SCHH ARC “This & That” — June 24, 2025

The Weekly Newsletter of the Sun City Hilton Head Amateur Radio Club (SCHH ARC)

Editor – Harve Hnatiuk, KB3FW

ARRL Field Day Is This Coming Saturday!

SCHH ARC Will Operate As KE4HAM From Lake Somerset on June 28th

This Is a Signature Event For All Radio Clubs…Including Ours!!!

ARRL Field Day is this Saturday, June 28th. The ARC has plans to operate SSB stations on two bands (15m and 20m) with another HF station on CW and a fourth station on 6m/10m FM.

The club will operate as KE4HAM at Lake Somerset from 2 PM until around 5 PM. Set-up will begin between 10 and 10:30 AM that day.

Here’s the schedule for ARRL Field Day 2025:

Tomorrow, Wednesday, June 25th @ 11AM — Final Field Day Planning Zoom Meeting.

Friday, June 27th @ 3 PM: Get Field Day items from the Storage Room including safety equipment, cables, power supply, club banners, etc.

Saturday, June 28th — 10:30 AM — Set-up begins at Lake Somerset.

12:30 PM — Lunch provided by club for set-up participants.

2:00 PM — KE4HAM operations for Field Day begin.

5:00 PM — Maybe earlier, maybe later…KE4HAM operations for Field Day end.

5:00 PM — Take down antennas, disconnect radios and power system, collect logs, clean-up site.

Can you help?

If you have an interest in operating on SSB, CW, or FM, please let Harve KB3FW know (hnat463@gmail.com).

So far, we have Jack Frisch (K2ITZ) being our 20m SSB captain and have Chip Miller (KQ4JKI) and Rick Garan (WA8NLX) indicating interest to head up 15m SSB. Ed Stratton (W1ZZ) also plans to operate. Harve Hnatiuk (KB3FW) will be captain for the CW station. Frank Pollino (K2OS) will help on CW. Bob Officer is captaining the 6m/10m FM operations. Bob McCormick (KD8IH) will look to do some SSB operating and maybe help at the CW outpost.

You may not be comfortable operating but you can be a BIG HELP to the club by being a part of ARRL Field Day. Greeters to show people around the Field Day site are an important part of ARRL Field Day. Showing interested SCHH residents our site is a great service to the club.

If you can help with being a greeter, please contact Harve via email (hnat463@gmail.com) or text Bob Officer (864-884-3244). It would be a GREAT HELP to your SCHH ARC.

There will be a final Field Day Planning Zoom Meeting on Wednesday June 25th at 11 AM. Zoom Meeting information has been sent to all members of the club. All members are welcome to participate. This should be fairly short meeting to make sure that we have all bases covered.

W1ZZ Celebrates 50 Years+ of Field Days This Saturday!

Check this out!

From Ed Stratton, W1ZZ: “I found this FD picture from Saturday June 28, 1975.  My birthday is June 28, and I had just turned 22 years old on this day, and it was my 3rd field day as a ham, WB8LPF.  That FD was atop the highest point in Charleston WV with the Kanawha Amateur Radio Club, W8GK, aka W8 Golden Kilowatt. This coming  Saturday June 28, 2025 I will turn 72 years ‘young’, and will have participated in over 50 years of field days.”

If you have ever been to Charleston, WV, you know that it has a LOT of topography. So, that station at the highest point in that city had to have a booming signal with those antennas!

Come on out to Lake Somerset on Saturday. Join the Field Day fun…whether it’s your first Field Day or 50th (or more)…and remember to wish Ed a Happy Birthday!!

How Many of the 13 Colonies Can You Work In One Week?

The annual week of Thirteen Colonies begins a week from today (July 1st).

Last year, a few SCHH ARC members were able to get a sweep by working stations in all states that were once colonies of England before our nation gained its independence years after the first shots of the American Revolution were fired at Lexington and Concord.

The event offers participation on all bands and modes…WARC bands included and even 2 meters FM is in the mix to nail down SC on your list for 13 Colonies!

Reserved Parking on Field Day?

