Browsed by
Author: Editor

Minutes: February 11, 2020

Minutes: February 11, 2020

RCKARA members, guests, and wannabees,

I want to thank all of those that turned out at our last meeting. It was great to see so many show up and support our club. If you haven’t been to a club meeting in while, we welcome you to visit. We have many exciting projects and we have a lot of fun!

Meeting was called to order at 1900 local.

· I, ACØRL, will be hosting the CQ World Wide 160m SSB contest at my QTH, 1824 Nickerson Blvd. I am east of the bridge closing. My 160m station is running great and we should have some great fun making contacts all over the world. This contest runs from 2200Z/4pm local Friday the 21st until 2200Z Sunday the 23rd. We can operate overnight for best results. New and old hams should show up to get a taste of some high energy “Top Band” action.

· A new face/ham showed up at our meeting, Dick Oswald, KEØWZW. He will need some Elmering so let’s show him what a helpful and knowledgeable bunch we are.

· Dave Powers attended our meeting. He is moving back to Hutchinson from Missouri. He brought a vintage Henry 2020 radio set, with the second VFO, matching speaker, service and operating manual, and an all-band fan dipole. Joe, ACØMO, purchased the set. We look forward to Joe cleaning it up and getting it on the air. Bet it will sound great!

· We had a guest appearance from Gary, NØFHF, so the rumors of his disappearance from the face of the Earth were premature. Aliens don’t even want him…

· The Christmas party for this year will be held at the Mennonite Manor on our regular meeting night December 8. Club will provide the main meal and members and guests can provide the side dishes.

· QCWA meeting will be the last Tuesday of February, if you wish to attend this meeting we will be departing from Larry Cannon’s house, 17th and Jefferson, at 5PM to carpool to Wichita.

· Storm Fury on the Plains storm spotter training will be March 9th at the Fire Training Command Center, East 4th Avenue across from the Dillon’s distribution center.

· Roger Darrow from the Boy Scouts of America gave a presentation on their Merit Badge College and solicited help from our club to put on the communications merit badge training, March 7th at HCC. Contact Charles, KBØSQL, charlesmtucker@hotmail.com, 620-727-2862, if you can help out on that day.

· Gina, KEØBWJ, won the evening’s 50/50 and generously gave her half to the club, $14 to the charity fund!

· Gary, NØFHF, won the second drawing for a t-shirt with his call emblazoned conspicuously on it. The t-shirts are provided by Jake Fields.

· NCS’s for Tuesday Repeater net, 2000 local Tuesdays:

* ACØMO, Joe

* KCØZBO, Nancy

* KBØSQL, Charles

Meeting was adjourned at 2000 local.

Secretary/Treasurer Jerry Kahn, ACØRL

Storm Fury on the Plains 2020

Storm Fury on the Plains 2020

The National Weather Service Office in Wichita has announced the Storm Fury on the Plains storm identification training schedule. For Reno County, the training session will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 9, at the Hutchinson Fire Training Center, 3201 East 4th St.

7 miles south of Anadarko, OK, May 3, 1999.
Photo courtesy of OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL).

To quote the weather office:

“Meteorologists from the National Weather Service office in Wichita have partnered with your local Emergency Management office and will be presenting information that will help prepare storm spotters and weather enthusiasts for the upcoming storm season. Our staff will provide an in-depth weather presentation that will engage the audience by teaching them about the different types of storms, the individual storm features that helps a person to recognize a storm’s potential severity, how to report hazardous weather, and severe weather safety.

“The presentations are hosted by local county Emergency Management agencies and typically last up to two hours. They are open to anyone that has an interest in weather. There are no fees to attend, you do not have to register, and you do not have to sign up to be a spotter. So, if you are interested in learning more about severe thunderstorms and their hazards, please take the time to come out and join us for a very interesting and enjoyable evening.”

Minutes: January 14, 2020

Minutes: January 14, 2020

19:04 the meeting was called to order.

Announcements:

* Roland NØRAB has passed. There will be a ceremony Jan. 16th at 11800 W. Hwy 54. S. Haven Rest Area @ 1PM

* NA QSO Party Jan. 18, Noon to Midnight. If you wish to participate with a fun group, show at Jerry’s QTH 1824 Nickerson Blvd.

* CQ WW 160m SSB contest Feb. 21-23, again at Jerry’s.

Program:

We had a presentation from Chuck Skolaut, KØBOG, about his tenure with the ARRL.

Business Meeting:

* Minutes were read

* No repeater issues.

* We are needing participants in the Field Day Committee, So Far KBØZIA, KBØSQL, ACØRL, KEØBWJ have offered

* Hamfest committee will also need participants.

* We are deciding on a venue for our Christmas party. Locations discussed are: Hutch Home Builders Shelter, S. Hutch rec ctr, AM Vets, Mennonite Manor. We will vote on the venue next meeting.

* Our domain name for our club website requires renewal, the .org registering authority has been privatized so the club voted to pay nine years ahead to avoid any price increases. A check for 98.91 was provided to club webmaster Bryon Cannon, KAØIIU.

* NCS: Jan. 21-KBØZIA, Jan. 28-KEØBWJ, Feb. 4- ACØMO.

* 50-50 raffle collected $12. Our speaker won the pot for $6.

* Another drawing for a ARRL Logbook was won by John O’Connor.

* Philip Muth won the drawing for a T-shirt provided by KBØZIA.

* Meeting was adjourned 20:03

Minutes: November 12, 2019

Minutes: November 12, 2019

We had a very productive meeting Tuesday night at the Mennonite Manor.

The meeting was called to order by President Charles Tucker, KBØSQL, at 1900 local.

Announcements:
· Christmas party will be held on December 10th at 1830 local at Anchor Inn, located at B and Main.
· Gina Long enjoyed an appendectomy on November 11th. She is at home resting.

October minutes were read
Treasurer’s report was presented. The club is on sound financial ground with a total of $3867.51 banked.
Repeater trustee reported no known issues with the repeaters.

Old Business:

None.

New Business:
· Club elected to get Gina a bottle of Fireball instead of cards or flowers.
· Nominations and Elections for 2020 were held:

* Vice President – John O’Connor
* Secretary/Treasurer – Jerry Kahn
* President – Charles Tucker

· Club elected to donate $250 to the Kansas DMR group in appreciation of the installation of a very nice DMR repeater in Hutchinson.
· Kansas DMR group will be holding some training and Q&A early next year, TBA.
· W0WR/R (147.120+) Net Control Stations:

* Nov 19, KØSFV
* Nov 26, KBØSQL
* Dec 3, KAØIIU

Presentation by John O’Connor about WA9EXS and his association with the World War II submarine exhibit of USS Cobia. Something to Google!

Meeting was adjourned at 2000.

Thanks for coming to Hamfest ’19

Thanks for coming to Hamfest ’19

We want to send out a big thank you to everyone who came to Hamfest ’19 and made it a success! We hope you had as great a time as we did, and we look forward to seeing you and your friends next year.

Minutes: May 14, 2019

Minutes: May 14, 2019

From Secretary-Treasurer Jerry Kahn, ACØRL

Call to Order: 1900 by Club President Charles Tucker, KBØSQL

 

Roll Call: Members Present – 8

Guests Present – 0

Applicants – 1

TOTAL PRESENT – 9

 

Reading of Last Minutes: (changes)

Motion to accept Minutes: Approved

Treasurers Report: Passed

Balances Current Month
Memorial 581.41
General 1885.78
Repeater 801.92

Motion to accept: Passed

Introduction of Guests: WDØDMO Henry Stoltenberg. Henry paid 2019 dues and is now a new member!

Old Business:

We are actively seeking content for our new web page.

We have a new club email, hams@rckara.org

We decided setup for FD2019 will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 22.

We have collected $20 in 50/50 funds and an additional $82 from the Claremore Hamfest (see photos below). These funds were deposited in the Memorial Fund.

New Business:

RCKARA Hamfest:

  • Specific apparel for RCKARA volunteers.
  • Get quote for apparel from D’s Duds, also an ordering page for the club members.
  • Roach coach vendor for food and beverages

NCS:

5/21 – ACØMO

5/28 – KEØBWJ

6/4 – KBØSQL

Call for adjournment: 1935

Secretary-Treasurer Jerry Kahn, ACØRL, at the club’s table at the Claremore, OK, Hamfest.
Club President Charles Tucker, KBØSQL, ready to sell merchandise at the Claremore, OK, Hamfest.
Antenna ambiance at the hamfest.
Hamfest ’19

Hamfest ’19

Mastrant, a maker of synthetic guy ropes and accessories, is sponsoring prizes for the hamfest raffle. Mastrant was established in 2007 by active contestant Martin, OL5Y, along with specialists who won high recognition for the developments of ropes and in cooperation with other experienced hams. The ropes are made using the most advanced synthetic materials which have great features for guying. Mastrant offers more than 400 items and supplies them worldwide.

Ham radio joke

Ham radio joke

This comes to us courtesy of Nancy Tucker:

During a recent trip my wife and I were on we drove around the back woods of East Texas. On one back road I saw a sign in front of a broken down shanty style house: “Talking Dog for Sale.” Well I needed a break so I stopped to see what the deal was. I went into the backyard and see a nice looking Labrador retriever sitting there.

“You talk?” I ask.

“Yep,” the Lab replies.

Well after I got over the shock of hearing a dog talk, I asked “So, what’s your story?”

“Ah, shucks, there ain’t much to tell. Is that a VUU screwdriver antenna on your truck out there?”

“How did you know that,” I ask?

The Lab looks up and says, “Well, I’m a ham radio operator. I got my Ticket when I was a young pup and in no time at all I had my 5 band DXCC in Phone and CW.

The CIA heard about me and asked me to do some spy work for them. I would hang around the communications centers and with my keen hearing I could copy the transmissions. Because no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping, I was one of their most valuable spies for eight years.” Copying high speed CW all day really tired me out and I knew I wasn’t getting any younger.

So, I decided to settle down. I retired from the CIA (8 dog years is 56 CIA years) and joined a ham radio club. In fact I won first place in the Oklahoma QSO Party two years in a row. Then I sired a mess of puppies and got away from Ham Radio for a while. I sure miss my radio. Why don’t you buy me and I’ll be your CW operator in the Texas QSO Party?

I said “let me see what I can do.”  I went back in and ask the owner what he wants for the dog.

“Ten dollars,” the guy says.

“Ten dollars? This dog is amazing! Why on earth are you selling him so cheap?”

“Because he’s a liar. He never did any of that stuff. He’s just a No-Code Technician.”