Author Archives: N3LRG

Lewis & Clark On The Air

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Join Steel City ARC as we kick off the 2nd year of the National Special Event – Lewis & Clark On The Air!  Steel City ARC will be representing the state of Pennsylvania as one the the 16 states following the Lewis & Clark trail across the nation.  Work all 16 states and you can get some great wall paper to show your accomplishment. Check out the LCOTA website for more information and all the other club that will be assigned to each state.  Also click on “Find an Activator” to find out when SCARC will be operating.

https://lctota.org/
https://lctota.org/hunter/find_an_activator – Find out when we are on

See us at the Breezeshooters Hamfest Sunday June 4th and make sure you check in on two meters while your at the hamfest.  You will find SCARC on 2m at 146.550 Mhz simplex We will also be operating on the HF band while at the hamfest.  Stop by our table to check out the operation.

SCARC Roadtrip – Greenbank Observatory

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Tour Guide:
Richard F. Bradley, Ph.D. — W4DZC
—Former Steel City ARC Member
—Scientist / Senior Research Engineer (NRAO)
—Research Professor of Astronomy (U. Virginia)
—Visiting Assistant Professor of EE (U. Virginia)
—Radio Science: Associate Editor

The Steel City behind the scenes tour of the Greenbank Observatory is on for September 8 & 9th.  This will be an overnight trip to the telescope which we will be leaving early Friday morning to get down to the telescope as early as possible.  After the tour we will be staying overnight at the telescope bunkhouse. Getting up early the next morning to head over to the CASS Railroad to take the train to the top of the mountain.  The are is a POTA & SOTA site so you might want to bring along your portable gear.

Rich has a great job of talking with the people at the telescope and have waived the $25 fee for the tour and to get it moved to a Firday when people can ask for the day off.  There will be a charge of $10 to spend the night at the bunk house.  Current the charge for the train trip will be around $79 but we will try to get a discount once we have a proper head count.  This tour will be limited to 20 people at the max so sign up early to reserve your spot.  It will be also required to fill out a :”Visitor Registration Form” {a basic background check} to go on this behind the scene tour.

More information will be provided at our June Business Meeting

Information on the Green Bank Telescope
Information about the behind the scene tour
Click Here For CASS Scenic Bald Knob Tour

Breeze Shooter Hamfest

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HAMFEST IS BACK!
Sunday – June 4th @ 8AM
Back at the original Butler Farm Grounds

This is starting to look like the event of the summer.  Many clubs are going to the hamfest to show off their clubs.  Steel City is also planning to do this too… The difference we are going to be showing our fellow operators that Steel City is an active club.  Members should plan to stop by our tables and rest your feet and grab a mic to make some contacts for the Lewis & Clark Special Event.  We will be on the HF band and also on the VHF bands.  Attendees will be able to contact our table on 2m to get a official Lewis and Clark contact.  Also Steel City is planning to have a big  informational setup at the show.  We are getting three tables at the hamfest with plans to use them this way

  • Table 1 – Information for the club
  • Table 2 – Special Event station for the Lewis & Clark remote operation
  • Table 3 – Steel City selling table – Sell off your junk

Steel City VE team members will be doing the VE testing session at the Hamfest.  For more information on the VE testing please contact Chris K3PQ.  VE testing will start at 8:30 AM in the Arts & Craft build next to the big exhibit halls.  See the map below for directions.

Directions to the Butler Farm Show Grounds

Click Map For Full Size Image

  • Educational Forums – 8:30, 9:30, 10:30, 11:30
    • POTA (Portable, Parks on the Air, SOTA) https://parksontheair.com
    • Introduction to Digital Modes FT8, FT4, Computer Interfacing Plus Advanced
    • Digital
    • Important Roles for Hams with Severe Weather Forecasting (NWS)
    • EMCOMM Operations including Live Demo of WEARS Mobile Unit
    • QSL Cards via ARRL, DXCC Card Checking on site
    • Construction and Operation of an Earth-Moon-Earth Station in Western PA
    • Introduction to Kit Building in Amateur Radio
  • Vendors & Sponsors include:
    • Alpha Antennas https://alphaantenna.com
    • Bioenno Power https://www.bioennopower.com/
    • DX Engineering https://www.dxengineering.com
    • Hammond Mfg https://www.hammfg.com
    • ICOM America https://icomamerica.com/en/amateur
    • KB3IFH QSL Cards http://kb3ifh.homestead.com/
    • KJI Electronics http://kjielectronics.com
    • Mastrant Antenna https://www.mastrant.com/
    • MPD Digital https://mpddigital.us/
    • MFJ Enterprises https://mfjenterprises.com
    • NatCom Group https://cometantenna.com
    • N3ZN Keys https://www.n3znkeys.com/
    • Pacific Antenna http://www.qrpkits.com/index.html
    • PiShop https://www.pishop.us
    • Power Film Solar https://www.powerfilmsolar.com/
    • Quick Silver Radio https://qsradio.com/index.html
    • Satellite Headquarters
    • Tigertronics http://www.tigertronics.com

 

National Hurricane Center Amateur Radio Station Annual Test

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From The ARRL News Website

The amateur radio station of the National Hurricane Center, WX4NHC (NHC), located on the campus of Florida International University in Miami, will conduct their on-the-air Annual Communications Test on Saturday, May 27, 2023, from 9 AM – 5 PM EDT (1300z- 2100z).

