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ARRL Southern New Jersey Section (SNJ)Section Manager
George S. Strayline, W2GSS 10 E Pacific Ave Villas, NJ 08251-2630 609-536-0582 w2gss@arrl.org |
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Southern New Jersey Section News Summary for August 2009 Section Manager George S Strayline, W2GSS I sure hope everyone had a wonderful summer! For most of us the vacations are over and its back to the grind as usual. Although summer hasn't officially ended, it is nonetheless on its way out. I have to say and maybe you'll agree, the one thing that bugs me most about the end of summer is the decline in the amount of sunshine we have each day. Well, if it means anything and to brighten your smile, try to keep in mind, there are still many pleasant weekends ahead with lots to do in Amateur Radio. Also, and before it's to late, this is the perfect time of year to start performing some maintenance on your outdoor equipment. The end of summer also marks the beginning of hurricane season when the need to be prepared for a disaster should be one of your paramount goals. Gary Wilson, K2GW SNJ SEC recently pointed out that National Preparedness Month (NPM) began September 1 2009. For ways to stay informed please visit http://www.ready.gov/ Gloucester County Amateur Radio Club is hosting their annual Hamfest at Mullica Hill on September 20th 2009. This is going to be a special time for GCARC and their members; since they are also celebrating their 50th anniversary. To mark this wonderful occasion they have added some special events and activities to their Hamfest. Please join with me in congratulating GCARC for their fifty great years of service to their community and especially to Amateur Radio! Great Going Gang! For complete details concerning the GCARC Hamfest please visit their website at http://www.w2mmd.com/ I recently attended a meeting hosted by Atlantic Division Director Bill Edgar, N3LLR where Laura Smith, FCC Special Counsel for Amateur Radio Enforcement was the guest speaker. Laura briefly spoke about her role at FCC and other topics however; the focus of the discussion was to try and clear up misunderstandings regarding rule 97.113, particularly 97.113 (a)(3). For many of our operators who intend to pass traffic on behalf of public service or within the newly established hospital radio network, there is some good news! Laura indicated “in a nutshell” amateurs passing traffic on behalf of a served agency are permitted, so long as you’re a volunteer and not an employee of the served agency. There is more to this story however; since space is limited for content, additional in-depth details will be published to the section at a later date. Be on the lookout for Assistant Section Managers Bill Cole, N2CSA and Tim Cwik, N2LTQ - Both of our ASM's have been making their way around SNJ Section. Bill and Tim recently made a visit to the JSARS Hamfest. I'm certain their schedule may also have them visiting with our clubs very soon. Thank you so much for doing that Guys! ARRL has reported 16 newly licensed Amateurs to SNJ section for the month of August. Congratulations to everyone on becoming Hams and we sure hope to hear you all on the air. Many thanks go out to all our instructors and VE's who make that happen every month. Great Job! A message from SNJ Public Information Coordinator (PIC) Cory Sickles, WA3UVV - While George introduced me in a previous bulletin, I’d like to start off by saying “hello” to everyone and let you know I am hoping to add to the capable PIO’s that we already have. Toward that end, I need some help. If you are the Publicity Chair for your club, I’d like to hear from you. If your club doesn’t have one, but you’d like to do your part to let others know about ham radio, I’d like to hear from you, too. Just contact me via email: WA3UVV@arrl.net. Publicity isn’t something where we have to wait for opportunities – many times good publicity is its own opportunity. Press releases to the local paper and/or community radio station about your monthly meetings are a start. Better yet, is advertising them as “open houses” or “demonstrations”. Member awards, membership milestones or book donations to local schools and county libraries are great publicity opportunities that we can create. Plus, they’re easy and take little time and effort. When the public doesn’t know about amateur radio or fails to get reminded on a regular basis, we’re no longer relevant – we become invisible. This is a great opportunity for someone who is enthusiastic and likes sharing the enjoyment and importance of amateur radio. Many thanks to our Skywarn operators who continue to post timely weather alerts to the sections alert panel. The information they provide is extremely useful during times when awareness of potentially dangerous weather conditions may affect specific areas within our region. Stay up to date during any event or emergency by visiting the ARRL SNJ site often. http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=SNJ SNJ Section continues to seek a Ham to fill the SGL, State Government Liaison position. If you're interested please contact George Strayline, W2GSS w2gss@arrl.org or any of our section leaders; their contact information can be found at http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=SNJ For information regarding the SGL position please visit http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/org/sgl.html Official Observer Coordinator Report for August Mark O'Brien, K2AX SNJ OOC Total Cards Issued=20 Total Hours listening=30 SNJ Section Emergency Coordinator Monthly Report for August: Gary Wilson, K2GW SNJ SEC Stations Reporting: N2JVM KB2BAA N2EWT N2ZSO N2RO KB2EGI WX2NJ KB2EAH K2GW SEC Comments: Atlantic County Skywarn reported 29 person hours this month. Mercer County had one Skywarn activation for Thunderstorms. Ocean County ran 4 training nets. Salem County worked at the EOC and on the Red Cross chapter antennas. Also visited Chester County PA EOC Section Traffic Manager (STM) Report for August 2009: Dan Ostroy, K2UL SNJ STM QNI NJM=83 NJPN=234 NJSN=157 NJN(E)=173 NJN(L)=162 ( these are dual section nets of both SNJ and NNJ. Liaisons with 2RN) Local Net Reports: JSARS: QNI 432 SJTN(E):QNI 85 JTN(L):QNI 30 Station Activity Reports (SAR) KB2RTZ=80 WA2CUW=54 KB2BAA=47 K2UL=45 AA2SV=41 WA2NDA=24 K2GW=15 WJ3P=8 KC2EMW=7 (August BPL-none) Public Service Honor Roll (PSHR) K2UL=120 KB2BAA =110 K2GW=93 WA2CUW=90 WA2NDA=79 (70 point threshold-> WJ3P =46 KC2EMW=42) The Summer 2009 edition of the NJ Traffic Bulletin can be found at http://njtb.home.att.net/