The Georgia Section ARRL Web Site

Georgia Section On My Mind

December, 2003

Yipes! We're starting to run out of year here! Can you believe it??? Tell ya what, I'm going to try to take George Burns' advise this month. He said, "The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending and having the two as close together as possible." This isn't a sermon, but the principle remains the some: here's to a little less "verbosity" this month. An early Christmas gift, if you will.... Enjoy!

By the way, these one-liners on the Democrat vs. Republican point of view about the Holidays were taken from a newspaper clipping that I cut out of the AJC some years back. They were gathered from an internet posting, and were anonymous in nature. Hope they provide you with a smile or two.

Republicans say, "Merry Christmas!" Democrats say, "Happy Holidays!"

NOVEMBER HIGHLIGHTS

November 1-2---- Lawrenceville Hamfest--- WOW! What an outstanding event this year. These folks set out to be even bigger and better than before, and I'd say that they succeeded, big time. There was a concerted effort to reach out to young people this year, from the youth lounge, to the special event station, to the fox hunt, to the Youth Forum led by ANDREA HARTLAGE, KG4IUM, the ARRL's online Youth Editor. A three hour Radio Merit Badge class for Boy Scouts was also taught by TOM MADIGAN, K4TDM. Was the effort a success? You betcha!! Southeast District DEC JIM COTE, N4PJR, reported that his daughter CONNIE, N4CAC, had "such a blast" on Saturday at the Hamfest that she asked.... For the first time ever!... if they could go back again the next day! Hats off to the Alford Memorial ARC for going out of their way to make our young hams feel so welcome and appreciated. But the Hamfest wasn't just a success for the under-16 crowd, no siree. It was a happening, bustling place all weekend, with lots of smiles on the faces of hams and vendors alike. Congratulations to RANDY BASSETT, KR4NQ, longtime Hamfest chairman, and to his whole army of workers for another stellar Hamfest. These folks know what it takes to add those special touches that make a difference. And they follow through.

November 8--- Thomasville ARC annual Fish Fry and club meeting--- Some people might say that we took an awfully long drive just to eat a piece of fish, but it was worth every single mile. And not just to share in the huge spread of food, either. (50 pounds of fish! AND all kinds of fixings!) After having read this club's newsletter every month, and most especially the columns written by club president MIKE BROWN, KE4FGF, I thought I had a pretty good feel for the make-up of this group. I expected a close-knit family, and that's exactly what we found. When I commented on the family feeling of this group, one member, who actually lives in Tallahassee, FL, agreed wholeheartedly. He said that there are other clubs closer to his home, but the warmth of the Thomasville club makes it worth going the extra miles. Made up of a bunch of interesting and friendly individuals, the dynamics of this group is....... Dynamic! Thanks for the wonderful hospitality. (This ol' Baltimore gal even got to see how real Southerners make hush puppies!)

Democrats get even with the Republicans on their Christmas list by giving them fruitcakes. Republicans re-wrap them and give them to in-laws.

CLUB NEWS

ATLANTA ARC--- The program for the November meeting was presented by PETER IBELINGS, N4IP, on one of today's hot topics in radio technology, SDR, or Software Defined Radio. I was told by several people that it was an outstanding presentation... sorry we missed this one.

ATHENS ARC--- It seems that these industrious club members are providing communications for various runs and UGA football games more weekends than not. But some of them took a break from the "work" to break in their new club station/ contest station and managed to rack up in the neighborhood of 500,000 points in the CQ WW contest. (That's a very respectable "neighborhood"!) Set up originally as strictly an HF operation in a terrific location provided by Clarke county EC EDWIN FUQUA, N4VHA, it will soon be expanded to include VHF voice and data, a satellite system, and an additional HF data station. As BILL WILSON, KJ4EX, said, "WE don't have a lot of contesters in the group, but by operating contests (all types) you can really sharpen your operating skills, and have fun doing it." See the http://www.arrl-ga.org webpage to see some pictures of their set-up, and http://www.athensradioclub.org to see even more. Congratulations to the following recently elected officers: President- TIM PIAZZA, KG4GMS; VP- BOB HERRIN, KE4JLL; Treasurer- EDWIN FUQUA, N4VHA; and Secretary- PHIL KOEHLER, AF4TQ. Best wishes in leading your club through another successful year.

CHEROKEE ARS--- Elections were held recently to place a new team of officers at the helm for the new year ahead. Congratulations to President- KENNY CANNON, AI4BE; VP- FRANK DEAN, K4SJR; Secretary- MARKUS POWELL, AF4VS; and Treasurer- JAMES JAMES, KE4HMS. May you all have an enjoyable and successful year leading the club.

GWINNETT ARS--- DAVID ADCOCK, KA4KKF, seemed to really enjoy trying to stump folks at the November meeting with his updated version of an old TV program: "Name That.... Sound". He had a whole repertoire of many of the strange sounds you might run across while twisting your dials through the bands. Many digital modes were represented, along with some eerie "space sounds" recorded by experimenters, with a little bit of Star Wars weaponry sounds, just for fun.

MIDDLE GA RADIO ASSOCIATION--- Club members were recent participants in an Intergalactic Jamboree, sponsored by Boy Scout Troop 566, in which local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts competed in various games and an alien costume contest. Thanks to club members, who set up several radios and hands-on demonstrations, the Scouts learned that amateur radio can be pretty "out of this world", too. Coming back to Earth, the club hosted JIM RICHARDSON, GA Baptist Disaster Relief Coordinator, at its November meeting, and learned about the training and services offered by this stellar volunteer organization.

QCWA--- Peach State Chapter 49 will be meeting on December 6, at noon, at the Fire Mountain (formerly Ryan's) Restaurant, near the corner of Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and Holcomb Bridge Road, in Norcross. The Quarter Century Wireless Association is for hams who were first licensed at least 25 years ago, and its main purpose is fellowship. There will be a fun gift exchange (AKA "cleaning out the shack") and, taking a page from ANDY ANDERSON, K4PSW, and the Augusta Chapter 100, attendees are asked to bring a donation for the local Children's Shelter. For more information, see the group's webpage at http://www.mindspring.com/~w4gbu/qcwa.htm

SE DX CLUB--- JIM STREIBLE, K4DLI, gave a presentation in October on a software program called YT, for Yagi Terrain, which calculates the influence your surrounding terrain has on your particular antenna setup, important information for serious DXers and contesters. In November, the program was on the DXpedition to Pitcairn Island.

VALDOSTA ARC--- New officers are set to step into the leadership roles for this club, too. Best wishes go out to President- MARK TIDROW, KG4SZY; VP- CHRIS SCHROEDER, KGWHL; Secretary- LISA BRANT, KD4CJV; and Treasurer- CAROLYN BLAIR, KG4VFL. Outgoing president WAYNE BRANT, KO4QJ, remains as the Hamfest chairman, and vows that the club, along with the members of the South GA ARC, will provide an even bigger and better Hamfest in Valdosta next August.

Republican parents have no problem buying toy guns for their kids. Democrats refuse to do so.
That is why their kids pretend to shoot each other with dolls.

ARES NEWS

ARES FORUM at Lawrenceville Hamfest--- There must have been close to a hundred attendees at this year's forum! What an outstanding demonstration of the commitment that so many of you bring to the program. Thank you all for attending, especially those of you that had to stand up for the entire forum. (That's REAL dedication!) CONGRATULATIONS to three of our members who were recognized by SEC MIKE BOATRIGHT, KO4WX, with a special certificate in appreciation of their extraordinary contributions to GA ARES. These three Leaders (with a capital "L") are BOB BUTLER, W4RBB, EC of Cobb county, whose "Four Corners Drill" was adapted for use in this year's SET; STEVE REYNOLDS, W4CNG, DEC for metro Atlanta, who took responsibility for running this year's SET; and STAN EDWARDS, WA4DYD, EC for Gwinnett county, who has developed a special packet program specifically designed for use by ARES. As a matter of fact, Stan's packet program was actually demonstrated at the forum. The promise that this program has for improving ARES packet communications was evident to all in attendance, including visiting ARRL staff member MARK SPENCER, WA8SME.

CHEROKEE--- It is with much appreciation for a job well done that I announce the resignation of EC STEVE HAMMOND, K4SAH, who has led and helped build this terrific group for the past two years. Steve is the 2003 ARES Amateur of the Year, and he will continue to be as involved as his job allows. THANK YOU, Steve, for all you've done to raise the level of professionalism in the Cherokee ARES program.

