The Rothrock Grit Gravel Grinder bicycle race was held on Saturday June 7th in Centre County, PA. The race starts and ends near the Tussey Mountain Resort east of Boalsburg. Three components of the race, 25, 45, and 65 miles, accommodate most any rider. The courses are on gravel roads in the Rothrock State Forest. Roads and trails can be quite challenging so communications with the field is important. Four amateur radio operators provided communications for the race. Continue reading
Centre County ARES amateur radio operators provide communications support to the Ironman 70.3 Happy Valley
Sunday, June 15th local amateur radio operators provided communications support for the third annual Ironman 70.3 Happy Valley. Over 1,000 athletes participated in the triathlon with an early morning 1.5 mile swim in Sayers lake, a 55 mile bicycle race, and a foot race through the Penn State University campus. The race takes place in Clinton and Centre Counties Pennsylvania. Nine amateur radio operators were placed at locations along the bicycle route as well as Net Control embedded in the Penn State University emergency communications center. Continue reading
* UPDATE * New Mobil Phone Prohibition in Pennsylvania * UPDATE *
On June 5, 2025 a new law goes into effect in Pennsylvania. Section 3316.1 of the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code prohibits using an “interactive mobile device while driving a motor vehicle”. Driving includes being temporarily stopped at a traffic light or stop sign. The law makes it clear that holding a device with your hand or another part of the body while driving constitutes ‘using’ the device. Hands free operation is permitted. Under the definitions of “Interactive Mobile Device” in Section 102 using an amateur radio would be a violation of Section 3316.1. However, Continue reading
Skywarn Operations Report from 4/29/2025
On Tuesday, April 29, 2025 a line of severe thunderstorms raged across Pennsylvania causing significant damage. In anticipation of the excess communications traffic that would be needed NWS CTP asked amateur radio operators to staff the amateur station in the State College Office. Carmine Prestia, K3CWP, and Dan Tancibok, KB3ESJ, operated from 1600 to 2000. Although very quiet at first around 1828 things changed. Continue reading
Public Service Events For 2025
There are a number of Public Service Events coming up in 2025. We’ll need volunteers for all of these. Each listing has a link for who to contact for more information or volunteering. Please consider donating your time on one or move of these events, they represent real service and real PR for Amateur Radio. Continue reading
Successful WPA/ARC Spring Simulated Emergency Test
Numerous amateur stations participated in the WPA Spring SET on Saturday, April 5th from 10:00 to 12:00. A number of stations activated or simulated activating emergency locations or shelters. Here’s a brief summary of some of the activity taken from Greg, K3HOT’s report from WX3CTP/NWS State College, and Brett, W3SWL’s log of the KC3WQG American Red Cross station. Continue reading
Plans for the 2025 WPA Simulated Emergency Test released
The ARRL WPA section along with Eastern Pennsylvania and the American Red Cross have released the plans for the 2025 Simulated Emergency Test (SET). Amateur Radio Operators (AROs) whether affiliate with ARRL or not are invited to participate on Saturday April 5, 2025 between 10:00 and 14:00.
Full instructions can be found in the following documents. More instructions will be announced by K3CWP, Carmine, Centre County EC in the near future.
Participant Instructions:
ARC FROST (Field Remote Operations Support Team) Report:
Here is a list of shelters for those AROs who would like to simulate deploying:
Nittany Amateur Radio Club Announces One Day Technician License Class
The Nittany Amateur Radio Club (NARC) of State College is sponsoring a technician license prep class. Class will be held on Saturday, May 3, 2025 at a location to be determined.
NOAA/NWS possibly up for layoffs
In the administration’s race to cut government NOAA/NWS could be on the chopping block. See:
https://www.axios.com/2025/02/27/layoffs-hit-noaa-national-weather-service
I understand that a federal judge may have blocked the actions. However, this is a matter of public safety that can affect every United States Citizen and visitors to our country.
Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act Reintroduced
U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Richard Blumenthal, D- Conn., and Representatives August Pfluger, R-Tex., and Joe Courtney, D-Conn. announced their joint re-introduction of legislation in the Senate and House to restore the right to Amateur Radio operators to install the antennas necessary to serve their communities.
Homeowner association rules often prevent Amateur Radio operators from installing antennas at their homes even though Amateur Radio has proven to be essential in emergencies and natural disasters such as hurricanes when other means of communication fail. Continue reading