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The HOTLINE |
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ARISS—It’s Out of This World! |
by Bill Feltenberger, KD5UEW |
N5VHO, Kenneth Ransom,
from Friendswood, Texas, will be our guest speaker at the September Club
meeting. Kenneth works with NASA and, specifically, with ARISS,
or Amateur Radio
on the International Space Station.
He is going to talk about the ARISS program, and also bring some NASA training
hardware for us to look at.
Come prepared for some “out-of-this-world
information!” Here is an interesting link on a NASA web site to info about the
space station and amateur radio:
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/reference/radio/.
I hope all will come and learn about this ongoing amateur radio space adventure.
And, as a reminder, don’t forget that October (next month) is our traditional Show ‘N Tell month. What are you going to bring to show and tell? Or what did you do this year that was new or different? Or what can you bring to ask questions about? Start making your plans now!
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President’s Corner |
by Wayne Branscum, KD5SMC |
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Wayne, KD5SMC |
As a hobby, amateur or “ham” radio has been around since about the 1920s. Since then, other technologies such as cell phones and the Internet have sprung up that would seem to make it obsolete. And yet, I believe it’s still the greatest hobby in the world. Why? First of all, it’s a great way to meet people; you get to talk to them. You get to hear them. It’s a good way to meet people from all different walks of life.
Our club has folks from all backgrounds—both technical and non-technical. Some want to move into new technology. The next generation seems to be a digital amateur system, like D‑Star, that we learned about last month. Don’t be left behind…check it out!
On a different note, the federal government is launching an ambitious ID program for rescue workers. This is an effort by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to keep curious and untrained volunteers from swarming to a disaster scene. FEMA came up with the idea after the World Trade Center attack in 2001 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Those events saw countless Americans rushing to the disaster scenes to help. Some were requested and directed, but many were unhelpful and unwanted.
A prototype of the new “first responder identification card” is already being issued to fire and police personnel in the Washington, D.C. area. Proponents say the system will get professionals on the scene quicker and keep untrained volunteers from making the tough work even more difficult.
To this end, we have been repeatedly urged by Ed Hynan KC5KNI to complete the FEMA courses. (See the links on our home page—Editor) Now is the time to get ready. Completing these courses is an important step. When the time comes to serve, don’t find yourself left out because you didn’t take the time to prepare.
I’m looking forward to seeing each of you at the meeting, and enjoying the program Bill has lined up for us!
Wayne Branscum, KD5SMC
HOTARC President
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For the Record... |
HOTARC Meeting of Members
August 23, 2007
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The Treasurer Reports... |
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Heart O’ Texas Amateur Radio Club Beginning Account Balance $ 6,304.99 Income Dues $ 45.00 Donation 20.00 Interest 1.35 TOTAL Income $ 66.35 Expenses TOTAL Expenses $ 0.00 Ending Account Balance $ 6,371.34 Outstanding (as of 9-16-2007) Submitted by |
HOTARC’s August Meeting was called to order by Wayne Branscum, KD5SMC, at 7:00 pm at the Kultgen Automotive Center of the TSTC Waco campus. Chaplain Dell Bredemeyer, KE5MZS, opened the meeting with a prayer.
Present were twenty-three full members, one family member, and twelve visitors. Visitors were Bob Thompson W5VGJ of Hutto, Dallas Mellichamp KD4HNX of Round Rock, David Winterton AE5CQ of Waco, Tommy Armstrong N5SKF of Waco, Ryan Dyer KE5FFV of Crawford, Ron Bowden AA5RT of Lorena, Steve Bosshard NU5D of Temple, John Dvoracek KE5C of Temple, Wally Lavender WA5QPE of Hewitt, Bill Worthington W5MBA of Waco, Bert Wilson KD5ZYQ of Waco, and Brian ??? of Waco.
