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 much of South Carolina and is divided into August/CSRA, Midlands, and Eastern Midlands.
The Columbia SKYWARM Team holds NETS and Virtual Training/Meetings weekly and monthly. More Information can be found at the Columbia Amateur Radio Club Calendar
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 damage. The National Weather Service (NWS) established SKYWARN with partner organizations to obtain critical weather information. SKYWARN is a volunteer program with 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 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 Columbia Amateur Radio Club is now a Weather-Ready Nation (WRN) Ambassador.
The Columbia Amateur Radio Club is excited to collaborate with NOAA/NWS to help strengthen our nation’s readiness against extreme weather, water, and climate events. If you would like more information, please visit the Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador Frequently Asked Questions. And if you need any additional information, email WRN anytime at [email protected]. You can also find WRN on X (previously Twitter) @WRNAmbassadors.
On the ARRL PR mailing list, we’ve been discussing the proper way to refer to amateur radio. What brought this up was an email from one list subscriber, Richard, WB6NAH, who was (rightfully) proud of the work that his club—the Skagit Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Club—was doing. He noted that they were even featured in the police department’s emergency preparedness brochure:
Referring to amateur radio in this way just drives me crazy. “Ham radio” is just a nickname for amateur radio, and “HAM” is certainly not an acronym for anything. I congratulated Richard on getting his club included in the brochure, but noted, “…it’s not HAM radio! It’s either ‘amateur radio’ or ‘ham radio’ (ham is not an acronym). I hate to be nitpicky about this, but as a professional writer, this usage just drives me crazy.”
Last June, the FCC’s Technical Advisory Committee asked licensed and unlicensed users of the electromagnetic spectrum to answer some questions about the noise they were experiencing and whether or not it was affecting their services. Specifically, they asked:
Is there a noise floor problem?
Where does the problem exist? Spectrally? Spatially? Temporally?
Is there quantitative evidence of the overall increase in the total integrated noise floor across various segments of the radio frequency spectrum?
It is with deep regret that we inform you of the passing of John Crockett, W3KH. After a long bout with cancer, John passed peacefully the morning of Oct. 12, surrounded by his beloved family and wife, Karen. John and Karen had their 40th wedding anniversary days before.
Amateur radio and emergency communications had no greater advocate in South Carolina than John Crockett. His tireless devotion to service led to the establishment of the SCHEART network, the SC DMR network and countless other innovations of immeasurable service to the people of South Carolina.
A memorial service for John will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 18, 2016 at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church with burial in Fort Jackson National Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 5 until 7:00 p.m. on Monday, October 17, 2016 at Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel.
Memorial gifts may be made to Palmetto Health Foundation, designated for Palmetto Health Cancers and mailed to: Palmetto Health Foundation, Wells Fargo Processing Center P.O. Box 602575, Charlotte, NC 28260-2575; or ETV Endowment, 401 East Kennedy St., Suite B-1, Spartanburg, SC 29302.
Cards may be sent to his family: 1409 Marina Road, Irmo, SC 29068
The board of directors for the Columbia Amateur Radio Club is proud to announce the launch of our newly-developed website!
Our website has long been an invaluable resource for new hams, club members, net participants and those seeking a ham radio license. Getting information out to club members and the ham community is more important now than it’s ever been, particularly with the influx of new hams in the area. The hobby is growing, and so is our club.
Andy, KK4DSD, presented “An Introduction to Operating Digital Modes” during the club’s August 1 meeting.
The board of directors for the Columbia Amateur Radio Club is proud to announce the launch of our newly-developed website!