January 29 to 30, 2022 – Several PAARC members are planning to work outside their QTH for Winter Field Day. The team that created the event says it is to foster Ham camaraderie, field operation, emergency operating preparedness, and just plain on the air, outdoor fun in the midst of winter for American, Canadian, and DX Hams. Why not bundle up and get out and play some radio! https://www.winterfieldday.com
When: Winter Field Day runs for 24 hours during the last full weekend in January each year from 1900 UTC (2pm EST) Saturday to 1900 UTC (2pm EST) Sunday. For 2022 the dates are January 29th and 30th. Station set-up may commence no earlier than 1900 UTC (2pm EST) on the Friday before. Station setup may consume no more than 12 hours total.
Bands: All Amateur bands, HF, VHF, & UHF except 12, 17, 30 and 60 meters.
Modes: Any mode that can faithfully transmit the exchange intact without a conversion table… CW, SSB, AM, FM, DStar, C4FM, DMR, Packet, PSK, SSTV, RTTY, Olivia, Satellite, etc… (note FT8 & FT4 cannot)
Suggested Frequencies: HF CW – 1810-1820, 3.530-3.550, 7.030-7.050, 14.035-14.055, 21.030-21.050, 28.030- 28.040 HF SSB – lowest 30 kHz of the US General Class Phone bands (160m-15m), 28.400- 28.425MHz (10m) 6m/VHF/UHF – adjacent to, but not on, nationally recognized simplex calling channels.
Operation will be on 29.65 mc FM, 51.00 mc FM, 75 & 40, 20,18,10 meters USB, RTTY at 7080mc on ONLY COLD WAR military radio equipment.
1983 Brink of the Apocalypse
Able Archer 83 was a ten-day (NATO) communications exercise starting on November 2, 1983, that spanned Western Europe, centered on the Supreme Headquarters Allied Europe Headquarters, Able Archer exercises simulated a period of conflict escalation, culminating in a simulatedDEFCON 1 coordinatednuclear attackThe exercise also introduced a new, unique format of coded communication, radio silences, and the participation of heads of government.
The realistic nature of the 1983 exercise, coupled withdeteriorating relationsbetween the United States and the Soviet Union and the anticipated arrival of Pershing IInuclear missiles in Europe, led some members of the Soviet Politburo and military to believe that Able Archer 83 was a ruse of war, obscuring preparations for a genuine nuclear first strike In response, the Soviets readied their nuclear forces and placed air units in East Germany and Poland on alert. This is known as the 1983 war scare.
The 1983 war scare is considered by many historians to be the closest the world has come to nuclear war since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. the threat of nuclear war ended with the conclusion of the exercise on November 11.
To recognize the sacrifices of our military, signal corps, and members of the clandestine services during this critical time in the history of the cold war, we will host a special event station. Our special event will consist of operation from a Cold war era Nike Missile site using period style military radios and antennas to make the contacts.
Any questions please contact Walt Skavinsky (KB3SBC) kb3sbc@…
Check out our new web address with expanded content and a new video
Winter Field Day is to foster Ham camaraderie, field operation, emergency operating preparedness, and just plain on the air, outdoor fun in the midst of winter for American, Canadian and DX Amateurs. Don’t let those winter doldrums keep you locked up in the house… get out and play some radio. Winter Field Day runs for 24 hours during the last full weekend in January each year from 1900 UTC (2pm EST) Saturday to 1900 UTC (2pm EST) Sunday. For 2020, the dates are January 25th and 26th. Station set-up may commence no earlier than 1900 UTC (2pm EST) on Friday before. Station setup may consume no more than 12 hours total. How & when you schedule/spend those 12 hours is up to you. Bands: All Amateur bands, HF, VHF, & UHF except 12, 17, 30 and 60 meters. Modes: Any mode that can faithfully transmit the exchange intact without conversion table… CW, SSB, AM, FM, DStar, C4FM, DMR, Packet, PSK, SSTV, RTTY, Olivia, Satellite, etc…(note FT8 and FT4 cannot). There are 3 categories of entry: Indoor, Outdoor, and Home.
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.
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 4.6defines 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.
→ 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. Seehttp://paarc-contest.com/totals.html
On Monday, June 15th, at 7:30 PM the ARRL EPA Section will be holding a webinar on the 13 Colonies Special Event coming up on July 1st through the 7th.
Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO, will be the presenter.
If you registered previously you should have received the login instructions for this meeting.
Zoom has added additional security, including encryption, to the level of service we are subscribed to in case you are concerned about security issues. You will not notice these changes but they are in place.
If you are not registered and would like to attend, please contact me at w3gwm at arrl dot net
73
George Miller W3GWM Eastern Pennsylvania Section Manager
2024 MEETINGS First Friday Meetings are at 7:00 pm at St. James Lutheran Church
⇒ Jan. 5, Drones
⇒ Feb. 2, Radiation & You
⇒ Mar. 1, Oscilloscopes & Multimeters
⇒ Apr. 5, Antique Radios
⇒ May 3, Police Technology
EVENTS ⇒ Apr. 28 PAARC in the Park POTA ⇒ Jun. 22-23 Field Day
LICENSE EXAMS Held on first Fridays at 5:00 pm except during summer No walk-ins. Dates may change.