNDAY SEMINARS SUNDAY FLEE MARKET VENDOR BOOTHS HAM RADIO DEMOS FREE WIFI FREE HAM CRAM CLASS FREE LICENSE EXAMSWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO FANTASTIC SPEAKERS DOOR PRIZES Please visit our www page http://www.radiofest.org/ =The 59th Annual International DX Convention sponsored by the Southern California DX Club will be held at The Holiday Inn Hotel & Conference Center Visalia. April 25, 26 & 27, 2008. See their web site at http://www.dxconvention.org. =EMCOMMWEST 2008 is on for May 2- 4, 2008 at the Circus Circus Hotel. See their web site at http://www.emcommwest.org = The Hands Free Issue appears resolved. The DMV reworded the example on their web page to say just the opposite of what it used to say. See for yourself at http://www.dmv.ca.gov/cellularphonelaws/. The specific example is: Q: May I use a dedicated two-way radio while driving? A: Yes. The use of dedicated two-way radios such as walkie-talkies and Citizen Band (CB) radios, which are not part of a wireless telephone, is not affected by the new law. = California Ham Plate issue is also resolved. New plate requests for amateur radio operators who do not currently have call sign plates will still be required to pay the normal $21 special plate. See the DMV to request "no space" call sign replacement at no cost. Complete the applicationWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO and a Statement of Facts indicating that you wish to retain the old plates until the new plates arrive, at which time you will properly destroy the old plates. Mail both documents to the address on the bottom of the application form. No fees are required. If you have questions or concerns regarding your Amateur Radio (HAM) license plates, please call Customer Communications at (916) 657-6560. = Two new Field Organization positions were created by the Board at the recommendation of the Programs and Services Committee: Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator and Assistant District Emergency Coordinator. = Jim Tiemstra, K6JAT, is the new East Bay Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC). The Santa Clara Valley Section SEC position is still open. =Section positions still open include Section Emergency Manager (SEC), Net Manager (NM), and Section Traffic Manager (STM), Public Information Coordinator (PIC) and Public Information Officers (PIO) and several others. Among them are an ASM for Scouting and Youth and several more ASM position to cover the five counties. This is YOUR Section; please consider helping all of us by filling one of these important positions. See http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/org/ for information on the ARRL Field Organization and all appointee positions. = The full-service N0ARY BBS is back online and available from its new site atop the ridge near Mount Umunhum. It's likely reachable from much of Santa Clara Valley as well as the Monterey Bay area. Connect to N0ARY-1 on 144.930 MHz. =The wiki-based SCV web site on PDARRL.org is up and running. Tom, K1TW, [email protected], is getting the content on both old and new sites up to date. Send him your corrections and get your club access to the wiki. Here's the link: http://www.pdarrl.org/scvsec/index.php. =Boy Scout Hi-Sierra International Rendezvous 2008 will be held August 10-16, 2008. A Ham Radio station will be a feature of this event and operators are needed. For more information please contact Gary Hendra, W6NOE, [email protected] or [email protected]. William Dale - N2RHV - Santa Clara Valley Section Manager, ARRL mailto:[email protected]
Roanoke Division
North Carolina
UPDATE FROM HQ Steve Ewald, WV1X, recently joined the section cabinet on a conference call for an update from ARRL headquarters. Steve shared with us that the ARRL board has approved new field appointments for Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator and Assistant District Emergency Coordinator. While we in NC have had appointees serving these roles for years, there was no official ARRL appointments established for those levels of leadership. Our Section Emergency Coordinator,
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Bernie Nobles, WA4MOK, will be working with his ARES organization to have the new appointments made where appropriate. An addition has been made to the public communications manual. Section 13- 16 was changed to allow National Traffic System (NTS) regional chairs to establish guidelines for setting limits on the large volume of routine traffic being sent through NTS. This should help address the concern of local traffic handlers over what some consider "spam" radiograms. But we do need traffic in the system to provide us with plenty of opportunities to practice our traffic handling skills. Why not initiate some of yourWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO own traffic through NTS? SECTION PIC TO HEAD ARRL COMMITTEE Our section public information coordinator, Bill Morine, N2COP has been appointed by ARRL president Joel Harrison, W5ZN, to lead the ARRL's National Public Relations Committee. Congratulations to Bill and good luck! OBSERVATIONS FROM CLUB MEETINGS One of the best things about being an ARRL section manager is that you get to visit so many ARRL affiliated clubs. I really enjoy meeting so many hams across the state and learning about the wonderful activities sponsored by the 53 ARRL clubs in North Carolina. We're lucky to have so much going on, but I frequently hear these clubs discuss ways to get more members to attend their meetings. Ham radio clubs and other civic organizations have so much competition for their member's time. All of us have plenty to keep us occupied without having to attend a club meeting every month. That's why it's so important to make club meeting programs as interesting as possible. I think many clubs spend too much time on the "business" portion of the meeting. Making decisions about club financing and organization, hearing committee reports, and discussingWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO the complexities of Robert's Rules of Order might be important, but it's not going to be a big draw for your next meeting! I think we should delegate as much club business as possible to a board of directors or other elected officials and save valuable club meeting time for the presentation of topics of interest to members. Many members have an area of interest or specialty they would be happy to discuss at a meeting. Also consider non-ham topics that might interest spouses and other non-ham family members. Invite a guest speaker from your served agencies to talk about activies in their area (Red Cross, Salvation Army, Emergency Management, elected officials, etc.). Have a "Mobile Hamming" night where members show off their mobile installations. Ask members to discuss recent ham radio projects or give a video tour of their ham shacks. Ask a member to share pictures and stories from their latest trip overseas. Invite section ARRL officials (including me!) to present a program. Have someone from your local power company discuss RFI. Bring in an ARRL volunteer counsel to discuss legal issues or an ARRL technical specialist or volunteer engineer to discuss grounding and lightning protection. Also, don't forget to publicize your meeting topic with plenty of advance notice. Have other great ideas? Send them to me and I'll share in an upcoming newsletter. UPCOMING ARRL FORUMS If you're attending the Charlotte Hamfest on March 8 or the Raleigh Hamfest on April 12, be sure to check out the ARRL forums. Officials from headquarters will be presenting, in addition to many of your section appointees. Also, stop by the ARRL booth to say hello! UPCOMING EVENTS Feb 24: NC QSO Party - www.w4nc.org March 2-8: Severe Weather Awareness Week March 8-9: Charlotte Hamfest - www.w4bfb.org April 6: Down East Hamfest, Kinston - www.downeasthamfest.org April 12: Raleigh Hamfest - www.rars.org/hamfest April 12: State ARES meeting, Raleigh April 19: Catawba Valley Hamfest, Morganton - cvhamfest.com May 10: Rockingham County Hamfest, Reidsville - www.rcarc.com May 24: DurHAMfest, Durham - www.dfma.org May 25-31: Hurricane Preparedness Week June 14: Winston-Salem Classic Hamfest - www.w4nc.org June 28-29: ARRL Field Day JANUARY TRAFFIC N3BW 232, W2EAG 215 KI4YV 214, K4IWW 205, W4DNA 161, WA4OBR 126, W3HL 60, W4TTO 51, W4EHF 47, W4NCD 46, WA2YBM 46, W4FAL 42, KD4WAX 38, KE4AHC 33, KD4ZPS 27, KJ4WY 18, KC4PGN 16, WX4MMM 9, KI4PNL 7. JANUARY PSHR W4DNA 135, W4FAL 130, K4IWW 120, W2EAG 110, KI4YV 100, W4TTO 100, WA2YBM 100.
South Carolina
Greetings to all Amateur Radio Operators. This is Dr. Jim, N2ZZ with the February 2008 South Carolina Section Manager’s Report! The 35th annual Charleston Hamfest, the South Carolina State Convention, was held on February 2nd. Dan Henderson N1ND, Regulatory Services Specialist from
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ARRL Headquarters attended the hamfest, and added his humorous and informative report at the ARRL Forum. John KC4YI also gave a report on the current status of the SCHEARTS project. Dan provided QSL card checking to the hamfest attendees, including yours truly! I asked the hamfest chair, Jenny WA4NGV about her impressions, and she was very pleased with the turnout. Prior to the ARRL Forum, Rodney Grim WA7ZIA from ICOM gave a talk on D*STAR. Rodney is now living in the greater Charleston Area. Information I received this weekend was that Rodney will be donating three D*STAR repeaters (VHF, UHFWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO and 1.2 Gig) which will be placed on a tower at MUSC. Thanks to all for a great hamfest! Although mentioned last month, I would like to again note that April 7th will mark the 50th anniversary of the South Carolina Sideband Net! Jim WB4DLD Net Manager would like to pass on the following information: April 7, 2008 will be the 50th Anniversary of the SC SSB Net. We are planning a very special Net for the 7th which is on Monday. Place this date on your calendar and check-in. On April 5th which is the Saturday prior to the 7th at Noon, we are going to have a meeting in Columbia to celebrate our 50th Anniversary. What we need you to do is let us know if you will be attending. Right now we need to poll you and see what type of facility we will need. Whether it be a Restaurant or a facility with a caterer. Our intentions will be a Dutch Meal at a restaurant or a Catered meal. Expected cost would be limited to about 10 bucks a person. We encourage you to bring your Spouse and include your family if you like or a friend. Give your total count to Jim WB4DLD or Tom WA4VYS as soon as possible if you believe you will attend. Once we have an idea on how many to expect we can firm up our reservationsWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO with a meeting place and offer more details. This is a special time for all of our Net Participants and you will not want to miss being there. Please call or send E-Mail to: Jim [email protected] or Tom [email protected]. Last month I reported on the Sandblast Rally, held on February 9th. I received a nice note from Gene WA4UKX. Both Gene and his son KG4HPW thoroughly enjoyed their participation in the Sandblast Rally, and from his notes passed 212 pieces of traffic during the rally! Congratulations and thanks to all who volunteered for this event! The Salkehatchie Amateur Radio Society will be presenting a program March 18th on Fox Hunting. K4GLP from North Carolina will be the speaker and will answer all questions on everything you wanted to know about Fox Hunting. Program will begin about 2000 in the metal building behind Barnwell First Baptist Church. For questions, contact Ray Thomas [email protected]. News on a Special Event station from Lloyd KO4L: 50th Anniversary of the Accidental Nuclear Bomb drop, Mars Bluff, SC, Special Event Station March 7 - 12, 2008, http//www.qrz.com/n4b: March 11, 1958, Florence, South Carolina -a B-47E accidentally jettisoned an unarmed nuclear weapon without its fissile core at 15,000 feet, which impacted in a sparsely populated area 6-1/2 miles east of Florence, South Carolina. The bomb's high explosive material exploded on impact, causing property damage and several injuries. This was the first town in America to have a Nuclear Bomb dropped on it. More Info? http://tinyurl.com/2zs9vq ; Video clip http://tinyurl.com/2fdu7x ; 28.330 14.290 7.263 3.920 146.850 MHz. SSB, CW, PSK, FM. Times are daily. Other frequencies may be used. QSL with SASE to N3ZL, Greg Davis, 3818 Colonial Rd Florence SC 29501. The official 2008 ARRL Field Day Web page http://www.arrl.org/FieldDay is up and running. The page includes a summary of available resources, with links to Field Day forms and rules, logos and reference links. There is also a link for ordering commemorative Field Day T-shirts, pins and other supplies. ARRL Sales and Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen NQ1R said supplies will begin shipping in early March, but it's not too early to place a pre- order now. Radio clubs are encouraged to order early. The Saluda County Emergency Management Division along with state/local agencies in Aiken, Greenwood and Lexington counties took part in COMMO-EX 2008 on Saturday, February, 16th. COMMO-EX 2008 was a joint communication exercise simulating a large scale coastal evacuation due to an impending hurricane approaching SC. Various communication technologies from ham radio to South Carolina’s statewide "Palmetto 800" radio system were utilized in Saturday’s exercise. Amateur radio operators from Aiken, Greenwood, Lexington, McCormick, Richland and Saluda counties came together as members of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES). Ham radio units were stationed on SC Hwy 178 throughout Greenwood, Lexington and Saluda counties to monitor and report actual traffic data. The amateur radio operators demonstrated their skills at passing messages
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by radio waves from the field sites to the county Emergency Operations Centers (EOC) and the State EOC in Columbia. According to Buddy Willis, Saluda County’s amateur radio Emergency Coordinator, Saturday’s exercise was "a huge success." Robert Steadman, Saluda County Emergency Management Director echoed Willis’ comments: "The lessons learned from COMMO-EX 2008 will benefit not only the agencies that participated but will also benefit public safety agencies throughout South Carolina." Agencies participating in the exercise included Aiken County Emergency Management Division, Greenwood CountyWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Emergency Preparedness Division, Greenwood Amateur Radio Society, Lexington County Emergency Management Division, Ridge Amateur Radio Club, Saluda County Emergency Management Division, Saluda County Sheriff’s Office, Saluda County Fire Service, SC Department of Public Safety and the SC Emergency Management Division. DX’ers had a special treat this month. The VP6DX Ducie Island DXPedition has been all over the HF bands with excellent signals and excellent operators. With the ability to work them mobile and QRP, it was no longer a question on whether it was possible to work them, it was the question as to how many bands/modes you could work them! Many records have been set, including the largest number of contacts made by any DXPedition (>168,723!), Largest number of RTTY contacts, Largest number of SSB contacts, and the list goes on and on. Information is available on their website: http://ducie2008.dl1mgb.com/ Online logs are available! Finally, I attended the QCWA meeting in Columbia this past Saturday, presided over by Chapter 89’s President Jenny Myers WA4NGV. I encourage all amateur radio operators who have been licensed over 25 yearsWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO to become part of this organization! Dues are reasonable and the fellowship is outstanding! Please contact Jim Hill [email protected] or Jenny Myers [email protected] for membership information. That’s it for February! See you next month! January 2008 National Traffic System Report for SC by Mac Heaton N4MEH, STM Net Reports: Net/Check Ins/Traffic/Sessions/Reported By; Anderson Radio Club 2M Net/852/32/31/N4MEH; Beaufort VHF ARES Net/50/5/4/KB1CTC; Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Net /2549/43/31/K4SUG; Carolina Slow Net/157/24/31/N0SU; Columbia ARC 2 Meter Net/226/0/9/KE4TLC; Grand Strand ARC 2M Net/170/18/14/KI4HEE; Greater Pee Dee 2 Meter Net/558/46/31/K4DTT; Greenwood ARC 2 Meter Net/137/5/5/W4DEW; Greenwood Friendly Net/392/66/31/W4JAK; Lancaster County 2 Meter; Net/112/14/13/N4WMB; Oconee 2M Net/316/21/13/N9GSX; PALS Net/862/74/31/KG4KOE; SC SSB Net/1523/78/31/WB4DLD; York Co. ARS 2 Meter FM Net/765/0/53/KI4NBA Station Activity Reports: KA4LRM 21; KA4UIV 57; K4GLT 207; N4MEH 63; WB4DLD 59. PSHR: KA4LRM 72; N4MEH 100. Have a Great Month!! ’73 de Dr. Jim N2ZZ, ARRL Section Manager,South Carolina Section, www.arrl-sc.org
Virginia
Virginia Section Manager’s Report For January 2008 It is with regret that we post the notice of the passing on January 23 of L. Alan Bosch, KO4ALA of Arlington Virginia. Alan was a ham with multi interest that included emergency communications leadership, serving as a mentor to kids at the Thomas Jefferson Technical High School, as an author having had articles published in QST and actively working with two different local clubs. His local clubs were the Arlington Radio Club and the Vienna Wireless Society. Alan served for a number of years and was currently ARES Emergency Coordinator for Arlington County at the time of his death. Alan also served on the National Capital Region Amateur Radio Council (NCAC). During the attacks on the Pentagon on 9/11, Alan was involved in responding. KO4AL served with communications and was a member of the USMC Marathon Ham Radio Planning Committee. Alan’s key is now silent but those that served with him and knew him as a friend and fellow ham will miss him. As members of the Amateur Radio community we extend our prayers and sympathy to Alan’s family. As of late the Amateur Radio community has had to deal with threats to our ability to communicate effectively in emergencies. The first of these is the lack of consistency with jurisdictions within the Commonwealth of abiding by both the spirit and letter of the law when it comes to the writing of local tower ordinances. The Code of Virginia § 15.2-2293.1. is very clear as it pertains to Amateur Radio towers and reads as follows; Placement of amateur radio antennas. Any ordinance involving the placement, screening or height of antennas shall reasonably accommodate amateur radio antennas and
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shall impose the minimum regulation necessary to accomplish the locality's legitimate purpose. In localities having a population density of 120 persons or less per square mile according to the 1990 United States census, no local ordinance shall (i) restrict amateur radio antenna height to less than 200 feet above ground level as permitted by the Federal Communications Commission or (ii) restrict the number of support structures. In localities having a population density of more than 120 persons per square mile according to the 1990 United States census, no local ordinance shall (i) restrict amateur radio antenna heightWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO to less than 75 feet above ground level or (ii) restrict the number of support structures. Reasonable and customary engineering practices shall be followed in the erection of amateur radio antennas. This section shall not preclude any locality, by ordinance, from regulating amateur radio antennas with regard to reasonable requirements relating to the use of screening, setback, placement, and health and safety requirements In spite of this clear language of state code a number of jurisdictions have stipulate a height of 50 ft.. Many other restrictions have crept into the language of tower ordinances that would allow only those hams with strong financial resources to be able to construct a tower. The intent of Virginia law was to prevent this type of local ordinance. A Section Manager does not have the time to be involved in resolving this issue at every local level. It is vital that every ham club in each locality research their local ordinances to ensure that state code and local code is consistent. If local code is not consistent the state and federal law has preemption. If we do not act, our effectiveness in emergency communications will be impacted in negative ways. A second threat to our effectiveness in emergencyWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO communications is the introduction of HR904. As the proposed law is written the only mobile operations of Amateur Radio would require being “hands free”. This proposed law has been tabled until the 2009 session but will surface again nest year. Now is the time to contact the sponsor of this bill and get the language revised to exclude Amateur Radio from this bill that was designed to deal with cell phone use while a vehicle is in monition. The following is the main body of the proposed bill. No person shall use a mobile telephone or other wireless electronic telecommunications device while operating a moving motor vehicle on any public highway in the Commonwealth unless such mobile telephone or other wireless electronic telecommunications device is equipped with a hands-free accessory. There are exemptions from this proposed law but Amateur Radio is not one of them. Marty Mait, AG4DN is our State Legislative Liaison and is working on this issue. In their recent broad meeting the ARRL has created two new appointments in the area of ARES. These are Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator and Assistant District Emergency Coordinator. This change was requested at least two years ago by the SMs and has now been adapted. In many Sections the naming of people to these positions has been a common practice but it required using a different title when registering these appointments with the league. In the Virginia Section, Assistant Section Emergency Coordinators were registered as DECs and Assist DECs were usually not registered as a league appointment but records were kept at the Section level. This new ruling will allow for appointments to be consistent with their function. The ARRL also decided to drop the senior discount on membership. This discount was a reduction of $3.00 per year. Item 26. “Mr. Edgar moved, seconded by Mr. Frenaye, that Bylaw 5 be deleted effective January 1, 2009 as recommended by the Administration and Finance Committee. This would have the effect of eliminating the dues rate concession that is available to members who have reached the age of 65. After discussion, a roll call vote being required with a minimum of 10 affirmative votes needed for adoption, the motion was ADOPTED with 12 affirmative votes. All Directors voted in favor except Messrs. Allen, Sarratt and Norton, who voted opposed. “ This was done as a cost saving measure. The Board received a progress report from the Programs and Services Committee on its study of Section Governance. The committee recommended that Section Managers continue to be elected by Section members. Remember to go to the Section page http://www.aresva.org/ for the Section Traffic Managers monthly report and to http://www.aresva.org/aresva.html for the Section Emergency Coordinator's monthly report. Glen Sage, W4GHS-Virginia Section Manager
Rocky Mountain Division
New Mexico
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New Mexico Section Monthly Summary for January 2008 In accordance with the recommendation in the Section Manager’s Handbook I have been contacting all the members of the New Mexico staff. I am compiling changes at this time and will have Rick Sohl , K5RIC, the SEC make changes that I have found. After creating a “Manning Chart” of the section I have found several important positions that need to be filled. One of those positions is the PIC. I have recruited Ray Herne, N5LIV, to fill this position. Ray has been in commercial broadcasting for over 30 years and his knowledge of the industry and the contacts heWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO has should provide our section with more and better information to the public about amateur radio. A committee was been formed late last year to develop the necessary resources to have a presentation booth that can be used at various public activities. Our Rocky Mountain Division Director, Brian Mileshosky –N5ZGT – has been instrumental in developing this committee. A 10 x 10 portable booth has been donated by a branch of GE and is ready for use. The committee is currently working on the legalities required to participate at public events. On behalf of this effort I met with Mr. Greg Sanchez the EC for the City of Albuquerque to try and obtain financial support from the city. This was met with a positive response by Mr. Sanchez and he will be checking to see if funds are obtainable. Mr. Sanchez has just passed his license test and is waiting for his call. We had a new Club call assigned: KE5RUE Greyhound Amateur Radio Club Mr. Jeff Burmeister – W5OMU – was instrumental in the formation of the club and is also on the New Mexico Staff. They have a web site: wwwstd.enmu.edu/enmuarc Their club has applied for affiliation with the League. We had another silent key: GeorgeWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO G. Brandon – K8ZFZ Our Net Counts are as follows: NM Breakfast Club 1224/114 NM Roadrunner Traffic Net: 975/84 Valencia County ARA Net: 70/16 Rusty’s Raiders Net: 710/72 Yucca Net: 871/46 Four Corners Net: 478/24 SCAT Net: 758/37 Caravan Club Net: 66/8 I think that covers the most important happenings in the New Mexico Section for January 2008. If I have not supplied all the required information please let me know. This is my first monthly section report. Don Wood – W5FHA Section Manager for New Mexico
Wyoming
Wyoming Section Manager Newsletter February, 2008 The Wyoming Section continues to grow at the outstanding clip of almost 7%, twice the national average. Let’s hone our Elmer skills to help those new hams and recent upgrades to get them on the air and promote the outstanding benefits offered by ARRL. WY-ARES discussion site on Yahoo.com (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WYO-ARES/) will be a valuable tool for Wyoming and others to discuss Emergency Communication issues unique to our western environment. Thanks to WB7S Jerry and W7PN Skip for getting the ball rolling. Check it out! New Appointments: I would like to thank Lynn Knapp N7IKO for his years of service to Park County and Wyoming. Lynn is spending more of his time in California these days and is stepping down as Park County Emergency Coordinator. Robert Elder K7EMS has stepped down as Section Technical Coordinator and taken the torch to be the new Park Co. EC replacing Lynn. Roberton Overton WA7JRF will move up to Section Technical Coordinator. Mike Coley KE7AZF has accepted the Casper Natrona EC position vacated by busy ASM Dave Riegert K7YE – thanks Dave for your contribution. Multi- talented ASM LeeAnne Allen WY7DTW is the new Cook County EC in addition to all her other Section hats. Duane Shillinger NN7H has volunteered as Carbon County EC, Garth Crowe N7XKT as Campbell Co. EC and Dave Gregory N7COA as Sweetwater Co. AEC. Thank everyone for stepping up to help the Wyoming EmComm Community. There are some counties that could use help in the EC department so contact Jerry Pyle WB7S if interested. This is an ARRL position so membership is required. Emergency Communication is a cornerstone of ARRL’s contribution to society and an important part of justifying our frequency spectrum allocation. The 7 QP is planned May 3,4th – check out the rules: http://www.codxc.com/new/page.asp?content=dryland7s. Looking forward to good participation - last year was fun. I sent in copies of hand written logs and the checker wrote me a nice letter telling me how LOUSY my writing was and I should STRONGLY consider a logging program – I now have one. Keep in mind the Wyoming Hamfest / State Convention in Casper May 23-25th sponsored by the Casper ARC. Stay tuned for updates as arrangements are made. Bob Meyer W7BLM
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has announced he is looking for nominations for Ham of the Year to be awarded at the State Hamfest – contact him at [email protected]. Bob was the 2007 recipient. The next WIMU has been put off until 2009 by virtue of the WIMU board vote. The Rocky Mountain District meeting is scheduled July 11-13 in Bryce Canyon, UT http://www.utahhamfest.org/ and was felt to be too close to the WIMU time frame to make it successful. The WIMU board has full intentions of holding a 2009 convention. See you “on the air”, 73, Chris, WY7UPR WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Southeastern Division
Puerto Rico
Saludos a todos. Nuevamente les informo sobre los acontecimientos locales más significativos de nuestro pasatiempo. Enero : La asamblea anual del “Puerto Rico Amateur Radio League” (PRARL) se llevó a cabo en las facilidades del Albergue Olímpico en Salinas. En esta ocación se celebró el aniversario número 20 de la liga. También se presentó la placa “Joe Knight W5PDY Distinguished Service Award” a Víctor Madera, KP4PQ. El “Caribbean Amateur Radio Group” de Arecibo auspició el primer concurso nativo del año. El mismo se llevó a cabo en los 10 metros fonía y tuvo una excelente participación. Febrero : El Caribbean Amateur Radio Group organizó un hamfest en Arecibo. En el mismo seWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO ofrecieron dos charlas técnicas. La de APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System ) a cargo de Oscar Resto, KP4RF, la de la NASA a cargo de Gladys Muñoz, NP3BY y la de antenas a cargo de Pedro Pizá, NP4A. También hubo una exhibición sobre el Radio Telescopio de Arecibo. Todas las charlas fueron un éxito. Los “Official Observers” se reunieron para discutir varios asuntos relacionados con operadores con poco conocimiento de las reglas de la FCC, transmisiones de música, pobre o ninguna identificación de parte de algunos radio aficionados, etc. No queremos que OOs de otros lugares o la FCC esté llamándonos la atención. No queremos que algunos pocos radio aficionados sirvan de ejemplos negativos de lo que son la mayoría de los radio aficionados de Puerto Rico. ¿Qué nos pasa? Marzo : Próximamente les informaremos… Por ahora, acuérdense que tenemos muchos medios de comunicación aparte de nuestras frecuencias (celulares, Internet, etc.). Visiten las páginas de la ARRL, de la PRARL, etc. En mi página personal, www.kp4ac,com, les incluyo los vínculos a muchas de estas organizaciones y a muchos colegas locales que tienen sus páginas cibernéticas dedicadas a la radio afición. 73 y que Dios los bendiga a todos.
Southern Florida
Hi Everyone, It is another beautiful day in paradise! Most days during this time have of year have such beautiful weather that I often call them Chamber of Commerce Days. However, we must not forget that this is also severe weather season. Check with your local Skywarn group and take an NWS refresher course for spotters. The NWS appreciates our assistance so let us say thanks for the good press they give us and keep up to date with training. Here's a link to a great article about Skywarn spotters: http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008802140353 REPORTS: SAR JANUARY 2008: KA4FZI 423, KE4CB 129,AA4BN 52, KC4TM 4 PSHR JANUARY 2008: KA4FZI 120, AA4BN 97, KE4CB 85 NET REPORTS JANUARY 2008: NET. ABB., SESS, QNI, QTC MGR All Florida CW Traffic Net, QFN, 62, 578, 375, AD4DO Florida Amateur SSB Traffic Net, FAST, 31, 216, 98,K4SCL Florida Medium Speed Net, FMSN, 31 288, 49, AG4RJ/AB4XK Jupiter-Tequesta Repeater Group, JTRG, 6, 54, 27, AG4BV/W4FK Palm Beach County Ares Net, PBCAN, 8,109, 35, KG4PFY Saint Lucie Repeater Association, SLRA, 4, 44, 6, KE4UEI Southeast Florida Traffic Net, SEFTN, 31, 689, 56, AG4RJ/KI4IQZ Totals Check-ins: 1,978 Messages handled: 646 The SWFTN (Southwest Florida Traffic Net) meets on the 146.685 repeater, tone 136.5. Net Manager is currently Butch, KE4CB. ARES nets active: 14, Sessions 57, 6 nets with NTS liaison: 6 DECs/ECs reporting: N4LEM, WA2DQX, KF4MJJ, N5KFR, AA4BN, WA4ASJ, AI7Q, K4FLC, AD4RZ (9 of 14 counties) Number
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of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 71 Person hours 227 Number of public service events this month: 1 Person hours 6 Number of emergency operations this month: 0 Total number of ARES operations this month: 72 Total Person hours 233 SFL ARES Net Report --- QNI 33 QTC 1 Time 42Min. At the January 2008 meeting of the ARRL Board of Directors they voted to discontinue the #3.00 per year senior membership discount, effective January 1, 2009. If you are 65 or older this year you can still renew membership for 3 more years (paying in this year) at the discount rate. I will have applications and repeaterWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO directories for renewals at the hamfest in Stuart on March 15. I will also have the 2008 SAK for the ARRL PIOs. Speaking of Stuart, that hamfest is our SFL Section convention. A number of interesting forums are being planned and the Southeastern Division Director will be there. (He is the person with the vote on policies that affect members. Like each of you I have no vote, only a voice). Many clubs send me their newsletters and/or allow me to join their reflectors so that I can share news items with you. I have noted some good things happening in the last few months. Several clubs are forming mentoring/elmering groups and several are holding regularly scheduled elmering sessions. Several clubs hold Saturday operating activities in a public park – to elmer new hams, share ideas on new operating modes, and perhaps introduce the public to amateur radio. Classes – don't rely on word of mouth in the ham community to find students – use the media. And don't forget the ARRL web site. There are many folks out there that are interested in ham radio but do not know any local hams. This is a busy time of year for public service events. Please contact your local ARES group or club and offer your assistance.WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Many events will happen after April 15th when we loose our winter residents and your help will be needed even more. Please don't forget to contact your local home improvement stores, Emergency Management, served agencies, and shopping mall to obtain dates of hurricane preparedness expos in your area. These events put amateur radio in a positive place in the mind of your neighbors. At these events you can also recruit new hams, revive the interest of inactive hams, and make contacts for future radio demonstrations and educational talks. The Southern Florida section is always looking for volunteers to assist with the many services provided by the ARRL Field Organization. If you would like to help visit http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/org/ for a description of the various volunteer opportunities. Full time residents are preferred for most positions. If you are not a full time resident contact your local club or ARES group and volunteer to help with local events. Lastly a thought for you. Amateur radio is one of very few hobbies that has public service as one of the main purposes. Stay safe and stay on the air. 73, Sherri, W4STB
Southwestern Division
Arizona
ARRL ARIZONA SECTION NEWS February 2008 ARIZONA PRB-1 Dan Brown NA7DB is working with Representative Nancy McLain on re-introducing the Arizona PRB-1 bill. Recall that last year it got through the House with a 56 to 2 vote in favor of the bill. Dan says “We discussed some possible changes/additions to the bill. The political decision is to leave the bill exactly the way it passed the House. If we try to make it more complex or involve money, it will create friction in the process. The strategy for the House is to contact the Representatives and thank them for their support last year. Then let them know that the same bill they voted YES on last year is up again and we will appreciate their support. In the Senate where our bill was held by the Government Committee Chairman, we have made BIG progress. So please do not attack that Chairman! We have made progress with the HOA lobbyists and have an agreement with the Arizona Counties Association. We still will have to contact all 30 Senators and make sure they understand our Bill and ask for their support. There will be Committee hearings to attend and we need groups of Hams making the rounds of the House and Senate to meet with and educate those folks. Because of the Budget Crisis I think it will be in February when our Bill comes up. Please let me know if you would like to be involved in the Committee hearings process and personally visiting with our legislators in this effort to get our Amateur Radio Bill passed. I hope everyone will be involved in contacting their Representatives and Senators when we have a Bill number.
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A huge thanks to everyone who made the effort last year to help get our bill through the House. I hope in 2008 we will get the job done in the Senate also.” YOUTH AND SCOUTING We did such a great job with the Winter Cub Scout Camp here in Tucson, we have been asked to work at the Summer Cub Scout Camp at Camp Lawton starting on the Memorial Day weekend. They want us to show off Amateur Radio RF Direction finding. Jim Fagan KE7IDC Assistant Section Manager (ASM) Youth and Scouting [email protected] SOUTHWESTERN DIVISION CONVENTION 2008 The Southwestern Division ConventionWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO will have a presentation by the Arizona Director of Emergency Management, Mr. Lou Trammell. Mr. Trammell will discuss communications capabilities both commercial and through RACES and ARES. The Southwestern Division Convention will have some exceptional programs, and I hope you have visited www.azhamserve.org to signup. Check the website regularly to see what's new: www.azhamcom.org Rick Aldom W7STS EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS The ARRL just announced two new appointments: Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator and Assistant District Emergency Coordinator. If you are interested, let me know. January has been a quiet month until the end when the state has had some pretty impressive rainfall. Up slope areas of Maricopa, Yavapai and Gila counties received significant rainfall amount. It's unusual to see areas of the desert receive more than an inch of rain, but this storm brought more than 4 inches in some locations. The downside of all this tropical moisture will be the reduction of the snowpack. Snow levels were in the ~8000 range, which meant the snow melted by the rain added to the runoff amounts overfilling several of the smaller reservoirsWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO and lakes. The Salt River Project was forced to release water down the salt. This will make for an increased chance of wildfires later in the season. Please go to: www.az-arrl.org/secure to register for Arizona ARES! www.az-arrl.org/secure Rick Aldom W7STS SEC Arizona SILENT KEYS Warren Haring KD7WBG in Yuma passed away on January 27th. Warren was very active in ARES unit. NEW HAMS The following Arizona hams just received their FCC license, Congratulations! Gregory Stephens KE7QOX, Bruce Wolf KE7QEN, Bruce Nourish KE7QOW, Jefferson Burhman KE7QOS, Andrus Tanner KE7QOQ, Michael Dalton KE7QOR, Tim Richards KE7QEX, Samuel Fuller KE7QEZ, Hussein El Sekafi KE7QOV, Alexei Sheydayi KE7QOT, Craig Whipp KE7QFA, Callum Farrell KE7QKU, Sidney Hickman KE7QKQ, Ned Bleuer KE7QKR, Robert Shaub KE7QKP, Colin Farrell KE7QKV, Brian Pruett KE7QFX, Joel Davis KE7QFW, Bryan Abbott KE7QFV, Bart Haines KE7QFU, Nathan Powell KE7QID, David Slagg KE7QKT, Rachel Ewing KE7QKS, Dustin Lauth- clements KE7QIN, Samrat C Miller KE7QIL, Moses Milazzo KE7QIF, Aaron Wilcox KE7QOU, Wendie Jarman KE7QIH, Justin Wright KE7QIJ, Aaron Herring KE7QII, Jonathan Jarman KE7QIG, Michael Daley KE7QIK, William Leeson KE7QIB, Thomas Maloy KE7QIA, Kelsey Mcguffee KE7QFC, Deborah Heilig KE7QIE, Richard Price KE7QIC, John Savino KE7QCA, Stephen Wenger KE7QBY, David Lucas KE7QBZ, Jayne Abraham KE7QFK, Erwin Perelstein KE7QFI, Alice Dunford KE7QFF, Edward Smith KE7QFH, Robert Hernandez KE7QFQ, Marti Blad KE7QFJ, Lina Wallen KE7QFE, Patricia Traber KE7QFG, Thomas Mccowan KE7QOL and James Bowen KE7QBM. HAMFESTS/CONVENTIONS/SPECIAL MEETINGS January 12, 2008 WestFest hosted by the Thunderbird ARC was held on January 12 at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Greenway and 59th Ave in Glendale. The first all indoor hamfest for Arizona was a total success. A lot of hams really liked the indoor atmosphere, and want more like it. Over 425 hams attended and every single booth was sold out. Way to go! February 15-17, 2008 Yuma HamExpo at the Yuma County Fairgrounds www.yumahamexpo.com March 8, 2008 SpringFest hosted by the Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club, Scottsdale Community College, Chaparral & Hwy 101, Scottsdale, AZ, ARCA Meeting - 11:00 AM March 8, 2008 Tucson Ham Radio Spring Picnic at Christopher Columbus Park. More info can be found at www.tucsonhampicnic.com April 2008, AARC Hamfest, hosted by the Arizona Amateur Radio Club, DeVry University, Dunlap, Rd, Phoenix, AZ May 3, 2008, CARA Hamfest, hosted by the Cochise Amateur Radio Association, Club Site, Moson Rd, Sierra Vista, AZ ARCA Meeting - 11:00 AM July 18-20, 2008 ARCA/Williams Hamfest hosted by the Amateur Radio Council of Arizona Williams Rodeo Grounds, 800 Rodeo Rd, Williams, AZ www.arca-az.org September 12-14, 2008 ARRL Southwestern Division Convention Mesa AZ Come check us out at www.AzHamCom.org Mesa Convention Center Rick Aldom W7STS 2008 SWD Chair [email protected]. Please let me know
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if you have any questions or concerns about ARRL. If your club or group has an activity or event that would be of interest to other hams throughout our section please email me with the specifics. 73, Tom Fagan K7DF ARRL Section Manager Arizona Tucson Arizona (520) 574-1129 [email protected] http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=AZ or http://www.az-arrl.org/ West Gulf DivisionWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO South Texas
February is coming to an end and we have had some strange weather. Friday and Saturday were bad weather for South Texas. I think this was the main reason that the Smithville swap fest was short of hams. Most of you know James Robbins, N5OUJ, (n5 ole uncle James) as he is known on the air. James goes into the hospital for surgery on the 19 TH. Please remember James in your thoughts and prayers. We hope to hear him back on the nets real soon. Big Spring, Texas, had an explosion at the oil refinery today. I don't know how much the hams were used but it was most likely on 2 meters. I monitored the HF frequencies and heard nothing. There were some injuries but no deaths as far as I know. Several of the schools and the college were closed. I-29 and several roads were closed to keep out those that weren't needed. March 1 is the South Texas Section Convention at the Ft. Bend County Fair grounds at 4310 HighwayWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO 36 South, in Rosenberg, Tx. Talk-in 146.94 pl/167.9. Hope to see everyone there. March 8 there will be a B-B-Q after the planning meeting for District 4 ARES in Corpus Christi, Tx at the Hilltop Community Center, 11425 Leopard St. Surrounding Counties are invited. Please contact Mark at [email protected] if you will be attending the B-B-Q. March 9 WCARC will host the Sunday Hamfest at the Georgetown Community Center, San Gabriel Park, Georgetown, TX. Everything will be inside. Last Saturday of each month is the tailgate event at KCOMM, 10815 Gulfdale, San Antonio, TX. Don't forget the 7290 picnic on May 3. Join in the net for details. God Bless America and our Troops.
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Section News for February 2008
Atlantic Division
Delaware
Delaware Section Monthly Summary for March, 2008 Up and Coming Area Hamfest March 29-30 Greater Baltimore Hamboree and Computer fest, Baltimore Amateur Radio Club, Maryland State Fairgrounds, Timonium, MD http://www.gbhc.org April 12 Sussex County Hamfest, Sussex ARA & Sussex Tech ARC, Sussex Technical High School, 17099 County Seat Highway (Route 9), Georgetown, DE www.k3str.com April 19 York Hamfest, York Hamfest Foundation, WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROBrookside Park, 4054 Fox Run Road, Dover, PA http://www.yorkhamfest.org Division Club Teleconference/Webinars ------We have two more teleconferences/webinars that have been scheduled and open to interested ARRL members. On Saturday, April 19th at 11am to 12pm, meet with ARRL's Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager, Dennis Dura K2DCD, who will present information about the ARRL's EmComm program and what he's been working on. This webinar/teleconference is for clubs members, ARES members, Section Managers, Section Cabinet Staff and those interested in emergency communications. You can register for this webinar at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/874893521 On Saturday, May 24 at 11am to 12pm, meet with ARRL's Media and Public Relations Manager, Allen Pitts W1AGP, who will present information about the ARRL's new public relations program for 2008. This webinar/teleconference is for Public Information Officers, Public Information Coordinators, club members, ARES members, Section Managers, Section Cabinet Staff and those interested in public relations as it pertains to amateur radio. You can register for this webinar at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/939266067 For more information about Atlantic Division Teleconferences/Webinars, you can go to the Atlantic Division Website Training page located at: http://www.atldiv.org/training I wish to thank Bill Edgar N3LLR and Tom Abernethy W3TOM for all their hard work in making these Webinars available, the feedback that I have received from the Delaware section membership has been very positive. April 1st & 2nd Sussex County Emergency Operations Center moves to its new facility. Amateur stations have been requested to stand by at area firehouses to provide back up communications. Up coming DEMA Radiological Emergency Preparedness Exercise will hold a dress Rehearsal on April 29th between 9 am and 4 pm. The graded exercises will be Held on May 20th. After 3 pm. Please mark you calendar. Grab and Go Kits ------We have had some suggestions for a future division teleconference/webinar on grab and go kits within the Atlantic Division. We plan on featuring the top notch grab and go kits within the division with pictures and a component list of equipment and features of the top grab and go kits. If you would like to have your grab and go kit considered, please send pictures andWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO information about your kit to [email protected] . The deadline for submissions is April 30, 2008. Conventions within the Atlantic Division ------We have several conventions that have been approved. Those approved conventions are: Atlantic Division Convention -- May 30 & 31 Rochester, NY Eastern PA Section Convention -- July 4 Bressler, PA Western PA Section Convention -- August 24 New Kensington, PA EmComm East Emergency Communications Convention -- September 20 Rochester, NY At our last meeting at DEMA it was suggested that Amateur Radio Operators be designated with typing classification in order that emergency managers would be able to order Amateur Radio resources based on training, equipment and experience levels. Proposed training levels were: Type IV Technician FCC license, FEMA IS 22 trained, registered with served agency, and willingness to support in a declared emergency. Type III all the above in Type IV plus FEMA IS 100 and IS 700 trained and intro into Delaware Emergency Management training. Type II all the above in Type III plus FEMA IS 800 training. Type I all the above in Type II plus a General or above FCC license and ARRL EC 1 trained. In an effort to comply with these requirements with the help of W3RSM Robbie McCray we have set up a new web site for registering your station and your training credentials in real time in order to have up to date information available to use during an emergency. Please go to www.de-arrl.org and click on the registration URL and follow the instructions to submit your registration by email! Thank You. 73 Frank T. Filipkowski Jr. AD3M Delaware Section Manager
Southern New Jersey
SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY NEWSLETTER FOR MARCH 2008 SECTION MANAGER, JEAN PRIESTLEY, KA2YKN As spring approaches and we come out of our lairs, we look around, and ready ourselves for a nice long stretch of warmer weather and fun activities. If you are a club member, it is time to start thinking about Foxhunts, picnics, work on the club house or club repeater projects. Let us not forget the hamfests and club trips such as ARRL Headquarters. The planning should be fun and well planned. To make sure everyone is included, be sure to listen to all ideas. Pay attention to details. Programs are important to a club meeting and these programs are unique to the individual club presenting it. A club with older members might be interested in a program about Elder Law. A younger based club may want to know about tower safety. If there are teens in the club, their interests will also be different. As I have said before the teen and young adults are the backbone of every club. We have the report of another Silent Key. AF2X , Stephen Lucas, Jr. age 93 of Mays Landing, passed away on March 1, 2008. He served in the US Army Air Corps during WW11. Stephan was the owner and operator of Steve’s Marine Radio and continued working until the age of 90. During his leisure time he enjoyed Amateur Radio and trained several other hams during his years as a ham. He also enjoyed visits from his friends. Also Bill Eppley W2SDB , of Cape Canaveral, FL, a long time SJRA member- Past President I think- I don’t have much more in the way of details. A new law (P.L. 2007, c 198) went into effect on March 1 pf 2008) went into effect on March 1 2008 regarding the use of wireless telephones and communication devices in a moving motor vehicle. Section 1.a reads: The use of a wireless telephone or electronic communications device by an operator of a moving motor vehicle on a public road or highway shall be unlawful except when the telephone is a hands-free wireless telephone or the electronic communications device is used hands-free, provided that its placement does not interfere with the operation of federally required safety equipment and the operator exercises a high degree of caution in the operation of the motor vehicle. For the purposes of this section, an electronic communications device shall not include amateur radio. The full text of the law can be found at: http://www.judiciary.state.nj.uslegis/2007c198_law.pdf The new Amateur Extra class Question Pool has been released. The national Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators has released the new pool of question for the Amateur Extra class license. This pool will become effective for examinations given on or after July 1, 2008 and should be in service until June 30, 2012. The pool, which consists of 741 questions and 12 graphics, can be downloaded from the NCVEC website in Word, PDF or RTF formats. There is a Hamfest coming up on April 5, 2008 and it is hosted by the Ocean Monmouth Amateur Radio Club N2MO. It is a Tailgater Hamfest and the location is Infoage Learning Center, Project Diana Site, Former Camp Evans Complex on Marconi Road in Wall Township New Jersey. Talk-in will be on 145.110(-600, PL127.3). Buyers are $5 per car with free parking. Sellers are $10 per space (outside only). GPS Coordinates N 40 11.70 WO74 03.390. JSARS Is still holding their testing sessions the third Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm at the Riverwood Recreation Building on Riverwood Drive in Toms River, NJ. For more information call Ed, GENOINO, WA2NDA at 609-693-3729. Holiday City ARC is also still holding their test sessions every other 2nd Saturday from 10am to 12pm, (May, July, Sept, Nov). Sessions are held at the Holiday City South Clubhouse area in meeting room #1 on Mule Road at the corner of Santiago Dr in Toms River. Your contact person is Bill Haldane, AC2F and the phone is 732-240-7064 or [email protected]. When going to any test session, you must have your original license and at least one Xerox copy and original and one copy of any credit sheets you may have. Also bring 2 forms of id. Testing sessions by SJRA are on the 4th Tuesday of each month at the Winslow Senior center. Contact is Mark, K2AX at [email protected] or (609)820-1523. Testing is also available in Atlantic County. The location is at the Canale Training Center at 5033 English Creek Avenue in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. There will be no walk-ins so please call Robert, WA2ARP at 609-338-7038 to register. The sponsor is the Southern Counties Amateur Radio Association (SCARA). Next session is June 8th, 9:30 A.M. If you haven’t already, please make a note or bookmark the following site: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/phi/skywarn/index.html. The Battleship New Jersey will soon be on summer hours but still check the website or more
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information. If your club is thinking about visiting the NJ2BB club station, please be sure to make arrangements ahead of the scheduled date to insure that someone will be there. Just go on our website at www.nj2bb.org for information to schedule a visit. If you have worked NJ2BB and want to send a card, the QSL manager is Margaret Burgess, KB2BRR 150 Schooner Ave, Barnegat, NJ 08005. Please send your cards with an SASE to insure receiving a card in return from NJ2BB. http:// www.nj2bb.org Early this coming summer the ship will open a new tour route named “City at Sea”. Its intent is to highlight the support activities within the vessel, such as dental, medical and sickbay. The will also be a Quick Stop (aka smoke shop), Post office and machine shops. Of interest to the Ham community is the WW11 Radio Room that members of BNJARS have been working on. This compartment was once filled with black crackle painted equipment that glows in the dark. The gang has fount the appropriate equipment from various sources, restored and repaired each item as needed. When the new route opens to the public, all of the gear on display will be ready for real operations. Except that the antenna feed lines will most likely not be back in service yet. Once the cables are installed, Ham operations from this space will commence much to the delight of the viewing public and the operators. If you have an activity coming up or want to report something that happened, please send a short write up to me and I will put it in next month. PleaseWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO remember that if you work traffic to report it to Dan, K2UL. Traffic report for February Traffic manager, K2UL, Dan Ostroy SNJ/NNJ Section Net Reports QNI reports NJM 98 N2GJ NJPN 221 W2CC NJSN 178 K2PB NJN(E) 188 AG2R NJN(L) 181 AG2R (the above nets are dual section nets of both SNJ and NNJ. Liaisons with 2RN) SNJ Local Net Reports JSARS 269 WA2NDA Station Activity Reports (SAR) K2GW 27 K2UL 34 WA2CUW 39 WA2NDA 55 W2QOB 11 Public Service Honor Roll (PSHR) K2UL 100 K2GW 27 WA2CUW 89 W2QOB 86 N2HQL 85 KA2YKN 60 KB2ADL 53 STM reports that the past six years have been posted on the web at http://k2ul.home.att.net/stm_monthly.htm
Central Division
Illinois
QST DE KA9QPN-- From the top... **Could it be SPRING? Not quite yet. Hopefully, in the next few weeks, the rest of the ice and snow will melt (without additional flooding!) and we can see what's left of our antenna farms. ------**The state tornado drill was conducted on the first Tuesday of March. I heard several nets activate for test purposes, and checked in to a few of them. If your local net didn't activate on drill day, make plans soon to test your activation. Remember, you'll perform like you drill. If you don't drill... ------**Did you remember the time change? And to change the smoke detector batteries? ------**Still no pictures for this page... ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Get informed... **Absolutely nothing to do with Amateur Radio, but still of interest to the geek in all of us, is contained in a bit of news via Gene Harlan WB9MMM. Seems that Polaroid willWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO stop manufacturing their instant film next year, a casualty of digital photography. A marvel in its day, the Polaroid camera introduced us to instant photography. Not only was the film a chemical miracle in all of its iterations, but the cameras themselves, especially the SX70, were a mechanical enthusiast's dream. More than one ham project was fueled by someone realizing that there was still some juice left in that empty film pack battery. Sometimes progress is necessary, but there was always something magical about watching that picture develop itself. Somewhere, I have a box of pictures of my children taken with an SX70. Will I say that in 30 years about a CD full of digital shots of the grandkids? ------**The York Radio Club is having another weekend Technician class on 5 & 6 April. Their success rate is 98%! More at their website. ------**The Hannibal Radio Club will be operating special event station K9P on 24-26 April to commemorate the 1911 Single Stack Classic and the US Practical Shooting Association Nationals pistol meets at nearby PASA Park. Details at the club's website. (From KC6VVT) ------**Belated congratulations are in order to Steve Ewald WV1X, the ARRL HQ supervisor of the Field Organization Team on his twenty-five years at HQ. Steve does a yeoman job of keeping guys like me generally pointed in the same organizational direction. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Around the Section... **The Egyptian RC completed the move of its 146.76MHz repeater to a recently vacated TV tower across the river in St. Louis. At 470 feet! Needless to say, the club has improved its coverage considerably. ------**The LaMoine Emergency ARC has opened a dialog with the Weather Club of Western Illinois University. They intend to share information about licensing, communications, and meteorology. This should make for an interesting partnership. ------**The Bolingbrook ARS is scrambling to replace their recently drowned 440 repeater. The good news is that they may be able to acquire a new site for a replacement 440 machine and their 220 box. So, some good might come out of this after all...if they can get the old machine wrung out and repaired. ------**The Central Illinois RC had an interesting program item at their February meeting. Chuck Kostelc N9RZV, and Rick Suhadole N9CHL demonstrated final replacement on a TS440. It's been years since I burned solder in earnest except on coax connectors, and it's good to see people who are not afraid to crack open a non-working radio. What are you going to do...break it? ------**The Hamfesters RC had their annual crowdpleaser, the White Elephant Sale at their February meeting. A good time was had by all. More at their website. ------**The Kankakee ARS devoted a large part of its last 'Key Klicks' newsletter to emergency operating protocols. Not a bad idea to review before severe weather season. ------**License classes and upgrades continue at a brisk clip. Chances are that you have either upgraded yourself lately or have good friends who have done so. You haven't? Why not? ------**Finally, I'd like to answer the question that I've been asked over the last few months...'yes'. I have filed a petition for nomination to a second term as your Section Manager. We'll await the formal notice from HQ as to ballot mailings or other developments.
Wisconsin
WISCONSIN: SM: Don Michalski, W9IXG. BWN 3985 0400-0715 W9IXG. BEN 3985 1200 WD9FLJ. WSBN 3985 1715-1800 KB9KEG. WNN 3555 1800 KB9ROB. WSSN 3555 1830 N9JIY. WIN-E 3555 1900 WB9ICH. WIN-L 3555 2200 W9UW. (All times are Central time) ** Regretfully, I am informing you of the passing of these Wisconsin Amateurs: -- Joel Papke, N9BQM, 64. Joel was Chairman of WAPR until his passing. -- Jack Izzard, KF9TN, 73. He was one of the founders of the Hidden Valleys ARC and a past president of the club and a Navy-Marine MARS member. -- Wilfred Bergs, N9SDH, 90. He was a member of RMRA. -- Allen Pudleiner, 81, N9XVJ ** Dayton Dreaming-- While those of us in the Wisconsin are still shoveling snow, thoughts of Dayton are beginning to percolate between frostbitten ears. The ARRL theme for this year is (you guessed it) -- Technology and the contributions of hams. From both direct advances in communications, to the indirect creativity that having a ham radio background can produce, many leading edge concepts are due to Amateur Radio. We may like remembering an old Collins, but our present -- and especially our future -- lies in NEW applications. ** The ARRL Video and Multimedia Library ARRL is pleased to offer material for programs for your monthly meetings or presentations. This material was provided by individuals and clubs who want to share their expertise with others. There are video CDs (not to be confused with DVDs) and Power Point presentations. www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/materials/videos.html Contact Allen Pitts, W1AGP, [email protected] for more information. ** Youth Ham Nets-- More and more Youth Nets are springing up! There are plenty of opportunities for young hams to get together on the air. The Wide Area Youth Net is held on Friday evening at 7:30pm on the link repeater system: 146.880 McAllister- 146.835 Oconto Falls - 147.120 Gaylord. The EchoLink Youth Net (EYN) is held on Sundays at 6pm on the 444.000 Sturgeon Bay repeater. The Madison Youth Ham net is on the 2nd Thursday of each month on the 147.150 repeater at 7 p.m. ** STM Report Wisconsin Section February 2008 FAQ # 79 -- What's the trick to sending numbers in messages by voice? There are a number of things to remember about sending numbers. First, ARRL Numbered Radiograms are always spelled out. So, in the text, it's "ARL FORTY SIX" not ARL 46. By the way, that's not followed by an x-ray. Second, it's okay to preface the voicing of numbers by the word, "figures." It lets the receiving station know what's coming next. For example, in an address, it might sound like this -- "Figures one zero five zero East Street." Third, each number is said individually as in the above example, "One, zero, five, zero." It would not be "Ten fifty East
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Street." For a telephone number, it helps to group the digits as they're said -- area code, prefix, suffix -- 920 563 1421. That would be said, "Nine two zero (pause) five six three (pause), etc. Fourth, those pauses are important in the text, too. It might say, ARL FORTY SEVEN 491 N9HTP FEB 16 1508 73. That would sound like this as it is sent, "Letter group, ARL FORTY, F-O-R-T-Y (spelled out) SEVEN, S-E-V-E-N (spelled out) N9HTP (phonetically) letter group FEB, figures one six (pause) figures one five zero eight (pause) figures seven three." The pause doesn't have to be very long, just enough hesitation for the receiver to know to start a new group. Dropping the pitch of one's voice slightly for prowords such as "figures" can help avoid confusion, too. If operators are savvy traffic handlers used to working with each other, they might omit some of the pro-words, but the text will still turn out exactly the same. Sending messages with these hints in mind can be very efficient. Good operators send traffic by the, er, numbers. (You knew that was coming.) 73 -- K9LGU/ STM-WI MONTHLY NET ACTIVITY SUMMARY FEBRUARY 2008 NET QNI QTC QTR SSNS NM BWN 2025 2727 5693 29 W9IXG BEN 599 62 1086 29 WD9FLJ WSBN 649 54 937 29 KB9KEG WNN 152 6 267 21 KB9ROB WSSN 133 10 243 26 N9JIY WIN/E 161 34 267 29 WB9ICH WIN/L 107 38 233 29 W9UW WRACES 118 0 191 4 N9VAO TOTALS 3944 2931 8917 196 MWCRN 260 78 572 4 WA9ZTY ** Public ServiceWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO events are starting and in need of amateur communications support. An excellent opportunity for clubs to get involved and show off to the public what we can do for them. Remember, Amateur Radio is more than a hobby -- it is a service to your community! Get out there! 73, Don W9IXG
Dakota Division
Minnesota
ARRL MINNESOTA SECTION SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 2008 SUMMARY FROM SM ++ The MN section OOC, TC, ARES and Traffic summaries are enclosed below. ++ See the ARRL Section web site for up-to-date information and bulletins. ++ Go to the section website at http://www.mn-section.com for other news. ++ A major ham radio event is planned for August 8-10 in Rochester. This will be a Dakota Division Convention and DX conference combined. Stay tuned. ++ Have you any local stories for the section news? Please send to me. ++ Please send me your plans for future Amateur Radio Classes. ++ Please submit all items for posting to section webpage to me as well. Respectfully submitted by Skip Jackson, KS0J, MN SM MN OOC & TC REPORT SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 2008 OO reports received from KB0OHI, N0OH, WO0A and W3FAF. Red Haines, WO0W, has prepared a comprehensive program on propagation. If interested please contact him or wait until it is posted on the website. Respectfully submitted by John H. Thomas III, W3FAF, MN OOC & TC MN SEC REPORT SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 2008 Total number of ARES members reported: 165 Change since last month: (EC reports missing) County EC’s reporting: Carver (KBØCQ), Cook (KBØBDN), Itasca (KGØFD), LacWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Qui Parle (KCØQED), Murray (KCØYKX), Scott (NØBHC), St. Louis-North (WDØGUF), Sherburne (NØJHU), Washington (ABØXE), Local Net Names: Anoka County ARES Net, CCART, River Valley, SEMARC, Scott County, Chisago County, Carver County, Washington County, Fox Valley Monday Night Net, Lac Qui Parle Phone, Lac Qui Parle Packet, Mankato Area Radio Club Emergency Services Net, Marshall Area Emergency Net, Redwood County, Wadena Area Ham Net, Northern Lakes Radio, NE MN Public Service, SE St. Louis Emergency Service, Dakota County ARES, Scott County ARES Total sessions: 44 NTS liaison is maintained with the MN Section, Tenth Region, and NTSD Traffic Nets by NØUC, WØLAW Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 45 Person hours: 268 Number of public service events this month: 0 Person hours: 0 Number of emergency operations this month: 5 Person hours: 45 Total number of ARES operations this month: 50 Total Person hours: 313 Comments: Lac Qui Parle: Set up an HF and VHF station at the Great Western Minnesota get Together held at Lac Qui Parle Valley School on Feb. 16 and 17th. Made a few contacts, but had a lot of people stop by our booth. Had a good time with everyone. Scott: Planning Field Day. See www.scottares.org for information. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, MN SEC MN STM SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 2008 NET FREQ TIME QNI/QTC/SESS MGR ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ MSPN/E 3860 5:30 P WO0A MSPN/N 3860 12 P K0BLR MSN/1 3605 6:30 P K0WPK MSN/2 3605 9:50 P K0WPK PAW 3925 9A-11AM 1500-1700 KA0IZA MONTHLY STATION ACTIVITY REPORTS (SAR) STATION ORIG. REC'D. SENT DLVD. TOTAL BPL NO.OPS. W3FAF 0 84 94 5 178 W0LAW 0 50 71 3 124 KB0AII 0 21 54 0 74 W0HPD 3 28 37 6 74 KA0RMP 2 24 26 3 55 K0WPK 0 35 18 1 54 KB0AIJ 0 21 42 0 42 K0BLR 2 33 9 5 40 KA0IZA 0 13 5 0 36 WD0GUF 0 8 8 0 16 N0KCM 5 1 5 1 12 KE0G 1 4 5 1 11 N0JP 0 1 5 0 6 ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~ PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) STATION 1 2 3 4 5 6 TOTAL ~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~ W0LAW 40 40 20 20 120 K0BLR 40 40 10 20 120 WD0GUF 40 16 30 86 SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER MONTLY REPORT NET ABBR. SESS. TFC. NMCALL NTS LIASON ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ MINNESOTA SECTION MSPN/E WO0A MSPN/E C/2 PHONE/NET EVENING 1,609 29 59 1730 LOCAL MINNESOTA SECTION MSPN/N K0BLR PHONE NET/NOON 1200 NOON 702 29 85 MINNESOTA SECTION MSN/1 K0WPK RN-10, C4 NET (CW) 1830 MSN/2 K0WPK RN-10, C4 166 27 83 NET (CW) 2150 30 16 0 K0WPK PICO NET ALL DAY WATCH KA0IZA PAW 3,885 92 44 RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Robert Meyer, W0LAW, MN STM
North Dakota
NORTH DAKOTA: SM, Kent Olson, KAØLDG - Great turnout in Bismarck for their annual hamfest. A lot of stuff and stories swapped throughout the day. Congratulations to the new officers of the many clubs in the state. Congratulations to Alex Malm, KCØILL of Bismarck, has been nominated to the U.S. Air Force Academy. He is the son of Mark, NØFAZ and Sharon, NØHGR Malm. The Bismarck hams have installed APRS equipment at the National Weather Service in preparation for severe weather. The Peace Gardens hamfest will be held this July 11-13th. Be advised, you DO NOT need a passport this year to attend. You WILL need a US drivers license or birth certificate though (yes, a passport is good too). Be sure to have at lease one of these, and enjoy the festivities. Also in August (8-10), the folks in Rochester, MN are hosting the 2008 Dakota Division Convention. SKYWARN classes are starting up again, and I highly recommend you attending one. Tornado season is right around the corner. New Field Day rules are on the ARRL web site. It’s never too early to start planning for this years Field Day. We will have another “Top Gun” competition amongst the clubs in the state. The Minot club is the current “Top Gun”, so set your sights high to give them some competition. Upcoming hamfests: Fargo, April 26th, Grand Forks, October 4th. Section's web site: http://home.earthlink.net/~qtipf16/. HF NM K8BBM net reports for January: Weather Net: 50/1012/4. Data Net: 51/1069/8. Goose River Net: 4/42/1. For the rest of the winter, there will be an early Data Net at 5PM central time in addition to the regular time at 6:30 PM central time.
South Dakota
Here is the section news for South Dakota, if there are any clubs that have material that they wish to have posted please email me the information no later than the 5th of the month so that I can get it posted to both the summary and the web site before the cut off date. South Dakota Section Convention South Dakota Section & Sioux Empire ARC It is official everyone - September 20th, 2008 is the date - mark the calendar. We have the venue and banquet lined up - and we will have more flea market space (double of last year) as well as double the banquet seating. I would like everyone to email me and let me know what seminars you would like to see or if you would like to put one on that is even better. We are working on vendors and other surprises so keep tuned in and reading. Thanks, Rich, N0PV ARRL South Dakota Section Manager [email protected] South Dakota Amateur Radio Council (SDARC)News Submitted by SDARC Board of Directors: Don Schwemle AA0F President, Brian Kelly N0LCL Vice President and Ed Gray W0SD Secretary/Treasure and the SDARC advisory committee, President Dick Neish W0SIR The SDARC is the business name of the SD Link.ÿ The SDARC has 501 (c) (3) tax exempt status with the IRS and non-profit corporation status with the State of South Dakota. SDARC and the advisory board run the SD Link. The SDLink is operational at 10 sites and work is being done to get the UHF site in Rapid City back on the air.ÿ The SDLink consists of the following sites which are continuously linked together 24 hours a day. Nearly all the sites have battery back up power. The SD Link is typically, temporarily tied into the
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Black Hills linked repeater system during the Wednesday night SDLink Net.ÿ There is the capability in an emergency to also link with the GLARA Link in northern SD. The South Dakota Link web page is www.w0sd.com/sdarc/sdarc.htm and has recently been updated so check it out. The minutes of the recent SDARC Advisory Board meeting are posted as well as other interesting information.ÿ For those interested in the latest happening on the SDLink you may join the SDARC "YAHOO" group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sdlink/ Amateur are also encourage to check into the SDLink net every Wednesday night at 9:00 pm central or 8:00 pm mountain be it standard or savings time.ÿ We are always looking for volunteer net controls to take a month. The SDARC representative to the Dakota Amateur Radio Network (DARN) emergency organization that has an MOA with the State of South Dakota will be Ed Gray W0SD SDARC board of director member. Hams Celebrate BHSU?s "Quasquicentennial" by Craig W. Nickich, W?WN As Black Hills State University was planning to celebrate Founders? Day on its 125th anniversary, Professor Joanna Jones of BHSU?s College of Education recognized the chance to promote the university across the nation. Prof. Jones, KD7GLY, is a licensed amateur (also called ?ham radio?) operator, who saw that as a rare opportunity to publicize BHSU nationwide ? and even farther. Prof. Jones, assisted by Brian Kassel K7RE, Dr. Craig Nickisch W?WN, and hams from the SpearfishWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Amateur Radio Club arranged a ?Special Event? radio station license, with call letters N?B, to mark the 125th. Station N?B operated HF radio with SSB and also CW from the lobby of the student union building on February 26, 27 and 28. Assisting Prof. Jones were amateur radio operators Bob Weaver K?GZL, Carroll Cash K?RXC, Dr. Graham Chesnut WB?LIW, Don Matthesen K0HP, Gene Secrest KB?GZQ, Ray Telkamp K?RNT, and Harry Irwin KF?QB. BH alumni will remember Harry as a member of Black Hills State Universitys great 1935 football team. Using a temporary G5RV antenna strung between the trees outside the Union building, the hams were able to contact over 150 stations in 31 states. Of course, the topic of conversation was BHSU, and one hopes that some students from those areas may select BH, based on the initial information given out by N?B. The BH station also contacted stations in nine foreign countries including Japan, Spain, Kosovo and Cuba. One particularly interesting contact was made with Calilfornia station K6DP. BHSU President Kay Schallenkamp?s father-in-law, Jim Harkin, was at the microphone there, and so could chat with President Kay, and with his son, as well. Besides operating, Prof. Jones and the hams presented a display of realia relating to amateur radio and high frequency communication. Visitors to the station could even try their hand at sending Morse Code, and several indicated an interest in earning their own amateur radio license. Prof. Jones and the hams plan to assist those (and other) BH students who want to become licensed. Following the event, Prof. Jones will send a colorful ?QSL? (radio abbreviation for confirmed contact) certificate to all stations contacted, commemorating their contact with the BHSU station.
Delta Division Arkansas WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO January February Ark ARRL News Summary January VE Testing Super Session- TheVE Supersession was a major success beyond our wildest dreams! A tremendous effort by our instructor extraordinaire John, AD5FU, J.M. N5XFW, Ark. DOH, all the participating hospitals and all the VE teams netted us 186 new techs and several new general class hams January 19. By publicizing this to the general public, we gained many more new amateurs around the state particularly in the areas and districts that were having a real shortage of amateur operators. We have a tremendous opportunity with these new hams in our ranks; now we must be elmers! Help them, encourage them and make them HAMS! Again, Congratulations to John, AD5FU for a great effort! February Tornado Outbreak- February saw an unprecedented tornado outbreak in the diamond state. The outbreak affected areas from West to extreme North Arkansas and one storm now looks like it may well hold the record for distance traveled on the ground – 126 Miles from Yell County to Fulton County. Hams from across the state activated Skywarn nets giving valuable warning to many communities and saving scores of lives. I want to thank all amateurs in the CAUHF network and Arkansas Skywarn for you invaluable service to the citizens of the state. From Atkins, to Scotland, Clinton, Mt. View, Melbourne, Zion, Ash Flat, Highland and Gassville the damage was horrific and I was amazed that there weren’t hundreds of casualties. This disaster showed our strengths and also showed our weaknesses. We must “lightning proof” our HF stations. We must better follow our ARES/RACES SOP and Plan after the WX outbreak in the effected areas. We must revitalize the Arkansas Packet Network and get all hubs back on line and functioning. We need more HF and VHF/UHF PMBO’s on Winlink throughout the state. We will need local volunteers and resources to complete this task and get Arkansas back in to leading the US in Emcomm. Are you up to helping us? New STM- Tom Harris K5WTH has been appointed Section Traffic Manager for the Arkansas Section of the ARRL by Section Manager David Norris, K5UZ. From the Arkansas Section Traffic Manager: New Net- ASTEN – “Arkansas Section Traffic Emergency Net” is off to a good start. In the twelve sessions we had during February, even with bad band conditions, we had 236 check- ins and ran for a total of 348 minutes. Our Net Control Stations are some of the best and they are eager to do their duties and their part towards bringing the Arkansas Section into the New Age of Emergency Communications. Plans are in the working stages towards the ASTEN becoming the States first HF Skywarn Net during times of severe weather. If you have any thoughts that may help along the lines of an HF Skywarn net please e-mail them to Tom Harris at [email protected] or David Norris [email protected] . It’s that time of year again; time to start gearing up for Field Day, ARRL’s flagship operating event. Field Day, held the fourth full weekend in June, brings together new and experienced hams for 24 hours of operating fun. ARRL Field Day Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND, says there are several rules changes this year, mainly concerning “Get on the Air” (GOTA) stations and the elimination of the Demonstration Mode Bonus Category. The complete Field Day Packet can be downloaded from the ARRL Web site . And please pass a lot of NTS traffic during this year. Congratulations to all of our Net Managers for another great job well done during February 2008. All of our States Section Nets continue to grow despite the bad band conditions we have had the past couple of months. The “Arkansas Section Traffic Emergency Net” is looking for a few good men and women who would like to be a Net Control Station, Alternate Net Control Station or enter into Net Control Station Training. If you would like to volunteer to fill one of these slots please contact or e-mail [email protected] or [email protected] . ARKAN News- W5T! On March 2 we conducted our first tests on installing antennas on the 1950s vintage caboose that will be used on the Memorial Day Troop Train, Saturday May 26, 2008. Our biggest concern was that operating on both 40 and 20 meters simultaneously would cause interference with one or both of the transmitting stations. Our tests indicate that there will be no problem with interference even thought the antennas are not that far apart. The next test will be operating the stations on board the train during a run from Springdale to Van Buren during a regular run of the Arkansas & Missouri Excursion Train. The date has not been set for the test, but we'll make an effort to post it here so you can try to work us while we are train mobile. We can hardly wait! The article about last year's troop train is on page 21 of the March issue of QST Magazine. FS Area ARC News- The Fort Smith Area Amateur Radio Club met at 7 p.m. on Monday, December 17 at the Harry E. Kelly Riverfront Park and amphitheater for its annual Christmas dinner. President Dennis Burton called the meeting to order and presented the club officers for 2008. Newsletter Editor – David Overton Repeater Chairman – Wayne Johnson Activity Chairman – Mike Cole Secretary – Kathy Bromley Treasurer – Mike Bell Vice President – Chuck Johnson President – Jimmy Lowrey Our appreciation goes out to the staff of the Golden Coral for the delicious meal they catered. President Burton gave out the following awards in recognition for their excellent service during 2007: Hamfest Coordinators – John & Jan Eddleman Secretary – Larry Carmack Activity Chairman – Mike Cole Newsletter – David Overton Website Master – Jim Scott New Ham of the Year – Deborah Kee President – Dennis Burton (Award presented by John Samuels) Awards Makers – Rick & Mary Deaton Numerous prizes were awarded. President Burton closed the meeting with an appreciation for everyone’s help during 2007 and looking forward to an exciting new year. LCARC News - The Lawrence County Amateur Radio Club held its annual winter-fest at the Hoxie Community Center Saturday February 16 Amateur radio operators from several surrounding counties and Missouri attended. The Amateur Radio Club would like to thank the following local merchants for donating door prizes and helped to make our winter fest a success. - 2008 Grand Prize winners: Kenny Weathers ( KE5RHX) of Caraway, AR won the Yaesu VH-150. Roy Pits (AD5SL) of Marked Tree, AR won the Yaesu FT-7800 with separation Kit.
Louisiana
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LOUISIANA SECTION NEWS – FEBRUARY 2008 The newly elected officers for the Ozone Amateur Radio Club are AA5UZ, President; KC5CQJ, Vice President; WA5VCS, Secretary; and AA5UY, Treasurer. The 2008 Jefferson Amateur Radio Club (JARC) officers are W5KB, President; KE5BMS, Vice President; WB5IOE, Secretary; and W5RMX, Treasurer. The JARC also reports that the following amateurs deserve a nice pat on the back for providing communications support in the Mardi Gras Marathon: W5RMX, WB5QAZ, KF6QJQ, W5KB, AE5RN, KB5BFK, KC5WIP, K5IQ, KD5KNZ, N5ULA, and N5OZG. Kudos are also in order for the Acadiana Amateur Radio Association (AARA) for setting up the club's AMOS van during Mardi Gras in Lafayette. Among the AARA members who helped during the event are K5QXJ, KA5BSE, KE5AWZ, N5NVP, KB5SMX, KE5KJF, KE5RPI, KE5RPM, K5FNQ, and KN5GRK. As last year, the AARA will be sponsoring a new ham radio class this spring in conjunction with the Children's Museum of Acadiana that will enable students to earn their Technician ticket. Great going, AARA! The Baton Rouge Amateur Radio Club (BRARC) observed the 65th birthday of the USS Kidd with a special event on February 28. Using the Kidd's call, W5KID, club members made QSOs steadily throughout the day. The BRARC has also held several ham radio demonstrations in recent months for children's parties sleeping over on the Kidd. The LA Section welcomes the followingWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO new amateurs: Robert Stafford KE5SNI, Lee Mallahan KE5SNJ, Stephen Serio KE5SNL, Shea Griffith KE5SNK, James Bearde KE5SUJ, Kristen Orson KE5SUH, James Harris KE5SOL, Vince Gonzalez KE5SYV, Joseph Williams KE5SYW, Ryan Raney KE5SUI, Coln Lee KE5SYX, Michael Henry KE5TAB, Tommy Robinson KE5SOI, Shaun Grimshaw KE5SUY, John Grimshaw KE5SVS, Layton Bryant KE5SVA, and Billy Fredieu KE5SOJ. N5NVP, the LA Section Affiliated Club Coordinator, notes in his monthly report that numerous LA clubs are conducting VE testing for people wanting to enter our hobby as well as for those hams seeking to upgrade their current license. Jim and I both want to thank all of the Volunteer Examiners for their excellent service. N5NVP also welcomes any requests from clubs that might be experiencing problems related to ARRL affiliation or those seeking Special Service Club (SSC) status. Jim can be contacted via email at [email protected] or by telephone at 337-208-5563. As reported last month, the dates for the ARRL 2008 Teachers Institute have been announced. This year six four-day expenses-paid sessions are scheduled, offering 72 teachers (12 teachers per session) the opportunity to explore wireless technology basics, teaching basic concepts of microcontrollers and robotics, bringing space technology into the classroom, and more. The application deadline is May 15; applicants must be an active teacher at the elementary, middle, or high school level, or they must hold a leadership position in an enrichment or after-school program. A ham license is not required. Visit the ARRL Teachers Institute at http://www.arrl.org/FandES/tbp/ti.html for more details and please encourage any teachers you know who might be interested in this program. I am very sorry to report that KD5PCM and Ulyses Broussard (ex-NY5E) are now Silent Keys. Upcoming LA hamfests include the 2008 LA State Convention/AARA Hamfest in Rayne on March 21-22, the Northeast LA Regional/TCHC Hamfest in Monroe on April 26, and the ARCOS Cookout and Swapmeet near Shreveport on May 17. (Note that the Monroe Hamfest has been moved from its traditional date in November!) Traffic totals: K5MC 89, WC5M 86, N5KWB 82, N5NVP 78, WA5LQZ 78, W5CDX 59, W5PY 45, KD5ITA 1. Public Service Honor Roll: N5KWB 165, N5NVP 160, WC5M 123, W5PY 115, K5MC 110, KD5ITA 103, W5HUD 94, N5MEL 77, AE5V 44. Section net reports: sessions/check-ins/messagesWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO handled. Louisiana Traffic Net: 29/631/44. Louisiana CW Net: 58/327/72. Louisiana Slow Net: 8/39/14. Louisiana ARES Net: 4/39. Local/district net reports: sessions/check-ins. Acadia Parish ARES Net: 1/10. Allen Parish ARES Net: 5/4. Ascension Parish ARES Net: 4/27. Calcasieu Parish ARES Net: 1/7. East Baton Rouge Parish ARES Net: 4/25. Orleans Parish ARES Net: 4/30. Ouachita Parish ARES Net: 4/84. Rapides Parish ARES Net: 4/35. Richland Parish ARES Net: 4/33. St. Charles Parish ARES Net: 1/8. St. Mary Parish ARES Net: 4/24. Union Parish ARES Net: 4/28. Vermillion Parish ARES Net: 4/30. Vernon Parish ARES Net: 10/14. Washington Parish ARES Net: 4/47. ARES reports: parish/EC. Acadia/N5NVP, Allen/W5ELM, Ascension/KD5NVE, Avoyelles/KD5IGG, Beauregard/W5MVP, Calcasieu/KC5FGO, Cameron/W5JFW, Claiborne/KD5JJP, East Baton Rouge/N5ULA, Franklin/N5ASA, Jefferson Davis/K5WNV, Morehouse/KB5SAR, Orleans/NO5FD, Ouachita/W5DSG, Plaquemines/AI5B, Rapides/KD5DFL, Red River/KD5IUZ, Richland/N5MEL, St. Bernard/AI5B, St. Charles/K5CFJ, St. John/AI5B, St. Mary/KA5LMZ, Union/KA5JNL, Vermillion/KE5JXC, Vernon/W5JZQ, Washington/AI5B. ACC report: N5NVP. 73, Mickey Cox K5MC LA Section Manager Email: [email protected] LA Section Website: http://www.laarrl.org/
Mississippi
SM: Malcolm Keown, W5XX. Section Web Site: www.arrlmiss.org. Web Master: [email protected]. DECs: KD5CKP, WB5CON, KD5FUO, AB5WF, W4WLF, AG5Z, and N5ZNT. ECs: KB5AAB, KD5CKP, KD5CQT, WB5CON, WV5D, AD5DO, KC5EAK, AE5FK, KD5FUO, K5FV, W5GEJ, WB5GUD, KD5GWM, W4HOZ, WB5HQH, KC5IJP, AD5IT, KB5JN, W5JVK, KD5KXJ, N5LJC, W5LMW, W5MPC, WX5N, K5NRK, KD5NMB, N5TBB, K5TV, KC5TYL, N5UDK, W4WLF, K5WLP, KM5WX, KD5XG, KB5ZEA, N5ZNT, and KB0ZTX. The fifth running of the Mississippi QSO Party was by far the best with excellent weather for mobile operation and excellent participation both inside and outside of the state. Although the logs are still coming at this point in early March (about 55 so far) at least 3 stations made over 900 QSOs (one a mobile!) and two others made over 500. Thanks to mobiles KS5A (NN9K wheelman), NO5W, K4ZGB, and W5XX for putting out many rare counties. Honorable mention to N5CW, who arrived on site in Jefferson Davis County to start his trip, but found that his antenna tuning motor failed. Now that is frustrating! A few other records were set. NO5W’s wheelman (XYL Keri) drove 550 miles through 26 counties in 9.5 hours without getting a ticket (MHP needs to tighten up and get some of that Texas money!). KS5A drove in from Arizona to be in the QSO Party and his Wheelman NN9K from Illinois! And at Oxford, the Ole Miss ARC (W5UMS) set up in front of the Lyceum. Operators KS5U, KE5JQZ, KE5NQP (his first ever QSO) and K5KMB all logged their first DX QSO with VP6DX using their own call signs during the QSO Party. And down in Ocean Springs K2FF reports that he was called by W1AW, worked 38 mobiles, talked with several folks who had been stationed at Keesler, and had a good QSO from a Ham from Wyoming, who had worked in Ocean Springs during the Katrina aftermath. By this time next month all of the logs will be in hand and the preliminary winners will be known. Remember all logs must be to W5XX by March 31. Operation "Current Gamble 08" was coordinated by the National Guard 47th Civil Support Team and the City of Vicksburg and conducted at several locations along the Mississippi side of the River. This exercise consisted of several training scenarios involving terrorist/hostage situations. A summary of the exercise indicates that 700 persons participated representing 60 Federal, state, and local agencies. The Vicksburg ARC role was to demonstrate communications among agencies when other means were not available. Local Exercise Coordinator W5WAF reports that an emergency response communications net demonstration was established between the Current Gamble ICS (W5WAF), SW MS RRT Team (KA5SBK), MEMA – KM5EMA (AB5WF), NWS Jackson – WX5JAN (N5XXX and K5BLL), Vicksburg Red Cross (KB5YEE), Rankin County EOC – K5RKN (WM5A), and the Warren County EOC – K5ZRO (KD5CQX). Mobile/fixed stations standing by for assignments on the net were K5CID, W5DXZ, KD5FUY, KE5HJC, KE5IMJ, K5IMT, N5JDA, KC5QZW, W5VXG, KD5WCN, and W5XX. Be sure and read "A Station for the ARRL Sponsored 500 KHz Experiment" by our own W5THT (page 43 March QST). This well written article will bring you up to speed on the experimental work in progress below the AM Broadcast Band. And following publication of the article we find out that on February 21 WD2XSH/6 (aka W5THT) was received by V73NS on Roi-Namur, a Pacific Ocean atoll in the Marshall Islands. As of this writing the 6679 Mile path is the record for the 500 KHz band. Congratulations, Pat. On to DXCC! Pat’s accomplishment beat the old record of 4737 miles set in January 2008. Club Pres W5WAF reports that the Vicksburg ARC again provided communications for the "Run Through History" through the Vicksburg National Military Park. For the first time in several years two medical emergencies occurred. KC5QCW and N5KWT and XYL cared for the downed participants until help arrived. Those VARC members participating were N5JGK, KB5YEE, KD5DHR, KD5WCN (and XYL), N5KWT (and XYL) and W5WAF. Following last month’s listing of EOCs with ham Stations, Asst. Prentiss County EC KE5HJQ advises that the County EOC has VHF capabilities and is working toward an HF installation. Tippah County EC N5TBB reports that the station at the EOC is now fully functional after a move from its former location. In addition, WB5CON reports from Alcorn County that the 440 ARES Repeater is finally on the air. Welcome to new Mississippi Hams: KE5SOK, Robert – Lorman; KE5SRC, Steven –French Camp; KE5SSB, Kayla – Fulton; KE5SSC, Doris – Booneville; KE5SSD, Gary – Rienzi; KE5SUB, Shelly – Wesson; KE5SUO, Sylvester – Pearl; KE5SUR, Dean – Brandon; KE5SUS, John – Jackson; KE5SWS – McHenry; KE5SYT, Shane – Pearl; KE5SZY, Brian – Hattiesburg; KE5TAE, Shae – Grenada; KE5TAF, Roger – Grenada; KE5TAG, Tristian – Grenada; and KE5TAZ, Lewers – Coldwater. Also
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welcome to K5DSG as the new Net Manager of the Magnolia Net. Many thanks to retiring Net Manager AD5J, who is retiring after many years of service. In addition welcome to K5FV as the new EC for Rankin County and AE5FK as the new EC for Walthall County. N5XXX retired as Rankin County EC in order to focus his efforts on Skywarn Operations at NWS Jackson. Congratulations to the following on their upgrades: KE5IUJ – Collins; KE5MIR – Coffeeville; KE5MIS – Coffeeville; KE5MSZ – Florence; KC5NMB – Meridian; KE5QCS – Gulfport, KE5QNM – Conehatta; KE5RHM – Coldwater; KE5RJT – Magnolia; KD5STW – Ellisville; KE5TAF – Grenada; WB5VJT – Kiln; N5XZF – Ellisville; KD5YBV – Carriere; KB5YEE – Vicksburg (way to go, John!); and KB0ZTX – Holly Springs. Also congratulations to KB5CSQ who was recently elected as the 5th District Chairman of the YLRL. Welcome to new ARRL members: W5AJB – Jackson; N5DUZ – Philadelphia; AE5FR – Lena; KE5LQB – Mize; KE5MIR – Coffeeville; KE5MIS – Coffeeville; KD5NBL – Jackson; KD5OFV –Philadelphia; N5OKV – Long Beach; KD5ORL – Olive Branch; N5QEX – Madison; KE5RZS – Gulfport; KE5SGE – Aberdeen; KE5SWS – McHenry; KA5TQY – Greenwood; KD4UQE – Jackson; WA5VFP – Philadelphia; WB5VGV – Burnsville; and KE5VTY – French Camp. As a footnote in history W5XX just received his Certificate of Recognition for 50 years as an ARRL Member (another dinosaur in our midst).WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO And speaking of ARRL membership, when W5XX became SM in 1998 the ARRL membership in Mississippi was about 950 and stayed relatively constant. Then Katrina came along, and when renewal notices were sent out, a lot of mailboxes couldn’t be found. As a result the membership dropped to 825 by January 2006. Thanks to the hard work of many folks we are back up to 987. Let’s push it over 1,000 just to say we did it! Club Newsletters/Reports: Hattiesburg ARC (AC5E), Meridian ARC (W5MAV), Pearl River County ARC (N5WLW), the University of Mississippi ARC (W5MPC), and the Vicksburg ARC (W5WAF). Regret to report the passing of KB5FLC of Michigan City. DEC/EC Reports: WB5CON (NE MS/Alcorn). KD5CQT (Jackson), KC5EAK (Pearl River), WB5GUD (Newton), KD5GWM (Lauderdale/Clarke), WX5N (Tishomingo), N5TBB (Tippah), K5WLP (Sunflower), and N5ZNT (SW MS). Net reports: sessions/QNI/QTC (Net Manager); DRN5 62/Miss 100% Rep by W5XX, KA1ZIA, W5MLO, and WA5FB (WB5ZED); MS Section Phone Net 29/2939/38 (K5NRK); Magnolia Section Net 29/834/3 (K5DSG); Jackson County EN 29/396/8;(KD5CQT); MS Section Slow Net 19/38/0 (W3TWD);Stone Co ARES Net 6/122/0 (N5UDK) Itawamba Co ARES 4/35/0 (KB5NMB); Hattiesburg AEN 4/128/0 (N5MZ); South MS YL Net 4/86/0 (KB5CSQ); Newton County ARES 4/37/0 (WB5GUD); Tishomingo County ARC 4/100/2 (WX5N); Jackson ARC Em Net 4/29/0 (AB5WF); Meridian Area EN 4/56/0; (KD5GWM); Alcorn Co ARES 4/38/0 (WB5CON); Lowndes Co ARC Net 4/43/0 (AD5DO); Pearl River ARES 4/35/0 (KC5EAK); MS-LA EN 4/28/0 (K5NRK); Monroe ARC 4/22/0 (AD5DO); MS Baptist Hams Net 4/30/0 (WF5F); Metro Jackson ARES 4/43/0 (AB5WF); MDXA 4/70/0 (N5FG); NE MS ARES 4/76/0 (W5LMW); PSHR: October - WB5ZED 150, KA1ZIA 111, W5XX 99. Traffic: WB5ZED 3562, KA1ZIA 98, W5XX 6. Compilation of Net and Traffic Statistics provided by KB5RCJ
Great Lakes Division
Michigan WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO
Greetings all, By now you have read that Michigan hams have an opportunity to participate in the National Priorities to Strengthen Communications Capabilities through our Amateur Radio Public Service Corps. As you know, ARPSC is the integrated ARES®, RACES and NTS program in Michigan. This effort is part of our state's plan for Emergency Preparedness and incorporates the National Incident Management System, Protection of critical infrastructure, improving citizen preparedness etc, all-in-all, eight specifically detailed categories. The ARPSC effort will encompass three areas: 1, Maintain and enhance the statewide Amateur Radio communications system, 2, Establish suggested standards for Amateur Radio Capabilities in local EOC’s and 3, Develop a Public Awareness and Education program to bolster the ranks of Amateur Radio participants. Procedures will be developed over the next few months through a detailed planning process involving our ECs, DECs and the SEC/STM, with input from the state's NTS Net Managers. We will be producing specific guidelines that will open the doors for grant funding opportunities, based upon needs and meeting state and nationally established milestones. This all comes about due to the clearly recognized professionalism of the members of the ARPSC program in the state. Our ready endorsement of National Incident Management System (NIMS), the Incident Command System (ICS) and meeting the challenges of training were some the strategic hurdles that allowed up to meet this goal. From SEC/STM John WB8RCR and your SM, congratulations to all who put forth their extra personal effort to help with this accomplishment. ANNOUNCING THE 2008 MICHIGAN QSO PARTY April 19-29, 2008 All Michigan amateurs are invited to mark their calendars for Saturday, April 19, 2008 for the 2008 Michigan QSO Party (MiQP). This is the one weekend a year when Michigan amateurs are in the limelight, as amateurs from across the USA and around the world are looking for QSOs with us. This is a great opportunity develop HF operating skills, represent the great state of Michigan, and last but not least, have a bunch of fun. The operating period is a convenient twelve hours long, from noon local time (1600Z) until midnight local (0400Z) here in Michigan. Stations outside of Michigan may only work Michigan stations, while Michigan stations may work anybody. Activity takes place on the 80 thru 10 meter bands, on both phone and CW. The exchange is simple: a sequential QSO number (starting with 001) and your location (county for Michigan stations, and state, province or "DX" for others). A station may be worked once per band and mode, with CW QSOs counting two points and phone QSOs counting one point (just like Field Day). Multipliers are states, provinces, and Michigan counties, counted once on phone and once on CW. Final score is total QSO points times total multipliers. See the MiQP website at http://www.miqp.org for complete rules. MiQP offers an extensive awards program, with handsome plaques awarded for the in-state winners of the major categories. Certificates are awarded for the top single-operator score in each Michigan county, and there is a simultaneous competition for Michigan clubs where scores of its members are combined into an aggregate score for that club. There are also categories and awards for multi-operator stations. New for 2008 is a separate category for Emergency Operation Center (EOC) stations with a plaque awarded to the highest scoring EOC station and certificates for second and third. The MiQP rules defining an EOC station are essentially the same as for Field Day - "Michigan entries located at an established EOC site, activated by an individual or group, utilizing either permanant or temporary equipment and antennas". This category was specifically created to encourage EOC stations to participate, and to recognize their contributions. We hope to see many EOC stations on the air this year. We are also continuing the "MiQP Rookie Of The Year" plaque instituted in 2007, which is awarded to the top single-op score submitted by a Michigan station who has never participated in MiQP before. As mentioned before, there is a wealth of information about the Michigan QSO Party available on the MiQP website at http://www.miqp.org, such as official log and summary sheets, results from past years, and free logging software. Questions about MiQP can be directed via e-mail to: [email protected]. There is also an e-mail reflector for those interested in MiQP - details are on the web site at http://www.miqp.org/MiQP_Reflector.htm. We hope to see a great turnout of Michigan amateurs on the air on April 19th! 73, from the MiQP Organizing Committee. Ogemaw-Arenac ARC's election of officers took place at the January meeting. The new executive board consists of: Pres KD8CLM, VP KD8BNZ, Sec N8RBS, and Treas AB8YG. Best wishes for success to these new club leaders. The "New Hams Dinner" took place on February 16th. This event, in its 13th year, is sponsored by the Grand Rapids Amateur Radio Association, The Lowell ARC and Michigan ARA. This is the occasion for presenting the "West Michigan Ham of the Year Award". This award is in its 8th year and this year's recipient is Rich K8JX of the MARA club. Michigan Nets reporting for November: MACS, MVTN, QMN, MiTN, UPN, SEMTN, Wolverine, NLEUPN, Motor City, MACS, Hiawatha and Branch County. Total Operator-hours for February: 2574. To include your net’s monthly activities, contact [email protected]. Net reports in detail can be found at http://www.mi-nts.org/netreport.php. Station Activity Reports (SAR) for February, 2008: WB9JSR 1184, AC8AR 409, K8LJG 158, KC8MLD 154, K8AMR 141, K8RDN 140, KD8AAD 118, K8AE 110, WD8CJN 66, AA8SN 66, W8RNQ 50, WB8RCR 49, AC8AL 23, WD8USA 20, KC8BMV 16, KD8CVZ 10, KD8HPF 9, KC8NTE 8, WA8OOH 8, KC8LXS 1. Public Service Honor Roll Reports (PSHR) for February, 2008: KC8NTE 631, WD8USA 155, WB8RCR 153, WB9JSR 130, AC8AR 120, K8AMR 112, AC8AL 105, K8RDN 95, K8AE 88, WD8CJN 82, AB8SY 80, WU8Y 40, W8QOI 23, KD8HPF 12, KD8CVZ 10. SARs are reports of all the radiogram traffic you have handled in the past month. PSHRs include both your net and public service activities for the month. PSHRs and SARs should be filed monthly with WB8RCR. You can access a simple reporting form at: http://www.mi-nts.org/PSHR_entry.shtml to provide your reports to WB8RCR. You can also check http://www.mi-nts.org/ for the details on all of our Michigan Section reporting nets. February Official Emergency Station reports came in from N8HA, K8COP, KC8NTE, WU8Y and W8QOI. Your OES
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reports should be filed with WA8EFK with a copy to your EC. In all cases, reporting by radiogram is encouraged. Packet messages can be routed to [email protected] and [email protected] . 73 until next month, Dale WA8EFK
Midwest Division
Kansas
KANSAS IS GREAT IN 2008 ! Kansas Section News Summary- February 2008 Silent Keys KXØL - Norm Buehler, Scott City WDØCFZ - James Armes, Salina WDØCBU - James Cude, Independence WBØVRV - Ken A. Bondank, Kansas City WAØLDJ - Louis James, Larned KBØYRC - Gary Shue , Fredonia ______Our Antenna bill is now in the state senate. It’s time for another round of letters. If you are putting yourWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO thoughts on paper for your state senator please do so now. We would like to flood their offices just before they vote. The end of this week or next week is as close as we can tell right now for the vote. Please listen up on the Sideband net and watch your e-mail for the signal to make that call and send your e-mail to your Senator. ______Mike KØFJ, Bob KCØWJT and Ray KCØZSM have been working with WinLink. They're getting trained on AirMail for HF and VHF. Trojan ARC maintains traditional Packet, APRS and WinLink systems. NUØB reports Coffeyville ARC is installing traditional packet so they will have the capability to work with the county seat in Independence. Valley Center\Wichita and Chanute Hamfest will both be held October 4th. Our Simulated Emergency Test weekend is October 4-5. Always the first weekend in October. New hams on Kansas Nets: ______ARES Report: Sixteen ARES Zones reported activity for the month of January, 2008. Total number of net sessions called 137 with 1091 QNI and 34 messages being passed. We are short a few zone reports this month due to the resignation of a couple of EC in District 3. Anyone interested in reporting the activity in that area should contact DEC N0LKK and or myself and we shall work something out. There has to be HF activity out there. Any one with an idea or so reference the setup of the ARES Zones as it could or would affect the State, please let your ideas be known. At present we have 6 Districts and 48 Zones. The zones nor Districts are proportioned evenly when it comes to Ham population. Dist 4 and 5 of course have the biggest population to draw from. Big disappointment comes when you compare the actual members registered to the total number of hams available. Public Service is not drawing the response of our activity the way it used to. Not real sure why, but perhaps some of you out there might have a conclusion or so. I am interested in your responses. Members of the various radio clubs are asked to pass along more info reference club type activity within your area. There are some real old Web pages out there that need to be reworked. Don't forget that those newsletters are always welcome. How many real active hams are out there??? Help us 'BE PREPARED'------Communicate Best 73 Bob Summers KØBXF ARRL SEC KS ______Newsletters received: FeedWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Back, Grounded Grid, QNU H.A.R.C. , QRZ, QSP, Trojan Harmonic ______Jan.. Sessions/QNI/QTC/Mgr: KSBN/ 31/ 844/ 23 N0KFS KPN/21 / 209 / 24/ N0KFS KMWN/31/ 679 / 557 /WB0YWZ KWN/31/ 756 / 525/ WB0YWZ CSTN 27/12209/64 N0BFB QKS/ 34 /77 /20 NB0Z QKS-SS / 2 / 8 /0 KB0DTI Traffic: KI0BK 343 NB0Z 74 KC0MRJ 40 K0BXF 25 W0OYH 21 N0ZIZ 18 KB0DTI 17 Misc. Reports: Technical Specialist WN8P See KSN on ARRL and more Kansas news: http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=KS To receive or contribute to Orlan's Kansas Amateur Radio News E-mail News Letter contact Orlan-W0OYH-Editor at [email protected]
Missouri
MARCH 2008 MISSOURI SECTION NEWS DALE BAGLEY, KØKY MO SM I want to thank the sun for finally getting around to starting Solar Cycle 24 on January 4, 2008 (as reported by NASA/SOHO). Now I would like to see the 2008 warming trend come to the Missouri Section. Lots of Amateur Radio operators are waiting for better weather to make the repairs on their antenna systems, swap out some old coax and get to some of those great outdoor Hamfests. I want to encourage everyone to take advantage of a Storm Spotter Training session in their area and to be prepared for a weather emergency should it come to where you live. The list of spotter training is under the Section Emergency Coordinator’s report in this newsletter. This is the last reminder this year for all affiliated clubs to update their club info. This can be done by going to http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/club/biglist.html and selecting Missouri, finding your club (which will be listed alphabetically by city) and at the bottom of the club data there is a hyperlink for a club officer to update the club information. Note: If by chance your club has been dropped because it has not updated its information in the past 3 years then in addition to selecting Missouri you will need to select inactive club to get the information about your group. Fill in the new President’s data and etc and then submit. This should get the club back on the active Affiliated Club Roster. If you have some problems, contact the Section Manager for assistance. APRIL 2008 HAMFESTS On April 12th the Springtime Hamfest sponsored by the Ozark Amateur Radio Society at the Senior Center at 425 North Main St in Mount Vernon, MO. For more information contact Julie Frank, KDØBSK, 20500 Highway W Verona, MO 65769 or phone her at 417-440-9438 or by e-mail at [email protected] . You can check their website at http://W0OAR.com Talk-In: 146.970 (no tone) The April 19th HAMBASH 2008 is sponsored by the Ararat Shrine Amateur Radio Club and it will be held in the Ararat Shrine on 5100 Ararat Drive in Kansas City, MO. For more information you need to contact Dave Hinkley, KAØSOG 1221 SE 11th Street Lee's Summit, MO 64081 Phone: 816-525-4826 or you can Email: [email protected] Check out their website at http://www.hambash.com/ AFFILIATED CLUB NEWS KEITH HAYE, WEØG, ACC In February it was reported that Joe Duerbusch, KØBX had worked 320 countries with 318 confirmed on CW. That should have been worked 320 countries with 318 confirmed on RTTY. Sorry about the mix up Joe. The Boeing Employees Amateur Radio Society, will sponsor the annual Missouri QSO Party to be held this year on April 5th-6th, 2008. Operating periods are from 1800 GMT April 5th thru 0500 GMT April 6th and again beginning at 1800 GMT on April 6th thru 2400 GMT April 6th. You may work each Missouri station once per band and mode. CW frequencies are 40khz up from the lower band edge. Phone frequencies are 1880 khz, 3980 khz, 7180 khz, 14280 khz, 21380 khz and 28380 khz. The contest exchange is RST, serial number and Missouri County or S/P/C. Logs are to be submitted no later than 30 days after the contest to MOQSOPARTY@WØMA.ORG or to the CBA for K2DP.Complete contest information is available at www.WØMA.org/mo_qso_party.htm Rick Crockett, WØPC, License Training Guru of the St. Charles ARC reports that the General Class upgrade class is a GO! There were 12 signed up for the class that will be held at the St. Charles Community College. The class will start on March 12th and run through April 30th on Wednesday nights at 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. The Course Text is the ARRL General License Manual Sixth edition second printing @ 2007. The Callaway Amateur Radio League VE Testing Team had a special session on February 23, 2008 for disabled persons that could not travel to Fulton for License Exams. Tom Vaccaro, AAØPO, Bill Piatt Jr., WBØMAF, and Dick Thompson, K2HT made up the team. Vince Garufi, KDØDFM, earned his Technicians License, Donna Poindexter, KC0ZIT and John Poindexter, KC0ZIU upgraded to General. The Nixa Amateur Radio Club has invited those in the Joplin area to participate in a new 6 meter net on 53.270 repeater. Jim Atkins, KBØNHX, is the Nixa Amateur Radio Club V-P and Repeater Trustee and promoting the new net activities. It will meet on Monday night at 8:00 PM. The net is open to anyone and the focus is on 6-meters and below, all modes. The Southeast MO ARC and the Bootheel ARC will operate WØS from the National Museum and Library in Bloomfield, MO of the Stars and Stripes Newspaper. The Special Event will be held on June 14th and 15th. More information will be provided when we are a little closer to the event. SECTION ARES REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 2008 DON MOORE, KMØR SEC It is great to welcome David R Fuller, KCØSTG as the New EC for St Francois County. David brings his experiences as a Firefighter, and working as part of the Washington Parish, LA, Homeland Security and Office of Emergency Preparedness. Total # of ARES members: 727 Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 86 Man hours: 709 Number of public service events this month: 5 Man hours: 119 Number of emergency operations this month: 9 Man hours: 108 Total number of ARES operations this month: 100 Total Man hours: 936 Comments: 5 of 9 districts reporting The National Weather Service schedule of spotter training has been set for the months of February, March & April. To find out when and where the NWS Spotter training will be conducted in your area check out the NWS website provided to get the dates of the training nearest to you. In the Kansas City and Western MO the NWS site is found at http://www.crh.noaa.gov:80/eax/?n=outreach-schedule For the Springfield NWS Training schedule is at this site http://www.crh.noaa.gov/sgf/?
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n=spotter_classes_index and in the St. Louis and in the eastern MO region you can find the information at this site. http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lsx/? n=schedule SECTION TRAFFIC REPORTS FOR FEBRUARY 2008 DALE HUFFINGTON, AEØS, MON-CW Sessions 53 QNI 142 QTC 36 NM K9ZTV MO Phone Sessions 29 QNI 1170 QTC 205 NM KØRWL MESN Sessions 4 QNI 195 QTC 3 NM AEØS MOPN Sessions 29 QNI 156 QTC 12 NM KUØG Audrain Co AARC Sessions 4 QNI 50 QTC 0 NM KBØKWC Callaway CARL Sessions 3 QNI 38 QTC 0 NM WBØHKN Boone Co Sessions 4 QNI 184 QTC 5 NM WMØH Howell HCARC Sessions 8 QNI 48 QTC 3 NM KØRWL Jackson Co ARES Sessions 4 QNI 64 QTC 0 NM KØUAA Macon Co Sessions 4 QNI 35 QTC 0 NM KØKY Rolla RRARS Sessions 29 QNI 321 QTC 16 NM KB9ZBO St Louis CO ARC Sessions 4 QNI 79 QTC 8 NM KBØH Sullivan ARC Sessions 12 QNI 117 QTC 6 NM KBØROX Taney Co TLARC Sessions 1 QNI 6 QTC 463 NM KBØOFD WAARCI Sessions 4 QNI 80 QTC 0 NM WBØTOM New England Division WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Connecticut
Section Leadership: K1EIC SM; ASMs: K1STM, KD1YV, W1FXQ, NK1J; OOC W1GC; PIC KA1TCH; SEC K1BRF; ASEC N1FNE; SGL K1MK; STM K1HEJ; TC N1KHB. The Eastern CT ARA wishes to thank all those who attended their Hamfest Saturday, March 15—attendance was the best ever! I am sorry I could not be there; congratulations to ECARA! The February meeting of the Meriden ARC featured a show and tell put on by Chris, WA1VXH and Rich, WA1TRY that was all about the new MARC BBS and Forums: www.w1nrg.com/forum . All the features were demonstrated and questions answered. WA1VXH provided a cellular based wireless Internet link so they could play with the BBS in real time right on the World Wide Web. He also provided a projector so images could be projected in large format for everyone to view. Your SM has been to this site—it’s really neat; there are areas for club members only but there are other areas that allow for participation by others. Check it out—this format would be a nice idea for the Section! The January meeting featured a talk by Marty Sagendorf, K1CVF was our guest speaker and brought along a slide show of his various electric and electronic related old technology collection. He showed some rather unique old time tools used in the emerging electrical world around the late 1800s. They even saw the first “repeater”. This was actually a land line telegraph device to boost the telegraph signal over long wire runs. Some of the oldest CRTs and tubes were also shown. In all it, was a very interesting show. Marty has spoken at several clubs and really enjoys it so don’t hesitate to contact him for your group. The Bristol Radio Club had as their speaker Jean Bilodeau, KB1IGA, a master R/C pilot. Jean discussed R/C aircraft and had exhibits of aircraft he has created on hand. Mark your calendars: March 30—The Southington ARC Hamfest at Southington High school contact [email protected]. Don’t miss the CT ARES meeting at the Hamfest, time to be announced. There are several demos planned so you’ll not want to miss out on the fun! TheWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Berkshire ARC will be participating in the Tri-State Trade Fair on that day as well. They plan to set up a booth and demonstrate Amateur Radio with an HF station. April 18-20 are the dates for the 34th annual Eastern VHF/UHF Conference and dinner banquet at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Enfield. Reservations may be made at (860) 741-2211 ask for local hotel reservations. A Block of rooms is available, mention NEWS Group for discount rate ($95). Our web site http://www.newsvhf.com/vhfconf.html has been updated and now offers both Secure On-line PayPal as well as traditional mail- in Registration. You save $5 on the full Conference admission by pre-Registering. They will hold an indoor Auction to help defray costs of future conferences. Please bring items suitable for donating and auctioning off to support the club. Contact conference chair Bruce [email protected] . NEAR-Fest Deerfield, MA will be held on May 2. The Berkshire ARC Hamfest is scheduled for June 7 at the Goshen Fair Grounds and the NARL Hamfest June 21 at Newington High School. Your SM was thrilled to attend the last class and graduation of a CERT course given to Greater Danbury area ARES members. The course included CPR / AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) training, Basic First Aid, given by the local chapter of the American Red Cross plus the regular CERT training curriculum. The CERT team is a “mission team” for emergency communications—they will be working out of the EOCs as before but with increased personal skills. John Will, KB1LYP, a certified CERT instructor taught the program supported by Red Cross CPR / First Aid instructors. Paul Estefan, Danbury Director of Emergency Management and Betsey Doane, ARRL CT Section Manager passed out graduation certificates. At the completion of the course, each participant walked away with their CERT training certification plus, Red Cross certification in CPR / AED and Basic First Aid. Congrats to the following graduates: EC Oscar, KO1F who coordinated this effort, ADEC Harlan KB1ILY, George N1GS, Tom, WA8UNS, EC John W1JMA, EC Joe AB1DO, Huntley N1XLY, Rosty N2FEX, Anthony KB1OFQ, Ken, KD1DD, Bill KW1B Dick W1RNA EC and ASM Jim KD1YV, Walt KB1NCN, Paul KB1OQE and Bill, N1TIW. For full details and pictures, check out the Section Web page in a couple of days: www.ct.arrl.org . The following comes from Scott W1SSN: The USS Nautilus (SSN571) will participate in the 2008 Museum Ships event which is scheduled for Fri. thru Sun., June 6 thru 8, 2008. A 16 hour period of amateur activity is planned but no on-boat operation will be permitted. K1SSN (Sub Base ARC/MARS station) will be active for this event. Also, on Sat. & Sun., August 2 & 3, 2008, the 50th anniversary of the USS Nautilus’s historic North Pole under-ice transit across the Arctic will be observed. A “Special Event” call sign of N9N (Nautilus 90 North) has been assigned. More details on both events will be forth coming as planning moves forward. Members of ICRC are thinking of participating. NARL is looking for volunteers to help out at the CPTV Science Fair held at the Exhibit Center in Hartford April 24-26. I have participated and thoroughly enjoyed it so if you can help, contact Ethel KB1NMO [email protected] or Bob KB1EYZ [email protected] . Paul N1II gave a presentation to the Norwalk ARC on Codes, Computers and their Design. He illustrated the working of the Central Processing Unit (CPU) and main memory in execution of simple programs. He also talked about the application, Visicalc, that launched the acceptance of the PC and presented some of the algorithms used in computing to simplify complex math operations. On the digital front, Chuck AB1CR has stepped down as DEC Digital Communications. He is happy to participate in discussions about digital systems and related activities but does not feel he has the time to take the lead at thispoint. SEC Brian, K1BRF and I heartily thank Chuck for his hard work and continuing interest. You should know that the Winlink architecture has changed in ways that are of concern to many ARES leaders. As an example, the new Winlink architecture has every user connecting directly to one of the three Central Mail Servers around the world. All user traffic goes directly to the CMS. The PMBO such as W1HDN no longer stores and forwards, it just serves as a real time gateway—the mail simply passes through. There is renewed interest in the Flexnet packet network, IP gateways and Outpost software. Attention ALL ARES MEMBERS! A database is only as good as its information. So if you have not updated your information this year, please go to the database https://secure.ema.arrl.org:8443/ares/CT_ARES_member_login , check your info and click on update even if nothing has changed. This will show the date on which the info was last updated so we’ll know that your info is current. It’s real important folks. Many thanks to those of you who have already updated. In closing, I wish all who celebrate Easter a very Happy holiday.
Eastern Massachusetts
Hi Folks, First I would like to THANK the Cape Ann Amateur Radio Association (CAARA) for their hospitality on 3/8/08 for the first E. MA Section Manager's meeting hosted by them! Shirl knocked herself out with all the baking (even sugar free), also the tuna and egg salad with rolls. Everyone enjoyed it and had a good time. If there are any other clubs or organizations interested in having this Great New Group, speak and answer your concerns. Please contact Art at [email protected]. Field Day is not so far off! June 28th & 29th, 2008, that is only 3 months! I am sure everyone is putting their programs together, and if you need assistance, ask the staff of E. MA. We are available to ALL OF YOU! Our new Affiliated Club Coordinator is waiting on you. The very best, hard working, and ready with any and all questions. Chris [email protected] (K1CJS). No politics, just HAM RADIO! For all operators. Members of ARRL or not. This is what this section is about. North Eastern University wireless Club is back on line with the help of Joe Harris (N1QD) a BARC member. GREAT JOB, JOE! Billerica Amateur Radio Society (BARS) news: BARSG SPRING RTTY Contest on 3/22-23/08, also CQ WPX SSB, on 3/29-30/08. Also they have had a few General upgrades and many new Technician licensees recently. They are also looking for volunteers on April 27th for the Groton 5K & 10K road race. Coming VE SESSIONS: April 4th, and May 14th, held at the Murdock Middle School. Also a big
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THANK YOU, for posting my monthly reports. Quannapowitt Radio Assoc. (QRA) Club call ( W1EKT) Email: [email protected] CONGRATULATIONS on your upcoming 60th Anniversary! QRA was founded in Wakefield, MA, on Nov 18, 1948. Also a great idea putting in all the DX information for your members. Falmouth Amateur Radio Club held a DX CARD PARTY. Lots of work and good times. Thank you for your time and efforts. Many enjoy receiving the DX Cards. Even myself. In all my e-mails, and newsletters, I noticed advice on what to say as a back-up net controller for any club or organization. All is fine with the advice, but a training course is very much needed for those who want to volunteer for such duty. Remember, it is not an easy task. Be trained and qualified first! Consider joining ARES or RACES to get trained by the best in emergency communications. Please contact one of your Assistant Section Managers, Rob Macedo, [email protected]. A workshop is scheduled on April 12, 2008, 0900-1600 in Walpole, MA. It will cover almost everything that you need to know. The 34th Annual Eastern VHF/UHF Conference and dinner banquet will be held on 4/18-19-20, 2008, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, in Enfield, CT. RES. Tel; 860-741-2211. A block of rooms have been put aside. Mention NEWS GROUP for the discount rate. Save by pre-registering on the admission fee as well. Call Bruce Wood (N2LIV) Conference Chairman. Tel: 516- 928-0698, ext. 210. I am interestedWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO in knowing how many of you are going to attend the ARRL EXPO at the Dayton Hamvention (May 16-18). Please let me know via e-mail. Thank you. Again, I will congratulate our new ACC, Chris Smith. I am going to nickname him SPEEDY! He answers questions, has advice on new inquiries on how to become a HAM RADIO operator. He is Unbeleivable! A great job, Chris. 73, Art Greenberg, K1GBX, E MA SM. GOOD AIR WAVES ALL ======NEWS FROM ASSISTANT SECTION MANAGER DAVID UPTON, WB1CMG I had some additional items from last month that I did not cover for the sake of brevity relating to space. These are in quick order: AO-16 Recovery-Dual Mode Transponder-this satellite has been recovered sufficiently for amateur use as reported by AMSAT and ARRL. However, the recovery is tenuous and permission for general use may be withdrawn at any time depending on the health of the satellite. Conventional UHF uplinks and VHF downlinks are used with this satellite with a twist. The uplink transmits in SSB and the downlink is FM! This situation arose due to some unique cross-circuiting ability discovered during the recovery and software update process as detailed on ARRL Web. Users report copy of the downlink is possible by HT during a pass. Shuttle Monitoring-many amateurs with some dishes for 2304 MHz can use their equipment to monitor ISS and STS communications that are typically situated just below our band. The IF receiver would have to tune below its customary position for 2304 by 20-30 MHz to pick these up around 2280 MHz. Just another possible entertaining use for all of the investment in a microwave station and antennas. Lunar Orbiter Selene Monitoring- Amateurs have reported armchair copy with hand-held wideband receivers and simple antennas of the Japanese Kaguya (Selene)orbiter in lunar orbit around 2263 MHz. The signals consist of a main carrier followed by sub-carriers spaced at 10-15 kHz intervals. It is the main carrier that is audible without signal processing software such as Spectran or Argo. Some experimenters have inferred details about the orbital mechanics by observing the Doppler frequency variation over time. As yet there are no details about decoding the received telemetry signals further. Again yet a fairly easy thing to do to prepare for more amateur satellites and other tracking exercises in the future. The Staff of EMA just concluded a regional meeting held at the Cape Ann AmateurWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Radio Association's club house on Sat., March 8th in Gloucester, MA. One of the points raised was to facilitate contact with the SM as a clearinghouse to request info from ARRL field organization or other departments. It is the SM's job to know what help is available and to request it if needed from the proper places. The staff also urged clubs to dig in to all of the resources offered by the League through its various incentive programs and grants. If members had a wish list, it was expressed that some thought be given to a simplified electronic QSLing system or a means of reconciliation between the services that exist now. Kudos from everyone present was given for the e-mail forwarding system as an example that just works. Advice Dept: I know that it seems that the spots are forever lacking but the smart ham who may have been through a few of these will be planning his station carefully to take maximal advantage of the coming DX. Expect that the manufacturers will be releasing new waves of technology about now that will be fully developed in time for the next boom time. Be proactive and get everything before the spots come back or shortly thereafter. Don't wait until the crowd descends on the ham store, and don't settle for the leftovers everyone will try to sell from the last cycle after the peak has been reached. David M. Upton ASM EMA
Rhode Island
Greetings fellow Rhode Islanders: Spring is here! Break out the shorts, sandals and tee shirts. March 20th is the first day of spring. Antenna weather is here again. Sunspot Cycle 24 is heading upward. Life is good. Those of you who enjoy chasing DX have had your fun trying to work VP6DX on Ducie Island and later, TX5C on Clipperton Island on as many bands and modes as you could. Each of those contacts will give you a point toward the DXCC Challenge. What's the Challenge? Go to http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2001/05/08/3/ and read all about it. It's great fun. RI ARES has been very active. Members are planning for the April 19th Volunteer Fair that will be held at six different locations supporting recruiting and training within all services supported by RIEMA. All volunteer services supported by RIEMA will be seeking to attract new volunteers. Team leaders for our ARES portion will be Bill Ewan W1VH, Jamie Tarricone KA1JF, David Gardiner N1QL, Mark Titterington W1EOF, Jim Creamer KB1MAO and Sean Brennan KE1AB. Need more information? Contact SEC K3OQH at [email protected] . Rick will fill you in and direct you to one of the teams. Another ARES program in the works is the Shelter Communications Plan. ARES was able to secure a grant to purchase an amateur radio station for EVERY Local EOC and hurricane-approved shelter in the State of Rhode Island as part of the statewide Shelter Communications Plan (ShelterCom).This is a huge step forward for ARES and amateur radio as whole in our state. It is because of the hard work of several ARES members across the state and the alert and strong leadership of our SEC, K3OQH that we are able to secure this grant. Many thanks to all. Much good is coming from the effort that so many have been contributing for years. Please don't let up now. Your support is needed now more than ever. Just a reminder for all ARES members. ALL ARES volunteers who expect to be deployed to serve any served agency will be required to be certified in ICS-100. This consists of an on-line FEMA course which takes only a few hours of time and is completely free of charge. Requirement for being qualified in ICS-700 is expected to be added in the future, so it may be easier for everyone to simply take both on-line courses and be ready for it when it is announced. I have taken 100 and plan to take the 700 course within a few days. Field Day is the last full weekend in June, the 28th and 29th. It is normally conducted by clubs across the country. Are you a club member? Do you actively support your club? Why not to either question? I'm an active member of four clubs, two of which are in Texas. Go to website, http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/club/clubsearch.phtml?state=RI&selstate=Show+clubs+in+selected+state and review the eight clubs we have in RI. Choose one that is most convenient for you and attend a meeting or two. Hopefully, you'll enjoy the visit and apply for membership. As I said, Field Day is approaching, only three months away. Don't miss the fun. Fidelity ARC will soon be using the call letters of its founder, Merrill Budlong who became a Silent Key last year. Under the Vanity call program, the club applied for the call and will be using W1MB in its Field Day operation this year. I know Merrill would be very proud to see many of his students using his call sign on the air. I hope the new call brings you plenty of good luck. The New England Division Convention will be held August 22nd through the 24th. The event is repeated in August on even numbered years. More details of the convention are available at http://www.boxboro.org/ . On line registration will be available starting Sunday, March 23rd. They are looking for volunteers to work in the various support functions such as parking, ticketing, programs, etc. If you are interested in giving back a couple of hours for all the fun you've had over the years, contact Pat, NG1G at [email protected]. Pat is coordinating the volunteer effort from RI and recruiting new volunteers. Pat will fill you in with the details. Thanks in advance for helping out and I am looking forward to seeing you there. Many RI DXers have been active chasing two recent DXpeditions; VP6DX to Ducie Island and TX5C to Clipperton Island. The chatter level on local repeaters on the subject of DX has been noticeably higher. Even Techs with no HF capability are becoming interested. Possibly it will serve as incentive to upgrade sooner. New DX interest is popping up for a few stations in Africa and an expected operation in the Spratly Island group which is in the So China Sea by N1UR and his XYL on March 22 for one week. This is all happening at the bottom of the sunspot cycle 23 and before cycle 24 starts its rise. Can you begin to imagine what will happen in another year, two years when the 15, 12, 10 and 6 meter bands are wide open? Have fun. See you in the pileups. 73, Bob Beaudet, W1YRC
Northwestern Division
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Montana
Your SM traveled to Great Falls for the GFAARC meeting last Monday. It was great to see all the members and enjoy the energy that seems to always be present in the Club membership. Congratulations to Cam, N7NBB for his award as "Ham of the Year" from GRAARC. He's been active in VE testing and classes for some time now, and is responsible along with the rest of the VE team for several upgrades and new Ham licenses. Thanks so much for a great job Cam. The "Burnt Circuit" award went to Jim, N7YO for a job well done (burnt) in his persuit of Ham Radio perfection. "Well done , Jim, well done". Antenna repair time is here, some sunshine and lighter winds. Try to catch up if you can, there's more bad weather to be had if this is a "normal" Spring. Look for loose hardware, broken supports and solder joints. A little effort now can avoid trouble in the future. If you've spent Winter sitting on your backside, take your time while climbing towers and trees, you might not be in the shape you consier yourself to be. If you have poles to climb, leave the climbers to the pros. Get some help, dont become a number on a page of QST. Thanks to Bill, K7MT for his efforts to move NTS Tfc from K6KPH, the old site of KPH/KFX andWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO present site of KSM, the California Coast. They are a volunteer force of ops from the old KPH station who were once active on the Maritime HF bands, and handled traffic to and from ships on the high seas. Now, they have applied for and recieved, a license to reestablish HF CW with ships still equipped for it. They are using the old antennas from the original stations, restored and updated by their staff through long hours of work. The site is now owned by the National Park Service. KSM is up every saturday on CW and RTTY with press and weather broadcasts using the old transmitters covering the HF maritime bands. One op is on duty all day Saturday and can be called on 7050 or 14050 for short QSO's and to take outgoing traffic to NTS. If you are interested in making this sked for them, contact Bill or myself. These folks are great CW ops and can move right along, so if you have any concerns about your morse ability, it might not be for you, but they are super to work with. More info is available at "www.radiomarine.org". It's interesting reading. I'll be traveling some more as Spring progresses and hope to get to as many club meetings as possible before I run out the budget. Thanks to all 73 Doug, K7YD MTN-AE7V, QNI-2136, QTC-82 IMN-W7GHT, QNI-435, QTC-73 MSN-K7YD, QNI-128, QTC-4
Oregon
Hello to the Oregon Section! This will be a little short this month since I am running short of time right now and this has to get out by the 18th. The deadline for some of you to run for section manager has passed and since no one ran against me, I will be serving you in the Oregon Section for another two years. For the most recent news and information, visit the section website at http://www.arrloregon.org. AMATEUR RADIO EMERGENCY SERVICES (ARES) NOTES All of you who are ARES members should have heard that the next Simulated Emergency Test (SET) will be April 26th. Your countyWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Emergency Coordinator (EC) should soon be receiving the SET plan; it may already have been received by them. If you haven’t heard anything about the participation plans for your unit, ask your EC. ACTIVITIES I’ll give you an update about some of my activities. In February, I spoke at the Oregon Tualatin Valley Amateur Radio Club(OTVARC) meeting and attended the Salem Hamfair. I'm hard to catch at the hamfair since I spend most of my time in various meetings. In March, I spoke at the Seaside Tsunami Amateur Radio Society (STARS) meeting. On April 24th, I plan to be speaking at the Central Oregon Radio Amateurs (CORA) meeting. Don’t forget the Emergency Communications Academy in Seattle on April 5th and 6th. I’ve heard it’s always really good. I’ve been wanting to go, but last year I broke a bone in my foot right before the event and wasn’t getting around very well. This year I will be working evening shift in the command center for a hospital go-live of computerized nursing documentation in Lincoln City all week, including most likely Friday evening, just prior that weekend. And most important, make sure you have Sea-Pac on your calendar for May 31- June 1! SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER (STM) REPORT Some of you may have heard that Scott Gray, W7IZ, had recently submitted his resignation as STM. Since then he has rescinded that resignation and will be continuing in the position. I think Claire Johnson, N7CM, talked him out of quitting so she would not have to take the position! For the record, he has no interest in digital modes so he will be obtaining an assistant to help in that area. Scott’s complete report is posted on the section website. NET ACTIVITY FEBRUARY 2008: (ALL REPORTING NETS HAD 29 SESSIONS) OREGON EMERGENCY NET, QNI 4119, QTC 19, N7RBO NET MGR NORTHWEST TRAFFIC AND TRAINING NET, QNI 530, QTC 122, N7YSS NET MGR OREGON SECTION NET/1, QNI 194, QTC 100, WS7L NET MGR OREGON SECTION NET/2, QNI 84, QTC 65, KC7SRL NET MGR OREGON ARES TRAFFIC NET, QNI 568, QTC 53, WA7FXF NET MGR DISTRICT #1 ARES NET, QNI 1096, QTC 36, KC7ZZB NET MGR BEAVER STATE NET, QNI 714, QTC 55, N7CM NET MGR STATION ACTIVITY REPORT (SAR) TOTALS FOR FEBRUARY 2008: W7IZ 174, N7CM 144, K7PMB 139, N7YSS 111, N7DRP 64, K7EAJ 52, KC7SRL 46, W7VSE 34, WS7L 22, KD7ZLF 20 PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) TOTALS FOR FEBRUARY 2008: K7EAJ 170, N7CM 165, N7XG 110, N7YSS 110, N7DRP 84, KK7TN 72, KD7ZLF 70, KD7THV 14 TOWER REPORTS Clatsop County – We received a good report after the 2007 Storm and Flood about the tower issue in Clatsop County that was settled after year of the Larkin’s fighting to keep their tower. Their tower was the only VHF link between Clatsop County and Tillamook County and was needed very badly for their communications. Deschutes County – There are tower issues in progress in Deschutes County that a large group of hams are working on. City of Bandon – This city is a good example of why clubs and ARES units need to identify someone to monitor activity in the city and county that may affect ham towers and antennas. They were revising the ordinances to not allow in towers in the city. Dan Bissell, W7WVF, the assistant section manager (ASM) for Southwestern Oregon, attended a meeting well armed with all the information available to support ham radio towers. The response was that they had forgotten about the hams and gave immediate direction to exclude ham radio from the new ordinance. NEW APPOINTMENTS Jim Michels, K7GSR, is a new Official Observer in the section. FIELD DAY If you haven’t sent your field day information to Pat Roberson, N7PAT, the Administrative Assistant Section Manager (ASM), please do so. He is compiling a list of field day locations to be available as needed. Also, if you have any information or news to be posted on the section website, that information can be sent to either me or to Pat and we can post it. There is a link on the left site of the page for you to submit news, but please email me and let me know it is there to make sure I approve it for posting. That link gets spammed and there are thousands of junk postings sitting out there right now.
Western Washington
In District 1: Island County reports 9 operators attended EOC training classes on how to deal with both the large and small issues which can and do come up in an EOC. DEM is also setting up NWS weather spotter training classes this spring. Many of this team have signed up to help with the Whidbey Island Marathon which is good training for working with the public. San Juan County ARES/RACES provided communications for the 25 and 50 K day long off road marathon on Orcas Island. Only one leg injury was reported. In District 2: At the Clallam County February meeting, Mike McCarty, KE7EZO, introduced Al Camin from the Clallam County Sheriff's Department who discussed the neighborhood watch program. EC Dan Abbott, N7DWA, introduced Dr. Thomas Locke, Jefferson and Clallam County health officer, who gave a presentation on seasonal, avian and pandemic influenza and the community mitigation standards to manage these events. The March program will include a guest speaker from FEMA/Border Patrol. Jefferson County continues to explore options for providing emergency communications to the western portion of Jefferson County. The issue is compounded by a large amount of mountainous terrain with very few people, and a zero budget. Kitsap County ARES provided support to the Chilly Hilly bicycle ride on Bainbridge Island. The ARES/RACES leadership team held their quarterly meeting with the Kitsap County DEM to discuss issues and progress toward the goals for their mission to support county emergency response agencies. Also discussed were up-coming training events the county will be holding where the ARES/RACES/ACS team will be involved. Progress is being made on improving their digital stations. In District 3: Grays Harbor County put on a basic packet class, which was attended by over 20 hams from District 3. Mason County is signing everyone up with new applications and issuing new cards. Pacific County performed repeater maintenance and got a major repeater back into the Beachnet system. Ham classes are going well with 34 attendees. Lewis County team members attended a semi-annual Search and Rescue Training exercise with other Lewis County
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units in the Morton Area. Unfortunately the mannequin did not survive. No Report from Districts 4 and 5. In District 6: The Sammamish EOC is now fully functional as are three of the East Side Fire & Rescue stations on the Plateau. The team is now ready for the upcoming Sound Shake '08 exercise. In District M: The Medical Services Team had a busy month, with a training meeting in both Region 5 and Region 6. Preparations for the Sound Shake 2008 exercise on March 5 were intensive and very informative. The team tried some new things, recruited some new personnel and worked with the hospitals and other agencies. Registration opened in mid-February and preparations are under way for the 10th Communications Academy. Don’t Forget Communications Academy 2008, April 5&6 www.comacademy.org
Pacific Division East Bay WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO The Section News has been moved to the East Bay Section web site at http://www.eastbaysectionarrl.org. You can find more detailed information and current events on this web site. I have made a start on one of my major goals as your new Section Manager. I plan to visit each Amateur Radio Club in the East Bay Section at least once this year. With 21 affiliated clubs and an unknown number of nonaffiliated clubs, I will be quite busy. I have already visited ACSCT, SBARA, LARK, DARC and NALCO. I have scheduled future visits with BARC, USS Hornet ARC, SARS and HARC. I appreciate the warm welcome that I have received on my visits to date and have enjoyed meeting and talking with the members. I look forward to an equally positive and enjoyable experience on my future visits. I will schedule additional visits as time permits (if your club is not currently listed on the Section web site, I am not aware of its existence). Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] if your club would like to schedule a specific date or request a presentation, otherwise visits will be on a random, ad hoc, basis. While I am on the topic of club visits, it is not too soon to bring up Field Day visits. I would like to visit as many Field Day sites in the East bay Section as possible. Please let me know as soon as your club’s plans are set for Field day. This will allow me to plan an itinerary to try to visit each of you. The East Bay Section Cabinet (all Section Level appointees) will be meeting later this month to discuss their roles and expectation. Please feel free to provide your relevant input (questions, concerns, suggestions) to any member of the Cabinet (see the contact information on the East Bay Section web site. With the addition of Jim Tiemstra, K6JAT (SEC) and Jim Tittle, K6SOE (OOC) to the cabinet, we are now well on the way to revitalizing the OO program and the Field Services organization in the East Bay Section. ACSCT members had an opportunity to receive Civilian EVOC (Emergency Vehiclee Obstacle Course) training. I was able to take advantage of this great training. It is one thing to read or hear about the proper driving techniques, but is quite another thing to be able to actually put them into practice. I strongly urge anyone that has a chance to receive this type of training to jump at it. The skid pad exercises were particularly eye opening (in more ways than one ). ARCA participated WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.ROin an Emergency Preparedness Fair on 9 February at the Community of Harbor Bay Farm Island Members Fred KI6BES, Bruce KI6CYT, David KI6AWR, Steve KI6DUW, Marianne KI6MTU, and Jerry KI6HMJ all helped to make this a successful event on very short notice. ORCA is working to revitalize the use of digital modes. They passed messages using a few modes and had some good learning from their exercise. They found that the use of computer sound cards may not be as simple as one may think and it is important to select proper (current) software. ORCA has scheduled a five week Technician level class to be held at the WCCAE Alvarado Campus in Richmond, CA (5625 Sutter Ave.). The class begins April 8th at 1900 hours local. CONGATULATIONS TO: Mike Berke, KI6EGL for graduating from EMT Boot Camp and passing the national exam (NREMT); Benicia ARC on receiving club jackets through a grant from Valero as well as a great write-up in the Benicia Herald; Al Sweet , KG6HM, of ARCA on the publication of his book Designing Bipolar Transistor Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits; ARCA’s newly elected officers: President David KI6AWR, Vice President Al KG6HM, Secretary, Joe KC6ZZT and Treasurer, Bruce KI6CYT. RadioFest, the ARRL Santa Clara Valley Section Convention, was held February 23 & 24, 2008 in Monterey CA (go to http://www.radiofest.org/ for more information). They did a great job with a variety of excellent speakers, a Ham Cram session (with free VE testing the next day) and a great barbeque. EMCOMMWEST is less than 2 months away on May 2-4 at the Circus Circus in Reno, NV (go to http://emcommwest.org/). Gordon West, WB6NOA, is the guest speaker at the Saturday banquet ($39), Dennis Dura, K2DCD is the keynote speaker Saturday morning. Congratulations to these new hams: Shanna E Ricci Hibdon, KI6NVJ, Alameda; Paul E Cahill, KI6NXT, Alameda; John W Anderson, KI6NXJ, Alameda; Michael A Mimiaga, KI6OCC, Concord; Tracy W Reigelman, KI6NTJ, Danville; Mark H Sembrat, KI6OCD, Danville; Sarit Sotangkur, KI6NZP, Hayward; Brice C Bledsoe, KI6OCF, Hercules; David G M Ane, KI6NXK, Newark; Michael J Athey, KI6NXN, Dublin; Daniel C Athey, KI6NXM, Dublin; Luis R Colon, AF6GS, San Leandro; Roberto E Lopez, KI6NYP, Vallejo; Neil Michael, KI6ODJ, Emeryville; Jacqueline Michael, KI6ODI, Emeryville; Michael Klopot, KI6ODP, Oakland; Elizabeth A Schneider, KI6NVQ, Oakland; Glen Epperson, KI6NYA, Berkeley; Marilyn M Sharon, KI6NVH, Berkeley; Sati D Shah, KI6ODE, Kensington; Melody A Dos Santos, KI6ODD, Kensington; John N Lawson, AF6HC, Elmira Congratulations to these upgrades: Kenneth H Belfer, KI6MNY, Alamo; Jose J Hernandez, KG6FZI, Antioch; Joseph B O Donnell, KD6QDV, Fremont; Fred H Lothrop, K6REQ, Lafayette; Kevin C Athey, KI6KRA, Livermore; Vladimir Dvorkin, KB9OLM, Castro Valley; George T Tickner, KI6NHY, Martinez; Sergio Ortega, KI6DBF, Napa; Charles L Athey, KI6KRC, Dublin; Richard L Wensel, KI6KCF, Suisun City, CA 94585-; James W Jenkins, KI6NGS, Oakland; Arthur M Lane, KI6NYK, Richmond; Jay W Henwood, KI6NYF, San Pablo NATIONAL TRAFFIC SYSTEM (NTS) Call Sign Originated Sent Received Delivered Total WB6UZX 0 63 67 10 140 W6DOB 0 48 78 0 126 KE6QR 1 1 19 19 40 PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) Call Sign Categories 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total W6DOB 40 40 30 110 WB6UZX 40 40 10 5 95 (Requires at least 70 points) For those of you who have not seen the new commercial that has a woman "playing with her ham radio" in the rain, here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MieEfkwICB8. According to Dave Sumner, K1ZZ, "Looks like a Gonset Communicator and companion amplifier. The amplifier ran a pair of 826s and put out about 50 watts. They're at least 50 years old -- the producer must have raided somebody's classic radio collection. The amplifier is probably rather rare." (Thanks to Andy Oppel, N6AJO)
Pacific
February SM Report 2008 - This report covers mid February to mid March While on Oahu your SM was able to visit the national Weather Service headquarters thanks to the help of Connie, NH7IE and Ray Tanabe of NWS. It turns out they are located in what use to be the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics. As a matter of fact your SM had an office right down the hall from where the NWS is now. Of course the building is quite different now. The original Haleakala machine was assembled in the top floor of that building by KH6FOX, KH6GG and many others. Makani Pahili hurricane exercise will be in mid-May sometime. This year we will attempt to have ham activity during the week of the exercise in addition to a two hour segment on one of the Saturdays. More details are pending. No firm date has been set yet. Last month it was stated that winlink is an HF protocol that allows e-mail to be sent over HF radio. It turns out it can be on any frequency as long as the proper base station exists within range. In Hilo AH6JA has a VHF winlink setup at HCC. Kauai ARC aka KARC normally meets the first Monday but for at least the last two months it has been on the first Wednesday. The last meeting was Wednesday February 6, 2008: at 7:00 PM, at Kauai Community College Technology Center. The last club event was Saturday March 8 when volunteers publicized the month of March as National Red Cross Month by collecting donations at the Kukui Grove Shopping Center, Wal-Mart, Big Save in Koloa. In the state of Hawaii Red Cross responds to local disasters 2 to 3 time a week, teaches 36,000 per year various life saving skills and provides emergency communications between military families. Alfred Darling, WH6KS lead the event on Kauai. American Red Cross also was the host of the EARC meeting at the newly renovated ARC state headquarters at 4155 Diamond Head Rd. on Thursday February 28th. There was a tour and talk by Mike Zanoni, AH6WA. Your SM was there. Wayne Jones was presented a plaque of appreciation earlier in the day Thursday for his many years of service as Hawaii QSL manager. EARC members were shown a picture of the plaque. Wayne could not attend the meeting due to health issues. He has retired and the new QSL manager is Barbara Darling, NH7FY. Honolulu ARC aka HARC will next meet on Saturday March 15. They still need a treasurer. Battleship Missouri ARC aka BMARC reports KH6BB generally operates from 9AM to Noon every Tuesday. Ned Conklin, KH7JJ, received
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the Battleship Missouri Memorial Award as the outstanding volunteer of the year. He has been a volunteer since 1998 and is president of the Battleship Missouri ARC. West Honolulu ARC will next meet April 3, 2008. They are not an affiliated club. Koolau ARC last met on Saturday March 8th at 9:30AM. Their next meeting will be April 12 at 9:30AM at Ho’omaluhia Park in Kaneohe. The Oahu Civil Defense Amateur Radio Club is not an ARRL affiliated club. It will hold exams at Honolulu Municipal Bldg, Basement B1, 650 S. King St. on: Wednesday March 19 at 1830 Wednesday June 18 at 1830 Wednesday August 20 at 1830 Wednesday November 19 at 1830 Contact Ray Moody for more information. The Maui ARC had a mini swap meet on Wednesday February 13 in place of their regular meeting. Their next meeting will be Wednesday March 12, at 7PM. SM Bob Schneider, AH6J, will attend as well as Volunteer Counsel Dennis Niles. For information on the 2008 Maui exam schedule send e-mail to [email protected] or call Mel KH6H at 250-5530 and leave a voice mail at least two weeks before the scheduled exam date. Please pay $14 by check or money order. No cash please: Saturday, April 5, 2008 Saturday, August 2, 2008 Saturday, December 6, 2008 On the island of Hawaii the Big Island ARC also had a presentation by American Red Cross on March 8th. Kohala Hamakua Radio Club aka KHRC reported light activity. They met Sunday March 9th at 2PM in Hawi. The KHRC portable station willWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO be at this year's Healthy Keiki Fest in Waimea. Jake and John agreed to join Norm at the site, while Eric and Steve agreed to be home for HF QSOs on 7.088 or 3.888 MHz at random times from 10:00-14:00 on Saturday, 12 April 2008. Kona ARS next meets on Sunday March 16 at OTEC Park at 2PM. Marians ARC aka MARC invites people to please join the MARC International Net which starts at 7:00 p.m. Monday, Guam time, or 11:00 p.m. Sunday HST. This is 0900 Monday UTC. It is on the Club repeater 146.91- and on the IRLP Reflector 9254. There is an Echo-Link bridge to Reflector 9254. Thanks to Carter Davis, KH6FV and Kent Johnson, W7AOR, for setting up the IRLP and Echo-link. Ham radio supported the Great Aloha Run was on President's Day, Monday February 18, 2008. The route was from Aloha Tower to Aloha Stadium. Rick Ward, WH6FC, and the South Point ARC aka SPARC are now in the process of assembling the repeater to tie the “soft underbelly” of the Island of Hawaii into the Big Island Wide Area Network known as BIWARN. The most southern repeater is now located in Naalehu. With the new machine the southernmost repeater will be at South Point and it will cover South Kau and Hawaiian Ocean View Estates. The BIWARN system was used to feed weather and road information to CD and Sky Warn during the storms in early February. Emcommwest will be Friday-Saturday-Sunday May 2-4 at Circus Circus Hotel in Reno, NV. The banquet speaker will be Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH with Dennis Dura, K2DCD is the keynote speaker. For more information go to http://emcommwest.org or email to [email protected] 311 people are signed up for the SM and Directors newsletter. There are 565 ARRL members in the Pacific Section as of Jan 2008. This is a 3.7% increase over last year. On Feb 18th the U.S. Federal Communications Commission will let mobile operators shut down their analog networks. It's called the "analog sunset" because those Advanced Mobile Phone System networks, which were first deployed in the 1980s and brought cellular service to millions of Americans, will finally disappear behind the digital networks that serve almost all mobile phones in use today. Last month, two new ARES positions were created by the ARRL Board of Directors at the recommendation of its Programs and Services Committee: The positions are Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator and Assistant District Emergency Coordinator. Both positions require ARRLWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO membership. 73, Bob Schneider, AH6J - ARRL Pacific Section Manager
Sacramento Valley
February 2008 Summary If you have an interest in Emergency Communications, the Section Emergency Communications Conference is for you. On March 8, from 8 AM to 4 PM we will examine the best way to handle bad situations with limited resources. What are the plans, procedures, techniques, and equipment we can best field for EmComm? These will be the topics at the U.C. Sierra Foothills Research Station, , 8279 Scott Forbes Rd., Browns Valley, CA 95918. Our host is Art Craigmill, K6ALC, Yuba/Sutter EC, and director of the station. Plan to bring a bag lunch, and anything you want to share with the group. All ARES leadership is invited, plus those county EmComm personnel who are organized under other titles. We want you all to participate. Contact Ron, W6KJ, [email protected] or Art, [email protected] if you plan to attend. It is not too late to take the next step in Emergency Communications gatherings. EMCOMM WEST 2008 will be held May 2-4, 2008, at the Circus Circus Hotel in Reno,NV. There will be lots to do and see at this expanded version of EMCOMM WEST. Gordon West, WB6NOA, will be the banquet speaker on Saturday night. Dennis Dura, K2DCD, ARRL Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager will be the keynote speaker. There are special hotel rates for those who stay overnight, advance ticket sales, and all the other information you need at: http://emcommwest.org/ So check it out, tune it in, and sign up now. We have more sad news to report. We hear from Bud Watkins, the son of former K6BJF, Bill Watkins, of Graeagle, CA, that Bill is a silent key. Bill was a very active ham (stations at home, and in his car) and the son of W6RV, who passed away in 1987. Bill spent over 30 years with the telephone company in southern California, moving to Oakland then retiring in San Francisco in the mid 1970's. During WWII, Bill was in the US Marine Corps and got his start in personal electronics as a field telephone man. Bill and his wife had three children, six grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. Bill passed away November 11, 2007, age 81, in Portola. George C. Lowell, Jr., AG6N, SK. George was a resident of Grass Valley, passed away January 2. He was 87. George was born in Richmond, served in the U.S. Coast Guard on the USS Leonard Wood. He worked as an electronics specialist for the FAA. He and his wife Lucille had four sons, seven grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. Mertis Oliver, KC6PFT, SK. Willie Mertis Oliver of Rocklin, passed away Tuesday, 5 February, at her home. For many years Mertis and OM Homer, KB6EJ, brightened our lives in Yuba City as members of the Yuba Sutter ARC. She took my license course at Yuba College passing the Novice and Technician without much apparent effort. Last month it was reported here that 75 more UHF repeaters were asked to reduce interference to Beale AFB's PAVE PAWS radar system, which has primary status in the 440 band. This was too much signal reduction for some repeaters and they were taken off the air. On February 27, ARRL released an update. ARRL, FCC and agents of the various US Air Force units working on developing a plan to mitigate alleged interference from 70 cm ham radio repeaters to PAVE PAWS radar systems on both coasts met February 20 via conference call. The purpose of the conference was to review the status of the mitigation plans at both sites: the Massachusetts Military Reservation on Cape Cod and Beale AFB, north of Sacramento, California. Please read the full story at: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/02/27/101/?nc=1 A modified Ham Cram Technician course was successful in the Yuba-Sutter area. Seven students began the course with two evening sessions with individual instructors. Four have already passed their initial tests and have been heard on the air. New Technicians KI6OQH, KI6OQI, KI6OQJ, and brand new General Class licensee KI6OQH are the first from this group to get on the air. They each have an individual Elmer to help them through the first few months on the air. More intensive classes to report: Barbara Olsen-Arenz, N6BOA, was approached by a four wheel drive group to help them get licensed. Friends of the High Lakes http://www.friendsofhighlakes.com/ now have 20 new hams, one of which passed the General test at the same VE session, according to John Hunt, K7XE, an Oroville Amateur Radio Society (OARS) VE team member. K7XE is also working with five EXTRA class students. Two have their new licenses, and three will test shortly. OARS also conducted a weekend Ham Cram for Techs with Bill Cross, K6DYT, at the helm. ALL of his students are now licensed. If you look at the Section Web Page http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=SV then you know about two hams who have accepted leadership positions in the section. Jim Michener, K9JM, of Grass Valley, has been appointed Section Traffic Manager. Jim has been active in traffic handling for years and has been an active net manager. Also, Less Cobb, W6TEE, has been appointed Assistant Section Manager. Les will take all the Section's Net information and put it into a web usable format to be listed on the Section Web page. Anyone who would like their net's listing to appear on the ARRL SV webpage please contact W6TEE [email protected] with the latest information. As always, we would like to hear you on one of the two section nets, the second Wednesday of each month. For March that is March 12. We start with a VHF net on the WD6AXM/R (146.085 MHz, plus offset, 127.3 hz tone) at 1900L and then at 1930L we repeat the net on 3987 KHz. We try to have the latest ham radio news. And, on the fourth Wednesday of each month, at 1930L, on 3987 kHz, join us for the Sacramento Valley Section ARES net. Our NCS for the last two sessions is Frank Sharit, N6GP, whose great signal is getting better every day. Speaking of improving conditions, the California Traffic Net (3.906 kHz, 1830L nightly) has survived the poor (bottom of the solar cycle) propagation conditions by means of very talented and dedicated relay stations. When ham radio got its start, relaying messages was vital to the success of our service and hobby. If you want to listen to a great group of professional sounding hams, check this net out each evening. Special thanks are due to the people who send me the links to their club newsletters, who take the time and expend the effort to send in obituary notices for silent keys in this section, and who, in
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other ways, provide the information for the Section Summary. We appreciate your interest. 73, Ron Murdock, W6KJ ARRL Sacramento Valley Section Manager
San Joaquin Valley
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY SECTION Report for the month of February 2008: SM Charles McConnell, W6DPD- ASMs K6YK and N2NS, ACC W6DPD, SEC N6ZFN, OOC N1VM, STM K6RAU, PIC KE6IGJ, TC W6TE. Greetings from the ARRL San Joaquin Valley Section. If you desire your club information and events to be listed in Section News, please send the information to [email protected]. I get very little information. If your club has a newsletter, please send it to me, email to [email protected] or via U.S Mail. Mark your calendars. The Turlock ARC Auction is April 5, 2008, at the Turlock Youth Center. Check www.w6bxn.org for information. The Clovis Amateur Radio Pioneers Swap meet will be April 12, 2008, at the New Hope Community Church in Clovis.WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Check www.k6arp.org for information. The International DX Convention is April 25-28, 2008 at Visalia. Check http://www.dxconvention.org/ for information. EMCOMM West is May 2-4, 2008 at the Circus Circus in Reno NV. Check www.emcommwest.org for information. The 65th Fresno Hamfest is May 31, 2008, at the Salvation Army in Fresno. Check www.w6to.com for information. Pacificon 2008 is October 17-19, 2008 at the Marriott Hotel in San Ramon CA. Check www.pacificon.org for information. When your affiliated club elects officers for the next year, be sure to update your club’s information on the affiliated club area of the ARRL web page so you club will get any information sent from the ARRL Club department. If you fail to update your clubs information for 2 years, your club will be placed in the inactive file. Your club will be notified if the 2-year period is about to take place. Need to take an Amateur exam? Check the ARRL web page, www.arrl.org for exam information. You can also search for Amateur Radio Classes in your area. The Northern California Net (NCN), the Section Traffic Net, meets nightly on 3.533 MHZ at 7 PM Pacific Time. The slow speed training session of the net meets nightly on 3.533 MHZ at 9 PM Pacific Time. Handling traffic on CW is a good way to improve your CW skills. The Daytime Region 6 Traffic Net meets daily at 3:30 pacific time on or near 7.275 MHZ. The California Traffic Net meets daily on 3.906 MHZ and 6:30 PM local time. The noon time net meets on 7.268.5 MHz. This net handles a lot of messages. EMCOMM West for 2008 has moved to the Circus Circus in Reno. The dates are May 2 to 4, 2008. This is an ARRL specialty convention devoted entirely to emergency communications. Information can soon be found at www.emcommwest.org. If you are involved in emergency communications, this is an event you should plan to attend. Dennis Dura, K2DCD of ARRL, and Gordon West, WB6NOA, are the featured speakers. KE6HCJ, Charles, W6BJB, Bob, WB6OHB, Bedford, WA6TPE, Charles, WA6ADZ Leonard, WA6OYP, Mel, KF6QJM, Paul, KK6I Ira, W6GUZ, Bill, and W6ECP, Ernest are Silent Keys. They will be missed. Kings ARC 2008 officers are pres KA6PNL, vp NW6K, sec WA7YHX, and treas N6SDD. Check www.qsl,net/ka6q for information. Calaveras ARS 2008 officers are pres AE6LA, vp KO6HV, sec N6IV, and treas AC6CY. Check www.calaverasars.org for information. Top SJV scores inWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO the 2007 IARU HF World Championship were first N2NS, second KD4HXT, and third K6CSL. Sierra ARC members provided communications support for the 2008 Fire Mountain Horse Ride. Traffic for February: K6RAU 31, W6DPD 0, and W6SX 20. Total 51. PSHR: K6RAU 97 and W6SX 50.
