In this issue:
-> AMATEUR RADIO PARITY
ACT PASSES THE HOUSE
-> THE TECHNICAL
COORDINATOR
-> AFFILIATED CLUB
COORDINATOR REPORT
-> NATIONAL PARKS ON THE
AIR
-> THE SECTION EMERGENCY
COORDINATOR
-> THE PUBIC INFORMATION
COORDINATOR
-> THE SECTION TRAFFIC
MANAGER
-> THE STATE GOVERNMENT
LIAISON
-> OUT AND ABOUT
-> WHATS HAPPENING IN SOUTHWEST OHIO
-> CENTRAL OHIO HAPPENINGS
-> LET'S TALK
-> THE OFFICIAL OBSERVER
COORDINATOR
-> WEBSITE STATS
-> SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS
IN OHIO
-> OHIO HAMFEST CALENDAR
****************************************************
AMATEUR RADIO PARITY ACT
PASSES THE HOUSE
From the ARRL
Dear ARRL member,
I am writing to you today
because we are at a crossroad in our efforts to obtain passage of The Amateur
Radio Parity Act.
Our legislative efforts
scored a major victory in our campaign when The Amateur Radio Parity Act, H.R.
1301, passed in the House of Representatives yesterday, September 12th. The
legislation now moves to the Senate, where we need every Senator to approve the
bill.
You are one of over 730,000
licensed Amateur Radio Operators living in the United States. Many of you already live in deed-restricted
communities, and that number grows daily.
NOW IS THE TIME FOR ALL HAMS
TO GET INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS!
* If you want to have
effective outdoor antennas but are not currently allowed to do so by your Home
Owner’s Association, SEND THESE EMAILS TODAY!!
* If you already have outdoor
antennas, but want to support your fellow hams, SEND THESE EMAILS TODAY!!
* If you want to preserve
your ability to install effective outdoor antennas on property that you own,
SEND THESE EMAILS TODAY!!
We need you to reach out to
your Senators TODAY! Right away.
Help us in the effort. Please go to this linked website and follow
the
prompts:
Thank you.
73,
Rick
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Rick Roderick, K5UR
President
ARRL, the national
association for Amateur Radio
** Please note.. Even though
you may have already filled out a letter at a hamfest or club meeting, and
either sent it in yourself or had the ARRL send it for you, we are now into the
SECOND Phase of getting this Bill passed and we need you do complete this form
as well..!! **
** It’s really fast and easy
to do, so PLEASE make sure you click on the link above and complete the form.
**
****************************************************
THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak - TC
Hey gang,
I don’t have to complain to
you about the hot and extremely humid weather we’ve had because all of you are
living it too. Storm season arrived later
in Northern Ohio. I wrote last month how
my city got hammered by some storms. It
continued with a tornado outbreak in Indiana on August 24th. Friend and regular check-in to the Ham Nation
D-STAR net luckily sustained no damage.
However, his neighbors a quarter-mile to the north and south had their
homes destroyed. The line of storms that
moved through Indiana spawning many tornados prompted the National Weather
Service in Cleveland to staff the Skywarn desk.
I was one of the operators at NWS that night. Though the storms significantly weakened by
the time they reached the Toledo area, there was one confirmed EF0 tornado in
Pemberville (Wood County - my old stomping grounds). It touched down along route 6 and dissipated
quickly but not before removing sheet metal roofing from nearby buildings. No injuries or fatalities.
Public service season is
quickly wrapping up for most of the section.
Technical Specialist David KD8TWG ran much of the five-day public
service event at the Great Geauga County Fair.
Being from Cuyahoga county (and the far west end at that), I was a
little skeptical. ‘OK the GREAT Geauga Fair.’ But it really was a great fair. It’s the biggest one I’ve attended. There’s a ton of people, displays, awards,
animals, events and acts, and yes people really do stand in line 45 minutes for
a milkshake. This was confirmed in a
casual conversation between fair-goers.
As far as ham radio there is a great mixture of technologies including
Ohio MARCS, 800 MHz, APRS, Mesh, VOIP, and a portable repeater for their
communication needs. It was quite the
elaborate setup and really is a great example of utilizing technology to suit
communication needs.
The public service season
concluded in Cleveland on the 11th with a half-marathon called “River
Run.” It was great weather and there
wasn’t a single ambulance call. A lot of
the ham radio event coordinators have to beg, twist arms, and make many phone
calls to get people to come out and help.
Please volunteer and help out with these events. You’re there to make sure everyone has a good,
safe time during the event. Your
presence also gets ham radio out in front of the public and builds
relationships with event organizers and county officials. If you’re active in helping out with public
service events, you’re more likely to be called in the case of an actual
situation.
Ham Nation episode 264 (https://twit.tv/shows/ham-nation/episodes/264)
was an episode that featured an all YL cast.
Everyone on the show that night was a young lady. The episode highlighted female participation
in the hobby and pointed out that ham radio is not made up entirely of OMs. Additionally, Dr. Skov (who is not licensed …
yet) gave a detailed tutorial on ionospheric conditions and how space weather
effects propagation on the HF bands. She
talks about the atmospheric layers, electron density, how those layers change
during the day vs night vs gray line, the layers which reflect signals, Kp and
X-Ray Flux indices. Her tutorial would
have really helped me on those licensing test questions! It starts about 44 minutes into the episode –
with some interesting analogies. I will
leave it at that!
I’ve been spending a ton of
time learning more about the DV4Mini and DMR in particular. The DV4Mini is a USB hotspot device about the
size of a large USB memory stick. It has
the ability to “speak” several different digital modes: D-STAR, DMR, Fusion,
P25, and dPMR/NXDN/IDAS. A hotspot is a
device that provides connectivity. In
this case, to different digital networks from your home PC or Raspberry Pi with
a low powered transmitter (usually under 10mW).
