Author: Darrell Davis KT4WX

8th ANNUAL TECHCON SCHEDULE AND LIST OF PRESENTATIONS NOW AVAILABLE.

The speaking schedule and list of presentations are now available for download from the TECHCON webpage on the Section website at http://arrlwcf.org/wcf-special-events/wcftechconference/.  Darrell Davis KT4WX, Technical Coordinator, made the following comment about the posting of the schedule and list of presentations, “My apologies to all for making these available much later than I have planned.  I have been tied up with my Mom being in the hospital and rehab since the conclusion of Orlando Hamcation.  And thank you to all of you for your understanding, prayers, thoughts, and words of kindness.”

Any slide presentations, papers, or handouts produced by our various speakers will come online the morning of the General Presentations on the TECHCON webpage at http://arrlwcf.org/wcf-special-events/wcftechconference/.

As a reminder, the Friday Afternoon Workshop has been cancelled. The 8th Annual TECHCON will start tomorrow evening, Friday February 25 at 1800 with the Friday Evening Social, and the General Presentations will be on Saturday February 26. The doors to the Polk County EOC will open at 0800 and the presentations will begin at 0900. The conference will conclude between 1630 and 1700.

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8th ANNUAL TECHCON UPDATE – FRIDAY WORKSHOP CANCELLED

The 8th Annual TECHCON Friday Afternoon Workshop, which was scheduled for Friday February 25, 2022, has been cancelled.  The Friday Evening Social scheduled for Friday February 25, 2022 and the Saturday General Presentation Tracks scheduled for Saturday February 26, 2022 will carry on as scheduled.

The following statement was issued by Darrell Davis KT4WX, Chairman of TECHCON concerning the cancellation of the Friday Afternoon Workshop, “I was scheduled to be presenter of the Friday Afternoon Workshop.  Due to unforeseen circumstances, I was forced to cancel the Friday Afternoon Workshop.  I will be conducting an abbreviated version of the workshop, as a two time slot presentation during the Saturday General Presentation tracks.  I apologize to anyone that this cancellation may have inconvenienced.”

The Saturday General Presentations Track speaking schedule and presentation descriptions are scheduled to be published towards the end of next week.

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ARRL SOUTHERN FLORIDA SECTION ARES NET TO EXPAND TO SIX DAY A WEEK OPERATION.

The Southern Florida ARES Net (SFAN) currently meets on Saturday on 3940 KHz at 0800 hours.  SFAN will be expanding from operation on Saturday to operation six days a week:  Monday through Saturday.  The start time of 0800 EDT will remain the same.  The new Net Manager Ed Johnson W2PH issued the following statement concerning the expansion of the Southern Florida ARES Net.

“We will be beginning the new SFAN on Saturday March 5, 2022.  It will meet on 3940 kHz at 8am Monday thru Saturday.  The net will act as a means to join ARES groups in the lower half of Florida and will change to the Southern Florida Emergency Net during times of deployment.  We have set up an email system for those interested in participating by registering at SFAN@groups.io.  We will be looking for Net Control Stations as well as net Liaisons to both ARES and traffic nets for the purposes of training and developing means for passing Welfare traffic into the NTS.

Interested amateurs should contact the Net Manager, Ed W2PH at ed@w2ph.com or w2ph@arrl.net.  We also have an email network you can join at the website: SFAN@groups.io where you can register and be kept informed of our upcoming activity.”

Johnson has noted in his announcements on various HF nets that volunteers for Net Control from all three ARRL Florida Sections, will be accepted, so that net controls will be sufficiently saturated throughout the State of Florida, to support relaying of message during advese band conditions.  Johnson also stated that the net will primarily service the Southern Florida Section ARES and West Central Florida Section ARES, and will be the counterpart of the Northern Florida ARES Net that currently meets on Monday through Saturday at 0900 on 3950 KHz.

