Greetings! — This is the July 2025 Issue
Volume 05, Issue 07 — Posted July 04, 2025

 July is a fun month.  It starts with Canada Day, then the 13 Colonies Special Event Stations, July 4 Special Event stations, various Civil War anniversary special event stations, Bastille Day, as well as some State QSO Parties (Alabama).  Not to forget the other contests including North American QSO Party RTTY, CQ WW VHF Contest, and Flight of the Bumble Bees.  July is a great month for POTA – Parks On The Air – either as an Activator or as a Hunter.

While outdoors, keep an eye or ear on the weather.  There are a variety of battery powered “weather alert” radios for sale.  But did you know your HT most likely either has the NOAA weather frequencies programmed and easily scannable with a one-touch button.  (Seven VHF FM frequencies between 162.400 MHz and 162.550 MHz FM.  Details below.)  Or, you can save them as memory channels. 

CARC members have a fascinating variety of interests from “old fashioned Morse code”  or phone contacts to a variety of computer sound card data modes to digital (DMR) to cutting edge technologies such as Digital Voice and Meshtastic.

For more information, or if you want  to get onboard and be a part of the CARC Radio Road Show, please see https://www.radioclub-carc.com/touch-base/

 See ‘ya down the log.

Frank KB3PQT

 

 NOAA Weather  VHF FM Frequencies:

162.400 MHz       Baltimore, MD KEC83

162.425 MHz         

162.450 MHz         

162.475 MHz         

162.500 MHz        Hagerstown, MD WXM42

162.525 MHz         

162.550 MHz        Harrisburg, PA  WXL40

 

Greetings! — This is the December 2024 Issue
Volume 04, Issue 12 – Posted November 25, 2024

Here we are.  December 2024
Quite a year this has been!  Do you agree?

Your club and individual member accomplishments include: 

Attained 60 years serving the community and the hobby.

Published 14 How Do I… articles on the club’s Know-How Resources site.

Successfully promoted Parks On The Air (POTA) with 22 member participants.

Held Field Day @Shaffer Park with 23 participants who scored 2,446 points.

Ran a special event station honoring the National Railway Historical Society.

Celebrated our own 60th anniversary with a special event station.

Served the community by providing communications support for the Dillsburg Farmers Fair Parade Chairperson and Parade Marshals.

Lit approximately 400 Holiday Luminaries at Children’s Lake in Boiling Springs, PA.

Operated weekly 10 meter nets on Wednesday at 8 p.m. local time.

Operated weekly 2 meter FM Simplex Phone nets on Sunday at 7 p.m. local time.

Operated 2 meter digital data nets using analog FM and FLDIGI sound card technology modes to communicate.

 

At the November meeting we elected officers for 2025.

President                               Frank Mellott             KB3PQT

Vice-President                      John Luthy                WA3KCP

Treasurer                               Garry Fasick              K3EYK

Secretary                               Paula Anstine           KC3UVH

Membership Secretary        Richard Johnson     N3EPY

 

Dave Smith W3SOX is the appointed trustee for the club call sign-K3IEC.

 

Not to forget our other Club Leaders and Volunteers:

Doug Stenger                       KC3CPT        Vice-President 2024

Steve Hancock                     N3FWE          Technology Guru, Photographer

Maura Smith-Mitsky            KC3JJH          Historian, Archivist, Holiday Event Planner

Mark Anstine                         KC3UVG       Operations Guru

Paula Anstine                       KC3UVH       Operations Guru

Harry Fasick                          K3EYL           CARC Representative to Farmers Fair Parade

Garry Fasick                          K3EYK           CARC Representative to Boiling Springs Civic                                                                                     Association (Luminary Sponsor)

Doug Stenger                       KC3CPT         Quartermaster

Frank Mellott                         KB3PQT        QSL Manager

R J Harris                               W3HP             Amateur Radio Advocate

Bobbe Rothermel                 WA3BKK       CARC Member since Day 1 in June 1964

Roger Wheeler                     K3SU              CARC Member since Day 1 in June 1964

Doug Stenger                       KC3CPT         Net Control Station for 2 Meter Phone Net

Garry Fasick                          K3EYK           Net Control Station for 10 Meter Phone Net

Valli Hoski                             N8QVT          Net Control Station for Farmers Fair Net

Andrew Forsyth                    AF3I              Net Control Station for 2 Meter Digital Net

 

We saw our club grow to 46 members with a gain of six new members this year. 
That is at least a modern record. 

 

Cumberland Amateur Radio Club members have the skills, and we have the talented people to advance the club along its journey for the next 60 years.

 

What have you done today?

 

For more information, or if you want  to get onboard and be a part of the CARC Radio Road Show,
please see https://www.radioclub-carc.com/touch-base/

 

See ‘ya down the log.
Frank KB3PQT

 

 #####

Greetings! — This is the January 2025 Issue
Volume 05, Issue 01 – Posted December 26, 2024

January.  Time to turn the calendar and launch a new year of service and education.

 

Your 2025 elected officer team is:

      President                                     Frank Mellott             KB3PQT

      Vice-President                            John Luthy                  WA3KCP

      Treasurer                                    Garry Fasick               K3EYK

      Secretary                                     Paula Anstine            KC3UVH

      Membership Secretary             Richard Johnson       N3EPY

 

Dave Smith W3SOX is the appointed trustee for the club call sign-K3IEC.

 

What do we hope to do in 2025?    In no particular order:

  • Field Day 2025@Shaffer Park
  • Promote portable operation and POTA through on-the-air activities.
  • Operate the 10 Meter Phone Net on Wednesdays on 28,400 KHz USB at 8:00 p.m.
  • Operate two 2-Meter nets on Sunday:

            A Digital Data net on 146.490 MHz FM Simplex at 6:00 p.m. local, and

            A Phone net on 146.490 MHz FM Simplex at 7:00 p.m. local.

