A big welcome to the newest member of Crawford County's ham radio community, KB3TSI. We look forward to hearing this lovely 10 year old on the air. Enjoy the hobby and don't be afraid to ask questions.
Have you made changes to your radio station and have lost or gained new communication modes? The Crawford County Emergency coordinator, WW3S Jamie, has requested that everyone that is interested in ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Services) or those that have registered in the past to please fill out the form at this link in 2010. You can return it to his email account.
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The Crawford County Amateur Radio Emergency Simplex Radio Frequency is 147.525 When an event requires an activation of a net on simplex this is the frequency that will be used and 146.52 will be used for a calling frequency and should not be used to run a net in Crawford County. The Sunday night Emergency Communciations Net will now use the new 147.525 frequency when that alternate frequency is tested.  

Crawford Amateur Radio Society is a nonprofit organization in Meadville, Pennsylvania, devoted to the promotion of Amateur Radio. The Club sponsors activities and programs to promote growth in Amateur Radio, as well as furthering the experience of those already licensed, and to create international good will.
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Despite a larger pool of 2A transitters for field day, W3MIE was again the top score in WPA section. A big thank you to N3QQH and everyone that helped make field day such a success. Results are now published in the QST magazine published by the ARRL.

The 145.13 new Vertex repeater has been installed at the primary repeater site and is on the air with the Cat1000 controller and Weather radio receiver. The autopatch is now active and available with the same features and codes as previously used when it was connected to the old repeater on that frequency.

Many thanks to Crawford County Emergency Services for our site and new equipment. All C.A.R.S. repeaters are currently full time PL 186.2 and transmit the same PL tone.

If you would like to become a member Click on this link for an application. Print it off, fill it out, and mail it in or bring it to the next meeting. We hold club meetings the third Tuesday of each month. The next meeting of the Crawford Amateur Radio Society is Tuesday February 16, 2010 at 7:30pm. We will meet at St. Brigid's Church Social Hall on Arch Street in Meadville.

Club Dues are $15.00 for 2009 C.A.R.S. P.O. Box 653 Meadville, PA 16335.

WA3NSM shot this photo of the Icebreaker run in Meadville

N3QQH preparing for Field Day held this year at Roche Park in Vernon Township. Many more contacts were made when compared to recent field days.

We are a member of the ARRL Western Pennsylvania Section (WPA)
Section Manager is John V. Rodgers, N3MSE
803 S Main St. Butler, PA 16001-6326 n3mse@arrl.org 724-287-0424
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The FCC is investigating pirate radio stations broadcasting in and near Erie, PA. The illegal broadcasters are transmitting in the non-commerical portion of the FM band. Significant fines can be issued for broadcasting illegally.

A Canadian artist who works primarily with sound and vision is inviting radio amateurs with good HF capabilities to take part in an audio art project on 20 meters. Kapwani Kiwanga, will transmit a message on 20 meters from Eindhoven, the Netherlands, to territories that have a historic link with Holland. These include such places as Surinam, Indonesia, and South Africa. Participants in these countries will be asked to re-transmit the received message back to her in Eindhoven. Kiwanga will transmit it back to and so on and so on. This ping-pong effect will increasingly distort the message finally resulting in an abstract artistic sound recording. Kiwanga says that she would like to get started on this project as soon as possible. If you would like to take part in it, please e-mail her to kiwangakap@hotmail.com. Also, please copy the South African Radio Leage News at armi@sarl.org.za, which is following this rather interesting ham radio art creation come to be. (SARL)
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The creator of LOG-EQF and Win-EQF had decided to discontinue new versions of the program and will be providing very limited updates for existing versions. Tom, N3EQF, says " It has been a labor of love for most of that time, but sadly it's time to move on and let younger programmers fill the void." Log-EQF has been available for more 20 years but the constant work involved in supporting a Windows program for ham radio has become too time-intensive. The advent of Windows 7 was probably the last straw, on top of the never-ending changes required to accommodate new rigs, rotors, keyers, clusters, modes, contests, awards, callsign databases, etc.
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On Aug 5, the Cochranton Fair Parade was held with support from a few of the club members. A simplex crossband repeater was used to provide handheld coverage of the entire parade route. Here is some photos of the hard working volunteers Mark, KB3DTN is keeping track of the parade units Gary, WA3NSM at the ready to help out the ladies
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Tom Jennings and the entire participates from the Oil Creek 100 would like to send A big thank you. This public service event proved the value of ham radio to pass emergency, routine, as well as health and welfare traffic for over 300 people over 2 days. The happened a weekend in early October and helped feature the Titusville area to the world as runners/walkers from all over the world particiapted in the 32 hour non-stop event. Special thanks to KB3OXV, N3PBQ and KB3DTN and all the others that assisted with planning and operating during the event. With the help of NBEMS digital technology and the dedicated hams that operated, we passed the latest information about the location of each and every participant, supply need, and helped coordinate the search for missing participants. The event is already being planned for its 2nd year to take place in early October of 2010.
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Inexpensive VHF & UHF transceivers made in China that transmit & receive on the 2m & 70 cm bands appear to be illegal for hams to buy from overseas dealers and have shipped into the USA. This is because the radios have not passed the FCC certification procedure nor can they as they are designed to transmit on frequencies outside of the United States amateur radio allocations right out of the box. The radios in question bear names like Puxing, FDC, Wouxon, and numerous others. They are being mainly sold on eBay and similar on-line auction sites world-wide at prices ranging from $30 to $80 plus shipping. Most of the ads originate from dealers in Taiwan or Hong Kong though some have come from other Pacific Rim nations as well. For more information about this story checkout qrz.com

