Spring 2013 Archived News

Jan-Feb

New YL net takes to the air in Las Vegas

Lady hams in Las Vegas just concluded their very first YL themed net.  Sponsored by the Sisterhood Of Amateur Radio (SOAR) this unique net had its ignaugaral outing Wednesday November 21st.

Operating on the KP4UZ repeater, SOAR President Elizabeth Bigley-KD7RIN acted as the first Net Control Operator. Elizabeth has some experience as an NCO as she held the reins several years as the full time Net Control for the old Saturday Night FARS Net.

The SOAR Net is open to both YL's and OM's.  The Net is designed to give YL's their own gathering place for round-table ragchewing and to discuss events and topics which have a particular interest to women and girls in amateur radio.

(KP4UZ repeater is 447.775 mhz, negative (-) offset, PL tone is 114.8 hz) YL-Net Wednesdays 6:30 PM

New Nevada Section leaders

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                                          ARRL Nevada Section Manager Joseph Giraudo-N7JEH has announced the appointment of Don Carlson-KQ6FM to the position of Assistant Section Manager.  

Also Glenn Hale-KB7REO has been appointed as the Nevada Section Emergency Coordinator.

New club officers elected

Annual elections for club officers are currently taking place throughout Nevada. 

Nevada Amateur Radio Newswire will be post those results here as they become available.
Las Vegas Radio Amateur Club.....
President: Gerald Sobel-K0MBB
Vice President: MARK D PALLANS-W4MDP

    To submit Election Results

March

Nevada amateur radio newswire is born!

While interest in amateur radio continues to grow, one traditional mainstay of ham radio and particularly of ham radio clubs, the newsletter, appears to be falling by the wayside.

For most of the past century joining a radio club would guarantee the member their own personal newsletter each month. 

There were newsletters, bulletins, DX sheets, etc. of every type and description.  These ranged from a couple of purple smudged mimeographed sheets with a single staple, to elaborate, professionally produced booklets and tabloids. 

The best came via the U.S. Post Office while others were simply left in a pile at the back of the club meeting room.

Regardless of their level of production they all held several things in common.  First of all they kept the amateur community informed of ham radio happenings, both near and far.  People looked forward to getting the next copy.  They often justified the collection of dues.  A good newsletter could swell the membership rolls.

But time marches on.  Many clubs find it difficult if not impossible to recruit someone to edit a newsletter.  Print versions have all but vanished in favor of the few remaining on-line editions.

It is not uncommon for someone to volunteer to take on the task of producing a newsletter, only to find that they are unable to amass any significant content.  With the proliferation of Internet postings it frequently appears that much of the "news" about ham radio is expired or has become stale before it can be published in a newsletter.

The one exception is local and regional information.  Information which was once passed between local ham clubs via their newsletter exchanges no longer flows from point to point.

So it is with these thoughts in mind that the Nevada Amateur Radio Newswire is created.  The Newswire hopes to post information about Nevada radio club happenings, public service events, features on local hams, and other items of an interest to hams in the Silver State.

Newswire will interview club officers, vendors, and everyday hams and try to bring their stories to amateurs in Nevada.  Additionally, you will find a form for submitting items for inclusion on these pages.

Please understand that Newswire is in its very early stages of development and will be updated and improved on a daily basis. 

April

Field day operations
announced

The Board of Directors of the Sierra Nevada Amateur Radio Society has announced the approval of their Field Day site.
This years activities will take place June 22-23 at Arrow Creek and Wedge Parkways, across from the library.

Plans call for operations on 80-10 meters CW, Phone, and Digital modes, using the call W7TA.

Elmers will be on hand to assist newcomers and there will be an information table. 
 
Talk-In is on 146.61 negative offset with a PL tone of 112.3

A Bar-B-Que lunch is planned.

Reno QRP Group makes
Field Day plans

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 The Reno QRP Group, W7FST, has selected Marvin Picollo School at 900
Foothill  Rd, Reno as its site for 2013 Field Day.  Set up commences on Friday,
21 June.   Everyone is invited to participate, with or without a license.  This
year’s  Field Day Marshall is Carl, K5HK at arrl dot net.  Photos of the past
ten years  of Reno QRP Field Day events are available on their web site: http://www.renoqrp.org/

May

NQP-nevada mustang round up
tomorrow

The Nevada QSO Party-dubbed "The Nevada Mustang Round-Up" kicks off at 10:00 AM (17:00 UTC) tomorrow morning, (Saturday May 11th).

