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Posted May 29, 2023

NC ARRL News
May 28, 2023

 

GREETINGS FROM THE HIGH COUNTRY

It looks like a lot of North Carolina will be wet, windy and not be well suited for outdoor activities over this Memorial Day Weekend. 

Disregard the weather, the reason for Memorial Day is not to celebrate the beginning of grilling season—it is to honor the lives lost by a million soldiers who died in service of the country, most often while far from home, fighting to protect people who were resisting being dominated by bullies, madmen, and illegitimate rulers whose subjects had very few rights while the rulers lived very well on the backs of ordinary people. 

Our own Civil War involved the most deaths in battle, 640,000, exceeding the fatalities in World Wars as well as other international and regional conflicts.  America has sent our soldiers into battle, in large and in small numbers, to shed blood and die for people they never knew, in places often unheard of, in defense of the idea of freedom.

That so many have made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of the idea of freedom is what this weekend is about.  Whether or not I get to grill this this weekend, I will be thinking of members of my family, neighbors, friends and schoolmates who died while in military service. 

Each of them rests in honored glory, even when we were not known to each other.  Memorial Day is a time of remembrance and honor

ON THE AIR ACTIVITIES

FIELD DAY – ARE YOU READY?

Field Day is now less than a month away (on June 24-25).   At the time this newsletter was written, ARRL repored that 17 Field Day sites are listed in North Carolina.  A map and listing of these locations can be found at https://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator.

If your group plans to participate in Field Day but are not yet listed at this site, you should add information about your planned operation at the site listed above.  Having your FD site listed will allow visitors and young people wanting to see ham radio in operation know that there is a nearby site where your club will be operating and that visitors are welcome.  Listing your FD site will also help me plan my Field Day visits to say hello and to thank the clubs that who are on the air during Field Day. 

The June issue of QST devoted several pages that give guidance that will lead to safe and successful operation during Field Day.  Rules for Field Day operation can be found at http://www.arrl.org/field-day-rules .

NC PARKS ON THE AIR

I hope you will consider participating in a special operation this Fall which will involve activating ham radio stations at each of the state parks in North Carolina over the September 9 and 10 weekend.  The statewide activity is being coordinated by Zach Thompson, KM4BLG.  Information about the NC PARKS ON THE AIR EVENT can be found at https://ncpota.org/ .  

I hope to hear you on the air from one of the parks.

TARHEEL EMERGENCY NETWORK

The Tar Heel Emergency Net, established in 1947, needs a couple of volunteers to serve as the Net Control Station once a week for approximately 45 minutes.  Due to a death and changes in operator commitments, there is need for additional Net Control Stations. 

The duties are relatively simple.  Using a published preamble, the NCS calls the net to order and accepts check-ins from participants and asks for traffic.  The NCS prepares a log that typically lists about 20 check-ins.  After the net the NCS sends the Net Manager a very simple net report on how many stations checked it and how long the net lasted and the number of messages listed and/or passed.

Operators are needed to serve as Net Control Station for THEN on the 4th and 5th Monday and possibly other times as well.  If you are willing to serve or would like to know more, please contact Scott Hunt (K4SEH) at k4seh@arrl.net.  The Tar Heel Net meets at 7:30 pm each day on 3923 KHz with a different person serving as NCS one night a week on an assigned night.

A BALLOON LAUNCH OUT WEST

The Western Carolina Amateur Radio Society has posted information on Facebook abpit a weather balloon launch on June 6.  Here is their posting:

Michele Carmichael (KK4NRB) here. We (Catamount Alumni Radio Group) are launching the first of several weather balloons at WCU on Tuesday, June 6th, approximately at 9am using call sign W4WCU-11 on APRS.  Anyone interested, wanting to chase or otherwise be involved please let us know!  trajectories are too far out for accuracy, stay tuned!

Daniel deCourt, W3WDD, an alumnus of Western Carolina University, added additional information.  Persons wishing to report on (as well as to listen to reports) have been approved to use the PRN DMR network. Beginning around 0900 on June 6 they be using the PRN talkgroup, particularly as the weather balloon travels outside Jackson County while the WCU group observes the flight of the weather balloon and then works to recover the balloon.  Chuck deCourt (W3WZN) , Daniel’s father, will informally serve as Net Control Station for this operation.

HAM RADIO OPERATION AT THE NORTH CAROLINA STATE FAIR

Operators are being invited to volunteer to serve at a ham radio tent at the North Carolina State Fair and to talk up ham radio to Fair-goers who stop by at the tent. Here is their Facebook posting about the State Fair operation.

“In 2022, some of the Ham clubs in the Raleigh area got together to participate in spreading the word about Ham Radio at the 2022 NC State Fair. It was such a success that we plan on doing it again this year. The booth is represented as NC Ham Radio and is not affiliated with just one local club. Last year, members from JARS, SWARC, RARS, and a few other clubs volunteered for the event. We are spreading the word for this year's upcoming Fair (October 12-22, 2023) and looking for anyone interested in participating. If you are interested in volunteering this year, please let us know! Also, we have already secured an event callsign and are actively planning to run a special event station from JARScom.

