ARRL-SC News Archives 2009

ARRL-SC

Section News Archives

2009

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January 2009

Greetings to all Amateur Radio Operators. This is Dr. Jim, N2ZZ with the January 2009 South Carolina Section Manager’s Report! Please remember that the SC Section website can be found at: www.arrl-sc.org/ where my full SM report will be listed as well as up-to-the-date information on Amateur Radio in South Carolina!

The Greenwood hamfest was held January 10^th at the Greenwood Civic Center. I would like to thank Les K4NK ASM1 who held the ARRL Forum and Bob K4NJN ASM6 who set up and ran the ARRL table at the hamfest. Thanks also to Brian KR4SP, ACC, Marc N4UFP, TC, and others from the ARRL-SC team who assisted at the table. Les was kind enough to send me a few pictures of the event, and it looked like attendance was great! Our next SC hamfest, The Charleston Hamfest and Computer show will be held on February 7^th, and is the 2009 South Carolina State Convention! The event will be held at the Exchange Park Fairground, 9850 Hwy 78, Ladson, SC. I am pleased to announce that my request for an ARRL Headquarters representative was approved, and Allen Pitts W1AGP, Media and Public Relations Manager will be attending the hamfest! Allen will be giving a presentation immediately following the ARRL forum. Be sure to be there, as his presentations are always informative and entertaining! For information on the event, please visit the www.arrl-sc.org webpage, or the CARS website http://www.wa4usn.org/hamfestm.htm .

I reported last month about the desperate need for CW operators for the National Traffic System. Mark W2EAG resigned as net manager of the Carolinas Net (CN) effective January 31^st. I am happy to report that Dick K8SKX, EC Buncombe County, NC has volunteered to fill the Net Manager position for the remainder of 2009. If you have an interest in CW traffic handling, please contact him at: rg_burns@bellsouth.net .

I am VERY pleased to report that our Roanoke Division Director Dennis W4PWF has informed me that the 2008 Roanoke Division ARRL Service award has been awarded to Charlie AE4UX, SEC! The Roanoke Division ARRL Service Award was instituted in 1968 by then Roanoke Division Director, Vic Clark, W4KFC. Vic intended the award to be recognition for a long history of significant and consistent contribution to Amateur Radio. The amateur selected would have, over the years, dedicated much of his or her time to Amateur Radio and the ARRL. This year, there were six candidates for the award, and Charlie was selected! Please join me in congratulating Charlie on his well deserved award!

I reported last month that the FCC has called on Amateur Radio Operators to assist the public in making the move to digital TV, which is scheduled to occur on February 17^th, 2009. For those following the news, there have been political moves to delay the transition, but these have proved unsuccessful as of this time. ARRL’s agreement with the FCC was that we would provide help of a purely technical nature, and not enter homes or perform installations ourselves. Section Managers were told that we could expect a contact from the FCC so that we could inform them which groups within our section would volunteer to participate in the educational endeavors. Interestingly, I was contacted by the FCC, and they specifically requested our assistance going to people’s homes and set up converter boxes (!?!). They will provide interested individuals/clubs/groups with contact information for PinTech Corp. which has a contract with the FCC to operate a DTV help center in SC. PinTech is recruiting volunteers for this effort, and will provide the necessary training. Due to the conflicting information, I consulted the ARRL for clarification. This question was posed to the ARRL legal counsel Chris Imlay W3KD. His response was “Going into individuals' homes is not part of the ARRL/FCC DTV assistance program, by specific understanding with FCC Washington.” He also stated, however that hams, as individuals, have the right to make their own decision as to their involvement in the process and added: “I personally would not hesitate to volunteer to go into homes and help people hook up and program their converter boxes. But that is my decision.” Educational materials are available here: http://www.dtv.gov/outreach.html . Please send me an e-mail at n2zz@arrl.org if you have an interest in assisting the FCC in this endeavor, and I will pass along your contact information!

A PRB-1 bill has been entered into the legislative mix in South Carolina! In 1985, the FCC released a Memorandum Opinion and Order PRB-1 which pre-empted local zoning laws which did not make “reasonable accommodation” for Amateur Radio Antennas. Since then, radio amateurs have had to deal with this issue one jurisdiction at a time. It has been found that state laws are a more effective tool for influencing local zoning decisions. Over half of our fifty states have passed a PRB-1 law, and now South Carolina has a chance to become one of them. Representative Ken Kennedy has introduced House Bill HR#3289 which is very similar to the PRB-1 law in North Carolina. Presently it has been referred to the Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee. There are a dozen or so representatives from around SC on that committee. Information on who is on that committee and the status of the bill can be found by searching www.scstatehouse.gov . I ask that everyone check to see if their representative is on that committee and send in a letter of support for the bill in order to move it out of committee and into general session! Special thanks go to Ralph Thompson KI4AOQ who contacted Representative Kennedy, provided him with information about PRB-1 and “started the ball rolling”!

Continuing on the legislative front, there are two bills that have been introduced regarding the restriction of wireless communication devices in moving vehicles, S 0024 (Senate) and H 3083 (House). The concern is that although these bills’ main intention was to restrict cell phone use, they have the undesired effect of restricting the use of our ability to communicate using amateur radio in a moving vehicle. This would seriously hamper our emergency communications abilities.

John Miller W0IKT has provided me with research that will prove to be very helpful in contacting your representatives regarding both the PRB-1 bill and the Wireless Communication Device bills above:

1) Determine your ZIP + 4 zip code

2) Go to http://www.scstatehouse.gov/

3) Under “Legislative Resources” click on “Find your Legislator”

4) Enter your Zip + 4

5) The only two legislators you are concerned with are the last two. You have one SC Senate representative and one SC House representative.

6) Clicking on the links will bring you to a page which has their contact information.

7) In any correspondence with your legislators, make sure you indicate the bill you are discussing (in e-mails it should be in the subject line) and your ZIP +4, as well as your full name and contact information.

8) Ask your family and friends to participate also!

Here are a few samples for the wireless bills (PLEASE USE YOUR OWN WORDING!-LEGISLATORS CAN QUICKLY SPOT A FORM LETTER!):

If you are a licensed amateur radio operator:

As a licensed amateur radio operator in South Carolina, and as your constituent, I am concerned that the legislation on the subject line above, now in Committee, needs rewording to exempt amateur radio operators who have a long history of serving the "public interest, convenience, and necessity" during natural or man-made disasters. Please contact me if more information is needed.

Sincerely,
(your call sign, name and full address (WITH ZIP +4) including telephone number)

If you are not a licensed amateur radio operator:

As a voter in South Carolina, and as your constituent, I am concerned that the legislation on the subject line above, now in Committee, needs rewording to exempt amateur radio operators who have a long history of serving the "public interest, convenience, and necessity" during natural or man-made disasters. Please contact me if more information is needed.

Sincerely,
(your name and full address (WITH ZIP +4) including telephone number)

Again, Thanks to both John W0IKT and Ralph KI4AOQ for all the work they have done on both of the legislative matters above! NOTE: When you search for the bills on the www.scstatehouse.gov website, enter the first letter, then the bill number. For example: S 0024 , H 3083 and H 3289 .

The FCC has appointed Laura L. Smith of Pennsylvania to the FCC post previously held by Riley Hollingsworth K4ZDH as Special Counsel for the Spectrum Enforcement Division of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau. Ms. Smith is a 1990 graduate of Pepperdine University School of Law. The full ARRL article is available here: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/01/26/10587/?nc=1

If you have a amateur radio news item that you feel would be of interest to hams state-wide, please send it to me at n2zz@arrl.org . I request that it be in a format where I can cut-and-paste the item without having to do significant editing. In this format, I can easily add the information to the www.arrl-sc.org webpage as well!

That’s it for January! See you next Month!

December 2008 National Traffic System Report for South
Carolina by Mac Heaton N4MEH, STM:

Net Reports
Net/Check Ins/Traffic/Sessions/Reported By
Anderson Radio Club 2M Net/1007/24/31/KI4CCZ
Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Net /2348/45/31/K4SUG
Carolina's Net/283/74/59/W2EAG
Columbia ARC 2 Meter Net/162/0/9/KE4TLC
Grand Strand ARC 2M Net/123/20/11/KI4HEE
Greater Pee Dee 2 Meter Net/701/51/31/K4DTT
Greenwood ARC 2 Meter Net/83/4/4/W4DEW
Lancaster County 2 Meter Net/82/7/11/N4WMB
SC SSB Net/1431/42/31/W4DDK
SC State ARES Net/160/10/4/KE4RVF
Trident ARC Net/47/6/5/W4KSD
York Co. ARS 2 Meter FM Net/676/3/51/KI4NBA

Station Activity Reports
Station/Sent/Received/Delivered/Originated/Total
KA4UIV/11/17/12/0/40
N4MEH/22/34/5/13/74
W4DDK/2/29/1/2/34
W4KLB/80/86/6/0/172

Public Service Honor Roll
Station/Cat1/Cat2/Cat3/Cat4/Cat5/Cat6/Total
N4MEH/40/40/10/0/0/0/90

Have a Great Month!!

’73 de Dr. Jim N2ZZ
ARRL Section Manager
South Carolina Section
www.arrl-sc.org

February 2009

Greetings to all Amateur Radio Operators. This is Dr. Jim, N2ZZ with the February 2009 South Carolina Section Manager’s Report! Please remember that the SC Section website can be found at: www.arrl-sc.org/ where my full SM report will be listed as well as up-to-the-date information on Amateur Radio in South Carolina!

