The Newsletter of the InterCity Club ~ Established 1933 ~~ 75th Anniversary ~~ February <2008

UPCOMING EVENTS

MARCH 6TH – Skywarn Training – 1:00PM at MedCentral Wellness Center on West 4th St. - conference room Contact Danny at 419-896-3075 – email to [email protected] Or Contact Jay at 419-522-3696 – email to [email protected] MARCH 6TH – Skywarn Training – 6:30PM at Crestview High School Auditorium – On St Rt 96 between St Rt 13 & 603 Contacts same as above MARCH 7TH – IARC Meeting at Health Dept at 7:30pm - Results & ARES/Skywarn updates in operations. MARCH 22ND – Foxhunt – Contact Danny at above address or phone MARCH 23-29 – Severe Weather Awareness week – Includes the Annual Tornado Test Drill on March 26th @ 9:00AM MARCH 28,29,30 – Weekend Technician Class – 555 Lexington Ave At the Richland Co Health Dept – Contact Rob at 419-884-6177 or email [email protected] Or Contact Bill Reese at 419-884-1899 or email [email protected] V.E. TESTING

17-Feb-2008 SENECA RADIO CLUB-W8ID Time: 9:00AM – (No Walk-Ins) Contact: KARL S ERBLAND (419)447-0266 Email: [email protected] Location: SENECA CTY PUB SAFETY BLDG @ FAIRGROUNDS 126 HOPEWELL AVE-1ST FLOOR --- TIFFIN OH 44883 [email protected] WWW.W8ID.COM

17-Feb-2008 LORAIN COUNTY ARA RED CROSS Time: 1:00 PM (Walk-ins allowed) Contact: CHARLES S HALL (216)433-3036 Email: [email protected] Location: AMERICAN RED CROSS 2929 W RIVER RD N WWW.W8HF.COM (HOME PAGE)

17-Feb-2008 LANCASTER & FAIRFIELD CTY ARC Time: 10:00AM (Walk-ins allowed) Contact: ALLEN P SELLERS (740)654-8167 Email: [email protected] Location: CLUBHOUSE-GRANVILLE ROAD 1611 ROUTE 37 NORTH LANCASTER, OH 43130 NEXT TO BEAVERS' FIELD ACROSS FROM OH UNIV @LANCASTER

23-Feb-2008 CANTON ARC/MASSILLON ARC Time: 9:00 AM (Walk-ins allowed) Contact: GARY L KLINE (330)837-2927 Email: [email protected] Location: EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS CENTER STARK CNTY SHERIFF OFFICE/ EOC 4500 ATLANTIC BLVD NE CANTON, OH 44705 US RT 62E-1/2 MI E OF HARMONT

08-Mar-2008 TOLEDO MOBILE RADIO ASSOC Time: 8:30 AM (No walk-ins) Contact: STEVEN L STALKER (419)467-3734 Email: [email protected] Location: MAUMEE FIRE STATION #2 450 W DUSSEL DR MAUMEE, OH 43537

15-Mar-2008 HOCKING VALLEY ARC Time: 10:30AM (Walk-ins allowed) Contact: TOM J ODELL (740)380-3577 Email: [email protected] Location: HOCKING VALLEY EMER OPS CENTER-911 BLDG 52 E 2ND ST LOGAN OH 43138 PRE-REGISTRATION 1 WEEK AHEAD NO TEST IF NO-ONE REGISTERS!

OPEN TO ALL AMATEURS Monthly Breakfast is at Upper Crust Restaurant and Bakery on Marion Ave, Feb 21st at 9am.

DX & IOTA UPDATE This update was made possible with information provided by KX9X, NC1L, QRZ DX, the OPDX Bulletin, DXNL, 425 DX News, The Daily DX, Contest Corral from QST and the ARRL Contest Calendar and WA7BNM web sites. Thanks to all.

GERMANY, DA. Special event call DR8M is active until the end of 2008 to mark the 850th anniversary of the city of Munich. QSL via bureau.

ANTARCTICA. Felix, DL5XL and Mirko, DG9BHQ are QRV as DP0GVN from the German Antarctic Base Neumayer II, IOTA AN-016. Activity is on the HF bands using SSB and PSK31. QSL via DL5EBE.

ANTARCTICA. Helmuth, W6KDX is QRV as KC4AAA from the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Antarctica Base. He is usually active on 20 meters using SSB around 1700 to 0400z. QSL via K1IED . BANGLADESH, S2. John, KX7YT will be QRV as S21YV from Dhaka from January 24 to March 11. This includes entries in the upcoming CQ WW RTTY WPX and ARRL DX SSB contests as Single Op/All Band entries. QSL to home call.

SWEDEN, SM. In celebration of the 350th anniversary of the Treaty of Roskilde, special event stations SB1658OZ, SC1658OZ, SH1658DK, SH1658OZ, SK1658DK and SK1658OZ are active throughout 2008. QSL via SK7JC, SK7BQ, SK6JX, SK6KY, SK7CE and SK7BQ, respectively.

