[HIham] SM Report Pacific Section update February 29, 2013

[Robert Schneider]

This report is for Part of January 2013 and all of February. 

We are sorry to report the passing of (Uncle) Joe Hunkler, NH7WL on Friday February 8th of heart problems at age 66.  Wayne (EARC president) said “he was active in several club”.  This included KARC, EARC and HARC on Oahu.  He was a volunteer of American Red Cross.  Jennifer of ARC said “He was the gruffest man with the biggest heart”.  Chris of EARC said he was an “EARC member and BOD for years”. Walt of KARC said “Joe was one of the Great Guys. In the past he would be the first to step up to help and never let the club down. Joe did a lot to bring KARC's Field Day effort to where it was today. Words cannot express the deep gratitude I feel towards Joe. Not only was he a mainstay at KARC but he helped out any way he was asked in both the Transpac and Pacific Cup Yacht Races. I, for one, will miss him.”

The field day information is now available including maps to the various FD sites.  So far only one has appeared in the Pacific Section on the Island of Hawaii.  Where are the rest of you?  There is no Kauai, Oahu, Maui County, Guam, CNMI or American Samoa.  

The rest of the U.S. goes to Daylight saving time March 10.  Hawaii stays on standard time.  March 20 is officially the first day of spring.  March 31 is Easter Sunday. 

Ron Hashiro’s webpage always has a good collection of news of local happenings.  See:
http://www.qsl.net/a/ah6rh/am-radio/in-hawaii.html .  Look especially at the 2013 events calendar.

Hawaii's Official Amateur Radio Repeater Coordination Site is: http://www.hawaiirepeaters.net/ .  It has many pages including maps with extensive information about repeaters in Hawaii.  Contact Rick Ching, KH7O for any questions not answered on these pages.

Below are a few websites and news for clubs in the Pacific Section of ARRL.  Most clubs have had their elections and it is past time to pay this year’s dues.  Please let your SM know of coming events & news.  We hope to be welcoming a new ARRL affiliated school club shortly.  It is the Hawaii Preparatory Academy Radio Club (HPARC). Their “mentor” club is the Kohala Hamakua Radio Club (Which is also an ARRL affiliated club).  Schools and senior centers require only one ARRL member to qualify for ARRL affiliation whereas regular clubs require over 50% membership in ARRL.  The Pacific Section webpage is:  http://www.arrl.org/Groups/view/pacific-section 

Kauai ARC http://www.kauaiarc.org/ 
On Monday, March 18, 2013, there will be a class in Digital Communication using Fldigi from 5:30 PM-7:00 PM (Starts Promptly) Lihue Civic Center, Planning Room 2A/B.  The March meeting will be a hands-on workshop utilizing the Fldigi program for radio amateurs interested in digital communications.  Please download the latest version of Fldigi, Flwrap, and Flmsg to your laptop computer and bring it to the meeting.  The free downloads are available at:   http://www.w1hkj.com/download.html   this workshop is free and open to the public.  For more information please contact Bob Anderson at KH6AS at att.net or Tad Miura at ZSSQ at hotmail.com. 

The next meeting of Kauai Amateur Radio Club (KARC) is Monday, April 1, 2013 at 7:00 PM at KIUC Main Office, 4463 Pahee Street in Lihue.  Check their website for a map.

Saturday, April 27, 2013, is the MS Walk at Kapa’a Beach Park. Volunteers are needed for communications support. KARC helped these folks last year, and they really appreciated it and have asked for assistance again this year. The event is on Saturday April 27 at Kapa'a Beach Park.  Check in 15:30 to get checked in get assignments, etc.  They would like 2-meter simplex communications help at 3 to 4 locations along the walk.  Please call 320-3897 for more information.

New breakfast venue at The Feral Pig (formerly The Tiki Room and Main Street Diner) located in Harbor Mall at Nawiliwili. Folks begin arriving around 0730. Remember to get your parking ticket validated (while the attendant is hardly ever there for Saturday breakfast, it's a good idea to validate just in case).

The new Honolulu Amateur Radio Club (HARC) website address is: http://ham.aditl.com/harc
Thanks to Jim, WH6GS for the updated information.  Jim also said that a good website for Hawaii Amateur Radio information in general is: http://ham.aditl.com  HARC meets on the 3rd Saturday at 9:00 AM on odd months only (January, March, May, July, September, and November).  They meet at Sizzlers in Aiea. In this case the next meeting is March 16.  HARC maintains the 146.78 (-.600) 2 meter repeater as KH6WO.  HARC maintains the NCDXF HF Beacon station for Hawaii also as KH6WO.

