Rotarians on Amateur Radio End Polio Now SPECIAL EVENT: 02/23/2013

Members of the international organization Rotarians on Amateur Radio will be calling "CQ Polio" all weekend to commemorate the founding of Rotary International in 1905 and to educate the public about Rotary's End Polio Now campaign, which is getting very close to eradicating polio throughout the world.

Feb 23-Feb 24, 0000Z-2359Z, KB6NU, Ann Arbor, MI. Rotarians on Amateur Radio. 28.390 21.290 14.290 7.190. Certificate & QSL. Dan Romanchik, KB6NU, 1325 Orkney Dr, Ann Arbor, MI 48103. Members of the international organization Rotarians on Amateur Radio will be calling "CQ Polio" all weekend to commemorate the founding of Rotary International in 1905 and to educate the public about Rotary's End Polio Now campaign, which is getting very close to eradicating polio throughout the world.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the University of Alabama Amateur Radio Club (W4UAL), and to celebrate, the UARC will have a special event station on the air this weekend. The UARC Ham Homecoming Celebration will be operating all day Saturday from outside on The University of Alabama Quadrangle from 7:15 AM to dusk and then again Sunday morning from the club station at Paty Hall. Operating frequencies targeted will be 28.400, 21.300, 3.885, and 7.205, with operation on CW as requested. We’re planning on some AM operation down on 3.885 on Saturday morning and late afternoon. There will be a commemorative QSL available, and details are available on page 91 of the October QST. QSL to the club station W4UAL. We are hosting several of the original 1962 charter members down in Tuscaloosa, and we welcome former members and alumni to come join us in the fun, either in person or on the air. Please pass the word on to all your ham friends and Alabama alumni, and we’d appreciate any spots while we’re on the air. For more details, email Mike Fanning, K4GU at mfanning@hiwaay.net. Hope to CU on the air this weekend!

As the Public Relations Officer for the Calhoun County ARES/RACES Group I submitted the following article that appeared in the August issue of the ARRL's ARES E-Letter about our involvement with a Red Cross Shelter exercise. http://www.arrl.org/ares-el?issue=2012-08-15

The Calhoun County Amateur Radio Association will be holding it's annual ARRL Amateur Radio Field Day 2012 on Saturday June 23, 2012 starting from around 1PM at Mike Tucker Park in Anniston, AL. Field Day is where ham radio operators, throughout the country, will be setting up their radio communications equipment in various locations and making contact with other ham radio operators as a display of their emergency communications capabilities. It should be fun and is also a validation to the hundreds of ham radio operators/volunteers who have spent thousands of hours providing emergency communications, public service work and other benefits throughout our community and region.

There will be a Red Cross ERV (Emergency Response Vehicle) on display for the public to see and the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office is also scheduled to have some emergency equipment/vehicles on display too. Please mark this day on your calender and come out to join the fun and find out more about what ham radio operators do for the community!

Hello All: As the newly appointed Public Relations Officer for the Calhoun County ARES/RACES Group in Calhoun Co. AL I'd like to introduce you all to our new website @ http://kd4cal.webs.com/. Please stop by for a visit and learn more about the CC ARES/RACES Group. We're also on Twitter now @ http://twitter.com/KD4CAL

As we approach the 1 year anniversary of the April 27, 2011 tornadoes that affected so many I wanted to share with you a video tribute made by Lisa Luanne Spinks, also known as N3LUE, who is a member of the CCARA Calhoun ARES/RACES Group. Lisa and her husband David Spinks, W4EMG, were out in parts of Calhoun County on the day of April 27th doing storm spotting and reporting. She was able to catch the tornado on video that she had uploaded to YouTube earlier (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCZP7QPJhCo&list=FLzUtvBPpRSFiMv0ptb65eDw&index=51&feature=plpp_video). After the storms had struck Lisa and David were among some of the 1st Responders in the area to assist with rescue and recovery. Thank you Lisa for making this very moving tribute!
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GavhdoslE4

The Calhoun County Amateur Radio Association FREE Weather Radio Giveaway on Saturday April 7th was a huge success. We gave away over 60 weather radios! For anyone interested I posted pictures from it on my FB page.  http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.264451540315514.61904.100002520097778&type=1

I am the Public Information Officer for the Calhoun County Amateur Radio Association (CCARA) in Anniston, AL and on Saturday April 7, 2012 we will be giving away, for FREE, a limited number of the First Alert brand Model WX-150 Public Alert Radio with S.A.M.E. technology and will come preprogrammed for Calhoun County.

No one in Calhoun County, Alabama or any other area that was affected by the tornado outbreak on April 27, 2011 can ever forget this tragic event. And with the push for people to not to solely rely on outdoor weather sirens to receive severe weather notifications the Calhoun County Amateur Radio Assocaiton from Anniston, AL in cooperation with the American Red Cross: Calhoun/Cleburne County Chapter will be giving away FREE weather radios to the residents of Calhoun County.

