[SFDXA] A Message from Jeff

[Bill]

Greetings to all,

For the most part, we were very fortunate in the wake of the arrival of
Hurricane Matthew. However, this was a “wake up” call for our ARES
units around the Section. My thanks to you all for responding where
needed in your communities. As after action reports come in, we will
take this opportunity to determine where we can do better for the next
deployment.

If you like hamfests, then November is your month in the SFL Section.
Please support the clubs sponsoring these events by your attendance and
participation.

November events in the SFL Section

11/05/2016 | Link McGarity WV4I Memorial Free Flea

Location: West Palm Beach, FL
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Palms West Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://www.palmswestradio.org

11/4-6/2016                             Stuart Air Show

Members of the Martin County ARA will be operating special event
station N4A at the annual Stuart Air Show at Witham Field on November
4-6, 2016.  Right across the street from the fairgrounds where the club
will hold their hamfest in March 2017. For more info, pse visit
http://www.mcaraweb.com/

11/5/2016                                  2016 Florida Safety Fest

Members of Broward County ARES/RACES will participate at the 2016
Florida Safety Fest event on November 5, 2016 from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm
at the Sportsplex in Coral Springs. They will have a vendor booth with
an operating amateur radio station. They will be operating both HF as
well as the UHF/VHF local repeaters.  For more info, contact Broward EC
Carol, KJ4AWB at CSjursen at bellsouth.net

11/12/2016 | Flamingo Net / UMARC Free Flea

Location: Coral Gables, FL
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Flamingo Net ARC & University of Miami ARC
Website: http://flamingonet.8m.net

11/19/2016 | Cy Harris W4MAQ Memorial Free Flea

Location: Oakland Park, FL
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Broward Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://browardarc.net

11/26/2016 | Okeechobee Hamfest in the Woods

Location: Okeechobee, FL
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Okeechobee Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://www.k4oke.com

Considering the date change, the ARRL Florida State Convention at
Melbourne last month was well attended on both Friday and Saturday. The
sponsoring club, the Platinum Coast ARS, did a great job putting on the
show and they might consider keeping the later October date in the
future.

At the ARRL Forum, I presented the 50 year ARRL Club affiliation award
to Platinum Coast ARS President Chuck Green, AD4ES. Congratulations !

On the October 15th weekend, the annual Jamboree on the Air (JOTA), a
nationwide campout and training activity of the Boy Scouts was held.
Our Section Youth team was on hand participating with the JOTA group at
the Tanah Keeta scout camp in southern Martin County.

A very successful ARISS contact was held at the HL Watkins Middle
School in Palm Beach Gardens on October 17th. The school partnered with
members of the Jupiter Lighthouse Radio Group and the South Florida
Science Center assisted by SFL ARISS mentors Ryan, W4NTR and Steve,
W1HQL. Another ARISS contact is scheduled for Palm Beach County during
the week of November 7th in Boca Raton.

Former ARRL DXCC and Awards Manager Bill Moore, NC1L, SK

Former ARRL DXCC and Awards Manager Bill Moore, NC1L (ex-KA1MRR,
KB1UN), of Newington, Connecticut, died on October 6. He was 64.
Moore was seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident in July 2014
that left him paralyzed from the chest down. He was never able to
return to work at ARRL Headquarters and retired in 2015. An ARRL
member, Moore had worked at League Headquarters for 23 years, starting
in 1992.
A Brooklyn, New York, native, Moore was a Vietnam Era veteran of the US
Army. A brief service will be held on Wednesday, October 12, at 12:30
PM, at the Duksa Funeral Home in Newington. Visitation will be from 10
AM until 12:30 PM.

