Author: Mark

Hamfests have been on hold for most of the pandemic. There will be two opportunities to enjoy a hamfest, meet your fellow hams, take an FCC license test, learn some new skills, and buy/sell some ham gear. Hamarama Holiday 2021 This year the Ham Holiday crew, CORA, will be teaming up with the Texoma Hamarama crew to put on an in-person two-day hamfest on October 22 and 23, 2021, in Ardmore, OK. This hamfest has been running for 74 years, and it will be the largest hamfest in Oklahoma in 2021. So make your plans to see us there. Location: Ardmore Convention Center – 2401 (more…)

The fall and early winter weekends are busy times in Oklahoma.After discussions with section leadership, the 2021 ARRL Simulated Emergency Test (SET) in Oklahoma will be postponed to a time frame that could provide better participation. An announcement of the time frame and updated guidelines/goals will be shared with Oklahoma shortly. 73, Mark Conklin, N7XYO – Oklahoma Section Emergency Coordinator (more…)

Each year hundreds of hams make thousands of contacts during the Route 66 On The Air event! It is a yearly contest that is run by the Citrus Belt Amateur Radio Club of San Bernardino, California https://w6jbt.org/?page_id=117. Its goal is to connect radio operators everywhere with stations along the original RT66 stretch. This year they will have 20 fixed stations and two teams roving the famous route using the callsigns W6A through W6V. Oklahoma has over 400 miles of the Mother Road, more than any other state along the route. Oklahoma City is the center point of the journey, and (more…)

As the summer rolls along, there are a couple of amateur radio tailgate events on the schedule. These tailgate meetings are a good place to visit with other hams, ask a bunch of questions, answer a bunch of questions, and buy, sell, and swap ham equipment. Edmond Tailgate Meeting According to the host, Jerry Sams N5KNU, this will probably be the last Edmond Tailgate event of the year. This is a free event, bring your own tailgate, table, and chair. Take all of your trash. Saturday, Aug. 21 7:30-noon It is held at 332 West 33rd, Edmond, OK, just behind (more…)

Online – Live – Technician Class Most of you already have passed your amateur radio Technician test, but you may have friends or family that are interested in getting their license. Helping them to get their first license has never been easier and the Edmond Amateur Radio Society https://k5eok.org is here to help! They will host a Technician course in Zoom-based meetings and are offering this to anyone in the state. This class starts on August 31st and runs until October 26th. The class runs mostly on Tuesday, but weeks 3 and 8 are on Monday nights, due to local club conflicts. (more…)

Amateur radio operators have used QSL cards to confirm their contacts for decades. And, while the use of paper QSL cards has diminished in recent years, this week, hundreds of postcards will arrive in the mailboxes of hams all over the state of Oklahoma. Cards have been sent to hams that recently obtained their first amateur radio license, upgraded their ticket, joined ARRL, or had their ARRL membership lapse since December 1st, 2020. When I obtained my amateur radio license at the end of solar cycle 21, a few vendors sent welcome mailings to newly minted hams. After checking the (more…)

This year’s Field Day operations have come and gone. Field Day is a great way for you to get involved with all kinds of amateur radio modes in a single afternoon. It’s also a great way to practice your emergency operation skills. And, it’s a great way to meet and greet your fellow local hams. If you missed this one, hang on, Winter Field Day is less than six months away. Otherwise, I hope you had some fun.  This year we had several clubs that planned to operate from home. We had 15 clubs post an active Field Day on (more…)

The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) is currently active on 14.325 MHz for Hurricane Elsa. “Elsa surprised us all by strengthening overnight into a Category 1 hurricane,” HWN Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, said. The storm is currently in between Barbados and St. Lucia with maximum sustained winds of 75 MPH. The storm is moving to the west-northwest at 28 MPH. At this clip, the storm should be past the Windward Islands in the next few hours. “As with any net activation, we welcome your observed ground-truth data from those in the affected area. The information forecasters at the national hurricane center (more…)

What is Field Day? The ARRL Field Day means many things to many people. It takes planning, equipment negotiations, power systems, equipment repair, creature comforts, setup, testing, food, license testing, fox hunts, more food, teardown, and cleanup. This supports 24 hours of operators using radio systems on voice, morse code, and digital modes. There are currently 1,100 locations registered across the United States and Canada. Operations start Saturday morning and continue straight through to Sunday afternoon on the fourth full weekend of June. Where is Field Day? You can find Field Day sites on the ARRL Field Day Locator at http://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator. (more…)

OK Hamfests/Tailgate Events 2021 Hamfests are amateur radio’s in-person conferences or conventions. While we have missed these events for the past year or so, we have four of them scheduled for 2021. The first two of these are outdoor tailgate events, and the last two are full-blown hamfests. If you are new to the hobby, these events allow you to learn more about amateur radio, have fun, and buy and sell equipment from local hams. For us experienced hams, these are great ways to meet old friends, make some new friends, and buy/sell some gear. Put these dates on your (more…)