• Remembering the friends that we will miss

• Staff appointments, resignations, and cancellations

• Section Manager’s Desk

• Section Emergency Coordinator’s report

• Section Traffic Manager’s report

• Technical Specialist Coordinator’s report

• Public Information Coordinator’s report

• Amateur Radio on the I.S.S.

• 2020 Indiana Hamfest Schedule and Flyers

“To promote and advance the art, science, and enjoyment of

amateur radio.” ~ Hiram Percy Maxim

For silent key notice to be placed in the newsletter, please forward a copy of the obituary notice directly to Jimmy Merry, Indiana Section Manager at jmerry@arrl.org. For Silent Key notice inclusion in QST, INARRL will submit the Silent Key notice to ARRL headquarters so there is a record of the submission, for record keeping purposes. National Silent Key Archive http://www.silentkeyhq.com/

William Cooper, KD9QAM, Vincennes, IN

Paul Goslin, K9PLG, Greendale, IN

New Appointments: Jerry Purcell, KC9ZAR – Emergency Coordinator – Daviess Co Jerry Purcell, KC9ZAR – District 10 District Emergency Coordinator Jason Chandler, K9PVC – Emergency Coordinator – Switzerland Co

*** Resignations and Cancellations:

Find Indiana ARRL on the web: www.inarrl.org * Facebook: ARRL – Indiana Section

Online ARRL publications Digital QST * On the Air magazine! * Electric Tech

QEX * National Contest Journal

View online at: http://www.arrl.org/arrl-magazines

Meet the Indiana ARRL State Section staff:

Jimmy Merry, KC9RPX, Section Manager & Affiliated Club Coordinator Brian Jenks, W9BGJ, Asst. Section Manager & Section Traffic Manager

Thomas Busch, WB8WOR, Technical Coordinator Jim Moehring, KB9WWM, Section Emergency Coordinator Barry Palencer, KC9WMS, Public Information Coordinator

Andrew Murray, N9AWM, Section Youth Coordinator Dave Spoelstra, N9KT State Government Liaison

Greetings, I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe with the pandemic of Covid. I was pleased to hear to attendance of the Wabash Valley ARA hamfest at Brazil approached 200 for attendance. I was looking forward to attending the event, but sadly I had to play it safe after 2 possible exposures to Covid that week. Once at a medical facility with a family member. Luckily, I tested negative after the exposures. There will be more activities across Indiana coming up in the next few months as events begin to open up that includes hamfests beginning again in July and the Indiana QSO Party, the weekend of May 1st and 2nd. For information see http://www.hdxcc.org/inqp/ 73, Jimmy Merry Jr. KC9RPX IN SM

Section Emergency Coordinator Report

All, I am glad that warmer weather is on its way. It is March and I have some antenna issues that I need to get to. The warmer weather also means the chances for severe weather will also increase. That being said, it was great to see the participation in the Indiana Statewide Tornado Drill! Thanks to all that participated. It is also great to see that many of the counties have reported returning to in-person meetings and training sessions. Many are still meeting virtually but as vaccination numbers rise, many counties will loosen restrictions. As the year goes on, I hope to see many of you in person at the various Hamfests throughout the state. I have recently been contacted by the State RACES group and they are in the process of reinvigorating the State Operations Center. They will also be restarting the Statewide Net on HF and VHF/UHF in the near future,

In addition, I have been contacted by FEMA Region 5 and have joined the group that is organizing the regions communication recommendations. More on this will follow later. Have fun as we return to more normal activities. Stay Safe and Well! Jim Moehring, KB9WWM Section Emergency Coordinator Amateur Radio Emergency Service Indiana Section

***********ARES VOLUNTEERS NEEDED**********

Current Open District Emergency Coordinator Positions: District 4 and District 10.

If you are a current EC in one of these districts, or have past experience in the ARES field organization,

please consider stepping up to serve your community with your hobby.

