Category: News

THE WCF PRESSER FOR MAY/JUNE 2026 IS NOW PUBLISHED

THE WCF PRESSER for May/June 2026, issue #71, 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/.  In this issue you will find several features articles, and many thanks to those authors who submitted them.

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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TWO ARRL WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA SECTION HAMS RECIPIENTS OF THE ARRL CERTIFICATE OF MERIT.  FIRST ANNUAL ARESCON VIDEOS ARE NOW PUBLISHED.

On Saturday May 16, 2026, at the opening of the First Annual ARESCON, the ARES Conference for the ARRL West Central Florida Section, the Section presented the ARRL Certificate of Merit to Sanford Wyatt KM4WXX and Duwain Hunt W8JJV, for their contributions to the 2026 ARRL West Central Florida Section Simulated Emergency Test, called Operation Dark Start, which simulated a major power failure throughout much of the State of Florida.

All the presentations given at the 1st Annual ARESCON were recorded, and Russ Delaney N4RTD, Assistant Section Manager has completed the post-production editing of the recording of ARESCON into one video per each presentation. To view the opening remarks, which included the presentation of ARRL Certificate of Merit to Sanford Wyatt KM4WXX and Duwain Hunt W8JJV, and all of the other presentations you may go to the Section YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/arrlwcf. The playlist for the 1st Annual ARESCON is located at https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLurE5FicLQFXSXtfAEzHcL-8BI6QWUdFL.

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TWENTY SIXTH ANNUAL WCF SECTION FIELD DAY CARAVAN COMING THIS ARRL FIELD DAY

As is traditional here in the ARRL West Central Florida Section, the ARRL West Central Florida Section will facilitate 26th Annual ARRL West Central Florida Section Field Day Caravan on Saturday June 27, 2026.   The ARRL West Central Florida Section has facilitated the Field Day Caravan since the inception of the Section in 2000.

There will be two teams once again this year.  Team One will be composed of Darrell Davis KT4WX, Section Manager, and Russ Delaney N4RTD, Assistant Section Manager, and will cover the southern part of the Section.  Team Two will be composed of Dave Rockwell W4PXE, Section Emergency Coordinator/Section Traffic Manager, and will cover the northern part of the Section.

If you wish to have a visit from the ARRL WCF Section Field Day Caravan, please register your Field Day site at the ARRL Field Day Locator at https://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator.  You will need to be logged into the ARRL website before you can register your Field Day site.  Please register your Field Day site as soon as possible and no later than Saturday June 20, 2026.  This will give us time to complete the travel itinerary for both teams and publish them on the Field Day Caravan webpage which is located at https://arrlwcf.org/wcf-special-events/west-central-florida-section-field-day-caravan/.

A WCF SECTION PRESS RELEASE will be disseminated once the travel itinerary is published on the WCF Section Field Day Caravan webpage.

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HF SECTION ARES NET CANCELLATION DUE TO ARESCON

The HF Section ARES Net scheduled for Saturday May 16, 2026 at 0730 or immediately following the Florida Phone Traffic Net on 3940 KHz is cancelled due to the 1st Annual ARESCON being held later that afternoon, and due to the SKYWARN session being planned before ARESCON that morning.

The HF Section ARES Net will resume normal operation on Saturday May 23, 2026 at 0730 or mmediately following the Florida Phone Traffic Net on 3940 KHz.

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1ST ANNUAL ARESCON SPEAKERS SCHEDULE NOW PUBLISHED.

The Speakers Schedule for the 1st Annual TECHCON are now published on the ARESCON webpage located at https://arrlwcf.org/wcfarescon/.  1st Annual ARESCON will be held at the Hillsborough County Public Safety Operations Complex, located at 9450 E. Columbus Dr., Tampa, FL 33619, which is just west of I-75 off of Falkenburg Road.

Before the start of ARESCON, Hillsborough County ARES/RACES will hold their monthly meeting at 0900 EDT, followed by SKYWARN training, hosted by the National Weather Service Office in Ruskin.

At 1200 EDT, there will a Pizza Luncheon in the dining room at the Hillsborough County Public Safety Operations Complex.  A donation of $5 per person will be accepted, to cover the cost of the pizza.  The ARRL West Central Florida Section will provide the soft drinks.

