PRC mtg June 1, 2015

“Newsline” Producer Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF Hospitalized Syndicated program on indefinite hiatus Earlier this week, in place of the regular weekly newscast script and audio program, the following post went up on the Amateur Radio Newsline site: IMPORTANT NOTICE TO THE HAM RADIO COMMUNITY  5/25/15 From Producer Skeeter Nash N5ASH: this is a Facebook post from … Continue reading “PRC mtg June 1, 2015”

“Newsline” Producer Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF Hospitalized

Syndicated program on indefinite hiatus

Earlier this week, in place of the regular weekly newscast script and audio program, the following post went up on the Amateur Radio Newsline site:

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO THE HAM RADIO COMMUNITY  5/25/15

From Producer Skeeter Nash N5ASH: this is a Facebook post from Sunday, 5/24/15 by the Amateur Radio Newsline Facebook page administrator, James Pastorfield KB7TBT:

Hi folks, got some bad news to report:
A few days ago Bill Pasternak WA6ITF was admitted into the hospital. He is currently in ICU and stable. I have not directly talked to bill but I am in constant contact with Dave Booth KC6WFS who has been with him every day. Bill has said that “it was ok to mention his situation to you and to understand if the reports are a delayed”. 

Bill is still listed under critical condition, please put him in your thoughts and prayers. 
I will keep everyone updated…

 73

James-KB7TBT

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Nash went on to say, “Bill’s health is the most important thing right now. However, I know that he is also very concerned about the ongoing production of the weekly Newsline reports. During Bill’s previous extended hospital stay earlier this year, he reached out for help with producing the newscast. I stepped forward, and we got it back up and going. At the time, it was not a problem for me to do, time-wise. I was doing the Morning Drive show on KTPK-FM (Country Legends 106.9) here in Topeka, and had time in the afternoon to devote a few hours to editing and producing the audio. Bill was able to write the scripts; first from the rehab facility, then from home once he was released.”

“Newsline” is heard worldwide on amateur radio repeaters and shortwave stations and is created entirely through voluntary efforts. While a professional background is not necessary, many volunteers are broadcasters and journalists.  If you would like to volunteer your skills as a writer, producer, editor or anchor to continue this service, Skeeter has posted detailed job descriptions at www.arnewsline.org.

As a contributing news anchor to the program for several years I’ve found my time spent to be extremely rewarding.   I wish the very best for Bill and Amateur Radio Newsline.

 

 

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 ARRL Field Day 2015

 AcrossScreenShot019 the U.S. and Canada hams are preparing radio gear, emergency power equipment, antennas, tents and all their  required gadgetry for the biggest radio day of the year, ARRL Field Day.   More than 35,000 of us are expected to participate this year. Of course, the Parma Radio Club is no exception.  Our 2015 Field Day, June 27-28, will be at the same site we’ve used for several years, the Top O’ the Ledges in Hinckley Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks. A map and driving directions will be posted on this site.

John Malloy, KA8VTV will again perform as Field Day Chairman.  At our June 1st meeting we’ll begin mapping out our plans for this big event. It’s amazing to think of all the details that must be considered in order to have a successful Field Day.  We certainly hope you will be able to join us for this planning meeting as well as Field Day which seems to get better every year.

ScreenShot021At the meeting, you’ll see the computer logging program we’ve used for the past several years, Amateur Contact Log. The program makes it so  easy to make log entries as well as file our ARRL report.

We operate in several ways. Some operators prefer to keep a pencil log while they operate.  Others work as a two person team — one does the on air work, while the other handles logging.  Flexibility is the key.

 

 

Hal Rogers, K8CMD

President, Communications Director

FCC to Eliminate Vanity Call Sign Fee

FCC to Eliminate the Amateur Radio Vanity Call Sign Regulatory Fee The following is reprinted from the ARRL news. The FCC is eliminating the regulatory fee to apply for an Amateur Radio vanity call sign. The change will not go into effect, however, until required congressional notice has been given. This will take at least … Continue reading “FCC to Eliminate Vanity Call Sign Fee”

FCC to Eliminate the Amateur Radio Vanity Call Sign Regulatory Fee

The following is reprinted from the ARRL news.

The FCC is eliminating the regulatory fee to apply for an Amateur Radio vanity call sign. The change will not go into effect, however, until required congressional notice has been given. This will take at least 90 days. As the Commission explained in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Report and Order, and Order (MD Docket 14-92 and others), released May 21, it’s a matter of simple economics.

“The Commission spends more resources on processing the regulatory fees and issuing refunds than the amount of the regulatory fee payment,” the FCC said. “As our costs now exceed the regulatory fee, we are eliminating this regulatory fee category.” The current vanity call sign regulatory fee is $21.40, the highest in several years. The FCC reported there were 11,500 “payment units” in FY 2014 and estimated that it would collect nearly $246,100.

In its 2014 Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) regarding the assessment and collection of regulatory fees for FY 2014, the FCC had sought comment on eliminating several smaller regulatory fee categories, such as those for vanity call signs and GMRS. It concluded in the subsequent Report and Order (R&O) last summer, however, that it did not have “adequate support to determine whether the cost of recovery and burden on small entities outweighed the collected revenue or whether eliminating the fee would adversely affect the licensing process.”

The FCC said it has since had an opportunity to obtain and analyze support concerning the collection of the regulatory fees for Amateur Vanity and GMRS, which the FCC said comprise, on average, more than 20,000 licenses that are newly obtained or renewed, every 10 and 5 years, respectively.

“The Commission often receives multiple applications for the same vanity call sign, but only one applicant can be issued that call sign,” the FCC explained. “In such cases, the Commission issues refunds for all the remaining applicants. In addition to staff and computer time to process payments and issue refunds, there is an
additional expense to issue checks for the applicants who cannot be refunded electronically.”

The Commission said that after it provides the required congressional notification, Amateur Radio vanity program applicants “will no longer be financially burdened with such payments, and the Commission will no longer incur these administrative costs that exceed the fee payments. The revenue that the Commission would otherwise collect from these regulatory fee categories will be proportionally assessed on other wireless fee categories.”

The FCC said it would not issue refunds to licensees who paid the regulatory fee prior to its official elimination.

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PRC mtg May 18, 2015

Parma Radio Club ****************************************************** I must admit that with all the on air discussion in recent weeks about the Dayton Hamvention, right about now I’m feeling  like everybody left town and I’m missing out on all the excitement.  Hopefully some of our members will be able to share their experiences at the next meeting. —————————————————————————- We have … Continue reading “PRC mtg May 18, 2015”

Parma Radio Club

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I must admit that with all the on air discussion in recent weeks about the Dayton Hamvention, right about now I’m feeling  like everybody left town and I’m missing out on all the excitement.  Hopefully some of our members will be able to share their experiences at the next meeting.

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We have a lot to discuss at our May 18th business meeting.  I’ll update you on our new web site, which has taken much of my time but it will be well worth the effort.  And we’ll start organizing our plans for field day. Yes, hard to believe that ARRL Field Day is just around the corner, June 27-28. 

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This is the time of year when storms appear very quickly. I’ve found it’s good practice to disconnect my HF antennas. particularly, as soon as I’m finished with them. After all, they’re designed to attract electrical energy!  There’s nothing more unnerving than being away from home when you see a storm brewing and you know your antenna is connected. 

Speaking of rain, I’m going to bring along my fancy rain gauge for a non-electronic show and tell. I understand this is the same type used by professional weather forecasters. It provides very accurate measurement and can measure the smallest and largest rain falls.  The device is easy to build if you’re looking for a fun project.

  

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Hal Rogers, K8CMD
President, Communications Director

May 4, 2015 – Earth Day Success!

3rd Annual Earth Day Special Event  a SUCCESS!     While for technical reasons this year’s event fell a bit short of expectations in the QSO count,we all had great fun setting up antennas, John Wendling, KD8QMU’s solar system, and our two stations.  A mysterious source of RFI made it difficult to receive the weaker … Continue reading “May 4, 2015 – Earth Day Success!”

3rd Annual Earth Day Special Event

 a SUCCESS!

 

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While for technical reasons this year’s event fell a bit short of expectations in the QSO count,we all had great fun setting up antennas, John Wendling, KD8QMU’s solar system, and our two stations.  A mysterious source of RFI made it difficult to receive the weaker 40 meter stations and reception on 20 was worse, but that didn’t prevent Larry Shimerka, KC8VZZ from making a solid contact with the Dominican Republic. QSL cards have already begun to pour  in — four so far, and it’s still early.

