Georgia Single Sideband Association Main

A Note From The GSSA President/ Net Manager

Election time is only a few weeks away! And while I have been honored to serve as President and Net Manager for the past several years, I feel with my frequent absences to "studio south" in Carrabelle, and subsequently not being available to see that the net is filled while I'm out of pocket, it's time for a new, more available person to take the helm. Therefore, to quote Lyndon Johnson in his March 1968 address, "I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president." I will always help when available and where I'm needed, I'll continue to call the Tuesday net, and will gladly maintain this webpage (if indeed anyone ever even looks at it). Thank you for your support all these many years!

Annual on-air meeting will be July 11th in place of the regular roll call.

-KE4VPD

Some clarity on the Georgia Code for House Bill 673:

It has been expressed that some may have a misinterpretation of the
“Hands Free” (House Bill 673) law that goes into effect on July 1st,
2018.

To be clear, Amateur Radio operators are NOT exempt from the coverage of
673 as it pertains to use of their cell phone. If you use your cell
phone in a manner that violates 673, you can be cited.

You are allowed to use your ham radio under the code, but ONLY if you
are driving in a safe manner. If a ham operator is rag chewing and
commits a traffic violation, like failing to signal or failure to
maintain a lane, s/he can be cited for driving offenses. Even though
Amateur equipment is not included as a "wireless telecommunications
device" you are required to drive safely while operating said
equipment.

An officer is not supposed to ticket someone driving safely while using
a ham radio under the code section. However, if you have a device held
up to your face, it is difficult for an officer in traffic to tell if
it's a radio microphone or a cell phone until he pulls you over. Having
one's Amateur license and a copy of the code section might be useful.
Be polite.

In any case, give priority to your driving first. If timely to do so,
consider pulling over to the side of the road to convey your radio
traffic as a way of avoiding any possible questions of use. Emergency
Coordinators and those that organize volunteer communications support
for an event (bike rides, walk-a-thons, marathons, etc.) should work
with their local law enforcement and inform them ahead of time that
Amateurs will be using radio communications in their vehicles to support
the event. It may be worthwhile to give them a list of Amateurs that
will be acting as mobile communicators. Coordination with law
enforcement in such events demonstrates prudence and responsibility and
is actually a function of the Incident Command System.

-ARRL Members Letter, AG4ZR

ARRL Southeast Division Georgia State Net (GSN) Georgia CW Training Net (GTN) Georgia Skywarn/ WX4PTC Officers_Net Info_LocalClubs Membership Roster Membership Application Constitution & By Laws ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *Upcoming Hamfests* Huntsville Hamfest Huntsville, AL August 18 MORE Shelby Hamfest Shelby, NC Aug 31-Sept 2 MORE Stone Mountain Hamfest Lawrenceville, GA November 3-4 MORE		A Note From The GSSA President/ Net Manager Election time is only a few weeks away! And while I have been honored to serve as President and Net Manager for the past several years, I feel with my frequent absences to "studio south" in Carrabelle, and subsequently not being available to see that the net is filled while I'm out of pocket, it's time for a new, more available person to take the helm. Therefore, to quote Lyndon Johnson in his March 1968 address, "I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president." I will always help when available and where I'm needed, I'll continue to call the Tuesday net, and will gladly maintain this webpage (if indeed anyone ever even looks at it). Thank you for your support all these many years! Annual on-air meeting will be July 11th in place of the regular roll call. -KE4VPD Some clarity on the Georgia Code for House Bill 673: It has been expressed that some may have a misinterpretation of the “Hands Free” (House Bill 673) law that goes into effect on July 1st, 2018. To be clear, Amateur Radio operators are NOT exempt from the coverage of 673 as it pertains to use of their cell phone. If you use your cell phone in a manner that violates 673, you can be cited. You are allowed to use your ham radio under the code, but ONLY if you are driving in a safe manner. If a ham operator is rag chewing and commits a traffic violation, like failing to signal or failure to maintain a lane, s/he can be cited for driving offenses. Even though Amateur equipment is not included as a "wireless telecommunications device" you are required to drive safely while operating said equipment. An officer is not supposed to ticket someone driving safely while using a ham radio under the code section. However, if you have a device held up to your face, it is difficult for an officer in traffic to tell if it's a radio microphone or a cell phone until he pulls you over. Having one's Amateur license and a copy of the code section might be useful. Be polite. In any case, give priority to your driving first. If timely to do so, consider pulling over to the side of the road to convey your radio traffic as a way of avoiding any possible questions of use. Emergency Coordinators and those that organize volunteer communications support for an event (bike rides, walk-a-thons, marathons, etc.) should work with their local law enforcement and inform them ahead of time that Amateurs will be using radio communications in their vehicles to support the event. It may be worthwhile to give them a list of Amateurs that will be acting as mobile communicators. Coordination with law enforcement in such events demonstrates prudence and responsibility and is actually a function of the Incident Command System. -ARRL Members Letter, AG4ZR
Radio History: A Century of Amateur Radio and the ARRL Look at this "history" of ham radio through the eyes of the ARRL, an interesting read! Check into our sister net, the Georgia Traffic and Emergency Net nightly at 7:15 PM Eastern on 3982.5 mHz ***************
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