Friday, June 20, 2014

Ohio Section Journal - June 2014 Edition..




In this issue:

-> FROM THE STATE GOVERNMENT LIAISON

-> AFFILIATED CLUB COORDINATOR REPORT

-> OHIO AMATEUR LICENSE PLATE RULES HAVE CHANGED

-> FROM THE PIC

-> SOUTHWEST OHIO HAPPENINGS

-> FROM THE TECHINCAL COORDINATOR

-> FROM THE SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER

-> FROM THE EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH - SCOUTING ASM

-> FROM THE EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH - EDUCATOR ASM

-> OUT AND ABOUT IN SOUTHEAST OHIO

-> NEWEST MEMBER OF THE OHIO SECTION CABINET

-> 22nd ANNUAL OHIO SECTION NEWSLETTER CONTEST RULES

-> LET'S TALK

-> SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS IN OHIO

-> OHIO HAMFEST CALENDAR

-> ODDS & ENDS

****************************************************

FROM THE STATE GOVERNMENT LIAISON

By: Nick Pittner, K8NAP
Goodsonrd@netwalk.com

Village of Swanton Update...


The last update noted that the Gary Wodtke, WW8N, had prevailed in his challenge to the Village’s denial of his zoning request for a 60’ tower and associated antennas. The Village appealed. As the appeal was being briefed, the Court of Appeals on April 3, dismissed the Village’s appeal on its own motion, finding that the Village had not brought its appeal within the time permitted. With the dismissal of the Village’s appeal, the trial court’s decision stands as the law of the case, and Mr. Wodtke wins.

The Village, however, filed a motion to reconsider the dismissal order with the Court of Appeals on April 21. Mr. Wodtke’s counsel opposed that motion and it is now pending before the court of appeals awaiting decision. Essentially the Village’s counsel argued that the Court of Appeals was wrong to dismiss the Village’s appeal and that it should reconsider and withdraw that dismissal order, permitting the appeal to go forward.

There is no mandatory time limit for the Court of Appeals to decide the motion for reconsideration. While the grant of such motions is more the exception than the rule, it may well be some time before the motion to reconsider is finally resolved.

The Village’s other possible course of action is to seek review of the dismissal order by the Ohio Supreme Court. However, not every case is heard by the Supreme Court. The rules require that the party seeking appeal file a notice of appeal and memorandum in support of jurisdiction within 45 days of the order sought to be appealed. After reviewing briefs from both sides, the Ohio Supreme Court decides whether or not to hear the appeal.

In this case, however, it appears that the 45 day time limit does not begin to run until the Court of Appeals rules on the Village’s motion for reconsideration. If the Village’s motion for reconsideration is denied it will be forced to either abandon the appeal or try to get the Ohio Supreme Court to review the Court of Appeals’ dismissal order.

At this point we are not aware of any other litigation pending that challenge’s Ohio new antenna law. But if you become aware of any, please let us know.


73, Nick, K8NAP

****************************************************

AFFILIATED CLUBS COORDINATOR REPORT

By: Sandy Macke, N8YS - ACC
sandymackey@gmail.com


As I am sure you are aware, I have resigned my position as Ohio Section ACC. I have enjoyed being ACC, and I appreciate having had the opportunity to work with so many of the clubs in Ohio. I feel this position deserves to have someone who can dedicate more time, than I was able to do. I will continue to be available to talk field day or whatever else you may want to discuss, and I know that Scott will find a replacement that will do a fantastic job making sure each and every club is a healthy club.

I have met some wonderful people that I would not have had the chance to meet had it not been for the events I attended. I would like to say thanks to the cabinet members who are the heart and soul of the Ohio Section and continue to make great strides in the world of amateur radio here in Ohio.

I send my very best to everyone across the state and wish you all well. Thanks again for everything. Remember, Field Day is June 28 & 29, so get yourself and/or your club out there and give it your best shot!!!

ARRL Special Service Club...

If your club is not an ARRL Special Service Club, this may be the year to do it! CLICK HERE for information and the Special Service Club application. If you think your club is ready to take this step, and you would like assistance filling out the form or discussing what you need to do, contact Scott Yonally. N8SY.


73, Sandy, N8YS

****************************************************

OHIO AMATEUR LICENSE PLATE RULES HAVE CHANGED

Hi Everyone,


I just have to tell you this story that happened to me when I went to get my new Ohio Amateur Radio license plates. As most of you know I have been driving my wife’s van for several years now, she bought a new car and I got the old one. Now since the van was in her name it obviously had her Amateur Call on the license plate (go figure). Well, on the way home from the Athens Hamfest late last month, the old van just started giving up. It started making noises that even I couldn’t identify. I can’t really complain as that it had over 175,000 miles on it with very little repairs in the 10 years that we had it. I took it to the repair shop and found that I would have way more in repairs than I would ever get out of the van, so it was time for another vehicle. I purchased one and off we went to get the plates for it.