CANADA, VE. Mike, VE2XB is QRV as VE2XB/VY0 from Southampton Island, IOTA NA-007, for several months. Activity is on 40, 30 and 20 meters using CW and SSB as his work schedule permits. QSL to home call.

HUNGARY, HA. Special event callsign HG550REX is QRV until the end of 2008 to commemorate ''Renaissance Year 2008'' and to remember the ascension of the throne of the most popular king Matthias Corvinus that occurred 550 years ago. QSL via HA5GY.

BELGIUM, ON. In celebration of the Millennium of the death of Notger Prince-Eveque, the founder of the Principality of Liege, special event callsign ON1000NOTGER is active on all HF bands using CW, SSB, RTTY and PSK until December 31. QSL direct via ON6DP.

SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND, VP8. IOTA AN-007 Lars, MM0DWF will be QRV as VP8DIF from the old whaling station Husvik from January 27 to February 28. Activity will be on most of the HF bands during his spare time, although 15 meters will be his main band. QSL via DJ9ZB.

MAURITIUS, 3B8. IOTA AF-049 Gwyn, G4FKH will be QRV as 3B8/G4FKH from February 5 to March 14. Activity will be holiday style on 40 to 10 meters using only CW. QSL to home call.

ESTONIA, ES. During the month of February, 26 stations will use the ES90 prefix to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Estonian Republic. During this time, Vello, ES1QD is QRV as ES90M from Muhu Island, IOTA EU-034. QSL to home call.

HUNGARY, HA. Zoli, HA3HK is QRV as HG1848I until December 31 to commemorate the 160th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution. QSL direct to home call. MINAMI TORISHIMA, JD1. IOTA OC-073 Masa, JA6GXK is QRV as JD1BMM until February 19. Activity is limited to his spare time. QSL to home call.

TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS, VP5. Saul, WA1UKN is QRV as VP5/WA1UKN from Grand Turk IOTA NA-003 until May 7. Activity is on 40, 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10 meters. QSL to home call.

JAMAICA, 6Y. Rob, VE4GV will be QRV as VE4GV/6Y5 from Ocho Rios from February 11 to 18. Activity will be on 80 to 10 meters using CW, SSB and various digital modes. He plans to participate in the upcoming ARRL DX CW contest as well. QSL to home call.

THE GAMBIA, C5. Andre, ON7YK will be QRV as C56YK from February 11 to March 6. Activity will be on 160 to 10 meters using SSB, RTTY, SSTV and PSK. QSL to home call. In addition, Jose, ON4LAC will be QRV as C56JC from February 12 to March 6. Activity will be on all HF bands using SSB, RTTY and PSK. QSL to home call.

DOMINICA, J7. Look for WI9WI, W9IU, WN9O, N4PN and NF4A to be QRV as J79WI, J79IU, J79KM, J79PN and J79PC, respectively, from February 11 to 19. Activity will be on all bands, but mainly on 160 and 80 meters, and the newer bands, using CW and SSB. They will be active in the upcoming ARRL DX CW contest as J7DX. QSL J7DX via W9IU and all others to home calls.

SVALBARD, JW. Odd-Egil, LA8AW will be QRV as JW8AW from Spitsbergen from February 10 to 18. QSL to home call.

SWEDEN, SM. Members of the Kungalv Radio Club are QRV as SF700BF during 2008 from the city of Kungalv to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the Bohus Fortress. Activity is on 160 to 6 meters, including 70 cm. QSL via SK6NL.

EAST KIRIBATI, T32. Bill, N7OU and Bob, W7YAQ will be QRV as T32OU and T32YA, respectively, from February 12 to 26. Activity will be on 160 to 10 meters using mainly CW with some SSB and RTTY. They will also participate in the upcoming ARRL DX CW contest as T32OU. QSL to home calls.

DUCIE ISLAND, VP6. A group of operators will be QRV as VP6DX beginning February 12 until the end of the month. Activity will be on 160 to 6 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY with 7 stations active simultaneously 24 hours a day. This includes an entry in the upcoming CQ 160-Meter SSB contest. QSL direct to DL6LAU.

OPERATION APPROVED FOR DXCC CREDIT. The following operation is approved for DXCC credit: Palestine, E4/OM2DX, 2007 operation.

OPERATION APPROVED FOR DXCC CREDIT. The following operation is approved for DXCC credit: Iraq, YI9QX, current operation effective December 2007.

OPERATIONS APPROVED FOR DXCC CREDIT. The following operations are approved for DXCC credit: Chad, TT8PK, 2007 and current 2008 operations; Syria, YK9SV, 2007 operation; Revillagigedo, 6E4LM, XF4YK and XF4YW, 2007 operations; Saint Barthelemy, FJ/OH2AM, 2007 operation; Republic of The Congo, TN6X, 2007 operation; and Republic of The Congo, TN9Z, 2007 operation.

