Section Happenings Newsletter
edited by George Tranos N2GA
NLI Section Manager
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| October 2001 + addendum |
ARRL NYC/LI October E-happenings Newsletter Written and Edited by George Tranos N2GA, ARRL Section Manager NYC/LI -- Welcome! This is the October edition of the NY City / Long Island "ehappenings" Section newsletter! This newsletter is here to serve the Amateur Radio community in our area. I welcome and encourage all submissions. Please help make this your newsletter! I especially encourage officers of the area's Amateur Radio clubs to submit their meeting announcements, guest speakers and special events. QST Section News The QST Section News column for December 2001 is due on October 12. If you or your club has anything which you feel is of interest to the other members in the section, please contact me before October 12. HAPPENINGS NLI Hams respond to World Trade Center Disaster Over 500 Amateur Radio operators responded to provide communications support in the aftermath of the horrific events of Tuesday, September 11, 2001. While this tragic day will be forever etched in our collective memories, it is the response of New Yorkers to "lend a hand" that showed the true resolve of this nation. Amateur Radio played a small but strategic role in the disaster. Hams supported the New York City Office of Emergency Management, the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army and other volunteer organizations active in disaster. Each and every one of you who played a role in this are to be commended for your efforts. You should be proud of what you did to help - Amateur Radio is proud of you and thankful for your efforts. You have seen some publicity about Amateur Radio efforts during this disaster, but we'd like to tell "the rest of the story". If you'd like to share your experiences with others, please contact Public Information Coordinator Diane Ortiz K2DO at k2do@arrl.net or 631-286-7562. Diane will be assembling these in conjunction with NLI Web Administrator Tom Carrubba KA2D for publication on the NLI website. In addtion, if you want more information on becoming a member of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, please contact our ARES Section Emergency Coordinator, Tom Carrubba KA2D, who has more to say about this - please read his report below. Section Emergency Coordinator Report on World Trade Center: September 11, 2001 has changed our priorities, maybe forever. It has been called "Amateur Radio's finest hour". Amateurs from the New York City, Nassau and Suffolk Counties, NNJ, ENY, CT and beyond responded to the WTC incident. Amateurs from Suffolk County were the first to respond from out of NYC. Islip ARES, Southold ARES and Huntington ARES were dispatched by SC DEC when the mutual aid request went out from NYC DEC N2NOV through the SEC. The SEC already been in contact with the SEC of ENY, CT and NNJ.. Additional aid was on standby. What followed for the next 12 days was a continuing flow of amateur radio operators from up to eight of the surrounding ARRL sections. The mutual aid scenario between neighboring ARRL sections works. SC DEC N2NFI outlined a volunteer database and worked with Joe Tomasone AB2M, a former EC, to get this tool operational. It was approved by N2NOV and went active Sunday 9/16. This reduced the phone line traffic to all the recruiters, and streamlined the recruiting routine. At this time our best guess is that amateur radio had 25 to 35 ops for each 12 hour shift, this is not including the recruiters and other support people. For estimating purposes we had 50 ops per day for a total of over 14,000 manhours. NTS was on the ready to handle the H&W traffic that was never to come because of the quick restoration of telephone service into the area. This was a difficult operation because ops had to haul their own equipment/supplies using public transportation. ID processing was long and security was on high alert. At this time, we can not thank all who served as we do not have the a copy of the duty roster. So for now, thank you to all those who served, in whatever capacity during WTC. ARES must continue to train, drill and be at the ready. The lessons learned in the WTC incident will serve the ARES/Amateur Radio community in other areas. Contact your local EC and join the ARES program. The volunteer process will be streamlined if ARES/Amateur Radio could contact you. Tom Carrubba KA2D ARRL ARES Section Emergency Coordinator NYC/LI