RADIO ACTIVE Newsletter of the Las Vegas Radio Amateur Club December 2004 Serving Las Vegas since April 1961 ----------------------------------------- President's Corner By Charlie Kunz, AA5QJ The Holiday season is in full swing as we draw closer to the end of this year and the start of a new one. What have we accomplished in 2004? We supported, as a club, several major public service events: Las Vegas Marathon, Susan B Komen Race for the Cure, ADA Tour de Cure Bike Ride, and the MS 150 Multiple Sclerosis 150 mile Bike Tour. In addition, individual members supported other public service events: Seed 9 Rally Sprint road race, Baker to Vegas Run, and the Silver State Open Road Challenge Races. We co-sponsored a very successful Field Day with the Frontier Amateur Radio Society (FARS) and the Nellis Radio Amateur Club. We recognized Howard Mark K3HM for his years of service to the Las Vegas Radio Amateur Club with the second Thunderbird Award. We initiated a Silent Key Assistance Program to assist families in selling or donating equipment. HF and VHF equipment was donated to the 5th Grade class at Weingert Elementary School. Their teacher Tom (Sully) Sullivan KC6GLD is integrating ham radio into the student's curriculum. We continued to refurbish the Mobile Command Post and Communications Trailer. We supported ARES/RACES in their role of providing emergency communications in time of disaster, by encouraging members to join, by providing financial support and allowing them the use of the communications trailer. LVRAC Members as members of ARES/RACES participated in: Robbers Fire communications support to local, state and federal fire agencies. Moving Target 04 disaster exercise ARRL Simulated Emergency Test 04 Members supported the ARRL booth at the National Association of Broadcasters convention. We enjoyed the Show'n'Tells and guest speakers at our meetings, including Jim Mellon KA3IDN on 900 MHz, Luke Rohn KK7XX on new products, Bill Marple AA7ZW on 10-10 Intl, Bill Croghan WB0KSW on portable antennas, Donald Maker from the National Weather Service who provided SKYWARN training, Bill WB0KSW and Det Tom Wagner on the Emergency Alert and Amber Alert Systems, John Moses KD6YGP on REACT, Jack Cook N8RRL on Red Cross Emergency Services and his deployment to Florida, Mike McKenna KD7YGU from the Nevada Highway Patrol on Hazardous Materials Handling, and Dennis Cornell N7HRO on his FEMA deployment to Florida. Donations were sent to Nathan Adelson Hospice, Newsline and AMSAT. We continued and expanded the ever-popular door prize raffles at the club meetings. LVRAC logo'd dress and polo shirts were made available for members to order. Additional logo'd items were made available at www.cafepress.com/lvrac. We continue to offer persons passing their first amateur radio license exam a complimentary membership in LVRAC for the year. We completed 2 very successful fundraising events at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. We approved an updated ByLaws. Sadly 4 of our active or former members became Silent Keys in 2004: Bill Cornelius K8XC, Lee Welsh KI7EY, Bud Potter KC7QJM, and Frank Pena KC7QJL. They are well and truly missed. and we concluded our year's activities with a well-attended Holiday Party for all members and their families. All in all, a year to be proud of. What do you think we should accomplish in the coming year? Talk to your officers and Board members and let your wishes be known. Together we can accomplish more... Happy Holidays and 73!! ----------------------------------------- VP Notes By Bob Nelson, KD7UHG January we will be having our Show and Tell presentation. This is your opportunity to show off your wares. If you would like to bring in your project, equipment or pictures of your ham shack, antenna installations or designs, special projects you have worked on, equipment you have designed or any other HAM related project, we would love to see them. Just put them on a disc or CD or bring in your laptop and hook it up to our projector. This meeting