Month: March 2020

Pandemic HF Nets Now Open – COVID-19 Ham Radio affected

Posted on by ve3ips

With the USA surpassing China with infected cases its time to check into the Pandemic Hf Nets

In February Canada sent tons and tons of medical equipment to China and now we have shortages for ourselves

Italy did not take it serious

The US did not take it serious as many at Mardis Gras found out

Please take it serious! Stay Home and get on the air instead

STOP all ham meetings at clubs and ham fests until we get can flatten the curve. Hams are at high risk based on demographics

HFLINK BULLETIN: “PANDEMIC HF NET” NORTH AMERICA.
A new free and open net for North America, regional and NVIS communications.
Open to all radio operators in the Amateur Radio Service, Governmental, or Non-Governmental Organizations.

PURPOSE: Backup HF communications support and preparation.

AREA COVERAGE: USA, Canada, Mexico, EasternPacific, WesternAtlantic.

DATES: 10 March 2020 to 01 May 2020.

TIME: Every day at 2:00 PM local time and 8:00 PM local time.
(time at your location) (duration: 15 minutes)

MODES: SSB voice and/or ALE (AMD texting, other modes as needed)

PRIMARY FREQUENCIES:
10145.5 kHz USB {channel 10DALE} Texting AMD (ALE Netcall: HFN)
7296.0 kHz USB {channel 07HALE} Voice SSB (ALE Netcall: HFL)
5371.5 kHz USB {channel 05GALE} Voice SSB and Texting AMD (ALE Netcall: HFL)
3996.0 kHz USB {channel 03LALE} (Voice SSB) (ALE Netcall: HFL)

NET CONTROL: There is no Net Control Station (really, every station is a net control station).

RECOMMENDED PROCEDURE:
Informal procedures, be courteous.
Start the net by listening.
If frequency is clear, transmit an ALE SOUND and a NET CALL on each of the 4 channels.
Use short transmissions.
On voice or text, identify often with your station callsign.
On voice or text:  “CQ PANDEMIC HF NET”.
Use the hflink.net chat room and map:
http://hflink.net
Link and QSO with as many stations as possible for approximately 15 minutes.
After net is completed, scan all channels normally.

-Bonnie Crystal KQ6XA
HFLINK Coordinator
HFLINK SPECIAL BULLETIN

Dayton Hamvention Announces Cancellation of 2020 Show

Posted on by ve3ips

For the first time in its 68-year history, Dayton Hamvention® will not take place this year, due to concerns about the coronavirus outbreak. The glum news was not entirely unexpected, given widespread cancelations of public gatherings and a national state of emergency.

“The Hamvention Executive Committee has been monitoring the COVID19 pandemic. We have worked very closely with our local and state health departments. It is with a very heavy heart the Hamvention Executive Committee has decided to cancel Hamvention for this year,” Hamvention General Chair Jack Gerbs, WB8SCT, said in announcing the cancelation on March 15. “This decision is extremely difficult for us, but with around 2 months until the Great Gathering we felt this action necessary. More specific details regarding the closure will soon be posted. Thank you for your understanding in this time of international crisis.”

The Dayton Hamvention cancelation comes less than a week after the International DX Convention in Visalia, California, called off this year’s show. The Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) sponsors Hamvention.

Since 2017, Hamvention has been held each May at the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center in Xenia, Ohio. The international gathering attracted more than 32,000 visitors in 2019.

Hamvention’s announcement has caused the cancelation of other associated events. These include Contest University, the Contest Dinner, and the Top Band Dinner.

Ozarkon Cancelled

Posted on by ve3ips

Good Evening Group, In light of the current Coronavirus outbreak and in the interest of caution for the medically vulnerable individuals in our group, 4SQRP has decided to cancel Ozarkcon 2020. Stay tuned as we continue to refine our plans. Please contact the Hotel to cancel your reservations. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. Sincerely Johnny AC0BQ  

COVID19 UPDATE Dayton Hamvention not Cancelled but will be Cancelled

Posted on by ve3ips

COVID19 UPDATE

The Hamvention Executive Committee wants to update the Amateur Radio Community our current status in regards to COVID19. The health and welfare of all attending this event is very important to us all.

