Also, there is a For Sale area on the Web Page (http://www.semoarc.org/forsale.html) So if you have anything you want to post let me know at the newsletter address above. Write it as you want it posted, just as if you were putting it in the classified area of the newspaper (without having to pay by the word). Please don't expect me to write it for you. I already have enough to do. Include contact info.

A long time ago, when the FCC was really mean
There was fewer kinds of amateurs than you've ever seen
They'd ran around free before CB was ever born
And no one ever cussed or blew their own horn

There was only amateurs and no long-necked geeks
Lots of home brew wire antennas without any tweaks
Some top hats and coils, and tubes made of glass
And rarest of all was the Extra class

The FCC seen some QRM'n and it gave them pain
And they says, "Stand back, I'm going to make it plain"
They said, "Hey Ham, I'll tell what we'll do
We'll build an eleven meter zoo

There was only amateurs and no long-necked geeks
Lots of home brew wire antennas without any tweaks
Some top hats and coils, and tubes made of glass
And rarest of all was the Extra class

Old Elmer was there to answer the call
He finished moving off eleven just as the rules started to fall
He instructed the amateurs to move to two
And he called out as they came through
Hey Riley,

There was only amateurs and no long-necked geeks
Lots of home brew wire antennas without any tweaks
Some top hats and coils, and tubes made of glass
And rarest of all was the Extra class

The ARRL looked out and they could see
A million potential amateurs playing with their CBs
Cussing and stomping like as if there was no FCC
Oh, them silly amateurs to be

There was only amateurs and no long-necked geeks
Lots of home brew wire antennas without any tweaks
Some top hats and coils, and tubes made of glass
And rarest of all was the Extra class

The numbers started moving up like a big red tide
The Extras looked up from the rigs and they cried
But the CBers came over and started talking away
The lexicon and jargon was changed to this very day

There was only amateurs and no long-necked geeks
Lots of home brew wire antennas without any tweaks
Some top hats and coils, and tubes made of glass
And rarest of all was the Extra class

Now you might think this is the ending to the song,
But I'll have to tell you friends that in fact you're wrong
You see, an Extra test is easy, and CW learning not needed,
We're a growing in numbers but the knowhow has receded.

There are green envied amateurs and CB lingo users
Too many crummy signals and too many rule abusers
Appliance operators with vanity call signs, oh woe alas
Now almost everybody's got an amateur Extra class

Where's it all a going to end up is anyone's guess,
But one thing's for sure that needs to be addressed,
The lack of technical knowhow and not knowing code
Or the hobby's going to end up like CB AM mode

There are green envied amateurs and CB lingo users
Too many crummy signals and too many rule abusers
Appliance operators with vanity call signs, oh woe alas
Now almost everybody's got an amateur Extra class

(This is a newspaper article from the state of Washington, John)

There are an estimated 200 residents of Kittitas County who live, work and play among us and who look just like anyone else, but they are different.

They are hams.

No, not the people with a dramatic flair who always draw attention to themselves - quite the opposite - "hams" usually only get notoriety in community emergencies when normal lines of electronic communication are down.

"Hams, or amateur radio operators, enjoy a hobby that's one of only a few I can think of that also doubles as a vital public service," said Gloria Sharp of Reecer Creek Road, northwest of Ellensburg.

Sharp received her Federal Communications Commission license as an amateur in 1996. She and her husband, Boyd Rear, moved here from Anacortes in 2000. Amateur ham radio operator Bill Bowden, uses his equipment to talk with others and is part of the group which backs up emergency communications within Kittitas County. Photo by Joe Whiteside/ Daily Record Rear, a retired Boeing engineer and manager, got his license in 1964.

Curiosity

Rear remembers visiting his uncle in Santa Barbara, Calif., when Rear was about 4 years old. He watched his uncle call on people living far away with his radio that was in a small "shack" across the street from his house.

There was a sense of magic to be able to throw out a signal and receive them by your own effort.

"He was a good role model, and I had that curiosity about amateur radio embedded in me," Rear said.

Amateur radio operators, by federal law, are allowed to transmit and receive signals on certain, assigned frequencies on the AM band. But they must study and take a test to prove their proficiency before getting a license. When they get a license they also get call signs that identify their stations on the air.

Depending on the frequency and power of the transmission, hams can send signals across the globe using repeater stations or by bouncing signals off the ionosphere, one of the layers of atmosphere around the earth.

Rear has a regular schedule to talk to friends and fellow hams in California and often chats with another ham in Tokyo. The Japanese ham talks often with another operator in Newfoundland who is 95 years old.

Local hams

Sharp estimates there are more than 200 ham operators in the county, and 130 of those receive a newsletter she produces, the Kittitas County Ham News. The youngest include two sixth graders at Morgan Middle School and the oldest are in their late 70s.

Amateur operators can have advanced technology equipment and expensive antennas that total in the tens of thousands of dollars, yet an average beginning ham can get started for about $200.

In an era of instant communication with cell phones, ham radios reflect an old, tried-and-true technology that has grown with satellite repeaters, slow-scan TV image reception and digitalized transmission of e-mails.

"People like that ham radio, even as a hobby, also requires something of you," said Sharp, a semi-retired certified public accountant. "There's the fun, social aspect of it, the challenging technical part, and there's also the public service part you're encouraged to be involved in."