Ham Radio License In a Weekend Sponsor: InterCity Amateur Radio Club Ham Radio License in a weekend March 28,29,30 2008 Richland County Health Department 555 Lexington Ave Mansfield, Ohio Pre Register by calling Henry Koenig 419-892-3232 For information contact Bill Reese @ 419-884-1899 or [email protected] Robert Ruth @ 419-884-6177or [email protected] AGENDA SUMMARY § The InterCity Amateur Radio Club *IARC* will be holding classes the last weekend in March 2008 to give anyone interested in gaining there first Ham Radio License known at Technician Class. § Books can be purchased through the Club at a discount for $22.00 each or from Barnes and Nobles for $24.95 the book is called, The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual (ISBN # 0872599639) We strongly suggest you get this as least a month in advance to read/study. § Your Technician License will give you all privileges in the VHF and UHF Amateur Radio Bands § It is highly recommended that you start studying early, the weekend will consist of an overview of the entire License Manual. Testing will be Sunday afternoon at 2pm. Test consists of a 35 question exam over the material covered. § Friday March 28th 6pm to 9pm Introduction of instructors ,paper work and light introduction to the manual. § Saturday March 29th 8am to 5pm Instruction with 1 hr for lunch at Noon § Sunday March 30th 8am to about 4pm Instruction till noon break for lunch 1pm -2pm review.2pm Testing will begin. § For the test session you will need 2 forms if ID one must be a picture ID, nr 2 lead pencil, and $14.00 for the test fee. Cash or Check. Checks are to be made out to ARRL VEC.

SKYWARN TRAINING MARCH 6TH 1:00PM AT MEDCENTRAL WELLNESS CTR ON WEST 4TH ST & 6:30PM AT CRESTVIEW HIGH SCHOOL ST RT 96

75th Anniversary PHOTOS OF PAST YEARS WANTED

Upon working on the Anniversary project and reviewing the club scrapbook I have noticed some BIG gaps in coverage over the years. So with this in mind Please if you know of any old photos of club activities especially from pre- 90s or even more recent 2000 to present we could use copies to put in the scrapbook. I know it might be asking a bit much but if anyone knows of former club members families where older photos might be found again please see if they might be willing to share some of them. It would make the scrapbook more complete and would help cover many missing times! I am going to ask my Aunt Ruby Bookwalter if she has any from past years which I believe she does. Since Chuck had been involved with the IARC from early days I hope she can find us a few classics. Newspaper articles are also welcome for the scrapbook too.

As mentioned last month I would like to find some great stories from the past years of IARC. David Spain KC8GNU and myself are hoping to hear from some of the longer running club members so we can do a few stories on the past doings of amateur radio in the area. If you have a story to tell let Dave or myself know. I can be contacted at my work at 419-522-3696 or if you want to put it together yourself and email it to me at [email protected] Photos that are scanned or are digital can be sent to this email address too.

I hoped you enjoyed last months articles which is just the beginning. There are many more in both this issue and in the following months issues so again if you have something to share on our club's history please let us know. “73” Jay Bookwalter kc8gnl Editor

OHIO SECTION ARES CONFERENCE

SATURDAY MARCH 29TH, 2008

AT THE OHIO FIRE ACADEMY

8895 E. MAIN ST. REYNOLDSBURG, OHIO

9:00AM – 3:00PM

ALL ARES MEMBERS ARE INVITED

Skywarn Spotters in need of training

As mentioned last issue I have reviewed the list of spotters and the following are due for training.(3 or more years have past and 3 years is required to stay active) I have put the spotter's name & callsign followed by the last recorded date of their training. If you do not see your name it may be that you were way outdated, Have taken in the last 3 years or have yet to take the training. Either way please try and attend a session this year. Note the “Storm Based Warnings” will be explained this year which is NEW!! BOLD TYPE DENOTES LAST SESSION WAS 5 OR MORE YEARS AGO!!!!!

