Amateur Radio resources organized this week as Hurricane Dorian threatened Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and worked its way through the Caribbean. A change in direction spared Puerto Rico — still recovering from hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 — from taking a direct hit; the Virgin Islands suffered downed trees and widespread power outages. As of August 29, Dorian was a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds near 85 MPH with higher gusts. According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Dorian was expected to become a major hurricane on Friday and remain an extremely dangerous hurricane through the weekend, reaching Category 3 or 4 by September 1. Heavy rainfall generated by Dorian could cause flash flooding, the NHC said.
Hurricane Dorian
“The risk of devastating hurricane-force winds along the Florida east coast and peninsula late this weekend and early next week continues to increase,” the NHC said on August 29.
“We are standing by in a ready-to-respond state, once a more definitive track is known,” Southern Florida Section Manager Barry Porter, KB1PA, told ARRL Headquarters on August 29. “We will be holding a tri-Section conference call tonight to firm up any plans.” Porter said Florida Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster and Red Cross were in preparation mode.
On Wednesday, the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN), activated for about 9 hours on 14.325 MHz and 7.268 MHz, working in conjunction with WX4NHC at the NHC in Miami to provide “ground truth” weather data to forecasters. The VoIP Hurricane Net also activated.
The HWN has continued to closely monitor Dorian’s progress. HWN Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, said the HWN tentatively plans reactivate on August 30 at 2100 UTC.
The ARRL Headquarters Emergency Response Team is also monitoring the situation closely. ARRL officials are in regular communication with partner agencies, particularly FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security. In addition, ARRL HQ remains in close contact with Field Organization officials in the affected region, where some ARRL Ham Aid equipment was previously positioned.
W1AW, which had already planned to be in operation for the Hiram Percy Maxim 150th Birthday special event this weekend, will remain ready to assist with emergency communications.
The following (I’m Just Sayin’) is an editorial by your GERATOL Website Administrator and does not necessarily reflect the views of the GERATOL Board.
As a long time, “active” member of the Quarter Century Wireless Association, I feel obligated to make an appeal to my fellow GERATOL members. When I refer to myself as an active QCWA member, I am simply referring to the fact my QCWA membership is active. That is to say, my dues are up to date.
QCWA was founded in 1947
Most seasoned GERATOLers, are very familiar with the QCWA, and are proud to swap and share their “Q” numbers with other net members, both new and old, as GERATOLers work toward Endorsement # 19, where you must work stations sporting a “Q” from all 50 states. Completing Endorsement # 19 does not require you have a “Q” but simply need to work stations from all 50 states, that have one. No doubt a fun and challenging endorsement to achieve during those long winter nights.
As the creator of several awards including the 20/20 and 50/50 awards, I know first hand the “criteria” I was held accountable to follow in creating those awards and it was quite demanding. For example, before I was given permission to announce the 50/50 Award, I had to provide data to support the fact there was a sufficient number of stations, licensed for 50+ years. Another criteria that was added after the initial approval and announcement, was to have been licensed “continually” with no breaks, for the 50 years. Pretty demanding stuff, but lo and behold, the award has been achieved by several diligent GERATOLers.
However, it seems when it comes to Endorsement # 19, the criteria is not on the same level as some of our other awards or endorsements. When it comes to QCWA numbers, we gladly swap numbers proudly. Yet many operators doing so, have not been “active” (dues paying) members of the QCWA for years. In fact, some have never renewed since a year after they got their “Q” number assigned. A check of the QCWA website, where they display “lost” members, will list those who are no longer “active” members.
I am in no way affiliated with, nor have I ever been affiliated with the QCWA in any official capacity, other than being a member. The QCWA, like many Ham related organizations and publications, is working hard to remain viable. They no longer publish the hard copy of the QCWA Journal, due to the cost of publishing and distributing. To their credit, they have an on line version on their website, which you can find at: https://www.qcwa.org
So, while we may not be able to change or modify the criteria for Endorsement # 19 to reflect working “active” QCWA members, I’d like to encourage those “lost” members to consider adding your QCWA membership to your allotted Ham spending, or to encourage those eligible, (first licensed 25 years ago) to apply for QCWA membership. It would be terrible to lose such a historically active (Founded in 1947) and important element of our Ham Radio hobby, and potentially robbing those approaching their 25th anniversary of garnering their own “Q” number. A look at the last few months of data on the QCWA website, reflects the totals shown for NEW members, vs LOST members, and it’s a disturbing trend. The number of LOST members, vs NEW is at least two to one. Needless to say, that can’t go on forever. So, JUST SAYIN’, if you can afford it, check out the QCWA website, and renew your membership, or join up if not yet a member !!!
