From the SLSRC website:

August 28, 2020….

We live in unprecedented times which calls for hard decisions.  Some of those decisions are not easy to make.  This is one of them.

The Winterfest Committee along with the SLSRC Board made the tough decision that Winterfest 2021 will be postponed until January 22, 2022.  But we do have good news!

SLSRC will hold Winterfest 2021 virtually on-line Saturday, January 23, 2021, so save the date!!  It will be a day jam-packed with ham radio gear reviews, forums and events, so stay tuned!  You don’t even have to leave your house to join in the fun!

In full transparency, the factors in postponing an in-person Winterfest 2021 were:

One, the uncertainty of what the future holds for this pandemic and the health and welfare safety of our membership and the Amateur Radio community.  Keeping all our Winterfest vendors, patrons and volunteers safe is priority #1.

Two, the state of Illinois (Winterfest is held at Gateway Center in Collinsville) continues to have restrictions on gatherings of over 50 people.  There is no evidence this restriction will be lifted before there is a vaccination with herd immunity.

Three, per the venue, the club had to make a decision by July 31 to hold Winterfest in 2021 or postpone.  If we continued with Winterfest and canceled at a later date, the club would be financially responsible for the full contract amount.  If we postponed Winterfest to 2022, our contract for 2021 would become void, the deposit would carry over and the club would sign a new contract for 2022.  The club would not be financially obligated for 2021.

Four, the committee was not getting any commitments from our regular vendors due to their concerns with the Illinois restrictions.

The Winterfest Committee has also postponed the Friday night banquet and the W9DYV Wes Schum Symposium until 2022.

Again, we are saddened to make this decision but we hope you can join us online on January 23, 2021, for Virtual Winterfest 2021. Watch for more details as we get closer to the date.

https://www.slsrc.org/2020/08/28/winterfest-2021-update-some-virtual-news/

The RONA2020 Simplex event is now live!!

Much like the Winterheat 2020 event with a few twists, added bands and adjacent states eligible for QSO credit.

Let's get radio active and see how many contacts we can rack up on this one.

Please cross post to help spread the word.

73
Jess - W9ABS

https://www.centralillinoishams.org/radioactive/Rona2020/

Stuck at Home Nets 

The following repeaters will be used in rotation to help with coverage;

146.850 (-) CTCSS 141.3 located in Olivette

146.970 (-) CTCSS 141.3 located just west of Forest Park

146.940 (-) CTCSS 141.3 located in Brentwood

146.910 (-) CTCSS 141.3 located at Manchester & 270 

The schedule will be as follows;

Saturdays on the 146.910 at 8pm

Sundays on the 146.970 at 8pm

Mondays on the 146.940 at 8pm

Tuesday check in to the SLSRC net at 7:30pm on the 146.850 repeater

Wednesdays on the 146.910 at 8pm

Thursday on the 146.970 at 8pm

Fridays on the 146.850 at 8pm 

The Wellness Net will cease operations on May 31, 2020

PLEASE PARTICIPATE AND SHARE

ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR THE ILLINOIS ARES WELLNESS NET AT NOON TODAY ON 3905 KHZ

All stations please pass the word to all radio operators there are the following additional methods to check into this Statewide net.