McKean County Amateur Radio Club FB page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/W3VV.CLUB/
Upstate NY HAM Radio News & Information
www.UPSTATEHAM.COM .....................................................If you have an upcoming event or news item that you would like published, please contact us at upstateham@gmail.com
Saturday, April 19, 2025
Special Event Station - VE Day 80th anniv. - Thurs. 5/8/25
Friday, April 18, 2025
World Amateur Radio Day!
Happy World Amateur Radio Day! 100th anniversary!
World Amateur Radio Day, held on April 18 each year, is celebrated worldwide by radio amateurs and their national associations which are organized as member-societies of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU). It was on this day in 1925 that the IARU was formed in Paris. American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Co-Founder Hiram Percy Maxim was its first president. A major theme for 2025 is celebrating 100 years of IARU.
Monday, April 7, 2025
Meteor Scatter QSO Party 2025
Did you ever experience a meteor scatter propogation? Its a pretty neat experience. Check out these events coming up later this month and beyond.
HamSCI – The Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation is preparing for a series of meteor scatter (MS) experiments later this year. The target storms are in August (Perseids) and December (Geminids). Preparation and testing are underway now. This is a combination 'special event' and a contest to generate contact data during meteor scatter events using 10 meters and 6 meters. Contest rules will be released shortly.
Friday, April 4, 2025
Radio and Electronics Auction - Clay NY - Wed. April 16, 2025
Bear Bait - Radio & Electronics Auction
Starting at 6:30pm on Wednesday, April 16th 2025
Location: 4483 State Route 31, Clay NY
Radios, test equipment, accessories, etc.
(ALL items must be tagged with callsign and minimum bid or reserve. Electronic and Radio items only! 10%of sales price goes to the club. )
Also, The club will be holding Tech license training class & testing coming up on April 26th & 27th!
Thursday, April 3, 2025
Save the date: Upstate New York POTA Meetup - Sept. 6&7, 2025
Upstate New York POTA Meetup
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Spring SkyWarn training - CNY & Northern PA
US National Weather Service Binghamton NY - Spring 2025 SkyWarn Training
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
AWA Spring Meet - May 3rd, 2025
Thursday, March 13, 2025
CVARA BULLTHISTLE HAMFEST - 3/29/25
[Repost]
Chenango Valley Amateur Radio Association Hamfest, Norwhich, NY
More info at: https://cvara.net/our-events/bullthistle-hamfest/
Monday, March 10, 2025
Save the date: 4th Annual Mid-Atlantic POTA Meetup - 7/19/25
4th Annual Mid-Atlantic POTA Meetup (Northern Pennsylvania/Southern Tier NY)
🚨 Calling all radio adventurers! 🚨
Get ready to tune in, chow down, and log some serious fun at the 4th Annual Mid-Atlantic POTA Meetup! Mark your calendars for July 19, 2025, and join us at Little Pine State Park (US-1377) Waterville, PA for a day packed with radios, good company, and maybe even a few unexpected pileups.
We’ve secured Pavilion 2 for the day (8 AM – 8 PM), so whether you’re an early riser or a casual roll-in-whenever operator, you’re covered. The main event kicks off around noon with a potluck-style feast—bring something tasty to share!
☕ Bonus Event: Kickstart the day with coffee and caching! KB3KLT is hosting a Geocaching Meetup from 9:30 – 11:30 AM, so if you like hunting for hidden treasures (besides DX contacts), don’t miss out.
📍 Pavilion Coordinates: 41.363855, -77.355551
🚽 Facilities? Yep, just a short walk away.
🚗 Parking? Plenty.
Expect radios, food, friendship, and the usual POTA shenanigans. Let us know if you’re coming—see you there! 🎙️🌲
More details and RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/share/1bh8q7KcMQ/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Thursday, March 6, 2025
Parks on the Air - Erie Canal Bicentennial Celebration - Sept. 2025
September 16-25, 2005 - Parks on the Air - Erie Canal Bicentennial Celebration
The Erie Canal turns 200 in 2025! We are excited to invite you and your club to join us for a special Parks on the Air (POTA) activation of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor (POTA US-6532) in September. The event will take place during the World Canal Conference which is being hosted this year in Buffalo, New York, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the completion of the Erie Canal!
