RADIO ACTIVE Newsletter of the Las Vegas Radio Amateur Club January 2005 Serving Las Vegas since April 1961 ------------------------------------ Leadership Corner By Bob Nelson, KD7UHG – Vice President Wow! It's 2005 and your new board has a full agenda. This year promises to be an exciting one in amateur radio. To amplify the importance of our hobby and the service it can provide as a gift back to our community, please read this brief snap shot from the ARRL Web regarding the recent tsunamis disaster: "There is presently no communication from Nicobar Islands," Majumdar reports, noting that Nicobar received more damage than Andaman. McClenny says the VU4RBI/VU4NRO DXpedition team continues to pass traffic and occasionally hand out QSOs. C. K. "Ram" Raman, VU3DJQ, reports he was in contact with Sarath, 4S7SW, a physician operating from the vicinity of a hospital in Mathara, Sri Lanka, which also was heavily hit by the tsunamis. "He is requesting food, clothing and medicines for relief," Raman reported. "He will be listening 14.195 and 21.295." Telephones are not working there, he said. McClenny and Majumdar agree that it was fortuitous that the VU4RBI/VU4NRO DXpedition was under way when the disaster struck. "If there is a positive aspect to this disaster, it may very well be that the Indian government--and others--realize the ability of Amateur Radio during these difficult times," McClenny observed. We have several heroes in our Las Vegas Radio Amateur Club who have and continue to give back, not only in action during a disaster but in planning for the unexpected. As your new VP I am honored to serve you and I am looking forward to asking many of you to share your skills and talents so others will be able to learn. I also ask you to let me know what subjects you would like to hear about. I am pleased to announce that Butch, WA0VJR, will have a presentation on his experiences and successes in Ham Radio, including a demonstration on some of the specialized equipment he uses. Until next time 73's! ------------------------------------ Secretary's Report By Sandy Nelson, KD7WYD Minutes of the General Meeting of the Las Vegas Radio Amateur Club Tuesday, January 11, 2005 Call to order: 7:00PM - Bob Nelson, KD7UHG, Conducting Welcome and Introductions 68 Hams were in attendance. 1 upgraded licensee. 4 visitors. Recognitions: Karen, KD7MGK: For organizing and coordinating the Holiday Party and acting as M.C. for the Yankee Swap. Karen went above and beyond by calling the membership personally to coordinate the potluck menu. She also invested her time and creativity with the decoration on the tables and around the hall. We also recognize her for her continued support of the club by supplying the refreshments each month. Thank you Karen! Jack, N8RRL: For storing the club trailer in his side yard and supplying the utilities without ever commenting or asking for compensation. Thank you Jack and Maggie! (Jack was working with the Red Cross flood relief.) Secretary: Sandy, KD7WYD – There was not a meeting in December – no minutes to approve. But the members did approve the November minutes that were in the December newsletter. Treasurer: Art, K7ZE – An end-of-year report was presented in the January Newsletter and approved by the members. We will still need to approve the November report at the next General Meeting in February. Repeater Committee: Art, K7ZE – the committee is in the process of accessing what is needed. Trustee: Pat, N7QE – absent. Newsletter Editor: Gary, KK7LV – Please turn in any articles early! Librarian: Shelly, KD7HZK – absent. COMM Trailer Manager: Vern, K0EGA – Used for SkyWarn Recognition Day and new tires were purchased. Public Information Officer: Frank, KL7IPV – nothing new at this time. Please remember to send him photos of any events. Old Business: LVRAC Shirts, Bob KD7UHG: Kimberly from Custom Clothiers brought a few additional shirts and announced the club web site has been updated so the members can order direct. Café Press, Byon N6BG: Nothing new, check out cafeshops.com/lvrac! 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. The vests will also be added to the web site for direct ordering. 