October section report
Greetings & Happy Thanksgiving to all our Palmetto State Amateur Radio operators and ARRL Members.
Election Results:
I was advised by ARRL HQ on 11/19 that I have been elected to serve as Section Manager for a full 2-year term starting January 1st. I have already spoken with Billy Irwin (K9OH) and thanked him for his participation in the race and ensured his continued role as Assistant Section Manager – SKYWARN Program Manager, where his dedication and experience have been invaluable. I want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who took the time to submit a vote for Billy or me. We appreciate your participation. While I know a lot of you outside of the midlands & upstate don’t know me, I plan to visit all the clubs and hamfests/tailgates I can over the next two years. Please take a moment to stop by the ARRL SC booth and say hello if you see me.
Reminder: Please reach out to me W1MRC@ARRL.ORG with any upcoming ham radio events you or your club is having in South Carolina. No matter how small or large I would gladly post it in the Section Report as well as the ARRL SC webpage and social media pages to make sure local hams are aware. I will also attend those events that I can. Thank you.
Update: Last month I mentioned the Blue Ridge ARS members who assisted with Trail Life USA, but I did not have all the names and callsigns at that time to recognize them. However, I do now, so I want to say thank you to Jim KO4YHY, Leroy KA5WLL, Aaron W7RIZ, Josh KG4PFJ, Johnny WD4DYH, Landon KG4WNP, Jan K4UBD, Scott KD9MKR, Ken KE6KEN, Matt WG4MC, & Phillip KQ4PCD.
The SCHEART Training Net is in need of additional Hams who would act as Net Control Stations (NCS) for the Thursday 0900 SCHEART Training net. Doing it once a month, or even less would be of great help.
The Preamble would be provided. You would not have to collect the email check-ins or do the training topics, unless you have one.
Please contact Kent, KQ4KK, KQ4KKHam@Gmail.com if you have any questions or are interested.
National Weather Service Updates
Hazard Simplification project seeks to simplify weather messaging
Cold weather can be deadly – people exposed to extreme cold are susceptible to frostbite and can succumb to hypothermia in minutes. So, as we prepare for the frigid wind chills and sub-freezing temperatures that winter can bring, NOAA’s National Weather Service is simplifying a suite of cold weather forecast products to improve messaging of winter hazards and provide better decision support.
This effort is part of the Hazard Simplification initiative which integrates public and partner engagements and social science research to improve and evolve our alerting system.
The following changes took place on Oct. 1:
Extreme Cold Consolidation and Renaming
Wind Chill Watches will be renamed to an Extreme Cold Watch
Wind Chill Warnings will be renamed to an Extreme Cold Warning
Wind Chill Advisory will be renamed a Cold Weather Advisory
Freeze Consolidation
Hard Freeze Watches will be renamed to a Freeze Watch
Hard Freeze Warnings will be consolidated to a Freeze Warning
HamClubOnline.Com - Amateur Radio Club Management System
Built by HAMs for HAMs.
A couple local ham clubs have started using Ham Club Online to keep track of club members, dues, meetings, newsletters, etc. I have to say, it is a great FREE program. If you are not already using an online method to keep track of your club business I recommend you check it out. It has been a great time saver and I am looking forward to using it for the new club year in 2025.
Is coming up January 25th & 26th. There are currently 4 clubs in South Carolina that have already signed up to host a WFD Station. Please get out and visit these stations, or there is still time for your club to plan and activate for WFD. This is a great opportunity to test your prepardness in less than ideal weather conditions. While I don’t expect there to be snow, it is normally a cold weather event for most of SC. Please see the list below of clubs currently signed up to activate:
Carolina QSO Party Weekend
South Carolina February 22nd / North Carolina February 23rd
This is a great event like Winter Field Day to get outside and operate as an individual or a group. More people are starting to setup at a park and work SCQP while also being able to count the contacts as a POTA Activation. I have set up at Baker Creek State Park (US-2884) in McCormick County for the past 2 years, and I was at Belfast WMA (US-9219) in Laurens County 3 years ago. You can also activate your home station as everyone is trying to make contact with as many counties as possible. There are several counties with only 1 or 0 HAMs active for the SCQP. It would be great to have all 46 counties active for the 2025 SCQP.
UPCOMING Hamfests
GARSFest 2025 by the Greenwood Amateur Radio Society
Saturday, January 11, 2025 0900 - 1400
New Location! St. Mark United Methodist Church - Rivers Street Campus
1633 Rivers St, Greenwood, SC
https://garsfest.com/
Saturday, April 5, 2025 0800-1200
340 East Columbia Ave, Batesburg-Leesville, SC
There is a QRP club in the midlands, QRPSC. Please visit their website at https://qrpsc.com/. They meet at Heyward Park in Gaston, SC every Saturday to show and work QRP Radios.
Upcoming ARRL Contests:
December 6th – ARRL 160-Meter Contest
December 14th – ARRL 10-Meter Contest
December 22nd – ARRL Rookie Roundup, CW
October Net Reports
ARRL SC Section Cabinet