-> AFFILIATED CLUB COORDINATOR REPORT
-> FROM THE SECTION EMERGENCY COORDINATOR
-> FROM THE PIC
-> SOUTHWEST OHIO HAPPENINGS
-> FROM THE TECHINCAL COORDINATOR
-> FROM THE SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER
-> FROM THE EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH - SCOUTING ASM
-> LET'S TALK
-> SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS IN OHIO
-> OHIO HAMFEST CALENDAR
-> SERVICE ANIMAL VIDEO PROMO
-> MY ACCIDENT
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AFFILIATED CLUBS COORDINATOR REPORT
By: John Myers, KD8MQ - ACC
kd8mq@arrl.net
Hi everyone, fall is here, and with it comes things like raking leaves, and getting the antenna farm ready for winter. I’m looking forward to putting up the Inverted L, so I can get back on 160 this winter.
My Travels..
I’d like to thank the good folks at the Western Reserve ARC, in Canfield. They volunteered to be my “guinea pigs” for my first speaking gig as ACC. They have an active and growing group, who are doing a lot promote Amateur Radio in Mahoning County.
Let’s talk licensing classes..
So, how was your summer? I trust that a lot of you got out and were actively working with other Hams on club activities. I've visited Field Day sites, and read about your public service, and special event operations, and tons of other things that continue to make me proud of the Clubs we have here in the Ohio section. Hopefully, all this gets us noticed in a positive way by the people we serve, as well as the general public. But, once we get them interested, then what? Hopefully, you your club is capitalizing on this by running regular licensing classes.
September is a logical month to begin classes. The kids are back in school, and the days are getting shorter. Hopefully, you've been recruiting class members this summer, so you should have a ready pool of students. Don’t forget to list your license class on the ARRL website. This will help prospective students to find you. You can list your class by going to http://arrl.org/list-a-license-class Here in Alliance, we have one instructor who teaches each & every class. As much as we appreciate it, the instructor can get burned out after a while. I prefer the way other clubs do it. They will have a different instructor each night, who will each teach a specific subject. This seems much more efficient, and less trying on the instructors.
I was talking to my neighbor this afternoon. He and his wife are involved with a local historic site, but have problems getting volunteers to replace those who are aging out, and of course passing away. If things don’t change soon the consequences could be dire for this group. Sound familiar? Let’s face it, none of us are getting any younger. We need fresh blood if this hobby is to survive. To modify a contesting axiom, “If your group is not recruiting, you're losing”. I’d like to hear from you. How do you handle your licensing classes? What works? More importantly, what doesn't? I’ll include your responses in an upcoming column.
Notes From All Over..
We’ll start off this month with the Delaware ARA’s DELARA News. It looks like they are moving right along with their repeater project. Their 145.17 & 145.19 repeaters have been moved to new locations. They continue to be active in the field of broadband-ham MESH.
The folks at the Toledo Mobile Radio Association TMRA have a 2 Meter Sprint coming up on the 27th. The Lucas County ARES will also be testing their Hospital radios at the same time. They hosted a “Elmer Class” last month. This is just awesome! The subjects they covered included how to build a Dipole antenna. Later in the day, learned about Powerpole connectors, and wrapped up at noon when they got a demonstration of Contesting, via the Ohio QSO Party.
Moving on, the Massillon ARC recently held their annual Show and Tell night. They also posted plans for a copper J-Pole in their September newsletter.
The speaker at the recent meeting of the Northern Ohio ARS (NOARS) was Chet, K8KIZ who was scheduled to speak on Sunbursts & Solar Flares.
As you are reading this, the OH-KY-IN Hamfest will have just wrapped up. After another successful running of the Ohio State Parks Contest, the Portage County ARS (PCARS) is working on a High Altitude Balloon project, which at this writing is scheduled for a weekend in October. They are holding weekly licensing classes at their often-used club site.
Western Reserve ARC is starting up their Tech Classes once again. They are one of the only clubs I've seen which participate in the state’s Adopt-A-Highway program.
The Cambridge ARA recently taught a “Tech Cram” course. Students were encouraged to purchase the materials, and study ahead of time. They are holding their annual picnic this month, as well as staffing a booth at the Guernsey County Fair. Add to that, they are another group who are participating in the Adopt-A-Highway program.
The Scioto Valley ARC recently had an exhibit at the Ross County Fair. According to the Monday Morning Memo, it was well received, and all involved had a great time.
Last, but not least, my home club, the Alliance ARC just held their annual rain attraction ceremony, also known as their club picnic. We also have a club DX contest beginning in October. Upgrades are planned for both of the clubs repeaters.
That's about it for this month. Remember to keep those newsletters, and emails coming.
Till next time, 73 DE KD8MQ
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FROM THE SECTION EMERGENCY COORDINATOR
By Stan Broadway, N8BHL
broadways@standi.com
I am singing the praises of our District 3 crew- I visited a meeting in Sidney last month with DEC Bob Rhoades KC8WHK, and hosted by Shelby County ARES. Ladies and Gentlemen, THIS is how it’s done! This was like walking into a firehouse with a crew well-seasoned and very comfortable depending on each other- you know the type: guys that have been into the smoke and who have each other’s backs. This was obviously not the first time for such a gathering. Needs, projects, public service events, all were shared with a regional vision. Training was easy but meant something, and was stuff that EC’s could take back home. If you are not having district level gatherings- you need to start! They don’t have to be often- quarterly is good. They don’t have to take much time- 9 AM to 12 Noon on a Saturday works perfectly. In order to function properly if/when “the big one” hits, we are going to have to do more than rely on a paper diagram. We need to know each other by first name! I can’t urge you strongly enough to pull together district sessions, and let me know so I can visit and listen! If you have committed your attention to serving in ARES, I commend you, and thank you! But this is not something we can just “wing” any more. We simply have to be what we all say we are- leaders in technology, available and skilled to handle it when all else does fail.
Doing it at home..
So what exactly should we be doing? Well, I have some suggestions that I hope will accomplish several things- keep us ready and involved, keep amateur radio in front of the safety community, and assure that our time and energy means something. With all the training, which is good, there is perhaps the most important element that’s missing: a solid first-name relationship with your served agencies.
1. I have found that ARES is quicker to be recognized if we participate and “home” with the local EMA. We should strive for a friendly, solid working relationship because if the service of amateur radio is to be requested, it will most of the time come from the EOC running a situation. So if possible, EOC’s or EMA offices are great places to consider as home for meetings and activities.
2. When’s the last time you met with other served agencies- the Red Cross, your local hospital, fire and police, health department? ARES can be a big help for their drills and exercises- and the more we’re involved, the more we present ourselves professionally, the better we’ll stand!
3. There are a number of counties in which ARES and hams become the de facto “technical experts” and that’s a great position to be in. We’re not going to be there by pushing our way into situations, but if we can produce some leading-edge stuff (MESH, fldigi, etc.) they’ll take notice. In our county, the application of MESH for the county fair video security has led to a request that ARES help with spec-ing a renovation of a command vehicle.
