Author: Darrell Davis KT4WX

DATE AND VENUE FOR 12TH ANNUAL TECHCON SET

The date and venue for the 12th Annual TECHCON have been set.  The date for the 12th Annual TECHCON, the Annual Technical Conference for the ARRL West Central Florida Section, is Saturday February 28, 2026.  The venue for the 12th Annual TECHCON will once again be the Hillsborough County Public Safety Operations Complex, located at 9450 E. Columbus Dr., Tampa, FL 33519, on the east side of Tampa, just on the west side of I-75.

Starting with the 12th Annual TECHCON, we will no longer live stream the presentations as the logistics to do so are to difficult to manage properly.  The 12th Annual TECHCON presentations will be recorded and the presenter slides will be added to it during post-production editing, once again facilitated by Russ Delaney N4RTD, one of our Assistant Section Managers.  Upon completion they will be uploaded to the Section YouTube channel once they are completed.  The Section YouTube channel is located at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFA4-HEjr-lYMFisVG_Nk5A.

Registration for the 12th Annual TECHCON is now open.  We are looking for presenters for TECHCON.  To have a successful TECHCON, we must have those who are willing to be presenters, especially those who have not been a presenter before.  The topic of presentation is, as always, the choice of the presenter, as long as the topic is related to amateur radio.

You may register to either attend or make a presentation for TECHCON at http://arrlwcf.org/section-forms/wcftechconfregistration/.  For more information about TECHCON you may go to the TECHCON webpage on the Section website at http://arrlwcf.org/wcf-special-events/wcftechconference/.

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NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2025 ELLEN WHITE W1YL AWARD WILL OPEN ON NOVEMBER 1.

Nominations for the 2025 Ellen White W1YL Award will open on Saturday November 1, 2025.  Nominations for the 2025 Ellen White W1YL Award may be made via the Section website Contact and Information Form at http://arrlwcf.org/section-forms/contact-info/.  The Ellen White W1YL Award is given by the ARRL West Central Florida Section each year to honor the amateur radio operator who has made the greatest contribution to amateur radio in the ARRL West Central Florida Section for the current calendar year.  Nominations for the 2025 Ellen White W1YL award will close on Sunday November 30, 2025.  The recipient of the award will be announced on Friday December 12, 2025 at the Tampa Bay Hamfest and the award will be presented to that recipient during the ARRL forum at the Tampa Bay Hamfest on Saturday December 13, 2025.

The namesake of the award, Ellen White W1YL, became a Silent Key on Saturday November 5, 2022.  White was appointed by Darrell Davis KT4WX in 2016, Section Manager of the ARRL West Central Florida section at the time, due to her contributions to amateur radio over many years, which included being in amateur radio for 75 years and working at ARRL HQ for 25 years.

For details on the Ellen White W1YL Award, you may go to the Section website Ellen White W1YL Award page at http://arrlwcf.org/wcf-special-events/ellen-white-w1yl-award/.  For a detailed article on the life of Ellen White W1YL, please go to the ARRL News article published on November 7, 2022 at http://www.arrl.org/news/ellen-white-w1yl-silent-key-devoted-lifetime-to-amateur-radio-and-arrl.

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THE WCF ARES COMMUNICATOR FOR NOVEMBER 2025 IS PUBLISHED.

The November 2025 issue of THE ARES COMMUNICATOR, is now available for download on the new ARES COMMUNICATOR page located at https://arrlwcf.org/home/wcf-ares-communicator.  All issues will be archived on this page for current and historical reference.

Included in this issue is a guest columnist and the Emergency Coordinator and Official Emergency Station reports for September 2025.

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THE WCF PRESSER FOR SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2025 IS NOW PUBLISHED

THE WCF PRESSER for September/October 2025, issue #67, has just been published and is now available for download from the Section website at https://arrlwcf.org/home/the-wcf-section-presser-arrl-west-central-florida-section-news/.

THE WCF PRESSER production team is composed of Darrell Davis KT4WX, Assistant Section Manager for Technology, as editor, and Russ Delaney N4RTD Assistant Section Manager for Digital Communications, as layout coordinator.  In order to continue to publish THE WCF PRESSER, content is needed.  The editors are not “mind readers” and your submissions are definitely needed.  If your amateur radio club or group is having an activity or event, write it up and send it to Darrell Davis KT4WX via email at kt4wx@arrl.net.  The submission format does not matter and the production team can work with any format.  Pictures being included is encouraged.

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JOHN CHAPUT KK4LI IS A SILENT KEY

John Chaput KK4Li, became a Silent Key on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025 after a protracted cancer battle.  Chaput was 63 years old at the time of his passing.  Chaput is survived by his wife Cyndi, twin sons Evan Hunter Chaput and Jared Sean Chaput, grandson Jackson Lee Chaput, granddaughter Kelli Jo Chaput, daughter-in-law Kayla JoAnn Chaput, sister Marie Mills-Chaput, brother-in-law John Andrew “Andy” Spires, niece Jennifer “Jen” Fairfield, and nephew Phillip “Phil” Lloyd Mills, as well as countless other family members and friends.