  • Assist newly licensed members in learning about the wonderful world of amateur radio.
  • Set up and operate a multi-operator, multi-transmitter entry in the Pennsylvania QSO Party on Saturday October 11, 2025
  • Provide communications for the Dillsburg Farmer’s Fair parade on Saturday October 18, 2025
  • Light the Luminaries at Children’s Lake in Boiling Springs on December 30, 2025.

 

To do this, we need YOU!  Yes, YOU! 

  • We need you to attend meetings, either in person or on Zoom.
  • We need you to participate in events.
  • We need you to not just show up, but help set up. And help tear down. 
  • We need you to tell us what you want. Then help make it happen.

 

Let’s have a Sporcle.com moment.   They are big in the business of offering solutions to crossword puzzle clues.

Clue:        An association or organization dedicated to a particular interest or activity.

Answer:  Club.

 

Without people of a common interest, we are nothing.
By mobilizing people having a common interest and we can accomplish a lot.

 

“People of a common interest” refers to a group of individuals who share a similar passion, hobby, or topic of interest, allowing them to connect and engage with one another based on that shared enthusiasm; essentially, a community built around a specific area of shared knowledge or enjoyment.

Did you detect a pattern among the key words mentioned above?

            Interest
            Passion
            Connect
            Engage
            Enthusiasm
            Enjoyment

 

What have you done today?

 

For more information, or if you want  to get onboard and be a part of the CARC Radio Road Show,
please see https://www.radioclub-carc.com/touch-base/

See ‘ya down the log.
Frank KB3PQT

 #####

Greetings! — This is the February 2025 Issue
Volume 05, Issue 02 – Posted February 01, 2025

As I write this, your favorite local groundhog weather prognosticator has not had a chance to announce whether Spring will be early or not.  But no matter what happens, we do not have more than six weeks of Winter left.  The Old Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a wet spring with a warmer than normal April and May. 

February is great time to make your preparations to get outdoors and operate from your favorite park. 

February is also the start of the winter State QSO Party season.  What better way to practice your outdoor skills than to use the same equipment at home?

CARC has some very active and enthusiastic portable operators.

 

What have you done today?

 

For more information, or if you want  to get onboard and be a part of the CARC Radio Road Show,
please see https://www.radioclub-carc.com/touch-base/

See ‘ya down the log.
Frank KB3PQT

 #####

Greetings! — This is the March 2025 Issue
Volume 05, Issue 03 – Posted March 11, 2025

What does CARC mean to you?

If someone comes up to you and sees your spiffy CARC apparel or your CARC tumbler, and asks “What is CARC?”, do you have an elevator speech ready?

This column is inspired by an article about the Grange in the Lancaster Farming.  A Grange officer related that he was at the PA Farm Show.  A family stops by the booth and he gives his spiel about the Grange.  The mother looks at him and says “That’s nice, but what does it mean to you?”

The Grange was old when amateur radio first began.  It has been written off as outdated many times.  But it survives.

If someone asks you “What does CARC mean to you?” or “What does CARC do for you?” do you have a reply? 

What have you done today?

 

For more information, or if you want  to get onboard and be a part of the CARC Radio Road Show,
please see https://www.radioclub-carc.com/touch-base/

See ‘ya down the log.
Frank KB3PQT

 #####

Greetings! — This is the April 2025 Issue
Volume 05, Issue 04 – Posted April 04, 2025

April showers bring May flowers.  April showers can make it hard to get outdoors and operate.  But it is a great time to prepare your gear, get on the air in the various State QSO Parties and other contests, and work POTA – Parks on the Air with those operators located in drier and sunnier climes.

Looking to operate portable but the weather is not so great?  Try Portable on The Porch!  (Or garage, carport, deck, patio).  This can be a great way to test your radio gear without getting far from home.

 

What have you done today?

 

For more information, or if you want  to get onboard and be a part of the CARC Radio Road Show,
please see https://www.radioclub-carc.com/touch-base/

See ‘ya down the log.
Frank KB3PQT

 #####

Greetings! — This is the May 2025 Issue
Volume 05, Issue 05 — Posted April 27, 2025

May Day!  May is full of Holidays.

  • May Day on May 1,
  • Star Wars Day on May 4, (May the “forth” be with you.)
  • Cinco de Mayo on May 5,
  • National Train Day on May 10,
  • Mothers’ Day on May 11,
  • Armed Forces day on May 17, and
  • Memorial Day celebrated on May 26.

Lots of opportunities to get on the air!

Mayday!  Mayday! Mayday, when said three times, is a distress call that originated in the early 1920s for use among aviation and nautical interests. 

When and where did the term come into being? 

Visit Notes From Shack  https://www.radioclub-carc.com/notes-from-the-shack/

 

For more information, or if you want  to get onboard and be a part of the CARC Radio Road Show,
please see https://www.radioclub-carc.com/touch-base/

 

See ‘ya down the log.
Frank KB3PQT

 #####


 

Greetings! — This is the June 2025 Issue
Volume 05, Issue 06 — Posted June 01, 2025

June!   Dairy Month!   Strawberries!  Radio!  And in 2025, seemingly never ending rain.

Really.  June is an awesome month to play radio.  The 4th weekend  (June 28-29) is the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Field Day.  Field Day was designed almost 90 years ago to encourage operators to operate in the field.  CARC uses the cabin at Shaffer Park in Carlisle.  CARC will operate as Class 3A using call sign K3IEC.

