Saturday, February 23, 2013

What's happening in Claremore?

Green Country Hamfest
Claremore, Oklahoma
Friday and Saturday, March 8th & 9th, 2013
Doors Open: Fri. 5pm-9pm   -   Saturday 8am-3pm




Talk-in on: 147.09+
LOCATION:
Same Place as Last Year!

Only 30 minutes from Tulsa!
Claremore Expo in 2013!400 Veterans Parkway
Claremore, OK 74017



ARRL Oklahoma Section Convention!


  • Location: Claremore Expo Center!
  • Largest Hamfest in Oklahoma!
  • FREE Parking!  Low Cost ON-SITE RV Parking! 
  • FREE shuttle rides!
  • Terrific Prizes!   YOU could WIN!
  • Commercial Vendors  Great Products!
  • Fantastic Forums  Learn something new!
  • Flea Market  Great Bargains! 
  • Free Test Table  Check It Before You Buy It! 
  • On-site VE Testing  Get or upgrade your license!   
  • Admission is $10.00 per person at the door
    (One ticket covers both days)
    Children 12 and under are Free

    • Pre-Register ON or BEFORE February  23rdand save two bucks!
    • Hours: Fri. 5pm-9pm  -  Sat. 8am-3pm
  • Flea Market Tables are $15.00 at the door
    • Pre-Registration price is $10.00
      • WE DO NOT HOLD FLEA MARKET TABLES!
        Get there early to insure your table!
        Tables MUST be claimed by 8:30AM Saturday!
    • Electricity is very expensive, please inquirehere - Cords are NOT provided
    • Setup for vendors and flea market starts atNOON on Friday and at 7 AM on Saturday of the hamfest.


    • ATTENTION: any prereg table not claimed by 8:30 Saturday morning will be resold without refund.
  • Commercial Booth info is available here.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Amateur Radio Course in Woodward

Tri-State Amateur Radio Group (TSARG) Woodward OK is hosting a "Ham Cram" 

I am NOW taking registrations for a 1 Day ONLY, ENTRY-LEVEL (Beginners) - Amateur (Ham) Radio License Class and Exam.

On Saturday, April 20, 2013.

Format will be an ALL DAY class, where we will take you through the learning materials, and help answer any questions you may have.

The day will conclude with YOU getting your Amateur Radio License Exam THAT AFTERNOON.

Spend a day learning and making new friends and walk out with your "Amateur (Ham) Radio License".

We provide instruction, AND discussion.

ALL REGISTRATIONS AND FEES DUE ASAP. REGISTRATIONS WILL CLOSE ON FEB 2ND !!

Invite anyone you know that may be interested !!!  Spread the Word !!

WHEN: Saturday, March 16, 2013

COST: $20 = Training Materials and $14 - Exam Fee

TIME: 8am - 5pm

EXAM: Commences at 5:30pm

WHERE:

City of Woodward Training Rooms,
Texas Avenue,
Woodward OK

NEW Ham Pack for ALL registered participants, and lunch is provided.

Please Register ASAP, as VERY limited places are available.

For Further Information and Registration, please contact:

Kind Regards,

Paul Mitchell - N1AUS / VK5PKM
Tri-State Amateur Radio Group (TSARG)
City of Woodward, Emergency Management Technical Specialist


Saturday, February 16, 2013

Coming soon to Elk City


Happy to announce the 24th ELK CITY HAMFEST                   
MARCH 2, 2013 at the ELK CITY CIVIC CENTER
ARRL TESTING AT 1:00 P.M.
DOORS OPEN AT 8:00 A.M.
COST: $5.00 TABLES: $5.00

TO PRE-REGISTER,  OR FOR MORE INFORMATION,
EMAIL OR CALL  580 821 0633

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ADDED TO THE ELK CITY HAMFEST EMAIL LIST SEND TO EARL, N5NEB .
 


Thanks to Earl, N5NEB
 
 

Thursday, February 14, 2013

What's New in the Section?

