In this issue:
-> OFF-SITE PARKING
STRONGLY SUGGESTED
-> THE TECHNICAL
COORDINATOR
-> AFFILIATED CLUB
COORDINATOR REPORT
-> THE SECTION EMERGENCY
COORDINATOR
-> THE PUBLIC INFORMATION
COORDINATOR
-> THE SECTION TRAFFIC
MANAGER
-> OUT AND ABOUT
-> ARES TRAINING UPDATE
-> OHIO RESPONDS
-> LET'S TALK
-> OUR NEW AFFILIATED
CLUBS COORDINATOR
-> THE OFFICIAL OBSERVER
COORDINATOR
-> SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS
IN OHIO
-> OHIO HAMFEST CALENDAR
-> MY FINAL
****************************************************
Hamvention® Promoting Use
of Off-Site Parking Areas
(from ARRL Bulletins)
Hamvention® General Chairman
Ron Cramer, KD8ENJ, is suggesting that visitors to the May 19-21 event at the
Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center in Xenia, Ohio, use off-site parking
in order to avoid traffic problems. Hamvention will offer free on-site and
off-site parking during the event.
“We are now promoting using
off-site parking as a means to avoid traffic congestion around the Fairgrounds
and possible lack of sufficient parking if there is heavy rain and the soccer
fields are not available to us,” Cramer said today.
Maps of the four off-site
parking areas are on the Hamvention website ( http://hamvention.org ), and free transportation will be provided to and
from all off-site parking areas.
Kramer said that all four
lots are within 15 minutes of the new Hamvention venue and will allow bus
access to the Fairgrounds. Talk-In ( http://hamvention.org/travel-parking/directions/ )will advise guests about available or filled parking
areas and help direct guests to a better location, Cramer said.
According to the City of
Xenia website, Hamvention’s principal effects on Xenia will be temporary
traffic congestion and potentially heavier restaurant patronage. The most
congested streets in Xenia during Hamvention are expected to be Detroit Street,
Purcell Avenue, Northwest Street, Galloway Street, King Street, and Hollywood
Avenue.
****************************************************
THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak – TC
Hey gang,
DMR: you're hearing a ton
about it from the Ohio Section and the number of repeaters has exploded with
nearly 60 in the state. DMR saw growth
due to inexpensive offerings of quality radios at last year’s show. I suspect this year will be no different with
new offerings from vendors, possibility of dual band radios around the corner,
and many more groups supporting DMR.
How many of you know the
terminology and could program a DMR radio from scratch? Passing around a code plug makes the mode
seem plug-and-play and it’s a great way to get started. Relying on existing code plugs leaves most of
us unable to change the configuration of our own radios or even know how it
works. What happens if you need to
change programming, add a repeater, the code plug information is old, or wrong?
When I started last year, I found
there was very little information available on DMR in ham radio. I learned DMR by doing a couple things. First, I looked at the code plug I downloaded
for my TYT MD-380. I got a lot of
knowledge playing around with that.
There were a couple things I wasn’t quite sure about. When I got together with a buddy who was
interested in DMR, we further played around with the software, tried different
settings, and I filled in those gaps.
With the continued support
from the Ohio Section, one of our Technical Specialists, Dave – KD8TWG has been
giving training presentations on radio programming and he created a DMR
Learning Series explaining terminology and etiquette:
I put together a paper with
the goal of explaining DMR to the person just starting out and include some
more technical descriptions. It started
as an idea to write an article or two for the OSJ around Dayton time so anyone
jumping in would have good information.
After starting the project, it quickly became much bigger.
The first writing talks about
the DMR standard and compares it to other made-for-ham-radio modes like D-STAR
and Fusion. One topic that might be of
interest is the section on 'is it legal?'
I've heard this question come up frequently and even clubs in the
section are questioning the legality.
Radios, CPS, code plugs, registering for a DMR ID are all
discussed. I talk about repeaters,
c-Bridges, networks, and some of the issues one might encounter. Terminology covered includes time slots, talk
groups, reflectors, contacts, RX Group Lists, channels, zones, scan lists, and
hotspots: http://www.k8jtk.org/2017/05/10/dmr-in-amateur-radio-terminology/
The second will deal with
creating a sample code plug for a factitious repeater, tying all the
terminology together. Afterwards, you
will be able to create and update your own code plugs! Stay tuned to next month. DMR repeaters in Ohio: https://www.repeaterbook.com/repeaters/feature_search.php?state_id=39&type=DMR
At the request of Cuyahoga
County Skywarn, Technical Specialist Dave – KD8TWG has installed a Sage EAS
ENDEC device on the 146.76 repeater in Cleveland. 146.76 is the primary Skywarn repeater for
Cuyahoga County. The device is the same
used by radio and television stations to broadcast Emergency Alert System
messages. It monitors NOAA weather radio
frequencies and broadcasts tornado watches/warnings, thunderstorm
watches/warnings – for Cuyahoga County, and the weekly EAS test. It’s been performing flawlessly!
