Museum Ship Weekend June 6-7, 2026

 OPERATE W2L WITH FRED AT THE LT-5 TUGBOAT

June 6th and 7th 2026 we will be operating at the World War II Army Tugboat LT-5 in Oswego, New York for the annual Museum Ship Weekend Event. The LT-5 was an instrumental part of Operation Overlord (The D-Day Invasion). She is moored at the H Lee White Museum in Oswego Harbor Oswego, New York.

  A few twists this year though … I have obtained a Special Event Call Sign, W2L, for the event. Oswego Waterfront Festival is also going on at the same time!! I am hoping many other hams want to come and enjoy the weekend and operate from their own portable set ups. My station will be set up inside the Derrick Boat which is moored next to the LT-5. I will be operating Saturday and Sunday, June 6 & 7 from about 8:00 am until 5:00pm. I will coordinate the log submission to the USS New Jerey Amateur Radio club which sponsors the event upon event completion. Please contact Fred Legawiec, W2LGA at W2LGA@Yahoo.com if you are planning to set up a portable station and participate. I have also verified that this is also a POTA location so it will be considered a POTA Activation also. June 6, 2026 is also the 82nd anniversary of Operation Overlord (D-Day). For event detail see the Battleship New Jersey ARS - Museum Weekend Event info: https://www.nj2bb.org/museum/

Fred Legawiec, W2LGA

 

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

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.

International Lighthouse & Lightship weekend 2024 report

 (from Sept-24 RAGS Review newsletter)

INTERNATIONAL LIGHTHOUSE AND LIGHTSHIP WEEKEND– 2024 EDITION

Fred , W2LGA again operated from Oswego Harbor. Here is his report: 

We set up inside the Derrick Boat and it could not have worked out better!! We had more visitors than I have ever had during this event. Setup was super easy and not being hampered by the weather really made it nice!! Charlie Abbot helped set upon Saturday morning and we were on the air by 8am! . We made over 125 total contacts by phone and another 76 contacts via digital modes!! We contacted 18 lighthouses and 2 lightships. Saturday we contacted a lighthouse in France and Sunday we got a lighthouse in Sydney Harbor in Australia!! 

Visitors were from the area as well as one couple from Connecticut that wanted to see the museum as well as the Amateur Radio set up … the lady used to be a “Ham” when she was young and saw the announcement about the set up on the internet. The highlight was a family of 5 who stopped in Saturday afternoon. Two adults and three children. The kids were about 6-10 years old and I let them work the radio!! The youngest called “CQ Lighthouse” and he got a return call from a Canadian light house on Prince Edward Island. I walked the lil guy through the contact but he handled the mike the whole time!!! He was beyond excited!! I even let him enter the contact in the log!! Already looking forward to next year’s events

Fulton Amateur Radio Club - General Class - starts 9/5/24

 General Class Instruction - Press Release - 8/15/24

General Class Amateur Radio Exam Instruction Offered

Starting on Thursday, September 5, the Fulton Amateur Radio Club will host a free 10-week course designed for Technician Class licensees who are interested in obtaining their General Class Amateur (Ham) Radio license. 

The class will meet on Thursday evenings from 7:00-9:00 pm in the lower level of the Oswego County Office Building, across from Mimi's Restaurant, Route 481, Fulton, NY. Class dates are September 5, 12, 19, 26, October 3, 10, 17, 24, November 7. The exam will be administered on Thursday, November 14.

There are many reasons to upgrade. General Class licensees have access to many more frequencies, some of which allow for around-the-world wireless communication without the need for intermediate infrastructure (such as the internet, cell towers, repeaters, etc.). More communications modes and new technical opportunities are also available. 

The course material resembles that which was covered in the Technician exam, with more in-depth focus on high frequency (HF) operation and advanced operating modes. Topics will include operating effectively using single sideband (SSB) on HF, digital modes, solar effects on HF propagation, test instruments, practical electronic circuits, and antennas.

For more information contact Redd Swindells, AI2N, at ai2n(at)twcny.rr.com. Potential students are requested to preregister to assure proper course resource preparation.

More info at: https://www.fultonamateurradioclub.org/

International Lighthouse / Lightship Weekend Event - 8/17-18/2024

 

Good afternoon all,

 Once again, I will be setting up a portable station at the West Pierhead Lighthouse in Oswego, NY. I hope to be operating from inside the Derrick Boat near the museum itself …. If not I will be directly out front once again. 😊

My tentative hours of operation are from 8am until 4pm both Saturday and Sunday August 17th and 18th. Longer if they will have me!! The 48 hour event runs from 8pm Friday until 8pm Sunday EDT. I will be on most bands using SSB, CW, and FT8 whenever possible. I will try to stay in the General frequency range for the most part. It is hoped to have over 500 lighthouses and lightships registered on the website (illw.net) but regardless …. It will be fun!!

