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Western Pennsylvania Section News

11 July 2021

WPA Section News - 11 July 2021  

Greetings!   I just got back from the Northwest Pennsylvania Hamfest in Erie County. It was a nice event, with plenty of flea market activity, and a parking lot full of hams, enjoying the opportunity for catching up on the past year with their friends. I know I was delighted to visit in person with many ham radio friends from all over, and I was happy to meet a number of recently licensed hams who were taking part in their first amateur radio activities. A successful VE Exam session was held as well.  

ASM Dave Wellman WX3E and I answered many questions about ARRL and amateur radio in general, and were encouraged to see so many hams getting out and enjoying ham radio again after all the cancellations of the past year and a half. So far this year, I visited four hamfests and 5 Field Day sites, and at every one there were large numbers of enthusiastic hams, happy to be out and about and enjoying each others' company at these events following the "Long Winter of COVID."   

The members of our WPA Section Staff also made the rounds to local Field Day sites and Hamfests. Their reports confirm large turnouts at all of these events, and a sense that things are getting back to normal in a big way, following the restrictions imposed by COVID. This is the true amateur radio spirit—ALL of us working together to make Amateur Radio FUN!  

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Now that many clubs are resuming in-person meetings, it's the perfect time—and a good idea—to update your club's information on the ARRL.org website to make sure the information listed for your club is correct. Any club officer can make corrections and updates. Important items to update include the date, time and street address for your meetings, and a live telephone number for people to call when in need of directions to your location, or have questions about your club. (This is doubly important if your meeting information has changed due to COVID!)  

Keeping your ARRL Affiliated club's records up-to-date has many benefits. Of course it makes it a lot easier for prospective members and new hams to find you; but it also extends your club's active ARRL affiliation, as clubs that do not update for two years are subject to being relisted as an INACTIVE affiliated club. Special Service Clubs can verify their status, and if the two-year expiration date is approaching, they can begin the process of re-qualifying to remain an SSC. Affiliated clubs get a discounted rate for ARRL Club Liability insurance, and can retain a defined portion of ARRL dues collected by the club.  

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More hamfests are being announced. Here is the rest of the list, so far:  

- Saturday July 31, Chambersburg Hamfest at Cumberland Valley Antique Engine Showgrounds  

- Saturday August 14, 72nd Uniontown Annual Gabfest at W3PIE Clubhouse  

- Sunday August 29, Skyview Hamfest at K3MJW Clubhouse  

- Sunday September 12, Butler County Swapfest  

- Sunday November 7, WACOM Hamfest at Washington County Fairgrounds  

Our WPA Section Staff is planning to hold a WPA Section Convention at one of these hamfests. Watch for an upcoming announcement when plans are complete!  

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WPA Section Nets  

* Western Pennsylvania Health and Wellness Net meets every weekday at 9:00 am on 3983 KHz. All hams are welcome and encouraged to participate.  

* The WPA ARES Voice net takes place every Saturday morning at 9:00 am on 3983 KHz. All hams are welcome and encouraged to participate.  

* The WPA Phone Traffic Net has QSY-ed to 3918 KHz, where it runs every day at 6:00 pm for the present time. All stations are welcome to participate, and sharpen their traffic skills.  

* The Pennsylvania Traffic Net meets daily on 3583 KHz CW at 7:00 pm local time. All stations are welcome to participate, and sharpen their CW and Traffic skills.  

* The WPA Digital Voice Net meets every Wednesday evening at 7:30 pm local time on the #31422 DMR talk group. Some repeaters carry the WPA DMR channel (#31422) on talk group 2, full time. All stations are welcome and encouraged to participate and to use TG 31422 (WPA) any time.  

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All club newsletters, bulletins, net announcement stations and everyone reading this are hereby granted permission to quote any and all information in the WPA Section News items. I would ask that you are careful to quote anything I have said or written EXACTLY AS I PROVIDED IT, and to refrain from repeating someone else's paraphrasing or summarizing (or even speculation) of my words. On several occasions recently I have been misquoted, or reported to have said things I didn't say, or inaccurately quoted in ways that seriously distorted my meaning.  

This has led to confusion and in some cases caused a number of hams to become extremely upset by my misrepresented comments. If you are concerned by what someone has claimed that I said, please contact me any time to clear things up. My goal from day one has been to be open and accessible to all, and to work diligently to avoid misunderstandings and misrepresentations. My door is always open, and I am here to serve you, the 11,000+ radio amateurs in our Western Pennsylvania Section (regardless of ARRL membership), and the communities we all serve.  

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On a personal note, many of you may have heard that I have undergone a number of serious health issues over the past year, including a near-fatal pulmonary embolism a week before Thanksgiving. The truth of the matter is that I am getting old, and my systems are not functioning as well as they did when I was a youngster.  

I have also been diagnosed with primary polycythemia vera, which has no cure, but can be successfully treated. My plan is to press on and maintain a very active and healthy lifestyle, to live out my remaining decades as energetically as ever, and to continue to take on all of life's challenges with enthusiasm and vigor.  

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If your club or group has an upcoming event that you would like to have publicized, just send the details in an email to sm@wpa-arrl.org, and I'll do my best to include it, or even put out a special edition if needed. If you would like me or a member of our WPA Section Staff to be there, I'll be delighted to do everything possible to accommodate your request.  

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Thank you for everything you are doing to make Amateur Radio the greatest hobby in the world, and to make it so much more than JUST a hobby!  

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73 and Press ON!

Joe Shupienis W3BC
Western Pennsylvania Section Manager
SERVICE ⋄ INTEGRITY ⋄ EXCELLENCE