We have a few club members that work with the local Red Cross Chapter and when I first had an idea about our club members programming weather radios for those who wanted us to I found out that the Red Cross had several cases of weather radios that were already programmed for our county.

The radios are the same ones that the Calhoun Co. EMA sent out to county residents a few years ago as the incineration of deadly chemical munitions started to come to a close. Before that every resident and business had a TARS radio (Tone Alert Radio) that was used in case of a CSEPP event. These radios would also rebroadcast NOAA information.

The location we're going to at is the Mamre Baptist Church, was literally at ground zero where the tornadoes hit. As a matter of fact the old church building was destroyed and there was on fatality as this is where some had taken shelter. The new building had been heavily damaged. The gentleman I made contact with at the church is a Deacon and is the Father of the 33 year-old man who was killed. He was more than pleased and eager to help our club with this event.

As amateur radio operators we are often involved in responding to disasters such as the tornadoes in April of last year for communications purposes in the event of local public safety radio communications failure due to storm damage. The CCARA has members who are also members of the Calhoun County ARES/RACES Group and they worked almost 300 volunteer hours both during and after those April tornadoes that affected Calhoun County. We are committed to continue to serve the residents of Calhoun County during emergencies and other public service events. We are pleased to have the opportunity to provide those residents of Calhoun County that may still be in need of a weather radio.

Calhoun County AL: Shelter employees alleged committing blatant animal cruelty http://www.examiner.com/animal-welfare-and-protection-in-mobile/calhoun-county-al-shelter-employees-alleged-commiting-blatant-animal-cruelty

The Calhoun County Amateur Radio Association located in Anniston, AL is on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/CalCoAmRdoAscia.

Club information and topics of general interest about amateur radio will be posted.

What do snakes, storms and just about anything else unpredictable have in common? Why that sounds like it just may be things that have happened or will happen while the Calhoun County Amateur Radio Association is holding it's annual Field Day event.

Once again, this year, the CCARA will hold it's Field Day event at Mike Tucker Park located in Anniston, Alabama. The park currently serves as the southern terminus of the Chief Ladiga Trail and was named in memory Dr. Michael Tucker, a noted Anniston physician and long-time bicycle enthusiast. It is nestled within a pecan grove and offers a parking area, a gazebo, a drinking fountain, and rest-room facilities.
 
If you're going to be in or around our neck of the woods on Saturday June 25th starting about 1PM local time, please come out and join us for all of the fun, excitement and some of those unpredictable moments. It will be a day that you most likely will never forget.
 
http://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator
 
WB4GNA
 Calhoun Co Amateur Radio Association
 Mike Tucker Park
 Anniston, AL
 GOTA: no
 Talk-in: 147.090+pl131.8
 Contact: Randall Landers, KG4EUD@aol.com

FRS is a license-free service.

GMRS is a licensed service for an individual and their family members.

It is as simple as that.

Yesterday I found a Kenwood TM-741A Multibander amateur radio in a local thrift store. This one has the VHF and UHF modules and they were asking $60 for it. But since it was missing a few of the function buttons an offer of $20 was given and they took it.

I was able to get a users manual on-line (pdf) and I'm in the process of programming it now. Despite the missing function buttons everything else with this radio works great!

I'm glad you're so easily amused and "giggle" at such things that you see and feel are lesser or below your self-centered and self-imposed importance.

Your response more shows what separates the men from the boys, as if you were/are a true Ham you'd surely welcome any and all into the hobby rather than resort to such child like antics with such immature name-calling etc. but I'd guess if it makes you feel more superior then you'll continue to do so...

Whether or not I'm a "Lid" or a "Ham" I've spoken with several other HAMS that have far more experience and have been "around the block" far more times than I and perhaps even some of them more than you and yet they seem to happily embrace, encourage and accept the "new" modes of communication and simply enjoy the hobby and all of its aspects. Too bad with your many years of knowledge, experience and exposure to the hobby that you can't just simply accept the continuation and extension of the amateur's proven ability to contribute to the advancement of the radio art. Not to mention your refusal to and for the  continuation and extension of the amateur's unique ability to enhance international goodwill.

Have a good day Sir, you take yourself way too serious I did put the little "winky" thing there in my other post just to show it was all in good fun though.

Not a problem, but at least there will still be some out there that will follow these principals...

 Recognition and enhancement of the value of the    amateur service to the public as a voluntary noncommercial communication service, particularly with respect to providing emergency communications.

 Continuation and extension of the amateur's proven ability to contribute to the advancement of the radio art.

 Encouragement and improvement of the amateur service through rules which provide for advancing skills in both the communications and technical phases of the art.

 Expansion of the existing reservoir within the amateur radio service of trained operators, technicians, and electronics experts.

 Continuation and extension of the amateur's unique ability to enhance international goodwill.