What is needed? We are looking for anyone with a Ham License to volunteer to work at the exhibit, which will include talking with the public about Ham Radio. We will also need Hams with a General License or higher to assist with the special event.     Would you be interested in volunteering for the booth?  If you or your members are interested in volunteering at the booth, please email Roderick Warren or Domingo Reinhold-Borja Rogers. Interested in helping to run the special event station on either October 14th/15th, or 21st/22nd?   73 - Domingo Rogers - KE4NKY”.   You can contact him at domingorogers@gmail.com to volunteer or to gather information.

UPCOMING SUMMER HAMFESTS

Salisbury: July 8 – Info at https://rowanars.org/

CARY:  July 15 – Info at http://caryarc.org/

Waynesville: July 29 – Info at https://wcars-club.org/hamfest-annual/docs/hfnotice.pdf

Fayetteville: August 12 – Info at https://cfarsnc.org/

Shelby:  Sept 1-3 – Info at http://www.shelbyhamfest.org

 

GENERAL INFORMATION FOR NC ARRL MEMBERS

GAINING AND LOSING HAMS

Data posted by ARRL show that the number of SK’s listed in QST over a five month period substantially exceeded the data posted about newly licensed hams over same period.  For example, listings in QST over the most recent six month period listed approximately 900 Silent Keys.  License data from the FCC for the most recent six month period showed approximately 350 newly licensed hams.

Clubs are urged to redouble their efforts to Elmer hams and to get more people licensed.

PASSING OF MARC TARPLEE, N4UFP

Rest in peace, Marc.

Marc Tarplee, who served as the South Carolina Section Manager for twelve years, passed away on May 14 after a sudden illness.  He had recently retired from York Technical College and was in the process of building a new home near Hilton Head.  His illness took his many friends by surprise and his death has not yet been fully bsorbed by the ham community.  Sympathies go out to his family and friends.

John Gendron, NJ4Z, has been appointed as the South Carolina Section Manager and will complete term of Marc Tarplee which runs through December 31, 2024.

John, an Amateur Extra-class operator, is President of the York County Amateur Radio Society (YCARS) and a member of the Swamp Fox Contest Group. In addition to being an avid contester and DX chaser, John enjoys participating in Parks on the Air. He has earned numerous ARRL awards, including the Worked All States and Triple Play Worked All States awards, and is closing in on 5-Band DXCC.

SUBSCRIBE TO CLUB NEWS

ARRL is placing renewed emphasis on outreach to clubs and is offering advice on remaining vital, active and relevant to hams in their area. There is a monthly club newsletter that is available to you at no cost.  You may subscribe by logging into your profile at arrl.org or you may see current and previous issues of ARRL Club News by going to http://www.arrl.org/club-news .

Also on the topic of clubs, you are encouraged to go to the ARRL Learning Center and view the webinars that focus on particular club leadership positions based on reports from clubs across the country.  Periodically visit https://learn.arrl.org/webinars/?pathPage=%2Farrl%2Fcourses%2F52440 as various club leadership roles are added to selection of webinars.

ESTATE PLANNING FOR HAMS

ARRL has recently released a document that will help hams and their family members to focus on the eventual disposal of their ham gear.  

There are difficult decisions to be made in a very stressful time.   Unfortunately, many times surviving family members do not have much understanding about the value of ham equipment or your wishes concerning some of the gear but have different feelings concerning other parts of your equipment collection.

Survivors will benefit from knowing if you want the equipment sold, donated, or passed on to family or friends.  Do you want gear donated to a school, college or your local club?  Do you want to have someone hired to sell your gear?  Do you wish to donate the gear to your club and expect the club to sell the gear with the proceeds going to the club or doing the sales on a commission basis with most of the monetary proceeds going to your family.

Take this opportunity to download and review the documents that ARRL has recently developed.  Go to https://www.arrl.org/estate-planning-workbook and begin important discussions with your family, friends and club leadership.

CLOSING COMMENT

Please remember to contact me with information about the passing of a club member, friend or family member who was a ham.  Please include a link to an obituary and whether the ham was a military veteran.  The process involves the Section Manager forwarding information to ARRL along with a request that Silent Key be listed in a future issue of QST.   

I will do my part but I need your input.  Over last weekend, I learned of the passing of five amateurs.  Since becoming Section Manager in April 2020, I have followed the SK procedure for nearly 200 hams.   Even as large as that number is, there were most likely dozens of other hams who passed and did not get listed as a Silent Key in QST because no one reached out to advise the ARRL.  Recently, in the past month, I was contacted twice when a club leader or former co-worker reported not knowing about the passing of someone who had been listed in QST who had once made a big difference in the development of ham radio in their area but was no longer active on the air or in the club.

Our job as survivors is to make sure that those who have passed away receive appropriate recognition.

73, Marv, WA4NC

NC Section Manager