I had my old call plates hanging in the garage from when I was driving a vehicle under my name, so I thought that getting them updated would be a breeze.. WRONG!! Since these plates hadn’t been renewed for more than 3 years they were expired and could not be renewed. So, it’s now new plates that I have to acquire. Now either way I knew that I would have to go to the local Deputy registrar’s office to either get the old plates re-issued which I now knew was not really going to happen, or get new plates. I thought about this for a bit and decided to take a copy of my Amateur License with me just in case they would need it for the new plates. With title and Amateur License along with the old registration from the old pates in case someone might take pity on me and allow me to just catch the old plates up to current times and off I went to my local Deputy Registrar’s office.

I got there and went through the miles of paperwork that they now require you to sign to get things started, and then they told me that I had to have a current Amateur Radio license to complete the paperwork. I presented it to them and asked way they needed it since I’m already on file with the current call sign. That’s when they told me that the law had been changed and you now have to present your license each time you renew. I was flabbergasted; I couldn’t believe that my 10 year FCC Amateur Radio License would be challenged each year by the State of Ohio, but it’s true. In a little publicized act of the Ohio Congress last year, they changed the law. Now you have to demonstrate to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles in Ohio every year that you hold a current and non-suspended, none-expired official FCC issued Amateur Radio License, and with that you are now only given 2 ways of renewing your license, through the mail, or a personal visit to your local Deputy Registrar’s office. The on-line renewal of your Amateur plate is still an option for now, but according to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles in Columbus, this option will soon go away as they update the website to reflect the new law.

It’s really funny that the State of Ohio feels compelled to check my license each year, but that’s the new law. With that, you will no longer be afforded the same opportunity of renewing you license plate on-line as everyone else, including those with “special” vanity plates can do.

Here’s the information from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles website about what is now required:

Owners or lessees of motor vehicles who are residents of Ohio and hold an unrevoked and unexpired official amateur radio station license issued by the Federal Communications Commission may apply for these plates. The official call letters will be the license plate numbers. There are no options.

Registrant Eligibility - Owner must submit a copy of the un-revoked and unexpired official amateur radio license issued by the Federal Communications Commission. (FCC).

Title Requirements - Ohio Certificate of Title issued in the same name as the FCC license, either singly or jointly, or the name on the FCC license is the same name on the lease agreement.

Vehicle Information - These plates may be issued to passenger vehicles, non-commercial trucks, recreational vehicles, house vehicles and non-commercial trailers.

Type of Plates - Plates will be manufactured with the FCC license.

Issuance Information - Amateur Radio plates cannot be issued with system assigned, reserved, or personalized plate formats.

Renewal of plates can be done at your local Deputy Registrar or by mail using their renewal notice. Amateur Radio License Holders must provide a copy of their current unexpired and unrevoked official amateur radio license issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) at the time of any type renewal transaction.

All plates will be mailed directly to the address on your registration card unless customer requests otherwise. The deputy will issue your registration card, stickers and provide you with a permit which will allow you to operate your vehicle while your plates are being manufactured.

Special license plate applications are available at all Deputy Registrar license agency locations or can be downloaded by clicking HERE.

Cost - These plates cost an additional $10.00 annually plus the normal registration fees. The fee is determined by Ohio Revised Code section 4503.14.

For those of you who would like to see this for themselves, here is the link:
http://www.bmv.ohio.gov/sp_amateur_radio.stm    

****************************************************
FROM THE PIC

By John Ross, KD8IDJ
john.ross3@worldnet.att.net

Hi everyone!


I thought you would like an update on the newsletter contest. First, I can’t tell you how much I enjoy reading the newsletters. I know I’ve said that before but, honestly, the time and effort put into each newsletter is amazing. I learn more every day about just how great our clubs are and why the Ohio Section is the role model for the rest of the country.

This year’s judges are a great and talented group of folks with a wide range of experiences. So here’s a quick profile of the panel:

Steve Wilson... President and CEO of Wilson Group Communications, a Columbus based public relations and crisis management company. Steve is a former reporter for the Gannett newspaper chain including USA today. Steve was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting. He's a published author and an in-demand PR consultant for companies and organizations across the country. Steve is also an Army Veteran and worked as a reporter in Vietnam.