Current Open Emergency Coordinator Positions: Adams, Benton, Blackford, Carroll, Clinton,

Crawford, Dubois, Delaware, Elkhart, Fayette, Floyd, Fountain, Fulton, Gibson, Huntington, Jackson,

Jasper, Jefferson, LaGrange, Marshall, Martin, Noble, Ohio, Orange, Perry, Pike, Posey, Pulaski, Ripley,

Rush, Shelby, Sullivan, Union, Wabash, Warren, Washington and White.

EC’s are the backbone of the ARES organization. I would like to fill as many of these county openings, as possible. If you are interested in filling a vacant County EC Position, please contact me at KB9WWM@arrl.net to express your interest.

District Emergency Coordinators Reporting (5/8)

Lyle Long, N1LL (District 2)

Jim Moehring, KB9WWM, (District 3)

Marv Gilliland, KC9RVL, (District 6)

David Ofansky, K9DWO, (District 7)

Alan Scott, N9KL (District 8)

Emergency Coordinators Reporting (39/55)

KB9WWM, K9JAJ, W9DBA, KV9N, KB9OIC

W9EEU, N9JFH, WD9GC, KC9RVL, N9GTL

W9MDT, W9MSK, KD9GHS, N9CWW, KD9DHJ

N9SIU, NM9R, KD9EDR, AC9EB, KC9WPH

W9GNR, WD9GIU, KD9BKH, N9JPX, KD9HIG

KB9RZK, KC9PJX, WR9G, W9DRB, KC9GUY

KP4CI, w9dac, N9QVQ, W9COD, K9DWO,

KT9B, KB9ML, AB9HP, K9EJS

District Emergency Coordinators Reports

Jim Moehring – KB9WWM – District 3 Activities in District remain limited due to COVID-19 restrictions, however, several counties continue to maintain activities with online meetings. These include online testing in Whitley County. Marv Gilliland – KC9RVL – District 6

Planning continues for the ECI Ham Tailgate that will be held on Saturday, July 31, 2021 at the Randolph County Fairgrounds south of Winchester, IN.

Emergency Coordinator Reports

Jim Moehring – KB9WWM – Allen Co,

Activity in Allen County remains limited due to COVID-19 restrictions. Hopefully we will begin to see some improvements in the near future. Looking forward to adding some in person training for our new members. We are continuing to reinvigorate our support of the Allen County DHS. Radios have been moved from our previous location to the offices located in downtown Fort Wayne. We are awaiting antenna installation to bring the radios online.

Jeffery Jones – K9JAJ – Bartholomew Co.

The Bartholomew County ARES Net is held every Wednesday evening at 7:30 p.m. ET on 146.790 MHz PL 103.5 All are welcome.

Scott Nelson – W9DBA – Brown Co.

During February there were 4 scheduled ARES nets conducted on the Brown County KA9SWI 2 meter repeater 147.300 MHz PL 136.5 with 45 check-ins lasting 105 minutes providing operators an opportunity to test the capabilities of their equipment and practice net protocol. Daniel McDonald – KV9N – Cass Co. All activity from regular net - total of 112 minutes with 60 check-ins J W Temple – KB9OIC – Clark Co. Clark County ARES is steadily increasing the net check-ins. The month is the most recorded. Gary Adams – W9EEU – Clay Co.

We cancelled our February meeting with the extremely cold weather. Our plans for the March meeting is a group watch of the NWS Spotter Training online course.

Marv Gilliland – KC9RVL – Delaware Co.

I am looking for a qualified individual interested in being EC for Delaware County. Muncie Area ARC and EmComm ECI ARC continue to hold in-person meetings.

Mike Tanksley – W9MDT – Greene Co.

This is my first month as an EC. Still getting my feet wet and hope to have made big progress by the end of March. Thank you for all the warm welcomes to the new position.

George Boaz – KD9GHA - Hancock Co.