The Charleston Hamfest and Computer show, the 2009 South Carolina State Convention, was held on February 7^th, in Ladson, SC. The turnout was excellent, and the weather definitely cooperated with cool temperatures, but abundant sunshine. The exhibit hall at the Exchange Park fairground was packed with indoor tailgaters and vendors! The forums had a number of interesting topics, begun by Brian K6NWS DEC5 on Emergency Communications. The ARRL forum followed, with my section news presentation, a SCHEART update by John KC4YI and finally our guest speaker, Allen Pitts W1AGP, Media and Public Relations Manager from ARRL Headquarters! Allen gave us an excellent presentation! Allen will be unveiling a new Public Relations Campaign which should be ready around the time of the Dayton Hamvention in May, so stay tuned! Marc N4UFP, TC had the next forum spot, discussing HF Emergency Communications. A basic SKYWARN class was next, with VE exams completing the afternoon. Thanks to the Charleston Hamfest committee for their hard work in planning and making the hamfest possible!

I received a division-wide e-mailing from our Roanoke Division Director Dennis W4PWF indicating that the Charlotte, NC hamfest was moved again, from downtown to the Cabarrus Arena and Event Center in Concord, NC. This move was apparently for economic reasons. For additional information, please visit the hamfest web page at http://www.w4bfb.org/hamfest2009/hamfest.html . Please make plans to attend the hamfest, and please attend the ARRL forum to congratulate Charlie AE4UX, SEC who will be receiving the 2008 Roanoke Division ARRL Service Award!

I reported over the last two months that the FCC has called on Amateur Radio Operators to assist the public in making the move to digital TV, which was scheduled to occur on February 17^th, 2009. Since that time, the DTV transition has taken on a life of its own! Congress has approved delaying the mandatory transition until June 12^th, 2009, according to the http://www.dtvanswers.com/ website. For those stations prepared and ready to make the switch, penalties could be levied! Of the 500 stations ready to make the switch, 123 were told they could not turn off their analog transmitters or face “appropriate action” by the FCC, according to a Washington Post news article on February 13^th. The FCC is placing the burden on those stations to ensure that at least one analog station will continue in their market prior to letting them turn off their analog signals. The DTV transition team has offered up to two $40 coupons per household to offset the cost of converter boxes for the older televisions. As of this time, however, the monies allocated to that program have run out, awaiting further funding and/or expiration of coupons that have already been issued. To apply for coupons, go to https://www.dtv2009.gov/Options.aspx and make your application. I thank everyone who responded to me with an offer to help the public with the conversion to DTV, offering their technical expertise. I mentioned last month that PinTech Corp., which has a contract with the FCC to operate a DTV help center in SC, is recruiting volunteers for this effort and will provide the necessary training. Their plan is to send a tech person to volunteer groups with both a VCR and converter box and provide training in this manner. There is no published course curriculum. I now have a contact phone number for PinTech, provided by Jerry Cowden of the FCC. Please contact Ms. Frazier Holden (803) 708-2823 if your club or organization would like the training. As I mentioned last month, the ARRL’s agreement with the FCC is to provide technical advice only, with no provision to enter homes or perform the actual installation of equipment. If you make the individual decision to perform the installation yourself, please be sure that you make it clear that you are doing this as an individual and not through the ARRL. I do not know if PinTech will be assuming any liability for their trainees. In this age of heightened liability and frivolous lawsuits, we must be careful with our good intentions. In many situations, the adage of “No good deed goes unpunished” now comes to mind.

Marc N4UFP TC relates that TS Tom K2PJ reported that he and AF4UZ were successful at establishing WinLink2000 (RMS Packet) and Echolink as ARES operating modes in the Horry County Emergency Management communications van. Backhaul for both modes is provided by the van's satellite service link which, during emergencies, is independent of terrestrial AC power and Internet outages. A dual band omni-directional antenna is mounted on the van's pneumatic mast to provide voice and e-mail ARES communications within an area surrounding the van. Congratulations!

The Joint venture of Radio Amateurs of Canada and ARRL Amateur Radio presence at the CAN-AM Days in Myrtle Beach mid-March has been cancelled. Bob Cooke VE3BDB, Vice President Field Services RAC, cited economic reasons for the cancellation. My special thanks to Matt AF4UZ, EC, Tom K2PJ, Jim N4GSA and the Grand Strand ARC for their work with this project.

I thank all those who have written their state representatives regarding the PRB-1 bill in the House (HR 3289) and “Wireless telecommunication devices in moving vehicles” on behalf of amateur radio (S 0024 and HR 3083). Please refer to my January section report, archived on the www.arrl-sc.org website for details. Since my last section report, the ARRL Executive Committee Issued a Mobile Amateur Radio Operation Policy Statement to assist in our efforts and available here: http://www.arrl.org/govrelations/MobileAmateurRadioPolicyStatement.pdf . Again, I thank John W0IKT and Ralph KI4AOQ for all their research and help in these legislative matters, as well as W4BUW, WA4VZQ, K2SX and others who have sent me copies of letters and notes to their representatives. If you haven’t written, please take time to do so, and please forward copies of your letters to n2zz@arrl.org. Thanks!

I congratulate Brian Fletcher K6NWS, DEC5 and John Welton N4SJW for their article “When the Big One Hits, South Carolina Will Be Ready” published in the March 2009 issue of QST on pages 62-63. This article highlights many of the emergency communication initiatives we have in South Carolina, and may serve as a framework for other states to follow.

That’s it for February! See you next Month!

January 2009 National Traffic System Report for South Carolina by N4MEH, STM:

Net Reports
Net/Check Ins/Traffic/Sessions/Reported By
Anderson Radio Club 2M Net/1008/37/31/KI4CCZ
Beaufort VHF ARES Net/53/3/5/KB1CTC
Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Net /2367/63/31/K4SUG
Carolina's Net/261/86/53/W2EAG
Grand Strand ARC 2M Net/110/16/10/KI4HEE
Greater Pee Dee 2 Meter Net/741/39/31/K4DTT
Greenwood ARC 2 Meter Net/108/6/5/W4DEW
Greenwood Friendly Net (DEC)/445/41/30/W4JAK
Greenwood Friendly Net (JAN) /354/34/30/W4JAK
Kershaw ARC 2 Meter Net/55/4/4/KF4UKC
Lancaster County 2 Meter Net/82/5/12/N4WMB
Oconee 2M Net (OCT)/437/17/14/N9GSX
Oconee 2M Net (NOV)/445/16/12/N9GSX
Oconee 2M Net (DEC)/448/23/14/N9GSX
Oconee 2M Net (JAN)/537/19/13/N9GSX
SC SSB Net/1903/80/31/W4DDK
SC State ARES Net/51/4/4/KE4RVF
Trident/43/12/4/W4KSD
York Co. ARS 2 Meter FM Net/603/3/45/KI4NBA

Station Activity Reports
Station/Sent/Received/Delivered/Originated/Total
KA4UIV/12/12/9/0/33
N4MEH/7/44/4/5/60
W4DDK/5/33/3/5/46
W4KLB/66/48/18/0/132

Public Service Honor Roll
Station/Cat1/Cat2/Cat3/Cat4/Cat5/Cat6/Total
N4MEH/40/40/10/0/0/0/90

Have a Great Month!!

’73 de Dr. Jim N2ZZ
ARRL Section Manager
South Carolina Section
www.arrl-sc.org

March 2009

Greetings to all Amateur Radio Operators. This is Dr. Jim, N2ZZ with the March 2009 South Carolina Section Manager’s Report! Please remember that the SC Section website can be found at: www.arrl-sc.org/ where my full SM report will be listed as well as up-to-the-date information on Amateur Radio in South Carolina!

The Charlotte, NC hamfest, the 2009 Roanoke Division Convention, was held on March 14^th and 15^th at its new location, the Cabarrus Arena and Event Center in Concord, NC. I was unable to attend secondary to obligations at home, but I understand the hamfest was well attended. My thanks to all from South Carolina who traveled across the Carolinas border to support our Northern neighbor! At the ARRL forum, Charlie AE4UX, SEC was honored as the 2008 Roanoke Division ARRL Service Award recipient, with a personal presentation of the award by our Roanoke Division Director Dennis Bodson, W4PWF! Charlie, congratulations!

The Upstate Hamfest, our 2009 South Carolina Section Convention, will be held on May 2^nd in Spartanburg, SC. Chuck Skolaut K0BOG will be attending as the ARRL Headquarters Representative. Chuck is the Field and Regulatory Correspondent for the ARRL, and handles the Official Observer program. This, I believe, will be Chuck’s first appearance at a South Carolina Hamfest, and hope that we will have a great turn-out! Please mark your calendars for this hamfest. For further information, go to http://upstatehamfest.org or contact Rusty AJ4RK aj4rk@bellsouth.net . I had a number of questions regarding DX card checking. Paul W4FC, an ARRL certified field card checker, has indicated to me that he will be coming to the hamfest, and will be present at the ARRL table. Please gather up your DX cards, obtain the required forms from the www.arrl.org website, and bring them to the hamfest to be added to your DX totals! I hope to see everyone there!

The 2009 Dayton Hamvention http://www.hamvention.org/ , the 2009 ARRL National Convention, will be held on Friday May 15^th through Sunday May 17^th at the Hara Arena in Dayton Ohio! This year, South Carolina will be well represented at the Dayton Hamvention! First, the ARRL EXPO http://www.arrl.org/announce/nc/2009/dayton.html has been held for the last several years at the Dayton Hamvention. At the ARRL EXPO, the ARRL showcases all of ARRL Headquarters activities, has numerous talks, sells merchandise, books and offers a chance for Hamvention-goers to have a seat and take advantage of free WiFi access. My recollection of previous EXPO’s was that organizations outside of ARRL headquarters were not directly involved in the EXPO area. This year, SCHEART was planning to have a booth at Dayton. I was asked by SCHEART to request a spot in the ARRL EXPO. Although I thought that possibility was slim to none, I was pleasantly surprised that the request was granted, and SCHEART will be a part of the ARRL EXPO this year at the ARRL National Convention! Second, Bob Besley K4NJN ASM6 requested a Dayton forum spot this year to highlight SCHEART, SC Amateur Radio education efforts, the Aiken County Emergency Services Amateur Radio Trailer, and a discussion on D-STAR in South Carolina. There will be several speakers at this event. This forum currently is scheduled for Sunday the 17^th at 10am, but subject to change. Third, the Dayton ARES Forum will be on Saturday the 16^th at 2 pm, entitled “The Maturing of ARES in this decade of 9/11 and Katrina/Rita”. Moderating the forum will be Ohio SEC Jack KB8WPZ. A call went out for panel members, and Charlie AE4UX, SEC was chosen! Additionally, I will be assisting at the Section Manager area during the Hamvention.

