KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog

KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog

Clubs

Amateur radio in the news: Wicker, Blumenthal sponsor ham radio bill; young people still drawn to ham radio, student starts ham club at Marshall University

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Sen. Wicker co-introduces Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act

Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS)

[BROOKHAVEN, MS] U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) have introduced legislation to give amateur radio operators the right to install their antennas and serve the community. Homeowner association rules prevent amateur radio operators from installing outdoor antennas on residential properties even though this communication method has proven to be essential in emergencies and natural disasters, such as hurricanes in states like Mississippi and Connecticut.

Among other provisions, this legislation would:

  • Prohibit homeowner association rules that would prevent or ban amateur radio antennas
  • Clarify the approval process for installing amateur radio antennas
  • Give amateur radio operators a private right of action

The full text of the legislation can be found here.

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The Athens County Amateur Radio Association finds that young people are still drawn to old-school communication

ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) – Long before cell phones and the internet, ham radios were linking people around the world. And this old-school technology continues to fascinate hobbyists of all ages in the Athens County Amateur Radio Association.
“What really brought me into radio is the fact it’s such a unique hobby,” said Josh Senefeld. “Everyone uses (wireless communications) every day without even realizing it.”

Senefeld first became interested in the world of amateur radio at age 13 after he became a cadet in the Civil Air Patrol. Four years later, he got his amateur radio license.

Now 20, Senefeld is one of the younger members of the Athens County Amateur Radio Association, though it is open to people of all ages.

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Ham Radio Club Revives Alternative Communication

The president of Marshall University’s ham radio club said he believes radio communication is a great way to bring people together.

Jacob Wriston, the president of the Thundering Herd Amateur Radio Club, said his experience with ham radio began in high school. He said that when he was looking at Marshall, he had hoped there would be a radio club similar to WVU’s amateur radio club. In July of 2022, he started a discord for the group before making it an official organization in the 2022 Fall Semester.

“I saw that WVU has a radio club,” Wriston said. “They’ve actually had one since like 1913 as the oldest club on campus, and, so, I was hoping that Marshall would have the same thing, and they don’t. So, I just started a discord server over the summer.”

Wriston said the club’s main goal is to promote the hobby of amateur radio.

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Amateur radio in the news: young ham to pursue engineering career, young people still drawn to ham radio in Ohio, ham club sends aid to Ukraine

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I often think that instead of emcomm, we should be playing up the educational aspect of amateur radio and how it encourages young people to get into engineering…..Dan

Ham Radio Inspired This Scranton University Student to Pursue Engineering

Many college students participate in sports, listen to music, or play video games in their spare time, but IEEE Student Member Gerard Piccini prefers amateur radio, also known as ham radio. He’s been involved with the two-way radio communication, which uses designated frequencies, since his uncle introduced him to it when he was a youngster. His call sign is KD2ZHK.

Piccini, from Monroe Township, N.J., is pursuing an electrical engineering degree at the University of Scranton, in Pennsylvania. The junior is president of the university’s W3USR amateur radio club. He’s also a member of Scranton’s IEEE student branch, the IEEE Club.

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Here’s another story about young people in amateur radio….Dan

The Athens County Amateur Radio Association finds that young people are still drawn to old-school communication

ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) – Long before cell phones and the internet, ham radios were linking people around the world. And this old-school technology continues to fascinate hobbyists of all ages in the Athens County Amateur Radio Association.

“What really brought me into radio is the fact it’s such a unique hobby,” said Josh Senefeld. “Everyone uses (wireless communications) every day without even realizing it.”

Senefeld first became interested in the world of amateur radio at age 13 after he became a cadet in the Civil Air Patrol. Four years later, he got his amateur radio license. Now 20, Senefeld is one of the younger members of the Athens County Amateur Radio Association, though it is open to people of all ages.

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I like this story a lot because, as the article points out, we are the Amateur Radio Service, and that  amateur radio and has a “unique ability to enhance international goodwill” (§ 97.1(e))…..Dan

The Bosque Amateur Radio Club is connecting people in Ukraine. Here’s how.

There’s a reason the Federal Communications Commission refers to HAM radio operators as the Amateur Radio Service. If you ask Bosque Amateur Radio Club members Bill Kent, Larry Elkin, Art Nichols, Terry Zipes and the club’s president, Jerry Aceto, the answer is rooted in a shared fundamental belief: to help those in need.

“We have a saying,” Kent explained. “When all else fails, HAM radio works.”

