This is my letter requesting reconsidering Senate Bill 37 for an exemption for Amateur Radio Operation while mobile. Feel free to adopt the language for your own letter. I sent it to the sponsors of the legislation, the chairs of the Rules and Executive Nominations Committee, and my senator.
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Bill in the PA Senate that could make it illegal for amateur radio operators to operate their radios while driving
The Pennsylvania Senate is considering Senate Bill 37, Enhanced Driver Responsibility. There have been a number of emails about the bill but reading the current version leads me and others to conclude that the bill if passed could make it unlawful for amateur radio operators to operate their radios while driving a vehicle. This was proposed by the House before but exemption language was included for amateur radio operators. That language appears to have been removed.
The bill:
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/
Who you contact:
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/
Bob Famiglio, K3RF, Atlantic Division Director is aware of the situation and will be working with the ARRL also. Here is his message of last week. Continue reading
The Difference Between Tactical and Formal Messages
Tom, N3WS, the EC for Washington and Green Counties, Pennsylvania circulated this. It is a very good and very short training on the differences and what they mean.
This video from the New England ARES Academy showed up in my feed this morning and it is worth reviewing. The subject is Tactical Voice Messaging. It discusses the difference between tactical and formal messages with some good examples.
I have added a permanent link to the Links of Interest above. Continue reading
Amateur Radio Assists Multiple Sclerosis Glimcher Keystone Country Ride
The Pennsylvania Keystone Chapter of The National Multiple Sclerosis Society completed another Glimcher Keystone Country Ride on July 15th and 16th through Centre, Clinton, Huntingdon, and Blair Counties in Central Pennsylvania. The ride is composed of two seventy five mile loops on each day. It starts at the Penn Stater Hotel in State College and goes south then back. On day two it goes north then back to the Penn Stater. About 100 riders participated in the event to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis research and support for victims of the disease. The ride has been conducted for 20+ years and one rider and his team, Rob Glimcher, has raised more than $2 million for the event during that time.
Internet Archive of Amateur Radio and Communications Added to the Link Library
The Internet Archive has just added a significant archive relative to Amateur Radio and Communications.
The Digital Library of Amateur Radio and Communications is a library of materials and collections related to amateur radio and early communications. The DLARC is funded by a significant grant from Amateur Radio Digital Communications, a private foundation, to create a digital library that documents, preserves, and provides open access to the history of this community.
This free resource combines archived digitized print materials, born-digital content, websites, oral histories, personal collections, and other related records and publications. The goals of the DLARC are both to document the history of amateur radio and to provide freely available educational resources for researchers, students, and the general public.
To contribute content for this project, email kay@archive.org
Planning documents for the 2021 Fall SET
Links to the planning documents for the Fall 2021 SET are listed below. Continue reading
FCC Grants Temporary Waiver to Permit Higher Symbol Rate Data Transmissions for Hurricane Ida Traffic
Information received from the ARRL
FCC Grants Temporary Waiver to Permit Higher Symbol Rate Data Transmissions for Hurricane Ida Traffic
Sunday, August 29, 2021
The FCC has granted an ARRL emergency request for a temporary waiver intended to facilitate relief communications in the wake of Hurricane Ida. The waiver was orally granted on Saturday, August 28, and immediately permitted amateur data transmissions related to Hurricane Ida traffic to employ a higher symbol rate for data transmissions than the current limit of 300 baud. Continue reading
Amateur Radio Exam Announcement – Nittany Amateur Radio Club
The Nittany Amateur Radio Club is conducting Ham Exams on Saturday, May 1 in State College, PA. Space is limited due to the pandemic. Advance reservations are required, so please register as soon as possible to insure you will have one of the available spaces. Continue reading
Skywarn Recognition Day 2020, Dec. 5, 2020
Skywarn Recognition Day will be held on December 5, 2020, the first Saturday in December. Local hams are encouraged to participate from their home or club stations. You can register for the event at:
and get a SRD number to use during exchanges. In addition to that you can sign up for Skywarn email notices and elect to join the SRD group on Facebook. I believe the NWS will publish a list of the NWS offices participating.
Saturday, 12/5/2020, 00:00 UTC or Friday, 12/4/2020, 19:00 Centre County
to
Saturday, 12/5/2020, 24:00 UTC or Saturday, 12/5/2020, 19:00 Centre County. Here are the operating instructions from the ARRL website:
1. Object: SKYWARN(TM) Recognition Day serves to celebrate the contributions to public safety made by amateur radio operators and Skywarn Spotters during threatening weather.
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Amateur stations to exchange QSO information with as many National Weather Service Stations as possible on 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6, and 2 meter bands plus the 70 centimeter band. Contacts via repeaters are permitted.
2. Date: NWS stations may operate at any time during December 5, 2020 from 0000 – 2400 UTC.
3. Exchange: Call sign, signal report, QTH, and a one or two word description of the weather occurring at your site (“sunny”, “partly cloudy”, “windy”, etc.).
4. Modes: NWS stations will work various modes including SSB, FM, AM, RTTY, CW, and PSK31. While working digital modes, special event stations will append “NWS” to their call sign (e.g., N0A/NWS). NWS offices may also participate via Social Media platforms throughout the 24 hour period.
5.Station Control Operator: It is suggested that during SRD operations a non-NWS volunteer should serve as a control operator for your station.
6. Event and QSL Information: The National Weather Service will provide event information via the internet. Event certificates will once again be electronic and printable from the main website after the conclusion of SRD.
Future Public Service/Training Events
Please consider reserving time in your calendar for participation in the below listed events. Planning is a continuous process given the COVID-19 quarantine. If any are canceled, we will let you know.
- June 6 – Rothrock Grit Foot Race – CANCELED NEW DATE 5 June 2021
- June 27-28 – ARRL Field Day – Modified by ARRL to be individual stations
- July 17-18 – MS Glimcher Keystone Country Ride – Canceled, New date TBD
- Oct 3-4 – ARRL Simulated Emergency Test
- Oct 11 – Unpaved of Susquehanna Valley Bicycle Race
- Dec 5 – Skywarn Recognition Day
Please consider helping out with these events. We’ll provide more information as we get it.
Thank you.