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CCARC Meeting this Week - Thursday
CCARC members, This Thursday is the 4th Thursday of the month. Which means we will be holding our CCARC meeting at 7 PM Thursday evening in the Clearfield EMA building's Training Room. Lots to talk about. We've made progress on a couple of our club projects. Hope to see everyone there. Also.... Tonight (Tuesday) at 7 PM will be the CCARC Weekly net on the 147.255 W3CPA repeater. All amateur radio operators are welcome. Spread the word! Thank you and 73, John N3SPW -- John Szwarc Cell Phone: (814) 553-5649
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Central Pennsylvania Weather Briefing
Everyone, The National Weather Service is predicting up to 2.2" of rain for Clearfield County starting this evening. Please be alert for the potential of localized flash flooding as this weather front moves through the area. WEATHER SPOTTER INFORMATION . . . . . WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEATHER FORECAST OFFICE STATE COLLEGE PA . IF NECESSARY.... CLEARFIELD COUNTY SKYWARN NET CONTROL STATIONS PLEASE ACTIVATE THE SKYWARN NETS on the 147.255 W3CPA REPEATER ACCORDING TO PROTOCOL. If no net is active and you have significant weather observations to report, please email your report directly to the State College NWS office at ctp.stormreports@..., Be certain to include your location, the time of day you made your observation as well as your name and contact information. Thank you and 73. John N3SPW ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: NWS State College <ctp.stormreports@...> Date: Tue, May 20, 2025 at 5:58 AM Subject: Central Pennsylvania Weather Briefing To: _NWS ER CTPBriefing <nws.er.ctpbriefing@...> NWS Partners - One to three inches of rainfall is expected from later tonight through Thursday. Flooding may become possible, especially over the Laurel Highlands and Allegheny Mountains, if the rainfall can become intense. Initial briefing. For more information, see attached briefing or view it online at https://www.weather.gov/media/ctp/Briefing/briefing.pdf. You can also find additional weather information at https://www.weather.gov/ctp/briefing or https://www.weather.gov/ctp/selfbrief. Estimated time of next update: By 6 PM Tues ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Immediate Questions? Call us at 814-954-6440. [Use Option 9]. We can also be reached 24/7 on NWSChat. -NWS State College -- Central Pennsylvania Weather Forecast Office 328 Innovation Blvd, Suite 330 | State College, PA 16803 weather.gov/ctp -- John Szwarc Cell Phone: (814) 553-5649
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Central Pennsylvania Weather Briefing
Everyone, The National Weather Service has the majority of Clearfield County in the "Slight Risk" area for severe thunderstorms today. If we get hit, it will likely be this afternoon and into the evening. As always, keep an eye out for severe weather and, should conditions warrant it, tune into the 147.255 repeater for any Skywarn nets that pop up. Thank you. John N3SPW ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: NWS State College <ctp.stormreports@...> Date: Fri, May 16, 2025 at 6:28 AM Subject: Central Pennsylvania Weather Briefing To: _NWS ER CTPBriefing <nws.er.ctpbriefing@...> NWS Partners: Thunderstorms this morning (Friday) expected to largely remain sub-severe Severe thunderstorms are possible Friday afternoon/evening across south central PA Severe thunderstorms are possible Saturday afternoon across east central PA The main severe storm hazards will be damaging wind gusts and hail; locally heavy rainfall may also result in flooding especially given very sensitive soils and elevated streamflows from recent rain inundation Important changes: Added thunderstorm risk outlook for Saturday For more information, see attached briefing or view it online at https://www.weather.gov/media/ctp/Briefing/briefing.pdf. You can also find additional weather information at https://www.weather.gov/ctp/briefing or https://www.weather.gov/ctp/selfbrief. Estimated time of next update: 4-6PM Friday May 16th ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Immediate Questions? Call us at 814-954-6440. [Use Option 9]. We can also be reached 24/7 on NWSChat. -NWS State College Central Pennsylvania Weather Forecast Office 328 Innovation Blvd, Suite 330 | State College, PA 16803 weather.gov/ctp -- John Szwarc Cell Phone: (814) 553-5649
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CCARC Net Tonight
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If you are available tonight (Tuesday) at 7 PM please consider joining in with the Clearfield County Amateur Radio Club Weekly Net. We'll be on the 147.255 repeater and it would be awesome to see a good crowd for the net. If you haven't participated in the past, this net does not start with a roll call of stations that have checked in before. Rather, this net calls for any station that would like to check in to do so. After net control acknowledges you, and they have a list of stations that have checked in, they will circle back around and call you for comments to the net. So it's a little different than many other UHF/VHF nets, but a great way to stay connected with the group. Hope to hear from you on the net! -- John Szwarc Cell Phone: (814) 553-5649
