Is it just me, or is this year just flying by? Guess that must mean that we're "having fun", right? And this month offers lots of possibilities for having even more fun. Two hamfests, Field Day, lots of long hot days in the sun and cool respites in the air-conditioned hamshack. Who could ask for anything more...???

MAY HIGHLIGHTS

GEORGIA CRACKER/ GSSB PICNIC, May 4. This fun outing was held at Indian Springs State Park, despite the unseasonably cool weather and the liquid sunshine. Let me tell you, it was FUN! The food was outstanding, the music was toe-tappingly irresistable, and the fellowship was warm enough to keep the chill at bay. If you missed this one, fear not, for they're gonna have one more picnic this year, at Ellijay, on October 19, at the Telephone Pavilion.

HURRICANE HUNTER AIRPLANE, May 10. For the first time ever, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) research aircraft WP-3D came to Atlanta, where it was on display at Mercury Air Center at Hartsfield Airport. This plane, besides flying hurricane research and reconnaissance missions, is also used for a multitude of other national and international meteorological and oceanographic research projects.... like studying El Nino, tracking winter storms, and studying air pollution, among other things. But for me, the hurricanes hunting is the most exciting.... one of the crew members told me that he knows of one "hurricane cowboy" who's flown into over 500 hurricanes! What a way to make a living! The equipment that fills this plane is quite impressive, geared to test everything from the number of ice particles in a cloud to the temperature of the sea's surface, and has maybe five different types of radar systems. Besides the airplane, the GEMA van was also there, along with a display by National Weather Services and Red Cross. All in all, it was a very informative set-up, and it was an honor to be included. (Thank you to Chris McGehee, KL0UD, of NWS, for the invitation.... and isn't that a cool callsign??)

CLUB NEWS

This month, the "club news" is all about Field Day. If you usually dabble in the Field Day activities from your home QTH, why not try something a little bit different this year, and visit one of these Field Day sites near you? There's a lot to be said about getting together with a bunch of other folks and enjoying the event while using innovative antennas, alternative power sources, plus getting to watch the joy on the face of someone who's just made their first contact. Besides, EVERYBODY knows how much better food tastes "al fresco".

ALBANY ARC--Camp Osborne Boy Scout Camp. From Hwy. 300 and Clark Avenue (Miller Plant) it's about 11 miles to Camp Osborne Road. Turn onto Osborne Road, and it's 4-5 miles to the entrance to Camp Osborne. Immediately after entering, take the first dirt road to the left. Field Day site is about 1/4 mile on the left.

ALFORD MEMORIAL ARC-- Briscoe Park on Lenora Church Road in Snellville Talk-in 146.76

ATHENS ARC--Athens/Clark (Ben Epps) Airport on Winterville Road, on the outskirts of Athens

BILL GREMILLION MEMORIAL ARC and COWETA COUNTY ARES--Coweta County Fairgrounds, off of Pine Road, just north of exit 41 on I-85 For the first time, their Field Day will be co-sponsored and coordinated with the Coweta county EMA/911

CHEROKEE ARC and CHEROKEE ARES--Fields Landing off of Highway 20 just west of Canton on Lake Alatoona. The Cherokee EMA will also be bringing its mobile command post.

CHEROKEE CAPITAL ARC--Cherokee Capital Fairgrounds off Highway 53 west of Calhoun

COASTAL ARS--Southside Fire Department, located at Tibet & White Bluff, in Savannah, using the fire department's emergency generator. Club president Jere Connan, KT4ZB, said, "We have an agreement to provide radio support to the fire company after a hurricane comes through, so this gives us a chance to work at the location we would inhabit and gives them a chance to exercise their emergency power for an extended period." For additional fun, they'll celebrate with a low country boil on Saturday evening, followed by a club auction. Talk-in 146.70

COLUMBUS ARC--in the parking lot of the local WalMart/Sam's Club. They'll also feature their recently equipped emergency operations trailer that they inherited from the Columbus Police Department.

