Well winter has set in here in Northern Michigan and I have time to get back to work on awards information. Some years ago, all of the Geratol Net records for awards issued were thrown out by a disgruntled Awards Manager and I have been working on putting them back together for several years now as time permits. I have all the Geratol and Directors numbers put back together from old records I and some others had. Now I need to get the dates issued for both Geratol and Directors awards. I have worked on this and have resurrected a lot of dates with much help from those award holders. But I am starting this task again on yet more dates.

It may not seem important to some, however, there are members that for many reasons have lost their certificates and they ask for replacement certificates. There is a date issued on certificates and if have those dates it makes the task easier. With that being said I need dates of issue for Geratol and Director awards issued from Geratol Number 1676 through 1900 this time around. Any and all information you can provide will be extremely helpful. Thanks in advance for any and all help in this matter. Please email numbers and dates issued to kj8v@charter.net

Dave KJ8V Awards Manager

Here is the latest GLIST file from Frosty….enjoy

Hara Arena, the former venue for Dayton Hamvention® and myriad sports, entertainment, and other presentations over the years, will soon be history. In the wake of a failed attempt to revitalize the tornado-damaged complex, officials in the city of Trotwood, Ohio — where Hara Arena is actually located — announced plans last week to raze the complex and rezone the property from commercial recreation to light industrial.

Many GERATOL Net regulars visited the Hara Arena site of the Hamvention over the years, making sure to take time out from gazing at the new products and forums, to have dinner and an eyeball QSO with follow GERATOLers.

“The complex suffered extensive damage during the 2019 Memorial Day tornado outbreak,” the city said in a news release on September 25, taking note of hopes to salvage the complex. “However, redeveloping the property would be a challenge due to the extent of the damage, so the decision was made, and a contract has been secured to demolish the legendary venue.”

Hara Arena had served as the venue for Dayton Hamvention from 1964 until 2016. Hamvention announced in July 2016 that Hara Arena would be closing and that Hamvention would continue. The show is now held at the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center.

Myself and N9SC ventured to the new Hamvention site at the Greene County Fairgrounds. The site was certainly adequate, and the Hamvention team did a nice job working out the “bugs” as they launched their first season at that venue in 2017. While the parking was a bit tricky in the muddy fields, the shuttles taking folks to and from the main venue site worked well on day two.

Over its six-decade history, Hara Arena hosted concerts by performers that included the Rolling Stones and the Grateful Dead; it was also where hockey legend Wayne Gretzky played his first professional hockey game.

If anyone has any pictures from their previous eyeball QSO’s with follow GERATOLers from the Hara Arena site, feel free to send them to me, and I will post them on the GERATOL Website.

Kevin N1KL

Source: QRZ NOW.COM

The GERATOL net is looking for someone to volunteer as our Net Control Coordinator. At this writing, Bruce, N0HD has decided to retire from the position.

Please take a moment to reply to this post or fire off an email and thank Bruce for his efforts over the last few years, as our NCC. Without volunteers like Bruce, and of course, all of our amazing Net Control Stations, we would have no net at all.

For the time being, Dave, KJ8V has agreed to volunteer as the “ACTING” NCC, until someone volunteers to assume that role.

If you are interested in helping insure the GERATOL Net tradition continues, and would like to volunteer for the position of NCC, please contact either Dave, KJ8V or Frosty, W0FP.

Dave, KJ8V can be reached via e-mail:
Dave Ertel, KJ8V #523/2595
kj8v@charter.net

Frosty, W0FP can be reached via e-mail:
Frosty Phillips WØFP #2026
frostyw0fp@gmail.com

Greetings fellow GERATOLers. We hope you are all well, and enjoying the summer as best you can, given the current environment.

We have a few items of interest for our net members:

First, we would like to welcome a new registration member to our website: Bill – W6ST, who hails from AZ. Bill has been a licensed ham operator for 50 years, so we hope he can join us on the air this fall. Especially for those of you looking to complete your 50/50 Award. Bill, that award is available for everyone on the net to work toward, and the requirements include working all 50 states, and also to work 50 operators, like yourself, who have been licensed for 50 years or more, hence the 50/50 aspect. Some of the guys have finished that challenging award, but I am sure there are several more who are looking to wrap it up in the coming GERATOL 2020/2021 Season. At any rate, welcome aboard, and we hope to hear you on this fall.

