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News last updated: Sun, January 17, 2010 at 6:58 AM ET
Hams in Paradise -- January 2010
Hams Worldwide Assist in Wake of Haiti Quake
The catastrophic earthquake in Haiti -- measuring over 7 on the Richter scale -- hit at 5:53 pm Atlantic Standard Time; shortly thereafter, hams from the Virgin Islands and from around the globe were anxiously monitoring the airwaves -- some specifically calling for any "HH" stations -- those based in Haiti -- hoping to assist with emergency communications. By the following day, a ham from Haiti was able to check into the 14.300 frequency, which carries the Maritime Mobile Net, to say he was alive, and to ask that his family in the states be notified. A ham from Florida who was able to pick up the Haitian ham's signal relayed that information.
Meanwhile, hams on the other side of Hispaniola -- the island shared by the countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic -- sprang into action. According to a report from the Southgate Amateur Radio Club in London, UK, hams from the Radio Club Dominicano did what hams do -- seized the opportunity to help people in need. "During the night of the tragedy, amateur radio operators received a message from the Dominican Red Cross, requesting the use of an amateur radio repeater in order to establish communications between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. This repeater started to operate immediately, with the assistance of Mr. Joal Cleto, HI8RYF and Mr. Angel Carpio, HI8ABC. [Another] group lead by Mr. Joal Cleto is installing additional repeaters in order to improve the communications."
The Southgate Amateur Club report contains information translated to English from the Facebook page of Radio Club Dominicano. For the complete story:
(http://www.southgatearc.org/news/january2010/haiti_dominican_response.htm )
To view the Radio Club Dominicano Facebook page:
(http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=87319284968 )
While news coverage from the hardest-hit Port-au-Prince area has been getting out to televisions across the globe, local communication is still extremely difficult. Many people lost everything in the quake. This, combined with extremely poor economic conditions means many Haitians are left with no shelter or food and water, let alone any way to let their loved ones know that they made it through the quake.
For an update from the American Radio Relay League regarding the situation in Haiti, please visit http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/01/14/11290/?nc=1
ARRL Operations Chief Visits Local Clubs, Fields Questions p When Harold Kramer, WJ1B -- ARRL Chief Operating Officer and the number- two person at the league -- sat down for lunch with hams on St. Thomas, the back room was anything but quiet. Local amateurs from St. Thomas and St. John spent several hours speaking both one-on-one and as a group to Kramer, who oversees day-to-day administrative operations of the league, as well as serving as editor of QSL magazine.
Kramer's visit in early December provided a chance to get out of the early winter weather already hitting Connecticut but, more importantly, an opportunity to hear first hand what's on the mind of local amateurs. Some of the topics that came up included the overall state of amateur radio, access to space on commercial radio towers, and local ordinances in parts of the US seeking to limit the allowed height of privately owned radio antennas. Making the trip to St. Thomas with Kramer was John Ellis, NP2B, from St. Croix who serves as ARRL Virgin Islands Section Manager.
On St. Croix, Kramer also got a warm welcome from club members, discussing a variety of things including the use of amateur radio in emergency services. "The local clubs certainly made me feel very welcome, and had plenty to share with me," said Kramer. "It's rare that the hams I meet with are quiet, and the Virgin Island group is no exception," Kramer added.
Kramer plans to share portions of his trip with hams across the globe via ARRL's monthly QST magazine. According to Ellis, group pictures taken in St. Thomas and St. Croix are being used in the February issue of QST, and an article on Kramer's trip and DXing from the Virgin Islands is planned for the March issue of QST. Keep an eye out for both!
Deb Thomas, NP2DJ, Leaving Island
Deborah Thomas, NP2DJ, long-time St. Thomas Club Secretary/Treasurer and ARRL St. Thomas representative, is making the move north to Florida. Fellow hams and many outside of the amateur community will certainly miss Thomas, who has been an integral part of the St. Thomas community and Amateur Club for many years. Thomas has been a club mainstay including being a regular at the Tuesday luncheons. Aside from participating in just about every contesting event held by the group, Thomas has done much to encourage amateur radio membership and participation on the local level.
On behalf of hams from throughout the Virgin Islands who got to know her through amateur radio, best wishes and 73! Thomas says she plans to stay active in amateur radio once she gets established in Florida. We look forward to DXing with her in the not-too-distant future.
RTTY Contesting "Up in the Clouds"
St. Thomas Club members had experience, location, and a few visiting operators on their side when they took part in the ARRL RTTY Round-Up on the weekend of January 2 and 3. They contested from the Qth of Pete Crowther, NP2DZ -- overlooking both sides of St. Thomas, high atop Crown Mountain in Bonne Resolution -- hoping to best last year's score. According to Tom Price, KP2E, it looks like they were successful.
