Virginia Section of the ARRL September Section Manager’s Report (Covering August)

++Safety Note++

September is National Preparedness Month, and the Ready.gov site has done a far better job of covering all the details, so for this month I’m going to send you straight over. 

https://www.ready.gov/september

++Affiliated Club Coordinator++

Mike WA8AHZ sends the following information:

We have two new affiliated clubs in Virginia!

Welcome:  Please welcome our newest ARRL Affiliated Clubs in the Commonwealth – the South Holston ARC in Abingdon https://www.sharc.club and the Powhatan Amateur Radio Club https://www.n4pow.com.  Visit their websites and drop their officers a warm welcome!

Why Join a ARRL Affiliated Amateur Radio Club?  One of the best things about being part of an Amateur Radio Club is learning from other Hams, and some of the best clubs create opportunities where that can take place. The Commonwealth has 70 ARRL affiliated radio clubs.  While a few specialize in the technical side of the hobby, or others in Contesting or DXing, most of the clubs are local -- and provide a wide range of programs and operating events.  To find a club near you, search by city or key word at: http://www.arrl.org/find-a-club  Interested in more  ideas about joining a club. See”  http://www.arrl.org/joining-a-club   

+++Volunteers On The Air (VOTA)+++

As part of ARRL’s Volunteers on the Air (VOTA) event, W1AW/4 is coming back to Virginia for 1 week starting October 25, 2023 0000 UTC and we want YOU to call CQ as W1AW/4 VA from your shack.

Starting August 8th, all Virginia-based amateur radio operators are invited to visit https://vota.w4car.org and register to become an approved W1AW/4 operator during the event. Once approved, you may select any available operating time slot (1 hour minimum) for the band and mode (SSB, CW, or Digital) of your choice. You must be an ARRL member to operate as W1AW/4 for this event.

All operators are required to log contacts using an electronic logging program capable of creating an ADIF file, may only operate as "W1AW/4 VA" during their assigned time slot, and must observe all FCC regulations including only operating on frequencies allocated to their license class and at permitted power levels. Additional event rules can be found at https://vota.w4car.org or on the ARRL’s Volunteers on the Air website at https://vota.arrl.org.

The Chesapeake Amateur Radio Service in Chesapeake, VA is coordinating the VOTA W1AW/4 VA 2nd Week operating schedule. If you have questions or issues with the VOTA scheduling website, please email them at vota@w4car.org

The Volunteers on the Air (VOTA) operating event continues for the entire calendar year, and W1AW/4 is currently ranked #2 on the ARRL VOTA leaderboard.  See: https://vota.arrl.org/leaderboard.php  Of course, this is the culminative of all the Sections in the 4 Call area activating as W1AW/4.  If you didn’t activate W1AW/4 (VA) in March, you’ll have another opportunity in late October. 

++Upcoming Events++

+++Marine Corps Marathon+++

2023 OCT 29:  The Marine Corps Marathon is recruiting volunteer amateur radio operators. The Peoples’ Marathon – hosted by the US Marine Corps is on Sunday, October 29, 2023.  Over 23,000 runners are expected this year, and 150 Ham volunteers are needed to provide critical radio communications along the 10, 26 & 50 mile courses. Volunteer sign up is open. Go to:  www.hamcommunity.com/mcm-register

+++Richmond Marathon+++

2023 NOV 11

Hey y’all, I’m looking for operators for the Richmond Marathon on Nov. 11th!

I need nearly 40 ops. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact me at;

W4PKR@ARRL.NET

In the subject line of your email, please include “2023 Richmond Marathon”, then, please tell me your name, call sign, your phone number and what, if any, experience you have operating events. You don’t need to be experienced for some of the positions (i.e. water stops), but for other positions, I will need experienced ops. I particularly need Net Control Operators (I have a total of six slots, two of which are filled).

Operating events is fun, rewarding and it gives us real-world experience that is directly relatable to emergency operations.
 

Thanks in advance and I look forward to hearing from you!

73 de W4PKR

Jim

+++Sterling Park Amateur Radio Club License Classes and Exam+++

Become a Ham Radio Operator! The Sterling Park Amateur Radio Club (SPARC) will conduct a Technician License Preparation Class at the Eastern Loudoun Sheriff’s Station located at 46620 East Frederick Dr., Sterling, VA 20164 on Saturday, September 30, 2023, 8:00 am to 5:30 pm. and on Sunday, October 1, 2023, 8:00 am to 12:00 pm. Exam for Tech Class participants begins at 1:00 pm. No Fee for class. Fee for exam and FCC license application. Prior registration required, contact Amit, WY2Z at amit5201@gmail.com. For more info: bit.ly/3NDMiSw

Amateur Radio License Exams! The Sterling Park Amateur Radio Club (SPARC) will conduct an Amateur Radio license Examination Session at 2:00 pm at the Eastern Loudoun Sheriff’s Station located at 46620 East Frederick Dr., Sterling, VA 20164. The exams are by appointment only (no walk-ins). Fee for exam and FCC license application. Prior registration required, contact Gordon, NQ4K, at gormil@aol.com. For more info: bit.ly/3NDMiSw

Thanks and stay out of the heat!