For those who registered on the GERATOL website, using their call signs as part of their registration, feel free to add a “comment” to this JUST SAYIN’ editorial.
All the best, and let’s not forget, the new 2019/2020 GERATOL season is not far off !!!! Time to get that antenna work done, and get on the air to renew old acquaintances, and maybe even make some new ones !!!
Young Radio Amateurs from around the World Gather for YOTA Summer Camp
08/12/2019
The 9th annual Youngsters on the Air (YOTA) Summer Camp opened over the weekend with pomp, circumstance, and celebratory dancing. This year’s Summer Camp is taking place in Bankya, Bulgaria, under the sponsorship of the Bulgarian Federation of Radio Amateurs (BFRA), Bulgaria’s International Amateur Radio Union member-society. After welcoming words from BFRA and IARU Region 1 representatives, the YOTA participants joined local residents and a performing troupe in dancing to traditional Bulgarian folk music. Approximately 80 young radio amateurs from 28 countries arrived in Bankya — near Bulgaria’s capital of Sofia — on August 11. They’ll be engaging in a range of activities, from operating the camp station LZ19YOTA, to building kits and antennas, sightseeing, and getting acquainted.
Young Amateurs Gather at YOTA
“There is unfortunately no team from Region 2 (the Americas) taking part this year,” IARU Region 1 Youth Working Group Chair Lisa Leenders, PA2LS, told ARRL. “Most [participants] are from Europe, but also South Africa, Algeria, Tunisia, and New Zealand.” Participants all are under the age of 26.
Given the international nature of Amateur Radio, cultural exchange won’t be in short supply. The typical YOTA intercultural evening, group work, and the Train The Trainer program — instituted at last year’s Summer Camp — will also take place.
Youth teams are attending from Albania, Algeria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Kosovo, Lithuania, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Tanzania, The Netherlands, Tunisia, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
The YOTA Summer Camp in Bulgaria continues through August 17. Last year’s YOTA camp was held in South Africa.
Source: ARRL
posted by Kevin in GERATOL NET NEWS and have Comments Off on Young Radio Amateurs
It’s an awesome tool for keeping track of your progress toward completing several awards, such as the Board, Gold Board, Platinum and Net 500 awards to name a few. The program was created and developed by our Chairman, W0FP – Frosty. I never did ask Frosty what GNEC stands for, but perhaps he can reply to this POST and let us know. My guess would be “GERATOL Net Endorsement Compilation” ha ha Maybe someone else can take a guess as well.
The program must be used in conjunction with WinEqf logging software. You need to log your QSO’s made on the net, or in Extra Class SSB portion of 80M into WinEqf to have the GNEC program functional. Both WinEqf and GNEC are available as downloads off the GERATOL Website.
In addition to tracking award progress, you may use GNEC for keeping tabs on your progress toward completing the 38 challenging Endorsements offered by the net.
Below is a screen shot of a typical GNEC “Front Page” which gives you a glimpse of the Endorsements completed in RED. The Endorsements in ORANGE mean that only ONE appropriate contact is needed for completing that particular Endorsement, and the YELLOW reflects the need that TWO more appropriate contacts are necessary. GREEN buttons reflect multiple appropriate QSO’s are needed for completion.
GNEC Reflecting Endorsement Status
When you click on one of the Endorsement buttons, such as Endorsement #2 in YELLOW above, where you must contact stations in the lower 48 states with “N” one by two call signs, you see the screen shot below:
As is obvious, this operator needs to work two more stations with “N” 1×2 call signs, one from Idaho and one from Oregon to complete this Endorsement. Another nice feature of GNEC is the ability to print out these various reports, so you know exactly which call signs you need, as they check in every evening.
While there are numerous other great features associated with GNEC, two I will mention are at the bottom of the Front Page. Those are the “Update GERATOL Numbers” button and the “Update Director Numbers” button. Hitting those gives you a running total of the numbers you have worked, and more importantly, those you still need.
If you have not already done so, give GNEC a try. It’s a fun and very effective way to track your Award and Endorsement progress on the GERATOL net.
