John W. Springman III
KB3AWQ Dot ComPersonal Page
Weather Station - AV930
Weather Station - KB3AWQ
March 1996-December 2009 Hepburn Twp. Vol. Fire Co.
March 1996 I joined as a Junior Fireman. July 1997 (when I became 18) I was sworn in as a Special Fire Police Officer and less than 3 years later in November 1999 was elected to Fire Police Captain beginning January 2000. I was elected each year for 10 years and I chose not to run again at the end of 2009 and after that I was inactive. I was also a member of the Pennsylvania State Fire Police Association and the Lycoming County Fire Police Association during this time.
(2000-present) A non-resident member (Fire Police Officer) of the Old Lycoming Twp. Vol. Fire Co. Ralston, Trout Run, Hepburn and Old Lycoming fire companies created the Lycoming Creek Valley Emergency Services Alliance which was mostly to share manpower, training and attempt to better the communities.
(2000-2002) (Fire Police Officer) of the Montgomery Boro Vol. Fire Co.
June 1995 - September 1998 Member of Williamsport Emergency Management Agency and served a period of time as the Communications Officer, Quartermaster, and Liaison. During these years I had the privilege to know and work with many people that share the same interests as myself between EMA, Amateur Radio, Police and Fire.
April 19, 2007 I purchased my General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) License (WQGU515) and in 2012 I put on a GMRS repeater on the air in Williamsport on 462.675 + PL 141.3 located on Skyline Drive just south of Williamsport on Bald Eagle Mountain where I also have my UHF ham radio repeater on 444.900 PL 173.8 that was also put up in 2012. I have made several types of coverage maps but this one is an easy link to post to get a general idea of its coverage GMRS Repeater and KB3AWQ UHF Repeater Coverage Map
GMRS Repeater Williamsport 675 (WQGU515.com)
Member and former Vice President of the West Branch Amateur Radio Association which has the W3AVK 146.730 and 444.000 repeaters.
Member and Vice President (2017 - present) of the Bald Eagle Repeater Association (KB3HLL) which has the Montoursville 145.490(currently off air) and Williamsport 147.090 analog and 443.050 repeater Brandmeister DMR repeater. 3/26/22 we added a Tempest weather station on top of the 40 foot windmill tower at the club tower site on Bald Eagle Mountain just south of Williamsport at 1908 ft ground elevation. To view the weather station click here
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In 1993, after becoming a ham, I became a member of Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) SKYWARN which is a spotter reporting service for the National Weather Service. The Lycoming County Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Public Safety has been active in the past with Amateur Radio and a good sponsor. I have also been enrolled as a member and of the Sullivan County RACES/ARES/SKYWARN.
My Amateur "Ham" Radio Callsign is KB3AWQ that I received in June of 1993 when I passed my Novice test with 5 words per minute Morse Code and in August of 1993 I passed my Technician test. After 22 years, I decided to study the General exam and 3 weeks later on July 21, 2015, I took the test and passed.
American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Member January 31, 2002 to January 31, 2008 and in February 2023 put in forLife Membership for ARRL and QRZ. April 7, 2023, I was appointed by the EPA Section Manager to be a Technical Specialist.
March 1996 to Present - Deputy Emergency Management Agency Coordinator for Hepburn and Lycoming Townships. I first became active with EMA through amateur radio (RACES/ARES/SKYWARN) at the county level, a couple years later in June of 1995, I became a member of the Williamsport Emergency Management Agency "Civil Defense". Becoming a Ham in 1993 I was 14 years old at the time which is when one of the things that got me started in Public Safety. Starting with EMA with RACES ARES SKYWARN when I became a ham and Williamsport EMA at the same time, I was assigned to the Hepburn Twp VFC in January 1996 to do Ham Radio communications back to Lycoming County EOC/9-1-1 during the 1996 flood. This is when I extended my service to the fire dept as a junior and then Fire Police Officer and a short time later elected as Fire Police Captain for 10 years.
I have been employed by the Williamsport Area School District since September 1998 (3 months after I graduated high school) as a custodian. For a year in a half I was doing one of the Security/School Police positions due to job cuts in the district (which my Grandfather also did from 1982-1994 after he retired as a city police officer).
2000-Present Life Associate Member of the Williamsport Lodge #29 Fraternal Order of Police This is where my grandfather served and protected as a Williamsport Police Officer from 1960-1982. RIP Pop 2008.
If your a ham radio operator with a Technician Class or higher you can look for me on the 147.300 Repeater + 600khz offset PL 151.4 The repeater is pretty easy to get into from anywhere in Williamsport area, it overlooks Williamsport from being located at Williamsport Area High School. Also, located on Skyline Drive (Bald Eagle Mountain) just south of Williamsport on 444.900 + PL 173.8 and 52.490 Simplex PL 173.8 and 29.660 PL 173.8 split site repeater. The 147.300 repeater is RF linked full-time to 444.900. Being linked, that also allows all three repeaters and 6 meters to be accessed by Echolink by connecting to KB3AWQ-R or Node number 277377 on Echolink or on Allstarlink node number 513963. To connect, you will need to connect to the Hub which is node # 513963 which is in the basement of my house. For some reason I am unable to get the ports/port forwarding to cooperate with the actual nodes on the mountain directly to the radios. 147.300 is still RF linked and the rest is linked using Allstarlink. You can connect to me directly through Echolink by connecting to KB3AWQ or node number 196218 if I am connected via the Echolink Android program that came out in August 2010. I was one of Beta testers for program invited by K1RFD before it released to the market about a week later.
To Listen to the Broadcastify audio feeds that I sponsor click below. N3XXH's feed is now under N3SSL's control.
On July 17, 2002 I was appointed to be the Assistant Northwest Regional Representative for (ARCC) Area Repeater Coordination Council.
ARCC coordinates amateur radio repeaters in Eastern PA and Southern NJ and Sussex County, NJ. The Northwest region is the following counties of Pennsylvania: Sullivan, Bradford, Tioga, Lycoming, Susquehanna, Wyoming, Columbia, Montour, Union, Snyder, Juniata, Perry, Northumberland counties.
In July 2021 I was asked to be one of the Pennsylvania administrators for RepeaterBook.com and you can send a message to me by going to this page.
