TheThe eeKiloKilo --WhatWhat Monthly Newsletter of the San Angelo Amateur Radio Club November 2010
San Angelo Amateur Radio Club’s 86th Birthday Celebration and Scout Jamboree on the Air Just a quick update on the Clubs Birthday/Anniversary/Special Events Station and the Boys/Girls Scouts Jamboree -on-the-Air (JOTA) that was held Saturday, 16 Oct 2010. We had a total of 22 members and guests at the club this year and we also had two of our members, Gary, W5ETJ and Tom, K4OTM, down at Camp Sol Mayer for the Boys Scouts Jamboree-on-the-Air (JOTA), which was also on this weekend. Hughbert, KC5NPC, purchased the fixings for BBQ'ing some hamburgers and smoke sausage for everyone at the party. Tom, W5UFO, had his 1920 Ice Cream making machine at the birthday party and was making some really good ice cream, as always, with plenty left over for anyone who wanted more. The 86th Anniversary / Birthday Cake was also really good again this year and we had plenty of cake left over. Gary, KE5TXL, was taken pictures for us, again this year. With both Gary and Tom down at Camp Sol Mayer, we had a good time with the special event/JOTA station at the club house. We were able to establish a very good connection from the SAARC club house, on 40 meters, down to Camp Sol Mayer this year, that remained up the entire time until we all called it at around 1600 hours (4 PM) and started the close down of the stations at both locations. The club station used both the dipole (for 40/80 meters) and the beam (for 10/20 meters) and made many contacts for both the special event station and for JOTA. We made contacts for Hawaii and Great Britain and many stations state side for the JOTA and the special event station. Many of us at the club house were surprised at the ease and carefree, at which most of the younger scouts, that talked to us and to other stations on the air that we also had contacts with. Anyway, a good time was had by all. It would not have been so successful without the help from many of the club members and with the constant communications we had between the SAARC club house and Camp Sol Mayer and the many operators that we had to help with the event. We would like to say 'Thanks' to all who participated and helped with the Clubs Birthday/Anniversary/Special Events Station and the Boys/Girls Scouts Jamboree-on-the-Air (JOTA) for this year. A good job by all. Report by Mike Dominy/KD5URW See Photos on page 3,4
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Upcoming Special Events
November 13 - Amateur License Exams, 1:30 p.m., Angelo State University (ASU), Centennial Village housing complex, Commons Building, Ave N. and Rosemont Drive.
December 4 - Skywarn Recognition Day Special Event Station, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., National Weather Ser- vice,
December 9 - Annual Eatin’ Meetin’ , Blanik’s Village Café, 7 p.m. Make reservations. Contact Hughbert Robinson/KC5NPC , [email protected], 325-949-7478, 325-895-5166(CELL).
2011 Officer Nominations and Ham of the Year Award It is time to start thinking about who you want to run for all the offices this year. It is not hard and you can make a difference. Give it some thought. We will take nominations from the floor at the next meeting. Also, it is time to select Ham of the Year. Look around and see who has been the most active in helping the club and others in pursuit of this great hobby of ours. Send Nominations to Ralph Stout-KA5ULE, President Page 2 The eKilo-What November 2010
Scanner Jack’s Corner TAXI 152.390 157.65O de Jack Roberts/KB5TMY TRASH TRUCKS 855.2875 Monitor these frequencies for road and school WRECKERS 152.270 closures due to winter weather. CARR 155.145 155.835 155.925 For road conditions call 1-800-452-9292 or Monitor these frequencies for school closures. monitor these frequencies. SAISD BUS 461.050 FIRE EMS DISP 460.600 SAISD MAINT 461.375 TX DOT 151.025 151.055 153.020 IF THERE IS HIGH WATER ON THE ROAD DO REACT 462.675 462.600 NOT DRIVE THRU IT. CODE BLUE 463.675 -TURN AROUND, DON'T DROWN- SA STATE PARK 159.270 159.345
Emergency Communications The Tom Green County ARES group held their monthly meeting on 21 Oct 2010 with a good meeting dis- de Mike Dominy/KD5URW - Emergency Coordinator cussing the upcoming Simulated Emergency Test (SET), set for 30 October 2010, for the group. The group had a good discussion, about the upcoming SET exercise, over what
October ARES Net Report communication nets to use, what type of messages and how
many we should look at passing during the exercise, the Date Net Ctrl Check-ins Time Freq various locations that the group members will be assigned to
10/4 KD5URW 15 15 min 444.350 and who would be assigned to the city/county Emergency Operations Center (EOC) during the SET. We reviewed 10/11 KD5URW 14 18 min 444.350 what need to be done to install a 2-meter beam on the roof 10/18 KD5URW 16 15 min 444.350 of the EOC before the SET. The SET will be detailed in a separate report. With time permitting, the group reviewed 10/25 KD5URW 14 14 min 444.350 other agenda items and talked about another work day at the
EOC and a work date to start work on the group’s new up- coming project and some training dates for training with the WebEOC at the EOC. Tom Green County ARES Net October was a busy month for us, with Skywarn being Meets every Monday night at 8:30 CST (2030 hr) on operated several times this past month. We had some real the 444.350 MHz (Pl 162.2) .(N5SVK). The net can also be emergency concerns on two main occasions, with some very reached by Echolink at WB5VRM-R or Node 412402. big storms coming into the Concho Valley area that had Other frequencies are announced on Concho Valley Net at some very high winds, possible a few tornados, like the one 8:00 pm. that came close to my home QTH location, within the San Angelo National Weather Service (NWS) watch area. The Activities one good thing from those storms was the good old West Texas rains that came at the right time to help relieve some Total # of ARES members: 19 Change since last month: 0 of the wildland fires that we where having in the area. Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 6 I wish to say a big Thanks to all who attend the meet- Man hours: 96.0 ings and wish to invite anyone to our meetings to see what Number of emergency operations this month: 3 the Tom Green County ARES is all about. The next TGC- Man hours: 14.5 ARES group meeting is set for 18 November 2010 at 7:00 Total number of ARES operations this month: 9 PM at the San Angelo ARC club house. Total Man hours: 110.5 73s, Stay Safe and Happy DXing.
