EVARC Events/Announcements
September 16, 2018
Vol. 18, No. 31
HELP US NOW! Contact Your US Senators to Support The Amateur Radio Parity Act
September 16, 2018
Vol. 18, No. 31
HELP US NOW! Contact Your US Senators to Support The Amateur Radio Parity Act
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EVARC Upcoming Events/Announcements |
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Next meeting of the Elkhorn Valley
Amateur Radio Club |
General Class License ClassesInterested in upgrading to General Class? The club will be holding classes on the General Class license in the near future. If interested contact Emil Nelson, WB0YID, [email protected]
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Midwest Division / Nebraska Section News The latest Nebraska Sections news can be found on the Nebraska Section Facebook page or the ARRL Nebraska Section news web page. |
Test Sessions within 100 miles of Norfolk, NE |
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09/18/2018 - Hastings, NE Sponsor: Amt Radio Assoc Nebraska
Date: Sep 18 2018
Time: 6:00 PM (Walk-ins allowed)
Contact: Allen D. Harpham
(402) 462-4619
Email: [email protected]
VEC: ARRL/VEC
Location: Central Community College
Easy Hwy 6
Room 132
Dawson Bldg
Hastings NE 68901-9999
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09/25/2018 - Omaha, NE Sponsor: AksarbenARC/Omaha Area VE Team
Date: Sep 25 2018
Time: 6:30 PM (Walk-ins allowed)
Contact: Gregory S. Ross
(712) 566-2698
Email: [email protected]
VEC: ARRL/VEC
Location: American Red Cross
2912 S 80th Avenue
Near 84th and Center
Lower Level West Side
Omaha NE 68124-3250
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09/28/2018 - Sioux City, IA Sponsor: Siouxland ARA
Date: Sep 28 2018
Time: 7:00 PM (Walk-ins allowed)
Contact: Gary L. Johnson
(712) 898-7631
Email: [email protected]
VEC: ARRL/VEC
Location: American Red Cross
4200 War Eagle Dr
Phone call is preferred
Sioux City IA 51109-1700
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10/04/2018 - Lincoln, NE Sponsor: Lincoln ARC
Date: Oct 04 2018
Time: 6:30 PM (Walk-ins allowed)
Contact: Christopher W. Evens
(402) 613-3484
Email: [email protected]
VEC: ARRL/VEC
Location: American Red Cross Center
220 Oakcreek Dr
Lincoln NE 68528-1587
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10/09/2018 - Yankton, SD Sponsor: Prairie Dog Amt Radio Club
Date: Oct 09 2018
Time: 4:00 PM (No Walk-ins / Call ahead)
Contact: Fred L. De Roos
(605) 665-2590
Email: [email protected]
VEC: ARRL/VEC
Location: Christ the King Luthern Church
305 W 25th St
Yankton SD 57078-1317
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10/16/2018 - Hastings, NE Sponsor: Amt Radio Assoc Nebraska
Date: Oct 16 2018
Time: 6:00 PM (Walk-ins allowed)
Contact: Allen D. Harpham
(402) 462-4619
Email: [email protected]
VEC: ARRL/VEC
Location: Central Community College
Easy Hwy 6
Room 132
Dawson Bldg
Hastings NE 68901-9999
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10/30/2018 - Council Bluffs, IA Sponsor: Southwest Iowa ARC
Date: Oct 30 2018
Time: 6:30 PM (Walk-ins allowed)
Contact: Gregory S. Ross
(712) 566-2698
Email: [email protected]
VEC: ARRL/VEC
Location: American Red Cross
705 N 16th St
Council BluffsIA 51501-0105
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| For more testing locations see the ARRL Testing Web page and the W5YI-VEC page | |
Hamfests/Conventions | |
09/29/2018 - Iowa Great lakes ARC Hamfest Start Date: 09/29/2018
End Date: 09/29/2018
Location: Milford American Legion
1709 Okoboji Avenue
Milford, IA 51351
Website: http://gt9650.wixsite.com/iglarc
Flyer: https://gt9650.wixsite.com/iglarc/hamfest-swap-meet
Sponsor: Iowa Great Lakes Amateur Radio Club
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Talk-In: 146.610 (PL 110.9)
Public Contact: Eric Hinshaw , KBØLOX
103 Hinshaw Street Arnolds Park, IA 51331
Phone: 712-330-2259
Email: [email protected]
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11/03/2018 - Northeast Nebraska Hamfest - Norfolk, NE
Start Date: 11/03/2018
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For a complete listing of Hamfests go to the ARRL Hamfest Search page |
News From the September13 ARRL Letter |
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ARRL Headquarters Emergency Response Team Activates for FlorenceThe ARRL Headquarters Emergency Response Team activated on September 12, as what the National Hurricane Center (NHC) is calling "dangerous Hurricane Florence" continued to close in on the southeastern US coast, where it's "expected to bring life-threatening storm surge and rainfall to portions of the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic states."
