SCHH ARC “This & That” – April 16, 2024 Edition
Hidden Transmitter Hunt This Saturday!
This event combines at least two GREAT things Fun and Learning.
The club’s Hidden Transmitter Hunt is set for Saturday, April 20th. All participants (except the “fox” in this “fox hunt”) are asked to meet behind Pinckney Hall (the courtyard side of that building) at 8:45 AM. The hunt itself will begin at 9 AM.
Thanks for Ed Stratton, W1ZZ, for being “the fox”. Everyone is certain that Ed has a tough location for us to find!
Enjoy getting out on a Saturday morning with your fellow club members and guests. Note that you do NOT have to be licensed to participate in a hidden transmitter hunt. You just need a 2 meter FM receiver or a transceiver. If you are not licensed and are using a transceiver, you of course can’t transmit!
This is also an opportunity to learn how to locate a transmitter using radio direction-finding techniques. Here is a link to some articles to prep you for the hunt. Note: The three YouTube videos at this link are on our club website’s home page!
Hope to see you bright and early on Saturday.
Club Social Luncheon Set for Saturday — Noon at Jameson’s
Even if you don’t work up an appetite by participating in the Hidden Transmitter Hunt, please come to the Club’s Spring Social Luncheon at Jameson’s at 12 Noon on Saturday, April 20th. Jameson’s is located in the Hidden Cypress clubhouse and amenity center.
It will be a Dutch Treat lunch (i.e., separate checks for all who dine) and we will order from the regular menu. There is no formal program but there will surely be a lot of stories about the morning hunt!
Jack Frisch, K2ITZ, Eclipses 3000 POTA Mark for Unique Parks Contacted!
Millions saw the Solar Eclipse on Monday, April 8th. It was indeed a thrill even for those of us who tuned in on TV…never mind a member or two who traveled to see the “totality” (hopefully more on that in a coming edition).
Jack Frisch, K2ITZ, did a little bit of “eclipsing” this past week too! His achievement has been recognized by the POTA group with the certificate that is shown below.
Congratulations, Jack! Well done!!!
SCHH ARC KE4HAM Finishes 7th in November 2023 ARRL EME Contest!
The Saturday after Thanksgiving in 2023 was a memorable one for a bunch of SCHH ARC hams and guests.
Frank Pollino, K2OS, devised an Earth-Moon-Earth station that he and several other club members deployed near Sun City’s softball facility on November 25th. The goals for that evening were to send a 144 MHz 400-Watt signal from SCHH to the Earth’s Moon and have the signal bounce back to Earth for reception at some other location to make at least one contact and to enter the ARRL’s EME (aka. Moon Bounce) contest.
Most competitors used fairly sophisticated antenna arrays that have motorized tracking systems. KE4HAM used a refurbished 2-meter beam antenna rescued from our storage area. Our tracking system was a bit more simple: Find the moon in the evening sky and manually point the antenna at it!
KE4HAM was able to make two 2-way contacts, one with a ham in Texas and the other a station in Italy (both confirmed on Logbook of the World). As can be seen below, the club’s efforts was good for a 7th place finish in our category!!
Humor
If they could have gotten on the air, they would have had a pile-up trying to contact them. Talk about DX!!! Islands-on-the-Air credit would also have applied if only they could tell everyone WHERE THEY WERE!!!!
QSL Card of the Week
Frank Pollino, K2OS, shared this QSL card that his VHF contest group used to confirm contacts made during the 1982 ARRL June VHF QSO Party. The group traveled to hard-to-contact states for the VHF contests to help fellow hams in their VHF Worked All States quests. They had some great antennas!!!
Upcoming Club Events and Meetings
April 20th – Hidden Transmitter Hunt: See information above.
April 20th – Lunch at Jameson’s: See information above.
April 27th – CARS Swap Meet/Hamfest – Near SAV airport. Check CARS website for details. More info in next week’s “This & That”.
May 2nd — Monthly Membership Meeting: 6:45 PM in the Bayside Room at the Lakehouse.
June 6th — Monthly Membership Meeting: 7 PM in the Bayside Room at the Lakehouse. Field Day Planning Meeting.
June 22nd — ARRL Field Day: Lake Somerset. KE4HAM on the air at 2 PM Eastern. Set up begins around Noon. More details at the June 6th Meeting.
August 3rd — Hunting Island POTA Activation and Lighthouses on the Air: More info to follow.
Club Website
Click here to get to the Club’s website: https://www.ke4ham.org.
If you notice any errors or have site-related questions, please email the webmaster; email: webmaster@ke4ham.org.
SCHH ARC Nets Going Strong!
Thanks to all who participate!
These are our nets. Enjoy them. They are very special and give us the opportunity to connect with each other while testing our equipment’s capabilities.
Please keep our nets alive and well by checking in when you can.
If you haven’t checked in for a while or at all, please give it a try this week!!
Weekly SCHH ARC Nets
Sunday’s Net (8 PM) operates on 147.550 MHz simplex and EchoLink node: KE4HAM – L except on the Sunday after our club’s membership meeting. On the Sunday after our club membership meeting, the Sunday Net will be on the KE4HAM repeater (147.135 + with a tone of 91.5 on both the input and the output). The KE4HAM Repeater Net can also be accessed via EchoLink at KE4HAM-R. NOTE: April 7th’s net will be on the KE4HAM repeater!
Wednesday‘ ‘s Net (8 PM) operates from KK4ONF/Jasper repeater, 147.060+ and EchoLink node: KE4HAM-R
Net Control Stations and EchoLink Coordinator
Thanks to our regular Net Controls: Bob Officer, WA6WAY; Russ Treadwell, N1ZK; and Harve Hnatiuk, KB3FW.
Thanks to Ron Frick, AI4HH, for keeping the nets on EchoLink.
Net Control Schedule:
— Wednesday, April 17 @ 8 PM ET: Harve Hnatiuk, KB3FW (JASPER COUNTY REPEATER)
— Sunday, April 21 @ 8 PM ET: Bob Officer, WA6WAY (SIMPLEX)
If you are interested in being a Net Control, please let Ron or Harve know.
SCHH ARC Net Reports:
Thanks to ALL who checked in to our SCHH ARC nets last week. We have topped 10 check-ins for many of our recent nets, which is awesome!
If you have the time, please check into our club’s nets on a regular basis.
Last week’s check-ins and traffic:
— Wednesday, April 10 : KE4HAM/KB3FW, AI4HH, K2ITZ, K2OS, KQ4JKI, WA6WAY, KJ4BSM, WA2LWO, AD5EN, W1ZZ. QNI=10, QTC=0.
— Sunday, April 14: KE4HAM/WA6WAY, AI4HH, K2ITZ, KB3FW, AD5EN, W1ZZ, KJ4BSM, KQ4JKI, KQ4KOO, KN4VWQ. QNI=10, QTC=0.
Note: QNI = Number of Check-ins to the net, including Net Control; QTC = Traffic handled (Radiograms).
Other Operating:
Daily — Monitor the new KE4HAM Repeater: 147.135 MHz + with a tone of 91.5. You may get some good DX spots from time to time and other members may be there if you want to connect/chat.
Harve Hnatiuk, KB3FW Edit