Santa Clara Valley
Monthly Summary for February 2008 Santa Clara Valley Section News Summary. March 18, 2008 =Section Convention at RadioFest 2008 – It was a great success! Thanks to all who attended. The event was well attended and the addition of Harold Kramer from ARRL HQ was well received. The SVWUX folks put together an Internet Cafe'. Sal and Jim who bulldogged the event did a heck of a job as did the whole Navy Postgraduate School club. A big Navy "BZ" to the whole crew. We are all looking forward to next year. Please visit www page http://www.radiofest.org/ = East Bay Amateur Radio Club, Oakland Radio Communication Association, Amateur Radio Club of Alameda are holding a Technician level class scheduled to begin Tuesday 8th April 2008, 1900 to 2130 local time weekly. The classes will run for five weeks at the Alvarado School, 5625 Sutter Ave., Richmond, CA 94804, 510- 559-2660. The textbook will be “The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual (Technician)” (Available from ARRL, HRO Oakland or at the first class.) Cost for the class is free, ARRL manual is $25. Registration is on site at the first session. A test session will be held 1900 hours local time, Tuesday May 13th 2008 for a Test Fee of $14. Contact Randy Jenkins, KA6BQF ([email protected]) 510 526-4089 =Amateur Radio ("Ham") License & Communications Course will begin Tuesdays: 6:30 pm - 9 pm: April 1, 8, 15 & 22 (April 22 is exam night) WHERE: Menlo Park Fire Sta. 77: 1467 Chilco St. COST: $40.00 MATERIAL: The ARRL Ham Radio License book will be provided for this class. INSTRUCTORS: David Fichou (Menlo Fire ARES) & Ken Dueker (Palo Alto P.D.) REGISTER: Ken Dueker: [email protected] =Pat Barthelow, AA6EG, has been asked to present for the Jamesburg Dish [http://www.jamesburgdish.org/] at the April 12 Yuri's night event at Moffett Field. See http://www.yurisnightbayarea.net/2008/ssa.php regarding Yuri’s Night. = It is time to sign up again for Tierra Bella 2008 which will be on Saturday, April 19. Contact Don Irving, N6DRB, [email protected]. Stay tuned for several other public service events coming up in April. =The 59th Annual International DX Convention sponsored by the Southern California DX Club will be held at The Holiday Inn Hotel & Conference Center Visalia from April 25, 26 & 27, 2008. See their web site at http://www.dxconvention.org. =EMCOMMWEST 2008 is on for May 2-4, 2008 at the Circus Circus Hotel. See their web site at http://www.emcommwest.org. This year promises two exciting headliners: DENNIS DURA, K2DCD – Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager from the ARRL headquarters in Newington, CN will deliver our keynote address, and host a forum. They are also pleased to announce that our special guest for the Saturday night banquet will be GORDON WEST, WB6NOA from Southern California. Registration is now available online via the website, at www.emcommwest.org. Special room rates are available from Circus Circus, via a link on the website. =Pat Barthelow, AA6EG, was asked to present Jamesburg Dish http://www.jamesburgdish.org/ at the April 12 Yuri's night event at Moffett Field. See http://www.yurisnightbayarea.net/2008/ssa.php. =The Relay 2008: April 19-20, 2008. The Relay 2008 needs Hams for the following event!!!! Date: Sat April 19 to Sun April 20 SF/SMCo Time: April 19 approx 2100hr to April 20 approx 1200hr. Location: Calistoga to Santa Cruz (Our part is SF to Southern San Mateo County.) Comm Boss: Richard Tidd, KE6HNY 877-309-7516 or [email protected]. On-line Reg: http://www.quickbase.com/db/bc8nrwg33 Please use the "ADD RECORD" link above to Register. =Exhibit Kits Now Available for Field Day: Please visit the Field Dayinformation page for all the details on Field Day rules, frequencies, forms, pins, logos and T shirts. The complete Field Day packet can be downloaded from the site as well. If you want to order exhibit kits containing printed flyers about Amateur Radio, you may order these materials on the ARRL Web site. Your order must be received before June 13. =Debra Johnson, K1DMJ, Education Services Manager ARRL, asked me to pass along this link to the Instructors and Teachers newsletter: Please click here to view the newsletter: http://www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/instructorNews.html. =ARRL Education and Technology Program Coordinator Mark Spencer, WA8SME, also asked me to forward an announcement about this year’s Teachers’ Institute on Wireless Technology. It is quoted from the ARRL Web page on the subject (http://www.arrl.org/FandES/tbp/ti.html. Please consider spreading the word just in case someone would like to apply for a chance to attend one of the courses. All expenses are fully paid! = The full-service N0ARY BBS is back online and available from its new site atop the ridge near Mount Umunhum. It's likely reachable from much of Santa Clara Valley as well as the Monterey Bay area. Connect to N0ARY-1 on 144.930 MHz. =The wiki- based SCV web site on PDARRL.org is up and running. Tom, K1TW, [email protected], is getting the content on both old and new sites up to date. Send him your corrections and get your club access to the wiki. Here's the link: http://www.pdarrl.org/scvsec/index.php. =Boy Scout Hi-Sierra International Rendezvous 2008 will be held August 10-16, 2008. A Ham Radio station will be a feature of this event and operators are needed. For more information please contact Gary Hendra, W6NOE, [email protected] or [email protected]. = Sad news, Emmett "SHORTY" Frietas, AE6Z, has passed and is now an SK. To honor him his friends are collecting donations to purchase a brick to be installed in his name at ARRL Headquarters. Donations can be sent directly to the ARRL with the note for AE6Z or to the Pacific Division Director, Bob Vallio, W6RGG, [email protected]. The brick will be installed in the patio as part of the Diamond Terrace project. William Dale - N2RHV - Santa Clara Valley Section Manager, ARRL mailto:[email protected]
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Roanoke Division
North Carolina
FEBRUARY NORTH CAROLINA SECTION NEWS LICENSE CLASS IN GASTONIA The Gaston Area Amateur Radio Club is sponsoring an amateur radio Technician licensing class. The class will last for 6 weeks, beginning on March 27, with testing on the 7th week. The cost of the class will be $35, which includes the cost of the book, the testing fee and a 1-year membership to the GAARC. The classes will be from 7:00pm –9:00pm and will be held at the Gaston County Police Department, located near the intersection of Franklin Blvd and Hwy 321 South (S. Chester St.). For more information, contact Joe Hullender, N4JAH, at [email protected]. ARES MEMBERSHIP CONTINUES TO RISE! ARES membership has been growing by 5 or so every month, but this month's report showed an increase of 35 from last month! Our Emergency Coordinators have been working hard to get new members registeredWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO and everyone trained. EC's are the backbone of our organization...thanks to all of you for everything you do! RECOGNITION ITEMS On February 6 Jim MacLeod, W4NHV, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Mecklenburg Amateur Radio Society. Jim lives in Lumberton, but in 1949 he was the minister at a presbyterian church in Charlotte. At an informal gathering of half a dozen hams in his living room, the MARS club was formed. It's still going strong 59 years later and Jim is now the last surviving charter member. John Bullard, Recreation and Parks Director for the City of Statesville has been named an Honorary Member of the Iredell County Amateur Radio Society. Although not a ham, John has been very supportive of the ICARS field day efforts. CATCH THE WAVES - GET READY FOR FIELD DAY! ARRL's Field Day is just around the corner (June 28 & 29). This year's PR theme is "Catch the Waves". Please visit our Field Day information page for all the details on Field Day rules, frequencies, forms, pins, logos and T shirts. The complete Field Day packet can be downloaded from the site as well. If you have unanswered questions about Field Day, contact ARRL Field Day Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND, via e-mail or by phone at 860-594-0236. If you want to order exhibit kits containing printed flyers about Amateur Radio, you may order these materials on the ARRL Web site. The cost of the exhibit kits ranges from $8-$12 depending on shipping. To make sure you'll have the display material in time for Field Day, your order must be received before June 13. MEDIA HITS Congratulations to Mike Costabile, WD4MGP, of Bolivia (Brunswick County) for an article on the front page of today’s Wilmington Star-News. His company, Precision Time, and its products are featured. Mike invented and holds a patent on a device that allows basketball referees to stop the clock instantaneously, thereby eliminating any accusations of lags in time or human error. The system, which uses RF technology tuned to the frequency of the ref’s whistle, is in use in the NBA, NCAA and the Olympics. Mike developed the system with John Guerriero, KG4HDT, who lives outside Raleigh and is the ARES liaison to the State EOC. In the 10th paragraph of the story on page 3A, Mike credits ham radio with providing him with the knowledge to invent his system. Until recently, Mike served as ARES Area 5 DEC (District Emergency Coordinator). Mike is a frequent guest at Azalea CoastWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO ARC and Wilmington VHF Association club meetings. Here's a link to his story: http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20080318/NEWS/239224273/1005/NEWS&title=Bolivia_man_makes_time_stand_still___on_basketball_courts UPCOMING EVENTS April 6: Down East Hamfest, Kinston - www.downeasthamfest.org April 12: Raleigh Hamfest - www.rars.org/hamfest April 18, 19 & 20: Eastern VHF/UHF Conference, Enfield, CT April 19: Catawba Valley Hamfest, Morganton - cvhamfest.com May 3: State ARES Meeting, Raleigh May 10: Rockingham County Hamfest, Reidsville - www.rcarc.com May 24: DurHAMfest, Durham - www.dfma.org May 25-31: Hurricane Preparedness Week June 14: Winston-Salem Classic Hamfest - www.w4nc.org June 28-29: ARRL Field Day FEBRUARY TRAFFIC N3BW 328, K4IWW 322, KI4YV 263, W4DNA 200, W2EAG 151, W4TTO 88, WA4OBR 64, KJ4WY 55, WA2YBM 50 W3HL 48, W4FAL 46, W4NCD 42, KE4AHC 30, KC4PGN 22, KD4WAX 17, WX4MMM 17, KD4ZPS 11, KI4PNL 11. FEBRUARY PSHR W4DNA 160, W2EAG 140, W4FAL 130, W4TTO 125, K4IWW 120, KI4YV 100, WA2YBM 100.
South Carolina
Greetings to all Amateur Radio Operators. This is Dr. Jim, N2ZZ with the March 2008 South Carolina Section Manager’s Report! Please remember that the SC Section website can be found at: www.arrl-sc.org/ where my full SM report will be listed as well as up-to-the-date information on Amateur Radio in South Carolina! The South Carolina Sideband Net 50th anniversary net meeting will be held at Leaphart Elementary School, I-26 Exit #104 Piney Grove Road West, 120 Piney Grove Road (on the Left), Columbia, SC on April 5th, 2008 11am-2pm. Dress will be casual, and Bar-B-Q will be catered by Shealy’s: $11 adult, $5 under 12. Riley Hollingsworth of the FCC will be the guest speaker. The deadline for reservations was March 16th, but as of last week, Ms. Emmie was still collecting for the meeting. Checks should be made payable to the SC SSB Net and sent to KA4LRM, Emmie Patience, 332 Haynie Mill Road, Belton, SC 29627. Hope to see everyone there! According to Jim WB4DLD, SC SSB Net Manager, 75-80 are expected to attend (so far)! Be sure to attend the 50th anniversary net session on 3915 kHz on Monday April 7th at 1900 EDT as well! Congratulations to the Beaufort Amateur Radio Club, our newest ARRL Affiliated Club in South Carolina! They have just received news that their application has been approved by the ARRL Executive Committee, and their date of affiliation was March 15th, 2008. Again, Congratulations! A note from Jim N4GSA, President of the Grand Strand Amateur Radio Club: Fellow hams, the GSARC will be installing PL (tone) on all of our repeaters effective the first week of April 2008. The tone is 85.4 Hz for all our repeaters. When you come to the beach, all are welcome to use our repeaters. We have four (4) repeaters on the air: 145.110, 147.12, 147.33, and 444.675. The 145.11 and 444.675 are located at Conway, SC (400'). The 147.12 is located in the N Myrtle Beach area on the beach (100'). The 147.33 is located in the Murrells Inlet area (700'). Please feel free to use our repeaters and check out our club web site at: http://www.w4gs.org. Saturday March 15th was the day that tornadoes ripped through South Carolina. Charlie AE4UX, SEC forwarded this report to me: Tornadoes tore through South Carolina on Saturday March 15, 2008. The damage was severe. Seventy houses were destroyed. Eighty-nine houses received major damage. ThreeHundred Sixty-six houses had minor damage. Electrical power outages were widespread. There were many major roads blocked by fallen trees. It could have been worse. People could have been killed. The National Weather Service (NWS) did a good job of identifying the tornadoes in time to get out warnings that undoubtedly saved lives. They used their Doppler Weather Radar and on the ground reports from SKYWARN spotters to accurately identify the tornadoes before they hit. After storm inspections by NWS meteorologists showed that 17 tornadoes had hit. The most powerful was the EF-3 that struck Newberry, SC. Several EF-2 tornadoes struck in other areas. The EF-2 that hit Bath, SC just East of Augusta, GA, destroyed 12 houses and caused major damage to 50 others. Numerous large trees and the town’s water tower lid were brought to the ground. The town’s water supply became contaminated. One of the large trees that became uprooted severed a large water main as the tree fell. The school children got a surprise school holiday because of the water outage. Amateur radio operators were called into action throughout the state as the bad weather approached. SKYWARN nets were activated for each of National Weather Service offices. At first the reports were of the normal high winds knocking down some branches. That was replaced by reports of hail. Then came the reports of quarter size hail. We all knew that this was getting serious. Almost immediately, the weather radios alarmed, the television alert systems broke into the regular program schedules with warnings that tornadoes were here. Fortunately, those warnings were taken seriously. Nobody was killed. After the storms passed, amateur radio operators helped get response resources where they were needed. Trees were blocking roads into damage areas. Art Patterson, KE4EAN, reported the deployment of the Red Cross ERV to Newberry. Bob Besley, K4NJN, reported the deployment of the ARES Communications Trailer to Bath. Willie Turner, KG4ETE, reported that it took all day to clear the more than 100 trees down on highway 278 near Allendale. Shelters were opened near each of the damage areas. EOCs were opened to coordinate responses. Each time, Amateur radio operators answered the call and were there to help. Brian Fletcher, K6NWS, DEC for the Charleston area reported that the partially completed SCHEART linkable repeater system was used to enable wide area communication. Columbia and Charleston NWS offices were able to use the system for coordination. Bob Hawkins, KI4HEE, Reported that Horry County (Myrtle Beach)SKYWARN was activated and reporting. Dennis Zabawa KG4RUL PIC, reported on the Berkley County SKYWARN and post event shelter and EOC operations. Fortunately many of the normal communications remained intact. That allowed many amateur radio responders to cease operations. Some remained in the field to support recovery
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operations. The ARES communications trailer was requested for support in Bath until Monday evening. The Aiken County Sheriff, Michael Hunt, found the trailer and the amateur radio operators enhanced his ability to deal with the problem. He said that he would be calling again. Although not all participants’call-signs were reported, here are the calls for the ones that were: AC4IH, AE4UX, AG4IM, AI4WB, K4AOC, K4NJN, K4SHP, K6NWS, KA1DF, KB4GYT, KB7QVG, KE4EAN, KG4ETE, KG4RUL, KI4DLR, KI4FFC, KI4HEE, KI4LXH, KI4UIW, KI4UIW, KR4QO, N4ADM, N4JZH, W4LNY, and WA7TSP. For those going to the Dayton Hamvention this year, it looks like construction is at an all time high! A message from ROB WB8UEY, Hamvention Talk-in Chairman: I am the chairman of the Talk-In committee for the 2008 Dayton Hamvention. I am sending this out to as many sources I can think of to get the word out. We have been hit with the orange barrels REAL bad this year and it could get real interesting. We have plenty of alternatives, but a couple of main paths to Hamvention that folks may be used to taking are not so appealing this year. If you have any questions feel free to contact me. The number listed below is my cell. It has free incoming and is with me 24-7. The only caution there is that both buildings I work in have very poor cell coverage so you may have to leave a message and I WILL call back. - Rob Lunsford KB8UEY, Committee Chairman Talk-In, Hamvention 2008 (937) 241-1861.WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Thanks to Mac Heaton N4MEH for forwarding this information to me. My best wishes to Dennis KG4RUL, PIC. Dennis just had his Right Kidney removed laparoscopically at MUSC on March 18th. The surgery went well, and Dennis returned home the next afternoon. He reports that he is doing well, and will continue to fully function as our Public Information Coordinator! That’s it for March! See you next Month! February 2008 National Traffic System Report for SC by Mac Heaton N4MEH, STM Net Reports Net/Check Ins/Traffic/Sessions/Reported By Anderson Radio Club 2M Net/915/29/29/N4MEH Beaufort VHF ARES Net/35/4/4/KB1CTC Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Net /2295/48/29/K4SUG Carolina's Net/296/114/56/W2EAG Carolina Slow Net/153/17/29/N0SU Grand Strand ARC 2M Net/148/14/12/KI4HEE Greater Pee Dee 2 Meter Net/558/48/29/K4DTT Greenwood ARC 2 Meter Net/108/4/4/W4DEW Lancaster County 2 Meter Net/87/9/11/N4WMB Oconee 2M Net/333/13/13/N9GSX SC SSB Net/1916/95/29/WB4DLD York Co. ARS 2 Meter FM Net/614/0/47/KI4NBA Station Activity Reports: Station/Sent/Received/Delivered/Originated/Total: KA4LRM/7/15/1/0/23; KA4UIV/23/29/16/0/57; K4GLT/63/60/0/0/123; N4MEH/31/51/3/5/90; W4WVO/2/3/3/2/10; WB4DLD/4/35/7/4/50; PSHR Station/Cat1/Cat2/Cat3/Cat4/Cat5/Cat6/Total; N4MEH/40/40/20/0/0/0/100. Have a Great Month!! ’73 de Dr. Jim N2ZZ ARRL Section Manager South Carolina Section www.arrl-sc.org
Virginia
Virginia Section Managers Report for February 2008 This year’s Frostfest was the Virginia State Convention. During the Section and ARES forum Daniel Sullivan, KO1D presented the review of our Section Emergency Communications Plan. This document continues to be a work in progress. We also had a review by the State RACES Officer, Mac Mc Neer, and K4YEF on continuing developments at the State RACES station and the new support group (ARCA)WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Amateur Radio Communications Auxiliary that is providing manpower for the VEOC. March completes my service, as Section Manager and I want to thank all those that worked so hard to improve so many areas of Amateur Radio in the Section. This includes both the cabinet and individual hams of Virginia. I will not attempt to name people for fear of missing someone. Some of the cabinet worked as many hours as full time employees. For your depth of dedication, I want to say a heart felt thank you. The Virginia Section is indebted to each of you. On April 1st Carl Clements, W4CAC will become the new Virginia Section Manager. Carl assumes this duty with a number of years of prior service and this will be extremely helpful in Carl getting up to speed. I want to encourage everyone to give Carl your full support as he provides leadership to the Section. Every manager has their own style of leadership and we all need to allow Carl the latitude and support to follow his own unique style. Carl the best of luck to you and your new appointees as you assume the position of SM. There is a new relationship coming together between ARES and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. This is a work in progress that began about a year ago with a meeting with key ARES leadership and staff at (VDEM) the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. An important factor in the development of a strong relationship between the VDEM and Amateur Radio was the appointment by VDEM of a staff member that was a ham (Terry Hebert, KG4GLS) as a liaison with the Amateur Radio community. The relationship continues to be strengthened by meetings and working together on Simulated Emergency Test. Our Section SET held on October 6, 2007 and other smaller SETS involved a strong cooperative effort that allowed the scoring of over 5000 SET points due to statewide involvement from many local ARES units and the passing of heavy traffic volume with the use of voice, Chip 64, CW, Winlink and packet. The VDEM EOC was the real hub for much of this traffic. VDEM has activated the VEOC RACES station on different occasions during the past year, supporting both local and Section wide emergency communications test. Personal from VDEM have frequently been checking into the Section HF voice emergency nets. This increase of cooperation has led to a real winning bond between ARES and the VDEM RACES program. This kind of cooperation is vital with the impact of broad ranging disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and Rita in 2005. These large-scale disasters have seen the emergence of many different groups of Amateur Radio communications support groups. ARES has a strong history of cooperative approaches with these organizations. Many hams have multi-affiliation with these emergency communications organizations. If we choose a competitive stance with various communications groups we place ourselves in a position of being viewed as a liability by the agencies that we have agreed to serve. Disasters are chaotic at best so for various groups to enter the area with a need to feel superior due to their affiliation with a particular group is counter productive. Conflicts between communications responders can leave Incident Commanders and agency heads with the decision of whether dealing with hams that are engaged in conflict is worth the tension created by their presence. I have observed that states that have a single major communications group that served as the major response group during emergency communications crisis are far more effective. There are states and localities that are loaded with talented and well-trained emergency communicators that have lost much of their effectiveness due to energy spent in competitive efforts between rival groups. Other states ARES groups have agreements with the state that allows for ARES to serve in non-declared emergencies as ARES but when a declaration is made these ARES units are registered with the state as RACES and function in that capacity. The greatest resource that we all carry into activation is a cooperative spirit. The Virginia Section has entered into an agreement with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management to allow our Section-wide ARES unit to be registered with VDEM as part of the state RACES unit. This state registration doesn’t eliminate the need to register with your local emergency managements and to keep your roster updated with current membership records. It is also vital to maintain a strong local relationship with emergency management. This new agreement with ARES and VDEM will allow us opportunities of service that we have not enjoyed in many years. Lets all strive to be “easy to work with”. 73 Glen Sage, Virginia Section Manager
Rocky Mountain Division
New Mexico
New Mexico Section Monthly Summary for February 2008 On February 9, Darryl Clutter, NX5W, conducted a VE Exam. On February 16, I attended the High Desert Amateur Radio Club meeting and gave a presentation on what is needed in the Section, and how I plan to add the necessary personnel to the Section. I also covered my plans for youth education. On February 22, Frank Warren, AB5WJ, conducted a Technician Class, and I gave a greeting to the class. Frank also teaches a Technician and a General Class at our local community college. On February 23, Bill Boedeker, NM5BB, and Charles Rogers, KJ5KU, gave a Technician class in Santa Fe. On February 26, I had a meeting with Frank Warren, AB5WJ, his wife Kennie, W5KLW, and Ray Herne, N5LIV, our new PIC. The purpose was to discuss recruiting methods for three categories: 1) The general public and community leaders; 2) Clubs; and 3) Youth. This effort is to culminate in three Power Point presentations that can be easily and quickly pulled together as the need arises. There could be one more category. On February 29, Brian Mileshosky and I drove to Las Cruces to attend the meeting of the Mesilla Valley Amateur Radio club that was held the next morning. In reviewing the staff for the section I have openings for: OOC – I will be checking with two of the OOs now have. OO - We need several more, but good qualified people are hard to find. I have one person in the southern part of the state who I have applied for and he is very qualified.
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PIO -- We currently have two in the state. I am pushing for more. SGL - This will be another hard one to fill. I have one person in mind, but have not been able to contact him yet. LGL – I currently have one person in Luna county who is interested. I will try to get at least one in each county. STM – I have no one in mind for this as of yet. We still need to grow our ARES/RACES participation in the state, and this will be an ongoing task. I must say that from what I have observed, the ARES groups we have in New Mexico are well trained and ready to go. I have been most impressed with what I have seen. We had another silent key: JONES, KENNETH C., KC5QZ (Extra) Our Net Counts are as follows: NM Breakfast Club: 1167/147 NM Roadrunner Tfk. Net: 1042/97 Rustys Raiders's Net: 625/58 Valencia Cnty. ARA Net: 61/13 Yucca Net: 745/68 Four Corners Net: 417/33 SCAT Net: 530/17 Caravan Club Net: 54/4 High Desert ARA Net: 37/5 I think that covers the most important happenings in the New Mexico Section for February 2008. As you can see, there is much to be accomplished here. I am slowly learning all the things I need to know and the places to get things. Don Wood – W5FHA Section Manager for New Mexico
Wyoming WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO
Wyoming Section Manager Newsletter March 2, 2008 Rocky Mountain Division Vice-Director Dwayne Allen notified us that Wyoming has moved ahead of North Dakota in numbers of Amateur Radio operators – only 80 or so more and we move ahead of South Dakota – so lets keep moving on licensing new hams. Wyoming is also in the top 10 as far as percentage of state population who are hams. If the entire country participated as Wyoming does it would add about 40% more hams! New Appointments: Robert Culp KJ7AM and Skip Prinsen W7PN have agreed to take the Technical Specialists positions. I would recommend Section members and local clubs contact them or Technical Coordinator Robert Overton WA7JRF for technical questions regarding club presentations or personal applications – they are a great resource and they request you keep them busy!! Brian McNutt N7BAM has been officially appointed Laramie County EC – thanks to Brian for the great start there. We can still use some EC’s around the state so if interested in helping Jerry WB7S out at the Section level there is the new Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator position – contact him at [email protected]. Rocky Mountain Director Brian Mileshosky N5ZGT has recommended each Section compile a list of technical “Elmers” who can help other hams in their area of expertise. Please contact me if you’d like to help out similar to our Section Elmers list on WY7FD.com. I have a start with IRLP and APRS. Hey - its still winter and a good time to get your technical expertise upgraded with an ARRL on-line course - http://www.arrl.org/?artid=8030. You’ll be ready for those summer projects when the weather comes. I have the digital communications book here ready to go! My APRS system is up and running too - look for me as WY7UPR-1. Thanks to Tate KC7ZRU and Mike N7ZEF for the help. If you have a bunch of hams and don’t have a local club - give me a call and we’ll see what ideas we can come up with. Western Wyoming is working on one. The 7 QP is planned May 3,4th and is coming up quickly – check out the rules: http://www.codxc.com/new/page.asp?content=dryland7s. Approvals have been received from ARRL for the Wyoming Hamfest in Casper May 23-25thWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO sponsored by the Casper ARC – check out info on WY7FD.com and http://casperarc.net . Also – they gang in Casper is working on some radio spots advertising the Hamfest. I received an email from Allen Pitts W1AGP at ARRL that a ham traveling through the area heard them, thought they were great and informed Headquarters! Great job Casper! Listen up, they hope to spread them around the state and look on the website above to hear them live. A reminder that Bob Meyer W7BLM is looking for nominations for Ham of the Year to be awarded at the State Hamfest – contact him at [email protected]. Let’s overwhelm Bob and the committee with nominees as there are many to choose from! See you “on the air”, 73, Chris, WY7UPR
Southeastern Division
Georgia
SM: Susan Swiderski, AF4FO; ASM/South GA: Marshall Thigpen, W4IS; ASM/Legal: Jim Altman, W4UCK; ASM/Webmaster: Bob Smith, K4PHE; ASM/Youth Activities: Brittney Hancock, KI4WNY; ASM/Youth Advisor: Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM; ASM/ Scouting: David Pearce,ABØNG; SEC: Scott Royle, KK4Z; STM: Charles Pennington, K4GK; OOC: Mike Swiderski, K4HBI; TC: Jim Worsham, W4KXY; PIC: Norm Schklar,WA4ZXV; SGL: Bill Cherepy, WB4WTN; ACC: Robin Cutshaw, AA4RC www.arrl-ga.org www.gaares.org Greetings, All. Well, Georgia, our second hamfest of the year was held this past weekend. Yup, it was the Kennehoochee ARC hamfest, at Jim Miller Park in Marietta. The good news is that it wasn't anywhere near as cold and windy as it was last year. In fact, it was quite pleasant, temperature-wise. The bad news was that a tornado hit downtown Atlanta the evening before, and more severe weather was forecast for many parts of the state on Saturday, and I'm afraid that kept the crowd down a bit at this year's fest. Understandable. It took a bit of a leap of faith to venture out from Norcross that morning, where it was thunder-booming and raining, to head to Marietta. But everyone who took that leap and attended the fest, as always, had a great time. Lots of wheeling and dealing, and lots of good visiting. It was good to have our favorite Director of Vice, SANDY DONAHUE, W4RU, holding down the fort with me at the ARRL table again, chatting with everyone and sharing his unique sense of humor. (i.e. What do you call a priest who dresses in nun's clothing? Answer: a "transister". Hey! Don't blame me... it was HIS joke!) Many thanks to our hosts, the fine members of the KARC, who made sure that the "show went on", and to everyone who was able to attend. The hamfest ended earlier than usual for most of us. When the tornado sirens started wailing, most of us took that as a signal that it was time to head for home. I hope you all fared okay with GA's latest round of severe weather. I remember how delighted I always was to watch those cute little pea-sized hailstones bouncing oh-so-daintily off the ground when I was a kid. There sure wasn't anything dainty or delightful about the over- sized chunks of ice that pummeled the state on Saturday evening. Kudos to the operators at Peachtree City NWS, who did an excellent job taking reports during the storms, and to each of you who ran and participated in the skywarn nets. Mother Nature messed with us pretty good, but as always, Georgia hams did a fantastic job. So what are YOU doing for spring break this year? A trip to the sunny beaches of Florida, maybe? Disneyland? How about a trip to MARS?! That's where our own ANDREA HARTLAGE, KG4IUM, is going. Or at least, to a reasonable facsimile. From March 16-29, she'll be in Utah, as part of the GA Tech team that will be participating in the ongoing Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) project. Andrea, a freshman, says that ham radio will be their primary source of communication. Although all of the other team members recently earned their licenses, as the only "veteran" licensee, Andrea will be in charge of communications. If you'd like to follow the events of Andrea's Most Excellent Adventure, (AMEA) check out the website at http://www.marssociety.org/mdrs/ to see the daily logs. Andrea is part of team number 69. (Maybe when she comes "back to earth", she'll even share a report with us on her experiences.) Elections were held recently at the Jasper ARS, and congratulations go out to President- FRANK DEAN, K4SJR; VP- PAT HAYNES, K4BEH; and Secretary/Treasurer- JIM LONG, WN4S. Best wishes to all of them for a successful year. Congratulations, also, to our newest EC, BUZZ TATHAM, KU4ES, who will be heading up the ARES efforts in Stephens county. Many thanks to him for his willingness to serve. The North Fulton Amateur Radio League (NFARL) is stirring things up again. Last Monday marked their first "tech" net. (That's "tech" as "technical", not "technician".) It offers a unique opportunity for hams, old and new, to discuss technical questions and problems via a simultaneous on-air net and online chat room. Last week's net was quite interesting. Check it out on the 145.47 machine at 8:30 PM. I'm very sad to report a Silent Key, TERESA LOWE, KG4CRD. She was a delightful and courageous lady, who faced a long battle with cancer with grace and good humor. She will be greatly missed. Sincere condolences to her family and friends. Well, folks, that's about it for now. Don't forget to send me your news for the April newsletter. Until then, this is AF4FO, signing clear. Take care of yourselves. And each other. 73, Susan QTC February: K8GA-261; K4GK-104; WA4UJC-57; K4BG-51; WB4BIK-48; K4BEH-26; K4BAI-6 +++ No trees were killed in the sending of this message. However, a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced. +++
Southern Florida
Hi Everyone, I think Spring is finally here. The peppers, tomatoes, and pineapples in my garden are all in bloom. Many of the feathered friends that visit
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my backyard during the winter are gone to northern nesting areas. I hope to see many of you at the SFL Section convention in Stuart on Saturday, March 15. Visit www.arrl.org/sections/SFL.html for the forum schedule and click on hamfests at the top of the page to get general information about the hamfest. Before listing the reports I would like to climb on the old soapbox for a minute. From time to time we all need reminders about operating procedures. The next time you check into a net ask yourself the purpose of the net before you make any transmission. Traffic and ARES nets are not conducive to general ragchew topics such as health issues, DX spots, weather reports and the like. Such topics belong on a ragchew net or in a roundtable conducted after the formal net is concluded. And don't forget to properly ID at the end of your transmissions. Once again, please update your club information on the ARRL website and send club and ARES meeting information, and net information to Jeremy at [email protected] for the sflarrl web site. The only way to obtain new hams and members for your club is current listings so folks can find your club and ARES group. Don't forget to also update local media listings for your meetings. Effective April 1, bulletins will no longer be read on nets and bulletin stations will not need to report activity. All ARRL bulletins are available via e-mail and also from W1AW. If anyone notes information in a bulletin that might be of local interest please mention it during nets and at meetings.WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO ARES Report from Karen Briggs, K8KB Section Emergency Coordinator: Total reported number of ARES membersin the 12 counties reporting: 1296 ARES nets active: 16, Sessions 57, 8 with NTS liaison ECs reporting: N4LEM, WA2DQX, KF4MJJ, N5KFR, AA4BN, WA4ASJ, WA4GUK, AI7Q, K4FLC, AD4RZ, AJ4BP, WN7YJJ reporting for Osceola County Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 71 Person hours 172 Number of public service events this month: 3 Person hours 101 Number of emergency operations this month: 1 Person hours 20 Total number of ARES operations this month: 75 Total Person hours 293 Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Okeechobee & Palm Beach Counties Participated in a Nuclear drill. Martin County established contact with State EOC via ECHO LINK. Tom, KK4TA and others from Okeechobee County coordinated amateur radio communications for the 2008 LOST Run, 118 miles around Lake Okeechobee. Hams from other counties participated as well. I will send another e-mail message with the traffic reports later in the month. Lastly, another soapbox. 73 means Best Regards. Best 73s can only be translated as Best Best Regardses. 'Nuf said. Stay safe and stay on the air. 73, Sherri, W4STB
Southwestern Division
Arizona
ARRL ARIZONA SECTION NEWS March 3, 2008 ARIZONA PRB-1 HB2721 Rep McLain told me that earlier today House Bill 2721 passed out of the House today on a 55-4 vote (with 1 absent), so it will be transmitted to the Senate shortly. She had spoken with the lobbyist for the association of HOAs and he told her that while they are not thrilled by the bill, they will not oppose it -- that's a big help in getting it through the Senate. I am working with SenatorWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Bee to get this bill heard in the Senate. Dan Brown NA7DB who is one of the major drivers behind this bill suffered a major setback with his health. Dan was in the hospital for surgery in January when he suffered a stroke and then got pneumonia. Dan is recovering and he should be going home sometime later this week. Dan, we wish you a speedy recovery. YOUTH AND SCOUTING Radio-Active Amateur Radio Club of Mohave High School is now K7MHS. The Teacher in charge of the Club is Carolyn Krick KA9APT. Carolyn just passed her extra exam. Congratulations Carolyn. Many young hams are getting their licenses lately. Congratulations. I am learning about Amateur Radio RF Direction finding and I will be building some antennas for an upcoming Summer Cub Scout Camp at Camp Lawton starting on the Memorial Day weekend. Jim Fagan KE7IDC Assistant Section Manager (ASM) Youth and Scouting [email protected] EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS Congratulations to Bill Hosking W7JSW who is the new Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator. We also have a new DEC for Navajo County Ted Vawter AD1N. Just after he was approved for the position, Navajo County was called in to help the fight with their mud slides. Welcome to the team Ted. The 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo bike race was held this month in Southern Arizona. Hams contributed 886 volunteer hours with a total of 38 “official” volunteers. Congratulations to the Catalina Radio Club for contributing 228 hours with 12 volunteers. Please go to: www.az-arrl.org/secure to register for Arizona ARES! www.az-arrl.org/secure or contact Rick Aldom W7STS SEC Arizona STATE CITIZEN CORPS COUNCIL TD Kennard N7ISR was just appointed by Governor Napolitano to serve on the State Citizen Corps Council. This council is under the Arizona Department of Homeland Security. The State Citizen Corps is the resource coordinating body of all statewide local Citizen Corps Groups, which includes CERT, Fire Corps, Medical Reserve Corps, USA On-Watch and Volunteers in Police (VIP). One of TD’s goals is to promote a better understanding of the good work accomplished by our Arizona Amateur Radio Community and the readiness of radio volunteers to assist with emergency communications. Congratulations TD. ARRL TEACHER INSTITUTE SCHEDULED FOR TUCSON One of the six 2008 ARRL Teacher Institutes will be held at Pueblo Magnet High School in Tucson on June 25-28. The Institutes are designed for teachers from pre-school to post graduate levels for the purpose of bringing amateur radio and wireless technologies into the classroom. ARRL pays for travel, room, meals and also provides equipment and additional support to participants. Additional information can be found at http://www.arrl.org/FandES/tbp/ti.html There are five seats open on a first-come, first-served basis. Please help us spread the word as we would like to include as many Arizona teachers as possible. Interested teachers can call Miguel Enriquez KD7RPP at 520-409-3572 or Mark Spencer, WA8SME ETP Coordinator [email protected] SILENT KEYS Charlie Justinak W7GBI passed away on Feb 12, 2008. He was a retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Colonel with 28 years of service and served in WW II, Korea, and Vietnam. First licensed in 1936, he was a member of ARRL, CADXA and OOTC, Charlie was active in the MARS leadership after WWII and later became well known for his accomplishments in the fields of microwave and EME, having worked hundreds of different stations via the moon from 432 MHz to 5760 MHz. NEW HAMS The following Arizona hams just received their FCC license, Congratulations! Herman Strelow KE7QXH, Angelo Andreula KE7RDK, James Collister KE7RDI, Brad Ruetschi KE7RDG, Richard Chee KE7RDL, John Porvaznik KE7RDJ, David Schaeffer KE7RDH, Peter Daliere KE7RDM, Eric Goldman KE7RDF, Samuel White KE7QXI, Christopher Wolff KE7RDE, John Wallace KE7QVC, Glenn Hamblin KE7QVA, Sydney Degon KE7QQY, Vincent Rizzi KE7QQW, Chirelle Weaver KE7QQV, Vincent Rizzi KE7QQX, Robert Weaver KE7QQZ, William Bouchard KE7RBD, Randy Hill KE7QYE, Justin Stueckler KE7QWN and Mary Sharon Tueller KE7QYG. HAMFESTS/CONVENTIONS/SPECIAL MEETINGS Yuma HamExpo was on February 15-17, 2008 and many hams from all over North America showed up including the International Order of Krazies (IOOK). Check out their website at www.iook.org March 8, 2008 SpringFest hosted by the Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club, Scottsdale Community College, Chaparral & Hwy 101, Scottsdale, AZ, ARCA Meeting - 11:00 AM March 8, 2008 Tucson Ham Radio Spring Picnic at Christopher Columbus Park. More info can be found at www.tucsonhampicnic.com April 12, 2008, AARC Hamfest, hosted by the Arizona Amateur Radio Club, DeVry University, Dunlap, Rd, Phoenix, AZ http://www.w7io.org May 3, 2008, CARA Hamfest, hosted by the Cochise Amateur Radio Association, Club Site, Moson Rd, Sierra Vista, AZ ARCA Meeting - 11:00 AM http://www.k7rdg.org May 31, 2008 Prescott Hamfest Hosted by the Yavapai Amateur Radio Club Granite Mountain Middle School, 1800 Williamson Valley Rd, Prescott, AZ www.w7yrc.org June 7, 2008 Kachina Amateur Radio Club Hamfest Hosted by the Kachina Amateur Radio Club Show Low Intermediate School, 500 N Old Linden Rd, Show Low, AZ Contact: Richard Gurk, KE7EDP [email protected] July 18-20, 2008 ARCA/Williams Hamfest hosted by the Amateur Radio Council of Arizona Williams Rodeo Grounds, 800 Rodeo Rd, Williams, AZ www.arca-az.org September 6, 2008 Mohave Professional Amateur Radio Group will be having its 1st Annual Hamfest in Kingman Arizona. They are working on finalizing the site location which should be secured by the end of March. They will be providing Free Hamburgers, Hotdogs, Soda and Water to all who attend. September 12-14, 2008 ARRL Southwestern Division Convention Mesa AZ Come check us out at www.AzHamCom.org Mesa Convention Center Rick Aldom W7STS 2008 SWD Chair [email protected]. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about ARRL. If your club or group has an activity or event that would be of interest to other hams throughout our section please email me with the specifics. 73, Tom Fagan K7DF ARRL Section Manager Arizona Tucson Arizona (520) 574-1129 [email protected] http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=AZ or http://www.az-arrl.org/
West Gulf Division
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South Texas
We have really had some bad weather today (March 18) and it has gone on to other States. So far I've only heard of one death. Dallas has really had the worse of it. I hope that more of you would take part in the Section Manager's net each Tuesday night on 3.873 at 7:30 following the Texas Traffic Net. The SM net is for all of Texas or anyone that wants to take part. We need more check-ins on RN5 at 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM on 7.280 to represent South Texas. James, N5OUJ has been so faithful for so many years but is now unable to make it daily. Alice and I are now in the process of moving to San Antonio to be closer to our son. I hope that I will be able to be on the air most of the time during this time but I may miss some of the SM nets. Mike, KG5TL will be there in my place most of the time. After 34 years in the same house you have a lot to throw away and a lot of changes to make in life. Don't forget the 7.290 picnic and I hope to see everyone at the picnic. Good food and great fellowship with other hams. Check in on the 7.290 net and get all the details 10 AM. HaveWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO a great rest of the month. God Bless America and our Troops. Ray N5NAV
WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO
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Section News for March 2008
Atlantic Division Delaware WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Delaware Section Monthly Summary April 2008 The month of April arrived with many opportunities for members of the ARRL Delaware Section to participate in many activities. The month started with a request for Amateur Radio Operators to stand by if needed for backup communications while the Sussex Emergency Operations Center moved to its new home at the Georgetown Airport facility. Thankfully the transition took place without a major communications problem and to celebrate the move John Ferguson K3PFW set up a special event station on the air from the new EOC. Our Delaware Section Emergency Coordinator Willie Merchant W3IOU and I traveled to Binghamton New York to attend the Atlantic Division Cabinet Meeting with other Section Managers, Section Emergency Coordinators and Section Club Coordinators. The meeting was led by Bill Edgar N3LLR and Tom Abernathy W3TOM covering topics dealing with membership and demographics, ARRL Ham Aid grab and go kits, APRS operations demo by Steve Piotrowski KC2QZF, Maryland / DC Legislative Efforts regarding PRB-1 and homeWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO owner covenants by Jim Cross WI3N and with Atlantic Division Training and Education Webinars by Bill Edgar and Tom Abernathy. I attended a Hurricane Readiness Training Class at the Delaware Emergency Management Agency facility in Smyrna Delaware with Robbie McCray W3RSM New Castle County Emergency Coordinator, Doug Covert KB3PRW from Kent County and Ed Aragon N3YDN with the Delaware State Police on April 9th and 10th Saturday April 12th Sussex County Hamfest was held at the Sussex Technical High School midway between Routes 113 and 20 on Delaware Route 9. Herb Quick KF3BT led the ARRL sanctioned hamfest sponsored by Sussex Technical High School ARC and the Sussex Amateur Radio Association ( SARA) with FCC Amateur Radio Exams, Vendors, Food, Exhibitors and Forums. On Saturday April 19th the Kent County ARES will conduct an EmComm Exercise testing both repeater and simplex communications from the Kent County EOC to all county fire stations and two school shelter locations starting at 0900 hours local time. Also on April 19th at 1100 hours to noon the Atlantic Division will be conducting a Webinar featuring ARRL’s Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager Dennis Dura K2DCD, who will present information about the ARRL’s EmComm program and what he has been working on. This webinar / teleconference is for club members, ARES members, Section Managers, Section Cabinet Staff and those interested in emergency communications. You can register for this webinar at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/874893521 For more information about Atlantic Division Teleconferences/Webinars, you can go to the Atlantic Division Training Page located at: http://www.atldiv.org/training On Saturday April 26th Mark Chandler KB3ONB New Castle County Skywarn Coordinator reports there will be both basic and advanced Skywarn spotter classes presented at the Christiana Hospital located in room 1100 off the main lobby starting at 0900 for the basic class and noon for the advanced class. The address is 4755 Ogeltown-Stanton Road Newark, Delaware if interested contact Mark Chandler at: (302) 981-1581 or email at: [email protected] April 27th the March of Dimes Walk for Babies will take place in Newark, Delaware and CARES will be providing radio communications for this event. If you are interested in assisting email: [email protected] Tuesday April 29th the Delaware Emergency Management Agency will be conducting a Radiological Emergency Preparedness Exercise and hold a dress rehearsal between the hours of 0900 and 1600 hours. Although this exercise is taking place during normal working hour’s any and all amateur radio operator participation is appreciated. We will need net control operators on both high frequency 3.905MHz and vhf frequencies during this exercise. Wednesday April 30th is the deadline for submitting your Grab & Go Kit to the Atlantic Division. We plan on featuring the top notch grab and go kits within the division with pictures and a component list of equipment. If you would like to have your grab & go kit considered, please sent pictures and information about your kit to: [email protected] Friday May
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2nd thru Sunday May 4th the Boy Scouts of America Del-Mar-Va Council is planning a Jamboree weekend event. We have been asked to support a Radio Merit Badge course and other communications during this event. This event will take place at Killens Pond State Park , Felton Delaware. If you are able to help contact John Ferguson K3PFW at: [email protected] Also on Saturday May 3rd at Cape Henlopen, Delaware Rockets for Schools will take place at the Delaware State Park for more information contact Dick Drevo W3GNQ [email protected] I have received a request for Del-Mar-Va Amateur Radio OperatorsWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO to assist AMSAT at Pocomoke City Lab. Volunteers are welcome most Saturdays! The current lab activities are shifting from moving in to Eagle, Suit-Sat-2 and Intelsat. AMSAT needs donations of time, talent and treasure. You need not be satellite engineer to help all kinds of disciplines are welcome. Contact Robert Davis [email protected] Finally I need your assistance in keeping the ARES / RACES registration data base up to date please go to www.de-arrl.org and click on the registration URL and follow the instructions to submit your registration by email! Thank You 73 Frank Filipkowski AD3M
Southern New Jersey
SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY NEWSLETTER FOR APRIL 2008 SECTION MANAGER, JEAN PRIESTLEY, KA2YKN Well, we made it through the winter and now we are now ready to dive into all our niceWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO weather activities. The first that comes to mind (what is left of it) is Fox hunts or better know as transmitter hunts. It only takes a small group to have a large amount of fun. Then there is that time honored tradition of checking you outdoor equipment such as antennas and towers. Let us not forget that even though it was not a hard winter, there are still repairs and preventative maintanance that may need to be done. There is the March of Dimes WalkAmerica, American Cancer Rides and MS Rides and Walks. But in the center ring for our summer activities is FIELD DAY. Sign up early and often. Finally, there will be those club activities including picnics. Ham radio is the great hobby that it is today because hams and friends and families of hams join in and support these activities. Thank you in advance for participating and being a part of things. On April 5th the Burlington County Radio Club held an Amateur Radio demo for the Venture Scouts at Pine Hill Scout Camp in New Jersey. They used an FT- 857 with an MFJ tuner into a vertical antenna. Several contacts were made on 20 meters PSK with stations in Europe. They used an FT-7800 on 2 meters. SSTV also made a big hit. The operators were Bob Nelson, K2QPN and Frank Huminski, K2SQS. The Venture Scouting is a co-ed program for 14-20 year olds. There was also GPS training, followed by a geo-caching hunt, mountain biking and rifle marksmanship training. Venture Crews participated from Southern NJ, Maryland and Delaware. They also participated in leadership training to advance their skills. A new law (P.L. 2007, c 198) went into effect on March 1 pf 2008) went into effect on March 1 2008 regarding the use of wireless telephones and communication devices in a moving motor vehicle. Section 1.a reads: The use of a wireless telephone or electronic communications device by an operator of a moving motor vehicle on a public road or highway shall be unlawful except when the telephone is a hands-free wireless telephone or the electronic communications device is used hands-free, provided that its placement does not interfere with the operation of federally required safety equipment and the operator exercises a high degree of caution in the operation of the motor vehicle. For the purposes of this section, an electronic communications device shall not include amateur radio. The full text of the law can be found at: http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/legis/2007c198_law.pdf The new Amateur Extra class Question Pool has been released. The national Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators has released the new pool of question for the Amateur Extra class license. This pool will become effective for examinations given on or after July 1, 2008 and should be in service until June 30, 2012. The pool, which consists of 741 questions and 12 graphics, can be downloaded from the NCVEC website in Word, PDF or RTF formats. JSARS Is still holding their testing sessions the third Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm at the Riverwood Recreation Building on Riverwood Drive in Toms River, NJ. For more information call Ed, GENOINO, WA2NDA at 609-693-3729. Holiday City ARC is also still holding their test sessions every other 2nd Saturday from 10am to 12pm, (May, July, Sept, Nov). Sessions are held at the Holiday City
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South Clubhouse area in meeting room #1 on Mule Road at the corner of Santiago Dr in Toms River. Your contact person is Bill Haldane, AC2F and the phone is 732-240-7064 or [email protected]. When going to any test session, you must have your original license and at least one Xerox copy and original and one copy of any credit sheets you may have. Also bring 2 forms of id. An Amateur Radio test session will be conducted on Saturday June 7, 2008 at 9:30 AM. Doors will open at 9 AM. The location of the testing is the Tony Canale Fire Training Center, 5033 English Creek Avenue, Egg Harbor Township, NJ 08234.WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO The test fee is $14 and you must have 2 forms of ID. Anyone who is testing to upgrade their present license must bring their orginal amateur radio license plus a photo copy of same. Southern Counties Amateur Radio Association is the sponsor of the testing. All the Volunteer Examers are certified by the ARRL. Pre-registration is mandatory. Please contact Lou, KA2NTT, [email protected] or call 609-927-9182 to register. Testing sessions by SJRA are on the 4th Tuesday of each month at the Winslow Senior center. Contact is Mark, K2AX at [email protected] or (609)820- 1523. Testing is also available in Atlantic County. The location is at the Canale Training Center at 5033 English Creek Avenue in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. There will be no walk-ins so please call Robert, WA2ARP at 609-338-7038 to register. The sponsor is the Southern Counties Amateur Radio Association (SCARA). Next session is June 8th, 9:30 A.M. If you haven’t already, please make a note or bookmark the following site:http://www.erh.noaa.gov/phi/skywarn/index.html. The Battleship New Jersey will soon be on summer hours but still check the website or more information. If your club is thinkingWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO about visiting the NJ2BB club station, please be sure to make arrangements ahead of the scheduled date to insure that someone will be there. Just go on our website at www.nj2bb.org for information to schedule a visit. If you have worked NJ2BB and want to send a card, the QSL manager is Margaret Burgess, KB2BRR 150 Schooner Ave, Barnegat, NJ 08005. Please send your cards with an SASE to insure receiving a card in return from NJ2BB. http:// www.nj2bb.org Early this coming summer the ship will open a new tour route named “City at Sea”. Its intent is to highlight the support activities within the vessel, such as dental, medical and sickbay. The will also be a Quick Stop (aka smoke shop), Post office and machine shops. Of interest to the Ham community is the WW2 Radio Room that members of BNJARS have been working on. This compartment was once filled with black crackle painted equipment that glows in the dark. The gang has fount the appropriate equipment from various sources, restored and repaired each item as needed. When the new route opens to the public, all of the gear on display will be ready for real operations. Except that the antenna feed lines will most likely not be back in service yet. Once the cables are installed, Ham operations from this space will commence much to the delight of the viewing public and the operators. If you have an activity coming up or want to report something that happened, please send a short write up to me and I will put it in next month. Please remember that if you work traffic to report it to Dan, K2UL. Traffic report for February Traffic manager, K2UL, Dan Ostroy SNJ/NNJ Section Net Reports QNI reports NJM 82 N2GJ NJPN 232 W2CC NJSN 188 K2PB NJN(E) 176 AG2R NJN(L) 171 AG2R (the above nets are dual section nets of both SNJ and NNJ. Liaisons with 2RN) SNJ Local Net Reports JSARS 365 WA2NDA SJTN 22 Station Activity Reports (SAR) WA2CUW 128 KB2RTZ 92 AA2SV 47 WA2NDA 45 K2GW 32 K2UL 25 W2QOB 17 Public Service Honor Roll (PSHR) K2GW 145 K2UL 95 WA2CUW 90 W2QOB 87 N2HQL 85 WA2NDA 78 KA2YKN 60 KB2ADL 63 STM reports that the past six years have been posted on the web at http://k2ul.home.att.net/stm_monthly.htm
Western Pennsylvania
This month has several opportunities for members to participate in various events. On Saturday April 19th the Atlantic Division will once again conduct an online webinar. The details of the webinar are available on the division website at www.atldiv.org and click the training tab. There you will find a listing of the upcoming webinars and the ability to register to participate. The webinar on April 19 will be about emergency services. On April 27 we have the Two Rivers ARC hamfest in Boston, Pa. I will be in attendance at the hamfest to talk with members regarding any issues they may have or information needed. Please stop by the league table and say hi. If you would like more information on the hamfest
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please go to http://mysite.verizon.net/n3xbw/trarc/id1.html for a copy of the hamfest flyer. I hope to see many of you at the hamfest. I missed the washfest due to a sudden death in the family but am looking forward to seeing everyone at this upcoming event. On April 29 I will be attending the Skyview ARC meeting to discuss upcoming events and to answer questions from the attendees at the meeting. I am sure some of the details regarding this years section convention to be held August 24 at their hamfest. This years speaker from HQ will be membership manager Katie Breen, K1KRB. We are only two short months away fromWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO field day and I am looking for field day sites to visit during that weekend. I will be traveling around the section on both days to visit with various clubs. Any group that would like me to try to stop by is asked to send me an invite and directions to their site or at least an address to put into the GPS. Field day is a great opportunity to see the many different ways amateurs can operate under less than ideal conditions in the event of an emergency. I am looking forward to hearing from section clubs. Our ARES program is making progress in filling the field positions that are necessary to operate smoothly. John Szwarc , N3SPW is still looking for individuals to fill the positions of EC in the following counties: Butler, Cameron, Elk, Somerset and Westmoreland. Any individual interested in these positions can contact john at [email protected] or can submit a FSD-156 form online at http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/forms/ scroll down and use FSD-156. John will then review the application as will the DEC of that area and forward to me for appointment. The board of directors created a few new field appointments at the last board meeting. These positions are assistant DEC and SEC . AnyoneWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO interested in these positions may also complete the FSD form expressing your interest. Don’t forget the WPA Phone and Traffic net each evening at 6PM local time on 3983. Help us to handle traffic throughout the section. See you at the hamfests! 73 John Rodgers N3MSE W. Pa. Section Manager
Central Division
Illinois
QST DE KA9QPN From the top... **Too late for last month's News came word from HQ that no other SM nominating petitions were filed by the deadline. I don't consider the development a vote of confidence, rather that I haven't irritated enough people yet. In any case, I'm happy to be at your service for another term starting in July. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **Still awaiting the onset of severe weather season. Considering that we've just enjoyed our first reasonably spring-y weekend, I would anticipate the thunder to not be far behind. I am hearing of isolated responses to spring flooding, but no detailed sit-reps at this time. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **In our continued quest for 'what we do right', Pat Ryan KC6VVT brings the following: 'Curt Rocke K9UQF of Woodford County, IL area writes that he continues with Ham Radio and Severe Weather presentations to schools. His next Power Point Presentation is this Friday at a local private school (1st - 8th) and Curt says that makes six with success and interest generated.' Pat further comments: 'Curt ensures that both this and the NEXT generation also knows about amateur radio and public service with his personal outreach. Curt K9UQF is most supportive of, and ensures, current EmComm training in both ARES/RACES. Works closely with our two EC/IL of the neighboring counties of Peoria and Tazewell for their PTW Tri-County agendas. Enjoyed personally a few of their fine business PTW local training sessions over the past years and always a very kind reception there. Curt and his XYL, as active band parents, and were instrumental in one of our most unusual SET for this cycle in support of a major band competition as reported by Deb N9SH EC/IL. In public service, Curt works closely with Bob Hix, the EMA for Woodford County - they catch their share of tornadoes and weather events, most notably in the past few years and well plotted and displayed on the maps in the county EOC. Part of the 18 county Central Illinois weekly nets, too. The WCRA sponsors the K9UQF repeater on 147.255 + in Metamora. Often monitor their WX events there, and use this machine while travelling on I-39 or overland to Peoria
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and beyond. You may often find Curt by calling on this fine business repeater when passing through. On the personal side, K9UQF is one of our finest ARRL gentlemen in the Section and involved with home and community in good balance.' If only we could bottle the essence of these folks and pass it 'round for all to share! ======Get informed... **It's not too early to consider your group's Field Day plans. This year, HQ is doing something outstanding in conjunction with Field Day. It's the Station Locator Service, a simple little routine that runs inWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO a Google Maps applet. Register your group's effort here, and make it easy for us Section staff phantoms to find you during FD. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **The consensus among people much smarter than me is that Solar Cycle 24 is well underway. Time to see what the winter and the ice have done to your antennas. Also, time to work a few contests to break up your own personal cobwebs as well. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **Late last month, two petitions requesting the reinstatement of Morse Code testing were denied by the FCC. The Fed's conclusion was that "an individual's ability to demonstrate Morse code proficiency does not further the underlying purposes of the Part 97 rules, i.e., to accommodate individual contributions to the advancement of the radio art and to enhance the value of the amateur service to the public." You may draw your own inferences here. +++++++++++++++++++++++++WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **The hamfest season looms large, with some of the early fests already in the books, and more as the weather warms. Looking forward to getting out a little bit and seeing all y'all again. The weekends are filling fast, with the last weekend taken by the Lewis & Clark fest in Godfrey on 26 April, the Moultrie ARK fest in Arthur, and my hometown fest presented by Kishwaukee ARC on 3 May at the wonderful old Sandwich Fairgrounds. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **For those of you in leadership roles in your local EMA/ESDAs: the National Response Framework, successor to the National Response Plan, has taken effect. This means that your old IS-800 or IS-800.A is no longer useful, and you need to take IS-800.B. More here. ======Around the Section... **From the 'Podunk Hollow News' of the Egyptian Radio Club comes this interesting tidbit: 'Curtis Williams, W5DTR, who is the ARES District Emergency Coordinator for South-western Illinois is teaching the Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course (ARECC) every Wednesday evening at 7:30PM on a link-up of repeaters including the 145.29 K9KE repeater based in Gillespie, Illinois. We owe tremendous thanks to Bill Preis, K9KE, for allowing this use of his repeater system. Curtis is teaching from the Level I book Introduction to Amateur Radio Emergency Communications at the present time.' This seems to be a really neat way to take the ARECC courses. Again, I never met a good idea that wasn't worth swiping. Curtis also did an improptu personal preparedness talk at the last ERC meeting when the scheduled speaker failed to appear. This is a subject in which we all could take a little instruction. We need to provide for our families so that they are comfortable when we go render service. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **In the current 'Short CIRCuits' newsletter of the Central IL RC, there is an interesting treatment of how Norm Huber N9ZKS put APRS on his bicycle mobile. See the entire article here. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **I like quirky web links. This month, the Western IL ARC 'Feedline' newsletter calls the obsoleteskills.com site to our attention. Here's stuff that I haven't personally done in years: Editing an autoexec.bat file...using carbon paper...dialing a rotary phone...loading device drivers into DOS at startup...splicing audio recording tape. Thanks to WIARC for the memory jogger! (I notice that the entry for 'telegraph operator' has no instructions or definition. Hmmmm...) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **Gregg Rosenberg AB9MZ got mention in the Southtown/Star recently for his work as a Cook County AEC with the local EMA. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **Hope to
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have some stats next time from Pat KC6VVT's 'fifth Sunday' second half of the annual tornado drill. I missed it as I was traveling, which is unfortunate. I'm a big believer in drilling. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **Finally, some news with a PICTURE! Mike Huedepohl WD9GJK, new secretary of the honorable old Six Meter Club of Chicago, sends: 'Ten members of the Six Meter Club of Chicago provided communications support and traffic control for Hinsdale Central High School’s (Hinsdale IL) 5K Walk for Autism April 6. Pictured L. to R. AreWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO W9NSP, KC9KLA, K9LPL, K9WSS, N9TUP, WD9GJK, WA9FIH, and KB9OYP. Not pictured: WA9CCQ, N9GFY. The club has distinctive red vests with a large logo and “Amateur Radio” on the back which are issued to members participating in public service events, and many members have their own red jackets with the same lettering for easy identification.' THANK YOU Mike and SMC for finally sending me an event photo! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Full text with links & such at http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=IL
Wisconsin
WISCONSIN: SM: Don Michalski, W9IXG, SEC: KB9ENO, STM: K9LGU, SGL: AD9X, OOC: KC9IS, PIC: KB9NUM, TC: K9GDF, BM: WB9NRK, ACC: N9LVS ASMs: K9UTQ, W9DGI, N9VE, KG8CX.WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO ** Regretfully, I am informing you of the passing of these Wisconsin Amateurs: -- Sue O'Rell, N9NTA, 61. -- Harvey Baalke, W9HNX, 100. -- Carl Searing III, KW9W, 53. Carl was a member of the Eau Claire ARC. -- Ralph Ballinger, N9ECS, 84. Ralph was a member of the Fox Cities ARC. -- Bruce Walther, W9QAH, 76. Bruce was a member of Eau Clair ARC. -- Michael Howe, KB9JFL, 57. ** Field Day is coming up! And NOW is the time to prepare for it! Don't wait until the final weeks and expect that you will be able to get people to act on a moment's notice. The 2008 Field Day package is up on the web. While it is hard to write a specific press release months ahead of the event, the package includes the first of what will be several releases and more timely materials made available as we get closer to this event. To see all the FD materials already available, go to www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/ ** Field Day Proclamations Getting a proclamation is a good way to pull in the politicians. They LIKE to do it (good PR for them) and we like to get them (good relationships and a door-opener for us). But often politicians are at a loss of what to write in a proclamation. Remember -- getting a proclamation takes time. Politicians usually move slowly, so plan weeks ahead. Start NOW! People to ask are: Mayors, Governor, Emergency Management leaders, city councilmen. Here's text with a fill-in-the- blank draft of some text you can use. Modify it for your local situation and don't be afraid to ask your mayor, manager or other elected official to make it "official." ------Whereas, Amateur Radio has continued to provide a bridge between peoples, societies and countries by creating friendships and the sharing of ideas; and Whereas, Amateur Radio Operators have also provided countless hours of community services; and Whereas, these Amateur Radio's services are provided wholly uncompensated; and Whereas, the State also recognizes the services Amateur Radio's people also provide to our many Emergency Response organizations, including FEMA, DHS, ______add local and gov't served agencies______; and Whereas, these same individuals have further demonstrated their value in public assistance by providing free radio communications for local parades, bike-a-thons, walk-a-thins, fairs and other charitable public events; and Whereas, the ___state/city_____ of ______recognizes and appreciates the diligence of these "hams" who also serve as weather spotters in the Skywarn program of the National Weather Service; and Whereas, Amateur Radio once again proved its undisputed relevance in the modern world by providing emergency communications when other systems failed in the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and Northwest Storms plus many smaller crises; and Whereas, the ARRL is the leading organization for Amateur Radio in the USA; and Whereas, the ARRL Amateur Radio Field Day exercise will take place on June 28-29, 2008 and is a 24 hour emergency encampment exercise and demonstration of the Radio Amateurs' skills and readiness to provide self-supporting communications even in fields without further infrastructure; now Therefore, I ____name_____, ______title______of the ____place______, do
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hereby officially recognize and designate June 23-29, 2008 as Amateur Radio Week In the ____place______Signed Seal ** STM Report Wisconsin Section March 2008 FAQ # 80 -- What's this "famous pink card" traffic handlers are always talking about? Where did it come from? Who developed it? How does it help? Can I get one for my own? Why is it pink? You ask a lot of questions. Luckily, we have answers, and that's exactly what's on the pink card. The ARRL has offered operating aid FSD-218 (the pink card) for years to assist in traffic handling and net operations. Although it's available on the Internet, the pink cardWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO format is no longer in stock at ARRL HQ. Don't panic. Through the efforts of our recently-reelected Section Manager, W9IXG, this excellent operating aid has been updated for our section and made available in the famous pink card format once again. It's a great reference for those who don't handle a lot of traffic, for training of new hams, and for inclusion with local emergency activation plans. On one side of the card you will find a clear example of how every formal radiogram should be formatted, including each of the essential parts and notes on each one. You will find a list of the precedences and handling instructions, too. The other side of the card lists the international Q signals, QN signals for CW nets, and abbreviations, prosigns, and prowords. Knowing these standard procedural words truly makes traffic handling much more efficient. You can get a card from the SM, W9IXG, at any Hamfest, from your Section Traffic Manager, K9LGU, by mail, or copies for your entire group with an accompanying presentation on the National Traffic System. And the color? It's not only easy to spot around the shack or when you're mobile. When it comes to traffic, it will keep you "in the pink." (HowWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO could I resist?) 73 -- K9LGU/ STM-WI ** MONTHLY NET ACTIVITY SUMMARY MARCH 2008 NET QNI QTC QTR SSNS NM BWN 2219 3075 6071 31 W9IXG BEN 573 74 1131 31 WD9FLJ WSBN 650 58 1048 31 KB9KEG WNN 190 6 306 26 KB9ROB WSSN 154 18 289 30 N9JIY WIN/E 158 44 297 31 WB9ICH WIN/L 132 55 277 31 W9UW WRACES 130 0 277 5 N9VAO TOTALS 4206 3330 9696 216 MWCRN 296 106 614 5 WA9ZTY ** It was great to see good turnouts at the ECARC Auction, the TCARC hamfest, and AES Superfest! Our thanks to the Wisconsin Amateurs who support these events! Check the Wisconsin site for upcoming events! 73, W9IXG
Dakota Division
North Dakota
NORTH DAKOTA: SM, Kent Olson, KAØLDG - Well March exited like a lion, and then April roared in. Spring will be welcomed greatly after the two heavy snowfalls that we recently experienced. Speaking about snow, the FORX ARC helped out with the Red River Dog Sled Race which was held around the Grand Forks area. The club members manned check points along a 75 mile course and saw that all mushers were accounted for. More elections have been held in clubs around the state - congratulations to all the new officers. Please remember to update this information on the ARRL web site. The RRRA in Fargo had a special guest at their last meeting. Arnie, N6HC, gave a great presentation on the recent 3B7C Dxpedition to St. Brandon island- which is north of Madagascar. Although I didn’t work them, I got a great appreciation for all the work that goes into making an event like this happen. The Fargo hamfest is right around the corner - April 26th. A note to all attending; it will be held in it’s normal location (West Fargo Fairgrounds), but there will also be other events happening at the fair grounds too. Please don’t let this turn you away, as there will be an opportunity for your significant other to do something while you go to the hamfest. Lots of parking for all, it just might not be next to the door like your used to. Please stop by the ARRL booth and say hi - see you there. HF NM K8BBM net reports for March: Weather Net: 32/703/3. Data Net: 36/930/14. Goose River Net: 5/44/1.
South Dakota
Here is the section news for South Dakota, if there are any clubs that have material that they wish to
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have posted please email me the information no later than the 5th of the month so that I can get it posted to both the summary and the web site before the cut off date. South Dakota Section Convention South Dakota Section & Sioux Empire ARC It is official everyone - September 20th, 2008 is the date - mark the calendar. We have the venue and banquet lined up - and we will have more flea market space (double of last year) as well as double the banquet seating. I would like everyone to email me and let me know what seminars you would like to see or if you would like to put one on that is even better. We are working on vendorsWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO and other surprises so keep tuned in and reading. Thanks, Rich, N0PV ARRL South Dakota Section Manager [email protected] Hot Springs ARC News Congratulations to our newest ham, Kelley Campbell, KD0DLB. Kelly has been very active on 2 meters and is studying for his General license now. Our Technician class is almost done. There are still 7 students studying for their Tech. A VE test session is scheduled for May 3 at the high school shop classroom. Watch the ARRL website for the time. I hope to announce a bunch of new hams next month. We plan on working on our club shack again this spring, as well as, getting the new tower mounted on our trailer. Field Day will be a good time to try it all out. The National Weather Service held a Skywarn training session here on April 3. We had 13 local hams attend. It was very interesting and well presented. For those who know Jiggs Mower, WA0FGV; you may want to drop him a get well card as he is undergoing tests for health issues. Tim K0OR NORTHERN HILLS AMATEUR RADIO CLUB The March meeting of the Northern Hills Amateur Radio Club was called to order by President Gene McPherson, NØMHJ, at 1930 on March 28, 2008 withWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO 10 members present. Public Service events were discussed. The first two events will be the Crazy Horse Volksmarch and the Big Mick Ride. Both are in June. Scott, WAØVKC, reminded everyone of the Black Hills Area ARES Strategy Meeting that will be held in Rapid City at the BHARC Clubhouse on Sunday, April 13, 2008. Attendance was encouraged. The agenda has been e-mailed to members. Net control stations are still needed for the Tri State Net. Jerry, KGØGG, reported the Skywarn classes are scheduled. They are: Sturgis Fire Dept. Wed. Apr. 2 6:30 pm Mueller Center, Hot Springs Thur. Apr. 3 (Regular meeting night for SHARC) 7pm Newell (unknown location) Wed. Apr 23 7 pm Deadwood Fire Dept. Mon. Apr. 28 7pm Whitewood Fire Dept Wed. May 21 7pm Newcastle Fire Dept Thur May 22 7pm Spearfish Fire Dept Wed May 28 7pm Scott reported that 5 classes were given for the Boy Scouts to assist in obtaining their radio merit badges. Several amateurs participated in the classes. There will be Fox hunting for DF exercises this Spring and Summer. Scott has sent out e-mails with more information. A planning session for implementing packet radio communications between the northern hills EOCs by Scott. Different individuals have been selected to be mobile or base stations. Next months meeting will be a test run exercise. Chuck, KCØUXC, explained the Omaha area packet system between various hospitals. He will work with Scott in the setup of the system. The next meeting will be at the Sturgis Fire Hall. Meeting was adjourned at 2056. Bruce Conlee, KØNLE, Secretary
Delta Division
Arkansas
ARKAN News- W5T – Troop Train Special Event -March 2, 2008 test run! This afternoon we conducted our first tests on installing antennas on the 1950s vintage caboose that will be used on the Memorial Day Troop Train, Saturday May 26, 2008. Our biggest concern was that operating on both 40 and 20 meters simultaneously would cause interference with one or both of the transmitting stations. Our tests indicate that there will be no problem with interference even thought the antennas are not that far apart. The next test will be operating the stations on board the train during a run from Springdale to Van Buren during a regular run of the Arkansas & Missouri Excursion Train. The date has not been set for the test, but we'll make an effort to post it here so you can try to work us while we are train mobile. We can hardly wait! The article about last year's troop train is on page 21 of the March issue of QST Magazine. ARVARF News- The Ham Fest of 2008 was wonderful! I personally had a great time seeing old friends and making new ones. During the Fest I heard that several people upgraded their licenses. Congratulations to you for doing a great job. I hope that everyone had fun and I can’t wait to get ready
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for next year. Alright, is everyone ready for the EXTREME foxhunt? Several ideas have been sent to me and I still ask for more. Feel free to email me your ideas at [email protected]. Also on the upcoming agenda is where our Field Day contest will be held this year? And who is going to be the Field Day chairman? Thank you; Sonia Picado, KE5EIW, President. UPGRADES FROM OUR HAMFEST: New extras: Larry Pettit Sr. KJ5ZT, Gregory Miller KE5PAT. New Generals: Philip Thorjusen KE5SHX, Robert Helton KI6DFZ, William Sowell KE5SUE, Michael Martin KC5YWN, Tommy Lightfoot WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROKE5SCC, Dennis Robinson KD5OHT. New Technician Larry Pettit Jr. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!! ARVARF Newsletter- We found out that we started doing our newsletter around the first of the year in 1975. This makes 2008 our 34th year. Based on these numbers, and assuming we’ve been putting out a newsletter pretty much continuously, we estimated the number of issues we’ve published. And surprise! It’s approaching a milestone number. This is issue #399. I feel that these numbers are important because they pay tribute to our founders and to the long-standing tradition as a community ham club. It’s a good way to connect to those hams who began our organization. It’s also a nice way of showing how long your club has been a part of this community. Batesville ARC News- The April club meeting will be held on the 24th at the First Community Bank’s community room. We are starting to feel quite at home there and hope you will come join us for the latest in club news and plans for the future. We will hear updates from each of our committees on the planned activities of this summer. More Storms, More Flooding - Seems like the topic of storms and floodingWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO was used in last month’s newsletter and here it is again! Our storm spotters are getting plenty of practice and have been doing a great job. The reports heard on the repeater during these recent events have been timely, concise, and professional sounding. Maybe next month we will be able to devote our time to other activities while giving our rain gear a rest. BCRO News- Date: 03-11-2008. Meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM at the Centerton Fire Department. The treasurer’s report was read by Glenn WB5L and approved by club vote. Minutes from the previous meeting was read by Randy KE5JVH and approved by club vote. Glenn announced the results of the tech class. Thanks Glenn for putting the class on. Field Day is June 28th and 29th this year. The club voted to use the Mobile Command Vehicle and park it in the Bentonville City Square. Jay KCØCNB mentioned having an Elmer group for all the new people. Buster AD5AM mentioned his upcoming events: Blackjack Enduro March 30th and the Ozark Challenge April 5th - 6th For the program we toured the Mobile Command Vehicle. Meeting adjourned at 8:00 PM. BCRO Superfest will be held April 26th at the Jones Center in Springdale. Cross County ARC News- A meeting was held Thursday February 8th at the Wynne Fire Department in order to organize and plan Amateur Radio License classes. TECHNICIAN LICENSE CLASS Feb. 22 Thursday 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM Feb. 24 Saturday 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM Feb. 27 Tuesday 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM March 1 Thursday 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM March 3 Saturday 9:00 AM till?? FINAL TEST We will be using the same written material as used in the class last summer. I will send the file to everyone attached to a separate email. We will print up booklets (from the same file) for any students who have not already printed their own. We also plan to have a DVD for a teaching aid. All classes will be held at the Wynne Fire Department. GENERAL LICENSE CLASS This is the schedule, subject to change if needed: March 13 Tuesday 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM March 15 Thursday 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM March 17 Saturday 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM March 20 Tuesday NO CLASS March 22 Thursday 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM March 24 Saturday 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM March 27 Tuesday 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM FINAL TEST All classes will be held at the Wynne Fire Department. Written material will be provided. Final schedule may be adjusted to fit class progress. Faulkner Co. ARC News- The March 11 meeting was called to order by Frankie Parks at: 18:31. Craig, N5CTM explained that Regions bank had made some changes to the policies for the bank accounts. In the process of these changes, the bank accidentally moved the club's account into an analyzed business account. Craig spoke with the bank and had it changed to a free small business account since the bank apparently didn't have an account for non-profit groups. Roger Williamson made a motion that the club change accounts. The club was in favor of doing this. After some discussion about whether or not the matter was a club matter or a job of the officers to decide what to do about the account, a motion was made to resend the 1st motion and have the officers take care of the account. The motion carried and the officers will decide what to do. Old Business: The club will be
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doing a special event station for Toad Suck Daze this year. It will be on May 3 from 8am-noon. The frequencies are 14.260 kHz and 7.260 kHz. Those that volunteer to operate will be doing so from their home stations. Volunteers will be taken at the April meeting. Wayne Johnston checked on the prices for the booths. The cost was $125 dollars no matter if it was a business or organization who rented a space. All the members decided not to rent a booth. New Business: Field day is coming up June 28th & 29th, 2008. The club had some discussion on where to hold field day this year. The suggestions were Toad Suck Ferry Park, MEMSWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Ambulance services, and Cadron Settlement. But no decisions were made. Brian Kessler informed the club about a qrp simplex net on 147.570 MHz. The net takes place on Saturday nights. Brian said the net control usually starts off the net at 8pm by playing the ARRL audio news and then they start taking checkins at 9pm. The net has an Echolink node set up that is KE5ELU-L (260617). The net is done by a group from the Cabot area which may be out of range for some in Conway. Thursday Night Net meets each Thursday at 7:30 P.M. on 145.210- MHz with a PL Tone of 114.8Hz. Please make note of this and come join in! Reminder: Don't forget about lunches at Smitty's BBQ in Conway on Fridays at around 11:00 am till we leave. For more information about the Faulkner County Amateur Radio Club, including news and upcoming events, go to http://www.w5auu.org/
Louisiana
LOUISIANAWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO SECTION NEWS – MARCH 2008 After over 35 years of service as the Vernon Parish Emergency Coordinator, W5JZQ has decided to step down. I had the pleasure of presenting a plaque to Jessie during the ARRL Forum at the Rayne Hamfest/LA State Convention in token of his excellent service. Jessie did recommend WB5LHD before stepping down and I'm happy to report that Jerry has agreed to serve as the new Vernon Parish EC. KE5DJA reports that the West Central LA ARC provided communications support during the Lions Club's 10 k run in Leesville. WCLARC members participating during this event included W5LPJ, W5JPJ, WB5LYB, WB5BLN, WB5JZP, KA2BRS, W5JPS, KE5DJA, N5SHF, KC5ZOZ, KD5ATF, KD5Z, N5TTJ, and KE5THL. N5NVP reports that the following ARRL-affiliated clubs have an on-going Ham Radio Course Mentoring Program in place for teaching and assisting prospective hams in securing their tickets: Southeast LA ARC, Southern University ARC, Southwest LA Amateur Repeater Club, Washington ARC, Twin City Ham Club, Jefferson ARC, Shreveport ARA, West Central LA ARC, Acadiana ARA, Minden ARA, and Central LA ARC. This year, for the first time, the ARRL has put together a Station Locator to help hams or those interested in Amateur Radio find a Field Day site near them. According to ARRL Field Day Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND, many hams have been asking for something like this for many years. If your club or FD group would like to be a part of the Station Locator Service, it's easy to get started. Just go to the FD Station Locator Web site http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/locator.php and follow the instructions. I am very sorry to report that W5DDP is now a Silent Key. Upcoming LA hamfests include the Northeast LA Regional/TCHC Hamfest in Monroe on April 26 and the ARCOS Cookout and Swapmeet near Shreveport on May 17. (Note that the Monroe Hamfest has been moved from its traditional date in November!) Traffic totals: W5CDX 87, WC5M 71, N5KWB 57, N5NVP 55, K5MC 51, W5PY 50, AE5V 4, KB5SDU 2. Public Service Honor Roll: N5NVP 285, N5KWB 185, WC5M 130, W5PY 120, K5MC 110, W5HUD 95, N5MEL 76, KB5SDU 52, AE5V 50. Section net reports: sessions/check-ins/messages handled. Louisiana Traffic Net: 31/698/33. Louisiana CW Net: 62/307/62. Louisiana Slow Net: 9/43/18. Louisiana ARES Net: 5/140. Local/district net reports: sessions/check-ins. Acadia Parish ARES Net: 5/54. Ascension Parish ARES Net: 4/77. Caddo/Bossier Parish ARES Net: 4/80. East Baton Rouge Parish ARES Net: 4/20. Lafayette Parish ARES Net: 4/5. Orleans Parish ARES Net: 4/48. Rapides Parish ARES Net: 4/35. Richland Parish ARES Net: 5/54. St. Charles Parish ARES Net: 1/6. St. Mary Parish ARES Net: 5/27. Tangipahoa Parish ARES Net: 5/118. Terrebonne Parish ARES Net: 4/4. Union Parish ARES Net: 4/18. Vermillion Parish ARES Net: 4/39. Vernon Parish ARES Net: 4/92. Washington Parish ARES Net: 4/48. ARES reports: parish/EC. Acadia/N5NVP, Ascension/KD5NVE, Avoyelles/KD5IGG, Beauregard/W5MVP, Caddo/Bossier/NZ5S, Cameron/W5JFW, Claiborne/KD5JJP, Concordia/N5AVN, East Baton
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Rouge/N5ULA, Jefferson/KD5EWD, Jefferson Davis/K5WNV, Lafayette/WA5TNK, Morehouse/KB5SAR, Orleans/NO5FD, Plaquemines/AI5B, Rapides/KD5DFL, Richland/N5MEL, St. Bernard/AI5B, St. Charles/K5CFJ, St. John/AI5B, St. Mary/KA5LMZ, Tangipahoa/KD5PKS, Terrebonne/AD5XJ, Union/KA5JNL, Vermillion/KE5JXC, Vernon/W5JZQ, Washington/AI5B. ACC report: N5NVP. PIO report: KE5DJA. In closing this, my final monthly report to the LA Section members, I want to thank everyone for their great support during these past eight years. It has been a privilege for me toWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO serve as the LA Section Manager and I have truly enjoyed the experience. In looking to the future, I note that we are very fortunate to have K5GLS as our new SM and I'm sure the LA Section will attain new heights of success under Gary's leadership. 73, Mickey Cox K5MC LA Section Website: http://www.laarrl.org/
Mississippi
WA8SME, Director of the ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology, has announced that N5MZ of Petal and N5VEI of Madison have been selected to attend one of this summer’s six scheduled institutes. Brad and Bill will travel to Newington in late July with all expenses paid for the four day Institute which will include basic wireless technology literacy, electronics, and the science of radio; bringing space into the classroom; ham radio operation; introduction to micro controllers; and basic robotics.WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Brad and Bill are only the second and third Mississippi teachers to be selected for the Institute. KD5VDV from Wiggins attended in 2006. WA8SME notes that there are a very few slots left for highly qualified teachers and all applications must be in by May 15 (see ARRL Web site). The logs for the 2008 Mississippi QSO Party are in (a record 66 this year) and a preliminary check of the logs indicate that the Top Ten In State winners by score are: AG5Z, K5SVC, K2FF, N5BLY, WQ5L, W8FR, W5UMS, W5UE, KB5FSV, and KK5K. And the Top Ten Out of State: W6RLL (AZ), N8II (WV), K8CW (OH), W9MSE(WI), K4YT (VA), W2LHL (NJ), W7GVE (AZ), K4AMC (TN), K9WA (IL), and K4PBY (FL). All of these scores are subject to score validation, i.e., I need to check them all again. And last but not least thanks to the hard working mobiles, who made the QSO Party interesting for the county hunters, but in years past have had to brave wind, rain, lightning, line noise, and irate property owners. This year the temperature was just right, the roads were dry, no close calls, and there weren’t too many complaints about line noise. Thanks to KS5A/NN9K, NO5W, W5XX, and K4ZGB for collectively activating 52 of the 82 counties in the state. Note that KS5A came in all the way from Arizona, NN9K from Illinois, NO5W from Texas, and K4ZGB from Alabama. Thanks, guys! Activity was at an all time high this year in spite of the not too great band conditions. Logs indicate that AG5Z, K5SVC, and KS5A/M all made over 900 QSOs! W6RLL made 125 Mississippi QSOs from Arizona and CU2JT made 41 QSOs from the Azores. Certificates and final results should be available by July 1. The Mississippi Section Web Site at www.arrlmiss.org was originally set up by K5IBM in 1999. W5KWB (now NW5R) took over in March of 2004. Since that time there have been nearly 21,000 hits on the site. Kenny (plus W5XX) works hard to keep the information accurate, but he needs your help in keeping info up to date. Looking at the menu of the left hand side of the web site, Club Officers can help by reviewing ‘Club Locations/Dates’ to see if information is current. VE Teams can review ‘VE Test Dates’ to see if the information is correct. Net Managers/Members can review ‘Nets’ to determine if the information is accurate. Repeater Trustees/owners/users can review ‘Repeaters’ to insure that the information is correct. Send your updates to [email protected]. Your help in keeping accurate information on the Section Web Site is appreciated! With regret the resignation of AB5WF has been accepted as DEC for West Central Mississippi. In the short term Ron will remain as States RACES officer, but anticipates he and his XYL moving to South Carolina in the future. Over the years Ron has been instrumental is promoting ARES/RACES in Mississippi, as well as many other ham related activities. Ron, thanks for your efforts! In the area of EMCOMM, Prentiss/Tishomingo County EC WX5N reports that a severe early March thunderstorm required activation of the Tishomingo County ARC EN. Numerous reports of dime and nickel size hail were passed to the NWS. Those checking in were KE5LWY, KD5YP, WX5N, K5WSY, KE5RXN, and KU4WW. Rick also notes that funding has been
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secured for a pull type trailer to be used for EMCOMM and special events. More info to come. EC WB5GUD advises that Newton County ARES now has a repeater on the air two miles south of Union on 147.24 (103.5). EC K5NRK reports that the EOC ‘antenna farm’ on top of the Warren County Court house has been reworked thanks to KD5CQX, KB5BEE, and W5XX. The 75 M Dipole is at 150 feet; not exactly NVIS, but it was the only option. This antenna should be great for working DX next winter. Marshall County EC KB0ZTX calls our attention to the fact that Mississippi ARES had a nice write up related to the FebruaryWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO storm events in North Mississippi, North Alabama, and West Tennessee in the April CQ. Check out the Public Service Column on page 60. N5WLW reports that the Pearl River ARC now has a new antenna for their 145.210 repeater on KB5QBK's 380 ft tower. The four-bay folded dipole was fabricated by WA5WRE and raised by Club President KB7PGT (now that's leadership!) and KB5QBK's sons David and Barry. Other Members of the club who stayed on the ground for a number of reasons (?) as helpers were WA5WRE, KE5EKS, N5PSL, KB5QBK, KD6PJW, WA5JLL, N5WLW, K5WNU, N5ELI, KB5JSG, KB5ECY, and AD5WA. And lastly, a severe squall line moved through Central Mississippi on April 4th resulting in six tornados on the ground and widespread power outages and damage to property due to fallen trees. K5BLL and KE5PTL activated Skywarn from the NWS Jackson during the storm event and passed 17 reports related to severe weather and damage. Winds in excess of 80 mph were clocked in many locations in Central Mississippi. In Vicksburg, K5NRK heard on the Skywarn Net that a 4 foot diameter oak tree had fallen length wise on N5JGK’s mother’s trailer. No one hadWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO been able to reach the trailer to check on Eddie’s mother. Russ raced to the scene dodging fallen trees and downed power lines. After getting to within one-quarter of a mile of the trailer, Russ had to walk the rest of the way with first aid kit in hand. To quote Russ, ‘When I got to the trailer I called for his Mother and this quite voice came back saying she was fine but couldn’t get out. That was amazing as the entire trailer was flattened; the oak tree must have been 100 years old. She was sitting on the floor in the bathroom and fortunately the bottom half of that room wasn’t crushed; everything else was flattened. After making sure the power was off, I tore away the trailer wall and was able to look through a cabinet below the bathroom sink to find her sitting on the floor covered in insulation holding her little dog. About that time my friend N5JCG, her son, showed up, and we cut away the drain pipes and cabinet doors so she could crawl out. She was very, very lucky as she only had a cut on the side of her hand.’ Kudos to K5NRK! Welcome to the following new Mississippi Hams: KE5TES, Walter; KE5THF, Lee; KE5THG, Stephan; KE5TKV, Alan; KE5TML, William; KE5TMM, Warner; KE5TMW, Andy; KE5TMX, John; KE5TMY, Zack; KE5TPP, Gina; KE5TPQ, Randy; KE5TQG, Wayne; KE5TGR, Charles; KE5TLE, Jonathan; KE5TLF, Michael; KE5TMJ, Matt; KE5TNJ, Lawrence. Also welcome to K4ZLC as EC for Benton County. Congratulations to the following on their upgrades: KE5DHC Florence; KE5EFB; KB5FSV; KD5LAP; KC5LJO; N5MSJ; KE5MLL; W5MSW; KE5MWA; KE5OKI; N5OKV; N2PKW; KE5PXE; N5PYQ; KE5QHS; KE5QHU; KE5QHY; KE5QIC; KE5QIK; KE5QIN; KE5QIO; KE5QXG; KE5QZM; KE5RDQ; KE5RJN; KE5RRT; KE5RXN; KA5SNJ; KA5SNK; KE5SOK;KE5TAZ; KB0ZTX. 32 upgrades in one month – Good Show! Also congratulations to Marshall County EC KB0ZTX, who completed FEMA Courses 100/200/700/800. Welcome to the following new ARRL Members: KE5AKT, KM5BJ, K5DNB, W5DYC, WT4E, KB5FSV, KE5IZL, WB0JBZ, KE5MOY, N4NEX, KC5NFI, K5NVP, KE5QAQ, KE5SGD, KE5TMX, KD5VDW, N5YAB,N5ZAU. Newsletter/Club Reports: Hattiesburg ARC (AC5E), Itawamba County ARC (KB5NMB), Jackson ARC (K5VU), Meridian ARC (W5MAV), and Pearl River ARC (N5WLW). DEC/EC Monthly Reports: Alcorn/NE MS (WB5CON), Jackson (KD5CQT), Lauderdale/Clarke (KD5GWM), Newton (WB5GUD), Pearl River (KC5EAK); Prentiss/Tishomingo (WX5N); Southwest Mississippi (N5ZNT; Tippah (N5TBB): Net Reports: Session/QNI/QTC (Net Manager); DRN5 62/MS 100% rep by W5XX, KA1ZIA, WB5ZED, W5MLO, WA5FB (WB5ZED); MSPN 31/3108/23 (K5NRK); Magnolia Section Net 31/883/8 (K5DSG); Jackson Co ARES 31/436/7 (KD5CQT); MS Slow Net 21/43/0 (W3TWD); MS Baptist Hams Net 5/37/0 (WF5F); Stone County ARES Net 7/164/0 (N5UDK); Tishomingo County ARES 5/114/7 (WX5N); MLEN 5/38/0 (K5NRK); Alcorn County ARES 5/55/0 (WB5CON); Metro Jackson ARES 5/29/0 (AB5WF); Meridian AEN 4/57/0 (KD5GWM); Itawamba County ARES 4/41/0 (KB5NMB); Newton County ARES 4/40/0 (WB5GUD); Magnolia DX
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Assc 4/72/0 (N5FG); NE MS ARES 4/61/0 (W5LMW); South MS YL Net 4/83/0 (KB5CSQ); Monroe County ARC 4/38/0 (AD5DO); Lowndes County ARC 4/46/0 (AD5DO); Jackson ARC EN 4/46/7 (AB5WF); Pearl River ARES 4/44/1 (KC5EAK); SW MS ARES 4/33/0 (N5ZNT); MS Coast ARA 4/42/0 (KA2KMU); UMISS ARC 3/17/0 (W5MPC). PSHR (minimum 70): WB5ZED 150 and W5XX 95. Traffic: WB5ZED 4238 (Wow!)(BPL), WA5FB 31, and W5XX 5. Compilation of Net and Traffic statistics provided by KB5RCJ. WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Great Lakes Division
Kentucky
THE MANY FACETS OF PUBLIC SERVICE. When considering the terms "public service" and "Amateur Radio," we often think of hams helping with disaster or emergency-related communications, parades, bicycle races or other events. But now the members of the Hopkins County Amateur Radio Association and their local ARES/RACES group can add to the list "helping served agencies with a visiting national presidential candidate." On Saturday, March 29th, Sen. Hillary Clinton visited Madisonville during a campaign sweep across Kentucky. The campaign stop in Hopkins County also featured an appearance by Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and a crowd of 3,500 supporters. In preparationWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO for this event, Hopkins County EM Director Broc Oglesby requested a team of Amateur Radio operators to provide communications support. Amateurs from the area provided communication services, security and parking assistance to the Madisonville Police, Hopkins County Sheriff, local EM office and the U.S. Secret Service. According to the report from District 2 DEC Nick Bailey, KG4URI, "everything went smoothly and everyone carried out their job assignment." In addition to Bailey, the other operators who participated include Hopkins County ARA president Frank Wright, KA4IRG; Hopkins County EC Doug Clark, KC4FRA; Frankie Frashure, KI4RTY; and Chuck Clark, KE4LKG. Kudos to everyone who helped in this event! KY HAM PUBLISHED. Kudos to Robert Kluck, N4IJS, for getting an article he's written on Linux published in the May/June issue of QEX magazine (look for it on page 25). Robert's article details how to run Linux under the Windows OS. He is a member of the Northern Kentucky Amateur Radio Club (Info courtesy of the NKARC Feedline). QEX magazine is the ARRL's "forum for communications experimenters." ASHLAND, MADISONVILLE HAMFESTS. I hope to see you Saturday, April 26th at the River Cities ARA Tail-Gate Hamfest at the National City Bank parking lot, 11th and Carter Avenue from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in downtown Ashland. This a new event for the club and it will attract hams from across Eastern Kentucky as well as Ohio and West Virginia. On May 3rd I'll be in Madisonville for the 8th Annual Hopkins County ARA Hamfest. For information on these 'fests and others coming up in Kentucky, please see the Hamfest Calendar on the KY Section web page, http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=KY. 2008 KY SECTION NEWSLETTER, CLUB WEB SITE CONTESTS. The Kentucky Section is home to talented and enthusiastic folks who use the printed media and the Internet to promote and educate others about the activities of their local Amateur Radio club. This year, the Section Newsletter Contest is being revamped to include a division for best Section Web Site. The revamped contest is open to all clubs in the Kentucky Section. For this year, winning clubs from the past five years are eligible to participate. Awards will be presented to the winners for both contests at the Louisville Hamfest. Rules for both contests will be posted on the KY Section web page soon. For more info, contact [email protected]. FIELD DAY LOCATOR MAP. The ARRL has added a very useful feature in time for your club or group's 2008 Field Day plans. The new Field Day locator map is now online, and its an excellent resource that will help amateurs or others interested in Amateur Radio find your Field Day site. So far, nine Kentucky groups have listed their Field Day sites. Adding your group's Field Day site is easy. Visit the Field Day Station Locator web page and click the "Add A Station" link. To download the Field Day packet, find individual forms, or order Field Day T- shirts, pins or other items, visit the ARRL Web site. And don't forget that the ARRL has exhibit materials at minimal cost that can really dress up your Field Day Public Information Table. C'mon fellas, let's get Field Day rolling! WEATHER SPOTTER TRAINING. If you haven't attended a
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National Weather Service Skywarn program lately, there are still training opportunities available. Trained weather spotters serve as the National Weather Service's "eyes in the field." For dates and locations of the Skywarn training nearest you, visit the Skywarn page at the www.kyham.net Web site. There you will find links to training schedules from the NWS offices in Charleston, WV, Jackson, KY, Louisville, KY, Paducah, KY and Wilmington, OH. ACTIVITY REPORTS. Station Activity, Public Service or net reports are due to me by the 9th of each month. Your help in meeting this deadline is greatly appreciatedWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO in order that the KY Section web site is updated in a timely manner and the reports are submitted to ARRL HQ. Send your reports to [email protected]. Kentucky Traffic Report - March 2008 NET NAME SESSIONS TRAFFIC CHECK INS NET MANAGER ------KYN 33 46 294 K4AVX KSN 31 25 154 KO4OL WTEN 4 1 27 KO4OL KD7ARET 5 0 65 KG4HMN NKARC 4 0 31 N4IJS MSUARC 5 0 40 WX4MET MADARES 5 1 28 KO4OL HARDIN ARES 4 0 46 AF4EB Public Service Honor Roll - March W2LTB 469, KG4TND 350, KO4OL 100, WD8JAW 67, K4JRU 52, KD4SN 38 Station Activity Reports - March KO4OL 44, WB4ZDU 62, KY4Z 5, K4AVX 21
Michigan
Greetings Michigan Amateur Radio Operators, On Saturday April 12, the Michigan Section of the ARRL heldWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO it first Youth Forum. This effort was designed to bring our younger licensed hams together in one facility to discuss what interested them in amateur radio, how they were mentored, plus what their likes and dislikes are about this hobby. Despite our moving the forum into April, some severe snow prevented several groups from attending. Still, those that were there all reported that they had an outstanding time and the sessions were very successful. We had some very frank discussion on all of the key subjects. It was exciting to see how this group opened dialog on other pertinent subject matter as well. Now the work has begun on compiling our results into a formal report for distribution to the ARRL Affiliated Clubs in the state. There is probably three times the amount of material we had expected to collect from our discussions, so the report writing will take couple of weeks. My personal regards go to all who attended. Simply put, your efforts and the time you took to participate, may well set the pace for the future of amateur radio. Thanks! Interestingly, these youth have put forth a "Challenge" to all Michigan clubs. "Recruit 5 or more new licensees into your club and be eligible to receive an award which will be presented at the Michigan State ARRL Convention at Kalamazoo in October." We'll do a separate posting to the Section Web page with all the "Challenge" details. Congratulations to Simon KC8ZYD upon his acceptance of the appointment as Youth Coordinator for the Michigan Section. Simon's untiring efforts in bringing the Forum together and serving as moderator have set a good example for all of us – how we can out our faith in young hams to work, how we can mentor and how we can bring more young folks into amateur radio. The Annual Michigan Summer Outing is in the final planning stages. We hold this event at Woodlands Campgrounds near Lupton every July. It has provided an excellent opportunity for us to get together to have fun, operate radio, have some interesting meetings, eat great cooking, and share ideas and stories. This year's dates are July 11, 12 & 13. Debbie KA8YKK is ready to accept advance registrations immediately. You may contact her at [email protected]. Camp sites and cabin rooms can be reserved, but most importantly, we need to get an advanced notice of how many folks to expect for our planning purposes. We do have some excellent forums scheduled and ASM John N8ZE always insures that the Saturday Campfire is a fun adventure. This is your opportunity to meet with your ARRL Section Staff, and we often welcome Great Lakes Division Leadership as well. Please contact Deb as soon as possible to make your reservation. *Special event coming up first weekend in May* - and it's for the Birds! Hams from Lake Effect ARC, and Eastern UP ARC are putting the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory on the air May 2, 3 and 4 celebrating the annual spring raptor and waterfowl migration. They will be operating as W8B (Birds!) on several bands and modes, including CW, and really look forward to making contacts in the region. Whitefish Point (of Edmund Fitzgerald fame) attracts a lot of attention at this time from birders and naturalists around the world, and the birding is pretty spectacular. Very attractive QSL cards and certificates will be
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available. There may be limited opportunities for additional guest operators - See details: http://www.LakeEffectARC.info/W8B.htm The Chelsea ARC's newly elected officers for 2008-2009 are Pres AB8FN, VP KB8POO, Sec Treas WB8HSN. Ogemaw-Arenac ARC's 2008 officers are: Pres KD8CLM, VP KD8BNZ, Sec N8RBS and Treas AB8YG. At the 2008 "New Hams Dinner" sponsored by the Grand Rapids ARA, The Lowell ARC and Michigan AR Alliance, the three clubs named the "West Michigan Ham of the Year". This award is in its 8th year and this year's recipient is Rich K8JX of the MARA club. CongratulationsWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO to Rich on this award. Michigan Nets reporting for March: MACS, MiTN, MVTN, QMN, UPN, GLETN, TMN, SEMTN, Wolverine, Motor City, NLEUPN, Hiawatha, and MiARPSC. Total Operator-hours for March: 2782. To include your net’s monthly activities, contact [email protected]. Station Activity Reports (SAR) for March, 2008: WB9JSR 1337, AC8AR 421, AB8SY 316, K8LJG 292, K8AMR 149, K8RDN 127, KD8AAD 124, KC8MLD 89, KD8HPF 76, W8RNQ 60, WB8RCR 57, WD8USA 26, KC8NTE 15, AB8WF 15, AC8AL 15, WA8OOH 5, KC8ZGB 2. Public Service Honor Roll Reports (PSHR) for March, 2008: KC8NTE 577, WB8RCR 333, K8MFK 186, WD8USA 151, AC8AL 150, WB9JSR 110, K8AMR 107, AC8AR 100, K8RDN 90, KB8UIH 82, AB8SY 80, KD8HPF 54. SARs are reports of all the radiogram traffic you have handled in the past month. PSHRs include both your net and public service activities for the month. PSHRs and SARs should be filed monthly with WB8RCR. You can access a simple reporting form at: http://www.mi-nts.org/PSHR_entry.shtml to provide your reports to WB8RCR. You can also check http://www.mi-nts.org/WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO for the details on all of our Michigan Section reporting nets. March Official Emergency Station reports came in from K8COP, W8WRB and KC8NTE. Your OES reports should be filed with WA8EFK with a copy to your EC. In all cases, reporting by radiogram is encouraged. Packet messages can be routed to [email protected] and [email protected] . 73 until next month, Dale Williams WA8EFK
Midwest Division
Kansas
KANSAS IS GREAT IN 2008 ! Kansas Section News Summary- March 2008 NAØS - Kevin Cutright, Atchison is now a Silent Key. ______KDØDMO- Lucie Goodhart of Mission is only 7 years old but holds a Tech. license. Lucie and her Dad, KDØDMN were part of a class conducted by KC4WCG and KCØBS. Congratulations to both Lucie and her Dad ! Nominations for Kansas Radio Amateur of the Year are being accepted by Kansas Nebraska ARC. Send submissions to WAØCCW. ACØEG is putting together a station and info booth for a scout encampment at the state fairgrounds late April. The bunch in South Central Kansas has a lot of activities going on. KØKAN- Todd hosted a booth at a Shawnee county WX spotter program. WN8P- Technical Specialist Larry Joy Reports on the Ultrasonic (40 kHz) QRM sniffer he and WAØCBW have been collaborating on. Pilot Knob attendance approached 2 dozen at the February meeting. The Special Service Club has an active meeting program. The club also conducts a licensing course followed by a New Ham Orientation class. Kickapoo QRP ARC had a dozen turnout for the Freeze Your Keys event in February. The group worked 13 states, some DX and had a wonderful time with less than 10 watts. WBØMNA and WBØERI fixed a pot of chili and cornbread. ______From KCØNYS (edited for space, full text on KSN page) On April 9th 2008, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius signed House Bill 2805 the Kansas Emergency Communication Preservation Act into law which makes Kansas the 26th State to do so. PRB-1 or HB 2805 does not set new legal precedent. It simply assures that Kansas state law reflects the federal rules regarding Amateur Radio Stations at no cost to the state or its citizens. A VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO Arlen Siegfreid Kansas House Republican District 15. Arlen introduced HB 2805 on 02/11/08 then referred to the House Elections and Governmental Organization from there on 02/25/08. Nine concerned proponents stepped up to testify on behalf of the amateur radio community a few days later and on 02/29/08, a final vote of YEAS 123 NAYS 0 filled the air waves. The Senate received and introduced HB 2805, which then was sent to the
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Senate Utilities Committee on 03/05/08. Less than a week later on 03/12/08, nine proponents again testified on behalf of HB 2805. With deadlines getting closer, the Senate Utilities Committee voted and passed HB 2805 on 03/27/08 with a vote of YEAS 40 NAYS 0. Now just one signature away from being a reality, PRB-1 was enrolled and presented to the Governor on 03/31/08. That reality turned into VICTORY for all Kansas Amateur Radio Station Operators on 04/09/08 when our Kansas Governor signed HB 2805 into law. Special thanks goes out to the all members of the Full Kansas House & Senate for rendering a unanimousWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO vote & the Governors signature. And to Rod Richardson WA0HHX & Don Whitney KCØWTT for being our LEGAL subject matter experts. This legislation could not have happen with out these two professional. Great thanks to Jill & Jim Quigley KØJQ for tracking and informational updates on HB 2805. Dee Smith-Salvation Army, WAØVRS, KCØBS, NØAG, WØSPC, WBØSRX and Director KØBJ for their testimonials in Topeka. KC4WCG, KCØYMH and NØAMB who submitted written testimony. I would like to say now that it has truly been an honor to be part of this needed legislation in the times we live and proud to work with such professional in a amateur world. Continue to be ready to answer the call when our needed expertise will be called upon in short order. WHY because that is what a HOMELAND SECURITY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS FIRST RESPONDER does. 73, JD Spradling, KC0NYS ______ARES Report: From the desk of KØBXF ARRL SEC KS Mar 30, 2008 ARES net activities reports indicate not too much change from previous months activity.WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO 487 members registered to be of service with zones reporting a total of 113 net sessions with 912 QNI and 23 pieces of traffic handled during the month of February. However, that should change with the storm season upon us. Be alert Guys and Gals, let us not get caught with antenna needing repair and not able to get on the air. I am sure each EC within the state will welcome your participation in any and all activity that goes on within the Zone. While you are at it, why not give the state traffic and weather nets some of your attention. Net managers are always looking for new QNI. Any one not knowing who your EC is, please contact me ASAP for the info. [email protected] or 913-299-1128. The roll call of the KSBN net could be well over 150 if all those that frequent the net from time to time do happen to show up on any given session. Is your county represented? Listen in on 3920 khz and find out. The roll call of the Kansas Weather net also has potential of over 100 if everyone shows up. If interested in what is going on weather wise in your area, guess what? 3920 khz again is the frequency to monitor quite often. Some have asked me about those real hams out there. The CW gang, well 3547 khz could find surprise or so, give it a shot. Time available for all to participate in Public Service thru Ham Radio. Don't forget also to check the ARRL web page for additional Kansas Section activities. Last but not least, every active ham should be receiving the KAR publication, edited and produced by W0OYH. Make sure your email address is in his KAR file. 73 see you around the nets Bob Summers K0BXF ARRL SEC KS ______Newsletters received: Feed Back, Grounded Grid, QNU H.A.R.C., QRZ, QSP, SMMC, Trojan Harmonic ______Feb.. Sessions/QNI/QTC/Mgr: KSBN/ 29/ 822/ 75 N0KFS KPN/21 / 287 / 23/ N0KFS KMWN/29/ 734 / 533 /WB0YWZ KWN/29/ 771 / 547/ WB0YWZ CSTN 25/1859 /44 N0BFB QKS/ 28 /72 /35 NB0Z QKS-SS/ 3/ 8 /1 KB0DTI Traffic: KI0BK 219 NB0Z 63 KC0MRJ 34 K0BXF 16 W0OYH 18 N0ZIZ 13 KB0DTI 41 Misc. Reports: WAØCBW - Technical Specialist, WN8P -Technical Specialist See KSN on ARRL and more Kansas news: http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=KS To receive or contribute to Orlan's Kansas Amateur Radio News E-mail News Letter contact Orlan-W0OYH-Editor at [email protected]
Missouri
APRIL 2008 MISSOURI SECTION NEWS DALE BAGLEY, KØKY MO SM Thanks to the Boeing Employees Amateur Radio Society (BEARS) for sponsoring the 2008 Missouri QSO Party. I heard lots of activity this year, but sadly not too many heard my QRP SSB signal during the contest. I did have a wonderful time visiting various counties in Northeast MO to give those in the contest a chance at some multipliers that don’t have much Amateur Radio activity. I want to thank Dave Propper, K2DP, James
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Kinser, NØAJ, and the rest of the BEARS for the great job they do in sponsoring the QSO Party. If you or your club has some activity, project, or event that you would like to share with all the ARRL members across MO that receive the Section News, please send a brief summary to kØ[email protected] and I’ll try to get it in a future issue. Keith Little, NØTY, passed on a tidbit concerning sunspot cycle 23 that was interesting. If you want to check the info out go to the link provided. http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/28mar_oldcycle.htm?list1057675 Congratulations to the Kansas Amateur Radio communityWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO and PRB-1 committee for their hard work and success in the passage of their PRB-1 effort. On April 9th 2008, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius signed House Bill 2805 the Kansas Emergency Communication Preservation Act into law which makes Kansas the 26th State to do so. PRB-1 or HB 2805 does not set new legal precedent. It simply assures that Kansas state law reflects the federal rules regarding Amateur Radio Stations at no cost to the state or its citizens. Thanks to former KS SM Orlan Cook, WØOYH for passing on the news. APRIL 2008 HAMFESTS On April 12th the Springtime Hamfest sponsored by the Ozark Amateur Radio Society at the Senior Center at 425 North Main St in Mount Vernon, MO. For more information contact Julie Frank, KDØBSK, 20500 Highway W Verona, MO 65769 or phone her at 417-440-9438 or by e-mail at [email protected] . You can check their website at http://W0OAR.com Talk-In: 146.970 (no tone) The April 19th HAMBASH 2008 is sponsored by the Ararat Shrine Amateur Radio Club and it will be held in the Ararat Shrine on 5100 Ararat Drive in Kansas City, MO. For more information you need to contact Dave Hinkley, KAØSOGWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO 1221 SE 11th Street Lee's Summit, MO 64081 Phone: 816-525-4826 or you can Email: [email protected] Check out their website at http://www.hambash.com/ AFFILIATED CLUB NEWS KEITH HAYE, WEØG, ACC The Heart of America Radio Club March meeting featured the judging of crystal radio receiver construction projects. The members brought homebrew simple crystal radio without amplification. Crystal Radio kits didn’t qualify. Craig Schley, KAØFSP was in charge of the contest. Matt May, KC4WCTG and Brian Short, KCØBS are teaching the Technician licensing class at St. Joseph Medical Center on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. The Callaway Amateur Radio League will have a amateur radio display in the Callaway Bank window during the week of June 23-30. Set up is probably 1:00 PM on Monday the 23rd and take down will be about 9:00 AM on Monday the 30th. Gene Meador, WBØHKN is responsible for getting the display together and it is important to note that the display will be on during the week end of Field Day, June 28/29. The Bootheel ARC reports that Jill Niemeier, KCØYQJ, an 8th grader from Kennett, MO recently entered her project, “Emergency Communications II” in the 52nd Annual Southeast Missouri Regional Science Fair and received nine different prestigious awards for her work. Jill’s accomplishments were reported along with a photograph in the Daily Dunklin Democrat. Congratulations to Jill and thanks to Larry Ford, NØRIC for passing on the great story. Larry Staples, WØAIB the originator of “Larry’s List” reports that for the second year, April 12th and 13th ham radio operators around the world will participate in a special-event transmission to commemorate the 96th anniversary of the sinking of Titanic, originating from the Titanic museum in Branson. Operators will transmit the news of the 96th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic using special event call sign W0S. The special call sign, WØS, stands for “White Star,” the name of the company that built the Titanic. This year a group of 16 to 20 high school students, who recently passed their ham license exams, will travel from northeast Oklahoma to Branson and participate. The special event idea was developed by museum attraction co-owner, Mary Kellogg Joslyn, and Nixa ham radio operators Rich Vogt, KB9YZE, Dave Beckler, WAØSAP, Al Gallo, WØERE and Rod Kittleman, KØADI. Most if not all of the Amateur Operators are members of the NIXA ARC. Check out the link provided http://www.wzeros.com/W0S_Special_Event.html The Mississippi Valley DX and Contest Club recently had another excellent presentation by Merle Bone, WØEWM. Merle’s subject was about Key Transceiver Specifications. He provided a twenty page handout full of charts, graphs, and etc. He discussed Receiver Noise Floor, Close-in Dynamic Range, Receiver Blocking and many other functions. He also discussed Transmitter Characteristics from CW Keying to Speech Processing. Merle compared 19 transceivers and how operating objectives influence the selection of the “right” Transceiver. Those present had a fantastic learning experience. SECTION ARES REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 2008 DON MOORE, KMØR SEC Total # of ARES members: 760 Number of drills, tests
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and training sessions this month: 97 Man hours: 831 Number of public service events this month: 8 Man hours: 71 Number of emergency operations this month: 3 Man hours: 19 Total number of ARES operations this month: 108 Total Man hours: 921 Comments: 5 of 9 districts reporting SECTION TRAFFIC REPORTS FOR FEBRUARY 2008 DALE HUFFINGTON, AEØS, MON-CW Sessions 50 QNI 97 QTC 34 NM K9ZTV MO Phone Sessions 31 QNI 1308 QTC 141 NM KØRWL MESN Sessions 5 QNI 260 QTC 3 NM AEØS MOPN Sessions 29 QNI 156 QTC 12 NM KUØG Audrain Co AARC Sessions 6 WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROQNI 66 QTC 0 NM KBØKWC Callaway CARL Sessions 3 QNI 31 QTC 0 NM WBØHKN Boone Co Sessions 4 QNI 83 QTC 1 NM WMØH Howell HCARC Sessions 48 QNI 28 QTC 3 NM KØRWL Jackson Co ARES Sessions 5 QNI 71 QTC 0 NM KØUAA Macon Co Sessions 4 QNI 33 QTC 0 NM KØKY Rolla RRARS Sessions 31 QNI 453 QTC 15 NM KB9ZBO St Louis CO ARC Sessions 11 QNI 98 QTC 9 NM KBØH Sullivan ARC Sessions 14 QNI 199 QTC 8 NM KBØROX Taney Co TLARC Sessions 1 QNI 5 QTC 319 NM KBØOFD WAARCI Sessions 5 QNI 128 QTC 0 NM WBØTOM 10th Reg Sessions 60 QNI QTC 60 MO 90% with W7FBM K9ZTV, KC9M, WØSJS NM WØSS
New England Division ConnecticutWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Section Leadership: K1EIC SM; ASMs: K1STM, KD1YV, W1FXQ, NK1J; OOC W1GC; PIC KA1TCH; SEC K1BRF; ASEC N1FNE; SGL K1MK; STM K1HEJ; TC N1KHB. I am shocked to hear of the passing of L. B. Cebik W4RNL; see http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/04/22/10059/ Congrats to ARRL staff on a wonderful article. Roy’s family lived in Stratford. Barb K1EIR and I knew his dad who was also a fantastic mentor and a friend who had a special wisdom. The news today brings a real loss to our community—he was a great scholar and a real gentleman. I echo the words of Dean Straw, N6BV: "I'm in shock at the news of LB's passing. May his soul rest in peace." It sure was fun seeing so many of you at the Southington Hamfest and ARES meeting. About 40 people attended the meeting; many thanks to DECs Dave K1DAV and Wayne, N1CLV and ASEC Rod N1FNE for executing several demos. The 1750 Hz. Tone alerting system was demonstrated and software called Q Forms was shown to the group. Qforms allows one to easily get a message in proper ARRL message format for NTS ops to handle. It also supports ICS forms and other simple message formats. Go ahead and play with it—go to http://www.activeham.com/mw/index.php?title=Downloads Congrats to NARL on their successful open house. Many ops in the service area of the club were invited to come learn about the many activities of NARL. Approximately 60 attended in all including 15 who were not members. That evening, five joined NARL—great! Want to have some fun? The following comes from Dean, N1SXL: "KA1CQR and N1SXL will be holding a two session fox hunt on May 10, 2008. This will be on the same weekend of the CQ Magazine Eleventh Annual Fox Hunt. Starting place will be Lisbon Landing, aka Wal-Mart/Home Depot, in the parking lot of the movie theater. The first session will start at 10:00 am and will be in the town of Lisbon. When you have found the fox from the first session will be a small lunch served at the fox location. Mostly Hamburgers and Hot dog with a limited choice of beverages. Lunch will be free for those that find the fox, but donations will be accepted. Then the second session will start around noon with fox being relocated into the town of Griswold. There will be a dessert serving at the second fox location only after everyone has found the fox. Remember no special equipment is needed to find the fox. Most hunters use a HT and/or a mobile radio. A picture of the fox and maps of the area will be available. The fox will be transmitting on 2m simplex frequency which will be revealed at the starting point. CQ Magazine has an annual fox hunt weekend. For more information here is the web link, http://www.homingin.com/joek0ov/nfw.html Please remember this is not a club sponsor event so please hunt at your own risk." —[email protected] The Southern Berkshire ARC will have an interesting guest at their meeting on May 5. They will feature a guest speaker, Sid Shore, K1SS, businessman, inventor, educator and ham for over 50 years. Sid will present an overview of his life and experiences in the amateur radio service. The membership is really looking
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forward to his presentation. I know Sid and I sure wish I could get there to hear it. GNARC had as their guest John D'Ausilio-W1RT who gave a presentation on the VHF/UHF contest station for the PVRC Delmarva Grid Pirates, K8GP who operate from atop Spruce Knob, WV at 4,863 feet. They run multi- op, all bands and at full legal limit from a series of converted motor homes/buses. Pretty neat! Sorry folks, your SM is just not a QRPer, hi. Congrats to Steve NA1SV on becoming VP of Greater Norwalk ARC; many thanks to Allan NN1H and Tom KK2C for their service as officers. I’m sure you all know that these jobs are WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROa lot of work so my thanks to all of you who have served and who are now serving as officers of clubs. Our sincere expression of sympathy to Phil KB1FYL, a member of the Meriden ARC on the sudden loss of his wife Patty. Our prayers are with you and your family. Last month, I told you about CN running a slow speed session on Wednesday’s and Saturday’s on 3.533 at 1900 hours. Here’s another one: The Meriden ARC is holding a CW slow speed practice session 28.275 Mondays at 7:00 PM. Give it a try—I hear many of you are interested in operating CW so here’s your chance to be mentored. Mark your calendars: Sky Warn Class WFSB studios 7:00-9:30 pm 333 Capital Blvd., Rocky Hill May 1 contact [email protected] for info; Near-Fest May 2-3 see http://near-fest.com/index.php? topic=275.0 for latest update; New England QSO Party May 3-4; Fox Hunt May 10 Lisbon 10:00 a.m. contact [email protected]; Fairfield County Basic Sky Warn class May 12 at Shoprite Supermarket Community Room Norwalk. Register online at ttp://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/okx/Skywarn/spottertraining-08.htm and look for Fairfield. Directions to ShopriteWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO on http://www.gnarc.org. Natchaug Hamfest May 24 Tolland Agricultural Center 24 Hyde Avenue, (Route 30) Vernon contact Wayne [email protected] Berkshire Hamfest June 7 Goshen Fair Grounds contact Lee [email protected]; NARL Hamfest June 21 at Newington High School, 605 Willard Ave. Contact Mary Hobart, K1MMH [email protected] Here are some of the activities of ARES Region 4 during the month of March. DEC Wayne N1CLV reports that members participated in a Millstone Nuclear Power Station Drill (FEMA-evaluated). ARES members staffed the following EOCs for the drill: DEMHS-4, East Lyme, Groton City, Groton Town, Lyme, Old Lyme, Ledyard, Montville, Waterford, and the Coast Guard Academy station W1CGA. Airmail and QForms were used to originate traffic from DEMHS-4 and then passed peer-to-peer to the VHF Tactical Net NCS at East Lyme EOC. ADEC Ron K1VSC, Rick W1JEY, and DEC Wayne N1CLV participated in the Eastern Highland Health District pandemic flu drill held on Saturday, March 29. Ham radio comms were established between DEMHS-4, Windham Hospital, and the Town of Chaplin EOC. Members also participated in The first running of the O'Niantic 5K Run on Saturday, March 15. Great work—I’ll highlight other activities within ARES next month. Congratulations to the following newly licensed ops: Technician: Raymond KB1PTA Glastonbury, Anthony KB1PTB Bolton, Julie KB1PUM Thompson, Clifford KB1PUL Woodstock, Debra KB1PTU Stratford, Anthony KB1PTX Bethlehem, Arthur KB1PSK Bethel, Arthur KB1PSL New Canaan. More next month.
Eastern Massachusetts
Hi Everyone, This has been a trying month! We had a chimney fire, and luckily I was able to stop it before the Fire Dept. arrived at my home. It caused a SOOT mess on the first floor of the house. My Amateur Station is on the 2nd floor, so I lucked out because NOTHING got up there! I noticed in May 08 QST, page 13, an article, KEEPING OURSELVES FIT by Harold Kramer, WJ1B, our ARRL Chief Operating Officer. How important it is that all of us keep in good health so we can use our skills and help with emergency disaster communication. At the Henniker Hamfest's ARRL session, AK1K, Sterling (Section Manager of New Hampshire) and I heard some discussion regarding Section Manager elections and an idea to eliminate them nationwide. That idea is not being considered by the ARRL. To help clarify the situation, please see the April QST article, on page 48: ARRL Board Authorizes New Section Positions, Adopts Budget, More at 2008 Annual Meeting. Here is a quote from the article: The Board received a progress report from the Programs and Services Committee on the study of Section Governance. The committee recommended that Section Managers continue to be elected by Section members. CLUB NEWS: QRA Banquet!! The Hillview in N. Reading. Reservations due by 6/13.
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Contact Randy @ 978-352-2745 or [email protected]. CAARA: A very successful Pandemic Flu Exercise on March 27. The drill lasted about 5 hours, with the Towns Fire, Police, Emergency Management, School, and Health and Logistics Personnel. BARS: May VE Session scheduled for May 14th at the Murdock Middle School. For info of needed info before taking test please contact [email protected] FALMOUTH AMATEUR RADIO ASSOCIATION: ARRL Exams ALL LEVELS Second Saturday of every month. Further info contaqct www.falara.org NVARC: Townsend Canoe Race, Groton RoadWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Race, also The Alzheimer's Memory Ride July 26th. Further info [email protected] 73 Art Greenberg E.MA.SM GOOD AIR WAVES ======News from David Upton, WB1CMG, Eastern Massachusetts ASM It has been flea season in NE which will culminate in the great Deerfield, NH Near- Fest 2-day extravaganza early in May. As an inveterate and hopeless bargain hunter and bottom feeder, I do occasionally see gear that would be suitable for youth starting up a station on HF or VHF. Amateur radio must somehow deal with the impression that it is or has become a "rich man's hobby". The current ads in QST do nothing to correct that impression but rather reinforce it. Now that second generation solid-state gear is entering the era of rapid depreciation associated with anything over 20 years old, there are some bargains to be had for hams and would-be hams on a budget. I am willing to challenge that I can outfit a station for under $300 that will be competitive by cruising the fleas and knowing what to buy and what to avoid. Any radio that had a reputation for being problematic before certainly won't have improvedWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO with age. The advice here is to stick with the well-known solid performers of yesteryear, buy used station accessories like SWR bridge, tuner, dummy load, and buy wire to make your own antennas. Now there will inherently be some compromises to this approach such as no beam, tower, or rotor unless homemade, no amplifier-ditto, newer WARC bands may/may not be included, minimal computer control provisions may be present, Oh, and it may have vacuum tubes present in its innards. These issues should not prove to be large impediments to a burgeoning ham on a tight budget. Getting on the air is the first priority and elaboration can always come later once one knows what his/her particular interests are. ARRL has a compilation of technical reviews and comparison tables on the old rigs of the '70s, '80s, and '90s available on the Web. Studying these articles and data should help with selecting a rig model target or a range of targets to look for at the next big 'fest. What inspired the above was attending two fleas within a week (heaven) while being allowed to poke around, chat and argue, fondle and drool over some of the items for sale, and laugh out loud at some of the others. I can't wait for Near- Fest and it isn't too early to start thinking about the NE div. convention in Boxborough coming up in August, either. Both fleas I attended in NH were not exactly overflowing with either commercial or amateur sellers but there was a fairly good size customer base. I expect the cold and rainy weather has had the effect of causing a few that could have gone to sit it out instead. 73 for this month, David, WB1CMG ASM, EMA
Rhode Island
Greetings fellow Rhode Islanders: Warmer weather and the robin population have returned to Rhode Island. It seems as though it's been an awfully long wait this year. Anyhow, we're grateful that spring is finally here. From the overflow sessions that I've observed at VE sessions and new calls I've heard on local repeaters, ham radio appears to becoming more popular lately. The published national statistics show a gradual but steady increase over the last few months. It's been years since I've seen and heard of so many new hams coming for exams, upgrades and showing up on the air. Welcome to all. For the rest of us, let's all do our best in getting this new crop signed up in ARRL. The ARRL membership application form may be found at http://www.arrl.org/membership_app.pdf . Please make copies and make sure new hams have one in their hands along with your encouragement. It would be nice to help new folks fill it out and get it returned to ARRL in Newington. Of course, new members may join by telephone or Internet connection with the League if they prefer. That contact information is on the membership form. The Annual Armed Forces Day Crossband Military/Amateur Radio Communications Test will be held this year on May 10. The on-air activity for the day is to cross band contact various
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military stations by listening to them on their assigned frequencies, outside our bands and calling them on our ham frequency that they will announce. It's similar to the DX split operating that DX savvy ops understand. Very detailed information concerning frequencies, news releases, test messages, etc may be reviewed on a ten page news release from the military posted on http://www.ri.arrl.org/ . At press time, the official news release contained some errors and was going to be reissued (eventually). Regardless, you may read the draft at our RI website above or by contacting our MARS Director, KB1FUP at [email protected] . WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROMilitary stations that you work will automatically send you their QSL. You do not need to send your card with SASE, etc. I hope you saw the 60 Minutes program on April 13 about John Kanzius, K3TUP and how he has developed a method to treat cancer using low power HF RF. You may watch the 12.5 minute video at http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml . Of course, at that site, you may also elect to download the printed text of the story also. It truly is worth your time to see what may be a cancer breakthrough that was developed by a fellow ham. The President of the Amateur Radio Amateurs of So New England (ARASNE) club, W1AQ in East Providence, Doug Troughton N2RDF suffered some blood clot problems and is a patient at Miriam Hospital. Reports are that they have discovered multiple pulmonary emboli. He's expected to be hospitalized for a while. But the good news is that he should be back playing racquetball by the end of April. Get well cards to his home address would surely be appreciated. His stay in Miriam should be short, so using the home address would be best. The RI ARRL team wishes Doug a speedy recovery so that he can fully enjoy Field DayWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO with his club. Rhode Island ARES continues to move forward with the ShelterCom project, with our EC's and DEC's doing impressive on-the-ground work to bring new towns on board with amateur radio communications.As you all know, the ShelterCom project is providing amateur radio go- kits to our municipalities and shelters to provide communications between shelters and EOC's.With this, EC's and DEC's are meeting with several new towns to begin developing partnerships and doing so with amazing results. John W1XX (EC for South Kingstown/Charlestown) has met with SKPD and is building a new team.Steve KA1RCI (Asst SM) is supporting the development of an ARES team in Lincoln.Bill W1VH (DEC - Northern RI) has hit the ground running in Foster, Glocester and Scituate with the help of Bob K1TXP.Jamie KA1JF (EC - Tiverton/Little Compton) has met with Tiverton EMA and is beginning building a new partnership in the East Bay, with the additional support of Jim KD4ONW, Portsmouth's EMA Director. There are several other new towns coming on board and this is an impressive accomplishment for our ARES Leadership Team. Now that the equipment is coming into place, and ARES is building partnerships with so many new towns; ARES is looking for more members to help locally. If you would like to support the over 90 RI ARES members in this growing effort, please contact me, your DEC or EC or of course, our SEC Rick, K3OQH at [email protected] . Your support is welcome. DX conditions are still fairly marginal. Officially the new sunspot cycle, #24, has started but spots attributed to the previous cycle were recently observed as well. Does this make your head hurt? Sorry for that. The new hams hear old timers saying how wide open 10 and 6 meters will be in a year or two for world wide contacts, easy DX for mobiles and QRP stations. "You'll work the world with a wet noodle." We've heard it plenty. New folks might be becoming a little suspicious that we gray heads have all lost our minds, but trust me we haven't. As our old friend Hugh Cassidy would often remind us, DX is! DX is timeless and will always reward the deserving DXers who are patient and remain vigilant. Those who can't understand DXing will never appreciate why some of us wait for the sun to develop spots on its face. This is a time to try the hearts of DXers and we need reassurance . . . Sunspots will rise again!! 73, Bob Beaudet, W1YRC
Northwestern Division
Montana
Well, it's been a long month of March here in Montana, lots of wind and snow, seems like Summer is still far away. Your Section Manager has traveled to the Butte Club Installation Dinner, I believe the 72nd. It was and always is a good time, nice to meet and talk with the folks in that area and those who
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traveled there for the festivities. We swore in new officers and had some tasty meals. Also, made the Great Falls club meeting, lots going on there. As the weather improves, I'd like to make a few more club meetings before Summer hits and my life becomes even busier than it is during Winter. I'd appreciate an email from the clubs stating their meeting schedule. That way, I hope to get out and visit more members this Spring. The Father's Day Picnic at Fort Peck Dam will be on June 14th and 15 this year. They have a fine camping facility right on the lake, and lots of great campspots to enjoy, plus covered tables and stoves. If you can standWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO the price of fuel, plan to attend and enjoy. Glacier is coming soon. If you havent done so already, make sure your camping spot at Glacier Meadows Campground is covered by a standing deposit. In past years, we've had some who didnt and lost out on their favorite spot. I have a new email address: "[email protected]" it's open any time now and is hopefully better at keeping messages in line instead of dropping them into the great bit bucket in the sky. I appreciate all the support shown to the Montana Traffic Net and handling NTS traffic. Now, we need a few to regularly check into the Idaho/Montana CW net in the evenings. Most of our traffic is being handled by folks who live out of state now and they should be able to count on our own ops to get it done. Think it over, even if you arent that confident on CW, it's a great way to learn and improve your skills, plus a great bunch to work with on the net. The normal speed is around 15 wpm and they will always QRS if you need to. Become part of the National Traffic system, participate in IMN. Contact me or Herb, KA7YYR if interested. March Net counts: MTN-AE7V, QNI-2334 QTC-86 IMN-W7GHT, QNI-431, QTC-85 73 to all and thanks for your support.WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Doug, K7YD
Oregon
For those of you who are not familiar with the section website, it is located at http://www.arrloregon.org. I have updated the calendar with a lot of activities. Please let me know about any that I have missed. I would like to focus on activities that are open to the public and all hams for this calendar. Visit this website for more information on everything I am reporting on. I tried to include more detail on some of these events by initially had 35 more lines that I am allowed on this report. PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICERS According to Steve Sanders, KE7JSS, "I'm pleased that under the leadership of District 1 District Emergency Coordinator David Kidd, District One has fulfilled all PIO assignments for the six counties. Thanks, David." For the complete list of PIO's, visit the section website at http://www.arrloregon.org/page.php?55 Bill Morris, W7IH, the section emergency coordinator, has requested that I list the County Emergency Coordinator as the contact for any county without a PIO contact. Steve Sanders did a great job of getting the word out about ARES activity during the storm and floods and would like to assist the county contacts with accomplishing the same thing. These activities need to be done in cooperation with the county emergency coordinator. Steve has been working with Jeff Newton, KE7OUR, of Lane County on public information activities. Jeff did a presentation to the Hearing Loss Association of America's Lane County Chapter along with a packet demontration. STATE ARES NET Bruce Bjerke, K7BHB, the Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator, has announced a time change for the twice monthly state ARES net. The net will now be at 1900 hours on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday's. According to Bruce, "The daylight is lengthening and the F2 Layer (NVIS) critical frequency has risen to 4 MHz or higher at 1900 hrs and later. Moreover, according to the experts, the last cycle has bottomed, and the new cycle has begun. We can expect favorable, and rising, F2 conditions now through the summer and perhaps early fall." INTERNATIONAL LIGHTHOUSE/LIGHTSHIP WEEKEND Don Tucker, W7WLL has asked that the section be informed of this special event coming up this summer. For more details, please visit the section website and the event's official website at http://illw.net. This highly popular annual amateur radio event (not a contest) will be held over the weekend of 16-17 August 2008. MY ACTIVITIES I will be speaking at the Central Oregon Radio Amateur's meeting next week so I hope to see many of you central Oregon folks there. They moved the location to St. Charles Medical Center to accommodate the crowd. SEARC/STARS SPAGHETTI FEED DINNER SEARC (The Sunset Empire Amateur Radio Club) and STARS (The Seaside Tsunami Amateur Radio Society) of Clatsop County will be holding their First Annual fund raising All-You-Can-Eat Spaghetti Dinner on
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the opening Friday of SEA-PAC, so look forward to knowing a good meal awaits at the end of the drive in to SEA-PAC for a reasonable cost. For more details, see the calendar on the section website. Funds generated will go towards repair and upgrade of their emergency communications gear in Clatsop County. There will be information booths, capability demonstrations, and over $1000 in donated door prizes and raffle items. Door prizes will have both ham-related and non-ham-related items, and the general public is not only welcomed but encouraged to come. FRIENDSHIP RADIOSPORTS GAMES The 2008 FriendshipWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Radiosport Games (FRG08) will be held in the Portland area on August 1-3 with CW, HF and Fox Hunt Competitions. The contacts for information are Dale Hunt WB6BYU and Kuon Hunt KB7WRG. You will have opportunities to meet hams from Russia, Japan and Canada; compete in one or more Radiosport events; host a visiting ham in your home; coordinate, judge or provide logistics or transportation for radio or social events and be a part of the fun! For more details and specific contact information to volunteer to help, see the section website news and calendar. 7QP QSO PARTY Dick Frey K4XU is again recruiting participants from every county in Oregon for this annual QSO party, the 7QP. Full rules and information are available on the http://www.7qp.org web site. There is also a sign up sheet for those wishing to represent their counties. This information will help Dick ensure that all 36 counties are represented in the 2008 7QP. NEW ARRL AFFILIATED CLUB Welcome to the newest affiliated club in Oregon, the Tualatin Valley Contesters. In order to affiliate and obtain those benefits, at least 51% of the club membership must be ARRL members. ARRL EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO COURSE COMPLETIONS The following have reported completion of the ARRL EC courses: Jim Titus, K7OSX completed level 1 and Dave Warner KA7IJK completed level 2 STM REPORT I am pleased that Scott Gray, W7IZ, has rescinded his resignation as Section Traffic Manager and plans to continue in that position. He has been doing a great job in that role. His complete report is posted to the section website when received. Oregon Emergency Net, QNI 4119, QTC 19, N7RBO NET MGR Northwest Traffic and Training Net, QNI 530, QTC 122, N7YSS NET MGR Oregon Section Net /1, QNI 194, QTC 100, WS7L NET MGR Oregon Section Net /2, QNI 84, QTC 65, KC7SRL NET MGR Oregon ARES Traffic Net, QNI 568, QTC 53, WA7FXF NET MGR District #1 ARES Net, QNI 1096, QTC 36, KC7ZZB NET MGR Beaver State Net, QNI 714, QTC 55, N7CM NET MGR Station Activity Report (SAR) Totals for February 2008: W7IZ 174, N7CM 144, K7PMB 139, N7YSS 111, N7DRP 64, K7EAJ 52, KC7SRL 46, W7VSE 34, WS7L 22, KD7ZLF 20 Public Service Honor Roll (PSHR) Totals for February 2008: K7EAJ 170, N7CM 165, N7XG 110, N7YSS 110, N7DRP 84, KK7TN 72, KD7ZLF 70, KD7THV 14 OSN NET CHANGE Carl Clawson, WS7L, the OSN/1 Net Manager, has announced that Oregon Section Net (OSN), both sessions, moved to 3569 kHz from 3587 kHz beginning March 15 to escape ever-increasing digital QRM.
Western Washington
District 1; Island County reports that in April the team will be providing communications for the Whidbey Island Marathon and attending continuing EOC training classes. Snohomish County found that participation in the Sound Shake 08 Drill was useful and revealing. Members conducted communications tests equipment with their hospital and American Red Cross sites. San Juan County ARES/RACES activated the EOC on March 29 for the EOC-to-EOC drill. District 2; at the Clallam County March meeting, Rafael Cano, Border Patrol Supervisor, gave an informative presentation on Border Patrol history, border security and control issues. He listed controlling counter-terrorism, drug trafficking and illegal aliens as their three primary concerns. A SkyWarn drill was held March 8 with ten participants. The National Weather Service and CC-EMD were sent copies of the final report. A remote station capability drill on March 22 with seventeen participants, achieved a variety of goals. In Jefferson County, twenty people completed a two day technician class that ended with a VE exam that all passed. With the significant effort and persistence of Kitsap County ARES volunteers, an antenna, radios and computer were successfully installed at the headquarters station for North Kitsap Fire and Rescue, which brought that station up to the level of other Kitsap County Area Command and EOC stations. The new station and seven others were tested during the March EOC-to-EOC drill in which 16 operators
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participated. District 3; Pacific County replaced storm damaged EOC antennas, licensed 31 new hams as a result of Frank, NM7R’s, ham classes, participated in the EOC- EOC exercise and prepared an antenna estimate for the new EOC. Mason county ARES is still growing with some great support from its members. They are working on getting all members to report their time and miles. They had a great turnout for the Sound Shake exercise supporting Mason General hospital. Grays Harbor participated in Sound Shake this year and also installed a Pactor III modem at the EOC. District 4; The Cowlitz County Hams and CowlitzWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO County SAR Team members trained with the Project Lifesaver beacon during which a SAR Team member wore the beacon while moving in the dark! It was a very good practice. At the monthly ARES/RACES meeting, preparations were made for the Citizen Corp’s upcoming Prepare Fair. Various training opportunities were discussed including: First Aid/CPR, Blood-borne Pathogens, ELT and Project Lifesaver. Following the ARES/RACES meeting Randy, NU7D, the EC and Cowlitz County DEM Director Grover, KE7PAV, signed the Cowlitz County RACES Plan. The plan follows the Washington State Plan, but with changes to fit Cowlitz County activities. The plan can be found on the Cowlitz County ARES/RACES web site www.cowlitzradio.org. Clark County continues to cover the CEM NET check-ins for the county. At the March 10 digital meeting, there was more discussion about where they are going with the packet program. At the Team Leader’s meeting there was a presentation on Narrow band FM. At the March monthly meeting, Phil Reid, W7OZE, made a presentation on NBEMS software and the use of the Tiger Tronics SignalLink USB Interface. NBEMS, Narrow Band EmergencyWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Messaging System, is a national effort headed up by W1HKJ, Dave Freese and KH6TY, Skip Teller. The goal is to assemble a common software package that uses a computer and transceiver on HF or VHF ham bands, providing digitally accurate messaging between two manually maintained ham radio stations. On the HF bands the expected communication range is about 300 miles. Utilizing VHF frequencies the expected range is about 30 miles based upon terrain and equipment. At this time, NBEMS supports seven modes; PSK31, PSK63, PSK125, PSK250, MFSK-16, and RTTY. PSK250 provides the fastest data transfer, at the widest bandwidth, under the best atmospheric conditions. Likewise, it will transfer text, images, and binary files utilizing the ARQ (Automatic Repeat Request) protocol, which provides perfect copy when the process completes, automatically. Our local goal is to create a local messaging network for Clark County, utilizing NBEMS software, operating on Two Meter FM transceivers, appropriate antennas, and covering a radius of 15 miles. To-date we can move data accurately throughout the city, utilizing the NBEMS PSK250 mode, 50 Watt Two Meter transceivers on vertically polarized antennas. Clark County is planning for a countywide recognition on May 6th to recognize ARES/RACES as well as CERT members in the county. District 5; Pierce County, participated in the SoundShake exercise and supported two missing person searches by staffing MOCC- 1. Thanks go to Linda, KE7MCX, John, AD7AW, Rich, KK7VH, Alan, KB7SVU, Steve, KE7QLO, Jake, KK7CI, and Larry, KD7RKX for their efforts. District 6; the Sammamish team participated in the Sound Shake 08 drill. This was done as a joint drill with East Side Fire & Rescue using their new Com Van and the three fire stations location on the Sammamish Plateau. This drill was designed to evaluate the voice and digital modes available and degradation protocols, with simulated and real systems failures. More training on the new equipment is needed. Sammamish also had limited participation in the 5th Saturday drill using Winlink 2K messaging and various routing protocols. This was held as a Winlink training exercise for the Plateau stations. The Sammamish team is also holding its first General Licensing training session with six candidates participating. District M, the Medical Services Teams had a busy month with five counties participating in Sound Shake 08 on March 5th. A well attended training meeting debriefed the exercise. Planning for Communications Academy 2008 took up quite a bit of time for several of the officers and members. The Camp Murray Team participated in the Sound Shake Exercise and conducted the 5th Saturday EOC-EOC Drill.
