SM021 – Announcing http://ok.arrl.org/

Greetings, and I hope you are all staying warm and are making the best of the new year. To start the year off, I’d like to introduce the new ARRL Oklahoma section website,  https://ok.arrl.org/. This site houses the OK Section Manager News and publicizes ARRL activity in the entire state. Currently, there are segments for Becoming a Ham, Section Manager News, ARES/SKYWARN, NTS, Clubs, and Hamfests. The goal for this site is to become the place where you can visit or send someone for more amateur radio information anywhere in the state of Oklahoma. 

Be a Ham

Each year hundreds of folks obtain their first Technician license. This tab will help them learn what’s required, show them how, give them training assistance, and show them where they can take a license test. If your club operates an ongoing license test session, make sure we listed it on the license page, and please get in touch with us if you need some changes/additions.

Section Mgr News

The Oklahoma Section Manager newsletters are stored here. So if you missed a past issue or need to catch up on some local information, this is the place to look. 

ARES/SKYWARN

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) is a service that hams provide during communications emergencies. Here you will find a link to the ARES Oklahoma web page, where you can join, learn, obtain training, and more. 

The National Weather Service’s SKYWARN program is also a good way for hams to get involved with severe weather reporting. This page provides the four different regions of the NWS for the state and how you can get involved from your area.

NTS

The National Traffic System (NTS) is how amateur radio operators pass traffic during ‘blue-sky’ days and during communications emergencies. Every day Oklahoma hams pass traffic via voice, CW, and Winlink. This tab describes the local methods we use to get messages in and out of Oklahoma. You will hear more about NTS in subsequent Section Manager News reports.

Clubs

There are 40 ARRL affiliated clubs in the state, and you will be able to find one of these clubs here. If you are a club leader and notice that some information needs to be updated, please let us know.

Join ARRL

Here you can link to the ARRL membership benefits page and the page to allow you to join or renew your ARRL membership online. 

Hamfests

Oklahoma has five hamfests (or conventions) annually in Elk City, (Green Country) at Claremore, Oklahoma City, Ardmore, and Enid. In addition, we hold tailgate events in the Pryor and Edmond areas. This tab has links to each event, and you will find the most current information about each event here. If you have some updated information about one of these events, please make sure you contact us.

Contact Us

The contact us section has links to provide contact information for the Oklahoma Section and describes our neighboring regions. Oklahoma, along with Texas, makes up the ARRL West Gulf Division, one of the fifteen national divisions. Links to the WGD and the three Texas sections can be found on this tab. 

Clubs

Amateur radio clubs are the backbone of the hobby. The tremendous local hams have good information, and as Elmers or mentors, they love to share it. Send something that your club is doing well to me n5hzr@arrl.org, and I’ll feature your club in this newsletter, and on the ARRL club newsletter. Most clubs are seeing an increase in new member activity recently. Our Oklahoma Affiliated Club Coordinator, Jim Shideler W5JCS, can help you find a club or help your club become affiliated. We currently have 40 clubs listed at https://ok.arrl.org/clubs/. Look for a club near you, or verify that your club is on the list. Send Jim an email at W5JCS@arrl.net if you need club assistance.

ARRL Oklahoma is On The Web

JOIN/RENEW ARRL NOW —  http://arrl.org/join/

73, de N5HZR — Stand by, more follows…

SM017 – Happy Holidays and 2021 Year-End Summary

‘Tis the Season

The end of the year brings a number of holidays that tend to make the time fly by faster each and every year. So, no matter what you celebrate, all of us that bring you the Oklahoma ARRL experience wish you the best. So, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Thanksgiving, Happy New Year, and all the rest to you and yours from the Oklahoma ARRL section.

And, many thanks from me to the hundreds of volunteers that make this process run smoothly. Without the help of the section leaders, ARES leaders, ARES volunteers, NTS Traffic Handlers, club leaders, hamfest organizers, net control operators, net participants, and others we wouldn’t have been able to make the waves that we have during 2021.

2021 Year-End Summary

The ARRL national organization is defined by the five pillars of public service, advocacy, education, technology, and membership. These tenants are used to define all of the activities that make up the organization’s tasks. Earlier this year I took a look at the five pillars and found that we would be able to support all of them by concentrating on the following five action groups; ARES, NTS, Clubs, Member Communications, and Outreach. Throughout the year each of those groups has had a lot of activity, and some of it is shown here:

ARES – Amateur Radio Emergency Service

  • A new https://aresok.org website was unveiled to support the 800+ ARES members.
  • An ARES OK Fall Summit was held on 10/23/2021 that had 30 ARES members in-person in Norman and 20 more that attended via Zoom and YouTube.
  • We obtained several new Region Emergency Coordinators.
  • We obtained about 20 new county Emergency Coordinators.
  • Email communications were sent to the 800+ ARESOK contacts.

