ARRL Roanoke Division Town Hall – 9/14/23

by | Sep 15, 2023 | Amateur Radio hobby

This is a replay of the ARRL Roanoake Division Town Hall from Thursday September 14, 2023. 

Playtime: 58m. Playback begins 2m 37s 

– Explanation of Dues Increase

– Why a subscription fee for print issues of QST

– Washington regulatory & legislative update

– VOTA and W1AW portable operations remaining in 2023

Also, NJ4Z walks us around W1AW with a live Video Tour!

For more information visit: 

American Radio Relay League: ARRL.org 

ARRL Roanoke Division: https://www.arrl-roanoke.com/

ARRL North Carolina: https://www.ncarrl.org/

ARRL Virginia: http://www.arrlva.com/

ARRL West Virginia: https://wvarrl.com/

W4V Patsy Cline Special Event Station – Sept 8-10

by | Sep 6, 2023 | Amateur Radio hobby, Special Events

Photo of Patsy Cline removed after event to respect her family’s wishes. We greatly appreciate their support of our event. 

Thank you to everyone who participated!

Join us on the air September 8-10 for a celebration of singer Patsy Cline’s birthday. Listen for callsign W4V. On Saturday 9/9 we will be operating at Patsy Cline’s home in Winchester, VA from 10AM-4PM Eastern [1400-2000 UTC]. Our club members will be on Phone, FT4 and FT8. Help us spot on dxheat.com/dxc.  Find out more and jot down our intended frequencies for the event at w4rkcpatsycline.com 

ARRL Action Request: Commercial Interests Petition FCC for High Power Allocation on Shortwave SpectrumARRL Action Request:

by | Jul 19, 2023 | Amateur Radio hobby, FCC, HF

[Updated 7/18/2023]

7/11/2023

The ad hoc group “Shortwave Modernization Coalition” petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to allow data communications on multiple bands within the HF 2 – 25 MHz range with up to 20 KW, including in bands immediately adjacent to spectrum allocated to the Amateur Radio Service. This group appears to represent high-speed stock trading interests. 

ARRL  The National Association for Amateur Radio® is treating the petition as a subject of concern for its members and the greater Amateur Radio Service. ARRL Laboratory staff are studying the matter from a technical standpoint, including analysis of transmitted signals potentially interfering with Amateur Radio communications on Amateur Radio spectrum. The results from this expert review are being finalized and will inform ARRL’s filed comments on the matter.

The FCC has assigned the petition RM-11953. Comments are due by July 31, 2023, and reply comments by August 15. While the petitioners exclude the amateur bands, high power operations on immediately adjacent bands are proposed.

A copy of the petition is at: https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/1042840187330/1 (PDF).

Youth on the Air Camp – July 16 – 21 – Ottawa Canada

by | Jul 14, 2023 | On The AIr, Parks on the Air, Special Events, Youth News Education and Resources

From Amateur Radio Newsline – 14 July 2023 https://www.arnewsline.org/

Young amateurs in the Americas are getting ready for an out-of-this-world experience at the Youth on the Air camp in Ontario, Canada between July 16th and the 21st: The campers have a scheduled contact with the International Space Station on Tuesday, July 18. Meanwhile, they’ll also get to experience the thrill of being chased by callsign hunters by activating VE3YOTA. They go on the air starting Sunday July 16th and don’t go QRT until Friday July 21st. There’s also a satellite station for them to operate and they’ll be on the air to experience contact with the birds on Wednesday July 19th.

Parks on the Air activity is expected to play a big role for the kids too: Fifteen QRP stations will be on the air on Tuesday, July 18th from 1900 UTC to 2100 UTC and Thursday July 20th from 1300 UTC to 1600 UTC. They will activate a two-for-one POTA location, the Central Experimental Farm National Historic Site, VE-5095, and the Rideau Canal National Historic Site, VE-4882.

Don’t forget to catch the opening day ceremonies via their webstream on Sunday July 16th at 2100 UTC, featuring keynote speaker Phil McBride, VA3QR, president of the Radio Amateurs of Canada.

 

More information: https://youthontheair.org/ottawa2023/

Parks on the Air https://parksontheair.org

YOTA POTA activations July 18 1900 UTC – July 20 1300 UTC

VE-4882 Rideau Canal National Historic Site

VE-5095 Experimental Farm National Historic Site

Youth Nets:

http://www.arrl.org/youth-nets

YARC – Young Amateurs Radio Club 

https://yarc.world/

Join YARC on their Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/yarc

 

Special Event Stations – July 22 – BOTA – Buffalos on the Air

by | Jul 14, 2023 | Amateur Radio hobby, HF, On The AIr, Special Events

Cross posted from Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/14ubop0/buffalos_on_the_air_2023/

 

Event Updates / Frequencies: https://www.facebook.com/groups/751075983050671

July 22, 2023 from 1600 GMT til propagation allows

 

Hi I’m Phill, VA7XOZ from Comox, BC. I’m an Avionics Tech in the Royal Canadian Air Force and I have organized an event called Buffalos On The Air (BOTA) to celebrate the retirement of the De Havilland CC115 Buffalo, fixed-wing Search and Rescue plane.

I worked on the Buffalo as a tech for several years and now that we have retired them to museums across Canada I have arranged for amateur radio clubs across the country to hook up to the Buffalo’s beautiful mil-spec length of 45ft antenna wire to broadcast for this event using amateur radio equipment.

This is not a contest, but if you are able to make contact with more than one Buffalo you can request a certificate. You may also receive a QSL card just for making contact.

The event is on Saturday 22 July from 16:00 GMT into the evening. Each location has their own Canadian special event callsign and coordinator:

-VC7BUFF457 Comox BC – Phillip Tanner VA7XOZ

-VC4BUFF462 Winnipeg MB – Calvin Winter VE4AJ

-VC3BUFF456 Trenton ON – Dave Ackerman VE3UGT / VE3OX

-VY2BUFF451 Summerside PEI – Doug Silliker VY2DS

We have a facebook group and event setup to be able to send out info on what bands and modes we’re broadcasting on, answer questions, and stay coordinated. https://www.facebook.com/groups/751075983050671

If you’re in the area, we welcome you to come out to the actual Buffalo locations and come say hi.

I’ll try and answer as many questions as I can in this thread, please try and reach us on the day of. It’s a unique opportunity to be able to make contact with a retired air force plane’s antenna and I hope to continue this event in the future. Just be patient as unlike regular events, we only have the one antenna at each location to communicate with.

Thank you for your support, Phill VA7XOZ

 

####

 

Find out more about this airframe and it’s service to Canada:

https://www.canada.ca/en/air-force/services/aircraft/cc-115.html