Phil Ackerman – N8PA – 3/01~~~ Dan Baker – AB8SI 3/04 ~~~ Joy Baker KC8RHD – 3/04 Myron Baughman – N8YOA – 3/04 ~~~ Bob Harlan – W8NDB – 3/04 ~~~ Dick Hensel – N8WLC – 3/03 ~~~ Rob Hensel – KC8QKV – 3/03 ~~~ Willie Hilson – W8ONE – 3/00 ~~~ John Hudson – KC8GNO – 3/04 ~~~ Sylvia Hudson – KC8QFE – 3/04 ~~~ Sandra Hudson – KC8QFB – 3/01 ~~~ Bob Jaynes – W8RDJ – 3/01 ~~~ Matt Boggs – KC8VON – 3/03 ~~~ Mary Lehman – WB8ZQL – 3/04 ~~~ Rick Lowe – KC8ODC – 3/01 ~~~ Randy McMillen – N8CJR – 2/98 ~~~ Gino Mollica – KA8WPZ- 3/04 ~~~ Sam Powers – K8USA – 5/99 ~~~ Brenda Powers – KC8JYJ – 3/03 ~~~ Tim Pruner – KC8JFA – 3/03 ~~~ Bonnie Rain – N8XLU – 3/03 ~~~ Pat Robertson – N8JOZ- 3/01 ~~~ Larry Roop – N8RGO – 2/98 ~~~ Harold Rush – AB8BI – 6/98 ~~~ Sue Sargent – AB8QB – 3/03 ~~~ Kristen Smith – KC8QEZ – 3/01 ~~~ Gordon Sponselor – N8BZ- 2/98 ~~~ Russ Stanford – N8MXV – 2/98 ~~~ Gunther Meisse Sr – W8GSM – 3/04 ~~~ Gunther Meisse Jr – K8GSM – 3/05 ~~~ Rob Meisse – W8REM – 3/05 ~~~ Steve Logsdon – N8VNO – 2/98 ~~~ Roger Ingram – KB8WWM – 3/03 ~~~ Tim Pack – N8NYX – 2/98 ~~~ Mike Thompson – WB8ERJ – 6/99 ~~~ Larry Thompson – N8DOT – 3/04 ~~~ Bob Wagonals – N8WA – 3/02 ~~~ Bill Waits – N8OGX – 3/04 ~~~ Jack Weeks – K8RT – 3/04 ~~~ Braden Wert – N8MEA – 3/02 ~~~ Richie Mauk – KC8ZAC – 3/04 ~~~ Dave Wolf – WD8LZZ – 2/98 ~~~ Dean Wrasse – KB8MG – 2/98 ~~~ Bob Miller – K8RFM – 2/01 ~~~Vaughn Yates – W8VON – 3/05 ~~~ Jane Yonally – KB8YPW – 3/00 ~~~ Scott Yonally – N8SY - 3/00 ~~~ John Young – N8JY – 3/04 ~~~ Robert Bast – KC8UZL – 3/03 ~~~ Ron Burgess – K8RKB – 3/05 ~~~ Dan Moore – KC8MG – 3/04 ~~~ Cathy Swank – KC8SNP – 3/04 ~~~ Burley Stapley – KC8ZAD – 3/05 ~~~ Mike Johnson – N8MBZ – 3/04 ~~~ Rocky Shiffel – KD8AWE – 3/05 ~~~

~~~~All new members since 3/07~~~~

Again if you see your name on the above list PLEASE attend a session this year. Here are the dates so far from the NWS schedule 3/3 – Medina Co – 6:30PM – Fire Station #1 – Medina 3/6 – Richland Co – 1:00PM – Med Central Wellness Ctr – Mansfield 3/6 – Richland Co – 6:30PM – Crestview H.S. - St Rt 96 3/11 – Crawford Co – 6:30PM – Col. Crawford Intermediate School- N Robinson 3/12 – Ashland Co – 6:30PM – Sheriff's Office – 1205 E Main, Ashland 3/27 – Marion Co – 6:30PM – Tri-Rivers JVS – Marion 4/16 – Huron Co – 6:30PM – Job & Family Services – Norwalk No dates set for Knox, or Morrow counties as of 1/28/08

The current list is available at http://www.erh.noaa.gov/cle/skywarn/training/dates.htm

You are welcome to attend any of these sessions and if you go to one of these outside of Richland Co PLEASE let Danny or Ken know so they can update the list

WHO'S THIS

Did you figure out who was the star of last month's photo? He was WB8SFV and is now known as K8NJ. Yes this is John Ness. Anyone know who is in the background?? Now for this month I have a good one for you. This was in downtown Lexington back when phones were in booths. Hihi. The person in this photo is still active in the club and has been since he was 15 years old. His old call was K8JPF according to the 1976 list of members. This is also from the 1976 SET exercise

Know Your FCC Rulemaking Process By Guest Columnist Dan Romanchik, KB6NU

Around Christmastime, a furor arose over a petition to change the rules regarding the use of digital modes. The petition number is RM-11392. You can find it on the FCC website by going to http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/comsrch_v2.cgi and entering the petition number in the Proceeding text box. The petition will be the highest numbered document returned.

While the petition is interesting in and of itself, what's more interesting is how some hams got all excited about this petition. Many thought that rules changes were imminent, and they urged everyone to rush right over to the FCC website and comment. While it's a good thing for hams to be vigilant about proposed rule changes, this petition was nowhere near being turned into a rule.

On the Web page, "FCC Rulemaking Process" (http://www.fcc.gov/rules.html), the FCC describes the four steps that occur before a petition is translated into rules changes: 1. Notice of Inquiry (NOI). During this phase, they gather comments on the petition. 2. Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). If they determine that a petition has merit, they move to this stage. These are the rules changes that the FCC itself proposes to make, based on the petition and the comments received. 3. Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM). Changes may be made to the NPRM after receiving comments on the NPRM. 4. Report & Order (R&O). The R&O is the document containing the rules changes or an explanation of why no rules changes are being made at this time.

At the time when everyone was getting excited about this, there was no NPRM in the list of documents relating to RM-11392. The petition was filed on 3/27/07, released for comments on 8/28/07, and the first comment wasnt entered until 11/20/07. Only two other comments were entered until all the recent publicity. This particular petition is still a long way from becoming a Part 97 rule, and if I had to guess, I'd say that it will never even get to the NPRM stage.

Dont get me wrong. I am not saying that it isnt important to read and comment on petitions. But before you get your knickers in a twist over a particular petition or proposal, you need to know where it is in the process. This process can be excruciatingly slow sometimes, but slow is not always a bad thing. By not rushing petitions through the rulemaking process, the FCC ensures that it gets comments from all concerned and that all those who are interested in an issue can take their time to draft a really cogent comment.