"South Carolina ARES is fully activated," ARRL South Carolina Section Emergency Coordinator Billy Irwin, K9OH, told ARRL, adding that he's been coordinating regularly with the state Emergency Management Division. "We have operators serving 12-hour shifts at the SC Emergency Management Division and will move to 24-hour coverage on Thursday. Two operators have been deployed to Berkeley County to assist with shelter operations at the request of the Emergency Coordinator there." Irwin said information about frequencies in use is in the Tactical Guide on the South Carolina ARES website. "We are literally modifying plans on the fly to meet the needs of the mission," Irwin added. "Several ARRL Sections have offered assistance." W1AW Suspending Bulletin and Code Practice on September 14 As part of the ongoing communication efforts with Hurricane Florence, Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station W1AW will suspend its regular bulletin and code practice transmissions on Friday, September 14. The station will resume its normal operating schedule on Monday, September 17. Radio amateurs are reminded to avoid the various Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) and SATERN frequencies, as well as any state and regional emergency nets, to help facilitate communications that may be necessary during the Hurricane Florence response. Hurricane Watch Net, WX4NHC
"Hurricane Florence is drawing a lot of concern for its size and strength, but more so for the potential flooding," Assistant HWN Manager Stan Broadway, N8BHL, said. WX4NHC at the National Hurricane Center will remain active through Friday, September 14, operating cooperatively with the HWN as net stations funnel "ground-truth" reports to the Center. WX4NHC will monitor the HWN and the VoIP Hurricane Net (VoIPWX) on EchoLink Conference WX-Talk, node 7203 or IRLP 9219. SATERN
SATERN may extend its activation depending on reports of major damage, especially to the communications infrastructure; continued significant emergency, priority, or health-and-welfare traffic, as well as reports of an increased need for auxiliary communication. The net's primary mission will be the receipt and delivery of outbound health-and-welfare messages from affected areas. The Salvation Army is beginning to stage personnel and equipment in major deployments to North Carolina and Virginia. SHARES The Department of Homeland Security's SHARES will maintain watch on its Northeast Region (FEMA Regions 1, 2, and 3) and Southeast Region (FEMA Region 4) nets starting at 2100 UTC on Thursday, September 13, and on its National Net channels starting at 1200 UTC on Friday, September 14. Tropical Storm Olivia The ARRL Pacific Section has been preparing for activation to support a response to Tropical Storm Olivia. SKYWARN volunteers in Hawaii are supporting the National Weather Service for Olivia. ARRL deployed seven Ham Aid HF kits to Hawaii for Hurricane Lane, and these will remain in Hawaii through the remainder of the hurricane season. Amateur Radio operators on Guam are active supporting response to the Super Typhoon Mangkhut, which is expected to strike the Philippines. AO-92 to Image Hurricane Florence
AO-92 will not be in U/V FM voice transponder operation during these passes, and ground stations should not attempt to access AO-92 during this period. The high-speed image data will be transmitted on a downlink frequency of 145.880 MHz and can be captured, decoded, and uploaded to the Fox-1 data warehouse using FoxTelem version 1.06 software. |
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IARU Administrative Council Meeting Focuses on WRC-19 PreparationThe International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Administrative Council (AC) held its annual face-to-face meeting September 8 - 9 in Seoul, Korea, immediately prior to the IARU Region 3 Conference. The AC is responsible for the policy and management of the IARU and consists of the three IARU international officers and two representatives from each of the three IARU regional organizations.
Given these challenges, the AC reviewed its strategic plan to develop support for amateur spectrum allocations and approved the action plan for the rest of 2018 and 2019. Delegates reviewed and adopted the IARU 2019 - 2021 budget, which depends upon anticipated financial contributions from the IARU International Secretariat and the three regional organizations. The AC agreed to maintain its modest annual financial support of the Beacon Project. ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, reported consensus on nominating incumbent President Tim Ellam, VE6SH, and Vice President Ole Garpestad, LA2RR, for additional terms. These nominations will be submitted to the IARU member-societies for ratification. The growth of Amateur Radio -- and especially how to attract young people -- is a common concern of IARU member-societies. The AC will endeavor to identify barriers to growth that the IARU can assist member-societies in addressing and will encourage member-societies to share successful growth strategies. The IARU policy on QSL bureaus has been under review for several years in light of escalating expenses and the problem of unwanted and undeliverable QSL cards as an environmental concern. Possible policy amendments are being developed for consideration.