But it’s not just the radios that work on behalf of the public; their operators do as well. For nearly the past two years, the Bosque Amateur Radio Club has been working on behalf of Care4Ukraine.org, providing the group with radios and instructions on how to build handmade antennas so its members can communicate in the field.

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Amateur radio in the news: New club edition

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In my news feed this past month, there were two announcements of new amateur radio clubs being formed. I’m not so sure how often that happens anymore, so I thought I’d spotlight them here. I’ve always said that if you don’t like the current club in your area, start your own!

New amateur radio group established in Upshur County

BUCKHANNON, WV — The Upshur County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) and Upshur County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) would like to announce the creation of an amateur radio enthusiast club for our area. The idea behind this club is to provide a group for individuals interested in amateur radio to learn, share information, and enhance skills.

We invite all interested persons in Upshur and surrounding counties to join us for the inaugural meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, at 7 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Buckhannon Public Safety Complex, 24 South Florida St, Buckhannon WV. If you are unable to attend in person, email [email protected] and we will send you a link to attend virtually.

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Amateur radio club members are pros at broadcasting

PERRY COUNTY, PA – The Perry County Amateur Radio Club, founded during the COVID-19 pandemic, wants county residents to know that their organization is a club for the community. Started in 2021 by Matthew Morrison, Scott Shedd, Chris Fuller and a few other local amateur radio enthusiasts during the pandemic to build community, the club has grown to roughly 20 regular attendees, and has begun offering license exams and community events.

Young man building electronic device.
TESTING, 1, 2, 3 — Member Nicholas Morrison assembles a piece of test equipment called a “dummy load.” His first attempt at soldering was a success. Steve Wilt (in background) also completed the project. Credit: Perry County Times

The club, while still growing, has begun to set its roots in the county by offering license exams for aspiring radio operators and hosting public operating events with the goal of getting more people interested.

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This last club was formed in 2022.

Tuned in: Amateur radio club connects listeners through long-distance hobby

Two men sitting at a picnic table operating an an amateur radio.
Derek Fronek, a Carmel High School graduate, (N9TD) and Robert Kirkman (KD9MAK) operate a portable amateur radio station for a POTA activation. (Photo courtesy of Piglet Radio)

[CARMEL, IN] Piglet Radio isn’t the only local club for amateur radio enthusiasts, but its goal is to promote the long-distance hobby by frequently bringing its members together. The club was launched in summer 2022 by Hamilton County residents Chris Pacovsky (call sign W9CZK), Alexandra Auvinen (AC9XK), David Estes (KC9AAP), Derek Fronek (N9TD) and Scott Messick (W95DM). Piglet Radio (N9BCN) wants to grow membership and interest in the hobby through events, online forums and monthly meetings.

“We wanted something different,” said Pacovsky, Piglet Radio’s president. “We wanted a radio club with a more pronounced social aspect and comradery along with a technical focus.” Currently 30 members strong and growing, the club is a space for amateur radio enthusiasts to discuss and develop ways to use the radio frequency spectrum to communicate, often with people around the world through purchased and self-made equipment.

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ICQ Podcast Episode 422 – GB0ROC Bunkers on the Air Station

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In this episode, I  join Martin Butler M1MRB, Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT, and Edmund Spicer M0MNG to discuss the following:

This episode’s feature is GB0ROC Bunkers on the Air Station.

Random ideas and observations: Ice on the antenna, what happens to a signal in a scope, the Anarchist Radio Relay League.

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Ice on antennas

Last Friday, we got about six inches of snow here. That was followed by the rain, covering everything— including antennas—with a coating of ice. Ice, in general is not a good thing on antennas or feedlines.

We noticed this last Monday night on our weekly club net. Stations that were not really strong into the repeater, including yours truly, sounded scratchy. Those that were marginal before, were unreadable.

The temperature hasn’t gotten above freezing here since then, and I can still see ice on my 2m antenna. That being the case, I hope it warms up enough to melt the ice by this coming Monday evening.

Understanding the Journey of a Signal

What happens between the tip of a scope probe and the scope screen?

This white paper explains everything that happens to your signal inside a digital storage oscilloscope (DSO). Having this fundamental knowledge will help you make accurate measurements by correctly selecting the probes and oscilloscope that will work best for your test needs.

You do have to fill out a form with some personal information, but you can easily fake the information if you’re skittish about it.

Anarchist Radio Relay League

Radio amateurs tend to be very conservative, but not all of us are. Case in point: the Anarchist Radio Relay League. On their website, you’ll find their zine, For an Anarchist Radio Relay League.