Want to practice for Field Day?  These contests will help you make contacts and hone your skills.

  • Atlantic Canada QSO Party NEW FOR 2025 !                   7th
  • Kentucky QSO Party 7th-8th
  • SKCC Weekend Sprintathon (WES) 14th-15th
  • West Virginia QSO Party 14th
  • ARRL VHF Contest June 14th-15th
  • ARRL Kids Day 21st
  • ARRL Field Day 28th-29th
  • RAC Canada Day 8 p.m. on the 30th-July1st

 

It’s not too late to either get an amateur radio license and get on-the-air for Field Day. 
Or, let your fingers wander to Contact Us — Cumberland Amateur Radio Club for more Field Day info.

For more information, or if you want  to get onboard and be a part of the CARC Radio Road Show,
please see https://www.radioclub-carc.com/touch-base/

 

See ‘ya down the log.
Frank KB3PQT

 #####

ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® is the organizer of ARRL Field Day.  This year’s event takes place June 28-29, 2025.

The ARRL Field Day official website is:   http://www.arrl.org/FieldDay

Field Day is always held the fourth full weekend in June.  It has been an annual event since 1933 (Field Day was not held in 1942-1945 due to the war). This year, 2025, marks the 88th Field Day.

 

The Cumberland Amateur Radio Club (CARC)  participates from a portable multi-operator station at Shaffer Park in Carlisle, PA.

If you are a CARC Member, please join us at Shaffer Park. 

If not yet a CARC Member, and you want to see what amateur radio is about, want to see what the club is about, please feel welcome to attend. 

 

See the ARRL Field Day locator for details.  https://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator

Specify Call Sign K3IEC

 

 

For more information about radios, setting up your station  and another topics, follow the trail to

https://www.radioclub-carc.com/resources/

 

See ‘ya down the log.

Frank KB3PQT

Members of the Cumberland Amateur Radio Club (CARC) recently participated in their annual event called Derby Day. 

The traditional date of this event aligns with the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday of May.  A scheduling challenge forced our Derby Day to take place one week earlier than usual.  In turn, that change provided an opportunity to include the Florida QSO Party among our on-the-air activities.

Florida QSO Party 2025 featured a Spelling Bee.  Fourteen Special Event stations, with their 1×1 call signs, provided the material to spell PIRATES.  CARC Members operated club station K3IEC and worked FQP stations featuring each of the seven letters.  In return, we were rewarded with a custom designed QSL card and took pride for a job well done.

The QSL card front, and a representative QSL card back, appear below.

Thank you Florida QSO Party for sponsoring this wonderful event.

Florida QSO Party 2025 PIRATES Spelling Bee

Representative QSL Card Back

***  May Day!  ***

The first day of May is May Day.  A celebration of spring.

But Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! when said three times is also a distress call.

Mayday got its start as an international distress call in 1923.  The distress call was first recognized in 1924 by the Book of Wireless Telegraphy and later it was made official by the 1927 International Radiotelegraph Convention.

 

Editor Note:  There are frequent mentions of Mayday being made official in 1948.  However the citations do not identify the approving authority.

 

Mayday was the idea of Frederick Mockford, who was a senior radio officer at Croydon Airport in London.  He was charged with finding a suitable voice-based distress call to be used in place of the telegraphy signal SOS.  Mockford came up with the idea for “mayday” because it sounded like the French word m’aider, which means “help me.”

 

See ‘ya down the log!

Frank KB3PQT

 

From  https://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/what-does-mayday-mean

 

(Your Editor remembers a tradition of hanging May Day baskets, as a child, on the door knobs of neighboring friends, knocking or ringing the bell, and running away as fast as possible to avoid being caught in the act.)

 

Amateur Radio for people with disabilities

Some might say:  Amateur Radio for people with different abilities.

The fine folks at the Courage Kenny Handiham Program sent me a nice letter recapping their achievements during the year.  Their envelope contained two otherwise blank QSL cards highlighting the purpose of the program.   I scanned and posted the information below.

If the Handiham program interests you, I am placing their contact information at the end of this post. 
73,   AF3I

EPSON MFP image
EPSON MFP image

Contact Information:

Web site:    https://handiham.org

eMail:          handiham@allina.com

Mail:            Courage Kenny Handiham Program
                     3915 Golden Valley Rd
                     Mail Route 78446
                     Golden Valley,  MN  55422 

Telephone:   (612) 775-2291

#####

On Saturday August 24, 2024, ten Cumberland Amateur Club members (Andrew AF3I, Rob KC2FLY, Frank KB3PQT, Doug KC3CPT, Richard N3EPY, Steve N3FWE, Bill N3GTY,  Charlene WG3Q, John WA3KCP, and Darrel WB3FNJ) operated a Special Event station celebrating the National Railway Historical Society and their 2024 convention in Harrisburg, PA. 

The NRHS was last here in 1984 and the 2024 Special Event QSL card is a throwback to that time when one of the convention rail trips was behind a pair of Baldwin 2-2-8-2 Mikados on the East Broad Top Railroad in Orbisonia, PA.

K3IEC Special Event QSL Card (Front)

For more information on the National Railway Historical Society and their mission to preserve railway history, please visit  the National Railway Historical Society, Inc. website at  https://www.nrhs.com  

Our Special Event results were impressive.  During the 24-hour operations window, the 10 Special Event Operators completed 435 two-way Amateur Radio contacts with 44 of the United States (the exceptions were Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, Vermont, North Dakota, and Utah), Canada, and 18 overseas countries.