CLAYTON--- These folks got some terrific PR with the following press release on their activities with the SET. These clever folks found a way to conduct their SET activities in a public kind of way:

Ham Radio Practice Simulated Emergency Test at Clayton County Spectacular.

A hurricane comes in at Jacksonville Florida, and stalls out over central Georgia. Widespread flooding is occurring and the Georgia power grid drops. No cell phones, no pagers, landlines are jammed. These folks need help.

This is the scenario that the Clayton Amateur Radio Emergency Services faced during Sensational Saturday at Atlanta Beach International Park. Amateur Radio Operators ran simulation Emergency Communications while showing the parents and kids of Clayton County Schools what Ham Radio is all about. TV, voice and digital signals were transmitted throughout the state of Georgia to pass information and welfare messages.
Mobile Bus operators were - Herb Brewer (WA4HJB), John Tilghman (KG4PVS), Scott Curtiss (W4SRC), and John Waldron (KF4GSY)
Emergency Management Operators - Butch Nitz (AF4FS), Randy Daugherty (KG4BXJ), Perry Westberry (KG4KTB),and Roy Baker (WB4WQE).

COBB--- Members are in the preplanning stages of supporting the Winter Special Olympics coming up in January. Also in January, this group will be holding a mini SET, for the purpose of handling health and welfare traffic from simulated shelter locations countywide.

COWETA--- In a follow-up meeting after a recent BRAG event. Many logistical snags were worked out to make the next event even better. One particular and notable agreement is that Coweta ARES members who volunteer in future BRAG events will be covered by BRAG's liability insurance during the event. BILLY MONTGOMERY, W4TS, has taken on the position of AEC as the Training Coordinator for the group, and will be fine tuning the work on a Coweta County Training Manual, which has been developed thus far by ROBERT DONAHUE, W4RFD, and JAMES DEICHELBOR, W4PN.

GWINNETT--- A meeting was held November 17th with representatives of the Gwinnett Health System, including the VP and the Chief Operating Officer, to discuss the recently drafted MOU, as well as the possibility of making the temporary installation of the 145.03 digipeater at Gwinnett Medical Center a permanent one.

SOUTH GEORGIA--- There's been some moving and shaking going on in South GA this past month. VAL ASHCRAFT, AF4VH, who is also the EMA Director in Effingham county, has understandably stepped down from his position as DEC for the Southeast District. Val was the ARES Amateur of the Year several years ago, and has been a longtime asset to the GA ARES program. We owe him much appreciation. Taking over the DEC position is JIM COTE, N4PJR, who has been one of Val's assistants. Jim has recently made the following appointments: ALLEN ROBINSON, N4ZON, Assistant DEC; and the following gentlemen as ECs: BRUCE DAVIS, KE4WXD, Brantley county; LARRY RING, KJ4WX, Bacon county; PERRY BLACKBURN, KF4SUY, Pierce county; and RANDY SCOTT, KC4ULS, Emanual county. Also, in the SOUTHWEST district, DEC BOB SMITH, K4PHE, has named LEON PERRETT, K4GCR, as the new EC for Baker county. CONGRATULATIONS to all of these folks on their appointments and a big thank you to all of them for their willingness to serve.

This information comes to us from JORGE MESTRE, K4KB, who is taking another FEMA course, and who was kind enough to pass along the information for your benefit:

The course is "IS 1 - Emergency Manager: An Orientation to the Position".
To access the course and download the Course materials, please go to the link shown below.

http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is1lst.asp

Democrats do much of their shopping in Wal-Mart. So do Republicans, but they don't admit it.

ARES REPORT FROM MIKE BOATRIGHT, KO4WX, SEC

1 Jurisdictions Reporting 18
2 Total # of ARES Members 546
3 Change since last month 6
4 Total Net Sessions 66
5 "Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month" 102
6 Man hours 1077
7 Number of public service events this month 15
8 Man hours 587.5
9 Number of emergency operations this month 0
10 Man hours 0
11 Total number of ARES operations this month 171
12 Man hours 2321.75

Counties/Jurisdictions Reporting

Carroll K4DEC
Clarke N4VHA
Cherokee K4SAH
Clayton WB4WQE
Cobb W4KE
Dekalb N4SEG
Gwinnett WA4DYD
Rockdale KC4ELV
Spalding KU4TP
Calhoun W4KEF
Dougherty N4GPJ
Lee KB4OMV
Mitchell K4TWG
Sumter KE4VPD
Worth K1KBA
Coffee KD4QFH
Southwest District K4PHE
GEMA KG4FXG

Democrats spend hundreds of dollars and hours of work decorating the yard with outdoor lights and Christmas displays. Republicans drive around at night to look at other people's lights.