All meetings were held virtually. We are working on several projects for the spring and hoping to be able to start holding face to face meetings soon. Attended the initial meeting of the District 5 Health Care Coalition sub-committee on communications. We

discussed developing a project that would provide auxiliary communications to health care facilities throughout the District. We also conducted four nets with 121 check-ins. Clark Whitehouse – N9CWW – Hamilton Co. During Feb. there were 4 scheduled Ares Nets, conducted on 146.820 PL 103.5 with a negative offset of .600 , with 38 check-ins , lasting for 81 minutes Thanks N9CWW Clark Don Somerville – KD9DHJ – Hendricks Co. March 2, 2021 Don Somerville, KD9DHJ – Hendricks Co. Report for the month of February 2021 Weekly/Monthly Nets: We conducted four (4) Weekly Tuesday Night ARES nets on the 147.015 MHz during the month and had great participation. We accumulated just over 50 hours of airtime. The Monthly Simplex net was held on 145.555 MHz Simplex at 2000 hours, right after the scheduled weekly Tuesday Night Net on February 9th. Bill Gouge, AA9EG was our net controller and did a great job. These Nets are conducted to check our radio performance and capability with a Net Controller Operator as well as other Amateurs in and around Hendricks County. These Nets are running through April of 2021. Our Monthly Hospital net was restarted In November with Hendricks Regional Hospital at their request. Vern Madden, N9VAM, conducted the net on Saturday, February 20th from Hendricks Regional Health hospital (HRH). We have been approved by HRH to run the nets every other month for 2021. Currently our IU West hospital net is not operating due to final stages of construction. The next hospital net will be held on April 17th with Ken Kayler, KC9SQD hosting on the 147.570 simplex frequency. Community Events: There were no community events during February. We hope that with the warming weather and relaxing restrictions from the Wuhan virus we will start to get back to a normal routine.

General: I would like to welcome John Goings, KD9NOI to HCARES as our new Logistics AEC. Jon also works with MRC in multiple roles and we are glad to have him aboard. Gordon Cotton represented HCARES at the D5 HCC Logistics Sub-Committee Project Assistance to provide input on the district-wide health and medical HAM capability, locate existing D5 hospitals with HAM capability, developing a strategy to align volunteer resources with existing capabilities and recommend locations for HAM deployment. We have been working on putting up another emergency repeater system within Hendricks county for the past year, but the virus and weather put things on hold for most of the year. We now have all the components we need and hope that as soon as the weather warms up, we can get to installing it on the tower in Danville In. 73, Don

James (Allen) Bottorff – AC9EB – LaPorte Co. 20 February 2021: District 1 Exercise "Snowfall 21A", including Command & Control Net, VHF Traffic Net, and GMRS net. Voice and digital messages utilizing phone, MT-63, and Winlink, both HF & FM, VARA George Edenfield – KB9RZK – Putnam Co. Our regular Tuesday evening nets on 2 meters and Thursday evening nets on 440 MHz have continued with many hams from surrounding counties checking in. Our Noontime COVID rag chew net on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday's continues with several Putnam County hams and quite a few hams from as far as Illinois, participating. Steve Jewell – WR9G – Scott Co.

The Scott County EMA Group conducted a VE Session Saturday, December 12th at the EOC. We had three candidates come in for testing. Two successfully passed their Technician exam and the Technician operator passed his General Class exam. The next testing session is scheduled for February 13th at 11:00 AM. Walk-Ins are welcome, however due to virus, social distancing is required. There is a limit of 8 candidate seats. The testing location is at the Bacala Center, 69 E Wardell St, SE Corner of Courthouse

Square, Scottsburg IN 47170 and is ADA accessible. For more info email: steve@wr9g.net or visit www.wr9g.net/links. 73, Steve WR9G

Michael Anglin – KC9PJX – St. Joseph Co.

Michiana Amateur Radio Club (MARC) and RACES meetings are now open for online participation. MARC has opened new weekly Nets. Hoping that in person activities will be able to resume soon.

Steve Jewell – W9RG – Scott Co.

The Scott County EMA Group conducted two VE Sessions Saturday, February 13th at the EOC due to the crowd. We had a total of 11 candidates come in for testing. Eight successfully passed their Technician exam with one going on to pass his General as well. We also had two Technician operators passed the General Class exam and one General passed the Extra class exam. The next testing session is scheduled for April 10th at 11:00 AM. Walk-Ins are welcome, however due to virus, social distancing is required. There is a limit of 8 candidate seats. The testing location is at the Bacala Center, 69 E Wardell St, SE Corner of Courthouse Square, Scottsburg IN 47170 and is ADA accessible. For more info email: steve@wr9g.net or visit www.wr9g.net/links. 73, Steve WR9G

Peter Crasher – W9DRB – Spencer Co.

5 Analog and 4 digital nets

Mark Tritch – KC9GUY – Steuben Co.

Meeting venue (local library) is allowing in-person meetings again. Team will begin meeting in-person again in March. Training focus for 2021 will be IS-213 message handling in WL2K, digital modes, and voice modes.

Robert Sambolin – KP4CI – Tippecanoe Co.

In the month of February TCARES had four Monday night Tactical Nets with an average of 23 participants, the Siren Test on the first Saturday of the month got postponed by TEMA due to temperatures, and on February the 25, Steve W9TN gave the second part of Net Control training with focus on SKYWARN operation. A question and answer session took place after the training with topics about spotter locations, SKYWARN signs on the vehicles, and Vehicle Laws about lights on the vehicles wile spotters are helping with SKYWARN. We had a total of 16 participants. SKYWARN training in March has been announced every opportunity possible.

W9TCA web page is still being worked on and should have it up to date by April. Currently contacting a few Hams and Organizations to give presentation or Training

Len Schmitt - N9QVO – Vanderburgh Co.

Since Mark KC9TYA manages the Indiana Winlink Wednesday operation Brian Jenks Suggested he submit the total number of hour for all participant on the IWW. That is why our man hours look as high as they do. We are still doing monthly meetings via Zoom. Maybe in a couple of months we can get back to in person meetings again. This month Dave WB9YIG gave us a very interesting presentation on his Go kit which uses a 2 piece roll around tool chest as the base. He has an IC 7000, netbook computer, Signal Link, VHF and HF Antenna connectors, a battery and a WXWORX receiver which uses XM radio to pull down the latest radar images. In addition to keeping up with Wx radar he can do Winlink and FLDIGI/NBEMS along with voice modes. Even with extra coax, an HT, a charger for the battery and a small whip antenna, it weighs in at under 40 pounds. And it's on wheels. Nice presentation.

James (Mike) Laboyteuax – KB9ML – Wayne Co.

Another slow month, continued to teach a Zoom class for Technician. That will conclude the first weekend of March. Had a good turnout for the test session at the beginning of the month. 7 new Techs and 2 new Generals. We expect another good showing for our test session on March 13, 2021 9-11am Wayne County EMA office in the Wayne County Annex. 401 E Main St Richmond IN 74374. One point of February we lost a ARES member, VE, Club member and all around good man. Steve Shank KB9HQX SK due to complications with Covid-19.

Edward Scott – K9EJS – Whitley Co.

Members from the ARES team assisted with 2 Early Warning Siren Testing and attended 4 weekly ARES Nets

Official Emergency Station Reports

Jimmy Merry, Jr – KC9RPX – Monroe Co.

February 2020 ARES Hours = 9. Includes 1 Session as NCO Monroe CO ARES Net, Owen Co 2 Sessions for Owen Co, and 4 Sessions as backup for the Greene Co ARA Net. Monroe Co monthly warning siren test. Also monitored several area counties ARES Nets.

Mark Thienes – KC9TYA- Vanderburgh Co.

I certainly am glad to see the warmer temperatures. The NWS Paducah website is running a Tornado Drill on March 16, for the State of Indiana, check their site for more information. www.weather.gov/pah . The IN Section ARES Net meets on Sundays at 2200z, on or about 3.900. The Indiana Winlink Wednesday Net runs 24hr check-ins 0000-2359 local time on Wednesday only. We practice with various forms using Winlink/FLmsg. If interested, in learning more about Winlink/FLmsg feel free to send a message on Winlink TO: KC9TYA. Hope everyone has a great month Mark / KC9TY Don Evilsizor – KA9QWC – Whitley Co. February was a little rough with consistent winds on wire antennas. Had to repair 450 ladder line section twice. Diversity is the name of the game when one wants to use radio equipment to deliver radiograms. I still rely on VHF Packet, HF SSB voice & digital modes plus VHF/HF Winlink Express to deliver messages.

