Greetings. Hope y'all are doing well.
DON'T FORGET! This Saturday night, before you go to bed, set your
clock back one hour. (Hey! You finally get that hour of sleep back that
you lost last spring!) And remember, too, that some of our nets
operate on zulu time. That means that the statewide ARES net on Halloween
will be at FIVE PM, (gives you plenty of time to get ready for the ghosties and goblins that'll be ringing your doorbell) and the Georgia SSB net
will be moving to 6:30 PM.
Once again, let me congratulate and thank the newest member of our
state leadership team, DAVID PEARCE, ABØNG, who is our assistant
Section Manager for Scouting. After making the announcement of his
appointment, I thought we just might be able to sign up another new assistant,
when RON STAUB, WD4KUI, wrote, "RE: the news letter discussion on
appointing an Asst SCM for scouting. Why not broaden it to Asst SCM for
OUTREACH and have it encompass assistance to schools in setting up class
demos, club stations (incl coordinating equipment donations and technical support), acquisition/distribution of library materials, licensing class/exams, organizing events like foxhunts (inter-school competitions?). A single (if practicable) contact point for the
state identified to appropriate authorities by letter (e.g. scout
councils, school district curriculum and extra curricular advisors, etc) who could then put the inquiring party in touch with a suitable
mentor."
WOW! Yet ANOTHER fantastic idea! It would've been presumptuous to
have tried to add these extra responsibilities onto David, whose main interest is in promoting amateur radio through Scouting, which is already a big enough undertaking. (He might've headed for the
hills!) But having another assistant, with a focus on schools and the
other items as described by Ron would be fabulous. Doggone it, I
couldn't coerce Ron into filling this position himself, but it is definitely a position that is more than worthy of being filled. So, do we have
any takers.... anybody out there who'd be interested in taking on this task? Since Georgia is such a large section, we could even work towards coordinating a team to spread the task out regionally, with one
person overseeing and guiding the program. Please let me know if you have
any interest in leading, and/or in participating in this undertaking.
So far, I've heard from a number of individuals who have sent toys
to Florida in support of the ARRL Holiday Toy Drive, and from one
club, the Cherokee Capital ARC, who are supporting the drive with a
generous check, (See the challenge issued by club president FELTON FLOYD,
AF4DN, under "Club News") but nothing so far on any PR efforts,
or large scale efforts being made. If any of you are hosting a toy drop for contributions, please let me know. Some folks are inquiring as to whether or not there are any "pooled efforts" going on
in which they can participate. If not, they'll mail their toys off on their own,
but please let me know, so I can spread the word. Thanks a lot.
Have you sent in your ballot for the SE Vice Director race yet?
I've heard that a couple of GA hams haven't even received their ballots
yet. Not good, as the end of voting is fast approaching. Please let me
know (as well as SANDY DONAHUE, W4RU) if you have NOT received your
ballot. Can't have that! (No hanging chads allowed!!!!! RU4UR?)
OK, enough prattle. (i.e. Let me move on to prattle on about OTHER stuff....) Let's get on with it, and see what's been happening,
and what's coming up right around the corner...
Once again, most of the one-liner "You might be a ham..."
offerings came from JOE DOMALESKI, KI4ASK. (Thanks, Joe!)
If you track sunspot numbers more than stock quotes.... you might
be a ham.
=========> OCTOBER HIGHLIGHTS
AUGUSTA HAMFEST- October 9--- It's always a pleasure to
meet with the many hams from the Augusta area, some of whom we only get to see
at this annual event, like AL "SPARKY" MENGES, KF4NXL, one
of my favorite email buddies. This year, we had the added bonus of breaking bread on
Friday night at Sconyers, a famous local BBQ joint, with DON "ANDY"
ANDERSON, K4PSW, and SE Director FRANK BUTLER, W4RH. I'm not kidding about
the "famous" part.... there's a framed letter from PRESIDENT
JIMMY CARTER hanging on the restaurant wall, in which he thanked them for
providing such great food for an event at the White House. It's one of those
kinds of places that could definitely contribute to an expanding
waistline, with their heaping plates of food. (including hash, made from the previous day's BBQ, piled on top of a virtual mountain of rice)
The hamfest, as always, was enjoyable, though many of the indoor vendors were "no shows", which was a big disappointment to the
club members who'd worked so hard to put the fest together for our enjoyment. Nonetheless, the boneyard was good, there were lots of MARS
members in attendance, which made for a good meeting and discussion, and
everyone seemed to have a good time. With our favorite Director of Vice,
SANDY DONAHUE, W4RU, in attendance, conversation remained lively at the
ARRL table. Thanks to the members of the ARC of Augusta for hosting
this event... we'll definitely be back next year.
AL BROCK MEMORIAL HAMFEST- October 16--- Former Northwest
Georgia ARC president AL BROCK, KF4NYI, may be an SK, but his warm spirit
lives on in this second annual hamfest dedicated in his memory. His lovely
lady VIRGINIA BROCK, KF4NYH, continued to brighten up the Rome Civic
Center with her bright smile and infectious laughter, and she had even
more reason to smile this year, with the presence of her beautiful new
great granddaughter, LAUREN PAIGE, who was greeted with all kinds of oohs and ahs. My better half, MIKE, K4HBI, and I had some "interesting" experiences this year with our... OK, OK.... with MY.... choice of hotel. I'm.... frugal.... and we generally stay at bare bones kinda places when we travel around to hamfests and various meetings for
the ARRL. The place we stayed last year had gone up in price by ten
dollars (horrors!) so I was determined to find a less expensive place to
stay this year. Mike was less than enthusiastic when we drove into the parking lot of my "find", and immediately declared it to be a "dump". (Now, ya can't always judge a book by its cover!) There was some confusion over our reservation, and then when we were finally
issued our keys, the room didn't match up with the king sized room which
I'd reserved and for which we had a confirmation number. The
proprietor was less than thrilled, but we ended up being on the receiving end of
keys to the "Presidential Suite". (for no additional charge,
of course!) Pretty cool, huh? Well, the room.... er, suite.... may have really
been nice at one time, but that time, unfortunately, is loooong gone.
There was a huge jacuzzi tub. Really pretty, with mirrors all around it. Didn't work. Wasn't even hooked up, but THAT was no problem for my "improvise, adapt, and overcome" hubby. He conducted a
little "operation" on the tub, and in no time at all, we were relaxing in the deep hot water.(We were quite amused at the thought of the
confused maid, who'd find herself cleaning a bathtub ring in the "broken" tub...) Needless to say, for sure, we won't be staying at that
location next year, but we sure got a lot of laughs from it this year. (If he
called it a "dump" once, he called it a "dump".....
well, you get the idea. And I guess, sometimes, you CAN judge a book by its cover...) But
also to
be sure, we plan to be back at the hamfest again next year. Always enjoyable. And we do appreciate the invitation to join some of the
club members at the Red Lobster, where, I understand, they seriously
put a dent in the shrimp population, but we were busy sharing laughs in
the Presidential Suite....
