Monthly Net and Meeting

03/20/2020

As college campuses have sent students home to finish their classes online, members of the K7UAZ Amateur Radio Club in Tucson — a student organization at the University of Arizona — have moved their radio club meetings to, well, the radio. K7UAZ Station Manager Curt Laumann, K7ZOO, said that when the university largely shuttered its campus, club president Ken Gourley, KM6BKU, immediately transitioned regular meetings to an on-the-air format using the university repeater. The club already was holding a weekly net on Monday nights, but the added on-air club meetings offer another opportunity to get on the radio.

In recent months, in-person K7UAZ club meetings have hosted presentations on such topics as EME (Earth-moon-Earth) communication and an AMSAT CubeSat simulation. As meetings move on the air, Gourley explained, he will send out a copy of meeting presentation slides so members can follow along. “I will lead the net and start with check-ins,” he said. “We will work our way through the slides, discussing previous events, upcoming activities, the treasurer’s report, projects, etc. I will take new check-ins every 5 – 10 minutes. We will conclude with officer comments and general comments. Hopefully it won’t take more than 30 – 45 minutes.”

ARRL staff member Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, who liaises for the ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio Initiative (CARI), underscores the importance that all radio clubs encourage on-the-air activity in this challenging time. “While I know many businesses and schools have moved to online meetings and learning, I can think of many advantages for a radio club to move club meetings to on-air,” Inderbitzen said. His list includes:

Holding short meetings on the air will encourage individual club members to practice their personal radio communication capabilities. Station and skills readiness are tenets of the Amateur Radio Service.

Nets generally help new radio amateurs gain practical operating experience. Think of this current challenge as an opportunity to encourage your club’s new hams to get on the air.

As online fatigue and a feeling of isolation will inevitably creep into our “new normal,” being on-air will introduce variety into our communication practices. As many of us are now homebound working or studying, turning on a radio to connect with your ham radio peers will be welcome respite! 

At K7UAZ, experienced club members provide instruction for members to access the K7UAZ ARC repeater from 2 meters and via Echolink. The club also offers members the opportunity to borrow handheld radios or to be patched in via HF or videoconferencing, if they live too far away from the repeater.

ARRL is encouraging university radio clubs to network with other clubs and students via ARRL’s CARI Facebook group. “Keeping our campus radio clubs going will ensure we are, together, advancing the art, science, and enjoyment of amateur radio. It’s our collective mission,” Inderbitzen said. 

Ham Radio Clubs Connect Amid Social Distancing

So we will have our Monthly net Wednesday 3/25 and our April meeting on the air due to the present situation. See you on Picuris at the regular times 7:00 PM net and 6:00 PM meeting.

TARC Minutes - March 11, 2020

TAOS AMATEUR RADIO CLUB

Meeting Minutes: March 11, 2020

The meeting was called to order at 6:07 PM by President Mike Kittredge, at the Taos County EOC, after a great pot luck.


Attendees: Mike Kittredge, Gary Ferguson, Craig Grillio, Glen Romero, Shelia Shortell, Greg Medina, Dan Pritchard, Brian Williams, Tim Henson

Voted to accept the February 12, 2020 minutes with revision to name corrections.


President’s report:

ARRL testing occurred March 7 with five licenses earned, 2 Tech, 2 General, and 1 Extra.

The next test is June 13, 2020 right before the Extra questions change.

Mike led the discussion on the need to have ARRL books to lend to members for license study. The suggestion was to buy 4 books for each license type, each time the questions changed, that way we will have the books for their 4 year life. Also suggested we should start with the new extra questions when they rollout 7/1/2020. Then is subsequent years Tech and General purchases of 4 books each. General agreement, but we did not vote on the discussion.

501c3 Status is we will use the postcard form to file our taxes for the 9 questions on the form and will become an IRS recognized non-profit. Thanks to Tom T for the research on this topic.


Treasurer’s Report:

Glen Romero, we have $2,531.75 in the bank. We paid 2 government bills.


