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Serving the needs of the Amateur Radio Operators in Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, and Sarasota Counties.

A Ten County Slice of Florida Paradise!

 
Dee Turner, N4GD - Section Manager

Page Last Updated: Friday, January 27, 2012     (All web pages are written by Microsoft Front-Page for viewing on 1024x768 screen size)

Dennis Griffin, W4DG - Assistant Section Manager, OOC & Webmaster


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The West Central Florida Section is one of seventy-one administrative sections of the ARRL - The American Radio Relay League.   The ARRL is the National Association for Amateur Radio in the USA.

The WCF Section of the ARRL Field Organization serves amateur radio operators in ten counties in Florida:  Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota.   The WCF section includes the following cities:  Bradenton, Clearwater, Lakeland, New Port Richey, Punta Gorda, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, Sebring, Tampa and Winter Haven.

This web page has information specific to the ARRL Field Services activities in West Central Florida.   

More News.........

Comedian Tim Allen Stars as Radio Amateur on New TV Show 12/12/2011
 

Ham Radio in Hollywood: Comedian Tim Allen Stars as Radio Amateur on New
TV Show 12/12/2011

Tim Allen -- star of Home Improvement, Toy Story, The Santa Clause and
Galaxy Quest, just to name a few -- stars in Last Man Standing, an ABC
comedy airing at 8 PM (EST) on Tuesday nights. Allen plays Mike
Baxter, KA0XTT, a married father of three and the director of marketing
at an outdoor sporting goods store in Colorado whose life is dominated
by women. While Amateur Radio has not been prominently featured in the
first episodes, according to John Amodeo, NN6JA -- the producer of Last
Man Standing -- it is a part of the show and an important part of Mike's
character.

The episode that will establish Mike as a radio amateur is currently
scheduled to air in mid-January.


"Tim's character Mike is involved in creating the sales strategy for the
store, including their catalog and Internet identity," Amodeo told the
ARRL. "The store is like Bass Pro Shops or Cabelas. There is a
strong self-sufficiency overtone to Mike's approach to life. Ham radio
fits in the story as a means of emergency communication. It's not
directly featured in the foreground story, but at the moment, it's a
background element on the home set. Once I allow something to be put on
the set, there's a chance the writers will feature it. Now that we have
actually established Mike Baxter as KA0XTT, we can do more things
featuring Amateur Radio."

To make Mike a ham, Amodeo needed Mike to have a call sign. So he
contacted ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP, to
help him out. "In film and TV, we create fictitious telephone numbers,
addresses and brands," Amodeo explained. "We do this mostly to avoid
being sued by real brands and to avoid complications with advertisers.
As a producer and a ham, I was torn between wanting the show to be
accurate and needing to keep my studios out of trouble. An accurate and
positive portrayal of ham radio on TV would be a good thing." Many TV
shows and movies use telephone numbers with a 555 exchange (such as
555-1212), as that exchange is not valid.

Together with Pitts, and with input from Tim Allen, Amodeo created a
call sign for Mike Baxter: KA0XTT. Since the show is set in Colorado,
they wanted Mike to have a call sign with a 0 in it. "We wanted a call
sign that sounded real, but was not valid," Amodeo said. "The call sign
is a 2×3 format with an X suffix. A call sign in this format is an
experimental call sign and is not assignable to a radio amateur except
in special circumstances. We especially liked the suffix, as it is a
play on Tim's character from his former show, Home Improvement: `ex-Tim
Taylor.'"

Amodeo told the ARRL that both his studio (Fox) and ABC were "delighted
to have a useable call sign. In the past, TV shows just made up some
crazy call or used someone else's without permission. And because we've
had so much talk about Amateur Radio here on the show, a few of my
production assistants took their Technician exam." Amodeo applied to be
an ARRL Volunteer Examiner so he could help administer the exams. On
October 6, Amodeo and two other ARRL VEs administered the Technician
exam to seven prospective hams. All seven passed, with two making
perfect scores.

Since Mike Baxter is a ham, he needed a shack. So Amodeo and the set
designers installed an Amateur Radio station in the corner of Mike's set
office. Allen, as Baxter, uses an ICOM IC-9100 HF/6 meter/2 meter
transceiver and an IC-92AD handheld transceiver
, both provided to the
show courtesy of ICOM America. Amodeo told the ARRL that he has plans to
add vintage equipment to the shack in the future. "The radio equipment
was originally intended to be used as props and set dressing items,"
Amodeo told the ARRL. "But since eight of the show's staff members are
radio amateurs, it didn't take long before we made the radio equipment
`practical,' which is to say, actually capable of making radio calls
live from the stage when we're not shooting." He said that radios will
always be on and lit whenever they are shooting scenes in the office.