Pacific Division
East Bay
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The East Bay Section Cabinet (all Section Level appointees) met recently at the Yin Yin Restaurant in Livermore. We discussed official position descriptions and expectations. All cabinet appointees received copies of their position description as well as those positions that fall within their area of responsibility. We will be working to ensure that all current appointees understand their roles and expectations while we also fill vacancies. Specifically, we are be looking for an ACC at the cabinet level as well as more volunteers to fill out the DEC, LGL, TS, and PIO positions (go to arrl.org to find detailed position descriptions). We askWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO for your cooperation and involvement as we work to grow the ARRL Field Services organization in the East bay Section During March, I visited NALCO, BARC, USS Hornet ARC, SARS and ARCA. I will schedule additional visits through out the East bay Section as time permits. Please verify the information posted on the East Bay Section web page as this is the information that I am using to plan my schedule. Also contact me at [email protected] if your Amateur Radio organizations information is missing or incorrect. Field Day is now less than three months away. Please register your Field Day site on the new ARRL Field Day Station Locator (Station Locator). This will allow me to plan my itinerary to visit each of your sites. Silent Keys – Al Weisman, W5ALW, inventor of the ‘T’-top. Judy McConaghy, KB6HQI, wife of Chuck McConaghy, WA6SYE. CONGATULATIONS TO: Benicia ARC on the great video of a recent training exercise (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlkAEGebsgU). They forwarded the link to Allen Pitts, the ARRL Media and PR Manager and received the following response:” Nice video – but more interesting to me is that youWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO are FAR ahead of much of the country in this. It appears that you really have the organization and activities well planned out – light years ahead of most locations including right here in CT. The leadership should take a bow.”; Doc W6EW on the publication of his article, ALCO 85 Story, in the Public Service Department (page 63) of the April 2008 issue of QST; Pete Harris, KE6ZIW received MDARC’s “Ham of the Year” award for his work in public service and Pacificon. Iain Mac Donnell, K6IAM was awarded the “Kilroy Key” for his work on the repeaters and his help with technical problems; Sandi Accarizzi, KI6GDJ for completeing EmComm Level I and Level II. ACSCT members Peter Accord, Gene Alga, Marcus Bell, Ti Connelly, Neil Fullagar, Jim Latham, Tony Malone, Andy Oppel, and Bob Vallio provided support to the Alameda County Sherriff’s Office for an evidence search. EBARC and the Red Cross participated in a joint drill. As a result, some of the Red Cross volunteers expressed in continuing to work with EBARC in spite of the fact that the Red Cross has moved to another location. ORCA members responded to an ARES® callout to assist the American Red Cross Bay Area in Oakland. The plan was to pair ARES radio operators with Red Cross Disaster Services volunteers who would do damage assessments of apartment that had suffered damage from a fire. The radio operators would enhance the safety and productivity of each team by maintaining radio contact with a net control station outside the building. In the end it was decided, due to safety concerns, that they would not do the damage assessments after all. Still, several members did respond in person ... on a weekday, yet! And the Red Cross people and ham radio operators met and learned a little about each other and about how they might work together in the future. Umesh Ghodke K6VUG has developed a process that “can be used to very efficiently map our communities and identify blind spots very accurately and efficiently” using low power, mobile APRS trackers in cars driving the area of interest and an APRS receiving station at the proposed command center or net control station. Congratulations to these new hams: Gary D Henry, KI6OKH, Alameda; Victor A Garza, KI6OWU, American Canyon; Eddy L Hand, KI6OKI, Antioch; Scott E Carlisle, KI6OWZ, Benicia; Carl D Graas, KI6OUS, Bethel Island; Brent Morgan, AF6HQ, Concord; Daniel C Woodring, KI6OJZ, Concord; Shirley R Knight, KI6OOD, Concord; Elton J Eddy, KI6OUD, Concord; Anna B Eddy, KI6OUC, Concord; Kenton A Gee, KI6OOE, Concord; John L Primus, KI6OUY, Concord; Boyd B Borden, KI6OUF, Concord; Joseph M Reid, KI6OUB, Pleasant Hill; Bonnie S Reid, KI6OUA, Pleasant Hill; Danielle M Roybal Alviz, KI6OOA, Pleasant Hill; Richard Hanson, KI6OUR, Pleasant ; Robert A Powell, KI6OFM, Pleasant Hill; Stephen J Lackenbauer, KI6OOC, Pleasant ; John D Blatter, KI6OUU, Danville; Aaron R Isaacson, KI6OFY, Danville; Joseph H Cunningham, KI6OUT, Danville; Edward W Sullivan, KI6OKC, Danville; Steven Edgren, KI6OUV, Diablo; Robert C Fulcher, KI6OKL, Antioch; Ronald W Neese, KI6OFW, Fairfield; Viet Q Tran, KI6ONY, Fairfield; Robert Olsen, KI6OYN,
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Fremont; Christopher A Seffens, KI6OPY, Hayward; William T Cherniss, KI6OKN, Castro Valley; Clarence Peralta, KI6OOB, Hercules; Thomas G Epperly, KI6OSR, Livermore; George E Sheets, KI6OXF, Castro Valley; Joseph A Eno, KI6OVJ, Martinez; Michael A Wickham, KI6OKB, Martinez; Kenneth M Tom, KI6OUI, Moraga; Donald C Drennan, KI6OUQ, Moraga; Guy Schwartz, KI6OUP, Moraga; Cynthia R Petrini, KI6OUO, Moraga; Jason S Luros, KI6OFZ, Napa; James F Smith, KI6OKD, Orinda; Dan Kimball, KI6OUJ, Orinda; Alan R Hall, KI6OUL, Orinda; Pamela W Hall, KI6OUK, Orinda; WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROScott M Brooks, KI6OUX, Orinda; Zachary M Brooks, KI6OUW, Orinda; Bruce R London, KI6OUN, Orinda; Rebecca R Kunzman, KI6OUH, Orinda; John C Kunzman, KI6OUG, Orinda; James B Boucher, KI6OUM, Orinda; Stephen L Cutright, KI6OGX, Pinole; Rebecca M Heron, KI6OWP, Pittsburg; Shawnee S Maxwell, KI6OTZ; Steven T Berkley, KI6OSJ, Pleasanton; Miguel Halpern, KI6OKJ, Vallejo; Tyler H Churchill, KI6OGA, Walnut Creek; Lorand D Andahazy, KI6OUE, Walnut Creek; Jason Liu, KI6OXC, Oakland; Hursey Baker, KI6OKO, Oakland; Berek M Pond, KI6OIC, Emeryville; Mark G Foster, KI6OFN, Oakland; Peter B Martin, KI6OKF, Oakland; Eric S Gee, KI6OKK, Oakland; Gary S Wong, KI6OKA, Berkeley; Dilworth Y Parkinson, KI6OFX, Albany; Diane L Brown, KI6OMG, El Sobrante; Ward W Latimer, KI6OMH, El Sobrante; Jeffery L Cloherty, KI6ONX, Richmond; Bryan G Miller, KI6OKE, San Pablo Congratulations to these upgrades: Shanna E Ricci Hibdon, KI6NVJ, Alameda; Glenn S Geary, KG6OIW, Alameda;Bruce M Gillis, KI6CYT, Alameda; Drew L Hanson, KD6GLY, Brentwood; Larry S Loomer, KI6LNB, Concord; Sean J Wink, KE6BEA,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Fairfield; Michael J Wolters, N0LWV, Fremont; James T Frane, KB6VOD, Orinda; Dennis C Mingear, KD6CYL, Pittsburg; Thomas R Armistead, KG6YAK, Pleasanton; David E Whalin, KG6YRY, Saint Helena; John M Pierce, KI6KCO, Suisun City; Paul M Michalczuk, KC8RQB, Union City; Thomas T Hill, KI6LRJ, Vallejo; Marilyn M Sharon, KI6NVH, Berkeley; William J Mallard, KF6YHX, Berkeley; John M Fischer, KD6KHS, Richmond NATIONAL TRAFFIC SYSTEM (NTS) Call Sign Originated Sent Received Delivered Total WB6UZX 0 95 152 15 262 W6DOB 8 50 73 11 142 KE6QR 1 1 12 12 26 PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) Call Sign Categories 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total W6DOB 40 40 30 110 WB6UZX 40 40 10 10 100
Nevada
Nevada Section News Summary - See the complete, unedited stories at http://nv.arrl.org. April 10, 2008 - Preregistration deadline for EMCOMMWEST'08 is April 27. If you are going to attend EMCOMMWEST'08, May 2-4 in Reno, on-line registration is at http://emcommwest.org. Many new and exciting themes we be added this year, designed to better prepare amateur radio operators to respond to disasters of all sizes. April 10, 2008 - ARES Monthly Report for March'08 - SEC Summary - March has been pretty quiet. A couple of major training exercise events are being planned for May and June this year. Please see Washoe County EC report in NW District Report for some of the details. With the recent earthquake in Wells and recent swarm of small quakes near Reno, please remember to be prepared as these shakers can strike at any time. 73 Don Carlson, KQ6FM SEC. SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORT - Glenn Hale, KB7REO, DEC Southern: Not much news from here. Bruce AL7LS has coordinated with Jack K6JAC of central CA to set up an auto-forwarding messaging servicev to Reno/Carson City. The network supplements the WinLink network. South Nye Co. EC Report by Jerry KC6ILH - Picked up more members from the HAM-cram class and testing. Starting with some training for new people and getting ready for the B2V run and field day. Had a great Easter as I hope you all did. See you next month Clark County EC Report by Charlie AA5QJ - Quiet month - no activities other than nets, and no meetings! There were 65 check-ins to the GMRS Emergency Net in March. NORTHWEST DISTRICT REPORT (Don Carlson, KQ6FM Acting DEC) March has been a fairly quiet month, with no callouts or major events which involved amateur radio. Our SM Dick Flanagan K7VC reports, "It is with extreme sadness that I announce the passing of two local and well-loved hams. Both Al Bertone W1LVN and Jack Jones KC7OCB became Silent Keys this morning (3/30). Al and Jack were frequent contributors to club activities in the area and were always available to help a ham in need. Please keep Al and Jack's friends and families in your prayers." Churchill County Paul Wilcoxen - KE7CRZ: We are
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still without the 145.35 repeater on Fairview Peak. It has been sent in for needed repairs. We are monitoring 145.35 simplex. I am trying to deal with the programming of simplex frequencies which seems to be difficult on some radios. Mark Beadle-KD7ZPP and I have been working on the Fallon Police Department's SGC 2000 HF radio. It would seem that the antenna tuner at the P.D. has a problem and that will be addressed soon. The SGC 2000 at the Churchill County EOC was tested on Tuesday April 1st and is now operational. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Alan Fallis-KE7BFD, for his valuable help inWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO programming and repairing the Motorola radios for us. Al worked hard to do this for us and we really owe him big time. Thanks Al! Lyon County Patti Polish, KE7JIV - Not much to report this month as things have been relatively quiet. We are currently developing a manual of definitions for words used by some of the agencies we have served. We are reviewing procedures in anticipation of "Vigilant Guard" and discussed what will be expected of us during this exercise. We also discussed the assistance we will be providing Search and Rescue during Memorial Weekend at Lake Lahontan. Our next meeting will be April 28th at the Silver Stage High School Library at 1900 hours. Carson City/Douglas County Acting EC, Dick Creley, KJ7UK: Training was held at Douglas Co. training room, subject was Helo recovery and launch. The varied aspects of this type of work due to our mountains valleys and the safety of personnel were covered. Easter Sunday a crew of 3 DCART members, Sheila and Leroy Clement working with Dick Young actually recovered and launched a CareFlite Helo for demo at the Jacks Valley Vol. FD Easter egg hunt. There were about 50 adults and kids present. It was a well recievedWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO event as the Easter Bunny was the passinger of the Helo. Washoe County Bob Miller, WA6MTY EC: ARES TRAINING SESSION - With 18 members in attendance. I presented more detailed information regarding Broken Wing and Vigilant Guard and ARES participation in both. Bill AA7WB (Hospital AEC) and I attended the Inner Hospital Coordinating Council Meeting, some discussion about Broken Wing. I did an ARES presentation for Red Cross Shelter Managers. I met with Cheryl Curtis at Airport REOC to discuss the details of ARES goals for Broken Wing. I continue to attend the Vigilant Guard Exercise and Broken Wing planning meetings. Humbolt County Ski Woytowicz, AB6FD - Monthly meeting (mixer) - 3 hours on 15 March 2008. Six members in attendence. Conducting VHF nets on Wednesdays at 1900 hours. Using WO7I repeater on 442.825 (PL141.3). Also conduct simultaneous HF check-in. Mapped repeater coverage to the south. WO7I machine from Winnemucca has good copy along I-80 from Winnemucca to Mile Marker 134. Test conducted by AF7NB, KH6QAI, KH6QAJ, and KE7QHM. KH6QAI & KH6QAJ expressed desire to enter USAF MARS to gain interoperability skills. KE7QHM acquired new linear amp. Tested 10 meter copy, marginal within county on simplex. No copy from Humboldt into Pershing County. 10 meter repeater proposal being considered. KG6JOF acquired new dual band handheld. No reply yet from National Guard concerning IRLP repeater installation. One NTS message (#1179) handled by AF7NB from the Nevada Section ARES HF Net for Winnemucca. As a result of above, new owner of property where ham had lived, was impressed with efforts taken to deliver radio message. She and her husband will try to attend Humboldt ARES Field Day event to view in person how traffic is processed. They may become hams. Want to start ham class for new Technician class hams. Time seems to be an issue. Most candidates want to do a one day class. Potential for more prospective hams is definitely there from American Red Cross youth group and Humboldt County Volunteer Ambulance Corps. Members reminded to attend EMCOMMWEST in May in Reno and the Field Day event at WalMart. Next Humboldt ARES meeting will be at 1300 hours on 19 April 2008 at the American Red Cross Office on Traders Way in Winnemucca. NORTHEAST DISTRICT REPORT (Joe Giraudo, N7JEH DEC). Winter weather is still slowing field activities such as mountain-top repeater maintenance. Seismic aftershocks continue to rock the City of Wells, some in excess of magnitude 5. Additional seismic activity has also been felt near Carlin, approximately 70 miles west of Wells. Recovery efforts continue but no communication support has been needed. The Elko Amateur Radio Club is planning for the upcoming Field Day activities in June as well as communication support for the open road races held in this area. The Section HF Net continued through the month. Propagation between the southern and northern halves of the State continues to decline on 75 meters. Communications are decaying around 8:15 AM. Participation continues with visitor station from surrounding States checking in. -30-
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Pacific
Haruwo “Yama” Yamamoto, KH6AU, died at home on March 7 at the age of 97. He was a Life Member of the Big Island ARC and long time supporter of the club. He was a retired printer and a former member of the Hawaii County Band. Jack Wheeler, KH6CC, passed away April 9, 2008 at age 88 after a lengthy illness. He is buried on his property in Paauilo. For many years he was an active member of the Big Island ARC. HeWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO is known for his activity on 160 meters and was and avid CW operator. Kevin Bogan, our section Emergency Coordinator said the Makani Pahili hurricane exercise will be May 24 from 9AM to 12 noon. This year we will attempt to have ham activity during the week of the exercise. More details are pending. See http://www.kauaiarc.org/08Monthly/makani_pahili_hurricane_exer.htm for more details. Barbara Darling has taken over as Hawaii QSL manager. She has changed one policy. If you would like cards send to you, do not send an envelope with stamps but rather send money. She said there are several envelopes on file but due to the recent changes in postal rates and rules, there is insufficient postage on many. The address is P.O. Box 1938 - Hilo, HI 96721. She will be sending out card to the various clubs for distribution. Ned Conklin, KH7JJ, has graciously volunteered to sort the Oahu Cards. A box of Oahu cards was just delivered this week. The Battleship Missouri ARC station, KH6BB, operates from 9AM to Noon every Tuesday. Ned Conklin, KH7JJ, received the Battleship Missouri Memorial Award as the outstanding volunteer of the year. He has been a volunteer since 1998 and is presidentWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO of the Battleship Missouri ARC. Rick Ward, WH6FC, and the South Point ARC aka SPARC are now in the process of assembling the repeater to tie the “soft underbelly” of the Island of Hawaii into the Big Island Wide Area Network known as BIWARN. The most southern repeater is now located in Naalehu. With the new machine the southernmost repeater will be at South Point and it will cover South Kau and Hawaiian Ocean View Estates. It will be tied to the BIWARN system. That system was used to feed weather information to CD and Sky Warn during the storms in early February. The Maui ARC last met on Wednesday March 12, at 7PM at Maui County CD. SM Bob Schneider, AH6J, and Volunteer Counsel Dennis Niles, KH6XT, were the main speakers. The next day Robert Ramsey, KH6ST, met before the BVA (Board of Variances and appeal) to consider his tower application. The board approved his tower height variance. Supporting testimony was led by Volunteer Counsel Dennis Niles. Also testifying were SM Bob Schneider, technical advisor John Hulquist, K6GSS, and MARC president Bob Kennedy, N0DQD. The next exams given by the Maui VE team will be August 2 and December 6. Please contact Mel, KH6H at 250-5530 or e-mail to [email protected]. Cost is $14 by check. We received more good news. On March 17 (St. Patrick’s Day) Lloyd, KH6LC, got final approval for his four square array from the Hawaii County Inspector. Honolulu ARC held exams on Saturday 15 March. The next HARC exam is Saturday May 17. Contact Lee, KH6BZF, or John, K1ER, for more information. Your SM went to the State VOAD meeting on Thursday March 20 at the newly renovated American Red Cross state headquarters on Diamond Head Road. This is the same place as the February EARC meeting which your SM also attended. Mike Zanoni (AH6WA), the ARC Mass Care Coordinator, was the gracious host. Big Island ARC will have a display at the Tsunami Education Fair Saturday April 19 at the Old Kress Building in downtown Hilo from 9AM to about 2PM. Also at the same time the Mormon Church will have a display at their main Ward in Hilo. The Mormon Church encourages emergency preparation and food storage. Kauai ARC will support the MS 2008 walk on April 19th at the Kukui Grove Shopping center. Please contact either Alfred Darling, WH6KS ([email protected]) or Bob Anderson, KH6AS ([email protected]) for details. KARC will hold their regular monthly meeting on Wednesday May 7 at 7PM at the KCC Technology Center. On Saturday April 26 from 8:30 to 5PM they will have a one day cram study session for any class of Amateur Radio License. Kona ARS last met on Sunday March 16 at OTEC Park at NELHA near the Kona Airport and will next meet Sunday April 20 at 2PM. The food theme for the pot luck will be Tex- Mex. Call Van, NH7IT at 325-5223 for more information. Koolau ARC will meet Sat May 10th at 9:30AM at Ho’omaluhia Park in Kaneohe. The Big Island ARC will next meet Saturday May 10 at 2PM. The Honolulu ARC will next meet Sat May 17. West Honolulu ARC last met April 2 and the next meeting will be Thursday June 5, 2008 at 7:30PM at Diners in the Waimalu Shopping center. Future
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meeting will be Aug 7, Oct 2 and Dec 4. They are not an ARRL affiliated club. Thanks to KH7TK & AH7GK for the information. The Oahu Civil Defense Amateur Radio Club is also not an ARRL affiliated club. It will hold examinations at the Honolulu Municipal Bldg, Basement B1, 650 S. King St. on: Wednesday June 18 at 1830; Wednesday August 20 at 1830; Wednesday November 19 at 1830; Contact Ray Moody for more information. June 28 & 29, 2008 is the ARRL annual Field Day. Check with your local club for the nearest setup to you. On Saturday July 26, the Big Island ARC will support Big Island Road RunnersWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO at the annual Volcano Rim Run. Due to the recent volcanic eruptions at Halemaumau the 10 mile and 27 mile races will have to change routes so this is a chance to see new places. The 5 mile race will remain the same. Please be cautioned that volcanic fumes may be present at some locations. The Marians ARC last met on April 1st. They invite people to join the MARC International Net which starts at 7:00 p.m. Monday, Guam time, which is 11:00 p.m. Sunday HST. It is on the Club repeater 146.91- and on the IRLP Reflector 9254. There is an Echo-Link bridge to Reflector 9254. Thanks to Carter Davis, KH6FV and Kent Johnson, W7AOR, for setting up the IRLP and Echo- link. For more information contact Mike Wendt, WH2M. Oahu hams have been asked to participate in the March of Dimes Walk America and the American Heart Association Heart Walk. The March of Dimes Walk will be held on April 26, 2008, and will be from the Band Stand, along Kalakaua to Ala Moana, along Ala Moana to Ala Moana Park and return to the bandstand. Start time should be around 0700. More information as it becomes available! The American Heart Association will be holding the Heart WalkWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO on August 9, 2008. The location has changed from Kapiolani Park to the Kakaako Makai Gateway park. The route exact route has not been set yet, but will be in the next week or so. Tentatively, it will be from the Gateway park along Ala Moana to Atkinson, around Ala Moana Park (and possibly Magic Island) returning back to the start line. More details will be released as they become available, such as aid/water station locations, exact route, etc. Let Wayne, NH6K, know if you can help. Robin Liu, AH6CP, reports that the statewide RACES system is back up with the repair of the 147.04+ repeater on Kauai. He wants to give credit to the whole team from the SCDA Agency & State Radio shop that made this possible. The Lihue station played a vital role in providing disaster relief communication during the recovery efforts from Hurricane Iniki in 1992. The RACES VHF network is connected via many microwave links throughout the State of Hawaii. The network consists of computer controlled remote repeater stations tied to a central management controller at Diamond Head. The Kauai repeater is the latest generation of Motorola MTR2000 repeater to be integrated into the Hawaii State RACES Network. The Kohala Hamakua Radio Club will meet Wed June 11 in Waimea at 7PM in the Carter Professional Center. KHRC set up a display at this year’s Healthy Keiki Fest in Waimea on Wednesday April 12th. They also plan to cover the Ironman qualifier bike race on May 31 and have participated in several training events this last month. Thanks Norm, NH7UA
Sacramento Valley
March 2008 Summary Sacramento Valley Section Emergency Coordinators and representatives of ARES and other organizations dedicated to public service disaster response met Saturday, 8 March, at the U.C. Sierra Foothills Research and Extension Center in Browns Valley, CA. Topics included digital modes, Outpost, ACS, Red Cross Disaster Response, CAARES (an in-development EC on-line data base) and the way to best present section emergency planning to the ranks. Outpost is the packet message manager by Jim Oberhofer, KN6PE, Cupertino EC. Jim gave a concise overview of Outpost and answered questions. Several section organizations already use Outpost. If you haven't seen Outpost before, give it some attention at http://www.outpostpm.org/ for an overview, how-to pages, and application notes. There is also a great article on pages 35-37 in the April 2008 QST. Chuck Minton, KG6FFK, Placer EC, gave a quick demonstration of his CAARES EC data base, which is intended for eventual use by all California ECs. Individual members will be able to update their own contact information, and check on the latest critical information. Harry Miller, W6HFM, gave two briefings, one on the WinSystem of linked repeaters, and another on the Red Cross ECRV disaster response vehicle. The latter is the flagship Ford Expedition crammed with everything you would need at a disaster
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response except the kitchen sink. Lee Sheffield, KC6MCI, gave a brief demo of digital modes illustrated with the DigiPan PSK31 program. Ben Green, WD8CZP, told us all about the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services Auxilliary Communications System. We really needed more time but we made the best use of what we had. We are looking forward to the next conference but left with enough to do from this one. Remote access to the conference was available to the Director and Vice Director of Pacific Division because our host for the day, Art Craigmill, K6ALC, Yuba Sutter EC, and director of the Research CenterWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO set it up for us. A big thank you for all the work, Art! A full-feature, if specialized, ARRL convention describes EMCOMM WEST 2008 to be held in Reno, NV, May 2-4 at a new venue this year. Circus Circus Hotel Resort will be the place to see Dennis Dura, K2DCD, ARRL Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager, keynote speaker and forum host and all the other convention attractions. Special guest Gordon West, WB6NOA, will present a forum on Saturday, and speak at the Saturday night banquet. Gordon will also have his mobile comm unit along and will have a display booth in the vendor area. Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, special counsel of the FCC enforcement bureau, will be attending via video technology. Registration for EMCOMM WEST is available at www.emcommwest.org and special room rates are available from Circus Circus via a link on the emcommwest.org website. The Reno HAMSWAP will also be held once again Saturday morning starting at 6 AM adjacent to the hotel. Sacramento Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) will be conducting an exercise with Clovis CERT on April 19 & 20. The scenario simulates a disaster at one location WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.ROand the need to set up a shelter at a church across town. Since some of the Sacramento ARES members are also involved in CERT, this will involve Sacramento County ARES. Another later drill involving several Sacramento County CERT teams in September and another non-ARES group, Sacramento Sheriff SHARP, will participate in the state-wide hospital drill in October. Some SHARP members are also associated with ARES, RACES and CERT. If your ARES group (or Emergency Communications Group) is planning participation in a drill or exercise, please forward details to SEC Richard, WO6P, and me, Ron, W6KJ at our e-mail addresses. If EMCOMM WEST is not enough for you, I submit this might be the year you should finally go to the Dayton Hamvention. Last year was my 25th time at Dayton Hamvention, and I regret each and every one I missed. Sometimes my best friend N6YLO goes with me, and we always have a great time. Sometimes the show is fantastic and the weather is great, sometimes the show is great and the weather not. But each time is new and exciting. One word of caution--if you have never been to a swap meet, don't make Hamvention your first swap. Acres of swap meet tailgaters and commercial displays on the outside of the exhibit halls will make every other swap meet seem insignificant. The inside attractions are just magnificent. I have seen end of show giveaways, bargain basement prices on brand new gear, and there are more than $50,000 in main prizes this year. Not the least of the fun is the ARRL EXPO. This is your chance to talk to people about the ham radio issues most important to you face to face with the experts from ARRL HQ. Newington, CT, goes west each time ARRL EXPO is held with Hamvention. This is another good reason to attend this show. SILENT KEY: KENNETH JON GEPPERT, SR., W6PRO (FORMERLY KM6MV) passed away March 15, 2008. Ken was a resident of Cameraon Park, CA. He was a former member of Volunteers in Prevention and often was the NCS for the group operating in remote areas. He was a former member of the El Dorado County ARC. Recognition of Emergency Medical Services will officially occur May 20, 2008, and Ham Radio will be there. For the third consecutive year, Lee Sheffield, KC6MCI, will deploy his portable setup and have a special event operation at the EMS Appreciation Day. This year the event is held at the CAL FIRE Grass Valley Air Attack Base at the Nevada County Airport, 13120 Loma Rica Drive in Grass Valley. Lee's portable is a hand made trailer which allows him to operate all modes indefinitely. The event is scheduled to start at 9 AM and conclude at 4:30 PM. The recently formed club in Lincoln, CA, has modified its name to Western Placer Amateur Radio Club to eliminate any possiblity of being confused with another club. They have great presentations planned at club meetings, and activities each month. For a new club, Western Placer is doing all the right things. Volunteers Wanted: Whiskeytown Trail Ride Saturday April 19, 2008, is one of the most popular events of the year. This all day event puts horse and rider to their limits and amateur radio communications provide vital information to event coordinators who are interested in horse and
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rider welfare. All amateur radio operators are welcome to participate. This is a rain or shine event, and dinner will be served to volunteers. It starts early, approximately 7am (last year this ended at 6pm.) Operator positions are along trails on the south side of Whiskeytown Lake. The plan is to assign two operators per position. Call Al Pena, KQ6YW, 530-945-5434,or e-mail Al [email protected] for more information. So, you and I are hoping that Solar Cycle 24 is underway and that we can wave good riddance to old Cycle 23. Not so fast! If you have a good internet connection, you should read, watch, and listen to the reportWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO by NASA on this subject. It came out March 28, and describes the condition of the Sun in our radio propagation lives. Apparently, three new sunspots are of the polarization of Cycle 23, rather than Cycle 24. How can this be? I bid you read the NASA article which is also available as an audio file. http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/28mar_oldcycle.htm?friend is the URL. Thanks to ncdxc.org for this tip. 73, Ron Murdock, W6KJ, ARRL Sacramento Valley Section Manager
San Francisco
San Francisco Section News - April 2008 Happy Spring! A few up coming events for you to break out of the winter doldrums and take you out of the shack where everyone is frustrated with the bottom of the “cycle.” First up, the annual Valley of the Moon ARC Hamfest is just around the corner on Saturday, may 3rd from 8 AM to 1 PM. This is a terrific event with a swap meet (time to clean out that store room?), WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.ROVE testing, station demos, a fox hunt, and, of course, the terrific breakfast that they put together. Breakfast is only $6 per person and worth the drive even if you don’t have room for a new toy. For more information, please visit VOMARC’s website at www.vomarc.org. You won’t be disappointed. On the same weekend (unfortunately) is Emcomm West is Reno, NV. This is the premier emergency communications (and everything related) in the left states. This year, Dennis Dura K2DCD, ARRL’s new Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager will be the keynote speaker and seminar presenter. Gordon West WB6NOA is the banquet speaker this year. If you haven’t been to one of Gordon’s presentations, you have missed both an informative and hilarious treat. There will be a swap, VE testing and numerous educational seminars to fit the interests of everyone. There is still time to make reservations at the host hotel, Circus Circus. For more information, check out the website at www.emcommwest.org. If you are wondering about the annual Section Convention hosted by the Humboldt clubs, it has been moved to September 26-28, 2008 so as not to conflict with the typically busy May and June Ham activities. This means that you won’t have to pick between simultaneous events and can attend them all! Keep watching www.humboldt-arc.org for all the details as they unfold. Winter was fairly uneventful with the exception of the big winds in January. That storm sure made it clear how fragile the PG&E electric delivery system is. I was without commercial power for 32 hours. There were some homes in the north coast that were without power for nearly a week. Frankly, that wasn’t a really bad storm. I hope someone noticed and is looking into PG&E’s preventative maintenance program. Lake County EC Monte Winters K6FE put together the first live ARECC Level I course and test session in Lake County on Saturday, March 15th. Of the eighteen students taking the test, fifteen passed. The course began at 8:30 AM and ended after the test by 4:30 PM. The course received good comments on the course evaluation forms from the participants, and all indicated verbally that the course was worthwhile. Students from Lake County and Mendocino County participated. Monte found that a lot of Hams really need the in-person learning experience and with the live seminar was able to put on the class for only the $14 test fee, a very reasonable cost. Way to go, Monte! If you are interested in putting together a live course, feel free to contact Monte for details. [email protected] HF propagation can only go up from here, I hope. Great weather is here and it is a good time to do some maintenance on those antennas and feed lines. But, be careful on those ladders and towers! I hope to put up a better dipole for 80 through 40 and add 160. A reminder to club leaders: Please be sure to update the information about your club on the ARRL website. Sometimes this gets overlooked in the transition between officers. More news as it comes in! Have a great Spring! 73, Bill
San Joaquin Valley
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SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY SECTION Report for the month of March 2008: SM Charles McConnell, W6DPD- ASMs K6YK and N2NS, ACC W6DPD, SEC N6ZFN, OOC N1VM, STM K6RAU, PIC KE6IGJ, TC W6TE. Greetings from the ARRL San Joaquin Valley Section. From the ARRL Letter of March 16, 2008: * Amateur Radio Exempt from California's New "Hands Free" Law: On July 1, the State of California will have new laws on the books to deal with the use of wireless telephones while driving. There has been some confusion as to whether California amateurs who operate in their car will be affected by the WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROnew law. According to the California Department of Motor Vehicle's Web site , "the use of dedicated two-way radios such as walkie-talkies or Citizen Band (CB) radios is not affected by the new law" for drivers 18 or older. If you desire your club information and events to be listed in Section News, please send the information to [email protected]. I get very little information. If your club has a newsletter, please send it to me, email to [email protected] or via U.S Mail. Mark your calendars. M2INC open house in April 12, 2008. Doors open at 8:00 AM with lunch at 11:30 AM. Check www.m2inc.com for information. The Clovis Amateur Radio Pioneers Swap meet will be April 12, 2008, at the New Hope Community Church in Clovis. Check www.k6arp.org for information. The International DX Convention is April 25-28, 2008 at Visalia. Check http://www.dxconvention.org/ for information. EMCOMM West is May 2-4, 2008 at the Circus Circus in Reno NV. Check www.emcommwest.org for information. The 65th Fresno Hamfest is May 31, 2008, at the Salvation Army in Fresno. Check www.w6to.com for information. Pacificon 2008 is October 17-19, 2008 at the MarriottWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Hotel in San Ramon CA. Check www.pacificon.org for information. When your affiliated club elects officers for the next year, be sure to update your club’s information on the affiliated club area of the ARRL web page so you club will get any information sent from the ARRL Club department. If you fail to update your clubs information for 2 years, your club will be placed in the inactive file. Your club will be notified if the 2-year period is about to take place. Need to take an Amateur exam? Check the ARRL web page, www.arrl.org for exam information. You can also search for Amateur Radio Classes in your area. The Northern California Net (NCN), the Section Traffic Net, meets nightly on 3.533 MHZ at 7 PM Pacific Time. The slow speed training session of the net meets nightly on 3.533 MHZ at 9 PM Pacific Time. Handling traffic on CW is a good way to improve your CW skills. The Daytime Region 6 Traffic Net meets daily at 3:30 pacific time on or near 7.275 MHZ. The California Traffic Net meets daily on 3.906 MHZ and 6:30 PM local time. The noon time net meets on 7.268.5 MHz. This net handles a lot of messages. EMCOMM West for 2008 has moved to the Circus Circus in Reno. The dates are May 2 to 4, 2008. This is an ARRL specialty convention devoted entirely to emergency communications. Information can soon be found at www.emcommwest.org. If you are involved in emergency communications, this is an event you should plan to attend. Dennis Dura, K2DCD of ARRL, and Gordon West, WB6NOA, are the featured speakers. W6QON, Steve, WB6GIT, Clark, and K6KLV, Fido are Silent Keys. They will be missed. TCARES members provided communications support for the annual Jamestown Run. K2VCO made a clean sweep in the 2007 ARRL November CW Sweepstakes. N2NS and K2VCO made 500 plus QSOs in the CW and SSB 2007 ARRL Sweepstakes. Traffic for February: K6RAU 27, W6DPD 1, and W6SX 6. Total 34. PSHR: K6RAU 88 and W6SX 32.
Santa Clara Valley
Monthly Summary for March 2008 Santa Clara Valley Section News Summary. April 18, 2008 =Field Day 2008! June 28-29, 2008 Get Ready! Field Day Station Locator Up and Running -- This year, for the first time, the ARRL has put together a Station Locator to help amateurs or those interested in Amateur Radio find a Field Day site near them. Just go to the Field Day Station Locator Web site [http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/locator.php] and follow the instructions. =CROSSBAND MILITARY/AMATEUR RADIO COMMUNICATIONS TEST (10 MAY 2008) The Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard are co-sponsoring the annual military/amateur radio communications tests in celebration of the 58th Anniversary of Armed Forces Day (AFD). AFD Military/Amateur Crossband Communications Test will be conducted 10 May 2008 to prevent conflict with the Dayton HamVention (16-18 May 2008), which is the same weekend as the actual Armed
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Forces Day. See here for scheds: http://www.netcom.army.mil/MARS =New Cell phone law: Not out of the woods yet! Andy Oppel, N6AJO Vice Director, Pacific Division This link was passed around [http://www.dmv.ca.gov/cellularphonelaws/dl208_03cell_phone.pdf] as proof positive that the hands- free driving law that will go into effect July 1st does not apply to amateur radio. This may not be the case as the FAQ site has changed. The ARRL Pacific Division and Sacramento Valley Section SGL are working the issue with our contacts in Sacramento. Stay tuned. =AM-TECH Day, May 10, 2008, 8:00am — 9:00pm.WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO At the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, BE THERE RAIN OR SHINE. SLAC has graciously given us use of a large indoor and outdoor activity area, including a large auditorium and a picnic area to practice and demonstrate our amateur radio skills. Sponsored by the Foothills Amateur Radio Society. For full details, visit: http://fars.k6ya.org/amtechday. =Cupertino EC and Outpost author Jim KN6PE has an article in the April QST on his now famous Packet Radio software. If you like this article and you are an ARRL member you can cast your vote for it to receive the QST Cover Plaque Award at http://www.arrl.org/members-only/qstvote.html Outpost software is free at http://www.outpostpm.org/ = ARRL EmComm Manager Dennis Dura, K2DCD, On Line Seminar April 19 Meet with ARRL's Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager, Dennis Dura K2DCD, on an April 19 on-line seminar hosted by the ARRL Atlantic Division. Dura will present information about the ARRL's EmComm program and what he's been working on. This webinar/teleconference is designed for any club members, ARES members, and anyone else interested in emergency communications. You do not haveWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO to be a member of the Atlantic Division to register and participate. This is a free on-line presentation and teleconference. (The telephone call to the conference center may be a toll call, however). There will be a question and answer period after the presentation. Interested amateurs can register for this webinar/teleconference at: -- Bill Edgar, N3LLR, ARRL Atlantic Division Director =The 59th Annual International DX Convention sponsored by the Southern California DX Club will be held at The Holiday Inn Hotel & Conference Center Visalia from April 25, 26 & 27, 2008. See their web site at http://www.dxconvention.org. =EMCOMMWEST 2008 is on for May 2-4, 2008 at the Circus Circus Hotel. See their web site at http://www.emcommwest.org. This year promises to truly be a stellar year with two exciting headliners: DENNIS DURA, K2DCD – Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager from the ARRL headquarters in Newington, CN will deliver our keynote address, and host a forum. They are also pleased to announce that our special guest for the Saturday night banquet will be GORDON WEST, WB6NOA from Southern California. Registration is now available online via the website, at www.emcommwest.org. Special room rates are available from Circus Circus, via a link on the website. =Debra Johnson, K1DMJ, Education Services Manager ARRL, asked me to pass along this note about the March 2008 newsletter on the ARRL website for you to view or download. This is the Instructors and Teachers newsletter: Please click here to view the newsletter: http://www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/instructorNews.html =ARRL Education and Technology Program Coordinator Mark Spencer, WA8SME, also asked me to forward an announcement about this year’s Teachers’ Institute on Wireless Technology. It is quoted from the ARRL Web page on the subject (http://www.arrl.org/FandES/tbp/ti.html. Please consider spreading the word just in case someone would like to apply for a chance to attend one of the courses. All expenses are fully paid! Thank you. =Section positions still open include Section Emergency Manager (SEC), Net Manager (NM), and Section Traffic Manager (STM), Public Information Coordinator (PIC) and Public Information Officers (PIO) and several others. Among them are an ASM for Scouting and Youth and several more ASM position to cover the five counties. This is YOUR Section; please consider helping all of us by filling one of these important positions. See http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/org/ for information on the ARRL Field Organization and all appointee positions. =The wiki-based SCV web site on PDARRL.org is up and running. Tom, K1TW, [email protected], is getting the content on both old and new sites up to date. Send him your corrections and get your club access to the wiki. Here's the link: http://www.pdarrl.org/scvsec/index.php. =Boy Scout Hi-Sierra International Rendezvous 2008 will be held August 10-16, 2008. A Ham Radio station will be a feature of this event and operators are needed. For more information please contact Gary Hendra, W6NOE, [email protected] or [email protected].
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Roanoke Division
North Carolina
MARCH NORTH CAROLINA SECTION NEWS USS NORTH CAROLINA COMMISSIONING On May 3, from 1200Z-2000Z, the Azalea Coast Amateur Radio Club, NI4BK, is sponsoring a special event station celebratingWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO the commissioning of the Navy’s newest Virginia class attack submarine, USS North Carolina. The commissioning ceremony will occur in Wilmington near the submarine’s historic predecessor, the Battleship USS North Carolina. Efforts are underway to arrange a ham radio contact between the Battleship USS North Carolina and her new namesake as part of the commissioning ceremony! In addition, a special event station, NI4BK, will be operating SSB and CW in the 20 and 40 m General bands. They will also operate on EchoLink 353118 KI4RMS-L IRLP 9120 N4JDW VHF/UHF and HF. QSL to the Azalea Coast ARC, PO Box 4044, Wilmington, NC 28406. NEW HAM RECUIRTING AND ELMERING At a recent meeting of the ARRL Executive Committee, HQ staff learned that there was a discussion of the important role played by local clubs in recruiting, training and mentoring new licensees. Some clubs are very successful. A part of ARRL’s effort to increase the number of new radio amateurs should be to help recognize the clubs that are doing a good job, and to educate and encourage other clubs to follow their example. Is your club doing a particularly good job with newWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO hams? Is so, let me hear about it and I’ll pass the info on to headquarters! NCBEARS I recently checked-in to the North Carolina Baptist Emergency Amateur Radio Service net and wa happy to learn more about this active group. The NCBEARS net meets each week on 3.923 Sunday afternoon at 3:15 for check-ins and announcements and on Thursday nights at 8:00 for check-ins, announcements, and rag-chew. The nets help keep the group prepared to respond during disasters. NCBEARS is one part of the North Carolina Baptist Men Disaster Relief Ministry. They support the disaster relief units deployed by NCBM with communications assistance as needed. Working with the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army, NCBM sends out its three large mobile kitchens with trained volunteers in response to disasters. They may be involved in mass feeding, recovery, chainsaw, house repairs, mud- out, chaplains, showers, laundry, and communications. They also work in cooperation with the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief Ministries and SouthBEARS, the Southern Baptist Emergency Amateur Radio Service. SouthBEARS has a regional net on Sunday afternoon at 3:30 ET on 7.260. Every year NCBEARS has a series of training meetings in the spring in preparation for hurricane season. Each meeting will have training in the various disaster relief ministries with which they are involved, including Emergency Communications. Upcoming training dates include: April 25-26, Laurenburg May 16-17, Lincolnton June 6-7, Robinsville Any interested hams may call Gaylon Moss at 800-395-5102 for more information. NTS NEEDS YOU! Mark Rappaport, W2EAG, has wrapped up his outstanding traffic handling course and now it’s time for you to put your new skills to work. The National Traffic System needs you! We need not only skilled traffic handlers, but also net control stations and some net managers. If we don’t exercise the system regularly using routine traffic, it won’t be ready to serve the public after the next disaster! So please consider contacting our Section Traffic Manager Dave Roy, W4DNA and volunteer for one of his open positions ([email protected]). Our section and local NTS nets include the following: Eastern NC Traffic Net, 8:30pm on 146.685MHz (-600kHz) Piedmont Coastal Traffic Net, 9:00pm on 146.88MHz (- 600kHz) Central NC Traffic Net, 9:30pm on 146.82MHz (-600kHz) Southeastern NC Traffic Net, 8:00pm on 147.045 (+600kHz) NC Morning Net, 7:45am on 3.926MHz Carolinas Slow Net, 8:00pm on 3.571MHz NC Evening Net, 6:30pm on 3.923MHz Carolinas Net – Early, 7:00pm on 3.573MHz Carolinas Net – Late, 10:00pm on 3.573MHz UPCOMING EVENTS April 19: Catawba Valley Hamfest, Morganton - cvhamfest.com May 3: State ARES Meeting, Raleigh May 10: Rockingham County Hamfest, Reidsville - www.rcarc.com May 24: DurHAMfest, Durham - www.dfma.org May 25- 31: Hurricane Preparedness Week June 14: Winston-Salem Classic Hamfest - www.w4nc.org June 28- 29: ARRL Field Day MARCH TRAFFIC N3BW 261, W2EAG 228, K4IWW 206, KI4YV 187, W4DNA 117, WA4OBR 72, W3HL 66, WA2YBM 57, W4TTO 46, W4FAL 45, W4EHF 26, KE4AHC
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33, KD4WAX 25, KG4YNM 22, KC4PGN 19, K8SKX 18, WX4MMM 11, KJ4WY 10, KI4PNL 6, KD4ZPS 2. MARCH PSHR W2EAG 140, W4DNA 140, W4FAL 130, K4IWW 120, W4TTO 115, KI4YV 100, WA2YBM 95. MARCH ARES MEMBERS: 1,802
South Carolina
Greetings to all AmateurWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Radio Operators. This is Dr. Jim, N2ZZ with the April 2008 South Carolina Section Manager’s Report! Please remember that the SC Section website can be found at: www.arrl- sc.org/ where my full SM report will be listed as well as up-to-the-date information on Amateur Radio in South Carolina! Our next hamfest will be the Upstate Hamfest on May 3rd at the Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds in Spartanburg. The hamfest is sponsored by the Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Society and is the ARRL South Carolina Section Convention! There will be an ARRL forum, and Penny Harts, N1NAG will be visiting from ARRL Headquarters. Penny will be making a presentation at the ARRL forum, and I have asked John Crockett KC4YI to give an update on the SCHEART system. I will be unable to attend the hamfest, as I will be at my daughter’s college graduation in Florida that day. My thanks to Bob Bacharach WA2EMF, ASM2 and Marc Tarplee N4UFP, TC who will be filling in for me. For further information on the hamfest, go to the BRARS hamfest site: http://www.upstatehamfest.org/ The Shelby Hamfest is moving! In recent years, the Shelby Amateur Radio Club has had a great deal of difficultyWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO in dealing with the Cleveland (NC) county fairground officials in negotiating a contract for the use of the fairgrounds during their hamfest, held each year on Labor Day weekend. This year, a non- negotiable contract presented to the club by the fairground commission prompted the club to end their fifty year Cleveland county tradition and move their hamfest to nearby Gaston County in Dallas, NC. The hamfest will be held at Biggerstaff Park, which is located twenty miles East of Shelby and three miles North of I-85 on NC HWY 279 (Dallas Cherryville Highway). The park offers 100 acres of beautiful park settings and amenities. For further information, go to their website: http://www.shelbyhamfest.org/ While on the topic of hamfests, the Dayton HAMVENTION will be held on May 16, 17 and 18th, and the ARRL EXPO will be in full force! For information on the hamfest, go to http://hamvention.org/ and for the ARRL EXPO, go to http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/04/26/10062/?nc=1. If you have never attended the Dayton Hamvention, please give it a try! It is an experience you won’t forget! In regards to the heavy construction this year on the Dayton roads, check out http://www.hamvention.org/hv2008/media/trafficnews.html before you start your trip! My congratulations to the South Carolina Sideband Net for their 50 years of service to Amateur Radio Operators and the people of South Carolina! The net luncheon was held at Leaphart Elementary school on April 5th. Jim WB4DLD, Net Manager held the meeting, and Riley Hollngsworth was the guest speaker! Multiple presentations were given throughout the meeting, including recognition of all the Net Control Stations. The new Net Manager of the SC SSB net will be Bill, W4DDK with Kelly, K4GLT as his assistant. All participants in the net received a 50th anniversary Net Roster, either at the meeting, or in the mail. Thanks to Miss Emmie KA4LRM, Tom WA4VYS and all others for the contributions and work in making this Net Roster a reality! The 50th anniversary net was held on Monday, April 7th, 50 years after the original net held on the same date in 1958! All participants of this net session were sent a handsome certificate in the mail! I mentioned last month that our newest ARRL affiliated club is the Beaufort Amateur Radio Club. I had the pleasure of personally presenting their ARRL Club Charter at their Charter Party Celebration on April 19th in Beaufort. Congratulations, and thanks for your hospitality during my visit! The quarterly update on the SCHEART is now available, and is listed on the home page of the www.arrl-sc.org website. John Crockett KC4YI reports that a new website for SCHEART is now up and running. The address is www.scheart.us. There is an update on the front page with new information on phase three of the linked repeater project. Page two contains the repeater link status map which indicates which repeaters are currently linked. Ken N2IXX, ASM3 reports that the first Columbia Tailgate Party held on Saturday April 12th was a rousing success! Bob AE4FA was the event coordinator, and reports that approximately 75 amateur radio operators participated, and there was
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a large variety of equipment and components available. Sales (not including trades) amounted to at least $2000, but probably more. Congratulations to all for a great event! An unusual and exciting opportunity has arisen for the South Carolina Section! I was notified by Dave Sumner K1ZZ, ARRL CEO that the Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) are interested in a demonstration of Amateur Radio during Canadian- American week in Myrtle Beach in March, 2009. The purpose of this event is to demonstrate that during a communications disruption, Amateur Radio could be used to put Canadians visiting Myrtle Beach back in touch withWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO their families back in Canada. Matt AF4UZ, EC Horry County has agreed to be the primary contact and one of the primary organizers of this event. Matt presented information on this opportunity to the Grand Strand Amateur Radio Club who voted unanimously to support the event! RAC will be applying for grants from the Canadian Government for financial backing. Thanks to all, and this is going to be an exciting international event! This month I was informed about a bill introduced to the SC Senate which looks to prohibit the use of “Wireless Communication Devices” in moving vehicles. This bill was introduced by Senator Knotts. The full text of the bill is as follows: A BILL TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 56-1-55 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT IT IS UNLAWFUL FOR A PERSON TO OPERATE A MOTOR VEHICLE WHILE USING A CELLULAR TELEPHONE, PAGER, PERSONAL DIGITAL ASSISTANT DEVICE, OR ANOTHER WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE THAT IS NOT EQUIPPED WITH A HANDS-FREE MECHANISM, TO PROVIDE A PENALTY FOR A VIOLATION OF THIS PROVISION,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO AND TO PROVIDE THAT THIS SECTION DOES NOT APPLY TO LAW ENFORCEMENT, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SERVICE, AND FIRE DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS AND PERSONNEL WHEN THEY ARE PERFORMING THEIR OFFICIAL DUTIES. This bill was introduced on 2/20/08 and was immediately referred to the Committee on Transportation. This has serious implications for amateur radio operators, particularly those involved in ARES functions. I ask that EVERYONE contact their legislators by phone, fax and/or e-mail to add federally licensed Amateur Radio Operators as an exception to this bill. Those legislators on the Committee on Transportation can be found on the bottom of the SC committee page: http://www.scstatehouse.net/html-pages/senatecommlst.html#tra Amateur Radio was involved in a large scale drill by the National Guard in Beaufort this past week. Operation Vigilant Guard is a formal, regional emergency drill sponsored by the Department of Defense. South Carolina ARES was asked by the host agency, Beaufort County Emergency Management Department, to provide primary communications for two venues and back-up communications as needed anywhere in the state. The SCHEART linked repeater system was activated and performed “flawlessly”. Congratulations to all involved in the exercise! March 2008 NTS Report for South Carolina by Mac Heaton N4MEH, STM-- Net Reports: Net/Check Ins/Traffic/Sessions/Reported By Anderson Radio Club 2M Net/768/17/26/N4MEH Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Net /2675/40/31/K4SUG Carolina's Net/289/146/59/W2EAG Carolina Slow Net/149/21/29/N0SU Columbia ARC 2 Meter Net/243/0/27/KE4TLC Grand Strand ARC 2M Net/165/14/13/KI4HEE Greater Pee Dee 2 Meter Net/685/36/31/K4DTT Greenwood ARC 2 Meter Net/119/5/4/W4DEW Greenwood Friendly Net/367/51/30/W4JAK Lancaster County 2 Meter Net/117/9/11/N4WMB Oconee 2M Net/348/17/13/N9GSX SC SSB Net/2072/109/31/WB4DLD York Co. ARS 2 Meter FM Net/709/2/53/KI4NBA. Station Activity Reports: Station/Total: KA4LRM 32, KA4UIV 53, K4GLT 179, N4MEH 72, WB4DLD 58. PSHR, Station/Total: KA4LRM 73, N4MEH 100. That’s it for April! See you next Month! Have a Great Month!! 73 de Dr. Jim N2ZZ, ARRL Section Manager, South Carolina Section, www.arrl-sc.org
Rocky Mountain Division
New Mexico
New Mexico Section Report for March, 2008 The month started off with a trip to the Mesilla Valley Amateur Radio Club in Las Cruces. Brian Mileshosky (N5ZGT) the Rocky Mountain Division Director
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and I were invited to address the club during their regular meeting which is held the first Saturday of the month. Both Brian and I were very impressed with the turn out. There were a lot of folks with very interesting questions and lots of good constructive comments for both Brian and me. If you have never been to the MVARC clubhouse I highly recommend it. Very few clubs have anything like this. What a wonderful layout. I highly recommend a visit and the perfect opportunity would be for their “Bean Feed” which will be on Sunday April 27th. Pat and I are planning to attend. On the 7th and 8th of the month there was a WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROjoint exercise with the Forrest Service, Red Cross and ARES. The exercise was to simulate a forest wild fire on the East side of the Sandias. I think ARES made a very good showing and hopefully the Forest Service will want to model their communications after us. On the 20th I had lunch with Ray Herne (N5LIV) who is our Section PIC and Charlie Cristmann (K5CEC) the PIO for the Sandoval County ARES group to discuss Public information activities. I think a lot came from this meeting. Ray is really getting into his new position and we will be seeing a lot from him in the future. Also on the 20th the Upper Rio FM Society Board meeting took place. Mike Pendley (K5ATM) was confirmed as President and then we got down to business. The lease on the building at Kirtland AFB was discussed and approved. We will have time to do the modifications to the building, set up a new antenna system and tower, install the generator and fuel tanks for it. This should be a very good move for the URFMS. Also at that meeting the New Mexico Amateur Radio Alliance (NMARA) was approved as a provisional committee under the URFMS charter. This covered the legal and insurance issue forWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO NMARA. For those of you who do not know what NMARA is all about let me shed some light on the subject. Back in November of last year Larry Goga (AE5CZ ) suggested to Brian (N5ZGT) that we, as hams, need to get our message out to the public and suggested setting up a booth at an upcoming show in Albuquerque. Brian fielded this to several others and we held a meeting at the Red Lobster. The committee was formed at that time with the objective being to see if we could do such a show. As it turned out the booth and insurance would have been around $1,200.00. This brought up the concerns of legal standing and the cost of doing this sort of thing. Bill Ripley ( KY5Q ), who works for GE was able to get them to donate a portable 10 x 10 booth setup. Larry did some minor repairs on it, and it really looks great. I talked with Greg Sanchez, the EC for the City of Albuquerque, to see if his group could help sponsor our efforts at shows that require purchasing a booth space. Greg recently completed one of Frank Warren’s (AB5WJ) classes and his new call is KE5SOW. Greg is checking to see if it can be done. That is most of the news for March. Many of you have asked about club meetings. I think it would be a bit tedious to list them all here but you can go to the ARRL web site www.arrl.org, click on ARRL Info, then go to ARRL Sections and select New Mexico. On the New Mexico Section in the upper right hand corner click on “Affiliated Clubs” and you will find a complete listing of all the ARRL affiliated clubs in the state. Also many of you have asked about Repeaters and Nets – go to http://www.swcp.com/~n5zgt/abqham.htm and Brian (N5ZGT) has listed everything you would like to know. Thanks Brian! Here are the March Net counts: NM Breakfast Club: 1192/155 NM Roadrunner Traffic Net: 1204/118 Four Corners Net: 412/29 Yucca Net: 870/54 Caravan Club Net: 60/7 SCAT Net: 660/86 High Desert ARA Net: 37/9 Rusty’s Raiders Net: 578/58 Valencia County ARA Net: 53/11 And now comes the hardest part of being Section Manager reporting the Silent Keys: W5GOW Leo Oyler he is survived by his wife Carol KD5HEC Elizabeth Collins she is survived by her husband Bob (K5BD) WD5HDY Floyd Elder he is survived by his wife Ellen Floyd passed the 3 rd of April but since I am writing this on the 9th I decided to list him as well. There will be a memorial service for Floyd Saturday the 12th at French Mortuary 1111 University Dr. NE at 11 AM. No flowers please, but a contribution the American Cancer Society would be appreciated. Just remember that today is the first day of the rest of your life so make the best of it. 73, don – W5FHA New Mexico Section Manager
Wyoming
Wyoming Section Manager Newsletter end of March, 2008 New Appointments: Greg Galka N7GT has agreed to take on the new Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator position and was appointed by SEC Jerry Pyle W7BS. Greg has previous experience as EC in Nebraska. We are looking forward to Greg
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getting his HF station back on the air too. Thanks for the great response around the state in volunteering for Section positions. LeeAnne Allen WY7DTW decided her ARRL hat collection was a bit full so she is shedding the PIO and PIC positions to concentrate on Assistant Section Manager and EC of Crook County. We can still use some EC’s around the state so if interested in helping Jerry WB7S out contact him at [email protected]. Section Elmers: Still working to put together volunteers to Elmer Section members who could use help in areas which they have expertise. We have a good start in IRLP, Echolink, RTTY andWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO packet - will get them on the website soon. If you have ever begun a project you know how a little bit of help could save a lot of time and got you on the air making contacts faster! Should you have an area you would be willing to help those starting out to get going or fine tune please contact me – [email protected]. Thanks for volunteering! The 7 QP is planned May 3,4th and is coming up next month – check out the rules: http://www.codxc.com/new/page.asp?content=dryland7s. We hope to get all counties represented and lots of participation! A reminder about the Wyoming State Convention in Casper May 23-25th sponsored by the Casper ARC – check out info on WY7FD.com and http://casperarc.net . It is less than two months away so get your reservations in. We have great news as the featured speaker is ARRL Vice President Rick Roderick K5UR, 45 year old Practicing Attorney, who lives somewhere north of Little Rock, Arkansas on a remote Hill Top of approximately 45 acres with his wife, Holly, their two sons, and tons of aluminum and wire. RadComm http://radcomm.bizland.com/rad-comm/ is on line as our perennial vendor – come and say hello to Rick! More excitingWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO news to come!! Click on the website and look over the schedule and listen to the radio spots at the bottom of the page! Can’t wait to renew old aquaintences and start new ones! A last reminder that Bob Meyer W7BLM is finalizing nominations for Ham of the Year to be awarded at the State Hamfest – contact him at [email protected]. Let’s overwhelm Bob and the committee with nominees as there are many to choose from! Evanston has formed the Uinta Amateur Radio Club so let's congradulate the new club in SW Wyoming! Also had a great meeting with the Rawlins ham group - thanks to Duane NN7H, Mike N7ZEF, Bob WA7LFT and Mike KB8RWI for a super meeting and discussion. There is a lot of talent and know-how behind all our sagebrush!! Hey - how did that "8" call get in there? See you “on the air”, 73, Chris, WY7UPR
Southeastern Division
Georgia
SM: Susan Swiderski, AF4FO; ASM/South GA: Marshall Thigpen, W4IS; ASM/Legal: Jim Altman, W4UCK; ASM/Webmaster: Bob Smith, K4PHE; ASM/Youth Activities: Brittney Hancock, KI4WNY; ASM/Youth Advisor: Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM; ASM/ Scouting: David Pearce,ABØNG; SEC: Scott Royle, KK4Z; STM: Charles Pennington, K4GK; OOC: Mike Swiderski, K4HBI; TC: Jim Worsham, W4KXY; PIC: Norm Schklar,WA4ZXV; SGL: Bill Cherepy, WB4WTN; ACC: Robin Cutshaw, AA4RC www.arrl-ga.org www.gaares.org Greetings, All. Top news story for this mid-monthly report is on a milestone birthday for a real amateur radio notable. PETE SIDES, W4AUP, turned 100 years old earlier this month. Though Pete technically lives in Montgomery, AL, he's a faithful member of QCWA Peach State Chapter 49, and can be heard on the air chatting with GA hams most Saturday mornings. So we'll just call him an honorary GA ham. And one sharp cookie. In the April newsletter, I requested info on your field day plans, so we could put all that info out in June, and I've already heard from our favorite eclectic group, N4N. And from someone who's looking to start a NEW eclectic group. JACK ROBERTSON, WJ4SR, is trustee for K4SWS, the Sinclair Wireless Society, for hams in the Lake Sinclair/ Lake Oconee area, and he'd like to put together a Field Day team this year to operate under that K4SWS call sign. Jack lives in southern Putnam county, about 7 miles south of Eatonton, and site is TBD. So, are you interested? Would you like to get in on the "ground floor" of this new start-from- scratch field day endeavor? You can reach Jack at [email protected] or at (706) 484-1047. JOHN LOUTH, WB4EEL, came up with what he called a "half-baked idea". Actually, it sounds like a doggone good idea to me. I frequently get calls from hams who need help in renewing their licenses. For every
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call I get, I'll bet there are a lot more out there who need help, but don't call. They may end up PAYING somebody to renew for them. John suggested, "It seems to me that affiliated clubs could establish a renewal team that could renew ham licenses at club meetings, test sessions, hamfest, whatever" and "In a similar vein, the clubs could also assist with the vanity callsign process." Sound good? For those of us who've already renewed our licenses online, we know how simple the process can be. But for those with no FRN and no computer, the process can be a bit intimidating. This would, indeed, be a valuable way for clubs to help fellowWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO hams. (for FREE!) Thanks for the great idea, John. Here's an important message from BARRY KANNE, W4TGA, our ASEC for Public Health: "We are seeking amateur radio licensees to support the ham radio facilities installed at some of the hospitals in the Atlanta area. The hospitals are: Grady Memorial and Children's Healthcare. Each hospital will need a team of 4-6 operators. If you are a General Class licensee, you can be the "team lead" at these hospitals and work with the hospitals on a regular basis. These facilities have complete ham radio installations and are ready to go. If you would like to be a part of this important community activity, please contact Barry at [email protected] and he will discuss these sites with you to see which is the best fit." Other ARES News: CONGRATULATIONS to DON DRAWDY, N0FBV, who has accepted the position of DEC for the NWS/Columbia. And also to DOUG BROWN, KC4RSL, who has taken the reins as EC for Jackson county. COMING UP: 11th annual Calhoun Hamfest, sponsored by the Cherokee Capital ARS-- Saturday, April 26, 8AM-2PM, at the Sugar Valley Community Center, 3295 Sugar Valley Road. VE testing atWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO 11AM. $5 admission. See k4woc.com for more info. Hope to see you there. Thanks to those of you who volunteered to provide communications for the ING Marathon. Next big project will be the Special Olympics Georgia, coming up at the end of May. To volunteer, contact Steve Garrision, N4SEG, at [email protected] Well folks, that's about it for now. Until next time, this is AF4FO, signing clear. Take care of yourselves. And each other. 73, Susan QTC March: K8GA-246; K4GK-147; K4BG- 52; WB4BIK-33; WA4UJC-17; K4BEH-12; K4BAI-7 +++ No trees were killed in the sending of this message. However, a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced. +++
Southern Florida
Hello everyone, There are many activities in the Southern Florida Section, even though none were listed in the recent division e-mail. You can find a Free Flea or hamfest almost every month in our section or in a county adjacent to our section. Many clubs have interesting programs each month at the meetings, there are special event stations, casual gatherings at restaurants, and much more. Check the section page at www.arrl.org/sections/SFL.html for information. April 27 to May 3 is National Volunteer Week. I want to say a big THANK YOU to all of the appointees, club officers, and club volunteers who work hard to promote ARRL, amateur radio and local clubs. Please take a minute and thank your local volunteers for all they do. Mark your calendar. Tell your local emergency management personnel and representatives of served agencies. The Governor's Hurricane Conference in Fort Lauderdale will be held May 12-18. Please attend on Tuesday May 13 from 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. – Communications for the Recovery Process (ARRL) Meeting (check on-site for room number). Dennis Dura, K2DCD the ARRL Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager, Karen Briggs, K8KB Southern Florida Section Emergency Coordinator and myself will be presenting the program/ Some items I have been asked about lately are Silent Key notifications and publicity. Below are aids to help you with these questions. "Silent Key" submission guidelines: November 3, 2005 -- The ARRL accepts notifications regarding the deaths of radio amateurs or former radio amateurs (if the reporting individual can provide proof of past licensure, including call sign) for possible inclusion in the QST "Silent Keys" listing. Actual published obituaries or copies of death certificates are the preferred means of notification but are not absolutely necessary. The League also will accept notifications from family members or friends of the deceased or from other amateurs. The following information is required: name, call sign (or formerly held call sign) and last known address of the deceased radio amateur. Mail, fax (860-594-0303) or e-mail information to Silent Key Administrator, [email protected] Allow up to two weeks for acknowledgement via e-mail. Here are some helpful links for PIOs and club publicity persons: http://www.publicityinsider.com/release.asp
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http://www.stetson.edu/~rhansen/prguide.html Before you write a word about ARES, RACES, or ANY local club be sure you have permission to release the information, be sure it is accurate, and be sure you comply with the ARRL rules for the use of ARES(r) name and logo: http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/forms/ARES-Registered-Trademark.pdf To help explain ARES and RACES here's a FAQ sheet: www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/faq-ares-races.html Is your group getting up-to-date information about advocating for Amateur Radio? Field Day and a whole new campaign are coming.WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO The PR Reflector is where you find the latest ideas, events and information about aids to help PIOs and club publicity teams do their job well. Have them drop Allen Pitts, W1AGP an e- mail and ask to be added. [email protected] Why do we do public service? 1.It is an opportunity as a service organization for us to give back to the community beyond disaster relief operations. 2.It provides on the job training opportunities such as mentoring new hams 3.It introduces hams to operation of equipment and communication modes they have not used previously 4.It familiarizes hams with our net procedures and other groups' net procedures 5.It allows - on a small scale - practical use of training received locally and through the ARRL,Red Cross, FEMA, FDEM, CERT, etc 6.It puts amateur radio operators in the public eye in a positive way. Raises public awareness of amateur radio and gives those who may be interested in the hobby a chance to talk to someone who is involved with it. From Orange County (FL) Communications Auxiliary web site. Reports: ARES for March 2008 ARES members in the 11 counties reporting: 931 14 ARES nets were active, 7 have NTS liaison, and they held 55 sessions DECs/ECsWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO reporting: N4LEM, WA2DQX, KF4MJJ, N5KFR, AA4BN, WA4ASJ, WA4GUK, AI7Q, K4FLC, AD4RZ, WN7YJJ reporting for Osceola County Drills, tests and training sessions: 72, Person hours 115 Public service events this month: 1 No emergency operations ARES operations this month: 78, Total Person hours 122.7 SFL ARES Net Report --- QNI 28 QTC 3 Time 46Min. Traffic Report for March 2008: SAR: KA4FZI-381, KE4CB-149, KC4TM-51, AA4BN-48, WA4EIC-33, W4WYR-6 ======PSHR: KA4FZI-120, KE4CB-95, AA4BN-86, N4HO-34 ======NETS Reports (several usual nets did not report) NET ABB. SESS QNI QTC MGR All Florida CW Traffic Net, QFN, 62, 574, 306, AD4DO Florida Amateur SSB Traffic Net, FAST, 31, 297, 60, K4SCL Florida Medium Speed Net FMSN, 31, 230, 45, AG4RJ/AB4XK Jupiter-Tequesta Rptr Group JTRG, 6, 45, 31, AG4BV/W4FK Saint Lucie Repeater Assn, SLRA, 4, 43, 0, KE4UEI Southeast Florida Traffic Net, SEFTN, 31, 721, 48, AG4RJ/KI4IQZ Southwest Florida Traffic Net, SWFTN, 27, 315, 90, KE4CB Total QNI 2225 (Great Job), Total QTC 580 If you have an ARES net or a traffic net in your area please send in a report. The check-in total from just these nets exceeds two thousand. What would it be if ALL ARES and traffic nets reported? I am proud of the Southern Florida Section and I hope all of you are proud of it too. Stay Safe and stay on the air. 73, Sherri, W4STB
Southwestern Division
Arizona
ARRL ARIZONA SECTION NEWS April 2008 ARIZONA PRB-1 Last month House Bill 2721 on Amateur Radio; structures; accommodation passed in the House. It has been in the Senate this month. We continue to work with Rep McLain our sponsor as well as several state senators. We have had a lot of support from various Emergency Communications groups in the state and the ARRL in Newington CT. Rep McLain spoke to the Central DX association this past week on the status of the bill. We have a lot going on right now and I will send out a special announcement sometime next weekend to let you know what happened. YOUTH AND SCOUTING Congratulations to Miguel Enriquez, KD7RPP at Pueblo High School in Tucson Arizona. Miguel was approved as a new instructor for the ARRL Teachers Institute staff this year. Along with Miguel, Nathan McCray, K9CPO was also approved. Miguel and Nathan will each co-teach a Teachers Institute session this summer with lead instructor Mark Spencer WA8SME. In 2009 they will take on lead instruction responsibilities. Tucson has been chosen for one of the institues sessions on June 25-28, at Pueblo High School. Jim Fagan KE7IDC
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Assistant Section Manager (ASM) Youth and Scouting [email protected] EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS I can't believe it's been a month since I had to think about something for Tom's newsletter. I guess the month flew by because of all the activity in the state this month. We had 8 events scattered around the central Arizona area, and 7 drills reported for more than 1020 hours and 81 entries in the Arizona ARES database. For me it was a busy month, I worked the "ADA Tour de Cure" and the new and improved "Bike MS 2008 Roundup" in Florence! On the Bike MS event this past weekend, we had incredible supportWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO from the law enforcement community in Pinal County and the community of Florence. The Chief of Police set us up in his conference room with not only direct access to Dispatch, but with an officer liaison who was instrumental in helping to resolve issues as they came in. Chief "Bob" as I came to know him, provided us access to the roof of the police station for antennas, keys to the doors and unbelievable support to the Bike MS event. I would like to personally say "Thank You" to the fine people of Florence and to all who directly or indirectly supported the event with us. If you haven't signed up for the Arizona ARES database, we need you. If you haven't worked a public service event lately, get out, exercise your gear and most importantly, HAVE FUN!!Please go to: www.az- arrl.org/secure to register for Arizona ARES! www.az-arrl.org/secure Rick Aldom W7STS SEC Arizona SKYWARN Two weather spotter training classes have been setup, One in Peoria on Monday April 21 @ 7PM The second one in Tempe on April 24 at 7 PM. See web site for more details.... http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/psr/general/spotter/index.php?wfo=psr If you want to join the WX7PHX reflectorWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO goto http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/wx7phx SILENT KEYS Richard Heidenreich K0BFB passed away on Monday, March 24. He had been in the US Air Force, taught at UW - Platteville and then worked as an Electrical Engineer for Honeywell in Freeport, IL and El Paso, TX and Brother Industries, Memphis, TN. He served as part of the Emergency Mgmt Communications team in Rowlett, TX. He also was part of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Communication posse here in Arizona as well as a member of the Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) in Mesa. Richard was also a ARRL Emergency Coordinator for Maricopa County. NEW HAMS The following Arizona hams just received their FCC license, Congratulations! Abigail Gugler KE7QVB, Alan Bird KE7RKQ, John Urbanski KE7RZG, John Watt KE7RKT, Edward Simko KE7RKO, Ryan Weller KE7RZI, James Scroggins KE7SBD, Michael Lasley KE7SBE, Rick Osgood KE7SAL, Benjamin Harrison KE7SBF, Jeff Watkins KE7RKP, Kent Littlefield KE7RKR, Richard Knox KE7SAS, Preston Kessinger KE7SAI, Jessica Hernandez KE7SAQ, James Galbraith KE7RHE, Steve Simmons KE7SAN, Jason Moeller KE7RHJ, Romeo Tremblay KE7SAO, Ray Ruiz KE7SBC, Jacob Egan KE7RPV, Seth Gardner KE7SAT, Tara Gardner KE7SAU, James Ramsey KE7RHG, David Moeller KE7RHF, Vincent Kracum KE7RHB, Kevin Kriegel KE7RKU, Dylan Quenneville KE7RHI, Barry Hoffman AD7SJ, Patricia Reese KE7RZJ, Michael Taylor KE7RKS, Mark Engdahl KE7RHA, Matthew Bushy KE7SAM, Bradley Burdic KE7SAJ, Carl Carlson KE7RZK, Claire Damecour KE7RZL, Matthew Beauchemin KE7RZH, Robert Ettenborough KE7SBG, George Fiala KE7ROZ, Oliver Stokes KE7RPZ, Robert Johnson KE7RIA, Robert Maudsley KE7RPW, Joseph Yount KE7RPX, James Deroussel KE7RID, Gordon Washburn KE7RIE, Donald Shiflet KE7RIC, Merrill Jackson KE7RHZ, Zach Hoobler KE7RHY, Jay Hoobler KE7RHX, Jacob Moeller KE7RIF, Adam Wardell KE7RHW, Angel Martinez KE7RPU, Donald Smith KE7RPY, Michael Lindsay AD7RZ, David Martines KE7RPS, Ralph Richards KE7RYT, John Shumaker KE7SBH, William Taylor KE7SBJ, Paul Schumacher AD7SL, John Wurtz KE7SBI. HAMFESTS/CONVENTIONS/SPECIAL MEETINGS April 12, 2008, AARC Hamfest, hosted by the Arizona Amateur Radio Club, DeVry University, Dunlap, Rd, Phoenix, AZ http://www.w7io.org May 3, 2008, CARA Hamfest, hosted by the Cochise Amateur Radio Association, Club Site, Moson Rd, Sierra Vista, AZ ARCA Meeting - 11:00 AM http://www.k7rdg.org May 31, 2008 Prescott Hamfest Hosted by the Yavapai Amateur Radio Club Granite Mountain Middle School, 1800 Williamson Valley Rd, Prescott, AZ www.w7yrc.org June 7, 2008 Kachina Amateur Radio Club Hamfest Hosted by the Kachina Amateur Radio Club Show Low Intermediate School, 500 N Old Linden Rd, Show Low, AZ Contact: Richard Gurk, KE7EDP [email protected] July 18-20, 2008 ARCA/Williams Hamfest hosted by the Amateur Radio Council of Arizona Williams Rodeo Grounds, 800 Rodeo Rd, Williams, AZ www.arca-az.org September 6, 2008 Mohave Professional Amateur Radio Group will be having its
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1st Annual Hamfest in Kingman Arizona. They are working on finalizing the site location which should be secured by the end of March. They will be providing Free Hamburgers, Hotdogs, Soda and Water to all who attend. September 12-14, 2008 ARRL Southwestern Division Convention Mesa AZ Come check us out at www.AzHamCom.org Mesa Convention Center Rick Aldom W7STS 2008 SWD Chair [email protected]. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about ARRL. If your club or group has an activity or event that would be of interest to other hams throughout our section please email me with the WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROspecifics. 73, Tom Fagan K7DF ARRL Section Manager Arizona Tucson Arizona (520) 574-1129 [email protected] http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=AZ or http://www.az-arrl.org/
West Gulf Division
South Texas
I want to thank those who helped me in part of the move to my new location. I don't have antennas up yet and still lack some of the things to be moved. My new address is: 15426 Spring Coral San Antonio,TX 78247 Phone: 210-233-8971 E-mail: Still the same We will be in and out for the next few days while we finish the move. Hope to have something up for an antenna in the next week or so. Ray N5NAVWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO
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Section News for April 2008
Atlantic Division Delaware WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Delaware Section Monthly Summary May 2008 The month of May is the official start of the hurricane season, are you ready? Do you have a plan for protecting your family with food and shelter for at least 3 days? Do you have an alternate source of power and an antenna system that you can deploy if your power or your antenna fails? May is the time to review your own personal plans and prepare yourself and your family. On Friday May 2nd thru Sunday May 4th the Boy Scouts of America Del-Mar-Va Council held a Jamboree weekend event. Amateur Radio was asked to support a Radio Merit Badge course and other communications during this event. This event took take place at Killens Pond State Park, Felton Delaware. John Ferguson K3PFW led as coordinator for the Kent County Amateur Radio Club in supporting the Boy Scouts during this event. On Saturday May 3rd at Cape Henlopen, Delaware Rockets for Schools took place at the Cape Henlopen Delaware State Park Dick Drevo W3GNQ reported for the Lewes Amateur Radio Society although turn out was light and a good time was had by all that attended.WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO I attended a Delaware Communications Seminar on Monday May 5th at the Delaware Emergency Management Agency in Smyrna Delaware. The presenters were Bill Carrow from the Delaware State Police, Col. Dallas Wingate Delaware National Guard, Justin Kates Communication Corps, Lisa Wragg Delaware Technology and Information, Bob Pederson Delaware Division of Communication and Joe Thomas Director Sussex County Emergency Operations Center. This seminar was the first in a series of exercise planning gatherings of various communications agencies within the State of Delaware to work on communication issues while eliminating duplication of services and to exchange information about what roles other communication agencies bring to the table in time of disasters. Some information you may find interesting about the Delaware 800 MHz radio system is that currently it consists of 34 tower sites, 8 computer systems, it supports 778 agency specific channels and average of 115,000 transmitted calls are handled daily.We are looking forward to future meetings and exercises as a result of these meetings. Wednesday May 7th Robbie McCray W3RSM New Castle County ARES coordinator reported progress with the installation of Amateur Radio antennas at New Castle County Emergency Operations Center. After some false starts and technical glitches we now have 2 meter 440 and high frequency antennas installed and operational at the new EOC. On Saturday May 10th Pat Ryan KW3Z ARES Sussex County Emergency Coordinator reported that Sussex County performed a county wide 2 meter and simplex test. The purpose: Test 2 Meter FM capabilities from all Sussex County Firehouses and selected School Shelter Sites. Monday May 12th the State of Delaware was hit with high winds and water resulting in flooding and power failures statewide. Pat Ryan KW3Z activated ARES in Sussex County. There were many reports of flooding and power outages. One death was reported as rough seas washed a research vessel studying wind patterns off the Bethany Beach. Kent County reported evacuations in the Kitts Hummock and Pickering Beach areas, there was no formal request for Amateur Radio support during this event. On Tuesday May 20th Amateur Radio will be involved during the DEMA Radiological Emergency Plan Graded Exercise. The extent of play will involve primarily the State, New Castle and Kent County’s EOC’s I would like to invite all available stations to participate. This event will be from 4:00 PM local to 11:PM local time, we will be operating on 3.905 HF and local repeaters in all counties. This is a chance to participate as a net control station and pass message traffic both formal and informal. On Saturday, May 24 at 11am to 12pm, meet with ARRL's Media and Public Relations Manager, Allen Pitts W1AGP, who will present information about the ARRL's new public relations program for 2008. This webinar/teleconference is for Public Information Officers, Public Information Coordinators, club members, ARES members, Section Managers, Section Cabinet Staff and those interested in public relations as it pertains to amateur radio. You can register for this webinar at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/939266067 For more
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information about Atlantic Division Teleconferences/Webinars, you can go to the Atlantic Division Website Training page located at: http://www.atldiv.org/training It's that time of year again -- time to start gearing up for Field Day, ARRL's flagship operating event. Field Day, held the fourth full weekend in June, brings together new and experienced hams for 24 hours of operating fun. ARRL Field Day Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND, says there are several rules changes this year, mainly concerning "Get on the Air" (GOTA) stations and the elimination of the Demonstration Mode Bonus Category. The complete Field DayWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Packet can be downloaded from the ARRL Web site. Finally I need your assistance in keeping the ARES / RACES registration data base up to date please go to www.de-arrl.org and click on the registration URL and follow the instructions to submit your registration by email! Thank You 73 Frank Filipkowski AD3M
Southern New Jersey
SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY NEWSLETTER FOR MAY 2008 SECTION MANAGER, JEAN PRIESTLEY, KA2YKN On Saturday we went to a party and celebrate the homecoming of a soldier who has come home safe. He is a ham, following in the family tradition of being an amateur radio operator. He has given months of his life to keep our country safe. Leo E. Daley, Sgt. Major USMC, .retired of Brigantine recently became a Silent Key. He served as a member of the Marine Corps during WW11 andWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO the Korean Conflict. Residing in Brigantine since 1963, He was an active member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary and a member of the Military Amateur Radio Service (M.A.R.S.). The list goes on for Leo’s service to community and County. Interment took place at the Atlantic County Veterans’ Cemetery in Estell Manor. He will be missed South Jersey DX Assn and OBARC sponsored contest classes at the SJDXA club station, N2CW on March 28 to March 30.A diverse group of trainees attended the sessions ranging from newly licensed, senior operators, a group of ladies and a group of boy scouts. Everyone benefited from the wisdom of seasoned contester, Tony DiBiasi, K2SG who tutored several prospective contesters. The trainees all did very well. Why not try this at your club? Cell phone law http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/legis/2007c198_law.pdf The new Amateur Extra class Question Pool has been released. The national Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators has released the new pool of question for the Amateur Extra class license. This pool will become effective for examinations given on or after July 1, 2008 and should be in service until June 30, 2012. The pool, which consists of 741 questions and 12 graphics, can be downloaded from the NCVEC website in Word, PDF or RTF formats. JSARS Is still holding their testing sessions the third Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm at the Riverwood Recreation Building on Riverwood Drive in Toms River, NJ. For more information call Ed GENOINO, WA2NDA at 609-693-3729. Holiday City ARC is also still holding their test sessions every other 2nd Saturday from 10am to 12pm, (May, July, Sept, Nov). Sessions are held at the Holiday City South Clubhouse area in meeting room #1 on Mule Road at the corner of Santiago Dr in Toms River. Your contact person is Bill Haldane, AC2F and the phone is 732-240-7064 or [email protected]. When going to any test session, you must have your original license, at least one Xerox copy and original and one copy of any credit sheets you may have. Also bring 2 forms of id. An Amateur Radio test session will be conducted on Saturday June 7, 2008 at 9:30 AM. Doors will open at 9 AM. The location of the testing is the Tony Canale Fire Training Center, 5033 English Creek Avenue, Egg Harbor Township, NJ 08234. The test fee is $14 and you must have 2 forms of ID. Anyone who is testing to upgrade their present license must bring their orginal amateur radio license plus a photo copy of same. Southern Counties Amateur Radio Association is the sponsor of the testing. All the Volunteer Examers are certified by the ARRL. Pre-registration is mandatory. Please contact Lou, KA2NTT, [email protected] or call 609-927-9182 to register. OBARC will be resuming their test sessions starting June 5, 2008 with two more sessions during the year. They will be Sept. 4 and Dec. 4, 2008. All the sessions will be held at the Ocean Acres Community Center, Nautilus Drive, Manahawkin. Doors close at 7pm. Contact Dave Burgess, WA2TVS at 609-698-2872. Directions to test site are available at http://wwww.obarc.org. Testing sessions by SJRA are on the 4th Tuesday of each month at the Winslow Senior center. Contact is Mark, K2AX at [email protected] or (609)820-1523. Here is a heads up - a
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Skywarn Class. May 31, 2008 Mercer County, NJ contact is [email protected]. If you haven’t already, please make a note or bookmark the following site: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/phi/skywarn/index.html. The Battleship New Jersey is back on summer hours. If your club is thinking about visiting the NJ2BB club station, please be sure to make arrangements ahead of the scheduled date to insure that someone will be there. Just go on our website at www.nj2bb.org for information to schedule a visit. If you have worked NJ2BB and want to send a card, the QSL manager isWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Margaret Burgess, KB2BRR 150 Schooner Ave, Barnegat, NJ 08005. Please send your cards with an SASE to insure receiving a card in return from NJ2BB. http:// www.nj2bb.org Early this summer the ship will open a new tour route named “City at Sea”. Its intent is to highlight the support activities within the vessel, such as dental, medical and sickbay. There will also be a Quick Stop (aka smoke shop), Post office and machine shops. Of interest to the Ham community is the WW2 Radio Room that members of BNJARS have been working on. This compartment was once filled with black crackle painted equipment that glows in the dark. The gang has found the appropriate equipment from various sources, restored and repaired each item as needed. When the new route opens to the public, all of the gear on display will be ready for real operations. Except that the antenna feed lines will most likely not be back in service yet. Once the cables are installed, Ham operations from this space will commence much to the delight of the viewing public and the operators. If you have an activity coming up or want to report something that happened, please send a short write up to me and I will put it in next month. PleaseWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO remember that if you work traffic to report it to Dan, K2UL. Traffic report for April Traffic manager, K2UL, Dan Ostroy SNJ/NNJ Section Net Reports QNI reports NJM 78 N2GJ NJPN 212 W2CC NJSN 168 K2PB NJN(E) 170 AG2R NJN(L) 164 AG2R (the above nets are dual section nets of both SNJ and NNJ. Liaisons with 2RN) SNJ Local Net Reports JSARS 347 WA2NDA SJTN (E) 22 KB2RTZ SJTN(L) 6 KB2RTZ Station Activity Reports (SAR) WA2CUW 37 AA2SV 30 K2UL 30 WA2NDA 14 K2GW 10 WWJ39 9 KC2IYC 4 KB2RTZ 96 Public Service Honor Roll (PSHR) KB2RTZ 270 K2GW 139 K2UL 100 WA2CUW 87 WJ3P 74 N2HQL 8O KA2YKN 75 WA2NDA 54 WA2NDA 54 KC2IYC 52 KC2IYC 26 (MARCH) KB2ADL 43 W2CAM 40 STM reports that the past six years have been posted on the web at http://k2ul.home.att.net/stm_monthly.htm ARPRI NEWS; After more than 30 years of service, the South Jersey VHF Net has ended. Gene, WB2UVB did an outstanding job of keeping the net active and growing from its inception and we owe him a large debt of gratitude from his service over the many years. Sadly, recent circumstances make it difficult for him to continue. We would like to thank him for his many years of service, let him know that he has our sympathies and support and wish him the best. To help fill the network void at 10:30pm we have added additional session s of the South Jersey Traffic Net (SJTN) on the Waterford repeater, 147.345 on Tue, Thu and Sat at 10:30 pm. FROM RAY KC2IYC: County CERT teams set up displays, handed out brochures and spoke with citizens at two local Malls. The events at Burlington Center on April 19 and 20 and at Moorestown Mall on April 27 were very successful. I think the total new volunteers signed up were 100 with over 50 signing up for CERT. Medical Reserve Corp. (MRC). Community Animal Rescue Team (CART) and USAWATCH (formerly Town Watch) also participated. The displays and event were an example of how these teams would coordinate and support each other in an emergency of disaster. Be sure to check your license expiration date on your Amateur license.
Western Pennsylvania
I recently had the opportunity to talk with many of you at the Two Rivers hamfest in April. As always I enjoyed meeting many of the members and I want to that the Two Rivers club for their hospitality as well. Personally I enjoying seeing and talking to the members that stop by the league table at the hamfests and I hope that many of you will stop at say hello at the Breezeshooters hamfest as well. The Breezeshooters hamfest is Sunday June 1 at the Butler Farm show grounds on route 68 just outside of Butler. More information regarding the hamfest is available at http://www.breezeshooters.net/hamfest08.pdf . I look forward to seeing you attend the largest hamfest in Western Pennsylvania. Another of the enjoyable aspects of the section managers position is visiting the
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various clubs and talking to the members about what we are doing in the section as well as in the Atlantic Division. I recently visited Skyiew ARC and also The Wireless Association of South Hills to talk to their members. Thanks to both clubs for their hospitality and great interaction with questions and comments. I will be visiting the folks at Steel City Arc on Thursday May 22 and look forward to seeing everyone there as well. I am finalizing my itinerary for field day travel so if your club in interested in having me stop by for a visit let me know as soon as possible. I am looking forward to field day this year as being section managerWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO gives me the opportunity to see many different setups and this year I also plan on operating HF mobile as I travel between the various sites. Field day is many different things to different people but one thing it seems to be to everyone is 24 plus hours of fun and enjoyment. Field day gives us a chance to share stories and operate the radio with old friends and new. We all have our favorite field day stories and if anyone would like to share either stories or photos from field day events forward them to me and I will post them on the section web page for all to enjoy. Any clubs that are planning operating events or other special activities are welcome to forward the information to be included in my monthly section news and posted on the web page. Photos of events are also welcomed and will be used as space permits. Stories of activities of the different clubs can be used to promote ideas for programs that could help generate activities for the other clubs within our section. The Atlantic division is currently conducting a survery for members about the recent Koscovo Dxpedition and I encourage all to participate so Director Edgar can report your views at the next board meeting. The division WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.ROis also conducting two additional webinar programs in the near future. The first will be on March 24 with ARRL's Media and Public Relations Manager, Allen Pitts W1AGP, who will present information about the ARRL's new public relations program for 2008. The next one will be on June 14 with ARRL's Regulatory Manager, Dan Henderson N1ND, who will present information about the ARRL's regulatory program and what he's been working on. To register for either of these please go to the following website and register for the webinar. The website is http://www.atldiv.org/training.htm Finally please join the Western Pa. Phone and Traffic net every evening at 6 PM local time on 3.983 KHz. This group will also be gathering at the Breezeshooters hamfest for a discussion on traffic handling so check the schedule at the hamfest. Don’t forget about sending your field day message to me for the extra points. The net will accept the traffic for me to pick up on Sunday at the end of field day. That is it for this month and I look forward to talking with you on the air and at the hamfests. 73 John Rodgers, N3MSE W. Pa. Section Manager
Central Division
Illinois
QST DE KA9QPN From the top... **While perusing a number of Amateur Radio related forums, I note the disturbing trend of some of our fellow hams referring to ARES®/RACES participants as 'whackers'. I prefer not to think as to what that exactly means or how the general public might react to that appellation. Some folks in Amateur Radio don't get what the NRA, AARP and other special interest groups have known for years: All pursuits within a worthy discipline have merit and must be defended vigorously as a package. In our case, the experimenter and the builder advance the art. The Elmer freshens our ranks with new blood and guards our traditions by passing them on. The club member organizes, encourages, and showcases our pursuits. The contester and award chaser sharpens his communications skills for use in other venues. The traffic-handler preserves our most basic function. The ARES®/RACES member serves the public and helps pay the rent on our spectrum. The rag-chewer fosters good will and the fine art of conversation. What has the namecaller ever brought to the table that is positive? Tom Paine said it years ago: 'If we do not hang together, we shall surely hang separately.' ======**I had the extreme pleasure to assist the Kishwaukee ARC on 26 April as they supported the March of Dimes Walk for Babies in DeKalb. The walk passed uneventfully except for a flurry of activity to provide transport for a couple with a child who'd had enough fun for the morning. If you get a chance, join in
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with your local club and help out in an operation such as this. You'll enjoy yourself, do some good, and help showcase this wonderful Service to the public. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Get informed... **It's time for Dayton again! Time for the annual pilgrimage to see who's who and what's what in the world of Amateur Radio. Everyone needs to go to Dayton at least once for the experience. My only trip there was a wonderful, crazy event, concluding in a wild RV ride home in order for one of our group to beat theWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO stork (we did...I still hold the land speed record for motor home on I-70 and I-65)! Don't forget to stop by ARRL EXPO during the Hamvention®. Now, if only it wasn't on the same weekend as my wife's birthday... ======**Field Day preparations continue throughout the Section. Don't forget to check out the rule changes as you plan. There's still time to partner with your area Emergency Management in order to establish that Class F station in their EOC. ======**In the April issue of the Podunk Hollow News of the Egyptian RC, Walter Wise WB9BRQ uses the privilege of the editor's chair to reprint the Amateur's Code with some personal additions. The Code, written in 1928 by Paul Segal W9EEA, embodies everything that we should strive for. Walter's suggested additions on respectfulness and honesty bear consideration if not addition. And Walter...as frequent readers can verify, I'veWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO never found it necessary to be apologetic for an honest opinion. ======**Tod West KB9AIL, has been a fixture in Madison County EmComm for years. All good things come to an end though, and Tod has decided to step back as EC of Madison County. In recognition of his devotion to service, Pat Ryan KC6VVT and Curtis Williams W5DTR presented Tod with a Certificate of Appreciation at the recent Hamfest in Godfrey. Tod continues as an OES, as we don't let good volunteers go completely. Tod has been a friend and supporter since I began my activities several years ago, and I join Pat and Curtis in saying 'WELL DONE!' ======**The LaSalle and Grundy County ARES® assisted in a full-scale exercise involving the Exelon (ComEd) nuclear facility in LaSalle County. This is a required biennial effort involving plant personnel, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, FEMA, IEMA, and county and local EMA/ESDA. Bob Cockream AB9EE and Joe Tokarz KB9EZZ led the charge of volunteers in various EOCs in Grundy and LaSalle Counties using FM voice, packet, and Echolink. Owing to intense preparation, the folks gave a good accounting of themselves and the Service. Joe KB9EZZ tells it this way: 'During the April 30th drill, 11 volunteer hams worked with the LaSalle County Emergency Manager Mike Jobst, KC9KWA, to pass Nuclear Accident Reporting System (NARs) messages between the County EOC and townships within the 10 mile Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ). During the exercise debrief, a FEMA evaluator recognized the hams and how they strengthened the extremely important function of communications. This strength would not have been possible without over 50 ham-hours of pre-exercise on-air training sessions. During the training, the hams became proficient in accurately passing the 15-line NARS using voice. And, following the old EmComm adage of 'failing to plan is planning to fail', once it got too easy using the Starved Rock Radio Club's 147.120 repeater, we continued the training by sending NARs over 150 miles using a backup 2M simplex frequency. We will continue honing our 2M traffic-handling skills using voice. Before the 2010 exercise, we will also practice using packet radio and Outpost (see April 2008 QST). Thanks again to these Communication Specialists: Peru Red Cross--Keith KB9VFX and Bonnie KC9IZT using Repeater and Simplex voice and packet, LaSalle EOC--Frank KF9NZ and Joe KB9EZZ using Repeater and Simplex voice and packet, Grundy EOC--Ann WD9JHP, Art N9ZZK and Bob AB9EE using Repeater voice and packet, Marseilles--Oggie N9JNK using Repeater and Simplex voice and packet, Grand Ridge--Jim KC9FGU and Gene N9MRG using Repeater and simplex voice and Seneca--Mark K9ZQ using Repeater and Simplex voice.' Take that, namecallers! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Around the Section... **The Bolingbrook ARS is still fighting the good fight in trying to get their 220 and 440
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machines back at full strength after a mishap in the water tower site that the club shared. 440 is up on a loaner box at a temporary site. A word to the wise: Even if you are the best of friends with your repeater site manager, make sure that everyone understands who is responsible for what if the unforseen occurs. This way, there are no hard feelings or unrealistic expectations if the worst happens. And lesson number two...it ain't just lightning that can put a repeater out of action. ======**It's been bad repeater karmaWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO this month! The Vermilion County ARA also lost their repeater for a time when a tower failure caused a near-catastrophe. A quickly called work party prevented serious damage, and the W9MJL machine is back using a temporary antenna mounting until the tower issue is resolved. **The April meeting of the Western IL ARC was held at the WGEM-TV studios in Quincy.The meeting's high point was a tour of the station's Weather Center. If you have a local TV outlet, here's a meeting idea that is worth swiping. Information sharing between the TV weather guys and your local SKYWARN component is never a bad idea, either. ======**Joe Gutwein WA9RIJ recently retired after thirty-nine years as Secretary of the fabled Six Meter Club of Chicago. He was honored by his fellows with a plaque in recognition of his service. Remember this story when your club comes looking for volunteers in the fall. ======**The Rockford ARA is WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.ROproviding communications support for the upcoming Rockford Marathon on 19 May. After the misfires during the Chicago Marathon last summer when 49 people were hospitalized due to the unseasonable heat, many will be watching the support functions of this race. Best of luck to RARA and the other folks who will provide commo support to this event.
Wisconsin
WISCONSIN: SM: Don Michalski, W9IXG. BWN 3982.5 0500-0715 W9IXG. BEN 3985 1200 WD9FLJ. WSBN 3985 1715-1800 KB9KEG. WNN 3555 1800 KB9ROB. WSSN 3555 1830 N9JIY. WIN-E 3555 1900 WB9ICH. WIN-L 3555 2200 W9UW. (All times are Central time) ** Regretfully, I am informing you of the passing of these Wisconsin Amateurs: -- Bill Brossmann, W9EQP, 99. Bill was first licensed in 1927 and was a net control of the Milwaukee-Florida net. -- LaMont Struxness, WB9DXL, 54. -- Wilfred Wisner, KB9MPE, 92. -- Herbert Ladwig, W9PHJ, 86. -- Robert "Rob" Hummel, WA9ZTY, 55. Rob was a member of WARC. -- Richard Dailey, W9IBL, 74. Rich was a member of WARC and a former Emergency Coordinator. -- Elwin Martin, KC9IVY, 57. Through a memorial gift to ARRL you can honor the life or contributions of a family member or friend for whom Amateur Radio has been a passion. http://www.arrl.org/development/memorial.html#top ** NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) is fast becoming a method for release of not only up-to-date weather information but also for release of "all-hazards" information as well. Like smoke alarms, every building should have at least one all-hazards alert monitor (commonly called a weather radio) in it. For additional information, visit http://www.weather.gov/nwr/ Tom Kucharski, W9TJK, Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator for National Weather Service [email protected] ** ARRL brochures-- Many times I am asked if I can provide ARRL brochures, as seen at the ARRL hamfest table, to support club events. Section Managers only have enough hand outs to support hamfests so the ARRL has set up a way for clubs or individuals to request material direct from ARRL. Go to this site: http://www.arrl.org/brochures/ to request brochures, exhibit kits, etc. ** USS Cobia Submarine MUSEUM SHIPS WEEKEND 2008 NB9QV 'USS COBIA' club and W9DK Mancorad club of Manitowoc, WI. will be operating from aboard the WWII Memorial Submarine 'USS COBIA AGSS- 245 celebrating the Museum ships weekend June 7 & 8 where all current Museum ships will be on the air with activity. Dates: June 7th and 8th 2008 Time: 1400utc-2200utc (9am to 5pm CST) Operating freq's:+/-30khz: 3.900, 7.250, 14.260 SSB and some 20-40M CW using the original radio equipment. Echolink KC9JGE on the 145.110 repeater during this event. Local Mancorad repeater 146.610 (-) pl 107.2 Web link: http://www.w9dk.com/html/uss_cobia.htm Contact: Carl, KA9WYK,
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[email protected] ** We need your help to update the Wisconsin Nets Listing that is posted on the Wisconsin site under Traffic Handling. http://www.wi-aresraces.org/w9ixg/winets.htm We think that many of these nets no longer exist and others are now active in your area but may not be listed. So, if you could please review the listing and provide Denny, K9LGU, [email protected] with revisions we would really appreciate it! Thank you!! ** STM Report Wisconsin Section April 2008 FAQ # 81 -- How do we get Field Day points for traffic handling? Yes, it's time to start Field Day plans. There are two ways to earn pointsWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO by traffic handling. You can earn 100 bonus points for origination of a National Traffic System (NTS) style formal message to the ARRL Section Manager (W9IXG) or Section Emergency Coordinator (KB9ENO) by your group from its site. Be sure to follow NTS format (Remember the pink card?). In the text, you should include the club name, number of participants, Field Day location, and number of ARES operators involved with your station. Send it. 100 points! If you originate, receive, or relay ten messages in addition to the one you send to the SM or SEC, you can earn ten points per message up to another 100 bonus points. Keep some radiogram blanks handy for visitors and get their messages into the National Traffic System during the FD period. If some of your new operators haven't handled formal traffic, this is a perfect chance. Not only will the standard section nets be available at their usual times, but the CW nets will monitor 3555 starting a little early each session and will run until all FD traffic has been cleared -- so at least your message will be sent from your FD site and your team will get credit. Net controls during the FD period will be asked to handle the traffic as quickly WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.ROas possible, so you won't lose much operating time. So schedule some net operation during your Field Day. Bring your messages. Our nets will be ready for them. 73 -- K9LGU/ STM-WI MONTHLY NET ACTIVITY SUMMARY APRIL 2008 NET QNI QTC QTR SSNS NM BWN 2143 2845 5830 30 W9IXG BEN 572 68 1100 30 WD9FLJ WSBN 598 52 1009 30 KB9KEG WNN 154 8 280 22 KB9ROB WSSN 170 11 296 29 N9JIY WIN/E 142 29 226 26 WB9ICH WIN/L 137 42 291 30 W9UW WRACES 115 0 272 4 N9VAO TOTALS 4031 3055 9304 201 ** It was great to see a good turnout at the Ozaukee Radio Club's Swapfest. Thanks, again, to Tom Ruhlmann, W9IPR, for hosting the President's Roundtable meeting and for Dan Vanevenhoven, N9LVS, Affiliated Club Coordinator, for attending and providing useful information to the participants. Forums are great things to have at hamfests and we encourage clubs to do more of them. 73, Don, W9IXG
Dakota Division
Minnesota
ARRL MINNESOTA SECTION SUMMARY FOR APRIL 2008 SUMMARY FROM SM ++ The MN section OOC, TC, ARES and Traffic summaries are enclosed below. ++ See the ARRL Section web site for up-to-date information and bulletins. ++ Go to the section website at http://www.mn-section.com for other news. ++ A major ham radio event is planned for August 8-10 in Rochester. This will be a Dakota Division Convention and DX conference combined. Stay tuned. ++ Have you any local stories for the section news? Please send to me. ++ Please send me your plans for future Amateur Radio Classes. ++ Please submit all items for posting to section webpage to me as well. ++ Please list your field day event at the ARRL website. Go to: http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/locator.php Respectfully submitted by Skip Jackson, KS0J, MN SM MN OOC & TC REPORT SUMMARY FOR APRIL 2008 OO reports received from N0OH, WO0A and W3FAF. Total listening hours for April was 182. Respectfully submitted by John H. Thomas III, W3FAF, MN OOC & TC MN SEC REPORT SUMMARY FOR APRIL 2008 Total number of ARES members reported: 187 Change since last month: Incomplete Reports County EC’s reporting: Cook (KBØBDN), Itasca (KGØFD), Lac Qui Parle (KCØQED), Olmsted (AB0BW), Scott (NØBHC), St. Louis-North (WDØGUF), St. Louis-South (KBØLC), Local Net Names: Anoka County ARES Net, CCART, River Valley, SEMARC, Scott County, Chisago County, Carver County, Washington County, Fox Valley Monday Night Net, Lac Qui Parle Phone, Lac Qui Parle Packet, Mankato Area Radio Club Emergency Services Net, Marshall Area Emergency Net, Redwood County, Wadena Area Ham Net, Northern Lakes Radio, NE MN Public
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Service, SE St. Louis Emergency Service, Dakota County ARES, Scott County ARES. Total sessions: 49 NTS liaison is maintained with the MN Section, Tenth Region, and NTSD Traffic Nets by NØUC, WØLAW Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 55 Person hours: 359 Number of public service events this month: 1 Person hours: 16 Number of emergency operations this month: 3 Person hours: 112 Total number of ARES operations this month: 59 Total Person hours: 487 Comments: Lac Qui Parle: On April 19 we set up VHF and HF radios for a Boy Scout Jamboree. We exposed about 150 Boy Scouts toWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO HAM radio. Also a special Tornado drill net April 24. Scott County: Breakfast meeting – April 12th Field Day 08 planning continues Continuing group training in adding NBEMS to our tools. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, MN SEC MN STM SUMMARY FOR APRIL 2008 NET FREQ TIME QNI/QTC/SESS MGR ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ MSPN/E 3860 5:30 P WO0A MSPN/N 3860 12.00P K0BLR MSN/1 3605 6:30 P K0WPK MSN/2 3605 9:50 P K0WPK PAW 3925 9A-11AM 1500-1700 KA0IZA MONTHLY STATION ACTIVITY REPORTS (SAR) STATION ORIG. REC'D. SENT DLVD. TOTAL BPL NO.OPS. W3FAF 0 70 93 8 171 W0LAW 0 75 91 3 163 KA0RMP 1 44 45 5 95 KB0AII 0 14 44 0 58 K0BLR 3 30 8 3 40 W0HPD 1 14 24 1 40 KX0N 2 24 12 0 28 KB0AIJ 0 14 14 0 28 N0KCM 5 3 5 3 16 WD0GUF 1 4 5 0 10 N0JP 0 0 5 0 5 ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~ PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) STATION 1 2 3 4 5 6 TOTAL K0BLR 40 40 10 45 0 0 135 W0LAW 40 40 20 20 0 0 120 WD0GUF 40 10 30 0 0 0 80 ~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~ SECTION TRAFFICWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO MANAGER MONTLY REPORT NET ABBR. SESS. TFC. NMCALL NTS LIASON ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ MINNESOTA SECTION MSPN/E WO0A MSPN/E C/2 PHONE/NET EVENING 1,596 30 70 1730 LOCAL MINNESOTA SECTION MSPN/N K0BLR PHONE NET/NOON 1200 NOON 591 30 51 MINNESOTA SECTION MSN/1 K0WPK RN-10, C4 NET (CW) 6:30PM 153 30 63 MINNESOTA SECTION MSN/2 K0WPK RN-10, C4 NET CW 9;50PM 88 26 13 PICONET ALLDAY PAW PICO NET ALL DAY WATCH KA0IZA 3,464 90 56 RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Robert Meyer, W0LAW, MN STM
North Dakota
NORTH DAKOTA: SM, Kent Olson, KAØLDG - You know what they say about the weather in ND, wait around for a few minutes, and it’s bound to change. Nothing could be further from the truth when it came to Fargo’s hamfest. Who would have guessed that we would have received 10 inches of snow on April 22nd. Having said that, hams still found their way to the fest from all points of the compass. I guess we are just tired of winter, and a little (a lot) of snow wasn’t going to stop us from swapping gear and stories. Thanks to all who made the effort to attend and I hope it was worth it. The RRRA in Fargo also thanks you for attending and making the hamfest a success. Remember to try and contact the Theodore Roosevelt ARC’s Special Event Station on May 31st. They will be operating from the Painted Canyon Overlook at the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Field Day is coming up, and the ND Top Gun award will be up for grabs again. The folks from Minot won last year, so now you all know who you need to beat. This year, we are not going to wait until the ARRL scores come out to decide the winner. Instead, we’ll trust the scores you send me, and make the announcement of the winning club. Lots of fun to be had by all, and be sure to get those new hams involved. It’s a great time for us to set the hook and show them how much fun HF can be. .HF NM K8BBM net reports for April: Weather Net: 26/601/6. Data Net: 30/1122/26. Goose River Net: 4/40/1.
South Dakota
Here is the section news for South Dakota, if there are any clubs that have material that they wish to have posted please email me the information no later than the 5th of the month so that I can get it posted to both the summary and the web site before the cut off date. South Dakota Section Convention South Dakota Section & Sioux Empire ARC It is official everyone - September 20th, 2008 is the date - mark the calendar. We have the venue and banquet lined up - and we will have more flea market space
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(double of last year) as well as double the banquet seating. I would like everyone to email me and let me know what seminars you would like to see or if you would like to put one on that is even better. We are working on vendors and other surprises so keep tuned in and reading. Thanks, Rich, N0PV ARRL South Dakota Section Manager [email protected] Hot Springs ARC News It is with sadness that I report Jiggs Mower, WA0FGV, and John Prall, N0IQS, as silent keys. They were 2 very active and well known members of our club. Both Jiggs and John will be missed. The ham testing on May 3 produced 5 new Generals and 1 newWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Technician. So the results from our Technician licensing class are 2 Technicians and 3 Generals for the Hot Springs area. The most recent new Tech is Penny Hanna, KD0DUE. We are also glad to welcome Joe Story, WL7BT, to our club. Phil, KA0FUI and John, KC0WIB, installed the new door on the club shack. We will get it bug proof yet! The next step for the shack is to get a coat of paint inside and install the operating counter tops. Installing the tower on our trailer will take priority to use at Field Day. Field Day plans are coming together. We have decided to set up at the Mammoth Site again. Anyone is welcome to join us for a super good time. If nothing else, the cookout is worth the drive. Watch next month for more specifics. 73 Tim K0OR NORTHERN HILLS AMATEUR RADIO CLUB At 17:50, prior to the meeting, there were 10 members present evaluating packet radio communications. On hand were six packet radios communicating through a local intermediate packet radio. The evaluation and testing was a success and the implementation will be the next process for the club. The April meeting of the Northern Hills Amateur Radio Club was called to order by President Gene McPherson,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO NØMHJ at 1930 on April 25, 2008 with 15 present at the Sturgis Fire Department. Public Service events were discussed by President Gene with no changes. APRS was discussed for the trailing bicyclist on the Big Mick Ride. Route changes were noted on the Big Mick Ride. Scott, WAØVKC, reported on the ARES Hermosa meeting. The next meeting will be in early September Net Controllers for the evening Weather Net are still needed along with relief Controllers for the present ones. Jerry, KGØGG, requested an individual to be available for a radio station interview by telephone on May 2. President Gene offered to be available. President Gene reported that Saturday, April 26, he will be using a NIVS antenna to contact Pierre during Net time. Various different NIVS antenna configurations were discussed. The next meeting will be in Lead at the Fire Hall at the usual time. Scott reported that the Memorial Committee will place the flowers at the Sturgis National Cemetery on Thursday, May 1, on the graves of the radio amateurs who have become Silent Keys. He also requested that the NHARC be in charge of accumulating the money that will be donated to place a cemetery stone on a grave of a Silent Key who has no stone. Carroll, KØRXC, will set up a memorial account at the bank for this project. Chris, WØADZ, offered to assist Carroll. Bob, KBØNRB, requested help to assist in installing the tower and antennas at the Red Cross Headquarters in Rapid City. There will 5 amateur antennas and 2 for the Red Cross. Bruce Conlee, KØNLE, Secretary
Great Lakes Division
Michigan
Greetings Michigan Amateur Radio Operators, "Get out! Take a Hike!" is the theme of the National Trails Day special event being put on by the Lake Effect ARC near Marquette on Saturday, June 7. The event celebrates the 40th anniversary of the National Trails System from the Elliott-Donnely Wilderness on the North Country Scenic Trail (trail runs from New York through PA, OH, MI, WI, MN into SD) north of Marquette. All hams regardless of club affiliation or license class are welcome to participate. See the event web: http://www.lakeeffectarc.info/N8T-Trails2008 Look for N8T on the bands. Hank N8XX calls the following to our attention: "The IRS has new rules for charitable organizations…it would appear that ALL 501c3 organizations must file a 990-N, or more complicated 990 or 990-EZ regardless of income level or asset amounts. "Details are at http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=169250,00.html "A very important point on that page is: Late Filing or Failure To File the e-Postcard. If you do not file your e-Postcard on time, the IRS will send you a reminder notice but you will not be assessed a penalty for late filing the e-Postcard. However, an
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organization that fails to file required e-Postcards (or information returns – Forms 990 or 990-EZ) for three consecutive years will automatically lose its tax-exempt status. The revocation of the organization’s tax-exempt status will not take place until the filing due date of the third year. So, you're not financially penalized for not filing, except that after three years the organization loses its non profit status, which could affect contributions." 73 de N8XX Newly elected officers for the Livingston ARC: Pres N8GVD, VP W8KDR, Sec KC8SER, Treas W8LNO, Technical Dir W8MSP Program Dir KC8VA, Member WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROat Large KD8CCR. New officers for the River Raisin Repeater Assn.: Pres KA8NCR, VP WB8FBG, Sec/Treas N8KUF, Dirs W8PI, WA8EFK. Congratulations to these newly elected club officers. I do urge everyone to become an active participant in your local radio club. Yeah, I know it is pretty easy to sit back and let someone else do the job, but a truly active club requires participation from everyone. Pitch in and offer to help. Your SM is in the fortunate position to visit a lot of clubs in the Section, and it is easy to see why some clubs absolutely thrive. It is because the members get involved and help create activities. When this happens, additional activities will develop. This is a strong tribute to all of those active Michigan clubs – keep up the good work. Field Day is rapidly approaching and along with it the opportunity to do some pro-active promoting of amateur radio. Take a close look at the League's FD package and insure your group's extra points for Public Relations. Contact the local press and invite them to visit you site, stressing the ability of amateur radio to operate under emergency conditions. This "demonstration" can bring the importance of good community relations to the forefront and go aWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO long way to develop support for all of the activities we are involved with on a daily basis. Inviting community leaders to your site can show how we hams have unique abilities to adapt antennas and installations to fit the situation. Be certain to make your FD site an "inviting" area and not overwhelm visitors with overly-technical discussions. Pay special care to avoid buzz words and ham lingo, but talk with visitors in plain and easy to understand terms so they can grasp the overall scope of generators, tents, towers and a lot of aluminum hardware. And most of all, have a fun time. I'll be looking for your FD radiogram messages. You may want to consider sending them by packet to [email protected]. This is my standard packet radio address and I'll be picking messages up during FD. April Official Emergency Station reports came in from N8HA, K8COP, WU8Y, WB8WRB and KC8NTE. Your OES reports should be filed with WA8EFK with a copy to your EC. Station Activity Reports (SAR) for April, 2008: WB8JSR 1023, AB8SY 363, K8LJG 177, K8RDN 150, KD8AAD 145, KC8MLD 137, K8AMR 111, KD8HPF 58, W8RNQ 57, AB8WF 48, WB8RCR 48, WD8USA 16, KD8GFE 14, WA8OOH 10, KC8NTE 9, AC8AL 8, KC8LXS 2. SARs are reports of all the radiogram traffic you have handled in the past month. Public Service Honor Roll Reports (PSHR) for April, 2008: WB8RCR 362, KC8NTE 326, K8MFK 185, K8AMR 144, WD8USA 131, K8RDN 114, AC8AR 110, WB9JSR 110, AC8AL 110, K8AE 95, AB8SY 80, K8VFZ 73, KD8HPF 50, KD8GFE 33. PSHRs include both your net and public service activities for the month. Michigan Nets reporting for March: MACS, UPN, QMN, TMMN, WSSBN, GLETN, SEMTN, NLEUPN, Hiawatha, MARPSC. Total Operator-hours for March: 2656. To include your net’s monthly activities, contact [email protected]. All nets are invited to report, and this especially includes your local ARES and RACES nets. It is time for all of us to take credit for what we are doing! PSHRs and SARs should be filed monthly with WB8RCR. You can access a simple reporting form at: http://www.mi- nts.org/PSHR_entry.shtml to provide your reports to WB8RCR. You can also check http://www.mi- nts.org/ for the details on all of our Michigan Section reporting nets. In all cases, reporting by radiogram is encouraged. Packet messages can be routed to [email protected] and [email protected] . 73 until next month. Now, I am off to Dayton. Nuts to the price of gas…this is all for HAM RADIO! Dale WA8EFK
Midwest Division
Kansas
KANSAS IS GREAT IN 2008 ! Kansas Section News Summary- April 2008 Silent Keys: KØRFL-Ray
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Lund , McPherson KØSJU-Frank Reed, McPherson NØBVK-Robert Friday, Desoto NØTLR - Marvin Rankin, Fort Scott ______Spring Sprung and up popped a bunch of storms. I read that this may be a record breaking year for tornados. We sure don't need anymore. The static is bad enough- Hi. The Public Service season has also begun. There have been many walks and marathons already. Seems like there is something every weekend in KC from now until November. There are quite a few new licensees in Kansas over the past 6-8 months. I encourage all of you "novices" to getWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO involved with some of these activities. They are a great way to do something for your community and fun. Plus, you get to use your radio skills ! Listen up on the local net and volunteer when you can. Sand Hills ARC reports the Ulysses 147.060 repeater is back on the air. It's tied into the UHF hospital system. HARC Hiawatha club had a full March meeting. KDØAYE demo'd a new logging program and showed a pair of VHF loops he built. KBØFVP- gave a brief program on D-STAR. Colby has a lunch on Fridays at the college. If you're timing is right you can give a holler on .82 or just stop by and join them. KAOTY Nominations for Kansas Radio Amateur of the Year are being accepted by the Kansas-Nebraska Radio Club. Send your submission to WAØCCW: "If you have a person in mind who has made significant contributions to the Amateur Radio Community we would like to hear from you. Nominations and supporting documentation are due to me by June 1st." Stan Creitz- WAØCCW Kansas Amateur of the Year Project 965 KS-14 Hwy. Beloit, KS 67420 Kansas was represented at the Shrine ARC hamfest in Kansas City, MO. NØTO and KAØBHO received recognition along with WØAIB for their manyWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO years of Public Service activities. The Shrine ARC also presented certificates to many other well deserving hams on both sides of the line. ______May 2, 2008 KANSAS ARRL SECTION EMERGENCY COORDINATOR REPORT March ARES activities. 17 Zone EC reporting with 101 Net sessions 235 QNI and 34 QTC handled. QCWA Chapter 111 had 5 net sessions 34 QNI and 0 QTC. KS RACES Officer WDØDMV reports 34 QNI from the following counties: Brown, Atchison, Wyandotte. How about you representing your county the first Thursday of each month on 3940 khz at 7PM. Army MARS had 135 hours of on air participation and 1234 messages originated. No report from KS Satern nor American Red Cross communicators. If there are stations out there who give support to other organizations on a regular basis, how about a few words from you reference monthly activity. Like say for instance, KSVOAD, SKYWARN, etc. County Radio Officers with the RACES program are also encouraged to send in a monthly report of communication activities happening in your county. We still have 11 openings for Zone Emergency Coordinator appointments and one District Emergency Coordinator at present. Being an ARRL member and having the desire to be of assistance in your area by supplying Emergency Communication for various agencies active during disasters and or certain Public Service type events are the top requisits for holding the appointment. Contact either myself, K0BXF 3045 N. 72nd St Kansas City Kansas 66109, or E-mail [email protected] or telephone 913-299-1128. Not sure what zone you are in! visit http://www.cenkares.org/distks.html for the KANSAS ARES STRUCTURE-MAP etc. Remember to check the ARRL Kansas section web page http://www.arrl.org/sections/KS.html Keep abrest of other activities within the state by making sure your email address is registered with Orlan W0OYH [email protected] or [email protected], to receive the KAR publications put out quite frequently. 73 Bob Summers KØBXF ARRL SEC KS ______Newsletters received: Feed Back, Grounded Grid, QNU H.A.R.C. , QRZ, QSP, Trojan Harmonic ______Mar.. Sessions/QNI/QTC/Mgr: KSBN/ 31 951/ 55 N0KFS KPN/23 / 278 / 40/ N0KFS KMWN/31/ 751 / 595/WB0YWZ KWN/31/ 852 / 583/ WB0YWZ CSTN 26/1875 /39 N0BFB QKS/ 36 /105/34 NB0Z QKS-SS / 3 / 7 / 0 KB0DTI Traffic: NB0Z 66 KC0MRJ 65 KB0DTI 43 W0OYH 34 K0BXF 17 ______Misc. Reports: NØBFB reports that Central States Traffic Net activity was down some. Propagation on 40 at Noon is still poor. WN8P - Technical Specialist See KSN on ARRL and more Kansas news: http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=KS
Missouri
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MAY 2008 MISSOURI SECTION NEWS DALE BAGLEY, KØKY MO SM The Month of May brings spring flowers, lots of QRM from thunderstorms, lightning, and more importantly the Dayton Hamvention. I was thinking that the "Rebate Check" would make a nice down payment on some new Amateur Radio or accessories. Again this year the Hamvention will run from May 15th to May 18th in Dayton's Hara Arena. If you plan to attend for the first time, don't be surprised by the large number of people you'll know and friendly atmosphere of the event. I plan to attend this year, so if you see me, I would appreciate havingWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO an "eyeball" QSO. If you want to know more about the Hamvention, use the link provided. http://www.hamvention.org/ Several years ago some of my local Radio Club members and I decided to attend the Hamvention and that we would "Camp-out" at the Dayton KOA campgrounds in a tent. After setting up the tent next to a small Creek, we were pleased find some of the members of the Mid-MO ARC camped next to us. I'm sure you will not be shocked to learn that it rained for 3 days and the water inside the tent was only about 2 inches deep. The upside to our camping misadventure was the fun we had after Larry, ABØHP, bought a Icom 706 and a tuner that we set-up in the Van. We managed to make a good number of radio contacts from the campsite. The Mid-MO crew strung up a longwire antenna in the trees and using a QRP rig they made a ton of contacts between the rains. We all had a great time but I promised myself that I would never again camp in a tent at Dayton. This year I'll be roughing it at the Double Tree. 2008 HAMFESTS There are no Hamfest scheduled for May or June. We can look forward to July when the Warrensburg Hamfest and ZeroBeaters Hamfest in Washington,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO MO are on the calendar. If you missed the Ozark Amateur Radio Society Hamfest in Mt. Vernon or the Ararat Shrine Hamfest in Kansas City, you missed a couple of nice Hamfests. The OARS group and the Shrine ARC did an excellent job and folks had a great Hamfest experience. AFFILIATED CLUB NEWS KEITH HAYE, WEØG, ACC The Mississippi Valley DX and Contest Club's May meeting will be hearing a presentation by Roger Volk, KØGOB, on lightning protection. If you are an active Amateur Radio operator you have or know someone that has suffered the significant damage from lightning. Rumor has it that Ward Silver, NØAX, will be a special guest at their next meeting. Ward Silver the QST Contributing Editor and Author of several books has been named the 2008 Amateur of the Year by the Dayton Hamvention. The NIXA ARC will be operating a special event station at the May 17th Nixa Sucker Days. The local club members will be practicing the set up and operation during an emergency and they will be will be distributing information about how to get a Amateur Radio License. What the heck is Nixa Sucker Days? Sucker Day (actually a two-day celebration) in Nixa, Missouri, started one spring over forty years ago with three or four Missouri men playing hooky from work to go "grabbing" Sucker Fish that were spawning. Today the event draws about 15,000 visitors to Nixa and they eat a lot of fish sandwiches. If you are in the area, you should stop by booth 67 and say hello to the operators. The St. Charles ARC Newsletter the "Garble" has a report by Keith Little, NØTY about an upcoming "Basic Ham Radio Class". The Basic HAM Radio Operator class will be offered at the Eureka Fire Protection District. This 15-hour introductory course on HAM radio operations will be coordinated by Keith Wilson KØZH. The class will meet on five consecutive Monday evenings beginning June 9th and ending July 7th from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. each night. There will be a limited amount of ARRL license manuals available for $20 each. There is no fee to attend except for the cost of the book. FCC volunteer examiners will administer the license test following the course for Technician class license. The course is made available courtesy of Eureka Fire Protection District, Eureka Police Department and Eureka CERT. Advance registration is required. To register call the Eureka Police Department at 636-938-6600. The Ararat Shrine ARC recognized those that had worked hard to support Amateur Radio in the Kansas City area. I know that all those receiving the certificate were honored to be recognized for their contributions. The certificates are a great way to promote Amateur Radio and give a pat on the back for a job well done. The Heart of America ARC in the Kansas City area are assisting with several special events this month. On May 18th the Bike Source Duathlon/Triatholon, will be held at Heritage Park those wishing to assist need to contact Mike Bellinger, K0UAA - 816-363-1118 - [email protected] . On May 30th,31st, and Jun 1st the MS Challenge Walk will be conducted those wanting to help with this worthy project need to contact Duane Haverty, WA0BVX - 816-223-5842 - [email protected] SECTION ARES REPORT FOR APRIL 2008 DON MOORE, KMØR SEC Total
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# of ARES members: 707 Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 86 Man hours: 522 Number of public service events this month: 15 Man hours: 187 Number of emergency operations this month: 10 Man hours: 90 Total number of ARES operations this month: 111 Total Man hours: 799 Comments: 5 of 9 districts reporting SECTION TRAFFIC REPORTS APRIL 2008 DALE HUFFINGTON, AEØS, MON-CW Sessions 42 QNI 90 QTC 21 NM K9ZTV MO Phone Sessions 30 QNI 1113 QTC 141 NM KØRWL MESN Sessions 4 QNI 174 QTC 4 NM AEØS Audrain Co AARC Sessions 4 QNI 43WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO QTC 0 NM KBØKWC Callaway CARL Sessions 4 QNI 42 QTC 0 NM WBØHKN Boone Co Sessions 5 QNI 110 QTC 0 NM WMØH Howell HCARC Sessions 3 QNI 16 QTC 0 NM KØRWL Jackson Co ARES Sessions 5 QNI 62 QTC 0 NM KØUAA Macon Co Sessions 4 QNI 32 QTC 0 NM KØKY Rolla RRARS Sessions 30 QNI 393 QTC 14 NM KB9ZBO St Louis CO ARC Sessions 8 QNI 93 QTC 10 NM KBØH Sullivan ARC Sessions 9 QNI 130 QTC 6 NM KBØROX Taney Co TLARC Sessions 1 QNI 5 QTC 346 NM KBØOFD WAARCI Sessions 4 QNI 94 QTC 0 NM WBØTOM 10th Reg Sessions 60 QNI QTC 159 MO 92% with W7FB, KCØM, NDØM, K9ZTV, WØSJS NM WØSS
New England Division ConnecticutWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Section News: Volume 1 of 2! I have so much to tell you that this will require two letters. Understand that I have limited space for this monthly letter so there will be, for this month of May, in the year 2008, two volumes! Bob Brill, W1GC has been OOC for just about 10 years and has asked me to look for an OO who can take this position. Bob is also extremely active in the Coastguard Auxiliary. He is the person who signs off on radios and assigns frequencies. Bob has been and I know will continue to be amazingly resourceful. He has been a wonderful asset to me and a tremendous advisor. We've always had fun on the phone, even through some tough interference challenges. So a huge thank you to Bob! I bet I'll surprise him one day over at Dutchess Restaurant in W. Haven! Please welcome Chuck Motes, K1DFS as our new OOC. Chuck professionally is Director of Health in Southington and has been active in many activities of Amateur Radio. Among many other things, he is an active member (treasurer) of ICRC and active in Navy MARS and has done lots of radio work at Farmington Red Cross in the past. Chuck has been an OO since 1992! Welcome aboard Chuck and many thanks for stepping up to the plate and taking on this important role. We also warmly welcome Chris Burns formerly N1FAA now W1HVN as ADEC Region 2. Chris is a more recently licensed operator and comes to us with a wealth of experience in emcomm work. He is a real supporter of ARES and very enthused about working as an ADEC in Region 2. Welcome Chris! Chris isn’t the only one with a new call: Congrats to Harlan formerly KB1ILY now W1QH. W1QH, W1QI and W1QK all reside in Western CT! Ed N2JBA, president of Southern Berkshire ARC sent me this wonderful biography of Sid, K1SS written by their secretary Don, KB2SMZ. The last paragraph says it all: ‘Sid has been a long-time member of F.O.C. - First Class Operators – a world-wide network of CW ops that maintain close relationships. Through that association and through the almost 80 years of ham radio contacts he has made, his life is one great example of the value of ham radio in getting to know people all over the world.’ Look for the complete article on the Section Page http://ct.arrl.org . Congratulations Sid, K1SS and many thanks to Ed and Don. The Valley Amateur Radio Association wishes to thank Vinny KB1PFO for hosting their meeting at Derby City Hall as the club is transitioning to a new location. At that meeting, John, K1FBI was elected president, as Jon N1BDF is retiring from office. Jon has been president for many years and the club will have a pizza party to thank him and others who have given special service to VARA. A big thank you to Jon on his many years as a very dedicated president. Many thanks to John, K1FBI for stepping up to assume this leadership position. CT ARES has been requested to help with a wonderful organization called Angel Ride. This organization has been supporting our Children’s Hospitals for the past five years by riding bicycles through the state of Connecticut. The route begins in the North West in Norfolk, CT and ends in Mystic. The dates are May 24 and 25; the route encompasses Regions 3, 4 and
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5. Your help is needed for both mobile and fixed stations. DEC Dave, K1DAV is the primary coordinator and DECs Wayne, N1CLV and Jonathan, KB1KIX are coordinating their region’s effort. Do not wait—this is important—APRS will also be used. Fixed and mobile operations will be needed. Mobile radios will be needed for regions 5 and 3 on the first day, regions 3 and 4 on the second day. There will be Mobiles used during this event. These will be Vans donated by local dealerships. We will need 6 radio operators with go kits and APRS tracking units. We are looking for APRS trackers. The Red Cross will let WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROus use their comm. Vehicle if there are no emergencies at that time, otherwise we will go to our backup plan. There will be 8 sag wagons—medicl and repair. There will be 20 motorcycles driving the route watching intersections. And these are just some of the details provided by Dave. It’s a big event—SEC Brian has commended Dave on undertaking this effort and is encouraging wide participation so please contact K1DAV, N1CLV, or KB1KIX, all at arrl.net. May 24 is also the date of the 31st annual Hartford Hamfest sponsored by the Natchaug ARC at the UCONN Tolland County Agricultural Center on Rt 30, near exit 67 on I 84. Admission is $5.00 per car occupant, but this year that includes FREE tailgating. Indoor tables are $10.00, several vendors present and food and drinks available. The event promises to be bigger than ever! Come join in and have a great time. Call Dave Johnson, 860 684 4923, or [email protected] for more info and table reservations. News Flash! CT ARES Region 4 received great news the other day. DEC Wayne, N1CLV has this to say: The Region 4 Emergency Planning Team (the CEO's of the 43 towns and two Tribal Nations) has given preliminary approvalWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO to authorize the expenditure of $20,000 of DHS grant funding to purchase and outfit an emergency communications trailer for the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) in the Region. The ham radio trailer was supported by the RESF-5 Emergency Management and RESF-2 Communications working groups. The project is part of an overall spending plan totaling $917K that will improve emergency response. Region 4 DEC Wayne N1CLV and ADEC Ron K1VSC are heavily involved in these planning efforts and view this project as a significant opportunity to enhance the volunteer work of ARES in the Region. I know you all join SEC Brian and me in congratulating Region 4 on this effort. Brian and I also want to tell all of you in CT ARES that your time, talent and sacrifices are recognized, valued and absolutely appreciated. You’re a great group of volunteers who always seem to help out when needed. The MS Walks throughout the State are just one example of your responsiveness. Members of the Meriden Amateur RadioClub, BEARS of Manchester, Shore Point Amateur Radio Club and ARES teams in Region 4 were among those who participated in communications for the annual MS Walks in Cheshire, Manchester, Enfield West Haven, Woodstock and New London. ARES members from Meriden club were at the Cheshire site coordinated by EC Craig, N1ABY. EC Chris WA1VXH reports that this site had the largest attendance of the 17 throughout the State and raised $75,000.00. President Paul N1TUP reported that BEARS of Manchester had over 30 ops covering the Manchester and Enfield walks. Newer ops in Manchester were paired with BEARS members to gain emcomm experience. This club has licensed 36 new hams this year and upgraded 6. Twelve more new technicians are expected to be licensed this week—congrats! Eleven members of the Shore Point ARC handled the comms in West Haven coordinated by EC Glenn, N1HAW with ADEC Chris W1HVN (formerly N1FAA) as NCS. They participated in the March of Dimes Walk the week before. Kevin KA6PDG and Jeff N1ESA coordinated the effort in New London and ADEC Vinny KB1JDX organized the event in Woodstock. This is wonderful coverage this year! A huge thank you to everyone involved! Look for Volume 2 in a couple of days!
Eastern Massachusetts
Hi Everyone, Don't forget the ARRL Certificate of Appreciation Awards. These awards have already been given out by the this new section staff we now have. Don't miss renewing your ARRL membership. Please join the only organization that defends your Amateur Radio interests. Also, the FCC looks to raise the vanity call sign fees. Vanity calls now cost $11.70, and it will soon cost $12.30. That's an increase of 60 cents per year of over 10 years of your license term. We continue as your section representatives to help bring in new members, support the radio operators of CW, SSB, AM, FM, and
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digital, etc. Communication with our great staff of many will assist with action immediately to all requests by all Amateur Radio operators. Many new ideas have been accomplished with this new staff of leaders in our Eastern Massachusetts Section that have been hand picked for their honesty, knowledge, as Hams and business skills. We will strive to bring you the best in every situation. True communications are now here with this new staff. Sorry for the delay in this news, but my home has been packed with people fixing, cleaning, painting -- you name it! -- due to the chimney fire last month. If you have any questionsWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO or need any information, please contact either myself, [email protected], or your Assistant SMs, Dave Upton at [email protected], Rob Macedo at [email protected], and our ACC, Chris Smith, [email protected]. Any of your requests or questions have been answered and will be answered immediately or with in 24 hours. Also techinical support is available in addition to your Eastern MA SM monthly newsletter. If you haven't already noticed, Dave Upton, WB1CMG, your tech advisor, and Chris Smith are also supplying information in our area. BOXBORO 2008 is August 22nd throughthe 24th at the Holiday Inn in Boxboro, Routes 111 & 495. Some of our guest speakers will be Kay Craigie, N3KN, ARRL First Vice President; QCWA President John Johnston, W3BE; Dennis Dura, K2DCD; Jim Griffin, AAA9B, and Grant Hays, AAA9O. Updates and ticket information www.boxboro.org Field Day in June 28-29. It seems everyone is gearing up and finallizing plans for Field Day weekend. It looks like a strong showing of clubs again this year. I wish all clubs good weather and good air waves. Chris and myself will be covering as many clubs as possible this year. (Hope I don't get lost again,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO HI HI) 73 for now Art Greenberg, Eastern MA SM GOOD AIR WAVES TO ALL
Rhode Island
Greetings fellow Rhode Islanders: It’s hard for me to believe but FCC is once again thinking about changing the fees charged for processing Vanity call applications and renewals for our licenses. This time, they’re asking for an increase of 60 cents over the present $11.70 rate. The Vanity call program was actually initiated in 1993 but the “for pay” program that continues today began in June 1996 when Congress authorized the FCC to collect regulatory fees for specific call signs that allegedly required extra administrative work to process. Somehow, a specially selected call supposedly costs more to renew as well because the standard fee is assessed for renewals as well. In the 12 years since they were allowed to charge a fee for the extra work of assigning a selected call sign, the FCC has apparently not been able to figure out what the fee should be. The fee for a ten year Vanity license has changed up and down several times in these twelve years. It currently stands at $11.70, the lowest it has been since fees were permitted. It has been as high as $50 as well as several different rates in between. I’ve honestly lost track of how many times the fee has changed, I’d guess six or seven, but regardless it seems clear that the figure must be arbitrary. It cannot possibly represent the cost to process your application. You may read details at http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/05/08/10089/?nc=1 . Relax for the present. The increase isn’t approved yet. But if you have a renewal or application approaching soon, play it safe and file your paperwork now, potentially saving a whopping 6 cents per year. On Monday 09 June 2008, from 8:30 – 12:00, RI Emergency Management Agency will be holding its annual Hurricane Conference at the Radisson Hotel in Warwick. The Hurricane Conference is for EMA Directors, public officials, NGO’s and other groups to attend and learn about hurricane preparedness initiatives. There will be several guest speakers from Rhode Island and out of state. Rick, K3OQH will be presenting the Shelter Communications program with Amateur radio. Duffy KB1EJB (Citadel Broadcasting’s Chief Engineer) will be presenting information on the Emergency Alert System (EAS) wearing his professional hat, so Amateur radio will be well represented. The Hurricane Conference draws about 75-100 emergency management professionals from across the area. Rhode Island ARES is continuing forward with the ShelterCom plan. During the last month, the frequency plan was rolled out on the ARES website, http://www.arrlri.org/ares. John W1XX followed this with a surprise drill during the regular ARES net. The drill was quite effective and gave first operational experience to many members. The ShelterCom plan is a statewide communications plan, developed in partnership with Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency, using Amateur radio as the primary communications means between shelters and
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EOC's during a statewide emergency with multiple shelters being opened. Training on the ShelterCom plan will be released early this summer, and will be the system used during a statewide exercise on September 13th. During this exercise, shelters across the state will be opened and drilled on several levels simultaneously. Special thanks go to the EC's and DEC's who are working at a rapid pace across the state, engaging local EMA's in the process with several new towns coming on board. BVARC had planned an expedition to Prudence Island to activate its lighthouse but weather and other issues have caused two consecutiveWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO cancellations. They will reschedule the activity later in the summer or fall. A couple of power line noise problems emerged in the last few months. In both situations, the complainants followed the guidance provided by ARRL HQ’s power line noise experts at [email protected] and National Grid specialists found and repaired the line problems promptly. Keep in mind that no utility company wants their power lines to be radiating noise. Why? No, they aren’t simply benevolent toward Amateurs nor are they concerned that 20 meter noise prevents you from hearing weak DX. All electric utilities want to detect and eliminate power leakage because it represents unsold power on their side of your meter. The S9 noise you experience all day and night on 80, 40 or 20 meters may represent many kilowatt hours of energy that National Grid isn’t selling. Report noise you experience from the power lines. Try to identify the actual pole(s) by number that seem to be the source of the noise. Sniff the noise out with a portable radio and identify the source of the leakage. Then go to https://www.nationalgridus.com/narragansett/contact.asp and enter the data. This will generate a work order forWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO the National Grid repair crews. I’m planning my regular section tour of all ARRL affiliated club Field Day sites. I’ll be starting on Saturday morning at W1AQ, closest to my home and making my way from there, to OSARG at Warwick’s City Park, to NCRC at Portsmouth Fire HQ, to PRA at Beavertail in Jamestown, to Fidelity in West Greenwich and finally to BVARC in No Scituate. Along the way, I’ll be trying to make contact somehow with the NBARC team floating somewhere on Narragansett Bay. I’m planning to bring our new one year old puppy Baxter with me on the tour to meet everyone. Good luck to all participants. Don’t forget publicity in your local media and GOTA stations to let newbies take part in the fun. Also, don’t lose 100 easy bonus points by simply composing and sending an NTS format message to your Section Manager following the guidelines in the FD rules. http://www.arrl.org/contests/forms/fd-2008-rules.pdf . Either transmit the message to W1DDD (my club) or directly to me when I visit, using a VHF simplex frequency to my mobile rig. I hope to see many RI League members on my tour. Good luck to all clubs and have fun. This month’s QST includes a Field day Cookbook starting on page 49. It includes lots of good tips. I’ve noticed that since the code was dropped as a license requirement 15 months ago, business at VE sessions has jumped noticeably and nationwide, we have 3,000 new hams. That’s great! In the same time, ARRL has gained 4,000 members. That’s great also but these new members are mostly upgrades of Amateurs licensed before the code change. Most of the new no-code KB1s I’m hearing on the repeaters aren’t ARRL members and need to be recruited. That’s my job for sure but it’s the job we all have, recruiting new hams into ARRL. The privileges we enjoy weren’t granted to us because FCC liked our looks or because they’re so generous. Our expanding phone bands, move of foreign broadcast out of 40 meters, technical assistance from experts, study material, even the material, training and sponsorship of every VE session in RI is all the result of hard work and negotiations by the ARRL for the benefit of ALL AMATEURS, even the free loaders who enjoy it all on our dime. In this life good things aren’t free. They also aren’t accidents falling from a tree. What are you doing to add a few more ARRL members to help support its necessary work? Contact me or any of our leadership staff if you need recruiting help. Go to www.arrl.org and click on the large brown banner on the right titled Join Now. All the material and information you’ll need is there. Thanks. Last but not least, I’m planning to attend the Director’s Cabinet meeting on June 21st. It’s a meeting held two weeks before the ARRL Board meetings in July and January. It’s an all day meeting, open to NE SMs, club presidents and key staffers to inform our Director on a first hand basis of our concerns, highlights, etc. If you have any issues that you wish to have me bring to his attention, let me know before that date and I’ll add it to my list. 73, Bob Beaudet W1YRC
Northwestern Division
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Montana
Well, the weather's not been cooperating for my antenna projects, but I'm sure it'll warm up soon. I am sadddened to report the passing of Jack Greenwood, N7WF of Wolf Point, Mt. Jack was an active supporter of Amateur radio for many years until his move to a retirement home a few years back. We will his cheerful voice. The Fort Peck Hamfest (Father's Day Picnic) will be happening again this year. It's always a great WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROtime, take in the festities if you can. With fuel at the record prices, travel is expensive, but this hamfest is certainly worth the expense. Save the June 14/15 weekend. Glacier Hamfest is again on the 3rd weekend of July. It will be here before we know it, so if you are planning on going and camping there, be sure and contact Glacier Meadows Campground for a site reservation soon, they go quickly. The Billings Club supported the annual "Peaks to Prarie" race last month. They did a spectacular job providing comms for the race and keeping track of all participants. Thanks to them for a great job. For those of you who didnt hear, Todd, AE7V is now the new SEC. He's got several programs going and is actively signing up members in AREC. Mike, W7MPK is now Net Manager for IMN and can use support in the areas of NCS stations and checkins from towns like Helena and a few other areas. When we hold traffic for these areas and no one checks in to pass them to the intended recipients, they go stale and we fail to do our job as Amateurs. Why, with all the licensed amateurs listed in those areas, is it so difficult to find stations to check into MTN? I've heard many excuses, but still no checkins. C'mon folks,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO we need your support. Do your part, support MTN. If you dont have the proper license to operate on 75 meters, perhaps it's time for an upgrade effort. IMN (Idaho/Montana net) needs dependable net liason stations to check in and move traffic in and out of our state. If you have reliable CW skills, we can use your help. Check with Herb, KA7YYR our STM and get the info, spend a few sessions riding sidesaddle with the net to get the hang of how it works, then start checking in regularly. IMN meets every night at 0300Z on 3578.5 with an alternate freq of 7043 khz. Give it a try, you might just enjoy being part of a premier NTS net. The Dillon 911 system apparently crashed last week and our Butte group was asked to stand by to handle emergency communications for them to each area 911 center. Our amateurs in Butte, Lincoln and Dillon responded quickly and with professionalism, using the 146.94 repeater as a medium to handle comms. The acitivity was handled by the Silver bow County EC, Bill Tarrant, W7ROE and was well coordinated. Thanks to all who responded and stood by to help out. The annual Ratpod bike race will be the last weekend of June. Larry, N7YET already has 17 participants signed up to support race comms. It sounds like it will be well covered in that beautiful part of Montana. Thanks to all who have signed up, hope to see you there. April reports: MTN-W7MPK, QNI-2210, QTC-86 IMN-VE7DWG, QNI-391, QTC-100 MSN-K7YD, QNI-142, QTC-3 73 to all Doug, K7YD
Oregon
Remember to visit the Oregon Section website regularly at http://www.arrloregon.org. Newly submitted news, will be at the top of the front page. When you get to bottom of the page, you can enter page two and move forward to older news. Additional older news is listed on the left side of the front page below the calendar. If you know of any event that should be added to the calendar, please let me know. Pat Roberson, N7PAT, and Dean Davis, N7XG, can also make updates to the website. There is a place to logon to the site, but that is currently only used for those of us who update the website. I am going to start posting the ARES reports to the news when they come in also. For more frequent emails than those that are sent out via the ARRL server, please join the Oregon Section Yahoo group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arrloregon/. If your request to join was inadvertently not approved, please resubmit it and we’ll make sure it gets approved. Dean’s been doing a great job with getting this list going and I forward items of general interest to it fairly regularly. Members of the group can also forward messages to the list. Dean just upgraded me to administrator of the list also. He said he gave me rights to do everything on the list except delete him! We may be adding another administrator as well. CSEPP EXERCISE The CSEPP Exercise was held on May 5-7 and information about it can be viewed from the UMESRO website at http://ares.csepp.net. NEW AFFILIATED CLUB Congratulations to
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Lane County Sheriff's AR Operators, Inc., on becoming an ARRL affiliated club. This affiliation will allow them to purchase insurance for their repeater upgrade project. The insurance was something that is required for the grant. NEW EMERGENCY COORDINATOR APPOINTMENT Ron Morell, KA7U, District 6 Emergency Coordinator, has appointed Dennie Dunkeson , WA7YPR, as Klamath County ARES/RACES. Dennie has been busy inventorying and marking radios for property control and setting up a newly acquired communications trailer. This trailer and equipment was obtained through the County on a grant WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROthat a previous Emergency Coordinator set up. This included dual band antennas, Yaesu dual band radios, HF tuners, and Kenwood 570 transceivers. After the initial inventory of equipment and meeting with the emergency manager where he was allocated a budget to get the trailer set up, Dennie took the trailer to the weekly HAM lunch to show to other local hams. Those hams volunteered designs, thoughts and some parts. The county bought plywood, linoleum, paint, fittings, a screwdriver antenna and more. So Dennie took the trailer home and began working on it, along with other ham volunteers. 2008 PACIFIC NORTHWEST DX CONVENTION The Willamette Valley DX Club is pleased to announce The 2008 Pacific Northwest DX Convention, August 1-3, 2008 in Portland, OR. Please join us for the 53rd annual convention which includes many technical sessions, a banquet and breakfast, door prizes, and raffle prizes. It's a great opportunity to meet old friends and make new ones. QSL Field Checkers will be present to check DXCC submissions. Join us at the Monarch Hotel in Portland. The Monarch's web site is available at http://www.monarchhotel.com and offers a convention rate of $93WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO per night. Ask for the Northwest DX Convention Rate when calling. August is a great time to visit Portland, with many opportunities for travel and fun. The convention hotel is located across the street from Portland's largest mall, and with no sales tax, presents a great shopping experience. There is also a local Ham Radio Outlet (HRO) store for those interested in picking up new gear. Please visit http://wvdxc.org/dxconvention where you can find both paper and online registration forms, the latest information on programs, door prizes and a list of who is attending. Registration forms received before June 15 will receive a free raffle ticket for a $1000 USD gift certificate at HRO. If you have any questions, please contact Al Rovner, K7AR at [email protected]. MY ACTIVITIES I am looking forward to the Northwest Division Conference coming up in a couple of weeks and seeing all of you there. Mark and I will be going out there on Thursday evening and will be there until the close on Sunday.
Pacific Division
East Bay
The Section News is on the East Bay Section web site at http://www.eastbaysectionarrl.org. You can find more detailed information and current events there. Steven Wilson, KA6S will be stepping down from his position as Assistant Section manager due to his other obligations. I want to thank Steven for his past service and his assistance to me as I have taken over the role of SM. I wish him the best as he moves forward. Thanks to Jim Tittle, K6SOE for coordinating a meeting of the East Bay Section Official Observers. We had a great time getting to know each other and renewing a sense of team work as well as discussing the East bay Section OO program. I have just returned from EMCOMM WEST 2008 in Reno. The Nevada Section has once again done a great job. I wish I had been able to clone myself so that I could have attended more of the sessions. I strongly urge you to attend this event next year if you are the least bit interested in Emcomm issues. During April, I visited ROVARC, NCV, EBARC, TRC, and HRC as I continue to make the rounds of the various Amateur Radio organizations within the East Bay Section. I have now visited most of the “known amateur radio groups” within the Section. I will continue to visit the remaining groups as scheduling permits. Please verify the information posted on the East bay Section web page (see link above) as this is the information that I am using to plan my schedule. Please contact me at [email protected] if your Amateur Radio organizations information is missing or incorrect or if you would like to schedule a specific date for me to visit. Field Day is fast approaching. Please let me know your club’s plans for Field day as soon as you can. Also, please register your Field Day site on the new ARRL Field Day Station Locator (Station Locator). This
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will allow me to plan my itinerary to visit each of your sites. Silent Keys – L. B. Cebik, W4RNL, ARRL Technical Adviser and antenna authority, passed away at age 68. An ARRL Life Member, Cebik was known to many hams for the numerous articles he wrote on antennas and antenna modeling. He had articles published in most of the US ham journals, including QST, QEX, NCJ, CQ, Communications Quarterly, Ham Radio, 73, QRP Quarterly, Radio-Electronics and QRP. Paul J. Parker, WB6DHH became a silent key on April 13, 2008. Paul succumbed to pancreatic cancer. Paul was first licensed in January 1963, WN6DHH.WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO He was a life member of the ARRL and was elected Section Communications Manager for the East Bay Section of the ARRL in 1969. He was an active member of the Mt. Diablo Radio Club for nearly 40 years where he served as an instructor and volunteer examiner, as well as assisting with the operation of the W6CX repeater and Pacificon. CONGATULATIONS TO: Mark Evans KE6O for his appointment as the new DEC Napa County; Herbert Cole KI6ATB for completing EC-001 and being appointed EC Contra Costa Training; Tom Kramer WA6NYP, Bob Green K6GD, and Mike McMillan K6MCM for their appointments to ADEC positions in Contra Costa; Wesley Ayers KI6IQS and Herbert Cole KI6ATB for their appointments to EC positions in Contra Costa; Benicia ARC for continuing to get great publicity for their CERT activities (see page 50 of the May 2008 issue of CQ Magazine); ACSCT members Stephen Hawes WB6UZX (35 years) and Marcus Bell KE6LEV (10 years) received service awards Thanks to Ed Richie, K6SFD for again coordinating ham radio support for the Devil Mountain Run on Sunday May 4, 2008. John Stuart, KM6QX continues to be a treasure WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.ROto MDARC, and to ham radio. John coordinated the 50-mile Concord Mt. Diablo Trailride event that he has helped organize for close to 20 years. LARK members have been busy supporting several public Service events including the LPFD/LARPD Emergency Survival Expo (K6CKT, W6RTI, KR6BD, K6EWN), the Wente Brut Bike Race (KK6ZL,KE6PXW, KG6WIR, KG6WIQ, KG6WIU, KG6WOL, N6GRF), and the Cinderella Bicycle Ride (AD6TA, KG6DXM, KK6ZL,KG6WOL, KG6JHQ, KG6WIU, WB6ETY, WN6WTV, AD6KV, W6TCP, N6GRF, KG6WIR, KI6KRA, WA6SDA, KF6VU, KR6BD, KO6PW, W6RTI, KI6BXJ, W6KV, AB6BR, K6NED, KQ6DI, KE6KES, KE6KEO) ARCA member Suzanne KI6MTT coordinated a CERT drill for the Fernside area and was assisted by Muriel KI6MTI and Bruce KI6CYT. SBARA members provided communications support for the 2008 Fremont Freewheelers Primavera Bicycle Event (WA6AWI, KE6ITT, KA6S, Doug Wilson, KE6IVA, K6VUG, KE6OGM, KF6GAH, WA6STR, WV6RQT, AE6YN, KB8YUR, KG6HJU, WT6K, AA6SL, Kaethe Langs, AB6BR). Members of Union City ARES/RACES participated in the Tri-Cities Emergency Services Association Fair and showed off their communications trailer. Congratulations to these new hams: Josh M Libby, KI6PPC, Alameda; Nancy R Derodeff, KI6QAP, Alameda; Kurt J Schneider, KI6PZP, Discovery Bay; Richard F Carlson, AF6IL, Alamo; Bryan L Bunting, KI6PZI, Fairfield; Morgan W Derodeff, KI6QAO, Fremont; Guy L Gardner, KI6PVH, San Ramon; Gary R Johnson, KI6PWD, San Ramon; Josephine S Gallegos, KI6PUI, Union City; Bonnie G Russell, KI6PPS, Dixon; Edward A Russell, KI6PPR, Dixon. Congratulations to these upgrades: Joseph D Renghini, KI6PDF, Concord; Adam D Bertsch, KR6BD, Livermore; James H Barnett, KF6YFM, Martinez; Allen R Lord, KG6HXO, Napa; Mark W Kempton, KI6PIE, Oakland, James V Erickson, KF6TJD, Vacaville. NATIONAL TRAFFIC SYSTEM (NTS) Call Sign Originated Sent Received Delivered Total WB6UZX 0 147 181 22 350 W6DOB 16 65 74 33 188 KE6QR 1 1 5 5 12 PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) Call Sign Categories 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total W6DOB 40 40 30 110 WB6UZX 40 40 10 10 100 (Requires at least 70 points)
Pacific
May SM Report 2008 - This report covers mid April to mid May Please keep 14.270, 7.050, and 7.060 clear for the emergency in China. I realize propagation may not allow direct communications, however you might interfere with a station that can work them. Thanks, Kevin, AH6QO, ARRL Pacific SEC. It appears that hams are very active in parts of the Chinese earthquake zone. While little can be done from the USA due to propagation being poor, we all can help by NOT adding to the clutter. More info as it becomes available. Meanwhile, in neighboring Myanmar (used to be Burma), there still is no ham
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activity known. Allen G Pitts, W1AGP, ARRL Media & PR Manager Of all the ARRL sections, the Pacific has the greatest chance of either helping or hindering the efforts due to our locations. PLEASE MONITOR BUT DO NOT TRANSMIT UNLESS YOU CAN SUBSTANTIALLY HELP IN SOME WAY. Also be aware that the US and China do not have a third party agreement. Bob, AH6J, Pacific SM We are sad to report the passing of Joe Fenn, KH6JF, at age 86 on March 20, 2008. He was born in Kokomo, IN and was a retired radio operator for Aeronautical Radio. He was a WW2 veteran in the Army Air Corps andWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO he was active in QCWA, MARS and the Honolulu ARC. His memorial service was private. His obituary appeared in the April 5 Honolulu Star Bulletin and April 2 Honolulu Advertiser. As was reported in last months column, Jack Wheeler, KH6CC died April 9. His memorial service was held May 10th at his Paauilo home. Unfortunately the get together conflicted with the Big Island Amateur Radio Club, aka BIARC, meeting however several hams were able to attend. Thanks John, KH7T. Kevin Bogan, our section Emergency Coordinator said the Makani Pahili hurricane exercise will be May 24 from 9AM to 12 noon. This year we will attempt to have ham activity during the week of the exercise. More details are pending. See http://www.kauaiarc.org/08Monthly/makani_pahili_hurricane_exer.htm for more details. Again, Barbara Darling, NH7FY, has taken over as Hawaii QSL manager. At the May BIARC meeting she reported that both she and Ned Conklin, KH7JJ, have finished sorting their respective backlogs. Ned is in charge of sorting the Oahu cards and Kevin Bogan, AH6QO, will be taking the Oahu cards to various Oahu club meetings.WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO FYI, ten pounds of new cards just arrived this week. Thanks for a job well done to the whole team. If you want your cards sent direct contact Barbara and make arrangements. This is one of the many services provided by ARRL, however it is not necessary that you be an ARRL member to participate. Address is: Hawaii QSL Bureau - P.O. Box 1938 - Hilo, HI 96721. At the last meeting of BIARC, Quince Mento, the new Hawaii County CD director spoke to the club. He introduced one of his new assistants, Bill Hanson. On Wednesday May 14th several of us met with the CD people at the CD office. At that time John Drummond was also introduced as part of the staff. They are just getting settled into their new jobs. One of the points that Mr. Mento made was that emergencies can’t always be totally planned for. The CD office over the years has made plans for many kinds of problem however no one foresaw the problem of Sulfur Dioxide so a plan had to be invented and the result is the newly activated color coded alert system. As if to emphasize the problem, toward the end of our meeting the director was called away to take care of a problem at the county viewing area in Kalapana as the wind had changed and was blowing stuff into the public viewing area. DEC Rick Ward, WH6FC; ASM Ron Phillips, AH6HN; DEC Eric Grabowski, KH6CQ and SM Bob Schneider, AH6J were at the CD meeting. Big Island ARC had a display at the Tsunami Education Fair Saturday April 19 at the Old Kress Building in downtown Hilo. The purpose is to inform the public about Tsunami related issues. Thanks Harvey, AH6JA. Also at the same time the Mormon Church had a display at their main Ward in Hilo. The Mormon Church encourages emergency preparation and food storage. The Honolulu ARC will next meet Sat May 17. They still need a treasurer. West Honolulu ARC next meeting will be Thursday June 5, 2008 at 7:30PM at Diners in the Waimalu Shopping center. Future meeting will be Aug 7, Oct 2 and Dec 4. They are not an ARRL affiliated club. Thanks to KH7TK & AH7GK for the information. The Oahu Civil Defense Amateur Radio Club is also not an ARRL affiliated club. It will hold examinations at the Honolulu Municipal Bldg, Basement B1, 650 S. King St. on: Wednesday June 18 at 1830; Wednesday August 20 at 1830; Wednesday November 19 at 1830; Contact Ray Moody for more information. June 28 & 29, 2008 is the ARRL annual Field Day. Check with your local club for the nearest setup to you. On Saturday July 26, the Big Island ARC will support Big Island Road Runners at the annual Volcano Rim Run. Due to the recent volcanic eruptions at Halemaumau the 10 mile and 27 mile races will have to change routes so this is a chance to see new places. The 5 mile race will remain the same. Please be cautioned that volcanic fumes may be present at some locations. Oahu hams have been asked to participate in the March of Dimes Walk America and the American Heart Association Heart Walk. The American Heart Association will be holding the Heart Walk on August 9, 2008. The location has changed from Kapiolani Park to the Kakaako Makai Gateway Park. The route exact route has not been set yet, but will be in the next week or so. Tentatively, it will be from the Gateway park
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along Ala Moana to Atkinson, around Ala Moana Park (and possibly Magic Island) returning back to the start line. More details will be released as they become available, such as aid/water station locations, exact route, etc. Let Wayne, NH6K, know if you can help. The Kohala Hamakua Radio Club will meet Wed June 11 in Waimea at 7PM in the Carter Professional Center. They plan to cover the Ironman qualifier bike race on May 31 and have participated in several training events this last month. Thanks Norm, NH7UA. Kevin Bogan, AH6QO, attended EMCOMMWEST 2008 on May 2-4 in Reno, NV. We look forward to hearingWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO about his experience. Norm, NH7UA, has stepped down as DEC for North Hawaii and Eric, KH6CQ, has taken his place. Thanks for your good work as DEC Norm and thanks for stepping up to the challenge Eric. Eric has already revised the emergency response plans and was at the meeting at CD.
Sacramento Valley
EMCOMMWEST 2008 is only a couple of days away. If you are still on the fence regarding attending, please check out the event program online in PDF format. http://emcommwest.org is the URL. You can print a copy for yourself and highlight the events you want to see. Remember this is a full fledged ARRL convention, specializing in emergency communications. It will be held in Reno, NV, May 2-4, at a new venue this year, Circus Circus Hotel Resort. The Reno HAMSWAP will also be held once again SaturdayWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO morning starting at 6 AM adjacent to the hotel. Hope to see you there. Dayton Hamvention is the location of the 2008 ARRL EXPO this year. Hamvention is held May 16-18, 2008, at the Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio. More information and tickets are available at www.hamvention.org . This is the largest face to face meeting of ham operators from all over the world and trying to describe it in one paragraph or less is tough. It is always lots of fun. Hope to see you there, too. On May 18, 2008, is the North Hills Radio Club’s swap meet will be held at Bella Vista High School, 8301 Madison Ave, Sacramento, CA. http://www.k6is.org/ is the Internet NHRC site, and Carl Schultz, WF6J, is the contact person for this event. Contact Carl at 916-726-1673, or [email protected] for more information. Hours are 7 to noon. Expect a VE session, dealers, free parking, and refreshments. Recognition of Emergency Medical Services will officially occur May 20, 2008, and Ham Radio will be there. For the third consecutive year, Lee Sheffield, KC6MCI, will deploy his portable station and have a special event operation at the EMS Appreciation Day. This year the event is held at the CAL FIRE Grass Valley Air Attack Base at the Nevada County Airport, 13120 Loma Rica Drive, Grass Valley. Lee's portable rig is a hand made trailer which allows him to operate all modes indefinitely. The event is scheduled to start at 9 AM and conclude at 4:30 PM. Western State Endurance Run, June 28-29, 2008 and the Western States Trail Ride (Tevis Cup), July 19-20, 2008, use amateur radio over watch for riders, mounts, and public safety. Both rides are 100 mile events from Lake Tahoe to Auburn, CA. (Endurance Capital of the World). WSER is also known as the other Field Day since 6 out of 7 years it falls on the same day as Field Day. WSER: June 28-29, 2008 and TEVIS: July 19-20, 2008. These events need more operators. If you can help out or need more information on this chance to help out and hone your skills, check out www.ws100.com/comm , or talk to Ralph Lucas, W6WRL, at 408-640-0963 (his work cell phone) or 530-367-3026, his home phone. On April 19, Yuba Sutter ARC provided over watch for riders, support personnel, and public safety for the annual Bike Around the Buttes. More than 1300 riders took part, traveling either the 100 mile, 40.1 mile, or 20 km. course. One of the most danger prone parts of the ride occurs where riders have to cross or ride along a stretch of State Highway 20 between Yuba City and Meridian. High speed traffic and bike riders use the same route for over a mile, so injuries and accidents are possible. Fifteen out of 20 operators who signed up showed up for duty and successfully conducted a perfectly safe and injury free ride around the Sutter Buttes in Sutter County. During an April visit with El Dorado Amateur Radio Club we watched Bill Ragsdale, K6KN, of Woodland, give his presentation on Boy Scouts and Amateur Radio. Bill will give his program again at Dayton Hamvention this year. Bill has been a ham since he was fourteen, but got into scouting at age nine. When I returned home that night, I had a note from Gary Clark, KF6EWO, asking how he could he find out more about this same subject. What a nice coincidence! Bill is a good source for Boy Scout information. He can be reached at
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[email protected] if you need more information on Boy Scouts and the way Amateur Radio can be used in scouting. There really is nothing new to report on the PAVE PAWS radar (Beale AFB) interference issue and the many 440 band FM repeaters that have shut down or greatly reduced output. Now that so many ham repeaters are shut down, we hope that DoD can find the real interference that degrades the radar performance. Looking for fun ham radio events in which to participate? Consider the Tour de Lincoln on May 10. This bike ride is a multi course event similar to the route of past years. Contact Gary, [email protected] to volunteer. The ride is held in the Lincoln, CA, area. Volunteers will be well fed with a continental breakfast and a bar-b-cue lunch. Hundreds of riders are expected. Alternate contact is Roger, [email protected] . ON THE AIR EVENTS; May 3-4 - Microwave Spring Sprint - IPA Contest, Phone/CW - MARAC CW and SSB Contests - 10-10 Spring CW & Digital Contests - Indiana QSO Party, Phone/CW - ARI International DX Contest, Phone/CW/Digital - New England QSO Party, Phone/CW - 7th Area QSO Party, Phone/CW - Radio Club of America QSO Party, Phone - Portuguese Navy Day, Phone/CW/Digital May 10-11 - FISTS Spring Sprint, CW - Armed Forces Communications Test, Phone/Digital - Nevada QSO Party, Phone/CW/Digital - CQ-M International DX Contest, Phone/CW - 2GHz and Up World Wide Contest, Phone/CW/Digital - Alessandro Volta RTTY DX Contest - 50 MHz Spring Sprint, Phone/CW/Digital - EU EME Contest, Phone/CW Check May, 2008, QST pages 79-80 for details and page 81-82 for Field Day rules. Your Spectrum Defense Fund dollars have been hard at work as the ARRL's court challenge to the FCC in the matter ofWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO BPL paid off as described in the full story http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/04/25/10064/?nc=1 . This was a fairly stern reversal for the FCC. The full ruling is available at http://tinyurl.com/3lkkgw Thanks for the above to ARRL’s Contest Rate Sheet. On May 3, 2008, the Yolo ARES unit will be supporting a CERT Drill conducted by the City of Davis Fire Department and Davis CERT. The event starts at 9:00 am and goes to Noon. The contact is Darrin Ogletree, KG6FJL, [email protected]. Also on May 3, 2008, the Yolo Amateur Radio Society will provide communications for a fun run originating at Willits Grammar School in Davis. This event starts at 8:00 am and goes to 11:00 am. The contact is Shayne Hughes, N6SPE, [email protected] . On Saturday, May 17, 2008, the Yolo Amateur Radio Society will provide communications support for the Davis Bike Clubs Double Century event. The event starts at 6:00 am at the Vet Memorial on 14th Street. The event ends around midnight. The contact is Dave Nishikawa, KC7YFG, [email protected],ca.us. 73, Ron Murdock, W6KJ, ARRL SACRAMENTO VALLEY SECTION MANAGER
San Joaquin Valley
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY SECTION Report for the month of April 2008: SM Charles McConnell, W6DPD- ASMs K6YK and N2NS, ACC W6DPD, SEC N6ZFN, OOC N1VM, STM K6RAU, PIC KE6IGJ, TC W6TE. Greetings from the ARRL San Joaquin Valley Section. If you desire your club information and events to be listed in Section News, please send the information to [email protected]. I get very little information. If your club has a newsletter, please send it to me, email to [email protected] or via U.S Mail. MARK YOUR CALENDARS. The 65th Fresno Hamfest is May 31, 2008, at the Salvation Army in Fresno. Check www.w6to.com for information. Field Day is June 228-29, 2008. Begin planning now. Check www.arrl.org for information. Pacificon 2008 is October 17-19, 2008 at the Marriott Hotel in San Ramon CA. Check www.pacificon.org for information. The 60th International DX Convention is April 17-19, 2009 at Visalia. Check http://www.dxconvention.org/ for information When your affiliated club elects officers for the next year, be sure to update your club’s information on the affiliated club area of the ARRL web page so you club will get any information sent from the ARRL Club department. If you fail to update your clubs information for 2 years, your club will be placed in the inactive file. Your club will be notified if the 2-year period is about to take place. Need to take an Amateur exam? Check the ARRL web page, www.arrl.org for exam information. You can also search for Amateur Radio Classes in your area. The Northern California Net (NCN), the Section Traffic Net, meets nightly on 3.533 MHZ at 7 PM Pacific Time. The slow speed training session of the net meets
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nightly on 3.533 MHZ at 9 PM Pacific Time. Handling traffic on CW is a good way to improve your CW skills. The Daytime Region 6 Traffic Net meets daily at 3:30 pacific time on or near 7.275 MHZ. The California Traffic Net meets daily on 3.906 MHZ and 6:30 PM local time. The noon time net meets on 7.268.5 MHz. This net handles a lot of messages. The Golden Bear Amateur Radio Net meets nightly at 7:00 PM local time on 3.975 MHZ. The Mission Trail Net meets nightly on 3.856 MHZ at 8:00 PM local time. WD6GBX, Robert, WB6OHK, Dick, and K6BGK, Bill are Silent Keys. They will be missed. The 65th Fresno HamfestWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO is May 31, 2008, at the Salvation Army, Fresno Citadel, 1854 Fulton Street in Fresno. The time is 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM. There will be tech talks, ARRL Forum, Displays from clubs and served agencies. Check www.w6to.com hamfest for information. Contact Tom, [email protected] to get up to the minute information are reserve swap spaces. TCARES members provided communications support for the 29th Old Mill Run. Sequoia Amateur Radio Group provided Communications support for a bicycle run from Bakersfield to Lake Isabella. Clovis and Fresno Amateurs provided communications support for the March of Dimes Walk for Babies. KC6LPL celebrates 75 years as an Amateur Radio Operator during 2008. The years are not continuous but this is an accomplishment. WO6T has 5BDXCC. W6SKH, I van, celebrates 68 continuous years as an Amateur Radio operator in 2008. The Turlock ARC celebrated its 80th anniversary during 2008. K6XJ, Perry, was in the winning golf group at the 2008 International DX Convention. W6YDE and W6YEP won prizes. Top SJV Scores in the 2007 ARRL CW Sweepstakes were 1st WC6H, 2nd AA6G (W6RGG op) and WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO3rd K6SV. Top SJV Scores in the 2007ARRL Phone Sweepstakes were 1st WC6H, 2nd K6SV and 3rd N6NZ. W6BBS applied for DXCC. W6YDE is working on QRP CW DXCC and WAS. Traffic for April: K6RAU 42, W6DPD 1, and W6SX 25. Total 67. PSHR: K6RAU 110 and W6SX 51.
Santa Clara Valley
Monthly Summary for March 2008 Santa Clara Valley Section News Summary. May 18, 2008 =EMERGENCY TRAFFIC ALERT: In addition to the trouble in Burma a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Sichuan , China on Monday, May 12, 2008 at 06:28:04 UTC. According to Chinese Radio Sports Association, 14.270, 7.050 and 7.060 MHz are reserved for amateur radio emergency service in the rescue. Keep alert for emergency traffic on all frequencies. =Jim Yoke, Emergency Manager for Los Gatos/Monte Sereno/Saratoga, notes via Larry Carr, that he will be conducting the NIMS/SEMS/ICS Combined Course in Saratoga on Saturday June 7 from 9:00 in the morning until 1:00 in the afternoon. The class will be held in the Saratoga Senior Center in the Saunders Room, located at 19655 Allendale Avenue. The class is open to anybody including volunteers. Registration will be done the morning of the class - show up early. =Court Finds FCC Violated Administrative Procedure Act in BPL Decision (Apr 25, 2008) -- The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the Commission failed to satisfy the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA") by redacting studies on which it relied in promulgating the rule and failed to provide a reasoned explanation for its choice of the extrapolation factor for measuring Access BPL emissions." We win one! =Field Day 2008! June 28-29, 2008 Get Ready! See the Field Day information http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/. Note that I will be touring FD sites but you do NOT get points for it. See section 7.3.5. Message Origination to Section Manager: 100 bonus points. See 7.3.11. Site Visitation by an elected governmental official and 7.3.12. Site Visitation by a representative of an agency. Be sure to invite them to your FD site. Note the Field Day Station Locator Web site is at [http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/locator.php]. =Bill Moffitt, AE6GS, [email protected], is coordinating PR for all Field Day activities in the section. Contact him for help to make sure your FD site is not missed. Most media outlets take e-mail announcements. Let him know which ones work for your group and he can pass along his ideas. You still need to do the PR for your FD group! =Special Event Station K6M was in operation at the Maker Faire on May 3 and 4. Phil Stripling, KG6ILUI, passed along some information but I have no further report on how it went. Looking forward to a coordinated presence at Maker Faire next year. It fits well with the new promotion for Ham Radio at “We Do That!” http://WeDoThat-radio.org ! =Other special events include the “Yuri’s
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Night” event at NASA Ames Moffett Field, world space party commemorating the first human space flight by Yuri Gagarin (April 12, 1961) with science, art, music for pop-culture and techno-crowd. Ames ARC was in Hanger 211 featuring Earth-Moon-Earth (EME) demo and amateur television (ATV), sat dish connected to a RF spectrum analyzer as a DIY SETI demo. See the article and photos at AARC webpage: http://hamradio.arc.nasa.gov. Hams and others who stopped by included: Jim Moss, N9JIM, Goran Popovic, AD6IW, Joel Wilhite, KD6W, Kevin Hague, N5XSA, Pat Barthelow, AA6EG, Mike Staal, K6MYC, RogerWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Brunnquell, K6OU, Brad Douglas, KB8UYR, Ben Carlucci, W2NYC, Don Apte, KK6MX, Johnathan Corgan, AE6HO, Nicholas Corgan, KG6MYQ, Eric Stackpole, KF6JBP, Robert Norris, Jeff Orr, Nader Shakerin, KI6DBU, Mikhail Blinkov, Alan Maenchen, Evan Luine, KI6EQF, Mark, Allard, KD6CWM, Michael Wright, K6MFW, Mark Foster, KI6DHU, Dave Hartzell, N0TGD, Fred Bourgeois, CEO of Team Frednet, Lunar Xprize Team leader =Scout-O-Rama at Kelly Park, with Brian Tanner, KC6UZK, Norm W6NCF ASM Troop 13, and Don Village, K6PBQ, putting this demo together. Thanks! =AM-TECH Day, June 7, 2008, 8:00am -- 9:00pm. Sponsored by the Foothills Amateur Radio Society. For full details, visit: http://fars.k6ya.org/amtechday. = Cover Plaque Award goes to EC and Outpost author Jim Oberhofer, KN6PE for his article "Outpost: Packet Radio for Emergency Messaging." Congratulations, Jim! The winner of the QST Cover Plaque award. =EMCOMMWEST 2008 was held at the Circus Circus Hotel in Reno,NV. DENNIS DURA, K2DCD -- Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager from the ARRL headquarters in Newington, CN deliveredWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO the keynote address, and hosted a forum and several private meetings with Division Section Managers and SECs. While only on the job for 9 months now, Dennis is quickly getting a handle on ARES activities and how the ARRL fits into national, state and section response systems. =Allen G Pitts, W1AGP, Media & PR Manager, announces new promotion campaign at Dayton. First came “Hello.” Then came EmComm. For 2008 comes “We Do That!” http://WeDoThat-radio.org ! The new coordinated PR effort shows the technological activities which Amateur Radio’s people love. Check out the new site and look at http://www.arrl.org/pio and http://arrl.org/brochures for help promoting your Ham Radio event, organization or activity. =SEMINAR & EXAM: AMATEUR ("HAM") RADIO. Amateur Radio ("Ham") License & Communications Course. Tuesdays: 6:30 pm - 9 pm: July 1, 8, 15 & 22 (July 22 is exam night). Also, Emergency Communications Course for Ham Radio & CERT, Tuesday, July 29, 2008: 6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Contact Ken Dueker: [email protected]. Sponsored by Menlo Park Fire Protection District CERT: www.menlofire.org/cert =CO of Attack Sub, USS Portsmouth, N6CY, Rick Low, spotted on TV. Station KVIE, the Sacramento PBS channel, presented “OFF LIMITS” which featured a Reporter Ride Along on the Sub. That was quite unusual, but became VERY interesting when Pat, AA6EG, saw Rick, N6CY who was featured in the Program. Rick was the Sub’s CO. Pat remembered Rick in Monterey, as a serious contester, excellent CW operator, and Nice Guy. Best wishes to Rick, N6CY, and thanks for your service. =Section positions still open. This is YOUR Section; please consider helping all of us by filling one of these important positions. See http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/org/ for information on the ARRL Field Organization and all appointee positions. =The wiki-based SCV web site on PDARRL.org is up and running. Tom, K1TW, [email protected], is getting the content on both old and new sites up to date. Send him your corrections and get your club access to the wiki. Here's the link: http://www.pdarrl.org/scvsec/index.php. =Boy Scout Hi-Sierra International Rendezvous 2008 will be held August 10-16, 2008. A Ham Radio station will be a feature of this event and operators are needed. If you cannot participate on site, stand by for contacts. For more information please contact Gary Hendra, W6NOE, [email protected] or [email protected].
Roanoke Division
North Carolina
APRIL NORTH CAROLINA SECTION NEWS FIELD DAY LOCATOR ON WWW.ARRL.ORG! A new feature of ARRL's Field Day efforts this year is a "Field Day Locator" on arrl.org. The web site
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includes a database of field day locations and these are plotted on a map. This makes it much easier for visitors (like me!) to find your field day locations. There are about 20 sites registered in North Carolina so far and don't forget to register your own. I look forward to visiting as many field day sites as possible during the weekend. SHELBY HAMFEST IS ON! In case you haven't seen the email announcements, the Shelby Amateur Radio Club will hold their 52nd Annual Shelby Hamfest at Dallas Park in Dallas, NC. The Hamfest was first held at Shelby City Park and began as a one-day event attended by less than 100 people. The HamfestWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO eventually outgrew the City Park and moved to Brackett’s Cedar Park in Casar, NC. In 1979, they outgrew Brackett’s and moved to the Cleveland County Fairgrounds. The Shelby Hamfest has grown from less than 100 in attendance to 8000-12000 over the Labor Day weekend, but the hamfest committe was unable to reach an agreement on a new contract with the Cleveland County Fair Association. The new location in Dallas offers an air conditioned building for new equipment dealers. Outside dealer and tent spaces will also be available, as well as ample space for all types of tailgating. There will be plenty of free parking outside the grounds. The hamfest will be held August 30-31 and more information is available at www.shelbyhamfest.org. USS NORTH CAROLINA COMMISSIONING Congratulations to members of the Azalea Coast Amateur Radio Club for orchestrating a successful amateur radio contact between the battleship USS North Carolina and her namesake, docked in Wilmington. The director of the museum ship and the Captain of the new attack submarine USS North Carolina made a 2 meter contact on April 29. The event was covered by WWAY TV and WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.ROvideo can be seen at this link: http://www.wwaytv3.com/video/sub_battleship_share_historic_radio_call/04. This is the first known conveyance of radio greetings between two namesake military vessels since the cold war era. STATE ARES MEETING NOTES - Bob DeWitt, K4RLD Thanks to Bob DeWitt, K4RLD, for these notes from our Section ARES meeting, held May 3 at the state EOC in Raleigh. Changes are coming in the ARRL Simulated Emergency Test, with more emphasis on a regional rather than section exercise. ARRL is also considering a national NTS exercise. Broadband Over Power Lines issue has lost steam. It was too expensive for power companies to implement. ARRL's lawsuite against the FCC. If “broadband over powerlines” isn’t dead, it’s certainly in intensive care! Special license plate fees… Many of you will remember that Joe W1FAI mentioned at the January AREA 13 meeting that organizations that have special license plates receive $10.00 each time that those plates are renewed. There are nearly 3,400 amateur radio plates issued each year so we are talking about $34,000 each year that could be used for the public service aspects of Amateur Radio. According to Tim (N4IB) the Section Manager, we will have to form some type of corporation or foundation before we can proceed. Tim Slay, N4IB, is pursuing non-profit incorporation for North Carolina ARES. This would give us the option of providing liability insurance for ARES activities and allow ARES to own assets. State ARES Objectives for 2008: Increase membership, fill vacant positions, all ARES members trained in ICS courses (IS-800 is now being required in many areas), implement statewide digital communications, implement Training Officer position, increase activity on the Tarheel Emergency Net and obtain a list of relief operators that are self contained. The Western Branch was singled out for both their training efforts and the monthly EC reports. Bernie recognized Cleveland County for the aggressive manner in which they have initiated Cleveland County ARES and SKYWARN. June W4LPL, Ben KM4C, and Cleveland County EC Susan K4ZXN attended the meeting. They were the only county represented from AREA 13 and the Western Branch. The State Digital Plan was discussed… Orders have been placed for a PTC II for the Eastern Branch Office, the State EOC, and the Western Branch Office. There is still much to do on this topic. ICS-213 message form… This is a message form that has been developed. It is a form that has space at the top for the outgoing message, and a place at the bottom for the response coming back to the sender as well as other information. It was observed that there was no message number or a “check” count. The question was, if a large volume of traffic has been sent out, when a reply is received, how can it be determined to which message the reply should be attached? This will be reviewed and an improved version placed on the NC ARES webpage (www.ncarrl.org/ares). There was discussion about “incoming” health and welfare traffic during an emergency. It seemed to be the consensus that the local EC should be the one to decide when the resources are available to handle “incoming” traffic of that
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sort. Bernie asked that the ECs and DECs do more to promote SKYWARN around the state. And, if the local SKYWARN effort is under the control of ARES, each SKYWARN activation should be listed under "Emergency Operations" on the monthly EC report. Paul KD4OZI the Western Branch ASEC asked about having these meetings in the Western Branch from time to time. Bernie said that he understands that it is a hardship on Western Branch counties to attend because of the distances involved and that we will be having a second meeting later in the year that would be held in the Western Branch. Notes and PowerPointWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO presentations from the state ARES meeting are available on www.ncarrl.org. DAVIE COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB Congraulations to the Davie County Amateur Radio Club, the newest ARRL affiliated club in North Carolina. The Davie County ARC was formed in 2005 and has 16 members. They meet the first Tuesday of every month in the training room at the Davie County Hospital in Mocksville. More information is available at http://jdwiggins.com/ki4orw/. UPCOMING EVENTS May 24: DurHAMfest, Durham - www.dfma.org May 25-31: Hurricane Preparedness Week June 14: Winston-Salem Classic Hamfest - www.w4nc.org June 28-29: ARRL Field Day July 12: Rowan County ARS Hamfest, Salisbury July 19: Area 13 ARES Meeting, Gastonia July 19: Mid-Summer Swapfest, Cary APRIL TRAFFIC W2EAG 239, N3BW 154, W4DNA 135, KI4YV 120, K4IWW 116, W3HL 97, WA4OBR 59, W4FAL 46, W4TTO 40, W4EHF 31, WA2YBM 20, KD4WAX 19, KC4PGN 12, KI4PNL 12, KD4ZPS 6, WX4MMM 6, KJ4WY 5. APRIL PSHR W4DNA 165, W4FAL 130, K4IWW 120, W2EAG 110, W4TTO 105, WA2YBM 95, KI4YV 90, KG4YNM 72, W1REPWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO 60 APRIL ARES MEMBERS: 1,808
South Carolina
Greetings to all Amateur Radio Operators. This is Dr. Jim, N2ZZ with the May 2008 South Carolina Section Manager’s Report! Please remember that the SC Section website can be found at: www.arrl- sc.org/ where my full SM report will be listed as well as up-to-the-date information on Amateur Radio in South Carolina! The Upstate Hamfest was held on May 3rd at the Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds in Spartanburg. The hamfest was sponsored by the Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Society and was the 2008 ARRL South Carolina Section Convention! I was unable to attend as I was at my daughter’s graduation in Sarasota that day. Marc Tarplee N4UFP, TC filled in for me, and sent this report: Weather for this year's Upstate Hamfest in Spartanburg was warm and partly sunny and certainly a big improvement over last year. The ARRL forum included a delightful presentation from ARRL's Penny Harts N1NAG about the League and its services. John Crockett KC4YI also reported on the progress of the SCHEART project and shared the URL of the new web page: http://www.scheart.us/ . I thank Marc and Penny for holding the ARRL forum, and wish the best for Bob Bacharach WA2EMF, ASM2 who was unable to attend due to medical reasons. While on the topic of hamfests, the Dayton HAMVENTION was held on May 16, 17 and 18th, and the ARRL EXPO again was in full force! Katie Breen W1KRB of ARRL HQ was the EXPO Coordinator this year, and put together an excellent event. Katie is the ARRL Membership manager and is a human dynamo! She is very progressive and added a new dimension to the ARRL! Would you ever expect to see someone from ARRL HQ with their own MySpace Page about their love of Amateur Radio? Go to www.myspace.com and search W1KRB, and you’ll see what I mean! The ARRL Section Managers forum was held on Saturday, and we had presentations from a number of ARRL HQ staffers. One of the breaking news items was from Dennis Dura K2DCD, Manager of Emergency Preparedness and Response of the ARRL. It concerned the Red Cross and their new policy of background checks. The Red Cross reviewed their policy of background checks as related to Amateur Radio operators, and their decisions will pave the way for a new MOU between the Red Cross and the ARRL. The official statement from Harold Kramer WJ1B, COO of the ARRL is as follows: Thank you for your email (or telephone call) concerning the American Red Cross' background check policy. While we believe that the Red Cross is implementing some changes that will address some of the concerns expressed to them by ARRL, at this point, it is work in process. There are many questions yet to be answered, but we believe that the Red Cross is progressing in good faith to complete the changes to their policy and their background check consent form, which was the primary concern
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expressed to the Red Cross by ARRL. There will be more clarifications and information in the near future. Please keep an eye on the ARRL web site for updates as we know them. We are very much aware of your concerns and have conveyed them to the Red Cross. We expect the Red Cross to address these and other concerns on subject of their background check policy in the near future. I did have the pleasure of being a co-moderator for a private Section Manager session held after the official meeting, discussing a number of issues currently facing section managers. Allen Pitts W1AGP, ARRL Media and Public Relations manager,WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO announced his new public relations campaign at the ARRL EXPO. It highlights the Technical aspects of Amateur Radio, and is known as “We DO That!” This comes on the heels of his two previous public relations campaigns, “Hello” and “Ham adio – Getting the Message Through” For more information, visit the ARRL websites for these programs, respectively WeDoThat- Radio.org , hello-radio.org, and Emergency-Radio.org . On a more somber note, Riley Hollingsworth, Special Counsel in the FCC Spectrum Enforcement Division, has announced plans to retire from his post in early July. His successor has not been named, but he assures us that the FCC’s Amateur Radio Enforcement program will continue. We can only hope that his successor has his vision and love for the future of Amateur Radio. The full ARRL news story is available here: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/05/20/10106/?nc=1 The ARRL has just released the 2008 ARRL Foundation Scholarship winners, and I see we have two recipients in our section. Andrew Cwalina WA4JJZ received the Scholarship of the Morris Radio Club of New Jersey ($1000) and Gregory Davis N3ZL receivedWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO the Northern California DX Foundation Scholarship ($1500). Congratulations to both! There have been a number of hams wanting to visit the Aiken County Communications Trailer. Here is a unique opportunity offered by Bob K4NJN ASM6 and Coordinator for the Aiken County Communications Trailer: Dear Friends, The Communications Trailer Group from Aiken has had several requests to view the communications trailer since we have had the new up-grade completed. Because diesel has approached the $5 mark, we are unable to bring it around as freely as we have in the past. Therefore.....We are inviting hams from all over South Carolina and Georgia to join us for a breakfast in Aiken on Saturday, June 14, 2007. We will meet for breakfast and fellowship at 8am and then will walk across the street where we will have the trailer set up, and be in a osition to provide you a little training on the operation and set-up of the vehicle. We will be on site for a couple of hours. Public Viewing of Aiken County Communications Trailer Saturday June 14th at 9 am O Dell Weeks Center (Across from Hardees) Breakfast at Hardees, 1733 Whiskey Road in Aiken at 8am Talk in on 147.285+ Breakfast and fellowship at 8am (Hardees), then we will all walk across the street and play with the trailer. We will be setting up antennas, deploying the satellite, and demonstrating all of our capabilities. That’s it for May! See you next Month! The April Traffic Reports are currently being compiled, and I will send them along when available! Have a Great Month!! ’73 de Dr. Jim N2ZZ ARRL Section Manager South Carolina Section www.arrl-sc.org
Rocky Mountain Division
New Mexico
New Mexico Section Report for April, 2008 Lots of meetings in the Albuquerque area, things are always busy here. On April 12, 2008 Darryl Clutter (NX5W) had a W5YI VE testing at the Manzano Mesa Multigenerational Center – thanks again Darryl for you and your group of Ves. You do a great job. After having a Forrest Service exercise last month we got a real emergency in April. The Trego fire looked bad at first then settled down and just when everyone thought it was contained the winds came up with a vengeance and everything changed. With 59 homes or cabins destroyed it ended up being a real disaster for the folks in that area. The Upper Rio FM Society did not fare well with the fire. Two repeaters on the Mega Link on Capia Peak went up in smoke along with Brian Mileshoski’s digipeter. The building and all it’s contents were noting but ash. Paul Choc ( WA5IHL ) will have to evaluate the tower to make sure it was not overly damaged by the fire. In his inimitable style Paul Choc (WA5IHL ) has a replacement VHF repeater working at his office and is tweaking it so when the mountain is cleaned up
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the new repeater will be ready – that is the .96 repeater. Also Paul approached KNME and they donated an 8 x 8 building to replace the old one that was destroyed. Paul is truly an amazing man and a tremendous asset to the New Mexico Ham community. Thanks again Paul! The Spring tailgate went very well. Lots of people and lots of equipment for sale. Darryl Clutter (NX5W) was there with his antenna supplies as was Rick from Rad-Comm. Thanks guys you really help us out with our antenna and equipment needs. After the tailgate Pat (KE5FVS) and I drove down to Las Cruces so we could attend the “Bean Feed” atWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO the Mesilla Valley ARC. What a great experience. Have you noticed that hams are the friendliest people around? The net counts for the month are: NM Breakfast Club: 1203/137 NM Roadrunner Tfk. Net: 1292/107 Rustys Raiders Net: 673/82 Valencia Cnty. ARA Net: 75/17 Yucca Net: 853/37 Four Corners Net: 434/52 Caravan Club Net: 58/10 SCAT Net: 700/121 High Desert ARA Net: 53/7 We also had some silent keys: Floyd Elder – WD5HDY – April 3, 2008 at 9 PM – he is survived by his bride Ellen Dale Sinden – KD5MQF – April 18, 2008 John Coates – KA0NBU – April 27, 2008 – While John was living in Naples, FL he had been a long time ham here in New Mexico Again I am posting Brian Mileshoski’s (N5ZGT) web page with all sorts of good ham information. Thanks Brian for providing so much knowledge in a small space. No wonder he was elected as our Division Director.
Wyoming
WyomingWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Section Manager Newsletter - April, 2008 Thanks to all the club members and Section VE’s for running the classes and testing and upgrading our hams! I would especially like to acknowledge WB7RRZ Wilson Sellner, who has participated in an extraordinary 136 test sessions!! Section Elmers: I am pleased to announce we have had quite a few volunteers for Section Expert Elmers willing to share their expertise with Wyoming hams. Volunteers to date are: IRLP Steve Slaton KE7FGB; Packet K7EMS Robert Elder; APRS Mike Reed K7ZEF, Tate Belden KC7ZRU, Bob Poirier K0DJ and Bob Patterson WA7LFT; Echolink Johnny Ramirez N7ABC and RTTY Skip Prinsen W7PN. Others ready to help are Cara Nelson KD7YBL in Hillsdale and Dwayne Allen WY7FD in Devils Tower. Should you have an area you would be willing to help those starting out to get going or fine tune please contact me – [email protected]. Thanks for volunteering! Tate Belden KC7ZRU has accepted the position as Pubic Information Coordinator. Tate will formulate a mission statement for the Section and work with local clubs to promote amateur radio. Thanks to LeeAnne Allen WY7DTW for her work in this position up till now. We have some exciting events coming up in May - the 7 QP is planned May 3,4th and is coming up next weekend – check out the site: http://www.codxc.com/new/page.asp?content=dryland7s. Please contact Walt Marshall W7SE [email protected] and let him know your county of operation. We hope to get all counties represented and lots of participation! The Big Daddy Dayton Hamfest is May 16-18, with lots of events and exhibitors. This will be the first one for me - hope some of you will be able to make it. Also, don’t forget our annual ham reunion at the Wyoming State Convention in Casper May 23-25th sponsored by the Casper ARC http://casperarc.net . The Casper club had done a super job getting this going for us so get your reservations in. Forms and information is on the website. Guest speaker is ARRL Vice President Rick Roderick K5UR, 45 year old Practicing Attorney from Little Rock, Arkansas on a remote Hill Top of approximately 45 acres with his wife, Holly, their two sons, and tons of aluminum and wire. Plan on attending the dinner and see who our Ham of the Year is. Bob Meyer W7BLM is keeping his cards close to his chest on this one – can’t wait! See you “on the air”, 73, Chris, WY7UPR
Southeastern Division
Georgia
SM: Susan Swiderski, AF4FO; ASM/South GA: Marshall Thigpen, W4IS; ASM/Legal: Jim Altman, W4UCK; ASM/Webmaster: Bob Smith, K4PHE; ASM/Youth Activities: Brittney Hancock, KI4WNY;
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ASM/Youth Advisor: Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM; ASM/ Scouting: David Pearce,ABØNG; SEC: Scott Royle, KK4Z; STM: Charles Pennington, K4GK; OOC: Mike Swiderski, K4HBI; TC: Jim Worsham, W4KXY; PIC: Norm Schklar,WA4ZXV; SGL: Bill Cherepy, WB4WTN; ACC: Robin Cutshaw, AA4RC www.arrl-ga.org www.gaares.org Greetings, All. For those of you heading up to the Dayton Hamvention, I hope you have a super time. (How can you NOT?) Talking about hamfests, a tip of the hat to the Middle GA ARC and Central GA ARC, as well as the hosting Byron Middle School club, for pulling off an enjoyableWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Heart of Georgia (H.O.G..... dontcha just love it?) hamfest in Byron earlier this month. The new location is terrific, and they have great plans for future expansion. So, if you missed it this year, try to make it next year. Growing a big ol' fest right in the middle of the state would be a huge plus for all of us. With a suitable blaring of trumpets and accompanying drumroll, I'd like to recognize some of our GA clubs. A big fat gold star goes to all of them: ALFORD MEMORIAL ARC; CONCORD ARS; ELLIJAY ARS; GWINNETT ARS; N4N; NORTH FULTON ARL; TRI-STATE ARC; WEDIXIE ARC; and WEST GEORGIA ARC. So what have these folks done that deserves recognition and my appreciation? Someone from each of these groups has sent me information (and some real nice blurbs) about their Field Day plans. A big thank you to all of them. The rest of you guys..... whatcha waiting for? As always, the June newsletter will highlight field day sites around the state.... but we can't list 'em if you don't send 'em. HURREX: The following release is from our STM and GA ARES Net Manager CHARLES PENNINGTON, K4GK: The GA Statewide ARES Net System will be activeWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO on MAY 28, beginning approximately 9:45 AM, in support of a Statewide Hurricane Drill. NWS, EOC, GEMA SOC, and possibly other agencies are expected to be active. FREQUENCIES: 3.975 LSB; 3.983 LSB; 5.330 USB; 7.272 LSB; 3.583 Data; 3.549 CW. Stay tuned for any additional information as it becomes available. COMING UP: On June 7, the Atlanta ARC Hamfest will be held in Jim Miller Park in Marietta. FYI, there will be some fine forums at this year's fest, and there's no time like the present to let y'all know about them, so you can plan accordingly. At 10AM, our Southeastern Division Director GREG SARRAT, W4OZK, will be leading an ARRL forum; at 11AM, our SEC SCOTT ROYLE, KK4Z, will head up the ARES forum; at noon, JOHN DAVIS, WB4QDX, will be talking about D-Star and the status of GA's D-Star repeater project; and at 1PM, there will be a Basic WinLink and HF Soundcard Mode WORKSHOP, led by Digital ASEC TOM OLLEY, KG4VUB. The goal of this digital workshop is to provide a more informal, hands-on format that will include live demos, as well as honest-to-goodness onsite HELP for those needing assistance in setting up their own equipment. You bring it, and someone will help you with the configurations. What a deal! (And Tom could also use some digital-savvy volunteers who'd be willing to help with demos and elmering.) As the last scheduled forum of the day, it's kinda open-ended, so here's a grade A number 1 opportunity for you to get help getting on the air with a digital mode. SILENT KEYS: LEW HOWARD, W4LHH and NED TYREE, KE4BGP Heartfelt condolences to all of their family and friends. Well, folks, that's about it for now. Until next time, this is AF4FO, signing clear. Take care of yourselves. And each other. 73, Susan QTC April: K8GA-166; K4GK-78; WB4BIK-44; WA4UJC-26; K4BG-20; K4BAI-17; K4BEH-16 +++ No trees were killed in the sending of this message. However, a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced. +++
Puerto Rico
Compañeros, el mes de abril ha sido uno de los más activos que hemos tenido. Pero, antes de comentar sobre eso, repasemos las actividades que tenemos casi a diario: Lunes: Todos los lunes tenemos el net de Radio Operadores del Este (RODE) a las 7:00 pm y el último lunes de cada mes el tema es el cambalache. Esto ocurre en el repetidor del RODE, 147.35 MHz. El segunto lunes de cada mes se reune el club de DX de PR en el edificio de Ciencias Naturales de la Universidad de Puerto Rico en Rio Piédras. Esto es a las 8:00 pm. Miércoles: a las 8:00 pm el net de la Federación de Radio Aficionados (FRA), por los repetidores de KP3AB. Jueves: Todos los jueves por la noche, de 7:00 a 9:00, se reunen los radio aficionados en el estacionamiento (4to piso) del Santa Rosa Mall en Bayamón. Auspiciado por el Movimiento de Radio Aficionados de PR (MRPR) conocido por "La Polilla". También los jueves a
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las 8:00pm el Technology Radio Experimenter Group (TRAEG) tiene su net en 146.65 MHz. Viernes: Todos los viernes tenemos una reunión de radio aficionados en Hatillo cortesía de José Luis, WP3HY Sábado: El último sábado de cada mes tenemos la sección de exámenes del ARRL/VEC en el edificio de Ciencias Naturales de la Universidad de Puerto Rico. Domingo: Los domingos tenemos el net de la Puerto Rico Amateur Radio League (PRARL) a través del repetidor 146.85 MHz a las 7:00 de la noche. ¡Qué semanita! Como si esto fuera poco, ya existen unos seis reflectores de Yahoo.com donde, a diario, encontramos comentariosWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO y noticias sobre nuestro pasatiempo y nuestros compañeros en la radio. Las actividades especiales del mes fueron la de Isla de Cabras el 18 de abril (Día Interncional de la Radio Afición) que también se aprovechó para activar la Isla de Cabras (PUR012) en el programa "Islands of the US". El sábado 26 de abril, el grupo RODE estableció varias estaciones de radio en las facilidades de la casa museo Jesús T. Piñero donde, a demás de operar las estaciones, ofrecieron una exhibición de radios antiguos. El domingo 27, en Hatillo, se celebró un mini-hamfest. Todas estas actividades fueron exitosas. Todas nos dieron la oportunidad de conocer a otros radio aficionados, aprender cosas nuevas, ver equipos en funcionamiento, compartir y hasta poner el nombre de Puerto Rico en las vitácoras de otros radio aficionados fuera de nuestra isla. Exhorto a todos los radio aficionados a que aprovechen todas estas actividades que estoy seguro que las disfrutarán. Para mas detalles pueden visitar mi página personal, www.kp4ac.com que contiene fotografías, un calendario de actividades y vínculos o enlaces hacia losWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO grupos y clubes de radio aficionados de Puerto Rico. 73's de Roberto Jiménez, KP4AC Southern Florida
Hello everyone, We have less than a month before the start of hurricane season. As always, update your emergency kits, check batteries, etc. This is also a good time to recruit new hams and to rekindle the interest of the inactive hams. I have done something a bit different with the news page at www.arrl.org/sections/SFL.html. At present the news is not completely posted but I would like you to visit the page and notice the web site of your club. Many of the web sties listed on the ARRL database either went nowhere, and are not shown on the news page. Some web sites are so outdated that a prospective club member could not contact the club or find the meeting place. We still have several listings in error for club contacts and e-mails, including a silent key. With the current economic situation it is important for you to recruit and retain club members. Please prompt your club officers to make the necessary updates. Traffic Reports from KA4FZI -- SAR Reports for April: KA4FZI 313, KE4CB 128, AA4BN 55, KC4TM 18, W7GXW 13, K9GZT 8 ======PSHR Reports for April: KA4FZI 120, KE4CB 95, AA4BN 89 ======NET Reports for April: NET, ABB, SESS, QNI, QTC, MGR All Florida CW Traffic Net, QFN, 60, 541, 255, AD4DO Florida Amateur SSB Traffic Net, FAST, 30, 279, 68, K4SCL Florida Medium Speed Net, FMSN, 30, 254, 49, AG4RJ/AB4XK Jupiter-Tequesta Repeater Group, JTRG, 7, 66, 25, AG4BV/W4FK Palm Beach County Ares Net, PBCAN, 10, 101, 39, K4DLF Saint Lucie Repeater Association, SLRA, 4, 38, 1, KE4UEI Southeast Florida Traffic Net, SEFTN, 30, 739, 45, AG4RJ/KI4IQZ Southwest Florida Traffic Net, SWFTN, 26, 325, 105, KE4CB ======THE TOTALS ARE UP FOR THE SECOND MONTH IN A ROW. GREAT JOB, SOUTHERN FLORIDA! Total April checki-ns 2343, Total April traffic 587 ======ARES Report from K8KB-- Total reported number of ARES members in the 11 counties reporting: 990 15 ARES nets active, 8 with NTS liaison, 62 sessions held. DECs/ECs reporting: N4LEM, WA2DQX, N5KFR, AA4BN, WA4ASJ, WA4GUK, AI7Q, K4FLC, AD4RZ, AJ4BP, WN7YJJ reporting for Osceola County Number of drills, tests and training sessions: 55, Person hours: 95.5 Number of public service events: 7, Person hours: 318 No emergency operations this month Total number of ARES operations: 62, Total Person hours: 413.5 SFL ARES Net Report --- QNI 28, QTC 2, Time 56Min. Comments: Martin County and St Lucie County hams provided communications for the March of Dimes Walkathons. ======The next hamfest with forums available will be August 9 in Fort Pierce. If there is enough interest we will administer ARECC Exams. Please send me an e-mail if you are interested in taking one of the exams. Don't forget to list your Field Day at:
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http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/locator.php This will allow prospective hams and inactive hams to find your event. Why not have a fact sheet available for inactive hams in addition to the usual publicity table for unlicensed visitors? While we are on the subject of Field Day, please be mindful of how you and the site look to visitors and the press, speak only in positive terms to the press, be safe at all times, and have fun. I will send another message when I have the news page updated with photos from the Governor's Hurricane Conference and club news. Stay safe. Stay on the air. 73, Sherri, W4STB WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Southwestern Division
Arizona
ARRL ARIZONA SECTION NEWS May 2008 ARIZONA PRB-1 Two months ago, House Bill 2721 on Amateur Radio; structures; accommodation passed in the House. Our sponsor Rep McLain has been absolutely fantastic. Turns out that Rep McLain’s late husband was a ham. Rep McLain has tried several ways of getting our bill passed in the Senate. As was the case last year, Senator Harper and the Home Owners Association have been our biggest battle. She is working on one other idea she has to get this passed and we are waiting to see if this works. If this gets passed, this would mean that your home owners associationWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO would have to reasonably accommodate those hams who are actively involved in emergency communications. A reasonable antenna might be a vertical, a dipole, and maybe a beam. We have had several folks just put up antennas before getting written permission from their HOA. They have been asked to take down the antennas. Hopefully this is just temporary. Another note, if you are talking about your antenna or beam to the city or our HOA, do not use the word tower, use the phrase “antenna support structure”. Non-hams view a tower as a very ugly thing (ie Cell tower). YOUTH AND SCOUTING We will be showing Cub Scouts all about Radio direction finding during a Cub Scouts day camp this month with the help of the Green Valley ARC. Jim Fagan KE7IDC Assistant Section Manager (ASM) Youth and Scouting [email protected] EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS It's May already, and it's been a busy month for Public Service and EMCOMM (and me!). April brought us public service events in 3 counties. Some were big like the MS Bike Ride a two day event, and the Ironman a twenty hour event and others like Pat's Run were short but highly rewarding. The ARES database is showing that we have logged over 500 person hours this month around the state on public service activities! It's nice to see the participation in the hours reporting section of the ARES database. It's easy to see who's getting out and supporting the community!! The ARES Database is humming along with more than 450 registered operators in the system. Our operator list is behind a firewall and not shared directly with any agencies so you don't have to worry about the integrity and security of your personal information and because the data is secured, you won't be receiving any spam or junk mail. www.az-arrl.org/secure Rick Aldom W7STS SEC Arizona SOUTHWESTERN DIVISION CONVENTION 2008 On the Convention front, if you haven't sent in your registration or made your hotel reservations, I wouldn't wait too long. The hotel is hosting another event, and their participants will have equal access to the rooms you maybe wanting to stay in. We have more than 30 quality presentations lined up to make this an informative and fun convention. Help us out by registering early. www.azhamcom.org Rick Aldom W7STS. SILENT KEYS Leroy L. Galhouse W7LHF age 81 passed away in Tucson on April 8th. Leroy served in the US Air Force and was stationed in the South Pacific during WWII. He enjoyed hiking, fishing, camping and anything that involved good friends, family or his church. He also volunteered with Saint Vincent de Paul and the Boy Scouts. Leroy was an employee of Hughes/Raytheon for 50 years until retirement in 2002. He was the last of the original charter members of the Hughes Aircraft Company, Catalina Radio Club W7SA that was founded in 1956. Jacobus "Jack" Hageman, 65, of Chino Valley, Ariz., born Feb. 26, 1943, in Netherlands, passed away April 22, 2008, in Prescott, Ariz. Lloyd Stark, KJ7UT, passed away on Sunday, 4/13/8 after a long illness. Lloyd was a member of the London Bridge Amateur Radio Association. Bob Gilbertson - K6BBB SK. Bob was the President of London Bridge Amateur Radio Club and the ARES EC for Lake
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Havasu City, AZ. Bob suddenly passed away after falling to an illness while traveling in the Caribbean. NEW HAMS The following Arizona hams just received their FCC license, Congratulations! Andrew Moccaldi KE7SWH, Tom Morefield KE7SVJ, Paul Vickers KE7SWK, Ronald Walker KE7SVE, Ronald Johnson KE7SEZ, John Dunphy KE7SBL, Richard Slater KE7SVG, Michael Dougherty KE7SBM, Brandon Weeks KE7SWI, Sergey Andreyev KE7SWJ, Mark Garrison KE7SHT, Ronald Zeppin KE7SVH, Christopher Novick KE7SHV, David Grande KE7SBN, Juan De La Torre KE7SHR, John Martin KE7SHW,WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Gordon Ray KE7SVK, Frank Bria KE7SVI, Dominic Garrison KE7SHU, Michael Garrison KE7SHS, John Roberts KE7SEY, Anglela Rodriguez KE7SBK, Robert Call KE7SBQ, George Barnes AD7SU, Anthony Bianco KE7SGC, Jordan Juhlin KE7SBP, Anthony Lintow KE7SGE, Donald Smith KE7SGB, Richard Ferguson KE7SGD, Stanley Ross KE7SGF, Andres Virgen Rivera KE7SHQ, Donald Caverly KE7SCP, William Peoples KE7SBO, David Wile KE7SWL, Paul Hoyt KE7SPU, James Miller KE7SPT, Timothy Kieffer KE7SNI, Richard Chentfant KE7SCQ. HAMFESTS/CONVENTIONS/SPECIAL MEETINGS May 3, 2008, CARA Hamfest, hosted by the Cochise Amateur Radio Association, Club Site, Moson Rd, Sierra Vista, AZ ARCA Meeting - 11:00 AM http://www.k7rdg.org May 31, 2008 Prescott Hamfest Hosted by the Yavapai Amateur Radio Club Granite Mountain Middle School, 1800 Williamson Valley Rd, Prescott, AZ www.w7yrc.org June 7, 2008 Kachina Amateur Radio Club Hamfest Hosted by the Kachina Amateur Radio Club Show Low Intermediate School, 500 N Old Linden Rd, Show Low, AZ Contact: Richard Gurk, KE7EDP [email protected] July 18-20, 2008 ARCA/Williams Hamfest hosted by the Amateur Radio Council of Arizona Williams Rodeo Grounds, 800 Rodeo Rd, Williams, AZ www.arca-az.org September 6, 2008 Mohave Professional Amateur Radio Group will be having its 1st Annual Hamfest in Kingman Arizona. They are working on finalizing the site location which should be secured by the end of March. They will be providing Free Hamburgers, Hotdogs, Soda and Water to all who attend. September 12-14, 2008 ARRL Southwestern Division Convention Mesa AZ Come check us out at www.AzHamCom.org Mesa Convention Center Rick Aldom W7STS 2008 SWD Chair [email protected]. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about ARRL. If your club or group has an activity or event that would be of interest to other hams throughout our section please email me with the specifics. 73, Tom Fagan K7DF ARRL Section Manager Arizona Tucson Arizona (520) 574-1129 [email protected] http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=AZ or http://www.az-arrl.org/
San Diego
San Diego Section Monthly Summary, April, 2008. April 1, 20078, brought the San Diego Section a new Section Manger, Steve Early, AD6VI. On April 12th, 2008, the San Diego Section ARES program hosted Cal Fire’s (CDF) Public Information Officer, Roxanne Provaznik, for Wild Land Fire Safety Training. The 152 attendees represented numerous agencies, including ARES, RACES, BLM, CERT, Red Cross and Salvation ARMY. On April 26th, the Section Manager and several Section members attended the International DX Convention in Visalia, CA. With the change in Section Manager, the Section is in transition and opportunities for leadership positions have increased. The Section is looking for RFI/EMI, OO, Education, Mentoring and Public relations Volunteers to service our community. The San Diego Section ARES program is looking for Staffing Administrators and a Section Emergency Coordinator. Steve Early, AD6VI San Diego Section Manager
West Gulf Division
South Texas
May has been a great month. First we had the 7290 Picnic and then the big move after 34 years in the same house. We were able to give a lot of door prizes at the picnic. I had years of handbooks and parts from the 50's until now. I had a few parts and some radios. I wish I had a large truck to take the boxes up
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there of parts, meters, and etc. I don't know how much made it to the sale or the dump because I had a little accident and stepped in a hole and messed up my left knee. Then after a couple of falls, I wound up in the bed or in my wife's motorized wheel chair for over a week. I'm still not fully recovered but hope to be soon. I still have no antennas up and really haven't been checking my e-mails. If you missed the 7290 picnic, you really missed a great time. Jo Ann did a great job of planning this year. The programs were great and the Bar-B-Q was great, but I think the ice cream hit the spot with everyone. Tom W5UFO used his 1920WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO portable ice cream maker with a larger container this year. The reason it's portable is that it has its own long trailer to haul it around. The old engine is a sight to behold. I'm sure if you will go up to the 7290 web site you will find a picture. If not, I'll try to have one on my web site soon. I want to thank Jodie, K8KP, for the quart of sour kraut home made. If you want to find out how he made it, you will have to ask him his secret. Don't forget Field day coming soon. I sure hope to have an antenna up by then. Have a great month. God Bless America and our troops. Ray N5NAV
WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO
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Section News for May 2008
Atlantic Division Delaware WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Delaware Section Monthly Summary June 2008 June started off with a Webinar on June the 5th with information and update on the Red Cross Background Check issue. Although it has been advertised that the Red Cross background check issue was settled during the Dayton, Ohio Hamvention information has been offered during the Webinar by Bill Edgar N3LLR Atlantic Division Director that members need to read the fine print if they are considering applying for a back ground check by way of the Red Cross www.mybackgroundcheck.com organization. The wording of their agreement in its present form allows mybackgroundcheck.com to allow financial in addition to criminal back ground checks. Members should be aware and read this agreement before consenting to these organizational policies. June 10th Pat Ryan reported Sussex County ARES RACES and MARS members met with Joe Thomas Director Sussex County Emergency Management during which the Amateur Radio Services were presented an Operations Statement (Addendum) between the County Emergency Management and Amateur Radio Interface.WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO For this relationship to work effectively, there should be group interaction, joint exercises and mutual support of public service events, in order to effect a smooth and efficient interoperation. Through the practice and application of communication skills during scheduled, managed events, those skills, applicable in an emergency situation, are developed and strengthened. June 14th Bill Edgar N3LLR presenting Dan Henderson N1ND of the ARRL Regulatory Branch hosted a Webinar. Dan covered topics about the FCC rules Title 47 Part 97 and how they pertain to Amateur Radio. Topics included navigating through the rules and having a current personal copy of Part 97 for reference information. The rules were written to help operators work safely, appropriately and legally. Field Day June 28 – 29, 2008 This is the time of year that we test our communications capabilities on a National level. Again I would remind members to look at their plans to support such communications if a local emergency were to hit home. Are you willing and able to support your community in an emergency with your radio equipment? Do you have a plan to sustain your family with food, potable water and shelter for a minimum of 3 days? Do you have an alternate source to power your equipment and do you test it? Do you have a portable or secondary antenna system that you can deploy if your existing antennas should fail? Field Day is an excellent time to check yourself and equipment. The following ARRL Delaware Section Clubs and Organizations will be conducting Field Day exercises at the following locations: The 146.995 Repeater Group will set up at the Claymont Elementary School practice field Green Street, Claymont, Delaware 19703 The First State ARC (K3QBD) will set up at the WDEL / WSTW Radio station parking lot 2727 Shipley Road Talleyville, Delaware 19803 www.fsarc.org The Kent County ARC (W3HZW) will set up at the Petersburg C&R Center, off C&R Center Rd Norman G Wilder Wildlife Area Kent County, Delaware 19943 www.KCARC.net The Lewes Amateur Radio Society (W3LRS) will be participating in the ARRL 2008 Field Day on Saturday, June 28th and Sunday, June 29th, 2008 next to a single story storage shed which is adjacent to the Overfalls Light Ship, Pilottown Road Lewes, Delaware 19958. www.lewesars.net Joint Clubs Sussex Amateur Radio Association and Nanticoke Amateur Radio Club (W3D) will hold their Field Day at the Marvel Museum 510 S. Bedford St. Georgetown, Delaware 19947. www.sussexamateurradio.com/ www.qsl.net/w3tbg There are several rules changes for FD 2008. First the GOTA station may operate on any authorized Field Day band – HF or VHF. And anyone who has been licensed since field day 2007 is eligible (regardless of license class). Also, an Educational Activity Bonus has replaced the Demonstration Bonus category. Field Day is officially an operating event and not a contest. The purpose remains today as it did in the beginning: to demonstrate the communications ability of the amateur radio community in simulated emergency situations. First and foremost Field Day should be a fun activity. Field Day serves as one of the biggest introductory drawing cards we offer in trying to expand interest in the hobby. Again I need your
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assistance in keeping the ARES / RACES registration data base up to date, please go to www.de-arrl.org and click on the registration URL and follow the instructions to submit your registration by e-mail! Thank You! 73 Frank Filipkowski AD3M
Southern New Jersey
SOUTHERN NEWWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO JERSEY NEWSLETTER FOR JUNE SECTION MANAGER, JEAN PRIESTLEY, KA2YKN It is June already and that means that FIELD DAY is rapidly approaching. This year the dates are June 28 and 29. Field Day starts at 2 PM on Saturday and runs for 24 hours. The idea is to keep the stations on the air continuously for the 24 hour period using power other than commercial mains. The purpose of Field Day is to demonstrate that we can operate stations under emergency conditions. It is a great opportunity to invite the public to see what ham radio is all about. This year in your club try something different to bring in club members who haven’t been out for a few years or to bring in the new members/hams who have never been to a Field Day. Bob Schenck, N2OO was presented with the CQ DX Hall of Fame plaque by Ralph Fedor, K0IR at the annual SWODXA DX Dinner in the Crown Plaza Hotel, Dayton, Ohio. The CX Dinner is attended by some 500 DXers from around the world every year. Also at the same dinner, Tom Harrell, N4XP was presented with the SWODXA DXpedition of the year award. Bob believes that it all evolved from a little whisper in the ear back in 1978 by a friend and the ensuingWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO DXpendition adventures we all are very familiar with over the years. Bob also thanks the membership of the SJDXA and the others who nominated him for this very prestigious award. A big hail and hardy salute to Bob. A new law (P.L. 2007, c 198) went into effect on March 1 2008 regarding the use of wireless telephones and communication devices in a moving motor vehicle. Section 1.a reads: The use of a wireless telephone or electronic communications device by an operator of a moving motor vehicle on a public road or highway shall be unlawful except when the telephone is a hands-free wireless telephone or the electronic communications device is used hands-free, provided that its placement does not interfere with the operation of federally required safety equipment and the operator exercises a high degree of caution in the operation of the motor vehicle. For the purposes of this section, an electronic communications device shall not include amateur radio. The full text of the law can be found at: http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/legis/2007c198_law.pdf The new Amateur Extra class Question Pool has been released. The national Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators has released the new pool of question for the Amateur Extra class license. This pool will become effective for examinations given on or after July 1, 2008 and should be in service until June 30, 2012. The pool, which consists of 741 questions and 12 graphics, can be downloaded from the NCVEC website in Word, PDF or RTF formats. JSARS Is still holding their testing sessions the third Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm at the Riverwood Recreation Building on Riverwood Drive in Toms River, NJ. For more information call Ed GENOINO, WA2NDA at 609-693-3729. Holiday City ARC is also still holding their test sessions every other 2nd Saturday from 10am to 12pm, (May, July, Sept, Nov). Sessions are held at the Holiday City South Clubhouse area in meeting room #1 on Mule Road at the corner of Santiago Dr in Toms River. Your contact person is Bill Haldane, AC2F and the phone is 732-240-7064 or [email protected]. When going to any test session, you must have your original license, at least one Xerox copy and original and one copy of any credit sheets you may have. Bring 2 forms of id. OBARC has resumed their test sessions for the year. There was one in June and the next one will be Sept. 4 and again Dec. 4, 2008. All the sessions will be held at the Ocean Acres Community Center, Nautilus Drive, Manahawkin. Doors close at 7pm. Contact Dave Burgess, WA2TVS at 609-698-2872. Directions to test site are available at http://wwww.obarc.org. Testing sessions by SJRA are on the 4th Tuesday of each month at the Winslow Senior center. Contact is Mark, K2AX at [email protected] or (609)820-1523. If you haven’t already, please make a note or bookmark the following site: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/phi/skywarn/index.html. The Battleship New Jersey is back on summer hours. If your club is thinking about visiting the NJ2BB club station, please be sure to make arrangements ahead of the scheduled date to insure that someone will be there. Just go on our website at www.nj2bb.org for information to schedule a visit. If you have worked NJ2BB and want to send a card,
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the QSL manager is Margaret Burgess, KB2BRR 150 Schooner Ave, Barnegat, NJ 08005. Please send your cards with an SASE to insure receiving a card in return from NJ2BB. http:// www.nj2bb.org NOW OPEN !! The new “City at Sea Tour”. Its intent is to highlight the support activities within the vessel, such as dental, medical and sickbay. There will also be a Quick Stop (aka smoke shop), Post office and machine shops. Of interest to the Ham community is the WW2 Radio Room that members of BNJARS have been working on. This compartment was once filled with black crackle painted equipment that glows in the dark. WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROThe gang has found the appropriate equipment from various sources, restored and repaired each item as needed. On May 19, 2008, the new General Quarters Tour opened. The tour will offer the same tour as the current, except all guests will receive an audio device that will include narration, music, special effects, descriptions of spaces and recorded accounts by former crew members. An adult and child’s version will be available. The ships current guided tour The Fire Power Tour will now include the Combat Engagement Center and the Admiral Halsey Stateroom. Even If your have seen the ship once already, there is plenty of new reasons to come see it again. If you have an activity coming up or want to report something that happened, please send a short write up to me and I will put it in next month. Please remember that if you work traffic to report it to Dan, K2UL. Traffic report for May Traffic manager, K2UL, Dan Ostroy SNJ/NNJ Section Net Reports QNI reports NJM 104 N2GJ NJPN 209 W2CC NJSN 182 K2PB NJN(E) 178 AG2R NJN(L) 168 AG2R (the above nets are dual section nets of both SNJ and NNJ. Liaisons with 2RN) SNJ Local Net Reports JSARS 304 WA2NDA SJTN (E) 33 KB2RTZWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO SJTN(L) 31 KB2RTZ Station Activity Reports (SAR) KB2RTZ 74 AA2SV 43 WA2NDA 40 K2UL 30 K2GW 10 WJ3P 8 Public Service Honor Roll (PSHR) KB2RTZ 260 K2UL 110 N2HQL 90 K2GW 89 KA2YKN 85 WJ3P 72 WA2CUW 65 STM reports that the past six years have been posted on the web at http://k2ul.home.att.net/stm_monthly.htm Be sure to check your license expiration date on your Amateur license.
Western Pennsylvania
Only three weeks till Field Day 2008 is here. Like many of you I am looking forward to this annual event. For me this is the first time in several years that I will be traveling around the section visiting various field day sites. I am always amazed at the creative efforts of the various groups is setting up the stations and the varied antennas that operators create for this example of our emergency preparedness. On June 12 I will be attending a meeting with Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency along with Eastern Pennsylvania Section Manager Eric Olena. This meeting will be discussing the partnering of various agencies with PEMA. Recently a meeting was held in Harrisburg with Dave Eckman, WA3YVR representing both EPA and WPA sections with various members of the legislature and other agencies. This meeting was to discuss the need for support to get the Pa. PRB-1 tower bill to the floor. Would ask at this time that all amateurs in our section contact their state senator and ask them to review and support senate bill 884. This tower bill is crucial to the needs of amateurs throughout the state for reasonable accommodation of installing amateur antennas. I attended the Breezeshooters hamfest on June 1 at the Butler Farm show grounds. I would like to thank the sponsors for their hospitality and I was happy to see the large attendance and enthusiasm of the people in attendance. The flea market was filled with a wide selection of items and a great selection of radios and other equipment. At the Dayton Hamvention, the league announced that an apparent resolution to the background check issue with the Red Cross had been reached. At this time it is still a negotiation in progress however we are encouraged that this issue will be quickly resolved and a new MOU between the ARRL and Red Cross will be signed. Discussion on this issue have taken place at various forums . As with all contract items please read carefully before signing the release authorizing your background check. Several hamfests have been approved for the upcoming months. In July we have the Union City and Wattsburg Wireless association hamfest on July 12. The following day is the North Hillas Amateur Radio Club hamfest on July 13. Then the following week on July 20 is the Somerset County ARC hamfest. Please go to http://www.arrl.org and check the hamfest schedule for WPA and click the links provided to get more information. Also make plans to attend the Skyview Radio Society hamfest on August 24. This hamfest
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is also the WPA Section Convention. Membership manager Katie Breen, W1KRB, will be in attendance discussing ways to improve membership and participation in clubs as well as in the league. I will be in attendance at these events as well and look forward to seeing many of you at the league table. Please stop and say hello. I still have openings on my schedule for attendance at club meetings to speak about activities in the section and what is happening in the league in general. Contact me if your group would like me to attend a meeting of your group. We are still in need of individuals to volunteer for the position of emergencyWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO coordinator of several counties. Those counties are: Butler, Cameron, Elk, Somerset and Westmoreland. Any individual interested in these positions can contact john at [email protected] or can submit a FSD-156 form online at http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/forms/ scroll down and use FSD-156. John will then review the application as will the DEC of that area and forward to me for appointment. There are also openings for assistants to the DEC’s of the regions. John Szwarc is the section emergency coordinator and you can submit an application to him for review. I am also looking for an individual to fill the appointment of assistant section manager for youth and education as well as a Public Information Coordinator. Individuals interested may contact me directly at [email protected] with your qualifications. Remember there are numerous positions in the section staffed with individuals that can help you or your club resolve difficult issues. Assistance with digital technology, technical issues, interference, club needs and other matters can find the contact information on the section web page at http://www.arrl.org/sections/WPA.html Join a traffic net and help deliver messagesWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO to individuals as a service to the community. The WPA phone and traffic net is our section net on 3983 every evening at 6 PM local. 73 John Rodgers N3MSE W. Pa. Section Manager
Central Division
Illinois
QST DE KA9QPN From the top... **The current fracas between ARRL and the American Red Cross has taken a turn to the positive with the elimination of 'mode of living' checks as part of ARC's background check. For some folks, this is good news. Others wonder why any background at all, and still others object to having to undergo another check after having checks done by other agencies. Until there is a unified credential for public service volunteers (which is coming, slowly but surely and will be a whole 'nother source of consternation), we're going to have to live with the patchwork that is the current system. As always, it's your own risk-benefit analysis that matters before you cough up your name and SSN, not the opinion of the League or ARC. **If nothing else, hopefully the continuing discussion between ARC and ARRL may arrest the trend of Served Agencies developing their own Amateur Radio capability. On paper, this looks nifty as we see more hams through the licensing efforts. In reality, these new guys and gals tend to look at themselves as 'exclusive use' to the Agency that recruited and trained them. To me, this idea dilutes the concept of ARES®...providing a standby complement of communications specialists ready to serve 'wherever and whenever'. It also drains from that pool of public service oriented folks who might otherwise be generally available to the community at large in an emergency. **As I put the last touches on this month's News, residents of Livingston, Grundy, Will, and Southern Cook counties are cleaning up from a series of long-tracked tornadoes. I had the privilege of listening to the live reports being called in to the NWS liaison net. Timely, accurate spotter reports are one of the primary reasons that there were no serious injuries associated with those storms. All who participated, from the planners of the communication scheme to the SKYWARN trainers and coordinators to the NCS and spotters on the ground should be proud of the results of their efforts. I know that I am. **It's a sad commentary when the Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year competition goes without one viable nomination when last I looked. I sincerely hope that the issue was something other than a lack of actual worthy young hams. I'd rather imagine that the competition wasn't properly publicized or some other mechanical issue. I know good and well that we have plenty of notable candidates right here in the Section. Get informed... **While we're talking about outstanding young hams, we have two young men from the Section who have been granted scholarships through the
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good offices of the ARRL Foundation and some sponsoring clubs. The Six Meter Club Scholarship was given to Neil Gebhardt KB9ZGZ, and the Peoria Area Amateur Radio Club Scholarship was given to John Hays KC9LVZ. Congratulations, gentlemen. You do us proud. CQ our young ladies...where are you? **WANTED--someone to serve as Affiliated Club Coordinator for the southern part of the Section. For the past year or so, Mike Nowack NA9Q has served well in that capacity. Job pressures are forcing Mike to back off on fun stuff for awhile, regrettably creating this vacancy. This is an Assistant Section Manager positionWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO which carries the reward of a lot of that undying gratitude stuff. The job entails helping Eric K9KQB keep our ARRL affiliated clubs generally headed in the same direction. Please make application to me via email if interested. Thanks, Mike for all that you've done in this new position. **Field Day planning is being rushed to completion througout the Section. As we all know, FD is part contest, part showcase of the Service, part social event, but all emergency preparedness. In your planning and execution, please try and keep the exercise true to the original purpose: the ability to set up stations under non-standard conditions so as to deploy more effectively in an emergency or disaster. The hams that deployed to the Gulf States several years ago got that, and they were rewarded with being cited as one of the few things that worked correctly in the Katrina/Rita Response. Please don't forget your NTS message to Pat KC6VVT or me during the weekend for the extra points. And, there's still time to invite the press, your local elected official, and folks from the Served Agencies both to observe and for more extra points. SEND ME YOUR MEDIA HITS! **Brad Pioveson W9FX and Charlie Richey K9DUEWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO are collaborating to have a state level PRB-1 preemption statute introduced in the next Illinois General Assembly. This will take a lot of gentle prodding by those of you who have good relationships with your State Legislators, as the General Assembly is in a bit of confusion these days. Watch this space, as the real work will probably not commence until the fall session. I'll let you know when it's time to activate the logical persuasion and examples of how we make a difference in the community. This is where all of that relationship building with your local and county officials will come in handy, as their support will help in this effort, too. **Please take time to check out the new ARRL recruiting initiative at http://www.wedothat-radio.org/. The emphasis is on the newly declared Fifth Pillar of ARRL: Technology. For years, hams have been at the forefront of new developments in electronics and communication technology. Sadly, we've been quiet about it over time. The 'We Do That' campaign is the League's attempt at changing that and bringing to the forefront what we've been doing all along. Not only do 'we do that', but we've ALWAYS done that. Most interesting is the 'blog' which highlights some of the neat things that our fellows are working on. From cancer treatment to software defined radios, there's something to reel a technically minded person into our Service. Around the Section... **Here's a novel approach: The Western IL ARC is holding a Level I AREC Course in conjunction with their Field Day effort. Looks like a neat way to show folks the 'whole enchilada'. Details here. **The Chicago Suburban Radio Association continues plans to incorporate Amateur Radio in the display caboose at the Santa Fe Prairie. This will be a fun addition to a fascinating exhibit. Some details on Santa Fe Prairie here. **The Egyptian RC has snagged Riley Hollingsworth K4ZDH as guest speaker for their 14 June 2009 hamfest. Interestingly, he will be retired by then (maybe...we've heard this before!) and able to speak freely about his history with the FCC. Mark your calendars...this could be a doozy! **The State Convention is rapidly approaching. 3 August in connection with the Bolingbrook ARS Hamfest, so make your plans to attend now. **In a sad first of its kind, a young volunteer firefighter in MO was killed last month while storm spotting when his vehicle was flipped by a tornado. The sad part of this is that a death like this need never occur. I used to tell the young men and women that I trained for patrol work and traffic direction: 'don't get caught up in the scenery'. By that, I meant that they should never get too distracted by what was going on around them that they lost track of their own safety or the task at hand. Please make sure to spot storms safely and continue our injury-free tradition.
Wisconsin
WISCONSIN: SM: Don Michalski, W9IXG, SEC: KB9ENO, STM: K9LGU, SGL: AD9X, OOC: KC9IS, PIC: KB9NUM, TC: K9GDF, BM: WB9NRK, ACC: N9LVS ASMs: K9UTQ, W9DGI, N9VE,
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KG8CX. ** The Madison 2008 Great Strides for Cystic Fibrosis communication team was run entirely by young Amateurs. The 450 walkers raised over $160K for the fight against Cystic Fibrosis! Special thanks to Alec KC9NBQ, Chandler KC9MGB, Mitch KC9NBY, Vincent KC9JVN for a job well done! Photos posted on the Wisconsin site. ** Hams Help Scouts Get Radio Merit Badge While tornado warnings, high winds, and storm clouds threatened outside, 43 Boy Scouts safely inside the basement of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Space Place learned how Amateur Radio is used for storm tracking, public serviceWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO and personal enrichment. And they all qualified for the Boy Scout Radio Merit Badge. The Scouts all participated in "Get Your Radio Merit Badge Day", on Saturday June 7, sponsored by the Four Lakes Amateur Radio Club (FLARC) and UW Space Place. The Instructors for the Class were all Scout leaders and amateur radio operators: Sarahelizabeth Baguhn, WA9SE; Bob Paiva, W9BYK, and Steve Brist, AB9RR. The Scouts were given training in radio theory and electrical safety and learned about call signs, schematics, how radio is used in emergencies, and the fun to be had with amateur radio. As one of the requirements, the Scouts also learned how each of them could obtain an amateur radio license, and were invited to attend future amateur radio licensing classes. Volunteer hams, including members from FLARC, acted as "control operators" and helped each Scout make an actual amateur radio contact. "It was exciting to see how eager the Scouts were to learn about amateur radio," stated Bob Paiva, organizer of the class, "I hope to see more merit badge opportunities offered on a regular basis so Scouts can have fun and learn about new things." "If this class is an example," Paiva continued,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO "Scouts are enthusiastic about more merit badge classes." Administrative assistance in organizing the class was provided by Aaron Vikemyr and District Executives from the Glacier's Edge Scout Council Office. ** STM Report Wisconsin Section May 2008 FAQ # 82 -- What are the in's and out's of checking in "in and out?" You are listening to the SSB section nets. You hear some stations checking in "on short time" or "in and out." You are saying, "Huh?" Here's the explanation. In a system that distributes messages, it helps to know what outlets are available for traffic. Although traffic is usually listed at the start of the net, not everyone may hear that list. If, for example, one of those stations checking in "in and out" were in the right locality to take some traffic, the net control would be sure to ask if he or she could do that before leaving. Some net control operators even give stations on short time an early opportunity to make comments. Why not? The NCS is boss. Yes, it's fun and helpful to visit with operators around the state, to get used to their voices, to help check their equipment, to share stories while the net remains in operation, but that's not essential. Ham Radio, and the traffic handling aspect of it, is still a hobby. There may be lots of priorities in one's life before hamming. We understand. When someone checks in to a net just to say he or she is available but can't stick around to visit, that's part of how the system works, too. Even if you don't have a half hour to listen, don't hesitate to check in to one of our nets. If there's traffic in your direction, we need you, and you are certainly welcome. You won't be on the out's with us, if you check in in-and-out. 73 -- K9LGU / STM at the inn MONTHLY NET ACTIVITY SUMMARY MAY 2008 NET QNI QTC QTR SSNS NM BWN 2147 2629 4215 31 W9IXG BEN 541 57 1166 31 WD9FLJ WSBN 560 65 1022 31 KB9KEG WNN 149 3 303 28 KB9ROB WSSN 130 10 256 30 N9JIY WIN/E 158 20 264 30 WB9ICH WIN/L 138 74 361 31 W9UW WRACES 88 1 175 4 N9VAO TOTALS 3911 2859 7762 216 ** I hope that your plans to participate in Field Day are coming along well. http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2008/fd.html This will be a good time to demonstrate to the public what we can do and have some fun, too! Don't forget to send me or SEC, Bill Niemuth, KB9ENO, a message for 100 bonus points for origination of a National Traffic System (NTS) style formal message by your group from its site. You should include the club name, number of participants, Field Day location, and number of ARES operators involved with your station. The message must be transmitted during the Field Day period and a fully serviced copy of it must be included in your submission, in standard ARRL NTS format, or no credit will be given. If you have any questions, contact our STM Denny, K9LGU, [email protected] Let's hope for good weather and band conditions! 73, Don, W9IXG
Dakota Division
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Minnesota
ARRL MINNESOTA SECTION SUMMARY FOR MAY 2008 SUMMARY FROM SM ++ The MN section OOC, TC, ARES and Traffic summaries are enclosed below. ++ See the ARRL Section web site for up-to-date information and bulletins. ++ Go to the section website at http://www.mn-section.com for other news. ++ A major ham radio event is planned for August 8-10 in Rochester. This will be a Dakota Division ConventionWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO and DX conference combined. Stay tuned. ++ Have you any local stories for the section news? Please send to me. ++ Please send me your plans for future Amateur Radio Classes. ++ Please submit all items for posting to section webpage to me as well. ++ Please list your field day event at the ARRL website. Go to: http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/locator.php ++ Have a safe field day. Watch for ticks and be careful of Lyme disease. This is a serious problem. Respectfully submitted by Skip Jackson, KS0J, MN SM MN OOC & TC REPORT SUMMARY FOR MAY 2008 MN OO reports received from KB0OHI, N0OH, WO0A, WB6AMY, & W3FAF. Total listening hours for May was 254. Respectfully submitted by John H. Thomas III, W3FAF, MN OOC & TC MN SEC REPORT SUMMARY FOR MAY 2008 Total number of ARES members reported: 275 County EC’s reporting: Anoka (KC0KEP), Carver (KBØCQ), Cook (KBØBDN), Itasca (KGØFD), Lac Qui Parle (KCØQED), Redwood (KAØISD), Scott (NØBHC), St. Louis-North (WDØGUF), St. Louis-South (KBØLC), Sherburne (NØJHU), and Washington (ABØXE) Local Net Names: Anoka County ARES Net, CCART,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO River Valley, SEMARC, Scott County, Chisago County, Carver County, Washington County, Fox Valley Monday Night Net, Lac Qui Parle Phone, Lac Qui Parle Packet, Mankato Area Radio Club Emergency Services Net, Marshall Area Emergency Net, Redwood County, Wadena Area Ham Net, Northern Lakes Radio, NE MN Public Service, SE St. Louis Emergency Service, Dakota County ARES, Scott County ARES Total sessions: 49 NTS liaison is maintained with the MN Section, Tenth Region, and NTSD Traffic Nets by NØUC, WØLAW Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 22 Person hours: 619 Number of public service events this month: 7 Person hours: 347 Number of emergency operations this month: 4 Person hours: 74 Total number of ARES operations this month: 33 Total Person hours: 1040 RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, MN SEC MN STM SUMMARY FOR MAY 2008 NET FREQ TIME QNI/QTC/SESS MGR ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ MSPN/E 3860 5:30 P WO0A MSPN/N 3860 12:00P K0BLR MSN/1 3605 6:30 P K0WPK MSN/2 3605 9:50 P K0WPK PAW 3925 9A-11AM 1500-1700 KA0IZA MONTHLY STATION ACTIVITY REPORTS (SAR) STATION ORIG. REC'D. SENT DLVD. TOTAL BPL NO.OPS. W3FAF 0 73 85 4 162 W0LAW 0 65 75 3 143 KA0RMP 0 36 52 3 92 K0WPK 0 50 15 2 67 W0HPD 0 14 24 2 38 K0BLR 4 34 1 9 34 KA0IZA 0 24 4 0 25 N0KCM 0 4 8 1 18 WD0GUF 0 5 5 0 10 N0JP 0 1 7 1 9 ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~ PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) STATION 1 2 3 4 5 6 TOTAL ~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~ K0BLR 40 34 10 40 25 149 W0LAW 40 40 20 10 10 120 WD0GUF 40 10 30 80 SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER MONTLY REPORT NETS ABBR. SESS. TFC. NMCALL NTS LIASON ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ MINNESOTA SECTION MSPN/E WO0A MSPN/E C/2 PHONE/NET EVENING 1,339 31 74 1730 LOCAL MINNESOTA SECTION MSPN/N K0BLR PHONE NET/NOON 1200 NOON 498 31 38 MINNESOTA SECTION MSN/1 K0WPK . . . .RN-10, C4 NET (CW) 6:30PM 115 75 27 MINNESOTA SECTION MSN/2 K0WPK . . . .RN-10, C4 NET (CW) 9:50PM 68 10 23 PICONET ALLDAY PAW PICO NET ALL DAY WATCH KA0IZA 2,584 76 36 RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Robert Meyer, W0LAW, MN STM
North Dakota
NORTH DAKOTA: SM, Kent Olson, KAØLDG -Field Day is getting closer...are you ready? I hope all the ND clubs get out in force, and fill the airways with big signals. Let’s put ND on the map this year and give out the ND multiplier. The RRRA helped with the Fargo Marathon a few weeks ago. Over 20 hams manned medical and water stations throughout the Fargo/Moorhead area where 12,000+ runners made their way around. I also participated in this event, and am very proud of the way the hams handled
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the communication needs of the marathon. Please let me know what your clubs have been up to, as I’m sure there’s a lot of ham activity is happening out there. See you on the air for Field Day. HF NM K8BBM net reports for May: Weather Net: 27/565/13. Data Net: 30/716/7. Goose River Net: 4/35/2.
South Dakota
Here is the sectionWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO news for South Dakota, if there are any clubs that have material that they wish to have posted please email me the information no later than the 5th of the month so that I can get it posted to both the summary and the web site before the cut off date. SDLINK News The SD Link net on Wednesday at 9 pm Central Daylight or 8 pm Mountain Daylight is looking for volunteers for net control. If you are interested please contact WB0RJH Greg at Pierre or check into the net and volunteer. We are looking for volunteers who would do a month at a time. It is planned to change out the antenna at Wessington Springs this summer. It was bent in an ice storm. Some upgrading of equipment at Pierre is planned for this summer. Thanks to work done by WA1RJC and others in the Rapid City area the Black Hills repeaters can be tied into the SD Link for the Wednesday net and at other times when needed. Anyone having items they would donate to raise money for the SDLink should let W0SD know. The items will be sold at the State Hamfest in September at SF. You would need to get the items to the hamfest yourself or find someone who would bring them. Ed W0SD South Dakota Section Convention South DakotaWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Section & Sioux Empire ARC It is official everyone - September 20th, 2008 is the date - mark the calendar. We have the venue and banquet lined up - and we will have more flea market space (double of last year) as well as double the banquet seating. I would like everyone to email me and let me know what seminars you would like to see or if you would like to put one on that is even better. We are working on vendors and other surprises so keep tuned in and reading. Thanks, Rich, N0PV ARRL South Dakota Section Manager [email protected] Hot Springs ARC News It is with sadness that I report Jiggs Mower, WA0FGV, and John Prall, N0IQS, as silent keys. The were 2 very active and well known members of our club. Both Jiggs and John will be very missed. The ham testing on May 3 produced 5 new Generals and 1 new Technician. So the results from our Technician licensing class are 2 Technicians and 3 Generals for the Hot Springs area. The most recent new Tech is Penny Hanna, KD0DUE. We are also glad to welcome Joe Story, WL7BT, to our club. Phil, KA0FUI and John, KC0WIB, installed the new door on the club shack. We will get it bug proof yet! The next step for the shack is to get a coat of paint inside and install the operating counter tops. Installing the tower on our trailer will take priority to use at Field Day. Field Day plans are coming together. We have decided to set up at the Mammoth Site again. Anyone is welcome to join us for a super good time. If nothing else, the cookout is worth the drive. Watch next month for more specifics. 73 Tim K0OR Pierre Amateur Radio Club It was a dark and stormy night. Not many members ventured out. Only the tough. Secretary’s report. AAØLY - minutes were on website and in the newsletter. Report was approved as published with one call sign correction. Minutes listed Bob as KCØBWW but should have been KBØBWW TECHNICAL – KDØS gave the county a report on what we have done in the past year. They were happy with the results. Indicated to the county representatives that we would be adding weather stations – possibly at Willow Creek and a position to be determined south of there. Perhaps near Verendrye monument. The club has a couple of Kenwood 2600 handheld radios that could be used for the stations. WBØRJH stated weather classes would now be held April 14, 6:30 pm at Ft Pierre Senior Center. This is a new date. Original date postponed due to weather. NEW BUSINESS: Discussed the new weather stations mentioned above. Decided to use Ultimeter 100 weather stations. New equipment for each location would cost about $362. Motion by KCØZHF, second by NØNPO to authorize purchase of the equipment up to a maximum of $850 for equipment and shipping. Motion carried. Motion by KDØS, second NØNPO to use the club call on these stations. Carried. WBØRJH, WØRTD, KDØS and KCØWVF are working on a proposal regarding the viability of providing emergency communications from the state law enforcement building. A draft is to be completed by this group soon to present to the club. KDØS again asked about establishing a committee to do a pamphlet for the club. Everyone is to bring ideas for inclusion in the pamphlet to the next meeting.
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Delta Division
Arkansas
AD5FU Selected as Delta Division Ham of the Year- John Nordlund, AD5FU has been selected as Delta Division Ham of the Year according to Henry Leggette, WD4Q ARRL Delta Division Director. John was selected for hisWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO hard work in preparing, organizing and instructing the Arkansas VE Super-Session Technician Licensing Classes and Test Sessions through the Arkansas Department of Health (ADOH) and Arkansas Hospital Associations microwave videoconference network. John was responsible for teaching the sessions in 2006 and again in 2008 in which nearly 300 new hams were licensed. The session in January 2008 netted 189 new techs and several new general class operators across Arkansas. The session has given areas of South Arkansas a boost in amateur radio activity and has helped revitalize some of the clubs in the area. Other amateurs involved in the Super-Session receiving letters of commendation form the ARRL included Arkansas Section Manager David Norris, K5UZ and Arkansas Section Emergency Coordinator J.M. Rowe, N5XFW for coordinating the overall effort; Joe Giddons, N5IOZ and Ron Lynch, K5NP for helping coordinate the VE teams; Dr. Paul Halverson, KR5EA, ADOH Director for sponsoring and allowing the use of the video facilities at ADOH; Tommy Black KE5JNR, ADOH for coordinating the hospitals around the state; Lynette Nordlund KD5QMD and KaylaWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO KE5JYX (John’s XYL and Harmonic) for assisting in class material preparation. The awards will be presented at the Delta Division Convention in Knoxville, TN June 14, 2008. Congratulations John and all those involved. ARVARF News-April- Our 400th issue. Wow! Is there anyone who remembers the very first issue? These newsletters not only tell everyone what is happening with our club but also bring back memories of all what your club has done in the past, from the multiple Field Days and Hamfests to so many other activities. As everyone knows I want to add to those activities and I’ve been working hard to get everything ready for the Extreme foxhunt. I do have some friends and possibly a professor or two coming to join in on the fun. We will start at 9:00 AM at the Hughes Center right beside the City Park. All you’ll need is a 2-meter receiver and its antenna and a vehicle. Hopefully we’ll find the fox before noon so we can enjoy a picnic afterwards. I invite everyone to come and join us. If you have any suggestions e-mail me at [email protected] Sonia Picado KE5EIW President.= Pope Co, ARES/RACES- John Robinson of the National Weather Service gave an interesting presentation for the Weather Spotter’s course in March. He had some new video and also told us about the “interesting” weather of 2008. Floods were the problem at the time and the NWS folks were running all over the state surveying water problems. Since then, we have had more tornadoes, so stay alert, anything could happen! Our April ARES/RACES meeting will be at 7:00 on April 22. We will talk about the upcoming Arkansas Nuclear One exercise in May. We will have a part in the exercise and I will have more details by the meeting. Then in May, Mike KE5EIY, is going to present a demonstration of packet via sound card. Packet is a great mode for public service communications, but the specialized Terminal Node Controllers are harder to find and more expensive now. Charles Shingleur demonstrated a simple modem that can be used with software for packet, and Mike will show us how to do it with just software and a sound card. Since most other digital modes can be operated with just a sound card, it will be good to know how to do packet also. I hope you will participate in the club’s fox hunt. This is not only fun, but has public service applications. This is severe weather season – be alert for threatening weather and monitor the 146.82 repeater when appropriate. 73, Dennis W5RZ ARKAN News- The Memorial Day Troop Train left the Springdale station at 8:00 AM on May 26th bound for Chester. It rained heavily during the morning and we were thankful we had things organized so we wouldn't have to be too concerned about the weather. Somewhere between Springdale and Fayetteville our 20 meter hamstick got whacked by a tree limb and came loose at the ball mount! When the train stopped in Greenland Scott KD5KZJ and Rob KE5RFL scampered up the ladder with a trusty adjustable wrench and made repairs within three or four minutes. Batesville ARC News- April News- More Storms, More Flooding -Seems like the topic of storms and flooding was used in last month’s newsletter and here it is again! Our storm spotters are getting plenty of practice and have been doing a great job. The reports heard on the repeater
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during these recent events have been timely, concise, and professional sounding. Maybe next month we will be able to devote our time to other activities while giving our rain gear a rest. Summer Fun With the coming of warmer weather our minds turn towards those summer events such as Field Day and the Water Carnival. Plans are already being made for our club’s participation in these exciting events. BCRO News- The next Tech class is scheduled for Sept 13th, 20th and 27th; it'll be a total of 15 hours of class time. We'll post more on this later. If you would like more information please send an email to Jay KCØCNB. TheWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Tour de Cure for 2008 will be Saturday October 11th this year. Also, on August 9th there is a Diabetes Health and Wellness Expo at the Northwest Arkansas Convention Center. Superfest was held Saturday April 26 at the Jones Center for Families in Springdale. A good sized crowd attended ARRL Delta Division Vice Director Karl Bullock WA5TMC’s forum on Emergency Communications as well as K5UZ’s ARRL forum in which WA5TMC also discussed Technology and the ARRL. Thanks to all on the hamfest committee for making this a successful event. Fort Smith Area ARC News- Several members of the Fort Smith Area Amateur Radio Club participated in a disaster drill held at Chaffee Crossing on Thursday, March 27, 2008. Just after 9:30AM, the drill started when police were called to a mock crash that happened when a semi-tractor trailer hauling radioactive dirt to a landfill stopped behind stalled traffic on a busy highway. A City bus was unable to stop in time and slammed into the back of the truck. Moments later, a small automobile crashed into the back of the bus pinning that auto’s driver inside. Fire fighters were dispatched to render aid to the bus passengers who were decontaminated and transportedWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO by EMS to local hospitals. The driver of the small car succumbed at the scene but the body (a rescue dummy) had to be cut out of the wrecked car. The driver of the truck was uninjured but was contaminated with the radioactive material. While the chaos of the wreck was unfolding, a passer by stopped and took a container of the contaminated dirt. He later placed an explosive device on the container and left it on the doorstep of his former employer. This, of course prompted another police call and a response from the fire department’s bomb squat. Ham operators provided an information stream to the hospitals and to other service providers. As always, these operators provided a great service and proved that amateur radio is ready to respond with its own equipment at a moment’s notice. Field Day Cometh!- June 28 – 29 will be amateur radio’s largest operating event. Many clubs around Arkansas are making their Field Day plans and I want to encourage all clubs to participate. One encouraging sign is the unified “All Central Arkansas” Field Day effort in Little Rock to be held at the Arkansas School for the Blind. Members from CAUHF, CAREN and ArkRES Clubs are invited to come play Field Day. Other traditionally great Field Day efforts are being put forth at ARVARF in Russelleville, FSARC at Columbus Acres in Fort Smith, Ozark Wireless/ARKAN in NWA and Batesville ARC at Brock Mountain.
Great Lakes Division
Michigan
Greetings Fellow Amateurs, Well, Field Day is finally upon us, the biggest operating event of the year. With some slight revisions to "The Rules", we are encouraged by this opportunity to gain some valuable publicity for the activity. Please insure that arrangements have been made for public officials to visit and that your Official Welcoming Committee is in place. Keep in mind that most visitors will be completely overwhelmed by what they see and someone needs to be your spokesperson to explain what all the antennas and equipment are really doing – and explain it all in easy to understand terms. That is, no ham radio buzzwords, but in language the visitors can relate to. Good luck everyone. I am pleased to announce that Simon Boehme KC8ZYD of Kalamazoo has accepted the appointment as Assistant Section Manager for Youth. Simon has been working diligently to help the ARRL Michigan Section determine where Michigan hams stand in terms of having a solid growth plan for young entry-level hams and to initiate a process to insure bring more young people in this hobby. Formalizing this appointment will offer the recognition that is appropriate for these responsibilities. We will be hearing more and more from Simon as these next few weeks progress. In the interim, you can establish contact
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with him at [email protected]. With one change comes another, it seems. After 10 years as our Official Observer Coordinator and 15 as an OO, Don N8NJE is preparing to step down. "It's time," Don said. His retirement date is August first and over the next few weeks, Don and I will be working on the list of candidates under consideration for his replacement. Our cadre of OOs has accomplished much under Don's capable leadership. Our relationship between the Amateur Auxiliary and the FCC continues to be very high and N8NJE deserves much of the credit for that excellent association. Did you know that the OO position is the WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROonly ARRL Field appointment that requires applicants to pass a test before they are appointed? Keeping these high standards is paramount for members of the OO/AA program and this is not taken lightly. Don always interviews each applicant for the program and is very diligent to insure that the applicant follows ARRL and FCC guidelines. My sincere thanks as well as the combined thanks of the members of the ARRL Michigan Section go to Don for his many years of service. Just a reminder for all of us, please take some time to update your records at the ARRL Members Only Web Page. I have noted that many phone numbers and similar information are out of date. This is important contact data and I ask that you take the time to insure that we have everything correct. Home, work and cell numbers often change and this database is my first reference point if I need to contact you. Thanks. Newly installed officers for the Hazel Park ARC are: Pres. KE8UM; 1st V Pres K8ABZ; 2nd V Pres. K8TRF; Treas. K8UP; Dir. KC8WPW; Sec. W9NPI; Parliamentarian, WD8S. Congratulations to these new club officers. Last month I "fat fingered" the call sign of the Livingston ARC's Program Director. KC8VABWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO is the LARK's new Program Director. Here come the monthly reports. I do sincerely wish to thank each and everyone for doing an outstanding job of reporting monthly. To our ECs and DECs, our Net Managers, and our OESs: I truly appreciate all that you do. These reports are collected by WB8RCR and are posted on our Section ARPSC Web Pages for your review. The ECs' FSD 212 reports are also seen by our State's Emergency Managers, so they have a good idea of the services we are performing. Keeping this information flowing is truly vital to our success. We can only impress those whom we serve by reporting what we are doing and how vital these efforts have become. Keep up the good work. Station Activity Reports (SARs) for May, 2008: WB9JSR 629, AC8AR 434, AB8SY 327, K8LJG 228, KD8AAD 128, KC8MLD 99, K8KV 95, K8RDN 80, AB8WF 76, K8AE 75, KD8HPF 53, WB8RCR 51, W8RNQ 50, KC8BMV 18, WD8USA 16, KD8FNN 15, KC8NTE 12, AC8AL 7, WA8OOH 4, KC8ZGB 4, KC8LXS 4. SARs are reports of all the radiogram traffic you have handled in the past month. Public Service Honor Roll Reports (PSHRs) for May, 2008: WB8RCR 242, AC8AL 238, KC8NTE 237, WD8USA 201, K8RDN 175, WB9JSR 135, K8MFK 130, AC8AR 125, K8AE 98, AB8SY 80, K8KV 80, K8VFZ 75, KD8FNN 53, KD8HPF 50. PSHRs include both your net and public service activities for the month. May Official Emergency Station reports came in from N8HA, K8COP, and KC8NTE. Your OES reports should be filed with WA8EFK with a copy to your EC. Michigan Nets reporting for March: MTN, MVHFTN, MACS, QMN, UPN, TMMTN, WSSBN, NLEUP, GLETN, Motor County ARC Net, Hiawatha, MIARPSC, Chelsea ARC Net. Total Operator-hours for March: 2468. To include your net’s monthly activities, contact [email protected]. All nets are encouraged to report and this especially includes your local ARES and RACES nets. Here is a way to way everyone know your net is active. Complete monthly net report details are at http://www.mi-nts.org/netreport.php. PSHRs and SARs should be filed monthly with WB8RCR. You can access a simple reporting form at: http://www.mi-nts.org/PSHR_entry.shtml to provide your reports to WB8RCR. In all cases, reporting by radiogram is encouraged – let's keep the NTS busy. Packet messages can be routed to [email protected] and [email protected] . 73 until next month. Dale WA8EFK
Midwest Division
Kansas
KANSAS IS GREAT IN 2008 ! Kansas Section News Summary- May 2008 Silent Keys: KAØOHS -- Delmar Waterson , Dighton WDØCFZ-James O. Armes, Salina KWØRM-Ronald F. McIntire, Salina WDØBNC- John J. Shoultys, Jr., Salina ______It’s
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Field Day time ! Are you ready to head out to the site ? Do you have the PR done ? Have you invited the emergency Preparedness Coordinator and other local officials to view and take part in your station ? Remember to feed them. You still have time to order fliers from HQ. http://www.arrl.org/brochures/ This year Kansas has a Governor’s Proclamation designating June 22-29 as Amateur Radio Week. Take advantage of this opportunity because it doesn’t come around often. And be sure to thank Ken-KKØHF and Brian-KCØBS who put it together. ARRL for the first time has a map available for listing FD sites. It’s a google map. WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROYou will find the button on the front page on the right. Look for the black and blue sine wave. I will still post a list on the KSN page as I have done the last few years. Your Kansas State Amateur Radio Convention is August 17th hosted by Central Kansas ARC. Kids Day is June 21 st. Wichita ARC will set up at Exploration Place, a science museum in West Central Wichita They plan to have HF and VHF available for the kids to get on the air and make some contacts. David- NØJWY is coordinating the event. If you are participating in Kids Day, anywhere in Kansas, please let Emily- KCØPTL know about it: [email protected] ______From Emily- KCØPTL: This year's Dayton was very successful! Our table had over 70 youth stop by and the kids really enjoyed our activities offered. The dinner was also a huge success and we had a pretty good crowd. The Dayton Amateur Radio Association let us use their facilities to host the dinner. We look forward to planning next year's youth lounge. Two students with Kansas connections received 2008 scholarships from the ARRL Foundation. The Paul and Helen L. Grauer Scholarship for $1000 went to JamesWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO (Riley) Dunn, KCØKTP, of Overland Park, Kansas. Jonathan Rather, KCØCTR, Chanute, Kansas received the Irving W. Cook, WA0CGS, Scholarship, also for $1000. ______From Bob- KØBXF: Still not real sure of the changes coming about with the RACES program in Kansas. Perhaps by the end of June we will be advised of those changes taking place. In the mean time continue to check into the RACES NET First Thursday of the month 3940 khz at 7PM. Joe, WDØDMV especially wants every county to be represented. ARES reports were a bit scattered this month (April). A few of those normally reporting, dropped the ball and forgot. Only 11 zone EC reports received for total of 65 net sessions 655 QNI and 22 messages originated. State totals still standing at 514 registered members of the 7000 plus hams in the state. Have our Elmer's forgot to mention Public Service as an activity to take part in by the newcomers? Your Section Manager, KB0DTI would like to hear from anyone coordinating any type of ham radio activity within the state. Report are due shortly after the first of each month, and why not also send cc to W0OYH for publication in the KAR. Of course all emergency type activities should be reported to your EC, DEC and myself as the state coordinator. The more we tell, the more people know about our hobby and its effort put forth in the name of Amateur Radio. County fair time is here again. Good time to demonstrate Ham radio and its abilities to the public. What is going on in your area? Let us know when you represent our hobby in and about your area. Don't forget FIELD DAY. Make it happen!!!!!!! 73 Bob Summers K0BXF ARRL SEC KS ______Newsletters received: Feed Back, Grounded Grid, Kaw Valley Transceiver, QNU H.A.R.C. , QRZ, QSP, Trojan Harmonic ______Apr.. Sessions/QNI/QTC/Mgr: KSBN/ 30/855/ 14 N0KFS KPN/21 / 278 / 39/ N0KFS KMWN/30/ 782 / 635/WB0YWZ KWN/30/ 803 / 580/ WB0YWZ CSTN 26/1379 /52 N0BFB QKS/ 32 / 92/25 NB0Z QKS-SS / 3 / 7 / 0 KB0DTI Traffic: NB0Z 37 KC0MRJ 39 KB0DTI 24 W0OYH 34 K0BXF 16 ______Misc. Reports: WN8P - Technical Specialist CSTN Manager NØBFB says conditions on 40 are getting a little better. See KSN on ARRL and more Kansas news: http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=KS
Missouri
JUNE 2008 MISSOURI SECTION NEWS DALE BAGLEY, KØKY MO SM The active Amateur Radio operators and those that only get excited about operating a couple of times a year are looking forward to Field Day 2008. This year Field Day will be conduced on June 28th and 29th. . Each year it seems even more Hams participate in Field Day with 34,833 operators in 2007. The lack of sunspots
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took a toll on the scoring, but there was no decrease in the training, fellowship and enjoyment that makes Field Day one of the premier event on the Ham Calendar Those Field Day sites that want to send a Field Day message to the Section Manager can go to the MO Traffic net on 3.963 MHz at 5:45 or the MO Net CW on 3.585 MHz at 7:00 p.m. and list traffic. I speak CW badly as a second language, so please be patient. Should I not hear everyone, pass the traffic to another operator and it can be delivered to the SM at a later time. The traffic to the SM will have been sent and the information will be delivered. A brief note about WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROthe Dayton Hamvention 2008 is in order. There were as I expected a very large contingent of Missouri Section Amateur Operators at the Hara Arena. That venue has the majority of those attending, but when you throw in the QRP groups, the DXers, the Contesters, and other radio interest groups that meet at Hotels across the greater Dayton area, you have a fantastic opportunity to get your Amateur Radio enthusiasm renewed. The weather was exceptionally good for Dayton and there was little if any flooding at the Double Tree. JULY 2008 HAMFESTS The Warrensburg HamFest is sponsored by the Warrensburg Area Amateur Radio Club http://www.waarci.org on July 19, 2008 at the Johnson County Fairgrounds on Hwy 50 west of Warrensburg, MO. If you want to get a table or find out more about the Hamfest contact Keith B. Raihala, NØVJ, 457 NW 501st Road Warrensburg, MO 64093 Phone Kieth at 660-422-7273 or e-mail him at [email protected] The Hamfest Talk-In will be: 146.880- (PL 107.2) The ZeroBeaters ARC Hamfest will be in Hillerman Park on Grand Avenue in Washington, MO on July 20, 2008. For more info you can check out their website at http://www.wa0fya.org or contact Jim Glasscock,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO WØFF 8300 Whiskey Creek Road Union, MO 63084 or phone Jim at 636-584-8888 Email Jim at [email protected] When you come to the Hamfest use the Talk-In on 147.240 AFFILIATED CLUB NEWS KEITH HAYE, WEØG, ACC The Missouri Section currently has 54 affiliated Clubs. To check out a club near by you can go to the Missouri Section link on the ARRL Website and then click on Affiliated Clubs link, or the link provided here. http://www.arrl.org/hamfests.htmldosel=1&subtype=section&selsect=MO#listing There are currently two new clubs moving through the process of becoming an Affiliated Club. If your club wants to become an affiliated Club, just look over the process on the ARRL website. The Northeast MO ARC celebrated 50 years as a club in Kirksville, MO. Their Club Call is WØCBL and once belonged to Lester Dent, AKA, Kenneth Robeson the author of the Doc Savage mysteries in the 1930’s. If you want to know a little more about one of the more colorful amateur radio operators from Missouri, you can check out the website provided http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lester_Dent A few of the Local Hams also remember Lester Dent, WØCBL, from his story telling at Boy Scout Camp-outs. Mr. Dent passed away in 1959 at the relatively young age of 54. The Callaway Amateur Radio League at their June 11th meeting, David Larson, KVØS, will give a presentation on electronic QSLing. Dick White, KSØM, reports in the CARL SPARK GAPS newsletter, that he expects the program to be an interesting one. Dick reports that he has used the ARRL Logbook of the World since it was first made available, but he does not use E-QSL as those QSL’s are not acceptable for ARRL awards. The CARL 501c3 application was rejected on a minor problem. It seems that the government agency will not accept a PO Box as an acceptable address. It was revised and submitted again. June 23rd the Amateur Radio Display will be set-up in a Local Bank’s window and will be removed on June 30th. The Heart of America ARC and other Kansas City area Amateurs assisted with the 2008 Tour de Cure/Wheel to Weston, MO. Steve Rainey, WDØDPB, has done an excellent job organizing the Amateur Radio effort in support of the June 8th event. The Tour is a one-day cycling fundraising event. In 2007, 300 riders participated in the Kansas City Tour de Cure/ Wheel to Weston to benefit the American Diabetes Association and the 20.8 million American adults and children who cope with type 1 and type 2 diabetes every day. In 2007, the Wheel to Weston Bike Tour raised $100,000 in 2007. This year’s Tour has provided vital experience in emergency and public service communication for the Amateurs that assisted. The Bootheel ARC and Southeast MO ARC will operate a Special Event Station WØS on Jun 13th & 14th Starting at 6:00 p.m. at the National Museum and Library, Bloomfield MO the birth place of the Stars and Stripes newspaper. On Friday the 13th there will be a Pot Luck Dinner starting at about 7:00 P.M. and on Saturday the 14th there will be a Tailgate Fest starting at 8:00 A.M. The Saturday Frequencies will be 14.265 7.260 28.500 ALL BANDS. If you have any military equipment that you would like to donate or lone to the museum
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please contact the museum. The Ozark Mountain Amateur Radio Club is one of the MO Section’s newest affiliated radio club. Willie Adey, NØTPE is the OMARC current President and if you live near Houston, MO you are welcome to attend their meeting. The club meets at the Pizza Express, S Sam Houston Blvd., Houston, MO Meeting day & time: 3rd Saturday of each month at noon SECTION ARES REPORT FOR APRIL 2008 DON MOORE, KMØR SEC Total # of ARES members: 735 Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 95 Man hours: 605 Number of public service events this month: WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO24 Man hours: 460 Number of emergency operations this month: 23 Man hours: 828 Total number of ARES operations this month: 142 Total Man hours: 1893 SECTION TRAFFIC REPORTS APRIL 2008 DALE HUFFINGTON, AEØS, MON-CW Sessions 55 QNI 84 QTC 47 NM K9ZTV MO Phone Sessions 31 QNI 1038 QTC 108 NM KØRWL MESN Sessions 5 QNI 241 QTC 9 NM AEØS Audrain Co AARC Sessions 5 QNI 18 QTC 0 NM KBØKWC Callaway CARL Sessions 3 QNI 29 QTC 0 NM WBØHKN Boone Co Sessions 4 QNI 77 QTC 2 NM WMØH Howell HCARC Sessions 3 QNI 16 QTC 0 NM KØRWL Jackson Co ARES Sessions 6 QNI 11 QTC 1 NM KØUAA CSRC Wellsville Sessions 3 QNI 15 QTC 0 NM KCØYNE Macon Co Sessions 4 QNI 35 QTC 0 NM KØKY Rolla RRARS Sessions 30 QNI 339 QTC 12 NM KB9ZBO St Louis CO ARC Sessions 4 QNI 80 QTC 9 NM KBØH Sullivan ARC Sessions 9 QNI 125 QTC 4 NM KBØROX Taney Co TLARC Sessions 1 QNI 5 QTC 510 NM KBØOFD WAARCI Sessions 4 QNI 100 QTC 0 NM WBØTOM 10th Reg SessionsWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO 62 QNI QTC 190 MO 94% with W7FB, KCØM, NDØN, K9ZTV, WØSJS NM WØSS New England Division
Connecticut
Section Leadership: K1EIC SM; ASMs: K1STM, KD1YV, W1FXQ, NK1J; OOC K1DFS; PIC KA1TCH; SEC K1BRF; ASEC N1FNE; SGL K1MK; STM K1HEJ; TC N1KHB. Don’t forget NARLFEST this coming Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Here’s the scoop from President Mary K1MMH. Because of gas prices, admission has been reduced to $5 and new hams licensed less than a year will be admitted free of charge—just show your FCC license! VE exams start at 10:00. The vendor area is full to overflowing and includes some unique offerings and good friends. Our prizes are top- notch…from a YAESU HT and a year’s web hosting to 2 tickets to Boxboro and an embroidered adult jacket and tee shirts. Additional prizes will be awarded on the half-hour starting at 9 am. There will be food and drinks, free hats for kids, a special event station to operate and the seminars are the best ever, including…. *live on site Skywarn weather net, initiated on site directly from the hamfest where DEC Steve Williams, k1sjw will demonstrate how to check into a weather net *live demo of d-star by Technical Specialist Dana Underhill, KB1AEV and ASEC Rod Lane, N1FNE *live: noted author, Ken Neubeck, wb2amu, with an all-new lecture on propagation. Attention new hams: Please be sure and stop by the ARRL booth and meet your SM. Let’s talk about how you’re doing, what you need, and how you can become involved in the Section Field Organization! Come on out and support this event-it will be fun and the weather looks good, too. The other event on our minds of course is Field Day. If I can find someone willing to drive a bit of the Section, I will as usual, come visit some of you at your sites. Now, here are some good ideas from Allen, W1AGP Gain FAME! Score 500 points! Impress your Friends and Relatives! Win a FREE trip to..… Well, maybe not a free trip, but you sure can get three out of the four. How would you like to be a hero and bring in 500 FD points for your group before you ever touch a radio? Instead of heading to a mountain top, how about a WalMart lot? Being in a conspicuous public place is good for 100 points! Instead of just telling your fellow hams and club members, how about telling the newspapers and local radio and TV? Press release samples are available at http://www.arrl.org/pio . Having a media release or link is good for 100 points! Instead of manning the radios, how about manning a public information table with brochures, signs and a smile? Having a public information table/center is good for 100 points! Instead of glad-handing the mike, how about shaking hands with your areas elected officials and politicians? Having invited, elected local officials come makes 100 points! Instead of talking TO a served agency, how about inviting one of their leaders
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come down and visit you, perhaps even getting to talk on your radio? Having an official served agency representative show up is 100 points! Total = 500 points!! Please send either by email or by regular mail copies of your PR successes to your SM Betsey [email protected] and to your PIC Al [email protected] by July 15. Did you have a served agency rep come? Did you receive an elected official? Make sure we hear about it. I’ll get the results out in a forthcoming newsletter and will reward at least the top 5 groups with some ARRL publication. If I can, I’ll extend this offer to more of you! The PIC and I will look at them together and WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RObe the judges. The Meriden ARC will have boy scouts helping to build antennas and get ready for FD, an effort coordinated by Skip, W1SKP. Hearty congrats to Walt K1WMS on his recognition of outstanding service to The Insurance City Repeater Club. Walt has been made a life member! And that’s not all. SEC Brian, K1BRF and I want you to know that Walt has done a brilliant job working with ARES and Red Cross on both the New Britain and Farmington stations, sometimes using his own equipment. A big thank you! We all look forward to continuing this work—it’s fun working with Walt! The Greater Norwalk ARC had as their speaker longtime and very active member Tim, W1GIG who spoke on the tower permit process from his point of view as a registered Professional Engineer (P.E.). The talk included zoning issues, tower construction and strength requirements, tower location, wind load calculations and other considerations. Reminder: Because of interference problems, The Eastern CT Traffic Net has temporarily moved to the 147.06 repeater—time 9:00 p.m. nightly. A note of thanks to all the repeater owners who carry the many public service nets we have in CT. Your dedicationWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO to maintaining these systems is appreciated.
Rhode Island
Greetings fellow Rhode Islanders: The ARRL announced all of its 2008 Foundation Scholarship Program winners and I was very pleased to find two new Amateurs here in RI. The New England Federation of Eastern Massachusetts Amateur Radio Association awarded a $1,000 scholarship to Heather Jamieson, KB1IPO of Tiverton and to Andrew Milner, KB1KPF of Cranston. Hearty Congratulations to each of you! As I’m writing this month’s report, I’m looking forward to a very busy couple of weeks. On Saturday, the 21st, K5RJI, KF1O, AC0CQ and I will be attending our Director’s all day Cabinet meeting in Leominster. Section Managers, club presidents and other leaders from all over New England will be traveling to meet and discuss issues that are important in their sections and getting a sense from Director Frenaye of what will be taken up at the next ARRL Board meeting on July 18-19. Then of course, Field Day is the following weekend, June 28 and 29th. My new Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Baxter and I will be visiting seven Field Day sites in RI and hope to meet many of you. I hope you are taking part in Field Day which is probably the most popular on air activity of the year. If you don’t have a club picked out to visit, you may find one by going to http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/locator.php and either enter your address or search by state. Above all, please go, take part and have fun! I know I will. The annual Gaspee Days Parade was held on June 14th and ordinarily, the SATERN team provides communications for the event. No one reported this to me this year and I was criticized in the past for not mentioning the help ham radio provides to Gaspee Days. So, thanks to all Amateurs who helped this year. As I’ve said many times, if you don’t report your activity, you cannot expect me to include it in my monthly summary. SMs must be skilled to hold our posts but we don’t have ESP. Jamie KA1JF, Ralph KB1IQZ and Duffy KB1EJB participated in the RIEMA Hurricane Conference. About 100 local, state and federal officials attended. SEC K3OQH presented the Shelter Com plan; Duffy explained Emergency Alert System and the other two; KA1JF and KB1IQZ manned the demonstration table. It was a huge success and ham radio was well represented. It created a lot of interest by local officials in ham radio. SEC Rick, K3OQH is still looking for people’s general schedules to plan the classroom Shelter Com trainings. As you heard on the net tonight, these trainings will be announced soon. (You have seen the precursor to this). Training will be critically important for ARES members. Basically, the Shelter Com program has generated a lot of buzz. There are several new towns coming on since the last monthly report, and other towns are growing fast. We have Woonsocket, Cumberland, Burrillville, and Coventry who have recently begun the
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process. Cranston has also shown interest. We have well over half the state enrolled with more coming on board. Mark W1EOF is leading the team building the go-kits that will be purchased by RIEMA. David N1QL and Rick K3OQH are on that team along with AC0CQ and KA1RCI but these folks haven’t been able to participate due to their work schedules. Mark is still looking for help on this group. The big thing is ARES members need to start being engaged with their towns. We need our members to be active with their ECs and our SEC, K3OQH. If anyone has any questions, you know where to send them, [email protected] . First full day of summer is the 21st. Happy summer to all and please take this time to help me try to recruit some fellow hams into ARRL. You know how much I dislike calling anyone a freeloader but that’s what some of our ham brethren are if they don’t pay their share. They’re happy to accept the benefits that ARRL fights for all Amateurs to enjoy. It’s not fair for these freeloaders to expect us to support their share of the cost all the time. Nothing is free. You might want to remind Field Day participants that Field Day is an exercise that was created by ARRL for clubs, groups and individuals to test their ability to quickly respond in time of an emergency to set up antennas, power, operating positions and logistic support to provide communications under the most extreme conditions. It’s technically considered a contest and participants keep score and compete. But the essence of Field Day is for ordinary hams like us to get out in the field and do our thing when all else has failed. I’ll be participating in a New England teleconference of Section Managers and other leaders on Tuesday, June 24th. Improvements in the membership recruitment and retention program will be on our agenda.WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO We absolutely must do a better job of recruiting new hams and retaining existing League members past their first year. This is the best $39 any ham will spend each year and many don’t even realize it. We need everyone to help in our fight to keep our bands and privileges. That’s about all this month. Thanks and please tell me about your club and group’s activities so that I can mention it here in this monthly activity report. Thanks once again and 73, Bob Beaudet W1YRC
Northwestern Division
Montana
Things have been pretty hectic around the home QTH this month and are now getting back to normal. I went through surgery in Billings a few weeks back and now am recovering well, but slowly. Thanks so much to those who wrote or called to check on me, it's nice to be remembered. The Missoula Club with Donny Fort, W7XY was called out by the National Weather Service office to help with weather spot reports from around the area. It seems their weather radar had gone down with a broken gear in the system and couldnt provide accurate reports of conditions in the Missoula area during arrival of a very active front with high winds, hail and lots of lightning. Donny got things organized and manned the station at the NWS office, taking spot reports from amateurs all around the area. And, the forcasters were making maps and charts while listening to the information coming in on the 2 meter radio. A great turn-out to help those folks and big pat on the back for those who participated. It's lightning season again here in Montana. Is your radio equipment well grounded? How about the antennas and feed lines where they enter your station? Make sure you are well protected, and can stand a nearby strike without damage or worse, a fire. If y9ou have questions or just general interest in how to protect you home and station, take a look at the Polyphaser site "www.polyphaser.com" and see some the protection equipment they have built. They have their own lab and have done extensive research into lightning and how it damages equipment and buildings. Their equipment is state of the art. Take a look. Summer's here. Time for Glacier Hamfest, social event of the year. I think everyone is hurting from fuel prices and they no doubt will affect Hamfest attendence. I hope to see as many folks there as possible, but understand if you cant make it. I hope this will be a temporary situation and prices will be down some for next year's gathering. Remember, third weekend in July at Glacier Meadows Campground, 13 miles west of East Glacier on Hiway 2. If you have yet to make reservations, now is the time. Here's hoping everyone has a great Summer. MTN-W7MPK, QNI 2095 QTC 70 IMN-VE7QWG, QNI 484, QTC 97 MSN-K7YD, QNI 164, QTC 4 73 all Doug, K7YD
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Oregon
Welcome to the monthly Oregon Section News! Please check the section website at http://www.arrloregon.org for the latest information. I post new things regularly. Since I have not been getting an ARES/RACES report distributed for some time, I have started posting those individual reports on the section website news page as they are received. If you want more information forwarded to you as it comes WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROout, you can join the Oregon Section Yahoo group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arrloregon/, or you can contact the geographical assistant section manager for your area to get on their distribution list. I don’t forward a lot of messages around but do occasionally. They are usually notices that come from the ARRL to bring our attention to something of special interest that is on the ARRL website or information about events we want to get around quickly without sending a special email to section. FRG08 (FRIENDSHIP RADIOSPORT GAMES) Kuon Hunt, KB7WRG, has sent me a little more information about the games in the Portland area on August 1-3. The activities are still being finalized and she will get me more information later. Activities will be spread around SW and SE Portland, Hillsboro, Yamhill County, and other areas. Visitors are also invited to stop by the Hospitality Suite at the Pacific Northwest DX Convention, which is being held the same weekend. The HF contest will be held on Saturday, August 2. There will probably be four 3-person teams. They are working on exact locations for the teams to operate from. The teams will be operating from theWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO home stations of local hams who offer their station. Kuon says that they have a lot of offers for use of home stations but they are spread around a large geographical area and are looking for some that are closer to one another. She is especially interested in sites around the Clackamas/Sunnyside area if possible. The final selection of locations will depend on what offers are received. Events will include a CW contest, an HF contest, a Fox Hunt (hidden transmitters), a BBQ, and tours for the foreign visitors. Currently, the visitor numbers look like 8-9 from Russia, 1 from Japan, 4-5 from Canada and only the slightest possibility of any from New Zealand. We shouldn't be surprised that gas and airfare prices are making people a little jumpy right now. Where can you volunteer? If you want to volunteer your home station for the HF contest, please contact Kuon ([email protected]). She said an average station is fine. Nothing special is needed. It will be a good chance to share a little of your home and life with international visitors. There ARE still slots available on Team USA. Anyone who is interested can contact Kuon ([email protected]) or Dale Hunt ([email protected]) directly. A couple more host homes and some drivers are needed as well. The drivers are needed to do things like: 1) driving fewer, longer major hauls (to/from airport and host locations, carrying a team from site to site for the HF day, etc., or 2) driving shorter hauls, say, in the morning, to get competitors from a variety of locations to the morning's event, or picking them up in the evening at one location to distribute them back to their hosts in a general area, or 3) helping with logistics for events, i.e., hauling lunches and drinks or equipment, etc. GEOGRAPHICAL ASSISTANT SECTION MANAGERS Drew Holmes, W7GER, has agreed to be the Geographical ASM for Central Oregon. He is the ARES EC for Deschutes County and is active in all the various clubs in Central Oregon and so has all the contacts around the area in place. The intent of having geographical assistant section managers is to have section cabinet members sprinkled around the state to be my eyes and ears. I forward information that may be of interest to people around the section to the section appointees and they help distribute that information to those people they know are interested. They help provide me with information on activities in their area that I can advertise around the section or bring attention to good things happening in ham radio in those areas that I can mention in the section news or post on the section website. FIELD DAY I hope everyone has their plans lined up for field day. Many of the local clubs around the state are having field day events. Since last year I visited the Yamhill County and Salem sites, this year I plan to go south and visit the Umpqua and Coos County sites. Next year I will choose another area. I will be looking for my NTS (National Traffic System) messages if you choose to get those extra points from your field day site. NTS REPORTS The report from Scott Gray, W7IZ, the Section Traffic Manager, will be late this month since he's on vacation. I will post it on the section website when I receive it. OO REPORTS Ed Ewell, K7DXV, the Official Observer Coordinator, reports 404 hours monitored by nine OO’s with two cards sent during the
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month of May. He has been working on building up the organization. If you have been licensed at least four years and are interested in helping ham radio in this way, submit an application on the ARRL website and the information will be forwarded to us. Ed interviews the applicants by phone and then forwards his recommendation to me. ARRL CCE COURSE COMPLETIONS Congratulations to David Warner, W7SZS (Formerly KA7IJK)for completing ARRL's Level III – Advanced course. PUBLIC SERVICE COMMENDATION Rob Griffin, K6YR, who is a leader in the upper levels of NTS (National Traffic System),WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO sent me a public service commendation certificate for Scott Gray, W7IZ, Oregon's section traffic manager, which I presented to him at SeaPac. Scott has been active for years (and continues to be active) at the section, region, and area levels of NTS, as well as the long-haul transcontinental corps. If you are interested in becoming active in NTS, Scott would be glad to hear from you.
Western Washington
District 1 held their annual Leadership meeting in Mt. Vernon in May and most of the units were represented. Whatcom County reports 25 members worked the May 6th Homeland Security Drill and 42 people worked the Ski to Sea Race. Skagit County announced the resignation of EC/RO Ken Koster, N7IPB. Thanks to Ken for his years on the job and best wishes for his future pursuits. Snohomish County participatedWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO in the NDLS drill on May 5th. They are continuing to staff and install radios at 5 sites. Mike Hall is designing a frequency plan for Snohomish County ARES. San Juan County ARES supported the Mount Constitution bicycle climb on May 24th. In District 2 at the Clallam County monthly meeting there was a training session on message handling using ICS 213 forms. Included was a discussion of the NTS and its forms. CCARES provided the NCS for three WSEN nets during the month. They also participated in the quarterly EOC-to-EOC test on May 31st. Seven members attended a new member orientation class. Kitsap County ARES volunteers have been working to expand and bolster packet and other digital operations in the county. At the quarterly meeting with the county's emergency management representative, a demonstration and training of the packet operations were presented and a consensus reached for packet procedure plans. During the EOC-to-EOC exercise, continued training was conducted to instruct more volunteers in packet and digital operations. District 3: Lewis County ARES lost a member this last month. Jon Jeschke, KD7SXV, passed away from a heart attack. Jon will be missed. LC ARES along with the Chehalis Valley ARS, provided communications to each of the check points and support vehicles monitoring the riders for the Historic Lewis County Bike Ride. Many riders expressed their gratitude for the support. Three members attended the WA State SAR conference held this year in Cashmere. Pacific County ARES/RACES conducted a General Class licensing class and gained 10 new General Class licensees. An ARES/RACES Familiarization course was given at the South Bend EOC for the new members. Repeater maintenance was conducted on the Beachnet System and the 146.86 Repeater. Preparations for Field Day continue with a public demonstration and training session to be incorporated into the Field Day operations. Mason County ARES had Red Cross training set up. However due to the deployment of the instructors to the tornado devastated areas, the course had to be rescheduled. Mason County ARES has started a training schedule that allows NCS training for all members throughout the year. ARES is working on a presentation of a 100 year timeline for the Mason County Fair celebrating 100 years (1908-2008). Members are building projects for this display. Mason County Field Day activities will be held in Victor again this year. Grays Harbor ARES met with the county wide Police and Fire Chiefs Group to go over what is available in the DEM radio room and how ARES might serve their needs during an emergency. The team also participated in the EOC to EOC exercise for digital communications on May 31st using airmail and our new Pactor 3 system. Thurston County ARES provided communication support for the Capitol City Marathon again this year as well as the YMCA Fun Run and State Agency Challenge held earlier in the month. In District 6: the Bellevue team showcased ham radio as a volunteer opportunity when they participated in a City of Bellevue public-event fair. The Kirkland team had a drill where Winlink was tested from firehouses. Some ARES members attended a CERT team-building class. The PSE team had
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an antenna installed on the roof of the PSE building in Bellevue giving the radio in the EOC better coverage. District M Medical Services Team conducted a training meeting plus a tour at the new Seattle EOC, hosted by Seattle ACS. Training was on the appropriate usage of sub-nets during an exercise or activation. Several team members attended the Open House for the new Pierce County EOC. One member also attended EmComm West in Reno, and another the Open House at the Cascade Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, WA. The team will participate in Field Day from locations in Regions 5 and 6. The SM and SECWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO wish everyone a Safe, Fun Field Day. Hopefully we will even have nice weather! Pacific Division
East Bay
The Section News is on the East Bay Section web site at http://www.eastbaysectionarrl.org. You can find more detailed information and current events there. I will be visiting as many Field Day locations in the Section as I can find. If you have not registered your Field Day site on the new ARRL Field Day Station Locator (Station Locator) or if I have not received your group’s newsletter with your Field day location information, I will not be able to find you to visit. I look forward to seeing many of you during this great event. Silent Keys – Ronald A. Parise, WA4SIR; Col. Len Pringle, KH8A CONGATULATIONSWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO TO: EBARC for 25 years as an ARRL Affiliated Club ORCA and ARCA members John KI6EWY, Mike KB9EWP, Suzanne KI6MTT, Bruce KI6CYT, David KI6AWR, Muriel KI6MTI, Vail KE6WPJ, and Michael John KF6YRG joined event coordinator Bob KE6IUE in successfully providing amateur radio communications support to the Northern California Multiple Sclerosis Society’s annual fund raising walk in Alameda. SBARA members Mike WA6AWI, Brian KE6ITT, Steve KA6S, Doug Wilson, Jim KE6IVA, Umesh K6VUG,, Ray KE6OGM, Florence KF6GAH, Dick WA6STR, Joann WV6RQT, Bernhard AE6YN, Brad KB8YUR, Steve KG6HJU, Al WT6K, Stu AA6SL, Kaethe Langs, and Tony AB6BR provided communications support for the Fremont Freewheelers Primavera Bicycle event. They provided support at all 5 rest stops as well as the start/finish line. SBARA has started a CW practice net on Tuesdays at 2000 local and on Sundays at 1600 local. Join them on 21.400 MHz +/- 5 kHz. Members of the Union City CERT team provided a demonstration of amateur radio at the Tri-Cities Emergency Services Association (TESA) Fair. Congratulations to these new hams: Lucinda A Ladd, KI6QVY, Alameda; Gary G Ladd, KI6QVX, Alameda; Harris H Leck, KI6QNW, Alamo; Betty C Heian, KI6QIP, Benicia; James C Rogers, AF6JL, Benicia; Christopher J Tate, AF6JG, Brentwood; Jonathan Goodwin, KI6QNT, Canyon; David A Riahi- refoua, KI6QIO, Concord; Geoffrey M Bolton, KI6QPI, Concord; Ehren K Cheng, KI6QNV, Pleasant Hill; Lance Q Elder, KI6QIQ, Fairfield; Cathy A Walton-woodson, KI6QPD, Fairfield; Andrew N Wright, KI6QOX, Travis Afb; Deepak K Gupta, KI6QVN, FREMONT; William E Lewis, KI6QWB, ; Marita A Cooper, KI6QQX, Fremont; Charlie R West, KI6QWX, Fremont; Marlene L Katarzy, KI6QVS, Fremont; Francis L Chew, KI6QGG, Fremont; Pete Chaparro, KI6QQT, Castro Valley; Enrique Gomez, KI6QBY, Livermore; Kathleen C Zunino, KI6QHZ, Fremont; Christine M Carter, KI6QLC, Napa; Chad A Word, KI6QNU, Pinole; Shelley A Doljack, KI6QQZ, Pleasanton; Leander C Antonio, KI6QQH, San Ramon; Robin L Gordon, KI6QVK, San Ramon; Harold C Salomon, KI6QWP, UNION CITY; Michael W Llewellyn, KI6QHH, Vallejo; Rodney Rushing, KI6QCC, 9640 Thermal St, Oakland; Solomon P Hill, KI6QHX, Oakland; Diana Bauer, KI6QPE, Emeryville; Hubertus A Nanlohy, KI6QCE, Oakland; Cedric V Alexander, KI6QPH, Oakland; Andrew W Fuchs, KI6QVI, Berkeley; Louis B Lewis, KI6QCA, Richmond; Brian K Dahm, KI6QQY, El Sobrante; Michael S Castilio, KI6QQS, El Sobrante; Hilary Palmer, KI6QPF, Richmond; Earlinda A Polkenhorn, KI6QPC, Richmond; Robert M Fall, KI6QPG, Vacaville; Anne M Bailey, KI6QEG, Castroville Congratulations to these upgrades: Joseph D Renghini, KI6PDF, Concord; Richard E Lueck, KI6MPS, Concord; Robert E Mc Intyre, KE6ZZG, Concord; Eric M Thompson, N6SPP, Concord; Ronald W Neese, KI6OFW, Fairfield; Dave L Wright, KF6HTQ, Fairfield; Mike D Bavister, KF6YXP, Castro Valley; George A Metzger, KI6DMF, Livermore; Don E Linstad, K6VAI, Pinole; Robert W Parsons, N6PBC; Stephen L
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Cutright, KI6OGX, Pinole; William R Smith, KD6OFY, Pleasanton; David C Bly, WD6EVM, San Lorenzo; Robert L Draper, K6KOY, San Ramon; Dione E Zale, KI6DSW, San Ramon; Andrew B Coy, KD6LNS, Walnut Creek; Robert G Rutz, N6OFB, Yountville; Matthew N Moore, KI6HRB, Oakland; Madeleine Biskintaoui, KI6OGY, Emeryville NATIONAL TRAFFIC SYSTEM (NTS) Call Orig Sent Rcvd Dlvd Total WB6UZX 0 131 179 13 323 W6DOB 2 77 43 7 129 KE6QR 1 1 14 14 30 PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) Call Sign Categories 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total W6DOB 40 40 30 110 WB6UZX 40 40 10WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO 10 100 (Requires at least 70 points) Nevada
Nevada Section News Summary - This version is severly edited to fit in the space available. See the complete, unedited stories at http://nv.arrl.org. April 10, 2008 - ARES Monthly Report for May'08 - SEC Summary - Emcommwest, was an overwhelming success this year! Riley Hollingsworth sent a video presentation. Dennis Dura W2DCD from ARRL HQ was the keynoter. Gordon West, WB6NOA was a real hit at the banquet this year. The forums were packed with attendees from near and far. A great time was had by all. We were able to hold an NV Section ARES meeting which was well attended. Plan now to join us for EMCOMMWEST 2009! 73 de Don Carlson, KQ6FM SEC. SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORT- Glenn Hale, KB7REO, DEC Southern - There has been coordination with Washoe Co. EC, Bob WA6MTYWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO on the upcoming exercise for June. Bob wanted to include the State with some traffic messages sent via WinLink. I've been "testing" HF coverage on 10M and 15M SSB. The objective is to find a band that will have adequate simplex range without the use of repeaters. Esmeralda Co. EC Ron WB5KLJ - I check into the RN7 traffic net on 7268.5 most week days Lincoln Co. EC Lee K7NKH - I think that AD7OY Charles Reifsnyder will soon be named as Lincoln Co. RACES officer. He may be contacted at [email protected]. North Nye Co. EC Randy KB7TRI - May 27th SKYWARN Activation via NWS Reno. Two operators were activated locally for the duration and relayed real time weather information to NWS Reno. South Nye Co. EC Jerry KC6ILH - On the 17th we participated as observers in a drill put on by our Emergency Operations people. Clark County EC Charlie AA5QJ - John Fay K7FAY has been appointed AEC for Boulder City. We thank Dave Floyd W9MPD for doing this since Mar06. Several members supported the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure on May 3 and the Silver State Nevada Open Road Challenge road race on May 18. Charlie AA5QJ EC, and Dan Starr AA7I AEC RACES attended the Clark County Local Emergency Planning Committee meeting on May 21. Charlie briefed the attendees on current ARES/RACES activities. There were 41 checkins to the GMRS Emergency Net in May. NORTHWEST DISTRICT REPORT (Don Carlson, KQ6FM Acting DEC): The NW District took part in the district-wide Broken Wing exercise. Thanks to Bob WA6MTY for doing an outstanding job spearheading the efforts as well as helping put together training exercises and drills coming up this year. Thanks to Ski, AF7NB and Paul, KE7CRZ for working hard to shore up their groups and do some well needed recruiting of new members. You guys are great! Memorial Day weekend weather was anything but summer-like. Lots of rain in NW Nevada, and on 5/27 & 28, NWS Reno activated Skywarn. Thanks to Dee KA7LOZ for manning the NWS station as spotters from all over the district submitted constant reports. We also thank Dave, KE7LC from Tonopah for keeping us updated. Churchill County Paul Wilcoxen - KE7CRZ: We are preparing for the Vigilant Guard Exercise on June 13th. We will have county wide communications testing on June 12, 2008, the day prior to our actual exercise. Our monthly meeting, regularly scheduled for the third Saturday of the month, has been re-scheduled to June 7th for this month only. Lyon County Patti Polish, KE7JIV: Thanks to John Abrott KD7NHC and Brian Freitag KE7JIO for assisting with the Emergency Communications display on Saturday. The Lyon County Amateur Radio Emergency Services Group assisted the Lyon County Sheriff's Search and Rescue over Memorial Weekend at Lake Lahontan. LCARES provided communication for the All Terrain Vehicle group and the four wheel drive group. On Sunday evening we tried to contact Harry KC7HVM and Gayanne KD7KAY Bryant. It was the first time the group had used the new radio and antennas in the Command Post. We learned a lesson when we forgot to purchase a step ladder to install antennas. No meeting this month due to the Memorial Day weekend. We hope
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that Bob Freeman KE7ATZ is recovering from his root canal. Our next monthly meeting will be held on Monday June 30th. Leonard Mithcell KC7PET is our new Public Information Officer. Leonard has researched the responsibilities associated with the position and took the PIO class offered at EMCOMMWEST. Congratulations Leonard. We are looking forward to participating in Vigilant Guard this month. Carson City/Douglas County Acting EC, Dick Creley, KJ7UK: This was a very slow month but we are gearing up for an active summer with more drills and the fire season. WASHOE COUNTY Bob Miller, WA6MTYWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO EC: We enjoyed EMCOMM West which Kevin KE7BQX did a fantastic job of coordinating. ARES was part of the very successful Reno-Tahoe Airport Broken-Wing exercise. This was the first exercise with five local hospitals where we provided communications between the hospitals and the airport family assistance center. This also was the first packet team exercise. The ATV team shot live video from the incident to the Regional EOC as well as the airport EOC. Our Emergency Manager, Aaron Kenneston was very pleased with the results. I attended the workshop on the Red Cross response to Aviation disasters, and also a two-day workshop on managing evacuation shelters. On Thursday May 29th, Tahoe Forrest Hospital in Truckee held a Pandemic drill. Rob KI6TRK and Barry K6ST provide ARES support for the hospital. Since the hospital belongs to the local Inter Hospital Coordinating Council, I felt it important to participate. Therefore I activated the REOC radio room and asked Bill AA7WB to activate the VA Medical Center Radio. Reports are the Hospital officials were very impressed with our communications. Still preparing for Vigilant Guard earthquake exercise coming up on June WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO12-19th. Humbolt County EC - Ski Woytowicz, AF7NB: Michelle KH6QAI appointed to AEC for Training & Development. Dick KD7MIO appointed to AEC for organizational liaison. Harry Bell appointed PIO for our group. 2 meter machine to be online by late June or early July (146.73). Field exercise scheduled for 14 June 2008 in Veterans Park, Winnemucca (Vigilant Guard/Pre-Field Day prep). WO7I will host IRLP repeater from NARRI. New tech class planned for July in Winnemucca. KD7MIO, KE7QHM, AF7NB attended EMCOMM. WO7I to enter USAF MARS program. Humboldt group investigating forming a 503c corporation. 73 -- AF7NB. NORTHEAST DISTRICT REPORT (Joe Giraudo, N7JEH DEC) - Upcoming events include Field Day and an open road race from Wendover to Laggies Junction on US 93 Alt. Communications support is paramount at these races and is not taken lightly by the race organization or regulatory agencies. These events also provide critital under-fire training for emergency communication. HF propagation has suffered as it does every summer. The NV Section ARES HF Net on Saturday morning is experimenting with the utilization of an IRLP liaison station to relay stations from the IRLP Western Reflector who are encountering difficulty checking in on the HF net. In the next few months an additional experiment will involve patching the HF net to the Western Reflector so it can be simulcast on bith circuits. -30-
Pacific
June 1 is the official start of the Hurricane season in the central Pacific. Make sure you have an emergency package prepared and have a plan of action for the various disaster scenarios possible in these islands. If a hurricane or other disaster hit, you may also be a victim so try to minimize your exposure and be prepared to help yourself as well as others. Kevin Bogan, our section Emergency Coordinator, said the Makani Pahili hurricane exercise was mostly held Saturday May 24th, however there were several events held earlier in the week by different agencies. The simulated Hurricane would have passed 140 degrees west and entered Central Pacific waters on Wednesday May 21. The various exercise scenarios followed what would happen as the simulated storm approached. To read more go to: http://www.kauaiarc.org/08Monthly/makani_pahili_hurricane_exer.htm Thanks to the new Hawaii County CD director, Quince Mento, for specially opening up Hawaii County CD on a normal day off. There was a special effort to begin and end each message with the words “exercise” said several times so there would be no confusion if the transmission was heard by casual listeners Kevin Bogan, AH6QO, attended EMCOMMWEST 2008 on May 2-4 in Reno, NV. We look forward to hearing about his experience. Dayton Hamvention was from Friday May 16 to Sunday May 18. Dean, KH6B, was one of the attendees from Hawaii. How many other Hawaii Hams went? The Marianas Amateur Radio Club
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meets on the first Tuesday Guam time. The April first meeting had over two dozen people in attendance. The May meeting went over IRLP procedures and, of course, June will talk about Field Day. MARC has a weekly net on their local repeater on 146.91MHz-. It is also tied into IRLP reflector 9254 so check in’s can be from anywhere in the world. The time of the net is 11PM Sunday HST or 7PM Monday Guam time. This is very early morning on the mainland US. The West Honolulu ARC meeting was Thursday June 5, 2008 at Diners in the Waimalu Shopping center. Future meeting will be Aug 7, Oct 2 and Dec 4. They are not an ARRLWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO affiliated club. Thanks to KH7TK & AH7GK for the information. The museum Ships Weekend was June 7-8 UTC, so for us in Hawaii it began at 2 PM local time Friday June 6 and ended 2 PM Saturday June 7 which is June 7-8 (UTC). This was the eighth annual participation in Museum Ships Weekend for the Battleship Missouri ARC (BMARC). Even though HF conditions were poor, they managed to work 630 contacts. Among the contacts were several WW2 Navy veterans and eight other museum ships. The Kohala Hamakua Radio Club met Wednesday June 11 in Waimea at the Carter Professional Center. They participated in several training events this last month. Norm, NH7UA, has stepped down as DEC for North Hawaii and Eric, KH6CQ, has taken his place. Thanks for your good work as DEC Norm and thanks for stepping up to the challenge Eric. Eric has already revised the emergency response plans. Three stations were operated during the Makani Pahili exercise by KHRC members. The Maui Amateur Radio Club met Wed., June 11th, at 7 p.m. in the Civil Defense EOC. The main topic this month was Field Day. See the picture on the SM webpage showing the Left Foot CW contest inWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO May. The Oahu Civil Defense Amateur Radio Club is not an ARRL affiliated club. It will hold examinations at the Honolulu Municipal Bldg, Basement B1, 650 S. King St. on: Wednesday June 18 at 1830 - Wednesday August 20 at 1830 - Wednesday November 19 at 1830. Contact Ray Moody for more information. The Kona Amateur Radio Society will hold its regular meeting on Sunday June 15th at the OTEC beach park at NELHA from 2 to 5 PM. KARS continues to hold regularly scheduled meetings on the third Sunday of each month. This month's club meeting will be a Hawaiian food theme in celebration of King Kamehameha. Please bring a Hawaiian dish to share. If you have any questions, contact Van NH7IT at 325-5223 Honolulu ARC previous meeting was May 17. The next one will be July 19 at 9AM to 11AM. There is usually a VE test session prior to the meeting at 7:30. The meeting will be at Sizzlers at Pearl Ridge on Moanalua Rd, 1 block Ewa from Pali Momi. Check the HARC website for the latest information on the meeting and especially the testing. The latest HARC newsletter said they are still accepting $15 dues for 2008. They also accept donations of money and equipment to be used in the Solomon Islands (H44 & H40). There are only three hams there now. Previously HARC had donated money to the ARRL spectrum defense fund. The EARC will not have a General Membership meeting on June 26, 2008 as it's so close to the Field Day weekend of June 28th. They look forward to seeing everyone at Field Day. If you enjoyed the last presentation at the General Membership meeting, please come to the EARC educational workshop on Saturday, June 21 from 9:00 am to 12 noon on the KCC Campus behind Diamond Head. Information and travel instructions are posted on the EARC web site. June 28 & 29, 2008 is the ARRL annual Field Day. Check with your local club for the nearest setup to you. On Saturday July 26, the Big Island ARC will support Big Island Road Runners at the annual Volcano Rim Run. Due to the recent volcanic eruptions at Halemaumau the 10 mile and 27 mile races will have to change routes so this is a chance to see new places. The 5 mile race will remain the same. PLEASE BE CAUTIONED THAT VOLCANIC FUMES MAY BE PRESENT AT SOME LOCATIONS. Oahu hams have been asked to participate in the American Heart Association Heart Walk. The American Heart Association should be holding the Heart Walk on August 16 2008 at 7:30AM. The location may have to be changed because of the destruction of the restrooms in Kakaako Gateway Park. The exact route has not been set yet, but will be in the next week or so. Tentatively, it will be from the Gateway park along Ala Moana to Atkinson, around Ala Moana Park (and possibly Magic Island) returning back to the start line. Contact Wayne Jones, NH6K, for exact details or to volunteer. The 2008 DXers Banquet will be in Tokyo on the evening of Saturday, August 23rd, 2008. It will be an event of the Japan Ham-Fair. Anybody who is interested in DXing, from the newcomers to the experts, is welcome. Venue: East 9th Floor, Tokyo Fashion Town (TWT) Building It is a 7-minute walk from the Japan Hamfair event held in Tokyo’s Big Site. Date and Time in JST: Saturday August
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23, 2008 from 6:00-8:30pm Registration starts from 5:30pm. How to participate: please send email to Katsu, JA1DXA es JH7OHF. [email protected] Again, Barbara Darling, NH7FY, has taken over as Hawaii QSL manager. At the May BIARC meeting she reported that both she and Ned Conklin, KH7JJ, have finished sorting their respective backlogs. Ned is in charge of sorting the Oahu cards and Kevin Bogan, AH6QO, will be taking the Oahu cards to various Oahu club meetings. This is one of the many services provided by ARRL, and it is not necessary that you be an ARRL member to participate. Custom and courtesyWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO dictate that users of this service support it with help and donations. The address is: Hawaii QSL Bureau - P.O. Box 1938 - Hilo, HI 96721. At the last meeting of BIARC, Quince Mento, the new Hawaii County CD director spoke to the club. He introduced one of his new assistants, Bill Hanson. On Wednesday May 14th several of us met with the CD people at the CD office. At that time John Drummond was also introduced as part of the staff. They are just getting settled into their new jobs. One of the points that Mr. Mento made was that emergencies can’t always be totally planned for. The CD office over the years has made plans for many kinds of problem however no one foresaw the problem of Sulfur Dioxide so a plan had to be invented and the result is the newly activated color coded alert system. As if to emphasize the problem, toward the end of our meeting the director was called away to take care of a problem at the county viewing area in Kalapana as the wind had changed and was blowing stuff into the public viewing area. DEC Rick Ward, WH6FC; ASM Ron Phillips, AH6HN; DEC Eric Grabowski, KH6CQ and SM Bob Schneider, AH6J were at the CD meeting. The Health- Comm HFWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO net is every Saturday morning at 0800W. They have been using 3.888MHz LSB to compensate for propagation. Tnx Norm, NH7UA
Sacramento Valley
May 2008 Section Summary If you had visited with us at the ARRL Expo at Dayton Hamvention, May 16-18, you would have been impressed, as I was, at the scope of the commitment by our national organization. While I worked in the sales area for parts of two days, I did get to meet and visit with lots of hams with questions about membership, operating modes, publications, and more. Each question was answered with an authoritative response and I learned a lot. Every area of ham radio was represented. Outside the expo area, in the exhibits, the direction ham radio is moving was very apparent. Technology rules! ARRL has adopted the fifth pillar of our efforts: ‘Technology, we do that with Amateur Radio!’ (The others are public service, advocacy, education, and membership.) It is a new tag line to demonstrate that ham radio continues to grow in all directions. I attended a presentation by the Mars Society project to show how ham radio was made a part of that endeavor. I also saw Bill Ragsdale, K6KN, just before his Amateur Radio and Scouting talk. With limited time and five forum rooms going at the same time, I elected to see the AMSAT forum. But then I had seen Bill's presentation a few weeks ago. Dennis Dura, K2DCD, announced the just completed negotiations with American Red Cross and ARRL regarding the scope of background checks for ARRL members helping ARC in an emergency. The new guidelines will be part of a Memorandum of Understanding soon to be complete. They specify only name, Social Security Account Number and a criminal background check. The process is not yet complete. Keep checking the ARRL website for the latest details. Outside the arena, the flea market was well populated but not full on Friday. On Saturday, 95% of the spots were full, and there was a good crowd. On Sunday morning, 90% of those spots were vacant, but there were still five times as many sellers as you have ever seen at a California ham swap. The top tickets numbers in the prize drawings were in the 18,000 range, so I predict that number was the paid attendance. Will I go again next year? I guess that will have to wait for the projects list for 2009. I hate to miss local hamfests and I know I missed a good one in Sacramento on May 18. Speaking of ham swaps in our Section, look for one in Lincoln September 6. More details later. During the FCC forum at Hamvention, Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, our FCC Special Council for Amateur Radio Enforcement, and Bill Cross, W3TN, of FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, gave their assessment of the state of amateur radio in complimentary terms, though Riley wished for a new enforcement tool, ‘straight jackets’, to handle some of the crazy situations he sees. Riley has announced his impending retirement—July 3rd. This is
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the second time he has announced his retirement but it appears firm at this time. He wanted to be able to clear the situation of our 440 repeaters and the PAVE PAWS radar at Beale AFB. The complete presentation is available at: http://www.arrl.org/news/images/nms/other/FCCForumMP3.mp3 . On May 18, 2008, the North Hills Radio Club’s swap meet was held at Bella Vista High School, on Madison Ave, Sacramento, CA. The swap was well attended, a VE session held and lots of buyers and sellers got together, with junk turning into treasures as is always the case. This annual event continues as our best swap meet of the year.WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Western State Endurance Run, June 28-29, 2008 and the Western States Trail Ride (Tevis Cup), July 19-20, 2008, use amateur radio over watch for riders, mounts, and public safety. Both rides are 100 mile events from Lake Tahoe to Auburn, CA. (Endurance Capital of the World). WSER is also known as the other Field Day since 6 out of 7 years it falls on the same day as Field Day. WSER: June 28-29, 2008 and TEVIS: July 19-20, 2008. These events need more operators. If you can help out or need more information on this chance to help out and hone your skills, check out www.ws100.com/comm , or talk to Ralph Lucas, W6WRL, at 408-640-0963 (his work cell phone) or 530-367-3026, his home phone. June is Spring VHF contest, Kids’ Day, and Field Day. June 14, 1800z to June 16 0300z is the ARRL June VHF Contest. See page 82 in the May QST for details. May 21 is Kids’ Day, and there is a nice article on page 62 of the June QST to read and a great web page at http://www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/kd-rules.html . Then of course, if you survive both of these events, there is Field Day, always the last full weekend of June. From 1800z June 28 to 2100z June 29, (or UTC if you prefer)WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Field Day stations will be on the air looking for contacts, sections, stations not worked on this or that band before, relief operators, and how long does this thing last anyway? You get dust under your eyelids, lots of experience working a station in the field, and memories and fun you cannot find any other way. This year an educational activity bonus has replaced the demonstration mode. Also, the GOTA station may operate on the VHF bands, and a newly licensed amateur (since Field Day 2007) may operate the GOTA station regardless of current license class. This does not apply simply to an upgraded license. See all the details at: http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2008/fd.html . If you are not already involved in Field Day and want to check it out, use the Locator at: http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/locator.php to give you a map of all the registered club Field Day operations in your area. There are presently 75 Field Day sites listed in California. There must be others, so list your site if it isn’t there already. June 30 is the last day for the current Extra Class VE question pool. If you are thinking of going for the Extra license, time is running out on this current pool. A quick check of the new pool, effective 1 July 2008, reveals over 730 questions and 12 graphic diagrams or tables. The number of available test sites has been increased by one. Yuba Sutter ARC VE team will conduct an exam on June 14, 9 A.M. at 715 King Ave. in Yuba City. Call Herb, 530-674- 3648, or Clara, 530-742-2674 to register for this exam. Other last minute changes to the test opportunities like this one can get extra publicity with our Section Alert. Just give me the details and I will send out over 900 e-mailed messages to amateurs in our section. Your Spectrum Defense Fund dollars have been hard at work as the ARRL's court challenge to the FCC in the matter of BPL paid off as described in the full story . This was a fairly stern reversal for the FCC. The full ruling is available at: http://tinyurl.com/3lkkgw . The work is not yet complete. The FCC has the action on this thanks to the court. Keep up with this via the ARRL website. In Tehama County, Jim Beeler, KE6ZIQ, and Don Cantrell, ND6T, have contacted me regarding impending BPL service in their county under consideration by the Tehama County Public Utilities District. We are attempting to influence their selection of a system which will not negatively impact amateur radio operations. There are such systems. ARRL HQ is in the loop on this one, as is our Pacific Division Director, Bob Vallio, W6RGG. Section Net is the second Wednesday evening each month—in June that is June 11. Your NCS will be me. We will begin the net on the WD6AXM repeater, 146.085 MHz, plus offset, tone 127.3 hertz at 1900 PDT. At 1930 PDT, the net will switch to 3987 kHz LSB for those who cannot participate on VHF or want to help on HF. The Section ARES net, normally the fourth Wednesday evening of each month, has been suspended due to lack of participation. Thanks to Frank, N6GP, who gave it a good try. When circumstances dictate, or interest returns, we will have the monthly ARES net again. 73, Ron Murdock, W6KJ, ARRL SACRAMENTO VALLEY SECTION MANAGER
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San Francisco
CQ Field Day, CQ Field Day, CQ Field Day! Yep, it’s that time of year again with one of my top two favorite operating events, the other being California QSO Party. The clubs in the Section are gearing up for a another rip roaring Field Day. Starting from the north, the Humboldt ARC is putting on their annual FD at Woodley Island with invitations out to all the surrounding Hams. They have a great crew and arrange tours ofWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO the National Weather Service station. Of course the food at the pot luck and Sunday breakfast is outstanding and plentiful. Per their President, Tim Hanna WB9NJS, the Willits ARS will be teaming up with the Mendocino County Amateur Radio Communications Service and holding a joint Field Day at Low Gap Park near Ukiah. They will use FD with a GOTA station to get the 15 hams recently licensed active and engaged in their new hobby. The Sonoma County Radio Amateurs will be setting up this year at Youth Community Park in Santa Rosa. This is a return to a familiar site where they are putting up the usual array of antennas and planning festive meals as a social gathering. When I last talked to Jim Hill K6UUW, past president of the Valley of the Moon ARC, they were going to set up again in Maxwell Park and operate on battery power. The Redwood Empire DX Association is teaming up with the Marin Amateur Radio Society again at the Marin Rod and Gun Club at the foot of the Richmond/San Rafael bridge. They did this last year and the location is one to be envied as it is right on the water. Talk about over water take off angle.... I heard that the Saturday dinner cooks are working on a gastronomicWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO fantasy for the participants. And, the San Francisco Amateur Radio Club is returning to Robb Hill in the Presidio. The club has used this site for several years which is an old military radio site offering an elevated location for their antenna farm. They may be joined by the Cathay Club. Remember, to add 100 points to your score, be sure to send your Field Day message to me via any station that will receive it. Please be sure that it is in NTS format (good practice). Also, if you want a report of your club’s Field Day in the Section News, send me an article with pictures. I’ll get it in. On May 28th, Hams from Lake and Mendocino counties ran a joint training exercise with hospitals and public health clinics. The drill involved a simulated mass casualty and hazardous material contamination incident. The radio traffic included simulated messages involving inter-county victim transportation. Stations were active in a number of medical facilities. The drill was well executed by the hams in both counties. Way to go, everyone! Members of the San Francisco ARC helped out with the annual Bay to Breakers run. The San Francisco Hams do this every year as one of their public service events. Hams from Santa Rosa and Nevada provided radio and APRS support for the Santa Rosa Police Department’s first run in the 24th annual Baker to Vegas law enforcement relay foot race. PIO Jeff Basham KK6JAB, who previously has assisted the team supporting the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and is a volunteer with the SRPD, offered the help and was instrumental in organizing the team to do the job. The team assembled from scratch portable radio packs with APRS for temporary installation in the rented support vehicles (lots of duct tape!) And planned for just about any vehicle configuration. Then they made the road trip to Las Vegas for all the fun and consternation of the event, and, of course, Las Vegas! Team members included Jeff, John Breckenridge WB6FRZ, Pat Coyle KG6JSL, Rich Freitas KF6SZA, Jim Lee KE6VGV, Jim Robinson KE6UAR, Dave Santori KF6CLG, and from Nevada, Jay Peskin KE7EGO and Jack Larason KE7HTY. The hours were long and the food was not what they were used to during the event, but before and after the event.....well, it was Vegas. And, the SRPD team would have been first to cross the finish line (but not win as it was a staggered start) if the race officials had not stopped the runners (with SRPD in the lead) just outside of Las Vegas because the in-town race stages were not ready as the runners were ahead of schedule. SRPD finished 16th out of 28 in their class, which is outstanding for a first time running team. Outstanding! I went to the Northwest Division SeaPac convention in Seaside, OR, this month. It is a terrific convention with lots of exhibitors, an outstanding swap meet with a multitude of goodies, and informative seminars. The city of Seaside is the star attraction as it is a tourist destination with great shops and restaurants. Think about SeaPac next year if you plan to visit the Pacific Northwest. And while I’m on the subject of conventions, please remember the annual San Francisco Section Convention hosted by the Humboldt clubs. It will be held September 26-28, 2008. Keep watching www.humboldt-arc.org for all the details as they unfold. I want to take a
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moment to thank those clubs that routinely send me their newsletters or emails about their activities. Those clubs are the Humboldt ARC, Willits ARS, Lake County ARS, Sonoma County Radio Amateurs, Redwood Empire DX Association, Hamilton Wireless Association, Marin ARS and the San Francisco ARC. More news as it comes in! Have a safe and fun Summer! 73, Bill San Joaquin ValleyWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY SECTION Report for the month of May 2008: SM Charles McConnell, W6DPD- ASMs K6YK and N2NS, ACC W6DPD, SEC N6ZFN, OOC N1VM, STM K6RAU, PIC KE6IGJ, TC W6TE. Greetings from the ARRL San Joaquin Valley Section. If you desire your club information and events to be listed in Section News, please send the information to [email protected]. I get very little information. If your club has a newsletter, please send it to me, email to [email protected] or via U.S Mail. MARK YOUR CALENDARS. Field Day is June 28-29, 2008. Begin planning now. Check www.arrl.org for information. The California Historical Radio Society Central Valley Chapter swap meet begins at 9:00 AM October 4, 2008, at the Modesto Radio Museum, 1192 Norwegian Ave in Modesto. Pacificon 2008 is October 17-19, 2008 at the Marriott Hotel in San Ramon CA. Check www.pacificon.org for information. The 60th International DX Convention is April 17-19, 2009 at Visalia. Check http://www.dxconvention.org/ for information When your affiliated club elects officers for the nextWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO year, be sure to update your club’s information on the affiliated club area of the ARRL web page so you club will get any information sent from the ARRL Club department. If you fail to update your clubs information for 2 years, your club will be placed in the inactive file. Your club will be notified if the 2-year period is about to take place. Need to take an Amateur exam? Check the ARRL web page, www.arrl.org for exam information. You can also search for Amateur Radio Classes in your area. The Northern California Net (NCN), the Section Traffic Net, meets nightly on 3.533 MHZ at 7 PM Pacific Time. The slow speed training session of the net meets nightly on 3.533 MHZ at 9 PM Pacific Time. Handling traffic on CW is a good way to improve your CW skills. The Daytime Region 6 Traffic Net meets daily at 3:30 pacific time on or near 7.275 MHZ. The California Traffic Net meets daily on 3.906 MHZ and 6:30 PM local time. The noon time net meets on 7.268.5 MHz. This net handles a lot of messages. The Golden Bear Amateur Radio Net meets nightly at 7:00 PM local time on 3.975 MHZ. The Mission Trail Net meets nightly on 3.856 MHZ at 8:00 PM local time. W6JQA, Kenneth and KE6IFF, W6YCB, Raymond are Silent Keys. They will be missed. The 65th Fresno Hamfest was May 31, 2008, at the Salvation Army, Fresno Citadel, 1854 Fulton Street in Fresno. The attendees had a great time. The lunch was excellent. K6IXA won the grand prize. The Stockton-Delta ARC provided communications support for the Stockton Bike Clubs Delta Century Bike Ride and the March of Dimes Walk-a-thon. Turlock ARC members provided communications support for Henry’s Run on the California State University Stanislaus Campus in Turlock. N7RR, Bruce, is hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. He will hike from the Mexican Border to Manning Park, British Columbia by end of September or early October. He will check into the CW traffic nets in the evenings as time permits. Check www.n7rr.com for information. Top SJV Scores in the 2007 ARRL Phone Sweepstakes were 1st WC6H, 2nd K6SV and 3rd N6NZ. WC6H was 3rd in the Pacific Division. Top SJV Scores in the 2007 ARRL 160 Meter Contest were 1st WS6X, 2nd N6BU, and 3rd NJ6P. Top SJV scores in the 2007 ARRL 10 Meter Contest were 1st N6BU, 2nd N2NS, and 3rd KA6BIM. Top SJV scores in the 2008 ARRL RTTY Roundup were 1st WK6I, 2nd KD4HXT, and 3rd WS6X. WK6I was 2nd in the Pacific Division. SJV Results in the 2007 CQ DX Marathon had N6EE with 272 points and WA6JRZ with 255 points. The points are determined by the sum of the DXCC entities contacted and the CQ Zones contacted between January 1 and December 31 of a calendar year. AA6K has DXCC on CW. Congratulations. K6XJ is back on the top of the DXCC Honor Roll. Traffic for May: K6RAU 25, W6DPD 0, and W6SX 25. Total 50. PSHR: K6RAU 181 and W6SX 109.