The presentation slides and handouts will be available either right before or right after ARESCON, on the ARESCON webpage located at https://arrlwcf.org/wcfarescon/. The presentations for ARESCON will be recorded and made available one to two weeks after the conclusion of ARRSCON on the Section YouTube Channel which is located at https://www.youtube.com/@arrlwcf.

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THREE POLK COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS NAMED RECIPIENTS OF THE OUTSTANDING VOLUNTEER AWARD.

On Thursday March 19, 2026 at the 2026 Polk County Volunteer Banquet, the Polk County Board of County Commissioners recognized three amateur radio operators for their contributions as a volunteer with the 2026 Outstanding Volunteer Award: Jim Carlin N4JPC, Dan Haslam W5DBH, and Tom LaFlam N4CHL.  Carlin is an Assistant Emergency Coordinator (AEC) for Polk County ARES and active in Lake Ashton CERT.  Haslam is active in Polk County ARES, and helps to maintain the repeaters for the Lake Wales Radio Amateurs (LWRA) amateur radio club.   LaFlam is a volunteer firefighter, who volunteers for the EAA Sun-N-Fun Fly Inn each year.

The ARRL West Central Florida Section congratulates these three amateur radio operators on receiving the Polk County Outstanding Volunteer Award for 2026 for their service to the amateur radio community, and to the residents of Polk County.

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THE WCF ARES COMMUNICATOR FOR MAY 2026 IS PUBLISHED.

The May 2026 issue of THE WCF ARES COMMUNICATOR, is now available for download on the WCF ARES COMMUNICATOR page located at https://arrlwcf.org/home/wcf-ares-communicator.  This month is focused on preparations for the 2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season, which starts June 1, 2026, for ARES personal and amateur radio operators in general.  Also the monthly ARES reports for March 2026 are listed as well.

All issues will be archived on this page for current and historical reference.

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FIRST ANNUAL ARRL WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA SECTION ARES CONFERENCE (ARESCON) SCHEDULED.

The ARRL West Central Florida Section will be hosting the first and hopefully annual ARES conference, which is being called ARESCON, on Saturday May 16, 2026 at the Hillsborough Public Service Operations Complex (PSOC), located at 9450 E Columbus Dr., Tampa, FL 33619, between 1300 EDT and 1600 EDT.  A pizza luncheon is planned before ARESCON for those who wish to participate, with a recommended donation of $5, to cover the cost of the pizza.  A conference agenda will be published about one week before ARESCON, once the conference agenda has been finalized.

An ARESCON webpage has been added to the Section website which contains information about ARESCON, which will include a conference schedule, list of presentations, and any slide presentations or handouts, once they are finalized.  The ARESCON webpage can be found at https://arrlwcf.org/wcfarescon.

If you plan to attend, please fill out the registration form at https://arrlwcf.org/wcfaresconregistration/.   If you plan on attending the ARESCON Luncheon, please indicate that option on your registration form so we will have a headcount and know how much pizza to order.  If you have suggested topics or questions you’d like us to cover, send an email to Dave Rockwell, Section Emergency Coordinator, at w4pxe@arrl.net.

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ERIC OWEN KD4MZM AND TOM BENTLEY W1HFR ARE SILENT KEYS.

Eric T Owen KD4MZM, became a Silent Key on March 8, 2026.  Owen was 62 years old at the time of his passing.  Owen, a resident of the Sarasota area, had served as an ARRL Technical Specialist for a number of years, and was active on HF and HF digital modes.   For the full obituary please go to https://www.echovita.com/us/obituaries/fl/sarasota/eric-owen-21218928.

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THE WCF ARES COMMUNICATOR FOR APRIL 2026 IS PUBLISHED.

The April 2026 issue of THE WCF ARES COMMUNICATOR, is now available for download on the WCF ARES COMMUNICATOR page located at https://arrlwcf.org/home/wcf-ares-communicator.  This issue features guest columnist Clayton Parrot KJ4RUS, Radio Officer for Pinellas County Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS), on how the role of ARES is still important and how ARES can best prepare to serve.  Also the monthly ARES reports for 2026 are listed as well.

All issues will be archived on this page for current and historical reference.

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