Sunday, December 29, 2019

Tower Safety

Watch this Video

Amateur Radio Tower Safety Presentation for the Billerica ARS


It could save you life or the life of your favorite tower climber
It is chock full of solid information and is based on facts.
Click here for the Video


Now how many of us want to change the tide of the numbers lost to tower accidents?

Steve
KG5VK

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Louisiana QSO Party 2020


2020 Louisiana QSO Party (LAQP)


The 2020 Louisiana QSO Party will run from 14:00 UTC, April 4, 2020 to 02:00 UTC, April 5, 2020

Louisiana Stations work everybody. Non-Louisiana Stations work Louisiana Stations. Multipliers - by BAND and MODE - for Non-Louisiana Stations are the 64 Parishes in Louisiana.

Three (3) new CATEGORY-OVERLAY: have been added: WIRES, TB-WIRES, and POTA. Stations can compete with other stations with similar antennas or those operating Field Day style from a park, campground, or wildlife refuge.  

For complete updated Rules please see http://www.laqp.org

Please make plans now to get on and operate.

Finaly Tower Number 1 at the new QTH

Top 4el M2 40 Meter at 140 ft
Lower Beam M2 6El 20m Long Boom at 125 ft
KG5VK


CWOps 10th Anniversary Celebration


CW Operators’ Club 10th Anniversary Celebration




January 2020 marks the 10th anniversary of the CW Operators’ Club (CWops). 

In our ten years of promoting the use of CW in amateur radio communications, we’ve grown to more than 2,400 members worldwide. To honor our members’ devotion to CW and the efforts of many volunteers toward promoting its use and educating new devotees, we’re celebrating with a month-long on-air event in January, 2020. 

To learn more about CWops, visit our Website at https://cwops.org

All radio amateurs are invited to participate in our Celebration. Certificates will be awarded in various categories including certificates for working at least 25 members of CWops.

CWOps Members work everybody. Non-CWOps Members work only CWOps Members.

A number of unique Special Anniversary Celebratory Calls—e.g. K3CWO, GB10CWO or K5N, will be active during the celebration. 

Complete rules and QSL information are available at https://cwops.org/cwops-10th-anniversary-celebration/

Look for CWops members and special event stations near 28 kHz up from the bottom of each band. We also suggest using the CW Club RBN Spotter at https://rbn.telegraphy.de/

Tuesday, November 05, 2019

What is a SET and why should I participate....

Greg Evans K5GTX ARRLNTX SEC


Nov 3   


What is SET?  SET stands for Simulated Emergency Test.  It’s an opportunity for participating ARES/RACES members and served agencies to practice those skills called upon during an actual emergency.  Objectives for a SET can vary from turning on and testing equipment up to and including staging a mock emergency with full deployment of assets from multiple agencies.

Why do a SET?  It is a great opportunity to knock the dust off plans, test them out, and identify future training opportunities.  Participants have a chance to figure out what works and do not work.  And most importantly, renew working relationships. 

Why should you participate?  Our partners and served agencies – from local through national; have expressed interest in continuing to improve our relationships and understand the role that Amateur Radio can play.  After all, when it does hit the fan, we will have to stand together in support of the mission to serve our communities.

What is the goal of the WGD Fall 2019 SET?  In a single word, communicate.  While the Division has had SETs in the past, we are breaking new ground by creating a coordinated effort to consolidate and share local situational awareness with our partners at the local level up through the Division level.  The sharing of information is important because it will help the section and division leadership coordinate resources within the division.  What we learn from this exercise will help all of us in the future.

