First Lady, First Mama. Betty Ford

A bit of trivia:

As most have heard, Betty Ford passed away at 93. What most people do not know is that she shared an interest with us "hams". Although not a ham, she did have the call sign of KUY-9535. Issued by the FCC to her CB station in the early 70s'. She had a station at the White House and one in the Presidents Limo

Please click here to read an article from Time Magazine, May 1970

11 year old ARRL PIO

Burlington, NC -- We're all married to our cell phones. But when disasters strike, phone lines might go down. And that's when people turn to one of the oldest and most reliable forms of communicating -- ham radios.They've been around for a long time, but do they have much of a future?
A few dozen amateur radio operators got together and had a field day in the woods of Alamance County. They set up under tents and in a trailer to replicate how they'd have to operate if something like a hurricane or another tornado outbreak blew through.
If that happened, the radios could be the only way to send crucial information.
"We could still set up and get information in to and out of the area using the radios," field day chairman Steve Wedge said.
So, they're great tools in case of emergency. But who uses them anymore? In an age of cell phones and the internet, there's no way kids would enjoy this.
"I can just put my feet up on this table, send a little bit of Morse code and find somebody in Australia," 11-year-old Christopher Tate said with a smile. "And then they start telling me what the Australian landscape is really like out there."
Well, scratch that. Christopher loves being a "ham" -- that's what the radio operators are called, by the way.
He only slept for five hours Saturday night so he could get back out to the field day and keep making connections across the US and in other countries.
"It's a good opportunity to meet all sorts of people from different cultures," he said.
And people in your own backyard, too. Organizers say several folks from around the area stopped in to see and hear what they're up to.
One thing those visitors learned? Ham radio will continue to be one of the oldest and most reliable forms of communication as long as there are kids like Christopher around.
"Ham radio will not die," he said. "I just don't see it dying!"
Not only does Christopher have fun being a ham, at 11 years old he is the youngest public information officer the American Radio Relay League has ever had. Last year, 35,000 hams across the country participated in the field day.
WFMY News 2

A very good video on SWR

Newest General

Congrats to KK4CNH. Steve passed the General portion this past week and is officially licensed as a General Class on the FCC's website

New Wisconsin law for you snow birds

In June, officers from the Fond du Lac Police Department will be paying particular attention to drivers who are texting.
A new state law that took effect Dec. 1 falls under the inattentive driving statute. Research from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has shown drivers who send and receive text messages end up taking their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds out of every 6 seconds while texting. Of all fatal traffic accidents in 2008, the U.S. DOT reported 16 percent involved distracted drivers and nearly 6,000 people were killed.
Wisconsin State Statute 346.89(3)(a) states that no person may drive any motor vehicle while composing or sending an electronic text message or an electronic mail message. This does not include when the vehicle is stopped, including when a vehicle is stopped at a traffic light, stop sign or in traffic due to congestion. The texting ban is only enforceable when the vehicle is in motion. The fine for texting while driving starts at $101.40.
This does not apply to the following circumstances:
n To an operator of an authorized emergency vehicle.
n The use of any device whose primary function is transmitting and receiving emergency alert messages and messages related to the operation of the vehicle or an accessory that is included in the vehicle, including a global positioning system device.
n An amateur radio operator who holds a valid amateur radio operator's license issued by the federal communications commission, when he or she is using dedicated amateur radio two-way radio communication equipment and observing proper amateur radio operating procedures.
n The use of a voice operated or hands free device, if the driver of the motor vehicle does not use his or her hands to operate the device, except to activate or deactivate a feature or function of the device.

Texting while driving is a primary law, which means officers can pull over drivers solely for texting without having to identify another violation first, such as speeding or a lane violation. Even though the law does not ban reading messages or using the Internet while driving a motor vehicle, these activities can be just as dangerous and should be avoided while driving

WX4NHC On-the-Air Station Test from the National Hurricane Center

The annual WX4NHC On-the-Air Station Test from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami will take place Saturday, June 4, 1300-2100 UTC (9 AM – 5 PM EDT). “The purpose of this annual station test is to test all of our radio equipment, computers and antennas using as many modes and frequencies as possible in preparation for this year’s hurricane season,” said WX4NHC Assistant Amateur Radio Volunteer Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R. “This is not a contest or simulated hurricane exercise.”

