In this issue:
- ALL OHIO ARES
CONFERENCE TO BE HELD NOVEMBER 9th – STEVE EWALD, WV1X
KEYNOTE SPEAKER FROM ARRL
- FROM THE SECTION
EMERGENCY COORDINATOR
- AROUND THE WEB
- AFFILIATED CLUB
COORDINATOR NEWS
- NOTES FROM THE
SECTION TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
- SOUTHWEST OHIO
HAPPENINGS
- OUT AND ABOUT IN
SOUTHEAST OHIO
- SPECIAL EVENT
STATIONS IN OHIO
- OHIO HAMFEST
CALENDAR
- FINAL THOUGHTS
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ALL OHIO ARES
CONFERENCE..
ALL OHIO ARES
CONFERENCE WILL BE HELD NOVEMBER 9th – ARRL KEYNOTE
SPEAKER IS STEVE EWALD, WV1X
The All Ohio ARES
Conference will be held on Saturday, November 9th, 2013.
It will be held at the Ohio Fire Academy, 8895 E. Main
St. in Reynoldsburg. The conference begins at 8:00am
with an ARRL VE test session, and will then proceed into
speakers, forums, a Go-Box display, and an EmComm
vehicle show.
They Keynote
Speaker for the Conference is Steve Ewald, WV1X, ARRL
Field Service Organization Supervisor. Steve oversees
and manages the many programs under the Field Service
Organization. We welcome Steve to Central Ohio, and look
forward to having Steve spend his Saturday with us.
This conference is
open to those who are interested in public service
communications, emergency/disaster communications, and
digital communications.
The conference
agenda is filling up. But there's still room for more.
This year will
feature the ever-popular Go Box Display and Emcomm
Vehicle/trailer display. There were 20 some go boxes
and portable antennas on display last year. It was a
smash hit amongst the participants. This is a wonderful
opportunity to share ideas and show-off all your hard
work.
Here's the Emcomm
Vehicle / Trailer line up so far...
Dayton Amateur
Radio Association
Delaware County
ARES (N8BHL)
Marion County ARES
Medina County M2M
(K8FH)
Shelby County ARES
Stay tuned for
further updates.
In addition to the
training presentations, we'll also be presenting the
2013 ARES
Membership Drive winners and 2013 winner of the Ross
Stillisano KB8JTZ Memorial Award. We'll hear an update
from the Digital Communications Committee. Statewide
Simulated Emergency Test results will be announced.
Time to upgrade or
take your Technician License Exam? No problem!
There will be a
volunteer exam session at the All Ohio ARES Conference
this year. Check out
All participants
are asked to register online at
http://www.arrl-ohio.org/SEC/default.html. Scroll
down the page to the registration link. The online
registration is important for accountability and proper
food procurement.
For those who are
traveling from afar, there are several hotels and motels
in the area to choose from. More than likely, I'll be
staying at a hotel Friday night near the Fire Academy.
Participants at the
2012 All Ohio ARES Conference set quite a few
benchmarks. With your help, we can exceed those bench
marks to make
2013 AOAC the best
one yet.
73,
Matt Welch, W8DEC
ARRL Section
Emergency Coordinator - Ohio
w8dec@arrl.net
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FROM THE SECTION
EMERGENCY COORDINATOR..
The ARRL Ohio
Section Statewide Simulated Emergency Test took place on
Saturday, October 12th. Although reports are still
coming in, preliminary results reveal excellent
participation. I cannot thank the volunteers enough for
their support and participation in the 2013 Statewide
Simulated Emergency Test. All participants are asked to
send an After-Action Report (AAR) to your ARES Team
Leader (Emergency Coordinator or Assistant Emergency
Coordinator). The proper format for an AAR is simple...
What was expected
to happen?
What actually
happened?
What went well and
why?
What needs
improvement?
Following this
format will help you organize your thoughts and help you
put them down on paper. Please complete your AAR at
your earliest convenience while the event is fresh in
your mind.