If you have more operating certificates on the wall than pictures
of
the family.... you might be a ham. De ALFRED WESTBROOK, KT4VP
CLUB NEWS
ALBANY ARC--- Classes sponsored by this club resulted in a number
of
new hams in the area. Congratulations to the club for holding such
a successful class and to the following new hams, who benefited from those classes: Ernest Nelson from Albany, Ron White from Albany,
Carey Dawn York from Americus, Gordon Van DerGriff from Americus, Sherry
Kelly from Americus, Willene Halstead from Americus, Allan Russell from
Leesburg, Mike Pinson from Leesburg, Rick Dooling from Parrott, Vern &Vivian Carter from Sylvester and Terry Holt from Sylvester.
ALFORD MEMORIAL ARC--- CONGRATULATIONS to the newly elected slate
of officers for 2005: President: ROBERT TYLER, KF4VBR; VP- KARL
PHILLIPS, K4GZZ; Treasurer- WES SCOFIELD, W4SCO; and Secretary- BOBBY MCGRAW, KG4RBL. Best wishes on leading this terrific club into another
successful year.
ATHENS ARC--- Members of this club have long been active in
providing communications for various runs, biking events, skating events,
you name it, on top of working at all of the UGA home football games.
(It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it!) Recently, ED ROLLOR,
N4ZRA, and TIM BERRYMAN, of AMRC EMS, presented a program for a club meeting, describing "What goes on radio-wise at UGA football".
Club members have been aiding this effort for 26 years (since 1978). The extent of
the emergency services for nearly 100,000 persons was presented.
Reporting of ARC activity at each game is reported to the Red Cross, the Strategic National Stockpile Communication Committee Dist. 10,
Chief Gully Clark Count Emergency Coordinator, the Georgia ARES, the Oconee county
EMC, and the GA State Emergency Preparedness Committee. (And YOU
thought they were just "watching football....")
CHEROKEE CAPITAL ARC--- As I mentioned in the news brief recently
about the toy drive for the kids in Florida, this club, which isn't a
real big club,(but has members with real big hearts) responded quickly by sending a generous check to Florida, along with their QSL cards.
Club president, FELTON FLOYD, AF4DN, thanked me for the kudos, and issued a CHALLENGE. He wrote, "Send this to all the Affiliated Clubs. We the
Cherokee Capital Amateur Radio Society of Calhoun, GA issue a challenge to
all Affiliated Clubs in the Georgia Section to step up as we have done
and donate to this worthy cause. We met the challenges with our time, skills, and radios now lets meet the challenge with our hearts and checkbooks."
ELLIJAY ARS--- At this group's November 4 meeting, DEC FELTON
FLOYD, AF4DN, will present a program on ARES. Club members recently had
fun with the ten-day operation of a Special Event Station, in
conjunction with the Georgia Apple Festival, so there's sure to be some
discussion of experiences during that fun event at the meeting, as well. FLINT ARC--- This club, which re-activated and re-affiliated with
the ARRL just a few months ago, is off to a robust new start. These
folks meet in the Americus area, and club member (and local EC) MAX
MILLER, N4IFO, sent the URL for their new website. Check it out! With some really interesting "trivia" about amateur radio on their
page, and some humor regarding "How to Be a LID" and 'You Might Be a
Lid....", this site has real personality and is an interesting spot to visit. www.k4far.org
GWINNETT ARS--- The October meeting featured the annual report
from Venture Crew 73, which recently celebrated its fifth birthday, and
has been sponsored by GARS since its onset. This is a co-ed group,
under BSA, for ages 14-21, and these young people are involved in many
high adventure activities throughout the year, and have a strong
interest in amateur radio. Many of them... in fact, MOST of them... have their
ham license, and they're enthusiastic participants in GARS' Field Day
every year. Adult leader LARRY FLOREA, KG4PYS, commented that a couple
of the Crew members would be turning 21 next year, and were bummed out
that they could no longer be members, as per the rules. He told them
they could continue as adult leaders, which cheered them up
considerably. He chuckled, "We can't get RID of 'em!" Sounds to me that
they must be doing something right. It's a terrific group. For more info about
them and what they do, see their website at http://scoutweb.home.mindspring.com/Crew/crew_73.htm (or simply
use their link on the GARS www.gars.org site) GARS club members, along
with members of Gwinnett ARES, returned to Berkeley Lake Elementary
School on October 21 to participate in the school's Science Night for the
second year and enlightened the youngsters, as well as parents and
teachers, on various aspects of amateur radio. Word has it that a good time
was had by all.
SOUTH CARS--- Is it a CLUB or is it a NET? YES! It's BOTH! Net
Manager JOHN BOSTIC, WB4GOV, reported that these fine folks will be
holding their annual luncheon at the Florida Buffet, in Lake City, FL, on January 15th. Simply checking into this net, which runs 365 days a year, from 8-10 AM and from noon- 2PM, on 7.251 MHz, makes you a member, and the friendly folks you'll meet there will keep you coming back for
more. Here's an opportunity to meet a bunch of these fine folks
face-to-face, and John says that ALL are welcome. For more info, see
www.southcars.com
SE DX CLUB--- The October program, presented by STAN CLAY, was on
the life and times of NICOLA TESLA, who, believe it or not, held the
first US patent for the very first device using wireless remote control.
He was definitely a man of vision, years and years ahead of his
times. Coming up in November will be another interesting program, on Low Band DXing, presented by KEN BYERS, K4TEA. Club president WES LAMBOLEY, W3WL, will be an eager participant in a March, 2005, DXpedition to
Kerguelen, sponsored by the Northern California DX Foundation. Also, fast approaching is the much-anticipated DXpedition to Peter I, 3YØX, kicking off in January. One of the organizers and participants of this upcoming adventure is the club's own BOB ALLPHIN, K4UEE, and the club
presented him with a generous check at the October meeting, in support of
what will be an ambitious and costly experience for the participants.
If you or your club would like to support this DXpedition to this
ice-filled locale, you can send your check to K4UEE, made payable to DX Expeditions, LLC. For more info, see www.peterone.com
STATESBORO ARS--- The 43rd annual Kiwanis-Ogeechee Fair was in
held in Statesboro the week of October 4 through October 9, and club
members once again manned a display table in the main exhibit hall to
promote and demonstrate amateur radio to interested fair goers. At the October meeting, club president STAN YARBER, W4HXW, presented a program on
his 40 years of experience in the changing field of telecommunications
and the technologies that he's seen come....and go. Turned out to be
such an interesting topic, that the program will continue with Part II
at an upcoming meeting.
THOMASVILLE ARC--- Coming up on November 6, club members will be providing communications for the Spaghetti 100 race, (runners must
load up on carbs, huh?) and the following week, on the 13th, my better
half and I hope to join them at their famous annual fish fry, before
heading to the EMAG conference.
VALDOSTA ARC--- This club recently began using their local
repeater (146.760-) to conduct 5 WPM code practice sessions on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 8PM, which isn't all that unusual. What IS
unusual is that they have connected their repeater to Echolink, expanding
the possibilities of participation to folks way beyond the usual reach
of that repeater. So, anyone who's looking for some help in learning
or refreshing their code ability can connect to KD5BNS Node 200399
and join in with these folks, with a pad and sharpened pencil at the
ready.