The data and attention tones
are the same everyone is familiar with.
These are the same one would hear tuning to a broadcast radio or TV
station during an event. In order to not
clobber an existing QSO, the device will delay playing the alert until the
repeater is free. DTMF tones are
available to Skywarn NCS’s to disable the alerts if it begins to interfere with
the net. Some innovative working being
done here. Thanks for the hard work
Dave.
Anthony - K8ZT, our ASM for
Educational Outreach, shared some links with me from his site. He has put together lists of great resources
for doing projects, ideas for the class room, training classes, and build
projects a group my want to coordinate:
- www.k8zt.com/tech - electronics, kits, homebrewing, calculators,
Arduino, and Raspberry Pi.
- www.k8zt.com/electronics - learn about electronics and radio basics.
- www.k8zt.com/building - kits and homebrew.
- www.k8zt.com/ard-rasp - projects and instructables for Raspberry Pi
and Arduino.
- www.k8zt.com/calc - calculators, spreadsheets, data analytics, and
reference tables.
After my write up of podcasts
last May
(http://www.k8jtk.org/2016/05/15/ohio-section-journal-the-technical-coordinator-may-2016-edition/), I try to catch ones that feature a ham in the Ohio
section. QSO Today episode 144 featured
John Ackermann - N8UR. John was a past
president of TAPR (which I'm a member) and is a big proponent of open source
hardware and software (openly sharing designs that make the community
better). Eric and John talked about his
usage of SDR radios and this collection of test equipment. He's done alot of experimenting with APRS and
shares some of his lessons learned. I
especially liked his idea that hams can achieve much greater data transfer
speeds in the 3 GHz portion of our spectrum.
Maybe others in the section will develop technology to utilize that
spectrum more than we are currently. The
podcast is available on your favorite podcast app by searching for “QSO Today”
or by going to: http://www.qsotoday.com/podcasts/n8ur
Don't forget #HamNation300
special event is starting the Wednesday following Dayton. There will be stations operating D-STAR, DMR,
Echolink, possibly Fusion, P25 and anything else we can get our hands on – in
addition to SSB. I will be doing D-STAR,
JT65, and maybe PSK too for some HF digital contacts. Points challenge is available for those who
enjoy the social aspect of a special event.
Tune in to Ham Nation (twit.tv/hn)
every Wednesday evening. Details can be
found on our event page: https://www.hamnationdstar.net/2017/04/05/ham-nation-300-special-event/. I will also
be participating in the Ham Nation forum at Hamvention on Saturday, 10:30a in
Room 1.
The show featured the digital
net controllers this past Wednesday (5/10).
My ugly mug was featured along with my good friend Andrew- WA8LIV from
the DMR net and Dave – N3NTV from the Echolink net. You can watch the segment if you dare: https://youtu.be/afWX5kQSBAg?t=1h11m27s or download it at: https://twit.tv/shows/ham-nation/episodes/299. There’s a reason (more than one?) I stayed behind the camera when I worked TV production. I kid, check it out and join in the fun of #HamNation300.
That's about it for this
month. I'm looking forward to meeting
all of you at Dayton (er, Xenia) this year.
I've heard there were a record number of ticket pre-orders which I hope
means a successful year for Hamvention.
One thing I can guarantee for this year: it will be different for all of
us. I'm excited to see what's in store
at this new venue.
Get your shopping lists
ready…. and see you at Dayton!
Thanks for reading and
73… de Jeff – K8JTK
****************************************************
THE AFFILIATED CLUBS COORDINATOR
John Myers, KD8MQ - ACC
Hi everyone, we’ve gotten to
the end of my run. This column will be my last, and my tenure as your
Affiliated Club Coordinator ends in a couple weeks. I’d like for you to welcome
Tom Sly, WB8LCD as your new ACC effective June 1st. You’ll read more
from Tom in this issue.
When I took this job 2014, I
knew it would not be forever; that the time would come when new things &
new challenges would entice me. With some big stuff happening at church this
year, that time is at hand. I feel that trying to do justice to those
commitments while being ACC just isn’t going to work.
