SMCARA President's Welcome

~~ Year in Review - 2008 ~~

In 2008, the St. Mary's County Amateur Radio Association provided many opportunities for our members to have some fun, learn more about their hobby, upgrade their licenses, and share their experience with the fellow members. Here are some snapshots of what we did this year:

MARCH:

Picture taken at the 8 March 2008 Amateur Radio Exam Session held at the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum:

Getting ready for the exam, Nathan Lindgren gets
his materials together to take his Technician exam

Thanks to all who took the exam and also to the Volunteer Examiners that helped make this a successful session. We had 11 applicants during this examination session. See you next time. 73 DE N3UH

APRIL:

MD/DC Section Public Information Officer visits SMCARA April meeting:

We were fortunate to have Ken Greenhouse (KB3IIE) as a visitor at our 24 April club meeting. Ken traveled down to provide us with an overview of the planned First Annual National Preparedness Month Amateur Radio Showcase and Picnic to be held on Saturday, 20 September 2008. This new event, sponsored by the Prince George's County, Maryland Office of Homeland Security, will be held at the Baden Volunteer Fire Department, 16608 Brandywine Road, Brandywine, Maryland 20613. The fire station social hall and all of the outside grounds will be used to host a catered lunch, amateur radio displays, emergency preparedness displays, a mini-hamfest, and talks/discussions. Ken has asked us to represent St. Mary's County at this event and he would be delighted if we could put together a club-sponsored demonstration or display on the grounds. We will be talking more about this at subsequent club meetings over the summer but the membership voted that they would support this endeavor.

Thanks for coming all the way down from up north Ken to visit us!

MAY:

Large turn-out for the May 22nd SMCARA meeting - attendees hear talks/demonstration of new technologies:

*** D-STAR digital radios ***

Pete (WA3UMY) gave a talk on his recent experiences with amateur radio VHF/UHF digital voice operations using the new D-STAR (Digital Smart Technologies for Amateur Radio) equipment, manufactured by ICOM. Dave (KB3QOP) and Pete demonstrated how it works at the meeting by using two new ICOM IC-92AD digital hand-held radios to show off the various modes. D-STAR equipment provides the capability for hams to easily talk clearly using digital voice while simultaneously sending text messages. Click on the link (below) to learn more about this amazing new technology.

Dave (KB3QOP) talks to WA3UMY to demonstrate the new ICOM IC-92AD D-STAR radio

Click [ HERE ] to get more information about this new technology, view a number of videos, and give us your thoughts on whether this might be a good club project to pursue for the benefit of the entire membership

*** Portable Digital Modem ***

Tom (W4OKW) showed off his latest project, building a portable digital modem capability using the new AmQRP (American QRP Club) NUE-PSK Digital Modem (click [ HERE ] for more information). This tiny device, which can be either built from a kit or purchased fully-assembled, is a complete PSK-31 digital modem usable in the field without a computer! He plans to finish integrating the modem, along with a $1 mini-keyboard, and power supply into a small carry case that he hopes to use at the SMCARA 'Field Day' demonstration in June.

Tom (W4OKW) showing off his new AmQRP digital PSK modem

*** Someone got rich! ***

Julia Forest (KB3DEU) reads the winning ticket for the 50-50 raffle at the end of the meeting

JUNE:

Another GREAT Event...

Thank you to everyone who supported the BEST SMCARA Field Day event in our history!

See pictures of our 2008 'FIELD DAY' event by clicking [ HERE ]

AUGUST:

KG3BOZ's antenna project

Boz (KG3BOZ) just completed his new HF antenna installation with the assistance of Lee (N8HTG). He now has a new 23' tall Shakespeare marine antenna mounted on a 4" x 4" post in his yard. The antenna has four 35' long radials and is grounded to a 12 foot copper rod. It is connected to his Kenwood TS-2000 via 100 feet of LMR400 coaxial cable. Boz reports that he is able to tune this system on 6,10, 12, 30 and 40 meters now and should be able to add 20 and 80 meters shortly when his new MFJ antenna tuner arrives. First DX with the new antenna was with IK2DIA. Good job Boz! Here are several pictures of the new antenna installation:

OCTOBER:

Welcome new members!

Chris Aberle (KB7IAY)

Craig Boutin (KG4HDR)

David Hardy (KB3RAN)

Bill Moore (KB3RIK)

Tammy Shelton (N6VDM)

Thomas Shelton (AA6MZ)

Mark Storch (KH2JX)

Ronald Surfield (NA6RS)

Thank you for joining and supporting our group. We look forward to sharing our experiences and having your participation.

NOVEMBER:

Amateur Radio License Test Results:

Pictures taken at the 1 November 2008 Amateur Radio Exam Session held at the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum:

Walt LeFave gets his General ticket !