New Business:

Brian Williams gave us an update on future happenings on Picuris and San Antonio (SA) Mountains. Rocky Mountain Radio Club is putting up a D-Star repeater on SA mountain. Digital UHF. There is fiber to SA mountain. TARC would like to piggyback as much as possible.

Brian also indicated there is a broken microwave link from SA to Picuris to be fixed this summer.

Brian continued to discuss the plan to add a DMR repeater on Picuris linked to Colorado and New Mexico. Brian also stated the need for solar backup update on SA.

In general discussion noted repeaters with the call sign NM5ML in the repeater book are linked for the state megalink, when you transmit on “1” you transmit on perhaps “30” repeaters all over the state.

Mike reminded us that the TaosARC Net is on the 4th Wednesday of the month at 7:00 PM. Tune in to the Picuris repeater “Taos (Picuris Mountain)  147.120+, 67.0 “ and join in.


Craig Grillio made a motion to adjourn at 7:01 PM, 2nd by Shelia Shortell, unanimously approved.


The formal meeting ended and many members continued into a workshop for about 40 minutes with Chirp programming HT’s and Q&A.

TARC Testing - 03/07/2020, FIVE New Licenses Earned

It was a wonderful day for TARC and a beautiful weather day also. We will soon have more friends on the air.

Today, 3/7/2020 we had 5 local candidates test for licenses and all 5 candidates obtained a new license.

The new licensees are as follow:

Shelia Shortell    Technician

Dan Pritchard     Technician

Gary Ferguson    General

Matthew Rogers General

Dillon Grahn       Extra

Special thanks for the club support today with Mike Kittredge, John Wheatley, Tom Trojnar, Brian Williams, and Glen Romero.

See you all at the Wednesday meeting, 3/11/2020. Remember the 4th Wednesday 19:00 informal net.

The next ARRL test is 6/13/2020, but we can do W5YI 1-off tests if anyone gets sick of studying and has to “get it over with” and take the test.

Seems I forgot to take a picture this time of licensees holding certificates. The return packet is all prepared and will go into the mail Monday a.m.

73, W5TNM

Tim Henson


TARC Meeting Minutes February 12, 2020

TAOS AMATEUR RADIO CLUB

Meeting Minutes: February 12, 2020

The meeting was called to order at 6:04 PM by President Mike Kittredge, at the Taos County EOC.

Welcomed guests: Brian Papworth, Earnest Martinez, Shelia Shortell

Club members: Mike Kittredge, Gary Ferguson, Dillon Grahn, John Wheatly, Glen Romero, Tim Henson, Stephen Pace, Brian Williams

Tim Henson summarized the minutes from January 8, 2020, the minutes were accepted, Stephen Pace made the motion, Glen Romero 2nd,

President’s report:

We need club members to gain experience with club HF equipment. There are some procedures with the equipment that require specific knowledge to operate. It was mentioned perhaps a Saturday session sometime.

Mike reminded us that the TaosARC Net is on the 4th Wednesday of the month at 7:00 PM. Tune in to the Picuris repeater and join in.

ARRL license testing will be March 7, 2020. Future sessions are June 13, and November 14, 2020. It was mentioned becoming an ARRL VE is easy if you are an W5YI VE, there is an instant approval form.

New Business:

We had radio show and tell. Mike brought HT examples, cheap and better than cheap, plus a 10W station. Glen brought a 25W Triband with a battery and antenna setup with about $140 invested. Mike encouraged club members to discuss with others before making significant purchases.

Also discussed equipment suppliers, mentioned MFJ, Alexon, DX Engineering.

Mike explained the Mickey repeater at Holly Cross Hospital. You can get on the repeater and dial a local phone number that will identify you as Holy Cross Hospital. The access pattern to dial is 5419 770 1961 (Tim’s cell example) and to hangup dial 540. Make sure you hang up.

Treasurers Report:

Glen Romero gave the report, we have $2,626.38.

Glen Romero made a motion to adjourn at 7:45 PM, 2nd by Brian Williams, unanimously approved.

It’s never too late to upgrade! Next exam - March 7

TaosARC will be hosting our next exam on March 7 from 10:00-12:00 at the Taos County EOC. We hope many future hams will come and wish them good luck!

