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The HOTLINE |
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COURAGE Handi-Ham System |
by
Rodney Baden K5YKC |
The
Courage Handi-Ham System was “born” in Rochester, Minnesota in 1967: the idea
of Ned Carman, W0ZSW. As Ned encountered people with severe physical
disabilities, who often had few opportunities to leave their homes, he realized
that amateur radio would be the perfect hobby for them.
Ned enlisted the help of a group of local nuns, the Sisters of St. Francis. Their first action was as weather watchers during a thunderstorm that passed through Rochester. Committed to helping Ned with his new project, and several St. Francis nuns received their licenses.
It was very slow getting going. At one time he thought the whole idea might have to be given up. On April 30, 1967, a local group of nuns, the Sisters of St. Francis, offered to help. Among them was Sister Alvera O’Laughlin, WA0SGJ. Soon the Rochester Amateur Radio Club, and a later the PICONET of South Eastern Minnesota took up the torch that Ned lit.
By
1969 word of the Handi-Ham services had spread throughout southern Minnesota
and northern Iowa, but the group was having financial difficulties. The
Minnesota Society for Crippled Children and Adults came to their aid. Shortly
after the name was changed to “Courage Center” and became everything Ned could
have ever expected, with work of the System continuing around the world!
Today Ned Carman is a silent key, but the Courage Handi-Ham System’s headquarters station bears Ned’s call sign, W0ZSW, and an organization of volunteers and paid staff carries on his good work of sharing amateur radio with people who have physical disabilities. The Courage Handi-Ham System provides tools for people with disabilities to learn amateur radio and technology skills, and to earn their amateur radio licenses.
Please come to the HOTARC meeting this month expecting to see and learn what the Courage Handi-Ham System is doing today, and how we can help!
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QRV? (Are You
Ready?) |
by
Ed Middlebrook, KC5NT |
Opportunities for Training and Service…
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(a) Recognition and
enhancement of the value of the amateur service to the public as a voluntary
noncommercial communication service, particularly with respect to providing
emergency communications. Part 97.1 |
This
is the first of five purposes of the Amateur Radio Service and one of the main
reasons that we are given the ability to hold our license. Are you fulfilling
this purpose?
While
I enjoy operating in contests, building equipment, testing antennas and new
technologies, the one time that I really 
feel that I’m giving something back to the community
is when I get a chance to take part in a public service or emergency communications
event. We radio operators take these opportunities seriously—as we are given a
chance to help the general public by using our license and knowledge.
Along
these lines, HOTARC is being asked again to help the public by providing our
communication talents to the Wild West Century Bike Ride. This event is a group
of bike rides and bike races that go throughout the central Texas area,
including a 100-mile race! The shear scope of these rides and races requires
coordination of resources, emergency response vehicles, and reports back on the
race progress. We even have the opportunity to handle “health and welfare”
traffic by helping find “lost riders” along the route.
This is a prime opportunity for you as a member of the amateur radio community to live up to Part 97.1(a). You’ll test your abilities and those of the hams you work with. Then, when even bigger events occur and the public needs our help, you’ll be ready!
The event is October 2, so sign-up today by contacting John Chamberlain, AC5CV. Your help is needed and your reward is waiting!
See
you Thursday!
Ed Middlebrook, KC5NT
HOTARC President
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For the Record... |
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HOTARC Meeting of Members
August 26, 2004
The August meeting of the Heart O’ Texas Amateur Radio Club was called to order by Ed Middlebrook KC5NT at 7:02 pm at the Kultgen Automotive Building on the TSTC Waco campus. Present were eighteen full members, one family member, and four visitors: Ryan Holt KC5LEU, Johnny White (student), Stephen Taylor (student), and Monica Gonzalez (student).
The Minutes for the July meeting were approved as published in the HOTLINE, following a motion by Norris Martin KB5SLI, second by Rusty Keyes AD5JY, and unanimous vote by the members present. The July Treasurer’s Report as published in the HOTLINE was also accepted, following a motion by Rodney Baden K5YKC, second by Horace Bushnell W5TAH, and unanimous vote by the members present.
