March 12, 2024 Weekly This & That Newsletter
March Membership Meeting Highlighted by N0DQD Presentation and Demos
The Bayside Room at the Lakehouse was filled to capacity for our March Membership Meeting that featured a presentation on Digital Radio by Bob Kennedy, N0DQD. Bob covered the various modes of digital radio, including DMR, D-STAR, and Fusion. He described each type of digital radio communication using diagrams, text, and his narratives.
Bob prearranged contacts with hams in the south as well a a friend of his on Maui. He connected to them via his laptop with downloaded software, an interface unit and a hot spot. It all worked and he piped the audio from his friends’ locations into the meeting room. There were many good questions from the audience throughout the presentation. Bob was gracious enough to stay around after the membership meeting to further discuss the ins and outs of this part of our hobby.
Following Bob’s excellent presentation, the club held its monthly membership meeting. The club decided to have its Hunting Island expedition in August. The club had to pivot to August 3rd for this outing because the pavilion was not available for us on August 10th. The hidden transmitter hunt will be conducted on April 20th with Ed Stratton, W1ZZ, as the cagey fox. The design of the club’s new banner is coming along fine thanks to Chip Miller, KQ4JKI. Several club members had suggestions to improve the “first pass” of the banner’s design. An updated design will be presented for approval at the next meeting (April 4th). The goal is to get the new banner in time for use at ARRL Field Day on June 22nd at Lake Somerset.
Thanks for all who came to the meeting last Thursday. It was one of our best turnouts we have had in the past few years! Members and guests who participated in the meeting included WB1DXN, KN8F, AB2LT, KN4VWQ, AI4HH, K2ITZ, KD8VL, KB3FW, KQ4JKI, N2TKS, WB3H, KQ4LCK, N0DQD, N0KXY, KD8IH, K4DNY, KB3VOD, WA6WAY, K2OS, WB4KSG, NH6BS, W1ZZ, W4QNW, N1ZK, N8HZV, and Sean Easton (from Savannah area).
Our April 4th meeting will begin at 6:45 PM with an Elmer presentation by Ken Finke, KN8F. Our main program for the meeting will be given by Bob Officer, who will tell the club about his solar -charged, battery powered, golf cart and inverter than we have used for ARRL Field Day and Winter Field Day in the past year.
Club to Present on Ham Radio at Meeting of Civil Air Patrol Cadets
The SCHH ARC will provide a presentation on amateur radio to the local cadet squadron of the Civil Air Patrol on Thursday, March 21st at 7:15 PM.
The squadron has 22 cadets and 20 senior members. We’ve been told that it would be great to demonstrate ham radio to the group as part of our presentation.
The meeting will be conducted at the Hilton Head Christian Academy, which is located along Bluffton Parkway.
Harve Hnatiuk, KB3FW, is working to modify Ken Finke’s (KN8F) PowerPoint that he used to present on ham radio to the SCHH Computer Club. Harve plans to deliver the presentation but certainly welcomes help and moral support. A demo would be GREAT…so, if you have an idea on how to do a demo on March 21st, please let Harve know.
Also, if you want to be at the meeting, you are welcome! To date, Bob Officer (WA6WAY) and Lon Seward (WB4KSG) have indicated that they will be at the meeting that evening.
Please let Harve know of your interest via email (hnat463@gmail.com).
Mark Those Calendars!
More details on the April meeting and events will be in an upcoming edition of “This & That”.
March 21st – Presentation to Civil Air Patrol Cadets: 7:15 PM at Hilton Head Christian Academy (see item above). Please consider coming to the presentation.
April 4th – Next Membership Meeting: Beginning with Elmer Presentation at 6:45 PM. Lakehouse, Bayside Room.7 PM presentation by Bob Officer, WA6WAY, on his solar-panel charged golf cart battery and inverter power system.
April 20th – Hidden Transmitter Hunt: Meet up at 8:45 AM in the Courtyard rear of Pinckney Hall. Hunt begins at 9 AM.
