Continue reading »]]> We have a few upcoming events worth noting:

DFMA meeting, Tuesday April 3, 2012, Dinner at 6:00pm / program at 7:00pm at Bullocks Restaurant. The program will presented by Nick Gessler and the topic will be Cuban Number Stations. The talk will include a short introduction to cryptology, its history from cipher disks to one-time-pads and the enigmatic “numbers stations.”

Don’t miss RARS Fest this coming Saturday, April 7, 2012 to be held in the Jim Graham building on the NC State Fair Grounds. For more info go to: http://www.rars.org/hamfest/

Touch a Truck: Sponsored by Boy Scout Troup 39. Sunday, April 15 at University Mall from noon – 4:00pm. Come see all kinds of trucks, walk through / tough / learn. The DFMA Mobile Communications Unit will be “on the air” as a special event station and using the call N4T. Come see – come operate!

Continue reading »]]> Tonight will be the OCRA’s annual silent key memorial on the W4UNC 442.150 Repeater (PL 131.8hz) .

The net will begin at 8:00PM and we will acknowledge all of the Silent Keys listed on the OCRA Silent Key Page.  If you wish to add a Silent Key of your own, you can enter one using the form at the bottom of the Silent Key Page.

Continue reading »]]> At 3:24 PM today, an unfamiliar signal made it to W3AHL-4′s APRS Digipeater.  Was it a bird with an HT … no, a plane … no, it was an Amateur Radio APRS Balloon.

Brainchild of the California Near Space Project, the Balloon sent it’s location to repeaters from a height of 110,000 feet.  The W3AHL Repeater was able to pull in this information, as the Balloon passed over Virginia into the Atlantic, just part of it’s intercontinental journey.  As of 4:00PM, the Balloon has made it to the Azores and is said to soon fly overhead in Northern Africa.  The Project Team is asking that APRS digipeaters across the world be tuned to track the flight’s progress.

To Track the Balloon Live – CLICK HERE

To read more about the project: Click Here

– Derek Brown (W4DTB)
An ARRL Certified PIO Officer

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On Thursday, November 17th, the Orange County Radio Amateurs had the privilege of introducing a score of kids to Amateur Radio at Efland-Cheeks Elementary School’s “math and science” night.  Kristin Bedell, KI4LLO, the AIG teacher there, was kind enough to offer us the invitation, and our thanks go out to her.  In addition, several other hams did yeoman duty volunteering their time to conduct QSOs with the kids over OCRA’s 442.150MHz repeater.  From Burlington, ARRL Public Information Officer Christopher Tate, KJ4UBL, did his usual excellent, professional job of drawing them into the over-the-air experience by relating his own school experiences to theirs in his friendly, outgoing way.  Stanley Rankin, KF4KQL, in Asheboro, also hung in for the majority of the time.  Special thanks, too, to Vic Merryman, K0OUX,  Joseph Fields, KF4QYY, and Adriano Marcuz, KV7D, for dropping in at most appropriate times.

In addition to the Amateur Radio exhibit, at least one other ham was in attendance there at the Robotics demonstration–Bob, N6YBE(?), from Durham, who stopped by to say hello and have a QSO with KJ4UBL after the batteries on his automata discharged.

Virtually from the moment the event began at 6:00 PM until it ended at 7:30 (and afterward!) we were continuously busy meeting these wonderful children and their parents.  It was a fun, encouraging activity.

-Raymond ”Woody” Woodward K3VSA
ARRL Public Information Coordinator for North Carolina
(an ARRL-trained Public Information Officer)

http://www.ncarrl-pio.org