Category: News

JOHN HAMILTON KE4UNO AND BART HOUSER AF4TK BECOME SILENT KEYS

It is with sadness that we have to report to you that two amateur radio operators have recently become silent keys:

JOHN HAMILTON KE4UNO SK:

John Hamilton KE4UNO, of Lakeland, became a silent key on Sunday March 8, 2015, after a short period of illness. He was 52 years old.  He is survived by his father Bart T. Hamilton; sister Donna Haynes (Jody) of Lakeland; and nieces Kelly Cici, and Megan Haynes.

John was well known and often frequented the local 2 Meter and 70 Centimeter repeaters in Polk County, the Wauchula repeater in Hardee County, and Hillsborough County.  A memorial service was held on Thursday March 12 at the Hopewell Funeral Home on CR39 south of Plant City.

The Ledger Obituary: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/theledger/obituary.aspx?n=john-w-hamilton&pid=174368528&fhid=3691#sthash.arJ1zkhK.dpuf

Lakeland Amateur Radio Club Blog: http://lakelandarc.blogspot.com/2015/03/ke4uno-becomes-silent-key.html

BARTON “BART” HOUSER AF4TK SK:

Bart Houser AF4TK, of Tampa, became a silent key on Thursday April 9, 2015. He was 71 years old.

Tampa Amateur Radio Club Website: http://hamclub.org/wp/?p=975

Please note:  Silent Key notices are not published in a WCF SECTION PRESS RELEASE until the publishing of an obituary to give the families involved privacy and to prevent the error of reporting someone a silent key who is in fact alive and well.  Thank you for your understanding.

END OF PRESS RELEASE

WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA ARES SECTION MEETING AND SIMULATED EMERGENCY TEST BOTH POSTPONED.

Due to the funeral of Warren Elly W1GUD being held on Saturday April 11 and in consultation with our hosts at the Hillsborough County EOC, the West Central Florida Section ARES Meeting has been postponed for one week until Saturday April 18th.  Tentatively, the meeting will be held at the Hardee County EOC at 404 W. Orange Street in downtown Wauchula, right across from the Hardee County Courthouse.  The meeting time will still be at 1:00 P.M. and the West Central Florida Section ARES Luncheon will be held at the Panda Restaurant located at 806 South 6th Avenue, Wauchula.  South 6th Avenue is also southbound U.S. 17.  For the Section ARES Luncheon Info go to http://arrlwcf.org/event/wcf-section-ares-meeting-3/ and the Section ARES Luncheon go to http://arrlwcf.org/event/wcf-section-ares-meeting-3/.

The West Central Florida Section Simulated Emergency Test (SET) has been postponed until a later date in the Spring or Summer of 2015, until such a time can be determined to hold the SET.

END OF PRESS RELEASE

WARREN ELLY W1GUD BECOMES A SILENT KEY

Yesterday Warren Elly W1GUD, became a silent key losing his battle with adrenal cancer.  Warren was originally from New England but came to Florida in the 1980’s and had been a licensed amateur radio operator for over 50 years.

Warren had served as the trustee of the W4DUG call sign for the Tampa Amateur Radio Club (TARC) and had served TARC through the many years from the days (when their clubhouse was) on Davis Islands until his passing.  He was the driving force behind the Field Day success of placing 2nd nationwide and spearheaded the antenna project at the clubhouse that brought the TARC Clubhouse that portion of their remarkable facility.  Warren was a regular Net Control Station on the South Coast Amateur Radio Service (SCARS) Net on 7251 KHz.  He was an avid fan of AM broadcasting, especially with his favored boat anchor equipment, yet he was in the forefront of innovation recently acquiring a Flex software defined radio.

Warren was very well known to the public as a news reporter for WTVT Channel 13 news from 1982 until his retirement in 2011.  Warren never retired from one of his main hobbies: amateur radio.  Warren was an inspiration to all that knew him and he will be truly missed.  Warren is survived by his wife Lona, his sons, and grandchildren.

Content of this press release and photo are courtesy of the Tampa Amateur Radio Club and WTVT websites.

