HCARC Happenings
April 2014
|
News for Amateur Radio Operators In and Around Hillsdale County The
next club meeting will be
Thursday, May 8 at 7pm at the First United
Methodist Church, 45 N Manning in Hillsdale (map).
There will be no meeting in April because the normal meeting date
conflicts with Maundy
Thursday church services. The
May meeting was moved up a week to avoid conflict with the Dayton
Hamvention. This
month the Ham Breakfast will be held
on Saturday, April 12 at 8am at the Coffee
Shop, 119 W Main in North Adams (map).
Please come
join us. The
Hillsdale
County CROP Walk is Sunday, May 4.
CROP walks are community-wide events sponsored and organized by religious
groups, businesses, schools and others to raise funds to end hunger.
Amateur Radio volunteers are needed starting about 1:15pm until about
3:30pm to work the parking area, staff a water station at the beach, and
monitor points along the trail. Walker registration starts at 1:30pm the Salvation Army Corps Community Center, 160 E Bacon in Hillsdale (map).
The walk starts at 2pm, walking the Baw Beese Trail to Sandy Beach
and returning. Anyone that can
work the trail mobile (non-motorized, i.e. on a bicycle or roller blades) is
especially needed. To
volunteer, sign up here. The
Community Action Agency (CAA) Head
Start Picnic is
Thursday, May 15. Amateur
Radio volunteers with HTs are needed from 10:30am to 1:00pm to work the
parking lot detail. We’ve
worked this event for the last four years and had lots of fun.
Free lunch is available to volunteers. CAA
is located at 55 Barnard in Hillsdale (map).
This is a weekday and many people are working, so if you are off and
available we really need your help. To
volunteer, sign up here. The
Michigan
QSO Party
is Saturday, April 19. Anyone
interested in setting up a station in a public location please contact club
leadership. Field Day
is coming up June 28 & 29. Anyone
interested in serving as chairperson or helping with planning should contact
club
leadership. Congratulations to club vice president Anne Burchardt
N8VIF and treasurer Joe Gosla KD8UJS for successfully passing
license upgrade exams at the Marshall hamfest.
Anne passed element 4 upgrading to Amateur Extra from General.
Joe passed element 3 upgrading to General from Technician.
Good going!!! Congratulations to new (re)ham Thomas Palmer KD8WWW of
Jonesville who was granted his technician license on March 20.
He was previously licensed as KA8EQP from
the 1970s until his license expired in 2007, and at one time owned and
operated the local repeater. Welcome
back! Club membership stands at 12 as of April 1.
We had 19 members at the end of 2013.
If you did not renew by March 31
you are no longer a member in good standing.
Rates are unchanged from last year and are $15 for regular
membership, $5 for household membership (additional members in same
household after first member pays regular rate) and free for students. All renewing members are asked to fill out an updated membership
application (print
2-sided) as
part of the renewal process. Dues
can be paid by cash or check at the club meeting or mailed to club Treasurer
Joe Gosla KD8UJS, 2175 Blackmer Drive, Jonesville, MI 49250. Make checks payable to Hillsdale County Amateur Radio Club or
HCARC. If you were a member in
2013 and renew anytime in 2014 you are not eligible for pro-rated dues and
must pay the full amount. Thanks
for your support. Severe
Weather Spotter Training for the Northern
Indiana Forecast Office Northeast
Region was held on March 6 in Archbold, Ohio. Two club members attended the session and both said that it
was very good. Free online
spotter training is available by clicking here. Updated
weather data created from data from Accuweather.com
and other local measurements. Although
the weather is warming up, in March, 26 of 31 days the daily high
temperature was below normal. The
April forecast is for 27 days to be cooler than normal.
Hopefully there won’t be any more snow!
The FCC
is reinstating the Morse Code test for General and Amateur Extra Class
licensees. "It was a big
mistake eliminating the Morse Code test," admits Dotty Dasher, the
FCC's director of examinations. "We
now realize that being able to send and receive Morse Code is an essential
skill for radio amateurs. General
and Extra class operators will have one year to pass the code test. Technicians will not be required to take a code test.
Dasher explained, "We decided that since most Techs can't even figure out
how to program their HTs, requiring them to learn Morse Code seemed like
cruel and unusual punishment." Click
here
to read the entire story from the The
Livonia Amateur Radio Club newsletter. .- .--. .-. .. .-.. / ..-. --- --- .-.. A new
website offers a treasure trove of vintage ham radio photos and QSL Cards.
The grandson of Thomas “Tom” Russell Gentry W5RG (SK) has
developed the website that is
certain to be of interest to
vintage radio enthusiasts. Don
Retzlaff, who is not a ham, said his grandfather was among the earliest
Amateur Radio operators, getting his license in the early 1920s, at one
point identifying as NU5RG and remaining active until he died in 1979. (ARRL
story) Once a
staple of electronics retailing and a ready source of small parts for ham
radio home-brewers and electronics enthusiasts, RadioShack
has fallen on tough times. In
the wake of a substantial drop in holiday sales and a big fourth-quarter
loss, the Fort Worth, Texas-based retailer has announced that it is closing
1100 of its outlets, leaving the chain with 4000 stores, including more than
900 dealer franchises. (ARRL
story) The Delaware
State Police (DSP) have announced that they are teaming up with the Sussex
County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES)
to ensure reliable back-up communications for DSP should their primary
communications system fail. When
back-up communications are needed, DSP will designate locations for ARES
stations to set-up. ARES members will then maintain and pass traffic within this
network. (Southgate
Amateur Radio News story) The
ARRL has formally complained to the FCC, contending that a “grow light”
ballast being widely marketed and sold is responsible for severe
interference to the MF and HF bands.