5th Grade Class - Sully, KC6GLD: They are setting up the equipment and hope to be on the air by February. After School Program – Dave, WD6ZZY: absent – but they are working on their equipment also. They still need antennas, etc. And volunteers are welcome. Silent Key Program – Bob, KD7UHG: Volunteers were solicited to assist in removing the equipment from the Potter house. A work party is planned for Saturday, Jan 15. The plan is to pack up the equipment and put it in storage. Then clean it up for e-Bay or the Ham swap meet. 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. He had the magnetic signs, vests and window placards for the event. These were distributed during the break. NAB, April 18-21, 2005 – Stan Perkins W7SLP: Stan is asking for additional volunteers to man the booth at NAB. If you attended last year you should have received your invitation. Don't forget the Ham Reception on Wednesday night! New Business: Webpage Calendar – Bob, KD7UHG: Charlie, AA5QJ, has added a Las Vegas Radio Amateur Activity Calendar to the club website. Please check it out! PayPal – Bob, KD7UHG: PayPal is up and working for paying your dues. Elmer Program/Subject Matter Experts – Sandy, KD7WYD: A sign up sheet was circulated and will be available at the monthly meetings from now on. Please sign up if you would like to be contacted as part of the program. This information will be posted on the club web site. Speedway Concession, March 11, 12, and 13 – Sandy, KD7WYD: Charlie, AA5QJ, is championing the event this year with the assistance of Sandy. We will have just the one booth, B-9, this year. But, the Speedway has added an official Beer Stand in front of the booth and we will man that also! Loads of volunteers are needed. Please contact Charlie or Sandy to help out! A sign-up sheet was circulated and we received 11 volunteers. We need at least twice that many to make this work without completely wiping everyone out. We decided to drop the 2nd booth and man the one without the Elk's after this same event last year. This was a club decision. Please volunteer. The more people we get the easier it is and the more fun we have. The more fun we have, the more tips we make. The more tips we make, the better the dinner at the end of the year! We also have several building projects planned this year, as well as Field Day – this is where the money will come from. Please sign up or email Sandy at snelson@newgen.com. Rally Cross, March 5th, Jean Dry Lake Bed (SEED Rally) – Jamie, N3TOY: Jamie was absent, but he will need volunteers for the communications at this off-road event. Las Vegas Centennial Special Event – Jamie, N3TOY: Start thinking of participating in a special Ham Radio event in May to celebrate the Las Vegas Centennial. Field Day – Gary, KK7LV: absent – We have Area F site in Sunset Park. Building Parties – Byon, N6BG: We are planning a few parties. Trackers, Attenuators, and Tape-Measure Beams. The club will subsidize some of the expense of the materials. We are searching for a good site and there will be much more to come on this! Autopatch – Board of Directors: It was brought up at the BOD meeting that we may want to cancel the phone line for the Autopatch. It doesn't seem like it's used very much and may not be worth the $30.00 a month expense. After discussion, the members voted to keep the Autopatch as it is used and considered of value to the club. It's used as the repeater control and is open to all club members, but not the general public. Announcements: Bill, WB0KSW: Is teaching a Radio Course, Amateur and Commercial Licenses at CCLV – Cheyenne Campus. There will be Wednesday and Saturday classes. College credits will be awarded. Please get with Bill to sign up if you are interested. Club Commissions for new ARRL members and Renewals: Please renew or sign up for ARRL through the club. We are paid commissions on both new and renewals. Thanks! 