The Emergency ARC http://www.earchi.org/index.html
They normally meet on the third Tuesday.  The next meeting is: March 19, 2013 at 7:00 pm.  TOPIC: Remote HF Demo by Joe AH0A.
Location: Fleet Reserve Association Branch 46, 891 Valkenburgh Street Honolulu, HI 96818. For the potluck, contact Gloria  wh7bte at yahoo.com  and let her know what you are bringing. See you there!

HAWAII STATE SCIENCE FAIR April 7 to 9, 2013
The annual Science Fair is coming up April 7 to 9. We are looking for those that would like to act as judges on behalf of the EARC. If you would like to participate please contact Wayne by email at kh6mei at earchi.org ASAP. Judging will take place on Monday April 8. Mahalo!
TOPIC: Remote HF Demo by Joe AH0A

The Koolau ARC http://www.karc.net/ .
They meet on the second Saturday at 9:30 AM. At Ho’omaluhia Park in Kaneohe.  The next meeting is Saturday, March 9, 2013 9:30AM Kaneohe Ho'omaluhia Park.

NEW REPEATER: Kimo KH7U and Clem KH7HO announced the installation of a new repeater at Puu Papaa (makai end of Oneawa Hills) in Kailua. Freq. is 147.0+ MHz with 103.5 Hz PL tone. It is hoped that this repeater will give Windward coverage from Makapuu to Laie, and possibly Kahuku. Eventually this repeater will be linked with others, so upon accessing please give it a second or two to link. (This is good advice for any linked system.  SM note)

PRESENTATION: Clem Jung KH7HO related his "Experiences and Lessons Learned from Hurricane Sandy." Clem volunteered as a Hawaii State Civil Defense "EMAC Resource" to help with the recovery and cleanup from Hurricane Sandy in the various NYC Boroughs. Amazing, what damage a 'minor' Category 1 storm can bring on, especially in shoreline areas.

Here are some notes from the KARC January 12th meeting.    
HAWAII QSO PARTY:  Joe AH0A announces that the latest version of HI QSO Rules is up on line. In addition to the NiMM logging program, two new ones are being adopted: SD and Genlog. The contest website is www.hawaiiQSOParty.org .  Also noted that financial support of HI QSO Party is needed and being solicited from any interested individuals or Clubs. For example, EARC has already committed to the cause. The funds support the costs of preparing and mailing out certificates and other like expenditures that individuals should not be expected to bear.  
MOVED: Walt AH6OZ; SECONDED: Dennis KH7MU: KARC provides $150.00 to support HI QSO Party expenses. PASSED, unanimously.
FIELD DAY: Kevin AH6QO: Never too early to get the ball rolling on this. At this point, we've established that, yes; we do want to have a Field Day. And, at Kualoa Park. The snags encountered at the 2011 Field Day seem to have been ironed out. Their program at the last meeting was an RTTY primer.

Big Island ARC website is: www.biarc.net  
President Barbara Darling, NH7FY and her husband Richard, AH7G, have been sending e-mail updates about their trip to the South Pacific and New Zealand.  We hope to have a program soon after they get back.  VEEP Doug Wilson, KH7DQ, has been running the show in her absence. BIARC meets on the second Saturday at 2PM at the Keaau Community center.  There was a VE testing session on Feb. 21 at the LDS church in Hilo.  General Class License preparation classes will begin March 14.  Contact Milt Nodacker, AH6I, at 965-6471 for more information or write nodacker at gmail.com 

Congratulation go to Rob Van Geen, NH6V, who operated KH6LC in the November 2012 Phone SS contest.  He took first place in the A or low power division with a score of 273,568 points with 1,648 QSO’s. and all 83 multipliers.  Go to:  http://www.arrl.org/contest-results-articles 

The Maui ARC http://www.kh6rs.org/ 
Meetings are held every second Wednesday at the Maui County Civil Defense Emergency Operating Center in the basement of the County Building at 7PM.  This is a reminder the Maui RACES repeater on 147.02+ MHz now requires a sub-audible tone of 103.5 Hz for access.  

