[FARC] [Fwd: MDC Section News]

Bob Moroney windbrkr at erols.com
Fri Apr 18 12:02:16 EDT 2008 

Here's the latest news update from the ARRL MDC Section leadership, for 
those who don't receive it directly.

73, Bob K9CMR

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	MDC Section News
Date: 	Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:43:15 -0400 (EDT)
From: 	ARRL MDC Section <memberlist at www.arrl.org>
To: 	windbrkr at erols.com



MDC Section News
Vol. 3   No. 4
March   2008

+ ECHOLINK NET TONITE
+ ATLANTIC DIVISION WEBINAR
+ HAMFESTS
+ ARMED FORCES DAY
+ ARRL EXPO 2008 AT DAYTON HAMVENTION
+ FIELD DAY
+ THE GREAT SOUTHERN MARYLAND PICNIC
+ MDC QSO PARTY
+ SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER NET REPORT
+ T-MARC AT WORK
+ FINALLY

==>  ECHOLINK NET TONITE

Join us tonite on the monthly Section-wide Echolink Net.  It will be at
8:00 pm on the WASH_DC node 6154 server hosted by John Creel, WB3GXW. 
There are also a number of local repeaters and links available so that
you can check in via RF.  It's a place to exchange ideas, let everyone
know upcoming events, something that you or your club did that worked
very well, or anything of interest to our amateur radio community.

==>  ATLANTIC DIVISION WEBINAR

Tomorrow, Sat April 19 from 11:00 am -- 12:00 pm, will be the second
Atlantic Division Webinar.  Meet with ARRL's Emergency Preparedness and
Response Manager, Dennis Dura K2DCD, who will present information about
the ARRL's EmComm program and what he's been working on.   This
webinar/teleconference is for club members, ARES members,
Section Managers, Section Cabinet Staff and those interested in
emergency communications.

If you go to the following site http://www.atldiv.org/training you can
register for the event.  You'll be sent a confirmation e-mail with a
phone number, access code and Webinar ID.

==>  HAMFESTS

Antietam Radio Association - The Great Hagerstown Hamfest hosted by the
will be held on Sunday, May 4, at the Washington County Agricultural
Center on MD Rt. 65 South Sharpsburg Pike, Near Hagerstown, Md.  For
more information on times, and events such as the auction, please click
on:  http://www.w3cwc.org/HamFests.html 

Maryland FM Association -- Memorial Day Hamfest will be held Sunday May
25 at the Howard County Fair Grounds on Rt 144 near I-70. For more
information please click: http://www.marylandfm.org/ 

==>  ARMED FORCES DAY

Armed Forces Day Special Event Station,  AF3RH (Armed Forces 3
Retirement Home) will honor the service and sacrifices of all military
veterans from the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home in
Washington, DC.

A special Certificate is planned for Amateurs who make a confirmed
contact with AF3RH during the celebration.  We have a Special Event
listing on the ARRL webpage and will post additional information to our
qrz.com listing about April 1st.

We'll operate for 24 hours from May 16th, 8 P.M. (May 17th, 0001Z)
until May 17th, at 8 P.M.  (2400Z). 

Guest Operators Needed.
We'd like to keep the station actively on-the-air for the entire 24
hours, so are inviting interested Amateurs to become Guest Operators. 
If you're interested, please send me an email at af3rh at yahoo.com.

==>  ARRL EXPO 2008 AT DAYTON HAMVENTION

ARRL EXPO is a showcase of exhibits and activities to enhance your
amateur radio experience. Open to members and nonmembers, the ARRL EXPO
is jam-packed with official ARRL program representatives, activities
(including activities for youth) and forums.

You may visit the ARRL bookstore for popular publications and products,
join or renew your ARRL membership and pick up official ARRL
merchandise.

The ARRL EXPO 2008 will be held in Hara Arena's large exhibit area
located in the Ballarena Hall (near the 400-numbered booths) during the
Dayton Hamvention, Thursday May 16th through Sunday May 18th in Dayton,
Ohio.

Take a peek at the Dayton countdown ticker at
<http://arrl-mdc.net/DaytonTicker.htm>.

For more information about the ARRL EXPO at Dayton, click on:
<www.arrl.org/announce/nc/2008/dayton.html>.

