Merry Christmas !

First and foremost, may we wish all GERATOLers a very Merry Christmas, and hope that all may engage in some measure of Christmas spirit with family and friends, in this challenging year of 2020.

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS FROM OUR BOARD MEMBERS:

From our Chairman, Frosty – W0FP: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Stay Safe, Wear a Mask and stay 6 feet away from Others

From our Secretary, Frank – AA0ZP: To all GERATOLers, Wishing all of you a big batch of Propagation and a bag full of new contacts.  AA0ZP – Secretary Frank Taylor

From our Treasurer and Awards Manager, Sandy – KJ8W & Dave – KJ8V:
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from Sandy and Dave !

A Ham Radio Christmas Poem:

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the shack
The rig was turned off and the mic cord lay slack

The antenna rotor had made its last turn, the tubes in the linear
had long ceased to burn.

I sat there relaxing and took off my specs, preparing to daydream of
Armchair DX– When suddenly outside I heard such a sound, I dashed
out the door and looked all around.

The moon shone down brightly and lighted the night. For sure
propagation for the low bands was right.

I peered toward the roof where I heard all the racket and there was
some guy in a red, fur-trimmed jacket!

I stood there perplexed in a manner quite giddy: Just who WAS this
stranger? di di dah dah di dit ditty ?

He looked very much like an FCC guy who’d come to check up on some
bad TVI.

I shouted to him: “Old man…QR-Zed?”
“Hey you by the chimney all dressed up in red!”

I suddenly knew when I heard sleigh bells jingle
The guy on the rooftop was Jolly Kris Kringle

He had a big sack full of amateur gear; which was a BID load
for his prancing reindeer.
Transmitters, receivers, for cabinets and racks
Some meters and scopes and a lot of coax.

He said not a word ’cause he’d finished his work.
He picked up his sack and he turned with a jerk.
As he leaped to his sleigh, he shouted with glee
And I knew in a moment he’d be QRT.

I heard him transmit as he flew o’er the tree
“Merry Christmas to all, and to all seventy-three.”

“Ho Ho Ho” Reporting for Amateur Radio Newsline, I’m Jim Damron, N8TMW.

Author: Unknown; Source; Amateur Radio Newsline

From the Website Administrator and Webmaster:

On behalf of Al, AE2T and myself, N1KL, we wish everyone a Merry Christmas and thank you to all who have registered on the GERATOL Website this past year. Welcome aboard, and to those who have been loyal members, thank you very much !! Kevin, N1KL

UPDATES FROM KJ8V- Dave:

Health and Welfare Updates from Dave: I talked with Kenny KE9TC and Harv AA4HF today. Kenny sounded a lot better and he is making progress and taking one day at a time. But he really did sound better. I also talked with Harv and he is much better. He sounded great and was no longer bed ridden. He said that flat smooth surfaces to walk on were great but steps were still a challenge. Anyway, it sounds as if both are on the road to recovery. Both also said to tell everyone hello and to have a good Christmas and New Year coming up.

Problems with the Postal Service: Effective immediately I will process awards as usual, however, I will not start mailing certificates until January 8th, 2021. I will notify you of your awards and the numbers of the awards. I will need a valid email address with your submission for notification purposes. This problem all started back on October 16 2020. I mailed a certificate to a location in Pennsylvania on that date and it still has not been delivered. I mailed a replacement certificate for that one after two weeks and it took 33 days to be delivered and then only after getting some help from a Lady in Washington from the Postal service. Since then I have mailed several certificates etc. and they have taken a long time to get delivered. Don’t worry, you will get your certificates after January 8th

If you have any questions please send me an emailed so I can reply. Sorry for any inconvenience this causes. Thanks, Dave – KJ8V

WELCOME ABOARD !!

Let’s welcome aboard, our latest GERATOL Website registrant.

• AI8O – Dan; He hails from the great state of North Carolina. He’s is working on his basic, and he is also working toward his DXCC. Let’s get some new states, and some new Canadian Provinces up on the net for Dan to work ! Welcome aboard Dan, and thanks for taking the time to register on our GERATOL website.

Let’s be on the lookout for some new operators, interested in checking out the GERATOL Net.

• Be on the lookout for Bill, AB5G who hails from the state of Louisiana. Bill is very active in the area of Emergency Communications, and may join us some evening this season. Let’s make sure we give Bill the usual hearty, GERATOL Net welcome when he does check into the net.

GERATOL NET ACTIVITY

Conditions, as well as activity on the net are improving. Of course, the two typically go hand in hand. Monday, December 14th, Dale was quite busy with nearly 20 check-ins, representing 14 different states. This of course, is truly helpful to the guys working toward their basic award.

