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NORTH CAROLINA SECTION NEWS - May, 2013

Posted Jun 1, 2013

Current section news is always available on the North Carolina section website at www.ncarrl.org and ARRL members can sign up for monthly section news for free by going into their member profile account at http://www.arrl.org/Users/edit#!/edit-info-email_subscriptions and checking the box which says "News and information from your Division Director and Section Manager".

FIELD DAY JUNE 22-23 - 2013 marks the 80th anniversary for Field Day. With the exception of WWII, Field Day has been held continually since 1933. As of May 31, 35 North Carolina Field Day locations have been listed on the Field Day locator page on ARRL's website at http://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator This is down from the 60 listed in 2012. If your club hasn't listed its location yet, please do so now so inactive Hams, media and the public can find you because public awareness is what Field Day is about. For those who missed the excellent April 24th webinar on how to promote Field Day, a replay of the webinar is available at: http://p1k.arrl.org/pub/pr and download the ZIP file entitled "Field Day 2013". The first week in June is the perfect time to list your Field Day location on local community bulletin boards, newspapers and community webpages. Designate a spokesperson who can speak with local media about the importance of Field Day. Tell everyone that NC Hams provide millions of dollars in donated equipment use and volunteer time to help communities, and the spirit of scientific experimentation is still strong in showing wireless opportunities to schools and youth organizations. All 2013 Field Day information, including rules and supplies, is available at: http://www.arrl.org/field-day Above all, please always greet visitors warmly, escort them around your Field Day location and explain what's happening. Every year we hear stories of visitors who are not acknowledged, which leads to further misunderstandings about our hobby. Be proud of Field Day.

NC MAKER FAIRE JUNE 15 TO TAP DIY MARKET - Ham clubs in the RDU area will have a booth at MakerFaire North Carolina on Saturday, June 15th , from 10 AM to 6:00 PM at the Scott Kerr Building at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. When Amateur Radio last had a booth two years ago, about 200 of the Fair's 4,000 attendees stopped by to learn more about Ham Radio. Many were inactive Hams who were excited to see an Amateur Radio presence. MakerFaire is a national "Do-It-Yourself" (DIY) craft and experimentation movement with a strong emphasis on electronics, especially computer applications. The MakerFaire movement began in California where its largest MakerFaire draws 65,000 annually, and the New York City MakerFaire last year had 25,000 visitors. Many thanks to the clubs helping with NC MakerFaire this year - Raleigh Amateur Radio Society (RARS), Orange County Radio Association (OCRA), Tri-ATV, Carolina Flashers Photonics Group (CFPG) and the ARRL North Carolina section. The Ham Radio booth will feature kit building and QRP and APRS demonstrations. More details on MakeFaire North Carolina can be found at: http://makerfairenc.com

MUSEUM SHIPS WEEKEND JUNE 1-2 - Retired Battleship North Carolina in Wilmington will join 101 other retired warships and merchant marine vessels in getting on-the-air this weekend for the largest ever assembly of radio operations from retired military ships. The North Carolina will be operating under its Amateur Radio callsign of NI4BK, which was obtained as a vanity call to be close to its original call letters of NIBK. Members of Wilmington's Azalea Coast Amateur Radio Club restore and maintain radio equipment on board "BB55". They have restored two of the ship's eleven radio rooms, and have rejuvenated three original receivers and three transmitters, although the transmitters are currently down because of faulty dynamotors. Modern transceivers will be used this weekend, but they will feed original 70 year old coax cable and vertical antennas. The Battleship North Carolina gets on the air for Museum Ships Weekend, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, the North Carolina QSO Party as a bonus station, and sporadically when out of town Hams come to visit the ship and arrange for guest operating privileges. To learn more about Museum Ships weekend, visit www.nj2bb.org/museum and for more information about radio aboard the Battleship North Carolina, including the guest operator program, visit www.ac4rc.org

"AN ACTIVE OR EXTREMELY ACTIVE" ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON for 2013 was the forecast released in May by NOAA Acting Administrator Kathryn Sullivan. Dr. Bill Gray, noted hurricane forecaster, agrees projecting the Atlantic coast will face a 47% probability of a landfall, up from the historical average of 31%. National Hurricane Preparedness Week is underway May 26 to June 1, when the Atlantic hurricane season officially kicks off until November 30th. Wilmington SKYWARN is participating June 1 in StormFest, a community hurricane preparedness fair in Wilmington. Earlier in May, Newport SKYWARN was part of the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point Emergency Preparedness Fair. June 1 is also the annual National Hurricane Center's on air test of its Miami Amateur Radio station WX4NHC from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Eastern time. Take part this weekend. Details at: http://www.arrl.org/news/take-part-in-wx4nhc-s-annual-on-the-air-station-test-from-the-national- hurricane-center Time to keep your batteries charged and your Go-Kits ready.

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION QSO A SUCCESS - The May 2nd QSO between the McNair Elementary School in Brown's Summit near Greensboro and the International Space Station was a rousing success. 2,800 students across Guilford County submitted questions of which 20 were selected to ask astronaut Tom Marshburn, a native of Statesville and a graduate of Davidson and Wake Forest. The ten minute pass permitted 16 of the 20 questions to be presented by students of the school which emphasizes STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. McNair Elementary is named after Dr. Ronald McNair, North Carolina native and NC A&T graduate who perished in the 1986 space shuttle explosion. ARISS - Amateur Radio and International Space Station, a joint program between NASA, ARRL and other Amateur Radio organizations - coordinated the QSO. The McNair ARISS contact was only the third in North Carolina over the past six years. Special thanks to the Greensboro Amateur Radio Association (GARA) and to RF Micro Devices in Greensboro for coordination over the past ten months in preparing for this event. RF Micro Devices also donated radio equipment to McNair Elementary so it now has a fulltime Ham Radio station.