So with that out of the way,
let’s move on to the subject on everyone’s minds; Hamvention. Will you be
heading to Xenia this year? Despite all that you may have read online, there
are a LOT of folks working hard to make this first year go off flawlessly. Will
there be room for improvement? Sure there will. But, if you go to the big show,
have fun, and give it a chance! I’ll be doing a single day bus trip this year,
but hope to return next year for the entire show.
So, let’s have some fun this summer. In the next few months, we have
ARRL Field Day, the Ohio QSO Party, and the Ohio State Parks On The Air contest
coming up. All of these are an awesome chance for you, or your club to be
sought after on the HF bands. Get out there and have some fun.
Other opportunities abound; I’ve been beating the drum for a while now
about clubs doing Special Event Stations. But there are other options. Just
pick a day, and do a “Park-Pedition” set up a portable station, invite friends
with their gear, bring a grill, etc. Don’t Plan; Just Do!
On that note; Ideas tend to get discussed, and planned to death in club
meetings. Sometimes, you just need take that leap of faith, step out, and do
things, letting the details fall into place on their own. One thing I’ve
learned from my Awesome Wife, Lyn, is that sometimes you can spend too much
time planning, and not enough time doing.
I’ve had a lot of fun being
your ACC. I’ve spoken to a lot of you, by e-mail, phone, and in person. My
almost three years in this job have been a real eye-opener, and I continue to
be impressed by the caliber of clubs in the Ohio Section. This has been one
wild ride that I would not trade for anything.
Thanks everyone, but
especially to Scott, N8SY. He is the kind of Hard working Section Manager who
makes my job a breeze!
And, as Porky Pig would say,
“Ble, ble, ble, that’s all folks!”.
73
DE KD8MQ
***************************************************
THE SECTION EMERGENCY COORDINATOR
Stan Broadway, N8BHL - SEC
Technology and Reliability
These two concepts, each
desirable in its own right, can become confusing when applied to planning for
emergencies. Each county Emergency
Coordinator (EC) is responsible for creating plans to carry his ARES unit
through an emergency: Alerting and activating the group, organizing a
communications network that will be responsive and comprehensive for their
agencies, managing the ARES volunteers, maintaining their operation, and
successfully demobilizing and reporting both internally and to the Section or
League. It’s impossible to create a
uniform approach- each county’s potential emergencies differ, each county’s
agencies operate somewhat differently, and each county’s politics can vary
widely. The EC must navigate all those different waters while keeping
volunteers interested and trained and avoiding the pitfalls of personalities of
‘grumpy old men’.
ARES advertises that we can
be a dependable communications ally in many different circumstances. For the
RNC and related events last July, there was no communications emergency. We
were in place as a ‘standing backup’ to reinforce existing communication paths.
With that in mind, we have the option of trying many of the new modes available
to us. We’ve been using fldigi to send IS-213 messages reliably on HF and
VHF/UHF, and each county needs to practice that regularly. The use of DMR,
Fusion and D-star all can create a dependable, wide-area network! There are two big issues with digital: First,
the inability to send digital messages (IS-213 and others) through fldigi or
other software. Second, the variety of modes creates the situation faced by car
makers trying to introduce AM stereo- the inability to reach a common standard
brought a hasty demise to the whole idea. Will that happen in amateur
radio? Into which pot do we toss our
money? My answer is: as many as you can
get.
We anticipate adding DMR at
the Sarge, where there is a D-star radio already (it gets only light use if at
all). We had good luck with the DMR
“Ohio Channel” during RNC, and the inexpensive radios seem to generate the
potential of more repeaters and more radios in the field. Consider a statewide blizzard, or a flood
event such as several states to our south are currently battling. A linked
network of DMR repeaters would conceivably offer handheld coverage across the
wide operations field. That would be pretty cool. So my advice is to cultivate the new stuff-
perhaps find an expert in DMR, another in Fusion and Wires-x who might be AEC’s
in their specific field. Let’s all work together and cooperate to put all
available tools into use. 
I have found it a bit
incongruous that the new national traffic organization was launched with the
attitude (in their early publications and newsletters) that while ARES was
distracted and enraptured by new technology they, with their old-fashioned
message handling would ‘save the world’.
Indeed, they are trying to move into the neighborhood proclaiming the
ability to move IS-213’s… in an aldulterated form. In Ohio, our plan is that ARES will handle
inter-agency messaging. With that, there is a wide and inviting table for
traffic handling organizations to step in and offer messages home and other
‘health and welfare’ traffic to victims of disasters. What a great partnership
that forms with amateur radio service both agencies and the public.