NET REPORT FROM JIM HANNA, AF4NS, STM

NET ACTIVITY:

PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL:

STATION ACTIVITY REPORTS:

Traffic handled (QTC):

"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

NETS ODDS 'N' ENDS

Despite the information in a recent QST that the Southeastern 6M SSB Net is still being held on Monday evenings, that's not the case. They've changed their net night, and this net is currently being called every Sunday evening at 9PM on 50.145 MHz. Check in with JIM WORSHAM, W4KXY, and meet some of the UHF/VHF gurus around this area.

Also every Sunday is the Southwest GA VHF net, called at 4PM on 146.820.

Many of you are probably already well aware of a terrific net that's on twice a day, and that net is South CARS (South Coast Amateur Radio Services) Thanks to STEVE REYNOLDS, W4CNG, who mentioned this net to us when we were heading to Tybee Island back in August, it's become a regular staple in our car when we're heading to some ham event or another around the state. This net is run from 8-10 AM and from noon until 2 PM every day on 7.251 MHz. This net has been around for over 20 years, and I'll bet some of the folks who are regular check-ins have been participants for all those years. Just a friendly, helpful bunch of folks, who make the ride down the road all that much more enjoyable. A number of the regular net control stations are from Georgia. They do a terrific job. Check 'em out!

From LEE JUCKETT, AF4IA, came an interesting report on a daily 2M formal traffic net in which his son CLAY, NC1X, is a participant and NCS. This Massachusetts net has handled as many as 200+ pieces of traffic on a single net! Sounds like an interesting way to get hams trained and comfortable with the formalities of handling traffic. For more information, check the website at http://www.cm2m.net/

Talking about formal traffic nets, the final report issued by the Volunteer Resources Committee back in July suggested a bit of an overhaul to our NTS, saying that while the mission hasn't changed, the many changes in technology since the system was originally developed make it imperative that NTS adapts and becomes more closely aligned with ARES so it can be an effective backup communications network in the event of an emergency. Perhaps partly in response to this report, a number of CW net managers put their heads together and came up with a plan to start a National Emergency Network (NREN) which will begin operations on December first. The intent of this net is to provide an alternate public service network, especially geared to QRP, portable, and mobile stations. Not meant as a substitute for existing NTS and ARES nets, it hopes to fill the vacuum for those times when communications must be established, and those other nets aren't in session. NREN will operate under the "radio watch" principle, with members monitoring around the clock for any emergency, priority, or routine traffic needs. Full break-in (QSK) CW procedures are encouraged, but not required. The NREN Watch Frequencies are 7.068, 10.122, and 14.050 MHz. For more information, see http://68.43.101.30:81/nren/

Democrats always take the price tag off of pricey gifts before wrapping. Republicans also remove price tags off expensive gifts..... and reposition them, to make sure they are seen.

DX UPDATE

Unfortunately, the Peter One DXpedition that was planned for January of next year has been postponed until 2005. Preparations were well under way when word was received from the dastardly ship's helicopter contractor that the price was going to double. Certainly, an unwelcome announcement for what was already an expensive venture. But fear not! Although very disappointed in the unexpected turn of events, BOB ALLPHIN, K4UEE, already has a line on an alternative means of transportation for the 2005 date. And additional members have signed on for that date, so it should be even bigger and better. (and it gives them all a little longer to gather additional donations to defray costs, and to lay in a few more pairs of thermal long johns...)

Republicans first began thinking like Republicans when they stopped believing in Santa Claus.
Democrats became Democrats because they never stopped believing in him.