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. PowerWerks – Byon, N6BG: Order came in. Please see Byon at the break if you haven't picked up your order yet. The 2005 board members stood up so the members could see who they are. Charlie, AA5QJ: President Richard, AB7ZI: Director Bob, KD7UHG: Vice President Butch, WA9VJR: Director Art, K7ZE: Treasurer Cliff, W9CRB: Director Sandy, KD7WYD: Secretary ARES/RACES, Charlie, AA5QJ: Comm Test, Saturday January 15, 9-11 AM (this was cancelled due to the flooding in the northern part of the county.) Meeting: Saturday, January 29th 9AM at the Clark County Government Center ICS Course: Saturday, February 19, 0800 – 1700 at the Clark County Government Center Raffle Prizes – Tom, KE4ULL: Hustler Mag-mount Antenna, 2004 ARRL Handbook, 2005 ARRL Handbook, Video & TV Engineering Book, Ham Study 2002 w/Morse Code, Yaesu Hat, Cold Solder iron, Outdoor pack, Radio Shack 2m Radio Refreshments/Break Program: Show-n-Tell: Bill, WB0KSW, and Frank KL7IPV. Raffle: Hustler Mag-mount Antenna, David, WD6CZY 2004 ARRL Handbook, Bob, KE7BPT 2005 ARRL Handbook, Bob, AA7NR Video & TV Engineering Book, Jim, N7USV Ham Study 2002 w/Morse Code, Bob, KE7BPT Yaesu Hat, Vern, K0EGA Cold Solder iron, Dan, AA7I Outdoor pack, Paul, KC7QJR Radio Shack 2m Radio, Frank, KL7IPV Meeting adjourned at 9:00 PM. ------------------------------------ Treasurer's Report By Art Sheldon, K7ZE Beginning Balance $12,145.00 Total Deposits $1,030.39 $13, 176.38 Expenses ARRL Renewal $ 34.00 Sprint $ 29.91 Raffle Tickets $ 5.33 Gift Certificates $ 75.00 Refreshments $ 72.08 Field Day Permit $175.00 Printer Cartridges $108.55 Badge Supplies $ 56.95 AMSAT $100.00 PayPal Refund $ 20.00 Total Expense: $676.82 Ending Balance $12,499.56 ------------------------------------ ARES / RACES Charlie Kunz, AA5QJ Excerpted from ARRL Amateur Radio News: ARES Supports National Weather Service, Red Cross in Flooding's Wake Charlie Kunz, AA5QJ, Clark County EC, was contacted by the National Weather Service on Monday, Jan 10, 2005 about 10pm. They had lost a level detector on the Muddy River near Glendale, Nevada and asked if someone could get them reports. Charlie contacted Roy, K7YWF, AEC for NE Clark County. Logandale/Overton/Mesquite area members provided information to NWS from Monday night through early Thursday Morning. They also provided information to Las Vegas Metro Police, County Fire, Nevada Highway Patrol, and the Flood Control District. The Clark County Office of Emergency Management activated the Clark County EOC on Tuesday and requested a representative from ARES in the EOC. That position was manned from about 1pm on Tuesday until about 3pm on Wednesday. Information was passed to and from NE Clark County via the ARS/RACES Emergency Communications Center. Red Cross opened a shelter in Overton and support for that activity was provided by hams from the Logandale/Overton area. On Thursday, 1/13 ARES provided communication support to Red Cross in Overton for preliminary damage assessment. On Saturday, ARES was requested to provide support to Red Cross in Mesquite. Eight people from Las Vegas and Overton responded. This group assisted in setting up the Red Cross communications van and provided communications for Outreach teams who were searching for the people that needed Red Cross assistance. The Outreach activity was centered in the NE corner of Arizona, near Littlefield and Beaver Dam. The effort in Mesquite continued on Sunday. Activity was primarily with the Outreach teams following up on Saturday's effort. The Red Cross completed their Outreach program on Sunday evening and further ARES support was not required after that time, except to help dismantle the antennas on the Red Cross ECRV on Monday. ------------------------------------ Silent Key On Saturday, January 29, 2005, Bill Marple, AA7ZW, became a silent key. Although Bill was only with us a short time in this community he still made a great impact. He was a Director and Net Manager for 10-10 International and the ARES/RACES Assistant Emergency Coordinator for Las Vegas. Bill loved his friends and his friends loved him. There is no better tribute to this man than the one he wrote himself in his final hours as follows: Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2005 0:15 I just wanted to bring you up to date. I