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MDC Section News January 2026
* MDC SECTION OPEN POSITIONS
* MDC SECTION-WIDE ECHOLINK NET
* SECTION MANAGERS NOTES
* DIVISION NEWS
* UPCOMING HAMFESTS & CONVENTIONS
* EXAMS, ACTIVITIES, OPPORTUNITIES & SPECIAL EVENTS
* STAFF REPORTS
*************************
MDC SECTION OPEN POSITIONS
The following positions are available on the MDC Section Staff:
Emergency coordinator in the following Counties:
Baltimore /Kent/ Queen Anne/ Somerset/ Worcester
Technical Specialists for the Maryland Hospital Program
Local Government Liaisons
Public Information Coordinator
For more information, please send an email to me at ab3wg@arrl.org
MDC SECTION-WIDE ECHOLINK NET
This month’s MDC Section wide EchoLink net will be held on Friday
January 16, 2026 at 8:00 PM ET on the EchoLink WASH_DC Node 6154. The
MDC Section EchoLink net is always held on the third Friday evening of
every month at 8:00 PM eastern local time. EchoLink Link Repeaters for
Net If you would like to join in on RF the following repeaters are
linked.
– KA2JAI-R Millersville 146.805- PL107.2
– WB3GXW-R, 147.225(+), PL156.7 Hz, Calverton, MD
– W3FDK-R, 146.73(-), PL141.3 Hz, Frederick, MD
– K3CAL-R, 146.985(-), PL156.7, Sunderland, MD
– WA3DZD-R Maryland FM Association
– K3ORB – 443.450(+) PL151.4 Ocean Pines MD.
Repeater owners are encouraged to join our MDC Section EchoLink Net
group and link your repeater – TU! Everyone is encouraged to join in and
give any updates on what is happening in your part of the ARRL
Maryland-DC Section. You may download the free software from:
http://echolink.org/register_data.jsp or your App Store online. Thanks
to John Creel WB3GXW for making the WASH_DC EchoLink server and his
WB3GXW-R repeater available for the EchoLink nets.
*****************************
SECTION MANAGER’S NOTES
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR GROUPS.IO EMAIL DISTRIBUTION SERVER using the link on
our website or – Main+subscribe@mdc.groups.io
I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday season. A new year is upon
us.
I am beginning to see several hamfest applications, and the season is
right around the corner. Let’s have a great 2026.
Tu es 73,
Chris Van Winkle AB3WG
Maryland / DC Section Manager, ARRL
240-755-4257
AB3WG@ARRL.ORG
DIVISION NEWS
Please visit the Atlantic Division website https://atldiv.org/
UPCOMING HAMFESTS & CONVENTIONS
03/21/2026 – FredFest 2026
Location: Frederick, MD
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Frederick Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://frederickarc.org/Fredfest26
05/02/2026 – The Great Hagerstown Hamfest
Location: Maugansville, MD
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Antietam Radio Association
Website: https://antietamradio.org/
EXAMS ACTIVITIES OPPORTUNITIES & SPECIAL EVENTS
Please send me your upcoming ARC events, suggestions and comments. You
may view upcoming Hamfests here:
http://www.arrl.org/hamfests-and-conventions-calendar
A free, weekly, live, Amateur Radio Extra Class Licensing course on Zoom
will begin on Thursday, January 15, 2026, and will run through Thursday,
March 26. There will be 11 sessions. The three-hour sessions will
start at 6:30 PM Eastern Time. Sessions will be recorded. Those
attending should hold (or be studying for) the General Class Amateur
Radio License. These are the classes that we have been holding for
years sponsored by the National Electronics Museum. Please publicize
this with anyone that you think would be interested. Those wishing to
sign up should email roland.anders@comcast.net.
Petition to get VARA QSOs added to the Logbook of the World
https://chng.it/jNkLyfkBrF
FCC AMATEUR RADIO EXAMS:
VEC website or Laurel VEC for details.
https://larc-vec.org/home.php
Laurel VEC License Exam Search: https://larc-vec.org
NET CONTROL AND ALTERNATE OPERATORS NEEDED:
Baltimore Traffic Net – Contact Baltimore Traffic Net Manager, Don N3FQC
N3FQC@ARRL.net. Join the net to learn Traffic Handling and Traffic Net
procedures.
