One of the responsibilities of the Technical Coordinator in the Ohio Section is to submit something for the Section Journal. The Section Journal covers Amateur Radio related things happening in and around the ARRL Ohio Section. It is published by the Section Manager Tom – WB8LCD and articles are submitted by cabinet members.

Once my article is published in the Journal, I will also make it available on my site with a link to the published edition.

You can receive the Journal and other Ohio Section news by joining the mailing list Tom has setup. You do not need to be a member of the ARRL, Ohio Section, or even a ham to join the mailing list. Please sign up!

If you are an ARRL member and reside in the Ohio Section, update your mailing preferences to receive Ohio Section news in your inbox. Those residing outside the Ohio section will need to use the mailing list link above.  Updating your ARRL profile will deliver news from the section where you reside (if the leadership chooses to use this method).

• Go to www.arrl.org and click the Login button.
• Login
• When logged in successfully, it will say “Hello <Name>” in place of the Login button where <Name> is your name.  Click your Name.  This will take you to the “My Account” page.
• On the left hand side, under the “Communication” heading (second from the bottom), click Opt In/Out
• To the right of the “Opt In/Out” heading, click Edit
• Check the box next to “Division and Section News.”  If it is already checked, you are already receiving the Ohio Section Journal.
• Click Save
• There should now be a green check mark next to “Division and Section News.”  You’re all set!

Now without further ado…

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Read the full edition at:

• http://arrl-ohio.org/news/2024/OSJ-Feb-24.pdf
• http://arrl-ohio.org/news/2024/OSJ-Feb-24.docx

THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak – TC
k8jtk@arrl.net

Hey gang,

This is, by all accounts, my 100th article for the Ohio Section Journal! It’s coming a month late as I didn’t count the announcement of my father’s passing in September of 2023 as an article. I’ve been thinking about doing something special for my 100th. As per usual, short on ideas. I thought back and remembered being asked a question by fellow Volunteer Examiner, Tom – W8KYZ. He asked me some time ago ‘how long does it take for you to write an article for the Ohio Section Journal?’ I didn’t have a good answer because I really hadn’t paid attention. At the time I recall saying “probably 6 hours.” In reality, it’s double that. After Tom’s question, I started taking notes and being self-aware of my writing process to put together an article. Here is my 100th article on how I write for the Ohio Section Journal.

In the beginning. Dating back to middle school (or as some call it, intermediate or junior high school), I liked to write. I had some good English teachers. Mr. Holland in 6th grade and Mrs. Mann in 7th grade. Mr. Holland had his own library of Reader’s Digests. We were encouraged to read articles, write summaries and include our own thoughts. Mrs. Mann did the school newspaper as an extracurricular. I did activities and layout. Her teaching style in class also made it fun to learn. Have to give credit to mom because she was my proofreader in elementary and middle school. I think writing is one of her traits I inherited.

Sophomore year of high school I had a very strict English teacher, Mr. Scherma. I could do common MLA (Modern Language Association) citations and punctuation structure, though college, in my sleep because of his class.

I’ve always believed if I don’t understand it, I can’t explain it to others. Another credit to Dr. Vernon for my International Business grad school class. We did a lot of writing in his class. He took that philosophy a step further. Be able to make arguments both for and against something, then provide alternative solutions proves you really understand a topic.

I’ve read a number of PC magazines over the years starting probably not much before middle school. Some of my favorite writers were Steve Bass (PC World) who was always a fun read and interjected a good level of humor and sarcasm in his articles. Another would be John C. Dvorak (PC Magazine). I can’t say he’s been right about a lot of his predictions, “… experimental pointing device called a ‘mouse’. There is no evidence that people want to use these things” (Dvorak Uncensored). I do share a level of skepticism over tech hype – as does John. He’s given great writing advice which stays in the back of my mind. John is also a master troll (one whom posts causing maximum disruption and argument, particularly online). I wish I could pull off some of his schemes.

Before I started writing for the Ohio Section Journal, the previous Technical Coordinator, Jim – W8ERW (SK) saw my writings in club newsletters. I was doing a series on Raspberry Pi and RTL-SDR dongles called “Dongle Bits” in 2014 – 2015.