How do you participate?  At the local level, ARES members will work with the Emergency Coordinators (EC) or Assistant Emergency Coordinators (AEC) in support of their local exercises.  These exercises may range from a staging of resources, local facility situational assessment, to training.  During the SET, partner agencies and ECs are asked to consolidate a Situational Assessment Report (example ICS-213 is here).  The assessment is a report of whether power is on, water, and sewage is operating.  Transmit the reports via Winlink or voice nets to the District Emergency Coordinators (DEC), the SEC (Winlink Address ARES-NTXSEC), and to the designated State Operations Center Winlink Address KT6CCG).  Traffic should also be sent using the HF nets between the cities/counties up to the regional entities using the Regional HF Nets, State ARES Nets, and HF Digital stations. 
Army MARS will be supporting the SET.  MARS operators are an integral part of the interoperability plan for amateur radio.  MARS Operators will be monitoring 60m Channel 5 (5403.5 kHz).
We strongly encourage participants to send reports via radio using winlink; however, sending via Telnet as an alternative is acceptable.  But it is important to test sending the reports using the radio because, during an event, the internet may not be available.
More information is available on the ARRLNTX.ORG website.

Anything Else?  ECs, DECs, SECs, and participating agencies are asked to send an after-action report no later than 20 November.  Include information about you and your teams participated in the exercise, what worked, what didn’t work, future training opportunities, and lessons learned. 
Thank you for participating.  I look forward to hearing all of you on the air!  Please have fun!
73,

Greg Evans, K5GTX
ARRL NTX SEC
ARRL NTX ASM
sec @ arrlntx . org
Winlink:  ARES-NTXSEC

Friday, October 25, 2019

ARRL North Texas JOTA activity

How we operated at the Lewisville JOTA 2019 event K2BSA/5
by
Dale Finley, kb5nft
---------------------
Our Lewisville Amateur Radio Club “Digital JOTA” area consisted of several different modes of operations. The primary area was designed to allow scouts to see, send and hear PSk/RTTY/CW modes with as much hands-on as possible. So, we set up 2 “Back to Back” laptops running Fldigi software (no radio transmissions with antennas and actual radios were used)  so that scouts with a minimum amount of training could hear and send & receive messages on screen.  This gave them the opportunity to sit next to each other so that one scout could train the other scout then “hand-off” to other scouts. 

After I showed Garrett Mayes from troop 2819 a brief “how to use Fldigi…” he then trained Ben Olden from troop 838 and they exchanged messages using PSK back and forth. Then Ben Olden trained Ben  Bowman and they exchanged messages from laptop 1 to laptop 2.

Stephanie, Ben Bowman’s mom joined in and Ben explained to her how to send and receive PSK messages… SNAP, the picture was taken.  Ben’s mom and I talked about how teenagers tend to not talk very much to their parents… Ben’s mom said, “Now I have a way to communicate with my son”.
Our Fldigi setup was designed with external speakers and USB dongle microphones on old laptops so that the scouts could hear as well as see their messages. All acoustically coupled. It is also possible to use an iPhone app, called PSKer on phones or tablets that can be used with minimum portable setup. Or PSKer and a laptop, etc.

An MFJ code oscillator was used to show them CW. We had a sample coding sheet that they could write their name and use the straight key to send their name and simple messages… And, it is possible to use this method with an App on an iPhone/Android and demonstrate different ham radio modes.  On the back of the sheet is a “How to get a ham license”, in 3 easy steps…

A second area was setup with Echolink connected to JOTA-365. It was very busy.  A third area with DStar was setup and Reflector 33A was so busy we couldn’t “break-in” so I drew a block diagram on a white board explaining how ham radios are linked over the internet.

In a forth area, Ferris Watson, WT5B had his Raspberry Pi setup and was explaining how the Pi could be used with ham radio… He was also decoding the Fldigi messages we were sending in the “Back to Back” setup area. One scout, Max, was interested in the Raspberry Pi,  because he could play Minecraft on the Pi.

Our display table explained “EOM” on how to Educate (teach scouts),  Operate a radio setup, and Mentor the scouts.  With licensed hams standing by as control operators and mentors, this method worked very well with our “Digital JOTA” setups.  
My goal was to help fulfill as may Radio Scouting Merit Badge requirements as possible.  I believe we started these scouts on a “radio journey” and hopefully this “STEMulized” them not only to get the Radio Scouting Merit Badge but to assist them in getting a ham radio license.
de kb5nft



Ben Bowman and his Mother Stephanie
at the Lewisville Amateur Radio Association
JOTA station K2BSA/5  in North Texas
October 19, 2019


Scouts at North Texas JOTA event
Ben Bowman, Ben Olden and Garrett Mayes (L/R)
Back row left, Steven Lott Smith KG5VK ARRL NTX SM
Back row right, Mike Reitz  W5EVT Scout Master and ARRL NTX ASM for Scouting

Monday, September 23, 2019

West Gulf Division Director Candidates

The ARRL announced an election will be held for a new Director in the West Gulf Division
this Division includes Texas and Oklahoma.

