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MDC Section News
Vol. 15, No. 03
Thursday, March 12, 2019
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* MDC SECTION-WIDE ECHOLINK NET FRIDAY MARCH 15TH
* YOUR SECTION MANAGER MOMENT
* UPCOMING HAMFESTS & CONVENTIONS
* RADIO EVENTS, ACTIVITIES AND OPPORTUNITIES
* T-MARC COORDINATION REPORT
* MDC SECTION ARES REPORT
* SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER'S REPORT


==> MDC SECTION-WIDE ECHOLINK NET FRIDAY MARCH 15TH


This month's MDC section-wide EchoLink net will be held on Friday, March 15, 2019 at 8:00 PM ET on the EchoLink *WASH_DC* Node 6154. The MDC Section EchoLink net is always held on the third Friday evening of every month at 8:00 PM eastern local time. Next MDC Section monthly EchoLink Net is scheduled for April 19th.
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If you would like to join in on RF, the following repeaters and IRLPs have linked in for EchoLink nets:

- KA2JAI-R operates through the KB3CMA repeater 442.300(+), PL 107.2 Hz, in Annapolis, MD
- WB3GXW-R, 147.225(+), PL 156.7 Hz, located in Calverton, MD
- N3HF-L, 443.45(+), PL 151.4 Hz, located near Ocean City, MD
- N3HF-R, 443.45(+), PL 156.7 Hz, located near Silver Spring, MD
- W3ICF-R, 146.73(-), PL 141.3 Hz, located near Frederick, MD
- K3CAL-R, 146.985(-), PL 156.7, located near Sunderland, MD
- N3RO-L, 145.545, Simplex, Frederick Co, MD
- W3SMD-L, 147.51, Simplex, St Mary's County, MD
- K3GMR-R 146.61 (-), No PL, Cheverly, MD
- KB3JQQ-L Pikesville, MD
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Repeater owners are encouraged to join our MDC Section EchoLink Net group and link your repeater, soon!
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Find EchoLink App and Nodes in your area at EchoLink.org and FIND EchoLink Linked repeaters online at https://repeaterbook.com/repeaters/feature_search.php?type=EchoLink&state_id=24&band=14 or https://www.echolink.org/links.jsp?lat_deg=39&lat_min=30.0&lat_NS=North&lon_deg=77&lon_min=0.0&lon_EW=West&sel=gridsq&gs=fm19&city=&state=&country=US&d=1

Everyone is encouraged to join in and give any updates on what is happening in your part of the ARRL Maryland-DC Section. If you do not have EchoLink on your Computer, Tablet or Smartphone, you may download the free software from: http://echolink.org/register_data.jsp or your App Store online.

As always, we thank John Creel, WB3GXW, for making the *WASH_DC* EchoLink server and his WB3GXW-R repeater available for the EchoLink nets.


==> SECTION MANAGER MOMENT


MDC Section-wide staff Eye-ball & meeting.
Location will be near Annapolis, MD on Saturday, June 8th from 11:00 until 4 PM.
All MDC Section appointed staff (ASMs etc.) required to participate
Alternate representative by invitation only (Online/Internet Video Conferencing TDB).
The agenda will be published by April 16th.
Send your topics of interest and discussions by March 29th
We use our voices to help others, the future of Amateur Radio is in your hands.
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Please continue your support and JOIN the ARES-Connect Roll Out.
ARES team should get together and plan to 100% on-line participation
ARES® Roll-out the Section ARES® Leaderships, Management and Teams
The new volunteer management system for the Amateur Radio Emergency Service ARES® will allow MDC Section Staff and our ECs, DECs and SEC. ARES® participants sign-up for and log hours.
Your MDC Section staff needs your help and more about this in the coming weeks.
Leaders are encouraged to begin your ARES® EC or MDC Section Staff future.
Contact your SM, SEC or ASM to learn how. Please email your request to KB3MXM@arrl.net
======================

Social Media is driving disaster awareness - join the trend!
Our Twitter is @MDCARRL - https://twitter.com/MDCARRL


73,
Marty, KB3MXM
ARRL MDC Section Manager

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READ MORE > More Mentors Needed for New ARRL Emergency Communications Course Sessions
http://www.arrl.org/news/more-mentors-needed-for-new-arrl-emergency-communications-course-sessions
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==> UPCOMING HAMFESTS & SPECIAL RADIO EVENTS


This is a list of Hamfests in the Maryland-DC Section and nearby Pennsylvania, northern Virginia, West Virginia and Delaware [... and nearby] as a courtesy to our neighboring Section Managers.