Ohio Section Journal. When I was appointed to be the Technical Coordinator by our previous Section Manager, Scott – N8SY (now Tom – WB8LCD), it was stated section articles had to be something ‘ham radio related.’ Mine started out ham radio related but took liberties doing articles on things closely related to ham radio such as computers, Windows, and Linux. In the same way a club meeting might include topics or announcements on useful smartphone apps, space and plants, and other electronics, I reach into my background for other technical topics. I’ve done System Support for Windows and Linux environments, System Administration of Linux systems, programming on a Linux platform, and currently networking and security.

My thought is, well, I have to do 12 of these per year. Even that’s way too much ham radio for me. In branching out to cover Information Technology or Information Security topics, maybe an IT or InfoSec professional might come across an article and check into this ham radio thing. As it turns out, readers like the variety too.

Post Script is released the weeks when a Section Journal is not published. It consists of mostly articles from other publications and submissions received by the Section Manager. Articles are summoned from Section Cabinet members for the Section Journal on a monthly basis.

How do I find a topic? They start out as things I’m interested in or working on – things others might find interesting as well. Brainstorm sessions happen anywhere: while I’m at work browsing the internet, working on something in the shack, watching a presentation on a topic, giving a presentation and a question was asked, watching an online video, new or different technology I’m playing with and experiences (good and bad), heard a different perspective on a subject, current topics or events, etc. Some months I didn’t do that much ham radio and rather talk about a computing project I’ve been working on. I always promote anything the Technical Specialists are working on or doing.

As the month rolls along, I’ll make a note to myself ‘this would be an interesting OSJ article.’ I do have a backlog of topics but rarely do I pull one from that list. As I’m learning new things, I rarely write about them immediately because I don’t care for “initial impression” (aka unboxing) type material. I would rather provide insights from (at least) a couple months of using something to find quarks, see how bugs and updates are handled.

I do bump articles. I planned to do topic X, but Y seemed more interesting and pertinent at the time. A recent example, I was planning to do my February 2023 article on my Windows 10 shack upgrade for January. After attending a conference, which included some ham radio topics, that became the published article for January. I wrote a new article and bumped the original to February.

On occasion, I’ll do a collaboration. Ones that come to mind are the write up of the Wood County Amateur Radio Club and the BG Fab Lab (I’m a WCARC member). I coordinated a trip out to Bowling Green to coincide with their breakfast meeting and ham radio training class. I talked with club members about the partnership, took pictures, and observed the training class. Unfortunately, the partnership has since dissolved between the WCARC and the BG Fab Lab.

During National Parks on the Air, Technical Specialist Bob – K8MD wrote the article on the Perry’s Monument activation. I did an article on Winlink nets where I solicited input from net control stations for details they would like to share about their net and let them review a final draft before publication.

If someone poses a question to me, that is often the basis for an article (October 2019 on Line A). I’ll confirm with them I can publish their name and call sign as part of the article. Most people don’t mind. I do want to be respectful of those whom may think their question is silly, stupid, don’t want the attention, or just wish to remain private.

I’ll revisit topics. Two years is the minimum between publication and republication, unless there is a development or someone poses a question. It’s never the same article. It will be changed, if only slightly, in favor of better wording, include more details, or latest updates.

One evergreen is “writing a newsletter article for your club or the Section Journal” (July 2017 & November 2019). A reason for revisiting this topic is because it encourages the sharing of advances and learning, which is one of my responsibilities as Technical Coordinator. Another exception is every June, I feature and highlight the skills of our Technical Specialists to remind readers they are an available resource for club meetings and hamfests. This is another responsibility of mine.

Learning time is hard to quantify and not included in my time estimates. My article on the WPSD Pi-Star replacement includes over a decade experience in digital modes when I started using them in 2009, using Pi-Star since 2018 when I bought a ZumSpot, and learning about WPSD in January 2023 when I saw the segment on AmateurLogic. Anything HF or digital HF has been learned since I built my shack in 2014.

