By John Rodgers, N3MSE, from the ARRL
January 17, 2010
On Saturday January 16 I was privileged to be a guest at the annual Skyview Radio Society banquet. This was a kickoff to the beginning of their 50th year as a radio club. 2009 was not a good year for the club in terms of disasters befalling them. A violent and nasty storm hit early in the year and took down trees, antennas, towers and damaged much of the club area. This group pulled together and not only restored the club area but also had fun doing it. They also still managed to put together the W. PA. Section Convention. My personal congratulations to the officers and members of the club.
As I write this the board of directors is finishing the January board meeting in Connecticut. I wish to congratulate Kay Craigie on her election as the 15th President of the ARRL. Good luck to all the newly elected officers and I wish them success in their upcoming terms of office.
For several months I have been requesting help in filling various positions in the field organization here in W. Pa. We are in need of volunteers in the ARES program, a public information coordinator and especially a section traffic manager. I cannot continue to fill these duties myself and with well over a thousand individuals receiving this newsletter I would hope someone will step forward. During this time of disaster in Haiti when health and welfare traffic is so important to so many families I would hate to see this service slip away because we cannot find one person to lead the way.
The hamfest season will soon be here and the first two are scheduled for February. The first is a new event a tech fest to be sponsored by the BVARA club and the boy scout explorer post 73. The event takes place on February 14 and additional information is available at http://www.w3sgj.org or on the league web site. The second event and first hamfest of the season for us will take place on February 28. The event is sponsored by the Wireless Association of South Hills. Additional information is available at http://n3sh.org .
With only six months to go till field day 2010 I suggest that clubs start making plans for this fun operating event. Clubs should also prepare for an early order of field day pins, hats and other items as last year many of these items were sold out early. Even some of my own order was not available at the time I ordered in early May. I look forward to again visiting as many clubs and field day locations as I possibly can this year.
I am scheduling club visits this year as the weather gets nice so if you would like me to attend a club meeting or other function be sure to send me a request will several available dates. An address where you meet is also appreciated for easy input into the GPS.
Larry Keller, AB3ER is conducting an ARES net on Saturday mornings at 10 AM local time. This net is operating on a frequency of 3983 Hz. Please join the net for information on the ARES program.
As always I encourage you to join one of the various traffic nets and help deliver messages to individuals in your community and throughout the country as amateurs struggle to keep the keep this activity running strong. The section net is on 3983 every evening at approximately 4:45 PM local time due to poor band conditions. Join the nets and lets all get Radio Active.
73
John V. Rodgers, N3MSE W. Pa. Section Manager
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