Greetings fellow RI Amateurs:
Happy New Year to all. I have personally asked, on official Section
Manager letterhead, the Sun Dancers in the hills to dance extra hard
every morning for the return of sun spots and improved propagation to
the deserving DXers of Rhode Island. We’ll find out how much clout
that has. J Cycle 24 so far has turned out to be a dud, hasn’t it?
On a far more positive note, I am happy to report that our list of RI
DXCC qualified Amateurs gained two new members this month; Debbie,
W1GKE with a score of 102 and Al, W1SNE with 100. An added plus to this
news is that I believe Debbie, W1GKE is the first YL on our list of 102
DXers. Congratulations and warm welcome to both! The updated list may
be seen at http://www.w1ddd.org/dxcc.html. These two new list members
have not yet actually applied for their DXCC membership, but my rules
only require that they be qualified by having 100 or more confirmed
entities in Logbook of The World plus QSL cards. Whether they ever
actually apply for DXCC certification, as I hope they do, is a personal
matter.
Speaking of LoTW, the February issue of QST, on pages 70 and 71, you
will find a fine article titled, “LoTW-A Modern Tool for
Awards-Hunting” by Parke Slater, N4KFT. The story describes many
advantages to using LoTW in saving money to gain contact confirmations,
whether for DXCC or WAS. It is an honest and easily read article and is
highly recommended.
The CT & RI Contest Group, at their last meeting, put on a very well
received presentation by CTRI member Pat NG1G on Logbook of The World.
It was detailed but easily understood, a tribute to Pat‘s skill in
presenting what can be seen as a complex topic by some. More of this
outreach work is needed to help those of us who are not highly skilled
in computer work. Thank you Pat for your fine work.
I try to call attention to our nets on a regular basis, so here they
are:
YL Net, Thursday at 7 PM, KA1RCI Repeater Network 145.19, 146.075 PL
67
CW Net, Monday at 9 PM, 3.549 MHz
RI-EMA Traffic Net Wed/Fri at 9 PM 147.075 PL 67
Yankee 6 Meter SSB Net, Sunday at 9:30 AM 50.275 MHz.
BVARC Simplex Net, Wednesday at 7 PM, 146.565 MHz.
RI Skywarn Net, Wednesday at 8:30 PM, 146.70 repeater
RI Swap & Sell Net, Saturday at 9 AM, 146.70 repeater
Actually, some of this net information may be incorrect. Please advise
me with corrections or updates. Thank you. But, please try to check in
to these nets and support them. Net controls and managers, please send
in your net reports for my monthly summary. Thank you all for
participation.
Well, here we are buried in snow. Spring and tee shirt antenna weather
seem so far away. But, we have many contests coming up in the next few
months. That should keep the shack warm. I have found WA7BNM’s
Contest Calendar at http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/ to be very
convenient and useful to quickly find out what test is coming up next
weekend and all the details regarding it. Of course, I am not a
contester and always have to look up what the event is that’s causing
the ruckus on the band. I always look up what the exchange is.
There are plenty of contests every weekend between now and the arrival
of warmer weather. So, we have plenty of incentive to be radio active.
Many states host QSO Parties during winter and there seems to be at
least one on every weekend. Rhode Island hasn’t had its own QSO Party
in many years since the WARI award was offered. (hmmm now there’s an
idea for the clubs to sponsor) However, RI is included in the New
England QSO Party Held on May 7-8 this year. See details at
http://www.neqp.org/ .
For those who wish to chase counties all year long, you might check out
Worked All Rhode Island Counties Award and Worked All New England Award.
In these competitions, other hams in US and overseas are also seeking
contacts with you, especially if you are in a rare county like Kent or
Washington. Winter time, especially February and March provide the most
on-air activity for the contest folks. For obvious reasons, hams spend
more time indoors and in their shacks. Pick your contest and get in
there, even if it’s only for an hour or two.
As I’m writing this on Tuesday evening on Jan 11, the state is
preparing to be hit by a serious snow event. My town of Cumberland is
expecting a foot to 15-18 inches. Tomorrow, nothing will move around my
neighborhood, well except the dogs and their humans who will take their
walks regardless of anything else that happens on earth. The Skywarn
group will be taking snow reports on the 146.70 repeater to report
their information to the National Weather Service in Taunton. Why
don’t we have an active statewide ARES network functioning? The
simple answer is because we have no viable state leadership to work
with. Possibly one day, we will have one once again.
New England Section Managers, club presidents, leadership officials
were invited by ARRL Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI to his semi annual
Cabinet meeting held on Saturday, January 15, 2011 in Springfield MA at
the Sheraton Springfield. As of the time I am writing this, at least
three of us are planning to attend; Asst SM and ACC, W1PN, Tech Coord.
W1TSR and I are planning to attend the all day conference. This meeting
normally precedes the regular meeting of the ARRL Board of Directors by
one week. Attendees to this meeting receive a fairly good preview of
what will be discussed a week later.
Now is the time to file if you are interested in running for elected
ARRL office in RI. My fifth term as Section Manager ends on June 30.
The filing closing time for nominations is March 4 at 4PM. I am
planning to file my papers for a sixth term but will support any
qualified candidate who steps up, showing interest in running for the
post. More information and nomination forms may be found at
http://www.arrl.org/section-terms-nomination-information .
From Asst Section Manager KA1RCI:
I’m very sad to report that the historic Edgewood Yacht Club in
Cranston burned to the ground in the early morning hours of Jan 12th
2011. The building, rebuilt after a fire in 1908, overlooks
Narragansett Bay and is a beautiful spot. The Narragansett Bay Amateur
Radio Club has been meeting at EYC for several years and the NBARC
membership help fund the restorations that were just completed a few
months ago.
The KA1RCI 224.040 repeater in Lincoln RI is running on a new antenna
and hard-line, coverage is now as good and in some cases better than it
has been in several years, with users checking in from Franklin, MA to
West Greenwich, RI. If you have a 220 radio give it a try and enjoy the
wide area coverage.
De W1YRC again: I must add that I have gotten into this repeater from
Framingham, MA and Middletown, RI. from my mobile. It is a good
repeater indeed and is not busy at all. As Steve asks, please give it a
try if you have a 220 radio. If not, why not? They’re fairly
inexpensive and 220 is a great band.
Stay active on the air and stay warm. Spring is coming, not soon
enough. But DX and contesting will keep you busy until nicer weather is
here in Rhode Island. Stay warm.
