THE BIG CYCLE NC COASTAL RIDE NEEDS YOU
The big Spring NC Coastal ride in Oriental on 4-5-6 April has sold out.
That means over a thousand bicycle riders are coming to Oriental to spend
the first Saturday and Sunday in April on rides of up to 110 miles long.
The longest rides extend up to Lowland and over to Aurora. The riders will
be coming from 27 states and range from 83 years of age, the oldest now
registered rider, to 4 years, the youngest. Most will not do those long
distances. There will be a variety of distances for the riders to choose
from starting with just a ride around town. They will be staying in our
houses; camping on our lawns, down at Lou Mac Park, in and around the
Masonic Lodge and Women’s Club, in RV’s and trailers–just everywhere. This
event is so big that organizers even bring their own big shower on wheels!
And those riders will be giving a big boost to the town, county businesses
and non-profits. What the organizers need is help coordinating the
rides–communications to support logistics and safety and more. That’s where
the Pamlico Amateur Radio Society members and other helping Hams come in.
Hams will be needed from about 0800 to 1700 on Saturday and 0800 to 1500 on
Sunday at rest stops, riding in SAG (Support And Gear) vans, and at race
control . More details are coming, but if you have a few hours to spare on
that Saturday and/or Sunday, please give Mike Hurm K4HPS a call at 249-1122
or email at mhurm@aol.com. Information can be found about the Coastal
Ride at http://cnc.ncsports.org/springCNCRide/.
RARSFEST 2014 SATURDAY APRIL 19TH
PARS folks are starting to talk carpool. The big event up at the State
Fairgrounds in Raleigh is probably the largest and most well attended
hamfest in our state. It is also the site of this year’s Roanoke Division
Convention with a special guest, ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN. Unlike at
our small local hamfests, there are lots of vendors including new equipment
dealers for all major brands. Don’t tell the XYL, but there is a large
general-merchandise Flea Market on the grounds separate from the
hamfest–just so much stuff for everyone! This year the hamfest is on
Saturday, April 19th, 0830 to 1530. We’ve heard that Torrey Neal KK4UTI
has offered to drive. Contact him at tojoc@me.com. Are there others? Let me
know. Complete info on the event is at www.rars.org/hamfest.
SOLAR NUMBERS TODAY
NOAA reported that solar activity was low during the 24 hours ending
Sunday night at 6 pm local. The largest recent solar event was a C1 event
observed at 17/0829 . There are currently 9 numbered sunspot regions on the
disk. The Sunspot count this morning is 139, a little up from the 123 we saw
last Monday morning. The Solar Flux is at 136 a down from the 146 NOAA
reported last Monday. NOAA expects, solar activity to be low but still
with a 50 percent chance for M-class flares through Wednesday. The Solar
Flux is expected remain around 135 through Wednesday.
The Earth’s geomagnetic field activity was quiet over the weekend. The
estimated planetary K-index at 8 am local today was 1. The geomagnetic field
is expected vary between quiet to unsettled today, and quiet on Tuesday and
Wednesday.
DX CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK
CANADA, VE. David, VE3VID is QRV as VY0/VE3VID from Igloolik
Island, IOTA NA-174, until April 20. Activity is on the HF bands
using primarily RTTY, with Hell and Olivia as well. This includes
an entry in the EA RTTY contest. QSL to home call.
(Olivia will be a bit different; then something for the RTTY fans–ed.)
QSO CORNER
This is the place to post contacts with DXpeditions, Special Event
Stations, or special QSO’s you would like to share.
No more contacts to be had with Kingman Reef. Dave N4ENE forwarded an email
that advises–probably after an enquiry for a possible DXpedition–that
the… ” US Fish and Wildlife will no longer grant access to amateur radio
operators as there is not much left of it above water and it would be too
dangerous”. The USF&W project manager is urging the reef be dropped from
the DXCC list. KH5K is currently number 7 on the Club Log most wanted DXCC
List. Oh well, if it isn’t there, it won’t be wanted will it….