Pitts and ARRL News Editor S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA, have been working
with Amodeo to make sure that Amateur Radio is correctly portrayed in
the show. Keane also provided ARRL and Amateur Radio-related materials
that are used on the set, such as issues of QST, NCJ and QEX, as well as
a call sign map, a 2012 ARRL Handbook, a 2012 ARRL calendar and various
ARRL stickers (look for one on the HF rig). "We also sent fake versions
of DXCC, Worked All States and Worked All Continents certificates, as
well as a Morse Code Proficiency Certificate," Keane explained. "Each
certificate bears the name Mike Baxter and has KA0XTT as the call sign.
All the certificates have issue dates of December 25, playing upon Tim
Allen's role in The Santa Clause movie series."

Amodeo told the ARRL that he also installed a Comet CHV-5X HF dipole and
GP-1 antenna for 2 meters and 70 cm
(courtesy of NCG/Comet) "up high,
about 50 feet, inside the sound stage. The ultimate goal is to have the
hams on our staff make contacts from our stage during down times."

Last Man Standingalso stars Nancy Travis (Three Men and a Baby) as
Mike's wife and Hector Elizondo Pretty Woman, The Princess Diaries,
Monk) as Mike's boss. Amodeo also produced the critically acclaimed
Sports Night and Arrested Development.
New WCF Section Affiliated Club Coordinator Appointed!

WCF Section Manager Dee Turner, N4GD, on Saturday, December 3, 2011, appointed Bill Johnson, AA4WJ, the sections  new ACC. Congratulations Bill!

 
 

[LakelandARC] field day video link 

http://www.baynews9.com/VideoPlayer/?Ham_Radio_0628
 
Larry Gispert, KR4X obtains support from IAEM for Senate Bill 1755
Larry Gispert, KR4X obtained support of the International Association of Emergency Managers for Senate Bill 1755. A letter was sent to the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. The IAEM are 4000+ emergency managers around the U.S.

A copy of the letter can be found here:  IAEM Support Letter s:1755 in .pdf

If you haven’t written your local congressional members, now it the time recommending they support the bill.
 
The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act, which died at the end of the 111th Congress, has been reintroduced in the 112th Congress as HR 81.
The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act, which died at the end of the 111th Congress, has been reintroduced in the 112th Congress as HR 81. The sponsor is Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18). The new bill -- which was introduced on January 5 -- has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Rep Jackson Lee first introduced the bill -- HR 2160 -- in the 111th Congress in April 2009. It gained an additional 41 co-sponsors but did not progress out of the committee of jurisdiction. A similar bill introduced in the Senate -- S 1755 -- made it all the way through that body in December 2009, but likewise was not taken up by the House.

The objective of the bill -- which is supported by the ARRL -- is for the Secretary of Homeland Security to study the uses and capabilities of Amateur Radio communications in emergencies and disaster relief and to identify and make recommendations regarding impediments to Amateur Radio communications, such as the effects of private land use regulations on residential antenna installations.

"We are hopeful that this early start will lead to success in the new Congress," commented ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ.

HR 81 can be found on the web in PDF format at, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hr81ih/pdf/BILLS-112hr81ih.pdf.
 
Senate “Companion” Bill to HR 607 Avoids Impacting Amateur Spectrum

 

05/23/2011

On Thursday, May 19, Senators Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) and John McCain (R-AZ) introduced S 1040 -- The Broadband for First Responders Act of 2011 -- in the Senate (see below for link). While it has a similar objective to HR 607 -- introduced in February by Representative Peter King (R-NY-3) -- this Senate bill, unlike HR 607, does not call for auctioning any portions of Amateur Radio spectrum. Both bills call for the allocation of the so-called “D block” of spectrum, 758-763 and 788-793 MHz, to facilitate the development of a public safety broadband network.

On learning in February that a Senate version of HR 607 was being drafted, ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, met with staff members of the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee who were working on the bill to share the ARRL’s concerns with regard to HR 607. “They seemed very receptive to our argument and appreciative of the public service contributions of radio amateurs,” Sumner said. “It is gratifying to see that S 1040 avoids impacting our spectrum allocations.”

Sumner explained that while some media reports are referring to S 1040 as “the Senate version of HR 607,” it is important that radio amateurs not oppose S 1040: “There is no reason for us to do so. We support the creation of an interoperable broadband network for first responders. Other than to oppose any method that would impact amateur spectrum use, we do not support one method over another of achieving that objective. We only oppose one aspect of HR 607, not the entire bill.”

S 1040 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Science, Commerce, and Transportation, chaired by Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV). Senator Rockefeller earlier introduced his own bill, S 28, to address the same general topic. Neither Senate bill would impact amateur spectrum.

