Maker Faire Syracuse - Sat. May 3rd 2025

 

More info at: https://syracuse.makerfaire.com/

Special Event Station - VE Day 80th anniv. - Thurs. 5/8/25

  VE DAY 80TH ANNIVERSARY - ELDRED, PENNSYLVANIA 

  The McKean County Amateur Radio Club will be operating a special event station on Thursday, May 8, 2025 at the Eldred WWII Museum, operating as W3VV to commemorate and celebrate the VE 80th anniversary, while also showing our gratitude to the men, women and children who dedicated their lives to the war effort.

  The radio club will be providing a public demonstration at the Eldred World War II museum while making voice and morse code contacts over the air with other amateur radio operators in North America, Europe and world-wide!  The amateur radio community will also learn about the Eldred World War II museum in Pennsylvania, its collections and mission. There will be a certificate available to those that make a successful radio contact with the station.

McKean County Amateur Radio Club FB page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/W3VV.CLUB/

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.  

More info at: https://www.arrl.org/world-amateur-radio-day#:~:text=2025%20World%20Amateur%20Radio%20Day%20is%20April%2018&text=When%3A%20WARD%20is%20Friday%2C%20April,best%20for%20your%20local%20club.

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.

Currently, we need operators to be active (i.e., CQ-ing) on MSK144; or passive, if possible, reporting via PSK Reporter as 'monitors'. The best times are early morning hours prior to 10M opening to F2 propagation. Meteor scatter propagation occurs well below F2 and is supported in or near the E layer where the meteor ionization tracks occur. Saturday mornings are being used regularly to announce and coordinate 10M contacts using Ping Jockey Central. Announcements are also made on the Front Range Six Meter groups.io due to the substantial number of meteor scatter operators in that group.

To be successful, this effort needs operators, both active and passive. The upcoming April-Lyrids shower is an excellent time to set up your equipment and join with other operators preparing for the events later this year. If you do not have the time to be active, at least set up passive reporting. PSK Reporter currently has scarce 10M MSK144 monitors; so we need to increase those numbers during the early morning hours.

The best Lyrid times are around midnight and early morning hours, peaking April 21-22, but also for several days before and after the peak dates. We expect large numbers of 10M and 6M MSK144 operators to be both active and passive during the Lyrid events.

Read the whole story here: https://www.hamsci.org/article/save-dates-hamsci-meteor-scatter-qso-party

Learn more about meteor scatter: https://www.arrl.org/files/file/QST%2520Binaries/nt0z.pdf

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!

Save the date: Upstate New York POTA Meetup - Sept. 6&7, 2025

 Upstate New York POTA Meetup

Get ready for an action-packed weekend of POTA at Watkins Glen State Park the first weekend in September! Whe have the South Pavilion all day Sunday, September 7, and we hope you'll join us on Saturday, September 6, for exploring the park. There is also the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Festival on Friday, for those who want to come earlier. Many of us are camping all weekend, from Friday evening into Monday morning. The North Country Trail runs through the park, and behind the pavilion, making it a 3-fer! We can't wait to see you there!

More details and RSVP on the Upstate New York POTA Facebook group: 

https://www.facebook.com/share/1BoELhgoxi/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Spring SkyWarn training - CNY & Northern PA

 US National Weather Service Binghamton NY - Spring 2025 SkyWarn Training

More info: https://www.weather.gov/bgm/outreachSKYWARNtraining

AWA Spring Meet - May 3rd, 2025

         Antique Wireless Association 

                      Spring Meet 2025

   

More details at: https://www.antiquewireless.org/homepage/2024-spring-meet/

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/

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

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

https://parksontheair.com

Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor 

https://eriecanalway.org

World Canal Conference 

https://wcc2025buffalo.com

 

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

Drumlins Hamfest - Saturday 4/19/25

 Drumlins Amateur Radio Club - Hamfest - Palmyra, NY

Link: https://drumlinsarc.us/hamfest-info/

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

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

CVARA BULLTHISTLE HAMFEST - 3/29/25

Chenango Valley Amateur Radio Association Hamfest, Norwhich, NY

 More info at: https://cvara.net/our-events/bullthistle-hamfest/