Category Archives: Club Happenings

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

 

2023 World Amateur Radio Day

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EDIT: This is also the Steel City Business Meeting Night, can someone volunteer to bring a cake?

WARD is held on April 18 every year and is celebrated by radio amateurs and their national associations which are organized as member-societies of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU). It was on this day in 1925 that the IARU was formed in Paris. American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Co-Founder Hiram Percy Maxim was its first president.

The IARU announced previously that Human Security for All (HS4A) will be this year’s World Amateur Radio Day theme. The day is being celebrated with a 2-week operating event occurring April 11 – 25. Special event stations will be operating from around the world, making two-way radio contacts to call attention to the HS4A campaign. The United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security describes ‘human security’ as “a more powerful, lasting approach to the most difficult deficits in peace and development,” such as poverty, war, and natural disasters.

ARRL encourages all radio amateurs to take to the airwaves for WARD, to enjoy our global friendship with other amateurs, and to show our skills and capabilities to the public.

More information about 2023 World Amateur Radio Day is available at www.arrl.org/world-amateur-radio-day 

Heads Up! – SET DRILL Saturday April 1st

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Attention: Steel City members we have been ask to participate in this drill on Saturday April 1st.  Steel City will be the main station for the National Weather Service. One of our members will be station over at the weather station and will be relaying the weather data to him. This is only an drill this is where we learn how to pass traffic so mistake are to be made now instead when we are really needed.  So it is a great learning experiance for all new hams and old timers.  The event starts at 9 am and ends at 12 noon.

 

 

Upcoming Events

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March 25th – 10 am – 12 Noon — ARES Meeting for Allegheny County open to all members and non-members

April 1st – 9 AM – 12 Noon — SET TEST @ Club house

April 22nd – TBA — Carnegie Library @ Carnegie Open House

May 21st — Komen Race For The Cure — Volunteers are needed

June 3rd – June 18th — Lewis  Clark On The Air – Special Event Station

June 24th – June 25th — FIELD DAY 2023

June 24th — Rachel Carson Trail Challenge – Volunteers are needed

July 15th – July 16th — Vintage Grant Prix – Volunteers are needed

Sept 24th — Pittsburgh Great Race — Volunteers are needed

Sign Up Today & Support These Runners

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WE NEED YOUR HELP

We are getting down to our last several week before the race start.  We can not let an aid station go without radio communications most of the site have no cellular service.  So Ham Radio operators are a must have.  Please follow the link below to see the still open slots.  This has been an enjoyable and fun public service event to work.

Click Here For More Information and to sign up: W3KWH.net/Rabid

HELP US!

Most Recent Runner Counts:
64 — 100 Mile Ultra
37 — 100 Kilometer Ultra
234 — 20 Mile Marathon
112 — Midnight 20 Marathon
5 — Relay Teams
Updated 3/6/23

Ham Radio Demo @ Carnegie

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The Steel City Amateur Radio Club will be hosting an Ham Radio Demo at the Carnegie Library in Carnegie, PA. This will be open to the public to show off what ham radio is all about.   Please get the word out to your neighbors, family, and friends to bring them to the wonderful library in Carnegie.  Steel City will have a display of their Go Boxes and some of our members boxes.  We will have live connection via our remotes so that we can make some contacts while the public looks on.

MAP TO THE LIBRARY
Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall

VE Testing Session – Feb 25th

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VE Testing Session

Steel City Amateur Radio Club will be conducting a VE testing session Public Demo at the Carnegie Library in Carnegie PA.  The testing session will start at 2:00 PM on Feb 25th and is open for new hams and upgrades.  Please check out our VE Testing Page for more information. Also please contact Chris K3PQ at k3pq@w3kwh.com for pre-registration to guarantee a spot for you at the testing location.  Walk in allowed but register people will be tested first.

Carnegie Library
300 Beechwood Avenue
Carnegie, PA 15106-2644
Google Map Link