Hello all you guys and gals,

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and a great start to the new year! It’s been VERY busy around the O’Dell household and I haven’t been able to get on the air as much as I would like, but hopefully things will slow down a little soon. I hope all of you got all the nice new packages of rigs, bells and whistles you wanted for Christmas……if you didn’t, well hamfest season is upon us. Speaking of which…… 

2013 Hamfests

These are the hamfests that are already on the calendar for 2013. There are a couple yet to be determined…

2/2 Tri-State Hamfest & Computer Show, Mooreland, OK -- Was GREAT!!

3/2 Elk City Hamfest, Elk City, OK

3/8 – 3/9 Green Country Hamfest, Claremore, OK 

6/7 – 6/8 Ham-Com, Plano, TX 

7/26 – 7/27 Ham Holiday, OKC

9/13-14  ADA HAM FEST 

10/25 – 10/26 Texhoma Hamarama, Ardmore, OK

11/2 Enid Hamfest, Enid, OK 

Legislative Agenda

Eddie Manley, K5EMS, our State Government Liaison , has Gotten one piece of our proposed legislation filed and has found a couple of others of note to amateurs. When I get the actual bill numbers, I’ll post them here.

The bill we had filed changes the wording on our current PRB-1 legislation to make the municipality not the ham prove why they might not be allowed to erect an antenna structure.

Of the other bills of amateur interest. One will now allow you to apply for Oklahoma Amateur Radio license plates at your local tag agent instead of by mail only. The application cost is apparently $8 if you do it at the tag agent. And if you have a zero in your call, they WILL put the slash mark in it. You will need a copy of your amateur license to give to the tag agent.

There are 2 bills having to do with texting, one from the House and one from the Senate, they are basically the same bill. Amateur radio is specifically excluded from these bills.

Youth

I am proud to let you know that the section now has an Assistant Section Manager for Youth. Conner Keef, WX5CJK is a meteorology student at OU and will be working with the youth of the section. He is being assisted by Megan McCellan, K5MEM past North Texas ASM for youth. They are planning on having a Youth Lounge at the sections 3 larger hamfests this year starting with Green Country, then Ham Holiday and ending with Texhoma. The youth lounge concept has really started to catch on. This way, any kids that come to these hamfests, licensed or not, will have programming aimed directly at them.

ARRL Centennial

Don’t forget the ARRL Centennial is coming up in 2014. By the beginning of 3rd quarter this year you should start seeing ideas for your club to start the planning process for next year. Be looking especially for the chance to immortalize your QSL card for 2064!!

E-mail Groups

If you aren’t a member of the aresoklahoma or OKtraders Yahoo groups, then you should be. Also check out the section presence on Twitter and Facebook. Then make sure you join the ARRL-OK section e-mail list,

---WGD Announces New Annual Division Awards

Director David Woolweaver is pleased to announce the creation of the West Gulf Division Annual Division Awards. There are two primary awards: Ham of the Year and Young Ham of the Year, which will be
complimented by a third award, the West Gulf Division Excellence Award.

While the first two awards are self explanatory, the third award represents any Amateur Radio endeavor that the nominators feel deserves recognition. Suggested categories can be found on the Division website.
www.arrlwgd.org They include Educator of the Year, Radio Scouter of the Year, Technical Achievement and Amateur Radio Organization of the Year among many others. For the WGD Excellence Award only, the nominators are not limited to the suggested categories. 

Divisional Awards will be presented at the West Gulf Division Convention each year. Nominations for 2012 Award Winners will be accepted until April 15, 2013 for presentation at HamCom in June. Nomination forms for each nominee (by category) must be supported by at least three ARRL members on the award nomination form, a minimum 150-word statement and any available supporting documentation. Other rules do apply and can be found on the WGD website

The Division Awards judging panel consists of four (4) ARRL members, selected by each of the Section Managers in North Texas, Oklahoma, South Texas and West Texas Sections. The Section Manager may opt to
appoint his/herself to the committee. The fifth judge is selected by the Division Director and may reside anywhere within the West Gulf Division. Neither the Division Director nor the Vice Director will participate in the vote.

That’s all for now. I hope to see all of you at one time or another this year.

