Morse Code Challenge

Posted on by Andrew

**  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 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.)

Phrases 1 through 4

 

Phrases 5 through 8

 

Give it a try. 
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.

#####

License Exam ** FREE Training Classes

Posted on by Andrew

** YOU CAN LEARN WHAT IT TAKES TO PASS THE GENERAL CLASS AMATEUR RADIO LICENSE EXAM.  **

A FREE, weekly, Amateur Radio General Class Licensing course will be presented LIVE on Zoom beginning on Thursday, November 2, 2023 and will run through Thursday, January 11, 2024.    

Each three-hour session will start at 6:30 p.m. local Eastern Time. 

These are the classes that we have been holding for years sponsored by the National Electronics Museum.  Prerequisite is to have already earned a Technician Class License, or be studying for the Technician Class License.  

 

Those wishing to sign up should email Roland Anders, K3RA,  at roland.anders@comcast.net
Mention the General Class licensing course and provide your contact information.

Rol will reply to you with the information you will need for accessing the Zoom meeting room.  He might even tell you there will be no class on Thursday November 23 (Thanksgiving)

 

Thanks.

73,

Rol Anders, K3RA

 

#####

POTA at Pine Grove Furnace State Park

Posted on by Andrew

** EVENT POSTPONED DUE TO WEATHER FORECAST **

**  Wanna play?  Outside!  **

Members of the Cumberland Amateur Radio Club will be meeting at Pine Grove Furnace State Park in the future on Saturday, September 23, 2023 to provide a common meeting area and on-site Elmers for those wishing to activate POTA Park K-1398.

Those wishing to participate should:

  1. Watch this space for more information.
  2. If you do not have your own POTA account, please register at Parks on the Air | POTA | Parks program for amateur radio.
  3. Watch the weather, dress accordingly and bring whatever sustenance you need.

The club will have water and snacks on hand.

If you wish to use a headset or operate CW, please bring whatever you need and an adapter, usually 1/4” to 1/8”.  Transceivers and antennas will be provided.  We will be operating off battery power. 

Not able to come to the park?  Will you be operating from home?  Check the POTA website Parks on the Air | POTA for both the scheduled activation and spotting as the day goes on. If you work us, spot us please!

 

Questions?  Please contact President@radioclub-carc.com.

For more information about POTA, Portable Operations and another topics, follow the trail to:

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

 

See ‘ya down the log.

Frank KB3PQT

 

Editor’s Note:   You might want to study a map of the park prior to the event. 

Here is a link you may find helpful:

https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/StateParks/FindAPark/PineGroveFurnaceStatePark/Pages/Maps.aspx

 

As Frank mentioned in his Point #1 – Watch this space for more information (such as where you will find the meeting area.)

 #####

 

 

Amateur Radio License Stats

Posted on by Andrew

**  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

#####

The CARC Derby — May 6, 2023

Posted on by Andrew

 

******

Who:               Listed in the body of the message.

What:              The CARC Derby

Where:            Ponderosa Park, Dillsburg PA

When:             Saturday May 6, 2023

Why:                To hone our skills in preparation The Big One – Field Day

******

A group of stylishly dressed ladies and gentlemen were sighted at the park on Saturday.   Lady participants were seen wearing fascinators.  Gentlemen participants wore stylish hats from the Maura Collection.  Alas, even though it was obviously a casual outing, no ascots or tuxedos were observed.

Discreet inquiry determined the group was there to participate in the Cumberland Amateur Radio Club’s version of the 149th Kentucky Derby! 

The group erected a 40 meter dipole, a 20 meter dipole and two end fed multiple band antenna and set up four transmitters.  Contacts were made in the 7th Call Area QSO Party, the Indiana QSO Party and with several Parks On The Air (POTA) activators and special event stations, under the K3IEC club call or operator’s individual calls.

The party consisted of twelve humans and one canine.  They are:  Andrew AF3I, Frank KB3PQT, Doug KC3CPT, Maura KC3JJH, Dave KC3OSG, Mark KC3UVG, Paula KC3UVH, Harry K3EYL, Garry K3EYK, Glenn K3SWZ, Steve N3FWE, Dave W3BJG and radio dog Thelma. 