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Central Pennsylvania Weather Briefing
If you've been watching the weather forecast, you already know that it's supposed to rain through Friday. The NWS is predicting that Clearfield County will receive 0.5 to 1 inches of rain with heavier rain happening to the South and East of us. So it looks like the worst of it will miss Clearfield County, but we should stay alert for changes to the storm track. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: NWS State College <ctp.stormreports@...> Date: Tue, May 13, 2025 at 5:15 AM Subject: Central Pennsylvania Weather Briefing To: NWS Partners - A prolonged period of moderate to heavy rain is expected today and tonight across south central PA Rainfall amounts of 1-3 inches are likely over south central PA with locally higher amounts possible along the eastern slopes of the Alleghenies Important changes: Flood Watch Issued for a portion of south central PA 8AM Tuesday-8AM Wednesday Rainfall amounts increased particularly along the eastern slopes of the Alleghenies Risk of Excessive Rainfall (level 2 of 4) expanded to cover all of south central PA For more information, see attached briefing or view it online at https://www.weather.gov/media/ctp/Briefing/briefing.pdf. You can also find additional weather information at https://www.weather.gov/ctp/briefing or https://www.weather.gov/ctp/selfbrief. Estimated time of next update: 4-6PM Tuesday May 13th ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Immediate Questions? Call us at 814-954-6440. [Use Option 9]. We can also be reached 24/7 on NWSChat. -NWS State College Central Pennsylvania Weather Forecast Office 328 Innovation Blvd, Suite 330 | State College, PA 16803 weather.gov/ctp -- John Szwarc Cell Phone: (814) 553-5649
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Spring Banquet
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Everyone, A huge thank you to everyone who took the time to come and participate in our first ever spring banquet Friday evening. We had a total of 20 people there. Which was really good for the first time for something like this. And there was good conversation. And good food. Had a lot of fun. Hopefully we get to do this again next year. Thank you, John N3SPW 814-553-5649
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Everyone, Earlier this evening our first WinLink Gateway was placed on the air. The call sign is W3CPA-10 and it is located at the Clearfield County EMA Building tower which should provide a good signal for the Clearfield area and into the Curwensville area. Here are the details: Call Sign: W3CPA-10 Frequency: 440.950 MHz Modes supported: VARAFM and VARAFM WIDE Grid Square: FN01sb Location: Clearfield - near the former Clearfield Mall For anyone not familiar, WinLink is a digital mode that allows for email over amateur radio. It's a last-mile solution designed for instances when the commercial internet service is unavailable. The gateway is operating with VARAFM and VARAFM WIDE modes only at this time. For those insistent on operating at slower speeds, we have plans to add packet and packet 1200 modes in the near future. But as of this moment the gateway is operating with only VARAFM and VARAFM WIDE modes. There are still some details that need to be addressed for a more permanent looking installation. We may take it off the air for brief periods of time while we continue to finish the needed upgrades. But at this point it's on the air. This project would not have progressed the way it did without the efforts and contributions of Ed KC3ZAL. Ed picked up where I left off with my experimentation of WinLink. And he was able to make it work! Finally! In the very near future watch for a second gateway to come online. Possibly as early as next week. This one will be W3CPA-11 and operate from the West Decatur area. More details will be made available when this gateway is operational. And there will be more to follow after that. Thank you, John N3SPW -- John Szwarc Cell Phone: (814) 553-5649
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CCARC Reminders for next week
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Just a quick reminder about a couple of items for this week: On Thursday May 8th we will once again hold our monthly Radio Night event at the Clearfield EMA Building in the Amateur Radio Room. 7 PM until we get tired. There is now a shiny new 80 meter band inverted V antenna installed on the tower. This replaces the old antenna of the identical type. Our Radio Night will be the first chance to put some power through the antenna and see what trouble we can get into. FT8... SSB.... or even CW if someone wants to bring a CW key! Don't miss it! On Friday May 9th we will hold our very first Spring Banquet. The event will be at the Clearfield VFW in the back dining room. The Clearfield VFW is located at 1145 Industrial Park Rd, Clearfield, PA 16830. They have a regular menu which we will be able to order from. Festivities will start at 6PM. As of today 20 people have said they plan to attend. So it should be a good crowd. If you didn't let us know that you were able to attend it's not too late - if you weren't planning to attend and suddenly find yourself with nothing to do Friday evening, there will be plenty of room. Please stop in! And finally.... the ARRL has finally started shipping the 2025 Field Day apparel. Shirts. Hats. And more. Avoid the embarrassment of showing up at Field Day in last year's field day t-shirt. What a major fashion faux pas that would be! Check out the ARRL web site to order yours today: https://home.arrl.org/action/Shop/Products#filter={'Facet':null,'SubFacet':null,'Category':{'Name':'Field+Day','Value':'FIELD_DAY'},'SubCategory':null}&searchTerm=&searchItemNameTerm=&searchDescriptionTerm=&productClass= -- John Szwarc Cell Phone: (814) 553-5649
