ARRL Sections - Sacramento Valley

Sacramento Valley

Contact Information

Section Name:: Sacramento Valley
Contact:: Dr. Carol Milazzo KP4MD
Daytime Phone:: (916) 259-3221
Evening Phone:: (916) 259-3221
Email:: kp4md@arrl.org

Basic Information

Division:: Pacific
Alert:: =================================================

Field Day Weekend Heat Advisory for Sacramento Valley Section The National Weather Service has issued this advisory for our area this Field Day Weekend: --Warming trend into the weekend with high temperatures across the Delta, Valley, and foothills in the 90s to lower triple digits and 80s to low 90s expected at higher elevations. --Areas of Moderate Heat Risk on Saturday become widespread by Sunday. Heat-related illness can be serious and life-threatening, especially to susceptible individuals. This Field Day Weekend please review and consider the precautions below from the UCI Dept. of Environmental Health and Safety: - Wear light colored, loose clothes that block the light. Use sunscreen of at least SPF 15. - Wear a wide brim hat to protect the neck, forehead, ears, eyes, nose and scalp. - Limit direct sunlight exposure between 10 am and 4 pm when the sun's UV rays are strongest. - Drink lots of water or sports drinks, about 1 cup every 15 minutes. - Avoid alcohol, caffeinated beverages, or heavy meals - these adversely affect your tolerance to heat. - Rest regularly in the shade or a cool place. - Know the signs of heat related illnesses. Monitor yourself and others for symptoms such as: headache, light-headedness, dizziness or fainting, weakness, moist skin, muscle cramps and mood changes such as irritability or confusion. Persons at greater risk from heat illness include: young children, the elderly, persons with heavy build, and those with certain medications and medical conditions such as obesity, heart disease, respiratory disease and diabetes.
Description:: June 2025 Announcements

See our ARRL Sacramento Valley website for photos and further details.

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Bonus Points for Formal Field Day Message to Section Manager

Part of any real emergency will be handling formal traffic for the agencies we serve. Field Day incorporates message traffic into this exercise. 100 points are earned by sending a formal message (use the ARRL Radiogram form or the ICS-213 message template) to your ARRL Section Manager (KP4MD) or Section Emergency Coordinator (KK6ZGB). The message must follow the format and include the required elements explained below. You must originate the message during Field Day period from your Field Day site on an amateur RF frequency. You may send the message through any Winlink Gateway, traffic net, or any amateur radio station capable of accepting and relaying standard NTS or ICS-213 formatted message traffic.

The 2025 Field Day Packet details this format for the report
(from https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Field-Day/2025/202520Day20v2.pdf)

7.3.5. Message Origination to Section Manager:

100 bonus points for origination of a formal message to the ARRL Section Manager or Section Emergency Coordinator by your group from its site.

You should include:
1) the club name; 2) number of participants; 3) Field Day location; and, 4) number of ARES operators involved with your station.

The message must be transmitted during the Field Day period and a copy of it must be included in your submission in either standard NTS or ICS-213 format (or have the equivalent content) or no credit will be given. The message must leave or enter the Field Day operation via amateur radio RF. The Section Manager message is separate from the messages handled in Rule 7.3.6. and may not be claimed for bonus points under that rule. Available to all Classes.

Rule 7.3.6 explains how you may also claim bonus points for up to 10 other formal messages originated, relayed, or received and delivered during the Field Day period.

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Special Field Day Weekend Operation from Vieques Island (IOTA NA-249)

At the kind invitation of ARRL Puerto Rico Section Manager Carmen Greene, KP4QVQ, and the Vieques Island Amateur Radio Club, I will operate this weekend from the NP3VI Field Day group on the Caribbean island of Vieques (IOTA NA-249). I regret that I will miss my usual Field Day site visits throughout our section but look forward to provide PR Section points to many of our Northern California participants. ARRL Section Officials plan to visit some of our Section sites during Field Day weekend.

Carol Milazzo, KP4MD, ARRL Sacramento Valley Section Manager

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Operate at our California State Fair Amateur Radio Special Event Station!

The ARRL Sacramento Valley Section invites all radio amateurs and clubs to participate in the July 11-27 California State Fair Amateur Radio Special Event Station and Exhibit!

Have fun while promoting our amateur radio activities, clubs, literature, services and outreach to the general public!

Our Exhibit and Station will operate on-the-air using the Special Event 1x1 callsign K6C in Cal Expo’s air-conditioned Building B during the Fair. Cal Expo will supply gate and parking passes to our volunteer exhibitors.

We welcome licensed radio amateurs and affiliated clubs who can assist at our Exhibit and Special Event Station in shifts like 10 am-1 pm, 1-4 pm, and 4-7 pm during the weekends and 4-7 pm on Monday through Thursdays from July 11-27. You don't need to belong to a club or group to participate.

Join our volunteer exhibitor team now through the online form at https://sacramentoares.org/2025-california-state-fair-demonstration-station/

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The Carmichael Elks Lodge ARC Swap Meet was held on Sunday, May 25 from 7 am to 11 am at the Carmichael Elks Lodge, 5631 Cypress Ave, Carmichael, CA 95608. Thanks to all who participated and visited us at our ARRL Sacramento Valley Section booth!