We are cultivating a new
relationship with “Ohio Responds” – a database registering volunteers which
helps assure our liability protection under Ohio law. We’ll have more on that
soon!
Now this is all exciting- but
the whole thing depends on one person: the ARES volunteer. If apathy,
disinterest and unwillingness to invest time and energy remove our volunteers
from being active the whole thing falls apart.
You wouldn’t join a basketball team without expecting to practice, or a
band without spending practice time at home. Likewise, ARES membership involves
our time, and energy. We this year have
said every member needs to have the four ‘magic’ NIMS courses. You’re all to be
encouraged- the numbers look very good!
I am extremely grateful for your work!
73, Stan, N8BHL
****************************************************
THE PUBLIC INFORMATION COORDINATOR
John Ross, KD8IDJ - PIC
T-Minus Six weeks!
The deadline for the 2017
Ohio Section Newsletter Contest is just 6 weeks away…June 30th.
Remember, you need two copies
of your newsletter from different months, to be entered. So far I think
everyone has done that but check your list just to be sure.
The judges are ready and the
awards will be presented in August at our meeting and hamfest.
Please call or email me with
any questions.
DMR CONTINUES TO
IMPRESS
We have a family member, who
is a Battalion Chief for the local fire department, and he has always been in
interested in Amateur Radio. He’s more interested now that I showed him my DMR
radio!
Fire fighters and law
enforcement officers are always looking for better ways to communicate and
I explained to our friend that the new FirstNet system, which is in development
for a partial nationwide turn-up later this year, is a lot like our DMR system.
As I keyed my handheld radio and talked to operators in Northern Ohio, Missouri,
and several other areas with ease, his interest grew and now he’s on his way to
getting his amateur license!!
I still marvel at our analog
repeater systems…how well they work and their reliability…but DMR is a pretty
cutting edge technology and we’ve been using it for a couple of years now!
So, if you want to “reel in”
a new ham…demonstrations are great way to do that. The technology which Amateur
Radio has helped pioneer and develop for over a century has left a
lasting impression and DMR has now joined our family of accomplishments.
Amateur Radio TV Shows Cancelled
Amateur Radio TV Shows Cancelled
Amateur Radio has lost its
guest starring roles on two network television shows.
ABC’s Last Man Standing was
cancelled last week. The Tim Allen show often used Amateur Radio and Tim’s
shack was seen in many shots. Allen is actually a licensed ham, so maybe there
is hope he will use it again in a new show.
The show Frequency was also
cancelled. That show was about a police detective who communicated with her
departed father using “the ham”. The show played pretty fast and loose with the
rules and technology but still gave Amateur Radio a little boost.
So, I guess the networks are
ready now for a real show about Amateur Radio. I have plenty of unused
channels on my Direct TV so I’ll talk to AT&T this week about a pilot!!!!!
2017 DAYTON HAMVENTION
I did a little
reconordering a few weeks ago and took a drive to the new location of the
Dayton Hamvention…. in Xenia! Yes it will be different but hams are pretty good
at making things work. I’m looking forward the event. I’ve been going since I
was 15 years old and I don’t want to break the tradition.
I’ll be at the Ohio Section
Booth on Saturday afternoon. Stop by and talk about ham radio, public
information, or just say hello.
See you at the Hamvention!
73,
John, KD8IDJ
****************************************************
THE SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER
David Maynard, WA3EZN - STM
By the time you will read
this the “Dayton Hamvention” will be just days away. The Dayton Hamvention is generally considered
to be the world's largest hamfest. Hamvention will be
held May 19, 20 and 21, 2017 at the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center
near Xenia and not Dayton. The Hamvention offers forums, exhibit space and a
flea market and usually claims to have over 20,000 visitors.
Many amateur radio enthusiasts go out of their way to attend the Dayton
Hamvention, traveling from all over the United States, Canada, Mexico and
various parts of the world and even as far as Australia, Japan and Russia.
The entire staff of
Hamvention volunteers is working hard behind the scenes to make 2017 a year to
remember as they complete the transition from the old Hara Arena location to
Hamvention’s new home at the Greene County Fairgrounds and Exposition
Center. For more information, please
select the tab below to visit pages of interest. http://hamvention.org/contact-us/
You never know what you’ll
find at the Dayton Hamvention. Chances are you’ll find equipment ranging from
radios made in the 1950s with vacuum tubes to modern computer-controlled
transceivers. If nothing else, you’ll get an education on the wide range of
amateur radio equipment that’s out there.
