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

In case you have not already heard, the FCC is looking to re-instate fees for Amateur radio licensees. The HAMS would pay a $50 fee for each amateur radio license application if the FCC adopts rules it proposed this week. Included in the FCC’s fee proposal are applications for new licenses, renewal and upgrades to existing licenses, and vanity call sign requests. Excluded are applications for administrative updates, such as changes of address, and annual regulatory fees.

The FCC proposal is contained in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in MD Docket 20-270, which was adopted to implement portions of the “Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern Services Act” of 2018 — the so-called “Ray Baum’s Act.”

“[A]pplications for personal licenses are mostly automated and do not have individualized staff costs for data input or review,” the FCC said in its NPRM. “For these automated processes — new/major modifications, renewal, and minor modifications — we propose a nominal application fee of $50 due to automating the processes, routine ULS maintenance, and limited instances where staff input is required.”

The same $50 fee would apply to all Amateur Service applications, including those for vanity call signs. “Although there is currently no fee for vanity call signs in the Amateur Radio Service, we find that such applications impose similar costs in aggregate on Commission resources as new applications and therefore propose a $50 fee,” the FCC said.

The FCC is not proposing to charge for administrative updates, such as mailing address changes for amateur applications, and amateur radio will remain exempt from annual regulatory fees. “For administrative updates [and] modifications, which also are highly automated, we find that it is in the public interest to encourage licensees to update their [own] information without a charge,” the FCC said.

The FCC also proposes to assess a $50 fee for individuals who want a printed copy of their license. “The Commission has proposed to eliminate these services — but to the extent the Commission does not do so, we propose a fee of $50 to cover the costs of these services,” the FCC said.

Deadlines for comments and reply comments will be determined once the NPRM appears in the Federal Register. Interested parties may file comments by using the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), posting to MD Docket No. 20-270. This docket is already open to accept comments, even though deadlines have not yet been set.

If you ain’t crazy about forking over $50 to renew your license, feel free to submit your input to the NPRM, or if you are an ARRL member, fire off a note to your Section Manager and let him/her know you don’t like it. Or, maybe even if you do like it.

Kevin N1KL

Sources: FCC Website, ARRL News bulletin

Jamboree-on-the-Air, or JOTA, is the largest Scouting event in the world. It is held annually the third full weekend in October. JOTA uses amateur radio to link Scouts and hams around the world, around the nation, and in your own community.

Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) and Jamboree on the Internet (JOTI) will be held this year on October 16, 17, and 18. Register online as an individual or as a group.

JOTA details are available on the K2BSA website. The website menu will direct users to additional supporting information. K2BSA’s Jim Wilson, K5ND, says many locations are already offering virtual radio merit badge classes “and no doubt will be using similar approaches for Jamboree on the Air.” 

This year’s event will of course, need to follow all locally required COVID19 precautions. As a former Pack and Troop Committee Chairman, I recall conducting several JOTA events from remote Scout Camp locations as well as from my own ham shack. The boys were thrilled when they heard stations from all over the country, and world reply to our CQ. So if you have time that weekend, feel free to tune around and make a few JOTA participants happy.

Kevin N1KL

Radio Amateur Takes Part in Historic First Commercial Human Spaceflight to ISS

Bob Behnken, KE5GGX, was one of two NASA astronauts who recently made spaceflight history. Behnken and Doug Hurley were the first astronauts since the 1970s to make a water landing, after their Crew Dragon capsule splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico. On May 30, the pair made history as the first live crew to be launched into space in a commercial vehicle, for a stay on the International Space Station (ISS), marking the return of human spaceflight to US soil for the first time in nearly a decade.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine proclaimed that the US was entering a new era of human spaceflight, noting that NASA was no longer the only option for US space travel. “We are going to be a customer,” he said. NASA has contracted with two companies — SpaceX and Boeing — to ferry astronaut crews to and from the ISS.

While part of the space station crew for 2 months, Behnken and Astronaut Chris Cassidy, KF5KDR, the sole American on board when their Endeavour capsule docked, carried out four spacewalks to install new batteries on the ISS.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon vehicle was designed for short-term missions, and Behnken and Hurley’s mission had only been expected to last a week. As a result, Behnken did not receive Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) training on the radio gear in the Russian sector. NASA subsequently decided to monitor the mission and make a decision on how long the Crew Dragon would stay. Cassidy fielded all ARISS school contacts.

Source: ARRL News

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

It’s an unfortunate fact that there are thousands of ‘bots’ out there trying to find a way to get into web sites like this one so they can fill the forums up with spam advertisements.

Sometimes, through no fault of your own, you might get caught up in the detection measures we have to use. This is what we see:

There is one thing we rely on to tell which of those requests are legitimate. A callsign. Many of us have our call in our email address, but not everyone does. If you just put your callsign in the message you leave, we’d be able to approve it instantly.

Thanks!

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

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 sixth state to ratify the constitution, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. MA ratified the constitution on February 6th, 1788.

Massachusetts, along with Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky, are called “Commonwealths”. Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good.

One interesting fact about the state of Massachusetts, is that Maine was part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts until 1820, when it voted to secede from Massachusetts to become a separate state. On March 15, 1820. Smart move on their part !! I can say that, I live in MA.

Other interesting and fun facts about MA include:
Both volleyball and basketball were invented in Western, MA. In fact, today the Basketball Hall of Fame resides in the city of Springfield, and the Volleyball Hall of Fame is in Holyoke, both in Western MA.

Other fun facts:
The Chocolate Chip Cookie didn’t exist prior to 1938, when it was invented by the owner of the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts.

There’s a Native American lake named Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg. It means “you fish on your side, I fish on my side, and no one fishes in the middle”. It’s located in Webster, MA and we just call it, Webster Lake.

Paul Revere actually shouted “The Regulars are coming out”, not “The British are coming”, since Massachusetts colonists still considered themselves British citizens at the time.

A 216-year old business in Dalton, Massachusetts called Crane & Co. produces almost all of the paper used for U.S. currency, as well as banknotes for many foreign countries.

Boston built the first subway system in the United States in 1897. It probably ran better then as well. I’ve had the misfortune of taking the “T” before and after sporting events in Boston. They are still looking for “Charlie on the MTA” !!

Hope you enjoyed the fun facts about Massachusetts. Can anyone guess which state will be the next we discuss ?

Kevin N1KL