Santa Clara Valley
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Monthly Summary for May 2008 Santa Clara Valley Section News Summary. June 18, 2008 =Field Day 2008! June 28-29, 2008 Get Ready! See the Field Day information http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/. Note that I will be touring FD sites but you do NOT get points for it. See section 7.3.5. Message Origination to Section Manager: 100 bonus points. See 7.3.11. Site Visitation by an elected governmental official and 7.3.12. Site Visitation by a representative of an agency. Be sure to invite them to your FD site. Note the Field Day Station Locator Web site is at [http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcementsWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO/fd/locator.php]. =Bill Moffitt, AE6GS, [email protected], is coordinating PR for all Field Day activities in the section. Contact him for help to make sure your FD site is not missed. Most media outlets take e-mail announcements. Let him know which ones work for your group and he can pass along his ideas. You still need to do the PR for your FD group! =Bill Moffitt, AE6GS, put on his reporters hat and joined the Ham crews to report on the Martin Fire in Bonny Doon, in Santa Cruz County. He filed a report at the Santa Cruz Sentinel web site and spoke with TV and radio media at the scene. See his article at http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_9593295 Cap, KE6AFE, DEC Santa Cruz County, reported “. . . ham radio operators have been unneeded since Friday [June 13] mid-morning, but we did get excellent press this time, including the "Santa Cruz Sentinel" and KCBS AM news radio in San Francisco at http://podcast.kcbs.com/kcbs/1146179.mp3. We believe some TV footage aired too. Thanks to Bill AE6GS and Bill N2RHV! Cap further reports on the June 11th Martin Fire his radio operators had been workingWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO between Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning. Operators included Allen WB6RWU, Barry KI6QWQ, Bill AE6GS, Bob K6RMW, Bob K6XX, Bruce AC6DN, Cap KE6AFE, Chris KG6DOZ, Claudia KF6ZGR, Clint KI6ELJ, Dan N6RJX, Dave KD6CYC, Dave W6IIQ, Don K6GHA, Donald AE6RF, Ed KI6DAS, Frank K6BDK, Greg K6GPH, Greg N6CK, Greta KI6NTL, Hap KQ6YV, J.V. K6HJU, Jamie WI6F, Jeannette KI6AJJ, Jim WB6YAM, Joe KG6DPM, John KI6EAB, Kent KI6OHY, Kirk KG6KHR, Mike W6WLS, Phil K6UH, Phil KE6UWH, Ray KF6GPE, Reed N1WC, Rocky W6DNE, Ron K6EXT, Sam WB6RJH, Shawn KA6RFZ, Steve KF6SSX, Tom K6TG, Tom KG6AO, and Vic AE6ID. And for the May 22nd Summit Fire [CA-SCU-002548] which began in Santa Cruz County, operators included Austin AB6VU, Bert KG6MBA, Bill KG6VMX, Bob K6RMW, Cap KE6AFE, Clint KI6ELJ, Donald AE6RF, Frank K6BDK, George AE6KE, Greg K6GPH, Greta KI6NTL, Hank K6ITM, Hap KQ6YV, Jeannette KI6AJJ, Jeff KF6BKG, Jerry AF6DP, Jim WB6YAM, Joe KG6DPM, JV K6HJU, Ken K6KZA, Kent KI6OHY, Marc N6ACU, Phil K6UH, Ray KF6GPE, Ron K6EXT, Scott WA6LIE, Shawn KA6RFZ, and Steve KF6SSX. Santa Clara County EOC and radio operators were activated to support the base camp for the Summit Fire last month when it moved down the hill into that county. I did not get a report on who was involved but a big thanks to Larry, KE6AGJ, DEC Santa Clara, all who participated. And a special thanks to the owners and operators of the repeaters used including SARES K6SNY. Thanks to all who volunteered and especially Cap, KE6AFE, and Bill, AE6GS, for their extra effort in getting great press for all ham radio. =Allen G Pitts, W1AGP, Media & PR Manager, announces new promotion campaign at Dayton. First came “Hello.” Then came EmComm. For 2008 comes “We Do That!” http://WeDoThat-radio.org ! The new coordinated PR effort shows the technological activities which Amateur Radio’s people love. Check out the new site and look at http://www.arrl.org/pio and http://arrl.org/brochures for help promoting your Ham Radio event, organization or activity. =More good press is noted by Paul Saffo, K3PLS, with the commendation given by the San Mateo Board of Supervisors to Ross Peterson,WB6ZBU, and the BAEARS organization for their efforts in licensing over 2,000 amateurs over the last decade. See the story and photos in these MSM sites: -San Jose Mercury News story at: http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_8779799 -San Mateo Daily News story at: http://www.sanmateodailynews.com/article/2008-4-2-smc-radio -Text of Resolution at: http://www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/bos.dir/BosAgendas/agendas2008/Agenda20080408/20080408_13.htm =Background check issues with the American Red Cross have been ironed out and a new MOU is being worked out. Check out the “American Red Cross Responds to ARRL Concerns Regarding Background Checks” http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/05/18/10104/?nc=1 =AMSAT,NA, and Bill Tynan, W3XO, announced that Amateur Radio satellite Delfi C-3 has been issued an OSCAR number: Delfi-C3
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OSCAR-64 or Dutch OSCAR-64. The shortened version of either of these two designations is DO-64. Delfi C-3 was successfully launched April, 28, 2008 from India aboard a Polar launch vehicle and was successfully commissioned, currently transmitting telemetry on the 2 meter amateur band. In addition to its 2 meter downlink, Delfi C-3 has an uplink on the 70 cm band. This newest amateur satellite was developed by a team of some 60 students and facility members from various polytechnic schools in The Netherlands. =SEMINAR & EXAM: AMATEUR ("HAM") RADIO. Amateur Radio ("Ham") License & CommunicationsWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Course. Tuesdays: 6:30 pm - 9 pm: July 1, 8, 15 & 22 (July 22 is exam night). Also, Emergency Communications Course for Ham Radio & CERT, Tuesday, July 29, 2008: 6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Contact Ken Dueker: [email protected]. Sponsored by Menlo Park Fire Protection District CERT: www.menlofire.org/cert/ =Section positions still open. This is YOUR Section; please consider helping all of us by filling one of these important positions. See http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/org/ for information on the ARRL Field Organization and all appointee positions. =The wiki-based SCV web site on PDARRL.org is up and running. Tom, K1TW, [email protected], is getting the content on both old and new sites up to date. Send him your corrections and get your club access to the wiki. Here's the link: http://www.pdarrl.org/scvsec/index.php. =Boy Scout Hi-Sierra International Rendezvous 2008 will be held August 10-16, 2008. A Ham Radio station will be a feature of this event and operators are needed. If you cannot participate on site, stand by for contacts. For more information please contact Gary Hendra, WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.ROW6NOE, [email protected] or [email protected]. Roanoke Division
North Carolina
MAY NORTH CAROLINA SECTION NEWS and FIELD DAY UPDATE GOVERNOR DECLARES "AMATEUR RADIO RECOGNITION AND APPRECIATION WEEK" Governor Easley has declared the last week in June 22-28 "Amateur Radio Recognition and Appreciation Week" as part of our celebration of the 76th annual ARRL Field Day. An image of the signed proclamation will be posted at www.ncarrl.org and I encourage you to exhibit a copy at your field day site. TRAFFIC HANDLERS NEEDED FOR FIELD DAY Our Section Traffic Manager Dave Roy, W4DNA, is looking for experienced Official Relay Stations (ORS) to handle NTS traffic during Field Day. Stations will be assigned a specific time (every 2 hours on the hour for 30 minutes starting at 1400L Saturday until 1200L Sunday, on or about 3923 kHz) to receive NTS traffic generated by Field Day sites. They will then bring this traffic to the North Carolina Evening Net (NCEN) Saturday evening, NC Morning Net (NCMN) Sunday morning, and again to the NCEN Sunday evening. This will give Field Day operators an opportunity to bring NTS traffic to the system and allow them to earn bonus points for passing NTS traffic. Stations acting as NTS ORS’s will a get credit by handling additional traffic during the event. The Field Day rules allow 10 points for each formal NTS style message, up to a maximum of 100 points. If you are interested in participating, contact Dave Roy, W4DNA at 919-778-8316 or [email protected] for additional information. He will need to know the callsign being used and the time desired. Field Day stations originating traffic can use a regularly schedule NTS net or can try 3923kHz at the top of an even numbered hour. EASY WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR FIELD DAY SCORE CW contacts count twice as much as SSB contacts. If some of your prospective operators are a little intimidated by the CW speed of many contest stations, it won't hurt to get a little technological assistance. I've been playing with CW Skimmer, a CW decoder designed for contests. It's no substitute for the ability to copy Morse code (it's not that good), but it can be a good backup for you if the other station is running just a little too fast. You can earn an easy 100 points by originating a radiogram to your Section Manager (me)! I will be available to receive this traffic via SSB on the North Carolina Evening Net on 3.923MHz at 6:30pm on Saturday, then again on the North Carolina Morning Net on 3.927Mhz at 7:45am on Sunday morning. You can also send messages to my packet station (N4IB-1) on 145.01MHz in Mooresville. I'm looking forward to visiting Field Day sites in the Western Branch this year. Hold your event in a public location and earn 100 points. Send a press release inviting your local
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media outlets and earn another 100 points. A public information table at your site gets you another 100 points. Invite visitors to your site to help you originate NTS radiogram traffic and earn 10 points per message, up to 100 points. A formal educational activity at your site earns 100 points. There's also bonus points for visitation by public officials and served agencies. Youth participation also can add to your score. Check out the Field Day rules on www.arrl.org for other ideas. FIELD DAY LOCATOR ON WWW.ARRL.ORG A new feature of ARRL's Field Day efforts this year is a "Field Day Locator" on arrl.org. The web siteWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO includes a database of field day locations and these are plotted on a map. This makes it much easier for visitors (like me!) to find your field day locations, so be sure your Field Day operation is registered! MEDIA HITS The Winston Salem Hamfest received good coverage in the Winston-Salem Journal on June 15. The Museum Ships special event weekend operation from the Battleship North Carolina was a feature on WWAY-TV in Wilmington. Congratulations to our Bill Morine, N2COP, our Section Public Information Coordinator for his brief discussion and photo op with FCC Chairman Kevin Martin. Martin was in Wilmington to discuss the city's early transition to digital TV. Bill spent about three minutes talking one-on-one with Chairman Martin and had time to thank him for the opportunity to be an amateur radio operator, and reminded him of the many hours of community service that hams donate for public events and emergencies. Amateur Radio also received good exposure during Hurrican Expo events in Wilmington and Elizabeth City. The Charlotte Observer published an excellent article about one of our newest hams, Cameron Hasson.KJ4EDF. As far as I know, CameronWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO is currently the youngest radio amateur in North Carolina at age 6. Cameron and his parents Eric, KJ4DLJ and Beverly, KJ4EDE attended a licensing class sponsored by the Gastonia Area Amateur Radio Club and received their licenses in May. Congratulations to Cameron and the Hasson family! UPCOMING EVENTS June 28-29: ARRL Field Day July 12: Rowan County ARS Hamfest, Salisbury July 19: Area 13 ARES Meeting, Gastonia July 19: Mid-Summer Swapfest, Cary July 26: WCARS Hamfest, Waynesville MAY TRAFFIC N3BW 243, W4DNA 206, K4IWW 195, KI4YV 144, W2EAG 142, WA4OBR 76, W4TTO 59, W4FAL 50, KE4AHC 32, KC4PGN 23, KD4WAX 23, WA2YBM 23, KJ4WY 19, W3HL 17, W4EHF 14, WX4MMM 13, KD4SM 6, KD4ZPS 5. MAY PSHR W4DNA 145, W4FAL 130, K4IWW 120, W2EAG 110, W4TTO 105, KI4YV 90, W1REP 85, WA2YBM 60. MAY ARES MEMBERS: 1,829 (continuing to rise!!)
South Carolina
Greetings to all Amateur Radio Operators. This is Dr. Jim, N2ZZ with the June 2008 South Carolina Section Manager’s Report! Please remember that the SC Section website can be found at: www.arrl- sc.org/ where my full SM report will be listed as well as up-to-the-date information on Amateur Radio in South Carolina! Field Day is almost upon us! Field Day is always the fourth full weekend in June, and will fall on June 28th and 29th this year. Full information on Field Day, including the downloadable Field Day Packet is available on the ARRL Website: http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/ . Additionally, this year the ARRL has a Field Day Locator where you can input your Field Day Site location! Charlie AE4UX, SEC and I will be traveling around the state again this year, and would like to hear from groups that would like a visit from us! We have a large state, so we must plan our trip out in advance to visit as many Field Day Sites as possible. For those who would like us to visit, we ask the following from each site's Field Day Coordinator: 1) Please let us know the time you plan to set up/tear down, and whether you will be participating BOTH Saturday and Sunday, or just one day. 2) Please give us detailed driving directions as well as a street address and/or coordinates to input into a GPS. 3) Please register your site on the ARRL webpage 4) Please include contact information for your group, either a call and repeater/simplex talk-in or a Cell phone number. We hope to be taking a different route this year to visit sites we have not visited in the last few years. We will need to start out early, so we may arrive just at the beginning of set-up at our first site! Charlie and I really enjoy our Field Day trip each year, and look forward with visiting with everyone! Please let us know as soon as possible. Please send all information to [email protected] AND [email protected] . Charlie will be finalizing our route about a week before Field Day. We have heard from several groups already, so Charlie is currently working on
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our route. Thanks to all who have replied to us so far! The public viewing of the Aiken County Communications Trailer was held this past Saturday. Bob Besley K4NJN, ASM6 and Trailer Coordinator had this to say: "The Aiken Communications Trailer made a public appearance at the O’Dell Weeks Park in Aiken on Saturday, June 14. The presentation, open to the public and to amateurs from South Carolina and Eastern Georgia drew a large crowd. The trailer group was able to demonstrate setting up the vehicle, and showing how the team operates as a significant part of the South Carolina Hurricane / DisasterWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Response Team. The morning started with a breakfast at Hardees, where there was a great deal of good food and fellowship. Following this casual meeting, everyone walked across the street and was given a tour and demonstration of the new Satellite, Telephone and VOIP upgrades to the trailer. Many in attendance had never been given the opportunity to see the trailer in operation, and to actually operate from this Homeland Security, Federally Funded Vehicle, The morning was a great success and will be followed with another demonstration next Saturday, June 21, as the group Operates ARRL Kids Day. The trailer will be set up again in the O Dell Weeks Recreation Center parking lot, 1700 Whiskey Road, and will be open for public viewing from 9am to 12 noon. Everyone is invited." I was unable to attend the June 14th event as I was on the other side of the state at a medical conference. I plan to be participating on June 21st, so I hope to see all those interested in viewing the trailer this weekend! For those interested in viewing the Trailer’s website, go to http://aikenradio.com/index.html The Palmetto State Chapter #89 QCWA quarterly meeting will be held at Ryan’s, 1304 Bower Parkway [exit 104WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO off I-26], Columbia, SC on Saturday, June 21, at 11:00 AM. May 2008 National Traffic System Report for South Carolina by Mac Heaton N4MEH, STM: Net Reports Net/Check Ins/Traffic/Sessions/Reported By: Anderson Radio Club 2M Net/861/42/30/N4MEH Beaufort VHF ARES Net/190/6/4/KE4RVF Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Net /2290/40/30/K4SUG Carolina's Net/289/146/59/W2EAG Carolina Slow Net/133/24/31/N0SU Columbia ARC 2 Meter Net/202/0/8/KE4TLC Grand Strand ARC 2M Net/137/13/12/KI4HEE Greater Pee Dee 2 Meter Net/844/51/31/K4DTT Greenwood ARC 2 Meter Net/149/8/5/W4DEW Greenwood Friendly Net/341/52/30/W4JAK Lancaster County 2 Meter Net/127/10/13/N4WMB Oconee 2M Net/316/13/13/N9GSX PALS Net (February 08)/721/43/29/KG4KOE PALS Net (March 08)/794/48/31/KG4KOE PALS Net (April 08)/759/42/30/KG4KOE SC SSB Net/2074/70/31/W4DDK York Co. ARS 2 Meter FM Net/819/2/56/KI4NBA Station Activity Reports Station/Sent/Received/Delivered/Originated/Total KA4LRM/0/17/16/0/33 KA4UIV/21/18/12/0/51 K4GLT/62/53/0/0/115 N4MEH/8/67/5/2/80 W4DDK/3/34/1/3/41 W4KLB/0/50/4/4/18 Public Service Honor Roll Station/Cat1/Cat2/Cat3/Cat4/Cat5/Cat6/Total KA4LRM/35/33/20/0/0/0/86 N4MEH/40/40/20/0/0/0/100 That’s it for June! See you next Month! Have a Great Month!! ’73 de Dr. Jim N2ZZ ARRL Section Manager South Carolina Section www.arrl-sc.org
Rocky Mountain Division
New Mexico
New Mexico Section Report for May, 2008 We have had some additions to the Section Staff this month and I would like to welcome the following people to the new Staff positions: Henry Schotzko – AD5FE – Dona Ana County - Official Observer (OO) Jeff Burmeister – W5OMU – Roosevelt County – Official Observer (OO) Peter Naumburg – K5HAB – Bernalillo County– Technical Specialist (TS) I would like to see some more people step up and fill some very needed positions. We now have 5 OOs but we sure could use more. We need more TSs around the State. This is especially important for new hams and some of our older set who can no longer do some of the technical things that need to be done. The position of PIO (Public Information Officer) is very important and every club should have one. This job does not take a lot of time but they are the voice of the clubs. We have a great PIC (Public Information Coordinator) Ray Herne N5LIV who can help with any copy and with suggestions for where to get the information out. The following were some of the events for the month: May 4th – Run for the Zoo May 10 – Darryl Clutter – VE Exams May 18 – Santa Fe Century Bike Ride May 30 – Frank Warren –Tech
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class Upcoming events: June 7th – Albuquerque Century Bike Ride – Contact Ed Ricco N5LI for information or if you want to help. June 26th –There will be SKYWARN Spotter Training at the DPS/Court HQ Building at 500 Quantum Rd. NE, Rio Rancho – Classroom #1. Classes will be from 1 to 3:30 PM and 6:30 to 9 PM – you can contact Rick Bassi, the Emergency Programs Manager at 891- 5855. August 3rd – La Luz Trail Race – Also contact Ed Ricco N5LI August 15 & 16 – Duke City Hamfest – This is going to be a little different this year. The location has changed to the Sandia Baptist Church located at theWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO corner of Moon and Constitution in Albuquerque. All clubs are invited to set up a table at no charge. This will be an opportunity to advertise your club and all the things you do. As usual there will be forums and demos. The Special Events Station (N5N) will be located in the center of activity this year. No more searching for the trailer. The church has a banquet area so the resale tables will be able to stay set up longer and less panic getting ready for the banquet. For more information go to www.DukeCityHamfest.org. The Net Counts for May are: NM Breakfast Club: 1253/121 NM Roadrunner Traffic Net: 1254/67 Yucca Net: 850/39 Four Corners Net: 353/32 Rustys Raider's Net: 634/86 Valencia County ARA Net: 50/14 SCAT Net: 750/99 Caravan Club Net: 55/5 High Desert ARC Net: 69/10 ARRL Silent Key Report, May, 2008 Name, Call, and Address of Silent Key: LAWRENCE L RHODES, AA5BJ 108 Three Cross Drive Roswell NM 88201 Reported by Joe Steele, KB5ZFA, REFERENCE: Don Wood, W5FHA, SM, New Mexico Name, Call, and Address of Silent Key: JULES M. HINKES, KB5VHT (Technician) 3524 California St NE Albuquerque, NM 87110-2112 Reported by Lu Jessen,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO N5YYJ REFERENCE: Don Wood, W5FHA, SM, New Mexico
Wyoming
Wyoming Section Manager Newsletter - May, 2008 7QP - I would like to thank Walt Marshall W7SE for doing his usual superb job organizing the 7 area QSO party in early May and everyone who participated. Please send your logs in to the coordinators on the website. Dayton Hamvention – I was lucky to attend my first Dayton convention and help out the outstanding ARRL staff at their booth. They are sure a great organization helping support our hobby. Casper Hamfest – I would like to thank President Mike Coley KE7AZF and his outstanding Casper ARC for putting on a super hamfest. If you didn’t make it you had better plan on next year because you missed some great programs, swap tables, vendors and company. Guest speaker ARRL Vice President Rick Roderick K5UR gave all of us a rousing talk about our favorite hobby. Hats off to the Casper Club. Rocky Mountain Division Vice- Director Dwayne Allen WY7FD (you remember him right?) shared the information that WY has passed North Dakota as having more hams and knocking on South Dakota’s door! The Casper VE group added four new hams to that so keep ‘em coming and Wyoming will move from 48th to 47th in short order. Good work Wyoming! Don’t forget to share all the benefits of ARRL membership and sign ‘em up! Keep the new hams involved and work on upgrades. Bob Meyer W7BLM announced the 2008 Ham Of The Year NG7T - Mark Knittle. Well deserved and thank you Mark for all you do for Wyoming hams! 2009 Convention – The Sweetwater ARC will host the next State Convention in Casper, with the 2010 Convention to be put on by NE7WY Northeast WY ARC. The 2010 Rocky Mountain Division Convention will be organized and held in WY. A committee has been formed to get that ball rolling. We could use a couple more volunteers so sing forth. It will be a lot of fun. Thanks to all that stepped up. Appointment – Stephen Belden KE7AZG who was the youngest ham in WY for awhile has accepted the position as Assistant Section Manager for Youth and will be sharing some insights with us on interests of young hams and how we can pass along our heritage to the next generation. Thanks Stephen! Last of all the big event is coming up – yep, it’s Field Day! Hope to hear you all operating June 28th and 29th. Check out the ARRL site for rules and operating hints. There is also a location on the website to put your hamfest site on the map. Check it out! Make sure to invite the new hams in your club and get the kids out. Have lots of fun – we do. See you “on the air”, 73, Chris, WY7UPR
Southeastern Division
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Georgia
SM: Susan Swiderski, AF4FO; ASM/South GA: Marshall Thigpen, W4IS; ASM/Legal: Jim Altman, W4UCK; ASM/Webmaster: Bob Smith, K4PHE; ASM/Youth Activities: Brittney Hancock, KI4WNY; ASM/Youth Advisor: Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM; ASM/ Scouting: David Pearce,ABØNG; SEC: Scott Royle, KK4Z; STM: Charles Pennington, K4GK; OOC: Mike Swiderski, K4HBI; TC: Jim Worsham, W4KXY; PIC: NormWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Schklar,WA4ZXV; SGL: Bill Cherepy, WB4WTN; ACC: Robin Cutshaw, AA4RC www.arrl-ga.org www.gaares.org Greetings, All. First off, a huge THANK YOU to those of you who filed a nomination just under the wire for the 2008 Young Ham of the Year award. That award will be presented at the Huntsville hamfest, and though we won't know for a while who that worthy winner will be, it's delightful to report that, thanks to YOU, there were some excellent applicants from the state of GA. (and I promise... I'll remind y'all sooner next year!) HELP!!! CHRIS FOWLER, KI4YMD, is putting the plans together for the coordination of communications in support of a 100 mile bike race coming up in October, and as part of that planning, he is trying to ascertain which repeaters have coverage over the course of the race.... (and to secure the generous permission from the repeater owners in that area to USE those repeaters.) The race will take place mostly in MORGAN COUNTY, with a slight overlap into two adjacent counties. Would you fine folks in that area please HELP us by providing some information on useable repeaters? You can send that info to me, or directly to Chris, at [email protected] (The course can be seen at http://spinforkids.org/docs/100_mile.pdf ) Thank you. It was a huge RED LETTER DAY in Dalton recently, when WILLARD STRAIN, KG4PEA, and his lovely bride celebrated an astounding SEVENTIETH wedding aniversary! CONGRATULATIONS to them both on reaching such an incredible milestone. FIELD DAY is coming up right around the corner, and clubs all over the country are all abuzz with plans. Here's something you might be interested in adding to your plans. ED WOODRICK, WA4YIH, sent along this info: "If you or your club is planning on participating in Field Day this year, then think about also setting up a D-STAR Field Day station and participating in D-STAR Field Day. The rules are similar to Field Day in that is to demonstrate capabilities to others such as Amateur Radio Operators, Public Officials, and even your own Club Officials. Setting up a D-STAR Field Day Station doesn't take much, a handheld and a log book may be all that is required. Or go all out and set up a Voice, Low Speed Data, and High Speed Data Station." For more info, please see http://www.dstarinfo.com/news/DSTAR_Field_Day.html LYNN BIANCO, KN4YZ, our ASEC for the NWS, reports that Lightning Awareness Week is coming up on the week of June 22-28. As he puts it, "Although lightning is not the top weather-related killer, it seems several people still have to learn the hard way each year. Although most of us are pretty lightning conscious because of our antennas and equipment, it doesn't hurt to periodically review and reinforce our own lightning safety." http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/ and http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ffc/html/Lightning08_final.pdf To see some great write-ups on this year's GA QSO Party, please see http://gqp.contesting.com/ CONGRATULATIONS on an outstanding event this year, with 158 counties activated! (lacked only Terrell county) And even with a record-breaking 411 logs submitted this year, the plaques are already in the hot little hands of this year's winners. Excellent job, and congratulations to all of the GA winners. SILENT KEYS: JIM ROWE, K4BK; and JAMES MCVEY, K4SHR. Heartfelt condolences to their families and friends. Well, folks this has been one disorganized mid-monthly summary this month, but hey! It's done! Until next time, this is AF4FO, signing clear. Take care of yourselves. And each other. 73, Susan QTC May: K4GK-114; K8GA-59; WB4BIK-55; WA4UJC-39; K4BG-15; K4BEH-10; K4BAI-8; K4EV-2 +++ No trees were killed in the sending of this message. However, a large number of electrons were terrible inconvenienced. +++
Puerto Rico
Otro mes más... Tremendo fué el mes de Mayo. Aunque muchos lo conocen como el mes de la radio, es así para la radio comercial solamente. Sinembargo, los radio aficionados tuvimos muchas actividades. Aquí un resumen: 1- Domingo 4 de mayo: La Liga Puertorriqueña de Radio Aficionados (PRARL)
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extendió, como siempre, el servicio público a los participantes de la caminada de la Parroquia San Miguel en Naranjito. Todo transcurrió sin novedad importante. 2- Domingo 4 de mayo: El Puerto Rico Ham Amateur Group ofreció su actividad con motivo del Día del Radio Aficionado por adelantado en el coliseo Pancho Deida de Hatillo. La Actividad fué muy concurrida. 3- Martes 13 de mayo: El mismo grupo que activó a Isla de Cabras el mes pasado, hizo lo mismo en el Viejo San Juan en el parque Luis Muñoz Rivera para cualificar a la isleta para el programa de US Islands y a la vez commemorar el Día del Radio AficionadoWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO de Puerto Rico. Se logró duplicar los contactos necesarios y ya al siguiente día estuvo calificada con el número PR013S. También fué un buen día para compartir con otros colegas que hacía tiempo no se veían. 4- Viernes 16 de mayo: Un grupo de radio aficionados se dió cita en el programa "Caiga quien Caiga" de Luis Francisco Ojeda a las 4:30 pm en WKAQ-AM-580. Se contaron anécdotas y se dió a conocer nuestro pasatiempo. 5- Lunes 19 de mayo: Víctor Madera, KP4PQ estuvo en el programa Agitando el Show a las 6:30 pm por la estación Sal Soul 98.5 FM. También se dió a conocer nuestro pasatiempo. 6- Queremos también felicitar a Ángel Vázquez - WP3R, cuya estación, operada por Rich Boyd - KE3Q, ha llegado de nuevo al primer lugar en la categoría de high power en el concurso del "ARRL November Phone Sweepstakes" por décima ocasión consecutiva, destacando a la isla como sitio ideal para los concursos en bandas bajas. 7- Sábado 31 de mayo: El grupo RODE (Radio Operadores del Este) ofreció unas charlas sobre nuestro pasatiempo a un grupo de niñas Escuchas. Esto fué en el Hotel Westin Rio Mar en Rio Grande. ¡Dándo a conocer nuestro pasatiempo! Nada, otro mes lleno de WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.ROdiversiones. Así también se proyecta el mes de junio. Ya comenzada la época de huracanes, tenemos todos que prepararnos. Recuerden que antes de poder ayudar a los demás, tenemos que haber tomado las debidas precauciones para protejer a nuestras familias. No abundo mucho más ya que en varias páginas del internet hay extensa información al respecto. Esto incluye pasos a seguir y números telefónicos de agencias o grupos de apoyo para antes, durante y después del paso de un huracán. 1- Sábado 21 de junio: Reunión con Greg Sarratt, W4OZK quien es el director de la División del Sur Este de la ARRL. El substituye a Frank Butler, W4RH quién estuvo en dicha posición por muchos años. Greg quiere reunirse con el mayor número de radio aficionados de Puerto Rico para tener una idea real de nuestras necesidades, proyectos, inquietudes, etc. relacionadas con nuestro pasatiempo. Próximamente se dará a conocer el lugar de reunión. Esperamos sea una tipo soruyo, cada cual paga lo suyo. 2- Sábado 28 y Domingo 29 de junio: El famoso ARRL Field Day. Hasta ahora, sabemos que el PRARL lo celebrará en los predios del parque Luis Muñoz Marín en Hato Rey. El grupo Radio Operadores del Este, RODE, harán lo mismo en las facilidades del Asilo de Envejecientes de la carretera hacia el Zarzal, en Rio Grande. 3- Se está organizando el grupo de AMSAT en Puerto Rico. Los interesados favor de comunicarse con Juan Ramón, KP4SAT (787-960-4421) quién es el coordinador para Puerto Rico. Estoy seguro que habrán mas actividades ya que el impulso es bueno. Las mismas se darán a conocer mediante los diversos reflectores existentes por la internet. Como siempre, los exhorto a mantenerse activos, leer y educarse contínuamente y ser agradecidos y honrar nuestro pasatiempo. Gracias a todos. Roberto Jiménez, KP4AC www.kp4ac.com
Southern Florida
Hello everyone, I will start a new term as Section Manager beginning October 2009. Thank you for your continued support. Between now and September 30 I will be reviewing ALL section appointments. If you are reading this please send me an update and let me know if you wish to continue your appointment. If I don't hear from you I will need to e-mail or phone so please send the message and save me some time. Several groups held public displays and Hurricane preparedness seminars this month. Please send me a photo in JPG format and I will place it on the news page. Our long time Assistant Section Manager, Evelyn Gauzens W4WYR has moved out of the section. She has relocated near family in Dunedin, Fl. She will be missed by many, especially me. However she still will be sending e-mails, running the AIN, and posting comments on various reflectors. We all wish many years of health and happiness in her new home. I have had several question about antennas, towers, and related government regulations. Please visit the following informational pages to learn about PRB-1 and government
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regulations and about limitations of deed restrictions/CC&Rs,/HOAs etc: http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/antenna-restrictions.html You can find the links to Florida state laws governing amateur radio issues at this link: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm type amateur radio in the search box at the top of the page Want to help your local club? Sign up to be a Volunteer Examiner (VE). Give your time a few days a year to help folks take exams. Many groups are short of VEs, especially during the summer months. http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/become-a-ve.html ======WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO ARES Reports for May: Total number of ARES members in the 12 counties reporting: 998 ARES nets active: 16, Sessions 61, 8 with NTS liaison ECs reporting: N4LEM, WA2DQX, KF4MJJ, N5KFR, AA4BN, WA4ASJ, WA4GUK, AI7Q, K4FLC, AD4RZ, AJ4BP, WN7YJJ reporting for Osceola Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 86, Person hours 120 Number of public service events this month: 8, Person hours 398 Number of emergency operations this month: 1, Person hours 130 Total number of ARES operations this month: 9, Total Person hours 648 SFL ARES Net Report --- QNI 30 QTC 0 Time 64 Min. Comments: Brevard amateurs provided communications to assist with the fires in their county. Miami Dade County provided communications for the 2008 MS 150 Bicycle Marathon St. Lucie County ARES participated in communications test with the NHC ======Traffic Reports for May: SAR: KA4FZI 194, KE4CB 99, AA4BN 45, W7GXW 5, KC4TM 5 ======PSHR: KA4FZI 120, KE4CB 95, AA4BN 85 ======SFL NETS MAY 2008: TOTALS: QNI 2165 QTC 501WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO NET, ABB, SESS, QNI, QTC, MGR All Florida CW Traffic Net, QFN, 62, 441, 235, AD4DO Florida Amateur SSB Traffic Net, FAST, 31, 277, 45, K4SCL Florida Medium Speed Net, FMSN, 31, 198, 39, AG4RJ/AB4XK Jupiter-Tequesta Repeater Group, JTRG, 4, 58, 19, AG4BV/W4FK Palm Beach County Ares Net, PBCAN, 8, 83, 26, K4DLF Saint Lucie Repeater Association, SLRA, 4, 45, 0, KE4UEI Southeast Florida Traffic Net, SEFTN, 31, 738, 52, AG4RJ/KI4IQZ Southwest Florida Traffic Net, SWFTN, 27, 325, 85, KE4CB ======Still good totals for the summer. This is a good time to get acquainted with the HF CW/phone nets as well as local VHF nets. When emergencies happen, they will need hams who are familiar with net procedures. Each net has its own check in and traffic/information handling methods. Knowing how the net is run will greatly enhance net efficiency and save you embarrassment. And a comment from KA4FZI about recent traffic handled: I had a nice radio-related surprise this month. A message going to a ham in Fort Myers had no listed phone number, but his QRZ listing had a bio. He a new meteorologist. He has an arrl.net email address so I copied the message and emailed it to him. His emailed response was: .WOW! A ham radiogram. I've been a ham since 1994, and never have received one. Thanks very much. 73 Morgan K5TVT. ======Our newest Affiliated Club is FECDXC, Florida East Coast DX Club. Current members are mostly from Brevard and Indian River counties but membership is open to any licensed amateur with an interest in Dxing who has a Florida address. For more information visit their web site at www.freewebs.con/fecdx. Keep an eye on the weather. Stay safe and stay on the air. 73 Sherri, W4STB
Southwestern Division
Arizona
ARRL ARIZONA SECTION NEWS June 2008 ARIZONA PRB-1 Two months ago, House Bill 2721 on Amateur Radio; structures; accommodation passed in the House. Our sponsor Rep McLain has been absolutely fantastic. Turns out that Rep McLain’s late husband was a ham. Rep McLain has tried several ways of getting our bill passed in the Senate. As was the case last year, Senator Harper and the Home Owners Association have been our biggest battle. When HB 2721 was blocked by Senator Harper she tried to attach the words to Sen Harper’s SB1019. That did not happen. She said “Jack Harper's excuse for not hearing our bill either year was that the folks in his district (mainly just those in Sun City West) would be upset with him. I would encourage all of you to contact hams that live in District 4 and ask them to contact the Senator and let him know that they are upset that he didn't hear it. (A map of that
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district can be found at www.azleg.gov) We're all up for re-election this year, and if he sees enough people show up at his campaign events that want this bill, perhaps that will change his mind.” YOUTH AND SCOUTING This last week my dad, K7DF, and I showed over 300 Cub Scouts how to do direction finding at Camp Lawton on Mt. Lemmon. The theme of the week was Indiana Jones movies and finding a hidden transmitter fit right in. The first day was fun as the ground was covered in snow. It later turned to mud but it quickly dried out and by the second day it was gone. Many hams helped out including Dave HolmanWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO KE3HF, Brandon Holman KE7ODY, John Cox KE7CKL and the wonderful hams from Green Valley ARC; Lloyd Miller N7GV, John Long KA0IKI, Dave Sader AB7VE, Ron Gross AD7FV, Dee Gross AD7NM, Bob Epstein AD7FQ, Linda Epstein AD7FP, Dale Lang AA1SZ, Jane Lang AD7NR, John Long KA0IKI and Jim Powell KE7KCX. Lloyd and the Green Valley folks built several hidden transmitters and antennas. We learned that the radios (<10 mW) were so strong at such a short range that attenuators were very necessary. Dad used the offset frequency method but I liked using a attenuator. John KE7CKL lent us several of his Big Red Bee transmitters www.bigredbee.com that he uses to find his high powered rockets. These small transmitters fit into film canisters. The boys thought the film canisters were a lot like the tiny transmitters that were used in the new Indiana Jones movie. The boys really enjoyed learning about Amateur Radio. Thanks to everyone who helped out. Congratulations to David Clark, KD7NZK. David won one of the 2008 ARRL Foundation Scholarships, namely the Charles N. Fisher Memorial Scholarship - $1,000. The Boy Scouts of AmericaWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO has a need for 30 to 40 volunteer Amateur Radio Operators in Arizona to assist them with Operation On Target on September 20, 2008. Operation On Target is a Varsity Scouting Event which entails a team of scouts using heliograph mirrors to signal from a mountain peak to other teams on other peaks. For more information on Operation On Target visit www.ontargetbsa.org about.htm, http://ontarget.mesavarsity.org This is an excellent opportunity to introduce Scouts to Amateur Radio and possibly spark an interest to earning a radio merit badge and possibly obtaining an Amateur Radio Operators License. If you are interested, please e-mail Bob Church [email protected], and Garry Hinton [email protected] Jim Fagan KE7IDC Assistant Section Manager (ASM) Youth and Scouting [email protected] EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS The Pima County ARES and RACES have reorganized and are looking for volunteers. Please contact Rich Joyce KD6VLN or Chuck Michael KB7RFI. You can also register on the emergency communications database at www.az-arrl.org ARCA WILLIAMS HAMFEST/ARRL STATE CONVENTION July 18-19, 2008 ARCA/Williams Hamfest hosted by the Amateur Radio Council of Arizona will be at the Williams Rodeo Grounds, 800 Rodeo Rd, Williams, AZ, Major vendors including ICOM will be at the Williams hamfest! Fun, Food and of course the Swapmeet. Check it out at www.arca-az.org SILENT KEYS Gregg White N7SQJ owner of Starcomm Communications in Tucson and Communications Coordinator of the Northwest Fire District. Bill Pfleeger N7ADL from Mohave Valley. Paul McSween KD6TAQ. Paul worked in the Phoenix HRO store. NEW HAMS The following Arizona hams just received their FCC license, Congratulations! Richard Courtney AD7TF, Eric Nelson AD7TG, Jose Medina AD7TK, Corey Beggs AD7TL, Elizabeth James KE7SYD, Peter Lippert KE7SZT, Donald Erickson KE7SZU, Daniel Bjorklund KE7SZV, Martha Davis KE7SZW, Willard Mcdougal KE7SZX, Joseph Vinson KE7SZY, Seymour Shapiro KE7TAY, Dale Larson KE7TCJ, Steven Mendez KE7TCK, Louis Polydoros KE7TDP, Bruce Jaeger KE7TDR, Rebecca Schmidt KE7TEK, Nathan Young KE7TEL, Helen Marx KE7TEM, Ralph Marx KE7TEN, Tim Beyer KE7TGN, Richard Spinabella KE7TLP, G Jayson Stangel KE7TLQ, Richard Haas KE7TLR, Stephen Thomas KE7TLS, Reid Bailey KE7TLT, Jon Christensen KE7TLU, Cory Mcdowell KE7TNY, Sally Mcdowell KE7TNZ, Earl Melbourne KE7TOA, Mike Layland KE7TOB, Greg Griffith KE7TOC, David Soletski KE7TOD, William Neill KE7TOE, Kenneth Smith KE7TOF, Allen Blaine KE7TOG, John Desenberg KE7TOH, Bjorn Fjordholm KE7TOI, Tom Mason KE7TOJ, Walter Cheatham KE7TOK, Jason Sanders KE7TOL, Jon Sherman KE7TPD, Adam Wilcox KE7TPE, Eric Somerville KE7TPF, Venkata Sure KE7TPG, David Mcneill KE7TPH, Stephen Odgear KE7TPI, Mary Klock KE7TPJ, Dallon Ray KE7TPK, Mason Knox KE7TPL, Rusdon Ray KE7TPM, Jason Zdilla KE7TPN, Michael Roberts KE7TQC, Dennis Ott KE7TQZ, Bernard Gaskill KE7TRA, Daniel Raburn KE7TRJ, Roger Evenson KE7TRK, John Kiniston KE7TRL, Clark Turner KE7TRP and Jason
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Young KE7TRQ. HAMFESTS/CONVENTIONS/SPECIAL MEETINGS June 7, 2008 Kachina Amateur Radio Club Hamfest Hosted by the Kachina Amateur Radio Club Show Low Intermediate School, 500 N Old Linden Rd, Show Low, AZ Contact: Richard Gurk, KE7EDP [email protected] July 18-19, 2008 ARCA/Williams Hamfest hosted by the Amateur Radio Council of Arizona Williams Rodeo Grounds, 800 Rodeo Rd, Williams, AZ www.arca-az.org September 6, 2008 Mohave Professional Amateur Radio Group will be having its 1st Annual Hamfest in Kingman Arizona. September 12-14, WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO2008 ARRL Southwestern Division Convention Mesa AZ Come check us out at www.AzHamCom.org Mesa Convention Center Rick Aldom W7STS 2008 SWD Chair [email protected]. October 18 2008 Old Pueblo Hamfest Kino Sports Park Tucson AZ October 19, 2008 Tucson Ham Radio Picnic at Reid Park at 12 noon www.tucsonhampicnic.com December 2008 Superstition Hamfest, Mesa AZ Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about ARRL. If your club or group has an activity or event that would be of interest to other hams throughout our section please email me with the specifics. 73, Tom Fagan K7DF ARRL Section Manager Arizona Tucson Arizona (520) 574-1129 [email protected] http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=AZ or http://www.az- arrl.org/
West Gulf Division
South TexasWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO
June is nearing and end but we still have a very important day know as Field Day 2008. There are new extra points to be earned this year. I do hope to have up an antenna before then. This wire on the fence isn't working too good. You can earn 100 points for sending an ARRL Radiogram to your Section Manager or the Section Emergency Coordinator, Mike Schwartz, KG5TL. You still have a way to earn those points if don't send the radiogram to me. Please read the June issue of QST for this year and the Field Day events. I always found the food at the Field Day sites was very good. This will also get you in the mood for the SET event in October. I want to thank Mike Schwartz, KG5TL, and Rik Chapman, K5RIK, for reminding me of the SET scores for 2007 on page 64 of the July 2008 issue of QST. South Texas did well and hope we have a lot more reports this year. Congratulations to our ARRL President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, on his appointment to the board of Directors of the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority. We all want to wish Riley Hollingsworth the very best on his retirement. Riley, that means no more paid holidays and vacations. However, there is always Honey Dos to take up your days. I hope you can find time to get on the air. I want to thank Mike Schwartz for taking my place on the air during this time of moving to San Antonio. We talked on the phone and then he would bring things to you on the SM net. Thank all of you for the jobs you did during my absence. There is a correction to my new address in the July issue of QST. It should be 15426 Spring Coral, (capital c on Coral), San Antonio, TX 78247. Phone is 210-233-8971. Just a word of advice, if your going to move don't wait until your 75. Do it while you are young. To start with, I had some problems with my e-mails but that is ok now I hope. I did notice that our clubs have been doing a great job. Until next month. God Bless America and our Troops. Ray N5NAV
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Section News for June 2008
Atlantic Division Delaware WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO ARRL DELAWARE SECTION MONTHLY SUMMARY JULY 2008 I had the pleasure of traveling the Delaware Section visiting the following locations during Field Day 2008 The 146.995 Repeater Group set up at the Claymont Elementary School practice field Green Street, Claymont, Delaware 19703 members participating: WA3UYJ Al, K3WSP Wayne, KB3MLT John, NI3B Brian, KC3AM Dave, WA3ZTR Dave, N3JJB Terry, WB3GVD Joe, N3CUJ Andy, WA3BZT Ed The First State ARC (K3QBD) set up at the WDEL / WSTW Radio station parking lot 2727 Shipley Road Talleyville, Delaware 19803 www.fsarc.org stations participating K3DX Dave, KD8GPM Jake, W3EOT Dick, WA3I Chet, W3HZM Joe, N3RWK Ruth, N3FG Frank, N3LUV Penny, WD3C Rich, KB2GCG Jerry, N3UZ Jim and KB3PMY Joe The Kent County ARC (W3HZW) set up at the Petersburg C&R Center, off C&R Center Rd Norman G Wilder Wildlife Area Kent County, Delaware 19943 www.KCARC.net Member participants at Field Day were KB3RDW Carl and xyl, NS3E Ed, N3NVQ Alice, KB3KFP Annemarie,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO W3NUR Jay, KB3NPZ Jim, WB3ILM Adam, N3KCB Tony, N3YMS Nick, AD3M Frank, KE3UY Mark, KB3EGQ Angela, KB3EGP Frank, AJ3JR Allen, W3DBJ Darryl, K0UWO Jim, KA3PJP Sandra, K3PT Bobby, KB3PTX Ken, WA3GTU Dominick, K3MU Tim, AA3ZH Carolyn (whose call was used on the GOTA station), N3KRX Jerry, KB3JGA Tom, N3FZP Sonny,K3LT Tom, K3WI Bill, N3HPA Bob, K3JLY Bob, WJ3I Jim, K3GRT Rick, N3IOC Tony, K3REW Ron, K7VSW Vernon, and KB3QIT Harry The Lewes Amateur Radio Society (W3LRS) next to a single story storage shed which is adjacent to the Overfalls Light Ship, Pilot town Road Lewes, Delaware 19958. www.lewesars.net participating W4OCC Glenn his XYL KI4FYN Joan, W3GNQ Dick and AD3M Frank W3JDP Joe, W3RMM Mike, WB3HPP Jim, AB3DL Jeremy, KB3MZO Paul, KB3IOG James Joint Clubs Sussex Amateur Radio Association and Nanticoke Amateur Radio Club (W3D) located their Field Day at the Marvel Museum 510 S. Bedford St. Georgetown, Delaware 19947. www.sussexamateurradio.com/ www.qsl.net/w3tbg members participating: KB3MJ Denny, W4ALT Walt, WA3GS Gene, N3NXR Ross, KB3QLK Jamie, N3IOD Bill, W3IOU Willie, K3LRH Len, W3DR Bill, KF3BT Herb, KB3KYH Bill, N2JB Joe, W3DEL Chuck, W3LOP George, KA3ROL Matt, K3JP John, N3KNT Rod The Air Mobile Radio Operator Society 869 Union Church Road Townsend, DE 19735 Air Mobile Society Crew AE3J Bill, N3CJM Robin, N3YXT Bill, KB3OJM Jim, VA3AOR Brian, N3TEE Shawn, K3MOT Steve, KB1EBC Bob, James and Billy Begley, KB3PZN Jim and KB3NFH Brian Also speaking of Field Day the first and second place clubs in the The Society for the Preservation of Amateur Radio Winter Field Day are W3HZW Kent County 1st place and Sussex / Nanticoke clubs 2nd place nationally. For more info visit: http://www.spar- hams.org/contests/winterfd/index.php?pg=9 Up coming events: Atlantic Division Antenna Zoning and PRB-1 Webinar Saturday, July 26th from 10:30 – noon Pennsylvania amateur radio operator and attorney Mike Lazaroff K3AIR and ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay W3KD talk about dealing with zoning boards, and PRB-1 when looking to put up amateur radio antennas. Mike has served on his local zoning board and town council, so he has unique experience to bring to the table to help unravel the antenna issues. He's also been at the forefront of a recent PRB-1 action in Pennsylvania that hams should be aware of. Chris has extensive experience with PRB-1 actions that he brings to the table. This webinar/teleconference is for ARRL members who have an interest in how to deal with local government zoning boards and town councils when putting up amateur radio antennas, along with how and when PRB-1 might be able to assist. There will be a question and answer period after the presentation. Bob Bruninga WB4APR, the developer of APRS, Automated Packet Reporting System, has graciously offered to do a series of Webinars on various topics regarding APRS. The topics, dates and times are as follows: APRS for special events – July 22nd from 8pm to 9pm Tuesday APRS for
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Satellites – July 29th from 8pm to 9pm Tuesday These Webinars will be available by VOIP or telephone. The VOIP should be audible over your computer speakers. To register for one or all of these Webinars or for more information about these Webinars, please go to the Atlantic Division Website Training page located at: http://www.atldiv.org/training AUGUST 2 through AUGUST 9, 2008 The annual ARLHS NLLW event for 2008 has been extended to a full week, to be known hereafter as "National Lighthouse-Lightship Week." This will include the August 7th date that has often been regarded as NationalWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Lighthouse Day. For more info: http://illw.org/ I'd like to get this credentialing program started for Communication Corps. Please send me copies of your accomplished training so that I may enter this into our database. You may do this by scanning a PDF of your certificate, or faxing it to DEMA with a coversheet saying attention: Justin Kates. The fax number is 302.659.6855. Please send me an email as well saying that you sent a fax to DEMA just to make sure I get them. [email protected] ARRL ARECC certificates can be printed by logging into the member’s only section of arrl.org and then going to http://www.arrl.org/members-only/cce For those that took training from DEMA, I can look into our training database to verify you. We keep track of all the courses that every one takes from us. For those that took training from FEMA online, fill out the following form and they will send you a transcript which the individual can then scan or fax to me: http://www.training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/downloads/tranrqst1.pdf Thanks, Justin T. Kates Again I need your assistance in keeping the ARES / RACES registration data base up to date, please go to www.de- arrl.org andWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO click on the registration URL and follow the instructions to submit your registration by e- mail! Thank You! 73 Frank Filipkowski AD3M
Southern New Jersey
SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY NEWSLETTER FOR JULY SECTION MANAGER, JEAN PRIESTLEY, KA2YKN It is with mixed feelings that I tell you that this will be my last year and term as Section Manager for the Southern New Jersey section. It has been 18 years since I first accepted Assistant Section Manager for Bruce Eichmann. When Bruce had to step down, I accepted the position as Section Manager. I was in the Assistant position for 6 years and enjoyed it so much that I stayed Section Manager for 12 years. I met many wonderful people, had numerous wonderful events and traveled hundreds of miles with my husband, Lou and sometimes we even had our dogs, Harley and Davidson with us. I felt many times over that I did make a difference in many ways. It is always better to go out at the top of you game and that is what I am doing. I want to thank my husband, Lou, N2HQL, for making much of it possible. Lou and I had many great times with all those great people I just mentioned. I also want to thank my staff for hanging in and hope that the same support will be given a new Section Manager. It is with a heavy heart that Camden County reports the passing of Races member Ronald Bird from Waterford, KC2FNI. Ron was 58 and is survived by his wife Rosemarie 2 daughters, a son and his faithful friend and companion, his dog Max. Ron served his county in the United States Army. Ron will be missed by many friends and hams whose lives he touched. I trust everyone had a good time at Field Day. It was very hot and I spend a lot of time indoors that weekend. Thanks for all the messages on your Field Day. It is always nice to see the big numbers turning out. Now we wait to see where everyone placed. It is not to soon the see what could be done better or differently next year. On Sat. June 20, a group of Holiday City Radio Club members celebrated the 103 birthday of Vince Genzardi with him. Vince is also known as W2GRA and Lou and I were very proud to help him celebrate his birthday a few years ago. The assisted living facility helped then set up a gala event. Vince was presented with a special plaque and there was much applause and hand shaking. The afternoon was a day that will always be treasured by everyone in attendance. A very Happy Birthday to Vince from the SNJ. Everyone is looking forward to his 104th birthday party. The new Amateur Extra class Question Pool has been released. The national Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators has released the new pool of question for the Amateur Extra class license. This pool will become effective for examinations given on or after July 1, 2008 and should be in service until June 30, 2012. The pool, which consists of 741 questions and 12 graphics, can be downloaded from the NCVEC website in Word, PDF or RTF
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formats.. JSARS Is still holding their testing sessions the third Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm at the Riverwood Recreation Building on Riverwood Drive in Toms River, NJ. For more information call Ed GENOINO, WA2NDA at 609-693-3729. Holiday City ARC is also still holding their test sessions every other 2nd Saturday from 10am to 12pm, (May, July, Sept, Nov). Sessions are held at the Holiday City South Clubhouse area in meeting room #1 on Mule Road at the corner of Santiago Dr in Toms River. Your contact person is Bill Haldane, AC2F and the phone is 732-240-7064 or [email protected]. When going to any test session,WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO you must have your original license, at least one Xerox copy and original and one copy of any credit sheets you may have. Bring 2 forms of id. OBARC has resumed their test sessions for the year. There was one in June and the next one will be Sept. 4 and again Dec. 4, 2008. All the sessions will be held at the Ocean Acres Community Center, Nautilus Drive, Manahawkin. Doors close at 7pm. Contact Dave Burgess, WA2TVS at 609-698-2872. Directions to test site are available at http://wwww.obarc.org. Testing sessions by SJRA are on the 4th Tuesday of each month at the Winslow Senior center. Contact is Mark, K2AX at [email protected] or (609)820-1523. If you haven’t already, please make a note or bookmark the following site:http://www.erh.noaa.gov/phi/skywarn/index.html. The Battleship New Jersey is back on summer hours. If your club is thinking about visiting the NJ2BB club station, please be sure to make arrangements ahead of the scheduled date to insure that someone will be there. Just go on our website at www.nj2bb.org for information to schedule a visit. If you have worked NJ2BB and want to send a card, the QSL manager is Margaret Burgess, KB2BRR 150 Schooner Ave, Barnegat,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO NJ 08005. Please send your cards with an SASE to insure receiving a card in return from NJ2BB. http:// www.nj2bb.org NOW OPEN !! The new “City at Sea Tour”. Its intent is to highlight the support activities within the vessel, such as dental, medical and sickbay. There will also be a Quick Stop (aka smoke shop), Post office and machine shops. Of interest to the Ham community is the WW2 Radio Room that members of BNJARS have been working on. This compartment was once filled with black crackle painted equipment that glows in the dark. The gang has found the appropriate equipment from various sources, restored and repaired each item as needed. On May 19, 2008, the new General Quarters Tour opened. The tour will offer the same tour as the current, except all guests will receive an audio device that will include narration, music, special effects, descriptions of spaces and recorded accounts by former crew members. An adult and child’s version will be available. The ships current guided tour The Fire Power Tour will now include the Combat Engagement Center and the Admiral Halsey Stateroom. Even If your have seen the ship once already, there is plenty of new reasons to come see it again. If you have an activity coming up or want to report something that happened, please send a short write up to me and I will put it in next month. Please remember that if you work traffic to report it to Dan, K2UL. Traffic report for May Traffic manager, K2UL, Dan Ostroy SNJ/NNJ Section Net Reports QNI reports NJM 80 N2GJ NJPN 203 W2CC NJSN 158 K2PB NJN(E) 169 AG2R NJN(L) 169 AG2R (the above nets are dual section nets of both SNJ and NNJ. Liaisons with 2RN) SNJ Local Net Reports JSARS 385 WA2NDA SJTN (E) 14 KB2RTZ SJTN(L) 14 KB2RTZ Station Activity Reports (SAR) WA2CUW 93 KB2RTZ 84 WA2NDA 46 AA2SV 20 K2UL 20 KB2BAA 17 K2GW 16 WJ3P 3 Public Service Honor Roll (PSHR) KB2RTZ 280 K2GW 114 K2UL 100 WA2CUW 90 KA2YKN 75 N2HQL 75 WA2NDA 63 KB2IYC 61 KB2BAA 57 WJ3P 50 STM reports that the past six years have been posted on the web at http://k2ul.home.att.net/stm_monthly.htm BE GOOD TO YOUR FRIENDS AND THEY WILL BE GOOD TO YOU RESPECT YOURSELF AND OTHERS WILL RESPECT YOU
Western Pennsylvania
Field Day 2008 has come and gone. For many the only thing left is tabulating the scores and submitting them to the league for comparison to the other clubs in the various categories. For a few it also means putting the shack back together after taking our gear out to the different locations and operating for the weekend. The weather for the most part was nice with the exception of the one nasty storm in the early evening. I want to thank the clubs for their hospitality as I traveled about and visited the different field day sites. I always enjoy seeing the operations and visiting with the participants as I travel about. Thanks to Bruce Watson, AA3LX, who loaned me an antenna and HF rig I was able to operate as I drove about
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the area. On July 12 I will be attending the 7th annual NW hamfest in Wattsburg. Additional information can be obtained at http://www.nw-pa-hamfest.com. On Sunday July 13 I will be attending the North Hills ARC 23rd annual hamfest near Pittsburgh. Additional information may be obtained for their hamfest at http://www.nharc.org. The final hamfest for July will be held on July 20 in Somerset and sponsored by the Somerset County ARC. Information for this hamfest can be found at http://www.k3smt.org/hamfest/ . And of course don’t forget the upcoming section convention at the Skyview ARC hamfestWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO on August 24. Katie Breen, W1KRB, membership manager for the league will be in attendance as will director Bill Edgar and vice director Tom Abernathy. We are also hoping that Eastern Pennsylvania section Manager Eric Olena will be also present. This will be a good chance to discuss the pending antenna legislation. I recently received this from a fellow ham and I think it does a great job at expressing what both Pa. section managers have been trying to convey. Please follow the ideas and contact your senators and representatives to get this bill passed. The "model antenna bill, "PRB-1" is languishing in the PA state legislature despite passage by 26 other states. Time for you to get off the sidelines and take action before it dies with this session. The Senate voted SB 884 out of committee on June 25 and laid on the table the same day. The House Bill, 1777 remains in committee and has not moved from the Local Government Committee since August 2007. The Legislature is in summer recess until Sept 15 when it reconvenes for a short pre-election session, then a brief "lame duck" session. If it does not pass this session the process must begin anew. Time to contact your SenatorsWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO and urge the bill be moved to the floor for a vote. Remember, the House must do the same so there is a long way to go. Be a squeaky wheel and write, phone visit your State Reps. You can find them easily by going to http://www.legis.state.pa.us/ go to the house and senate tabs and enter you zip code. (Note, you can also find the bill(s) from this webpage.) Be sure to ask them to contact their colleagues to move these bills forward before they die with the session. If you have friends in other clubs in the state, it would be a good idea to ask them to do likewise. If you would like field day photos from your event posted on the section web page forward me the images and I will post as many as space permits. Join us on the WPA Phone and Traffic section net on 3983 hz every evening at 6 pm. 73 John N3MSE W. PA. SM
Central Division
Illinois
QST DE KA9QPN From the top... **Field Day 2008 is in the books, and it was another fine and fun effort, despite more violent weather which put several operations off the air for an hour or two as high winds and rain plagued the northern part of the Section. One Lake County effort lost a tower during a blast of wind. Fortunately, no one was injured. Much to my dismay, I was only able to visit a couple of sites due to city and family commitments. ******************************************************************** **The ARRL/ARC saga continues. In the latest development, ARRL President Joel Harrison W5ZN, told ARC management of several outstanding concerns in the background process. More here. ******************************************************************** **With apologies to those individuals affected by the recent flooding, the damage in the Section is not nearly as widespread as our fellows to the north and west are suffering. Consequently, any response has been highly localized and spotty. The Western Illinois ARC conducted operations for the Red Cross in support of sandbagging volunteers in the Quincy area. Additionally, individual 'dual-hat' wearing hams deployed with various organizations both public and private to assist in mitigation and recovery operations. My prayers go out to all affected, wherever you are. ******************************************************************** **As I mentioned earlier, our violent spring has transitioned into a still violent summer. It has been a long time since I can remember weather watches being extended or reissued. We had two such incidents over the last few weeks, with one watch box going nearly twelve hours. This makes for some really long SKYWARN
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shifts if your group activates on issuance. Most HT manufacturers make model-specific battery boxes for alkaline batteries. It makes good sense for you to get the one for your particular radio and keep it in your go-bag. You may not get near AC to charge your HT, but there's always someplace to grab a pack of AA cells. Remember that some of these battery boxes may cause a lower power output. ******************************************************************* **Speaking of emergency power type things, I've seen several items of interest to folks assembling emergency power systems or collectingWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO battery powered doodads. Harbor Freight has several solar panel arrays for cheap money. Most of their offerings are made for trickle charging auto batteries, but 'hamgenuity' should allow for the proverbial '1001 uses'. HF also carries neat stuff like cable tie assortments (including stainless steel cable ties!), bulk steel wool (for plugging those cable entries against rodents) and obscure tools for weird projects. Fry's carries larger and pricier solar panels for bigger projects. Finally, the 'Evil Empire' WalMart had a major appliance manufacturer's battery to 110V and USB power converters on closeout. These are the ones with a NiMH battery on board and come in several wattages. I have no financial interest in any of these outfits. I just like to pass around info on items that will further our collective emergency preparedness. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Get informed... **A quick personal note: due to my not paying attention to a server conversion deadline, my ISP delayed about 275 emails until 10 July. These included nearly all FD messages and some other correspondence.WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO If you are waiting for a response from me on other matters, I'm getting to it. Sorry for the delay. ************************************************************* **Do you know that we have Technical Specialists on staff in the Section who stand ready to help on anything from assisting in interference issues to explaining the fine points of the digital modes. John Dinnella WA9IL and his crew are waiting to hear from you if they can be of service. If they don't know the answer, they know where to find it. *********************************************************** **D- STAR continues to gain interest in the Section. Six systems are either on-air or in the advanced planning stages, with more systems in the initial planning phases. Yes, it's more expensive. So was CW and SSB and FM vs. spark and AM. The possible benefits and uses, especially for EmComm, are limitless. Mark Thompson WB9QZB and Kermit Carlson W9XA have been tireless boosters of D-STAR, carrying the message to any club or group who is willing to listen. Additionally, the 27th annual ARRL/TAPR Digital Communication Conference will be held in the Chicago area on 26-28 September. Not only will D-STAR be a hot topic, but other items such as software defined radios, digital voice in all of its iterations, APRS, and other bleeding edge modes will be showcased. Our old favorites such as AX-25 will also be on display in their latest forms. More here. **************************************************************** **In the latest edition of the Vermilion County ARA, Kathy Tucker KD5GPR revisits the Amateur's Code. I personally find it beneficial to reread the Code every so often, and try to make sure that I'm as good as I think I am. **************************************************************** **Field Day also meant a wealth of media hits that described and promoted this great Service of ours. Any time that you generate or see these items, please let me know. I forward them on to HQ to be used for the common good. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Around the Section... **Kurt Eversole KE9N sends the following: 'Through the efforts of Gene Stankiewicz, KA9BOD, of the Rockford Amateur Radio Association, the Mayor of Rockford, IL, Lawrence J. Morrissey, has proclaimed the week of June 22-28th Amateur Radio Week for the city of Rockford. The proclamation was read by Morrissey at the June 16th city council meeting. In attendance to receive the proclamation from the Mayor was Paul Franklin, K9RNR, President of the Rockford Amateur Radio Association, and Kurt Eversole, KE9N, Field Day chairman for RARA. After receiving the proclamation, Eversole gave a short explanation of how through various group efforts such as SKYWARN, RACES, ESDA, etc., local amateur radio operators aid the community in times of need. The proclamation from the mayor was on display at RARA’s field day site on June 28th and 29th at Aldeen Park in Rockford, IL.' *************************************************************** **The Peoria Area ARC
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provided communications support for the Peoria Walk to Defeat ALS on 14 June. Participants included Fritz Bock WD9FMB, John Coker N9FAM, Darhal Wolf K9DRF, DeWayne Barton KB9ATO, Mark Riggio KC9KSF, Jim Hornbaker KC9FWR, Dave Pearsall KA9YSE, Mark Suhs W9WGN, Hedner Sanches KC9MFQ, and Gene Lalicker KB9NBG. **************************************************************** **In return for meeting space at Grace Lutheran Church in Westchester, the Chicago Suburban Radio Association organized a recycling collectionWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO to assist with the Church's Vacation Bible School. This is another Idea Worth Stealing®. As one of my friends repeatedly said: 'one hand washes the other and both hands wash the face'. ************************************************************ **The Lamoine Emergency ARC provided communications support for the Macomb Heritage Days Parade on 28 June and was thanked for that service by the Parade Committee. ****************************************************************** **Gayland Grant WB9SKB, EC Saline County forwards a snap of the County EMA's Communications Trailer, which was active during the late flooding. Saline County was one of the wetter spots in the Section last month. **************************************************************** **As I begin my second term as your Section Manager, I'd like to thank you all for your support and patience over the last two years. I'm looking forward to continuing the work that we've all started. Thank you for letting me serve you. WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Wisconsin
WISCONSIN: SM: Don Michalski, W9IXG. BWN 3982.5 0500-0715 W9IXG. BEN 3985 1200 WD9FLJ. WSBN 3985 1715-1800 KB9KEG. WNN 3555 1800 KB9ROB. WSSN 3555 1830 N9JIY. WIN-E 3555 1900 WB9ICH. WIN-L 3555 2200 W9UW. (All times are Central time) ** Regretfully, I am informing you of the passing of these Wisconsin Amateurs: -- KB9QZR, Bruce Goetzinger, 52. -- K9DUX, Bill Zastrow, 68. Bill was a member of the ManCoRad ARC. Through a memorial gift to ARRL you can celebrate or honor the life or contributions of a family member or friend for whom Amateur Radio has been a passion. http://www.arrl.org/development/memorial.html#top ** I am pleased to announce that the appointment of Bill Niemuth, KB9ENO, as Assistant Section Manager for Communications Infrastructure. Bill is not only our Section Emergency Coordinator but the leader in developing a statewide voice repeater and digital data network which will be primarily used by ARES/RACES to better serve its clients as well as other general Section communication services. www.wecomm.org/ Congratulations, Bill! ** 2008 Wisconsin QSO Party results are available at this site: http://www.warac.org/wqp/2008/08results.pdf ** W9ZL EAA Airventure 2008 Special Event Station. There is still room for additional operators up at our EAA Special Event Station this year. We have filled the minimum needs for the morning shifts on Thursday the 31st through Saturday the 2nd. Most of the available openings are afternoons on any day of the event. The sooner you sign-up for this event the better your chances of getting behind the microphone and knocking off some contacts. This is a much anticipated event, not only for us, but to many hams across the country who will be trying to contact our station. The EAA has provided many benefits to volunteers in the past and this year will be no different. The EAA loves to have us there and it shows. Last year they had golf shirts, t-shirts, ball caps, rolls, coffee, lunch, free parking, passes into the airshow, and even provided information on how your mileage to the event was tax deductible!! Get signed up early - parking passes and operating positions are limited by the number of stations setup and the operators needed to use them. You can sign up by contacting Jon Oldenburg through the website. Below is the link for all the information you'll need to get your seat at the EAA this year. http://fcarc.us/eaa/eaa.htm Jon Oldenburg, AB9AH EAA Airventure S.E. Coordinator (920) 832-9727 [email protected] ** Field Day Reports Here are some of the Field Day reports I received: > KB9S- Eau Claire ARC @ Expo Center 30 members 20 ARES > NS9Q- Northwoods ARES operated @ New Bold Fire Dept. w/ 12 ARES & 10 guests. > W9JZ- FLARC operating 9A from Badger Prairie Park with: 1 elected official, 16 club members, 6 guest operators, 11 visiting guests. > W9EBV- Fond Du Lac ARC operating from UW FDL campus w/ 15 ARES operators.
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> K9EAM- GB Mike and Key club from Ashwaubomay Park with 15 operators. > K9BTQ- West Allis ARC operated with 1 participants. > KC9IKI- Tri-County ARC and Jefferson ARES operated from Korth Park with 9 operators and 9 ARES members. > W9KHH- operated Class 1B emergency power from Grafton as one ARES member. > AB9ON- Ozaukee Radio Club operated at Lazy Day Campground w/ 17 ARES members > KC9CI- Falls ARC from Washington county humane society. 12 members (5 ARRL); 1 ARES member. GOTA operated by 3 new hams. > KB9BGA- Hidden Valley ARC from UW Platteville.WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO 23 members & guests. 14 ARES members. > K9VSO- Field day was held at Monroe Center with 8 hams attended using K9UJH call. > W9NA- Wisconsin Valley Radio Association Field Day Site had 10 operators; 15 guests at Sunnyvale Park. > KA9VHG- Beloit ARC operated from Janesville with 13 operators and 10 visitors. ** STM Report Wisconsin Section June 2008 FAQ # 83 -- How can I find time to check in to nets, handle traffic, and practice the skills I know are helpful for public service? First, since Ham Radio is a hobby, it often takes a back seat to family, work, and more pressing issues, as it should. Second, in a hobby with so many fascinating aspects, it's hard to allocate time for some of the public service aspects. In many lives, there's barely enough time to read articles like this. So, other than better organization, time management courses, schedules, lists, and calendars with large spaces -- here are some timely suggestions. Concentrate on the efficiency aspect of Ham Radio. I mean it. Write NTS traffic with the fewest words. Pass traffic as quickly and accurately as possible. Then get better at it. Be part of the Badger Weather Net or handle some traffic on CW. Now, there's real efficiency.WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Trying to do the most with the least is a challenge -- but it's time well spent. We value your time, too. This is why net control stations keep things orderly, take frequent stand-bys for check-ins, and avoid monologues. If you have a few minutes, check in with a net. It doesn't have to be on a daily basis. Devote the time you can to learn good procedures. It's a small investment of time with years of returns. 73 -- K9LGU/STM-WI MONTHLY NET ACTIVITY SUMMARY JUNE 2008 NET QNI QTC QTR SSNS NM BWN 2055 2606 4187 30 W9IXG BEN 511 55 1119 30 WD9FLJ WSBN 538 56 956 30 KB9KEG WNN 50 4 160 15 KB9ROB WSSN 115 13 231 23 N9JIY WIN/E 122 28 198 25 WB9ICH WIN/L 113 20 254 30 W9UW WRACES 116 1 251 6 N9VAO WRACES-D 8 1 240 4 KB9MMC TOTALS 3628 2784 7596 193 ** We hope to see you at the EAA Airventure Special Event Station on Friday August 1. Be sure to stop by the ARRL table! 73, Don, W9IXG
Dakota Division
Minnesota
ARRL MINNESOTA SECTION SUMMARY FOR JUNE 2008 +++IMPORTANT HAM EVENT IN ROCHESTER IN AUGUST+++ – http://www.rarexpo.org/ ++SUMMARY FROM YOUR SM ++ The MN section OOC, TC, ARES and Traffic summaries are enclosed below. ++ See the ARRL Section web site for up-to-date information and bulletins. ++ Go to the section website at http://www.mn-section.com for other news. ++ The biggest ham event in Minnesota this year is in Rochester August 8-10. Don’t miss this expo and hamfest. Go to this link http://www.rarexpo.org/ and check it out and register now. Come celebrate the new solar cycle. ++ Please send me your plans for future Amateur Radio Classes. ++ Please submit all items for posting to section webpage to me as well. Respectfully submitted by Skip Jackson, KS0J, MN SM ++MN OOC & TC REPORT SUMMARY FOR JUNE 2008 MN OO reports received from KB0OHI, N0OH, & W3FAF. Respectfully submitted by John H. Thomas III, W3FAF, MN OOC & TC ++MN SEC REPORT SUMMARY FOR JUNE 2008 Total number of ARES members reported: 280 Change since last month: +5 County EC’s reporting: Anoka (KC0KEP), Carver (KBØCQ), Cook (KBØBDN), Itasca (KGØFD), (Redwood (KAØISD), Scott (NØBHC), St. Louis- North (WDØGUF), St. Louis-South (KBØLC), Sherburne (NØJHU), Steele (NØUW), Washington (ABØXE) Local Net Names: Anoka County ARES Net, CCART, River Valley, SEMARC, Scott County, Chisago County, Carver County, Washington County, Fox Valley Monday Night Net, Lac Qui Parle Phone, Lac Qui Parle Packet, Mankato Area Radio Club Emergency Services Net, Marshall Area Emergency Net, Redwood County, Wadena Area Ham Net, Northern Lakes Radio, NE MN Public
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Service, SE St. Louis Emergency Service, Dakota County ARES, Scott County ARES Total sessions: 69 NTS liaison is maintained with the MN Section, Tenth Region, and NTSD Traffic Nets by NØUC, WØLAW Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 16 Person hours: 570 Number of public service events this month: 6 Person hours: 51 Number of emergency operations this month: 11 Person hours: 288 Total number of ARES operations this month: 33 Total Person hours: 909 Additional Notes: Anoka County: Nets 6/11/08 Anoka Co. RACES/ARES 2 M net 6/25/08 Anoka Co. RACES/ARES 2 MWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO net Drills, Tests & Training 6/16/08 Equip Drill/Pre-Field Day (10 Persons x 1 Hours = 10 Person Hours) 6/27/08 ARRL Field Day set up (5 Persons x 5 Hours = 25 Person Hours) 6/28/08 ARRL Field Day (11 Persons x 12 Hours = 132 Person Hours) 6/29/08 ARRL Field Day ( 9 Persons x 15 Hours = 135 Person Hours) RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, MN SEC ++MN STM SUMMARY FOR JUNE 2008 NET FREQ TIME QNI/QTC/SESS MGR ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ MSPN/E 3860 5:30 P WO0A MSPN/N 3860 12:00P K0BLR MSN/1 3605 6:30 P K0WPK MSN/2 3605 9:50 P K0WPK PAW 3925 9A-11AM 1500-1700 KA0IZA MONTHLY STATION ACTIVITY REPORTS (SAR) STATION ORIG. REC'D. SENT DLVD. TOTAL BPL NO.OPS. W3FAF 0 73 85 4 162 W0LAW 0 65 75 3 143 KA0RMP 0 36 52 3 92 K0WPK 0 50 15 2 67 W0HPD 0 14 24 2 38 K0BLR 4 34 1 9 34 KA0IZA 0 24 4 0 25 N0KCM 0 4 8 1 18 WD0GUF 0 5 5 0 10 N0JP 0 1 7 1 9 ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~ PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) STATION 1 2 3 4 5 6 TOTAL ~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~ K0BLRWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO 40 34 10 40 25 149 W0LAW 40 40 20 10 10 120 WD0GUF 40 10 30 80 SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER MONTLY REPORT NETS ABBR. SESS. TFC. NMCALL NTS LIASON ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ MINNESOTA SECTION MSPN/E WO0A MSPN/E C/2 PHONE/NET EVENING 1,339 31 74 1730 LOCAL MINNESOTA SECTION MSPN/N K0BLR PHONE NET/NOON 1200 NOON 498 31 38 MINNESOTA SECTION MSN/1 K0WPK . . . .RN-10, C4 NET (CW) 6:30PM 115 75 27 MINNESOTA SECTION MSN/2 K0WPK . . . .RN-10, C4 NET (CW) 9:50PM 68 10 23 PICONET ALLDAY PAW PICO NET ALL DAY WATCH KA0IZA 2,584 76 36 RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Robert Meyer, W0LAW, MN STM
North Dakota
NORTH DAKOTA: SM, Kent Olson, KAØLDG -Field Day was a big success in ND this year. Six clubs sent in traffic, and I think there may be more out there. Remember to get me your results so I can figure out which club will take home the coveted “ND Top Gun” award. Please pass on your condolences to family and friends of Dean Newton, WBØSWS, of Garrison who passed away recently. It seems that I have had some e-mail problems recently, but it has been cleared up by the ARRL. KAØ[email protected] should work again. The Fargo hams helped out with the American Diabetes Asso. Bike Tour last weekend. Despite the very strong winds, the ride was a success. The RRRA in Fargo is hosting a tailgate hamfest on Sept. 13th. The event will be held at Amour Park in West Fargo and be FREE - All are invited. The event will last most of the day, and include outdoor fun and picnicking (bring your our food). More information will be out shortly, and check out www.rrra.org for specifics. Another hamfest to put on your calendars, is the Dakota Division Convention. The Rochester ARC will be hosting it on August 8-10th, and will be one event you will not want to miss. This will be an event you can bring the whole family to, and all will have fun, so consider making the trip. Check out this website for full information: http://www.rarexpo.org/. Until next month...73!
South Dakota
Here is the section news for South Dakota, if there are any clubs that have material that they wish to have posted please email me [email protected] the information no later than the 5th of the month so that I can get it posted to both the summary and the web site before the cut off date. Hot Springs ARC News Congratulations to Kelly, KDØDLB who earned is Extra Class license the night before Field Day started. Kelly is 15 years old and has been very active on the air. Our club Field Day operation was a big
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success. Thanks to Phil, KAØFUI and lots of helpers, we were able to get our new tower mounted on our trailer and put it into operation for Field Day. It worked great. The county Emergency management allowed us to use their enclosed trailer to operate from. We even had a number of vacationing hams stop to visit us while they were touring the Mammoth Site. Our next project is to begin remodeling the club shack. We hope to have it all ready to use by end of summer. A transmitter hunt is planned for later in August. 73 Tim KØOR South Dakota Section Convention South Dakota Section & Sioux Empire ARC It is official everyoneWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO - September 20th, 2008 is the date - mark the calendar. We have the venue and banquet lined up - and we will have more flea market space (double of last year) as well as double the banquet seating. I would like everyone to email me and let me know what seminars you would like to see or if you would like to put one on that is even better. We are working on vendors and other surprises so keep tuned in and reading. Thanks, Rich, N0PV ARRL South Dakota Section Manager [email protected]
Delta Division
Louisiana
ARRL Louisiana Monthly Summary – June 2008 Gary Stratton K5GLS - Louisiana Section Manager UpcomingWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Fests – Ozone Amateur Radio Club; Saturday July 19, Slidell City Auditorium. WCLARC; Saturday August 9, First United Methodist Church in Leesville. Special Events on USS KIDD W5KID - Russ Allor N5ADF reports… A special event station for Memorial Day was held on May 26, 2008. The traffic was steady all day long which ended with approximately 200 contacts. We were able to operate 2 stations. The main operating room was using 20 meters SSB and the temporary station in the crews mess used 40 meters for CW. As expected, both bands were in and out but they got us through a successful. Veteran hams gave expressions of gratitude for our effort. Participants were: Buddy Brown N5BUD, Meghan Radtke KC7MOC, Ava Berthelot KE5UQE, David Assaf W5XU, Wayne Matherne N5YFC, Russ Allor N5ADF, and Mike Nolan KD5MLD, Jerry Hunt W5QJD. On June 7 and 8 we participated in the annual Museum Ships on the Air event. Museum ships worldwide participate and it was a pileup heaven. With a few breaks, including one for lunch, we had continuous contacts on both Saturday and Sunday. Most of the contacts were single side band but there were some CW contacts on 40 meters. The total number exceeded 400. Some of the other ships contacted were the Queen Mary, the Lexington, and battleships Alabama and Texas. Many of the check-ins had visited the Kidd at one time and were complimentary to its authenticity. Museum ships crew: Russ Allor N5ADF, Meghan Radtke KC7MOC, Jerry Hunt W5AJD, Wayne Matherne N5YFC, Jim Giammanco N5IB, Buddy Brown N5BUD, Chris Faulk KE5USY, Dana Browne AD5VC, Clyde Willis KE5UQD, Matt Anderson KD5KNZ, and Wayne Gordon K5DF. Field Day Reports – Please get your Field Day 2008 entries into HQ and to me for the Louisiana Section Field Day Awards as quickly as possible so that results can be tallied. New Section Field Organization Appointments – The following are recent appointments made in the Section Field Organization: John N LeBlanc, KE5JZM, EC St. James Parish Mark A Blanton, WC5M, ORS Delta Division MOU Update – The Delta Division Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been updated and signed by the Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee Section Managers. It is now posted on the Louisiana Section website http://www.laarrl.org. EC Reports Received – Acadia/N5NVP, Allen/W5ELM, Ascenson/KD5NVE, Avoyelles/KD5IGG, Beauregard/W5MVP, Bienville/KD5JJP, Caddo Bossier/KG5YK, Calcasieu/WA5OZA, Cameron/W5JFW, Claiborne/KD5JJP, Concordia/N5AVN, Lafayette/WA5TNK, Livingston/W5RR, Orleans/NO5FD, Ouachita/W5DSG, Rapides/KD5DFL, Richland/N5MEL, Sabine/WD5CQG, St. Charles/K5CFJ, St. Helina/AI5B, St. James/KE5JZM, St. John/AD5XJ, St. Mary/KA5LMZ, Terrebonne/AD5XJ, Vermillion/KE5JXC, Vernon/WB5LHD, Washington/AI5B. Local/district net reports - Sessions/Check-ins/Minutes. Acadia Parish ARES Net: 10/59/300. Allen Parish ARES Net: 5/5/5. Ascension Parish ARES Net: 4/86/120. Caddo/Bossier Parish ARES Net: 4/65/90. Caddo/Bossier ARES Net: 4/65. Calcasieu Parish ARES Net: 2/12/30. Orleans Parish ARES Net: 4/51/15. Ouachita Parish ARES Net: 5/91/56. Rapides Parish ARES
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Net: 5/64/75. Richland Parish ARES Net: 5/35/37. St. Charles Parish ARES Net: 1/12/60. St. Mary Parish ARES Net: 5/39/58. Terrebonne Parish ARES Net: 4/4/24. Vermillion Parish ARES Net: 4/28/59. Vernon Parish ARES Net: 5/104/60. Washington Parish ARES Net: 5/60/100. Louisiana ARES Net – Sessions 5, Checkins 100, Minutes 125 Louisiana ARES Statistics – Members 460, Drills 77, Public Service Events 5, Emergency Operations 2 Traffic Reports – NET SESS QNI QTC QTR La. Tfc. Net 30 532 44 322 La. CW Net 60 304 69 370 La. Slow Net 9 21 5 52 Call PSHR # TFC # N5NVP 245 71 WD5TL 135 145WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO W5HUD 125 N5MEL 119 W5PY 115 45 WC5M 101 39 K5MC 84 29 AE5V 48 Other Reports Received – ACC Jim Bookter N5NVP. From Jim… There are 34 Active Affiliated Clubs and 22 Inactive Affiliated Clubs in the state of Louisiana. Ten of the Active Affiliated Clubs are also Special Service Clubs (SSC). Pet Peeves – A new section to the Summary will be added next month… Pet Peeves (At the request of several ARES members). This gives you a chance to air your pet peeves about common and poor operating habits during EMCOMM, Traffic Handling, etc. No personal attacks… It will be edited and reported anonymously. Send your peeves to me at [email protected]. Silent Key – Sadly we report that Roland Mathewes KC5EFG of Ruston and Richard Lea NZ5S of Shreveport (Caddo/Bossier EC) are SK.
Mississippi
SM: MalcolmWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Keown, W5XX. Mississippi Section Web Page at arrlmiss.org. Web Master NW5R at [email protected]. NM: WB5ZED, K5NRK, KB5W, K5DSG, W3TWD, K5MIQ, and KA2KMU. The Gulf Coast and Southeast Mississippi ARES Districts conducted a hurricane preparedness and response planning meeting at Wiggins on June 20. Organized by Asst. DEC N5UDK and moderated by DEC W4WLF, the topics covered included the Mississippi Emergency Communications Response Plan (W5XX), MEMA and RACES (AB5WF), Winlink/Outpost (WB5BNV), Serving Your EOC and Grants (N5ELI), VHF Link to Jackson (K5GVR), D-Star Update (W4WLF), MT63 and Traffic (K5DMC), Hospital Stations Update (K5XXV and N5UDK), APRS and Echolink VOIP Hurricane Net (N5UDK). With some 25 hams in attendance the following District counties were represented: Forrest, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Lamar, Pearl River, and Stone. This was an excellent opportunity for information exchange. Hopefully others ARES districts will hold similar planning meetings. Depending where you were in Mississippi during Field Day, you were either cussing or discussing the weather. North of I-20 the weather was 'generally' pleasant, but along and South of I-20 the weather gods served up plenty of rain and lightening. In spite of sometimes rough weather and lousy band conditions, most Field Day participants enjoyed plenty of fun, food, and fellowship. As of this writing those clubs up and running for Field Day were the Alcorn County ARES (W4TX), the Delta ARA (N5PS), the Central Mississippi ARA (WM5A), the Hattiesburg ARC (K5PN), the Jackson ARC (W5PFC), the Lowndes County ARC (KC5ULN), the Magnolia DX Association (K5MDX), the Meridian ARC (W5FQ), the Mississippi Coast ARA (W5SGL), the Northeast Mississippi ARC (W5NEM), the Olive Branch ARC (W5OBM), the Pearl River ARC (K5PRC), the Southwest Mississippi ARC (W5WQ), the Starkville ARC (AA5MT), the Sundancer ARC (KD5YBU), the Tippah County ARA (K5DGL), the Tishomingo County ARA (W5TCR), the Tupelo ARC (KK5K), the University of Mississippi ARC (W5UMS), and the Vicksburg ARC (K5ZRO). Media coverage was great. As the result of Governor Barbour signing a proclamation proclaiming June 22-29 as Amateur Radio Week in Mississippi, several newspaper articles were published based on the Proclamation and additional info provided by local hams (Thanks to AK5J for coordinating the Proclamation). In addition, several TV stations visited Field Day Sites for interviews including WCBI at the Northeast Mississippi ARC site, WLOX at the Pearl River ARC site, WJTV and WAPT at the Central Mississippi ARC site, and WLBT and WJTV at the Jackson ARC Site. WD2XSH/6 (W5THT) continues to conduct weekly daytime ground wave tests with volunteer reporters as well as the nightly ARRL-sponsored 600 meter tests. As of the end of June 2008 the home-brew 811 rig and flat top antenna have been on the air over 3300 hours. Pat says 600-meter reports are always welcome! Welcome to the following new Mississippi Hams: KE5UXE -- Gilda, Blue Mountain; KE5VAF, Marshall -- Kiln; KE5VAG, Anthony -- Biloxi; KE5VAH, David -- Saucier; KE5VBR,
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Darrell - Tupelo; KE5VBS, Matt -- Tupelo; KE5VBT, Justin -- Okolona; KE5VCC, Patrick -- Ocean Springs; KE5VEB, Thomas -- Cleveland; KE5VFK, Morgan -- Tishomingo; KE5VGE -- Larry, Blue Mountain; KE5VGO -- William, Nesbit; KE5VAG, Anthony -- Biloxi; KE5VIB, Jennifer -- Meridian; KE5VID, Ricky -- Kosciusko; KE5VIE, Jared -- Meridian; KE5VIF, Charles -- Laurel; KE5VIG, John - - Oxford; KE5VIH, Frederick -- Water Valley; KE5VII, James -- Oxford; KE5VIJ, Susan -- Oxford; and KE5VIU, Kristopher -- Clinton. Congratulations to the following on their upgrades: KE5IZE -- Crystal Springs; KD5NXDWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO -- Oxford; KE5OPL - Hernando; KE5OVP -- Amory; KE5RDP -- Water Valley; KE5RDQ -- Oxford; KE5RXN -- Golden; KE5UBW -- Madison; KE5ULT -- Gulfport; W5VXG -- Jackson; and KB5ZDZ -- Kosciusko. Also congratulations to W5GED and K5YG on having their article entitled 'Zone 2 in 2007' published in the DX Magazine. And to KY5U, who got his picture in the Dallas Morning News as the result of a radio interview at Ham-Com 2008. From the DX Corner K2FF reports that kudos are in order for W5UE, who is QSL Manager for HC8N. A recent activity survey from the Logbook of the World indicates that HC8N is the most active DX Station particularly in contests. Welcome to the following new ARRL Members: KJ4BW -- Madison; W7FUS -- Poplarville; KE5MQL -- Iuka; KE5MVX -- Gulfport; KB5OAT -- Long Beach; KE5RRT -- Long Beach; AC5Q -- Florence; KE5TAZ - Coldwater; KE5TPQ -- Hernando; KE5UQS -- Brandon; KE5UXD -- Brandon; KE5VAF -- Kiln; KE5VCC -- Ocean Springs; and K5XXV -- Gulfport. The Section Membership is now 995. Keep Pushing! Newsletter/Club Reports: Hattiesburg ARC (AC5E), Itawamba County ARC (KB5NMB), Jackson WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.ROARC (K5XU), Meridian ARC (W5MAV), Pearl River ARC (N5WLW), and the Vicksburg ARC (W5WAF). DEC/EC Monthly Reports: WB5CON (NE MS/Alcorn), KC5EAK (Pearl River), WB5GUD (Newton), KD5GWM (Lauderdale/Clarke), WX5N (Tishomingo/Prentiss), N5TBB (Tippah), and N5ZNT (SW MS). May Report: N5ZNT (SW MS). Regret to report the passing of W5UUG of Biloxi and KD5UF of Raymond. Net Reports: Session/QNI/QTC (Net Manager) DRN5 60/MS 100% rep by W5XX, WB5ZED, W5MLO, WA5FB (WB5ZED) MSPN 30/2906/16 (K5NRK) MS Traffic Net 30/127/1 (KB5W) MS Slow Net 21/45/0 (W3TWD) MS Baptist Hams Net 5/42/1 (WF5F) Stone County ARES Net 5/69/0 (N5UDK) MLEN 5/36/2 (K5NRK) Monroe County ARC 5/41/0 (AD5DO) Alcorn County ARES 5/63/0 (WB5CON) Tishomingo County ARES 4/104/5 (WX5N) Meridian AEN 4/34/0 (KD5GWM) Itawamba County ARES 4/42/2 (KB5NMB) Newton County ARES 4/21/0 (WB5GUD) Magnolia DX Assc 4/58/0 (N5FG) South MS YL Net 4/69/0 (KB5CSQ) Lowndes County ARC 4/36/0 (AD5DO) Pearl River ARES 4/47/0 (KC5EAK) MS Coast ARA 4/45/0 (KA2KMU) UMISS ARC 4/32/1 (W5MPC) MCARA Net 4/45/0 (KA2KMU) NE MS ARES 3/49/0 (W5LMW) SW MS ARES 3/30/0 (N5ZNT); May Report 4/37/0. Late Report (May): Hattiesburg AEN 4/117/0 PSHR (minimum 70): WB5ZED 150 and W5XX 98. Traffic: WB5ZED 3987(BPL), WA5FB 27, and W5XX 12. Compilation of Net and Traffic statistics provided by KB5RCJ.
Great Lakes Division
Michigan
Greetings Michigan Amateurs: While your SM takes a little vacation time, our guest host for this month's Section News is SEC/STM John WB8RCR. Thank you John for talking the additional time to compile this material. I'll also take time to thank the various Field Day groups who sent messages to your SM during the event. I received messages that were originated/sent from the following stations: W8UM, K8AMR, W8VY, W8KEA, KB8TNN, KC8RTW, KT8K, K8TXW, K8GC, W8PI, KC8RQI, N8YJT, N8SE, KD8DMJU, KD8CPX, W8GCW, W8TNO, K8NWD, N8LC, W8MRM, K8SB, KA8NCR. 73, Dale WA8EFK The month was a busy one from many perspectives. Of course there was Field Day, always a big event, and many clubs had efforts large and small. I was only able to visit two sites, but still it was good to see all the different ways of approaching the problem. If you had something especially interesting, let me know. If you have pictures, we might even add them to the pictures page on the ARPSC site. Yes, I know I’m already behind on the pictures I already have. One particular installation that I –do- have a picture of, and will post soon, was N8XD’s mobile PSK station. Very
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professional and very slick. June is also the spot on the calendar for all nature of public service events. Unfortunately, Dale and I don’t always hear about these things. Be sure your PIO remembers to include Dale and I in the notices. We had quite a lot of SKYWARN activity last month, as evidenced by the large number of hours reported by the programs in the Section. Part of it was of course due to quite a bit of bad weather. But I think more programs activated their SKYWARN nets than usual. One reason for this is that NWS/DTX has offered to page ECs when they suspect bad weather, and many ECs have taken advantage ofWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO this. Each county checks into the MICON net, and when a county is at risk and doesn’t check in, KB8VNI and his folks at the NWS office have tracked down people to get the net started. While this might be emulated at some of the other NWS offices, keep in mind that the four Michigan offices actually have quite different problems, and the same solutions might not work for all. The Annual Section Outing at Lupton is now over, and as usual, a good time was had by all. The idea to bring antenna launchers for a show and tell was a good one (I think it was N8ZE’s inspiration). There of course followed an informal competition between the various Rube Goldberg devices. Great fun, and educational as well as entertaining. KC8ITI showed a portable homebrew crank-up mast that also attracted a lot of interest. Santa was there in his summer uniform, and of course, many folks enjoyed the sing along at the campfire. A lot has been happening up north. We have new ECs for Luce, Baraga and Schoolcraft counties (KC8QZG, KG8NK and KD8DBF respectively), and hamgate.menominee is now on the air. We expect to see hamgate.mackinac shortly, so we now have a real digital presence in the Upper Peninsula.WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO WA8OOH and W9JTL are going to represent D8 on the DRG. Yesterday I went to the quarterly state agency meeting, always a good meeting but this month was especially interesting. Many agencies, some you might not expect, spent quite a bit of time as a result of last month’s weather. There are a lot of large exercises coming up, and we are frequently being expected to participate at a level we haven’t been asked to in the past. We also had a rather detailed explanation of the steps a nuclear power plant goes through when an unusual event occurs. This was in preparation for the Palisades exercise later this year. Another interesting development; FEMA is requiring all nuclear plants to hold exercises evaluating how well they can re-take the plant in case it has been taken over by terrorists. D.C. Cook is having such an exercise this year. Some upcoming exercises • 7/31 – D.C. Cook tour for hostile action drill • 8/4 – Genesee distribution • 8/6 – Livingston distribution • 8/25 – Lansing Foot & Mouth • 9/9 – Upper D7 & Eastern D8 “Dire Straits” • 9/16 – Palisades (drills 8/13 & 9/3) • 9/18 – Auburn Hills UASI Regional response • 9/24 – Bay Region III • 9/25 – Lansing CARO08 • 10/1 – D.C. Cook Hostile action exercise As you can see, there is no lack of things to do in the upcoming months. I am beginning to work with the DECs on planning for SET. This year at the EC meeting we decided that we would use these drills wherever possible. For those counties that have no major drills or exercises in the appropriate time frame, we will arrange something for September 27, a week early to avoid bow season. The ECs asked that NTS organize in an “ICS-like” fashion for SET. We are trying to figure out how to respond to that. SARs for June, 2008: WB9JSR 626, AC8AR 516, K8LJG 269, K8KV 166, AB8SY 164, KC8MLD 125, KD8ADD 115, K8RDN 102, K8AMR 94, KD8HPF 71, K8AE 66, AB8WF 61, W8RNQ 50, WB8RCR 49, K8VFZ 29, KD8FNN 28, KC8NTE 13, WD8USA 13, KC8BMV 8, AC8AL 6, WA8OOH 5, KC8ZGB 2. BPL qualifiers: WB9JSR, AC8AR, K8LJG. PSHRs for June, 2008: KC8NTE 479, AC8AL 410, WB8RCR 304, WD8USA 282, AC8AR 200, WU8Y 163, K8MFK 155, WB9JSR 150, K8AMR 145, K8RDN 144, AB8SY 115, K8AE 82, K8KV 80, K8VFZ 79, W8QOI 54, KD8FNN 42, KD8HPF 40. OES reports from K8COP, KC8NTE and W8QOI. Michigan nets reporting for June (in order of traffic count): MITN, MVTN, QMN, MACS, GLETN, SEMTN, TMMTN, NLEUP, KCARPSC, MI-ARPSC, NMARES, Hiawatha, KCRC, Chelsea ARC. Michigan ARES programs reported over fifteen thousand hours for June. I thank Dale for the opportunity to share what’s happening in my corner of the world. Until next month, stay safe. 73 de WB8RCR
Midwest Division
Kansas
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KANSAS IS GREAT IN 2008 ! Kansas Section News Summary- June 2008 Silent Keys: WØJRW - Jack R. Wood, Abilene (formerly KB0LWE) KCØTIG – Edward C. Thomas, Kansas City WØBMR - Denys Fredrickson, Wichita, October 07 ______Field Day 2008 is in the log. From what I have seen and heard it was a very successful year. WØAIB- Larry, our Public Information Coordinator has received media reports from most of the groups that set up for FD this year. Some were Web stories and others in ink and paper. Newton and Hutchinson obtained pre- event radio spots. JohnsonWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO County RAC had a first this year. The Kansas City Star covered their Shawnee Indian Mission Museum site. Even the OTs don't remember that happening before. All this is the result of your hard work. Don’t stop here. When your club schedules classes, holds officer elections or participates in an exercise (particularly with emergency management or other county agency) write it up and send it to the paper. In the past I wrote up the picnic. It made the weekly paper. Hutchinson operated in the Reno Co. command trailer on the West side of town. Zack –WØZC smoked up a brisket and some pork for the bunch. Newton set up shop at a Hesston College cabin West of Newton. It’s good that they put up signs at the turns because I would have missed it for sure. The Boeing Bears and the Wichita ARC went together this time. They told me it worked out very well. There was some bad WX Friday and again Saturday morning. McPherson decided not to set up and Chanute was barely on the air. Those things happen to all of us at some time. See the Field Day pictures on the KSN page ______WA5FLV EC for Neosho and Labette CountiesWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO reports on Special Event: CAARC participated in the Elks Kids Fishing Tournament at Elks Lake south of Chanute. First time to officially deploy my emergency trailer. Set up VHF/UHF, HF SSB and HF digital. Windy cool day and it had rained but there was a good bunch of kids and parents. A few stopped by to look and ask questions. We can only hope someone saw something that will make them want to know more. ______From SECTION EMERGENCY COORDINATOR KANSAS Field Day is over. It appears a number of clubs and other groups did participate. With messages going to either KB0DTI or K0BXF, we do not have a complete total on the exact amount of activity. 14 ARES Zones reporting activity for the month of May 08 for a total of 503 members now registered in the state ARES program. A drop in the bucket when you consider over 7000 hams registered. However, 101 net sessions later we had 754 check-ins and 75 messages handled. RACES net showed 11 counties, Mitchell, Phillips, Riley, Sedgwick, Montgomery, Butler, Wyandotte, Marshall, Saline Linn and Shawnee active. How about you checking into the net 1st Thursday of the month at 7PM on 3940 and represent your county. make WD0DMV smile. QCWA had 5 sessions with 47 QNI. N0LL reporting. Army MARS, Kansas showed 563 on the air hours with 1232 messages originated. ARES Zones showing activity totals this month were 1B, 1C, 1G, 2A, 3E, 3F, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4G, 4I, 5B, 6E and 6F. If your zone report does not show in those numbers, then how about a hand out there guys and gals? Keep on Keepin' Bob Summers K0BXF ARRL SEC KS ______Newsletters received: Feed Back, Grounded Grid, QNU H.A.R.C. , QRZ, QSP, Trojan Harmonic ______May. Sessions/QNI/QTC/Mgr: KSBN/ 31/756/ 48 N0KFS KPN/22 / 351 / 21/ N0KFS KMWN/31/ 743 / 602/WB0YWZ KWN/31/ 717 / 499/ WB0YWZ CSTN 27/1594 /54 N0BFB QKS/ 37 / 85/28 NB0Z QKS-SS / 4 / 10/ 0 KB0DTI Traffic: NB0Z 58 KC0MRJ 36 K0BXF 19 KB0DTI 14 W0OYH 13 N0ZIZ 6 ______Misc. Reports: WN8P - Technical Specialist See KSN on ARRL and more Kansas news: http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=KS
Missouri
JULY 2008 MISSOURI SECTION NEWS DALE BAGLEY, KØKY MO SM The large number of MO Section stations that were participating in Field Day 2008 was quite impressive. Although many of these stations couldn’t be heard from my Field Day site, all one had to do was listened to the many “2A MO or the like” responses from Amateurs in Ohio, Indiana, and all over the U.S. and you would quickly realize there was a lot of MO activity. Many of those Field Day sites sent a Field Day message to the
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Section Manager via the various the MO Traffic nets. I also received 3 Field Day messages over winlink. I want to thank Dale Huffington, AEØS, for the top notch job he did on the SSB net. I was unable to copy the MO CW net, but I’m sure that the Net Control there also did a great job. Don Moore, KMØR, President of the Missouri Repeater Council reports that the MRC annual meeting will be held at the Washington Hamfest on July 20th at 9am, hopefully early enough to beat the heat. Don has confirmed with Jim Glasscock, W0FF that the MRC will be able to meet there. Jim, WØFF, will have a place for us althoughWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO it will very likely not be inside. He mentioned the area outside the food vending area where he would provide us chairs or perhaps an area under the shelter. Unfortunately, the indoor area is not available for our use. Clubs and individuals that have repeaters need to attend if possible. JULY 2008 HAMFESTS Finally…July is here and there are some MO Section Hamfests to attend. I have a suggestion for those that are looking at $4.00 gas and thinking about not making the drive. Why not car pool to the Hamfests and the money you save will probably be enough to enjoy a pizza or sandwich on the way home. Now let’s see $4.00/gallon divided by 4 that would be like having $1.00/gallon gas. What a great deal. Hope to see you in Warrensburg and Washington. The Warrensburg HamFest is sponsored by the Warrensburg Area Amateur Radio Club http://www.waarci.org on July 19, 2008 at the Johnson County Fairgrounds on Hwy 50 west of Warrensburg, MO. If you want to get a table or find out more about the Hamfest contact Keith B. Raihala, NØVJ, 457 NW 501st Road Warrensburg, MO 64093 Phone Kieth at 660-422-7273 or e-mail him at [email protected] The Hamfest Talk-In WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.ROwill be: 146.880- (PL 107.2) The ZeroBeaters ARC Hamfest will be in Hillerman Park on Grand Avenue in Washington, MO on July 20, 2008. For more info you can check out their website at http://www.wa0fya.org or contact Jim Glasscock, WØFF 8300 Whiskey Creek Road Union, MO 63084 or phone Jim at 636-584-8888 Email Jim at [email protected] When you come to the Hamfest use the Talk-In on 147.240 AUGUST 2008 HAMFESTS The St. Charles Amateur Radio Club will host their Hamfest on August 3, 2008 at the St. Charles MO American Legion Hall 2500 Raymond Drive. For more information about this outstanding Hamfest contact David Livingston, WBØRAB 280 Diekemp Lane St. Charles, MO 63303-5138 or Phone 314-973-0783 or E-mail [email protected] . You can also check out the SCARC web site at http://www.wb0hsi.org . The Joplin Hamfest will be held August 22nd and 23rd at the John Q Hammons Convention Center 3535 Hammons Blvd. in Joplin, MO. For more information contact Jim Johannes, NØZSQ, c/o JARC P.O. Box 2983 Joplin, MO 64803- 2983 or by Phone: 417-781-2211 Fax: 417-781-2234 Email: [email protected] . Another way you can learn about the Hamfest is the JARC website http://www.joplin-arc.org AFFILIATED CLUB NEWS KEITH HAYE, WEØG, ACC Kent Tremble, K9ZTV, President of the Mid-MO ARC reported recently that Tom Hammond NØSS, has undergone 6 hours of surgery needed to deal with bladder tumors. According to Jeri, Tom’s XYL, the surgery went well and he will be recovering at home. Kent is sure get-well emails to Tom’s email address ([email protected]) would not be out of line. We all wish Tom a speedy recovery. The Mississippi Valley DX and Contest Club’s George Mackus, ABØRX, received his first place certificate from the 2007 June ARRL VHF/UHF contest. George reports “I knew where I had placed in the contest and was not expecting it at all. It turns out I was single operator low power winner in Missouri on the 222 MHz band. The funny part about it was that I had never worked the 222MHZ band before." KC Northland Amateur Radio Emergency Service is a volunteer agency consisting of trained storm spotters and communicators. They assist both Clay and Platte County Offices of Emergency Management, as well as municipalities throughout the two county area. Michael Johnson, NØVX, reports that beginning Sunday, July 13th, Northland ARES will conduct a weekly PSK31 net. The net will take check-ins and list any items of interest to the group just like the weekly voice net. The net will also serve as practice and training for members interested in working PSK31. The net will begin at 8:00 pm, 2000 hrs local time. Tune to 145.79 FM. Ed Brockelmeyer, KØEB, Pres. Of the Macon Area Repeater Council has began a 2-meter Code Practice session for those wanting to learn or upgrade their code proficiency. The practice starts at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday evenings and ends be fore the Macon County ARES net which begins at 8:30 p.m. Ed has planned a program on the construction of Homebrew Duplexers that he will present at the Warrensburg Hamfest on July 19th at 9:00 a.m. He will bring duplexers to demonstrate their construction and tuning. I want to express my congratulations to
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Keith Little, NØTY, for the great job he has done editing the St. Charles Amateur Radio Club newsletter the Garble. Keith is stepping down from the task of editing the “Garble” after three years of producing one of the best newsletter in the MO Section. He took on the job from former “Garble” Editor Craig Bennett NØIIM, who also did an outstanding job. I hope that the SCARC is able to get a new editor in the near future. SECTION ARES REPORT FOR JUNE 2008 DON MOORE, KMØR SEC Total # of ARES members: 661 Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 87 Man hours: 657 Number of public WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROservice events this month: 27 Man hours: 558 Number of emergency operations this month: 8 Man hours: 241 Total number of ARES operations this month: 122 Total Man hours: 1456 SECTION TRAFFIC REPORTS JUNE 2008 DALE HUFFINGTON, AEØS, MON-CW Sessions 54 QNI 92 QTC 31 NM K9ZTV MO Phone Sessions 30 QNI 1952 QTC 161 NM KØRWL MESN Sessions 6 QNI 201 QTC 5 NM AEØS Audrain Co AARC Sessions 5 QNI 34 QTC 0 NM KBØKWC Callaway CARL Sessions 3 QNI 48 QTC 0 NM WBØHKN Boone Co Sessions 4 QNI 82 QTC 1 NM WMØH Howell HCARC Sessions 3 QNI 13 QTC 0 NM KØRWL Jackson Co ARES Sessions 7 QNI 62 QTC 0 NM KØUAA CSRC Wellsville Sessions 3 QNI 15 QTC 0 NM KCØYNE Macon Co Sessions 4 QNI 32 QTC 0 NM KØKY Rolla RRARS Sessions 29 QNI 303 QTC 10 NM KB9ZBO St Louis CO ARC Sessions 12 QNI 82 QTC 25 NM KBØH Sullivan ARC Sessions 9 QNI 95 QTC 4 NM KBØROX Taney Co TLARC Sessions 1 QNI 6 QTC 687 NM KBØOFD WAARCI Sessions 5 QNI 122 QTC 0 NM WBØTOM 10th Reg Sessions 58 QNI QTC 125 MO 88% with W7FB, KCØM, NDØN, K9ZTV,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO WØSJS NM WØSS
New England Division
Connecticut
Section Leadership: K1EIC SM; ASMs: K1STM, KD1YV, W1FXQ, NK1J; OOC K1DFS; PIC KA1TCH; SEC K1BRF; ASEC N1FNE; SGL K1MK; STM K1HEJ; TC N1KHB. Wow—what a summer! We started off with some great hamfests, then field day with fine weather, lots of Sky Warn activity as well as a few significant ARES drills in Westbrook including the shoreline towns the Shoreline and in Danbury, a big special event effort coming up which I’ll tell you about, the RASJON Hamfest August 9 the great Boxboro Hamfest August 23-24 and then Labor Day weekend! And not far away we have the Western CT Hamfest in mid September followed by SET and the State Convention in October. Summer is usually quiet but this season certainly is busy both on the Amateur radio front and personally for your SM. Actually, I’m doing quite a bit of travel this summer. I recently attended the annual Convention of the American Council of the Blind in Louisville where, among other things, I heard an absolutely fascinating talk by Jean Parker, KC0HKB who spoke about her experiences as a visually impaired woman writing and producing news stories from India for networks including NPR! It was my impression that she did some significant Amateur radio communicating during the days of the Tsunami. If you’re interested in listening to her talk, write to me and I’ll send you the link—you’ll have to scroll through some of the material though. I was fascinated listening to what she had to say. For example, if one is a professional person in India, there are real advantages for those who don’t see because professional people are expected to have several assistants. It is also common for people to share rides because not everyone drives. The other session I want to tell you about is of course the one with radio Amateurs! We heard a demo of the W4MQ Web Transceiver http://www.w4mq.com using the screen reading program that gives speech output that many of us use. I had played with it a bit here so this was especially interesting for me. On the home front, there is an exciting special event coming up August 2 and 3. Using the call N9N, Navy MARS ops in CT and Southern New England will operate from the Submarine Force Library and Museum in Groton. The event will commemorate the 50th anniversary of The USS Nautilus reaching the North Pole that same weekend in 1958. It is sponsored by The Southern New England Navy Marine- Corps Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) with local coordinator Chuck K1DFS, The Submarine Amateur Radio Club (K1SSN), and Don Keith, N4KC who is co-author of the book to be published soon entitled The Ice Diaries, the previously untold story of
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USS Nautilus and her historic trip to the North Pole in August, 1958. The station will operate from Groton, near the Submarine Force Library and Museum located at the end of Crystal Lake Road off Rt. 12. This location is close to where the historic ship Nautilus was located. The event is really special because it commemorates the 50th anniversary of the USS Nautilus becoming the first vessel in history to reach the North Pole August 3, 1958. The station will use the specially-issued call sign of N9N, recalling "Nautilus 90 North," the message sent to President Dwight Eisenhower as soon as the ship emerged from beneathWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO the ice pack after successfully crossing the top of the world from Pacific to Atlantic. The North Pole is at 90 degrees north latitude. Primary frequencies: 7.279 SSB, 14.243 SSB, 14.343 SSB, and other frequencies and modes depending on the demand. All amateurs are welcome to stop by each day 9:00am to 5:00pm and say hello. Operators are especially needed both days between 9am and 5pm. Contact George N1RMF [email protected] for details on this aspect of the event. Bring your FCC license of course. Above all, be sure to listen and work N9N on the air August 2 and 3; they will be operational beginning Saturday 0900 continuously until Sunday midnight. Ops who plan to operate all weekend are: K1DFS, n1rmf w1loz n1jgr ka1lad, And N4KC, Send QSL info with SASE to N4KC for a special commemorative QSL card and more info on the Nautilus Mission to the North Pole. Just think: one lucky op will make contact at 11:15 p.m. Sunday evening August 3, the precise moment when the Nautilus reached the North Pole 50 years ago. Read about N4KC at http://www.n4kc.com and see August QST for info. An interview with him on WDRC radio is scheduledWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO for Thursday, August 31 between 9 and 9:30am. Our Governor has proclaimed August 3, 2008 North Pole Crossing Day in the State of CT in recognition of the USS Nautilus. The full text of the proclamation will be on the Section Page http://ct.arrl.org soon. Your SM is a Navy MARS member with the call NNN0EBP but unfortunately will be out of the area at that time. I will arrange for alerts to be put up on the Web about this important and exciting event. OOC Chuck K1DFS and other members of ICRC are also Navy MARS members—we have several in the Section. Warm congratulations on this effort—I wish you every bit of success; I’m just sorry I cannot be with you. The RASON Hamfest is coming up August 9. It will be held at the Gales Ferry Firehouse from 7:30-12:30—don’t miss it! Go to http://www.rason.org for Hamfest flier and full information. Don W1FYG, president of The very recently reactivated Shoreline ARC coordinated the Amateur radio operation for the ARES drill that took place in Westbrook and encompassed many of the Shoreline towns. It was gratifying to hear so many people check in—I had just returned from my trip. Just last weekend, EC Oscar coordinated a 3- hour exercise in Danbury that involved operators throughout the Section. Many Section EOCs were open and ops from other Sections participated on the air as well. They had approximately 225 contacts on several modes with 120 different stations! Excellent work! Many thanks to Media and Public Relations Manager Allen W1AGP for the State-wide news release. See you next month.
Eastern Massachusetts
For news and communications, visit our official ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Web page. You’ll find direct contact information with all areas and services. Please, at the same time, notify the Eastern Massachusetts Section Staff of your news so as to keep us abreast of all your needs. FIELD DAY: This year was excellent. We tried to cover 10 locations (nearly 500 miles). Everyone was GREAT, and I thank you all for your on going support and efforts. Every one of the clubs and organizations did a fabulous job (NASOBA VALLEY, MITRE SITES, NORTH SHORE, and so many more) with their beautiful and impressive towers and antenna fields! I am sorry not to get to everyone on Field Day, but there are only so many hours to do it in. In the months to come, I hope you will invite me to speak at your organizations. Please allow plenty of time for planning, so I can be available. Oh, yes, I am an OES, and also am active on most bands operating. As of July 19th thru the 27th, it is VACATION TIME!! So we are just getting ready to pack up for the week. Thanks to my neighbor who is a state police officer as well as others. They will be staying here on the property for us. 73 Art Greenberg (K1GBX) E.MA.SM Good Air Waves all
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Rhode Island
Greetings fellow Rhode Islanders: Another Field Day is now in our record books. From what I can gather, everyone who took part here in Rhode Island had an enjoyable time. I didn’t hear from every group that participated but bands, weather, interest and good food was favorable everywhere so it’s safe to assume that Field Day 2008 may be recorded as a winning event. Congratulations to all who took part and start planning WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROfor FD 2009 while your thoughts are fresh. The annual Flea Market and Auction that benefits RIFMRS, the owner of the 146.76 repeater and others will be held on September 20th at the VFW Post in Forestdale. Flea set-up starts at 8AM. Contact Rick, K1KYI at 401-864-9611 for table space. Getting there may be a challenge; however, since the School St bridge over Rt 146 is being rebuilt on a ridiculously slow schedule. At its current pace, I may be a Silent Key before Flea Market patrons and BVARC VE session folks are able to travel over that bridge to reach the VFW or the Slatersville Church. As an alternate route, plan on taking the regular Forestdale exit off Rt 146. Turn left at the traffic light and stay on local Rt 102 for about a quarter mile. Take Green St on your left, just after the Halliwell School. That will bring you to Slatersville Common. VE exams are given in the Congregational Church. Take a left at the common and proceed down School St. to get to the Flea Market. The VFW Post is on your left a short distance down from the church. Please try to attend the ’76 Flea and Auction. It’s the closest event we have to a genuine RI hamfest. Speaking of hamfests, don’t forgetWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO the Boxboro NE Convention on August 22 through the 24th. Lots more information may be found at http://boxboro.org/. Although General Admission and Flea Market Vendor tickets may be purchased at the door, you may avoid long lines by purchasing them on-line. Also, please note that due to catering requirements, dinner tickets MUST be purchased in advanced. Go to the website and follow the procedure. In any event, try to get to Boxboro. There are lots of things to see, forums on a wide variety of ham radio topics and lots of nice raffle prizes awarded to attendees. Many of us cannot get to the big Dayton, Ohio Hamvention in April. Boxboro is our chance to see much of the same new radios shown in Dayton and meet the leaders in our hobby, right here in our neighborhood. It is open to ARRL non members as well as members, so bring your non League friends along with you. They might attend a forum or two and realize that membership really has value despite what they may have previously thought. Yes, they may even join ARRL at the Convention. Membership is a fine gift for that new ham in your club or family. You may take care of that at the ARRL booth. See you there. As you know, the Statewide Shelter Exercise will take place on 13 September 2008. During this drill, (which will also be our 2008 Simulated Emergency Test); we will be testing the RI Emergency Management Agency Statewide Shelter Communications Plan (better known as “ShelterCom”). The ShelterCom plan is a RIEMA plan used for shelter and Emergency Operating Center communications when multiple shelters are opened in multiple jurisdictions during and emergency or drill. ARES members will take part in their local communities as directed by their EC. Contact our SEC, Rick K3OQH for further information at [email protected]. Ocean State 2 Meter FM Simplex Challenge will take place July 19-20, concurrent with the CQ World-Wide VHF Contest. Times are Saturday, 2PM to Sunday, 5PM with focus hours Saturday, 5PM to 8PM and Sunday, 1 PM to 5 PM. We can’t list all the details about the contest but contact John, W1XX ASAP at [email protected] for lots more info. Operate FM Simplex frequencies but NOT 146.52. Work club call WA1RR on 147.42 MHz for a 100 point bonus. Seven different club members in all parts of RI and nearby CT will be operating the WA1RR call. It should be easy to work from multiple locations. I have recently heard of significant concern by FCC over the apparent great increase in E Bay sales of Amateur equipment to unlicensed people. I have heard a noticeable increase in unidentified loonies making strange sounds and remarks on the popular 146.76 MHz repeater. This sort of thing can lead into much worse problems. With many “opened up” VHF radios being sold on E Bay, the increase in interference on nearby public service frequencies and aviation frequencies may endanger public safety, a very bad thing. If you observe any suspected unlicensed operation, do not attempt to intercept the station yourself. Try to find out where the signal is coming from by listening to the repeater input frequency. If the signal is very strong, chances are that it is near to where you are. Report details of your findings to OO Coordinator, Bill W1VH at [email protected] See you on the FM
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Simplex Challenge this weekend. 73, Bob Beaudet, W1YRC
Northwestern Division
Montana
Well, Summer is hereWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO with a vengance. It's already hit 100 degrees here in my area and looks like more to follow. These warm days are an excellent time to pull down your antennas and give them a good inspection, resoldering any connection that looks stressed and checking out hardware for cracks and loose parts. This also is a great time to inspect your towers for plugged drain holes at the bottom of the legs where water might collect and begin to rust out the tower legs. This is an insidious damage that can kill or injure anyone who might climb the tower at a future time after the leg or legs have been weakened by this rust. Most (but not all) commercial tower manufacturers claim to have galvanized the inside of their tower section legs, but dont bet your life on it. I've seen several tower structures whose legs were full of water and were damaged structurally. If you find one of these, dont climb it. Get some professional help and take down the tower, replace it with a new bottom section and be sure the legs pass water out of them at the base. To ignore this problem can be deadly. if you are like many amateurs and use a tower section set in concrete for your base, be sure and place a few inches of gravel in the bottom ofWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO the hole before pouring your base. That will provide a good drainage path for any moisture that might travel down the legs to collect at the bottom of the base. Glacier Hamfest is next week. Sounds like a great sign up for this year, nearly that of last. With fuel prices as high as they are, it has been a concern that some might not be able to afford the trip. Hope to see as many as possible there. Tailgate sales will be available, so bring your old gear and anything else you'd like to sell or trade. A small percentage will go to the Hamfest to help support it. WIMU Hamfest will be the first weekend in August at Jackson Hole, WY. This is always a great gathering and worth the trip if you can make it. The Butte ARC is holding their annual Trivia Picnic at noon on August 2nd at the Cardwell Campground. The campground is located right at the bottom of the Cardwell hill on I90. For more info, contact Bill, W7ROE in Butte. Bring your trading stock or gear you'd like to sell. MTN-W7MPK, QNI-1935, QTC- 80 IMN-VE7DWG, QNI-425, QTC-66 MSN-K7YD, AE7V, QNI-176 Thanks and 73 Doug, K7YD
Oregon
Welcome to the July Section News for Oregon. HAMFESTS There are a number of hamfests coming up that I have promised various people I would promote throughout the section. Information is posted on the calendar of events on the section website at http://www.arrloregon.org if you want to know more. The Coos County Radio Club Hamfest will be this Saturday, July 19. The W7PL Pendleton Amateur Radio Club will be August 16. There will be an Idaho Section Convention in Boise on April 24, 25, and 26, 2009. I promised Doug, their Section Manager, that I would spread the word since we have a number of people on the east side of the state that I know read the section news since I frequently receive comments on the things I write from them. 2008 FRIENDSHIP RADIOSPORT GAMES Kuon Hunt, KB7WRG, tells me that there are still openings on Team USA in all the events. Please contact her: [email protected], if you are interested in being part of the team. Dale Hunt, WB6BYU, is planning a 2m practice transmitter hunt on foot in Wilsonville on July 19 to prepare those who will be competing in the foxhunt at the games. Kuon sent me a PDF file with the schedule of events with participation fees for August 1-3, which I have forwarded to all the section appointees for distribution. You can ask for a copy from your geographical assistant section manager, another section appointee, or ask me for it. I haven't gotten good enough with updating the section website to upload it there yet but I will be happy to email it to any of you. All events are in the greater Portland area. If you are available to help provide transportation for the participants, please contact Kuon. Schedule follows: Friday, August 1, 9 a.m. Opening Ceremonies and CW Contest. Friday, August 1, 4 p.m. International Team Field Day &
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Potluck Bar-B-Q Saturday, August 2, 9 a.m. HF DX Contest Sunday, August 3, 9 a.m. ARDF Foxhunt (Radio Orienteering) Sunday, August 3, 6 p.m. International Awards Banquet FIELD DAY NOTES I received quite a few messages on field day. Some by WinLink, some by NTS (National Traffic System) and some by email. I went south for field day, stopping first at the Umpqua Radio Club site near Roseburg and then heading over to the coast to cool off with the Coos County Radio Club. I camped overnight at their site. Everyone was very hospitable and I enjoyed the trip! I am hoping to be able to go east next year and WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROvisit some sites over there. ARES REPORTS I have been posting the ARES reports I receive on the section website, front page news, so if you go visit the site and browse around, you'll see new information regularly. Klamath County had an exercise on Wednesday and I already received and posted a report from their Emergency Coordinator, Dennie WA7YPR. The Oregon Emergency Management Amateur Radio Unit Emergency Coordinator, Vince, K7VV, also activated to support the exercise at Dennie’s request. Another special activity by an ARES unit recently, was the involvement of ham radio in the Olympic Trials at Autzen EOC under the leadership of Lane County Emergency Coordinator, Mark Perrin, N7MQ. The evaluation and recommendations report for the April 2008 SET (simulated emergency test) was sent to all DEC's (district emergency coordinators) for distribution to the county emergency coordinators and the entire ARES membership by Kevin NB7O, the section exercise coordinator. If you have not seen it, please ask your EC for it. ARRL EMCOMM CLASS COMPLETIONS Recent completions of EmComm I included Charles Helsabeck, WB7ODX, a Benton County ARESWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO member and Lisa Clarke, KE7NIY, from Newport. Walt Zandi, K1WZ, EC for West Lane County, completed EmComm II. 7QP REPORT Dick Frey, K4XU, reports that the score table has been posted on the website http://www.7qp.org. He especially thanks KD7SWP in Linn County, N7YB in Grant County, KT7G in Sherman County, and WA7VGR in Harney County. They were the only operators in their counties. The next event will be May 2, 2009. I have posted this on the calendar on the section website. EASTERN OREGON I am hoping to be able to include more eastern Oregon news. Graham Hicks, W4PJS, provided input on the activities of the Grande Ronde Radio Amateurs Association (GRRAA) that was included in the last club news that Pat Roberson, N7PAT, prepares. If you have any other news for his next newsletter, please send it to him at [email protected]. Please let me know about any other activities in the eastern side of the state that I can distribute. See you next month, if not before! Bonnie Altus, AB7ZQ Oregon Section Manager
Pacific Division
East Bay
The Section News is on the East Bay Section web site at http://www.eastbaysectionarrl.org. You can find more detailed information and current events there. I had a great time visiting many Field Day sites. Bob Vallio W6RGG (Pacific Division Director) joined me as I toured the East Bay Section on Saturday of Field Day weekend. We were able to visit the FD sites of: Friends of the .045 repeater, SBARA, NCV, HRC, ORCA, ACRA, USHARC, NALCO, W6BB, EBARC, NBARA, SARS, BARC, MDARC, LARK, and K6LRG. Unfortunately, we missed VVRC and South Contra Costa County ARES/RACES due to scheduling conflicts. I will be posting a more detailed description of our travels on the East Bay Section web site. My visits to the various Amateur Radio groups in the Section will slow down during the summer. Between a major kitchen remodel project, scheduled vacation, and higher gas prices, I will not be able to get out as often as I would like. I will resume my visits as time permits and hope to be able to visit each group twice this year as opposed to my optimistic goal of 3-4 times a year. It is with regrets that I have accepted the resignation of Gene Gottfried, KQ6OL, as Orinda RACES/ARES Emergency Coordinator. Gene has decided that it is time to pass the mantle. As Gene’s final action as the ARES/RACES Emergency Coordinator for Orinda, he served as team leader for a group of Amateur Radio operators to provide communications support for parade officials at Orinda ’s Independence Day parade on July 4, 2008. Marty Heyman, W6MDH, has agreed to assume the duties associated with the position of EC. Please join me in welcoming Marty to the East Bay Section ARES organization. I hope
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everyone had a great time at Filed Day and a great July 4th. Stay save and be prepared for emergency response as we continue to have high temperature health warnings as well as red flag alerts. SILENT KEYS – Clarence "Pete" Davis WB6GTN; Bill Mullen, KG6OBS; Burnus Bacom WB6UYJ became a silent key in June. Burnus was 83 and a member of CCCC since April 1987. He held a General Class License and was a member of ARRL. CONGATULATIONS TO: Jack Burris, K6JEB (East Bay PIC), and all who signed our petition which resulted in a letter from Govenor Arnold Schwarzenegger recognizing AmateurWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Radio and Field Day; The K6LRG group, (who are all LARK members) for taking top score for the northwest region in the ARRL January VHF contest Terry; Wilson, wife of Benicia ARC member Ross Wilson, W6RDW upon being sworn in as a dispatcher at Benicia PD and Fire; Ed Cronin, KG6OQK for a "Health and Welfare" message regarding an evacuation as a result of the Paradise Fire. Here is the thank you note as received by Art Mayoff AB6AB, of Benicia ARC: Hi Art, My father finally called last night. He was at the first shelter I checked, but his name wasn't on their roster, nor did the Red Cross have him on any of their listings. He told me that the night before a gentleman had been there with a ham radio and he asked if he could connect with someone in Benicia; Viola! Very impressive! It was Ed Cronin who called, and if you would, please pass on my thanks to him. -And thank you too for getting back to me so quickly! Warm Regards, Natalie Nelson Good luck to Jeremiah Blasi, K6BQ, as he begins a new stage in his life. He has been offered a position as pastor for a church in Tulsa, OK and will be relocating in July. CONGRATULATION TO THESE NEW HAMS: Philip EWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Schreur, KI6RGV, Alameda; Maeve Gannon, KI6RGK, Alameda; Thomas L Geraldizo, KI6RLC, American Canyon; Patrick M Riley, KI6RSZ, Canyon; Carla J Williams, KI6RTA, Canyon; Paul M Pitman, KI6RTB, Canyon; Kaya S Westling, KI6RSW, Canyon; David J Lascurettes, KI6RSS, Canyon; Sveinn E Olafsson, KI6RSR, Canyon; Michael Rochette, KI6RST, Canyon; Ken P Lippman, KI6RJL, Fremont; Danilo Magaleon, KI6RRT, Fremont; Darrell A Gonzales, KI6RJK, Fremont; Joseph Longo, KI6RTF, Lafayette; Robert D Tanner, KI6RSP, Livermore; Frans C Hoffman, KI6RSV, Moraga; Roman Hernandez Fernandez, KI6RFO, Oakley; Michael J Whitfield, KI6RSY, Orinda; Leasa M Raya, KI6RSX, Orinda; Keith W Riley, KI6RTD, Orinda; Leland F Collins, KI6RGH, Pleasanton; James C Yee, KI6RHJ, San Leandro; Michael V Irwin, KI6RRU, San Leandro; David K Lau, KI6RGM, San Ramon; Nancye A Harder, KI6RSQ, San Ramon; Michael T Sager, KI6RGR, Vallejo; Christopher M Llewellyn, KI6RKO, Vallejo; Michael E Dohm, KI6RGJ, Vallejo; Warren P Galliano, KI6RRW, Oakland; Adam P Gould, KI6RGL, Oakland; Jeremy Rahe, KI6RGO, Berkeley; David Wh Swenson, KI6RHA, Berkeley; Oleg Bilibin, KI6RKK, Richmond; Salustiano S Wong, KI6RHI, Vacaville; Carolynn Boehmler, KI6RJU, Vacaville; William A Talbot, KI6RHC, Vacaville; Wanda M Talbot, KI6RHB, Vacaville CONGRATULATION TO THESE UPGRADES: Thomas J Clausen, KG6YVZ, Benicia; Jonathan Goodwin, KI6QNT, Canyon; William C Wells, WB6NLL, Concord; Jeffrey K Koger, KG6NEB, Fremont; Michael J Wolters, N0LWV, Fremont; Gregory J Stephens, N6QKY, Fremont; David G Bond, KA6UPU, Lafayette; George R Tantzen, KE6HDQ, Livermore; Albert P Mossman, KG6VMA, Oakland; Jak J Mang, KI6PJP, Oakland; Alberdina W De Boer, KI6PJM, Oakland NATIONAL TRAFFIC SYSTEM (NTS) Call Sign Originated Sent Received Delivered Total WB6UZX 12 108 125 28 273 W6DOB 7 77 77 9 170 KE6QR 1 1 12 12 26 PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) Call Sign Categories 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total W6DOB 40 40 30 110 WB6UZX 40 40 10 90 (Requires at least 70 points)
Pacific
Always think safety first. On July 13, a father and son died by electrocution in Kansas City. They were putting up a Ham antenna. Long time BIARC member Harry Barnes KH6QM (QUEEN MARY) passed away at age 93 on Sunday June 8th in Keaau. He was a retired major in the Army Air Corps and glider pilot in WW2. Among other things he was active in Masons and Shriners. Obituary was in Saturday June 14 Hawaii Tribune-Herald. We are sorry to report that Frank Buffalano, AH6CK, became a SK June 9, 2008. He turned 90 years old on June 2. Colonel Buffalano was a highly decorated veteran of WW2 in the Pacific. He proudly served as a past president of the Honolulu Amateur Radio Club. He and
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his wife Elizabeth were married 61 years. A military burial service will be at the Hawaii State Veteran’s Cemetery in Kaneohe at 1PM on July 18th. This will be followed by fellowship at KinWah Restaurant. See the HARC newsletter for more. Kevin Bogan, our section Emergency Coordinator, said the Makani Pahili hurricane exercise was mostly held Saturday May 24th. Various exercise scenarios followed what would happen as the simulated storm approached. To read more go to: http://www.kauaiarc.org/08Monthly/makani_pahili_hurricane_exer.htm Thanks to the new Hawaii County CD director,WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Quince Mento, for specially opening up Hawaii County CD on Saturday which is a normal day off. The West Honolulu ARC meeting was Thursday June 5, 2008 at Diners in the Waimalu Shopping center. Future meeting will be Aug 7, Oct 2 and Dec 4. Thanks to KH7TK & AH7GK for the information. The museum Ships Weekend was June 7-8 UTC, so for us in Hawaii it began at 2 PM local time Friday June 6 and ended 2 PM Saturday June 7 which is June 7-8 (UTC). This was the eighth annual participation in Museum Ships Weekend for the Battleship Missouri ARC (BMARC). They worked 630 contacts. Among the contacts were several WW2 Navy veterans and eight other museum ships. The Kohala Hamakua Radio Club met Wednesday June 11 in Waimea at the Carter Professional Center. Norm, NH7UA, has stepped down as DEC for North Hawaii and Eric, KH6CQ, has taken his place. The Oahu Civil Defense Amateur Radio Club will hold examinations at the Honolulu Municipal Bldg, Basement B1, 650 S. King St. on: Wed June 18 at 1830 - Wed Aug 20 at 1830 - Wed Nov 19 at 1830. Contact Ray Moody for more info. The Hawaii State Chapter of American Red Cross used Field Day as aWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO practice exercise. Operation was from 10AM Saturday to 5PM Saturday. Since they are an established EOC they were class F. They used the call WH6ARC. They also planned to take their emergency response vehicle to the field and set up somewhere much like they would do in a real emergency. That vehicle operation used the call AH6WA. Bottled water & MREs were available for the courageous. Thanks Mike Zanoni AH6WA On Saturday July 26, the Big Island ARC will support Big Island Road Runners at the annual Volcano Rim Run. Due to the recent volcanic eruptions at Halemaumau the 10 mile and 27 mile races will have to change routes. The 5 mile race will remain the same. PLEASE BE CAUTIONED THAT VOLCANIC FUMES MAY BE PRESENT AT SOME LOCATIONS. The Marianas Amateur Radio Club meets on the first Tue Guam time & MARC has a weekly net on their 146.91 repeater & also on IRLP reflector 9254. It is at 11PM Sun HST or 7PM Mon Guam time. For July, MARC had an Independence Day Social. It was held on Fri July 4th @ the KSTO studio on Nimitz Hill. Oahu hams have been asked to participate in the American Heart Association Heart Walk. The American Heart Association should be holding the Heart Walk on August 16 2008 at 7:30AM. The location may have to be changed. The exact route has not been set yet. Tentatively, it will be from Gateway park along Ala Moana to Atkinson, around Ala Moana Park returning back to the start line. Contact Wayne Jones, NH6K, for exact details or to volunteer. The Maui ARC met on July 9th for a wrap up session on Field Day. On Saturday July 12th BIARC met at Hawaii County CD HQ. Quince Mento, the new Hawaii County CD director, and one of his assistances, John Drummond, gave a tour. For many members this was they first time they had seen the facility. The Kona Amateur Radio Society will hold it next meeting Sunday July 20th at OTEC beach park at NELHA from 2-5PM. The potluck will be American food in celebration of July 4. If you have questions, contact Van NH7IT at 325-5223 The Honolulu ARC will next meet on July 19 from 9AM to 11AM. The meeting will be at Sizzlers at Pearl Ridge. They also accept donations of money and equipment to be used in the Solomon Islands (H44 & H40). There are only 3 hams there now. A VE session may precede the HARC Meeting @ 07:30-08:00 AM HST. The VE session is run by Lee Wical KH6BZF as the chief examiner for the W5YI team. If you wish to take an exam, contact Lee NLT Thursday evening, before the meeting. Both Amateur & Commercial elements are offered. Contact Lee @ 247-0587. Exam fees (cash) are set by the FCC and W5YI-VEC, Inc. Last months write up about the HealthComm net has some errors. The following is more correct: The HealthComm HF net meets on the first Saturday of each month at 0900W (9:00AM HST). They start at 3.888, then may change to 7.088 and 5.3715 MHz USB. Jack, KH6DQ, is NCS. On all Saturdays there is an unnamed net run by Warren, KH6WM, on 3.888 at 0800W. The Friendly Net meets Monday-Friday at 0900W on either 3.888MHz LSB or 7.290MHz LSB. Thanks Norm, NH7UA; Jack, KH6DQ and Warren, KH6WM. Pacific Division Director Bob Vallio has asked
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Glenn Thomas, WB6W/7, to "honcho" the selection of the Pacific Division Ham of the Year 2008 award. It will be presented at the Pacificon Banquet in October. Glenn is asking for nominations. The award is given for contributions to the community in general and Amateur radio in particular that are above and beyond the usual. Nominations should include a description of why the nominee is deserving of the award. The deadline for nominations is August 1, 2008. They should be sent to [email protected] or [email protected] or directly to Bob Vallio at [email protected]. On July 19th the EARC will have a WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROMini Field day. This will be a potluck down at the Hawaii Kai Boat Ramp. Check out our event listing page for more info. 1600-23:59 http://www.earchi.org/event_listing.html The next General Membership Meeting of EARC will be July 24, 2008 at the National Weather Service office 2525 Correa Rd. Topic: Interpreting Satellite and Radar Imagery, by Ray Tanabe WH7IH. http://www.prh.noaa.gov/hnl/pages/about.php There will be a combined Hilo ARC and BIARC get together on Saturday Aug 9 which is the normal BIARC meeting day. The get together will be at the small pavilion in Waialoa State Park from early morning until mid afternoon. Contact Dean Manley, KH6B The Big Island International Hamfest and swap meet will be at the Waimea community center in Waimea (Kamuela) on Saturday October 4, 2008. It will be from 10AM to 2PM with doors open for setup at 9AM. It is sponsored by Big Island ARC, Kona ARS, Kohala Hamakua ARC and South Point ARC. Note this is the first Saturday of October. The event is free however registration at the door is required and donations will be accepted to offset costs. Sellers are asked for a 10% donation of their sales. ThereWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO will be ARRL sponsored Amateur Radio Amateur License exams at a time to be determined. Talk in will be on the BIWARN repeater system. Contact: John Buck, KH7T phone 808- 885-9718 or [email protected] Event Web URLs: http://www.biarc.net & http://www.arrl.org/sections/PAC.html Your SM will be visiting the Koolau Club October 11.
Sacramento Valley
June 2008 Section Summary When we look back on June, 2008, we will remember it as a month when amateur radio looked pretty good in California. Here in the Sacramento Valley Section a dedicated group of volunteers manned Red Cross shelters and stations, helped out domestic animal rescue operations, and sought other ways to help their communities. It started with too little rainfall over the winter. Then early in the month came the hot, dry winds. SEC Richard Cloyd, WO6P, put the Section ARES leadership on Stand By Alert. A careless woodcutting operation apparently sparked a fire that eventually consumed 24,000 acres. At mid-month our wild lands, so full of tinder dry fuel, began to burn. First threatened was the city of Paradise. That emergency lasted several days. A problem for Paradise is the lack of evacuation routes. When it was safe to go home, people did, but with a new appreciation for evacuation plans. The high winds were gone, but then we had dry thunderstorms, dropping very little rain but causing lots of lightning strikes. First we heard of over 400, then 800, then over 1000 wild land fires. People in other mountain communities were advised, then directed, to evacuate their homes and seek shelter. Those shelters were set up by Red Cross. In Butte County, EC Steve Kaps, N6PNP, opened the ARES net on the Golden Empire ARS W6RHC Repeater. At first, it was precautionary, but as shelters opened, he needed help. As with the first fire, it was KF6YKQ, Chuck, and KG6ZOA, Anna, of Paradise, who manned the Spring Valley school shelter. Their home was not in the path of the fire, but they are both dedicated ARES operators and they were ready. This first shelter operation revealed that the coverage of the W6RHC repeater was not good in the shelter area. But by relaying the communications between Spring Valley and NCS N6PNP via the Sutter County WD6AXM Repeater, we were able to make things work. A better antenna at the shelter seemed to help for a while, but eventually operations shifted entirely to the WD6AXM machine. Shelters in other areas of the section were being opened, and our SEC, WO6P, relayed that information to me. I told Red Cross in Yuba City. Within minutes they realized they did not know where and when these other shelters were opening. We then opened station KG6WGQ at Three Rivers Chapter of the American Red Cross in Yuba City so that we had a better chance of communicating with multiple outlying shelters. The station was to be open when the ARC response group was operating. That meant shifts, so we went
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to three five hour shifts per day for a week. At one point, Ken Miller, KF6JRE, volunteered to take a shift in Yuba City from his home in West Sacramento. SEC WO6P was without power for a while, but was available on cell phone. We were able to pass Red Cross requirements so that opening shelters would send their information to the various people who needed it. A radio and power supply that had worked for several years at Red Cross began groaning so we replaced it with one from W6HBU’S go kit. Herb lives several blocks away. A volunteer with lots of shelter management experience had volunteered to be communicatWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROor for a shift but was then assigned to be a shelter manager in the next county. She was replaced, just as the radio was replaced. Shift scheduling was handled by Paul Johnson, N6XVL, of Olivehurst, who came up with a list of volunteers to man all the shifts for this week of Red Cross operation. We were in the process of scheduling relief for Butte County operators when, on Friday night, June 27, Red Cross decided to move from Yuba City to Chico to better use the resources they had in place. At that point, further net operation by ARES was not needed and so was suspended for the weekend. Fire suppression efforts were making headway, and on Monday morning, June 30, most of the sheltered population was allowed to return home. Tired operators and malfunctioning equipment got a much needed rest. On Sunday, 29 June, Yuba/Sutter EC Art Craigmill, K6ALC, of Oregon House, heard a fire call on his scanner. The location was nearby so he gathered his equipment and went to check on the situation. He was able to direct traffic for a while to move curious motorists on their way. He heard that a nearby resident was worried so went to reassure her. The grass fire was being controlled. On his way thereWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO he saw another fire. He notified the incident commander, and then took action to stop the spread of this new fire, which was at a home construction site. The home had water pressure and this aided Art in his fire-fighting efforts until the engine company arrived to put it out. Throughout the Section and beyond, smoke from wild land fires made the air dangerously contaminated with particulate matter. Various satellite imagery and news photos were available to emphasize this point. The air stank of smoke and things burned. With air quality values as bad as we have seen them in 25 years, many clubs in the section had to cancel their Field Day operations. First to do so was the Nevada County ARC. Not only did they not get to do Field Day, but their site at the Nevada County Fairgrounds was used as a fire fighting staging area. Oroville ARS had many operators involved in the shelter operation, and Bill Cross, K6DYT, was volunteering as an animal shelter worker. Virginia Paschke, KI6COL, also deployed to Butte County from her home in Sutter County to help at the animal shelter. Ginny got her license last year for this very reason. The domestic animal rescue group provides assurance for people who need to evacuate that they can do so without leaving their pets behind. It speeds the evacuation process and keeps people from getting into more dangerous situations. Finally, Chico’s GEARS, and Yuba Sutter’s YSARC also decided that the air contamination was too severe for Field Day and they cancelled also. Both clubs had many members who manned ARES shifts during this emergency. There were many clubs not so bothered by the smoke that did have great Field Day operations. We visited the River City ARCS site at Madera Park in Citrus Heights Saturday morning. They had a wi-fi network for all the laptop computers so that duping of contacts could be done in real time. Western Placer ARC was there helping to set up and operate. Stu Clark, WA6BTK, worked class 1B while on vacation in Montana. Up on Peavine Ridge Road in El Dorado County, the Sacramento Radio Club was running Field Day under their club station call W6AK. They reported good conditions and they had at least three stations set up and ready to go. South of highway 50, the El Dorado County Radio Club was operating AG6AU. Club president Jay Harmor, KE6GLA, reported 33 hams had visited the site along with ten members of the public to see their operation. Assistant Section Manager for Youth, Curtis, KI6ESK, reported smoky conditions in the Nevada area east of the Mother Lode DX Club Field Day location on Martis Peak with ten operators. Most of the places operating this week end would see a slight clearing of the thick smoke that plagued more northern locations. It was a reminder that fires remain burning— nearly 2000 as this is written—and that we should all remain ready for the next phase of this emergency. 73, Ron Murdock, W6KJ, ARRL SACRAMENTO VALLEY SECTION MANAGER
San Joaquin Valley
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SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY SECTION Report for the month of June 2008: SM Charles McConnell, W6DPD- ASMs K6YK and N2NS, ACC W6DPD, SEC N6ZFN, OOC N1VM, STM K6RAU, PIC KE6IGJ, TC W6TE. Greetings from the ARRL San Joaquin Valley Section. If you desire your club information and events to be listed in Section News, please send the information to [email protected]. I get very little information. If your club has a newsletter, please send it to me, email to [email protected] or via U.S Mail. An ARES Emergency Coordinator is needed in Western Kern County. Contact Marie, N6ZFN ([email protected])WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO or W6DPD ([email protected]) if you are interested and can serve in this important position. MARK YOUR CALENDARS. One day Technician Class August 2, 2008 in Tracy CA. Contact [email protected] for information. The 2008 California QSO party begins at 1600 UTC on October 4 and ends at 2200 UTC on October 5, 2008. Put your county on the air for this contest. Check www.cqp.org for information. The California Historical Radio Society Central Valley Chapter swap meet begins at 9:00 AM October 4, 2008, at the Modesto Radio Museum, 1192 Norwegian Ave in Modesto. Pacificon 2008 is October 17-19, 2008 at the Marriott Hotel in San Ramon CA. Check www.pacificon.org for information. The 60th International DX Convention is April 17-19, 2009 at Visalia. Check http://www.dxconvention.org/ for information When your affiliated club elects officers for the next year, be sure to update your club’s information on the affiliated club area of the ARRL web page so you club will get any information sent from the ARRL Club department. If you fail to update your clubs information for 2 years, your club will be placed in the inactive file. Your club will be notified WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.ROif the 2-year period is about to take place. Need to take an Amateur exam? Check the ARRL web page, www.arrl.org for exam information. You can also search for Amateur Radio Classes in your area. The Northern California Net (NCN), the Section Traffic Net, meets nightly on 3.533 MHZ at 7 PM Pacific Time. The slow speed training session of the net meets nightly on 3.533 MHZ at 9 PM Pacific Time. Handling traffic on CW is a good way to improve your CW skills. The Daytime Region 6 Traffic Net meets daily at 3:30 pacific time on or near 7.275 MHZ. The California Traffic Net meets daily on 3.906 MHZ and 6:30 PM local time. The noon time net meets on 7.268.5 MHz. This net handles a lot of messages. The Golden Bear Amateur Radio Net meets nightly at 7:00 PM local time on 3.975 MHZ. The Mission Trail Net meets nightly on 3.856 MHZ at 8:00 PM local time. W6PTH, Phelps, and VS6DO, Paul, are Silent Keys. They will be missed. N6FDL and KI6ART are Public Information Officers. Thanks to Steven, N6GOD, for serving as the ARES Emergency Coordinator for Western Kern County. Turlock ARC 2008-2009 officers are pres WB6BRU, vp ww6xx, sec WB6SBH, and treas K6CP. Check www.w6bxn.org for information. N6NF, Tom, won the Pacific Division Single Operator Low Power Plaque in the 2008 ARRL CW DX Contest. The Central California DX Club sponsors this plaque. The California QSO Party begins at 1600 UTC on October 4 and ends at 2200UTC on October 5, 2008. Put your county on the air for this contest. Others are looking for California stations on both phone and CW/Digital. This is a good time to contact that state you need for your Worked All States Award. Information can be found at www.cqp.org. Pacificon is the ARRL Pacific Division Convention, which is held October 17-19, 2008 at the San Ramon Marriott Hotel in San Ramon CA. There will be an antenna seminar on Friday October 17. On Saturday, October 18, the exhibit room will be open. You might find good deals there. There will be a number of sessions covering a variety of subjects. Saturday night will see the banquet, and the Wouff Hong initiation will be at midnight. Sunday has the swap meet, more sessions, and the ARRL Forum followed by the prize drawing. You can check out the event schedule on the Pacificon web page at www.pacificon.org. N7RR, Bruce, is hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. He will hike from the Mexican Border to Manning Park, British Columbia by end of September or early October. He will check into the CW traffic nets in the evenings as time permits. Check www.n7rr.com for information. Traffic for JUNE: K6RAU 33, W6DPD 3, and W6SX 10. Total 46. PSHR: K6RAU 94 and W6SX 32.
