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MONTHLY NORTH CAROLINA SECTION NEWS SUMMARY – May 2010

 

DAYTON

It was a pleasure to see and meet so many North Carolinians at the Dayton Hamvention this year.  Although there were few new product introductions, policies were clarified at the FCC and ARES forums, and those announcements are embedded in their respective sections below. 

 

FIELD DAY

The Atlantic Division is hosting another webinar with a Field Day theme this Wednesday, May 19th, at 9:00 PM called ”Making The Most of Field Day”.  Anyone can join this free event by registering at least 15 minutes before the start at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/202998208  Less than 40 days to go!  I’ll be visiting many clubs east of I-95 this year and look forward to meeting you.

 

ARES

Over 40 operators from 17 counties attended the state ARES meeting in Raleigh on April 24th.  Adopted was the policy that ICS courses 100, 200, 700 and 800 will be required for all ARES appointees at the level of county Emergency Coordinator (EC) and higher (DEC, ASEC and SEC) as of July 1, 2010.  This is in compliance with a 2006 order from former Gov. Easley.  Appointments for those who don’t meet the July 1st deadline will be held for 30 days before replacements will be made.  Also, Assistant Emergency Coordinators (AECs) within counties are not required to complete the four courses, but they must if they want to be included in the N.C. ARES database.  ICS training is required for municipal and state Emergency Operations Center (EOC) assignments and for mutual aid response across county and state lines.  Congratulations for a successful hurricane exercise (HurrEx) on May 3-5.  South Carolina ARES and SCHEARTS organizations graciously brought an EmComm trailer and portable Winlink stations to assist with the drill. Digital modes like Winlink are joining voice nets like the Tar Heel Emergency Net (THEN) to improve ARES emergency communications. Look for a nice write-up on last October’s North Carolina SET in the upcoming July QST.

 

NEED HELP FOR LEGISLATION

Would you spend 44 cents to help erect an outside antenna on your property inside your covenant restricted neighborhood?  44 cents will buy a letter to your Representative in Congress asking for his or her support of HR2160, the “Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act of 2009”.  The Senate equivalent of this bill, S1755, passed unanimously last December. During the FCC forum at Dayton, Bill Cross, W3TN, of the FCC’s Mobility Division said he believed HR2160 would not be voted upon in this session of Congress because of more urgent issues. Nevertheless, HR2160 has 38 co-sponsors, yet none are any of North Carolina’s 11 congressmen. If this legislation, which would bring much relief to Amateur Radio, has a chance in this or future sessions, congressmen need to hear from YOU. It’s an easy two step process.  1) download a sample letter at http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Regulatory/DearMemberOfCongressHR2160.doc , tailor it to your representative’s address, and either email it from your home computer to their office, or send a paper version to ARRL’s coordinator, Chwat & Co., 625 Slaters Ln, Suite 103, Alexandria, VA 22314.  Chwat & Co. will ensure faster delivery to your representative than the congressman’s mailing address.  To find out who is your congressional representative, go to http://www.house.gov/zip/ZIP2Rep.html   This may be a multi-year campaign, but it is crucial that we get as many North Carolina congressional representatives on board as possible.

 

SCHOOL CLUB STATIONS

Last month I congratulated the new club station at Pitt County Community College, K4PCC, and said then I thought it was the only community college station in North Carolina.  I was quickly inundated with emails from faculty and alumni of Wake Tech Community College reminding me about WB4TOP, which has spawned many new operators since the 1980s.  Sorry for the oversight, and glad to see that community colleges are fertile grounds for amateur radio.   Herb Lacey, W3HL, is compiling a list of school stations in North Carolina which we plan to place on the section website.  Please let him know if you have any school stations in your area.

 

NEW WEBSITE DESIGN

Overshadowed by the launch of the new ARRL website has been the redesign of our own section website at www.ncarrl.org Long time section webmaster Susan Langley-Jones, WA4AKB, has created the third generation of the website, and it looks great.  In addition to making it user friendly for multiple browsers, mobile devices and the visually impaired, she has added a new page on the history of the North Carolina section.  Thanks to Carl Starnes, W4EAT, Herb Lacey, W3HL, and Dave Langley, W4YDY for researching the history of section leadership going back 60 years.

 

MEDIA HIT

Hats off to the folks in the new Mayland club for getting a nice story on emergency communications at Blue Ridge Regional Hospital in Spruce Pine.  The club installed VHF&UHF/FM and Winlink equipment.  You can see the story which aired on Asheville’s WLOS-TV at http://www.main.nc.us/MARC

 

SILENT KEYS

We regret to announce the passing of Dr. Brad Bennett, K4MR, of Durham, and Jim Morris, KQ4O, of Granite Falls.

 

APRIL TRAFFIC

QNI (Net station check-ins) - 2,977, Messages passed - 450

K4IWW 401, KI4YV 157, W2EAG 114, W4DNA 109, W4TTO 62, W4FAL 45, KE4AHC 43, W3HL 42, W4EHF 34, WK4P 32, KC4PGN 30, K8SKX 25, NC4VA 23, WX4MMM 13

 

APRIL PSHR

NC4VA 288, W4DNA 150, K4IWW 130, W4FAL 130, W2EAG 110, KI4YV 100, W4TTO 100

 

ARES MEMBERS 1,794

 

UPCOMING PUBLIC SERVICE

June 5-6, Tour de Cure, Cary to Southern Pines

June 19, MS Ice Cream Ride, Research Triangle Park

June 26, Chatham County Ride of Habitat for Humanity

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

June 5, 66th Anniversary of the crash of the Badin Bomber in 1944, Badin, NC NC4MC Montgomery Amateur Radio Society

June 5, NC Aviation Museum Fly-In and War Bird Display, Asheboro, NC, NC4ZO Randolph Amateur Radio Club

June 5-6, Museum Ships Weekend. Participating will be Battleship North Carolina from Wilmington, NC AC4RC Azalea Coast Amateur Radio Club

June 26-27 FIELD DAY

 

UPCOMING HAMFESTS

May 29, DurHAMfest, Little River Community Complex, 8307 North Roxboro Rd., Bahama, NC 27503 Talk-In: 147.225;

June 12, Winston-Salem Classic, Dixie Classic Fairgrounds, 421 West 27th Street, Winston-Salem, NC  www.w4nc.com Talk-In: 146.64 (100 Hz) or 145.47 (100 Hz); June 17, Lenoir Community College Gymnasium, 231 Highway 58 South (intersection of US 70 & NC58), Kinston, NC http://www.downeasthamfest.org
Talk-In: 146.085 / 146.685 (PL 88.5)

 

THE LAST WORD – Dayton.  The very word means the pinnacle of Ham Radio activity.  If you’ve never been to Hamvention, you need to make the trip at least once, and chances are you will return.  It’s much more than just the world’s largest Hamfest; it’s also a place to exchange ideas about Amateur Radio and meet a variety of people dedicated to our hobby and service.  Some years are better than others, but every annual visit is worth the trip as you learn more about both Amateur Radio, yourself and how you can become a better operator.  I’m glad I try to go every year. Some years I can’t make it, but when I do, I come back reinvigorated and more optimistic about the future of Amateur Radio.