[Alexandria Radio Club Reflector] ARCSHORTS AUGUST 2022

Wed Sep 7 18:54:29 EDT 2022

ARC-SHORTS

September 2022

Club Repeaters: 147.315 (PL 107.2), 444.6 (PL107.2), 224.82 (PL107.2), 53.13
(PL107.2) 927.6 (-25Mhz, PL107.2), and 1282.600 (PL 107.2), DSTAR 145.38Mhz,
442.060, and 1284.

:  DMR IS UP AND RUNNING 442.4125 +5Mhz Color Code 1.

            PLEASE USE OUR REPEATERS.

Next Meeting

Our next ZOOM meeting will be Friday Sept 9th at 7PM.  Our program will be
Howard Cunningham, WD5DBC who will talk to us about amateur radio support of
the Marine Corps Marathon.   (see more info further in the newsletter)  A
ZOOM meeting invite will be sent out soon.  See the President's Corner for
details on the next meeting.  This meeting will be both IN PERSON and via
ZOOM.

Last Meeting

Date:               August 12, 2022

Time:               1900 hours

Location:        Hybrid Meeting: Via Zoom & In-Person at APD Community Room,
Wheeler Lane

Presentation

*	Topic:  Sound Card Digital Modes
*	Presenter: Barry  K3EUI

Reports

Secretary:  Carol KN4LL

*	Briefed July 8, 2022 meeting minutes

Treasurer:  Don KI4D

*	Current Balance = $10,698.18

Membership: Richard KW4UJ

*	95 paid; 9 Lifetime; Total of 104 members

Projects: Rick N4ASX/Don KI4D

*	ARES/RACES:  Rick briefed he is in contact with the hospital and
that a second hospital is to be built; expecting a fall drill and is putting
together a handout; announced he is ending his EC position in September
after 15 years
*	History Project:  Don briefed he is experimenting with Prizm
software for online storage

Repeaters: Rich KA4GFY/Ian N8IK

*	Rich: All repeaters are up and running; no issues reported; working
on a replacement for 2 meter
*	Ian:  AREDN Project - nothing new to report

Education/Training:  Rich KA4GFY

*	Technician and General license classes will begin Tuesday, October
4th and finish on Tuesday, December 6th via Zoom

Trailer:  Rich KA4GFY

*	New battery charger procured with a power receptacle from Amazon;
roof to be painted in the fall

Webmaster:  Richard KW4UJ

*	Site updated with WordPress version 6.0.1; security updated

Old Business  

*	 N/A

New Business

*	Contest Season Reminders

*	ARC is a Contest Club
*	Report ARC as your club to contribute to Club scores; be sure to do
at least 3 or 4 contacts
*	Ian will send an email soliciting call signs & grid squares of
members within a 35 radius

Net Control

*	18 Aug: N8IK
*	25 Aug:  KA4GFY
*	1 Sep:  N4ASX
*	9 Sep:  KI4BXU

Announcements

*	Next month's meeting will be a hybrid in-person/online

ADJOURNMENT:  2030 hours

Attendance (26)

Name

Call Sign

Position

Richard

KW4UJ

President

Sean

K4KBK

Vice President

Don

KI4D

Treasurer

Rich

KA4GFY

Training Coordinator

Carol

KN4LLL

Secretary

Ian

N8IK

Director - via Zoom

Jay

KV3W

Ted

W9TCE

Gary

KC5QCN

Bryan

WD4ADF

William

KM4KLK

Louis

KO4QVB

Jack

KE7VOU

Ryan

KO4EBY

Ben

WA1PBR

Rick

N4ASX

Bob

KO4ZIK

Via Zoom

Scott

KM4RDR

Via Zoom

Corey

KN4YZY

Via Zoom

Barry

K3EUI

Via Zoom-Presenter

Brian

KE4WGI

Via Zoom

Cameron

AK7CM

Via Zoom

Erik

KI4BXU

Via Zoom

Moe

W3MOE

Via Zoom

Jeff

KQ4CMA

Via Zoom

Todd

KO4IJH

Via Zoom

Presidents Corner

Richard, KW4UJ

ARES

I had a long talk with Jack Smith KELWT, who is our Viginia Section Manager.
He is working hard to get ARES back on it's feet after years of problems.  

The Commonwealth of Virginia has been working to reorganize its emergency
response structure and we heard about this a few years ago.  Various
localities (like Alexandria) will request state help from one of the new
DISTRICTS.  We are in District 7 now.  ARES has been restructured to reflect
this change.  The expectation is that localities (Alexandria, Fairfax,
Arlington, etc.) if they need help in a disaster, they will NOT go directly
to Richmond but to a District Emergency Manager or management office and
like ARES would get support at the Districted level.  If the disaster is
statewide, then the districts would go to the State.  

We have been asking for a while for drills to include the STATE EOC, but my
guess is that we will now have to communicate with whomever provides
communications at the district level.  As we are being or have been
reorganized to mirror the states structure,  I expect that our DEC will be
in charge of liaison with the District Emergency Manager.

