ARRL West Central Florida Section

N1GY RETIRING AS TECHNICAL COORDINATOR.  K2LYV TO SUCCEED N1GY AS THE NEW TECHNICAL COORDINATOR.

Geoff Haines, N1GY, retired as the ARRL Technical Coordinator  and as an Assistant Section Manager for the West Central Florida Section at the end of November.  Geoff had been the ARRL Technical Coordinator, for 15 years, since 2004, and authored numerous articles for QST magazine and the WCF Experimenter.   Geoff had also served as an Assistant Section Manager since 2015.

The ARRL West Central Florida Section extends its sincere thanks to Geoff for his 15 years of service to the ARRL West Central Florida Section, to amateur radio, and wish him well in his future endeavors.

 

Dave Birnbaum, K2LYV, will be our new ARRL Technical Coordinator effective Monday December 2nd.  Dave has written several articles for QEX Magazine and has been a returning presenter at TECHCON.  A brief bio is available in an article he wrote for the November/December 2018 issue of QEX, about Calculating Losses in an Antenna Tuner, of which he did a presentation at TECHCON as well.

Dave’s life experience begins with an extensive education in Engineering and Physics. He has a BEngr in Engineering Physics, MS and PhD in physics and an MBA.  He taught Physics on the university level and then on to the corporate world. He worked on digital imaging for color xerography and ink jet printing, holding 15 patents,  and retired from Xerox as an Engineering Fellow in 2003.  Dave is a member of the Tampa Amateur radio Club, and also enjoys the trombone which he plays in local concert bands.  Dave holds several amateur radio awards and is a ARRL Technical Specialist in the West Central Florida Section.

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THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF SKYWARN RECOGNITION DAY THIS DECEMBER

The National Weather Service office in Ruskin, which covers the Tampa Bay Area and all of the ARRL West Central Florida Section, will be participating in SKYWARN Recognition Day this year.  They will be operating Saturday, December 7th between 0800 and 1900.  SKYWARN Recognition Day was developed in 1999 by the National Weather Service and the American Radio Relay League to celebrate the contributions that volunteer SKYWARN radio operators make to the NWS mission: the protection of life and property. During the event, SKYWARN operators visit NWS offices and contact other stations across the nation and world.  All amateur radio operators are invited to drop in and help made contact with as many other stations as possible. If you have any questions please contact either:  Daniel Noah WX4DAN at daniel.noah@noaa.gov or by telephone at (813) 645-2323 extension 223 or Richard Rudy KE4EXL by email at richard.rude@noaa.gov or (813) 645-2323 extension 329.  The address of the National Weather Service is 2525 14th Ave. SE, Ruskin, FL 33570.

The following are links with additional information:  NWS Skywarn Recognition Day Page:  https://www.weather.gov/crh/skywarnrecognition, ARRL SKYWARN Recogintion Day Page: http://www.arrl.org/skywarn-recognition-day, and NWS Ruskin WX4TOR Page:  http://www.weather.gov/tbw/wx4tor

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WCF EXPERIMENTER FALL 2019 ISSUE IS AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD

After somewhat of a delay, the WCF EXPERIMENTER Fall 2019 issue is now available for download. To download the Fall 2019 issue and any other previous issues please go to the WCF EXPERIMENTER webpage at http://arrlwcf.org/home/the-wcf-experimenter-technical-newsletter/.  The WCF EXPERIMENTER is published quarterly, and on occasion a supplemental issue as needed.

We are looking for articles for future editions of THE WCF EXPERIMENTER.  If you would like to submit an article, please send those submissions to Jim Weslager K3WR via email at weslager@gmail.com.

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WCF SECTION TECHNICAL NET CANCELLED FOR THANKSGIVING

The ARRL West Central Florida Section Technical Net, normally held on the NI4CE Repeater System every Thursday evening at 2100, scheduled for Thursday November 28th has been cancelled in observance of Thanksgiving.  Just a reminder that the ARRL WCF Section ARES and Information Net scheduled for Saturday November 30th on 3940 KHz at 0730 is also cancelled in observance of Thanksgiving.  Both of these nets will resume normal operation, albeit briefly, in the first week of December.

