August 29, 2023 Weekly This & That Newsletter
Monthly Club Membership Meetings Start Again on September 7th
As we transition from August to September, our two-month hiatus will be ending. We will meet on Thursday evening, September 7th at the Lakehouse. We’ll be learning a LOT at the meeting!
The meeting will begin at 6:45 PM with an “Elmer” presentation by Frank Pollino, K2OS. Frank will present “An Accessory To Extend The Life Of A NanoVNA”,
The evening’s program, a presentation on how to get an antenna installation approved here in Sun City Hilton Head will follow. Ken Finke, KN8F, will be providing the program beginning at approximately 7 PM.
The “business meeting” will follow the conclusion of Ken’s presentation. An agenda will be sent to all members via email toward the end of this week.
Looking forward to a great kickoff to our Fall Season of meetings!
Transceiver and Microphone Still Missing
When a few members went over to the club’s storage area to pick up some things for the Hunting Island expedition, we noticed that a transceiver and a D104 microphone were missing. There was nothing in the storage area to indicate who “borrowed” this equipment.
As of Monday afternoon (August 28th), these items are still missing.
Please advise Harve, KB3FW, if you have these items or know anything about what happened to them (hnat463@gmail.com). Or, just bring them back to the storage area by September 1st.
South Carolina Raises Bar Again with Most QSOs in “13 Colonies” Special Event
The final tally is in. South Carolina’s K2L Team had the most contacts of the thirteen states that participated in the 2023 special event in early July. This marks the second year in a row that hams from the Palmetto State have bested their fellow radio amateurs in this event.
All team members who made 275 or more QSOs for the team were recognized with a nice plaque to commemorate this operating achievement.
Much credit goes to Scott Putnam, KG9V, of Rock Hill, SC. You may recall that Scott gave a presentation on the 13 Colonies event to the SCHH ARC at our March membership meeting. Scott coordinated the K2L operation, which spanned seven days across the bands from 160m to 2m on SSB, CW, FM, and digital modes.
Looking forward to the 2024 event. There will be heavy competition for the Top State Operators Award as folks up and down the east coast are probably getting tired of SC being #1!
A Cool Alternative for Lighting Protection
Looking for a ham radio project? Here is one that can help to ensure that your antenna will be disconnected during a lightning storm!
Humor
Thanks to Ed Stratton, W1ZZ, for contributing this item.
Future Events
South Carolina Parks on the Air Weekend
Our SC Section Manager and our SC ARRL leadership team are aiming to get all SC POTA parks on the air during the weekend of September 16-17.
Our SCHH ARC club president has expressed that there is a big-time need for coordination of these efforts so that hams in SC can maximize the number of parks that are activated that weekend. The last thing a ham needs is to invest time go to a park and find three other stations already operating there or intending to do so…only to realize that three other nearby parks had NO ONE there.
John, NJ4Z, and his team are working to get things organized. We’ll stand by for now! But, please mark that dates in your calendar if you think you’d like to join a KE4HAM activation team that weekend.
Our resident POTA expert Jack Frisch (K2ITZ) has some good ideas on where we might be able to deploy our operation without running into other ham radio adventurers.
More info will be sent in the weeks ahead!
Chartered Club Fair
Saturday, October 7th from 10 AM until 1 PM at or near Pinckney Hall. Our Club normally sets up in the outdoor, covered area of Pinckney on the Courtyard side near the main rear door to the building. Pending Board approval later this week, we’ll work to reserve that spot and discuss some plans for operating KE4HAM. Volunteers to represent are needed to represent the Club at our table. More details to follow!
ARRL EME Contest
From the Earth to the Moon and Back! Frank Pollino, K2OS, is leading this effort for the Club. More details the contest can be found here. Current plans are to operate from Lake Somerset on the afternoon of Saturday, November 25th. More details will follow when we get into late October/early November. So please stay tuned!
Next Membership Meeting
The Club’s next Membership Meeting will be on Thursday, September 7th, at the Lakehouse. Details about this meeting are included above. Hope to see you there!
Club Website
Click here to get to the Club’s website: https://www.ke4ham.org. If you notice any errors or have site-related questions, email: webmaster@ke4ham.org.
SCHH ARC Nets:
Sunday NET (8 PM) operates on 147.550 MHz simplex and EchoLink node: KE4HAM – L
Wednesday Nets (8 PM) operates from KK4ONF/Jasper repeater, 147.060+ and EchoLink node: KE4HAM-R
Thanks to our regular Net Controls: Bob Officer, WA6WAY; Russ Treadwell, N1ZK; and Harve Hnatiuk, KB3FW.
Thanks to Ron Frick, AI4HH, for keeping the nets on EchoLink.
Net Control Schedule:
— Wednesday, August 30, 8 PM EDT: Russ Treadwell, N1ZK
— Sunday, September 3, 8 PM EDT: Bob Officer, WA6WAY
If you are interested in being a Net Control, please let Ron or Harve know.
SCHH ARC Net Reports:
Last week’s check-ins and traffic:
— Wednesday, August 24: KE4HAM/KB3FW (Net Control), AI4HH, K2ITZ, KQ4JKI, KQ4KOO, WA2LWO, AA4KK. QNI=7, QTC=0.
— Sunday, August 27: KE4HAM/WA6WAY (Net Control), AI4HH, K2ITZ, KB3FW, KN4VWQ, AD5EN, WA2LWO. QNI=7, QTC=0.
Note – QNI = Number of Check-ins to the net, including Net Control; QTC = Traffic handled (Radiograms).
Please check into our nets when you can. The nets are informative and interesting and foster club camaraderie.
Other Operating:
Daily — DX spotting and open chat 24/7 on 147.550 MHz simplex and the Jasper Repeater, 147.060+ (no Echolink).
KB3FW – SCHH ARC President