QC Weather
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Chance of a Thunderstorm
Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. High 71F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
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Overcast
Overcast. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 67F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph.
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Clear
Except for a few afternoon clouds, mainly sunny. High around 75F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.
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Quad-County Weather Page
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 11/15/2016
ARRL once again is calling on its members to urge their US Senators to support the Amateur Radio Parity Act (H.R. 1301) when it comes up in the Senate during the “lame duck” session of Congress that adjourns in mid-December. The House of Representatives approved the bill in September, but if the Senate does not follow suit, the bill will die, and the entire process will have to be repeated. ARRL Hudson Division Director Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, who chairs the ARRL Board’s Legislative Advocacy Committee and has been heavily involved in efforts to move H.R. 1301 forward, said today, “The clock is ticking!”
“We begin the e-mail campaign once again, as the US Senate returns to work this week after a month-long hiatus,” Lisenco said. “We were just beginning to build momentum in the Senate following the unanimous passage of the Parity Act in the House when Congress shut down for the 4 weeks prior to Election Day.”
The task is simple: Go to our Rally Congress page, enter your ZIP code, fill in your name and address, press enter, and e-mails will go directly to your Senators. Members may do this, even if they have already contacted their US Senators for support.
“We have to remind our legislators that we are still here and that we need the Amateur Radio Parity Act to become law,” Lisenco stressed. “We must to do this now as we have, at most, only 4 weeks left in the session to get the bill passed this year. Otherwise, we will have to begin the entire process in 2017 with a new 115th Congress.”
There are no guarantees, Lisenco said, and we are subject to the political bickering that goes on daily between the parties, despite the fact that the bill is truly a bipartisan effort. “In order to have a chance at overcoming political obstacles that have little or nothing to do with the legislation, we need our voices to be heard,” he said. “And we need that input today!”
September’s victory in the US House was the culmination of many years of effort on ARRL’s part to gain legislation that would enable radio amateurs living in deed-restricted communities to erect efficient outdoor antennas that support Amateur Radio communication. The measure calls on the FCC to amend its Part 97 rules “to prohibit the application to amateur stations of certain private land-use restrictions, and for other purposes.” While similar bills in past years gained some traction on Capitol Hill, it was not until the overwhelming grassroots support from the Amateur Radio community for H.R. 1301, and ARRL’s relentless and strident efforts on Capitol Hill that this bill made it this far.
As the amended bill provides, “Community associations should fairly administer private land-use regulations in the interest of their communities, while nevertheless permitting the installation and maintenance of effective outdoor Amateur Radio antennas. There exist antenna designs and installations that can be consistent with the aesthetics and physical characteristics of land and structures in community associations while accommodating communications in the Amateur Radio services.”
Attention
Club Members
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Monthly Breakfast |
Dutch Pantry Clearfield – Saturday, August 12, 8:30
Dutch Pantry Du Bois – Saturday, July 8, 8:30
Please note our alternating location schedule |
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Monthly Meeting |
Smeal Building, Penn State Du Bois – Friday, July 21, 7:00 PM
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The SkyWarn presentation has been rescheduled for July 19, 2017. This training is open to amateur radio operators as well as the general public.
 It is not required but if amateur radio operators could, also email me if you anticipate attending at: “bryan at wa3ufn dot com”.
Since I initiated the planning I would like to know how many are planning to attend, just curious. Thanks!
See the following information from Peter Jung, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, State College :
1 – SkyWarn Training: July 19th at 6:30 pm.
2 – Location: 911 Leonard Street in Clearfield, the Clearfield County 911 Center.
3 – Register by sending an email to: Scott Mignot at “smignot at clearfield911 dot com”
Registration in this method is important so that we can get an accurate count of who will attend, and a way to directly reach out via email should we need to do a last minute cancellation or change.
GENERAL REMINDERS FOR SKYWARN CLASSES
- Classes are free and open to the public
- Attendees under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian
- Classes typically last about 90 minutes
- Bring a pen/pencil to the class
- If possible, bring the Latitude and Longitude of your home
(see this page to determine your coordinates: http://www.latlong.net/convert-address-to-lat-long.html )
- Current spotters bring your old ID Card or Spotter Number
 Severe Weather Awareness Week started a bit early for folks in North Western PA. April 20, 2017 brought an EF0 tornado to Mathews Run in Warren County, just north west of Youngsville, PA. Fortunately there were no injuries or serious damage from the short lived tornado.
Details of the tornado can be found at the State College NWS website: http://www.weather.gov/ctp/MatthewsRunTornado
Since the National Weather Service outline for Severe Weather Week encompasses the weather that we encounter in our area, it might just be a great idea to  check the State College, NWS website (http://www.weather.gov/ctp/SevereWeatherAwarenessWeek) for some important information. The information on the web pages just happen expand on the April 21st QCARC meeting program.
The topics covered each day will be: Monday – Tornadoes, Tuesday – Severe Thunderstorms, Wednesday – Flash Flooding, Friday – SkyWarn™ Spotters. You can click on the weekdays a few lines below the icons.
This article was originally posted January 15, 2016
Just above the horizon – WIRES-X! Recently you may have heard some rather odd noises and unlikely QSOs taking place on the N3QC, 147.315 repeater. The latest update to our repeater was added January 12, 2016 when the Yaesu Wires-X Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) was added. More information will follow as we decipher some of the information and operational aspects of this new mode.