MDC Section Nets:
Baltimore Traffic Net – 146.670 tone 107.2 Daily 18:30 more information
at https://www.baltimoretraffic.net/
Maryland Emergency Phone Net – 3820 / 1920 & 7243 kHz LSB Daily 1800L
Maryland Delaware DC – MDD meets daily at 7:00 PM and 10:00 PM local
time on 3.557 MHz. CW
Maryland Slow Net – MSN meets daily at 7:30 PM Eastern Time on 3563 KHZ.
CW
HF Hospital Net – The HF Hospital Net is held on the third Tuesday of
every month. Start time is 1900L on 3820kHz
SECTION YOUTH COORDINATORS REPORT – W3EAB
There are two School Club Roundups during each school year in October
and February. Each 5-day event runs Monday through Friday from 1300 UTC
Monday through 2359 UTC Friday. A station may operate no more than 6
hours in a 24-hour period, and a maximum of 24 hours of the 107 hour
event.
February Session: The second full school week of February.
February Session: February 9-13, 2026
AFFILIATED CLUB COORDINATORS REPORT – K2EJ
I am still looking for volunteers to activate W1AW/3 Maryland from 5/6 –
5/12, and from 11/11 – 11/17 for ARRL America250 Worked All States. If
you are interested or have any questions, please contact me directly.
I also encourage all affiliated clubs to put your club call sign on the
air and be LoTW registered because stations hunting for America250 WAS
will be looking for the specialty Endorsement by contacting ARRL
affiliated club stations in all fifty states.
////////
WINTERFEST, at Oakton High School, Vienna VA. The 50th WINTERFEST
hamfest is on Sunday, March 15th. WINTERFEST includes 110+ indoor
tables for vendors, and extensive outdoor tailgating vendor space, and
hosts. VE testing and the Virginia Section Convention. You may purchase
raffle tickets and admission ticket(s) at:
https://ticketstripe.com/events/4304107921520517# You do not need to
be present to win a Raffle Prize.
WINTERFEST broadly reaches across the National Capital Region, spanning
both the ARRL VA and MDC Sections. Over 500 attendees regularly attend,
and we warmly welcome Hams from the MDC section to join us at the event.
More details at: https://viennawireless.net/wp/winterfest-key-info/
The Year of the Club
The ARRL is planning to promote the affiliated clubs in 2026. The
anchor for their promotion will be the MARCONI Program, as highlighted
at https://www.arrl.org/Marconi-program. POTA activations and Fox
Hunting, along with 5 other activity programs, are central to the
program. Another initiative in the ARRL plan is profiling
high-performance clubs, and special recognition of clubs with 70-90% of
their members also ARRL members. Finally, expect the League to roll out
a yearlong operating event in honor of the US semiquincentennial
celebration.
Steven Fook
K2EJ
steven@k2ej.com
chibasan3@aol.com
Ex: N2PIF, AC3AZ
ARRL Affiliated Club Coordinator for Maryland-DC Section
ARRL ARES Emergency Coordinator for Harford County, MD
CWOps #3180, SKCC #19815, LICW #977, FISTS #20162, Ten-Ten #62165
224.220 MHz Repeater/PL 110.9, Allstar 51537, EchoLink 167177
Coming soon: 449.375 MHz Repeater/PL 107.2, Allstar 51587
Section Emergency Coordinator’s Report – KG4WWH
Please keep spreading the word about the Groups.io, I would encourage
the use of emcomm-all for overall announcements regarding upcoming
training and events (the MoCo show and tell, the PG monthly radio tests
Etc.).
I would also encourage the creation of a file in the emcomm-all section
where we can all place documents. One of the things I have found over
the years is that everyone wants to know: what do you use for a bag?
What do you carry for deployment? what is your go to weather site….
and so many more, but there is never a good repository that folks can
refer to and make their own decisions, based on what those that have
come before them have already tried. A perfect example, I am a member of
a K-9 SAR team here in MD. My first question to the team was what
backpacks do you like and why? The reason I ask this of operational
folks is because they have tested it for their operational use. I have
seen a couple that have pockets on the waist strap that would be perfect
for dog treats or a tennis ball (or 2). And that is just one of MANY
examples of questions that either I have asked, or I have been asked.