A misconception I hear a lot and have been asked about: yes you do need
a radio for each digital mode you want to operate. To connect to D-STAR reflectors you’ll need
the hotspot device and a D-STAR capable radio.
Similarly, for DMR talk groups, you’ll need the hotspot and a DMR
capable radio. I’ve been hanging out a
lot on the Ohio Statewide talk group (3139) and USA Nationwide (3100), I even
ran into our own Section Manager on the network!
The more time I spend with
the DV4Mini the more issues I find with it.
It’s a great concept to have one device to work 5 different modes. The DV4M has a lot of issues that I hope the
developers correct related to its performance.
I actually bricked mine updating it to the latest firmware. Had to crack the case and put into bootloader
mode to re-flash the firmware. The
update took the second time. This
happened to another user too. Comparing
audio quality to repeaters on the network and listening to BrandMeister
Hoseline, the audio from the device sounds bad most times and terrible the
rest. The direct calling feature doesn’t
seem to work. A buddy of mine found the
developer for the BrandMeister extended routing feature (DV4MF2) completely
ceased development as of September 9th. It will be interesting to see why that
happened and if that means anything for the future of the device. There are other hotspot devices out there and
I hope to find out more about them soon.
David KD8TWG and his
presentation on APRS at the Lake Erie Amateur Radio Association (LEARA) meeting
was fantastic. We had a lot of fun with
APRS on our smartphones and radios sending messages back and forth.
Thanks to the Cuyahoga
Amateur Radio Society (CARS) for having me at their meeting on September 13th. I presented my introduction to the Raspberry
Pi computer. Good discussion ensued in
both cases on new technology hams can utilize.
Coming up, I will be at the
Cleveland Hamfest on the 25th.
Two days later I’m giving a presentation at the LEARA meeting on Slow
Scan TV. If you’re in the Cleveland area
and want to see SSTV in action, stop by the meeting on the 27th. More details will be available at leara.org
as the meeting date approaches.
Congratulations to Scott N8SY
on being reelected as Section Manager for the Ohio Section. Give him a pat on the back or buy him a beer
when you see him for all his hard work!
Thanks for reading and 73… de
Jeff – K8JTK
****************************************************
THE AFFILIATED CLUBS
COORDINATOR
John Myers, KD8MQ - ACC
Hi everyone,
Good news, 90% of you can
skip this part of my column this month; I'm writing to the other 10%. You know
who you are; the club officer who always gets elected for something; the Ham
who has his (or her) finger into every club project, or program; who is always
running from one project to the next, and volunteering for everything. If you
aren’t this Ham, then I bet you know him, or her. Chances are that you know a
couple of them.
You justify all this frenzy
by telling yourself that the club won't survive without you. You promise to
slow down, but next time there's a job to be done, you’re right there with your
hand up. You are sure that the club won’t run without you. But, have you
considered that you might be doing a disservice to your club and its members?
By doing so many things yourself, you may be robbing other members of the need
to step up and take the reins. After all, why should they? They have you to do
everything. You may be doing a disservice to yourself as well, as you pile more
& more work onto yourself.
We call Amateur Radio fun,
but, we find that the busier we get the less fun we're having. In extreme
cases, we can get overloaded, and our performance begins to suffer.
So, what do we do? At first
glance, the answer seems to be to just quit and walk away. I submit that the
answer is not to quit, but rather step back a bit, and learn to just say NO!
But, you say, what will
happen to the club? Trust me they will survive. And, so will you. Remember,
it's ok to take a break. Maybe now is the time to think about mentoring some of
your younger members to take the helm.
Revitalizing your College Ham Club - A couple weeks ago, there was a posting to the ARRL
PR list that referenced a blog entry by Scott Westerman, W9SWS. The subject is
“Revitalizing your College Ham Club”. There’re some great ideas there. I would
go so far as to say it should be required reading for all current, or
prospective club leaders. Not all of the ideas in the post are applicable to
every club, but most are. You can read the post at w9wsw.com/?p=950.
Club record Update - Moving on, I’d like to thank everyone who responded to my plea, and
updated their club record at the League website. There are still some of you
who are a bit in arrears, but I’ll catch you privately. One of the benefits of
keeping your information current is that folks who want to find your club can
actually do so.
Let’s talk about Wilbur, who
wants to get involved in Amateur Radio. How do you think poor Wilbur would feel
showing up at the East Podunk Fire Hall expecting an Amateur Radio club
meeting, and finds a quilting bee instead? “Oh, them”, he’s told; “they moved
their meeting to the West Podunk Red Cross HQ months ago!” See? If the Amateur
Radio club had updated their record, Wilbur would probably have his Ham ticket
by now, instead of being the newest member of the East Podunk Quilting &
Wine-Tasting Society.
Seriously, though, it only
takes a couple minutes to update your club record. The league wants this done
at least once a year, but you can do it whenever there’s a change in your club
information. If you are a Special Service Club, your status needs to be renewed
every two years. This also can be done online. If you have any questions, just
let me know.
With that, I’ll tie the
ribbons on it. Thank you for indulging me as I do a different sort of column
this month.
73, until next month.
DE KD8MQ
****************************************************
NATIONAL PARKS ON THE AIR
John Myers, KD8MQ - ACC
Hi
everyone, I was playing with the NPOTA Stats page the other day, and thought
I’d share some observations.
