Author Archives: N3LRG

SCARC @ 10 Meter Contest

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Steel City Members Paul, KC3WHX and Neil, N3WMI will be hosting this contest up at the clubhouse next weekend. (Dec 9&10) We currently have a lot of Tech operators so here is a contest made just for YOU! Please consider helping the guys out by joining them and making some 10 meter contacts from the club house.  If interested please reach out to Paul at paulpghpa (at) comcast (dit) net

Objective: For Amateurs worldwide to exchange QSO information with as many stations as possible on the 10 meter band.

Contest Period: 
Second full weekend in December. Begins 0000 UTC Saturday and runs through 2359 UTC Sunday. Operate for a maximum of 36 hours out of the 48-hour period. Off times must be at least 30 minutes long.

Exchange:
All stations send a signal report. W/VE stations, including Alaska and Hawaii) send their state or province. (District of Columbia stations send “DC”.) Mexican stations send their state or province. DX stations send a serial number.

Limited Antennas Overlay:
Operation is limited to the use of single-element antennas such as a single vertical, end-fed wire, or a single dipole antenna no more than 50 feet above ground at its highest point. The antenna(s) may cover multiple bands, as in the case of multiband verticals and dipoles with fan or trap constructions.

Tape Measure Beam – Radio Direction Finding

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TAPE MEASURE BEAM OPTIMIZED FOR RADIO DIRECTION FINDING
Joe Leggio WB2HOL
Description

This antenna evolved during my search for a beam with a really great front-to-back ratio to use in hidden transmitter hunts. This design exhibits a very clean pattern and is perfect for RDF use. It trades a bit of forward gain in exchange for a very deep notch in the pattern toward the rear. (You could optimize the design for more forward gain, but at the expense of a really good notch in the pattern toward the rear.) It is a design that can be constructed using only simple hand tools (no machine shop needed) and still perform well. It has been duplicated several dozen times by other local hams and has been successfully used as a club construction project.

When I designed this antenna I had one basic idea in mind. It had to be easy to get in and out of the car when hunting for a hidden transmitter. This would be accomplished by the use of steel “tape measure” elements. These elements could fold easily when fitting the antenna into my car and yet still be self supporting. I decided to use three elements to keep the boom from getting too long.

Another of my design goals was to use materials that were easy to obtain. I chose to use Schedule-40 PVC pipe and fittings available at my local hardware store for the boom and element supports. These kept the cost for the antenna very low. The element supports consist of PVC crosses and tees.

Read The Full Article Here: WB2HOL Website

Skywarn Recognition Day 2023

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Starts at Friday 7:00 PM – Dec 1st
Ends at Saturday 7:00 PM – Dec 2nd
Skywarn™ Recognition Day was developed in 1999 by the National Weather Service and the American Radio Relay League. It celebrates the contributions that Skywarn™ volunteers make to the NWS mission, the protection of life and property.
Amateur radio operators comprise a large percentage of the Skywarn™ volunteers across the country. The Amateur radio operators also provide vital communication between the NWS and emergency management if normal communications become inoperative.

All Skywarn™ spotters provide critical weather information before, during and after adverse weather strikes. This includes reports of rain and snow, ice and wind, storms and tornadoes, flooding and fire. This is our 24 hours to recognize all of the Skywarn™ spotters serving our nation!

All ham radio operation should check out the Skywarn page on Weather.gov and Skywarn member follow the link below to get your location posted to the spotter mapping page.

Skywarn™ Recognition Day 23 Registration Form

Skywarn Spotter Mapping Form

Contact the ISS

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Some ISS crew members make random, unscheduled, amateur radio voice contacts with earth-bound radio amateurs, often called “hams”. They can make radio contacts during their breaks, pre-sleep time and before and after mealtime. Astronauts have contacted thousands of hams around the world. The work schedules of the ISS crew dictate when they are able to operate the radios. The crew’s usual waking period is 0730 – 1930 UTC. The most common times to find a crew member making casual periods are about one hour after waking and before sleeping, when they have personal time. They’re usually free most of the weekend, as well.

The following frequencies are currently used for Amateur Radio ISS contacts:  

  •  Voice and SSTV Downlink: 145.80 (Worldwide)
  • Voice Uplink: 144.49 for ITU Regions 2 and 3
    • (The Americas, and the Pacific and Southern Asia)
  • Voice Uplink: 145.20 for ITU Region 1
    • (Europe, Russia and Africa)
  • VHF Packet Uplink and Downlink: 145.825 (Worldwide)
  • UHF Packet Uplink and Downlink: 437.550
  • VHF/UHF Repeater Uplink: 145.99 (PL 67 Hz)
  • VHF/UHF Repeater Downlink: 437.80

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: https://www.ariss.org/

Steel City Teaches Scout Merit Badge

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In November 2023 our education chairperson Jeffrey Bussard, N3EVN taught a class for the Boy Scouts for the Radio Merit Badge.  Along with Jeff several of our members join him to operate our two Go Kits to get the “Make A Contact” requirement done.  By using our Steel City Repeater and the North Hills ARC repeater, and many operators that were standing by, we were able to help the large group of scouts.