The ARRL West Central Florida Section wishes to extend to everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving Day and weekend.

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THE WCF PRESSER ISSUE #43 NOVEMBER 2019 IS NOW PUBLISHED

The WCF PRESSER Issue #43 November 2019, has been published on the Section website.  An announcement of the publication of the WCF PRESSER will be disseminated on the ARRL remailer shortly. If anyone has any information that is amateur radio related that you would like to go into the next issue of THE WCF PRESSER, please send that to our newsletter editor, Jim Weslager K3WR via email at weslager@gmail.com.

For the PDF version of this newsletter and past issues in PDF format go to http://arrlwcf.org/home/the-wcf-section-presser-arrl-west-central-florida-section-news/.

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MIKE SPRENGER W4UOO IS AWARDED THE AMATEUR RADIO SERVICE TO SCOUTING AWARD

The ARRL Amateur Radio Service to Scouting Award has been awarded to Mike Sprenger W4UOO.  Sprenger, who resides in Valrico in Hillsborough County, is an Extra Class amateur radio operator first licensed in 1992 at the USF Radio and Electronics Club and himself achieved Eagle Scout rank in 1982.  Currently, Sprenger serves as an Assistant Scoutmaster in BSA Troop 686, currently teaches Radio Merit Badge, and is a member of the Tampa Amateur Radio Club and the K2BSA Amateur Radio Association.  Combining a lifelong interest in space and NASA, operating highlights include applying for and operating a successful Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) 2m radio contact with Dr. Ronald Parise WA4SIR/SK aboard STS-67 in 1995 from the South Florida Museum / Bishop Planetarium enabling 11 middle school students to ask Dr. Parise questions about life in space.  Sprenger has served on staff at two BSA National and one World Scouting Jamboree, which include operating the 2013 National Scouting Jamboree and facilitating a 2 Meter ARISS contact enabling Scouts to speak with Major Luca Parmitano KF5KDP about life aboard the International Space Station.  At the 2019 World Scouting Jamboree, Sprenger operated the NA1WJ telebridge connection to ON4ISS enabling the ARISS contact for 16 Scouts to talk to Astronaut & Scoutmaster Drew Morgan KI5AAA aboard the ISS.  Sprenger in his professional career works as a Production and Digital Event/Webcast strategist and in his spare time can be found enjoying the pace of an Florida AM group QSO with a Hallicrafters SX-43 receiver, that belonged to his uncle Ken Wise who originally held the callsign of W4UOO and is now a silent key, and using a BC-610 transmitter for the ultimate reclined armchair QSO.  Sprenger is also active in his church technology ministry, and plays the bass guitar.

The Amateur Radio Service to Scouting Award was officially established through a resolution that the ARRL Board adopted at its 2013 Annual Meeting. It builds on the long relationship between the BSA and ARRL that began with the development of the Wireless Merit Badge in 1918 and is today Radio Merit Badge.  The League’s award recognizes radio amateurs who, as registered Scouting leaders, make a significant contribution to give Scouts a memorable experience with Amateur Radio.

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BIKE MS CITRUS TOUR 2020 DATE ANNOUNCED AND VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED

The MS Society has announced that the date of the Bike MS Citrus Tour 2020 will be Saturday March 7, 2020 and Sunday March 8, 2020, which is two months before the tour was held this year and in previous years.  Mike Bresse W2YS, our Assistant Section Manager and amateur radio coordinator for the Bike MS Citrus Tour, has opened up the Citrus Tour website for new and returning volunteers for the Bike MS Citrus Tour 2020.  Amateur radio operators who wish to volunteer for the first time for this event should register at http://www.citrustour.org.  Volunteers returning from a previous Bike MS Citrus Tour do not need to register again but should login into the Citrus Tour website with their credentials and will be prompted to update their contact information.  If a returning volunteer needs assistance with their login credentials, please contact Mike Bresse W2YS via email at mbresse@slbsservicesgroup.com and Mike will be glad to assist you.

