Newsletter For February 1999 - Williamson County Amateur Radio ...

1 of 8Newsletter for February, 1999New Members!Let's give a warm and hearty welcome to the following new members:Hank Belopavlovich, WA5ZLI1514 Sheridan TrailCedar Park, TX 78613-5235219-1335hank@satman.comRanken Kennedy, WN5FDSPO Box 370Taylor, TX 76574365-5920kennedys@totalaccess.netDanny Criswell, KD5FSNElin Criswell, KD5FSOBecky CriswellDaniel Luke CriswellPO Box 62Georgetown, TX 78673863-8749We had 2 new members and 27 renewals at the January meeting. I will be taking renewals at the SwapFest for those 100 people that did not make it yet73's Bob Redoutey, N5KFMinutes of last meetingPRESIDING: President, Bob HelmsQUORUM: A quorum was present. 47 Members PresentCALL TO ORDER: 7:30 P. M.WELCOME OF VISITORS:Mark Stennett, NA6MDon Melton, N5RU,Hank Belopavlovich,WA5ZLIBob Helms welcomed the visitors which were given a warm welcome.MINUTES: The published Minutes were approved as published in the News Letter approved with onecorrection, change the ARES last line to read, "and write in the body of your email "subscribe"".TREASURER'S REPORT: Bob Redoutey gave the financial report with a balance of $1,030.99 in thebank. Motion, second, motion carried to accept Nov.'s Report.OLD BUSINESS:Austin/Bergstrom International Airport Opening Chuck Burt. Volunteer forms are on the table at the backand all volunteers must fill one out and return them to Chuck by mail or at the next club meeting. There isa Volunteer Agreement on the back that must be signed and dated. It will be April 17th and 18th. Chuck

2 of 8emphasized that this is an air show and he need all the help he can get.WC A.R.E.S.- Harvey Henning3 new members since our last meeting. Mailed out all packets.WC ARES MEETINGNext Wednesday, Jan. 13, 700 P. M. Round Rock Central Fire Station, Training RoomAgenda:Plan distributionRoster distributionNotification Call Tree For Weather Watches and WarningsWhat approach do we use, by town by who is not working during the day who is available in the eveningsweekends only?Ideas and discussionWho will volunteerWC ARES Web SiteDallas Red Cross Station,DallasOrganization:Incident Command SystemAss't Emergency CoordinatorsG'town Warning Phase SystemCLUB PROPERTY- Bob Helms,Dave Hassell President Helms stated that for several weeks there has been a discussion concerning theamount of property the Club owns and it has been suggested that the Property Committee be given theresponsibility of controlling the use of the equipment. The Club owns a lot of equipment! It is veryimportant that the committee issue the equipment, set the length of time the equipment can be used by themember, and recalled in the case of an emergency. The committee would also be charged with the task ofpurchasing, selling and maintaining of the equipment. At the next Club meeting the committee willpresent a Charter describing the plan to carry out the this function of the committee. Motion, second,motion carried.SWAPFEST- Jeff SchmidtEXAMSQuestions about where the Upgrade Exams would be held was raised with the reply stating that the peoplewanting to be tested would need to arrive at the Community Center early at 8:00 or 8:30 A. M. There isconcern that if the exams are held while the vendors are setting up, there maybe a lot of noise to distractthose taking the exams. The site has not been secured yet.SET UPSet up will be about the same as last year with labeling of the tables.FOODBetty has not been contacted yet, however, this will not be a problem.DOOR PRIZESDave Hassell with be in charge of getting a lot of prizes. Not too expensive but ones that will interest allthose that attend.

3 of 8RAFFEL TICKETSBob Redoutey has the tickets and will supply them for the event.TALK-IN SCHEDULEA sheet was passed throughout those present to sigh up carry out this essential function.SECURITYThe general consensus was that the security needed to be a little tighter than last year someone at the door.PICNICS -Martha Underwood Martha explained that the Club needs to schedule our picnics and events with theCorps of Engineers a year in ADVANCE. Discussion evolved on the subject of how many did we want tohave each year. The conclusion was that we want to hold one in the Spring and at Field Day. Do we wantan inside air conditions building for Field Day? If so, we need to get busy making the reservation. Motion,second, motion carried to have the Spring Picnic on the 24th of April with an alternate day of April 25th.FIELD DAY REPORTThis report was postponed until next meeting to consider the questions involved have it inside or outside.Clarification was requested as to whether holding it inside would comply with all the requirements setforth by ARRL concerning if the power to light the facility had to be on emergency power. PresidentHelms stated that all radio equipment had to be powered by power generators. And this request will beaddressed by the committee.CLUB CALL -Greg Worthington The paperwork has been sent in to the FCC to get our Club call of WC5T.A.R.E.S. APPLICATIONS AND PICTURES -Harvey Henning Harvey urged everyone to join with applications on the back table and he needed toretake some of the pictures which had been taken at last months club meeting and to see him when wetook our refreshment break.GRAY LINE PRESENTATION -John Warren John presented a very interesting explanation and demonstration of a Gray Line Chart whichhe had developed describing how it functions with the use of a basketball to describe the straight lineplane of the earth and how the Great Circle Chart extends and is stretched so as to facilitatecommunicating with those in the countries around the world during different times of the day or night.John said that it was alright with him to reproduce the chart to sell at hamfests, etc. A BIG APPLAUSEthanked John for his presentation.REFRESHMENTS -Chuck Burt The President thanked Chuck for bringing refreshments to this meeting an requested avolunteer for next month. Michelle Bittick volunteered. We need to be back by 8:30 P. M.PROGRAM LEAP SECOND INSERTION -Ed Underwood In order to keep satellites and High Tec industry with the correct time, a "Leap Second"has been inserted into the atomic clock at the Bureau of Standards in Bolder Colorado.CROSS-BAND REPEATERS -Jeff Schmidt Jeff presented a very interesting program on the use of single and dual band radios, mobilesand repeaters to extend the distance that can be communicated. He presented charts on how this isaccomplished, radio capabilities, some "do's and don'ts", antennas, and experiences from the past toillustrate various points in his presentation. Jeff got a very BIG APPLAUSE.ADJOURNMENTThe club adjourned at 9:15 P. M. Respectfully submitted, Harvey Henning, N0AJP Secretary