I was asked by George W4BUW about induction into the Royal Order of the Wouff Hong. This ceremony can only be held at ARRL conventions, usually around Midnight or so. I have been informed that this will be held at Hamvention 2009, and information about participating in the ceremony will be available at the ARRL EXPO during the Hamvention.

I was informed by Brian Bayus N1KC, Assistant Director, Roanoke Division, that a website for the Roanoke Division is currently under construction, and will soon be available at www.arrl-roanoke.org . A visit to that web address currently shows that site under construction, but please save this in your “favorites” and check back soon!

Thanks to Joe, W4JF for hosting the official website of the South Carolina SSB net. You can access the site at: http://www.scssb.net/home.html . Thanks also to Suzie, KG4YVJ, for composing the 2009 SC SSB Net Roster, especially for organizing the changes in the ARRL-SC field services pages!

A called meeting of all South Carolina District Emergency Coordinators (DECs) was held on February 28^that the SCETV offices in Columbia. All DECs were present, and Charlie AE4UX, SEC presided. Topics included shared information of activities going on around the state, and the state-wide full scale exercise (FSE) that will be held on June 3^rd and 4^th. There was an SCHEART progress report with a project forecast of a full build-out of the analog voice repeaters by the start of hurricane season. A discussion of ARES operation frequencies around the state ensued, and a discussion of new technologies completed the meeting. At the meeting, there was a discussion about ARES/EMD AREAS versus DHEC REGIONS. Checking into nets, particularly health care nets, has been confusing. The difference between the two can be found on the www.arrl-sc.org website by clicking on “SC Emergency Management Division Areas” on the left sidebar. Both ARES/SCEMD Area and DHEC Region maps can be found on that page.

Field Day information and resources are now available from the ARRL: http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/ . This page includes a summary of available resources, with links to Field Day forms and rules, logos and reference links. The page also includes a quick link to the map-based Field Day Station Locator where users can search for public Field Day sites. "Field Day is the largest on-the-air operating event," said ARRL Field Day Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND. "The event draws tens of thousands of radio amateurs to the airwaves over a single weekend." This year, Field Day is June 27-28.

            The Southeastern VHF Society, SVHFS, will hold their 13th annual conference for 2009 in Charlotte, NC on April 24th and 25th sponsored by the Carolina DX Association. This event is attended by those who operate or just have an interested in learning about VHF, UHF and microwave weak signal operating and contesting. The average attendance is 100+ and often with hams from distant countries. The two day event officially starts on Friday with testing of antenna gain and preamp noise figure measurements. These tests are performed with state of the art lab quality test equipment. Friday also includes an optional lunch with guest speaker and the start of the technical presentations. Technical presentations start again on Saturday morning and run throughout the day with a late afternoon flea market and auction. On Saturday night there will be an optional banquet with awards, prize drawings and guest speaker.

For more information and hotel accommodations please see:

    http://www.w4dex.com/svhfs_2009.htm

    http://www.svhfs.org/conf_2009.htm

73,
W4DEX

Thanks to Carl Bozard AJ4AU for pointing out broken links to clubs on the www.ARRL-SC.org website. If you are the webmaster or a member of the following clubs, please contact me n2zz@arrl.org with your club’s updated link: Clemson University ARC, Lancaster ARC, Salkehatchie ARS, and Spartanburg ARC.

That’s it for March! See you next Month!

February 2009 National Traffic System Report for South Carolina by N4MEH, STM:

Net Reports
Net/Check Ins/Traffic/Sessions/Reported By
Anderson Radio Club 2M Net/987/18/28/KI4CCZ
Beaufort VHF ARES Net/44/0/4/KB1CTC
Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Net /2257/56/28/K4SUG
Carolina's Net/265/110/56/K4IWW
Columbia ARC 2 Meter Net/152/0/8/KI4PTM
Grand Strand ARC 2M Net/137/12/11/KI4HEE
Greater Pee Dee 2 Meter Net/722/41/28/K4DTT
Greenwood ARC 2 Meter Net/94/4/4/W4DEW
Greenwood Friendly Net /318/41/24/W4JAK
Lancaster County 2 Meter Net/71/11/6/N4WMB
SC SSB Net/1948/106/28/W4DDK
SC State ARES Net/169/4/4/KE4RVF
Trident/33/7/4/W4KSD

Station Activity Reports
Station/Sent/Received/Delivered/Originated/Total
N4MEH/8/47/2/4/61
W4DDK/4/28/1/4/37
W4KLB/101/104/1/0/206
W4NVO/4/6/6/4/20

Public Service Honor Roll
Station/Cat1/Cat2/Cat3/Cat4/Cat5/Cat6/Total
N4MEH/40/40/10/0/0/0/90

Have a Great Month!!

’73 de Dr. Jim N2ZZ
ARRL Section Manager
South Carolina Section
www.arrl-sc.org

April 2009

Greetings to all Amateur Radio Operators. This is Dr. Jim, N2ZZ with the April 2009 South Carolina Section Manager’s Report! Please remember that the SC Section website can be found at: www.arrl-sc.org/ where my full SM report will be listed as well as up-to-the-date information on Amateur Radio in South Carolina!

I hope everyone is enjoying Spring in South Carolina. The heavy pollen has ended, and the comfortable temperatures and humidity have returned! Before we know it, Summer will be here, so enjoy these temperate times!

As I write this Section Report, The Swine Flu outbreak has caused the World Health Organization to issue a Pandemic Alert Level of Five out of Six. As of today, there has been one confirmed death in the United States, with 91 confirmed cases. Please take time to read about the outbreak on the Center for Disease Control website: http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/general_info.htm . Remember that there are general guidelines to prevent the spread of infection, including proper hand washing, avoiding close contact and covering a cough or sneeze: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/habits.htm?s_cid=swineFlu_outbreak_003 With hamfests coming up, this is good advice to prevent the spread of disease!

I was informed by Brian Bayus N1KC, Assistant Director, Roanoke Division, that the website for the Roanoke Division is now up and running at www.arrl-roanoke.org . He has done a great job, so please visit the site and send Brian your comments. I have added a link for the Roanoke Division website on the www.arrl-sc.org website in the left sidebar!

You may wonder what a Section Manager does on his vacation! The first full week of April brings the Masters Golf Tournament to Augusta, Georgia. This was my year to be off work, as we rotate vacations this week in our practice. I did not have a vacation planned, so I devoted the entire week to visiting hams throughout the state. On Monday, Bob K4NJN, ASM6 and I traveled to Columbia to visit the Columbia Amateur Radio Club at their monthly meeting. This was a “show and tell” meeting where a number of very interesting items were presented. The mystery item turned out to be a “decade box”. After the item was passed around the room and came to me, my first question was whether I could take it apart! It was indeed a resistance decade box, but much more fun to see from the inside! On Tuesday, Charlie AE4UX, SEC and I traveled to the Spartanburg Amateur Radio Club monthly meeting and heard a presentation on D-STAR by John KC4YI. On Wednesday, I pondered where to go for the rest of the week. I remember receiving an e-mail from someone a few years ago who had moved to Hilton Head and wondered how he could put up a tower. I told him that he just moved in to what may be the most antenna restricted area on the planet! That being said, we always hear a number of stations from Hilton Head who check into the SC SSB net with very strong signals. How do they do it? I called Jeep KA1DF, DEC6 and asked if I could visit several hams in Hilton Head and see their antenna installations. Jeep arranged an itinerary and Charlie AE4UX, SEC and I traveled to Hilton Head on Thursday, and found what “Stealth” amateur radio was all about! I wanted to give credit to each of the hams individually, but they did have a concern that “their cover would be blown” if I did so. I thank all who opened their homes to us, as it was a very educational day! Finally, I was able to fulfill one of my lifelong interests on Friday. I was trained on a spectrum analyzer and a communications service monitor at the SCETV office in Columbia, and even had a chance to tune a set of duplexers! Thanks to John Crockett KC4YI and his staff for giving me that opportunity!

Aiken has entered the D-STAR airwaves, with the addition of two D-STAR repeaters, KR4AIK-C 146.16 and KR4AIK-B 443.4125. Currently, the UHF repeater has antenna issues but usable, and the VHF repeater is working well. Neither is connected to the Gateway, awaiting access to the internet. Hopefully they will be connected to the internet soon. For information on D-STAR in SC, visit http://scdstar.com/ for up-to-date information!

That’s it for April! See you next Month!

March 2009 National Traffic System Report for South Carolina by N4MEH, STM:

Net Reports
Net/Check Ins/Traffic/Sessions/Reported By
Beaufort VHF ARES Net/35/1/4/KB1CTC
Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Net /2771/62/31/K4SUG
Carolina Slow Net/276/82/59/N0SU
Carolina State Line Net/156/0/5/W8SC
Columbia ARC 2 Meter Net/202/0/9/KI4PTM
Grand Strand ARC 2M Net/168/16/14/KI4HEE
Greater Pee Dee 2 Meter Net/865/34/31/K4DTT
Greenwood ARC 2 Meter Net/103/4/4/W4DEW
Greenwood Friendly Net /329/30/27/W4JAK
Lancaster County 2 Meter Net/90/12/13/N4WMB
SC SSB Net/2557/100/31/W4DDK
Trident/42/10/5/W4KSD
York Co. ARS 2 Meter FM Net/686/7/50/KG4CDF

Station Activity Reports
Station/Sent/Received/Delivered/Originated/Total
K4GLT/52/32/0/0/84
N4MEH/14/32/2/3/51
W4DDK/11/34/2/11/58
W4KLB/65/53/12/0/130

Public Service Honor Roll
Station/Cat1/Cat2/Cat3/Cat4/Cat5/Cat6/Total
N4MEH/40/40/10/0/0/0/90
W4KLB/40/40/20/0/0/0/100

Have a Great Month!!

’73 de Dr. Jim N2ZZ
ARRL Section Manager
South Carolina Section
www.arrl-sc.org

May 2009

Greetings to all Amateur Radio Operators. This is Dr. Jim, N2ZZ with the May 2009 South Carolina Section Manager’s Report! Please remember that the SC Section website can be found at: www.arrl-sc.org/ where my full SM report will be listed as well as up-to-the-date information on Amateur Radio in South Carolina!

The Upstate Hamfest, our 2009 South Carolina Section Convention, was held on May 2^nd in Spartanburg, SC. Chuck Skolaut K0BOG attended as the ARRL Headquarters Representative. Chuck is the Field and Regulatory Correspondent for the ARRL, and handles the Official Observer program. Chuck presented information about the Official Observer Program at the ARRL forum, and had a question and answer period after his presentation. Thanks to both Chuck for his presentation, and to the ARRL for approving his visit! An update on the SCHEART system was given by John KC4YI, TS. Thanks also go to Paul W4FC, an ARRL certified field card checker, who helped all comers to add to their DXCC totals!

The 2009 Dayton Hamvention http://www.hamvention.org/ , the 2009 ARRL National Convention, was held on Friday May 15^th through Sunday May 17^th at the Hara Arena in Dayton Ohio! This year, South Carolina was well represented at the Dayton Hamvention! First, the ARRL EXPO http://www.arrl.org/announce/nc/2009/dayton.html has been held for the last several years at the Dayton Hamvention. At the ARRL EXPO, the ARRL showcases all of ARRL Headquarters activities, has numerous talks, sells merchandise, books and offers a chance for Hamvention-goers to have a seat and take advantage of free WiFi access. This year, SCHEART had a booth within the ARRL EXPO, as well as a space in the outdoor flea market! Both were well received, and I was proud to see South Carolina so well represented! Additionally, the Dayton ARES Forum was held on Saturday the 16^th at 2 pm, entitled “The Maturing of ARES in this decade of 9/11 and Katrina/Rita”. Moderating the forum was Ohio SEC Jack KB8WPZ. Charlie AE4UX, SEC was chosen to be one of the panel members! If there were any negatives to the forums, it was the scheduling. Many popular forums were held simultaneously in different rooms, and we had to pick and choose which forum to go to. Additionally, I had a Section Manager meeting at the same time as a few popular forums! That being said, there were virtually no conflicts with the South Carolina “When All Else Fails, South Carolina is Ready” forum held on Sunday the 17^th at 10 am. This forum highlighted SCHEART, SC Amateur Radio education efforts, the Aiken County Emergency Services Amateur Radio Trailer, and a discussion on D-STAR in South Carolina. Thanks to all speakers in the forum, especially to Bob Besley K4NJN ASM6 for securing the forum spot!

Field Day 2009 will be held on June 27^th and 28^th! Field day information and the complete Field Day package is available here: http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2009/fd.html Charlie AE4UX, SEC and I will be traveling around the state again this year to visit Field Day Sites within South Carolina! If your group would like a visit, please send detailed driving directions, planned hours of operation, and contact information (Cellphone if possible) to ae4ux@arrl.net and n2zz@arrl.org . Please send us your information by June 15^th so that we can finalize our route! For you APRS fans, I am planning on using an APRS tracker (N2ZZ-10) to show our route in real time! We are looking forward to the trip!!

Marc Tarplee N4UFP, TC reports the following: “A new Technical Specialist has joined our ranks, John Crockett, KC4YI. John is the manager of transmitter operations for SC-ETV and has a wealth of experience in electronics and amateur radio. He has been a driving force behind the state-wide rollout of the SCHEART linked repeater system and is a great engineer, as well as an all-round nice guy.” Congratulations, John!

That’s it for May! See you next Month!

April 2009 National Traffic System Report for South Carolina by N4MEH, STM:

Net Reports
Net/Check Ins/Traffic/Sessions/Reported By
Anderson Radio Club 2M Net/944/51/30/KJ4CTH
Beaufort VHF ARES Net/39/2/5/KB1CTC
Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Net /2681/68/30/K4SUG
Carolina's Net/243/82/60/K4IWW
Carolina State Line Net/28/0/4/W8SC
Grand Strand ARC 2M Net/156/15/13/KI4HEE
Greater Pee Dee 2 Meter Net/749/34/30/K4DTT
Greenwood ARC 2 Meter Net/126/6/5/W4DEW
Greenwood Friendly Net /416/38/28/W4JAK
Kershaw ARC 2 Meter Net/22/10/5/KF4UKC
Lancaster County 2 Meter Net/82/12/12/N4WMB
Oconee 2M Net (Feb 09)/363/17/12/N9GSX
Oconee 2M Net (Mar 09)/409/17/13/N9GSX
Oconee 2M Net (Apr 09)/489/31/13/N9GSX
SC SSB Net/2211/124/30/W4DDK
SC State ARES Net/193/4/4/KE4RVF
Trident/21/6/4/W4KSD
York Co. ARS 2 Meter FM Net/699/8/50/KG4CDF

Station Activity Reports
Station/Sent/Received/Delivered/Originated/Total
K4GLT/67/57/0/0/124
N4MEH/31/61/2/3/97
W4DDK/9/30/1/9/49
W4KLB/69/74/15/0/158

Public Service Honor Roll
Station/Cat1/Cat2/Cat3/Cat4/Cat5/Cat6/Total
N4MEH/40/40/10/0/0/0/90
W4KLB/40/40/20/0/0/0/100

Have a Great Month!!

’73 de Dr. Jim N2ZZ
ARRL Section Manager
South Carolina Section
www.arrl-sc.org

June 2009

Greetings to all Amateur Radio Operators. This is Dr. Jim, N2ZZ with the June 2009 South Carolina Section Manager’s Report! Please remember that the SC Section website can be found at: www.arrl-sc.org/ where my full SM report will be listed as well as up-to-the-date information on Amateur Radio in South Carolina!

Field Day 2009 will be held THIS weekend on June 27^th and 28^th! Field day information and the complete Field Day package are available here: http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2009/fd.html . If your group has not registered on the ARRL Field Day Locator, please add your site to http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/locator.php . This will allow the public and Amateur Radio Operators looking for Field Day activity to find your Field Day site. Charlie AE4UX, SEC and I will be traveling around the state again this year to visit Field Day Sites within South Carolina! If your group would like a visit, please send detailed driving directions, planned hours of operation, and contact information (Cellphone if possible) to ae4ux@arrl.net and n2zz@arrl.org . Please send us your information as soon as possible so that we can finalize our route! For you APRS fans, I am planning on using an APRS tracker (N2ZZ-10) to show our route in real time! We are looking forward to the trip! I am pleased to report that Governor Mark Sanford has proclaimed June 22-28, 2009 as AMATEUR RADIO WEEK and June 27-28, 2009 as AMATEUR RADIO FIELD DAY!

Mac K4AVR reports: The Ninth Annual PALS Net Two Meter Picnic will be held at Cheraw State Park this year on Sunday, September 27. We have the Boat Dock Picnic Shelter that we have used in the past reserved again for this year. We will try to get everything on the table and ready for folks to eat as close to Noon as possible. After we have a chance to eat, there will be a short PALS Net meeting with report from the officers about the past year, the upcoming projects for the coming year and election of officers for next year. Afterwards there will be plenty of time for eyeball QSO, pickin' and singing, and anything else the folks would like to do. The picnic will be a Family Style Picnic, where everyone brings something they would like to share, we put it all on the table and everyone has a chance to sample everything.

I received several reports regarding the Mount Mitchell repeaters in North Carolina potentially losing their tower site. Alice Knighten, General Manager of WMIT informed Ken Woodard WA4BVW to ..."Please plan to remove all of your equipment from the site and return the access keys to our office by July 31, 2009." A call went out to all amateur radio operators to send letters to the station and parent company indicating how important that repeater site was to amateur radio communications and emergency operations, including SKYWARN. Fortunately, discussions ensued, and word from Dean Blair K2JB, WCARS president, is to “stand down”, and not send any further communications to the station. My latest information (received from K4AVR) was that WA4BVW had received a letter from the Blue Ridge Broadcasting Company extending the date of removal for one year. Hopefully this should allow time to address whatever issues that caused the removal notice in the first place.

I received a request from Steve Ewald WV1X from ARRL Headquarters. September QST will have a theme on Emergency Communications, and they are looking for photographs. Write to qst@arrl.org with your high resolution photograph (and send me a copy at n2zz@arrl.org ) for possible publication in QST! A few pointers on QST cover photography are available here: http://www.arrl.org/qst/cover_photo.html .

I also received information from Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R from ARRL Headquarters. He reports that the ARRL regularly receives inquiries from conventions and exhibition groups, seeking representatives on behalf of the Amateur Radio Service. He received a request from the South Carolina Patriot Expo, www.patriotexpo.com . The event will be held June 27^th, 2009 at the Embassy Suites in Columbia, SC. Any club interested in participating should call the event coordinator directly. The contact information provided is Teresa at 803-312-3406 or please visit their website for exhibitor information.

