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.



Click here for the ARRL Story

WATER TOWER!!! UPDATE

Hey, have you heard? We are back.
Yes back on the water tower. It has been a long time coming.


There was water in the connector on the hardline side. It was cleaned, resealed and placed back in service.

Now, get on the air!

FREE Exams- Update

We are now listed as an official Laurel VE Team.
This will benefit both the Amateur Radio community as well as the LWRA.

Check it out!!!

Laurel Teams - http://larcmd.org/vec/index.php?pg=teams

Exam Schedule - http://larcmd.org/vec/index.php?pg=Exams11

FREE EXAMS!!!

I received word tonight that our certifications with the Laurel VEC are on the way.


Looks like we will be able to begin offering them on June 4th, which should give us time to go over the rules and procedures, etc.

For those that are unaware, the Laurel Amateur Radio clubs is an Official VEC with the FCC and are the only one to offer FREE exams, yes 100% free.

America’s Most Wanted Pirate Broadcaster

It’s not every day that a radio station operator makes it on to “America’s Most Wanted,” a television show profiling criminal fugitives. But Steve Anderson of Somerset, Ky., managed to do just that a decade ago.

I wrote about the story for Monitoring Times and for the Cumbre DX newsletter. With the 10th anniversary of the case approaching, Radio World asked me to recount it.

More

The New Repeater

As many of you may already know, we are working with the Lake Wales Hospital and getting a new UHF Repeater for Lake Wales area. We are moving ever closer to getting this Repeater online. The purchase order has been filed and all the equipment has all been ordered and Thomas (K4KH) is getting our frequency pair set up for us with the FRC. Judson (KJ4IDH) is working on getting everything set up with our Tech to get us online ASAP.

More information will be posted as it becomes available.

Thanks for all your hard work go out to everyone involved in getting this done.