[SFDXA] A Message from Jeff

[William Marx]

> New Year greetings to all,
> 
> Looking forward to a great 2017 in the SFL Section.  With the holidays
> behind us, we can get back in the swing of ham radio activity. Some New
> Year resolutions for your consideration:
> 
> 1.    Get on the air on your favorite bands.
> 
> 2.    Mentor a new ham, especially a young ham !
> 
> 3.    Support your local club and ARES group
> 
> 4.    Try your hand at some contesting and DXing
> 
> 5.    Help out at your local VE exam session
> 
> 6.    Participate in your club’s Field Day
> 
> 7.    Try a new mode: CW, AM, Digital, Satellite, Weak signal, DMR, etc.
> 
> 8.    Check in on a net.
> 
> 9.    Attend a hamfest
> 
> 10.    And most of all, have fun with ham radio.
> 
> Myra and I attended holiday parties with the Hendry County ARES team
> along with the Big Lake ARC and the Palms West ARC. A great time was
> had by all !
> 
> 
> Hope to see you at one of these upcoming events around the SFL Section
> and SE Division:
> 
> 
> 01/07/2017      Kid’s Day Operating Event       Info: 
> http://www.arrl.org/kids-day
> 
> Southwest Florida Regional Hamfest 
> 
> Start Date: 01/20/2017
> End Date: 01/21/2017
> 
> Location: Gulf Coast Church of Christ
> 9550 Six Mile Cypress Parkway
> Fort Myers, FL 33901
> 
> Website: http://fmarc.net/hamfest
> Sponsor: Fort Myers Amateur Radio Club
> 
> Talk-In: 146.345 (PL 136.5)
> 
> Public Contact: Frank Nocera , WO4K 
> 610 SW 28th Terrace Cape Coral, FL 33914
> Phone: 239-357-7021
> Email: WO4K at arrl.net
> 
> Southern Florida Section Convention 
> 
> Start Date: 02/03/2017
> End Date: 02/04/2017
> 
> Location: War Memorial Auditorium
> 800 NE 8th Street
> Ft. Lauderdale, FL 
> 
> Website: http://hamboree.org
> Sponsor: Dade Radio Club of Miami, Inc. 
> 
> Talk-In: 147.000 (PL 94.8) 
> 
> Public Contact: Lloyd Kurtzman , N4LJK 
> 8266 Mills Drive PO Box 835367 Miami, FL 33283
> Phone: 305-332-9142
> Email: LLOYD0703 at gmail.com
> 
> Southeastern Division Convention 
> 
> Start Date: 02/10/2017
> End Date: 02/12/2017
> 
> Location: Central Florida Fairgrounds
> 4603 West Colonial Drive
> Orlando, FL 32801
> Website: http://www.hamcation.com
> Sponsor: Orlando Amateur Radio Club
> 
> Talk-In: 146.760 (no PL tone)
> 
> Public Contact: Lidy Meijers , KJ4LMM 
> PO Box 574962 Orlando, FL 32857
> Phone: 407-841-0874/800-214-7541
> Email: info at hamcation.com
> 
> Congrats to the ARISS team at the West Palm Beach ARC working with the
> South Florida Science Museum for making the first cut to be approved
> for an ARISS contact in 2017.
> 
> 
> ARRL Vows Continued Pursuit of the Amateur Radio Parity Act in the
> 115th Congress
> 
> 
> The Amateur Radio Parity Act, H.R. 1301, died an unbefitting death as
> the 114th Congress of the United States drew to a close today. After
> having passed the House of Representatives on a unanimous vote, the
> bill stalled in the Senate due to the intervention of only one member,
> Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL).
> Over the course of the past year, Sen. Nelson has received thousands of
> e-mails, letters, and phone calls from concerned constituents asking for
> his support of H.R. 1301. Numerous meetings were held with his senior
> staff in an effort to move the legislation forward. Negotiations, which
> led to an agreement with the national association of homeowner’s
> associations and publicly supported by CAI and ARRL, were brushed aside
> by Sen. Nelson as irrelevant.
> In a final meeting with the Senator’s staff earlier this week, it
> became clear that no matter what was said or done, the Senator opposed
> the bill and refused to allow it to move forward. Unfortunately, as the
> bill did not receive floor time, the only manner in which it could get
> passed in the Senate would be through a process that required unanimous
> consent, which means no one opposes the bill.
> The legislation will be reintroduced in both houses of Congress after
> the 115th Session begins in January. We have already been in contact
> with the sponsors of the bill to allow for an early introduction, which
> will give us more time to obtain success. We believe that we can get his
> bill adopted given the fact that we were inches away from crossing the
> goal line. We will continue to need the support of the membership,
> particularly in Florida, as we go forward through the next year.
> 
> Eleven US Schools, Organizations Advance to Next Stage of ARISS Ham
> Contact Selection
> 
> ARRL and AMSAT — the US managing partners of the Amateur Radio of the
> International Space Station (ARISS) program — have announced that 11
> schools or organizations submitting proposals have been selected to
> advance to the next stage of planning to host scheduled Amateur Radio
> contacts with ISS crew members next year. ARISS’s primary goal is to
> engage young people in science, technology, engineering, and math
> (STEM) activities and raise awareness of space exploration, radio
> communications, and related areas of study and career possibilities.
> ARISS anticipates that NASA will be able to provide scheduling
> opportunities for these US host organizations during the second half of
> 2017. The 11 candidate schools/organizations must now complete an
> acceptable equipment plan that demonstrates their ability to execute
> the ham radio contact. Once their equipment plan is approved by the
> ARISS technical team, the final selected schools/organizations will be
> scheduled as their availability and flexibility match up with NASA
> scheduling opportunities.