WX4NHC will be on the air on HF, VHF and UHF, plus 2 and 30 meter APRS. Suggested SSB frequencies are 3.950, 7.268, 14.325, 21.325 and 28.525 MHz, +/-QRM. Ripoll said that WX4NHC will mostly be on 14.325 MHz, but will make announcements when the station changes frequencies. WX4NHC also will be on the VoIP Hurricane Net 1700-1900 UTC (IRLP node 9219/EchoLink WX-TALK Conference) and on South Florida area VHF/UHF repeaters and simplex. Stations looking to participate in the annual station test may be able WX4NHC on HF by using one of the DX spotting networks, such as the DX Summit website.

Stations working WX4NHC exchange call sign, signal report, location and name, plus a brief weather report, such as “sunny,” “rain” or “cloudy.” Non-hams may submit their actual weather using the On-Line Hurricane Report Form. QSL cards will be available. QSL via WD4R and include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Do not send cards to the NHC. Due to security measures, no visitors will be allowed at NHC during the test.

The 2011 Atlantic hurricane season begins Wednesday, June 1 and goes through November 30. According to the NHC, forecasters are calling for an “above average” hurricane season this year.

W9UGN on Fox 13

Lake Wales vets celebrate Memorial Day: MyFoxTAMPABAY.com

Upcoming Hamfests

All,
By request, I have added a page to the site that lists upcoming hamfests here

You may also access it via our website by going to http://www.lwra.us/ and looking at the page header:

TWiT to Add Ham Radio Show

Leo Laporte is adding a little ham flavor to his online techie stewpot.

Netcasting network TWiT.tv will have a new show called “HamNation,” hosted by microphone maker and ham radio enthusiast Bob Heil. It will launch on Tuesday May 24.

If you attended the ham reception at the recent NAB Show, you may have seen Laporte. He was the one followed by the gaggle of admiring fans.

And if you know Bob Heil and ham radio, you won’t be surprised to learn that the first guest on “HamNation” will be rock star and fellow amateur Joe Walsh.

“This Week in Technology,” or TWiT, was inspired by an earlier network called ZDTV or TechTV. The first program launched after radio host Leo Laporte got a strong response to audio commentary he posted online about Macworld Expo in 2005.

Early on, fans provided money to pay for equipment and web hosting; the netcast network now is supported by donations and advertising. Laporte later began to produce other shows for the network, in both audio and video formats, all focusing on some aspect of technology. Shows are free and can be subscribed to via iTunes or other netcast/podcast programs.

(The producers prefer the term “netcasting” over “podcasting” because no iPod or other MP3 player is required; you can listen or watch on a computer too.)

“In time we hope to make TWiT a CNN for geeks, with 24-hour live streaming video and downloadable audio and video so you can watch and listen where and when it’s convenient for you,” it states on the site.

James, WA2EWE/T6AF, was one of several killed in Afghanistan

James McLaughlin, WA2EWE/T6AF, was one of several killed in Kabul, Afghanistan on Wednesday, April 27. News sources say that eight American troops and a US contractor died Wednesday after an Afghan military pilot opened fire during a meeting in an operations room of the Afghan Air Corps at the Kabul airport -- the deadliest episode to date of an Afghan turning against his coalition partners, officials with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISF) in Afghanistan said.


Licensed since 1972, McLaughlin was a career US military officer. Bob Magnani, K6QXY, tiold the ARRL that McLaughlin was just in the US a week ago, visiting his family. His son Adam, KD6POE, works for me. He told me that his dad had been in Afghanistan and Iraq many times over the past few years, most currently serving as a flight instructor.” McLaughlin posted on his qrz.com page that “almost every day, I operate at around 1230 - 1430 UTC. Sometimes I am QRV until around 1500 UTC.” As of March 26, 2011, he had logged 4359 QSOs, most of them on RTTY and PSK. -- Thanks to Russ Bentson, K6KLY, CNN and Fox News for the information.



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