Kim Norris...President of the Norris Communications, Kim is a former television reporter here in Central Ohio. She has also held the top level public relations positions at AT&T, The Ohio Board of Regents and Ohio Health.

Jeanne Fox...Jeanne is a former television reporter from Toledo and also here in Columbus. She also worked as an on-camera reporter for CNN. Jeanne is also a PR professional holding down public relations positions with Borden Chemical.

All of these folks are top-notch media and public relations professionals. They know what it takes to communicate effectively to a wide range of audiences. They also have one more thing in common...over the years they have listened to me talk about amateur radio and know how important the hobby is to every ham.

Later this month we will get together and do the impossible task of picking the best newsletter for the Ohio Section.

Just a few more items of importance. Please make sure you have good anti-virus software on your computers. At least one of the newsletters this month contained a virus that played havoc with my system. AT&T was able to fix the problem, identify the virus and where it came from.

Field Day is coming up and I've notified media outlets across the state. Be on the lookout for reporters and cameras!

The PR-101 Course from ARRL is a must take course for anyone who wants to learn more about media and public relations. It's free and doesn't take much time. Check it out on the ARRL website.

I'm headed out west to Las Vegas and Colorado for a visit to Pikes Peak. The handheld is going along to try and make contact with some Rocky Mountain hams! Maybe if conditions are right the signal will make it back to Ohio!!!


73 John KD8IDJ

****************************************************

SOUTHWEST OHIO HAPPENINGS

From: Kitty Hevener, W8TDA - Assistant Section Manager (SW)
w8tda@arrl.net

MILESTONES...

Long time QCEN member Harold Blocker, W4YWH, was recently recognized by the Cincinnati / Dayton region of the Red Cross for seventy years of service as a volunteer. Harold has done damage assessments and provided communications via ham radio for numerous local disasters. Congratulations, Harold!

NEWCOMERS AND ELMERS NET TURNS 1 YEAR OLD...
This baby is beyond crawling and walking! It’s running and running strong! This unique net is the brain child of OHKYIN member, Robert Gulley, AK3Q. Its purpose is to pair new hams with folks that really are interested in helping them learn the ropes. Although a different topic is focused on in each session, all questions on other ham radio topics are welcome. In reflecting on the first year of operation, Robert said, “excitement builds on itself; we average about 18-20 check-ins/week, often more.” Sometimes topic discussions have continued well beyond the hour long net. And, if you need a refresher on a featured topic, you can get it by visiting http://www.ohkyin.org/elmer_net.php  I joined as an Elmer eagerly looking forward to helping newcomers. What I quickly realized is that sometimes we Elmer's are Elmer's and, sometimes we are newcomers, depending on the facet of the hobby being discussed. If you are in the Cincinnati area, you are invited to join this net every Sunday evening at 7:00 PM on the 146.67 repeater. In prior columns, I have stressed the importance of leaders getting to know the strengths of their volunteers and tapping in to them. Kudos to the OHKYIN leadership for doing just that. The amateur radio community and, ultimately, the public we serve are the beneficiaries.

A hearty congratulations to five local hams who took part in the National Amateur Radio Direction Finding competition held near Boston MA, June 7 and 8. The competition is divided in to age/gender specific categories. These hams participated in 2 and 80 meter on-foot events where they had to find five different hidden transmitters. Addison Bosley, KJ4VCV, grandson of OHKYIN member and renowned DF'er, Dick Arnett, WB4SUV, brought home gold in the 2-meter and silver in the 80-meter hunts. Not to be out done, WB4SUV also brought home silver in the 80-meter event. Matthew Robbins, AA9YH, placed third in the 2-meter event and fifth in the 80. Another OHKYIN member and renound DF'er, Brian DeYoung, K4BRI took fifth place in both the 2 and 80 meter events. Finally, as the only participant in her category, K4BRI's wife, Marji brought home the gold in both the 2 and 80 meter hunts. For more information on direction finding, visit www.homingin.com

STEPPING OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE...
Rob, W8MRL reports that Butler County Amateur Radio Association, club call W8WRK, completed it's second Morse Code Training class in May. Nine amateur radio operators participated, meeting weekly, during the 8 week course.

This club will be sponsoring it's first VE testing session July 26. BCARA is associated with the Laurel VEC so there is no charge to those testing. If you are looking to license or upgrade, please visit http://www.bcara.net ror more information.