Chaput got into amateur radio in the 1970’s, and tinkered with amateur radio equipment from that time, and was active in amateur radio for the rest of his life.  Chaput was active in the Highlands County Amateur Radio Club and the West Central Florida Group, the owner/operators of the NI4CE Repeater System.  Chaput assisted with the maintenance of the Highlands County Amateur Radio Club repeaters.  Chaput also helped out a number of amateur radio clubs and individual amateur radio operators with tower climbing when they were in need as a service to the amateur radio community.

Chaput ran a television repair shop in Lake Placid and eventually got into the tower climbing business, mounting internet access points on towers for RV Parks, among other tower climbing.

Chaput also served as deacon for First Baptist Church of Lake Josephine and later as a leader for the youth and young adults at Leisure Lakes Baptist Church, John was an inspiration to all of those who encountered him. Never seeming to be without a smile, John could brighten any day and share the love of Jesus with any stranger without hesitation.

A celebration of life ceremony was held on Saturday August 16, 2025 in Lake Placid.  For the full text of the obituary you may go to https://www.midfloridanewspapers.com/highlands_news-sun/obituaries/john-r-chaput/article_8f2e2f2d-04ea-4405-b1a1-dfd5bd145b11.html

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CECIL FOX KF4CSM IS A SILENT KEY

Cecil Fox Jr. KF4CSM, the Assistant Emergency Coordinator of Operations for Manatee County ARES, passed away on Sunday September 14, 2025 after a battle with cancer.  Fox was 74 years old at the time of his passing.  Fox is survived by his loving wife, Melody Fox; sister, Sandra Fox; sons Charles, Eric, and daughter-in-law Lynne; son-in-law David; and cherished grandchildren Jackson, Tyler, and Haley, who added so much joy to his life.

Fox was a proud graduate of Manatee High School and furthered his education by earning an Associate of Science degree from Vincennes University. Fox was in the United States Army for 31 years, retiring as a Command Sergeant Major, and having received numerous commendation medals for various aspects of his service.  Cecil also served his community as a deputy sheriff with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office for 12 years.

A man of deep Christian faith, Fox served as a Deacon at Bible Baptist Church near Bradenton, and was actively involved in numerous ministries. He lived out the scripture, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13), in both his professional and personal life.

Visitation and a memorial service were held on Thursday 9/18/25 and Friday 9/19/25.   For the full text of the obituary you may go to https://www.brownandsonsfuneral.com/obituaries/Cecil-E-Fox-Jr?obId=45402834.  The Bradenton Times ran an article about his passing. You may read that article at https://thebradentontimes.com/stories/cecil-fox-jr,160660

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PASS THE BILL ARRL Grassroots Campaign is Underway.

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WCF SECTION ARES MEETING FALL 2025 VIDEO AND SLIDES ARE NOW AVAILABLE

ARRL West Central Florida Section ARES resumed having quarterly Section ARES meetings on Saturday September 13, 2025, and this meeting was held via Zoom.  The video and slides from the meeting are now available for viewing and download respectively.

To view the video of this meeting you may go to the ARRL West Central Florida Section YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY1BSZsG6Zw.  The main landing page for the Section YouTube channel is located at https://www.youtube.com/@arrlwcf

To download the Microsoft PowerPoint presentation, you may go to the Section website ARES page located at https://arrlwcf.org/wcf-section-programs/ares/.  The slides for the meeting are located in the Section near the bottom of the page entitled, “WCF Section ARES Communications Plan and supporting documents.”

The next WCF Section ARES meeting is being planned as an in-person meeting at the Tampa Bay Hamest on Saturday December 13, 2025.

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THE WCF ARES COMMUNICATOR FOR SEPTEMBER 2025 IS PUBLISHED.

The September 2025 issue of THE ARES COMMUNICATOR, is now available for download on the new ARES COMMUNICATOR page located at https://arrlwcf.org/home/wcf-ares-communicator.  All issues will be archived on this page for current and historical reference.

Included in this issue is an another good article about “Blue Skies” and the Emergency Coordinator and Official Emergency Station reports for July 2025.

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THE WCF ARES COMMUNICATOR FOR AUGUST 2025 ISSUE IS PUBLISHED.

The June 2025 issue of THE ARES COMMUNICATOR, is now available for download on the new ARES COMMUNICATOR page located at https://arrlwcf.org/home/wcf-ares-communicator.  All issues will be archived on this page for current and historical reference.

Starting with this issue, the ARES reports and ARES Net reports that are submitted will be carried in THE WCF ARES COMMUNICATOR.  The month being reported is a couple of months behind the date of publication.  For example in the August 2025 issue are the reports submitted for the month of June 2025.

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