All posts by Glen

The US Department of Justice and the FCC have reached a settlement with Brian Crow, K3VR, of North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, to resolve allegations that Crow intentionally interfered with the communications of other Amateur Radio operators and failed to properly identify. The core component of the settlement calls on Crow to pay $7,000 to the US Treasury, the FCC and US Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania Scott W. Brady announced in separate July 3 news releases. In addition, Crow’s Amateur Extra class license will be restricted to Technician class privileges for 6 months, and he has agreed to discontinue contact with the individuals involved in this case. Crow’s Amateur Extra privileges will be restored after 6 months, “if no new violations have been found,” the FCC said.

“Amateur Radio licensees know that the rules require them to share the airwaves, which means that bad actors cannot plead ignorance,” FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Rosemary Harold said in the FCC release. “This settlement is a significant payment for an individual operator, and it sends a serious message: Play by the rules in the Amateur Radio band[s] or face real consequences. We thank the US Attorney’s Office for understanding the importance of this type of case and pushing it forward to ensure a resolution that included strong penalties for substantial violations of the law.”

The settlement resolves a civil complaint (USA v. Brian Crow [No. 17-595]) in Federal District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania to recover an unpaid $11,500 fine that the FCC imposed on Crow in a 2015 Forfeiture Order.

“Allowing licensed Amateur Radio operators the freedom to converse with others in an orderly fashion and without unwanted disruption is one of the missions of the FCC,” Brady said. “This complaint identifies one such individual who intentionally interfered with other law-abiding Amateur Radio operators.”

The FCC recounted in its Forfeiture Order that it had responded in March 2014 to “several complaints of intentional interference” on 14.313 MHz, and that Commission agents used radio direction-finding techniques to determine the transmission sources. According to the court complaint against Crow, FCC agents tracked transmissions to Crow’s residence and monitored them for approximately 3 hours and heard him transmit slow-scan television (SSTV) signals and a prerecorded voice transmission of another Amateur Radio station on the frequency.

The FCC said it worked with Brady’s office to craft the agreement with Crow arising from its Forfeiture Order “that found his behavior violated the Communications Act and the Commission’s rules.”

According to Brady’s office, the claims that the settlement resolves “are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

Emergency Communications, FEMA, National Government, News

FEMA’s Email Subscriptions: Treasure Trove of Resources and Info

June 21, 2018 Glen

FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and formal partner agency of the ARRL, offers a wealth of information, updates and alerts on a wide range of emergency and disaster response topics by email subscription. These topical advisories and alerts are relevant to ARES participants, and readily subscribed to by clicking here. Simply subscribe by checking the boxes; unsubscribe by un-checking the boxes. Access your subscriber preferences to update your subscriptions or modify your password or email address without adding subscriptions.

Subscribers can opt to receive FEMA declarations, such as Emergency Declarations, Fire Management Assistance Declarations, Major Disaster Declarations, Disaster Updates by FEMA regions of the country, and Updates During Disasters.

Featured FEMA Updates include registration information and updates for America’s PrepareAthon, which motivates people and communities to take action to prepare for and protect themselves against disasters. ARRL has supported the preparedness program, and since 2003, has been an affiliate of Citizen Corps, under the four charter Citizen Corps programs–Neighborhood Watch, Volunteers in Police Service, Community Emergency Response Teams and Medical Reserve Corps. Get updates on 2018 America’s PrepareAthon plans.

Subscribers can also receive Citizen Corps News and Updates during disasters, and updates on the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program.

For information on the Department of Homeland Security’s Center For Faith-Based & Community Initiatives, and Neighborhood Partnership, check the relevant box.

FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute’s mission is to train, exercise and educate to improve the competencies of Emergency Management at all levels. The EMI is home for FEMA’s well known Independent Study (IS) program, where ARES participants and others can take the NIMS and ICS (and numerous other topics) online courses. Email subscribers can receive a wide array of EMI news and updates, including on the Independent Study courses.

