DeFOREST
AMATEUR RADIO CLUB - K8GE
PO Box 73 - West Union, OH 45693-0073
SERVING SOUTH CENTRAL OHIO SINCE 1974
JUNE 2000
EDITOR: WB8IOW - Jerry S. Paquette
http://www.qsl.net/k8ge
MINUTES OF
June 13, 2000 MEETING
Barbara Lock - N8HIA
George, KC8HFV said we would have a short meeting for tonight.
We were invited to have our meeting at Jerry, WB8IOW and Kim,
N8YWX home for our Field Day discussion and finialization.
George asked for the minutes to be accepted as printed in the
newsletter. Pat, KC8LVE made the motion for the minutes to be
accepted and Marlene, KC8JXE second and the motion carried.
George asked Marlene, KC8JXE to read the treasurer's report and
Marlene also passed around the report for all to read. The
balance as of May 5, 2000, was $2,488.62 with inflows at zero
and outflows $57.86, leaving a balance for June 12, 2000, at $2,
430.76. Linda, KC8JZG made the motion to accept the treasurer
report and Max, KC8NHV second and the motion carried.
Kim, N8YWX said that we needed someone to do the posters for
field day since Norma, KB8QNR has been ill and can not do the
posters. George, KC8HFV was elected to do the posters. Linda,
KC8JZG made the motion for George to work on the posters for
Field Day and Pat, KC8LVE second and motion carried.
Jerry, WB8IOW said the repeater was acting up, and that they
would have to check it out.
Ed, KE8FK said there would be a July 4th parade and the club
would have a float in the parade. Kim, N8YWX said that all were
invited to a picnic at Jerry and Kim's on July 3, 2000, to help
worked on the float. Ed is to check and see what day the parade
is to be and let the Lion's club know if the club will help work
the parade. Linda, KC8JZG made the motion for the club to help
the Lions Club with the parade, Dick, W8ZFO second and motion
carried. If anyone can help please call one of the officer's or
Ed to let him know you will work.
Barb, N8HIA read a letter Bob Halley, K8YMI wrote to AMSAT about
his talk at the club last month.
We had split the pot and Millicent drew, with Pat, KC8LVE
winning.
Thanks to all who came to the meeting, we had seventeen members
present. The food was good and enjoyed the evening. We are
looking forward to field day and everyone is invited to come and
enjoy, try you hand at radioing.
The meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m.
73's Barb N8HIA
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NEXT MEETING
JULY 11, 2000 - 7:00 PM
ABCAP SENIOR CITIZENS
CENTER, WEST UNION, OH
Across from the Courthouse
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DeForest A.R.C. Birthdays
& SPECIAL EVENTS
07-01 WA8YIQ Earl Paquette
07-01 KB8QOZ Stephanie Groves
07-09 Clay Payne
07-09 KB8VLF JD Rosselot
07-12 KB8VBH Deanna Rosselot
07-15 KB8PVY Gerald C. Silman
07-16 KB8QMV Karen L. Groves
07-21 AA8VV Heber Clark
07-23 KA8EKC Richard Newbauer
07-23 KD4LJN Noel Kennedy
07-29 KC8HTW Rachel L. Miller
07-31 KC8CXO Ray Music
08-01 KD4LJM Sandy Drake
08-02 Jeff Barr
08-05 KB8VXC Jr. McDaniel
08-08 KB8QNS Ethel M. King
08-10 KB8QNP Richard F. Stultz
08-11 W8YGW Gordon K. Neal
08-12 KA8VEA Kathy Hoop
08-18 KC8LUH Jayne Lambert
08-21 WD8JCD Don Silcott
08-24 AA8IQ Betty P. Merrill
08-29 N8VGQ Mary J. Kemphues
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HAMS KEEP COOL IN WAKE
OF AIR SHOW CRASH
The words erupted over the radio just as Al Folsom, KY3T was
about to wrap up the Warminster Amateur Radio Club's support for
the Willow Grove 2000 Sounds of Freedom air show: "Plane down!"