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The
Treasurer Reports... |
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Heart
O’ Texas Amateur Radio Club Beginning Account Balance $ 3,199.28 Income Interest $ 0.68 TOTAL Income $ 0.68 Expenses TOTAL Expenses $ 0.00 Ending
Account Balance $ 3,199.96 Outstanding (as of 9-12-04) Submitted by |
Announcements
· Ham software: KC5NT reported that he was considering developing some ham software for ham dispatch. Contact Ed if interested in helping.
Committee Reports
· ARES: K5YKC reported that the county is investigating the purchase of GMRS radios for communications. Also reported that Lorena ISD is going to train about 100 employees in CERT. Waco, West and Lacy Lakeview also making similar plans.
· Trailer: Mike Ross N5MVL reported that the trailer worked well for National Night Out (NNO). KC5NT reported that we need to examine the HF vertical, as we noted a high SWR during the NNO event. AD5JY reported that the door needs work. John Chamberlain AC5CV offered to contact the local Wells Cargo company.
· Repeater: Nothing reported.
· Web Page: KB5SLI reported that Justin Martin KC5KQL had moved away to college, so we need a new webmaster, and it was time to renew our web server contract. Larry Bush W5NCD suggested we consider a company called “1by1.”
· ATV: David Bush KC5UPOZ reported that we are still operating temporary antennas. Replacement antennas are being constructed by W5NCD.
· Special Events: AC5CV discussed plans for the upcoming Symphony 6000 Run on September 4, 2004. Bill Cox W5JRM agreed to pull the trailer to the site. AC5CV also stressed need for volunteers at the upcoming WWWC bike ride on October 2, despite conflict with Belton Ham Expo. Terry Williams KD5KJU reported that Alta Vista won awards for Best Theme and Best Lights at the NNO event, and expressed thanks for the participation by HOTARC and the trailer.
New Business
· New member: KC5NT reported that Jerald Tollison, KD5JML of Waco submitted an application for membership. A motion to accept the application was made by Bill Feltenberger KD5UEW, seconded by Larry Bush W5NCD, and unanimously approved by the members present.
· Antenna tower: Ryan Holt KC5LEU of the Waco PD described and proposed the use of an 80-foot tower located beside the Waco police station for an amateur repeater. He noted pros (free for use, electricity is provided including backup generator, fairly secure, near the downtown area) and cons (only 80 feet, fairly low altitude in county, needs better grounding). The Club responded enthusiastically, and formed a committee to investigate further (KB5SLI, W5NCD, and KD5KJU).
KC5NT heard a motion by Wayne Branscum KD5SMC to adjourn the meeting at 7:49 pm.
The program this evening was presentations by Larry Bush W5NCD of some of his recent projects, including an active attenuator for use in radio direction finding (RDF); homemade phased vertical antennas using commercial arrow shafts; Maxon antennas; tunable broadcast band receive antennas (loop), and a small trailer with a 30-foot pneumatic mast and rotor for analyzing antenna radiation patterns. For more info on Larry’s projects, visit http://w5ncd.com.
Submitted by:
John Chamberlain AC5CV
HOTARC Secretary
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WWWC event—We Need Your
Help! |
by
John Chamberlain, AC5CV |
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First, let me express my thanks to everyone who volunteered to help in the September special event: the Symphony 6000. Thanks go to: ·
Rodney Baden, K5YKC
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Ready,
set, go!! The starting line of the Symphony 6000 |
But this month I’m back because we have another event. As you read in my recent email, heard at last month’s meeting, and will hear again at this month’s meeting: we need volunteers for this significant annual special event. Please mark your calendars with a big red circle:
Saturday, October
2, 2004:
The Waco Wild West Century Bike Ride
The riders leave the starting line at 8:00 am from Indian Springs Park (in front of the Waco, Hilton). Riders choose one of five courses: 10-mile, 25-mile, 50-mile, 62-mile, or 100-mile. Some 100-milers will still be crossing the finish line around 5 pm or later. Our role is extremely important for event and rest stop coordination, as well as the welfare of the hundreds of riders who will be riding out in the country—away from normal assistance should they have trouble of any sort. So, this requires a full day commitment for some. But if you can give just a few hours, it will be very appreciated! We need at least 20 volunteers for this event!