Thank you  Valli N8QVT for the Special Event inspiration; Mark KC3UVG and Paula KC3UVH for organizing Special Event operators, Andrew AF3I for hours of behind the scenes Special Event website work, and the ten operators for spending one of the nicest days of the year inside getting Special Event station K3IEC on-the-air.

 

For more information about this and another ham radio topics, follow the trail to:

https://www.radioclub-carc.com/resources/

 

See ‘ya down the log.

Frank KB3PQT

 

 

On Saturday September 21, 2024 between 0000 and 2359 UTC, listen for K3IEC on-the-air!  Club members will be operating a special event station on various bands and modes to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the club.

Watch this space for a special K3IEC QSL card for this event.

The event is posted in the Special Events column starting with the July, 2024 issue of QST – not in the actual QST Magazine, but on the ARRL.org website. 

The event is posted on Eham.net in their calendar.

The day of the event, watch the spots on Eham.net and My DX Summit  DXSummit.fi for current bands and modes.
Preliminary Info:   SSB 7.250, 14.300, 21.300, and 28.400
                                 CW TBD
                                 Digital TBD

 

See special event listings or watch the space for QSL info.
QSL:   Frank Mellott, 1010 Good Hope Rd., Mechanicsburg, PA  17050

 

Questions?  Please contact President@radioclub-carc.com

 

For more information about Field Day and another topics, follow the trail to

https://www.radioclub-carc.com/resources/

 

See ‘ya down the log.

Frank KB3PQT

 

* *   A POTAstic Day!   * *  

 On Saturday May 4, 2024 CARC members and friends met at Pine Grove Furnace State Park for Derby Day.

Or as one local radio station morning show (Red 102.3) called it in their parody commercial done in the style of a 1980s Budweiser ad as they described the coincidence of Star Wars Day and the Kentucky Derby – “May the Horse be with you”. 

CARC Derby Day was designed to allow individual club members the chance to make a successful Parks On The Air (POTA) activation and participate in the 7th Call Area QSO Party (WA, OR, ID, WY, MT, UT, NV, AZ) and Indiana QSO Party.

Last year’s weather was perfect.  This year not so much.  The scattered thunderstorms became all-day rain forecasts by Friday evening.

Still, thirteen members and friends showed up to demonstrate the fortitude and enthusiasm they bring to the Amateur Radio hobby.

Mark Anstine                      KC3UVG,                  Paula Anstine              KC3UVH,

John Bartko                        W3JJB,                       Dave Donaldson         KC3OSG,

Garry Fasick                       K3EYK,                      Richard Johnson         N3EPY,

Glenn Kurzenknabe         K3SWZ,                     John Luthy                   WA3KCP,

Frank Mellott                     KB3PQT,                   Doug Stenger              KC3CPT,

Bill Wagaman                    N3GTY, 

along with our guests Osmon and his wife Kimberly, who wanted to see the magic happen and learn more about the wonderful world of amateur radio.

 

Contacts and successful POTA activations were made using digital modes and CW.  Band conditions were not the best, but some phone contacts were made in the 7th Call Area QSO Party and some DX, primarily with Italy and Great Britain.

Because it was cold, wet and never got above 50 degrees, the event broke up in the early afternoon.  Doug Stenger KC3CPT, Paula Anstine KC3UVH and Bill Wagaman N3GTY made a wonderful meal of hamburgers and hotdogs. 

After lunch a drawing was held for door prizes, including an ARRL Operating Manual, 250’ feet of Davis antenna wire, a tube of coax connector seal, various other books on antennas, voice over internet-VOIP, GPS and other amateur radio topics.  

Osmon and Kimberly traveled 1 3/4 hours to attend and left with an ARRL Technician exam study guide to help them begin their longer amateur radio journey.

The CARC Radio Road Show team is already looking forward to Derby Day-2025!  Mark your calendar for Saturday May 3, 2025.

 

For more information about POTA, Field Day and another topics, follow the trail to

https://www.radioclub-carc.com/resources/

 

See ‘ya down the log.

Frank KB3PQT

 

*  *   PENNSYLVANIA QSO PARTY preliminary results are in   * *

We did not operate our traditional Portable Multi-Transmitter / Multi-Operation station K3IEC due to the weather forecast calling for rain, cold temperatures, and high winds associated with hurricane remnants.  But quite a few members played along at home.  The PA QSO Party team has now posted those results.

And the winners are…

Name

Call Sign Award Category Location
Harry Fasick K3EYL 2nd place Single Operator Low Power SSB Adams County
Dave Smith W3SOX 1st place Single Operator High Power SSB Cumberland County
Garry Fasick K3EYK 3rd place Single Operator Low Power SSB. Cumberland County
John Luthy WA3KCP 1st place Single Operator High Power Mixed (multiple modes) Cumberland County
Andrew Forsyth AF3I 1st Place Single Operator Low Power Mixed (multiple modes) York County

Congratulations !

For more information about Radio-Sport and another topics, follow the trail to:

https://www.radioclub-carc.com/resources/

 

See ‘ya down the log.

Frank KB3PQT

 

**  In Memoriam    Thelma – Radio Dog  **

 

We received the sad news that Thelma – Radio Dog passed away.   Thelma was a trained service dog for club members Mark Anstine, KC3UVG and Paula Anstine, KC3UVH.  Thelma was a active participant in club events and will be missed.

Please consider a donation in her memory to the Adams County SPCA.

Online:
Home | adams-county-spca (adamscountyspca.org)

By Mail:

Adams County SPCA
11 Goldenville Road
Gettysburg, PA  17325

 

https://www.radioclub-carc.com/resources/

See ‘ya down the log.