On July 5th and 6th, 2014 the Butler County Amateur Radio Association, club call W8WRK,will be operating a special event station in recognition of the bicentennialof Darrtown, Ohio, Butler County, during their weekend celebration. Listen for special event callsign N8D and for more information visit http://www.qrz.com/db/n8d

Brian, KC8EGV reports that a new monthly net has been formed in conjunction with Hamilton County Public Health Department (HCPH), Hamilton County Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES), and Hamilton County Emergency Management Agency (EMA). The purpose of the net is to share information from the served agencies and provide valuable training opportunities for participants. Hams in the greater Cincinnati area who are interested in helping with emergency service, ARES, or the Health Department PODS are encouraged to join the net. It meets at 7:00 PM local time on the first Monday of every month on the 146.67 repeater.


73, Kitty, W8TDA

****************************************************

NOTES FROM THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR

By: Jim Yoder W8ERW - TC
w8erw@arrl.net


Our pursuit of Amateur Radio can take many diverse paths which often lead into all sorts of other related areas or not. Often these become the vehicle to meet other interesting people and the opportunity to see how Amateurs can come together behind a common cause. When my close friend Charlie KS8L passed, the family was interested in putting his home on the market and needed to take down the free standing tower than had been there for some thirty years. I put out a call to many of the fine Hams who Charlie and I both knew around the central Ohio area. It wasn’t long until I had a crew of exceptional people up early on a Saturday morning and ready to tackle the job. It did take a bit longer than we had anticipated, but it was completed and the area made ready for the realtors sign to go up. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Jim KC8PCZ who performed the aerial work like a professional and to Paul KB8CMW, Marty N8PAI, Dennis KB8WR, Josh K8WXA and Doug as the capable ground crew. It was an excellent job and a wonderful tribute to Charlie who many of us knew from our days of active packet radio. Amateurs are a special lot, always willing to help a fellow Ham when assistance is needed. Thanks again to all of you.

Dayton is now a memory. Attendance was up slightly again this year and the ARRL presence during our centennial year was an awesome display of our hobby and the strength of the league supporting our Amateur Radio endeavors. I personally saw quite a few friends and those whom I have had the pleasure of talking to on the air over the years. I picked up the Icom D-Star mobile I was looking for as well and if I can get through all the graduation parties, birthdays and other celebrations that have been back to back since Dayton, I hope to soon have it on the air. Mark WD8KQX and I stayed the entire three days and walked around until we left each day.

Field Day will happen next and we are making preparations to participate here in Seneca County. The Seneca Radio Club is taking the lead again this year along with our ARES members. We have used N3FJP’s logging software for several years with good success. This year our location has changed and we have plenty of room to separate the stations we plan on operating to avoid some of the RF interference issues we have seen in the past. The desire to add some space between us brings with it the need to also connect the logging stations and hardware over a much greater distance. Our solution was to deploy a MESH network with a common server to store the contact data. This past Saturday, Jeff WB8REI and I went to the location and set up a trial run of the software and networking components to insure our design was both viable and was working as expected. I think we were both surprised and amazed at how well it did work. Our signal strength at each of the MESH nodes was at 100% and the N3FJP software performed flawlessly during our testing. Jeff also configured a Raspberry Pi as an FM transmitter which will broadcast news and status information to anyone who tunes to our FM broadcast frequency. Jeff plans to record audio segments and interviews during Field Day and upload them to the Pi for broadcast during the event. The information on how to listen will be included in our Field Day press release to the media. Coverage is expected to be a few hundred feet and our testing Saturday confirmed excellent audio quality. Jeff did a super job of configuring the Raspberry Pi to perform as an FM transmitter. These little development boards are an excellent platform to do all sorts of interesting functions related to Amateur Radio. Thanks to Jeff for his work on this interesting project.

Later this year, Tiffin will again host the Cross Country Carnival at Hedges Boyer Park. This has become a signature sports event each year and our ARES folks have been active during the all day event. Jeff and I are also working on a VOIP application to run on the MESH network which we hope to have ready for the Carnival this year. This would provide telephony style communication for the event sponsors, officials and other non Ham groups who provide support for the Carnival. Keyboard data logging and posting should also be available with the completion of this project.

I plan on making a road trip during Field Day again this year, so get those stations smoking, I’ll have camera in hand. No doubt some of you will see your image when Scott receives the imagines and makes them available on the Ohio Section Web Site later. Many of the Ohio Section Cabinet will be out in the Field visiting with the clubs and other groups during Field Day as well.

Thanks and my best wishes to everyone for a great and enjoyable summer this year.


