Addition to SM report:
It is our sad duty to report the passing of Dr. John H. Vorbau, KH6HAM, on Friday January 9, 2015 at Pali Momi Hospital in Aiea after an extended illness. A celebration of life will be held at Aiea United Methodist Church on Saturday, January 24th at 10AM. The church address is 99-101 Laulima St. in Aiea, HI 96701. In his QRZ bio John wrote “I have enjoyed amateur radio for over sixty years / Original QTH Toledo,OH / California for 33 years (N6QGT) / Hawaii since 1999”
John was born in 1937 in Toledo, Ohio. His original degree was a BS from University Of Toledo and his MD from Ohio State University. He was a retired Pediatrician among many other honors, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He was a member of EARC, KARC, CG (aux), ARRL, QCWA, Aiea United Methodist Church and was a volunteer for the US Park service at the Arizona Memorial. He was a regular operated KH6BB, the USS Missouri museum station, and a member of the Battleship Missouri ARC.
He is survived by his XYL, Noeline who is a retired US Navy Captain as well as a Pediatrician. There is a picture of John on the ARRL Pacific Section page.
This report is for December 2014.
Happy Holidays to everyone. We are now in 2015, Most club dues are payable. Check with your local club. If it is not affiliated with ARRL please try and convince the members to become an ARRL affiliated club. There are many benefits to being an ARRL affiliated club.
The closest front of the lava flow has started and stopped several times. At the moment it is moving very slow, however there are still breakouts upslope and along the sides. Several businesses have packed up and closed including Malama Market, Longs and Ace Hardware. There is now limited viewing at the transfer station. Be warned, it is crowded and not a lot to see. Volunteers are helping direct people and keep traffic under some control. Last month our new Governor, David Ige, came to visit the regular Thursday update at the Pahoa High School Cafeteria. Remember the Lava is still being fed into the system at the same rate so it has to go somewhere. The Railroad Avenue Alternate Access Road will be closed to all traffic effective 12:00noon Wednesday January 7th. This closure is necessary to allow for road maintenance and to preserve the road until such time that it is needed.
Pahoa Road has been and is very congested and expected to get worse. There is heavy construction in addition to the extra school traffic. As was reported last month several schools combined to Keaau. Your SM reports from personal experience that driving in Keaau and along the bypass road in the afternoon has become very congested. Give (a lot of) extra time to compensate for the extra-large school crowds. Railroad Avenue was opened some time back starting in Kapoho. Your SM took a drive from Makuu and from personal experience concluded that, if it has to be used, the congestion will be extreme. It is only a gravel road with very poor signage inside Paradise Park Subdivision. Your East Hawaii DEC drove the road from Kapoho and reported it is very well done and very wide. Several officials report they expect traffic to turn up at Makuu to join the main Highway, so the part of the road through Paradise park is really not meant to be used. If you expect to use any part of Railroad Ave, take a test drive now so you know what to expect. As was stated before officials expect to close Railroad at Noon on Wednesday Jan 7th.
Hawaii's second week of participation in the W1AW Centennial Celebration, signing W1AW/KH6, on Dec 17th through Dec 23rd was a success with no less the 19 stations in use and probably several times that many operators. The coordinated event operates on all bands and modes. The total number contacts were about 35,700+. When dupes were subtracted they claimed 34,724 different contacts. For more information look at : http://www.arrl.org/centennial-qso-party.
As was mentioned last month we are looking for someone to be the Section Youth Coordinator (SYC). It is a brand new, section-level ARRL Field Organization appointment that is available and ready to be filled as soon as we have someone for the position. Here are the appointment guidelines that describe the requirements and responsibilities: http://www.arrl.org/section-youth-coordinator
If you are interested or know of someone who would be just right for the job, let the SM know.
December 31 (UTC) was the last official Red Badge day. Unfortunately your SM’s rig had a power supply failure and was unable to get on.
Our 2015 Kids Day event at KH6LC’s QTH consisted of 5 young operators who made a total of 223 contacts on 20, 15 and 10 meter SSB. Their ages went from 10 to 18. There was Epithany, Tyson, Johnny, Alyssa and Christopher with KH7BB, KH6GA, WH6DZX and of course KH6LC doing the coaching. Besides working stations all over the US and Canada, they worked the following: Bonaire, Belize, Japan (several), Puerto Rico (many), Mexico (several) and Brazil (many). Thank you or (MAHALO) to all that participated.