Also listed are radio events for communication enthusiasts.

For this month our MDC SM adds On-Air Events. For our section members interested in other types of RF communication, events and activities related to the RF spectrum. Please send your upcoming ARC events, suggestions and comments. Please include our ARC Events. You may view upcoming Hamfests which are being held in the MDC Section and nearby in Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia and northern Virginia area by clicking on either: MDC SECTION Hamfests or the ARRL's Hamfest and Convention Calendar at Convention Calendar

I, as the MDC Section Manager, Marty Pittinger, KB3MXM, and/or a designated ARRL representative(s) will plan to attend all Hamfests in the ARRL Maryland-DC Section.

We hope to see you there and bring a fellow Ham and friends.

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Fredfest '19
Date: Saturday, March 16, 2019, 8AM to 12 PM
Location: Independent Hose Company, 310 Baughmans Ln, Frederick, MD 21701
Sponsor: Frederick Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://frederickarc.org
Talk-In: 146.580
Public Contact: Jeffrey Fishman, KB3FIO, Email: ljfish1@comcast.net
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West Virginia Section Convention (Charleston Hamfest & Computer Show)
Date: Saturday, March 23, 2019
Location: Charleston Civic Center, 200 Civic Center Drive, Charleston, WV 25301 Sponsor: Charleston Hamfest Committee
Website: http://www.w8gk.org
Talk-In: 145.350(-) PL 91.5, W8GK Charleston WV
Public Contact: Rick Cummings, WV8RC, Email: rickwv8rc@gmail.com
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35th Annual Charleston Area Hamfest
2019 ARRL West Virginia Section Convention
Date: Saturday, March 23 from 9 AM to 2 PM
Location: Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center, 200 Civic Center Dr.
Website: https://www.qsl.net/wvsarc/
Talk-in: 145.35(-) PL 91.5 VE exams, DXCC / WAS / VUCC and CQDX card checking.
Public Contact: Rick Cummings, WV8RC, Email: rickwv8rc@gmail.com
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The Vienna Wireless Society Winterfest
Date: Sunday, March 24 from 6 AM [Tailgating] to 1 PM
Location: Northern Virginia Community College Annandale Campus, Richard J. Ernst Cultural Center, 8333 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, VA
Website: http://www.viennawireless.net
Talk-in: 146.910(-) | VE exams, WAS / DXCC / VUCC card checking
Public Contact: Doug, AK4AO
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43rd WINTERFEST
Date: Sunday, March 24, 2019
Location: Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale Campus, Richard J. Ernst Cultural Center, 8333 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, VA 22003
Sponsor: Vienna Wireless Society
Website: http://viennawireless.net/wp/events/winterfest
Talk-In: 146.910(-) PL 77.0, WD5DBC Tyson's Corner, VA
Public Contact: Harry Mamaux, K3NF, Email: k3nf@cox.net
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SJRA 2019 Radio Conference
Date: Sunday, March 24, 2019
Location: The Hotel ML, 915 Route 73, Mount Laurel, NJ 08054
Sponsor: South Jersey Radio Association
Website: http://www.sjra.org
Talk-In: 145.290(-) PL 91.5
Public Contact: Ken Botterbrodt , K2WB, Email: ken@k2wb.com
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VHF Super Conference
Date: Friday, April 26 to Sunday, April 28, 2019
Location: Holiday Inn Washington-Dulles Intl Airport, 45425 Holiday Dr., Sterling, VA 20163
Sponsor: Southeastern VHF Society, North East Weak Signal Group, Mt. Airy VHF Radio Club
Website: https://vhfsuperconference.com/
Talk-In: none
Public Contact: Marjorie, K4MEP, Email: info@directivesystems.com
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York Hamfest
Date: Saturday, April 27, 2019
Location: Elicker's Grove Park, 511 Roth Church Road, Spring Grove, PA 17362
Sponsor: York Hamfest Foundation
Website: http://www.yorkhamfest.org
Talk-In: 147.330+ PL 123.0
Contact: Duane Sterner, KB3QLQ, Email: duane.sterner@yahoo.com
