Welcome to the North Dakota ARRL Section News for the 4th Quarter 2012 and let's welcome in 2013!

The winter is upon us and now starts a lot of the contest on the HF Bands.  The North Dakota QSO Party has been moved until April of this year to match up with South Dakota.  Stay tuned for more to come on this.  2012 has been a though year for the loss of hams in North Dakota.  Our thoughts go out to the families of those silent keys.  2013 is said to be a great year for DXing on the HF Bands.  10 Meters is opening up and that means easy DX contacts with low power stations.

Congratulations to Kristal Aho / KC0BET who was a contestant in the 2013 Miss North Dakota USA Pageant, which was held in November. Although Kristal was not one of the 5 Finalists, she was the receipient of The North Dakota 2013 Miss USA / Miss Teen USA Spirit Award. Each state, presents this award to the one contestant out of the combined total of the contestants from both the Miss "State" USA & Miss Teen "State" USA Pageants "who best exemplifies the spirit of the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA systems".  Congrat's Kristal!

**** Upcoming Events ***

The  Central Dakota Amateur Radio Club (CDARC)  Hamfest will be in Bismarck on February 23rd, 2013  from 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM CST at St. Mary's Grade School, 807 E. Thayer Ave. Bismarck,ND.  Breakfast, Lunch, prizes, and ARRL sponsored Exams wil be given.  Talk in is on 146.25/146.85.
Advance admission fee: $6.00 - At the door admission fee: $7.00
Table fee: $5.00,  ARRL Forum by W0ND & N.D. Net Meeting by ND0CW at 11:00 AM.
Advance registration to:
CDARC
PO Box 7162
Bismarck, ND 58501-7162

The North Dakota QSO Party will be on April 20th, 2013 from 1800Z thru April 21st, 2013 to 1800Z.   Jim, KD0S confirmed the contest for the South Dakota QSO Party also.   I will be publishing the rules on my web page at www.w0nd.com in February 2013.

The Dayton Hamvention will be from May 17th thru 19th, 2013 so order your tickets today and check out their website at www.hamvention.org

The International Peace Garden HamFest will be celebrating it's 50th year in 2013 so the committee is planning a special weekend.  Stay Tuned!

The RRRA Hamfest 2013 is scheduled for 09/28/2013 at the Red River Valley Fairgrounds/Hartel Ag Building, 1805 West Main Avenue, West Fargo, ND.  Website: http://rrra.org and is sponsored by the Red River Radio Amateurs of Fargo, ND/ Moorhead, MN   Talkin is 145.350 (PL 123).  There will be a ARRL Forum at 10:00 AM at the hamfest.

**** Quarterly Net Reports ****

The ND WX Road Net is on 75 Meters- 3.935 MHz, 8:30 AM CST, and 12:30 PM CST on Monday thru Saturday and the DataNet is on 75 Meters- 3.937 MHz, 5:00 PM CST.

Net Report - October 2012
WX Net - 26 sessions, 545 check-ins, 17 messages passed
DATA Net - 27 sessions, 421 check-ins, 10 messages passed
NCS for October: K6VFO, W0TF, WD0GMD, KD0YX, KA0ETO, N0RF, KF0IL, WA0CSL,K9DIG, K0VF, ND0CW, and ND0B

Net Report - November 2012
WX Net - 24 sessions, 482 check-ins, 6 messages passed
DATA Net - 27 sessions, 373 check-ins, 10 messages passed
NCS for November: W0HS, WD0GMD, KF0IL, KA0ETO, WA0CSL, W0TF, K6VFO, K0VF, ND0CW, and W0ND

Net Report - December 2012
WX Net - 39 sessions, 858 check-ins, 9 messages passed
DATA Net - 26 sessions, 367 check-ins, 4 messages passed
NCS for December: K9DIG, KR0W, KF0IL, WD0GMD, W0HS, W0TF, N0RF, WA0CSL, ND0B, KD0YX, and NDOCW

MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THE NORTH DAKOTA SECTION NEWS FOR THE LATEST NORTH DAKOTA ACTIVITES AT www.arrl.org.  If you have any special announcements, feel free to email me w0nd@arrl.org. Check www.w0nd.com for the latest list of ND stations and activities. Until next Quarter - 73's Lynn - W0ND