When he's not scanning the FCC website or eHam.net for the latest ham radio controversy, KB6NU works CW and PSK on the HF bands and blogs about ham radio at www.kb6nu.com. You can reach him by e-mail at [email protected]

New Satellite Net

FYI a new net for the satellite communicators among us, is now on HF at3.937MHz. This will be on Thursday Nights at 9:00PM local time. Also if available they will try and use the K0GPZ/R Echolink node 349368. With all the talk on satellites I thought this would be of interest. Found it in the World Radio Magazine Feb 2008 issue's “Amateur Satellite” column.

IARC January Meeting Minutes President Rob Ruth, kd8azq opened the meeting with a round of introductions of those present.Rob, kd8azq made a motion to accept the January IARC meeting notes as they were posted in the Airwaves. Jeannine, kd8cwf made a motion to accept and Philip, kd8fgv seconded.

Treasurer’s report: Dean, kb8mg said that as of this meeting we had a total of. Savings: $2925. Dues: $9487. Repeater equipment: $3320. Checking: $980.13. Dean said that Scot, n8sy has been removed as cosigner from accounts held at the credit union. Harry, k8hf has been added as the cosigner. This change will also be made to all remaining accounts at First Merit Bank as well.

Website: Philip, kd8fgv said that in the month of January we had a total of 6,391 sessions on our club’s web site which resulted in 321,598 hits. We had an average of 206 hits each day. The average amount of time of each hit was 2 minutes and 26 seconds. We transferred a total of 4.4 Gb of material. The January edition of The Airwaves was downloaded 1,015 times. The Ham Fest portion of our site was hit 1,142 times. Finally, our web site now supports 45 e-mail addresses. If anyone would like an iarc.ws e-mail account, they should contact Philip and he will get them one.

Membership: Mike, w8emt was not in attendance but Philip, kd8fgv has been working with him on a new Club Directory. Philip says it is about 80% completed.

Technical committee: Bill, w8wer gave a report of the money spent on the Repeater Expansion Project. The club authorized $4500; Bill says we spent a total of $3941.72. Tom, wb8cqw asked Bill why the repeater has cracking and popping on it? At this time a lengthy conversation took place with several possible reasons. Bill said that later this spring he would like to get Greg, (no business name was given), out to the repeaters who has volunteered to sweep the cables. Next we talked about having a Tech Session. This would give people the chance to come with their radio equipment and have most questions answered about it.

PIO: Bill, w8wer said that he took our club’s scrap book to Holly Fackler at the Mansfield News Journal. The idea was to get something printed in the paper before the Ham Fest about our club’s 75th anniversary. Bill said the more they talked about it, they decided to hold off and include this article in a June edition which would be closer to the city’s bicentennial celebration. Bill also asked her if something could be put in the paper this week about our upcoming Ham Fest. She said that she would see what she could do about this but could not make any promises.

Education: Henry, wd8q talked about the next Technician course which will be held on March 28, 29 and 30th. He said as of this meeting, he has had only one phone call asking about it.

ARES: Jay, kc8gnl filled in for Danny, kb8stk as he was not present. He said that at this time there is not much going on. He did talk about some of the activities coming up over the summer. The first one mentioned was Greater Ohio Bike Adventure, “GOBA”. This will be taking place June 15-16, 2008. Next we talked about the Fox Hunt coming up on March 22. We are to meet in the Richland Mall parking lot near Sears’s department store at 10:00 AM. Next Jay said that he has named Don, kb8rya as our District 6 Winlink Coordinator. We also have Skywarn training coming up on March 6, 2008. This is to be held at two locations. The first will be at Med Central’s Wellness Center located on 4th St. in Mansfield at 1:00 PM. The second location is to be at 6:30 PM at Crestview High school located on St. Rt. 96. Jay emphasized the need to attract additional weather spotters from this general area. He said that the new Storm Based Warning system will be explained in great detail. There will also be an explanation of the E.F. tornado scale introduced last year.

Special Events: Rob, kd8azq talked about all of the events we have coming up in the month of June. Some of these events are: Ms. Ohio parade, Safe Boating and Fishing expo, mountain bike race and Mansfield’s bicentennial activities. Again, the need was stressed for as many Hams to help as possible. The more help we can get the more fun it will be. Rob said that the News Journal already has us mentioned with the cities bicentennial activities. This is to be a two week event beginning on June 20 and ending on the fourth of July. Rob said that the biggest event will be held over the weekend of June 28 which is Field Day. We are planning to have a booth set up along with a special event station located in South Park, as well as possibly our Field Day activities. We also have Therm O Disc Park reserved if we would like for the same weekend. Rob also said that there will be a parade taking place on June 28 at noon. We have been asked to provide the communications for this as well.

Ham Fest: Rob, kd8azq said that at this time all jobs have been filled. Dean, kb8mg said that we still have about 30 tables yet to sell. Jay, kc8gnl announced that League Night will be held the Saturday evening before the Ham Fest. This dinner will take place at Fire Mountain steak house between 6:30 and 7:00 PM. Jay said that the cost will be around $11.00 for an all you can eat buffet.

VE Testing: Pat, n8ebk said that we had our last VE test session on Jan. 19. We had two people take their tests of which one of them passed. We are also having another VE test session at the Ham Fest. Preregistration is required by contacting Dick. Please visit the club’s website for his contact information.

Ham of the Year: Mark, kc8mkl made the first announcement regarding this year’s Ham of the Year award. He said that if anyone feels there is a Ham in our club who has gone above and beyond the normal call of duty please submit this persons name and call to any of the Ham of the Year committee members for consideration. The deadline for accepting nominations is April 1st 2008. Jay, kc8gnl asked if we could try to get as many of the past Ham of the Year recipients together for a photo for the scrap book.

New Business: Rob, kd8azq asked if anyone had any new business to bring up. No topics of importance were brought up at this time. Miscellaneous: Bill, w8wer mentioned that he took the club’s scrap book to Richland Blue Print where they converted it to CD disk. The book takes a total of three CD’s. Rob kd8azq asked if anyone had any suggestions for after meeting programs? Jay, kc8gnl suggested we have talks on building antennas. Steve, kd8grm suggested we have a program regarding the different things the repeaters can do such as linking them to others around the area. John, wa8mho immediately got up and asked if we had ten minutes. At this time we gave him the floor. He discussed the Ohio Single Side Band net and some of the history behind their preamble. Jay, kc8gnl asked if anyone has any photos which could go into the club’s Scrap Book. He said that we have a lot of photos from the very early years and some pictures from the 1980’s and 1990’s, but we are missing a lot from the middle years such as the 1950’s through the 1970’s. If anyone has anything from this era they are strongly encouraged to contact him. Rob asked what the feeling on the club was about holding our general meetings at the Health Department. Do we want to make this our new home? After a short discussion about this, Rick, kk8o made a motion to continue having our general meetings at this location. Don, kb8rya seconded along with Kyle, kd8gei. This motion was passed unanimously by the members present. At this time Rob, kd8azq made a motion to adjourn the meeting. This was seconded by Bill, w8wer.

Respectfully submitted, Mark Dailey Kc8mkl

Ponderisms Can you cry under water? How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered? Why do you have to 'put your two cents in'.. But it's only a 'penny for your thoughts?' Where's that extra penny going to? Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity? Why does a round pizza come in a square box? How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage Why do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune? Why did you just try singing the two songs above? Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride, he sticks his head out the window? If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat? Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs! If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why didn't he just buy dinner? Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat? If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?

“W8WE” by David A. Spain (KC8GNU)

“So, what’s in a call sign”, you ask. Well, W8WE just happens to be the official call sign of our radio club, the Intercity Amateur Radio Club (IARC), here in the Mansfield, Richland County area of North Central, Ohio, and we are in the 75th anniversary year of our existence. No, no, no, there is no reason to shout “O-H” and “I-O”. Actually we are the heritage of a group of amateur radio operators, who, “back in the day”, 1933 to be exact, founded the Intercity Radio Club (IRC).

W8WE was originally the call sign for a well-known and respected Mansfield area named Bart Geib. According to one of his QSL cards in the Club’s scrapbook, he received the call sign in 1922, and he was a founder and charter member of the IRC until he became a Silent Key in 1963, three years after his retirement from the Ohio Highway Patrol. He had the W8WE call sign for 41 years.

According to Gordon Sponsellor (W8BZ), Bart was a “CW” operator at the Patrol’s Findlay Post. “Yes”, that’s what I said. Apparently, the Patrol had a network of “CW” communications centers around Ohio. Gordon wasn’t sure of the content of the messages the centers sent back and forth to each other, but he had visited the one in Columbus several times. In the scrapbook, you can see a picture of an obviously proud Bart Geib in his Highway Patrol communication's division uniform.

( Page is from the scrapbook )

Also in the scrapbook, is a brief, but undated, article from the News Journal, also with a picture of Bart, which describes the IRC adopting his call sign as the club’s call sign. Cliff Odson (W8YGX) remembers Bart Geib as a “great CW man”, and said he thought the radio club adopted the W8WE call sign as a “memoriam to Bart not later than 1965 or 1966", but he qualified that as an “educated guess”. If we agree to agree on 1966, then the call sign has been in use about 83 years.

Cliff has one of Bart’s QSL cards hanging on a wall at his home in a frame with several other ones. The various cards indicate that Bart lived on Spring Street and on Arch Street while he was a Mansfield resident.