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NWS State College Computer Update May 12 - May 14, 2025
Everyone Due to some upgrades at the national weather service State College office between May 12 and up to May 14th forecasting services will be handled by a different office and you will probably notice that the national weather services NOAA Radio stations will be off the air. They will return when the upgrades are complete. John N3SPW 814-553-5649 Begin forwarded message: From: Jonathan Guseman - NWS Federal <jonathan.guseman@...> Date: May 4, 2025 at 12:29:33 PM EDT To: _NWS ER CTPBriefing <nws.er.ctpbriefing@...> Subject: NWS State College Computer Update May 12 - May 14, 2025 ? Hi All, The National Weather Service Forecast Office in State College, PA will be conducting a required, scheduled update to our Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) system from the morning of Monday, May 12, 2025 through the afternoon of Wednesday, May 14, 2025. The NWS uses the AWIPS computer system to display and integrate weather and water information, and to send life-saving information, such as weather and water warnings, to you and the public. During the time of the update (and possibly into Thursday, May 15), forecast operations will be conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Binghamton, NY to minimize any potential interruption to services. No impacts to our core services of forecast products and weather watches, warnings, and advisories are expected during this period. However, limited impacts will occur to the following services: All NOAA Weather Radio Transmitters maintained by NWS State College will be off the air through the time of the install. This includes the following transmitters: Warren; Coudersport; Wellsboro; Clearfield; State College; Williamsport; Johnstown; Altoona; Huntingdon; and Harrisburg. Local graphical forecast maps that are hosted in various places on www.weather.gov/ctp will not be updated. This includes all maps on the Graphical Hazardous Weather Outlook page ( https://www.weather.gov/erh/ghwo?wfo=ctp) and many graphics focused on central PA and all of PA on our Briefing page (https://www.weather.gov/ctp/briefing).The forecast office in State College will remain open and staffed throughout this period for public and partner phone calls and additional functions that can be completed without AWIPS. If you have any questions, please contact Jonathan Guseman, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, by email at jonathan.guseman@... or by phone at (814) 954-6384. Thank you, Jonathan -- Jonathan Guseman - KJ4ZWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist National Weather Service Central PA (814) 954-6384
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147.255 W3CPA Repeater
Everyone, This past Tuesday during the SKYWARN net it was noticed that the 147.255 W3CPA repeater was behaving poorly. Our stations who were trying to access the repeater were, at times, unable to do so. The signal on both receive and transmit was full of static crashes and as quickly as it started, it would disappear for a while. And reappear within a few minutes. Allen K3HOC took the opportunity to visit the site and check things out for us. What he discovered was that we had a high SWR indicating an issue with the antenna system. Upon further examination he discovered the hardline coax had holes in it which Allen suspects was the result of a lightning strike. One of the holes was at a metal clamp that holds the coax to the tower. He suspects the issue we were hearing was due to the metal-to-metal short that was created when the wind would blow. When the wind subsided the connection was broken. Allen was able to have the damaged coax replaced and the repeater is once again operating with minimal SWR. We should have more details for discussion at our May 22 CCARC meeting. Thank you to Allen for keeping the repeater in tip top shape! Thank you. John N3SPW -- John Szwarc Cell Phone: (814) 553-5649
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Central Pennsylvania Weather Briefing
