ARCARS

February 2008

Meeting Minutes

The meeting was called to order on Feb 10, 2008 with 12 members and guests present.

MINUTES: Motion to accept  the January minutes by Angela (KD8HMS), seconded by Edgar (KC8VLV) approved.

DISASTER REPORT: There were reported local fires. One involved several fire departments. The Red Cross was on alert. It was not necessary to call out ARCARS.

NET REPORT: Edgar (KC8VLV) reported that attendance has been up since the net operations has moved to the chapter house, and since he has introduces new topics of interest.  Please make note to participate Tuesday evenings at 8pm, on 146.800MHz.

SPECIAL EVENTS: There was reference to the Livonia Swap held Feb 17th. 

CLUB STATION: Everything is operational and awaiting for our planned renovation.

NEWSLETTER: Our newsletter and web page is available at www.qsl.net/arcars, www.bandopening.org/arcars.  Andrew has established a couple of new sites that contain additional information. Please visit www.arcars.org (still under construction) and www.sccradioclass.org. If you have any information you would like posted on the website, contact Mark (N8EGJ). Mobile newsletter is at www.qsl.net/arcars/mobile.wml We have a wealth of archived information available on the website as well as on the RSS feed.

CLUB PROJECT: Our club station renovation project is awaiting warmer weather conditions. The planned improvements to achieve expansion include changes to the walls,ceiling installation of additional fixtures, as well as additional lighting in that room.

OLD BUSINESS: The ARCARS trailer project is still being considered.

NEW BUSINESS: Our local Staples office store has donated a 4'x8' framed cork board that will be likely be installed in the Trailer/Mobile services unit. ARCARS apparel will soon be available and likely be ordered on the website. There will be more details explained at the March meeting. 

DX SPOTS/ SPECIAL EVENTS: Poor conditions remain at the present time, but sporadic sunspots are likely.

MOTION TO ADJOURN: by Kip (KB8WWH) seconded by Jeri (KC8YRQ)

ANNOUNCEMENTS and other info:

The ARCARS & International Traders Net is held every Tuesday evening at 8pm on the 146.800 NA8I repeater.

The International Friendship Net is held every Thursday at 9pm on the 145.370-VA3SAR repeater

The Thumb / Mid Michigan Nets are held Monday thru Saturday at 9:30pm on the 147.300 repeater.

HF: The Great Lakes Emergency and Traffic Net is held nightly at 8pm on 3.932 kHz

The AC8W DX Cluster on 144.790 MHz is available. Check it for HF activity.

Swap list provided by Frank (VE3FBH)

The opinions expressed below, as well as the accuracy of the content of the information belongs to Dan KB6NU, and are not those of ARCARS or any of its affiliates.

Thumbs Up for FCC Customer Service

I don’t know about you, but I’m favorably impressed with the Federal Communications Commission customer service. For one thing, they process new license applications with an alacrity we could only dream of back in the good, old days. Folks that pass the Tech test generally have to wait less than a week before their callsigns appear on the FCC’s online database.

Another thing I’m impressed with is the Univeral Licensing System (ULS). This online database is easy to search, and if you want or need to download the information, it’s very easy to do so. You can search by zip code, and then have the database generate a delimited text file that you can then import into a spreadsheet or database program of your own.

I recently did this, generating a mailing list of all licensed amateurs living in zip codes starting with “481.” (There is, by the way, 4222 licensed amateurs living in those zip codes, which make up most of Southeastern Michigan.)

When I first tried this, I didn’t think that I got all the data that I’d requested, so I e-mailed tech support. Within 24 hours, I got back an e-mail explaining where I went wrong. On top of that, I just got a phone call from someone representing the FCC asking about my experience using tech support.

The moral of the story is that while we can perhaps question their recent rule-making, we certainly can’t complain about how they are administering the licensing system.

By: Dan KB6NU | 2008/02/20