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

Looking for a little help with the Extra class theory? WIN JACKSON, N1TWX, who has taught many classes to help countless hams get their entry level license, will be teaching a class for the extra class license, beginning in January, at Central Gwinnett High School in Lawrenceville. As part of the county's continuing education courses, there will be a $25 fee, payable to the school. You'll also need a copy of the 8th Edition of the Extra Class Manual and a scientific calculator. The course will meet for two hours, one night a week. For more information, contact Win at n1twx@arrl.net

The Healthcare of Atlanta Parade (formerly called the Egleston Christmas Parade) will be held on December 6th in downtown Atlanta. TIM ROSING, KC4ELV, EC of Rockdale county, will once again be heading up the communications for this event. Between 20 and 40 operators will be needed to shadow parade coordinators, officials, police, TV crews, and to man numerous parade route assignments. There will be a kick-off breakfast at 6:30 AM, and the parade itself should be over by lunchtime. If you can help in these efforts, please contact Tim at KC4ELV@etoii.com

There's going to be a special event station operating from the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) the weekend of November 29-30 in memory of ROY NEAL, K6DUE. And what's more, those contacting the ISS by voice (NA1SS) or packet (RS0ISS) up until the end of December will be eligible for a special anniversary event certificate. What anniversary, you might ask? It was twenty years ago, on November 28, 1983, to be exact, when the first amateur radio station was launched, and it was aboard the space shuttle Columbia. And Roy Neal was instrumental in convincing NASA to put amateur radio onboard. For you trivia buffs, OWEN GARRIOTT, W5LFL, became the first astronaut to communicate from space via amateur radio on that flight. (wonder who the lucky ham was on the other end of that first QSO??)

This year marked the 46th year for Jamboree on the Air. Last year, more than 14,000 Scouts and visitors participated, thanks to the assistance and dedication of 1525 hams. For many people, JOTA is their first introduction to ham radio, and many of them go on to become hams themselves, because of the experience. As of the middle of November, only 83 JOTA reports/surveys had been received by the ARRL, waaaaay down from last year. If you participated and haven't yet filed a report, please take the time to do so. (Even if you've sent a report directly to the BSA, please file one with the ARRL, too.) Your feedback is used by both organizations to track the growth and merit of the program. As JOE OWENS, KO4RR, said in his report on this year's JOTA experience, he particularly liked "seeing the kids' eyes get big when some DX was worked." That's a real thrill for all of us who've had the pleasure of participating in one of these events. Please, let's protect the future of this program, so lots of more Scouts can have the opportunity to have their eyes opened wide. http://www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/jotalog/

This information comes to us from that ever-helpful fella from ARRL HQ, STEVE EWALD, WV1X:

"Field and Educational Services is proud to announce our newest resource for active Volunteer Instructors: The Online Instructor Primer. This new compilation by LINDA MULLALLY, KB1HSV, is jam-packed with helpful tips, links, and tutorials sure to help instructors eager to try new ideas and approaches. The web primer is organized so that information can be located in an instant. Just use the handy index, and topics ranging from "Planning" "How to Get Volunteers to Teach" and "Take Advantage of Special Events" are just a key-click away. Quick-links give you full-access to many ARRL services -- and becoming a Volunteer Instructor has never been made easier. Go ahead...read why being an Instructor can be so rewarding!"

Here's the link: http://www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/instructor/oip/

OPERATION HOLIDAYS 2003. Army MARS has a long history of providing morale and welfare support to members of our military who are serving overseas, and for the past eleven years, has been instrumental in promoting a program called 'Operation Holidays'. This is a special MARS program that invites family and friends to send MARSgrams to service members overseas during the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's holidays. Its main purpose is to encourage as many individuals and families as possible to send a MARSgram to our service members to bring a little cheer and joy to those who won't be able to be home for the holidays.

Democrats wear wide red ties and green sports jackets during the festive season.
Republicans do it all year long.

SECTION NOTABLES

Congratulations to BECKY ROBERTS, (or should I say DOCTOR BECKY ROBERTS), KF4SLZ, for her outstanding doctoral bass recital at UGA on November 3rd, for her Doctor of Musical Arts degree. That little lady deftly handled (wrestled?) that big ol' bass like it was no bigger than a violin, and believe me, she made it sing. Beautiful.

Eham is running a cool series of articles written by PHILIP NEIDLINGER, KA4KOE, on some of the important men in the history of radio technology. With his quirky sense of humor, these "dead dude" articles are worth a look-see to get some knowledge, served up with a smile.