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TRAVELERS REST SPECIAL EVENT STATION ACTIVE FOR THE FIRST WEEKEND IN FEBRUARY

The Travelers Rest Amateur Radio Club will be holding a Special Event Station to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Travelers Rest RV Resort located in Dade City in Pasco County.  They will be running the special event callsign W5O.  They will be operating on or near 7240 KHz on 40 Meters or 14240 KHz on 20 Meters.  A certificate is available for working this special event station.  For more information on this operation look at the Special Events Station column in the February 2022 QST Magazine.

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WINTER 2022 SECTION ARES LUNCHEON AND MEETING VENUES SET

The date, time, and venue for the Winter 2022 Section ARES Luncheon and Meeting have been confirmed.  The Winter 2022 Section ARES Luncheon will be held on Saturday January 22nd at 1100 EST, at the Sonny’s BBQ located at 2250 Seminole Blvd. in Largo.   The Winter 2022 Section ARES Meeting will follow the luncheon at 1300 EST, and will be held at the Pinellas County Emergency Operations Center, which is located at 10750 Ulmerton Road, Building 1, Suite 267, in Largo.

The Section ARES Luncheon and Meeting is open to anyone who wishes to attend.  The meeting will be available on the Section Zoom account as well.  The Zoom meeting information is available on the Section ARES page which is located at http://arrlwcf.org/wcf-section-programs/ares/.

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SANFORD WYATT KM4WXX IS THE 2021 WHITE AWARD RECIPIENT

Sanford Wyatt, KM4WXX, of rural northeastern Sarasota County, has been named the 2021 White Award recipient.    The White Award, established in 2016 in honor of Ellen White W1YL, is to name the amateur radio operator who has made the greatest contribution to amateur radio in the ARRL West Central Florida Section.

Mike Douglas W4MDD, Section Manager of the ARRL West Central Florida Section, made the following comment about Wyatt receiving the 2021 White Award, “Sanford was chosen for his accomplishments, tutoring hams who wish to be net control operators and always there to help with other endeavors related to the ham community.  Please join me in congratulating Sanford, it is well deserved.”

Wyatt became interested in shortwave radio in the late 1950’s and received a Novice license in 1958 at Ft Myers, FL. Wyatt had gotten out of amateur radio for a period of time and in 2016 was re-licensed with his current callsign of KM4WXX after retiring. In 2018, Wyatt was appointed as an ARRL Net Manager as an Assistant Net Manager of the Eagle Net, the NTS traffic net for the ARRL West Central Florida Section. Wyatt also serves as Net Manager for the Sarasota Agriculture Recovery Group (SARG) Net, which provides service to ESF-17. Wyatt is also a member of Sarasota Emergency Radio Club, Sarasota County ARES, a certified NWS Skywarn Spotter, and an alternate operator for the Sarasota County EOC to the weekly State EOC SARNET on Wednesday at 1300. Wyatt also provides service as a member Florida State Agriculture Recovery Team (SART).  Wyatt was appointed on Monday February 22, 2021 by Mike Douglas W4MDD, Section Manager of the ARRL West Central Florida Section, to be the Net Manager of the Section ARES and Information Net on VHF/UHF, which is held on Monday evening at 1930 on the NI4CE Repeater System.

Wyatt in his professional career was in marine (look into Merritt Supply official site to buy the best marine supplies in town) and the heavy construction industry for 42 years. Wyatt also served in the U.S. Air Force during the time of the Vietnam war. Wyatt is also currently a member of the American Legion Post 266 in Sarasota.

The ARRL West Central Florida Section congratulates Sanford Wyatt on being named the 2021 White Award Recipient.  The 2021 White Award will be presented at the ARRL forum during the Tampa Bay Hamfest on Saturday December 11, 2021.  Wyatt will also receive a one year ARRL membership compliments of the West Central Florida Group, who operate the NI4CE Repeater System, for the being the recipient of the 2021 White Award.

For all the details and history of the White Award you may go to http://arrlwcf.org/wcf-special-events/white-award/.

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NATIONAL TRAFFIC SYSTEM TRAINING AT THE TAMPA BAY HAMFEST

The West Central Florida (WCF) Section has identified traffic handling as an essential skill for all radio operators. Dave Rockwell, Net Manager of the West Central Florida National Traffic Net (known as Eagle Net) will present a short (90 minute) seminar on American Radio Relay League (ARRL) standard radiogram traffic. The session will be held the afternoon of December 10 at theTampa Bay Hamfest in Plant City. No advanced registration is required.