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VHF Super Conference
Date: Friday to Sunday, April 26-28, 2019
Location: Holiday Inn Washington-Dulles Intl Airport, 45425 Holiday Dr., Sterling, VA 20163
Sponsor: Southeastern VHF Society, North East Weak Signal Group, Mt. Airy VHF Radio Club
Website: https://vhfsuperconference.com/
Talk-In: none
Public Contact: Marjorie Price, K4MEP, Email: info@directivesystems.com
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Delaware State ARRL Convention (DELMARVA Radio & Electronics EXPO)
Date: Saturday, April 27, 2019 opens at 7:30AM
Location: CHEER Community Center, 20520 Sand Hill Road, Georgetown, DE 19947
Intersection of Route 9 and Sand Hill Road in Georgetown, Delaware
Sponsor: Sussex Amateur Radio Association
Website: http://www.radioelectronicsexpo.com
Talk-In: 147.090(+) PL 156.7, WS3ARA Millsboro, DE
Public Contact: Herbert Quick, KF3BT, Email: herb@hamiltongraphics.com
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York Hamfest
Date: Saturday, April 27, 2019
Location: Elicker's Grove Park, 511 Roth Church Road, Spring Grove, PA 17362
Sponsor: York Hamfest Foundation
Website: http://www.yorkhamfest.org
Talk-In: 147.330(+) PL 123.0, W3MUM PennMar, PA
Public Contact: Duane Sterner, KB3QLQ, Email: duane.sterner@yahoo.com
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The Great Hagerstown Hamfest
Date: Saturday, May 4, 2019 - 6AM Tailgaters, 7AM Main Building
Location: Washington County Ag-Center, 7313 Sharpsburg Pike, Boonsboro, MD 21713
Sponsor: Antietam Radio Association
Website: https://w3cwc.org/hamfest/
Talk-In: 147.090(+), 146.940 PL 100.0
Public Contact: Herman Niedzielski, K2AVA, Email: k2ava@myactv.net
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Memorial Day Hamfest
Date: Sunday, May 26, 2019
Location: Howard County Fair Grounds, 2210 Fairgrounds Rd, West Friendship, MD 21794
Sponsor: Maryland F.M. Association
Website: http://www.marylandfm.org
Talk-In: Linked Repeaters 146.76(-), 224.76(-), 444.00(+) PL 107.2
Public Contact: John Elgin, WA3MNN, Email: marylandfm@verizon.net
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W4OVH Manassas Hamfest
Date: Saturday, June 15, 2015
Location: Manassas Park Community Center, 9 Adams St., Manassas Park, VA
Sponsor: W4OVH, Ole Virginia Hams
Website: http://manassashamfest.org
Talk-In: 146.97(-) PL 100.0
Contact: Don Meyerhoff, WA2SWX, Email: chairman@manassashamfest.org
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Valley Forge Hamfest
Date: Saturday, July 13, 2019
Location: Kimberton Fire Company Fairgrounds, 762 Pike Springs Rd, Phoenixville, PA 19460
Sponsor: Mid-Atlantic Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://marc-radio.org/
Talk-In: 145.130(-), 147.060(+) PL 131.8
Contact: Jeremy, N2ZLQ, Email: jcarlo@caa.columbia.edu
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CVARC Hamfest
Date: Saturday, July 27, 2019
Location: Cumberland Valley Antique Engine & Machinery Association Showgrounds, 1501 Criders Church Rd, Chambersburg, PA 17201
Sponsor: Cumberland Valley Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://www.w3ach.org/
Talk-In: 147.120(+) PL 100
Public Contact: Ray N3TWU, Email: raysmithequip@hotmail.com
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69th Annual Berryville Hamfest
Date: Sunday, August 4, 2019
Location: Clarke County Ruritan Fairgrounds, 890 West Main St., Berryville, VA 22611
Sponsor: The Shenandoah Valley Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://www.svarc.us/hamfest
Talk-In: 146.820(-) PL 146.2
Contact: Thomas Brownlee, AF2D, Email: af2d@arrl.net
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70th Annual Gabfest
Date: Saturday, August 31, 2019
Location: UARC Clubhouse Property, 433 Old Pittsburgh Rd, Uniontown, PA 15401
Sponsor: Uniontown Amateur Radio Club, Inc.
Website: http://www.w3pie.org
Talk-In: 147.045(+) PL 131.8
Public Contact: Tony, KA3VOR, Email: officers@w3pie.org
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==> RADIO EVENTS, ACTIVITIES AND OPPORTUNITIES


