All posts by John Myers

Welcome to our Presence on the web

Welcome to the Alliance Amateur Radio Club’s online clubhouse. This site is just one of our presences on the web. We are also on Facebook, X (Formerly Twitter), Instagram, and groups.io.

We’ve been active in the Alliance area since 1986. There were clubs in the Alliance area before that time. You can read about them on our History page. You are invited to attend any of our monthly events. We meet for breakfast once a month on the first Saturday. Then on the 2nd Wednesday, we have our club meeting. You can learn more about all our events on our calendar page.

We are an ARRL affiliated Special Service Club. We’ve recently been granted IRS 501(c)(3) status. All donations are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by the IRS.

We own & maintain two Amateur Radio repeaters in the Alliance area. You can find access information in the sidebar on the right side of the page. You can find out a lot more about our repeaters on our repeater page.

Are you looking for the latest in Alliance ARC club news? Check out our blog page

We participate in a number of on the air & public service events throughout the year. If you are looking for an active club, here we are.

73,

Alliance ARC

Alliance 2-Meter repeater is not in the ARRL Repeater Directory

Hi everyone,
Hi everyone, I’ve gotten a couple comments recently about the club’s two meter repeater. Apparently it is again not in the ARRL Repeater directory. I did some reading the other night, & this is what I found.
First of all, the info in the ARRL Repeater directory no longer comes from the lists of coordinated repeaters provided by the state repeater councils. In my surfing, I found this on the website of the Ohio Amateur Repeater Council (https://oarc.com/arrl_dir.html):
“Notice Regarding the ARRL Repeater Directory
The Ohio Area Repeater Council received notice from the ARRL that they were terminating the current ARRL Repeater Directory License Agreement between the ARRL and the Ohio Repeater Council (and every other state) effectine September 30th, 2016.
We were very disappointed in the RFinder Repeater Directory that was published in 2017. It contained incorrect, out of date and unverifed information scraped from the internet. Only 12 of the 50 United States contributed data to RFinder, Ohio was one of the 12. We have received many complaints about the data presented. Rfinder wants more information than the ARRL, including where repeaters are located. That data that has always been protected.
Ohio has not provided any futher updates. Repeater Trustees are welcome to contact RFinder Directly if like.”
So, in looking at the ARRL website, they confirm that any discrepancies should be taken up with the good folks at RFinder.com. Unfortunately, RFinder.com forwards to androiddmr.com, which is a sales site. I’ll keep my eyes open on this. There has to be a way to straighten this out. If you have an answer, please reach out to me.
And by the way, both of the club repeaters are coordinated. I just mailed out our Repeater council dues the other night, and confirmed that our information is up to date.
I’d like to thank everyone who notified me about this. Personally, I have not bought a ARRL Repeater directory in years, and with what I’ve read, will never do so.
Repeater info is available online, and apparently is more accurate. To look up the latest information I invite you to go to www.repeaterbook.com. I have a login for that and check into that periodically to ensure everything’s correct.

Tape Measure Beam Group Build

This event is coming up hopefully in April. It will be a Group build & on the air day. We’ll be building Tape measure beams for Fox hunting. These are incredibly easy to build, and work well. We’ll be at the outdoor pavilion at First Christian Church (1141 W. Beech St, Alliance) from 1 – 5 PM on March 9th.
I don’t have a cost, because we keep getting offers of donated materials, updated techniques which lower the cost. So far, it looks like we might be under the $10 point. 
Also that day, Tony KD8BBK will be setting up his rig, getting on the air, and answering questions. So come on out, and have some fun. 
No, we won’t be having a cookout, but perhaps we can retire afterwards to a local eatery for dinner.  

BSA JOTA event at Tuscazoar

Good afternoon! Again this year I’m coordinating with Tusco and Canton clubs to help B.S.A J.O.T.A  event at Tuscazoar. If you have the time please feel free to come out! We will be setting up a few stations for the troops to visit and learn communications.  Jon Meyers will be operating a POTA station,  I will be setting up a hf, maybe qrp station. No, I do not know code but will have a station setup for a volunteer to use if anyone would like run it! If you have an idea for a demonstration or exercise,  or even want to come setup your own station please feel free to let me know! Our involvement will be Saturday only and lunch is provided. Please contact me if you may be interested in helping out.

 

Earn Signs, Signals & Codes Merit Badge

Scouts of all levels are invited to earn Signs, Signals & Codes Merit Badge. Most of the requirements of the badge will be available during the day.

October 21, 2023 – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This merit badge covers several nonverbal ways we communicate: emergency signaling, Morse code, American Sign Language, braille, trail signs, sports officiating hand signals, traffic signs, secret codes and more.

Many of the same people who brought the Radio Merit Badge to camp in 2022 will be back to help with SS&C and the day will be structured as it was for Radio Merit Badge. Some groups will observe a guided presentation in Hoover Lodge while other groups will demonstrate their mastery of requirements in an outdoor setting.

Some requirements can’t be done in a classroom (What did you expect? This is Scouting!). For example, use trail signs and markers to create a one-mile trail for fellow Scouts to follow. Also, the following requirements must be completed prior:

  • 5A & 5B (One Scout does 5B, the next Scout uses that work to accomplish 5A. Then they switch roles and repeat)
  • 7 (Moderately difficult. Best done during a campout or one-day outing)
  • 9 Partial – Only the part where you “Design your own symbol”

This weekend coincides with the Jamboree-on-the-Air, or JOTA, the largest Scouting event in the world. JOTA uses amateur radio to link Scouts and hams around the world, around the nation, and in your own community. Our instructors will have amateur radio stations set up to assist with requirement 3A.

KE8VZE Antenna party

During the Independence Day weekend of 2023, a group of dedicated members from the Alliance ARC generously volunteered their Sunday morning to assist a fellow Ham operator.

You may already be familiar with Jimmy, KE8VZE. He is known for his friendly nature, always ready to lend a hand and deeply passionate about the hobby. When Jimmy needed help with setting up his home station, 14 club members eagerly came forward to offer their support.

After a productive morning’s work, the team enjoyed a delicious lunch from Old Carolina. With everything in place, Jimmy is now able to get on the airwaves. This heartwarming display truly exemplifies the spirit of “Hams Help Each Other!“

Butler Hamfest Wrap-Up

Today, was the Butler Hamfest’s return to it’s longtime home at the Butler Farm Show grounds. It had moved to the Butler county fairgrounds about 6 years back. 

Todays crowd was decent; not bad for a Post-COVID, New-ish venue hamfest. I was kind of tied to the club table, and didn’t get to do any exploring, but did see that a new food building has been opened. 

I took all of our left-overs from previous estates, added in some recent donations (along with some of my own gear), and filled up the truck bed for today’s trip to western PA. The day was a definite success! Club members will see the sales numbers in next Sundays Treasurer report. 

The next Hamfest on my radar is the Mansfield Trunkfest on July 8th (July 9th rain date). You can learn more at https://iarc.club/hamfest/index.html. No sales this time, just browsing. DE WG8X