Timelines. This, of course has changed over the years as different editors have taken over or has been adjusted to meet their demands. Currently, the Ohio Section Journal comes out the last weekend of the month. Articles can be submitted anytime during the month. Deadline is few days or so before publication, more if the SM is traveling.

When do I start? This depends. A collaboration or I have free time to get a draft written could be a month or more. Collaborations are worked on earlier in order to have enough time for those involved to review a final draft for changes. It’s rare for me to have a finished product turned in more than a few days ahead of the deadline. Normally, I start a few weeks ahead. Sometimes the week of. On a couple occasions, the night before it’s due.

Getting in mine in “early” is a phrase that does not exist in my vocabulary. Section Managers can probably count on one hand how many times I’ve been early. I am the worst at getting my article in early and even hours past the deadline at like 2am. I’m terrible and I know it. I apologize to them when we talk about the OSJ. I do try to make my article an easy drop-in for their template.

Writing process. I don’t consider myself a good writer. I don’t. From draft to published edition, the flow rarely changes. Wording, clarity, and phrasing are another story. I will post an example in the online version of this article. I saved all six revisions of the second paragraph in my September 2022 article. This article was on running multiple copies of Fldigi and Flmsg at the same time. It shows progression from initial draft to published version and changes made during each revision.

>>> 9/22 article revisions can be viewed here. <<<

My writing process starts out as a stream of consciousness style of writing. Get in front of the keyboard for about 4 – 8 hours and just type. Not often in one sitting, broken up over some days. Less so when a deadline is looming. While brainstorming, I often have an organizational structure thought out ahead of time. A large portion of wiring time is due to reading things like Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRMs), looking up details, supporting information, and validating my recollection. My style, especially early on, follows the same form as the Five-Paragraph Essay format taught in grade school.

Once my thoughts are down, I’ll start to revise the article. Depending how I feel for editing, 2 – 3 revisions are done on the computer. The rest are on paper. I’ll print the article, do a read-through marking changes, input those changes into the computer, print the article again, rinse and repeat 4 – 6 more times. 2 – 3 read-troughs are in my head, another 2 – 3 verbally.

I’m not well versed in proper sentence structure. I remember the big things like avoiding run-on sentences, sentence fragments, don’t begin sentences with conjunctions or “so,” or ending sentences with prepositions. The conjunction one goes out the window if it makes a point. Whatever seems natural is published. Editing process is about 4 – 6 hours.

OMG! Who is printing things in the current year? Me. If you go back and read through some of my early OSJ articles, they are really rough. I was doing all writing, revisions, and editing at the computer. I got complaints about editing, wording, and spelling. I am my own worst critic. The comments were not unfounded because those articles were hard to re-read and sucked. I needed to make a change. Went back to what worked for me in school. Printing and proofreading – over and over and over and over – again. Now when I re-read my articles later, I think “there’s no way I wrote this, it’s too good!”

I start writing in LibreOffice Writer, except when I start writing in the shack which has Microsoft Word. I start in LibreOffice because my primary desktop and laptop run Fedora. All writing, links, and editing are done using Writer. No graphics are included at this point. When editing is done, I use a Windows virtual machine with a local copy of Microsoft Word. Word Doc is the format requested by the Section Manager in Times New Roman, 12-point font.

Text is pasted into Word using “keep text only” or unformatted text. This removes any unnecessary formatting from Writer. I never directly convert Writer to Word using the Save As option. I’ve used Writer and predecessors, there have always been conversion (formatting) problems going directly to Word. The Document Foundation states a lot has been accomplished solving formatting issues. I still see conversion problems around image sizing, positioning, and cropping.

Word’s spelling and grammar checker is far superior and I use it for final touchups. That is to say, Writer has a spell checker that’s not very good and completely lacks grammar checking. I’ve noticed quarks (bugs) in Writer’s spell checker that hinder my editing process. For example, a misspelled word will not be underlined with the standard wavy red line to visually indicate a word not recognized. Copy and paste that exact same sentence into a blank Writer document and the wavy red line appears for the misspelled word. Haven’t figured out why that happens and I don’t ever use the ‘ignore/ignore all’ option.

