May 25: Joint Emcomm Exercise for All PA Amateurs

The Red Cross is inviting Pennsylvania ARES, PEMA ACES, radio clubs and unaffiliated hams to participate in a joint exercise on May 25th. We’ve been hard at work preparing for the May National Mass Care Exercise and would like to leverage that infrastructure for a cross state Emcomm drill. Red Cross Emcomm Stations will be accepting check-ins on VHF, HF, Digital and Phone. Participants will be encouraged to deploy and demonstrate their Emcomm skills. Full details will be provided on May 23rd.

https://epa-arrl.org/joint-emcomm-exercise-for-all-pennsylvania-amateurs-on-may-25/

 

July 1 -7: 13 Colonies Special Event

The Fourteenth Annual
13 Colonies Special Event

http://www.13colonies.us

This year’s theme: Land Battles of the Revolution

July 1 (9AM Eastern) to July 7 (Midnight Eastern)
(July 1, 2022-1300 UTC to July 8, 2022-0400 UTC)

  • In addition to the 13 state stations, there are 3 bonus stations: Philadelphia, Great Britain, and France. 
  • All HF bands will be in play, including the WARC bands, with the exception of 60 meters. Simplex on 2 meters and 6 meters is encouraged.
  • The Special Event stations are on the east coast and, are very close to each other. It will be harder for these states to contact each other so, use of 40m-160m is encouraged.
  • All modes of operation may be represented – SSB, CW, RTTY, Digital, Etc. – The mode of operation is up to the individual colony state station. Please refer to the State information pages for details.
  • The 13 Colonies Special Event is a not for profit event. All certificate donations are used to fund the next year’s event, and to defray any expenses occurred. All donations are used for operating costs, supplies, equipment, and 13 Colony Group initiatives. Donation is voluntary.13 Colonies image
    Also, see the website for the Philadelphia bonus station WM3PEN:

http://www.harcnet.org

 

George Miller, W3GWM re-elected as ARRL EPA Section Manager

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

George Miller, W3GWM

Friday, Nov. 5th – Monthly Meeting

Friday, Nov. 5th at 7:00 pm  at St. James Lutheran Church, 93 Kugler Rd., Limerick, PA
 

We look forward to seeing members in person at the first Friday meeting. The VE exam will take place in the meeting hall, so if you come to the meeting early, please help the examinees focus by speaking softly. Note that If there is any new guidance or update to our schedule it will be sent via Groups.io and posted to the homepage of www.paarcdotnet

At this meeting:

  • We’ll be joined by Chuck Farell W3AFV, EPA ARES EC to discuss the LGS Exercise. 
  • We will be inviting nominations for board positions, with an election to follow at the December 3rd meeting. See the section below this one for details. 
  • We’ll be showing a short video: An Introduction to DX. There will be time to share your best DX stories as well. 
  • Please feel free to bring a recent home-brew item or kit build to show us.
  • We are accepting dues payments for 2022 at this meeting. See Nate, N2ADD. 
COVID-19 Guidelines for Meetings
Our meeting location, St. James Lutheran Church in Limerick, follows state and CDC guidance for COVID-19, and the CDC now recommends that everyone mask up when indoors. Please wear a mask to keep yourself and others safe. The club will have masks available at the door if you need one.