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The HOTLINE |
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Making the Switch to DTV |
by Terry Williams KD5KJU |
This is a historic time in the evolution of television: switching from analog to digital broadcasted television signals. It is rare to witness such a profound change in something on this large of a stage, that literally affects everyone in the United States. As you know the FCC had requested the ARRL’s assistance in providing technical advice to our local communities to help with the conversion. We are in a position to help make it work! Is that cool or what?! However, what sort of advice can/should we be ready to offer?
This month our speaker will be Gerald Richmond, N5ZXJ, an engineer with
KCEN Channel 9. He will be discussing the DTV conversion, and what is going to
take place—now that the mandatory date for turning off the analog signal has
been pushed back to Friday June 12th, although most of our local
stations will go digital February 17, 2009 as originally planned.
As you may know, the FCC has requested the ARRL’s assistance in providing technical advice to our local communities to help with the conversion. So, what sort of advice can/should we be ready to offer? Come hear Gerald talk about the coming changes, and get some first-hand advice that you can pass on to those who still don’t have clue about what is about to happen. Hopefully we can help explain the switch to digital.
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President’s Corner |
by Rodney Baden, K5YKC |
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Rodney, K5YKC |
Well, it happened to me this week. You ask, “What now?” I have a strain of the flu that my doctor said almost went into pneumonia. It started last Sunday, and then yesterday he took x-rays and changed medication. Boy! Is this medicine ever expensive! And insurance won’t cover any of it! I am getting better now, but I’m not there yet. I hope everyone else is well, because misery loves company. I hope to attend the meeting this week, but I don’t know yet.
We have set a date for this Spring’s Technician License Class. If you feel that you can teach/demonstrate some of the content, please let us know. We have 17 interested students already, and probably will get some more.
And remember that dues are now due. We need to keep our membership up, and we need everybody plus a few to help support the area repeaters. We can do that, if we work together as a team.
Rodney
Baden, K5YKC
HOTARC President
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For the Record... |
HOTARC Meeting of Members
January 22, 2009
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The Treasurer Reports... |
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Heart O’ Texas Amateur Radio Club Beginning Account Balance $ 5,036.88 Income Donations $ 100.00 Dues 615.00 Flower fund 50.00 Interest 0.42 TOTAL Income $ 765.42 Expenses TOTAL Expenses $ 0.00 Ending Account Balance $ 5,802.30 Outstanding (as of 1-13-2009) Submitted by |
HOTARC’s January Meeting was called to order by Rodney Baden K5YKC Thursday, January 22, 2009 at 7:47 pm at the Kultgen Automotive Center of the TSTC Waco campus. Ernie Branscum KD5WKQ opened the meeting with a prayer.
Present were 20 full members, 3 family members, 1 associate member and 3 visitors. Visitors were Larry Black KE5VMF of Waco, Mitchell Plough KE5VME of China Spring and Ernie Branscum KD5WKQ of Lubbock.
A motion to approve the Minutes for the December meeting as published in the HOTLINE was recognized from Wayne Branscum KD5SMC, with second by James Jud KA5QKL. The motion was approved by the members.
A motion to approve the December Treasurer’s Report as published in the HOTLINE was recognized from Mark Plough AC5DE, with second by KD5SMC. The motion was approved by the members.
Committee Reports:
· ARES: K5YKC reported that Skywarn is coming up on February 7th from 9:00AM to about 3:30PM.
· Trailer: Mike Ross N5MVL, reported that Roger Miles WB5MBO has the supplies to change the oil in the generator if anybody wants to do it. K5YKC noted that a scheduled HOTARC trailer cleanup day will be coming up in the near “warmer” future.
· Repeater: The .15 repeater at Channel 25 is offline and has been taken to Gerald Richmond N5ZXJ to be analyzed. The .15 is now switched over to the Hillcrest tower site.
· D-Star: Lynn Gustafson reports that the gateway is not yet up at DPS due to some issues with the main trust server. Any changes made to our D-Star gateway would likely not take effect. It will be best to wait until the issue is fixed to move the gateway to DPS since doing so will require an IP address change.
· Web page: No news.
