Newsletter

I have made a new addition to the webpage. I am trying to keep events and contests updated 3 or 4 months in advance. http://www.semoarc.org/events.html

On July 1, the State of California will have new laws on the books to deal with the use of wireless telephones while driving. There has been some confusion as to whether California amateurs who operate in their car will be affected by the new law. According to the California Department of Motor Vehicle's Web site http://www.dmv.ca.gov/cellularphonelaws/dl208_03cell_phone.pdf, "the use of dedicated two-way radios such as walkie-talkies or Citizen Band (CB) radios is not affected by the new law" for drivers 18 or older.

This year, for the first time, the ARRL has put together a Station Locator to help amateurs or those interested in Amateur Radio find a Field Day site near them. According to ARRL Field Day Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND, many amateurs have been asking for something like this for many years.

If your group would like to be a part of the Station Locator Service, it's easy to get started. Just go to the Field Day Station Locator Web site http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/locator.php and follow the instructions.

To help you out, Henderson has prepared a FAQ for the Field Day Station Locator.

Q) How does our Field Day site get listed on the map?
A) A club official or Field Day Chairman needs to go to the Web site. Once there, click on the link for "Add a Station" and follow the instructions.

Q) I put in the name of the park where we will be holding Field Day but got the message that the program can't find it. What do I do?
A) You should use a street address for the location. Unfortunately, the mapping program doesn't have a 100 percent complete database of park names and public site names. You may use a latitude/longitude -- enter the values separated by a comma (e.g. 42.345N, 85.445W) and set the city to NONE).

Q) I put in a street address but the map locator put me it in a wrong location on the street. What do I do?
A) While in the data input or edit screen, use your cursor to move the red "pin" to the correct location on the map.

Q) What if I put in the wrong information or something about our Field Day operation changes?
A) The person who input the data will be able to edit the entry. Simply follow the "Add a Station" link and then select "Edit this entry" next to the one to correct.

Q). I tried to enter my club's information, but I was denied access. What do I do?
A) To help ensure that only one person is managing a club's entry, you must be logged onto the site with your ARRL member ID and password. If you are not an ARRL member, ask a member of the club who is to be responsible for adding the club's information to the site.

Q) I am looking for a Field Day operation to attend. How do I use the site?
A) Begin by typing in the city and state where you would like to search, something like "Brooklyn, New York" or "Anaheim, California." Depending on the geographic location, the map will take you to the area you list. If a Field Day operation has been registered for that general area, a red "pin" will show on the map. If you click on the red pin, the details for that site will appear in the box on the right hand side of the screen. If you don't see a red pin, scroll out a level to find one near the location you listed. It is also possible to drag the map to other areas by holding down the left button on your mouse and then moving the map around. You can also scroll in and out using the +/- buttons on the left side of the map. You may also zoom in and center by double-clicking with the mouse near the red pin.

Q) I found a red pin near where I will be. Where do I find the information on that site?
A) Each entry has a contact person with either an e-mail address or phone number who should be able to help you. It will appear on the right side of the box when you click on the red pin for an entry.

Q) I found an entry with wrong information. What should I do?
A) Please contact the person whose name appears as the contact person for that site. ARRL HQ does not have detailed information on the site.

Q) I want to check on our club's information. What should I do?
A) Type in the call sign that will be used and you will be taken to the location and club information.

ARRL Field Day will be held June 28-29. For more information, please visit the Field Day Web page http://www.arrl.org/fieldday.

Fran Little is an amateur radio enthusiast. (Kevin G. Gilbert/Staff Photographer)

WASHINGTON COUNTY - When Fran Little was 12 years old, he bought a crystal radio set kit, put it together and hooked it up to an antenna.

"I actually heard local radio amateurs on the air and then went to their homes and talked with them," Little said, remembering the thrill as if it were yesterday.

Little is a member of the Antietam Radio Association, which meets twice a month at Hagerstown Regional Airport.

Not only is it a great hobby for young people, Little said his experience is an example of how it can become a lifelong vocation.

Little got into commercial broadcasting as a career. After training in Chicago, he became a chief engineer for a number of radio stations.

"This interest drove me all my life," Little said.

At his home, there is a radio shack and a huge radio antenna in the backyard. His broadcasting equipment is in the basement.