Please send me an email if you can help (AC5CV@arrl.net). And since the WWWC folks have really come to appreciate our contribution to the success of this event, they are happy to give you a very nice t-shirt. Also, it should be stated that the WWWC folks have made a VERY GENEROUS cash donation to HOTARC every year for the past several years. Let’s not let them down this year!
Current plans are to use the HOTARC 145.15 repeater (–600 kHz, tone 123 Hz). We hope to see some remote photos via SSTV (the W5NCD SSTV repeater, 147.24 MHz, +600 kHz, tone 97.4 Hz). And we will make every effort to use APRS to track the lead vehicles in the long-distance races. But all these efforts require commitment and preparation! That’s why we need you!!
Please contact John Chamberlain, AC5CV today!
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Request
for |
by Ed Hynan, KC5KNI, |
I would like to get an early start on the 2005 ARES
net control schedule. I currently have seven individuals that have volunteered
for net control duty. The ARES/Bakers Dozen Training Net is held each Monday
night at 8 PM on the 145.15 Repeater. Since the 2004 schedule was done, we have
had a number of new and return ARES members. I would like to provide this
excellent training opportunity to all current members of McLennan County ARES.
If you would like the opportunity to serve as a weekly net control please let
me know via e-mail: KC5KNI@arrl.net. Let
me know if there are any Mondays that would not be convenient (1st, 2nd, 3rd,
4th, and/or 5th).
For
those who would like to volunteer, I will add you to the 2005 schedule, and
provide you with a copy of the preamble, log sheet, and the ARES/Bakers Dozen
Training Net Operating Instructions. If you want to participate, please let me
know by 1 November 2004. Current Net Control Stations should let me know
if they would like to continue to serve. This is what amateur radio is all
about: preparation for emergency service.
With
additional volunteers, you would be scheduled to call the net no more than 6
times a year. Please let me hear from you.
I highly recommend that all current and potential net
control stations take advantage of the ARRL Emergency Communications Courses. I
have completed all three current courses and the information contained in the
courses is great. The grant for course payment has been extended, so while you
must pay the $45.00 fee up front, it will be reimbursed upon course completion
(for ARRL members). More information can be found at http://www.arrl.org/cce/.
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Looking Ahead… |
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Next month’s HOTARC Meeting will be Homebrew Night! Start planning now on what homebrew project you can bring to show and tell to your fellow hams!
It doesn’t have to be anything “earth-shattering”…just something you put together! It might not even work, but it could spark an idea in someone else and we’ll all benefit!
Let’s see if everyone can bring something this year!
For a trip down memory lane, check out the reports and photos of past Homebrew Nights in these past year’s HOTLINEs: 2001 2002 2003 (Hint: Scroll down to the meeting minutes in each issue.)
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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2004 Board
of Directors |
HOTARC 2004 Board of Directors
President: Ed Middlebrook KC5NT, 826-4053, KC5NT@arrl.net
Vice Pres: Rodney Baden K5YKC,
857-9760, K5YKC@arrl.net
Secretary: John Chamberlain AC5CV,
855-7731, AC5CV@arrl.net
Treasurer: Norris Martin KB5SLI,
829-2138, NMartin@tstc.edu
Past-Pres.: Rusty Keyes AD5JY,
662-1461, RustedKey@aol.com
Director
(2004):
Bill Cox W5JRM, 863-5149, W5JRM@aol.com
Director
(2005):
Ed Hynan KC5KNI, 666-4873, KC5KNI@arrl.net
Director
(2006):
Scott Shafer KD5MLY, 848-5888, ScottShafer@clearchannel.com
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: Change of time for September only: 11:00 am
…on the fourth Saturday of the month at Baylor’s Rogers Engineering Bldg, Room 109. Bring: 1) testing
fee of $12 (cash, please); 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 Notice
This month’s
meeting of HOTARC will be at 7:00 pm on Thursday September 23, 2004 in the Kultgen Automotive Center of
the TSTC Waco Campus. 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! |
Get ready for Fall special events!