So, as Paul Harvey says, “Now you know the rest of the story” about our radio club’s call letters, W8WE. Oh, by the way, in case you didn’t know, “QSL” is short talk for “I acknowledge receipt’ or “I hear you”. The three-letter “Q” codes were developed by the British around 1909, and are based on similar codes used by telegraph operators.

Some QSL cards are highly prized among collectors of them. According to Ebay, of all places, the most prized one being from a fifteen square mile island known as “Diu” in the Arabian Sea off the coast of India, which was eventually deleted from the DXCC list. The country had only one amateur radio operator, and he sent out about fifty QSL cards, hence the high price paid by collectors for any one of them. I guess you could say a Diu QSL card is a “prized and appreciated item”. I’d say that, around our neck of the woods, a W8WE QSL card from Bart Geib ranks up there too.

RICHLAND COUNTY OFFICE OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 597 Park Avenue East Mansfield, Ohio 44905

Wednesday January 15, 2008 Richland County was presented with the honor of being designated Storm Ready by the National Weather Service. The following is the article that ran in the Mansfield News Journal on January 16, 2008.

A very major part of this certification is the involvement of the Richland County Amateur Radio groups. This could not have been accomplished without the Skywarn training and the spotter program which is coordinated by the Amateur groups.

Richland County enjoys a very active relationship with it’s Amateur Radio operators and count heavily on them in times of disaster (Man-Made or Natural).

MANSFIELD -- Mother Nature was flexing her muscles and hurling snowflakes Tuesday morning as Richland County was formally recognized as one of 13 StormReady counties in the state. Keith Markley, the county's Emergency Management Agency, said the National Weather Service graded the local operation Dec. 9, but the designation has been in the works for four years. Weather service meteorologist in charge William Comeau and warning coordination meteorologist Gary Garnet traveled from Cleveland to the county commissioners' offices Tuesday to present StormReady road signs, posters and a certificate. The program was established, according to the weather service Web site, to "reduce the potential for disastrous weather-related consequences." The voluntary program involves: • Preparing the community with an action plan for hazard mitigation and emergency response. • Establishing an emergency operations center. • Establishing multiple ways to receive severe weather warnings and forecasts and to alert the public. • Creating a system that monitors local weather. • Promoting public readiness through seminars, severe weather spotter training and large-scale emergency exercises.

"All this has been accomplished and then some by Richland County," Garnet said. The designation lasts two years. He said the program is nationwide, but "in Ohio we've raised the bar a little bit" to make it "a little bit more of a significant achievement. You now have a very good plan." Commissioner Tim Wert said the local terrain can lead to tornadoes and other severe weather. Garnet agreed. "The terrain down here can create its own micro-climate," he said. Asked by Commissioner Gary Utt about other counties' StormReady involvement.

Garnet said a few other counties are working on it and commended Markley as "one of the better emergency managers." Markley was joined at the presentation by deputy director Jim Southward, 9-1-1 supervisor Lisa Burdine, 9-1-1 assistant supervisor Heidi Mott, EMA secretary Sue Hunt and intern Ross Liersemann. He stressed that achieving the StormReady certification involved many people, including 9-1-1 dispatchers, first responders, weather spotters and amateur radio operators. Markley applauded commissioners for their support, particularly in getting weather radios in all county buildings, and urged residents to obtain the radios too..

Thank you to all our operators. Keith H. Markley

VE TEST RESULTS FROM THE HAMFEST SESSION

Hello all,

We had a extremely good test session Sunday. I want to thank each and every one of you . Everything went just so smooth and there wasn't any mistakes made, except we had six dollars to much. So that will go into the piggy bank to use on pens or whatever we need.

Boy!!! aren't we Great, Yuppers!!!. So pat yourselves on the back for doing such a good job.

Here are the test results. We had 2 Techs, 6 Generals and 4 Extras and there were 5 who walked out without a CSCE or License.

Thank you all ever so much for all the help. Great group to work with.

The next test session is April 19, at the Health Dept. Starting at 1:00pm

Until then Take Care and GB. N8EBK, Pat :-)

Reflections on 2008 Mid-Winter Ham Fest Rob/KD8AZQ

After months of planning and a whole lot of work, the 2008 Mid-Winter Ham Fest is nothing but a Memory. First off I Want to thank those Members that gave up there time and expended their energy to make the Ham Fest happen, without each and EVERYONE of you giving of yourselves we could not even have it, I also want to thank the Boy Scouts for coming in to set up and tear down our tables.

Second it want to thank all the vendors Both New and Old for traveling to Mansfield to make our Ham Fest a successful one. Thanks to the Richland County Red Cross for being there, and we had displays from the Citizen Corps promoting CERT Community Emergency Response Team, a Display brought in by the EMA of Richland County Showing our “Storm Ready” rating for Richland County, something they could not get without us Amateur operators at the ready to assist them. Keith Markley EMA director was very impressed with the event.

