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The HOTLINE |
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“The Science of Audio” |
by Ed Middlebrook, KC5NT |
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President’s Corner |
by Rodney Baden, K5YKC |
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Rodney, K5YKC |
Is Amateur Radio Dying? (Reprint: Dan from “Hams Of Cyburbia”)
I dug out an old handheld amateur radio transceiver out of the closet, as part of the process of simplifying my life. I turned it on, scanned through the two meter band, and ... nothing. The band was completely silent. The radio was working just fine, since I was able to hear taxi dispatchers and general business radio operations outside of the two meter band just fine. Eventually, I came across a lone man on one of the repeaters, just saying his call sign followed by “listening”. There was no response.
Several years ago, I let my amateur radio license elapse. I was enthusiastic when I first got it, but hearing repeaters filled with old men who ragchewed endlessly on just a few pet topics—weather, aches and pains, and how things aren’t what they used to be since the no-code techs started coming onboard—I gave it up. I suspect that I’m not alone.
Hams of Cyburbia, and others interested in radio hobbies: Is amateur radio dying?
If you don’t know how to renew your amateur radio license, call me. I will help you. You worked hard to pass questions in the test (and maybe the code, too), as I did, and it is not worth all that effort going to waste. If your license has expired, you have two years to renew, although you can’t operate during that time. It is very easy to renew now. Let me help. Don’t lose your license.
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LAST CHANCE to renew your HOTARC membership! |
Rodney
Baden, K5YKC
HOTARC President
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For the Record... |
HOTARC Meeting of Members
January 24, 2007
HOTARC’s January Meeting was called to order by Rodney Baden, K5YKC, Thursday January 24, 2008 at 7:03 pm at the Kultgen Automotive Center of the TSTC Waco campus. Chaplain Dell Bredemeyer KE5MZS opened the meeting with a prayer.
Present were twenty-two full members, one family member, and 6 visitors. Visitors were: Ryan Dyer KE5FFV of Crawford, Joseph R Funk AF5D of Robinson, Maurice Fawcett KB5TEB of Lacy Lakeview, Roy Henager NC5H of Axtell, Tommy Armstrong W5TUB of Waco, and John Booker of Waco.
A motion to approve the Minutes for the November meeting as published in the HOTLINE was recognized from Scott Hamilton K5ZOH, with second by Dell Bredemeyer KE5MZS. The motion was approved by the members.
A motion to approve the November-December Treasurer’s Report as published in the HOTLINE was recognized from Ed Hynan KC5KNI, with second by Bill Cox W5JRM. The motion was approved by the members.
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The Treasurer Reports... |
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Heart O’ Texas Amateur Radio Club Beginning Account Balance $ 5,305.32 Income Dues $ 590.00 Donation 50.00 Interest 1.13 TOTAL Income $ 641.13 Expenses Shipping $ 15.23 TOTAL Expenses $ 15.23 Ending Account Balance $ 5,931.22 Outstanding (as of 2-21-2008) Submitted by |
Committee Reports
· ARES: Ed Hynan KC5KNI reported that all ARES members need to verify their information by April, or be marked inactive for the remainder of the year. All members that want to volunteer for disaster response need to have IS courses 100, 200, 700, and 800 completed by April. Ed also noted that all HOTARC members NEED to be an ARES member. Email KC5KNI your IS course completion emails once you receive them. We also need more hospital volunteers. Skywarn is Saturday February 9 at the Waco Convention Center. It starts at 8:30 AM and ends at 4:30 PM for both the Basic and Advanced courses.
· Trailer: Mike Ross N5MVL and Roger Miles WB5MBO reported that it needs an oil change but other than that everything is ready to go.
· Repeater: Norris Martin KB5SLI reported that he received a call from Gerald Richmond that the retuning of the primary 145.15 repeater has been completed and is now back at the Channel 25 location. K5YKC reported that the club owes him $30 for the parts required to repair the repeater (compared to $350 plus labor, had the club taken the repeater to an authorized repair center). A motion to repay K5YKC for the cost of the repairs was made by N5MVL with second by KC5KNI. The motion was approved by the members.
· D-Star: No new news
· Web page: No report
· ATV: No report
· Education: K5YKC reported that HOTARC will be holding another Technician course sometime after the February 9th Skywarn Spotter Training. A motion to spend $50 on refreshments for Skywarn was recognized by N5MVL with second by JW Roach W5AYX. The motion was approved by the members.
· Public Relations: Scott Schafer KD5MLY is waiting for a final date for the Technician course before any publicity is made.
· Special Events: K5YKC reported that Grant Gilliam KE5ERW asked to be relieved as the Special Events Coordinator while he is attending Baylor. David Branch AE5CD accepted to serve as the new Special Events Coordinator.