For more information go to http://hamclub.org/index4.html and http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/28730452/remembering-warren-elly-a-colleague-mentor-and-friend.

END OF PRESS RELEASE

PETE KEMP KZ1Z ANNOUNCES HIS RETIREMENT AS ASSISTANT SECTION MANAGER

On Thursday April 2, Pete Kemp KZ1Z, Assistant Section Manager over Special Projects for the ARRL West Central Florida Section since 2007, announced that he was retiring as Assistant Section Manager , due to continuing health issues.

Pete has been interested in radio since the 1950’s when he made crystal radio receivers in elementary school.  Pete served as Section Communications Manager and Section Manager in the Connecticut Section for six years, during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s when the ARRL transitioned the Section Communications Manager office in Section Manager, and served as an Assistant Director for the New England Division for 24 years, and many other ARRL appointments, including serving as Public Information Coordinator for the ARRL West Central Florida Section from 2005-2007.  Pete also co-authored the ARRL Emergency Communications Courses and the Public Service Communications Manual and wrote many articles for Worldradio, CQ, and 73 Magazines.

Pete, is retired from the Bethel Connecticut Public Schools and served on the Adjunct Faculty of Central Connecticut State University.

Pete is the only person ever to receive both, the Herb S, Brier Volunteer Instructor of the Year and the Professional Teacher of the Year from the ARRL.  He was also a recipient of the Marconi Award from the Veteran Wireless Operators of America and Connecticut’s Technology Teacher of the Year.

The ARRL West Central Florida Section wishes to thank Pete for his 7 years of service to the Section and wishes Pete the very best in his retirement.

THE WCF PRESSER: ARRL WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA SECTION NEWS

Issue #4 – April 2015

By Darrell Davis KT4WX

ARRL West Central Florida Section Manager

RECOVERING FROM ILLNESS:

I have been ill since the last days of February and am nearly back to good health. I have not a period of sickness like this since June 2009, when I had pneumonia. If I have failed to reply to your email or telephone call, please forgive me. Your continued prayers and thoughts are sincerely appreciated. To my knowledge, I have finally caught up on the backlog of communications. If I have not replied to your phone call or email, please resend or call again and I will be glad to communicate with you.

AMATEUR RADIO PARITY ACT OF 2015 (H.R. 1301) INTRODUCED INTO CONGRESS:

Shortly after going to press with the last issue of THE WCF PRESSER, US Rep Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) introduced the bill on March 4 with 12 original co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle — seven Republicans and five Democrats. The following I will quote from the page on the ARRL website at http://www.arrl.org/hr-1301: “HR 1301 would require the FCC to amend its Part 97 Amateur Service rules to apply the three-part test of the PRB-1 federal pre-emption policy to include homeowners’ association regulations and deed restrictions, often referred to as “covenants, conditions, and restrictions” (CC&Rs). At present, PRB-1 only applies to state and local zoning laws and ordinances. The FCC has been reluctant to extend the same legal protections to include such private land-use agreements without direction from Congress.”

Be sure to contact your representative in the House of Representatives. This issue of amateur radio operators living in Covenant, Conditions, and Restriction (CC&R) neighborhoods and not being able to have antennas at all is a major problem for many in amateur radio and in our Section. Some accommodation is better than none, so be sure to make those contacts and encourage them to support this bill. If you prefer you can send your letter of support to the ARRL and they will send it on to the House of Representatives. For specific instructions go to http://www.arrl.org/hr-1301.

THE FIRST ANNUAL WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA SECTION TECHNICAL CONFERENCE JUST AROUND THE CORNER – SATURDAY APRIL 4:

We are only a few days away from The First Annual West Central Florida Section Technical Conference that will be held on Saturday April 4, 2015 from 9:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M. at the Bert J. Harris Jr. Agri-Civic Center, 4905 George Blvd, Sebring. Welcome and last minute registration will begin at 8:15 A.M. If you are planning on attending, please go to the WCF Section Technical Conference Registration Page at http://arrlwcf.org/wcf-special-events/wcftechconference/ and fill out the online registration form. You will receive an online and email confirmation of your successful registration. On that page you can also download the following: conference flyer, conference speakers schedule, list of conference presentations, a restaurant and lodging list, and a link to the WCF Section Technical Conference Event Page on the WCF Section Events Calendar, which has a Google Map showing the location of the Agri-Civic Center. The direct link to the Section Calendar Event Page for the WCF Section Technical Conference is at http://www.arrlwcf.org/event/first-annual-arrl-wcf-section-technical-conference/.

