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13 Original Colonies Special Event Set for First Week of July

2015CertificateMedIt’s time for our personal favorite special event on the Ham Radio calendar:  The 13 Original Colonies Special Event.

13 Colonies is an annual Special Event held during the week of Independence Day (that’s the 4th of July, for those of you in Rio Linda).  Participants endeavor to make contact with special event stations in all 13 Colony Stations.  In addition to stations in the original 13 colonies, there are also two Bonus Stations.

Aside from the stations in NY, VA, RI, CT, DE, MD, GA, MA, NJ, NC, NH, SC, and PA (call signs K2A through K2M, respectively), the two bonus stations are the WM3PEN station from Philadelphia, PA, where independence was declared, and GB13COL from Durham, England.

Participants do not need to make contact will all 13 to get a certificate, but doing so does get you the “Clean Sweep” endorsement on your certificate.  Likewise, participants do not need the 2 bonus stations for a clean sweep.  Making contact with WM3PEN will get you a “Liberty Bell” endorsement and GB13COL will get you a “British Standard” endorsement.  Additional special endorsements are added for all CW operations, all QRP operations, SWL, as well as membership in the National Rifle Association (NRA), American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), and active or former military service (thank you for your service!).

We always have great fun participating in this special event and celebrating our independence.  Our family usually ends up with at least a couple of certificates, usually clean sweeps plus WM3PEN and a few extra endorsements on them, I don’t think any of us have ever made GB13COL.  Maybe this is our year.

Let us know if you’ll be participating, how you are doing, and your final results in the comments below.

 

How Was Your 2017 Field Day?

HRD Logbook, DM780The 2017 ARRL Field Day has come and gone and reports of how stations and clubs did during the event are starting to circulate.  As usual, this year’s Field Day fell on the fourth full weekend of June and went from 18:00 UTC on Saturday June 24 to 21:00 UTC on Sunday June 25.  We participated in a little bit of class 1D operations but did not have a lot of spare time to make contacts within that window.

For those of you who may not be familiar with it, the ARRL describes Field Day as “ham radio’s open house.”  Tens of thousands of hams throughout North America set up temporary stations in public places to demonstrate the science behind, skills involved with, and service provided by Amateur Radio operation.  The ARRL says that the event “combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills all in a single event” and calls that event, which has been going on since 1933, the most popular event in ham radio.

Many local hams and several local clubs participated in this year’s Field Day event.  Speaking on KY4KY B.A.R.S. club performance, club president Buddy Sohl shared that, despite some early equipment issues, their stations, which were in operation for 95% of the total Field Day time, concluded with more than 1700 contacts made between CW and SSB.  W4CN A.R.T.S. club secretary Glen Gawron Sr. shared that their operation included more than 650 contacts, mostly in phone mode, but also in CW and PSK31 modes.

More than just an excuse to hang out with fellow hams or a fun exercise, the annual Field Day operations are just that – an exercise of amateur radio operating abilities.  As with any other perishable skill, this one must be exercised to keep it in shape.  Portable, field-expedient stations set up for this event somewhat simulate the types of stations that might be set up in times of disaster, during which traditional forms of communication are often overburdened to the point of being unusable or knocked out completely.  During such situations, the skills, resourcefulness, and resiliency of these radio operators and their equipment provide a vital lifeline of communication between emergency operation centers, and between those affected by the situation and their loved ones or responders outside of the affected area.

If you worked Field Day 2017, let us know how you did in the comments below.

Dayton Attendance Near 30,000

29,296 Attendees at Dayton Hamvention 2017

The 2017 Dayton Hamvention is all wrapped up and the attendance for the show hit nearly 30,000 people.  Hamvention char Ron Cramer’s announcement is posted below.  Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the 2018 Hamvention,  May 18-20, and the 2019 show May 17-19.

Chairman’s Message

It took a while to collect all the information but the numbers are in and it has been a most successful year. This is quite an increase over last year’s attendance.

