HCARC Happenings
June 2014
News for Amateur Radio Operators In and Around Hillsdale County There
will not be a club meeting in June. The
next club meeting will be
Thursday, July 17. This
month the Ham Breakfast will be held
on Saturday, June 14 at 8am at the Sidekick
Cafe, 4682 Hudson Road in Osseo (map).
Everyone welcome! Field Day
is coming up June 28 & 29. Anyone
interested in serving as chairperson or helping with planning should contact
club
leadership. The
club has a new email address. The
address is K8HRC@arrl.net.
The email address is a reflector service that is offered by the ARRL
to affiliated clubs. The email address is included in several places on our
website. Club membership stands at 14 as of May 31.
No new members since April 30. Membership
application is available here
(print 2-sided). Four county hams provided volunteer services to the Hillsdale County CROP Walk that was held May 4. Walkers started at the Hillsdale Salvation Army Corps Community Center in Hillsdale and walked along the Baw Beese Trail for two miles to Sandy Beach before returning. Amateur Radio volunteers directed traffic to parking areas, monitored the trail and distributed water to walkers. CROP Walk organizers presented amateur radio volunteers Don Gambill KC8WAU, Joe Gosla KD8UJS, Craig Moore KD8TKR and Dan Sprow KC8RYF with certificates of appreciation proclaiming them as members of The Order of the Golden Bandaid. Two
county volunteer hams provided Amateur Radio services to the Community
Action Agency Head Start Picnic May 16.
Don Gambill KC8WAU and Brett Smith KC8ZDA directed an estimated 175
vehicles to parking spaces, maintaining an orderly flow of traffic
throughout the event. The ARRL has commented in opposition to an FCC
proposal that would leave licensed radio service users vulnerable to
interference from unlicensed devices.
In a docket unrelated to Amateur Radio spectrum, the Commission has
indicated that it’s willing to consider adding licensed Globalstar
terrestrial users to the 2473-2483.5 MHz band, already shared by licensed
and unlicensed services, with the condition that customer handset users in
the new allocation accept interference from unlicensed radio services now
legally operating there. The
League’s comments were in response to a Notice of Proposed Rule Making in
IB Docket 13-213 and RM-11-685. (ARRL
story) (ARRL
comments) Coconino County in Arizona passed an ordinance banning
cell phone use while driving that also includes most mobile ham radio
operations. The new law
specifically prohibits the mobile use of two-way radios, including amateur
radios, unless the operator is relaying a message between first responders
in an emergency. (Arizona
Daily Sun story) (Coconino
County FAQ) The city of
Flagstaff exercised its option under Arizona law to opt out of the
ordinance, citing the ban on two-way radios as a primary reason.
(Arizona
Daily Sun story) The Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals has dismissed an appeal from the Village of Swanton, in an Amateur Radio antenna zoning case. Gary Wodtke WW8N has been trying since 2009 to erect a 60 foot antenna support structure on his residential lot and it now appears that he will be able to do so. The village has established a fixed antenna height of 20 feet above the residential roofline, and it turned down Wodtke’s antenna variance application for the taller structure. On appeal, Wodtke won a final judgment in his favor in the Fulton County Common Pleas Court. The court ruled that federal and state (PRB-1) law preempted Swanton’s antenna ordinance. ARRL Ohio Section State Government Liaison Nick Pittner K8NAP, an attorney, believes “The Ohio Municipal League seems intent on challenging (the PRB-1 law) in court, and will likely try to do so in some other case. (ARRL Story) (Original ARRL story) The ARRL celebrated the 100th anniversary of
the League’s founding on May 18, the last day of the Dayton
Hamvention. A birthday
party and free cake helped to draw a room-filling crowd of 200 or more for
the Sunday morning occasion. ARRL
President Kay Craigie N3KN told the gathering, “The Second Century is up
to us,” and expressed the hope that in another 100 years, the Amateur
Radio community would reflect on the League’s first century with respect
and admiration. (ARRL
story) The 2014
Whiskey Off-Road Mountain Bike Event on April 26 in Arizona quickly
developed into an emergency exercise for Yavapai
Amateur Radio Club volunteers who were supporting communication for the
11th annual race. About an hour
after it began, temperatures dropped, and riders were confronted with a
mixture of rain, high wind, sleet, and snow.
As the weather worsened, some riders dropped out at the second
checkpoint, returning to Prescott via a connecting road.
Other riders, however, soldiered on for another two checkpoints, at
which time another 50 participants quit due to the worsening weather, with
some exhibiting symptoms of hypothermia.
Event communications quickly switched into evacuation mode, and the
net control station contacted all checkpoints to determine how many riders
needed transportation. (ARRL
story) Radio Amateurs of
Canada is pleased to announce the official Canadian implementation of
the 472-479 kHz band. “Agreed
to in 2012 at the World
Radio Conference (WRC), and now approved in Canada this is more good
news for Canadian amateur radio”, said RAC President Geoff Bawden VE4BAW.
