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Monthly Summary for October 2009
News last updated: Mon, November 16, 2009 at 2:02 PM ET
November 16, 2009 The last scheduled ARRL sanctioned hamfest is behind us and looks like we have to wait till February 2010 before the next one. I guess with the holidays approaching we will have a lot of time to make up our wish lists for the New Year. I know I am hoping for some sunspots to assist in propagation. While there has been some nice DX openings I am sure we all agree that conditions have been far from favorable. Hopefully the next few months will see a change in that area. The PA QSO Party was an indication of just how strange propagation can be. I worked more sections during the first part of the contest than I did counties. I only missed three for the sweep and sad to say one was in WPA.
Effective November 1 Larry Keller AB3ER accepted the position of Section Emergency Coordinator. I am grateful to Larry for accepting this position and to John Szwarc for his service these past years. Larry can be reached at ab3er@arrl.net. We still need volunteers to help in the following areas: Section Traffic Manager Allegheny county EC , Cameron County EC, Clinton County EC and Somerset County EC. There is also a need for a Public Information Coordinator for the section. With over a thousand members in the section we need volunteers to step up and fill these vacancies so that services do not have to be reduced or eliminated. The traffic and ARES programs are an important aspect of ham radio and to be honest I can not manage these areas alone. I need you to come forward and lend a hand. All ARES activity is under the direct control of Larry and his assistant Harry Bloomberg. For ARES issues please contact Larry or harry and for other areas contact me at n3mse@arrl.org.
The latest edition of QST listed the 2009 Field Day results. I was quite pleased to see that 51 separate entities submitted scores here in WPA. Many of these scores were quite high in their respective categories. Congrats to the clubs and I am sure most importantly everyone had fun.
On October 31 the Simulated Emergency Test was conducted in WPA. Unfortunately I was out of town due to two deaths in the family. I received numerous traffic messages upon my return and received a great many compliments on the way the SET operated. Thank you to all who participated. I want to remind all county EC and DEC’s to file their reports so we can see how well we did in the event.
If you have not had a chance to operate on the digital modes as the cold weather approaches I encourage you to give a try on the various modes of operation. I have been particularly having a great time with FLDIGI or NBEMS. A recent article in QST and the many fine demonstrations by Harry Bloomberg and Dave Kleber has been a tremendous asset to getting the information out to many people. If you have any type of computer you can operate with this mode and there is no cost for software and no need for an interface. Additional information is available at http://www.pa-sitrep.com/NBEMS/index.html as well as a PowerPoint demo and links to software and other news.
As always I encourage you to join traffic net and help deliver messages to individuals in your community and throughout the country as we continue to keep the keep this activity running strong. The section net is on 3983 every evening at approximately 5:30 PM local timedue to poor band conditions . Join the nets and lets all get Radio Active.
Oct 7, 2009 Recently I received an email from Section Emergency coordinator, John Szwarc, that he will be stepping down to spend more time with his family. I want to thank John for his hard work and dedication in bringing the ARES program back together here in the section. With this new opening as well as that of Section Traffic Manager I am asking for individuals to step forward to volunteer for the several positions of leadership roles that we currently have vacant. In addition to the position of Section Emergency Coordinator and Section Traffic Manager we also have openings for: North 1 District DEC, Cameron County EC, Clinton County EC and Somerset County EC. There is also a need for a Public Information Coordinator for the section. With over a thousand members in the section I am hoping a few individuals will step forward to fill these vacancies so that we do not have to cut back on activities in these areas. If interested please contact me at n3mse@arrl.org
A few weeks ago ARRL HQ issued a document about the proper use of Amateur Radio with regard to use by individuals on behalf of their employers. FCC counsel Laura Smith recently explained proper operating guidelines under Part 97.113. A recent thread on the internet and on QRZ.com has stated that an FCC media person says this is incorrect. I caution everyone to abide by Laura’s explanation and not get themselves in violation. I am sure this is being investigated by the proper authorities to see if a change to the rules is necessary.
On November 1, 2009 the Washington Amateur Communications (WACOM) group will be sponsoring a hamfest at the Washington Fairgrounds in Washington Pa. Additional information is available on their website at http://www.wacomarc.org/hamfest.html . I am hopeful that I will get to work many of you during this year’s Pa QSO Party this weekend Oct. 10 and 11. This is a great opportunity to have fun in an operating event as well as to see how propagation in the section can be used during an emergency operation.