We knew this would be a big year but this was even beyond our expectations. The challenge was great to reinvent Hamvention at a new venue, The Greene County Expo Center and Fairgrounds in a very short time period. From all the emails, letters, and calls I have received over the last few weeks, we have accomplished it successfully. Thanks to all who provided constructive criticism, each idea is being evaluated. Please thank all our 657 volunteers from around the world for their over the top dedication to make Hamvention the success you wanted it to be.

We all recognize the traffic, rain, mud and parking issues, but part of those issues were corrected even before show weekend was over. Other issues are being worked on already for next year’s show. We are working with Greene County, Xenia Township, City of Xenia officials and the Greene County Fairgrounds and Exposition Center Advisory Board. We can’t control the rain but we promise there will not be some of the other issues next year. There may even be some new surprises in store for you. We have three extra months and a successful plan to start with.

We thank all who came to the show this first year in Greene County and hope to see you again next year. For those that thought they would wait and see how we did, sorry you missed the show but look forward to seeing you next year. Our rough edges will be smoothed out for you by then.

Thank You, and Hope to see all next year at our New Home,
Ron Cramer
Hamvention General Chair

Amateur Radio Operator Larry Rodan, Silent Key

LarryRodanK4LLRLarry Rodan, K4LLR, passed away Saturday, June 10, in Milford, DE after an unexpected illness.

Mr. Rodan (formerly KA3MIY) was an active member of several ham radio organizations including W4CN Amateur Radio Transmitting Society of Louisville (serving as a board member for 2 years), KY4KY Bullitt Amateur Radio Society, the Kentucky DX Association KY4XX, and was also a committee member for the Greater Louisville Hamfest.  While in Delaware, he served as a past member and past President of the Kent County Amateur Radio Club, and was the club’s first Hamfest Coordinator.

First licensed in 1984, Larry posted on his QRZ page that his hobbies included camping, attending bluegrass festivals, and spending time with his pets.

Larry truly enjoyed ham radio and worked various special events and stations to include National Weather Service Skywarn Recognition Days, ARRL Field Day, the GLHA Hamfest, among others, and will be missed by friends, family, and fellow amateur operators.

New ARRL Band Charts Now Available

Serving as an easier-to-use supplement to their online Frequency Allocation resources, the Amateur Radio Relay League’s (ARRL) revised “US Amateur Radio Bands” charts are now available for download here.

The updated charts show the new 630m and 2200m bands although they are not yet available for Amateur Radio use.  According to the ARRL page, “the effective date of the recent FCC Report & Order granting these allocations has not yet been determined, and until the start date has been set, it is not legal under an Amateur Radio license to transmit on either band. The FCC will publish a notice in The Federal Register ‘announcing such approval and the relevant effective date.’ ARRL will announce the UTC notification procedures and the effective date to use these new bands as soon as these are known.

ARRLbandplan

 

Dayton Hamvention Just Two Weeks Away

Hamvention_logoThe 2017 Dayton Hamvention will be held May 19-21, 2017 – just two short weeks away.  Don’t forget that the show is no longer at Hara Arena!  The Hamvention is now hosted at the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center.

According to the Hamvention website, their entire staff of volunteers is working hard behind the scenes to make 2017 a year to remember as they transition from the old Hara Arena location to Hamvention’s new home.  Tickets for this year’s show area available online here.

Don’t forget that the W4CN A.R.T.S Club will be having their annual bus trip to Hamvention on Saturday, May 20.  The rented 55-passenger motor coach will take you directly to the fairgrounds and park nearby for you to stow items or take a break. The bus departs from the Northwest corner of the UPS Main Entrance Parking Lot on Grade Lane at Midfield Access Road at 6:00 AM to arrive in time for the opening of the gates at Dayton, and will depart back to Louisville at 5:00 pm.  Tickets are $35-37 and can be purchased at the link above.  These tickets are separate from your Hamvention admission tickets.