Other news and updates are available on topics such as HAZMAT, IT, Mitigation (Grants Policy), Communications and Outreach, Risk Analysis Branch, and, of course, the National Incident Management System (NIMS). Emails are available for the FEMA National Level Exercise, National Response Framework, FEMA Daily Operations Briefing, and much more.

I’ve been an email subscriber for many of these update and bullletins for several years now — I highly recommend them. — K1CE

Amateur Radio, Amateur Radio Organizations, Amateur Radio Relay League, ARES, Emergency Communications, Event, Hamvention, News

ARRL Public Service Enhancement Working Group Chairman Updates Hamvention® Crowd on Proposed ARES Changes

June 21, 2018 Glen

At the ARRL Member Forum at 2018 Hamvention® last month, hosting Great Lakes Division Director Dale Williams, WA8EFK, chairman of the ARRL Public Service Enhancement Working Group, spoke about the dramatic changes that are occurring among agencies serving in the emergency/disaster response sector. He discussed planning for proposed new guidelines for participants in the ARES program, including plans for a new volunteer management software system, called ARES® Connect. Upgrades to ARES training and resources will ensure the service continues to be a valuable partner for its served agencies into the future.

Williams’ program was titled ARES Advances into the 21st Century — A New Program, A New Mission. The vision is for an ARES that is comprised of organized, trained, qualified, and credentialed Amateur Radio operators who can provide public service partners with radio communications expertise, capability, and capacity.

Goals include aligning the ARES organizational structure with the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Incident Command System (ICS). The Emergency Coordinator (EC) will continue to lead the ARES team locally during an incident, while the District EC and Section Emergency Coordinator will continue to serve as resources and support for the EC. ARES Connect is the new platform designed to support Reporting, Membership, Database – Portability, Record Keeping, and Statistics.

It is envisioned that additional training will be mandated, including ARRL Emergency Communications courses and the now standard FEMA NIMS/ICS courses IS-100, 200, 700, 800, with IS-300 and 400 for higher levels. Other specialty courses will be required in certain cases such as SKYWARN and other agency-specific training.
Levels of training attained would dovetail with three new levels of participation: Level One would be comprised of all entering the program with no training, while progressing through the ARRL emergency communications training and the FEMA Independent Study courses 100, 200, 700, and 800. Level Two would be attained upon successful completion of these courses, and would be considered the “Standard” level for ARES participants. Level Three would be attained upon completion of the advanced FEMA courses IS 300 and 400, which would qualify candidates for the ARES leadership positions EC, DEC, SEC and Assistants.

Level One participants would be able to fulfill most ARES duties with the target of attaining Level Two in one year. Level Two would be considered the normal participant level, which would gain the participant access to most incident sites and EOCs. Level Three would convey full access as granted by the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ), and qualification for ARES leadership.

It is proposed that ARRL will provide a basic ARES ID, which would convey recognition of registration with ARES nationally and indicate level of training. No conveyance of site access is guaranteed. The AHJ would grant an additional ID/pass for site access, which would be “owned” by the AHJ.

What is Happening Now

The ARES Connect system is currently being field-tested and implemented, with ARRL HQ staff undergoing training in its administration, and group registrations currently being made. Group IDs are being assigned. Beta testing with four ARRL Sections with large ARES organizations is underway.
The plans as described above are pending approval by the ARRL Board of Directors. An ARES Strategic Plan for the ARRL Field Organization, and an Introductory Announcement are being drafted. Editing/updating ARRL ARES-related publications is underway.
A full article on the ARES enhancements, once approved, will appear in September QST.

ARES® Connect

ARES program administrators at ARRL HQ will phase out the traditional ARES report forms later this year in favor of an online system called ARES Connect — a new volunteer management, communications, and reporting system. The new system will allow information to be logged by ARES members and managed through the Field Organization.

