LEVY COUNTY JOURNAL AROUND LEVY COUNTY

THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 2006

 

Ham enthusiasts show off during Field Day

BY AMANDA DEPOTTY
CORRESPONDENT

For 24 hours, starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 24, Ham
Radio operators all over the country and parts of the world
set up vigil in front of their radios. Why? Because of Field
- Day, a contest that gives operators a chance to show off their
skills to one another and interested members of the public
but also serves as proof to officials all over the country of the
usefulness of the radios.

Foremost, Field Day is an exercise in emergencies. After
the disastrous hurricane season that 2004 brought, one would
think that the importance of such machines i in times of disaster
would be obvious.

In New Orleans, after the destruction of Hurricane Katrina,
ham radio operators helped land helicopters for the Coast
Guard and alerted people of the safety of their family members.
Emergencies can be reported when electricity and cell phones
give out, and conscientious civilians are often alerted by radio
to keep a keen eye for missing persons.

However, many people still fail to see the major ways in
which this form of communication can be beneficial when
normal forms of communication fail.

Cell phones don’t have coverage everywhere, and their

service is often not available after natural disasters destroy .

their towers. Phone and power lines also go down, making
most forms of modern communication impossible. Ham radios
are able to be used quite easily in such situations. These radios
- can be run on generators and batteries when power fails. Most
radio setups are 100 percent mobile and can be set up as soon
as the situation is safe enough for the operators to be out.
Field day acts as a reminder of the great services hams can
provide people in need of assistance. However, it is also a fun
race to see who can make the most connections in 24 hours.
Field days are public events where operators put their skills
to the test, and are willing to teach anyone interested the
allure of operating a radio. Operators can form teams or, if
they desire, operate on their own: The competitors will keep
note of the people they contact by the contacts’ call name,
number of people on the contacts’ team, the time of contact,
and the frequency at which the contact took place. Points will
be given for each contact made, with extra points given for
special contacts, bonus report broadcasts, and the attendance
of certain politicians. These score sheets will be sent to the
ARRL and tallied, with the results published in several ham
radio magazines in about two months.
. Listening to these pros at work is quite intimidating.
However, becoming an operator is no impossible task. The

 

NYPD RADIO AMATEURS Club Vice President Frank
Hallman warms up a few minutes before Field Day
begins.

easiest way to begin operating is to attend a meeting ofa local
Ham radio club. '

The NYPD Radio Amateurs Club meets the second
Saturday of each month at the Otter Creek Baptist Church.

President Brian Silva and Vice President Frank Hallman
are thrilled to share their craft with other amateur operators,
or even people who have never touched a radio. After that,
books about operating hams are available and practice tests
for a technician’s license are available on the ARRL website.
Tests for the licenses are available once a month in Williston
and at Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville. After
receiving a technician’s license, a person can continue to
pursue more licenses which will allow operators to function
fewer bandwidth restrictions. MARS licenses, for example,
permit civilians to use military frequencies to communicate,
providing even more aid in emergency situations.

People are sure to be familiar with the more traditional forms
of communication over hams — CW (Morse code) and regular
communication. However, radio communications are moving
into today’s world by incorporating computer technology into
their set-ups. PSK, or digital broadcasting, can be done via
software that uses the computer’s soundcard and radio signals
to broadcast. Different software programs are available for
amateur use, including several freeware versions.

Hams are trying to raise the awareness of safety officials

 

Journal photos by Amanda DePotty

MEL COURTNEY leads the digital part of team AC2N
from inside his house.

as well as that of the general public. Statistically few young
people, and even fewer females, take up interest in the hobby.
With a sharp sense for bargains, a person could purchase an
antenna for around $15 and a decent, used radio for around
$100 at swap meets.

People considering the hobby should be aware that there are
no stores between the Levy County area and Orlando that sell
Ham equipment, making either travel or internet purchasing
necessary. After receiving an operator’s license, people are
free to communicate with people all over the country and all
over the world. After making enough contacts, an operator
can apply for WAS (work all states) and WAC (work all
countries) certificates.

The Williston Field Day, held by several members of the
NYPD Radio Amateurs Club and non-member operators,
went successfully despite several bouts of nasty weather.

