Hams ,,, the original Do It Yourselfer

The launch of the new “Do It Yourself”, or “DIY”, video and accompanying PR campaign is a major initiative for ARRL. 

In 2006, ARRL’s Public Relations Committee began three major recurring themes aimed at the general public and inactive Hams.  There are: 1) the “Hello” campaign which describes on air fellowship, DXing and contesting, 2) “Emergency Radio” emphasizing emergency communications, and 3) “We Do That Radio” concentrating on experimentation and design.  All three have web pages on the main ARRL website and are designed to be destination web pages through search engines.  Please take a look at each after finishing this explanation posting (URLs below).

It’s no secret that the “Emergency Radio” website has been the theme with the greatest emphasis and dedicated resources following Hurricane Katrina and other disasters.  The time became ripe, however, to return to a balance by focusing again on the other two themes.  Until today, ARRL has not released a major, general purpose video since “Amateur Radio Today” hosted by the late Walter Cronkite, KB2GSD.  The DIY video is aimed at hobbyists, a segment which makes up a large portion of Hams, and reinforces the “We Do That Radio” campaign.

Accompanying the video are printed materials and PowerPoint presentations.  Please use them and encourage your fellow section officials to use them too.  Experimentation, kit building and design are a growth industry.  If you haven’t already, find a “Maker Faire” event near you and plan to attend, or better yet, host an ARRL table using DIY materials.  Maker Faires, a DIY movement, now holds dozens of “faires” which are like hamfests across the country.  The people who attend Maker Faires are prime candidates to become Hams, and these faires draw thousands.  You can find one near you at http://makerfaire.com   Also, with renewed interest among educators in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), DIY is a natural area to share with schools and colleges.

Please take advantage of the new DIY materials, and check out the three websites mentioned above at:

http://www.arrl.org/helloradio-org

http://www.arrl.org/emergency-communications

http://www.arrl.org/wedothat-radio-org

If you have any questions, please contact me or ARRL’s Media & Public Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP.  Thanks and Happy New Year.

73,

Bill Morine, N2COP

North Carolina Section Manager

ARRL Public Relations Committee Chairman

Technician Radio Class Oklahoma City Metro area

The South Canadian Amateur Radio Society has announced a class at the National Weather Center starting January 19 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The class will continue through March 8 with a test slated for the last night.

The Club has also developed a web page for mobile phone users.

Thanks to Allan, KB5DOH for the information.

http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-class lists this class.  Are there others?

Oklahoma Section News – December 2011

Hello Oklahoma!!

First of all, I’d like to apologize for my lack of updating on this news page.   Things have been VERY busy around the QTH. Between the Texhoma and Enid hamfests, working on my new shop, occasionally baby sitting the new grandson, Wilma preparing to retire and OSU football, I’ve been booked up.   I didn’t even get to attend the Noble Co. Repeater Groups Christmas Dinner because of baby sitting the aforementioned grandson.   So, after the holidays, I hope things will get back to some semblance of normalcy.

The Texhoma hamfest, was a great success! Lots of attendance, lots of forums and lots of goodies. Being the West Gulf Division hamfest was an opportunity for the fest to really shine and show folks how good a fest it is and will be in the future. I look for more and more great things from Henry Allen and the committee. I know our Director and Vice-Director had a great time and David Woolweaver, K5RAV, presented some books to the Viking Radio Club out of Lawton….but I got to beat him to the punch. He gave them the 2011 Handbook……..I got them the 2012 version!! Sorry, David! Those Vikings are really going great guns. Be listening for them on the bands, especially during the School Roundup and other events.

Next, the Enid hamfest was another big success. The Enid crew did an excellent job with it. They were worrying about being able to pull it off, but I’m here to tell you, they did a superb job. In addition to the League/ARES forum, Mary Peelman and Jack Skinner gave a traffic handeling forum. Really good stuff. I’m going to see if they will give it at all the hamfests in 2012. I want to thank Jay Kruckenberg, K5GUD for handeling the ARES forum in the absence of our SEC, Mark Conklin, N7XYO.

Speaking of 2012 Hamfests…….

Elk City, OK

Elk City Civic Center

March 3, 2012

Contact Earl Bottom, N5NEB



Green Country Hamfest – Oklahoma State Convention

Claremore, OK

Claremore Convention Center

March 9 & 10

For more info, go to: http://www.greencountryhamfest.org/

Those are the only ones I have with firm dates through the League. As the others come online, I’ll get out the information

I will not be able to attend Green Country hamfest this year as my son is getting married that weekend. I know, I know, but some things take precedence. Director David Woolweaver, K5RAV will be there as well as most of the section cabinet, so they should be able to answer any questions you may have at the booth.

