ARRL NC Section Newsletter - December, 2015
Posted Jan 5, 2016
Happy New Year from Karl W4CHX, your ARRL NC Section Manager!
HR 1301 AMATEUR RADIO PARITY ACT OF 2015 (UPDATE) - As of January
2nd, HR 1301 has 116 co-sponsors, including 5 Representatives from
North Carolina: David Price (D-NC-4); Walter Jones, Jr (R-NC-3);
Patrick McHenry (R-NC-10); David Rouzer (R-NC-7); and, Renee Elmers
(R-NC-2). Source:
S 1685 AMATEUR RADIO PARITY ACT OF 2015 (UPDATE) - In June 2015, S
1685 Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 was introduced in the US Senate.
The wording in S 1685 and HR 1301 are identical. Senator Roger F.
Wicker (R-MS) introduced S 1685 into the US Senate. As of January 2nd,
there are 3 co-sponsors: Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), the original
co-sponsor of the Bill; Senator Al Franken (D-MN); and Senator Jerry
Moran (R-KS). Source:
2015 ROANOKE DIVISION ARRL SERVICE AWARD (DEADLINE, 1/15) -
Nominations are being accepted for the 2015 Roanoke Division ARRL
Service Award. The Award was instituted in 1968 by then Roanoke
Division Director Vic Clark, W4KFC (SK). Vic W4KFC (SK) intended the
Award to be recognition for a long history of significant and
consistent contributions to amateur radio. The amateur selected would
have, over the years, dedicated much of his/her time to amateur radio
and the ARRL. Nominations and resumes are encouraged and accepted from
the ARRL members in the Roanoke Division. Winners of the Roanoke
Division ARRL Service Award become members of the selection committee
and vote on subsequent nominees. An individual may receive the Award
only once. The Award is administered by the Roanoke Division Director.
Please contact Dr. James Boehner, N2ZZ, Roanoke Division Vice Director
at
REMINDER! 2016 ARRL FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM IS NOW OPEN
(DEADLINE, 1/31) - The ARRL Foundation is currently accepting
applications from eligible radio amateurs pursuing higher education.
In 2016, more than 80 scholarships will be awarded with amounts ranging
from $500 to $5,000. One applicant will be selected for the prestigious
William R. Goldfarb Memorial Scholarship, which is presented to a high
school senior pursuing a degree in business, computers, medical,
nursing, engineering, or science. The application window will close at
11:59 PM EST, January 31, 2016. Transcripts must be received by
Thursday, February 18, 2016. For further information, see
REMINDER! ARRL INVITING NOMINATIONS FOR SIX AWARDS (DEADLINES, MARCH
- APRIL, 2016) - The ARRL is inviting nominations for six (6)
awards honoring excellence in amateur radio. The awards include: 1)
the Hiram Percy Maxim Award, which honors a young amateur radio
operator; 2) the ARRL Herb S. Brier Instructor of the Year Award; 3)
the ARRL Microwave Development Award; 4) the ARRL Technical Service
Award; 5) the ARRL Technical Innovation Award; and, the Knight
Distinguished Service Award. For further information on these awards
and others, the nomination procedures, and deadlines, see
AUXILIARY COMMUNICATIONS (AuxComm) COURSE TO BE OFFERED IN CONJUNCTION
WITH ORLANDO HAMCATION 2016 (2/9-11) - The Office of Emergency
Communications, Department of Homeland Security will be offering their
Auxiliary Communications (AuxComm) Course on February 9-11, 2016 in the
Orlando, FL area. More than 1,200 amateur radio operators in the US
have taken the course. The purpose of the AuxComm course is train
qualified amateur radio operators to assist local, county, and state
government with ICS-compliant emergency backup communications, if
requested. Registration for the AuxComm course is now open. Please
note that applicants must meet all course prerequisites; and, only
students with pre-approved registration will be allowed to attend the
AuxComm course. The course is limited to 40 students. For further
information, see
NORTH CAROLINA QSO PARTY (2/28) - The North Carolina QSO Party,
sponsored by Raleigh Amateur Radio Society, will be held on Sunday,
February 28, 2016, from 1000 EST to 2000 EST. For further information,
see
ARRL NATIONAL PARKS ON THE AIR 2016 - The ARRL National Parks On The
Air is QRV! Help the National Park Service (NPS) celebrate its 100th
anniversary by activating NPS units, promoting the NPS, and
demonstrating amateur radio to the public via participation in this
operating event! For information on rules, answers to frequently asked
questions, activator tips, NPOTA documents, answers to basic questions
from NPS employees, the Leaderboard, list of NPOTA units, merchandise,
NPOTA on social media, and latest news, see
REMINDER! UPCOMING DXPEDITIONS -
Early January 2016: Antipodes Island (ZL9A), see
JAMBOREE ON THE AIR (JOTA) PARTICIPATION DIPS FOR THIRD YEAR - Scout
participation in Jamboree On The Air (JOTA) for 2015 declined 8 percent
from 2014, even though there was little change in the number of
registered stations and station reports. Since only 208 of 346 (60%)
of registered stations filed a station report, the overall activity may
have been higher. In 2015, twenty-two (22) stations were registered for
JOTA participation in the NC Section. For further information, see
LICENSING CLASSES -
Raleigh (NC): Technician licensing class, January 16 to February 6,
2016, sponsored by Raleigh Amateur Radio Society, contact Murray
Merner, K4MHM by phone at (919) 803-7973 or by email at k4mhm at arrl
dot net for further information.