This is the NHC’s 43rd year of public service. NHC Amateur Radio Assistant Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R/WX4NHC, reports that the purpose of this event is to test amateur radio equipment and antennas at the NHC as well as operators’ home equipment, antennas, and computers prior to this year’s hurricane season. The 2023 hurricane season begins June 1 and runs through November 30.

This event is good practice for amateur radio operators worldwide to practice amateur radio communications during times of severe weather.

Ripoll said WX4NHC will be on HF, VHF, UHF, 2- and 30-meter APRS, and Winlink, To contact the NHC’s amateur radio station send an email to wx4nhc@winlink.org. The subject of the email must contain //WL2K.

WX4NHC will try to stay on the Hurricane Watch Net frequency, 14.325 MHz, for most of the time, as well as 7.268 MHz depending on propagation. They may also change frequencies due to potential QRM.

You may be able to find WX4NHC on HF by using one of the DX spotting networks, such as the DX Summit website at http://www.dxsummit.fi.

The VoIP Hurricane Net will also be active from 4 PM – 5 PM EDT (2000-2100z), RLP node 9219/EchoLink WX-TALK Conference node 7203. Visit their website for more information.

WX4NHC will also make a few contacts on local VHF and UHF repeaters, as well as the Florida Statewide Amateur Radio Network (SARnet) system to test station equipment.

QSL cards are available via WD4R with a self-addressed stamped envelope. More information about the NHC is available at their website.

ARMED FORCES DAY CROSSBAND TEST 2023

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The Department of Defense will host this year’s Armed Forces Day (AFD) Cross-Band Test, scheduled for May 13th 2023. This annual event is open to all licensed amateur radio operators, and will not impact any public or private communications. For more than 50 years, military and amateur stations have taken part in this event, which is only an exercise scenario, designed to include hobbyist and government radio operators alike.

The AFD Cross-Band Test is a unique opportunity to test two-way communications between military communicators and radio stations in the Amateur Radio Service (ARS), as authorized in 47 CFR 97.111. These tests provide opportunities and challenges for radio operators to demonstrate individual technical skills in a tightly-controlled exercise scenario that does not impact any public or private communications.

Military stations will transmit on selected military frequencies and will announce the specific ARS frequencies monitored. All times are ZULU (Z), and all frequencies are Upper Side Band (USB) unless otherwise noted. The frequencies used for the test will not impact any public or private communications, and will not stray outside the confines of the exercise.

The following stations will be making two way radiotelephone contacts with stations in the ARS between the time periods listed on the frequencies listed in Kilohertz below.

For more information:
https://www.arrl.org/news/annual-armed-forces-day-crossband-test-1

ACTION NEEDED TO PROTECT OUR BANDS

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ARRL Advocates for Radio Amateurs as FCC Proposes Changes to 60-Meter Band

04/28/2023The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is seeking comments about changing the secondary allocation available to radio amateurs on 60 meters. The FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on April 21, 2023, that deals with the band. In a prior petition, ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® urged protecting the existing use of the band by amateurs when adding a new allocation adopted internationally.

Currently, radio amateurs in the US have access to five discrete channels on a secondary basis: 5332 kHz, 5348 kHz, 5358.5 kHz, 5373 kHz, and 5405 kHz. Users of these channels are limited to an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100 W PEP.

The FCC proposes to allocate 15 kHz of contiguous bandwidth between 5351.5 – 5366.5 kHz on a secondary basis with a maximum power of 15 W EIRP (equivalent to 9.15 W ERP). This allocation was adopted at the 2015 World Radio Communication Conference (WRC-15).

READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON THE ARRL WEBSITE:
http://arrl.org/news/

HAMS for PanCAN

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NOTE! – Support our sister club special event station this weekend

Company LogoApr 29-May 1, 1400Z-2000Z, N3P
3.960 MHz  &  7.172.MHz
Certificate & QSL.

Skyview Radio Society – N3P, 2335 Turkey Ridge Rd., Upper Burrell, PA 15068. Multiple N#P Stations across the country will be located in each of the ten ARRL sections – All stations will be on SSB. This nationwide Special Event’s aim is raising awareness of pancreatic cancer research and support by the PanCAN (Pancreatic Cancer Network) during its national Purple Stride event. Each station will highlight any ham operator, or friends and family members who are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer located in that Section. Also, we’ll provide access to how PanCAN helps patients with support and funding of research projects. Event Bonus stations will be located at Purple Stride locations and will offer special QSL cards. Each N#P station web page on the ARRL Special Event tab will provide QSL submission information. A Clean Sweep Certificate will be awarded for contacting all section stations.

QSL card requests need SASE. For Clean Sweep certificate, include $1 please. . rybar1949@gmail.com

Rockall Dxepedition – June 2023

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Rockall - geograph.org.uk - 1048791.jpgIn June 2023 a team will land on Rockall Island, more than 200 nautical miles from the West Coast of Scotland and the nearest civilization. Their intention is to break the current world record for time spent on Rockall, and to raise as much for The Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity and ABF The Soldiers’ Charity as possible.

57°35’28.79″ N 13°41’11.39″ W

Rockall is an uninhabitable granite islet situated in the North Atlantic Ocean. The nearest permanently inhabited place is North Uist, an island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, 200NM to the east.

The UK claimed Rockall on 18 September 1955 when “Two Royal Marines and a civilian naturalist, led by Royal Navy officer Lieutenant Commander Desmond Scott, raised a Union flag on the islet and cemented a plaque into the rock”.

Rockall stands at 233 feet above sea level at it’s tallest point, covering an area of just 8438 square feet.

WEBSITE: https://www.rockallexped.com/#theexpedition
WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockall