Lebanon Valley Society of Radio Amateurs - K3LV

News

Next meeting is on Saturday February 18 2012

Meeting is at Heisey's Diner, North of Lebanon, Rt 72
Amateur license testing begins at 7:30 am.
Breakfast meeting begins at 8:00 am.
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January meeting cancelled due to weather

"FIRST LICENSE TRAINING"
Amateur Radio TECHNICIAN License Class

Get Your License In One Weekend!!!

For more information contact Mr. Ron Small via email at wb2oob@arrl.net.

FIELD DAY WEEKEND
ANNUAL AMATEUR RADIO DEMONSTRATION &
INTERNATIONAL EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CONTEST
12 NOON SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012
TILL 12 NOON SUNDAY, JUNE 24, 2012
Cleona Community Park - Cleona, PA
PUBLIC INVITED

If you are curious about Ham Radio, here's your chance to see it in action!

Join us at the "Field Day Weekend" of 2012. Members of the Appalachian Amateur Radio Group and the Lebanon Valley Society of Radio Amateurs will be taking part in the world's largest international "on air" radio communications test known as "Field Day". The weekend is part training exercise, part contest and part picnic.

The event is designed to test operators' skills in setting up and operating radio communication equipment in situations where electrical power is limited or unavailable. The idea is to simulate the conditions that can occur during a hurricane, tornado, flood, forest fire or other emergency, including man-made disasters.

During Field Day, Amateur Radio operators attempt to make radio contact with as many participating stations as possible, simulating the sort of speedy on-air skills needed during an emergency. In past years, more than 30,000 Amateur Radio operators in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have taken part.

We will be gathering at the park Saturday, between 8, and 9 AM, for setup. Operations officially start at 1 PM. The clubs will be supplying burgers, hot dogs, and drinks, but donations of covered dishes, and deserts would be greatly appreciated. Operations will wrap up around noon on Sunday. Extra help for Saturday's set-up and Sunday's tear-down and clean-up is always appreciated.

Talk-in: Will be available on either the 147.315+ MHz 82.5 Hz
or the 146.640- MHz 82.5 Hz repeaters.

Directions: From US Route 422 in Cleona
Go South on S. Garfield St. for one tenth of a mile.
(Landmark - Mama's Pizza is on the Northwest corner of 422 and Garfield St.)
(Landmark - Garfield St. is 2 blocks east of the traffic light at Center St.)
The community park pavilion is on the south side of the athletic fields,
behind the elementary school.

GPS coordinates for the parking area N 40.33387° W 76.47112
or N 40° 20.0323' W 76° 28.2666'
or intersection of S. Garfield St. and S. Christian St.

It is a great time for persons who are emergency service providers and first responders to meet with some of the areas amateur radio operators and see how we work. This may prove very valuable during times of emergency events when ham operators are involved in providing communications. Amateur radio operators are utilized by the US Dept. of Homeland Security, FEMA, PEMA, the International Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the US Forestry Service, all branches of the US military, our local hospitals and other public service and disaster relief agencies.

Field Day is also valuable to Boy Scouts. Participation in "Field Day" can meet requirement number 7 for the Emergency Preparedness merit badge. It is also a good introduction for Scouts who are interested in earning the Radio merit badge.

For information about "Field Day", visit the ARRL web site www.arrl.org/field-day

For information about the AARG / LVSRA joint Field Day exercise, use our contact page.

Public Service Operations

Amateur Radio Operators will be needed to provide communications for upcoming public events. These include the City of Lebanon's Memorial Day Parade and several Bike Rides / Marathons in our area. Any ham operators interested in helping should contact the LVSRA. Additional information will be provided at our monthly club meetings.

LVSRA Club Repeaters

The old Palmyra repeater frequency of 147.165 (+) is now being used by the LVSRA for coverage from the mountain on the North side of Lebanon County. It is currently operating from a temporary antenna. It will ultimately be linked to 147.315 which is on the South side of the county. The nearest town is Grantville, which will be its name. Together these 2 repeaters should provide near blanket coverage of the county, even for portable radio use.

The club will be adding another UHF repeater at the South site (Cornwall), which will become the Lebanon County component of an 8 county linked system of UHF repeaters. The frequency will be 447.925 (-) 82.5 Hz.

All club owned repeaters use an 82.5 Hz PL tone.

Friday Night Digital Net

Every Friday night at 8 PM, there is a digital net on the 146.610 repeater which has a PL of 131.8. This Digital Roundup Net was instituted to provide training for ARES/RACES members of the LVSRA and anyone else interested in finding out what digital radio operations is all about.

The Net opens in BPSK125 mode. After the preamble, check-ins, and traffic are finished , we switch to voice and open for discussions. Topics include, but are not limited to, experimentation, troubleshooting, installation procedures, net operation, and all the whys and wherefores of MMSSTV, Easypal digital slowscan, RTTY and all the other digital modes. Sometimes, we practice digital message handling. Occasionally we find a new mode or computer program, and will download, install and experiment with it to discover its pros and cons.

The most important purpose of this net is to provide training and honing of our skills in digital mode operation and handling of emergency traffic for when the need arises. The weather we receive here in Southeast Pennsylvania is sometimes damaging and we all know the ever present world safety concerns that face us. We, at the LVSRA, are committed to training for any and all of these eventualities. Your participation is greatly appreciated and may prove to be key to future lifesaving emergency communications.

The secondary purpose of the Net is to reinforce camaraderie in the Ham Radio community and establish new acquaintances. All Radio Amateurs are welcome to join in the fun every week.

73's - Bob - AB3GF

Directions To Heisey's Diner