Back in Action
Or soon will be.
There has been a lot of interest recently about getting the WD9BSA Station at Camp Belzer back up and running again. I, Mr. Sweet (N2MSJ), have been given the opportunity to try and lead the charge to bringing the Club back.
If you’re interested in helping out, please contact me at BSAScouter@outlook.com.
We are currently meeting every other Tuesday at 7 PM, via Zoom. Next meeting will be on July 5th.
Thanks for stopping by.
Mr. Sweet
November 7 2020 test session cancelled
The Nov 7 2020 test session is cancelled as there was no one preregistered and I didn’t hear of anyone that was interested. This is the last session for 2020.
Test sessions will be scheduled for 2021 with the first one in late February, so hopefully we will have a better year for testing.
If you have a question please contact Dave Johnson (N9EZW) at dlj301@gmail.com
May 2, 2020 Test Session Cancelled
I am sorry to say, we will be cancelling the May 2, 2020 Testing Session due to the Stay-At-Home order.
Our next session in August 22, 2020.
If other options become available, we will provide an update here.
2020 VE Test Schedule
The 2020 VE Test Schedule is under the Licensing Tab.
David Johnson (N9EZW) has taken over as coordinator of the VE Testing. He can be reached at dlj301@gmail.com.
Brian Murray (KB9BVN) has successfully started up and led the VE testing program for the past 5 years. Many Thanks to Brian!!
TEST SESSION CANCELLED
I just wanted to make a quick post to notify everyone that the last test session for 2018 will be cancelled. There’s a scheduling conflict for Nov. 10th. The one individual who is pre-registered will be notified, and anyone interested in testing is encouraged to visit the Indianapolis Radio Club test session at noon the same day. Next years test schedule will resume in Feb. Stay alert for 2019 dates. 73 to all.
VERY SUCCESSFUL TEST SESSION
Last Saturday (May 14, 2016) the WD9BSA VE team held our second licensing exam of the year. We had ten people attend the test session at the Golden Burke Scout Center in Indianapolis, IN that morning. Fortunately, we had nine VEs present to administer the tests and handle the other various duties required to pull off these events. This is a pretty large group for us, but word is getting around that our exams are free through the Laurel ARC VEC.
A total of eleven exams were given with 100% passing rate. Here are the results:
5 new Technicians
1 new General (passed element 2 and 3)
3 upgraded to General
1 upgraded to Extra
A hearty congratulations to all the new ham and those with new privileges. Many thanks to the VE team who volunteered their time on a Saturday morning: KB9BVN, W8ISH, KJ9B, KA9ZYL, W9THR, NF9K, W9FG, AC9HP, and K9WTH. Until next time, 73.
A CALL TO ARMS
Seems there has been much buzz lately in the Council regarding the WD9BSA station. That’s an especially good thing when it’s of a positive nature. There have been several requests made of the station regarding potential amateur radio exposure to Scouts and the public.
We’ve been offered a chance to setup a station at the Indiana State Fair this summer. I know the Council has a display/presentation area there every year. This would be an excellent PR opportunity for bringing the ham radio message to both Scouts and the public. At this point I don’t know details of how many days we would be obligated to attend or how many hours each day. This is an item definitely worth discussing among the members and other friends of the station. Of chief importance would be having Scouts participating and operating there, not just adults. I believe logistics would be another concern. Many of us are still working full time jobs and may not have days off available then. Scout volunteers would also need parents to transport them to the fairgrounds if they’re not driving yet.
A second request had been made to support two different BSA summer camps. Another opportunity to show off the capabilities of amateur radio as a public service, emergency preparation tool, intro to technology, and a hobby. Again, I can’t offer specifics regarding how many days we would be obligated to. Same concerns as before, I would think. Although this would probably be mostly adult presenters as the Scouts would actually be attending camps, etc.
So, give this some thought. This info has also been posted over on the WD9BSA Facebook Group and there’s already been some suggestions and discussion. I think this could be a real PR gift for the station, but we need all-in participation commitments to pull it off.
NOVEMBER TESTING SUCCESS
The WD9BSA VE Team finished up the year with a successful testing session last Saturday. We had three test takers, two of which are Scouts. Although we serve the community as a whole, it’s always nice to test Scouts since that’s the real reason we organized the team and chartered the WD9BSA radio station.
Nathan took his Technician exam and passed.
Terry took his General exam and passed.
Chuck took his Extra exam and passed.
We were also able to perform an administrative address change for a local ham.
Special thanks goes out to the following VE’s present for testing:
Andrew N9AWM
Steve AF9SE
Steve W9THR
Dick W9FG
Greg KC9ZEW
Wayne AC9HP
Brian KB9BVN
All in all we had a pretty good year, which would not have been possible without so many loyal VEs for the WD9BSA group. Thank you very much!
Please take note the new 2016 test dates. For everyone’s convenience they’ve been added to the Licensing Page, Calendar Page, and the Online Pre-Registration form.
FEBRUARY 13 from 8:30AM to 11AM
MAY 14 from 8:30AM to 11AM
AUGUST 13 from 8:30AM to 11AM
NOVEMBER 12 8:30AM to 11AM
CQ NET, CQ NET
This is an open invitation to join the WD9BSA weekly Scout net. Participation has been growing and is open to operators holding any license class. Checkins begin at 7:30 PM local time Monday evenings. Just tune your radio to the 443.000 MHz 70 cm repeater and set it for + offset and 100 Hz CTCSS tone. The Scout net is a great place for new hams to learn net operation procedures and communicate with fellow Scouts. Come say hello and make some new friends on the air!
WD9BSA Bert C Johnson Memorial Amateur Station 