Wanted: Cushcraft A3WS. Wanted: Not in working order, amplifier, for parts. Wanted to borrow: Gin Pole and tower climber to take 40 foot tower down. For Sale: Lionel Keyer (no name plate) Looks like early Vibroplex keyers: $65, Heathkit Keyer/oscillator HD1410 modified for external keying $30 Contact Bill-WB5ZAM at 325-657-0943, or:[email protected] or [email protected]. PagePage 3 TheThe eeKiloKilo-What-What NovemberNovember 20092010
Jamboree on the Air Station at Camp Sol Mayer Attached are a few pictures of the JOTA station Tom Austin/K4OTM and I operated at Camp Sol Mayer. We were able to establish a very good connection with the SAARC club house on 40 meters that remained up the entire time. Equipment used was an Elecraft K3 into a Buddipole at 18'. A number of Scouts stopped by and were able to talk to our club members in San Angelo as well as hams in other areas including Shreveport, LA and SE Oklahoma. We were surprised at the ease at which most of the younger scouts took to the microphone with little or no coaching. They must teach PTT in grade school now (ha). We also were able to demonstrate the use of EchoLink by establishing an iPhone/EchoLink QSO with Bill Tarn/ AE5AW via the N5SVK 444.350 repeater (thanks Bill and Don). Anyway, a good time was had by all and would not have been as successful without the constant communication be- tween our station and the SAARC club house. Thanks to all who participated. Report by Gary Chafin/W5ETJ
(Continued from page 1) SAARC 86th Birthday Pictures
(Continued on page 4) Page 4 The eKilo-What November 2010
Recent CVCOG Interoperability Data and Radio Systems, Jim Koca/N5PIY Programs January ‘10
February ‘10 Tour of the San Angelo Public Safety Communications Facility, David Berhend/KB5FNK
March ‘10 Tour of the San Angelo National Weather Station, Hector Guerrero/KC5BRB
April ‘10 San Angelo/TGC Emergency Management Department, Ron Perry/KB5UPE
May ‘10 Q codes, Band Limits, Ralph Stout/KA5ULE
June ‘10 Field Day
July ‘10 National Weather Service, Dr. Steve Lyons
August ‘10 EME, Glenn Miller/AA5PK
September ‘10 Kenwood TS-570, Charlie Royall/WB5T
October ‘10 SAARC’s 86th Birthday Party
November ‘10
(Continued from page 3) More SAARC 86tghBirthday Party Pictures
(Continued from page 5) QSL OF THE MONTH- 6Y0B= US ham, W2GB has a reciprocal call, and this is a view from his vacation shack in Jamaica. See you on the bands chasing dx. 73 de Bill. Page 5 The eKilo-What November 2010
CQ DX - November 2010 de Bill Richards/WB5ZAM Upcoming/Ongoing DXpeditions during November: ZD9; E51; V47; A25; VP5; C56; PJ7; 8Q7; 6V7; FP; S79; 5R; 9Q; CY0; 9X0; 5XO; GU; 3B8; YJ; 9U; PJ2; 9L; 5W; XU; 5X; PJ5; ZK2; ZL8X; VP2M; XV; AND 6W. In January, one of the rare ones will be activated, Spratley Island, DX0DX, by a VK team. FYI 40 meters has been alive in the sunup to 1000 range, and we have had more activity in the morning on 15m and 20m, with some long distance qsos from the states on 10m. The bands are slowly improving. Even QRP stations are having success with DX. Get Radio Ac- tive. Island of the Month-VK0H-Heard Island: Heard Island is a volcanic island in the southern Indian Ocean, with an area of about 160 square miles (400 sq. km) and topped by the magnificent stratovolcano of Big Ben. About 85-90% of the island is covered by glaciers and permanent snow despite its relatively modest latitude of 53° S, a testament to the continual foul weather and heavy precipitation of the Southern Oceans. Heard Island is named after American sealing captain John Heard, of the Oriental, who is thought to have made the first confirmed sighting of the island in November 1853.The first landings on the islands were made by sealers, hunting the fur seal for its skin and fur and later the sea elephant for its oil. By 1880 most of seal population had been wiped out and the sealers left the island. Heard Island was a major base for elephant seal hunting during the late 1800's, and an Australian re- search station was built at Atlas Cove on the northwest part of the island in 1947. This station was abandoned in 1955 and the island has been mostly un- inhabited since that time, except for occasional scientific parties which have stayed for