April 20th – Lunch at Jameson’s: 12 Noon at Jameson’s at Hidden Cypress. All are invited to come to the lunch…not just participants in the Transmitter Hunt that morning!
What If….
What if there were an emergency situation in or around Sun City Hilton Head that knocked out power and communications?
Residents of course will be asked to evacuate if a hurricane makes its way to us. Most of us will probably go, and wisely so.
What about other potential emergencies…power grid down because of terrorism or vandalism, for example. If power is out, our routers won’t work. Perhaps local cell phone communications will be down too. We may be able to help if we are ready to do so.
What is our plan as an ARC? What can we do and how would we organize our efforts? There are lots of questions.
A group of club members will be meeting in the coming weeks to discuss what we may be able to do and how our efforts would be integrated with local, county, and state entities Dan McLaughlin, K4DNY, has agreed to lead this effort. To date, the following club members have expressed interest: Chip Miller (KQ4JKI), Gail Ward (KQ4WFN), Sherwin Tames (W4QNW), Lon Seward (WB4KSG), Dennis Hopkins (AC4DH), Bob Officer (WA6WAY), and Harve Hnatiuk (KB3FW). If you would like to participate, please contact Harve (hnat463@gmail.com).
QSL Card of the Week
Thanks to Frank Pollino, K2OS, for this card from 90 years ago! W8MRC in 1934 was Frank’s father. Note that Western NY was part of the 8th call area then.
First KE4HAM Repeater Net Session Draws 11 Check-ins
The Okatie Repeater Association (ORA) continues to test the new KE4HAM repeater. This past Sunday, the SCHH ARC’s net was held on the new repeater (147.135 + with a tone of 91.5 for input and output). Eleven club members participated in the net! The repeater and its connection to EchoLink functioned very well. Thanks for Bob Officer, WA6WAY, and Ron Frick, AI4HH for their continuing efforts to optimize the performance of the new repeater.
The Sunday evening 8 PM net will be held on the KE4HAM repeater on the Sunday after the club’s membership meeting. Upcoming dates for the Sunday night repeater net are April 7th, May 5th, and June 9th. For all other Sundays in the coming months, the Sunday night net will be on 147.550 simplex.
PA QSO Party Recognition
This came via email to Harve, KB3FW, as a big surprise although as he said: “It is entirely possible that only two SC CW-only stations submitted logs for this contest!! A nice touch of recognition though.”
Please share any such things with your fellow club members (even if they are not directly related to ham radio). Email a PDF or JPEG file to Harve at hnat463@gmail.com.
Humor
A tee shirt for retired hams!
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, please email the webmaster; email: webmaster@ke4ham.org.
Net Activity Remains Strong
Great to hear so many stations checking into our nets.
Thanks to all who participate.
These are our nets. Enjoy them. They are very special and give us the opportunity to connect with each other while testing our equipment’s connectivity capabilities.
Let’s keep our nets alive and well by checking in when we can.
Weekly Nets
Sunday NET (8 PM) operates on 147.550 MHz simplex and EchoLink node: KE4HAM – L except on the Sunday after our club’s membership meeting. On the Sunday after our club membership meeting, the Sunday Net will be on the KE4HAM repeater (147.135 + with a tone of 91.5 on both the input and the output). The KE4HAM Repeater Net can also be accessed via EchoLink at KE4HAM-R.
Wednesday Nets (8 PM) operates from KK4ONF/Jasper repeater, 147.060+ and EchoLink node: KE4HAM-R
Net Control Stations and EchoLink Coordinator
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, March 13 @ 8 PM ET: Russ Treadwell, N1ZK.
— Sunday, March 17 @ 8 PM ET: Bob Officer, WA6WAY.
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, March 6 : KE4HAM/N1ZK, AI4HH, K2ITZ, WA6WAY, N8HZV, KQ4KOO, WB1DXN, KQ4JKI. QNI=8, QTC=0.
— Sunday, March 10: KE4HAM/WA6WAY, AI4HH, KB3FW. KJ4BSM, K2ITZ, K2OS, WA2LWO, KQ4JKI, W1ZZ, KQ4KOO, KD8VL. QNI=11 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