Frank KB3PQT

#####

Great Day,

CARC has had a Things To-Do page for several years.   This page delivers listings of Hamfests, Contests, License Training Classes, License Exam Sessions, On-The-Air Nets, Radio Club Meetings (ours!), and Face-To-Face get-togethers.

The format of our Things To-Do page is driven by the website software plug-in we use — The Event Calendar.  The best view we offer on that page is a LIST which shows each event on your screen in a date-oriented sequence    There are search tools to help you locate the type of events that capture your interest.

We listened when our reading audience told us — YOU GUYS NEED TO HAVE MONTHLY AND WEEKLY VIEWS OF THE EVENTS.  Can you tell that they were shouting?
Your web administrator and others have been working on how best to present the Monthly and Weekly views.  We are at the point where there is something we can show you.

Navigation from the top menu bar:   THINGS TO-DO >> GOOGLE CALENDAR – PUBLIC

There are buttons you can push to bring up various views:  Monthly, Weekly, Agenda (List).  Or, click on a specific event and see the details.

We are still fine-tuning the format of the events after they have been exported from our legacy calendar and imported into our Google Calendar.
If it isn’t pretty on the day you visit, please try again.

##### 

**  FAMOUS HISTORICAL PHRASES RENDERED IN MORSE CODE **

 

Club President, Frank Mellott KB3PQT, offers a challenge to viewers of this blog page.

Frank gathered several well-known phrases from history and applied the corresponding dots and dashes to paper. 

He wanted you to read the printed dots and dashes and submit a transcription of your discovery. 
But Morse Code involves hearing dits and dahs.  Your Editor recorded the audible dits and dahs and hopes our website can render the WAV file as audio.

There are two files.  The first file contains audio for phrases one through four.  The second file contains audio for phrases five through eight.
The Morse Code was sent at 10 words per minute.  Each phrase is introduced with a tag such as CW1 NEXT and a moment of silence.     
The space between words was lengthened slightly for the benefit of those who are taking their first steps with Morse Code.

The length of each file is on the order of four and one-half minutes. 

Let’s see if this works:   (YES !  It worked.)

Audio Player

Phrases 1 through 4

 

Audio Player

Phrases 5 through 8

 

Give it a try.   Write down the words that you heard.
Submit your entry via eMail to:  president@RadioClub-CARC.com
We welcome your comments.

Questions can be directed via eMail to:   AF3I@RadioClub-CARC.com   If you would like receive a slower transmission let him know.  Andrew is open to special requests.

#####

**  So how many active hams are there?  **

 Curious Newcomer (CN) and Experienced Elmer (EE) both started interesting groups.io threads.  One asked for people to tell what they do on the air, and the other has had a lot of fun with FT8 and wondered if …

a.)   With that as background, I have noticed recently that when I watch the JTAlert “All decodes” window, 20-25 percent of those active on the band at a given time are people whom I’ve already worked. That makes me wonder about a couple of things:

 b:)   How popular are the FT modes, anyway, and if you could collect similar stats for CW and phone, would we see something similar?  I’m still a long way from “working the bands out”, but it’s been a little surprising.

 Let’s look at numbers.  A couple years ago ARRL stated that FT8 was 70% of all HF activity.  That is market share a monopolist would love.  70% is a lot, and that is only 1 mode.

 

The ARRL, as of August 14, 2023, shows 759,159 licensed amateurs in the US and territories.

 

Class Number Percent
 

Novice

5969 1%
 

Technician

377810 50%

 

Tech Plus

0 0%

General

187274 25%
Advanced 33327 4%

 

Extra

155139 20%

 

Technicians have some HF privileges, but I doubt that more than maybe 10% get on HF. 

And a high number, maybe as high as 50%, of all Technician class licensees are not active in the hobby at all.   It has been over 23 years since anyone received a new Advanced class license.  In 2015 there were over 54,000 Advanced licensees.  While some have upgraded to Extra, too many have become inactive or Silent Keys. 

I have no good way of estimating how many General and Extra class licensees are actually active on the air.  But on any given day there may be as few as 200,000 to 250,000 who actively would use the HF bands in the US. The good news?  In 2016, there were 725,000 US licenses. According to NPR, that was up 60% from 1981.  But according to Wikipedia, in 2021, the US had 779, 545.  or a whopping 0.233% of the  population.  In 2 years the US has lost about 20,000 and by the numbers, most of those came from Advanced licensees going SK.  In percentage of the population licensed, the US has fallen to third.  Japan is in second and Slovenia is in first place.  The US has about twice as many as Japan, but a smaller fraction of the population is licensed. China is in third place in numbers, with 150,000 as of 2019.

Amateur radio is not dead.  But it will always need new people getting involved.

 

For more information about Amateur Radio, Cumberland Amateur Radio Club, and another topics, follow the trail to

https://www.radioclub-carc.com/resources/

 

See ‘ya down the log.

Frank KB3PQT

#####

** Radio musings **

When I have too much time on my hands I enjoy crunching numbers.  We had some cold, wet weather recently.  I stayed indoors.  That was my invitation to curl up with a good database and extract some numbers. 

My research was focused on the popularity of amateur radio as a hobby around the world and locally in Central Pennsylvania.  My results are represented by the proportion of licensed Amateur Radio Operators among the population as a whole.

 

USA

The USA has 779,545 licensed amateur radio operators.  In case you wondered, that’s 0.233 percent of the population.  For those of you who broke up with math in the 1980s, and learned that getting back together is awkward, that works out to 23 amateurs per 10,000 people. 

Let’s put those numbers into a real-world context.  The seating capacity of the GIANT Center arena is 10,500.   How about dropping the loose change and call it 10,000.  If you sprinkled 23 ham radio operators among all the event attendees you would have the same proportion of ham radio operators in the arena as there are in the United States, as a whole.

