An IN-PERSON Hocking Valley Amateur Radio Club meeting will be held at the historic Logan Theater
at the NW corner of Main and Mulberry (SR 93) Streets in Logan on Tuesday, July 6, at 7:00 PM. Please take the elevator to the
2nd Floor. All Health Dept. safety rules will be observed.
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Check out the HVARC Activities and Events webpage at www.qsl.net/k8lgn/events.html
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License Alert!
The following Amateur Radio Licenses are due to expire in the next 90 days. You should take steps to renew your license now to
continue to operate. Yes, it's been 10 years already!
KC8RYM Chris Boch 08/01/2021 K8WJW Bill Warthman 09/16/2021
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HVARC Monthly Meeting Minutes for June 1, 2021
Meeting brought to order by James Martin, Vice President, at 7:00 PM.
The Pledge of Allegiance was given by James, W8LGN, Vice President.
All Officers present except for President and Trustee.
New Ham Radio Operator, Ben Skinner, KE8QND, was introduced.
Secretary's Report by Bill, W8LGX
Meeting Minutes were emailed to Club Members.
No corrections received - Minutes were approved.
Treasurers Report by Roy, KC8TFW
Treasury Balance at the end of April.......$4,835.62
Liability Insurance......................................-250.00
Donation - Network for Good........................50.00
Amazon Smiles Donation..............................11.58
Balance at the end of May 2021...........$4,647.20
Dave, KB8OTU, added that the invoice for the ham radio equipment insurance has not yet been received.
No corrections received on the Treasurer's report. Report was approved.
Activity Report by James, W8LGN
James introduced Bozz Salizzoni , the new Hocking Co. EMA Director.
Bozz asked for volunteers to help park show cars for the car show at the Washboard Festival on the evening
of June 18, from 5 to 9 PM. Dave, KB8OTU, asked about liability coverage, and Bozz said that is covered by the
Washboard Festival.
Bozz also revealed plans for a full scale mock disaster drill in October, where a school will be evacuated.
He wants the Club to supply backup communications to Ohio MARCS. The drill will be conducted by the County EMA,
and all County safety services will be involved.
County EMA will be restarting CERT in the county, and teams will be formed. He wants an amateur radio operator
to be included in each CERT team, and amateur radio will provide communications for CERT.
Bozz said that due to training in the EOC meeting room, the room probably won't be available until the end of August.
Emergency Coordinator's Report by Dave, KB8OTU
Dave spoke about ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) in connection with working with EMA.
He listed items to be included in your "go bag" - radio, spare batteries, raincoat, extra shoes, 'power'
bars, Hocking County map (and surrounding counties), etc., so that you will be prepared in an emergency.
Dave went over the activation of ARES. A public official (fire Chief, EMA Director, etc.) may contact anyone
on the contact list, and that person contacts Dave. Dave will then start the process to activate ARES.
But one thing to remember - in the event of an emergency, DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY GO TO THE EOC!
Stay at your home station until you are assigned to a specific duty or location.
Dave plans to have an ARES meeting in the near future to go over procedures.
Repeater Engineers Report by Bill, W8LGX
All the stations are on the air. There is a 'known' bug in the repeater controller that occasionally mutes the audio
of a station transmitting thru the repeater, although the repeater stays on the air. The audio unmutes once the user rekeys
their transmitter. I am awaiting a firmware update from the factory.
Old Business
Bill, W8LGX, talked about Field Day, and invited Bozz to come out and see how we operate.
It's on June 26, at Ray Webb's home, at the junction of Thompson Ridge Rd. and Wagner Rd., near Laurelville.
Setup begins at 10 AM, and the contest begins at 2 PM. We will also need people to help tear down on Sunday.
Bill talked about other things we could do to collect bonus points for the contest. We believe we will be operating
in Class 4A this year (4 transmitters simultaneously).
Have not heard anything about when Home Depot will have the new generator available.
New Business
Dave, KB8OTU, and Bill, W8LGX, have researched the Club history, and it will be made available to Club
Members once it is written up.
Bill, W8LGX, said that while researching the history of the Club, it was found that the Club was
established in 1991, so this year marks the 30th anniversary of the Club, and we are asking for
suggestions on how to celebrate it.
Dave may have an ARES meeting immediately after the next Club meeting.
The next Club meeting will be In-Person, on Tuesday, July 6, at 7:00 PM, at the Logan Theater.
Net Control Stations for June -
2nd - Dustin, KE8QMX
9th - Bill, W8LGX
16th - Dustin, KE8QMX
23rd - James, W8LGN
30th - Bruce, KE8QMY
Business Meeting Adjourned at 7:54 PM.
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Meeting Attendees (13)
W8LGN, James Martin KE8QMY, Bruce Underwood
KC8TFW, Roy Vickers K8SWS, Simeon Swayne
KB8USO, Gregg Russell KD8YYM, Allen Frederick
W8LGX, Bill Hopstetter Guest, Bozz Salizzoni
KB8OTU, Dave Brimner K8WJW, Bill Warthman
KE8QMX, Dustin Underwood KD8LPW, Mark Edgar
KE8QND, Ben Skinner
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Procedure for Club Dues payment.