Bresse has been informed by the National MS Society that the route for the Bike MS Citrus Tour 2020 will be similar to this years route.  The ride on both days will start and end at the Omni Hotel at Champions Gate which is just off of I-4 just inside of Osceola County.  Approximately 98 percent of the route will be on the northeast, east and southeast side of Polk County, which is in the ARRL West Central Florida Section.  Darrell Davis KT4WX said the following about the Bike MS Citrus Tour, “The Bike MS Citrus Tour is basically an ’emergency without the emergency’.  The Bike MS Citrus Tour is a great opportunity for ARES, ACS, and CERT volunteers to practice their communications equipment, their operating skills, and to build camaraderie with other amateur radio volunteers.  When you have done the tour once you will want to do it again.  ARES personnel from ARES groups in all three ARRL Florida Sections participate in this event and work together as a team.”

More details about the Bike MS Citrus Tour 2020 will be coming out as they are made known.  The amateur radio communications has been sponsored by the ARRL West Central Florida Section since 2018.  This will be the third year that the ARRL West Central Florida Section has sponsored amateur radio communications for the Bike MS Citrus Tour.  For more information you may go to the Bike MS Citrus Tour web page on the Section website at http://arrlwcf.org/wcf-special-events/bike-ms-citrus-tour/.

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THE WCF PRESSER ISSUE #42 OCTOBER 2019 IS NOW PUBLISHED

The WCF PRESSER Issue #42 October 2019, has been published on the Section website.  An announcement of the publication of the WCF PRESSER will be disseminated on the ARRL remailer shortly. If anyone has any information that is amateur radio related that you would like to go into the next issue of THE WCF PRESSER, please send that to our newsletter editor, Jim Weslager K3WR via email at weslager@gmail.com.

For the PDF version of this newsletter and past issues in PDF format go to http://arrlwcf.org/home/the-wcf-section-presser-arrl-west-central-florida-section-news/.

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SECTION NET CANCELLATIONS FOR OCTOBER

The HF edition of the WCF Section ARES and Information Net that is scheduled for Saturday October 12th and Saturday October 19th at 0730 on 3940 KHz or immediately following the Florida Phone Traffic Net, will be cancelled due to Melbourne Hamfest on Saturday October 12th, which is also the ARRL Florida State Convention for 2019, and the WCF Section ARES Meeting on Saturday October 19th.  The HF edition of the WCF Section ARES and Information Net will resume its normal operation on Saturday October 26 at 0730 on 3940 KHz or immediately following the Florida Phone Traffic Net whichever is later

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NEW EMERGENCY COORDINATOR FOR SARASOTA COUNTY ARES APPOINTED

Gary Wells WB9AYD was appointed as the ARRL Emergency Coordinator for the recently formed Sarasota County ARES.   Wells is active on SSB, CW, digital modes such as PSK31, FT8, Pactor, VARA and several other modes, and is also am involved with HF, VHF, and UHF Winlink both involving ham radio and SHARES.  Wells enjoys experimenting with his go box capabilities utilizing NVIS and AREDN and enjoys using his Flex Radio for DXing from home.  Wells was first licensed in 1969 as a novice as WN9AYD and then progressed to WB9AYD as an Extra Class ham.

Wells in his professional carreer was in the process control/industrial/factory automation world and has been retired for 11 years.  Wells and his wife moved to Sarasota from the Chicago/Milwaukee area in 2009 and now live in Sarasota County year around.  Wells said the following about his new role as ARRL Emergency Coordinator, “Ham radio is my passion and I look forward to working with other ARES members and hams going forward in my new role.”

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