(False?) Turkish Government Revokes 3k+ Ham Radio Licenses

If nothing else, this shows the power of amateur radio as a worldwide communications tool and how certain government actors can see it as a threat to have reliable, infrastructure-free communication available to the people.

As the coup – which has now resulted in a third of the Turkish military being “jailed” –  was unfolding, I saw at least one Turkish station spotted on dxwatch.  Although I could not hear the station, I was able to listen in to the emergency net on 20M controlled by an Israeli operator whose callsign I won’t post here.

How enforceable this is is up for debate, but I would imagine that consequences would be harsh for anyone caught seeking to operate without their now-revoked licenses.

Update: Some sources are now reporting that the announcement below regarding revocation of licenses in Turkey does not affect amateur radio operators.

Source: Turkey gouvernement revokes 3213 ham radio licenses:
(the linked post has now been updated to reflect that the information about ham licenses being revoked has been disproved)

It has been confirmed by Supreme Council of radio and television of Turkey (RTUK) the news that Mr. Erdogan – the president of Turkey has revoked 3213 national ham radio licenses. The HF radio in Turkey is now silent. No transmissions are allowed.

Following the coup d’etat – of July [1]5th – many things are changing in Turkey. TV , Radio licenses have been cancelled and this involved also our colleagues : ham radio amateurs. The number of amateur radio operators in Turkey is not too much, but according to the site TRAC.org it looks like that around 3000 licenses have been revoked. Who’s transmitting outside turkey without licence should be considered a pirate – said Mr Erdogan.

The Supreme Council of radio and television of Turkey (RTUK) has cancelled the licenses of over 20 radio and television broadcasters as well ham radio operators.

The Telsiz ve Radyo Amatörleri Cemiyeti (TRAC) is the national non-profit organization for amateur radio enthusiasts in turkey. The TRAC was founded in 1962 as the Türkiye Radyo Amatörleri Cemiyeti, adopting its current name in 1980. It’s located in Istanbul, with branches in 44 locations across Turkey. TRAC is the national member society representing Turkey in the IARU. Now, it has been closed down.

We look forward to have news from Turkey ham radio league.

Greater Louisville Hamfest Updates

Greater Louisville Hamfest 2015via GLHA Chairman K4RVM:

Lots of events going on at Greater Louisville Hamfest 2015 on September 12. The Kentucky DX Association has 2 big forums about DX Clusters and answers about how you can get the best out of DXing. These are the guys to ask and learn from.

And learning is what the ARRL Kentucky Leadership Conference is all about. Learning about Emergency Communications, working with The Red Cross and Search & Rescue groups is just part of the conference. You can also hear how the ARRL works for you, how you can become part of the Leadership and even join in on communications traffic in your area. There are lots of ARRL Leaders and Representatives at the conference and a little something for everyone.

The details are at http://louisvillehamfest.com/details.htm where you can also download our GLH-2015 mailing and the ARRL Kentucky Leadership Conference Brochure.

Now keep in mind that time is running out for your chance to save $1 on admission and get a free Extra Prize Ticket with each Admission Ticket purchased. The deal won’t be happening at the hamfest, and even though you can still get your ticket for $7 on Friday, you won’t get an Extra Prize Ticket. That deal is only by mail-order or purchasing tickets from one of our GLHA Team Members prior to the hamfest. More tickets will be distributed Tuesday and reps should be at upcoming club meetings.

Now remember, you don’t need to send a self-addressed stamped envelope with your order. You can pick up tickets at the show. Tickets the day of the show will be $8.

And if you need to get tables at the hamfest, time is running out. Each table is $12 and includes electricity. The deadline to order is August 29 and we must have your payment for us to reserve a table for you. All the details are at LouisvilleHamfest.com by clicking the Ticket Information or Space Information buttons in the menu at the top of the page. Tables can be reserved and tickets can be ordered with the forms on any of our GLH-2015 flyers, mailings or forms. Don’t miss out!