4. Stop quibbling- it’s time to act like adults here. ARES is NOT a club- we are no threat to any organized club- in fact, we desire to involve ~all~ hams. This is an important hobby, and we need to step back and look at how we present amateur radio as a whole! If that doesn't apply, pass it over I’m not insinuating anything.
Doing it for others..
The Ohio Section ARESMAT committee is making great strides! We now have a charter (which has the approval of Scott at the Section Level) and we have pretty much finalized the Standard Operating Guidelines under which the program will function. Here’s the vision: we hope to grow this to three teams (north, central, south) which can work interchangeably to offer leading edge technology and operating assistance (I repeat, “ASSISTANCE”) to a local EC who faces a situation too big to handle at the county or even district level. We will be looking for top people in IT/computers, digital transmissions, MESH, HF and local operating (including repeaters and towers) in short, anything that you might need if, say, your county was scrubbed flat by a large storm or big flood for instance. Stay tuned for more as we keep working.
Doing it in October – the 2014 SET
OK, here’s the story- the Ohio Section is going to do a SET October 4th! There are so many possibilities, but I want to stick to some simple goals:
1. Learn to operate in your county using the Ohio Section Emergency Response Plan (OSERP).
2, Activate your members and use this as an opportunity to test communications in your county (voice, digital, MESH, other) as well as your ability to send and receive traffic from the Ohio traffic system.
3. This is an opt-in or opt-out deal. If your county does its own SET or has a large exercise on tap, go for it! If you do not, I would hope this is a great opportunity to test your plans! It shouldn't last long, and focuses solely on our ability to set up communications in our county.
4. The exercise should be launched, controlled and ended by one point (State EOC/ W8SGT) for consistency and timing purposes.
5. The exercise must as a result be a situation that would theoretically affect each county. The Scenario: A total failure of the Ohio MARCS system. As you should know, many public safety agencies depend on this digital trunked 800 system. While a complete statewide failure is unlikely, a regional outage is more likely, particularly in light of a flood or tornado event that would destroy towers and land line connectivity. For our equal opportunity SET, we’ll theoretically take down the state.
SEC will alert all District EC’s by phone and kick off the exercise. Subsequent messages will be sent via phone, the HF nets, and VHF if reachable from the state EOC. Each participating county will set up a control station at their EOC. Then, as the situation grows, we’ll set up a “County Control Station”, and other control stations as needed. That’s the over-simplified story!
Steps you can take now- most important, READ the OSERP! Train at your county on how it’s structured. It is NOT hard and fast, but is a guideline to set up a consistent statewide operation. Contact your EMA, and see if it’s possible for you to have access to the EOC ham station on October 4th. It shouldn't last past mid-afternoon at the latest. Likewise, you might want to use the opportunity to set up stations at your other critical locations (without interrupting their daily workload.) It can be a good demonstration of the capabilities of amateur radio in a large-scale event. We hope it will be a good test for you!
The Ohio Section has always been near the very top of the list when it comes to evaluation and point totals! Let’s keep it that way and learn a little in the process!
73, Stan, N8BHL
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FROM THE PIC
By John Ross, KD8IDJ
john.ross3@worldnet.att.net
One of the best things about being a radio and television reporter (and a Public Information Coordinator) is that I've been able to meet and talk with many great people…from Kings to Presidents to politicians and celebrities of all kinds. Amateur radio operators, too!!
But an even greater joy is to be able to meet and talk to the one person that had the most influence, and was the inspiration, for my interest in electronics and amateur radio.
This story is not so much about me, but about a man who has been interested and active in amateur radio for almost as long as the ARRL has been around. His name is Paul Herman.
PAUL HERMAN…AN AMATEUR RADIO ORIGINAL AT 94…AND COUNTING!
Paul was born is 1920 in the small Pennsylvania town of Montgomery. Like many of us he developed an early interest radio and by his high school graduation had built his own one tube set so he could listen to the world unfold. In 1936 World War II was but just a “prospect” and there were few opportunities for a Pennsylvania farm boy without much money.As a teenager Paul hitch hiked to the nearest big city…Williamsport…and signed up for what he called an “educational opportunity” at a local radio school. There he learned Morse code. Once he was up to 13 words-per-minute…he hitch hiked again…this time to Buffalo New York to take his first license exam and earned his first call sign W8VRD. He returned to Williamsport and continued to master the code and in the spring of 1938, now able to send 20 words-per-minute, was on the road again…this time to Philadelphia for his commercial Radiotelegraph license.
He again hit the road again and, this time, made it to New York City where he applied for a position as a Maritime Radio Dispatcher and landed a job on a tug boat out of Brooklyn. Being just a poor farm boy from Pennsylvania, he didn't know the tug boat was “sea going” and no one else wanted the job. He spent the next 8 months at sea as the boats’ radio operator!
As World War II was approaching the War Shipping Administration, the WSA, was formed as an emergency arm of the United States government. The WSA bought and operated all of the civilian ships needed to assist in the war effort. Paul was now suddenly an Ensign in the Merchant Marines and served as radio operator on 8 different ships during the war. He was on duty, promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, until they dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
After the war, Paul took a “vacation “to San Juan Puerto Rico where he found employment at the University of Puerto Rico working in the radio labs. His call sign changed to KP4CE and one the perks was the abundance of used radio equipment…junk…and the onslaught of post war surplus gear. Paul built his own transmitters and receivers and was active on 10 meters during his 2 year stay in Puerto Rico.
His tropical hitch hiking then took him to the Virgin Islands. There he met a young girl who was going to graduate school in Columbus, Ohio. He followed her home and they were married in 1948 and have been married now for 65 years.
Paul continued to operate with his KP4CE license until around 1954 when he became, as he described it, too busy. So his license expired and he was “inactive”…at least on the ham radio bands. Now he was active in the television repair business…which is where I fit into this story.
In 1956, at the age of 5, our new black and white TV developed a problem. My dad, who was an engineer, took out the chassis and we wound up at Paul Herman’s house. As we opened up the door to his shop, it was like walking into to the Land of OZ…an overwhelming site for a small boy. There were tubes and parts everywhere. Florescent lighting, funny looking and sounding equipment buzzing from large tables and an unforgettable smell. Old timers, like me now, will remember that smell or aroma as…distinctively electronic, suspiciously like dust burning on super-heated tubes. Some called it the smell of ozone burning but for me…it might as well of been home-made apple pie. Whatever the smell, I was hooked on whatever was making it and I knew I wanted to be a part of this new world of electronics.
We visited Paul’s shop many times over the years. And as I grew older I would drag old televisions and radios home from the neighbor’s trash. I actually was able to make a few work and I ended up with a lot of parts…some of which I still have today! But I loved playing with the stuff…experimenting… and eventually got my Novice license when I was 10. The inspiration for all this was, of course, Paul Herman and his repair shop.
In 1974 Paul accepted an offer to teach and start a radio club at the Plain City Joint Vocational School just northwest of Columbus. To do that, though, he again needed an amateur radio license. So, in one session, he took and passed the 25 word-per-minute Advanced license exam and adopted the call sign of W8SF which he still holds today.