[ L-R front: Eric Heard (N3UH), Walter LeFave (examinee) ]

[ L-R rear: Richard Bozovich (KG3BOZ), Rob Hoyt (N2OMC), Lee Jamison (N8HTG) ]

Greg Cooper gets his Technician ticket !

[ L-R front: Eric Heard (N3UH), Greg Cooper (examinee) ]

[ L-R back: Lee Jamison (N8HTG), Richard Bozovich (KG3BOZ), Rob Hoyt (N2OMC) ]

Our dedicated Volunteer Examiners double-checking the test results

[ L-R: Eric Heard (N3UH), Lee Jamison (N8HTG), Rob Hoyt (N2OMC), Richard Bozovich (KG3BOZ) ]

SKYWARN class scheduled...

St. Mary’s County Government

Department of PUBLIC SAFETY

David D. Zylak, Director

301-475-4200, Ext. 2111 / FAX 301-475-4512

St Mary’s County Department of Public Safety in coordination with the National Weather Service will be hosting a SKYWARN class on November 19^th, 2008 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm in the Chesapeake Building, 41770 Baldridge St., Leonardtown to train citizens to become SKYWARN storm spotters.

SKYWARN storm spotters are part of the ranks of citizens who form the Nation's first line of defense against severe weather. There can be no finer reward than to know that their efforts have given communities the precious gift of time--seconds and minutes that can help save lives.

National Weather Service and the St Mary’s County Department of Public Safety encourage anyone with an interest in public service to join the SKYWARN program. SKYWARN Storm Spotters include police and fire personnel, dispatchers, EMS workers, public utility workers and other concerned private citizens. Individuals affiliated with hospitals, schools, churches, nursing homes or those with a responsibility for protecting others are also encouraged to become a spotter.

This free class will last approximately two hours and will include the following curriculum:

Basics of thunderstorm development
Fundamentals of storm structure
Identifying potential severe weather features
Information to report
How to report information
Basic severe weather safety

For more information please call the Department of Public Safety, Emergency Management Division at 301 475 4200 x 2125

DECEMBER:

SMCARA Holiday 'Pot Luck' dinner at the Naval Air Museum!

Folks... plan now to attend this FREE event open to all SMCARA members and their families and other local non-member hams & guests who would like to join us.

Thursday, December 11th at 6:00 PM <<< Note time change!!!

(NOTE: this event takes the place of the November and December meetings)

We ask that you consider bringing something that you can share with the rest of your friends... entrees, salads, deserts, etc. (You don't have to bring anything but it sure helps increase the variety of selections!) The club will be providing sodas, coffee, condiments, and utensils. This is planned to be a relaxing evening (casual clothes please!) where you can share food, friendship and enjoy the latest exhibits at the premiere Naval Air Museum dedicated to flight testing. Please contact Pete (301-862-2214) and let him know what you plan to bring (so we don't have all the same items) and we can post it here.

Here's the list as of 7 December:

Pete & Terrie Butt	- Fried Chicken - Beef Barbeque Sandwiches
Tom & Kae Clarke	- Salad & Corn Bread
Rick & Susan Fenwick	- Susan's Famous Chili
Bill Fessler & Joan Corey	- Stuffed Shells (pasta)
Walt & Pam LeFave	- Carrot Cake; Brie Cheese & Spinach dip
Bob Rounds & family	- Soup
Waymond Detwiler & family	- Dessert
David Hardy	- Salsa + Chips & Dessert
YOU!	???

What will YOU be bringing?

Enjoy the Holiday folks!

SMCARA Holiday 'Pot Luck' dinner at the Naval Air Museum a FULLfilling success!

On Thursday evening, 11 December 2008, we held our annual winter social gathering at the Naval Air Museum amid the very large collection of aviation memorabilia. Even though the weather outside was chilly and raining, the large crowd of attendees enjoyed a real treat... a free pot luck dinner with just about all you could want on the menu. Entrees included home-made soup, home-made chili and bread, fried chicken, pulled beef sandwiches, stuffed shells (pasta), brie cheese and toast, rolls, tossed salad, veggie trays, chips/dips, carrot cake, pecan pie, fruit trays, and just about every other kind of dessert you would want (I'm sure I've forgotten some items). We also had a variety of sodas and water to wet our whistles!

As your President, I really think this was an excellent alternative to a more formal dinner at a restaurant which would have been fairly expensive and more difficult to schedule. I was pleased that our low-cost event was such a success. Special thanks go out to Walt (W3GYT) who coordinated the use of the museum and Tom Quinlin from the museum staff who assisted with the arrangements. Finally, I would like to thank all of you that volunteered to bring something to share with your friends and neighbors... you are the folks that make this association successful.

Here are several pictures taken at this event:

*** Another Successful Year Completed ***