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Technician Class Course -
- 3/30/2019 | Rockville, MD - http://www.arrl.org/courses/rockville-md-20850-10
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Amateur Radio Testing Schedule
http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-session
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Exam Session
- 03/16/2019 | Frederick MD 21702, Sponsor: Frederick Amt Radio Club
- 03/16/2019 | Laurel MD 20707, Sponsor: Laurel ARC (LARC)
- 03/17/2019 | Rockville MD 20850, Sponsor: Montgomery ARC
- 03/26/2019 | Linthicum Heights MD 21090, Sponsor: Maryland Mobileers
- 04/06/2019 | Catonsville MD 21228-4517, Sponsor: Baltimore VE Team
- 04/10/2019 | Fort Washington MD 20744, Sponsor: Fort Washington ARC
- 04/13/2019 | Davidsonville MD 21035, Sponsor: Anne Arundel Radio Club
- 04/20/2019 | Forest Hill MD 21050-2026, Sponsor: Northeast Maryland ARC
- 04/20/2019 | Laurel MD 20707, Sponsor: Laurel ARC (LARC)
- 04/23/2019 | Linthicum Heights MD 21090, Sponsor: Maryland Mobileers
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Look for these radio, educational and science events:
ARRL Event Website: http://www.arrl.org/special_events/search/page:3/model:Event
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Daily posts via MDC Section Twitter @MDCARRL https://twitter.com/MDCARRL
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35th Space Symposium, April 8 to 11, 2019
The Broadmoor Hotel, Colorado Springs, Colorado USA
https://www.spacesymposium.org/
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==> T-MARC COORDINATION REPORT


February 2019
Applications in Process:
AMRAD - Received application for move of 147.2100+ from Herndon to Arlington, VA Sent Notice to neighboring coordinators. Sent Construction Coordination.
AMRAD - Received application for UHF repeater in Arlington, VA Researching for viable pair. Sent notice to neighboring coordinators.
KG4Y - Received application for 220 repeater in Winchester, VA Sent notice to neighboring coordinators. Sent Construction Coordination for 224.9000-
N8RAT - Received application for UHF repeater in Martinsburg, WV Sent notice to neighboring coordinators. Sent Construction Coordination for 441.8500+
Dulles Radio - Received application for 220 pair in Ashburn, VA Sent notice to neighboring coordinators.
N3YMS - Received On-Air confirmation of 449.7250- at Frederica, DE
N3YMS - Received application for narrow band UHF pair at Laurel, DE
N3YMS - Received application for narrow band UHF pair at Hazlettville, DE
N3YMS - Received application for narrow band UHF pair at Princess Anne, MD

Other:
Area Repeater Coordination Council:
Received 1 proposed coordination for 6M
Received 1 proposed coordination for 2M
Received 6 proposed coordinations for 440

South Eastern Repeater Assoc.:
Received 1 proposed coordination for 2M
Received 1 proposed coordination for 440

T-MARC
The Mid-Atlantic Repeater Council
www.tmarc.org

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Your VHF/UHF radio tuned to a local repeater - and you push your PTT switch ?
Do you realize just how much work went into making that simple act work? Various coordinating entities work to harmonize the most efficient and effective use of the spectrum and there are legions of dedicated volunteers to respond whenever the call comes to maintain these repeaters. Hats off to all the radio clubs and folks that bear responsibility and these expenses, as they are by no means trivial. So next time you push your PTT say a little "Thank You ‐ in your mind in recognition of all the hard work that it takes to maintain the system that makes it so easy for us all to communicate."
TU Ken for your welcoming comments.


==> MDC SECTION ARES® REPORT


2019 February MDC SEC Narrative Report

EmComm Events and Comments from around the Section

de Section Emergency Coordinator WB3KAS:

Reporting

Five of the 18 appointed ECs submitted their monthly ARES® County reports this month, or 28%. This can do better than this. How can we improve the desire to provide what is requested by the League regarding you sphere of influence?

Use the fillable pdf ARES-002 (1/17) monthly report form to send me your county activities every month. Download it at:

http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Public%20Service/2017%20Forms/Monthly_DEC-EC_Report.pdf

Save the file in the form as follows: YYYY-MM<4-ltr cnty code> EC Report.pdf and sent it to me. It is important that you follow this convention. This makes it extremely fast and easy for me to do my work.