While approved at WRC
12 by the International
Telecommunications Union, each country then must implement regulations
for its amateurs before the band is available.
(Southgate
Amateur Radio News story) The RFinder team and Echolink
creator K1RFD have collaborated to make it easier than ever to find an
EchoLink machine anywhere on the planet.
By downloading the EchoLink, v1.4.8 and RFinder v3.14.128, both now
available at Google Play, you
can search for a repeater anywhere on Earth and connect to that node
directly just by touching the node number.
(QRZ.com
story) TEN-TEC and RF
Concepts
have announced that they are merging. RF
Concepts Chairman Michael Seedman AA6DY declared the union the perfect
combination of amateur radio brands, creating a multi-million-dollar company
with products that span QRP transceivers to full-legal-limit amplifiers and
establishes an organization with the size and scale to continue to innovate
into the next decade and beyond. (Read
announcement) (ARRL
story) The FCC has dismissed without prejudice a Petition for
Rule Making (RM-11651)
by Lockheed Martin that would have amended Part 15 rules to expand
deployment of the company’s radio frequency identification (RFID) system
in the 433 MHz band (433.5-434.5 MHz).
Lockheed Martin sold its RFID business 2 years ago, but the company
only this month requested that the petition be withdrawn and the proceeding
terminated. The ARRL had staunchly opposed the Lockheed Martin petition.
(ARRL
story) The ARRL has launched a new online resource that
allows users to take randomly generated practice exams using
questions from the actual examination question pool.
ARRL Exam Review for Ham
Radio is free, and users do not need to be ARRL members. “The ARRL’s online Exam Review is designed to help
license examination candidates review their progress as they study,” said
ARRL Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen NQ1R.
“As you complete a chapter or section of a license manual, you can
turn to the online program to review all of the related questions taken
directly from the examination question pool.
After answering each question — right or wrong — the correct
answer is shown, and a page reference to the license manual is displayed for
further review.” (ARRL
story) If
you're planning on going to the Monroe
Hamfest on June 15, keep in mind that it is also race day at Michigan
International Speedway. Plan
accordingly to avoid the traffic. FCC
License Database Activity in Hillsdale County None
in May. QSM The 16th annual Michigan
Section Family Outing will be held July 10-13 at
the Woodlands
Conference Center & Campgrounds in Hale (map).
This event is an opportunity to get together in a very relaxed
atmosphere for a day or two or three or four, depending on your interests
and time available. If you are
a camper or an RV’er or just like to get out into the woods, the Section
Outing is for you! For those that like the comfort of a hotel room,
those are available in West Branch just a short drive from the campground.
There will plenty of fun events along with learning experiences for
the whole family. Check the calendar
often as more activities and details are added as we get closer to the event
date. The National Conference of Volunteer Examiner
Coordinators (NCVEC)
Question Pool Committee released the new
2014-2018 Technician Class question pool (Element 2) to the public.
The pool will take effect on July 1, 2014, and will remain valid
until June 30, 2018. The current
Technician question pool, released in 2010, is valid until June 30,
2014. The
ARRL has posted a Centennial QSO Party leader board that participants
can use to determine how many points they have accumulated in the Centennial
QSO Party and in the W1AW WAS (Worked All States) operations.
Log in using your Logbook
of The World (LoTW) user name and password, and your position will
appear at the top of the leader boards.
Results are updated daily, based on contacts entered into LoTW. The ARRL has announced a Centennial Station Giveaway as part of its National Centennial Convention to be held in Hartford, Connecticut, July 17-19, 2014. Sponsored by the ARRL and R&L Electronics, the first-prize winner will receive a Grand Prize voucher worth up to $5000 of equipment, redeemable for products sold by R&L Electronics. (ARRL story) Hillsdale
County Emergency Management is always looking for volunteers, either to join the group or just to
monitor the monthly tornado siren test, so if you are interested contact
Cindy at the HCEM office. 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). 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. (List updated
05/19/14) 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 June
1 – Chelsea
Hamfest June
4 – Board Meeting June
7 – Fulton
County Hamfest June
7 – Independent
Repeater Association Hamfest (Hudsonville) June
14 – Ham Breakfast at Sidekick
Cafe in Osseo (map) June
15 – Monroe
Hamfest June
21 – West
Michigan Youth Club Hamfest (Lowell) June
28-29 – Field Day July
10-13 –
Michigan
Section Summer Family Outing July
17 – Club Meeting July
17-19 – ARRL
National Centennial Convention July
20 – Van
Wert Hamfest July
26 – CMARK
Trunk Sales (Lansing) |
Send us your comments and suggestions to K8HRC@arrl.net