NEXT WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA SECTION ARES MEETING AT THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY EOC – SATURDAY APRIL 11:

Also coming up a week after the WCF Section Technical Conference, will be the next WCF Section ARES Meeting which will be held at the Hillsborough County EOC which is located at 2711 E. Hanna. Av., not far from Hillsborough Av. In Tampa. The meeting will begin at 1300 (1:00 P.M.). The meeting will be preceded by an WCF Section ARES Luncheon at the Taco Bus on Hillsborough Avenue at 1100 (11:00 A.M.). For specific information about the location of the luncheon go to http://arrlwcf.org/event/wcf-section-ares-luncheon-2/ and for specific information about the location of the Section ARES meeting go to http://arrlwcf.org/event/wcf-section-ares-meeting-3/.

WCF SECTION 15TH BIRTHDAY QSO PARTY:

The ARRL West Central Florida Section turned 15 years old on January 15, 2015. It seemed appropriate that we celebrate the 15th birthday of the Section. The period of the WCF Section QSO Party has been revised and will begin on April 15, 2015 and will end on June 26, 2015, the day before ARRL Field Day. The full contest rules have just been published on the Section website at http://arrlwcf.org/wcf-special-events/west-central-florida-section-qso-party/. Also we are planning to have K4WCF portable operation at least once in each of ten counties of the WCF Section. If your an amateur radio club, group, or even an individual and are interested in running K4WCF for a day in your county, please fill out the Contact Form on the Section website at http://arrlwcf.org/contact-info/. All modes and frequencies, including repeaters will be allowed. This will allow many of our new hams who do not as of yet have HF privileges to get on and make contacts during the West Central Florida Section QSO Party.

PUBLIC SERVICE OPPORTUNITY – MS CITRUS BIKE TOUR – MAY 2 AND 3:

This is one of the largest public service opportunities that we see each year in the West Central Florida Section. Forty to fifty volunteers are needed each year to make the event successful. As of the date of this publication, approximately ten to twenty volunteers are needed to the proper number of volunteers. The event starts at the Fantasy of Flight in Polk County near I-4 and go through parts of Polk, Osceola, and Orange Counties and ends at the Royal Caribe Hotel in south Orlando. This event is an excellent opportunity to sharpen your communications skills and exercise your emergency communications equipment. I will be participating in this event as the rest stop coordinator and working a rest stop. If you wish to join me and volunteer, please email Jason Triolo KD4ACG, the amateur radio coordinator for the MS Citrus Bike Tour at jtriolo@verizon.net for more information and how to register to volunteer for this event.

STATION APPOINTEE MONTHLY REPORTS – NOW FILE THEM ON LINE:

If you are serving as an ARRL Station Appointee, please be sure to file a monthly report by the 5th day of the month following the month being reported. For example for the month of January, your report would be due by February 5th. To those who have been filing their monthly reports, a sincere thank you for your effort. If you wish, you may now go to our Section website and fill out your monthly report there. Go to the section in the menu called Section Forms which is at http://arrlwcf.org/section-forms/arrl-net-manager-monthly-report-form/ or Select the appropriate report form in the Section Forms menu. Upon successful submission you will receive an on screen confirmation and almost immediately you will receive an email confirmation for your records that also goes to the Cabinet member that oversees your program. Your report is then filed and you are all done for the month. Regular reporting is an ARRL requirement to hold an ARRL Station Appointment.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE MONTH OF MARCH:

