DELARANEWS

Ham Radio News

…because we don’t live in a vacuum

When everything is closed

You can attend a virtual conference! QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo Announces Full Lineup of Speakers The first QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo, which takes place the weekend of August 8 - 9, has confirmed what it's calling "a packed lineup of over 70 great speakers" for the ARRL- sanctioned event. Attendance is free and registration is open. Presentations will cover a range of topics, with two tracks focused on providing hands-on, practical advice for those just getting started in amateur radio. Steve Johnston, WD8DAS, will demonstrate basic soldering techniques for repairing equipment and building projects. Marcel Stieber, AI6MS, will offer an overview of common battery types, discussing the pros and cons of each -- including battery chemistry, common uses and misuses, and everyday application tips. For experienced operators, topics will cover new techniques, equipment upgrading, 3D printing, and more. Glenn Johnson, W0GJ, will attempt to answer the question, "Is 3 dB Worth a Divorce?" and cover a wide range of antenna topics. Jim Veatch, WA2EUJ, will explain how to build a QRP radio. In his presentation, "The Slot Antenna -- Undiscovered Country for Most Hams," John Portune, W6NBC, will demonstrate how a satellite TV dish can be "slotted" to make an effective outdoor 2- meter or UHF antenna for use in antenna-restricted neighborhoods. Prominent youth educator Carole Perry, WB2MGP, will moderate a lineup featuring amateur radio's future leaders. Audrey McElroy, KM4BUN, will speak on "Getting Girls Involved in STEM, Specifically Amateur Radio!", while hot-air ballooning will be the focus of a talk by Jack McElroy, KM4ZIA, "Highly Flying Kids with HAB." QSO Today's Eric Guth, 4Z1UG, says that one challenge to any ham radio convention, whether in person or virtual, is keeping the content of presentations from becoming overly complicated and overwhelming. "For our inaugural virtual Expo, we've made sure that there are great speakers for both beginners and experienced hams," Guth said. "We've asked all of our speakers to be laser focused on their topics while providing hands-on, practical advice." Each presentation will wrap up with a live question-and-answer session. For more information or to register, visit the QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo website. Attendance is free, and there are early bird prize incentives for registering by July 24. -ARRL Letter

MARS Announces HF Skills Exercise

Members of the Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) will conduct an HF skills exercise July 20 - 24 to hone their operating skills and messaging-handling capabilities. MARS members will be reaching out to the amateur radio community via the 60 meters Channel 1 Net (5330.5 kHz dial) twice a day, the SATERN HF net (14.265 MHz), and by contacting various stations via HFLink throughout the exercise. Participating MARS members will be requesting assistance with collecting county status information as well as airport weather information, called METARs. MARS members will also be passing ICS 213 messages to numerous Department of Defense (DoD), federal, and amateur radio addressees. This exercise will be announced via WWV at 00:10 and via WWVH at 00:50 starting on or about July 13. WWV and WWVH listeners will be asked to take an online listener survey. This HF radio training event will not impact regular communications. A Department of Defense program, MARS organizes and trains amateur radio volunteers to operate in military radio networks to support HF radio contingency communications. Among other missions, MARS provides communication support to civil authorities and assists in establishing normal communication under emergency conditions. -- Thanks to Paul English, Chief, Army MARS Ham Radio Reconnects Boyhood Friends after 60 Years Two radio amateurs who were in school together in Austria decades ago have reconnected via VoIP ham radio. One of the two had moved to the US, and they lost touch. On June 15, Arnold Huebsch, OE1IAH, heard a call via Echolink from Albin Ennsthaler, KK9HAM, near Spokane. "At first, I did not want to respond as I was working on a program. But as I know that usually nobody responds here to calls in English, I answered," recounted Huebsch, who is also KN6EYB and fluent in English. As it turned out, they chatted for some 20 minutes. Because each was familiar with the geography on both sides of the contact, they had a lot to talk about. Huebsch learned that Ennsthaler was born in Austria and had relocated to the US years earlier. "He pronounced the local city names in perfect German but asked to run the QSO in English, as he felt more comfortable to do so," Huebsch said. A few minutes after the contact ended, Huebsch turned his attention to serving as the net control station of a daily net on a local repeater in Vienna. "I mentioned the contact with KK9HAM and noted that his name was Albin, a name not common in Austria. That caught the ear of one of the locals, Gerhard Weissenboeck, OE1WED, who recalled someone named Albin from school in Styria about 60 years ago, but had lost touch with him. Weissenboeck wondered if it could be the same person. "I initiated contact via email between them, as I knew Albin had come from that area of Austria," Huebsch said. "They found out that they had shared a desk in school." KK9HAM and OE1WED arranged a sked via Echolink for a few days later. "It was an intense, very emotional, funny QSO in a wild mixture of English and German," Huebsch said. "Without our hobby, these two former school friends would never have had a chance to meet again." Ennsthaler later emailed Huebsch. "I am still speechless about this get-together with Gerhard and Fahrdienstleiter [traffic controller] Arnold and other members of the group," he said. "What a memorable day." -ARRL Letter
DELARANews

Ham Radio News

…because we don’t live in a vacuum

When everything is closed

You can attend a virtual conference! QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo Announces Full Lineup of Speakers The first QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo, which takes place the weekend of August 8 - 9, has confirmed what it's calling "a packed lineup of over 70 great speakers" for the ARRL-sanctioned event. Attendance is free and registration is open. Presentations will cover a range of topics, with two tracks focused on providing hands-on, practical advice for those just getting started in amateur radio. Steve Johnston, WD8DAS, will demonstrate basic soldering techniques for repairing equipment and building projects. Marcel Stieber, AI6MS, will offer an overview of common battery types, discussing the pros and cons of each -- including battery chemistry, common uses and misuses, and everyday application tips. For experienced operators, topics will cover new techniques, equipment upgrading, 3D printing, and more. Glenn Johnson, W0GJ, will attempt to answer the question, "Is 3 dB Worth a Divorce?" and cover a wide range of antenna topics. Jim Veatch, WA2EUJ, will explain how to build a QRP radio. In his presentation, "The Slot Antenna -- Undiscovered Country for Most Hams," John Portune, W6NBC, will demonstrate how a satellite TV dish can be "slotted" to make an effective outdoor 2-meter or UHF antenna for use in antenna-restricted neighborhoods. Prominent youth educator Carole Perry, WB2MGP, will moderate a lineup featuring amateur radio's future leaders. Audrey McElroy, KM4BUN, will speak on "Getting Girls Involved in STEM, Specifically Amateur Radio!", while hot-air ballooning will be the focus of a talk by Jack McElroy, KM4ZIA, "Highly Flying Kids with HAB." QSO Today's Eric Guth, 4Z1UG, says that one challenge to any ham radio convention, whether in person or virtual, is keeping the content of presentations from becoming overly complicated and overwhelming. "For our inaugural virtual Expo, we've made sure that there are great speakers for both beginners and experienced hams," Guth said. "We've asked all of our speakers to be laser focused on their topics while providing hands-on, practical advice." Each presentation will wrap up with a live question-and-answer session. For more information or to register, visit the QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo website. Attendance is free, and there are early bird prize incentives for registering by July 24. -ARRL Letter