NY QSO Party 2025 - October 18th

 

NY QSO Party Objective :

● New York stations: Work as many stations inside and outside New York as possible during the contest period. 

● Stations outside of New York State: Work as many New York stations and as many New York counties as possible during the contest period. 

● Stations may be contacted on multiple bands and modes, subject to entry class. 

● 12-hour Contest Period: October 18, 2025, from 14:00:00 UTC through 01:59:59 UTC. (10:00 AM Eastern Time through 9:59:59 PM Eastern Time). 

More info at: https://nyqp.org/wordpress/

W2LB; Larry Brightenfield Sr. - Silent Key.

 

We lost another great one! Larry Brightenfield Sr; W2LB passed away this week. We were shocked and saddened to hear of Larry's passing! Larry was one of the nicest/helpful hams around! He was known across the Western and Central NY ham communities. Larry could be regularly found on the 145.11 Rochester repeater as well as many HF nets. 

We are glad we got to chat with him in person for a few minutes at the Roc City fest back in August. Sending our sincere condolences to all of Larry's friends and family!

RIP Larry.

Services will be Wednesday October 15th in Victor NY.

link to Larry's obituary: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/laurence-brightenfield-obituary?id=59764277#guestbook

Pumpkin Patrol 2025

 The 2025 Pumpkin Patrol will take place on Wednesday and Thursday October 30-31st

 for Bridges on the New York State Thruway.

This event contributes to the safety of travelers on the New York State Thruway. It is a statewide event and is held in cooperation with the New York State Troopers and Amateur radio groups.

The Pumpkin Patrol was initiated as a volunteer effort in 1976 by Katherine St. Jacques in Fort Johnson, Montgomery County.  Ms. St. Jacques was talking to a truck driver on her citizens band radio when the windshield of his vehicle was struck by an object thrown from an overpass.  The driver sustained injuries from the broken glass of his windshield.  St. Jacques and two companions decided to stand watch on the three over passes that crossed the Thruway in the Fort Johnson area. The State Police assumed control of the Pumpkin Patrol in 1990 as part of the State Police crime prevention effort.  More than 300 volunteers will participate in this year’s safety efforts.

PLEASE SEND US YOUR GROUPS PLANS FOR 2025 to: UpstateHam@gmail.com

Upstate NY Counties participating:

Chautaqua County (Dunkirk):

NCARC and Chautauqua County Amateur Radio Club (CCAFMA)  Pumpkin Patrol : http://users.netsync.net/~ncarc/index.htm

Erie County (Buffalo area): 

Erie County ARES/RACES Pumpkin Patrol info: https://ecarham.org/announcements/

Monroe County (Rochester area): The RARA Pumpkin Patrol event captain, Ed Wilkonski, K1EM is preparing for this year's event. Please see his article elsewhere in this month’s Rag. For more information or to register for this month's events, see our Public Service page at https://rochesterham.org/public_service.htm for more information and to volunteer.

 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdr-KssQziuUPpDSEgn5SzqNZPIxgbGd9VmAmA-78UDttsTkg/viewform

Oneida & Madison County Counties:

MOARC Pumpkin Patrol event;Thursday, October 30th & Friday, October 31st, 6PM until 10PM (ish).

Please email Andy W2ZXN (w2zxn@arrl.net) with your name, address & callsign if interested. Looking to cover all bridges in Oneida & Madison Counties!!! If you have a preference, please include your preferred bridge/location.

Ontario County (Canandaigua):

 SIARC; Dave KB2KBY is still in need of operators for the Pumpkin Patrol on October 30 and 31. If

you can volunteer, contact Dave at kb2kby@rochester.rr.com. 

Onondaga County (Syracuse area): https://www.w2cm.com/public-service/

from RAGS Review 10/25 (Syracuse): 

Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act - can you help?

EH.R. 1094 House Bill and S. 459 Senate Bill are in Congress to protect the rights of 3/4 million hams to put-up their antennas!