Though I may gather images during brainstorming, I don’t go looking for graphics or images until everything is formatted in Word. During the writing and editing process, I only work with text and links. Inserting images at the end doesn’t waste space in the printouts and I avoid any conversion issues going from Writer to Word. When media from other sites is used, I’ll caption it with the domain or username as it is not my work. Most often, Size and Position Text ? Alignment is Square. Then group the caption and image together.

Taking my own pictures, I’m a huge fan of Cannon imaging products since I started using them at our high school TV station. I use a Cannon Rebel SL2 primarily. When I don’t want to use the nice camera, an old Canon PowerShot SX210 or my Google Android Pixel phone does the job at places like Hamvention. Don’t think I’ve included too many scanned items, but an Epson Perfection V100 Photo is used. Editing, cropping, resizing, bluing parts of images and pictures, I use a free program called Paint.Net and, on occasion the Linux equivalent, Pinta.

The inclusion of hyperlinks in articles has been amazing for me. Instead of having to cite something or take additional time explaining, I link the reader to a place they can read or research something I’ve mentioned. It takes about 30 minutes to an hour to convert, do final spell/grammar checking, insert and caption images, and verify links work correctly.

In total, it takes me an average of 12 – 16 hours to do an OSJ article. The quickest one in recent history was six hours on Spam Campaigns, draft to final version. Normally, this process is spread out a few hours per day over at least three days. I E-mail the article and images to the Section Manager. Then it magically appears is the published version of the Ohio Section Journal. I don’t know much about the processes once I send my submission.

Web Edition. After the OSJ is published and emails go out to members and subscribers, I publish my article to my site. From Word, I do a Save As ? Plain Text. The key to this conversion: in the File Conversion box, checking “Allow character substitution.” This removes “smart quotes,” apostrophes, multiple periods, and dashes Word likes to insert – substituting them with web friendly characters for online publishing.

I don’t use the HTML Save As option because my method keeps the online version clean from the needless formatting and useless tags inserted by Office products. December’s article was 6 KB of plain text. After formatting the article and creating links for my website, 8 KB. Comparing exporting to HTML in Word weighs in at 54 KB – of needless crap and highly inefficient rendering, if you ask me.

My site is a WordPress content management system (CMS). I have boilerplate text at the beginning of each post (article) describing how to subscribe and links to the full edition. Then paste the exported text, recreating text formatting and links in the CMS. I upload and caption the same images. Always after the OSJ is released is when I hit the “Publish” button to make the version live on my site too.

After publication. Generally, I receive no feedback on a per article basis. That is fine because people still call me out when I do make mistakes. I receive comments when people see me in person at hamfests, presentations, and occasionally over the air. Readers generally enjoy the stuff I write and topics covered.

Ironically, the most feedback I receive are from the non-ham topics. Some of you complained about my series on preserving legacy media (August, September, and October 2021). I received more messages from readers who wanted to share their tips, experiences, and services used to rescue data from legacy media. It was under ten messages but more than any other article or series I published.

I’m likely blacklisted with a vendor or two. They’ve messaged me displeased about one thing or another. When asked what they had an issue with, they don’t respond. Manufactures have never given me anything anyway because I do, and have, refuse units for review. If a product is worth purchasing or is something a lot of hams are using and might have technical questions, I purchase the product on my own. Representatives often come across as jags but I remain professional. Seriously though, make better products.

I receive a lot of “I don’t understand it, but it’s interesting” feedback, even from my own dad. I attempt to grab attention in some way. It’s a balancing act though. Many readers are not all very technical, others want me to do deep dives including all kinds of technical specifications. I shoot for a middle ground of knowledge an average user might need. At least a basic understanding of computers helps to understand my articles. If someone walks away with a piece of knowledge they keep in the back of their mind for the future, my job here is done.

When I did longer articles, I make an effort to shorten them. This is not one of those articles. A friend suggested splitting longer ones across multiple months. Depends how I feel. I try to keep them shorter (2-3 pages, before graphics). Some want even longer articles. Thank you and I’m flattered, but this takes up a considerable amount of time as-is.