Lunch was procured from Millennium Pizza in Dillsburg, PA.  The group consumed four Italian Pies and other fare. including  Cheese, Pepperoni, Garbage. and a plain Philly Cheese Steak (no sauce).  All present received Tangible Rewards in the form of an ARRL Mini Log Book.  In addition, Steve N3FWE received a tube of coax seal, Doug KC3CPT received a book on antennas, Garry K3EYK received a Power Werx battery pack, Dave KC3OSG received a book on antennas, Dave W3BJG received a Power Werx battery pack and Harry K3EYL received a book on antennas.

 

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

 

Radio License Counts and Percentage

Posted on by Andrew

** 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

#####

You Should Be Part of CARC Field Day 2023

Posted on by Andrew

 

Group photo of CARC club members taken upon completion of Field Day weekend.

There’s Room for More.  Come On Down!

Cumberland Amateur Radio Club extends our invitation to those who would like to be part of ARRL Field Day 2023.

Cumberland Amateur Radio Club members are making plans to operate as Class 3A EPA from Shaffer Park in Carlisle, PA.

Station setup begins at 9:00 a.m. local time on Saturday June 24, 2023.
We intend to be on the air Saturday Afternoon, Saturday Evening, through the night, and wrap-up about 10:00 a.m. Sunday Morning, with take-down completed by Sunday Noon.

If you tell us you are coming to our FD we will include you in our plans.  Food has a big focus with CARC.  We enjoy Saturday Lunch, Saturday Supper, and Sunday Breakfast.  We cook just as much food as it takes to satisfy the number of people we know will be attending. 

Don’t be left out.  Don’t go home hungry. Tell us your plans.   eMail:  Elmer@RadioClub-CARC.com   
All expressions of interest will be acknowledged.  (If you don’t receive our reply within a few days please resend to VicePres@RadioClub-CARC.com)

For additional insight you are invited to attend any of our upcoming meetings.  We meet at Hoss’s Steak House, 61 Gettysburg Pike, Mechanicsburg, PA (Upper Allen Twp.)  Meeting Dates and Time:  The Third Wednesday of the month (March 15, April 19, May 17, June 21) , starting at 6:40 p.m. and ending about 7:45 p.m.  Arrive about 5:15 p.m. if you would like to have dinner with our members.  Dutch Treat.  Mention “Radio Club Meeting” to Hoss’s Host and you will be pointed to our Meeting Room.

#####

 

… nearly 30,000 individuals participated
in Field Day [in 2022], making over 1.2 million contacts. 

Call Sign Memory Aide

Posted on by Andrew

** 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

#####

 

 

Straight Key Month

Posted on by Andrew

Great Day,

January is Straight Key Month. 

A straight key is a tool for sending Morse code characters.  The ham radio operator operates the straight key by using the muscles in his or her arm, and to a lesser extent, the wrist and fingers.  These Morse code characters by a real live human being.  There are no computer generated dits and dahs (some folks may call them dots and dashes) when the ham radio operator is using a straight key.  That is the beauty of a simple tool.

The Straight Key Century Club (SKCC) advocates and promotes the use of straight keys.  They have designated January as Straight Key Month.  All month-long hams who support SKCC will be on the air a little more frequently than usual, sending their radio signals using Morse code.  The on-the-air activity will take place using the special call sign K3Y followed by a portable designation such as “/3”

 

Our own Cumberland Amateur Radio Club is honored to have one of our members  participating in this event.  Radio Station Operator John, WA3KCP will be operating some of the scheduled shifts using call sign K3Y/3.    His shifts over the next few days are:  

Friday January 13, 2023 from 1300 UTC to 1400 UTC.   The equivalent local time is 8 am to 9 am

Friday January 13, 2023 from 2200 UTC to 2300 UTC.  The equivalent local time is 5 pm to 6 pm

Tuesday January 17, 2023 at the same two time periods as listed above.