Earlier indications were that Alan Brown K5AB was going to run against John Robert Stratton N5AUS our current acting Director.

In fact during the Austin Summer Fest, I was approached by friends of Mr. Brown
Wanting me to support Alan.  At that time I had not yet met Alan, but knew of his website and I was not impressed,  however, later that day after being berated by his friend's for over an hour in the hall way at Summer Fest, I did get to meet Alan.

In fact, instead of chatting in a hallway Alan and I found a quiet place to visit

I came away liking the man, but not in favor of his campaign style.

I asked him if he could create a page that contained Positive Bullet statements on what he brings to the table, his reply was that he already had that on his website https://standforhamradio.com/ which at this moment is being rewritten apparently as that site is under construction as of September 16 at 1300 local.

Of course, both current candidates have a QRZ.com page
I recommend you read each one for yourself and see who you think will be the most beneficial as our director.
I know who I am voting for,  he has a track record of working the issues and a working relationship with the majority (8) of the 15 current directors.

I think it is strange behavior,  that the friends of Alan Brown
were hard-pressed to find positive reasons for fellow amateurs to vote for him without
harping that another candidate is an attorney, guess what.....

Their new guy Madison Jones is an attorney, but nothing wrong with that, just kind of humorous that now they are backing an attorney.

Fact is Madison Jones W5MJ is running with one agenda
to fight tooth and nail against WinLink, because they (his supporters) feel WinLink will be the death of Ham Radio.

WinLink is no more a death sentence to our hobby than was Side Band, or No Code Licensed amateurs.

WinLink does help ECOM members save lives and that is why the FCC has allowed it on a temporary basis during several Natural disasters, allowing WinLinks use on a regular basis will allow more people to be trained on use of this tool.

John Stratton has pushed more than a few bills through for us Ham Radio operators
and even one that many homeowners in HOA's know little about.
Yes, you can have a whole house propane generator even if you live in an HOA
John Stratton had a direct hand in that bill and it has been the law for some time now.

The same is true for Flag Pole antennas!

Something else that rubbed me the wrong way and did not win me over to the Alan Brown / Madison Jones Camp, they kept telling me their guy was an Extra class OP and that John Robert Stratton is just a General class licensee.  Maybe they thought since I am an Extra class op I would look down on someone being in office that is not an Extra class op, I don't look down on anyone because of a license class, I look at the person as a whole person and the talents they bring.

They also tried using the well he ain't even an active amateur radio op,
guess what....

Once you start working in any ARRL position,  your on the air activity level is going to suffer.

Want to know more contact me and please take a look at

http://www.votewestgulf.org/

Learn who the Candidates are and what they bring to the table in support of us members
and please Vote when your ballot arrives

Thank You!

Steve
KG5VK
KG5VK@ARRL.NET





Monday, August 19, 2019

WinLink Wednesday's sponsored by The Lake Area Amateur Radio Association

New from our friends at Lake Area Amateur Radio Association using Winlink.
I would like to invite you to participate in a new WinLink net called WinLink Wednesdays. This net is open to everyone, so please invite your other WinLink friends to participate.
The purpose of the net is to keep operators skills fresh on how to operate WinLink via RF. Skills atrophy without use, and the most likely time you will use WinLink is during an emergency. If you use a skill at least one a week, the chances of atrophy lessen greatly.
So, how do you participate? It's quite easy. You will send a message to KF5VO via WinLink on Wednesday. When you open a new message, Click on Select Template --> Standard Templates --> GENERAL Forms --> WinLink Check In.txt. Fill out the form. Make sure you put KF5VO in the "Send To:" filed. If you need help, there is a link on the form called "Form Info" that describes each input. Click the submit button, and send the e-mail.
For now, send the message via RF to any WinLink Gateway. At a later date we may try direct connections, but not yet.
Send the message on Wednesday between the times of 12:00 a.m. in the morning and 11:59 p.m. in the evening, local time. The list of check-ins will be compiled on either Thursday or Friday and sent back out to everyone that checked in.
Our first WinLink Wednesday will be July 10.
73,
John, KF5VO

