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The HOTLINE |
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NOTE: Special Meeting Location! |
by Terry Williams, KD5KJU |
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Andy Wallace WX5ACT |
ATTENTION everybody! For the March HOTARC meeting, we’ll meet at a special location—a “field trip” of sorts. With Skywarn and the severe weather season just around the corner, I thought it might be interesting to go to one of our local television stations’ weather studio. Andy Wallace, chief meteorologist for KXXV Channel 25, and his weather team have invited us to a tour of the Channel 25 television studio and hold our meeting there this month (Thursday 7:00 pm, March 24). Andy will also show us their weather prediction and weather watching toys. HOTARC President Rodney Baden K5YKC tells me that he expects a light business agenda for the HOTARC meeting this month, so we should have plenty of time for Andy to show us around the station—before he must excuse himself to record a video segment for the Bryan area station at about 8:40 PM. We’ll hold our business meeting after the tour—in the KXXV conference room.
Some of you may know that Andy is also a licensed amateur radio operator: his call is WX5ACT. A great vanity call for a Waco weatherman, heh?! (Hint: “ACT” is the NOAA abbreviation for Waco.) Anyway, Andy has worked for the National Weather Service in a center like the one in Fort Worth. He is very eager to welcome us to the station, so let’s have a good turn out. Hope to see you at the meeting!
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Driving Directions to March Meeting Place The KXXV Channel 25 studios are located on South New Road in Waco, between Bagby and Interstate 35. You’ll see a tall antenna tower beside the studio building. From I-35 (north or southbound), exit at New Road (Exit #331, I think), and head west on New Road. From Waco/Woodway, head south on New Road past the VA Hospital and the Waco ISD Sports Complex, but not as far as I-35. ![[ Yahoo! Maps ]](http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/mp/gr/mplogo.gif){kind=small} Click here for interactive map |
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President’s Corner |
by Rodney Baden, K5YKC |
Two Important Issues… ISSUE 1
SB 1748 was filed in the Texas Senate this past Friday—the
last day to file bills for this session. This little jewel will allow any
utility company in Texas to implement a BPL
solution. The NTX BPL Task Force speaks from experience when saying that
utility companies care little about interference.
TXU knows that the Irving BPL installation is causing major interference. NTX BPL Task Force lead Jory McIntosh KJ5RM provided proof to them in person. TXU has had complaints filed against them with the FCC and they are still operating this system and trashing the spectrum around the Irving BPL test site.
I urge each of you to write your members in the Legislature or stop by their offices and discuss this issue. Here is a link to the proposed law. You can find your representatives for YOUR home address here: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/fyi/fyi.htm
Two Important Issues… ISSUE 2
Texas Governor Rick Perry along with President George W. Bush have issued an executive order for all first responders to make sure to avail themselves of the online training for NIMS (National Incident Management System) training listed at http://www.fema.gov. The course is listed as IS-700. It will take about 2 to 2½ hours to complete the course, after which you will receive a nice certificate in a couple of days. I would remind you that Amateur Radio Operators are considered a national resource, and need to be informed about NIMS and the ICS (Incident Command System) when operating in disasters of all types.
I am looking forward to seeing each of you at the meeting this week.
Rodney A. Baden, K5YKC
HOTARC President
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For the Record... |
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HOTARC Meeting of Members
February 24, 2005
Rodney Baden K5YKC introduced Ryan Holt KC5LEU of the Waco Police Department as our guest speaker at 7:00 pm (prior to the business meeting for the convenience of the speaker). Ryan presented an interesting program on Computer Crimes, covering topics such as child enticement, identity theft, harassment/stalking, unauthorized access (hacking), fraud, and phishing.