Friday January 20, 2023 at the same two time periods as listed above. 

 

If you hear K3Y/3 on the air during those time slots it will be our friend John WA3KCP with his hand on the morse code straight key.

 

For more information about Straight Key Month please visit the Straight Key Century Club web site www.skccgroup.com

This link will take you directly to the Straight Key Month web page.  https://www.skccgroup.com/k3y/k3y.php

 

For more information about the Cumberland Amateur Radio Club, located in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, I invite you to visit our web site.

www.RadioClub-CARC.com

 

Regards,
Andrew Forsyth    Amateur Radio  (Ham Radio) Call Sign AF3I

#####

Know the FCC rules

Posted on by Andrew

 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

 

Request from EPA Traffic Manager, KC8T

Posted on by Andrew

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

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

#####

Accessing FCC site — CORES, new version

Posted on by Andrew

Within the past few days the FCC has retired its legacy version of the CORES system (COmmission REgistration System)

If you are wondering how and where to conduct online business with the FCC here is some information that may be helpful to you.

A good URL starting point is:   https://apps.fcc.gov/CORES/userLogin.do

That URL will bring you to the new CORES login screen.

If this is your first visit to the new CORES you may wish to begin by watching the CORES TUTORIAL VIDEO.
Other first-time-user options include the HELP or FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS link.
If all else fails, there is a Support Services link and telephone number at the bottom of the screen.

 

At some point you will take the plunge and dive into the CORES system.

You will be shown several options.  Your choice depends on what you may have already done in preparation for this change.
Late in 2021 the FCC announced that the New CORES system had been made active and invited Users to register and begin using the new CORES system.

If you took that advice and created a Username  in the new CORES system then you are in a good position to transact your business with the FCC.
You should be able to provide your Username and Password in the first area and press the LOG IN button. 

If you missed your prior opportunity to register in the new CORES system you will be able to create an account and Username by starting your work under the “Need a Username?” heading.  Press the REGISTER button.

 

For those who are registered in the new CORES system, and who used their Username, Password, and the LOG IN button, you will soon see a screen similar to the one shown below.

If you pressed the REGISTER button please follow whatever instructions are shown there.  Your Editor has already registered and is unable to provide details of what you might see on your screen.

Your Editor selected the link called MANAGE EXISTING FRNs. 
This is where you can pay your FCC transaction fees.  You will need this link at license renewal time and after you take a License Exam.

Your needs may be different.  Try UPDATE USERNAME PROFILE for a Change of Address.

 

Good Luck.

 

 

 

 

Field Day Contact Logging

Posted on by Andrew

Field Day Logging

If you are doing Field Day 2022 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 software for Field Day. Current version is 6.63

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 (July 1-7, 2022).  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 PA QSO Party is coming as well on October 8 and 9, 2022.

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

 

 

 

 

FLrig Software.

Posted on by Andrew

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

GMRS License Fee Has Been Reduced

Posted on by Andrew

This is sort of old news. 

On April 19, 2022, the Federal Communications Commission reduced the fee for a ten year GMRS license to $35 from $70.  At the same time, the previously free, but had to pass an examination, amateur radio license fee went to $35 for ten years.

While I am sure there are people who paid for the GMRS license because that was “easier than studying for and passing a test”, I am sort of surprised at the number of licensed amateurs who are reporting buying the GMRS license now that the cost has come down.

While I think the GMRS service has a lot of value, and I see good reasons for being licensed in both, if you were already licensed as an amateur, and if you only bought the GMRS license because the fee came down, would you please reach out to me at the eMail address shown below and tell me what the appeal is?

President@radioclub-carc.com

 

I have heard from a couple of people saying that they want to explore GMRS.

OK…but are there other reasons?

 

 

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

 

Reward for a Job Well-Done

Posted on by Andrew

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 were emailed earlier.

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 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?

Posted on by Andrew

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

 

Operation Deep Freeze

Posted on by Andrew

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. 