Paul closed out his repair shop in 1976 and, now 56 years old, went to college! He graduated in 1982 from Ohio State University with a BSEE…an electrical engineering degree. After graduation he worked as an engineer at the now decommissioned Van de Graaff Generator lab near the OSU campus where he had also worked a student. A little short of retirement points, he ended up analyzing materials for the OSU College of Dentistry! But Paul was not done yet and was about to return amateur radio.
Officially retired…Paul continued his amateur radio in a big way. He bought all new “plug and play” gear…no more homebrew equipment or the aroma of burning hot tubes. Using his 100 foot crank up tower and massive beam antenna, at almost 95 years old he’s on the air everyday rag-chewing on 3630 KHz with a group that calls themselves the ESSB.
But there is still more to tell about Paul…he designed the Columbus’ Center Of Science Industry’s first Foucault pendulum that hung in the center’s lobby at the original Broad Street location. Not bad for a farm boy from Pennsylvania! He’s also a self-taught musician, a tuba player, and still hold s pilot’s license. I recently got to shake Paul Herman’s hand and thank him for all he did for me and for all he’s done for amateur radio. He keeps the hobby alive, he sets an exemplary example of what it
means to be a ham and he’s still an ARRL member.
At the end of our talk Paul said, jokingly, that he supposed his next big event would be…a funeral! I hope not. I think there are many more years and many more QSO’s for this lifelong ham.
73, John, KD8IDJ
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SOUTHWEST OHIO HAPPENINGS
From: Kitty Hevener, W8TDA - Assistant Section Manager (SW)
w8tda@arrl.net
BACK TO SCHOOL..
The start of football season, closed outdoor swimming pools, and shorter days are definite signs that it’s again time for students, teachers, and hams to hit the books. Cincinnati area ham, Paul Jordan, KD8JDF, got a head start. He recently returned from an intense week long radio-camp, put on by Courage Handihams, where he immersed himself in Extra class theory. Paul says he believes he is more prepared than ever before to pass the exam. He said that a message from FEMA Administrator, Craig Fugate, KK4INZ, was a high point of the week.
Fugate said in part, “I encourage you to join local organizations such as your local amateur radio emergency service team and Skywarn. In a disaster, we need amateur radio operators of all abilities who can support their communities in their time of need. As an amateur radio operator, you can play a key role in your community’s response and recovery from disaster. But we can only do that if we are prepared and trained.” Southwest Ohio hams who have disabilities have told me that they are often excluded from participation in the very activities that provide the training and preparation that Fugate talked about. Often, small changes are all that are necessary to make your activities more inclusive. And, these changes typically benefit everyone, not just people with disabilities. If you would like to explore things your club and/or ARES organization can do to be more inclusive, get in touch with me or invite me to talk about this at one of your meetings.
(Note: Handihams is an ARRL Affiliated Club. They have a long standing relationship with ARRL and work closely together on disability issues.)
Members of the Cincinnati FM club are hitting the books to learn how to program their digital radios to work on their newly installed DMR repeater. This repeater replaces the analog one on 443.4 MHz.
The Greene County Amateur Radio License Courses, jointly sponsored by the three Greene County amateur radio clubs (Bellbrook, Fairborn and Xenia) and Greene County ARES, began on Sunday September 7. They will run concurrently on Sunday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 PM and continue through November 2. An exam session is scheduled for Sunday, November 9, at 6:00 PM. To register for one of the courses or for more information, please contact Bill Watson K8WEW by email at wwatson4@att.net or by phone (between 10:00 AM and 9:00 PM) at (937) 426-2166.
OH-KY-IN is also holding licensing classes. The nine week Extra class will begin on Monday, September 22 and run through November 17. The 5 week Tech and General Classes will begin Monday October 20 and run through November 17th. All sessions will begin at 7:00 PM and end at 9:00. Exam opportunities will follow all three classes on Saturday, November 22 at 9 AM. (walk-ins always welcome). For more information, email classes@ohkyin.org
PUBLIC SERVICE..
Hams have provided communications for numerous public service events. These include: the market to market 76 mile team relay that started in Milford and ended in Dayton; Cystic Fibrosis bike event which began and ended in Middletown with courses running through Butler and Preble counties; Abi Khan two day Horse Challenge; and the multiple sclerosis two day bike ride.
SILENT KEY..
It is with great sadness that I report the passing of long time friend and fellow Queen City Emergency Net (QCEN) member Stuart Press, KC8HQT. Perhaps the thing I admire and appreciate most was his concern for the well being of others. Stu was a dedicated red cross volunteer. During his fifteen years of service with this organization, He served on over 14 Disaster Relief operations and taught various disaster classes. Thousands of people locally and across the country benefited from his generosity. Stu will definitely be missed. I hope you will join me in keeping his family in your thoughts and prayers.
73, Kitty, W8TDA
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NOTES FROM THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
By: Jim Yoder W8ERW - TC
w8erw@arrl.net
Our Summer is quickly fading with lower temperatures and much shorter days now and I am going to miss the fair weather as we turn towards Winter this year. The summer has been rather busy here with several projects completed and a few more to get done before the cold weather moves in. The last month has been exceptionally dry and hot. It was not at all a good year for my garden. The pollen index must surely have been high too as I have been suffering with allergies for much of the late Summer.
ARES activities in Seneca County get very busy starting with the Cross Country Carnival in Tiffin. This annual event in September of each year continues to draw huge crowds and a larger participation every year. This year's Carnival was no exception with well over 500 schools 7,500 athletes participating. It was an all day event with many of us arriving before 6:30 AM to set up communications and the last race beginning after 5:00 PM in the afternoon. Traffic was a snarl to say it modestly with bus loads of runners coming and going all day. Hams representing the Seneca Radio Club, Seneca County ARES as well as participation from the CERT Team provided communications support and other logistical efforts to insure the event was both safe and well organized. I am told the Carnival is the second largest track event in the nation and the largest of its kind.
Jeff WB8REI, Mark WD8KQX and I successfully set up a MESH network covering much of the park where the event was held to provide digital communications to several support locations. We learned plenty as we set up and operated the network of MESH routers and equipment that deployed a Raspberry Pi hosting a telephone PBX and a video camera feed over the network. Both worked surprisingly well with just a few glitches related to the geography of the park. There were plenty of trees and changing elevation issues to overcome as well as many remote locations where commercial power was not available. We employed some Go Box arrangements for the areas where power was not available including solar panels and backup batteries.
The day started out cool with cloud cover and eventually light rain. We had anticipated the rain and provided some protection for the exposed equipment. The cooler temperatures were also beneficial to the potential overheating of equipment that would have been in direct sunlight during the day. The rain finally stopped mid morning which was welcomed by everyone. The 15 watt solar panels performed very well even with the limited sunlight. Afterwards I found the batteries in the go boxes were fully charged when I brought them home and reconnected them to their charging stations.
