July 2024 ARRL SC Section report
South Carolina July Section Report
August 25, 2024
Greetings to all our Palmetto State Amateur Radio operators and ARRL Members.
My apologies for the late section report is this month. My goal going forward is to post it by the 3rd Monday of the month. If there is anything special going on early in the month that was not included in previous month I will post a special edition section report on the 1st Monday of the month. This section report is a culmination of information I gather from ARRL, ARRL publications, local club meetings, nets, and online resources. However, this report is for YOU, so if you or your club has anything you would like added please e-mail me W1MRC@ARRL.org
Please be advised due to the ARRL hack which occurred in May of this year I do not have the ability to send out the section report via e-mail. While we hope to have this capability again soon, there is currently no timeline for the service to be restored. In the interim you must visit the ARRL South Carolina website and go to Section Reports to view this report. https://www.arrlsc.org/
The South Carolina QSO Party Results are in!!!
Please visit www.scqso.com to see the full 2024 Results.
Congratulations to the following In-State category winners:
Expedition:
Single Operator – WA4AUG
Mobile:
Single Operator (No Driver) – N2CU
Single Operator (with Driver) – N4CW with Driver Jim W4TMO
Fixed Station (MIXED MODE):
High Power – Single-Op – KZ3P
Low Power – Single-Op – K4CU
Low Power – Multi-Op/One – WX4SC (Ops: KR4NO, N4JRP KQ4KNT)
Fixed Station (CW):
High Power – Single-Op – W4JKC
Low Power – Single-Op – KY4GS
Fixed Station (PHONE):
High Power – Single-Op – K3DNE
Low Power – Single-Op – N4BQQ
Low Power – Multi-Op/One – WR4EC (Ops: KM4TWA, KO4AAP, KM4GLW)
Thank you to the SCQP Team:
Dave Edmonds, WN4AFP
Bill Chartier, N4IQ
Frank Baranek, KG4IGC
Jim Lathan, W4JLP
Pete Emmel, K4LLE
Thank you to the SCQP Sponsors:
Columbia Amateur Radio Club, Swap Fox Contest Group, & York County Amateur Radio Society.
UPCOMING HAMFESTS
August 30-September 1, Shelby, NC Hamfest will be held at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds. Stop by and say hello to Jim Boehner (N2ZZ), Bill Morine (N2COP) and Marv Hoffman (WA4NC) while they represent the ARRL and greet hams at the 68th running of “The Grand-Daddy of Them All”. https://shelbyhamfest.com/
September 7, Florence ARC (W4ULH) at the West Florence Fire Station Annex at 3379 Pine Needles Rd, Florence, SC 0730AM to 12 Noon. https://www.w4ulh.net/
October 12, Rock Hill Hamfest & ARRL Section Convention at Covenant Presbyterian Church 1830 Celanese Road, Rock Hill, SC 0800AM to 12 Noon. https://www.ycars.org/
November 2 & 3, Stone Mountain Hamfest and ARRL GA State Convention. https://stonemountainhamfest.com/
January 11, 2025 GARSfest in Greenwood, SC. More information to follow. https://garsfest.com/
I have recently discovered an Upstate South Carolina Ham, Cale Nelson, K4CDN who previously hosted the podcast HamRadio 360 and currently hosts a new podcast PREP COMMS. I had a great conversation with him at the Chester Tailgate Party this month. Check out his podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. https://hamradionetwork.com/prepcomms
ARES Exercises & Training:
Central South Carolina Simplex Net
The Central SC VHF Simplex Net, sponsored by the Columbia Amateur Radio Club (CARC), has been operating since early 2021.
So, just what is simplex? When we use the term simplex, we’re talking about radio-to-radio communication directly, without using a repeater.
Why should we care about simplex? We know there is always the possibility of an emergency which can make normal communication systems inoperable. This might include telephone, internet and local VHF/UHF repeaters. Similarly, such an emergency can result in any or all of these systems becoming overloaded with traffic. In either case, simplex may be the only option available for communication and passing of messages.
The Central SC VHF Simplex Net exists to provide an opportunity to learn and practice simplex skills. If local repeaters are out of service, who would you be able to contact and who could contact you? We certainly do not want to wait until an emergency to find out.
This net is conducted on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month at 7:00 PM on frequency 146.400 MHz. All licensed operators are welcome and encouraged to participate.
Key to the success of the simplex are 1) multiple geographically dispersed net controller stations conducting the net and 2) participating stations helping with relays for stations with lower power or remotely located.