You’ll find more than used
equipment at a Dayton, though. Many dealers will bring new equipment to Dayton and
have inside booths to show off their radios. This is your chance to look at a
number of different radios that you may have only been able to look at in
catalogs and compare different models. In addition, dealers often offer
“hamfest prices,” so you may be able to get that radio at a slight discount.
Hamfests are basically swap
meets/flea markets geared towards ham radio, electronic, and computer
enthusiasts and almost anything else electronic. There are a lot of reasons to
go to a hamfest, including:
* You get to see a lot of ham
radio gear in one place.
* You might be able to get a
good deal on some used (or new) equipment.
* You might find something
that will be fun to play with.
* You get to meet hams
face-to-face that you’ve only talked to on the air.
* You can learn something new
at one of the programs or forums
If you plan on attending a hamfest
for the first time, try to go with a group or someone who has experience. In either case, alone or with experienced
hams, the following will be helpful.
Bring lots of cash - most
sellers will only take cash, and you don't want to miss out on something
because you don't have enough money on you.
Make sure the cash is in small bills, not 50’s and 100’s which may scare
off the seller.
Try to haggle - many sellers
price stuff above what they expect to get for it because they know most buyers
will haggle. So don't be afraid to offer a lower price for something. However,
don't be a jerk. Most prices are negotiable; more so after lunch, but a good
deal goes quickly. Most vendors are not interested in trades, but you do
no harm by offering.
Don't spend money you can’t
afford to lose – Most hams are honest about what they sell, and try to test
used items and describe them accurately. Still, sometimes stuff is defective or
worked when it was tested but got knocked around in transit.
Also keep in mind that not
every seller knows that much about what they are selling - there are a lot of
resellers who just buy lots of stuff at auctions or the like and drag it to the
hamfest.
BUYER BEWARE. If
you are going to buy used equipment at a high cost, ask to test it to make sure
it works. Ask the seller for contact information. If a vendor refuses to demonstrate a
supposedly functional piece of gear, or won’t open up a used piece of
equipment for inspection, you may want to move along. Be familiar with the smell of burnt or
overheated electronics, especially transformers and sealed components.
Direct replacements may be difficult to obtain.
Remember if you buy it some
one has to carry it to the car. The
vender is not expected to help in this carrying endeavor.
Now to the Hamfest itself,
those that get there early can get the really good stuff, which will sell
really fast. Those that stay late will get the deals where people hate to lug
stuff home, so you can sometimes get some great deals to just take merchandise
off the seller's hands.
Take a pen and pad of
paper. At the Dayton flee market,
it's almost impossible to remember where something was you saw 30 minutes ago.
Keep track of that item by writing down where it is when you see it. Then you
can easily find it again later. Writing down the price is also a good idea for
comparison bargain hunting.
Dress appropriately -
comfortable shoes, layers in case it's warm or cold, rain gear if there is a
chance of rain. Some people find a backpack useful if they are buying a lot of
small items
Don’t count on smaller
hamfests having food available, but the larger hamfests like Dayton almost
always have a hamburger stand. Expect the same level of quality as that of the
concession stands. Taking along several bottles of water is a good idea,
especially if it is going to be hot and sunny.
In conclusion, hamfests are a
great place to pick up interesting pieces of equipment, both new and used, and
also picked up a lot of unique items you may never find anywhere else. If going
to a hamfest, carry cash and give yourself a budget. Don’t be afraid to walk
away if you don’t see something in your price range. Buyers remorse for
spending too much is worse than the feeling of letting something get away.
There’s always the next hamfest. And
most importantly, Have fun.
That all for is month,
73,
David WA3EZN
****************************************************
OUT AND ABOUT
Lyn Alfman, N8IMW - ASM
I also attended a Guernsey County Emergency Management Agency training
session on how to use the state WEBEOC program for the county in a
disaster. Four other Guernsey County
ARES members attended as well.
I did not attend any hamfests this month due to family obligations. However, I will be attending the Dayton
Hanvemtion at the Green County Fairgrounds in Xenia, so stop by the Ohio
Section booth and say, “Hi!”
I also attended several committee meetings and amateur radio meals.
Remember to be “Radio Active”!