"It was repeated three times, really quickly," Folsom recalled.
"We raced out the door and saw the cloud of smoke." Only minutes
earlier, he'd been commenting to a Navy doctor on how smoothly
things had gone at this year's event.
The crash of the Navy F-14 Tomcat had claimed the lives of the
pilot and a radar intercept officer aboard the plane. No one on
the ground was seriously hurt. The plane went down into a wooded
area near Willow Grove Naval Air Station near Philadelphia.
The initial shock wore off quickly, and the two or three dozen
hams on hand Sunday, June 18, didn't miss a beat in their
assigned duties. "We had discussed what to do in such a
situation," Folsom said, "and I was extremely proud of how well
the hams responded."
The WARC has been handling medical communications needs at the
annual US Navy air show in Willow Grove for more than a decade,
but this was the first time there had been a crash. For the most
part, he said, the hams stayed at their original posts to handle
any medical concerns among the 50,000 or more spectators on hand
for the two-day event. In a normal year, Folsom said, the hams
deal with nothing more serious than an occasional fainting
spell, dehydration, heat cramps, and sunburn.
Two hams--Bill Strunk, K3ZMA and Mark Kempisty, N3GNW were
dispatched promptly to the crash site. Hugh Hart, N3SOQ manned a
supply van traveling around the base and back and forth to the
crash site. George Brechmann, N3HBT was net control. Al Konshak,
WI3Z was in the tower monitoring the crowd when the plane went
down. Another amateur was sent to the operations center to
assist with communications needs.
It turned out to be a good thing the hams were there. "The Navy
had rented a large number of Motorola radios for communications,
but the accident occurred at the end of the second day, and they
all rapidly lost their charge and became useless," Folsom
explained. As a result, many of the requests for materials and
personnel needed to respond to the crash were relayed via
Amateur Radio. Folsom said he was especially pleased and proud
at the way his 16-year-old son, Tom, KB3CRZ handled the flow of
traffic in and out of the base clinic as requests were relayed
from there to the crash site and back.
Folsom said all WARC members performed well and a few "really
went above and beyond" after the crash occurred. Other
participants included Bob Phillips, KA3VKU Steve Larsen, KA3ZLY
and Don Schwarzkopf, N3OZO who remained at the site for the
entire operation.
It turned out to be a long day for the amateurs, many of whom
had arrived that morning around 7:30. "At the end, five of us
stayed at the base until about 11 PM," Folsom said. "Navy
medical personnel were extremely grateful for our assistance."
Thanks ARRL News
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"A PROJECT WORTH SUPPORTING
BY ALL OHIO CLUBS"
(DeForest ARC newsletter editor)
FROM:
Section Manager
Ohio Section
American Radio Relay League
2800 Jupiter Drive
Fairfield, Ohio 45014
June 25, 2000
TO:
George Race, WB8BGY
Director Great Lakes Division
American Radio Relay League
225 Main Street
Newington, CT 06111
Dear George:
This letter is to inform you of an action I have been taking and
will continue to take in the name of the American Radio Relay
League in my role as head of its Ohio Section. Please read this
at the July ARRL National Board of Directors meeting for their
information and possible comments.
First a little background. Just north of Cincinnati in a rural
community of Bethany (at what had been known locally as an
antenna farm), the Voice of America wrote broadcasting history.
From its establishment in the 30s, through World War II, through
the Cold War, it broadcasted worldwide until 1994 when the
transmitting station was permanently pulled from service. Its
mission was converted to satellite broadcasting and many of the
personnel (broadcasting engineers all ham radio operators) were
either retired or shifted to Sri Lanka. The antennas were
dismantled in 1997.
In disposing the property, the Federal Government gave the land
and transmitting building to the West Chester Township
government with a number of caveats. One was to parcel off the
308 acres (former antenna farm) for public use. Thus Butler
County gets a new park, the township received new athletic
fields, Miami University constructed a golf course and other
land uses are being explored by the township. A local major
shopping mall is currently under construction by commercial
interests nearby which is also one mile from an I-75 interstate
exit. One additional caveat was to offer the transmitting
building for local public use. In this caveat the Federal
government asked some use which recognizes the past work of
Voice of America and the broadcasting arts. It this caveat which
I am using to obtain some space in the massive building.