NLI Club Presidents met on Sunday, September 16, to discuss issues of interest to the clubs. The primary focus of this meeting was hamfests and new laws in NY State with respect to sales tax. Also discussed was the issue of club liability insurance. Another meeting of this group will take place again soon. Club Presidents or who want more information are encouraged to contact Phil Lewis N2MUN, ARRL Affiliated Club Coordinator, at 631-226-0698 or n2mun@optonline.net. Ham Radio University 2002 - The first planning meeting for this third annual event will be on Monday, October 15 at 7 pm at Babylon Town EOC. Come down and help make this the best HRU ever! Contact Phil Lewis N2MUN at 631-226- 0698 or n2mun@optonline.net. A Section Staff meeting was held on Sunday, September 30, at the Babylon EOC. Members of the ARRL NLI Section Staff discussed their programs and activities over the past six months. These meetings are held semi-annually to facilitate communication among program administrators. The next section staff meeting is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, April 7, 2002. For more information on becoming an ARRL program appointee, see the NLI website and contact the appropriate section staff member. National Traffic System News: NLI-CW Net (NLI/cw), 3630 KHz, 7:30 pm local, Monday through Friday accepts all stations regardless of speed, and our NCS's always answer calling stations at their own speed (the usual speed of the net call up on NLI is never faster than 17 wpm so even 10 wpm guys and gals can usually catch enough to figure out). Contact Section Traffic Manager Charlie Ferrando WA2YOW at wa2yow@arrl.net. Suffolk County VHF Traffic Net is on 145.210 repeater on Mondays thru Thursdays at 8:00 PM. Net control is Claire WA2VZK. Contact Claire at caheil@aol.com. Nassau County VHF Traffic Net is daily at 7:30 PM on 146.805 repeater. NY City VHF Traffic Net is daily at 8 PM on 146.43. Emil Tillona KD1F is the section DXCC card checker and is available for field checking of QSL cards for your DXCC Award. If interested, please contact Emil at etillona@interserv.com Section VE Sessions - available on the web at: http://hudson.arrl.org/nli/nlive.htm Hidden Transmitter Hunts are held periodically on Monday evenings following the Nassau County Races Net, which is held on the 146.640 Repeater at 7:30 P.M. We are seeking to get new participants involved in this most enjoyable part of the hobby. While the hunts are normally held in Nassau County, we sometimes wander into eastern Queens and Western Suffolk. No prior experience is necessary. For further information, contact Larry Berger, WA2SUH, at 516-223-4611 or Andy Kirschenbaum, WA2CDL at 516-485-0093. UPCOMING Club Events Nassau County Police ARC will not meet in October. Their next club meeting will be on Tuesday, November 6 at 8 pm at Long Beach Police Auxiliary Building, 859 East Park Ave, Long Beach. Contact George WB2GTC at GeorgegeeG@aol.com or http://www.qsl.net/kb2uyp/ for more info. Mid Island Amateur Radio Repeater Association Monthly Meeting is Tuesday, October 2, at 7 PM at the Brookhaven Rec Center in Centereach. See http://www.qsl.net/mid-islandarc Yankee Clipper Contest Club Meeting on Thursday, October 4, at the Olympic Dinner, 1637 Forest Ave, Staten Island at 8 pm. This meeting is sponsored by the Empire Contest Club. Meeting agenda is planning for the upcoming CQ World-wide SSB Contest. Contact Rich AA2MF at 718-980-1104 or aa2mf@arrl.net American Red Cross Emergency Communications Service club meeting on Thursday, October 4, at 7 PM at 138-02 Queens Blvd, 1st Floor, Briarwood, New York 11435. Contact Lenny Smith N2LDV at N2LDV@yahoo.com. Peconic ARC Monthly Meeting is Friday, Oct. 6, at the Southold Public Library in Southold at 6:30 pm. See http://www.peconic-arc.org Town of Babylon ARES requests the help of Amateur Radio Operators on Sunday, October 7, 2001, for the East Farmingdale Open House - Fire Prevention Week, Station House #1, Conklin Road, East Farmingdale, NY. Contact Walter Wenzel KA2RGI at 631-957-0218 or via e-mail to ka2rgi@arrl.net HOSARC Monthly Meeting is Tuesday, Oct. 9, in Queens at 8 pm. See http://www.qsl.net/hosarc. Guest speaker is Norm Wesler K2YEW and his topic is low power QRP operation. KCRC monthly meeting is Wednesday, Oct. 10, in Brooklyn at 7:30 pm. See http://www.qsl.net/kcrc/ LIMARC regular monthly meeting is Wednesday, October 10, in Hicksville at 8 pm. A video of the A52A Bhutan operation will be shown. See