I will try to post some pics from Texhoma and Enid in a few days. (Holidays!)

Well, that’s about all I have for now…..remember, contact myself or one of the section cabinet members if you need anything. We are all listed on the ARRL Oklahoma Section part of the website at the bottom of the page.

http://www.arrl.org/sections/view/oklahoma

I do want to wish everyone in the section a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope Santa brings you all the new goodies you want!

73, and I look forward to seeing you down the log,

Kevin O’Dell, NOIRW

Oklahoma Section Manager

Resolve to be READY

WASHINGTON - As 2011 - one of the most active years for disasters in recent history - comes to a close and Americans get ready to ring in a new year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is encouraging all Americans to Resolve to be Ready in the by making a new year's resolution to be prepared for emergencies.

As a recent report by the National Climatic Data Center highlights, 2011 has seen more billion-dollar natural disasters than any year on record. This year alone, the U.S. experienced its first hurricane landfall since 2008, the most deadly series of tornadoes since the 1950s, significant earthquakes and severe flooding - hazards that impacted every region of the country. All of these events have served as important reminders that disasters can strike anytime, anywhere, and being prepared is one of the most effective things we can do to protect our homes, businesses and loved ones.

Today, FEMA kicked off its annual campaign, Resolve to be Ready in 2012, which urges Americans to make preparedness a priority during the holiday season by making a new year's resolution to be ready for disasters or by thinking about preparedness tools for last minute gift ideas.

"One of the most important lessons we can take away from this year is that disasters can impact all of us, no matter what part of the country we live in," said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. "While we can't control where or when they might hit, we can take steps in advance to prepare for them - efforts that can go a long way toward protecting our families, homes and business. Resolving to be Ready in 2012 could be the most important pledge you make this year."

By making a resolution to take a few simple steps in advance, Americans can minimize the impact of an emergency on their families, homes or businesses. To take the pledge, visit www.ready.gov/resolve or www.listo.gov, which includes free information, checklists, and guidelines about how to put together a kit, make a plan, and stay informed.

Resolve to be Ready in 2012 is a nationwide effort to increase awareness and encourage individuals, families, businesses, and communities to take action and prepare for emergencies in the New Year. This effort is led by FEMA's Ready Campaign in partnership with Citizen Corps and The Advertising Council. For more information, visit Ready.gov and CitizenCorps.gov or follow the campaign on Twitter using the hashtags #ready2012 and #resolve.

FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

###

How to Join ARES Oklahoma

The following are the steps to become an ARES Oklahoma Member

1. To become a Volunteer with ARES-Oklahoma you simply register at www.ARESOK.org (see #3 below). You do not need to be a member of any group, club or the ARRL.
2. To be an Leader within the ARES-Oklahoma, you apply at www.ARESOK.org. ARRL membership is required for all appointed leaders at the time of appointment to the leadership role.
Note: you can join the ARRL on-line at www.ARRL.org and/or you can typically join at many local hamfests.
3. To register with ARES-Oklahoma:
* Go to www.ARESOK.org
* On the left side of the page click "* APPLY *"
* On the map that is displayed, click on your county.
* Scroll down under the map and from the pull-down (next to Position Applied For) select VOLUNTEER or leadership role
* Fill in the blanks, and click "apply."
This adds your name to the ARES-Oklahoma register. For Leaders, once appointed (AEC and above), you will now have access to all the tools on the website that you'll need, such as reports, volunteer data, resource information, and more. Registering on-line associates your name and call sign with ARES-Oklahoma.

Keep in touch with ARES-Oklahoma - go to groups.Yahoo.com/group/AresOklahoma and click "Join this Group!" on the right hand side of the page and sign up to receive all the latest ARES-Oklahoma news.

Thanks to Mark Conklin, N7XYO for this information.

Christmas Party!

The Oklahoma City Autopatch Association will hold its' annual Christmas dinner on 20 December (our regular meeting night) at 6:00 PM.

We'll gather at the Furr's Buffet In Moore.

All family members are welcome and one of Santa's elves will be bringing lots of goodies!!!

Thanks to Tom, WA9AFM for this update.

Echolink Resource

KB9WCO edits a database of Echolink stations. It's searchable at http://www.brenet.com/Echolink.htm

The search today produced this result. If it's not correct, contact KB9WCO directly.

Todays date is Friday 9th December, 2011.