That’s it for June! See you next Month!

May 2009 National Traffic System Report for South Carolina by N4MEH, STM:

Net Reports
Net/Check Ins/Traffic/Sessions/Reported By
Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Net /2572/51/31/K4SUG
Carolina's Net/252/78/62/K4IWW
Carolina State Line Net/44/0/4/W8SC
Grand Strand ARC 2M Net/148/18/13/KI4HEE
Greater Pee Dee 2 Meter Net/767/43/31/K4DTT
Greenwood ARC 2 Meter Net/87/5/4/W4DEW
Lancaster County 2 Meter Net/86/10/12/N4WMB
PALS Net /829/78/31/KG4KOE
SC SSB Net/1993/90/31/W4DDK
SC State ARES Net/211/7/5/KE4RVF
Trident/30/10/4/W4KSD
York Co. ARS 2 Meter FM Net/693/2/50/KG4CDF

Station Activity Reports
Station/Sent/Received/Delivered/Originated/Total
N4MEH/36/59/3/6/104
W4DDK/4/29/2/4/39
W4KLB/72/86/14/0/172

Public Service Honor Roll
Station/Cat1/Cat2/Cat3/Cat4/Cat5/Cat6/Total
N4MEH/40/40/10/0/0/0/90
W4KLB/40/40/20/0/0/0/100

Have a Great Month!!

’73 de Dr. Jim N2ZZ
ARRL Section Manager|
South Carolina Section
www.arrl-sc.org

July 2009

Greetings to all Amateur Radio Operators. This is Dr. Jim, N2ZZ with the July 2009 South Carolina Section Manager’s Report! Please remember that the SC Section website can be found at: www.arrl-sc.org/ where my full SM report will be listed as well as up-to-the-date information on Amateur Radio in South Carolina!

Field Day 2009 was held June 27^th and 28^th! Charlie AE4UX, SEC and I took our annual trip around South Carolina again this year. Our trip encompassed 545 miles and 14 hours on the road. We visited 8 sites, including Point South (Coastal ARA), Beaufort ARG, Summerville (Low Country ARC), North Charleston (Trident ARC), Charleston ARS, Sullivan’s Island lighthouse (N4DBR), Grand Strand ARC and Florence ARC. Our trip to the Sullivan’s Island lighthouse was a new experience for us, as N4DBR traveled here from North Carolina to run Field Day from the lighthouse. Dave received permission to erect antennas on the lighthouse, and we were greeted with 80 meter vertical wire antennas hanging from the top of the structure! As expected, there were no enclosed structures near the lighthouse, so Dave and his family backed up two vehicles, covered them with a tarp, and had stations on the tailgates of both! As we left, the rain was beginning to fall, so this was going to be a soggy Field Day for them! Charleston ARS was not on the U.S.S. Yorktown this year, but held Field Day in Marion Square, downtown Charleston. This event included the unveiling of the new SCETV amateur radio trailer, equipped with satellite internet capability! Charlie and I look forward to this trip each year, and hope to visit the sites we were unable to visit this year next year! Thanks to EVERYONE for their hospitality during our visits!

I promised an APRS beacon for the APRS fans during our Field Day trip, but I found that my Byonics MT-AIO tracker was a “stickler” for fresh batteries. The unit was non-functional Saturday, but when I purchased new batteries on Sunday AM, the tracker was functioning well. For those who saw on www.aprs.fi that N2ZZ-10 did not leave Aiken on Saturday, and then on Sunday mysteriously showed up in Florence, Columbia and then back to Aiken, that was the reason!

I have again been reminded that the Carolinas Net (CN), the CW NTS net that covers both North and South Carolina, needs a Net Manager. I was contacted by Will Harper K4IWW in regards to this vacancy. If you are a CW NTS traffic handler and are interested in filling this position, please contact Will Harper k4iww@nc.rr.com , Mac Heaton N4MEH, STM at n4meh@arrl.net or Dave W4DNA, STM (NC) w4dna@nc.rr.com .

I received word from Susan Melvin K4ZXN, VP of the Shelby ARC that the Shelby Hamfest, now held in Dallas, NC, will again be held on Labor Day weekend, September 5^th and 6^th. In an effort to save postage costs, they will not be mailing flyers this year. Please go to Hamfest Alert on the www.arrl-sc.org website and click on the link within the Shelby Hamfest section to view a PDF flyer for the Shelby hamfest! This is a major hamfest in the ARRL Roanoke Division, and I hope to see everyone there!

That’s it for July! See you next Month!

June 2009 National Traffic System Report for South Carolina by N4MEH, STM:

Net Reports
Net/Check Ins/Traffic/Sessions/Reported By
Anderson Radio Club 2M Net (May)/985/40/31/KJ4CTH
Anderson Radio Club 2M Net (June)/897/26/30/KJ4CTH
Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Net /2424/59/30/K4SUG
Carolina's Net/30/70/60/K4IWW
Carolina State Line Net/44/1/4/W8SC
Columbia ARC 2 Meter Net/196/0/8/KI4PTM
Grand Strand ARC 2M Net/128/14/10/KI4HEE
Greater Pee Dee 2 Meter Net/758/40/30/K4DTT
Greenwood ARC 2 Meter Net/84/4/4/W4DEW
Kershaw ARC 2 Meter Net (May)/39/3/4/KF4UKC
Kershaw ARC 2 Meter Net (June)/58/4/5/KF4UKC
Lancaster County 2 Meter Net/76/12/12/N4WMB
PALS Net (May)/829/78/31/KJ4BVM
PALS Net (June)/797/65/30/KJ4BVM
SC SSB Net/1736/134/30/W4DDK
SC State ARES Net/175/5/4/KE4RVF
Trident/20/2/4/W4KSD
York Co. ARS 2 Meter FM Net/752/4/51/KG4CDF

Station Activity Reports
Station/Sent/Received/Delivered/Originated/Total
K4GLT/145/127/2/0/274
N4MEH/6/62/3/2/73
W4DDK/4/31/1/4/40
W4KLB/65/54/2/0/121

Public Service Honor Roll
Station/Cat1/Cat2/Cat3/Cat4/Cat5/Cat6/Total
N4MEH/40/40/10/0/0/0/90
W4KLB/40/40/20/0/0/0/100

Have a Great Month!!

’73 de Dr. Jim N2ZZ
ARRL Section Manager
South Carolina Section
www.arrl-sc.org

August 2009

Greetings to all Amateur Radio Operators. This is Dr. Jim, N2ZZ with the August 2009 South Carolina Section Manager’s Report! Please remember that the SC Section website can be found at: www.arrl-sc.org/ where my full SM report will be listed as well as up-to-the-date information on Amateur Radio in South Carolina!

I again request that all SC amateur radio operators sign up for the ARRL-SC yahoogroup for additional interactive communications on Amateur Radio in South Carolina: arrl-sc-subscribe@yahoogroups.com . Thanks!

Congratulations to our Director Dennis Bodson W4PWF who has been declared re-elected for another three year term!

I was sad to find out that Susan AF4AFO has decided to step down as Section Manager of Georgia. Susan has served Georgia as Section Manager since 2002 and was exceptional in her leadership and caring for the Georgia Section. We will all be sorry to see her go, but hope she will still continue in the ARRL Field Service!

D-Star is growing in South Carolina! An excellent resource in SC on D-Star can be found here: http://www.scdstar.com/ . Last week, our Aiken D-Star repeaters KR4AIK-B&C gained new commercial quality antennas and have a great coverage footprint (It does help having a QTH just 1000 feet from the antenna site, though!). In addition, the Beaufort Radio Digital Group in cooperation with SCETV and the SCHEART group, have placed a DSTAR Repeater on the air. KJ4LNJ-C is a 2mtr Voice and slow speed data unit on 145.480- and is located on the Whitehall tower. The Gateway connection is up and running. Gateway information is available here: www.kj4lnj.org .

It looks like September is going to be a busy operating month, particularly on the third weekend! The SOUTH CAROLINA QSO PARTY will be held on 1300Z September 19^th to 2100Z September 20^th, 2009 sponsored by the Columbia Amateur Radio Club. Check out their SC QSO party webpage here: http://carc.ham-radio-op.net/scqp/scqsoweb2009.shtml . Please plan to participate! Additionally, I received information on N4H, the H.L. Hunley Special Event Station, who will be on the air that same weekend. A special commemorative QSL card is available! Further information can be found here: http://www.nn4f.com/n4h/ .

Now to warm everyone up for the SC QSO Party and the N4H event, the Hiram Percy Maxim Birthday Celebration event will be held September 2^nd through September 9^th! All hams are eligible to participate! Those with ARRL elected positions, appointees, life members and a number of others are able to append /140 to their call. The object is to work as many /140 stations possible. Awards are given for a minimum of 25 contacts with additional endorsements every 25 contacts up to a maximum of 100. Full information is available here: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/08/17/11025/?nc=1

Congratulations to a new Amateur Radio Family in South Carolina! Bob Connell KI4RAX, President of the Kershaw County Radio club, reports that his wife Lisa and children Madelyn (11) and Ashton (9) have all earned their General licenses!

That’s it for August! See you next Month!

