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NORTH CAROLINA SECTION NEWS - April 2013

Posted Apr 23, 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".

SECTION MANAGER IS ROANOKE DIVISION SERVICE AWARD RECIPIENT - North Carolina Section Manager Bill Morine, N2COP, received the 45th annual ARRL Roanoke Division Service Award for dedicated service among the 53,000 operators in the four states which make up the Roanoke Division - North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. ARRL Roanoke Division Director Dennis Bodson, W4PWF, and Vice Director Dr. Jim Boehner, N2ZZ, made the presentation at RARSfest on March 30th. Bill joins many past North Carolina award winners, including: 1994 Rev. Jim MacLeod (SK), W4NHV, Lumberton 1995, Bob Southworth, KI4YV, Hiddenite 1998, Norm Harrill, N4NH, Asheville 2005, John Covington, W4CC, Dallas 2010, Duke Knief, W4DK, Etowah Please see QUA commentary below for more on this award, and visit ARRL's Roanoke Division website at http://www.arrl-roanoke.org

GUILFORD COUNTY SCHOOL QSO WITH ASTRONAUTS SET FOR MAY SECOND - Thursday, May 2, is the date that students of the Ronald McNair Elementary in Brown Summit, NC outside of Greensboro are scheduled to speak with astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). This will be the first QSO with the ISS for a North Carolina school in almost two years. The QSO is coordinated by Amateur Radio International Space Station (ARISS), a group which works closely with NASA, AMSAT and ARRL in letting students use Amateur Radio to speak with ISS astronauts. The Ronald McNair School is named after the North Carolina A&T University physicist who perished during the 1986 shuttle explosion.

HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS WEEK - The National Weather Service has named May 26-June 1 Hurricane Preparedness Week. To kick off the month, two eastern North Carolina SKYWARN organizations have public outreach activities. . On Friday, May 3, Newport SKYWARN will be part of the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) at Cherry Point's Emergency Preparedness Fair. Then on Saturday, May 4, Central Carolina SKYWARN will have a demonstration as part of StormFest 2013 at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh in partnership with Raleigh's National Weather Service office. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30. All Hams across North Carolina are asked to keep their equipment ready for emergencies at all times, but especially during hurricane season. You can learn more about Hurricane Preparedness Week by going to NOAA's website at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/prepare Because so many people, both Hams and non-Hams, want to become SKYWARN spotters, the National Weather Service is making training Spotter training available online. Go to http://www.nws.noaa.gov/training/wxspot.php and scroll to the bottom of the page for Ham Radio specific hyperlinks. You can find out more information about SKYWARN in North Carolina at the section's website at https://www.ncarrl.org/ares/skywarn/index.html

RADIO MERIT BADGE CLASS A SUCCESS - Wilson County ARES held a Boy Scout Radio Merit Badge class in March, with scouts attending from up to 130 miles away. The Radio merit badge is a rare badge to earn, so groups which offer it can expect many scout attendees. To find out how to coordinate and publicize offering the badge, contact your local Boy Scout council. PowerPoint presentations for teaching the badge can be found in the files section of the "Scout Radio" group in Yahoo Groups at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ScoutRadio and at ARRL at http://www.arrl.org/amateur-radio-and-scouting A great time to offer the Radio merit badge is in conjunction with Jamboree-On-The-Air (JOTA), which this year is October 19th and 20th. More details at the ARRL hyperlink above.

AMATEUR RADIO EXPO AT GREENSBORO SCIENCE CENTER - Guilford Amateur Radio Association (GARA) hosted a Ham Radio Expo for youth and family on April 20th at the Greensboro Science Center. This event is coordinated and supported by GARA for the purpose of informing, exhibiting and demonstrating amateur radio to visitors to the Greensboro Science Center. The son of two GARA members, who was also a licensed ham, built an amateur radio station at the science center as his Eagle Scout project. Any licensed amateur is allowed to use the station. Over the years, GARA has supported the station by servicing radios, maintaining antennas and encouraging the stations use. The next Expo is tentatively scheduled for November 23rd, and GARA hopes to make the Expo a semi-annual event.

CONTESTING CORNER - NC has some top quality contest stations and this report is designed to recognize those stations and the operators who put in the chair time necessary to achieve high scores. Those stations winning Division or higher honors are listed in parenthesis. 2012 CW Sweepstakes High NC Scores-Single Op High N4AF 197374, sweep (Southeast Region). Single Op Low W4MY 108702. Single Op QRP K4QPL 89424. Unlimited High W4MR 195216, sweep (Southeast Region). Unlimited Low W4MPS 86560. Multioperator High W4ZYT 68640. 2012 Phone Sweepstakes High NC Scores-Single Operator High N4CW 65886. Single Op Low W4FT 94125, sweep, Single Op QRP WK4P 54116, sweep (Roanoke Division). Unlimited High N1LN 180774, sweep. Unlimited Low W4AAA 233728, sweep (overall category winner).Multioperator High K4OV 276224, sweep (Roanoke Division). Multiop Low W4YK 31826. Upcoming Contests-ARRL June VHF Contest June 8-9. (Contesting Corner courtesy WK4P).

