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News last updated: Wed, April 16, 2008 at 1:17 AM ET
San Francisco Section News - April 2008
Happy Spring! A few up coming events for you to break out of the winter doldrums and take you out of the shack where everyone is frustrated with the bottom of the “cycle.”
First up, the annual Valley of the Moon ARC Hamfest is just around the corner on Saturday, may 3rd from 8 AM to 1 PM. This is a terrific event with a swap meet (time to clean out that store room?), VE testing, station demos, a fox hunt, and, of course, the terrific breakfast that they put together. Breakfast is only $6 per person and worth the drive even if you don’t have room for a new toy. For more information, please visit VOMARC’s website at www.vomarc.org. You won’t be disappointed.
On the same weekend (unfortunately) is Emcomm West is Reno, NV. This is the premier emergency communications (and everything related) in the left states. This year, Dennis Dura K2DCD, ARRL’s new Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager will be the keynote speaker and seminar presenter. Gordon West WB6NOA is the banquet speaker this year. If you haven’t been to one of Gordon’s presentations, you have missed both an informative and hilarious treat. There will be a swap, VE testing and numerous educational seminars to fit the interests of everyone. There is still time to make reservations at the host hotel, Circus Circus. For more information, check out the website at www.emcommwest.org.
If you are wondering about the annual Section Convention hosted by the Humboldt clubs, it has been moved to September 26-28, 2008 so as not to conflict with the typically busy May and June Ham activities. This means that you won’t have to pick between simultaneous events and can attend them all! Keep watching www.humboldt-arc.org for all the details as they unfold.
Winter was fairly uneventful with the exception of the big winds in January. That storm sure made it clear how fragile the PG&E electric delivery system is. I was without commercial power for 32 hours. There were some homes in the north coast that were without power for nearly a week. Frankly, that wasn’t a really bad storm. I hope someone noticed and is looking into PG&E’s preventative maintenance program.
Lake County EC Monte Winters K6FE put together the first live ARECC Level I course and test session in Lake County on Saturday, March 15th. Of the eighteen students taking the test, fifteen passed. The course began at 8:30 AM and ended after the test by 4:30 PM. The course received good comments on the course evaluation forms from the participants, and all indicated verbally that the course was worthwhile. Students from Lake County and Mendocino County participated. Monte found that a lot of Hams really need the in-person learning experience and with the live seminar was able to put on the class for only the $14 test fee, a very reasonable cost. Way to go, Monte! If you are interested in putting together a live course, feel free to contact Monte for details. k6fe@arrl.net
HF propagation can only go up from here, I hope. Great weather is here and it is a good time to do some maintenance on those antennas and feed lines. But, be careful on those ladders and towers! I hope to put up a better dipole for 80 through 40 and add 160.
A reminder to club leaders: Please be sure to update the information about your club on the ARRL website. Sometimes this gets overlooked in the transition between officers.
More news as it comes in! Have a great Spring!
73,
Bill
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