Not that all feedback isn’t humbling, a couple stick out. My brother shared a story where someone at his company messaged him asking if he knew me (same last name). Obviously, he did. They told him they enjoyed reading my Section Journal articles. Unfortunately, I don’t know the name of this person. Ralph – K8HSQ messaged the Section Manager and myself saying “I enjoy your articles in the OSJ newsletter very much. Whenever I see your article being announced in the email, I read it immediately. If it’s not listed, the newsletter gets put on the “read later” pile.” Roy – K8RWH always says he is “your #1 fan in Ohio.”

I don’t even know how to react to that other than to say – thank you! I always ended my articles the same: thanks for reading. I’m always honored you take time out of your busy schedule to read anything I have to say. This also comes from another teacher I had and talked about recently, Mr. Hoty. ‘No matter what the viewers say or complain about – your audio stinks, the picture sucks, wrong about this – just let them vent and calmly say “thank you for watching” because at least their watching.’ With that…

Thanks for reading and 73… de Jeff – K8JTK

One of the responsibilities of the Technical Coordinator in the Ohio Section is to submit something for the Section Journal. The Section Journal covers Amateur Radio related things happening in and around the ARRL Ohio Section. It is published by the Section Manager Tom – WB8LCD and articles are submitted by cabinet members.

Once my article is published in the Journal, I will also make it available on my site with a link to the published edition.

You can receive the Journal and other Ohio Section news by joining the mailing list Tom has setup. You do not need to be a member of the ARRL, Ohio Section, or even a ham to join the mailing list. Please sign up!

If you are an ARRL member and reside in the Ohio Section, update your mailing preferences to receive Ohio Section news in your inbox. Those residing outside the Ohio section will need to use the mailing list link above.  Updating your ARRL profile will deliver news from the section where you reside (if the leadership chooses to use this method).

• Go to www.arrl.org and click the Login button.
• Login
• When logged in successfully, it will say “Hello <Name>” in place of the Login button where <Name> is your name.  Click your Name.  This will take you to the “My Account” page.
• On the left hand side, under the “Communication” heading (second from the bottom), click Opt In/Out
• To the right of the “Opt In/Out” heading, click Edit
• Check the box next to “Division and Section News.”  If it is already checked, you are already receiving the Ohio Section Journal.
• Click Save
• There should now be a green check mark next to “Division and Section News.”  You’re all set!

Now without further ado…

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Read the full edition at:

• http://arrl-ohio.org/news/2023/OSJ-Oct-23.pdf
• http://arrl-ohio.org/news/2023/OSJ-Oct-23.docx

THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak – TC
k8jtk@arrl.net

Hey gang,

This has been really hard. In past articles, I’ve managed to put together a few words as a tribute to hams that have become Silent Keys, ones that have gone above and beyond or had an effect on my life. There is no bigger influence on my life, especially the areas of ham radio and computers, than my dad, Thomas (Tom) A. Kopcak – N8ETP. He passed at age 70 on Thursday, September 28, 2023.

Dad grew up in the West Park area of Cleveland. A stone’s throw from Hopkins International Airport. He graduated from John Marshall High School and went on to Max Hayes vocational school completing studies in Electrical Engineering. There are a few projects of his still hanging around his childhood home.

Dad met my mom Geraldine (Gerri). Tom and Gerri (get it?) were married in 1977 in Westlake, Ohio. They had four kids: Jeffrey (myself), Michael, Kimberly, and Deborah. I don’t know how my parents did it. Herding us is like herding cats. They pulled it off in strides. As kids, they were always present for our school plays, musical concerts, functions, academics, and extracurricular activities like sports. I was going to say “not for me” as in I didn’t do sports but I was in little league. Guess that counts. As adults, they were nothing but fair and generous.

There were things I didn’t want to do. Dad wanted me to join band in 5th grade. I had no desire to play an instrument but I ended up playing through 11th grade, though I can’t say I was any good. As a result of him pushing me to do band, I made some friendships that last to this day and went on trips that few others get the opportunity to do. Such as competing against bands throughout the US and marching (marching band) in: Marshall Field’s Jingle Elf Holiday Parade in Chicago, Mickey’s Christmastime Parade in the Magic Kingdom, and the halftime show of the Orange Bowl in Miami – during the winter. My parents didn’t have crowdfunding platforms either and could have used that money elsewhere. They did well by us kids.