Of course, you may find both the GNEC program, and WinEqf available on the tool bar at the top of the GERATOL home page. Simply go to “Files” then “Additional Aids and Forms for the GERATOL Net” Once you click on that, the files may be found and downloaded off that page. Good luck.
What if there was a voluntary list to subscribe to. When someone needs a state they look on the list and request the volunteer to check in to help them make a contact. It might help to get some of the hard to get states to drop in occasionally.
Amateur Radio is aboard during attempt to become oldest circumnavigator
02/18/2019
Jeanne Socrates, VE0JS/KC2IOV, is used to solitude. The lone 76-year-old yachtswoman passed the southern tip of Africa — some 300 miles to the north — on Valentine’s Day as she forged on toward Australia and New Zealand in her 38-foot sailing vessel Nereida. While underway, Socrates keeps in touch with a community of friends via Amateur Radio — although she had to yield to the ARRL International DX CW activity over the weekend — and she’s sticking to a schedule of 7.160 MHz at 0230 UTC daily. Socrates reported making contact with some ham radio friends on the US west coast on February 17. She’s been blogging her progress.
Jean Socrates and her array of marine radio gear
The retired math teacher and UK native also is no stranger to circumnavigating the globe, having already become the oldest woman to complete a solo, non-stop, unassisted round-the-world voyage. Ham radio served as her link to terra firma during her earlier adventures. Since 2013, she’s made two additional attempts to become the oldest person to circumnavigate Earth, the goal she’s now attempting to achieve. She departed Victoria, British Columbia, last October.
Two earlier attempts were cut short when her vessel was damaged in rough seas. Then, she suffered serious injuries in a fall last year.
Socrates is working around a damaged mainsail. “We seem to be having many more days of light wind giving slow speed, than stronger wind giving good speed — need a wind of well over 15 knots and, preferably, for us to be headed downwind. Any upwind travel immediately gives poor boat speed — that’s when the damaged mainsail is badly missed,” she recounted in a recent blog entry. She’s been using the vessel’s trisail — typically used for high-wind conditions — because the Nereida’s mainsail repair was showing signs that it might not hold up in the wind. Socrates said she’ll continue to work on the mainsail as time permits. — Thanks to Southgate Amateur Radio News for some information
The US Amateur Radio population once again grew by about 1%, based upon 2017 and 2018 year-end FCC database statistics provided by Joe Speroni, AH0A. The 755,430 total licensees represent nearly 7,300 more ticket holders than those that were in the database at the end of 2017. Nearly 51% of the Amateur Radio population in the US — 384,145 — hold a Technician license. Generals are second with 175,949, and Amateur Extras number 147,369. Advanced and Novice licensee populations continue to decline, with 39,607 Advanced and 8,360 Novices, as the FCC no longer issues Advanced or Novice licenses. A more significant statistic is 31,576 new FCC licenses last year, although that’s 620 fewer than came aboard in 2017.
“New amateur licenses granted by FCC are down 2% over last year,” noted ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (VEC) Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, “but this is the fifth year in a row the total has been greater than 31,000. I predict that the number of new licensees will be more than 30,000 at the end of this year as well, and I’m optimistic this trend will continue.”
Upgrades also are down slightly, compared to last year — 9,456 in 2018 versus 9,576 in 2017, she added. “For the fifth year in a row, we have conducted more than 7,000 Amateur Radio exam sessions in a year — an important milestone for the ARRL VEC,” Somma recounted. “Our program continues to provide outstanding service to the ARRL, its members, and the entire Amateur Radio community.”
ARRL VEC filed a total 30,393 license application forms last year, compared to 31,014 in 2017. That includes new, upgrade, modification, renewal, and club station filings. At 7,035 in 2018, the number of exam sessions conducted by ARRL VEC marginally trailed the 7,075 held in 2017. ARRL VEC served 34,493 exam applicants in 2018, compared to 35,352 in 2017. Exam elements administered by ARRL decreased from 47,152 last year to 45,817 this year, Somma said. Nearly 1,800 new Volunteer Examiners (VEs) have been added to the ARRL VEC program.
Our Featured member this month, is none other than one of our longest standing GERATOL members and most experienced Net Control Operators; Harv – AA4HF, GERATOL # 329.