Speaking of conditions, here is an excerpt of some of the upcoming sun spot activity and the move off cycle 24 over to cycle 25, and hence possible improved conditions in the months ahead:

Sunspot Index and Long-Term Solar Observations (SILSO) in Belgium said this month that the minimum between Solar Cycles 24 and 25 “most probably” took place last December. SILSO, a part of the Royal Observatory of Belgium and formerly known as SIDC, cited as evidence the January 2020 increase in the 13-month smoothed sunspot number — the first upswing since the Cycle 24 maximum in April 2014.

“[F]or now, this latest smoothed value in January 2020 is the very first point indicating a rise of the activity. So, the date of the minimum still needs a full confirmation over the coming months,” SILSO said on its website. “For now, preliminary smoothed values, limited to less than 13 months, hint at increasing values over coming months. If the rising trend indeed continues, this [December 2019] date will become fully definitive.”

Greetings fellow GERATOLers, and hope all are doing well.

We have a few GERATOL specific news items, and one generic Ham Radio related item of information for all.

GERATOL NEWS:

We would like to welcome to our GERATOL Website, our latest subscriber, Scott – KC8AOR. Scott will bring up the state of Michigan when he checks into the net. Scott earned his Extra Class license in November. Congrats Scott ! He also likes to pay forward what benefited him so much in his Ham career, by teaching and mentoring new Hams. We welcome you to our website, and more importantly, to our net on 3.668 Mhz. Thanks for taking the time to register on our website.

We would like to pass along our CONGRATULATIONS to the following GERATOLers…

• Carl – W9OO
  • Carl completed the NET 500 Award. He swapped “G” numbers with 500 other GERATOLers !
  • Carl completed the Net 50/50 Award, receiving 50/50 Award #10 As the low number of 50/50 Awards would suggest (His is #10) it is a tough award to complete, working all 50 States, and in addition working 50 other stations, where the operators were licensed 50 years or more !! Well done on both Awards Carl.
• Steve – AC9GK
  • Steve successfully completed the Board Award, 200, 300 and 400 by working 400 GERATOLers with “G” numbers !! Congrats Steve.
• Dale – WG5N
  • Dale successfully completed the Net 500 Award, by swapping GERATOL #’s with 500 other GERATOLers. Congrats Dale.

Let’s pass along our congrats to all of the guys who completed these latest awards !! Well done gents !

HAM RADIO NEWS:

Amateur radio licensees and candidates will have to provide the FCC with an email address on applications, effective sometime in mid-2021. If no email address is included, the FCC may dismiss the application as defective.

The FCC is fully transitioning to electronic correspondence and will no longer print or provide wireless licensees with hard-copy authorizations or registrations by mail.

A Report and Order (R&O) on “Completing the Transition to Electronic Filing, Licenses and Authorizations, and Correspondence in the Wireless Radio Services” in WT Docket 19-212 was adopted on September 16. The new rules will go into effect 6 months after publication in the Federal Register, which hasn’t happened yet, but the FCC is already strongly encouraging applicants to provide an email address. When an email address is provided, licensees will receive an official electronic copy of their licenses when the application is granted.

Under Section 97.21 of the new rules, a person holding a valid amateur station license “must apply to the FCC for a modification of the license grant as necessary to show the correct mailing and email address, licensee name, club name, license trustee name, or license custodian name.” For a club or military recreation station license, the application must be presented in document form to a club station call sign administrator who must submit the information to the FCC in an electronic batch file.

Under new Section 97.23, each license will have to show the grantee’s correct name, mailing address, and email address. “The email address must be an address where the grantee can receive electronic correspondence,” the amended rule will state. “Revocation of the station license or suspension of the operator license may result when correspondence from the FCC is returned as undeliverable because the grantee failed to provide the correct email address.” 

Source: ARRL News

Regards, Kevin N1KL

Happy Thanksgiving to all our GERATOL members, and a special “Thanks” during this Thanksgiving weekend to our Net Control Operators. Keep up the great work guys. I happened to check into the net the other evening while Dale was running the net, and he was a busy guy, with over 20 check-ins and 17 states represented.

WELCOME ABOARD !!

Welcome to our latest GERATOL Website subscribers:
K8JH – Jim who hails from Michigan. Jim has a “G” number, a “D” number, a QCWA number, and his call is an initial call. Welcome back to the net Jim, and glad you registered on our website. Jim checked into the net this past week, and many guys worked him, and welcomed him back to the net.
KW8I – Jim who will bring up the fairly rare state of West Virginia to the net. In addition, Jim sports a 2×1 “K” call, for those looking to complete Endorsement # 12.

