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| Monthly Newsletter Dedicated to the Advancement of Amateur Radio September, 2001 |
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THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER
August's MAARS meeting was held at the usual time and location and we had special guests, John Blessing (NØYRL) and Daniel Soldan (KBØOTV) give us information on the latest KSU solar car. They seemed to enjoy telling us about it as they mentioned most people don't ask too many technical questions, it was a nice change to answer more than how fast will it go. I'd like to thank these gentlemen for taking the time to share this with us. Our September meeting will be our annual picnic. The picnic will be held at the Oregon trail nature park east of Belvue by 1 1/2 miles, you will then turn north and travel about one mile on a road that will turn back to the left or west. Date and time are September 23 around 4 P.M. A grill and charcoal will be provided, as well as water and lemonade. You should bring a dish to share and something to grill as well. Bring your family and friends even if they aren't amateur radio operators. We hope to have a good time and enjoy the nice, hopefully cooler, weather. Listen to our weekly MAARS and Youth net for updates or changes. We are quickly coming up on the end of the year so we should be getting a nominating committee together to seek and nominate officers for the club. The elections are held at the regular November meeting. In order to vote club members must have their dues paid by the end of October. Remember if you don't give your input it won't be heard. If you are interested in being on the committee or running for an office please let us know. You can contact me by e-mail at brianc@kscable.com. I wanted to share a recent new experience. I recently purchased a tower from another operator locally. Mike Moore (NØPVU) and Henry Bachman (KAØSWM) volunteered to help take it down. Of course you never turn down good help even if you know what you're doing and I certainly did not. Mike showed up with all the needed equipment to get the antenna from the top of the tower including harness and gear, within minutes we had devised our plan and Mike was up the tower. The antenna and all came down very nicely and all had gone well. All that was left was to unbolt the tower and hinge it to the ground, a fairly easy and quick task I had presumed. However, after a short break Mike informed me that if I'm going to have a tower I have to get used to climbing one... and I'm not a real thrill seeker. After a bit of coaxing from Mike I allowed him to get me set up with a harness and show me what to do. I did notice that the tower only hinged at the base and wasn't bolted there, in other words once it was loose from the house it could hinge right on over with yours truly still aboard. Mike and Henry assured me they wouldn't let this happen so I cautiously and VERY slowly made my way up the short distance to the bracket. I believe it probably took me 30 very shaky minutes to remove two bolts, the one took a little longer because I was trying to tighten it for a good while. Remember the old saying righty tighty lefty loosey. After a bit if teasing from the ground crew the bolts were loose and I gladly came down... an experienced tower climber. After a little break again to make my legs feel like something more then Jell-o, we lowered the tower with a little additional help from Chuck Carter (AAØRI). I certainly would like to thank these gentlemen not only for the help but the educational experience that I find to be one of the greatest parts of amateur radio. And btw if you need help working on your tower I'll more than happy to give you a hand. I'm not too bad at tying stuff on to a rope and letting you pull it up to where you're working. Hope to see you all at the picnic.
Brian Carter, KCØDWX
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SECRETARY'S MINUTES
Brian (KCØDWX) opens the regular MAARS monthly meeting at 7:30 P.M. on Friday, August 10. John (NØYRL) and Daniel (KBØOTV) were present to give us a presentation on the recent K.S.U. Solar Car Race. The KSU solar team placed 5th in the competition that started with 28 race entries. The weather for the race was mostly favorable with only a few overcast or rainy times. The minutes of the previous meeting were approved by the members present. Brian suggests a donation be made to the Solar car team. Henry (KAØSWM) seconds the motion. This amount is approved by vote of the members present. The next meeting will be the annual picnic Sunday, September, 23, starting about 4:00 P.M. The site of the picnic will be the Oregon Trail park located north of Belvue. Brian closed the meeting at about 9:15 P.M. with 8 members present.
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TREASURER'S REPORT
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If you would like to become a member of the American Radio Relay League and receive the monthly issue of QST, your treasurer has a form you may use to apply. The club receives $15 of each new member's dues. 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.
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
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