July 2009 National Traffic System Report for South Carolina by N4MEH, STM:

Net Reports
Net/Check Ins/Traffic/Sessions/Reported By
Anderson Radio Club 2M Net /788/25/31/KJ4CTH
Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Net /2525/79/31/K4SUG
Carolina's Net/231/100/62/K4IWW
Carolina State Line Net/41/0/4/W8SC
Columbia ARC 2 Meter Net/194/0/9/KI4PTM
Grand Strand ARC 2M Net/140/14/12/KI4HEE
Greater Pee Dee 2 Meter Net/812/41/31/K4DTT
Greenwood ARC 2 Meter Net/112/5/5/W4DEW
Kershaw ARC 2 Meter Net /53/4/4/KF4UKC
Lancaster County 2 Meter Net/78/13/12/N4WMB
PALS Net /949/72/31/KJ4BVM
SC Regional Skywarn (June)/104/3/5/W4KSD
SC Regional Skywarn (July)/117/3/5/W4KSD
SC SSB Net/1872/85/31/W4DDK
SC State ARES Net/192/4/4/KE4RVF
Trident ARC/28/6/4/W4KSD
York Co. ARS 2 Meter FM Net/765/4/52/KG4CDF

Station Activity Reports
Station/Sent/Received/Delivered/Originated/Total
K4GLT/133/113/2/0/248
N4MEH/5/4/1/4/74
W4DDK/3/33/1/3/40
W4KLB/36/21/2/0/59

Public Service Honor Roll
Station/Cat1/Cat2/Cat3/Cat4/Cat5/Cat6/Total
N4MEH/40/40/10/0/0/0/90
W4KLB/40/40/20/0/0/0/100

Have a Great Month!!

’73 de Dr. Jim N2ZZ
ARRL Section Manager
South Carolina Section
www.arrl-sc.org

September 2009

Greetings to all Amateur Radio Operators. This is Dr. Jim, N2ZZ with the September 2009 South Carolina Section Manager’s Report! Please remember that the SC Section website can be found at: www.arrl-sc.org/ where my full SM report will be listed as well as up-to-the-date information on Amateur Radio in South Carolina!

This was a beautiful day in South Carolina! The temperature has dropped, and the Fall winds are blowing. I was very pleased to celebrate my Mother’s 93^rd birthday on this date! Her birthday gift to me in one of my teenage years was life membership in the ARRL, and it has certainly paid off!

September has been a very busy month. I attended the Shelby hamfest again this year, and had a great time! Tim N4IB, SM NC attended, and we had Jeff Beals WA4AW, Vice Director of the Southeastern Division assisting at the ARRL table. From an operating standpoint, we had the national Hiram Percy Maxim Birthday Celebration event: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/08/17/11025/?nc=1 The South Carolina QSO Party: http://carc.ham-radio-op.net/scqp/scqsoweb2009.shtml and the H.L. Hunley N4H Special Event Station http://www.nn4f.com/n4h/. Thanks to all who participated! Remember that logs are due on October 20^th for the SC QSO party!

I attended the QCWA South Carolina Chapter 89 meeting this past Saturday, enjoyed the fellowship and saw a great presentation on the Linux Operating System, and its application with Amateur Radio. I have no experience with Linux, but there is a great link to get started: http://www.ubuntu.com/ . I received a boot CD that will allow investigating Linux without actually installing it on a computer. Something else to play with! For those who have been licensed 25 years or more and are interested in joining QCWA, please contact Chapter 89’s secretary-treasurer, Jim W5AQP mfhill@bellsouth.net . Meeting dates for 2010 will be February 27^th, June 19^th and September 25^th.

From the Hamfest Calendar, The Rock Hill Hamfest will be held October 3^rd at a new location: The Faith Assembly of God, 2800 Faith Avenue, Rock Hill, SC. Talk-in will be on 147.03-. For further information, go to www.rockhillhamfest.com . The 31^st Annual Lake Hartwell Hamfest will be held on October 10^th at Darin Wright Park and is sponsored by the Anderson Radio Club www.andersonradioclub.us . Talk-in will be on 146.79-. The Sumter “Open Air” Hamfest will be held on October 24^th http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/2695/sara.htm with a talk-in on 147.015, pl 156.7. The Grand Strand Beachfest was to be held on October 31^st, but their website now indicates that they have cancelled the event again this year: http://www.w4gs.org/beachfest/index.shtml .

I received a note from Buddy Willis W4DEW that the Greenwood Civic Center, where the Greenwood hamfest has been held for many years, will be closing permanently on December 31, 2009. A suitable alternate site has not been located, so the Greenwood hamfest scheduled on January 9^th has been cancelled. Buddy stated that the Greenwood ARS thanks everyone for their support for the last 25+ years!

Due to hospital call demands, a partner out for surgery and an educational conference, I will be unable to attend the first two hamfests of October. I appreciate Bob WA2EMF ASM2 and Marc N4UFP TC representing the ARRL at the Rock Hill Hamfest! I have not had a chance to talk with members of the ARRL-SC team in Anderson yet, but look for Les K4NK ASM1, Brian KR4SP ACC and Mac N4MEH STM at Lake Hartwell!

And now for the big news: The ARRL Board of Directors has released their position paper on “Guidelines and Recommendations on the Appropriate Use of Amateur Radio”. http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/09/25/11094/?nc=1 . I urge everyone to read the document in its entirety. Of particular note is their clarification of the FCC position regarding pecuniary interest, and communications on behalf of an employer. Specifically, it indicates that there is no exception for training exercises or drills in regards to employees who are on or off duty, as the FCC interprets that communication as being beneficial to their employer. Although this impacts SCHEART, rumors that SCHEART is “dead in the water” can not be further from the truth. My information is that SCHEART will adapt to the current interpretation of FCC rules. Although I can answer to the history of this ARRL document, Section Managers were not involved directly with its development, so any questions, comments or concerns should be directed to ARRL Headquarters and/or the ARRL Board of Directors.

I again request that all SC amateur radio operators sign up for the ARRL-SC yahoogroup for additional interactive communications on Amateur Radio in South Carolina: arrl-sc-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

That’s it for September! See you next Month!

August 2009 National Traffic System Report for South Carolina by N4MEH, STM:

Net Reports
Net/Check Ins/Traffic/Sessions/Reported By
Anderson Radio Club 2M Net /960/22/31/ND2Z
Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Net /2557/67/31/K4SUG
Carolina's Net/200/99/62/K4IWW
Carolina State Line Net/38/1/5/W8SC
Columbia ARC 2 Meter Net/201/0/9/KI4PTM
Grand Strand ARC 2M Net/133/15/13/KI4HEE
Greater Pee Dee 2 Meter Net/874/42/31/K4DTT
Greenwood ARC 2 Meter Net/113/5/4/W4DEW
Kershaw ARC 2 Meter Net /81/5/5/KF4UKC
PALS Net /1115/82/31/KJ4BVM
SC SSB Net/1836/124/31/W4DDK
SC State ARES Net/261/6/5/KE4RVF
York Co. ARS 2 Meter FM Net/776/11/51/KG4CDF

Station Activity Reports
Station/Sent/Received/Delivered/Originated/Total
K4GLT/111/102/0/0/213
N4MEH/5/60/0/2/67
W4DDK/4/30/1/4/39
W4KLB/65/52/13/0/130

Public Service Honor Roll
Station/Cat1/Cat2/Cat3/Cat4/Cat5/Cat6/Total
N4MEH/40/40/10/0/0/0/90
W4KLB/40/40/20/0/0/0/100

Have a Great Month!!

’73 de Dr. Jim N2ZZ
ARRL Section Manager
South Carolina Section
www.arrl-sc.org

October, 2009

Greetings to all Amateur Radio Operators. This is Dr. Jim, N2ZZ with the October 2009 South Carolina Section Manager’s Report! Please remember that the SC Section website can be found at: www.arrl-sc.org/ where my full SM report will be listed as well as up-to-the-date information on Amateur Radio in South Carolina!

October has been a very busy hamfest month in South Carolina. Unfortunately, due to hospital call demands and an educational conference, I was unable to attend the first two hamfests this month. The Rock Hill Hamfest www.rockhillhamfest.com was held on October 3^rd at a new location: The Faith Assembly of God, 2800 Faith Avenue, Rock Hill, SC. According to Bob WA2EMF, ASM2, the hamfest went well, and the ARRL forum was well attended. My thanks to Bob and Marc N4UFP, TC for running the ARRL forum! The 31^st Annual Lake Hartwell Hamfest was held on October 10^th at Darin Wright Park, sponsored by the Anderson Radio Club www.andersonradioclub.us. The Anderson ARC newsletter reports a very successful hamfest, with good weather and good company! Les K4NK, ASM1 was auctioneer again this year, running a very successful auction for the club. Suzie KG4YVJ and Mac K4AVR ran the SC SSB net table, and presented an award to Sydney and Elleen (Miss Emmie’s son and wife) in memory of Miss Emmie KA4LRM for all of her years of service to the SC SSB net.

I did attend The Sumter “Open Air” Hamfest which was held on October 24^th. The weather held out until after lunch, when the rain started. This afforded a full morning of eyeball QSO’s and good food. There were a few tailgaters, and a few inside vendors this year. Thanks to the Sumter ARA hamfest committee for arranging the hamfest!

The Sumter Hamfest was the last hamfest in South Carolina this year. The Grand Strand Beachfest was to be held on October 31^st, but cancelled again this year due to vendor concerns. Our first hamfest of 2010 was to be the Greenwood Hamfest, however this was cancelled also, as the Greenwood Civic Center (the hamfest site) will be closing permanently on December 31, 2009. Our next hamfest will be the ARRL South Carolina State Convention on February 6^th, The Charleston Hamfest and Computer Show!

Many of you have already heard the news about a tragic plane crash this past week that claimed the lives of four Amateurs, W2GJ, K4QO, K3IXD and W3PP. I received a number of e-mails from DX lists regarding the tragedy, and several from hams in SC. I would like to forward the report of Paul NN4F, ASM5:

Pete, W2GJ, Randy K4QO, and Ed K3IXD - these three were well known in the Amateur Community locally here in Charleston. All three were members of the Trident Amateur Radio Club and were committed to helping the community.

