Veterans Day Special Event Station Nov. 11; other on-air special event stations to be held in NC, NY.
On Friday, Nov. 11, 2016, The American Legion Amateur Radio Club will conduct its annual Veterans Day Special Event from 0900 to 1630 hours EST [1400Z - 2130Z] from the Legion's headquarters city of Indianapolis. On this day, using the Federal Communications Commission-issued radio club call sign K9TAL, we will honor our fellow veterans in this special on-the-air amateur radio tribute.
Participation in the special event is open to all amateur radio operators. Please invite friends and family who are amateur radio operators to contact the station. All those who QSO with the headquarters station can receive a personalized Special Event Commemorative Certificate and a QSL card from TALARC.
Ham radio operators wishing to contact Special Event Station K9TAL on Veterans Day should tune to 20 meters: 14.275 MHz (+/- 5 KHz) USB; or to 2 meters: K9DC 147.315 Repeater in Indianapolis; or IRLP Node 9735; or to 146.46 MHz simplex in Central Indiana. Note: K9TAL will not operate via EchoLink during the special event.
To receive a commemorative certificate and QSL card after working K9TAL, send a 9X12 self-addressed stamped envelope to The American Legion Amateur Radio Club, 700 N. Pennsylvania Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204. Please allow about three weeks for return delivery.
If you are a Legion radio club member who resides in the proximity of the K9TAL station, you are welcome to operate on air during the special event. The station is located at the Legion's National Headquarters, 700 N. Pennsylvania St., Indianapolis, IN 46206. Access to the building is controlled, so it will be necessary that we know your availability in advance – approximate time and length of stay – in order to get you inside. Interested? Contact TALARC VP Bill Sloan, NZ9S, at k9tal@legion.org.
HF Relay Operations for the Veterans Day Special Event
To accommodate those who experience difficulty hearing or being heard by K9TAL, you may check in via relay through TALARC members:
Everett, WA3DVO, in Maryland
Bill, KIØCW, in South Dakota
Bill and Everett will operate on the same special event HF frequency of 14.275 MHz, +/- 5 KHz.
Other Veterans Day special events hosted by TALARC members
WB4TAL, American Legion Post 116, the first American Legion radio club station in North Carolina, will also have a special event station honoring all American veterans who have fought for our freedom. The station will be ready to receive at 9 a.m. EST (1400 UTC) until 4 p.m. EST (2100 UTC) and will be listening on 14.260 MHz (+/- 5 KHz) USB. They have QSL cards made and will QSL with all contacts. The station is located in Fuquay-Varina, N.C., and appears to be the only East Coast special event station according to the list on ARRL. WB4TAL invites all to "Come make contact with us." Contact information for WB4TAL: Kenn Kubacki (KK4OSI) WB4TAL@gmail.com.
W2UIS, Mark at Wallkill, N.Y., has notified National Headquarters that on Veterans Day, Friday, Nov. 11, 2016, he will be running a D-Star special event station from the Wallkill Public Library from 1300 -1600 EST. He will use REF001C, 026A, 030C. The local library is being supportive of this activity, and Mark says he hopes "to make ham radio a monthly event there to generate interest locally in amateur radio."
- Ham Radio