Announcements
· Repeater Committee: Lynn Gustafson KD5DZU was appointed to the Repeater Committee. He is also the new County Liaison Officer (CLO) for RACES.
New Business
· Audit Committee: Bill Cox W5JRM and Terry Williams KD5KJU have agreed to serve again on the committee.
Motion to adjourn was recognized from KC5KNI at approximately 8:28 pm.
The program this evening was titled “Turn back the Clock…A fresh look at hollow state technology” was presented by Ed Middlebrook, Scott Hamilton, and Rodney Baden, who showcased their novice stations and subsequent upgrades.
Submitted by:
Jeremy Neal KE5PRG
HOTARC Secretary
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by Ed Hynan, KC5KNI, |
McLennan County ARES is
well underway in the process of verifying all membership information. This
process is accomplished every 2 years to insure that contact information is
fresh and correct. For those of you that I missed at the January meeting, I
will have copies of your current ARES data sheet (expires 30 April 2008) at the
February club meetings. Those not seen in person by the February meeting will
receive their data sheet in the mail. Please review your data sheet, make any
necessary corrections or additions, and return it to me no later than the15th
of April. New ID Cards with an expiration date of April 2010 will be issued as
I receive the sheets. Individuals who are current ARES members that do not
return a data sheet will be placed in the inactive member file and will not
receive a new ID Card.
A real emergency is going to take all the resources that we have, and after the event happens is not the time to join ARES. Remember, effective with this verification of membership data, those wanting to work disaster response must have completed four of the FREE FEMA courses:
- National Incident Management System (NIMS) IS-700
- Incident Command System (ICS) IS-100 and 200
- The National Response Plan (NRP) IS-800.
SKYWARN was successful. Out of about 90 attendees, 30 indicated that they were amateurs by listing their call sign on the registration sheet. Many familiar calls, but also a lot of new ones. I will look forward to having additional help during the Baker’s Dozen Weather Nets.
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Weekend Technician Classes |
by John Chamberlain, AC5CV |
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The Education Committee will deliver two weekend training sessions—Saturday March 29 and April 5—for anyone interested in earning their first amateur radio license. If you know anyone who might be interested, direct them to our web site for more info. Preregistration is required by March 8. Full details are available on our web site (during the weeks prior to the classes). Following the sessions, the HOTARC/BARC VE team will offer a Technician exam just for the students of this class. |
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The HOTLINE is the monthly newsletter of the Heart O’ Texas Amateur Radio Club (HOTARC), Inc., a nonprofit corporation, chartered by the State of Texas and principally located in Waco. It is permissible to use any of the original material contained herein, provided proper credit is given to the source.
Edited and Published by John Chamberlain AC5CV, AC5CV@arrl.net
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2008 Board of Directors |
HOTARC 2008 Board of Directors
President: Rodney Baden K5YKC, 857-9760, K5YKC@arrl.net
Vice Pres: Terry Williams KD5KJU, 662-2438, pumpman_rpss@yahoo.com
Secretary: Jeremy Neal KE5PRG, 881-2123, JeremyLeeNeal@gmail.com
Treasurer: Norris Martin KB5SLI, 829-2138, KB5SLI@flash.net
Past-Pres.: Wayne Branscum KD5SMC, 857-3964, wbscum@grandecom.net
Director (2008): Ed Middlebrook KC5NT, 826-4053, KC5NT@arrl.net
Director (2009): Mike Ross N5MVL, 836-1083, N5MVL@juno.com
Director (2010): Ed Hynan KC5KNI, 666-4873, KC5KNI@arrl.net
145.15 MHz (input at –600 kHz, tone 123 Hz)
146.88 MHz (input at –600 kHz, D-star)
146.98 MHz (input at –600 kHz, tone 123 Hz)
ATV: 421.25MHz (Cable 57), input 439.25 MHz (Cable 60)
Next session is Saturday April
26, 2008 10:00 AM. Location: Baylor’s Rogers Engineering and Computer Science Bldg
(#63 on the map), Room 109. Bring: 1) testing fee of $14 (cash only); 2) a photo ID (two for first-time
licensees); and for already licensed amateurs: 3) current
license and photocopy of it; and 4) photocopy
of any relevant CSCE.
Contact: Dr. Linda Hynan, AC5QQ at 666-4873 or Linda.Hynan@UTSouthwestern.edu.
Meeting NoticeThe February Meeting of HOTARC will be at 7:00 pm on Thursday February 28, 2008 in the Kultgen Automotive Center of the TSTC Waco Campus. Meetings generally last about 75 minutes consisting of fellowship, general Club business, and an interesting program. Visiting hams, family members, and prospective hams are welcomed! |
Technician
license classes:
Saturdays:
March 29 and April 5