This archive of 2015 lists the past items of interest to the general amateur radio community in Hawaii.
Hawaii Calendar of Events for 2015
Amateur radio clubs and organizations around Hawaii sponsor or participate in a variety of operating events and meetings. This is a list of key events around the state.
SKYWARN Recognition Day, December 4 2:00 pm - 8 pm
The annual SKYWARN Recognition Day is scheduled for Friday, December 4 and 5. In Hawaii, it will be held Friday, December 4 from 2:00 pm through 8:00 pm.
Operations will be on 444.350 MHz PL 103.5 Diamond Head which will be linked to the 147.020 MHz PL 103.5 Haleakala, 444.325 MHZ PL 103.5 Waimanalo and the DEM 146.760 MHz Mokuleia and 146.980 MHz FFMB repeaters for voice and FLDIGI MT63-1KL.
Operations will also be on 7.080 USB for voice and FLDIGI MT63-1KL.
Joint ARES/RACES/Amateur Radio and MARS Corona Mass Ejection (CME) Disaster Communications Exercise – November 8-10.
The military, through the MARS (Military Auxiliary Radio System) program is holding
a national radio communications exercise from Sunday, November 8 through Tuesday November 10.
The exercise was previously announced via
ARRL.
The exercise scenario will simulate a solar CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) event and focus on actions
that radio operators should take prior to and following such an event.
In Hawaii, ARES, RACES, MARS and individual amateur radio operators will participate from
4:00 pm until 9:00 pm on various HF and VHF nets to pass real-world situation reports.
See the
ARRL Simulated Emergency Test, October 3 9:00 am - 12 noon
The annual ARRL Simulated Emergency Test is scheduled for Saturday, October 3 from 9:00 am to 12 noon. See the Hawaii SET 15 webpage.
DMR (Digital Mobile Radio) Hawaii
DMR (Digital Mobile Radio) is active in Hawaii. See the DMR Hawaii web page.
Hurricane/Tropical Storm Jimena, August 28, 2015+
Tropical Storm Jimena is tracking west towards the Hawaiian Island chain. You can get more details of the amateur radio preparations and response at Hurricane/Tropical Storm Jimena web page.
Hurricane/Tropical Storm Ignacio, August 23, 2015+
Tropical Storm Ignacio is tracking west towards the Hawaiian Island chain. You can get more details of the amateur radio preparations and response at Hurricane/Tropical Storm Ignacio web page.
Hurricane/Tropical Storm Kilo, August 20, 2015+
Tropical Storm Kilo is tracking south of the Hawaiian Island chain, and is expected to be bring heavy rains when it makes first contact with the Kauai around Monday, August 24. You can get more details of the amateur radio preparations and response at Hurricane/Tropical Storm Kilo web page.
Hurricane/Tropical Storm Hilda, August 7, 2015+
Tropical Storm Hilda is tracking south of the Hawaiian Island chain, and is expected to be bring heavy rains when it makes first contact with the Big Island around Wednesday, August 12. You can get more details of the amateur radio preparations and response at Hurricane/Tropical Storm Hilda web page.
Hurricane/Tropical Storm Guillermo, August 2, 2015+
Hurricane Guillermo is tracking just north of the Hawaiian Island chain, and is expected to be an intense tropical storm when it makes first contact with the Big Island around Wednesday, August 5. You can get more details of the amateur radio preparations and response at Hurricane/Tropical Storm Guillermo web page.
Hawaiian Islands Grid Madness 2015
Stan AH6KO confirms that the Hawaiian Islands Grid Madness is on for Sunday, Sept 20th from 1300 to 1700 HST. It is sponsored by the Aulani Hui Amateur Repeater Club. You can get more details at gridmadness.blogspot.com.
Bill Pasternak WA6ITF, SK
Bill Pasternak WH6ITF became silent key on June 11, 2015. Bill along with Bill Orenstein KH6IAK/KH6QX created the Westlink Radio News Network and the Westlink Report (now the Amateur Radio Newsline), which was heard weekly on the Hawaii State VHF Repeater system for many years. You may wish to donate or volunteer to Bill's cause at www.arnewsline.org.
The June ARRL VHF/UHF contest, June 13-15.
