Category: News

ARRL WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA SECTION DEBUTS YOUTUBE CHANNEL.  7TH ANNUAL TECHCON PRESENTATIONS TO BE STREAMED ON YOUTUBE.

On Friday February 26th, the ARRL West Central Florida Section opened a channel on YouTube.  The link to the new ARRL West Central Florida Section YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFA4-HEjr-lYMFisVG_Nk5A.  You may also search for the YouTube channel on YouTube under the name “ARRL West Central Florida Section”.

The purpose of the ARRL West Central Florida Section YouTube channel is to publish videos about different areas of interest in amateur radio primarily here in the ARRL West Central Florida Section.  The topics will include but not be limited to: technical, ARES, QRP, Contesting, DXing, local radio clubs.

The 7th Annual TECHCON slated for Saturday February 27th from 0900 through 1700 will be streamed on the ARRL West Central Florida Section YouTube channel in addition to being facilitated on the Section Zoom account.  For more details about TECHCON 2021 go to the TECHCON webpage at http://arrlwcf.org/wcf-special-events/wcftechconference/

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STEVE MASLIN NS4M APPOINTED AS ARRL AFFILIATED CLUB COORDINATOR

On Sunday February 21, 2021, Mike Douglas W4MDD appointed Steve Maslin NS4M to be the new ARRL Affiliated Club Coordinator for the ARRL West Central Florida Section.  Maslin succeeds Douglas, who had served as ARRL Affiliated Club Coordinator for the ARRL West Central Florida Section from October 2017 through December 2020.

Douglas had the following to say concerning the appointment of Maslin as ARRL Affiliated Club Coordinator, “Stephen has been appointed, as my successor, Affiliated Club Coordinator.  Stephen is also President of the Brandon Amateur Radio Society. Please give Stephen a very warm welcome in his new position with WCF.”

Maslin was originally licensed as Technician class in 1993 as N3ORH in Southeastern Pennsylvania and had spent much of his youth, before being licensed, hanging around the Mid-Atlantic Amateur Radio Club (MARC) along with his father (N3EA ex-W3DZI) who was a founding member of MARC, helping at their Hamfests and VE sessions.  After becoming licensed, Maslin became a full member of the MARC and then served as President of the MARC.  Maslin has also served as ARRL Affiliated Club Coordinator for the Eastern Pennsylvania Section.    Maslin relocated to Florida in 2007 and was promised an HF rig by his father if he upgraded to General class.  In 2018, Maslin upgraded to General class, shortly afterward upgraded to Extra class, and was given an ICOM-7000 by his father.  Maslin also helped two of his children become licensed and they now hold the callsigns of N4HMM and K4HMM.  In 2019, Maslin obtained his current callsign of NS4M.

Maslin currently serves as an ARRL VE, and is currently the President for the Brandon Amateur Radio Society, in Hillsborough County just east of Tampa.]

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CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAMFEST 2021 HAS DIFFERENT VENUE.

The Charlotte County Hamfest for 2021 has had a change of venue for 2021.  The Charlotte County Hamfest will be located at 30337 Cedar Road, Punta Gorda, FL 33982, which is 5.5 miles east on U.S. 17 from I-75 at Exit 164.  The new venue will allow tailgaters and vendors to be able to practice social distancing, being it is an outdoor venue.

The Charlotte County Hamfest is sponsored by the Peace River Radio Association.  For more information on the hamfest, including the hamfest flyer, you may go to the PRRA website at http://prra.club.  For a Google map of the new location, go to our Section website for the original of this press release, which includes all the graphics, at http://arrlwcf.org/news/2021/02/18/wcf-section-press-release-21-07/.

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7th ANNUAL TECHCON MEETING INFO, SPEAKING SCHEDULE, AND LIST OF PRESENTATIONS PUBLISHED

The speaking schedule, brief description of presentations list, and Zoom Meeting information for the 7th Annual TECHCON are now published on the TECHCON page on the Section website at http://arrlwcf.org/wcf-special-events/wcftechconference/.

We are sad to announce that due to logistical difficulties, and other circumstances beyond our control, that the Friday Afternoon Workshop scheduled for Friday February 26, 2021 is cancelled.  We apologize to all for this inconvenience.

The Saturday General Presentations will start at 0900 and go through 1200, with a break for lunch from 1200 until 1300, and then start again at 1300 and go until 1700.  The Zoom meeting room will open at 0830, and attendance will be limited to 100 attendees due to the terms of our Zoom account.  The Saturday General Presentations will be recorded for later viewing, and the link to that recording will be published on the TECHCON page on the Section website.  If you are planning on attending, and have not done so already, please register at the TECHCON registration form on the Section website at http://arrlwcf.org/section-forms/wcftechconfregistration/

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BIKE MS CITRUS TOUR 2021 IS CANCELLED

On Tuesday January 26, 2021, it was announced by the National MS Society that the “in person” portion of Bike MS Citrus Tour 2021 scheduled for Saturday March 6, 2021, is cancelled.  In the statement announcing the cancellation, the reason stated for the cancellation was due to concerns with the COVID-19 virus, guarantee of medical support within hospitals in the local area, and other logistical issues.  Previously the Bike MS Citrus Tour 2021 had been reduced significantly from a two day to a one day event and cancellation of other related festivities.  At press time, the date for the Bike MS Citrus Tour 2022 was not available.