4 of 8President's ColumnI hope to see each of you at our upcoming swapfest on Sunday afternoon, January 31st as well as at theupcoming club meeting on Thursday, February 4th. Meeting topics include the management of clubproperty and a summary of our swapfest results. I'd like to remind those of you who are interested in HFQRP CW, to visit my station on Saturday Feb 6th during daylight hours. There will be several low powerstations operating in the Freeze Your B___ Off operating event.In an effort to better serve the members interests, I'm asking that you take a few minutes to respond to thesurvey below. The responses will be shared with club officers and Harvey Henning, N0AJP, EmergencyCoordinator. You may omit your name however if you include it we can ask questions about yourresponses should that be necessary.The club is now an ARRL Affiliated Club and is therefore eligible to receive a portion of your ARRLdues if you wish. Join or renew your ARRL membership through the club treasurer, Bob Redoutey so thatwe may keep $2 for each renewal and $5 for each new ARRL member. Our club dues are based on thecalendar year. Those who have not paid 1999 dues yet, please do so.Bob Helms, AF5ZARES NewsIf you are on the WC-ARES reflector, you got a QST from W1AW, ARRL Headquarters entitled, "HamsRespond As Killer Tornadoes Rake South". The story tells how hams responded with hours of servicethrough the night because long-distance telephone circuits had become overloaded.What does this say to us??? To me it says, "GET READY NOW". The Belton Skywarn was held earlierthis month with over 400 in attendance. The Skywarn School in Meridian and Waco will be held inFebruary and 3M Skywarn School to be held March 6. Now my concern is this! How do we put all thesetrained people to work and how do we utilize all this skill in an organized, attainable and realistic mannerthat will protect the lives and property in Williamson County? My main hope is, "Can we get organized intime"? To those of you that have not joined WC ARES yet, WE NEED YOU!!!!Where are we in organization you ask? Below is an organizational chart. It follows the Incident CommandSystem.Notification - Harvey Henning, N0AJP, EC; (Alternate AECs)Communications Section, AEC--VacantSunday Night Net AEC Roy Gray, KC5SUZ, AEC,Red Cross AEC -- Stuart Rohre, K5KVH, AECSituation Alert AEC -- VacantDuties: Call-up Tree Resource Net (Operators forOperations)Resource Management Section, AEC Vacant(WCARC Liaison for Club Equipment)Operations Section, AEC -- VacantDuties:Resource Management (Equipment)Spotter DeploymentEOC Team DeploymentCommand Post Team DeploymentAdministrative Section AEC - Randy Pratt, KC5CWD

5 of 8Duties:Records and Database ManagementChris Hill, KC5AQF, unassignedSee a spot you want to fill? Give me a call!!!!What did we do at the meeting? Roy Gray, Sunday Night AEC got two new net controls,John Scott, KK5VH andPete Brunet, WS4G.We reviewed the City of Georgetown Warning Alert System for Annex A out of the GeorgetownEmergency Plan.We summarized the 5 phases of alert form initial weather watch or warning alert from NWS to activationof the Emergency Operations Center to the receiving of Damage Reports from the field after a tornadostrike.We discussed the County EOC at the Williamson County Sheriff's Office does not exist any longer. TheCommunication Department has taken up all the space and the Back Up EOC for the County is the City ofGeorgetown's EOC. John Sneed, County EMC, has been contacted about moving the antenna and coaxfrom the Sheriff's Building. Mack Moss, GTN EMC has been contacted about putting the antenna andcoax in the GTN EOC. I am waiting for conformation from BOTH jurisdictions.The CALL UP TREE is being developed with good guidance from President Bob Helm that had over 20years experience in the U.S. Air Force with call up systems.The WC ARES Annual Report has been completed and forwarded to ARRL and the DEC, Joe Fisher.I tried to down load the file from the Web and edit it by putting the figures. However, I was not able to dothis. Maybe I'll figure out how to do it using the .PDF file for next month's column.Well, that's is all the time I have for this task.73s, Harvey, EC WilliamsonAmateur Radio Club SurveyThank you for participating in the survey! The results should tell us more about who we are and what ourinterests are and should help us, as a club, tailor our activities and presentations. We will publish theresults in an upcoming newsletter.Novice RoundupThe 1999 Novice Round-Up Sponsored by FISTS CW Club will be held starting Friday Feb 12 at 1700UTC to Monday Feb 15 2400 UTC. Only QSO's made in the Novice CW band segments will be valid.Novice/Tech QSO is worth 5 points, and non-Novice/Tech QSO is worth 2 points.Exchange: Call Sign,Name,RST,License Class,QTH.Total of 50 multipliers, one for each state worked.

