Public service through Amateur Radio

Sept 2015

Net Control

Riders at 42 &

Taylor Blair

Parts & Service

• 09/11/2015 | SATERN's First International Response - Hurricane

Gilbert 1988 Sep 11-Sep 12, 2359Z-2359Z, W8SAT, Comstock Park,

MI. The Salvation Army / West Michigan Northern Indiana Division Emergency

Disaster Services. 14.265 7.265 3.977. Certificate & QSL. WMNI SATERN,

1215 Fulton St E, WMNI DHQ, Grand Rapids, MI 49503. 2nd annual special

event, commemorating The Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio net-

work's origination and first international response to the Hurricane Gilbert

disaster in 1988. Stations will be transmitting from the Little Pine Island Di-

visional Camp in Comstock Park, Michigan. SEND YOUR QSL card to

"WMNI SATERN" c/o The Salvation Army WMNI DHQ, 1215 Fulton St. E,

Grand Rapids, MI 49503 and we will send you our event CERTIFICATE

and a QSL CARD in return. eds-satern.sawmni.org

• 09/12/2015 | The 164th Annual Wyandot County Fair "Worth Crowing

About" • Sep 12, 1400Z-2000Z, KD8BNV, Upper Sandusky, OH. Wyandot Area Ham Operators Organiza-

tion. 28.360 21.360 14.260 7.260. Certificate & QSL. Ron Wilch, 6497 County Highway 61, Upper Sandusky,

OH 43351.

The ARRL September VHF Contest gets underway on September 12 at 1800 UTC and wraps

up on September 14 at 0259 UTC. This operating event provides a chance for radio amateurs at

all levels to experience contesting on the most popular VHF and UHF bands, as well as on

those less-frequented frequencies above 450 MHz. Newcomers and veterans alike will attempt

to work as many 2 × 1 grid squares as possible on frequencies above 50 MHz from home sta-

tions, from the field, or from “rovers” that travel from grid square to grid square. With a height-

ened potential for tropospheric conditions, the September VHF Contest offers something that

VHF contests at other times of the year often cannot.

In January 2015, the ARRL Board approved rule modifications for General Rules For ARRL

Contests Above 50 MHz. Assistance is now allowed for all entry categor ies. This includes

the use of assistance to announce your availability for contacts (ie, self-spotting.)

Eighth Annual Ohio State Parks On The Air – Amateur Radio Contest

Make sure to mark your calendar for the 2015 Ohio State Parks On The Air (OSPOTA) contest – September

12, 2015. The contest is always held on the first Saturday following the Labor Day holiday. Each year this event has grown and we anticipate another year of growth with even more participating Ama-

teur Radio Operators.

Let me remind you that the OSPOTA contest was conceived with three main goals in mind:

1. To promote public awareness of amateur radio and Ohio’s beautiful state parks system

2. To contribute to the recognition that Ohio has a very diverse and wonderful ecology

3. To promote camaraderie within the ranks of Ohio’s Amateur Radio Operators

Your participation has allowed these goals to be achieved. We agree it is a lot of fun to get out in a natural setting with your radio and see how well you can do at working operators in the beautiful Ohio State Parks.

The 2015 files are being updated and with your help, we’re looking for a fun event again this year. Make your plans now.

Don’t forget we have an OSPOTA Yahoo Group located at: groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/OSPOTA/info

The OSPOTA Yahoo Group page is used for messaging and sharing of information about OSPOTA for all the fans and participants in the OSPOTA contest.

As the contest draws near, we’ll be posting on the OSPOTA Yahoo Group page the anticipated ‘who’s going to be at what Ohio State Park’ or ‘Planned Park’ list as we have in past years. Send your planned park activa-

tion information to PlannedParks@ospota.org . Please, include the call sign that will be used and the Ohio

State Park you plan to be at. If your plans change, just let us know and we’ll update the list.

Take care & 73 from the entire OSPOTA contest Committee,

Tom, KB8UUZ OSPOTA Chairman

OSPOTA Questions? Email: INFO@ospota.org

When the OSPOTA contest is over, send Logs and Summary Sheets to: Logs@ospota.org

MCARC WILL BE OPERATING FROM MADISON LAKE FOR THIS CON-

TEST.. CONTACT DR. BOB, N8GU, FOR DETAILS.

Thinking about upgrading your license or

becoming licensed for the first time?

Here are some places you can go to get help with

your studies: http://www.qrz.com/hamtest/

http://www.eham.net/exams/

http://www.hamradiolicenseexam.com/

Workbooks/Manuals:

http://www.arrl.org/ham-radio-license-manual

http://www.w5yi.org/catalog.php?sort=4

Remember the club gives license exams on the

Third Thursday of the odd months, next exam

will be on November 5, 2015

The license exams on September 3 netted 7 new hams or upgrades.