DALTON ARC--Prater's Mill in Whitfield county, off of GA Highway 2 Talk-in 147.135

GWINNETT ARS--Rhodes Jordan Park, in Lawrenceville Talk-in 147.075

KENNEHOOCHEE ARC--- Jim Miller Park, in Marietta Talk-in 146.880

LANIERLAND ARC--Gainesville College in field located at the rear of the gym near the Operations Facility Talk-in 146.670

MACON ARC--Fireman's Training Center in Macon

MILLEDGEVILLE ARC--Pavilion area of the Georgia College & State University West complex, just off the by-pass before Highway 49. Entrance is the first road off Highway 49, Blandy Road. (landmark: Baldwin High School)

NORTH FULTON AR LEAGUE--Waller Park Extension, in Roswell Talk-in 145.470

NOGA QRP CLUB--at Joe Roof's (W4JHR) hacienda at 943 Settles Road, in Suwannee

STATESBORO ARS--at Outreach Center on Denmark Street in Statesboro

SOUTH FULTON ARES--Cochran Mill Park. Turn south onto Cochran Mill Road from Rivertown Road, and go about 1.1 miles to find the park entrance on your right. Set-up will be straight back through the entrance to the top of the hill.

THOMASVILLE ARC--Camp Piney Woods on US Highway 84, about 4 miles west of Thomasville

TRI-STATES ARC--Cloudland Canyon State Park, near the swimming pool

WEDIXIE ARC--Carter's Lake Dam, at the north picnic area, about 35 miles north of Cartersville (for Saturday only)

ARES NEWS

The Governor's Emergency Management Conference was held at Jekyll Island from April 29th - May 1st. Among those in attendance were BILL CARTER, KG4FXG, DEC for GEMA, and his bride SHARON, KG4HKO. This is their report:

The Governor's Conference was an opportunity to see many agencies
working to protect us from Terrorism/Natural Disasters.  Sharon and I
participated in the National Weather Service "Weather Exercise".  The
exercise gave us an opportunity to simulate a severe storm, issue
watches and warnings, communicate with spotters/Hams or EMAs, and the
Governor.  Basically, we were able to see severe weather hit Georgia
from the NWS perspective and react as if we were the NWS.   

We had the opportunity to attend another workshop entitled, "Protecting
Our Children in this Changing World".  The instructor brought in a clear
"see-through" book bag on wheels which concealed about 40 weapons that
school children could carry to school. 

There were presentations on Biological Agents, Weapons of Mass
Destruction (WMDs) and many other relevant issues covered in a three-day
period. 

Finally, we enjoyed visiting with "Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief". 
Many of them are Hams, but all of them welcomed Sharon and myself and
made us feel like family.  I hope to learn more from them in the future!
Thanks Guys & Gals, you made the weekend extra special for us.

JOHN CALDWELL, N4HIC, sent along the info that Coweta county hams were invited to participate in a 2-day drill sponsored by the GDC. (Georgia Department of Corrections) Hams even had a representative on the planning committee, and they served as dispatchers during the drill, using the county's Mobile Command Post. John says that the hams are "kinda proud of our relationship with local law enforcement, fire and EMT units." And rightly so!

Bibb county EC RICHARD GREENWOOD, K4RJG, was happy to announce the addition of two new Assistant ECs: CHARLES REID, W4MAZ, and TODD ENGELMAN, KG4SJM. Charles will be AEC for Emergency Communications, and Todd, who is a new ham who has many years of experience with communications with various agencies, will serve as AEC for Agency Liaison.

Dougherty county EC ARTHUR SHIPLEY, N4GPJ, announced that there are two upcoming disaster drills scheduled by area emergency management agencies--on June 10th and June 19th. Also, kudos to the Albany ARC, with a station set-up at the new Dougherty County 911 and Emergency Operations Center.

North Fulton EC DAVID ZISKIND, KE4QLH, recently had a very successful meeting with Joseph Nedley, Emergency Preparedness Director at St. Joseph's Hospital, at Mr. Nedley's request. David didn't even have to "sell" the value of amateur radio, because Mr. Nedley already knew that he wanted an amateur radio presence to facilitate communications with other area hospitals, as well as a command center (i.e.GEMA) in the case of emergency. As per David's recommendation, packet radio will probably be used as an effective tool, and plans are afoot to install an antenna and coax ASAP.

Looks like things are moving right along with the plans to open up the digi path down I-16 to the coast. Sincere thanks to MIKE BOATRIGHT, KO4WX, for donating four 486 PCs to the cause, and to the ongoing efforts of MARK FOLEY, NA4V, JOHN KRAUS, KC4ZGQ, and BARRETT THOMPSON, KE4R, who are all dedicated to making this important link a reality.

