Below is the newsletter for June 9, 2025. I would love to include your original content. If you have written, or would like to write an article, it would be great to include it in the EARS newsletter.
Steven Christy, N5ZQ
n5zq@n5zq.us
Field Day 2025
Field Day 2025 is coming up on the weekend of June 28-29. Be sure to mark this weekend down on your calendar.
Planning is ongoing and we are making great progress. It looks like we have a location! The location still need board approval (and payment) but we should be in the same location as last year: Edmond Masonic Lodge on North Boulevard just south of Danforth.
Please also remember that there is a form on the Field Day page where you can let us know how you are able to help.
We traditionally have a dinner on Saturday evening. The dinner this year will be on Saturday, June 28th at 6pm. More details will follow along with a sign-up form following the board meeting tomorrow evening.
Please let me know as soon as possible if you want to participate.
Thank you very much,
Rick, KE5UFW
fieldday@k5eok.org
June Mentoring Session
EARS has started holding a training and Elmer session prior to the monthly board meeting. Regardless of whether you are a newer or a more seasoned ham, we will have a short monthly topic that should help provide you with some good information. Following the brief presentation, there will be time to ask questions to help further your journey in amateur radio.
The next session will take place tomorrow, Tuesday, June 10th at 6pm at Edmond Fire Station 5. The address is 5300 E Covell Rd. We will have a brief presentation on contesting by Ross, K5SRT. Following his presentation, we will go outside in the parking lot to get a live demo and have some contesting practice time. If possible, please bring an HT with the frequencies of 146.52 MHz and 446.00 MHz, both FM simplex, programmed.
We look forward to seeing you there!
John, N5RET
help@k5eok.org
June Board Meeting
EARS holds a monthly board meeting on the second Tuesday of each month. The next board meeting is tomorrow, Tuesday, June 10th at 7pm. The meeting is at Edmond Fire Station 5 in the training building down the hill by the tower. The blue pin on the map below shows the meeting location.
Fire Station 5 is located at 5300 E Covell Rd which is just East of I-35. If you need any help finding the meeting location, please give us a call on the repeater and we can help you out.
LibertyFest Volunteers Still Needed
The Edmond Amateur Radio Society (EARS) is still in need of volunteers to support communication and logistics for the upcoming LibertyFest events in Edmond, Oklahoma. As a cornerstone of public safety and event coordination, EARS plays a vital role in ensuring the success of this annual celebration. Your participation helps maintain the safety and enjoyment of thousands of attendees.
📡 Why EARS Volunteers Are Essential
LibertyFest, recognized as one of the Top 10 July 4th Festivals in the United States by CNN and USA Today, relies heavily on volunteers to manage communications and logistics across multiple events. EARS provides critical support through radio communications, assisting with coordination, safety, and real-time updates during the festivities.
🗓️ Volunteer Opportunities
EARS is currently seeking volunteers for the following LibertyFest events:
- Rodeo at Carl Benne Arena
Dates: Friday & Saturday, June 27–28, 2025
Time: 4:00 PM – 11:00 PM - Car Show and Park Fest at E.C. Hafer Park
Date: Saturday, June 28, 2025
Time: 6:30 AM – 12:30 PM - Parade in Downtown Edmond
Date: Friday, July 4, 2025
Time: 6:00 AM – 12:00 PM - Fireworks at E.C. Hafer Park
Date: Friday, July 4, 2025
Time: 5:00 PM – 11:00 PM
Volunteers are needed to assist with communications, logistics, and safety coordination during these events.
📋 How to Volunteer
To sign up, please fill out the volunteer form at:
👉 https://k5eok.org/libertyfest/
For any questions, contact Brandy (K5GBN) at parades@k5eok.org. EARS will help match volunteers with roles that fit their experience and availability.
🙌 Make a Difference This July 4th
Volunteering with EARS during LibertyFest is a rewarding way to support your community while gaining practical experience in radio operations. Be a part of Edmond’s most celebrated tradition and help make it a success!