NTS – National Traffic System

  • The National Traffic System in Oklahoma will be highlighted during the month of January. If you are interested in NTS, more information is available at https://ok.arrl.org/nts/
  • HF Phone Nets are still going strong with the following schedule. More information is available at https://ok.arrl.org/ntsnets/
    • Sunday 3900 08:00 local
    • Sunday 3900 16:30 local
    • Daily 7290 AM/PM
  • New Tulsa Superlink UHF Night Net – More information is available at https://ok.arrl.org/ntslocal/
    • Every Thursday 7:00 pm
  • NTSOK Winlink is up and running on HF and VHF – More information is available at https://ok.arrl.org/ntsok/
    • Send NTS messages to message to NTSOK

Clubs

  • The Oklahoma Section Affiliated Club Coordinator – Jim Shideler mailto:W5JCS@arrl.net
  • We created a club leader email list
  • The 39 clubs are listed at https://ok.arrl.org/clubs/
  • A SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat) club analysis tool is available at https://ok.arrl.org/clubtool/
  • ARRL Club Newsletter started in November from ARRL HQ (first time since 2009). If you have any club information and pictures you would like to share, send them to mailto:clubs@arrl.org.
  • ARRL Club news will start back up in QST as ‘strays’.
  • All club contact information for each club was updated on ARRL.ORG
  • A new national ARRL Club Funding program was announced at the Enid hamfest.

Member Communication

  • The https://aresok.org site was updated.
  • The https://ok.arrl.org web site was started. This site should be “THE” place to go for amateur radio information in the state. Wanna be hams, new hams, upgrading hams, and curious hams should find something to do here. Look here for clubs, testing sessions, classes, and more.
  • The https://arrlok.blogspot.com, Facebook page, ARRL.org section page, and the Twitter page all receive Section Manager News about every fortnight.
  • Postcards are sent monthly to the following groups of people. More information is available at https://ok.arrl.org/postcards/
    • New FCC license
    • Upgraded FCC license
    • New ARRL member
    • Lapsed ARRL members

Outreach

  • Oklahoma Memorial Marathon Communications
  • Do-Wacka-Do Communications
  • Tour de Tulsa Communications
  • Cycle 66 Bike Communications
  • Tulsa Makers Faire demonstration station
  • Tulsa Channel 8 News report on Hurricane Ida preparations
  • Lots of Field Day Stations and Field Day home stations
  • City of Norman National Night Out demonstration station
  • Westheimer Airport Open House demonstration station
  • NIGHT, the movie – we assisted with a feature movie short
  • ARISS – AMSAT school communication – Tecumseh, OK – K5TMS
  • Emergency Preparedness – Norman Sooner Mall demonstration station
  • Full blown Elk City Hamfest
  • Full blown Enid Hamfest


And, all of this happened during the international pandemic. Next year should allow even more activities.

Summary Numbers


This year in the state of Oklahoma, we welcomed 394 new Technicians, 137 upgraded licensees, and 413 new ARRL Members. This resulted in an increase in ARRL Membership of 87 (+5.1%), to over 1,800. We recently added three new clubs that will be detailed soon!

1,051 postcards were sent to the new hams, upgraded hams, and new ARRL members.

There are currently 832 ARES Oklahoma members.

— See you next year!!!

ARRL Oklahoma is On The Web

JOIN/RENEW ARRL NOW —  http://arrl.org/join/

73, de N5HZR — Stand by, more follows…

SM007 – 2021 Technician License Courses – Fall

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. Once you have signed up and cannot attend please let Marcus N5ZY know immediately so he can inform someone on ‘stand-by’ there is a seat available.

Location

This class will be hosted in Zoom-based https://zoom.us/ meetings. You do not need a Zoom account – a web link will be provided to the ‘meeting’ with a password. Each class will be recorded and a link will be provided to access the recording. A smartphone or computer with a web-cam can be used to join the session. Each class will be recorded and made available to those who register using a YouTube private link.

When  (9 week course)

Tuesday nights 6:30 to 8:30 PM 31-Aug to 26-Oct

Exception: Week 3: Monday 13-Sept and Week 8: Monday 11-Oct

Cost

The course fee is $ 5 (non-refundable).

$25.00 for the 2018 – 2022 Gordon West yellow ‘Technician Class’ textbook. ( You can purchase this book from Amazon or Gordon West,  https://www.gordonwestradioschool.com/ )

Exam

$15.00 test fee, payable at time of test (ARRL VEC)

Edmond ARRL VEC offer exams at 9:30 AM at the EARS Club Station, first Saturday monthly. Other clubs in the state also offer exams either as ARRL VEC, W5YI VEC, or Laurel VEC (all exams are the same).

(NOTE: Exam fees can change subject to FCC requirements)

Questions

E-mail: cqN5ZY@gmail.com

Text/Call: (405)-401-0106

Technician License Course – Online

And, for those that have friends that want to get their Technician license on their schedule, the South Canadian Amateur Radio Society (SCARS) club, in Norman, has a solution. Their online videos are available for free to anyone and will help a person get their Technician license at https://w5nor.org/tech/.

That site has seven videos that walk you through the subject matter, additional study guides, testing locations, and links to study guides if you wish to do some reading. In addition, test sites are available through the ARRL test locator, including online options that you can test from your home or office.

Today is a great day to start to get someone their amateur radio license!

Clubs

Amateur radio clubs are the backbone of the hobby. The tremendous local hams have good information, and as Elmers or mentors love to share it. Send something that your club is doing well to me n5hzr@arrl.org, and I’ll feature your club in this newsletter. Most clubs have seen an increase in new member activity during the pandemic. Our Oklahoma Affiliated Club Coordinator, Jim Shideler W5JCS, can help you find a club or help your club become affiliated. We currently have 38 clubs listed at https://aresok.org/clubs. Look for a club near you, or verify that your club is on the list. Send Jim an email at W5JCS@arrl.net if you need club assistance.

You can find ARRL Oklahoma Section all over the web at:

JOIN/RENEW ARRL NOW —  http://arrl.org/join/

73, de N5HZR — Stand by, more follows…