It does not change how ARES operates when serving a partner entity; it is simply a system that will make managing volunteers and incidents/events easier. Beta testing of ARES Connect began in March

ARRL Emergency Coordinators may register their ARES group here for a group ID.

Amateur Radio Organizations, ARES, Emergency Communications, National, News

National Hurricane Center Station WX4NHC Annual Station Test

May 16, 2018 Glen

WX4NHC, the amateur station at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, will conduct its annual station test on Saturday, May 26, 2018 from 9AM-5 PM EDT (1300Z-2100Z). This year marks the station’s 38th year of public service at the NHC.

The purpose of this event is to test station equipment, antennas and computers prior to this year’s Hurricane Season, which starts June 1st and runs through November 30th.

This event is good practice for ham radio operators worldwide, and helps NWS offices across the country become familiar with Amateur Radio communications support services available during times of severe weather.

WX4NHC operators will be making brief contacts on many frequencies and modes, exchanging signal reports and basic weather data (“Sunny”, or “Rain”, etc.) with any station in any location. WX4NHC will be on-the-air on HF, VHF, UHF, 2 and 30 meter APRS and WinLink wx4nhc@winlink.org (subject line must contain “//WL2K”).

Operators plan to stay on the accepted Hurricane Watch Net frequency 14.325 MHz most of the time. Due to space and equipment limitations, there will only be two operators per shift. Hams may be able to find the operation on HF by using one of the DX spotting networks, such as DX Watch.

Operations will also be run on the VoIP Hurricane Net 4PM to 5PM EDT (2000-2100Z). (IRLP node 9219 / EchoLink WX-TALK Conference node 7203). The Florida Statewide SARNET and local VHF and UHF repeaters will also be employed to make contacts.

QSL cards are available via WD4R. Please send your card with a S.A.S.E. Do not send QSLs directly to the Hurricane Center address, as they will get delayed.

Due to security measures, NO VISITORS will be allowed entry to NHC without prior clearance from the NHC PIO and Security. Only WX4NHC Operators on the pre-approved operating schedule will be allowed entry. For more information about WX4NHC, please visit the website.

Thank you for your participation in the WX4NHC Annual Station Test event. — Julio Ripoll, WD4R, WX4NHC Amateur Radio Assistant Coordinator, www.wx4nhc.org — celebrating 38 years at the National Hurricane Center, www.nhc.noaa.gov

Amateur Radio, Amateur Radio Organizations, Coconino Amateur Radio Club, Flagstaff, License Examinations, News

Coconino Amateur Radio Club hosts successful exam in Flagstaff

April 21, 2018 Glen

FLAGSTAFF – April 21 was a good day for the amateur radio community thanks to the Coconino Amateur Radio club. The club hosted an exam which had more people than usual and brought one person back into amateur radio.

There were six participants for a Technician License and one returned for his extra. All passed and one of the people passed both the Technician and General exam. He nearly passed the Extra exam, as well.

One of the participants came because her license had expired beyond the two-year grace period. Because she passed the Technician exam, she can now notify the FCC to get her General license re-instated. Welcome back to amateur radio.

Two of the examines were CARC students. One of them aced the exam and the other missed only two. That is thanks to instructors Dan Shearer N7YIQ, Jack Lunsford KD7RCJ and Ron Gerlak KG7OH.

The VE team today was Joe W7LUX, Ken KF7DUR, Erv KE7QFI and Glen KG7YDJ.

For more information on upcoming CARC classes and exams, visit cocoradio.club and click on Licensing and Exam Sessions link.

Amateur Radio, Amateur Radio Organizations, Amateur Radio Relay League, ARES, Education, Flagstaff, News, Podcast

Amateur radio podcasts can help with the learning curve

March 13, 2018 Glen

At a meeting of the Coconino Amateur Radio Club in Flagstaff, Dan SHEARER, N7YIQ, introduced the club to the ARRL® podcast The Doctor Will See You Now—also known as The Doctor Is In.