The All Ohio ARES
Conference will be held on Saturday, November 9th at the
Ohio Fire Academy in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. The address is
8895 East Main Street, Reynoldsburg, OH 46068. There
are several hot topics this year. First and foremost,
the ARRL Board of Directors approved the All Ohio ARES
Conference as a specialty convention. Many thanks to
Ohio SM Frank KI8GW and Great Lakes Division Director
Jim K8JE for their support in this effort. So the
conference became eligible for a guest speaker from ARRL
HQ. With the hard work and determination of our
illustrious Ohio Section Manager Frank KI8GW, our
keynote speaker is Steve Ewald WV1X who is the Field
Organization Supervisor at ARRL HQ in Newington, CT. I
have seen Steve's presentation at other conferences and
I think you will enjoy it.
There will be one
of the largest go box displays this section has ever
seen! There will be emcomm vehicles / trailers on
display including the new Dayton Amateur Radio
Association Communications Truck! Didn't see it or tour
it at Hamvention 2013? No worries, it will be at the
All Ohio ARES Conference! There is a full agenda of
programs and presentations. What are they, you ask?
The schedule is in the midst of being finalized and will
be posted on the ARES page on the Ohio Section website.
An announcement will be made when that happens. All
participants are asked to register online at
www.arrl-ohio.org. There is a link on the right hand
side of the page. Click on it to register.
Online registration
is important so the proper amount of food can be
purchased. It also tells me if you're bringing a go box
and/or communications vehicle/trailer.
Volunteer Exam
Session at 0800 (8AM) at the All Ohio ARES Conference.
Interested in
upgrading or taking your technician license exam? Many
thanks to Muskingum EC Kathy KB3RDR and her team for
making this happen again this year!
Last but not least,
I have four ARRL gift certificates to give away at the
All Ohio ARES Conference. Register online, come to the
conference, have a great time, and you might just be the
winner of one of the gift certificates. You can't
possibly win if you do not attend!
Training. The
State of Ohio Emergency Management Agency has a great
list of training available throughout the State. There
is a course catalog and a course calendar. Check out
their website at
http://ema.ohio.gov/training.aspx.
That's all for this
month. Thank you for everything you do for amateur
radio.
73 de Matt W8DEC
ARRL Section
Emergency Coordinator - Ohio
w8dec@arrl.net
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AROUND THE WEB..
Hi Gang,
This time around
I’m reporting from home. I’ve been traveling around a
bit these past several months and it is definitely good
to be able to stay at home for a change. Winter is fast
approaching and I have to tell ya’ that we put the boat
up for the winter just last weekend. In about a month
the motorcycle will be next. If this isn’t the first
signs of winter approaching, I don’t know what is.
Have you been
watching my RSS feeds for all the updates to the
website..?? No? Shame on you.. That can only mean that
you really don’t know what’s been updated on the
website. As I stated a few months ago, when I make
changes to the website I’ll be sure to have what changed
listed on my RSS feed. A link to it is on the right side
of the main page of the website. Click on this link to
get the latest changes throughout the website. I think
you’ll find this much more informative than just a
flashing “Update” indicator next to a link..
Now some of you are
probably saying to yourselves, “just what the heck is a
RSS feed and why should I be interested..” I can relate,
so with that in mind here’s what a RSS feed is. As
Wikipedia describes it, it stands for Really Simple
Syndication (RSS). RSS feeds enable publishers to
syndicate data automatically. RSS feeds also benefit
users who want to receive timely updates from their
favorite websites.
Now what does this
all mean to you? Simple, by having the really important
stuff on a RSS feed it allows the person writing the
news to publish it to a website without having to have
all the special software for a website. It also (now
this is where you get involved..) allows those readers
who want to be updated without having to do it
themselves the latest updates.
Yes, our website
has several of these RSS feeds. One of them is right on
the front page. It comes directly from the League. They
actually update their news and our website gets it as
soon as it’s published.
