Club News

SKYWARN Recognition Day (SRD) will take place this year on Saturday, December 2from 0000 until 2400 UTC (starts on the evening of Friday, December 1, in US time zones). During the SKYWARN Special Event, ham radio operators will set up stations at National Weather Service (NWS) offices and contact other radio amateurs around the world.

Participating Amateur Radio stations will exchange a brief description of their current weather with as many NWS-based stations as possible on 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6, and 2 meters plus 70 centimeters. Contacts via repeaters are permitted.

SRD was developed jointly in 1999 by the NWS and ARRL to celebrate the contributions SKYWARN volunteers make to the NWS mission — the protection of life and property. Amateur Radio operators, which comprise a large percentage of SKYWARN volunteers, also provide vital communication between the NWS and emergency managers, if normal communications become inoperative. 

The AkSarBen ARC will be on the air from the radio room of the USS Hazard on November 11, 2017 to commemorate United States Veterans.
There is an amateur radio station installed on the ship, and we will be using the ship's antenna.  All area amateurs are invited to come out.  

Operations will start at 10:00 am and will continue until 3:00 pm. Come out and visit and get on the air for a while. The park will be open for the day and admission as always is free.   

The USS Hazard is an Admiral Class Minesweeper that served in the Pacific theater during World War II. The Admirable class of minesweepers were also used for patrol and escort duties. Hazard first served in this capacity, escorting a convoy from San Francisco to Pearl Harbor, and then running with convoys to Eniwetok and Ulithi. In March 1945, the sweeper was sent to Okinawa, where she first performed anti-submarine patrols before sweeping the waters off Kerama Retto in keeping with the minesweeper's slogan, "No Sweep, No Invasion." At the war's end the ship cleared the seas off Korea and Japan for the occupation forces.

Read more: Veteran's Day on the USS Hazard

 This year the Market-To-Market Relay will be held on Saturday October 11th.  This is a fund raising event to support the Great Plains Trail Network and the Ak-Sar-Ben Amateur Radio Club has been a part of the event for all 17 years.   The organizers know what a great job the "Omaha hams" do of looking after the runners and are looking forward to working with the area hams again.  

The 2024 Edition of the M2M Relay will once again start from Seymour Smith Park Omaha and finishes in Lincoln at the Haymarket District 75 miles later.   Teams of 6, 7 or  8 members each a stages then relay to another runner. Each stage is 3 to 5 miles long. The course follows trails, paved streets and gravel back roads of Nebraska. 

 Our job is to keep track of when the runners arrive at each stage and when the last runner has departed and relay that information to Net Control.   If minor medical assistance is needed we can summon the medical personnel who are available at every other exchange point. Omaha area hams cover the first half and the Lincoln area hams pick up when the race crosses the river at exchange point 9.   Both Net Controls will be in contact with the event organizers to relay how well the race is going and of any issues that have been relayed via the hams.     Mobiles and handhelds are usable, depending on your location.

The exchange points get a bit busy with waves of runners coming and going, so it is best if there are at least two hams at each exchange point especially the later exchanges when the runners have spread out. We arrive before the runners and all the vans and usually, and often we are there before the site setup crew and the exchange volunteers.   We like to schedule two hams allow for a backup if there is equipment failure or if a last-minute personal issue means you can't attend.   That means about 20 volunteers. So we need you.     

Below is the schedule of the times that hams will be needed. The exchange setup crew and exchange volunteers are scheduled to be there about 15 minutes prior to the runners arriving.  You may arrive a few minutes before they do.. Don't panic!  They will be there!   Your departure time is also about 15 to 30 minutes after the last runner should depart your area.   This will let you “beat the traffic” of the team vans, and be on site if the runners are running a bit ahead of schedule.  Exact times are subject to change as we get closer to the date.   

Did I mention that the teams also dress up in costumes during the run?  Teams usually have a theme from characters from Alice in Wonderland - to Let's Storm Area 51.   There are prizes for the Best Team Costume, Best Decorated Vehicle and Best Team Name.   The race is seriously fun!  Even as a spectator!   So Sign Up, play radio and watch the wackiness! 

You can find a link to the course map at https://tinyurl.com/M2MRoute  to see where the runners and the team vans will be on the road - and you  can zoom in to find the location of each site 

Please complete the following form if you would like to volunteer  https://tinyurl.com/M2M2025

If you have questions email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 I added exchange point 10 - but I will only staff this if we have enough volunteers to go around.   Lincoln actually staffs this location, but having a ham monititoring our comms would aid in the expected arrival of the first runner and definately when the the  Exchange point 9 has been passed and the last runners are handed off to the Lincoln group. 

September 16, 2017

8:00 am to 12:00 noon

Sarpy County Fairgrounds

Springfield, NE

Food - Door Prizes - Bargains

Admission is $5

Tables (prepaid) $8 (includes 1 admission)

>>>>Table Registration form can be found here<<<<

Get your table before they are all gone!

 Grand prize is an:

Icom IC-2730A 144/440MHz Dual Band Mobile Radio

Supports V/V - V/U - U/U Simultaneous Receive
Supports CrossBand Repeat
50 Watt Output on Both Bands
1000 Memories
Wide Band Receive Coverage