Evan, KM4SK

+++Hamfests+++

There are no more hamfests scheduled for this year. Register yours now so that as many people can get the word as possible!

For more information see: https://www.arrl.org/hamfests/search

We currently do not have a Section Convention host, and there are currently no other hamfests or conventions in the Commonwealth. Please submit any requests for an ARRL sanctioned event, go to http://arrl.org/arrl-sanctioned-events and follow the instructions there. Remember that all of the requests go through the Section Manager and the Division Director, so allow for plenty of time for these to be reviewed. Please reach out to me if you’d like to get your club (or combination of clubs) to host the Section Convention.

+++Contest Calendar+++

Don't forget our year-long Volunteers On The Air Event
https://vota.arrl.org

September 2023

16-17    10 GHz & Up - Round 2  http://www.arrl.org/10-ghz-up
9-10      EME - 2.3 GHz & Up  http://www.arrl.org/eme-contest

October 2023

7-8        Collegiate QSO Party  http://www.arrl.org/collegiate-amateur-radio
16-20   School Club Roundup  http://www.arrl.org/school-club-roundup
28-29   EME - 50 to 1296 MHz  http://www.arrl.org/eme-contest

November 2023

4-6       Nov Sweepstakes–CW http://www.arrl.org/sweepstakes
18-20  Nov Sweepstakes–Phone  http://www.arrl.org/sweepstakes             
25-26  EME - 50 to 1296 MHz http://www.arrl.org/eme-contest

++Get On The Air (GOTA) For Life++

The last meeting of the ARRL Virginia Gota for Life (G4L) Design Team took place in August. Mackenzie Denton KO4GLN, the President of Old Dominion University, visited the Design Team and discussed issues and strategies to keep young and young adult amateur radio operators on the air into adulthood. As this was the last of seven (7) meetings, Ed Gibbs KW4GF, Assistant Section Manager and the Design Team's facilitator, is in the process of developing a program that presents the Design Team's results. This presentation will be available to clubs outside Southeast Virginia online and in-person for Southeast Virginian's clubs beginning in November, Ed thanks the work of the Design Team for making themselves available to develop strategies. Ed also thanks Mike Aimone WA8AHZ ARRL VA Section Affiliated Club Coordinator for working closely with Ed. We think the Virginia Section's clubs will be interested in the results For more information, contact Ed Gibbs KW4GF, Section Assistant Manager, at beachteach15@yahoo.com

++Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES)++

+++ARES Reports+++

The ARES Monthly Report will continue to be sent out as a separate document. This goes to ARES Leadership for further distribution.

If you are an EC and do not have the current link to the report, please contact Marty KE4KEW at martinkrupinski AT comcast DOT net.

+++2023 Simulated Emergency Test (SET)+++

REMINDER: The basic plan for the 2023 SET, with the primary dates of 8 and 9 October (can be rescheduled depending on your served agencies’ needs) has been published and can be found at https://emcommwiki.org/index.php/2023_Virginia_Simulated_Emergency_Test_(SET)_Plan Keep checking the page periodically as other information that may prove helpful will be added, however it will not affect the basic plan

+++Partner Sponsored Exercise+++

Saturday Sept. 16 - members of Fairfax County ARES will be participating in a regional Red Cross communications exercise. For more information contact Brendan KM4HRR at km4hrr AT gmail DOT com.

++Section Traffic Manager Report++

Va Section Traffic News

Station Activity Report (SAR) and Public Service Honor Roll (PSHR) Reports for August 2023

KK4PUX – SAR – 38, PSHR – 220
N3SW – SAR- 41, PSHR – 90
W4CAC – SAR – 31, PSHR – 162

Net Reports for August

Va Sideband Net – QTC – 12/9, QND-172,  QNI – 145, Sessions – 30
VN – QTC-32, QND-309, QNI-129, Sessions – 31
Ports ARC  - QTC – 0, QND-52 QNI – 32, Sessions – 5
NVTN –  QTC – 8/2, QND – 1224, QNI – 785,  Sessions – 31
Floyd ARS – VHF Repeater Net - QTC-0, QND-94, QNI-35, Sessions – 5
 VHF Simplex Net – QTC – 0, QND -38, QNI – 5, Sessions – 5

The VN can now be found on 3553 kHz every evening at 7 PM local time.

If you handle traffic, please send your monthly totals to me prior to the 5^th of the following month.

73, Carl, W4CAC, w4cac@cox.net

++Section Manager Close-out++

Getting on the air is fun, and being good operators is inspirational to others. But just as important is being welcoming to new operators, or even seasoned ones who sometimes stumble. Remember, we’re not all experts at (insert mode here), and not all are able to get on the air as frequently as we’d like. I’ve made plenty of mistakes on the air, and I’ve usually been contacted quietly and professionally and given good operating advice. Those are the quiet mentors and leaders that are what makes the amateur radio service different from many others. Be that good operator, and when needed, be the kind and generous mentor.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to me.

73,

Jack KE4LWT