A motion to approve the Minutes for the July meeting as published in the HOTLINE was recognized from Bill Feltenberger KD5UEW, with second by Rodney Baden K5YKC. The motion was approved by the members.
A motion to approve the July Treasurer’s Report as published in the HOTLINE was recognized from Ray Read AD5CK, with second by K5YKC. The motion was approved by the members.
Committee Reports
· ARES: K5YKC reiterated the need (as stated by Ed Hynan KC5KNI in the HOTLINE) for four volunteers for each area hospital.
· Repeater: Norris Martin KB5SLI reported that the 145.15 MHz repeater is still currently active on the Hillcrest Medical Tower due to a power supply problem at the tower site.
· Trailer: Mike Ross N5MVL had nothing new to report.
· Web page: John Chamberlain AC5CV had nothing new to report.
· ATV: David Bush KC5UOZ reported that the ASV repeater was functioning well. The Skycam still non-operational while construction at the Hilton Hotel continues.
· Education: K5YKC reported that we are planning for a Technician license class on November 3rd and 10th with a VE session immediately following the second session. As before we will require pre-registration and pre-study.
· Public Relations: No report.
· Special Events: Grant Gilliam KE5ERW said to expect an email and more information very soon about the Wild West Century Bike Ride event scheduled for September 29.
Old Business
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Jim McClellan N5MIJ delivered a presentation about D-Star. |
· Radio in Club Trailer: Bill Cox W5JRM again brought up the Kenwood TS-440 needing repair. K5YKC will ask Scott Malcomb if he can work on it, and will also investigate replacing it.
· Generators:
§ Auction of the old portable generator did not happen as planned because it was not brought to the meeting.
New Business
· New member: Dave Winterton AE5CQ applied for Full membership. Motion to accept by KD5UEW, second by AD5CK. The motion was approved by the members.
Motion to adjourn was made by AD5CKat 7:23 pm.
Our guest speaker Jim McLellan N5MIJ delivered a presentation to our very interested group of members and visitors about D-Star, a method of transmitting voice and data over amateur bandwidths.
Following the presentation, Ed Middlebrook KC5NT conducted an auction of equipment donated to the Club from the Love estate.
Submitted by:
John Chamberlain AC5CV
HOTARC Secretary
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WWWC…It’s Back! |
by John Chamberlain AC5CV |
Our most challenging and most appreciated special event is here again. It’s scheduled for September 29, the weekend after our September meeting—this weekend!! Our Special Events Chairman Grant KE5ERW will be calling for volunteers, so please help out by committing to a few hours (or all day, if possible) for this very important opportunity to serve our community, practice our Net communication skills over a large area, and also get a lot of good visibility for the Club.
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Click above map for larger, “live” version. |
For the new members in HOTARC, I am referring to the Waco Wild West Century (WWWC) bike ride organized each year by the Waco Bicycle Club. This all-day event includes managed and rest-stop-equipped routes of 10, 25, 50, 65, and 100 miles. Since the routes sprawl all over the county (see Google map to the right, or the official WWWC map on the next page) throughout the day, and involving about 800 riders, much of the event-day management occurs with the assistance of HOTARC members using our amateur radio equipment and communication skills. We position our volunteers at each of the rest stops, and in several vehicles that patrol and deliver supplies around the courses. This exercise is an excellent example of the benefits afforded by a Net operation (where everyone hears all the conversations and reports) over point-to-point communications available via cell phones.
So, mark your calendars for Saturday September 29, get your two-meter rigs polished up, charged up (if yours is a handheld), and ready to operate. Even if you are new to these special events and might not even have a radio, don’t hesitate to volunteer. This is a training exercise! So, we will train you! And we’ll all have fun doing it!
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by Ed Hynan, KC5KNI, |
In time of an emergency,
there will be many requests for amateur radio emergency communications support.