First
of all, as of Wednesday, the 14th, we are past the 11,600
activations point. We are 4 contacts away from 637,000 contacts. That being
said, I’d like to delve further into the numbers. As of Sunday, there were 41
parks not activated. Four of those are marked Amateur Radio Prohibited. 45 of
them have reported fewer than 50 contacts. An additional 62 have reported fewer
than 500 contacts. My point being that the excitement is over, you are
mistaken. Here are the stats for Ohio units:
*
Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National
Monument (MN18) – 52 Activations, 1472 Contacts
*
Cuyahoga Valley National Park (NP14)
- 83 Activations, 2490 Contacts
*
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park (HP11) - 68 Activations, 1599
Contacts
*
Fallen Timbers Battlefield and Fort Miamis National Historic Site Affiliated
Area (AA06) - 19 Activations,
1436 Contacts
*
First Ladies National Historic Site (NS16) - 30 Activations, 1713 Contacts
*
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park (HP15) - 50 Activations, 1509
Contacts
*
James A. Garfield National Historic Site (NS39) - 18 Activations, 1847 Contacts
*
North Country National Scenic Trail National Scenic Trail (TR04) - 210
Activations, 8947 Contacts
*
Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial National Memorial (NM20) - 9
Activations, 991 Contacts
*
William Howard Taft National Historic Site (NS78) - 30 Activations, 1210
Contacts
Also,
don’t forget that we have several NPOTA units within easy driving distance of
Ohio. Fort Necessity (BF05), and Friendship Hill (NS30) are two that I’ve done
day trips to. Of course, there’s more. So let’s get out there and have some
fun!
73,
John,
KD8MQ
****************************************************
THE SECTION EMERGENCY
COORDINATOR
Stan Broadway, N8BHL
**Too
much of a good thing?**
Probably not, but the success
and high activity rate of Ohio Section ARES organizations does present a
problem when trying to find a date that ~everyone~ can manage. It’s just
impossible any more to find a weekend were at least a few, if not many, ARES
groups are busy serving their communities.
So it is with the date for the All-Ohio ARES Conference. I even selected an off week for the
Buckeyes! But alas, there is a small group in Akron that wants one more shot at
taking a little run (like, thousands in the Akron marathon requiring over 50
amateurs) and then there’s a FEMA drill in Mahoning County and a festival in
Darke County. And that’s a ~slow~
weekend in Ohio!
I do expect the other EC’s
and ARES management team members to make every effort to attend our conference,
on September 24th. And, I invite ALL ARES
members to attend. Our team has put together a very interesting, informative
session that you can take back and apply to your own organizations! Here’s the overview of our agenda:
0800 Registration - coffee
0830 ARES business opening
(including ARESMAT update)
1000 RNC report
(Roundtable discussion of the
local preparation and execution during RNC week. We’ll start with a brief description then
open for questions, aimed at how you can apply our experience to your local
groups.)
1130 Ohio SET 2016 – Not Your Mama’s Exercise
Lunch Numerous local fast food nearby
1300 HIPAA training
1400 FEMA presentation – Keep your family safe!
1500 Volunteer motivation
Our traditional Go-Box
display will be an attraction, so bring your equipment both large and small!
I encourage you to bring
along your communication vehicle! These
are becoming more useful and you can share your ideas and building tips!
We also plan a MESH display
with seasoned veterans to answer questions.
I want to express my thanks
to the Marion County ARES group for their hospitality and support! This conference facility is top-notch, it
seats 150 plus, in a very comfortable environment, simply a great place.
So if you haven’t already,
please click over to register:
September
24, 2016
Marion
Technical College
1467
Mt Vernon Ave, Marion, OH 43302
(Rt. 95 west from Rt. 23 in
Marion- look for Ohio State signs on your left.)
Talk-in on the 147.30 (250.3)
Marion repeater
** Ohio SET October 1 **
October 1 will be the Ohio
SET - an emergency exercise that is supposed to test all our abilities to
activate, manage an emergency event, then demobilize. Last year’s “extended power outage” was a
great test...but ~this~ year’s! Oboy!
NOT your Mama’s little exercise.
Our ARES leadership team went into overdrive for this one.
We’ll talk about this during
our fall conference, but I’ll give you a clue: The total collapse of society.
Preppers call it TEOTWAWKI - the end of the world as we know it. This is going to test our abilities to
message, react and manage many situations. And we won’t be alone- the Ohio
Military Reserve has become a partner for our exercise, and they’ll be doing a
military exercise based on our situation.
You won’t want to miss this!
For the latest Section
Emergency Coordinator’s monthly report go to:
http://arrl-ohio.org/SEC/notes.html
73, Stan, N8BHL
****************************************************
THE PUBLIC INFORMATION
COORDINATOR
John Ross, KD8IDJ
** Newsletter
Contest Postscript II **
In just about three months it
will be time for the start of the 2017 Ohio Section Newsletter Contest...and I
can't wait!!
I'm anxious to see next
year's crop of newsletters and the continuation of the best newsletters in the
country. I mean that!
A few weeks ago I was a judge
for a corporate communications company's annual contest. What an experience.
You would think with all of the technology at hand, all of the resources, and
all of the highly-titled people...the newsletters would be nothing short of
outstanding. Well, they were not and, in fact, they were short in many areas
including the most important...the ability to communicate.
Maybe I'm spoiled, but the
glossy, slick corporate newsletters can't hold a candle to the ones from the
amateur radio clubs in the Ohio Section. You win, we win hands down.
So, sharpen those pencils,
grease the ribbons and oil the keys...get ready for another great year of
showing the world what we do best...communicate via amateur radio and with
great newsletters.