CLUB COMMISSIONS FOR RENEWALS ARE BACK
This welcome news
comes to us from STEVE EWALD, WV1X:
Affiliated Clubs will soon receive an announcement that ARRL has reinstated commissions to clubs that administer ARRL membership renewals. For the past couple of years, clubs have earned $15 commissions for NEW memberships, only. Effective immediately,
clubs will also earn $2 for each RENEWAL they turn in. The program applies to regular and senior membership dues.
Many clubs have expressed a desire to see the Club Commission
Membership Recruitment Program return to the way it was in "the
good old days". Way back then, in addition to clubs receiving a commission for
every new membership submission, a commission was also granted to clubs submitting renewals for existing members. Under the terms of the
revamped program, clubs can still retain a $15 commission for each new or lapsed
(over 2 years) membership they submit, but in addition, they can retain a
$2 commission for every renewal they send in. This is a great
opportunity for clubs that are seeking new ways to increase their treasuries.
We're also hopeful that clubs will handle more new memberships as a
result of administering more and more renewals.
The Sales &Marketing Department has prepared new program
details,
forms, and recruitment tips. Details can be found on the web: ARRL
Club Commission Membership Recruitment Program <http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/club/forms/club-commission-program.html>
If you've got at least one broken Heathkit receiver stored under
your bed... you might be a ham.
ARES NEWS
---> These THANKS went out to members of COWETA ARES from DAVE
FULLER, K4DMF, regarding the terrific job they did providing
communications support for a recent BRAG event:
"On behalf of BRAG and the 603 riders who participated in
Georgia Bike Fest 2004, thank you and thanks to the entire Coweta ARES group
for your participation as Communicators and SAG drivers. Your
participation certainly made the ride safer and allowed it to proceed smoothly.
I tried to shake hands with everyone who participated and thank them
in person, but I may have left someone out. Please thank everyone
again for me. The entire weekend was well planned, organized, and executed.
After you analyze last weekend's performance, I'm certain that you will find
much that went right and little that went wrong. I thought that it was
a great idea to use pennies taped with numbers for marking the position of the SAGs on the maps. Perhaps next year we could have increased
use of APRS to track SAGs and less use of the repeater for routine
position reporting. I was very pleased that your repeater was the only one required and we did not have to go to simplex or another repeater. George and others suggested that the traditional BRAG simplex frequency 144.950 needs to be changed as it is currently in conflict with
SERA guidelines. We will do this before our next event.
Your group is truly a first class organization that has set a very
high standard. Once again, thank you and thanks to the entire Coweta
ARES group for a superb job well done by a group of trained and
dedicated professionals.
----> FAYETTE--- AEC LYNN BIANCO, KN4YZ, and his team wrote a
proposal and received a grant to install radio equipment and establish the 146.685 repeater at Fayette County Hospital, enabling them to
establish emergency communications capabilities at the hospital. The Trust
Board representative announced, "The Coweta-Fayette Trust Board
that administers the funds of the Operation Round-Up program, approved
an award of $6100 for the Fayette County Repeater Associaiton, Inc,
and Fayette County Amateur radio Emergency Service to pay for various necessary items for a remote base and auto patch capabilities at
the Fayette Community Hospital." So, CONGRATULATIONS to everyone
involved in these efforts. Kudos!
-----> FAYETTE--- (uh-huh, they get TWO mentions this month!)I
just got word that WADE MASSENGILL, KU4OJ, has decided to step down as EC
of Fayette, after serving in that position for just over two years.
Thank you, Wade, for all you've done to serve the group and your
community. But Wade's not "going away", no sir, as he has agreed to
stay on as an AEC, and as project manager for the 685 repeater that will be
going up at Fayette County Hospital. Advancing into the EC position is DAVE BENOIST, AG4ZR, who has been ably serving as one of Wade's AECs.
Thanks to both of these guys, and congratulations to Fayette county ARES
for your recent successes.
----> GWINNETT--- These folks,
under the leadership of EC STAN EDWARDS, WA4DYD, held a particularly meaningful
SET on October 2, in support of the East Metro Health District, with whom an MOU
was signed earlier this year. Working in conjunction with members of ROCKDALE
ARES, under EC TIM ROSING, KC4ELV, and NEWTON ARES, under EC CARL WULFESTIEG,
AG4LS, participants were dispatched to the EOC, the East Metro District offices,
all local hospitals and eight schools. The Gwinnett ARES communications trailer
was also deployed to the fairgrounds in this wide-ranging and ambitious
exercise. To provide a better understanding of why the exercise was conducted as
it was, ALISON CAIN, Emergency Preparedness Specialist for the East Metro Health
District, provided an interesting program at the October 26th Gwinnett ARES
meeting on the Strategic National Stockpile. (SNS) Members from Rockdale and
Newton counties also attended, and everyone in attendance had a much better
appreciation of the MOU, and of the role they would play in the event of a
biomedical disaster in the area.
If you have ever opened your QSL cards before opening your IRS
refund check.... you might be a ham.
SKYWARN RECOGNITION DAY
By David Floyd - N5DBZ
Warning Coordination Meteorologist
NWS Goodland, KS
david.l.floyd@noaa.gov
The sixth annual SKYWARN
Recognition Day (SRD) special event will take place Saturday, December 4, 2004.
SKYWARN Recognition Day, co-sponsored by the American Radio Relay League and the
National Weather Service, pays tribute to Amateur Radio operators for the vital
public service they perform. During the 24-hour event, Amateur Radio operators
visit their local National Weather Service (NWS) office and work as a team to
contact other hams across the world.
"Ham radio operators are a tremendous resource for the National Weather
Service", says Scott Mentzer (N0QE), organizer of the event and
Meteorologist-In-Charge at the NWS office in Goodland, Kansas. "The dedication
these amateurs have shown is inspirational, and their assistance during the year
is invaluable".
Ham radio operators have an
unrelenting desire to serve others in time of need, and they are usually in it
for the long haul. When the eyewall of hurricane Charley moved over Florida in
mid-August, radio amateurs provided the Melbourne NWS office with initial damage
reports. Operators remained on duty for 36 hours during hurricanes Frances and
Jeanne, a unique contribution considering they could have been home with their
families. Last year, Montana hams felt so compelled to participate in the 2003
SRD event that they drove 100 miles to Glasgow through snow and ice.
Amateurs themselves may not fully appreciate just how they assist the NWS. For
example, direct communication between mobile spotters and the LaCrosse,
Wisconsin, office during a tornado event provided vital information needed to
warn the public with higher confidence. In Illinois, effective spotter
communication during an F3 tornado resulted in strongly worded statements
conveying a much greater sense of urgency. The result was greater public
response. In May, spotters tracked a tornado passing within miles of the
Indianapolis 500 race where 100,000 people were in attendance. Their detailed
reports allowed NWS forecasters to keep race officials informed.
Hams are also busy when the weather is quiet. Dedicated amateurs in North Dakota
and Minnesota have assembled a "superlink" repeater/digipeater system making it
possible for the local NWS office in Grand Forks to track spotters, and receive
spotter reports beneath more distant storms. During Alaska's worst wildfire
season on record, hams relayed locations of dense smoke to the Fairbanks office,
providing crucial local wind information to forecasters and firefighters.
SKYWARN Recognition Day will be held from 0000 UTC to 2400 UTC on December 4th.
Last year, participants logged nearly 19,000 QSOs during the 24 hour event. To
learn more, check out the web site: http://hamradio.noaa.gov.
If you have ever activated your neighbor's alarm system from
within
your shack.... you might be a ham.
ARRL DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS STUDY (DCTI)
This, from ARRL HQ: The ARRL Ad-Hoc
Committee on ARES Communications (ARESCOM) is seeking your assistance to
document what digital communications systems are in use today on the VHF and UHF
bands. While the majority of digital communications is overwhelmingly packet
radio, there are many different packet systems in use, and they are
interconnected using many different methods. Continuing the Board of Directors'
resolution for deployment of e-mail via Amateur Radio (as exemplified by Winlink
2000), the purpose of this initiative is to gather input on existing systems.
The goal of this phase is to gather information on existing packet systems. We
are seeking input from packet System Administrators, not individual users, as we
need information on how the packet nodes are linked and what connectivity
methods the packet systems use with systems outside their coverage area.
We are seeking input as soon as possible. Data collection will end December 31,
2004.
What we are looking for is detailed information on current packet
infrastructure. It is completely appropriate for one person to respond on behalf
of several System Operators if they all agree to that course of action. We
simply ask that the names and call signs of all involved be listed.
To participate please download the form found online at http://www.arrl.org/digtest/TestSurvey.pdf
or at http://www.arrl.org/digtest/TestSurvey.doc. Use it by recording all
applicable information and submit these either online to dcti@arrl.org or
through the US postal service to:
ARRL HQ
ATTN: DCTI Study
225 Main Street
Newington, CT 06111
To share questions, comments, input
and ideas, please subscribe to the DCTI Reflector at DCTI-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
As always, your help with this and all ARRL programs is sincerely appreciated.
73, The ARRL Ad-Hoc Committee on ARES Communications (ARESCOM)
If you have a set of bookends made from old vacuum tubes.... you
might be a ham.
HELP WANTED
This call for help comes to us from
DAVID ZISKIND, KE4QLH, communications director for these upcoming events:
The Atlanta Marathon and Half Marathon is quickly approaching - Thanksgiving Day
(Thursday November 25), and I am looking for ham radio volunteers! General
information on the Marathon is available at http://www.atlantatrackclub.org/at03000.htm.
As usual, ham radio is the communications backbone for this event, and your
participation is crucial to its success! Please let me know if you are able to
help out. Please feel free to pass this along to club members or others you
think might be interested. You can contact David at
ke4qlh@arrl.net
If the Radio Shack salesman refers
customer questions to you.... you might be a ham.
OTTINGS ON JOTA
To all of you who participated in
this year's Jamboree On The Air activities, heartfelt thanks. JOTA provides a
unique opportunity every year to concentrate efforts at getting Scouts on the
air with other Scouts, and hopefully, with getting them interested in the hobby
and seriously infected with the radio bug. If you haven't already done so,
please take the time to fill out the brief report form on your JOTA activity at
http://www.arrl.org/ead/jotalog/
I heard from a few of you after the event, and here's some of the feedback:
TOM MADIGAN, K4TDM, who headed up the activities at Bert Adams Scout Reservation
in Covington, with the help of three able operators, KEN HOLLIDAY, WA4DYY, BILL
MILS, KC4AA, and DAVID PEARCE, ABØNG, managed to get 120 Scouts through their
"ten minutes on the air" requirement for their Radio Merit Badges. Tom's better
half, HENRI MADIGAN, KG4ZGT, took care of the equally important teaching of the
classroom part of the requirements. Though Tom would have like to have had more
volunteers on hand to show the Scouts some of the many modes of operation, he
says that the day was a great success.
KEVIN SCOTT, K4GTR, is the Cubmaster of Pack 518 in Suwannee, He wrote, "Our
pack went camping this past weekend (in fact, we always go camping on the same
weekend as JOTA each year). I brought my rig and a couple of antennas to
introduce the boys to ham radio. They got to do a lot of listening (heard a
scout troop in Whitehorse, Yukon) but someone always had a louder signal than
mine so I didn't make as many contacts as I would have liked. We were at NW GA
Council's Camp Rotary on Hartwell Lake. The pavilion at the camp has electricity
and a big tin roof. Since I had my tuner with me I decided to try to load up the
roof and it tuned up great on all bands from 75 and up...."
Nine members of the Columbus ARC worked with fourteen boys from Troop 98, and
helped them get their Radio Merit Badges. BURCH CAMERON, W4WY, TED LEATHERLAND,
W4DUF, DAVID ROBERTS, W4TEE, JOE OWEN, KO4RR, WESLEY STRICKLAND, K4WWS, MARC
POPE, WX4MAP, VIC BURNS, K4VIC, MIKE EDWARDS, KM4NV, and JOHN WINGARD, WB4GLJ,
used the club's emergency trailer and 2 HF and VHF stations. They camped out
with over two dozen Scouts and their leaders. Burch said, "The Scouts who didn't
get their Radio Merit Badge had already earned them last year at the JOTA
weekend."
If you have ever sketched an electrical diagram while in a
business meeting... you might be a ham.
ARES REPORT FROM MIKE BOATRIGHT, KO4WX, SEC
1 Jurisdictions Reporting 51
2 Total # of ARES Members 863
3 Change since last month 37
4 Total Net Sessions 189
5 Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month 132
6 Man hours 1046.7
7 Number of public service events this month 13
8 Man hours 413.8
9 Number of emergency operations this month 83
10 Man hours 2270.5
11 Total number of ARES operations this month 414
12 Man hours 4559.5
Section EC Notes
SKYWARN/ARES activations and support for Hurricanes
Charlie/Frances/Ivan/Jeanne
23 Georgia counties designated for FEMA aid from Frances
26 Georgia counties designated for FEMA aid from Ivan
THANK YOU FOR THE FOLLOWING REPORTS:
DECs: Southwest District-K4PHE; GEMA-KG4FXG; NWS-KG4PZI
DISTRICT 1: Bartow-KG4SRX; Carroll-K4DEY; Coweta-KD4SHK;
Floyd-WB4FGM; Gordon- WQ4T; Haralson-KD4YDA; Murray-KG4RSU; Pickens-K4BEH
DISTRICT 2: Barrow-K4JSR; Clarke-N4ZRA; Forsyth-WA4NEE;
Hall-KT4VP; Heard-KE4OBM; Madison-N4ZRA; Oglethorpe-N2YYP; DISTRICT 3: Clayton-WB4WQE; Cobb-WK4E; Dekalb-N4SEG;
Gwinnett-WA4DYD;
Newton-AG4L; Paulding-W4JFL; Rockdale-KC4ELV; South Fulton-W4ZT
DISTRICT 5: Baldwin-KD4NGC; Houston-WB4EEL; Peach-AA4JF;
Pike-N4EVR
DISTRICT 6: Jefferson-KR4JI; Washington-K4GK;
DISTRICT 7: Baker-K4GCR; Berrien-KI4BSB; Calhoun-W4KEF; Dougherty-N4GPJ; Lowndes-KO4QJ; Macon-N4IFO; Mitchell-N4GPJ; Randolph-W4KEF; Sumter-KE4VPD; Tift-KE4RJI; Worth-K1KBA
DISTRICT 8: Brantley-KE4WXD;
Bulloch-KF4MLT; Camden-N4TIS; Charlton-WB4GPR; Dodge-KG4WQZ; Evans-W4HYU;
Lee-KB4OMV; Wayne-N4RRO
Comments GEMA KG4FXG, Bill Carter - 192.00 HOURS FOR FRANCIS 40 HOURS WORKING ON
MANUAL 10 HOURS SPENT SCHEDULING FOR THE SOC Brantley, KE4WXD, Bruce Davis -
Hours working with EMA getting ready for Hurricanes
Wayne, N4RRO - Wilma Cote - Hours working with EMA getting ready for Hurricanes
Newton, AG4L - Carl Wulfestieg - Arranged NWS Severe Storm Spotter training for
25 Amateur Radio Operators and 59 Newton County First Responders. Coordinated
training with Newton County Emergency Management Agency.
Sumter, KE4VPD - George Young - Hurricanes kept us busy this month, not to
mention Awareness Day....
Paulding, W4JFL - Sean Sparks - Meetings were held with the Paulding Dept of
Public Safety to discuss the existing ARES relationship with the County EMA and
ways to expand and better utilize the group. The County has agreed to fund new
equipment to be placed in the EOC all the way from VHF/UHF, HF, Packet, HF
antenna, etc. to upgrade the equipment currently being used. We are hoping that
this equipment will arrive within the next 2 weeks or so. Training for all ARES
members that will have access to this equipment will then be setup and manuals
will be placed at the EOC with needed instructions for quick reference. The EMA
also suggested some training courses that they might like members to sit in on.
We will find out more about these at a later date. The repeater move is in line
and once completed, local ARES nets will resume.
Southwest DEC, K4PHE - Bob Smith - SW GA ARES members stepped up to the plate:
All I can say is THANK YOU to all of the ARES members that spent long hours in
support of the Red Cross, Skywarn and Public Safety. We had as many as 47
members from around SW GA at various times check into the ARES/Skywarn Nets
during their activation periods. We had members from 19 out of the 34 SW GA
counties participate actively or on stand-by. We had several members giving live
reports of tornadoes they were seeing. For instance, David KI4FAN actually
watched a tornado travel through downtown Blakely and reported its travel to our
Skywarn Net. John KE4RWR gave us spotting reports of tornado activity as he
traveled through some of the SW GA counties. There were many more reports but
this just shows how much support we had from our members. We were very fortunate
here in the Albany area not to be severely affected by any of the hurricanes
that traveled through our state. We must keep those families in Florida and
other states in our thoughts and prayers. It is unbelievable what these families
are having to endure.
Cobb, WK4E - Terry A. Gibbs - 2 members of the Cobb ARES group, Paul Cobb,
KD4CDE, and Jim Jett, KC6ETU, volunteered to deploy to Florida to support
Amateur Radio efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Frances. Paul and Jim manned
the amateur stations at the Volusia County, Florida Emergency Operations Center
Dekalb, N4SEG - Steve Garrison - DeKalb ARES was asked for the first time to
assist the DeKalb EMA Office during the bad weather that was a result of
Hurricane Ivan. During this time DeKalb ARES maintained a 2 meter station at the
DeKalb EOC and held hourly situation report nets. Dekalb ARES members also
helped in the staffing of the GEMA SOC; the time allotments for those
individuals will be included in the GEMA report.
National Weather Svc. ADEC, KG4PZI - David Homan - On Aug 20th, severe storms in
North and Middle GA prompted the NWS to ask for help from the Skywarn/ARES
folks. The event lasted 5.5 hours. Three people participated. They worked approx
4, 3 and 2 hrs each. Seven people participated at the NWS Office in Peachtree
City, GA, the day IVAN came through Georgia in mid-Sept., assisting the NWS with
severe thunderstorms and a Tornado in Woolsey, GA. The longest hours worked by
one individual, Lynn Bianco, KN4YZ, was 5 hrs 15 mins. The remaining six worked
2 to 4 hours each.
Randolph/Calhoun, W4KEF - Ken Fields - Was not needed in Randolph or Calhoun,
but did work in Albany at the Red Cross.
Pickens K4BEH - Pat Haynes - Time spent by local ARES operators in standby
and/or message handling from hurricanes ten. Additional five hours on ARES nets.
Tift, KE4RJI - Paul Boyd - Joined in with SW GA ARES net during hurricanes
Gwinnett, WA4DYD - Stan Edwards - Hurricane Frances - 23 participants for 99
hours. After discussion with Bill Carter, DEC for GEMA, Gwinnett agreed to
support the State Operations Center with a Response Team as a secondary
assignment to Gwinnett County requirements. As a result, eight additional
members of Gwinnett ARES have received credentials from GEMA. With one off site
person that provided support, a total of 9 individuals provided 48.5 hours of
support for the SOC including the time for team members to come to the SOC to
obtain credentials. On 9/7 Gwinnett ARES activated to provide damage assessment
support for the county. A station was dispatched to the Fire and Emergency
Services HQ to provide direct input of street signal outages and other items
identified. NCS was also requested to dispatch a mobile to check water levels of
Yellow River at several points as the monitoring systems was giving conflicting
information. Eighteen individuals provided 50.5 hours of support for the county.
A public service report was filed covering the Gwinnett activation and details
were provided to the DEC for GEMA for SOC support. Hurricane Ivan - 35
participants for 70 hours. The EC was notified of and attended a meeting of the
Gwinnett Co. EOC Steering Committee meeting the morning of 9/16 in anticipation
of the effects of Hurricane Ivan. Gwinnett Co. ARES activated at 1400L on 9/16
to provide SKYWARN input to the NWS linked repeater system via liaison. During
the evening drive time, damage reports were relayed to Gwinnett Co. Emergency
Management and to the Gwinnett Co. Police Dept. The net was suspended in the
evening when traffic died down after 3.5 hours of operation. It was reactivated
at 0600 on 9/17 to provide additional damage reports to the Gwinnett Co. Police
Dept. Hall, KT4VP - Alfred Westbrook - Weekly net at 8:00PM on 146.670-.
Houston, WB4EEL - John Louth - Called to Standby for Hurricanes. Not Activated .
Barrow, K4JSR - Cal Neff - A lot of listening and standing by. Fortunately
nothing happened in Barrow County.
Baker, K4GCR - Floyd Leon Perrett, Jr - Four hurricanes, had extra nets, drills,
and standing by for service needed on the bad weather we had. We were lucky it
wasn't as bad as expected.
Charlton, WB4GPR - Leo Miller - Took SKYWARN Basic and Advanced courses. Met
with EMA Director and Department heads and participated in planning for and
following progress of Hurricanes Frances,Ivan, and Jeanne. Provided
communications at shelter for Jeanne.
Coweta, KD4SHK - Sam Smith - No Public Service events this month, but did have 3
Severe Weather Nets.
Clayton, WB4WQE - Roy Baker - Two activation for ARES/Skywarn for Storms. Had
nets on Sept 3-4 and Sept 16th. The new Communication bus is in, all radios
should be in and operational by Jan 05. Members of CARES are starting on Oct 5
taking the Personal CERT training course. WE are already a Citizen Corps group
for Clayton. I will be talking to Henry this month. School program in Eagles
Landing middle School has a technology club that will have a ham radio training
program within its activities.
Oglethorpe, N2YYP - Jeff Fitzpatrick - This month has been a good real life test
for us with the tornadoes caused by Ivan. It has really woke us up to the need
and value of being prepared.
Madison, N4ZRA - Ed Rollor - The Madison County group has not responded well to
nets on Monday nights. I have incorporated them into the Clarke County ARES® Net
on Sundays at this time, but plan to try again on 147.300 + 123 on Tuesdays at
7:30 pm as soon as possible. Only 2 of their members are active in nets, public
service and emergency response.
Clarke, N4ZRA - Ed Rollor - Regular training net check-ins have increased now
that summer is over. Public service events have increased and will be high for
October also. The tornado damage in 2 nearby counties showed us a lot of areas
that need work. I need to follow through on contacting nearby ECs. I have
already been working with the EC of Morgan Co. and started working with Oconee
County RACES at the beginning of September. Also have been talking to EC in
Banks county. I need to contact all ECs in the East Georgia Chapter of the Red
Cross.
Camden, N4TIS - Charles Cooper - In addition to sending an operator to Daytona
for Floyd, we sent two operators to Charlton for shelter communication during
Jeanne.
Murray, KG4RSU - Cecil Clements - Weekly Nets being held-training during nets
Had one member complete EC01 &one sign up for EC01. Held open ARES meeting with
AF4DN-Felton as guest speaker to talk on disaster relief & GA BAPTIST Ham Group
at DARC monthly meeting. Have set up SKYWARN class for ARES, Murray & Whitfield
Co EMAs with NWS for end of OCT. Murray ARES was on standby alert for possible
activation for communications for Murray Red Cross for shelter comm. with
EOC-didn't have to be activated.
Haralson, KD4YDA - Jon Mitcham - Haralson County ARES was called in to the
Haralson County EOC on Thursday, Sept. 16. Haralson County ARES monitored the WX
traffic from WXPTC in Peachtree City. We provided the Haralson County EOC with
hydrological information.
Forsyth, WA4NEE - J. G. Adams, Jr - Emergency Weather net on 9/16/2004 Linked to
WX4PTC 5 reports sent to WX4PTC. Reported power lines down, flooding,
&obstructions to 911 center.
Lowndes, EC, KO4QJ - Wayne Brant - Big increase in members. ARES operations and
emergency operations were the same. Combined totals from all Hurricanes/
tropical storms, etc.
Mitchell, EC, N4GPJ - Arthur Shipley - 3 hurricane support events, 2 hams moving
out of area.
Dougherty, EC, N4GPJ - Arthur Shipley - 1 aircraft disaster drill, 3 hurricane
support events.
If you have ever used a sardine can for a project box.... you
might be a ham.
NET REPORT FROM JIM HANNA, AF4NS, STM
NET ACTIVITY:
+++NOTE- With the time change on the last weekend of October, the ARES® net will be moving to 5 PM local time, and the GA SSB Association net will be moving to 6:30 PM local. GA ARES®
-----> 3975 kHz 6PM summers; 5 PM winters QNI-483 QTC-0 Sessions-4 AA4P/NM
GBH: Georgia Baptist Hams -----> 3865
kHz 4PM Sundays QNI-61 QTC-0 Sessions-4 AA4P/NM
GSSB: Georgia Single Side Band Association -----> 3975 kHz 6:30PM winters;
7:30PM summers DAILY QNI-1171 QTC-11 Sessions-30 W1BPP/NM
GCN: Georgia Cracker Net ----->3995 kHz 7AM Monday-Saturday; 8AM Sundays
QNI-1230 QTC-13 Sessions-30 W4ZVX/NM
GTE: Georgia Traffic and Emergency Net ------>3983 kHz 7:15 PM DAILY QNI-1880
QTC-76 Sessions-30 NM/W9NXC
GTN: Georgia Traffic Net (SSB Cycle 2) ----->3987.5 kHz 1PM Monday-Saturday
QNI-190 QTC-1 Sessions-26 WU4C/NM
GTN: Georgia Traffic Handling Training Net (CW) ----->3702 kHz 9PM DAILY (slow
speed) QNI-96 QTC-10 QND-523 minutes Sessions-24 KG4FXG/NM
GSN: Georgia Section Net (CW Cycle 4) ----->3593 kHz 7PM and 10PM DAILY (medium
to high speed) QNI-387 QTC-175 QND-927 minutes Sessions-59 AF4NS/NM
*****NOTE: Don't forget the South CARS net, which meets every day from 8 AM
until 10 AM and again from noon until 2PM, on 7.251 MHz. A friendly, welcoming
group of folks. Especially great company while on the road. I understand that a
Trader's Net meets on this same frequency on Wednesday mornings at 10 AM.
***** Other GREAT nets: SE 6M SSB Net: Sundays at 9 PM on 50.145 MHz SE AM Net:
Tuesdays at 7:30 PM on 3885 kc (AM nets ALWAYS meet on kcs...)
PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL:
K4BEH 120
W9NXC 120
AF4NS 110
KG4FXG 94
WB4GGS 90
K4BG 90
K4WKT 90
K4FUM 90
WB4BIK 80
STATION ACTIVITY REPORTS:
Traffic handled (QTC):
WB4GGS 672***
AF4NS 231
K4FUM 155
K4BEH 86
W9NXC 46
K4WKT 45
K4BG 41
WB4BIK 30
K4ZC 21
KG4FXG 20
N4UJ 13
K4EV 11
KR4JI 6
KG4WBH 5
***CONGRATULATIONS to SID HUTCHINSON
for once again ditting and dah-ing his way to a BPL award, with 335 messages
sent, 336 received, and 1 delivered. +++ "In days of old, when ops were bold and
sideband not invented, the words were passed by pounding brass, and all were
quite contented." Anonymous +++ =========> LOW BAND NET It's no secret that as
the propagation starts to fizzle, hams begin to look more to the low bands. At
the November 23rd SE DX Club meeting, KEN BYERS, K4TEA, will be presenting a
program on low band DXing and antennas that can help get you started and provide
helpful hints. (www.sedxc.org) Then, in the beginning of December, (3rd-5th)
comes the ARRL 160M contest, where you can really cut your teeth, and now,
here's word that a 160M net is underway here in Georgia, as well, to give you
even more experience on this low band. JOE DOMALESKI, KI4ASK, writes:
"It's that time of the year again to string up more wire in your trees and join
us on our 160 meter net. Operating just above the AM broadcast band, the amateur
160 meter band spans from 1800-2000 KHz. It's technically not even a HF, it's a
MF...that's "Medium Frequency" - what did you think I meant?
Although the 160m net isn't run as a "formal net" per se, a bunch of us get
together on lsb, 1860 KHz ( +/- a few Kc depending on conditions). We meet
around 9pm (local) Tuesday through Friday evenings. All you need is a solid rig,
lots of wire, some power, and your favorite beverage.
Some recent "DX spots" on the 160m net last week: W4SN, WA4EPK, KN4JD, N4KIM,
KI4ASK, K4GSQ, KT4TA - just to name a few.
Are you worried that your antenna isn't long enough? Feed your antenna some
viagra by just alligator clipping more wire on the ends of your dipole - works
for me.
Also, don't forget the 10m "no threat" net on Monday nights @ 8pm(local) on
28.495 usb.
If you think HF/VHF/UHF is fun, you need to try MF! Hope to see you on Top Band
this week! 73 de Joe
If you see a metal coffee can, and think, "I can make a
orthogonal multi-mode antenna feed-horn from that...." you might be a
ham.
ODDS 'N' ENDS
+++ All you lovers of the ol'
boatanchors, check this out! This comes from PHIL NEIDLINGER, KA4KOE: websites
where you'll find, for your viewing pleasure, vintage WW II Hallicrafters film
on the BC-610, in two parts.
http://www.archive.org/movies/details-db.php?collection=prelinger&collectionid=07951a
for Part I, and
http://www.archive.org/movies/details-db.php?collection=prelinger&collectionid=07951b
for Part II. (Thanks, Phil!)
+++ On October 4th, the SERA Board voted to rescind its earlier decision
regarding the requirement of CTCSS or DCS receive and transmit tones on new FM
voice repeaters. That earlier requirement would have also mandated that existing
repeaters comply by instilling tones by July of 2006. When the new requirements
were announced earlier this year, it met with considerable opposition, so the
Board has decided to drop the controversial requirement. For now.
+++ Several hams, notably CHRIS HOFFMAN, K1KC, KEN MAY, KU4ZY, and BOB VARONE,
W4ETN, all reported that they'd seen a brief news minute on ABC that said that
Earthlink would be teaming up with Southern Company to allow people "to access
the Internet from their wall outlets". As of now, there's nothing listed on
www.gobpl.com to indicate that BPL has been launched here in Georgia, as yet,
but now that the FCC has given the green light, we'll have to keep our eyes
open. I couldn't find any additional information about any BPL actions on
websites for Earthlink, Southern Company, or Georgia Power. If you guys hear
anything definitive, please let me know.
+++ In another point of view, explaining why the utility companies may not be
all that psyched to jump on the BPL bandwagon, check out this article: http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2004/10/25/utilities_take_pass_on_offering_broadband/
+++ BILL CARTER, KG4FXG, has announced that there will be a GTN/GSN breakfast
gathering at the Golden Corral, at 2155 Riverside parkway, on Saturday, November
6, at 7:30 AM, prior to the Lawrenceville hamfest. He says to go through the
front doors and you'll find the designated tables on the far right in the
corner.
If you know the frequency of all the garage door openers in your neighborhood... you might be a ham.
SECTION NOTABLES
++ CONGRATULATIONS to WAYNE
FLICKINGER, W9BKJ, who was recently named as Georgia's new State MARS Director
for Air Force MARS. As a former Army MARS member who still participates in the
Army nets, we're looking forward to increased interoperability under Wayne's
watch.
++ BILL CHEREPY, WB4WTN, attended the Rotary Club of Snellville meeting on
October 12th and presented a program on Public Service and Emergency
Communications. Those folks, who probably knew next to nothing about amateur
radio before, know about it NOW! Great PR.
++ Hip, hip, Hooray! For JOHNNY WINGERS, WX4R, EMA director for Macon/Bibb, who
will be bestowed with a huge honor on November 12th, when he will be presented
with the Governor's Award for Public Safety. Johnny was pretty excited when he
told me about it, and rightly so, but he said that he'd felt honored to have
even been nominated for such an honor, and NEVER thought that he'd win it. Like
he says, with 159 counties, and 159 EMA offices, plus multiple others in public
safety.... I told him that he's obviously doing something right. And he is.
Congratulations, Johnny.
++ DAVE MITCHELL, N4XHJ, was voted as the "Mobile Station of the Month" for
October by South CARS. Way to go, Dave!
++ PHIL NEIDLINGER, KA4KOE, has written installment #15 of his Dead Electrical
Dude series, and you can read the latest, about Charles Proteus Steinmetz, at
http://www.eham.net/articles/9516 (And I wonder how many of you heard of him
before.... I must admit, I hadn't, but I found the article to be very
interesting.)
++ EDDIE FOUST, WD4JEM, wrote this about DARREN PRICE, AG4BF, who recently built
and launched his first amateur balloon from the Grayson area:
Darren Pierce AG4BF is hooked on amateur ballooning. After participating in a
couple of previous hunts for balloons launched from Huntsville, AL. Darren
decided that he wanted to be in the launching end of a project. Darren worked
over the past several months building up a vhf tracking beacon, APRS tracker,
parachute, weather balloon and other items needed for the project. After putting
together the various systems that needed to be tested and retested, Darren
hoisted up a line high in his backyard tree. He would then hoist up the payload
and test the cut down device, dropping the load to the ground, thus verifying
that his cutdown design would work properly if needed during the flight.
Darren's toddler age son supervised this testing progress to make sure it was
repeated several times and proved reliable. The next task was to pick the date.
Many dates were kicked around and finally October 9, 2004 was picked as flight
date. Work leading up to zero hour included follow up calls to the FAA,
monitoring wind forecasts to determine which direction the balloon would travel
and finding a good deal on a tank of helium. Fall would prove to be a good time
for the flight since winds would send the balloon eastward from the launch
location and away from Hartsfield's air traffic control area. October 9 arrived
bringing with it a touch of fall air in the morning and overcast skies. Darren
and a crew of excited volunteers arrived at the launch site to complete final
preparations. The transmitters were checked and rechecked. A second APRS tracker
payload was placed on the flight by Bill, WB8ELK to test the use of the newer
Garmin 18 GPS engine for use on high altitude flights. The balloon was filled
with helium and launch occurred about 10:23 local. Very quickly the balloon
passed into the cloud layer leaving the crew listening to the down link data and
excited that the balloon was rising into the stratosphere with all systems go.
The hunt was on. Tracking volunteers loaded up in vehicles and headed out to
follow the balloon northeastward along the flight. The flight followed Hwy 316
out into the Athens GA area. During the flight the balloon climbed to over
104,000 feet. Both APRS payloads performed perfectly. The much tested cutdown
device failed. The VHF tracking beacon failed. The parachute failed. The
payloads made a record descent of 103,000 feet in 17 minutes landing in some new
growth trees just north of Athens. Recovery crews hiked in and found the entire
package laying on the ground with both APRS trackers still transmitting data.
Darren's first flight was considered a success. All payloads were recovered. The
flight did not land in the middle of the Georgia vs Tenn. football game.
Everyone on the track and recovery team had fun. To quote our youngest tracker,
eleven year old Laura Hartledge, "that was too easy, when can we do this again."