Jack Smith,  is working on many changes to make this happen and for the
system to be more responsive.  

As for ALEXANDRIA ARES:

Always looking for new volunteers.   If you would like to volunteer let me
know and I will send out the FSD98 form, so I know who to call, how to call
and what capability you have.  I only ask that you do train and make
yourself available for various training opportunities.  

I will also send out the ARES TASK BOOK.   There are three levels

ARES Level I - New member  

ARES Level II  - Deployable.  - This means you have completed sufficient
training to understand the incident command operation and structure.

ARES Level III - Management / Leadership level.

You do not need to send the EC a copy of your Task Book, but as you complete
items in the task book send the EC an e-mail with a copy of a certificate
(if needed) and the EC will keep track of progress for Alexandria ARES
volunteers.

Word from Alexandria Hospital is that they will have a drill in the near
future and we will be asked to participate. (keep you go kits ready and
batteries charged!)

The biggest event each year is the Marine Corps Marathon.  October 30th.
If you can volunteer, you need to sign up on TWO websites.  One is the
AMATEUR RADIO volunteer site and one is the MCM's website.  Lots of e-mails
with particulars on how to do this.

MARINE CORPS MARATHON ( Howard WD5DBC - Leadership Chair)

Registration for Ham Radio Support of the 47th Marine Corps Marathon (MCM)
is now open.  The MCM is the largest regular amateur radio public
service/emergency communications event in the Washington, D.C. area.  This
year's Marathon is on October 30.

Those of you who have joined us in the past know how much fun it is.  If you
haven't helped out in the past, or haven't done a large public service event
before, the MCM is the perfect introduction as there is a large amount of
assistance with documentation, instruction and other help for the
inexperienced (or even experienced) ham.  The planning, documentation and
techniques are also used for other large events such as inaugurations and
"Marches on Washington". This is an excellent event to get started with the
unique challenges of ham radio support for large events in the National
Capital region.

You must sign up to help out.  The signup process has two parts: you must
sign up through the ham signup site so we know what your capabilities are,
and through the Marine Corps Marathon volunteer site to be an official MCM
volunteer.  While you can sign up in either order (ham first, MCM second or
MCM first and ham second), the easiest way is to go to
<https://www.mcmham.org> https://www.mcmham.org and start there.  If you've
volunteered with us before, you can go to login and enter your call sign and
password and all of your previous entries are saved. You only need to change
entries which have changed in the last year.

If you are new, go to sign up and start the process.  Please be as accurate
as you can in all entries as we will assign you based on what capabilities
you tell us you have.  In either case, click on the  "Please make sure to
click this link and sign-up on the Marine Corps website, otherwise YOU WILL
NOT BE FULLY REGISTERED and won't be allowed to volunteer." link to be taken
to the Marine Corps Marathon site to complete your registration. (Ignore any
instructions about passwords).  Make sure you register as a Ham Radio
Operator and complete the questions at the bottom of the page.  You will get
an email from the MCM if you have successfully registered.

We look forward to having you join us in support of the Marathon.

Any questions may be directed to me at  <mailto:wd5dbc at arrl.net>
wd5dbc at arrl.net

73,

Howard WD5DBC

for the MCM Ham Leadership Team

Activities and Events - Rich KA4GFY

Hamfests -

The Hagerstown Tailgate Fest is September 17 at the Maugansville Brethran
Bible Church, 17904 Binley Avenue, in Maugansville, MD.  It's sponsored by
the Antietam Radio Association.   Here is the link to the flyer:
<https://w3cwc.org/images/2022-ARA-TailgateFest.pdf>
https://w3cwc.org/images/2022-ARA-TailgateFest.pdf

The Columbia Amateur Radio Association's CARAFest will be October 2 at the
Howard County Fairgrounds.  Here is the link to CARA's hamfest page:
<https://www.carafest.org/> https://www.carafest.org/

The Hollywood, MD TailgateFest takes place on October 8 at the Hollywood
Volunteer Fire Department.  It's sponsored by the Saint Mary's County
Amateur Radio Association.  Here is the link:    <http://k3hki.org/>
http://k3hki.org/

Training -

Our next Technician and General classes are scheduled to start about October
4 and end December 6, 2022.  Some of our visitors at Field Day expressed
interest in becoming hams themselves and I have been receiving a few
inquiries about our next class.  If you know of anyone who has always wanted
to become a ham, but hasn't known how, send them our way. If you are a
Technician looking to upgrade or know a Technician looking to upgrade, let
us know.  We have been teaching both classes via Zoom and it is working very
well.

We will also be holding an Extra class study group at the same time as the
Technician and General classes.  N4ASX has offered to hold the study group
at his QTH.  The study group will be limited to 5 club members who have held
their General license for at least 6 months.

Please contact me at  <mailto:ka4gfy at arrl.net> ka4gfy at arrl.net or
<mailto:training at w4hfh.org> training at w4hfh.org for information and to sign
up.