** Mt.
Vernon ARC Special Event Station **
The Mt Vernon ARC-K8EEN was
busy last month with the Dan Emmett Special event station and Open
House...their first attempt at such a project.
I received a report from Jim
N8IBR, SEC-MVARC detailing their activities and from all indications things
went pretty well the first time around.
“We didn't have the hundred
or more station response we had hoped for over the 2 day event, but with the
questionable band conditions we have been experiencing on HF this summer, I
don't feel the 52 QSO's we had were a failure either. While we didn't snag any
DX stations, we were able work multiple Canadians, and all over the USA,
middle, north, south, east, and west"
Jim went on say they learned
a lot and had a lot of fun. They've sent certificates to all of the stations
worked and are already planning for next year!
Congratulations to the Mt.
Vernon ARC for an outstanding effort!
** A
Busy Fall **
I don't think I can remember
an autumn so chocked full of ham radio activities and events. ARES has a big
workshop and conference planned for September 24th, National Parks on the
Air is still going strong, the Amateur Radio Parity Act has passed the House of
Representations, and there is still time for a couple of hamfests before the
snow starts to fall.
Amateur radio is everywhere
and continues to grow. Couldn't be better!
** Down
on the Farm Repeater **
One final note. I'm in the
beginning phase of putting a repeater on the air at our farm in Morgan
County...something I always wanted to do as a kid. We used to have a 100 foot
tower that was used by the local auto recycling guy but several years ago that
was moved across the valley. However, the block transmitter house is still
there along with power and phone lines. The farm is at the highest elevation in
the county so coverage should be pretty good.
Not a lot of amateur activity
in Morgan County...but I hope to change all of that!!
That's all for this
month...73
John, KD8IDJ
Public Information
Coordinator
****************************************************
THE SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER
David Maynard, WA3EZN - STM
SIMULATED EMERGENCY TEST
OCTOBER 1 AND 2
TIP FOR SUCCESS: The earlier
you send your SET radiograms the more chance you have to send them without delay. Every year some stations wait until the last
minute to send their radiograms and they run into a 'traffic jam' on the
OSSBN. The OSSBN plan is to have nets at
10:30 AM, 4:15 PM and 6:45 PM. For SET
these nets will run until all traffic is collected or passed. Check their frequency periodically if you
have traffic as additional nets may be held if needed. Also local VHF nets as listed below may be
available to take your traffic.
One of the first steps on the
way to a successful SET is to try to get as many people involved as possible
and especially new hams. In a real emergency, we find amateurs with all sorts
of varied interests coming out of the woodwork. Let's get them involved in SET
so they will know more about how emergency communications should be handled.
Promote SET on nets and repeaters, and sign up new, enthusiastic radio
amateurs. Many of those offering to help will be inexperienced in
public-service activities. It's up to you to explain what's going on to them,
and provide them with useful roles. They may like it so much that they become a
permanent fixture in your ARES or NTS group. For a review of last year's
nationwide Simulated Emergency Test, look for the article in QST.
The ARRL Simulated Emergency
Test is a nationwide exercise in emergency communications, administered by ARRL
Field Organization Leaders including Emergency Coordinators, District Emergency
Coordinators, Section Emergency Coordinators and Net Managers. Many other
Section Leaders like the Section Manager and the Section Traffic Manager may
have a hand in planning the exercises and/or reviewing the results.
Amateur Radio Emergency
Service ® (ARES®), National Traffic System (NTS), Radio Amateur Civil Emergency
Service (RACES) , CERTS and other public-service oriented groups can be
involved. The SET weekend gives communicators the opportunity to focus on the
emergency-communications capability within the community while interacting with
NTS nets. In Ohio the Simulated
Emergency Test is held the first weekend in October, that being October 1 and 2
this year. It is important that all
amateurs participate and show just how great the hams are in Ohio.
The purpose of SET is to find
out the strengths and weaknesses of
ARES, NTS, RACES and other groups in providing emergency communications.
It also should provide a public demonstration to served agencies such as the
American Red Cross, the Emergency Management Agency and through the news media
of the value to the public that Amateur Radio provides, particularly in time of
need. To help radio amateurs gain
experience in communications using standard procedures and a variety of modes
under simulated-emergency conditions.
** How to Join the SET **
To participate in this year’s
emergency test, contact your local ARRL emergency coordinator or net manager to
find out the details. If you don’t know
who to call, please touch base with your ARRL Section Manager (N8SY), Your
Section Emergency Coordinator (N8BHL) or this year’s SET coordinator KD8TTE in
Bexley for assistance. Here are some net
managers you might also contact for more information.
** Ohio HF Traffic Nets **
BN(E) Buckeye Net Early – CW –
WB8YLO NET MANAGER
BN(L) Buckeye Net Late – CW – WB9LBI NET MANAGER
OSN Ohio Slow Net
– CW – W8OLO NET MANAGER
OSSBN Ohio Single Sideband Net – Phone – KC8WH NET MANAGER
** Ohio VHF Traffic Nets **
BRTN Burning River Traffic Net serving Cleveland and North
Central Ohio
W8DJG NET MANAGER
COTN Central Ohio Traffic Net serving Columbus and Central
Ohio
KD8TTE NET MANAGER
MVTN Miami Valley Traffic Net serving the Dayton area
KC8HTP NET MANAGER
NWOH ARES Northwest Ohio ARES Net
N8TNV NET MANAGER
TATN Tri-State Amateur Traffic Net
WG8Z NET MANAGER
TCTTN Tri-County Traffic and Training Net serving Lake, Geauga,
Ashtabula and Surrounding Counties KI8U NET MANAGER
See pages in QST for contact
information or check the ARRL Web page. The URL to start with is http://www.arrl.org/sections/ from there,
you’ll find links to ARRL section home pages with names and contact information
for your Section Leaders including the Section Emergency Coordinator and
Section Traffic Manager along with contact information for other ARRL sections
that you may want to exchange radiogram with. Whether you’re a new licensee or
an experienced radio amateur, the SET is a golden opportunity to learn or
practice useful skills in traffic handling, net operation and emergency
communications protocols and management.