The more we can document now, the more prepared we can help our future
ARES members be prepared.
REMEMBER: You do NOT need to be a league member to join or
participate in the groups.io. This is available for ALL within the MDC
Section.
ECs, please remember to submit your FORM 2 (located here:
https://www.arrl.org/public-service-field-services-forms). Please have
it submitted by the 10th of the month for the previous month so I can go
in and submit the FORM 4 before Chris publishes the monthly newsletter.
If you are unable to access this form, please email so we can figure out
why.
Thanks and be safe!
73,
Adam Karsin
KG4WWH
ARRL MDC SEC
kg4wwh.sec@gmail.com
kg4wwh@arrl.net
Hams over IP: 100084
MDC ARES Conference Bridge on HoIP: 10060
240-469-9316 – Cell
SECTION EMERGENCY COORDINATOR REPORTS:
Call signs of DECs/ECs reporting:
K2EJ, K4LIZ, KB3LJB, KB3SPH, KN3U, N3AE, N3AWP
Activity Details:
CALV——————————————————————————
With the busy holiday season we decided to skip our December meeting. We
held a successful exercise of our EOC radio system by conducting a 2M
voice simplex net on December 23’rd with good signal reports as far as
60 miles away. But we did uncover some issues with Packet Winlink that
will need some troubleshooting.
CECI——————————————————————————
Sunday evening Nets. Due to ongoing Repeater issues, and to conduct
testing of our backup planning, the Nets were held on our backup
frequency.
DISTRICT OF
COLUMBIA——————————————————–
W3HAC VE Team runs in-person exam sessions bimonthly in DC.
Pre-registration is required at https://hamstudy.org/sessions/W3HAC/all
In 2025, we administered a total of 36 exams over 6 session, granting 19
new licenses (15 Technician, 2 General, 2 Amateur Extra) and 9 upgrades
(4 General, 5 Amateur Extra)
W3HAC will also be organizing a Winter Field Day event at Rock Creek
Park. Exact location TBD. Contact w3hac@w3hac.org for details if you’re
not on the club email reflector.
HARFORD COUNTY
(HARF)——————————————————
Hospital work: no updates.
Winlink project update: The computer serving as the Winlink server is
complete. We are coordinating a day and time to deploy.
A Meshtastic node is currently operational at the EOC building.
The HF station’s antenna has been replaced and is fully operational. The
antenna will be fine-tuned in the next few months.
There will not be a meeting in January. The next scheduled meeting will
be held on February 5th.
HOWARD
COUNTY—————————————————————
In December, Howard County ARES-RACES convened four routine weekly nets
and three informal Digital Practice nets (Winlink and FLdigi). We had
originally planned a training activity that included participating in
NWS SKYWARN Recognition Day, but requested members consider self paced
training activities (FEMA Classes, etc.) since there was no formal NWS
support for SKYWARN Recognition Day activities.
MONTGOMERY
COUNTY———————————————————
Happy new year. The January hospital drill is planned for January 13.
MCACS will be setting up for Winter Field Day and operating around the
clock in category 2-Oscar on January 24-25.
PRINCE GEORGE’S
COUNTY——————————————————
5 weekly (Tuesdays) VHF training nets in December 2025
PGCERA Annual Meeting – 12/15/2025
High Frequency Hospital Net (HFHN) – 12/16/2025
***
Report from MDCWINLINK-1 (N3XL): Well done to all those who checked in
to the December 2025 MDC Section Digital Check-in exercise! This month
there were 46 successful check-ins with the following breakdown: 2
Telnet, 4 Packet, 17 Vara FM, 7 Vara HF, 1 Ardop, 4 VARA HF Radio-Only,
and 10 VarAC HF/FM. The following Maryland counties were represented:
ANNE ARUNDEL, CALVERT, CARROLL, CECIL, CHARLES. FREDERICK, MONTGOMERY,
and PRINCE GEORGE’S. We also had check-ins from AL, CT, FL, MS, PA, NC,
VA , and Ontario Canada,
In the December MDC Digital EmComm Challenge participants submitted
ICS-213 emergency readiness response messages listing their preferred
assignments and associated equiment. Winlink (Task 1), VarAC (Task 2),
and Fldigi/Flmsg (Task 3) were used. Fldigi messaging, was incorporated
for interoperability with ARES groups that use the ARRL Narrow Band
Emergency Messaging System (NBEMS).
