Jun 11, 2020 | Club event, Field Day, News, Special Event
The club Field Day location is closed to the public for now so members will be operating from home. The good news is that you can submit your field day contacts into the ARRL Web Application and have them accrue to our club. And you get 50 bonus points for using the online tool! The club name to enter on your ARRL entry form is Pottstown Area ARC.
View our Field Day Leaderboard
PAARC members who plan to participate in Field Day should be aware that the ARRL has temporarily updated the 2020 rules to accommodate hams operating from home: http://www.arrl.org/covid-19-and-arrl-field-day-2020.
1) For Field Day 2020 only, Class D stations may work all other Field Day stations, including other Class D stations, for points.
Field Day rule 4.6 defines Class D stations as “Home stations,” including stations operating from permanent or licensed station locations using commercial power. Class D stations ordinarily may only count contacts made with Class A, B, C, E, and F Field Day stations, but the temporary rule waiver for 2020 allows Class D stations to count contacts with other Class D stations for QSO credit.
2) In addition, for 2020 only, an aggregate club score will be published, which will be the sum of all individual entries indicating a specific club (similar to the aggregate score totals used in ARRL affiliated club competitions).
Ordinarily, club names are only published in the results for Class A and Class F entries, but the temporary rule waiver for 2020 allows participants from any Class to optionally include a single club name with their submitted results following Field Day.
See the ARRL Field Day FAQ: http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-contest-program-issues-field-day-2020-faq
→ PAARC Fun Stuff for Members
We will also be running the N3JFP Club Score Processor so you can see how the club is doing during the Field Day contest period. See http://paarc-contest.com/totals.html
For more information about ARRL Field Day visit: http://www.arrl.org/field-day
Apr 7, 2020 | Amateur Radio, Club Meeting, License Exams, Member News, News
We expect to be still under the COVID-19 stay at home guidelines for the Friday, May 1st meeting. The meeting will take place on the 2M repeater.
Find us on 147.21 / 147.81 MHz PL 131.8.
Also, Amateur Radio license test sessions are on hold for now.
Mar 7, 2020 | Amateur Radio, Club event, Club Meeting, License Exams, News, Repeater
Our Friday, April 3rd meeting and amateur radio license test session at the church have been canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. We hope to reschedule the presentation on attic antennas for a later date. Please note the May 1st meeting has a high likelihood of cancelation as well.
Instead of a face-to-face meeting, PAARC will have a First Friday Repeater Net with Ed, K3BVQ as Net Control. Repeater info: 147.21 / 147.81 MHz PL 131.8
The board meeting scheduled for 3/20 is also in flux. We will either move it online or postpone it to a later date.
PAARC is doing what we can to keep our community safe. Thank you for your understanding.
Feb 10, 2020 | ARRL, News
Join us on Friday, March 6, at 7:00 pm at St. James Lutheran Church in Limerick, PA for a presentation by the ARRL EPA Section Mgr., George Miller, W3GWM, via a Zoom videoconference. Refreshments served. All are welcome to attend.
There will also be an amateur radio license exam at 5:00 pm at this location. See the License Exams page to learn how to sign up, and for more details.
Jan 27, 2020 | Amateur Radio, ARES, News, Public Service
ARRL EPA Section Manager, George Miller, W3GWM, and Atlantic Division Vice-Director, Bob Famiglio, K3RF urge Pennsylvania amateurs to write to their PA State Senators about House Bill 37.
On HB 37, now in the Transportation Committee:
1. There is a serious flaw in the draft as it now stands. By omission, it prohibits the operation of VHF or HF amateur radios in Pennsylvania moving vehicles.
2. Amateur Radio, using ARES-RACES, has provided Disaster Communications to millions of citizens since the 1930s. Ham Operators have provided reliable communications out of the affected areas during Hurricane Agnes in 1972, the Johnstown Flood in 1977, Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant meltdown, 1999, Flight 93 Crash, Shanksville, 2001, Tropical Storm Henri, 2002, the Quecreek Mine Disaster in 2002, Campbelltown Tornado 2004, dozens of weather and natural disasters on I-80, I-376, I-81, I-95, I-476, I-99, I-76 and the 2017 PA Turnpike Snow event, where Ham Operators assisted PEMA in maintaining communications to WPA.
3. In order to perform this function, it is imperative that these trained and FCC-licensed radio operators are permitted to communicate by radio while operating their vehicles.
4. Oftentimes, during an incident, cars, and trucks provide the only power and antenna platforms available. These volunteers, who act as operators and repair technicians, can provide both voice and digital communications completely devoid of any commercial infrastructure such as cell phone towers or the Internet.
5. Amateur Radio has mutual aid agreements with dozens of Fire Companies, PA County Departments of Emergency Services as well as PEMA, CAP, FEMA, and the PA State Police, who rely on the back-up communications provided by amateur radio ARES-RACES operators.
6. For over 20 years, ARES-RACES operators have contributed to the bi-annual drills of the Peach Bottom and Limerick Nuclear Power Plants, plus the drills at the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia International Airports. These points should provide information for your State Senators. I can’t stress enough how important it is for us all to take action on this. As this bill is written you will be forced to remove all radio equipment from your vehicles, including handheld radios.
If you have any questions, please contact George, W3GWM. You may refer your State Senators to him.