 

Global Highlights

By comparison, in other locations where amateur radio is a poplar hobby, we found these numbers from 2019.

Japan has 381,899 licensed operators, or 0.304% of the population.

Thailand has 101,763 licensed operators for 0.147% of the population.

Germany has 63,709 licensed operators for 0.0735% of the population.

 

Locally in Central Pennsylvania

Here are population counts in the 170xx Zip Code area as of 2021

            Cumberland County has 262,919 people.

            Perry County has 45,986 people

            Lebanon County has 143,943 people.

The FCC shows 1,752 licensed amateur radio operators in 170xx.  So, at 0.39%, that Zip Code area has nearly twice as many amateur radio operators as the USA average.  Go 170xx !

Moving to the west, the 155xx Zip Code covers Bedford and Somerset counties.  A database search returned 242 licensed amateur radio operators.  Bedford has a population of 47.461 people and Somerset has 73,627.  The percentage of amateur radio operators in the 155xx Zip Code area is 0.20% of the population, which is less than the national average.

 

Marketing Analysis

You probably are wondering…. Why do these percentages matter?  Really – Who Cares?

Well, someone cares.  You can be sure of that.   

  • Mr. or Ms / Mrs. Business Person — If you are thinking of opening an Amateur Radio themed Pizza and Cheese Steak Restaurant your business is more likely to succeed in Cumberland County because the pool of potential customers is greater there than if you located your shop in Bedford or Somerset counties. That is why you care.
  • If dating an electronics wizard who wears a plaid shirt and a baseball cap embroidered with his amateur radio call sign is one of your personal objectives you are likely to find a bigger selection of potential candidates in Cumberland County than you might find in Bedford or Somerset counties. That is why you care.
  • What if you needed technical advice on the directional antenna heading for making a long path QSO to Madagascar? If you focused your search on Cumberland County you stand a better chance of getting an answer than if you sent out feelers in Bedford or Somerset counties.  That is why you care.

 

For more information about radios, setting up your station and another topics, follow the trail to

https://www.radioclub-carc.com/resources/

 

See ‘ya down the log.

Frank KB3PQT

#####

** Call Signs **

 I have seen some nifty call signs lately.  The call signs mentioned below are all active. 

Some people are fascinated by license plates and try to make clever sayings from state issued letters and numbers.  I suspect many of these are vanity calls, but when I see a call sign, especially if I want to remember it, I come up with words.

For example

Valli N8QVT:             Valli calls herself Quick Valli Talk.

Dave W3VRE:          I remember Dave’s call as W3 Virginia Railway Express

 

Here are some nifty ones:

WG5EEK   When I first saw it, I read it as WG5EEK. but looking at it again, I think it is WG5EEK

K8TE  would the perfect vanity call for a certain Youtuber from Montana with an interest in radio, but @KatesAg will have to wait a bit.

W8UPI   or W8 United Press International.

KF0RT or KF0RT  (use the zero as an “o”.

NU4U   or “New for You!”

KA9FOX  The KA9 prefix makes this work.  “Canine FOX”

 

After working KS0USA  I got to pondering once again how many states you can work into the call sign with a USA suffix?

US calls begin with A, K, N, W  and we have states that start with all four.  Extra points if the call area matches the state.

AL    Alabama             for example AL4USA

AK    Alaska                  A natural Alaska call is a KL

AR   Arkansas            

AZ    Arizona                Unfortunately we won’t see these.  All the A calls are 2×2 or 2×1:

                                       AF4JH, AF3I for example.

KS    Kansas                KS0USA is an active call

KY    Kentucky            

NC   North Carolina   

ND   North Dakota     

NE   Nebraska            

NJ    New Jersey        

NY   New York            

NV   Nevada                Unfortunately the natural N calls have a 2 letter prefix, or suffix

                                       You have a N#ABC  or NN#AB  but not NN#ABC for example

WA   Washington       

WI    Wisconsin          

WV   West Virginia      WV8USA (active call)

WY   Wyoming            

 

 

What interesting calls have you seen or worked?

 

For more information about radios, setting up your station and another topics, follow the trail to

https://www.radioclub-carc.com/resources/

 

See ‘ya down the log.

Frank KB3PQT

#####

 

 

 Let not your Baefong lead you to temptation!

 Or,  Know the FCC rules!

On a groups.io that I follow, there was a recent posting about a CSX train crew in New York state.  They were M409, a manifest or “mixed” freight.  They called their dispatcher to ask who was calling them.  All they could hear was a weak transmission ending in “M409”. The dispatcher said he would check and said no one else was around.

A little bit later, the dispatcher was heard telling someone to get off frequency and “go home” and that he would be notifying the police and the FCC.

The speculation is someone had a Baefong U5VR series radio that is old enough, or was illegally modified, so that it could operate on the 155-174 MHz Land Mobile band.

Baefongs seem to be popular “entry level” radios based on their low price.  In 2018 the FCC cited the importer for selling units that did not conform to the FCC Part 90 certification they were granted in 2012.  One of the many issues was they could transmit at 4 watts and regulation limits them to less than 2 watts.

Baefongs are the only DMR radios that seem to have compliance issues, but if you have another brand, do not be tempted to see of if you can transmit outside the amateur frequencies. 

Two Meter radios from Icom, Yaesu and Kenwood are all “locked down” so you cannot transmit on the Land Mobile frequencies even if you have entered and are scanning them.