73, Jim, W8ERW

****************************************************

FROM THE SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER

By: David Maynard, WA3EZN - STM
wa3ezn@att.net


If you work the HF bands then you know that propagation this month has been a real struggle. You hear a station or a net and make contact only to have the contact fail because of changing band conditions. In my case add a newly found 20+ over nine noise level on 80 meters and communications becomes impossible. Oddly enough the noise is not there on 40 meters and when the band conditions don't stop me I can communicate on 40 meters.

I have had great success with my digital traffic handling as I have downloaded a hundred radiograms from the MBO in New Jersey since June 1. Using the Pactor III TNC and the Airmail Program I can receive these radiograms without error on 80, 40 and 30 meters depending on which band is available do to propagation.

In spite of the poor propagation the National Traffic System was operating though the bad conditions. The OSSBN alone handled 595 radiograms. The Digital Relay Stations N8RAK, W8DJG and WA3EZN sent and received a total of 270 radiograms although some of these radiograms went to the eight region net for West Virginia. The MBO that we check into is reporting the sending and receiving of 8609 radiograms for the month of April. Of course this takes into account that it is in New Jersey and has many stateside stations and some European stations using the MBO.

Back to my reporting on the use of Pactor. I have received word that there is a sound card program that allows ham radio operators to work Pactor without the need of an expensive TNC. So I decided to look on the internet to learn more about this method of working Pactor without a TNC so I can share it here. I found more information on the internet than I could absorb and so I will give a brief report here. If you are interested beyond these few words I would suggest you do your own internet search.

If you remember from previous months news some German amateur radio operators developed a protocol called Pactor and built TNCs (Terminal Node Controllers) supporting the Pactor protocol. The protocol and TNCs evolved into Pactor 3 which proved to work well on the HF bands. Pactor 3 (software and TNC) was not released into the public domain but is propriety property of the original German hams. Pactor 3 modems costs in the neighborhood of $1100 to $1500 if purchased new. However used Pactor TNCs can be found on the internet at a much lower cost.

Another group of amateur radio operators calling themselves “the Winlink development team” wrote an email messaging software package and developed a world wide message handling network operating on HF frequencies called Winlink 2000. Volunteer radio amateur operators built and operate Winlink 2000 message servers around the world. These servers were designed handle e-mails This Winlink team developed TNC software that performs much like Pactor 3 TNCs. The software has apparently been around since 2008 according to the internet and is in general distribution. The software is called WINMOR. WINMOR uses the sound card that is in the computer. The software is distributed free of charge.

Along with WINMOR a new email manager program designed for the Winlink 2000 system has been released called RMS Express. RMS Express looks very much like an e-mail client program for the internet (Thunderbird, Outlook Express, etc.). I read where the best way to get WINMOR is to download RMS Express with WINMOR already embedded into RMS Express. It was suggested to also download and install the propagation program ITSHF. WINMOR can use the propagation program to evaluate and rank RMS Express server stations. ITSHF is in the public domain and is free to download.

Walter Isaacson, VA7ANI, reported on the internet that he downloaded and installed the software on his laptop. He says he interfaced his laptop to his HF radio used the Signal Link USB as his interface. He says that the use of the Signal Link greatly simplifies interfacing the radio to the computer. He says that the Signal Link USB has a sound card that is superior to the sound card in the laptop computer and probably contributes to the effectiveness of WINMOR. He says that WINMOR requires fairly accurate adjustment of the frequency of the HF radio.

When I asked an NTSD MBO operator about the use of WINMORE for radiogram traffic handling I was told that it is being experimented with by a few MBO station and it was not compatible with most of the digital NTS MBO stations. In my research I did not see any mention of WINMOR and Airmail being used together. However Robert Fisher, WA7RF, reports that you can use airmail in an Airmail/BPQ32/WINMOR set-up. He offers instruction on how to do this on the internet. I have been told that the Airmail program is needed to automatically connect to the MBOs and to download NTS radiograms.

In my operation I am using an SCS Pactor III modem with the airmail program. All I have to do is connect to the MBO and any traffic (radiograms) for Ohio and West Virginia will be downloaded to my computer automatically by the MBO and Airmail program. I think this might also be accomplished using the Winmor program and the Airmail programs together but I can not predict the outcome as I do not have a signal link to try out the program and I have had no success trying to use any sound card modes or programs in my ham station. If any of the readers have accomplished this using these programs to connect to an MBO and send and receive NTSD radiograms I would be interested in hearing about yout operations.