MEDIA HITS - The McNair ARISS QSO was covered by three area television news operations and the NPR station at Wake Forest University, WFDD-FM. 88.5 MHz. You can read a summary of the extensive coverage this event received at http://www.gcsnc.com/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=365713 North Carolina Section Manager Bill Morine, N2COP, spoke about Museum Ships Weekend, MakerFaireNC and Field Day on Wilmington's NPR station, WHQR-FM, 91.3 MHz. The Gaston Gazette carried a story in its May 21 edition that ARES would be part of the Disaster Preparedness & Safety Camp being held June 1.

CONTEST CORNER - Contest Corner May 2013 - The NC QSO Party results are in and the NCQP was a resounding success. Thanks to W4MY and the NCQP Committee and the Raleigh Amateur Radio Society (RARS) for a job well done. Congrats to the follow NC stations for winning their categories: Single op mixed, AA4NC; single op SSB, KG4ZOD; Single op CW, N4C (W0UCE op); Single op QRP, WK4P; Mobile Mixed, NY4N; Mobile SSB, KJ4ADN; Expedition, AD8J; Expedition QRP, W4TZM; Club Mixed, K4MN; Club SSB, NC4AR; Most NC Counties, AA4NC. Great job by all the NCQP participants for getting NC on the air. All results for NCQP can be found at: http://www.rars.org/ncqsoparty

ARRL 160 Meter Contest: Single op High, N4XD; Single op Low, K4DJ; Single op QRP, WB4MSG (Roanoke Division); Multi op High, N1LN; Multi op Low, W4CWA.

Congratulations to AK4RJ for taking top honors in the SSB Rookie Roundup for the 4th call area. Joanne has done a great job handling traffic on both VHF and HF nets and that experience is translating into her contesting endeavors. (Many thanks to Adam, WK4P, for his help in compiling the Contest Corner).

HAMFESTS - The Winston-Salem Classic, June 8, Summit School, 2100 Reynolda Road, Winston-Salem. Talk-In 146.64 (PL 100.0) Details: www.w4nc.com

SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS - Jun 1, Badin Bomber Crash, 1400Z-1800Z, NC4MC, Badin, NC. Montgomery Amateur Radio Society. 14.250 USB 7.250 LSB 14.030 CW. June 08, 1944 crash of USN Bomber into Lake Badin.

PUBLIC SERVICE - Special Olympics, May 31 - June 1. Several events throughout Wake County. To volunteer, contact John Snellen, AI4RT, at ai4rt@hotmailcom; June 5, 6:00 PM to 8:45 PM, Carolina Cycling Time Trials, Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord. www.ridemaps.com; June 15, 7:00 AM to 2:30 PM, MS Fits Ice Cream Ride, Morrisville. Details: www.rars.org/publicservice; June 15, Tri Latta Triathlon, Huntersville. Details: www.ridemaps.com

LICENSING CLASSES - Technician Class, May 2-July 25, Murphy. For details contact Jim Howard, W4SDJ , at howardje@earthlink.net. General Class, June 4-July 30, Wilkes County Community College. For details contact David Ritter, ND4MR, at david.ritter@wilkescc.edu To list an upcoming licensing class, register it at www.arrl.org/register-a-new-license-class To find licensing classes, go to www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-class

NTS APRIL SECTION TRAFFIC REPORT - QNI (Total Check-ins) 3086. TOTAL MESSAGES PASSED 546. STATION ACTIVITY REPORTS (SARs) K4IWW 266, W2EAG 178, W4DNA 175. WK4WC 115, AK4RJ 69, WB4Y 69, WK4P 67, KJ4JPE 46, W4TTO 45, WB4ZIQ 45, KC4PGN 38, KE4AHC 36, W3HL 36, K4JUU 33, KK4BVR 29, N2RTF 18. PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) KK4BVR 174, W4DNA 160, WK4P 155, K4IWW 130, KJ4JPE 125, WB4ZIQ 120, AK4RJ 115, K4JUU 113, W2EAG 110, W4TTO 100, WB4Y 90, N2RTF 83, WK4WC 80.

SILENT KEYS - We regret to report the passing of Ed Thomson, W9IQK, of Wilmington; Art Brothers, KI4UK, of Cary, and Elizabeth Arendell, WA4HLM, of Newport.

QUA*- As a former ARRL Public Information Officer (PIO) and the NC section's Public Information Coordinator (PIC), I still have a grasp on how media view Amateur Radio, and, in most cases, that view is non-existent. This is important because next to a disaster, the public's only exposure to Ham Radio is Field Day. The world has changed. Social media in all forms have turned journalism upside down. Newsrooms in newspapers, radio and TV stations are understaffed on weekdays and nearly empty on weekends. Your club will need to show some enthusiasm and passion to entice what few reporters, if any, will come to your FD location for coverage. Moreover, if a reporter does show up, you will likely find a cub reporter who has only known a cell phone as his or her primary line and has no concept what Ham Radio is. Be patient with these people. Spoon feed them about the magic and thrill of working on air, about the millions of dollars Hams donate for community service, and many wireless technologies the public now enjoys commercially which were either invented or perfected by Hams. The investment of time you give to nurture this person and all media outlets in your area will reap large rewards downstream in terms of public support. There are more Hams than ever in North Carolina - 19,000 of us. But NC's population has grown almost 50% in the past 15 years to 9 million. We make up 0.002% of all North Carolinians, down from a high of almost 1% in some states years ago. Most people don't know we exist - let's use all possible means to reach and educate them that Ham Radio is alive, fun and purposeful.

*QUA - CW net control procedural signal meaning "Do you have news for me?" 73 de Bill Morine, N2COP ARRL North Carolina Section Manager