SCHH ARC “This & That” — September 17, 2024
Nominating Committee Appointed – Club Election Season Begins
It is official: Our ARC’s Nominating Committee is comprised of Bob Officer, WA6WAY (chairperson); Ron Frick, AI4HH; and Harve Hnatiuk, KB3FW.
The committee will seek nominees for all four officers of our club: President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary. All terms of office are presently one year. By-laws revisions are in progress that may change the term of office. However, the terms of officers elected during this cycle will be based on the current by-laws. Any by-laws changes that are related to elections will take effect for next fall’s elections.
Please Consider Being an Officer of the SCHH ARC
It is hoped that one or two current officers will agree to serve another term. At a minimum, the offices of president and vice president are definitely open. Please email Harve (hnat463@gmail.com) if you are interested in being a 2025 officer. Many thanks for your consideration.
Southeast Contest Club (SECC) Zoom Meeting on September 23rd
The SECC semi-regular Zoom meeting is back, starting next Monday, September 23rd. The presentation will begin at 7:30pm (EDT), but there will be a soft-opening of the Zoom room at 7pm.
The featured guest is John Pescatore, K3TN, who is the current editor of the National Contest Journal. He is also an accomplished contester, and a long time member of the PVRC. He’ll have a presentation sharing both some of his contesting club wisdom, as well as some words about what he is doing at the NCJ, followed by Q&A.
The SECC meetings/presentations are open to anyone interested in contesting and radiosport. Feel free to invite others who may be interested. Interested SCHH ARC members can contact the SECC about membership, which is free. Click here for details.
The meeting will be run through Zoom. Use the link below, and then enter the passcode (013623). When logging in please, please change your name to include your call + name. And remember to mute your microphone while not talking (otherwise we get feedback).
You can access the meeting here. The Meeting ID is 910 3285 3907 and the pass code is 013623.
Even if you don’t have a microphone or camera, you can watch and listen to the proceedings via any internet browser using the Zoom. And you can call in via phone, should you wish to add that feature.
Asheville’s “Radio Museum”
A SCCH resident, Charlie Sapernakis, who is not a ham, reported that he visited a radio museum during one of his visits to North Carolina. Asheville is better known for The Biltmore and other jewels than for its radio museum. Charlie reports that the museum though small has a lot of radios! It was very thoughtful of him to provide a brochure and a QSL card from his visit.
Note that the museum’s hours are very limited and it is best to check their website before venturing up there for a visit. It looks like it is worth a try if you are in the area!
QSL Card of the Week
From Asheville, of course! Not sure if W4AFM gets on the air much but thanks to Charlie (see above), we do have its QSL card!!
Answer to Last Week’s RST Question
Lon Seward, WB4KSG, found a lot of information on RST reports on the Internet. As to what the “X” means after an RST report, it reports that the signal has a stable frequency, pointing to it having “crystal control”.
Here is part of what Wikipedia has to offer….
Not listed is the dreaded “K” suffix…anyone know why? Brass pounders never want to see a “K” after the RST numbers!
How Many Stations Along Route 66 Did You Contact?
The “Route 66 On The Air” special event ended on Sunday evening. How many stations along Route 66 did you contact? Please let Harve know via email to hnat463@gmail.com.
There was a LOT of activity on SSB and FT8 and not surprisingly, not as much on CW for most of the special event. Most special events operations are short of CW operators.
Frank Pollino, K2OS, worked all stations except W6S, which was designated as a “rover station” in Arizona. Frank worked most of the stations on SSB and FT8 but had a few on CW as well. Great job, Frank!
Harve Hnatiuk, KB3FW, worked 12 of the 23 stations, all but one of them on FT8.
How about you? Please let Harve know (hnat463@gmail.com). An update will be included in next week’s “This & That”.
Upcoming Club Events and Meetings
Thursday, October 3rd – Membership Meeting: AMSAT Program and Demonstration by Phil Moore, KD4O. Stay tuned for details as the AMSAT demo may start early! Check out his QRZ.com page for a preview! General membership meeting will follow the AMSAT program.
Saturday, October 5th – Chartered Club Fair: The SCHH ARC will have a table just outside the back (courtyard) entrance to Pinckney Hall. Many clubs will be inside Pinckney Hall. Some clubs will be outside with us while others will set up in the Pavilion. Stop by and help us to promote amateur radio and our club to residents who stop by our table! Or, just stop by! You can renew your membership for 2025 at the Fair as well.
SCHH ARC Nets – Join the Fun!
You never know what is going to come up on our nets. The best way to know is to join the fun
If you have been checking in regularly, thank you for that. If you have not been checking in or never have checked in, autumn is a good time to do that!
These are our nets. Please enjoy them. They are very special and give us the opportunity to connect with each other on a regular basis while testing our equipment’s connectivity capabilities.
Please keep our nets alive and well by checking in when you can.
Weekly SCHH ARC Nets
Sunday’s Net (8 PM) operates on 147.550 MHz simplex on the last two Sundays of the calendar month. The Sunday net will be on the KE4HAM repeater (147.135 + with a tone of 91.5 on both the input and the output) on all other Sundays of the calendar month. Check-in can be done even if you don’t have a radio up and running via EchoLink by using the link KE4HAM-L when the net is on SIMPLEX and KE4HAM-R when the net is on the SCHH Okatie Repeater.
Wednesday‘s Net (8 PM) operates through the KK4ONF/Jasper repeater, 147.060+. The net can be accessed via EchoLink using the link KE4HAM-R.
Net Control Stations and EchoLink Coordinator
Thanks to our regular Net Controls: Bob Officer, WA6WAY; Frank Pollino, K2OS; and Harve Hnatiuk, KB3FW.
Thanks to Ron Frick, AI4HH, for working diligently to keep EchoLink up and running for our nets..
Net Control Schedule:
— Wednesday, September 18 @ 8 PM ET: Frank Pollino, K2OS (JASPER COUNTY REPEATER)
— Sunday, September 22 @ 8 PM ET Bob Officer, WA6WAY (Simplex)
If you are interested in being a Net Control, please let Harve know.
SCHH ARC Net Reports:
Thanks to ALL who checked in to our SCHH ARC nets last week.
If you have the time, please check into our club’s nets on a regular basis.
Last week’s check-ins and traffic:
— Wednesday, September 11 : KE4HAM/KB3FW, AI4HH, KJ4BSM, K2OS, K2ITZ, WB4KSG, KQ4JKI, W1ZZ, WB1DXN QNI=9 QTC=0.
— Sunday, September 15: KE4HAM/K2OS, AI4HH, KJ4BSM, AA4KK, WB1DXN, KB3FW, WA6WAY, KQ4JKI . QNI=8, QTC=0.
Note: QNI = Number of Check-ins to the net, including Net Control; QTC = Traffic handled (Radiograms).
Other Operating:
Daily — Monitor the new KE4HAM Repeater: 147.135 MHz + with a tone of 91.5. You may get some good DX spots from time to time and other members may be there if you want to connect/chat.