The Massillon Amateur Radio Club

Since 1927, the Massillon Amateur Radio Club has been a diverse radio hobbyist club that is currently over 80 members strong. Active within our community as well as an ARRL Special Service Club, we are actively involved in many facets of Amateur Radio, including Public Service, Membership, Field Day, Repeaters, Amateur Television (ATV), Skywarn plus many other interests. Learn More....

(Jan 5, 2021) - - The QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo will return March 13 � 14 for a full 48 hours, QSO Today host Eric Guth, 4Z1UG/WA6IGR, announced this week. ARRL is a QSO Today Expo Partner. Guth said the inaugural QSO Today Expo last August attracted more than 16,000 attendees, and he anticipates that the March 2021 event will be even more successful.

The upcoming QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo will feature new speakers and presenters, panel discussions, and kit-building workshops among other activities. Guth pointed out that attendees can log in from anywhere. While he anticipates a good turnout by those who typically attend such ham radio events, the virtual Expo also offers an opportunity for those concerned about pandemic travel restrictions as well as for those who don�t typically attend in-person events.

�At our last Expo, we found that 60% of attendees don�t go to in-person national conferences, and 40% don�t attend state or local events,� Guth said, noting that distance and the high cost of travel and lodging were the most oft-cited reasons.

Registration is required, and to help cover the costs of staging this event, there will be a charge to attend. Advance tickets are $10 ($12.50 at the �door�) and include entry for the live, 2-day show as well to the 30-day on-demand period. At the Expo, visitors can:

Learn from a line-up of such well-known ham radio personalities as Bob Allphin, K4UEE, on �My Favorite DXpeditions to DXCC Top 10 Most Wanted;� Michael Foerster, W0IH, on �Using the Arduino in Your Shack,� and Ron Jones, K7RJ, on �3D Printer Basics.�

Take part in live virtual kit-building workshops. (Kits will be available for purchase and delivered to attendees in time for the Expo.)

Walk through the virtual exhibit hall to visit an array of amateur radio vendors and see live demonstrations of the latest equipment. This show will leverage newer video technology to provide a better experience for attendees to engage with exhibitors.

Those planning to attend the Expo may take advantage of new speaker calendar technology to create their own calendar of presentations in their time zones, which can be saved to a Google or Outlook calendar.

Registrants may return over the 30 days following the live event to catch speakers and presentations missed during the live period, as well as to explore and re-engage exhibitor offerings.

�The QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo has all of the familiar hallmarks of an in-person hamfest, including opportunities to connect and learn,� ARRL Product Development Manager Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, said. �Expect to bump into friends and well-known experts and personalities from throughout our worldwide ham radio community!� He explained that attendees visiting an exhibit or virtual lounge will be able to interact with other attendees in those settings.

FlexRadio is the Expo�s Platinum Sponsor. Gold sponsors as of this time include Elecraft, RFinder, and CSI.

(Dec 26, 2020) - - Tom Sly, WB8LCD, of Kent, has been appointed as the Ohio Section Manager, effective January 1, 2021. Sly will assume the seat that incumbent Section Manager Scott Yonally, N8SY, is vacating to become Great Lakes Division Vice Director, after serving as Ohio Section Manager since 2014.

Sly was appointed by ARRL Radiosport and Field Services Manager Bart Jahnke, W9JJ, after consulting with Great Lakes Division Director Dale Williams, WA8EFK. The Section Manager appointment extends through September 30, 2022.

Sly is an ARRL Life Member and has served as Ohio Section Affiliated Club Coordinator since 2017. He is past president of the Portage County Amateur Radio Service (PCARS) and has been a radio amateur since 1968.

(Dec 4, 2020) - - RadioShack� is back as an online retailer of electronics, offering some parts in its inventory that largely consists of radios, batteries, telephone gear, drones, computer accessories, and even cameras. The iconic company was recently purchased from General Wireless by Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV).

No plans are in place to reopen RadioShack-owned stores, although some 400 brick-and-mortar outlets not affiliated with REV are operated by franchisees. REV, which specializes in online retail, has previously revamped the internet presence of such bankrupt businesses as Pier 1 Imports and Dressbarn, according to a news release.

During its heyday, RadioShack has some 8,000 retail outlets and once offered some amateur radio equipment, including some popular handheld transceivers and a 10-meter transceiver. RadioShack came out of its second bankruptcy in January 2018 with 400 dealers, an online retail presence, and a distribution center.