 #####

 

Special Event Station W3R

Posted on by Andrew

W3R QSL Cards

The W3R  Special Event station QSL cards have arrived from the printer.   They look fabulous.  Look to the right where you will find an image of the card.

Cumberland Amateur Radio Club sends its THANK YOU to Randy Dorman at https://www.KB3IFHqslcards.com for a great job.

The Special Event made 670 contacts between March 19 and March 26, 2022. 

From among the many people we worked during those eight busy days about 60 QSL cards have arrived at the home of our QSL Manager.  Those cards represent 28 of the United States of America and Canada.  We expect DX QSL Cards will take longer to arrive.

A duo of CARC Members have been huddled around the kitchen table burning the midnight oil for several days  admiring the QSL Cards we received from our friends and colleagues, checking our logs for the matching QSOs, and preparing our W3R QSL cards to be signed and mailed.

The cards will be mailed the first week of May.  A little birdie told your Editor that some cards are already in the mail.

#####

 

 

 

 

Do Not Pass GO. Do Not Collect $200

Posted on by Andrew

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

#####

 

Keep Calm and Use Your Ham Radio

Posted on by Andrew

 

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

Straight Key – Morse Code QSOs

Posted on by Andrew

Straight Key Morse Code QSOs

QSO #1 — Jim WE5E and John WA3KCP have an on-the-air conversation using straight keys to send Morse Code while Lynn NG9D listens.

QSO #2 — Lynn NG9D and John WA3KCP hold their own conversation upon completion of QSO #1.

 

Both QSOs were captured on video and audio by NG9D in real-time as the operators chatted on-the-air.

 

WA3KCP is a member of the Straight Key Century Club as well as the Cumberland Amateur Radio Club.

 

And now for something completely different…

Posted on by Andrew

Passing the Torch

After fifteen years of leading the Cumberland Amateur Radio Club to new achievements including the highest membership headcount ever, Andrew Forsyth, AF3I decided to listen to his wife and not run again for the presidency.  Fortunately for our club, Andy is sticking around to maintain the website and other functions where his experience is desired.  

Frank Mellott, KB3PQT has been elected President and Doug Stenger KC3CPT has stepped into the Vice-President’s office.   Garry Fasick K3EYK, Maura Smith-Mitsky KC3SJE and Richard Johnson N3EPY are continuing to serve the club and fill their roles as Treasurer, Secretary and Membership Secretary respectively.  

CARC Club Members — Please see the new monthly column “From the President’s Desk” which appears on a new menu page in the password protected MEMBER AREA of this website.

Or, follow this link:   https://www.RadioClub-CARC.com/from-the-presidents-desk.

 

See ‘ya down the log.

Frank KB3PQT

 

 

DMR Contesting

Posted on by Andrew

Notes from the shack…  DMR contesting

 Contesting has been a part of the great wide world of amateur radio since at least 1928 in the US.  Typically contests involve spending hours in the shack on the HF bands (160M, 80M, 40M, 20M, 15M, 10M) and in some contests there will be VHF/UHF activity on 6M, 2M and up. 

Virtually all contests exclude contacts made through repeaters and satellites.    There are some good reasons for those rules.

I had never heard of using DMR in contests until I saw the posting reproduced below.
This appeared on the N3FJP Software Users Group.

You say, “therefore it can’t be counted for any regular 2-way ham radio award”.  Times have changed. There are special events and contests that are allowing VOIP contacts.  Earlier this summer I participated in a 10 day special event from the UK called, “GOTA” – Gateways On The Air.  I used the Allstar network exclusively and logged every contact.  It’s a good thing I did.  I won the International Operator Award for most contacts from bona fide GOTA stations.

There will be more of these types of special events and contests coming as more involve themselves with VOIP.  Contesting and events are not exclusive to RF only.

 

DMR radio has already been adapted by some 3 million users world-wide and seems to be the entry level radio of choice in the US at the moment.  DMR is especially popular in Europe. Like it or not, DMR is changing the hobby.

I have done no research to see which contests are accepting DMR contacts. 