OTHER ACTIVITY ON THE RADIO:
This info is extracted from the ARRL Letter, from the WA7BNM Contest
Calendar or the ARRL Contest Corral. You can receive the Letter weekly via
email as a member of ARRL :
* Mar 22 — FOC QSO Party (CW)
* Mar 22 — Oklahoma QSO Party
* Mar 22 — QCWA Spring QSO Party
* Mar 22-23 — Louisiana QSO Party
All dates & times, unless otherwise stated, are UTC.
See the ARRL Contest Branch page <http://www.arrl.org/contests/>, the ARRL
Contest Update http://www.arrl.org/The-ARRL-Contest-Update/ and the WA7BNM
Contest Calendar <http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for more
info. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out the ARRL
Special Event Station Web page<http://www.arrl.org/special-events>. For a
LIST OF STATE QSO PARTIES, see
http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/stateparties.html. (State QSO parties
are a great way to get those last states on your Worked All States (WAS)
Award list.)
SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS. W1AW Centennial Stations W1AW/7 in Arizona
and W1AW/8 in Ohio are QRV until 2359z on 18 March. In addition,
W1AW Centennial Stations W1AW/KH2 in Guam, W1AW/4 in Tennessee and
W1AW/5 in New Mexico will be QRV starting at 0000z on March 19.
They will be active until 2359z on March 25.
(Courtesy of the ARRL DX Bulletin)
HAM EQUIPMENT FOR SALE, TRADE, OR WANTED
——————–
* AT AUCTION, MARCH PARS MEETING, Two Rohn R25G 10′ tower sections and one
baseplate, with hardware. Good condition. Donated by Stephanie Davis in
memory of Tom, N1ZY (SK), money to go to PARS treasury. Bids start at $50
for all. For more info contact Bill Olah, KR4LO, 249-0287 or
w_olah@yahoo.com
* FOR SALE Cushcraft R 7 antenna, PRICE REDUCED, NOW $50. Please contact
Charlie Overcash, WA4GSI, at 249-1257 or charlie@dockline.net.
(20131230/20140310)
——————–
(Send me your amateur radio related items for sale, trade, or wanted for
listing in the PARSgram. PLEASE let me know if your listing is no longer
needed. ITEMS listed will EXPIRE AFTER 90 DAYS unless I hear
otherwise.–Jim).
PARS CALENDAR:
* Mar 29, PARS Monthly Meeting, Saturday, 9 am, Brantley’s Village
Restaurant, Oriental. Bill Olah, KR4LO, 249-0287 or w_olah@yahoo.com
* Apr 4,5,6, 2014 Cycle NC Coastal Ride, Oriental and Pamlico County (PARS
Community Service) Contact Mike Hurm 249-1122 or Mike Marsh 636-1257 for
info.
* Apr 19, RARSfest, Saturday, 8 am – 3:30 pm, Jim Graham Bldg, State
Fairgrounds, 1025 Blue Ridge Rd, Raleigh, NC. For more info
www.rars.org/hamfest.
* Apr 26, PARS Monthly Meeting, Saturday, 9 am, Brantley’s Village
Restaurant, Oriental. Bill Olah, KR4LO, 249-0287 or w_olah@yahoo.com.
* May 3, DownEast Hamfest, Saturday, 8 am-3 pm, Lenoir Community College,
Kinston, NC. Gene Rybolt 252-523-0988, Janice Hopkins, KJ4JPE
hopkinszoo1@msn.com.
* May 3, North Carolina Land Trust Bike Ride, 0730, River Dunes, Pamlico
County. Bob Melle AJ4XS, bmelle@yahoo.com or 252-633-6596
PARS NETS:
* Mondays, Pete’s “Swamp Talk” roundtable, around 8:15 pm local, 28.463
MHz plus or minus, USB. An informal forum originally established to assist
our new Hams, this freq. is in the 10M voice segment open to technician
licensees and above. Radio topics/questions/issues welcomed.
* Wednesdays, Pamlico Emergency Net Practice and Rag Chew, 7:30 pm,
Oriental Repeater, 147.210 + (PL151.4).
PARS WEB SITE:
https://www.n4prs.org/
Web Master is Larry Wall, KK4SEO, wallmailbox@yahoo.com.
PARSgram ITEMS
We are always looking for items of interest to PARS members to put in the
PARSgram. If you run across a timely item or think of something you think
would interest our folks, please send it to me. Thanks
73, Jim AI4WL