Change of QTH:  WW8OH will be in EM89 for the VHF Test. ( Fairfield County, OH) . The 6M rig will be an IC-7600 at 100w. and will operate SSB, CW, plus it has FM and Am capability if needed.

Calling frequencies will be 50.130 ssb and 50.095 cw.  A separate 100w rig will use 445.600 FM and 146.55 FM for simplex local contacts. ssb freqs as yet undetermined....guess we will play it by ear unless someone can suggest a hot spot to hang out on???

A new tower is going up, with the 5Lx6m KLM yagi at 50 ft,  plus 2M and 440 yagis at 55 and 60 ft .

Our previous QTH  used 100w to 4 el at 30 ft but with an S9  power line noise level to the north.  This should be a step up,  not to mention the many sigs we heard but couldnt pull thru the noise, which was still S4-5 to the west and south.

May the Es gods be smiling.

Yes!  The SSNs got me excited......but when I tuned the bands, only a few sigs were coming through, plus no 10-12m to speak of, and no 6M Es......as of yet. 

FYI: This year's  print-it-yourself   certificate is now up on the Cooken website, and I must say it is by far our best looking one ever. ( from the Shameless Self-Promotion Department)

Most interesting, you can see the 1.7kw solar power system ( large panels and  under the hood a large set of batteries)  we used to pump out 150w. to our 4BTV vertical ( which I jokingly call a 1-BTV since it did not load on 20-15-10M...just on 40M, the COOKEN tent, and operator pics that include our past two Presidents and our incoming President ( who, BTW, are arguing between themselves who is the most photogenic!)

Next year we  intend to do it again ( with solar power)  as well as get on 20-15-10M  in addition to our stalwart band, 40M.

I might suggest  one 40m station and one 20/15/10m station for Indy.  Like you said, I  almost never hear them here in Ohio.

COOKEN ARC in central Ohio is planning to run 100w to a 5 el  yagi at 50 ft for the contest.  This will be a small multi-station multi-op effort with a 2m ssb  xmtr and 5 el yagi also at around 50 ft.

This will  exceed our past station capabilities ( 100w to a 4 el yagi at 30 ft) so we are looking to set club records  from EN80.

Es has begun here in Ohio!  Yesterday I worked seven stations from MT to KS to OK to TX yesterday all with 59 signals= nice westerly skip.

I keep reading with envy all the  guys along the Gulf with their more abundant   Es and TEP. 

In regards to  the season, here in central Ohio things usually start in early May and  taper off  as we go through July, with far fewer openings in late July and  even less frequent  ones in early August.  At least thats what Ive noted during the past three years.

Worked my first Es  contact this morning.....a guy in  FL operating from his mobile.   The band is coming  to life.

This time...Perfect WX - sunny, calm and  temps near 70F! ( Last yr it was 38F and snowing!)

The  1.7KW solar array we  drew our juice from held up no problem-o and let us  put  150 watts out on 40 ssb, plus  50w on 2m FM.  Also powering a laptop and few other   gizmos.  (Maybe next year we bring a small amplifier....)

It was neat to say -on Arbor Day - from our tent  located beneath a 100+ ft tall perfect specimen beech tree, that we were fully solar powered, at 150 watts  rf output , and hear the surprise in the voices, expecting QRP.  ( Thanks to a portable trailer  with c. 8 ft x 10 ft surface area and a bank of Li-on batteries plus an inverter for 120 vac.  )

Sadly, our 21 mhz  psk/rtty station did not make it, due to family commitments.  And our antenna  while working FB on 40, delivered a 10:1 swr on 20-15-10m.  Maybe next year, guys.

So thanks to all who  said Hello and  contributed to our 130  mostly casual QSOs.   During the late morning and early afternoon we worked  heavily into 4 Land, down to  central FL, GA, AL, NC, SC, TN, KY,  AR, MO, WI, all over NY state, IN-OH-IL-MI and Ontario. with mostly  Big Sigs.
Those 4's sure know how to put out Big Signals! 

