Show Menu

NORTH CAROLINA SECTION NEWS - December, 2011

Posted Dec 23, 2011

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year to all.

NET SCHEDULES FOR THE HOLIDAYS: In keeping with tradition, the Tar Heel Emergency Net (THEN) which meets daily at 7:30 PM on 3923 KHz. will not be on the air Dec. 24 or 25, but will return next Monday the 26th. If you haven't checked into the THEN lately, join us. Details at: https://www.ncarrl.org/nets/THEN/index.html The five section wide National Traffic System (NTS) nets will meet at their usual times over the Holidays. Take a few minutes to check into these nets and meet some new friends. Times and frequencies at https://www.ncarrl.org/nets/nc_nts_nets.html

DOUBLE CHECK THAT NEW HT - Many new Handie-Talkies (HTs) are becoming available at extraordinarily low prices, with some below $100. For the money, these units are an amazing value. If you have one of these new HTs or expect one in your stocking this season, take a couple of minutes to test its output. ARRL's laboratory found that some early production units from new companies offering HTs had second harmonics on two meters. That would place a signal in the 292-296 MHz range, which is allocated primarily for commercial mobile use. If you find your HT producing harmonics, contact the manufacturer. You may need to place a band pass or low pass filter on the output.

MEDIA HITS - Lots of media hits since the last section newsletter. Ever wonder about tower climbers who install repeater equipment for us and maintain commercial gear too? The WRAL-TV blog from Raleigh has a nice profile of Murray Adams, WA4DAN, of Adams Tower Services, including a slide show of what it's like to be thousands of feet in the air. Check out the story at http://www.wral.com/wral-tv/blogpost/10452048 Congratulations to the Columbus County Amateur Radio Society for the recent story on the club in the Whiteville News Reporter. You can see the article at: http://whiteville.com/articles/2011/12/20/news/doc4eef7e95a2753615214712.txt Newport SKYWARN had an article in the Jacksonville Daily News about its participation in SKYWARN Recognition Day on December 3rd. Story at http://www.jdnews.com/news/newport-98056-operators-radio.html Finally, the Chapel Hill Herald ran a story on John Poulton, K4OZY. John is an Adjunct Professor of Computer Science at the University of North Carolina. The piece focused on John's hobby of collecting and restoring "boat anchors".

LICENSING CLASSES - Technician classes beginning January 15, Skyland Fire Dept.; January 23, Wilkes Co. Community College. Details at http://www.arrl.org/find-an- amateur-radio-license-class Note: if your club is offering a licensing class, please register it at www.arrl.org/register-a-new-license-class

HAMFESTS - January 14, FirstFest, Winston-Salem, Summit School Eagles Nest 2100 Reynolda Road, Talk-In 146.64 (PL 100.0) Details: http://www.w4nc.com/ws_firstfest_2012.htm

NTS NOVEMBER SECTION TRAFFIC REPORT - QNI (total check-ins) 3322 (down 1% over September). TOTAL MESSAGES PASSED 705 (down 170 or 19%). STATION ACTIVITY REPORTS (SARs) K4IWW 314, W2EAG 226, W4DNA 225, WK4P 169, KB3LR 132, W3HL 82, KJ4JPE 61, K4JUU 54, N2RTF 54, W4TTO 42, KE4AHC 36, NC4VA 19, KK4ANZ 15, KC4PGN 13, KA4IZN 9. PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) NC4VA 211, KA4IZN 154. W4DNA 140, WK4P 135, K4IWW 130, K4JUU 120, N2RTF 110, W2EAG 110, W4TTO 100, KJ4JPE 80, KK4ANZ 44. Apologies to Herb Lacey, W3HL, whose reports in the last two newsletters were inadvertently omitted.

SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS, PUBLIC SERVICE AND SKs - None known

LAST WORD - New Year's Resolutions. This year, try one which you can stick to and have fun: get on the air every day. Even I admit that I'm not on every single day, but I am taking inspiration from John Shannon, K3WWP. John has made at least one QSO every single day since August 5, 1994. In that time he has logged over 53,000 QSOs. His riveting article appears in the latest issue of The Keynote, the magazine of FISTS, the International Morse Preservation Society. John feels his daily regimen has made him a better operator, with most of his contacts on QRP using modest antennas. Most of us lead busy lives with tugs from family, work and other commitments. My wife attended a church retreat many years ago in which the speaker said you need to be good to yourself once a day with an activity what means something to you. Why not make a daily QSO your "me" activity for 2012? You may just find you'll become a better operator for it. Happy New Year to you and your families.

73, Bill Morine N2COP

Follow the North Carolina section on www.ncarrl.org and on Facebook at NC ARRL