Brandy, K5GBN
Discover the Excitement of Simplex: Go Beyond the Repeater!
If you’re a licensed ham who mostly chats on your local 2-meter repeater, you’re not alone. Repeaters are fantastic—they make it easy to connect with friends and reach further than you could on your own. But did you know there’s a whole other side to VHF radio that’s just waiting for you to explore? Often it’s a symphony of static but this June 14th and 15th there will be people roving around! Plan to listen and make contacts even for just an hour Saturday afternoon/evening or sometime on Sunday.
What is Simplex?
Simplex operation is direct, radio-to-radio communication—no repeater in the middle. It’s just you and another operator, making contact over the airwaves. It might sound old-school, but it’s a vital skill and a lot of fun!
Why Try Simplex?
- Challenge Yourself: See how far your signal can really go. You might be surprised!
- Sharpen Your Skills: Learn about propagation, antenna placement, and power output in a hands-on way.
- Emergency Preparedness: In a real emergency, repeaters might be down. Simplex skills could be crucial.
- Meet New Hams: Connect with operators outside your usual circle.
The Perfect Opportunity: The VHF Contest
The ARRL VHF Contest is the best time to try simplex. During the contest, hams all over the country are on the air, eager to make contacts. You don’t need fancy equipment—just your regular 2m radio and a willingness to try something new.
How to Get Started:
- Tune to the National Simplex Frequency: 146.520 MHz is the standard calling frequency for 2m simplex.
- Listen and Call: Don’t be shy! Call “CQ Contest” and see who comes back.
- Write-down Your Contacts: You do not need to submit a log unless you really want to enter the contest.
- Try Different Antennas: If you have a mobile setup or an outdoor antenna, use it! But even a handheld can make contacts during the contest.
Tips for Success
- Move to a high spot if you can–height makes a big difference
- Use as much power as your radio will allow
- Turn-down or disable the squelch. If you cannot disable the squelch, at least on the lowest setting you will hear people.
You Can Do It!
Simplex operation is a core part of amateur radio. It’s rewarding, practical, and a great way to grow as a ham. The next VHF contest is your invitation to step outside the comfort of the repeater and discover what your radio—and you—can really do.
Give it a try. You might just catch the simplex bug!
Ready to learn more or have questions? Reach out to your local club or send me a email. See you on 146.52 this June 14th and 15th!
Additional Info
Grid Square
Anytime you make a contact on simplex you will often be asked for your Maidenhead Grid or “Grid Square”. During the contest this is required as part of the “required information exchange”. To find your grid you can use https://QRZ.COM, enter your callsign then look at the Details tab. If your at a different location, then use their awesome Gridmapper resource to find your location on the map and it will tell you the grid! https://www.qrz.com/gridmapper
QRZ will give you a highly accurate locator such as EM15ab but for the VHF Contest we just need the first 4 characters like EM15.
Report
During the contest you do not need to be concerned with signal reports either. The required information exchange during this contest are the callsigns and grid squares. People in the contest earn points by contacting as many people as they can, per band and per grid square. Rovers will be driving around from corner to corner of the grids in your area. When they cross into a new grid they will want to contact you again!
Dual-band or Tri-band radio:
During the contest people will ask if you have other bands – like 6m, 1.25m, 70cm, etc. If you do that’s terrific!
6m FM Simplex call freq is 52.525 MHz.
2m FM Simplex call: 146.52 MHz
1.25m FM Simplex call: 223.5 MHz
70cm FM Simplex call: 446.0 MHz
Special Arkansas/Oklahoma Activity
This year, N5ZY/R (/R for Rover) and several friends led by N0LD/R, will be activating grid squares from some of Arkansas’s highest and most scenic locations, including Queen Wilhelmina State Park and Mount Magazine. We’ll be operating on 6 meters, 2 meters, and up, providing a unique opportunity for local hams to make contacts with portable stations in rare grids. We are sure many native Oklahoma Amateur Radio operators will also be rovering or participating in the contest.