The Simulated Emergency Test for Western Pennsylvania will be conducted on October 31. Contact your local emergency coordinator for details on the activities for your county. Every county should be participating in this year’s test to demonstrate our abilities should the need arise. As always I encourage you to join traffic net and help deliver messages to individuals in your community and throughout the country as we continue to keep the keep this activity running strong. The section net is on 3983 every evening at approximately 6 PM local time. Join the nets and lets all get Radio Active.
73
John V. Rodgers, N3MSE W. Pa. Section Manager
Sept 9, 2009 The hamfest season is quickly coming to a close. This weekend on September 13 the Butler County ARA will sponsor a swap fest at the Unionville Fire Hall north of Butler on route 8. If you would like additional information on the event go to http://www.w3udx.org/Activities.htm for more details. The final sanctioned hamfest for W. Pa. will be held on November 1 in Washington County. This hamfest sponsored by WACOM will wrap up the season for hamfests. If you would like additional information on this hamfest check out http://www.wacomarc.org/hamfest.html this is always a well organized and exciting event. Please stop at the ARRL table at either of these events and say hello. The month of October is always a busy one for events. While the Simulated Emergency Test is usually scheduled for October 3 throughout much of the country, in Western Pennsylvania because of some special activities we have scheduled our Test for October 31. Your local emergency coordinator has information on the basic details of the SET and will be sharing with ARES team members in the near future. John Szwarc, n3spw@arrl.nrt will be managing the SET this year and has provided details to the emergency coordinators of the proposed scenario. John is in need of volunteers to fill the following positions in the ARES platform: North 1 District DEC, Cameron County EC, Clinton County EC, Somerset County EC and Butler County EC. Individuals interested in any of these positions should contact John at n3spw@arrl.net. I recently received two letters of resignation from Both Ray and Chrissie Albert. Due to personal and medical reasons they have decided to step down from their positions as Butler County EC and Section Traffic Manager. I will personally miss their expertise and help and wish them both the very best of everything in their future endeavors. This creates an opening for a Section Traffic Manger to continue the efforts of the National Traffic system here in W. Pa. If anyone is interested in this position I would greatly appreciate hearing from you. This is an important position necessary to keep the traffic platform running in our section. Also any individual interested in serving as the Public Information Coordinator for the section should also contact me about the availability of that position. I can be reached at n3mse@arrl.org. October has several important operating events that I personally look forward to each year. On October 10-11 is the 2009 Pa. QSO Party sponsored by the Nittany Amateur radio club. Detailed information about this event can be found at http://www.nittany-arc.net/paqso.html I encourage you to participate in the exciting and fun operating event. On October 17-18 is the Scouting Jamboree on the air. This annual event to encourage scouts to operate and contact other scout is a great opportunity to encourage new people to join the hobby. Detail information is available at http://www.arrl.org/scouts/jota/ As previously mentioned the Simulated Emergency Test for Western Pennsylvania will be conducted on October 31. Contact your local emergency coordinator for details on the activities for your county. Every county should be participating in this year’s test to demonstrate our abilities should the need arise. Clubs or other groups sponsoring special activities they would like to have mentioned in the monthly email should forward me the information prior to the 7th of the month for inclusion in that month’s article. As always I encourage you to join traffic net and help deliver messages to individuals in your community and throughout the country as we continue to keep the keep this activity running strong. The section net is on 3983 every evening at approximately 6 pm adjusted slightly for propagation. Currently it starts at 6:15 PM local time. Join the nets and lets all get Radio Active.