The time I spend reformatting reports and the file names to match is more time than I have budget for to get a decent looking a report up the food chain. Not in the proper format, I will ignore it and move on to the next one. We still have the two counties that just don't want to comply. They are not included herein this month.

It's extremely important that your constituents hear what is going on relative to EmComm in their community. If nothing more, tell us what meetings you hold, when, where and what repeaters you can be found on. I'd like to hear from the rest of you. At a minimum, tell us the details of where you hold the ARES® meetings; nets you hold, VHF/UHF or HF; any weekend breakfasts or other social gathering.

Two MDC DEC positions (Western, and Eastern) are now filled and would like to have some one step forward and consider heading up the Central DEC position. Make sure you put them on email copy for all that your county correspondence.

There are seven counties that do not having an Emergency Coordinator. They are ALLE, CARO, DORC, KENT, QACO, SOME and WORC. As you can see 6 out of the 7 are on the Eastern Shore and is a grave concern from a Wx perspective. They dodged a bullet this time with Florence, but what about the next one?
I say this every month because this is gravely important this time of year. If you live in any of these counties, please consider getting involved with emergency communications and sign up to assist the hospitals in your area. Contact me for more information at wb3kas at arrl.net.

In the future, selected County ECs will be dismissed due to inactive required monthly reporting and neglecting to respond to SEC emails. It is important that we hear your commitment to supporting your community.

SEC Presentations

February 19: Conducted an Introduction to Winlink 2000 presentation to the Frederick County ARES® and ARC. Much enthusiasm and excitement abound during the discussion.

If your Group is interested in getting started with Winlink 2000, or perhaps a refresher session, please let know.

Wanda, KA3AHI, and I continue to schedule visit to as many ARES® and club groups as possible. We have two presentations I think would be worth your while to hear. One on Section Interoperability and the other is the Section Health Care EmComm Program. If you have interest in this, and have room on your meeting agenda for us, please contact me. I have an Introduction Winlink 2000 Lecture and a Winlink Class where we get you set up to run Winlink Telnet and obtain a Winlink account- - -all for free!

MDC Section Reflectors

We introduced a new MDC Section reflector, ARRL MDC Section Winlink Training Group for P2P and Hybrid networks, or MDCQRV for short. Please make use of this tool to sharpen skills and fine tune your configuration files. Located at: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/MDCQRV/info.

The new ARRLMDCSection Yahoo Reflector is now available. If you are not a member. . .you should be!! I encourage you to use this to stay informed or keep in-touch with the rest of your fellow ARES® members. With the wide distribution of this newsletter coming out only once a month, this Yahoo Site will keep you up to date with late breaking news, including a possible disaster call up. There is very little traffic to clog your in box.

I don't know if all the DECs and ECs are subscribed to the Yahoo Reflector. If you are not, please do. This is going to be the quickest way possible to inform MDC Section ARES® of current incidents and impending disasters. Please do it now.

You can join at: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/ARRLMDCSECTION/info.
======================
Meetings and Gatherings

Met with a rep from the Greater Bay Region Red Cross in preparation for their combined Red Cross/ARES Drill on March 2. Details of the event in next month's Section Newsletter.

======================
Future Events:

Red Cross/ARES Drill March 2

======================
de CALV County N3AE

The topic for our February 19th meeting was ideas for the 2019 SET scenario (assuming there are no SET plans for the entire MDC region). A wide-ranging discussion ensued. While we didn't firm up any definitive plans for a local SET, we did agree to concentrate on using 10m and 6m simplex during any local SET exercise this year. Subsequent to the meeting, we decided to start a message round robin using Winlink gateways on HF/VHF/UHF. The plan is for the EC to initiate a message which the recipient will send to the next station on a predefined list of stations. Eventually the message will be returned to the EC. The intent is to practice Winlink message handling and not to have a speed test on how quickly the message can make the circuit. We plan to kick off this activity in early March.

Our monthly meetings are the third Tuesday of the month, 7:30 PM, at the Calvert Services Building unless notified otherwise. The monthly meeting may be replaced by a net or a practice exercise from time to time.

