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Month: March 2020

March 29 – First thunderstorm outage of the season

Stations WA0TDA & W0ZSW went offline late in the day on March 28 and remained out of service on the morning of Sunday, March 29.  This was an orderly shutdown to preserve the station hardware from lightning damage as thunderstorms moved through Minnesota.  Lightning strikes were detected within 1.3 miles of the stations.

Both stations will return to service before 9:00 AM CDT Sunday, by which time the antennas will have been reconnected and the systems rebooted.

This is a good time to remind users that shutdowns for thunderstorms may occur without notice now that the season has started.

HF Remotes Policy: Political rants & hate speech

Pat, WA0TDA, wearing headset and holding licensing manuals.
A word from the Admin’s desk. 

I never thought I’d have to write something like this, but we live in strange times, don’t we?

The HF remotes are available to help operators who need access to a resource that will help them stay on the air when they are traveling, living in circumstances that preclude antennas, are unable to access their own stations due to age or disability, or who simply want to use this technology as a convenience to operate from a location within the propagation zone of a particular remote station.

These shared resources are a community place where standards of The Amateur’s Code are valued and followed. There is zero tolerance for any kind of hate speech, bullying, or rants that incite conflict.

Think before you speak. I am quite tolerant and realize that everyone makes mistakes. A cuss word may slip out. Someone else may say something awkward or inappropriate. Handle it as if you are speaking to a gaggle of church ladies.

Remember that we in ham radio have a potential worldwide audience of listeners of all races and ethnicities and religions. What is a joke to one may be a hurtful slur to another. If you need an example, I need to dig no further than my listening to a guy on a 75 meter net call Covid-19 the “Kung Flu”. Do that on one of the remotes I administer, and you will be banned. Everyone should know better. Thankfully this did not involve a remote user.

Once banned, it will be necessary to supply me with a physical written letter delivered by the USPS explaining how this will not happen again before reinstatement can be considered.

We are all in this together. Let’s be thoughtful and helpful to each other.

Sincerely and 73,
Admin

Patrick Tice
wa0tda@arrl.net