Locally, in McLennan County, we have four medical organizations that may/will
need emergency communications support. In the past we have simply identified
operators to fill these positions and then sent them to the requested location
to provide the support. As we have seen following the events of 9/11—and with
the Department of Homeland Security becoming involved in providing resources
and support—what may have worked in the past will definitely not be the norm in
the future. We need to have individuals pre-cleared and with the proper
additional ID before the need arises for emergency communications support.
I have received a request to identify four individuals for each of the four medical facilities in McLennan County. These individuals would be primary operators at the hospitals—should there be a need. They need to be identified so that they can be processed and issued the required hospital ID cards for emergency operation. Should the hospitals not need amateur support they would be used in other capacities. If the hospitals were using amateur support, then the fact that we had four individuals already cleared would provide for relief operators, if the situation lasted that long.
If you would like to volunteer, please let me know by phone or e-mail. You can volunteer for a specific hospital, or for hospital support, in general. The four facilities we will be prepared to support are: Hillcrest, Providence, De Paul, and the Veterans Hospital.
Remember, in times of a major incident/disaster we can expect our resources to be stretched thin. Pre-identifying operators to support the hospitals is a big step in the right direction.
This is a rerun of last month’s article. Folks: We need to pre-identify at least four operators per hospital. Since the last HOTLINE I have gotten just two volunteers. —KC5KNI
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Technician License Class |
by John Chamberlain AC5CV |
Our February license class
was a terrific success, with over 95% passing the Technician exam on the first
try. We’ve had several requests for a repeat, so the Education Committee has
scheduled an encore for November 3rd and 10th—the first
two Saturday’s in November. If you know anyone who has been saying they would
like to get their license, or maybe you feel like talking to a family members
via radio J (Really! This can be
very handy on vacations!), get them to sign up for this class.
Direct them to the HOTARC web site, where they can click the Technician license class link on the right side for more information, and to register for the class. As before, this class is designed to prepare one to pass the test. We will review almost every question in the test bank in such a way that attendees will learn quite a few new radio facts, and be almost certain to pass the straightforward 35-question multiple choice FCC test (given November 10) and earn their first ham radio license! No prior electronics knowledge is required!
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HOTARC Membership Report |
by John Chamberlain AC5CV |
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Perhaps you’ve noticed that we’ve been adding new members at almost every Club meeting this year. As a consequence, our Club roster has been steadily growing—up to 60 members now! A current Member Directory is always available online, on our web site—just click the Members Only link in the left-hand menu. (Username and password is available from any of the Club Directors.) Included in the Member Directory listing are two very interesting pie charts showing some of the demographics of our members, as shown here. |
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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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2007 Board of Directors |
HOTARC 2007 Board of Directors
President: Wayne Branscum KD5SMC, 857-3964, wbscum@grandecom.net
Vice Pres: Bill Feltenberger KD5UEW, 756-1397, bfeltenb@swbell.net
Secretary: John Chamberlain AC5CV, 855-7731, AC5CV@arrl.net
Treasurer: Norris Martin KB5SLI, 829-2138, KB5SLI@flash.net
Past-Pres.: Rodney Baden K5YKC, 857-9760, K5YKC@arrl.net
Director (2007): Terry Williams KD5KJU, 662-2438, pumpman_rpss@yahoo.com
Director (2008): Ed Middlebrook KC5NT, 826-4053, KC5NT@arrl.net
Director (2009): Mike Ross N5MVL, 836-1083, N5MVL@juno.com
145.15 MHz (input at –600 kHz, tone 123 Hz)
146.88 MHz (input at –600 kHz, tone 123 Hz)
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 October
20, 10:00 AM. Location: Baylor’s Rogers Engineering and Computer Science Bldg
(#63 on the map). 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: Linda Hynan, AC5QQ at 666-4873 or Linda.Hynan@UTSouthwestern.edu.
Meeting NoticeThe monthly meeting of HOTARC will be at 7:00 pm on Thursday September 27, 2007 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: Nov 3, 10
Tell someone about it!