It is amazing that someone like Glenn K3SWZ can devote a weekend to HF contesting and earn 600K points or more. It is even more incredible that a brand new Technician Class licensee can conceivably reach even more places with a simple DMR HT and a hot spot.

For more articles please follow the trail below:
https://www.radioclub-carc.com/resources/

See ‘ya down the log.
Frank KB3PQT

 

Editor’s Note:  Let me say that every operator should read and understand the rules of any contest he or she chooses to enter.  If the rules specifically allow the use of DMR, VOIP, repeaters or similar technologies then you have a “green light” to go ahead and use those technologies in that contest.  Likewise, operators who pursue ham radio awards have a similar obligation to understand and honor the rules as to what constitutes a valid contact.

AF3I — Editor

 

Fun with Numbers

Posted on by Andrew

Notes from the shack….

Fun with numbers!

 

The Cumberland Amateur Radio Club (CARC) is a diverse group.

Current Membership Statistics by license class:

 

Advanced 4 11%
Extra 17 45%
General 10 26%
Technician 7 18%

 

The FCC database seems  to only go back to 2000.   Just with that data, the club members have been licensed 482 years.   The actual total is upwards of 1,000 years!

 

One of the fascinating subsets of the hobby is making contacts with different call sign prefixes.   There are awards and contest multipliers based on them.   The club has members with 13 different prefixes:

AF3
K3
K4
KA3
KB3
KC3
KV3
KX3
N3
N8
W3
WA3
WB3

 

Club members call Cumberland, Dauphin, York, and Adams counties home.

 

For more articles please follow the trail below:

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

 

See ‘ya down the log.

Frank KB3PQT

 

Firsthand Recollection of Hurricane Diane Destruction — August 18, 1955

Posted on by Andrew

 

Royal Kramer, Amateur Radio Call Sign W3ZIF, recalls the destruction that accompanied Hurricane Diane as it passed through the Pocono Mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania.  Royal and several colleagues provided emergency communications support to the towns on each side of the Delaware River near Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania after their telephone lines were washed away in the floods.

In addition to this firsthand recollection provided by a man who was there, you may be interested in reading the book DEVASTATION ON THE DELAWARE — Images of the Deadly Flood of 1955, written by Mary A. Shafer.

I’m quite sure that many of you older folks will remember this day 66 years ago. It was on August 18, 1955, a Thursday night, when Hurricane Diane devastated the Pocono Mountains following Hurricane Connie a few days prior with high winds and heavy rains followed by heavy rains and flooding from Hurricane Diane.

I was in Philadelphia that day and had a difficult time getting home by bus that night since many of the roads into the Lehigh Valley were flooded and impassible. Three days later, Sunday, August 21, I received a phone call asking me if I wanted to travel to Stroudsburg with several other ham radio operators to help maintain radio communication between Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg since all of the telephone and power lines were down and there was no communication of any kind between the two boroughs.

I volunteered my services and to make a long story short, we eight men spent the next 30 hours up there manning our radio equipment and maintaining communication. I never forgot that day and never will since we were doing a service to mankind that was not available from any other source but through ours.

Prior to our leaving after being relieved by a group of ham radio operators from the Reading, PA area, the Stroudsburg Fire Chief approached us with tears in his eyes and a look of fatigue, frustration, discouragement and great concern on his face, remarked, “Thank you gentlemen for all that you have done for us. I don’t know what we would have done without your help.”

I don’t know how the other men felt after hearing that statement but to me, those words meant more to me than if he would have handed me a million dollars. I knew he was serious and appreciative for all we have done but to me, for all of the destruction that we had seen, I felt that I did very little in making life easier for many of those dear residents who suffered so much with their loss not only of property and possessions but loved ones who never survived. Close to 100 lives were lost in that flood and destruction of property went into the millions of dollars.

Each year, whenever August 18 comes around, my mind goes back to Stroudsburg, PA and the Pocono Mountains in general are very vivid memories to me of that tragic time in our lives.

