JOHN A KNAUTH, KF4OIP, SK
John Knauth, KF4OIP, passed away over the weekend of 15-16
March. A long time resident of the County, John was an active volunteer EMT
with the Oriental First Responders, actively involved with the Pamlico
Musical Society since its beginnings and the founding President of the
Pamlico Amateur Radio Society (PARS). John and his wife Ilona moved from
their Smith Creek home to New Bern several years ago. John was in his late
70’s. Our heartfelt condolences go to Ilona and their family.
John’s involvement with the Waterway Radio and Cruising Club led to
the forming of PARS. A longtime waterway member and net controller, he was
also editor of “Scuttlebutt” the club’s quarterly newsletter. From
gatherings of local waterway hams to mail the newsletters came the idea for
Saturday morning breakfasts for waterway members. Soon thereafter all local
hams were invited. John steered the group for several years from its
beginnings in 2002. He was instrumental in the society’s incorporation in
2006, its affiliation with the American Radio Relay League in 2007 and in
initiating the radio license preparation courses that have been so
successful. Apparently, he wanted the club to be named the “Pamlico Amateur
Wireless Society or “PAWS” but yielded generously when the Pamlico Animal
Welfare Society claimed that acronym. Even after moving to New Bern, he
remained a member and attended PARS meetings whenever he could. He always
introduced himself with a chuckle as “KF4OIP–“Old Iron Pot”,
A gathering in John’s memory is planned for Saturday April 5 at 5:00 pm
at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in New Bern.
ONLY TWO WEEKS AWAY, THE 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
Now only four weeks away, 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. Torrey Neill KK4UTI has offered to
drive and has space for passengers. Contact him at home, 249-1888 or cell
319-430-1559 or at tojoc@me.com. Are there others planning to drve and have
a spare seat or two? Let me know. Complete info on the event is at
www.rars.org/hamfest.
HAMS NEEDED FOR THE 2014 NC COASTAL LAND TRUST CHARITY RIDE
Bob Melle, AJ4XS. the secretary of the NBARC, is again looking for
volunteers for the NC Coastal Land Trust Fund bike ride Saturday May 3,
2014. The several routes will all start and finish at River Dunes. This is
a one day event. Hams meet at River Dunes at 7:30 am Saturday and the event
should be over by 4 pm. There will be rest stops with snacks provided. For
those that wish to work the same stops and report there directly, let Bob
know. Please program your radios for the Gransboro Repeater, 145.230 MHz,
standard offset, pl 85.4 Hz. All volunteers will receive an event shirt.
Contact Bob at bmelle@yahoo.com or 252-633 6596 if you can help. He needs
your name, call sign, email address, phone# and tee shirt size.
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 C2 event
observed at 24/1224Z. There are currently 9 numbered sunspot regions on the
disk. The Sunspot count this morning is 159 well up from the 139 we saw
last Monday morning. The Solar Flux is at 157 also well up from the 136 NOAA
reported last Monday. NOAA expects solar activity to be low through
Wednesday, but with a 45 percent chance for M-class flares. Sunspot AR2010
has a ‘beta-gamma-delta’ magnetic field that harbors energy for X-class
solar flares. The Solar Flux is expected remain around 155 to 160 through
Wednesday. .
The Earth’s geomagnetic field activity was quiet over the weekend. The
estimated planetary K-index at 8 am local today was 2. The geomagnetic field
is expected vary between quiet to active today and Wednesday, and quiet to
unsettled on Tuesday.
DX CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK
AUSTRAL ISLANDS, FO. A group of operators are QRV as TX6G from
Raivavae, IOTA OC-114, until April 1. Activity is on 160 to 10
meters using CW, SSB and RTTY with three stations. This includes
being an entry in the upcoming CQ World Wide WPX SSB contest. QSL
via operators’ instructions. (These folks have been LOUD on 10–ed.)
QSO CORNER
This is the place to post contacts with DXpeditions, Special Event
Stations, or special QSO’s you would like to share.
Nothing heard….
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 29 — Feld-Hell Worked all Americas Full Day of Hell
* Mar 29-30 — CQ WPX Contest (SSB)
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/KH2 in Guam,
W1AW/4 in Tennessee and W1AW/5 in New Mexico are QRV until 2359z on
25 March. In addition, W1AW Centennial Stations W1AW/0 in Iowa and
W1AW/1 in Vermont will be QRV starting at 0000z on March 26. They
will be active until 2359z on April 1.
(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. Also one rooftop antenna tripod stand will be auctioned, For more
info contact Bill Olah, KR4LO, 249-0287 or
w_olah@yahoo.com
——————–
* SOLD Cushcraft R 7 antenna, PRICE REDUCED, NOW $50.
——————–
(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