November 30 was the last official day of hurricane season in the Central Pacific but in the Western Pacific a second typhoon named Hagupit ran through the Philippians again leaving widespread destruction (again).
The Kohala-Hamakua Radio Club (KHRC) website: http://www.hamradioandmore.com/khrc.htm
Their last meeting was actually December 10 not November 9 as was reported last month. (Sorry about that). Again you SM was able to attend. Besides elections, and a short discussions of recent events, they sent the three sponsoring clubs of the Big Island International Hamfest a small amount of the “profit” from the Big Island International Hamfest. The actual elections were held at this meeting not the last meeting as previously reported.
Hawaii Preparatory Academy (HPA) School Radio Club does not have a separate webpage however their main school webpage is: http://www.hpa.edu/ . Their HPA Energy lab is the only one of its kind in the world. Once in a while HPA invites the KHRC to hold their meeting at the lab. Watch the KHRC webpage and try to be at the next meeting held there. It is a magnificent facility. Since HPA is a private school, it is not usually open to the public.
MARC (Maui ARC) website is: http://www.kh6rs.org/ . Their regular meeting is on the second Wednesday of each month at CD Hq which will be January 14th. Their December meeting was their annual Christmas party. The Maui Amateur Radio License Examination Schedule has not been updated for 2015. Persons wanting to take an Amateur Radio license examination should send an email to kh6h@arrl.net or call Mel, KH6H, at 808-250-4591 and leave a voice mail.
MARC (Marianas ARC of Guam) has an updated website. http://www.ah2g.net/ . Their January meeting was Tuesday January 6 (remember it is tomorrow there). It was at the usual time and place, 7:00 p.m. at the KSTO studio on Nimitz Hill. If you would like to take an Amateur Radio exam or have questions, call Mike Wendt, WH2M at 671-477-6737. Testing is by appointment and normally takes place before the monthly meeting about 5PM. Hafa Adai from Guam where Americas Day begins.
There is another website for Guam and the Northern Marianas (CNMI) with emphasis on HF operations. It has been recently updated and has many pictures as well as history stories. Remember, the population for these islands is small so they are to be congratulated for putting together such a nice webpage. MARIANA ISLANDS DX ASSOCIATION NH2DX. http://www.guam.net/pub/midxa/ I do not, however, see them listed as an ARRL affiliated club.
Kona Amateur Radio Society (KARS) webpage is: http://www.cfht.hawaii.edu/~veillet/hwars.html. KARS has changed its meeting date to the Fourth Sunday. The next meeting should be January 25th at 2PM however the webpage is in need of updating. For questions please contact Van NH7IT at 808-345-5008 or e-mail NH7IT@arrl.net . The food theme for the potluck is Chinese. In addition to the regular KARS monthly meeting they now have a (HAM) breakfast at 808 Grindz restaurant in Kopika Plaza on the 2nd Saturday of each month at 8:30am. All club members and guest are welcome to attend this informal gathering. For additional information contact Stuart KH7DX at 808-896-1290.
The Kauai ARC website is: http://www.kauaiarc.org/ See webpage for details of events and a map. Kauai Amateur Radio Club normally meets on the first Monday of the month at 7 PM which was January 5th. The next meeting will be Monday February 2nd. Please don’t forget the regular Saturday breakfast (except December) at The Feral Pig (formerly The Tiki Room and Main Street Diner) located in Harbor Mall at Nawiliwili. Folks begin arriving around 0730. Remember to get your parking ticket validated (while the attendant is hardly ever there for Saturday breakfast, it's a good idea to validate just in case).
The Emergency ARC website is: http://earchi.org/event_listing.html EARC normally meets on the 3rd Tuesday at 7PM at the Fleet Reserve Association (FRA) Branch 46, located at 891 Valkenburgh St. (Parking is always tight). It will be January 20th. Their website is a little out of date.
The Honolulu ARC website address is: http://ham.aditl.com/harc . HARC meets on the 3rd Saturday at 9:00 AM on odd months (Jan, March, May, July, Sept, and Nov). They are now meeting at Monterey Bay Cannery which overlooks the watercress farm on the west side of the shopping center. There is lots of free parking and it is easy to reach. It will be January 17th.