The event is the second of three yearly contests that make up the "Silver State Series" of contests with Nevada as a focus. 

The Mustang Round Up follows behind the 7QP contest held a week earlier.  Traditionally, the Nevada QSO Party was held on the first weekend in May, but several years ago the organizers of the 7QP moved their contest to the same weekend which created a conflict for the Nevada contest.
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Photo of wild Nevada Mustangs at the Comstock Contest station in Virginia City-Photo will be sublimated into this years plaques
Because of the relatively small number of Nevada Hams participating in the event, it has been possible the past two years for every ham entering from Nevada to walk away with a plaque or award.

Began in the 1980's by the Frontier Amateur Radio Society in Las Vegas, for  many years the event was spearheaded by Jim Fry-N7WO.  When Jim moved to Montana 10 years ago, FARS turned the reigns over to Fred Homuth-K9GAJ who administered the event for one year. 

The following year the AREA 51 Contest Club announced that they were sponsoring the NQP, which came as a surprise to the members of FARS.  In the interest of harmony in the amateur community FARS decided to quietly fade out of the picture.

The AREA 51 group ran the contest for two years before a group in Elko announce that they were sponsoring and renaming the event as the "Nevada Mustang Round Up".

The work by the Elko group was primarily being done by one person, Dave Hough-W7GK.

The Elko group operated the contest for three years before handing it back to the Frontier Amateur Radio Society a week and half before the 2011 event.

FARS lost no time in handing the NQP away to FARS President John Bigley-N7UR who now performs all the tasks associated with the NQP.
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Dick Flanagan-K7VC captured the first plaque ever awarded in a Nevada QSO Party
Beginning with the 2011 contest. John expanded the NQP to become a season of contesting for Nevada hams.  The "Silver State Series" begins with the 7QP which joins all of the states in the Seventh Area Callzone in one contest, the second is the traditional NQP-Mustang Round-up, both of these contests are in May.  The final contest in the series is the fast paced September "High Noon Shoot-Out" which operates as a "sprint".

2011 also saw Nevada getting its first ever website for their contests.
www.nevadaqsoparty.info provides contest participants a single resource for information on Nevada's ham radio contests.

Awards and results had not been given for several years, which added to the decline in participants in the NQP.  In 2011 the NQP began awarding ceramic/walnut sublimated plaques for category winners, as well as heavy, silver embossed certificates for 1st place state, province, and DX finishers.  

Typically only the biggest QSO parties, such as Florida and California award plaques.  Most states simply award a photo-copied certificate and many just issue their winners a link to a PDF file of the certificate.

Of the states that award plaques, all of them, with the exception of Nevada, require a corporate or personal sponsor for each plaque, the categories that do not attract a sponsor are not awarded.  In the Nevada QSO Party the costs, production, and shipping for all of the awards is provided by N7UR.

NQP-nevada mustang round up
tomorrow

The Nevada QSO Party-dubbed "The Nevada Mustang Round-Up" kicks off at 10:00 AM (17:00 UTC) tomorrow morning, (Saturday May 11th).

The event is the second of three yearly contests that make up the "Silver State Series" of contests with Nevada as a focus. 

The Mustang Round Up follows behind the 7QP contest held a week earlier.  Traditionally, the Nevada QSO Party was held on the first weekend in May, but several years ago the organizers of the 7QP moved their contest to the same weekend which created a conflict for the Nevada contest.
Picture
Photo of wild Nevada Mustangs at the Comstock Contest station in Virginia City-Photo will be sublimated into this years plaques
Because of the relatively small number of Nevada Hams participating in the event, it has been possible the past two years for every ham entering from Nevada to walk away with a plaque or award.

Began in the 1980's by the Frontier Amateur Radio Society in Las Vegas, for  many years the event was spearheaded by Jim Fry-N7WO.  When Jim moved to Montana 10 years ago, FARS turned the reigns over to Fred Homuth-K9GAJ who administered the event for one year. 

The following year the AREA 51 Contest Club announced that they were sponsoring the NQP, which came as a surprise to the members of FARS.  In the interest of harmony in the amateur community FARS decided to quietly fade out of the picture.

The AREA 51 group ran the contest for two years before a group in Elko announce that they were sponsoring and renaming the event as the "Nevada Mustang Round Up".

The work by the Elko group was primarily being done by one person, Dave Hough-W7GK.

The Elko group operated the contest for three years before handing it back to the Frontier Amateur Radio Society a week and half before the 2011 event.