Station ID Node Number Type Band Local Frequency Offset Tone PL In Operation Country State City Common Language Added By
W5YJ 190497 Repeater 2M 146.715 - None None 24/7 United States OK Stillwater English KB9WCO
W5DEL 164664 Repeater 70CM 443.300 + 162.2 None 24/7 United States OK Del City English KB9WCO
W5CQU 15497 Repeater 70CM 443.650 + None None 24/7 United States OK Pauls Valley English KB9WCO
W5DEL 164664 Repeater 2M 145.250 - 103.5 None 24/7 United States OK Del City English KB9WCO
KB5KZS 162489 Repeater 70CM 443.125 + 88.5 None 24/7 United States OK Bartlesville English KB9WCO
K9KK 4244 Repeater 1.25M 224.440 - None None 24/7 United States OK Norman English KB9WCO
K5GUD 24204 Repeater 70CM 444.875 + 88.5 None 24/7 United States OK Woodward English KB9WCO
K5GUD 24204 Repeater 2M 145.390 - 88.5 None 24/7 United States OK Woodward English KB9WCO
K5CAR 47285 Repeater 2M 147.090 + None None 24/7 United States OK Choctaw English KB9WCO
K5CAR 47285 Repeater 2M 147.090 + 0 None 24/7 United States OK Choctaw English KB9WCO
K5GUD 24204 Repeater 2M 145.390 - 88.5 None 24/7 United States OK Woodward English KB9WCO
K5GUD 24204 Repeater 70CM 444.875 + 88.5 None 24/7 United States OK Woodward English KB9WCO
K9KK 4244 Repeater 1.25M 224.440 - 0 None 24/7 United States OK Norman English KB9WCO
KB5KZS 162489 Repeater 70CM 443.125 + 88.5 None 24/7 United States OK Bartlesville English KB9WCO
W5CQU 15497 Repeater 70CM 443.650 + 0 None 24/7 United States OK Pauls Valley English KB9WCO
W5CQU 270884 Repeater 70CM 443.650 + 0 None 24/7 United States OK Pauls Valley English KB9WCO
W5DEL 164664 Repeater 2M 145.250 - 103.5 None 24/7 United States OK Del City English KB9WCO
W5DEL 164667 Repeater 2M 145.250 - 103.5 None 24/7 United States OK Del City English KB9WCO
W5DEL 164664 Repeater 70CM 443.300 + 162.2 None 24/7 United States OK Del City English KB9WCO
W5DEL 164667 Repeater 70CM 443.300 + 162.2 None 24/7 United States OK Del City English KB9WCO
W5YJ 190497 Repeater 2M 146.715 - 0 None 24/7 United States OK Stillwater English KB9WCO
KY5C-R 241727 Repeater 2M 147.150 + None 88.5 24/7 United States OK Guymon English KB5IIM
*ARES_OK* 391281 Conference 2M 144.55 Simplex 88.5 88.5 24/7 United States OK Guymom English ke5sua
AB5CC-L 27358 Link 2M 147.54 Simplex None None 24/7 United States OK Durant English AB5CC
WX5ASA-R 473649 Repeater 70CM 444.650 + 100 24/7 United States OK Altus English kc5fm

Amateur Radio In Space Station program seeks Schools

Greetings!

In case you missed the recent announcement,  here’s the information you’ll need if you’re thinking about applying for a scheduled Amateur Radio contact with the ISS through the ARISS program. Proposals are currently being accepted for contacts to be scheduled during the 2^ndhalf of 2012. Here’s the news story: www.arrl.org/news/apply-now-to-host-a-real-time-conversation-with-crewmembers-onboard-the-iss.

Read more about the ARISS program at: http://www.arrl.org/amateur-radio-on-the-international-space-station.

Following is a list of states that have never participated in a contact with the ISS through the ARISS program:   Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota,  Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming, American Samoa,  Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin  Islands.  ARISS would love to receive proposals from schools in these states and territories!

Debra Johnson, K1DMJ

Education Services Manager

ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio™

225 Main Street

Newington, CT 06111-1494

(860) 594-0296

Fax: (860) 594-0259

djohnson@arrl.org

Altus Ham Extra Upgrade Class

The Altus Amateur Extra Class was at the Altus Area Amateur Radio Club
Christmas Party.  From left to right, the are Dale N5VX (instructor), Carole W5ORN, Ron AF5AS, Brian KF5BII, and James AB5FS (instructor)

If you have photos to share, please email them to any of the Public Information Officers in the Section.

New Oklahoma Licensees

Just look at the number of Amateur Radio operators getting notices of their licenses in one day!

