PHARG and, Oh Yeah, Hey There!

Well now. Here is yet another of my blogs that got left in the ‘dust’ of the other areas I post. Its about time I kick back and start doing a blog about Ham Radio as I see it and not trying to promote some other entity. Oh, don’t get me wrong, EAWA and Hancock County EMCOMM are great areas to be involved with. BUT, as the aging process carries on I feel its time to start doing some stuff for me so here is a Basic bread and butter Ham Radio Operator’s blog which I actually started about 5 years ago. Recently a fellow local Ham , Phil N1EP, started a group which is NOT in competition with the local Ham Radio Clubs. The group’s name is PHARG….Poverty Hill Amateur Radio Group. It is a kind of a getting back to the start…when we as hams started up. Remembering our Elmers and fellow hams that have passed. Poverty Hill was the unofficial name of where Bob Begley, W1KMG lived. Bob was to me as to MANY other Hams in the area, a driving force in getting me licensed. He will always be remembered by this Ham as a friend and Elmer. I see great things happening with PHARG. Thanks Phil for getting the ball rolling, I will do my best to keep kickin it to keep it moving! Hi Hi I have attached the email Phil sent out the other day which sums it up. Also..Hey there, you interested in Ham Radio, give me a call 460-0093 or drop me an email at w1krp@arrl.net and I will try and help you out! Phil's First Message: "W1KMG Returns To The Airwaves! Introducing the Poverty Hill Amateur Radio Group, a relatively informal group of radio enthusiasts honoring the life and memory of Bob Begley and other prominent hams that have become silent keys. Let's celebrate W1KMG, N1RGP, KB1GVR, and other friends whose voices no longer resonate on the amateur bands. PHARG also honors all ham radio elmers, past & present. This group will hold very few “eyeball” meetings and will instead meet on the air for special operating events, etc. PHARG will not be in competition with other area clubs. In fact, one of our objectives is to work together with the three local clubs Bob supported for many years: Ellsworth Amateur Wireless Association, Pine State Amateur Radio Club, and Narraguagus Bay Amateur Radio Club. Membership is free and open to anyone interested in ham radio. Other PHARG objectives: Be Radio-Active. Get on the air and have fun! Once a year, conduct a joint operating event with one of Bob's three favorite clubs listed above. Operate special events on-the-air such as a Tribute to WWII Navy Radiomen. Bob was a WWII Chief Radioman and witnessed the surrender of the Japanese, as his ship was alongside the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. Encourage the use of CW (Morse Code) as it was a favorite mode of Bob's. But Bob enjoyed many modes and PHARG will also, whether it be packet radio, digital, SSB, FM, etc. Eyeball meetings will be very limited and may be in the form of clandestine coffee meetings, another activity Bob enjoyed! Many thanks to Joyce Young and the rest of Bob's family for supporting our effort in obtaining Bob's call sign. An operating schedule will be coming soon. One of our first on-air activities will be to make Bob's & Gordon's & Mark's favorite 2-meter simplex frequency active again. 146.565 is Alive! Stay tuned. . . 73, Phil N1EP" Phil's Message No.two: "Hello Folks, The first Poverty Hill Amateur Radio Group (W1KMG) on-air event will be a special 2-meter simplex gathering on 146.565 Mhz. Please join us on Thursday, September 6 at 1900 (7PM) on this simplex frequency that was a frequent meeting place for Bob Begley W1KMG, Gordon Kelly N1RGP, Mark Austin KB1GVR, and others in the Hancock-Washington counties area. PHARG aims to honor our name-callsign-sake Bob Begley and other hams that have made their mark on the amateur radio community in this region of Maine. Some, like the three mentioned above, have passed on, and others continue to serve as elmers/mentors and provide other worthy services to this fantastic hobby. Another that comes to mind is Joe Demaso K1RQG. Let's remember some good times and have a few laughs! I will start the event at 1900 hours, but because of the nature of VHF, will need relays to enable us to cover our region. Plan on sharing your memories of silent keys and elmers that you admire and all the while making 565 come Alive! Please spread the word. 73 de Phil N1EP Milbridge, Maine "

Ham Radio (Gotta Love It!)

Hammin here in Hancock County Maine has evolved over the past few years. The local club, Ellsworth Amateur Wireless Association (EAWA) [ www.eawa.org ] is a great group with a long history of promoting and suporting the local Amateur radio community. From programs at the monthly meetings to Field Day operations, providing VE sessions for those testing for the first time or upgrading present licenses, EAWA (W1TU) is there to help!My involvment in Ham Radio began with going to the local Radio Shack and asking for a book to learn basic electronics (another story in itself!). I was greeted by the Manager, Bruce N1VLQ. He led me over and showed me their assortment of books. He picked up a specific one and said that that one would actually benifit me in two ways; learning electronics AND helping me in getting my Ham Radio License. I promptly ask why in H**l would I want to do that!? He eventually persuaded me to buy the book which I quickly set aside. A few months later I saw something that rang a bell about Amateur Radio and looked at the book and got a telephone number for the ARRL off the back which I called. They gave me the name and telephone number of a local Ham, Norm N1NGM. I got up enough nerve and called him and found him to be very helpfull. Shortly after that I attended a couple of local meetings. At a meeting in Trenton of the then DEAR club I found a group that got me on the right track with loaned video tapes and computer programs. Ten days later, Bob W1KMG picked me up at my door step and off we went to Bangor for me to take my test. I left the session with my CSCE for a Technicians Level License! Bob also presented me with a Yaesu FT-2500 2 Meter radio for me to borrow until I could buy one, along with an Astron power supply! Lenny N1ZDG gave me a j-pole antenna to use. I was off and running and I haven't looked back!Local hams such as AA1PI, N1TDO, KA1BFA, N1NGM, N1CJS, W1KMG, K1WJY, W8HAP, KA1BRA, KB9TQC, N1VLQ and the list goes on (over 200 hams in Hancock County alone!) continue to be the best to learn from...to any newcomer to this great hobby; don't be afraid to ask questions! You won't find a better teacher usually than the voice on the other end of the radio waves!

73 de W1KRP Dick Small Ellsworth, ME