Category: News

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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SECTION ARES HF NET CANCELLATION FOR OCTOBER 30 DUE TO SECTION ARES LUNCHEON AND MEETING.

The Section ARES Net, HF edition, scheduled for Saturday October 30, 2021, at 0730 or immediately following the Florida Phone Traffic Net has been cancelled, due to the ARRL West Central Florida Section ARES Luncheon and Meeting being scheduled for later that morning and early afternoon on that same day, which is also normal practice.  The net will resume its normal operation on Saturday November 6, 2021 at 0730 or immediately following the Florida Phone Traffic Net.  All other Section Nets will continue to operate as scheduled during this period.

The ARRL West Central Florida Section ARES Luncheon will be held on Saturday October 30, 2021 at 1100 at the Golden Corral in Brandon and the ARRL West Central Florida Section ARES Meeting will be held on Saturday October 30, 2021 at 1300, immediately following the ARRL West Central Florida Section ARES Luncheon.  For more information, including location addresses and links to maps for those locations, please visit the ARRL West Central Florida Section ARES webpage at http://arrlwcf.org/wcf-section-programs/ares/.

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GULF COAST AMATEUR RADIO CLUB TAILGATE FALL 2021 CANCELED.  RESCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 2022

On September 27, 2021, Carl Ekblad AJ4JA, Chairman of the Gulf Coast Amateur Radio Club Fall 2021 Tailgate Hamfest, announced that the Gulf Coast Amateur Radio Club Fall 2021 Tailgate Hamfest has been cancelled due to concerns from COVID-19.

The hamfest is being rescheduled for January 15, 2022.  The location will still be the Millennium Academy at 10005 Ridge Road in New Port Richey and the time will still be from 0800 through 1200 EDT.  For hamfest information as it becomes available you may go to the Gulf Coast Amateur Radio Club website at http://gulfcoastarc.com.

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ARRL WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA SECTION ARES PARTICIPATING IN ARRL SIMULATED EMERGENCY TEST.

The ARRL Simulated Emergency Test is set for this coming weekend, Saturday October 2, 2021 and Sunday October 3, 2021.   The ARRL West Central Florida Section is planning a the ARRL West Central Florida Section Simulated Emergency Test to run in conjunction with the national ARRL Simulated Emergency Test (SET) on Saturday October 2, 2021 from 0900 through 1200 EDT.  The purpose of this SET as stated in the SET planning document is “To test HF and VHF/UHF communications between the Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) in the above listed counties and any others wishing to participate in the exercise.  We also welcome any amateurs operating from home or portable/mobile stations.”

To view the planning document and any other related documents to the SET, you may go to the West Central Florida Section Simulated Emergency Test webpage, located on the Section website at http://arrlwcf.org/wcf-special-events/west-central-florida-section-ares-simulated-emergency-test/.

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UPCOMING SKYWARN TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR FALL 2021

The National Weather Service Office in Ruskin has announced on the NWS Ruskin SKYWARN a couple of SKYWARN training opportunities for the Fall of 2021.  At the present time, the National Weather Service Office in Ruskin is only conducting SKYWARN training classes in virtual format.  The following virtual SKYWARN training classes have been scheduled:

Wednesday, September 29th, 2021 from 1300-1400 EDT.  Please register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8917568584034608144.

Wednesday, October 20th, 2021 from 1300-1400 EDT.  Please register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3217792664681561867.

There is available on the National Weather Service Office Ruskin SKYWARN page, a pre-recorded one hour SKYWARN training class, and links to other SKYWARN training classes that are administered by Spotter Network and Met-Ed.  The hyperlink to the National Weather Service Office SKYWARN page is https://www.weather.gov/tbw/skywarn.

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TAMIAMI AMATEUR RADIO CLUB FOXHUNT 2021 CANCELLED

The Tamiami Amateur Radio Club Foxhunt 2021 that was scheduled for Saturday October 23, 2021, has been cancelled.  The following statement was issued by Paul Nienaber

KN4BAR Event Director for the Tamiami Amateur Radio Club concerning the cancellation, “It is with great regret that we have decided to cancel the October 23rd first annual Tamiami Fox Hunt. A number of factors, not the least of which are lingering concerns over Covid-19, have contributed to this decision. All advance registration fees will be returned in full. If you do not receive your refund by September 24, 2021 please contact the undersigned immediately. We hope to try this event again when conditions are more conducive to having a successful and fun event.

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BIKE MS CITRUS TOUR 2022 DATE SET.  BIKE MS CITRUS TOUR VOLUNTEERS HELPING OUT WITH BIKE MS PGA CYCLE TO THE SHORE IN OCTOBER.

The date for the Bike MS Citrus Tour 2022 has been set for Saturday March 5, 2022 and Sunday March 6, 2022.  The Bike MS Citrus Tour will start and finish both days at the Omni Resort at Champions Gate which is near the Osceola/Polk County line, with over 95 percent of the ride in the northern and eastern portions of Polk County.  The ARRL West Central Florida Section has sponsored the amateur radio communications for the Bike MS Citrus Tour since 2018.  The Bike MS Citrus Tour for 2021 was cancelled due to concerns from COVID-19.  For more information on the Bike MS Citrus Tour or to sign up to volunteer to help with communications, please go to the amateur radio Bike MS Citrus Tour page at https://www.citrustour.org/

A group of veteran Bike MS Citrus Tour volunteers have accepted the invitation to go up to the Northern Florida Section to assist with communications for the Bike MS PGA Tour Cycle To The Shore on Saturday October 23, 2021 and Sunday October 24, 2021. that will run this year from St. Augustine to Daytona Beach near or along the Florida east coast.

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NEW EMERGENCY COORDINATOR APPOINTED FOR PASCO COUNTY

On Tuesday July 27, 2021, Mike Douglas W4MDD, Section Manager of the ARRL West Central Florida Section, appointed Tim Cunningham KM4YGV, to be the new ARRL Emergency Coordinator for Pasco County.  Cunningham succeeds Bill Fetta N7CGC who stepped down as ARRL Emergency Coordinator due to personal reasons.  Fetta had served as ARRL Emergency Coordinator since June 2021.  Fetta has stayed on as an Assistant Emergency Coordinator for Pasco County ARES.

Cunningham was first licensed in the middle of 2016 but had been interested in amateur radio since he was a shortwave listener in the 1970’s.  Cunningham brings experience to the position he had obtained in his professional career as a Firefighter, having been out in the field for many weather events all over the State of Florida.

Cunningham made the following statement about his appointment as ARRL Emergency Coordinator, “My years in the Fire dept offered me boots on the ground experience during most of the big weather events all over Florida and many major fires throughout but as a worker bee, I was never invited into the air-conditioned comfort of the EOC, ICP.  At Pasco County ARES/RACES, I’ve met a strong core of “retired” ARES former ECs and EOC managers that are mentoring me and assisting in building Pasco County ARES/RACES into a premier organization.”

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