West Virginia Section News Page

 

  As of September 17, 2005 this web page will no longer be updated with infomation covering the WV Section.....  Please access the WV Web Page from the ARRL for updates from WV Section Manager Ann Rinehart, KA8ZGY...  Tnx es 73 to all de Hal, W8HC.................

    

      

Final WV Section News update: Sat, Sept. 17, 2005 at 5:02 PM ET

WEST VIRGINIA: SM, Hal Turley, W8HC-- ASM: W8YS. ASM: KB8NDS. ASM: K8WV. SEC: W8XF. ASEC Training: WD8PAD. ASEC SkyWarn: K8TAC. STM: W8YS. OOC: W8DL. PIC: N8TMW. TC: W8DL. ACC: KC8KVF.

>> Well folks, this will be my last Section Manager report to you as I pass the baton over to Ann Rinehart, KA8ZGY next month.  These past four years have been special to me and I truly consider it an honor and privilege to have served as your elected representative to the ARRL. 

I leave this position with many pleasant thoughts both of the people I have met and the accomplishments that we have all worked to achieve during my two terms of office.  We have many, many successes to be proud of and I am grateful to so many people who have served with me and been such an integral part of what we have done. 

Foremost, I think we have worked together to strengthen our hobby in WV, promote the amateur service through a variety of avenues, and build solid relationships within many of the communities in and around the state especially through our support of and participation as an emergency communication resource.  In the post 911-world, we have done a great job demonstrating that amateur radio plays such an important role within the realm of emergency preparedness and communications.  We continue to get great participation in the EmComm training offered through ARRL and we have what I would term, many pockets of excellence within the framework of our statewide ARESŪ organization. 

Although there is still much to be done here, I am assured, especially in light of recent events and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, amateur radio will gain even more credibility both as a national resource and here within the state of WV where we know all too well the effects of natural disasters.  I am certain that the amateurs in WV will respond to the call for continued education and training with local responders and agencies and continue to build even stronger alliances within our communities. 

I am equally proud of our Section’s role in the National Traffic System and the fact that WV ranks at the top of the list in every aspect of participation. There is no doubt in my mind that we are THE BEST of the BEST in today’s NTS world.  This is a credit to everyone that participates in our daily Net activities, from the net control stations, traffic handlers and those that check in day-in and day-out on the various traffic nets.  I am grateful that I had such a conscientious Section Traffic Manager as Dennis, W8YS because much of this success must be attributed to him.  In fact, every ARRL section should be so fortunate to have a Traffic Manager with Dennis’ dedication.  Thank you Sir Dennis!

I want to also offer my sincerest “Thank you” to everyone in the WV ARRL Field Organization that has served with me over these past four years.   I truly have been blessed to have had so many dedicated amateurs willing to sacrifice time and resources in support of the ARRL, in support of me, and in support of the amateurs of West Virginia.  You have certainly made my job easier and you are the unsung heroes of our organization.  I do appreciate your support and participation more than you will ever know.

I also want to acknowledge everyone at ARRL HQ that has been so helpful to me providing assistance EACH and EVERY time I have called upon them.  I just wish every ARRL member in West Virginia knew what I know as far as how much our national organization stands behind its membership to provide a level of support that is unparalleled.  I am especially grateful to my mentor Steve Ewald, WV1X for his loyal support and above all, his enthusiasm and encouragement to me over these past four years.   

Finally, I wish to thank Ann Rinehart, KA8ZGY for stepping up to serve as our new Section Manager.  She will do an excellent job and I encourage every ARRL member in WV to support Ann in this important new role.  I wish her the very best and know that she will continue to build on the successes of the WV section we have achieved over these past four years. 

As a proud and loyal member of the ARRL, it has been all my pleasure folks….

Tnx es 73,

Hal, W8HC

Katrina Media Coverage

>> I know that several WV amateurs have been involved and continue to be involved in relief efforts following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.  Some of this assistance has resulted in media coverage in our area.  One such example is in the following story which appeared last week in the Huntington Herald Dispatch.  Special thanks to Garry Ritchie, W8OI; Dennis Bombardiere, W8YS; and Greg Hendry, W8DUQ for their input into this story but more importantly for their efforts with the communication efforts associated with the relief effort. http://www.heralddispatch.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050905/NEWS01/50905002/1005

State Convention/Jackson’s Mill Wrap-up

>> I just want to say a few words about last month’s convention and Jackson’s Mill.  As in the past, I enjoyed it immensely!  My congratulations and thanks to the West Virginia State Amateur Radio Council for being the gracious hosts and coordinators of this annual event.  WVSARC President Mac McMillian and his team put on a great convention offering first class forums, programs and activities. 

Once again, this year’s convention had tremendous support from our Division Director Dennis Bodson, W4PWF and of course the much anticipated ARRL HQ participation from WV adopted-native son Ed Hare, W1RFI.  This year we were also honored to have Norm Fusaro, W3IZ , ARRL Club/Mentoring Program Manager with us to share his wit and wisdom.  Norm seemed comfortably at home at the Mill as his forum presentation offered much insight into the League’s direction with membership and club support. We look forward to seeing Norm at Jackson’s Mill in future conventions!

Of course, the Mill is always regarded as the official venue for announcing and honoring recipients of various established statewide amateur awards.  Honorees at this year’s State Convention included:

2004 WV Amateur of the Year – Don Lemley, W8DL

2004 ARRL WV Field Day Winner – Don Lemley, W8DL

Calvin Basham, W8NR Memorial Award for WV High Score in 2004 ARRL Simulated Emergency Test (SET) – Raleigh County ARES/RACES/SKYWARN Team

Special Achievement Awards for Public Service to West Virginia were also donated and presented by outgoing Section Manager Hal Turley, W8HC to: Dennis Bombardiere, W8YS and Sam Mercure, N8IY.