The Raspberry Pi worked out very well providing telephone communications to 4 of the event locations. We conducted several tests of the system throughout the day and discovered many of the features available. This little single board computer that is small enough to fit in your hand is quite powerful. Most of the features that you would expect from a much larger commercial VOIP communications system are supported and functional. We initiated conference calls, used the call waiting capability, station to station dialing and several other features that worked very well. The Raspberry Pi also uses power sparingly and easily adapted to our 12V standard. We decided to use standard analog telephone sets to avoid any complicated setup issues and confusion for the end users. This required an adapter at each telephone to provide the necessary analog to digital conversion and signaling services. Grandstream devices were used which were excellent and not expensive.
Our video arrangement used a Linksys IP camera that was accessible over the MESH network to any location having a laptop to view the video feed. This worked well although the geography of the park was an issue due to the single network path available and the high data rate of the video signal over the network. Additional MESH nodes will be required to provide a more robust MESH with additional routes available as we continue to add functions and users in the future. Overall it was a definite success which allowed us to demonstrate the technology, viability and functionality of the MESH network including the utility of the Raspberry Pi in an Amateur Radio application.
Many groups and Amateurs in Ohio are working with the HSMM-MESH hardware and learning the possibilities that can be realized by this innovative networking hardware and Amateur supported firmware. The possibilities are nearly unlimited as anything you can deploy on an IP network is easily done on the MESH. The firmware has now been ported to Ubiquity devices in addition to
the original Linksys platform providing higher power and the additional capabilities of the Ubiquity hardware.
The MESH networking concept in Amateur Radio has been well proven and the user community is growing larger throughout the country. It has even been suggested that we as Amateurs consider a nationwide deployment to link the entire country using our own network to provide and enhance our communications capability. Certainly this would be a huge undertaking and require some careful planning and implementation. The benefits however are equally large.
As always, your comments and questions are welcome.
73, Jim, W8ERW
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FROM THE SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER
By: David Maynard, WA3EZN - STM
wa3ezn@att.net
I didn't get to work either the Ohio QSO Party or the Parks on the Air contests this year do to family commitments. I did get a few chances to briefly listen and noted that there were a lot of stations on the air during both events. This is the second year in a row that family issues have developed during these contests.
SIMULATED ENERGENCY TEST
The annual ARRL simulated emergency test (SET) this year will take place on October 4 and 5. To participate and practice you emergency radio skills contact your ARRL emergency coordinator, assistant emergency coordinator or net managers. The statewide ARES drill is under the direction of Ohio SEC Stan Broadway, N8BHL. If you are not receiving his emails and want more information on the ARES statewide drill please contact Stan and check out his report in this newsletter.
The annual SET drill is for both new and experienced operators and the SET is an opportunity to learn and practice you traffic handling, net operations and emergency communications procedures. If everyone would take the time to send ten radiograms through a net to your friends, family or other participating hams it will make this years SET in Ohio a success. Check into your local net and ask them what they are planning for the weekend. Be sure to prepare for emergency power operation and possible simplex operation as part of a SET scenario.
Although October 4 and 5 is the main weekend for the annual SET, ARRL Sections and ARES organizations may conduct their own exercise at any time between September 1 and November 30. Check with your local ARRL Field Organization leadership for the date of you local SET and file the necessary reports to the ARRL after you drill.
Those stations sending, receiving and delivering radiograms are reminded to also send a station activity report for each month to the Ohio Section Traffic Manager. Here is how to do it. Station Activity Report:
Be sure to get the recognition you and your net deserves. Let Ohio amateurs know that your net is active. This can best be done by reporting your monthly net activity so it can be published for all to see. ARRL leadership is always interested in activity reports from stations participating in the NTS, even if only one message is handled during the reporting month. In Ohio the monthly Station Activity Report is filed by radiogram with WA3EZN the Section Traffic Manager in Hilliard OH. Monthly activity reports of individual stations' message traffic handling are to be sent to the Section Traffic Manager within the first days of the next month. However, there are reporting and publishing deadlines. Plan on having the report received by the STM by the sixth of the following month (the SM and STM both report activities to ARRL early in the following month). Traffic handling conducted on the non-amateur Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) frequencies are not to be counted in amateur radio activity reports to the ARRL.
The results of these reports will be tabulated and sent to the ARRL for publication in the QST. A simple three word text is all that is needed, October Traffic 10, with the 10 being the number of points earned for traffic handling for the month. I encourage all stations to file this month report. Here is an example report.
1 Routine KD8XXX 3 Anytown Ohio October 1
Dave WA3EZN
Hilliard Ohio
Break
OCTOBER TRAFFIC 10
BT
YOUR SIGNATURE AND CALLSIGN
Another important report is the ARRL Public Service Honor Roll (PSHR) report.
The ARRL Public Service Honor Roll (PSHR) recognizes the efforts of Amateur Radio operators who are active in many aspects of public service. This includes ARES, net operations, traffic handling, emergency operations and public service communication support. There are chances that you're already involved with some aspect of Amateur Radio that would apply to the Public Service Honor Roll. Take a look at the PSHR categories and descriptions to see where your Amateur Radio activities fit in.
At the end of each calendar month, just add up your qualifying points. If it reaches the 70-point level (or more), you've qualified for the Public Service Honor Roll! Report the good news with your call sign and monthly PSHR report to your ARRL Ohio Section Traffic Manager. Simply send a radiogram to David WA3EZN – Hilliard, Ohio – No address or phone number is needed.
David will compile the report and send to the Section Manager and forward the report onto ARRL Headquarters so that Headquarters staff may prepare these for listing in the Field Organization Reports segment of QST.
Your radiogram should look like this:
2 Routine KD8XXX 10 Anytown Ohio October 1
Dave WA3EZN
Hilliard Ohio
Break
October PSHR 40 40 10
0 0 0 Total 90
Break
KD8XXX
NOTE: Of course you would use your call and city or town. Avoid adding addition words or information in the text as this simple format is what will be expected and adding additional words or 73 can cause confusion. Have your report received by WA3EZN no later than the sixth of the month so he has time to compile the data and meet the ARRL QST deadline. If reports are not received in time by the Ohio Section Traffic Manager, the report will not appear on the ARRL Ohio Section website at http://arrl-ohio.org/ nor will they go to ARRL HQ for printing in QST Magazine.
Here’s how to count your Public Service Honor Roll points.
The six areas for rating are:
1. Participating in a traffic or public service net, one point each net (max. 40)
2. Handling formal messages (max. 40)
3. Serving in an ARRL-sponsored volunteer position, 10 points each position (max. 30)
4. Participating in a scheduled, short-term public service event, including off-the-air meetings (5
points per hour - no limit)
5. Participating in an unplanned emergency response (5 points per hour - no limit)
6. Providing and maintaining an automated digital system handling ARRL radiogram-formatted messages or a web page e-mail list server oriented toward Amateur Radio public service. (10 points
per item)
73, David, WA3EZN
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FROM THE EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH - SCOUTING ASM
By: Scott Hixon, KC8ITN - ASM - Educational Outreach- Scouting
kc8itn@arrl.net
57th Annual Jamboree-On-The-Air coming soon!!