As I perused the Google Play Store with my Android phone for something else, I found something interesting. There are several apps which lead you to amateur radio podcasts.

I found one called—interestingly enough—Ham Radio podcast. I downloaded it at our Williams amateur radio club meeting. It not only accesses the ARRL® Doctor Is In, but the ARRL® news feed and ARES® newsletter, as well.

I also found one for what I thought was the Arizona Emergency Information Network. It turned out to be the Maricopa County Emergency Network. Interestingly it is taken from their over-the-air emergency Network.

There is one called AmateurLogic.TV. This one apparently gives lessons in amateur radio and licensing exam information. Currently they are running a course for the General license. I haven’t listened to a full podcast yet.

There are several others that look interesting. One is Linux in the Ham Shack. If you are interested in an alternative to Windows, Linux is just that. With some effort you can run some Windows programs under Linux. It is better, however, to simply download the free Linux programs available online and stay away from Windows.

Another nice feature (If you have the memory) is that you can download many of the podcasts to listen off-line. They are MP3 format so you can transfer them to CD and listen to them as you drive.

The one thing I noticed about the app is that it takes some time to buffer and start the podcast. That could be because I am using a cheap ZTE phone that does not even allow you to move apps to the SD card. If your Android phone or tablet has a decent amount of internal memory and speed, the buffering process might be shorter and thus the podcast might come up quicker. My cheap ZTE phone tends to take time buffering the podcast. Also I cannot transfer the app to my SD card.

I am only reviewing one of the several apps that access amateur radio podcasts. You can download others and experiment.

Amateur radio is what you make of it. If you just want to get the license and sit on it, you can do that. I know of people who got a license and never use it which is really sad because they are missing a lot. Maybe you obtained a license just for emergency use. There are those of us, however, that like to try new things: Explore new areas of the hobby. Along with the many amateur radio magazines and articles on the Internet, podcasts may help you do just that.

Valerie Hotzfeld, NV9L, is “Amateur of the Year,” as Hamvention Announces Award Winners

March 9, 2018 Glen

Valerie Hotzfeld, NV9L. [Don Kerouac, K9NR, photo]

Valerie Hotzfeld, NV9L, of Crescent City, Illinois, is the 2018 Hamvention® “Amateur of the Year.” The Hamvention Awards Committee — chaired by Michael Kalter, W8CI, and Frank Beafore, WS8B — this week announced its 2018 award recipients for Club of the Year, Technical Achievement, and Special Achievement.

“I am extremely honored to even be nominated for Amateur of the Year, let alone to win this award,” Hotzfeld told ARRL. “I would like to thank the Hamvention Awards Committee. Their decision must have been a tough one, as I am certain the other nominees have done an outstanding job representing this hobby too. I would also like to thank those who mentored me throughout my different learning phases of this hobby. Not only has Amateur Radio been a life-changing experience for me, there are so many helpful hams in this hobby that it just feels natural to give back.”

First licensed in 2006, Hotzfeld has been very active in local Amateur Radio clubs and in ARES. Once she “discovered” HF, she became obsessed with DXing and contesting. In the past few years, she has enjoyed inviting new hams to her station to DX or contest. She has been the pilot or lead pilot for four major DXpeditions. Hotzfeld also is a co-host of the Ham Nation webcast and has created how-to videos on YouTube for the ham radio community.

In 2017, Hotzfeld became engaged in public service, first traveling to Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey to help rescue small animals. She subsequently was deployed to Puerto Rico with the American Red Cross for 3 weeks as part of an Amateur Radio volunteer contingent, facilitating critical communications after Hurricane Maria.

Club of the Year

The Portage County Amateur Radio Service (PCARS) of Ravenna, Ohio, is Hamvention’s 2018 Club of the Year. PCARS was established in November 2005, and it is an ARRL-Affiliated Special Service Club. PCARS members average more than 40 hours of club activities each month, including special interest groups, license training, contesting run from the club site (K8BF), and club social events.