Santa Clara Valley
Monthly Summary for June 2008 Santa Clara Valley Section News Summary. July 18, 2008 =Field Day 2008 is over! I visited several sites and a good time was had by all. Please share you photos and
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experience with everyone. Let me know were to find them. Saratoga ARA had an HF CW station, HF GOTA SSB station, 6m VHF, 2m VHF and one digital station near Castle Rock State Park. Here are some photos: http://tinyurl.com/3h532u, http://tinyurl.com/4d7apy, http://tinyurl.com/492thv, http://tinyurl.com/4e2xog, http://tinyurl.com/4droxo. The operators are Rob Vance, N6ROB and John Glass, NU6P. Bruce Wilson posted these pictures of WVARA Field Day: http://tinyurl.com/64x2w6. Dennis Dura,K2DCD, Manager, Emergency Preparedness & Response, ARRL, is looking for ACTION related EMCOMMWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO photos for the September QST cover! Send them to him at the ARRL: [email protected] =Donald Kerns sent this link to a Field Day media report: This reporter came up to the Santa Cruz Field Day site as a general John Q Public and spent several hours poking around and getting educated. Many thanks to John Sisler for being such a great spokesperson for the hobby! See http://tinyurl.com/5tfo72. =Patricia (Elaine) Gibbons WA6UBE / AAR9JA sends along this video of the "Night of Nights" celebration of the Commercial code stations like KPH. See this 30 minute video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mXrpkU7CCI =Bob Spencer, ACS CRO Monterey Co, and David Burbidge, W6IIQ, DEC Monterey, were at the EOC in Monterey for the Basin Fire as reported on June 27. Bill Randolph (KG6CGO) was at the Greenfield ARC Evacuation Center and was secured at 1530. They responded to the ARC for Bill to go to the evac center. No one in the fire area was officially assigned but Dave AF6BN was working on the phone lines for the Base camp and supplied some info. The phones were working and communications had been good throughout the fire areas. As of 1955 Friday eveningWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO (June 27) they were on alert to possibly staff shelters south of Big Sur and at Carmel Middle School as well as the EOC again. They have several hams in the Big Sur area on alert with HF capabilities if they can get there as the roads are closed and both mandatory and voluntary evacuations have been ordered. They expect the fires, Basin Complex and Indians to join and get worse before better. The main thing they are doing is to protect property in the Big Sur area and just let the Basin fire burn for now. As of today the fire continues and the Hams are ready to go when called. =ARRL Chief Development Officer Mary Hobart, K1MMH, has provided a list of winners of the 2008 ARRL Foundation Scholarships. Congratulations to the scholarship recipients! For more information about the ARRL Foundation Scholarship Program, please visit this ARRL Web page. See http://www.arrlf.org/programs/scholarship =The San Lorenzo Valley Amateur Radio Club, WR6AOK is celebrating 25 years as an affiliated club is. Congratulations! =The new cell phone law has not seemed to have caused any problems for Ham Radio mobile operations. I heard that the CHP was told if the driver has a mic/phone at the ear - pull him over - at the mouth - let them go. =Matt Parker, N7TODA, reports that a new project at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola includes ham radio operation from the museum. For more information about the Feather River Rail Society, the Western Pacific Railroad Museum at Portola, or the Western Pacific Historical Society, contact Matt Parker at (775) 772-3675. Information is also available on the FRRS website, http://www.wplives.org. =June 2008 newsletter for instructors is available. Please click on the following link to view the newsletter: http://www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/instructorNews.html =Michael Wright supported NASA TV retransmission of STS-124 launch (5-31-08) through the K6BEN amateur television repeater. Originating source was the Ames Amateur Radio Club NA6MF (NASA Ames Research Center in south SF bay area, CA). Uplink is 1255MHz and downlink is 421.25MHz (same as cable channel 57 on a NTSC analog TV set). No license is needed for receive only, so attach an external antenna to your TV set, aim the antenna (vertically polarized) at Mt Hamilton. He also visited several Field Day sites and the recent De Anza Flea market! Here are some links to YouTube: SJ RACES Field Day site (includes interview with Chuck Reed!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpJfCFb13YU. And Jim KN6PE interviews Cupertino OES director, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J7d96miHwM Mike also helped with communications support for Cupertino fireworks on July 4th. Here are some shots: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i4yv5lO65k and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Raq6nt7bqPI. Thanks to Mike, Ben and all the ATV folk. =Allen G Pitts, W1AGP, Media and PR Manager, announces new promotion campaign at Dayton. First came “Hello.” Then came EmComm. For 2008 comes “We Do That!” http://WeDoThat-radio.org ! The new coordinated PR effort shows the technological activities which Amateur Radio’s people love. Check out the new site and look at
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http://www.arrl.org/pio and http://arrl.org/brochures for help promoting your Ham Radio event, organization or activity. =Jim Oberhofer, KN6PE, Wins April QST Cover Plaque Award: The winner of the QST Cover Plaque Award for April is Jim Oberhofer, KN6PE, for his article "Outpost: Packet Radio for Emergency Messaging." The winner of the QST Cover Plaque award -- given to the author or authors of the best article in each issue -- is determined by a vote of ARRL members on the QST Cover Plaque Poll Web page . Congratulations, Jim! =Background check issues with the American Red Cross have been ironed outWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO and a new MOU is being worked out. Check out the “American Red Cross Responds to ARRL Concerns Regarding Background Checks” http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/05/18/10104/?nc=1 =It is with great sadness to announce the passing of Judy Thomas, KF6MBH. Judy was the wife of former Section Manger Glenn Thomas, WB6W. Services were held last Tuesday in Santa Clara. =Section positions still open. This is YOUR Section; please consider helping all of us by filling one of these important positions. See http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/org/ for information on the ARRL Field Organization and all appointee positions. =The wiki-based SCV web site on PDARRL.org is up and running. Tom, K1TW, [email protected], is getting the content on both old and new sites up to date. Send him your corrections and get your club access to the wiki. Here's the link: http://www.pdarrl.org/scvsec/index.php. RoanokeWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Division North Carolina
JUNE NORTH CAROLINA SECTION NEWS FIELD DAY A BIG HIT! The 2008 Field Day event was a big success in the North Carolina section! The state of North Carolina ranked seventh in the nation for the number of registered operations, with 51 Field Day sites in the ARRL database. Many of you took advantage of the PR potential for Field Day and we received great media coverage. Congratulations on all your hard work! One interesting statistic I noticed in the Field Day reports I received was that most Field Day participants aren't ARES members. The biggest reason we have Field Day is to keep ourselves prepared for a disaster. Why not expand your interest in disaster preparedness by contacting your local EC and joining the 1,800 ARES members in North Carolina? You can find your EC's contact info at www.ncarrl.org/ares. CHARLOTTE HAMFEST MOVES IN 2009 The Mecklenburg Amateur Radio Society has announced that the Charlotte Hamfest is moving. The 2009 event will be held at the Cabarrus Arena off Highway 49, just north of Harrisburg, NC. It’s just minutes away from North Carolina’s most visited tourist destination, Concord Mills Mall (believe it or not!). The MARS club says that everyone will enjoy the excellent facilities. Cabarrus Arena is only six years old and very well maintained. Since the weather in March is so iffy - it can be cold, wet, warm, or even snowy - so the Charlotte Hamfest will continue to be an indoor show. MARS says feedback from attendees and vendors indicated that the high cost of parking and food were the biggest concerns about their old location. Concessions at the new facility should be improved, but the biggest change will be free parking! The 2009 Charlotte Hamfest will be held March 14-15 and will be the ARRL's Roanoke Division Convention. The Charlotte Hamfest joins the Shelby Hamfest in moves to new facilities. The Shelby Amateur Radio Club announced earlier this year that they had signed a five year contract at Biggerstaff Park near Dallas, NC in Gaston County. The 2008 Shelby Hamfest is coming up soon on held August 30-31. NEW OFFICIAL RELAY STATIONS Participants who completed Mark Rappaport, W2EAG’s on-air traffic handling course are encouraged to submit applications to become ARRL Official Relay Stations. More info and an application are available online at www.arrl.org. Also, keep your new skills sharp by participating in one of the North Carolina section traffic nets. The SSB nets include the North Carolina Morning Net (NCMN) on 3927 kHz at 0745L and the North Carolina Evening Net (NCEN) on 3923 kHz at 1830L. Our CW nets are the Carolinas Slow Net on 3571kHz at 2000L, the Carolinas Net (Early) on 3573kHz at 1900L and the Carolinas Net (Late) on 3573kHz at 2200L. From there you can take traffic to your local areas for delivery or liaison to your local (VHF/UHF) traffic nets, as the need may be. Another option would be to participate with your local nets: The Eastern North Carolina Traffic
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Net (ENCTN), the South Eastern North Carolina Traffic Net (SENCTN), the Piedmont Coastal Traffic Net (PCTN) or the Central North Carolina Traffic Net (CNCTN). NEW ARRL APPOINTEES Congratulations and thanks to the following who have this year been appointed to ARRL volunteer positions in the North Carolina section. Thanks to these folks and all 218 ARRL appointees in our section for your willingness to fill for these important positions Larry Sloop, WB4UYY: EC, Wilkes County; John Sprouse, N4VJJ: EC, Beaufort County; James Craig, KI4OCC: EC, Gaston County; James Wright, KS4O: EC,WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Craven County; Phillip Whisnant, K4PDW: EC Rutherford County; Robert Rodgers, KC4TVO: EC Mitchell County; James Johnson, KI4TAT: PIO; Dewey Cook, KJ4BYU: PIO; Cliff Fox, KU4GW: EC, Alexander County; Mark Bradshaw, KJ4WY: ORS; James Stevens, WB4JFX: EC, Lee County; George Walden, ORS. ARRL EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS GRADUATES 105 amateurs in North Carolina have completed at least one of the ARRL’s Emergency Communications courses. The following have completed all three courses and I wanted to recognize them for their commitment: KE5ABB, W4VU, WK4P, W4JEE, W4OH, WD4MKU, W1FAI, AF1E, K4ZXN, K4VHO, NW4O, N4QVM, KG4OQA, N4UBH, KG4FCD, NA4P, W4CC, WA1WHD, KG4HOM, AD2H, WI1L, W4DK, N9JZX, N2TU, W0CJV, W1HO, K8YC, WX4ES, N1KFC, KF4CQS, KV4CN, W3GYK, W4YQY, K3RXK, WA4UFS, KB5WY, WA4NID, KJ4AST, AI4RT, W4DNA, ARES RECOGNIZED BY CITY OF KINGS MOUNTAIN The mayor of Kings Mountain, NC issued a proclamation on June 24 naming ARES the “Outstanding Volunteer Group” for the 9th Annual OverWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO the Mountain Triathlon. An article on the recognition appeared in the Shelby Star. ARES members from Cleveland and Gaston counties furnished communications for the event. “It kept things safe," said Ellis Noel, Special Events Director for the city. "I'm usually pretty nervous at these things and having ARES really had me calmer." UPCOMING EVENTS July 19: Area 13 ARES Meeting, Gastonia July 19: Mid-Summer Swapfest, Cary July 26: WCARS Hamfest, Waynesville August 9: Cape Fear Swapfest, Fayetteville August 30-31: Shelby Hamfest, Dallas October 11: Pfafftown Hamfest October 12: Maysville Hmfest October 18: State ARES Meeting, Morganton JUNE TRAFFIC K4IWW 252, W4DNA 219, W2EAG 176, N3BW 168, WA4OBR 94, KJ4WY 67, W4FAL 67, W4TTO 57, W3HL 56, W4EHF 42, KI4YV 41, KD4WAX 40, KE4AHC 34, WA2YBM 32, KD4SM 18, KD4ZPS 12, KC4PGN 11 JUNE PSHR W4DNA 330, K4IWW 140, K2EAG 140, W4FAL 130, NC4VA 127, W1REP 117, W4TTO 110, W4WNT 99, WA2YBM 93, KI4YV 84 JUNE ARES MEMBERS: 1,828
South Carolina
Greetings to all Amateur Radio Operators. This is Dr. Jim, N2ZZ with the July 2008 South Carolina Section Manager's Report! Please remember that the SC Section website can be found at: www.arrl- sc.org/ where my full SM report will be listed as well as up-to-the-date information on Amateur Radio in South Carolina! Field Day was fantastic this year! Charlie AE4UX, SEC and I had our annual trip around South Carolina visiting Field Day sites, something we look forward to each year! We took a new route this year, covering 690 miles and 11 Field day sites! As I mention and remind myself each year, South Carolina is a large state. We focused on visiting a number of sites in the upstate, but found that the non-interstate roads took quite a while to navigate. Additionally, timing was a big factor. Twenty Four hours is not much time for travel. For those who responded to my initial request for a visit and did not see us, please respond again next year! The sites we did visit were: Greenwood, Anderson, Pickens, Greer, Blue Ridge, Columbia, Coastal, Beaufort, MUSC, Charleston and Trident ARC. All sites had an interesting story. Greenwood was fortunate to have a yard sale going on within sight of the operating positions, so there were a number of onlookers and some visitors who otherwise would have not had the opportunity to experience Amateur Radio. Our next site, Anderson, was one that was a bit difficult for us to find, but a call to Brian KR4SP, ACC directed us to their location. A surprise to me was to see Rev. Les K4NK, our immediate past Vice Director. I noticed a fresh scar visible through his buttoned shirt. Les was three weeks out from a triple coronary bypass operation! He is doing well, and just came to visit. He is undergoing cardiac rehabilitation now, but was ready to preach his sermons the following day! Our best to Les! I was also pleased to see Miss Emmie, KA4LRM, and really appreciate her taking
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all Field Day messages for me on the SC SSB net that night. I was able to listen to the net that evening, and conditions were certainly not optimal. Our next site was Pickens, and I was very impressed with the wealth of digital modes that were being used. I had the opportunity to meet their State Representative on our visit as well! Greer had a wonderful location on Lake Robinson, with a great antenna system. Blue Ridge had a great location, with perhaps the farthest spacing between the CW station and the Phone station we had seen on our travels! We appreciated the dinner, and allowing us to be the first in line! Columbia had theirWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO first year in their new site, the VERY public Sandhills shopping center! That parking lot was filled, and cars were buzzing by on the main road. From a human interest side, I noticed an area that was roped off and found that the Columbia group found a bird nest on the ground! Other than Mama bird not liking the activity going on, the nest and eggs were safe throughout the weekend! Charlie and I then made the long drive to Point South, where we spent the evening. The following morning, we visited Costal at the Point South KOA. How they ever got that crank up tower through those trees, I'll never know! Our next stop was Beaufort, with a great setup adjacent to the fire station in Port Royal. The ham with the most Q's was to win their Field Day mascot. I forgot its name, but when you hit the right button, it does the chicken dance! Congrats to the ham that won that trophy! MUSC was the next on the list. They were set up in a Mass Casualty Tent. Yes, complete with an air conditioning unit! Also notable was the biggest power generator I have ever seen, that was larger than I am tall! The Charleston ARS was surprised to see us, since we usually visit on Saturday evening. It was good to be on the USS YorktownWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO again, although I don't think I will ever be able to navigate through that ship on my own to get to their radio room. After a quick lunch, we hit the road to visit our last site. We were nearing 2pm. When we visited the Trident ARC in North Charleston, a thunderstorm was on the way, and they were just packing up. We were unable to visit the Grand Strand or Pee Dee, but Greg Davis N3ZL posted the following TV coverage of their activities on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=30QtbCOnKS8 . Thanks to Lloyd KO4L for that information! Thanks to everyone for their hospitality during our visit, and we will plan on a different route next year to hopefully catch those sites we missed this year. Thanks again to Miss Emmie for taking the Field Day traffic for me, and assisting all the Field Day sites with their NTS message bonus points! Tom WA4VYS reports that the SC SSB net made the August QST issue (p.61) for their 50 years of service. Again, congratulations to the SC SSB net! Dennis KG4RUL, PIC reports that the Second Annual TARC tailgate party will be held on August 16th, 2008 in Moncks Corner. Further information is available on their website: http://tarc.ai4mt.com/Tailgate_Party.htm That's it for July! See you next Month! June 2008 National Traffic System Report for South Carolina by Mac Heaton N4MEH, STM: Net Reports Net/Check Ins/Traffic/Sessions/Reported By Anderson Radio Club 2M Net/818/34/30/N4MEH Beaufort VHF ARES Net/36/4/4/W4KLB Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Net /2187/45/30/K4SUG Carolina's Net/242/116/57/W2EAG Columbia ARC 2 Meter Net/245/0/9/KE4TLC Grand Strand ARC 2M Net/167/14/13/KI4HEE Greater Pee Dee 2 Meter Net/778/39/30/K4DTT Greenwood ARC 2 Meter Net/118/4/4/W4DEW Greenwood Friendly Net/578/46/30/W4JAK Lancaster County 2 Meter Net/100/13/12/N4WMB Oconee 2M Net/347/19/13/N9GSX SC SSB Net/1660/68/30/W4DDK SC Hearts ARES Net/219/5/6/KE4RVF York Co. ARS 2 Meter FM Net/840/5/47/KI4NBA Station Activity Reports Station/Sent/Received/Delivered/Originated/Total KA4LRM/0/17/16/0/33 KA4UIV/9/9/7/0/25 K4GLT/55/44/1/0/100 N4MEH/9/52/4/3/68 W4DDK/5/33/2/5/45 W4KLB/14/8/5/6/33 Public Service Honor Roll Station/Cat1/Cat2/Cat3/Cat4/Cat5/Cat6/Total KA4LRM/40/40/20/0/0/0/100 N4MEH/40/40/20/0/0/0/100 Have a Great Month!! '73 de Dr. Jim N2ZZ ARRL Section Manager South Carolina Section www.arrl-sc.org
Virginia
Virginia Section Manager’s Report for June 2008 We started June with two Hamfests, both of them on the same day. June 8th found hams in Northern Virginia headed for Manassas. Hams down in the southern part of the state headed for Franklin for their “junk in the trunk” and pig picking at the Bronco Club. Hopefully you were able to attend one of them. But if not, don’t despair, you have two more
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chances in August. The Vinton Hamfest (just outside of Roanoke) will be held on Saturday August 2nd and the Berryville Hamfest (Winchester area) will be Sunday August 3rd. And looking even further ahead, the Virginia Beach Hamfest will be September 20th and 21st. Are you looking for a new rig or maybe just thinking about a new rig? Attend one of the hamfests and browse the radios on display to find the one you want. Maybe you have enough radios (my XYL understands that in my opinion you can never have enough radios!). Then attend the hamfest to meet many of your on the air friends. Whatever your reason for goingWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO to a hamfest, you are helping the hamfest stay alive by attending. I would like to thank the ARES group in Norfolk for having Ken Murphy, KI4GEM, and I speak at their June meeting. Ken spoke about the tornado that touched down in the Driver area of Suffolk. Ken lives just outside of Suffolk and the tornado passed right over his truck as he was traveling down the road. After Ken’s presentation I spoke about the ARES activities in the Section as well as the new MOU with VDEM. At the time of the meeting the MOU was still in the hands of the lawyers. It is now approved and has been signed. More on the MOU next month. Kudos to the Chesapeake Amateur Radio Service (CARS). In conjunction with the Chesapeake Center for Science and Technology (part of the Chesapeake Public School system), they provided volunteers and materials for a class on Amateur Radio. They had six students pass their technician licensing exam with two more students studying to take their exam. Congratulations to all. Ready or not, Field Day arrived. I participated with the Portsmouth Amateur Radio Club (my home club). As usual we turned it into a fun and food event, with some radio thrown in for goodWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO measure. Most of my operating was on Sunday morning. I did receive quite a few Field Day messages. I tried to confirm by reply message to most that I had received their message. If you did not receive a confirmation, and would like to have one, please just let me know. We held a testing session at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday and had two people pass their technician exam and one person upgrade to General. One of the new technicians had driven four and a half hours to take his test (we were the closest test session). I was so glad he passed after having driven that far! We have tested at Field Day for several years now and have had good turnouts for our sessions. As I mentioned last month, please stay tuned to www.aresva.org/aresva.html and www.arrlva.us to keep abreast of the happenings in the Section. Dan Edwards, AG4YU, is our webmaster and he has been working hard to keep up with the articles and changes we have been sending to him. On the web pages you can find the STM report, the SEC report, and a copy of the signed MOU between Virginia Section ARES and VDEM. Has your group or club done something you think the rest of the section would like to know about? Send your article or information to Joe Safranek, K4JJS. Joe is our PIO and can be found at [email protected]. If you are up late and would like to say hello, drop in on the Virginia Late Net. I can be found there many nights at 22:00 local (3947 khz). 73 Carl Clements, W4CAC Virginia Section Manager
Rocky Mountain Division
Wyoming
Hi All – Well its summertime and the bands are worse off than a year ago. We keep hearing the sunspots are coming but they just trickle in here and there. The good news is there is still an occasional DX opening and I’ve managed to pick up a few countries. The DXCC certificate arrived – of which most has been done in the last 18 months at the bottom of the cycle so it can be done. I’m just waiting for the bands to open up so I can fill in on 10 thru 17m and more. But – the good news is there always seems to be CW activity so knock the dust off the old key and move down the band for some excitement. Or – play with some digital methods – RTTY, PSK31 etc. Some of the Section Elmers on the WY7FD site would be glad to help you get going. Seems you can work world wide on 100W or less. I’ve been having fun playing with APRS in the truck and car. Its also 6 meter time – so try out this exciting band. There is never a dull moment in ham radio. How was your field day?? We had a successful VE session with one new ham and two upgrades and heard other clubs continue to crank them out. Keep up the good work. We’re still closing in on North Dakota in ham registration so don’t quit now. http://www.73ham.net/statistics/rank.html Talked to a few groups after the Sunday nets on 75m to pass
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Section Manager traffic. Thanks to WB7S Jerry for helping pass traffic also. Remember to submit your statistics to ARRL and you get extra credit if you do it electronically. Stay tuned for some changes in the Section ARES/RACES area – we’re seeing improved communication around the state thanks to all of you. Don’t forget the Rocky Mountain Division Convention July 11-13 at Bryce Canyon, UT. www.utahhamfest.net. See page 97 of QST – lots going on and a chance to see some great country and meet hams from all around. ARRL Membership Manager Katie Breen W1KRB will be there as Keynote Speaker. See you “onWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO the air”, 73, Chris, WY7UPR Southeastern Division
Puerto Rico
Saludos a todos. Primero que nada quiero agradecer a todos los que se preocuparon por mi salud, en especial a los que oraron por mí. Fui sometido a una operación para extraer un tumor canceroso de mi cuerpo. La operación fue todo un éxito, gracias a Dios. Todavía estoy en recuperación pero espero ya poder reanudar mis actividades para mediados de Julio. Como les había comentado el pasado mes, tuvimos la grata visita de nuestro director de la División Sureste de la ARRL, Greg Sarratt, W4OZK. A pesar que estuve en el hospital durante su visita, Greg fue atendido por un grupo de radio aficionados desde queWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO llegó hasta su partida. El viernes 20 de junio, que llegó, fue recibido en el mismo aeropuerto. El sábado tuvo dos reuniones, un "tour" turístico y una visita a una estación de televisión. El domingo, su último día en PR, lo llevaron al “hamfest” de la FRA en Caguas donde dirigió unas palabras a la audiencia. Aunque Greg solo estuvo de pasada por PR en camino hacia Islas Vírgenes, me comentó que quedó muy agradecido por toda la atención que recibió y la gran cantidad de radio aficionados entusiastas que conoció. Esperamos que su próxima visita sea oficial y pueda conocer aún más de nosotros. También durante el pasado mes, se formó oficialmente el Puerto Rico Amateur Radio Society (Danny Ponce, WP4F; José Lugo, NP3FM; Héctor Reyes, WP3ZZ; Jomary Rosado, WP4NWI; Ángel Santana, WP3GW; Edgardo García, NP4EG y otros). Este grupo no tiene nada que ver con la PRARS de los años 1968-1972 de la cuál fui fundador junto a Pedro Pizá, NP4A; Guillermo Bonet, KP4BKY (SK); Felipe Camino, KP3AC; Don Pedro Pizá, KP4ES (SK), Pepín Medina, KP4CO (SK) y otros. Pero tiene muchas similaridades. Los dos grupos surgieron para satisfacer una necesidad de más y variadas actividades. Ambos grupos fueron fundados por radio aficionados jóvenes y activos. Les deseamos éxito en sus gestiones. El "Field Day" también fue un ‚éxito. Este año participaron cinco grupos (PRARL, PRARS, FRA, RODE y KP4IA). Este es el tipo de participación que nos da a conocer fuera de PR y entre la comunidad local además de proveer el ejercicio en comunicaciones de emergencia. Hablando de emergencias, quisiera preparar un inventario de radio aficionados voluntarios para operar durante emergencias. Se me ha ofrecido una oportunidad para que se les brinde adiestramientos gratuitos al radio aficionado voluntario pero se necesita saber quiénes son y donde están ubicados. El interés viene de la Oficina de Asuntos para la Seguridad Pública (OASP). Los interesados favor de escribirme a mi dirección electrónica ([email protected] o [email protected]). Felicitamos a Víctor Madera, KP4PQ por la publicación del libro, Mi Tercera Licencia y la preparación del examen para la clase Extra en español. Este es un logro más de Víctor para toda la radio afición. Este mes tenemos el concurso CQ WW VHF el fin de semana del sábado 19 y el otro fin de semana (sábado 26) el concurso IOTA. Estos son los principales durante este mes. Entendemos que varios grupos participarán en estos concursos. Suerte y éxito a todos. Bueno, esto es todo por ahora. Hasta el próximo mes. Dios los bendiga a todos. 73s Roberto Jiménez, KP4AC
Southern Florida
Hi Everyone, We are more than one third of the way through this hurricane season. The active part of the season is yet to come so do not neglect the training and the spare batteries. FIELD DAY: Bonus
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points were available for message origination to the Section Manager: I received NTS messages with all of the required information from HIARC, VBARC, W4ZE, LARA, TARC, and PWARC. I also received several NTS messages without all the required information about participants, and e-mails with information about the activities at the sites and these don't qualify for bonus points. I also noted that several stations had difficulty with word count. A handy way of counting the words in the text is to write only 5 words on each line when copying or composing the message. You can see at a glance if you have the correct count asWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO indicated in the CK. Remember, for the check to be correct items like EOC count as one word and Emergency Operations Center is three words. Many groups had educational sessions on Field Day to get bonus points and train new hams. Please send me an e-mail and tell me what your group did and I will share the ideas next month. Field Day also brought some publicity to the area. Most groups were able to get an announcement in the media prior to the event. MACARA and ARES had reporters from 2 newspapers that wrote articles for the Sunday editions. LARA and VBARC had media coverage after the event. Bert, AG4BV and Craig, KG4QKN taped a radio showed which aired on several stations the week prior to Field Day. Unrelated to Field Day, yours truly was interviewed by a Scripps Treasure Coast reporter and the article appeared the following week. OUR IMAGE: Often we are worried about our stereotyped image. We really need to look at our image at public events. Is there a beer can? (I received several photos with these and I will not put them on the website). Are all members dressed in clean clothes without offensive slogans on the shirt? Is the literature up to date? Are the membersWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO that are speaking to the public knowledgeable about various aspects of amateur radio? Do your displays and your net control station at public service events have club brochures and information on how to obtain an amateur radio license? Another image we need to be careful of is how we sound on nets. The general public can listen on scanners. Are there other radios or a television playing in the background? Are there children or family members audible in the background? TRAINING: We have some changes in the Section staff. Hugh Connolly, AG4HC has stepped aside as ASM for training. Hugh gets a bigs THANKS from all of us for his work on the powerpoint presentations for the ARECC courses. Moving into the ASM for training position is David Fowler, K4DLF. David has done many training sessions, forums, and meeting presentations in Palm Beach, Martin, and Broward counties this year. The average person retrains for a new job title about four times in a lifetime. Licensed professionals such as doctors, attorneys, CPAs, cosmetologists, teachers, firefighters, etc are required to obtain a certain number of hours of continuing education each year. If we consider ourselves professional communicators why are we balking at training requirements? FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Did you know? If your read twenty minutes per day you will read approximately one million words in a year. REPORTS: ARES members: 766 in the 9 counties reporting. Nine active ARES nets held 30 sessions and five had NTS liaison. ECs reporting: N4LEM, WA2DQX, N5KFR, AA4BN, WA4ASJ, WA4GUK, AI7Q,AD4RZ, WN7YJJ reporting for Osceola Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 44, Person hours: 144 Number of public service events this month: 8, Person hours: 398 No emergency operations this month. Total number of ARES operations this month: 52, Total Person hours: 690 SFL ARES Net Report --- QNI 24 QTC 2 Time 36 Min. SAR June 2008: KA4FZI 174, KE4CB 101, AA4BN 53, KC4TM 10, W7GXW 6 PSHR June 2008: KA4FZI 120, KE4CB 105, AA4BN 84 SFL NETS-- ABB., SESS, QNI, QTC, MGR All Florida CW Traffic Net, QFN, 60, 391, 238, AD4DO Broward Co. Emergency Prep. Net, BCEPN, 4, 72, 17, KI4WDQ Florida Amateur SSB Traffic Net , FAST, 30, 261, 63, K4SCL Florida Medium Speed Net, FMSN, 30, 74, 29, AG4RJ/AB4XK Jupiter- Tequesta Repeater Group, JTRG, 7, 55, 19,AG4BV/W4FK Palm Beach County Ares Net, PBCAN, 8, 101, 32, K4DLF Saint Lucie Repeater Association, SLRA, 5, 69, 2, KE4UEI Southeast Florida Traffic Net, SEFTN, 30, 647, 39, AG4RJ/KI4IQZ Southwest Florida Traffic Net, SWFTN, 26, 40, 85 KE4CB/N9WS Total QNI = 2110, QTC = 524 I hope to see many of you at the Fort Pierce Hamfest on August 9. Here is a link to the flyer which also lists the forums: http://www.qsl.net/w4akh/index_files/Hamfest%20Flyer%202008.pdf. The FEC DX Club will hold a business meeting after the DX Forum. I will also be at the State convention/Melbourne Hamfest on October 11 and 12. I have updated the section page at www.arrl.org/sections/SFL.html. Scroll all the way down for the latest photos and sources for additional Field Day photos. Stay Safe and stay on the
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air. 73, Sherri, W4STB
Southwestern Division
Arizona
ARRL ARIZONAWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO SECTION NEWS July 2008 ARCA WILLIAMS HAMFEST/ARRL STATE CONVENTION July 18-19, 2008 ARCA/Williams Hamfest hosted by the Amateur Radio Council of Arizona will be at the Williams Rodeo Grounds, 800 Rodeo Rd, Williams, AZ. In attendance will be several vendors including ICOM, thank you Pat. In attendance from the ARRL HQ will be speaker, author and editor Ward Silver N0AX. We are trying to get some of Ward’s books (Hands-On Radio, Ham Radio for Dummies) to sell. Ward will also be available to sign his books as well. Arizona ScQRPion’s will have some kits to sell at the swapmeet on Friday and they will have a QRP program on Saturday http://www.azscqrpions.org There will be speakers, swapmeet, vendors, friends, fun, door prizes, food including the popular BBQ dinner on Saturday and of course the train ride to the Grand Canyon on Sunday. Check it out at www.arca-az.org Talk-In - 146.78 - (91.5 Pl) See you there. EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS Is it me, or is everyone getting busy this time of year. It feels like I don't have a spare moment anymore...some say a sign of old age....hope not my calendar is way too full. WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.ROThe Arizona ARES database is chugging along nicely. We have more than 450 members state wide who have signed up. Almost 20 of them however haven't taken the time to give us the information which will make the system truly useful should we be called in on short notice for a disaster. The database has 3 main pages which are used to collect much needed information. The registration page has information on how to contact you, where you live, what county you are in...etc. The equipment page tells the emergency coordinator what kinds of equipment you can bring if needed. This section is intended to be broad brush strokes, I don't need to know if you have an Icom or a Kenwood, just that you have one. Lastly, and equally important, the training section captures some important study and skills. Have you taken ICS-100/700 because most EOCs won't let you help out without them. Checking the boxes allows the emergency coordinator to search for specific skills or equipment quickly and efficiently. If you haven't logged in lately, log in today, check and see if you have selected a county on the registration page, or have added capabilities since you signed up. Save the registration page, and we'll know you've reviewed your data. Rick Aldom W7STS Section Emergency Coordinator Arizona [email protected] SOUTHWESTERN DIVISION CONVENTION 2008 The Southwestern Division Convention is just around the corner. We just learned that the ARRL is sending Mark Spencer to the convention. Mark is an excellent teacher and captivating speaker. Speaking of presentations, we have a full slate for you including the Director of the Arizona Department of Emergency Management Mr. Lou Trammell. We have speakers covering most areas of the hobby from the introductory level to technical presentations. There will be a display of EMCOMM vehicles from around the area (including Colorado) many vendors. If you are coming in from out of town, the Marriott has extended us very nice pricing, but the number of rooms at that level are limited so don't wait until the last minute. www.azhamcom.org Rick Aldom W7STS. [email protected] SILENT KEYS Dick Campbell N7TUF passed away in June. Dick was involved with the MS150 and a couple of other events in the mid 90's. His sons are Dennis KA7VAB and Dick K7TJZ. Jack McAlister, KE7FMD, passed away in June. Jack had been hospitalized for an extended period due to a long illness and a series of strokes. Jack was a member of YARC NEW HAMS The following Arizona hams just received their FCC license, Congratulations! Laura Mills KE7TZR, Fred Holmes KE7TXN, Jeremiah Woods KE7TVC, Anthony Lowman KE7TXP, John Murphy KE7UGN, Michelle Lowman KE7TXO, Roger Zollinger KE7TZQ, Takenori Osada KE7UGO, Ernest Miller KE7UGL, Collin Ethington KE7TZV, Ryan Keller KE7TZU, Jeffrey Johnson KE7TZS, Kimberly Sappington KE7TZT, Jennifer Verstreken KE7UGM, Devin Cenatiempo KE7TZP, Ian Mccollum KE7TXS, Stefano Cervini KE7UBU, Luciano Bonitta KE7UBT, Bridget Bietz Palmer KE7TXR, Eric York KE7UGK, Ian Valentine KE7TYZ, Jonathan Krafft KE7TXQ, Joseph Oravec KE7TYP, Clifford Sage KE7TYQ, Michael Lavallee KE7TXZ, Roberto Medina KE7TXT, Randall
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Federico KE7TYA, Deborah Griffin KE7TXX, George Melnick KE7TXV, George Fauber KE7TXY, Roberto Gil KE7TXU, Stefanie Mellott KE7TXW, Ryan Gebhart KE7TZA, Victor Walco KE7TYM, Andrew Moore KE7TYL, Sean Sobel KE7TWO, Logan Crabtree KE7TWQ, Christina Gonzales KE7TWP, Noah Hogue KE7TWR, Hunter Lienau KE7TWW, Shelby Monroe KE7TYK, Eric Chavarria KE7TYN, Richard Roda KE7TYO, Douglas Harvey KE7TZM, William Miller KE7TZW HAMFESTS/CONVENTIONS/SPECIAL MEETINGS July 18-19, 2008 ARCA/Williams Hamfest hosted by the AmateurWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Radio Council of Arizona Williams Rodeo Grounds, 800 Rodeo Rd, Williams, AZ www.arca-az.org September 6, 2008 Mohave Professional Amateur Radio Group will be having its 1st Annual Hamfest in Kingman Arizona. September 12-14, 2008 ARRL Southwestern Division Convention Mesa AZ Come check us out at www.AzHamCom.org Mesa Convention Center Rick Aldom W7STS 2008 SWD Chair [email protected]. October 18 2008 Old Pueblo Hamfest Kino Sports Park Tucson AZ October 19, 2008 Tucson Ham Radio Picnic at Reid Park at 12 noon www.tucsonhampicnic.com December 2008 Superstition Hamfest, Mesa AZ Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about ARRL. If your club or group has an activity or event that would be of interest to other hams throughout our section please email me with the specifics. 73, Tom Fagan K7DF ARRL Section Manager Arizona Tucson Arizona (520) 574-1129 [email protected] http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=AZ or http://www.az-arrl.org/
San DiegoWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO
ARES, Inc Insurance was renewed by Marsh Affinity Group ARES meeting was held on June 14th Field Day Traveled to known and accessible Field Day sites. Imperial County EOC (Heber) Mount Laguna 1B station ARCEC - Laguna FILAMARS -Bonita SOBARS – Chula Vista Convair/220 -Kearny Meaas ROARS -Romona EARS - Dixon Lake PARC - San Marcos Fallbrook ARC - Fallbrook A BIG thanks to Kurt Barnhardt, N6MD, for his efforts to get Field Day into the local media. A direct result of Kurt's effort's were stories on the South Bay Amateur Radio Society (SOBARS) by both KFMB (Channel 8 and KNSD (Channel 39) that made it to the 11 PM news.
West Gulf Division
South Texas
Time sure passes fast. It's time for the Austin Summer Fest on August 1 and 2. I do hope that everyone can attend this year, however I will not be able to attend. This is the second one I've had to miss and I will miss seeing you more than you will miss me. Mike, KG5TL, will be there so take the time to meet Mike. I'm sure he will have a lot to say. I hope all of you have a great time and find the one thing that you can't live without. I do hope that South Texas has a good showing as the price of gas may cause some to stay home. Austin Summer Fest is only once a year, and we really need a good turn out. I will be thinking of all of you and the fun I will be missing. We had a great turn out for Field Day. I received several messages from the groups in the field. I hope all had a great time. The clubs are doing great however I still get some of the newsletters sent to my old address. Please note the change in QST on page 16. My new address is: 15426 Spring Coral, San Antonio, TX 78247. I do enjoy reading the news letters. We do have a storm that may have a name by the time you read this. They think this one is going to come into the Gulf of Mexico. I do hope everyone is ready for what ever comes our way. We do need the rain but not the bad storm. I do want to thank Mike Check and others that have offered to help me with my antennas. At the present time, I'm trying several things on the wood fence. I've had some fair results on 40, but 75 has been somewhat of a problem. I hope everyone has a great month. God Bless America and our Troops. Ray N5NAV
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Section News for July 2008
Atlantic Division Delaware WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Delaware Section Monthly Summary August 2008 We are all licensed as part of the Amateur Radio Service, licensed to provide what kind of service? The FCC Rules and regulations Part 97.1 states the Basis and Purpose are expressed in the following principles: (a) Recognition and enhancement of the value of the amateur radio service to the public as a voluntary noncommercial communication service, particularly with respect to providing emergency communications. (b) Continuation and extension of the amateur’s proven ability to contribute to the advancement of the radio art. (c) Encouragement and improvement of the amateur service through rules that provide for advancing skills in both the communication and technical phases of the art. (d) Expansion of the existing reservoir within the amateur radio service of trained operators, technicians and electronics experts. (e) Continuation and extension of the amateur’s unique ability to enhance international good will. As you can see by the FCC rules as a service one of our basic purposes is to provide service to the public. In the past during major disastersWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO it was amateur radio that provided a focus of providing communications the average citizens a way of communicating their status to loved ones and friends outside of a disaster area. It has been brought to my attention as a group that we have recently shifted our goal of serving the public to serving agencies. For me this brings up some hard questions does the agency that you support provide service to the citizenry or is its goal to provide only self service? Also what is the resulting pay back for providing support to this agency? So for me the question can be how does one be of service without being involved with an outside agency? My reply would be by volunteering within your community that is the amateur radio community. Are you currently radio active? Do you attend and participate in your local clubs meetings and events? Have you contributed good will to your amateur radio community? Are you a Volunteer Examiner? Do you teach ham radio licensing courses and offer them to the general public? Have you ever considered joining the ARRL Field Organization? for a description of the volunteer positions available visit http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/org/ or if you are interested in the Amateur Radio Emergency Service ARES see http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/pscm/sec1-ch1.html While on the subject of volunteering throughout the year hundreds of ARRL PIC’s, PIO’s and other Public Relations volunteers strive to keep Amateur Radio visible in their communities by publicizing special events, writing press releases and maintaining good relations with local media among many other valuable activities. Their efforts benefit us all. A journalist Philip J. McGan WA2MBQ (SK) served as the first chairman of the ARRL’s Public Relations Committee, which helped to reinvigorate the League’s commitment to public relations. Unfortunately, Phil never got to see how well his efforts paid off. In his honor, his friends in the New Hampshire Amateur Radio Association joined with the ARRL’s Board of Directors to pay a lasting tribute to the important contributions he made on behalf of Amateur Radio. This years recipient of the 2008 Phillip J. McGan Memorial Silver Antenna Award is own Walt Palmer W4ALT. As a volunteer Walt has demonstrated a professional approach in his role as Public Information Coordinator for the Delaware Section and is now recognized as a National leader in his volunteer role, again congratulations Walt for your outstanding work. Also in the area of volunteer activity, it is my pleasure to announce the appointment of Joseph Stormer W3TL to the position of Assistant Section Manager for Delaware. Joe has been helping in the Delaware Section with proposed legislation to be introduced in the Delaware General Assembly concerning FCC BRB-1 and CCR’s. Thank you Joe for taking on this and other section responsibilities. I have received concerns from members that our field activities specifically in the area of nets and traffic handling have not been getting publicized. If you are a net manager or if your organization participates in a formal net operation please send your net information to such as number of participants, starting and ending times and dates, formal messages and traffic passed and any other important information to our Section Traffic Manager
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N3KYA Ed Pajewski at: [email protected] in order to report our Public Service Honor Roll participants in action to the League. Finally again I need your assistance in keeping the ARES / RACES registration data base up to date. Please go to www.de.arrl.org and click on the registration URL follow the instructions to file your registration by email. Thank you, 73 Frank Filipkowski AD3M Southern New JerseyWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY NEWSLETTER FOR AUGUST SECTION MANAGER, JEAN PRIESTLEY, KA2YKN I looked at the calendar the other day at work and asked myself “self, where did the summer go and did we have spring and will we have fall”? The answer was its gone and lets hope for a real fall. It has really been too hot to do much antenna and tower work. Maybe the fall will be kinder to us. If you have been studying for an upgrade to your license or know someone studying for the first time test, this is in addition to the testing mentioned below. There will be testing September 20, 2008 at 9:20 AM. The doors will open at 9AM. The location of the testing is the Tony Canale Fire Training Center, 5033 English Creek Ave, Egg Harbor Township. Pre-registration is mandatory. Please contact Lou, KA2NTT via email at [email protected] to register or call 6099279182. The testing fee is $14 and you must have 2 forms of I.D. Anyone who is testing to upgrade their present Amateur License must bring the original amateur radio license plus a photo copy of the license. This testing is sponsored by SCARA.WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO All the Volunteer Examiners are certified by the ARRL It is with much sadness that SCARA reports that Malcolm J. Lee, W2MUL recently became a silent key. Malcolm previously resided in Galloway Township, NJ but was in Raleigh, NC at the time of his death. On August 26, 2008 there will be an Advanced SKYWARN Spotters Class in Burlington County if anyone is interested in attending. There are a few already signed up. If you plan on attending please send an email to [email protected]. The address is Burlington County Emergency Services Training JSARS Is still holding their testing sessions the third Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm at the Riverwood Recreation Building on Riverwood Drive in Toms River, NJ. For more information call Ed GENOINO, WA2NDA at 609-693-3729. Holiday City ARC is also still holding their test sessions every other 2nd Saturday from 10am to 12pm, (May, July, Sept, Nov). Sessions are held at the Holiday City South Clubhouse area in meeting room #1 on Mule Road at the corner of Santiago Dr in Toms River. Your contact person is Bill Haldane, AC2F and the phone is 732-240-7064 or [email protected]. When going to any test session, you must have your original license, at least one Xerox copy and original and one copy of any credit sheets you may have. Bring 2 forms of id. OBARC has resumed their test sessions for the year. There was one in June and the next one will be Sept. 4 and again Dec. 4, 2008. All the sessions will be held at the Ocean Acres Community Center, Nautilus Drive, Manahawkin. Doors close at 7pm. Contact Dave Burgess, WA2TVS at 609-698-2872. Directions to test site are available at http://wwww.obarc.org. Testing sessions by SJRA are on the 4th Tuesday of each month at the Winslow Senior center. Contact is Mark, K2AX at [email protected] or (609)820-1523. The Batttleship New Jersey is on summer hours. If your club is thinking about visiting the NJ2BB club station, please be sure to make arrangements ahead of the scheduled date to insure that someone will be there. Just go on our website at www.nj2bb.org for information to schedule a visit. If you have worked NJ2BB and want to send a card, the QSL manager is Margaret Burgess, KB2BRR 150 Schooner Ave, Barnegat, NJ 08005. Please send your cards with an SASE to insure receiving a card in return from NJ2BB. http:// www.nj2bb.org NOW OPEN !! The new “City at Sea Tour”. Its intent is to highlight the support activities within the vessel, such as dental, medical and sickbay. There will also be a Quick Stop (aka smoke shop), Post office and machine shops. Of interest to the Ham community is the WW2 Radio Room that members of BNJARS have been working on. This compartment was once filled with black crackle painted equipment that glows in the dark. The gang has found the appropriate equipment from various sources, restored and repaired each item as needed. On May 19, 2008, the new General Quarters Tour opened. The tour will offer the same tour as the current, except all guests will receive an audio device that will include narration, music, special effects, descriptions of spaces and recorded accounts by former crew members. An adult and child’s version will be available. The ships current guided tour
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The Fire Power Tour will now include the Combat Engagement Center and the Admiral Halsey Stateroom. Even If your have seen the ship once already, there is plenty of new reasons to come see it again. On September 27 and 28 the MS BIKE RIDE CITY TO SHORE 2008 will take place. If you are interested please go to: HTTP;//GROUPS.MSN.COM/MS150CITYTOSHOREBIKERIDE. There is always room for one more. If you have an activity coming up or want to report something that happened, please send a short write up to me and I will put it in next month. Please remember that if you work traffic to report it toWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Dan, K2UL. Traffic report for May Traffic manager, K2UL, Dan Ostroy SNJ/NNJ Section Net Reports QNI reports NJM 59 N2GJ NJPN 193 W2CC NJSN 168 K2PB NJN(E) 180 AG2R NJN(L) 166 AG2R (the above nets are dual section nets of both SNJ and NNJ. Liaisons with 2RN) SNJ Local Net Reports JSARS 389 WA2NDA SJTN (E) 22 KB2RTZ SJTN(L) 12 KB2RTZ Station Activity Reports (SAR) KB2RTZ 74 WA2CUW 52 KB2BAA 50 WA2NDA 46 AA2SV 30 K2UL 20 K2GW 19 WJ3P 1 Public Service Honor Roll (PSHR) KB2RTZ 185 K2GW 110 K2UL 100 WA2CUW 90 KB2BAA 80 KA2YKN 65 N2HQL 65 WA2NDA 46 AA2SV 30 KB2VYZ 35 WJ3P 27 STM reports that the past six years have been posted on the web at http://k2ul.home.att.net/stm_monthly.htm
Western Pennsylvania
The Western Pennsylvania Section Convention is only a little over a week away. Once again this year the conventionWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO will take place at the Skyview Radio club grounds in New Kensington. You can get additional information at the following URL : http://www.skyviewradio.net/ . Our guest from ARRL Headquarters this year will be Katie Breen, W1KRB, membership manager for the league. Katie will share with us many of the benefits of membership and also her enthusiasm for the hobby. Atlantic Division director Bill Edgar, N3LLR, and assistant direct Tom Abernathy, W3TOM, will also be in attendance to talk to those attending about issues in the league and the division. This is a great opportunity to get questions answer and also to let Bill and Tom know your views on issues. This year Eric Olena, WB3FPL. Eastern Pennsylvania section manager and good friend will be visiting the convention. Eric has been involved in the proposed tower legislation that is on the floor of the state senate. There is also a good chance that former director Bernie Fuller,N3EFN, will be visiting the convention this year. On September 7th the Butler County Amateur Radio Association will hold its first swap fest at the Unionville fire hall just off route 8. Additional information is available at http://w3udx.org/ . I plan on being in attendance at both of these events. As always I am looking forward to seeing old friends and talking to the many hams that will be in attendance. Looking at the calendar the Pennsylvania QSO party is only two months away. It is not too early to be making plans to activate your county for the contest. This is one of the most enjoyable and friendly contests that I participate in each year. This years QSO Party is held on October 11 and 12. Rules and additional information can be found at the Nittany Amateur Radio website at http://www.nittany-arc.net/ . Please check out the qso party section and plan to operate. I want to again encourage each of you to contact your state senator and representative and ask them to support these bills. Here is the data from last month to remind all of how to do this. The Senate voted SB 884 out of committee on June 25 and laid on the table the same day. The House Bill, 1777 remains in committee and has not moved from the Local Government Committee since August 2007. The Legislature is in summer recess until Sept 15 when it reconvenes for a short pre- election session, then a brief "lame duck" session. If it does not pass this session the process must begin anew. Time to contact your Senators and urge the bill be moved to the floor for a vote. Remember, the House must do the same so there is a long way to go. Be a squeaky wheel and write, phone visit your State Reps. You can find them easily by going to http://www.legis.state.pa.us/ go to the house and senate tabs and enter you zip code. (Note, you can also find the bill(s) from this webpage.) Be sure to ask them to contact their colleagues to move these bills forward before they die with the session. If you have friends in other clubs in the state, it would be a good idea to ask them to do likewise. Join us nightly on the WPA Phone and Traffic net at 3983hz at 6 PM local time and help us to get messages delivered throughout our section. Thanks to the many dedicated traffic handlers on various nets who provide this message service. We are still looking for individuals to participate in leadership roles in the
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ARES program. Interested individuals can contact John Swarc at [email protected] or myself at [email protected] to volunteer. 73 for this month and hope to see you at the hamfests.
Central Division Wisconsin WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO WISCONSIN: SM: Don Michalski, W9IXG. BWN 3982.5 0500-0715 W9IXG. BEN 3985 1200 WD9FLJ. WSBN 3985 1715-1800 KB9KEG. WNN 3555 1800 KB9ROB. WSSN 3555 1830 N9JIY. WIN-E 3555 1900 WB9ICH. WIN-L 3555 2200 W9UW. (All times are Central time) ** Regretfully, I am informing you of the passing of these Wisconsin Amateurs: -- Frank Van Someren, W9AVX, 86. Frank was active in Army MARS. -- Robert Foster, N9UAR, 75. -- Clyde Deitz, KF9QA, 71. Clyde was a member of Midstate Repeater Association. Through a memorial gift to ARRL you can celebrate or honor the life or contributions of a family member or friend for whom Amateur Radio has been a passion. http://www.arrl.org/development/memorial.html#top ** Congratulations to Patrick Weeks, KB9ULT, for being selected The Foundation for Amateur Radio, Inc. 2008 WARAC Scholarship winner! ** The OZARES September meeting will be a training session, FEMA courses IS-100 and IS- 700. That is a good way to cover the material in one sitting! ** Just what's an "ELMER"? A helper, a bud, a pal,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO a big brother, a mentor or what? An "ELMER" is one of best things that can happen for a new ham! Would you run before you can walk? Take it from me! My "ELMER" is Ralph Henes, W9CAR of Madison. This man exemplifies what this time honored tradition is all about! He is the guy behind the scenes, the man who is always ready for "just one more question". Ralph's the guy who's there for you! Not just lip service, this man has been there for me since February when I barely knew which side of the antenna went up. Ralph was the guy who encouraged me to take the General test to open up the world of HF! He was the guy who helped me set up my station and my first HF 80 meter loop antenna on a very hot and mosquito infested day. Ralph was there to show me how to do things right in a common sense practical way with answers for all my questions along the way. Many of my fellow new hams ask how I like the "Elmer" program and my reply is simple, would you go into this without help and try to find all the answers on your own or would you like to make the friendship of a lifetime? I have suggested to many new hams that an Elmer is the best thing next to slice bread and that Ralph is the "MAN"! I would encourage all of you to follow his example and watch out for the new people. -- Bob Paiva, W9BYK [email protected] ** Riley Hollingsworth recently retired from the FCC. One of his more famous quotes worth remembering: "Every time you get on the air, you need to decide what's most important to you ...the best interests of Amateur radio as a whole, or your own pride or ego or "rights"." ** STM Report Wisconsin Section July 2008 FAQ # 84 -- "Signs, signs, everywhere signs. . ." Years ago, I told the story of how the minister kept calling me David during our wedding ceremony. My name is not David. I'd like to make that point again. No, not that my lovely XYL came close to being married to someone else. The idea I was explaining was how important a name is to its owner. I'm proud of my call sign. I was proud of it when it was a novice call in 1958, and I still am. Each of us has the opportunity to build a reputation for our call sign and we become known by it. That is one reason it is so important for net control stations and those in net operation to get calls right. The accuracy on which we pride ourselves in traffic handling should start with correct call signs -- correct prefix and well as suffix. W's, K', AB's, WA's, WD's, KC's, AA's, KB's, KA's, N's, etc. are not interchangeable. If a net control operator needs clarification of a suffix, it should be given phonetically. How else can we keep good records? It's great to know operators by name -- but even more important to know the correct call. Please treat a call sign like a name. Get it right. So says your STM, Lenny, Kenny, Jenny, Benny, --- well, you get the idea. 73 -- Denny - K9LGU/STM-WI MONTHLY NET ACTIVITY SUMMARY JULY 2008 NET QNI QTC QTR SSNS NM BWN 2097 2532 4379 31 W9IXG BEN 571 53 1193 31 WD9FLJ WSBN 358 39 721 29 KB9KEG WNN 91 3 208 19 KB9ROB WSSN 77 6 193 28 N9JIY WIN/E 154 19 231 28 WB9ICH WIN/L 117 33 267 30 W9UW WRACES 65 0 177 4 N9VAO WRACES-D No report 0 0 0 KB9MMC TOTALS 3530 2658 7369 200 ** If you have a good photo of
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an event you would like posted on the Wisconsin site http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=WI please send it to me along with a short caption to go with it. I keep them up on the site for, at least, a few months! 73, Don W9IXG
Dakota Division
Minnesota WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO
ARRL MINNESOTA SECTION SUMMARY FOR JULY 2008 SUMMARY FROM YOUR SM ++ The MN section OOC, TC, ARES and Traffic summaries are enclosed below. ++ See the ARRL Section web site for up-to-date information and bulletins. ++ Go to the section website at http://www.mn- section.com for other news. ++ The Rochester Ham Radio Expo is over and it was a grand event! ++ Please send me your plans for future Amateur Radio Classes. ++ Please submit all items for posting to section webpage to me as well. ++ Do you like to Blog? Do some writing for amateur radio, become a PIO. Respectfully submitted by Skip Jackson, KS0J, MN SM ______MN OOC & TC REPORT SUMMARY FOR JULY 2008 MN OO reports received from WO0A, N0OH, & W3FAF. Respectfully submitted by John H. Thomas III, W3FAF, MN OOC & TC MN SEC REPORT SUMMARYWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO FOR JULY 2008 Total number of ARES members reported: 348 Change since last month: + 68 County EC’s reporting: Anoka (KC0KEP), Cook (KBØBDN), Douglas (KD0AAA), Itasca (KGØFD), Hennepin-Bloomington (N0ANP), Redwood (KAØISD), Scott (NØBHC), St. Louis-North (WDØGUF), St. Louis-South (KBØLC), Sherburne (NØJHU), Washington (ABØXE), Local Net Names: Anoka County ARES Net, CCART, River Valley, SEMARC, Scott County, Chisago County, Carver County, Washington County, Fox Valley Monday Night Net, Lac Qui Parle Phone, Lac Qui Parle Packet, Mankato Area Radio Club Emergency Services Net, Marshall Area Emergency Net, Redwood County, Wadena Area Ham Net, Northern Lakes Radio, NE MN Public Service, SE St. Louis Emergency Service, Dakota County ARES, Scott County ARES Total sessions: 43 NTS liaison is maintained with the MN Section, Tenth Region, and NTSD Traffic Nets by NØUC, WØLAW Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 23 Person hours: 454 Number of public service events this month: 5 Person hours: 430 Number of emergency operations this month: 19 Person hours: 529 Total number of ARES operations this month: 47 Total Person hours: 1413 Comments: Anoka: Blaine Blazing 4th Fireworks (96 Person Hours) Washington County: 1) Supplied communications for the Prairie Island Reception Drill and FEMA graded drill on July 23th 2) The Washington County Emergency Manager has purchased a new Kenwood TM710 and a power supply for the County EOC RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, MN SEC MN STM SUMMARY FOR JULY 2008 NET FREQ TIME QNI/QTC/SESS MGR ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ MSPN/E 3860 5:30 P WO0A MSPN/N 3860 12.00P K0BLR MSN/1 3605 6:30 P K0WPK MSN/2 3605 9:50 P K0WPK PAW 3925 9A-11AM 1500-1700 KA0IZA MONTHLY STATION ACTIVITY REPORTS (SAR) STATION ORIG. REC'D. SENT DLVD. TOTAL BPL NO.OPS. W0LAW 0 78 91 2 171 K0WPK 0 66 11 5 82 KA0RMP 0 23 37 0 60 K0BLR 12 22 25 7 47 KA0IZA 0 29 4 0 33 KE0G 3 14 9 4 30 N0KCM 6 6 12 0 24 KB0AII 0 6 15 0 21 W0HPD 0 6 14 0 20 KX0N 2 6 6 6 18 KB0AIJ 0 6 6 0 12 WD0GUF 0 3 3 0 6 N0JP 0 0 4 0 4 ~~~ ~~~~~~~ PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) STATION 1 2 3 4 5 6 TOTAL ~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~ K0BLR 40 40 10 75 40 0 205 W0LAW 40 40 20 20 120 WD0GUF 40 6 30 76 SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER MONTHLY REPORT NETS ABBR.CK/IN TRF SESS. NM/CALL ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ MINNESOTA SECTION MSPN/E WO0A MSPN/E C/2 PHONE/NET EVENING 1,334 70 31 MINNESOTA SECTION MSPN/N K0BLR MSPN/N C/2 1200 NOON 531 32 31 MINNESOTA SECTION RN-10, C/4 NET (CW) 6:30PM MINNESOTA SECTION MSN/1 RN-10, C4 127 59 24 K0WPK RN-10 C/4 NET CW 9;50PM 82 14 27 MSN/2 PICONET ALLDAY PAW K0WPK PICO NET ALL DAY WATCH KA0IZA 2,801 47 74 RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Robert Meyer, W0LAW, MN STM
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North Dakota
NORTH DAKOTA: SM, Kent Olson, KAØLDG -Field Day claimed scores are in, and the RRRA of Fargo won the coveted “ND Top Gun” award this year. Their claimed score was 5282 points, with Grand Forks in second with 3834, and Minot in third with 2738. Great job to all the ND Field Day stations that were on the air! Please pass on your condolences to family and friends of Mike Callahan, KBØYBH, who passedWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO away recently. Mike was the son of Joe, NØQAU and Kim, NØQAV from Dickinson. Val Tareski, KØQYW, and his wife Millie, NØSCW, recently returned from their volunteer work with the Salvation Army during the Iowa flooding. It sounds like it was quite the experience for them. Thanks to both for their services! It looks like most clubs are in the process of taking care of recurring repeater maintenance around the state. Since the snow season is soon to hit, it’s never too soon to get stuff like that done. My e-mail address is: KAØ[email protected] so send me what you have been up to. Upcoming Hamfests: Fargo on September 13th, and Grand Forks on October 4th. K8BBM Net reports for June: WX Net: 23,472,6. Data Net: 25,541,20. Goose River Net: 5,42,1. Until next month...73!
South Dakota
Here is theWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO section news for South Dakota, if there are any clubs that have material that they wish to have posted please email me [email protected] the information no later than the 5th of the month so that I can get it posted to both the summary and the web site before the cut off date. Hot Springs ARC News Our Field Day report has been sent in to the ARRL. Our score was below 2007's but it still was a big success with our new tower and enclosed trailer. We will be ready for 2009! We began work on the inside of our club shack. Phil, KAØFUI, has installed new wiring, outlets and trim. After some caulking, we will be ready to paint and mount the new counter tops. We hope to have this completed by the end of August. Our annual club picnic will be in September. We will announce a date next month. Gary Slagel, NØSXX, has moved back to Hot Springs after being in Colorado for many years. CU down the log, 73 KØOR HSARC President South Dakota Section Convention South Dakota Section & Sioux Empire ARC It is official everyone - September 20th, 2008 is the date - mark the calendar. We have the venue and banquet lined up - and we will have more flea market space (double of last year) as well as double the banquet seating. I would like everyone to email me and let me know what seminars you would like to see or if you would like to put one on that is even better. We are working on vendors and other surprises so keep tuned in and reading. Thanks, Rich, N0PV ARRL South Dakota Section Manager [email protected] South Dakota Amateur Radio Council (SDLINK) The Turkey Ridge repeater on the SD link suffered a lightening hit and caused some problems. These have been fixed and work has been done on additional grounding. Work is planned at Wessington Springs to change out the VHF antenna which hopefully will be completed by mid-August is the weather cooperates. A new UHF link radio is slated to be installed at the Pierre SD Link site in early September. A SD Link flea market fund raising table is planned for the September 290th Sioux Falls SD Hamfest. If you have items you are willing to donate please bring them to the event. The proceeds will go to the SD Link. We are in need of net controls for the SD Link net on Wednesday night at 9 pm central or 8 pm Mountain. Please contact WB0RJH is you could do be a net control for a month. Ed W0SD Northern Hills Amatuer Radio Club The July meeting of the Northern Hills Amateur Radio Club was called to order by President Gene McPherson, NØMHJ at 1930 on July 25, 2008 with 11 members present at the Lead City Hall. Public Service events were discussed by President Gene with no changes. The status of the State Link net was discussed. The State Link Net is still in need of Net Control Stations. Net Control Stations for the evening Weather Net are still needed along with relief Controllers for the present ones. Arrangements still need to be made to take the tour of the Lawrence County EOC that Paul Thomson offered to do. Next month we will need to ask for nominations for officer’s positions and the elections will be held in September. If you plan to nominate someone please check with that person before hand to see if they will be willing and able to except the nomination. The next meeting will be in Lead at the Fire Hall at 7:30 PM on August 22nd.
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Meeting was adjourned at 20:10. Jerry Hawley, KGØGG Scribe for the Evening.
Delta Division
Louisiana
ARRL Louisiana MonthlyWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Summary – July 2008 Gary Stratton K5GLS - Louisiana Section Manager Upcoming 2008 Fests – Swampfest 2008, Southwest Louisiana Amateur Repeater Club, September 13, Lake Charles, LA, Habibi Temple, 2928 Pack Road. http://www.swlarclub.bravehost.com Central Louisiana Amateur Radio Club, October 11, Pineville, LA, Pineville Community Center, 708 Main St. http://www.clarc.us Fifth Annual National Preparedness Month Coming in September The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in July that more than 1200 national, regional, state and local businesses and organizations -- including several Amateur Radio groups -- have pledged their support and joined the 2008 National Preparedness Month Coalition. Sponsored by the department's Ready campaign, National Preparedness Month helps to raise awareness and promote action by Americans, businesses and communities on emergency preparedness. National Preparedness Month Coalition members have agreed to distribute emergency preparedness information and sponsor activities across the country that will promote emergency preparedness. Membership is open to all public andWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO private sector organizations. Sign up your club or ARES group now! Groups and individuals can register to become members by visiting the Ready Web site and clicking on the National Preparedness Month banner. Information is also available by phone at 1-800-BE-READY or 1-888-SE- LISTO (in Spanish). Other News: From Jim Giammanco, N5IB LSU Physics and Astronomy Dept hosted the PACER-2008 (Physics Aerospace Catalyst Experience in Research) high altitude ballooning workshop during June and July. As part of the program, licensing classes were held twice weekly on the LSU campus for workshop participants and others, hosted by the Amateur Radio Society at LSU. Dana, AD5VC, was the pricipal instructor. All six students and one of the two professors participating earned their Technician licenses. We welcome Jon, WP4NXX; Vicky, WP4NXY; and Ana, WP4NXZ from the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, and Lisa, KJ5FIW; Wendy, KJ4FIX; J.P, KJ4EXU; and Jarod, KB3RKF from Norfolk State University. Both groups plan to organize ham radio clubs at their home campuses. On July 29 the students launched the high altitude balloon science payloads thay had designed and built during the summer. The flight took place from NASA's Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Palestine TX. All payloads were successfully tracked via APRS, recovered, and data was analyzed and presented to CSBF staff on July 31. Preflight details at http://laspace.lsu.edu/aces/FlightInfo/FlightInfo.htm with postflight details to follow soon. Field Day Reports – Please get your Field Day 2008 entries into HQ and to me for the Louisiana Section Field Day Awards as quickly as possible so that results can be tallied. I have only received a few and they are now past due. New Section Field Organization Appointments – The following are recent appointments made in the Section Field Organization: Dr. Cedric Walker K5CFW – Section Technical Coordinator Burt Sammis AF5AA – Emergency Coordinator Cameron Parish Alan Levine WA5LQZ – Assistant District Emergency Coordinator Southwest District – Region 5 EC Reports Received – Acadia/N5NVP, Allen/W5ELM, Ascenson/KD5NVE, Assumption/AD5XJ, Beauregard/W5MVP, Bienville/KD5JJP, Caddo Bossier/KG5YK, Cameron/AF5AA, Claiborne/KD5JJP, Concordia/N5AVN, East Baton Rouge/N5ULA, Lafourche/N5PJZ, Livingston/W5RR, Morehouse/KB5SAR, Orleans/NO5FD, Ouachita/W5DSG, Plaquemines/AE5RN, Rapides/KD5DFL, Richland/N5MEL, Sabine/WD5CQG, St. Bernard/AE5RN, St. Charles/K5CFJ, St. Helina/AI5B, St. James/KE5JZM, St. John/AD5XJ, St. Mary/KA5LMZ, St. Tammany/N5PSL, Tangipahoa/KD5PKS, Terrebonne/AD5XJ, Vermillion/KE5JXC, Vernon/WB5LHD, Washington/AI5B. Local/district net reports - Sessions/Check- ins/Minutes. Acadia Parish ARES Net: 10/36/31. Allen Parish ARES Net: 6/3/5. Ascension Parish ARES Net: 4/108/120. Caddo/Bossier Parish ARES Net: 5/50/50. East Baton Rouge ARES Net: 2/8/20. Orleans Parish ARES Net: 5/26/50. Ouachita Parish ARES Net: 4/77/56. Rapides Parish ARES Net: 2/20/30. Richland Parish ARES Net: 4/42/35. Sabine Parish ARES Net: 6/30/60. St. Charles Parish
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ARES Net: 1/10/60. St. Mary Parish ARES Net: 4/43/55. Tangipahoa Parish ARES Net 4/86/136. Terrebonne Parish ARES Net: 4/4/24. Vermillion Parish ARES Net: 5/37/66. Vernon Parish ARES Net: 4/86/53. Washington Parish ARES Net: 5/60/100. Louisiana ARES Net – Sessions 4, Checkins 120, Minutes 100 Louisiana ARES Statistics – Members 455, Drills 23, Public Service Events 1, Emergency Operations 5 Traffic Reports – Individual Call PSHR # TFC # N5NVP 125 71 WD5TL 120 43 W5PY 109 39 WC5M 100 59 K5MC 81 21 W5HUD 60 KB5SDU 51 1 AE5V 46 N5MEL 44 Traffic Nets NET SESS QNI QTC QTRWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO La. Tfc. Net 31 580 29 333 La. CW Net 62 344 119 437 La. Slow Net 9 37 5 68 Other Reports Received – ACC Jim Bookter N5NVP. From Jim… We now have 35 Active Affiliated Clubs of which 9 are also Special Service Clubs (SSC). Additionally there are 22 Inactive Affiliated Clubs. Thanks to David Gore (W5DSG) PIC and ASEC, La Section for his interest in advancing the effectiveness of the LA_ARES Conference Server. Thanks also to two members of PHARA for their noteworthy accomplishments: Debbie Christian (KD5RWQ) Club Vice President for her hard work on Active Affiliation Club paperwork and to PHARA Club President Jerry Darnell (AD5AQ) for working so very diligently with the "Sight Impaired" and bringing many of them into the Amateur Radio Fraternity. PHARA is a new ARRL affiliated club located in Ruston, LA. Pet Peeves – First one received… Q (QSL, QTH, QNI, etc.) signals are intended for CW operation and are not intended for phone operation. Use plain language on phone. There is no need for abbreviation. These are reported anonymously.WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Send your peeves to me at [email protected]. Silent Key – Thankfully none reported. Mississippi
So far we have dodged the hurricane bullet, but it's way to early to drain the gas out of the generator. Mississippi hams continue to prepare for a potential landfall by checking repeaters and links, testing home, mobile, and portable equipment, and making sure local ARES units know what they are supposed to do. At the state level our emergency response plan was laid out in my message to you of July 3 via the SM Reflector such that everybody would be in place and know what to do when needed. Please review this message. As part of this emergency response preparation State RACES Officer AB5WF conducted a Team Meeting at MEMA on July 24. Several important topics were covered including operation of the stations at MEMA and the MOBOPS, MEMA Reporting Forms, ARRL and FEMA Training Courses, future MARS operation, WinLink, and WebEOC. With a number of new team members in attendance, additional WinLink and WebEOC training will be scheduled shortly. Those team members in attendance were K5BLL, WB5BNV, N5DU, K5FV, KD5GMC, KD5KHI, KE5KTU, WB5TTE, AB5WF, W5XX, N5XXX, and KB5YEE. K5FV and N5VEI report that the Central Mississippi Amateur Radio Association Fox Hunt was held on August 2 and went off without a hitch. The very capable 'fox' was N5VEI being pursued by no less than 5 teams. The winning team was WB5ROI and K5IFJ. The event took just short of three hours. Also participating were KE5KTU, KE5VMQ, W5DXZ, K5BLL, KE5DHC, and K5FV. This was a really fun event, and as all learned, it can leave you frustrated. Needless to say, CMARA is planning on sponsoring this event again. ARRL Headquarters advises as of August 1 that six Mississippi ARRL Affiliated Clubs will be dropped into the inactive file because they have not completed their Annual Report in over two years. This is not good. Club Officers should note that an Annual Report needs to be filed once a year, even if nothing changes in order that ARRL Headquarters knows that the club is still active. Affiliated Club Coordinator K5WLP is working with these six clubs to get them back to an active status. To check on the status of your club go to http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/club/clubsearch.phtml. If you can't find your club then it may be listed as inactive. Try the big club list: http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/club/biglist.html. Click on the highlighted club name to see the club detailed information. Club members can also check these sites. If your club is behind on annual reports or inactive, bug your club officers until you see some action. N5VEI reports that two Mississippi teachers were privileged to be chosen to attend this summer's 2008 ARRL Teachers Institute. N5VEI and N5MZ attended the next to last session in Newington, CT at ARRL Headquarters. Bill (N5VEI) is a teacher at Olde Towne Middle School in Ridgeland, MS while Brad (N5MZ) is a teacher at Petal High School in Petal, MS. There were thirteen total teachers at the
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institute. N5VEI says that the Teachers Institute was a remarkable experience where teachers learned or were refreshed in basic electronics, programming, robotics, and how to integrate these subjects into the classroom. A major emphasis was placed on how to get students interested in science and keep that interest going with various activities with the robotics. Teachers were given a large amount of supplies to start the activities in their classrooms. N5VEI and N5MZ were given the Parallax Boe-Bot (Robot), Parallax USB Oscilloscope, breadboard with some supplies, other demonstration boards, and a large library of amateur WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROradio books. While at ARRL Headquarters they participated in many fun activities such as building a 24 hour clock, working with the oscilloscope, observing how a radio telescope was built and used, making satellite contacts on AO-27, observing how to use weather satellites in the school, and last but not least building and programming a robot (Parallax Boe-Bot). During free time at lunch they were able to have some fun on the air at the W1AW station. Three locals from MS were able to make contact with them while operating there. N5VEI says this was by far the best teacher workshop he had ever attended and would encourage more teachers to apply from our state. The Magnolia DX Association was organized in 1976 by N5FG and WA5EZQ. During the intervening years this informal club grew to over 80 members with some 30 of them being on the DXCC Honor Roll and three being at the top of the Honor Roll (W5AV, W0XV, and W5XX). MDXA managed the W5 QSL Bureau from 1998 to 2002 and organized several IOTA activations as well as supporting numerous DXpeditions and being active in a number of contests and QSO Parties. During these years N5FG has served as President and carriedWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO much of the workload. Floyd has now found it necessary to retire as President, but will still be in the thick of the pile ups. Well done, Floyd! Ham Radio was one of five sessions students could choose at the Disaster Response Academy conducted by the Mississippi Conference of the United Methodist Church held at Wood Institute in Mathiston, Mississippi, June 26-28. The Academy was conducted to train church pastors and volunteers in principles of Disaster Response to aid those who need help after a disaster. The Methodist Church wants to make ham radio one of the tools in its communications network. This course is the first time it has been offered at the Academy. AB5WF served as the course director. He was assisted by K5BLL and N5VEI. Only three students participated in the session, but they all completed the course and now have their ticket. They are David, KE4VLZ, Keith, KE5VLY, and Gene, KE5VMA. The VE session was conducted by AE5GO from MSU. Since the test session was held at the same time Field Day activities started, it was difficult to get VE Team members to come to the session. Thanks to KB5ZEA from Kosciusko and KD5FUY from Star for completing the team. Two MSU students also attended the VE session and upgraded, one to General and one to Extra. KD5CKP has retired as EC for DeSoto County serving since 1999. Tim will remain as DEC for Northwest Mississippi. Thanks, Tim! Replacing Tim as EC will be KD5VMV, who is also the deputy Director for the DeSoto County EMA. Also note that Rankin County EC K5FV has appointed WM5A as his Assistant EC. As of July we now have 1,000 ARRL Members in the Mississippi. Thanks to all who have helped to recover from our low of 825 after Katrina. This is no small achievement. Let's keep it at 1,000 or better! Congratulations to K5FV, who completed ARRL ECC-001, and K5GMA, who completed FEMA IS-324. DEC/EC Monthly Reports: WB5CON (NE MS/Alcorn), KD5CQT (Jackson), KC5EAK (Pearl River), K5FV (Rankin), WB5GUD (Newton), KD5GWM (Lauderdale/Clarke), WX5N (Prentiss/Tishomingo), N5TBB (Tippah), and N5ZNT (SW MS). Club Newsletter/Reports: Hattiesburg ARC (AC5E), Northeast Mississippi ARA (KB5NMB), Pearl River ARC (N5WLW), and Vicksburg ARC (W5WAF). Net reports: sessions/QNI/QTC (Net Manager); DRN5 62 MS 100% Rep by W5XX, KA1ZIA, WB5ZED, WA5FB (WB5ZED); MSPN 31/2669/28 (K5NRK); Magnolia Section Net 31/775/3 (K5DSG); June Report 30/869/3; MTN 31/150/5 (KB5W); Jackson Co ARES 30/513/5 (KD5CQT); MS Slow Net 23/33/0 (W3TWD); Magnolia DX Assn 5/95/0 (N5FG); Newton County ARES 5/36/0 (WB5GUD); Rankin County ARES 5/72/0 (K5FV); Meridian Area EN 5/54/0 (KD5GWM); Tishomingo County ARES 5/146/7 (WX5N); Pearl River County ARES 5/61/0 (KC5EAK); South MS YL Net 5/93/0(KB5CSQ); Stone County ARES 4/62/1(N5UDK); Miss/Lou WX Net 4/26/1(K5NRK); MS Baptist Hams Net 4/19/1(WF5F); Alcorn County ARES 4/50/0 (WB5CON); SW MS ARES 4/29/0(N5ZNT);Itawamba County ARES 4/47/4 (KB5NMB); Lowndes Co ARC Net 4/34/0 (AD5DO); Monroe ARC 4/51/0 (AD5DO); MCARA CARES 4/57/0(KA2KMU);
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PSHR: WB5ZED 150, W5XX 101. Traffic: WB5ZED 3,425 (BPL), W5XX 6, KA5DAN 2. Compilation of Net, PSHR, and Traffic statistics provided by KB5RCJ.
Great Lakes Division Michigan WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Michigan now has its own Section Web pages at http://www.arrl-mi.org/ Check these pages regularly for the latest happenings and news. Greetings Michigan Amateurs: My sincere thanks to our SEC John WB8RCR for compiling last month's Section News. Great job, John. We were able to get away for a few days and enjoy some wonderful sights and sounds in British Columbia, Alaska and the Yukon Territory. Still, it is good to be back home…hamfesting and meeting and greeting everyone across the state. SET is upon us, and it will be early this year as the ECs in Michigan have recommended that we opt to have the Michigan activity before hunting season starts. So, SET for us in the mitten state is September 27. ECs will be receiving planning material from their DEC very soon as the DECs and SEC held a Planning Conference-call on August 15th. As usual we recommend renewing contacts with served agencies well in advance of SET. ECs have also asked that the SET format more closely align with the guidelines of the Incident Command System (ICS) so we continue to become more familiar with ICS from an operationalWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO standpoint. We have done well with ICS in Michigan and its adoption in most regions has been virtually flawless. SET will incorporate an ICS structure this year, encouraging us all to be flexible. We will expect to see some "Divisions" and "Strike Teams" implemented this year. We welcome a new staff person to our Michigan Section leadership this month. Bob K8RDN, has served as our liaison at the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC). ICS has drawn more focus and emphasis upon this position and the demands are rising for Amateur Radio's involvement at the SEOC. Therefore our SEC WB8RCR has named Bob K8RDN to be the Section's first Assistant SEC (ASEC) with full responsibility for amateur radio operations at the SEOC. The ASEC position was only recently created by board action at ARRL. Michigan also welcomes our new Official Observer Coordinator, Keith N8KC. Keith is replacing Don N8NJE who has served as Michigan Section OOC for 10 years. Our most sincere thanks go to Don for his outstanding service and our warm welcome to Keith as he steps up to the challenges of the OOC position. Keith can be contacted at [email protected] . Congratulations to the Genesee County Radio Club (GCRC) on the occasion of their 75th anniversary. This Flint area brings a very valued history to ham radio in both this state and to the nation. Did you know that the first meeting of The Royal Order of Wouff Hong took place in Flint? The CGRC can trace it's strong ties to the ROWH and what it really means to be a radio amateur. ROWH initiations are only convened at State, Division and National Conventions of the ARRL. Are you a member of the Royal Order of the Wouff Hong? Thanks, Genesee county hams, for your 75 years and wonderful contributions to ham radio. Station Activity Reports (SAR)s for July, 2008: WB9JSR 757, AC8AR 368, K8LJG 256, K8KV 178, AB8SY 154, K8RDN 120, K8AMR 111, KC8MLD 93, K8AE 82, KD8AAD 76, W8RNQ 64, KD8HPF 46, WB8RCR 44, KD8FNN 41, AB8WF 13, AC8AL 12, KC8BMV 12, N8UN 11, KC8NTE 8, WA8OOH 7, KC8ZGB 4, KC8LXS 2. Public Service Honor Roll Reports (PSHR)s for July, 2008: WB8RCR 301, KC8NTE 283, AC8AL 192, AC8AR 150, K8AMR 150, WB9JSR 120, K8AE 105, K8RDN 100, KD8FNN 98, AB8SY 80, K8KV 80, K8VFZ 74, KD8HPF 49, KJ8O 31. July BPL qualifiers: WB9JSR, K8LJG. July OES reports arrived from K8COP, KC8NTE and KC8QNE. Michigan nets reporting for June (in order of traffic count): QMN, MITN, MVTN, MACS, TMMTN, SEMTN, UPN, GLETN, WSSBN, NLEUP, MCRC, Hiawatha, NMARES, MI-ARPSC. Chelsea ARC. Michigan ARES programs reported 9550 hours for June, a contribution of almost $171,000 to the citizens of our state. To include your net’s monthly activities, contact [email protected]. All nets are encouraged to report and this especially includes your local ARES and RACES nets. Here is a way to way everyone know your net is active. Complete monthly net report details are at http://www.mi- nts.org/netreport.php. PSHRs and SARs should be filed monthly with WB8RCR. You can access a simple reporting form at: http://www.mi-nts.org/PSHR_entry.shtml to provide your reports to
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WB8RCR. In all cases, reporting by radiogram is encouraged – let's keep the NTS busy. Packet messages can be routed to [email protected] and [email protected] . 73 until next month. Dale WA8EFK
Hudson Division
Northern New JerseyWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO
SM-Rich Krohn N2SMV, STM-WB2FTX, ACC-N3RB, SEC-KC2GLG, OOC-K2ZD, PIC- ? , TC- NR2H NNJ Webpage: www.hudson.arrl.org/nnj/ SM Blog - http://arrl-nnj-sm.blogspot.com/ MONTHLY ARES NET: Second Monday of each month (8PM) on the Morris County OEM Repeater: WS2Q 146.895 MHz (PL 151.4) minus 600Hz. ------July 2008 Report I started my one year term on July 1st 2008 - Despite me not "officially" in office yet. I did visit a couple of Field Day operations and Did get NTS traffic from a few others Please go to my Blog for the details - http://arrl-nnj-sm.blogspot.com/ The clubs were: GSARA OMARC RBRA ------I hope to get and have more news and information for future Monthly Summaries ------The following clubs have not submitted an annual update in more than two years and will be listedWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO as inactive. Bergen ARA Nutley ARS WILLIAM LUPO, WR2M RPTR CLUB Once your club is affiliated, it remains affiliated. To stay actively affiliated, you must complete and submit an Annual Report at least once a year. ------Northern New Jersey Section Traffic Manager Report July 2008 SAR PSHR Station Orig Received Sent Delivered TOTAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 TOTAL N2GS 0 50 56 20 126 40 40 20 100 W2CC 0 19 0 1 20 40 20 30 90 W2MGT 0 21 3 19 43 30 40 70 WB2KNS 0 7 12 3 22 40 22 20 35 117 N2GJ 0 23 20 7 50 40 40 30 5 10 125 N3RB 6 9 24 19 58 40 40 20 20 120 N1JX 2 94 153 7 256 40 40 10 90 WA2TWS 0 27 13 0 40 40 40 80 NETS Manager Sessions QNI QTC QSP Time Stations Liaison NJM N2GJ 12 59 14 13 102 15 2RN NJPN W2CC 35 193 46 42 202 22 2RN NJSN K2PB 31 167 14 14 442 17 2RN NJN/E AG2R 31 180 45 39 365 13 2RN NJN/L AG2R 31 166 30 28 272 8 2RN NJVN/E N2RPI 31 308 103 103 443 35 Packet,NJN,CJTN NJVN/L N2OPJ 30 343 29 28 175 48 2RN,NJVN/E,CJTN CJTN KB2VRO 31 211 36 33 235 34 NJSN,2 meter,packet UCTN KY2MMM 31 282 36 27 333 NJVN/E,NJPN,CJTN,BAVHF ------Eastern Area NTS Digital Report JULY 2008 Station Received Forwarded TOTAL Function KW1U 327 389 716 1RN MBO N1JX 10 3 13 NJ DRS N2LTC 707 695 1402 2RN MBO WB2FTX 210 210 420 2RN MBO EADC N3SW 81 54 135 3RN DRS KA4FZI 15 15 FL DRS WA4ZXV 47 47 94 4RN MBO WX4J 268 287 555 4RN MBO W8UL 452 452 904 8RN MBO VA3PM 89 87 176 ECN DRS VE3GT 11 15 26 ECN DRS TOTAL 4456 ------
Midwest Division
Kansas
KANSAS IS GREAT IN 2008 ! Kansas Section News Summary- July 2008 WØFVN - John Bloomquist Sr. of Topeka is now a Silent Key. ______I think Field Day must have taken a lot out of us this year. July was fairly quiet. There were several Walkathon and bikeathons. My thought is that were staying inside brainstorming those winter projects we’ve had on the back burner. Pony Express Special Event station will be on air Aug. 31st. The date changed from that shown in QST. Operating as KØASA the Crown ARA will set up near Hanover, KS as part of the Hollenberg Pony Express Station Festival. This time they will get on 80 meters at 3540 KHz so that Kansans will have a better opportunity. The operators plan to be on the air from 9 AM to approximately 4 PM. Crown ARA is a League Affiliated Club. Congratulations to Emily- KCØPTL of Leavenworth on
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her being named Newsline’s Young Amateur of the Year. Several members of Hiawatha ARC helped out the Pony Express Re-Ride with communications /escort on the Horton-St. Joseph leg. Next Time: Kansas Convention report. ______DE K0BXF ARRL Section Emergency Coordinaor KANSAS Aug 1, 2008 June activity reports are the content of this article. ARES zone reports from 15 of our more active EC indicate 111 net sessions with 803 QNI and 33 pieces of traffic handled. Army MARS in Kansas reported 4265 an Hours of activity from 28 members and 849 WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROmessages originated. QCWA Chapter 110, Kansas repots 4 net sessions and only 29 check ins for the month. QCWA'ers and also new candidates re welcome to meet with N0LL each Saturday morning at 7:30AM on 3920 khz. State RACES net 1st Thursday each month 3940 khz also welcomes all checkins. Especially from those counties who very seldom are recognized on the net. Contact Joseph, WD0DMV for more info if needed. June QNI was from Shawnee, Lyon, Wyandotte, Montgomery, Smith, Elk and Mitchell counties. Our state traffic nets and the Kansas Weather net could also use your QNI more often. More info on these nets are found on the state ARRL website, Become a part of the active Public Service group here in Kansas. Your participation is requested. Join the Kansas networks system. I also hope everyone active is planning on attending the state ARRL convention at Salina August 17. 'til next report 73 Bob Summers K0BXF ARRL SEC KS ______Newsletters received: Feed Back, Grounded Grid, QNU H.A.R.C. , QRZ, QSP, Trojan Harmonic ______WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO June . Sessions/QNI/QTC/Mgr: KSBN/ 30/727/ 51 N0KFS KPN/22 / 231 / 37 / N0KFS KMWN/30/ 653 / 568/WB0YWZ KWN/30/ 679 / 477/ WB0YWZ CSTN 25/1707 /48 N0BFB QKS/ 31 / 71/10 NB0Z QKS-SS / 5 / 11/ 0 KB0DTI Traffic: KI0BK 170 W0OYH 44 KC0MRJ 34 NB0Z 22 K0BXF 17 KB0DTI 14 ______Misc. Reports: WN8P - Technical Specialist See KSN on ARRL and more Kansas news: http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=KS
Missouri
AUGUST 2008 MISSOURI SECTION NEWS DALE BAGLEY, KØKY MO SM Don Moore, KMØR, has stepped down as the Missouri Section Emergency Coordinator. Don has served as SEC for close to 6 years and has accomplished much in that leadership position. He regrets having to give-up the appointment, but time constraints and additional responsibilities have made it necessary. I’m sure that everyone in the Missouri Section appreciates has some appreciation of the challenge of the SEC position and will join me in extending our heartfelt thanks for Don’s Service to ARES and to the Missouri Section. There were several individuals that expressed an interest in the SEC appointment and they all have much to recommend them for that position. I have selected Dennis Gedeon, KBØNHW as my choice to be the new Section Emergency Coordinator. Dennis has an Extra Class License, a Life Member of the ARRL and is currently serving as the Assistant DEC for District A and AEC for Jackson County in the Kansas City area. He is a certified Instructor/Mentor and Examiner for the ARRL Emergency Communications Courses Level’s I, II, and III. I will pass on additional information about Dennis and his goals for the Missouri ARES program. The Amateur Radio effort in assisting with the Three MS-150 Bike Tours in Missouri probably involves the largest number of Amateur Radio volunteers each year. Several Missouri Section Clubs will be helping with this year’s Express Scripts MS-150 2007 Central Missouri Bike Tour the Express Scripts MS Bike Ride route is a figure 8, starting and finishing both days at the Midway Expo Center in Columbia, Missouri. This is an event held on Sept.6th and 7th to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis research. There is a need for about 60 Amateur Radio volunteers to assist with the two day event. To get more information about signing up to volunteer can be found at the following site http://www.km0r.net/MS150/. The Kansas City Area MS 150 Bike Tour will also be held on Sept. 6th and 7th 2008 offer the opportunity for Ham operators to help with Public Service communication and share a weekend of fun, traveling an out-and-back route through scenic Missouri countryside. This year the Bike MS: Kansas City presented by Sam's Club from Peculiar to Sedalia and back! If you want to volunteer to assist with the event contact Duane Haverty,
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WAØBVX - 816-223-5842 or by e-mail at [email protected] The Ozark version of the MS 150 will be held on September 13 & 14, 2008 ride Bike MS: Ozarks from Springfield to Joplin and back! A century ride option on both days makes this event one-of-a-kind! and every mile with rest stops, safety, communications and medical support and more. you want to volunteer to assist with the event contact Duane Haverty, WAØBVX - 816-223-5842 or by e-mail at [email protected] AUGUST 2008 HAMFESTS The Joplin Hamfest will be held August 22nd and 23rd at the John Q Hammons Convention CenterWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO 3535 Hammons Blvd. in Joplin, MO. For more information contact Jim Johannes, NØZSQ, c/o JARC P.O. Box 2983 Joplin, MO 64803-2983 or by Phone: 417-781-2211 Fax: 417-781- 2234 Email: [email protected] . Another way you can learn about the Hamfest is the JARC website http://www.joplin-arc.org AFFILIATED CLUB NEWS KEITH HAYE, WEØG, ACC O’Fallon, MO has a new claim to fame. Paul Riedel, KIØSR, of O’Fallon has taken on the Job of Editor of the 10-10 News. Paul has been in the Printing and Graphic Arts Industry for a long time and takes on the Job from Steve Rasmussen NØWY, of Plattsmouth, NE. Paul was first licensed a Novice in 1974 as WN8NFT in Ohio before he upgraded and moved to MO. Dick White, KSØM, reported in the C.A.R.L. Newsletter Spark Gaps that on Saturday August 16, the Callaway Amateur Radio League will be presenting two programs on Amateur Radio at the Callaway County Public Library in Fulton, Mo. The two sessions run from 10:00 AM to 12:00 noon and from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM. The Annual Missouri Repeater Council (MRC) meeting was held in at the Zero Beater’s Hamfest in Washington, MO on July 20, 2008WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO and was called to order at 9:00 a.m. by MRC President Don Moore, KMØR,. The state frequency coordinator, Bryon Jeffers, KØBSJ, reported that there are no available 2-mtr repeater pairs in the KC or STL areas, but that a couple of pairs may be opening up in the SW area of the state. The treasurer, Roger Volk, KØGOB, reported that the MRC had a balance of $9,952.32 in all accounts which represented an increase of $306.78 since the last meeting. Without collecting dues from members, the MRC income comes from the ARRL database payment and from earnings on investments. Congratulations to the latest Affiliated Clubs in the MO Section. They include the Ste Genevieve County Amateur Radio Club and the Northwest Missouri ARES Group. The SGCARC President is Daniel Staffen Jr. KCØHBP who lives in Bloomsdale, MO. They meet the first Monday at 7:00 p.m.. at the Holy Cross Lutheran Church 200 Market St. in Ste. Genevieve, MO. The NWMO ARES group President Trevor Black, KCØQLU, lives in Plattsburg, MO and promotes ARES activity in that area. SECTION ARES REPORT FOR JULY 2008 DON MOORE, KMØR SEC The State Emergency Management Agency will once again conduct a Crisis Communications Conference October 8-10, 2008 at the Sheraton Kansas City Sports Complex, Kansas City, Missouri. This year’s conference will focus on Interoperability Communication Issues during an Earthquake, Amateur Radio as a Disaster Resource / MEPN, Update on State Interoperability, Weather Communications, 7th Civil Support Team, Next Generation 9-1-1, and Space Weather. SEMA suggested that those interested in attending should contact Sheraton Kansas City Sports Complex Hotel for room reservations at 816-737-0200. Please tell the Sheraton Hotel that you will be attending the "2008" Crisis Communications Conference. There is a special room rate of $96.00 per night for this event. Total # of ARES members: 689 Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 85 Man hours: 603 Number of public service events this month: 11 Man hours: 75 Number of emergency operations this month: 3 Man hours: 28 Total number of ARES operations this month: 99 Total Man hours: 706 Comments: 5 of 9 districts reporting SECTION TRAFFIC REPORTS JULY 2008 DALE HUFFINGTON, AEØS, MON-CW Sessions 51 QNI 87 QTC 30 NM K9ZTV MO Phone Sessions 31 QNI 1011 QTC 148 NM KØRWL MESN Sessions 4 QNI 183 QTC 3 NM AEØS Audrain Co AARC Sessions 6 QNI 70 QTC 0 NM KBØKWC Callaway CARL Sessions 34 QNI 56 QTC 0 NM WBØHKN Boone Co Sessions 4 QNI 104 QTC 2 NM WMØH Henry Co Sessions 4 QNI 59 QTC 0 NM KCØFLP Howell HCARC Sessions 3 QNI 8 QTC 0 NM KØRWL Jackson Co ARES Sessions 5 QNI 71 QTC 1 NM KØUAA Macon Co Sessions 5 QNI 39 QTC 0 NM KØKY Rolla RRARS Sessions 30 QNI 402 QTC 11 NM KB9ZBO St Louis CO ARC Sessions 15 QNI 111 QTC 20 NM KBØH Sullivan ARC Sessions 10 QNI 112 QTC 7 NM KBØROX Taney Co TLARC Sessions 1 QNI 6 QTC 557 NM KBØOFD WAARCI Sessions 4 QNI 100 QTC 0 NM WBØTOM 10th Reg Sessions 63 QNI QTC 123 MO 90% with, NDØN, KCØM, NDØN, K9ZTV, WØSJS NM WØSS
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New England Division
Connecticut
Aloha! Yes, your SM and her twin K1EIR were in Hawaii a few weeks ago! I tried to schedule a meeting with the Pacific Section SM but those plans didn’t work out. Ah, but there must be a next time—KH6-land isWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO a wonderful place and I mean to go back there to visit! In my travels, I had the pleasure of spending the day with John Ronan, K3ZJJ, formerly SM of CT. He lived in Weston; I was STM at the time. John is well and is as energetic as ever! In fact, he’s in charge of the program for Pacificon, a large Convention which will be held on October 19. Barb and I thoroughly enjoyed our visit withhim. While I was gone, as you know, many CT ops participated in the N9N Special Event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Nautilus reaching the North Pole. Thanks to the ham community, it was a very successful effort—they operated from 9 a.m. on Saturday, August 2 through 1:00 a.m. Monday, August 4 and made 2,008 (like the year 2008) contacts! Thanks toJohn, WA5MLF, a friend of the overall event coordinator and author Don N4KC, , You can listen to some of the audio by going to http://www.krupsky.com/N9N/N9N.html . Congrats to Chuck Motes, K1DFS the CT coordinator for the Amateur radio operation, and his team for a terrific tribute. Here’s his initial report: We held out for 2,008 contacts because of the year. We talked to 48 states (we think), Europe, South America, Central America,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania. We had pileups as much as 30 or so deep. We haven't analyzed the data yet, but it's going to be a hummer!!! Lots of pictures, video of the contact between Don Keith and Harold AC3Q, the radioman who received the message from the Nautilus in August 1958 when she surfaced from under the pack! Now folks, Don Keith’s report of the Special Event is a must- read. Go to http://n4kc.blogspot.com/2008/08/back-from-big-boat-on-real-rf-high.html . I can’t tell you how really proud I am of this effort. The report is fantastic. Here are some highlights directly from N4KC’s blog: • N9N went on the air at 0900 EDST Saturday from the Submarine Force Museum and Historic Ship Nautilus in Groton, Connecticut, with stations on 40 and 20 SSB. Chuck Motes and his crew from Navy/Marine Corps MARS had done a fabulous job of setting up the stations, including a comfortable camper trailer, a G5RV Sr., and a trailer with a portable crank-up tower and 4-element beam--plus air conditioning and some fantastic vittles. It was a great setup! They also had gone to a lot of work to schedule volunteer op and logger shifts. I can't say enough about all the folks who participated, including non-MARS volunteers and a group of Army MARS members. One highlight was the sausage stew. • Only glitches were a support rod for the G5RV that decided to break Saturday morning, requiring the lowering of the tower so it could be climbed and the rod replaced, and a nasty Alabama-like thunderstorm that rolled in Saturday afternoon. By the way, all I had to do was walk in, sit down, and operate. And when the storm hit, I was nice and dry inside the museum, doing my little presentation • Besides N9N, I was there to do a talk and book signing at the museum and library, in support of my new book, THE ICE DIARIES. Several members of the crew who took Nautilus to the North Pole in 1958 were there for the anniversary celebration, and I was a little nervous, hoping I would get it right when I talked about it. They all came up and assured me I did fine, and that means a lot to me. Thanks to all who came by. We must have sold 75 books. Thanks to the museum staff, and especially Lt. Cmdr. Caskey, the commander of the museum and ship, for their hospitality. • Sunday was a little cooler and less humid, and we were back on the air about 0900. 20 rocked all weekend, 40 was not quite so good, especially around mid-day. We also did some 75 meters and I got a chance to do about an hour on 20 CW. A contest was underway and it was difficult to find an open frequency there. One highlight of the weekend was working AC3Q Harold Dennin, first on SSB, and then switching to CW. Harold was one of the Navy radio ops in Pearl Harbor who received and confirmed the first signals from Nautilus when she emerged from beneath the ice pack after successfully transiting from Pacific to Atlantic via the North Pole. That transmission -- "Nautilus 90 North" -- was the basis for our special event call sign N9N. Wow! Recreating that "QSO" was special! It was also a thrill to work several other former Nautilus crewmembers, folks who worked on constructing the ship, and other submarine and military vets. (After Don left) Chuck reported the "Magic Minute" was wild and wooly...and wonderful!
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It was his idea and I loved it! Nautilus reached the North Pole at 11:15 PM EDST on August 3, 1958. At that precise time in 2008, N9N took as many "check-ins" in one minute as the ops could capture call signs, then went back and worked each one for a valid contact. Chuck reports 18 stations were confirmed. If they send QSLs, we'll include a special certificate with their N9N return card. I understand it was recorded and I'm looking forward to hearing it. Don continues to talk about his quick interview on NY Channel 11 and a one hour interview on Joey Reynolds's national radio show that originates from WOR 710 in New WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROYork. He even got a ticket to the taping of the Monday David Leterman Show in which Ham Radio was mentioned in one of his "how old is John McCain" jokes! (See last month’s column for the details and background of this event.)—K1EIC Don’t forget—the New England Division Convention Holiday Inn Boxboro, MA is on for THIS COMING WEEKEND! It’s a great Hamfest folks so come on out—it only comes to us once every two years. Members of RASON are back with their famous Wouff Hong Ceremony—they’re pros! A sincere note of thanks to Chris Soulias, NK1J for having served on the Section cabinet since 1991. He was Affiliated Club Coordinator and then ASM for many years. But due to time constraints, he’s had to leave the cabinet but will certainly be as active as he can and is continuing as an ORS. Chris was also NM for CPN for many years—thanks Chris for your continuing support and encouragement. . Congrats to ASM Jim KD1YV, our Section Webmaster, on his new home in Bethel. I’m sure he won’t waste any time getting on the air! Talking about moving, I have the sad duty to tell you that John Ahle, W1JMA is leaving the Section. Ah, but he’s not far away—he’ll be in EasternWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO MA, not far from Boxboro! We are losing one very fine Amateur op. John, among other things, has been an EC, has been very active in CARA, has been a significant contributing member of the CT Spectrum Management Association, participated in talks with UI when we had BPL in Shelton and has been thoroughly helpful wherever needed. He’s offered rides, helped with antenna work, elmered people and is just a model volunteer. John is taking a new job and of course, we all wish you well John, but we’ll sure miss you here. We’ll look for you on our HF nets though! Fall is approaching and already there are lots of events scheduled: Special Event Station at the Goshen Fair by the Berkshire ARC over Labor Day weekend; The Western CT Hamfest September 14 Edmond Town Hall Newtown; Emcomm East September 20 St. John Fisher College Rochester, NY; SET October 5; Nutmeg State Convention October 12. ARES members are participating in a contest all this week which has to do with listening to and operating on various public service nets. For details, write to Bill KW1B [email protected] or to your DEC. Have fun and get involved!
Eastern Massachusetts
Hello People! I have been looking forward to our Boxborough Convention this week. There will be many speakers on many different subjects! There will be educational subjects. I am quite sure they will help many newcomers to our hobby, and we OLD TIMERS, too, who think we know everything, HI HI! There is always something new to learn. We will be scheduling another Section Manager's meeting. It has been fun talking to all of you in the past contests, and I'm also looking forward to future contests. 73 Art Greenberg E.MA.SM GOOD AIR WAVES AND SAFE TRAVELS
Rhode Island
Greetings fellow Rhode Islanders: This time of summer is usually vacation time and long weekend time to spend at the beach, at cook-outs and enjoying life outdoors, probably not the best time to be in the ham shack with the amplifier blowers raising the air temp by ten degrees. Of course, some of us don’t let that bother us. Olympic special event stations are now active from Beijing. See full details at http://www.arrl.org/?artid=8382 . I managed to get a contact with Panda station, BT1OJ and Fish station, BT1OB. But, hurry up. They’re QRT soon. Currently, the important ham activity that most of us are looking forward to is the New England Boxboro Convention www.boxboro.org. You are going aren’t you? It’s only held every two years and is well worth the drive. Take Rt 495 north and take exit 28 (Rt 111). At the end of the exit ramp, turn left and drive a couple hundred yards and follow the
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hamfest signs to the right turn driveway across from the gas station. Follow the directions that volunteers will provide to a free parking space. The rest is up to you. I know you’ll have fun. Please check the convention website above and click on the highlighted schedule for details of events. Doing this ahead of time will help you to plan your time most efficiently. RI EMA will be conducting a statewide drill of its shelter readiness on Saturday, September 13th. Our ARES volunteers along with many other operators will be conducting communications tests in conjunction with its partners in other services between sheltersWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO and state EMA in Cranston. About 800 individuals (professional emergency workers and volunteers) will be participating in a variety of simulated disaster roles along with 100 or more Amateurs who will be providing communications. Frequencies used by shelters, EOCs and individuals are listed at www.riares.org. You’ll find lots more ARES information on that page as well. Questions? Please contact our SEC, Rick K3OQH at [email protected]. Just as we were getting used to the fee charged for granting or renewing vanity licenses, the FCC once again changed its fee structure. This time, they increased their rate by 60 cents to a new rate of $12.30 for a ten year license period. The present rate is $11.70 and will remain in place until the effective date of the new rate is established. The FCC is authorized by the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, to collect vanity call sign fees to recover the costs associated with that program. The vanity call sign regulatory fee is payable not only when applying for a new vanity call sign, but also upon renewing a vanity call sign for a new 10 year term. The fee has been as high as $50 and as low as $11.70 since the fee system was enacted for calls issued afterWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO 1996. Hence, any personally selected call obtained prior to 1996 is not considered a vanity call and has no fee attached. Per the ARRL webpage, “The Amateur Radio station NN3SI at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History (NMAH) was closed after more than 32 years of operation. According to Hal Wallace, NN3SI Station Manager and Associate Curator for the Museum's electricity collections, there will be no appropriate place to house the station once the Museum reopens this fall after undergoing an extensive renovation. NMAH has been undergoing a renovation of the building's infrastructure and interior for some time. Wallace told the ARRL, "As you may know, the renovation forced us to remove the Information Age exhibition -- the station's home since 1990. We placed the station in a temporary location for the duration of the renovation but it cannot remain there when we reopen to the public later this year. The Information Age exhibit will not be reinstalled, and since we have no other appropriate exhibition areas within the Museum, the station had to cease operations at NMAH. Various alternate locations throughout the Smithsonian have been considered but none are viable at this time." The Information Age exhibition chronicled the birth and growth of the electronic information age—from Samuel Morse's invention of a practical telegraph in the 1830s through the development of the telephone, radio, television, and computer. A special focus of the exhibit was how information technology has changed the way people live and work. I was positively appalled to hear this news! The closing of NN3SI is bad enough but closing the entire exhibition that it has been part of is unthinkable. The electronic information age and developments made during this period profoundly changed our world and without question represent the most important communications developments known to man. Being unable to find suitable space seems unacceptable and unthinkable to me. The Smithsonian isn’t a private museum where they can do whatever they choose. I realize that they have a space problem and that we don’t have all the pertinent information but some accommodation has to be found for something this important. Go to http://americanhistory.si.edu/about/index.cfm for more information. On a few past occasions, I’ve mentioned the problems RI drivers have when they try to apply for call letter license plates. Because of this, our friend Rich, W1TBR worked with the registry management and helped them to design a special application form available to all of us that is specifically for call letter plates. This should help avoid the usual problems we have when we must face the process. I’ve asked the webmaster of our RI web page http://www.ri.arrl.org/ to post the RI law and the new form on the RI ARRL web page but if you need it immediately, please contact me at [email protected] or 333-2129 and I’ll send the form to you. In the planning ahead department, please circle the date of September 20th. That’s the annual RIFMRS Auction and Flea market in Forestdale. It starts early, about 8AM, so come with a few dollars in your pocket and buy some treasures. It will be held at the Forestdale VFW Post, on School Street. Take the
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Forestdale/Slatersville exit off Rt 146 and follow the detour around the bridge that is under repair. There will be a talk-in on 146.76 repeater. Coffee, donuts, hot dogs, soft drinks will be available. This event pays to run the popular 146.76 repeater as well as other systems. Flea market tables are available from Rick, K1KYI. Call him at 401-864-9611. The ARRL RI section will be donating several new ARRL publications for the raffle. I’ll see you there on September 20th. On Wednesday September 3, 10 and 17th, from 5:30 to 7:45 PM, I will be offering an informal class for new hams to learn most of the basic elements of our hobby.WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Topics such as “what is a dipole, folded dipole, transmission line, HF and VHF propagation, repeater etiquette and lots more will be covered. The classes are aimed at the large number of new hams we have here in RI and are in response to their request for such a class to learn basic information. All are welcome but the classes are aimed at new hams, non-hams who are going into ham radio, inactive hams who are returning. They will be held at the Lincoln Public Library and are totally free and are offered in conjunction with the BVARC activities program. Contact me directly with any questions. I’m about to send my revised list of RI hams who either hold or qualify for DXCC. The list will be sent to all who have registered to receive e mail from the Director and Section Manager. Please tell your ARRL friends to go to http://www.arrl.org/members-only/memdata.html?modify=1 right now and place an X in the box next to “News and information from your Division Director and Section Manager”. We have over two hundred League members in RI who are not signed up to read my news. What a shame! We also have several hundred non League members here who prefer to let us carry all the supportWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO to advocate for their privileges. That’s all for now. See you all at Boxboro on Aug 23rd….
Northwestern Division
Montana
This has been a warm Summer so far, but not as hot as last year. Many I talk to are ready for s bit of Fall to cool things down some. It DOES beat the dark days of Winter though. We attended Glacier Hamfest last month and had a great time. Attendence was down some, no doubt due to high fuel prices and harder time crossing the border from Canada. Attendence was about 200 and those present seemed to be enjoying the Hamfest. The weather was beautiful and campground was in fantastic shape. My thanks to all who worked so hard to make our State Convention such a fine presentation. Welcome to new Amateurs who passed their entry level tests at Hamfest and thanks to Loren-AA7MT, Sam-K7SAM and Evelyn-K7EVE who put on the test session. Next year is the 75th annual Glacier Hamfest, the longest running Hamfest in the world. If you can make the trip, we'd love to see you there. For those of you who are CW enthusiasts and have an old Vibroplex laying around the shack, this might be of interest. The Vibroplex Co. has a program to refurbish that old bug, clean it up and make it as much like new as they can. I sent in one of my older bugs and just got it back in super condition. It runs like a dream. If you are interested, just send it in (very well packed) to them and mark the package for "Betsy". She'll take it apart, shine it up and replace any worn or damaged parts. This is "Preparedness Month", time to think over your emergency action plan and what it would take to mobilize your station to another location or out into the field. Power supply is a big consideration, as are antennas and some sort of shelter out of the weather. Think it over, perhaps build an emergency kit of needed gear, clothing and supplies you might need for fast deployment to the field. Also consider personal comfort needs, meds you must have and a warm place to sleep. Emergencies come in all shapes and sizes, and you cant be prepared for them all, but a general state of readiness can be of great help should things fall apart around your home or State. IMN-W7GHT, QNI-469, QTC-101 (Great month!) MTN-W7MPK, QNI-1949, QTC-68 MSN-K7YD, QNI-136, QTC-2 Thanks to all who make Montana a great Section to represent. 73 Doug, K7YD SM, Montana Section
Oregon
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I would like to begin this month's news by apologizing for any important information I may miss this month. I had a problem with one of my laptops - the primary one that I use for personal email. I can access the email and can highlight the email I want to look at, but I can't get any further than that. I temporarily set up the laptop I am using for teaching college courses online to receive my personal email. I am going to do some more work on getting to the files but havn't had time because of being on vacation. AMATEUR RADIO WEEK Governor Kulongoski has declared August 17-23, 2008 as Amateur Radio WeekWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO recognizing our communication skills and contributions to the communities where we live. Normally the week of field day is Amateur Radio Week but the declaration did not get signed in time so a week was chosen that is related to the North American QSO Party. Please spread the word to other hams that may not have heard and use the opportunity to advertise amateur radio to your community. NTS (NATIONAL TRAFFIC SYSTEM) UPDATE Scott Gray, W7IZ, has been selected as the Seventh Region Net Manager in the NTS. This is the net that covers the entire seventh call area states. He replaces Bill W7GHT of Boise ID in this position. Claire Johnson, N7CM, has been selected to fill an open and unexpired term ending 12/31/08 as member-at-large on the Pacific Area Staff (PAS). Congratulations to Scott and Claire on their leadership at the higher-levels of the NTS. Scott is the Oregon Section Traffic Manager and Claire is an Official Emergency Station, Official Relay Station, and Beaver State Net Manager in the Oregon Section. Scott's complete NTS report is posted on the section website. Here are some highlights. Station Activity Report (SAR) Totals for July 2008: K7IFG 229, W7IZWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO 180, N7CM 139, K7EAJ 135, N7YSS 118, W7IG 45, KC7SRL 37, KD7ZLF 37, K7PMB 35, W7VSE 34, WS7L 23 Public Service Honor Roll (PSHR) Totals for July 2008: N7CM 175, K7EAJ 150, W7IG 120, N7XG 110, N7YSS 110, KK7TN 72, W7VSE 72, KD7THN 24 Gene, K7YQM, has been appointed to the position of Net Manager for the Oregon ARES Traffic Net, which operates daily at 5:30 p.m. on 3993.5 kHz. He has also been appointed as an Official Relay Station. PACIFICON 2008 I know many Oregonians go to California for Pacificon. It will be held on October 17-19, 2008 in San Ramon. For more information visit their website at www.PACIFICON.org. I will be attending this year since I was invited to speak about the ham radio response to the floods. I have a lot of ARES folks volunteering to help me! OADN (OREGON ARES DIGITAL NETWORK) GRANT FROM GOVERNOR’S OFFICE There has been much progress made in the last 30 days or so, and the Governor's OADN grant program is now in full swing. The first 10 systems were picked up this week, and the long-awaited Inter-Governmental Agreement is in final coordination at OEM (Oregon Emergency Management). All elements of the program can now be discussed in detail and with time- frames. We have allocated a 3-hour block of time at the Leadership Conference for a detailed presentation, and to answer questions and discuss concerns. The Leadership Conference is the single most important ARES meeting of the year, and EC's and DEC's are expected to attend. You won't want to miss this year, if only for the roll-out plan and details about the OADN! And ARES members, make sure you EC shares the information with you when he or she returns from the conference! ARES REPORTS I have received a number of ARES reports that I will try to get posted to the section website sometime this weekend. There have been some really great activities going on and I want to do more to let everyone know about them. Lane County ARES has received some big thank you's from their county officials for their assistance with events in that area under the leadership of Emergency Coordinator Mark Perrin, N7MQ. I had more I was going to say in this section but my first draft of the report was 27 lines too long, so I am deleting lines to fit so sorry for squishing things together! PUBLIC INFORMATION SUCCESSES The Eastern Oregonian newspaper featured an article on Gary Cooper, N7ZHG and amateur radio titled "Local Man likes to ham it up". It is available at this link: http://www.eastoregonian.com/main.asp? SectionID=13&subsectionID=48&articleID=81122&Q=81235.25 Gary is the District Emergency Coordinator for District 3 in Northeastern Oregon and the Emergency Coordinator for Umatilla and Morrow Counties where the chemical weapons stockpile exists. Because of the potential for chemical disaster in that area, they have had a lot of funding and involvement in exercises for amateur radio in that area. On Sunday, August 10, the Register-Guard in Eugene had a very good article on Ham Radio involvement in the Where's Waldo 100K trail race. The reporter, Lewis Taylor, has run the race before
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but had not realized the extent of the Amateur support. The article can be found on the web site of the paper, www.register-guard.com. It appears as the lead article of the Oregon Life section. There are approximately 30 hams involved in this event. NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH The 5th Annual National Preparedness month will be in September. Groups (Clubs and ARES Units) and individuals can register to become members of the 2008 National Preparedness Month Coalition by visiting www.ready.gov and clicking on the National Preparedness Month banner. The purpose is to raise awareness forWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO preparedness activities for businesses and individuals. Most clubs and ARES groups are already doing activities which fit into their structure, so why not get credit for your actions by signing up as a coalition member? FRG (FRIENDSHIP RADIOSPORTS GAMES) 2008 I attended events while our visitors were here from Russia, Canada and Japan to participate in this competition. I really enjoyed this opportunity. These games were the same weekend as the DX convention in Portland, some of the visitors attended that convention as well. The next games will be in Russia in 2010, so if you've always wanted to go visit the Far East of Russia, contact Dale or Kuon Hunt about participating on the USA team. You have plenty of time to improve your CW skills for that competition. There is also an HF competition and transmitter hunting competition. I will post the competition scores by country and individual on the section website at www.arrloregon.org. The overall team scores were: Russia: 2 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze (11 points and 6 competitors) USA: 1 Gold, 3 Silver, 1 Bronze (10 points and 5 competitors)WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Canada: 2 Gold (6 points and 4 competitors) Japan: 0 team medals and 1 competitor Pacific Division
East Bay
The Section News is on the East Bay Section web site at http://www.eastbaysectionarrl.org. You can find more detailed information and current events there. This issue of the monthly summary is being published early to meet personal deadlines. Some of your July activities may not be published until the August Monthly Summary since I have not received all newsletters prior to this deadline. Pacificon 2008 is coming up soon (October 17-19). This is our annual Pacific Division Convention put on by MDARC. MDARC always does a great job and there are forums of interested for everyone. I encourage to support the Pacific Division and MDARC by attending this great event. For more information, go to: www.pacificon.org SILENT KEYS – Bill Gunn KI6HVP passed away after a short battle with cancer. Bill was a great friend to everyone he knew. Bill is survived by his wife Ann; Livermore Amateur Radio Klub, Life Member, Frank Rogue, WB6IIV passed away on the morning of Wednesday, July 9th 2008; Sam Woosley, KR6AT,passed away unexpectedly on June 28, 2008, while on a camping trip with his wife; Len Pringle, KH8A CONGATULATIONS TO: Ross Sagun AD6OE of BARC on his recognition in both the Benicia Herald and the Vallejo Times for his anti-graffiti work. MDARC celebrated 60 years as an ARRL Affiliated Club in July. ARCA members using their amateur radio skills in assisting the City of Alameda’s 4th of July Parade Committee included: Andy N6AJO, Ron KF6LSY, Bruce KI6CYT, Al KG6HM, Fran KF6UVB, Sam KJ6AF, Howard KG6NDJ, and Michael John KF6YRG. The fledgling Edison-Fernside Neighborhood CERT held its first ever exercise on Saturday, April 12, 2008. Bruce Gillis (KI6CYT) and Muriel Montague (KI6MTI), members of ARCA, simulated an EOC. The team’s HAM operator, Suzanne Christensen (KI6MTT) practiced passing messages from the Command Center to the simulated EOC. CONGRATULATION TO THESE NEW HAMS: Philip E Schreur, KI6RGV, Alameda; Maeve Gannon, KI6RGK, Alameda; Thomas L Geraldizo, KI6RLC, American Canyon; Patrick M Riley, KI6RSZ, Canyon; Carla J Williams, KI6RTA, Canyon; Paul M Pitman, KI6RTB, Canyon; Kaya S Westling, KI6RSW, Canyon; David J Lascurettes, KI6RSS, Canyon; Sveinn E Olafsson, KI6RSR, Canyon; Michael Rochette, KI6RST, Canyon; Ken P Lippman, KI6RJL, Fremont; Danilo Magaleon, KI6RRT, Fremont; Darrell A Gonzales, KI6RJK, Fremont; Joseph Longo, KI6RTF, Lafayette; Robert D Tanner, KI6RSP, Livermore; Frans C Hoffman, KI6RSV, Moraga; Roman Hernandez Fernandez, KI6RFO, Oakley; Michael J Whitfield, KI6RSY, Orinda; Leasa M Raya, KI6RSX, Orinda; Keith W Riley, KI6RTD, Orinda; Leland F Collins, KI6RGH, Pleasanton; James C
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Yee, KI6RHJ, San Leandro; Michael V Irwin, KI6RRU, San Leandro; David K Lau, KI6RGM, San Ramon; Nancye A Harder, KI6RSQ, San Ramon; Michael T Sager, KI6RGR, Vallejo; Christopher M Llewellyn, KI6RKO, Vallejo; Michael E Dohm, KI6RGJ, Vallejo; Warren P Galliano, KI6RRW, Oakland; Adam P Gould, KI6RGL, OAKLAND; Jeremy Rahe, KI6RGO, Berkeley; David Wh Swenson, KI6RHA, BERKELEY; Oleg Bilibin, KI6RKK, Richmond; Salustiano S Wong, KI6RHI, Vacaville; Carolynn Boehmler, KI6RJU, Vacaville; William A Talbot, KI6RHC, Vacaville; Wanda M Talbot, KI6RHB, Vacaville.WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO CONGRATULATION TO THESE UPGRADES: Thomas J Clausen, KG6YVZ, Benicia; Jonathan Goodwin, KI6QNT, Canyon; William C Wells, WB6NLL, Concord; Jeffrey K Koger, KG6NEB, Fremont; Michael J Wolters, N0LWV, Fremont; Gregory J Stephens, N6QKY, Fremont; David G Bond, KA6UPU, Lafayette; George R Tantzen, KE6HDQ, Livermore; Albert P Mossman, KG6VMA, Oakland; Alberdina W De Boer, KI6PJM, Oakland; Jak J Mang, KI6PJP, Oakland.
Sacramento Valley
July Summary Last year at this time we were consumed by the threat of wild land fires. This year wild land fires have consumed a record 1.1 million acres in California, much of it in our Sacramento Valley Section. What we feared has come to pass, and our fire season is not over. While July was much quieter than June,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO due in most cases to lower winds and protracted fire fighting effort, we still had fires start and consume large tracts of wild lands. As with last month, Amateur Radio helped stem the fires. In one case, Hugh, KD6STL, of Herlong, was working as communications support for a Baptist Outreach using the WD6AXM/R Sutter Buttes machine, but working in the Concow (fire) area, and came upon a small fire just getting started with fuel around it. We called it in, and in the few minutes it took an engine company to arrive on scene, Hugh had found yet another fire to report. Both fires represented a greater threat, but were extinguished due to quick response. Bob, K6HEW, Solano County EC, was working in the Chico area as an American Red Cross disaster worker. He passed the thanks of Red Cross to the Butte County and other Amateur Radio volunteers that made the Red Cross effort so effective the last two months. ‘You and your crew did an outstanding job of showing them the value of amateur radio.’ ASM Les, W6TEE, reports that member of Radio Amateur Mobileers Society, the Mt. Vaca Radio Club, and the North Hills Radio Club enjoyed a campout at Mineral, CA, near the entrance to Lassen Volcanic National Park. Ten families with 8 RVs, 1 tent , and one motel room took advantage of great weather and good company. Hiking, visiting, and operation on 2m, both mobile and hand held were used. Jettie, W6RFF, reports he is on RTTY (with other digital modes to follow) using a SignalLink USB sound card system and MMTTY. He says the SignalLink connects to a USB port on the computer and to the Aux connections on the back of the TS870. Only two cables are involved. His first QSO was with A35RK in Tonga. So, Jettie, how long to a DXCC digital endorsement? Amador County Amateur Radio Club is planning a demonstration of digital modes this fall. If you want to try digital modes on HF (or VHF) and have a computer there are some variables you want to consider. The operating system of your computer and the complexity of the setup are two that come to mind. The system I used for several years involved a Windows XP computer, a MicroHam USB II interface, and a variety of programs which included MixW. My new Windows Vista computer does not allow MixW to work well so I am starting over with Ham Radio Deluxe. Starting over is not a big deal, as I have been doing computer RTTY and other modes as they came along since October, 1978, (PET 8K computer, Microtronics interface, loop keyer and a Model 15 or 26 printer.) Because all of this can be perplexing, check into the Tigertronics website at http://www.tigertronics.com/sl_soft.htm for a listing of current programs, the operating systems with which they work, and those things you need to really get started. It can be simple or fancy, the latter including rig control, automatic lookup of stations contacted, and perhaps a Google Earth display. Steve Ford, WB8IMY, has written a great primer on this subject, ARRL’S HF DIGITAL HANDBOOK, now in its fourth edition. I might add that some of these modes work just as well on VHF. While it looks like Amador County ARC has their program for fall, does your club need something to entrance its members? The Northern California DX Foundation has over 100 videos in its library. See ncdxf.org for
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details on the Foundation and on how to obtain a video. Thanks to Dick, K6LRN. Allen Pitts, W1AGP, at ARRL HQ, has some tips for clubs in the August Club News for club newsletter editors and contributors. ‘Be informative. A good newsletter should contain the following basic information: meeting time, date, and place plus simple directions; list of club officers and contact information.’ (The name of your organization should appear prominently.) Also, contact information for the newsletter editor and the membership chairperson. Also, for clubs that maintain a website, the URL, club e-mail address, frequencyWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO pair of club repeater with the offset, PL tone, club net schedule and other on the air activities make useful content. If your club has a VE team, list their exam schedule. Even if everyone in your club is involved in some activity and has all the details, put that material in the newsletter for non- members to consider. ‘The personality of the club should be in the newsletter. A few words from the club president and recognition of member achievements are always good material. Be sure to invite contributions such as announcements and articles.’ Allen also asks that if you are not already doing so, send your electronic newsletters to [email protected] . Of course printed copies can be mailed to: ARRL, Attn: Clubs, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. As promised, here is the announcement from Stu, WA6BTK, regarding the Lincoln, CA, hamfest. ‘A Northern California Hamfest & Swapmeet is being held in Lincoln on September 6, 2008. It is sponsored by the Western Placer Amateur Radio Club, the River City Amateur Radio Club, the Yuba-Sutter Amateur Radio Club, and the Sierra Foothills Amateur Radio Club. The event will be held on the Lincoln High School campus from 0700 until noon. There will be manyWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO tables with ham radio related items for sale, VE exams, food and soft drinks, and fellowship. Admission and parking is free. There is a charge for vendors. Details and a location map are available on the Western Placer ARC website: www.wparc.org. Information is also available from Steve Harding, KT6Z, at 916-434-2878.’ July’s section net on HF occurred when everybody but the Section Manager was somewhere else. The net had to be moved up a notch due to QRM and we lost out. If an HF net is not required, we will stick with the VHF net on the WD6AXM/R machine at 146.085 MHz, plus offset, tone 127.3 Hz, beginning at 1900L, Wednesday, August 13. At 1930L, we will try the HF net at 3987 kHz with the latest ham radio news. The WD6AXM repeater is also the place to hear the ARRL audio news on each Friday evening at 1900L when the news is produced. If your club would like to play the news on your repeater, but you haven’t figured out how to do that, contact me at [email protected] 73, Ron Murdock, W6KJ, ARRL SACRAMENTO VALLEY SECTION MANAGER
San Joaquin Valley
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY SECTION Report for the month of July 2008: SM Charles McConnell, W6DPD- ASMs K6YK and N2NS, ACC W6DPD, SEC N6ZFN, OOC N1VM, STM K6RAU, PIC KE6IGJ, TC W6TE. Greetings from the ARRL San Joaquin Valley Section. If you desire your club information and events to be listed in Section News, please send the information to [email protected]. I get very little information. If your club has a newsletter, please send it to me, email to [email protected] or via U.S Mail. An ARES Emergency Coordinator is needed in Western Kern County. Contact Marie, N6ZFN ([email protected]) or W6DPD ([email protected]) if you are interested and can serve in this important position. MARK YOUR CALENDARS. September is National Preparedness Month. Check www.ready.gov for information. Amateur Radio Awareness Day is September 20, 2008. The 2008 California QSO party begins at 1600 UTC on October 4 and ends at 2200 UTC on October 5, 2008. Put your county on the air for this contest. Check www.cqp.org for information. The California Historical Radio Society Central Valley Chapter swap meet begins at 9:00 AM October 4, 2008, at the Modesto Radio Museum, 1192 Norwegian Ave in Modesto. Pacificon 2008 is October 17-19, 2008 at the Marriott Hotel in San Ramon CA. Check www.pacificon.org for information. The 60th International DX Convention is April 17-19, 2009 at Visalia. Check http://www.dxconvention.org/ for information When your affiliated club elects officers for the next year, be sure to update your club’s information on the affiliated club area of the ARRL web page so you club will get any information sent from the ARRL Club department. If you fail to update your clubs information for 2 years, your club will be placed in the inactive file. Your club will be notified if the 2-year period is about to take place. Need to take an
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Amateur exam? Check the ARRL web page, www.arrl.org for exam information. You can also search for Amateur Radio Classes in your area. The Northern California Net (NCN), the Section Traffic Net, meets nightly on 3.533 MHZ at 7 PM Pacific Time. The slow speed training session of the net meets nightly on 3.533 MHZ at 9 PM Pacific Time. Handling traffic on CW is a good way to improve your CW skills. The Daytime Region 6 Traffic Net meets daily at 3:30 pacific time on or near 7.275 MHZ. The California Traffic Net meets daily on 3.906 MHZ and 6:30 PM local time. The noon time net meets on 7.268.5 MHz. ThisWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO net handles a lot of messages. The Golden Bear Amateur Radio Net meets nightly at 7:00 PM local time on 3.975 MHZ. The Mission Trail Net meets nightly on 3.856 MHZ at 8:00 PM local time. September is National Preparedness Month. Check www.ready.gov for information. Thanks to the hams who helped the firefighters with communications support and information service in the recent fires in Mariposa County. You did a great job. N6OPY Edward is a Silent Key. He will be missed. The California QSO Party begins at 1600 UTC on October 4 and ends at 2200UTC on October 5, 2008. Put your county on the air for this contest. Others are looking for California stations on both phone and CW/Digital. This is a good time to contact that state you need for your Worked All States Award. Information can be found at www.cqp.org. Pacificon is the ARRL Pacific Division Convention, which is held October 17-19, 2008 at the San Ramon Marriott Hotel in San Ramon CA. There will be an antenna seminar on Friday October 17. On Saturday, October 18, the exhibit room will be open. You might find good deals there. There will be a number of sessions covering a variety of subjects. Saturday night willWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO see the banquet, and the Wouff Hong initiation will be at midnight. Sunday has the swap meet, more sessions, and the ARRL Forum followed by the prize drawing. You can check out the event schedule on the Pacificon web page at www.pacificon.org. N7RR, Bruce, is hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. He will hike from the Mexican Border to Manning Park, British Columbia by end of September or early October. He will check into the CW traffic nets in the evenings as time permits. Check www.n7rr.com for information. ARACC members provided communications support for the “Climb to Kaiser” Bicycle race. P40V operated by Carl, AI6V, won the World Wide 14 MHZ high score plaque for the 2008 ARRL International DX Contest (Phone). The award is named the Don Wallace, W6AM, Memorial Award and is sponsored by the Central California DX Club, Inc. Top SJV Scores for the 2008 International DX Contest (CW) were 1st N2NS, 2nd K6YK, and 3rd K6AAB. Top SJV Scores for the 2008 International DX Contest (Phone) were 1st N6YMM, 2nd N2NS, and 3rd K6YV. N2NS made the DXCC Honor Roll. Congratulations Bob. Traffic for JULY: K6RAU 35, W6DPD 0, and W6SX 44. Total 79. PSHR: K6RAU 99 and W6SX 77.
Santa Clara Valley
Monthly Summary for July 2008 Santa Clara Valley Section News Summary. August 17, 2008 =The Section Appointee list will be cleaned up over the next few months and you may get a letter asking to re-confirm your appointment. Please contact me and I will bring your info up to date and issue a new Appointee Certificate. =More Field Day 2008 photos: Saratoga ARA Field Day 2008 http://www.flickr.com/photos/28500517@N04/ sent by Ray Rogoway, KI6QXO. Nimit,K6XOX, sends a link of the video clip from Field Day 2008 with FARS: http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=iEEKIeUnJr8 =5th ANNUAL NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH COMING This SEPTEMBER SIGN UP YOUR CLUB or ARES GROUP NOW! Groups and individuals can register to become members by visiting www.ready.gov, and clicking on the National Preparedness Month banner. Good public relations for your groups and easy to do. From Allen G Pitts, W1AGP, ARRL PIO ([email protected]) For more information on the Ready Campaign and National Preparedness Month, please visit www.ready.gov or www.listo.gov. Information is also available by phone at 1-800-BE- READY or 1-888-SE-LISTO. =A Memorandum of Understanding between Virginia Department of Emergency Management and VA Section ARRL at the Virginia Emergency Operations Center in Richmond. Here is the document: (http://www.aresva.org/pdf/VDEM_ARES_MOU_3_July_2008.pdf) The arrangement allows ARES members to be activated under state RACES (and workers compensation) program while allowing the ARRL Virginia SEC to direct all staff assignments. This is
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an excellent model of how ARES can be brought in to help state EMCOMM efforts without disrupting long accepted ARES command structures. =SEMINAR & EXAM: AMATEUR ("HAM") RADIO WHAT: Amateur Radio ("Ham") License & Communications Course Study to pass a 35-question, multiple-choice FCC exam (no Morse code) to get a radio license to use certain frequencies as part of your community's emergency response. WHEN: Every Tuesday 9/30-10/21: Class 1: September 30: 6:30-9:00 pm Class 2: October 7: 6:30-9:00 pm Class 3: October 14: 6:30-9:00 pm Class 4 (FCC exam): October 21: 6:30-9:00WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO pm WHERE: Menlo Park Fire Sta. 77: 1467 Chilco St. COST: $40.00 MATERIAL: The ARRL Ham Radio License book will be provided for this class. INSTRUCTORS: David Fichou (Menlo Fire ARES) & Ken Dueker (Palo Alto P.D.) REGISTER: Ken Dueker: [email protected] Sponsored by: Menlo Park Fire Protection District CERT:www.menlofire.org/cert This course is open to the public but is designed for Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Red Cross, and other emergency volunteers, including first responders. There is a maximum of 35 students for this class (priority for disaster volunteer members). =EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CLASS: This class is designed for CERT members, ham radio operators, neighborhood teams, and others who want to learn about communications in a disaster. Covers all radio and communications systems, including Ham, FRS, police, fire, etc. You don't need a ham license for this class, but it is preferred. WHAT: Emergency Communications Course for Ham Radio & CERT WHEN: Tuesday, October 28, 2008: 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm WHERE: TBA (Menlo Park area) COST:WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO FREE ! BRING: Your radio(s) & instruction manuals for them INSTRUCTORS: David Fichou (Menlo Fire ARES) & Ken Dueker (Palo Alto P.D.) REGISTER: Ken Dueker: [email protected] Sponsored by: Menlo Park Fire Protection District CERT: www.menlofire.org/cert =HF Digital Voice Programs available again. Citing codec (coding/decoding) licensing issues, free Windows programs for sound card-based HF digital voice were yanked from their download site for a short time recently, surprising hams who are interested in HF digital voice operation; several online groups that supported the software were also closed for a short time. See the new software: FDMDV and WinDRM can both be downloaded from Jason Buchanan's, N1SU, Web site . =New Look for “Public Service” in QST. Check out the "Public Service" column in QST September issue, they have added "Readiness, Response and Resilience" to the focus. QST will continue to have pertinent examples of activities from the field as in past columns as space permits, but will now concentrate on developing topics applicable to the extensive field of emergency preparedness and amateur radio. "You are part of this process and are invited to send ideas for future topics to me. We plan to cover individual topics in one monthly issue, but for more detailed subjects we will spread them across multiple months as needed. "So stay tuned for this to evolve over the next few issues." – Dennis Dura, K2DCD, Manager, Emergency Preparedness and Response [email protected] =PACIFICON 2008 Is Coming Soon! October 17-19, 2008, San Ramon Marriott Hotel San Ramon, California. For Events, Latest Updates and Ticket Sales go to: www.PACIFICON.org. Call the Marriott Hotel Reservations Desk at 1-800-228-9290. Before October 1, 2008, to ask for the special Pacificon rate of $90/night. Go to the event web site to sign up. All the usual PACIFICON events and more are planned. =Dick Flanagan, K7VC, has resigned as ARRL Nevada Section Manager for health reasons. ARRL Membership and Volunteer Programs Manager Dave Patton NN1N has appointed ARRL Nevada Assistant Section Manager Joe Giraudo N7JEH to serve the remainder of his term. Joe can be reached here: Postal mail: Joe Giraudo N7JEH, 720 Holyoke Drive, Spring Creek, NV 89815, E-mail: [email protected] (his [email protected] address should be effective shortly) =Section positions are still open. This is YOUR Section; please consider helping all of us by filling one of these important positions. See http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/org/ for information on the ARRL Field Organization and all appointee positions. =The wiki-based SCV web site on PDARRL.org is up and running. Tom, K1TW, [email protected], is getting the content on both old and new sites up to date. Send him your corrections and get your club access to the wiki. Here's the link: http://www.pdarrl.org/scvsec/index.php.
Roanoke Division
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North Carolina
JULY NORTH CAROLINA SECTION NEWS SECTION SET IS OCTOBER 4 The 2008 North Carolina Section Simulated Emergency Test (SET) will be held Saturday, October 4 from 8am to 12 noon. The test scenario will involve a major hurricane hitting our coast, causing widespread flooding along the coast and into the piedmont area. The mountains will also experience landslides due to heavy rainfall. Many portionsWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO of our state will suffer from power outages and communications disruptions. Less affected areas of the piedmont will have to deal with an influx of evacuees from other areas. The Tarheel Emergency Net will be active on 3.927MHz from 8am, opening immediately after the North Carolina Morning Net. We'll move to 7.232MHz if needed because of propagation. The Tennessee and South Carolina Sections are holding their SET on the same date and we will send liaisons to their section nets. I encourage everyone to hold their local SET the same day as the section event so that we can more accurately simulated a regional disaster. But local SET's can be held anytime from September to January, just make sure your results are reported to headquarters by January 30, 2009. In last year's SET, North Carolina scored fifth in the nation for ARES activity and third for SET net activity. We achieved these strong results with only nine ARES groups and five nets reporting! This means we can improve our score significantly and raise our national ranking if only a few more nets and ARES groups participate! The 2007 results were printed on 63-64 in the July issue of QST. Don't forget that the annual SET is aWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO great public relations opportunity. Your local public information officer or our section PIC, Bill Morine, N2COP ([email protected]), can help with these efforts. LIABILITY CONCERNS OF ARES MEMBERS Many of you have expressed concerns about any personal liability you might have associated with your participation in ARES. Many ARRL affiliated clubs take advantage of ARRL's liability insurance program and this helps if the ARES event or activity is club sponsored. But not all ARES groups in our state work so closely with a radio club and I've been asked what other protections are available. Although I'm not a lawyer and can't give anyone any legal advice, I did want to share a response to this concern that was written by ARRL General Counsel, Chris Imlay, W3KD to our division director, Dennis Bodson, W4WPF. Thanks to Dennis for sharing this: "ARES members can be reasonably assured that their volunteer activities in ARES on behalf of served agencies, if those activities are conducted in accordance with the ARRL's protocols for ARES operation, are protected to a large extent from liability exposure without any liability insurance at all. This is by virtue of the Federal Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 (VPA), 42 U.S.C. Section 14503, Public Law 105-19, Section 4. This statute, which ARRL successfully lobbied for more than ten years ago, provides that volunteers acting within the scope of their volunteer responsibilities for a nonprofit organization or governmental entity are not liable for harm caused by an act or omission. The volunteer has to have been acting within the scope of the volunteer's responsibilities in the nonprofit organization (which ARRL is, and which the ARES program is a part) at the time of the act or omission. They have to have been properly licensed, certified or authorized to perform the acts within the scope of the volunteer's activities (in the context of providing emergency or disaster relief communications, this means no more than FCC licensing in the Amateur Service, but ARES participants would be well advised to also complete the Emergency Communications Certification program that the ARRL offers). The VPA does not protect the volunteer from liability caused by the volunteer's gross negligence or willful or reckless acts that cause injury, but it does protect against ordinary negligence. Virtually all liability insurance has the same exclusions. Finally, the VPA does not protect against liability caused by the operation of a boat, car or aircraft, for which an operator's license is required. This exclusion is because if there is an operator's license, the vehicle has to be insured anyway, so there is no need to include this class of protection. If an ARES group does not want to rely solely on the VPA, they can organize and qualify as an ARRL affiliated club, and purchase the ARRL's affiliated club liability insurance. That plan, called the ARRL Club Liability Insurance Plan, covers lawsuits resulting from bodily injury and property damage at ARRL affiliated club-sponsored activities. That insurance is priced on the basis of the number of members as well as other factors such as activities and risk. The insurance is available, but only if [an ARES group] organizes into a club and has the requisite number of ARRL members within its roster (and the club
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would have to keep an official roster of members, current at all times, to prove their continued eligibility to remain an ARRL affiliated club) and do all things necessary to become an ARRL affiliated club. The affiliated club liability program is well-suited for ARES groups that are formally organized (that does not mean incorporated necessarily), and those members of ARES who for whatever reason choose not to become ARRL members would still enjoy the insurance coverage, provided that the ARES group remains at all times an ARRL-affiliated club. If the club loses affiliated club status, of course, the liability eligibility WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROlapses as well.".....from Chris Imlay, W3KD, ARRL General Counsel. It's also worthwhile to note that Gov. Easly recently signed SB 1766: "An act to provide liability protection for private associations, private corporations, and private nonprofit entities and organizations when responding to in-state incidents...". It's my understanding that this bill should provide some protection for us when we're working as volunteers under state emergency management, but I encourage you to read the bill yourself. UPCOMING EVENTS August 28: Tropical Storm NWS Class, Shelby (see www.foothillswx.net) August 30-31: Shelby Hamfest, Dallas September 10th - Carolina Cycling Time Trials, Lowes Speedway September 13th - Leukemia & Lymphoma Light the Night Walk, Raleigh. September 18th - Leukemia & Lymphoma Light the Night Walk, Durham. September 27-28 - MS-150 Bike Ride, Mid-Atlantic Chapter. September 27th - ADA Step out for Diabetes Walk, RTP. October 1: Carolina Cycling Time Trials, Lowes Speedway October 11: Pfafftown Hamfest October 12: Charlotte Crop Walk October 12: Maysville Hmfest October 18: State ARES Meeting, Morganton. October 18th/19thWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO - UCP Ride Without Limits, Triangle Area. October 18-19: Scouting Jamboree On The Air. October 18: Lung Strong 15k/5k, Cornelius. JULY TRAFFIC K4IWW 295, W2EAG 206, N3BW 164, W4DNA 135, KI4YV 106, KJ4WY 78, W4TTO 69, KD4WAX 62, WA4OBR 58, W3HL 53, W4FAL 41, KE4AHC 35, WA2YBM 20, W4EHF 8, KD4ZPS 7, KD4SM 5. JULY PSHR NC4VA 328, W4DNA 135, W4FAL 130, K4IWW 120, W2EAG 110, W4TTO 100, KI4YV 90, WA2YBM 70. JULY ARES MEMBERS: 1,832 (up 4 from last month)
South Carolina
Greetings to all Amateur Radio Operators. This is Dr. Jim, N2ZZ with the August 2008 South Carolina Section Manager’s Report! Please remember that theSC Section website can be found at: www.arrl- sc.org/ where my full SM report will be listed as well as up-to-the-date information on Amateur Radio in South Carolina! Summer is almost over, and I’m sure we will all appreciate cooler weather, especially after the 100+ degree days we have been having in South Carolina. I did escape the hot weather for a week, as my family and I took a cruise through the inner passage of Alaska in late July. I went from short sleeves to a heavy sweatshirt and thick jacket. Needless to say, after a week of freezing in the Alaska Summer, it was good to return to the sweltering heat of South Carolina! I would like to thank Brian KR4SP, ACC for all of his hard work keeping us up-to-date with club activities via his monthly club activity summaries for the last several years. Information gathering has been difficult for Brian due to his dial-up internet connection, and there has been very little feedback on his summaries. Due to these reasons, Brian and I jointly decided to discontinue the summaries. For club information, please visit each club’s individual website, found on the www.arrl-sc.org website. Tim Slay, N4IB, NC Section Manager passed on information to me about a class offered by the National Weather Service in conjunction with the Foothills Weather Net. The presentation will be "Tropical Weather in the Carolinas". The class will be held on August 28th at 7pm at Harvestworks, 891 N. Post Road, Shelby, NC. Contact information: Foothills Weather Net, POB 864, Shelby, NC 28151 (704) 974-1844 www.foothillswx.net . If you decide to head to Shelby early, this should be an interesting program! This coming weekend will herald the 2008 Shelby Hamfest at its new location in Dallas, NC! The event will be held on August 30th and 31st, and gates open at 7am. The hamfest committee requests that when you get near the site, please follow hamfest signs and uniformed officers to guide you into the proper parking lot. Full information and driving directions can be found on their hamfest website: http://www.shelbyhamfest.com/hamfest.htm. I hope to see a great turnout from SC! The Second Annual
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TARC tailgate party was held on August 16th, 2008 in Moncks Corner. I was unable to attend, but a report is forthcoming from Dennis KG4RUL, PIC. When available, I will post it on the www.arrl-sc.org website! Dennis, by the way, was published in September 2008 QST on page 83, last paragraph. Unfortunately, QST misprinted his call as KG4RUI. Congratulations to Dennis on his submission to the JOTA article! WE know who you are! D-STAR has come to South Carolina! Rob K4RKC, President of the Columbia Amateur Radio Club relayed the following information to me: "The Malfunction Junction Amateur Radio ClubWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO is proud to announce that there are now three D- star repeaters located in the Columbia area. The first is located on the Northeast side of Columbia and provides excellent coverage of the local area. The repeater is VHF and UHF with Gateway, and frequencies are listed below. The second repeater is located in the Gilbert area and should give coverage from Aiken to Columbia. The third repeater is located east of Columbia and is designed to give wide area coverage. Columbia: 145.400 Downtown Columbia KJ4BWK C with Gateway 442.300 Downtown Columbia KJ4BWK B with Gateway Gilbert: 443.325 I-20 coverage K5ZOE B with Gateway Wide area Coverage repeater: 442.775 Wide Coverage repeater KJ4FCS B Gateway is coming soon. These are the First D-Star repeaters in South Carolina and we are proud to have them." In addition, I was talking with Brian K6NWS, DEC5 who reports that a D-STAR Stack (1.2G/UHF/VHF) is soon to be installed at the Ashley River tower at MUSC. We also expect to have a VHF and UHF D-STAR repeater in Aiken fairly soon. I found a few excellent videos on how to program the new D-STAR transceivers, by Gary KN4AQ:WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO http://www.youtube.com/user/KN4AQ . After doing some reading and watching videos on D- STAR, I realize that there is a lot to learn, and "hands-on" use through a D-STAR repeater will be very helpful in that learning process! The South Carolina QSO party, sponsored by the Columbia Amateur Radio Club will be held on September 20th and 21st this year. Full information is available on the CARC website: http://www.kf4ghc.net/scqp.shtml I would like to extend my thanks to Mac Heaton N4MEH, STM for his work each month in compiling the NTS reports! That’s it for August! See you next Month! July 2008 National Traffic System Report for South Carolina by Mac Heaton N4MEH, STM: Net Reports Net/Check Ins/Traffic/Sessions/Reported By Anderson Radio Club 2M Net/829/36/31/N4MEH Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Net /2244/40/31/K4SUG Carolina Slow Net/119/15/31/N0SU Columbia ARC 2 Meter Net/245/0/9/KE4TLC Grand Strand ARC 2M Net/158/17/13/KI4HEE Greater Pee Dee 2 Meter Net/804/32/31/K4DTT Greenwood ARC 2 Meter Net/132/5/4/W4DEW Greenwood Friendly Net/562/38/31/W4JAK Lancaster County 2 Meter Net/145/10/13/N4WMB SC SSB Net/1799/61/31/W4DDK SC State ARES Net/202/5/4/KE4RVF Station Activity Reports Station/Sent/Received/Delivered/Originated/Total KA4UIV/11/20/12/0/43 N4MEH/8/64/3/3/78 W4DDK/2/31/0/2/35 Public Service Honor Roll Station/Cat1/Cat2/Cat3/Cat4/Cat5/Cat6/Total KA4LRM/40/40/20/0/0/0/100 N4MEH/40/40/20/0/0/0/100 Have a Great Month!! ’73 de Dr. Jim N2ZZ ARRL Section Manager South Carolina Section www.arrl-sc.org
Rocky Mountain Division
New Mexico
New Mexico Section Report for July, 2008 Well July was rather interesting. This was my first month of retirement and it started with a bang. Pat and I went to Bryce Canyon, UT for the Rocky Mountain Regional Convention. We took a leisurely drive there and had a great time. Lots of really nice folks and they fed us well. They do their hamfest a little different. It is a three-day affair. Friday evening we ate hamburgers, beans and salad at a large pavilion at the RV camp ground that is permanently set up for large groups. Saturday was a typical hamfest with resellers, forums and of course the ARRL forum. Saturday evening we had another BBQ dinner at the pavillion. Oh yes it rained both evenings but we really had a good time. Sunday they have a breakfast (we have an evening banquet at the Duke City Hamfest) and the guest speaker was Katie Breen, W1KRB. Katie is the Membership Manager for ARRL. She is really on the ball and has lots of ideas to bring in new members. As I have said for the last
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couple of months, I would like to see some more people step up and fill some very needed positions. We now have five OOs but we sure could use more. I know that it takes a fair amount of time but that job is really important. We currently have one person working on qualifying for OO. We need more TSs around the State. This is especially important for new hams and some of our older set who can no longer do some of the technical things that need to be done. The position of PIO (Public Information Officer) is very important and every club should have one. This job does not take a lot of time but they are the voice of the clubs. WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROWe have a great PIC (Public Information Coordinator) Ray Herne N5LIV who can help with any copy and with suggestions for where to get the information out. The following were some of the events for the month: Darryl Clutter, NX5W had a W5YI VE testing session on July 12th. Frank Warren, AB5WJ started a Tech class at CNM on July 18th. Frank Warren, AB5WJ started an electronics class on July 19th Frank Warren, AB5WJ started a general class at CNM on July 29th Way to go Frank – where do you get the energy? Upcoming events: August 15 & 16 – Duke City Hamfest – This is going to be a little different this year. The location has changed to the Sandia Baptist Church located at the corner of Moon and Constitution in Albuquerque. All clubs are invited to set up a table at no charge. This will be an opportunity to advertise your club and all the things you do. As usual there will be forums and demos. The Special Events Station (N5N) will be located in the center of activity this year. No more searching for the trailer. Icom is graciously providing an IC-756PRO3 and PS125 for the event. The church has a separate banquet area so the resale tables will be able to stay set up longer and less panicWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO getting ready for the banquet. The Guest speaker this year will be Dennis Dura K2DCD. Dennis is the ARRL Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager. I would really like to see a good showing of the ARES people there. For more information, go to www.DukeCityHamfest.org. The MS 150 will be on August 23 & 24. New Mexico Marathon on August 31 Gila Amateur Radio Association Hamfest September 20th. The Socorro Hamfest October 25th – – more info to follow. Also I will be going to Newington (Headquarters ARRL) October 8-12, 2008. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE YOUR ACTIVITIES IN THE MONTHLY REPORT YOU NEED TO LET ME KNOW ABOUT THEM – I WILL BE HAPPY TO INCLUDE ANY AND ALL ACTIVITIES IN THE SECTION. The Net Counts for July are: Caravan Club Net: 54/4 NM Breakfast Club: 1247/136 NM Roadrunner Traffic. Net: 1153/84 Rustys Raider's Net: 691/86 Valencia County. ARA Net: 71/22 Yucca Net: 967/39 Four Corners Net: 440/24 SCAT Net: 724/79 High Desert ARA Net: 31/5 Silent Key Report, July, 2008 DUNCAN, REGINALD W, W5UWY (Extra) CLOUDCROFT, NM 88310 TYSON, EDMUND T, N5JTY (Advanced) ALAMOGORDO, NM 88310 PECK, GORDON H, W5YGI (General) LAS CRUCES, NM 88011 PRIDEMORE, WILMER W, KA5GYK (General) KIRTLAND, NM 87417-0035 SEE YOU ALL AT THE DUKE CITY HAMFEST!