Little and other members of the Antietam Radio Association want to make sure today's young people have the opportunity to become amateur radio enthusiasts.

Entry-level classes for amateur radio will be April 11-13 in Pangborn Hall at Washington County Hospital.

Class hours on Friday, April 11, will be from 7 to 9 p.m. while the Saturday and Sunday classes will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The cost is $35, plus $14 for the examination at the end of the course. Morse code no longer is a requirement for certification.

In addition, Hamfest has been scheduled for Sunday, May 4, at the Washington County Agricultural Education Center on Sharpsburg Pike.

"There's a lot of used radio equipment out there," Little said. For between $10 and $30, a set can be had and for about $100, a really good set can be obtained, he said.

Little said someone starting in the hobby usually can connect with a club member to get the equipment hooked up.

Encouraging young people to take up the hobby is very important to Little. After all, he is living proof that amateur radio can be much more than a hobby.

"I got my license at 14 and have been a ham ever since," Little said. "It got me where I am today."

The Web site for the association is www.w3cwc.org. The site includes the history of the organization as well as upcoming events.

Club tuning in to youth

For the first time in two years, the Penticton Amateur Radio Club is offering a basic certification course to help prospective amateur radio operators prepare for the government licensing exam.

It’s part of an effort by the club to get new users involved in the hobby and spread awareness about what can be done with amateur radio.

“It’s harder to get young people interested. Things have moved on,” said Geoff Clarke, vice-president of the Penticton club. “It will die over time if we don’t get younger people involved.”

With a myriad of communications options like cell phones, text messaging, e-mail and the Internet, interest in the field has dropped off, but club members say that’s no reason not to be interested in amateur radio. In fact, said Doug Pichette, a past president of the club, new technologies have enhanced what can be done with the radios.

“We’re not only quicker, we’re cheaper and we go farther,” he said, adding that while using a cell phone costs money, a radio is free to use after the initial investment. For example Clarke added, driving between Penticton and Vancouver there are several dead zones for cell phones, but their radio coverage is continuous all the way.

Gone are the days when the hobby required a room full of equipment, huge antennas and the ability to send and receive Morse code. Now, a hobbyist can get into the fun with just a basic handheld radio, transmitting in the two-meter bands and costing as low as a couple of hundred dollars.

Running this certification course is an opportunity to encourage new people to get involved in amateur radio, said Al McNeil, one of the instructors. “We like to see younger people interested,” he said. “And we’ll assist them in getting set up after they’ve qualified for their license.”

The course covers all the areas that a radio operator needs to know about, including some basic electronics, how antennas work and the regulations for broadcasting on the airwaves, a set of rules that are followed worldwide. Though much of the information is technical, McNeil says it’s all relatively straightforward and easy to understand.

Morse code isn’t even a requirement anymore for a radio operator’s license, said Pichette. “It’s been taken over by new digital modes that are faster, better and quicker. Radio can even be extended over the Internet.”

One of those new extensions is the Internet Radio Linking Project, which was developed in Vancouver in 1998. Through it, a radio operator with a handheld radio, normally limited to local repeaters, can communicate around the world by connecting to a local node, which directs the radio signal through the Internet and back onto the airwaves through one of more that 2,500 repeaters in countries around the world, from Canada to Antarctica.

While lots is going on in the two-metre band, it’s the HF band where Clarke says the amateur radio community is becoming most concerned about the lack of new entrants into the field. This is where ham radio really began, with a large range of frequencies that were set aside early on for amateurs.

“HF can take you round the world radio to radio and we’ll lose it if we don’t get new members,” said Clarke.

Using HF, they’re able to talk to the remotest areas of the world, places like the Andaman Islands, Tristan de Cuna, even Pitcairn Island, where the mutineers from the Bounty settled. Tom Christian, a direct descendant of Fletcher Christian, the infamous leader of the mutineers, uses the ham radio as a way for the isolated island to stay in contact with the world.

While talking around the world is fun, it’s closer to home that the radio club goes to work, setting up communications for the Ironman and Peachfest and providing a quick link between the events, ambulance and police services.

In times of disaster when regular lines of cut, amateur radio operators provide an invaluable backup communication system. Clarke said the Penticton club has portable kits and is capable of setting up a station anywhere in just a few minutes. Unlike cell phones, their repeaters are solar powered, so they’re independent of the power grid.

“If there’s a disaster, power is cut to the cell phone towers, but we can provide communications anywhere,” said Pichette. It’s not just voice communications, McNeil added, but the can provide data communications as well, sending files, lists, even photos between locations.

And, McNeil said, this is an ideal time to get involved, since the solar activity that interferes with the radio is dropping off. “We’re at the low end of a solar cycle, so things can only get better over the next five years.”

Doug Pichette, a member of the Penticton Amateur Radio Club, makes an adjustment to Search and Rescue’s base station. The local club is offering a certification course in hope of recruiting new people to the hobby.

The amateur radio club at LaFayette Middle School has been awarded a grant that is allowing its students the ability to communicate worldwide.

Club sponsor Jody Carter said that when conditions are right his students would be able to hear stations and talk to places like “Japan, China, and Russia” with the new equipment procured through the grant.

“The funding went directly toward the purchase of the equipment,” said Carter.

He said the American Radio Relay League in Connecticut was responsible for the grant. And the equipment the club received included a high-frequency radio, two high-frequency antennas, 300 feet of wire, and enough cable to connect the antennas with the radio.

“The cost of equipment like this is well outside our means,” said Carter. “So by applying for and receiving this grant, this is equipment that many amateurs who have had their licenses for years don't have.”

Carter said the grant opportunity was presented to him last summer. He said he began writing the application in June last year. He then submitted his grant request in November and was notified in January that his club would be receiving the grant.

“The county is always seeking grant opportunities for our schools and this one fit our club,” said Carter.

Carter said the reach of communication his club had enjoyed had been somewhere around 40 miles. He said the reach had only been accomplished through repeater stations that repeat radio broadcasts much like a cell phone tower transmits mobile calls but with far less reach.

Now, Carter speculated, the club would be able to communicate by “a factor of10 to 20 times” their old ability. “When conditions are right, probably around the world,” said Carter.

Carter said it is opportunities like this one now offered through the grant that has allowed his club to stay appealing to the students of LaFayette Middle School. He said he is always looking for new means to offer the most rewarding and significant opportunities to the students who participate in his radio club.

the school club is the Rambler Radio Club. The club call is KI4TEY, and the trustee is Carter's fellow teacher Barry Eure, KS4RT (Extra).
Here's a link to an item on the GA Section ARRL website that talks about it too.
http://www.arrl-ga.org/gsomm/gaomm0906.html
Everything is on the up and up with this group.

The club voted to pay for having Charles Schroeder’s call changed on his plaque.

Ernie asked for ideas about the design of the certificate and also for volunteers

The 146.685 repeater needs a minor audio adjustment. Willie and Ernie were to check

Ernie Chiles, WØRMS	President	chiles@showme.net
John Frye, WJØU	1st VP	jgfrye@showme.net
Phil Nash, ACØIB	2nd VP	ldnash@hotmail.com
Stephanie Fallin	Secretary
Irma Frye, NØJPJ	Treasurer	jgfrye@showme.net
Joe Lorberg, WAØZNI	Trustee	lorbergco@sbcglobal.net

April, 2008
QCWA Spring QSO Party	1800Z, Apr 5 to 1800Z, Apr 6
Missouri QSO Party	1800Z, Apr 5 to 0500Z, Apr 6 and
	1800Z-2400Z, Apr 6
NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint	0030Z-0230Z, Apr 9
SKCC Weekend Sprintathon	0000Z-2400Z, Apr 13
Run for the Bacon QRP Contest	0100Z-0300Z, Apr 21
SKCC Sprint	0000Z-0200Z, Apr 23
QRP to the Field	1500Z, Apr 26 to 0300Z, Apr 27
	1200Z-2159Z, Apr 27

May 2008
10-10 Int. Spring Contest, CW	0001Z, May 3 to 2359Z, May 4
FISTS Spring Sprint	1700Z-2100Z, May 10
Run for the Bacon QRP Contest	0100Z-0300Z, May 19
CQ WW WPX Contest, CW	0000Z, May 24 to 2400Z, May 25
MI QRP Memorial Day CW Sprint	2300Z, May 25 to 0300Z, May 26

George W9OTX& Ann Neilson,	April14
Gerald WWØG & Janette Grasso	April 21