Thanks to Darren for putting together a fun and educational balloon flight here
in Georgia. Thanks to Bill Brown WB8ELK for driving over in the middle of the
night to supervise the launch on one hour sleep to make sure we did it right.
Thanks to David, I still do not remember your call, for driving down from
Knoxville to help with the hunt. This was much nicer weather then the last one
we hunted in North Georgia, right David? Thanks to all the local hams and
non-hams for coming out assisting where they could and enjoying the hunt.
If you have a dog named Klystron.... you might be a ham.
PIGLETS (AKA YOUNG HAMS)
++ The Emergency Management
Association of Georgia (EMAG) conference will be held in St. Simons in November,
and that's where ANDREA HARTLAGE, KG4IUM, was slated to receive the EMAG's Jack
Hobbs Amateur Radio Award. Rather than miss school, she has written her
acceptance speech, which will be read at the conference, and she will actually
receive the plaque at the November Gwinnett ARES meeting. This award is very
meaningful. Jack Hobbs spent a lifetime in emergency management, served as a
coach, and was an amateur radio operator, who encouraged others to get licensed.
He recognized the value of amateur radio as a part of emergency preparedness and
response. Last year marked the first issuance of this meaningful award in his
memory, and that first year's recipient was JOHNNY WINGERS, WX4R, so Andrea is
in very good company. Again, congratulations, Andrea, for this great honor. To
be recognized by the people we seek to serve is an honor, indeed.
++ The Stone Mountain hamfest (AKA Lawrenceville) is fast approaching, November
6-7, and it sounds like there's lots of fun stuff planned for young hams and
young hams-to-be. As mentioned in last month's newsletter, there will be a Youth
Forum, a Youth Lounge, fox hunting, and geo-caching. Now, there's something
more! There will also be an HF station set up in that Youth Lounge, along with
the opportunity to have fun running the Special Event Station, W4Y ("Watch 4
Youth") And don't forget: FREE admission for ages 16 and under. +++
If you ever put up an antenna in a snow storm.... you might be a
ham.
TECH TIPS
+++ NEW DIGITAL MODE-- For those of
you who particularly enjoy playing with digital modes, there's a new one called
"Domino", described in the GARS newsletter as a "simple amateur radio mode for
keyboard QSOs" that "provides digital chat-mode operations on the HF bands,
using the well respected sound card technique". It is an "MFSK mode, sensitive,
immune to interference and ionospheric effects. Several new techniques-
interweaved multiple tone sets, incremental coding, and others- make domino easy
to use, easy to tune, and ideal for beginners." For more information, see
http://www.qsl.net/zl1bpu/MFSK/domino/
+++ How about DIGITAL VOICE?? - Some of you may remember the excitement about
the first digital voice contact that was made about a year or so ago. Now, YOU
have the opportunity to play with it. According to the November "WorldRadio"
magazine: "This is how it works: Speech is converted to digital data using a
low-bitrate vococoder analog to digital converter. The data is then transmitted
using a high-speed modem. At the receiving end the data is decoded to recover
the audio at the receiver. Although still in the development stages, there is
world-wide interest in digital voice, which can deliver very high
signal-to-noise ratios over medium-quality narrowband SSB channels. For those
who want to experiment, HamDream software can be downloaded free of charge from
the South African Radio League's website at http://www.sarl.org.za. Further
information on digital voice in Ham Radio is available on HB9TLK's website
www.qsl.net/hb9tlk.
+++ Some neat stuff from KARL PHLLIPS, K4GZZ. He sent me info on how to make the
character Ø to use in callsigns. I thought it was so cool that he sent me a
bunch more, which I'll share with you. Because I'm working in plain text, not
all of these translate well here, but try them:
If you hold the ALT and key (from the keypad, not the numbers over
the letters)
0216 you get Ø
0215 you get × (a times sign)
0174 you get ® (a registered trademark sign)
0178 you get ² (to the second power sign)
0188 you get 1/4 ( one fourth sign)
0189 you get 1/2 (one half sign)
0190 you get 3/4 (three quarters sign)
0247 you get ÷ (divided by sign)
0162 you get ¢ (cents sign)
0169 you get (c) (copyright sign)
0165 you get ¥ (sign for yen ?)
0177 you get ± (i guess this means "plus or
minus")
0179 you get ³ (to the third power sign)
0299 you get + (plus sign)
0298 you get * (star sign)
If you did the sound system for your senior prom..... you might be
a ham.
UPCOMING EVENTS
NOVEMBER 2--- ELECTION DAY
"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If
it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving,
subsidize it." RONALD REAGAN
NOVEMBER 6--- There will be numerous stations on the air to commemorate the 65th
anniversary of the US Coast Guard auxiliary. One such will be from Flowery
Branch, GA, W4B. 1400Z- 2200Z. 21.375, 14.275, 7.272. QSL KG4VIB
NOVEMBER 6-7--- Stone Mountain Hamfest- sponsored by the Alford Memorial ARC,
this is one you WON'T want to miss! LAST one in Georgia for the year, and one of
the LARGEST in the Southeast. Held at the Gwinnett county fairgrounds, on
Sugarloaf Parkway, in Lawrenceville, this one hosts a huge tailgating area, and
a host of indoor vendors. VE testing both days. LOTS of activities planned for
our young people. (Under 16: FREE admission) RICK LINDQUIST, N1RL, of the ARRL,
will be in attendance to present the coveted Hiram Percy Maxim award to ANDREA
HARTLAGE, KG4IUM. Come to the ARRL forum to see that, and to ask Rick your
questions about the latest goings-on at ARRL. For more info on this terrific
fest, see www.totr-radio.org
NOVEMBER 6-8--- ARRL Sweepstakes, CW. 2100Z Nov 6 to 0300Z Nov 8
NOVEMBER 11--- VETERANS DAY: Much appreciation and gratitude to all of our
veterans out there. Like it says on the Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C.,
"Freedom is Not Free" Thank you.
NOVEMBER 11-14--- Armed Forces Amateur Radio Net, KA9NLX, in honor of Veterans
Day. 1800Z Nov 11- 2200Z Nov 14. 21.375, 14.325, 7.283, 7.040 Certificate.
NOVEMBER 13--- Montgomery, AL Hamfest
NOVEMBER 20-22-- ARRL Sweepstakes, Phone. 2100Z Nov 20- 0300Z Nov 22
NOVEMBER 25--- HAPPY THANKSGIVING! "There's always a lot to be thankful for if
you look for it. For example, I'm sitting here thinking how nice it is that
wrinkles don't hurt..."
NOVEMBER 25--- Atlanta Marathon and Half-Marathon: Communicators needed. If you
can help, contact DAVID ZISKIND, KE4QLH, at ke4qlh@arrl.net
NOVEMBER 27-28--- 10-10 International contest
If you think towers are aesthetically pleasing.... you might be a
ham.
SILENT KEYS
JOHN COOPER, WD4EAP, Milledgeville
TOM FALLS, K4IKV, Newnan
DAVID LANIER, K4KFI, Macon
Heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of these fine
men. Well, folks, that's about it for now. Until next time, this is
AF4FO, signing clear. Take care of yourselves. And each other. 73, Susan
No trees were killed in the sending of this message. However, a
large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.