“These conditions are the sort of things we’d face in some
emergencies,” says Hallman. A total of 14 operators, in shifts
of three, kept the radios going all night. Over 300 contacts were
made, with 12 emergency contacts. Only 12 guests attended
the event, and the team members hope that next year’s event
will bring more operators and more visitors, interested in
learning a bit more about this fun and useful hobby.

 

‘illis

BY JEFF M. HARDISON
Starr WRITER

_ There are 30 acres of pines
ready for harvesting on the
Williston Municipal Airport

 

The money to be generated
from the sale of trees, except
for some to be tucked away for
replanting in a year or so, is to
be used as a source of revenue
for matching funds to pay for
airport improvements.

Products is, out of the picture
for managing the city’s pine
tree farm at the airport. These
30 acres of mature pines are
planted toward the Sky Dive
area, but to the left and outside
“the fence of the airport.

Councilwoman DebraJones
is the person who suggested
putting some money aside
for the replanting, and her
suggestion was endorsed by
the whole council.

There was a bit of other
airport news released during

 

Williston City Council.
The first Fly Fest was
a success with attendance

Call Robin today. of 500 people recorded.
There were 121 planes that

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-Eftective Oct. 7 1, the will receive a letter from

property, . City Council
President James “Jake”
Cason said.

Cason said Knight Forest

the June 20 meeting of the.

200 gallons of aviation fuel
beyond the normal amount on
Saturdays. To make:the event
better, the airport committee
recommends next year having

it at a cooler time of the year

and at a time when it is not a
three-day weekend.

The airport committee
recommended, and the city
council agreed by consensus
to add a secretary position
for the airport.’ This person
will assist City Manager
James F. “Jim” Coleman. The

airport committee will create
the job description and wage.
range for the city council to

consider at a later meeting.

' The airport has been
showing a profit this year
— like’ last year. .When

Coleman first took office, the
airport was losing money. By
becoming known as the best
place to buy aviation fuel, it
has seen a positive revenue
stream.

One request from Cal Byrd,
who was sitting as an airport
committee member, died from

the lack of a second at the.

airport committee meeting.
Stephanie Rich of Equine

Refuse Systems had asked

the airport committee to

that her business be leased’

a 10-acre spot on airport
property to place a mix of
horse manure and pine chips.
Rich said the mixture would
be 10 percent horse manure,
and that it would not smell
too badly.

Byrd’s motion to approve
the request died when no

committee member would
-second it.
Councilwoman Debra

Jones, who is also on the
airport committee, said she
sees a potential problem from
flies as well as from the odor
that she believes would exist.

Rich has started a business
where she collects horse
manure and distributes it
to farms and other areas for
fertilizer and compost needs.
She wanted to use the airport
as a staging area to put the
material there until it became
a large enough quantity for a
semi tractor-trailer to pick it
up and move it.

When the issue was
mentioned to city council,
City Manager Coleman
said the committee decided

this was not something that .

belonged at the airport.
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“BREE ESTIMATES”

Williston city employees will
no longer be involved with
what has been known as the
Excel Plan. Instead, there
will be raises with no caps,
Coleman said.

Mayor Gerald Hethcoat
said he understands that
some people may see this as a
loss, but the new method for

paying city, employees will

be better.

eSome property in Bronson .

that is owned by the City of
Williston will be listed on
the MLS, Coleman said.
The current asking price is
$525,000. Revenue from this
sale will be used to buy a new
fire truck and to help pay for a
new derrick truck, if all goes
as was discussed June 20.
The Ark in the Park people

Coleman, per the instruction
of the city council. Apparently
the gospel music groups are
too loud for many neighbors.
If the warning letter fails,
Cason said he can see getting
rid of the groups altogether.
Yet another resolution is
set for final reading at the
July 18 meeting. Williston

is changing the distance

from 1,000 feet, which is the
state law, to 2,500 feet from
whence a sexual offender or
predator must remain away
from schools,. playgrounds,
libraries and daycare centers.
The city council ruled on June
20 to allow for no exemptions
to the law. Previously, it had
considered forgiveness for
minors who are tagged as
sexual offenders.

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