|
|
| Monthly Newsletter Dedicated to the Advancement of Amateur Radio July, 2000 |
 |
THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER
Field Day was a success. The day started at about 9:00 A.M. with setup of campers and equipment. Power was supplied by Fred and Nadine Stueve through use of "Little Jeffrey". The generator ran basically non-stop for the event. Kermit Fairbanks brought his communication van and mobile tower. Camping trailers were supplied by Charles and Grace Ann Carter, and Mike Moore. We all appreciated the shade and air conditioning. Contacts were made on 6 meters by Chad Carter who took down his antennas at home to bring out to use for field day. Antennas were also provided by Kenny Grant, Pete Garfinkel, and Kermit Fairbanks. Radios were provided by Charles Carter, Kenny Grant, Bob Bartholic (although he's going to give it to me), and Chad Carter. Grace Ann Carter and Nadine Stueve kept us from starving by making a pizza run on Saturday evening, and Mike Moore provided us with pancake fixin's which were cooked by Henry Bachman on Sunday morning. For myself probably the neatest part of the event was watching Bob, KBØZWK, operate his new radio on 10 meters. I can certainly understand his excitement in operating his new rig for the first time. Thanks goes out to all who participated in any way at Field Day. Everyone played an important role and proved the resources we have to call on if needed. MAARS next meeting will be July 14, 7:30 P.M., at the Red Cross building at 2601 Anderson. One of the main topics for discussion will be an HF radio that the club has the chance to purchase. Please be there to share your opinion. We also need to think about getting our station in good working order and getting it straightened out as we will be sharing the room with part of the Red Cross. We look forward to seeing you all there as well as at the Sirloin Stockade at around 5:00 P.M. Until then
73,
|
|
|
SECRETARY'S MINUTES
The monthly MAARS meeting was at the Red Cross building at 2601 Anderson Ave. , June 9, starting at 7:30 P.M. Henry, KAØSWM, displayed an old mobile 2m (tube type with dynamotors for B + power) transmitter-receiver radio with historical interest since it is reported to have been used in the 1966 devasting tornado that struck Topeka. At that time it belonged to the late William H. Dawes, WØIPV, who used it to communicate information about the tornado. Kermit, KBØEEF, agreed to take this radio and preserve it for possible future display at ham events or in a museum. In other business, September 9 was selected for the annual MAARS picnic, to start at 4:00 P.M. Keats Park was selected as first choice for location. Pottawatomie State Lake was second choice. There was discussion about the need for a shelf assembly for our radio operating room. Members voted to allow an expenditure of up $50 for this. Kermit, KBØEEF, agreed to obtain the materials and build the shelf assembly to the proper dimensions for the operating table. Brian, KCØDWX, announced that we had received official approval to use the Konza lookout area for Field Day. There was further discussion about Field Day plans, who expected to participate, what equipment they could bring, etc. Meeting was adjourned. The attendance numbered 17 people.
Francis Sable WØEVJ MAARS again participated in the annual ARRL-sponsored Field Day contest. Field Day for MAARS started about 9:00 A.M. on Saturday, June 24, 2000, when members started arriving at the Konza lookout site. The first activity was to erect several antennas and their supporting towers or masts. Kermit, KBØEEF, brought his trailer mounted crank-up telescoping tower and a tri-band 3-element beam antenna. Several people worked to assemble the tri-band antenna and mount it on the tower. The tower was then cranked up on its trailer-mounted base and secured in place with guy wires and ground stakes. Kermit distinguished our Field Day site with a USA Flag displayed from the very top of the tower. Kermit also supplied a 5-band Cushcraft trap vertical antenna which was mounted at ground level. The coax cables from both the tri-band and the trap vertical were fed into the mobile trailer home supplied by Chuck, AAØRI . Mike, NØPVU, brought a ten-meter beam antenna which was mounted on a mast supported in a stake receptacle of his pick-up truck, and held in position with guy wires. Mike also brought his camper trailer as an operating location. Kenny, KBØRPV, brought a multi-band Butternut vertical antenna and an HF transceiver, and many handy tools. Chad, NØZMG, brought a tower and mounted 3 VHF antennas, 6M, 2M and 70cm. He also brought a tent for an operating location and VHF transceivers. His radio operating power was supplied by a solar photovoltaic panel and 12-volt batteries. He made over 30 contacts on the 6-meter band. Fred, KØTCS, again brought his 5 KW WW2 military type motor-generator which produced most of our electrical power. The smaller MAARS portable generator was also used. Fred and Nadine also brought an open tent which made a shaded visiting and lunch area. Our Field Day entry classification was 3A. The "3" designated the maximum number of HF transimitters allowed to be operating at the same time. The "A" designated a group of three or more amateurs in a location specifically set up for Field Day and using electrical power independent of commercial sources. Our group attempted some of the bonus points operating activites. KBØRPV prepared a formal message to our section manager Orlan Cook, WØOYH, giving our club name, number of participants, Field Day location in standard ARRL NTS format. However, we were not able to send it due to the poor conditions and high static level on the customary 3920 KHz frequency used for this purpose. Another bonus (100 points) operating activity was to copy the ARRL Field Day bulletin sent over W1AW. WØEVJ and AAØRI were able to successfuly copy the bulletin on the 20m CW band. Some of the group stayed at the Field Day site and continued operation into the night. These included AAØRI, KØTCS, KCØDWX and others. On Sunday morning we were served a good breakfast of hotcakes prepared by Henry, KAØSWM, and coffee by Nadine, KØUHF, and supplied by Mike, NØPVU .Some operation continued until about 10:30 A.M. , when we shut down the generator and began the take down of the antennas and equipment. As of this writing the total number of contacts has not yet been compiled. The sign-in sheet shows we had at least 20 people participating and at least 10 visitors. The operating logging was done on computers supplied by Brian, KCØDWX, Mike, NØPVU, and Chuck, AAØRI. Several people also provided equipment, tools and supplies that have not been mentioned here by name. Due to a good operating site and good people participating, we had one of our most successful Field Days.
|
|
|
TREASURER'S REPORT
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
If you would like to become a member of or renew your membership in the American Radio Relay League and receive the monthly issue of QST, your treasurer has a form you may use to apply. If renewing, just bring along your notice of renewal to the club meeting. The club is allowed to retain $5 of each new member's dues and $2 of each full member who is renewing. Since the club retains the dues, it is necessary for you to write your check to MAARS, and then the treasurer writes a check to ARRL for the amount minus the $5 or $2.
Dues will be due by Oct. 31 and are: regular membership $20, full-time student $10, family $30. Please complete the following when renewing your membership, even if you did so last year. Return to the Treasurer, at a meeting or to MAARS, P. O. Box 613, Manhattan, KS 66505-0613. NAME _______________________________________ CALLSIGN ____________ MAILING ADDRESS____________________________________ DATE _____________ CITY _______________________________ STATE _____ ZIP CODE _____________ TELEPHONE # (____)_______________ E-MAIL ADDRESS _______________________ FOR FAMILY MEMBERSHIP: NAME _______________________________________ CALLSIGN ____________ NAME _______________________________________ CALLSIGN ____________ CHECK THE FOLLOWING WHICH APPLY: ____ ARRL member ____ It is alright to list my e-mail address on the homepage. It is alright to list my address and telephone number for distribution only to our members. ____ How do you prefer to receive your newsletter?
____ e-mail ____ U.S. mail ____ both
|