With six operators including visitors from Ohio and Florida, the overall score "was in the upper 98k range and was better than the lower 90k score from last year," said Price. "We don't have the final numbers yet but had more mults and Q's than last year; it was fun!" Operators were Ron Hall, KP2N of Florida; Dennis Conklin, AI8P of Ohio; Deb Thomas, NP2DJ; Pete Crowther, NP2DZ; Tony Arnold, NP2Q and Price, KP2E. Price says he would like to recruit even more operators for next year.
The contest station was operating "multi-operator single station low power" and, according to Price, "hopefully took another winning score for the contest this year. We had a great time with the contest" and also enjoyed one of Crowther's "phenomenal epicurean feasts and Deb's deviled eggs." A great time was had by all.
QCWA Stop a Great Success for Visitors and Locals
When a cruise ship carrying hams from across North America including Canada docked in St. Thomas in late October, local hams were there to offer a welcome and to talk "amateur radio in paradise". The stop was part of the Quarter Century Wireless Association (QCWA) Caribbean cruise. More than 100 members and guests of QCWA -- including former local Ron Hall, KP2N -- spent a good part of the morning at Costa Java Restaurant in Crown Bay swapping stories including hearing what it's like to work DX from this part of the world. The group of visitors -- made up of amateurs who have been licensed 25 years or more -- made the trip aboard the Holland America Line ship, "Eurodam." (For more information on QCWA, go to: http://www.cmh.net/qcwa)
Hams from both the St. Thomas and St. John clubs enjoyed meeting the visiting hams, getting some DXing and equipment tips, and spending a lovely morning with the vacationing amateurs. To the folks we met that morning: come back soon; you are always welcome!
Exam Information
Are you thinking about upgrading your license, or know someone who is preparing to take his or her first licensing exam? To find out about upcoming exam dates, please contact the following individuals:
St. Croix -- Al Rymsha, NP2V, at 340 773-4725.
St. John -- Exams are usually held twice yearly, in the spring and fall. Please contact Mal Preston, NP2L, at 340 693-8782
St. Thomas -- To take an exam, or find out about becoming a Volunteer Examiner, contact Peter Sinkowski, KP2US, at HamTestingVI@yahoo.com
ARRL Calendar 2010
January 23 -- 25 ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes
February 20 -- 21 ARRL International DX Contest (CW)
March 6 - 7International DX Contest -- Phone
June 12 - 14ARRL June VHF QSO Party 19 Kids Day 26 ARRL Field Day
VI Club Meetings
The St. Croix Club meets on the first Saturday of the month at the Deep End Bar at Tamarind Reef Hotel at Green Cay Marina. The group gathers around noon for lunch; an informal meeting begins around 12:30 pm. Contact John Ellis, NP2B, 340-773-9643; np2b@arrl.org (Annual dues are $1 per year.)
St. John Ham (and Eggs) Breakfast -- 9 am, first Sat. of each month; alternates between Cruz Bay and Coral Bay; BYOB (Buy your own breakfast). Contact Paul Jordan, NP2JF, President, St. John Amateur Radio Club, 340 776-6568 reeladventuresstjohn@yahoo.com or George Cline, KP2G 340 693-5137; KP2G@surfcoralbay.com (Annual dues are $5 per year.)
The St. Thomas Club meets every Tuesday at the Hook, Line & Sinker restaurant in Frenchtown, just west of the Seaplane base and the Veterans Drive Post Office. 12 noon to 1 pm. The Club meets in the back room. (Annual dues are $10.00 per year.)
The British Virgin Islands Amateur Radio League meets the fourth Monday of each month at 5 pm at the office of the DDM in Road Town. Anyone with an interest in Amateur Radio is welcome. For more information, contact league secretary Jasen Penn, VP2VJ, at pinniepenn@yahoo.com or call 284-468-4200.
Local Ham Nets
Virgin Islands Weather Net
St. John Repeater (146.63 (-) offset, 100Hz PL); 6:40 am each morning; hams provide local weather conditions. Get to know your fellow hams (and know that your rig is working!)
Local Repeaters
St. Croix Repeater 147.250 (+) offset. No tone required.
St. John Repeater 146.63 (-) offset, 100Hz PL
St. Thomas Repeater 146.81 (-) offset, 100Hz PL
British Virgin Islands Repeater 146.73 (-) offset, 100HZ PL
Southeastern Division contact info:
Director:
Greg Sarratt, W4OZK 912 Pine Grove Rd Harvest, AL 35749 256-337-3636 w4ozk@arrl.org
Vice Director:
Jeffrey Beals,WA4AW PO Box 1584 Loxahatchee, FL 33470-1584 (561) 252-6707 wa4aw@arrl.net
For more information: http://www.southeastern.arrl.org/
Virgin Islands Amateur Radio contact list:
Section Manager
St. Croix
John J. Ellis, NP2B P.O. Box 24492 Christiansted, St. Croix, VI 00824 340-773-9643 np2b@arrl.org
Assistant Section Manager
Malcolm M Preston, NP2L PO Box 1318 Cruz Bay, VI 00831-1318 (340) 340 693-8782 np2l@arrl.net
Alvin F Rymsha, NP2V 96 Judiths Fancy Est # 4018 Christiansted, VI 00820-4407 (340) 773-4725 alvinr26@gmail.com
VI QSL Bureau
Ann Keegan, KP2YL, manager PO Box 25782 Christiansted, VI 00824 340 244-0505 kp2yl@arrl.net
For more information: www.atthehelm.com
Hams in Paradise is compiled by P. Benton, np2mz@arrl.net Please e-mail any Ham-related info you would like included in the next e-letter.
