SCHH ARC “This & That” — October 22, 2024

Autumn Hidden Transmitter Hunt Warms Participants

Chilly Early Morning Morphed Into a Great Day

After ten SCHH ARC members gathered amidst chilly temperatures near Pinckney Hall on Saturday morning, the hunt was on!

Ed Strattion, W1ZZ, found a couple of off-the-beaten trail locations for the two hidden transmitters. The first “fox” was in a large bush near the Nature Trail…even if you were next to it, the transmitter and its antenna were not easy to see.

The second hidden transmitter was in Ed’s pickup truck along with Ed on Gleneagle Court on the North Side.

Fox 2 was bit more out in the open compared to Fox 1!

Bob Kennedy, N0DQD, was the only participant to find both hidden transmitters. Congratulations, Bob!

Bob Kennedy, N0DQD, logging in his finding Fox 2 on the North Side

Most of the other competitors ran out of time after finding one or neither of the foxes.

It was a fun morning though for all who came out: Lonnie Trotta (WD2LT), Daryl Borgman (WB1DXN), Bob Officer (WA6WAY), Bob Kehoe (KB3H), Lon Seward (WB4KSG), Judy Seward, Sharon McFetridge, Chip Miller (KQ4JKI), and Harve Hnatiuk (KB3FW).

Special thanks to Ed Stratton, W1ZZ, for hiding the two transmitters and managing their operation throughout the morning! Great job, Ed!!

Most participants enjoyed a nice “Dutch Treat” lunch at Jameson’s after the hunt. They were joined there by other members and guests including Jack Frisch (K2ITZ) and Maryann Miller.

Sun City TV Interviews Club President at Chartered Club Fair

Emergency Preparedness Is A Hot Topic

Our ARC has begun to develop an emergency preparedness and operations plan so that we can help SCHH residents during an a situation when normal power and communications are down or spotty.

Club members have been surveyed to determine what level of participation they would be able to have in such situations. The survey remains open. If you have not yet participated in it, please do so by the end of this week (October 25th). Plans are to present the findings of the survey at the November Membership Meeting.

Sun City TV (SCTV) stopped by the club’s table at the recent Chartered Club Fair and, thanks to Ed Stratton (W1ZZ), were told about our plans for helping during emergencies.

SCTV’s Norma Taylor interviewed Harve Hnatiuk, KB3FW, about our plans. Here is a link to the interview, which begins around the 4:00 mark of the YouTube presentation of Sun City News. The club thanks Norma and Ed Flantaca for SCTV’s coverage.

A New Class of Ham Radio Operator?

Or is our hobby going to the dogs?

That dog’s bark just might get through a pile-up though!!

Surprise from Tennessee!

This is always a good QSO Party. Harve, KB3FW, had this comment: “I guess all of the other SC CW operators were away that weekend or operated and forgot to send in their logs.”

Upcoming Meetings and Events

Thursday, November 7th, 7 PM – November Membership Meeting, Bayside Room, Lakehouse. Program by W0YK: “How To RTTY”. ARC Elections will be held during the General Membership Meeting that follows. Approval of the ARC’s updated By Laws will also be on the agenda.

SCHH ARC Nets

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.

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.

Net Control Schedule:

— Wednesday, October 23 @ 8 PM ET: Frank Pollino, K2OS (JASPER COUNTY REPEATER)

— Sunday, October 27 @ 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, October 16 : KE4HAM/KB3FW, AI4HH, KO4AQI, K2ITZ, WB4KSG, KQ4JKI, WB1DXN, KJ4BSM, AA4KK. . QNI=9, QTC=0.

— Sunday, October 20: KE4HAM/WA6WAY, AI4HH, KJ4BSM, AA4KK, WA2LWO, W2INS, KN4VWQ, WD2LT, KB3FW, KQ4JKI, WB1DXN. QNI=11. 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.