Happy Easter everyone!
Weekly Net
Please join us tonight at 7:00PM for the Five County Ham Radio Enthusiasts net on the Carolina 440 network. You will be able to find your closest repeater at https://www.carolina440.net/440uhf-repeaters/repeaters-on-link.html. If you are not close to the repeater or are unlicensed and you would like to listen on line try https://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/34503 Tony Hall (WW4TCH) is our regular net control station. I will be your substitute NCS tonight.(N4MQU)
If you have thought you would like to serve the community during an emergency the best way to get ready is to learn to call a net. Let me know if you are interested in becoming a net control operator.
Thanks to the Carolina 440 net for the use of the repeater. If you would like to help see https://www.carolina440.net/membership/support.html. Tell them FCHRE sent you.
March Activity
Our total checkins for March was 39. Thanks to all that checked in. Try to put Five County Net Sunday night on your reminder.
VE Team Report for March
5 new technicians, 3 general, and 2 extra. Thanks a the owners of Supreme. T-shirts & Apparel Paulette (K4PKD) and Stan (WA2KQY) Disbrow that allows us to use their office in the capital city of Raleigh for amateur radio testing. In case you missed we are celebrating our first year of operation from this unique facility offering us a turn key facility. https://fivecountyhre.org/brtc1year/. I don’t have to bring anything to the exam with me.
Groups IO Growth
We had 9 new members sign up in March For a total of 184 people on the list. I invite all the new applicants but not everyone accepts.
April 3 Exam
Thanks to the VE’s KK4QEF, WW4TCH, WA2KQY, N4MQU, K7RLH, K9JWS. And to our curious technician KO4GQM. Chris helped by greeting visitors coming in during the day as they came in for their appointment. Full results will be reported when it is officially announced by the FCC.
DMR Net
Our weekly DMR net is Wednesday at 9:00 PM on the TGIF Talk Group 1870. The net is kind of in a stand by mode. Feel free to throw out your call at any time. A few of us try to monitor that channel.
New Flyer for New Hams
WW4TCH printed Tri-fold flyers for the new hams as they leave with their Certificate of Successful Completion (CSCE). It gives new hams something to look at as they wait for their license. Mainly links to the New Ham Info page https://fivecountyhre.org/new-ham-info/. Tony also printed professional file folders printed with information for the applicant and the VE’s to use for the exam. Thank you Tony.
Famous Exams by Appointment
FCVET received a request of a weekday exam. Thanks to our unique facility and great VE volunteers we honored that request. We will be holding that exam on Thursday April 8 at 10:00 AM. If you know anyone that would like to take the exam at a different date we just need to work it out with our available VE’s and the applicant. Click other on the FCVET registration page. Select other and comment famous to register for the April 8 exam. https://fivecountyhre.org/registration/
AB4OZ Hamfest
AB4OZ hamlets is on April 17 at 10:00 AM Weather permitting. Pleasant Valley Shopping Center Parking lot,6200 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh, NC
Do you have a telescope with that amateur radio license?
Check out my website and join the group Astronomy Meets Amateur Radio at n4mqu.com. or
https://groups.io/g/astronomymeetsamateurradio. I talk about amateur radio and astronomy with that group. You don’t have to own a telescope or have an amateur radio license just be interested in both.
Mark Gibson (N4MQU)
Team Leader FCVET