— Royal Kramer

#####

 

Keep it simple. Mastering the Two-Meter Analog HT

Posted on by Andrew

Notes From The Shack…

I have come to the realization that while for most new amateur radio operators, the first radio is a HT.  That is great, but too many are encouraged or choose to get a DMR, D-Star, or System Fusion radio as their first.   Then they struggle to get it programmed and use it.  And then become discouraged and leave the wonderful world of amateur radio.

That is sad.

I know money matters.  I know you want to get the “most bang for your buck”.  Why spend $130 or $150 on an Icom V86 or Kenwood TH-K20A handheld, when for a few dollars more you can buy a Yaesu FT70DR dual band with C4FM digital or an Alinco DJ-MD5XTG dual band DMR radio? 

If this is your very first radio, please, do yourself a favor.  Buy the simple analog radio, and use it.   Get the RTS programming software for that radio and use it.  That will get you some experience on the air, give you an idea of what you can accomplish and get you some experience using simple, easy to configure software.

Once you have mastered the analog HT, then move up to the DMR, D-Star or C4FM radio of your choice.  Digital radios have to be programmed.  Many of the DMR radios have their roots in the commercial radio world and CANNOT be programmed from the front panel.

If you are grumbling that a simple Yaesu FT60 is difficult to program, DMR may be a very challenging hurdle.  So before you get frustrated and quit, master the simple!

 

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

 

 

 

Logging Question

Posted on by Andrew

 

Logging Question…                             

From our friends on the N3FJP groups.io site.

 

The resounding answer, from multiple people was NO!  

You worked it, you logged it.  You may never get a QSL card, but you made the QSO. 

Many operators had been licensed for 20, 30, even 40 years before the ARRL introduced Logbook of The World (LoTW).

Many DX operators are just now getting into LoTW and may take a while to transcribe their paper logs into LoTW. 

Be patient grasshopper, your QSL may come yet!

 

Logbook of the World is a free service, provided by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL).  You do not need to be an ARRL Member to use LoTW.  

But if you are a US-based operator and if you enjoy rapid confirmations of contacts, then join ARRL and “help pay the freight”.  LoTW is the benefit I use the most often.

For more information about ARRL, N3FJP logging software, LoTW and another topics, follow the trail to https://www.radioclub-carc.com/resources/

 

See ‘ya down the log.

Frank KB3PQT

 

Q.)  “Do any of you purge your logs of unconfirmed entries after a set amount of time?  

I mean, an unconfirmed entry is not worth much.”

 

A.)  “NO!”

Free Book: Managing Interstation Interference

Posted on by Andrew

** Special Thanks to Vibroplex for hosting the author’s work on their website.  **

It is my pleasure to promote this man’s book.  W2VJN is the former owner of INRAD.
AF3I

Immediately Available for FREE DOWNLOAD

Visit the Vibroplex Website

 

Author’s Comments — by George Cutsogeorge, BSEE W2VJN

Whenever two or more transceivers are used in close proximity there is some
level of interference involved. This level can vary from practically no problem to
actually burning up components in the receiving radio. The purpose of this book
is to identify and quantify the various parameters that create the interference and
to show methods that will reduce or eliminate it.

 

#####

 

Sandpatch Mountain and Railroad Tunnel

Posted on by Andrew

Why Play Radio… 

For many years, I was a member of the Yahoo Groups Sandpatch List.  Sandpatch, named for Sandpatch Mountain and tunnel, is where the Baltimore & Ohio, now CSX, crosses the Alleghenies.  It was built after the world famous Horse Shoe Curve near Altoona, PA where the Pennsylvania Railroad crosses the same mountain chain.  Sandpatch is steeper and has its own horseshoe curve at Mance, PA.

 

Yahoo Groups was a predecessor of groups.io, where you can find the Cumberland Amateur Radio Club group.   The Sandpatch list was fairly small, but one regular poster was Ted from Michigan.  The list went to Facebook as the demise of Yahoo Groups was imminent.  I lost track of the members. 