Our SEC also has
such a feed, as well as me. My feed is to let you all
know of what and when I have updated something on the
website. Now if you have Microsoft Outlook for example,
you can set it to seek out these feeds and monitor them
on a regular basis. This way you can receive the latest
news as soon as it hits the website. Neat.. You no
longer have to keep reminding yourself to go look for
updates. It’s presented to you right in your email
program. Outlook is one of many software packages
available out there that will do this. Most browsers
will do this as well.
Now shifting to a
different topic.. Did you know that there was a very
short 3 question survey posted on the website? Please
take just a couple of minutes to take the survey. It’s
fun and I think the 3 questions being asked are
important to know just what you are thinking. I promise,
it won’t take over 3 minutes of your time.
Shifting once again
to another topic.. Have you considered a back-up program
for your computer? With Christmas coming up in a couple
of months from now, you might want to consider asking
for a subscription to one then. How important is this?
Let’s look at this this way, do you really want to spend
hours and hours trying to recover from a virus and maybe
never fully recover? If you aren’t successful, are you
willing to shell out the hundreds of bucks for a new
computer? That’s how important this really is. Now
having some actual experience with a “cloud based”
backup program I can tell you I’m totally sold.
Yes, I got a virus
several months ago. I didn’t panic, but I have to tell
you, my gut was churning a bit until everything was
fully recovered. This particular backup worked just as
it was advertised. I was up and running again in a
matter of a few short hours. Nothing lost.
That’s going to do
it for this month..
73, Scott, N8SY
Assistant Section
Manager / Webmaster
n8sy@arrl.net
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AFFILIATED CLUB
COORDINATOR NEWS..
Autumn is a
wonderful time of year. A lot of contesting, festivals,
foxhunts, cook-offs, swap meets, clean-ups and hamfests.
Clubs are gearing of for elections and transitions and
planning for a new year as they wrap up this year with
celebrations and good eats. Hmmm, I just described every
month in Ohio. Regardless remember to update your ARRL
listings after your transitions. Special Service Clubs,
check on your status to see if it is time to renew
(every two years). If you aren't a Special Service Club
consider applying.
Mount Vernon ARC
held a walking fox hunt September 15 at the farm of
Frank, KC8EVS. According to Frank they used "...4
micro-foxes. These are 60 milliwatt, carrier only,
transmitters small enough to hide in the osage orange,
multiflora rose and poison ivy that cover the back of my
farm."
OH-KY-IN ARS had
Ohio SM Frank Piper KI8GW as their speaker during their
ARRL night October 1. Frank shared his experiences of
The League in action at a more local level.
The InterCity
Amateur Radio Clun of Mansfield sponsored yours truly,
in a dual speaking role. I was invited to speak as the
ACC as well as give a presentation on Cubesats,
specifically Fox-1. I took along a CubeSat Simulator for
demonstration. Attendance was good and I appreciated the
fine reception while meeting with people I have worked
with before.
The Dayton ARC will
be holding their Annual Harvest Party & Chili Cook Off
October 25.The school systems of America, under the
assistance of Mark Spencer, WA8SME, ARRL's Director of
Education and Technical Program sponsored the TI-1
(Teachers' Institute) Conference geared to assisting
teachers with developing STEM education tools and
resources for classroom use. They plan to sponsor a
TI-2a Conference in the future. I work closely with Mark
in my role as AMSAT’s V.P. for Educational Relations.
Mark is dynamic individual. I can't thank Dayton enough
for their continued support of both the ARRL and AMSAT.
Lake Erie ARA
sponsored Dennis Conklin, AI8P, and his presentation,
"The Dark Side of a DXpedition." His talk recounted his
experiences as part of the team at the Virgin Islands
ARC, KP2D.