Second, our Awards Manager Dave, KJ8V has posted some sad news on the website, listing a few of our fellow GERATOLers as Silent Keys: Dave writes: “K3TX Dave PA #990, WU6I Dave CA #1078 call reissued and Fred N9TA IN # 2031. RIP Guys you will be missed – Dave, KJ8V“

Third, it won’t be very long, and before you know it, October 1st will be upon us, and the net will once again be in session. So if you have any antenna work remaining (As do I) let’s take advantage of the warm weather to make those changes/improvements, or in my case full replacements done before the net starts off. Thanks to fellow GERATOLer – Steve, N9SC G#2370, for kicking me in the butt, and getting me to purchase a new antenna as well as using his “Pressurized Launcher” to get the antenna rope up and over a huge pine tree !!

Finally, I’ve been speaking to our Awards Manager Dave, KJ8V about a new award for the coming season to whet the appetite of old and new net attendees, and he confirmed with me last time we spoke, that he and Sandy, KJ8W are brewing up a good one. I won’t let the cat out of the bag, but rest assured it should be fun, and if only one net member works toward this new award, it will reflect more activity than last year’s “dud” known as “The GERATOL INVITATIONAL AWARD” Hey, you can’t say I didn’t try….win some and lose some. At least everyone seemed to enjoy the 50/50 Award chase !!!

All the best, and take a minute to place a “Comment” on this POST, to welcome Bill aboard, or to make any comments about this POST.

Regards, Kevin N1KL Website Administrator

As a Worked All States net, we are continuing to share several fun facts about those “states” we are attempting to work, as we strive toward completion of the Unbelievable Operating Achievement Award, or any of the other awards and/or endorsements.

This week, we focus on the “Old Line State”. Maryland was the 7 th state in the USA; it became a state on April 28,1788.

The state motto is Fatti maschii, parole femine, which is Italian for “Manly deeds, womanly words”. Maryland is the only state with a motto in Italian.

The state bird is the Baltimore Oriole. The state flower is the Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta). The state reptile is the diamondback terrapin. The state crustacean is the blue crab.

Maryland has many places important to the American Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the American Civil War. One of these places is Fort McHenry, which defended against the British Empire during the War of 1812. Another place is the Antietam National Battlefield, where the Battle of Antietam took place in 1862 during the American Civil War.

Founded by English Catholic settlers who wanted a place where they could freely practice Catholicism, Maryland was the seventh state to join the US. Maryland is known as the “Old Line State,” named after the Maryland Line, a regiment that fought in the American Revolution. Maryland surrounds most of the Chesapeake Bay, and the state is known for its Crabs and Crab Cakes.

Maryland is sometimes called “America in Miniature”. It has a wide topography that ranges from gently rolling hills to pine groves, to sandy dunes, and marshlands near the Chesapeake Bay. Maryland is home to lakes, rivers, and the Atlantic ocean. 400 types of birds, 90 species of mammals, 93 species of reptiles and amphibians, and hundreds of freshwater and marine fish inhabit the borders of Maryland.

Have fun tracking down MD during the upcoming season, and should you work someone from that state, you are now armed with some fun facts about the Old Line State.

Kevin N1KL

Let’s extend a hearty “WELCOME” to our latest GERATOL Net Website Subscribers:

Jim – N8JG Jim hails from Michigan, and will be in demand for his “Initial Call” sign on the net.

Chuck – AA0RI Chuck represents the great state of Arizona, and is an avid CW operator !!

Larry – WA2CNV Larry brings New York on to the net, and with that 2×3 call sign, will help those working on Endorsement # 17 !!

Welcome aboard guys, we hope you can join us this Fall on 3.668 at 0100Z starting October 1st Zulu time !!

Regards, Kevin N1KL Website Administrator

Tools for tracking progress toward BASIC Award, as well as forms to submit your application

A reminder to those chasing the BASIC AWARD, or the Unbelievable Operating Achievement Award, as well as all the GERATOL Endorsements, there are several tools available on the website for tracking your state totals and endorsements, as well as blank copies of the Award Application form.

One of the tools available is the Excel spreadsheet, which allows you to enter a state as you work it, by putting in the word “YES” in the Worked Column, along with the station call sign worked, in the “CALL” section. The spreadsheet then automatically calculates your totals. This can serve as a “quick check” for those working on their basic. Below is an example of the spreadsheet, before any contacts are entered:

Once you begin making contacts, simply put a YES in the state worked, along with the call sign of the station you worked: See below example:

By putting the word YES in worked column, and adding the station worked, the spreadsheet will automatically calculate the number of states you worked, and how many you still need to work. As the example shows, two states were worked and op needs 48 more.