You will never know when something is going to happen and your family,
neighbors and community will look to you and your amateur radio skills for
assistance.
Each net and section is to
report there activity to the ARRL using forms on the ARRL website. The activity reports will be analyzed and a
report will be issued later as sort of a grade for each section. You are encouraged to consider participating
in this year’s Simulated Emergency Test and to prepare for it as a
demonstration of Amateur Radio’s readiness and as an active participant in national
preparedness. If you are at all
cognoscente of what is in the news you will already know how possible it is to
have a wide spread disaster.
ARRL Emergency Coordinators:
Report your Simulated Emergency Test results form
Form A: EC Simulated Emergency Test Report
Form B: Net Manager Simulated Emergency Test Report
SET Score Card
Simulated Emergency Test Guidelines.
To give you a head start here
is some sample radiogram text to show you what type of radiogram you can send
during SET if not directly involved in an ARES sinero. First some fun ones you can send.
73 ROUTINE (YOUR CALL) 9
ANYTOWN OH OCT 1
ANY HAM OPERATOR
ANYWHERE USA
BT
SENDING MESSAGES TO OTHERS BY
RADIOGRAMS IS A FUN ACTIVITY
73
BT
(YOUR NAME AND CALL)
NR 1 ROUTINE
(YOUR CALL) 10 (YOUR CITY AND
STATE) (DATE OCT 1)
ANOTHER HAM
ADDRESS
CITY STATE ZIP
PHONE
BT
PLEASE SEND ME A RADIOGRAM
DURING SIMULATED EMERGENCY
TEST 73
BT
(YOUR NAME AND CALL)
NR 2 ROUTINE (YOUR CALL)
DAVID MAYNARD WA3EZN
4815 MIDLANE DRIVE
HILLIARD OH 43026
OHIO SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER
BT
AM PARTICIPATING IN SET BY
SENDING YOU THIS RADIOGRAM 73
BT
(YOUR NAME AND CALL)
If you make them sound like a
real emergency during SET the text must start with the words TEST MESSAGE so we
don’t cause unnecessary alarm by individuals who may intercept your practice
radiograms.
2 ROUTINE (YOUR CALL) 16 (YOUR
LOCATION) OCT 2
ARES DUTY OFFICER
INCIDNET COMMAND CENTER
C/O WA3EZN HILLIARD OHIO
BT
TEST MESSAGE CAN YOU SEND
RELIEF OPERATOR TO STAGING
AREA
QUERY IF SO PLEASE ADVISE
ETA
BT
(YOUR CALL)
AMATEUR RADIO VOLUNTEER
STAGING AREA
88 ROUTINE (YOUR CALL) 14
(YOUR LOCATION) OCT 3
ANYONE ANYWHERE
BT
TEST MESSAGE SEND GENERATOR
TO
SHELTER ADAM X POWER FAILURE
AND ICE CREAM MELTING
BT
(YOUR NAME AND CALL)
73 (YOUR CALL) 11 (YOUR
LOCATION) OCT 2
ANYONE ANYWHERE
BT
TEST MESSAGE NEED MORE COTS
AND SANITATION KITS AT
SHELTER
BROVO
BT
(YOUR NAME AND CALL)
Have fun and start early to
prepare your SET radiograms. Maybe we can break our state record and score
higher this year
73, David, WA3EZN
Ohio Section Traffic Manager
****************************************************
THE STATE GOVERNMENT
LIAISON
From: Nick Pittner, K8NAP –
SGL
This will be my last
newsletter article as State Government Liaison.
I’ve now served in that position for over 10 years, and it’s time for
someone new to take the job. I’ve had the great honor and good fortune to serve
under three different Section Managers during that time. Each of them uniquely talented and
extraordinary individuals. A few
comments about each are appropriate.
I first met Joe Phillips,
K8QOE when he walked into my office late one Friday afternoon. I didn’t know Joe, and had little idea of what
a Section Manager was or what he did. I
didn’t even know there was such a thing as a Section Government Liaison, the
position he asked me to accept. When I
asked what was expected of an SGL he replied, “Oh not much really, just watch
for legislation that affects amateur radio and let me know what it’s
about.” Joe always was a master of
understatement. I agreed to take the
job, but on one condition, that being that the Section support an effort to
amend Ohio law to provide antenna rights for Ohio hams, as many other states
had already done. Joe agreed, and I thus
became the Ohio SGL.
Joe’s tragic passing was a
great loss to all of us, but we were very fortunate when Frank Piper, K8IGW,
took over. Though not the showman that
Joe had been, Frank was very methodical, process oriented, brilliant and
effective. I recall him driving through
a blizzard to attend a legislative committee hearing which, of course, was
cancelled because the legislators were unwilling to make the same sort of
sacrifice. Frank testified to numerous
legislative committees and helped shepherd the legislation through the various
challenges necessary to obtain passage. He was there when it was signed into
law by Governor Kasich. We all owe Frank
a great debt of gratitude for his hard work and dedication to the cause of
amateur radio.