Wednesday, July 10, 2019

ARRL North Texas Section Manager News Letter

North Texas Newsletter July 2019
July 12, 2019


·        Over 22 ARRL FD Site Visits by Section Officials & The West Gulf Division Director
·        Notes from Katherine KT5KMF, our SYC
·        Ham of The Year Nominations – Winner to be Announced in September
·        New Public Information Officer Appointed Brent Boydston KF5THB
·        Notes from Greg Evans K5GTX our SEC
·        Division Director & Section Manager Round Table Visits with Club Leadership Starts
·        The 90 Days of Danger
·        The 2 Meter spectrum is not currently at Risk
ARRL FD Site Visits
I have received several emails from North Texas members expressing thanks to the Section management Team, for the efforts made to visit so many Field Day sites this year.  I visited 11 sitesJohn Stratton our West Gulf Division Director, visited several sites, as did many of the ARRL NTX Section Officials.  Next year, Iam starting my visits from the North West to the South East edge of our Section.
Notes from Katherine KT5KMF our Section Youth Coordinator
As I type this, it’s hard to believe that this year is already halfway over. In just a few weeks, I’ll be back at marching band two-a-days! I hope my sousaphone has managed to lose a few pounds in the last year!

Saturday, June 15 was one of this year’s two ARRL Kids’ Days. I set up both my new ICOM IC-7300 and vertical antenna, hoping to both try them out and make contacts with kids. In the several hours I was on, I only heard one kid, but was unable to reach him. I did, however, make contact with several participants in the West Virginia QSO Party and the Battleship Alabama! Due to current band conditions, should we consider having more than two Kids’ Days per year?

The next weekend was Field Day. Our Section Manager, Steve (KG5VK), my dad (K5WFR) and I visited a total of 6 different clubs’ Field Day sites. We started at the Plano Amateur Radio Klub, but were delayed by a storm with a lot of lightning that left us stranded under the pavilion. When the storm was over, we headed to the Richardson EOC to meet the Richardson Wireless Klub. There I met Mac Cody (AE5PH), the club’s satellite expert, who showed us his “battlestation” and let me try it. Unfortunately I couldn’t make any contacts, but it was still really interesting. Then we visited the Garland Amateur Radio Club, where we met Mr. Belt (W5TGF), a 93 year old founding member of the club. After that we headed to the Sachse Amateur Radio Association. John Briggs (KC6TVF), gave us a tour of their CERT trailer, which was really cool (both from the air conditioning and their setup!). It was dinnertime for their club, but I made sure to go over to the restaurant to say hello to their other members. Next we headed to the Lucas Amateur Radio Club. While we were there, I managed to make a few QSO’s on their 40 meter station. Finally, we traveled to the McKinney Amateur Radio Club site. Unfortunately, we arrived later than expected, and most of the members had already left. However, we got there just in time to watch them get to 200 QSO points. Overall, the Field Day tour was a great experience and I really enjoyed meeting so many hams. I’m looking forward to next year!

This month I visited the McKinney Amateur Radio Club (MARC) and the Grayson County Amateur Radio Club (GCARC). While I was at the MARC meeting I made sure to thank them for the special award I received from them at the Dallas Regional Science and Engineering Fair. I was also surprised to run into our Section Manager there. At the GCARC meeting, one of their members, Lee Sly (N5SLY) did a presentation on FT8. He and other club members were very interested to hear about the science fair projects I had done using this digital mode. GCARC member James Frank (KW5CW), also mentioned me in their club newsletter. Thank you to both clubs for welcoming both me and my driver (aka Dad or K5WFR). Next month I hope to visit the Sachse Amateur Radio Association (SARA), the Lucas Amateur Radio Club (LARC), the Richardson Wireless Klub (RWK), and the Denton County Amateur Radio Association (DCARA).

