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BEARS is a 501c3 non-profit organization, comprising current and aspiring amateur radio operators, and their associates, at The Walt Disney Company,
ABC and ESPN in New York City.
BEARS operates the
W2ABC/K2JRC/N2BEI/WA2DCI Repeater System
serving the NY/NJ/CT area:
- 147.270 MHz (+), PL 141.3 (W2ABC/Upper West Side - Manhattan)
- 443.700 MHz (+), PL 127.3 (K2JRC/Upper West Side - Manhattan)
- 147.195 MHz (+), PL 136.5 (N2BEI/Upper West Side - Manhattan)
- 446.900 MHz (-), PL 141.3 (N2BEI/Newark NJ)
- 449.325 MHz (-), PL 136.5 (N2BEI/Sourland Mt, Somerset Co NJ)
- 446.325 MHz (-), PL 152.4 (N2BEI/Hamburg Mt, Sussex Co NJ)
- 446.325 MHz (-), PL 127.3 (WA2DCI/Farmingville, Suffolk Co LI)
- 441.050 MHz (+), PL 141.3 (W2ABC/Mt Beacon, Dutchess Co NY)
- 224.660 MHz (-), PL 127.3 (N2BEI/Upper West Side - Manhattan)
- 224.280 MHz (-), PL 123.0 (N2BEI/Newark NJ)
BEARS partners with
HOSARC
to operate the
WB2ZZO Repeater
(444.200 MHz (+), PL 136.5 - Alpine NJ), also serving the tri-state area.
(
Disney Amateur Radio Interconnect)
DEARS
-WD4WDW
, the Disney Emergency Amateur Radio Service/Orlando FL;
, the
Worldwide Amateur Radio Club/Bristol CT;
K1IMD/Noyack,NY;
WB6AJE/Los Angeles, CA; the
Channel Six Amateur Radio Club-
W3PVI
/Philadelphia, PA
the
Network Engineers Repeater Association-WA3KOK
in greater Washington DC.
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WE MOURN OUR LOSS:
Jim Jackson/NS2K
The Broadcast Employees Amateur Radio Society is mourning the untimely passing of our dear friend, colleague and fellow ham Jim Jackson/NS2K.
Jim succumbed to brain cancer on Easter morning, after a valiant battle waged since just before Christmas last December. Jim had surgery in February, but when the cancer proved unrelenting, he elected natural, immune-supportive therapies rather than endure the ravages of more aggressive chemotherapy and radiation. And up until 10 days before his death, he'd been living the life he worked so hard to live as a retiree after many years as an ABC television engineer.
A widower, Jim relocated to Prescott, AZ from his longtime home in Cresskill, NJ just last spring...a retirement he'd been planning since at least 2012, when he found his perfect corner of the sky out west. He had big plans for both fixed and mobile amateur radio installations, and he made sure he had plenty of land for the antennae he'd hoped to use to stay in close touch with his many friends up and down the bands.
BEARS shared Jim's affection with the Bergen Amateur Radio Association (BARA) ...which Jim served as an active member and as one of its former presidents.
At ABC, Jim was widely respected as an engineer's engineer -- and within BEARS, he was deeply loved as a ham's ham. He served our Club as treasurer, stepping into the role when no one else would. His contributions to the Club were critical and his cheerful enthusiasm helped his fellow executive officers maintain their determination to revive and prosper the Club.
Jim was a longtime volunteer at the NYC Marathon -- serving as net control and as one of the late Steve Mendelsohn/W2ML's "partners in crime."
He was a passionate amateur radio operator, a patient teacher, a TV pro, a dear friend. Soft-spoken, with a dry yet wicked wit, Jim had a magnetic personality and an encyclopedic knowledge of RF.
He would have turned 66 in June.
On behalf of all our members, we send heartfelt condolences to Jim's family. May the legacy of his life be a source of blessing and comfort to all who knew and loved him.
W2ABC is clear on your final, dear friend.
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BEARS RE-ENGINEERS ITS DARI LINKS
Our profound thanks to BEARS Technical Chair & VP, Joe Nuzzo/N2BEI, ably assisted by our Senior Repeater Technician, Jerry Cudmore/K2JRC, for their arduous work re-engineering our repeater interconnects in New York.
As most of you know, our repeaters have been networked via a series of IP-based links connected to remote base radios. It's a bit of a Rube Goldberg system involving both fiber-based and cable broadband and DSL. The DSL is especially glitchy.