The League urged Commission action to halt sales of the Lumatek
LK-1000 electronic ballast and to recall devices already on store shelves or
in the hands of consumers. In a
March 12 letter to the Commission’s Enforcement Bureau and its Office of
Engineering and Technology, ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, said the
ARRL’s own laboratory testing revealed that the Lumatek device exhibited
excessive conducted emissions, in violation of the FCC’s rules.
(ARRL
story) The FCC
has invited public comment on a Petition for Rule Making (RM-11715) that
would make a significant portion of the 10.0 to 10.5 GHz band available for
wireless broadband services. The
Petition by Mimosa Networks Inc proposes a band plan for 10.0 to 10.5 GHz
that, it says, would protect frequencies most often used by radio amateurs.
The petition hinges on FCC adoption of rule changes that would put
the 10 GHz band under Subpart Z of the Commission’s Part 90 rules.
Subpart Z currently sets out regulations governing wireless
licensing, technical standards, and operational standards in the 3650 to
3700 MHz band. (ARRL
story) (FCC
Electronic Comment Filing System) The ARRL has announced a Centennial Station Giveaway as part of its National Centennial Convention to be held in Hartford, Connecticut, July 17-19, 2014. Sponsored by the ARRL and R&L Electronics, the first-prize winner will receive a Grand Prize voucher worth up to $5000 of equipment, redeemable for products sold by R&L Electronics. (ARRL story) FCC
License Database Activity in Hillsdale County 03/04/14
Smith, Brett KC8ZDA license renewed 03/20/14
Burchardt, Anne M N8VIF upgraded to Extra from General 03/20/14
Gosla, Joseph KD8UJS upgraded to General from Technician 03/20/14
Palmer, Thomas N KD8WWW new licensee Technician FCC
Enforcement News On
March 5 the FCC has issued a Citation to a New Jersey Citizens Band radio
shop for marketing unauthorized RF devices to consumers.
Last October an agent from the FCC’s Philadelphia office browsed
the website of the online retailer of CB and Amateur Radio gear and observed
for sale several models of non-certified RF power amplifiers” capable of
operation on both the 11 meter Citizens Band and the 10 meter ham band.
The shop has 30 days to respond.
(ARRL
story) In a
Forfeiture Order released March 10, the FCC fined a California ham
$13,600, a $3400 reduction of the $17,000 the Commission initially
proposed to levy in the case. The
FCC cited the otherwise clean record of deciding to reduce his fine for
“willfully and repeatedly” violating the Communications Act and FCC
rules. He was found liable for operating an unlicensed FM
broadcasting station and for failing to allow FCC personnel to inspect his
station. The FCC said agents in
February 2012 used direction-finding gear to track the source of an
apparently unlicensed signal, identifying as KBRS, on 104.9 MHz in the FM
broadcast band. (ARRL
story) On
March 19 the Florida ham agreed to give up his Amateur radio license
as part of a consent decree. The
ham also agreed to make a $1000 “voluntary donation” to the US Treasury. In turn, the FCC is terminating a 2012 enforcement proceeding
involving unlicensed transmissions that interfered with a sheriff’s
department radio system. (ARRL
story) An
Oklahoma Amateur Extra class licensee is facing a $12,000 fine
for operating his Citizens Band radio to “interfere with the
communications of other CB stations”.
On March 21 the FCC said in a Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture that an FCC agent used mobile direction-finding techniques to
positively identify his CB station as the source of a continuous carrier on
channel 19 (27.185 MHz). The CB
transmitter was keyed on, continuously transmitting on channel 19, because
other CB operators in the area were harassing the licensee’s wife.
(ARRL
story) QSM Hillsdale
County Emergency Management is always looking for volunteers, either to join the group or just to
monitor the monthly tornado siren test, so if you are interested contact
Cindy at the HCEM office. Tests
are held on the first Monday of the month (except September which is the
second Monday), March through October at 6pm (except March & September
which are held at 10am). Volunteers
are always needed to run the Monday Night Ragchew Net.
Check the Net
Control Schedule on the club website
for the schedule and results. And
don’t forget to check in every Monday at 7pm on the 147.06 MHz repeater. Longtime
club member Charlie Hinkle W8CFO is downsizing his station and has some equipment
for sale. Click here
for a list. The ARRL
Centennial QSO Party kicked off January 1 for a year-long operating
event in which participants can accumulate points and win awards in
conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the ARRL.
During 2014 W1AW will be on
the air from every state (at least twice) and most US territories, and it
will be easy to work all states solely by contacting W1AW portable
operations. The event is open
to all, although only ARRL members and appointees, elected officials, HQ
staff and W1AW are worth points. (ARRL
story) Lots of addition
information about the centennial QSO party is available here. ARRL
membership certificates
commemorating the League’s 100th anniversary in 2014 now are available.
Members logged onto the League’s website can generate their own
certificates or cards online for printing.
(ARRL
story) Upcoming Events April
12 – Ham Breakfast at the Coffee
Shop in North Adams (map) April
12 - Milford Hamfest April
19 – Michigan QSO Party May 4 – CROP Walk (sign up here) May 7 – Board Meeting May 8
– Club meeting May 10
– Ham Breakfast May 15 – CAA Head Start Picnic (sign up here) May
16-18 - Dayton
Hamvention |
Send us your comments and suggestions to K8HRC@arrl.net