The new Techs are:

Michael Temple

Jeffery Lowe Sr.

Eric Fox

Brian Cox

Eric Ellington

Upgraded to General is Jonathan Luedeke K8JFL

Upgrade to Extra is James Rathsack N8HYK

QCWA Recognizes 105-Year-Old Radio Amateur’s 90 Years of Hamming

The Quarter Century Wireless Association (QCWA) has honored 105-year-old Charlie Hellman,

W2RP, of Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, for his 90 years in Amateur Radio. The QCWA’s an-

nouncement also served to flush out another active ham who, while 1 year older than Hellman, has not

been licensed quite as long. On August 31 the QCWA presented a “90 Year Continuous Licensed Cer-

tificate Award” (No 1) to Hellman, whom the organization at the time called “the oldest living Amateur

Radio operator in the United States and possibly the world.” Hellman got his ham ticket in 1925, when

he was 15 years old. He joined QCWA in 1975 and is a member of QCWA Chapter 181 in New York’s

Hudson Valley. He gets on the air regularly.

After QCWA posted its announcement on the QRZ.com

news forum, however, Marcel Stieber, AI6MS, chimed

in to point out that Hellman is not the oldest known

ham. He said that Harry Wolf, W6NKT, of Morro Bay,

California, is 106, although licensed but since 1936.

QCWA Webmaster Bob Roske, N0UF, stepped forward

to renew Wolf’s lapsed QCWA membership and noted

that since Wolf had been licensed for more than 75

years, QCWA would issue him a life membership. And

now it might also recognize his longevity as well.

First licensed as W2AMK, Hellman was an educator.

After working his way through the City College of New York, he taught physics on the secondary level.

During World War II, Hellman was tapped by the Department of War to write a textbook for training

radio operators, Elements of Radio.

Two of Hellman's siblings also held ham tickets. His brother Robert, now deceased, was W2JAN. His

brother Benjamin, 96, is W2VB.

Also an educator, Wolf indicated on his QRZ.com profile that he once taught electronics at the college

level and, after retiring in 1973, went to live in Hong Kong where he operated as VS6GF for 4 years

before returning to California. He said he’s on the air every day, mostly on 40 meter CW.

Hellman’s certificate reads, “The Quarter Century Wireless Association presents this 90th Anniversary

Award to its Distinguished Member Charles “Charlie” Hellman, W2RP, to commemorate Ninety Years

of Service as a licensed Radio Amateur.”

Hellman also received a congratulatory letter from QCWA President Ken Oelke, VE6AFO. “I would

also like to say how proud I am that you have kept active for these many years, and to proudly celebrate

what many will not be able to achieve in their entire lifetime,” Oelke said, in part. “Congratulations to

you on 90 years as a licensed radio amateur, and may you enjoy many more in Amateur Radio!”

QCWA came upon the information pertaining to Hellman when Roske was updating member files and

discovered that Charlie was still living in New York and appeared to be the oldest living QCWA mem-

ber. In recognition, the QCWA Board of Directors promptly voted to award Hellman the 90 year certifi-

cate, a first for the organization. Now it may have the opportunity for a second. — Thanks to QCWA,

Pete Varounis, NL7XM, and Charles Tropp, N2SO

CONVENTION FINAL: My personal thanks

go to everyone who worked so hard to make

the 2015 Great Lakes Division Convention a

successful event. The attendance exceeded

expectations. The forums got rave reviews.

The Wouff Hong ceremony welcomed 45

"novices" into "The Order". Our Keynote

Speaker Debra Johnson K1DMJ provided us

with insight towards getting school students

interested in Amateur Radio and the steps

necessary to promote school ham clubs.

On the Division Level, the Great Lakes Divi-

sion's DX Achievement Award was presented

to Jay Slough, K4ZLE for his outstanding ser-

vice to the DX community.

Of course the Section Managers presented

several awards to deserving amateurs and

clubs. For Club Newsletters, in Ohio, the 1st

Place winner is the DELARA NEWS. 2nd

Place winner is The TM&K. For 3rd Place,

a three way tie occurred and the winners are

The MVARA Voice Coil, the Mount Vernon,

Radio Club and the PCARS Radiogram.

A NOTE OF THANKS: To Jim Bridgewater,

District Director of the Detroit FCC office,

who, despite its unfortunate future, worked

with his staff and local hams, tracked down

and took action against two regional

amateurs who had been creating deliberate

interference and failing to properly identify

their stations. We all have been concerned

about the FCC's cuts and the potential impact

upon the Amateur Radio Service. It

is good to note that the Commission still re-

mains vigilant and concerned about the scoff-

laws and miscreants that occasionally appear

to the detriment of all of us. Thanks Jim, and

best wishes to you and your staff from the en-

tire Amateur Radio Community.