The Maui Amateur Radio License Examination Schedule for this year:
Saturday, April 6, 2013 - Saturday, August 3, 2013 - Saturday, December 7, 2013.
Persons planning to take an Amateur Radio license examination should pre-register at least two weeks before the scheduled exam date. Send email to kh6h at arrl.net or call Mel, KH6H, at 250-4591 and leave voice mail, including your email address.  If no one pre-registers, the exam session will be cancelled.
Maui VE (volunteer examiner) sessions begin at 9:00 a.m. at the Maui County Civil Defense Emergency Operating Center, 200 S. High Street in Wailuku.  Exam dates and location are subject to change. Pre-registered candidates will be notified of changes in the exam date or location. Before the exam, you will receive a confirmation email with more information, including directions to the exam site.  The 2013 ARRL/VEC exam fee is $15.00. Bring a check or cash.

The Kona Amateur Radio Society webpage is:  http://www.cfht.hawaii.edu/~veillet/hwars.html  
KARS meets on the third Sunday, which is March 17, from 2PM to 5PM at Wawaloli Beach Park at NELHA.  The potluck food theme is green or Irish food since March 17th is Saint Patrick’s Day.

The Kohala Hamakua Radio Club website is:  http://www.hamradioandmore.com/khrc.htm
The next meeting is Sunday, March 10, 2013 at 2PM at the Conference Room, (Enter in rear of Gym Building), Hisaoka Gym, King Kam Park, Kapa'au

Eric Grabowski, KH6CQ, DEC for North Hawaii, has been sending out periodic reports on the North Hawaii repeater project and other happenings in his area.  Eric lives in Waikoloa and the repeater will be located on the northwestern slope of Mauna Kea at a Parker Ranch Pump site.  The frequency 147.84/24 has been coordinated but is not published since the repeater is not yet in operation.  In his report Eric details the hardware he already has and what he needs.  He said Bill, KH6BI, has sent the proposal to Parker Ranch and is waiting for their final decision in writing.  For those of you unfamiliar with how to put up a repeater, this planning, permission and general paperwork part of the process can be harder than actually putting up the machine.  

Marianas ARC https://sites.google.com/site/ah2gmarc/home
They meet on the first Tuesday at 7PM.  We just missed the March 5 meeting so the next one will be April 2nd.  It will be at the KSTO radio studio on Nimitz Hill.  There is plenty of parking behind the building on the lower level. Entry to the meeting room is from the south side of the building.  See: [1] Map http://tinyurl.com/ksto-guam  Contact WH2M for more information.  

Your SM visited the South Point ARC or “SPARC” near South Point on Dec 2.  They meet on the first Sunday at Noon at Manuka State park.  The extreme drought in the area seems to have improved.

There has been no news from American Samoa or CNMI given to the SM in the last several months.

Your SM has nominated John Bush, KH6DLK, for the 2012 International Humanitarian Award.  (See John’s picture on the Pacific Section Webpage.)  The ARRL BOD approved at the last meeting on Jan 18 & 19 in New Orleans.

John has been working in Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and was able to promote badly needed resources for the area.  John is an active BIARC member and the club has also been active in supplying material and expertise.  In addition John is a member of Volcano (Hawaii) Rotary club and has worked with them to help supply the Volcano Charter School of Arts and Sciences with computers for the school then individual class rooms later. He has always been a tireless and selfless worker for the kids and the schools. He then transferred this energy to Federai (an island in FSM) and working with Rotary clubs and Rotary International to secure a grant in the amount of nearly $22,000.00 to furnish a dispensary.  Here is a quote of minute 29 as taking from the BOD official minutes:

On motion of Mr. Vallio, seconded by Mr. Norton, the following resolution was ADOPTED (with applause): 

Whereas it is important to recognize those who have used Amateur Radio to provide emergency communications on an international level; and 

Whereas the ARRL has established the ARRL International Humanitarian Award; and 

Whereas John Bush, KH6DLK / V63JB has been instrumental in promoting the development and welfare to the population of the Island of Federai in the Ulithi Atoll of the Federated States of Micronesia; and 

Whereas he continues his efforts, including development of electronic infrastructure on the island, including electronic technologies and Amateur Radio; 

Now therefore, the ARRL Board of Directors awards the 2012 International Humanitarian Award to John Bush, KH6DLK / V63JB, of Hilo, HI and Federai, Ulithi, Yap, FSM for his efforts.

How, when and where the award will be presented has not been decided yet.  There is a possibility that Bob Vallio, Pacific Division Director, may come out to present it.  This is a big “feather in our hat”.   

73,
Bob Schneider – AH6J
ARRL Pacific Section Manager
ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio™
ah6j at arrl.org
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