Kenansville (NC): Technician licensing class, January 21-24, 2016,
sponsored by Duplin Emergency Communications Alliance Inc, contact
Robert Steen, N7ZKO by phone at (910) 285-5745 or by email at deca dot
info15 at gmail dot com; or, contact Michael Pratt, KK4VBH, by phone at
(570) 768-6629 or by email at kk4vbh at yahoo dot com for further
information. As of January 4th, this information was not posted on the
ARRL website.
Goldsboro (NC): General licensing class, January 26 to March 1, 2016,
sponsored by Wayne County Amateur Radio Association, contact Peter
Wene, WA5T by phone at (919) 440-2937 or by email at pete at wene dot
net for further information.
Wilkesboro (NC): Technician licensing class, February 1 to April 11,
2016, sponsored by Foothills Amateur Radio Club, contact Dave Ritter,
ND4MR by phone at (336) 838-6124 or by email at david dot ritter at
wilkescc dot edu for further information.
Gastonia (NC): Technician licensing class, February 13, 2016, sponsored
by Greater Gaston Radio Society, contact Tony Jones, N4ATJ by phone at
(704) 827-2138 or by email at n4atj at bellsouth dot net for further
information. To find upcoming classes, go to
MEDIA HITS AND REPORTS - The following media hits and reports are
included in this month's newsletter:
On amateur radio operators John (KJ4EJH) and Janice (KJ4JPE) Hopkins;
and, SKYWARN Recognition Day 2015, see
On Pender County ARES, see
On Gaston County Amateur Radio Society providing assistance to the
community, see
On the Foothills Community Workshop (Granite Falls) and amateur radio,
see
On SKYWARN Recognition Day 2015 at NWS Newport, see
The following report on SKYWARN Recognition Day 2015 was received from Janice Hopkins, KJ4JPE: "Skywarn Recognition Day 2015 was a very successful day for Newport Skywarn! Hal Austin NC4HA sent us our results for contacts with NWS Offices - 21. The office gets the Supercell Thunderstorm Certificate. Hal, a meteorologist at NWS Newport, gave tours of the facility and answered all questions that we all had. John Cole, NWS Newport Chief Coordinating Meteorologist, conducted a basic spotter training session and ten new spotters will receive their numbers soon! More than 20 Hams attended the festivities, and worked the radios on 20 meters and IRLP. We all put the face to the mic and had a great time. Carteret County Amateur Radio Society even had their Emergency Communications Trailer there for our use, also. Many thanks to them. My best contacts on IRLP were NWS Raleigh NC and NWS Miami FL, National Hurricane Center, along with 10 others! John Hopkins, KJ4EJH, Newport Skywarn EC, introduced folks, answered questions, and generally had a very successful SRD 2015! 73, Janice KJ4JPE." Thanks to Janice Hopkins, KJ4JPE, Newport SKYWARN AEC and ARRL-trained Public Information Officer, for providing this report!
The following report was received from Janice Hopkins, KJ4JPE: "To all, Here is the article with photo in Sunday's Carteret County News Times! Thank you to all of you who helped make this Skywarn Recognition Day 2015 so wonderful! One correction to article - we made 21 contacts together - Lee Lannoye WA9AOE, Richard Parrott KM6DH, and Janice Hopkins KJ4JPE. 73, Janice KJ4JPE." Note: an online link to the article could not be located. Thanks to Janice Hopkins, KJ4JPE, an ARRL-trained Public Information Officer, for providing this report!