’73 Lyn, N8IMW
****************************************************
ARES TRAINING UPDATE
Jim Yoder, W8ERW – ARES Data
Manager
The month of May has not
started out on such a fine note. I drove
up from Texas and did miss all the rain that had fallen earlier although high
water and serious flooding was everywhere in parts of Missouri and
Illinois. I saw one home that was
completely leveled by a tornado. The
temperature was certainly more to my liking along the way which has changed
since I arrived to find two days of rain and low temperatures. I have been accused of bringing it from Texas
and that could be true. It wasn’t warm
when I left and I drove into much nicer weather along my way to Ohio. I apologize and I have one more trip to make
in a couple of weeks which will be in time to see the new Dayton Hamvention
venue in Xenia this year.
 |
| Add caption |
Speaking of pleasure, there
are a few things you can do to make this much easier for me. I receive emails via the Section Manager,
Section Emergency Coordinator and directly from those submitting training. Often there are typos in name and
Callsign. I do verify everything with
QRZ which can also have some errors.
Everyone should check QRZ to insure the information they have on you is
accurate. The errors are usually found in your address information including
your county. Please do include your
residence county and the county of your ARES activity when you submit
training. Certificates should be sent as
.PDF documents. Most any editor can read
them in .PDF format and this saves a lot of work later when the certificates
are stored and need to be retrieved at a later date. The format I use is like this: W8ERW-IS-00100.b.pdf. I understand not
everyone will be able to do this, but if you can and will, this also saves a
lot of time and potential errors.
Training can be submitted to
either SM Scott Yonally N8SY@n8sy.com,
SEC Stan Broadway N8BHL broadways@standi.com or me, Jim Yoder w8erw@arrl.net
. Ideally, sending to all three of us
will insure that your information is recorded in the database and is known to
the Ohio Section officials who will be using the data. So to recap, please include your callsign,
tell us your residence and serving county (most are the same and a few are not)
and if you can, format the file names for your certificates as follows,
W8ERW-is-00100.b.pdf. You will save us a
lot of work and help prevent errors as your information is logged.
Thanks again for your
effort. You are ahead of the curve and
giving us all a lot to be proud of in Ohio.
73 and see you in Xenia for
Hamvention,
73 and Thank you,
Jim W8ERW
****************************************************
Ohio Repsonds
Stan and I have finalized all
the little details with the State of Ohio in preparation for all of you to get
registered in the Ohio Responds database. I still have a few minor details to
get out to you BEFORE you start registering, so be aware that this will very
soon start up.
For those of you who still
have a funny feeling about all of this, Rhonda Meggitt, our Ohio Responds
System Administrator, will be at Hamvention this year. She will have a booth in
building 6. She’s all primed up and ready to take your questions about what all
of this can mean to you, and the benefits that you gain by becoming partners
with Ohio Responds.
Ok, now that I’ve brought the
subject up.. I want you to understand
that you MUST be registered with your 4 completed NIMS courses in our statewide
database BEFORE you attempt to register on the Ohio Responds website. So, for
those of you who have been dragging your feet on getting your courses
completed, I hope this will be the incentive for you to get started. How do I
know if I’m on the list or not? Here’s the link to the list.
http://arrl-ohio.org/SEC/special/nims_roster.html Don’t see your
name on the list, and you’ve submitted your certificates? Contact me
immediately!
I also want you to know that
we’ll be asking if you’ve had a federal or state background check within the
last 5 years. Now don’t get all shook about this..!! We are only asking this question to know who
we could place in sensitive areas where this would be a requirement. It WILL
NOT affect your ability to be a part of our Section of Ohio Responds. We will
accept valid and current CCW licenses from Ohio as a background check. Most
churches and schools do them if you are going to be exposed directly to
children. Now, that’s just a few of the ways that you could have already had a
background check done and maybe not realized it. There are many more.
For those of you just
starting out now that you have a real incentive, we have a webpage with all the
information about how to get started.. http://arrl-ohio.org/SEC/training.html. This page contains a lot of information about what
is needed. Each course takes about an hour or so to take, that’s really not
much to ask now is it? You spent way more than that to get your Amateur Radio
operators license!
Now here’s a link that Ed,
KE8ANU found that breaks it all down for you as to what the classes are:
And here’s an additional link
to the FEMA First Responder Catalog www.firstrespondertraining.gov Thanks
Michael, N8QHV
I want to announce that our
database guru Jim, W8ERW will be at the Ohio Section Booth at Hamvention with
his computer. He’ll be able to look up you NIMS records right from there. Also,
if you want to load up a disk or flash drive with your certificates on it, Jim
will be able to upload that into the system right from there. You’ll need to
scan your certificates either as a picture or as a .pdf and put them on a flash
drive or disk. Jim will not be able to do any scanning from there, so please
have that done before you get to the Hamvention.