 

For more information about radios, setting up your station and another topics, please follow the trail to:

https://www.radioclub-carc.com/resources/

 

See ‘ya down the log.
Frank KB3PQT

 

Section Traffic Manager Scott Walker (N3SW) is leaving our region. He has handed his managerial duties over to me (Tom Inman, KC8T).

Monthly, the traffic manager submits reports to the ARRL, regarding public service honor roll, and net activities.

Another responsibility of the traffic manager is to “insure that all traffic nets within the section are properly and adequately staffed.” [ARRL] Currently, both the Eastern Pennsylvania Emergency Phone and Traffic Net (EPAEPTN), and especially the CW Pennsylvania Traffic Net (PTN) are operating with minimum staff.

We need volunteers.

Please consider checking in to one or both of these networks on a regular basis.

EPAEPTN 17:00 Eastern 3918 kHz Phone
PTN 19:00 Eastern 3585 kHz CW

Both nets meet daily.

Arriving traffic is delivered best by a local ham, especially the “welcome to ham radio” messages we handle often.
Both are a great way to improve your operating skills, and give back to the community.

 

73
Tom Inman, KC8T
Eastern PA Traffic Manager

 

Editor’s Note:  Perhaps you are not quite ready to volunteer.  That is okay.
You can learn a lot just by listening.
If your schedule permits you to listen to the net now and then I think you will build an understanding of how the National Traffic System operates.
Try it.  You’ll like it.  If not, hit the big switch or turn the big knob.

73,
AF3I  Cumberland Amateur Radio Club Website Administrator

#####

Field Day Logging 

Editor’s Note:  Originally written for 2022.  This document has been updated for 2024.

If you are doing Field Day 2024 from home (we understand the whole world cannot do Field Day at Shaffer Park) you will want some logging software.

Most of us use the N3FJP logging software for Field Day. Current version is 6.68

https://www.n3fjp.com/fieldday.html

If you plan to make fewer than 30 contacts, the Field Day app can be free.  A la carte, this one application is $8.99, or go whole-hog and buy the entire N3FJP suite, every program, with upgrades for $59.99  An incredible value.

If you want something completely free the best alternative I know of is the N1MM+ logger.      https://n1mmwp.hamdocs.com/

I used N1MM+ for a few contests and while easy to use, the N3FJP software is just so much easier to set-up.   My contesting style will cause W3SOX and AF3I to scream “no”  but I typically wake up Saturday, cannot find anything better to do, turn the radio on, hear a contest, realize I can probably make a few Qs then I go looking for the software.  By the time that is done, the band has faded out and I didn’t do so well. N3FJP just seems easier to find the right contest software and install it.

 

While you are at it, the 13 Colonies Special Event is coming (most likely July 1-7, 2024).  The N3FJP Amateur Contact Log easily handles that event.  After you launch AC Log, be sure to click on View >> 13 Colonies for an enhanced tracking tool developed by Scott, Kimberly, and Chris.

 

The Pennsulvania QSO Party (PAQP) is coming as well on October 12 and 13, 2024.

 

For a lot more on computerized logging  and other fun radio stuff, please follow the trail:

https://www.radioclub-carc.com/resources/

 

See ‘ya down the log.

Frank KB3PQT

 

 

 

 

 

Software can make radio more fun !

When I read that headline my first reaction was — “What?  Software can make radio more fun?”

YES, it is true.

Even a fairly modern ham radio can benefit from software enhancements.  FLRIG from W1HKJ  is part of the time-tested FLDIGI suite of amateur radio software.

 

This application is FREE (Free is good!) at http://sourceforge.net/projects/fldigi/files/

 

Using the simple on-screen controls (even works on a touch screen).you can change VFOs, frequency, band. mode, split, volume, squelch, mic gain, RF power, and others.

The programs run on Apple, Windows and Linux operating systems.  Because this popular software is free and is only used by a few thousand people, your anti-virus software may not like it.  Its fine, just give AVG a minute and it will install.

I found it is easier to set the notch filters, noise reduction, and other radio options using the FLRIG graphical interface than it is to go into the radio menus.

 

For a lot more on FLRIG, FLDIGI and other fun radio stuff, please follow the trail:

https://www.radioclub-carc.com/resources/

 

See ‘ya down the log.

Frank KB3PQT

 

 

 

 

 

Tangible Rewards !

Between March 19 and 26, 2022 eleven Cumberland Amateur Radio Club members operated Special Event station W3R, celebrating the 120th anniversary of the Rockville Bridge. At 3,720 feet, the Rockville Bridge is the longest Stone Arch Masonry Railroad Bridge ever built anywhere in the world.

We seem to live in  a digital world.  But at the May meeting, the W3R event operators received a unexpected TANGIBLE REWARD to go with the certificates they received via eMail.

The TANGIBLE REWARD came in the form of a stainless steel tumbler or travel mug, bearing the CARC logo and the call sign of the operator. 

 

The recipients were:

 

Andrew      AF3I Doug         KC3CPT Frank        KB3PQT
Garry          K3EYK Harry         K3EYL John          WA3KCP
     
Maura        KC3SJE/KC3JJH Mike          KB3GPX Richard     N3EPY
Steve         N3FWE Valli            N8QVT  

Thank you all!   It was a pleasure to have so many club members pitch-in and pull-together to make the event a success.

In addition, an article about the W3R Special Event operation is also being published in the NRHS News, the monthly newsletter of the National Railway Historical Society.

 

What have you learned today?

 

For more articles please follow the trail below:

https://www.radioclub-carc.com/resources/

 

See ‘ya down the log.

Frank KB3PQT

 

This contesting is nuts.  Why do we do it?