“Our members cover a wide range of interests that allow us to support public safety organizations, student outreach programs, and activities focused on growing our hobby,” the club told the Hamvention Awards Committee. “We love to share our experiences and have a requirement that our events be filled with a lot of fun. Members have joined PCARS because of all the activities and fun we have.”

The club donated more than $6,000 in time and money to the community last year. It has created its own contests and events, including the annual Freeze Your Acorns Off in February and Ohio State Parks on the Air, which was used as a model for ARRL’s year-long National Parks on the Air event in 2016.

PCARS sponsors several “Build Days” each year, with projects including home-built transceivers, antennas, and digital equipment to allow members to expand their horizons into new areas of Amateur Radio. A monthly “Get on the Air Day” lets members and non-members use club site equipment to learn about HF and new operating modes. “It is all about building our hobby, helping our community, building our skills, and, most of all, having fun,” PCARS said.

Technical Achievement Award

Chip Cohen, W1YW, of Belmont, Massachusetts, has received the Hamvention 2018 Technical Achievement Award. Licensed for 52 years and bitten by the antenna bug, Cohen became a radio astronomer and astrophysicist, working at Arecibo, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), the Very Large Array (VLA), and others. While a professor at Boston University, Cohen connected fractal geometry with antennas, pioneering a paradigm shift in the design of fractal antennas and what they make possible. The holder of 41 US patents, Cohen is known for inventing the invisibility cloak using fractal antenna techniques.

Starting 30 years ago with simple flea market treasures, W1YW bootstrapped fractal antennas with modest gear and employed ham radio to report on the success of his new technology. He started Fractal Antenna Systems, Inc. with WA1ZWT (SK) in 1995, and is presently its CEO.

Cohen is a DXCC Top of the Honor Roll DXer and a strong advocate for technical “innovation culture” through Amateur Radio. He is a Life Member of ARRL and a Fellow of the Radio Club of America, where he has served as vice president and director.

Special Achievement Award

Heriberto Perez, KK4DCX; Victor Torres, WP4SD, and Emilio Ortiz Jr., WP4KEY, are Hamvention’s 2018 Special Achievement Award winners. In the wake of Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico last September, Perez mobilized his radio equipment to Radio Sol in San Germán, the local public broadcasting station, accompanied by Torres and Ortiz. The team handled health-and-welfare traffic to thousands of families across the continental US. Thanks to the support of more than 45 radio amateurs across the US, more than 4,000 messages were delivered via telephone to anxious families.

“We would like to thank everyone who nominated a candidate,” the committee said in announcing the award recipients. “The process is always difficult.” A formal awards presentation will take place this May at Hamvention 2018 in Xenia, Ohio.

Amateur Radio, Amateur Radio Organizations, Classes, Coconino Amateur Radio Club, Flagstaff, License Examinations, News

Coconino Amateur Radio club training set for 2018

February 7, 2018 Glen

FLAGSTAFF – The Coconino Amateur Radio Club has set an ambitious schedule for license classes for 2018. They added classes for the General Class amateur radio license, this year. There are eight sessions for each class to be held on Saturdays from 9 a.m. until noon. The classes could not happen without the help of the Northland Healthcare Clinic in Flagstaff.

The classes for the General license are broken in the middle with the annual Amateur Radio Relay League® Field Day. This will give students a chance to operate equipment and ask question about digital modes and so-on. This will help students on the exam.

The Saturday following the last class of each session is the normal Coconino Amateur Radio Exam.