Massillon ARC would
like to remind everyone that their Hamfest 2013 will be
on November 3rd, 2013 at the Boys & Girls Club located
at 730 Duncan St SW, Massillon, Ohio. I am unable to
attend this one for the first time in several years. It
is a nice Hamfest and growing. I encourage your
attendance. At their last meeting they heard a "short"
presentation by Wade WD8MIU and Brooker KD8JNX on the
Kelly Island expedition. The month before was their
Heathkit Show and Tell program.
The Western Reserve
ARC held their last scheduled event of this year, the
Diabetes Walk on October 20th at the Fairgrounds. They
have also adopted a piece of Route 446 and held their
clean-up event October 19.
Alliance ARC will
sponsor Homebrew Night during their November meeting on
the 13th. They will also have a fund raiser for the Fire
Department Toy Drive that night. This club does a lot to
stay out of meeting mode and I have always enjoyed the
creativity of their activities.
At the Delaware ARA,
October is BOATANCHOR SWAP MONTH. At the October 16
meeting they also had an award presentation by Jim
Weaver K8JE – the ARRL Great Lakes Division director.
Portage County ARS
heard Jim WB8AZP talk on Official Observers at their
October meeting. They will hear Rod, WN8R speak on
Vertical Antennas at their November 11 meeting. This is
also election night. Kudos to Jim, KC8PD, for never
missing a Thursday Night PCARS net. He has checked in
over 400 times, consecutively, and still going.
As announced
earlier this month, I am leaving my post as Ohio
Section's Affiliated Club Coordinator to accept the
position of Vice President for Educational Relations for
AMSTA-NA. Whereas my duties for AMSAT have already
started I am easing out of my role as ACC more slowly. I
will be around in that capacity until the end of the
year. I cannot over exaggerate what a wonderful
experience serving as ACC has been. For the past three
years I have visited more Hamfests and Club meetings
than I can count. I have always been buoyed up by
everyone’s enthusiasm and after every encounter I have
ridden adrenalin high into the next event.
The people and
clubs in Ohio are wonderful. I have learned more than I
expected and have been personally challenged to become
more than I even thought possible. I have honed many
skills in this position and have planted many seeds of
thought and watched as they germinated, sprouted and
grew.
Around the state I
have listened and clarified many great ideas suggested
by numerous people. Encouraged by this I allowed myself
to become involved with more and more while enjoying
every minute of the journey. With great respect for all
I have met and worked with, thank you all for help
making me the man I am today.
You have encouraged
me, allowed me to grow in confidence and depth. I owe
you all. I hope to continue to monitor all that is going
on in Ohio so continue to send me your newsletters and
ideas. I will continue to be available for speaking
engagements. I intend to keep close ties with Anthony
and Scott and with the Ohio Sections Educational
Initiative and youth outreach, I think we can be mutual
advocates. Frank Piper KI8GW and his Ohio Section
Cabinet have been good to me and continue to support my
efforts. It’s good to name them among my friends.
The Section Cabinet
truly have the best interests for amateur radio in Ohio
as their priority. I ask that you engage them, challenge
them, they want to listen and be of service to you.
Lastly I appreciate
the kind words of encouragement and well wishes from
everyone as I start this new adventure. Let's keep in
touch. And remember always... Get Out of Meeting Mode!!!
EMike
E. Michael McCardel,
KC8YLD
V.P. Educational
Relations, AMSAT-NA
kc8yld@arrl.net
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NOTES FROM THE
SECTION TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Ground Loops – Some
time ago Charlie KS8L called to relate an experience
that he had encountered with connecting some of his
equipment to a surge suppression outlet. He had
attempted to connect two identical pieces of equipment
in his shack with some strange results including the
complete disabling of one unit and the refusal of a
remote to work on the other. This appeared at random
between the two units. A classic problem of ground
loops interfering with electronics was at work.
Charlie inadvertently discovered that connecting his two
units to separate power outlets, resolved the problem.
This begs the question why?