It’s really not a zine, per se, but rather an introduction to the radio world for those whose politics may be a little to the left of the average radio amateur. It does a good job of explaining what radio waves are, the different frequency bands, how to get a license, what’s the difference between HF and VHF/UHF, how to build some basic antennas, etc.

What makes it anarchist? Well, the zine compares the two ARRLs. It says,

An Anarchist Radio Relay League, we think, would have a similar function to the original ARRL, but in the spirit of mutual aid and solidarity, and with an explicit anticapitalist and anti authoritarian orientation.

This has the potential to take many forms.

I’ll let you read the rest for yourself.

Amateur radio in the news: ISS contact on the TODAY Show, Indian students launch satellite, VA club prepares for emergency

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ISS contact on The TODAY Show


NBC TODAY Show reporter Harry Smith covers a PA high school contact with the space station. What’s nice about this is that you can tell that it’s really a professional production.

Somaiya students’ amateur radio satellite takes to the skies

[MUMBAI] An amateur radio satellite created by students and named ‘Somaiya Beliefsat-0’ was successfully launched on New Year’s Eve at 9.10 am from Sriharikota’s premier launch pad. The satellite serves as a payload on the PSLV-C58 mission’s PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM) platform.

With the launch of the satellite, Somaiya Beliefsat-0 pays tribute to 100 years of the HAM radio in India and endeavours to succeed its predecessor. “HAMSAT was decommissioned in 2016,” said Umesh Shinde, the faculty coordinator for the mission. “Now Somaiya Beliefsat-0, positioned in a 350-km orbit with a 9.6-degree inclination, is set to become a crucial player in the realm of global amateur radio.”

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ESARC Participates in Emergency Preparedness Exercise

[VIRGINIA] The Eastern Shore Amateur Radio Club participated in an emergency communications preparedness exercise on December 13, 2023.  The exercise, known as a “Shelter Test,” involved setting up and operating emergency radio communications using amateur (ham) radio to communicate with similar operations throughout the county.

The club coordinated its December 2023 Shelter Test from the Accomack County Emergency Operations Center (“EOC”), on Beacon Road, Melfa (near the airport) and from the Northampton County EOC in Eastville.

From the Emergency Operations Centers, the radio operators established reliable communications between the two county EOCS and with several of the locations that will be used as shelters in times of emergency on the Eastern Shore.  In the event of a hurricane, or other major disaster, the counties have established several shelters located around the counties.  These are locations where residents could go for food, medical care and short-term housing.  See graphic for Accomack County shelter map which is available on the Accomack County Web Site or the Hurricane Preparedness Guide on Shoredailynews.com.

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58% of Mastodon hams belong to a club

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Since our club, ARROW, had our December meeting last night, I posted the poll below on Mastodon:

I’m not sure that these results are all that significant, but I found it interesting that more than half of those that did reply belonged to a club. I’d have guessed fewer. How would you have responded to that poll?

Mastodon, by the way, is the open source community’s Twitter replacement. If you’re already on Mastodon, you can follow me by going to https://mastodon.radio/@kb6nu. If you’re not, try it out. You can sign up by going to https://mastodon.radio.

Random thoughts: The case for paper, CB for youth engagement, POTA/SOTA safety

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The case for paper

As most of you know by now, the ARRL is going to start charging extra for the print version of QST in January—even if your membership expires after that date. While I am generally in favor of magazines going digital, paper does have its advantages.

For example, I’ve recently been plowing through my stack of paper QSTs, looking for interesting things before I toss them. In the process, I’ve come across several items of interest, including articles on building an inline RF current sensor and building a short vertical for 160 meters.

I’m not sure that you’d get this kind of serendipitous occurrence with digital magazines.

CB for youth engagement?

On reddit, someone asked if anyone had any information on successful programs for youth engagement. Someone replied, “Heard of a ham club that gave out old CB radios to young people in the area, and helped them with setting them up. Within 2 years, most of them were licensed hams!”

I think that in addition to just helping them get set up, you might also want to give the kids some structured activities, like showing them how to run a net or maybe do a hidden transmitter hunt, if such a thing is possible with CB radios. You’ll also want to be available if, or should I say when, there are problems with the radios.

This sounds like an interesting idea to me. I asked for more details. Have any of you heard of something like this?

SOTA/POTA Safety

A couple of weeks ago, I joined a Long Island CW Club Zoom meeting on portable operation. It was a great meeting, and a lot of good ideas were mentioned.

One of the best, I thought, was the reminder to be safe when doing a Parks on the Air (POTA) or Summits on the Air (SOTA) activation. One of the things that I do is to attached caution tape to my inverted-V antenna where there’s any chance that someone could come into contact with it.