have booked and set sail (on Saturday January 29, 2005 @ 2:20AM) on the greatest cruise of all. I am at peace and expect to see, and be, in wondrous places. My only regret is that I had to leave my beloved wife and traveling companion behind, but I plan to tell her all about it some day. To all my family and friends, please remember the good times, the stories, the jokes, and the pleasure I took in having the people I loved around me. I'm in God's hands now and I'm working on new material to make him smile. "Love you all" Signing off.. 73, Bill AA7ZW There was a viewing for Bill Marple in Las Vegas on Wednesday February 2, 2005 and from there he was taken to California for funeral and burial. -----=====#=====----- Classroom 27 Is On The Air! Thanks to the generous contributions of the club and many of its members, our 5th grade classroom is on the air! We are currently operating on 20-meters, and the students are excited to be talking each day to hams all over the country. Our first day on the air netted four interesting and informative QSOs. Our first contact was before the school day began, when we answered a CQ from Tim, ZK1SDE, on Aitutaki Island in the Cook Islands. Then during our morning class we contacted Leon, W4YFZ, on the Texas gulf coast, on 14,267. He's Net Control for a motorhome net on 14,267. Next we contacted Bill, K8NQC, in Montpelier, Ohio. Gregory in our class asked him about the weather there, and if any ground hogs there saw their shadow. Bill was helping KB1IBO, who is Net Control for the YL net on that frequency. We could hear her but she was having trouble copying us. In the afternoon we sent out a CQ that was answered by David, WA9KJI, in Evansville, Indiana. Katie spoke to him about the weather and about his occupation (retired electronics repair technician), and then Jimena and he had a lengthy QSO in Spanish about their families. All-in-all it was a good first day on the air, and the kids were really excited about the fun of operating amateur radio. The classroom station. Our station is the TS-520 the club donated, hooked-up to a 20-meter dipole we constructed from some RG8X cable, an ancient Bencher 1:1 balun I had laying around, and some 12-gauge twisted copper wire I had used in a long wire antenna. The dipole is cut for 14,285, and it's up about 17 feet, directly above our classroom, aimed NE to SW. We're using the MC-50 microphone the club donated, a General Electric external speaker that was donated to us, and a Daiwa CN-801 SWR meter I purchased at the last Dayton convention. The transceiver is working really well. We're getting strong RST reports and good audio reports, which is really great considering the rig is not grounded very well! (More about that below.). Thanks for the gear! Our very sincere "Thanks!" The generous equipment donations from the club and from several of its members have opened up an exciting and rewarding learning opportunity for our class. We want to offer a sincere thanks for the donation of gear we've received from the club of the TS-520 and its operating peripherals, and also for the equipment donations from Jim Bassett, W1RO, from Jim Bilan, KC7UXB, from Frank Drake, KL7IPV, and from Don Ahlskog (who is in the process of earning his first license), and a heartfelt "Thanks!" to Carolyn Cornelius for her special contribution of much of Bill's gear, and also of her own. All of the donated gear is also being shared with Dave Moss and his after-school club at Keller Middle School. Our Plans. Now that we have our first station up and running, we have six related projects we hope to complete in the next two months: ? First, we need to connect a decent ground for the TS-520. I think we've covered the safety angle pretty well, and we've been getting surprisingly good RST results without any real ground (just running a wire to some conduit in the ceiling), but we really need to improve the station's ground. We have no plumbing in the classroom; no sink or water fountain with which we can connect .I welcome any suggestions you may have about improving the situation. ? Second, we want to convert the single-band 20-meter