Dad told me I should join WHBS-TV early on in high school. If you have seen my “About the Technical Coordinator” presentation, I talk about this high school public access television station competing with college stations. I didn’t immediately take his advice and joined partway through sophomore year. The reasons (excuses) I gave were: high school is a new school and experience – I didn’t want to be overwhelmed, and band already takes up a lot of my time. I completely regret not joining immediately because when someone asks ‘what did I enjoy during high school,’ it was WHBS. Parents do know what they are talking about more often than ever given credit.

Even before I joined, Dad casually knew the club’s advisor, Tony Hoty. Other siblings followed and joined WHBS too. After leaving for college, Dad was offered a part-time job doing electronics and repairing things for the club. Dad loved helping out and looked forward to Friday Night Football games. The Hoty’s became close family friends and Tony was a pallbearer for Dad.

I’m getting ahead of myself. Being in the electronics field, Dad discovered police scanners. In finding frequencies for local police and fire, he came across these ranges where it sounded like people were having casual conversations. After doing some research, discovered this service called Amateur Radio. He thought ‘this was sorta interesting’ and desired to become licensed. He felt it was one of those ‘get licensed before the family comes or it will never happen’ moments. From his QCWA application, he was first licensed in March 1983. At that time, exams were administered at FCC offices or when the FCC came to administer exams in town. He obtained a Technician class license as N8ETP. With that, he had to pass Novice written, 5-word per minute (WPM) Morse Code, Technician written, and 13 WPM code exams.

As kids, Dad built toys that had buttons, lights, and switches. We had toys no one else had because Dad made them. One in particular was a box that had about 10 LED lights. Each light had its own corresponding button. When that button was pressed, the light would light up and it would also make a sound. Each button & light combination had its own pitch. Buttons on the left produced lower pitched tones. Ones to the right would be higher pitched tones. There was one special button that, when pressed, would cycle through each light and tone combination from low to high. Not only that but there was a knob that would adjust how fast it would sequence through ranging from reallllllly slow to very fast, and everywhere in-between. There is nothing else like it.

Back in the day, Dad used ham radio all the time RVing in the travel trailer. He often chatted with those in the neighborhood that were hams. John – WG8H is still one of those neighbors. Dad worked at Picker Briggs and got Carl – KB8VXE interested in police scanners and he became licensed years later. Carl was a pallbearer as well. Dad was a member of a couple clubs in the area. He attended meetings, was in club leadership, member of Skywarn, and doing what most would consider to be the “tech committee” today – upkeep and maintenance of repeaters. Dad brought me, as a kid, to many ham radio meetings. I don’t remember a lot but I do remember some of these meetings.

One presentation he gave was on a medical system where he designed hardware for Scott Care (division of Scott Fetzer). This system used short-range RF to transmit telemetry and voice from a rehabilitation area back to a monitoring station which was also built by his company. The patient begins their exercise period. Wearing a belt pack and electrodes, EKG data is transmitted back to the nurse’s monitoring station. Alongside EKG data, the patient can interact with the nurse through a headset connected to the belt pack. They also designed a home kit which had a unit that connected to an ordinary telephone line transmitting the same telemetry data and voice to a hospital remotely. I loved to visit his workplace and see the cool stuff he was working on when I younger.

Part of his job was to figure out how stuff worked to make better designs. I remember having computers around the house like the Commodore 64 and early PCs. The earliest PC I think we had was an IBM compatible 286 PC in the early 1990s. He brought home video training courses on the basics of PC computing and other programs, such as Lotus 1-2-3. By this time, I was already interested in electronics by way of audio cassettes, home videos, VHS cassette tapes, and ham radio.