always is a great opportunity to share our experiences with others. Please send me an email if you would like to participate in this meeting. BobNelsonLV@aol.com or give me a call at 808-5580. Shirts and Apparel: please take a look at our Las Vegas Amateur Radio Logo Wear website. www.lvraclogowear.com. Here you can see our great apparel and order from the convenience of your home. The quality and comfort of these items are first class! ----------------------------------------- Secretary's Report By Sandy Nelson, KD7WYD Minutes of the General Meeting of the Las Vegas Radio Amateur Club Tuesday, November 9, 2004 Annual Club Meeting – Election of 2005 Officers Call to order 7:00pm Charlie Kunz, AA5QJ, conducting Welcome and Introductions 63 Hams were in attendance. 1 new licensee. 4 visitors. Secretary: Sandy, KD7WYD - The members attending approved October's Minutes from the November Newsletter. Treasurer: Jamie, N3TOY – absent. Will need to approve at the next General Meeting in January. Repeater Committee: Art, K7ZE – Art has taken over this committee. He is working with Pat N7QE, Bill WB0KSW, Jim KA3IDN, to update our repeaters. Trustee: Pat, N7QE – absent. Newsletter Editor: Gary, KK7LV – Please turn in any articles early! Librarian: Shelly, KD7HZK – absent. COMM Trailer Manager: Vern, K0EGA – The Kenwood TS 440 from Jan & Lee Welsh has been installed. Public Information Officer: Frank, KL7IPV – The ad is in the Review Journal, remember to send pictures to Frank of any events. Old Business: Vests, Sandy KD7WYD: New vest order will go in shortly. The club is going to replace the last vests that we received with vests with pockets & zippers. When they come in the 14 members that purchased them can exchange the lesser quality vest for the better one. The old vests will be recycled for use in the trailer. LVRAC Shirts, Bob KD7UHG: Shirts will be available by the Holiday Party. Kimberly from Custom Clothiers had a death in her family and they have been delayed. Cafι Press, Byon N6BG: Nothing new, check out the site to order fun LVRAC stuff! 5th Grade Class - Sully, KC6GLD: A presentation was made to Sully of the Kenwood 520 that was donated to the club earlier this year. We know it will be put to good use in his classroom! MS150, Nov 6 & 7 – Joe, N7XSD: Thanks to all who participated! Please send your feedback, both good and bad, to Joe to pass on to the committee for next year. The new Beacon Hill repeater made a huge difference! A special Thanks to Dave N0CLU and Charlie AA5QJ for the Net Control! Susan from the MS Society also stopped by the meeting to extend their Thanks and offered praise to Joe for his excellent work organizing and coordinating the communications. Las Vegas Marathon, 1/30/2005 – Howard, K3HM: We have been asked to cover all 26 miles. Howard has 45 – 48 volunteers, but can always use more. The race will run from Jean, NV to Sunset Part in Henderson. The signup sheet was not available at this meeting, but just let Howard know if you can participate. NAB, April 2005 – Stan Perkins W7SLP: Stan has graciously agreed to champion the booth at NAB. He has been in contact with ARRL and will be asking for volunteers in Jan to man the booth the 3rd week of April. Bill Cornelius K8XC Memorial- Charlie AA5QJ: The Thunderbird Award will be renamed the Bill Cornelius K8XC Thunderbird Award in honor of the man that asked for this award to be created. On this same note, this meeting started with: Tom, KE4ULL – Carolyn K9XC, asked Tom to show the pictures from Bill's service in Arlington VA. It was a lovely and well-deserved tribute to a fine man. ELECTIONS – Howard, K3HM: in accordance with the club bylaws, Howard opened the floor to anyone wanting to run the Acclamation of Officers for 2005. As there were no objections and all members present approved, the following are the LVRAC Board for 2005: President – Charlie Kunz, AA5QJ Vice President – BobNelson, KD7UHG Treasurer – Art Sheldon, K7ZE Secretary – Sandy Nelson, KD7WYD Directors – Butch Bussen, WA0VJR Cliff Brink, W9CRB