Another fellow mentioned that he wears a blaze orange vest when he heads into the woods. This had not occurred to me, as I have been operating from open areas where no hunters are allowed. But, if there’s any chance that you might come into contact with hunters on your POTA/SOTA adventures, the orange vest is a good idea.

Get publicity for your club with a PSA

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Over the years I’ve built up quite a pile of amateur radio magazines, and I’ve decided that it’s time for them to go. Before pitching them, however, I’ve been paging through them to see if there’s anything of interest. I found this article in the June 2006 issue of World Radio. I contacted the author, Kelly, K7SU, and he’s given me his permission to re-publish it here.

This seems like a great way to get publicity for your club. I emailed a couple of local stations this morning, and I’ve already received a positive reply from WCBN, the student-run, alternative broadcast station here in Ann Arbor, MI.

How to “Spread the Word” about Amateur Radio

Kelly Klaas, K7SU

I have been in radio broadcasting since 1969 and an amateur radio operator since 1966. During my time in broadcasting I have learned a few things about how the public can use the media to its advantage. It’s not as difficult as you may think.

The trick is to think of your local, amateur radio club as a non-profit public service organization. And in fact, that’s exactly what it is. Every commercial broadcast station must justify its license to operate by broadcasting in the public interest and providing a certain amount of public service. That public service includes local programming dealing with issues of local public interest and availability to local non-profit organizations. The best vehicle for amateur radio clubs to use that broadcast stations have to offer is the Public Service Announcement, or PSA.

A PSA can come in a couple of forms. It can be a brief announcement of an upcoming club event or it can be an announcement of normally fifteen, thirty, or sixty seconds in length describing your club and the benefits it has to offer. If you listen to the standard broadcast stations very much you undoubtedly have heard them. These announcements are free of charge to non-profit groups. But the key here is “non-profit.” Commercial broadcast stations are required to air a certain amount of public service ads to remain in the good graces of the FCC.

PSAs can benefit your local ham club in at least three ways. First, they let the local hams and the public in general know that there is a local club and about the various activities you may have going. Second, for those who may be interested in becoming a ham, it lets them know that there is help nearby. Third, even if the listener is not interested in becoming a ham, it boosts the awareness that there are ham radio operators in the vicinity ready to pitch
in if emergency communications should be needed.

But how do you go about getting a PSA for your very own amateur radio club on your local stations? It’s quite easy, actually. Most radio and TV stations have public service directors, or at least someone who coordinates the PSAs and other public service programs. Some stations do a better job at this than others. A representative of your local amateur radio club should contact the area stations and find out who that person is. Then they should contact this person and see what the requirements are for sending in the information. Then DO IT!

Most any ham club activity is certainly a valid reason to get an announcement on the air. Many radio and TV stations have a “daily calendar” type of program. This is the perfect place to start. Send to the appropriate station personnel the “who,” “what,” “when,” “where,” and “why” of the club activity for inclusion in these types of programs. Keep it short and to the point and always include an email address, web site or local phone number so the listener can get more information. Do NOT send in a multi-page document and expect the PSA director to go through it and pick out the pertinent information. That’s NOT going to happen. Use short and “to the point” descriptions for each of the categories. One or two contacts are enough. You don’t need a list of all the people in your club along with emails and phone numbers. Also, leave your contact information for the station personnel in case they need to contact you. You never know, they might want to pass it along to the news or public affairs department if it’s a good subject for a story.

Another type of PSA is simply a short message, similar to a commercial, for your club. These vary in length but are usually 15, 30 or 60 seconds long. These take a little more thought in order for them to be of interest to the local radio/TV station.

Depending on the radio/TV stations in your area it will be more of an effort to get them interested in running this type of announcement. But if you wrote the PSA for them and offered to help in any way you might find they would be agreeable to running your announcement as a  stand-alone ad. If they would rather have station personnel voice the PSA then let them. If they would rather have someone from the club voice it with their help, then that should be fine also. The name of the game here is to get the message of your local amateur radio club on the air and to the public. Don’t be discouraged if you are not as successful with this level of cooperation at first. It will vary from station to station.

You may be wondering just when the PSAs will be broadcast. Many radio stations these days carry satellite programming at various times of the day. These programs always have a certain number of two, three or four (maybe more) minute breaks for the local stations to insert their local ads. If there aren’t enough sold commercials to fill the breaks then they have to use PSAs. Many times these are national PSAs that deal with anything from teen pregnancy to housing discrimination. Quite frankly many stations run these national PSAs due to a lack of anything else to run and they may or may not even be applicable to their area. Many radio stations would much rather fill with LOCAL announcements. That’s where your local club could help.