INDIANA ARES BY THE NUMBERS (ONLY 35) ECs REPORTING!

Total ARES Members reported: 683 Number of reporting ARES EC’s: 39 Number of reporting OES’s: 4 Number of reporting DEC’s: 5 Number of ARES Nets: 195 Number of Nets with NTS Liaison: 73 Number of exercises, and training sessions: 58 Person Hours: 2395.11 Public Service Events: 4 Person Hours: 62.08 Emergency Operations: 0 Person Hours: 0 SKYWARN Nets: 15 Person Hours: 208.6

ARRL – INDIANA SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER REPORT Greetings all, As we usher out ole man winter our thoughts turn to spring and storm season. I would

encourage anyone interested to participate in Spotter Sessions this year as many forecasts are pointing to

an active storm season. Traffic is holding well throughout the state as evidenced in my monthly report

looking forward to summer propagation as the weather gets warmer. Until next month 73 all and see you

on the bands!

BRIAN G JENKS W9BGJ

ARRL ASSISTANT SECTION MANAGER INDIANA SECTION

ARRL SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGER INDIANA SECTION

ARRL OFFICIAL RELAY STATION

w9bgj@arrl.net

INDIANA STM REPORTS FEBRUARY 2021

HF NETS

NET NAME SOURCE QNI QTC QTR SESSIONS

INDIANA SECTION ARES KC9TYA 55 0 120 4

IDTN K9JAJ 162 40 272 20

ITN N1LL 1823 117 1176 56

QIN K0TQ 68 44 200 28

INDIANA WINLINK KC9TYA 69 69 120 4

TOTALS 2177 270 1888 112

NETS REPORTING 5

INDIANA STM REPORT FEBRUARY 2021

PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL

STATION SESSIONS MESSAGES APPTS PUB SVC EMG RES DIGITAL TOTAL

W9BGJ 1 40 30 0 0 10 81

KA9QWC 40 40 30 0 0 10 120

AB9ZA 32 40 10 0 0 0 82

N1LL 40 40 30 0 0 20 130

W9EEU 40 18 30 0 0 20 108

TOTALS 153 178 130 0 0 60 521

STATIONS REPORTING 5

INDIANA STM REPORT FEBRUARY 2021

ORS AND SAR STATION REPORTS

STATION TYPE ORGINATED RECEIVED SENT DELIVERED TOTALS

W9BGJ ORS 0 60 60 0 120

KA9QWC ORS 0 17 24 7 48

AB9ZA ORS 0 49 28 12 89

K0TQ SAR 26 111 85 25 247

N1LL ORS 12 160 137 6 315

NA9L ORS 1 1 1 2 5

W9EEU ORS 1 8 7 2 18

W9PC ORS 0 12 9 6 27

W9MGB ORS 3 3 3 3 12

K9ATP ORS 0 2 3 0 5

TOTALS 43 423 357 59 886

STATIONS REPORTING 10

INDIANA STM REPORT FEBRUARY 2021

VHF/UHF NETS NET NAME SOURCE QNI QTC QTR SESSIONS

BARTHOLOMEW CO ARES K9JAJ 38 0 98 4

BLOOMINGTON ARC KC9RPX 62 21 67 4

CASS CO ARC KA9BYN 72 0 117 5

CLAY COUNTY W9EEU 56 0 70 5

CROSSROADS DMR K9NQW 128 0 132 4

D STAR NET K9NQW 61 0 107 4

DEKALB CO ARES WD9GC 86 0 83 4

HENDRICKS CO ARES KD9DHJ 139 18 51 6

HOOSIER HILLS ARC WD9EWF 55 0 29 5

HUNTINGTON CO NET K9BME 81 0 186 5

IMO NET K9SKS 509 0 263 24

JEFFERSON CO N9XVB 20 0 45 3

JENNINGS CO ARES KB9EFN 66 2 139 4

LAWRENCE CO ARES KC9WPH 3 0 8 4

MID STATE ARC K9DY 181 0 191 4

MONROE CO KC9EVU 135 32 150 8

MORGAN CO ARES N9JPX 77 0 89 4

NORTHEAST INDIANA PACKET NET KA9QWC 25 4 125 4

OWEN CO ARES K9EOH 23 0 69 4

SCOTT CO ARES/RACES WR9G 65 0 80 4

SOUTH CENTRAL AREA KA9OPL 63 0 126 4

TARS EVANSVILLE KE9YK 110 2 133 8

TRI STATE 2 METER W9OU 458 0 474 20

VIGO CO ARES K9WDO 14 0 10 1

WCARC SUN NET KA9QWC 37 4 74 4

WHITLEY CO ARES W9NNH 33 0 97 4

21 REPEATER GROUP KA9QWC 43 4 106 4

2715 112 3119 161

NETS REPORTING 27

Monthly Report for D/Star and DMR

DMR

Date

Net Control QNI QTC QTR

Time Began

Time Ended Freq

02/01/21 KC9OYW 26 0 30 20:00 20:26 442.750(+)

02/08/21 KC9OYW 34 0 35 20:00 20:36 442.750(+)

02/15/21 K9NQW 34 0 31 20:00 20:31 442.750(+)

02/22/21 K9NQW 34 0 36 20:00 20:36 442.750(+)

Sessions: 4 Total: 128 Total: Total: 132

Month of Report:

February 2021

D-Star

Date

Net Control QNI QTC QTR

Time Began

Time Ended Freq

02/04/21 K9NQW 15 0 29 20:00 20:29 443.400(+)

02/11/21 K9NQW 11 0 17 20:00 20:17 443.400(+)

02/18/21 KA9OPL 16 0 34 20:00 20:34 443.400(+)