HAMFESTING: As Tom has mentioned,

Hamfest Season is in full swing. Here is the

current Great Lakes Division ARRL Sanc-

tioned Hamfest Schedule for the next few

weeks. These swaps have received their

sanctioning approval from ARRL HQ at the

time of this publication. I have noted where

Tom and I have commitments to attend.

Sept 12 - Greater Louisville / KY Leadership Con-

ference - Dale and Tom

Sept 13 - Findlay - Findlay, OH - Dale and Tom

Sept 19 - Richmond - Richmond, KY - Tom

Sept 19 - GMARC Trunk Swap - Shelby Twp, MI

Sept 19 - OHKYIN ARS Hamfest - Cincinnati,

OH - Tom

Sept 20 - Adrian Hamfest - Adrian, MI - Dale

Sept 27 - Cleveland Hamfest - Berea, OH - Dale

and Tom

Oct 3 - ARRL Executive Committee Meeting -

Dale

Oct 3 - GRAHamfest - Grand Rapids, MI

Oct 3 - Vette City - Bowling Green, KY - Tom

Oct 10 - TBARC Swap - Alpena, MI

Oct 17 - Muskegon Color Tour Hamfest - Mus-

kegon, MI

Oct 18 - Conneaut - Conneaut, OH

Oct 18 - Kalamazoo Hamfest, Kalamazoo, MI

Oct 25 - Massillon - Massillon, OH

Oct 25 - USECA - Madison Hgts, MI

Oct 31 - Hazard - Hazard, KY

Dale Williams WA8EFK

Director

Great Lakes Division

Two Central Washington repeaters, owned and operated by the Lake Chelan Amateur

Radio Club, have been destroyed by one of the wildfires raging in that state. The co-

located machines, one on 2 meters and one on 6 meters, were sited on Slide Ridge near

Manson, Washington, in Chelan County. On August 27, the First Creek Fire completely

leveled the building housing the repeaters. Scorched antennas and support structures are

still standing but are likely beyond repair. The club’s Roger Odorizzi, W7CH, said the

repeaters had been offline for several days.

“We knew the fire had wiped out the power

going to our site, but we hoped for the best,

that our mountaintop building was possibly

spared,” he said. “Now we have confirmation

this was not the out- come.” Odorizzi said

the area remains closed, and the club

likely will not have ac- cess to it “for a long

time.”

The club’s Ken Rau, K7YR, said the loss, in

addition to the build- ing, included the two

repeaters, duplexers and antennas. The re-

peaters provided cov- erage in North Cen-

tral Washington. Rau told ARRL that it’s

unlikely that the build- ing housing the re-

peaters would be re- placed. It once housed

radio and TV broad- cast translators, most

no longer in use. To- pography is also a fac-

tor. “This is a moun- tain site — 4900 feet

above mean sea level — with power lines

that were installed on a very steep slope.”

Rau said a lot of fire remains in the area and predicted that access to the repeater site

probably would be limited for several weeks and that the site could remain off limits until

first snowfall.

The First Creek Fire covers more than 6000 acres and has been threatening hundreds of

homes, destroying a dozen houses along with seven “other structures,” according to the

National Interagency Fire Center. It is only 25 percent contained.

Are you or someone you know wanting to

get your amateur license or to upgrade?

You can take those exams which are given

by the Laurel Amateur Radio VEC club.

Make a note of the dates and times below:

2015

Nov 5

All exams will be given at the Madison

County Engineers office at State Route 42

and Interstate 70 where our club meetings

are held. All times will be 7 PM.

You can also check the ARRL web site

for locations in the

area. http://

www.arrl.org/

exam_sessions.

President Don Kovalchik -

president@mcarcoh.org

W8DPK

Vice President Jeff Licko -

vp@mcarcoh.org

KD8WNQ

Secretary Mark Erbaugh

secretary@mcarcoh.org

N8ME

Treasurer Terr i Kovalchik

treasurer@mcarcoh.org

N8TLK

Newsletter Editor J im Har tzler

editor@mcarcoh.org

K8EIJ

Activities Chairman Jeff Licko -

activities@mcarcoh.org

KD8WNQ

VE Exams

Club Information

ke8rv@mcarcoh.org

Repeater Trustee & Info

Don Kovalchik

ke8rv@mcarcoh.org

W8DPK

The Madison County Amateur Ra-

dio Club meets on the second Wednesday

of each month. Meetings take place at the

Madison County Engineers Office at Inter-

state 70 and State Route 42. The entrance

is between McDonalds and Wendy’s on the

East side of 42. Meeting time is 7 PM

On the 4th Saturday of the month

they meet at the Der Dutchman Restaurant

for breakfast at 9 AM

Every Tuesday evening at 8 PM the

“Get together net” meets on the club re-

peater on 147.285 MHz. The net is open to

all and your are encouraged to join in and

learn to know other hams in the area.