73 John V. Rodgers, N3MSE W. Pa. Section Manager
August One of the main topics that I am asked about at area hamfests is how we can get more activity in our club. This past weekend I was invited to attend the Two Rivers ARC family picnic and corn roast. This was a truly enjoyable afternoon and I thank Vickie N3XBX for her kind invitation. I honestly believe that in an effort to get more involvement and members is to do more of these activities. The clubs that have member social functions seem to also have more members come out to help with other projects. I do not think any of us honestly enjoys sitting through long tedious business meetings. I know I for one do not enjoy it even when I attend a cabinet meeting. If you are a club officer and want to strengthen your clubs why not try to make an effort to shorten your business meetings and have more presentations or educational activities with the club. I have seen this in a few of the clubs like Two Rivers, WASH. Ellwood City, Skyview, Wacom, SCARC. I am not saying these clubs are alone but these are clubs that I receive newsletters or read their list serves to hear about activities. I would like to start to feature reports from the clubs on ways they have found to boost membership and involvement. Please send me a short article about your club and I will use them in this column and also post to the section website. Also how about some photos that we can post at the website. Send them as well so we can recognize these activities. On August 23 the Skyview ARC will host their annual hamfest at the club grounds. This is also once again the WPA section convention. Additional information is available at http://www.skyviewradio.net for directions and details. Then on September 13 the Butler County ARA will have their swap and shop event at Unionville Fire hall. Additional information for this event is available at http://w3udx.net The ARES program has the following vacancies: North 1 District Emergency Coordinator, Cameron County Emergency Coordinator, Potter County Emergency Coordinator, Somerset County Emergency Coordinator. For more information please contact John Szwarc at n3spw@arrl.net. Another important item for the ARES program will be conducted on Saturday August 15th at 10 AM there will be a section-wide breakfast meeting for all WPA Section Emergency Coordinators and District Emergency Coordinators. Assistant EC’s are encouraged to attend as well. The breakfast will be held at Plyler's Pizza & Family Restaurant, 234 Allegheny Blvd in Brookville. Please RSVP to the Section Emergency Coordinator John N3SPW at n3spw@arrl.net. This will be a valuable source of information as well as networking for the participants. I am asking that every county show that they are interested in working within the ARES program by attending or having an assistant attend this meeting. Show your support and willingness to be a part of the team by participating in the meeting. A meeting is currently being planned for September 26 in Harrisburg with PEMA discussing the revised plans for emergency communications in Pennsylvania. WPA has been allotted two seats at this event as well as our digital “guru’s” Harry Bloomberg, W3YJ and Dave Kleber, KB3FXI will be demonstrating NBEMS. If interested in additional information or wanting to participate please contact me with regard to this meeting. Summer is drawing to a close and as fall approaches start planning for the PA QSO Party being held this year on October 10-11. This is one of my personal favorite contests and I encourage everyone to participate. Information regarding the QSO party is available at http://www.nittany-arc.net/paqso.html Lets get more activity from WPA and make sure all 33 counties show their presence in the contest. I would hate to miss working all 67 counties and miss a county here in my own section. Finally I encourage you to join a traffic net. The section net is on 3983 every evening at 6 P.M. local time. Listen in and more importantly join us or one of the other local nets and deliver a message to someone in your community.
73, John V. Rodgers, N3MSE W. Pa. Section Manager
July 2009 I want to express my personal thanks and congratulations to Harry Bloomberg, W3YJ and Dave Kleber, KB3FXI for the outstanding article written by them for the August issue of QST. The article on the Public Service pages 73-74 on emergency communications is well written and has become a key tool for emergency services in W. PA. The program sis called NBEMS and I can tell you first hand it works well with very little equipment. If you have not seen their hands on demonstration contact them to setup a demo for your club or ARES meeting. Thanks guys for all your hard work and for the fine article. Western Pennsylvania section currently has 36 affiliated clubs according to league records. The unfortunate part of this is that we know many more clubs are functioning in the section. One reason for this disparity is that many clubs have failed to update their affiliation by doing the annual report to the league. The following information provided by Norm Fusaro at HQ should help clubs to check and update their information. I ask that club officers check the information for their club and update if necessary. Once your club is affiliated, it remains affiliated. To stay actively affiliated, you must complete and submit an Annual Report at least once a year. An update must be submitted each year even if nothing changes. The annual update lets us know that the club is still active. Your club's status will be changed to inactive should 2 years go by without our receiving an Annual Report. Your club can return to active status at any time by simply completing and submitting an Annual Report. Please retain these instructions for future updates or whenever important information changes.Please update your club record at this time by locating your club in the club search http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/club/clubsearch.phtml If you can’t find your club then it may be listed as inactive. Try the big club list http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/club/biglist.html Click on the highlighted club name to see the club detailed information At the bottom of this page click on the highlighted phrase “submit updated data for this club record.” After you've made your changes, HIT the "SUBMIT REPORT" key and your update will be sent to us. After the submitted data is reviewed, updates are made and changes can be viewed on the web in a few days. Please hit the submit key only once. Special