Richard Stage, AB7ZI Holiday Party - Karen, KD7MGK: Friday, December 3rd, Elks Lodge in Henderson.. The club will provide the turkey, ham, and non-alcoholic beverages. The remaining menu is Potluck. Karen will be contacting the members to coordinate the food. Yankee Swap, limit $15 - $20. New Business: Club Commissions ARRL Memberships, Charlie, AA5QJ: The club receives commission from ARRL for memberships new or renewals that are sent in through the club. We receive $15.00 for new members and $2.00 for renewals. Please pay your ARRL dues through the club! Las Vegas Centennial Special Event – Charlie, AA5QJ: Start thinking of participating in a special Ham Radio event in May to celebrate the Las Vegas Centennial. 2005 Badges – Charlie, AA5QJ: To receive your 2005 Badge, pay your dues tonight, at the Holiday Party, or mail in by December 15th. Inkjet & Laser Cartridge Recycling – Charlie, AA5QJ: The club has been enrolled in a recycling program. Charlie has special envelopes to send old cartridges. The club will receive the credits. Announcements: ARES/RACES, Charlie, AA5QJ: Deployment: Steven Andrews, N7RNU & Dennis Cornell, N7HRO have returned. Brad Anderson, KE7ABX is still deployed. SET – Saturday, October 30th from 8:00 AM to Noon: This went well. Formal and tactical traffic was passed using UHF/VHF/HF. Good use of Tactical Calls was noticed during the MS-150. Exercise – Vern, K0EGA: The county is planning a large exercise for 2005. Skywarn Recognition Day: Dec 3 and 4th. Please let Glenn Hale, KB7REO, know if you are interested in participating. Please remember that the LVRAC Holiday party is that Friday night! T-Hunt – Byon, N6BG: Next T-Hunt is Saturday, Nov 13th @ 4:30PM. Contact Byon if you are interested in participating. PowerWerks – Byon, N6BG: Order should be in this week, he will notify you if you ordered when he received the merchandise. Byon passed around a sample of a 'Porcu-Pole', combined power pole connectors together to use one power source to power several items in a space that would not accommodate a rig-runner. (Tiny-tracker version of a rig-runner.) Raffle Prizes – Byon, N6BG: Wire ties, Power pole supplies, AA batteries, mug, chassis mount, wind gauges, ICOM map & sticker, morse-keyer, ham shack sign, tapes, antenna, VX150 Radio. Refreshments/Break Program: Deployment Report – Dennis, N7HRO: Dennis reported on his deployment in the Citizen Corp to Georgia and Florida to assist with the hurricane relief effort. He had a video presentation and offered a lot of insight into what it is to be sent out in the field in these situations. Raffle: Power Poles, tape, wire ties, AA batteries: John, KD7QYB Mug & chassis mount: Robert, KD7YRY Wind Gauge: Bob, KD7UHG Wind Gauge, tape, antenna: Bob, KE7BPT Icom Map, Sticker, Morse-keyer, Ham Shack sign: Stan, W7SLP VX150 & tape: Ron, N7NBA Meeting adjourned at 9:00 PM. ----------------------------------------- Treasurer's Report By Art Sheldon, K7ZE This is the October report: Beginning Balance $11,391.89 Deposits $476.00 Expenses Refreshments $ 53.04 Sprint $ 61.39 Trailer $ 68.25 Speedway $114.56 Holiday Party $733.21 Raffle $164.53 Transfers $142.95 ARRL $ 24.00 Marsh $325.00 Total Expense $1686.93 Ending Balance $10,180.96 This is the November report: Beginning Balance $10,180.96 Deposits $0.00 Expenses Refreshments $ 59.10 Trailer $317.90 Total Expenses $377.00 Ending Balance $9,803.96 ----------------------------------------- ARES / RACES By Charlie Kunz, AA5QJ November 2004 EC Report Total Volunteer Hours: 597 Activities - Of the 32 hams who supported communications for the MS150 Bike Ride 29 are ARES/RACES members. The ride went from the Las Vegas Speedway to Mesquite through the Valley of Fire on Sat Nov 6 and the return ride went from Mesquite to the Speedway along I-15 on Sun Nov 7. Joe Scanlan N7XSD coordinated the event. Thanks to the Las Vegas Radio Amateur Club for the use of the Communications Trailer for the MS150 Command Post. The ARES/RACES repeaters on Angel Peak and Beacon Hill were used