Joe and Jerry worked to install a three-port router right at our main repeater site atop Millennium Tower across from the ABC campus near Lincoln Center that connects our the W2ABC VHF, N2BEI 220 and K2JRC UHF repeaters to our DARI hub. In essence, we've cut out the "remote base middleman" and hopefully have created a much more reliable signal path between these repeaters and our network.
So far, so good. But there is
still lots more work to do.
Rich Kaltenbach/KD2CNB is putting the finishing touches on our new Alpine repeater system, which should improve both the strength and fidelity of the signal there. We have projects slated to complete our Hamburg Mountain installation in Sussex County, NJ, install a 220 machine along side our UHF rig atop Mount Beacon, link our new WA2DCI/RPT in Farmingville, LI to the rest of our network, and fulfill promises to bring the W3PVI/RPT in Philadelphia and our N3ADV/RPT at the ABC News Bureau in DC up to wide-area coverage.
We are also trying to help our partners at HOSARC revive their VHF machine atop a midtown skyscraper formerly occupied by the W2ML VHF repeater, now rechristened N2BEI and relocated to the roof of ABC HQ.
We'll keep you posted on our progress. And when we ask for help, please step up.
We also remind you to participate in NYC ARES. ARES is ramping up its partnership with the American Red Cross in Greater New York. Just recently, it tasked ARES to bring order to the ham shack at ARC HQ in Manhattan. And more collaborations are in the works.
Well-trained volunteers are essential to the ARES mission. And one way to become more proficient as an ARES volunteer is to participate in the weekly citywide and countywide ARES nets, and take part in ARES callups.
The Citywide net takes place on our W2ABC repeater (147.27 MHz, (+), PL 141.3) Mondays at 8p ET. You can find complete information on NYC ARES at this link.
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BEARS HAM LICENSING CLASS COMING THIS SUMMER!
BEARS thanks Fred Usherson/N2EGQ for volunteering to once again lead our Club Ham Licensing Course this coming summer.
The final dates are pending room availability at ABC, but right now, we're looking to conduct the course from 6p-10p on June 25th, June 29th, June 30th and July 1st. You must attend all sessions to complete the course.
While our first "class" last summer was small, the class members were dedicated -- and celebrated their new knowledge by passing their license exams at a BEARS VE session.
The course, based on the Gordon West/W5YI teaching materials, is comprehensive -- and with a little effort on the part of any aspiring ham, it WILL teach you all you need to know to get your first license.
Fred, an experienced public school teacher, brings all of his classroom know-how to our course -- with lots of multimedia, practical examples, easy mnemonics that help you remember difficult concepts, and, of course, his own unique humor.
Please e-mail Fred to express your interest. And experienced hams are welcomed to join Fred's "faculty" so we can expand the knowledge base.
Our deepest thanks to Fred for an excellent program -- and our thanks in advance for offering the class again this summer.
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ARE YOU AN ARRL MEMBER?
SIGN UP THROUGH BEARS!
Most of you know that for many years now, BEARS has been not only an ARRL Affiliated Club - but also an ARRL Special Service Club. Both designations carry with them great honor and distinction - and both also carry with them requirements we must meet in order to preserve our standing with the League.
Right now, there are about 105 members of BEARS who are members of the ARRL in good standing. That's the bare minimum required to allow us to remain an ARRL Affiliate Club and a Special Service Club. And it's just not good enough. So, w
e have set a goal of making sure that EVERY BEARS MEMBERS is also a member of the American Radio Relay League.
League membership brings many benefits - not the least of which being an effective legislative voice in the states in which we operate -- and in Washington, DC.
Of course, you get access to all the resources of the ARRL website, in addition to quick and easy license renewal (and reminders), Logbook of the World, and a terrific ham radio equipment insurance program most insurers don't provide individually. We gain representation on divisional and sectional leadership councils. And we get to participate in all ARRL activities, such as Field Day and the Simulated Emergency Test -- not to mention ARES.
And of course, you receive monthly issues of and digital access to QST - the LEADING ham radio publication chock full of helpful operating tips and homebrew ideas -- not to mention the latest ham radio news from around the country and the world.