The Latest Story from ARRL:

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George “Buck” Miner, K6RFE, of Sun City, Arizona, has been an active ham since earning his first license in 1956, upgrading to a General-class license 10 months later. It wasn’t until January 26, however, that he upgraded to Amateur Extra — at the age of 94.

Miner began losing his sight at a young age and became totally blind when he was 27. That never slowed him down, however. Over the intervening years, he repaired TVs and sold, repaired, and installed two-way radios. He even managed a 200-acre ranch on the northern California coast, where he fished and dived for abalone.

Miner was a local celebrity, too, producing and hosting a live radio show in Eureka, California — “Chuck Star and his Rambling Guitar” — on which he told stories, sang, and played guitar. To survive living alone, he learned to cook for himself and has produced several “Buck’s Miracle Kitchen” YouTube videos that humorously demonstrate how he cooks without sight.

Miner has written several books, including an autobiography, My Darkness under the Sun. He’s also composed hundreds of songs, including “CQ Boogie,” and he continues to play his guitar and sing for fun and profit. — Thanks to Bob Ringwald, K6YBV

New Hams?

If you have questions about how to get started in ham radio, On the Air has the answers. On the Air, ARRL’s new bimonthly magazine for beginner and intermediate hams, is here! All ARRL members can access the digital edition through the new ARRL Magazines app (see details below). 

In the first issue of On the AirJanuary/February 2020, you'll get:A guide to buying your first handheld radioStep-by-step instructions for building simple antennas for VHF and HFA full-page infographic that explains how the ionosphere makes long-distance radio communication possibleAn “Up Close” Q & A with Jeremy Hong, KD8TUO, who reveals his favorite resources for new hams.        …and much more!Download the NEW ARRL Magazines App!The perfect companion for members on the go! The new ARRL Magazines app replaces the QST app. Use the app to access current and back issues of On the Airmagazine and QST, ARRL’s monthly membership journal. The ARRL Magazines App is available free for download in Apple’s App Store and Google Play, or visitwww.arrl.org/ota for more info. If your device is setup to update apps automatically, the ARRL Magazines app will replace the QST app.Comments. Share your feedback about On the Air magazine. Go NowForgot password? Go to www.arrl.org/forgot-password to reset your password.Not a member? Join today and get access to the current digital edition now.

Need help? Visit the digital edition help page for frequently asked questions.

Need more help? Contact Member Services by telephone 860-594-0200 or 888-277-5289 (US only) or email circulation@arrl.org.

Go Green! Go Digital-Only.
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ARRL Commemorates 98th Anniversary of Transatlantic Contact

December 11 marks the 98th anniversary of the success of ARRL’s Transatlantic Tests in 1921, organized to see if low-power amateur radio stations could be heard across the Atlantic using shortwave frequencies (i.e., above 200 meters). On that day, a message transmitted by a group of Radio Club of America members at 1BCG in Greenwich, Connecticut, was copied by Paul Godley, 2ZE, in Scotland.

While the first two-way contact would not take place until 1923, the 1921 transatlantic success marked the beginning of what would become routine communication between US radio amateurs and those in other parts of the world — literally the birth of DX.

To commemorate this amateur radio milestone, Maxim Memorial Station W1AW will be on the air through the day on December 11 with volunteer operators. The goal is to encourage contacts between radio amateurs in the US and Europe while showcasing the significance of the transmissions that pioneered global communication and laid the groundwork for technology widely used today. The event will run from 1300 until 0000 UTC. Some details are still being worked out, but operation will focus on 40 and 20 meters (SSB).

November Testing

Exciting news!

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Testing for new Hams and those wanting to upgrade licenses should resume in November.

Dave Raskin, W5TYL, our Contact Volunteer Examiner has renewed his W5YI certification.

Testing to beheld Saturday November 23’ at 10:00 AM.

Testing will be held at the Taos County Emergency Management Center, 6 Miranda Canyon Rd. See map to meeting location . Please RSVP to taosarc@live.com to be certain of a test. Fee is $14.00 check to Taos ARC.