02/25/21 KA9OPL 19 0 27 20:00 20:27 443.400(+)

Sessions: 4 Total: 61 Total: Total: 107 Month of Report:

February 2021

NOTE: QNI – Total Number of Check-ins QTC – Total Traffic QTR – Total Minutes

Technical Specialist Coordinators Report

Pete Ostapchuk N9SFX I got an e-mail from Sandy, W9JOE, at the end of February about some serious noise on the HF bands. I suggested driving around the neighborhood while listening to the noise on a portable radio but a suitable antenna was not to be found. My next suggestion was to smack a wooden pole with a sledge hammer or just yank on a guy wire while someone listens to the radio to see if the noise changes. They were doing some research on the problem when someone kicked a ground wire on a pole and the noise stopped. Let’s hear it for hammer modulation. All that remains to be done is to get out of the way of the cable guy when he comes out to effect lightning fast repairs to the system. Lou Kruizinga N7BBW I have an unusual experience to report. while operating in my house on my VX5R portable during a net operation, I would get a blast of squelch noise off and on. I was able to determine that it was coming from using the T-V remote! I also would like to make a shout out to SAR Technical center in St. Joseph Michigan on repairing my smoked IC 9700. At the beginning of the new year the 12-volt power supply jumped to 26 volts. After a loud bang and the smell of smoke my IC 9700 was dead. The repair bill after parts, firmware upgrade, and return shipping was most reasonable.

Roger McEntarfer N9QCL The month of February I continued Elmering Steve Leisinger KD9QHK and a couple new hams Evan Mehre KD9OQZ and Jesse McCoy KD9ROL. When Elmering Steve, KD9QHK we discovered an issue on both of his Kenwood TM-D710GA’s which were 3 Serial Numbers apart. We initially updated the firmware and programmed both radios back a few months ago during warmer weather. Steve found a temperature problem with both rigs not working in temperatures under about 40 degrees, he would have to drive 30 miles down the road before the unit would warm up enough to start working. I verified the issue after putting one of the radios in my freezer over night and was able to duplicate the issue. This problem affects the newer Kenwood TM-D710GA’s with the newer white illuminated microphones. The issue causes the radio to act like various keys are being pressed on the microphone changing radio setting as it was doing this. After searching we found Kenwood had a firmware update a few weeks after we made the initial Firmware and programming that resolves this issue. I continue working with my Whitley County W5YI VE Team with virtual remote testing, helping a team out of Texas on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I am also helping a team out of Oregon Monday through Saturday. Steve Holzinger KC9WBR and myself, are in the process of planning and setting up a Virtual Technician Class hopefully to begin in April. The next Whitley County W5YI Amateur Radio Virtual Remote Test Sessions to be held Monday March 8, 2021 & Monday March 22, 2021. We plan to hold Virtual Remote Test Sessions every other Monday. The cost to take the test is $14.00. Click this link to sign up for our Bi-Monthly Virtual Remote Test Sessions: https://hamstudy.org/sessions/N9QCL The next Whitley County Amateur Radio Club (WCARC) General Meeting will be held on Thursday March 11, 2021 starting at 6:00 PM. The meeting will be held via ZOOM. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87378815017 Meeting ID: 873 7881 5017 The Program for the evening will be on Interesting Stories About Ham Radio and Weather, presented by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL).