ECs, do you take advantage of your local ARES nets as a tool to provide some sort of training to the folks checking in? If not, maybe you could consider having a "training officer" who'd be willing to provide this service. Just a brief five to fifteen minute period of training can make valuable use of our net times. Many of you are already doing this, but for those of you who aren't, please consider adding this aspect to your local nets. Offering useful information may even add to your number of check-ins.

Not news, but a ???QUESTION??? When asked by anyone about the status of RACES here in Georgia, I have always replied, that to the "best of my knowledge" there is no RACES activity here. I've also heard other ARRL and ARES leaders give pretty much the same reply. My question is, do YOU know of any vestiges of the RACES organization still in existence here in the state of Georgia? If so, please let me know. Thanks.

DX NEWS

No exciting news to report this month, like we had last month, but rather a reminder, especially meant for those who are relatively new or inexperienced on the HF bands. The number one rule to remember on the HF bands is to LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN. It's very simple to tune in a 2M repeater frequency and learn almost immediately whether or not the frequency is in use. This is NOT true for the HF bands. Even if you don't hear anyone when you listen for a while, this does NOT mean that the frequency is not in use. You must ASK to be sure. This is the simplest form of common courtesy. And when operating in a pile-up to work that special DX station, common courtesy must still prevail. Listen. Know who it is that you're trying to work and where he's located. There have been times, when the DX station is working split, that you'll hear someone demand (on the DX station's frequency, yet) "What's his callsign?" This is totally unacceptable behavior. Listen. If you can't hear the DX station, you're not gonna work him, so don't throw your callsign in the pile. What's the point of that, other than to add more QRM to the mix, and to make it more difficult for those stations who CAN hear the DX station to work him. Listen. When you hear the DX station ask for stations with the number "2" in their callsign, don't give a call out unless you have a "2" in your callsign. Ditto, when the DX station asks for the station ending in "KC"...... don't respond unless you have a "KC" in your callsign. Working DX is just one of the fun aspects of our hobby, and we can all have a lot more fun with it if everyone displayed common sense and displayed these common courtesies. Listen. And remember, there's no telling who else is listening. Other groups who're just salivating over our frequencies would just love to record our poor behavior and play it back to the FCC to prove that we don't deserve the use of these frequencies.

HELP WANTED

Nope, no paying jobs to offer here, but some terrific opportunities for you to get involved in some amateur radio related activities:

MARK HESS, Major in the Civil Air Patrol and the Emergency Services Officer, says that they are in need of someone interested in helping or joining the USAF Civil Air Patrol Group 3 Staff as the Communications Officer. CAP has the largest communications network in the USA, he said, but the GA CAP Wing has had a decline in communications personnel in the past few years. A Communications Officer would oversee Group 3's Communications Program in the Georgia Wing, which includes four squadrons located between Atlanta to Macon, (Griffin, Peachtree City, Newnan, and Jonesboro) and primary duties would include basic communications training, homeland defense network, and emergency services missions. The officer could form a staff, if needed, and Mark sees this as an opportunity to promote the ARRL, as well as the CAP, as there are many young adults and cadets highly interested in amateur radio, but with no "inside source" to get them started. Anyone interested, please contact Mark at PremiumCardsPlus@aol.com. (Believe me, with that address, I almost blew THAT email away without opening it!)

BRAG, Bicycle Ride Across Georgia, is coming up from June 14th to the 21st. This is an annual family-oriented ride that is expected to draw about 200 participants of all ages. The ride starts in Rockmart, and winds through Rome, to Dalton, to Ellijay, to Hiawassee, to Toccoa, to Hartwell. If you are interested in helping to provide communications from a stationary location along this route, please contact PHIL MILAZZO, KC6OEI, at philip_milazzo@atlmug.org. He could still use another ham or two from the Hartwell area, especially.

The SALVATION ARMY will be holding its once-every-three-years convention here in Atlanta in September. PAT MCPHERSON, WW9E, National SATERN Director, asked if we here in Atlanta could possibly provide a one-day ham class for interested attendees, followed by a VE test session. However, Pat and I have been trying to work out the details to see if this is even a viable plan. If things do move forward, WADE MASSENGILL, KU4OJ, has graciously offered to provide the materials and to "instruct the instructors", and our favorite Vice Director, SANDY DONAHUE, W4RU, has volunteered to get a VE team together, but we will need INSTRUCTORS. Stay tuned for more details.