The February meeting of the Heart O’ Texas Amateur Radio Club, Inc. was called to order by Rodney Baden, K5YKC at 8:13 pm at the Kultgen Automotive Building on the TSTC Waco campus. Present were fifteen full members and nine visitors: Joann Roach KA5MND, Johnny Lewis W5KKD, Johnny White KE5CUE, Allen London KE5DHN, Ray Badgett KB5GBN, Stephen Taylor, Jay C(?), and George (?). The meeting was begun with an opening prayer given by Wayne Branscum KD5SMC.
The Minutes for the January meeting were approved as published in the HOTLINE, following a motion by Scott Shafer KD5MLY, second by Rusty Keyes AD5JY, and unanimous vote by the members present. The January Treasurer’s Report was also accepted as published in the HOTLINE, following a motion by Ed Middlebrook KC5NT, second by Bill Feltenberger KD5UEW, and unanimous vote by the members present.
Announcements
· Special Thanks: J.W. Roach W5AYX expressed special thanks to the VE Testing group for arranging a special session for a special candidate.
Committee Reports
· ARES: K5YKC reported that planning was moving forward for the October exercise. HOTCOG is planning to conduct a 6-hour WMD program on the same Saturday, and needing about 12 more attendees.
· Trailer: Roger Miles, WB5MBO said that he will attempt to repair the door, but had no time available last month.
· Repeater: Norris Martin, KB5SLI reported
1) Duplexers (cans) have been retuned for 146.88 repeater use.
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The Treasurer Reports... |
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Heart O’ Texas Amateur Radio Club Beginning Account Balance $4,176.05 Income Interest $ 0.80 Dues 75.00 TOTAL Income $ 75.80 Expenses TOTAL Expenses $ 0.00 Ending Account Balance $ 4,251.85 Outstanding (as of 2-21-05) Submitted by |
2) Ron Bowden AA5RT is willing to relinquish the 442.875 repeater frequency—are we interested? Larry Bush W5NCD offered a 440 repeater for Club use. John Chamberlain AC5CV made a motion to accept the frequency “offer” from AA5RT and proceed to assemble a 440 Club repeater using W5NCD’s offer, seconded by KD5UEW, and unanimously approved by the members present. Horace Bushnell W5TAH made a motion to authorize $400 to purchase a set of 400-MHz duplexers, seconded by Mike Ross N5MVL, and unanimously approved by the members present. K5YKC agreed to pay for the shipping expense.
3) The Waco PD antenna site is to be examined Wednesday March 9 10:00 am.
4) KD5MLY reported that we are still waiting on the tower climb (to repair the 145.15 antenna). K5YKC will try to get some help through Gerald Richmond N5ZXJ.
· Web Page: AC5CV reported all is well.
· ATV: David Bush, KC5UOZ reported that the ATV repeater is working fine.
· Education: Rodney Baden, K5YKC noted that we are in need of an Education Chair, but no one volunteered at this time.
· Public Relations: KD5MLY reported that nothing new is happening.
New Business
· NTX Section Manager election: K5YKC entertained a discussion of the election results—disappointing since HOTARC had essentially endorsed Roy Rabey AD5KZ for re-election. Although we considered an official challenge to the outcome, it was decided to continue our Club activities as before and essentially take a “wait and see” approach to the new SM.
K5YKC heard a motion by Bill Feltenberger, KD5UEW to adjourn the meeting at 8:58 pm.
Submitted by:
John Chamberlain, AC5CV
HOTARC Secretary
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LAST CHANCE to renew
your HOTARC membership! Send in your HOTARC Dues and Membership
Renewal Form now and |
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Bakers Dozen Weather Net (BDWN) |
by Ed Hynan, KC5KNI, |
Storm season is here and the community will again look to the BDWN to provide timely information concerning severe storms. Remember, the BDWN is normally activated on a direct request from the National Weather Service (NWS) Office in Fort Worth. The amateurs of central Texas have always been there to support this request. The net will normally be activated on the HOTARC 145.150 repeater (tone 123.0) and the HOTARC Club Call Sign W5ZDN will be used by net control. For your information, net control is located in the Waco-McLennan County Emergency Operations Center in the basement of the Waco City Hall.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?