As most of you know the COVID19 pandemic is a very fluid situation and the Hamvention Executive Committee is constantly in touch with the Greene County Department of Health and in turn they have daily meetings with the Ohio Department of Health.
As of now we plan on holding Hamvention unless otherwise directed.
It is our intention to follow the orders of the State of Ohio and the Greene County Health Dept.
We will update as required.
Thank you for your support and understanding.
Vy 73,
Executive Committee Hamvention 2020
Ohio State issued this ban which means the hamfest will be cancelled

Ohio Bans Mass Gatherings of 100 or More

(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Governor Mike DeWine today announced that Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton, M.D., MPH has signed an order to prohibit mass gatherings in the state of Ohio.

Mass gatherings are defined as any event or convening that brings together 100 or more persons in a single room or single space at the same time such as an auditorium, stadium, arena, large conference room, meeting hall, theater, or any other confined indoor or outdoor space.

This would include parades, fairs, and festivals.

Mass gatherings does not include normal operations of airports, bus and train stations, medical facilities, libraries, shopping malls and centers, or other spaces where 100 or more persons may be in transit. It also does not include typical office environments, schools, restaurants, factories, or retail/grocery stores where large numbers of people are present, but it is unusual for them to be within arm’s length of one another.

Additional exclusions are listed in the full Ohio Department of Health order. 

This order will take effect immediately and will remain until the state of emergency declared by the Governor has been rescinded or modified.

Other announcements made today by Governor DeWine:

FIFTH CASE CONFIRMED:
Ohio now has five confirmed cases of COVID-19. The fifth case involves a 55-year-old Trumbull County man who is currently hospitalized. The man has no travel history outside of Ohio, and this case represents a case of community spread. Governor DeWine and Dr. Acton expect that the number of cases will continue to grow, as medical experts have predicted that the number of cases will continue to double every six days.

NURSING HOMES/ASSISTED LIVING:
At the urging of the nursing home industry, the Ohio Department of Health will soon update its current order limiting visitors to nursing and assisted living homes to reflect that no visitors will be admitted.

Fore more information on Ohio’s response to COVID-19, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov or call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH.

Coronavirus: FUNK.TAG ham radio event cancelled

Posted on by ve3ips

Coronavirus: FUNK.TAG ham radio event cancelled
The amateur radio event FUNK.TAG planned to take place in Kassel, Germany on April 18 has been cancelled due to coronavirus

The FUNK.TAG Kassel is organized by the DARC Verlag GmbH and is aimed at radio amateurs, makers and electronics enthusiasts.

A translation of the announcement on the DARC site says:

5th FUNK.TAG on April 18, 2020 will not take place.

Due to the current developments in the case of corona infections, the organizer has decided to cancel FUNK.TAG in Kassel, which was originally planned for April 18, 2020.

The DARC board follows the recommendation of Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn, who currently advises to refrain from events with over 1000 visitors.

Source DARC
https://www.darc.de/nachrichten/veranstaltungen

Hamex Cancelled

Posted on by ve3ips

To all Hamex Vendors:

The Hamex committee has been closely monitoring the fluid conditions around the COVID-19 virus; however, with the recent cancellations in the sports world, local public parades and school closing etc., it was felt that Hamex 2020 should be cancelled in the interest of the health & safety of our community.

Many of you are repeat vendors and we do appreciate your continued participation with Ham-ex in making it one of the best hamfests in Ontario. We hope you understand the reasoning behind our decision. You will be contacted shortly about a full refund.

Rick VE3IMG

Coronavirus: Ham radio event postponed in Iceland

Posted on by ve3ips

Coronavirus: Ham radio event postponed in Iceland

As a result of coronavirus Iceland’s IRA board has decided to postpone the amateur radio flea market announced on the winter schedule to be held on Sunday, March 8

The national amateur radio society IRA say:

The reason is, prevalent conditions due to the spread of coronary virus causing CONVID-19 disease, in Iceland there have been a total of 35 cases.

The flea markets of the IRA have, in recent years, been the most visited events in the organisation and there have often been over 50 people in Skeljanes. Clearly, when such a crowd meets in the hall, there will be great congestion. Professionals were asked for an opinion on this today and we are advised to postpone the event, if possible.

It has therefore been decided to postpone the flea market of IRA 2020 until Sunday, May 3. As sorry as it is to postpone events, it is our opinion that it is better to show precaution in this matter.

Source IRA https://tinyurl.com/IcelandIRA

HAMVENTION CORONAVIRUS NOTICE: as of March 3/2020 and March 6, 2020 DAYTON HAS NOT BEEN CANCELLED

Posted on by ve3ips

The ARI section of Florence, Italy in agreement with the Municipality of Empoli, has decided to suspend the Florence RadioFest scheduled for Saturday 29 February as a precaution.