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Gentlemen, Looks like Clearfield County is in for some severe thunderstorms and wind Tuesday afternoon and evening. Please keep an eye toward the skies watching for the approaching storms and an ear toward the 147.255 W3CPA repeater for any potential SKYWARN Nets that may become necessary. In the absence of a net, and you have severe weather conditions to report to the local State College weather office, please email your report directly to ctp.stormreports@.... Thank you and 73, John N3SPW ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: NWS State College <ctp.stormreports@...> Date: Sun, Apr 27, 2025 at 6:01 PM Subject: Central Pennsylvania Weather Briefing To: _NWS ER CTPBriefing <nws.er.ctpbriefing@...> NWS Partners - Severe thunderstorms will be possible late Tuesday afternoon and evening. At this time, damaging winds appear to be the main threat in severe thunderstorms. What has Changed: Upgrade to Enhanced Risk over NW PA. For more information, see attached briefing or view it online at https://www.weather.gov/media/ctp/Briefing/briefing.pdf. You can also find additional weather information at https://www.weather.gov/ctp/briefing or https://www.weather.gov/ctp/selfbrief. Estimated Time of Next Update: By 6 AM Monday (4/28). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Immediate Questions? Call us at 814-954-6440. [Use Option 9]. We can also be reached 24/7 on NWSChat. -NWS State College -- Central Pennsylvania Weather Forecast Office 328 Innovation Blvd, Suite 330 | State College, PA 16803 weather.gov/ctp -- John Szwarc Cell Phone: (814) 553-5649
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CCARC Spring Banquet
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CCARC members and anyone else who might be interested, We need to get a count of how many people are planning to attend the 1st Clearfield County Amateur Radio Club Spring Banquet. As you will recall, the Banquet will be on Friday May 9th at 6PM. It will be held at the Clearfield VFW in the back dining room. The street address is 1145 Industrial Park Rd, Clearfield. We need to let the VFW know how many to expect. Please let me know if you are planning to attend and how many people wills be with you ( spouse, children, a neighbor interested in amateur radio, etc). If you are not planning to attend please let me know that as well. Thank you, John N3SPW 814-553-5649
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Tuesday's Storm and SKYWARN Net
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Good morning everyone, I hope everyone made it through the storm okay. I know a number of us were without electric power for a time following the storm. It was fast as it moved through the area, but hopefully damage was minimal. Thank you to everybody who participated in the SKYWARN Net yesterday. By my count there were a total of 9 stations that checked in, including Ed KC3ZAL who was the net control for the evening. This was Ed's first time acting as net control for any net so a huge thank you is due to him as well as everyone else who participated. Thank you. John N3SPW -- John Szwarc Cell Phone: (814) 553-5649
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Blair ARES Alert! May 2025 Issue w/attachment
Everyone, The ARES group in Blair County has an exceptional monthly publication they send out via email. It's worth a quick look. There should be a copy attached to this email. And if you're interested and reach out to Drew, the Editor, I'm sure he'd be happy to add you to the distribution list. Thank you. John N3SPW ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Mc Ghee, Drew Richard <drm6@...> Date: Fri, Apr 25, 2025 at 11:09 AM Subject: Blair ARES Alert! May 2025 Issue w/attachment To: ka3ejv@... <ka3ejv@...> Greetings Blair ARES members and fellow radio amateurs, Attached, as a 14 MB PDF file, is the May 2025 issue of the Blair ARES Alert! newsletter. Drew McGhee KA3EJV Editor: Blair ARES Alert! ka3ejv@... https://sites.psu.edu/drm6/ -- John Szwarc Cell Phone: (814) 553-5649
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CCARC April Newsletter Published
Well, it's about time! Sorry it took me so long to get this out. But below is the link for the April CCARC Newsletter: https://clearfieldcountyarc.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/CCARC042025.pdf And if you'd like to see the archive of newsletters, here's the link for that: https://clearfieldcountyarc.net/newsletters/ Thank you. John N3SPW -- John Szwarc Cell Phone: (814) 553-5649
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CCARC Meeting on Thursday
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Everyone, A couple of quick reminders.... Today (Tuesday) at 7PM the Clearfield County Amarur Radio Club Weekly Net will happen at 7PM on the 147.255 repeater. Just as we do every Tuesday. Please feel free to join in and share what you've been up to when they call for a round of comments. And on Thursday evening at 7PM the Clearfield County Amateur Radio Club will meet. The location will be the typical Clearfield County EMA building in the Training Room. El Presidente Tim N3PUL will preside over the proceedings. We have a number of projects in the works and there will certainly be lots to talk about. Also... I meant to get the April newsletter finished up this last weekend. But with the Easter holiday I seemed to have less time than usual. I will endeavor to have the newsletter out sometime this week. Promise. Thank you and 73. John N3SPW -- John Szwarc Cell Phone: (814) 553-5649
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HF Yaesu FT-950 For Sale
FT-950 HF Rig is in excellent shape. All bands including 6 meters. $599.00 and can pickup in New Kensington. Price is firm. Matching speaker is also available for $150.00 Thanks, Shack America W3PRL 724-594-7055 or respond here.