All WCARC General Meetings are open to the Public. For additional information visit the Whitley County Amateur Radio Club Web Page at www.wcarc.org, or the Whitley County Amateur Radio Club Group Facebook Page Jeff DeLucenay KB9QG I was the net control for the Northeastern Indiana Amateur Radio Association meeting on February 6th using the W9OU repeater on 147.015 Mhz. Darla Kruse KE8RCK and Dwayne Kendall KD9RWH passed the technician class License. Lyle O’Conner KD9OKC Upgraded to the General Class License. I have been attending zoom meeting in preparation for the Auburn Indiana hamfest in July. No training classes or technical night sessions since the Covid 19 has been active. No Activity to Report Mark Skowronski K9MQ Tom Busch WB8WOR Chris Frederick KQ9Y

Public Information Coordinator’s Report

Hendricks County ARES PIO Jake Stellmack, KI6PKV :

Completed events- FEBRUARY

The scheduled weekly W9HCA Hendricks County ARES net was held every Tuesday night at 1930 on the

147.015 MHz repeater.

The Hendricks County ARES Tuesday night Simplex net was held on FEBRUARY 9 right after the regular

net with Bill Gouge AA9EG hosting on the 147.570 MHz simplex. These nets will continue to run through

April 2021.

Hendricks County Field day was held on January 24 at Danville South Elementary school. There were 90

+ contacts. For more information contact Scott N9ARE at 765-229-2503.

The Hendricks County Health Department Has activated the Emergency AM Radio station. It is

broadcasting from9 AM to 6 PM every day. It uses the 1610 AM frequency to broadcast.

Upcoming events

The next Hendricks County ARES Simplex net will be held on Tuesday March 9 on the 147.570 MHz right

after the regular HCARES net with Bill Pfaffeberger AE9R hosting.

The next Hendricks Regional Hospital net will be on April 17 at 10:30 am on the 147.570 MHz frequency

with Kan Kayler KC9SQD hosting.

The latest HCARES Emergency Plan is now available for viewing and downloading on the Hendricks

County ARES web page. This

can be reached with this link:

htpp://hendricksares.org/docs/misc/emergency-plan-v10.pdf

Submitted by Jake Stellmack, KI6PKV, HCARES PIO

Whitley County PIO Roger McEntarfer, N9QCL I announced in the local newspapers: Columbia City Post & Mail, Churubusco News, IN Whitley County, and South Whitley The Tribune News, Local WJHS 91.5 FM (Whitley County Joint High School) radio station, Local Web based News: Columbia City Talk of the Town. HF Nets: Indiana Traffic Net and several of the local 2M and 70 CM nets around the northern Indiana area about the Whitley County Amateur Radio Club (WCARC) General Zoom Meeting on February 11, 2021, the Whitley County W5YI Test Session Results from January 30, 2021, the Whitley County W5YI Virtual Remote Test Sessions on February 8, February 22, March 8, and March 22, 2021 and the Whitley County Amateur Radio Club (WCARC) General Zoom Meeting on March 11, 2021. The next Whitley County W5YI Amateur Radio Virtual Remote Test Sessions to be held Monday March 8, 2021 & Monday March 22, 2021. We plan to hold Virtual Remote Test Sessions every other Monday. The cost to take the test is $14.00. Click this link to sign up for our Bi-Monthly Virtual Remote Test Sessions: https://hamstudy.org/sessions/N9QCL The next Whitley County Amateur Radio Club (WCARC) General Meeting will be held on Thursday March 11, 2021 starting at 6:00 PM. The meeting will be held via ZOOM. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87378815017