Service Club designation must be renewed every 2 years If you need to update your Special Service Club record please visit the SSC page at: http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/club/forms/fsd7/index.html To remain an active ARRL affiliate at least 51% of your club members have to be ARRL members. If you need help in verifying ARRL membership simply e-mail us a list of call signs and we can usually return the breakdown to you in 24 hours. Don ’t forget that clubs can earn commissions when they sign up ARRL members through the club. www.arrl.org/club. Please update your records as each and every club is of importance to our section and division. The ARES program has the following vacancies: North 1 District Emergency Coordinator, Cameron County Emergency Coordinator, Potter County Emergency Coordinator, Somerset County Emergency Coordinator. For more information please contact John Szwarc at n3spw@arrl.net. Another important item for the ARES program will be conducted on Saturday August 15th at 10 AM there will be a section-wide breakfast meeting for all WPA Section Emergency Coordinators and District Emergency Coordinators. Assistant EC’s are encouraged to attend as well. The breakfast will be held at Plyler's Pizza & Family Restaurant, 234 Allegheny Blvd in Brookville. Please RSVP to the Section Emergency Coordinator John N3SPW at n3spw@arrl.net. This will be a valuable source of information as well as networking for the participants. I am asking that every county show that they are interested in working within the ARES program by attending or having an assistant attend this meeting. Show your support and willingness to be a part of the team by participating in the meeting. Field day is behind us and many of the club scores have been submitted. I was surprised at the low number of messages that I received for the bonus points of sending a report to the section manager. To those clubs that did send the message. Congratulations on the bonus and thanks for using the traffic system. I personally am looking forward to October with the PA QSO Party operating event and also the Jamboree on the air for the scouting program. In September I will be attending a meeting in Harrisburg with regard to PEMA and emergency communications that will be part of the program for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I will be reporting on this issue as more information become available. One other representative from W. Pa. will be selected by me to also attend. This weekend is the Somerset ARC hamfest on Sunday July 19. I hope to get the chance to talk with those attending as to issues that have questions about. At the same time the directors, vice directors and officers of the ARRL will be holding the Board meeting in Connecticut. There is much on the agenda there so watch for the minutes on the ARRL webpage and from your local leaders. On August 23 the Skyview ARC will hold their annual hamfest and also the WPA section convention. Be sure to try one of Bob “Cooky’s” skyburgers for a true delicacy. Food is always great and also a fun day. I also have been assured by “ZED” that Andrew will not be making an appearance. Please join a traffic net and gain valuable emergency experience in passing information. The section net is held daily at 6 PM local time on 3983 Hz.
June 2009 Field Day 2009 is just two short weeks away and from what I have been reading on many forums most are well prepared for the event. For me this is one of the two best weekends in radio that I experience each year. The other weekend of course is the weekend in October for the PA QSO party. For those of you that enjoy contesting an online club that I recommend is the Allegheny Valley Contest Group. If you are interested in learning more, please visit our reflector at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AlleghenyValleyRadio/, where membership may be requested. You can also send us an e-mail at w3wpa@arrl.net. Congratulations goes out to our Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator (ASEC) Harry Bloomberg W3YJ , along with Dave Kleber KB3FXI of the Sykview Radio Society are this year’s recipients of the ARRL Atlantic Division Technical Achievement Award. These two gentlemen have been working tirelessly to promote the NBEMS digital mode to our WPA Section hams, as well as hams across the country. Congratulations Dave and Harry. It’s well deserved. Any club interested in having these fine men put a presentation on for their club on NBEMS should contact one of them directly. Thanks goes out to mike Lazaroff, K3AIR for again helping area hams with zoning issues. Mike has helped clarify issues in several local proposed laws that would have attempted to put limitations on amateurs installing ham antennas. While the month of June has already had its only hamfest come and go July will see several hamfests in the section. July 11 will be the 8th Northwest Pennsylvania Hamfest sponsored by the Union City & Wattsburg Wireless Associations. Additional information is available at http://www.nw-pa-hamfest.com The next day July 12 will be the North Hills hamfest. This is a fun outdoor event with no admission cost. Additional info is available at http://nharc.org The following week on July 18 Somerset county ARC will be holding their annual hamfest. Additional information is available at their website http://www.k3smt.org/hamfest/index.shtml Finally on the subject of hamfests mark your calendars for the WPA Section Convention at the Skyview Arc on August 23. The website for the Skyview group is http://www.k3smt.org/hamfest/index.shtml . I understand that while some foreign lands have their snake charmers so does the skyview group. It seems during a recent contest activity at the club house the mellow tones of CW charmed a friendly black snake into the shack at the club. Seem CW charmed this friend fondly called Andrew to visit. I have been assured he has been safely deposited back to his natural habitat. Robert Bastone ,WC3O also known as cooky at Skyview has been appointed to a division committee on recruiting new hams. This committee is headed by Atlantic Division Assistant Director Riley Hollingsworth. Thanks Bob for helping in the very important venture. Don’t forget t join a traffic net in your area. The section net is on 3983 hz every evening at 6 PM local time. Make sure you visit a field day site in your area if you do not know the location check the FD locator at http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/locator.php to find a location in your area.