The 57th annual Jamboree-On-the-Air ( JOTA ) is right around the corner! If your looking for a way to have fun with ham radio and at the same time get young people involved in our hobby, JOTA is the ticket! This years event is being held October 17-19, 2014. The times are Saturday at 00:00 local time ( right at midnight Friday ) to Sunday 24:00 ( Midnight Sunday evening ).
So you've got the whole weekend to make JOTA contacts!!
When Scouts want to meet young people from another country, they usually think of attending a World Jamboree. But few people realize that each year more than half a million Scouts and Guides "get together" over the airwaves for the annual Jamboree-on-the-Air (JOTA). The World Scout Bureau reported that the 2010 JOTA had just over 700,000 Scout participants from nearly 6,000 amateur radio stations! Modern technology offers Scouts the exciting opportunity to make friends in other countries without leaving home. JOTA is an annual event in which Boy and Girl Scouts and Guides from all over the world speak to each other by means of Amateur (ham) Radio. Scouting experiences are exchanged and ideas are shared via radio waves. Since 1958 when the first Jamboree-on-the-Air was held, millions of Scouts have met each other through this event. Many contacts made during JOTA have resulted in pen pals and links between Scout troops that have lasted many years. With no restrictions on age or on the number of participants, and at little or no expense, JOTA allows Scouts to contact each other by ham radio. The radio stations are operated by licensed amateur radio operators. Many Scouts and leaders hold licenses and have their own stations, but the majority participate in JOTA through stations operated by local radio clubs and individual radio amateurs. Some operators use television or computer-linked communications.
This is where you come in! If you are interested in participating, simply find a local Boy or Girl Scout troop in your area. Some hams will invite the group over to their "shack" or set up in a public place like an EOC, park, campout, etc.. This is a very fun event and a great way to promote our hobby to the next generation of future hams! There will be many stations operating, including the following: K2BSA stations assigned to various areas, such as K2BSA/0, K2BSA/1, etc.; HB95, the World Scout Bureau headquarters in Switzerland; and GB2GP at Gilwell Park, England, to name a few.
For more information on times/frequencies/ideas , go to the ARRL website on search on "JOTA". There you will find a wealth of information about JOTA and the ARRL's involvement with scouting.
You can also go to Twitter and follow "OHradioscouting" where I will put updates on radio scouting events in the Ohio Section. And if you are planning a radio event where scouting is involved, send me the info and I can put it on Twitter to " get the word out".
Take care, stay safe and make a difference in someone's life!
73, Scott, KC8ITN
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LET'S TALK
From: Scott Yonally, N8SY - Section Manager
n8sy@arrl.org
Hi Everyone,
Wow.. It looks like fall is fast approaching. I woke up this morning to a chilly 38 degrees! Yesterday was just about as bad. No frost yet, but it is definitely getting colder out. My maple trees are also starting to show signs of fall approaching with the leaves turning from a dark green to a soft golden color.
Football season is also here and with that is another obvious sign of fall. I had a wager (for bragging rights only) with our League President Kay Cragie when our Ohio State team played Virginia Tech recently. I do have to tell ya’, Kay was a very gracious winner and didn’t brag over our horrible loss to them. I’m very grateful for that. Now comes my counterpart in that northern state.. I’m sure he’ll want to re-challenge me this year for sure. If you remember he lost last year. Anyway, I’m waiting to hear from Larry on what we will do for the Michigan / Ohio State game this year.
I know that I harp on this a lot, but please make sure that you've signed up to receive emails from the Section Manager and Great Lakes Director with the ARRL. It seems that some of you may not be receiving the special news releases that Dale or I have been doing lately. If you want to keep apprised of what’s going on in the state or within the Division you need to be registered with the League to receive these special emails. You’ll need to log onto your account with the League and mark the box that states “receive email from the Section Manager / Director” and that’s all there is to it. You’ll now get those special e mailings.
Now, for those of you who may not want to go to all that bother, or you are not League members, you still have a chance to get these important emails. All you have to do is to “Opt-In” on the Ohio Section website.. Here’s the link: http://arrl-ohio.org/forwarder/forwarding.html You can also find this link on the bottom left corner of the main page of the Ohio Section website. I urge you all to make sure that everyone, regardless of whether they are a League member or not, knows that they can always “Opt-In” at any time. Oh, didn’t know that the Ohio Section had a website?? We do.. You can find it at: http://arrlohio.org If you don’t have this website set as your home page, I urge you to do so. This website is one of the exceptions to the rules.. It changes all the time, it’s never stagnate and it’s forever changing. I would recommend that you check into the website at least 3 times per week.
At the end of our talk Paul said, jokingly, that he supposed his next big event would be…a funeral! I hope not. I think there are many more years and many more QSO’s for this lifelong ham.
73, John, KD8IDJ
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SOUTHWEST OHIO HAPPENINGS
From: Kitty Hevener, W8TDA - Assistant Section Manager (SW)
w8tda@arrl.net
The start of football season, closed outdoor swimming pools, and shorter days are definite signs that it’s again time for students, teachers, and hams to hit the books. Cincinnati area ham, Paul Jordan, KD8JDF, got a head start. He recently returned from an intense week long radio-camp, put on by Courage Handihams, where he immersed himself in Extra class theory. Paul says he believes he is more prepared than ever before to pass the exam. He said that a message from FEMA Administrator, Craig Fugate, KK4INZ, was a high point of the week.
Fugate said in part, “I encourage you to join local organizations such as your local amateur radio emergency service team and Skywarn. In a disaster, we need amateur radio operators of all abilities who can support their communities in their time of need. As an amateur radio operator, you can play a key role in your community’s response and recovery from disaster. But we can only do that if we are prepared and trained.” Southwest Ohio hams who have disabilities have told me that they are often excluded from participation in the very activities that provide the training and preparation that Fugate talked about. Often, small changes are all that are necessary to make your activities more inclusive. And, these changes typically benefit everyone, not just people with disabilities. If you would like to explore things your club and/or ARES organization can do to be more inclusive, get in touch with me or invite me to talk about this at one of your meetings.
(Note: Handihams is an ARRL Affiliated Club. They have a long standing relationship with ARRL and work closely together on disability issues.)
Members of the Cincinnati FM club are hitting the books to learn how to program their digital radios to work on their newly installed DMR repeater. This repeater replaces the analog one on 443.4 MHz.
The Greene County Amateur Radio License Courses, jointly sponsored by the three Greene County amateur radio clubs (Bellbrook, Fairborn and Xenia) and Greene County ARES, began on Sunday September 7. They will run concurrently on Sunday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 PM and continue through November 2. An exam session is scheduled for Sunday, November 9, at 6:00 PM. To register for one of the courses or for more information, please contact Bill Watson K8WEW by email at wwatson4@att.net or by phone (between 10:00 AM and 9:00 PM) at (937) 426-2166.
