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The HOTLINE |
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EchoLink in Action! |
by Terry Williams, KD5KJU |
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For our August HOTARC meeting, we will enjoy a presentation about EchoLink by Gerald Richmond, N5ZXJ of the Temple ARC. Gerald is the ARRL-ARES Emergency Coordinator for Bell County, and works as a broadcast engineer for KCEN Channel 6. He has been an Amateur Radio operator since 1992 and presently holds a Technician license. He played a big role in getting the 147.14 repeater up and running on top of the Channel 6 tower. Gerald designed and built the repeater installation, and worked on installing the repeater. If all goes according to plan, Gerald will include a demonstration of EchoLink in operation, and proper operating procedures of EchoLink. He will explain to us how it works and the equipment necessary to use this modern tool. Gerald will also talk about using Echo Link in emergency operations, and what it can and cannot do for us during an emergency. It sounds like Gerald will have a very informative presentation for us, so I hope to see you at the meeting. |
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President’s Corner |
by Rodney Baden, K5YKC |
Happenings this Month
Well, it looks like we’re going to see the “death” of a
long tradition in amateur radio. On July 19, 2005 the FCC recommended
eliminating the Morse code requirement for any amateur radio licenses.
Following an opportunity for public comments, the Commission will almost certainly
proceed
with a Report and Order that will do just that.
I’d like to share some of my perspective. Ever since I was 14 years old, I wanted to be a ham radio operator. I “tinkered” with old radios, including AM broadcast and surplus military radios. My father passed away in 1954, and my mother didn’t have the money to purchase any new radios. In 1956, I started putting together a crystal (cat’s whisker) radio that my grandmother bought from the Boy Scout store. I needed some wire for an antenna. I begged my mother to let me take 50 cents out of my $3.00 savings account. After a short discussion she agreed. I hopped on my bicycle and road as fast as I could to the local mercantile store and bought some copper wire that had a cloth jacket around the outside.
I rushed back to my grandmother’s house and convinced her to let me cut down two small trees in the back yard to make some antenna poles. I used my grandpa’s old axe to cut down the trees and skin off all the limbs. I dug two holes to support my two poles. I put one end of the wire next to the radio, wrapped some around the top of one my poles, and stretched the other end to the other pole about 30 feet away. You can imagine my excitement when my crystal radio picked up KAOK on the Red River north of Shreveport!
Well, after all of that, I learned the Morse code and was so proud when I passed my test and got my license—that was 1959! I started meeting one other ham on the air every afternoon when I got home from school. Soon I began calling CW nets, so the code became easier. I even taught my wife Morse code. So, I guess you can tell that I really hate to see the Code requirement go away because I think it puts amateurs a “cut above.” That is what I think of all of you: a “cut above.”
73
Rodney A. Baden, K5YKC
HOTARC President
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For the Record... |
HOTARC Meeting of Members
July 28, 2005
Meeting called to order by Past-President Ed Middlebrook KC5NT (substituting for President K5YKC) at 7:02 PM. Present were thirteen full members.
The Minutes for the June meeting were approved as published in the HOTLINE, on a motion by Bill Feltenberger KD5UEW, second by Mike Ross N5MVL, and unanimous vote by the members present. The June Treasurer’s Report was also accepted as distributed by handout from the Treasurer Norris Martin KB5SLI (since the version in the HOTLINE was only an approximate report) which showed a current account balance of $4162.48, following a motion by KD5UEW, second by Rusty Keyes AD5JY, and unanimous vote by the members present.
Announcements
· Presentation: KD5UEW delivered a presentation “Ham Radio in the 21st Century” to a teacher training conference in Corpus Christi, describing his high school students’ experience with ham radio at A.J. Moore.
· Texas State Guard Fund Raiser: Per N5MVL, the W5TSG Club is sponsoring a Carp Tournament on Saturday August 6 at Speegleville III (park). Entry fee is $25, and they are seeking some radio operators. See W5TSG web site for more details.
· In the News: 1) FCC proposing to drop CW requirement for all amateur licenses. 2) BPL legislation reintroduced in the Texas legislature, but education funding issues are expected to take priority.
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The Treasurer Reports... |
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Heart O’ Texas Amateur Radio Club Beginning Account Balance $ 4,381.45 Income Interest $ 0.88 Dues 45.00 Cap sales 12.00 TOTAL Income $ 57.88 Expenses Postage, flowers, training supplies $ 81.44 Trailer battery 75.77 Trailer registration 42.44 Repeater crystals (146.88) 107.40 TOTAL Expenses $ 306.85 Ending Account Balance $ 4,132.48 Outstanding (as of 7-15-05) |
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Heart O’ Texas Amateur Radio Club Beginning Account Balance $ 4,132.48 Income Interest $ 0.88 Dues 30.00 TOTAL Income $ 30.88 Expenses TOTAL Expenses $ 0.00 Ending Account Balance $ 4,163.36 Outstanding (as of 8-16-05) Submitted by |
Committee Reports
· Trailer Committee: N5MVL had nothing to report but a flawless performance of the trailer at Field Day.
· Repeater Committee: Norris Martin KB5SLI reported that the 146.88 repeater was taken by Rodney Baden K5YKC to install on his home tower.
· Web page: John Chamberlain AC5CV reported that several Field Day photos were included on the home page. An account of our Field Day exploits, including photos, were uploaded to the ARRL Soapbox web site.
· ATV Committee: N5MVL reported that the ATV repeater is working well.
· Education Committee: No report.
· Public Relations Committee: KC5NT commented that we are still hearing the Public Service Announcements (PSAs) prepared by Scott Shafer KD5MLY on the KWTX AM and FM stations.
