HCFR 50th Anniversary Special Event Station

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Hillsborough County ARES RACES will be running a special event station, K4F, to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Hillsborough County Fire Rescue (HCFR) August 25-28, 2023. All contacts will learn a fun fact about the department’s history and operations. We will be operating from the RACES room located in the Hillsborough County Public Safety Operations Complex, home of HCFR’s Headquarters. 

Operating Schedule: 

Friday, August 25 – Monday, August 28, 2023 

1200-2200 Zulu; 8AM – 6PM, EST Daily 

Note: The operating schedule is subject to change. Please check this page frequently for updates. 

We are seeking volunteers for each day to operate; all license classes and skill levels welcome. 

If you are interested in volunteering, email both Myesha Johnson johnsonmr@hillsboroughcounty.org and Tom Grace tgrace@hcaresraces.net preferably by Thursday at 5PM to allow us to finalize a schedule. Include your name, call sign, phone number, license class, preferred modes, and your available time slot(s).

 

Bands & Modes: 

VHF – TARC Repeater: 147.105; PL Tone 146.2 

15M & 20M; General portions of the bands; Voice & Digital Modes 

Available Digital Modes: PSK & FT8 (subject to availability) 

 

To request a commemorative certificate confirming contact, send an email to info@hcaresraces.net with your name, call sign, & date/band/mode of contact no later than 8-31-2023.

Weekly ARES/RACES NET

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The Thursday ARES/RACES Net

The weekly ARES/RACES Net is held every Thursday evening at 19:30 on the N1CDO Repeater which is 440.100 MHz positive offset with a PL tone of 162.2.   All amateur radio operators are invited to check in to the net.  We will have some special training and shared experiences that will make it interesting.

See you There!!!

Field Day 2023 June 24-25

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Field Day 2023 is June 24th and 25th

Lets beat last year’s Great Event this Year

 

Field Day 2022  ARES/RACES was held on June 25th and June 26 at the PSOC

We were honored to have many guest visit us on Saturday from 14:00 – 16:00. 

To kick things off ARES/RACES and Hillsborough County Emergency Management partnered for an Open House Event to educate the public on amateur radio, emergency communications, and hurricane preparedness.  Tim Dudley, Director of Emergency Management, graciously welcomed our guest and started the program.  We were also honored to have our Section Manager for ARRL West Central Florida, Mike Douglas W4MDD, visit our site for Field Day.

Winlink Emails were sent to all visitors to demonstrate the use of Winlink during a time when cell phone and regular email is down.  This allows distant family to know you are safe when we have been hit by a hurricane.

 

Amateur Radio Week in Hillsborough County

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Amateur Radio Week

Hillsborough County ARES RACES was honored by the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners with a Proclamation to recognize their contributions to promoting amateur radio and supporting Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Office of Emergency Management and the cities of Plant City, Tampa, and Temple Terrace with emergency communications during disasters and major incidents.

In addition, the week of June 20-26th was proclaimed as Amateur Radio Week in Hillsborough County. Thank you to Commissioner Gwendolyn Myers for sponsoring the proclamation to honor our organization.

 

 

 

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New FCC License Fee for Amateur Radio

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The new $35 application fee applies to new, renewal, rule waiver, and modification applications that request a new vanity call sign. The fee will be per application.

Administrative updates, such as a change of name, mailing or email address, and modification applications to upgrade an amateur radio licensee’s operator class or to request a sequentially issued call sign, are exempt from fees.

You can review the details of the Fee on the ARRL Website at

https://www.arrl.org/fcc-application-fee