The ARRL West Central Florida Section and the National MS Society extends its sincere thanks to all who had volunteered to provide communications support the Bike MS Citrus Tour 2021.  The ARRL West Central Florida Section has sponsored the amateur radio communications support for Bike MS Citrus Tour since 2018.

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7th ANNUAL TECHCON TO GO VIRTUAL

The 7th Annual TECHCON, scheduled for Friday February 26 and Saturday February 27, 2021, which was scheduled to take place at the Polk County EOC, will transition to a virtual conference to be held via the Section Zoom account.

Darrell Davis KT4WX, Chairman of TECHCON, made the following comments about the 7th Annual TECHCON going virtual, “I deeply regret this decision and it was not made easily.  After consulting with those who are scheduled to speak and our Section Manager Mike Douglas W4MDD, I decided it was in our best interest to have the 7th Annual TECHCON as a virtual event, due to rising numbers of COVID-19 infections in the State of Florida, and also due to the reservations that many of our presenters and even some of our attendees had expressed in doing TECHCON in person.  This will allow for continuity and not put us into the position of not having TECHCON in 2021 at all.”

As of press time, the Friday Afternoon Workshop and the Saturday General Presentation will go forward and the Friday Evening Social, scheduled on Friday February 26, 2021 from 1800 through 2100 has been cancelled.  There will only be one General Presentation Track on Saturday.  Depending upon how many presentations are finally scheduled, the Saturday General Presentation Track could be slight expanded or some presentations can be held on Friday morning before the Friday Afternoon Workshop.

The Section Zoom account will be used for both days of TECHCON.  TECHCON is still free of charge but our attendance at any given time will be limited to 100, due to the terms of our Zoom account.  A final speaking schedule will be available 1 to 2 weeks before TECHCON. Registration will continue to be open and registration is encouraged so we will have an idea who is attending.   The TECHCON workshop and general sessions will be recorded for later viewing.

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WINTER 2021 QUARTERLY ARRL WCF SECTION ARES MEETING TO BE HELD VIA ZOOM

The Winter 2021 ARRL West Central Florida Section ARES Meeting will be held on Saturday January 16, 2021 at 1400 EDT, as a Zoom meeting, instead of a “face to face” meeting due to the continuing COVID-19 situation.  The information to log into the Zoom meeting is located the Section ARES page at : http://arrlwcf.org/wcf-section-programs/ares/

The Zoom meeting will be open for attendees to check in 15 minutes before the meeting is scheduled to start at 1400, to allow participants time to log in and be sure their video and or audio is functioning.  Everyone is welcome to attend the Zoom meeting, but due to the terms of our Zoom account we are limited to a seating of 100.

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DARRELL DAVIS KT4WX APPOINTED ASSISTANT SECTION MANAGER AND TECHNICAL COORDINATOR.

Mike Douglas W4MDD, Section Manager of the ARRL West Central Florida Section, appointed Darrell Davis KT4WX to be an Assistant Section Manager.  Davis will serve as the Executive Assistant Section Manager.  Dave Birnbaum K2LYV, Technical Coordinator of the ARRL West Central Florida Section, had decided to step down as Technical Coordinator on Thursday December 31, 2020.  Douglas appointed Darrell Davis KT4WX, as the new Technical Coordinator for the ARRL West Central Florida Section.  Davis has previously served as Technical Coordinator from 2000 through the middle of 2004.

Douglas had the following to say about the appointment of Davis, “Darrell Davis, KT4WX will remain an integral part of the West Central Florida Section of the ARRL. As I transition into the new post of Section Manager I will continue to rely on Darrell’s expertise. I do not plan, in the immediate future, on making any changes to staff of the WCF. The Section has been running quite smoothly. I have no desire to reinvent the wheel”.  Davis said the following about his appointments, ” I feel honored to serve on Mike’s cabinet as one of his Assistant Section Manager’s and to serve for the second time as Technical Coordinator.  I got my start in the West Central Florida Section serving as Technical Coordinator and I really enjoyed serving in that capacity.  Building and experimenting with radio, electronics, and computers is my first love in amateur radio.”  Davis also will continue to serve as Chairman of TECHCON, the ARRL West Central Florida Section Technical Conference as part of his responsibilites as Technical Coordinator.

The ARRL West Central Florida Section extends its sincere thanks to Dave Birnbaum K2LYV for his service as Technical Coordinator for the later part of 2019 and 2020.  Birnbaum will continue as an ARRL Technical Specialist and regular contributor to the section newsletters, the WCF PRESSER and the WCF EXPERIMENTER.  Birnbaum has also been an annual presenter at TECHCON and plans to continue in that role as well.

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