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NORTH CAROLINA SECTION NEWS - June 2012

Posted Jun 30, 2012

FIELD DAY WRAP-UP - Thanks to the 65 North Carolina clubs and individuals who listed their Field Day locations on the ARRL website and to the hundreds more who got on the air informally. After a deluge of rain and thunderstorms on Friday afternoon, most locations had great weather Saturday and Sunday. Reports are that some of the upper bands weren't robust, but 20 meters and down were the workhorses. Despite these obstacles, many clubs persevered and the scoring will likely show that once again North Carolina stations were among the best. Remember - logs must be postmarked or emailed to ARRL by Tuesday, July 24th. 50 point bonus if your submit your log electronically (See Rules 7.3.14 and 8.1.1 at http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Field-Day/2012/2012-FD-Rules.pdf)

QST NOW DIGITAL - QST has joined the growing ranks of magazines by making its issues available on line. After four months of beta testing, the June issue became the first edition to be available in both print and on-the-web. If you are an ARRL member, there is nothing you need to do - you will notified automatically by email when the new issue is available. The print edition will still be delivered every month to your mailbox, but you have the option to go digital only. Also useful is access to past issues of QST going back to 1915. You can learn more by going to http://www.arrl.org/digital-qst-faq

WELCOME NEW CLUB - The Road Show Amateur Radio Club of Skyland/Fairview becomes the 68th ARRL affiliated club in North Carolina. Congratulations to this new group serving the greater Asheville area. You can learn more about the club at its website: http://www.theroadshowarc.com

DIGITAL TARGET NTS STATIONS NAMED - North Carolina Section Traffic Manager (STM) Dave Roy, W4DNA, of Goldsboro and Hal London, WB4ZIQ, of Norwood have been designated as National Traffic System (NTS) Digital Target Stations (DTS) for the Eastern Area of the U.S. Over the past few years, digital has emerged to complement CW and phone for relaying traffic. NTS DTS monitor traffic sent by radio email using programs and protocols such as RMS Express or Telnet via Winlink. More information about NTS in North Carolina can be found on the NC section website at https://www.ncarrl.org/nets/index.html

AWARDS - Kudos to two great North Carolinians who have been recognized for their contributions to Amateur Radio. Carl Smith, N4AA, of Asheville was inducted into CQ magazine's DX Hall of Fame at Dayton Hamvention in May. Carl is the Editor and Publisher of DX Magazine, as well as CQ's current DX Editor. He also edits the weekly QRZ DX newsletter and, for the past 15 years, has compiled the annual 'Most Wanted' survey of DX entities needed by hams around the world. Carl is also a leading force behind the creation of the Southern Appalachian Radio Museum in Asheville, which is a North Carolina treasure. And congratulations to Gary Pearce, KN4AQ, of Cary for winning the Professional category in QST's Video Contest. Gary is the founder of Amateur Radio Video News (www.arvn.com) and the Ham Radio Now podcasts (www.hamradionow.tv)

MEDIA HITS - Thanks to Field Day, there were many media mentions in June. The following clubs were covered in local media, including Stanly County ARC in thesnaponline.com; WCARS in Mountain Xpress; Rockingham ARC in the Greensboro News & Record; Cleveland County ARS and Shelby ARC in the Shelby Star; Cape Fear ARS and Moore County ARC in the Fayetteville Observer; Moore County ARC in the Southern Pines Pilot; Foothills ARC in the Wilkes Patriot Journal; Iredell County ARS in the Statesville Record & Landmark; the Road Show ARC in the Cherokee One Feather, Wilmington's three organization FD effort (Azalea Coast ARC, Wilmington VHF Society and New Hanover ARES) was covered by WECT-TV (NBC) and WWAY-TV (ABC), and Raleigh ARS on NBC17.com. Two ARRL Public Information Officers (PIOs) need to be cited for going above and beyond. 12 year old Christopher Tate, KJ4UBL, did extensive work with the Burlington Times News, and Ed Best, AK4W, had an interview with Chapel Hill's WCHL, 1360 AM, and wrote an Op-Ed piece about Amateur Radio for the Chapel Hill News. Still more articles, web stories and broadcast coverage reports are pouring in so if your FD location wasn't listed above, please let me know at n2cop@arrl.org Thanks to all for the superb media coverage this year.

HAMFESTS - June 30, DownEast Hamfest, Lenoir Community College, Kinston. Talk-In 146.685 (PL 82.5); July 7, Firecracker Hamfest, Civic Center, Salisbury. Talk-In 145.41 (PL 136.5); July 21 Mid-Summer Swapfest, Ritter Park, Cary. Talk-In 146.88 (No PL); July 28, WCARS Hamfest, Haywood County Fairgrounds, Waynesville. Talk-In 146.91 (PL 91.5).

PUBLIC SERVICE - July 11, Carolina Cycling Time Trial, Lowes Motor Speedway, Concord; July 14, Red Cross's Lake Norman Excursion Bike Rally, Mooresville; July 21, Cystic Fibrosis Aptalis CF Cycle For Life, Waxhaw. For more information, go to www.ridemaps.com

SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS - July 7, W4LBT, Lumbee Indian Homecoming, Pembroke; July 20-21, W4S, Red Sleigh Christmas in July, Asheboro; July 21, NC4MC, Candor Peach Festival, Candor. Details at: www.arrl.org/special-event-stations

LICENSING CLASSES - Starting July 5 at Skyland Fire Dept. in Skyland. 7 week Technician class. Details at http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-class If you have an upcoming class you'd like to post on ARRL's website, register at www.arrl.org/register-a-new-license-class

NTS MAY SECTION TRAFFIC REPORT - QNI (total check-ins) 2259. TOTAL MESSAGES PASSED 591. STATION ACTIVITY REPORTS (SARs) K4IWW 294, W4DNA 286, W2EAG 167, KJ4RUD 114, WK4P 101, WB4ZIQ 83, KC4PGN 79, W3HL 66, KJ4JPE 51, W4TTO 51, K4JUU 40, AK4RJ 39, KE4AHC 37, N2RTF 34, KA4IZN 25. PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) KA4IZN 300, KJ4JPE 161, WK4P 160, W4DNA 145, K4IWW 130, W2EAG 110, WB4ZIQ 110, K4JUU 105, W4TTO 105, N2RTF 104, KJ4RUD 80, AK4RJ 69.

SILENT KEYS - We regret to report the passing of Richard Lake, KE4GIN, of Raleigh.

QUA - I hope you had as much fun as I did for Field Day this year. I traveled to six FD sites in central North Carolina - High Point, Greensboro, Burlington, Hillsborough, Raleigh/Apex and Pinehurst. At all six I witnessed the magic of Amateur Radio in many dimensions. First, of course, was hearing (and watching on digital modes) lots of QSOs being exchanged. However, equally fun was seeing our innovative natures taking over. A little solder here, some duct tape there, and a rope with a small weight on the end carrying a line over a tree limb gave you the chance to work the world. One of the most common reactions I hear about Field Day is how elected officials, served agency representatives and members of the general public are in awe of what we can do with so little. This is what separates us from most other hobbies - we solve problems. Keep that spirit up all year long, and thanks to everyone for making North Carolina shine on Field Day. And a happy and safe Fourth of July to you and your families.

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

73, Bill Morine N2COP ARRL North Carolina Section Manager