N5VIC	BUTLER, RONALD R	ATOKA	OK
KD5RHF	ARNOLD, KEVIN W	CUSTER CITY	OK
AF5AV	FITZGERALD, GARY H	HARRAH	OK
N5AVV	WRIGHT, JONATHAN D	HARTSHORNE	OK
KD5REO	BECH, STANLEY R	MIAMI	OK
KF5NRW	HARVEY III, JAMES F	NORMAN	OK
KF5NRV	HARTLING, ERIC M	OKLAHOMA CITY	OK
N5CEL	LOOPER, CURTIS	OWASSO	OK
N5XMX	SMITHER, RICKY D	QUINTON	OK
N5WBK	GOUGHLER, FRED C	SKIATOOK	OK
N0BCO	SANTANGELO, BRYAN D	TULA	OK
KE5LTU	LANGLEY, DEREK D	WAGONER	OK

Are local clubs reaching out to them to make them feel welcome to the hobby?  Any of them needing help making their first contact?

USS Oklahoma

USS Oklahoma 

The USS Oklahoma Memorial Amateur Radio Club is holding a Special Event Station WW2OK in memory of the battleship, USS Oklahoma, which was lost along with 429 servicemen when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941.  

WW2OK will activate from the War Memorial Park in Muskogee, Oklahoma, from 6pm CST on December 6th and run until 6pm CST on December 7th. Multi-Op and Multi-Band operations will take place in the general portion of the HF ham bands, with all modes and bands, except 60m, possible.

The  largest remaining part of the USS Oklahoma, a section of the mast, is on display at the War Memorial Park in Muskogee, along with the USS Batfish, the World War II submarine built to avenge the losses at Pearl Harbor. 

A special “70th Anniversary” QSL card for contacts made during this event will be available after the first of the year. 

For more information about the event and the QSL cards, see the QRZ website.


Thanks to Cindy Downes, K5CED for this update.


http://www.dxwatch.com/dxsd1/dxsd1.php?f=0&c=ww2ok&t=dx gives up spots for the special event station operation.  There was no specific times or frequencies were given in the report.

VE Test Session

Great Salt Plains Amateur Radio Club testing center will be holding ham radio testing for all license classes at 10:00 A.M. on Saturday December the 10th 2011 at the Radiofrequency Safety International Building 543 main St. Kiowa, Kansas

Good day for Ham Radio

According to Ron, AF5AS, it was a good day for amateur radio in Oklahoma.

http://www.wm7d.net/fcc_uls/call_report4.shtml

 

This report lists calls, sorted by state, issued or updated on: 11/30/2011.

---

Callsign	Name	City	State

 

AF5AS	ROMAN, RONALD S	ALTUS	OK
KF5BII	OHAIR, BRIAN C	ALTUS	OK
W5ORN	TOWN, CAROLE J	ALTUS	OK
AF5AT	WILHELM, MICHAEL J	EDMOND	OK
KF5NRB	SADE, SUSAN T	HARRAH	OK
KF5NPI	CEELY, CRAIG R	LAWTON	OK
KF5NPH	PETERSON, ZACHARY N	LAWTON	OK
KF5NPG	KLINERT, CALVIN E	LAWTON	OK
AF5AU	LABROSSE, DONALD J	MUSTANG	OK
KF5NQZ	BRADLEY, GLORIA A	MUSTANG	OK
KF5NQY	BRADLEY, RICHARD E	MUSTANG	OK
KC5ZHY	DAVIDSON, ROBIN D	MUSTANG	OK
KF5NRA	SADE JR., RALPH L	NORMAN	OK
KF5NRJ	PATISON, CHRISTOPHER L	NORMAN	OK
KF5NRI	HALL, JACOB C	NORMAN	OK
KF5NRH	RAY, KENT A	NORMAN	OK
KF5NRG	TUCKER, SCARLETT N	NORMAN	OK
KF5NRF	TUCKER, SHAWNA F	NORMAN	OK
KF5NRE	TUCKER, JAMES T	NORMAN	OK
KF5NRD	RODDY, MICHAEL S	NORMAN	OK
KF5NRC	MALLES, VASILEIOS V	OKLAHOMA CITY	OK
KF5NRL	DOAK, DARA K	OKLAHOMA CITY	OK
KF5NRK	MCCOY, JENNIFER D	OKLAHOMA CITY	OK
KF5NQW	FAHEY, HENRY M	OKLAHOMA CITY	OK
KF5NQV	SIEGER, ROBERT H	OKLAHOMA CITY	OK
KF5NQU	SIEGER, TIMOOTHY R	OKLAHOMA CITY	OK
KF5GTV	BURDEN, JOHN D	OKLAHOMA CITY	OK
KF5KWT	JONES, BONNIE M	PIEDMONT	OK
WD5DFH	REID, BILLY D	VICI	OK
KF5NQX	BROWN, CHERYL	WYNNEWOOD	OK