Category: News

THE AMATEUR RADIO PARITY ACT PASSED BY THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON 11/18/15

On Wednesday November 18th, Senate Bill 1685 (the Amateur Radio Parity Act in the Senate) was passed by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.  Both Florida Senators are on the committee.  Senator Marco Rubio was not present for the vote and Senator Bill Nelson voted AGAINST the bill.  The only other no vote on the committee against the bill was from the Senator from Hawaii on the committee.  Listed below are Senator Nelson’s comments as taken from a transcript provided by an ARRL member from the Southern Florida Section:

“While I have great respect for Senators Blumenthal and Wicker, I must
oppose this bill today.  Amateur radio plays an important role in enhancing public safety communication, and I encourage communities to work with amateur radio
operators to find ways to further these services.  This bill before us, though, would effectively repeal parts of millions of private contracts and agreements relied upon by homeowners around the country.  This committee would be overriding guidelines that were established – and agreed to – by residents of a community when they voluntarily choose to live in that community. This is a step too far.”

Doug Rehman K4AC, ARRL Southeastern Division Director, when sharing the above listed information on the ARRL Members Only email list concluded with the following:

“If you live in Florida, you might want to POLITELY advise Senator
Nelson of your disappointment with both his vote and his statement and
urge him to reconsider his position.  We still have a long battle in both the House and Senate. If you haven’t already contacted your Representative and Senators to ask for their support of the Amateur Radio Parity Act, please do so immediately.”

Thanks to Doug Rehman K4AC, ARRL Southeastern Division Director for the information used in this WCF SECTION PRESS RELEASE.

For more information on how to contact our two Florida Senators, please see WCF SECTION PRESS RELEASE #57 at http://arrlwcf.org/news/2015/11/16/wcf-section-press-release-57/

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SECTION MANAGER VISITS TARCFEST, LAMBIEFEST, AND PASCO COUNTY HAMFESTS IN SEPTEMBER

On Saturday August 22^nd, Darrell Davis KT4WX, Section Manager, attended and help to facilitate the ARRL table at the August edition of the TARCFest, at the Tampa Amateur Radio Club clubhouse in north Tampa and the last one in 2015. Steve Elliott KS4WA, DXCC Card Checker, and Carl Zelich AA4MI, Assistant Director ARRL Southeastern Division, assisted Davis with the ARRL table. Zelich was collecting signatures for the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 and Elliott was available to check any QSL cards for DXCC credit.

 

On Saturday September 12^th, Darrell Davis KT4WX attended and facilitated the ARRL table at the 8^th Annual Lambiefest at the Tropical Gulf Acres Clubhouse just south of Punta Gorda. The hamfest was well attended and had sold out all their tables inside the clubhouse and the tailgating area was almost completely filled. A good time was had by most that attended, except for a few that got their vehicles stuck trying to leave at the end of the Lambiefest following an approximate ½ hour downpour near the end of the Lambiefest. The downpour worsened the soil saturation from all the rain in July and August.

 

On Saturday September 26^th, Darrell Davis KT4WX attended and facilitated the ARRL table at the Pasco County Hamfest which was held on the grounds of the Gunn Highway Flea Market in Odessa. Gary Mentro N3OS helped Davis with the ARRL table, while promoting Pasco County ARES.

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GEOFF HAINES N1GY REAPPOINTED AS AN ASSISTANT SECTION MANAGER

On Friday September 18^th, Geoff Haines N1GY was reappointed as an Assistant Section Manager for the ARRL West Central Florida Section. Haines has served as Technical Coordinator since 2005 and served previously as an Assistant Section Manager from 2005-2014 and stepped down due to health issues, which recently have alieviated.  Haines has been licensed since 1992 and has written numerous articles for QST over the last few years.  He maintains an extensive project website at http://www.n1gy.com

The ARRL West Central Florida Section welcomes Geoff’s return to service as an Assistant Section Manager.

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SENATE COMMITTEE TO TAKE UP THE AMATEUR RADIO PARITY ACT THIS WEEK

The Senate version of the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015, S. 1685, most likely will come up in committee for a vote next week. Both of our Florida Senators are on the committee and we need to have as many emails or phone calls made to them requesting their support for the Bill as possible. Please contact Senator Nelson and Senator Rubio today by telephone or e-mail with the following simple message: “I’m a constituent and an amateur radio operator. I am calling to urge the Senator to support S. 1685, the Amateur Radio Parity Act, when it comes up for a vote in committee on November 18th. Thank you.”