OLD CALLBOOK information needed. EARL SAILERS, KG4STA, just got a callsign for the second time around. He was originally licensed in the late 50's, but all of his early files were lost in a house fire, and he ended up not renewing his license for some time. Well, now he's back, and he'd love to be able to document his earlier licensing to enable him to upgrade more easily. His former callsign was K4CAA, and he should be listed in the 1958 to the 1962 callbooks as Earl J. Sailers, Jr. and living in either Maysville or Gainesville, FL. Any kind soul out there who might have one of these callbooks and who'd be willing to copy the appropriate page and mail it to Earl in Hephzibah, GA? You can email him at ELSailers2@aol.com (I've told him of a couple of other ways that he could acquire this information, but for now, we're going to see if someone from the Georgia "family" can help.)

STM REPORTS FROM JIM HANNA, AF4NS

NET ACTIVITY; 
GA ARES Net                QNI-221   QTC-3  Sessions-4   AA4P/NM 
Georgia Baptist Hams Net   QNI-102   QTC-1  Sessions-4   AA4P/NM 
Georgia Cracker Net        QNI-1260  QTC-12 Sessions-30  N4BD/NM 
Georgia SSB Association    QNI-2238  QTC-50 Sessions-30  K4WKW/NM 
GA TFC Net (GTN SSB)       QNI-176   QTC-0  Sessions-26  WU4C/NM 
Statesboro ARS (STARS)     QNI-92    QTC-0  Sessions-5   KF4MLT/NM 
SE GA 6M Ragchew           QNI-24    QTC-0  Sessions-5   KF4MLT/NM 
GTN Training Net(CW)       QNI-178  QTC-108 QND-811 min Sess-30
KG4FXG/NM 
GSN CW TRF Net             QNI-511  QTC-190 QND-1077 min Sess-60
AF4NS/NM 

PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLE: 
PSHR Points (using new system) 
KG4FXG    185 
K4BEH     160 
AF4NS     110 
W4WXA      90 
WB4GGS     90 
W4WKT      90 
WB4BIK     90 

STATION ACTIVITY REPORTS: 
Traffic: 
KG4FXG    188 
W4WXA     187 
AF4NS     159 
WB4GGS     87 
K4WKT      72 
K4BB       60 
K4BEH      57 
WB4BIK     41 
N4DOM      14 
K4JNL       6 
KG4QDH      4 

FOX HUNTERS, BEWARE!

This important information from PHIL TEMPLES, K9HI, Section Manager of Eastern MA: Recently, a club was conducting a fox hunt and left the fox near a public shopping mall. Although it was a totally innocent act, someone not familiar with the box the fox was contained in notified authorities and created a PROBLEM. It is strongly suggested that any club conducting a fox hunt notify public safety officials that a fox hunt is taking place in their community and where the fox is located. It would be very easy for any public safety official to consider the fox to be a "Device", such as a radio-controlled bomb, and treat it accordingly. The events of 9/11 have heightened public awareness of anything that looks suspicious. A simple notification to the local public safety officials may eliminate a major public safety response and prevent our noble hobby from receiving any bad publicity.

AMATEUR RADIO LICENSE TAGS

FRANK SAUCIUNAS, KF4TQV, recently searched for and found this information on the W4IBM website, and was kind enough to pass the information along to help those of you who may be thinking about getting an amateur radio license tag for your vehicle and are unsure of how to proceed: First, there is NO charge for the tag; it is NOT in the same category as a "vanity plate". (You'll still pay applicable taxes.) CONTACT PERSON for Ham Tags at the Georgia Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division: Alva Lovett (404) 675-6074 APPLICATION FORM for Ham Tags: MV-9 GENERAL INFORMATION: There is no longer a specified period to apply for a Ham Tag. The application can be submitted anytime during the year. 130 Georgia counties are on the new automated Auto Tag System, and in those counties, a ham can go to his/her local tag office with a completed form MV-9. The county tag office will issue a temporary vehicle operating permit, forward the request to manufacture the tag to the manufacturing facility (a Georgia prison), and the completed tag will be mailed to the ham. This whole process takes 5 to 6 weeks. Any active Amateur Radio tags will automatically be manufactured each time the tag design changes and the new tag will be sent to the county tag office where the amateur radio operator's current tag is listed. If the amateur radio operator moves to another Georgia county, he or she must submit a change of address within 30 days so the Motor Vehicle Division will know where to send the new tag. The Atlanta ARC website even offers a link to download the needed MV-9 form. Go to http://www.saf.com/arc.