DAYTON HAMVENTION CORONAVIRUS NOTICE:

We are closely following the Coronavirus Issue.  As appropriate we will post updates.

At this time the Hamvention Executive Committee has been in contact with the Greene County Public Health Dept and we do not anticipate any impact because of this issue.  Please use the links below for current information.

From Greene County Public Health:

There are currently no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ohio. Greene County Public Health (GCPH) is working closely with the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and are prepared to respond, should there be a community spread of COVID-19.  The current risk  to the general public is very low. Travel advisories area in effect, and can change anytime, so please see the CDC Travel Advisory webpage before traveling:

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices

The best way to prevent becoming infected or to prevent the spread is to take the following precautions:

  • Wash your hands often with soap and water, or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
  • Avoid touching your mouth, nose, or eyes.
  • Cover coughs/sneezes with your arm or a tissue.
  • Avoid exposure to others who are sick.
  • Stay home if you are ill and avoid close contact with others.
  • Get adequate sleep and eat well-balanced meals to ensure a healthy immune system.
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

Current COVID-19 information can be found at:    https://odh.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/odh/know-our-programs/Novel-Coronavirus

Greene County Public Health

3/6 —

As of March 6, 2020, there are currently zero confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ohio. The risk to Ohioans and Greene County residents is still low. For COVID-19 questions, please call the Ohio Department of Health call center at 1-833-427-5634, 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

That is the latest update from 5 days ago

2020 International DX Convention (Visalia) is Cancelled

03/10/2020The 2020 International DX Convention (IDXC) which was to be held April 24 – 26 in Visalia, California, has been cancelled. The IDXC 2020 co-chairs posted this message on March 10:

“We send out our apologies to all our perspective patrons of the 2020 International DX Convention. Due to concerns, health and well-being of our amateur radio family, our age group and possible compromised health issues, we are taking the side of safety and canceling the convention.

“Even though the percentage of COVID-19 is low, there are person(s) who have the illness, but mild form and have not seen a physician. It only takes one person to pass the virus to a person with a compromised illness.

“We will be in close proximity of each other, [and] yes the timing is bad, but all of your lives and families are more important.

“We will be refunding everyone’s reservation funds/shirt request funds. We appreciate your support and patience while we proceed with sending refunds back to each person.”

 

Respectfully,

Cathy Gardenias, K6VC, and Kris Jacob, KC6TOD, and the IDXC Committee 2020

Coronavirus Fears Spur Cancellation, Postponement of Some Ham Radio Events

03/06/2020Additional amateur radio events have been cancelled or postponed as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19) fears.

The Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) has announced the cancellation of several amateur radio events planned for March, in the wake of a government policy requesting that events be canceled, postponed, or reduced in size for the next 2 weeks, saying “events that attract large numbers of people have a large risk of infection.” JARL subsequently requested that all events scheduled in that time frame be canceled or postponed. Affected events include the West Nippon Ham Fair on March 8, the Chugoku Regional Amateur Radio Direction Finding Competition on March 15, and the Kagawa Ham Festival on March 22.

West Nippon Ham Fair organizers said they considered postponing the event for 6 months, but concluded there was no certainty that the coronavirus situation would be resolved by then.

Members of the Nara DX Association Japan have postponed the planned V6J IOTA DXpedition to Murilo Island in the Hall Islands at least until next year or later. “We hope the propagation will be better then,” the group said. “We hope spreading of coronaviruses will be stopped right away.”

In England, the Wythall Radio Club decided this week to cancel its March 15 hamfest. “As a responsible club, we have taken this step to minimize any risks to the expected 400+ visitors and traders from the COVID-19 virus, due to the uncertainties regarding the spread of the virus,” the club said.

In late February, Alex Gromme, 5B4ALX, postponed his March 18 – April 2 T30ET DXpedition to Tarawa (West Kiribati) because of the coronavirus outbreak. The Kiribati Ministry of Health told Gromme that he would need to be quarantined for 14 days in Honiara, Solomon Islands, before getting medical approval to continue on to Kiribati. He’s now looking at October 2020, assuming the COVID-19 situation is resolved by then.

Travel restrictions imposed on individuals entering American Samoa as a result of the coronavirus outbreak caused Swains Island W8S DXpedition organizers to postpone that DXpedition until later in the year. The team members were unable to comply with a 14-day mandatory quarantine in Hawaii. The DXpedition announced tentative dates of September 23 – October 6. — Thanks to JARL, Southgate Amateur Radio News, OPDX