 
 

*SPRING 2010* ISSUE OF THE WCF TS EXPERIMENTER NOW AVAILABLE  in .pdf (Click on any text to link)

"Revised" DATABASE OF THE WCF SECTION COUNTY HAM TOWER/ANTENNA RULES & REGULATIONS (05, 2010)

Our WCF Section ASM & TC, Geoff, N1GY, has complied a list for our ten (10) WCF Section County Amateur (HAM) Tower and antenna rules and regulations. Click here to access this link!

WCF Club News

The Latest issue of The Communicator from the TARC.  TNX to Jack Sproat, W4JS, their editor for forwarding a copy to post on the WCF Section Webpage!

 
The EARS Newsletter is now available at this link!  
 
The TARC (Tampa) Newsletter  is now available at this link!
 
Florida Contest Group (FCG)  "Contest Gazette" Newsletter - Now Available Here!
 
North Port Amateur Radio Club (NPARC)  newsletter Now Available Here!  (May, 2007 calendar of events can be found on this link).
 
East Pasco ARS Newsletter Now Available Here!
 
The "Moonshiner" an E-magazine for South West Florida's Ten Meter Community
 

The Hardee Amateur Radio Group "HARG E-LETTER"   (Now Available via this link)

 
Sun City Amateur Radio Club newsletter "Connector" is now available for download via this hyperlink!
 
The Kings' Point ARC Newsletter is now available by clicking this text!
 
CHARLOTTE COUNTY HAMFEST GETS GREAT NEWS COVERAGE (click link for .pdf fle)
 
 
A great video from that Mic-W4ZPP of the SARA/SERC club Field Day - 2007!
 

Hillsborough ARES/RACES - EmComm Flyer Now available here! 

 
Latest issue of the WORMHOLE Newsletter is here!  The Dec'08 Extra Edition is here!
 
St. Petersburg Amateur Radio Club (SPARC) "Spark Gap" Newsletter      
 
Up-to-date news from the West Central Florida Group, Inc.  (WCFG, Inc.)   

 

Florida D-Star Information Site   &   West Central Florida -DSTAR Group    

MARCI - Manatee AmateurMARCI _ Manatee Amateur Radio Club, Inc. Newsletter Radio Club Inc. - Newsletter

Florida State-Wide D-Star Hurricane Net Started                       (Click on any text for Link)

Important press release concerning the new NI4CE VHF and UHF repeaters installed at Verna (Big Stick

To view this .PDF file, click anywhere on the text in this sentence.

North Port Amateur Radio Club CW Training Net

A reminder that the weekly North Port Amateur Radio Club CW Training Net will be held on Sundays, at 8:30 PM local time - CW on 28.350 and voice on NPARC Repeater 147.12.

Net Control is K8QI - The goal of this net is to encourage members to develop their CW skills to a level where they feel comfortable in making CW contacts. The speed will be around 5 wpm - characters sent at 12 wpm with 5 wpm spacing - Farnsworth Method

Did your New Year's Resolutions include CW? Tune in on 28.350 and check-in or just "copy the mail"

73, Barry K8QI

2010 FIELD DAY REPORTS

CARS Field Day 2010 Report (Click any text for link report)

Click this link to see upcoming WCF Section & Florida Statewide Hamfests & Tailgates!

 
 
WCF Section Net Schedule
West Central Florida Section Nets -- The WCF Section has several nets during the week.  Most of the nets are held on the NI4CE repeater system on 145.43 / 442.95 Verna, 145.29 / 443.45 St Pete, 442.825 / Peebledale (just south of Mulberry in Polk)  & 146.76 /442.650  Port Richey (Pasco). All require 100.0 Hz Sub-audible tone.  
Day(s)   Net Name Time (ET) Where
Daily   Eagle Net (WCF Florida Section Traffic Net) 8:30 PM NI4CE/R
Sunday   West Central Florida Section Weekly (VHF/UHF) 7:30 PM NI4CE/R
Monday   West Central Florida Section ARES Net 7:30 PM NI4CE/R
Tuesday   Open 7:00 PM NI4CE/R
Wednesday   Tampabay Traders Net 9:00 PM NI4CE/R
Thursday   WCF Technical Net 9:00 PM NI4CE/R
Friday   Open    
Saturday   WCF Section HF Net  8:30 AM 3.911 MHz LSB and 7.281 MHz LSB.(alt.)
Saturday   WCF YL Net   7:30 PM NI4CE/R

 

This Weeks DX NEWS.... 