dipole we currently have into a fan-fold dipole that includes elements for 15, 17, and 40. ? Third, we will be participating in the 19th Annual School Club Roundup during the week of February 14th. Here we'll be contesting to have on-the-air experiences with many other schools nationwide. Complete details on this contest are provided in a full-page article on page 103 of the January, 2005 issue of QST. ? Fourth, we want to get a 2-meter rig and antenna set up in our classroom. We've had some interesting donations to use for this station. The 2-meter set-up will allow us to begin a schedule with Dave Moss and his kids at Keller Middle School, which is the school most of my kids attend when they move up from the 5th grade. ? Fifth, the kids are going to have an art contest to design our first QSL card. We'll publish the winners in the club newsletter. ? Sixth, we are going to explore obtaining a special call sign for our classroom station. We're still learning about the opportunities and procedures required for this. How To Contact Us. We heartily welcome any ideas, comments, and suggestions that you may have about how we can improve our classroom station, and/or get maximum learning experience from the use of the station. Our classroom has its own website at ttp://teacherweb.com/NV/WengertElementary/MrSullivan/. We update our site each week to give the kids an opportunity to practice their language arts skills, and to inform our parents about what we are doing each week in the classroom. You can e-mail us from this site by clicking on the mailbox icon on the top right corner of the page, or you can just e-mail us directly at TBSullivan@Interact.CCSD.net. We look forward to hearing from you! And of course, I plan to attend all of our monthly club meetings, and I am always interested in hearing your ideas at the meetings. Next time. We intend to update you each month on our classroom amateur radio experience. I hope we don't bore you too much, but I want to share with you the neat learning activities the kids are enjoying thanks to the generous contributions of your equipment and your much welcomed sage advice. Thanks! Sully, KC6GLD ------------------------------------ Las Vegas Marathon By Howard Mark, K3HM…..the voice of Summerlin ! On Sunday, January 30, forty members of the Las Vegas Radio Amateur Club offered communication services during the 39th annual running of the Las Vegas Marathon. The marathon began in Jean and ended at Sunset Park, and reports indicate that close to 8,000 runners participated in the event this year. The club's members were stationed on the course at every mile marked position, and for the first 13 miles most half-mile positions. For complete radio coverage of the 26.2 mile course the LVRAC once again relied on the WA7HXO and Cactus Radio Clubs' repeaters. This year only 440 frequencies were used. All members' mobile and HT radios appeared capable of reaching the repeaters with solid signals throughout the event. The radio command post was housed in a self-contained (propane powered generator) Metro police communications van shared by Metro, the Nevada Highway Patrol, an ambulance service dispatcher and the LVRAC. Fortunately there were no serious medical/other issues reported. My thanks to all the LVRAC members that participated in the event, and as voiced by Marlene Hedrick, Race Director, "Thanks for a job well done and please help us next year". ------------------------------------ Susan G. Komen, Race for the Cure Tom Petrakis, KE4ULL Help Wanted!! To assist local ham radio operators in their support for this year's Susan G. Komen Foundation Breast Cancer Prevention, Las Vegas, Race for The Cure. The event will be held on Saturday morning, May 7, 2005. It includes a 1K walk & a 5K run. Last year's event realized over 11,200 participants! The event is held in the Downtown area of Las Vegas, around the Fremont Street Experience. We will need approximately 20 hams to assist us in providing this very critical support to this year's event. You should expect to arrive at a predetermined location (I'll advise you in a package I'll mail to you) prior to 