Four new ARRL Section Managers elected

Four new ARRL Section Managers will take office on 1st July 2014. Ballots were counted 20th May 2014 at ARRL HQ for contested races in the spring SM election cycle.

In Indiana, Joseph Lawrence, K9RFZ, of Fort Wayne, received 652 votes to top incumbent Section Manager Lou Everett Sr, WA5LOU, of Cumberland, who polled 482 votes. Everett has been SM for the past 2 years.

Lawrence previously served as Indiana's Section Emergency Coordinator, as Allen County ARES Emergency Coordinator, and District 3 DEC. He is currently the Allen County RACES Radio Officer and IDHS Digital Amateur Radio Advisory Council facilitator. An aerospace and physics professional, he's also taught numerous Technician license classes.

In Maine, Bill Crowley, K1NIT, received 258 votes, to defeat veteran incumbent Section Manager Bill Woodhead, N1KAT, who got 156 votes. Woodhead has served as Maine's SM since 1998.

Crowley, of Farmingdale, is currently Assistant Section Manager and Public Information Coordinator, and he was a former State Government Liaison. He's the president of the Augusta Amateur Radio Association, a past president of the Yankee Amateur Radio Club, and chair of the WinterFest and Windsor Hamfest.

In Northern Florida, Stephen Szabo, WB4OMM, polled 833 votes to 296 votes cast for Gary Alberstadt, KA3FZO, of Monticello. A retired Daytona Beach Police captain, Szabo, of Port Orange, is currently the Northern Florida Section Emergency Coordinator and District Emergency Coordinator as well as an instructor/mentor and a DXCC/WAS/VUCC card checker.

Current Northern Florida SM Paul Eakin, KJ4G, decided not to run for a new term of office after serving since 2008.

In Delaware, Bill Duveneck, KB3KYH, of Milton, received 142 votes to defeat Jerome Palmer, N3KRX, of Houston, who got 122 votes.

Duveneck has been Delaware's ARRL Emergency Coordinator since 2009, and a Volunteer Examiner of the ARRL and Laurel VECs. He is a past president of the Sussex Amateur Radio Association and chaired the 2012-2013 Delmarva Hamfest. He has developed and manages SARA's weekend ham radio licensing classes.

Outgoing SM Frank Filipkowski, AD3M, of Wilmington, who has served as SM in Delaware since 2006, did not run for a new term. Because candidates in Delaware had to be resolicited for this nomination/election cycle, Duveneck's term of office will be 18 months instead of 24 months.

Five incumbent ARRL Section Managers did not face opposition and were declared elected for new 2-year terms beginning on July 1:

Tom Ciciora, KA9QPN (Illinois); Everett Curry, W6ABM (Oregon); Brandon Bianchi, NI6C (Santa Clara Valley); Paul Gayet, AA1SU (Vermont), and Gary Sorensen, W9ULK (Wisconsin).

Oregon hams locate missing dementia patient

Members of the Lane County Sheriffs Amateur Radio Operators, an ARRL Affiliated Club, are being credited with the rescue of an elderly  Eugene, Oregon man.

The 78 year old dementia patient's wife reported that he had wandered away from his home east of the University of Oregon Campus.  The Lane County Sheriff's Department has a team of ham operators who are specially trained in Radio Direction Finding (RDF) search procedures.

Dubbed Project LifeSaver, at risk individuals wear special RF bracelets.  Should a person go missing, the LCSARO team members use their special tracking skills to safely locate the missing person.  The missing man was one of six people in the Lane County program.

The missing man was located on the corner of Eight Avenue and Willamette Street, in downtown Eugene.  He was not injured.

The mission of Project Lifesaver is to provide timely response to save lives and reduce potential injury for adults and children who wander due to Alzheimer’s, autism, and other related conditions or disorders.

The team of ham radio operators reduces the need for large scale search parties, which typically involve many agencies, hundreds of police officers, and thousands of dollars in costs.

The LCSARO also provides communications in disasters and other emergency situations for the Sheriff's Department.

Nevada Amateur Radio Newswire - http://www.nevadahamradio.com/

Second Amateur Radio Skills Workshop in Chelmsford (February 2014)

The second CARS Amateur Radio Skills Workshop took place on the 17th of February 2014.

Over 40 people gathered together at the Danbury Village Hall near Chelmsford for the second in the new series of Amateur Radio Skills Nights – This is a new initiative from the Chelmsford Amateur Radio Club intended to help local amateurs to meet, share knowledge and try something new. Rather than a "sit-and-listen" event, the Skills Workshops are hands-on sessions where people can get hands-on and ask questions on a one-to-one basis, which for many is the preferred way of learning something different.

At the first successful event in January, questionnaires were circulated to allow attendees to vote on future topics. Data Modes was the most requested topic, and so Data played a big part in the February session, with demos of PSK31 from Charlie M0PZT - the author of the free and easy-to-use PSK31 viewer EssexPSK. The weak signal data mode JT65 was demonstrated by Pete M0PSX, and the team was also joined by Chris M6EDF, who demonstrated how to receive signals from high altitude balloons, which sent their telemetry using RTTY.

The second most requested topic was “HF Antennas”, and CARS president Carl G3PEM was on hand to answer questions on this subject, with a common theme being advice on identifying the best type of HF antenna for use at home. Ideas were sketched on a whiteboard, supported by a collection of baluns, cables and connectors.

Also present at the event, Jim 2E0RMI with is popular live Echolink demonstration, David M0HBV with the RSGB Centenary PSK31 receiver, as well as a collection of other show-and-tell items including mobile HF antennas, a 2m Slim Jim, a home-made Morse key and a microphone built from bits salvaged at the recent Canvey Rally.

The session was very well attended, and it was great to see so many familiar faces, including recent CARS graduate Cathy Colless M0RTW, who travelled down from Cambridge. Cathy recently completed her Foundation, Intermediate and Full exams in just 57 days. For those unable to make the event, Pete M0PSX found time to have a couple of QSOs with amateurs in Kent, on the slot normally reserved for Pete's Essex Ham Monday Night Net.

As something of an experiment, a short quiz was put together to stimulate some discussion around licence conditions, band plans and callsigns. Those interested in answering the questions could scribble down their answers, making use of handy copies of band plans and licences. By popular request, an online version of the quiz is now available.

The quiz, and a selection of photos from the CARS February Skills Night can be found at http://www.essexham.co.uk/skills-feb14

The next event takes place on Monday the 17th of March 2014 at the Danbury Village Hall, near Chelmsford. The Skills Workshops are open to all, and there's no charge for attending. For details, and to sign up for email updates, go to http://www.hamskills.co.uk