The Koolau ARC website is: http://www.karc.net/ . They meet on the second Saturday at 9:30 AM. At Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden Park in Kaneohe. This will be January 10th .
The Waikiki ARC seems to have only the ARRL club listing website at:
http://www.arrl.org/Groups/view/waikiki-amateur-radio-club/type:club .
The ARRL web-page contains the club information. They meet every Tue at 7AM for breakfast at the Monterey Cannery at 98-1005 Moanalua Road, Unit FSI in Aiea.
The Big Island ARC website is: www.biarc.net . They normally meet at 2PM on the 2nd Saturday Monthly at 2 PM at the Keaau Community Center. The next meeting will be Saturday January 10th at the Keaau Community Center. They want to thank the Puna Covenant Church for allowing them to hold their Christmas Party there on December 13th. The weekly Friday lunch at Kow’s has been canceled. There was license testing at on December 19th at the Village Church on Wright Road in Volcano. There are not tests scheduled at this time.
The Hilo ARC: They meet daily 6:30-8:30 AM at Jack in the Box Hilo. This club is the oldest on the Island of Hawaii however there was a break in existence of several years until former Section Manager Dean
Manley, KH6B and several others reactivated it. They also sponsor the Council of Radio Club which meets once monthly. Please contact Dean for more information.
The South Point ARC or “SPARC” meets on the first Sunday at Noon at Manuka State park. They are not affiliated with ARRL. They don’t have a website (yet).
The Puna Emergency Radio Club (PERC) has applied for ARRL affiliation. Their website is: http://perchawaii.com/ their regular monthly meeting is now going to be held on the 4th Saturday of each month at 10:00AM at the Hilo Coffee Mill. Their website is out of date.
There has been no news from The American Samoa Radio club or Molokai Club in recent times.
The Civil Defense Amateur Radio Club’s (Honolulu) mission is to provide ARRL Volunteer Examiner testing services for amateur radio operators and test takers residing on the island of Oahu. The goal is to continually build up the pool of available emergency communicators available during times of emergency. Testing is usually on the third Wednesday of selected onths at 6:30 PM however contact Ray Moody, AH6LT moody at: hawaii.edu or phone 941-9239. Advance registration is required to pass building security at the Red Cross building. Schedule for 2015 can be found in the VEC page of ARRL.
01/21/2015 | Honolulu HI 96816-4417
03/18/2015 | Honolulu HI 96816-4417
06/17/2015 | Honolulu HI 96816-4417
08/19/2015 | Honolulu HI 96816-4417
11/18/2015 | Honolulu HI 96816-4417
Sponsor: Oahu Civil Defense ARC
Location: American Red Cross
Time: 6:30 PM (No walk-ins)
Cal-Pac RC upgraded the Mauna Loa site antennas and took the six meter beacon off the air. It will be back shortly however it has not been decided if it will be put back at Mauna Loa. The picture of the KH6HME memorial brick at ARRL HQ is in the photo files at the bottom of the Pacific Section website along with other pictures of the Mauna Loa site. The brick was donated by BIARC member Chuck McConnell, W6DPD of Fresno.
REPEAT OR REFERENCE INFORMATION:
The Pacific Section webpage is: http://www.arrl.org/Groups/view/pacific-section. It now contains this
SM report. Each affiliated club should fill in an activities report to ARRL at least once every year. For more information go to: http://www.arrl.org/club-update . Your SM is always looking for news
so be sure to update him too. Even if your group is not ARRL affiliated, send a report. If you have notable activities send along a jpeg picture and description (please). At the bottom of the Pacific
Section webpage is a picture gallery.
Hawaii's Official Amateur Radio Repeater Coordination Site is: http://www.hawaiirepeaters.net/ .
Ron Hashiro’s webpage always has a good collection of news of local happenings. See:
http://www.qsl.net/a/ah6rh/am-radio/in-hawaii.html . There is a new feature telling about the history of the early repeaters in Hawaii especially Diamond Head 146.88. Go to Ron’s page and click on The EARC Diamond Head 146.28/146.88 MHz Repeater
