Forsyth Amateur Radio Club, Inc
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Forsyth Amateur Radio Club, Inc. Newsletter Founded December 30, 1930 August & September, 2013 Oh the Hamanity! Report from Shelby SEPTEMBER MEETING by Don WS4NC The general meeting of the Forsyth Amateur Radio Club will be (as almost always) on the second Monday of the month,September 9 , Well the Shelby Hamfest moved back to the Cleveland County at the NW NC Red Cross Building on Coliseum Drive. The meeting Fairgrounds. We went down the Sunday prior to claim our starts at 7:30 PM but plan on arriving early, say 7 PM to get a good spot and to watch the "Running of the Hams". No one had a seat and to chat with fellow hams. Yes, FCC exams will be held this spot the from the previous year, since the last five Shelby's month but pre-registration is required, see page 7. Bring your cash have been held in Dallas, therefore the only fair way to and check book. The program will be an auction of goodies. allocate space was to have a time the Sunday prior for all to show up. We left before 4 AM, got there before 6AM and were the 14th car in line. That was cool until just before opening Nice show, lots of goodies, I didn't even get up to the dealer time about 10 guys showed up and parked their cars and got in building, Saturday or Sunday. I was avoiding temptation. with their buddies ahead of us. Not really a problem because Things begin to clear out by 4 PM Saturday or so, and there was plenty of space and we got where we wanted. We Sunday was still a great hamfest. But 4 PM Saturday was were brought out in groups of 12 on a giant, open tour-type when the fun really began. golf cart. So there was no comical waddling of the 250- pounds hams trying to get to their most preferred spot like the We saw the dark clouds approaching from the north. Ugly first time at Dallas. dark wall-type clouds. We knew that meant rain and maybe some straight-line winds (thank you SkyWarn training). All Every where we went in Shelby people were talking about how was tied down and secured. At least for a normal storm. It happy they were to have the Hamfest back. I'm sure the still came on us faster than expected. By the time that we Hamfest means several million dollars to the Shelby economy. We bought our groceries there, went out for After the storm. several nice meals, bought gas for the generator and filled gas tanks for the trip home. All in all, it was a great Hamfest. Attendance may have been down from its peak but it was still a massive event. One not to miss. We (Kip N0KTY, Dave KJ4OIL, and Don WS4NC) went down on Thursday to camp in the Kippe-Kamper and to participate in the pre-Hamfest. Lots of horse-trading went on Thursday and Friday, and continued until Sunday. I didn't get a horse, just an SX-101Areceiver that weighs as much. Saturday, the big day dawned clear and fair. Many people came in and setup late Friday and early Saturday morning. James G. Kerr QSL 14Sept1929 by Don, WS4NC This month's old QSL card is from W4UA James (Jim) G. Kerr, confirming a QSO on September 14, 1929 and is from the collection of N4XO Dave Rawley. W4UA was originally from Liberty, NC but lived in High Point most of his life. First licensed in the 1920s, he was an old-school Southern Gentleman in the mold of Beacham Leonard W4RXG and Tink Kanoy W4DCW. CW only, no phone – ever! He was a Continued on Page 6 were pulling the roll-up sun shade up it was like the scene from Forsyth Amateur Radio Club, Inc is a non-profit (IRS The Wizard of Oz where they were closing the doors on the 501(c)3) North Carolina corporation for the promotion of storm shelter. "Dorothy! Dorothy!" Before we were all in we Amateur Radio, and for the education and training of hams were soaked. Strong winds, big giant horizontally-moving and the general public primarily in Forsyth County, North raindrops. Hail. The Kippe-Kamper was shaking and rocking, I Carolina. had mental images of the Kippe-Kamper being blown over and disintegrated like a wet cardboard box under a charging semi. FARC was originally incorporated as the Winston-Salem Radio Club on December 31, 1930 and has been in Checking the weather radar on my cell phone we were at the operation ever since. We currently maintain a state-of- beginning of the worst of a severe wind and thunderstorm alert. the-art ham station in the basement of the Red Cross, 690 60+ MPH winds, strong lightning and hail. Not