If you are interested in more information here are a few links to get you started:

WA7RF - http://www.cantab.net/users/john.wiseman/Documents/AirmailtoWINMOR.htm

http://www.ve7nsr.ca/hf/winmor.pdf

http://www.arrl.org/news/rms-express-with-winmor-now-available-for-winlink-2000

That's enough for this month. I hope this little bit of information my encourage others to try this Winmor program and maybe be able to become a Digital Relay Station without the expense of buying a TNC.


73, David, WA3EZN

****************************************************

FROM THE EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH - SCOUTING ASM

By: Scott Hixon, KC8ITN - ASM - Educational Outreach- Scouting
kc8itn@arrl.net


As you read this, scout summer camps are in full swing around the Ohio Section. Scouts are camping, earning merit badges and hopefully talking on amateur radio. You have contacted your BSA council office about putting on a radio demonstration at summer camp, haven't you? If not, why? If you haven't, its not too late! The demonstration you put on doesn't have to be elaborate. It can be a simple setup with you there to answer questions the scouts may have about ham radio. I've talked to a couple camp directors and they have said they would welcome a ham radio demonstration at their camp.

The easiest way to find out information about the scout council and summer camp in your area is to go to your favorite internet search engine and type in, " Boy Scouts of America Ohio Councils". numerous websites will come up that will have all the information you will need to contact a scout camp.

If you have read any of my previous OSJ articles you have probably noticed that I mention doing ham radio demonstrations for scout groups quite often. The reason I mention it so often is because if we as ham radio operators don't do everything we can to get young people interested in amateur radio, the hobby that we love and have made lifelong friends through will surely die!

According to polls done by the ARRL, the average age of a ham radio operator is approx. 58 years old. At the Dayton Hamvention this year, I had my 15 year old son Nicholas (KD8QLS) and my 14 year old nephew Ryan (KD8VNK) look around the Hara Arena. They couldn't believe, at 46 years old, that I was one of the younger people in the room! If we want amateur radio to survive (and thrive) this has to change.

To get young people into the hobby we have to invite them in. There are no television or broadcast radio commercials telling people how to become a licensed amateur radio operator. It's going to take " word-of-mouth" from those of us that are already licensed. We need to get in front of any youth group that will let us, and demonstrate to them the fun and community benefit that is amateur radio.

Mention the word "Elmer" to an older ham, and they will start to reminisce about that special ham operator that helped them build and test their first novice radio, or the ham that got them through their first CW contact when their hand was shaking so bad they couldn't hold on to the key, or even of the ham that was always there to answer any questions they might have had while getting started into this fun and wonderful hobby. We all have an "Elmer" story. Now imagine being an "Elmer" to a whole group of potential hams! That's exactly what could happen if you were to do a ham radio demonstration for a group of kids. It doesn't have to be a scout group. It could be a church youth group or a school classroom. How about getting permission to put something on at a youth detention center? What better way to show them that there is something positive they could be doing with their time! It's time we honor our "Elmers" by paying it forward!

I'm all for adding more licensed hams of any age, but we also need to focus on bringing younger people into the hobby if amateur radio is to continue for the next one hundred years. It's time to start working on bringing the average age down!

And to show that I practice what I preach, I will be setting up amateur radio at our troop's campsite at Camp Falling Rock, just north of Newark, Ohio June 29-July 5. With the Camp Director's permission, I am going to try and set up in an open area where I can operate and pass out radio brochures and flyers. By planting the seed now, maybe the amateur radio ranks will "grow" in the future!

Next month I will going over a little history of scouting and amateur radio ( be ready, there may be a pop quiz! ).

Remember: Take care, stay safe, and make a difference in someone's life !!

73, Scott, KC8ITN

****************************************************

FROM THE EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH - EDUCATOR ASM

By: Anthony Luscre, K8ZT - ASM Educational Outreach - Educators
k8zt@arrl.net


Calling all Educators- Anthony Luscre, K8ZT the Assistant Section Manager--Educational Outreach is looking for educators that are interested in using Radio Technology in the Classroom. Anthony is developing a mailing list and a user's group of interested educators. This will be used to share training opportunities, curriculum resources and materials, lesson plans, assistance in setting up school programs/clubs, etc. What he needs from you is to identify any interested teachers, principals, etc. that are licensed or not licensed and share this information with them. Please have them email Anthony (k8zt@arrl.org) and /or join his group at https://edmo.do/j/w227iw.

Also if you or your club is interested in acting as a resource for local area schools please email him with Club Name, Location, Specific area or school(s) you are interested in working with. Your role in providing this information is one of the only ways to get more Ohio teachers and students involved in Amateur Radio.