I want to say congratulations to Lee (N5SLY) on upgrading to Extra! (He did it outdoors in a storm at McKinney’s Field Day!)  He made me feel very welcome at the GCARA meeting and I’m glad I could encourage him to go for it!

I’m still working on some ideas to get youth exposed to amateur radio. If anyone has any ideas to share or information relating to activities that they would like to spread the word about, please email me at kt5kmf@arrl.net

73 and have a great July!
         
Katherine

The ARRL NTX Ham of the Year will be announced this September
We had numerous really good nominations and three packages that made the decision very tough.  I will announce the winner in September.  Thanks to everyone that took the time to send in a nomination.

Greg Evans our SEC
We are in the middle of the summer with high temperatures both here and in the Gulf of Mexico.  Already, we have an 80% chance of our second named storm of the season this week. 
Personal and Environmental Safety:  It is HOT!  It is important to stay hydrated during the summer.  Even short stints outside can result in Heat Exhaustion or Heat Stroke.  Take it seriously!  The heat was the third highest cause of weather-related deaths following floods and tropical storms in 2017. 
Event Information:  Do you have an event, exercise or meeting coming up?  Please send information about it, including dates, times, website information, and any support needs/requirements to eventsignup (it’s a complicated email address, so just click the link to send the email).  We will post it in the Section’s Event Calendar.    
Fall SET:  We have begun planning the Fall SET for October 12.  The exercise will be a large scale event, and I hope that all of you can participate.  
Emergency Coordinators:  We have several vacancies for Couty EC positions, some of which have vacant for over a year.  I want to fill those positions.  Please visit the ARES section on our website at arrlntx.org to find more information.  If you have a nomination or would like to apply for those positions, please send an email to sec@arrlntx.org and the District Emergency Coordinator for the area. 
Clubs, Counties, and Agency ICS-217a:  The ICS-217a (click on the link to download from FEMA) is used by emergency management to identify communications resources, such as the equipment in a communications kit/trailer before an incident occurs.  Communications equipment is identified with frequencies, channels, talk groups, tones, modes, and authorized users.  When responding to an event, it is very important to have this information readily available.  It has been a long time since we have updated the section ICS-217a.  I ask that every club, Emergency Coordinator, and Served Agency, please provide a current ICS-217a.  On the ICS-217a, identify repeaters, communications trailers/kits, including the callsign, frequency and tone information and the use of that equipment; i.e., Skywarn Nets, Club Repeater, Communications Support Trailer, etc.  We will combine the information in a master ICS-217a that will be available on the Section website. 

Division Director & Section Manager Round Table Visits with Club Leadership Starts this Saturday 
As announced at HamCom by the West Gulf Director
We will begin the Round Table Meetings with ARRL Affiliated Clubs from ARES District 5
Designated Club Officials in District 5 have already been sent their invitation to attend these meetings
More Round Table meetings will follow with invites and locations for ARRL affiliated clubs within other Districts.

Our New Public Information Officer
Brent Boydston, KF5THB has been appointed as the North Texas Section PIO.  Brent would like any input from members and clubs emailed to him atkf5thb@arrl.net.  Brent is a long time ARRL member and a very energetic and active amateur radio op.  Please help me welcome Brent to the ARRL NTX Section management team.
  
The 90 Days of summer has already proven to be deadly
During the 4th of July week, five people that lost their life to drownings in the Texoma area.

So I will repeat in part my message from last month of the 90 Days of Summer….
Summer is a lot of fun, kids are out of school
, and there are a lot of outdoor activities.  We have the heat now, with heat advisories almost daily, stay hydrated! Keep an eye on those around you, and pay attention to the Heat and its effect on your body and others, know the signs of Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke.
Watch out for kids near water.  It only takes a minute for a child to drown being distracted with your nose in a cell phone when you should be monitoring children in or near water is cause for disaster. 
Do you know CPR?  You should; you may save the life of a stranger or a loved one.
While our Spectrum is always at risk - for now, 2 Meters is Safe
There has been a lot of chatter that our 2-meters band has already been taken.  That is mostly Fake or Greatly exaggerated “news.