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Get mobile or email alerts straight from the National Weather Service. You can set it up to alert you by county or using the new pologyn regional system. Signup at inws.wrh.noaa.gov The Cleveland NWS office is also looking to develop a YAHOO group devoted to early statement to upcoming severe weather and general discussion of weather events in the County Warning Area. The National Weather Service has also began to experiment with a new radar system called Ridge 2. View it using google maps at radar.srh.noaa.gov NOAA Weather Radio Transmitter is on 162.475 With special receivers you can be alerted to severe weather information using codes specific only for the counties you want. Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado Warnings are also simulcast on the 145.13 repeater when they are issued for Crawford County, PA

We are the backup communications for EMA, Red Cross and more

Skywarn Storm Spotting is probably one of the most active activities of the Crawford Amateur Radio Society. Every year, members, and non-members alike, participate in Spotter Training, giving them the tools needed to be able to identify severe weather and give reports to the National Weather Service. Get ready for the next outbreak of severe weather, download the National Weather Service skywarn report form. We have seen severe thunderstorms even in the winter months in NWPA.
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A CB website is warning trucker CB'ers and Freebanders to keep out of the 10 meter ham band. The home page post on LiveCBRadio.com tells readers that mobile ham operators all over the United States are now observing and reporting truckers talking above 28 MHz. The website notes that the hams will not just report the truck and it's company to the FCC, but that they often include video and audio as evidence with their complaints.
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2 federal agencies have established a mobile communications emergency public warning technology standard. The FEMA and the FCC announced the adoption of design specifications for a gateway interface enabling wireless carriers to provide alerts via cell phones and mobile devices. The CMAS project is part of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System. It will be able to provide the President of the United States a means by which to notify Americans of national emergencies. The system would also be available for Amber alerts and regional warnings in the form of 90-character text messages. ( AR newsline)
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When checking out Pittsburgh's downtown skyline, you'll see plenty of tall buildings but one in particular at night flashes a message from the top of its building. The 33-story Grant Building, has red neon lights flashing, in Morse Code, a one-word message: "P-I-T-E-T-S-B-K-R-R-H" Wait, that's not right, said Tom Stepleton, as he decoded the message while waiting to see the city's 4th of July fireworks.

The flashing beacon atop the Grant Building has been famous for spelling out "Pittsburgh" since they flipped the switch during a dedication in March 1929. The radio tower erected atop the 500-foot structure served KDKA Radio, which then was housed in the Grant Building. Newspapers at the time said it was decided that the tower should have an aerial beacon flashing on it "to comply with the recent request of Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover, so that aviators might recognize the city." Red neon was chosen because it was the color best visible through fog. The word "Pittsburgh," transmitted via 3.25 million candlepower, could be seen by pilots from 75 to 125 miles away, depending upon conditions, and was registered with the Bureau of Lighthouses in the Division of Aeronautics. Representatives of McKnight Property Management, said the company is aware of the flawed flashes.

Mr. Stepleton, spelled out where the errors are. First, there is a stray flash which could be construed as a dot representing the letter "E" between the 2 dashes that represent the 2 "Ts" in Pittsburgh. Then there is a dash that should be a dot at the start of the 7th letter, turning what ought to be a "U" into a "K." Finally, there is a dot that should be a dash at the start of the 9th letter, changing the "G" into "R" To read more click to see the full Post-Gazette

The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation is a non-profit volunteer organization which designs, builds and operates experimental satellites and promotes space education. There is a wealth of amateur satellite information on this website.