OH-KY-IN is also holding licensing classes. The nine week Extra class will begin on Monday, September 22 and run through November 17. The 5 week Tech and General Classes will begin Monday October 20 and run through November 17th. All sessions will begin at 7:00 PM and end at 9:00. Exam opportunities will follow all three classes on Saturday, November 22 at 9 AM. (walk-ins always welcome). For more information, email classes@ohkyin.org
PUBLIC SERVICE..
Hams have provided communications for numerous public service events. These include: the market to market 76 mile team relay that started in Milford and ended in Dayton; Cystic Fibrosis bike event which began and ended in Middletown with courses running through Butler and Preble counties; Abi Khan two day Horse Challenge; and the multiple sclerosis two day bike ride.
SILENT KEY..
It is with great sadness that I report the passing of long time friend and fellow Queen City Emergency Net (QCEN) member Stuart Press, KC8HQT. Perhaps the thing I admire and appreciate most was his concern for the well being of others. Stu was a dedicated red cross volunteer. During his fifteen years of service with this organization, He served on over 14 Disaster Relief operations and taught various disaster classes. Thousands of people locally and across the country benefited from his generosity. Stu will definitely be missed. I hope you will join me in keeping his family in your thoughts and prayers.
73, Kitty, W8TDA
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NOTES FROM THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
By: Jim Yoder W8ERW - TC
w8erw@arrl.net
ARES activities in Seneca County get very busy starting with the Cross Country Carnival in Tiffin. This annual event in September of each year continues to draw huge crowds and a larger participation every year. This year's Carnival was no exception with well over 500 schools 7,500 athletes participating. It was an all day event with many of us arriving before 6:30 AM to set up communications and the last race beginning after 5:00 PM in the afternoon. Traffic was a snarl to say it modestly with bus loads of runners coming and going all day. Hams representing the Seneca Radio Club, Seneca County ARES as well as participation from the CERT Team provided communications support and other logistical efforts to insure the event was both safe and well organized. I am told the Carnival is the second largest track event in the nation and the largest of its kind.
Jeff WB8REI, Mark WD8KQX and I successfully set up a MESH network covering much of the park where the event was held to provide digital communications to several support locations. We learned plenty as we set up and operated the network of MESH routers and equipment that deployed a Raspberry Pi hosting a telephone PBX and a video camera feed over the network. Both worked surprisingly well with just a few glitches related to the geography of the park. There were plenty of trees and changing elevation issues to overcome as well as many remote locations where commercial power was not available. We employed some Go Box arrangements for the areas where power was not available including solar panels and backup batteries.The day started out cool with cloud cover and eventually light rain. We had anticipated the rain and provided some protection for the exposed equipment. The cooler temperatures were also beneficial to the potential overheating of equipment that would have been in direct sunlight during the day. The rain finally stopped mid morning which was welcomed by everyone. The 15 watt solar panels performed very well even with the limited sunlight. Afterwards I found the batteries in the go boxes were fully charged when I brought them home and reconnected them to their charging stations.The Raspberry Pi worked out very well providing telephone communications to 4 of the event locations. We conducted several tests of the system throughout the day and discovered many of the features available. This little single board computer that is small enough to fit in your hand is quite powerful. Most of the features that you would expect from a much larger commercial VOIP communications system are supported and functional. We initiated conference calls, used the call waiting capability, station to station dialing and several other features that worked very well. The Raspberry Pi also uses power sparingly and easily adapted to our 12V standard. We decided to use standard analog telephone sets to avoid any complicated setup issues and confusion for the end users. This required an adapter at each telephone to provide the necessary analog to digital conversion and signaling services. Grandstream devices were used which were excellent and not expensive.Our video arrangement used a Linksys IP camera that was accessible over the MESH network to any location having a laptop to view the video feed. This worked well although the geography of the park was an issue due to the single network path available and the high data rate of the video signal over the network. Additional MESH nodes will be required to provide a more robust MESH with additional routes available as we continue to add functions and users in the future. Overall it was a definite success which allowed us to demonstrate the technology, viability and functionality of the MESH network including the utility of the Raspberry Pi in an Amateur Radio application. Many groups and Amateurs in Ohio are working with the HSMM-MESH hardware and learning the possibilities that can be realized by this innovative networking hardware and Amateur supported firmware. The possibilities are nearly unlimited as anything you can deploy on an IP network is easily done on the MESH. The firmware has now been ported to Ubiquity devices in addition to
the original Linksys platform providing higher power and the additional capabilities of the Ubiquity hardware.The MESH networking concept in Amateur Radio has been well proven and the user community is growing larger throughout the country. It has even been suggested that we as Amateurs consider a nationwide deployment to link the entire country using our own network to provide and enhance our communications capability. Certainly this would be a huge undertaking and require some careful planning and implementation. The benefits however are equally large.
As always, your comments and questions are welcome.
73, Jim, W8ERW
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FROM THE SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER
By: David Maynard, WA3EZN - STM
wa3ezn@att.net
SIMULATED ENERGENCY TEST
The annual ARRL simulated emergency test (SET) this year will take place on October 4 and 5. To participate and practice you emergency radio skills contact your ARRL emergency coordinator, assistant emergency coordinator or net managers. The statewide ARES drill is under the direction of Ohio SEC Stan Broadway, N8BHL. If you are not receiving his emails and want more information on the ARES statewide drill please contact Stan and check out his report in this newsletter.
The annual SET drill is for both new and experienced operators and the SET is an opportunity to learn and practice you traffic handling, net operations and emergency communications procedures. If everyone would take the time to send ten radiograms through a net to your friends, family or other participating hams it will make this years SET in Ohio a success. Check into your local net and ask them what they are planning for the weekend. Be sure to prepare for emergency power operation and possible simplex operation as part of a SET scenario.
Although October 4 and 5 is the main weekend for the annual SET, ARRL Sections and ARES organizations may conduct their own exercise at any time between September 1 and November 30. Check with your local ARRL Field Organization leadership for the date of you local SET and file the necessary reports to the ARRL after you drill.
Those stations sending, receiving and delivering radiograms are reminded to also send a station activity report for each month to the Ohio Section Traffic Manager. Here is how to do it. Station Activity Report:
Be sure to get the recognition you and your net deserves. Let Ohio amateurs know that your net is active. This can best be done by reporting your monthly net activity so it can be published for all to see. ARRL leadership is always interested in activity reports from stations participating in the NTS, even if only one message is handled during the reporting month. In Ohio the monthly Station Activity Report is filed by radiogram with WA3EZN the Section Traffic Manager in Hilliard OH. Monthly activity reports of individual stations' message traffic handling are to be sent to the Section Traffic Manager within the first days of the next month. However, there are reporting and publishing deadlines. Plan on having the report received by the STM by the sixth of the following month (the SM and STM both report activities to ARRL early in the following month). Traffic handling conducted on the non-amateur Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) frequencies are not to be counted in amateur radio activity reports to the ARRL.
The results of these reports will be tabulated and sent to the ARRL for publication in the QST. A simple three word text is all that is needed, October Traffic 10, with the 10 being the number of points earned for traffic handling for the month. I encourage all stations to file this month report. Here is an example report.
