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The HOTLINE |
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RFID? Come Find Out What This Is! |
by Bill Feltenberger, KD5UEW |
For July we will have a
speaker talk about RFID. “What is that?” you say. Well, come to the meeting and
find out. Or you say, “I already know all there is to know about that.” Well,
good, come and check out our speaker to see if he leaves anything out, or has
some new ideas for you. Since what I know about RFID would not make a very
interesting program, I hope by the end of the program I will be much better
informed. I hope that you will come and get more informed also. Our speaker’s
name is Ian Gravagne, a professor at Baylor. He is trained as an Electrical
engineer, and also happens to be a licensed Amateur Radio operator: KB5HTE.
As stated last month, I would like for our August program to be an “Ice Cream Social.” If that sounds good to everyone, then I will make a motion that the club pay for it. So, now my idea sounds even better, heh? If the members accept the motion, I will gladly be responsible for getting all the provisions and paraphernalia. Otherwise, I need alternate suggestions for the August program!
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President’s Corner |
by Wayne Branscum, KD5SMC |
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Wayne, KD5SMC |
Governor Rick Perry recently signed Senate Bill 11 (SB11) into law in June. Among many disaster response specifications, the new law contains two important Amateur Radio-related provisions: State employees who are ham radio operators may to take up to 10 days of paid leave while participating in a disaster response or training exercise, and Amateur Radio is now allowed in all Texas public schools.
I can only feel that this is a huge victory for the future of Amateur Radio in Texas. This and a great Field Day can only help bring more operators into our ranks.
Hope to see you at the July Club meeting!
Wayne Branscum, KD5SMC
HOTARC President
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National Night Out |
by John Chamberlain, AC5CV |
National Night Out
is celebrated annually by the Alta Vista Neighborhood Association (located in Waco, TX). HOTARC has participated the past several years by demonstrating amateur radio
capabilities at the afternoon/evening event, occuring this year on Tuesday, August 7. Come to this month’s meeting to
learn how you can play a role in this year’s event.
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For the Record... |
HOTARC Meeting of Members
June 28, 2007
HOTARC’s June Meeting was called to order and opened with a prayer by President Wayne Branscum KD5SMC at 7:03 PM at the Kultgen Automotive Center of the TSTC Waco campus. Present were fifteen full members, one associate members, and two visitors. Visitors were: Dave Winterton KB5MYW of Waco, and Scott Hamilton K5ZOH of Waco.
KD5SMC congratulated all on a wonderful Field Day.
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The Treasurer Reports... |
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Heart O’ Texas Amateur Radio Club Beginning Account Balance $ 6,967.50 Income Interest $ 1.40 TOTAL Income $ 1.40 Expenses General Class manuals 198.36 TOTAL Expenses $ 198.36 Ending Account Balance $ 6,770.54 Outstanding (as of 7-19-2007) Submitted by |
The Minutes for the May meeting were approved as published in the HOTLINE, on a motion by Norris Martin KB5SLI, second by Ed Hynan KC5KNI, and unanimous vote by the members. The May Treasurer’s Report was also accepted as published in the HOTLINE following a motion by Roger Miles WB5MBO, second by Rusty Keyes AD5JY, and unanimous vote by the members.
Committee Reports
· ARES: KC5KNI reminded that we will each need to have completed the FEMA courses listed on our home page b y April 2008. Mike Ross N5MVL noted that the first four FEMA courses are now required for basic firemen; police officers are required to complete even more. KC5KNI said that email confirmations of comepleted courses should be forwarded to KC5KNI.
· Repeater: KB5SLI reported that the 145.15 repeater at Moody has been shut down because of power supply problems. Scott Shafer KD5MLY reported that KXXV Channel 25 will be moving the radio shack, necessitating that we, too, must relocate the 145.15 antenna.
· Trailer: WB5MBO and N5MVL reported that the trailer’s floor has been painted and the TV screen mounted by the work team before Field Day. The backup generator is NOT working well.
· Web page: John Chamberlain AC5CV reported that our Field Day stats and photos will soon be added to the web page.
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KC5NT summarizes |
· ATV: Nothing reported.
· Education: KC5NT had nothing to report.
· Public Relations: KD5MLY reported that he had had several out-of-state contacts regarding the public service announcement (PSA) for Field Day. The radio spots yielded a good response locally, too. Regarding Field Day, we had visits from KCEN-TV Channel 6 news, the Hewitt Mayor, and state representative “Doc” Anderson.