West Virginia QSO Party 2005  -- Congratulations to 2005 WVQP Plaque winners for high score entries as announced by Dave Ellis, WA8WV at the State Convention at the Mill.

2005 PLAQUE WINNERS

High score SO West Virginia - David Mays  W8UI

High score outside West Virginia-GA - Paul Newberry, Jr.  N4PN 

High score contest - WV – M/M - West Virginia DX Association  W8AH

High score Mobile - Ron Bailey   AA4S

QRP - Ron Bolen    KG8GW

The complete rundown on the 2005 WVQP and downloadable score summary can be obtained at the official WVQP website: http://www.qsl.net/wvarrl/wvqp.html

New 6-Meter Repeater QRV
>>According to recent information received from Bob West, WA8YCD, Grafton is not the only town in north-central WV to have a new SIX METER  REPEATER! (WD8LNB/R 53.430/52.430 PL146.2 -- cross-linked to 2m - Grafton 147.375 and Parsons 147.370) 
 
The West Virginia University Amateur Radio Club W8CUL has a new machine on the air:    W8CUL/R 53.470/52.470 PL103.5 
 
Being set up by N8RDT and K8LG, Larry and Mike report that there is still some de-sense to be worked out, which may limit how well the repeater "hears" weaker stations.  However the machine is up and running on an RC-200 controller, sending out an auto ID every 15 minutes or so. 

The effective range of the repeater is still to be determined. 
 
”If you're QRV on 6m FM, please give it a try,” Bob says. 

DXCC

>> Hal, W8HC and noted Romney, WV Contest Op Jerry Fish, K8OQL will be representing the Potomac Valley Radio Club in the multi/single category as they operate from Israel at the end of October in the CQ World Wide Phone Contest. Last year during CQWW, Hal and Dave, WA8WV operated at this same location from the Israel Amateur Radio Club’s Reut, Israel station using a special callsign granted to them for the contest – 4X0WV.  Hal has been advised that he and Jerry have been given authorization to use the callsign once again during the 48-hour period of this year’s contest.  He and Jerry will be looking to make contact with other WV hams both during the contest and outside the contest signing 4X/W8HC and 4X/K8OQL respectively.  For more information about this operation check out:  http://www.qrz.co.il/home.php?page=4X0WV&prf=1k

News from Upper Ohio Valley

>> Great to hear from Matt KA8YEZ recently to learn of all the activity going on in the Upper Ohio Valley (Northern Panhandle / Eastern Ohio). Sounds like a great place to be especially if you are looking to get involved in ARES.   Matt reports that the Marshall Co. ARES were to take part in a mock disaster drill at the Moundsville prison on Sept. 10.  We are looking forward to hearing more about that exercise. 

Friday Sept. 30th at 7:30 is the NPARC meeting in the Ohio County EOC.

Sunday Oct 16th - is the Walk for Women breast cancer walk at the Howard Long Wellness Center in Wheeling. Anyone interested in helping out should plan to be on location at 1:30pm. If you can help out with this, please contact Matt at: mailto:[email protected]

ARESŪ Update (Re-run from Last Month’s report)

>> The recent July issue of QST included results from the 2004 Simulated Emergency Test (SET) activity. Congratulations once again go out to the Raleigh County ARES/RACES/SKYWARN team whose members took top honors in WV scoring, just as they did in the 2003 SET.  Raleigh Emergency Coordinator Jim Stephenson, KE8YB and his team posted a final score of 478 points for their SET activity and clinched the W8NR Memorial Plaque, another year for this honor.  They were followed by Kanawha County with 166 and Cabell with 122.  Although this exercise isn’t really a contest, the scoring mechanism allows participating ARES groups the opportunity to attain an objective assessment of their team’s efforts and compare that effort with other organizations taking part in the exercise.  I congratulate all three of these ARES teams for their participation in the 2004 SET and hope they will be able to take part in this year’s activity. 

Is your ARES team going to conduct a SET this year?  After all, it is that time of year and I do hope as many ARES teams as possible from around the state will participate.  Here is the information for the 2005 SET: http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/setguide.html  

I remind you of the Cal Basham, W8NR Memorial Award that was established a couple years ago and offered to the ARES group with the top submitted score in WV.  But whether or not you want to compete for the award, the importance of conducting at least one drill per year cannot be overstated.  It is the best way to see where you are with your ARES program, see your strengths and weaknesses and build on relationships within your team and with other agencies that you may have to serve in an actual emergency.

WV Section Traffic Reports

Traffic Reports Compiled and submitted by WV Section Traffic Manager Dennis Bombardiere, W8YS:

(August) Station Activity Reports: KA8WNO 234, W8YS 164, WD8DHC 131, N8IY 130, W8IVF 112, W8WWF 12. Public Service Honor Roll Activity: WV8RG 100, N8IY 90, W8IVF 90, WD8DHC 90, KA8WNO 90. HF Nets: WVFN 805/124/754 W8YS; WVMDN 446/33/386 WV8RG; WVN (E) 121/61/240 W8IVF. WVN(L) 108/21/193 W8IVF; MSEN 11/3/19 N8TMW. 2-meter Nets: Barbour/Upshur County 74/0/99 . ARES/RACES 2-meter Nets: Multi County ARES/RACES 88/0/142; Raleigh Co. ARES/RACES 39/0/193.

 

 

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