Wait what? Last month’s Ham and Eggs attendees received a USB key packed with tools and software for Winlink, JS8Call, and VARAChat. Perfect timing, there is training posted at ARES-SC.org that will take you through Winlink A-Z. More details are below:
NOTE: This is will a late evening event, it is posted to be a 7 pm PST time, making it 10 pm for the east coast.
The Columbia SKYWARN Team assists the Columbia National Weather Service with Ground-Truth weather observations during severe or dangerous weather. The Columbia NWS forecast area covers a large portion of South Carolina and is divided into three areas: August/CSRA, Midlands, and Eastern Midlands.
Founded in the 1970s, the information provided by SKYWARN Spotters, coupled with Doppler radar technology, improved satellite, and other data, has enabled the NWS to issue more timely and accurate warnings for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, and flash floods. SKYWARN Storm Spotters form the nation’s first line of defense against severe weather minutes that can help save lives.
In most years, thunderstorms, tornadoes, and lightning cause hundreds of injuries and deaths, and billions in property and crop damages. To obtain critical weather information, the National Weather Service (NWS) established SKYWARN with partner organizations. SKYWARN is a volunteer program with between 350,000 and 400,000 trained severe weather Spotters. These volunteers help keep their local communities safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service. Although SKYWARN Spotters provide essential information for all types of weather hazards, the focus is reporting on severe local thunderstorms. In an average year, the United States experiences more than 10,000 severe thunderstorms, 5,000 floods, and more than 1,000 tornadoes. (Information courtesy of the Columbia NWS)
Interested in learning more, have questions, or want to sign up for training-Newsletter-meetings?
Community Emergency Response Team – CERT Training – STARTING Tuesday, October 10 at 6 PM at the Richland County EOC.
This is the 20-hour Community Emergency Response Team Class. This training is scheduled for three consecutive Tuesdays & Thursdays in October. We have openings and need additional participants to register with Sharon Long by the close of business on Wednesday, October 4, to avoid canceling this training.
The ARRL has announced a new worldwide radio contest – the ARRL World Wide Digital Contest. It will take place during the first full weekend in June every year and feature FT8 and FT4 digital modes. Yes, you heard that right. The Amateur Radio Relay League has created a contest for all the FT8 and FT4 digital fans across the world.
More information at QRZ.com https://forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/arrl-announces-new-world-wide-digital-contest.800341/
Greetings to all Amateur Radio Operators. The SC QSO Party is Saturday 2/26/2022 and the Columbia Amateur Radio Club is again a highly sought-after bonus station. Want to experience the SC QSO Party? We will have several stations operating as Expeditionary in Chesterfield County about 25 minutes from Camden. Our location will be providing QSOs for 4 counties which will provide plenty of opportunities for you to get on the air.
Today I started a new build project that I think others may want to consider. A 40AH Lithium Battery kit for portable operations. Why a kit and not buy a ready-made battery? Considering the costs of new batteries I found kits and parts to build a portable battery for less than have the price of a ready-made battery. Yes, less than half the price.
Winter Field Day Association (WFDA) is a dedicated group of Amateur Radio Operators who believe that emergency communications in a winter environment are just as important as the preparations and practice that are done each summer but with some additional unique operational concerns. This year we had some of the coldest weather in years with a dusting of snow, this didn’t stop us from testing!