The June ARRL VHF/UHF contest is on for June 13-15. Starting this year, assistance (announcing your operations or finding others on DX spotting nets, APRS, Internet chat rooms, Facebook, etc) is allowed. See the ARRL article for details.
FCC Eliminates Amateur Radio Vanity Call Sign Regulatory Fee
The FCC is eliminating the regulatory fee to apply for an Amateur Radio vanity call sign. See the ARRL article for details.
Annual State Hurricane Exercise - Makani Pahili 2015
Amateur radio participation in the annual State hurricane exercise Makani Pahili 2015 will be from Saturday May 31 till Saturday June 6. See the Makani Pahili 2015 webpage for details.
Big Island International Hamfest on April 11, 2015
From Bob Schneider AH6J. The Big Island International Hamfest (swap meet) will be on April 11th at the Keaau Community Center from 9AM to 2PM. This year BIARC is the lead club. The plans are for next years event to be earlier (perhaps February) since the past scheduled month of October is just too congested and during Hurricane season. It is hoped that by changing the date, we will have better weather and perhaps attendees from the mainland.
There will be the normal swap meet, card checking, refreshments, prizes and Testing in the afternoon. Admission if free with donations and registration at the door.
Parking may be limited so try to come early. Early set up will be 8AM.
Hawaii Winter Communications Exercise on February 27-28, 2015
On February 27 and 28, 2015, the Telecomm section of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency will conduct a voluntary test of its emergency backup communications systems as a Winter Communications Exercise.
The purpose of the exercise is to functionally test the availability of the various systems in advance of the annual Makani Pahili exercise scheduled for June 2015. For this exercise some pre-planning will be required – primarily scheduling of participating personnel – but will consist of minimal preparation as the exercise is intended to simulate a "standing-start". The heart of the exercise will be to simply make one-to-three "calls" on each identified piece of equipment to test equipment availability and user familiarity.
The Friday morning portion of the exercise will be primarily for participating State and County agencies. The Saturday morning portion of the exercise will be for RACES elements unable to participate on Friday.
The exercise objectives for Saturday February 28 from 9:00 am to 12 noon are:
- Update the Fldigi Flmsg software in the two computers in the State EOC amateur radio station KH6HPZ.
- Check and operate the State EOC amateur radio equipment
- Practice the sending and receiving of FL messages and the printing of the messages in the State EOC.
- Generate a report of the communications exercise and what needs to be fixed prior to the start of Makani Pahili 2015.
Operations will be on the State RACES linked VHF/UHF repeater system for voice and Fldigi as well as from 7088 kHz LSB for voice and Fldigi. The Fldigi mode will be initially be on MT-63 1KL. Depending on propagation the frequency may be higher or lower than 7088 kHz LSB and other modes and speed may be used.
All stimulated messages will be begin and end with "This is an exercise message."
All messages will be stimulated for situation reports (SITREPs), requests for assistance (RFAs), damage reports, and stimulated weather messages.
Ron Hashiro AH6RH and Jack Tsujimura KH6DQ will be at the State EOC. The neighbor island State RACES members will participate from their home location to simulate the county EOCs and may invite other radio operators from their counties to participate. Oahu ARES members will also participate.
FCC paperless amateur radio policy in effect on February 17, 2015
Effective February 17, 2015, the FCC will no longer routinely issue paper amateur radio and other licenses. See the ARRL article for details.
The official notice DA 14-1846 from the FCC is at this link.
Yasme Foundation Announces Award Winners KH7U and AH6NM
From ARRL News. The Yasme Foundation Board of Directors has announced the recipients of several awards and monetary grants. The Foundation named four individuals to receive the Yasme Excellence Award for 2014 as well as eight specific grant recipients. Kimo Chun KH7U was recognized for his contributions to DXpeditions and Dick Flagg AH6NM was recognized for his contributions to the ARISS and SAREX programs and the Radio Jove project. See the ARRL News for more information.
NOAA Inouye Regional Center
The 2015 SKYWARN radio operators took a tour of the new NOAA Inouye Regional Center on Ford Island as guests of acting NWS Regional Director Ray Tanabe. See the NOAA Inouye Regional Center webpage for highlights.
Copyright © 1997-2015 Ron Hashiro
Updated: November 24, 2015
DISCLAIMER: Ron Hashiro Web Site is not responsible for the content at
any of the external sites that we link to and therefore
are not necessarily endorsed by us.