But here's another critical reason to begin or renew your ARRL membership through BEARS. Your Club receives a $15 commission for every new member (someone who has NEVER been an ARRL member, or someone who hasn't been an ARRL member for two calendar years or more) we recruit. And for every ARRL membership renewal, BEARS gets a $2 commission.
That means if the 100 or so BEARS members who are not currently ARRL members joined the ARRL through our Club as NEW ARRL members (or ARRL members lapsed for two years or more), we'd
receive commissions of about $1500. About the cost of a pretty good repeater or duplexer.
ARRL membership starts at just $39/year, with discounted dues for multi-year enrollments. Multiple hams in your household? There are family discounts, too.
Download an ARRL membership application here. Complete it, make sure to include your remittance, and mail it off to BEARS, Inc., PO Box 230931, Ansonia Station, New York, NY 10023-0016. Or bring it to any BEARS meeting.
It's a win-win. You derive some great benefits from the nation's leading amateur radio advocacy organization -- and BEARS receives badly needed cash commissions from the ARRL.
Join today!
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FIELD DAY IS COMING
Well, we're going to try again this year to stage a Field Day activity in Manhattan.
Gordon Williams/K2GLW is already hard at work on the permits and logistics...and now we need volunteers to sign up to staff our operating position.
Unfortunately, your Club president once again will be away on Field Day weekend, transporting his son to his first summer college experience upstate. Which means that for our truck to operate at Field Day, we need Club officers to staff the event. No Club officers to operate the truck, no truck on site. No truck on site, no Field Day. Sadly, it's as simple as that.
Your Club has been asked for years to stage a Field Day event, and we've tried desperately to do so. But we need volunteers to commit NOW to staffing it.
Field Day is ALWAYS the last Saturday and Sunday in June. Please e-mail Gordon to express your interest.
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PAPA BEAR'S LAIR
Too young. Too soon. Too many.
In recent months, our BEARS ranks have been diminished by untimely passings...and the loss both to our Club -- and to us individually -- has been profound.
Jim Jackson...Jeff Rothfus...Steve Mendelsohn -- all were active BEARS supporters. And the best way we can honor and remember them, it seems to me, is to redouble our efforts to bring new members into our hobby.
Jim was especially effusive when it came to ham radio. He told anyone who'd listen about his adventures on the bands, and was eager to bring young people along, teaching them what he knew.
Jim was a true HAMbassador...and we can assure that his legacy lives on through us by bringing new blood into amateur radio.
The survival of our Club -- and our hobby -- depends on it.
Will YOU take the BEARS challenge? Do it for Jim. For Jeff. For Steve. For our Club. For our hobby.
Do it for you.
And while you're at it, consider stepping up to serve as a BEARS officer or committee chair. Nomination forms will post soon on the BEARS website...for positions that will be on the ballot in our July elections. Any active-duty Disney employee is eligible to serve as an executive officer - and ANYONE can serve on our committees, regardless of affiliation. We hope you'll consider serving.
73 de KA2QPJ
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Coming Up...
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April 21, 2015
BEARS Club Meeting & VE Session
Cafeteria Multimedia Room
ABC News HQ
47 West 66th Street Mezzanine
(Between Central Park West & Columbus Ave)
Manhattan
Meeting: 5pm-7pm
VE Testing: 7pm-9pm
OTHER UPCOMING 2015 TEST DATES:
July 21 & October 20
TO REGISTER for TESTING
or VOLUNTEER AS A VE, CONTACT:
Our continuing thanks to Mike and our entire VE team who give so unselfishly of their time and expertise to bring new hams into our hobby, and help current hams acquire new operating privileges.
June 25th, 29th, 30th & July 1st, 2015
New Ham Licensing Course
ABC Location TBA
July 21st, 2015
BEARS Club Meeting/Elections & VE Session
Cafeteria Multimedia Room
ABC News HQ
47 West 66th Street Mezzanine
(Between Central Park West & Columbus Ave)
Meeting & Elections: 5pm-7pm
VE Testing: 7pm-9pm
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Your BEARS Officers
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Howard Price/KA2QPJ
President
BEARS, Inc./W2ABC RPT
212-456-1073
Joe Nuzzo/N2BEI
VP & Technical Chair
N2BEI RPT Trustee
John Woodford/N2JW
Treasurer
Brad Berson/W2ZZZ
Secretary/Webmaster
Mike Siegel/W2RT
VE Chair
Marv Bronstein/K2VHW
W2ABC RPT Trustee
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