NORTH CAROLINA SECTION NEWS - October, 2010
Posted Oct 22, 2010
October and November are among the busiest months in Amateur Radio, so lots to relay to you.
OPEN HOUSE THIS SATURDAY - Greensboro Amateur Radio Association
(GARA) will hold an open house this Saturday, October 23rd, from 10 AM
to 4 PM at Hinshaw United Methodist Church at 4501 High Point Rd. The
purpose of the event is to encourage new Hams, inactive Hams or
wanna-be Hams to learn how to become licensed or improve their skills.
Hats off to GARA for holding this Elmer session. I hope other clubs
will think about this too. GARA designed a nice flyer for the event
which can be seen at
UPCOMING TRAINING CLASSES - If your club is holding a class to earn a
Technician or General license, please send an email about it to our
section webmaster Susan Langley-Jones, WA4AKB, at
JOTA - Boy Scouts of America is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, and many section clubs and individuals participated last weekend in the 53rd annual Jamboree On-The-Air (JOTA). JOTA is one of the very few Scouting events which is international, and is open to all scouts, meaning Cub Scouts, Brownies, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. Here's a summary of activities of NC clubs and individuals:
- Shelby Amateur Radio Club (SARC) hosted a JOTA station for 95 Girl Scouts at Camp Oconeechee at Lake Lure. They demonstrated PSK31, RTTY and D Star in addition to HF phone and VHF FM.
- Durham FM Association went to Camp Durant in Carthage (Moore Co.) and demonstrated VHF-FM and APRS to 300 Cub Scouts
- Davie Amateur Radio Club (DCARC) went to Camp Woodfield near Asheboro where 70 Boy Scouts saw APRS, CW and made a satellite contact on AO-51.
- Cabarrus Amateur Radio Society (CARS) and Rowan Amateur Radio Society (RARS) worked together at Camp Batnhardt in New London (Stanly Co.) They had about 200 Cub Scouts and parents see HF phone, APRS and PSK31.
- Azalea Coast Amateur Radio Club of Wilmington went to Camp McNeill in White Oak (Bladen Co.) and had about 100 Cub Scouts and parents talk on HF phone
- Tim O'Rourke, W4YN, and two other Hams hosted a station for Troop and Pack 49 in Hickory. 45 scouts came by and some made a satellite QSO on SO-67
Although JOTA is always held the third full weekend in October, not all major scout events take place on that weekend. ND4MR, Dave Ritter of Wilkesboro, demonstrated Ham Radio to a large group of scouts the weekend of October 9th, and this weekend the Cleveland County Amateur Radio Society (CCARS) and the Shelby Amateur Radio Club (SARC) will have special event JOTA station K2BSA/4 at the Centennial Redezvous Camporee at Cleveland County Fairgrounds in Shelby, where an estimated 5,000 are expected to attend. Many thanks for showing our youth the value of Ham Radio, and have your club plan to host a JOTA station next year October 14-16, 2011
FAIRLY GOOD - Fall is the time for county fairs. Congratulations to the Kinston Amateur Radio Society, which took 1st Place, Educational Booth, at the Lenoir County Fair.
SENIOR MOMENT - Hats off to 96 year old Weldon Fields, W4AJT, of Greensboro, who was just appointed as an ARRL Official Emergency Station (OES). This is no ceremonial appointment. Weldon is active on the Tar Heel Emergency Net and served a two hour shift as Net Control Station during the HurrEx drill in May. In June, Weldon was honored by the Greensboro Amateur Radio Association (GARA) for his 80th year of holding an Amateur Radio license. Congratulation, Weldon!
SIMULATED EMERGENCY TEST (SET) - the NC ARES SET will be conducted on
Saturday, November 13, 2010 at 0900 for a duration of 2+ hours.
Currently available information is available at
NC ARES WESTERN MEETING. - The annual NC ARES Western Meeting will
take place on October 30th in Morganton, NC from 0900 -1300. This
meeting will cover some new subjects, such as WebEOC and updates about
ongoing projects such as Winlink and ICS training opportunities.
Information about that meeting may be found at
SILENT KEYS - Byron King, K4NGJ, of Raleigh as the result of a motorcycle accident
HAMFESTS - Sunday, November 21, 8 AM - 4 PM JARSfest, Johnston Amateur Radio Society, American Legion Complex, Hwy 301, Benson. Talk-In 147.27 and 146.97
PUBLIC SERVICE - Nov. 7, City of Oaks Marathon, Raleigh; Nov. 13,
Beach 2 Battleship iron distance Triathlon, Wilmington area; Nov. 21,
Makin' Room For Turkey bike ride, Raleigh. Sign up to volunteer at
SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS - Oct. 23, Lexington Barbeque Festival 1200-2200Z, 14.250 and 14.050; Oct 23, 22nd NASCAR Day Festival, Tri-Count ARC, 14.270 and 7.208.
SEPTEMBER NTS REPORTS - QNI (Net station check-ins) 2,858, dn 84 or 2%. Messages passed - 464, dn 37 or 7%. STATION ACTIVITY REPORTS (SARs) K4IWW 277, KI4YV 238, W2EAG 198, W4DNA 101, WK4P 99, W3HL 88, W4TTO 57, KE4AHC 43, K8SKX 19, NC4VA 18. AUGUST PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) NC4VA 168, W4DNA 140, K4IWW 130, W2EAG 110, W4TTO 105, KI4YV 90.
ARES - Members, 753, up 78 or 11%. ICS credentialed - 245, up 35 or 16% DEC/EC reports - 37 out of 100 counties (down 2). ATTN ECs and DECs - if you're not filing your monthly reports, your ARES members aren't included in section reports.
LAST WORD - CONTESTING FOR THE REST OF US. Contesters are a special breed, and a breed we should look up to. The biggest contests of the year in terms of activity are coming up: the "November Sweepstakes". The CW portion is November 6-8, and the Phone version is November 20-22. When you hear a seasoned contester in action, you are hearing the essence of Amateur Radio. Cool, concise, efficient and meticulous are adjectives which describe them. Contesters are many times the ones we admire when we wish we could become better operators. Like anything in life, contesters have worked hard to achieve their success. What's more interesting is that in more casual day-to-day operating, contesters still stand out as exemplary operators. Their habits spill over to normal operating. If you want to become a better operator, there is no substitute for getting on the air, becoming a better listener, and trying a contest or two. But where to begin? Here are some suggestions:
First, if you have expanded HF privileges as a General or Extra, devote an uninterrupted block of time to an upcoming contest. The November Sweepstakes are overwhelming, but you will hear contesting at its utmost. Concentration could net you some unexpected QSOs you might not otherwise get. If you can handle Sweepstakes, you can handle any contest. Listen to segments an hour at a time so you won't burn out. Soon you'll begin to see patterns and rhythms which will help you.
Next, work your way up to the pace of Sweepstakes. State QSO parties
are a wonderful starting point. In CW, there are some 4 hour sprints
that will really help your CW skills to improve. An excellent source
for all kinds of contests, especially ones for rookies, is WA7BNM's
Contest Calendar at
Finally, in North Carolina, 46% of all Amateur Radio licensees are
Technicians. Many are seeking a migration path to motivate them to
General. With the upper bands opening up again, 10 meter contesting is
making a comeback. Techs have the grandfathered Novice CW privileges
plus HF SSB privileges 28.300-28.500 MHz. Try a 10-10 contest. More
info at
Getting on the air is the best prescription to becoming a better operator. Happy Halloween to all, and be safe. C U DN THE LOG.
73 de Bill
Bill Morine, N2COP
ARRL North Carolina Section Manager
For the latest news about Amateur radio in North Carolina, go to the
section's website at ww.ncarrl.org and on Facebook at NC ARRL