Here is the contact information for Senator Bill Nelson and Senator Marco Rubio:

Senator Nelson: https://www.billnelson.senate.gov/contact-bill (Select “Telecommunications” for the issue and type “S. 1685, the Amateur Radio Parity Act” for the subject).  Phone Number if you prefer to call: 202-224-5274

Senator Rubio: http://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact (Select “Telecommunications” for the topic and type “S. 1685, the Amateur Radio Parity Act” for the subject).  Phone Number if you prefer to call: 202-224-3041

Please forward this to ALL Florida amateurs ASAP, including club reflectors.  Let Doug Rehman K4AC, our Division Director know if you send an email or call by emailing Doug K4AC at congress@arrlse.org. Copying your comments to the Senators on the form and pasting them into the email to congress@arrlse.org would be especially appreciated.

For the latest information on the Amateur Radio Parity Act you may go to http://arrl.org/amateur-radio-parity-act.  Thanks to Doug Rehman K4AC for the contents of this press release

END OF PRESS RELEASE

THE WCF EXPERIMENTER – WINTER 2016 – ISSUE HAS JUST BEEN PUBLISHED

The Winter 2016 edition of THE WCF EXPERIMENTER, the Official Technical Newsletter of the ARRL West Central Florida Section has just been published.  You may download the Winter 2016 edition at http://arrlwcf.org/download/wcfexperimenter/WCFExperimenter_1Q2016.pdf.

This issue is one of the largest issues published recently thanks to the contribution of some articles by amateur radio operators who reside in the West Central Florida Section.  Geoff Haines N1GY, our Technical Coordinator for the West Central Florida Section is the editor of THE WCF EXPERIMENTER.  The next issue will be the Spring 2016 so now is the time to get busy writing an article for the next issue if you have a project or idea you would like to write about.  Send any submissions for THE WCF EXPERIMENTER to Geoff Haines N1GY at n1gy@arrl.net.

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THE WCF SECTION PRESSER ISSUE #10 OCTOBER 2015 IS NOW PUBLISHED

The WCF SECTION PRESSER Issue #10 for October 2015 has just been published here on the Section website, the ARRL website, and to the ARRL Section Email List for those who are ARRL members and are signed up for Section/Division news.

For the PDF version of this newsletter and past issues go to http://arrlwcf.org/home/the-wcf-section-presser-arrl-west-central-florida-section-news/  Starting with this issue, the PDF version will contain any associated media (pictures, sound, video, etc.)

The following are headlines from Issue #10 of THE WCF EXPERIMENTER:

• THE TROPICS ARE STILL ACTIVE. STAY TUNED TO THE TROPICS AND PREPARE FOR THE WINTER SEASON.
• STATION APPOINTEE MONTHLY REPORTS ARE DUE FOR SEPTEMBER:
• WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA SECTION ARES MEETING – SATURDAY OCTOBER 24TH – CHARLOTTE COUNTY EOC.
• ARRL WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA SECTION CONVENTION TO BE HELD AT THE 40TH ANNUAL TAMPA BAY HAMFEST:
• 2016 ARRL NATIONAL CONVENTION COMING TO ORLANDO HAMCATION THIS HAMFEST SEASON:
• UPCOMING HAMFESTS IN THE SECTION:
• GEOFF HAINES N1GY REAPPOINTED AS AN ASSISTANT SECTION MANAGER.
• SARASOTA COUNTY EOC RADIO ROOM NAMED AFTER AMATEUR RADIO OPERATOR
• THE WCF SECTION INFORMATION AND SECTION ARES NET HAVE MERGED. HF SECTION ARES AND INFORMATION NET CONTINUES OPERATION
• HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER:
• AMATEUR RADIO PARITY ACT OF 2015 COMPANION BILL (S 1685) INTRODUCED IN THE SENATE, 99 COSPONSORS OF THE HOUSE BILL (HR-1301):
• SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGERS REPORT FOR JULY 2015 By Doug Williams N2DW:
• CHECK OUT THE SECTION WEBSITE IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE SO LATELY
• SECTION MANAGERS CONTACT INFORMATION AND CONCLUSION:

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SARASOTA COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT NAMES THE RADIO ROOM AT THE EOC IN HONOR OF RON WETJEN WD4AHZ

 

 

 

In early September, Sarasota County Emergency Management has named the radio room in the new Sarasota County EOC, “The Wetjen Radio Room” in honor of Ron Wetjen WD4AHZ, Emergency Coordinator of Sarasota County ACS.  Sarasota County ACS includes ARES and RACES in one non-profit organization sponsored by Sarasota County Emergency Management .  Wetjen has served as Emergency Coordinator for over 10 years and his service to Sarasota County ACS goes back to 1985 during Hurricane Wilma.

The ARRL West Central Florida Section wishes to congratulate Ron on receiving this prestigious recognition and to congratulate him on his over 10 years of service as Emergency Coordinator for Sarasota County ACS.  For more information on Sarasota County ACS you may go to http://www.saracs.org.  Photos are courtesy of George Wagner K5KG.

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