for the event. Thanks to Andy Gagliardo N7SGV, Clark County Communications, for the installation and ongoing maintenance of these repeaters, and for always promoting ARES/RACES as a priority with the County and the Office of Emergency Management. - Charlie Kunz AA5QJ EC, Dan Starr AA7I AEC RACES and Gary Hartman KK7LV AEC Henderson attended the Local Emergency Planning Committee meeting on Nov 17. Charlie briefed on the ARES Simulated Emergency Test and gave a capsule overview of Winlink and its capabilities for served agencies. Two major exercises will be held in 2005: Rotunda Thunda Jul 11-14 and Operation Loaded Dice Oct 5-6. - Vern Garman KΨEGA participated in the Initial Planning Conference for Rotunda Thunda 05 on Nov 30. This will be a full-scale four-day exercise with 5½ continuous 12 hour operational periods. I am looking for additional members to participate in the planning process with Vern and to be trained as Controllers and Evaluators. At a minimum, we will need 22 operators for each of the 5½ shifts, and I expect that number to increase as plans mature. I have already applied for vacation days for that week. - On Sat Jan 15 Clark County ARES/RACES and San Bernardino County ECS will test the communications links between Primm and our respective EOCs. 2 operators will be needed at the Clark County ECC, and others in Primm, Jean and Sandy Valley for a couple of hours that morning. Please contact me to volunteer. - I am in the process of setting up ARES/RACES meeting dates for 2005, and planning for an 8 hour Incident Command System course. Further information and dates will be sent to you soon. Upcoming - SKYWARN Recognition Day - Dec 4 0000-2400 UTC, NWS Office - CCNVARES/RACES – SBCO ECS Communications Test - Jan 15 2005 - Las Vegas Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K - Jan 30 2005 - Rotunda Thunda 05 - Jul 11-14 2005 - Operation Loaded Dice - Oct 5-6 2005 ----------------------------------------- Coming Events January Meeting Jan 11, 2005 at Nevada Power on Sahara just west of Jones. Show and Tell Night. Bring home brew projects, antennas, pictures of shack, new toys, etc and then talk for just 5-10 minutes. If interested, contact Bob KD7UHG at 808-5580 or bobnelsonlv@aol.com. If bringing pictures, contact Howard K3HM at 256-3662 or hmark@earthlink.net to coordinate use of projector. January Raffle Nothing has been announced at the publication of this newsletter, but from the past meetings raffle prizes I am sure you will not be disappointed. January 15, 2005 CCNVARES/RACES – SBCO ECS Communications Test January 30, 2005 Las Vegas Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K April 18 – 21, 2005 NAB Convention at Las Vegas Convention Center July 11 – 14, 2005 Rotunda Thunda, Large County Emergency Exercise October 5 – 6, 2005 Operation Loaded Dice ----------------------------------------- Pay Your Dues by PayPal; Ham Activity Calendar By Charlie AA5QJ You can now renew your membership, or join as a new member, and pay your dues by PayPal using the Membership New/Renew link on the Contents panel of the club website www.lvrac.org. While you are there renewing your membership, take a look at the start of a Ham Activity Calendar, using the Calendar link on the Contents panel. If you have an activity that should be listed, email me at calendar@lvrac.org and we'll get it on there. ----------------------------------------- NAB Information By Stan Perkins, W7SLP The National Association of Broadcasters convention will be held in Las Vegas, April 18-21, 2005. Volunteers will be needed to staff the ARRL booth during exhibit hours (aprox. 