Ecuador Radio Club Recognizes ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager, Ham
Aid

ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U, was recognized by
the Guayaquil Radio Club (GRC) of Ecuador for coordinating the work of
the ARRL and of several other radio amateurs to provide Ham Aid
equipment to Ecuador this past spring, following the magnitude 7.8
earthquake in April.
“It was quite a surprise and honor,” said Corey, who was quick to
share the credit. “The recognition really goes to the team that made
it all happen — here at ARRL Headquarters, Ken Bailey, K1FUG; Sean
Kutzko, KX9X, and Tom Gallagher, NY2RF — In South Florida Jeff Beals,
WA4AW, and Kenny Hollenbeck, KD4ZFW — and most of all, Gunter
Chanange, HC2CG, and the members of the Guayaquil Radio Club, who did
the real work.”
Presenting the award during the IARU Region 2 General Assembly in Chile
was GRC President Lorenzo Lertora, HC2BP, who is also Ecuador’s deputy
defense minister. Lertora said the equipment provided through Ham Aid
allowed Ecuadorian Amateur Radio volunteers to help a Venezuelan Air
Force plane carrying search-and-rescue personnel and equipment to land
safely at an airport that had lost all power and communication.
Some 400 pounds of Ham Aid Amateur Radio equipment valued at more than
$7500 was shipped from ARRL Headquarters to Ecuador in early May to
support relief and recovery efforts under way in the wake of the major
earthquake that struck the South American nation on April 16. The
disaster had destroyed or compromised electrical power and commercial
telecommunication systems and rendered many roads rendered impassable
due to earthquake rubble.


Rule Making Petition to FCC Calls for Vanity Call Sign Rule Changes

The FCC is inviting comments on a Petition for Rule Making (RM-11775)
from a Nevada radio amateur that seeks changes to the rules governing
the Amateur Radio Vanity Call Sign Program. Christopher LaRue, W4ADL,
of North Las Vegas, is proposing that any licensee obtaining a vanity
call sign be required to keep it for the full license term. LaRue
contends in his petition that excessive and frequent vanity call sign
filings are hampering the ability of other qualified licensees to
obtain vanity call signs in one of the more desirable 1 × 2 or 2 × 1
formats. LaRue said that since the FCC dropped the fee to file for a
vanity call sign, some applicants are taking advantage by regularly
obtaining new call signs, thereby keeping them out of circulation.
“Some are changing call signs almost monthly, just to keep the newer
code-free Extra class operators from obtaining a shorter call sign,”
he said in his petition. “I even saw an older operator that said he
does it all the time and has not even owned a radio in over 6 years.
When I looked him up, he has had 16 different [call signs] in 18
months.”
LaRue said his proposed minor rule change would require any licensee
applying for and obtaining an Amateur Radio vanity call sign “be
required to keep it for the duration of the license, which is currently
10 years.”
He said this would “alleviate a lot of the stress on the ULS system
and manpower requirements” at the FCC. “It will also keep inactive
amateurs from changing call signs regularly, thereby tying up call
signs for 2 years after dismissal of said call.”
Interested parties may comment using the FCC Electronic Comment Filing
System (ECFS). Comments are due within 30 days of the October 26
posting date.

                                    September SEC Report from Larry,
W4LWZ


Total number of ARES members: 227

Change since last month (+, -, same): +2

Number of DECs/ECs reporting this month: 5

Number of ARES nets active: 5

Number of nets with NTS liaison: 2

Calls of DECs/ECs reporting: KK4ATI, K1UQE, WW4RX, WA4ASJ, KK4AXV

Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 16

Person hours: 88.5

Number of public service events this month: 3

Person hours: 113

Number of emergency operations this month: 0

Person Hours: 0

Total number of ARES operations this month: 19

Total Person hours: 201.5

Comments: Monthly EC reports were a bit scarce this month due to the
activations for hurricane Matthew.

Silent Keys- It is with deep regret that we report the passing of the
following SFL members:

Robert H. “Hank” Phillips, AA4HP of Titusville. Hank was an ARRL
Life Member and a member of the Platinum Coast ARS and FL East Coast DX
Club.

Well, I guess that’s about it for now. Hope you and your family
have a pleasant Thanksgiving. My thanks for all that you do
for Amateur Radio. Get on the air, Elmer a new ham, support your local
club and ARES group but most of all, have fun with ham radio.

Vy 73,

Jeff, WA4AW

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ARRL Southern Florida Section
Section Manager: Jeff Beals, WA4AW
wa4aw at arrl.org