The following report was received from Ralph Wallio, W0RPK: "ARRL
Members in our North Carolina Section may be interested: John Brier,
KG4AKV, of Raleigh NC, documents his OSCAR operations with composite
video productions. His "Space Comms Trailer January 2016", and
following videos are available via
The following report from Ed Kuebert, K5EK was forwarded by Bill Morine, N2COP: "2 Meter Repeater 145.130 (-0.600). HI: As many of you know I have been working to put up a local repeater in the Southport/St. James area for the past few months. Good things come to those who are patient - not one of my few virtues. Over the holidays Yaesu delivered the DR-1X I ordered. It is up and running (20 watts output) on the coordinated frequency of 145.13 MHz (-0.600). It is an analog/digital FM repeater running in what is known as the Auto/Auto Mode, which means that the output mode follows the input. So if you should hear a bunch of strange tones when listening just key your mic, identify, and ask the station to switch to analog (normal) FM. The tones are Yaesu's brand of digital communications known as C4FM. Note: this is not the same as Icom's digital signal (D-STAR). My long-term goal is to run this in the digital mode, but in the interim I will use either Auto/Auto or Auto/FM (analog FM output regardless of the input). No tone is needed for access. The output includes a 100 HZ tone so you can use tone squelch if you like. I anticipate that there will be many changes as I learn more about operating a repeater. The repeater will be off the air during lightning storms and/or other times when I would typically crank down my tower and disconnect the antennae. I had a lot of help, encouragement and advice putting this on the air and I want to thank N2MH, Mark; KD4GHL, Thomas; N4JDW, David; NI4SR, Stephen; K7BV, Dennis; K4EZ, Mike; and, many others who provided guidance, parts, coordination and lots of encouragement. This is a new learning experience for me and I appreciate all the help. Please feel free to use the repeater when you are in the area, and please let others know about it. I'd appreciate your feedback/comments so I can improve the service in the future. Happy New Year!!! Ed, K5EK." Thanks to Ed Kuebert, K5EK, Secretary, Brunswick Shores Amateur Radio Club, for providing this great resource to Hams in southeastern NC and northeastern SC; and, to Bill Morine, N2COP, Roanoke Division Vice Director, for forwarding this information!
NTS SECTION TRAFFIC REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 2015 - QNI (total check-ins): 1,843; Total messages passed: 557. Station Activity Reports (SARs), total number: K4IWW 304, WK4WC 182, W4DNA 172, KC4PGN 148, WB4ZIQ 106, AK4RJ 97, W4TTO 75, W4EAT 72, KJ4JPE 61, KE4AHC 36, KW4EMG 36, KM4HSO 23. Public Service Honor Roll (PSHR), total number: KW4EMG 231, W4DNA 150, KJ4JPE 140, WB4ZIQ 135, WK4WC 135, K4IWW 130, KK4LGM 101, W4TTO 100, KM4HXX 96, AK4RJ 90, KM4HSO 63. Thanks to all stations for participating in NC Section traffic activities; and, to Dave Roy, W4DNA, Section Traffic Manager, for providing this information!
REMINDER! NET CONTROL STATIONS NEEDED FOR TARHEEL EMERGENCY NET - The
Tar Heel Emergency Net (THEN) is the North Carolina ARES net on the HF
bands. It is on the air every evening at 7:30 PM local time on 3.923
MHz. The purposes of the THEN are to provide emergency communications,
provide training in net operations, serve as a forum for discussion, and
promote fellowship among radio amateurs. Presently, additional Net
Control Stations are needed. If you are involved in ARES - NC
AUXCOMM activities, would like to participate in net operations, and
improve your operating skill please consider becoming a Net Control
Station for the THEN. For further information, see
SILENT KEYS - With deep regret, the passing of the following amateur radio operators is reported: George M. Allard, KE4WUJ (SK) of Sunset Beach; Robert Yates Hamrick, Jr, WA4RH (SK) of Manning, SC; Warren Robert Potter, W2GFJ (SK) of Franklin; Edgar Ernest ("Ed") Powell III, KF4AY (SK) of Lowgap, NC; George C. Richards, Jr, WA4EKJ (SK) of Raleigh; and, David D. Wager, W4JKU (SK) of Richlands. Please note it is not possible to post information about an amateur radio operator that has become a Silent Key without confirmation via a copy of an obituary or death certificate.
SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS -
March 12-13: Battle of Guilford Courthouse - 235th Anniversary,
1300Z-1900Z, N4G, Greensboro, NC. Greensboro Amateur Radio Association.
21.325 14.325 7.235. QSL. N4G Special Event Station, GARA, PO Box 7054,
Greensboro, NC 27417. DSTAR REF054C. This event is NPOTA activation
(MP-04). Request SASE for QSL.
UPCOMING HAMFESTS AND CONVENTIONS -
January 9: Winston-Salem FirstFest, Forsyth Amateur Radio Club,
Winston-Salem, NC, see