(Nov 30, 2020) - - Ham Radio retailer Universal Radio, headquartered in Worthington, Ohio, is closing its store on November 30, although all existing orders will be filled, and the Universal Radio website will remain open to sell off �remaining stock, publications, and some select products.� Owners Fred Osterman, N8EKU, and Barbara Osterman, KC8VWI, are retiring.

�I am very fortunate to have been in the radio business for over 50 years, 13 at RadioShack and 37 at Universal Radio,� Fred Osterman said in a message of gratitude to its patrons. �We have met many wonderful people along the journey who have supported me personally as well as Universal Radio. It has been a privilege to have a continuous career in the fascinating field of radio since 1969.�

The new mailing address for Universal Radio is 752 N State St. Unit 222, Westerville, OH 43082, telephone (614) 866-4267. (This is not a storefront.)

(Dec 3, 2020) - - The ARRL Dakota Division will have a new Director, and the Great Lakes and Midwest Divisions will have new Vice Directors on January 1. The results of four contested elections for Director and Vice Director in three ARRL Divisions were announced on November 20, after ballots were tallied at ARRL Headquarters.

In the Dakota Division, incumbent Matt Holden, K0BBC, lost his re-election bid to challenger Vernon �Bill� Lippert, AC0W. The vote was 982 to 485. Holden had served as Director since 2018.

In the Great Lakes Division, incumbent Director Dale Williams, WA8EFK, retained his seat in a challenge from Michael Kalter, W8CI. The vote was 1,840 to 1,398. In a three-way contest for Great Lakes Division Vice Director, Ohio Section Manager Scott Yonally, N8SY, received 1,670 votes to outpoll Jim Hessler, K8JH, with 975 votes, and Frank Piper, KI8GW, who received 611 votes. Incumbent Vice Director Tom Delaney, W8WTD, did not run for another term.

The Club regrets the passing of two long standing club members, Doris Smith, WD8IKC and husband Stan, WA8NZE.

Stanley L. Smith, age 92, of Perry Twp., passed away on Friday, October 30, 2020. He was born in Massillon on January 17, 1928. He was a graduate of Massillon Washington High School and a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. Stanley was employed at Republic Steel in Massillon and later worked for and retired as a Civil Servant and as an Internal Revenue Agent. He enjoyed many years as a ham radio operator (WA8NZE) and a member of the Massillon Amateur Radio Club. Stan also enjoyed camping and fishing trips to Canada with his brother Arlan Smith; annual summer family picnics; and Thanksgivings at the Thompson Farm with friends and family.

Stanley was recently preceded in death by his loving wife of 64 years, Doris Smith, of the home and his son, Daniel Smith of Canton. In addition, Stanley is preceded in death by his parents; brother, Arlan Smith; and his sisters, Florence Snyder and Edna Purdue.
Nieces and Nephews survive him.

Doris B. Smith, 97, of Perry Township passed away on Monday, Monday, September 14, 2020.Doris was employed as a civil servant with Veteran�s Administration for over 20 years. She was a Ham Radio operator (WD8IKC) and enjoyed crafts and playing cards. She was a member of neighborhood card clubs and a neighborhood dance club.

(Nov 21, 2020) The ARRL has officially released the final scores from this years Field Day exercise and as submitted the club�s final score was 4,044 points on 832 QSO�s placing us the top third in Class 2A. Congratulations to everyone involved in helping us achieve another great operation event under very difficult Covid �19 restrictions.

Class 2A is a very tough category to compete in. It always has the most entries with 332 this year. The Ohio Section also has the most participating stations with 483 scores submitted. We are in good company and placed well in this years exercise.

Again this year the club website was a popular place with over 5,000 visits during the year, an increase of over 15%. The counter now stands at nearly 55,000 �hits�. This tells us that it continues to be a good source of information to the club and beyond. Maintaining the site continues to be an ongoing challenge with several hours devoted each week adding new material. Our hosting site did have a few issues in October that took several ours working with their technical support group to repair. It was easily completed and site was fully restored. Currently the site is about 2 GB in size including the many graphics, pictures and archive of newsletters dating back to the year 2000 when the site went live !