FARS lost no time in handing the NQP away to FARS President John Bigley-N7UR who now performs all the tasks associated with the NQP.
Picture
Dick Flanagan-K7VC captured the first plaque ever awarded in a Nevada QSO Party
Beginning with the 2011 contest. John expanded the NQP to become a season of contesting for Nevada hams.  The "Silver State Series" begins with the 7QP which joins all of the states in the Seventh Area Callzone in one contest, the second is the traditional NQP-Mustang Round-up, both of these contests are in May.  The final contest in the series is the fast paced September "High Noon Shoot-Out" which operates as a "sprint".

2011 also saw Nevada getting its first ever website for their contests.
www.nevadaqsoparty.info provides contest participants a single resource for information on Nevada's ham radio contests.

Awards and results had not been given for several years, which added to the decline in participants in the NQP.  In 2011 the NQP began awarding ceramic/walnut sublimated plaques for category winners, as well as heavy, silver embossed certificates for 1st place state, province, and DX finishers.  

Typically only the biggest QSO parties, such as Florida and California award plaques.  Most states simply award a photo-copied certificate and many just issue their winners a link to a PDF file of the certificate.

Of the states that award plaques, all of them, with the exception of Nevada, require a corporate or personal sponsor for each plaque, the categories that do not attract a sponsor are not awarded.  In the Nevada QSO Party the costs, production, and shipping for all of the awards is provided by N7UR.

Amateur Radio Exams scheduled for amargosa valley

The nv7av Radio Active Club has scheduled an amateur radio testing session for the Amargosa Valley on June 15th.

The testing begins at 12:00 noon and continues until 2:00 PM at the Amargosa Valley Town Office, 821 E. Farm Rd.

Additional information can be obtained by calling 775-372-1282 or by email at: fourbears@veawb.coop

Minden gets ready for swapmeet

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The Eighth Annual Northern Nevada Swapmeet will take place on Saturday June 1st. at Brad Hollanders Ranch in Minden, Nevada.  Minden is located about 15 miles south of Carson City.

The frenzy for a deal begins at 7:00 AM.  Sellers with large loads or big items such as towers, are welcome to drop their items off on Friday evening.

Reno swapmeet a success despite last minute change in venue's

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With no plans for a 2013 edition of EmComm West, three Reno area ham clubs organized a swapmeet and bar-b-que to fill the gap left in the spring amateur radio activities calendar.

Members of the Wide Area Data Group, the Sierra Nevada Amateur Radio Society, and the University of
Nevada Reno Radio Club were all set to offer up three of the most popular elements from any hamfest: a great tailgate, a VE testing session, and a Bar-b-que-social.

The activites were scheduled to kick off at 6:00 AM  on Saturday May 4th at Sandy's Electronics. 

At the last minute, the Sandy's Electronics location was withdrawn.  Insurance conflicts were being cited as the reason the hams got the boot, although other non-verified issues were being whispered about during the day on Saturday.

Hasty arrangements were made and late Friday evening the swapmeet was moved to the parking lot of the Tamarack Junction Casino.

Last minute e-mail notifications went out and sentries were dispatched to the entry of the business park in which Sandy's is located in an effort to re-direct attendees to the new location.

The weather was cooperative. The pre-sunrise air had a cool snap to it as the event kicked off. Morning temps turned into moderately warm and sunny, shirt sleeve weather.

The swapmeet was well attended, with buyers coming from as far away as Las Vegas.

Trading activity was steady, with both buyers and sellers reporting good success.  Free donuts were abundant at a couple of locations.  Announcements and door prize drawings were handled by a very capable Emcee.

The Tamarack Junction Casino proved to be a worthy venue.  The restrooms, dining areas, and gaming proved popular with non-ham family members.  Casino security regularly patrolled the swapmeet and
parking areas.  One security officer displayed a clear interest in ham radio and he inquired about testing, licensing, and what equipment to purchase.

The last minute switching of locations forced the cancellation of the planned barb-que.  But the casino's dining facilities proved a popular place for swapmeet hams to unwind and grab lunch or a late breakfast, while sharing in a bit of ham radio fellowship.

Field Day planned for Amargosa Valley

The Amargosa Amateur Radcio Club will operate their 2013 Field Day Station from Funeral Mountain Ranch on Casada.

Set-up will begin Friday.  The group plans to be on the air on all band s 160 thru 2 meters. 

CW, Phone, digital, and satellite modes will be used.

For exact station locator, please use the Field Day http://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator