Georgia Section On My Mind

Hi, all you Georgia ham-sters. Hot enough for you? OK, well then, "How hot is it?" As a lot of the old-timers would say, "It's so hot I saw a dog chasin' a rabbit the other day, and they was both walkin'!" Yes sir, this is the time of year that hot water comes out of both taps, the poor birds have to use a pot holder to pull the worms out of the ground, cows are giving evaporated milk, and the desperate trees around these parts are actually whistling for the dogs to come "pay a visit". Even so, there's no place else I'd rather be. (It sure beats five feet of snow in the winter...!) Let's see what's been happening, and what's coming up, around the state these days...

JUNE HIGHLIGHTS

ATLANTA ARC HAMFEST---June 1--- These guys did a real good job this year, and I've been told that the attendance broke 1000 for the first time in several years. Congratulations to all of the members of the Atlanta club for a job well done. The bone yard was larger than last year, there were more vendors than last year, and the forums were well-attended, especially the ARES forum. Led by SEC MIKE BOATRIGHT, KO4WX, and Metro Atlanta DEC STEVE REYNOLDS, W4CNG, this forum was conducted a little differently than ones I've attended before, stressing more of the hands-on type demonstrations and less talk. Approximately 50+ were in attendance, representing a number of ARES groups from surrounding counties, several of which presented a show-and-tell item. Most interesting to me was the presentation by MIKE HILL, K4JKM, from Cherokee County ARES, who showed an innovative and quick set-up 2M antenna, using a simple camera tripod as a base, topped by the metal frameworks from an umbrella as the ground plane and a quarter wave vertical on top. Very clever. Lots of folks came by the ARRL table to talk to FRANK BUTLER, W4RH, SANDY DONAHUE, W4RU, and me. Thanks. It was great to meet so many of you. Quite a few joined the ARRL, too. (Smart folks, huh?)

ALBANY SWAPFEST---June 8--- My better half, MIKE, K4HBI, and I sure did have a good time meeting all of the folks at this fun gathering. We even got the added benefit of seeing an on-site wedding, between TOM GOSSETT, K4TWG, and his new bride CATHY ("CAT"). This may not be a first-time-ever happening, but it's the first time we ever heard tell of vows being exchanged at a hamfest. (I mean, other than the typical, "I swear it was working the last time I tested it!" kind of vow.) Club treasurer, Rev. STAN HALSTEAD, W4GOD, performed the ceremony, and then the happy bride took.... and passed.... her technician test. Congratulations to the happy newlyweds. This is certainly a swapfest that they'll remember for many years.

FIELD DAY--- WOW!! Sure hope you all got to experience a good Field Day this year. My better half Mike and I sure did. Let me tell you about it. We started out our day by driving nearly to the Tennessee border to visit with members of the Dalton ARC at Prater's Mill. Some of you may have visited this area before to attend their annual swapfest, but this was a first time for us. (but it won't be the last!) What a charming place! When we arrived, the antennas were already hung, and the stations were already set up inside of the old general store, (it honest-to-goodness still has that "smell"....y'know, close your eyes, and it's 1950 again!) and club members were sitting around in a cozy relaxed circle chatting, and off to the side, a big pot of yummy-smelling beans simmered away over an open fire.

The whole scene projected a wonderful laid-back country feeling, like a big ol' family reunion or church social. Although we arrived before the official start-up time, the contented aura of this group made me suspect that they weren't there for "competition". Club president BILL HENDERSON, KU4DO, showed us around a bit, and we enjoyed chatting with all of the folks there. We were sorry to have missed DREW MCCARSKY, KB2SEO, and his clan, though, since he's the one who'd issued the special invitation for us to come visit with them. It seems we just missed each other. Anyhow, in an email from him later, he told me that they had a real.... "gas" later. Literally. It seems that they were visited by a SKUNK at about eleven that night..... guess they went from calling "CQ" to yelling "P-U!!", huh? (I'm NOT sorry we missed THAT!)

From Prater's Mill, we headed to Cherokee Capital Fairgrounds, where the Cherokee Capital ARC had their operations. Club president FELTON FLOYD, AF4DN, had saved my hide by "nudging" me into getting a plan set for handling Field Day Traffic, so we certainly wanted to stop in to say hello and to thank him once again. We got the added bonus of seeing two other special friends there, too, from the Army MARS family: DAVID ANTHONY, KB4ERK, and his wonderful mother Miss EDNA, KF4TZZ, and since it was her birthday, that made it even better yet.

Our allotted time passed oh-so-quickly before it was time to move on to the shores of Lake Allatoona, and Field's Landing, where the Cherokee ARC and Cherokee ARES had their claim staked. What an idyllic setting! The lake was beautiful, and a nice breeze was blowing. It looked like a great place to camp. MIKE HILL, K4JKM, was there with an updated version of his innovative tripod-umbrella antenna for 2M that he'd brought to the Atlanta hamfest. The newer version had an intact red-white-and-blue umbrella, rather than just the metal framework. Now, he says, he can sit in the SHADE under the umbrella while he works! All he needs now is a built-in seat.... oh, and maybe a cup-holder for that cold beverage or hot cup of coffee. STEVE HAMMOND, K4SAH, EC of Cherokee county, gave me the grand tour. These folks had a terrific set-up, and were happily making contacts and expounding on the joys of amateur radio to a couple of visitors. They even had a TV set up, running a tape on the history of radio.

I wouldn't have minded watching the tape, or minded sticking my toes, or even a fishing line, into the water, either, but alas! it was time to move on to our next destination in Roswell, the Waller Park Extension, and the North Fulton Amateur Radio League. Though Mike and I are members of this club, this was the first time we'd been able to attend their Field Day, and we were both looking forward to it. Our first sight was a familiar military tower that we'd seen before, with that awesome 6M beam on top, that we'd also seen a time or two, along with a somewhat cockeyed 2M antenna. Beside the tower was a tent, and there was no doubt in our mind that we'd find our buddy CLIFF SEEGER, KF4DZV, inside. Sure enough, he was, and after chatting with him a few minutes, (something about a Scotty dog?) we joined the rest of the folks at the pavilion. Now, I don't know if any of the other sites had one and I simply missed it, but these guys actually had a 160M loop up! I understand that FRED GRANTHAM, KD4WEN, and DALE RICHARDSON, W4GCL, were able to make quite a few satellite contacts for the club later that night, and it was a "first" for Fred, so he was doubly pleased. It's a shame that BOB BEEMAN, K4BB, the "Field Day Czar" for the club, was unable to attend, due to a death in the family. We're all sorry for your loss, Bob, but I want you to know that you were missed.

Our next stop was to the other side of Fulton county, to Cochran Mill Park, where we had an interesting experience going to see the South Fulton ARES group. Riding through the woods in the park to get to their location, we came upon a crowd of re-enactors dressed in Middle Ages garb, with lances, and masks, and everything! Believe me, that was somewhat of a startling sight! Not exactly what you expect to see when driving through the woods in Georgia on a Saturday afternoon, I'll tell ya! We finally found the cars and saw antennas and tents set up, but didn't see any people at first when we arrived at the site. (Ver-r-ry weird... maybe they were off in the woods playing Dungeons and Dragons, or something!) Then Mike spotted them, all gathered under one of the canopies, having a bite to eat. (what timing!) And I must say, that the piece of chicken we ate there was absolutely delicious.... the BEST!! (Kudos to chicken cooker PATTY KING, KG4NCP) These folks had one of the military towers set up, too, and if you've never seen one of them, you're really missing something. When they're in parts, they look like some sort of a grenade launcher or something, but all put together, and up in the air, they're awesome. Built to last, too.

From the Middle Ages time warp in the woods, we went to visit with our friends in the Bill Gremillion Memorial ARC in Newnan. By the time we arrived, it was raining pretty hard and the ground was pretty gooshy, but we still managed a good visit. (Thank goodness for my trusty yellow Gorton's fisherman rain hat!) Just like everywhere else we'd been, these guys had a great set-up, too, with some stations set up inside of a nice concession stand kind of building, with the wooden "flaps" up to let the breeze blow through, and other stations out on the attached covered patio. Very compact, and very efficient. They had a real nice homebrew "tower on a trailer", too, that was very interesting.

After saying goodbye there, we headed to Briscoe Park in Snellville to where the Alford Memorial ARC folks were having their usual good time. We're also members of this club, and this was the first time we got to visit with them for Field Day, too. Alas, no bizarre watermelon stories this year, but it looked like everyone was having a fine time. Listen to this. Many of their stations were set up .... are you ready? They were set up in individual campers! With air conditioning capability, if needed! These guys know how to operate in comfort! I heard a rumor that they made a whole mess of satellite contacts, too, under AMSAT guru STEVE DIGGS, W4EPI, but it was after we left, doggone it.

Our last stop was at Rhodes Jordan Park in Lawrenceville, where our "home club", the Gwinnett Amateur Radio Society, was waiting for us. Driving around the corner and seeing the two familiar pavilions and tents all set up, it was almost like coming home after a long day on the road. It was good to end our busy day with the "family", hearing about how the day had gone, eating some of club president IKE CHAPMAN, K4WEC's famous vegetarian stew. Very tasty and warming in the early morning chill and rain. But you know? We'd had about all the fun we could stand for one day, so we pointed my little red car towards home, and finally called it the end of a very wonderful day. In all, we put just over 400 miles on the car and visited 8 different sites. Wish we could've seen more. But, there's always next year...,

Special thanks go out to JIM HANNA, AF4NS, to CARL PLOTZ, WB9JSW, and to JOHN VAUGHN, WA4ZQP, for accepting Field Day messages for MIKE BOATRIGHT, KO4WX, and me. In all, I received 23 messages. That's just outstanding! Maybe we can aim for even more next year, huh? A great big thank you and 88s to MIKE SWIDERSKI, K4HBI, my better half, for all of his work putting together our travel plans and for putting in all of those hours behind the steering wheel. (We sure had fun, didn't we?) Thanks to a suggestion made by LYNN BIANCO, KN4YZ, of the Fayette County Repeater Association, maybe we'll even be able to work out a way to accept Field Day traffic digitally next year. That'd be kinda cool, huh?

And thanks to PHIL PARTON, N4DRO, who donated all of the neat Dayton pins that we distributed at all of the sites we visited.... everybody loved 'em! And finally, thanks for all of the other wonderful invitations from the places we were unable to visit, especially from the NoGa QRPers, Coastal ARS, WeDixie ARC, PAT HAYNES, K4BEH, and his group in Jasper, Columbus ARC, Albany ARC, Cohuta ARS, and Milledgeville ARC. Sorry we couldn't come spend time with all of you, but I was overwhelmed by your kind invitations. Thank you all.

SEC MIKE BOATRIGHT, KO4WX, also "did the rounds" a bit, too. He was based with the NOGa QRP group, but took a couple of fun side trips to the Lanierland ARC site in Gainesville and to the Athens ARC site at Ben Epps airport in Athens, and like us, he enjoyed himself immensely. Unfortunately, SANDY DONAHUE, W4RU, simply wasn't feeling up to snuff and was unable to make the rounds and serve as the official food judge this year, but he was thinking about y'all. Hope every one of you reading this had a blast (but not a "gas"!) Thanks for the memories....

CLUB NEWS

COASTAL ARC---This is one of the clubs that sends me their newsletter every month, and their June "Groundwaves" contained a surprising article that made me laugh out loud. It's entitled, "Dead Electrical Dudes- No.1", and it was written by witty club treasurer PHILIP NEIDLINGER, KA4KOE. This first installment of what's going to be an ongoing series of articles was on "this month's stiff" James Clark Maxwell, who "entered mortal coil: 13 June 1831" and "assumed room temperature 5 Nov 1879". With its somewhat irreverent tone, this article both entertained and informed. Certainly not the usual fodder for a club newsletter!

CONYERS AR GROUP---my better half Mike, K4HBI, and I visited their club meeting on June 20, where he, as our Official Observer Coordinator, and I, as your Section Manager, (or "Section Mom", as KO4WX called me... I kinda like that!) dazzled them with our little presentation (i.e. ARRL "dog and pony show") before getting on to some more interesting stuff. Mike brought his nifty AM-modulated laser pointer that he'd dreamed up and put together for a middle school demonstration, and he presented it as the first item for the evening's homebrew "show and tell" session. This proved to be a very interesting program, one some of you other clubs might consider sometime. Homebrew used to be just about the only way a ham could get on the air, but you'd be surprised at how many folks still enjoy this part of the hobby, or who still have an item or two back in a dusty corner of their shack that they built way back when. Congratulations to club member "Tuck" (Goodwin Tuck, but everyone just calls him "Tuck"), KE4HCY, who's getting married to one of his old college sweethearts. Tuck is a retired physician, y'know the kind who actually made house calls, a real honest-to-goodness Marcus Welby kind of guy. Many years of happiness to him and his new bride. Club member and top-notch homebrewer MIKE BRANCA, W3IRZ, was at the meeting and it was great to see him, so it was a real shock to hear a couple of days later that he'd been admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. Heartfelt get well wishes go out to Mike from all of his many friends.

DALTON ARC---These folks actually had a VE session at their Field Day, and I know of one person who passed the technician test. It was TERI MCCARSKY, YL of proud hubby DREW, KB4SEO, and mom to STEPHANIE, KG4GQX, and MITCH, KG4GQY. As Drew said, they're a "full ham family now!!" As incentive, he promised to cook and do the laundry for her until July 4th. (By golly, maybe he's onto something there, guys!) Congratulations to Teri and the whole McClarsky clan. (can hardly wait to hear where they go for a family DXpedition next year!)

FAYETTE COUNTY REPEATER ASSOCIATION--- Outgoing president LYNN BIANCO, KN4YZ, was kind enough to introduce the newly elected club officers: President: BRAD WAGNER, N4BEW; VP: BRIAN HAREN, W8BYH; and Secretary/ Treasurer: PAT STRESSEL, KF4SWH. Congratulations all the way around.

GWINNETT ARS--- For quite a few months now, this club has offered a terrific service for hams interested in learning Morse code. Every Tuesday evening at 9PM on their 147.075(+)(PL 82.5) repeater, code guru RON LANGSTON, WE5O, has patiently provided code instruction, teaching 5 or so letters a night, then sending words using the new letters plus any letters taught in previous lessons, followed by a code test, like the ones given in the VE sessions. He sprinkles his teaching with historic anecdotes, and with good humor, making it a fun experience for all who participate. When he finishes all of the letters, numbers and prosigns, he starts all over again. Accolades to the club and to Ron for offering this wonderful service.

NORTH FULTON AMATEUR RADIO LEAGUE--- Thanks to club member BOB BEEMAN, K4BB, who handled all of the paperwork, they now have a new club callsign, NF4GA. What a GREAT callsign!

ARES NEWS

CHEROKEE COUNTY ARES (CCARES) came out with its first newsletter in May. What an outstanding effort! I can't say enough good things about the well-organized and efficient manner with which this group operates under the leadership of EC STEVE HAMMOND, K4SAH, and with the excellent support and participation of its members. These folks have an A-1 working relationship with Cherokee EMA Director ROBBY WESTBROOK, who was recently recognized by GEMA as its Spring Exceptional EMA Director. Cherokee county is also among the first in the state to be certified as Storm Ready. The new Cherokee EOC is nearing completion, and CCARES already has a designated spot, where they'll be setting up UHF, VHF, and HF radio communications. Kudos to STEVE and all of his dedicated CCARES members , and to JIM MILLSAP, N4ZFU, editor of their new and informative newsletter.

COWETA COUNTY hams were busy again. On June 13th, under the leadership of John Caldwell, N4HIC, they participated in a hazmat drill with the city and county fire departments, the city police, the sheriff's department, two hospitals, and the Red Cross. The pager call to activate the drill, which involved an "overturned tanker truck" came at 9:20 AM, and the net was up and running four minutes later. A total of 10 hams were actively involved, and this included two being dispatched to each hospital, where the personnel were very favorably impressed with the ability to pass messages via radio communications. Overall, this was a very successful drill.

Not to be outdone, MURRAY COUNTY ARES has been keeping active, too. EC DREW MCCARSKY, KB2SEO, proudly reported that AEC ROLAND RANKIN, KV4ED, has been working closely with the EMA director DAVID RIDLEY, and after a Skywarn class, was successful in getting the ARES group officially accepted and recognized as a vital part of the county EMA plan. Drew said to give a "big time thank you" to Roland. So, ROLAND, thank you for all of your hard work that will now make it easier for the hams in Murray county to effectively serve the community.

FRED RUNKLE, K4KAZ, in an effort to strengthen the ties between ARES and the RED CROSS, requested that an observer from ARES come to the Georgia Hurricane Watch Team Exercise at the Atlanta Red Cross chapter, on June 18th. SEC MIKE BOATRIGHT, KO4WX, who's seen the headaches first-hand in a hurricane evacuation, was the obvious choice, and he was happy to comply. They said that this drill was also a success.

ARTHUR SHIPLEY, N4GPJ, EC of Dougherty county, reported that a GEMA Hurricane Drill conducted on June 19th in multiple counties in south GA went well, also. In that case, however, the amateur radio operators hadn't been specifically invited to participate; they volunteered. And since the EMA people involved were trying to test their own equipment, it was frustrating to them at times when their Southern Linc system failed, or they couldn't get an open phone line to send a fax, and they ended up being able to get information from an amateur radio operator before they could get it over their "official" equipment. On one hand, it proved the value of amateur radio as a reliable form of communication, but on the other hand, as one EMA pointed out, in a previous flood at their location, they were cut off and had no hams available, so they didn't feel they could count on the availability of hams when needed. Several important things were learned from this drill. The need to use headphones became apparent, not only for the hams' benefit, but "to keep the noise from the EMA personnel, who are already overloaded". The usefulness of using written messages was also proven, as was the desirability of being able to use mobile cross band repeat. A very profitable exercise, in which hams in Miller, Mitchell, Baker, and Doughterty counties got to be better acquainted with the "players" in the local EMA offices. Thank you all for volunteering your time.

The Piedmont ARES group, under the leadership of Putnam county EC TONY NUETZI, KF4EOH, have been active in sharing their talents with the public. They provided communications during both a Torture Trial race and a parade in downtown Eatonton on June 1. Afterwards, they set up a special event station at the former Chamber of Commerce parking lot for a public demonstration of their radio capability, using an FT-100, a 2M rig, and an EH antenna. On June 5, they set up the same equipment at the Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation annual camp to show the youngsters there the pleasures of amateur radio.

Gwinnett EC STAN EDWARDS, WA4DYD, offered training based on EC-001 at a recent meeting, followed by a written test. The same material was also put on the Gwinnett ARES webpage, including the test. Passing the test is now a prerequisite to receiving a new Gwinnett ARES ID badge.

Hats off to a couple of outstanding ARES nets, both of which offer excellent on-the-air training. One is that of the Clark County ARES on Sunday evenings at 8:30 PM on 146.745(-), where I've heard ED ROLLOR, N4ZRA, offer excellent training on numerous subjects, and he's now offering a bit of Morse code instruction at the end of the nets, as well. The other is the Clayton County ARES net, at 9 PM on Monday evenings on 145.170(-). Since the Gwinnett ARES is on the air at the same time, I've only had occasion to check in with these guys once, and at that time, SHALER PIERCE, KD5LDU, was offering information on different types of clouds, much like what you get at a Skywarn class, and information about the reporting criteria for Skywarn nets in storm conditions. Net control station that evening was MILTON NITZ, AF4FS.

Last month, I asked if anyone knew of an active RACES group here in Georgia. The only response was from DAVID KNOWLES, KD4HNH, who says he enjoys playing internet detective. After his exploration, I think it's safe to say that RACES is, indeed, extinct, in Georgia. Thanks, David.

UPDATES

FRANK SAUCIUNAS, KF4TQV, who offered information last month on applying for your amateur radio license tag, followed through and applied for his. He says that he downloaded the MV-9X form from the Atlanta ARC website, filled it out, and took it, and a copy of his ham license to the tag office, along with his vehicle registration and proof of insurance. They took all of his paperwork, made copies, and handed him a screwdriver. He had to remove his current tag and surrender it to them. In exchange, he got a temporary paper license plate to display in the rear window of his car. Now, he's just waiting and watching his mail box for the arrival of his new KF4TQV ham tag. It should only take 5 to 6 weeks.

PHIL MILAZZO, KC6OEI, organizer of the ham support for BRAG (Bicycle Ride Across Georgia) said that BRAG was terrific, and that the ham turnout was miraculous, with good repeater coverage for the entire week. He didn't give a longer report than that, because he's now involved in a similar event in South Carolina. ( a glutton for punishment?) From Lake Hartwell, the endpoint of BRAG, Phil joined Cycle South Carolina. His trek across SC will end at Isle of Palms, on the ocean, on Friday. Thank goodness, he'll have a ride home to Atlanta on Friday.

MARK HESS, Major in the CAP, who was looking for a volunteer to serve as Communications Officer, is still looking for one. He said that he got a response from about 15 of you, but after he replied, he never heard back from anyone. So, I'm putting out the plea for him one more time. He said in 1941, the CAP's first Coommunications program was started and operated by members of the ARRL. The ARRL CAP members ran a first class, top-notch operation. Mark would really like to see that again, and I just know that the right person for the job is reading this right now. If you have an interest in heading up the effort to teach basic communications training, homeland defense networking, and emergency services missions to a bunch of motivated young people, please get in touch with Mark at PremiumCardsPlus@aol.com

EARL SAILERS, KG4STA, who was looking for a kind soul with an old callbook to help him prove that he was once licensed as K4CCA, struck gold. Unfortunately, I don't know his benefactor's name, but said benefactor came up to me at the Atlanta hamfest, informed me that he'd done the kind deed, and then disappeared into the crowd with a mighty hi-ho Silver and awaaaaaay! Seriously, YOU know who you are. Thank you. Along the same lines, another gentleman, JEFF EHRLICH, contacted me with a similar quest. He allowed his license to expire and is now planning to get re-licensed, and was searching for a source for his old callsign information, too. He found an interesting source, which he reported back to me: http://www.geocities.com/w3hf/callbooks.html. This is the site of STEPHEN MELACHRINOS, W3HF, who has a large collection of old callbooks, and like lots of hams, is happy to help.

Have you sent a letter to your representative yet, regarding H.R. 4720, the "Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Consistency Act"? This is the first real chance for hams to get some relief from the CC&Rs restricting their ability to put up outdoor antennas, but we need to urge our representatives to co-sponsor the bill, if it's to have any chance of being passed. And it is a very simple process! If you aren't sure who the heck your representative is, but you're too embarrassed to ask anyone, fear not. If you know your 9-digit zip code, no problem. (And if you don't know THAT, check with the post office.) Go to www.house.gov/writerep/ and follow the directions, putting in your name, address, including that 9-numbered zip, and they'll tell YOU who your representative is. And you can write your letter right online and send it off with a simple mouseclick. Not sure what to write? No excuses there, either. The ARRL has put a sample letter online to help you with that, too. You can find it at http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2002/05/14/102/sample-letter.html So, any more excuses? And don't forget to send a copy of your letter to the ARRL, too, if you would, at ccr-bill@arrl.org.

STM REPORTS FROM JIM HANNA, AF4NS

NET ACTIVITY:
GTN (SSB)                          QNI-188      Sessions-27    
WU4C/NM
GA ARES                            QNI-225      Sessions-4     
AA4P/NM
GBH (GA Baptist Hams)              QNI-67       Sessions-4     
AA4P/NM
6M Rag Chew                        QNI-14       Sessions-4    
KF4MLT/NM
STARS Net                          QNI-51       Sessions-4      
KF4MLT/NM
GCN (GA Cracker Net)        QNI-1181     QTC-10   Sessions-31  
N4BD/NM
GTN (CW Training Net))   QNI-126    QTC-10  QND-567 min  Sessions-31 
KG4FXG/NM
GSSBA (GA SSB Assn)         QNI-2118   QTC-53  Sessions-31  K4WKW/NM
GSN (CW)                QNI-435     QTC-186  QND-952 min  Sessions-61 
AF4NS/NM

PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLE:
AF4NS           110
K4BEH           105
W4WXA            90
WB4GGS           90
K4WKT            90
K4BB             86
WB4BIK           82

STATION ACTIVITY REPORTS:
Traffic:
WB4GGS           307  (wow!)
AF4NS            184
W4WXA            164
K4BEH             65
K4BB              47
K4WKT             41
WB4BIK            32
KG4FXG             3   

WHITE HOUSE GREETINGS

Did you hear? President Bush once again acknowledgeded the value of amateur radio operators by sending a special letter of greeting to "all Amateur Radio operators, praising their role in emergency communications and in generating international good will. His letter also mentioned ham radio's "important role in emergency communications, assisting law enforcement personnel and other emergency services as they carry out their responsibilities." The letter came the week preceding Field Day, when hams in the US mark Amateur Radio week June 16-23. Needless to say, ARRL President JIM HAYNIE, W5JBP, was very pleased. He said, "I'm extremely pleased that the president has decided to recognize the accomplishments of Amateur Radio operators throughout America. Amateur Radio is a real asset to America, and even more so after September 11. Amateur Radio has always played a big role in disasters and emergencies, and I'm very proud of it." You folks reading this should be pretty proud, too.

HAMFESTS: IS THE LOVE AFFAIR OVER??

KEITH LABORDE, WD5BJQ, sent me an interesting email after he read some positive remarks that I had to make about the Atlanta hamfest. It was some stuff he copied from a news group discussion, and the topic was... hamfests. What negative, negative comments! Things like "Hamfests have gone downhill, have hit bottom, and are apparently stalled there." Like "Attendees are a weird mixture of old guys wearing HTs on their belts and displaying their callsigns on their shirts, hats, or whatever.." It calls hamfests a "complete waste of time", says the flea market consists of "too many crooks" trying to "fleece rubes". It goes on and on, all pretty much in the same vein. This was my response to him: "Being an unabashed optimist, I'll continue to speak highly of every hamfest and meeting that I attend. Part of that is because what makes the events special to me are the people who are there... and whether they're the "old guys with the HTs hanging off their belts" or an excited youngster with a brand-new license who's experiencing a hamfest for the very first time, I love 'em all. And am very happy to be a part of it all. And as far as hamfests going downhill, it's a catch-22 situation. If people stay away, the vendors won't come, and if the vendors stay away, the people won't come. (If vendors are what makes a hamfest a success, in your estimation... my hubby and I are more attuned to the boneyard.) But we personally go to all kinds of hamfests and swap meets. We've been to little bitty ones like you wouldn't believe, and of course, Shelby is one we never, ever miss, even the year my car engine blew on the drive up there. One thing that they all have in common for us is that we always have fun Always. I love hamfests. Some people may growl that they aren't as good as "they used to be"... maybe so, but as long as a club is doing the work to try to put on a hamfest for our enjoyment, I'm gonna do everything I can to support them and encourage their efforts. And will try to get other hams to do the same." So, how about you? Is the love affair over for you, and you just don't have any use for hamfests anymore, or do you love them and look forward to them like I do, and think it's an absolutely wonderful way to spend a Saturday, among friends?

UPCOMING EVENTS

LANIERLAND ARC HAMFEST---JULY 13 Hey! You KNOW we'll be there! So will FRANK BUTLER, W4RH, and SANDY DONAHUE, W4RU, and BRENNAN PRICE, N4QX, our "homeboy done good", who'll be visiting from ARRL HQ, and speaking at a forum. (Bring your cards for him to check... let's keep him busy!!) Come on and stop by the ARRL table and say "Hello". It's gonna be at the Georgia Mountains Center, at the corner of Jesse Jewell and Main Street in Gainesville, from 8 AM until 3 PM, $6 admission, VE testing, and there's air conditioning, guys! The boneyard is in a covered area, so you'll be protected from the hot sun... or from the rain. The Georgia Crackers will have their annual meeting there, so don't be surprised if you get treated to a bit of "pickin' and grinnin'" This is a hamfest with a warm feeling (and I don't just mean the temperature!) Friendly folks. Come see for yourself.

GEORGIA QSO PARTY--- 1800Z July 20-0359z July 21 and 1400-2359 July 21. Sponsored by the Southeastern Contesting Club and the Southeastern DX Club. For more info, check out http://gqp.contesting.com

ELLIJAY HAMFEST--- I don't have much in the way of details on this one yet. I put in the August QST that it'll be on August 3 (as listed in the SERA Journal) but I've been hearing some folks say that it's actually on the 24th of August. Tried to reach a contact with the Ellijay club to verify the date, but my emails kept bouncing. If I get anything more on this one, I'll pass it on. This one is very small, more of a little tailgate gathering, the last time that Mike and I went. But it's a beautiful setting, and of course.... friendly folks. It's a good excuse to spend the weekend in the mountains, too.

Great big congratulations to GENE BLACKBURN, N4UJ!! Have you heard of the A-1 OP Award? According to the ARRL description, "Only the best operators can qualify for the A-1 Operator Club, amateurs who have met the highest operating standards. But you can't apply; you must be recommended independently by two amateurs who already belong to the A-1 Operator Club. Who knows? Fine-tune your operating skills, and one of these days you may be pleasantly surprised when the mailman delivers an A-1 Operator Club certificate." After over 40 years as a ham, Gene was just about overwhelmed when he found that the mailman had indeed delivered one of these elusive awards to his mailbox. Talk about surprised!! And I sure hope that everyone who is lucky enough to ever receive one of these awards smiles as broadly as he did. Congratulations, Gene!

SHARON CARTER, KG4HKO, science teacher and amateur radio club sponsor at Richards Middle School in Lawrenceville, one of the pilot schools for the ARRL's Big Project, was treated to a trip to ARRL HQ in Newington, CT, recently. There, she met with other teachers from around the country who are also involved with the Big Project. They dubbed themselves, the "National Curriculum and Development Team", because that describes exactly what they're doing, brainstorming on ways to introduce amateur radio into the curriculum of our country's schools. Neat, huh? She was absolutely energized by this meeting and by the fact that all of the teachers seem to share the same "vision". This is an ongoing project still in its early stages, and there will be many more meetings to come, but I thought you might like to hear about the exciting beginnings of this innovation in our schools. While she was there, Sharon was treated to a tour of HQ, and even got to operate from W1AW for a little while. She was impressed with how busy everyone seemed to be at HQ, just buzzing with activity. She was also fascinated by the old "spark gap" set-up and by the collection of old keys. What a fun adventure!

Kudos to the other half of the Carter family, too. That's BILL CARTER, KG4FXG, who does an excellent job of training CW operators on his Georgia Training Net (GTN), a slow-speed CW net that teaches proper traffic handling. He's done such a good job, in fact, that one of his former students, WOODY HESTER, WD9F, from Illinois, has graduated and is now setting up the same training course in Illinois. Bill graciously provided all course materials, certificates, and setup for the Illinois Section to begin offering the courses formally. Bill got the CW fever shortly after he got licensed, and he's done a great job of passing it on to others. Thanks, Bill.

Congratulations to ANDY FUNK, KB7UV, who was recently awarded two Emmies for his work with Fox5 News. One was the group effort for "Outstanding Achievement: Television News Excellence/ Daily News Cast (Markets 1-25)" and the other was, for the third time, a smaller group effort for "Outstanding Achievement: Technical or Engineering Achievement" for "RunnerCam", the innovative way in which they provided live coverage during the broadcast of the Peachtree Road Race from a photographer and a reporter while they were actually participating in the race. For more info, check Andy's website at http://www.arfunk.com/.

Also, congratulations to long-time licensees JOHN BUNTING, W4NET, who was licensed on May 12, 1949, and to JIM HARRIS, W4UKR, who started in amateur radio back in 1938, but got his first license in 1946. Between them, that's over a century of operations! Hope they get to enjoy many many more years, too.

A great big THANK YOU to DAVID STILL, WB4RRD, and to the members of his VE team, who graciously offered additional test sessions this month in Marietta, to better accommodate the large number of hams seeking to upgrade to extra class before the impending change in the question pool. That was really great of you guys, and I'm sure lots of people were very appreciative of your extra efforts that truly went "above and beyond".

PIGLETS (AKA YOUNG HAMS)

The princess of Georgia radio has been at it again. That's ANDREA HARTLAGE, KG4IUM, who passed her extra class test the weekend before Field Day. She'd set her sights on doing it, and by golly! She did it! Congratulations to one of our younger extra class (and extra class-y) hams in the area.

Hey, kids! There's an IRLP Net for Kids on every Friday night at 9 PM,currently on IRLP reflector #2, and kids from all over the country have been taking part. For more information, check out the webpage at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/irlp4kids/ One of the net control stations in the rotation is from Atlanta, STEPHEN SLIDER, KG4PTO. And some of the kids checking in are via third party, so Mom and Dad, here's a way to maybe get your unlicensed youngster interested in amateur radio.

I NEED YOUR HELP!!

Wouldn't it be an excellent idea to have comprehensive, up-to-date information on our section webpage for ALL of the regularly scheduled VE sessions ALL OVER THE STATE? I have information on the metro Atlanta area, but some of it is even out-of-date. So, please, send me information on the VE sessions in your area. Webmaster MIKE BOATRIGHT, KO4WX, has agreed to post the information for us, but I need YOU to send it to me. We'll need to know the city, location, time and day of the month, and a contact person. This would provide a valuable tool for anyone anywhere in the state to use when wanting to find a test session. Please help me set it up for you. Thanks.

It'd be great if you would all keep me aware of any HAM CLASSES you offer, too. Often, people come to me looking for a class in their area, and it'd be ideal to be able to direct them to a nearby class. If you know of a class that you'll be teaching down the road, let me know ASAP, and it can be put in the newsletter. But even if it's too late to put in the newsletter, I'd still appreciate the information, just in case there's someone in your area who's already approached me looking for a class.

SILENT KEYS

ALEX BOYSEN, N4PES
BOB CREASMAN, N4PAY
B.B. ECKLES, K4OUB (a longtime Tuesday night NCS for the GSSB Net)
DALE HARRIDGE, W4UFQ

All of these men will be sorely missed by many. Condolences to their families and friends.

Well, that's it for the month, folks. Hope you all enjoy a "bang-up" 4th of July, and to all of you who will be providing communications for one of the many parades around the state, thank you for your services. Remember how, in the earlier newsletters, I included some corny "you might be a ham if"s? Lots of you commented on them, but I ran out of 'em. How about you? How about some of you making like Jeff Foxworthy and coming up with some "good ones" for upcoming newsletters? Thanks. Until next month, this is AF4FO, signing clear. Take care of yourselves. And each other.

73, Susan af4fo@arrl.org   (Send me your news and tech tips!!)
ARRL Georgia Section Manager

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