Yes, there was a news release that
 “No Strong Opposition to 144 – 146 MHz Reallocation Proposal at CEPT Meeting”  But so many people failed to read beyond the headlines that a panic unfolded.  If you watch some of the Video’s on the Internet, you would think we already lost the battle.  This is simply not true.

Our Spectrum has always been and will always be under some threat of reallocation. Any IARU member can ask for allocation to change; however, that does not suggest that anything will ever come of it. Especially when asking for a primary user to be made secondary.  It behooves us all to act responsibly and not spread falsehoods.  Continue your support for the ARRL so they can protect our spectrum.  The formal CEPT meeting where all member Societies, the ARRL, and other IARU organizations, are invited to the table is next month (August).  Those that proposed reallocating 2 meters will be shocked into the realization that they need to go elsewhere

Steve
KG5VK

Saturday, June 15, 2019

ARRL NTX Section Manager June News Letter

North Texas Newsletter June 2019

·       Ham Com a Huge Success

·       Notes from Katherine KT5KMF, our SYC

·       Ham of The Year Nominations - closing date announced

·       New Assistant SM / Ambassador John Hamilton KD5INM

·       Notes from Greg Evans K5GTX our SEC

·       Planned ARRL FD Site Visits

·       The 90 Days of Danger

·       Public Information Officer –WANTED-



Ham Com a Huge Success

Ham Com at the Plano site just seems right on so many levels,
from the large outside Flea Market area to the ease of parking and no confusing Mix master highways to get back on the road.

            What a wonderful crowd of enthusiastic Amateur radio operators we had at the ARRL tables, from the 9 year old to the 87 years young amateurs I got to visit with it was indeed an honor to meet each and every one of you.

            Unfortunately on Saturday I was not often at the tables, but at one of the three ARRL forums, presenting one personal forum “Logging & QSLing for the 21 Century” or at the DFWCG sponsored Luncheon listening to the Guest Speaker Bryant Rascoll KG5HVO, a 15 year old from Alabama who won the Young Ham of The Year award (WA6ITF)  this past year.

            We were honored to have many distinguished guest, from The President of the ARRL Rick Roderick K5UR, and The CEO Howard Michel WB2ITX, to The Hudson Division Director Ria Jairam N2RJ and neighboring Delta Division Director David Norris K5UZ

            Section Managers from all corners of Texas and Oklahoma were also present,
Oklahoma’s SM Kevin O’Dell N0IRW, South Texas SM Paul Gilbert KE5ZW, West Texas SM Dale Durham W5WI and your SM myself were in attendance.

            The West Gulf Director John Stratton N5AUS, Our Vice Director Lee Cooper W5LHC and myself stayed incredibly busy visiting fellow ARRL members and either attending or doing presentations at the Four ARRL Forums.
     Greg Evans our SEC K5GTX, manned a separate ARES booth and was assisted by John Hamilton KD5INM our newest Assistant Section Manager and District 1 SM Ambassador.

     I unfortunately, missed introducing the New Mexico Section Manager Bill Mader K8TE, apologies.

 

Notes from Katherine KT5KMF Our Section Youth Coordinator


I’m Katherine Forson, KT5KMF, and this is my first newsletter article since accepting the position of Section Youth Coordinator. I’m excited about this position and am working on several ideas about getting youth interested in radio.
After surviving my high school final exams, I assisted members of my home club, the Plano Amateur Radio Klub (PARK), when they did a (water) tower climb to do maintenance on the repeater.
I also attended HamCom in Plano this past weekend. I helped man the North Texas Section table and the PARK table. I also visited with members from the Dallas Amateur Radio Club (DARC), the Denton County Amateur Radio Association (DCARA), the McKinney Amateur Radio Club (MARC), the Richardson Wireless Klub (RWK), and the Sachse Amateur Radio Association (SARA). We discussed the possibility of my driver (Rob, K5WFR) and me visiting some of their meetings this summer. I also hope to visit some local clubs that were not at HamCom
While talking to members of DCARA, I heard something I thought was very interesting. Coppell High School is planning to set up an antenna and repeater on top of their building, as well as offering a summer class for students interested in ham radio. While at HamCom, I was also surprised when I heard about some individuals that occasionally used to set up and operate behind my school, Shepton High School in Plano, due to HOA restrictions in their own neighborhoods.
I was fortunate to have met a lot of people this weekend, including the ARRL Hudson Division Director Ria Jairam, N2RJ, and Dr. Thomas Hays, KI5AIF, Assistant Professor of Engineering Practice, School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma.
While at HamCom, I attended several sessions. I was especially impressed by Bryant Rascoll, KG5HVO, 2018 Young Ham of the Year. He talked during the luncheon about getting youth involved in contesting. I hope to collaborate with him in the future about getting more youth involved and interested in our hobby.
The best part of HamCom? I “won” an ICOM IC-7300 radio! Of course, I only won it after my driver paid the nice lady from MTC. I also picked up a portable antenna. I intend to try these out this weekend for ARRL Kids Day, and I plan to share my opinions on them in the next newsletter.
I am scheduled to attend several Field Day sites with my driver (backseat for that day!) and Steve, KG5VK, including Plano, McKinney, Richardson, Garland, Allen/Wylie/Lucas, and Sachse. I look forward to visiting with members of those clubs!

I hope you all have a great summer and hope to see you on the air!

Katherine KT5KMF

Ham of the Year Nominations Closing Date Announced

 I announced the deadline for ARRL NTX Section Ham of The Year Nominations at the Section Manager forum during Ham Com.
The deadline is 2359 Local time on the 22nd of this month,  details on submission of nominations may be found in the prior News Letter, On the ARRL NTX Groups.IO reflector, The Face Book Groups page “ARRL – North Texas Section” and on my Blog…. http://sdxa.blogspot.com
            Or simply email me for instructions  
kG5VK@ARRL.ORG


New Assistant Section Manager,  Ambassador appointed

I appointed John Hamilton KD5INM who is our current Technical Coordinator
John remains our Technical Coordinator and is now also a SM Ambassador for district 1.
He will be making many ARRL FD visits in District 1 on my behalf.
            John was and is a valued asset to our members, he proved so during HamCom, even though he had a full plate with the MARS program HamCom week-end John spent much time assisting myself and Greg Evans at the ARRL and ARES tables, thanks John !



Greg Evans K5GTX SEC


Summer Field Day is a great opportunity to practice your problem-solving skills.  I had never participated in a field day where something didn’t go wrong.  Maybe it is RFI or QRM from a neighboring station.  Maybe a cable end went bad while stored in the shed from the last Field Day.  Or worse yet, an amplifier, tuner or radio failed.  There are always new challenges during field day; it’s how you choose to handle them that is key.

Situational Awareness is key for our ability to respond.  In the past month, I asked the Section to go into Standby twice.  The first time was due to the Potentially Dangerous Situation (PDS) notice issued by the NWS for the panhandle of Texas.  For the following 48 hours since that notice, most of the weather was north of our section.  The second Standby request was due to the potential for severe weather throughout the Section.  NWS reported eight confirmed tornadoes.  On Sunday, June 9, winds exceeding 70 MPH hit the DFW area.  The storms occurred earlier than expected.  One Dallas resident lost their life due to a crane accident.  While the NWS does an excellent job predicting the weather, unexpected events do occur.  Maintaining our vigilance of situational awareness helps us be prepared to serve our communities in their time of need.


Planned ARRL Site Visits

Several members of the Section management staff and I, will be out and about
on ARRL Field Day week-end visiting the sites.
Katherine KT5KMF Section Youth Coordinator, myself and her dad will visit....

Plano K5PRK, McKinney W5MRC,
Richardson K5RWK, Garland K5QHD,
Allen/Wylie/Lucas W5AWL and Saches K5S

I will visit....
K5RKW in Rockwall, Grayson County (Sherman) and Paris WB5RDD
on the way back home if I can catch about four hours of sleep Saturday evening in
Plano

Ken Mitchell KD2KW  SM Ambassador
LAARK
DCARA
LARA

Army Curtis AE5P
Nacogdoches W5NAC and
Rusk County N5RCA in Henderson

Ken Hansen N2VIP   SM Ambassador
KB5A Metrocrest ARC
and Coppell Hams W5CPL


John Hamilton KD5INM
Section Technical Coordinator & New Assistant SM Ambassador District 1
John will be visiting FD sites within District
One (North West of Ft Worth) and down
into Districts 2 and 4
John is looking at visiting Six sites,
possibly a few more

Greg Evans K5GTX  SEC
DARC (Dallas ARC)
Ham Association of Mesquite (HAM)
Ellis County Amateur Radio Club
Mansfield Johnson Amatuer Radio Service (MJARS)
Tri County ARC
Northeast Tarrant Amateur Radio Club


Public Information Officer Wanted

We need a Public Information Officer for our Section.
If you have the skill to help me get the word out to our members using different Media Tools,
please contact me and let’s talk. 
You must be a current ARRL member to hold any position in section management and willing to spend a few hours each month on this project,
Giving a little of your time to our fellow ARRL members is very rewarding, the team could use some help, so call or email me now.   Steve   KG5VK@ARRL.ORG
Telephone 318-470-9806


The 90 Days of summer can be deadly

Summer is a lot of fun, kids are out of school and there are a lot of outdoor activities.
We have ARRL Field Day with a lot of inherent risk, especially the heat, stay hydrated !
Keep an eye on those around you and pay attention to the Heat and its effect on your body and others, know the signs of Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke.
Watch out for kids near water, it only takes a minute for a child to drown
being distracted with your nose in a cell phone when you should be monitoring children in or near water is cause for disaster.  Do you know CPR, you should – you may save the life of a stranger or a Loved one.

Parking lots are probably the most dangerous place any of us travel
I am amazed every time I enter and leave any parking area that I escape alive.

If your shooting a line over a tree with a projectile for ARRL FD, please consider where that projectile may land, especially if the line comes untethered.

Have Fun but be Safe and a reminder ARRL  Kids Day is today
15 June 2019

Steve
KG5VK

Thursday, May 30, 2019

ARRL North Texas Ham of The Year Nominations are still being accepted

ARRL NTX Ham of The Year Nominations should be more than just a call sign sent to the section manager

A good nomination package might look something like this......

What follows is nomination example

Everyone of the following lines are Bullet statements........


I want to nominate Name and Call sign for NTX Ham of the year.
Is an ARRL member
Was licensed in xxxx, has lived in NTX section X years
Currently is a member of xxxx and xxxx
Received a personal award from for work during weather event on xx date and year for doing XXXX
Presented XXXXXX at xxxx Ham Fest during xxxx and again in xxxx.
Does on-the-air traffic handling on XXX Net
Was instrumental in development of xxxx
Was honored by being the recipient of xxx group or club award
Inducted into the xxxxx
Directly responsible for organizing such and such events this passed year
Passed President of the XXX Amateur Radio club, and Current member of the Board of Directors
Served as a hospital volunteer during XXXXX in xxx of xxxx, at XXXX hospital
Works as a Volunteer doing xxx at their local church on such and such street in no where Texas
Is a VEC and has administered exams during the following club meetings and Ham Fest
Volunteered and assisted our club during it's support of  Mentor Fest (or other event)
Personally Elmer x number of new Amateur Radio operators last year
Assisted HamCom members with x hours of volunteer work in 2018 placing Barricades Thursday evening 

 (following is a sample closing paragraph)
I highly recommend XXXXXX for the award of North Texas Ham of the Year.
A closing paragraph such as this is appropriate to help underline
any of the Bullet statements that are above
You can also include copies of certificates, awards etc
And your closing with your name and call sign

You might not have as many bullet statements listed in the sample above
Those are listed to give you an idea of what a Nomination should look like


Closing date of Nominations will be announced at HamCom on the 8th of June 2019

Email your nominations to KG5VK@ARRL.ORG

Subject title needs to be ARRL NTX Ham of the Year Nomination

Steve
KG5VK