· ARES: Ed Hynan KC5KNI reported that N5MVL is planning to try to operate one of the Monday night Nets from the KXXV (Channel 25) station, and encouraged others to try to operate from other sites as well. He also asked everyone to note the upcoming WMD exercise (see HOTLINE). We will need a lot more amateur volunteers! Also, in September the city will be offering an Incident Command course.
· Special Events: KC5NT presented a recap of our Field Day performance as the program for the evening.
Old Business
· Lifetime Membership: KC5NT reported that, as agreed at an earlier meeting, Otto Hackfeld KI5QT was awarded a HOTARC Lifetime Membership during Field Day, at the Field Day site.
· National Night Out: Alta Vista neighborhood invited HOTARC to again participate in their NNO on August 2, from 6:00-10:00 pm. Wayne Branscum KD5SMC agreed to bring a tent in lieu of the Club trailer for this event.
New Business
· Mail Call: 1) ARRL asked us to verify our Club information; AC5CV agreed to look into this. 2) We received a bill for $29.80 for Skywarn refreshments. 3) Several QSL cards were received for FD contacts. 4) A letter of appreciation from the Mayborn Museum for our help with their ARISS contact.
· New Member: We received an application for Club membership from Bill Thorn K5GGC (not present). Horace Bushnell W5TAH said that he’d known Bill for several years, and moved to accept the application, seconded by KD5SMC, and unanimously voted upon by the members.
Motion to adjourn heard from KD5UEW at 7:40 PM.
Program by KC5NT summarized Field Day scoring. We had fewer phone contacts this year, yielding a total score of 4224. Ideas for improvements next year: more antenna separation, training/practice for more aggressive contesting techniques, use of band-pass filters, add a 40-meter dipole to the trailer’s setup.
Submitted by:
John Chamberlain AC5CV
HOTARC Secretary
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Full Scale WMD
Exercise: |
by Ed Hynan, KC5KNI, |
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Last month’s article covered the full scale Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) exercise, scheduled for 18-20 October 2005 (0800-1700 on 18 and 19 Oct). I had requested that any volunteers contact me at KC5KNI@arrl.net . I got very little response. The following is description of the positions that need to be filled, and the individuals that have volunteered: |
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LOCATION |
# NEEDED |
POSITIONS FILLED BY |
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Emergency Operations Center (EOC) |
2 |
KC5KNI / KD5KJU |
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District Disaster Center (DDC) |
3 |
K5YKC / W5JRM ?? / |
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Bosque County EOC |
2 |
Filled by BCARC |
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Public Health Medical Operations Center |
2 |
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Hillcrest Hospital |
2 |
AA5RT ?? |
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Providence Hospital |
2 |
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American Red Cross |
1 |
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Medication Dispensing Site |
1 |
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Functional Incident Command Post (ICP) |
2 |
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Full Scale ICP #1 |
1 |
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Full Scale ICP #2 |
1 |
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Full Scale ICP #3 |
1 |
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As you can see there are several positions waiting to be filled. I realize that the exercise takes place during the week, but real disasters don’t just occur at night or on weekends. If you are interested, think about asking your employer for time off to participate. This is an opportunity for good public relations and lots of potential media coverage. Please let me know if you can participate. Do not contact the above agencies directly as coordination for access will come from ARES.
As noted at last month’s meeting, there will also be a 20-hour Incident Command System (ICS) training session scheduled for 27-29 September. Any ARES members that would like to attend should also contact me by the end of the first week in September at the above e-mail address. This training will be during the week and will be free of charge. Many employers will let employees attend training of this type if asked. This offer also ran last month and there were no takers. I have extended the sign-up date for those who may be interested.
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7:00 am-10:30 am, Saturday September 3 Please contact John Chamberlain AC5CV Email:
AC5CV@arrl.net to volunteer to help HOTARC provide communications support for this special event. Thanks! |
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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2005 Board of Directors |
HOTARC 2005 Board of Directors
President: Rodney Baden K5YKC, 857-9760, K5YKC@arrl.net
Vice Pres: Terry Williams KD5KJU, 662-2438, pumpman_rpss@yahoo.com
Secretary: John Chamberlain AC5CV, 855-7731, AC5CV@arrl.net
Treasurer: Norris Martin KB5SLI, 829-2138, KB5SLI@flash.net
Past-Pres.: Ed Middlebrook KC5NT, 826-4053, KC5NT@arrl.net
Director (2005): Ed Hynan KC5KNI, 666-4873, KC5KNI@arrl.net
Director (2006): Scott Shafer KD5MLY, 848-5888, ScottShafer@clearchannel.com
Director (2007): Bill Feltenberger, KD5UEW, 756-1397, bfeltenb@swbell.net
145.15 MHz (input at –600 kHz, tone 123 Hz)
146.88 MHz (input at –600 kHz)
146.98 MHz (input at –600 kHz, tone 123 Hz)
ATV: 421.25MHz (Cable 57), input 439.25 MHz (Cable 60)
Next session Saturday September 17, 10:00 am. Location: Baylor’s Rogers Engineering and Computer Science Bldg, Room 109. Bring: 1) testing fee of $14 (cash only); 2) current license and photocopy of it; 3) a photo ID (two for first-time licensees), and 4) photocopy of any relevant CSCE. Contact: Linda Hynan, AC5QQ at 666-4873 or Linda.Hynan@UTSouthwestern.edu.
Meeting NoticeThe August meeting of HOTARC will be at 7:00 pm on Thursday August 25, 2005 in the Kultgen Automotive Center of the TSTC Waco Campus. Meetings generally last about 90 minutes consisting of fellowship, general Club business, and an interesting program. Visiting hams, family members, and prospective hams are welcomed! |
Don’t get the Summertime Blues…Enjoy ham radio!!