Since Dad had access to dial-up BBS (bulletin board systems) at work, he would download and bring home shareware games for us to play. He was also a member of HamNet BBS, a local BBS for Ham Radio and scanner enthusiasts run by Dave Foran – WB8APD (SK). The first PC game I remember was an electronic coloring book called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – World Tour. My best guess, this was around 2nd grade – ’91-’92. I thought that was pretty cool. The mouse pointer acted as an electronic crayon and colors were selected from a color palette. Selecting a color changes the electronic crayon color. Clicking on a part of the image fills an area with the selected color.

There was a way you could print the coloring book picture with an included custom message. However, you couldn’t edit that message within the program. It gave some message indicating a text file had to be edited outside the program. I asked him what that meant. He showed me how to edit that text file in MS-DOS Editor, save it, go back into the coloring book, print the picture, and it included my custom message.

After that, I was completely hooked on computers. Much to the annoyance of the family, you couldn’t get me off the computer. I was figuring out how to do things. Dad would show me stuff in DOS and programs like Norton Utilities. After DOS, it was GeoWorks, Windows 3.1, multimedia (CD-ROMs) and modems, Windows 95, Windows 98… Santa often brought new hardware, software, and games for Christmas. When the family computer got upgraded, I was handed down the old PC hardware. That’s when I learned to build computers (assemble computer systems from compatible parts).

When people asked me ‘what do you want to do when you grow up’ my answer was ‘something with computers.’ Dad knew I like to put them together and figure out what I could do with them. At some point he said: ‘there are people that just manage computer setups.’ That lead me to take nearly all computer classes offered in high school including helping teachers with their personal computers, a degree in Information Systems and Technology, and working professionally on computers while I was still in high school. Though I always credited Dad with getting me into computers, he would always say ‘yeah, but I don’t understand anything he’s doing with them now’ as in I was doing things beyond his wildest dreams.

In the late ’80’s-early ’90’s, Dad found more time was required for family and stepped away from Amateur Radio. He always kept his license current and would often turn on the radio to listen. Between having the radio on, taking me to meetings, public service events, and, of course, using the autopatch when I was younger, I started to take an interest in becoming a licensed radio amateur. I started to study for the exams in probably 6th grade. I could knock out the questions on commission rules, operating, and practices from being around Dad. I hadn’t yet absorbed the required electronics knowledge for the exam because that was like a foreign language.

A couple years later in 1999, I passed the Novice and Technician exams. Dad found a mint-in-box version of his first radio, a Kenwood TR-2500, and gave it to me as a reward for passing the exams. Just after I was licensed, the FCC restructured Part 97 licensing in 2000. Since Dad was licensed and still held a Technician class license prior to 1987, he only had to compete a “paper upgrade” to General class. He decided to do a little studying and made it to the top, Amateur Extra. He soon joined the VE program to administer exams but I don’t believe he was ever on the air outside of the 2m and 440 bands. Though it was an accomplishment for him to reach Amateur Extra, he never would be as active on air or involved with clubs as he once was. I later followed in his technical footsteps helping with repeater upkeep and Information Technology work for clubs, and Skywarn. He also got my mom and sister licensed.

Almost 10 years ago, I decided to get into HF. We spent most of a summer building out my station. Where to string the wire antenna, how to tie it down, a pole to accommodate the connection to the antenna, running PVC pipe for the coax run, digging trenches, installing grounding rods, running antennas into that old travel trailer, and building a large table/desk inside for an operating position. Dad was very good at fabricating things. Though he studied electronics, he was just as good at mechanics. He often put more time and thought into making things not only functional but practical.

After I was appointed Technical Coordinator and giving presentations to clubs around the section, he enjoyed traveling to these meetings seeing me give those presentations. It was an opportunity for him to experience other clubs in the state. He would still say ‘I don’t understand most of what he’s doing.’

Though he worked weekends and liked to keep his weekend pay, Dad would make the trip to Hamvention with me quite often. Dave – KB9VZU, whom I met through Ham Nation and the D-STAR After Show net, would meet up with us at Hamvention. After learning of my dad’s passing, he told me “Your dad and I talked about you quite often and your dad was proud of you.” Though Dad may not have understood what I was doing with computers and ham radio, he was proud of the good things I did with what he showed me. I believe that as he was still present until the end.