After Frank came Scott, N8SY,
a combination of showman and process person all rolled into one. Scott has been more than a full-time Section
Manager and brings both dedication and creativity to the job. He has been
supportive of all of his cabinet members and has put the Ohio Section “on the
map” with his great organizational skills combined with an absolute dedication
to the cause of amateur radio. It has
truly been an honor to have worked with each of these 3 outstanding individuals
while serving as SGL.
We have accomplished a few
things worth mentioning in the past 10 years.
First, the passage of Ohio’s antenna law, which gives every ham in Ohio
the benefit of the federally-mandated “reasonable accommodation” from local
zoning authorities with respect to ham antennas as part of Ohio law. It took 5 years and three different
legislative sessions (sessions last 2 years each) to get it passed, but we made
it. Passage would not have been possible
without the support of numerous legislators as well as the excellent testimony
of numerous hams to legislative committees.
Following passage of the Bill
we prepared and circulated a three-fold brochure, “Ohio’s New Antenna Law” to
bring information not only to the amateur community but also to the numerous
local zoning authorities affected by the new law. Two years later we revised and “tweaked” the
brochure and it has become a consistent hand-out for Field Day and Section
events. Hopefully we have brought good
information to a lot of people.
Another achievement has been
to obtain annual proclamations from the Governor proclaiming Field Day “Amateur
Radio Operators Appreciation Days”.
These, together with draft Field Day press releases for Ohio clubs, have
helped provide public recognition of the many public services provided by ham
operators. Both former Governor
Strickland and current Governor Kasich have helped us in that regard.
So, it is with mixed emotions
that I pass the green badge on to the next Ohio Section SGL. It has been a lot of work, a lot of fun, and
certainly filled with the honor and pleasure of working with great people to
advance the greatest hobby. Ohio hams
are extremely fortunate to have the League, and the Section working on their
behalf to secure enjoyment of our hobby and it has been an honor to be a part
of that effort. But now it’s time to
turn off the computer, turn on the radio and enjoy the hobby while I can. So,
thanks for the honor of serving you, if you hear me on the air, please give me
a call.
**
Future FAA Rules Could Affect Some Amateur Radio Antenna Support Structures **
Yet-to-be-developed Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA)
rules stemming from the recent passage in Congress of H.R. 636, the FAA Reauthorization Act, could pose additional
marking requirements for a small number of Amateur Radio towers. The bill
instructs the FAA to enact rules similar to state-level statutes now in place
that are aimed at improving aircraft safety in the vicinity of meteorological
evaluation towers (METs) set up in rural areas. In the wake of fatal crop
dusting aircraft collisions with METs, often erected on short notice, the
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended in 2013 that states
enact laws — sometimes called “crop duster” statutes — requiring marking and
registration of METs. While some state crop duster laws exempt ham radio
towers, the federal legislation does not. ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay,
W3KD, said, however, that the list of exemptions in the federal legislation
restricts application of the new rules to a very small subset of Amateur Radio
towers.
“The FAA Reauthorization Act
has very little application to Amateur Radio antennas. We will have a good
opportunity to address the final FAA rules through the normal rulemaking
process,” Imlay said. “We’ll be meeting soon with FAA officials to learn their
intentions as well as to advance our own concerns to the agency. Uniform
federal regulation is beneficial to hams, because it eliminates a patchwork of
state statutes that can impose significant constraints on ham antennas in rural
and agricultural areas.”
The FAA Reauthorization Act
gives the FAA 1 year to issue regulations requiring the marking of towers
covered by the new legislation. Marking of towers covered by the legislation
will be in the form of painting and lighting in accordance with current FAA
guidelines.
The law covers towers that
are “self-standing or supported by guy wires and ground anchors;” are 10 feet
or less in diameter at the above-ground base, excluding concrete footings; are
between 50 feet above ground level at the highest point and not more than 200
feet above ground level; have accessory facilities on which an antenna, sensor,
camera, meteorological instrument, or other equipment is mounted, and are
located outside the boundaries of an incorporated city or town or on land that
is undeveloped or used for agricultural purposes.
Imlay said the law excludes
towers erected adjacent to a house, barn, electric utility station, or other
building, or within the curtilage (enclosed area occupied by a dwelling,
grounds, and outbuildings) of a farmstead, among other exclusions. He said
“undeveloped” land refers to a defined geographical area where the FAA
determines that low-flying aircraft routinely operate, such as forested areas
with predominant tree cover below 200 fee, and pasture and range land.
The FAA will develop a
database containing the location and height of each covered tower, but Imlay
noted that the database contents may only be disclosed for purposes involving
aviation safety.
“We do not anticipate that a
significant number of Amateur Radio antennas will be subject to these
rules,” Imlay said, “but we need to monitor the FAA rulemaking process
carefully to head off requirements that could put the cost of installing and
maintaining affected structures out of any reasonable reach.”
73
Nick, K8NAP
(Ed. Note.. Nick will be missed for sure!!)
****************************************************
OUT AND ABOUT
Lyn Alfman, N8IMW - Assistant
Section Manager
On August 2, the Zanesville
Amateur Radio Club (ZARC) meeting was preceded by an antenna work party, where
they were repositioning an antenna on a mast at the Washington Twp. Fire
Department and cleaning another antenna before reassembling and mounting
it.
On August 4, I attended the
Cambridge Christmas Parade meeting, which CARA has provided communications for
each year since 1979.
On August 5, I helped park
cars in the handicap accessible parking lot at Deerassic Classic as a CARA fundraiser.
On August 6, I attended the
Ohio Section Conference in conjunction with the Columbus Hamfest in Grove City.
I sat in on three of the four forums: ARES, NPOTA, and ARRL Ohio Section. While the OSSBN Annual meeting was going on,
I took in the hamfest with Sonny and two of my granddaughters.