Believe me, there is plenty of non radio competition - at least
three times the space available.
In addition the building location is one mile from the current
transmitting tower of Radio Station WLW. On that site
broadcasting history was also written when, in the 30s, under
the leadership of Powell Crosley, it became known as "The
Nation's Station" because of its 600,000 watts.
I'm not suggesting neither VOA nor WLW practiced amateur radio
but ham radio operators served as broadcasting engineers at both
locations in major numbers. These were pioneers of radio since
new transmitting equipment had to be designed from scratch and
engineered by hams at both locations.
The easy part of this story is over. The more expensive chapter
begins. The old VOA transmitting building still stands waiting
for it to be cleaned of transmitters (in our parlance these are
serious boat anchors, several six feet high of transmitting
racks).
Rooms have to be cleared of debris and some remodeling is
necessary. We are talking millions of dollars in remodeling,
cleaning and repairs. Even so, as I stated hundreds of proposals
for use of that building is in the works and the people making
those decisions have little appreciation of broadcasting or its
major broadcasting hobby - amateur radio, Final decisions will
be made by West Chester Township Trustees from staff bureaucrat
recommendations.
I have made sure that amateur radio in the name of the ARRL has
a seat at the table. But when I was discussing this with
Executive Secretary David Sumner, K1ZZ, I assured him that while
I was using the name of the ARRL I would be sure to need a cup
of coffee when sources of the serious money were discussed.
This project for us is only to see our historical treasures are
protected. The ARRL has no where near the money to spend which
is needed and, thus, finances will not be our problem. Please
also understand that special parts of the old 600,000 watt WLW,
which were designed and engineered by ham radio operators, are
looking for a permanent home. These are now being temporary
housed in the Crosley Broadcasting Center for Public
Broadcasting in downtown Cincinnati.
The collection is known as the Jack Gray Museum named after Jack
Gray, W8JDV (sk), who was its chief engineer. These electronic
parts were all original construction which could only used at
that station - no other AM commercial radio station in America
has had or ever will have a 600,000 watt voice. But trustees of
the Crosley Television Broadcasting Center for Public
Broadcasting in Cincinnati would like the Jack Gray Museum to
find a more suitable home.
So in the name of the ARRL I am now working with West Chester,
Ohio amateurs to do the following; 1. Establish a club call of
WC8VOA (for West Chester) if available with the FCC. This would
identify the club's location and repeater site. 2. Find a
permanent meeting room for a new West Chester Amateur Radio
Association, affiliated with the ARRL, which has at the present
time has some 30 members. 3. Establish the grounds surrounding
the massive building as a permanent Field Day site. This June,
2000, twenty-one members locally operated the K8AQ field day
station. The plan is to have eventually four or five local Field
Day operations transmit from the building site. Believe me,
space here is not a problem. 4. Make permanent and upgrade the
440 MHz Band repeater which is currently in the building
transmitting tower and now operated by a local club - the Mason
(Ohio) Amateur Radio Club. 5. Explore the possibility of having
the Jack Gray Museum move permanently into the building and have
the collection prepared for public display,
This will not happen overnight. As a matter of fact, major
decisions about the VOA building will take at least a year or
two. I want the Board to know in the name of the American Radio
Relay League, I am always on the lookout for suggestions on how
to accomplish any or all of these goals.
Please advise. Sincerely;
Joseph Phillips, K8QOE
Section Manager
Ohio Section
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Anti-virus software
may impair ULS access:
Dennis Faist, WB8TUU, reports he had problems during recent
attempts to log on to the FCC's Universal Licensing System using
direct dial-up. He suggests that individuals running into
difficulty during the Netscape Navigator 4.73 logon/encryption
procedure disable McAfee anti-virus software. Faist says running
McAfee in the background inhibited his system's ability to
download Java applets necessary for filing an application via
the ULS. "I was running McAfee anti-virus software initially in
the background. Disabling the McAfee software, re-logging onto
the FCC ULS site, and letting the four FCC applets--
ClientUtil.jar, jaguar.jar, jconnect.jar, and powerj.jar-
download and function cured the problem," he says.