1 Routine KD8XXX 3 Anytown Ohio October 1
Dave WA3EZN
Hilliard Ohio
Break
OCTOBER TRAFFIC 10
BT
YOUR SIGNATURE AND CALLSIGN
Another important report is the ARRL Public Service Honor Roll (PSHR) report.
The ARRL Public Service Honor Roll (PSHR) recognizes the efforts of Amateur Radio operators who are active in many aspects of public service. This includes ARES, net operations, traffic handling, emergency operations and public service communication support. There are chances that you're already involved with some aspect of Amateur Radio that would apply to the Public Service Honor Roll. Take a look at the PSHR categories and descriptions to see where your Amateur Radio activities fit in.
At the end of each calendar month, just add up your qualifying points. If it reaches the 70-point level (or more), you've qualified for the Public Service Honor Roll! Report the good news with your call sign and monthly PSHR report to your ARRL Ohio Section Traffic Manager. Simply send a radiogram to David WA3EZN – Hilliard, Ohio – No address or phone number is needed.
David will compile the report and send to the Section Manager and forward the report onto ARRL Headquarters so that Headquarters staff may prepare these for listing in the Field Organization Reports segment of QST.
Your radiogram should look like this:
2 Routine KD8XXX 10 Anytown Ohio October 1
Dave WA3EZN
Hilliard Ohio
Break
October PSHR 40 40 10
0 0 0 Total 90
Break
KD8XXX
NOTE: Of course you would use your call and city or town. Avoid adding addition words or information in the text as this simple format is what will be expected and adding additional words or 73 can cause confusion. Have your report received by WA3EZN no later than the sixth of the month so he has time to compile the data and meet the ARRL QST deadline. If reports are not received in time by the Ohio Section Traffic Manager, the report will not appear on the ARRL Ohio Section website at http://arrl-ohio.org/ nor will they go to ARRL HQ for printing in QST Magazine.
Here’s how to count your Public Service Honor Roll points.
The six areas for rating are:
1. Participating in a traffic or public service net, one point each net (max. 40)
2. Handling formal messages (max. 40)
3. Serving in an ARRL-sponsored volunteer position, 10 points each position (max. 30)
4. Participating in a scheduled, short-term public service event, including off-the-air meetings (5
points per hour - no limit)
5. Participating in an unplanned emergency response (5 points per hour - no limit)
6. Providing and maintaining an automated digital system handling ARRL radiogram-formatted messages or a web page e-mail list server oriented toward Amateur Radio public service. (10 points
per item)
73, David, WA3EZN
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FROM THE EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH - SCOUTING ASM
By: Scott Hixon, KC8ITN - ASM - Educational Outreach- Scouting
kc8itn@arrl.net
The 57th annual Jamboree-On-the-Air ( JOTA ) is right around the corner! If your looking for a way to have fun with ham radio and at the same time get young people involved in our hobby, JOTA is the ticket! This years event is being held October 17-19, 2014. The times are Saturday at 00:00 local time ( right at midnight Friday ) to Sunday 24:00 ( Midnight Sunday evening ).
So you've got the whole weekend to make JOTA contacts!!
When Scouts want to meet young people from another country, they usually think of attending a World Jamboree. But few people realize that each year more than half a million Scouts and Guides "get together" over the airwaves for the annual Jamboree-on-the-Air (JOTA). The World Scout Bureau reported that the 2010 JOTA had just over 700,000 Scout participants from nearly 6,000 amateur radio stations! Modern technology offers Scouts the exciting opportunity to make friends in other countries without leaving home. JOTA is an annual event in which Boy and Girl Scouts and Guides from all over the world speak to each other by means of Amateur (ham) Radio. Scouting experiences are exchanged and ideas are shared via radio waves. Since 1958 when the first Jamboree-on-the-Air was held, millions of Scouts have met each other through this event. Many contacts made during JOTA have resulted in pen pals and links between Scout troops that have lasted many years. With no restrictions on age or on the number of participants, and at little or no expense, JOTA allows Scouts to contact each other by ham radio. The radio stations are operated by licensed amateur radio operators. Many Scouts and leaders hold licenses and have their own stations, but the majority participate in JOTA through stations operated by local radio clubs and individual radio amateurs. Some operators use television or computer-linked communications.
This is where you come in! If you are interested in participating, simply find a local Boy or Girl Scout troop in your area. Some hams will invite the group over to their "shack" or set up in a public place like an EOC, park, campout, etc.. This is a very fun event and a great way to promote our hobby to the next generation of future hams! There will be many stations operating, including the following: K2BSA stations assigned to various areas, such as K2BSA/0, K2BSA/1, etc.; HB95, the World Scout Bureau headquarters in Switzerland; and GB2GP at Gilwell Park, England, to name a few.
For more information on times/frequencies/ideas , go to the ARRL website on search on "JOTA". There you will find a wealth of information about JOTA and the ARRL's involvement with scouting.
You can also go to Twitter and follow "OHradioscouting" where I will put updates on radio scouting events in the Ohio Section. And if you are planning a radio event where scouting is involved, send me the info and I can put it on Twitter to " get the word out".
Take care, stay safe and make a difference in someone's life!
73, Scott, KC8ITN
****************************************************
LET'S TALK
From: Scott Yonally, N8SY - Section Manager
n8sy@arrl.org
Wow.. It looks like fall is fast approaching. I woke up this morning to a chilly 38 degrees! Yesterday was just about as bad. No frost yet, but it is definitely getting colder out. My maple trees are also starting to show signs of fall approaching with the leaves turning from a dark green to a soft golden color.
Football season is also here and with that is another obvious sign of fall. I had a wager (for bragging rights only) with our League President Kay Cragie when our Ohio State team played Virginia Tech recently. I do have to tell ya’, Kay was a very gracious winner and didn’t brag over our horrible loss to them. I’m very grateful for that. Now comes my counterpart in that northern state.. I’m sure he’ll want to re-challenge me this year for sure. If you remember he lost last year. Anyway, I’m waiting to hear from Larry on what we will do for the Michigan / Ohio State game this year.
I know that I harp on this a lot, but please make sure that you've signed up to receive emails from the Section Manager and Great Lakes Director with the ARRL. It seems that some of you may not be receiving the special news releases that Dale or I have been doing lately. If you want to keep apprised of what’s going on in the state or within the Division you need to be registered with the League to receive these special emails. You’ll need to log onto your account with the League and mark the box that states “receive email from the Section Manager / Director” and that’s all there is to it. You’ll now get those special e mailings.
Now, for those of you who may not want to go to all that bother, or you are not League members, you still have a chance to get these important emails. All you have to do is to “Opt-In” on the Ohio Section website.. Here’s the link: http://arrl-ohio.org/forwarder/forwarding.html You can also find this link on the bottom left corner of the main page of the Ohio Section website. I urge you all to make sure that everyone, regardless of whether they are a League member or not, knows that they can always “Opt-In” at any time. Oh, didn’t know that the Ohio Section had a website?? We do.. You can find it at: http://arrlohio.org If you don’t have this website set as your home page, I urge you to do so. This website is one of the exceptions to the rules.. It changes all the time, it’s never stagnate and it’s forever changing. I would recommend that you check into the website at least 3 times per week.