· ATV: David Bush KC5UOZ reports everything is working well. A motion was made by Norris Martin KB5SLI, with second by KD5SMC to loan Horace Bushnell’s W5TAH-SK ATV equipment to James Harris KD5FKY. The motion was approved by the members.
· Education: K5YKC reported that a Technician class will be coming soon sometime after Skywarn.
· Public Relations: No news.
· Special Events: K5YKC reported that James Jud KA5QKL will be handling upcoming Special Events.
New Business:
· A motion was made by Bill Feltenberger KD5UEW, with second by N5MVL to allot $50.00 for refreshments at the February 7th Skywarn. The motion was approved by the members.
Motion to adjourn was recognized from KD5UEW at approximately 8:13 pm.
Tonight’s guest speaker was Texas State MARS Director Dave Martin K5YFO. His presentation included information on what MARS is, why it’s important, what they do, and how to get involved. Thank you Dave!
Submitted by: Jeremy Neal KE5PRG, HOTARC Secretary
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by Ed Hynan, KC5KNI |
Current buzz words heard
on many nets and in conversations between amateur radio operators include NIMS,
ICS and NRP. These are the acronyms for courses offered by FEMA
(Federal Emergency Management Agency).
Are volunteers required to be National Incident Management System (NIMS) compliant? The short answer is, “Yes.” In a response scenario that extends beyond local government, there needs to be common terminology and doctrine that everyone can follow so that personnel and resources are feathered in a seamless manner. This is especially true for radio communications. Radio operators need to understand what is being said and asked of them during an incident so that they can convey this information effectively and efficiently.
FEMA courses are FREE. The three courses available online are described below. The course descriptions are taken from the FEMA web site, http://training.fema.gov/IS/crslist.asp
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IS-700, National Incident Management System (NIMS) This course introduces NIMS and takes approximately three hours to complete. It explains the purpose, principles, key components and benefits of NIMS. The course also contains “Planning Activity” screens giving you an opportunity to complete some planning tasks during this course. The planning activity screens are printable so that you can use them after you complete the course. IS-100, Introduction to Incident Command System, I-100 Introduces the Incident Command System (ICS) and provides the foundation for higher level ICS training. This course describes the history, features and principles, and organizational structure of the Incident Command System. It also explains the relationship between ICS and the National Incident Management System (NIMS). IS-800, National Response Plan (NRP), An Introduction This course introduces you to the NRP, including the concept of operations upon which the plan is built, roles and responsibilities of the key players, and the organizational structures used to manage these resources. The NRP provides a framework to ensure that we can all work together when our Nation is threatened. |
What Does All This Mean to McLennan County A.R.E.S.?
We have added a list of “training course completed” to the back of the current ID Cards. ARES Members will be asked to provide copies of these certificates when updating their data.
While non-completion of the courses will not prevent you from becoming a member of ARES, not completing the courses may have an impact on your access to specific areas during an emergency.
In addition, completion of the ARRL Emergency Communications Courses are highly recommended.
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It's time to renew your HOTARC membership! |
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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2009 Board of Directors |
HOTARC 2009 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 (2009): Mike Ross N5MVL, 836-1083, N5MVL@juno.com
Director (2010): Ed Hynan KC5KNI, 666-4873, KC5KNI@arrl.net
Director (2011): Ed Middlebrook KC5NT, 826-4053, KC5NT@arrl.net
145.15 MHz (input at –600 kHz, tone 123 Hz)
146.98 MHz (input at –600 kHz, D-Star)
442.875 MHz (input at +5.0 MHz, tone 123 Hz)
ATV: 421.25MHz (Cable 57), input 439.25 MHz (Cable 60)
Next session is scheduled for Saturday February 28, 2009 10:00 AM. Location: Baylor’s Rogers Engineering and Computer Science Bldg (#70 on the map), Room 109. Bring: 1) testing fee of $15 (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: Linda Hynan, AC5QQ at 666-4873 or Linda.Hynan@UTSouthwestern.edu.
Meeting NoticeThe next Meeting of HOTARC Members will be at 7:00 pm on Thursday February 26, 2009 in the Kultgen Automotive Center of the TSTC Waco Campus. Visiting hams, family members, and prospective hams are welcomed! |
Ready for stormy weather?