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The Berryessa Amateur Radio Klub announces their repeater at Berryessa Peak has a new call sign: K6BER. The prior call KE6YUV has served from 1995 but had no relationship to the club. All other details remain the same. For full details on the repeater and the club visit: https://www.barkradio.org. The repeater features an Early Morning Round-table chat net at 7:00 AM Monday through Friday. All are welcome.

Bill Ragsdale K6KN

BARK President

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The ARRL Sacramento Valley Section-wide VHF and HF Net will be conducted on Thursday evening, June 19, first on the WD6AXM FM repeater on 146.085 MHz, then on 3880 kHz LSB +/- 3 kHz for QRM.

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Section Manager Election

Thanks to our section members who have supported my re-election as Section Manager. I appreciate your confidence and support and look forward to our continued service together.

The Section Manager electrion procedure is fully explained on page 71 of April QST.

From arrl.org: "Whenever more than one member is nominated in a single section, ballots will be mailed from Headquarters on or before July 1 to full members of record as of June 6 which is the closing date for nominations. Returns will be counted August 19. Section Managers elected as a result of the above procedure will take office October 1."

"If only one valid petition is received from a section, that nominee shall be declared elected without opposition for a two-year term beginning October 1."

73, Dr. Carol Milazzo, KP4MD
ARRL Sacramento Valley Section Manager

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June Major Operating Events:

June 7-8 - Atlantic Canada & KY QSO Parties. ARRL Int'l Digital Contest; June 14-15 - ARRL June VHF Contest;
June 21-22 - WV QSO Party;
June 28-29 - ARRL Field Day;

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Section Manager arrl.org Email Address Restored. Please address email for the Sacramento Valley Section Manager to kp4md@arrl.org Thank you.

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2023 ARRL Pacificon Forum:
"Dealing with Intentional Interference"

Intentional interference is increasingly reported in our section and elsewhere around the nation. At the 2023 ARRL Pacificon Convention forum entitled "Dealing with Intentional Interference" ARRL and other amateur radio leadership presented and discussed resources and strategies to assist radio amateurs, clubs, groups and repeater owners in controlling this problem.

Local direction finding (DF) teams have been organizing to collect evidence of these incidents.
If you experience intentional interference, here below are several ways that you can immediately assist:

Dealing with a deliberate jammer is emotionally difficult. But if we’re to successfully get rid of them, everyone involved (and I do mean every single ham) must remain calm. We must also be patient, as it can take a while.

This may be the most important of all; do not attempt to engage with the jammer, or even acknowledge their presence. Although some of them may do what they do because they have a beef with the repeater owner, club, or another ham; most jammers do it for the same reason others engage in destructive behavior; to get attention. We must deny them that attention. So, control your anger and don’t tell them to stop, threaten them or even acknowledge that the interference is occurring.

If the level of interference allows it, continue with your QSO or net as if the interference was not there.
If conversation is not possible, you may be able to QSY to an alternate frequency. Otherwise, just sign off as if you’ve naturally finished and go radio silent until the jammer leaves. They may return when you do, so you’ll have to do this several times, until they get the message that they won’t get the satisfaction they’re looking for.

Do not discuss the jammer on the air, even when jamming is not present. Understand that just one ham losing control and engaging with the jammer or acknowledging the interference, even in passing, is enough to undo the efforts of everyone else.

In case of repeater interference, each repeater owner has the ability--or should have the ability--to constantly monitor the repeater and if all else fails shut it down in instances of abuse. Running a repeater is not much different than allowing access to your home base station by anyone who wants to use it.

Control operators can and should immediately disable the repeater when any illegal activity occurs, and keep it disabled until attempts at the illegal activity end. They can monitor the repeater’s input frequency for this.

You should report a repeater's failure to control intentional interference to the ARRL-FCC Volunteer Monitor (VM) program.
Collect and submit recordings of the interference marking the date, time and frequency as evidence.
The ARRL-FCC VM program has the resources to motivate owners to control their repeaters responsibly.

How To Report A Possible Violation to the ARRL-FCC VM Program

To report clear violations of FCC Part 97, particularly instances of unlicensed operation, repeated deliberate interference, and operation outside of a licensee’s authorized frequencies, send the report via email to Riley Hollingsworth (K4ZDH), ARRL Volunteer Monitor Administrator, at K4ZDH@arrl.net.

Important: include the following information in your report…

- Frequency (MHz) of incident:
- Time of incident (UTC):
- Date of incident:
- Call sign(s) of station(s) being reported:
- If a repeater, call sign of repeater involved:
- Description of alleged incident being reported:
- Your full name (person submitting report)
- Your call sign:
- Your email address:
- Your phone number:

All reports will be acknowledged, reviewed, and the person submitting the report will receive a response as quickly as possible.

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Links:: Sacramento Valley Section Facebook Page, Sacramento Valley Section Twitter Feed, Sacramento Valley Regional ARES, Sacramento Valley Section Nets