1) Attend SKYWARN (26 March at 0830, Waco Convention Center’s Bosque Theater—see ad below).
2) Be aware of the pending weather conditions: through Weather Radio and or local TV and Radio broadcasts.
3) Check in to the net when it is activated: indicating your call sign, name, location, and whether you are fixed or mobile.
Remember your safety during net operations is the most important consideration. Whether fixed or mobile, always have a plan for getting to a safe location: an escape route—and don’t hesitate to use it! Should you move because of safety concerns or have to go off the air, please notify net control as soon as it is safe to do so.
Normal activations are for severe thunderstorms and/or tornados. These activations (a “Warning for McLennan County”) are usually based on Doppler radar observations and are indicated as such in the warning text. Once a warning is issued, NWS requires verification of the warning criteria. This is where we come in. As trained observers—amateur radio operators, along with police, fire and EMS personnel—we provide this important source of verification for NWS.
WHAT TO REPORT?
1) Tornados on the ground, funnel clouds, wall clouds (with or without rotation), beaver tails, strong inflow areas, winds in excess of 50 mph.
2) Any hail reports (use coin sizes or diameter of the hailstone in inches, ball sizes can be used for large hail).
3) Water flowing over roadways (4 inches or more).
4) Any damage, injury or deaths associated with the above criteria.
The above are the critical criteria reports that are needed at NWS ASAP. Net Control will relay them to NWS. Reports of rainfall not causing flooding, winds less than 50 mph, or other conditions that do not meet the severe criteria, while important, should be saved and passed to net control on request.
Don’t feel that because you have checked in that you have to report. Many spotters will check in and then will not be heard from again during the net, since none of the severe criteria occurred at their location. Please advise net control if you are checking out of the net for any reason. Also, net control will not direct specific routes for mobile spotters to follow. Net control may ask for spotters to move towards a specific area and this movement should be by the safest route as determined by the mobile spotter.
Keep up the great support that you have always provided to NWS, attend SKYWARN, and above all BE SAFE in your spotting activities.
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Sign up early—and make
plans to attend: |
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Getting that “HF” feeling! |
by Ed Middlebrook, KC5NT |
You’ve just earned your
“General” ticket and now you’re looking for a great way to pick up some new
states to earn your Worked All States award. How to do it? Check into
the “3905 Century Club Net” and watch the QSL cards start to pour in!
The Century Club was founded in 1977 and after over 27 years of operation, the Century Club Net is the premier Worked All States and awards net—yes, there are many other awards for us “old timers” as well! The goal of “the net” is to facilitate a gathering of hams each night that contact each other, exchange signal reports, and then swap QSL cards. This last part is extremely important: when you participate, you’re expected to exchange cards.
To participate, just check-in to one of the nightly nets (see table below) when your call district is announced. A primary “net control” operator (one who is in charge of managing the participants) runs each net. There are secondary assistants who will help make calls and listen for stations that may be weaker in signal strength. Once you’re “on the list”, you then wait your turn. While waiting for your turn to come up, make a list of the other participants. When your turn arrives, you can call any other station that has checked in. Exchange signal reports and call signs and you’re done! The next ham in the list is then directed by the net control to take their turn. And what do you do while it’s not your turn? Listen up! Someone may ask to contact you!
Nets will have anywhere from 30 to 70 participants and each net lasts about 3 hours. During this time you may get 3 to 4 calls when it’s your turn, but you may receive that many (or more) calls from other stations. In this manner, you may pickup several states each net—not bad! The other advantage is that these hams take the sending of QSL cards seriously, so you can rest assured that your confirmation will come. There is also a QSL Bureau so that you can send many cards at one time (i.e., in an envelope) to one location and the Bureau Chief will sort and send cards for you (this saves money!).