President Roderick and Bellows are also on hand for the 17th International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 3 Conference, hosted by the Korean Amateur Radio League (KARL), which continues until September 14 in Seoul. ARRL is representing the interests of FCC-licensed radio amateurs in Region 3 living in various Pacific territories, including Guam and American Samoa. KARL reported that to promote the hobby, an entry-level license (ELL) has been introduced as the fourth Amateur Radio license class in Korea. Obtaining this license requires participating in 8 hours of tutoring beginners in Amateur Radio. License holders will be allowed to operate on VHF/UHF bands with up to 10 W output. CRAC reported that China's Amateur Radio population is expanding steadily, with slightly more than 130,100 licensees and an estimated 80,000 active station licenses. The Chinese Class C license, held by only 626 individuals, is the highest license in China, permitting 1 kW on HF and 25 W above 30 MHz. The conference report "Amateur Radio for Kids" by Julie Gonzales, VK3FOWL, and Joe Gonzales, VK3YSP, suggested that engaging youngsters at an early age in radio and electronics should be about more than recruiting or licensing. Region 3 conference documents are available on the IARU Region 3 website. |
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US ARDF Team Tops its Own World Championships Medal Count in Korea
On September 4, the first day of competition, the US won its first medal of this year as Ruth Bromer, WB4QZG, captured individual 3rd place in the W60 category in the 80-meter foxoring competition. The next day, the team's M50 competitors -- Vadim Afonkin, KB1RLI; Nicolai Mejevoi, and Bill Wright, WB6CMD -- won bronze medals in the classic 2-meter team competition. That same day, the team of Ken Harker, WM5R -- the Team USA Captain and the new International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 2 ARDF Coordinator -- and Joe Burkhead won bronze in the M40 category on 80 meters. Team awards are based on the aggregate scores of individual team members, who are not permitted to assist one another on the courses.
This marked the second time that ARDF Team USA had competed in Korea. Before traveling to the competition, a weekend training camp for Team USA members and other ARDF enthusiasts took place August 10 - 12 at Mt. Pinos in the Los Padres National Forest of California. Complete results of the 2018 ARDF World Championships are posted on the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club website. For more information on ARDF, visit the Homing In website of US/ARRL ARDF Coordinator Joe Moell, K0OV. Follow ARDF Team USA on Facebook. |
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Ducie Island VP6D DXpedition, Other Pacific Operations on Target
Elsewhere, from September 29 until October 6, Martin Wennergren, A65DC, and friends will operate from Christmas Island as VK9XT. They plan to be on 160 through 10 meters, excluding 60 meters, kicking things off with the CQ World Wide RTTY Contest for the first 48 hours, with SSB and CW on non-contest bands, then CW, SSB, and RTTY on HF, using FT8 "only when no other operation is happening or on bands that are opening or closing," they've said. VK9XT logs will go to LoTW and Club Log. Stan Vatev, LZ1GC, is heading to Samoa and will be on the air by September 28 as 5W0GC. He'll meet other operators for the YJ0GC operation from Vanuatu, set to begin on October 15. Logs will be uploaded to LoTW. HF operation will concentrate on 160 and 80 meters. More details are on the 5W0GC/YJ0GC website. -- Thanks to The Daily DX |
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Two 40-Meter Broadcast Intruders Gone, IARU Region 1 Monitoring System ReportsThe IARU Region 1 Monitoring System (IARUMS) reports that two long-time broadcast intruders on 40 meters are gone. IARUMS Coordinator Wolf Hadel, DK2OM, said in the August IARUMS newsletter that Radio Hargeisa in the Republic of Somaliland on 7.120 MHz, and Radio Ethiopia on 7.140 MHz, departed the band during the last week of August.
IARUMS did report increasing military traffic on 7 and 14 MHz, "especially on digital modes from Russia and China." In addition, a wideband over-the-horizon (OTH) radar in China has caused serious problems on 20 meters, while an Iranian radar on 28.860 MHz "could be heard under sporadic E conditions." German telecommunications authorities have filed a formal complaint. Hadel said a Russian Navy system believed to be in Moscow appeared on 7.182 MHz on F1A, a 200 Hz shift, identifying as RDL. German telecommunications authorities were notified. Hadel also reported "childish behaviour" by hams in western and eastern Ukraine "insulting each other or playing music every day" on 7.055 MHz (LSB). Reports of amateur band intruders can be submitted via the IARU Region 1 Monitoring System Logger. |
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In Brief.....
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Education and TrainingIS-100b - Introduction to Incident Command System, ICS-100 IS-200b - ICS for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents IS-700.a - National Incident Management System (NIMS) An Introduction IS-800.b - National Response Framework, An Introductionn |
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CLOSING ITEMS The EVARC weekly net meets every Monday evening at 7:30 PM on the club 2 meter repeater (146.73 -). Check-in to the net to hear an update on activities of other club members, announcements of local interest, and any late breaking information. Everyone is welcome to check in. |
The purpose of this newsletter is to provide information to local hams with items of interest. It is compiled from local, regional, and national sources an includes national, regional, and local news items and events. Created by Monty Wilson, NRØA. Contact NRØA with comments or questions..
