August 22, 2023 Weekly This & That Newsletter
SCHH ARC ENJOYS A GREAT DAY AT HUNTING ISLAND
Club Operates Three Stations as KE4HAM for International Lightouses & Lightships Weekend
Six members of our SCCH ARC made the one-hour drive to Hunting Island State Park — one of the jewels of Beaufort County — to participate in a second annual ILLW activation of the club station KE4HAM.
Band conditions were horrible on Saturday, August 19th in the Low Country of South Carolina. Despite that, the SCHH ARC group made contacts across the US and into the Caribbean.
Jack Frisch, K2ITZ, provided the impetus for our club going back to Hunting Island this year. Jack is third from the left and third from the right (which means he is in the middle) in the photo below which also includes on the left, Bob McCormick (KD8IH) and Bob Officer (WA6WAY). From the right is Ken Finke (KN8F) and Chip Miller (KQ4JKI). Photo was taken by Harve Hnatiuk, KB3FW.
Ken, KN8F (pictured below), operated on 20m SSB and notched 8 contacts that included 4 Lighthouses-to-Lighthouses QSOs. Chip, KQ4JKI, is in the background.
Jack, K2ITZ, worked our 40m SSB station. Jack is bracketed below by Bob Officer and Chip Miller.
Harve/KB3FW (photo below) operated the CW station and logged 10 contacts in 8 states, including Montana.
Our two “Bob’s” (WA6WAY on the left and KD8IH on the right in the photo below) provided assistance to all the operating stations throughout the day on Hunting Island.
Our operation was visited by several people who were also at the park, including Joan Montenigro of Beaufort (Joan’s husband, John, W9JHM, joined us at last year’s outing but was not at the park on Saturday). Nate and Mika from Durham, NC stopped in because Nate is interested in ham radio. We steered him in a direction that he can get help when he wants to pursue his license. Peggy, KC0KZV, came by for a few minutes as well during her visit to Hunting Island. There were others…including two sheriffs who were patrolling the park to keep everyone safe.
Ken’s 20m station included a tree-strung dipole that he built. Skip helped him put it up. Harve used his portable slider vertical for his CW operation and Jack had his vertical mounted into the ground courtesy of WA6WAY’s drill.
Jack brought most of the food, including a couple of packs of Nathan’s hot dogs that were capably grilled by Bob, WA6WAY. If anyone went home hungry, it wasn’t the club’s fault!
All in all it was a great team effort. Thanks to all members who made the trip to Hunting Island and helped with putting KE4HAM on the air again! Special gratitude to Jack, K2ITZ for his advocacy for the ILLW and for engaging our club in this year’s event.
We will look to do it again next summer, perhaps during the US Lighthouses and Lightships contest in early August 2024.
“The Case of the Missing Radio (and Mic)”
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.
Please advise Harve, KB3FW, if you know anything about this “Case of the Missing Radio” (hnat463@gmail.com).
Moving forward, please be considerate of your fellow members in the club when it comes to borrowing equipment. For now, please adhere to the policy described below.
The equipment in the club’s storage area is the property of the club. It is preferred that members notify a club officer PRIOR to borrowing any equipment. At a MINIMUM, anyone who borrows equipment should leave a note in the location from which the equipment was taken indicating who borrowed the equipment (WITH CONTACT INFORMATION…cell phone number and email address), when it was borrowed, and when it is going to be returned.
SCHH ARC Global Coverage of ILLW – Very Impressive!
Bob Kennedy, N0DQD, and Ed Stratton, W1ZZ, were traveling this past week or two and could not join the club’s event on Hunting Island.
That didn’t stop them from participating in the International Lighthouses & Lightships Weekend though!
Bob was in England. He sent this photo from his getting on the air at Bletchley Park from the RSGB Center where he made an ILLW contact as GB3RS on 40m using equipment donated by King Hussein’s JY1 station.
Ed and his wife, Kathy, were in Nova Scotia this past weekend. They were not able to find a lighthouse there that was “activated” for ILLW but did get to the Port Medway Lighthouse. Here’s Ed at the top! Looks like the light is lit!
Thanks to both Bob and Ed for sharing their photos from their trips during ILLW!
QSL Card of the Week
In keeping with the ILLW “theme” of this issue, here is an electronic QSL card received yesterday from a contact made with a lighthouse in Michigan over the weekend.
Humor
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.
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. More details on our Club’s participation will be coming.
Next Membership Meeting
The Club’s next Membership Meeting will be on Thursday, September 7th, at the Lake House. Plans are to have an Elmer Presentation by Frank Pollino, K2OS, at 6:45 PM followed by the evening’s main program, which will be presented by Ken Finke, KN8F, and cover how to get an antenna installation approved here in Sun City. The business meeting will follow Ken’s presentation. More info will be sent about a week before the meeting.
Club Website
The URL is https://www.ke4ham.org. If you notice any errors or have site-related questions, email: webmaster@ke4ham.org.
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.
Please check into our nets when you can. The nets are informative and interesting and foster club camaraderie.
If you are interested in being a Net Control, please let Ron or Harve know.
Other Operating:
Daily — DX spotting and open chat 24/7 on 147.550 MHz simplex and the Jasper Repeater, 147.060+ (no Echolink).