http://www.limarc.org Larkfield ARC regular monthly meeting is Thursday, October 11, in Huntington at 7:30 pm. E-mail n2nki@arrl.net or see http://www.larkfield.org Wantagh ARC monthly meeting is Friday, October 12 at 8 pm at Wantagh Library. If you are interested, please contact Vic Panzica K2IY at vpanzica@optonline.net or www.qsl.net/w2va for more information. LIMARC One Day Technician Class licensing course is Saturday, October 13, from 9 am to 5:30 pm at the Levittown Library, 1 Bluegrass Lane, Levittown. Preregistration is required. Contact George Tranos N2GA at n2ga@aol.com or 631-286-7562. Ham Radio University 2002 Planning meeting is Monday, Oct. 15, at 7 pm at Babylon Town Hall EOC, 200 East Sunrise Hwy, North Lindenhurst. This is the first planning meeting for the 2002 event. Anyone interested in helping out with the planning process for this third annual event is invited. Contact HRU Chairman Phil Lewis N2MUN at 631-226-0698 or n2mun@optonline.net for more information. Suffolk County RC Monthly Meeting is Tuesday, October 16, in Bohemia at 8 pm. See http://members.tripod.com/~parasca/index/scrc.html Kings County Repeater Association (KCRA) will hold a regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, October 16, at The Guild for Exceptional Children, 260 68th Street, Brooklyn. See http://www.kcra.org Radio Central ARC monthly meeting is Thursday, Oct 18, in Rocky Point at 7:30 pm. See http://www.rcarc.org Long Island DX Association will meet on Friday, October 19 at the Polytechnic Institute- Route 110 in East Farmingdale at 8pm. Come in the rear door of the main building adjacent to the East side of Rte. 110. Anyone interested in DX is welcome and refreshments are served. Contact NN2C, Marty Miller, president of the LIDXA, at nn2c@arrl.net On Saturday, October 20, from 10 AM until 6 PM, Amateur Radio operators from the US Coast Guard Auxiliary will be commemorating the 62nd anniversary of the Auxiliary through the nation with special event stations. In our section, look for members of the First Southern Region signing K2G from Fire Island Coast Guard Station. They will be on SSB on 7.230, 14.240, 21.320 and 28.340; and also limited CW operation. Contact George Tranos N2GA for more information at n2ga@arrl.org or 631-286-7562. QSL K2G via N2GA. On Sunday, October 21, the Hall of Science Amateur Radio Club will be holding their Fall Hamfest at the Hall of Science, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, from 9 am to 3 pm. Sellers may start setting up at 7:30 am. Buyers $5, Sellers $10. Contact Steve Greenbaum WB2KDG at 718-898-5599 or wb2kdg@bigfoot.com. Talk-in on 444.200+ (136.5 PL) or 146.52 simplex. There is also a VE Session 10 am. See their website at www.qsl.net/hosarc Nassau ARC Monthly Meeting is Monday, Oct. 23, in Eisenhower Park in East Meadow at the Senior Citizen's Center at 8 pm. See http://www.nassauarc.org GSBARC Monthly Meeting is Thursday, Oct. 25, in N. Lindenhurst at 8 pm. See http://www.gsbarc.org Brookhaven and Islip ARES requests the help of Amateur Radio Operators on Sunday, October 28, 2001, for the Jim Halverson 5K Run, Shopping Center on Montauk Hwy., (1/2 mile west of Nichols Rd.) Bayport, NY. Contact Joe Lipton, N2IOZ, zedmail@mindspring.com or (631) 273-3365 The Long Island QRP Club will not have a meeting in October. Their next club meeting is Saturday, November 17, at Nicky's of Centerport, 6 Little Neck Road, Centerport at 11:30 AM. Bring rigs, batteries, antennas, etc., and we'll put some gear on the air. They will get together after lunch at the park across the street. For more info, contact Jeff WB5GWB at wb5gwb@arrl.net or see their website: http://users.erols.com/tjmc/liqrp.htm NLI Webpage: The Section Webpage contains LOTS of great information on section happenings, VE session, Education, Clubs, section staff, and much more! See http://hudson.arrl.org/nli Please contact the webmaster, Tom Carrubba KA2D (ka2d@arrl.net) to add events or other things to this page. That's about it for this month! Please help make this newsletter even more interesting and informative by sending me news about YOUR club and events. ---- NLI Section e-happenings Section Manager - George Tranos N2GA (n2ga@arrl.org) Assistant Section Managers NLI - Tom Carrubba KA2D (ka2d@arrl.net) New York City - Rob Todaro N1XL (rtodaro@myexcel.com) Nassau County - Norm Wesler K2YEW (k2yew@aol.com) Suffolk County - Len Battista W2FX (w2fx@arrl.net) Digital Communications - John Blowsky KB2SCS (kb2scs@arrl.net) |