We all know Harv by his distinctive operating style, which is a reflection of his status as a true Southern Gentleman. Whether greeting a mere handful of check-ins, or dealing with a work list a mile long, Harv’s professional demeanor and calm approach is a reflection of the experience the GERATOL NCS stations like AA4HF bring to the net each evening. Harv first assumed the NCS reins as a substitute net controller on the GERATOL Net, back in the early eighties. Following that, he served as a regular NCS in the mid eighties, starting on Monday nights, then moving to the Tuesday evening early net. Yes, we used to have an “early” net and a “late” net, when conditions were much better.
Harv was first licensed in 1958 as KN4YPT. Many of the “old timers” recall the “N” in the prefixes, which were often part of our first call signs, as Novice operators. Some “N” calls remain, but most 2×3 “N” calls are a thing of the past. Harv is one of the (W.A.L.) or Worked All Licenses gang, going from Novice all the way to Extra Class.
As is the case with many early Ham Radio enthusiasts from the 50’s and 60’s, Harv’s first Ham Station consisted of a separate Transmitter and Receiver. In his case, his first station consisted of a homebrew single 6L6 15 Watt CW transmitter, in tandem with an Allied Ocean Hopper regenerative receiver.
Remember the “selectivity” on that type of vintage receiver? Amazing we still made QSO’s using receivers like the Ocean Hopper or the National NC-60 Special or even the Lafayette HA-63, to name a few, but we did. His antenna was a long wire double dipole 80 over 40, but also loaded up on 15 as well. Also, like many of us, he had an Elmer who lived nearby. In his case it was Bob, W4ORH. It was, and is to this day, the Elmers who keep Ham Radio alive, and who play a huge part in keeping young folks interested in our hobby.
Example of an “Ocean Hopper” Receiver
As often is the case, “life” got in the way of Hamming for Harv, and due to the fact back in the period he was first licensed, “proof of operating time” was a requirement for renewing your ham license. Unfortunately since he was unable to get on the air while he was in college (University of Tennessee at Martin) in order to fulfill the “on the air time” required, he could not renew his license. Regardless, we still view Harv as one of our “50” Years as a HAM gentlemen. His interest in Ham Radio never died however, and in the early seventies he once again became a Novice operator. Realizing Novice privileges were not going to suffice, he quickly upgraded to Advanced and Extra the following year.
Harv, AA4HF Station Today – a long way from his first station !!
Harv completed his first Worked All States in 1958. At that time, only 48 states were required, since HI and AK did not enter the union officially until 1959 !! Imagine that !! How many others got their first Worked All States only using 48 states ?
Leave a “Comment” on this POST and let us know… If you need help on how to place a “Comment” just send me a note via email to n1kl @ arrl.net.
His first DX QSO was with a German station, DL1IB, which took place on March 3, 1959. He received his GERATOL # 329 directly from the ARRL in 1979. In addition to his GERATOL # 329 and Director’s # 37, Harv is also a recipient of the GERATOL Hall of Fame Award, the 25th Anniversary Award as well as the very seldom given, GERATOL Phoenix Award. The Phoenix Award is something only four other members, in addition to himself have achieved.
AA4HF – Harv’s Mix of New and Old Ham Gear
Other Ham Radio related activites for Harv included some public service work, handling health and welfare traffic during weather related events. In addition, he operated via the Military Affiliated Radio Services (MARS) conducting phone patches, voice and digital traffic for over 40 years.
Outside of Amateur Radio, Harv’s interest include music, hunting, fishing and motorcycles in his younger days. He served as a Manager of Engineering and as an Inormation Technology Director. He has also taught programming languages at the local community college at night for several years. He’s been retired now for 17 years, but does operate a computer systems and a network support business, which he says is just enough to keep him off the streets and out of the poolroom !! Hi Hi
Congrats to Harv on his distinguished Ham Radio career, and thanks to him for his dedication to the GERATOL net over the years, and as our longest standing Net Control Operator on the net. Feel free to post a comment, expressing your thoughts about Harv’s Featured Member article. My thanks to Harv for providing me with the information necessary to complete this POST.
Congratulations to Al – N3NH and to Tom – N1TL on receiving their QCWA numbers in February !
On behalf of the GERATOL Net Community, congratulations to both of you on your 25th anniversary as Ham Radio Operators, and your recent membership in the organization that recognizes that milestone, the QCWA !
![The predicted track of Hurricane Dorian as of 0900 UTC on August 29. [NOAA graphic]](https://www.arrl.org/images/view/News/AL052019_5day_cone_with_line_and_wind%202.png)
