Field Day 2025 - June 28-29

 

Field Day is ham radio's open house. Every June, more than 31,000 hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations in public places to demonstrate ham radio's science, skill and service to our communities and our nation. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills all in a single event. Field Day has been an annual event since 1933, and remains the most popular event in ham radio.

The object of Field Day is to work as many stations as possible on the 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 Meter HF bands, as well as all bands 50 MHz and above, and in doing so to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less than optimal conditions. A premium is placed on developing skills to meet the challenges of emergency preparedness as well as to acquaint the general public with the capabilities of Amateur Radio

Field Day locator map: https://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator

Is your club or group doing something special? Let us know, so we can share it here.

Cortland Hamfest - Sat. 6/14/25

 The 43nd annual Cortland Hamfest and Technology Fair will take place on Saturday June 14th at the Cortland County Fairgrounds , 4301 Fairgrounds Dr. in Cortland. 7am-1pm

Admission: $6.00 per person, under 12 free. Outdoor Flea market is free with admission. There are 25 indoor flea market spaces with electricity available for $10.00 per 10' length, first come first served. BYO Table.

VE tests will be available off site beginning at 9 AM. Directions will be provided.

Breakfast will be provided by the Cortland County 4-H

Travel Directions: I-81 to exit 54; follow signs to Ithaca and Route 281. Turn left on to Route 281 South. In 8/10 mile, turn left on to Fisher Ave, then right on to Fairgrounds Drive.

From Ithaca: Route 13 North to Route 281 North. Drive past all the car dealers and fast food places etc. Turn right onto Fisher Ave, then right on to Fairgrounds Drive.

For your GPS: 4301 Fairgrounds Dr. Cortland, NY 13045

 We hope to see you there!

-- 
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Andrew Slaugh KB2LUV
Secretary, Skyline Amateur Radio Club
Owner of the 145.490 PL 71.9 Repeater in Cortland, NY

More info: https://www.arrl.org/hamfests/hamfest-technology-fair

Rochester Hamfest - Sat. June 21, 2025

 

More info at: https://www.rochesterham.org/hamfest.htm

Lockport Hamfest -June 7th, 2025

 

Another interesting Amateur Radio publication

We stumbled upon another intersting monthly club publication this week.

Check out the Logger's Bark, the newsletter & magazine of W7DK, The Radio Club of Tacoma! You can read about the club at www.W7DK.org and if you're ever in Tacoma, WA on a Saturday, the club holds open house almost every Saturday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM and all are welcome. Full details at the link here: https://www.w7dk.org/images/rct_bark/bark_2025_05.pdf

In this month's May 2025 issue of The Logger's Bark magazine:

- Lamptenna 3: CQ WPX 2025 using SSB with nothing but a FLOOR LAMP for an antenna!

- Numbers Stations: All about them and "are they still a thing"?

- The Japanese WOODEN CubeSat satellite - first wooden satellite ever built!

- Hands-on review of the RTL-SDR V4 receiver dongle

- History of DPRK DXpeditions

- Kits Corner: Great beginner's kit - the Elenco AM-780A build and review

- Review: Wouxun KG-935H tri-band HT that includes the 1.25m band

- How FT8 Works: Love it or hate it, FT8 is here to stay. Here's how it works

- Look Back at the Knight Kit T-60 CW & AM Transmitter

- 2025 W7DK Field Day Plans coming together - see the site layout plan

And a whole bunch more - photos, tips, tricks, blurbs, puzzles, all about amateur radio and NEVER any ads!

Check out the clubs web site at: https://www.w7dk.org/

Thousand Islands Hamfest - Sat. 5/17/25

Get the details at:  https://www.tirepeaterclub.com/

Interesting Amateur Radio publication

We recently stumbled upon this interesting Amateur Radio publication. The Communicator is published by Surrey Amateur Radio Communications group. The group seems to be very active. The Communicator is over 100 pages and has interesting articles, along with regular columnists.

Now read in over 165 countries, the May-June issue brings you 120+ pages of Amateur Radio content from the Southwest corner of Canada and around the globe. With less fluff and ads than other Amateur Radio publications, you will find Amateur Radio related articles, projects, profiles, news, tips and how-to's for all levels of the hobby.

Check it out here: https://ve7sar.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-communicator-may-june-2025.html

SARC (Surrey Amateur Radio Communications – formerly “Club”), with 140+ members, is one of the largest and most active amateur radio organizations in Canada, offering a wide variety of ham-related activities, training opportunities and mentoring, all by volunteers dedicated to technical proficiency and service to the community. Learn more about SARC here:

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/

KLARA Hamfest - Sat. Feb. 1st

 

more info at: https://klara.us/

Great Radio E-magazine - The Spectrum Monitor!

 

I recently received my January issue of The Spectrum Monitor (TSM). I really look forward to getting this  publication each month! I am a charter subscriber since its beginning in 2014. It is very similar to the former Monitoring Times magazine which discontinued publication back in 2013.

Check out TSM on their web site at: http://www.thespectrummonitor.com/index.aspx

TSM is usually around 100 pages and is packed with the latest on Amateur Radio, Shortwave, Scanning, Satellites, Radio/TV, Vintage radio, etc. The news and articles are always up to date and relevant. TSM is available only in PDF format and can be read on any device capable of opening a PDF file. I read TSM both on my tablet and PC. I also occasionally print out interesting articles that I might need for future reference in the shack. It's probably the Best $36.00 that we spend each year on this hobby!

The TSM publisher, Ken Reitz KS4ZR, is the former managing editor, features editor, columnist and feature writer for Monitoring Times. As well as a former feature writer and columnist for several other publications. TSM has some very experienced and talented writers that do a great job of covering many interesting topics each month! (learn more about the TSM staff here: http://www.thespectrummonitor.com/about-us.aspx )

Happy New Year!

 

Another year has come and gone!

We wanted to reach out to say Thank You to the many individuals and clubs that send us information and corrections for the UpstateHam web site! Also thanks to our viewers for visiting and supporting our site.

Wishing you all health and Happiness in the new year!

73- From the folks at UpstateHam.com!