A couple of years
ago, I too experienced the same problem after connecting
my Kenwood TS-830 and the VFO-230 to the same surge
suppressor. The VFO acted like it was totally out of
sorts and would not do much other than light up
momentarily. The Rig would not respond to the VFO-230
dial and would display random frequencies on the display
with its own VFO. I remembered Charlie’s situation and
unplugged the VFO from the surge suppressor. Problem
solved, but why did this happen?
I hadn’t seen the
surge suppressor that caused the problem for Charlie,
and I had initially suspected some issue with an
inexpensive unit. When it came to my own situation, I
had just taken a new ISOBAR surge suppressor out of the
box and installed it. These are supposedly top of the
line units sold with a lifetime guarantee covering any
equipment protected by them. How could this be?
After doing some
reading, I discovered there was an issue with ground
loops. So whatever is that and why does it affect
something as simple as a surge suppressor. Surge
suppressors often provide isolation to defeat transient
currents and noise that may enter through the power
line. This isolation unfortunately can also mess with
the current return path when more than one device is
connected to them. This causes the devices to grab any
return path available and they begin to work through
each other rather than the desired path. This explains
the random results Charlie and I observed. Something
similar often happens with the lights on trailers towed
from a vehicle. A substandard ground will cause the
lights to seek ground through one of the other lights.
The light will glow dimly and others will glow without
normal activation. Illogical on the surface and until
you see it happening, often it can be hard to accept or
understand. A good solid ground will correct it.
Charlie’s units had
no ground connection and the solution required using
separate outlets to cure. My own situation was
ultimately resolved once I connected both the TS-830 and
it’s VFO-230 to station ground effectively bonding
together and providing a good ground.
I am sure many of
you have experienced some sort of anomaly in your own
radio room. I’d like to hear your experiences. Perhaps
we can shed some additional light and save someone the
frustration that we’ve all felt in dealing with various
strange issues.
73,
Jim Yoder W8ERW
ARRL Section
Technical Coordinator - Ohio
w8erw@arrl.net
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SOUTHWEST OHIO
HAPPENINGS
SPECIAL MILESTONES:
At the last HARA
meeting, Dave (KD8TUR) was recognized for making his
first qso with an ARRL first contact award. The award
was presented by the person with whom he had that
special contact, WA8KIW. Cathy, K8IYO was presented an
ARRL 2013 Field Day Pin by John and CCARA Vice President
Paul, WB8ZZR for her first Field Day participation.
Cathy operated the six meter Field Day station almost
the entire weekend and promised to be back for more next
year.
Congrats to Ozzie
(KA8UGI) and his wife Betty on the observation of their
70th wedding anniversary. A celebration marking the
event was held October 13 at the Hillsboro Methodist
Church.
UNIQUE ELMER AND
NEWCOMERS NET:
As part of a
mentoring program being developed, Robert, AK3Q,
recently launched an elmers and newcomers net. The
purpose of this net is to pair new hams with folks that
really are interested in helping them learn the ropes.
The net meets every Sunday at 7:00 PM local time on the
146.67- OHKYIN repeater. Information on the topics
covered can be found at
http://www.ohkyin.org/elmer_net.php)
SILENT KEYS:
Lyle Lambert
(KC8DDY) and his wife Jayne (KC8LUH) recently became
silent keys as a result of a housefire. We extend our
thoughts and prayers to their children, Karen (KC8LIA)
and Marty (KC8ULW) during this difficult time.
PUBLIC SERVICE:
Our communication
skills were in high demand this month. Hams provided
communication for the cystic fibrosis bike ride, US air
force marathon, Little Miami Triathlon, River Corridor
Classic 1/2 Marathon and annual Dayton district cross
country meet, to name just a few.
Showcasing ham
radio: On October 12, hams showcased amateur radio at
Beavercreek and Fairborn Fire Departments.