On August 7, about ten family
members attended the Dublin Irish Festival on Sunday, August 7, and on August
8, I was taken to the hospital, and I didn’t get out until August 11.
On August 20, Sonny, W8FHF,
and I put on a “Go Bags” program for Newark Amateur Radio Association (NARA)
after their meeting.
On August 24, I attended the
Guernsey County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (GCARES), where assigned groups
worked with a tabletop exercise and compared notes.
Also on August 24, I attended
the Cambridge Amateur Radio Association (CARA) meeting. The program consisted
of “how a J-pole antenna works” and showed the parts which are need to build
one. The assembled unit will be tested
at the September meeting.
I attended the amateur radio
lunches on August 4, 18, and 25. And on August 29, I set up the reservations
for the amateur radio lunches for September and updated the CARA Calendar on
the website: www.w8vp.org.
On August31, the CARA Communicator was uploaded to the
website, and a notice was sent out to members and subscribers. Our newsletter (I am the editor) won an
Honorable Mention in this year’s Section Newsletter contest.
As PIO for CARA, I placed
meeting announcements in the newspaper and on the radio as well as their
websites. I also had an article called
“CARA Club Notes” published in the local newspaper. As PIO for the Guernsey and Noble Counties
Long Term Recovery Committee (EMA), I had published a “Safety Tip” article.
September looks like a fun
month. CARA members are activating Blue
Rock State Park for OSPOTA, and the next weekend, members are activating a
portion of the North Country National Scenic Trail, which runs through part of
Salt Fork State Park.
I look forward to Labor Day
weekend with family and friends.
’73 Lyn, N8IMW
Remember to be Radio Active!
****************************************************
WHATS HAPPENING IN SOUTHWEST
OHIO
From: Kitty Hevener, W8TDA -
Assistant Section Manager
Congratulations to this
year’s recipient of ARRL’s Hiram Percy Maxim memorial award, Christopher
Brault, KD8YVJ.
This prestigious award
recognizes ARRL members under age 21 who give their time, skills, and energy to
further amateur radio. Christopher
easily fills that bill. Since becoming
licensed two years ago, he has built three dipole antennas, gone bicycle
mobile, and made a few satellite contacts.
He also worked field day with his home club, West Chester Amateur Radio
Association, and has been quite active with national parks on the air. Additionally, Christopher has assisted his
club In events aimed at promoting his club and amateur radio. Christopher especially enjoys satellite
operation. He anticipates an ARISS
contact via telebridge in October, all
this while taking on the challenges that come with being a modern day 8th
grader!
Christopher credits his
father, Jocelyn, KD8VRX for sparking his interest in amateur radio. Jocelyn first learned of ham radio when his
Canadian boy scout troop participated in JOTA.
Perhaps his fondest memory was making contact in French with a person
who ultimately became his pen pal.
Jocelyn commented that having that QSO was something he never dreamed
possible. “It was one of those wow
moments for me.” When Christopher joined
boy scouts, Jocelyn wanted him and his peers to experience that “wow moment”. He reached out to ARRL HQ for assistance to
make it happen. The staff connected him
with the West Chester Amateur Radio Association, and the rest is history. Jocelyn encourages fellow hams to actively
expose youth to our hobby. Certainly,
some will not buy in to it, but others will.
It is, after all, those people who are the future of amateur radio. As for Christopher, he encourages his peers
to look at amateur radio with an open mind, and join ARRL once licensed.
Prospective hams have taken
your licensing classes and even gotten their licenses. And, that’s the last you hear or see them. Sound familiar? Members of the Highland Amateur Radio
Association have certainly noticed this phenomenon. Realizing that the causes of it could range
from fear of making a mistake on the air to needing guidance in selecting
and/or operating equipment, the club has decided to offer a ham radio “boot
camp”. It will be held at a club
member’s house so as to foster a fun and relaxing environment where no issue is
too dumb to be discussed. I commend
Highland Amateur radio association for taking a personal approach to getting
their newly licensed members active and can’t wait to find out how it turns
out.
73, Kitty, W8TDA
****************************************************
CENTRAL OHIO HAPPENINGS
From: Fritz Tender, WD8E -
Assistant Section Manager
Wow has this August been hot
or what! I hope all the air conditioners
are functioning properly.
The big event this month in
central Ohio was the Columbus Hamfest held at the new Aladdin Shrine Center in
Grove City sponsored by the the Voice Of Aladdin Amateur Radio Club W8FEZ. I expect we all wondered what effect changing
venues and the untimely passing of Jim Leonard (WD8MRT) would have on
attendance.
In case you did not know Jim
was a driving force behind the Hamfest.
I tip my hat to the VOA club members who jumped in to fill a very large
void. I don't have the official figures but, it appeared to me that attendance
was up.
What was not to like, right
off freeway, the new main building is great, much of the vendor / flea market
area is now covered, and plenty of paved parking. Great job guys! I for one am looking forward to next year.
73, Fritz, WD8E
****************************************************
LET'S TALK
Scott Yonally, N8SY - Section
Manager
Hey Gang,
Wow.. Let’s get ready to rumble.. It’s time for Friday Night Football season
for sure.!!!
RNC / NAACP Conventions– GRAB
THE NEAREST OCTOBER ISSUE OF CQ MAGAZINE! We have a big report coming out
in the October edition of the Ohio ARES activities during RNC / NAACP
Conventions! The editors were very impressed with your work and grabbed
the story and photos we contributed! Nice work, again, everybody!!