· Special Events: KD5ERW commented that the Waco Wild West Century bike ride is the next special event we will serve. AC5CV reported that thank you notes and certificates will be sent to vendors who helped with Field Day. The members expressed their appreciation to Grant’s good work and great food for Field Day with a round of applause.
New Business
· New generator: WB5MBO suggested that a new generator should be purchased—perhaps a quiet Honda brand—and be installed on the HOTARC trailer. The members encouraged Roger to research this idea further and report back to the Club.
· New member: A new member application was received for Tom Jessup. A motion was made by John Chamberlain AC5CV and seconded by KC5KNI to accept the application. The motion was unanimously accepted by the members.
A motion to adjourn was acknowledged from WB5MBO at approximately 7:36 pm.
The program this evening was a recap of our Field Day scoring and performance by KC5NT.
Submitted by:
John Chamberlain AC5CV
HOTARC Secretary
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Amateur Radio Logs |
by Ed Hynan, KC5KNI, |
Imagine setting up for Field Day and spending a 24 hour period contesting with other amateurs around the nation and the world—without keeping station logs. When the contest period is over you are required to submit your results and you send in an estimate of the numbers that you contacted. Who would be declared the winners? With estimates, no one would really know. Some would be low estimates, some right on, and I imagine that most would be overestimates—no real documentation of what took place.
Now translate that contest
(demonstration of emergency capabilities) into a real life emergency situation—HURRICANE
KATRINA / RITA / or any other real disaster situation. Now it is NOT a contest,
a game etc. Peoples lives, health, and welfare depend on the communications
getting through. Medicine needed here, food and water needed there, hazardous
materials discovered, flood and damage reports, casualties, and so forth—all
communications that are critical for those affected and those trying to provide
and coordinate relief. How do you know that the correct information got to the
correct persons or agencies? Who requested the items? Who approved and released
the request? Who is responsible for getting it there?
Remember: as amateurs supporting an emergency, we are just the messenger. Those affected or supporting the emergency depend on us—the messenger—to get the right info to the right agency. That is why amateur logs are so important. In the heat of the emergency, you might just want to pass the information and provide the requested assistance. But if something goes wrong or is misunderstood the messenger is the first one to receive grief. Take the time to log each communication. You may use your own brand of shorthand, as we do with weather nets, and then transcribe or fill in the blanks later. Document what, when, where, why, and especially who is making the request or who is responding to the request. Get it on paper or computer so you, the lowly messenger, can provide the necessary specifics.
The ARES net controls for the Monday night nets all keep and submit logs. This is documentation that the net took place. We need to practice this in all our other organized support events—Symphony Run, Bike Race etc.—so that it becomes automatic when we have to be the messenger in times of real emergency.
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
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2007 Board of Directors |
HOTARC 2007 Board of Directors
President: Wayne Branscum KD5SMC, 857-3964, wbscum@grandecom.net
Vice Pres: Bill Feltenberger KD5UEW, 756-1397, bfeltenb@swbell.net
Secretary: John Chamberlain AC5CV, 855-7731, AC5CV@arrl.net
Treasurer: Norris Martin KB5SLI, 829-2138, KB5SLI@flash.net
Past-Pres.: Rodney Baden K5YKC, 857-9760, K5YKC@arrl.net
Director (2007): Terry Williams KD5KJU, 662-2438, pumpman_rpss@yahoo.com
Director (2008): Ed Middlebrook KC5NT, 826-4053, KC5NT@arrl.net
Director (2009): Mike Ross N5MVL, 836-1083, N5MVL@juno.com
145.15 MHz (input at –600 kHz, tone 123 Hz)
146.88 MHz (input at –600 kHz, tone 123 Hz)
146.98 MHz (input at –600 kHz, tone 123 Hz)
ATV: 421.25MHz (Cable 57), input 439.25 MHz (Cable 60)
Next session is Saturday August
18, 10:00 AM. Location: Baylor’s Rogers Engineering and Computer Science Bldg
(#63 on the map). Bring: 1) testing fee of $14 (cash only); 2) a photo ID (two for first-time
licensees); and
for already licensed amateurs: 3) current
license and photocopy of it; and 4) photocopy
of any relevant CSCE.
Contact: Linda Hynan, AC5QQ at 666-4873 or Linda.Hynan@UTSouthwestern.edu.
Meeting NoticeThe monthly meeting of HOTARC will be at 7:00 pm on Thursday July 26, 2007 in the Kultgen Automotive Center of the TSTC Waco Campus. Meetings generally last about 75 minutes consisting of fellowship, general Club business, and an interesting program. Visiting hams, family members, and prospective hams are welcomed! |
No more Morse code
requirement!
Tell someone about it!