73, Kitty, W8TDA
Assistant Section
Manager SW /
w8tda@arrl.net
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OUT AND ABOUT IN
SOUTHEAST OHIO
Thank you for all
the prayers and cards for Jerry and me. A special Thank you
to the Athens Amateur Radio Club for the lovely planter. He will have his
surgery on Monday Oct 21 if his strength has improved. He does look
better and is having tests daily to check on the
internal bleeding.
They have
determined it is NOT from the Aorta.
I fell a week ago
Sunday in his room and have a sprained wrist on my right
hand.
73/88, Connie, N8IO
Assistant Section
Manager SE /
n8io@arrl.net
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SPECIAL EVENTS IN
OHIO..
10/26/2013
Moonville Tunnel Special Event Oct 26-Oct 27
1600Z-1600Z, K8LGN, Zaleski, OH.
Hocking Valley
Amateur Radio Club.
28.405 14.225 7.275
3.810.
QSL. Richard Martin
1255 New York Ave
Logan, OH 43138
Celebrate Halloween
at the haunted Moonville Tunnel in Zaleski Ohio.
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11/03/2013 Extra
Hour Special Event Station
Nov 3, 0000Z-0600Z,
W8BAP, Chillicothe, OH.
Scioto Valley
Amateur Radio Club.
28.445 14.280 7.250
3.860. Certificate.
JIm Boyce, KD8BWV,
604 W 5th St
Chillicothe, OH
45601.
This is the second
annual special event station to celebrate the return to
Standard Time.
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11/09/2013 203rd
Anniversary of Formation of Guernsey County, OH
Nov 9, 1300Z-2100Z,
W8VP, Cambridge, OH.
Cambridge Amateur
Radio Association.
14.260 7.235.
Certificate & QSL.
Cambridge Amateur
Radio Association,
PO Box 1804,
Cambridge, OH
43725.
203rd Anniversary
of the Formation of Guernsey County, OH.
11th Special Event
in CARA's year-long 100th Birthday Celebration.
QSL. Certificate
available for anyone who works ALL 12 of CARA's monthly
Special Events of 2013
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OHIO HAMFESTS..
11/02/2013 Grant
ARC Hamfest
Georgetown, OH
Grant Amateur Radio
Club
Website:
http://www.garcohio.net
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11/03/2013 |
Massillon Hamfest and Auction
Massillon Boy's &
Girl's Club
Massillon, OH
ARRL Hamfest
Massillon Amateur
Radio Club
Website:
http://www.w8np.org
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FINAL THOUGHTS..
This edition of the
Ohio Section News was edited by Scott Yonally, N8SY.
Although I did the
assembly, I cannot take credit for the actual news
contained within. This credit has to be given to all of
those on the Section Cabinet that work very hard each
and every day not only to represent you, but also there
to help you as well. Please, if we can be of assistance,
don't hesitate to give anyone of us a call. The Cabinet
is listed on our website at:
http://arrl-ohio.org/sm/sec-info.html
Would you like to
have a guest speaker at your next club meeting? How's
about one of the Cabinet. The Ohio Cabinet is always
available to come and speak at your meetings.
TIME CHANGE.
Daylight Saving
Time (DST) ends Sunday - November 03, 2013 at 2am
Food for thought..
As fall is getting
colder out we start thinking of turning the furnace back
on. And those of us with fireplaces start building fires
in them.
We need to think of
safety first. Birds, squirrels and all sorts of odd
little animals have been busy during our down time build
nests. And where better to build them, than in a
chimney. This can cause a major problem for those of us
that don't see the need to share with these little
critters. Home fires increase greatly in the waning days
of autumn and the beginning of winter. Please, before
you start the furnace or build that great fire in the
fire box, take a moment to check out your chimney/flu,
or better yet, have it checked by a professional. This
will keep you safe and could very possibly save your
house and you from a fire or carbon monoxide poisoning.
*************************************************************************
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ARRL Ohio Section
Section Manager: Frank Piper, KI8GW
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