On Monday March 1, Christine Duez KK4KJN (Section Youth Coordinator) and I spoke at the Lakeland Amateur Radio Club and both of us where treated very well. The folks that attended enjoyed our presentations on current youth activities in the West Central Florida Section and “Introduction to the PICAXE” respectively. On Saturday March 7, I attended the Zephyrhills Area Amateur Radio Club and East Pasco Amateur Radio Society combined hamfest at the Zephyrhills Lions Club. The folks at the hamfest were very gracious and treated me very well and I enjoyed the hamfest, even though I was not very well at this point. On Saturday March 14, I attended the Highlands County ARES Foxhunt, but was too ill by that point to participate in the foxhunt (as I dearly wanted to participate). The foxhunt was followed by a good pot-luck chicken dinner. On Saturday March 28, after having to deal with a tire replacement on my “classic” (in other words a beater which has not been restored yet) 1989 Ford Thunderbird, which delayed my departure from Polk County until almost 0900, I finally made it to the Gulf Coast Amateur Radio Club Hamfest in Hudson. That was the first time, since becoming Section Manager, doing an ARRL “table” outside at a tailgate. I will post the pictures in an upcoming WCF Section Press Release that you will really enjoy viewing. The hamfest however was well attended and the folks in the club were very gracious to me. The location and facilities were quite nice as well. I look forward to attending next year.

SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGERS REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 2015 – By Doug Williams N2DW:

Station Activity Reports (SAR):

Call Sign Originate Receive Sent Delivered TOTAL

N2DW      0                8              6       0                 14

K4EEI      0               41            57     1                  99

W8IM       1               20            11      0                 32

Public Service Honor Roll:

N2DW 109

W8IM   82

West Central Florida Section Net Activity Reports:

Net Name Session Stations Traffic Minutes Net Manager

AIN                  3              30             1          52           WA4ATF

EAGLE NET 31            1066        31        892         W4PXE

SPARC          40            580          32        1139       W4TSP

UPCOMING HAMFESTS IN THE SECTION:

Hamfest season is rapidly coming to a close. We only have two hamfest coming up in the Section for the month of April and May.

• Saturday May 23: Wormfest 2015 – Pinellas Park, FL
• Saturday April 18: TARCFEST #33 – Tampa Amateur Radio Clubhouse – Tampa, FL

For more information on hamfests and events in the Section , please visit our website Section Calendar at http://www.arrlwcf.org/events for more information.

WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA SECTION FIELD DAY 2015 CARAVAN:

Once again this year there will be a West Central Florida Section Field Day Caravan. However you will see different people on the caravan. The Field Day Caravan this year will be Ben Henley KI4IGX, our Section Emergency Coordinator, and myself. So be sure to register your Field Day operation with the ARRL as we will use that list to generate a travel itinerary and get to stop by and see your club or group Field Day operation. Look forward to seeing many of you on Field Day.

SECTION MANAGERS CONTACT INFORMATION AND CONCLUSION:

Here is my contact information. Much of this is listed now on Page 16 of QST.

• U.S. Mail: 6350 Mills Road Fort Meade, FL 33841
• Telephone: (863) 245-9923
• Email: kt4wx@arrl.org
• Website: http://www.kt4wx.org.

That is all for this issue of THE WCF PRESSER. See you all here next month and hopefully I will get to see many of you at a meeting, hamfest, or talk to you on the air.

73 de Darrell KT4WX

WCF SECTION QSO PARTY RULES AND LOG SHEETS NOW PUBLISHED

The West Central Florida Section QSO Party Rules and Log Sheets are now published on the Section website.  You may go to the WCF QSO Party webpage at http://arrlwcf.org/wcf-special-events/west-central-florida-section-qso-party/.  There you will find the QSO Party Rules in PDF format and an Excel format spreadsheet that can be submitted electronically or a Word format log sheet for submission of logs manually.  Submission of logs in electronic format is encouraged but not required.