Participants successfully completing Challenge tasks were as follows:
Task 1, Winlink Messaging: AI3KS, K3JSJ, K8SRR, KB3SPH, KC3QLX, KD2QAR,
KG4K, N1DEC, N3COB, N3JAE, N3XL, N4TYS, NW3K
Task 2, VarAC Messaging: AI3KS, K3JSJ, K8SRR, KB3SPH, KC3QLX, KD2QAR,
KG4K, N1DEC, N3XL, N4TYS
Task 3, Fldigi Messaging: AI3KS, K3JSJ, K8SRR, KB3SPH, KC3QLX. KG4K,
N3XL, N4TYS
HOME RUNS (completing all 3 tasks): AI3KS, K3JSJ, K8SRR, KB3SPH, KC3QLX,
KG4K, N3XL, N4TYS
Target Stations performing message relays: AC3EW, KD2QAR, KB3SPH,
KD2QAR, KG4K, N3HU, N3HU-3, N3HU-9, and N3WOF.
The map of Challenge participants can be viewed at the following link:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1yx0B8te4zMna3aeCZqOqq3bnXuD_b9k&usp=sharing
Administrative and Other Comments:
CALV—————————————————————————-
Our repeaters are 146.985 – ,PL 156.7 in Sunderland, MD and 444.950 +
,PL156.7 in Lusby MD. These repeaters are linked, providing excellent
coverage throughout the county and into adjacent counties. The W3PQS 6M
repeater, 53.170 out, 52.170 in, PL 100 has its transmitter antenna on
the roof of the Calvert Health Medical Center in Prince Frederick with a
receive sites at N3AE, N3PPH and W3PQS. This repeater also supports
ARES/RACES in Calvert County. Our monthly meetings are held at 7pm on
the third Thursday of the month at the Calvert Public Safety Building,
315 Stafford Road Prince Frederick, MD 20678, coordinates N 38.536531, W
076.613805. Our web site is https://auxcomm.k3cal.org/
CECI—————————————————————————-
Weekly Nets are held every Sunday evening at 8:00 pm Eastern time
normally on the N3RCN 145.470 repeater (- offset, PL 94.8). Should that
frequency become unavailable due to a repeater issue, we will switch to
145.470 MHz simplex with no PL and, with relays as necessary, continue
the net.
Meetings are held at the Charlestown, MD Fire Hall every other month on
the 3rd Wednesday starting in January at 7:00 PM. The next meeting is
scheduled for January 21, 2026.
DISTRICT OF
COLUMBIA————————————————————
Nets are weekly on Mondays at 2000L on the 449.975(-5)MHz PL107.2Hz
N3ERA DC repeater.
W3HAC club meetings are hybrid on the 1st Wednesday of the month at
1930L. Reach out for location details and Zoom link.
For more information about ARES visit aresdc.org or reach out to
K4LIZ@arrl.net.
HARFORD COUNTY
(HARF)———————————————————–
Nets are held every second Tuesday at 7 pm on the 146.775 repeater PL
146.2.
Meetings are held every first Thursday of the month at 7 pm at the
Harford
County Department of Emergency Services building at 2220 Ady Road, Room
105, Forest Hill, MD 21050.
The Harford County ARES/RACES website is
https://harfordcountymd-ares-races.org/ and contains all the latest
information about the group.
Several ARES/RACES members meet with the local club NEMARC every first
Friday at 8:30 am for breakfast at Bob Evans in Bel Air, MD, across
MD-24
from the Festival at Bel Air.