ARLD004 DX news

This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by N7UN, NC1L, UT0EA, W1NN, the OPDX Bulletin, 425 DX News, The Daily DX, DXNL, The Weekly DX, Contest Corral from QST and the ARRL Contest Calendar and WA7BNM web sites. Thanks to all.

TUNISIA, 3V. Ash, KF5EYY will be QRV as 3V8SS from the club station in Hammam Sousse in the CQ 160-Meter CW contest. QSL direct via LX1NO.

ITU HQ, 4UxITU. The International Amateur Radio Club is QRV as 4U1WRC during the World Radiocommunication Conference 2012 until February 27. Activity is on 160 to 6 meters using all modes. QSL via 4U1ITU.

MALDIVES, 8Q. Bert, CX3AN and Mario, CX4CR are QRV as 8Q7HU from Maafushi Island, IOTA AS-013, until February 5. Activity is on 80 to 6 meters using CW, SSB and various digital modes. QSL via CX3AN.

WEST MALAYSIA, 9M2. Members of the Malayan ARC will be QRV as 9M4CNY from Penang Island, IOTA AS-015, in celebration of the Chinese New Year. Activity is on 40 and 20 meters using SSB from 0700 to 1600z. QSL direct.

BAHAMAS, C6. Operators N1GN and NE1B will be QRV as C6ANM from
Nassau, IOTA NA-001, in the CQ 160-Meter CW contest as a Multi/Single entry. QSL direct via WA2IYO.

ANGOLA, D2. Valeriy, UA0QV is QRV as D2QV until January 29. This includes a possible entry in the CQ 160-Meter CW contest, weather-permitting. QSL via UT0EA.

FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY, DA. In celebration of the 1200th jubilee of the city of Schlitz, special event station DL0SLITISA is QRV. The length of this operation is unknown. QSL via bureau.

MAYOTTE, FY. Giovanni, IK5BCM, Giuseppe, IK5CBE and Giovanni, IK5CRH will be QRV as TO4M from January 28 to February 5. Activity will be on 80 to 10 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and PSK31 with two stations active. QSL via IK5CRH.

JERSEY, GJ. Richard, K2WR will be QRV as GJ2A in the CQ 160-Meter CW contest as a Single Op/High Power entry. Before the contest he is active as MJ0AWR. QSL to home call.

GRENADA, J3. Buddies in the Caribbean members K8EAB, KB9AVO, KC4VG, N7UN, W3FF, W6HFP, W7ZT and WG0AT will be QRV as J3/home calls from February 1 to 9. Activity will be on 160 to 10 meters using CW, SSB and digital modes. They will be active from fixed locations and various points on the island. QSL to home calls.

MARIANA ISLANDS, KH0. A group of operators are QRV as NH0J from Saipan. They plan to be active in the CQ 160-Meter CW contest.  After the contest they plan to be active as well on the higher bands. QSL via operators' instructions.

LUXEMBOURG, LX. Ron, DL3BPC will be QRV as LX7I in the CQ 160-Meter CW contest as a Single Op/High Power entry. QSL via LX2A.

BRAZIL, PY. In commemoration of the 78th anniversary of the founding of the Brazilian Amateur Radio League, special event station ZY78AA will be active throughout the month of February. QSL via PT2AA.

SWEDEN, SM. Operators ON4AWT, ON5RZ and ON7DS are QRV as SI9AM from the King Chulalongkorn Memorial club station until January 30. This includes an entry in the UBA SSB contest. QSL via SM3CVM.

BELIZE, V3. Art, NN7A is QRV as V31JZ/p from South Water Caye, IOTA NA-180, until February 1. Activity is on 160 to 10 meters using mainly CW. He may be active in the CQ 160-Meter CW contest if conditions permit. QSL to home call.

MACQUARIE ISLAND, VK0. Trevor, VK0TH is normally QRV each day from
0700 to 1200z using CW, SSB, RTTY, PSK and Feld-Hell. QSL direct via JE1LET.

EL SALVADOR, YS. A group of operators will be QRV as HU2DX from January 29 to February 10. Activity will be on the low bands with several stations active. QSL via DH7WW.

THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO. CQ 160-Meter CW Contest, BARTG RTTY Sprint, NAQCC Straight Key/Bug CW Sprint, QRP CW Fox Hunt, NCCC Sprint CW Ladder, REF CW Contest, UBA SSB DX Contest, SPAR Winter Field Day, WAB 1.8 MHz Phone Contest, CW Classic Exchange and the QRP ARCI Fireside SSB Sprint will certainly keep contesters busy this upcoming weekend. The QRP CW Fox Hunt is scheduled for February 1. Please see January QST, page 83 and the ARRL and WA7BNM Contest Web Sites for details.

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Page Last Updated: Friday, January 27, 2012 18:17:55