The West Central Florida Section QSO Party will begin on Wednesday April 15, 2015 and run through June 26, 2015, the day before ARRL Field Day.  We are still looking for amateur radio clubs, groups, or individuals that are willing to host a K4WCF portable operation in their county.  We would like to have at least one K4WCF portable operation in every county in the West Central Florida Section.  More than one operation in any county is welcome.  Please get with Assistant Section Manager Randy Payne K4EZM via email at k4ezm@arrl.net if you like to schedule a K4WCF Portable operation.

END OF PRESS RELEASE

WCF QSO PARTY START WILL BE DELAYED UNTIL 4/15/15.  QSO RULES TO BE PUBLISHED ON 3/30/15.

The start of the West Central Florida Section QSO Party, to celebrate the WCF Section turning 15 years old, will be postponed until Monday 4/15/15.   This will allow everyone time to read and understand the QSO Party rules adequately.  The WCF Section QSO Party rules will be published on Monday 3/30/15 on the Section website.  Look for a WCF Press Release to announce the release of the rules.

END OF PRESS RELEASE

WCF TECHNICAL CONFERENCE SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER – BOB ALLISON WB1GCM, ARRL LAB

Our special guest speaker for the West Central Florida Section Technical Conference, which will be held on Saturday April 4, 2015, will be Bob Allison WB1GCM from the ARRL Laboratory.  You will not want to miss hearing Bob doing a couple of presentations which will include how QST does Product Reviews and a description of the various functions of the ARRL Laboratory.

Bob resides with his wife, Kathy, KA1RWY, in Coventry, CT. As Senior Test engineer at the ARRL Laboratory, Bob tests the latest Amateur Radio related equipment for QST’s monthly Product Review Column. He also has written several Product Review articles, as well as many technical and historical articles for QST magazine. Prior to his work at the ARRL Laboratory, Bob worked at WVIT-NBCCT (Channel 30) for 28 years as a Broadcast Engineer and Studio Supervisor. Bob is a graduate of Ward Technical College at the University of Hartford. His Hobbies are Amateur Radio (41 years), antique phonographs, antique radios and enjoying his 1931 Model-A. Bob also volunteers as a tour guide at the Vintage Radio and Communications Museum in Windsor Connecticut.

END OF PRESS RELEASE

WCF TECHNICAL CONFERENCE SCHEDULE IS NOW AVAILABLE

The First Annual West Central Florida Section Technical Conference schedule has just been published.  Also a restaurant and lodging list and descriptions of the presentations have just been published as well.

To download the conference schedule, conference presentation list, and a list of local restaurants and lodging go to http://arrlwcf.org/wcf-special-events/wcftechconference/.  All documents are in PDF format.

The First Annual West Central Florida Section Technical Conference will be held on Saturday April 4, 2015 at the Bert J. Harris Jr. Agri-Civic Center on the south side of Sebring.

END OF PRESS RELEASE

THE WCF EXPERIMENTER HAS A NEW NAME AND EDITOR.  NOW AT HOME ON THE SECTION WEBSITE

THE EXPERIMENTER, the Official Technical Newsletter of the ARRL West Central Florida Section has a new name, editor, and home.  The newsletter name has been slightly changed to THE WCF EXPERIMENTER and Geoff Haines N1GY, Technical Coordinator, is once again the editor for THE WCF EXPERIMENTER.  Also THE WCF EXPERIMENTER is now at its new home on the section webpage.

THE EXPERIMENTER was started in 2000 by Darrell Davis KT4WX, the Technical Coordinator for the ARRL West Central Florida Section at its inception.  Geoff Haines N1GY became the newsletter editor in 2005 soon after succeeding Darrell as Technical Coordinator.  Darrell revived the newsletter in 2012 after being in hiatus for a few years and produced it until the end of 2014.  Geoff became the newsletter editor again in January 2015, with the election of Darrell to be the Section Manager.  With the publication of Issue 204, the newsletter name was changed to THE WCF EXPERIMENTER.

THE WCF EXPERIMENTER now is at its new home on the Section website.  You may visit its new home at http://arrlwcf.org/home/the-wcf-experimenter-technical-newsletter.  Past issues will be added in the near future.

END OF PRESS RELEASE