ARC – Shorts – October 2012

by

ARC-SHORTS
November 2011
By Rick Bunn N4ASX

Club Repeaters: 53.13 (PL107.2) (DFM),  147.315 (PL 107.2), (224.82(PL107.2), 444.6 (107.2) (DFM) 927.6 (-25Mhz, 107.2 PL) and 1282.600 (PL 107.2)  (DFM)
DSTAR 145.38Mhz, 442.060, 1284.600
(DFM is Down for Maintenance)

Next Meeting

Our next meeting will be at 3600 Wheeler Ave (City EOC) at 7PM on Friday November 12th.  This is the last regular meeting of the year and it is the meeting we will formally elect the club’s officer’s for the next year or two.  The program will be ARES use of Digital modes (D-Star being only one mode) presented by Rick Bunn, N4ASX.

Meeting Agenda

Alexandria Radio Club – October 12th, 2012

  1. Open meeting
  2. Introductions:  KJ4FUU, pass sign-in roster
  3. Treasurer’s report:  W9TCE, $20 dues, $20 DSTAR fund, 50/50 tickets

Total: $8,423.02, Check: 935, Trailer: 854, Education:1739, Share: 4893

  1. Secretary’s report:  KJ4FUU – latest body count
  2. Committee reports:
    1. Training Report – KA4GFY

1st class: 12 attended, 2 e-mailed to say they will be there next week.

  1. ARES – N4ASX

Nothing from the city; Eric is working on antennas; Rick and Rich are working on the trailer; Possible new Alinco 6M radio for the trailer; Anyone participating in the Marine Corps Marathon should go listen to the orientation, some VA roads will close @ 4:00AM, the Alexandria Radio Club 2M repeater will be used.

  1. Repeater & remote receivers – KF7IJZ, K4GOR, KA4GFY
  2. DSTAR – KI4MWP – Nothing to report
  3. Webmaster – K4AXQ – Absent
  4. Upcoming Events:
    1. Marine Corps Marathon, October 28th, www.ncacdc.com
    2. ARRL CW Sweepstakes, November 3-4th
    3. ARRL SSB Sweepstakes, November 17-18th
    4. CQ World Wide SSB Contest, October 27-28th
  5. Hamfests:
    1. Richmond in January
    2. Annandale in February
  6. Old Business:
    1. KF7IJZ’s solar power presentation now on YouTube
  7. New Business:
    1. W9TCE – Ways and Means
    2. Nominating committee for 2013 club officers
    3. Holiday Party – December 14th at Mango Mike’s
    4. KF7IJZ has 12 boxes of repeater parts, for sale, needs          volunteer to sell them on eBay – Ed W4EDF volunteered – motion carried.
  8. Net Controls:  October 18: KA4GFY________
    October 25: N4ASX__________
    November 1: W9TCE_______________
    November 8: W4EDF_______________

November 9:   next meeting

  1. Last call for 50/50, then pull winning ticket – KF7IJZ wins again

Nominations for club officers for next year

For President: Tom KJ4FUU
For VP: Jeremy KF7IJZ
For Treasurer: Steve W8RJH
For Secretary: Bob KK4CKJ – absent
Larry KK4CBL dropped out of the race

PROGRAM

KI4MWP & K6CLM – DSTAR

Our October meeting program was presented by Marshall KI4MWP and Cameron K6CLM.  A long awaited D-Star 201 class.  There seems to be a great deal of interest in things digital and D-Star is an interesting mode with a lot of potential.  Like all things in this hobby there are costs.  The gear is a little more expensive than regular FM radios and the DSL link to allow internet access at the D-Star gateway is expensive.  If you use D-Star, consider donating a month’s worth of DSL costs to the club so one ham does not have to cover it out of pocket.

President’s Notes

As my term as President of the Alexandria Radio Club comes to an end, I would like to thank all club members and officers for their hard work over the past two years in making our club one of the more notable amateur radio clubs in the Washington metropolitan area.    We had two successful “mini-DXepditions”  for the Virginia QSO party, and we received positive press with regards to our Field Day activities in both the Alexandria Gazette and the Alexandria Times. We have developed a good working relationship with the new officials in the City of Alexandria’s Emergency Communications office, and our ARES members have been working closely with these officials as well as others in the city involved with emergency communications.  Our members continue to step up and provide communications support as requested, most notably for the George Washington Birthday Parade activity and the Marine Corps Marathon.

Our club continues to be one of the few in the Washington area that provides in-depth classes for those interested in becoming licensed amateur radio operators, and we continue to see growth in new members.

We continue to explore new technologies and from time to time have presentations to ARC members on what these technologies are and how they may be of interest to members and other amateur radio operators.  The hard work of our club members are seen in all of these areas just outlined, and I once again want to thank all of those who have devoted so much time and energy in ensuring that the Alexandria Radio Club remains one of the best amateur radio club organizations in the Washington area.

It has been a real privilege to be your president for the past two years, and I look forward to the energy and growth that the coming years will bring to the club.

73   Marshall

Club  Elections

The nominating event at the last meeting produced one club member for each position willing to take leadership roles next year.  At the last meeting the following have been nominated and accepted the nomination as our next club officers

Tom, KJ4FUU  – President Tom has been very active with the club,  is an avid QRP DXer and has actively support both the club and ARES. Tom also meets the by-law requirement to be a licensed member of the club for two years.