HELPING THE AIR FORCE VIA APRS

The Air Force Research Lab, located in Rome, NY, will be conducting an experiment involving APRS sometime between June 3rd and June 8th, using amateur radio operators as an auxiliary "line of defense" against aircraft disasters, in conjunction with its annual Team Patriot exercise. The test will consist of a small aircraft carrying amateur radio operators and a APRS transmitter, which will transmit a distress signal, using the callsign WA2ZXS. (using normal APRS frequency of 144.390MHz) If you would like to participate in this exercise, upon receipt of the distress signal, email peaprs@rl.af.mil detailing the time, characteristics of the message received, as well as the method used for reception. (direct, via digipeater, via wide relay, web, etc.) The objective of this exercise will be to measure the timeliness and accuracy of the reports received from the amateur community. Participating amateurs will qualify for a special certificate from the ARRL, who is a partner with the Air Force in this exercise.

BYE-BYE COVENANTS, CONDITIONS & RESTRICTIONS???

The "Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Consistency Act" has been introduced to Congress by Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY). The text of this act reads as follows: "For purposes of the Federal Communications Commission's regulations relating to station antenna structures in the Amateur Radio Service (47 CFR 97.15), any private land use rules applicable to such structures shall be treated as a state or local regulation and shall be subject to the same requirements and limitations as a state or local regulation." (Some more "teeth" for PRB-1!) This is the legislation that lots and lots of hams who are currently restricted by neighborhood CC&Rs have been hoping for, and leaders in the ARRL have worked long and hard with Congress to get it to this point. But now the ball is in our court, because the only way it has a snowball's chance of getting the full support of Congress is if we hams speak up to our representatives in Congress and voice our support for it. For information on how to contact your representative, go to http://www.house.gov/writerep/ The ARRL also requests that you send them a copy of any letter you write to your Congressman on this matter at ccr-bill@arrl.org

NEW HAM PRIVILEGES IN SIGHT

The FCC has approved the ARRL's request for a new US secondary HF allocation on 60M, from 5.25 to 5.4 MHz. Their response was also favorable to a 136 kHz "sliver band" in the low frequency (LF) region, and to elevating amateur radio to primary status at 2400 to 2402 MHz. You want to know what the ARRL does for amateur radio... well, here's three prime examples for you. The 60M band will mark the first new HF amateur band allocation since the WARC bands of 12, 17, and 30 M back in 1979. Assuming that authorization proceeds as expected, it may be a couple of years before all of the tees are crossed and we find ourselves actually talking on these new frequencies.

ADVENTURE RADIO SOCIETY

If you enjoy such activities as walking, running, backpacking, bicycling, canoeing, kayaking, rowing, sailing, etc. and would enjoy combining these pursuits with amateur radio activities, then this may be the group for you. Check them out at http://www.natworld.com/ars/ They have a contest coming up in July where you can combine your love of adventure with your love for QRP operations. Sounds like a winning combination.

GEORGIA TECH VE SESSIONS TO RESUME

Thanks largely to the efforts of DAVID SCHORNAK, KG4LSK, the ARRL-VE test sessions will be resuming at Georgia Tech on August 25th , and then will be held on the 4th Sunday of each month thereafter. He was concerned that there were no test sessions currently being held in the downtown Atlanta area for the convenience of local residents, so he set about to change it. So, thanks, David, for your efforts.

FROM KINGLAND, GA

The Kingland, GA UHF machine 444.625(PL 118.8) has been placed onto IRLP. Y'all have fun!

UPCOMING EVENTS

JUNE 1--ATLANTA ARC HAMFEST at Jim Miller Park in Marietta Several forums planned, as well as VE testing Great prizes, and great fun. SE Division Director FRANK BUTLER, W4RH, and Vice Director SANDY DONAHUE, W4RU, will be at the ARRL table, as will I. Stop by and say hello!

JUNE 8--ALBANY ARC SWAPFEST at Potter Community Center on Wildfair Road in Albany FREE admission, VE testing and prizes SANDY DONAHUE will be gracing the ARRL table again, and so will I. Looking forward to meeting a lot of new folks.