HOWARD
COUNTY——————————————————————-
Weekly Nets – Sunday 8:00 PM on the CARA 147.135 repeater
Digital Practice Nets – follow our Weekly Sunday evening net
Monthly training drills – typically on the 4th Saturday of the month
MONTGOMERY
COUNTY—————————————————————
Montgomery County ARES meets each Tuesday at 8 PM, usually on the
Montgomery ARC repeater, 146.955- (156.7). On the first Tuesday of the
month, MC ARES and ACS members meet via Zoom in lieu of the net. Please
visit our shared website, MCACS.net, for more information about our
activities.
PRINCE GEORGE’S
COUNTY———————————————————-
PRGE ARES Internet Forum: https://groups.google.com/g/pgares
PRGE ARES Groups.io: https://mdc.groups.io/g/PG
Nets: Regularly scheduled weekly training VHF nets on the K3ERA
Repeater,
145.23MHz pl 110.9 on Tuesdays at 1930 ET (Echolink node N3XL-R).
If you would like to be a member of PRGE ARES, send an email request to
kb3sph@arrl.net to receive a membership application.
The monthly HF Hospital Net is held on the 3rd Tuesday of the month on
3820 kHz at 1900 ET.
Meetings: Monthly meeting held the 3rd Monday of the month at the Fire
Services Building, 6820 Webster St, Landover Hills, MD at 1900 or on
Zoom, WX dependent.
****************************
SECTION TRAFFIC MANAGERS REPORT – W3YVQ
MDC NETS 2512:
MEPN/C2, MARYLAND EMERGENCY PHONE NET; 3820 KHz/LSB
Pre-net: 2130Z, Net: 2200Z, DY, EL: WB3GXW-L (*WASH_DC* alt.)
Liaisons: 3RN2/WVA/DTN/DTS/WL2K/BTN/MDD/EL
MEPN 2512 W3YVQ QND/31 QNI/425 QTC/44 MINS/862
BTN/C4, BALTIMORE TRAFFIC NET; 146.67/R/107.2/FM, 1830L, DY
EL: N3FQC-R (alt1: 6.805/R/107.2, EL: KA2JAI-R); (alt2: 6.67S.)
Liaisons: MEPN/MDD/DTS/WL2K (EL: WB3GXW-L as needed.)
BTN 2512 N3FQC QND/31 QNI/344 QTC/69 MIN/639
MDD/C4, MARYLAND/DC/DELAWARE NET, 3557 KHz/CW
1900L-2200L-DY; (EL: WB3GXW-L as needed.)
Liaisons: 3RN4/DTN/MEPN/BTN/MSN/DTS/WL2K
MDD 2512 AA3SB QND/57 QNI/127 QTC/58 MINS/339
MSN, MARYLAND SLOW NET, 3563 KHz/CW, 1930L-DY, TRAINING
Liaisons: MDD, CW; (EL: WB3GXW-L as needed.)
MSN 2512 N3AEA QND/22 QNI/37 QTC/6 MINS/248
PSHR 2512: W3YVQ 135, AA3SB 100, NI2W 100, W3STN 90,
WB3FTQ 75, WG3K 70, KN6HXP 45;
TFC 2512: WB3FTQ 81, W3STN 72, AA3SB 68, W3YVQ 57,
NI2W 47, WG3K 34, KN6HXP 16
==========
HF PROPAGATION DECEMBER 2025
MEPN NVIS propagation (2130Z to about 2220Z) has
been fair to good now that we are experiencing lower
sun angles. Solar Cycle 25 produced 29 M-class X-ray
flares and 2 X-class X-ray flares during the month. There
were some good DX band openings up through ten and
six meters. Signals on early MDD/4 and 3RN/4 were
improved most evenings with 40M NVIS still possible;
poorer on the late sessions since the MUF has been
approaching 80M at 0230Z and 0300z as we passed
solstice on DEC 21.
ECHOLINK
MEPN representatives check for Echolink check-ins
starting at net call daily via the WB3GXW-L link node (or
*WASH_DC* conference-server backup). The conference-
server is available for MEPN, MDD, BTN, MSN, and 3RN
stations during periods of propagation failures. Sincere
thanks to John, WB3GXW, and John, WA3MNN, for
continuing to provide and maintain the WB3GXW-L
conference-server we use daily.