UPDATED Sep 16, 2020 - - (Sep 10, 2020) Currently our DMR Repeaters are experiencing some technical service issues. Normally, both the East & West repeaters are linked together to the internet. Due to a service upgrade the W8NP West system is not linked to the internet. This results in multiple Talk Groups down and not available for linking including the Ohio Talk Group 3139 used for Statewide linking.

We are working with Verizon Wireless to correct the problem. This will require the installation of a replacement wireless modem at the repeater site. We hope this will be completed very soon. We will provide an update when the repair is complete. The repeater is still usable for local communications. The W8NP East repeater is not affected by this outage and is currently available for statewide communications.

Thanks to the efforts of Dave, WD8AYE the system is back working perfectly. It was necessary to switch our repeater internet program over to AT&T and install a pair of their wireless modems. This was completed on Monday, Sept 15th with assistance from Jim, WA8GXM and Terry, N8ATZ. Both W8NP East and W8NP West are back linked together. It is expected we will test the linking Wednesday during the Ohio Statewide Net.

(Nov 8, 2020) The club held it's annual hamfest on Sunday, November 1st at a new location. It was held at the MAPS Air Museum near the Akron Canton Airport.

Even with all the fears of the Covid 19 Pandemic we are happy to report it was a great success. Attendance was nearly 200 strong and table rental was nearly 50.

We received lots of very positive comments from attendees and vendors alike. Everyone hopes that we will next years hamfest back at the MAPS Air Museum. We agree !

(Aug 31, 2020) - - After a year of effort, MARC member Evan Rankl, KE8IDH finally completed his home tower project on Sunday, Aug 30th with assistance from multiple club members and family.

(Jan 5, 2021) - - Amateur radio licensees would pay a $35 fee for each amateur radio license application if the FCC adopts rules it proposed this week. Included in the FCC�s fee proposal are applications for new licenses, renewal and upgrades to existing licenses, and vanity call sign requests. Excluded are applications for administrative updates, such as changes of address, and annual regulatory fees.

The FCC proposal is contained in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in MD Docket 20-270, which was adopted to implement portions of the �Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern Services Act� of 2018 � the so-called �Ray Baum�s Act.�

The Act requires that the FCC switch from a Congressionally-mandated fee structure to a cost-based system of assessment. In its NPRM, the FCC proposed application fees for a broad range of services that use the FCC�s Universal Licensing System (ULS), including the Amateur Radio Service that had been excluded by an earlier statute. The new statute excludes the Amateur Service from annual regulatory fees, but not from application fees.

�[A]pplications for personal licenses are mostly automated and do not have individualized staff costs for data input or review,� the FCC said in its NPRM. �For these automated processes � new/major modifications, renewal, and minor modifications � we propose a nominal application fee of $50 due to automating the processes, routine ULS maintenance, and limited instances where staff input is required.�

The same $35 fee would apply to all Amateur Service applications, including those for vanity call signs. �Although there is currently no fee for vanity call signs in the Amateur Radio Service, we find that such applications impose similar costs in aggregate on Commission resources as new applications and therefore propose a $35 fee,� the FCC said. Additional details available on the ARRL website.

(Aug 22, 2020) - - A club event has been scheduled for August 29 and 30 at the home of club VP Don Rankl, N8IVJ to assist with final tower and antenna installation. Don is inviting any club members to take part in this activity. Don has rented a 60 foot lift which should make the project easier, Time permitting, both Perry - W8AU and Vern - KE8VS may also have some antenna work completed. Work is scheduled to begin around 9:00 AM. Monitor the 147.18 club repeater for details. Don is located at 2363 Kenyon Ave NW, Massillon. Feel free to drop by !

(Jun 11, 2020) Volunteer Monitor Program Coordinator Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, said the program has recognized numerous radio amateurs with Good Operator Notices.

�One facet of the ARRL and FCC agreement that set up the Volunteer Monitor Program calls for ARRL to recognize especially good amateur radio behavior, in order to encourage compliance with FCC rules and further the efficiency of the Amateur Radio Service,� Hollingsworth said. �Seventeen operators in 15 states received Good Operator Notices in the first quarter of 2020. The Good Operator Notices went to veteran operators as well as newcomers, including a 13-year-old in North Carolina for CW operation during the Youth on the Air Special Event, and a 14-year-old in Wyoming for SSB operation.�

Hollingsworth also said that a 2-meter repeater operator received a Good Operator Report for establishing and managing a COVID-19 net in Pennsylvania, while other operators of various license classes received notices for everyday SSB and CW operation on the HF bands. Recipients were nominated on the basis of operation observed by Volunteer Monitors.