Do not inundate the station with multiple pages of announcements. Start with a single 15- or 30-second PSA. It usually takes a very good PSA to keep a listener tuned in for over thirty-seconds. Besides, you don’t want the radio station thinking you are trying to take over their airwaves. And a clever 15-second announcement will be more effective than a boring, rambling 60-second announcement.

Keep in mind that it’s usually best to approach the radio/TV station first for this type of PSA. They may not be interested at all so there is no point in wasting your time preparing one. But, if they should show an interest, be sure you oblige them in a short period of time before they change their mind.

Due to the nature of the broadcast business you may find that one or two folks on the staff are also amateur radio operators. This is especially true in the engineering department. Many a chief engineer around the country is a ham. If you happen to know any radio engineers in your area you may want to start with them. They may have a fast-track and an inside shortcut to getting your PSA on the air. For that matter, if you know ANYONE who works at a local station, start with them. It’s not WHAT you know but rather WHO you know.

PSAs are free. The broadcast stations get no money for running them. Therefore a sold commercial always takes top priority. Your PSA may be scheduled to run, but at the last minute is booted out by a sold commercial. Don’t let this bother you. It’s the name of the game. Commercial radio/TV stations make their money by selling ads. If not for that, we wouldn’t have local radio/TV stations. Your announcement will eventually make it on the air. Use the “daily calendar” program to advertise scheduled club activities. Use the recorded PSA for a long-term method of promoting your club. It should be somewhat generic in nature without time-sensitive material. Also, be willing to change it from time to time to keep it fresh.

Be sure to let your local news organizations know about any public activities that may warrant a news story or a spot on the evening news. This can include public displays for Field Day or similar events. Stories of local amateur radio operators talking to the 188 are always interesting fodder that the local media would like to cover. Let them know about it.

You will find varying degrees of interest and cooperation with your local stations regarding announcements for your club. Again, probably the easiest and quickest way to get your announcement on is if they have a “daily calendar” program. The “commercial” announcement I talked about will be your most difficult hurdle, but don’t give up. You may not have any trouble at all. The idea is to use your local broadcast stations to your benefit as much as you can for as much as they are willing to let you use them. Even a little bit may be much better than what you are getting now.

If you would like more pointers or advice you can email me at [email protected].

Amateur radio in the news: BBC on the Solar eclipse QSO Party, ham radio supports hospitals, Baton Rouge hams activate the radio room of the USS Kidd

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Eclipses do odd things to radio waves. An army of amateur broadcasters wants to find out why

It’s the huge tower in his back yard that gives Todd Baker’s hobby away. Bristling with antennae, the 30m (100ft) structure is taller than many of the mature trees nearby. Baker, an industrial conveyor belt salesman from Indiana, goes not just by his name, but also his call-sign, the short sequence of letters and numbers that he uses to identify himself over the air: W1TOD. He is a member of the amateur radio, or ham radio, community.

“You name it, I’ve been in it,” he says, referring to different radio systems, including citizens band, or CB radio, that he has dabbled with over the years. “Communications were just plain-o cool to me.”

Now, he dabbles in celestial citizen science, too. On 14 October, he and hundreds of other amateur radio enthusiasts will deliberately fill the airwaves during an annular solar eclipse, as it crosses the Americas. They’ll do it again next April, when a full solar eclipse becomes visible from Newfoundland to Mexico.

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Local ham radio group trains to support hospital system during cyber attack

[PORTAGE COUNTY, WI] A cyber terrorist has taken control of the nation’s healthcare system. Communications are down, bringing hospital and medical operations to a grinding halt. Enter Portage County’s ham radio group, Portage County ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) group.

Nicholas Proulx and Phil Schobert, both members of the group, spent Saturday morning participating in the simulated emergency, which tested county-wide radio communications from the group’s command center — a mobile trailer known as EM50 — parked behind the Portage Co. Annex building.

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From Baton Rouge to Belize, local ham radio operators talk around the globe

[BATON ROUGE, LA] The small room near the top of the USS Kidd is tight, with just about enough room for a ham radio and, at a stretch, four people.

For ham operators Pam and Jeff Welsh, it’s all the space they need.

On the morning of Oct. 13 the pair — both members of the Baton Rouge Amateur Radio Club — were hunched over a ham radio, fiddling with dials and knobs as the sound of static filled the room. The BRARC, for short, was marking the occasion of the U.S. Navy’s birthday by transmitting from the Kidd, with people tuning in from around the country and farther afield.

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