Thanks for taking the time to register on the GERATOL Website guys, and should you have any questions about the site, or the net, feel free to fire me off a note, and I will try to answer.

HAM HUMOR:

We will leave you with this parting tidbit of ham related humor, and hope to hear you all on the net !!

73, Kevin N1KL Website Administrator

Happy to report that there were no Geratoler Silent Keys reported in the November QST. HAPPY THANKSGIVING to ALL GERATOLERS. Dave KJ8V

Welcome Aboard:

Let’s welcome aboard to our GERATOL Website, the latest new subscriber, Robert – K6UJ. Robert hails from the state of CA, and as we all know, having a 1×2 “K” Call from CA helps those looking to complete Endorsement # 1 and in addition, Robert’s call qualifies for those looking to complete the Basic award and are in need of CA. Robert, thanks for taking the time to register on our website. If you have any questions about the site, or about the net, feel free to send me a note and I will attempt to assist. In the mean time, as conditions are improving, we hope to hear you on the net some evening, at 0100Z on 3.668 Mhz.

Tips for completing Endorsements:

Many of the regulars on the net enjoy working toward completing some of our fun and challenging Endorsements, while simultaneously putting their respective state on frequency for those working toward their basic. For those not yet using GNEC, it’s a great tool for tracking progress on your Endorsements. (See example screen shot below of GNEC)

As the rules for Endorsements point out, contacts for their completion must be made in the Extra Class portion of the 80M phone Ham band. This may done outside of regular net times. There have been several occasions where I’ve simply tuned up on the net frequency during our off periods, or earlier in the day, put out a CQ and have made contact with some old GERATOL’ers or stations with prefixes or suffixes, etc. I needed.

Another good idea, is to take advantage of various contests throughout the year. My strategy is to jot down several of the Endorsement requirements I need, such as State Abbreviations (Endorsement # 5, or double letter suffixes (Endorsement #6) prior to a contest. As the contest is raging, I cherry pick those calls I may need, to help fill in some Endorsement requirements. Of course, those QSO’s need to be within that Extra Class portion of the 80M Phone band, or 3.600-3.700 Mhz.

For example, as the GNEC update for what I need on Endorsement #2 below reflects, I need two more states with “N” 1×2 call signs, Idaho and Oregon. If I happen to hear these in the Extra Class portion of the band during a contest, I would try to work them to help me complete the Endorsement.

If any of you have other “Tips” or “Suggestions” to help fill in some of the Endorsement or Award blanks, feel free to leave a “Comment” on this post.

Above all, have fun on the net, and remember, our life blood for the net is encouraging those new folks who stop by the net, and to invite folks on the net to join the fun. As always, a BIG THANK YOU to our dedicated Net Control Stations who keep the net alive each season !!

Kevin N1KL Website Admin

Back in October Don and his wife Delores both came down with Covid 19. Both were treated and were doing good. However, Don’s wife Delores became ill again and was rushed to the hospital. After a short stay Delores passed away. This a real tragedy for Don and his family. I am sure that Don would appreciate a card from you to let him know we are all thinking of him during this difficult time. God Bless you Don and your family in this trying time. The Geratol Net Family.

Congratulations Dale on completing the Net 500 Award. A job well done and a very neat log entry.

Dave KJ8V Awards Manager

Congratulations Carl on completing the Net 50/50 Award #10. Thanks for the neat log submission. It makes it a lot easier on an old guy like me. Again Congrats.

Very Best 73

Dave KJ8V Awards Manager

As part of their weekly Amateur Radio News bulletin, the Amateur Radio Newsline announces the start of our latest 2020/2021 GERATOL Net season.

Take a listen to the attached by clicking on the link below. Then click on the opening link on the site that references REPORT 2244 for Friday October 30th 2020

The GERATOL net is referenced after the “stealth” antenna story.

https://www.arnewsline.org/news/2020/10/29/amateur-radio-newsline-report-2244-for-friday-october-30th-2020

The ARN is a great resource, especially for those hams who may be vision impaired. It’s a great way to get the latest news surrounding our hobby, from a world wide perspective.

I typically access the ARN broadcasts via EchoLink over my cell phone, and listen via the Bluetooth in my truck while driving. “Hands free” of course !!

You can also check out the ARN website for scripted versions of their regular news broadcasts as well, at: https://www.arnewsline.org/

Our thanks to the Amateur Radio Newsline gang, for helping to put the word out regarding the new GERATOL season !!

Sources: Amateur Radio Newsline; EchoLink

Regards, Kevin N1KL GERATOL Website Admin