6:30 AM. I have been advised that as part of the event's "use permits", they must be cleaned-up and gone from the area by 1 PM on Saturday. So you will be gone by somewhere around that time.. I need to know how many hams are actually available to assist in this effort. Those of you with spouses and/or others, please feel free to bring them along to enjoy the event and help out! Those of you, who indicate that you have motorcycle capability, will be vital to our success! With that many people in one area, a full-size vehicle will not be able to get where we need to go. Please plan on operating your motorcycle-mobile! If you have any questions, drop me an Email (tpetrakis@cox.net) or call me @ 368-6763. Thank-you again for your interest and I look forward to working again with each of you on this event. ------------------------------------ Coming Events February 19 Incident Command System, ICS 100/200 Course, CCGC, 0800 – 1700 March 5 Rally Cross, Jean Dry Lake (Seed Race) – Jamie N3TOY March 11-13 Speedway Fund Raiser – Sandy KD7WYD or Charlie AA5QJ March 26 Clark County ARES/RACES meeting CCGC 9:00 AM April 18 – 21 NAB Convention at Las Vegas Convention Center – Stan W7SLP April 20 Ham Reception LV Hilton 1800 April 23 – 24 Baker to Vegas Race May 7 Susan G. Komen, Race for the Cure May 21 Tour de Cure ADA Bike Ride May 28 Clark County ARES/RACES meeting CCGC 9:00 AM June 25 - 26 Field Day July 12 – 14 Rotunda Thunda, Full-scale County Emergency Exercise October 5 – 6 Operation Loaded Dice ------------------------------------ 2005 Exam Schedule License examinations are given on the second Saturday of each month. There are a couple of evening sessions at a different location. Alternate locations are listed also. The black dates are daytime events. The orange dates are evening test sessions. The red dates are test sessions held in Pahrump. The green dates are test sessions in Overton. 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) Pahrump location is held at the Masonic Lodge Overton Exam see the map at www.lvhamtest.com 479 Rabee Court, 2:00 PM Time is 12:00 Noon Contact Ulla Hess, K6UDK at 702-397-2071 Please visit www.lvhamtest.com for updates, maps and further information. ? $14.00 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. More dates will be added as we receive them. February 12 February 25 March 12 April 9 April 16 May 14 June 11 July 9 July 16 August 13 September10 October 8 October 28 November 12 December 10 LVRAC Contact Information President Charlie Kunz, AA5QJ aa5qj@arrl.net 334-1196 Vice President Bob Nelson, KD7UHG bobnelsonlv@aol.com 228-2216 Secretary Sandy Nelson, KD7WYD snelson@newgen.com 228-2216 Treasurer Art Sheldon, K7ZE k7ze@arrl.net 255-1074 Director Clifford Brink, W9CRB w9crb@cox.net 363-3031 Director Butch Bussen, WA0VJR butchb@shellworld.net 255-4388 Director Richard Stage, AB7ZI rvstage@yahoo.com 247-9424 Newsletter Editor Gary Hartman, KK7LV kk7lv@arrl.net 564-3792 Trustee Pat O'Gara, N7QE patogara@cox.net 804-6629 Public Information Frank Drake, KL7IPV kl7ipv@aol.com 838-3452 Librarian Shelly Holt, KD7HZK ersh@earthlink.net 642-6871 Webmasters Jamie Gorr, N3TOY n3toy@yahoo.com 233-2479 Charlie Kunz, AA5QJ aa5qj@arrl.net 334-1196 Net Controllers Howard Mark, K3HM hmark@earthlink.net 256-3662 Clayton Hughes, KB7PHB kb7phb@yahoo.com 365-9544 Bob Nelson, KD7UHG bobnelsonlv@aol.com 228-2216 Paul Paulsen, KA7GBE foxfire6@cox.net 260-7701 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 ___________________________________ Your preference in receiving the monthly club newsletter - Club Web Page w/email notification 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 at www.lvrac.org. Las Vegas Radio Amateur Club P.O. Box 27342 Las Vegas, NV 89126 Internet: http://www.lvrac.org/ Radio: 146.940 MHZ (K7UGE repeater) 448.500 MHz (K7UGE repeater) 146.730 MHz (QST machine - temp off air) February 2005 issue Internet: http://www.lvrac.org/ Radio: 146.940 MHZ (K7UGE repeater) 448.500 MHz (K7UGE repeater) 146.730 MHz (QST machine) Las Vegas Radio Amateur Club February 2005 K7UGE Page 11 http://www.lvrac.org K7UGE Page 1 http://www.lvrac.org