Check it out! After 27 years of hamming, I recently put up an antenna for 160 meters and I now have 17 states worked. As you read in last month’s article: up until a couple of months ago, I never worked 160!
For more info, see http://www.3905ccn.com. The fun is back! Join a Century Club Net tonight!
Time |
Frequency (kHz) |
Net |
Coordinator |
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0001Z |
7233.5 |
40 m SSB Early Net |
K9TWV |
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0300Z |
3903 |
75 m SSB Early Net |
KA1IFC |
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0300Z |
1893 |
160 m SSB Early Net |
WA0SMQ |
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0500Z |
7238.5 |
40 m SSB Late Net |
KV4GO |
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0600Z |
3903 |
75 m SSB Late Net |
N1ZL |
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0600Z |
1893 |
160 m SSB Late Net |
N8RYD |
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(Other days and times are not shown.) |
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The Door of Opportunity is Closing… |
gleaned from the ARRL Letter Online |
Registration for all three levels of the ARRL on-line courses in Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course continues. And, thanks to our grant sponsors—the Corporation for National and Community Service and the United Technologies Corporation—the $45 registration fee paid upon enrollment will be reimbursed after successful completion of the course. ACT NOW! THESE ARE THE FINAL MONTHS OF THE GRANT-SUBSIDIZED CLASSES!
Radio amateurs age 55 and older are strongly encouraged to participate. During this registration period, seats are being offered to ARRL members on a first-come, first-served basis. To learn more, visit the ARRL Certification and Continuing Education Web page (http://www.arrl.org/cce). Or contact Emergency Communications Course Manager Dan Miller, K3UFG, by email or phone (860-594-0340).
The HOTLINE is the monthly newsletter of the Heart O’ Texas Amateur Radio Club (HOTARC), Inc., a nonprofit corporation, chartered by the State of Texas and principally located in Waco. It is permissible to use any of the original material contained herein, provided proper credit is given to the source.
Edited and Published by John Chamberlain AC5CV, AC5CV@arrl.net
HOTARC 2005 Board of Directors
President: Rodney Baden K5YKC, 857-9760, K5YKC@arrl.net
Vice Pres: Terry Williams KD5KJU, 662-2438, pumpman_rpss@yahoo.com
Secretary: John Chamberlain AC5CV, 855-7731, AC5CV@arrl.net
Treasurer: Norris Martin KB5SLI, 829-2138, KB5SLI@flash.net
Past-Pres.: Ed Middlebrook KC5NT, 826-4053, KC5NT@arrl.net
Director (2005): Ed Hynan KC5KNI, 666-4873, KC5KNI@arrl.net
Director (2006): Scott Shafer KD5MLY, 848-5888, ScottShafer@clearchannel.com
Director (2007): Bill Feltenberger, KD5UEW, 756-1397, bfeltenb@swbell.net
145.15 MHz (input at –600 kHz, tone 123 Hz)
146.88 MHz (input at –600 kHz)
146.98 MHz (input at –600 kHz, tone 123 Hz)
ATV: 421.25MHz (Cable 57), input 439.25 MHz (Cable 60)
NOTE: No testing in March. Next session Saturday April 23, 10:00 am. Location: Baylor’s Rogers Engineering and Computer Science Bldg, Room 109. Bring: 1) testing fee of $14 (cash only); 2) current license and photocopy of it; 3) a photo ID (two for first-time licensees), and 4) photocopy of any relevant CSCE. Contact: Linda Hynan, AC5QQ at 666-4873 or Linda.Hynan@UTSouthwestern.edu.
Meeting NoticeThe March meeting of HOTARC will be at 7:00 pm on Thursday February 24, 2005 in the studios of KXXV Channel 25 (for more info, see pg 1). Meetings generally last about 90 minutes consisting of fellowship, general Club business, and an interesting program. Visiting hams, family members, and prospective hams are welcomed! |
We’re making
plans for 2005…
Come join the fun!