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LET'S TALK
Scott Yonally, N8SY - SM
Hey Gang,
It’s only a few days away
from Dayton! Since we have this very big
venue going on, we’re going to celebrate with DARA and their new location with
a special “Handbook Giveaway” drawing. You’ll have to attend the Hamvention to
get signed up for this so, only those who are in attendance will be eligible
this time around. Now let me assure you that we are going to do some
celebrating, this drawing will be for lots more than just one Handbook, there’s
going to be lots of other things too. I even have some ARRL Gift Certificates
to “Give Away” as well!
Now, to enter the drawing you’ll need to stop by the Ohio Section Booth in Building 2 and fill out a simple registration form. There’s nothing else required (Oh.. this drawing is for EVERYONE, whether you live in Ohio or not!!) The winners will be mailed their prizes at my cost after Hamvention. Make sure that you stop by the Ohio Section Booth and get registered. It’ll only take a couple of minutes to fill out the form!!
Next on my list of items to
talk about this month is our Affiliated Clubs Coordinator, John, KD8MQ. I’m
sure that you’ve read above where John has had a change in direction in his
personal life and has asked to be allowed to retire from his duties as
Affiliated Clubs Coordinator. We will miss John greatly, as that he’s brought a
lot to the table as ACC, but we do understand his course change in life. John,
thank you so very much for all that you’ve done for me, the clubs in Ohio and
the ARRL. Our hats are off to you my friend!
John and I talked about his
replacement and we both quickly came to one name, Tom Sly, WB8LCD. Tom’s had
various duties with the Ohio Section for several years now. He’s very qualified
to be the new Affiliated Clubs Coordinator for sure, as that he’s been one of
the biggest driving forces in the Ohio Section to get clubs and club members
involved once again!
Tom has spoken numerous times
at Ohio Section functions about how to get the membership and clubs involved.
Tom also spoke, and represented the Ohio Section, at the 100 year Celebration
back in 2014 in Connecticut! Tom’s Bio appears
below and I’m very sure that you’ll agree with me, he’s going to make a really
great ACC for the Ohio Section.
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, gets 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. Did you know that the Ohio Section mailing
list is almost 2,000 strong now? It is, and the ARRL emailing list for Ohio is
over 3,600. We have 28,000 licensees’ in Ohio, let’s see if we can get this
email out to all 28,000 by the end of the year!
Just let me know that you want added to the listing. I do get 8 – 10 new
people every week! If you know of anyone that might be interested in getting my
emails that isn’t already, please let them know!
On that same subject, 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. And, if you have a question that you’d like to see on our questionnaire,
please send it to me! I have had several of you already do that and I would
love to see more!!
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!!
I’m sure all of you have
heard me say that I’m always available for you, whether you’re an ARRL member
or not. It’s true, and you can feel free to write or call me anytime. 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
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
****************************************************
Our Newest Affiliated Clubs Coordinator
Tom Sly, WB8LCD
I was born in 1953 and grew
up on the West side of Cleveland in a little town called Parkview (long since annexed into Fairview Park). Somewhere around 1966 my folks moved to Aurora in Portage County – my first year of high school. In that first year in Aurora I earned the rank of Eagle Scout and obtained my first ham radio license, as a novice WN8AAB. My interest in ham radio was because of a neighbor in Fairview – Stan Hillman – W8FZS (SK). Unfortunately, Aurora is a long way from Fairview for a 14-year-old kid, so my novice experience was pretty tough. My license lapsed at the end of the second year. Six months later I had a Tech ticket with the call WB8LCD. My parents were 100% supportive of my hobby, but neither of them were involved or even interested in it, so they were not able to help me along too much.
In 1971 I left Aurora for the
University of Tennessee – as a new student in their EE program. Unfortunately, I didn't apply myself as I
should have and in my second year met my future wife and moved back to OH. My
wife, Mary, and I have been married 43 years, we have 3 children and 2
grandchildren. My oldest daughter,
Jenny, is the only one who has ever gotten a license – she is KD8LIR. I did finish college with a BSBA majoring in
Finance from the University of Akron.
While I was in my Junior year I had the opportunity to get involved in
the insurance business, started my own Independent Agency and have not had a
job since I got out of college. I'm still in the insurance agency business
along with my business partner WB8VYW, who I met at the Akron U ham radio club.
