The GERATOL Net

75 Meter Extra Class WAS Net

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Featured Member – Ken WV1Y G#1674 (SK-RIP Kenny)

Featured GERATOL Member WV1Y – Kenneth Magee

Ken was first licensed in 1975 in Colorado Springs, but he got his start in our great hobby, about ten years prior while stationed in Oregon. Ken was living in Oregon at the time, with his wife Evelyn, when a fellow Air Force buddy, none other than Jack, WM0G stopped by and asked Ken to keep an eye on his ham radio equipment while Jack was traveling. Ken agreed to babysit Jack’s equipment, and the rest is history !!

Jack knew of course, by leaving the radio, along with a long wire for some serious Short Wave Listening, that Ken would be smitten by the Ham Radio Bug !! Sure enough, it worked and by doing that “favor” for Jack, Ken became interested in Ham Radio obtaining his Novice license in 1975 while stationed in Colorado.

Ken – WV1Y “On The Air”

That first encounter with Ham Radio was in 1961, but years later (1992 to be exact) Ken had checked into the GERATOL Net, and a gentleman from Colorado gave him a call and asked if Ken had ever served in the Air Force, and if he had ever been to Klamath Falls. Indeed the answer was YES to both questions, and the inquiring Ham was none other than his old Air Force buddy, Jack, WM0G ! Imagine, after all that time since Jack had sparked Ken’s interest in radio, thirty years later they were having a QSO on the GERATOL Net !! This is truly an amazing hobby, and this is a great story about two old Air Force buddies reconnecting via the GERATOL Net.

After Oregon, Ken had moved on to Colorado, where he studied for and then received his ticket. His fellow Club members served as his Elmer, teaching him the basics and helping Ken achieve his Novice ticket, where he was licensed as WN0TLR. His rig at the time, was a staple for many of us beginners, a HW-101 which he fed into a dipole antenna up a whopping twenty feet in the air !! But it worked !!


Ken’s 1st Rig HW-101

Years later, Ken and his wife Evelyn settled down in “Little Rhody” aka: Rhode Island in 1988 after traveling and serving in the Army, Air Force and then Bendix Engineering. Ken is one of a handful of ops on the GERATOL net, who served in more than one branch of service. His dual service helps those working toward the Veteran’s Salute Award. Over the years, Ken’s eyesight had deteriorated and in 1990 the Handi-Hams group (a great organization) lent a hand by sending Ken a Century 21 CW rig, modified for visually impaired hams. Ken pounded away at CW, getting to 20 wpm proficiency and obtaining his Extra Class ticket ! Ken then upgraded his gear to a Kenwood TS440S, coupled with a G5RV antenna. He got hooked on County Hunting during the day time hours on 20 Meters, and has completed ALL counties, now five times over !! As Ken stated in his bio material he sent me, “What an adventure” What an accomplishment Ken ! Well done.

In addition to his County Hunting prowess, Ken has amassed over 137 Countries for his DXCC. One of his more memorable DX contacts was working both the North Pole and Alaska during Christmas time.

Ken served in the Army from 1948 through 1952, and then in the Air Force from 1955 through 1975. Some of spots he visited while serving included: Republic of Panama, Puerto Rico, Alaska, Iceland, Korea, Vietnam and even Thailand. Ken has not only Worked All States on the GERATOL Net, but he has also visited all 50 states in person, while with Bendix Engineering.
His wife Evelyn of 49 years passed away in 2006. She hailed from Denver, Colorado and was a great support for Ken while he was studying toward his ham license upgrade. She would test and quiz Ken so often, he says that it got to the point where she knew more than he did !! She provided that same support to Ken in his pursuit of Economics, where he eventually graduated with a degree from Roger Williams College.

As we all know, Ken hails from the little state of Rhode Island, which also happens typically to be a “tough one” for many ops to get on 80 Meters, but Ken is there most evenings, putting RI in the log books of so many future GERATOLers, as well as bringing his excellent operating skills and gentlemanly manner to the net. By the way, for those who may not know it, Ken recently achieved obtaining GERATOL # 2669 for his Club Call: AA1KM ! Congrats on that latest achievement Ken and thanks for all you do for our net.