9AM to 6 PM). This is a unique opportunity to talk about the amateur radio service to broadcast professionals from around the world; many are fellow amateurs. Booth volunteers must be ARRL members and dress should reflect a professional appearance (i.e. "Las Vegas casual"). Wearing club shirts, badges and/or insignia is encouraged. It is planned to staff the booth with three or four volunteers, in four-hour shifts each day (morning and afternoon). Monday is usually the busiest day and activity typically falls off on Thursday. The booth location is not known at this time but hopefully will be in the lobby area of the convention center. Credentials are needed to enter the exhibit areas and there is a minimum age requirement. Information will be forthcoming regarding the booth location and means of obtaining credentials for those wishing to view the exhibits. League officials will be attending, so this is a perfect opportunity to meet your elected representatives and discuss the future of our service. Once again, Bob Heil K9EID of Heil Sound will sponsor the ham radio reception- Wednesday, April 20 at the Hilton Ballroom. For more information and to sign up, contact- Stan Perkins W7SLP 2620 So. Maryland Pkwy. PMB #359 Las Vegas, NV 89109-8300 E-mail editdad@earthlink.net ----------------------------------------- 2004 Exam Schedule *** NEW *** License examinations are given on the second Saturday of each month. There are a couple of evening sessions at a different location. There are no new dates at this publication date but the information holds true and they are planned for the second Saturday of each month. Dates will be published when released. The black dates are daytime events. The red dates are evening test sessions and they take place at different locations. Day Time Test Sessions at: All Saints Episcopal Church 4201 W. Washington Ave. Between Decatur and Valley View Evening Test Sessions at: Clark County Government Center, Training Rm 3 500 S. Grand Central Pkwy. Southeast of the spaghetti bowl (I-15 & 95) Please visit www.lvhamtest.com for updates, maps and further information. $12.00 Exam Fee Proper Identification, prefer a picture ID with your signature. Normally applicants provide a drivers license or student ID. Social Security Number (SSN) or Taxpayer ID number (TIN) if you are not eligible for an SSN. If you presently have an Amateur Radio License, we will need the original plus a photocopy. If you have a CSCE, we must see the original plus a photocopy. Pen and a pencil. You may bring a calculator as long as the memory can be "flushed" before you take the exam. ----------------------------------------- Holiday Party – Someone left Karen alone with all those Tom was looking for donations …. Now here is a guy with packages…mercy! a positive attitude. Keep smiling Tom. Our Secretary and VP showing a little PDA… The Rafflemeister and his little helpers ----------------------------------------- LAS VEGAS RADIO AMATEUR CLUB P.O. Box 27342 Las Vegas, Nevada 89126 Membership Application Please Print Legibly NEW MEMBER (Please attach copy of license) RENEWAL UPDATE INFORMATION Name_______________________________________________ApplicationDate ____/______/_______ M D YR Call Sign _______________ License Class ______________ Expiration Date ____/______/______ Address _______________________________ City ___________________ State _____ Zip ______ Home Telephone (____)___________________ Work Telephone (____)___________________ Cellular/Pager (____)______________________ E-mail: ________________________________ Family Membership Name _____________ Call _______________ License Class __________ Name _____________ Call _______________ License Class __________ Name _____________ Call _______________ License Class __________ ARRL Member Signature ___________________________________ The club operates on a calendar year (January through December) with dues presently at $20 per year. Dues are the same for an individual or family membership. Please send check or money order payable to the Las Vegas Radio Amateur Club (or LVRAC) and mail to the club's post office box listed in the heading of this application, or pay by PayPal on the club website. ----------------------------------------- Las Vegas Radio Amateur Club P.O. Box 27342 Las Vegas, NV 89126 December 2004 issue Internet: http://www.lvrac.org/ Radio: 146.940 MHZ (K7UGE repeater) 448.500 MHz (K7UGE repeater) 146.730 MHz (QST machine)