Jeremy, KF7IJZ, – Vice President – Jeremy has been very active in the club,  has been active with ARES and presented one of our more interesting programs.

Steve W8RJH – Treasurer – Steve has been a member of the club for over a year and is active professionally in the communications world and has performed the treasurer job with other organizations.

Bobby KK4CKJ – Secretary –  Bobby has been active in many club activities,  has been restoring radio gear and takes on one of the most difficult of club officer positions.

Club members can nominate other members for these club positions at the November meeting as long as those nominated agree to take the jobs.   The vote will be part of the business meeting and in January the new officers will appoint: membership, program, budget committee leads.

Please come to this meeting and VOTE.

ARES

Winter is almost here.  Keep your gear ready and be prepared!  SKYWARN Basic class is scheduled for our March meeting.  That meeting will begin at 6:30PM to allow time for the class.

Marine Corps Marathon – After Action

Many of us have survived yet another Marine Corps Marathon (MCM).  Rich, KA4GFY and Cameron, K6CLM teamed up at Aid 4 at the north east end of Haynes Point with the club trailer.  Reports are that in rainy weather the trailer is THE place to be!

Rick, N4ASX was at MED C which is just off the end of the course.  At this point you have to ask: “Why would we have aid stations after the end of the race?”.  The answer is that many runners relax after the end of the race and some collapse.  Others push to the end with on set of hypothermia,  scrapes,  and other medical issues.

Harry, N4CWP was at MED E which was in the finish festival area.

Ian was at Aid 1 / 2 and saw a great deal more patients then they have in previous years.

MCM had, despite the threat of bad weather, a record turn out and from the patients at MED C I would think that we treated more patients this year then we have in a while.

Deanna, K9DID had volunteered but had to drop out at the last minute.  Her expertise was missed.

Jeanne, N4ZGI,  a former member could be heard on the NCS frequencies.

From what I heard, amateur radio is an important part of the MCM and we get a great deal of positive PR from this event.

We had over 130 volunteers this year.

Thanks to all who braved the poor weather to support this event.

Club Comm Trailer

As we have covered before the trailer now has a full complement of radios including D-Star,  Packet, APRS and it would not take too much to provide other digital modes including HF digital.  In preparation for the Marine Corps Marathon,  The Kenwood TM D710A was installed.  This provides us both packet and APRS capability.  A GPS receiver has not yet been installed but is on the ‘to do’ list.

The D-Star radios both worked well at MCM.  Both D-Star radios now are connected with low loss cable through a duplexer to a 23cm/70cm/2m antenna.

A new Alinco M-06T has been purchased and will be installed to replace the one that failed last year.  A donation of a TNC board for the Alinco was made by a member and will be installed.

This will allow us to use 6 meter for APRS and Packet both at 1200 and 9600 baud.  MCM uses 6 meter APRS to track the end of the race.

One of our members has suggested that he would like to sell his Tar Heel II antenna and this maybe a good addition to the trailer.  We also want to take a look at our current battery system and look at solar battery charging.  Other improvements on the list include a cleaned up 12 Volt power distribution system and a switch for AC power for use with the installed AC inverter or when we have the 2KW generator running.

We will show off the trailer to the club when the weather gets better.

HAMFESTS and OTHER EVENTS

Upcoming Contests –

Nov 10 and 11 – Worked All Europe DX Contest, digital portion.  Exchange is the RST and  serial number.

Nov 10 and 11 – Kentucky QSO Party.  Exchange is RST and state.

Nov 17 through  19 – ARRL Sweepstakes, phone portion.  See below.

Nov 24 through 26 – CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW portion.  Exchange is a signal report and CQ zone.  We are in zone “5.”

Nov 17 through 19 – ARRL CW Sweepstakes.  Exchange for this one is a little more complicated.  It’s the other station’s call, a serial number, a precedence, your call, the year you were first licensed and your ARRL section.  For example:  N8IK, number 1 A, KA4GFY, 79, VA.  The ARRL website explains the precedence and categories.  Most of us are “A.”  Remember, you can’t work somebody more than once, regardless of the band.

Upcoming Hamfests –

All is quiet for the rest of the year in this area.  The Post Holiday Hamfest sponsored by the Maryland Mobileers ARC at Odenton is on January 27, 2013.

Richmond Frostfest – Richmond Raceway February 2, 2013.  Many of us carpool and for the gun enthusiast there is usually a gun show next door.

Alexandria Radio Club Annual Dinner Party

When: Friday, December 14h, 2012 at 7pm.

Where: Mango Mike’s Restaurant, 4580 Duke Street in Alexandria (across from the Foxchase Shopping Center).  Plenty of parking with no antenna height restrictions.

Dress:  guys – look better than you look at a hamfest!  Coat & tie would be nice – this is a holiday party.

Cost:  $25 or $30 per person, plus cash bar

Menu: your choice including salad, dessert, soda/coffee/tea from the “Duke” or “Queen” menu at http://www.mangomikes.com/groups.html

RSVP:  names and menu choices to Ian/N8IK before Tuesday, December 11that 703-751-0542  or  n8ik@arrl.net. If you show up not having RSVP’d then you buy a round for all!

Amateur Social Activities

Monday Night Half Price Burgers – There is a group that gets together at Shooter McGee’s (Duke and Paxton Streets) on Monday evenings at 6:30 PM. A good burger and soft drink runs about $9.00.

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