PUBLIC SERVICE - May 4, CAM Relay for Life, Cary. To learn more email John Snellen, AI4RT, at ai4rt@hotmail.com; May 8, Carolina Cycling Trials, Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord. More details at www.ridempas.com; May 18, Charlotte MS Walk. More info at www.ridemaps.com; May 18, Over The Mountain Triathlon, Kings Mountain. More details at www.sarc.org; May 18-19, Tour de Cure, Cary to Southern Pines and return, To learn more email John Snellen, AI4RT, at ai4rt@hotmail.com; May 25, Belwood Days, Belwood in conjunction with the Piedmont Council of Boy Scouts of America. For more information, email Susan Melvin, K4ZXN at k4zxn@yahoo.com; May 25, MS Springfest, Hillsborough. To learn more email John Snellen, AI4RT, at ai4rt@hotmail.com; May 31-June 1, Special Olympics, various locations in Wake County. To learn more email John Snellen, AI4RT, at ai4rt@hotmail.com

LICENSING CLASSES - April 16 to May 9, Technician Class, Asheville. For more information, please email Norm Harrill, N4NH, at n4nh@arrl.net; June 4 to July 3, General Class licensing class, Wilkes Co. Community College. More details at www.wilkescc.edu then click on Summer Continuing Education. To find licensing classes, go to www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-class To register an upcoming class, go to www.arrl.org/register-a-new-license-class

SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS - None known for May

NTS MARCH SECTION TRAFFIC REPORT - QNI (total check-ins) 3136. TOTAL MESSAGES PASSED 688. STATION ACTIVITY REPORTS (SARs) K4IWW 359, W4DNA 261, W2EAG 203, WK4WC 148, AK4RJ 118, KC4PGN 100, WK4P 81, KJ4JPE 76, W4TTO 69, WB4ZIQ 65, WB4Y 60, K4JUU 53, KK4BVR 47, W3HL 39, KE4AHC 37, N3RTF 30, KA4IZN 10. PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) KK4BVR 170, WB4ZIQ 170, WK4P 160, W4DNA 155, KJ4JPE 140, K4IWW 130, K4JUU 120, AK4RJ 115, W2EAG 110, N2RTF 105, W4TTO 100, WB4Y 95, WK4WC 80.

SKs - We regret to report the passing of Rev. Jim MacLeod, W4NHV, of Lumberton

QUA* - Most of us have heard the saying that there's no letter "I" in the word "team". Anyone who receives recognition for efforts in an organization has likely been part of a team, so their honor should be shared with fellow team members. Such is the case for me. I am honored to have been named the 2012 ARRL Roanoke Division Service Award recipient. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and my strength is perhaps that I can connect dots and pull together disparate efforts. But the grunt work is done by the 150 ARRL North Carolina section field appointments and the other nine section officers who oversee their functional responsibilities. So the Roanoke Division Award really needs to be shared with my fellow section officers. For those who haven't seen the list in a while, here's their names and recent accomplishments. I hope you will join me in congratulating them for their great work. (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER) - Tom Brown, N4TAB, Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC). Implemented 2005 requirement of ICS credentialing for those ARES volunteers who work with North Carolina Emergency Management and county emergency management departments. Took the pilot federal AUXCOMM program and is implementing it in North Carolina. - Chuck deCourt, W3WZN, State Government Liaison (SGL). Monitors legislation to ensure Amateur Radio can operate freely and is helping with the rewrite of Raleigh municipal ordinances regarding antennas which could be a template for other cities and counties. Chuck recently took over for Dr. Bob Conder, K4RLC, who made sure mobile operations weren't affected by cell and text prohibitions. Next time you have a QSO while mobile, thank Chuck and Dr. Bob you can do so legally in the state of North Carolina. - Danny Hampton, K4ITL, Section Technical Coordinator (STC). Danny does double service to North Carolina through his team of Technical Specialists (TS) who help Hams with problems like interference, and by sitting on the board of SERA, South Eastern Repeater Association. Next time you enjoy a QSO on a repeater, thank Danny. - Rick Lamonica, W4RZA, Official Observer Coordinator (OOC). Rick and his team of OOs scour HF, VHF and UHF frequencies looking not only for less than exemplary behavior, but also good operators worthy of ARRL's A-1 Operator Award. His OO team successfully tracked down a jammer interfering a Johnston County repeater last year. - Susan Langley-Jones, WA4AKB, Section Webmaster and Official Bulletin Station (OBS). Susan overhauled the website two years ago to make it friendlier for smartphones and more visually appealing to those who are sight challenged. She continually adds new material and freshens up older pages. Check out her work at www.ncarrl.org - Mike Lewis, WA4KE, Affiliated Club Coordinator (ACC). Mike makes sure that the 67 ARRL affiliated clubs in the state maintain requirements and standards to retain affiliated status, and ensures healthy clubs with community outreach. - Dave Roy, W4DNA, Section Traffic Manager (STM). Dave balances the tried and proven reliability of CW and phone nets, and is a trailblazing force in the emerging area of digital traffic handling. - Woody Woodward, K3VSA, Public Information Coordinator (PIC). Woody has vastly expanded the role and accountability of ARRL appointed Public Information Officers, making NC the only section with PIOs who have all taken or are taking ARRL's PR-101 PIO training.

Next time you see one of the above section officers, please thank them for their service and for making the North Carolina section run so well. They are the ones who have earned the Roanoke Division Service Award. I very much thank them.

73 de Bill N2COP ARRL North Carolina Section Manager

*QUA - CW net control procedural signal meaning "Do you have news for me?"