--Dennis Faist, WB8TUU
Thanks ARRL News
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W1AW exposed!
Fast-moving, violent thunderstorms June 11 certainly made their
presence felt around W1AW. Large branches from the two trees
nearest the rear entrance came down onto the station, exposing
the once leaf-shrouded side that faces ARRL Headquarters. While
there was severe tree damage in the neighborhood, W1AW and its
antennas came through it all unscathed. The storm did result in
a power outage, however. A number of branches ended up resting
right against the windows, however, and Station Manager Joe
Carcia, NJ1Q, promptly removed them in the interests of safety.
He then enlisted the help of Building Manager Greg Kwasowski to
cut down the badly damaged trees. Although hindered by the
inclement weather, Brennan Price, N4QX-- on hand over the week
end to put W1AW on the air for the ARRL June VHF sweepstakes--
made 129 QSOs (with 37 grids) total on the 50, 144, 222 and 432
MHz bands combined, using CW, SSB and FM.
Thanks ARRL News
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NEXT MEETING
JULY 11, 2000 - 7:00 PM
ABCAP SENIOR CITIZENS CENTER, WEST UNION, OH
Across from the Courthouse
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WEEKLY NET
The DeForest A.R.C. weekly net is held Thursday evening, 9:00 PM,
all year, on the 147.00 MHz+ repeater. All check-ins welcome.
Traffic, club news, information.
---------------------------------------------
PLEASE REVIEW OUR NEWSLETTER SPONSORS ADS, BELOW
---------------------------------------------
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107 Walnut Street
West Union, Ohio
544-2643 or 544-5488
Chase Prather - Owner
Russ Grooms - Manager
Connie Bradford - Assistant Manager
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McDONALD'S
FAMILY OWNED
AND OPERATED
BREAKFAST
LUNCH - DINNER
WEST UNION
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Blake Pharmacy
Radio Shack
"On the town square,
in West Union, Oh"
(937) 544-2451
For special pricing, tell
Joey Traylor, you're a
member of the
DeForest Amateur Radio Club
& give him your callsign.
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C&D ELECTRONICS, Inc
Radio Shack Dealer
1565 US HWY 68
MAYSVILLE, KY
(606) 759-5027
or
toll free (888) 759-5027
MANAGER
KC4UXD
CHUCK DOUGHMAN
"Experience the Difference"
"You've Got Questions - We've Got Answers"
HAM DISCOUNT
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SOUTHERN HILLS
EYE CARE
DR. HOWARD L. COVERT
125 S. MANCHESTER STREET
WEST UNION, OH
(937) 544-3325
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CUSTOM ELECTRONICS
PEEBLES, OH
937 587-5122
OWNED AND OPERATED BY W8ZFO
SALES AND INSTALLATION
OF
DISH NETWORK SATELLITE SYSTEMS
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J.D.'s AUTO REPAIR
NAPA AUTO CARE CENTER - ASE CERTIFIED MECHANIC
4685 CHAPPARAL ROAD - WEST UNION
(937) 544-8586
MONDAY - FRIDAY 8AM - 5 PM, CLOSED NOON HOUR
CLOSED SATURDAY & SUNDAY
OWNERS: JD - KB8VLF & DEE - KB8VBH
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SOUTHERN OHIO DRIVING SCHOOL
PEEBLES, OHIO
(937) 587-3194 or
(937) 587-3837
First-Time Drivers
Adults and Students
Remedial for Adults and Students
Owners:
Lyle Lambert (KC8DDY)
Jayne Lambert (KC8LUH)
and
Karen Lambert (KC8LIA)
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EDITOR E-MAIL: wb8iow@arrl.net
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