Kevin N1KL

 

posted by Kevin in From the Administrator,GERATOL NET NEWS,Uncategorized and have Comments (4)

New GLIST File on Website

Frosty (W0FP) has updated the GLIST with new G and D #’s. You can download the file off our website by going to the opening page of the website, using the tool bar at the top of the page under “FILES”.

Click on FILES and you will see a drop down menu. From there use: “Additional Aids for GERATOL Net” Click on that and you will see useful files, such as GNEC, WinEqf, GNumber and of course, the latest GLIST from Frosty. It was uploaded on 1/5/19

Regards, and enjoy…..Kevin N1KL

posted by Kevin Lynch in Uncategorized and have Comments Off on New GLIST File on Website

Happy New Year !!

To all GERATOLers, aspiring GERATOLers, SWL’s and anyone else reading this POST on the GERATOL Website, we wish you a healthy, happy and great “hamming” new year in 2019 !!!

Happy New Year
posted by Kevin in From the Administrator,GERATOL NET NEWS,Uncategorized and have Comment (1)

GERATOL Apparel Reminder

Just a reminder, for those looking for a last minute Christmas gift, or to get ready to sport your own GERATOL logo apparel at the upcoming Ham Radio Flea Markets this Spring, the arrangement George put in place with the vendor remains, and the “link” may be found at any time on our web page under the “Files” section of the upper menu, or just click on the link below.

https://www.onctees.com/geratol

What a great way to publicize our Worked All States net at your next Ham Radio Club meeting, Ham Flea Market or any Ham Radio event. When folks approach you and ask you what the heck a GERATOL is, you can explain the net workings, and invite them up.

posted by Kevin in GERATOL NET NEWS,New GERATOL File,Uncategorized and have Comments Off on GERATOL Apparel Reminder

Hamvention® Seeks 2019 Nominees

12/11/2018

Hamvention® is soliciting nominees for its 2019 awards — Amateur of the Year, Technical Achievement, Special Achievement, Club of the Year. Since the inception of the Hamvention awards program in 1955, many radio amateur have been honored for their dedication and selfless contributions to Amateur Radio and to society.

  • The Amateur of the Year Award recognizes a radio amateur who demonstrates a long-term commitment to the advancement of Amateur Radio, a history of contributions to ham radio, and a dedication to service and professionalism. 
  • The Technical Achievement Award honors a radio amateur who has achieved technical excellence in the world of Amateur Radio through inventions, processes, discoveries, experiments, and technical accomplishments, or through other outstanding technical achievement that has contributed to Amateur Radio. 
  • The Special Achievement Award goes to a radio amateur who has made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of the radio art and/or science. This award typically recognizes a radio amateur who has spearheaded a single significant project. 
  • The Club of the Year will be honored for clearly demonstrating its involvement in varied aspects of Amateur Radio for the greater good of their community or the nation.
Hamvention 2019 

Nomination forms for each award are available online and should include the information requested. There are separate forms to nominate individuals and to nominate a club. The individual(s) making the nomination should provide contact information in case questions arise.

Submit nominations via email or via USPS mail to Hamvention Awards Committee, Box 964, Dayton, OH 45401-0964. 

The nomination deadline is February 15. The Awards Committee will announce the award recipient after reviewing the nominations. An honors convocation will be held on the Saturday evening of Hamvention weekend, and presentations to award winners will take place on Sunday afternoon, prior to the door prize awards.Contact the Awards Committee for more information. — Thanks to Mike Kalter, W8CI, and Frank J. Beafore, WS8B

Source: ARRL Ham Radio News 

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50/50 Award Update

The 50/50 Award, which combines the challenge of working all 50 states with contacting 50 hams who have been licensed for 50 years or more, has been successfully completed by several net members.

The award, which maintains the tradition of the GERATOL net, by requiring to Work All States as one if its elements, provides a fun challenge for those who already received their GERATOL number, along with the extra challenge of working operators who have been licensed for 50 years or more.

Quite the challenge indeed, now in it’s second GERATOL Season.  As challenging as the award may be, especially with current band conditions, FIVE GERATOLers have successfully completed the challenge.   In addition to providing fun challenge for our regulars, the award has had some positive side effects on the net including:

  • The chance to reconnect with some of our “Old Timers” who were invited up on frequency
  • Getting introduced to some “new” Old Timers, that is, guys with 50 years of licensing who never checked in previously to GERATOL
  • Finally and perhaps most important, invitees brought to the net by those chasing the award, provided several NEW STATES for the guys working toward their basic award.