 

Periodically I like to check on some other amateur radio club websites to see what they are up to and how they compare to our site, maintained by Andy, AF3I.  One of the “peer group” sites is K3SMT, the Somerset County (PA) Amateur Radio Club.  They seem to be an active group and their page has been improved a lot since my last visit.  They have a “Meet Our Members” tab.  There are profiles of some of the members there (sound familiar?)  One of them is Ted from Michigan!  Aka AC8SW!  

 

Thanks to ham radio, Ted and I are back in touch.

 

For more information on the great wide world of amateur radio, follow the trail to:

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

 

To see Ted, AC8SW’s profile on the Somerset Amateur Radio Club site:

http://www.k3smt.org/OurMembers/OurMembers.htm

 

 

See ‘ya down the log.

Frank KB3PQT

 

 

“Thanks to ham radio, Ted and I are back in touch.”

Photograph (headshot) of ham radio operator KB3PQT.

Frank, KB3PQT

Rail Fan and
Amateur Radio Operator

 

Why Play Radio?

Posted on by Andrew

Why Play Radio… 

 

For about 50 years or so, rail fans have used radio scanners to listen to the railroad frequencies in the land mobile FM portion of the 137-174 MHz band.  The railroad frequencies are right below the National Weather Service 162 MHz frequencies and can be found in the 159 to 161 MHz range.

Because the land mobile band is close to the Amateur Radio two-meter band, and many amateur radio transceivers can receive the Weather Service band, those transceivers are capable of listening in on the land mobile frequencies.  You cannot transmit, but you can listen.

 

The other evening I was at local rail fan spot waiting on a Norfolk Southern heritage unit.   Some other fans arrived.  I have noticed this before, but it was especially obvious that evening.  One of them was using a cell phone and a scanning app.  I do not know which one, but Broadcastify is a common app.  They have receivers and capture the radio traffic and put it on the internet where it can be accessed via an app or website.   There is a time lag as all this happens.  My amateur radio receiver, set to 160.980 MHz FM, would pick up something.  About a minute later the nearby cell phones would begin making noise and we’d hear the same conversation again. 

 

I have spent well over 30 years in pursuit of the perfect “scanner”.  I think I have almost found it…and used it for many years now.  But I am still slightly amused when I see someone rolling in and they sort of look down on this “old guy clinging to his outdated technology”.  Then they are amazed when I hear stuff they have not heard yet.

 

Radio is cool!

 

For more articles on two-meters amateur radio, railroad frequency lists, and related topics follow the trail to

 

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

Explore the content behind the GENERAL INTEREST TOPICS heading.

 

See ‘ya down the log.

Frank KB3PQT

 

“… I am still slightly amused when I see someone rolling in and they sort of look down on this “old guy clinging to his outdated technology”.  Then they are amazed when I hear stuff they have not heard yet.”

Photograph (headshot) of ham radio operator KB3PQT.

Frank, KB3PQT

Rail Fan and
Amateur Radio Operator

 

The new DXers Handbook — Third Edition

Posted on by Andrew

It is my pleasure to promote this man’s book.  I learned about promoting books and movies by watching The Tonight Show, Starring Johnny Carson.
He did a great job.  I can only hope to do a fraction of a job.
AF3I

Immediately Available for FREE DOWNLOAD

Visit the K7UA Website

 

Author’s Comments — Bryce K. Anderson, K7UA

This is the second time that I have rewritten the handbook since its
inauguration in 2010. It remains my intention to give new DXers something
that will be easy to understand, yet quickly teach them the basic skills of
successful DXing. Those skills took me years to discover on my own. Now in
hindsight it all seems so simple.

To my pleasant surprise this handbook has gained an international readership
and is now available in several languages! That has been a great honor and I
give my thanks to the many translators who have done that labor.

…

Wherever you are, I hope that you will enjoy this handbook and that it will help
you gain some new skills. I truly hope that it will give a running start to those
new to our ranks. Nothing would please me more than to learn that I have
helped a new generation of young DXers get started.

Please feel free to email me your feedback or questions. My email address is
listed on QRZ.com.

Best regards,
Bryce Anderson, K7UA