a short 5 to 10 Coliseum Dr., Winston-Salem, NC and also maintain two minute storm - a full hour of fun, fear, pleading and prayer were 2-meter repeaters, 146.64 (100 Hz tone) and 145.47 (100 ahead of us. At one point I uncoiled from the fetal position and Hz tone) & 444.275 (100 Hz tone). looked out the window. It was like looking into a Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon with only silhouettes outlined against flashes of lightning. Tarps were down and tables were blown over FARC has a general membership meeting with a program across the way. In the SE corner of the paved circle water was on the 2nd Monday of every month at the Red Cross about 10 inches deep. Fortunately the Kippy-Kamper was building, 690 Coliseum Drive in Winston-Salem. The club stronger than the storm. It passed the leak test successfully, and conducts its main business meeting (sometimes called the a lot of shaking and rocking. Board Meeting) on the 3rd Monday generally at the same location. This is where most of the club’s business is Stuff outside was not so lucky. Most of my goodies were getting conducted and all attending members have a vote. All club their last opportunity for a useful life before recycling became members are strongly encouraged to attend the business their fate anyway. Now the reduction to recyclable materials will meeting. For more information about FARC mail us at be a much cleaner job. Someone, lets call him Meatball, chided FARC, Inc., PO Box 11361, Winston-Salem, NC, 27116; me for bringing only junk, not the good stuff. But I had been call 336-245-5740; or visit out web site at www.w4nc.com . Club email is to info -at w4nc.com . Officers for 2013 are: President: Tim King AG4RZ Vice-President: Jerry Minor K4GW Secretary: Don Edwards WS4NC Treasurer: Henry Heidtmann W2DZO Newsletter Editor: Don Edwards, WS4NC Top photos: before and after at our spot. Bottom left, the tarps were likely salvageable but the stuff underneath was soaked. Bottom right one of the nice muffler-style tubing To join our list server send a blank email to tarps that pulled apart due to wind speeds. [email protected] All content is Copyright 2013 by Forsyth Amateur Radio Club, Inc, unless otherwise noted. Permission is given to reproduce for non-commercial purposes provided proper credit is given. If you would like to help support the newsletter with an ad, please contact Don Edwards (email: ws4nc <at> arrl.net). Ad deadlines are 7 days before the end of the month. Rates are $50 for 12 months. Cheap! We trade newsletters with other clubs, and many local clubs are on our mailing list. If your club has a newsletter and would like to trade please send us a copy. Page 2 through Shelby storms before and was a little wary, Hurricane Earl being the most memorable. This time tables loaded with 40-50 pound boat anchors were blown over. Nomination Committee Report Both our tarps were down, they didn't look salvageable, but The nominating committee has met and twisted a few arms. they were. They will no longer be the fairest in the land. Most The slate of officers that will be presented at the September others were not so lucky. Lots of those "First Up" tarps were meeting will be: President: Jerry Minor K4GW, Vice ready for aluminum recycling. The tent set up for the Sunday President: Jim Adkins W4UX, Secre-Terry: Terry Brown Morning Service was held down by giant circus-style tent AK4D, and Treasurer: Henry Heidtmann W2DZO. At the stakes, essentially Model-A axles (dating myself here - pic October meeting there will be a call for nominations from the below bottom left). Even some of those stakes were bent. I floor. Please don't nominate someone unless you have heard that one generator was destroyed by lightning, but I talked to them first. These are working positions and didn't see that. One guy told me he was holding his metal require several meetings a month and other time that will be tarp frame down throughout the storm and was "bit" by some spent on FARC business. The Election will be held in lightning. He was lucky he was only bit. There is a Mark November and officers installed at the December Dinner Twain quote I should use here, something about who God meeting. protects. On some tarps the ropes were broke. The better tarps with Scams and Spam the muffler-style tubing slide-together pieces survived the by Don, WS4NC best - but the main failure point was pulling apart from the support post.