6 of 8Score =(number of Novice/Tech CW QSO's times 5), plus (number of non-Novice/Tech QSO's times 2),times number of multipliers worked.Certificates to the top scoring Novice/Tech and Non-Novice/Tech, plus the winners will get a one yearfree membership in FISTS CW Club. Send Logs and summary sheets and check sheets to:NOVICE ROUND-UPc/o Dennis Franklin K6DF4658 Capitan Dr.Fremont, CA., 94536-5448,postmarked no later than March 16, 1999.Talk RadioLinky Brokhausen N5AKJ has an article that should be of interest to all hams. In the February/Marchissue of the "Air and Space Magazine", published by the Smithsonian Institute is an article concerninghams who have talked to the various space shuttles including one ham who just happened to speakRussian and made a life-long friend with one of the Russian MIR astronauts. Another ham worked one ofthe shuttles from his John Deere tractor! This sounds interesting. If this is of interest I could publish it inthe next newsletter (It won't fit into this month's issue).Martha Underwood, N2VRF just MAY have a copy at the next club meeting.Editor's Waste BasketWell folks, it looks like we have another good issue of the Club Newsletter. Lots of good stuff and alllocal. Be sure and fill out and return Bob's questionaire. I hate those things! For instance, under "Homestation equipment", how do I say that my good intentions are still lying in the back yard on the ground?And under "mobile equipment" how can I explain that I haven't yet transfered my little 2-meter rig into thecar that I'm presently driving?But the questionnaire is just what the doctor ordered. It's like getting a wake-up call! I should be able tofill out that questionnaire without being so embarrased by so many of the questions! I just hope most ofyou can do better that I. Thanks Bob, I needed that. 73's...EdWilliamson County Radio Club SurveyNote: All club members will receive a written copy of this month's newsletter so that thequestionaire can be more conveniently filled out and turned in.1. My name is: ________________________________2. My call sign is: ____________3. My phone number is: __________________4. My current license class is: ______________5. The date I received this license was: _______________6. I've been an amateur radio operator since: ________________________7. My current interests in amateur radio include: (please check all that apply)VHF/UHF: [ ] Repeater [ ] SSB [ ] meteor scatter [ ] EME[ ] Packet [ ] DX Cluster [ ] Contesting HF:[ ] SSB [ ] CW [ ] RTTY [ ] Packet[ ] other digital(list)___________________________ [ ] QRP [ ] Contests [ ] Camping

7 of 88. Equipment:VHF/UHF:Home station:Please describe equipment and antennas in use.List Bands you are active on: _______________________Do you have VHF/UHF gear in your car/truck? ____If yes, please describe: ____________________________Mobile station:Handy talkie: Do you own an HT? ______________________HF:Home station:Please describe equipment and antennas in use.List the bands you are active on: ____________________Mobile station:Do you have an HF mobile station? ________If yes, please describe: _____________________________9. Amateur Radio Emergency Service (A.R.E.S):Do you participate in A.R.E.S? _____Are you interested in being contacted about A.R.E.S.? _________Do you have VHF/UHF equipment capable of running on emergency power? _____ Please list______________________________________Do you have HF equipment capable of running on emergency power? ______ Please list_______________________________________Have you participated in Weather Spotter Training? _________ When are you available for WeatherWatch or Warning call up to be a spotter?_____Any time (24 hours a day)_____Evenings after 6pm_____Weekends only10. Club meetingsAbout how many meetings do you attend per year? ______________What do you like most about the meetings?_____________________________________________________________ What do you like least?_____________________________________________________________ Any suggestions forimproving the meetings?_____________________________________________________________ What presentation (recent orotherwise) really grabbed you?_____________________________________________________________ What areas might you beable to present?_____________________________________________________________ What subjects would youlike to see programs on?_____________________________________________________________

8 of 811. TrainingWhen was your last license upgrade? ___________________________Any interest in upgrading? __________Would you sign up for a code class? ________________Are you interested in having a theory tutor? _______________ Are you interested in being a theory tutor?_______________12. NewsletterDo you read the newsletter on-line? ________What articles could you write? _______________________________________________________________________________________________What sort of articles would you want to see?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________13. Club activitiesDid you participate in:Field Day ______A picnic ______The Swap Meet ______Other group operating events? ______What activities would you like to see?You may respond by:email to: af5z@inetport.commail to: Bob Helms, AF5Z330 Richard RdGeorgetown, 78626or: turn in your survey at the FEBRUARY club meeting.