There are only two times in
my life when I have not been an active ham – the 6 months when my novice ticket
lapsed, and approximately 3 years while my son was in high school. He was very active in the aquarium hobby and
most of my spare time was spent cleaning fish tanks with him. I think he was gone to college about 3 days
when I had a new HF rig and got back on the air! A few years later I had a group of ham
“acquaintances” in Portage County and we decided to start a club that would be
ACTIVE in the ham radio hobby and would concentrate on the FUN that ham radio
has to offer.
Since my involvement with
PCARS for the past 10+ years I've probably had more ham radio fun than EVER and
have totally embraced Ham Radio as a lifestyle!
All of my friends are hams (well, not all, but most!) I'm probably not the best ham, not the most
interesting ham, definitely not the smartest ham, but, my passion for the hobby
will equal or surpass most! I'm a strong
supporter of the ARRL – in fact I truly believe that without them our hobby
would not exist today. I'm also a strong
supporter of local clubs – that is where new hams can get connected with others
and learn about all the diverse activities that ham radio entails.
I'm excited for this
opportunity to give back to the hobby that has been such a big part of my
life. I hope that together we can keep
the hobby growing, and keep the hobby FUN!
Please help me welcome Tom as
our newest Affiliated Clubs Coordinator!!
****************************************************
THE OFFICIAL OBSERVER COORDINATOR
John Perone, W8RXX - OOC
The Ohio OO's monitored a
total of 1,507 hours in April.
This is the largest number of
hours in a long time.
Believe it or not NO cards
were sent. Either all was well on the bands or they were listening at the wrong
times?
Thanks to all the OO's that
take their time to assist amateurs remain within the regulations.
73, John, W8RXX
****************************************************
SPECIAL EVENTS STATIONS
06/03/2017
| Col. James M. Schoonmaker Museum Ships Weekend
Jun
3-Jun 4, 1400Z-2100Z, K8E, Toledo, OH.
Toledo Mobile Radio Association. 14.260 14.039 7.260 7.039. QSL. K8E Col. James
M. Schoonmaker Team, P. O. Box 9673, Toledo, OH 43697. Operating at the
National Museum of the Great Lakes on board the Col. James M. Schoonmaker.
Operating June 3, 1400Z - 2100Z Operating June 4, 1600Z - 2100Z. www.tmrahamradio.org
06/09/2017
| 2017 Tigers On The Air
Jun
9-Jun 10, 1900Z-2000Z, K8TGR, Newton
Falls, OH. Newton Falls Technology and Multimedia Club. 28.300 14.225 7.175
3.800. Certificate & QSL. NFHSTMC, 909 1/2 Milton Blvd., Newton Falls, OH
44444. Come on the air and help us celebrate the formation of the first Amateur
Radio Club at Newton Falls Schools. We will be operating in a camp-out type
environment for 24 hours. Local operators are invited to come and help us work
the airwaves as well. As a club project, we plan on building a QRP repeater,
with a 2m Frequency (146.6500) that we want to launch in a tethered weather
balloon to see how many QSOs we can make that way as well. Find out more
information on the website listed above.www.nfhstmc.org/index.php?p=13
****************************************************
OHIO HAMFEST CALENDAR
May
Location: Xenia, OH
Sponsor: Dayton Amateur Radio Association
Website: http://www.hamvention.org
June
06/03/2017 | Fulton County
Amateur Radio Summer Swap
Location: Wauseon, OH
Sponsor: Fulton County Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://k8bxq.org/hamfest
Location: Wauseon, OH
Sponsor: Fulton County Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://k8bxq.org/hamfest
06/10/2017 | Union County ARC
TailGate & TrunkFest
Location: Marysville, OH
Sponsor: Union County Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://ohiohams.net
06/17/2017 | Milford Hamfest 27th Annual
Location: Milford, OH
Sponsor: Milford Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://www.w8mrc.com
Location: Marysville, OH
Sponsor: Union County Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://ohiohams.net
06/17/2017 | Milford Hamfest 27th Annual
Location: Milford, OH
Sponsor: Milford Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://www.w8mrc.com
We now have a complete
listing of hamfests in Ohio on the website. Go to: http://arrl-ohio.org/hamfests.html to see
everything that is currently scheduled, including the Great Lakes Division
Convention!
****************************************************
A final – final..
Today is May 15th, in 1905
Las Vegas Nevada was founded. In 1981 Len Barker of Cleveland pitches perfect game
vs Toronto, and it’s National Chocolate Chip Day!!!
Now, on that note... Amateur
Radio is exciting and a lot of FUN. It’s also a learning experience for
everyone! Share your enjoyment and learning experiences with those just coming
into Amateur Radio!!
eof..