According to Hollingsworth, Volunteer Monitors reported 2,035 hours monitoring on HF monitoring, and 2,856 hours monitoring on VHF/UHF and other frequencies during May. Two cases were referred to FCC.

After kicking off on January 1, the new Volunteer Monitor Program ramped up to operational status earlier this spring, starting with a �soft rollout� that started on February1, designed to familiarize Volunteer Monitors (VMs) with issues on the bands and to put into practice what to report � and what to ignore, based on their training.

VMs not only look for operating discrepancies, but for examples of good operating. Hollingsworth is using a system called VMTRAC � developed by a VM � to measure the work of VMs and determine instances that qualify for good operator or discrepancy notices, referral to the FCC, or follow-up with FCC requests to the VM program. � Thanks to Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH

(Apr 28, 2019) - - The club program for our May meeting is our annual ARRL Night featuring our Ohio Section Manager Scott Yonally, N8SY.

Scott will update us with the current happenings at the ARRL including the new ARES Connect System and the League programs expected at Dayton Hamvention.

Bring your questions for Scott to the meeting. As a courtesy to Scott, his program will be first on the agenda after member roll call with our normal business meeting after the program.

Scott always has a great program for us as we always look forward to his annual visit to the MARC. Please join us this Friday, May 3rd at 7:30 PM !

(Mar 6, 2019) - - A new DMR Net sponsored by the Massillon Amateur Radio Club is held every Monday night at 7:30 PM on the KG8DQ Repeater System.

If you are using the KG8DQ code plug set your radio for the Massillon Zone, Channel 1. To access the Canton System go to the Canton Zone, Channel 1. Both systems are tied together and have nearly countywide range and can be used using either a handheld or mobile.

Net Control is currently Jim Farriss, WA8GXM who accepts all check-ins. Some local news items are covered as well as comments.

(Jan 27, 2019) - - The club annual awards banquet was another great evening as we presented several awards recognizing several member achievements over the past year.

We also had a great dinner prepared by the K of C Hall. A few pictures are shown below of several major award recipients. Click the link below to see all the pictures thanks to new Vice-President Don Rankl, N8IVJ.

(Nov 2, 2018) - - The MARC just finished assisting with the 64th Annual Massillon Holiday Parade sponsored by Massillon Main Street and the Downtown Massillon Association. This continues to remain the oldest public service event that is handled by the club and our responsibilities have grown over recent years to include many aspects of parade operation. The parade was rebroadcast over Massillon Cable TV and I hope some of you had a chance to view it. The club trailer looked great on the route with our new decorations and special thanks to Jim Farriss - WA8GXM for pulling the trailer in the parade.

(Feb 6, 2016) - - The February club program was given by our Affiliated Club Coordinator John Meyer, KD8MQ who gave us a great introduction to this years major ARRL operating event, National Parks On The Air.

John's powerpoint presentation gave us the full details of this nationwide operating event that promises to be very exciting and give plenty of fun operating for everyone. This event will help the NPS celebrate their 100th Anniversary.

Hams from across the country will activate NPS units, and promote the National Parks Service and showcase Amateur Radio to the public. The club may even explore the possibility of operating from one of the nearby NPS units.

(Feb 6, 2016) - - In recognition of his continuing service to the club in many areas throughout 2015 and before, member Steve Hall, KD8ACF was presented a Special Recognition Award at the February meeting. A special thanks to Steve for his dedication to the club year after year !

(Apr 4, 2015) - - Our April meeting was our annual ARRL Night as our Special Guest was Ohio Section Manager Scott Yonally, N8SY. Also attending was our Affiliated Club Coordinator John Myers, KD8MQ. Scott's annual visit included current happenings within the Ohio Section and the renewed importance of public service and active club participation in our community.

His visit also included a presentation of our active renewal for our ARRL Special Club Status. This elite ARRL status recognizes a affiliated club that goes above and beyond for their community and for Amateur Radio is what defines a Special Service Club. They are leaders in their Amateur Radio community who provide active training classes, publicity programs, and actively pursue technical projects and operating activities.

Thanks to the clubs strong belief in our hobby and our community, we have been a Special Service Club for the last ten years.

Affiliated Club Coordinator John Myers, KD8MQ (L) presents President Ralph, K8HSQ with our renewed Special Service Club Certificate.