as long as a year. The volcano itself is extremely active, with a his- torical record of eruptions reaching back to the late 1800's. The main cone is topped by a broad plateau about 3 miles (5 km) across at about 7500 ft. (2300 m), which is an eroded ice-filled caldera breached to the southwest, and the newer sum- mit cone of Mawson Peak rises above this in the western part. A crater about 150 ft. (50 m) in diameter is located atop Mawson Peak, and this was observed to have an active lava lake within it in 1986. Ski ascents and descents of Big Ben should be possible starting from beachheads on the northwest or eastern parts of the island. The satellite cones on the Lau- rens Peninsula at the northwest tip of Heard Island, Mount Olsen, Anzac Peak, and Mount Dixon, reaching about 2300 ft. (700 m), might also be skiable. Permission is required from the Australian Antarctic Division in order to land on Heard Island, and visitation is limited to 400 people annually (although far less currently do go there). In 1929 Heard Island was visited by the French geologist Aubert de la Rue and by Sir Douglas Mawson, leader of the British, Australian and New Zealand Expedition (BANZARE), for a week en route to Antarctica. Formal political control of the island was transferred from the United Kingdom to the Australian Government in 1947. The first Australian Na- tional Antarctic Research Expedition (ANARE) set up a station at Atlas Cove at the western end of the island in Decem- ber 1947. The men were carried down on the vessel LST 3501, (later named Labuan) by Captain George M Dixson. Bob Allphin, K4UEE has a good write up and the availability of CDs from the several trips he and others have made to COLD regions as well as to the tropics at: http://www.k4uee.com/dvd. Here is a write up from the Dx-pedition in January-February 1997: http:// www.cordell.org/HI/. One of the DX-peditions that went in 1983 have a set of interesting photos at: http://www.hidxa.nlk.nf/ Jim Smith and his wife Kirsti are hams from Norfolk Island and they made the trip in 1983 and helped set the goals for future operations into this inhospitable environment. Here is more on the island and planning for the 1997 DXpedition. http:// www.cordell.org/HI/scoping/HI97_HeardIsland.html. Jim VK9NS became a silent key this past year. Ham DX-peditions have taken the island off of the top needed list, but new hams since the last Dx- pedition in 2005 have prompted others to look at possible dx-peditions in the next several years. There is a Dx-pedition planned for Heard Island in 2013. See Southgate ARC for planning info: http://www.southgatearc.org/news/ september2010/heard_island_plans.htm.
(Continued on page 4) Concho Valley Two Meter Net
Date NCS Check-ins Duration
10/4 KB5TMY min 10/11 KD5SBE 21 19 min 10/18 KB5TMY 25 20 min Concho Valley Open FM Repeaters 10/25 KB5FNK 21 20 min 2 Meter 70 centimeter This net meets every Monday night at 8 p.m. on the 145.27- San Angelo PL 88.5 441.750+ San Angelo PL 162.2 club’s 146.34/.94 repeater. All amateurs licensed to or PL 100.0 for local transmit 442.250+ San Angelo PL 162.2 operate on that frequency are invited to participate. 146.72- Eldorado PL 100.0 444.225+ Robert Lee PL 162.2
146.88- San Angelo PL 88.5 444.350+ San Angelo PL 162.2 (Echo-Link Node)
146.94- San Angelo PL 103.5 444.875+ Brady PL 162.2 Linked to 444.225+
147.06+ San Angelo PL 103.5
147.34+ Robert Lee PL 88.5 147.30 San Angelo PL 88.5
146.90- Brady PL 162.2
146.62- Brady PL 114.8 (Echo-Link Node)
P.O. Box 4002 San Angelo, TX 76902-4002
Get all the latest club news on the World Wide Web at www.w5qx.org
2009 SAARC Officers: President - Ralph Stout/KA5ULE Vice President - Lisa Koca/K3LLK Secretary/Treasurer - Bob Freeman/KD5PIX Emergency Coordinator - Mike Dominy/KD5URW Activities Manager - Hughbert Robinson/KC5NPC Grounds Chairman - Joe Kent/W5JBK W5QX Trustee - Charlie Campbell/KC5EZZ
SAARC Monthly Meetings: 2nd Thursday, 1930, Clubhouse, 5513 Stewart Lane
Annual Dues: $20, Sr. & Jr. $10
The Kilo-What: Edited by Buddy/KD5SBE at 949 Next Meeting: 11/11/10 -7731 or email [email protected] PROGRAM: Article submission deadline: Ten days prior to monthly club meeting. Mathis Field Clubhouse