Jan 16, 2022 | ARRL, EPA Section
Jan. 11, 2022 – The ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio, is pleased to report the re-election of George W. Miller, W3GWM to a third 2-year term as section manager for the 34 counties of Eastern Pennsylvania (EPA). Miller resides in Wyalusing, PA.
As the Eastern PA (EPA) ARRL section manager, Miller is responsible for managing a team of volunteers that offer the following:
1. Emergency and backup communications for emergency management agencies and other disaster relief organizations, during public safety incidents, weather disasters and other local and national emergencies.
2. Outreach to youth organizations like the Scouts and others with an interest in Amateur Radio both as a hobby and as a public service
3. A source of information and education about Amateur Radio for appointed and elected government officials in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4. A public information service providing media in Pennsylvania with news releases on issues of importance to Amateur Radio and our communities in Eastern Pennsylvania, as well as an informative YouTube Television series – What Hams Do… aimed at the general public.
5. A liaison to the more than 50 ARRL affiliated Amateur Radio Clubs in the 34 counties that comprise the Eastern PA Section of the ARRL.
Miller was first licensed as an Amateur Radio Operator by the Federal Communications Commission in 1979. He spent decades in the armed forces of the United States in various communications roles. His service includes 26 years in the US Air Force Reserve and an earlier stint with the US Coast Guard. In more recent years, Miller ran his own IT consulting firm and authored or co-authored 5 books on computer programming. He was also the Technical Editor for Compute! Magazine as home computers became a standard fixture.
In addition to managing the EPA section, Miller is also a leading ‘traffic’ handler, i.e., an amateur radio operator who passes emergency communications from one part of the country to another. He serves as ‘net control’ – the on-air meeting manager for Amateur Radio Operators engaged in handling emergency messages – for a variety of daily and weekly meetings that ensure there’s a trained cadre of experts to maintain regional and national communications when disaster disrupts phone and internet service.
As section manager, George has made his mark, even in these difficult pandemic times, as a constant presence in the ham radio community. His regular in-person and remote presentations to ARRL affiliated clubs regarding traffic handling and other Amateur Radio activities are highly regarded by the thousands of hams in Eastern PA.
Learn more about the EPA Section: https://epa-arrl.org
George Miller, W3GWM
Jan 16, 2022 | ARES, ARRL, News, Public Service
New Section Emergency Coordinator -Bob Wilson, W3BIG is the new ARRL ARES EPA Section Emergency Coordinator. He came on board Dec. 1, 2021. Bob lives in Upper Chichester Township, Delaware County. Bob has been a Ham since 1978, was previously the Emergency Coordinator for Delaware County from 2008 until 2015. View the ARES EC Map: https://epa-arrl.org/ares-ec-map/
Bob Wilson W3BIG
Jan 16, 2022 | ARRL
The ARRL has set a new standard for what counts as low power for ARRL-sponsored HF contests. The new limit is 100 W, which is down from the 150 W limit that has been permitted in some events, including the ARRL November Sweepstakes.
With the exception of the ARRL Field Day, this change goes into effect on 1 January 2022, for all ARRL-sponsored HF contests, as well as the IARU HF World Championship in July 2022.
This change has been implemented to standardize low-power categories within the contesting community. However, on a more practical level, the typical modern HF transceiver has a maximum power output of 100 watts.
Sep 29, 2021 | ARRL, News
In May of 2021 the FCC adopted guidelines and procedures for evaluating environmental effects of RF emissions. The guidelines incorporate two tiers of exposure limits based on whether exposure occurs in an occupational or “controlled” situation, or whether the general population is exposed or exposure is in an “uncontrolled” situation. In addition to guidelines for evaluating fixed transmitters, the FCC adopted limits for evaluating exposure from mobile and portable devices, such as cellular telephones and personal communications devices.
From the ARRL:
“Amateur Radio is basically a safe activity. In recent years, however, there has been considerable discussion and concern about the possible hazards of electromagnetic radiation, including both RF energy and power-frequency (50-60 Hz) electromagnetic fields. To allay such concerns, the FCC set limits on the amount of RF energy people can be exposed to. Some stations need to be evaluated to see if they are in compliance with the rules. (You don’t need to send anything to the FCC once you complete your evaluation.)
If you do a station evaluation for one or more powers or modes, you can use the ARRL worksheet to guide you through the process. This single page worksheet and instructions will suffice for many stations. You can keep this worksheet in your station records,
You can also use the online calculator:
http://arrl.org/rf-exposure-calculator Fill-in the form with your operating power, antenna gain, and the operating frequency. “Depending on how far above ground the RF source is located, you might want to consider ground reflections — and then click ‘Calculate’. You may need to run the calculator multiple times to get a complete picture of your situation, i.e. take into account the antenna’s lobes and directionality.” (These suggestions are from the Lake Washington Ham Club.)
See Chapter 5 of the ARRL “RF Exposure and You” book for more information about multiple-transmitter sites. This book may be downloaded, although some of the information on categorical exemptions for amateur radio has been superseded by the new rules changes. The book can be downloaded for free.
See also:
ARRL FAQ page: http://arrl.org/rf-exposure
ARRL Calculator parameters: http://arrl.org/rf-exposure-calc-instructions
Jun 22, 2021 | Amateur Radio, ARRL, Club event, Club Station, Field Day
PAARC welcomes members to our private Field Day event at Welkinweir beginning at 2:00 pm Saturday, June 26, and ending at noon on Sunday, June 27. Sorry, but this event is not open to the public.
Members will need to sign Welkinweir’s COVID-19 waiver at the sign-in table in order to visit or operate. Our event call is W3U, and the GOTA station will be K3ZMC. There will be a refreshments table in the pavilion.
We expect our classification to be 3A. The following operators will have stations set up for the duration: K3TWL, WA3LAB (CW), and KE3KQ. We anticipate a visit from K0BAK with a VHF 6 station.
The GOTA (Get On The Air) station is available for new hams and those who may not have operated in awhile. Coaching is available from K3AFV.
Visit our Field day webpage