Service

The community service aspect is coordinated by two, closely affiliated groups of hams in the county: the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) for non-governmental services, and the Radio Amateur Emergency Service (RACES) that's linked to the Kittitas County Emergency Management Department and state and national agencies.

Sharp said ARES can provide emergency communications for groups like the Red Cross, the Salvation Army and others. RACES provides assistance to public law enforcement and emergency services when problems arise, including disasters. Rear is the radio officer for the RACES network and Bill Bowden of Trail View Lane is the ARES emergency coordinator.

Sharp said many local hams are part of both networks. Many have stations that can be powered by solar collectors, batteries and, some, by generators.

They also provide communications along the routes of several marathon, bicycle and long-distance running events in the county.

"It's possible a big ice storm, heavy snowfall or a wind storm could knock out power in our region," Sharp said. "That's when we can help. The skills we learn as a hobby become important in an emergency."

Last year in Walla Walla County, hams filled the communication gap when a fire department repeater station cut transmission to firefighters in the field battling a growing wildfire. Also last year, hams positioned themselves at major law enforcement and emergency services locations in Stevens County when a contractor accidentally cut the main 911 phone line.

Fascinated

Amateur radio operators in Kittitas County in past years have donated, erected and maintained four, radio signal repeater stations that allow signals and transmissions to be received and sent nearly everywhere in the county and surrounding areas.

Rear said he got his ham license when he saw the necessity of mobile communications in 1964 while he was serving in the leadership of a volunteer search and rescue group in King County. His personal vehicle became a roving communications center for the group.

Now Rear and Sharp are volunteer FCC examiners that assist beginners as they study and take their test.

"It's not uncommon for many to talk to New Zealand and Australian hams," Sharp said. "To me it's fascinating to be able to talk to someone any time at locations around the world.

"There is always someone out there listening and wanting to talk."

FCC Special Counsel for Enforcement Riley Hollingsworth advised those attending the FCC forum at Dayton Hamvention 2006 to try kindness instead of confrontation when problems arise on the bands. Hollingsworth spoke May 20 to a nearly full house at Hara Arena, and for the most part he praised the behavior of the majority of Amateur Radio operators, especially those who volunteered in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina last year. But, he noted, radio amateurs still could be more courteous and less inclined to fly off the handle at some perceived on-the-air offense.

"You need to lighten up and not embarrass the Amateur Radio Service," Hollingsworth advised. "All of us make mistakes, especially with the new features you have on radios today. It's very easy to make a mistake, to be on the wrong frequency or be operating split and not know it--there's a hundred ways to make mistakes." Hollingsworth said experience has shown him that at least 75 percent of the interference complained about is absolutely unintentional.

In Hollingsworth's view, radio amateurs all too often are hypersensitive and rude. "We have a radar going to detect offenses at all times, we assume the worst in people, we rarely give people the benefit of the doubt," he said. He joked that if there were three amateurs in a town, there would be two Amateur Radio clubs.

"And there'll be two hamfests with 20 people each, because they wouldn't dare consolidate them," he added.

Hollingsworth acknowledged that "certain problem operators" remain, but the real troublemakers are rarely the newcomers to Amateur Radio. "If there's a downfall in Amateur Radio, it won't be caused by no-code Technicians or codeless anything else," he said. "It'll be caused by the microphone--no doubt in my mind." He advised his audience to ignore the troublesome operators and not give them the attention they crave by engaging them on the air.

"Now, think about it: If what you're hearing annoys you, or angers you or is stupid, use the 'stupid filter,' which is that big knob--that VFO that will take you somewhere else," he quipped. "It's the largest knob on the radio." He recommended moving to another frequency or even another band altogether.

Hollingsworth praised the Volunteer Examiner program as "outstanding" and noted there had not been a single complaint in the past year stemming from an examination session. He also said the Amateur Radio community should have a greater appreciation for what the ARRL is doing on its behalf.

"Most of you have no idea how much work is done in Newington for you and the Amateur Radio Service generally," he said. "I see it every day, but I think you have no idea of the hard work and dedication that comes out of that office up there, and I don't think we would be there if it weren't for [the League]."

"This country's communications infrastructure needs Amateur Radio," Hollingsworth emphasized, praising Amateur Radio's overall performance following Hurricane Katrina. "You have a tremendous amount to be proud of."

He also suggested that radio amateurs have an obligation to stay informed about what's going on in Amateur Radio that might affect their activities. "You have to not only keep up, you have to lead the way, because it's in your charter," he said, pointing to §97.1 of the Amateur Service rules.

Hollingsworth noted at the start of his talk that he could not address any questions dealing with the FCC's long-awaited decision on the Morse code requirement (Element 1), because he works in the Commission's Enforcement Bureau. "We don't meddle in rule making," he explained, but added that he didn't expect CW to decline if the FCC does drop the 5 WPM Morse requirement for all Amateur Radio license classes as it's proposed to do.

The FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) handles Amateur Radio rule makings, Hollingsworth noted, including the "Morse code" proceeding, WT Docket 05-235, and the so-called "omnibus" proceeding, WT Docket 04-140. The WTB has said it will rule first on the omnibus proceeding, then tackle the Morse code proceeding, but it has not indicated when to expect either Report and Order.

No representative from the WTB was at Dayton Hamvention this year.