JUNE 8-10--VHF QSO party (See May QST for details)

JUNE 16--HAPPY FATHERS DAY! Hope all of you fathers have a wonderful day, and here's a terrific little writing from one of my favorite radio commentators, Paul Harvey.

"What Are Fathers Made Of?" by Paul Harvey

A father is a thing that is forced to endure childbirth without an anesthetic. A father never feels entirely worthy of the worship in a child's eyes. He's never quite the hero his daughter thinks he is, never quite the man his son believes him to be--- and this worries him sometimes.

So he works too hard to try and smooth the rough places in the road for those of his own who will follow him.

A father is a thing that gets very angry when school grades aren't as good as he thinks they should be. He scolds his son though he knows it's the teacher's fault. Fathers give daughters away to other men who aren't nearly good enough so they can have grandchildren who are smarter than anybody's.

Fathers make bets with insurance companies about who will live the longest. Though they know the odds, they keep right on betting. And one day they lose.

I don't know where fathers go when they die. But I've an idea that after a good rest, wherever it is, he won't be happy unless there's work to do. He won't just sit on a cloud and wait for the girl he's loved and the children she bore. He'll be there, too, repairing the stairs, oiling the gates, improving the streets, smoothing the way.

JUNE 15-16 KID'S DAY OPERATING EVENT (See June QST for details)

JUNE 15-23 SPECIAL EVENT STATION K4S from Cub Scout Day Camp in Marietta, GA

JUNE 22-23 FIELD DAY!!!!!

SECTION NOTABLES

Congratulations to LEIGH MATTHEWS, N8LM, and MARVIN OLLENDORF, JR, W4HAH, who both have been licensed as amateur radio operators for 65 wonderful years. ED BIGBIE, W4MMQ, WAYMON BLACKBURN, W4KXT, and GEORGE SENSIBAR, W9RR, all celebrated 55 years, and BOB BASS, K4KVQ, HOMER BLINCOE, W4SDG, LAYTON CARSON, W4OCH, JOHNNY FEARON, W4WKP, and DICK RAY, W5SNX, all celebrate 50 years as amateur radio operators. What wonderful milestones for all of these fine men. Congratulations!

TONY SMITH, AG4NE, and DREW MCCARSKY, KB2SEO, have both been teaching a technician class at the Dalton rec center. They've been doing such an outstanding job that some of their students passed their tests before the course was even finished! (One of the successful early testers is Tony's grandson, so do you think he might be a lit-tle proud?)

The Georgia section was well represented at the Dayton Hamvention this year, especially among the QRP crowd. MIKE BOATRIGHT, KO4WX, took first place in a QRP building contest, and MIKE BRANCA, W3IRZ, won honorable mention in the homebrew category. And from what I hear, TOM DOOLEY, K4TJD, did an absolutely outstanding job heading up the QRP forum. Congratulations to all three of you for a job well done. Although I didn't hear from anyone about it, I'm sure that our local DX-peditioners Extraordinaire, WES LAMBOLEY, W3WL, and BOB ALLPHIN, K4UEE, did their usual fabulous job with their presentations at the DX forum on their trips to South Sandwich (VP8THU) and South Georgia (VP8GEO) earlier this year.

PIGLETS (AKA YOUNG HAMS)

Keep up the good work. Mitch also runs a "Lunchmeat Net" for young hams.

SILENT KEYS

WALTER "BUBBA" CIUCEVICH, KD4WMQ, member of the Coastal ARS

ZACH LEE, W4HBE, of Gainesville

JOHN LITTLEFIELD, WA4FIF, of Warner Robins. He was a member of the Georgia Single Sideband Association, as well as the Central Georgia ARC

DON SATTERFIELD, WA4DAV, member of the Lanierland ARC and Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief Group, GA14C

RICHARD WALLIS, KA4VHV, member of GA Army MARS

Sincere condolences to the families and friends of these fine people for your loss. I know they'll all be missed.

WELLLLLL, that's about it for now, folks. If you have any news you'd like to share with the rest of the folks in the GA section about your young ham, or about some accomplishment you or someone else has made, whatever, please send it my way. It's so much fun to spread the word! Thanks to BILL AHLS, AB0KF, and to my better half, MIKE SWIDERSKI, K4HBI, for the hints on ways to improve the newsletter. You may notice that it's now in a simple text format. Still lotsa news, but not so much wasted space.

Until next time, this is AF4FO signing clear. Take care of yourselves. And each other.