Of course, once you have worked, logged and obtained QSL cards toward your basic, you must submit the application form and proof of QSL to our awards manager, Dave – KJ8V. Below is an example of the form:

Tools for tracking your GERATOL Endorsements

(Just a reminder, to use GNEC, you MUST first download WinEQF logging software, and log your GERATOL QSO’s with WinEQF.)

As a reminder to those returning to the net, and the GERATOL Website, but especially for new folks joining the net, the GERATOL website was not designed to track your individual endorsements and awards.   The site does however, provide links to files in the menu bar, which allow you to download and begin using for your individual tracking purposes. 

For example, using GNEC with the logging files from WinEqf affords a very useful tool for tracking the progress of your individual endorsements.  Below is a typical screen shot of how progress is tracked using Frosty’s GNEC program in conjunction with WinEqf for endorsement status. 

The green color button denotes you are greater than three requirements from being completed.  Yellow only two requirements short and the orange color reflects you only need one more requirement to complete the award and maroon reflects completion.   Here are some examples of the various buttons:

GREEN BUTTON Example: Endorsement #24 requires one to work all 50 with “K” 2×2 Call signs. In this case the op has 14 left to work

YELLOW BUTTON example: Endorsement #2 requires one to work all fifty states with “N” 1×2 Call signs. In this example, the op needs two more to complete the endorsement. (See below example)

ORANGE BUTTON example:  Endorsement #15, you must work all fifty states with “W” 2×1 calls.

In this example, the op needs only to work the state of HI with a “W” 2×1 call.

Another neat feature of GNEC, is the ability for you to print your progress reports for each of the endorsements you are tracking.  As the example above points out, simply hit the PRINT button, after running your status check, and voila.  A nice printed summary of where you stand, which states you need. 

Yet another great tool made available by W0FP, is the GLIST program.   As with GNEC, the GLIST is available on our website, by simply downloading the latest version.   There are detailed instructions on the site, where the files are located, on how to set these tools up. 

As you can see it reflects the GERATOL number, call sign, name, D #, along with other pertinent information endorsement seekers may be looking to obtain.  You not only can sort it by GERATOL number, but by “D” number, Call sign, etc.   See below example:   

Just a reminder, the use of GNEC begins with downloading and using the logging software, WinEqf.   That software is also available on the website for you to download and begin using.  The key is to get your logging software as up to date as possible.  This will insure maximizing the uses of GNEC and GLIST

To do this, if you have not been using WinEqf to log your GERATOL contacts, you may need to import those from whatever logging software you are currently using, or input them manually into WinEqf.  Either way, it’s well worth the effort, for tracking progress against your GERATOL endorsements.

All the files in question, WinEqf, GNEC and GLIST, Basic Tracking Spreadsheet, may be found on our website by opening the website, looking at the main menu bar at the top of the site, and clicking on where it says “Files”   See below:

Once you have clicked on the “FILES” section, shown above. The dropdown menu then shown will list three items, including:  Additional Aids and Forms for the GERATOL Net

Click on Additional Aids and Forms for the GERATOL Net and you will see the following shown below:

Begin by downloading the Win-EQF software.  Set up the software as directed, and begin logging your GERATOL QSO’s.   You can then download GNEC, following the instructions put out by Frosty, W0FP and begin updating GNEC, once you have contacts logged into WinEQF.

Below is a typical WinEqf log page, once properly set up and in use:

Also, remember you need to “marry” your WinEqf logging software to GNEC.  Simply follow the instructions set out by Frosty, W0FP when attempting to do this. Those are found under the instructions, when you download GNEC

Regarding other awards, such as Vet Salute, Director’s Award, 50/50, etc.  There are instructions on the site under the AWARD portion of the menu bar, for how to track and submit your QSO’s for those awards.   Have fun, and good hunting.   Kevin – N1KL

I am sorry to report that George Tomlinson AA4GT G#2533 D#633 became a silent key from complications due to COVID-19 on April 9, 2020, as reported by KN4SWS to N4CD and posted in the County Hunter Web Forum at this link: http://countyhunterweb.org/DisplayForum.php?id=15596.

George was a very active Geratoler as was his wife Mary NV4Z G#885 D#86 whom he married on September 2, 2000 and who predeceased him on July 21, 2018. He was also a very active county hunter and was 86 years old.

We will all miss George. Please stay home and stay safe during this pandemic!

73, Barry K2MF G#325 D#739