Scott Davis, N3FJP, the creator of the N3FJP line of computer logging programs from Affirmatech, answered a question on the N3FJP reflector with a link to the FAQ page.


This contesting is nuts. Why do we do it?

This question isn’t software specific, but the reasons for the tremendous fun of contesting aren’t always evident and they are too important to miss, especially for new folks just entering the hobby.  What draws us to spend major contest weekends happily glued to our radios?

Following CQ World Wide CW 2020, one of our club’s excellent, experienced contesters, having just made over 1,000 Qs, wrote on our virtual clubhouse text chat group, tongue in cheek and rhetorically: This contesting is nuts! Why do we do it?

Spent from the weekend, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud, but the question stayed with me. This contesting IS nuts.  It’s hard work, takes education, effort, dedication, experimentation, knowledge, ingenuity, planning and serious time in the chair. Why DO we do it?

It turns out that, at least for me, there are lots of great reasons!  Here are a few off the top of my head.  I’ll bet that you can add to this list…

Amateur Radio’s basis and purpose includes emergency communication.  There is no better opportunity than during a contest to determine, band by band, the strengths and weaknesses of your station.  If your station can’t make many contacts during a contest, you will be ineffective in passing emergency traffic out of your affected area.

 

And that is just one piece of how contesting enhances our emergency communications ability.  A contest provides the opportunity to:

Practice copying information from stations both weak and strong.
– Check the ergonomics of our station during extended operations.
– See how we hold up with significant time in the operator chair.
– Learn about propagation and what to expect at various times of the day on different bands.

 

And if the emergency communications contest benefits don’t stir your juices, many of us find the contest experience itself to be tremendous fun!  The contesting experience alone keeps us coming back and circling the next events on our calendars because:

– It is thrilling to communicate to every state, section and the four corners of the Earth, including some rare and exotic locations, with nothing but a piece of wire or metal in our yards, from the comfort of our homes and families.

– It is thrilling to set goals, like beating your previous personal best score, having the fastest QSO rate in the club for a one-hour period or scoring top five in the club and then striving to accomplish it.

– It is joyful to share a quick connection, however brief, with all the other stations that have become familiar on contest weekends.

– It is thrilling to watch the bands rise and fall like the tide over the course of the contest weekend, anticipating what may open next.

– It is thrilling to watch our individual and club’s collective QSO rates soar when the bands come alive, on our club’s real time leader board.

– It is thrilling to simultaneously, whole heartedly cheer our NEMARCS brothers and sisters on, while doing our very best to leave them in the dust!

– It is thrilling to recognize the very real accomplishments of our scores, individually and collectively, with our club total.  We know full well what goes into building a successful station and putting in a successful contest effort!

– It is joyful to exchange quick banter on our virtual clubhouse text chat group during propagation lulls, as well as share needed multipliers, mentor new folks and encourage everyone to do their best.

– It is thrilling to see our club rankings in print and moving up the list when the final results are released!

– It is thrilling to watch our club’s scoreboard participant numbers grow, seeing new guys jump in for the first times, knowing the fun that awaits them!

– It is thrilling to get that certificate in the mail, after you have placed well enough to earn one!

– It is fascinating to learn the strengths and weaknesses of our stations, that are so quickly revealed on contest weekends.

– It is thrilling, after the contest is over, to improve our stations, our antennas and our operating skills, to see what we can do better next time. In fact, the grand contest never ends.  We are always looking for that edge and helping each other find theirs!

– It is thrilling to befriend such a fine group of folks, with whom to share this amazing adventure!

 

This is really, really fun stuff!


Thank you, Scott for fun piece.

 

What have you learned today>

 

For more articles like this, please follow the trail below:

https://www.radioclub-carc.com/resources/

 

See ‘ya down the log.

Frank KB3PQT

 


The History Guy tm  discusses Ham Radio’s contribution to world science in the 1950s.

Every now and then YouTube turns up a real gem.  https://youtu.be/uaTm_LUifUI  is one of these. 

The History Guy tm takes a look at a pair of teenage amateur radio operators and their efforts to support American scientific bases in Antarctica. 

 #####

 

This news blog headline was inspired by something that shows up now and then in my Monopoly game.
You probably will not “Go directly to jail.” but you may hear from the Volunteer Monitor crew if you unknowing do what I am about to describe.

 

The ARRL posted an article in their News section describing how there has been an increase in HF on-the-air operations taking place outside of the privileges available to the Operator based on his or her license class.

The article cites instances of Technician Class operators transmitting digital modes in the 40 Meter Band and in the 20 Meter Band.  The ARRL reminds its readers that Technicians do not have digital mode privileges in those bands. 

There is one HF band in which Technician Class operators may transmit digital modes.  That is the 10 Meter Band from 28.000 MHz to 28.300 MHz. 
Reminder — don’t crowd too close to the band edges.  Your entire signal must be contained within the band allocation.

The ARRL article also cites instances of General Class operators transmitting in portions of the band that are not authorized for their license class.

 

Help yourself stay within the bounds of your license class by downloading and posting one of the ARRL US Amateur Radio Band charts at your operating position.
ARRL offers the chart in a nice variety of sizes and shapes.  This is a free download for anyone.

http://www.arrl.org/graphical-frequency-allocations

#####

 

 

As wars and rumors of wars flood the media, sometimes you just need to step away.

Go to the shack… Turn the transceiver on and do what you enjoy doing: whether you choose to hunt down new-to-you grid squares in FT8, ragchew, check into a net, chase DX, work a contest, or learn something new.    

 

What have you learned today?

For more articles please follow the trail below:

https://www.RadioClub-CARC.com/resources/

 

 

See ‘ya down the log.

Frank KB3PQT