DIGITAL MODES
ICS forms, formatted by officials, are used during
NIMS/ICS activations but the message form itself is
unsuitable for use on radio networks since it has no
accountability/tracking header information. Email-
formatted text content from such forms may be
exported to text files and sent via Winlink or sent via
the RRI/DTN pasted between the breaks of a Hybrid
Radiogram. Digital reps regularly attend the MEPN,
BTN, and MDD nets. Join up with our NTS and
ARES(r) nets and learn how to use the digital modes
on their national networks and locally before the
emergency happens, and develop compatibility with
deployed ARESMAT teams.
MANNING
We continue to be in need of county liaisons on MEPN,
BTN, and MDD to accept incoming Radiogram messages
for the public and new Hams. Such contacts and first
impressions, particularly coming from a local operator,
can have a profound impact on a new Ham that lasts all
his/her years in Amateur Radio. Consider joining us in this
effort – perhaps as a club activity or an ARES(r) training
opportunity. Should our traffic handlers send these
messages to the local EC by default for delivery and
servicing?
MEPN is looking for additional NCS stations and daily
liaisons to MDD. MDD is in need of additional CW
operators for daily NCSs and liaisons to the higher nets.
Newcomers are welcome – we will train you on the job.
The daily Maryland Slow Net (MSN, 3563, 1930L daily)
can help you learn net and message skills on CW.
Special thanks go out to the BTN Net Manager, N3FQC,
and the operators on the BTN for providing assigned
liaisons to MEPN daily as well as help with the
afternoon 3RN/2 net liaison to MEPN.
– – – – –
Thanks to all the Section s traffic-net NCS operators,
RRI/DTN and WL2K stations, liaisons, and traffic
handlers for the continuing effort to keep the nets
running and the traffic moving.
73, W3YVQ, MDC ASM, STM
w3yvq atsign arrl dot net
SKYWARN Report
It’s been an interesting winter so far. Pretty much everyone has seen
some snow and our nets have been active when conditions warrant. We
still have a couple of months to go, so please stay safe and report bad
weather and road conditions though your local SKYWARN net.
We are still looking for a new coordinator for the Cecil/Harford
Counties area. The position is not especially onerous, especially if
you recruit net control stations to help you. This is an important
job,
helping the NWS keep your communities safe.
SKYWARN classes are being scheduled again starting in February. Please
keep an eye on the NWS’s SKYWARN page for upcoming classes and ensure
you register so you can be notified if there are any last minute
changes.
Until next month,
73,
Jerry, AI0K
SKYWARN Amateur Radio Coordinator
National Weather Service Baltimore/Washington
TMARC REPORT:
December 2025
Applications in Process:
KE8YWV – Received application for 440 pair at Capon Springs, W.Va.
Sent
notice to neighboring coordination groups. Sent Construction
Coordination
for 443.6000+
WV8WC – Received application for 2M pair near Berkeley Springs, W.Va.
Sent
notice to neighboring coordination groups. Sent Construction
Coordination
for 145.3300-.
KB3MEC – Received on air confirmation of 441.5000+ at Galena, Md. Sent
Final
Coordination.
Repeater Inquiries sent to:
UHF Link N8RAT Linden, Va.
UHF Link N8RAT Spotsylvania, Va.
444.9000+ W3TBG Seaford, Del.
447.3250- W3BXW Elkton, Md.
448.7250- W3BXW Roxana, Del.
Inquiries are sent to sponsors for various reasons: Suspected to be off
the air, clarification of technical parameters (CTCSS, Mode, ERP,
Lat/Long, Antenna AGL, etc.)
Systems are listed here even if a response was received from the sponsor
or not.
Coordinations Cancelled:
Cancelled coordinations can be a result from sponsor relinquishing pair,
repeaters being off the air for extended period of time (where ample
time is given to sponsor to get a system operational), death of sponsor,
system never constructed, etc.
Other:
Area Repeater Coordination Council:
Received 1 proposed coordinations for 440 – No objection
South Eastern Repeater Assoc.:
Received 2 proposed coordinations for 2M – No objections
Received 2 proposed coordination for 220 – No objections
——————————————————————–
ARRL Maryland-DC Section
Section Manager: MR Christopher D Van Winkle, AB3WG
ab3wg@arrl.org
——————————————————————–
MDC SECTION WEB SITE 