ARRL
shipped seven 
The
Hurricane Watch Net (
The Salvation Army Team Emergency Network (
AMSAT-NA has announced plans for AO-92 (Fox-1D) to attempt to image
Hurricane Florence. AMSAT Vice-President of Operations, Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, said
this week that plans call for using the camera on AO-92 to try imaging
Hurricane Florence during North American east coast passes on September
13 and 14. 
With
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Radiocommunication
Conference 2019 (WRC-19) now little more than a year away, the efforts
of two dozen IARU volunteers to defend Amateur Radio's frequency
allocations against commercial pressures and to seek worldwide
harmonization of the 50 - 54 MHz band are reaching a critical stage.
Coordination of the IARU team is ongoing during the run-up to the ITU
Conference Preparatory Meeting in Geneva next February and WRC-19 itself
in October and November. High on the list of concerns is what IARU
called "the potential for crippling levels of interference to
radiocommunications from high-power wireless power transfer (WPT) for
electric vehicles." 
Attending
the meeting were IARU President Tim Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA; Vice President
Ole Garpestad, LA2RR; and Secretary David Sumner, K1ZZ, along with
regional representatives Don Beattie, G3BJ; Hans Blondeel Timmerman,
PB2T; Reinaldo Leandro, YV5AM; Ramón Santoyo, XE1KK; Gopal Madhavan,
VU2GMN, and Peter Young, VK3MV. Observers included regional executive
committee members Jay Bellows, K0QB; Ken Yamamoto, JA1CJP, and Don
Wallace, ZL2TLL. 
Team
USA took home 10 medals from the just-concluded 2018 Amateur Radio
Direction Finding (ARDF)
Afonkin
took an individual gold medal for his 1st-place finish on 80 meters in
the M50 category. In the same event, the M50 category team of Afonkin,
Mejevoi, and Wright came away with bronze medals in the 80-meter team
competition. 
The
VP6D Ducie Island DXpedition is set to get under way October 20 and
continue until November 3. According to Jacky Calvo, ZL3CW, the
equipment, already en route, has been
"We
did not miss them," he commented. 
The K7RA Solar Update -
Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: Sunspot activity returned during
the September 6-12 reporting week, with spots on 4 non-consecutive
days, September 8 - 9 and 11 - 12. Average daily sunspot numbers
increased to 7.6, compared to no spots over the previous 7 days.
Average daily solar flux increased from 67.8 to 68.6, and planetary
A index doubled from 6.3 to 12.6, while the mid-latitude A index
went from 5.9 to 10. http://www3.arrl.org/nl/al/image/Solar-Disk-2018-09-13.jpgThe
September 12 forecast predicts solar flux at 70 on September 13 -
14; 68 on September 15 - 22; 67 on September 23 - 24; 68 on
September 25 - October 6; 70 on October 7 - 9; 68 on October 10 -
19; 67 on October 20 - 21, and 68 on October 22 - 27. The same
forecast over the same period supposes planetary A index at 12, 8,
5, 10, 8 and 5 on September 13-18; 8, 5, 5, 12, and 8 on September
19 - 23; 5 on September 24 - 30; 8 and 10 on October 1 - 2; 5 on
October 3 - 6; 12, 35, 15, 12, 12, 8, 5, 10, and 8 on October 7 -
15; 5 on October 16 - 18; 12 and 8 on October 19 - 20, and 5 on
October 21 - 27. As recently as September 9, the US Air Force
predicted a rise of solar flux to 75 on September 17 before dropping
below 70, followed by flux values of 70 on October 7 - 9.
Solar forecaster Tamitha Skov, WX6SWW, wrote on September 11 to say,
"[W]e did reach G2-level storm conditions. In fact we remained at
G2-levels for over 6 hours. This meant emergency communication over
the Amateur Radio bands was non-existent. Luckily, it looks like the
worst is now over." Sunspot numbers for September 6 - 12 were
0, 0, 16, 12, 0, 14, and 11, with a mean of 7.6. The 10.7-centimeter
flux was 67.4, 67.5, 68.7, 68.4, 69, 69.4, and 69.7, with a mean of
68.6. Estimated planetary A indices were 6, 5, 5, 7, 21, 35, and 9,
with a mean of 12.6. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 5, 5, 5,
6, 15, 24, and 10, with a mean of 10. 
"Tools
for the Amateur Station" is the topic of the latest (September
13) episode of the "
Global
Learn Day on the Air (
Brazilian
telecoms regulator Anatel