The Central SC VHF Simplex Net is one of many simplex nets available to you. While this net reaches primarily the counties in EMA-3, consider asking your local County ARES Emergency Coordinator, or radio clubs in your area about other simplex nets that you can participate in. Ideally, radio operators learn and practice simplex in advance of a loss of communications event. For additional information about the simplex net, follow this link: https://w4cae.com/carc-wednesday-net-schedule/
ARES District 3 Simplex Exercise:
The exercise is in the early stages of planning but tentatively will run on September 28th from 9:00 – 11:00 on that Saturday. It will be district wide utilizing simplex mode and geared to stretch our simplex communications skills to enable effective communications in a difficult environment, Hopefully, a fun learning experience. Please visit https://ares-sc.org/sc-midlands-ares-training-net/ or contact Joe Wilson, KO4WAA if you are in EMA 3 and want more information.
Winlink Wednesday:
Please visit https://winlinkwednesday.net/reminder.html to read more about checking into the Winlink Wednesday. Check Ins are accepted from VARA HF, VARA FM, Packet, & Telnet. However, Telnet will not count towards the Winlink Wednesday Century Award. This is a great way to better familiarize yourself with how to use Winlink.
ARRL MATTERS
Minutes of the July ARRL Board Meeting have been released and can be found at July Minutes .
Minutes of a meeting of the Executive Committee which was recessed and resumed over several days can be found at Executive Committee Minutes
July 2024 National Traffic System Report for South Carolina compiled by
Section Traffic Manager Dean, N4AJK
July 2024 Net Reports
Net / Check Ins (winlink) / Traffic / Sessions / Reported By
Anderson Radio Club 2m Net 680 / 34 / 31 / W3SUE
Big Ears Aynor Repeater 57 / 0 / 4 / KD2OJQ
Blue Ridge 2 Meter Net 1459 / 46 / 31 / W4DJW
Cherokee Amateur Radio Emergency Services 65 / 2 / 5 / N6WWG
Carolinas Net 329 / 142 / 62 / AA4MP
Carolinas Slow Net 124 / 22 / 31 / KI4KZS
CARC Sunday Net 104 / 21 / 4 / KU5N
Central SC CARC VHF Simplex Net 12 / 0 / 1 / KN4KRZ
Florence Amateur Radio Club 68 / 13 / 5 /WB6GUC
Grand Strand ARC 2m Net 183 / 18 / 18 / N4AJK
Grand Strand ARC 1.25m Net 26 / 4 / 4 / N4AJK
Grand Strand ARC 70 cm Net 71 / 9 / 9 / N4AJK
Greater Pee Dee 2m Net 1001 / 65 / 31 / KK4KSZ
ARES 2m net 9 / 1 / 1 / AC2LB
Horry Co. ARES simplex net 12 / 1 / 1 / WB4FTU
Kershaw ARC 2m Net 86 / 10 / 10 / KK4RUI
Lancaster County ARC 2m Net 23 / 0 / 5 / N4WMB
PALS Net 836 / 40 / 31 / KK4MQN
Ridge ARC VHF Net 109 / 15 / 13 / KD4HDR
Ridge ARC HF Net 4 / 1 / 1 / KD4HDR
SC Heart Training Net 167(3) / 0 / 3 / KQ4KK
SC Statewide ARES HF Net 82 (40) / 7 / 5 / KN4KRZ
SC Midlands ARES Training Net 23 (11) / 13 / 2 / KO4WAA
SCSSB Net 1042 / 103 / 31 / KG4RUE
SC VHF/UHF ARES NET 282 / 2 / 4 / KI4RAX
SC Winlink Tuesday Net 125 (125) / 125 / 5 / KN4KRZ
Sumter County EmComm Net 46 / 5 / 5 / KK4HFG
Trident Amateur Radio Club 43 / 0 / 4 / K4TCP
YCARS 498 / 0 / 30 / K4TTM
YCARES 7 / 0 / 1 / K4TTM
WS4P July 2024 Station Activity and PSHR Reports
Station / Sent / Received / Delivered / Originated / Total
WS4P/64/37/0/0/101
WS4P Digital Relay Station
Rec: 4 Sent: 2 Total: 6
Public Service Honor Roll
Station / Cat1 / Cat2 / Cat3 / Cat4 / Cat5 / Cat6 / Total
WS4P/40/40/20/0/0/10/110
Thank you for taking the time to read this section report. I am available by e-mail and I usually monitor the W4FTK repeaters during the week and the SC Heart Network on the weekends while they are linked. I encourage all of you to get radio active. Get on your local repeaters and chat, get on HF and chat or do digital, visit your local club or see if they offer a virtual way to attend the meeting. Join ARES, RACES, Skywarn, or any other facet of Amateur Radio that interest you.
73
Matthew R Crook, W1MRC
ARRL Section Manager, South Carolina
ARRL – the national association for Amateur Radio
W1MRC@ARRL.ORG
Facebook (ARRLSC)
Website: ARRL South Carolina Section – Greetings from the ARRL SC Section