For a detailed schedule, planned locations, frequencies, and operating tips, please see my blog post:
https://n5zy.org/2025-arrl-june-vhf-contest-2/
And N0LD’s site: https://okrover.info/
VHF Activity (contest) details
- When: June 14, 1 PM – June 15, 10 PM Central
- Bands: 6m, 2m, 1.25m, 70cm, 33cm, 23cm (see n5zy.org for full frequency list)
- Rules: ARRL VHF Contest Rules (if you want to submit your log)
- Live Tracking: I’ll be beaconing my position via APRS—search for N5ZY on aprs.fi
Marcus Sutliff, N5ZY
Ham Holiday
Ham Holiday is our local Oklahoma City hamfest. If you are not familiar with a hamfest, a definition from the ham holiday website is below.
“A hamfest is a meeting of people interested in Amateur Radio. Hamfests offer exhibits, forums, amateur radio testing, and fleamarkets for Amateur Radio operators or ‘hams.'”
Ham Holiday takes place on July 25-26, 2025 at Oklahoma City Community College, 7777 S. May, Oklahoma City. All of the details can be found on the Ham Holiday website.
Please make plans to attend!
Steven, N5ZQ
Space Weather
Space (Solar) Weather is important is impacts our radio communication. While the greatest impact is usually on HF frequencies, it can also impact VHF, UHF and even higher frequencies. The video below comes from a YouTube page that is updated about every 2 weeks with new space weather reports. I encourage you to watch her channel for updates when you can as it is very educational.
Contests
Below are a few upcoming HF contests. The ARRL has a more complete list in their Contest Corral from QST which is available as a downloadable PDF file. You can also find a list of upcoming contests along with contest details at contestcalendar.com.
| ARRL June VHF Contest | 1800Z, Jun 14 to 0259Z, Jun 16 |
| West Virginia QSO Party | 1600Z, Jun 21 to 0400Z, Jun 22 |
| ARRL Kids Day | 1800Z-2359Z, Jun 21 |
| Field Day | Jun 28 to Jun 29 |
Web Links
Here are a few links to other websites that may be of interest.
- ARRL (American Radio Relay League) – https://arrl.org
- CORA (Central Oklahoma Radio Amateurs) – https://coraok.org
- Ham Holiday (OKC Hamfest) – https://hamholiday.com
- ARRL Oklahoma Section – https://ok.arrl.org
- South Canadian Amateur Radio Society (SCARS)
- DMR Info – https://w5nor.org/okdmr/
- They have lots of other good info on their website such as modes of operation, weather/emergency info etc.
- ARES
- ARRL ARES – https://www.arrl.org/ares
- OK ARES – https://aresok.org
- Winlink – https://winlink.org
- AREDN – arednmesh.org
- POTA (Parks on the Air) – https://pota.app
Upcoming Events
- EARS Information Net – Every Monday at 8pm
- Route 66 10m Net on 28.390 – Every Monday Following the Information Net
- EARS Breakfast – Every Saturday at approximately 6:30am at Around The Corner, 11 S. Broadway, Edmond
- EARS Breakfast Net – Every Saturday at 7am on 147.135 and 443.425
- June Mentoring Session and Training – Tuesday, June 10th at 6pm at Edmond Fire Station 5, 5300 E Lovell
- June Board Meeting – Tuesday, June 10th at 7pm at Edmond Fire Station 5, 5300 E Covell
- ARRL Field Day – June 28-29, 2025 – Details coming soon!
- Edmond LibertyFest Events – June 27th, 28th, July 4th – Details and Signup at https://k5eok.org/libertyfest/
- EARS Licensing Testing – Saturday, July 5th – Sign Up on License Testing page
- Edmond Siren Test – Saturday, July 5th at 11:30am – Send email to sirens@k5eok.org
- Ham Holiday – July 25th and 26th – Details at hamholiday.com