 Hope to see or “hear” you all,

Fred, W2LGA

more info at: https://illw.net/

Technician Licensing Class - Fulton Amateur Radio Club - starts 6/20/24

 

Museum Ship Weekend - June 1-2, 2024

 Good evening fellow HAMS,

Once again, this year I plan on setting up a portable operation amateur radio station at the US Army tugboat LT-5 at the H Lee White Museum in Oswego, NY. I’ll be set up for the Museum Ship Weekend Event on June 1st and 2nd. Operating times are planned for 9am to 5pm depending on mother nature of course. The event details can be found at https://www.nj2bb.org/museum/ .  It is a fun event as we try to contact many other ships from all over the world with similar set-ups. Many Aircraft Carriers and Battleships have already signed up. The full list is on the website!!

Stop by or check in,

73’s

Fred Legawiec, W2LGA

more info on the H Lee White Museum in Oswego: https://hlwmm.org/

Oswego County Pathfinder Net changing to the 147.390 repeater

 

The Oswego County Pathfinder Net will be changing to the 147.390 repeater, +0.600 offset, and PL tone 103.5.  The Pathfinder Net will still operate Monday thru Friday at 9:00pm. 

Thanks,

Michael….KD2DVC 

Net manager 

International Museum Ship Weekend Event - Oswego NY - June 3-4, 2023

 

 In preparation for the International Museum Ship Weekend Event, Amateur radio station  W2LGA  will be set up at the US Army Tugboat LT-5 moored at the H Lee White Maritime Museum in Oswego, NY. This is one of the last remaining tugboats used during the invasion of Normandy in June of 1944 (D-Day). The tugs main mission was to assist in the construction of the temporary harbor Mulberry A, which was used to supply men, equipment, and ammunition to Omaha Beach. The LT-5 is the only known tugboat that actually shot down an enemy aircraft during the war. The LT-5 is being restored via the guidance of the maritime museum. The amateur radio station, W2LGA, will attempt to contact many other military ships all over the world with amateur radio stations set up. These ships include aircraft carriers, battleships, cruisers, submarines, lightships, tugs, ..etc.

  The radio station will be located near the tugboat and is free to the public. The H Lee White Maritime museum has tours of the LT-5 included with their overall museum admission charge. The radio station will be operating Saturday June 3^rd and Sunday June 4^th from 9:00am – 4:00pm. To learn more about the museum itself, go to www.hleewhitemarinemuseum.com. for more information regarding the International Museum Ship Weekend, including a full list of participating ships, go to: https://www.nj2bb.org/museum/

 Contact information:

Fred Legawiec, W2LGA

Flegawiec1@twcny.rr.com

315 317-8030

 

International Museum Ships Weekend - June 4-5

 International Museum Ships Weekend is Saturday June 4 and Sunday June 5 this year.

 We will be activating the US Army Tug LT-5 located at the H. Lee White Maritime Museum in Oswego, NY on both dates from 11AM until 5PM.

Ham radio stations will be setup in an attempt to contact as many of the other museum ships around the country as possible.

 He LT-5 is one of the last remaining tug boats used in the Normandy Invasion during World War 2 in June 1944.

 Stop by and make some contacts.

 

John Perkins & Larry Rusch

K2VTT                   KD2MTG

Fulton Amateur Radio Club News

 The Fulton Amateur Radio Club is a very active club in Oswego County. Thanks to Mike Regan for sending along information on the W2TQF Scholarship and their Pathfinder Net.

Thomas G. Cantine Jr W2TQF Memorial Scholarship

This scholarship was established after the untimely death of Thomas G. Cantine Jr, who was an active amateur radio operator for over 50 years.  Obtaining his license at the age of 13 in 1957, Tom held the call sign: W2TQF.  Tom’s hobby of amateur radio led to a career as a sales engineer and engineering consultant.  Tom taught amateur radio classes, was a volunteer examiner, active in ARES (Amateur Radio  Emergency Service), RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service) and was a  charter member of the Fulton Amateur Radio Club and served as the president of the radio club for several terms.  This scholarship has been set up in memory of Tom and his passion for amateur radio.

Learn more at: https://www.fultonamateurradioclub.org/W2TQF_Scholarship

The Pathfinder net originated on May 14th 1984 and operates every night during the week at 9pm on the 147.15 repeater in Fulton NY with a (+) offset and 103.5 PL. The purpose of this net is Amateur fellowship. All stations are welcome and the net welcomes any information or traffic that you may have.