As we know, tracking RFI is always a challenge and a great learning experience.The good news is that this week I was able to conduct a proper search for the RFI tha resulted in a very interesting discovery. Following up on my efforts,

Tom Pechnik, AC8EH took the mission further and we now have some real possibilities to check out. More on this RFI saga at our May 4th meeting, including audio and video clips.

Thanks to Ken Osicki, K8OAE for assisting in whipping up a tremendous pancake and sausage breakfast that powered us through the morning.

We promoted our event widely, using QST magazine as well as Amateur Radio Newsline and various bulletins and newsletters and the effort seems to have inspired several other clubs to operate similar Earth Day special event stations. That’s a good feeling.

Thanks to Ken Osicki, K8OAE, Larry Shimerka, KC8VZZ for their photos that you can see in our the album on this site.  Or you can go directly by this link.  https://www.parmaradioclub.com/albums/gallery2/

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At the May 4th meeting we’ll discuss simple dipole designs and I’ll show the easy-to-make 20 meter antenna and common mode balun that I made for Earth Day.  Here at my QTH it got me excellent reports from the Czech Republic, Puerto Rico and Oregon before bagging it up for the event.

You’ll see some neat gadgetry that makes it easy to hang a dipole from your favorite tree or structure. And I’ll show you how you can create super sleuth antennas from inexpensive, readily available materials.

If you have a related tool or other antenna gadget, bring it for show and tell. We’re all about learning.

 

 

Hal Rogers, K8CMD

President, Communications Director


World Amateur Radio Day

​World Amateur Radio Day   Every April 18, radio amateurs worldwide take to the airwaves in celebration of World Amateur Radio Day. It was on that day in 1925 that the International Amateur Radio Union was formed in Paris. Amateur Radio experimenters were the first to discover that the short wave spectrum — far from … Continue reading “World Amateur Radio Day”

​World Amateur Radio Day

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Every April 18, radio amateurs worldwide take to the airwaves in celebration of World Amateur Radio Day. It was on that day in 1925 that the International Amateur Radio Union was formed in Paris.

Amateur Radio experimenters were the first to discover that the short wave spectrum — far from being a wasteland — could support worldwide propagation. In the rush to use these shorter wavelengths, Amateur Radio was “in grave danger of being pushed aside,” the IARU’s history has noted. Amateur Radio pioneers met in Paris in 1925 and created the International Amateur Radio Union to support Amateur Radio worldwide. For more information, see the website.
 
 

ScreenShot016At the past meeting Stephan Kinford, N8WB gave a very informative program on amateur satellites.  We enjoyed several videos that demonstrated the relatively simple process of communicating through satellites, which act essentially as a cross band repeater.  This would be a fun way to add some extra points to our Field Day!
 
It was a pleasure for me to meet Stephan in person after having introduced him many times on Amateur Radio Newsline, the widely syndicated weekly amateur radio news program.
 
 

 

PRC Celebrates 3rd Annual Earth Day

with Special Event Station

The Parma Radio Club in Parma, Ohio will celebrate Earth Day with special event station, W8PRC on Saturday, April 25th.  W8PRC will be at the lower end of the general portions of 40 and 20 meters SSB and powered only by sun. The club will operating from historic Stearns farm, in the center of Parma. This event is our way of reminding everyone of the awesome beauty of our planet and the fragility of  our resources.  Our stations will be at the historic Stearns Homestead, on Ridge Road adjacent from Wendy’s.

Earth Day is celebrated around the world by more than 192 countries, 10s of thousands of organizations, and more than 500 million people. Parma Radio Club encourages hams worldwide to join us in the celebration with their own special event. 

At our meeting on April 20th we’ll finalize our plans for this fun event.  It’s sort of a mini-Field Day. There are lots of things to do to make it a success.  We’ll need help in the set up of equipment and antennas as well operating and logging. And of course, we’ll need assistance in feeding the hungry crew.

Please let us know by email or at the meeting if you will be participating.

Hal Rogers, K8CMD

President, Communications Director