Meeting ID: 873 7881 5017 The Program for the evening will be on Interesting Stories About Ham Radio and Weather, presented by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). All WCARC General Meetings are open to the Public. For additional information visit the Whitley County Amateur Radio Club Web Page at www.wcarc.org, or the Whitley County Amateur Radio Club Group Facebook Page 73 Roger McEntarfer/ N9QCL Whitley County Amateur Radio Club President Whitley County Amateur Radio Club Technical Specialist Whitley County Amateur Radio Club Public Information Officer Whitley County W5YI CVE

ARISS Ham Station in Columbus Module Is Once Again Operational

Some 6 weeks after going silent following a spacewalk that installed new antenna cabling, the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) ham station in the Columbus module is once again operational. The Columbus station, which typically uses the call sign NA1SS, is the primary ARISS amateur radio station used for school contacts and other activities. A January 27 spacewalk replaced a coax feed line installed 11 years ago with another built by the European Space Agency (ESA) and Airbus.

While the specific cause of the problem has not yet been determined, a March 13 spacewalk that restored the antenna cabling to its original configuration provided the cure. The plan to return the ARISS cabling to its original configuration had been a “contingency task” for a March 5 spacewalk, but the astronauts ran out of time. The ARISS work was appended to the to-do list for astronauts Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG, and Victor Glover, KI5BKC, to complete a week later.

“On behalf of the ARISS International Team, our heartfelt thanks to all who helped ARISS work through the cable anomaly investigation, troubleshooting, and ultimate repair,” ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, said. Bauer praised NASA, the ESA, Airbus, and ARISS-Russia lead Sergey Samburov, RV3DR. While the Columbus ham station was off the air, ARISS school and group contacts were able to continue using the ham station in the ISS Service Module on the Russian side of the station.

During the weekend spacewalk, Hopkins swapped out a cable for the Bartholomew commercial payload-handling platform that had been installed in series with the ARISS VHF-UHF antenna feed line, returning

the ARISS system to its pre-January 27 configuration. Hopkins raised a question concerning a sharp bend in the cable near a connector, but no further adjustments were possible.

On March 14, ARISS was able to confirm the operation’s success when Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) signals on 145.825 MHz were heard in California, Utah, and Idaho as the ISS passed overhead. ARISS team member Christy Hunter, KB6LTY, was able to Digi peat through NA1SS during the pass. With additional confirmation from stations in South America and the Middle East, ARISS declared the radio system operational again.

Work during the March 13 spacewalk also made Bartolomeo operational. “Yesterday was a great day for all!” Bauer exulted. “Ad astra!”

~Courtesy of ARRL

2021 Indiana ARRL Hamfest Schedule

April 3

Columbus Hamfest – Canceled

***

July 9 & 10

Indianapolis Hamfest

2021 - ARRL – Indiana Section Convention

Marion County Fairgrounds

7300 E Troy Ave – Indianapolis, IN

http://indyhamfest.com

***

July 10

Auburn Hamfest

Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum

1600 S. Wayne Street – Auburn, IN http://W9OU.ORG

***

July 31

East Central Indiana Hamfest Randolph County Fairgrounds

1885 S US Highway 27 - Winchester, IN ***

August 7

Elkhart Hamfest Northern Indiana Event Center

21565 Executive Parkway – Elkhart, IN

http://elkharteasthamfest ***

August 14

Hendricks County Tailgate Fest Avon United Methodist Church

6850 E. Highway 36 Avon, IN ***

November 13 & 14

Fort Wayne Hamfest & Computer Expo

2021 - ARRL - Central Division Convention

Allen County War Memorial Coliseum

4000 Parnell Ave – Fort Wayne, IN

http://www.fortwaynehamfest.com ***

Canceled 2021 Indiana Hamfests

April 3, 2021 - Columbus Hamfest – Canceled

May – Dayton, Ohio – 2021 Hamvention – Canceled