==================
de CECI County KB3LJB

February 2019 ARES® activities in Cecil County consisted mostly of participation in the weekly Sunday evening ARES Nets held at 2000 (8:00 pm) on the CBRA 146.850 repeater in Port Deposit, MD. Because of involvement in Super Bowl festivities by the scheduled NCS, we had only 3 Nets this month. We did add another volunteer to our ARES group. A hearty Welcome goes out to Kevin, K3KJA.

CBRA monthly meetings are held at Mason-Dixon American Legion Post 194 in Rising Sun on the third Tuesday each month at 7:00 pm. All are welcome to attend.

The WA3SFJ-R EchoLink Node 585690 is back up and working well, thanks to Mark, N3MRK.

We have a dedicated bunch of VEs who conduct test sessions on the first Saturday of almost every other month. These test sessions are given at the Mason-Dixon American Legion Post 194 in Rising Sun, MD. Our next ARRL VE session is scheduled for March 2, 2019. Contact me at KB3LJB@ARRL.NET for details on upcoming test sessions.

==================
de WASH County NI2W

Two ARES nets were held this month. One VHF analog and one UHF Fusion. Planning continues to support the 2019 Hagerstown Area Religious Council (HARC) C&O Canal Charity hike, the Ft. Ritchie Triathlon and the annual JFK 50 Mile run.

======================
de PRGE County WB3KAS:

PRGE ARES Web Page: http://www.pgares.org
PRGE ARES Internet Forum: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PG-AresRaces/

Nets: Regularly scheduled monthly training VHF nets on the K3ERA Repeater, 145.23MHz pl 110.9 on Tuesdays at 1930L and EchoLink node KA3POX-L. The monthly HF Hospital Net is held the Wednesday following the third Monday of the month on 3820kHz at 1900L. NCS rotates.

Meetings: Monthly meeting held the 3rd Monday of the month at the Fire Services Building, 6820 Webster St, Landover Hills, MD at 1930.

440 Freq Coord through TMARC HAS BEEN APPROVED 442.3250(+) Tone 110.9Hz. Controller s/w program has been ordered programming has been initiated. Not as easy as we thought it would be; awaiting answers to questions in order to proceed.

Mar 23: BSA/SAR Training with ARES at American Legion Youth Camp, Cheltenham, MD

K3ERA 2m Repeater EchoLink is now on the air via KA3POX-L Node 896210. As Mikey would say, "Try it, you'll like it. "

=====================
de KA3AHI MDC Section ASM for the Health Care EmComm Program:

Conducted the 2019 First Quarterly Hospital Drill January 3. They held the first Thursday of the calendar quarter, with next one on April 4. If you are interested in being a part of it, either over the air or as a visitor to one of the six in the county, contact me at ka3ahi@arrl.net

Reports from the Maryland Medical Region 5 indicate a very ambitious hospital exercise season with slight possibility of an overlapping exercise the same day and one that follows several days later.

HF Hospital Net are conducted on Wednesday following the third Monday of the month on 3820kHz +/- at 1900L. So, give us a hollar! If you don't hear us look downstream 5-8 kHz.

I'd like to hear more check-ins from our MDC Section.

Next HF Hospital Net is Mar 20 with Chuck, AB3NA as NCS and Apr 17. . .same time, same station! NCS assignment varies.
======================

Signature: Jim Montgomery
Call sign: WB3KAS
Maryland-DC SEC
Email: wb3kas@arrl.net
Please send to ARRL HQ, 225 Main St., Newington, CT 06111 by 10th of the month
FSD-96 (1-04)


==> SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER'S REPORT


FEBRUARY 2019

MDC NTS NETS:
MEPN 1901 W3YVQ QND/31 QNI/486 QTC/44 MINS/744
BTN 1901 AB3WG QND/31 QNI/374 QTC/27 MINS/477
MDD 1901 AA3SB QND/59 QNI/245 QTC/69 MINS/535
MSN 1901 W8CPG QND/31 QNI/118 QTC/25 MINS/567

PSHR: WB4FDT 140, KK3F 140, W3CB 139, W3YVQ 135, NI2W 112, K3IN 110, AA3SB 100, N3JET 97, WB3FTQ 73, AB3WG 59, KB3LFG 15
TFC: KK3F 1734, WB4FDT 324, K3IN 188, W3YVQ 56, AA3SB 49, N3JET 32, W3CB 24, WB3FTQ 23, NI2W 22, AB3WG 19, KB3LFG 0

===============
HF PROPAGATION


MEPN: The winter schedule propagation was functional throughout JAN, 2019, with good signals until well after 1700L. Outbound traffic to MDD may be routed via the Digital Traffic Net if it is anticipated that MDD may not be able to conduct a net, a tricky prediction at best; or may be carried by the MDD liaison to an MDD EchoLink session, if held, for DTN; or outbound traffic may be sent to one of the MDC DTS stations via WL2K (as advised by the MDD NM) if MDD fails.

