December 26, 2023 Weekly This & That Newsletter
de KB3FW
All the Best for 2024
I hope that everyone continues to enjoy the wonders of the holiday season!
Thank you to everyone who made the club’s 2023 a fun and successful year!
Let’s make 2024 even better!
Very 73 to you and yours in 2024 and beyond de Harve and Cyndee @ KB3FW.
Club Logo Contest – Deadline Looms
Time is running out!
Last call! Any other entries to our Club Logo Contest?
Please send YOUR ENTRY (.JPEG format) via email by 11:59 PM, December 31st. The time stamp on your email will determine if you beat the deadline!
It looks like we have five entries.
Enter by sending a .jpeg of your design to Harve at hnat463@gmail.com.
All members will be asked to vote on their choice of a logo in early to mid-January 2024.
Current (revised) plans are to announce the winner at our February 2024 Membership Meeting.
December 31st is Straight Key Night — January is Straight Key Month!
Have you been thinking about trying to do some CW again? Have you been itching to fire up the rig and pound some brass??
What better time to do so than New Year’s Eve 2023 and January 2024!
Straight Key Night begins at 7 PM Local Time and runs for 24 hours. This is not a contest but rather, it is a celebration of sending CW the old-fashioned way. More details: https://www.arrl.org/straight-key-night
Straight Key Month (SKM) is an activity of the Straight Key Century Club (SKCC). SKM begins as soon as Straight Key Night ends…January 2nd @ 0000 UTC. It ends on January 31st @ 2359Z. KB3FW is a member of the SKCC (#26905T). Anyone else in the club have a SKCC #? More info on SKM and the K3Y operation can be found here: https://www.skccgroup.com/k3y/k3y.php.
Next Membership Meeting – January 4, 2024 at the Lakehouse
Our January 4th meeting will start at 7 PM with a presentation on the ARRL’s “Logbook of The World” by Ken Finke, KN8F. The regular membership meeting will follow Ken’s presentation. Hope to see you next week at the Lakehouse at Argent Lakes (Bayview Room…our usual meeting location).
ARRL Roanoke Division Town Hall – December 28th
If you are still looking for things to do between Christmas Day and New Years Eve, here is one idea.
Plan to join your elected divisional ARRL officials on
Thursday, December 28, at 8:00 PM as we review 2023, and look ahead to
the New Year and what will be happening in the world of Amateur Radio.
Division Director Jim Boehner, N2ZZ, and Vice Director Bill Morine,
N2COP, will be joined by the Section Managers for North Carolina – Marv
Hoffman, WA4NC, South Carolina – John Gendron, NJ4Z, Virginia – Jack
Smith, KE4LWT, and West Virginia – Dan Ringer, K8WV.
ARRL members, keep an eye out for an email with the Zoom log-in information. Keep a good eye out as we have not seen anything as of December 23rd!!!!
2023 was a transitional year for ARRL and Amateur Radio. The FCC began
to take action on long awaited matters, and 2023 was the year ARRL began
to lay out ambitious multiyear plans to attract a new generation of
Hams.
Winter Field Day 2024
Thanks to Bob Officer, WA6WAY, for volunteering to lead this year’s Winter Field Day efforts for our club.
The club will operate KE4HAM from Lake Somerset (pending SCHH CA approval) on the afternoon of Saturday, January 27th.
More info to follow!
Humor
Some assembly required!
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:
NOTE THAT THE SUNDAY NIGHT SIMPLEX NET WILL NOT BE HELD ON DECEMBER 31ST.
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, December 27; 8 PM ET: Harve Hnatiuk, KB3FW
— NO NET ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 31ST.
If you are interested in being a Net Control, please let Ron or 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, December 20: KE4HAM/KB3FW, AI4HH, WA6WAY, WB1DXN, KQ4JKI, K2ITZ. QNI=6, QTC=0.
Note – QNI = Number of Check-ins to the net, including Net Control; QTC = Traffic handled (Radiograms).
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