Experience the canal that transformed America and join amateur radio operators from across New York State as we activate the Heritage Corridor from September 16-25.While the World Canal Conference officially kicks off on Sunday, September 21, at Canalside in Buffalo, there are also pre-conference events across the state starting on Thursday, September 16.
We're looking for as many clubs and individuals as possible to plan POTA activations within the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor (US-6532) over the 10 days. For those activating along the canal (which is encouraged), the Empire State Trail (US-8098) is a common two-fer you may wish to include. The Heritage Corridor is a large area that also includes Cayuga and Seneca Lakes, and even north of Albany, so regardless of where you are in the state, there are a lot of eligible locations and possible n-fers (activating from multiple POTA entities at once).
We invite all surrounding amateur radio clubs and individual operators to join us in promoting Amateur Radio and Parks on the Air, as we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal! Clubs are encouraged to make this event their own, engaging members and newer hams to participate, possibly creating a custom QSL card, and promoting their activity across social media.
73,
Matt K2EAG, Angela N3ARB and Mike N2MAK
Note: This event is not sponsored by the Parks on The Air or the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. If you are new to POTA, or club activations, be sure to check out the resources below:
Parks on the Air
Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor
World Canal Conference
Parks on the Air Club Activation Guide
https://docs.pota.app/docs/activator_reference/activator_guide_clubs.html
Upstate New York POTA Facebook Group (Unofficial)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1207733937203773/
We have also collaborated with our friend Mike W4OPS, one of the official POTA vendors, on a shirt design that is available. It has the “blue and gold” canal colors and the official POTA logo on the back and sleeve. Link: https://www.hamstuffonline.com
Wednesday, March 5, 2025
Wednesday, February 26, 2025
Spring SkyWarn training - 2025
The 2025 Skywarn Spring Training Season is almost upon us!
Learn more from your local NWS office listed below:
Binghamton NY NWS SKYWARN page: http://www.weather.gov/bgm/outreachSKYWARNtraining
Buffalo NY NWS SKYWARN page: http://www.weather.gov/buf/Skywarn
Albany NY NWS SKYWARN page: http://www.weather.gov/aly/skywarn
The effects of severe weather are felt every year by many Americans. To obtain critical weather information, NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, established SKYWARN® with partner organizations. SKYWARN® is a volunteer program with nearly 290,000 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 types of weather hazards, the main responsibility of a SKYWARN® spotter is to identify and describe severe local storms. In the average year, 10,000 severe thunderstorms, 5,000 floods and more than 1,000 tornadoes occur across the United States. These events threatened lives and property.
Since the program started in the 1970s, the information provided by SKYWARN® spotters, coupled with Doppler radar technology, improved satellite and other data, has enabled NWS to issue more timely and accurate warnings for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and flash floods.
Learn more about CNY SKYWARN here: https://www.upstateham.com/p/skywarn.html
Learn more at the National SKYWARN web site: https://www.weather.gov/SKYWARN
Monday, February 17, 2025
New Bill to Protect Amateur Radio
Congressmen Introduces New Bill to Protect Amateur Radio
Washington, February 6, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11), alongside Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) and U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (MS-R) and Richard Blumenthal (CT-D), introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to enhance emergency response capabilities and safeguard our communities. The Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act will ensure that amateur radio operators can continue to play a vital role in ensuring public safety during emergencies by providing critical communication when other systems fail.
ARRL story here: https://www.arrl.org/news/amateur-radio-emergency-preparedness-act-re-introduced
Monday, February 3, 2025
CVARA BULLTHISTLE HAMFEST - 3/29/25
Chenango Valley Amateur Radio Association Hamfest, Norwhich, NY
More info at: https://cvara.net/our-events/bullthistle-hamfest/