HCARC Happenings
March 2014
|
News for Amateur Radio Operators In and Around Hillsdale County The
next club meeting will be
Thursday, March 20 at 7pm at the First United
Methodist Church, 45 N Manning in Hillsdale (map).
Park in city lot F and use the east entrance off the alley and follow
the signs. The program will
feature Hillsdale County 911/Central Dispatch and Emergency Management
Director Doug Sanford N8WFB talking about the upcoming severe weather
season. This
month the Ham Breakfast will be held
on Saturday, March 8 at 8am at the Downtown Café
(formally the Downtown Diner and the Reading Inn), 137 S Main in Reading (map).
Please come join us. Club membership stands at 19 as of February 28, including those in the grace period. So far 7 members have renewed for 2014. Club membership dues for 2014
are due. You must renew by
March 31 to maintain your membership status.
Rates are unchanged from last year and are $15 for regular
membership, $5 for household membership (additional members in same
household after first member pays regular rate) and free for students.
All members are asked to fill out an updated membership
application (print
2-sided) as
part of the renewal process. Dues
can be paid by cash or check at the monthly meeting or mailed to club
Treasurer Joe Gosla KD8UJS, 2175 Blackmer Drive, Jonesville, MI 49250. Make checks payable to Hillsdale County Amateur Radio Club or
HCARC. Thanks for your support. The
first tornado siren test of the year will be held on Monday, March 3
at 10am. Hillsdale
County Emergency Management is always looking for volunteers, either to
join the group or just to monitor the monthly test, so if you are interested
contact Cindy at the HCEM office. Tornado
siren tests are held on the first Monday of the month (except September
which is the second Monday), March through October at 6pm (except March
& September which are held at 10am). We all
know it’s been a cold and snowy winter.
Since November 1, there has been over 6 feet of snowfall in
Hillsdale. The high and low
temperatures have been much colder than normal.
The chart below was created from data from Accuweather.com
and measurements I’ve taken myself. The
National Weather Service Northern Indiana Office also has an interesting
web page that looks at the winter season so far.
Click here
to view it.
As
part of its Centennial celebration, the ARRL has debuted a video “ARRL
at 100 — A Century of Ham Radio”, that explains the League’s
history and mission over the past century.
Past ARRL Manager for Media and Public Relations Allen Pitts W1AGP
wrote and produced the half-hour presentation.
Pitts said he got started on the project about a year ago with a
personal study of the League’s history.
(ARRL
story) (View
video) (Purchase
DVD) On February 11 a Senate Hearing on
pending PRB-1 legislation was held in Lansing within the Energy
and Technology Committee, chaired by Senator
Mike Nofs. In addition to
ARRL testimony, there were two organizations testifying that are opposed to
the bill along with a village manager.
Senator Nofs instructed one of his aides to set up a meeting between
the ARRL team and the Michigan Municipal League to work out differences and
come up with a revised bill that meets the needs of both groups.
Click here
to read the complete report on the ARRL Michigan Section page.
Click here
to follow the progress of the Senate Bill 0493. The
Village of Swanton, Ohio is appealing the decision of the Fulton County
Common Pleas Court in a case involving application of Ohio’s new
antenna legislation (PRB-1). The
Court ordered the approval of an application to the village by Gary Wodtke
WW8N for approval of an antenna variance.
The Village denied the application and Wodtke appealed that decision. The Court ruled in Wodtke’s favor and the Village is now
appealing that order. (QRZ.com
story) The ARRL plans to
file a “friend of the court” brief on behalf of Wodtke. (ARRL
story) The
Department of Defense (DoD) announced the release of its Electromagnetic
Spectrum Strategy to increase available spectrum in order to meet
growing demand from the commercial wireless industry.
Amateur UHF and Microwave spectrum is shared with DoD.
The release of 500 MHz may result in more intensive use by the DoD of
the remaining shared spectrum. (QRZ.com
story) TX
Factor is now
on-line and ready to view at www.txfactor.co.uk.
It is the first TV show produced in the UK dedicated to Amateur Radio
and is produced by broadcast professionals who are also hams.
It is totally fee to view with no sign up or form filling required!
(QRZ.com
story) Members of an Oregon amateur radio club used radio
direction-finding techniques to locate a man suffering from dementia,
who had gone missing. The
man’s wife reported that he had wandered away from the couple’s home.
Fortunately, the man was wearing a Project
Lifesaver RDF bracelet. Specially trained hams were able to track down and locate the
missing man (ARRL
story) FCC
License Database Activity in Hillsdale County None
in February FCC
Enforcement News The
FCC has issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture to a
Texas ham after determining that he “apparently willfully violated” FCC
rules by interfering with Amateur Radio communications.
The Commission proposed a $7000 fine.
The action was in response to complaints from other radio amateurs of
intentional interference on 7.195 MHz.
(ARRL
story) QSM Volunteers
are always needed to run the Monday Night Ragchew Net.
Check the Net
Control Schedule on the club website
for the schedule and results. And
don’t forget to check in every Monday at 7pm on the 147.06 MHz repeater. Longtime
club member Charlie Hinkle W8CFO is downsizing his station and has some equipment
for sale. Click here
for a list. SKYWARN
training will
not be offered in Hillsdale County this year.
2014 Spotter Training for the Northern
Indiana Forecast Office Northeast
Region will be held on March 6 in Archbold, Ohio. Completion of the Free
Online Spotter Training is recommended prior to attending this training
session. Click here
for a complete schedule of training for the Northern Indiana office. The ARRL
Centennial QSO Party kicked off January 1 for a year-long operating
event in which participants can accumulate points and win awards in
conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the ARRL.
During 2014 W1AW will be on
the air from every state (at least twice) and most US territories, and it
will be easy to work all states solely by contacting W1AW portable
operations. The event is open
to all, although only ARRL members and appointees, elected officials, HQ
staff and W1AW are worth points. (ARRL
story) Lots of addition
information about the centennial QSO party is available here. ARRL
membership certificates
commemorating the League’s 100th anniversary in 2014 now are available.
Members logged onto the League’s website can generate their own
certificates or cards online for printing.
(ARRL
story) Upcoming Events March 8 – Ham Breakfast at Downtown Café in Reading (map) March 12 – Board Meeting March 15 – Marshall Hamfest March 16 – Toledo Hamfest March
20 – Club meeting April
12 – Ham Breakfast April
12 - Milford Hamfest May
16-18 - Dayton
Hamvention |
Send us your comments and suggestions to K8HRC@arrl.net