Explanation from WD4EHW:

I am writing this post to inform the Amateur Radio Community that Bill H.R. 1094 – Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act was introduced in February 2025, by Congressman Pfulger and others. H.R. 1094 is currently in committee. Please, let me encourage you to contact your congressman/woman in regards to the importance of this bill to the Amateur Radio Community, and operators who currently live in an HOA. This bill would allow the erecting of Amateur Radio antennas at their homes who live in an HOA without the hindrance of HOA restrictions. Once again, make your voice be heard by contacting your Federal representative in regard to H.R. 1094 and/ or contact A.R.R.L. and let them know the importance of this Bill to the overall Amateur Radio Community.

Jacob McWilliams Sr. WD4EHW

-----------------------------------

If you are a licensed Ham radio operator please follow the link to submit your letter to your representative.

H.R. 1094 House Bill and S. 459 Senate Bill are in Congress to protect the rights of 3/4 million hams

to put-up their antennas! (See ARRL email below.)

H.R. 1094 House Bill

https://www.congress.gov/.../119th.../house-bill/1094/text

S. 459 Senate Bill

https://www.congress.gov/.../119th.../senate-bill/459/text

So don't delay and write your Congressman and your Senator!

https://send-a-letter.org/hoa/

ARRL press release:

https://www.arrl.org/news/amateur-radio-emergency-preparedness-act-re-introduced

SKYWARN - Fall/Winter 2025 training

Winter SKYWARN Spotter Training Classes are coming!

NWS BINGHAMTON FALL-WINTER SKYWARN TRAINING IS NOW GETTING SCHEDULED.  

Check back soon; more will be added as they become arranged (including virtual options).  All are welcome; you don't have to live in a specific county to attend one of these sessions.

10/15/2025 6-730 PM: Onondaga Co. Winter Skywarn - Bear Bait Radio Club, 4483 NY-31, Clay, NY.  

11/19/2025 6-8 PM: Cayuga Co. All-Season Skywarn - Owasco Fire Dept, 7174 Owasco Rd, Auburn, NY.  

 Link to register: https://www.weather.gov/bgm/outreachSKYWARNtraining

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Most Upstate NY NWS Offices are holding similar training this Fall. 

See the links below:

Binghamton NWS Skywarn training info at: https://www.weather.gov/bgm/outreachSKYWARNtraining

Buffalo NWS Skywarn training info at: https://www.weather.gov/buf/Skywarn

Albany NWS Skywarn training info at: https://www.weather.gov/aly/skywarn

learn more about the Skywarn program: https://www.upstateham.com/p/skywarn.html

What is 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.

KLARA Repeater Round Up Contest - 10/11/25

 

More info at: https://klara.us/

 

The Pathfinder Net is looking for check-ins from the everywhere in the CNY area.   The Pathfinder Net start in 1984 and is still going strong.   We would enjoy everyone joining us for fellowship and any other information or traffic you may have.  Hope to hear you soon on the 147.390 repeater with PL tone of 103.5.  Plus we are looking for additional net control operators to cover days....73's

Erie Canal POTA activations Sept 16-25

 

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Parks On The Air (POTA) activations within the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor (US-6532) from Sept 16-25 (from Matt Brown)

After 6 months of planning, our state-wide activation of the Erie Canal for its 200th Anniversary, is only two weeks away! 

This event is a great opportunity to experience and share about the canal that transformed America, as clubs and individuals across New York State join together over the airwaves to activate the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor.

We're excited to share the 14 clubs that will be activating the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor for this huge celebration -- just like how each town celebrated upon the completion of the Erie Canal and their excitement of Governor DeWitt Clinton's inaugural voyage as he crossed New York State!