Contests - 

*         September 10 - Ohio State parks on the Air.  Exchange is state.

*         September 10 and 11 - Alabama QSO Party.  Exchange is RST and
state.

*         September 17 and 18 - Iowa QSO Party.  Exchange is RST and state.

*         September 17 and 18 - Texas QSO Party.  Exchange is RST and state.

*         September 17 - Wisconsin Parks on the Air.  Exchange is state.

*         September 17 and 18 - New Jersey QSO Party.  Exchange is RST and
state.

*         September 17 and 18 - New Hampshire QSO Party.  Exchange is RST
and state.

*         September 24 and 25 - Maine QSO Party.  Exchange is RST and state.

*         October 1 and 2 - Collegiate QSO Party.  Exchange is state and
RST.

*         October 1 and 2- California QSO Party.  Exchange is serial number
and state.

*         October 8 and 9 - Nevada QSO Party.  Exchange is RST and ARRL
section.

*         October 8 and 9 - Arizona QSO Party.  Exchange is RST and state.

*         October 8 and 9.  Pennsylvania QSO Party.  Exchange is RST and
ARRL section.

*         October 8 and 9 - South Dakota QSO Party.  Exchange is RST and
state.

*         October 15 and 16.  New York QSO Party.  Exchange is RST and
state.

Every Sunday evening at 8 PM local time, the K1USN Radio Club sponsors the
"Slow Speed "Contest."  The exchange is similar to a QSO.  See the rules
here:  <http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html> http://www.k1usn.com/sst.html.

Every Tuesday at 0000 (8 PM EDT Monday for us) is the Worldwide Sideband
Activity Contest.  Exchange is RS and age group (OM, YL, Youth YL or Youth).
Here are the rules:  <https://wwsac.com/rules.html>
https://wwsac.com/rules.html

Don't forget, be sure to send in your log within 7 days after the contest
ends for all ARRL sponsored contests.  ARRL now uses a web application for
contest log submissions.  Here is the link:
<http://contest-log-submission.arrl.org/>
http://contest-log-submission.arrl.org/  Be sure to convert your file to
Cabrillo format before submitting.  Most logging programs support the
Cabrillo format.

REMEMBER to support the CLUB'S score for contests by providing Ian, N8IK
your info (Name, Call sign and Grid Square location) and submit your scores
for the contests you play in.  If the contest asks for a club affiliation,
the Alexandria Radio Club is on the list of contest clubs.  Contesting is
one way we show that we are using our frequency allocations. 

Contests may not be your thing, but contests are a great way to show outside
interests we do use our valuable spectrum.  By showing we use our spectrum,
other services will have a hard time proving that we don't use our spectrum
and it's up for re-allocation to someone else.  

Contests can also be a great way to become introduced to HF communications.
While it can be intense, pick the contest and jump in.  Most contests have a
limited exchange so it is usually easy to get what the other station needs.

State QSO parties are a great introduction to contesting.  Most are low-key
and the exchange is limited.   

Speaking of state QSO parties, there is now a state QSO party challenge.
You can start accumulating multipliers by submitting a log in any state or
provincial QSO party to 3830scores.com QSOParty Groups.io.forum and State
QSOParty.com. 

Repeaters -

The club repeaters are all up and running.  The DSTAR repeaters are seeing a
lot of activity.  We have been linking the 2-meter repeater to Reflector
062C for Virginia and Maryland communications, and the 70cm Reflector 030C,
for long-range communications and the 23cm voice repeater to Reflector 025B,
the Northern Virginia local reflector or 001C, the world-wide reflector.  If
you want to link to another reflector, be sure to unlink the repeater first
and then link to the reflector of your choice.  All we ask is you unlink the
reflector you were listening on when you are finished.   

The DMR side is working normally with access to the DMR servers.  If you are
new to DMR, DMRVA has codeplugs for some of the more common DMR radios on
their website.  Their website is   <http://www.dmrva.org/>
http://www.dmrva.org/   DMRVA 

In other DMRVA news, the first VHF repeater in the DMRVA system is now on
the air in Fredericksburg.  The frequency is 145.300 MHz.  It uses the DMRVA
standard talkgroup lineup and color code 1 for access.  

The Alexandria Radio Club has one of the only 23 cm analog repeaters in the
area.  Give it a try on your IC-9700, G-7 or ID-1.    

We have resumed (semi-regularly) the follow-on net on one of the other
repeaters after the Thursday net on the 2-meter analog repeater.    

Ian, N8IK, has started a Wednesday night DSTAR net on the 145.380 MHz
repeater at 8 PM.  The Wednesday night net is starting to pick up some
momentum.  We link the repeater to Reflector 62B at net time so members and
former members outside the local area can join in.  Some time ago, I asked
the folks who maintain the lists of DSTAR reflectors to create a Virginia
perma-link reflector.  Many other states have them.  Be sure to put
Reflector 62B in your DSTAR programming.  

As always, ham it up and get on the air.

73, Rich, KA4GFY

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