The class schedules are as follows:

TECHNICIAN LICENSE CLASSES
The Coconino Amateur radio club will hold two series of classes for the Amateur Radio Technician License. There are eight classes for each series to be held on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon at the Northland Healthcare Clinic, 2920 N 4th Street, Flagstaff, AZ 86004. The Coconino Amateur Radio Club will host exams the Saturday following each class at the same location. Email preregistration is desired.
The first series is Saturdays from February 24 to April 14.
The second series is Saturdays from August 25 to October 13.

GENERAL LICENSE CLASSES
The Coconino Amateur radio club will hold classes for the Amateur Radio General License. There are eight classes for each series to be held on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon at the Northland Healthcare Clinic, 2920 N 4th Street, Flagstaff, AZ 86004. The Coconino Amateur Radio Club will host an exam the Saturday following the last class at the same location. Email preregistration is desired. The classes will be held Saturdays on May 19, 26, June 2, 9, 16, 30, July 7, 14. The ARRL Field Day is June 23, 24 and no classes will be held that weekend. Students are invited to attend the CARC Field Day to get some experience in operating equipment which should help them on the exam.

Please note this is eight classes held on Saturdays. The regular CARC exam is the Saturday following the last class. Email pre-registration is desired. We recommend you purchase the ARRL Ham Radio License manual. If you can afford the spiral bound edition, it is easier to handle.

For more information people can email Glen KG7YDJ at KG7YDJ@arrl.net.

Amateur Radio, Amateur Radio Organizations, License Examinations, News, Prescott, Yavapai Amateur Radio Club

Yavapai Amateur Radio hosts successful exam

January 20, 2018 Glen

Source and photo: Mike W1DGL
The Yavapai Amateur Radio Club hosted a successful amateur radio examination session today. Of thirteen candidates, eleven passed exams.

One family left with the mother and 13-year-old son earning their technician license and dad emerging with a general license. They also had one person pass the examination for an extra license.

Congratulations to you all. To those who did not pass we urge you to try again. Check the Yavapai Amateur Radio Club site for classes and future exam schedules.

Remember you do not have to be in Yavapai to take the amateur radio exams given by Yavapai. You can participate in any exam session given any where by an authorized group. Information on exams in Coconino county can be found at the CARC web site. Hanmfests also hosts licensing exams.

I’m still waiting to hear the results of the CARC exam held today.

Amateur Radio, ARRL, Contest, Event, News

NASA announces year long amateur radio event beginning in December

November 29, 2017 Glen

NASA was created on July 29, 1958 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The first lunar mission was in 1968. Elements of the International Space Station were first launched in 1998. NASA is asking amateur radio operators to participate in these and other events for the entire year of 2018.

Beginning in December of 2017 and running through December of 2018, various NASA clubs and stations will be listening and calling via phone, CW and digital methods of the amateur radio hobby. The ARRL web site announced that the event starts Monday, December 11 UTC.

The club stations at the various NASA centers and facilities plan to be on the air with special events to celebrate these milestones and are offering commemorative QSL cards and a special certificate indicating how many centers you worked on various bands and modes may be downloaded. QSL instructions are available on the QRZ.COM site for each individual club station.

NASA plans to have a web-based system for you to check your points total and download a certificate at the end of the event in December 2018. Points will be awarded for each center worked on each band and mode.

The event will run from December 2017 through December 2018 with the following key dates:

Apollo 17 45th anniversary – 11-14 December 2017, beginning of event
NASA founded 60th anniversary (act signed by President Eisenhower) – 29 July 1958
ISS First Element Launch 20th anniversary – 20 November 1998
ISS Node 1 Launch 20th anniversary – 4 December 1998
50th anniversary of Apollo 8 – launch 21 December 1968, splashdown 27 December, end of event

Note that there may be other special event operations by the various centers commemorating specific events, but those listed above will include participation from all the centers. All operating modes are fair game including satellites, repeaters, EME, ISS APRS, etc.

In addition, NASA stations hope to be on the air for casual contacts and contests as well. It is a good time to consider getting an amateur radio license.

Please check their web site for updates as the program is developed.

KG7YDJ