Ed K3IXD was one on the mainstays behind the School Radio Club K4DMS at Dubose Middle School. He would unselfishly give up his afternoons to help the kids operate the radios so they could make contacts around the world. He was also a member of the Dorchester County Emergency Radio Team

Pete W2GJ was one of the wise sages; anyone could call on him for advice. He was first licensed in 1952. He was active with Emergency Communications and a member of ARES, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service. He even set up emergency communications for his local Coosaw Creek community.

Randy K4QO was our electronics guru. He would help us design antennas and repair broken radios. Four weeks ago, we operated the H.L. Hunley special event station with him, to commemorate the world’s first successful combat submarine.

They were on the way to Crooked Island, Bahamas to operate as C6APR in the CQ World Wide SSB Contest this past weekend. They always stopped in Florida for fuel and to clear customs/immigration. Only the four would be going, not sure of where the reports of two additional passengers came from. The four were very accomplished contest operators. Our monthly meeting was held on Monday the 19^th. Ed and Randy were present along with Randy's wife Shellie, W4AAV. Ed and Randy were very excited about the trip and the prospect of operating the contest.

We have had an outpouring of condolences from around the world, from people who have spoken to these guys in contests.

They will be truly missed.

They are now Silent Keys...

Thanks to everyone who sent me information regarding this tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and the friends of the C6APR team. For the ARRL news story, please go to: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/10/21/11157/?nc=1 .

I would like to welcome a new member of the ARRL-SC team! Jack Jackson N4JJ has decided to step down from the ASM4 position, and has recommended Craig England KF2X take his place. Craig has entered retirement, and has time to devote to Amateur Radio. Thanks to Jack for his service and his recommendation! Craig, welcome to the ARRL-SC team

There have been several developments since the ARRL Board of Directors released their position paper on “Guidelines and Recommendations on the Appropriate Use of Amateur Radio”. http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/09/25/11094/?nc=1 . Of particular note is their clarification of the FCC position regarding pecuniary interest, and communications on behalf of an employer. Specifically, it indicates that there is no exception for training exercises or drills in regards to employees who are on or off duty, as the FCC interprets that communication as being beneficial to their employer. Recently, there was a circulating e-mail from a member of the FCC Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau stating that the FCC Office of General Council’s interpretation of 97.113 would allow emergency exercises/drills for those Amateurs who are employed by organizations that they would represent in these exercises. This is in direct conflict with the position taken by William Cross of the FCC Wireless Telecommunication Bureau at the Dayton Hamvention. Soon after this e-mail, a public notice was released by the FCC: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-2259A1.pdf regarding governmental agencies the option of applying for a “waiver” from the FCC to allow for such exercises. This waiver requests specific information for each proposed exercise, and the waiver must be granted prior to the exercise taking place. Note that non-governmental agencies are NOT offered the option of this waiver.

There are several grass-roots initiatives currently working on a Petition for NPRM (Notice of Proposed Rulemaking) regarding an amendment to 97.113 to allow for drills and exercises by employees, whether “on or off the clock”. One is supported by Gordon West, WB6NOA, well known for his licensing classes and material: http://n5fdl.com/storage/ARPC%20Part%2097%20Petition%20Final.pdf .

I have been asked why the ARRL is not leading this effort. It has also been recognized that the waiver process noted above will only add to massive paperwork that the FCC must process by an already lean staff, and not even address the non-governmental agencies, such as hospitals. Simply, the ARRL and Wireless Telecommunications Bureau of the FCC are protecting our frequencies from encroachment by commercial and governmental bodies. I remember in my earlier years as Section Manager, an article sent to me by a member who is now a silent key. He sent it to me with high praise that Amateur Radio was mentioned in a national Firefighters publication in regards to emergency communications. As I read the article, though, it was evident that the author did not wish to involve amateur radio operators in the process, just to use our amateur repeater infrastructure for their daily communications. Since firefighters deal with emergencies on a daily basis, the author would use that excuse to justify an exception in our Part 97 rules. Of course, this is still considered prohibited communication. This is not meant to discredit our Firefighters in any way, but only to serve as one example. Another example is a county wanting to put APRS in all their county vehicles to track their movements, another prohibited communication. The ARRL and the FCC have been bombarded with “Is this legal” questions since our presence in emergency communications has become more prominent over the last several years. Commercial encroachment on our frequencies is a real threat, and no matter how well intentioned we are, we could lose our valuable spectrum quite easily if we are not vigilant.

That being said, are occasional drills by employees (on or off the clock) a true threat to amateur radio? My own personal opinion is that they are not. I think the best we can hope for is a very narrow exception to be added to 97.113 to allow for these drills and training. Reviewing the RACES rules in part 97, I note that time limits are imposed on drills, which was the safeguard against governmental agencies using amateur radio for their own routine communications. That section of part 97 has withstood the test of time.

So what can ARRL members do to voice their opinion? The decision to support a NPRM by the ARRL is at the Board of Directors level, not by the ARRL Headquarters staff or the Section Manager level. The grass-roots NPRM’s may be considered by the FCC, but will probably not get the same attention as one from the ARRL. I truly hope that the ARRL Board of Directors will decide to lead this effort.

That’s it for October! See you next Month!

September 2009 National Traffic System Report for South Carolina by N4MEH, STM:

Net Reports
Net/Check Ins/Traffic/Sessions/Reported By
Anderson Radio Club 2M Net /940/18/30/ND2Z
Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Net /2442/75/30/K4SUG
Carolina’s Net/239/85/449/K4IWW
Carolina State Line Net/44/0/4/W8SC
Columbia ARC 2 Meter Net/194/0/9/KI4PTM
Grand Strand ARC 2M Net/135/14/13/KI4HEE
Greater Pee Dee 2 Meter Net/842/39/30/K4DTT
Greenwood ARC 2 Meter Net/123/4/4/W4DEW
Kershaw ARC 2 Meter Net /31/8/4/KF4UKC
Lancaster County 2 Meter Net/70/20/12/N4WMB
PALS Net /1279/69/30/KJ4BVM
SC Regional Skywarn /85/7/5/W4KSD
SC SSB Net/1964/102/31/W4DDK
SC State ARES Net/265/4/4/KE4RVF
Trident/25/8/5/W4KSD
York Co. ARS 2 Meter FM Net/737/15/52/KG4CDF

STATION ACTIVITY REPORTS
Station/Sent/Received/Delivered/Originated/Total
K4GLT/99/83/0/0/182
N4MEH/5/60/0/2/67
W4DDK/6/34/2/5/47
W4KLB/31/16/15/0/62

Public Service Honor Roll
Station/Cat1/Cat2/Cat3/Cat4/Cat5/Cat6/Total
N4MEH/40/40/10/0/0/0/90
W4KLB/40/40/20/0/0/0/100

Have a Great Month!!

’73 de Dr. Jim N2ZZ
ARRL Section Manager
South Carolina Section
www.arrl-sc.org

November 2009

Greetings to all Amateur Radio Operators. This is Dr. Jim, N2ZZ with the November 2009 South Carolina Section Manager’s Report! Please remember that the SC Section website can be found at: www.arrl-sc.org/ where my full SM report will be listed as well as up-to-the-date information on Amateur Radio in South Carolina!

I am very proud to announce that I won the election for Vice Director of the Roanoke Division, and will begin my new term of office on January 1^st, 2010 for three years. I was notified by ARRL President Joel Harrison W5ZN on Friday November 20^th that I won the election with 1692 votes to my opponent’s 1496 votes. This was a close election! My opponent Hal Turley W8HC of West Virginia sent me a congratulatory e-mail after the results were known, which I greatly appreciated. This will mean that I will have to leave my position as SC Section Manager to serve on the ARRL Board of Directors. I do have someone from the ARRL-SC team in mind who has accepted the position if offered. The ARRL Membership and Volunteer Programs Manager, in consultation with the Division Director, has the authority to make the appointment. When this is official, I will announce the individual who will finish out my term as Section Manager! I certainly will not be going away-I still plan to be available and attend most, if not all, of the SC hamfests! It has been my long term goal to serve on the ARRL Board of Directors, as I know I will have a more direct role in shaping Amateur Radio in the future! Thanks to EVERYONE for your support for my tenure as Section Manager, and as future Vice Director of the Roanoke Division! The ARRL News story is here: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/20/11212/?nc=1

Our next hamfest will be the ARRL South Carolina State Convention on February 6^th, The Charleston Hamfest and Computer Show! This is traditionally a very well attended hamfest, so I hope to see everyone there! This will be held at the same location as the last several years, the Exchange Park Fairground, 9850 Highway 78, Ladson, SC., Exit 203 off of I-26, College Park Road. At present, the ARRL Forum is scheduled to be held at 10 am. For further information, please visit the CARS website: http://www.wa4usn.org/hamfestm.htm ! Additionally, I have received notice that the Upstate Hamfest, to be held on May 1^st in Spartanburg, is pending ARRL Executive Committee approval to be the ARRL South Carolina Section Convention this coming year! Further information can be found at http://www.upstatehamfest.org/ (when updated).

I would like to welcome a new member of the ARRL-SC team! Katie Besley KI4LSZ has been appointed SC Assistant Section Manager-Youth. Katie just earned her General Class license about a week ago, and had a great time in the ARRL SSB Sweepstakes! She found that being a YL in a contest is a big advantage! Katie is a Junior at Aiken High School. She has been licensed and an ARRL member for four years and has an interest in getting other young people involved in the hobby. She has served as Net Control Operator for the South Carolina ARES Statewide Emergency Net, and frequently introduces ham radio to Junior High students at a local school, demonstrating several different analog and digital modes. She likes to work HF radio with her dad (K4NJN, ASM6) and is currently working on her WAS award. Katie shares her passion for amateur radio with her participation on the Varsity Softball Team and as a Lead in the local Cotillion program. Her future plans include studying Communications at the University of South Carolina upon graduation from High School in June 2011. Katie, Congratulations!