73,

Kevin O’Dell, N0IRW

Oklahoma Section Manager

Chairman ARRL PR Committee

Saturday, February 9, 2013

School Club Roundup

During the week of February 11 – 15 scan the bands and listen for young voices and respond to their
CQ calls during the School Club Round-UP (SCR). They may get your callsign wrong the 1 st time, be
patient, remember they are more proficient at texting. Thank the students for showing an interest
in our hobby. Mention scholarship opportunities, that eventually lead to satisfying and great paying
career opportunities. Remember the lifelong friendships that can develop.

Along with other schools, KF5CRF will be on the air, doing their best to hang out on the corner and
make contacts. The students will appreciate you sending schools their way, or letting them know
what frequency they can find other schools. Remember, each student brings a varied level of
experience to the QSO. You may be that students very first QSO, congratulations! When you get
time, sit back and listen for 20 or 30 minutes as the QSOs engage and disengage and the students seek
out another contact. Remember, every contact counts. Individuals are 1 point, clubs are 2 points
and schools are 5 points. Do you hold multiple callsigns? Offer those out as well, they all add up, but
please identify the other callsigns as club callsigns as appropriate.


Left is Jada KF5TAT doing some last
minute cramming for a recent General
license test. Jada and her classmates
are in the 7th grade and 12-14 years old.
Nearly all the students have been in the
program since the fall. Jada is one of the
strong operators. Her schedule should
allow her to participate after school until
1800 CTZ on Monday, Wednesday and
Friday during the SCR. Next year, Jada's
roll will shift from operator to coach and
peer mentor. Students enjoy showing
off how cool amateur radio is and Jada is
no exception.

Because art is also taught in the classroom, we have the potential to show amateur radio to those students. We work to get them involved. We pair inexperienced students with a student coach to teach them how to say their name phonetically and practice a QSO or two. When the student coach says they are ready, the student coach is the one actually coaching the QSO in the background.

Thanks to Paul, KC5CYY for this information.


Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Ardmore Volunteers sought


Volunteer Ham Radio Operators NEEDED March 3 in  Ardmore, OK. 

The Arbuckles to Ardmore Race for Mercy is asking for amateur radio help.  Click on Volunteer, then Communication, then Ham Radio and fill in the Blanks.  There is NO charge to volunteer. 

Thanks to Vance Smith, KE5BAL  for this information.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Oklahoma City Classes announced

The Aeronautical Center Amateur Radio Club will be providing amateur radio licensing courses covering the Technician and General class license beginning on February 12 and run for 10 consecutive Tuesday evenings, culminating in the FCC exams to be given on Saturday, April 20th.  Classes will run from 6 PM until 8:30 PM each night.

The Technician class will be taught at the Metro Tech Aviation Campus which is 5600 S. MacArthur Blvd.  
Class room participation is located at Metro Tech (Aviation campus) OR  On-Line at the Tuttle First Baptist Church web site

When the Tuttle FBC home page comes up double click on the work "connect" in the lower left hand column and then select the church symbol that say "Find the live video stream of our service…….".

Then you will be able to select the "Amateur Radio Information" icon or the radio tower labeled "Amateur Radio Class On-Line". The "Amateur Radio Information" has two videos to help explain more about the program. The "Amateur Radio Class On-Line" does not have videos posted at this time. However, when you participate starting February 12, at 6:00PM, there will be a live feed from Metro Tech. You will be given a phone number to call so you can participate in asking question in real time live while the instructor is teaching.

The General class course will be sited at the Oklahoma City Police Training Academy, at 800 N. Portland, with parking in the west parking lot. The course text for Technician class will be the "ARRL Ham Radio Licensing Course", second edition. The course text for General class will be the "ARRL General Class Licensing Course", 7th edition.  If you have a book already, you are set to go. If not, please email n5pt@arrl.net so you will have a book at the first meeting. The cost of the book is $30.  The only other cost will be the FCC exam itself, which is $15 payable at the April 20th exam session.  The exam session will be held Saturday at 10 AM.

Please let us know if you plan on coming!  I will need to order books ahead of the first class meeting, so I need to know if you are coming and need a book by February 4th at the latest!
Contact: Paul Thompson n5pt@arrl.net
(405) 833-2364  (cell)

73 and Hope to See You,

Paul N5PT

News from the American Radio Relay League