Amateur radio operators from several counties again provided communications assistance for the Happy Valley Ironman on June 30, 2024. About 1,600 athletes competed in the swimming, bicycling, and running event. The race started at the Foster Joseph Sayers lake near Howard, Pennsylvania and ended at Beaver Stadium on the Pennsylvania State University campus. Continue reading
Amateur Radio Operators Provide Communications For the 2024 MS Glimcher Keystone Country Ride
On June 22 and 23, 2024 fifteen amateur radio operators and two non-ham family members provide communications for the Annual Glimcher Keystone Country Ride for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS). Usually covering 150 miles over two days the NMSS decided to limit the riders to 50 miles each day because of the brutal heat wave covering Central Pennsylvania. NMSS wanted to limit the exposure of the riders, volunteers, and staff to the 100° plus heat index. Continue reading
Successful Communications for the Rothrock Grit Gravel Grinder
ARES operators provided communications assistance for the 2024 edition of the Rothrock Grit Gravel Grinder in Pennsylvania’s Rothrock State Forest. About 200 riders participated over the three different courses, the longest being 65 miles. Amateur radio operators staffed three aid stations; Headquarters at Tussey Mountain Lodge, Penn Roosevelt State Park, and the Hammer station at North Meadows Road and Treaster Kettle Road. Although there was only one minor emergency the stations relayed operational information to and from headquarters. Continue reading
Senate Bill 37 and Amateur Radio – update
After all the discussion about Senate Bill 37 many amateur radio operators contacted their senators and other legislative contacts about the effect this bill would have on mobile operation, especially for drills and training. Thank you to those who took the time. Several days ago Bob, KC3KVS did further research and found that the language of the bill is forced by federal requirements. Bob’s research is below. Continue reading
K3CWP Letter To Pennsylvania Senators Requesting Reconsideration of SB37
This is my letter requesting reconsidering Senate Bill 37 for an exemption for Amateur Radio Operation while mobile. Feel free to adopt the language for your own letter. I sent it to the sponsors of the legislation, the chairs of the Rules and Executive Nominations Committee, and my senator.
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Bill in the PA Senate that could make it illegal for amateur radio operators to operate their radios while driving
The Pennsylvania Senate is considering Senate Bill 37, Enhanced Driver Responsibility. There have been a number of emails about the bill but reading the current version leads me and others to conclude that the bill if passed could make it unlawful for amateur radio operators to operate their radios while driving a vehicle. This was proposed by the House before but exemption language was included for amateur radio operators. That language appears to have been removed.
The bill:
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/
Who you contact:
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/
Bob Famiglio, K3RF, Atlantic Division Director is aware of the situation and will be working with the ARRL also. Here is his message of last week. Continue reading
Results of the 2024 Western Pennsylvania (WPA) Simulated Emergency Test (SET)
On Saturday, 6 Apr 2024 The WPA and EPA sections of the ARRL and the American Red Cross conducted the annual WPA Spring SET to test emergency communications in the sections. Below is a summary of those efforts in Centre and Clearfield Counties. Continue reading
ARES/ACS/RACES Net Repeater Outage Test Successful
For years the ARES/ACS/RACES net on the W3YA repeater in Boalsburg/State College (21:00 Sunday Evenings, (146.85 mHz -) has opened with a preamble that instructs amateur radio operators what to do if the repeater fails. Amateur radio operators should expect the net to move to the W3GA, (146.76 mHz -) repeater on Rattlesnake Mountain. To test this procedure Centre County EC, Carmine, K3CWP, arranged to have the repeater shut off by Trustee Woody, K3YV, midway through the net on Sunday, March 31, 2024. To Carmine’s knowledge this has never tested before. Continue reading
Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, & Snow (CoCoRaHS) Network
If you are interested in greater participation gathering weather data for the National Weather Service you might want to look at the CoCoRaHS program for reporting precipitation totals to NWS. As the name implies CoCoRaHS seeks to record accurate daily precipitation data for the NWS. Click on this sentence to find out more information.
FREE ON-LINE AMATEUR RADIO OPERATING CLASS
A free, weekly, 3-hour Amateur Radio Operating Class on Zoom will begin on Thursday April 4 and run through June 20 at 6:30 PM Eastern time. The presenters will be various experienced folks in the various subjects.
A detailed syllabus will be published before the classes begin. Attend them all, or any that you like, but you must register for the classes. To receive registration information, contact Rol Anders, K3RA, at roland.anders@comcast.net. Continue reading