We are also looking for volunteers to help at the hamfest. If you would like to help, please send an email to chairman@louisvillehamfest.com to let us know. It takes lots of hams to make a hamfest a success and we hope you will lend just an hour of your time to make the Louisville Hamfest the best it can be.

We’re looking forward to a big show this year and are excited about all that is going on. Details are on our website anytime you need them. Looking forward to seeing everyone at GLH-2015!

Greater Louisville Hamfest 2015
8:00am – 2:00pm on Saturday, September 12, 2015
Paroquet Springs Conference Centre
Admission: $7 Advance, $8 Day of Show
Kids Under 13 FREE!

Talk-In: 146.700 MHz (PL 79.7 Hz) and 443.700 MHz (PL 79.7 Hz)
FREE  PARKING!
Free Friday Night Camping (No hookups or dumping)

Greater Louisville Hamfest – September 12, 2015

It’s almost that time again.  The Greater Louisville Hamfest is coming soon.  Below is GLHA chairman Bob Myers’s email regarding the upcoming event:

Hi Fellow Hams!

It’s predicted the weekend will be hot and muggy. The great outdoors might be on hold unless it’s at the local pool or water park. Of course, you can always take in a movie or spend a day with your XYL at the air-conditioned mall. On the other hand, you could also just stay at home and relax… but what to do at home?

Well, maybe this weekend would be a good time to prepare for Greater Louisville Hamfest coming your way on Saturday, September 12 at the Paroquet Springs Conference Centre in Shepherdsville. Do you have old rigs and things just sitting around your ham shack gathering dust? Why not clean up the shack, gather up those things you don’t use anymore and sell them at the show to share with other hams? A table at the show is $12 and the Admission Ticket is $7 if you order by mail. And did I mention that if you get your ticket by mail it will come with a free Extra Prize Ticket?

So, how to get that order in? Well just go to LouisvilleHamfest.com and download a copy of the Space and Ticket Form, Flyer or Mailing. Print it, fill in your order and send us a check and a SASE. Don’t wait long – the deadline for registration is August 29 – less than a month and a half away. If you don’t want to include a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope, you can pick up your tickets at the show.

Oh, did I mention mailing? It’s not sent out yet (it will be mailed out later this month), but it is on the website at this link:http://louisvillehamfest.com/mailing.htm where it can be viewed and downloaded. It’s got all the information and events of GLH-2015.

So enjoy your weekend! Keep cool. Be sure to stay hydrated if you’re outdoors and wear plenty of sunscreen. And be sure to sit down at your computer for a spell and surf to LouisvilleHamfest.com to see what’s happening. And there’s a link to our Facebook page there too, if you want to give us a shout.

See you at the show!

Bob Myers K4RVM

P.S. Here’s the info on the hamfest:

Greater Louisville Hamfest 2015
       Saturday, September 12, 2015
8:00am – 2:00pm

         Paroquet Springs Conference Centre
     Admission: $7 Advance, $8 Day of Show
Kids Under 13 FREE!

Talk-In: 146.700 MHz (PL 79.7 Hz)
           and 443.700 MHz (PL 79.7 Hz)
           F R E E    P A R K I N G ! ! !
           Free Friday Night Camping
            (No hookups or dumping)

Annual Ham Radio Reception set for NAB 2015

NAB_Show_Logo_2013Each year at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show in Las Vegas, amateur radio enthusiasts gather to talk ham, snack on some hors d’oeuvres, enjoy a beverage and socialize.  Bob Heil is there, along with some vendor and manufacturer reps, there are door prizes and it is generally a good time.  I have gone in past years and plan to go again this year and it should be as good a time as ever.

Plans for this year’s event have been set and are below.  If you are going to the NAB Show (April 13-16 at the Las Vegas Convention Center) or will otherwise be in Fabulous Las Vegas and enjoy amateur radio, make plans to stop by.  Be sure to get there early, there is always a line!

The reception will be:
Wednesday, April 15th
6 – 8pm
Westgate Hotel (Formerly LVH, formerly Las Vegas Hilton)
Ballroom B

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