==>  FIELD DAY

As your planning progresses on your Field Day event, don't for get to
invite your local, state and national legislators and to send your
local paper, radio or TV station a press release.  Let's raise our
visibility to the legislators and public.    

To see the Field Day count down ticker, click on
<http://arrl-mdc.net/FieldDayTicker.htm>.

==> THE GREAT SOUTHERN MARYLAND PICNIC

Mark Saturday September 20 on your calendar.  A large number of clubs
and ARES groups in Southern Maryland are planning quite an
extravaganza.  A super picnic with great food, demonstrations and
opportunities to learn some skills are only the tip of the iceberg for
this fun packed day.  And don't forget things to do for the spouse and
kids.  More as it develops.  Thanks to PIO Ken (KB3IIE) Greenhouse for
being the sparkplug on this one.

==> MDC QSO PARTY

It's not too late to begin your plans to participate in the MDC QSO
Party to put our section on the air.  If you or your club would like to
help the Antietam Radio Association by sponsoring an award, please
contact Al (KZ3AB) Brown at kz3ab at arrl.net.

2008 Maryland-DC QSO Party Announcement

Contest Date/Times:

- August 11 1600 UTC through August 12 0400 UTC and
- August 13 1600 through 2359 UTC.

Exchange:

QTH:
-  MDC Stations send your Maryland County/Baltimore City or DC.
-  Outside MDC send your State, Country, or Canadian Province.

Category:
-  Club, Mobile, QRP, Standard (Multi-op stations are consideredto be
clubs).

QSO Points: 10 points per club station,  5 points per mobile station, 4
points per QRP station 3 points for each CW/digital station and 1 point
for all other QSOs.

Multipliers:

- For stations outside MDC - 1 per MD county/DC/Baltimore
  City (25 possible).
- For MDC Stations ONLY - the basic 25 + each of the other
  49 states + each new DX country.

Scoring:

- Add up your QSO Points and multiply by the sum of the
  multipliers.
- Multipliers may be claimed only once. Multipliers do
  not repeat from band to band.

- Decisions about the acceptance of any log and summary sheet are at
the discretion of the contest judges.

Log Submission and Cut off Date:

- All entries must be received by September 15, 2008.
- Send Logs, Scoring summary and SASE to Antietam Radio
 Association, P.O. Box 52, Hagerstown, MD 21741-0052
 or e-mailed in plain (ASCII) text, MSWord or MSExcel format
 to: <MDC.LOGS at VERIZON.NET>.
- A contest summary *must* be included!

Rules:
- For official rules, click on <www.w3cwc.org/funcontest.htm>.

The ARA wishes to acknowledge the generous financial support
donations from: Mid-Atlantic DX and Repeater Association (MADXRA),
Montgomery Amateur Radio Club (MARC), John (N3TDN) Smith, the Cheese
Hollow Amateur Radio Society (CHARS), Carroll County ARC, and Bill
(K3UMV) and Joyce (K3UMW)Drager.

==> SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER NET REPORT

MDC NTS NETS:

MEPN 0802 W3YVQ QND/29 QNI/316 QTC/125 MINS/1358
BTN 0802 K3CSX QND/29 QNI/316 QTC/118 MINS/669
MDD 0802 AA3SB QND/58 QNI/265 QTC/141 MINS/571
MSN 0802 W8CPG QND/29 QNI/171 QTC/98 MINS/736

PSHR: KK3F 140, W3YVQ 130, K3CSX 120, WB4FDT 100,
AA3SB 100, W3CB 93, K3IN 90, N3ZOC 90, KB3LFG 76;

TFC: KK3F 1613 (BPL), AA3SB 208, W3YVQ 196, KB3LNM 151,
WB4FDT 114, N3ZOC 106, K3CSX 74, K3IN 59, W3CB 34,
KB3LFG 28, KC3Y 3.

==========
Note: The MEPN has returned to the normal starting time of 1800L (as of
March 10, 2008) on 3820 or 3821 kHz for liaisons and regular business.
An informal session will be conducted starting at 1730L or as soon as
stations are able to get on.