U.S. House Bill - HR 4969 is still working its way around Congress. Have you written to your Congressman yet? Many have. Let’s keep this campaign going strong. If you haven’t written your letter yet, there’s a lot of good ideas on how to compose it on the Leagues website. Just follow the HR-4969 link on their front page. It will take you to all the latest information and letter suggestions.
October 4th is our statewide S.E.T. Are you going to participate? Please be ready, you may be called upon to help out in a crisis. Will you know what to do? That’s what S.E.T. is all about, being prepared. I’ve heard every excuse you can think of as to why someone feels that they don’t need to train any more. I feel it’s just that, an excuse. One lesson that I can definitely say I've had considerable experience with, is that disasters never follow a plan. That means you have to pull from your experience and you only get experience by participating and practicing.
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've been doing a lot of traveling to hamfests and club meetings lately. I want to thank all of you for your kind words and graciousness to not just provide a space for me, but in giving me a helping hand when needed, and being very pro-active in having things all ready to go and setup for me when I get to your hamfest or club meeting. It’s really great to know that you care that much. I really do appreciate it.
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.. Oh.. by the way, I’ve come up with a new surprise for the mugs.. You may just fine an extra surprise inside the cup!!
My email and phone number are always listed on the Ohio Section Website http://arrlohio.org as well as on page 16 of QST..
73, Scott, N8SY
****************************************************
SPECIAL EVENTS STATIONS IN OHIO
October 4th is our statewide S.E.T. Are you going to participate? Please be ready, you may be called upon to help out in a crisis. Will you know what to do? That’s what S.E.T. is all about, being prepared. I’ve heard every excuse you can think of as to why someone feels that they don’t need to train any more. I feel it’s just that, an excuse. One lesson that I can definitely say I've had considerable experience with, is that disasters never follow a plan. That means you have to pull from your experience and you only get experience by participating and practicing.
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've been doing a lot of traveling to hamfests and club meetings lately. I want to thank all of you for your kind words and graciousness to not just provide a space for me, but in giving me a helping hand when needed, and being very pro-active in having things all ready to go and setup for me when I get to your hamfest or club meeting. It’s really great to know that you care that much. I really do appreciate it.
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.. Oh.. by the way, I’ve come up with a new surprise for the mugs.. You may just fine an extra surprise inside the cup!!
My email and phone number are always listed on the Ohio Section Website http://arrlohio.org as well as on page 16 of QST..
73, Scott, N8SY
****************************************************
SPECIAL EVENTS STATIONS IN OHIO
09/27/2014 | Point of Beginning
Sep 27, 1600Z-2359Z, W8P, East Liverpool, OH.
Triangle Amateur Radio Club.
14.260 7.210 3.850.
QSL. Triangle ARC, 1691 Annesley Rd, East Liverpool, OH 43920.
Point of Beginning for the United States Survey of Public Lands
by Thomas Hutchings, first geographer of the US, Sep 30, 1785.
He began Geographers Line of the Seven Ranges. www.k8blp.com
10/18/2014 | 75th Anniversary of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary
Oct 18, 1300Z-2300Z, W8E, Loveland, OH. United States Coast Guard Auxiliary.
7.234.
QSL. Dave Stroup, 6138 Misty Creek Dr, Loveland, OH 45140. cgaux8@yahoo.com
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OHIO HAMFEST CALENDAR
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Sponsor: OH-KY-IN ARS
Website: http://www.ohkyin.org
09/28/2014 | CLEVELAND HAMFEST AND COMPUTER SHOW
Location: Berea, OH
Sponsor: Hamfest Association of Cleveland, Inc.
Website: http://www.hac.org
10/19/2014 | 2014 Conneaut ARC (W8BHZ) Hamfest
Location: Conneaut, OH
Sponsor: Conneaut Amateur Radio Club & American Legion Auxiliary Cowle 151
Website: http://qsl.net/w8bhz/
11/02/2014 | Massillon ARC Hamfest
Location: Massillon, OH
Sponsor: Massillon Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://www.w8np.org
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SERVICE ANIMAL VIDEO PROMO
From: Kitty Hevener, W8TDA - Assistant Section Manager (SW)
w8tda@arrl.net
Did you know that about one in every five Americans has a disability? Since many depend on service animals to help them overcome the effects of their disabilities, it’s only a matter of time til you and those you work with through your served agencies encounter service animal teams. Will you know what to do? A video titled “Serving Service Animal Teams” developed by the functional needs workgroup of the Ohio Trauma Committee will prepare you for this eventuality.
You can view it at http://youtu.be/B9C8yQifCus
I urge you to share this with your local emergency responders.
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MY ACCIDENT
Hi Gang,
I'm writing this little note about my tower accident so that anyone else attempting to file a similar accident claim will know ahead of time how to properly fill out the accident forms for their insurance company.
I had decided to do a little work on my tower since I haven't done anything to it for more than ten years now and wouldn't you know it, I had an accident. Of course my insurance company requires me to write up an accident claim that basically describes in full detail just what I didn't do right. After writing it up and sending it in they wrote back wanting more explanation of just how clumsy I was.. So.. with my humility in check, I wrote them back describing in full detail just what I did that I now wish I hadn't.
"I am writing in response to your request for additional information for block number 3 of the accident reporting form. I put 'poor planning' as the cause of my accident. You said in your letter that I should explain more fully and I trust the following detail will be sufficient.
I am an amateur radio operator and on the day of the accident, I was working alone on the top section of my new 80 foot tower. When I had completed my work, I discovered that I had, over the course of several trips up the tower, brought up about 300 pounds of tools and spare hardware. Rather than carry the now un-needed tools and material down by hand, I decided to lower the items down in a small barrel by using a pulley, which was fortunately attached to the gin pole at the top of the tower.
Securing the rope at ground level, I went to the top of the tower and loaded the tools and material into the barrel. Then I went back to the ground and untied the rope, holding it tightly to ensure a slow descent of the 300 pounds of tools - You will note in block number 11 of the accident reporting form that I weigh only 155 pounds-. Due to my surprise of being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rather rapid rate of speed up the side of the tower. In the vicinity of the 40 foot level, I met the barrel coming down. This explains my fractured skull and broken collarbone. Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley.
Fortunately, by this time, I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold onto the rope in spite of my pain. At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of tools hit the ground and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Devoid of the weight of the tools, the barrel now weighed approximately 20 pounds. I refer you again to my weight in block number 11. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the tower. In the vicinity of the 40 foot level, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles, and the lacerations of my legs and lower body.
The encounter with the barrel slowed me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell onto the pile of tools and, fortunately, only three vertebrae were cracked.
I am sorry to report, however, that as I lay there on the tools, in pain, unable to stand and watching the empty barrel 80 feet above me, I again lost my presence of mind. I let go of the rope..."
Hope you enjoyed this.. N8SY :-)
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