> The schools and organizations are: 
> •    2017 Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree, Glen Jean, West
> Virginia
> •    Antietam Elementary School, Woodbridge, Virginia
> •    Bishop Hendricken High School, Warwick, Rhode Island
> •    Chiddix Junior High School, Normal, Illinois
> •    Fleet Science Center, BE WiSE Program, San Diego, California
> •    Frontiers of Flight Museum, Dallas, Texas
> •    Heart of America Council, Boy Scouts of America, Kansas City,
> Missouri
> •    Los Angeles Academy Middle School, Los Angeles, California
> •    Meadows Elementary School, Manhattan Beach, California
> •    South Florida Science Center and Aquarium, West Palm Beach,
> Florida
> •    West Virginia University, Lane Department of Computer Science &
> Electrical Engineering, Morgantown, West Virginia.
> 
> National Parks on the Air Contact Tally Tops 1 Million!
> 
> Participants in the ARRL’s National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) program
> have completed more than 1 million contacts! Activators operating from
> National Park Service units across the US and Chasers around the world
> pushed the contact tally over its goal this week. ARRL sponsored NPOTA
> to help the National Park Service celebrate its centennial.
> “National Parks on the Air has become one of the most popular events
> in the history of the League,” NPOTA Administrator Sean Kutzko, KX9X,
> said. “It’s been fun seeing so many hams take part.”
> Kutzko said the NPOTA Facebook group really helped drive participation,
> especially in the last 3 months, when it became clear that the 1
> million-QSO goal was within reach. “Some 25,000 NPOTA contacts were
> uploaded to Logbook of The World (LoTW) every week since October,” he
> noted. “The entire group came together and simply willed the 1
> million-contact mark to be broken. It was incredible to watch!” He
> said some real friendships developed among those who frequented the
> NPOTA Facebook page.
> Those taking part in NPOTA made nearly 20,000 visits to 460 of the 489
> NPS units eligible for NPOTA credit, including portions of the National
> Trails System and the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Nearly 150
> Chasers completed contacts with more than 400 of the 489 NPOTA units
> this year, while one Activator transmitted from more than 250 different
> NPS units in 2016. Kutzko said the activations effectively transported
> those National Park Service units via radio to all 50 states and more
> than 100 countries during 2016.
> Kutzko said NPOTA garnered interest from hams at all proficiency
> levels, but he was especially gratified to see how it encouraged
> less-experienced hams to acquire new skills, such as operating a
> portable station on battery power, learning CW, or discovering digital
> modes. “Pileups from some activations rivaled those during a major
> DXpedition — if only for a few hours at a time,” he added.
> Jim Clark Jr., an NPS Ranger at Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National
> Historical Park in Vermont, said NPOTA helped to generate greater
> awareness of his unit. “National Parks on the Air has afforded us the
> opportunity to connect with a much larger and more diverse audience than
> we could have ever imagined,” he told ARRL. “We are pleased and
> proud that the world of Amateur Radio helped us to celebrate 100 years
> of service to the nation.”
> Kutzko said being able to blend Amateur Radio with the history and
> scenery offered by the National Park Service was a wonderful gift.
> “We heard from countless amateurs who learned something about our
> country while operating from an NPS unit and experiencing ‘the other
> side’ of a pileup. There will be other on-air events from ARRL, but
> National Parks on the Air was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I
> don’t think there will ever be anything quite like it in Amateur
> Radio again. I will miss it.”
> 
> 
> October & November ARES report from Larry, W4LWZ
> 
> Month: October
> 
> Year: 2016
> 
> Total number of ARES members: 257
> 
> Change since last month (+, -, same): +5
> 
> Number of DECs/ECs reporting this month: 6
> 
> Number of ARES nets active: 6
> 
> Number of nets with NTS liaison: 3
> 
> Calls of DECs/ECs reporting: K1UQE, W9GPI, WW4RX, WA4PAM, KC0SJU,
> KK4ATI
> 
> Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 16
> 
> Person hours: 191
> 
> Number of public service events this month: 0
> 
> Person hours: 0
> 
> Number of emergency operations this month: 2
> 
> Person Hours: 380
> 
> Total number of ARES operations this month: 18
> 
> Total Person hours: 571
> 
> Comments: We had a rather active month in  October here in southern
> Florida.  Several counties ran their annual SET and we also had
> hurricane Matthew on the east coast.  Fortunately, the damage was
> minimal in our section.  I am having a problem getting my county ECs to
> file reports but I am working on a solution.
> 
> ===============================
> 
> Month: November
> 
> Year: 2016
> 
> Total number of ARES members: 513
> 
> Change since last month (+, -, same): +13
> 
> Number of DECs/ECs reporting this month: 10
> 
> Number of ARES nets active: 10
> 
> Number of nets with NTS liaison: 4
> 
> Calls of DECs/ECs reporting: K1UQE, WA4PAM, WA4ASJ, KC4SJU, W9GPI,
> K4JTT, KB1PA, WW4RX, N4ZIQ, KK4ATI
> 
> Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 66
> 
> Person hours: 675.75
> 
> Number of public service events this month: 1
> 
> Person hours: 535
> 
> Number of emergency operations this month: 0
> 
> Person Hours: 0
> 
> Total number of ARES operations this month: 67
> 
> Total Person hours: 1210.75
> 
> 
> Well, I guess that’s about it for now. My thanks for all that you do
> for Amateur Radio. Have a happy and healthy New Year and see you at a
> club meeting, hamfest or on the air.
> 
> Vy 73,
> 
> Jeff, WA4AW
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
> ARRL Southern Florida Section
> Section Manager: Jeff Beals, WA4AW
> wa4aw at arrl.org
> --------------------------------------------------------------------