Dad had just retired in February of 2022 from the United States Post Office and a couple months later, celebrated 46 years with my mom. He was at the main facility on Orange Ave in Downtown Cleveland maintaining the mail sorting machines. During his last year or so of work, back issues prevented him from walking normally. Having back pain throughout most of his life this was the worst I’d seen. Going in for surgery in February this year, he hoped to correct this problem and be as good as new, and obviously live forever. By early accounts, home recovery was going well. Couple months later, he starts having issues standing, keeping his balance, and recovery seems to be backsliding. He was supposed to travel with me to Hamvention this year but called off due to his condition.

The Monday after Hamvention, I helped take him to a follow-up visit with his doctor. Dad never returned home. In his condition, doctor said go to the emergency room and thus began, what I call, his tour of the hospital system. I won’t go into details, aside from my family’s lives were a living hell.

A ham buddy accurately described our experience: him and his wife were EMTs for over a decade. They have an understanding of terminology and standards of care. They know how things should be handled. Average people who don’t have inside knowledge of the system have no idea: anything they’re being told is true, if their loved one is being cared for properly, or about alternative options. “It is terrible” he stated. Terrible puts our experience with the healthcare system nicely.

Regardless, my dad is at rest and no longer suffering. This month would have been his 71st birthday. Grieving was very hard for me as Dad mentored and influenced me into (not only) my career choice but as an Amateur Radio licensee. Losing a parent has got to be one of the worst things ever. My faith really helped me make peace and helped me deal with his passing. My family is really impressed with the homily Deacon Travis from our church gave for my dad. He talked a lot about him being involved in electronics and Ham Radio. Deacon Travis did a fantastic job speaking about Dad’s life.

QCWA was planning to give Dad an award for being licensed 40 years. Unfortunately, Dad didn’t make their meeting but Bob – W2THU gave me the award and it was displayed in the casket at his wake. Our family would like to thank everyone who took time and stopped by during visitation or attended Dad’s mass. It really means a lot to have support from the Amateur Radio family.

Enjoy the hamfest in the sky and good DX, Dad.

Thanks for reading and 73… de Jeff – K8JTK

One of the responsibilities of the Technical Coordinator in the Ohio Section is to submit something for the Section Journal. The Section Journal covers Amateur Radio related things happening in and around the ARRL Ohio Section. It is published by the Section Manager Tom – WB8LCD and articles are submitted by cabinet members.

Once my article is published in the Journal, I will also make it available on my site with a link to the published edition.

You can receive the Journal and other Ohio Section news by joining the mailing list Tom has setup. You do not need to be a member of the ARRL, Ohio Section, or even a ham to join the mailing list. Please sign up!

If you are an ARRL member and reside in the Ohio Section, update your mailing preferences to receive Ohio Section news in your inbox. Those residing outside the Ohio section will need to use the mailing list link above.  Updating your ARRL profile will deliver news from the section where you reside (if the leadership chooses to use this method).

• Go to www.arrl.org and click the Login button.
• Login
• When logged in successfully, it will say “Hello <Name>” in place of the Login button where <Name> is your name.  Click your Name.  This will take you to the “My Account” page.
• On the left hand side, under the “Communication” heading (second from the bottom), click Opt In/Out
• To the right of the “Opt In/Out” heading, click Edit
• Check the box next to “Division and Section News.”  If it is already checked, you are already receiving the Ohio Section Journal.
• Click Save
• There should now be a green check mark next to “Division and Section News.”  You’re all set!

Now without further ado…

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Read the full edition at:

• http://arrl-ohio.org/news/2023/OSJ-Sep-23.pdf
• http://arrl-ohio.org/news/2023/OSJ-Sep-23.docx

THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak – TC
k8jtk@arrl.net

Sadly, I want to open this month’s OSJ by reporting the passing of Jeff’s dad, father, mentor and Elmer, Thomas A Kopcak – N8ETP, age 70, of Westlake, OH on Thursday, September 28th. Further information is available at:

https://www.chambersfuneral.com/obituary/thomas-a-kopcak

Please keep Jeff and his family (all hams!) in your thoughts and prayers…….