When its all said and done the numbers maybe down, that’s just the nature of the beast. But I saw something that I hope becomes infectious Enthusiasm, it was everywhere our member were excited and glad to be there. Please lets keep it going. We can show everyone Ham Radio is alive and well in Mansfield, and Richland County.

Now is the time to start planning for next years, we will shortly be getting together to see where the numbers crunched . WE NEED YOUR IDEAS, for next years. No matter how trivial you think it is bring it up and suggest.

Thank You Again. Rob/KD8AZQ

Pre-Hamfest Dinner (formerly the ARRL League Night Dinner) Jay Bookwalter kc8gnl

Sorry so many missed the dinner at Fire Mountain with the ARRL officials. Had a good time with them and was asked by Joe that next year we need to try and bring back the “League Night” dinner. The other officials agreed about this. So as Rob asked above here is one idea to revive. Since the officials are here the night before it only makes sense and best of all both the Fire Mountain or Golden Corral do not charge for their private rooms and both are all you can eat. Easy and simple at either location so let's all think about this and see if we can revive some good times. Joe said he enjoys giving a talk to our group and he still has his timer he received from our group a few years ago and needs a place to use it besides his home station! Hihi. Besides that it allows our local group a chance to talk with the officials when things are not so busy as they can be at the hamfest.

X Y L SPEAK OUT

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

Since this is the month for happiness and sweets, we would like to give you a few diet thoughts for women! 1. I’d give up sweets, but women don’t quit. 2. Women are built for comfort, not for speed. 3. Stressed spelled backwards is desserts. 4. I keep trying to lose weight, but it keeps finding me. 5. Try anything once, then have seconds if you like it. And the best of all: 6. Broken cookies have no calories!!

We want to mention the Hamfest. It seemed to go smoothly and everyone seemed to have fun! You may have noticed Jeannine (KD8CWF) and Melody (KD8CWI) handing out bags to the women. Those bags had some free thing in them donated by the Richland Co. Health Department, Fists, and our club, The Intercity Amateur Radio Club. It went very well and the ladies seem to like it. We would like to do the same thing next year if possible. If you know anyone or any business that would like to donate things, please let us know so we can contact them. We also would like to find enough donations to raffle off something every hour just for the ladies. So if you know of any business or people who would like to donate raffle items (Avon baskets, gift certificates, etc.) please let us know so we can also contact them. Remember if Mom ain’t happy, nobody is happy!!!!

If you subtract the very cold winds and the light snow dusting, I think it is safe to say that everyone had a nice time at the Hamfest this year!! Lots of drawings, lots of stuff to look at, and they even had sauerkraut and mashed potatoes!!!! (Sorry, that’s my favorite! KD8CWI!!!!) If you saw anything that you would like to change or make a comment on, please let us know!! The only way to make things better is to have lots of input!!!

Please, please, help us with this column, we would like to know what you would like to see here every month!! Jeannine and Melody both have emails and answering machines if you can’t get us at the meetings every month! This month we have found a word search puzzle maker and are attempting to get it in the airwaves. Hopefully this works!!!

We sincerely want to thank you for reading this and hope it puts a smile in your heart and on your face!!! Have a great month, see y’all next month!!

!! Happy Valentine’s Day !!

VALENTINES/HAMRADIO MELI/KD8CWI

N R C O E L A R A D S D C F T A M A K Y Y J N S A J C R A I R D O A E X A A A A O D E E T R T R C M N T S D W Y L D N W L E R E I H W N R R D A D R M O E P D L T A O B E V O L T F V T M L Y D N M O C W T S W E E T H E A R T A F D E O E N B N I G I G C I Y M E T Q L L R A I I F I L E T D O S S B F U A S T S E T N O C J R T B O A R E T N I W D I M A R F U R R S T R A E H M I T C R O B S Y G J O M J L W N E U E D S O E E R I C H L A N D Z R D S E C A N D Y I A Y V X Z G I F T S A Y L R E N N I D I P O L E N O

IARC VALENTINE RED LOVE QST ARRL SWEETHEART FLOWERS ICOM JEWELRY DIAMOND ANTENNA CHOCOLATE FEBRUARY CARDS YAESU CONTESTS KENWOOD MANSFIELD RICHLAND HAMFEST FIELDDAY JACUZZI BUBBLES MIDWINTER CANDY HEARTS ROSES JOY YAGI LOVEBOAT DIPOLE ROMANTIC XYL GETAWAY FIREPLACE DINNER ARRL TOWER GIFTS

Something extra! Found this article in one of the bird magazines I had at home and thought it was kind of interesting. The column was called “Bird Tales” where the readers of this magazine share stories about the birds in their area. “ I have been an amateur radio operator for many years , but I have never seen or heard of anything like this before. It was a beautiful day, so I had my window open while sending a Morse Code message to a station in Alaska.” “All of a sudden, a Northern Mockingbird landed on the window shelf and began mimicking the code coming out of the ham radio speaker! It was really amazing. The bird came back to my window off and on for 3 months. I never got tired of hearing the Mockingbird singing it's song...in Morse Code!” The operator is listed as Allan Hoskins W7MHC from Tucson Arizona. Who said Morse code was for the birds??? hihi.