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NORTH CAROLINA SECTION NEWS - July 2012

Posted Jul 28, 2012

MORE MEDIA HITS FROM FIELD DAY - This year, Field Day produced a bumper crop of media hits for North Carolina clubs. Here are more which surfaced after the June section newsletter: Clay County ARES was covered in the Clay County Progress and on WACF-FM; Union Co. ARS appeared in the Monroe Enquirer Journal; Blue Ridge ARC had stories in the Hendersonville Times-News and the newspaper's website www.blueridgenow.com; Stanly County ARC was in the Stanly News & Record and on the paper's website www.thesnaponline.com; Isothermal ARC appeared in the Forest City Daily Courier and its website www.thedigitalcourier.com, and the Carteret County ARS had coverage on New Bern ABC affiliate WCTI-TV featuring Skip Waters, the station's Chief Meteorologist and long time Downeast TV personality.

KEEPING THE TRADITION OF PAPER QSLs ALIVE - In the extreme southwestern corner of our state in the little town of Horse Shoe lives Bob Green, W8JYZ. Bob runs Old QSLs Cards, a non-profit effort with two goals - to reunite old QSL cards to Hams or their heirs, and to preserve the heritage of QSL cards. He has almost 40,000 cards in his collection, some going back to the 1920s. Take a look at Bob's website at www.oldqslcards.com and browse to see the cards of family, friends and Elmers. Many of these cards are for sale for modest fees, and proceeds from their sale help to add and preserve to the collection for future generations.

DIY - Most of us know this means "Do It Yourself". In Ham Radio, we know this under terms such as "Homebrew", "Roll-Your-Own" and "Kit-Building". In the world of electronic hobbyists, DIY is a movement covering anything in the fields of computer and robotic experimentation. For many of these budding innovators, they are seeking an outlet for wireless applications for their work, and they become excited when they learn what they can do with an Amateur Radio license. The MakerFaire initiative across the U.S. has confirmed that these experimenters are kin to us, and want to be recruited into the ranks of Ham Radio. An effort is underway in the Triangle to field a team of volunteers who will be willing to staff and exhibit at the June, 2013 MakerFaire exhibition in Raleigh, and to get a commitment from area clubs to agree to welcome and Elmer prospects from the event. ARRL has available fliers, a PowerPoint presentation and an 8 minute video on DIY as it relates to Ham Radio. The video makes a great club program. You can find all this material at http://www.arrl.org/diy Next to emergency communications, the theme of experimentation and innovation through DIY is the most popular topic with the general public, and is especially attractive to educators who are looking for programs to support the budding STEM initiative in schools of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

HAMFESTS - July 28, WCARS Hamfest, Haywood Co. Fairgrounds, Waynesville. Talk-In 146.91 (PL 91.5); August 4, Cape Fear ARS Swapfest, Methodist College, Fayetteville. Talk-In 146.91 (PL 100.0); September 1-2, Shelby Hamfest, Biggerstaff Park, Dallas. Talk-In 146.88

PUBLIC SERVICE - August 15, Carolina Cycling Time Trials, Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord. More information at www.ridemaps.com; August 18, Blue Ridge Brutal Bike Race, West Jefferson. More information, contact Adam Lawler, WK4P at wk4p@arrl.net

SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS - August 18-19, Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend, W1S, Pinehurst, NC. Friends of Sequin Island. SSB and CW on 40 through 10 meters.

NTS JUNE SECTION TRAFFIC REPORT - QNI (total check-ins) 3133, TOTAL MESSAGES PASSED 721. STATION ACTIVITY REPORTS (SARs) W4DNA 282, W2EAG 263, K4IWW 231, KJ4RUD 120, WK4P 97, WB4ZIQ 89, KJ4JPE 52, W4TTO 52, W3HL 47, AK4RJ 40, KE4AHC 38, KC4GPN 36, N2RTF 26, KA4IZN 19. PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) KJ4JPE 290, KA4IZN 259, WK4P 155, K4IWW 150, W2EAG 140, W4DNA 135, W4TTO 135, WB4ZIQ 120, K4JUU 115, N2RTF 96, AK4RJ 81, KJ4RUD 80.

SILENT KEYS - We regret to report the passing of Ronald Zuback, WE4RON, of Cary; Scott Chandler, KD4ELB, of Aberdeen; James McRight, KB4BZ, of Raleigh; Michael Gingell, KN4BS, of Raleigh, and the former trustee of North Carolina State University's station, W4ATC, Grover "Doc" Cobb, W4YZX, of Raleigh.

QUA* - Welcome back to Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH. To those of us who are responsible, rule abiding Hams, Riley was our hero when he was the FCC's Special Counsel for Amateur Radio in the Enforcement Bureau from 1998 to 2008. Riley acquired the image of wearing a 10 gallon white Stetson as he rode the airwaves chasing away bad guys and marauders. The Ham Radio world seemed more orderly under Riley's watch, and many of us miss him very much in that role. Well, Riley has resurfaced in CQ magazine under a column called "Riley's Ramblings", which debuted in the July issue. Ever the modest diplomat, Riley explains how today's enforcement environment faces constraints that even he wouldn't be able to overcome. More importantly, he tells how most offenders aren't new Hams, but old timers. As Section Manager, I get to investigate and adjudicate squabbles and misunderstandings, and Riley's correct, almost every accusation and transgression in which I become involved relates to Hams who have been licensed more than 10 years. Needless to say, such behavior from established Hams who should know better doesn't set a good example for new licensees. Furthermore, we have a legion of Official Observers (OOs) who are trained as volunteers to offer recommendations to operators on improving their on-air performance if they stray from good operating procedures. Rather than accepting OO reports which are meant to keep operators from getting into further trouble, some operators challenge OO findings. We all make mistakes. We need to get back to an era in which we can accept responsibility if we are called out for being wrong, learn from it, and become better people, better operators, and better ambassadors for Amateur Radio.

*QUA - CW net control signal meaning "Do you have news for me?"

73, Bill Morine N2COP ARRL North Carolina Section Manager