There is no truth to the rumor that Bob Officer , WA6WAYwill be putting up these signs at Lake Somerset on Saturday.

What’s Coming Up

Wednesday, June 25, 2025 — Final Field Day Planning Zoom Meeting. Zoom info has been emailed to all members.

Saturday, June 28, 2025 — ARRL Field Day at Lake Somerset. See details above and plan to be there!

Tuesday, July 1 through July 7, 2025 — Annual 13 Colonies Special Event with K2L representing South Carolina.

Tuesday, July 22, 2025 –– Zoom Meeting to discuss plans for August 9th’s Parks on the Air Activation at Lake Warren State Park. Zoom info will be sent to all members.

Saturday, August 9, 2025 — KE4HAM Parks on the Air Activation at Lake Warren State Park. More info will be in This & That in the coming weeks.

SCHH ARC Nets

Net News

Summer is here and net activity continues to be very good!

All SCHH ARC members and licensed friends are invited to join the fun!

Can you help our nets be even greater? Volunteering to be a Net Control Station would be a big HELP. Please let Harve, KB3FW know if you want to give it a try (hnat463@gmail.com).

Weekly SCHH ARC Nets

Sunday’s Net (8 PM) operates on 147.550 MHz simplex on the last two Sundays of the calendar month. The Sunday net will be on the KE4HAM repeater (147.135 + with a tone of 91.5 on both the input and the output) on all other Sundays of the calendar month. Check-in can be done even if you don’t have a radio up and running via EchoLink by using the link KE4HAM-L when the net is on SIMPLEX and KE4HAM-R when the net is on the SCHH Okatie Repeater.

Wednesday‘s Net (8 PM) will operate until further notice on the KE4HAM Okatie Repeater (147.135 + with a tone of 91.5 on both input and output). The net can be accessed via EchoLink using the link KE4HAM-R.

Next 10m SSB Net: Tuesday, July 1st @ 8 PM Local Time on 28.450 MHz SSB.

Net Control Stations and EchoLink Coordinator

Thanks to our regular 2m Net Controls: Frank Pollino, K2OS; Rick Garan, WA8NLX; and Harve Hnatiuk, KB3FW.

Thanks to Frank, K2OS for also being the net control station of our monthly 10m SSB net.

Thanks to Bob Officer, WA6WAY, for being an alternate Net Control Station and overseer of our KE4HAM repeater.

Thanks to Ron Frick, AI4HH, for working diligently to keep EchoLink up and running for our nets.

Net Control Schedule:

— Wednesday, June 25th @ 8 PM: Harve Hnatiuk, KB3FW (KE4HAM Okatie Repeater).

— Sunday, June 29th @ 8 PM: Frank Pollino, K2OS (Simplex).

— Tuesday, July 1st @ 8 PM: Frank Pollino, K2OS (10m SSB, 28.450 MHz).

— Wednesday, July 2nd 8 PM: Rick Garan, WA8NLX (KE4HAM Okatie Repeater).

— Sunday, July 6th @ 8 PM: Frank Pollino, K2OS (KE4HAM Okatie Repeater).

SCHH ARC Net Reports:

Thanks to ALL who checked in to our SCHH ARC nets last week.

Last week’s check-ins and traffic:

— Wednesday, June 18th 2m Repeater Net: KE4HAM/K2OS, AI4HH, KJ4BSM, WB1DXN, K2ITZ, W1ZZ, WA6WAY, WB4KSG, KB3FW, AA4KK, . QNI=10, QTC=0.

— Sunday, June 22nd 2m Repeater Net: KE4HAM/K2OS, AI4HH, AA4KK, WA6WAY, WB1DXN, KJ4BSM, KD8IH, K2ITZ, KB3FW, KQ4JKI, AD5EN, W1ZZ, WB4KSG. QNI=13, QTC=0.

Note: QNI = Number of Check-ins to the net, including Net Control; QTC = Traffic handled (Radiograms).

Other Operating

Daily —  Monitor the 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. If you are listening to the repeater, feel free to announce your call and that you are “monitoring”!