During major disasters and other emergencies, when regular communications are disrupted, amateur radio operators are ready to provide direct communications from the effected locations to county, state, and national emergency managers.  Using simple HF and VHF nets, properly trained hams can collect information and pass it to those who need act on it. Examples include, requests for supplies and equipment from state agencies, coordination of federal response, situation reports from the frontline, and welfare messages to family and friends outside the disaster area. Often, this important information must transit several stations before reaching the correct responder or resource provider.  It is critical that the information flow accurately and quickly to its destination. That is where the radiogram comes in.  A radiogram is a formatted message that can be passed from one station to another with virtually no corruption. Every amateur radio operator involved in emergency services should learn traffic handling skills before they are needed in a disaster or emergency. Participating in regular traffic nets offers the opportunity to hone these skills and practice them regularly.  For more information, please email Dave Rockwell at W4PXE@ARRL.NET.  Attend at the Tampa Bay Hamfest on Friday December 10 at 1330 (1:30 P.M.) in the Expo Building. https://fgcarc.org/.

Thanks to Dave Rockwell W4PXE for providing the text and information contained in this press release.

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SECTION NET SCHEDULE CHANGES FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON OF 2021.  SPECIAL HOLIDAY EDITIONS OF THE EAGLE NET.

The following ARRL West Central Florida Section Nets will have net cancellations for the holiday season of 2021:

In observance of Thanksgiving Day – Thursday November 25th, 2021:

The ARRL West Central Florida Section Technical Net conducted on the NI4CE Repeater System at 2100 on Thursday, will be cancelled on Thursday November 25th, 2021 and will resume normal operation on Thursday December 2nd, 2021.

The ARRL West Central Florida Section ARES Net – HF Edition conducted on Saturday at 0730 or immediately following the Florida Phone Traffic Net on 3940 KHz, will be cancelled on Saturday November 27th, 2021 and will resume normal operation on Saturday December 4th, 2021.

In observance of the Tampa Bay Hamfest – Saturday December 11th, 2021:

The ARRL West Central Florida Section ARES Net – HF Edition conducted on Saturday at 0730 or immediately following the Florida Phone Traffic Net on 3940 KHz, will be cancelled on Saturday December 11th,2021 and will resume normal operation for its final session for the year 2021 on Saturday December 18th, 2021.

In observance of Christmas Day – Saturday December 25th, 2021 and New Years Day – Saturday January 1st, 2022:

The ARRL West Central Florida Section ARES Net – VHF/UHF Edition conducted on Monday at 1930 on the NI4CE Repeater System, will be cancelled on Monday December 20th, 2021 and Monday December 27th, 2021 and will resume normal operation on Monday January 3rd, 2022.

The ARRL West Central Florida Section Technical Net conducted on Thursday at 2100 on the NI4CE Repeater System will be cancelled on Thursday December 23rd, 2021 and Thursday December 30th, 2021 and will resume normal operation on Thursday January 6th, 2022.

The ARRL West Central Florida Section ARES Net – HF Edition conducted on 3940 KHz at 0730 or immediately following the Florida Phone Traffic Net will be cancelled on Saturday December 25th, 2021 and Saturday January 1st, 2022 and will resume normal operation on Saturday January 8th, 2022.

The Eagle Net, the NTS traffic for the ARRL West Central Florida Section, which meets daily at 2030 on the NI4CE Repeater System will operate as normally scheduled.  In keeping with holiday tradition, Darrell Davis KT4WX, Assistant Section Manager of the ARRL West Central Florida Section, will be Net Control for the Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve editions of the Eagle Net.  Darrell will be asking a holiday oriented question on each net.  Darrell will take answers from participating stations that wish to answer the holiday related question of the evening.  The answers are always very interesting to listen to.

The ARRL West Central Florida Section wishes everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons.

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