• East Greenbush ARA (USS Slater) • Eastern Fulton Montgomery Amateur Radio Club • Fort Herkimer Amateur Radio Association • Fulton Amateur Radio Club • Genesee Radio Amateurs • Lancaster Amateur Radio Club • Orleans County Amateur Radio Club • Radio Amateurs of Greater Syracuse • Radio Association of WNY (USS Little Rock) • Rochester Amateur Radio Association • Skenoh Island Amateur Radio Club • Tompkins County Amateur Radio Association • Tryon Amateur Radio Club • Warren County Radio Club

These clubs, and many more individuals, are planning Parks On The Air (POTA) activations within the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor (US-6532) from Sept 16-25. For those activating along the canal (which is encouraged), they might also be activating the Empire State Trail (US-8098), which is a common two-fer with the corridor. The Heritage Corridor is a large area that also includes Cayuga and Seneca Lakes, and even north of Albany, so regardless of location in the state, there are a lot of eligible locations and possible n-fers (activating from multiple POTA entities at once).

Activate the Adirondacks - Sept. 12-14, 2025

 The ARRL Northern New York Section is sponsoring this all-new operating event! The dates are Friday to Sunday, September 12th – 14th 2025.

Activators will be operating mobile or portable radio stations in POTA locations, State Forests, State Parks, Summits, Fire Towers, and other sites within the Adirondack State Park and surrounding locations. This inaugural event is open to all properly licensed ham radio operators, both as Activators and Hunters. Activators may operate on all HF bands, UHF and VHF (simplex). 

More info at: https://nnyarrl.org/events/activate-the-adirondacks-2025

LARC - Fall VE Testing - Syracuse

 

More info at: https://www.w2cm.com/get-licensed/

Great 2025 ROC City Hamfest!

The guys at the ROC City Hamfest hit another one out of the park yesterday! The 2025 Roc City Hamfest on August 23rd was held in memory of K2ZX, Joe Merolillo. Joe would be very proud of the groups efforts! Joe was the Hamfest founder and always rallied a gang to put on one of the areas better hamfests. 

It was a beutiful day with a very large group of tailgaters as well as buyers. We got to see a lot of faces and shake quite a few hands of folks we had'nt seen in awhile. Lots of equipment was changing hands along with many smiling faces up and down the aisles. They also had quite a few people camping out Friday night as well as over thirty people at the Log Cabin for dinner. Already looking forward to next year guys! 

50th Annual Elmira Hamfest - Sat. 9/27/25

 

The Elmira Hamfest is one of our favorites here in Upstate NY! Always a good turnout and a pretty area to visit this time of year. Check it out!

More info at: https://www.arasth3.org/hamfest/

Zoom online Ham Radio License class 8/30-31

 Someone forwarded this on to us. Online licensing class.........

International Lighthouse/Lightship event - Sat/Sun 8/16-17

 

Good Afternoon,

 Once again W2LGA will be set up inside the Derrick Boat at the H Lee White Maritime Museum in Oswego New York for the International Lighthouse / Lightship Weekend event. We will be there both Saturday and Sunday August 16th and 17th. This will mark the 18th year W2LGA has participated in this event. I will be operating on most Amateur Bands using CW, Phone, and some FT8. Time of operation will be from 9am until 5pm both days weather permitting! Please stop by and work the rig and make some contacts …. Almost 400 lighthouses and lightships world wide have already signed up to participate!! Details can be found at ILLW.net.

Fred Legawiec, W2LGA (w2lga@yahoo.com)

Learn more about the lighthouse museum at: https://hlwmm.org/

Event info at: https://illw.net/

Also - RARA will be at the Charlotte Lighthouse in Rochester.

(from the RARA Rag 8/25)       

ILLW at Charlotte - George Adams, K4GWA

Here is a great combination … Ham Radio and Lighthouses! Do you like both or

you may be interested in lighthouses? Do you want to join a global event that

celebrates the heritage and importance of these maritime beacons? If so, you

won't want to miss the annual International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend

(ILLW) on August 16th and 17th from 10AM-4PM, celebrated right here in Rochester in Charlotte, one of Rochester's great destinations! The ILLW is one of the

most popular international amateur radio events in existence, attracting over 500

lighthouse entries from over 40 countries every year. It is not a contest but a fun

and friendly way to make contact with other ham radio operators around the

world who share a passion, fondness, or interests in lighthouses.

Keuka Lake Hamfest - Sat. 8/16/25

 

More info at: https://klara.us/