Wyoming
Wyoming Section Manager Newsletter - July, 2008 Hi All – I attended the Rocky Mountain Division Convention July 11-13 at Bryce Canyon, UT and had a great time – I highly recommend it. Bryce Canyon is a beautiful area at over 7000 ft and quite cool for summertime and the scenery is fantastic. Mel Parks and the Utah Hamfest Committee do a great job putting on an informative and interesting event. ARRL Membership Manager Katie Breen W1KRB was the Keynote Speaker. Rocky Mountain Division Director Brian Mileshosky N5ZGT and Vice Director Dwayne Allen WY7FD were also there with surprise attendee Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM from Georgia. Andrea and family were our guests at the 2007 Casper convention. As always it is time to remember and thank all the volunteers that staff our Section and provide services to members and the public. Stop by WY7FD.com to familiarize yourself with Section Staff and Officers and say thank you on the air and when you see them. They spend many hours working with hams and public officials and just doing paperwork to keep things running and support our hobby. All the net controls, EC’s, ARES volunteers, Assistant Section Managers, Tech Specialists and more do a great job – THANKS to all of you!! It’s time to get the antennas tuned up while we have access to the roof so are ready for winter operation. Maybe another tower in the antenna farm……….?? On a final note I’d like to thank everyone for a great 8 months as Section Manager. I’ve
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had a great time getting to know quite a few of you and working with the Section Staff and WY hams. I am sorry to say that I will be leaving Wyoming at the end of August to accept a job in Washington, which will be a great improvement for myself and our family. I would like to extend an invitation to anyone in the area to stop in – the new address info will be on QRZ.com under my new call sign of WX7B. I won’t be disappearing as I will check in when the G5RV is put up and hope to have a tower up next summer . Thanks again to all. News regarding a new Section Manager will be forthcoming, you won’t be disappointed!WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO See you “on the air”, 73, Chris, WX7B Southeastern Division
Puerto Rico
Saludos a todos. Según escribo este informe, se está llevando a cabo un evento especial, dedicado a Guillermo Schwarz, KP4DDB y luego KP3S. Guillermo fué Section Manager, escutista, ingeniero, piloto de aviación y muchas otras cosas más. Un hombre humilde y honrado siempre dispuesto a ayudar a los demás. Guillermo murió, junto a su esposa, en un accidente de aviación el 29 de julio de 2000. La estación K4S se activó para honrar a Guillermo. Estará en operaciones desde el 29 de julio al 3 de agosto gracias a Carlos Rodríguez que ahora tiene las letras KP3S. Tenemos conocimiento de que hay un nuevo grupo deWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO radio aficionados en Puerto Rico. Se trara del Veterans Amateur Radio Group of PR con los indicativos WP4NYD. Se reunirán los sábados por la noche en la banda de 75 metros. Esta es otra idea de Carlos Rodríguez, KP3s. Los invitamos a que visiten su página de internet [http://www.wp4nyd.8k.com]. Durante el pasado mes de julio, varios radio aficionados locales participaron en el concurso de IARU (International Amateur Radio Union). La participación de nosotros en estos concursos pone en nombre de Puerto Rico en alto. No se trata de ganar sino de participar. Se planificó participar en el "National Night Out" donde las organizaciones de seguridad pública exponen sus equipos y dan información al público. Desafortunadamente, por cuestión de permisos, no se podrá llevar a cabo la actividad. Sin embargo, los radio aficionados están listos para participar en dicho evento. La PRARL (Puerto Rico Amateur Radio League) anunció un concurso entre todos los radio aficionados que tengan una página en el internet (relacionada con la radio afición). Para mas información visiten la página de internet de la liga, [www.prarl.org]. Nelson Ramírez, KP4XT, está invitando a todos los radio aficionados a enviarle fotos para que él pueda hacer una especie de galería en su página de internet. Le pueden escribir a [email protected]. Se está cocinando un concurso de 6 metros y otras actividades. Como pueden ver, todos los meses hay actividades de radio aficionados en Puerto Rico. Más actividades y mas agrupaciones. Además, prácticamente todas las noches hay uno o mas "nets" o ruedas en dos metros y 75 metros. Seguimos haciendo el inventario de radio aficionados interesados en las comunicaciones de emergencia. Se coordinarán unos cursos ofrecidos por la Agencia Estatal para el Manejo de Emergencias y Administración de Desastres (AEMEAD) para los que me escriban ([email protected] o [email protected]) indicando su interés en participar. Muchas gracias a todos los que me llamaron o escribieron para saber de mi estado de salud. Gracias a Dios, todo salió muy bién. Estoy un 80% recuperado y espero llegar al 100% durante este mes y quizás parte del otro. Gracias nuevamente y que Dios los Bendiga a todos. Esto ha sido todo por este mes. Me pueden escribir o llamar para darme sus sugerencias, anuncios, criticas, etc. Todos son bienvenidos. Roberto, KP4AC
Southern Florida
Hi Everyone, I hope you are staying cool in this hot weather and that you are safe from the daily thunderstorms. The tropics are becoming busy with waves looking threateningly at us. Keep your ARES EC advised of your availability. I enjoyed seeing many of you at the Fort Pierce Hamfest. Forums were well attended and yielded many ideas for the attendees and the presenters. I hope to see many of you at the Melbourne Hamfest for the state convention. The News page is updated with an extensive resource
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list and photos: www.arrl.org/sections/SFL.html If your group or served agency is looking for grants this link has many tips for you: http://www.homeland1.com/tips/420182/ Register your group for Emergency Preparedness month. http://www.ready.gov/america/npm08/intro.html ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager, Allen Pitts, W1AGP says linking up with the Ready.gov people and participating in September's National Preparedness Month is an easy win. The federal people are already doing all the hard work. All you really have to do is sign up. Most clubs and ARES groups are already doing activities which fitWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO into their structure, so why not get credit for your actions? Of course, if you do something more with this opportunity, so much the better! But you have to sign your group in and no one can do that for you. There are hundreds of ARES groups and clubs in the country. Wouldn't it be fun to have even 70 percent of them sign up and get noticed? ARES orientation. Does your group ask a new ham or someone new to the area to complete an ARES application and then issue a membership card or badge and then nothing else happens? I spoke with a long time ham who recently moved to the section and this scenario happened to him, followed by nothing. Not even a sheet of paper about net schedules, meetings, or at the least contact information for the ARES EC. Lend a hand and help your EC develop an orientation session for new ARES members or at least a handout with useful information. ------REPORTS: SARs for July: KA4FZI 339, KE4CB 101, AA4BN 57, KC4TM 18, W7GXW 14 ======PSHRs for July: KA4FZI 120, KE4CB 105, AA4BN 87 ======TOTAL CHECKINS/QNI = 2275 (Up from 2110 in June) TOTAL TRAFFIC/QTC = 659 (Up from 524 in June)WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Practice checking into a net before an emergency/hurricane strikes. NET ABB. SESS, QNI, QTC, MGR All Florida CW Traffic Net, QFN, 62, 462, 358, AD4DO Broward Co. Emergency Prep. Net, BCEPN, 4, 75, 19, KI4WDQ Florida Amateur SSB Traffic Net, FAST, 31, 260, 71, K4SCL Florida Medium Speed (CW) Net, FMSN, 31, 191, 48, AG4RJ/AB4XK Jupiter-Tequesta Repeater Group, JTRG, 9, 91, 14, AG4BV/W4FK Palm Beach County Ares Net, PBCAN, 8, 123, 29, K4DLF Saint Lucie Repeater Association, SLRA, 4, 39, 1, KE4UEI Southeast Florida Traffic Net, SEFTN, 31, 694, 54, AG4RJ/KI4IQZ Southwest Florida Traffic Net, SWFTN, 27, 340, 65, KE4CB/N9WS ======ARES Report for August: Total reported number of ARES members in the 10 counties reporting: 1000. ARES nets active: 16, 6 with NTS liaison, sessions: 72 DECs/ECs reporting: N4LEM, KF4MJJ, N5KFR, AA4BN, WA4ASJ, WA4GUK, AI7Q, K4FLC, AD4RZ, WN7YJJ reporting for Osceola Number of drills, tests and training sessions: 89, Person hours: 498 Number of public service events: 2, Person hours: 31 No emergency operations this month. Total number of ARES operations: 91, Total Person hours: 529 SFL ARES Net Report --- QNI 22, QTC 1, Time 40 Min. Here is a great place to check for other ARES/NTS info: http://wx4j.com/ ------Please share your education sessions from FD. Many of you claimed bonus points for offering an educational session on Field Day. Send me a brief description, even a web link, of your education offering and we can share them. This will give all of us new ideas for next year and help compile a program for new hams. ------A paper on the National Emergency Communications Plan was released by Department of Homeland Security last month. To view the document go to: http://www.dhs.gov/xprepresp/publications/gc_1217521334397.shtm ------Finally, from the August issue of Contact! What does news media want? Simple! ARE vs. WERE Hams ARE doing this – that’s news. Hams were doing that – that’s just old history. Would you like a Media Hit? Possibly regional or even national news coverage of your group aiding the community? Would you like an AP reporter or network camera crew to come see you? It can happen! BUT – not unless you let people know what’s happening right now! Unfortunately, despite all our claims about communications options, the one piece of equipment often appearing to NOT be working in a crisis is our “PR brain.” Again and again ARRL headquarters gets “after action reports” days or even weeks after the fact. For news release uses in the modern 24 hour cycle, these are worthless. But the rare call telling us that “hams ARE doing _____” is a true jewel. Those are the ones we can act on, and if appropriate we can call up the reporters and push the story. Give us a decent “Hams ARE…” plus a good quote and a contact or two and things can happen! Give us a slow “Hams were…” and sadly listen to the sounds of silence. Till next month, stay safe, stay on the air, and keep an eye on the tropical weather. 73, Sherri, W4STB
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Southwestern Division
Arizona
August 2008 ARCA WILLIAMS HAMFEST/ARRL STATE CONVENTION I hoped you all enjoyed the Williams Hamfest as much as my family and I did. I met many friends and a lot of new hams this year. I was really impressedWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO by the number of young hams. One young ham who had not received his callsign until after Williams was Brad Schlottman KE7VAB son of Keith Schlottman KR7RK (treasurer for 10-10 international). Congratulations Brad. Brad and Keith were helping prospective 10-10 members get their required ten 10 meter contacts on the IC-7700 that was on display by ICOM. Pat Marcy W7PZ from ICOM also brought out their D-STAR Booth, thank you Pat. Our thanks to Ward Silver N0AX from ARRL who was out meeting everyone and signing his books. That was a real treat. RF Stuff was nice enough to bring out a whole collection of his books and other ARRL publications to sell. All of the door prize winners can be found at www.arca-az.org. At the BBQ a couple awards were handed out; Rick Aldom W7STS is the 2008 ARCA Ham of the Year and Jim Fagan KE7IDC is the 2008 ARCA Young Ham of the Year. Congratulations to both of you. 2007 ARRL Hiram Percy Maxim Award During the July 2008 ARRL Board of Directors Meeting, the ARRL Board of Directors selected Jim Fagan, KE7IDC, of Tucson, Arizona, as the recipient of the 2007 Hiram Percy Maxim Award. The Hiram PercyWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Maxim Memorial Award is given annually to a licensed radio amateur under the age of 21 whose accomplishments and contributions to both the community of Amateur Radio and the local community is of the most exemplary nature. Jim will receive this award during the Southwestern Division Convention in September. Jim received this award for his work with Amateur Radio and Scouting. Congratulations Jim. SOUTHWESTERN DIVISION CONVENTION 2008 The Southwestern Division Convention is next month September 12-14 at the Mesa Convention Center. Check out the website at to view all the events (ARRL Forum, awards, DX Breakfast, raffle, RV Parking, speakers, swapmeet, VE, testing, vendors and the W1AW/7 station). We should be having the speaker list on the web this week, and what a list it is. We have managed to get some very good speakers for the 2008 Southwestern Division Convention and you won't want to miss this one. If you are into EMCOM, look for Mark Sloan, Lou Tramell, and the EMCOM forum. There will be presentations from the DX crusaders, APRS and other digital programs. The Satellite guys will be speaking and Mark Spencer from the ARRL will be discussing the ARRL's train the trainer program. For those out of town, the clock is ticking, August 12th is the cutoff dates for the special room rates for the Marriott. Act quickly to secure a great room deal of $99/night. The vendors are starting to come out of the woodwork. Look for the familiar faces they will be there. We have been burning up the phones to bring as many vendors as possible to the convention, and now that the cost of fuel is coming down, they want to be at our convention. I have a request, if you are going to come, go on to the website and register. The more pre- registrations the quicker the line will be!! 73's & Looking forward to seeing you there! www.azhamcom.org Rick Aldom W7STS. [email protected] Special Event August 14-17, 2008 Navajo Code Talkers Event. Special Event station N7C will be operating on the air at Navajo Veterans Memorial Park Window Rock, AZ. 8:00 am to 6:00 pm DST local time and UTC 1400Z to 0000Z, 7.265 and 14.265 MHz. For more info look up N7C on QRZ.COM or e-mail N7HG Herb. SILENT KEYS Jim Berkheimer KC7HLM became a SK on July 23. He was a member of the West Valley ARC. Lenore Jensen, W6NAZ (SK) was one of ham radio's most historically significant women. She co- founded YLRL in 1939. During the Vietnam War she made 68,000 phone patches for servicemen as a MARS operator. She tirelessly promoted ham radio. Her friend and former clubmate, Cliff Cheng, AC6C, nominated her for the CQ Hall of Fame, which she was inducted into at Dayton a few months ago. Cliff is setting up a memorial page for her, www.KI6CM.bappy.com. Please email Cliff at [email protected] if you have any remembrances of Lenore, or if you have a jpeg scan of Lenore's colorful QSLs or pictures. Robert Kamler Jr KD7SBY from Sun City became a SK on August 4. NEW HAMS The following Arizona hams just received their FCC license, Congratulations! Richard Myers AD7UR, Roland Sockerson AD7UU, Laetitia Baudoin AD7VG, Kenneth Conatser AD7VK, Michael
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Smith KE7UJA, Paul Connolly KE7UJZ, Sherwin White KE7UKI, Jason Owens KE7UKY, David Medearis KE7UKZ, George C Runger KE7ULA, David Child KE7ULB, Ronald Barton KE7ULC, Michael Mccambridge KE7ULD, Josh Butler KE7ULT, Jeffrey Neufeld KE7ULU, Ryan Clarke KE7ULX, Bert Regeer KE7ULZ, Marlin Havener KE7UMA, Keith Kendall KE7UMC, Charles Ruerup KE7UOV, Mildred Newman KE7URP, Whitney Porter KE7URQ, Stephen Porter KE7URR, Stephen Harper KE7URS, Richard Baker KE7URT, John Allen KE7URU, Lawrence Mickelson KE7URV, Sarah Tempest KE7URW,WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Rob Lomeli KE7URX, Kevin Coffman KE7URY, Tracy Eckelberry KE7URZ, Larry Gardanier KE7USB, Alfred Pimentel KE7USC, Charles Nelson KE7UTH, Brian Mills Smith KE7UTI HAMFESTS/CONVENTIONS/SPECIAL MEETINGS September 6, 2008 Fall Fest, Mohave Professional Amateur Radio Group will be having its 1st Annual Hamfest in Kingman Arizona 7am-Kingman Centennial Park, across from the Mohave County Library VHF talk in: 146.9400 - 151.4 UHF talk in: 446.3000 - 123.0. http://www.mparg.org/ September 12-14, 2008 ARRL Southwestern Division Convention Mesa AZ Come check us out at www.AzHamCom.org Mesa Convention Center contact Rick Aldom W7STS 2008 SWD Chair [email protected]. October 18 2008 Old Pueblo Hamfest Kino Sports Park Tucson AZ October 19, 2008 Tucson Ham Radio Picnic at Reid Park at 12 noon www.tucsonhampicnic.com December 2008 Superstition Hamfest, Mesa AZ Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about ARRL. If your club or group has an activity or event that would beWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO of interest to other hams throughout our section please email me with the specifics.
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Section News for August 2008
Atlantic Division Southern New JerseyWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY NEWSLETTER FOR SEPTEMBER SECTION MANAGER, JEAN PRIESTLEY, KA2YKN HAMFEST !! HAMFEST!! HAMFEST!! On Sunday, September 21, (in just a few days) or to put it another way- THIS WEEKEND, Gloucester County Hamfest 2008. Plenty of free parking available Many features will be a part of this hamfest. There are Tailgaters and Sellers of New, Used and Antique Radio, Computer and Electronic Equipment ADMISSION IS $6.!! Tailgate Spaces are FREE. Pavilion Spaces are $10. Some Pavilion Spaces have electric. Space price does not include cost of admission. The GCARC 31st Annual Hamfest is being held in the Pavilion area of the Gloucester County 4-H Fairgrounds located at 240 Bridgeton Pike better known as Route 77. There will be card checking for DXCC-VUCC-WAS and will be at 11:30AM. : Also, there will be ARRL VEC License Testing and you must bring a copy of your license and any CSCE’s. There will be food for sale. What would a Hamfest be without that hotdog or hamburger and a soda. My favorite is the pork roll. For additionalWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO information contact Harry, K2ATX, at 856-513 0407 or [email protected] GATES OPEN AT 6AM FOR Tailgaters and Sellers. HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE. Now, on the Absecon Lighthouse operations. It was a success and although band conditions could have been better, especially for the International Lighthouse Weekend, the crew of operators made a total of 328 contacts during both weekends. There were 236 contacts made during National Lighthouse Weekend and 102 contacts during International Lighthouse Weekend. As of the date of the SCARA being done, there were 59 requests for QSL cards. Ed, W2KP, was their event coordinator for the events. Volunteers included W2OB, K2JGB, WA2YSA, KA2NTT, KC2AAY, KB2MN, N2ANG, (with her granddaughter, Olivia) N4XAT, WA2BTK and W2ARP. GOOD JOB. Delaware Valley Radio Association has 2 more testing sessions for 2008 and a full schedule for 2009. There will be testing on Sept. 13 and November 15. The dates for 2009 will be Jan 17, March 21, May 16, July 18, Sept 12 and November 14, 2009. Except for both November exams, all will be at the Hopewell Twp Branch of the Mercer County Library, 245 Pennington-Titusville Road, Hopewell Township (just outside Pennington and next door to the Hopewell Valley Central High School) Be there by 12:15 for paperwork. Exams start promptly at 12:30. Contact Don/AA2F at [email protected] or 609-737-1723 for further information and the location of the Nov exams. As in all exams, the cost is $14 cash or check and bring 2 forms of ID, at least one being a photo ID, plus the original and photocopy of your license if upgrading. JSARS Is still holding their testing sessions the third Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm at the Riverwood Recreation Building on Riverwood Drive in Toms River, NJ. For more information call Ed GENOINO, WA2NDA at 609-693- 3729. Holiday City ARC is also still holding their test sessions every other 2nd Saturday from 10am to 12pm, (May, July, Sept, Nov). Sessions are held at the Holiday City South Clubhouse area in meeting room #1 on Mule Road at the corner of Santiago Dr in Toms River. Your contact person is Bill Haldane, AC2F and the phone is 732-240-7064 or [email protected]. When going to any test session, you must have your original license, at least one Xerox copy and original and one copy of any credit sheets you may have. Bring 2 forms of id. OBARC has resumed their test sessions for the year. There was one in June and September and the next one will be Dec. 4, 2008. All the sessions will be held at the Ocean Acres Community Center, Nautilus Drive, Manahawkin. Doors close at 7pm. Contact Dave Burgess, WA2TVS at 609-698-2872. Directions to test site are available at http://wwww.obarc.org. An Amateur Radio test session will be conducted on Sat AM Sept 20, 08 at 9:30AM. Door will open at 9AM. The location is the Tony Canale Fire Train Center, 5033 English Creek Ave, Egg Harbor Township, NJ Pre- reg is mandatory. Contact Lou, KA2NTT at 609-927-9182. Test fee is $14. and you must have 2 forms of I.D. For upgrades, to a current license, you must bring the original license plus a photo copy of the license. Testing sessions by SJRA are on the 4th Tuesday of each month at the Winslow Senior center.
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Contact is Mark, K2AX at [email protected] or (609)820-1523. The Battleship New Jersey is still on summer hours. If your club is thinking about visiting the NJ2BB club station, please be sure to make arrangements ahead of the scheduled date to insure that someone will be there. Just go on our website at www.nj2bb.org for information to schedule a visit. If you have worked NJ2BB and want to send a card, the QSL manager is Margaret Burgess, KB2BRR 150 Schooner Ave, Barnegat, NJ 08005. Please send your cards with an SASE to insure receiving a card in return from NJ2BB. http:// www.nj2bb.org NOW OPEN !! The new WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO“City at Sea Tour”. Its intent is to highlight the support activities within the vessel, such as dental, medical and sickbay. There will also be a Quick Stop (aka smoke shop), Post office and machine shops. Of interest to the Ham community is the WW2 Radio Room that members of BNJARS have been working on. This compartment was once filled with black crackle painted equipment that glows in the dark. The gang has found the appropriate equipment from various sources, restored and repaired each item as needed. On May 19, 2008, the new General Quarters Tour opened. The tour will offer the same tour as the current, except all guests will receive an audio device that will include narration, music, special effects, descriptions of spaces and recorded accounts by former crew members. An adult and child’s version will be available. The ships current guided tour The Fire Power Tour will now include the Combat Engagement Center and the Admiral Halsey Stateroom. Even If your have seen the ship once already, there is plenty of new reasons to come see it again. Traffic report for May Traffic manager, K2UL, Dan Ostroy SNJ/NNJ Section Net Reports QNI reports NJM 89 N2GJ NJPN 216 W2CC NJSNWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO 167 K2PB NJN(E) 174 AG2R NJN(L) 154 AG2R (the above nets are dual section nets of both SNJ and NNJ. Liaisons with 2RN) SNJ Local Net Reports JSARS 356 WA2NDA SJTN (E) 18 KB2RTZ SJTN(L) 12 KB2RTZ Station Activity Reports (SAR) KB2RTZ 106 KB2BAA 52 WA2CUW 50 WA2NDA 49 K2UL 26 AA2SV 18 K2GW 14 Public Service Honor Roll (PSHR) KB2RTZ 170 K2UL 106 K2GW 95 WA2CUW 90 KB2BAA 80 WA2NDA 80 KA2YKN 55 N2HQL 55 WJ3P 50 STM reports that the past six years have been posted on the web at http://k2ul.home.att.net/stm_monthly.htm AUGUST NEWS; Welcome to John, KB2BAA, our newest traffic handler. He’s been very active and has taken net control slots.
Western Pennsylvania
I would like to thank everyone that helped to make the WPA Section Convention a great success. We were fortunate to have a great day weather wise and also had quite a few ARRL leaders present at the event. I want to thank Katie Breen, W1KRB, for coming down from Connecticut for the hamfest. This was the final hamfest Katie will be attending as a league official. Katie will be leaving soon to get married and move to Wyoming. We wish Katie well and thank her for her service over the past months. I would also like to thank Bill Edgar, N3LLR, Atlantic division director and Eric Olena WB3FPL, Eastern Pa. section manager for attending and helping. Assistant section manager Bruce Watson, AA3LX, and section emergency coordinator John Szwarc, N3SPW, also attended the event. I want to express my appreciation to all the members of the Skyview ARC for their hard work to put the hamfest together. I would also like to congratulate the members of the Butler County ARA on the success of their swap fest last weekend. I was glad to see the event and all the people that came out to support the swap fest. I want to remind everyone that we still are in need of people to participate in leadership roles for the ARES program. If you are interested in this please contact John Szwarc at [email protected] . On October 4 the Simulated Emergency Test will be conducted in WPA from 9 am till noon. Check with your local emergency coordinator for information. The section hf frequency will be 3983 hertz. Please check in and participate in the drill on hf or on your local repeater. We only have a short time to get the tower bill through the legislature. Please contact your state senators and representatives to ask them to support and vote for senate bill 884 and house bill 1177. We have seen several local hams involved in disputes with local zoning that this bill would have helped. A special thanks to Mike Lazaroff, K3AIR, for his help with these issues. Mike is a volunteer legal counsel as well as the DXCC card checker for the section. Please remember to participate in the PA QSO Party that will take place on October 11 and 12. This is a fun relaxing contest and I look forward to working everyone. Thanks to the organizers and
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participants of the event for a great little contest. This is also a good opportunity to test your station for performance in your ability to communicate with stations in Pennsylvania in the event of an emergency. Additional information and rules for the contest are available at http://www.nittany-arc.net/paqso.html . Please join a traffic net as well as your local ARES net. The WPA section traffic net meets every evening at 6 PM local on 3983 hz. Stop by and see if you can help deliver messages to individuals in your community. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the final hamfest of the year in our section. Wacom is NovemberWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO 2 in Washington Pa. More on the hamfest next month. Finally I was informed by ARRL headquarters that I was declared elected as section manager for the 2009-2010 term. One of our main objectives is to strengthen our ARES program and also to formulate mutual agreements with our surrounding sections to assistant one another in the event of an emergency. Interested individuals willing to help or with suggestions are invited to conact the SEC or myself. 73 John Rodgers N3MSE W. Pa. Section Manager
Central Division
Illinois
QST DE KA9QPN: From the top... **This month's effort will be longer than normal, as the abbreviated News fromWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO last month was not circulated via email due to the timing. Apologize for the repeats for those who regularly check the website. Please see the website for the full News. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **Another unprecedented windstorm/tornado producing weather system swept across the northern part of the Section on the evening of 4 August. The wind damage was widespread, causing many lengthy power outages. Again, the SKYWARN nets were a pleasure to listen to as data passed to NWS. Very few injuries reported despite some notable damage and four (I think) confirmed tornadoes. In my neighborhood, there wasn't a property owner without either tree or structural damage. I have a Volkswagen-sized pile of brush waiting to burn to prove it. The remnants of Gustav provided some badly needed rain and very few consequences due to a recent dry spell. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **The hamfest season rolls on. It's kind of concerning to see the obvious drop in attendance at most events. Gas prices are relaxing somewhat, but it seems like people are taking the lessons of $4/gallon gas to heart. Maybe it's time for clubs to start talking to their neighbors about consolidating hamfests? What would you rather have...several large, well attended and staffed events, or many little events with sparse attendance? Granted, there'd have to be talk up front about sharing the load and the revenue, but we're hams. We can do anything. ======Get informed... **What ever happened to W2NSD? Wayne Green folded 73 Magazine back in 2003, but that doesn't mean that he's been idle. For those of you who don't know him, W2NSD was Amateur Radio's prototype curmudgeon in the sixties and seventies. He held forth in editorials monthly, critizing everything from the League to Dick Bash and everything in between. He also proposed solutions to those perceived ills. Wayne helped popularize FM repeaters, RTTY, personal computers, the compact disk as a medium for music, and other innovations. He famously challenged a fellow radio columnist to a pistol duel when the other columnist publicized the practice of 'unlocking' ham gear. I greatly admired Wayne at one time, as a lot of his prophecies about Amateur Radio have come to pass, especially those that involved clubs that didn't welcome newcomers and how that would hobble the Service. Sadly, Wayne aligned himself with Art Bell and other wearers of the tinfoil hat, which finally drove me and thousands of reasonable others away. A current article in Computerworld magazine gives a concise description of W2NSD's career and an interview. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **In a related happening, Tom Kneitel W4XAA ex-K2AES passed away on 22 August. Tom was to CB and scanning what Wayne Green was to Amateur Radio: the resident curmudgeon. He was editor of S9
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Magazine for many years, and was the original editor of Popular Communications. Interestingly, Tom was a vocal critic of the cult of high-powered hooligans and numbers collectors that inhabited parts of 11m. That attitude probably caused the demise of S9 along with CB becoming an appliance rather than a pastime in the mid-seventies. (There are some very interesting parallels between the use of CB as a social instrument in the seventies and the rise of the PC as a similar social instrument now. It would make a dandy study for some doctoral candidate.) I'm glad that Tom stopped writing for PopComm before the tinfoil hattersWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO took that publication over. Rest well, Tomcat. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **The National Weather Service and Department of Homeland Security are again teaming up to distribute NOAA All-Hazard Radios to public and private schools. Please be aware that these schools *may* be seeking programming assistance for these SAME-capable radios. As we did during the last distribution, please make yourself and your talents availalble through your local EMA/ESDA or Citizen Corps if requested. More to be posted soon at www.arrl.net. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **As a part of their new relationship with the Transportation Safety Administration, Army MARS personnel have been assisting TSA in support of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. TSA does not have the best reputation with our population. What better way to help raise them up than to associate them with a class act like Army MARS. As an aside, I'm soooo glad that I visited the Denver area the week prior to theWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Convention and then got out of Dodge... ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **It's a long way off, but Amateur Radio participation has been requested for a reenactment of the 1919 Transcontinental Motor Convoy. Over two hundred restored and period military vehicles will be traveling the Lincoln Highway from Washington DC to San Diego CA. This will be a Big Deal as it crosses the Section on 20-21 June 2009. Background here and here: more as it develops. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **Once again, the Route 66 On The Air event will be held on 13-21 September. The Six Meter Club of Chicago will operate W6Q for the duration of the event. Details here. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **It's not too early to start thinking about the Illinois QSO Party on 19 October, once again ably sponsored by the Western Illinois ARC. Again, there is a need to get all 102 counties of the state active for this event. Think about some activity that day, especially you guys with the whiz-bang HF mobiles. More here. ======Around the Section... **I enjoy reporting on new and innovative ways to utilize technology to further the Service. After all, aren't we technologists and scientists first? For their 50th Anniversary Hamfest on 20-21 September, the Peoria Area ARC is pulling out all of the stops as far as utilizing technology. They will operate a Special Event Station during the fest. The club's new D-STAR box *should* be on line in time for the fest. Tickets and flea market spaces are available online using a PayPal option. Streaming audio describing the fest is available here. And some of the local and regional emergency response agencies will display their comm vehicles on site. Ladies and gentlemen, I am impressed. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **The Kishwaukee ARC held its Special Event Station W9S from 14-17 August in conjunction with the Sycamore Steam Show and Threshing Bee. This event is a wonderful collision of old and new technology and a great showcase for the Service. Over 300 contacts were made and over 100 non-KARC hams signed the guestbook. Pics below. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ **Whither the fox hunt? Maybe I'm not reading enough, but the fine art of hidden transmitter hunting seems to be fading save some notable exceptions in Rockford, Kankakee (last 31 August...more here) and the western part of the Section. These last weeks of summer and the first warm weeks of fall are perfect for fox hunts. Did you know that t-hunting is a sanctioned sport with its own world championship? Just remember to consider the physical capabilities of your targeted participants when planning a t-hunt. After a certain age, some folks cease to consider trooping around in the woods as fun. However, a rural area has some fun possibilities for teams of participants of varying skill levels. The old
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guys can read the signals, but the kids can still climb! FULL SECTION NEWS AT http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=IL
Wisconsin
WISCONSIN: SM: Don Michalski, W9IXG, SEC: KB9ENO, STM: K9LGU, SGL: AD9X, OOC: KC9IS, PIC: KB9NUM,WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO TC: K9GDF, BM: WB9NRK, ACC: N9LVS ASMs: K9UTQ, W9DGI, N9VE, KG8CX, KB9ENO. ** Regretfully, I am informing you of the passing of these Wisconsin Amateurs: -- Bill Manke, KB9NG, 67. -- John Lund, K9AKI, 69. -- Vicki Hess, W6OAE, 69. Vicki was a member of Eau Claire ARC. -- Mel Amidzich, WA9PZU, 94. -- George Benoit, N9UGG, 83. George was a member of M&M ARC Correction from August newsletter: Frank Van Someren, W9AVX, was a member of Navy MARS (not Army MARS). Through a memorial gift to ARRL you can celebrate or honor the life or contributions of a family member or friend for whom Amateur Radio has been a passion. http://www.arrl.org/development/memorial.html#top ** The success of public service events hinges largely on a strong volunteer team. If you are coordinating the communications for these events, this is a reminder to be sure to form your team early- several months in advance of the event. If you start too late, those you were hoping to get may have other commitments. ** Wisconsin QSO Party results are now final and available at this site: http://www.warac.org/wqp/2008/08results.pdf ** For the second year in a row the WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.ROwinner of the Ozaukee Radio Club $1000 scholarship is Ms. Natalie Harding, KC9KIR. Congratulations on your being an "honors" student at Oshkosh and best wishes toward your continued success! ** A reminder that Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) is coming up October 18, 19. Full rules are at this site: http://www.arrl.org/scouts/jota We hope that your club takes part! ** STM Report Wisconsin Section August 2008 FAQ # 85 -- Phonetics? An astute reader of this report reminded me that not only in callsign sign identification -- but especially in traffic handling -- the use of phonetics is a big help. Even if all seasoned 'phone traffic handlers use phonetics by reflex, it's time to train new Hams. In fact, now is a good time to practice for the October 4th SET. True, it is not necessary to spell out each common word, but quite often it becomes essential. One case is with homonyms (words that sound the same, not the stuff served with grits). Four, for, or fore? To, two, or too? N's sound like M's; E's like T's, B's, and Z's. Since we're aiming for perfect accuracy, we use the ITU phonetic alphabet -- one we should all know -- instead of making up our own. If we didn't, we'd no doubt hear "That's P - pterodactyl, E - Eau Claire, and M -- mnemonic." It's "Kilo" -- not "Kilowatt." And, by the way, it's not "Willie" -- it's "Whiskey." I'll drink to that. 73 -- K9LGU/STM-WI MONTHLY NET ACTIVITY SUMMARY AUGUST 2008 NET QNI QTC QTR SSNS NM BWN 2071 2441 4272 31 W9IXG BEN 585 48 1175 31 WD9FLJ WSBN 433 27 751 31 KB9KEG WNN 112 8 246 24 KB9ROB WSSN 147 8 248 29 N9JIY WIN/E 152 17 222 28 WB9ICH WIN/L 164 29 255 31 W9UW WRACES 104 0 231 5 N9VAO WRACES-D No report 0 0 0 KB9MMC TOTALS 3768 2578 7400 210 ** Operating with a clean SSB signal. One of the biggest problems we OOs hear on the air are with stations that are splattering, using up too much spectrum, resulting in not being a good neighbor and upsetting adjacent stations. Most times it is due to using too much microphone gain. If you don't have the benefit of monitoring your RF signal with an oscilloscope then your best friend is the ALC meter on your radio. Adjust your microphone gain until you get some ALC action but not too much and never, ever, exceed the ALC window! This is especially true when using an amplifier. Also, if using a voice processor to boost your average power, be sure to not use too much compression. A little is all you need to enrich your signal while not sounding over-processed. If in doubt, ask for signal reports from other stations. And, conversely, if you are asked for a signal report, be truthful! 73, Don, W9IXG
Dakota Division
Minnesota
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ARRL MINNESOTA SECTION SUMMARY FOR AUGUST 2008 SUMMARY FROM YOUR SM ++ The MN section OOC, TC, ARES and Traffic summaries are enclosed below. ++ See the ARRL Section web site for up-to-date information and bulletins. ++ Go to the section website at http://www.mn-section.com for other news. ++ License classes are one of our most important activities!! ++ Please send me your plans for future Amateur Radio Classes. ++ Please submit all items for posting to section webpage to me as well. ++ Do you like to Blog? Do some writing for amateur radio, become a PIO. ++ People areWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO forgetting to send in their club update annually. Respectfully submitted by Skip Jackson, KS0J, MN SM MN OOC & TC REPORT SUMMARY FOR AUGUST 2008 MN OO reports received from WO0A, N0OH, & W3FAF. Respectfully submitted by John H. Thomas III, W3FAF, MN OOC & TC MN SEC REPORT SUMMARY FOR AUGUST 2008 Total number of ARES members reported: 292 Change since last month: - 56 (not reported) County EC’s reporting: Anoka (KC0KEP), Carver (KBØCQ), Cook (KBØBDN), Hennepin/Bloomington (N0ANP), Itasca (KG0FD), Lac Qui Parle (KCØQED), Olmsted (AB0BW), Redwood (KAØISD), Scott (NØBHC), St. Louis-North (WDØGUF), Steele (NØUW), Washington (ABØXE) Local Net Names: Anoka County ARES Net, CCART, River Valley, SEMARC, Scott County, Chisago County, Carver County, Washington County, Fox Valley Monday Night Net, Lac Qui Parle Phone, Lac Qui Parle Packet, Mankato Area Radio Club Emergency Services Net, Marshall Area Emergency Net, Redwood County, Wadena Area Ham Net, Northern Lakes Radio, NE MN Public Service, SE St. Louis Emergency Service, Dakota County ARES, Scott CountyWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO ARES Total sessions: 63 NTS liaison is maintained with the MN Section, Tenth Region, and NTSD Traffic Nets by NØUC, WØLAW, WA0RSE, W3FAF Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 29 Person hours: 148 Number of public service events this month: 8 Person hours: 236 Number of emergency operations this month: 4 Person hours: 32 Total number of ARES operations this month: 41 Total Person hours: 416 RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, MN SEC MN STM SUMMARY FOR AUGUST 2008 NET FREQ TIME QNI/QTC/SESS MGR ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ MSPN/E 3860 5:30 P WO0A MSPN/N 3860 12.00P WO0A MSN/1 3605 6:30 P K0WPK MSN/2 3605 9:50 P K0WPK PAW 3925 9A-11AM 1500-1700 KA0IZA MONTHLY STATION ACTIVITY REPORTS (SAR) STATION ORIG. REC'D. SENT DLVD. TOTAL BPL NO.OPS. W0LAW 0 74 110 4 188 W3FAF 0 57 67 2 126 KA0RMP 1 33 40 2 80 K0WPK 0 48 19 0 67 KX0N 8 21 15 12 56 W0HPD 3 10 18 3 34 K0BLR 5 14 5 4 28 KA0IZA 0 23 4 0 27 N0KCM 9 3 10 2 24 KB0AII 0 7 15 0 22 KB0AIJ 0 7 7 0 11 WD0GUF 0 5 7 0 12 N0JP 0 0 7 0 7 ~~~ ~~~~~~~ PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) STATION 1 2 3 4 5 6 TOTAL ~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~ W0LAW 40 40 20 45 145 K0BLR 40 28 10 25 103 WD0GUF 40 12 30 82 SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER MONTLY REPORT NETS ABBR.CK/IN RF SESS. NM/CALL ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ MINNESOTA SECTION MSPN/E WO0A MSPN/E C/2 PHONE/NET EVENING 1,320 61 31 MINNESOTA SECTION MSPN/N K0BLR MSPN/N C/2 1200 NOON 531 43 31 MINNESOTA SECTION NET (CW) 6:30PM MINNESOTA SECTION MSN/1 180 87 31 K0WPK RN-10 C/4 NET CW 9;50PM 92 5 28 MSN/2 K0WPK RN-10 C/4 K0WPK PICO NET ALL DAY WATCH 2,832 46 73 KA0IZA RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Robert Meyer, W0LAW, MN STM
North Dakota
NORTH DAKOTA: SM, Kent Olson, KAØLDG - As this is my last Section News article, I thought I’d pass on a few thoughts. First off, I’d like to thank everyone for supporting me through the last seven plus years while I have been your Section Manager. I didn’t quite know what I was getting into when I first volunteered, but soon began to enjoy the position. This was made possible by all the great help I received from hams around the state and those who welcomed me and volunteered to help me in the section. Having been involved with many organizations, I can say that there are none finer than Amateur Radio. The spirit, comradery, and professionalism shown by the hams in ND is top notch. I know that Lynn, WØCQ, will do a great job, and please help him if he asks. The rains didn’t stop a great time for those who attended the Fargo tailgate swapfest. They intend to make it a yearly event, so plan for it the
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weekend after Labor Day. The Benson Cty ARC participated in a joint exercise in which a road, acting as a dam, broke, resulting in a flooded residential area. Great job showing what amateur radio can do! On a similar note, October 4th is the ARRL’s Simulated Emergency Test (SET). Talk to your EC about participating and show others in your community what ham radio can provide. Upcoming Hamfests: Grand Forks on October 4th. Thanks again and I hope to see you at a hamfest or have an occasional QSO. Take care & 73! WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO South Dakota
Hot Springs ARC News The Hot Springs ARC had a busy month of August. We held a transmitter hunt with 3 teams participating. We all learned a little more about fox hunting and had a good time. Pam, WØPAM and Tim, KØOR were first to find the fox. Glen, KAØSIN, made a great fox. Many club members spent lots of hours at the club shack this month. The inside walls have been patched and painted. The new counter top operating positions have been installed. The final step of this phase is to paint the floor. A big thank you to everyone that has worked so hard on the shack. Our grand opening will be the annual business meeting on October 2 at 7 pm. Election of officers and payment of club dues will be on the agenda. Anyone who has paid their dues by that night will be eligible for the prize drawing that night. The prize is either an ARRL Handbook or an ARRL membership. Our annual club picnic willWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO be on Sunday, Sept. 14 at 1 pm at Chautauqua Park which is near Evans Plunge. Everyone is welcome to this potluck feast. Our club provided communications and passed out water for the Southern Hills Triathlon again. Thanks to Phil, KAØFUI, for heading this up. Others that were involved were Kelly, KDØDLB; Penny, KDØDUE; Pete, WN6QJN; John, KCØWIB, and Pam, WØPAM. Good job! 73 Tim KØOR South Dakota Section Convention South Dakota Section & Sioux Empire ARC It is official everyone - September 20th, 2008 is the date - mark the calendar. We have the venue and banquet lined up - and we will have more flea market space (double of last year) as well as double the banquet seating. I would like everyone to email me and let me know what seminars you would like to see or if you would like to put one on that is even better. We are working on vendors and other surprises so keep tuned in and reading. Thanks, Rich, N0PV ARRL South Dakota Section Manager [email protected] South Dakota Amateur Radio Council (SDLINK) I replaced the pre-amp this afternoon that I had to take out the other day at Turkey Ridge. It has been running with no pre-amp but that is not a big deal as there is not a lot of reduction in sensitivity as the Micor VHF rcv is quite good. Anyway everything checks out at Turkey Ridge, antenna's, feed lines, power and sensitivity and no desense so unless something changes if you are having trouble it is on your end. The UHF link has a wide, wide margin of signal. The UHF antenna shows very low SWR and we are running 15 watts on the link to Humboldt and more than that from Humboldt. I will be meeting Jim KD0S at Pierre on September 13th to put in a brand new UHF radio at Pierre. We then plan to go to Murdo and get the site on back up battery power which will put the total SDlink from Turkey Ridge to Terry Peak on battery backup. They have all been on battery back up for years except Murdo. We have improved the batteries significantly at Turkey Ridge. We have excellent batteries at Humboldt, WS, Reliance, Phillip and Terry Peak. Pierre has an auto start 110 vac generator. Lots of effort and work is being done on a daily basis to improve the SDlink reliability. We are in the process of putting in all brand new or very recent vintage equipment for each and every radio in the UHF link. This takes money so any contributions would speed up the change out. SDlink UHF Link Turkey Ridge Brand New Humboldt-Need to update scheduled 2011 depending on contributions WS-Using recent vintage equipment-MSF-5000's Garden City-Using recent vintage equipment-MSF- 5000 Reliance-Using recent vintage Motorola equipment Pierre-Will be brand new September 13th Murdo-Need to put in a new UHF Hub repeater-Scheduled for 2009 depending on contributions Phillip- We have some equipment but we are evaluating the power level needed-Hope to make changes yet in 2008 depending on contributions Terry Peak-Need to Update-Scheduled 2010 depending on contributions Ed W0SD Northern Hills Amateur Radio Club The August meeting of the Northern Hills Amateur Radio Club was called to order by President Gene McPherson, NØMHJ at 1930 on July 25, 2008 with 9 members present at the Lead City Hall. Jerry Hawley read the minutes of the July 25, 2008
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meeting and they where approved. The Treasurer’s report was given by Carroll Cash. The Treasurer’s report was approved. At the present time we have 31 paid members. Public Service events were discussed by President Gene with no changes. The SD MS Bike Run will be held on the 13th and 14th of September, Gene McPherson is organizing the Hams for this event. The SD Hamfest is on the 20th of September in Sioux Falls. Gene is taking a vehicle and is willing to take riders if anyone is interested. http://www.w0zwy.org/hamfest/ It was decided to cancel the next Hermosa Meeting on the 7th of September. The BlackWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Hills ARC Annual meeting will be held on the 7th of September. SET is still planned for 4th of October, we will try to implement Gene’s proposed plan. Gene reported a successful Wyoming MS-150 Bike Trek that was held on the 16th and 17th of August. The status of the State Link net was discussed. The State Link Net is still in need of Net Control Stations. Net Controllers for the evening Weather Net are still needed along with relief Controllers for the present ones. Starting in November the meetings will be held in Sturgis at the Fire Hall. Remember that Due’s are do in September. The next meeting will be in Lead at the Fire Hall at 7:30 PM on September 26 Meeting was adjourned at 20:30. Scott Rausch, WAØVKC Scribe for the Evening.
Delta Division LouisianaWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO ARRL Louisiana Monthly Summary – July 2008 Gary Stratton K5GLS - Louisiana Section Manager This will be a short report due to the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav and approaching Hurricane Ike. Amateur operators in south central Louisiana are continuing to support various disaster relief organizations in the aftermath of Gustav. The Section is now gearing up to support emergency, shelter and relief organizations for Hurricane Ike within the state and, if requested and assets are available, in Texas Sections. Many thanks to those who donate their time and resources to support emergency and relief efforts during these devastating events. Upcoming 2008 Fests – Swampfest 2008, Southwest Louisiana Amateur Repeater Club, September 13, Lake Charles was cancelled due to hurricane activity. Central Louisiana Amateur Radio Club, October 11, Pineville, LA, Pineville Community Center, 708 Main St. http://www.clarc.us Other News: LOUISIANA CONTEST CLUB FORMALLY ORGANIZED Leesville, LA, Saturday, August 9, 2008 The Louisiana Contest Club was formally organized at the Leesville, LA hamfest. Present at the organizational meeting and signing of the club constitution and by-laws were the charter members Charlie Morrison, KI5XP; Roland Guidry, NA5Q; Pat Sonnier, W5WMU; Mark Ketchell, K5ER; and Scott Dickson, W5WZ. Also present were Louisiana Section Manager Gary Stratton K5GLS; and Louisiana Affiliated Club Coordinator Jim Bookner, N5NVP. The Louisiana Contest Club is a special purpose amateur radio club devoted to the pursuit of operating and technical excellence. Our goals are simple: --To promote the fun, satisfaction and competitive thrill of radio contesting --To assist our members in the development of their operating and technical skills --To foster increased friendly competition and sportsmanship --To become a competitive force in club competition of amateur radio contests The newly elected officers are: President- Mark Ketchell K5ER; Vice-President- Charlie Morrison KI5XP; Secretary/Treasurer- Scott Dickson W5WZ; Director- Pat Sonnier W5WMU; and Director- Roland Guidry NA5Q. The idea of organizing a contest club originated at the 2008 Dayton Hamvention in the contest super suite over pizza. The original founders of LCC felt that an organization was needed in Louisiana to educate, promote and encourage contesting. Further, they recognized that Louisiana had never been represented by a statewide contest club. Among Louisiana hams, there are many recognized and skilled Amateur Radio operators, some who have won many national and world contesting awards. Through the LCC, we will provide a vehicle for its membership to further develop contesting skills and strategies, while allowing members to share collective knowledge and experience through mentoring. The LCC has chosen to mark the center of its circle near Marksville, LA at coordinates N31.226894 Latitude and W91.944580 Longitude. This circle INCLUDES ALL of Louisiana except the extreme southern tip of the Mississipi River delta. It will also include the following population centers in neighboring states: Beaumont TX, Lufkin TX, Greenville
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MS, Vicksburg MS, Natchez MS, Jackson MS, Hattiesburg MS, Eldorado AR and Magnolia AR. All persons interested in amateur radio contesting shall be eligible to submit an application for membership. Membership shall be by application and dues payment of $20 annually. Please visit our website at www.LouisianaContestClub.org or contact us via e-mail; [email protected] As our mascot Chomps Boo-TAY states, "laissez les Contest roulez!" (Let the Contest roll! New Section Field Organization Appointments – The following are recent appointments made in the Section Field Organization: MikeWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Mc Crary, WB5LJQ – Technical Specialist Robert L Dunn, K5IQ – Technical Specialist David Kleinatland, KE5BMS – Technical Specialist Francis Grosz, K5FBG – Technical Specialist Buddy Rawls, KG5ZY – Emergency Coordinator Caddo/Bossier Parishes Lonnie Jacobs, KD5Z – Local Government Liaison Vernon Parish EC Reports Received – Not available at reporting due to Hurricanes Local/district net reports - Not available at reporting due to Hurricanes Louisiana ARES Net – Not available at reporting due to Hurricanes Louisiana ARES Statistics – Members 453, Drills 37, Public Service Events 2, Emergency Operations 38. Traffic Reports and PSHR - Not available at reporting due to Hurricanes Other Reports Received – ACC Jim Bookter N5NVP. From Jim: We now have 34 Active Affiliated Clubs of which 11 are also Special Service Clubs (SSC). Additionally there are 23 Inactive Affiliated Clubs. The ARRL HQ webmasters are developing a new web page, which should provide a more "User-Friendly Club Big List" for club officers’ use. Implementation date for this new web page has not yet been released. Pet Peeves – None received. These are reported anonymously. Send yourWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO peeves to me at [email protected]. Silent Key – Kermit J. Cormier - AE5AJ
Mississippi
Mississippi was lucky dodging the hurricane bullet in 2006 and 2007, but our luck ran out as Hurricane Gustav grazed South Mississippi in late August. Most of the damage appears to have been related to torrential rain and tornadoes in the lower half of the state and high winds and flash flooding in Southwest Mississippi. The West Gulf Emergency Net was activated 24/7 on 3873 for 94 hours to handle tactical traffic for the Louisiana, Mississippi and South Texas ARRL Sections. Our own K5WLP was the Net Manager. Health and Welfare was handled by RN5 (KB5W manager) and DRN5 (WB5ZED Manager) with a couple independent nets also helping with this traffic. Because of the numerous tornadoes, SKYWARN was activated over much of the state. In addition State RACES Officer AB5WF reports that KM5EMA was on the air from MEMA for 60 hours contacting 12 county EOCs and handling approximately 150 formal and informal messages. Some problems were experienced with the signal on 75, but the antenna problems have since been rectified. At this point it is difficult to know exactly which Mississippi Stations were active in supporting this emergency communications response. After reports are received from all of the Net Mangers and Emergency Coordinators, an addendum to this Section Report will be compiled. Of special note was a request received for communications assistance from the St. Helena Parish EOC. This was discussed with W5MPC on Sunday at 1 PM. By Monday at 1 AM Mike was on site with HF/VHF equipment at Greensburg, Louisiana. He was followed two days later by K5DSG, who relieved Mike. In addition, K5BLL and WB5TTE deployed with the MEMA MOBOPS to the Coast. Thanks to all for their efforts! The University of Mississippi Amateur Radio Club W5UMS will operate a special event station for the 2008 Presidential Debate at the University of Mississippi campus in Oxford, MS. The special event station will go on the air starting Sunday September 21st and will be on the air until the night of the debate Friday September 26. The bands used will be 15-80 meters and other bands as conditions permit. The modes of operation will be phone, CW, and digital modes. The best frequency for Mississippi stations will probably be 3862. All stations that make contact with the special event station will receive a special QSL card commemorating the event. No SASE required. For more information on the special event station email UMARC at [email protected]. For more information on the debate go to the official debate website. W5ED notes that http://aa9pw.com/radio/ is an outstanding tool to use when studying for an amateur license. Most sites allow the student to take sample tests over the length and breadth of the FCC questions used in the license class they are attempting to obtain. The questions are therefore
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random in nature. There may be other sites out there that will let you do the same thing, but of those sites W5ED has checked, only the AA9PW site allows the student to select both random tests and tests for only certain elements that they may be studying or having trouble with. For example, if the student is having trouble with the element that deals with safety they can select only that element and all the possible questions that the student might be exposed to on the exam will appear so that they can work only on that element. (from the Meridian ARC Spark Gap). W5WAF and K5VXV had a nice front page write up in the VicksburgWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Evening Post regarding CoCoRaHS, the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, Snow Network now active in Mississippi. Volunteers are asked to post their rainfall amounts daily. For more information go to http://wwwcocorahs.org. W5MPC reports that this summer he signed a contract with the ARRL to author a publication that will be called The ARRL Storm Spotter's Handbook. This handbook will be a resource for amateur radio operators that are volunteer storm spotters. This book will contain information on training, equipment, safety, information specific to tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and winter weather, what to do during the storm, and what to do after the storm. The manuscript is due to the editor in June 2009. Over the next several months Mike will be looking to other amateur radio storm spotters to talk with them about their experiences and what they have learned. He is also looking for anyone that has pictures of severe weather that they would be willing to share and contribute. If anyone would like to help please contact Mike at [email protected]. Delta Division Legislation Action (DLAC) Chairman N5TBB reminds us that the Legislative Action Program (LAP) was organizedWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO by the ARRL Board to make it possible for League members to promote and protect Amateur Radio through coordinated political action at the Federal level. In short - League members will have a stronger voice in Washington through this effort. The program is ARRL Division wide, with each division having a DLAC, who appoints Legislative Action Coordinator (LAC) in each state. The DLAC or the LAC (WB5ASP in Mississippi) then appoints Legislative Action Assistants (LAA) in each congressional district. The current appointees for Mississippi Districts 1 through 3 are W5FF, KA5HPD, and K5DWI, respectively. In Mississippi we are in need for a LAA in Congressional District 4 (Southeast Mississippi including Hattiesburg and the Coast). This is not a time consuming position. The appointee will be asked to write letters from time to time and have at least one face-to-face visit with your congressman when he is in your area. Amy says she is working with ARRL HQ now to develop some material to put in each congressman’s hands. The Delta Division made 42 contacts last year. The LAP, as a whole, wrote over 600 letters. This is a very important endeavor. We want our Senators and Representatives to know that Amateur Radio is a valuable resource. If you are interested in helping send an email to [email protected]. Itawamba County EC KB5NMB reports that the EOC Station move to new quarters has been completed including having to relocate a 50 ft tower. Those helping with the move were W5RDP, N5FP, KE5MAT, K5SEH, N5SPG, and KB5NMB. Also NE MS DEC/Alcorn County EC WB5CON notes that 51 were in attendance at the SKYWARN lass in Corinth! Congratulations to K5CID, who completed ARRL ECC-001 and ECC-002, and KE5PYM, who completed ECC-001. Also congrats to the new officers of the Ole Miss ARC N5RB, President, W5MOC, VP, WB5VYH, Treasurer, and W5JMO and K5DSG, station and repeater trustees, respectively. Welcome to new ARRL members: KE5JQZ, New Albany; KA5LGP, Jackson; AA5ME, Saucier; KE5OWY, Madison; KE5PXD, Ocean Springs; AB5TT, Petal; KE5UIH, Gulfport; KE5ULW, Poplarville; KE5UTI, Ripley; KC5VTN, Vicksburg; KE5VUZ, Gulfport; and KE5WBE, Gulfport. Our section membership dropped to 992 from 1000 during August. It’s time to go to work again, folks! Club Newsletters/Reports: Hattiesburg ARC (AC5E), Jackson ARC (K5VU), Meridian ARC (W5MAV), Pearl River County ARC (N5WLW), Northeast Mississippi ARA (KB5NMB), and the Vicksburg ARC (W5WAF). DEC/EC Reports: WB5CON (NE MS/Alcorn), KD5CQT (Jackson), KC5EAK (Pearl River), K5FV (Rankin), KG6LJN (Greene), WB5GUD (Newton), KD5GWM (Lauderdale/Clark), KB5JN (Adams), W5MPC (Lafayette), WX5N (Tishomingo/Prentiss), KB5NMB (Itawamba), N5TBB (Tippah), KC5TYL (Lamar), KD5VMV (DeSoto), W5WLF (Gulf Coast/Harrison), KM5WX (Panola), KD5XG (Forrest), and AG5Z (SE MS). Regret to report the passing of Leon Smith, N5OCF, of Richton, Mississippi. Net reports: sessions/QNI/QTC (Net Manager); DRN5 62/Miss 100% Rep by W5XX, KA1ZIA, W5OXA, W5MLO, WA5FB and WB5ZED (WB5ZED); MS Section Phone Net 31/3056/25
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(K5NRK); Magnolia Section Net 31/806/0 (K5DSG); MS Traffic Net 31/171/8 (KB5W); Jackson County EN 31/500/0 (KD5CQT); MS Section Slow Net 22/33/0 (W3TWD); Stone Co ARES Net 6/88/0 (N5UDK); MS Baptists Ham Net 5/31/1 (WF5F); MS-LA EN 5/41/1 (K5NRK); Alcorn Co ARES 5/54/0 (WB5CON); MCARA Net 4/52/0 (KA2KMU); Tishomingo County ARES Net 4/138/4 (WX5N); Rankin County ARES 4/58/0 (K5FV); Itawamba Co ARES 4/46/3 (KB5NMB); South MS YL Net 4/58/0 (KB5CSQ); Newton County ARES 4/32/0 (WB5GUD); Meridian Area EN 4/49/0 (KD5GWM);PearlWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO River ARES 4/63/0 (KC5EAK); NE MS ARES 4/70/0 (W5LMW) July Report 4/66/0; MDXA 3/57/0 (N5FG); HAEN 0/0/0 (K5MIQ) report not arrived yet; PSHR: October - WB5ZED 200, W5XX 123. Traffic: WB5ZED 3234, W5XX 4. Compilation of Net and Traffic Statistics provided by KB5RCJ.
Great Lakes Division
Michigan
Greetings Michigan Amateurs: Hurricane affects our state. Recent hurricanes in the gulf region are certainly stressing the resources of our fellow hams in that region of the country. Several Michigan hams have been deployed to the area through their affiliation with NGOs such as the Salvation Army, Red Cross andWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Southern Baptist Relief. Other interested hams are requested to register their availability with SEC WB8RCR in the event a deployment request is received from ARRL HQ for Michigan hams. To date, no out-of-section assistance has been needed and only local resources are currently being used in the Gulf Region. In the meantime, our own ARES/RACES organizations have been busy with the aftermath of Hurricane Ike as the storm remnants brought damaging winds, flooding and tornados to the Wolverine State. Michigan holds ARRL State Convention. This year, the Kalamazoo Amateur Radio Club and the Southwest Michigan Amateur Radio Team have joined forces to host this event. The full details are posted at info.kalamazoohamfest.com. In addition to a traditionally excellent swap, the following convention activities are planned: Contesting Forum hosted by Dave Pruett K8CC from the Mad River Radio Club; World Touring Telegraphic Display courtesy Dave Ingram K4TWL; Getting Started with CW hosted by Dan Romanchik KB6NU; Jnos/Packet Radio Forum, hosted by Jay Nugent WB8TKL; QMN/MITN Forum and the ARES/RACES Forum each hosted by John McDonough WB8RCR; and ARRL Forum hosted by Great Lakes Director Jim Weaver K8JE. There will also be VE Testing, and DXCC QSL Checking. When the swap and conference activities close at noon, we will adjourn for a social hour followed by the banquet and our special guest speaker Dan Henderson N1ND from ARRL Headquarters. Dan will speak on "Amateur Radio Main Street in the 21st Century". Following the banquet, we will advance the clocks to midnight and hold an ARRL sanctioned ceremony of the Royal Order of the Wouff Hong. Simply put, "You gotta be there!" S.E.T. News. Be sure to check http://www.mi-arpsc.org/ for the latest updates on the Simulated Emergency Test (SET) for Michigan. Note that because of the Michigan Hunting Season, our major SET activities will be held on September 27 this year. Additionally, SET support will be provided for Michigan groups who will hold their activities on the traditional SET weekend of October 4. During this event, each ARES/RACES group will be receiving a message originated at the State Emergency Operating Center(SEOC) specifically directed to them. The details of this concept are covered on the referenced web page. ECs should check out the Strike Team org structure and be prepared. These messages will be incoming and independent of the local scenario. Advanced planning and coordination with local served agencies are points emphasized for each SET. Having plans in place and testing their effectiveness during each SET allows refinements to be made to the plans so we remain fully effective communicators in an emergency. Youth News. Simon KC8ZYD is planning a newsletter oriented towards our younger ham operators in the state. This will be going to press in the next few days and distributed by e-mail to ARRL Members signed up on their Members Only web page to receive e-mail distributions. This is a new effort for us, and one that will certainly be a work-in-process. I do encourage the young and young-at-heart to get involved with contributions for the newsletter and fully support this venture. This is another opportunity
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to keep our younger hams totally involved and excited about amateur radio. Station Activity Reports (SARs) for August, 2008: WB9JSR 693, AC8AR 350, K8LJG 227, K8KV 186, KC8MLD 142, KD8AAD 93, K8AMR 86, K8RDN 80, K8AE 80, AB8SY 79, KD8FNN 64, W8RNQ 55, AB8WF 42, KD8HPF 39, WD8USA 31, WB8RCR 28, K8DD 20, AC8AL 16, KC8NTE 15, VE3DWI 9, WA8OOH 5, KC8BMV 4. Public Service Honor Roll Reports (PSHR)s for August, 2008: KC8NTE 316, WB8RCR 313, WD8USA 301, AC8AR 160, K8MFK 156, AC8AL 145, K8AMR 145, K8RDN 140, WB9JSR 130, KD8FNN 104,WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO K8DD 100, K8AE 96, K8KV 80, AB8SY 75, K8VFZ 59, KD8HPF 47. August OES reports arrived from K8COP, KC8NTE and N8HA. Michigan nets reporting for August (in order of traffic count): WSSBN, GLETN, QMN, TMMTN, MiTN, MVTN, SEMTN, MACS, NLEUP, Motor City, MiARPSC, Hiawatha, NMARES. Michigan ARES/RACES programs reported 6084 operator- hours for August, an in-kind contribution of $110,181 to the citizens of our state. To include your net’s monthly activities, contact [email protected]. All nets are encouraged to report and this especially includes your local ARES and RACES nets. Here is a way to way everyone know your net is active. Complete monthly net report details are at http://www.mi-nts.org/netreport.php. PSHRs and SARs should be filed monthly with WB8RCR. You can access a simple reporting form at: http://www.mi- nts.org/PSHR_entry.shtml to provide your reports to WB8RCR. In all cases, reporting by radiogram is encouraged – let's keep the NTS busy. Packet messages can be routed to [email protected] and [email protected] . 73 until next month. Dale WA8EFK Midwest Division
Kansas
KANSAS IS GREAT IN 2008 ! Kansas Section News Summary- August 2008 Silent Keys: KØZM- Thomas Rose (Formerly KC0EI ), Overland Park KØDWF- Mike L. Novak, Kansas City ______This years convention was very well attended considering the price of gas. I think many of us had 2nd and 3rd Ops for mobile operation en-route to the show- Hi Once again the Directors and Section meetings were Standing Room Only. Bill Posson- AAØOM received Kansas Radio Amateur Of The Year Award. Sometimes called the Oscar Baker Award, the Kansas-Nebraska ARC administers this annual acknowledgement in Oscars memory. I’m sure you have heard Bill on our Sideband Net or maybe hosting the Weather net over the years. Claude Harwood – AAØIQ received a Certificate of Merit as recognition for his service to amateur radio. Claude has been a doer in North Central Kansas for a long time. He was ARES EC and RACES officer for many years. Claude has hosted a ragchew net on repeaters in that region for over a decade. It’s been several years since we had a Kansas QSO Party. Several of you have indicated interest in starting this contest up again. Just need someone( or group ) to put it together. In the past it was held the weekend closest to Kansas Day witch I’m sure you know is January 29th. Let me know. Stan-WAØCCW told us about the K-Link repeater system that’s been in use in the North Central part of the section for many hears. With repeaters in McPherson the system covers a lot of territory. The system is tested Saturday nites at 9 by the net hosted by Claude. Justin NØUJQ maintains the linking system. Steve-NØBTH told the group a little about the Hospitals radio system in the South West part of the state. Orlan reminds us that we are indeed communicators so let’s communicate. ______WØCM-Walter “Pete” Wessel celebrated his 95th birthday on August 28. Pete has been a League member for 70 years. To add to the celebration the League put together a certificate and a very nice plaque of the 1939 QST cover. Pet’s Wife “Marte” KØEPE helped him celebrate. Congratulations to you ! Hamfests: October 4 Chanute Contact WA5FLV (Silent Auction During the show) October 4 Wichita Contact KØRH S.E.T is also October 4-5 What does your group have planned ? ______Emily- KCØPTL Reports: Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) 2008 is October 18-19. You can look at all the information at this website Be sure to check in and make contacts with all the scouts on the air. Duncan, KUØDM and Brian, KCØBS have started a net for the growing number of young hams. The JHOK,
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Junior Hams of Kansas net meets Thursdays at 7pm Central. The frequencies are as follows: Basehor: 145.390 Louisburg: 147.315 Lawrence: 444.900 Kansas City: 146.940 St. Marys: 146.955 All repeaters require an 88.5 tone. These repeaters give good coverage to the northeastern part of Kansas. This is a great way for young people to get on the air. All hams, regardless of age, are welcome. Brian and Duncan deserve a lot of credit for giving these kids a friendly net to build their ham radio skills. If you have questions, Duncan MacLachlan can be reached at: As always, send me any ideas you have to make our young ham communityWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO larger and stronger. 73, Emily KC0PTL ______ARES activity report for Kansas July activity from the August reporting this Sept 1, 2008. We had only 9 Zone EC reporting with 95 net sessions and 710 QNI handling 3 QTC. Army MARS for Kansas reported 489 on air hours of operation and 846 messages handled. WD0DMV reports RACES net had 8 QNI with Mitchell, Lyon, Elk, Smith, Montgomery Wyandotte and Shawnee counties represented. KB0WEQ sent along her best to all as she was unable to make the Salina Ham gathering Aug 17. However she is still recruiting membership for the SATERN network. 73 Bob K0BXF ARRL SEC KS ______Newsletters received: Feed Back, Grounded Grid, QNU H.A.R.C. , QRZ, QSP, ______July . Sessions/QNI/QTC/Mgr: KSBN/ 31/869/ 40 N0KFS KPN/23 / 236 / 23 / N0KFS KMWN/31/ 663 / 594/WB0YWZ KWN/31/ 779 / 508/ WB0YWZ CSTN 27/1995 /40 N0BFB QKS/ 48 /125/27 /NB0Z Traffic: WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.ROKI0BK 170 W0OYH 44 KC0MRJ 34 NB0Z 22 K0BXF 17 KB0DTI 14 ______Misc. Reports: WN8P - Technical Specialist See KSN on ARRL and more Kansas news: http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=KS
Missouri
SEPTEMBER 2008 MISSOURI SECTION NEWS DALE BAGLEY, KØKY MO SM The State Emergency Management Agency will conduct a Crisis Communications Conference October 8-10, 2008 at the Sheraton Kansas City Sports Complex, Kansas City, Missouri. To reserve a room for the Conference, call 1-816-737-0200 and mention the Crisis Communications Conference for the $96.00/day rate. This year’s conference will focus on Interoperability Communication Issues during an Earthquake, Dennis Gedeon, KBØNHW, MO Section Emergency Coordinator will present a program emphasizing Amateur Radio as a Disaster Resource / MEPN. The Ozark version of the MS 150 Bike Tour, will be held on September 13 & 14, 2008 ride Bike MS Tour Ozarks from Cleaver, MO to Joplin, MO and back! A century ride option on both days makes this event one-of-a-kind! and every mile with rest stops, safety, communications and medical support and more. If you want to volunteer to assist with the event contact Ken Baremore, WØKRB, 417-886-7137 or e-mail [email protected] In August, I had the opportunity to visit with the Boeing Employees Amateur Radio Society and learn more about their outstanding program. I am continually impressed by the quality of their Emergency Communication program and how they are able to provide back-up Emergency Communications. The B.E.A.R.S. Mobile Emergency Communications center was top notch. The trailer not only looked great, but it was top quality, efficient and functional. I would like to express my appreciation for the warm reception I received from the membership. I want to congratulate Harry Nordman, ABØSX, for his efforts as a Volunteer Examiner and his ranking of 6 on the ARRL VEC Volunteer Examiner Honor Roll. Harry has worked on 315 Exam Sessions since he was accredited in 2002 and has made an outstanding contribution to the Amateur Radio in the Missouri Section. OCTOBER 2008 HAMFESTS The South-Side Amateur Radio Club Octoberfest 2008 will be held October 18th at the Grandview Middle School 12650 Manchester Ave in Grandview, MO. For more information cantact Donna Quick, KB0YJN P.O. Box 1670 Lee's Summit, MO 64063 or by phone: 816-537-7464 or Email: [email protected] . You can also check out the SSARC website at http://southsidearc.org Talk-In: 147.120+ The Saint Louis ARC will host their Halloween Hamfest October 25th at the Kirkwood Community Center at 111 South Geyer Road. For more information you can contact Bob Sluder, NØIS, 47 Will Drive Fenton, MO 63026 and by phone 636-349-6584 or Email: [email protected] . The
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website is http://www.halloweenhamfest.org Talk-In: 147.150/147.750 (PL 141.3) AFFILIATED CLUB NEWS KEITH HAYE, WEØG, ACC At the Joplin Hamfest it was learned that the Southwest MO ARC has decided to cancel their annual Hamfest due to the enormous increase in the cost of their Hamfest facility. All of the clubs that host Hamfest can appreciate the problems when a fixed cost goes up over 110 percent. Plans are underway to have the 2009 SMARC Hamfest, but the actual date has not been selected at this time. The SMARC Hamfest has always been an outstanding event and we will all miss the chance to attendWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO this year. Route 66 On the Air Special event will be held September 13-21, 2008. US Highway 66 established in 1926, was the first major improved highway to link the west coast with the nations heartland. To get the Route 66 On the Air Special Event award you need to contact 17 cities and 2 rovers that will be operating. In Missouri you will need to contact the Joplin ARC, W6N, the Lebanon ARC, W6O, and the St. Louis ARC, W6P. To get all the info needed you need to go to the National Route 66 On the Air website http://www.w6jbt.org/ The St. Charles ARC, will be having their Fall picnic at Quivre River State Park at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday October 4th . The Radio festivities actually begin at 10:30 a.m. with the VHF-UHF antenna contest with actual prizes for the winners. After lunch at 2:30 p.m. they plan a Fox Hunt within the park boundaries. SCARC members Ron Ochu, KOØZ and Jim Templeton, NØPTN, are serving as the Chief Cooks and Fun managers. Congratulations to Matt Anderson, NØMSA, has done a great job with this month’s SCARC newsletter the Garble. The Rolla Regional Amateur Radio Society on August 23, 2008 had a Repeater work day. Nathan Neulinger, KDØDMHWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO climbed the tower an installed their old DB-224 Repeater Antenna which will be used as a spare antenna should the primary antenna fail. The RRARS newsletter thanked those who helped clear the brush from around the repeater site and worked on the repeater work day. The Hannibal Amateur Radio Club operated the WW2 LST 325 Memorial Ship that was docked in Hannibal. On August 21st to 24th, they operated the HF equipment in the Radio room using the special call KØS. J.D. Sinclair, WØAJD was responsible for getting the event set-up and there was a large number of HARC members that participated in the Special Event. There were over 500 QSOs and a special Certificate for those making contacts with KØS. SECTION ARES REPORT FOR AUGUST 2008 DENNIS GEDEON KBØNHW SEC Dennis Gedeon, KBØNHW, has appointed Craig Schley, KAØFSP, and Don Moore, KMØR, as Assistant Section Emergency Coordinators. Total # of ARES members: 569 Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 47 Man hours: 299 Number of public service events this month: 2 Man hours: 69 Number of emergency operations this month: 10 Man hours: 111 Total number of ARES operations this month: 59 Total Man hours: 479 Comments: 5 of 9 districts reporting SECTION TRAFFIC REPORTS AUGUST 2008 DALE HUFFINGTON, AEØS, MON-CW Sessions 51 QNI 89 QTC 29 NM K9ZTV MO Phone Sessions 31 QNI 1074 QTC 149 NM KØRWL MESN Sessions 5 QNI 220 QTC 6 NM AEØS Audrain Co AARC Sessions 4 QNI 43 QTC 0 NM KBØKWC Callaway CARL Sessions 3 QNI 51 QTC 0 NM WBØHKN Boone Co Sessions 4 QNI 86 QTC 2 NM WMØH Henry Co Sessions 5 QNI 68 QTC 0 NM KCØFLP Howell HCARC Sessions 4 QNI 10 QTC 1 NM KØRWL Jackson Co ARES Sessions 5 QNI 78 QTC 1 NM KØUAA CSRC Wellsville Sessions 4 QNI 18 QTC 0 NM KCØYNE Macon Co Sessions 4 QNI 42 QTC 0 NM KØKY Rolla RRARS Sessions 31 QNI 365 QTC 16 NM KB9ZBO St Louis CO ARC Sessions 10 QNI 165 QTC 26 NM KBØH Sullivan ARC Sessions 8 QNI 101 QTC 4 NM KBØROX Taney Co TLARC Sessions 1 QNI 6 QTC 628 NM KBØOFD WAARCI Sessions 4 QNI 100 QTC 0 NM WBØTOM 10th Reg Sessions 62 QNI QTC 160 MO 94% with,W7FB, NDØN, KCØM, NDØN, K9ZTV, WØSJS NM WØSS
New England Division
Connecticut
Section Leadership : K1EIC SM; ASMs: K1STM, KD1YV, W1FXQ; OOC K1DFS; PIC KA1TCH; SEC K1BRF; ASEC N1FNE; SGL K1MK; STM K1HEJ; TC N1KHB. Congrats to the Candlewood ARA on a fine Hamfest. It was fun to see many of you from all across the Section. The weather finally cleared up enough so we could enjoy the outdoor flea market. The ARRL booth happily was right beside
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the food booth which Judy, N1TGK chairs and does a fantastic job! Keep your ears open for details about how you can participate in this year’s Simulated Emergency Test weekend of October 4 and 5. Every Amateur radio operator in CT is welcome to participate. You will be hearing more about it as the time approaches. You can participate from your home stations so mark your calendars, watch for some general info here and other particulars from the ARES leadership. There’s room for everyone to have fun and learn! The sixteenth Nutmeg Hamfest and ARRL State Convention will be held this year on Sunday, October 12WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO at Mountain Side Resort Wallingford from 8:00am to 2:00 p.m. NOTE THE EARLIER TIME! Quoting from the Web site: Interference to and from Amateur Radio Stations Causes, Cures, Cases, and Cautions presented by ARRL Lab Supervisor Ed Hare, W1RFI. "There are two kinds of Hams", according to Ed. "Those who have had interference issues, and those who will". Whichever group you belong to, don't miss Ed's lively presentation. Are you an avid contester? Are you interested in getting your feet wet in contesting? Well, the Yankee Clipper Contest Club will have their October meeting at the Hamfest—you are welcome so come on out and join the fun! Once again, I will be hosting the ARRL Forum joined by New England Division Director Tom Frenaye K1KI and Division Vice Director Mike Raisbeck, K1TWF. Remember, this is your organization so come to the meeting and share your ideas with the Section and Division leadership! If you went to the Division Convention at Boxboro, MA, tell Mike how much you enjoyed the event—he did his usual terrific job as Convention chair! You can get all the details about the Nutfest at http://www.nutmeghamfest.com . The following note of thanksWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO comes from immediate past Granby EC Jim Donaldson, K1CCT. The Jim Calhoun Cancer Challenge ride is an annual fund-raising event to which Coach Calhoun lends his name and sponsorship. He also rides each year. The 2008 event raised over $288,900.00 to benefit The Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Connecticut Health Center and the Coaches vs. Cancer programs. The event this year took place on Sunday, June 8 2008. It was the second of what is expected to continue as an annual event. And I understand that a Third Annual event for 2009 is in the works on or about June 13, 2009. Radio communication between the Net Control Station, Rest Stops, SAG and Mechanic vehicles was once again supplied by a group of amateur radio operators without whom it's unlikely that communication throughout the routes would have been possible. The majority of our 2008 operators also participated in the 2007 event. It's appropriate to let the Connecticut amateur radio community know of this event and to recognize and thank each and every operator who donated his time and talent to work the event. A special thank you to Dana KB1AEV who de-linked the 147.345 allowing its exclusive use for the event...it performed beautifully by the way, nicely covering all three bike routes between Simsbury, CT and the western outskirts of Westfield, MA. So I'd like to extend the thanks of the Jim Calhoun Cancer Challenge Ride sponsors and organizers and my personal thanks to amateur radio operators Butch Balzano KB1NYM, Bob Brooks AB1RB, Henry Reluga WA1VDX, DEC Art Fregeau AF1HS, Gary Jones KB1AWI, ADEC Richard Hodge KB1ONM, EC Skip Colton W1FTE, Harvey Broverman K1PZS, Jason Osborne KB1OLW, Howard Baird KB1MNH, John Gloria W1CPW, ADEC George Lillenstein AB1GL, Bruce Millick N1AYS and TS (technical specialist) Dana Underhill KB1AEV. You guys made it happen.—K1CCT See you next month.—73.— K1EIC
Rhode Island
Greetings fellow Rhode Islanders: As I’m writing this, RI ARES members and other emergency services workers throughout the state are holding debriefing sessions to evaluate and learn from their experiences in the statewide ShelterCom drill that was held on September 13th. To my knowledge, a shelter drill this extensive and ambitious has never been attempted anywhere else in the country. Based upon two preliminary reports that have reached me, it appears that many communications plans performed well and many community EMA Directors were favorably impressed with Amateur radio’s capability. I’ll know much more about the drill by next month and will provide a more detailed summary. In an e mail message to all participants, our SEC K3OQH reported, “There have been a great comments thus far and many areas for improvement noted. Overall, the experience was positive and good lessons were learned.
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Thanks again to one and all for preparing, training, participating and serving in the Statewide Shelter Exercise. Each one of us has helped make a great step forward in sheltering preparedness in our state”. Your SM is very pleased as well. The rest of the country will be carefully reviewing the After-Action Report from this Rhode Island drill. As I said above, I believe this was the first shelter drill of its kind; involving police, fire, EMS, Red Cross, Haz-Mat and all other public service personnel. The Boxboro NE Convention is now history and it appears that more people attended it than in any of the last two or three conventions, WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROgoing back to 2002. There seemed to be more commercial exhibitors, flea market tables and attendees, positive all around. But many attendees were disappointed with the method used to draw hourly winners and award corresponding prizes. Among other issues, winning ticket holders had to claim their prize within an hour, a process that is very different from what Boxboro folks are used to. Upon my return home on Saturday, I sat down and wrote a detailed letter to the prize chairman to report the problems. Within 24 hours, he replied with thanks and indicated that he will take steps to avoid these problems in 2010. While working on my computer, I overheard on the .76 repeater, Crissy KB1MNG, a newly licensed repeater user say to a fellow newbie that she wished that someone would hold a class to help new hams understand basic things like how to make a dipole? How does propagation work? How do transmission lines work? Plus dozens of other basic things that aren’t taught in the license training manuals. I decided to put some classes together. On Sept 3, 10 and 17th, I held a two hour+ class from 5:30 to 7:45PM in the Lincoln Public Library covering a long list of basic topics. I made an actual dipole forWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO two meters and showed how its length is calculated, how it’s made and installed, etc. Of course, I used that model to illustrate how a dipole for 80, 40 and other HF bands would be calculated and made. I even made a mock up of a very low cost fan dipole for three HF bands using a single feed line. The last class of this series will be held on Wednesday, the 17th at 5:30 PM. All are invited and the class will review all the material covered in the previous two classes in addition to covering the propagation advantages and disadvantages encountered on all HF bands from 160 through 10 meters. Of course, many DX stories will be used to illustrate some more memorable contacts. This series of classes will be repeated as needed in response to the high number of new Amateurs being licensed. Don’t forget to go to the RIAFMRS Flea Market and Auction on Saturday, the 20th. They’re the folks who run the popular 146.76 repeater. It will be at the Forestdale VFW post, starting at 8AM with the auction at 11. Take Rt 146 north toward Worcester. Immediately after going under a Providence-Worcester RR bridge, take the Forestdale/Slatersville exit. You can only turn right because of bridge repairs. At the traffic light, turn left on Rt 146A. Proceed about a half mile and immediately after passing the Halliwell School on your left, take the next left turn on Green St. Take that street less than a mile to the large white church on your left where some of you took your license exams from the BVARC VE team. Turn left around the church and proceed down School St about a mile and you will see the VFW sign on your left. Your RI section leadership team will be donating over $200 worth of ARRL publications to be auctioned. Please bid high, there’s no tax or shipping charge added. 100% of your bid will go to support the repeater group. I regret to report that our very hard working OO Coordinator, Bill Ewan W1VH decided for personal reasons, to resign. Bill keeps a very busy schedule and we were fortunate to receive his expertise for the 18 months. Bill recruited several new OOs as well, so whoever follows him will inherit a full team. Of course, I am working on filling this very critical vacancy as soon as possible. Lee, N3LEE was elected President of the W1AQ club on Friday, 9/12. Doug, N2RDF had been President for ten years and decided not to run again. Many thanks to Doug for his years of fine leadership and best wishes to Lee and ARASNE. I have already written to extend my congratulations to Lee and offered any help that our team may be able to provide. 73, Bob Beaudet W1YRC RI Section Manager
Northwestern Division
Montana
Is Winter coming soon? We had snow in the mountains around us yesterday morning. Time to scramble and get that last antenna erected before the cold sets in. I'd like to think we have another couple months
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of warm weather. We lost a ham in the Kalispel area last week. This was a non radio accident, and involved a fall from a ladder. I cant emphasize enough for everyone to take extra caution in use of ladders. Many severe injuries are incurred each year from carless use of ladders. Learn not to over reach, set your ladder out far enough to have a safe work angle and firm support. Try and avoid carrying tools in your pockets while working on a ladder. These can cause serious injury in a fall. I use a tool bucket equipped with a large hook for support at the working level. Step ladders are the most dangerous because we use themWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO more often then other types. Always use caution and avoid a fall. I've had some disussion with Sun Watcher, Tad Cook, K7RA about some lack of activity on our local star over the past two years. Apparently, some folks are beginning to offer opinions on the possibility of a "Maunder Minimum" occuring in the next year or two, bringing along with it very cold Winters for the Northern Hemisphere. Tad has researched this point of view and found that there are as many pundits on one side of the argument as there are on the other. Some of those are qulified to comment and some, unfortunately are not. The extended "flat spot" between cycle 23 and 24 has had many concerned. But, for now, we have to wait and see what will happen. The last minimun was in the 1700's and not well documented. At that time, recognition of Sunspot activity was minimal and so it's difficult to draw any parallels from that time to the present. Some would like to tie Sunspot activity to Climatic changes, but there is at present, no evidence to support that theory. In overall output, or "Irradiance", the Sun has varied less than 0.10 percent over many years. We need to fill some additional State ARRL appointments.WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Emergency coordinators are needed for many locations. Please contact Todd, AE7V or myself for further information. Also, a Section Technical Cordinator is needed. You will need a working knowlege of today's systems, both digital and analog, and be able to work with members via email, phone or on a personal level. This can be a challenging position, and requires research to solve some problems. But, the rewards are many. Contact this station if you'd like to apply. Thanks to all who make Montana a great Section to represent! Aug Net reports: MTN-W7MPK, QNI-1967, QTC-51 IMN- VE7AWG, QNI-487, QTC-54 MSN-K7YD, QNI-156, QTC-4 73 to all, Doug, K7YD
Pacific Division
East Bay
The Section News is on the East Bay Section web site at http://www.eastbaysectionarrl.org. You can find more detailed information and current events there. August was a busy month for me personally. Unfortunately, I was so busy that I was not able to get on the air or attend any amateur radio related meetings. The first half of the month, my wife and I enjoyed an Alaskan cruise tour. We had a great time and the weather was unusually good (Ketchikan reported a “major cloud failure”. The day we were there was bright and sunny was temperatures in the mid 70’s.). The weather continued to cooperate as we sailed north. We saw much beautiful scenery and were able to get up close and personal with the many glaciers on our route. The weather for our land portion of the trip was just as spectacular as we were not only able to see the peak of Mt. McKinley (Denali) but it was so clear, we were able to see the entire mountain range from horizon to horizon. Unfortunately, the last half of the month was not so great. My wife and I, and 2 of our 4 pets, all were sick. I guess returning to the polluted Bay Area was too much for our systems after experiencing the great, clean outdoors of Alaska. The coming months will also be very busy with the San Francisco Section Convention this month, PACIFICON 2008 next month (October 17-19), a trip to Newington for SM Training, and the fast approaching holiday season. I am resuming my visits to the clubs and groups in the East Bay section. Hope to see you at one of my visits or at one of the scheduled functions. To wrap up for this month, I will renew my request for volunteers. There are many opportunities to serve, both locally and at the Section level. Please visit http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/org/ for more information about the ARRL Field Organization. Contact me or any of the Section Officers (http://www.eastbaysectionarrl.org/contact) if you have questions or wish to volunteer. SILENT KEYS – Jim Greenwood AD6AM; Frank Rogue WB6IIV, L.A.R.K. life member CONGATULATIONS TO: Benicia Amateur Radio Club (BARC) for managing
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to have proclamation declaring September 20 as AMATEUR RADIO PUBLIC AWARENESS DAY approved by the Benicia City Council. Our thoughts are with Chuck Graham KI6DCD as he awaits word on a match for a Kidney transplant from his friend Pam Gardner of the Concord Salvation Army. In addition to being active in Amateur radio, Chuck is also a volunteer with Rotary, Salvation Army and many other organizations. See the Contra Costa Times article (http://www.contraco statimes. com/concord/ ci_10383875? nclick_check= 1) for more details. EBARC, ORCA and ARCA are hosting their upcoming TechnicianWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO level class scheduled to begin Tuesday 23rd September 2008. This class is not your typical “Ham Cram” style class, but instead will provide the opportunity to learn about Amateur Radio as well as preparing you for the entry level Technician License. The class is open to anyone wanting to get their FCC Technician class license. This year’s Zucchini Festival fundraiser was a big success thanks to all of the SBARA members who signed up and worked a shift. L.A.R.K. is celebrating its 50th year (1958-2008) A.C.S.C.T. members, Mike Borkon, David Harnish, Jerry Miller, Gene Alga, Martin Hooey, Varon Smith, Tony Malone, Marcus Bell, and Bob Vallio participated in the Transit Terror Tactics and Tools class. ORCA sponsored a 2M net as part of Natioanl Night Out on August5. Bob KE6IUE was net control with Coleen KI6HWj, Adele KE6HKY, Tom KG6MAC, John KS6M Chris KE6MQW, Elizabeth KI6JJR and Mike KB6MP checking in. CONGRATULATION TO THESE NEW HAMS: Mei-chiung J Huang, KI6SKT, Alameda; Brian Zimmerly, KI6STH, Angwin; Andrew T Zimmerly, KI6STI, Angwin; Fred A Goodwin, KI6SKS, Brentwood; Young Jun Park, KI6SNO,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Concord; Richard H Harrell, KI6SVG, Concord; Arthur A Spector, KI6SVC, Concord; Janet L Mcdaid, KI6SMI, Antioch; Michael S Patten, KI6SSP, Fremont; Whitney S Haist, KI6SMK, Lafayette; David M Ainsworth, KI6SKR, Livermore; Rita Derbas, KI6SSQ, Newark; Howard A Wright, KI6STQ, Oakley; James L Chase, KI6SVH, Pittsburg; Adele F Chase, KI6SVE, Pittsburg; Makoto Nakamura, AF6LO, San Leandro; Joseph Lederman, KI6SVD, Walnut Creek; Andrea L Leblond, KI6SKP, Oakland; John Colbert, KI6SKQ, Oakland; Juan A Spampinato, KI6SVF, Albany. CONGRATULATION TO THESE UPGRADES: William J Mcdaid, KI6SDJ, Antioch; Ronald W Neese, KI6OFW, Fairfield; Heidi C Hall, KI6HWE, Fairfield; Michael J Fernandes, KI6SDO, Pinole; Kenneth A Durazzo, KI6SCQ, San Ramon; Thomas A Gunther, KI6SDP, San Ramon; Gary R Johnson, KI6PWD, San Ramon; Michael D Austin, KI6LZQ, Vallejo; James R Nicastro, KI6SDF, Walnut Creek; Russell E Wikander, KI6CEZ, Oakland. NATIONAL TRAFFIC SYSTEM (NTS) Call Sign Originated Sent Received Delivered Total WB6UZX 1 79 104 17 201 W6DOB 5 43 58 2 108 KE6QR 0 1 15 15 31 PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) Call Sign Categories 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total W6DOB 40 40 30 110 WB6UZX 40 40 10 10 100 (Requires at least 70 points)
Nevada
Dick Flanagan, K7VC resigned his position as Section Manager effective August 15, 2008. Dick has done much to bring the Section closer together by attending club meetings around the State, participating in club Yahoo Groups, checking into HF and VHF nets, and making it a point to meet members in the southern portion of the State either personally or by sending Don Carlson, KQ6FM on a quarterly basis. One of Dick’s many accomplishments is the formation of EMCOMMWEST, an ARRL Special Convention which has grown by leaps and bounds over the past 5 years. League HQ officials have attended as well as Amateurs and League leadership from around the Nation. Dick has also formalized the Section Cabinet, a body of Section Leadership personnel who advise the Section Manager on all manner of items affecting the Section. Please join me in thanking Dick for his years of dedication. I know I will rely heavily on him for guidance as we move forward. Amateur operators from the Elko Amateur Radio Club (EARC) provided public safety communication for the Pony Express High Speed Road Race from Battle Mtn. to Austin Nevada on Sunday, August 24. Communications were provided on a linked commercial repeater system with backup emergency communication being held on a portable linked Amateur system. Reliable communication was provided between all points along the course which traverses several valleys and the narrow Reece River Canyon. The Director of the Nevada Department of Transportation personally visited the net control station and was impressed
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with both the technology and professionalism made available by the group. Approximately 75 racers drove the course at speeds exceeding 200 mph with no accidents or mishaps. EARC members also assisted with public safety communication for the ElkoVelo, Lamoille Canyon Hill Climb on Saturday, August 9. Approximately 45 cyclists braved the 3,500 foot climb in Lamoille Canyon with automobile traffic. No injuries or medical cases were reported. The Amateurs provided communication up and down the course and were also stationed with an Elko County Ambulance should the need have arisen for medical care. BrianWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Chapman, NB9E reports that he and Phil Cheety , WB7BTS have expanded their "Snow Bowl" repeater system by making it the hub of their linked repeater system in the Elko area using a technique referred to as PL on COR. The system is on the air and operational with the exception of 10 meters which will be operational in a few weeks when they complete the antenna installation. The system PL is 100.0 Hz. as are most others in the area. The link repeater system includes an IRLP node and all bands from 10 meters through 1.2 GHz. The repeater frequencies are as follows: 10 meters= 29.680/29.580 MHz. 6 meters= 53.01/52.01 MHz. 2 meters=146.940/146.340 MHz. 1.25 meters= 224.140/222.540 MHz. 70 centimeters= 443.375/448.375 MHz. 33 centimeters= 927.4875/902.4875 MHz. 23 centimeters= 1283.100/1271.100 MHz. Their 2m repeater may not always be linked in, as it has a steerable UHF link radio that allows it to link it to several different UHF repeaters. Brian hopes to catch some DX on six and ten and have beacon ID's enabled to attract DXers. The system call sign is KE7LKO which is the Club call for the Elko County Ham Operators. Clark County ARES participated in a SouthernWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Nevada Health District (SNHD) communications test. The office of the SNHD communications room was used. HF communications to Reno/Carson City was ineffective, however it was confirmed that the station at SNHD was operating properly. Communications were established using IRLP Western Reflector 9258. Charlie AA5QJ, Vern K0EGA and Cliff W9CRB participated in the hour-long test. The relocation of the Sparks IRLP repeater to Ophir Peak was completed this month. Its coverage is amazing with full-scale signal reports from Fallon and great coverage to Reno-Sparks, Douglas County and most of Carson City. Joe N7JEH even reported a good signal into South Lake Tahoe. Many thanks go to Kent, W7AOR and the NARRI group, “Tech Guru” Steve Kometz, N7KP and SNARS for hosting our new ARES tool. This repeater is locked in full time to channel 8 of the Western Reflector (9258) and Echolink via NV-gate #152566. Several weekly nets are to be found there including the Thursday 1900 ARES/RACES VoIP net, Sunday 1800 ARC Net, Disaster Communicators Net, Wednesday 1900 NOAA weather net and a newly initiated Thursday 2000 SATERN Net as well. We now have almost all of the state dialed in with a new Winnemucca node coming soon. Again, many thanks to all who made this project possible. Several Amateurs throughout the Section are active in the National Traffic System. Currently, there is no HF traffic net in the Nevada Section, but these operators routinely check into various nets in Arizona and California. They bring NTS traffic into the Section for delivery and also deliver outgoing message to the nets as well. The traffic count for August is as follows: Bruce – N7CPP: 26 total Fred – N7SWI: 58 total Ham Cram sessions and examination activity have continued at a good pace in August. Sessions have been held in most of the population centers as well as in some of the rural communities such as Winnemucca. Who is this new Section Manager N7JEH? I thought I’d give you a short bio since many folks in the Section may not know who I am. My name is Joe Giraudo, I moved to Nevada in 1972 where I attended the University of Nevada, Mackay School of Mines. I married in 1974 to Lynn, N7URF and have two children, Jenny, KE7GIV and Patrick. After moving to Elko in 1985, I got my license in 1987, but was interested in Amateur Radio much earlier and just couldn’t get it together to take the exams. Since being licensed, I have tried a little of everything including VHF / UHF phone and packet, HF phone, CW, and digital modes too numerous to name. I was a member of the Army MARS and SHARES for 15 years. I currently assist the Red Cross as a disaster instructor and perform disaster response in the northeast portion of the State of Nevada. I am a Registered Professional Engineer and Certified Environmental Manager in the State of Nevada and work at a large gold mine in the Elko area and log most of my air time during my daily commute of 1½ hours each way. I can be contacted by telephone, e-mail, Winlink 2000 (N7JEH), or on my IRLP node at the house (Node # 3227). I can also be found on many nets on HF and VHF / UHF throughout the month. How do I view my job a Section Manager? My job is to see that the Field
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Organization adequately serves the ARRL membership in Nevada. I am also the point of contact for members who have questions about the League, and a liaison with our Pacific Division Director. Got a question or gripe? Fire away and I’ll do my best to address it. Until next month, DE N7JEH…73 K
Sacramento Valley
SECTION SUMMARY,WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO AUGUST 2008 As this is being written, on September 1, ARES responses are on standby in Placer and Yuba Counties for fire disasters. A precautionary call out in Placer County by CERT sent K6GRY, Gary, and our ASM for Youth, Curtis, KI6ESK, to the temporary shelter at Coppin Elementary School in Lincoln, CA. They were joined there by the ARES contingent from Lincoln Hills ARC. That shelter was closed before 8 PM. In Yuba County, the Myrna Fire south of Marysville along Feather River Blvd., sent N6XVL, Paul, (an official with the local American Legion Post, where the shelter was placed) and AF6AK, Michael, (an American Red Cross volunteer) to two shelters in the Linda-Olivehurst area. In neither case was ARES called out, but we maintained a Level 2 net for several hours. The entire response was called off at 8:27 PM. A massive fire-fighting effort was successful. The Oroville Amateur Radio Society is offering two ham radio license courses. The first is a 14 session General Class Upgrade taught by Daryl Autrey, AF6HS. The location is the Oroville Adult Education Building, 78 Table Mountain Blvd., Oroville, CA. This class will meet Tuesday and Thursday at 7 PM. It starts 23WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO September. The book costs $25. For more information contact Daryl at 530-589-5199. On September 9, Bill Cross, K6DYT, is beginning a Ham Cram for the Technician license. The books will be $25 and will be available the first night. The ham cram will be given 4 October from 8 AM to 5:30 PM and again on Sunday the 5th from 8 AM to noon. The test will be at the Chico Library at 2 PM. For more information contact Bill at 530-533-9342 or [email protected] . The Nevada County Amateur Radio Club will be offering a class this fall to help prospective hams prepare for their Technician Class exam. The class will be presented on five Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. at the Salvation Army Church Meeting Room behind the church on Alta Street in Grass Valley. The first class will be on September 17, 2008 and will consist of orientation to the world of ham radio and a discussion of what the test generally covers. It will be presented by various members of the NCARC. Following this date's class, there will be a break until October 29 when Bill, W6FA, will present on four consecutive Wednesdays the technical background needed to pass the test. There will be a test given on Saturday, November 22, following the final class on November 19. The class is open to all, and will probably be the only Technician Class given by the NCARC this year. For further information, call Jon, WA6TNC, at 477- 8928. A Northern California Hamfest & Swapmeet is being held in Lincoln on September 6, 2008. It is sponsored by the Western Placer Amateur Radio Club, the River City Amateur Radio Club, the Yuba- Sutter Amateur Radio Club, and the Sierra Foothills Amateur Radio Club. The event will be held on the Lincoln High School campus from 0700 until noon. There will be many tables with ham radio related items for sale, VE exams, food and soft drinks, and fellowship. Admission and parking is free. There is a charge for vendors. Vendors may begin setting up at 0600. Details and a location map are available on the Western Placer ARC website: www.wparc.org. Information is also available from Steve Harding, KT6Z, at 916-434-2878. SIGN UP YOUR CLUB ARES GROUP NOW! Groups and individuals can register to become members by visiting www.ready.gov, and clicking on the National Preparedness Month banner. WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced today that more than 1,200 national, regional, state and local businesses and organizations have pledged their support and joined the 2008 National Preparedness Month Coalition. Sponsored by the department’s Ready Campaign, National Preparedness Month helps to raise awareness and promote action by Americans, businesses, and communities on emergency preparedness. “As we approach our fifth National Preparedness Month, I want to thank the hundreds of coalition members who are making a difference in their communities by helping raise the basic level of preparedness in our country,” said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. “Individual preparedness is the cornerstone of emergency preparedness. Experience shows that if Americans take steps ahead of time, they stand a much better chance of coming through an emergency unharmed and recovering more quickly.” The
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Ready Campaign and Citizen Corps (www.citizencorps.gov) are specifically encouraging individuals across the nation to take important preparedness steps. These steps include: getting an emergency supply kit, making a family emergency plan, being informed about the different emergencies that may affect them, as well as taking the necessary steps to get trained and become engaged in community preparedness and response efforts. Read more at www.arrl.org . ARRL and Citizen Corp are teaming up to assist local school districts (if they need the help) to set up and register their NOAA Weather All Hazard Public AlertWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Radio. An August 19 news release says, 'Federal agencies have begun distributing more than 182,000 Public Alert Radios to preschools, Head Start programs, K-12 nonpublic schools and nonpublic school central offices, K-12 school district offices and post-secondary schools. In two earlier phases, the federal government distributed radios to all 97,000 K-12 public schools across the country, bringing the program to a close this September with a life-saving radio in every school in the nation.' Two years ago, in the fall of 2006, some ARRL members, affiliated clubs and Field Organization appointees were called upon to help when this project was in its pilot phase. Read the entire news release at: http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=45481 . If you, as Amateur Radio operator, or as part of an Amateur Radio club or an ARRL Field Organization appointee, would like to help Citizen Corps in this project, please contact your local Citizen Corps Council to offer assistance. Where there isn't a Council, please contact local emergency management. In the third week of August, the ARRL responded to a series of concerns raised by repeaters owners regarding the ongoing PAVE PAWS interferenceWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO mitigation project at Beale Air Force Base near Sacramento, California. In a lengthy e-mail dated August 20, ARRL Regulatory Information Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND, addressed a series of concerns raised by Tom Naso, N6MVT, of Lafayette, California; Naso is owner or trustee to several involved repeaters. Naso's letter can be found here . Henderson's reply can be found here . Pacificon 2008, our ARRL Pacific Division Convention, will be held in San Ramon at the San Ramon Marriot Hotel, October 17-19. This three day event will have the full slate of forums, a chance at a door prize or two, speakers on subjects you are interested in and various events to amaze you and broaden your ham radio horizons. September’s section net on VHF and HF will occur on September 10. We start on the WD6AXM/R machine at 146.085 MHz, plus offset, tone 127.3 Hz, beginning at 1900L. At 1930L, we will try the HF net at 3987 kHz with the latest ham radio news. The WD6AXM repeater is also the place to hear the ARRL audio news on each Friday evening at 1900L when the news is produced. If your club would like to play the news on your repeater, but you haven’t figured out how to do that, contact me at [email protected] . Ron Murdock, W6KJ, ARRL SACRAMENTO VALLEY SECTION MANAGER
San Joaquin Valley
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY SECTION Report for the month of August 2008: SM Charles McConnell, W6DPD- ASMs K6YK and N2NS, ACC W6DPD, SEC N6ZFN, OOC N1VM, STM K6RAU, PIC Vacant, TC W6TE. Greetings from the ARRL San Joaquin Valley Section. If you desire your club information and events to be listed in Section News, please send the information to [email protected]. I get very little information. If your club has a newsletter, please send it to me, email to [email protected] or via U.S Mail. An ARES Emergency Coordinator is needed in Western Kern County. Contact Marie, N6ZFN ([email protected]) or W6DPD ([email protected]) if you are interested and can serve in this important position. MARK YOUR CALENDARS. September is National Preparedness Month. Check www.ready.gov for information. Amateur Radio Awareness Day is September 20, 2008. The 2008 California QSO party begins at 1600 UTC on October 4 and ends at 2200 UTC on October 5, 2008. Put your county on the air for this contest. Check www.cqp.org for information. The California Historical Radio Society Central Valley Chapter swap meet begins at 9:00 AM October 4, 2008, at the Modesto Radio Museum, 1192 Norwegian Ave in Modesto. Pacificon 2008 is October 17-19, 2008 at the Marriott Hotel in San Ramon CA. Check www.pacificon.org for information. The 60th International DX Convention is April 17-19, 2009 at Visalia. Check http://www.dxconvention.org/ for information When your affiliated club elects officers for the next year, be sure to update your club’s information on the
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affiliated club area of the ARRL web page so you club will get any information sent from the ARRL Club department. If you fail to update your clubs information for 2 years, your club will be placed in the inactive file. Your club will be notified if the 2-year period is about to take place. Need to take an Amateur exam? Check the ARRL web page, www.arrl.org for exam information. You can also search for Amateur Radio Classes in your area. The Northern California Net (NCN), the Section Traffic Net, meets nightly on 3.533 MHZ at 7 PM Pacific Time. The slow speed training session of the net meets nightly on 3.533 MHZWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO at 9 PM Pacific Time. Handling traffic on CW is a good way to improve your CW skills. The Daytime Region 6 Traffic Net meets daily at 3:30 pacific time on or near 7.275 MHZ. The California Traffic Net meets daily on 3.906 MHZ and 6:30 PM local time. The noon time net meets on 7.268.5 MHz. This net handles a lot of messages. The Golden Bear Amateur Radio Net meets nightly at 7:00 PM local time on 3.975 MHZ. The Mission Trail Net meets nightly on 3.856 MHZ at 8:00 PM local time. September is National Preparedness Month. Check www.ready.gov for information. Thanks to the hams who helped the firefighters with communications support and information service in the recent fires in Mariposa County. You did a great job. WA6RAK, Floyd is a Silent Key. He will be missed. The California QSO Party begins at 1600 UTC on October 4 and ends at 2200UTC on October 5, 2008. Put your county on the air for this contest. Others are looking for California stations on both phone and CW/Digital. This is a good time to contact that state you need for your Worked All States Award. Information can be found at www.cqp.org. Pacificon is the ARRL Pacific Division Convention, which isWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO held October 17-19, 2008 at the San Ramon Marriott Hotel in San Ramon CA. There will be an antenna seminar on Friday October 17. On Saturday, October 18, the exhibit room will be open. You might find good deals there. There will be a number of sessions covering a variety of subjects. Saturday night will see the banquet, and the Wouff Hong initiation will be at midnight. Sunday has the swap meet, more sessions, and the ARRL Forum followed by the prize drawing. You can check out the event schedule on the Pacificon web page at www.pacificon.org. The annual Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) is October 18-19, 2008. This is a time to open your station to the Scouts so they can talk to other scouts. W6MSU completed the "VHF/UHF Life Beyond the Repeater" course. KI6PG has applied for 5BDXCC. AA6K has 102 DXCC entities on 40 meters. Traffic for August: K6RAU 27, W6DPD 0, and W6SX 22. Total 49 PSHR: K6RAU 89 and W6SX 54.
Santa Clara Valley
Monthly Summary for August 2008 Santa Clara Valley Section News Summary. September 17, 2008 =Hurricanes Gustav and Ike have devastated the Gulf coast and Ham Radio is supporting recovery efforts. See the ARRL home http://www.arrl.org/ page for several articles on activities there. See here as well http://www.arrl.org/gustav/ Dennis C. Dura, K2DCD, Manager, Emergency Preparedness & Response ARRL reports they are not moving any personnel into Texas from other Sections at this time. "Needs are currently being met locally, however local hams are beginning to come up against many days on the job. We may have a change in staffing needs in the very near future, so please check .. the Volunteer Web Page [http://www.arrl.org/gustav/vol.html] often. All Sections should continue to assess their volunteers for potential assignments." Also check out the ARES E-Letter available at http://www.arrl.org/ares-el/. Issues are posted to this page after publication. =This Saturday, September 20, the Bay Area Ridge Trail organization and the Mid peninsula Regional Open Space District will host the 3rd Annual Ridge Trail Cruz. They are looking for communications volunteers to staff a half dozen or so check points and aid stations along their various hiking, mountain bike, and equestrian event routes. An event description can be found here: Contact Mark Foster, KI6DHU, [email protected] http://www.ridgetrail.org/calendar/detail.cfm?ID=376. =CQP coming up soon! California QSO Party, October 4-5. See the web site at http://www.cqp.org/. The California QSO Party (CQP) is the premier state QSO party held every year on the first weekend of October. Lots of goodies from the latest ARRL Contest Update by Ward, N0AX: http://www.arrl.org/contests/update/index.html?issue=current "The ARRL Programs and Services Committee has officially tasked the Contest Advisory Committee with the considering the use of CW Skimmer and similar technologies in ARRL contests. A short-term
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recommendation for the 2008 Sweepstakes will be made shortly." =BSA Coyote Creek Cycling Classic time again. This is a Bike Ride supporting the Santa Clara County Council BSA. This year it will be Saturday, 11 October. Contact [email protected] if you would like to help. =PACIFICON 2008 Is Coming! October 17-19, 2008, San Ramon Marriott Hotel San Ramon, California. For Events, Latest Updates and Ticket Sales go to: www.PACIFICON.org. Call the Marriott Hotel Reservations Desk at 1- 800-228-9290. Before October 1, 2008, to ask for the special Pacificon rate of $90/night. Go to the event web site to sign up.WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO All the usual PACIFICON events and more are planned. =Don Village, K6PBQ, will be operating Jamboree on the Air on Saturday Oct. 18th from his home station. If you know any scouting groups that would like to join him (boys or girls) please e-mail [email protected] or phone him at 408-263-2789. =SEMINAR & EXAM: Amateur Radio ("Ham") License & Communications Course WHEN: Every Tuesday 9/30-10/21; Class 1: September 30: 6:30-9:00 pm; Class 2: October 7: 6:30-9:00 pm; Class 3: October 14: 6:30-9:00 pm; Class 4 (FCC exam): October 21: 6:30-9:00 pm. WHERE: Menlo Park Fire Sta. 77: 1467 Chilco St. COST: $40.00. REGISTER: Ken Dueker: [email protected] =EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CLASS: Tuesday, October 28, 2008: 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm. WHERE: TBA (Menlo Park area) COST: FREE! BRING: Your radio(s) & instruction manuals for them. INSTRUCTORS: David Fichou (Menlo Fire ARES) & Ken Dueker (Palo Alto P.D.) REGISTER: Ken Dueker: [email protected] Both events Sponsored by: Menlo Park Fire Protection District CERT: www.menlofire.org/cert =WinLink/RMS Digital News: Jerry Haag, K6GAC,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO EC, Mountain View ARES, reports that they have been successful in setting up an RMS Packet (server) station at K6MTV, the Mountain View ARES/RACES station at Fire Department Administration Building. It is operating at K6MTV-10 on 145.070 MHz. The station is operating at nominal 50 watts to a 2 dB gain omni directional antenna at about 50 ft. AGL. They invite all to try it. =Cap, KE6AFE, notes to see a list of RMS Packet stations arranged in order of distance from Santa Clara County EOC look here: http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/symbol.cgi? icon=Wa&limit=12&call=W6XSC-1 Google "Real-Time" map of RMS Packet station positions: http://www.winlink.org/RMSPacketPositions. =Did you know APRS is on HF too? Try 30M 300-baud HF APRS on 10.149.2/.4. Due to the propagation characteristics of 30 meters, you can reach an igate in North America from virtually anywhere else in North America. =John K6MM found this not-so-little Engineering website: The RF Cafe - "A Disruptive Web Presence" http://www.rfcafe.com/ =Another interesting link For the EE challenged or just curious, here is a good site for learning: http://electronics.wisc-online.com/DCE.asp. =This is the best http://www.vanityhq.com/index- hamlocator.html. They can even pull the latest data from FCC instantly. Use the cache data for faster access. Where are all of these hams when you need them? =Section positions are still open. This is YOUR Section; please consider helping all of us by filling one of these important positions. See http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/org/ for information on the ARRL Field Organization and all appointee positions. =The wiki-based SCV web site on PDARRL.org is up and running. Tom, K1TW, [email protected], is getting the content on both old and new sites up to date. Send him your corrections and get your club access to the wiki. Here's the link: http://www.pdarrl.org/scvsec/index.php.
Roanoke Division
North Carolina
AUGUST NORTH CAROLINA SECTION NEWS TROPICAL STORM HANNA REPORT - Section EC Bernie Nobles, WA4MOK Tropical Storm Hanna gave us a good scare and thanks to all of you for your preparations. This was actually a good drill to see how our systems perform. The Tarheel Emergency Net operated from 1930hrs Friday, September 5 until 1230hrs on Saturday, September 6. We had several net controls on duty and all did an excellent job. During the overnight hours there was lots of standby time, and at one point our Section Traffic Manager, David Roy, W4DNA, had a station in Illinois doing relays for us, due to the 75m band going very long. There were more than 67 checkins to the Tarheel Net during the event. The state EOC and the eastern branch EOC were staffed by
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amateurs for a portion of this time. Thanks to everyone for your support. SECTION SET IS OCTOBER 4 We'll have another chance soon to prove our readiness - the 2008 North Carolina Section Simulated Emergency Test (SET). Plans for the event will be finalized soon. The SET is schedule for Saturday, October 4 from 8am to 12 noon. The test scenario will involve a major hurricane hitting our coast, causing widespread flooding along the coast and into the piedmont area. The mountains will also experience landslides due to heavy rainfall. Many portions of our state will suffer from power outages and communicationsWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO disruptions. Less affected areas of the piedmont will have to deal with an influx of evacuees from other areas. The Tarheel Emergency Net will be active on 3.927MHz from 8am, opening immediately after the North Carolina Morning Net. We'll move to 7.232MHz if needed because of propagation. The Tennessee and South Carolina Sections are holding their SET on the same date and we will send liaisons to their section nets. I encourage everyone to hold their local SET the same day as the section event so that we can more accurately simulated a regional disaster. But local SET's can be held anytime from September to January, just make sure your results are reported to headquarters by January 30, 2009. Communications to EC's during the SET will occur on the North Carolina ARES mailing list. The general ARRL section email distribution will be used to alert everyone of needs as the "storm" approaches. A summary of the drill activies will be posted next week on www.ncarrl.org. JOTA ACTIVITY The Scouting Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) is an annual event in which Scouts and Guides all over the world speak to each other by means of Amateur Radio. Scouting experiences are exchanged and ideasWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO are shared. When Scouts want to meet young people from another country they usually think of attending a World Jamboree or another international gathering. But few people realize that each year about half-a-million Scouts and Guides "get together" over ham radio for the annual Jamboree-on-the-- Air (JOTA). Since 1958 when the first jamboree-on-the-Air was held, thousands of Scouts and Guides have "met" each other through this event. Not only is it fun to talk to Scouts from other parts of the world but it also provides a chance to find out about other countries and about Scouting elsewhere. Many contacts made during the JOTA have resulted in penpals and links between scout troops that have lasted for many years. It's also a great opporutnity to interest young people in Amateur Radio as a hobby. This year's JOTA will be held October 18-19. Calling frequencies include 3.570, 3.690, 3.940, 7.030, 7.090, 7.190, 14.060, 14.290, 18.080, 18.140, 21.140, 21.260, 24.910, 24.960, 28.180, 28.390, and 50.160 (all MHz). Scout participants in JOTA can be given the opportunity to earn their radio merit badge. There are several big JOTA events planned in North Carolina and there's a Yahoo discussion group setup for those interested in participating. Go to www.yahoogroups.com and search for "NC JOTA". Yahoo also sponsors a national Boy Scout/Amateur Radio discussion group called "Scout Radio". MEDIA HITS We had a good month for media coverage. Congratulations to Hickory area hams for two articles in the Hickory Daily Record about their activites at the Catawba Science Center. One of the articles mentioned a "text messaging vs. Morse code challange" at the museum. The Charlotte Observer included a report on weather spotting efforts in Anson County as slow moving thunderstorms caused flash flooding. WACB-AM radio in Taylorsville aired a segement on ham radio featuring Floyd Fox, KU4GW. STATE ARES MEETING, OCTOBER 18 Our second state ARES meeting of the year will be held on Saturday, October 18, from 9:30am to 12:30pm at Western Piedmont Community College, 1001 Burkemont Ave, Morganton. The college is off I-40, exit 103. The event will feature presentations by our Section Emergency Coordinator, Bernie Nobles, WA4MOK and the Western Branch Assistant SEC, Paul Robinette, KD4OZI. I will also be providing an update from ARRL headquarters. There's plenty of room, so bring a friend! NEW TRAFFIC NET Congratulations to participants in Cleveland and surrounding counties on our newest NTS net, the Southwestern North Carolina Traffic Net. The net meets nightly on the 145.27MHz repeater on Bear Wallow Mtn.. UPCOMING EVENTS September 27-28 - MS-150 Bike Ride, Mid-Atlantic Chapter. September 27th - ADA Step out for Diabetes Walk, RTP. October 1: Carolina Cycling Time Trials, Lowes Speedway October 11: Pfafftown Hamfest October 12: Charlotte Crop Walk October 12: Maysville Hamfest October 18: State ARES Meeting, Morganton. October 18th/19th - UCP Ride Without Limits, Triangle Area. October 18-19: Scouting Jamboree On The Air. October 18: Lung Strong 15k/5k, Cornelius. November 1st - Beach to Battleship Triathlon, Wilmington. November 1: Diabetes Walk, Charlotte.
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November 2nd: City of Oaks Raleigh Marathon. November 16: JARSFEST, Benson. AUGUST TRAFFIC N3BW 263, K4IWW 226, W2EAG 162, W4DNA 121, KJ4WY 113, KI4YV 72, WA2YBM 59, KE4AHC 57, W4TTO 57, W4FAL 41, KD4WAX 25, W3HL 20, WX4MMM 11, KD4ZPS 3. AUGUST PSHR NC4VA 287, W4DNA 145, W4FAL 130, K4IWW 120, W2EAG 110, W4TTO 100, WA2YBM 100, KI4YV 90. AUGUST ARES MEMBERS: 1,823 (down 9 from last month) South Carolina WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Greetings to all Amateur Radio Operators. This is Dr. Jim, N2ZZ with the September 2008 South Carolina Section Manager’s Report! Please remember that the SC Section website can be found at: www.arrl-sc.org/ where my full SM report will be listed as well as up-to-the-date information on Amateur Radio in South Carolina! I hope that everyone is enjoying the Fall weather. The Summer heat has left us, and time is ripe for those foxhunts and antenna mounting rojects that have been set aside for a cooler day! I have received several e-mails regarding gasoline availability, and there are only a few stations in Aiken that have gasoline this weekend. This has definitely curtailed several of my planned trips. I hope everyone has been able to at least keep their tank half full during this time. We are still in hurricane season, so be safe! I received the following information from ARRL headquarters: As no other valid nominating petition was received in this office on September 5, 2008, nominating any other candidateWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO for the office of South Carolina section, you are hereby re-elected as Section Manager of the section. Your new term begins January 1, 2009. Congratulations!! 73, Leona G. Adams, W1LGA Membership and Volunteer Programs Assistant I thank everyone for their support of me and for the ARRL field services in South Carolina. This is truly a labor of love, and I am proud to see our progress as a Section during my tenure as Section Manager. Again, thanks to all-YOU have made it happen! The Shelby hamfest was held at its new location in Dallas, NC on August 30th and 31st. I had the opportunity to attend both days this year and had personal experience with the new camper hookups that were installed by the county primarily for support of the hamfest. There was an excellent turnout for the event, owing to the Shelby Hamfest’s loyal following. I spoke with a few members of the hamfest committee who will be speaking with County officials regarding the hamfest and plans for following years. The ARRL forum was held on Saturday, with North Carolina SM Tim Slay W4IB and me representing the ARRL. We had an unsuspected surprise with the attendance of Dan Henderson N1ND from ARRL HQ who just happened to be in the area and stopped by to be a part of the hamfest. A number of issues were discussed at the forum, such as the national amateur radio volunteer database, the American Red Cross background checks status and the SCHEART system. Dan offered a very sobering thought during the forum, something that he calls the “Post Katrina Syndrome”. It appears that there is a huge swing towards Emergency Communications in Amateur Radio. Dan offered that we must realize that although EMCOMM is a valuable and a very publically visible part of Amateur Radio, it does not define us. As well as a service, Amateur Radio is a hobby, dedicated to the advancement of the radio art. This includes technical endeavors, contesting, DXing, DF’ing and other venues. We must never forget the roots of amateur radio, and all that has happened to date to make our service/hobby what it is today. The 56th annual Rock Hill Hamfest will be held at the Rock Hill American Legion Post 34, 199 South Cherry Road, Rock Hill, SC on Saturday, October 4th. Regular admission is $7 per person, and tailgating $9 per spot (includes one admission). For full information, please visit their website: http://www.rockhillhamfest.com . Please make plans to attend! The Sixth annual South Carolina QSO party, sponsored by the Columbia Amateur Radio Club, is now history. I hope that all those who participated had a good time! Propagation was extremely long this year, and all of my South Carolina contacts were on 75 meters. My 20 meter contacts included most of the West Coast and Hawaii! I remember the Washington Salmon Run to be on this weekend in the past, but this weekend the Colorado QSO party was in full swing! My thanks to everyone who participated, and would like to remind everyone that logs must be submitted to CARC by October 18th, 2008. Full information is available on the SCQP website: http://carc.ham-radio-op.net/scqp/scqsoweb2008.shtml A South Carolina Ham (a YL!) made the pages of the October issue of QST. Katie Besley KI4LSZ was featured on page 21 for
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her promotion of emergency communication to children during Kids Day! Katie is interested in becoming a Communications major when she enters college, and Amateur Radio communication is becoming second nature to her. She recently performed the duties of Net Control Station for the SCHEART state-wide ARES net, with over 60 check-ins. Katie has shown an interest in writing articles on the youth perspective of Amateur Radio, so we might be seeing these in the near future! Katie will be taking her General Exam soon, and then will be challenging her dad Bob K4NJN, ASM6 for the race to Extra Class! NominationsWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO are currently being solicited for the Roanoke Division Service Award for the year 2008. The Roanoke Division ARRL Service Award was instituted in 1968 by Roanoke Division Director, Vic Clark, W4KFC. Vic intended the award to be recognition for a long history of significant and consistent contribution to Amateur Radio. The amateur selected would have, over the years, dedicated much of his or her time to Amateur Radio and the ARRL. Nominees and resumes are encouraged and accepted from the Roanoke Division amateur population. Winners of the Roanoke Division Service Award become members of the selection committee and vote on which nominee should be honored the next year. An individual can receive the award only once. The administration of the award is done by the Roanoke Division Director. A copy of the Nomination form can be found on the www.arrl-sc.org webpage. All nominations go to our Division Director Dennis Bodson W4PWF [email protected]. I had the honor of attending an SCHEART steering committee meeting at the USC Center for Public Health Preparedness this past Thursday. In addition to the Amateur Radio community RepresentativesWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Charlie AE4UX, SEC, John Crockett KC4YI (SCHEART Project Director), Brian K6NWS DEC5, and John N4SJW, agencies represented included SLED, DHEC, SC Budget and Control Board (Tom Fletcher KI4BXN) and the South Carolina Hospital Association. USCCPHP was represented by its director Jane Richter KJ4ABC and Bill Dease KI4PKO. This committee will meet quarterly and address the direction of the SCHEART project. Information on SCHEART is available on the www.scheart.us website. Additionally, real time repeater linking status and streaming audio is available as well! As I mentioned previously, my travel has been curtailed somewhat by the gasoline situation. I was able to attend the quarterly QCWA meeting in Columbia on September 27th, but unable to travel to the PALSNET picnic in Santee State Park on September 28th. I hope everyone had fun, and it looks like the weather was perfect for the event! That’s it for September! See you next Month! August 2008 National Traffic System Report for South Carolina by Mac Heaton N4MEH, STM:Net Reports/Net/Check Ins/Traffic/Sessions/Reported By Anderson Radio Club 2M Net/888/27/29/KI4CCZ; Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Net /2215/45/31/K4SUG; Carolina's Net/324/109/58/W2EAG; Carolina Slow Net/129/15/31/N0SU; Columbia ARC 2 Meter Net/221/0/9/KE4TLC; Grand Strand ARC 2M Net/123/14/11/KI4HEE Greater Pee Dee 2 Meter Net/856/35/31/K4DTT; Greenwood Friendly Net/442/46/31/W4JAK; Lancaster County 2 Meter Net/142/12/13/N4WMB; Oconee 2M Net/369/18/13/N9GSX SC SSB; Net/1830/73/31/W4DDK; SC State ARES Net/233/5/5/KE4RVF; W4BFT ARES; Net/34/3/4/W4BFT; York Co ARS 2M FM Net/847/1/52/KI4NBA; Station Activity Reports: Station/Sent/Received/Delivered/Originated/Total; KA4UIV/17/12/3/0/32; K4GLT/65/51/3/0/119; N4MEH/4/54/4/3/65; W4DDK/1/32/0/1/34; W4KLB/10/12/2/0/24; W2EAG/72/86/2/2/162. Public Service Honor Roll: StationCat6/Total; N4MEH/40/40/20/0/0/0/100; W2EAG/40/40/30/0/0/0/110 Have a Great Month!! ’73 de Dr. Jim N2ZZ, ARRL Section Manager, South Carolina Section www.arrl-sc.org
Rocky Mountain Division
New Mexico
New Mexico Section Report for August, 2008 Wow – where did August go? Duke City Hamfest was on the 15th and 16th and it was held at a new location. The tail gating was the best I have seen in many years. As usual the green chili cheese burgers were great, the forums all went well and the resales were really busy. The area for sales ended up being a little small as was the ARES meeting room. Well the first time is a learning time. The youth group at the church did an outstanding job both with the snack
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bar and drinks at the banquet. Speaking of the banquet, there were 120 people there and they gave a rousing response to Dennis Dura’s presentation. Dennis said that he was very impressed with the attendance at the Hamfest. The MS150 Bike Ride was held on the 24th and 25th. Although there was a fatality the hams performed their usual best. The Alamogordo Hamfest was on the 30th. Pat and I went down for it and had a great time. There was a good response to this well established Hamfest. Lots of people, plenty of sales stuff, food and PRIZES! Great job guys. While we were in Alamogordo Hurricane Gustov WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROhit the Gulf coast. A lot of effort was put forth here in the state to organize a group of volunteers to be deployed to the affected area but the call never came. Bill Kaufmann (W5YEJ) coordinated the effort. Good work Bill. If you feel like this report is about my travels you are right! The reason for this is that I am not receiving information from any of the clubs. If you want the rest of us to know what is going on in your area or with your club you need to let me know. The best way to do that is with a PIO. The position of PIO (Public Information Officer) is very important and every club should have one. This job does not take a lot of time but they are the voice of the clubs. We have a great PIC (Public Information Coordinator) Ray Herne N5LIV who can help with any copy and with suggestions for where to get the information out. We need more TSs around the State. This is especially important for new hams and some of our older set who can no longer do some of the technical things that need to be done. Upcoming events: Darryl Clutter (NX5W) will hold a VE testing session on September 13th at the Manzano Multigenerational Center in Albuquerque – starts at 9 AM. Frank Warren will hold a Tech class at CNMWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO in Albuquerque from the 17th to the 21st with testing on the 21st. The Albuquerque Radio Caravan Club will have a corn feed on September 20th at Montgomery Park in Albuquerque. You can get more information by going to the club web site www.abqcarivanclub.org. Frank Warren will hold a General class license training at CNM in Albuquerque October 1st to the 5th with testing on the 5th. The High Desert ARC will have a Special Event Station (W5B) at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta – October 3rd to the 11th. They are scheduling operators now to set up a time contact Kathy (WB6JAN) at [email protected]. I will be at ARRL Headquarters from October 8th till the 13th getting training. The Duke City Marathon will be on October 19th The Socorro Hamfest October 25th – – more info to follow. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE YOUR ACTIVITIES IN THE MONTHLY REPORT YOU NEED TO LET ME KNOW ABOUT THEM – I WILL BE HAPPY TO INCLUDE ANY AND ALL ACTIVITIES IN THE SECTION. The Net Counts for August are: High Desert ARC Net: 42/6 NM Breakfast Club Net: 1143/173 NM Roadrunner Tfk. Net: 1189/100 Rustys Raider's Net: 660/76 Valencia Cnty. ARA Net: 57/12 Four Corners Net: 415/28 SCAT Net: 780/95 Caravan Club Net: 88/8 Yucca Net 902/51 Silent Key Report, August, 2008 GORMAN, JOHN R, KB5HRR (General) Barrow, Robert D, KD5ZPS (Technician) LIGHTSEY, WAYNE A, NM5WL (Advanced)
Southeastern Division
Georgia
SM: Susan Swiderski, AF4FO; ASM/South GA: Marshall Thigpen, W4IS; ASM/Legal: Jim Altman, W4UCK; ASM/Webmaster: Bob Smith, K4PHE; ASM/Youth Activities: Brittney Hancock, KI4WNY; ASM/Youth Advisor: Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM; ASM/ Scouting: David Pearce,ABØNG; SEC: Scott Royle, KK4Z; STM: Charles Pennington, K4GK; OOC: Mike Swiderski,K4HBI; TC: Jim Worsham, W4KXY; PIC: Norm Schklar,WA4ZXV; SGL: Bill Cherepy, WB4WTN; ACC: Robin Cutshaw, AA4RC www.arrl-ga.org www.gaares.org Greetings, All. Here we are, halfway through another month, and eagerly looking forward to the advent of autumn and some cooler temperatures. (and to the END of hurricane season!) Hurricanes Gustav and Ike kept many hams busy, and sincere thanks go out to all of those GA hams who played a role in providing needed support following each of these storms. Coming up this weekend are a couple of fun activities, one that's been going on for quite a few years, and the other, a brand new (1 time only? That remains to be seen) operating event. The first is the Dallas hamfest, sponsored for many years by the members of the Paulding ARC. Those of you who've attended in the past know that this is always a fun activity, and hey! It's FREE! Held under the shade trees at the
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Paulding Meadows Park, this is technically a tail-gating event, but there are also some really cool booths (like what you see at a carnival... with a roof and everything!) available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Lunch isn't free, but it's good, ample, and very reasonably priced. Hope to see y'all there. Talk in on 146.895+ PL 77. The second big event for the weekend is the special contest sponsored by the SE DX Club in celebration of its 50th anniversary. It will run on Saturday from 8AM until 2PM, and then continues on Sunday from 2PM until 8PM. All modes. For more information, please see http://www.sedxc.org/50thcontestWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Coming up next month, some of the activities around the state will include the Simulated Emergency Test, (SET) hamfests in Augusta and Rome, the Amateur Radio Lighthouse Convention in St. Simon's, JOTA, and the School Club Round-Up. And members of the Cherokee Capital ARS, the Colquitt County Ham Radio Society, and the Coast Guard Auxiliary out of Cartersville will all be running Special Event Stations. So, as the temperatures cool down, ham radio activity is heating up. SILENT KEYS: BILL CLEEK, N4UZQ and KEN DAVIS, N4GRX. Sincere condolences to the families and friends of both of these fine men. Well, folks, that's about it for now. If you have any news for the October newsletter, please send it my way. Until next time, this is AF4FO, signing clear. Take care of yourselves. And each other. 73, Susan QTC August: K4GK-174; WA4ZXV- 109; WA4UJC-79; WB4BIK-47; K4BG-42; K4BAI-19; K4BEH-12 +++ No trees were killed in the sending of this message. However, a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced. +++
Puerto RicoWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO
Agosto/Septiembre 2008 ¡ Saludos a todos ! Durante el pasado mes de Agosto, tuve la oportunidad de asistir a la convención anual de APCO (Association of Public Safety Communications Officers) en Kansas City, MO. Para mi sorpresa, varios suplidores de equipos de radio comercial presentaban radios portátiles multi-banda como lo último en la industria. También presentaron radios con capacidad de GPS. Poco sabían ellos que los radio aficionados contamos con radios multi-banda y radios con capacidad de GPS desde hace varios años. Aunque las bandas no son las mismas, el concepto si lo es. Una vez mas, los radio aficionados nos adelantamos en las tecnologías. También estuve reunido con varias personas de la OASP (Oficina para Asuntos de Seguridad Pública) y funcionarios de varias regiones de las oficinas OMME (Oficina Municipal para el Manejo de Emergencias) tocando, entre otros, el tema de los radio aficionados y su rol en las comunicaciones de emergencia. En general, la mayoría de las agencias y municipios nos dan el visto bueno a nuestra participación en dichas comunicaciones. Sin embargo, he notado que la falta de conocimientos los ha llevado a tener una gran variedad de opiniones sobre los radio aficionados. Escuché comentarios desde decir que los radio aficionados a)no hacemos falta, b) entorpeceríamos sus labores, c) nos quedamos o llevamos los equipos de comunicaciones para nuestras casas, d) instalamos repetidores en facilidades del gobierno para no pagar renta y sin contrato alguno, etc. Claramente, sus experiencias con algunos "radio aficionados" no ha sido la mejor. Estoy "educando" a personas que tienen este pensar negativo para que no juzgen a todos los radio aficionados por culpa de unos pocos inescrupulosos (que no sabemos si son verdaderos radio aficionados). Por otra parte, hay oficiales muy interesados en incluir la participación de los radio aficionados legítimos en las comunicaciones de emergencia del estado. Varios radio aficionados me han dejado saber su interés en ser voluntarios. Se espera que el intercambio de información resulte en algo muy positivo para ambas partes. El mes de septiembre es uno de mucha actividad ciclónica en el Caribe. También es el mes de la preparación ante las emergencias. Exhortamos a todos a repasar su plan de emergencias con su familia y mantenerse bien informado. Mi página de internet (www.kp4ac.com) está siendo rediseñada. Se han añadido enlaces relacionados con emergencias e información sobre varios grupos de radio aficionados que existen en Puerto Rico. Necesito sus comentarios y críticas para poder servirles mejor. Si encuentra errores u omisiones, por favor escríbame con la información para poder corregirla. Muchos radio aficionados se lo agradecerán. Para el mes de septiembre tenemos varias actividades. El viernes 5 comenzarán clases para obtener la licencia de Technician en Hatillo gracias al grupo PRHAG (PR Ham Amateur Group, www.prhag.com). El lunes 8 a las 8:00 pm tendremos la reunión mensual del PRDXC en la UPR en Rio Piedras. El sábado 13 tendremos el SKP (Straight Key
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Party) auspiciado por el PRARL (Puerto Rico Amateur Radio League, www.prarl.org). El 5 de octubre la FRA (Federación de Radio Aficionados, frapr.org) tendrá su asamblea anual en Aguadilla. También tendremos varios concursos; el maratón VHF, auspiciado por el PRARL que comenzó desde el 1ro de septiembre, el All Asia Contest el fín de semana del 6 de septiembre, el ARRL VHF QSO party el fin de semana del 13 de septiembre, el ARRL EME contest el fin de semana del 20 de septiembre y el CQ WW RTTY contest el último fin de semana de septiembre. Todo esto en adición a las actividades diarias y semanales de los variosWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO grupos de radio aficionados en Puerto Rico. Para mas información favor de visitar www.kp4ac.com donde encontrará los enlaces correspondientes. Bueno, eso es todo por ahora. Les seguiré informando. Muchas gracias a todos. 73s Roberto Jiménez, KP4AC
Southern Florida
Hi Everyone, First – Hurricane IKE Do NOT self deploy. Do NOT contact your EC to volunteer to go to TX or LA. You will be advised if personnel from long distances are needed to assist and I will send an e-mail asking that you contact me directly. At this time everyone in the SFL section needs to stay close to home in case we are hit by a strong storm. Please verify all statements regarding Amateur Radio involvement and refrain from spreading rumors. This is copied from the ARRL web site: Saturday September 13, 2008 0100 GMT Anticipated staffing requests are expected to exceed resources in the HurricaneWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Ike recovery areas. ARRL will be coordinating these requests for our Field Organization. Staff and will look first to states close to the areas involved. These would be NM, KS, TN, AR, MO, MS and others out of the path but closer to Texas and Louisiana. The actual levels of need for resources will not be available until after the storm passes and assessments are made. Section Managers and SECs in specific areas have been asked to begin collecting information on the availability of ARES volunteers now. The actual first movement of personnel is not expected to begin until after Sunday morning dependent on conditions in the area. Volunteers can make their availability known to their Section Manager, SEC or home section delegated contact. Be sure they have your name, call, when you can begin travel, for how long you could be deployed, and any important considerations you may have. Even if you are not in a Section near the impacted area, you can still make your availability known. Do NOT self deploy - you will be turned back When travel is authorized, you will be notified with the specific contact information (name and locations) and to whom to report. There is no reimbursement for volunteer expenses. If additional staffing is required, we will expand the call-up to Sections further away from the impacted areas. ------What's in your toolkit? Noted psychologist Abraham Maslow said: To the man who only has a hammer in the toolkit, every problem looks like a nail. We should have many things in our toolkit; several modes to pass emergency traffic, several modes to work the DX, spare batteries, spare microphone, key, keyboard, headphones, extra coax, pens, pencils, ICS forms, radiogram forms, etc. You get the idea. For more ideas attend the forum on EMCOMM training at the Melbourne Hamfest where David Fowler, K4DLF will present: Save Money and Have Fun Assembling a Go Kit. Melbourne Hamfest also offers many other forums, meetings for various organizations and a Youth Corner. For full details go to www.pcars.org and click on Hamfest. Soapbox: Many people I speak with, whether or not they are hams seem to say: Too Much E-mail and Lots of off- subject E-mail. Before you hit send please ask yourself if you are posting the correct message in the right place. If it is off-topic for the list and you feel someone on the list might help answer your question put a phrase such as, A Bit Off-topic, in the subject line. The weather has been fairly good to us so far this season. Several counties had flooding and tornadoes from some storms but we have had limited ARES activation. For the next 30 days we are at the peak of the season so do not let your guard down. Thank You to all who responded to local activations and standby lists. ------REPORTS: Total ARES members in the 7 counties reporting: 753. There were 8 ARES nets active, holding 27 sessions. Three ARES nets had NTS liaison. DECs/ECs reporting: N4LEM, KF4MJJ, WA4ASJ, WA4GUK, AI7Q, AD4RZ, WN7YJJ reporting for Osceola Number of drills, tests and training sessions: 38, Person hours: 106. Number of emergency operations: 5, Person hours: 476. Total number of ARES operations: 53, Total Person hours: 633 (This does not reflect our August activity in any way. For T.S. Fay alone, I
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estimated 3000 man hours, including Skywarn activity. SFAN had several special sessions and we had 39 check-ins, representing all 3 Florida sections, during one of the special sessions.) ======SARs August 2008 -- KA4FZI 137, KE4CB 106, AA4BN 55, KC4TM 26, W7GXW 5 PSHRs August 2008 -- AA4BN 144, KA4FZI 120,KE4CB 105 Congratulations to Jim, AA4BN, whose high PSHR reflects his hours of service with ARES during Tropical Storm Fay. Net Reports for August 2008 Total Check-ins 2375 (up an even 100 from last month) Total QTC 526 NET, ABB, SESS, QNI, QTC, MGR All Florida CW Traffic Net, QFN,WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO 62, 521, 291, AD4DO Florida Amateur SSB Traffic Net, FAST, 31, 288, 61, K4SCL Florida Medium Speed Net, FMSN, 31, 209, 27, AG4RJ/AB4XK Jupiter-Tequesta Repeater Group, JTRG, 7, 86, 23, AG4BV/W4FK Palm Beach County Ares Net, PBCAN, 8, 105, 18, K4DLF Saint Lucie Repeater Association, SLRA, 5, 58, 0, KE4UEI Southeast Florida Traffic Net, SEFTN, 33, 763, 41, AG4RJ/KI4IQZ Southwest Florida Traffic Net, SWFTN 27, 345, 65, KE4CB/N9WS ======It is refreshing to see many groups offering Technician classes beginning this month. Several teaching teams are composed of members from several counties and clubs. Think about teaming with another nearby club to broaden the pool of instructors, the publicity opportunities, and the pool of prospective students. ======Try a new band. Try a new mode. Get on the air and have a QSO. I thought I'd share this with all of you: At the Greater Norwalk ARC, 'GNARC' of Norwalk,CT monthly meeting, the president, K1WYQ said he would like to play devil's advocate and asked all present what they say when non hams say there is no need for ham radio since they have their cell phone. One fellow summedWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO it all up rather well. He said: A cell phone is for calling a friend. Ham radio is for making a friend. That's all for now. News is posted on a flow basis to the web page so check often. Most of the news has been storm related and several clubs canceled meetings due to storms. Hopefully next month things will be active with events other than storms. Send me your club news and encourage traffic handling, ARES participation and appointee reporting in your area. Web news is at www.arrl.org/sections/SFL.html Till next time, stay safe and stay on the air. 73, Sherri, W4STB
Southwestern Division
Arizona
September 2008 SOUTHWESTERN DIVISION CONVENTION 2008 The Southwestern Division Convention is this month, September 12-14 at the Mesa Convention Center. Check out the website at www.azhamcom.org to view all the events (ARRL Forum, awards, DX Breakfast, raffle, RV Parking, speakers, swapmeet, VE testing, vendors and the W1AW/7 station). The preliminary program is on the web, and what a list it is. We have some great speakers and you won't want to miss this one. If you are into EMCOM, look for Mark Sloan, Lou Tramell, and the EMCOM forum. There will be presentations from the DX crusaders, APRS and other digital programs. The Satellite guys will be speaking and Mark Spencer from the ARRL will be discussing the ARRL's train the trainer program. The committee has gone all out to get you vendors and do we have vendors. There will also be a craft area. Check it out at www.azhamcom.org and we will see you there. Rick Aldom W7STS. [email protected] ARIZONA SECTION STAFF Grant Hays WB6OTS has been promoted to Assistant Section Manager. Grant has done a great job as the Section Traffic Manager (STM) for the last four years. Replacing Grant as STM is Thomas Ivan Sr, KF7GC. Tomy has been very involved with the ATEN net. Lee Isle KD7OED replaces Mark Keasaur N7KKQ as Assistant Section Manager. Mark was ASM for over 4 years and was very involved in ARCA. Both Lee and Grant have been very involved in MARS, ARCA and the Southwestern Division Convention. Ingo Radicke, WA7KUM State Government Liaison (SGL) will be resigning due to health reasons. Ingo has been a excellent SGL and has worked on the AZ ham license plates and the antenna bill. I would like to see a SGL group form. That group will decide on who the new SGL will be. Any hams that have a background in the State legislature and would like to participate, please send me a short resume. YOUTH AND SCOUTING 6 year old Annalisa Gugler KE7VJO just passed her technician's license test. Annalisa is the fourth ham in her family. She joins her father Doug KC6OVN, mother Shawnna KD7GPI, and sister Abigail K, KE7QVB Congratulation
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Annalisa for a job well done! I’ll be up at the Southwestern Division Convention taking photographs. I’d like to see all of the youth and scouters at my presentation on youth and scouting which is Sunday at 9am. It is a great time to exchange ideas and help others out. Jim Fagan KE7IDC [email protected] SILENT KEYS Lloyd Purcell WB7PKW August 2008 Litchfield Park, AZ Mac McCaughey K7CET passed away on August 13 in Miami. Mac was a life-time ham operator in Tucson, and was a member of ARRL, the Tucson Repeater Association, and the Old Pueblo Radio Club. Mac played a large role in the early developmentWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO of the emergency services network in the Tucson-Pima County area in the late 50's and early 60's, and getting repeaters placed was a big part of the project. The memorial service will be held at Adair Funeral Home-Dodge, 1050 N. Dodge Blvd, at Speedway, on Friday, September 19 at 7PM. The inurnment service, which will include full military honors, as Mac was a bird colonel retired from the US Army, will be at Holy Hope Cemetery at the mausoleum on Saturday, September 20 at 10AM. For more info please contact Lisa McCaughey Enfinger, [email protected] Steve Garber KE7JDR August 19th Peoria, AZ NEW HAMS The following Arizona hams just received their FCC license, Congratulations! Simone Komm KE7UUR, Joyce Linnerud KE7UUV, Gordon Reese KE7UVJ, Bryan Reese KE7UVK, Kevin Kinghorn KE7UVL, Sandi Kinghorn KE7UVM, Patrick Fleming KE7UVN, Riley Heflin KE7UVO, William Heflin KE7UVP, Norma Heflin KE7UVQ, Gabriel Jaramillo KE7UXD, Richard Mccallum KE7UXE, Jimmie Tomey KE7UYM, Rodger Meyer KE7UZY, Joan Meyer KE7UZZ, Shirley Requard KE7VAA, Bradley Schlottman KE7VAB, Barbara Mccool KE7VAC,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Montaque Brown KE7VAD, Thomas Taylor KE7VAE, Susan Crews KE7VDD, Robert Jacobs KE7VDE, Daniel Van Herpen KE7VDF, Chapman Weddle KE7VDQ and Robert Mcmurphy KE7VDR. HAMFESTS/CONVENTIONS/SPECIAL MEETINGS September 6, 2008 Fall Fest, Mohave Professional Amateur Radio Group will be having its 1st Annual Hamfest in Kingman Arizona 7am- Kingman Centennial Park, across from the Mohave County Library VHF talk in: 146.9400 - 151.4 UHF talk in: 446.3000 - 123.0. http://www.mparg.org/ September 12-14, 2008 ARRL Southwestern Division Convention Mesa AZ Come check us out at www.AzHamCom.org Mesa Convention Center contact Rick Aldom W7STS 2008 SWD Chair [email protected]. October 18 2008 Old Pueblo Hamfest Kino Sports Park Tucson AZ Talk-In: 147.30+ (PL 110.9) Contact: John Clor, N7SQQ [email protected] October 19, 2008 Tucson Ham Radio Picnic at Reid Park at 12 noon www.tucsonhampicnic.com December 6, 2008 Superstition ARC Hamfest, Mesa AZ http://www.wb7tjd.org, Talk-In: 147.20+ (PL 162.2), Contact: Judy Ferrara, K7JLF, [email protected] Mesa Community College SE Corner of Dobson Rd & Southern Ave January 10, 2009 Westfest Thunderbird ARC http://www.w7tbc.org Talk-In: 146.70 (PL 162.2) Contact: Steve Grouse, W1ADW [email protected] Thunderbird School of Global Management 59th Avenue & Greenway Road Glendale AZ Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about ARRL. If your club or group has an activity or event that would be of interest to other hams throughout our section please email me with the specifics.
West Gulf Division
South Texas
This has been a rough month on South Texas due to hurricanes coming our way. As some of you know my wife had a stroke, so we've been in the hospital and in rehab while most of the hurricane activity took place. So the main part of this month's news will be a report from Mike Schwartz, KG5TL, the SEC for South Texas. Part of Mike's report is history in the making for ARRL. I'll leave the rest for a future article in QST. The South Texas SEC, Mike Schwartz, KG5TL and John Taylor, KE5HAM, responded to an immediate call for help from ARRL Headquarters. The call was to support FEMA Operations in East Texas. The mission, to install repeater equipment, was handled successfully and the mission ended early Wednesday morning. Mike and John are now at home and ready to be deployed at any time. Houston Operations An immediate request for point to point operators, to provide emcomm within the POD operations has been handled successful as of this date. The original call was for 24/26 radio operators to give existing operators a break. At this time, the Bexar county ARES out of San
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Antonio is supplying 10 operators. The North Texas Section is supplying a dozen operators to arrive beginning now and into the week end at staggered times. The Louisiana Section with Gary Stratton at the helm is also supplying operators to the Greater Houston area. Galveston Operation A request was received from the SOC, Texas, requesting help with POD operations on Galveston Island. Ken and Ann Shubert along with Val from the Leauge Ciy area responded. It is expected that another three oprators will be deployed to back them up sometime this week end. Southern Baptist Involvement A request was received from ARRLWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO involving SBC Chain Saw operations in Polk County. The request was forwarded to Bill Swann, the North Texas SEC to help provide communications to these teams. Thanks Bill for handling that for the STX Section. No other news at this time. All operations are on-going Thank you, Mike, and all who have worked so hard under Mike's leadership during my absence. We will need operators for some time due to the damage in so many areas along the coast of South Texas. Most of the deaths were due to people not leaving when police tried to get them to leave. Our prayers go with those that lost loved ones and property due to IKE. May God Bless America and our Troops. Ray N5NAV
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Section News for September 2008
Atlantic Division Southern New JerseyWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY NEWSLETTER FOR OCTOBER SECTION MANAGER, JEAN PRIESTLEY, KA2YKN THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX! Now, to the pitcher, this has a different meaning but to a club, it can mean great and wonderful things. For example, a group within a club can get together, say, once a week at a dinner or even a member’s kitchen and have a leisurely breakfast and discuss club matters, baseball, football or the kids latest accomplishments. Another possible idea for clubs is a good set of programs for the years. If possible, try and plan programs for 4 to 6 months in advance so there is plenty of time to put notices in the newsletters and on nets. Also ask other clubs to post your programs in their newsletters and nets especially if it is “a big program”. This promotes good will among the clubs. In turn, your club can put the word out on their activities. We can not be an island unto ourselves. When our Amateur community shares ideas, there is always a positive result. One other idea for those “group discussions” will also save on gas. CAR POOLING If you come a distance for the meeting,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO it makes the ride seam shorter and less boring. Any opportunity to bring ideas together and toss them around can only bring a positive result. Recently Gloucester County ARC presented Wayne Wilson, WA2LET, with the 2008 Goldman Award. The award was presented by Doug Gehring, WA2NPD. When we do things, we don’t do them for kudos or rewards but there are those special times when we do need to recognize someone for something or just give a pat on the back. These are the things that keep members in clubs and make them feel positive about being a member. Delaware Valley Radio Association has JUST ONE more testing session for 2008 and a full schedule for 2009. There will be testing on November 15. The dates for 2009 will be Jan 17, March 21, May 16, July 18, Sept 12 and November 14, 2009. Except for both November exams, all will be at the Hopewell Twp Branch of the Mercer County Library, 245 Pennington-Titusville Road, Hopewell Township (just outside Pennington and next door to the Hopewell Valley Central High School) Be there by 12:15 for paperwork. Exams start promptly at 12:30. Contact Don/AA2F at [email protected] or 609-737-1723 for further information and the location of the Nov exams. As in all exams, the cost is $14 cash or check and bring 2 forms of ID, at least one being a photo ID, plus the original and photocopy of your license if upgrading. JSARS Is still holding their testing sessions the third Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm at the Riverwood Recreation Building on Riverwood Drive in Toms River, NJ. For more information call Ed GENOINO, WA2NDA at 609-693-3729. Holiday City ARC is also still holding their test sessions every other 2nd Saturday from 10am to 12pm, (May, July, Sept, Nov). Sessions are held at the Holiday City South Clubhouse area in meeting room #1 on Mule Road at the corner of Santiago Dr in Toms River. Your contact person is Bill Haldane, AC2F and the phone is 732-240-7064 or [email protected]. When going to any test session, you must have your original license, at least one Xerox copy and original and one copy of any credit sheets you may have. Bring 2 forms of id. OBARC hold one more session and that will be held on Dec. 4, 2008. All the sessions will be held at the Ocean Acres Community Center, Nautilus Drive, Manahawkin. Doors close at 7pm. Contact Dave Burgess, WA2TVS at 609-698-2872. Directions to test site are available at http://wwww.obarc.org. Testing sessions by SJRA are on the 4th Tuesday of each month at the Winslow Senior center. Contact is Mark, K2AX at [email protected] or (609)820-1523. If you haven’t already, please make a note or bookmark the following site: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/phi/skywarn/index.html. The Battleship New Jersey is still on summer hours. If your club is thinking about visiting the NJ2BB club station, please be sure to make arrangements ahead of the scheduled date to insure that someone will be there. Just go on our website at www.nj2bb.org for information to schedule a visit. If you have worked NJ2BB and want to send a card, the QSL manager is Margaret Burgess, KB2BRR 150 Schooner Ave, Barnegat, NJ 08005. Please send your cards with an SASE to insure receiving a card in return from NJ2BB. http:// www.nj2bb.org “CITY
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AT SEA TOUR” The intent is to highlight the support activities within the vessel, such as dental, medical and sickbay. There will also be a Quick Stop (aka smoke shop), Post office and machine shops. Of interest to the Ham community is the WW2 Radio Room that members of BNJARS have been working on. This compartment was once filled with black crackle painted equipment that glows in the dark. The gang has found the appropriate equipment from various sources, restored and repaired each item as needed. On May 19, 2008, the new General Quarters Tour opened. The tour will offer the same tour as the current,WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO except all guests will receive an audio device that will include narration, music, special effects, descriptions of spaces and recorded accounts by former crew members. An adult and child’s version will be available. The ships current guided tour The Fire Power Tour will now include the Combat Engagement Center and the Admiral Halsey Stateroom. Even If your have seen the ship once already, there are plenty of new reasons to come see it again. Traffic report for SEPTEMBER Traffic manager, K2UL, Dan Ostroy SNJ/NNJ Section Net Reports QNI reports NJM 75 N2GJ NJPN 217 W2CC NJSN 203 K2PB NJN(E) 167 AG2R NJN(L) 147 AG2R (the above nets are dual section nets of both SNJ and NNJ. Liaisons with 2RN) SNJ Local Net Reports JSARS 319 WA2NDA SJTN (E) 24 KB2RTZ SJTN(L) 14 KB2RTZ Station Activity Reports (SAR) KB2RTZ 98 KB2BAA 57 WA2NDA 57 K2UL 42 AA2SV 39 K2GW 2 Public Service Honor Roll (PSHR) KB2VYZ 256 KB2RTZ 210 KB2BAA 160 N2HQL 145 K2UL 120 KC2IYC 106 KA2YKN 95 WA2NDA 79 K2GW 76 WJ3P 51 STM reports that the past six years have been posted on the web at http://k2ul.home.att.net/stm_mWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.ROonthly.htm SEPTEMBER NEWS; KB2VYZ reports: between the Tropical Storm and the MS-150 I sure was able to pick up some points, especially because I had the ability to serve both Atlantic and Cape May Counties during the storm KC2IYC reports that this month our EOC was open through Tropical Storm Hanna and our township used the Moorestown Amateur Radio Comm Team for Family Fun Day. It was a busy month.
