Joseph 'Bud' Trench, AA3B, named WPX Contest Director

/
Joseph 'Bud' Trench, AA3B, named WPX Contest Director

Joseph W. "Bud" Trench, AA3B, of Boyertown, Pennsylvania, has been named Director of the CQ WPX SSB and CW Contests, CQ Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU, announced today. He succeeds Randy Thompson, K5ZD, who has been serving as Interim Director.

Trench has been licensed since 1970 and has more than 1.4 million QSOs in his logbook (which would be very thick if still on paper!). Bud has a passion for contesting, achieving 15 first-place finishes in the CQ World Wide DX CW Contest in the Single-Op Low Power category using call sign V26K, including the current world record. He has been among the top-10 USA scorers consistently since 2005 in the CQ WW WPX CW High Power category and has achieved the top North American score six times in CQ WW WPX RTTY. In addition, he was the Single-Op World Winner of the CQ WW WPX Triathlon plaque in 2014 and competed in WRTC 2018.

Read More

Ned Stearns (AA7A) Appointed as ARRL Southwestern Division Vice Director

/

ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, has appointed Edward J. “Ned” Stearns, AA7A, of Scottsdale, Arizona, as ARRL Southwestern Division Vice Director, succeeding Mark Weiss, K6FG, who resigned.

This will mark the third time Stearns has held the post. He served as Southwestern Division Vice Director for 2005 – 2006 and again for 2017 – 2019.

A retired electrical engineer, Stearns has been licensed since 1963 and is active on all bands from 160 meters through 23 centimetres. His principal interests are DXing, contesting, VHF, moonbounce, antenna design, and homebrewing.

Radio Hams assist US Homeland Security

/

An East Boothbay man is part of the U.S. Homeland Security team as an amateur radio operator. Lincoln County Emergency Management Agency Director Casey Stevens appointed Al Sirois N1MHC, 88, as one of three Maine ham, or civilian amateur radio operators participating in Homeland Security’s Shares program.

Shared Resources high-frequency radio program (Shares) provides an additional means for users with a national security and emergency preparedness mission to communicate when landline and cellular communications are unavailable. Team members use existing high-frequency radio resources to coordinate and transmit messages for critical functions during emergencies. Sirois is responsible for central Maine. Two other operators are located in northern Maine and York County.

Sirois monitors the network on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and another shift at 7 p.m. Occasionally, he works a Monday shift. Sirois monitors continuous-wave communications to ensure communications between local government is possible with Homeland Security. Sirois began as an amateur ham radio operator in the U.S. Navy. He worked as a short wave radio MARS (military-affiliated radio station) operator. In 1993, Sirois worked for Maine Yankee Nuclear Power Plant and applied for a civilian license.

Media Story - https://www.wiscassetnewspaper.com/article/sirois-assisting-homeland-security-ham-radio-communications/132275