--------------------------------------------
Greetings to all, and thanks to Phyllis for the updated section news!
Welcome to the Virgin Islands page on the ARRL website. Please take time to visit the Virgin islands amateur radio website too, at www.atthehelm.com.
Jeanette NP2C continues to work on the VI section website, look for it at www.atthehelm.com.
The St. Croix Club now has it's station complete and working properly. It is located at Southgate Baptist Church, across from Green Cay Marina where the Club has it's meetings. The rig is a Kenwood TS-140S and an MFJ tuner. An Icom IC-25A serves as the 2M rig. The antenna system on HF consists of a Cushcraft A3S at 30 feet (yup, it's on a tower!!!) and atop that is a Hustler G6 antenna.
A lot of people donated equipment to this project including Dave NP2I, Steve K2OMP, Larry N4FD, Manny NP2KW, the Pina Colada Contest group and even John NP2B.
Now we need to put some hours on it!
The St. Thomas repeater (146.81 MHz) is up and running, actually it has been up and running for some time! It is a brand new repeater. Much of the credit goes to Bernie, NP2W, who basically put it together. It has been upgraded to 60 watts out and it has a controller with a lot of nifty features. You can dial the numbers "929"and it will give you the correct time and date. You can also dial "878", unkey the repeater and it will come up and say "ready". You then have 4 seconds to start talking. When you stop transmitting, it will automatically play your last transmission back to you so you can see how well you are getting into the machine. It works very well, try it!
The St. John and St. Thomas repeaters now require a 100Hz PL (CTCSS) tone. The St. Croix repeater currently does not require the use of a PL tone. Convention here in the VI is that if a repeater goes down, go simplex on the output frequency. That is the frequency everybody will be listening on anyway and when the repeater comes back up, you will know it and can go back to usual duplex repeater operation.
Mal NP2L has taken over the VE licensing operations for St. John while Peter KP2US has taken over the VE operations for St. Thomas. Al NP2V runs them on St. Croix. Mal can be reached at np2l@arrl.net while Peter can be reached at kp2us@yahoo.com. Al can be reached at 340-773-4725. The St. Thomas exam sessions coincide with the Tuesday luncheons at Hook Line and Sinker in Frenchtown. Thank you folks, for picking up the ball and running with it.
The St. John Amateur Radio Club conducts exams for the St. John group, the V.I. Amateur Radio Club conducts them for St. Thomas and the St. Croix ARC does likewise on St. Croix. Exams are generally given on an "as needed" basis, contact the coordinator for your island to schedule a test.
For all exams, applicants must bring the following.
1. Legal photo ID.
2. Social Security number or taxpayer ID (TIN) number if you are a US citizen or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence or US employment. (If possible, non US residents should contact the FCC at (202) 414-1250 or email them at ulscomm@fcc.gov to obtain an Alternate TIN (ATIN) prior to the exam).
3. If upgrading please bring the original and one copy of a) your valid US amateur license and b)completion certificate (CSCE) to claim element credit.
4. Required fee of $14.00.
Also, if you have an FRN number, please use that instead of your social security number on your form 605. If you don't, the FCC will reject your application. Go to the ARRL website (www.arrl.org) for further information.
Please contact Malcolm Preston, NP2L, at (340) 693-8782, if you have any questions on the St. John test sessions, Peter Sinkowski, KP2US, (kp2us@yahoo.com) on St. Thomas for those sessions or Al Rymsha, NP2V at (340) 773-4725 for the same on St. Croix."
Also, please welcome back Phyllis Benton, NP2MZ, our new Public Information Coordinator. She is taking care of distributing news to the various media concerning amateur radio activities in the Territory and the one who puts the first part of this newsletter together.
Section website www.atthehelm.com
e-mail your news to Phyllis (NP2MZ@arrl.net or myself at NP2B@arrl.org
np2b@arrl.org or john.np2b@gmail.com
73, John, NP2B
Responsibility for content of all posted material above rests
exclusively with the item author. ARRL staff assumes no responsibility
for errors, omissions, and accuracy of items appearing on this page. All
questions and comments should be directed to the item author.