Boy Scout Merit Badge – Nov 18th

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On November 18th the Steel City members will be helping the Boy Scout earn their Radio Merit Badge at Camp Guyasuta.  Steel City ARC will be needing operators to help the scouts make contact so that they can finish their education and earn the Radio Merit badge.if your willing to help please contact Jeff N3EVN at n3evn {at} yahoo {dit} com.

WE ARE IN NEED OF OPERATORS TO GO TO THE CAMP TO HELP THE SCOUTS AND OPERATORS THAT WILL STANBY ON THE REPEATERS AND HF BAND SO THEY CAN MAKE CONTACTS

For Merit Badge Information: Radio Merit Badge PDF

Location of Camp Guyasuta: 300 23rd St Ext, Sharpsburg, PA 15215

ARRL Hails FCC Action to Remove Symbol Rate Restrictions

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ARRL  The National Association for Amateur Radio® reports that earlier today, the FCC Commissioners unanimously voted to amend the Amateur Radio Service rules to replace the baud rate limit on the Amateur HF bands with a 2.8 kHz bandwidth limit to permit greater flexibility in data communications.

“The Federal Communications Commission today adopted new rules to incentivize innovation and experimentation in the amateur radio bands by removing outdated restrictions and providing licensees with the flexibility to use modern digital emissions,” announced FCC.

“Specifically, we remove limitations on the symbol rate (also known as baud rate) — the rate at which the carrier waveform amplitude, frequency, and/or phase is varied to transmit information — applicable to data emissions in certain amateur bands,” concluded the FCC Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, adopted November 13, 2023. “The amateur radio community can play a vital role in emergency response communications, but is often unnecessarily hindered by the baud rate limitations in the rules.”

Read The Full Article Here: https://www.arrl.org/news/

Contact the FCC – Save the 60 Meter Band

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ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® is asking that all radio amateurs urge the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to continue the existing use of the 60-meter band. A public comment period is open until November 28, 2023. ARRL encourages expressions of support to the FCC for the current 100 W ERP power limit (instead of reducing the power limit to 15 W EIRP) and continuing secondary access to the current channels.

To submit a filing of your comments for the FCC’s consideration in the rulemaking process:

Go to the FCC web page for the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking’s (NPRM) Docket Number 23-120 at https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/search/docket-detail/23-120.

If you wish to directly enter your comments, select the button labeled SUBMIT AN EXPRESS FILING.

If you are uploading a document that contains your comments, select SUBMIT A STANDARD FILING.

When submitting your comments, be sure the correct proceeding’s docket number, 23-120, is included on the form. Your name and comments will be entered into the official public record of the proceedings and will be viewable by anyone who visits the docket web page.

READ MORE HERE: https://www.arrl.org/60-meter-band

Veterans Day 2023 Special Events

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Veterans Day 2023 Special Events will offer many opportunities for amateur radio operators to honor Veterans and make contacts for Veterans Day.

 

K1USN will be on the HF bands on SSB, CW, and FT8, and they will begin operating at 1300 UTC and run until 2100 UTC.

American Legion Post 111 Amateur Radio Club, KA4TAL, in South Carolina will also operate on November 11 from 10 AM to 3 PM ET on 14.255, 7.264, 14.275, and 7.185 MHz.

Liberty ship S.S. John W. Brown, K8JWB, will hold National Liberty Ship Day.  Operations will be on 14.250, 7.225, and 21.300 MHz, from 0200Z – 0800Z.

Charles County Amateur Radio Club in Maryland will host their special event, The Ghost Fleet at Mallows Bay, on November 11 from 1400Z – 2100Z.  K3SMD will operate on 40 (7.270 Mhz), 20, and 15 meters on phone and FT8.

United States Marine Corps will celebrate its 248th anniversary and Veterans Day. The USS Midway CV-41 COMEDTRA amateur radio station, NI6IW, will be on the air from 1700Z – 2359Z on 14.320, 7.250, and 14.070 MHz.

N3TAL, Lanham, MD. American Legion Post 275 Radio Team. 7.275Mhz +/- LSB.  Glenarden, MD.

More details here: https://www.arrl.org/news/veterans-day-2023-special-events