If you want to pay in another way other than cash (in-person), check or money order, many banks will send
a check to an individual through Bill Pay. Send it to the HVARC Treasurer, c/o Roy Vickers, at the
address listed at www.qsl.net/k8lgn/memberinfo.html Membership Cards will only be mailed out if a Member
sends the Treasurer a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope (SASE) for the card. Otherwise the cards will be held
by the Treasurer for pickup in person at a Club meeting.
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For Sale/Wanted Items
64 foot, free standing Rohn tower for sale, $100. Contact Les Westfall, N8TRK, at 740-591-2515
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Operating News
Every Wednesday at 9 PM ET - HVARC weekly net, on HVARC Repeaters
July 10-11, 2021, IARU HF World Championship, www.arrl.org/iaru-hf-world-championship
August 28, 2021, Ohio QSO Party, 12 Noon to Midnight ET, www.ohqp.org
September 11, 2021, Ohio State Parks On The Air, 10 AM to 6 PM ET, https://ospota.org/
Check these websites for the most recent on-the-air events -
http://www.arrl.org/Pages/view/special-event-stations
http://www.arrl.org/contest-calendar
https://www.contestcalendar.com/contestcal.html
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FCC News
Still no word on when application fees will be in effect as of this writing (July 1). So applications
are free to file at least until July 30.
All applications filed with the FCC MUST have an FRN number.
Applications with a Social Security Number in place of the FRN will be rejected. Applicants not now holding
a license and are planning to take an Amateur Radio Exam MUST register for an FRN number before the exam date
(it's Free - go to www.qsl.net/k8lgn/FCC_Online to find out how). For those with current licenses, the FRN is
printed on your license.
Beginning June 30, all applicants MUST supply a valid email address. Any application not containing an
email address will be rejected. The ARRL suggests that those not having an email address use the email address
of a trusted friend or family member. The FCC will not make public any email addresses submitted.
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Area Ham Radio Events and News
You should check with event planners before traveling to any event, as the event may be rescheduled or
canceled with little notice.
Amateur Radio Examinations
Athens County Amateur Radio Assn. - www.ac-ara.org/?page_id=1346
Lancaster & Fairfield County Amateur Radio Club - http://k8qik.org/
Hocking County - Saturday, July 17. Hocking County Fox Hunt. Call-up is on the HVARC repeater
(147.345+ MHz, 114.8 Hz PL) at 9:45 AM. The Hunt will be from 10 AM to 1 PM. The Fox frequency will
be 147.495 MHz. The Fox will be adjacent or visible from a public roadway within Hocking County. If you
plan to participate, or for more info, contact Bill, W8LGX, [email protected], or see www.qsl.net/k8lgn/events
Mansfield - Saturday, July 10. Mid-Summer Trunkfest. www.iarc.club
Columbus Hamfest, Saturday, August 7. 1801 Gateway Circle, Aladdin Shrine Temple, Grove City, OH.
http://columbushamfest.com Contact John Lehman , K8PJ, 614-571-5179
Tallmadge - Saturday, August 7. THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED. DX Engineering Hamfest. 1200 Southeast
Ave, Tallmadge, OH. ARRL Great Lakes Division Convention.
Findlay Hamfest - Sunday, September 12. Hancock County Fairgrounds, 1017 E. Sandusky St., Findlay, OH.
Talk-in 147.15+, 88.5 PL. Admission $10, Flea market space $5. www.findlayradioclub.org/hamfest
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Solar Cycle 25
Solar Cycle 24 ended in December 2019, and we are now in Solar Cycle 25. What a disappointment Cycle 24 was!
Having the lowest sunspot numbers in 100 years, it made communications over the HF bands, especially 20,
15 and 10 meters, very trying. For those new to the hobby, the number of sunspots on the Sun at any one
time is a great indicator of band conditions for the upper part of the HF spectrum. The last couple of
Solar Cycles have been nothing to write about. For reference, the cycle peak in 1958 as part of Cycle 19
was the strongest ever recorded. 20 meters was open to many parts of the World 24 hours a day, and 15 and
10 meters were open at least 18 hours a day.
Occurring over an 11 year time period, the number of sunspots go from a minimum number (zero or nearly zero)
to a maximum number (peak), and then decline back to a minimum. Each cycle ends and begins at the minimum.
Sunspots throw off energy which activates the upper (notably the F1 and F2) layers of the ionosphere, which
reflects radio signals in the HF bands back to the Earth, allowing world-wide communications.
Now Solar Cycle 25 is beginning to show an increase of sunspots, and HF conditions should slowly improve over
the coming years. Cycles typically build sunspots more rapidly at the beginning of the cycle then they decline
after the peak, so the peak is predicted to arrive in July of 2025.
Whether this cycle is an improvement over Cycle 24 is up for debate. Most experts agree that 25 will be at least
as strong as Cycle 24. Some are predicting a much stronger cycle. We'll all know in couple of years how the new cycle is shaping up.
-End-
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Hocking Valley Amateur Radio Club - Revised July 1, 2021