President’s Message – March 2016

With Winter mostly behind us, and Spring fast approaching, WARC is rolling into probably our busiest time of the year.

First, it’s Hamfest season, with WARC staging one of the biggest, and last, hamfests in the region. This year’s Hamfest is on Sunday, May 1, and every club member is encouraged to volunteer in some capacity. There’s always plenty to do with an undertaking of this scope, and all hands are welcome as we work towards making this Hamfest a success! You can find a volunteer sign-up sheet on our webpage, or you can see Mike WJ3O or any Board member at the monthly meeting. Mike did a great job as Chairman last year, and with your help will pull off another exceptional event.

Next in line is Field Day, being held this year on the weekend of June 25 & 26. K3DN will be setting up shop at the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown, PA after cancelling last year’s event due to weather concerns. Doc W3GAD is back at the helm once again, and most of the club members I’ve spoken with, myself included, are eager to make a good showing from EPA. Like the Hamfest, Field Day requires a great deal of effort from a great many people, and coordination of that energy into the right places at the right times is crucial. If you plan to attend, please check with Doc for the sign-up sheet, and help him get a head start on planning this yearly operation. If you’ve never been to Field Day, it’s something every amateur operator should experience at least once; it’s my favorite event of the year!

A final note: A friend of mine, Doug N3OJB, introduced me to a great Amateur Radio podcast: “100 Watts and a Wire”. 100WaaW is hosted by Christian Cudnik K0STH, a former local broadcast radio on-air talent, who got his ticket in 2012. The podcast focuses on ham radio topics, from a newly licensed ham’s perspective, but is a great listen for any ham. I’ve started to listen to a few episodes, and so far have found it to be pretty entertaining, and very well produced. The series has really taken off in the last half-year, and Christian’s landed some fairly notable guests, such as renowned contester Tim Duffy K3LR, ARRL Media/PR Director Sean Kutzko KX9X, as well as Section Managers, Directors, and other ham radio notables. If you’d like to check it out, here’s the link to the 100WaaW website: http://100wattsandawire.com/ The meeting this month is on March 3, and the topic will be focused on signing up for and using our Yahoo! Group, WARCtalk.

de Tony, W3FLH 73