** Now, switching bands to
another subject.. **
Have you seen the NEWEST
“Handbook Giveaway” drawing on the website yet? It’s there..!! To enter the
drawing all you need to do is fill in a couple of boxes on the form.. (your
name and email). That’s you need to do to be entered into a drawing to win a
2016 ARRL softcover Handbook. There’s nothing else required (Oh.. You do need
to be a resident of Ohio to win..) The
winner will be mailed the Handbook at my cost. This is being offered just to
see how many folks are really checking in on the website. Got the idea? Best of
luck to you!!
Are you getting those emails
from me? If not, all you have to do is to “Opt-In” to receive them. Heck, just
send me an email n8sy@n8sy.com I’ll
get you added to the mailing list. There’s a link to do this on the Ohio
Section website, it’s on the bottom left corner.. For your convenience, here’s
a direct link to it:
http://arrl-ohio.org/forwarder/forwarding.html I urge all of
you to make sure that everyone, regardless of whether they are a League member
or not, get signed up for one of these options. You can always “Opt-Out” at any
time if you feel this is not what you were expecting.
** Let’s shift bands once
again.. **
Let’s talk about the Ohio
Section Website.. You can find the Ohio Section Website at:
http://arrl-ohio.org If you don’t
have this website set as your home page, I urge you to do so. It changes a lot
and it’s so important for you to be kept up to date with the very latest
information.
** There’s another NEW – one
question – questionnaire on the Ohio Section Website! This question is really
important for me to know.. It will only take about 2 seconds for you to answer
it, and you can see how your answer stacks up with others instantly. If you
haven’t done it yet, please do.. I really want to hear from you.
Are you a member of the
ARRL?? If you aren’t a League member, this is a great opportunity to become
one. Want more information on how to join? Here’s the link: http://www.arrl.org/membership-levels. There’s even a 90 day FREE trial that you can apply
for if you’ve never been a member.. Got questions about being a member or what
the League is all about? Send me an email
n8sy@n8sy.com I’ll be
happy to call or write to you. We can even meet and have coffee if you’d like..
and I’ll buy!!
** One last spin of the
dial.. **
Lastly.. I’m always available for you, whether you’re
an ARRL member or not. If you have any questions, concerns, or would just like
to sit and chat awhile over a cup of coffee or something cold to drink, feel
free to call or write me (419) 512-4445 or n8sy@n8sy.com
That’s going to do it for
this month. I hope to see you all at your hamfests, club meetings or on the
air!
73, Scott, N8SY
****************************************************
THE OFFICIAL OBSERVER
COORDINATOR
John Perone, W8RXX
The OO's in
Ohio listened to a total of 1014 hours in August.
A total of 7 Good OO cards
were sent and 0 (zero) violation OO cards sent.
73, John, W8RXX
****************************************************
WEBSITE STATS – ** arrl-ohio.org
**
August 2016
Pages
|
Hits
|
Bandwidth
|
50,859
|
125,454
|
2.58GB
|
****************************************************
SPECIAL EVENTS STATIONS IN
OHIO
09/17/2016
| North Country National Scenic Trail /Salt Fork State Park
Sep
17, 1300Z-2100Z, W8VP, Lore City, OH.
Cambridge Amateur Radio
Association.
7.230.
Certificate.
Cambridge Amateur Radio
Association,
PO Box 1804, Cambridge, OH
43725.
In conjunction with the 100th
Anniversary of the founding
of the National Park System,
W8VP will be activating the
North Country National Scenic
Trail which runs through
Salt Fork State Park and
coincides at this place with the
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
09/17/2016 | WACO Fly-In
Sep 17, 1000Z-1600Z, W8FW,
Troy, OH.
Miami County Amateur Radio
Club.
145.23 - offset no PL; 7.125
- 7.300; 14.500 - 14.350.
Certificate & QSL. Miami
County Amateur Radio Club
W8FW, PO Box 214
Troy, OH 45373.
Annual WACO Aircraft Fly-in
in Troy Ohio
from Sept 15 thru Sept 18.
Troy Ohio is the original
home of the WACO Aircraft
Company and this event
relives that time. The W8FW
Club Station will be set
up on Saturday, Sept 17 from
10 am thru 4 pm.
Plan to work 40 and 20
meters, talk in on the W8FW repeater
at 145.23, minus offset, no
PL.
Please contact the W8FW club
thru the web site or
KC9NVP@arrl.net for additional information.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
09/24/2016 | 72nd Anniversary
of the Voice Of America
Bethany Relay Station (West
Chester, OH)
Sep 24, 1300Z-2100Z, WC8VOA
West Chester, OH.
West Chester Amateur Radio
Association.
14.275 14.250 7.225.
QSL. West Chester Amateur
Radio Association
8070 Tylersville Rd
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
10/08/2016 | Peterloon Camporee
Oct 8, 1300Z-2000Z, K2BSA/8,
Loveland, OH.
West Chester Amateur Radio
Association.
14.250 7.250 144.390.
Certificate. WC8VOA, 8870
Tylersville Rd,
****************************************************
OHIO HAMFEST CALENDAR
09/17/2016 | OH-KY-IN Hamfest
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Sponsor: OH-KY-IN Amateur
Radio Society
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
09/25/2016 | Cleveland
Hamfest and Computer Show
Location: Berea, OH
Sponsor: Hamfest Association
of Cleveland
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
10/16/2016 | Conneaut ARC
Hamfest
Location: Conneaut, OH
Sponsor: Conneaut Amateur Radio Club
Location: Conneaut, OH
Sponsor: Conneaut Amateur Radio Club
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
10/23/2016 | Massillon ARC Hamfest
Location: Massillon, OH
Sponsor: Massillon Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://www.w8np.org
****************************************************
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