Congratulations to the York County Contesters! Their group finished first in South Carolina in the 2009 CQWW 160m SSB contest. They were also #2 in the 4th call area, #10 in the USA, and #12 in North America! Way to go!

For those interested in Amateur Radio Folklore, I just received this link from Don, W8QKO: http://www.ac6v.com/73.htm#ba . Enjoy!

Information from Paul Judson K4IRT: The ARRL's VHF/UHF Advisory Committee has been directed to review VHF Contest Rule 1.12 that states "Above 300 GHz, contacts are permitted for contest credit only between licensed amateurs using coherent radiation on transmission (for example, laser) and employing at least one stage of electronic detection on receive" to determine if the rule should be modified to make it clearer as to the meaning of coherence. The VUAC is interested in your opinion and any suggestions that you may have. The VUAC has also been asked to consider the establishment of new awards for operating achievements on VHF and UHF frequencies. Suggestions/input from all participants is welcome. Please forward your comments to your Roanoke Division VUAC representative, Paul Judson/K4IRT at K4IRT@Earthlink.net.

Last month I reported on several developments regarding FCC Rule 97.113 regarding communications on behalf of an employer. 97.113 has recently been clarified by the FCC as prohibiting communications “on or off the clock” by employees. This has caused major difficulties in exercises/training of individuals that are employed by organizations that they would represent in these exercises. I would like to call everyone’s attention to “Appropriate Use: Guidelines and Waivers” by David Sumner K1ZZ, ARRL CEO, December 2009 QST, Page 9. In his last paragraph, he indicates “We understand there are petitions for rulemaking being drafted to address perceived shortcomings in the existing rules. The ARRL board has taken no position on possible rule changes, but the subject is likely to occupy the Board’s attention between now and its January 2010 meeting. As always, your own Division Director (see page 15) will be interested in your thoughts.” As I mentioned last month, “I think the best we can hope for is a very narrow exception to be added to 97.113 to allow for these drills and training. Reviewing the RACES rules in part 97, I note that time limits are imposed on drills, which was the safeguard against governmental agencies using amateur radio for their own routine communications. That section of part 97 has withstood the test of time.” I encourage everyone who would like to weigh in on this issue to send an e-mail to our Division Director Dennis Bodson w4pwf@arrl.org and myself n2zz@arrl.org as we will be representing you at the ARRL Board Meeting in January!

That’s it for November! See you next Month!

October 2009 National Traffic System Report for South Carolina by N4MEH, STM:

Net Reports
Net/Check Ins/Traffic/Sessions/Reported By:
Anderson Radio Club 2M Net /1002/30/31/ND2Z
Beaufort VHF ARES Net/56/6/5/KB1CTC
Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Net /2624/88/31/K4SUG
Carolina State Line Net/30/0/4/W8SC
Grand Strand ARC 2M Net/113/11/10/KI4HEE
Greater Pee Dee 2 Meter Net/868/51/31/K4DTT
Greenwood ARC 2 Meter Net/151/5/5/W4DEW
Kershaw ARC 2 Meter Net /51/4/4/KF4UKC
Lancaster County 2 Meter Net/62/3/11/N4WMB
Low Country ARES Net/38/1/4/KE4RVF
PALS Net /1321/77/31/KJ4BVM
SC SSB Net/2208/162/31/W4DDK
SC State ARES Net/269/4/4/KE4RVF
York Co. ARS 2 Meter FM Net/778/7/53/KG4CDF

Station Activity Reports
Station/Sent/Received/Delivered/Originated/Total
N4MEH/3/52/3/2/60
W4DDK/5/31/0/5/41

Public Service Honor Roll
Station/Cat.1/Cat.2/Cat.3/Cat.4/Cat.5/Cat.6/Total
N4MEH/40/40/10/0/0/0/90
W4KLB/40/40/20/0/0/0/100

Have a Great Month!!

’73 de Dr. Jim N2ZZ
ARRL Section Manager
South Carolina Section
www.arrl-sc.org

December 2009

Greetings to all Amateur Radio Operators. This is Dr. Jim, N2ZZ with the December 2009 South Carolina Section Manager’s Report! Please remember that the SC Section website can be found at: www.arrl-sc.org/ where my full SM report will be listed as well as up-to-the-date information on Amateur Radio in South Carolina!

As I write my December report, I am a bit teary-eyed, knowing that this is my last Section Report as Section Manager of South Carolina. My tenure as Section Manager has been since January of 2003, making this my 84^th section report! I do not know how to adequately thank everyone for their support over the last 7 years! As I read discussions from Section Managers across the country, I realize just how fortunate I have been. As I look back over my times as SM, I have only good memories-those of the hams in our section that I have had the pleasure to meet, the travel and representation of the ARRL at hamfests, and my annual trips to Field Day sites with Charlie AE4UX, SEC. The growth of the ARRL Field service to active participation in all of the Cabinet positions, and over 100 active appointees! The unification of ARES and RACES. The SC QSO party. A former PIC, Mike KG4SLH winning the national ARRL Mc Gan Silver Antenna (Public Relations) award. The growth of the SCHEART system! Most of all, watching hams enjoy their avocation, Amateur Radio!

Through all of my section reports, I have avoided using the letter “I” as much as possible. I have always felt that it is not about me-it is about you, the hams of South Carolina! Keeping this in mind, I need to make an exception for my last SM Report!

Personally, I was proud to be named as co-recipient of the Roanoke Division ARRL Service Award in 2005. I was especially proud to be named South Carolina Sidebander of the Year by the SC SSB Net in 2004! I cannot thank the SC SSB net enough-they have given me a true sense of belonging to SC Amateur Radio. I have always felt a very strong feeling of support by the net over the years!

Even prior to becoming SC Section Manager, I remember a conversation with John Welton N4SJW who had a bold plan to develop a repeater network to link the Charleston Hospitals in preparation for disasters. After giving my encouragement to move forward, I remember saying….”If we could only extend that network to the rest of the state…” John KC4YI came into the picture, and the rest (SCHEART) is history!!

In fact, when I became Section Manager, I put together a basic framework for the ARRL Field Service. Then I set back and saw the hams of SC blossom! With little more than knowing that they had ARRL support, the achievements of SC hams were astounding! I can say that I am one of the most, or THE most proud Section Manager(s) in the Country!

I wish to convey my heartfelt thanks to the ARRL-SC leadership team, as they have supported me so well during my tenure as Section Manager. I would like to add special thanks to Les K4NK, ASM1. Les was a previous Section Manager of South Carolina and a previous Vice Director of the Roanoke Division. He was my inspiration to become Section Manager and aspire to move up to the ARRL Board of Directors!

I heard the call, and realized that it was my time to run for Vice Director of the Roanoke Division, and I am very happy that I won a rather close election! My three year term begins on January 1^st, 2010. Since I cannot hold two offices simultaneously, I must step down from the Section Manager position. After due consideration, I have given my support and recommendation that Marc N4UFP, TC become my successor as Section Manager to complete my term of office through December 31^st, 2010. I conveyed my recommendation to our director Dennis W4PWF, who recommended Marc to the ARRL Membership and Volunteer Programs Manager, NN1N at ARRL HQ. The appointment is official, and Marc will take office as Section Manager on January 1^st, 2010, concurrent with my taking office as Vice Director of the Roanoke Division. Marc came to Aiken from Rock Hill last week for a visit with me, and we had a long discussion about the Section Manager Position. Marc indicated to me that he is not planning on any major changes, at least not at first. He is most interested in meeting with clubs and attending hamfests to meet with as many hams as possible. Marc’s email is n4ufp@arrl.net , and after January 1^st, n4ufp@arrl.org . A link to the ARRL news story is here: http://www.arrl.org/?artid=9332 .

As Vice Director of the Roanoke Division, I will be representing South and North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. I certainly will not be going away, and I will plan to attend most, if not all, of the South Carolina Hamfests. I truly hope that I can continue my Field Day visits as well!

If you have a amateur radio news item that you feel would be of interest to hams state-wide, please send it to Marc at n4ufp@arrl.org after January 1st. Please send it in a format where it can be cut-and-pasted without having to do significant editing. In this format, the information can be added to the www.arrl-sc.org webpage as well!

Thanks to EVERYONE for Seven Years of Wonderful Memories!

November 2009 National Traffic System Report for South Carolina by N4MEH, STM:

Net Reports
Net/Check Ins/Traffic/Sessions/Reported By
Anderson Radio Club 2M Net /892/28/30/ND2Z
Beaufort VHF ARES Net/36/4/4/KB1CTC
Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Net /2526/81/39/K4SUG
Carolina’s Net (October)/241/75/62/K4IWW
Carolina’s Net (November)/247/104/60/K4IWW
Grand Strand ARC 2M Net/151/16/13/KI4HEE
Greater Pee Dee 2 Meter Net/768/39/30/K4DTT
Greenwood ARC 2 Meter Net/151/6/4/W4DEW
Kershaw ARC 2 Meter Net /79/5/5/KF4UKC
Lancaster County 2 Meter Net/75/11/12/N4WMB
PALS Net /1131/63/30/KJ4BVM
SC SSB Net/1657/104/30/W4DDK
SC State ARES Net/307/10/5/KC4YI
York Co. ARS 2 Meter FM Net/713/4/51/KG4CDF

Station Activity Reports
Station/Sent/Received/Delivered/Originated/Total
N4MEH/8/48/0/4/60
W4DDK/3/30/0/3/36
W4KLB/52/27/1/0/80

Public Service Honor Roll
Station/Cat1/Cat2/Cat3/Cat4/Cat5/Cat6/Total
N4MEH/40/40/10/0/0/0/90
W4KLB/40/40/20/0/0/0/100

’73 de Dr. Jim N2ZZ
ARRL Section Manager, South Carolina Section
Vice Director-Elect, Roanoke Division
www.arrl-sc.org