For those close to completing the award, we wish you continued success and hope the conditions continue to improve as you finalize your efforts.

For those of you who may not have checked in for a while, and who are looking for a challenge on the net, along with renewing old acquaintances and putting your state in the log for those folks working on the basic, stop by the net some evening, and also take a look at the details surrounding the award on our website.

To those who have successfully completed the award,  CONGRATS !!

50/50 AWARD WINNERS

WV1Y – Ken

WW8X – Joe

N9RY – Don

W0FP – Frosty

KJ8V – Dave

 

 

Regards, Kevin N1KL

 

posted by Kevin in From the Administrator,New GERATOL File,Uncategorized and have Comments Off on 50/50 Award Update

GERATOL on QRZ

We recently posted the new season of the GERATOL Net on several websites, including QRZ under the General Announcements section of the site.Geratol Net LogoWe have had 336 views of the posting so far, and lets hope it brings a few new, and maybe old Customers to the net in the evenings ahead.

We have also had a couple of “replies” to the posting, and I in turn have responded to those replies.

Feel free to go check it out, and put a reply or two on there, to help spur further interest….you can view it on the QRZ website at:

https://forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/geratol-net-resumes-operation.635768/

Frosty, one of the folks who replied says he knows you from his Kansas City days,  Tom, WA4LIH….you may want to reply to his response and say hi.

Thanks, Kevin N1KL

 

posted by Kevin in Uncategorized and have Comments Off on GERATOL on QRZ

Cards for Ken WV1Y

Dave, KJ8V alerted me to the fact our good friend Ken Magee WV1Y has not checked into the net this season.  This is very unlike Kenny, since he is one of our most dedicated net members, and checks in most evenings.

After contacting some folks I found out that Ken has a severely broken leg and is still in rehab,  52 days so far and counting.  It’s going to be a long and arduous process for him.

He could use a little cheering up to say the least, so we would like to encourage you all to take a minute and send a card, (His assistant said he’d love to get greetings via a blank QSL card).

His address is:

Ken Magee WV1Y

17 Deidra Court

Warwick, R.I., 02889

His assistant retrieves his mail daily, and will bring the cards directly to Ken.  Let’s take a minute out of our busy schedules to fire a card, either QSL with a note on it,  or even a get well card to Ken wishing him a healthy recovery.

Ken making a QSO in his shack

Thanks, Kevin N1KL

 

posted by Kevin in From the Administrator,GERATOL NET NEWS,Uncategorized and have Comments (2)

2018-19 NCS Schedule

Hi Everyone,
Here is the schedule for NCS’s for the season.
Sunday W0FP
Monday KE9TC
Tuesday AA4HF
Wednesday WG5N
Thursday AC1DR
Friday KJ8V
Saturday N0HD

AI4IL will pick up Wednesday nights starting 1 Nov.

If anyone is interested in being a NCS please let me know. We could use volunteers to cover nights when the regular guys are unable to cover. Please give it due consideration.
73
Bruce NØHD
Net Control Coordinator

posted by N0HD in Uncategorized and have Comments (2)

New GERATOL Season Approaching !!!

The Summer of 2018 is nearly behind us.

Believe it or not, a new GERATOL Season is rapidly approaching.    As always, we launch the new season, (Version – 2018/2019) on Oct 1, 0100 UTC.

Or, 9:00PM Eastern Time on Sunday, Sept. 30th.

Last season reflected an increase in GERATOL numbers issued from the previous year, which may be a sign conditions are FINALLY improving.   Let’s hope that is the case.

We also had a few of the regulars successfully complete their 50/50 Award, where they were able to work all 50 states, and in addition, were able to contact 50 Operators who had been licensed continuously for 50 years.  Congratulations to all who have completed that challenging award, and good luck to those still in the hunt !!

Let’s kick off the new season with a BANG !   Take a few minutes to check in, say hi, renew old acquaintances and give out some contacts to the new guys looking for those last few states.

N1KL  Kevin

 

posted by Kevin in From the Administrator,GERATOL NET NEWS,Uncategorized and have Comments Off on New GERATOL Season Approaching !!!