Revised W1AW/p Tracking Spreadsheet- Anthony has revised his spreadsheet for tracking your activity in working the W1AW/p stations. Revisions mainly include changes in dates and states operating each week. The spreadsheet is available at - http://tinyurl.com/W1AWportable.


73, Anthony, K8ZT

****************************************************
OUT AND ABOUT IN SOUTHEAST OHIO

By Connie Hamilton, N8IO ASM
n8io@arrl.net


I had a blast at Dayton HAMVENTION® this year. I helped with the VE testing in the new location, at the Church a short distance away from the arena. They ran a Free Shuttle back and forth which made it easy to go back over to the arena for helping in the ARRL section booth, have pictures taken, etc. They were cooking on a grill much better food than was available at the arena and I believe less expensive.
The Map project this year was World Wide. Countries represented were Sweden, Japan, Denmark, Italy, Ecuador, Germany and Turkey. I sent Radiograms to most and emails out to those I could find the address. Still have a few left to do.
Looking forward to visiting Field Day sites so you that are having one of these events, be sure to register the site on the ARRL website so I can find the area if never been there before if you are in SE Ohio.

No Hamfests in my area coming up except the Columbus Hamfest at the Aladdin Temple for the Section Conference along with the fest. West Virginia has a Huntington Hamfest on 8/9/14, Their WV State Convention at Weston, WV on 8/23/14 and Parkersburg/Wood County Hamfest on 10/11/14. More info can be found on the ARRL Website.


73/88, Connie, N8IO

****************************************************

NEWEST MEMBER OF THE OHIO SECTION CABINET


Hi Gang,

I want to introduce you to the Ohio Section’s newest Affiliated Clubs Coordinator..  
John Myers, KD8MQ

John Myers, KD8MQ lives in Alliance, and is the current Vice President, and former President of the Alliance Amateur Radio Club. He is also editor of the club newsletters; the Zero Beat (an Ohio Section Newsletter Contest Winner), and the Monday Morning Message. 

John has taught licensing classes, and is the former chairman of the clubs field day effort. John is a member of PCARS, where he is one of the Board Members for the Ohio State Parks On The Air Contest. He's also their webmaster. 

Licensed in 1980, John holds an Extra class license. He holds an associate degree in Computer Science, and enjoys writing, & maintaining websites, when he is not “playing radio”.

John was a self-employed Electronic Technician for 21 years, but currently is a traffic signal & lighting technician with the City of Canton. John enjoys contesting, portable HF operation, fox hunting, and awards chasing. 

He has been married for 17 years to his wife, Lyn, who generously allows him to share their home with her, and their three cats.

Let’s all congratulate John on his new position..

****************************************************

22nd ANNUAL OHIO SECTION NEWSLETTER CONTEST RULES



It is time again for the Annual ARRL Ohio Section Amateur (Ham) Radio Newsletter Contest. This contest has become very popular and there have been obvious improvements to the newsletters over the years. This was the objective of the Ohio Section PIC (Joe Phillips, K8QOE) when he created it back in 1992..."

Now the rules:

A.) An eligible newsletter must be regularly published at least four (4) times per year by an Ohio Amateur Radio organization. The Ohio Section Journal and the newsletter for any club that the current PIC is affiliated with are not eligible.

B.) Each organization submitting a newsletter for the contest must enter at least two (2) issues starting with January 2014 for judging. All Amateur organizations that have regularly been sending newsletters to the Ohio PIC are automatically entered (as long as these publications qualify under rule A, or C if applicable). Unless you are automatically entered, the deadline for entries is Monday, June 30, 2014, and all entries must be in the hands of the Ohio PIC by that date.

C.) Electronic (Web based) produced newsletters may also enter. Non-amateurs, in the Public Relations industry will do the judging. They will be judging on style (15%), content (35%), service to membership (35%), and clarity of presentation (15%). Style means newsletter design of all pages. Content means amount of useful information contained in the newsletter. Service to members means amount of information using individual members' names. Clarity of presentation means readability of the newsletter including accuracy of English grammar.

D.) No entries can be returned and all decisions of the judges on content and eligibility are final. The Ohio PIC only serves to certify entries, to provide the judges with entries, and to announce their decisions only.

E.) The decision of the judges is final.

****************************************************

LET'S TALK
From: Scott Yonally, N8SY - Section Manager
n8sy@arrl.org


Hi Everyone, Looks like summer is finally arrived. Warm weather, swimming, motorcycling and even boating now that the water is finally starting to warm up as well. With summer also comes a lot of hamfest. I'm looking forward to visiting as many hamfests as I can. I try to be at all of them, but sometimes I just have to miss one once in a while for work and family events. I'm really sorry about that, but things like that do have to come first sometimes.

Ok, enough of that.. Now on to the business at hand..

Don't forget that our new Ohio PRB-1 Law is now on the website for all to see and use. Both Nick and I do encourage you strongly to seek out the advise of a licensed attorney if you are experiencing any difficulties with your local government when it comes to constructing your antennas. Don't try to tackle this alone. You can find our PRB-1 law at:   http://arrl-ohio.org/PRB-1.html

Nick also got a signed Proclamation from the Governor and Lieutenant Governor for Field Day recently. The proclamation, along with a printable version is posted on the Ohio Section website. Please be sure if you are holding a Field Day operation to print this off and have it posted for all to see. You can find it at: http://arrl-ohio.org/SGL/sgl.html along with a proposed press release that you can use for inviting your local government officials and news media.

Ohio's Speaker Bureau.. I know that this has been said a million times before, but it’s always worth repeating, don’t forget to invite one of the Ohio Section Cabinet members to your next club meeting. The entire Cabinet is Ohio’s Speaker’s Bureau. If you’d like any of us to come and be a speaker at your function for FREE, please feel free to give any of us a call, we'll do our very best to be at your function.

I want to speak now on anti-virus software. Please, if you don't have some sort of anti-virus software that is up-to-date and working on your computer, get it. You don't want to be the one spreading viruses around to all of your friends do you? There are many good anti-virus programs out there, some that cost for a yearly subscription and some that are free. It all depends on you. Either way, don't be the "LID" and spread viruses, take a few minutes and download an anti-virus program and keep it up-to-date.

That’s going to do it this month from here.. I hope to see all of you at the various hamfests or meetings soon and who knows, maybe you’ll be one of the lucky ones to get a “mug” on me.

Have a question? Feel free to give me a call or write to me.. My email and phone number are always listed on the Ohio Section Website.. http://arrlohio.org


73, Scott, N8SY

****************************************************


SPECIAL EVENTS STATIONS IN OHIO

05/25/2014 | WBCCI Region 4 Rally
May 25, 1400Z-2200Z, W4B, Lima, OH.
Wally Byam Caravan Club International Region 4.
14.320 7.225 3.860. Certificate.
David Brett, 40 Edgewater Dr, Youngstown, OH 44514.
Celebrating the 38th annual WBCCI Region 4 Rally,
a gathering of Airstream Trailer owners from
Miichigan, Ohio, and West Virginia.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

07/12/2014 | Commemorating Alliance, OH
as the home of Taylorcraft Aviation
Jul 12, 1400Z-2000Z, W8T, Alliance, OH.
Alliance Amateur Radio Club.
28.260 21.260 14.260 7.260.
Certificate & QSL.
Alliance Amateur Radio Club,
PO Box 3344, Alliance, OH 44601.
http://w8lky.org

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

07/26/2014 | German Ridge Jamboree
Jul 26-Jul 27, 1323Z-1320Z, W8GBH, Powhatan Point, OH.
Eastern Ohio Amateur Wireless Association.
17.140 14.225 7.225 3.880.
QSL. Rob Fish, 67689 Mills Rd, Saint Clairsville, OH 43950.
j_t_mccready@yahoo.com

****************************************************

OHIO HAMFEST CALENDAR


06/21/2014 | MILFORD HAMFEST
Location: Milford, OH
Sponsor: Milford Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://www.w8mrc.com

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

07/12/2014 | 20/9 ARC Tailgate and Hamfest 2014
Location: Austintown, OH
Sponsor: 20/9 Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://www.20over9.org
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

07/19/2014 | NOARSFEST
Location: Elyria, OH
Sponsor: Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society
Website: http://NOARS.net

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

07/20/2014 | 27th Annual Van Wert Hamfest
Location: Van Wert, OH
Sponsor: Van Wert Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://w8fy.org

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

07/27/2014 | Portage Hamfair '14
Location: Randolph, OH
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Portage Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://Hamfair.com

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

08/02/2014 | Columbus Hamfest/Ohio Section Conference
Location: Columbus, OH
Sponsor: Voice of Aladdin Amateur Radio Club (W8FEZ)
Website: http://www.columbushamfest.com

****************************************************

ODDS & ENDS

Are you into streaming video to watch TV? Here's a site that I think you'll be interested in. It's called Amateur Logic TV. You can find it from this link:   http://amateurlogic.tv 

****************************************************


eof..