JEFFREY PETERS, KD4QFH, EC of Coffee county, as well as Skywarn coordinator and spotter, sent along an item from the Albany TV station WALB webpage about RICK LIPSCOMB, KI4CRT. Rick is described as a "trained storm chaser", and the article states, "The most important line of defense Tallahassee has with its weather service is the Skywarn Weather Network." Congratulations to Rick for this recognition for his services, and much appreciation to ALL of you trained in Skywarn, for the valuable service you provide to the NWS and to our communities.

Congratulations to CARL "NICK" NICHOLS, K4ZYK, who was recently awarded Life Membership status for the Army MARS program. Nick has been a dedicated MARS member for over 50 years.

Republicans help the poor during the Holidays by sending $50 to the Salvation Army.
Democrats help the poor by giving $50, one buck at a time, to panhandlers on the street.

TECH TIPS

For those of you who want to modify your ICOM IC-746 or IC-746 Pro rig for operations on the new 5 MHz frequencies, you'd better read this information from an ICOM Technical Support Representative, MIKE HILTON, before attempting those mods:

Mr. Hilton stated that "The 746 final PA band pass filters were NEVER DESIGNED to support operation outside of the amateur radio bands. They will "stretch" to accept normal operation in the MARS and CAP frequencies just above and just below the amateur radio spectrum, but they will NOT support operation down in the 5 MHz area. They will heat up and you will damage the radio. About the only two radios that will have reasonable operation in the 5 MHz area are the 706MkIIG and the 718."

NOTE: Still one of the best sources for information on radio modifications can be found on QRZ. Down on the left hand side of the webpage, you'll find a link marked "Radio Mods". Lots of good information there.

OK, as a nod to the Holiday season coming up, here's something a little different. Sung to the tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (I know: one of THE most annoying songs, right up there with "100 Bottles of Beer") But bear with me, this is a "different" way to remember (or teach students) about the color code for resistors:

(Zero is Black... the beginning of infinity....) OK, now start singing...

On the first day of classes, my teacher gave to me.... ONE BROWN bear in a big tree.
On the second day of classes, my teacher gave to me... TWO RED hens...
On the third day of classes, my teacher gave to me, THREE ORANGE orangutans...
On the fourth day of classes, my teacher gave to me, FOUR YELLOW yaks....
On the fifth day of classes, my teacher gave to me, FIVE G-R-E-E-N grapes...
On the sixth day of classes, my teacher gave to me, SIX BLUE birds....
On the seventh day of classes, my teacher gave to me, SEVEN VIOLET violins....
On the eighth day of classes, my teacher gave to me, EIGHT GREY geese.....
On the ninth day of classes, my teacher gave to me, NINE WHITE whales....

Democrats let their kids open all of their gifts on Christmas Eve.
Republicans make them wait until Christmas morning.

UPCOMING EVENTS

November 29-30--- Special Event Station from the ISS in memory of ROY NEAL, K6DUE. Special certificate offered for contacts made up until the end of the year, in honor of the 20th anniversary of amateur radio in space.

December 5--- (2200Z) until December 7 (1600Z) ARRL 160 M contest.

December 6--- 5th annual Skywarn Recognition Day 0000Z-2400Z. There will be lots of hams on the air operating from NWS offices all over the country. For more information, see http://hamradio.noaa.gov

December 6--- Healthcare of Atlanta Parade. If you can help with the communications, get in touch with TIM ROSINF, KC4ELV, at KC4ELV@etoii.com

December 6-7--- Palmetta, FL Hamfest (Tampa)

December 7--- Pearl Harbor Day

December 13--- 0000Z to 2400Z ARRL 10M contest

December 20--- Happy Hanukkah!

December 25--- Merry Christmas!

December 31--- Straight Key night

January 1---OY!!! Can you believe it?! Happy New Year!!

Democrat men like to watch football while the women fix Holiday meals.
On this, Republicans are in full agreement.

SILENT KEYS

JOHN DAHL, K9IJF
GARY FARANO, KH6WD
WARREN FORD, KB4MC
ROBERT SCHLIESTETT, W4ZHM

Sincere condolences to the families and friends of each of these fine men.

Well folks, that's about it for now. (and maybe ten pages shorter than last month, too! Not too shabby.) Remember these timely words from MIKE BROWN, KE4FGF: "All too often, the present a shut-in really longs for isn't a gift box, but rather a friendly smile and a ready ear with a few hours to share." Until next time, this is AF4FO, signing clear. Take care of yourselves. And each other. 73, Susan

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