Western Pennsylvania
This year is quickly coming to an end and we will soon move into the holiday season. The final sanctioned hamfest for our section will take place on November 2 ,2008 at the Washington County Fairgrounds. I will be present at the league table and hope those planning on attending will stop and say hello. More information on the hamfest is available at http://wacomarc.org/Hamfest_08.pdf By now most of you are aware that senate bill 884 was approved by the state legislature and signed by Governor Rendell. This law will be known as Act 88 and takes effect on December 8, 2008. Many people were involved in getting this approved and I personally want to thank all those that wrote letters or in some way contacted their senators or representatives asking for their support. Your efforts were instrumental in getting this bill passed. A very special thanks goes to Senator Greenleaf and his staff for the fine work they did and to Eric Pauley for working with all of us here in Pennsylvania and with Chris Imlay to work details out. We will soon have our tower law in effect. Band conditions were once again an issue during the PAQSO Party. 40 meters was long and I worked more sections then I did counties on that band during Saturdays contest. I spent a good part of Saturday on 75 meters and as always had a great time making contacts and chatting with old fronds and making a few new ones. To all that participated I hope you also enjoyed the event and I am already looking forward to next year. I recently installed an hf rig into my 4x4 and have been having a wonderful time operating when I am traveling about. This was my first opportunity to work hf mobile and I can tell you I will always have a rig in the vehicle. If you have never done so and get the opportunity I encourage you to take up the challenge. We are still in need of people to step up and fill positions as emergency coordinators for some counties. We need people willing to coordinate the ARES program in some counties. A key issue to remember however if you are interested a requirement is that you must complete and submit a monthly report to the District Emergency Coordinator and to the section EC. This requirement must be met by all for the program to continue and for individuals to retain their appointments. I want to thank Ray Albert, N3XCD , for again accepting my request for him to be EC of Butler County. Thanks Ray for accepting both mine and SEC’s request to fill the position again. I know your leadership is appreciated. I would also like to
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remind clubs and groups that would like to have me attend one of their meetings or events next year to send your requests early with possible dates you would like me to attend. My schedule fills quickly so get your request in early so I can attempt to make it to your event. I have not made a decision on what I will do for Field Day this year but will let everyone know once plans are confirmed. Please remember that at any time that you have a need for support and cannot contact me directly please go to the league website for additional contact information for other section leaders. Assistant section Manager Bruce Watson, AA3LX hasWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO full authority at any time that I am not available for contact. Our section information is available at http://www.arrl.org/sections/WPA.html Anyone having photos they would like to submit for inclusion on the web page should send them directly to me. I will be happy to post them on our section page. Please remember to join a traffic net across the section. There are 2 meter nets, cw nets and the section net the WPA phone and traffic net. This net meets at 6 PM local time every evening of the year on 3983 hz. Please check in and lend a hand passing traffic to others in the area and prepare for any emergency situation. 73 John Rodgers N3MSE W. Pa. Section Manager
Central Division
Illinois
QST DEWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO KA9QPN--Full NEWS at http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=IL From the top... **If it's one thing that we hams know how to do, it's accumulate 'stuff'. Our documentation of that 'stuff', not so much. Oh, we keep our manuals and even the boxes in sterling condition 'somewhere'. But, as time goes on, we buy and sell things, loan them out, borrow other hams' 'stuff', and do not write it down! So, when we've made that final QSO and our significant other stands in the wreck of our shack after the funeral, where do they start? One of the biggest kindnesses that you can render to your loved ones is to make preparations for them to dispose of your equipment after your passing. Make some time to prepare an inventory list of all of your gear. If you expect to need to have it sold, arrange in advance for someone that you trust to take charge of the removal and sale. This includes antennas and peripheral items as well. (You don't know how many calls that I get from teary widows asking me to please stop sending QST and other mailings.) Prepare some expected pricing for sale, but give the person in charge of the exercise enough latitude so that things don't take forever to move. On the off chance that your spouse doesn't need to make a profit off of your gear, consider a donation to the local club, earmarking it for the establishment of a school or Scout station. Your significant other won't want to get involved in the mess of disposing of your gear. Remember that he or she will still be mourning your passing, and might not be in perfect health themselves. Be proactive and be kind. ======**October is Jamboree On The Air time! Several efforts are going on over 18/19 October. I plan on visiting at least one of these, as it just looks like too much fun. The Scouts are just as much into JOTA as we are, if not more. ======**At this writing, gasoline hovers around the $3 mark, just in time for the end of the Hamfest season. Hopefully, the market slide gets under control and we are left with that lower gas cost. ======**Why don't I use the 'editorial we' instead of 'I' when referring to myself here? I subscribe to the observation of Mark Twain that the only folks who should use 'we' instead of 'I' are kings, presidents, editors and people with tapeworms. This practice has universal merit on the air, too. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Get informed... **I'm a believer that, if you wait long enough, the old will become new again. Witness the frequent resurgence of animal hide prints and low-rise jeans in fashion. And, so it is with technology. I note that our old friends at REACT (yes, that REACT) are once again preaching the utility of FRS in emergency kits for Everyman. They also have a simple 'guide' on how to use that radio in an emergency. Lost in the shuffle is the prerequisite of someone else actually listening, but I digress. There are a lot of CERT and Citizen Corps teams out there with the same mentality. There is nothing wrong with FRS and it's older cousin
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GMRS (Class A CB for all of you old guys like me). In fact, I have both FRS and GMRS in our local EMA commo plan just because. However, these CERT and Citizen Corp teams are fertile ground for new hams. In the Section, there are already several combined efforts between local EMA/ESDA and ham clubs in running license classes aimed at these audiences. The non-licensed services have their utility. But it's up to us as the custodians of a tradition to help others to step up to the one communication system that works 'when all else fails'. ======WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO======**Very little activity was generated with the passage of the remnants of Hurricane Ike. Most of the activity was related to road closures and pockets of evacuations. Woodford County EOC was activated and the following Tri- County ARES members assisted in that activation and damage assessment according to Debra Craig N9SJ and Curt Rocke K9UQF: KC9DBE, N9SJ, K9VGC, KC9ICF, KC9HNM, KC9GMU, KC9GQR, and K9UQF. The rain did not dampen the crowd at Radio Expo in Belvidere. However, I did have a bit of a time getting home as roads were literally closing behind me as I crossed DeKalb County. Getting to O'Hare Airport the next day to pick up my bride became an adventure, even in a truck with a ten inch ground clearance. Let's hope that we don't see that kind of rain again for a while. ======**The Illinois D- STAR Net is now active on Wednesday evenings at 1900. It is conducted on the FRRL and NSRC UHF D-STAR machines, and all with D-STAR radios who are within earshot of either system are encouraged to participate.WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO At this time, it's a Chicago Metro exercise, but I'm sure that will expand as other D-STAR systems around the Section activate their gateways. ======**An ethical guide to contesting has been approved and released by the International Amateur Radio Union, of which the League is a member society. An Americanized version is available for download here. Like every other pursuit in life, the rulebook does not always cover the ethical issues. What is 'legal' may not always be 'right'. I urge those of you who are contesters to downmoad and study this guide. ======**Last call for the Illinois QSO Party on 19 October, sponsored by the Western Illinois ARC. More here. On 12 October, the club also operated K9L from Washington Park in Quincy in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Lincoln-Douglas debate there. ======**The ARRL/TAPR Digital Communication Conference was such a rousing success that the event will be again held in Chicago next year. Returning to a previous year's location is a break in tradition for this conference. Kudos to the organizers and especially Mark Thompson WB9QZB and Kermit Carlson W9XA. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Around the Section... **The Fox River Radio League has changed their meeting place to Rasmussen College in Aurora. Full details here. ======**The Kishwaukee ARC had a demonstration station at the N IL Steam Show Kids Day on 19 September. An extension of KARC's highly successful special event station and demo during the Steam Show itself, the club offered exposure of the Service to 168 children. Bob Yurs W9ICU adds: 'The MFJ-494 auto keyer with code & decode was a big hit: all the kids had to try it. (We) had it set up with a keyboard (at which) all the kids had to type in their name, hear it in CW and watch it printed out on the screen. We also had programmed in the original distress message from the "Titanic" and a little welcome message for the kids. Amazingly, many of the old timer steam club members were impressed with the CW portion. In fact, we got rave reviews at the "Pig Roast party" on Saturday night.' Pics below. ======**Here's something that you don't see any more: From the Vermilion County ARA Newsletter comes word of a 2m AM net. No, I didn't stutter or fat-finger that: I said AM. Their first fall/winter net was held 5 October and apparently continues nightly on 145.6MHz at 2000. If I lived a little closer, I'd be mourning that Gonset Communicator that didn't make the move (along with the rest of my tubes, tube equipment, and tube testers). Let's see, the FT-100 will do it with a filter... ======**I was taken to task
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by several folks after the posting of last month's News. Let's see...Arlington Communication League, Chicago FM Club, Kankakee ARS, Rockford ARA. The Fox Hunt is alive and well throughout the Section and the reports of its death premature...which is another Mark Twain quote, for you folks keeping score at home. Wisconsin WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO WISCONSIN: SM: Don Michalski, W9IXG. BWN 3982.5 0500-0715 W9IXG. BEN 3985 1200 WD9FLJ. WSBN 3985 1715-1800 KB9KEG. WNN 3555 1800 KB9ROB. WSSN 3555 1830 N9JIY. WIN-E 3555 1900 WB9ICH. WIN-L 3555 2200 W9UW. (All times are Central time) ** Regretfully, I am informing you of the passing of these Wisconsin Amateurs: -- Bessie Beider, N9QIT, 89. Bessie was an active member of the Milwaukee Radio Amateurs Club and Milwaukee Repeater Club. -- Bob Fallis, W8BAR, 86. Bob was killed in an auto accident. He was one of the founding members of Eau Claire ARC. -- Monty Sorum, KA9MIT, 40. -- Arthur Phillips, KC9FNE, 46. Through a memorial gift to ARRL you can celebrate or honor the life or contributions of a family member or friend for whom Amateur Radio has been a passion. http://www.arrl.org/development/memorial.html#top ** From KG8CX: As Assistant Section Manager for Wisconsin Youth, I envision the need to communicate with the younger ham radio operators of Wisconsin, age 19 and under. I would like their names, callsigns, and emailWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO addresses which will be used to create a database which I can then use to create a resource for them, keep them informed about upcoming events, and the opportunity to connect with them on topics related to ham radio and youth. I am also planning a periodic newsletter with the focus on the young ham operator. It will also give the young hams of Wisconsin a person to direct questions and comments to regarding ham radio as it relates to the youth of our state. If you can, send me the above information. Let the youth in your area and club membership know that there is a statewide group just for them. Check out one such group http://www.wd8dx.com/yacht.html which is made up of 37 young hams ages 6 to 18 from seven states including Wisconsin. My email is [email protected] Remember,..." our youth is the future of ham radio." Thank you for your assistance and support, 73, Ed Engleman, KG8CX ASM for Youth, ARRL Wisconsin Section http://w8pif.com http://www.wd8dx.com/yacht.html http://www.qrz.com/k8kdz ** STM Report Wisconsin Section September 2008 FAQ # 86 -- Roger who? When an operator receiving a formal message copies it accurately, he confirms his reception with one word -- "Roger." No, it doesn't matter what the name of the sending operator is. It doesn't matter to whom the message is addressed. The signature has no influence on this response. "Roger" means "Roger." On CW, it's "R" sometimes spelled Q-S-L. Roger, of course, comes from the old phonetics for "R," and "R" means "received." It doesn't mean "Yes." (That's "Affirmative.") It doesn't even mean, "Will comply." (That would be "Wilco.") In today's phonetic alphabet, I suppose it could be said, "I'll Romeo that," but that's still not in common use. So "Roger" it is. What's important to remember is what's behind the response. It means the receiver has copied the message exactly as it was sent. If he or she knows the address is wrong, it's still copied it as sent. If there's a spelling or grammatical error in the text (and this isn't easy), the receiver still copies it exactly as it is sent. If there's a mistake in the wording -- such as an unnecessary "x-ray" after an ARL numbered text -- it is ignored and copied word-for-word. Obvious typo? Maybe not. The text remains constant. Only then can the receiving station respond with that famous word -- "Roger." Getting the message passed perfectly should make the sender jolly -- but I guess the Jolly Roger is a symbol for something else. 73 -- K9LGU/STM-WI MONTHLY NET ACTIVITY SUMMARY SEPTEMBER 2008 NET QNI QTC QTR SSNS NM BWN 2133 2682 4108 30 W9IXG BEN 533 50 1167 30 WD9FLJ WSBN 459 25 1014 30 KB9KEG WNN 89 8 231 24 KB9ROB WSSN 146 7 253 30 N9JIY WIN/E 153 28 246 29 WB9ICH WIN/L 132 59 324 30 W9RTP WRACES 92 0 222 4 N9VAO WRACES-D AUG 22 2 240 4 KB9MMC TOTALS 3759 2861 7805 211 Note: BWN is Badger Weather Net; BEN is Badger Emergency Net; WSBN is Wisconsin Side Band Net; WNN is Wisconsin Novice Net; WSSN is Wisconsin Slow Speed Net; WIN/E is Wisconsin Intrastate Net/Early; WIN/L is Wisconsin Intrastate Net/Late; WRACES is Wisconsin Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service net. Details on all these nets are found on this site:
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https://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=WI under Wisconsin Traffic Nets. ** JOTA-- Remember that Jamboree On The Air is this weekend! Details are available at this site: http://www.arrl.org/scouts/jota/ ** The 10th annual Wisconsin ARES/RACES conference will be held October 25, 26 in Wisconsin Rapids. To register, go to this site: http://www.wi-aresraces.org/2008confreg.htm You must register by October 16! On Sunday we will have a Bus O’Rama! We are asking folks from around the state to bring their mobile communications vehicles (motorized or not) and units to allow everyone to tour them, ask questions, share ideas,WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO and learn. Anyone with an interest in ARES/RACES is welcome. We hope to see you there! ** I see, by reading the newsletters I receive, that this is the time of year when many clubs are looking for new officers for the next year. We hope that you seriously think about becoming an officer or board member and step up to the plate. It would be good for you and the club! ** We have two great hamfests coming up! I hope to see you at the Milwaukee Repeater Club Fest on November 1 http://www.mrc91.org/swapfest_flyer.pdf and on November 2 I will be at the Fox Cities Amateur Radio Club Swapfest http://www.fcarc.us/hamfest.php in Appleton. I'll bring along my ARRL membership kit and will have some excellent incentive offers for you to renew through me! 73, Don W9IXG
Dakota Division MinnesotaWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO ARRL MINNESOTA SECTION SUMMARY FOR SEPTEMBER 2008 SUMMARY FROM YOUR SM ++ The MN section OOC, TC, ARES and Traffic summaries are enclosed below. ++ See the ARRL Section web site for up-to-date information and bulletins. ++ Go to the section website at http://www.mn-section.com for other news. ++ License classes are one of our most important activities!! ++ Please send me your plans for future Amateur Radio Classes. ++ Please add my name to the mailing list for your newsletters. ++ Do you like to Blog? Do some writing for amateur radio, become a PIO. ++ Mike Sigelman, K0BUD, is our new PIC. (Public Information Coordinator) Respectfully submitted by Skip Jackson, KS0J, MN SM MN OOC & TC REPORT SUMMARY FOR SEPTEMBER 2008 MN OO reports received from WO0A, KB0OHI, N0OH, & W3FAF. Technical Specialists report no activity. Respectfully submitted by John H. Thomas III, W3FAF, MN OOC & TC MN SEC REPORT SUMMARY FOR SEPTEMBER 2008 Total number of ARES members reported: 245 (some reports missing) County EC’s reporting: Bloomington (N0ANP), Carver (KBØCQ), Cook (KBØBDN), Itasca (KGØFD), Lac Qui Parle (KCØQED), Murray (KCØYKX), Olmsted (AB0BW), Redwood (KAØISD), Scott (NØBHC), St. Louis-North (WDØGUF), Steele (NØUW), Washington (ABØXE), Local Net Names: Anoka County ARES Net, CCART, River Valley, SEMARC, Scott County, Chisago County, Carver County, Washington County, Fox Valley Monday Night Net, Lac Qui Parle Phone, Lac Qui Parle Packet, Mankato Area Radio Club Emergency Services Net, Marshall Area Emergency Net, Redwood County, Wadena Area Ham Net, Northern Lakes Radio, NE MN Public Service, SE St. Louis Emergency Service, Dakota County ARES, Scott County ARES, Murray County ARES Total sessions: 32 NTS liaison is maintained with the MN Section, Tenth Region, and NTSD Traffic Nets by NØUC, WØLAW Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 50 Person hours: 357 Number of public service events this month: 5 Person hours: 365 Number of emergency operations this month: 2 Person hours: 103 Total number of ARES operations this month: 37 Total Person hours: 825 Comments: Steele: Steele County RACES/ARES completed a SET as part of a county wide drill with other public service and volunteer agencies, demonstrating digital communication capabilities. The three goals established for the SET were achieved: Develop the capability to pass messages in a digital mode; Demonstrate the ability to pass messages in a digital mode; and Practice passing messages in ARRL Radiogram format. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, MN SEC MN STM SUMMARY FOR SEPTEMBER 2008 NET FREQ TIME QNI/QTC/SESS MGR ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ MSPN/E 3860 5:30 P WO0A MSPN/N 3860 12.00P W0WVO MSN/1 3605 6:30 P K0WPK MSN/2 3605 9:50 P K0WPK PAW 3925 9A-11AM 1500-1700 KA0IZA MONTHLY STATION ACTIVITY REPORTS (SAR) STATION ORIG. REC'D. SENT DLVD. TOTAL BPL
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NO.OPS W3FAF 0 70 71 3 144 W0LAW 0 45 60 3 108 KA0RMP 1 36 44 1 82 K0WPK 0 59 12 2 73 KX0N 8 17 23 17 65 W0HPD 1 18 28 1 48 K0BLR 7 4 10 10 35 KA0IZA 0 27 5 0 32 N0KCM 11 3 14 0 28 KB0AII 0 2 8 0 10 WD0GUF 0 4 6 0 10 KB0AIJ 0 2 2 0 4. PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) STATION 1 2 3 4 5 6 TOTAL W0LAW 40 40 20 40 140 WD0GUF 40 10 30 80 ~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~ SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER MONTLY REPORT NETS ABBR.CK/IN TRF SESS. NM/CALL ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ MINNESOTA SECTION MSPN/E WO0A MSPN/E C/2WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO PHONE/NET EVENING 1,409 30 30 MINNESOTA SECTION MSPN/N W0WV0 MSPN/N C/2 1200 NOON 588 35 30 MINNESOTA SECTION NET (CW) 6:30PM MINNESOTA SECTION MSN/1 142 25 24 K0WPK RN-10 C/4 NET CW 9;50PM MSN/2 89 25 28 K0WPK RN-10 C/4 PICO NET ALL DAY WATCH 2,876 47 74 KA0IZA RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Robert Meyer, W0LAW, MN STM
North Dakota
NORTH DAKOTA: SM, Lynn Nelson, W0CQ - As this is my first Section News Summary, First off, Thanks to all who encourged me to apply for the Section Manager position and to Kent Olson, KA0LDG for his support during the changeover. Also, I'd like to thank everyone for the support they have given to the ARRL organization and I will make it my goal to meet each and every one of you personally.WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO In the next few month's, I will be evaluating the statewide ARRL positions that are appointed through the Section Manager and determine the next step in filling these positions with willing and dedicated volunteers. If you have interest in any of the statewide positions, please let me know. Also, as the new Section Manager, I am very interested in your input so please drop me an email at [email protected] and tell me what's on your mind. The Totten Trail Hamfest organized by John- N0MGL will be November 2, 2008. Our sympathy to K0HDA, who recently lost his spouse and a welcome back to N0RDJ returning on the air after his car accident. September Net Report by Dave- K8BBM (Session's-Checkin's-Traffic)is the ND Weather Net with 26-593-3, Dakota Amateur Traffic Net with 30-796-15 and the Goose River Net with 4-43-1 73's from Lynn- W0CQ
South Dakota
Here is the section news for South Dakota, if there are any clubs that have material that they wish to have posted please email me [email protected] the information no later than the 5th of the month so that I can get it posted to both the summary and the web site before the cut off date. Hot Springs ARC News We had our grand reopening of our club shack on Oct. 2, with 21 hams in attendance. The place looks great and is ready for lots of activity. We plan on operating Phone Sweepstakes Contest in November from there. Thanks again to everyone that put so much work into the shack remodeling. We also were informed that our club station, KØHS, took first place in South Dakota multi-operator category for the 2007 ARRL Sweepstakes Phone contest. The certificate will look great on the shack wall. Club officers for 2008-2009 are: President-- Tim KØOR Vice President--Phil KAØFUI Treasurer--Pam WØPAM Secretary--Penny KDØDUE Board Members--Lon WSØV, John KCØWIB, and Carl W9LEQ A transmitter "fox" hunt is planned for Saturday, Oct. 25 at 3 pm starting from the club shack. We may also be starting a Tech licensing class soon. Some Techs will be meeting on Sunday afternoons at the shack to study for the General test. 73 Tim KØOR South Dakota Amateur Radio Council (SDLINK) They are working on getting things together for testing over the winter or if we run out of time next spring of a solar system for Reliance. We want to test this several months before we install it at Reliance next summer or fall. If interested in helping with this project, or are willing to donate towards this fine project please contact Ed Gray, WØSD Northern Hills Amateur Radio Club The September meeting of the Northern Hills Amateur Radio Club was called to order by Vice President Chris Stallkamp, WØADZ at 19:30 on September 26, 2008 with 9 members present at the Lead City Hall. Secretary Bruce Conlee, KØNLE read the minutes of the August meeting. They were approved after correction. The Treasurer’s report was given by Treasurer Carroll Cash, KØRXC. The Treasurer’s report was
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approved. SET on October 4 was discussed. Gene NØMHJ is in charge for those available to assist. The Boy Scout Jamboree on the Air is on October 18. Scott WAØVKC is in charge of it. Skywarn Recognition Day is December 5 & 6 at the Rapid City Weather Station, WXØUNR. Carol Katz, KCØZDA, reported on a joint meeting of Lawrence County, Meade County, and Butte County officials along with various city officials in that area on emergency preparedness. A simulated tornado event occurred and the response of the various agencies was analyzed along with how the various communication facilitiesWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO could be affected. Carol reported to the group how important amateur radio is if there is a total communication failure of police, fire and medical radio system. Carol suggested that we develop a comprehensive plan for the northern hills region for amateur radio implementation. The Tri-State Emergency Weather Net and the State Link Net is still in need of Net Controllers. Bob Streich, KBØNRB, gave a report on the State Hamfest held in Sioux Falls. Nomination and election of Officers was held. The following Officers were elected: President - Gene McPherson, NØMHJ Vice President - Chris Stallkamp, WØADZ Treasurer - Jerry Hawley, KGØGG Secretary - Bruce Conlee, KØNLE Director at large – Chuck Palmer, NØUKO Director at large - Carroll Cash, KØRXC Trustee – Jerry Hawley, KGØGG Chris led a discussion on possible situations where the amateurs in this area might be called out and what might be required with the facilities we now have individually and where we might be deployed. The meeting was adjourned at 20:30. The next meeting will be held on October 24th at the Lead City Hall. Bruce gave a presentation on Field Day at Kadoka. Bruce Conlee, KØNLE NHARC SecretaryWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO
Delta Division
Arkansas
Arkansas Hamfests- The QWH and Arkansas ARRL State Convention was a great success as were the All Arkansas Hamfest and Batesville ARC Hamfests! Congrats! ARVARF News- Our ARES/RACES meeting will be September 23, at 7:00 p.m. This meeting will be at the 911 building. We will discuss the upcoming ANO exercise, which will be on October 20th. At the August meeting, we listened to the Arkansas Section Training and Emergency Net. J.M. Rowe, N5XFW, the Arkansas Section Emergency Coordinator, talked about credentials for hams who deploy from one area to another. Thanks to Lt. Col Charles Hill, KA5TTG, for allowing us to have this meeting at the CAP while the EOC at 911 was unavailable due to training on new equipment. During Hurricane Gustav, the Section Managers in Louisiana and Mississippi asked Arkansas officials to set up a list of hams who could possibly travel to the coast if needed. Most states have certification standards in place that require specific training for hams to be eligible for assignment to other areas. This allows the receiving state to know they will be getting people who have at least a minimal level of competency. This is especially pertinent since Hurricane Ike is headed for the Texas coast. Arkansas does not have such a plan and it is difficult for leadership officials to know who is adequately trained. Having standards for levels of certification and maintaining a central list helps the SEC know who should be sent on such assignments. The leadership can’t know everybody in the state so it makes it possible for any qualified ham to be certified instead of relying on personal knowledge. This system isn’t perfect but the goal is to make sure everyone who wants to gets to participate. There are a lot of things to be worked out, and you are invited to look at the draft plans as they appear on www.arkansashams.org. Then, if you have any comments, please send them to our Section Manager, K5UZ. I hope to see everyone at the September meeting. 73, Dennis W5RZ. Benton Co Radio Operators News- The September meeting was called to order at 7:05 PM. Treasurers Report: The treasurer’s report was read by Jeff K3DEI and approved by club vote. Previous Meeting Minutes: The minutes from the previous meeting was read by Randy N5CZ and approved by club vote. Introductions of all the people present. Nothing new on Field Day 2009. The Hamfest Committee will meet after this meeting; get with Jay KCØCNB. Tour de Cure Volunteer meeting on Oct 7th at 6:00 PM at the Shewmaker Center. Next Meeting Oct 14th will be at the EOC to learn how to use the radios. It was mentioned the Northwest Health Hospital wants a new radio. Need volunteers to help
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teach the tech and general class. Jay has the teacher manual. Andy WØZUX gave us a course on filling a ARRL NTS message form. Meeting adjourned. Faulkner Co ARC News- Repeaters. George Carrol reports that the 147.03 repeater is up and working, but not linked. It gets too hot. A GE (Master II?) repeater is coming from Joe Givens down in Bearden, Arkansas, to the FCARC and will be converted. Once it is converted we can link it to the CAUHF groups. The 146.97 repeater has problems linking to the 146.94 machine. George is trying to find out what is happening. Apparently their remote base is getting into our 443.800WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO machine. There is some mixing of some sort going on in the system. This has now been fixed, the CAREN club has taken down the faulty transmitter. Glen King reports that the 145.21 repeater is down, but he hopes to get it back up and operational. Glen will write a new program for the machine to unlink the problems encountered with the 146.94 machine signal. Old Equipment Items stored in Glen King's garage. Several weeks ago members came by and separated out equipment that was of no use to the club or could not be sold. On the last Saturday Glen went through the equipment again to be sure that none of it was of use. As of now, all the old equipment on Jim Grinder's trailer can be taken to the County Fair Grounds on Wednesday morning to be turned in. He needs assistance in the morning to load the trailer (with a heavy tongue weight) and to unload at the Fair Grounds. All the steel, copper and aluminum will be welcomed by the recycling. Faulkner County Fair Parade September 16, 2008 Glen King reports that the parade route this year will revert to the one used in years past. All the intersections along the parade route need to be covered. Meet at the Central Fire Station atWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO 2:00 pm. Bring your HT -- will be operating simplex. Also bring your own high visibility orange vest if you have one; if not Glen will have several for participants. Glen will be on Caldwell St. at the start of the parade tagging floats and participants. The FCARC blue gazebo tent and club banner will be on display at a central location on the route. If you cannot get away from work until 5:00 pm, then come at that time-- watch out for any incidents that might need assistance. The parade will last about 1 ½ hrs. In past years a child was run over by a float while trying to get the candy thrown from the float. Another year a lady gave birth at Massey Hardware, and recently a woman went into labor. We have also had heart attacks. When 30,000 people are in town there may be incidents that require supplemental communications and a FCARC member may be the only one with a radio. The parade theme this year is "Get smart, get green." Weather is expected to be partly cloudy and 74 degrees. Big Dam Bridge 100 Bike Tour: Frankie Parks reports that the 100 mile and 75 mile routes will be slightly different than in the past. The 75 mile route will go into Conway on Hwy 365 and out on Military Road. The 100 mile route will split off at Mayflower and go to Fortsen Road, then on the Hwy 107 for a short distance and then back to Hwy 286 into Conway and then around the town on Military Road. In other words, the route of the ride will involve many miles on different roads in Faulkner County -- that is why we need FCARC members to set up stationary locations and help out. It also is a good opportunity for publicity for the FCARC. FSAARC News- Meeting September 15th, 2008 was called to order by Jimmie Lowrey, W5JNL. Chuck Johnson, N5JUD, made a motion to accept the minutes as published second by David Overton, K5DFO. Motion passed. Activities: Potluck picnic and Oct. club meeting will be held at Columbus Acres 1:00pm October 19, 2008. The Club will provide Hamburgers, Hotdogs, and Buns. Nominations from the Floor will be accepted during the meeting for next year’s officers. The Board of Directors will have one (1) person nominated for each office. Voting will take place at the November meeting. Repeater: Wayne Johnson, W5OFN, reported someone is checking to see if it is possible to repair the 440 repeater and will report back as soon as they find out something. John Samuels, W5ATW, reported that Jerry Tucker volunteered to be the lead climber for the antenna project. He will be assisted by the Casey and Stacey Johnson. It will be a 2 day project, one day to repair the guy wire and remove the Fiberglass antenna. Strip off the old feed line and remove any additional items that are not being used. Another day to put up the new antennas and new feed line. John reported he talked to Mark Cornell, owner of Central Communications in Poteau and the db224E has increased in price by $65. Mark suggested we need 10 sets of clamps that cost $35.00 each, but John Samuels has come up with enough that he has purchased over time to do the job. We also need three (3) Large Brackets, which Mark will furnish. Mark also stated we need two (2) grounding kits at $17.00 each. We need about 300 feet of rope, which Mark said he had and the Club could borrow. Freight for the antenna will be an
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additional $367.00 unless someone wants to go pick it up. David Overton made a motion to go forward with the purchase, second by Wayne Johnson. Motion passed. Jimmie Lowrey volunteered to drive to Dallas and pick up the antenna if it will fit on his trailer. The Club will reimburse him for gas and lunch. John Samuels will place the order on Sept 16th, 2008 and they should be here prior to the picnic. Octoberfest is October 10th and 11th. Jim Melvin reported that Saturday the 11th is media day with a chili cook off. Wednesday the 8th is for anyone wanting to help with the parking to come out and look things over. WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Louisiana
Louisiana Section Summary September 2008 Gary Stratton K5GLS SM Upcoming Hamfests (See LA Section Page on ARRL.org for more detail): January 17, 2009 Southeast Louisiana ARC (SELARC), University Center, 800 W University Ave, Hammond, LA. April 25, 2009 LOUISIANA STATE CONVENTION Twin City Ham Club, Barak Shrine Temple, 6620 Frontage Road, Monroe, LA. Section Traffic Reports Please also note that WC5M has made the PSHR honor roll for 12 consecutive months with his September 2008 submission. Call PSHR # TFC # WC5M 313 80 W5PY 219 39 N5NVP 180 73 WD5TL 161 60 N5MEL 140 K5MC 98 38 AE5V 59 KB5SDU 50 NET SESS QNI QTC QTR La. Tfc. Net 29 530 20 297 La. CW Net 62 330 57 480 La. Slow Net 8 34 9 72 DRN5: 5TH REGIONWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO NET REPORT DRN5 CYC 1 AND CYC 2 For SEPTEMBER 2K8 60 Sessions, 679 messages listed, 679 cleared for an efficiency rating 100% Section ARES Statistics: ARES Members 451, Drills/Training 18 MH 132, Public Service Events 1 MH 8, Emergency Operations 27 MH 2786, Total Operations 46 MH 2926. ARES Net Sessions 55 Checkins 503. EC Reports Received: Acadia/N5NVP, Allen/W5ELM, Calcasieu/WA5OZA, Cameron/AF5AA, Franklin/N5ASA, Jefferson/KD5EWD, Morehouse/KB5SAR, Orleans/NO5FD, Plaquemines/AE5RN, Rapides/KD5DFL, Richland/N5MEL, St. Bernard/AE5RN, St. Charles/K5CFJ, St. Helina/AI5B, St. James/KE5JZM, St. Mary/KA5LMZ, Terrebonne/AD5XJ, Vermillion/KE5JXC, Vernon/WB5LHD, Washington/AI5B. Other Reports Received: Virginia Bryant PIO New FEMA IS-802 ESF#2 Training Available: Many of you may already be aware of this course, or have taken it. Nevertheless, here is information on a relatively new FEMA online independent study course that presents the concepts of Emergency Support Function #2-Communications. For those that have heard my presentations around the country, I strongly encourage integrating ARES in the local, county, regional or state government emergency operations plan. This presents us a variety of mission options, not beholding to any one specific group, and we become more aligned with the emergency management structure. The course will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. Link to training: http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS802.asp Other News: SELARC - This year's anniversary edition of the annual bike tour was an outstanding success! Not even hurricanes Gustav and Ike could dampen the celebration, as over 1,000 cyclists pedaled the 150 miles of the two-day roundtrip from Hammond, Louisiana to Percy Quin State Park near McComb, Mississippi, to benefit research and therapies for those afflicted with Multiple Sclerosis. Members of the Southeast Louisiana Amateur Radio Club (SELARC) were joined by members of the Southwest Mississippi Amateur Radio Club (SMARC) to provide communications with the rest stops and medical, command and supply vehicles along the route. The cyclists and their family members and the tour staff were appreciative of the communications assistance provided by the ham radio "experts" to ensure the safety and well-being of the tour participants. The twenty-one hams who provided this public service and demonstration of amateur radio were: James Buras KE5KAS, John Conn KI5MW, Patti Faurie KE5NG, Nathan Gifford N5BFC, Scott Hernandez KD5PCK, Steve Holmes KD5WYM, Larry Jacobson KD5LWJ, John Leblanc KE5JZM, Jason Liuzza KC5WDH, Peter Liuzza WB5ERM, Fred Mayer KE5OFZ, Robert Priez WB5FBS, Steve Raacke KC5SAS, Susie Rachinskas KE5KMP, Carol Redmond KE5GOC, James Redmond K5QNT, John Schilleci W5KCH, Ralph Shaw K5CAV, Bruce Simmons KA5LLJ, George Swan AE5FK, and Jeffery Winbourne N5ZNT. Silent Keys: I am sorry to report that Gene Wages KD5MDQ and Louis Erath W5BM are silent keys.
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Great Lakes Division
Michigan
Greetings Michigan Amateurs: Michigan held its ARRL 2008 State Convention. And it was a successful get-together. The combined efforts of the Kalamazoo Amateur Radio Club and the Southwest Amateur Radio Team hostedWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO the Semi-annual convention. In addition to the annual Kalamazoo Hamfest, the convention included several forums including Contesting, Getting Started with CW, ARES/RACES and NTS, QMN and MiTN Nets, Packet Radio, and an ARRL Forum. These were followed by a luncheon banquet and an excellent talk by Dan Henderson N1ND from ARRL Headquarters. Dan's discussion included a few humorous pokes at ourselves while showing a serious need to look at how we prepare for the future of our amateur radio hobby. The Convention ended with an induction ceremony for the Royal Order of the Wouff Hong. Our next Michigan Convention will be planned for 2010. Clubs interested in hosting may contact the Section Manager for details. New Club Officers Elected. The Marinette and Menomineee ARC has elected new officers for 2009, they are: Pres K8IR; VP: AA9GZ; Treas: WC9E; Sec: KD8ESH; and Quartermaster: KG8CX. The following are the new Blossomland ARA board members: Pres: N8KBG; 1st VP KD8ZB; 2nd VP KF8Z; 3rd VP: K9RON; Sec: KC8TSE; Treas: KB8VIM; Trustee: W8JBA; and PIO: N8MS. Our congratulations to these new club leaders. We MichigandersWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO are enjoying the peak of the fall colors right now, but it is a reminder to catch up on all of the undone outdoor antenna work before the really cold weather settles in. How well we all know that those antennas that went up temporarily in the dead of winter seem to perform the best, getting frostbite from hanging on the tower in January is a heavy toll for that effort. Perhaps we all should check our antennas out now so we may enjoy all the more operating time (as we hope for sunspots to really begin to stick around for more than two days). Youth News. Jim KS8O reports that K8DAR, the club station of the Menominee DAR Radio club will be active in the School Club Roundup on October 20 to 24. They'll be looking for contacts all week. K8DAR is an active station and the youngsters from the DAR Radio Club and the YACHT (Young Amateur Contest Ham Team) team will be actively working other school clubs. Immediate plans also include operating the forthcoming CQ WWDX Sideband Contest. Check out their web site at http://www.wd8dx.com/YACHT.html ASM for Youth Simon KC8ZYD reports progress on the development of a Youth Web Site for Michigan. Look for the announcement to appear soon. (How is that for some pressure Simon?) October brings Halloween and Amateur Radio's annual opportunity for community service in the form of "Spook Patrol". Clubs and ARES/RACES organizations have assisted for many years in insuring the security of children as they go out for their Trick-or-Treat activities. Our additional eyes and ears can help protect our children through routine patrolling of neighborhoods with a cautious watch for unsafe conditions. Clearly marking our vehicles will likewise demonstrate to our communities that amateur radio is present and available to lend a hand. It is not too late to set up a similar program in your area if you have not already signed up to participate. Remember, we are there to watch and assist by calling for professional emergency help if it is needed. We should not promote ourselves as emergency service providers – leave that to the pros. Never oversell the program. That point is important in convincing local officials that ham radio can help keep the community safe. I often harp on the need for good public relations. Having an Official Public Information Officer (PIO) in your organization is important for doing this successfully. Our PIOs receive a rather extensive packet of materials for guidance and training. This included media contact information, examples of how to prepare a press release and tips on how to get the best results. Let's all make the best of our activities, promote ham radio and show the nation what we are doing. EVERY club and ARES/RACES groups should have a PIO. Someone in you group may already be doing this without an official appointment aor the assistance the ARRL material can provide. Contact Jerry KD8AYL for information: [email protected] Station Activity Reports (SARs) for September, 2008: WB9JSR 891, AC8AR 387, K8LJG 214, K8KV 186, K8AE 133, KC8MLD 128, KD8AAD 112, AB8SY 111, K8AMR 80, KD8FNN 78, W8RNQ 46, WB8RCR 32, WD8USA 24, AB8WF 21, KD8HPF 16, KC8NTE 11, N8UN 10, AC8AL 9, KC8BMV 6, KC8ZBG 6, WA8OOH 5. Public Service Honor Roll
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Reports (PSHRs) for September, 2008: WB8RCR 575, KC8NTE 404, AC8AR 180, K8MFK 162, WD8USA 150, K8AMR 121, WB9JSR 110, KD8FNN 106, K8AE 104, AC8AL 101, AB8SY 80, K8KV 80, K8VFZ 75, KD8HPF 33. September OES reports arrived from K8COP and KC8NTE. Michigan nets reporting for September (in order of traffic count): TMMTN, QMN, MiTN, MVTN MACS, GLETN, WSSBN, SEMTN, NLEUP, Motor City, NMARES, Hiawatha, Kent County ARPSC, Kent County Red Cross, MiARPSC. Michigan ARES/RACES programs reported 7012 operator-hours for September, an WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROin-kind contribution of $126,987 to the citizens of our state. The NTS team contributed 1693 Operator-hours for a $30,660 in-kind contribution to our citizens. All nets are encouraged to report and this especially includes your local ARES and RACES nets. Here is the way to way everyone know your net is alive and active. To include your net’s monthly activities, contact [email protected]. Complete monthly net report details are at http://www.mi-nts.org/netreport.php. PSHRs and SARs should be filed monthly with WB8RCR. You can access a simple reporting form at: http://www.mi-nts.org/PSHR_entry.shtml to provide your reports to WB8RCR. In all cases, reporting by radiogram is encouraged – let's keep the NTS busy. Packet messages can be routed to [email protected] and [email protected] . 73 until next month. Dale WA8EFK
Hudson Division
NorthernWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO New Jersey
SM-Rich Krohn N2SMV, STM-WB2FTX, ACC-N3RB, SEC-KC2GLG, OOC-K2ZD, PIC- ? , TC- NR2H NNJ Webpage: www.hudson.arrl.org/nnj/ Richard's SM Blog - http://arrl-nnj-sm.blogspot.com/ MONTHLY ARES NET: Second Monday of each month (8PM) on the Morris County OEM Repeater: WS2Q 146.895 MHz (PL 151.4) minus 600Hz. ------August and September 2008 My apologies for not posting a August report - I went on vacation and forgot to do it before I left. So the Traffic reports for both August and September are included below. ------Hurricane Hanna As Hurricane Hanna started up the east coast it was downgraded to a tropical storm and stayed off the coast of New Jersey - so even though SEC George KC2GLG was ready with the ARES teams it turned out to be a rain event for us I received reports of around 3 to 5 inches of rain, and damage was mostly flooding and light. Hurricane Ike Early on it was thought Hurricane Ike might come up the east coast. However it went into the gulf and did not effect us in New Jersey. We do wish the best, for the folks hit hard in Texas ------SET to be on Oct 4th weekend Many of the NNJ counties will be participating in the SET on Oct 4th This year with the SNJ and the State RACES people. Results to follow in the October Summary Any NNJ county that sends me their official SET report will be mentioned in October Summary with their point totals - so make sure I get it ! ------NNJ Folks - if you think there is news worthy of being archived for NNJ section - PLEASE ! send it to me to include in the SM Summaries for each month. I can't remember it all ! [email protected] ------Eastern Area NTS Digital Report AUGUST 2008 Station Received Forwarded TOTAL Function KW1U 118 220 338 1RN MBO N1JX 32 6 38 NJ DRS W1GMF 1449 1449 2898 1RN DRS NM1K 101 103 204 1RN DRS N2LTC 566 565 1131 2RN MBO N2GS 31 10 41 NJ DRS WB2FTX 210 212 422 2RN MBO EADC N3SW 50 32 82 3RN DRS KA4FZI 48 48 FL DRS WA4ZXV 54 54 108 4RN MBO WX4J 588 681 1269 4RN MBO W8UL 429 429 858 8RN MBO VA3PM 101 101 202 ECN DRS VE3GT 11 1 12 ECN DRS TOTAL 7651 Northern New Jersey Section Traffic Manager Report August 2008 SAR PSHR Station OriginatedReceived Sent Delivered TOTAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 TOTAL W2CC 0 22 0 0 22 40 22 30 92 N3RB 8 10 24 16 58 40 40 20 20 120 N1JX 0 87 133 10 230 40 40 20 10 110 KC2ANN 0 7 13 6 26 40 26 20 86 WB2KNS 0 1 6 0 7 40 7 20 40 107 N2GJ 0 25 20 8 53 40 40 30 5 10 125 NETS Manager Sessions QNI QTC QSP Time Stations Liaison NJM N2GJ 15 89 18 18 161 14 2RN NJPN W2CC 36 216 41 38 237 26 2RN NJSN K2PB 31 167 14 14 462 17 2RN NJN/E AG2R 31 174 36 33 339 15 2RN NJN/L AG2R 31 154 34 31 284 12 2RN NJVN/E
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N2RPI 31 329 105 97 414 37 Packet,NJN,CJTN NJVN/L N2OPJ 31 337 22 22 175 41 2RN,NJVN/E,CJTN CJTN KB2VRO 31 226 39 37 217 30 NJSN, 2 meter, packet UCTN KY2MMM 31 386 35 31 416 NJVN/E,NJPN, CJTN,BAVHF Eastern Area NTS Digital Report September 2008 Station Received Forwarded TOTAL Function KW1U 272 327 599 1RN MBO N1JX 15 29 44 NJ DRS W1GMF 1214 1214 2428 1RN DRS N1UMJ 78 225 303 1RN DRS NM1K 33 232 265 1RN DRS N2LTC 670 669 1339 2RN MBO N2GS 20 10 30 NJ DRS WB2FTX 172 167 339 2RN MBO EADC N3SW 68 54 122 3RNWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO DRS KA4FZI 83 0 83 FL DRS WA4ZXV 69 72 141 4RN MBO WX4J 223 230 453 4RN MBO KC8FWD 2 0 2 8RN DRS W8UL 386 386 772 8RN MBO VA3PM 58 56 114 ECN DRS VE3GT 7 29 36 ECN DRS TOTAL 7070 Northern New Jersey Section Traffic Manager Report September 2008 SAR PSHR Station Originated Received Sent Delivered TOTAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 TOTAL N2GS 0 31 27 12 70 40 40 20 38 138 WB2KNS 0 9 16 9 34 40 25 20 50 135 KC2ANN 0 6 12 3 21 40 21 20 81 WB2FTX 48 22 19 0 89 40 40 30 20 20 150 W2CC 0 18 0 0 18 40 18 30 88 N1JX 1 139 189 2 331 40 40 10 10 100 N2GJ 0 25 20 9 54 40 40 30 10 5 10 135 N3RB 7 9 21 13 50 40 40 20 20 120 NETS Manager Sessions QNI QTC QSP Time Stations Liaison NJM N2GJ 13 75 20 13 129 13 2RN NJPN W2CC 34 217 33 29 222 24 2RN NJSN K2PB 30 203 14 14 466 18 2RN NJN/E AG2R 30 167 27 26 298 15 2RN NJN/L AG2R 30 147 33 33 281 8 2RN NJVN/E N2RPI 30 374 68 65 406 32 Packet,NJN,CJTN NJVN/L N2OPJ 30 328 24 24 161 35 2RN,NJVN/E,CJTN CJTN KB2VRO 30 238 38 37 228 39 NJSN, 2 meter, packet UCTN KY2MMM 30 425 49 41 457 NJVN/E,NJPN, CJTN,BAVHFWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO
Midwest Division
Kansas
KANSAS IS GREAT IN 2008 ! Kansas Section News Summary- September 2008 Silent Keys: KØTBU- Francis "Eileen" Goddard, Dodge City WØXM- Mike Eyman, Bush City/Ottawa ______September was the month for Multiple Sclerosis bike rides. Wichita, Topeka and Kansas City all utilized hams to make the events safe for the participants. HARC Officers for 2008-2009 are: WAØKDC- Charles, President; WAØSRR- George, VP; KCØCCR-Randall, Secretary/Treasurer Mine Creek Winterfest will be on Valentines Day in 2009 Kansas Slow Speed Net is in session. Mondays at 7:32 PM on 3.547 MHz. Look for QKS SS. Johnson County RAC’s annual auction will be October 25-26 at Marshall Ensor Museum and farmsite south of Olathe at 183rd and US 169. With the season and time change coming soon please be prepared for the Weather and Sideband nets to move up. ______Newsletters received: Feed Back, Grounded Grid, QNU H.A.R.C. , QRZ, QSP, ______August . Sessions/QNI/QTC/Mgr: KSBN/ 31/892/ 44 N0KFS KPN/23 / 261 / 15 / N0KFS KMWN/31/ 702 / 595/WB0YWZ KWN/31/ 832 / 560/ WB0YWZ CSTN 26/1747 /49 N0BFB QKS/ 41 /111/45 /NB0Z Traffic: NB0Z 92 KB0DTI 40 W0OYH 30 N0ZIZ 10 ______Misc. Reports: WN8P - Technical Specialist See KSN on ARRL and more Kansas news: http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=KS
Missouri
OCTOBER 2008 MISSOURI SECTION NEWS DALE BAGLEY, KØKY MO SM The State Emergency Management Agency conducted a Crisis Communications Conference October 8-10, 2008 at the Sheraton Kansas City Sports Complex, Kansas City, Missouri. This year’s conference will focus on Interoperability Communication Issues and communications difficulties that occur during an emergency. Dennis Gedeon, KBØNHW, MO Section Emergency Coordinator presented an excellent program emphasizing Amateur Radio as a Disaster Resource / MEPN. The number of Amateur Radio operators that participated in the conference was outstanding. I enjoyed the opportunity to meet many of the
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ARES leadership from throughout the Missouri Section. Mike Bellinger, KØUAA, the DEC from District A, Dean Bickford, KØPHI, from District D, attended the Conference as well EC’s from all over Missouri. If you have the opportunity to attend future SEMA Crisis Communication Conferences, you will find that your time was well invested. This year Paul Hogue, the Exercise/Traning officer for the Central USA Earthquake Consortium, presented an informative program about communications problems during an earthquake. Jim Lundsted, the State of Missouri Interoperability Officer, updated the conference about theWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO State Interoperability program. Jim Kramper, the Warning Coordination Meteorologist of the NWS, gave a program on the state of Weather Communications in 2008. In addition there were three additional presentations of interest. OCTOBER 2008 HAMFESTS The South- Side Amateur Radio Club Octoberfest 2008 will be held October 18th at the Grandview Middle School 12650 Manchester Ave in Grandview, MO. For more information cantact Donna Quick, KB0YJN P.O. Box 1670 Lee's Summit, MO 64063 or by phone: 816-537-7464 or Email: [email protected] . You can also check out the SSARC website at http://southsidearc.org Talk-In: 147.120+ The Saint Louis ARC will host their Halloween Hamfest October 25th at the Kirkwood Community Center at 111 South Geyer Road. For more information you can contact Bob Sluder, NØIS, 47 Will Drive Fenton, MO 63026 and by phone 636-349-6584 or Email: [email protected] . The website is http://www.halloweenhamfest.org Talk-In: 147.150/147.750 (PL 141.3) AFFILIATED CLUB NEWS KEITH HAYE, WEØG, ACC The Bootheel ARC newsletter QRM reports that on Sept. 6, 2008 at 8:00 a.m. HamsWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO from Ky, TN, and MO geathered for breakfast at the Apple Barrel Restarurant in Hayti, MO for the first in what is hoped to be an ongoing organization of emergency personnel in the New Madrid fault area. Eighteen people representing ARES, NTS, MARS, Red Cross, Baptist Associations Disaster teams, and McCraken Co KY EOC were present. Larry Wilson the MO Section Traffic Net Manager (SSB version) and a reporter from the Dyersburg State Gazette. Those want to get on the Yahoo group need to go to yahoo.com and click on groups and enter “new_madrid_fault_zone_ecomm” At the September meeting of the Mississippi Valley DX and Contest Club, Eric Zust, WØTT gave an excellent presentation on the IARU contest operation at Sam Effinger’s (K9SD) QTH. The operation utilized call W1AW/9. Both CW and SSB operation was utilized. Eric discussed the operators, the operating schedules, the station equipment and the antennas. The 40 meter beam at 50 feet was used mostly for North American contacts while the 40 meter beam at 135 feet was used for DX. The operators worked one hour shifts. The hour by hour recap of station operation was reviewed (both CW and SSB). The CW operation hit 120 QSO’s per hour at times. The Callaway Amateur Radio League set-up and operated from the WAL-MART parking lot as part of the Kick off for the United Way drive on Friday October 3rd. The program at the Fulton Library was well received and many good contacts were made. The station utilized a 20 meter hamstick on top of Bill Platt’s, WBØMAF, van and produced several nice DX contacts. One of the highlights was getting their PSK 31 station to operate in an outdoor environment. Kent Trimble, K9ZTV, the President of the Mid-MO ARC wrote an outstanding article that was published on the ARRL website concerning the contributions of a Jefferson City, MO youth to the development of wireless communication. Willis Corwin is Jefferson City's first-known amateur wireless operator. His call sign, 9ABD, was one of the earliest assigned by the federal government and appears prominently in radio journals of that era. To read the rest of the story use the link provided. http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2008/09/24/10349/?nc=1 The Lake of the Ozarks ARC is going to have their October Emergency exercise on the 18th of October starting at 9:00 AM. at the Sheriff’s firing range off “A” Road. This exercise would not normally require the activation of the EOC but they are using this exercise to test their capabilities from a remote area. Larry Gregory, KCØRKY, stressed that in addition to being a training exercise, it is also a PR event to let organizations and elected officials know what all the emergency and volunteer organizations can do and how they work together. There will be various fire, EMS along with CERT, ARES and Lake regional Hospital participating. SECTION ARES REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 2008 DENNIS GEDEON KBØNHW SEC Total # of ARES members: 428 Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 36 Man hours: 199 Number of public service events this month: 5 Man hours: 43 Number of emergency operations this month: 0 Man hours: 0 Total number of ARES operations this month: 59 Total Man hours: 479 Comments: 5 of 9
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districts reporting SECTION TRAFFIC REPORTS SEPTEMBER 2008 DALE HUFFINGTON, AEØS, MON-CW Sessions 50 QNI 89 QTC 20 NM K9ZTV MO Phone Sessions 30 QNI 1222 QTC 111 NM KØRWL MESN Sessions 4 QNI 204 QTC 4 NM AEØS Callaway CARL Sessions 3 QNI 145 QTC 0 NM WBØHKN Boone Co Sessions 4 QNI 69 QTC 2 NM WMØH Henry Co Sessions 4 QNI 54 QTC 0 NM KCØFLP Howell HCARC Sessions 4 QNI 14 QTC 0 NM KØRWL Jackson Co ARES Sessions 5 QNI 62 QTC 0 NM KØUAA CSRC Wellsville Sessions 3 QNI 12 QTC 0 NM KCØYNE Macon Co Sessions 4 QNI 47WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO QTC 0 NM KØKY Rolla RRARS Sessions 30 QNI 313 QTC 16 NM KB9ZBO St Louis CO ARC Sessions 11 QNI 113 QTC 22 NM KBØH Sullivan ARC Sessions 10 QNI 140 QTC 4 NM KBØROX Taney Co TLARC Sessions 1 QNI 6 QTC 496 NM KBØOFD 10th Reg Sessions 60 QNI QTC 141 MO 95% with,W7FB, NDØN, KCØM, NDØN, K9ZTV, WØSJS NM WØSS
New England Division
Connecticut
Section Leadership: K1EIC SM; ASMs: K1STM, KD1YV, W1FXQ; OOC K1DFS; PIC KA1TCH; SEC N1FNE; SGL K1MK; STM K1HEJ; TC N1KHB. Brian Fernandez, K1BRF has resigned his position as SEC. Brian has done a tremendous job with ARES during his tenure--he's increased membership,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO created a team of DECs who really work together, lead the Section through two SET exercises that were very successful and respected by many and just generally did a real pro job. I did enjoy working with him. Thank you Brian for your incredible dedication and service, your leadership and genuine help to me. Rod Lane, N1FNE has agreed to take over as SEC until the end of the year or sooner if we recruit another. Rod is interested in helping out temporarily. I want to thank Rod for his willingness to help out at this time. Rod's contact info: [email protected]; home 860-621-9967; daytime: 860-766-2281. If you are interested in the position of SEC or you are thinking of someone whom you feel would bea a good candidate, please write me and Rod. There will be a small committee established to carry out the interviewing of candidates whom the SM is considering for this important cabinet position. I had a family commitment during SET but wasn’t away from it at all. My work was done from a distance on packet. At the Hamfest, I had the chance to chat with many of you about SET and there were lots of very positive comments. Of course, the ARES team is putting together their list of things to do but generally, people had a good experience. My sincere thanks to the entire committee chaired by Brian, K1BRF. Thanks to all of you who promptly got your reports in—Mike K1DM is compiling the data for Headquarters and the Section leadership. The Nutmeg State Hamfest was fun, wasn’t it? Attendance was about the same. It was a little less but the decrease was negligible. The ARRL Forum included participants from surrounding Sections. Of course, SET was a big topic of discussion. Your SM at one point asked Rod, N1FNE to come up and read a plaque which she plans to present to W1JMA when John is available. So Rod came up but there was something in his hand. No one could quite figure out why he would be coming up with yet another plaque—some thought that perhaps there was an error on the plaque I wanted him to read. My jaw dropped and I was speechless when I was presented with a plaque from the ARES community signed by Brian, K1BRF and everyone enjoyed watching me be surprised (and I suspect quiet) for once! After all, I didn’t realize Rod had anything in his hand! It sure was lots of fun-- Thanks gang! Director Tom Frenaye K1KI presented the Technical Merit Award to Ed Hare, W1RFI for his tireless work on all the problems associated with BPL and in recognition for so much work Ed does on his own time on behalf of Amateur radio. See news story at http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/08/12/10258/. I can tell you firsthand that Ed was right there to help when BPL came to Shelton, my home town. Congratulations and thanks for all you do. Ed was a speaker at our State Convention! Do you want a great speaker for your club? Paul K1SEZ gave a fantastic presentation at the Meriden ARC of D X Lab Suites, http://www.dxlabsuite.com software that will literally run your station created by Dave Bernstein, AA6YQ, the winner of this year’s Technical Innovation Award. Paul is willing to come to your club so contact him if interested at [email protected]. I’m told his slide show is wonderful! The Bristol Radio Club provided communications for the annual
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Bristol Mum Festival Parade. The Club has had a proud history of providing this important public service and enjoys it. Their October speaker was Rich, WB1J, who presented a photographic journey around the world. NARL is getting ready for some indoor winter activities. Jonathan, KB1KIX is organizing a build-a-thon in a couple of weeks in which members will build APRS trackers. More related activities are scheduled for winter. Attention DXers! Don’t forget that the Ct DX Association meets the first Wednesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. at ARRL Hq. They do not meet during the months of June, July or August.WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Why not attend and see what’s going on! Congrats to Tyrique Harts, N1TJH, grandson of Penny N1NAG—the famous voice on the phone at Hq, on receiving his ARRL First Contact Award. It was presented by Al N1JWF at a recent NARL meeting who was his first contact! Congrats also to EC Frank KB1IFX who completed levels II and III of the ARRL emcomm courses.
Rhode Island
Greetings fellow Rhode Islanders: The Statewide Sheltering & Communications Exercise was named “Operation Enterprise”. It simulated a Category 3 hurricane making landfall in Rhode Island. It was a functional exercise designed to test Shelters, EOC’s and the communications between them across the state. Each system deliberately received a primary failure as part of the FEMA/DHS designed exercise plan to objectively test back-up plans. For Amateur radio, we took down the primary ARES repeater about fourWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO hours into the exercise. While several communications were used, the three primary things tested were: RISCON – 800MHz trunked radio system WebEOC – Internet based situational awareness and reporting tool Amateur Radio – with the ShelterCom Plan Amateur radio was able to demonstrate its ability in live action and reliability and shined in many communities on the local level. Many new towns are now interested in forming ham radio teams. Many government leaders were thorough impressed with ham radio’s adaptability and functioning. Ham radio was the only tool used with a formalized information flow and communications plan. The ShelterCom plan, in those communities that used it, worked extraordinarily well for the local EMA’s. Hams not only were able to improvise, adapt, and show our capability … we were the first ARES program (possibly in the entire US) to design and implement a formal communications plan using ham radio on the state level for a specific primary function (shelter communications) for emergency management. In other words, we weren’t just a back up system … we have a specific function and role, and performed beyond the expectations of most Local EMA’s where ham radio was used. If there’s a time to start engaging local leaders with amateur radio, that time is now. The RIAFMRS Auction and Flea Market took place on September 20th. Weather was near perfect, attendance was up and sales were brisk. According to Rick, K1KYI, this was THE most successful ‘76 Auction of all time. Thanks to all who came and made a purchase, especially of donated items where the group retains all the profits. The ARRL section leadership team donated well over $300 worth of new ARRL publications for sale at the Auction. The kitchen sold out of all that they brought except for coffee and there were twice as many flea marketeers as last year. By any measure, it was a very good year. Thanks to all who came and left money behind. After the auction ended, the Board of Directors met and elected a new slate of officers since Dick, W1HQV retired his position of President due to work commitments for FEMA, WNRI, etc. The new officers of the Corporation which run the repeaters are: Rick, K1KYI, President and Secretary; Peter, AA1PL, Vice President; and Steve, WA1POX, Treasurer. Also added to the RIAFMRS Board are two new members who have contributed a very great many hours of service and equipment, Dave Neal W2DAN and Steve Hodell KA1RCI. Please check out the organization’s website at www.qsl.net/riafmrs/ for more information about the group. At its June 2008 meeting, the IARU Administrative Council, noting that "poor operating behavior adversely affects the enjoyment of all radio amateurs and does not enhance the reputation of the Amateur Radio Services", resolved "that all radio Amateurs be encouraged to operate to the highest levels of proficiency with proper consideration for others using the Amateur radio bands" and that "the necessary effort be made by member-societies to teach newcomers and others correct operating behavior". I must also comment on this issue. Large numbers of new hams have joined our ranks and are active on the HF bands since mid 2007 following the FCC’s action in dropped the code requirement
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portion of license exams. Experienced hams have noted quite a mixture of poor operating habits amongst these new hams, possibly from techniques they learned in prior radio services that they used before becoming hams. In order to reverse this trend, I strongly recommended that all Amateurs download the free 67 page booklet, “Ethics and Operating Procedures for the Radio Amateur” at http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc/Eth-operating-ENarrl-SITE-1jul2008.pdf and read it. The booklet contains loads of well written information that will make us all better operators, whether old timer or newbie. The bookletWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO was written by John Devoldere, ON4UN, and Mark Demeuleneere, ON4WW. ARRL CEO, Dave Sumner K1ZZ stated "the authors are well known, experienced HF operators who are concerned about on-the-air operating standards and who decided that 'It's better to light a candle than curse the darkness.' Anyone who reads their booklet will learn something, no matter how experienced they may be." If any RI Amateur cannot open this file, please contact me and I’ll see that you get one, either electronically or a paper copy. This is required reading. The 51st World Scout Jamboree (JOTA) will take place on the weekend of October 18 and 19, 2008. Details of this event including frequencies of operation and special calls on the air may be found at http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/10/13/10384/?nc=1 . Local Scouting leaders KA1FUP, W1VH, N1IHE and possibly W1ZAP will take part along with lots of Scouts at Camp Aquapaug on Ministerial Road, West Kingston. Visitors to the event are welcome on Saturday, the 18th between 10 AM and 3 PM. The group has been trying to obtain a special call for the event but as of my deadline to release this report, theyWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO hadn’t received it. If they aren’t successful, they will use one of their own calls. Check the frequencies listed in the article highlighted above and try to give the RI JOTA station a contact. While on the air, you’ll likely work several other JOTA encampments. It is likely that many non-ham Scouts will be observing, so when you work them please be sure to speak directly to them and encourage them to get their licenses and operate the station at next year’s JOTA event. I e mailed the latest list of all living RI DXers who are members or have qualified to be members of the DX Century Club (confirmed 100 or more entities) to all ARRL members who have indicated on the ARRL member’s preference page http://www.arrl.org/members-only/memdata.html that they wish to receive e mail from the Section Manager or NE Director. We have about 90 on this list but four of the DXers named became Silent Keys this year and will be removed for the next issue which I plan to release in the first quarter of 2009. If you didn’t receive a copy of the list, please let me know and I shall send you a copy immediately. The list shows that eight DXers have attained the DXCC Honor Roll which is quite an achievement. Congratulations! If anyone reading this has 100 or more DX entities confirmed on any band or mode and your call is not included on my list, please notify me ASAP. I want to include you. Many clubs are holding elections of new officers this and next month. Please demonstrate your support and offer to run for an office in your club. You really can make a difference. Clubs always need fresh ideas and new energy. Good luck to you all. 73 to all, Bob Beaudet, W1YRC
Northwestern Division
Idaho
NET REPORTS - W7GHT Idaho Traffic NET SESS QNI QTC MGR FARM 30 2637 20 N7WH NWTN 30 771 85 KE7Y IDACD 22 293 7 WA7RQI IMN 30 21 57 OPEN STATION TRAFFIC REPORTS STATION ORIG RCV SENT DEL TOTAL W7GHT – 38 72 6 116 N7BEC - 18 18 1 27 W7EKB 3 6 20 4 33 PSHR STATION 1 2 3 4 5 6 TOTAL W7EKB 25 30 30 - - 30 125 N7BEC 37 40 20 25 - - 122 W7GHT 40 40 20 - - - 100
Montana
Well, looks like Summer is done here in the High Country. With snow forcast for the upcoming weekend, we'll have some challenging conditions to deal with while traveling to and from the Bozeman
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Hamfest on the 11th. Predictions are for a great attendance at the Hamfest, with tables being requested and filling up quickly. The event has been growing in the past few years and the Bozeman club has put a tremendous amount of work into it. Lots of used gear and parts, equipment and antennas. Hope to see you there. We've just finished installation of 2m and 6m sideband antennas here at this station. Hope to find some activity on those bands. With the Sun being a bit asleep of late, we havent seen much propagation on the higher freqs this Summer. Time to look at the survival gear in your vehicle. Weather changes come suddenlyWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO here in Montana and it pays to be prepared for an extended stay in your outfit. To get out and walk unprepared is to risk your life during a storm. Every year, we hear of someone who started out walking and died before they were far from their vehicle. Carry some extra clothes, blankets and most important, water. A couple flashlights, and a shovel to clear your tail pipe. If you become stuck, dig in and keep yourself warm, run the engine enough to warm the passenger area and wait it out. If you require oral medications, a couple days supply in a Tupperware container might be a good idea. Above all, keep your wits about you, take care of yourself and your those with you. The beginning of Winter brings on "Driver Re-Education period" for us and those who travel through the state. Turn on your brain and remember what it takes to drive safely in the snow. Let the other guy make mistakes, slow down, stay right side up and out of the borrow ditch. The Section Manager's job will be open first of next year. I will be again running for election. If you have interest in being SM, contact me and I'll help with the paperwork. It's a rewarding job to represent the Montana Amateur Community. As always, we needWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO volunteers for several jobs in the State. Many positions are open, from Technical Coordinator to Assistant Emergency coordinators. Contact myself or Todd, AE7V for information. September Net Reports: MTN-W7MPK, QNI-2044, QTC-68 IMN-VE7DWG, QNI-518, QTC-61 MTN-K7YD, QNI- 144, QTC-4 Thanks and 73 to all Doug, K7YD
Oregon
LEGISLATIVE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND OCEAN POLICY COMMITTEE I attended a meeting of this committee along with some others around the Salem area. We are trying to attend regularly and talk to the committee members so that when they think of emergency communications, they think of amateur radio. We are making progress because during the public comment time, the committee chair sent the committee administrator back to where I was sitting to ask if I wanted to make any comments. Kevin Curry, KA7KYQ, the State Government Liaison for the Oregon Section has recommended that we support the work the committee does, even if it doesn’t specifically impact us, to show that we are team players in emergency preparedness. Rep Schaufler of Portland thanked me for sending him the information about the Portland Amateur Radio Club field day. He asked me to send a reminder each year since he really enjoyed going out there. He was describing field day activities to the other committee members. Some of the topics that were presented to the committee included OWIN (Oregon Wireless Interoperability Network) on 700 MHz, an update on the emergency preparedness plan from Oregon Emergency Management, and a study on the Cascadia events in Cannon Beach, which has to do with potential tsunami events on the coast. It was a very interesting meeting. If anyone wants to get added to me list for notification about these meetings, please let me know. You can also sign up for notifications from the state. EAGLE CAP EXTREME SLED DOG RACE If you are interested in participating in communications for this event in the NE portion of the state, please contact Clyde Raymer, Jr., KL0CW at [email protected]. He provided the following information about the event. The Eagle Cap Extreme Sled Dog Race would like to invite Amateur Radio Operators to join us for the Jan 2009 Sled Dog Race. During January, Volunteers and spectators gather in Joseph, Enterprise and Halfway Oregon to support the running of the Eagle Cap Extreme Sled Dog Race. This Race brings Mushers and their Teams from across the country to run through the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, which contains the Eagle Cap Wilderness, for both a 100 and 200 mile event. The Race is a Qualifier for the legendary Races in Alaska and Canada, the Iditarod and Yukon Quest respectively. For safety and logistic support, Checkpoints are established across the Trail with the 2009 proposed Checkpoints being Salt Creek Summit, Ollokot Campground, Safety, Cornucopia and Halfway.
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Headquarters for the Race are located in Joseph at two diverse locations. These Checkpoints will be staffed with Volunteers to provide Shelter, Food, Veterinarian care, Logistic support, snow-machiner transportation and of course a multi-layered Communications Network. Again this year the Checkpoint Communication modes available will be Land-line, Internet, Satellite Tracking devices (SPOT) and Satellite Phone at Checkpoints. We are excited to invite Amateur Radio Operators to provide vital Communication support to the event. This Septmber, we will be range and band testing to determine the HF, VHF and UHFWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO bands we will be utilizing. We will also field test HF Amateur antenna configurations. This year, we are investigating the opportunity for experienced Amateur Radio Operators to exercise their Net skills in an exciting winter community service setting. The Checkpoint Communications Volunteer will be vital to passing 3rd party traffic as well as providing support of critical situations and SAR efforts. Law Enforcement from Wallowa and Baker County, SAR Teams and US Forest Service personnel regularly participate as Volunteers and in a professional role during the Race. The Communication Volunteers are vital to providing real time information and coordination for general messaging, Logistics and in support of critical situations through various and appropriate Communication modes. To learn more..please email me at [email protected] for a detailed job description, proposed Network overview, Volunteer opportunities and a Volunteer application. We would like to add to our Amateur radio committee Project Management Team. Please email me if you wish to be involved Please stop by our web site www.eaglecapextreme.com supplied by EONI.comWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO to learn more. The site is under construction but still provides good information and photos. Depending on the level of Amateur Radio Operator participation, we may establish a Special Events Station to operate during the Race. These are exciting times for us and invite join us to exercise your skills in a challenging environment to a non-profit event, Eagle Cap Extreme!! BENSON AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY Pat Roberson N7PAT is the trustee for the historic call sign, Benson Amateur Radio Society station, W7YK, which has been renewed. If some of you attended school there, you might be happy to know that the call sign continues on. MARION COUNTY ARES SUMMER PIO REPORT Bill Wylie, KE7EPY, the PIO (Public Information Officer) for MCARES reports that Marion County ARES provided 16 volunteers to assist Keizer CERT with communications for the Iris Festival and 10K run on the weekend of June 16th. Twenty volunteers from Marion County ARES worked the emergency communication exhibit at the Marion County Fair from July 10th - 13th. They informed the public about the function of ARES and recruited new members from passing hams. Marion County ARES members Frank Gruber KB7NJV and Don Brusch K7UN volunteered 35 hours of their time installing a 2 meter emergency radio station and antenna at the Silverton Hospital. This was one of the reports I missed including in my last report because of my computer crash. OREGON SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER REPORT FOR OCTOBER 2008 STATION ACTIVITY REPORT (SAR, TOTALS) SEPTEMBER 2008: K7IFG 294, N7CM 151, W7IZ 150, W7IG 111, K7EAJ 103, N7YSS 73, K7PMB 72, KK7DEB 48, N7DRP 47, W7ELI 46, KC7SRL 38, W7VSE 34, WS7L 30 PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR, TOTALS) SEPTEMBER 2008: KK7DEB 189, W7ELI 188, N7CM 165, K7EAJ 145, W7IG 120, N7XG 110, N7YSS 110, W7VSE 81, KK7TN 74, KD7THV 2 See the section website at www.arrloregon.org for the rest of his report.
Western Washington
District 1: Skagit County reports the ARES/RACES team participated in the rescue of lost hikers at the end of August. The recovery made national news. Snohomish County’s main projects included getting a lead ham at PEMC, corresponding with the Red Cross, and establishing a frequency plan with active operational sites at Stevens Hospital, Everett Clinic and Valley General Hospital. Island County reports several operators took part in the county EOC training Table Top exercise. San Juan County reports 6 operators handled communications during the 8.8K run on San Juan Island. District 2: At the Clallam County September meeting Dan Abbott, N7DWA, EC, made a presentation on the revised and simplified message handling procedure. This procedure will be put into the ARES Operations Manual now undergoing revision. Proper phonetics is currently being emphasized on all directed nets. OPSCAN
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training was given in Forks and Port Angeles this month. The Jefferson County team, in cooperation with the Port Ludlow ARC, had a booth at the Port Ludlow Health and Safety Fair held at the Port Ludlow fire station. Other participants included JeffCom (the county 911 center), USCG, Jefferson County Fire, and the Sheriff’s Office. Using the 146.88 Repeater on Green Mountain, the unit provided supplementary communications for the Sheriff’s office in support of an injured hiker. Thanks to the control operator and owner of the repeater for the outstanding support given during this event! Kitsap County used the monthWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO to prepare for the SET exercise to be held in October. District 3: Pacific County prepared for the SET with emphasis placed on determining the best packet pathways and software. They also performed repeater maintenance. Mason County reports that Sandra Woog and Omer Fournier, members of the ARES team, deployed with the Red Cross as a partner agency to Hurricane Ike. Grays Harbor County participated in the digital EOC to EOC exercise. They also spent several hours at Wal- Mart on one Saturday and programmed over 60 WX radios. Led by Bob Willey, KD7OWN, a new team formed by the City of Centralia met with Centralia Police volunteers giving a 3-hour overview of ARES to eighteen attendees. 8 signed up for more information about membership. 9 ARES team members attended Sky Warn training at the Lewis County DEM. District 4: Clark County continues to cover the CEMNET check-ins for the county. Wes Allen, K7WWG, gave a presentation with his Power Pole equipment at the regular ARES-RACES meeting. They are still tracking the D-STAR proposal for their area. 4 members participated in the CRESA open house on September 11th with a display and by operatingWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO radios. Cowlitz County hams teamed up with SAR members in a field exercise as part of Project Lifesaver Training. On September 8th Longview Fire Battalion Chief Kevin Taylor presented a Terrorism Awareness Class sponsored by Cowlitz County DEM. This presentation provided insight on how emergency service groups within Region IV would respond to various terrorist events. Connie, KB7AYY, helped the Cowlitz County DEM pass out Emergency Preparedness information at the Saturday, September 13th Market in downtown Longview. Randy, NU7D, attended the Cowlitz County Citizen Corps Council meeting. Cowlitz County 911 asked the team to assist the Coast Guard by monitoring Marine Channel 16 from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on September 17th while the Coast Guard worked on their radio system. Several hams participated during the uneventful shift. Eleven hams attended a First Aid/CPR/AED training class sponsored by the Cowlitz County Risk Manager. They also had a very good training class, “Psychological First Aid,” on how to approach and talk with people following events ranging from large scale to small. At the ARES/RACES meeting topics discussed included the WWA SET October 4th, the Cowlitz County SET November 1st, and how to improve their public service events display to help the general public understand the team’s role in Emergency Services. District 6: The Sammamish team participated in the Safety Fair held at Eastlake High School. They demonstrated Winlink in portable applications. District M: Preparations for SET in regions 2, 3, 4, and 5 occurred in September. Region 6 will participate in November in conjunction with a State- sponsored bio-terrorism exercise. The WWA Medical Services team conducted a training meeting in September titled, “What you didn’t learn in your Technician Level License class,” that served as an orientation for new hams. They clearly had not allowed enough time, although everyone thought it was a wonderful addition and they plan to repeat it at the Communications Academy in April.
Pacific Division
East Bay
The Section News is on the East Bay Section web site at http://www.eastbaysectionarrl.org. You can find more detailed information and current events there. This past month has seen many opportunities for hams to provide service in real, major disasters. While the disasters have been terrible for those experiencing them, they have also provided real meaning and unifying experiences for the hams interested in Emcomm activities. While we do not have the misfortune of experiencing major disasters on a routine, seasonal basis, we also do not have the opportunity for team building and to be recognized as a needed resource until after the disaster hits. I encourage those of you involved in Emcomm
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activities to think about how we can have real, meaningful drills and exercises to both develop our camaraderie and unity as fellow hams and to reinforce our value to our served agencies before “the big one hits”. I personally have noticed a decrease in interest by both our served agencies and the hams registered to provide service as the time between major events increases. We need to reverse this trend, not only to be able to provide the help when needed but also to protect our spectrum. I hope to see many of you at Pacificon where we will be able to renew friendships, learn much about the many aspects of our service and hobby,WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO and see, and possibly even purchase, some new toys. CONGATULATIONS TO: Newark CERT for taking Mayor’s trophy (1st place, best in show) for their float in the Newark’s days Parade. - LARK member N6BM, Bill, of Pleasanton has photos of his antenna on the home page of Alpha Delta Communications. Take a look at: http://www.alphadel tacom.com/. - Jerry Olive, KD6WDY, on earning first place, single operator, low power, phone, east bay section in the ARRL 2007 November Sweepstakes - Benicia Amateur Radio Club member Elizabeth, KI6FXZ, and her faithful companion, Rocky K9-DOG. On Saturday evening, Sept 13th, 2008, while Rocky was taking Elizabeth for a walk, they spotted three youths climbing over the fence at the closed Mills school campus. Many vandalism reports at Mills have been published over the past year and Elizabeth being ever alert put out a call on the KR6BEN primary repeater for anyone monitoring. Art, AB6HB responded and she requested a call be placed to Benicia police to report a crime in progress. Benicia PD dispatched a beat unit and a sergeant who arrived on scene within a minute or two. The dispatcher reported to responding units thatWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO the call came in from a ham operator walking past the campus. Thanks to Elizabeth accurately describing where these youths were, officers identified and detained four teens as others scattered like mice jumping ship. Two juveniles were cited and parents were called to come and get them. Thanks to Elizabeth and Rocky it's quite possible that additional vandalism to the future Benicia Community Center was deterred. Good work Elizabeth!! East Bay Section hams KA6BQF, KS6M, and KD6SWU representing EBARC and ORCA joined others from Marin Amateur Radio Society, Marin County RACES to provide emergency & routine communications for the Peak Hike, an 11.5 and 7 mile trail event, benefiting the Breast Cancer Fund, involving 335 participants and approximately 50 volunteers and staff. East Bay Section hams KA6BQF, KG6WPN, K6ZLG, N6JGC, KG6ATH, and KD6SWU joined others from Marin County Sheriff, Marin County OES, Marin County Fire Department, Sonoma County OES to provide emergency & routine communications for The Holstein 100, a bicycle ride covering rural roads in Western Marin County and Southwest Sonoma County. Approximately 450 cyclists and 75 volunteers participated. ACSCT membersMike Borkon, David Harnish, Martin Hooey, Juan Padilla, Jim Latham, Linda Kruse, Varon Smith, Tony Malone, Ron Collins, Jerry Miller, Marcus Bell, Bob Vallio, Steve Hawes, and Denis Franklin provided communications support for the annual Urban Shield event sponsored by the Alameda County Sherriff’s Office. LARK members Tom W6TRI, John K3KXJ, Arne Kirkwoog, David Counts, KG6WIR, Clancy N6FQQ, Little Bob KE6KHW, Ed AE6D, Chuck K6CKT and Ron AD6KV manned a both and provided demonstrations of Amateur Radio at the Livermore Disaster Preparedness Fair. Art Sullivan, KI6LED, of Hayward A.R.E.S./R.A.C.E.S. provided support during the Indiana floods. His learnings and experiences as summarized in his report provide some good food for thought for volunteers. I am sending his report in a separate email due to space limitations in this summary. CONGRATULATION TO THESE NEW HAMS: John P Mannion, KI6TDR, Alameda; Marsha B Maharry, KI6TIW, Benicia; Anton R Lubovich, KI6SZI, El Cerrito; Daniel J O'connell, KI6TBQ, Fremont; James L Thomas, KI6TCE, Fremont; Armando G Lopez, KI6TBL, Hayward; Porcia C Silverberg, KI6TCC, Castro Valley; David G Sneed, KI6SZE, Napa; Dale E Acomb, KI6SZH, Napa; Matthew R Pendergast, KI6SZD, Napa, ; Evan O Frazier, KI6SZG, Napa; Charles H Gall, AF6LW, Newark; Milagrosa R Gatmaitan, KI6TIA, Pittsburg; Noel A Gatmaitan, KI6THZ, Pittsburg; Donald D Jordan, KI6TBJ, Pleasanton; Ryan P Gutierrez, KI6TIX, Vallejo; Mary E Fennessey, KI6TDF, Walnut Creek; Matthew M Bleich, KI6TCY, Piedmont; Richard A Pipkin, KI6TBS, Albany; Sharon S Pipkin, KI6TBT, Albany; Dustin J Stevens, KI6SZC, Dixon; Billy Johnson, KI6SXS, Vacaville. CONGRATULATION TO THESE UPGRADES: Scott A Mercer, KI6SEJ, ; Joseph L Halbleib, KI6SEB, Fremont; William L Burrow, KI6NGX, Napa; Howard A Wright, KI6STQ, Oakley; Roman Hernandez Fernandez, KI6RFO, Oakley; Samuel H Darrett, N6ALE, Vallejo;
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Jacqueline Michael, KI6ODI, Emeryville. NATIONAL TRAFFIC SYSTEM (NTS) Call Sign Originated Sent Received Delivered Total WB6UZX 0 69 107 14 190 W6DOB 0 24 44 2 70 PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) Call Sign Categories 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total W6DOB 40 40 30 110 WB6UZX 40 40 10 10 100 (Requires at least 70 points) Nevada WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO NTS Traffic Report Recd Delivered Sent Originated Total N7CPP 8 2 6 2 18 N7SWI - - - - 28 N7JEH 2 0 0 0 2 ARES SEC Monthly Report (FSD-96) Comments: SEC s GENERAL REPORT (September 2008) We are preparing for the 2008 SET which will encompass much of the state including counties of: Washoe, Clark, Douglas and Carson City. I plan on being in Clark County for the quarterly ARES/RACES meeting on that same day, Oct. 25. Don t forget that Pacificon is coming the weekend of October 17-19 in San Ramon, CA, so make plans if you are able, to attend. Info available at www.pacificon.org, including link for hotel reservations at the San Ramon Marriott. SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORT- Glenn Hale, KB7REO, DEC Southern: Comments: We ve had a few attempts to test local HF coverage across the Las Vegas valley after the Clark County ARES/RACES nets. Some discussion remains on how to improve HF communications across the State under poor propagation conditions. Clark County ARES/RACES Report by Charlie, EC AA5QJ: Charlie AA5QJ, EC, participatedWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO in Clark County-Specific Integrated Emergency Management Course at the FEMA Training Center in Emmitsburg MD, with 74 other management personnel. Vern K0EGA, AEC Ops/Training attended the Local Emergency Planning Committee meeting on Sep 30. Southern Nye County ARES Report by Jerry, EC KC6ILH: Early mornings saw us doing two public service events. The annual Pony Express ride and the Fall Festival Parade. We support these every year. This year the SET will be on its own the first weekend of October. Northern Nye County ARES Report by Randy, EC KB7TRI: Dave, KE7LC did extra PR work for Skywarn this month (5 Hours). NORTHWEST DISTRICT REPORT Don Carlson, KQ6FM Acting DEC: Comments: Our new IRLP repeater on Ophir Peak is working like a champ. Many thanks to Kent, W7AOR and NARRI, along with Steve Kometz, N7KP and SNARS for hosting this great new ARES resource. Joe, N7JEH reported hearing it as far away as Lovelock along I- 80 to our east. Churchill County Paul Wilcoxen - KE7CRZ: Comments: Lots of positive things happening in Churchill County lately. We have installed the computer at the Churchill County EOC and we now have the capabilities for several sound card digital modes on our HF system. The equipment for our packet station has arrived consisting of a KAM TNC, VHF antenna and power supply and coax cable. We plan on having an antenna party soon to mount the antenna on the tower at the EOC. We should have the radio in place soon and the BBS will be operational. In addition a second radio is planned for the NAS Fallon radio room and a packet station will be established there also. The ailing SGC-2000 HF radio at Fallon P.D. has been replaced with a modified ICOM-718 at the Fallon P.D. dispatch. In addition, Fallon P.D. has just purchased a YAESU FT-60R dual band handheld which. Our next monthly meeting will be held on Saturday, October 18th, 10 A.M. at Round Table Pizza Restaurant in Fallon. Carson City/Douglas County - Shiela Clement, KA7AJQ EC: Comments: Membership roster had 28 members and we lost 2 for a total of 26. We had two State Health communications exercises in preparation for the October 25th POD/flu shots event. WASHOE COUNTY Bob Miller, WA6MTY Comments: September 4th, Barton Memorial Hospital in South Lake Tahoe had their Emergency Management meeting and Tahoe Amateur Radio Association took their communications van to show and tell after the meeting. Paul WA6EWV contacted me a few days before the meeting and asked if we could provide a brief communications test between SLT and the Regional EOC. I opened the radio room at the REOC and provided a ommunications and packet test. September 6th was the WC-ARES training session where we continued planning the Health Department POD Exercise. Andy KD7ZEV unveiled the ARES Radiogram/Radio Email program that he and Al K7BFD developed to allow Red Cross Shelter volunteers and CERT volunteers to generate resource and Health/Welfare message traffic. On the 24th we helped with the second communications tests with the Health Department in preparation for the October 25th POD exercise. I did COMM tests between the POD location and the health department.
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September 27th, was the first test of the Radiogram software described above in a Simulated Red Cross Shelter Communications Exercise. Approximately 12-15 Red Cross and CERT volunteers came in to help us with the tests by generating test messages. Al K7BFD, Andy KD7ZEV and Michela KE7GFA set up all the ARES computers and coordinated the exercise, Frank KE7AJO, Jacque KE7NMJ and Dan N2RDO processed the messages, Rob KI6TRK and I manned the Simulated Red Cross Chapter across the room and responded to the messages, Kevin KE7BQX and Mark KE7FPR did some video taping of the activities duringWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO the exercise. The ATV team transmitted video between Geiger Grade and Galena High school and projected the video on the wall during the exercise. Thanks to Joe WA6DDF, OT WA0DDF and JON WA7DDF. Humbolt County Ski Woytowicz, AF7NB Comments: N6ZEM (Pat Henigin) has established a website for Humboldt County ARES at: www.poshpets.com/hcares. Pat will migrate the site to another website for Humboldt ARES when the URL can be registered. KH6QAJ has been conducting a local swapnet after our weekly UHF net. We are conducting simplex testing to assess our capabilities if/when a repeater failure could occur. WO7I (Tom Bunch), AF7NB (Ski Woytowicz), and N6COA (Joe Woytowicz) have been prepping the new 2 meter repeater for its debut on Winnemucca mountain. WO7I and AF7NB have also been testing the IRLP machine with W7AOR (Kent Johnson). The IRLP machine has issues and Tom & Ski will be bench testing the equipment to isolate the trouble. We expect it to be online by the end of October 2008. The IRLP machine will be networked with the 2 meter repeater on 146.73 (PL88.5). The Humboldt Sun released a major article in the CommunityWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO News section of the paper detailing our "Ham Kram" and solicited new hams. This article was written by AF7NB and published as a "special contribution" without byline in the paper. This was the third article this year in the Humboldt Sun for Humboldt County ARES. NORTHEAST DISTRICT REPORT (Joe Giraudo, N7JEH DEC). Comments: The Phil Cheety, WB7BTS reports that the Elko County Ham Operators have successfully linked their Blue Star repeater to their Swales Mtn. site, improving communication in northern Eureka County. Greg Barker, K7CWL and Joe Giraudo, N7JEH met with personnel from the Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital regarding Amateur Radio as an emergency communication option. The hospital has been in contact with the Nevada Hospital Association and is willing to allocate a small room for radio operations adjacent to one of their classrooms which doubles as their Emergency Operations Center. They are modifying this room to include it on their emergency generator circuit. Technical discussions are continuing regarding antenna locations, coax runs and equipment desired. Participation in the Section HF ARES net continues at its average level. Net counts were 16-18 over the month. Propagation is still waining during the latter portion of the net between northern and southern Districts.
Pacific
October SM Report 2008 - This report covers mid September to Mid October At this moment there are no major storms in the Atlantic or Pacific,however that can change quickly. A large earthquake was recently reported in Tonga. It was just two years ago that the Big Island had a large earthquake. The Big Island International Hamfest on October 4 was reported to be another success with about 100 attending. Your SM was unable to attend this year. During the last three months he has had to make three trips to the mainland US and Honolulu for family business so he will also miss Pacificon on October 18th. Hams on the Island of Hawaii again supported the Volcano Wilderness Run on Oct 4; however it was with sadness that we read Wayne "Big Dog" Joseph's article in the Hawaii Tribune Herald on October 6th, 2008, telling that this 26th year of the Volcano Wilderness Run was the last one. This race was considered one of the most unique running events in the world. It was considered one of the most difficult races also as it not only went through the desert area but over lava and through rain forests. The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park listed numerous reasons for ending the race. Barbara Darling, NH7FY, went through our BIARC(Big Island ARC) newsletters and found that BIARC started helping with the marathon in July 1991 with 15 hams participating. Your SM attended the Koolau ARC meeting October 11. Thanks for the hospitality. The wife really enjoyed the Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens. The KARC program was Martin, KH6MB, presenting an introduction to antenna modeling. It is in two parts and
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next month will be the conclusion. The original programming was done in FORTRAN language but has been extensively modified for easier usage over the years. Hams on the Kona side of the Big Island supported the Ironman race by supplying communications along the bike route where cell phone and other coverage is weak. They also helped supply TV coverage. See the SM webpage for a picture. There was a SET exercise Saturday Oct 18 from 9 to noon. It was mostly on two meters with some HF operation. REACT also held an exercise on the same day called Project SOS. REACT is made up of both hams and unlicensedWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO members. In a recent exercise they found that FRS radios (Family Radio Service) have a range of two miles or more. With a mixed membership non hams can really be used to fill in the gaps in a widespread disaster. The goal is to get the message through. The Kona ARS held its regular meeting on Sunday Oct 19. It met at the OTEC beach park at the NELHA. The theme was Oktoberfest so German food was the order of the day. ARRL Pacificon 2008 was just held over the October 17-19 weekend. Next year your SM plans to attend. Last month's SM report was sent to only 320 members and the month before it was sent to 391. ARRL HQ reports there was only a drop of three members in the last month. Chuck Skolaut, K0BOG, thinks that one or more ISPs may be blocking material from ARRL. Please check with your ISP if you didn't receive yours. Mike Wendt, WH2M, reports that the VOAD group on Guam met last month at the Salvation Army. They intend to reemphasize preparedness in case of another problem on that island. The Salvation Army especially recognizes the need to integrate Ham Radio into emergency response. A lot of their work is done through WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.ROtheir own SATERN group however ARRL and The Salvation Army have working MOUs. Salvation Army Captain Tom Taylor has asked MARC to conduct a Ham Radio class for the Salvation Army people. They plan is for the third or fourth week in October and will last two days. It will be held in SA office in Tyan. It will cover the Technician license. Contact Mike at 671-477-7737 for more information. Also [email protected]. The morning of Saturday October 25 is electronic waste disposal day in Hawaii. Follow the link http://www.hawaii.edu/ewaste/index.php for more information. Disposal will take place throughout the state. There are restrictions, so read the website before you take that hairdryer which is a restricted item. The REACT group plans to meet Saturday October 25 for an outdoor social/radio gathering. It is also the CQWW phone contest weekend. Contact Rob Roberts, KH7MW, for more information. The Waikiki Amateur Radio Club along with HARC, QCWA and Battleship Missouri Radio club members meet each Tuesday at the Pearlridge Sizzler Restaurant. Join their breakfast meeting at 07:00 HST for eye-ball QSOs and lots of radio talk. Then visit the Mighty Mo and operate KH6BB with members using HF and IRLP connections from Radio Central. Visiting ham's welcome at the Mo. Contact Bill Kendall, KH6OO at [email protected] or 808-949-1228 for more information. The Waikiki ARC is the newest club to be approved by the ARRL Board as an ARRL affiliated Club. Congratulations! Arrangements are being worked on for the charter presentation. The regular meeting of BIARC will be Saturday November 8th. It will be held at the Hilo Elks Club in Downtown Hilo. 2009 officers will be elected. The December meeting will be Saturday December 13 and will be a pot luck and Christmas party at Puna Congregational Christian Church. Both meetings start at 2PM. The regular meeting place has been rented out so is not available. The Oahu Civil Defense Amateur Radio Club will hold an exam Wednesday November 19 at 1830 at the Honolulu Municipal Bldg, Basement B1 at 650 S. King St. Contact Ray Moody for more information. The last West Honolulu ARC meeting in 2008 will be Thursday Dec 4. at Diners in the Waimalu Shopping center. Thanks to KH7TK & AH7GK for the information. This year's Honolulu Marathon will be held on Sunday 14 December 2008. It starts at 5 AM at Ala Moana Park. At least 28 Volunteers are needed starting at 4AM and going until about 3PM. Contact Greg, NH6ZS at 808-673-5155 or 808-676-2607 or e-mail. [email protected]. There are only two more months left in 2008. Please keep your news reports coming.
Sacramento Valley
Section Summary September 2008 For many years, the Monday night VHF FM net of the Yuba Sutter ARC has offered both a swap shop and a ham help section. If you have something to sell, or something
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you want in the ham radio hobby, or if you need help with a project or a question about our hobby, the net has a time and place to address these needs. I hope every club has a time during the week when these kinds of activities are on the air. For those just listening on a scanner it is a way to find out how helpful hams are. For those of us feeling left out now that the local ham radio store has closed, it is a way to keep things going. Local nets are really important. We have started an effort to list all the regular vhf nets on our Section Web site. Look for it at: http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=SV . The net list might not be there the firstWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO time you look, but it will be there soon. According to Larry, WD6FXR, our Sacramento County Emergency Coordinator, a September 13 exercise brought a lot of good experience to the 25 or so hams that participated. Sponsored by the Sacramento Region Citizen Corps (www.SRCCC.org) CERT teams from Northern California as well as volunteers from Medical Reserve Corps, local search and rescue teams and various Sacramento fire and police agencies took part in a scenario based on a Folsom Dam failure. The resulting exercise flooding brought out both land and water search and rescue teams, each shadowed by a ham to keep in touch with the hams at the Incident Command post. Simplex channels were used and very busy with traffic throughout the morning. The exercise started at 7:30 AM with most exercise play completed by noon. A wrap up meeting concluded at 1:30 PM. Among the ham operators participating were: Bob, K6RWB; Charles, WG6CFS; Dan, KE6IUZ; Dan, KI6OLA; Darren, N9RHG; Dave, KG6MYA; Don, KD6ILH; Don, KE6GMJ; Dwayne, KG6KPW; Frank, N6SNO, DEC District 3; Gene, KI6OSG; Greg, KG6SJT; Mike, KD6ILC; Nancy, KI6KWV;WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Paul, N6DRY; Penny, KD6ILA; Rick, WF6O; Todd, KE6GCV; and Wes, WS6Z. Thanks to all for a great job. The Oroville Amateur Radio Society is offering a ham cram, which will be given 4 October from 8 AM to 5:30 PM and again on Sunday 5 October from 8 AM to noon. The test will be at the Chico Library at 2 PM on October 5. For more information contact Bill Cross, K6DYT, at 530-533- 9342 or [email protected] . The Nevada County Amateur Radio Club is offering a class this fall to help prospective hams prepare for their Technician Class exam. The class will be presented on five Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. at the Salvation Army Church Meeting Room behind the church on Alta Street in Grass Valley. The first class was on September 17, 2008 and consisted of orientation to the world of ham radio and a discussion of what the test generally consists of. It was presented by various members of the NCARC. Following this date's class, there was a break until October 29 when Bill, W6FA, will present on four consecutive Wednesdays the technical background needed to pass the test. There will be a test given on Saturday, November 22, following the final class on November 19. The class is open to all, and will probably be the only Technician Class given by the NCARC this year. For further information, call Jon, WA6TNC, at 477-8928. The first annual Sacramento Valley Swap meet was held in Lincoln on September 6, 2008. It was sponsored by the Western Placer Amateur Radio Club, the River City Amateur Radio Club, the Yuba-Sutter Amateur Radio Club, and the Sierra Foothills Amateur Radio Club. The event was held on the Lincoln High School campus from 0700 until noon. There were many tables with ham radio related items for sale, a VE exam off site, food and soft drinks, and fellowship. Curtis, KI6ESK, our ASM for Youth, helped man the ARRL booth, and talked to the young prospective hams that attended. The Granite Bay Montessori School (K6GBM) also had a station set up, with young operators at the controls. Saturday September 6 was busy for area Hams. Besides the Lincoln swap meet, there was a bike ride in Napa County, and a separate 100-mile mountain bike endurance ride in the dirt above Foresthill according to ASM Les, W6TEE. 'This was the first year for the Tahoe Sierra 100 (TS100). It came off very well. We had Hams at Start-Finish at French Meadows, and three other aid stations. No one Ham club was involved. With dropouts, 165 riders passed us at mile 69. We used a two meter repeater on a nearby mountain, a Pave Paws replacement that had been intended for the Western States events that were cancelled during the fires. It worked flawlessly.' Pacificon 2008, our ARRL Pacific Division Convention, will be held in San Ramon at the San Ramon Marriot Hotel, October 17-19. This three day event will have the full slate of forums, a chance at a door prize or two, speakers on subjects you are interested in and various events to amaze you and broaden your ham radio horizons. Friday has a legal seminar and an antenna seminar. Both cost an additional small fee. Tickets are available on the web through the Pacificon 2008 web site at: http://www.pacificon.org/ and you save a couple of bucks by buying ahead of time. The October part of
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the 2008 EME or Earth Moon Earth Competition takes place the same weekend as Pacificon, October 18-19. This weekend is for 50 MHz to 1296 MHz. See the rules at: http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2008/eme.html The California QSO party is the weekend of October 4-5. This is always a popular event for new and experienced operators alike. (It also occurs on the same weekend as my family reunion each year.) However, if you have a friend new to ham radio get them on the air during this event. Try for all ARRL Sections, or for the most points in your county. In the Sacramento ValleyWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Section, Colusa, Alpine, and Modoc counties are very popular, hard to get counties. Consider operating portable from one of these hard to get places to increase your score. Look for more details, logging information, etc, at: http://www.cqp.org/ . Many times I am asked, ‘If there is only one book you could buy about ham radio, what would it be?’ I used to say it was the old text, Understanding Amateur Radio. I referred to it constantly, learned a lot, and referred it to others. The first copy was loaned out, returned, loaned out again and finally fell apart. The copy on the shelf now is the second one. With little technical background when I began, I found the Handbook a bit daunting, and though I have bought and given many copies of this fine text over the years, I still try to put myself in the place of someone just starting in our hobby when I try to answer the question. My latest answer would be Getting Started with Ham Radio. This is the first edition of a really helpful text that has a lot of very practical advice and more direct examples of what every beginner or re-entering ham needs to know. Voice, Morse code, and Digital modes are covered. Perhaps you remember the pamphlet that was part of the ARRL GatewayWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO to Amateur Radio from the 1950s and later. It was titled How to Become an Amateur Radio Operator. The cover said ‘Full information on Setting up your own Amateur Radio Station.’ That’s what the new book does. If you are new to the hobby, or if you have a friend in that category, check it out (at the convention or wherever ARRL publications are available.) October’s section net on VHF and HF will occur on October 8. We start on the WD6AXM/R machine at 146.085 MHz, plus offset, tone 127.3 Hz, beginning at 1900L. At 1930L, we will try the HF net at 3987 kHz, both nets with the latest ham radio news. The WD6AXM repeater is also the place to hear the ARRL audio news on each Friday evening at 1900L when the news is produced. Ron Murdock, W6KJ, ARRL SACRAMENTO VALLEY SECTION MANAGER
San Joaquin Valley
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY SECTION Report for the month of September 2008: SM Charles McConnell, W6DPD- ASMs K6YK and N2NS, ACC W6DPD, SEC N6ZFN, OOC N1VM, STM K6RAU, PIC Vacant, TC W6TE. Greetings from the ARRL San Joaquin Valley Section. If you desire your club information and events to be listed in Section News, please send the information to [email protected]. I get very little information. If your club has a newsletter, please send it to me, email to [email protected] or via U.S Mail. An ARES Emergency Coordinator is needed in Western Kern County. Contact Marie, N6ZFN ([email protected]) or W6DPD ([email protected]) if you are interested and can serve in this important position. MARK YOUR CALENDARS. Pacificon 2008 is October 17- 19, 2008 at the Marriott Hotel in San Ramon CA. Check www.pacificon.org for information. The 60th International DX Convention is April 17-19, 2009 at Visalia. Check http://www.dxconvention.org/ for information When your affiliated club elects officers for the next year, be sure to update your club’s information on the affiliated club area of the ARRL web page so you club will get any information sent from the ARRL Club department. If you fail to update your clubs information for 2 years, your club will be placed in the inactive file. Your club will be notified if the 2-year period is about to take place. Need to take an Amateur exam? Check the ARRL web page, www.arrl.org for exam information. You can also search for Amateur Radio Classes in your area. The Northern California Net (NCN), the Section Traffic Net, meets nightly on 3.533 MHZ at 7 PM Pacific Time. The slow speed training session of the net meets nightly on 3.533 MHZ at 9 PM Pacific Time. Handling traffic on CW is a good way to improve your CW skills. The Daytime Region 6 Traffic Net meets daily at 3:30 pacific time on or near 7.275 MHZ. The California Traffic Net meets daily on 3.906 MHZ and 6:30 PM local time. The noon time net meets on 7.268.5 MHz. This net handles a lot of messages. The Golden Bear Amateur Radio
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Net meets nightly at 7:00 PM local time on 3.975 MHZ. The Mission Trail Net meets nightly on 3.856 MHZ at 8:00 PM local time. KO6WF, Harlan, KK4YD, Sam, and KC6YYS, Fred are Silent Keys. They will be missed. Pacificon is the ARRL Pacific Division Convention, which is held October 17-19, 2008 at the San Ramon Marriott Hotel in San Ramon CA. There will be an antenna seminar on Friday October 17. On Saturday, October 18, the exhibit room will be open. You might find good deals there. There will be a number of sessions covering a variety of subjects. You should be able to find a session of interest to attend.WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Saturday night will see the banquet, and the Wouff Hong initiation will be at midnight. Sunday has the swap meet, more sessions, and the ARRL Forum followed by the prize drawing. Several ARRL Staff members from Headquarters will be in attendance to answer your questions and you’re your comments. You can check out the event schedule on the Pacificon web page at www.pacificon.org. The annual Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) is October 18-19, 2008. This is a time to open your station to the Scouts so they can talk to other scouts. KI6OYW and W6TRC completed the ARECC Level One course. Congratulations. Ki6LZA earned the Tulare County Memorial Scholarship. Congratulations. The Mountain Amateur Radio Club provided communications support for the Heritage Days Parade in Oakhurst. The Sierra Amateur Radio Club provided communications support for the Annual Kiwanis Walk-a-Thon in Ridgecrest. The Coast to Coast Contest Club (KI6SOK) is a new club based in Turlock. KD6FVA, K6BR, KD6EUJ, KR6DY, KC1TF, W6RD, K6YK attended the new ham swap at Lincoln, CA on Sept. 6. Good turnout and the sponsors hope to do it again next year. Several ARRL officialsWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO in attendance, mostly from the SV, and they had a booth. K6LRJ, W6RD, K6YK, KR6DY, K7XQ attended the WSWSS/SMIRK/Vacaville ham swap at W6OMF's residence on Aug. 30. There was a good turnout on this one, too. K6YK has gotten to top of the honor roll minus 1, thanks to LOTW!, and 200 entities on RTTY. W6RD, KR6DY and K6YK have gotten on 900 MHz FM, and it's working out well. K7XQ is busy working EME and VHF. He now has a 4 Ft. dish up for 10 GHz. K6YK worked 42 states on 6 meters this summer with very casual operating, and only a small beam pointed east with no rotor. Traffic for September: K6RAU 34, W6DPD 0, and W6SX 35. Total 60 PSHR: K6RAU 101 and W6SX 72.
Santa Clara Valley
Monthly Summary for September 2008 Santa Clara Valley Section News Summary October 15, 2008 =PACIFICON 2008 Is HERE this weekend, October 17-19, 2008, San Ramon Marriott Hotel San Ramon, California. For Events, Latest Updates and Ticket Sales go to: www.PACIFICON.org. Boy Scout “Jamboree on the Air”, forums, dealers, clubs, flea market, special interest groups -- All the usual PACIFICON events and more are planned. See you there! =Don Village, K6PBQ, will be operating Jamboree on the Air on Saturday Oct. 18th from his home station. If you know any scouting groups that would like to join him (boys or girls) please e-mail [email protected]. =Michael Pechner, KI6QNZA, is trying to organize a booth for the 2009 San Mateo Maker Faire. Booth proposals are due in January. Here is a Yahoo group created to have discussions about the Amateur Radio Maker Faire booth and to post information about the Faire. See [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/maker_faire_hams/] Please feel free to contact [email protected]. =Pat Barthelow, AA6EG, reports another new yahoo group supporting a Deep-Space Network runs by us amateurs. Check out the Amateur-DSN Yahoo Group, [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/amateur-DSN/] where you will find a lot of hams, and some non-hams who build dishes and tracking systems and sensitive receivers to listen for/to space probes. Pat further says, “I was nudged to do this, to try for Voyager, >10 billion miles away, by Dr. Achim Vollhardt, the Director of the AMSAT MARS P5 Program. Dr Vollhardt, and colleagues were successful a year or so ago, in using their large Dish in Bochum Germany, and finding, tracking and hearing the Voyager spacecraft. This is a technology first for amateur radio. We are planning to follow in their footsteps at Jamesburg, and build on this. See: [http://www.jamesburgdish.org] =Michael Wright, K6MFW, recorded some video from Nick,N6QQQ, up-linked to K6BEN ATV using his Mobicomm 1.2 GHz ATV transmitter. See [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TB3lY0VcUc] K6BEN is a amateur television station repeater for the Silicon Valley and south San Francisco Bay Area with a
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1255MHz FM video input and 421.25MHz AM NTSC video output (421.25MHz is same as cable channel 57). Audio uplink is 145.510MHz. Aim antenna (vertically polarized) towards Mt Hamilton or east San Jose foothills. K6BEN weekly nets are every Wednesday at 8:30 pm. Visitors are welcome and encouraged to get in the net and ask questions. Audio check-ins on 145.510 MHz simplex or 443.125MHz plus offset, PL 123.0. The ATV crew is also planning to support this year's Veterans Day Parade, Nov 11. For more on K6BEN, see [http://www.batnet.com/mfwright/k6ben.html] Nick’s web site on Digital ATVWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO was featured on the ARRL “Sufin’ the Web” article online at [http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2008/10/03/10374/] =The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has selected a group of hams led by veteran DXpeditioners Bob Allphin, K4UEE, and Glenn Johnson, W0GJ, to lead a DXpedition to Desecheo Island, KP5 (IOTA NA-095), in early 2009 [http://www.fws.gov/caribbean/Refuges/Desecheo/default.htm]. Desecheo currently sits at number 7 on DX Magazine's Most Wanted list [http://hamgallery.com/countries/]. = On Sunday, October 12, Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, began his journey to the International Space Station (ISS) as he blasted off into space via a Russian Soyuz. Also on-board was Mike Fincke, KE5AIT. They successfully docked with the ISS on Tuesday. Richard is due to return to Earth on Thursday, October 23, but Mike Fincke, KE5AIT will stay on-board. Mike is an avid Ham and we can look forward to many random contacts during his stay on the ISS. See [http://www.rac.ca/ariss/oindex.html] =ARRL Online Auction begins TOMORROW, October 16th! Please note that your passwords and user ids for the ARRL web site are not transferableWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO to the ARRL on-line auction website. You will need to register here in order to bid: [www.arrl.org/auction] =Ed Jones,W7WPO, has been appointed EC for Los Altos Hills. Rick Ellinger, the present EC, has decided to step down, and Ed has volunteered to take his place. Congratulations and thanks for stepping up! =The ARRL Executive Committee has approved the “Sunnyvale Amateur Radio Emergency Services Repeater Group” for affiliation with the ARRL. Your club is hereby declared a duly affiliated society with an affiliation date of September 10, 2008. Congratulations to all! =Dennis Dura notes a new FEMA online independent study course that presents the concepts of Emergency Support Function #2-Communications. The course will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. [http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS802.asp] =EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CLASS: Tuesday, October 28, 2008: 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm. WHERE: TBA (Menlo Park area) COST: FREE! BRING: Your radio(s) & instruction manuals for them. INSTRUCTORS: David Fichou (Menlo Fire ARES) & Ken Dueker (Palo Alto P.D.) REGISTER: Ken Dueker: [email protected] both events Sponsored by: Menlo Park Fire Protection District CERT: [www.menlofire.org/cert] =From Pat Ryan KC6VVT, ARRL Illinois Section Emergency Coordinator. See “Tickets CAD”: anyone involved with or using “Computer Aided Dispatch” may want to check out the free open source version by Arnie Shore. This group is devoted to Free/Open Source Computer-Aided Dispatch software and related open source products. Users, both actual and potential, developers, lurkers may exchange ideas and experiences with a concentration on Tickets CAD. Open Source CAD group: [http://groups.google.com/group/open-source-cad] =WinLink/RMS Digital News: Jerry Haag, K6GAC, EC, Mountain View ARES, reports that they have been successful in setting up an RMS Packet (server) station at K6MTV, the Mountain View ARES/RACES station at Fire Department Administration Building. It is operating at K6MTV-10 on 145.070 MHz. The station is operating at nominal 50 watts to a 2 dB gain omni directional antenna at about 50 ft. AGL. They invite all to try it. =Section positions are still open. This is YOUR Section; please consider helping all of us by filling one of these important positions. See [http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/org/] for information on the ARRL Field Organization and all appointee positions. =The wiki-based SCV web site on PDARRL.org is up and running. Tom, K1TW, [email protected], is getting the content on both old and new sites up to date. Send him your corrections and get your club access to the wiki. Here's the link: [http://www.pdarrl.org/scvsec/index.php].
Roanoke Division
North Carolina
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SEPTEMBER NORTH CAROLINA SECTION NEWS LEE COUNTY ORDINANCE MENTIONS AMATEUR RADIO On October 6 the Lee County Board of Commissioners approved an "Ordinance to Provide Emergency Management in the Unincorporated Areas of Lee County" The ordinance gives county emergency management the authority to "establish Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), and Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) teams, establish training and certification requirements for members, determine the operating parameters of the members, and authorize members to operate outside WWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.ROof their assigned areas for the purposes of providing support to the Emergency Management Organization. The Emergency Management Coordinator or designee may appoint coordinator(s) for proper organization and administration of this program." Kudos to Lee County ARES for providing such valuable and visible to support for their county that ARES would be included in this ordinance! SECTION SET REPORT Thanks to all of you for your participation in the statewide SET on October 4. I'm still tabulating the score for the Tarheel Emergency Net, but we had 76 check-ins during the SET. Your local SET efforts need to be reported to Steve Ewald, WV1X at [email protected]. If you haven't scheduled your local SET yet, it's not too late because you have until the end of the year to hold your event. Just make sure your report is in to Steve by January 30, 2009. For reporting forms and more details, got to www.arrl.org and do a search on "2008 SET". Bernie, WA4MOK and I will be glad to assist if you need help reporting your results. NEW FEMA COURSE RECOMMENDED - Dennis Dura, K2DCD Many of you have already taken FEMA courses IS-100, 200, 700 and 800. There is now a new FEMAWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO online independent study course that presents the concepts of Emergency Support Function #2 -Communications. The course, IS-802, is free and will take approximately 30 minutes to complete and it is highly recommended. For more info go to http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS802.asp. Also, please note that ARRL's Level 3 EmComm course is being revised and will not be offered again until the first quarter of 2009. (Dennis Dura, K2DCD, is ARRL's Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager) NOMINATIONS FOR VIC CLARK AWARD Our ARRL Roanoke Division Director, Dennis Bodson, W4PWF, is soliciting nominations for the Roanoke Division Service "Vic Clark" Award for the year 2008. The Roanoke Division ARRL Service Award was instituted in 1968 by Roanoke Division Director, Vic Clark, W4KFC. Vic intended the award to be recognition for a long history of significant and consistent contribution to Amateur Radio. The amateur selected would have, over the years, dedicated much of his or her time to Amateur Radio and the ARRL. Nominees and resumes are encouraged and accepted from the Roanoke Division amateur population. Winners of the Roanoke Division Service Award become members of the selection committee and vote on which nominee should be honored the next year. An individual can receive the award only once. The administration of the award is done by the Roanoke Division Director. Please send your nomination to Dennis at [email protected]. CHANGING OF THE GUARD Thanks for Bob Southworth, KI4YV, for volunteering to take over management of the North Carolina Morning Net. Also, Bob Dewit, K4RLD, will be retiring from his role as District Emergency Coordinator for Area 12. Bob has served in this role since 2006 and we appreciate his outstanding service. Mike Bryan, WA6KWW is leaving his position as DEC over Area 11 and will be sorely missed. NC YOUTH SELECTED FOR VK9DWX As I write this, our own Josh Fisher, W4WJF, is operating from Willis Island as VK9DWX. The island is a rare DX entity and is located beyond the Great Barrier Reef in the Coral Sea some 420 km east of Cairns, Queensland, Australia. Even though Josh just turned 21, he isn't a stranger to DX or HF contesting. Josh was first licensed at age 11 and he has operated in many ARRL Field Days, with the Shelby, NC, Lincoln County, NC, Dixie Radio Pirates, and NC State University Student Amateur Radio Society, club stations. As an HF single operator, he was # 1 in the ARRL's Roanoke Division, in the 2004 ARRL DX Phone Contest on 20 meters. As a VHF operator, Josh is also an award winning contester. His streak of three consecutive, first place finishes in the CQ Worldwide VHF contest, as the USA's top 2 meter single operator (SOSB) was recently broken, because he spent this summer studying at the University of Valencia, in Spain. He has also participated in many VHF contests as a team member of the AA4ZZ limited multi-operator contest team in Boone, NC, EM96. Josh is a member of the American Radio Relay League, NC State University Student Amateur Radio Society, Carolina DX Association, Radio Club of America, and the Mecklenburg Amateur Radio
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Society. The Bavarian Contest Club, of Germany, recently held a world wide competition for young hams between the ages of 18-29, "who have a passion for Ham Radio, DXing and contesting to take part in the DXpedition to Willis Island in October this year." Josh submitted an essay describing how he got started in ham radio, who his Elmer was and why he should be selected for this DXpedition opportunity. Josh was one of two hams selected from a worldwide field of young radio amateurs. The VK9DWX crew will pay for all of his expenses, except his flights from Raleigh, NC to Cairns, Queensland, Australia. Josh is alsoWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO very accomplished in the classroom as well. He has made been named to the Deans List, every semester with a dual major of Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering. He has also been very fortunate to receive several Amateur Radio related academic scholarships administered by the American Radio Relay League Foundation, and the Foundation for Amateur Radio. Josh expects to graduate from NC State in December of 2009. UPCOMING EVENTS October 18: State ARES Meeting, Morganton. October 18th/19th - UCP Ride Without Limits, Triangle Area. October 18- 19: Scouting Jamboree On The Air. October 18: Lung Strong 15k/5k, Cornelius. October 18: Tour de Leaves, Polk County November 1st - Beach to Battleship Triathlon, Wilmington. November 1: Diabetes Walk, Charlotte. November 2nd: City of Oaks Raleigh Marathon. November 16: JARSFEST, Benson. January 10: Winston-Salem FirstFEST March 14-15: Roanoke Division Convention, Charlotte April 11: NC Section Convention, Raleigh SEPTEMBER TRAFFIC N3BW 333, K4IWW 249, W2EAG 209, W4DNA 148, W3HL 108, KI4YV 101, WA4OBR 87, W4TTO 60, WA2YBM 57, W4FAL 41, KE4AHCWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO 33, W4EHF 12, W4RSE 6 SEPTEMBER PSHR W4DNA 250, N4MH 250, KS4OX 205, KA3VVJ 180, NC4VA 159, W4WNT 131, W4FAL 130, K4IWW 120, W2EAG 110, W4TTO 100, KI4YV 90, WA2YBM 90 SEPTEMBER ARES MEMBERS: 1,823
South Carolina
Greetings to all Amateur Radio Operators. The Rock Hill Hamfest was held on October 4th at the Rock Hill American Legion. I was unable to attend due to hospital call coverage, but Bob Bacharach WA2EMF, ASM2 provided this report: The Rock Hill Hamfest was held on Saturday October 4, 2008 at the American Legion Hall on Cherry Road in Rock Hill, SC. The Hamfest, chaired by Cole Ruck, KC4UIG hosted commercial vendors including Lakeview Antennas, the Wireman, AC-DC Electronics, Cedar City Sales, DB&J Radio & Electronics. Weather was beautiful and the Tailgate sales area was the scene of a good selection of used equipment and accessories. Many sellers reported "selling out" their treasures. Attendance was down somewhat, a result of the nervous economic climate as well as concerns many had about the ability to purchase gasoline for the trip to the hamfest. YCARS VE Coordinator, Jason Starnes reported 7 applicants tested, with 4 receiving new Technician class licenses, one Extra and 1 General Class upgrade, none other than Cole Ruck, KC4UIG, our Hamfest Chairman. Congratulations Cole! Hamfest attendees once again enjoyed fellowship with old friends and meeting new ones! The York County Amateur Radio Society thanks ARRL for Hamfest sponsorship and is grateful to those who attended. We remind everyone to look for the next Rock Hill Hamfest on Saturday October 3, 2009. 73, Bob Bacharach WA2EMF, York County Amateur Radio Society. My thanks to Bob for representing the ARRL-SC team at the Rock Hill Hamfest! The Lake Hartwell Hamfest, sponsored by the Anderson Radio Club, was held on Saturday, October 18th. I was pleased to attend, and had a great time with the many eyeball QSO’s! Vendors included the Wireman and Lakeview, as well as a number of tailgaters. The weather cooperated, but by mid morning I had to pull out my heavier jacket! My thanks to the Anderson Radio Club for their sponsorship of the event! The Sumter Open Air Hamfest will be held Saturday October 25th at the Sumter Jaycee Hut, 314 Pine Street in Sumter, SC. This hamfest is sponsored by the Sumter Amateur Radio Association. Talk-in will be on 147.015+, pl 156.7. I hope to see everyone there! I received a report that the Myrtle Beach Beachfest that was to be held on November 15th and sponsored by the Grand Strand ARC, is officially cancelled. According to Bob Gagliardi N4XML, VP Grand Strand ARC, the decision to cancel the hamfest was based on the current state of the economy which was jeopardizing the decision of ham vendors and the ham community to attend their event. Their plans are to re-evaluate the economy next year and plan accordingly. The
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tentative date for Beachfest 2009 will be November 14, 2009. I am sad to report the passing of Emmie Patience, KA4LRM, a long time member and Secretary/Treasurer of the South Carolina Sideband net. Miss Emmie became a Silent Key on September 29th at the AnMed Health Medical Center. She was a nightly check-in on the South Carolina Sideband Net, and was named Sidebander of the Year in 1987. I know she was pleased to see the net through its 50th anniversary on April 7th, 2008. We will miss Miss Emmie, but will remember that her love, service and devotion to amateur radio has been an inspiration to us all! I had mentionedWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO last month that Katie Besley KI4LSZ was featured in October QST for her promotion of emergency communication to children during Kids Day! Katie will be our new youth contributor for the ARRL-SC website! Look for her articles with links on the left sidebar of the www.arrl-sc.org website! Congratulations to the Columbia ARC on changing their club callsign from KF4GHC to W4CAE! Thanks go to their Trustee Ronnie W4RWL on expediting the paperwork to make this change possible! I was contacted by Rosalie White K1STO from ARRL HQ regarding the participation of the ARRL SC section in an ARISS session to be held in Columbia, SC. Tammy Livingston KI4PTJ, PIO Columbia ARC, stepped up to coordinate the event! The following report was submitted by David Huddleston, KI4LKG and Moses Rabb, KG4VOV: On Thursday, October 16, 2008, two Columbia, SC hams KG4VOV Moses Rabb and KI4LKG David Huddleston joined several parents and observers at the Challenger Center in Columbia to watch five Richland One middle school students make a phone patch connection with the International Space Station. The five students were part of four teams fromWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Challenger Centers in Lanham, Maryland; Columbia, South Carolina; Tampa, Florida; and Brownsburg, Indiana. The students used a phone patch through the ground station W6SRJ at Santa Rosa Junior College in Santa Rosa, California. Astronaut and game-developer Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, chatted with the students and answered their questions about space flight and the ISS for about ten minutes while the ISS was within range of the radio. The observers arrived at 11:30 AM and were greeted by Challenger Center Lead Flight Director Thelma Clavon and her five-member staff. The professional staff were dressed in NASA style jump suits and presented a lively and interesting program about the background and history of the space station. The focus of the program was the development and purpose of the ISS, the international cooperation necessary for its completion, and its future uses in space exploration. Fifteen minutes before the contact, the staff conducted IRLP, Echolink, and downlink coordination. They used squelch noises and student voices for sound level checks to assure all the equipment was functioning correctly. At 12:40 PM contact began with the clear and steady voice of Richard Garriott from the ISS greeting the group and calling for questions. Student voices varied depending on location, but they were copied by Mr. Garriott well enough that he could respond. Students asked questions on a one-from-each-school rotation until the ISS orbited out of range. At 12:53 Richard Garriot's father, former astronaut Owen K. Garriott, W5LFL, spoke with the students for a few minutes over the phone patch. He told them that his greatest experience as an astronaut was looking out of the window at the Earth while he was in orbit. Archived webcasts of the downlinks are here: www.challenger.org/programs/garriottwebcasts.cfm My sincere thanks and appreciation for all those involved in this landmark event! I received an ARRL bulletin on October 9th that proclaimed that Pennsylvania is the 27th state with a PRB-1 law on their books. The bill requires local municipalities to "reasonably accommodate amateur radio service communications, and to impose only the minimum regulations necessary to accomplish the legitimate purpose of the municipality" and says that "no ordinance, regulation, plan or any other action shall restrict amateur radio antenna height to less than 65 feet above ground level, but a municipality may impose necessary regulations to ensure the safety of amateur radio antenna structures, but must reasonably accommodate amateur service communications. Greater than one half of the states in the USA have a PRB-1 law, and South Carolina is not one of them. I had someone who had an initial interest in spearheading an effort to establish a PRB-1 law in South Carolina, but the interest apparently dwindled. I need someone to pick up this effort, and to keep up with legislative issues within South Carolina. Ideally, this individual would be in the law profession with close contacts within the legislature. Please contact me [email protected] if either you or someone you know would have an interest in this project. If you have a amateur radio news item that you feel would be of interest to hams state-wide, please send it to me at [email protected]. I request that it be in a format
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where I can cut-and-paste the item without having to do significant editing. In this format, I can easily add the information to the www.arrl-sc.org webpage as well! September 2008 NTS for South Carolina by Mac Heaton N4MEH, STM: Net Reports: Net/Check Ins/Traffic/Sessions/Reported By: Anderson Radio Club 2M Net/930/30//KI4CCZ Beaufort VHF ARES Net/43/5/4/KB1CTC Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Net /2152/44/30/K4SUG Carolina's Net/293/140/58/W2EAG Carolina Slow Net/108/17/30/N0SU Columbia ARC 2 Meter Net/215//8/KE4TLC Grand Strand ARC 2M Net/124/23/13/KI4HEEWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Greater Pee Dee 2 Meter Net/718/43/30/K4DTT Greenwood ARC 2 Meter Net/94/4/4/W4DEW Greenwood ARC 2 Meter Net (August)/80/4/3/W4DEW Lancaster County 2 Meter Net/116/15/13/N4WMB Oconee 2M Net/349/14/13/N9GSX SC SSB Net/2119/87/30/W4DDK SC State ARES Net/203/4/4/KE4RVF Trident/43/11/5/W4KSD York Co. ARS 2 Meter FM Net/868/2/55/KI4NBA. Station Activity Reports: KA4UIV 20,K4GLT 74,N4MEH 74, W4DDK 34, W4KLB 45. PSHR N4MEH 90, K4BSC 40. Have a Great Month! 73 de Dr. Jim N2ZZ, ARRL Section Manager.
Rocky Mountain Division
New Mexico
New MexicoWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Section Report for September, 2008 Thanks to Larry Springsteen for his weekly updates from El Paso and Southern New Mexico. They are really active down there. If you want to receive this information contact Larry at - [email protected] . The position of PIO (Public Information Officer) is very important and every club should have one. We have a great PIC (Public Information Coordinator) Ray Herne N5LIV who can help with any copy and with suggestions for where to get the information out. We need more TSs (Technical Specialists) around the State. This is especially important for new hams and some of our older set who can no longer do some of the technical things that need to be done. Jerry Aceto, K6LIE, Has set up his 220 repeater in Rio Rancho – this repeater covers the valley very well so if you have a 220 rig you are encouraged to use the repeater. It is an open repeater with no PL and the frequency is 224.480. Darryl Clutter NX5W Held a VE exam on September 13th at the Manzano Mesa Multigenerational Center in Albuquerque. He only had two new techs and one paper upgrade to general. Darryl is considering reducing the number of open exams and is considering “on demand” sessions. The only way we will have open exam sessions is if they are well attended. So to all you club Presidents, you need to start pushing classes and recruiting new hams. ARRL members can now access the online QST magazine archive . This new benefit -- a service of the ARRL Technical Information Service (TIS) -- provides PDF copies of all QST articles from December 1915 through December 2004, enabling members to view and print their favorite article, project and more. Access to the new online digital QST archive is free for ARRL members, and is for their personal use only -- material in the archive may not be freely distributed or copied. Upcoming events: Frank Warren has the following activities in October: Boy Scout Technician class - The class will be a typical weekend class starting 10 October from 6 to 9 pm; Saturday the from 9 am to 4pm, and Sunday 9 am to 4 pm, with an exam at the end of the class period. Frank will need laptops to handle this class. He has five exam units. The classes and the exam will be at the Sombre Del Monte Christian Church at Utah and Vermont, just north of Menaul, between Pennsylvania and Wyoming in Albuquerque. Those VEs that can attend the exam session please contact Frank at 505-962-9212. A Technician Class at CNM will be starting October 27th through the 31st with an exam in the computer lab. Classes are Monday through Friday from 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm. The exam starts at 5:30 pm and goes to 7:00 pm and is an open test. A General Class at CNM starts Friday, October 10th, with classes on Saturday and Sunday. The exam will be on the following Monday, October 13, in the computer lab. Class times are 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm. The exam will be held in the computer lab from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. You should check with Frank to insure that enough signed up for the class. All of the above classes will be held at the CNM Workforce Training Center, which is south of Alameda on Eagle Rock Road, west of I-25. Take the first stop light west on Alameda from I-25, and Eagle Rock Rd. will be the next right. Contact Frank Warren
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Sr, AB5WJ [email protected] - 505-962-9212. The High Desert ARC will have a Special Event Station (W5B) at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta – October 3rd to the 11th. They are scheduling operators now. To set up a time contact Kathy (WB6JAN) at [email protected]. I will be at ARRL Headquarters from October 8th till the 13th getting training. The Pecos Valley Amateur Radio Club will hold an ARRL approved Hamfest in Roswell on October 18th. Go to their web sight http://www.dfn.com/PVARC/ For details. The Duke City Marathon and the Crop Walk both will be on October 19th. ContactWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Ed Ricco, N5LI, at [email protected] if you want to help out. The Socorro Hamfest is October 25. The Hamfest will be held at the New Mexico Fire Fighters Academy located at 600 Aspen Road. The Hamfest is sponsored by the Socorro ARA and the City of Socorro. Check out their web site at http://socorroara.org Talk-In: 146.680 (PL 100.0/123.0) & 444.750. You can contact Al Braun AC5BX at 602 Western Ave. Socorro, NM 87801 – Phone 575-835-3370 (Work) or 575-835- 1061 (Home) – e-mail [email protected] JOTA – The Boy Scouts “Jamboree On The Air” - JOTA is held the third weekend in October of each year. JOTA takes place starting Saturday at 0000 hours local time (12:00 AM) to Sunday, 23.59 hours local time (12:00 PM), though some activity continues over from Friday to Monday to take advantage of long distance (DX) time differences. As of this writing nothing official has been planned but there are several hams who are active with Scouting, and are trying to arrange something for next year and the years to follow. Let me know if you are interested and I will pass on your contact information to those trying to put this together. Many thanks to Ed James,, KA8JMW,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO for his helpful suggestions for the Section Report. Often times we forget that not everyone knows the “lingo” and alphabet soup or where to find things. The Net Counts for September are: NET NAME CONTACTS QSTs NM Breakfast Club: 1162 138 NM Roadrunner Traffic Net: 1146 113 High Desert ARC Net: 39 7 Four Corners Net: 576 37 Rusty’s Raiders Net: 684 73 Valencia County ARA Net: 61 12 SCAT Net: 796 100 Caravan Club Net: 68 3 Yucca Net: 810 49 For a listing of all nets in New Mexico please go to http://www.swcp.com/~n5zgt/abqham.htm#nets . This list is provided by Brian Mileshosky, N5ZGT, who is our Rocky Mountain Division Director. Thanks again Brian. Silent Key Report, September, 2008 William M (Bill) Whalen, ex N5YON Albuquerque, NM Passed Sept 19, 2008 Reported by Don Grab K5BIS Confirmed with Obituary in Albuquerque Journal 9/23/08
Southeastern Division
Georgia
SM: Susan Swiderski, AF4FO; ASM/South GA: Marshall Thigpen, W4IS; ASM/Legal: Jim Altman, W4UCK; ASM/Webmaster: Bob Smith, K4PHE; ASM/Youth Activities: Brittney Hancock, KI4WNY; ASM/Youth Advisor: Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM; ASM/ Scouting: David Pearce, ABØNG; ASM/ARES database: Steve Garrison, N4SEG; SEC: Scott Royle, KK4Z; STM: Charles Pennington, K4GK; OOC: Mike Swiderski, K4HBI; TC: Jim Worsham, W4KXY; PIC: Norm Schklar, WA4ZXV; SGL: Bill Cherepy, WB4WTN; ACC: Robin Cutshaw, AA4RC www.arrl-ga.org www.gaares.org Greetings, All. It was brought to my attention that one of our ECs had expressed concerns about the number of people who had access to the entire statewide database. Whether or not that was an unspoken concern of any of our other ECs and/or ARES members, this was an issue that certainly merited attention. To that end, we have now cut that access down to the bare bones. TOM HUGHES, KD4OEZ, the brilliant architect of our database, naturally will have full access, as will our SEC SCOTT ROYLE, KK4Z. Since my level of expertise in dealing with databases like this is minimal, (non-existent?) rather than maintain access simply because I'm the SM, it seemed much wiser to name a surrogate who has the required expertise. It's a pleasure to announce that STEVE GARRISON, N4SEG, has been appointed as our new Assistant SM/ ARES database, and as such, is the third and final person with complete access. Steve has been involved in the database since the get-go and has been instrumental in helping others register and enter their data. Many thanks to the EC who brought this concern to our attention, and to Steve for taking on this new position. At the upcoming Lawrenceville hamfest, Steve will be doing a presentation at the ARES forum on the current status of the database, and will be available to answer
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questions and provide assistance. LOWRY ROUSE, KM4Z, has been been one of our GA ARES leaders for many years, as Gwinnett county EC, as our SEC, and most recently, as our DEC for GEMA for the past couple years. No matter what the endeavor, his dedication and hard work have always been of the highest level, and ARES has truly been blessed and improved by his many years of unselfish leadership. So, THANK YOU, Lowry. We really appreciate all that you've done. As you might guess, Lowry has decided that the time has come for him to step down from his position as DEC. But he is passing the reins intoWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO the extremely capable hands of BILL CHERUPY, WB4WTN, long-time GEMA response team member, who has ALWAYS been responsive to whatever needs arose at the SOC. Thanks to you, Bill, for taking on this important position. Two more recent appointments: DON DEYTON, KF4CU, EC for Union county, and GEOFF FRANKLIN, KE4IGD, EC for Banks county. Thanks to both of these gentlemen for accepting these positions. This past weekend was the ARC of Augusta hamfest. Although there was a light mist falling in the morning, it didn't seem to dampen anyone's spirits a bit. There was a good turn-out, and a good time was had by all. Sincere thanks to the club members for all their hard work and warm hospitality. Coming up this Saturday is the Northwest GA ARC's Al Brock Memorial Hamfest & Tailgate Party, which will be held at the National Guard Armory at 340 Wilshire Road, in Rome. 8AM-2PM. FREE admission. Talk-in on 146.940(-) PL 88.5. Hope to see you there. It's always cool to be a FIRST, huh? But how about being the first contact for a first-time operator aboard the ISS? That's EXTRA cool. RANDAL DEPRIEST, N4AC, of Cumming, has the distinctionWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO of being Number One in the ISS logbook for RICHARD GARRIOTT, W5KWQ. CONGRATULATIONS, Randal. (not sure if his feet have come back to earth yet...) SILENT KEY: MAX LIDE, KF4SVB. Sincere condolences to his family and friends. Well, folks, that's about it for now. Until next time, this is AF4FO, signing clear. Take care of yourselves. And each other. 73, Susan September QTC: K4GK-152; WA4ZXV-144; WB4BIK-53; WA4UJC-51; K4BG-38; K4EV-10; K4BEH-8; K4BAI-7 +++ No trees were killed in the sending of this message. However, a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced. +++
Puerto Rico
Octubre 2008 Saludos a todos. Queremos felicitar a la FRA (Federación de Radio Aficionados) por su asamblea que se llevó a cabo el domingo 5 de este mes. La misma fue muy concurrida y contó con sus rifas, almuerzos y cambalaches. La nueva directiva es la siguiente: WP4CPV, Iván Feliú, Presidente KP4KQ, Gil Mendez, Vice Presidente WP3DZ, Edwin Rivera, Secretario KP4BAI, Germán Acevedo, Tesorero KP4LCL, Israel Cabrera, Relacionista Público KP3S, Carlos Rodríguez, QSL Manager KP4CAR, Carlos Rosado, Ex-Oficio KP4IP, Frank Puig, Trustee repetidores y Webmaster Representantes de área: WP4WC, Wilfredo Cruz, Area Central Este KP3JR, José Rodríguez, Area Norte WP4NTJ, Daniel Biascochea, Area Centro WP4CBC, Tito Colón, Area Sur KP4AQ, Juan Casañas, Area Noroeste WP3ZR, Madelyn Rivera, Area Este Muchas felicitaciones a este excelente grupo de radio aficionados. Hoy miércoles 15 de octubre, mientras escribo estas líneas, escucho a la WX4NHC (National Hurricane Center) en 14.325 MHz comunicandose con estaciones de PR y el Caribe siguiéndole el paso al huracán Omar. En 3.965 MHz también se formó un grupo radio aficionados dando apoyo en lo relacionado a este huracán. También intercambiamos información con Dennis Dura, K2DCD, Emergency Prepareness & Response ARRL y con Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, South Eastern Division Director ARRL sobre Omar y sus posibles consecuencias. También encontramos a varios radio aficionados intercambiando información meteorológica entre ellos y con oficinas municipales de manejo de emergencias (OMME). Pudimos escuchar a WP4NXS, KP4CAR, KP3S, KP4KQ, WP4MD y KP4CAT entre otros. Gracias a Dios los daños fueron mínimos para Puerto Rico. El próximo sábado 18 de octubre se celebrará el famoso JOTA (Jamboree on the Air). Ya hay varios grupos grupos de radio aficionados apoyando tropas de niños escuchas en diferentes lugares de PR. Entre ellos, el Caribbean Amateur Radio Group en Hatillo, otro grupo en San Sebastián y otro en el área este. Les deseamos éxito a todos. El Arecibo Observatory Special Event ha cambiado la fecha de su actividad para el 23 de noviembre (una semana después) ya que del 15 al 17 se estará efectuando el ARRL SS SSB. Se espera la
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visita de muchos radio aficionados durante la operación de KP4AO (Arecibo Observatory) en las facilidades del radio telescopio de Arecibo. Podrán ver la actividad a través del internet (http://aocam1.naic.edu). Para mas información pueden comunicarse con Ángel, WP3R ([email protected]). Gracias a todos por sus colaboraciones. Será hasta la próxima. Dios los bendiga a todos. 73s Roberto, KP4AC Southern FloridaWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO Hi Everyone, Fall is here but the weather is still warm and humid and as I type this we have several tropical disturbances offshore. Keep the go-kits handy. Recently several states have passed what are called PRB-1 laws. Many members have become excited thinking that this was a good way to ask Florida to pass a similar law. We have had a PRB-1 law as Florida statute since 1991: 166.0435 amateur radio antennas; construction in conformance with federal requirements.-- No municipality shall enact or enforce any ordinance or regulation which fails to conform to the limited preemption entitled amateur radio Preemption, 101 FCC 2d 952 (1985) as issued by the Federal Communications Commission. Any ordinance or regulation adopted by a municipality with respect to amateur radio antennas shall conform to the above cited limited preemption, which states that local regulations which involve placement, screening, or height of antennas based on health, safety, or aesthetic considerations must be crafted to reasonablyWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO accommodate amateur communications, and to represent the minimum practicable regulation to accomplish the local authority's legitimate purpose. Please note that PRB-1 and corresponding state laws apply only to county and municipal laws. These regulations do not apply to deed restrictions, CC&Rs, and HOA rules. For further reading on PRB-1 vs HOAs and CCRs go to: http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/antenna-restrictions.html and get the facts. There are currently no bills in the Federal or Florida legislatures that address the CC&R issues. If you can get the ear of a legislator and form a group to introduce such a bill, your efforts will be appreciated by all amateurs. Contact me and I will put you and the legislator in touch with the ARRL officials to assist you. Please do not send me an e-mail message that you support such a bill - send me the name and contact information of the person who assured you they would introduce the bill. We will have a lot of work to do if a bill is introduced and individuals will be encouraged to write at that time. ------AWARDS PROGRAM Did you know that the ARRL has a large and varied Awards Program? Why not have a challenge in your club for one or more of the awards. For information on the program go to: http://www.arrl.org/awards/ For a list of fellow amateurs who can check your cards for these awards go to: http://www.arrl.org/awards/awardsearch/wassearchform1.php3 ------TRAFFIC REPORT: SAR September 2008: KA4FZI 248, KE4CB 108, AA4BN 54, KC4TM 19, WA4BAM 9, W7GXW 8, KP3O 4 ======PSHR September 2008: KA4FZI 120, KE4CB 105, AA4BN 86, K4DLF 86, N4SCY August 170 ======NETS September 2008 Name, Abbreviation, Sessions, QNI, QTC, QND---- Manager All Florida CW Traffic Net, QFN, 60, 530, 327, 857---- AD4DO Florida Amateur SSB Traffic Net, FAST, 30, 365, 91---- K4SCL Florida Medium Speed Net, FMSN, 30, 357,43, 520,---- AG4RJ/AB4XK Jupiter-Tequesta Repeater Group, JTRG, 8, 77,34, 404---- AG4BV/W4FK Palm Beach County Ares Net, PBCAN, 8, 141, 17----- K4DLF Southern Florida ARES Net (Aug), GCAN, 4, 128, 6,173---- N5KFR Saint Lucie Repeater Association, SLRA, 4, 44, 0,37---- KE4UEI Southeast Florida Traffic Net, SEFTN, 33, 680, 51,1387---- AG4RJ/KI4IQZ Southwest Florida Traffic Net, SWFTN, 26, 367, 65,1622---- KE4CB/N9WS ------ARES REPORT: Total number of ARES members in the 11 counties reporting: 915 ARES nets active in the 11 counties: 12, held 46 sessions, 5 have NTS liaison. DECs/ECs reporting: N4LEM, WA2DQX, KF4MJJ, N5KFR, WA4ASJ, WA4GUK, AI7Q, AD4RZ, N4QPM, AJ4BP, WN7YJJ reporting for Osceola . Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 44, Person hours 290.8 Total number of ARES operations this month: 55, Total Person hours 306.8 SETs have been held in several ares. Palm Beach held a drill simulating a plane carrying unknown chemicals crashing in a residential area. Miami- Dade DCAT Team linked with Broward ARES/RACES for a hurricane simulation. St Lucie checked all EOC equipment and mobile units. Indian River is planning a tabletop drill at the November ARES
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meeting. Miami-Dade will work with Monroe on a drill in the next few months. If your county has not done an SET since September 1 you can still participate in the national ARRL SET program until December 31. Contact your ARES EC and offer to help plan the drill. Many of you may already be aware of this course, or have taken it. Nevertheless, here is information on a relatively new FEMA online independent study course that presents the concepts of Emergency Support Function #2- Communications. We strongly encourage integrating ARES in the local, county, regional or state government emergencyWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO operations plan. This presents us a variety of mission options, not beholding to any one specific group, and we become more aligned with the emergency management structure. The course takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. Here is the link: http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS802.asp Remember, RACES works FOR Emergency Management while ARES works WITH Emergency Management AND other agencies. ------Lastly, a good read: A 67-page booklet, Ethics and Operating Procedures for the Radio Amateur by John Devoldere, ON4UN, and Mark Demeuleneere, ON4WW, is available for free download from the ARRL Web site. The booklet is an Americanized version of the booklet that the authors wrote for an international audience. At its June 2008 meeting, the IARU Administrative Council endorsed and recommended the principles set out in the booklet as a means of encouraging all radio amateurs to operate to the highest levels of proficiency, with proper consideration for others using the amateur radio bands and as a tool "to teach newcomers and others correct operating behavior. The booklet mainly addressesWWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO HF operating issues, but the principles are also applicable to VHF and higher bands. Till next month, get on the air and stay safe. 73, Sherri, W4STB
Southwestern Division
Arizona
October 2008 SOUTHWESTERN DIVISION CONVENTION 2008 Wow, the convention is behind us, and I for one am leading the cheering. I am cheering for the efforts of the convention committee, for all the wonderful presentations which were well received and for the fact that I can finally take a breath. Thanks again for supporting the 2008 Southwestern Division Convention. Rick Aldom W7STS Convention Chair. [email protected] Thanks to all the convention staff, speakers, vendors and all of the attendees. It was good seeing all of you at the convention. For all of you who are asking who one the raffle, the winners are posted on the website www.azhamcom.org. Dick Norton N6AA Division Director gave out two Southwestern Division awards during the convention banquet; Rick Aldom W7STS received the SWD Volunteer of the Year award and Grant Hays WB6OTS received the SWD Meritorious Service award. Dick also presented Jim Fagan KE7IDC with the ARRL Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award. Congratulations to all of you. If you are interested in being on the committee for the 2012 convention in Arizona please let me know. Tom K7DF [email protected] YOUTH AND SCOUTING There were many young people at the Southwestern Division Convention. It was good to see the interest of the young people. My dad and I gave a talk on Youth and Scouting and the attendees were very excited to learn what we had done. Hopefully they will use that information to encourage youth and Scouts in their area. Jim Fagan KE7IDC Assistant Section manager Youth and Scouting [email protected] EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS Did you know that in the last 12 months, Amateur Radio Operators have donated more than 5000 hours towards Public Service Events, almost 3000 hours in Drills and Training and more than 250 hours in actual operations? These statistics are available to anyone who has created an account on the Arizona ARES database. Operators can log their hours which is useful from both a management perspective as well as being useful to the operator at the end of the year for tax accounting. If you would like to join Arizona ARES, you can create an account at www.az-arrl.org/secure. The procedure is pretty painless, and best of all you won't receive spam from our server. Rick Aldom W7STS. [email protected] SILENT KEYS William Oliver Grieve W7AFC passed away Saturday the 30 August 2008. Oliver was an elmer to many, many hams. He worked in radio communications for the Arizona Highway Patrol and was a small town disc jockey early in his
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career. Oliver served in the Army Signal Corps in Japan during WWII. Oliver was first licensed as W6OER in California. He became W7WGW when he moved to Phoenix in 1954. Oliver founded the Mingus Mountain Repeater Group in 1974. The groups first repeater was on 147.000 located on Mingus Mountain near Prescott AZ. The callsign back then was WR7AFC. One can see why he chose W7AFC when it became available in 1998. Oliver worked for KOOL-TV channel 10 in Phoenix as a transmitter site engineer. After retirement in 1991 he and his wife moved to Cottonwood and then to Benson in 1996. Oliver was alsoWWW.RADiOSCAMATORUL.Hi2.RO a member of ARRL, lifetime member of the Arizona Repeater Association, member of the Eastern Arizona Amateur Radio Society, member of the Cochise Amateur Radio Association, lifetime member of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Society, President of the Arizona Amateur Club, Chairman of the Amateur Radio Council of Arizona, and also ARCA Hamfest Chairman in the mid 80's. In 1988 he was awarded the ARCA Ham of the Year award. ARIZONA TRAFFIC AND EMERGENCY NET (ATEN) REPORT The ATEN Report for August is: Check-ins: 603, Traffic: 85, Visitors: 62, Sessions: 31, Active Stns: 25, Originated: 59 ATEN NM is Tomy KF7GC [email protected], http://www.atenaz.net/ NEW HAMS The following Arizona hams just received their FCC license, Congratulations! Lewis Jezso KE7VGJ, Tim Huber KE7VGO, Jonathan Graham KE7VGP, Kimberly Colburn KE7VGQ, William Hilton KE7VGR, Jacob Shepherd KE7VGS, Michael Golden KE7VGT, Robert Woodward KE7VGU, Jonathan Dingwall KE7VGV, Kendell Payne KE7VGW, Todd Jackson KE7VGY, Robert Wakefield KE7VJI, Bailey Perkins KE7VJJ, Scott Morgan KE7VJK,WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO John Macgregor KE7VJL, Michael Wifall KE7VJM, Ronald Van Loan KE7VJN, Scott Carnett KE7VJP, Susan Peterson KE7VJQ, Marshall Gilbert KE7VJR, Anna Gilbert KE7VJS, John Bradfield KE7VJU, Peter Sabin KE7VJV, James Christian KE7VJW, John Behrens KE7VJX, Ronald Trimble KE7VKA, Trina Trimble KE7VKB, Colleen Leon KE7VKC, Frederick Schroder KE7VKD, Dennis Cole KE7VKE, Alan Levenson KE7VKF, Leopold Gutierrez KE7VKH, Janet Mclay KE7VKI, Paul Eyssautier KE7VKJ, John Comaduran KE7VKK, Donald Westcott KE7VKL, Margo Weaver KE7VKM, Leslie Muir KE7VKN, Niles Stein KE7VKO, Tyler Cornell KE7VKP, Jonathan Hamnett KE7VKQ, Jeff Guthrie KE7VKR, Glenn Fleck KE7VKS, Roberto Torres KE7VKT, Mark Ekstum KE7VKU, James Washburn KE7VKX, Monte Shelledy KE7VKY, Quinn Mcghan KE7VKZ, Liam Mcghan KE7VLA, Craig Mcghan KE7VLB, Orion Thrower KE7VLC, Sara Heiser KE7VLD, Steven Beyer KE7VLE, Ernest Daignault KE7VME, Linda Fulmer KE7VMF, Thomas Fulmer KE7VMG, Christopher Monteith KE7VMI, Charles Bock KE7VMQ, Nathan Seiter KE7VNP, Curtis Boushley KE7VNQ, Don Mcbride KE7VOE, Karen Visokey KE7VOI, Joel Reed KE7VOJ, Brian Farrer KE7VOK, Mario Benally KE7VOL, Kenneth Mayes KE7VOM, Chad Chaney KE7VON, Jason Ferguson KE7VOO, James Ziegler KE7VOP, Paul Spaude KE7VOQ, Mons Ellingson KE7VOR, William Regula KE7VOS, Jack York KE7VOU, Nathan Painter KE7VOV, Grant Pepping KE7VOW, Carlsan Smith KE7VOX, Kelly Stork KE7VOY, June Walker KE7VOZ, Robert Painter KE7VPA, Roger Forgeron KE7VPB, Kristian Smith KE7VPF, Robert Metzelaars KE7VPG, Gary Franklin KE7VPH, Timothy Gardner KE7VPI, Megan Gardner KE7VPJ, Michael Elyea KE7VPK, John Logan KE7VPS, John Safrans KE7VQM, George Starks KE7VQU, Penny Barkley KE7VQV, Sheri Keisner KE7VQW, Don Mineer KE7VQX, Bryant Scott KE7VQY, Susan Conklu KE7VQZ, David Pacheco KE7VRA, and Scott Mccown KE7VRJ. HAMFESTS/CONVENTIONS/SPECIAL MEETINGS October 18 2008 Old Pueblo Hamfest Kino Sports Park Tucson AZ Talk-In: 147.30+ (PL 110.9) Contact: John Clor, N7SQQ [email protected]. October 19, 2008 Tucson Ham Radio Picnic at Reid Park at 12 noon www.tucsonhampicnic.com December 6, 2008 Superstition ARC Hamfest, Mesa AZ http://www.wb7tjd.org, Talk-In: 147.20+ (PL 162.2), Contact: Judy Ferrara, K7JLF, [email protected] Mesa Community College SE Corner of Dobson Rd & Southern Ave. January 10, 2009 Westfest Thunderbird ARC http://www.w7tbc.org Talk-In: 146.70 (PL 162.2) Contact: Steve Grouse, W1ADW [email protected] Thunderbird School of Global Management 59th Avenue & Greenway Road Glendale AZ. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about ARRL. If your club or group has an activity or event that would be of interest to other hams throughout our section please email me with the specifics.
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