And while the  sunny wx was great, it caused major problems  reading my tired Gateway laptop screen in the bright sunlight.  Felt like I was groping in the dark to get the calls entered correctly.  Finding the dang cursor was the real challenge.....where did that thing go??? Is that it? No.  Maybe it's over there....no.  Aha!  I see it!

Next, look for W8TNX  in August  at our SES celebrating native son young Johnny Clem,  civil war hero  who fought as a pre-teen, and eventually rose to the rank of General.

And a special thanks to the fellow who had worked us  during our 2012 Arbor Day event, our  2012 J Clem event, and again at this 2013 Arbor Day solar powered event.  He  completes a trifecta of W8TNX qsos.

Gary:  Look forward to seeing you there.  The place will be humming.  We will be near the  main building, and at the west (left)  end of the display area. 

The large solar panel array shouldnt be too hard to spot.  If all else fails, follow your nose to the pizza truck parked right next to us! 

EXCLUDING the biggies:  CQWWDX, ARRLWWDX, WPX, FD, SS,

Mine include :
1. OSPOTA ( Ohio State Parks on the Air)   an 8 hr contest with working all Ohio state parks   as the goal.! 
2. OQHP and PAQP:  State qso parties....are a blast, especially the one day ones. 
3. ARRL 6M VHF Contest....always fun to set up someplace and see how the Es treats you.
4. 160M CW Contests
5. The guys around Pgh hold a ground wave contest on 10m that is really fun.  Stations from WPA, OH and WV  partake.  But mostly   hams all over WPA surprise theselves with ground/direct wave contact distances. Great idea! 

The big solar panel with back up batteries  are all arranged for, and will be set up near the main entrance to the main building.

Operators have committed to run our:
40m -20m - 15m - 10m ssb station ( one station  rng 100w to a multiband vertical.
20/15m psk/rtty station around 14.080/21.080
2m FM station on the  146.88 repeater ( no tone)

50 tents/organizations will be on hand. 
WX is looking to be   pc/showery with temps in the 60s.
Come  say Hello, or work us on one or more of the bands, or  see the activities and even climb a 100 ft tree!

The folks at COOKEN 

Yes!  Route 66 was another really visible ( errr audible)  and very  good one.

Last year was  much less active than 2011.  Here's hoping 2013 heats up soon!

de Bob  EN80 ( central Ohio)

The guys at COOKEN ARC have decided to activate WW8OH at DILLON State Park for this year's OSPOTA event on Saturday, Sep. 7th.

Dillon SP is located in Muskingum County, for you county hunters.

This "fun"  contest is open to anyone anywhere.  Your goal is to work all 75 Ohio  state parks during this  8 hr event. You can make  only one contact per station per band, regardless of mode.  WW8OH will operate three stations: one  on 80/75m ssb, one on 40m cw/ssb, and one on 20-15-10m ssb. 

In the spirit of Ohio State Parks, we will be  staying at two cabins and one camp site for the entire weeeknd, greatly facilitating set up and tear down.  Before and after the contest we will be on the air for rag chewing purposes, as well as enjoying the park's hiking,  camping,  fishing and boating  opportunities.

Hope to see you there.

PS  This new contest is catching on like wildfire.  Indiana also has  their own contest this very same day.  Other states are organizing their own state parks contest.  See the OSPOTA website for details.

Sounds like a very good idea.  Most SES's  result from the energy of 1-2-3 members of a club , with a good idea, stirring up the club.  Often just a couple of people  have an idea, set up their own gear someplace, and have fun.  Then it grows.  I dont know of any Fire Prevention Week events involving ham radio.  You could be the first! 

There sure are  many topics to choose from such as, home smoke detectors, electrical fires,  national fire and loss of life statistics,  or even  taking the  local route and focusing on NJ stats and large losses in your state.   Since hams would be your audience,   home fires, electrical fires, lightning, etc would be a good focus for maximum appeal.  Im sure your own list would be just as good.   

Your employer might even let you set something up at their place. Just be careful not to get into "advertising"  for them or it could backfire.   

You could team with  a fire department, set up at a fire station,  or work to get  as many NJ counties on the air for your special event.  Even looking nationally to get all states on the air promoting individual messages. 

Best of luck.

PS Im a retired fire protection engineer.