If propagation is very poor, MEPN may shift to 160m on 1920 kHz +/-.
Traffic may be pushed to counties via WL2K, and the STM will take
outbound traffic via WL2K as needed. Additional backup will make use of
the ERP 2m net frequencies and/or Echolink on the WASH_DC conference
bridge as announced on MEPN.

MSN (3563 kHz 1930L, daily, W8CPG) is the slow speed CW traffic
handling and net-operating training net.

Daily liaisons from all jurisdictions are needed on our Section nets:
MEPN (3820 kHz, 1800L, daily, W3YVQ),
MDD (3557 kHz, 1900L/2200L, daily, AA3SB), and
BTN (146.67/R, alt. 145.33/R, 1830L, daily, K3CSX).

MANUAL NET OPERATIONS
Each MDC ARES® jurisdiction is requested to provide a liaison to at
least one of the three nets above on a daily basis for both traffic
outlets and emergency communications preparedness.

DIGITAL OPERATIONS
If jurisdictions can not assign stations for daily contact via the nets
above, they should advise the call sign of an interim selected target
station to receive and originate messaging for the jurisdiction on a
daily basis (via a winlink.org address, or Echolink via the WASH DC
conference bridge, or an email address) between 1800L and 1930L daily.
The EC (default), AEC, or any other designated station may perform this
task.

---
All jurisdictions are encouraged to develop and deploy manual net,
Winlink (WL2K) and Echolink liaisons to ensure Section-wide emergency
communications preparedness for infrastructure independent ICS/NIMS and
welfare support. Please advise the STM of your assigned representatives
for all of the modes above.
The Section database will provide the means to advise all
jurisdictions of the available target stations on winlink.org and other
routes.

NTS/NTSD radiogram messaging is handled via authorized
Section stations and liaisons per specified routing. Single and
multiple welfare and agency radiograms may be sent via Batch Files to
the designated NTSD representatives on winlink.org (contact the STM).
All radiograms sent via email or WL2K must contain a request to confirm
receipt of the message(s), using an HXC in the subject line, prompting
a reply message from the recipient.

See the NTS NETS, MDC ERP Summary, individual net tabs,
and the WL2K tutorials (general information topics) at the Section
Manager&times;s web page. Note the changes to the CMS in the Winlink
2000 telnet server addresses:
<www.arrl-mdc.net>

Please remember the deadline for net reports to any NM is 48
hours after the session run. Net, SAR and PSHR reports to the STM are
due no later than the 6th of the following month. Thank you.
---

>From the recently released ARRL NERPC report "Messaging
Recommendations" (extracts):

"1. The establishment of semi-automatic networks should be considered a
priority for surviving and mutual assistance resources, but never to
the exclusion of voice networks. Forward-based, self-contained mobile
or portable equipment should include provisions for all modes of
message
transport possible, including voice, NTS-Digital, Winlink 2000, WiFi,
and others that may be developed in the future. When possible,
out-of-area gateway stations should be identified and scheduled to
handle messaging in the most efficient method available to both ends of
the circuit. If prior arrangements are not possible, the gateway
stations in the affected area should immediately identify out-of-area
capabilities, and set up the most efficient method of message transfer
possible."

"8. It must become and remain a perpetual priority for the ARRL and
ARES to enhance training in basic message handling, particularly with
respect to message accuracy through the major communication phases of
transport and delivery."
---

Thanks to all for your continued support of integrated ARES® and
NTS/NTSD operations.

73, W3YVQ, MDC STM
w3yvq at arrl.net

==> T-MARC AT WORK

The Middle Atlantic FM and Repeater Council (T-MARC) has
been busy plowing through the backlog of requests for repeater
frequency coordination for new construction and deleting outdated
records of repeaters that are off-the-air from their database.

You may see what's been done by clicking on "T-MARC NEWS" at:
<http://tmarc.org/tm-news.html>.

Also, please check T-MARC's member's list,
<http://tmarc.org/memberlist.html>, to make sure your
information is correct.  Please send any corrections
to: <t-marc at columbiaara.org>.

The T-MARC home page URL is: <http://www.tmarc.org/>.

==> FINALLY

If you would like me to visit your club as a speaker, please don't
hesitate to let me know.

73, Jim WI3N

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Section Manager: James E. Cross, WI3N
wi3n at arrl.org
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