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VE Testing Session - Friday
Everyone, Just a reminder about the VE testing session in Clearfield on Friday at 7pm. If you would like to upgrade your license or know anyone interested in becoming a Technician Class operator please let them know about this exam session. The location will be at the Clearfield County EMA building in the Conference Room. Thank you John N3SPW 814-553-5649
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Central Pennsylvania Weather Briefing
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Everyone, It looks like Clearfield County is set for the possibility of some thunderstorms on Monday afternoon/evening. As always, when severe weather hits, the National Weather Service appreciates receiving reports as the storms progress through our area. If there's not a weather net, the NWS SKYWARN spotters web site allows for you to submit reports online. Thank you. John N3SPW ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: NWS State College <ctp.stormreports@...> Date: Sun, Apr 13, 2025 at 4:32 AM Subject: Central Pennsylvania Weather Briefing To: NWS Partners - Severe thunderstorms are possible Monday afternoon and evening across southwestern Pennsylvania (risk level 2 out of 5). The main severe hazard will be damaging wind gusts and hail. Highest confidence in stronger storm development will be south of I-80 in southwestern Pennsylvania. Initial briefing. For more information, see attached briefing or view it online at https://www.weather.gov/media/ctp/Briefing/briefing.pdf. You can also find additional weather information at https://www.weather.gov/ctp/briefing or https://www.weather.gov/ctp/selfbrief. Estimated time of next update: 6 PM Sunday April 13th ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Immediate Questions? Call us at 814-954-6440. [Use Option 9]. We can also be reached 24/7 on NWSChat. -NWS State College -- Central Pennsylvania Weather Forecast Office 328 Innovation Blvd, Suite 330 | State College, PA 16803 weather.gov/ctp -- John Szwarc Cell Phone: (814) 553-5649
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If you attended Radio Night last evening you already know there was a discussion about repeaters at the top of Rockton Mountain. The conversation started with an extension of the discussion about a back-up frequency for our nets. But the bigger question was what's there and who's is it. So following that discussion I reached out to a friend who put me in touch with Jeff DePolo WN3A. Jeff owns the tower site that hosts many of the amateur radio repeaters on Rockton Mountain. So here's the straight scoop on what's what up there: 147.390. The repeater carries the call sign KE3DR which has expired and Paul has passed away. Jim N5NWC owned the repeater hardware. Jim has also passed away. The repeater operated under the auspices of the "39 Repeater Club" from a tower site adjacent to where it is now. For a variety of reasons some years ago the 39 repeater was moved to the site it is at now and the old 39 tower was dismantled. Kevin W3KKC was the backup trustee for the repeater, but before Jim passed away, he made Kevin the primary trustee and Jeff WN3A the backup trustee for all of his coordinations. The 39 repeater isn't in the best technical condition, so Jeff's plan is this summer to replace it with new hardware. 39 was previously connected to the WAN system via an RF link which no longer exists. No other clubs have any association or involvement with the .39 repeater. Once rebuilt the 39 will operate as a standalone machine with no link. 145.270, which has the W3WAN callsign on it, was, and still is, slated to be connected to WAN via microwave. Jeff said that due primarily to his lack of free time that project has been pushed off several times over the course of several years, but he hopes to get to it this summer. The plan is to make 145.270 the WAN repeater and allow 39 to operate standalone. Jim's N5NWC also operated a 6m repeater on Rockton and it is expected to remain off the air. On the off chance that it does return, it will be on a different frequency. This is yet to be determined. The 441.700 N3KZ repeater is operational and currently not linked. The plan is to build out a relay site which will link into the N3KZ system. So look for a link on this repeater in the future. The DMR repeaters (443.000 and 147.165) are both operational and are connected to the Interstate c-Bridges. And I should mention that the Quad County ARC repeaters 147.315 and 442.950 are both off the air. My understanding is that Quad County is planning to vacate the tower site they have been using. So with that said, Jeff said that "by default all of my repeaters are available without question and without prior permission for emergency use - that goes without saying. As far as use for other scheduled or recurring functions including nets, drills, etc., that CCARC might have in mind unless Kevin objects, I'd say that the 147.390 repeater would be a good place for that, with the caveat that it's (the .39 repeater) not in good health at this point in time, But will be before long. In the interim, the 145.270 repeater is available, as is 441.700." I responded to Jeff thanking him and told him that we would designate the 145.270 repeater as our back-up frequency. We can use that repeater until the 147.390 repeater is rebuilt and we will switch to the 39 at that time. Hope that clears everything up for everyone. And we also now have a back-up frequency as well! Thank you. John N3SPW -- John Szwarc Cell Phone: (814) 553-5649
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