73 John N3MSE W. Pa. Section Manager
On May 2 I attended the Atlantic Division cabinet meeting in Gettysburg along with the other six section managers from the division. This was our yearly meeting to discuss issue and gather information for us to help the amateurs we represent in the individual sections. This year we were fortunate enough to have Laura Smith the new chief enforcement person for the FCC. Laura shared her views with us on enforcement and her approach to it. It was a pleasure to meet her and to understand her support for this great hobby. Harry Bloomberg and Dave Kleber presented an informative demonstration of the NIBEMS program that we are using in emergency services in this section. The demo was met with great enthusiasm and interest An article by these two men hs been accepted for an upcoming issue of QST. With this is mind I want to extend the following invitation to all. There will be a demonstration of the NIBEMS digital mode on Saturday May 30th. The demonstration will be presented by Harry Bloomberg W3YJ, the Western Pennsylvania Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator. This digital mode is easy to install on any computer or laptop and the software is free. It performs exceptionally in high-noise conditions and is a reliable communications mode which is perfectly suited for emergency communications work. In fact, the WPA section has adopted NIBEMS as the standard digital mode for the section. The demonstration will be held on the Altoona campus of Penn State University and will start at 11 AM. All ARES Emergency Coordinators and all local ARES members are invited to attend. If you have a laptop and HT, bring them along. You will have the opportunity to install the software and try it out on the spot. A laptop and HT is all that is required to get started in the mode. The meeting room we have reserved accommodates up to 70 people. If you would like to attend, please e-mail Drew McGhee KA3EJV at drm6@psu.edu. This will allow Drew to keep a head count of how many people will be there. If you are an EC, please forward this message to all local ARES members. We’d like to see as many people as possible attend, and it should be a lot of fun too. This invitation is also extended to amateurs in other sections of the division. Also any group that would like to have Harry attend a meeting to demonstrate this should contact him to arrange a schedule. At the recent Two Rivers hamfest I had the privilege of presenting Bill Guthrie, W3LDB, a certificate of merit as he celebrates 75 years as an amateur radio operator. Congratulations Bill and enjoy the hobby for many years to come. For those of you into contesting you may be interested in a group known as Allegheny Valley Contest Group. Here is a brief statement about that group. Allegheny Valley Radio Association has been formed to promote contest activity in Western Pennsylvania. Membership is free for licensed hams with an interest in radio sport. Even if you already have membership in a local club, you may find weekend contesting to be an enjoyable addition to your hobby.Our primary method of communication is the internet. If you are interested in learning more, please visit our reflector at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AlleghenyValleyRadio/, where membership may be requested. You can also send us an e-mail at w3wpa@arrl.net. Don’t forget that on June 7 the Breezeshooters annual hamfest will be held at the Butler Farm show grounds. This is the largest hamfest in our section an a fun time for all who attend. Additional information is available at http://www.breezeshooters.net/ I hope to see everyone in attendance. Remember that Field Day is just about 6 weeks from now and many groups have been working hard on plans for the big event. A locator is available at http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/locator.php to help you find a location near you. 73 John Rodgers N3MSE W. Pa. Section Manager
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