(UPDATED) (Mar 7, 2015) - - - Continuing on the current theme of kit building and fox hunting, the March Mentoring Class covered the construction of a Tape Measure Beam for Fox Hunting.

The class was held at the Massillon Senior Center on Saturday, March 7th. This months Mentor was Dan Anastas, N8DZM our resident Fox Hunter. A kit of parts needed to construct the Tape Measure Beam was provided for $13.00.

Dan coached the builders on the construction of the beam antenna providing some theory on its design and operation.

This will continue in our April Mentoring Class which will be on learning how to Fox Hunt and will give you a chance to use both your Attenuator and Tape Measure Beam. This class will be held on Saturday, April 11th also at the Massillon Senior Center. Additional details will follow. Our thanks to club member John, N8CD for the great pictures !.

(UPDATE) (Feb 7, 2015) - - Our February Mentoring Program was conducted on Saturday, Feb 7tg at the Senior Center. This training was conducted by John Wagner, N8CD and was part of a series on Direction Finding. This part was on the construction of a Variable Offset (Active) Attenuator built from a kit.

John began with the basics of soldering, a skill all radio operators should have. This included proper safety techniques, the theory of how an attenuator works and testing out the kit when completed.

Approximately 10 club members took part in this session including builders and mentors. John's program included an excellent powerpoint presentation following step by step help and guidance in building the K0OV kit from Marvin West, KE6HTS. The kit included a great looking case from the famous Altoids Mint Tin.

Everyone had a fun time during this mentoring session and learned a lot. We especially want to thank John, N8CD for the time he spent preparing this training session including the individual help he and his mentors provided the members. Everyone's kit went together fine and all worked !

Our March and April Mentoring Sessions will continue this theme as we build the famous Tape-Measure Beam used for DX'ing and some actual field training during April.

John has made available the powerpoint presentation for those who missed the training. You can view it by clicking the following link. http://bit.ly/marc-kit

(Jan 18, 2015) - - The clubs first Mentoring Program was held on Saturday, Jan 17th with about 20 members and guests in attendance. The class was held at the Massillon Senior Center.

This months Mentor was James Andrews, KD8VT and the class covered proper station grounding for your shack. The training included a very informative powerpoint presentation and lecture from James. The attendees learned the basics of station grounding including lightning protection for your equipment and tower installations. James also included some show & tell on various types of coax and hard line usage.

The club provided coffee and donuts for the morning. Thanks also to James XYL who brought an assortment of cookie's and cupcakes.

The presentation was excellent and well received by everyone. James also will provide a copy of the powerpoint that will be posted to the club's website for those who couldn't attend.

The clubs 147.18 Repeater is the high profile wide area coverage repeater in Western Stark county and has been for quite some time. But it wasn't always so, in fact at one time it was not even a repeater at all ! Learn about the colorful history of the repeater thanks to an early issue of the clubs newsletter that I recently found.

Click here to read the full story.

You are welcome to join us at our monthly club meetings held on the first Friday of each month at 8:00 PM at the Massillon Senior Citizens Center, located at 39 Lincoln Way West, Massillon, Ohio 44647. We usually monitor the club's 147.18 repeater, give us a call and we'll guide you in !

MARC owns and operates repeaters in the 2 meter and 70 centimeter bands. Our annual Hamfest is held at the Massillon Boy's & Girls Club in Massillon. We have a large indoor hamfest area, as well as ample outdoor parking. The prizes are some of the best you'll find at any area hamfest and the bargains are many.

As a club member, not only will you have access to the autopatches on our 2m and 70 cm repeaters, but you will also receive a monthly subscription to our newsletter, Feedback. In each issue you will find published, the minutes of the previous month's meeting, informative articles, and interesting narratives by our club members.

The club owns an emergency response communications trailer that is stocked with radio equipment and back up batteries, as well as a generator. With little notice, MARC can have an emergency station on the air, ready to provide any help we can. Our club station, located at the Senior Center, contains an HF station, VHF and UHF gear, and a computer system. The station is open to any club member, during the hours that the center is open. The club also sponsors quarterly VE Exams quarterly at the Emergency Operations Center located at the Stark County Sheriff's office and during our annual Hamfest. Please check the link for times and specific dates.

ARES�, Amateur Radio Emergency Service and the ARES logo are registered trademarks of the American Radio Relay League, Incorporated and are used by permission.