MDD: NVIS propagation for local MDC stations on MDD early and late, and on RRI/3RN/C4 nets, was nearly or totally non-existent for many evenings in JAN, 2019. On some of those nights the propagation recovered enough by 2130L 3RN and/or 2200L late MDD for net sessions to be run. On a number of nights, the NVIS propagation was functional for all four nets, on others it failed for all. Outbound traffic may be posted via WL2K to one of the MDC DTS stations as advised by the MDD NM if the net fails. If 3RN fails and the MDD rep cannot go to RRIE, the outbound traffic may be posted with one of the MDC DTS stations as advised by the MDD NM.

As we watch the days get longer since the solstice, we are beginning to see a slow change due to the time of sunset at altitude but the solar activity is not supporting 80m NVIS propagation well after dark on many nights. It was interesting to note that on some nights when the NVIS MUF was below MDD frequency we were still able to run the nets due to a residual active E layer which persisted for a number of hours after dark.

EchoLink on WB3GXW-L may also be used to coordinate the movement of traffic to Digital Traffic Net liaisons, or such traffic may be sent to such stations via WL2K for posting that night or the following morning for daytime distribution nation-wide. 160m at 1857 kHz +/- may also be used as an alternative as notified by the NM or NCS. Moving traffic by DTN HF PacTor is still an on-air activity for SAR reporting. Moving traffic via Winlink between stations or to DTN hubs is permitted and may be done via radio on HF or Packet, or via internet on one or both ends if necessary. Email may be used when no other paths are available. Only the radio paths qualify for SAR points.

These are solar minimum issues being experienced by nets all over the country. Work-arounds similar to ours are in force for many nets. Sunspot activity continued to decline with many spotless days. This is expected to continue in 2019.

BTN LOCAL NTS TRAFFIC AND TRAINING NET
The BTN continues to meet on 145.33/R (no tone) daily at 6:30PM local time and continues to welcome new amateurs. The availability of an active directed traffic net of the NTS on VHF is exactly why the BTN was established, providing a welcoming place for newcomers to the Amateur Service. Thanks to all the BTN stations checking into the MEPN via EchoLink.

MEPN/MDD/3RN ECHOLINK
MEPN representatives check for EchoLink check-ins starting at net call daily via the WB3GXW-L link node (or *WASH_DC* conference node backup if the -L node is not available). A number of BTN and MEPN members, as well as stations outside the area, have used EchoLink to check in when HF is not available to them. MDD operators are also welcome. Thanks to all. WB3GXW has kindly given permission for the MDD and 3RN operators to coordinate message handling on the WB3GXW-L conference bridge as needed during this solar minimum period.

MSN CW TRAINING
Remember that the MSN provides CW training daily for newcomers to the mode, or those wishing to refresh their skills, daily at 7:30 PM on 3563 kHz. Each trainee works with an assigned instructor off the net frequency to receive radiograms containing training information. Instructors work with each student at their own desired speed and check-in schedule. All are encouraged to master the art of CW via this net or personal training in order to support and join the ranks of our MDD Section CW net. Robin, AA3SB, MDD NM, and the veteran staff, will be glad to help you advance to the evening CW full Cycle 4 RRI.
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Thanks to all the Section traffic net NCS stations, DTN/RRI and WL2K stations, liaisons, and traffic handlers for the continuing effort to keep the nets running and traffic moving.

Thank you for your continued support of MDC integrated ARES®, RRI, and NTS operations.

73, W3YVQ, MDC ASM, STM
w3yvq atsign arrl dot net
w3yvq atsign winlink dot org from WL2K

/EX


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The "Maryland-DC Section News" is published monthly by the ARRL Maryland-DC Section Manager Marty Pittinger, KB3MXM, 4 Pegram Rd, Owings Mills, MD 21117-2116; landline 443-326-1783.

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L2W7VB1