In case you didn’t hear, one of the first QSOs was a 3,565 mile digital contact with a station in England. The English ham was traveling to his home QTH while we were heading down the road in Du Bois, after the brainstorming session of getting the WIRES-X operational. Seeing the information showing a station that was just over 3500 miles away displayed on the radio’s display was quite a surprise!
The contacts are not totally automatic, you actually have to initiate a connection with one of the many WIRES-X nodes around the world. The connection can be made with either a Yaesu FTM-400 in digital mode or, as it it setup on the 147.315 repeater, any analog FM two-meter transceiver with a DTMF keypad (otherwise know as a touch-tone pad) connected to the transceiver. The digital connection to WIRES-X on the repeater is not available as it is set for analog only so that all can use it. You need to know the node number of the location that you want to connect, enter that on the DTMF keypad and the connection should be established. The digital mode displays much more information and has much more utility as well but as mentioned the digital radio is not needed, even a hand-held 2 meter rig can activate and use the system.
This is just a brief overview of the WIRES-X system, there will be much more to come on this website and at the QCARC regular meetings. Stay tuned for some very interesting experiences with WIRES-X!
January 16 article addition
I expect there are more questions about WIRES-X, since the announcement at the January Club meeting. Even though I was half of the team that set it up, I still have questions. The best place to begin to learn about the operation is to go directly to the Yaesu WIRES-X web site. Toward the left top of the page you will notice several tabs to connect to information that will better describe what WIRES-X is all about. The member log-in is for registered node users, you don’t need to worry about that part.
The three main information tabs:
The “What is WIRES-X?” tab gives an overview of the system.
The “User page” tab has a very good description, with good pictorials, of the way the system operates. Keep in mind this shows a digital radio operation but it is informative for both digital and analog modes.
The “WIRES-X ID list” tab will take you to the page that lists all of the WIRES-X nodes around the world and you’ll be able to see if there are any located near a city that you may want to talk to. You can sort the lists by clicking on the header for each column: call sign, city, state, country. Keep in mind the node list changes everyday as new nodes are registered.
The 147.315, N3QC repeater WIRES-X system is operating in the analog mode so that everyone can use it.
Stay tuned for more information as it relates to the N3QC/R WIRES-X system.
January 21, 2016 article addition
The WIRES-X room node will be connected for the time being. This should enable any one who connects to be able to more easily to use the system. To connect to a node room at a distant location, you will need a DTMF, touch-tone pad, on your microphone or hand-held, then you will need to know the node room number, available on the Yaesu WIRES-X web site . Remember to select the WIRES-X ID list tab to view the node number list.
February 3, 2016 article addition
So far the WIRES-X connection has served us well. I think that one of the biggest advantages that I’ve heard is that folks who may have moved from the area may now have the opportunity to get into the local repeater and talk to others they know. This has been proven out with K3AHS, Ed who is able to get into the 147.315 repeater, from his home in Texas, to check into the Sunday net and at other times to talk to hams who are in the area that he grew up.
The local room node is still connected, no issues appear to have resulted in the full time connection. In order to connect to another node you first need to disconnect from the local room by pressing the ” * ” touch-tone pad button. Then listen for the disconnect acknowledgement of an “H” in CW (4 dots, they’re sent fast). Once you hear the “H” enter the node room number of the distant location with a leading ” # “, via the touch-tone pad, to connect then talk to hams from that area. Remember to read up on the information contained in the above links. This is a system where skimming or guessing just will not work, you have to play by the WIRES-X rules! Remember to play by the FCC rules too and identify when connecting to the nodes.
In a shocking development, Joe W3BC has finally come to his senses and put out a modest but informative edition of the Parasitic Emission newsletter. You may download it here:
 Parasitic Emission, Volume 43, Number 1, April 2017
The National Weather Service Flood Safety Awareness Week Begins March 27. Considering we experience flooding in our area rather often, it is likely worth your time to check out the National Weather Service flood safety week web page at http://www.weather.gov/ctp/floodSafetyWeek The week starts out with information on the continuing effort to modernize the hydrologic information […] […]
Due to winter storm “Stella”, NWS PBZ has cancelled the Advanced SKYWARN class. The date and time will be announced later!!! Jefferson County DES, Clarion County OES and National Weather Service Pittsburgh are co-sponsoring an Advanced Skywarn training. The course will be held at the Strattanville Fire Department 441 Washington Street, Strattanville, PA. Topics covered: Recapping severe weather […] […]
I know this is not directly related to amateur radio but it is directly related to neighborhood safety. It may even be directly related to your safety! […]
National Weather Service Pittsburgh will be conducting a BASIC SKYWARN course at the Punxsutawney Weather Discovery Center 201 N Findley St on Thursday April 27, 2017 starting at 6PM. To register, email marlene@weatherdiscovery.org This course is open to ANYONE interested in Weather. Hams are encouraged to attend. If you are a current SKYWARN observer for Pittsburgh NWS, […] […]
This question often occurs with newly licensed radio amateurs, and may occur from time to time with those who have been licensed for a few years. One of your first avenues to find out an answer to a question may be your local amateur radio club. Often times there are members of the local club […] […]
Spring really is not too far away and with the change of seasons some rather interesting but destructive weather can occur. One of the more serious weather phenomenons we have to occasionally deal with is the tornado. While not a frequent issue, it is one that we need to be prepared for. Understand the Tornado […] […]
If there is anything true about our world it is change! The changes on the NWS pages has been moved to April, as the information states.: “Effective April 4, 2017, NWS will implement the next version of the forecast pages. Highlights will include a standardized look and feel, a mobile-ready landing page, and a completely new […] […]
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