Magical Merlin Parade,  Boatnik,  Field Day, Picnic — just some of the things coming up.

Tech class is going well with  some 35 students.

See you at club, Jim, WA6OTP

Other than Survivor, I'm not a fan of reality TV. I do, however, expect and appreciate realism in TV and movie production. Recently, I viewed a made-for-cable movie about a hijacked ocean liner which featured the use of two ham HF transceivers by obviously unlicensed characters. What made it even worse was the fact that one of the actors was portraying a secret service agent who protected the president! The agent gave one of the radios to his young nephew and took the other one aboard ship with him to keep in touch with the boy during the president's summit cruise. The ham radios did "save the day", but amateur radio received no credit. I'm probably just nit-picking, but I still haven't gotten over how the bad guys UHF handhelds, all of which were tuned to a local police frequency and could be easily monitored by the good guys, were referred to as "CB radios" in the Bruce Willis movie Die Hard. Oh well, we can't all be perfect.

Don't forget to pay your dues! If you can't make it to a meeting, just mail a check to the post office box. The latest roster includes paid members only.

If you have anything to submit for publication in the Gnus, see the contact information below the masthead.

73, Mike, N7GEI

Western Belles is a women's ham radio chat group that meets at 7:30 PM on the 1^st and 3^rd Thursdays of every month on the 147.300 repeater. Please check in!

The ladies get together regularly for lunch and all female hams are invited to attend.

Our next luncheon will be at 11:30 on May 10th at Herb's La Casita, 515 SE Rogue River Hwy., Grants Pass.

73, Wilma, W1LMA, and Anita, KC7MGH

SOARC-sponsored ARRL VE license exam dates for 2003 will be May 30, September 26, and November 28.

The tests will be administered at 6:30 PM at the Senior Programs Center (our regular meeting place) at 4th and C Streets in Grants Pass.  VE's will be coming at 6:00, as per custom.  Remember, the front door to the building may be off of B St., but it is locked and access is from the parking lot doors that are off of C Street.  Entry is made into the parking lot from either C or B Street access points.

Don't forget--we will need a copy of your driver's license (need to see picture ID) and a copy of any CSCE's you may hold and want to use (make sure they have been awarded within the one-year time limit).  Anyone who will grandfather into general class needs proof of their license status prior to April 1987.  It's surprising what will pass for proof nowadays. Walk-ins are welcome.

73, Bill Tyner, WX7U

VE Liaison

The ARRL High Speed Multimedia (HSMM) Working Group is surveying the amateur community to gauge interest in IEEE 802.11b "Hinternet" activity. The HSMM Working Group encourages spread-spectrum communication modes including such protocols as IEEE 802.11b operating on Amateur Radio frequencies under FCC Part 97 rules. It's adopted Hinternet (a contraction of "ham" and "Internet") as a way to describe the technology. The HSMM Working Group's survey is on the ARRL Web site http://www.arrl.org/hsmm.

"The primary goal of the survey is to encourage amateurs to get on the air and start playing with this cheap digital microwave gear," says HSMM Working Group Chair John Champa, K8OCL k8ocl@arrl.net. Hinternet Radio Local Area Networks (RLANs) typically use direct-sequence spread spectrum between 2412 and 2437 MHz and are capable of simultaneously carrying audio, video and data signals. Hinternet aficionados adapt commercial 802.11b interfaces designed for Part 15 operation to amateur use.

The HSMM Web survey is brief and permits an opportunity for open-ended input. It asks if respondents have a IEEE 802.11 or "other high-speed digital station" running under Part 97. If so, amateurs are asked to register their stations. It also asks respondents to explain how they might use a high-speed digital system or network if they were to set one up.

Champa urged Hinternet-minded amateurs to also report what they've learned and any new applications to the ARRL IEEE 802.11b reflector operated by Texas A&M University
http://listserv.tamu.edu/archives/arrl80211b.html
(and linked from the "HSMM Resources" menu under "Contacts"). Asked if the Hinternet is catching on within Amateur Radio, Champa simply points to the more than 15,000 hits to the HSMM Working Group's Web site. The Hinternet also is the focus of the article "High Speed Multimedia Radio" by Kris Mraz, N5KM, in the April 2003 issue of QST. Hinternet proponent Mark Williams, AB8LN, of Milford, Michigan, says he envisions growth of amateur 802.11b operation to cover all large metropolitan areas in the US, not just the few miles some contend is the outer limit for such point-to-point connections. "This is just too easy," he says. "With some of the Amateur Radio pioneering that we are famous for, we should be able to push this technology to its limits--50, 75 and 100-mile links at 2.4 GHz." He said wireless networks dedicated to Amateur Radio stretching across states and linking hams everywhere with high-speed voice and video are possible.

"File-sharing and e-mail, network gaming and pop-up chat are just the tip of a titanic iceberg," he predicted.

Applications abound for public service work too. Amateurs recently involved in the Texas search for debris from the shuttle Columbia used a 802.11b high-speed system on ham radio to link the net control station in Nacagdoches with the Internet.

More information is available on the ARRL High Speed Digital Networks and Multimedia Web page http://www.arrl.org/hsmm/.

Veteran ABC Radio Networks commentator Paul Harvey this week offered some kind words for Amateur Radio. The mention was the second item on "page four" of his March 19 Paul Harvey Noon News and Comment program. "America's quiet warriors are the legion of ham radio operators, 700,000 of them, who are always at ready for backup duty in emergencies--amateur, unpaid, uncelebrated, civilian radio operators, during and after floods and fires and tornadoes," Harvey said. "After the 9/11 attacks, hams were indispensable in reuniting friends and families. Most recently it was they who expedited the search for debris after the disaster to the space shuttle Columbia, and right now, at this moment, they are involved in homeland security to a greater degree than you would want me to make public."

The commentary's enigmatic and mysterious final sentence--typical of Harvey's habit of leaving his listeners hanging--apparently refers to the fact that many Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and Radio Amateur Emergency Service (RACES) teams have ramped up their alert status as hostilities get under way in the Middle East.

The entire Wednesday noon broadcast is available on Paul Harvey's Web site http://www.paulharvey.com/. Click on the Wednesday noon link under "Listen Now."

There are a few things that those who have recently come to our country, and, apparently, some native Americans need to understand.

First of all, it is not our responsibility to continually try not to offend you in any way. This idea of America being a multi-cultural community has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity. As Americans, we have our own culture, our own society, our own language, and our own lifestyle.

This culture, called "The American Way" has been developed over centuries of struggles, trials, and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom. Our forefathers fought, bled, and died at places such as Bunker Hill, Antietam, San Juan, Iwo Jima, Normandy, Korea, and Vietnam.

We speak English, not Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, learn our language!"

"In God We Trust" is our national motto. This is not some off-the-wall, Christian, right wing, or political slogan--it is our national motto. It is engraved in stone in the House of Representatives in our Capitol and it is printed on our currency. We adopted this motto because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented throughout our history. If it is appropriate for our motto to be inscribed in the halls of our highest level of government, then it is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools.

God is in our pledge, our National Anthem, nearly every patriotic song, and in our founding documents. We honor His birth, death, and resurrection as holidays, and we turn to Him in prayer in times of crisis. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture and we are proud to have Him.

We are proud of our heritage and those who have so honorably defended our freedoms. We celebrate Independence Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Flag Day. We have parades, picnics, and barbecues where we proudly wave our flag.

As an American, I have the right to wave my flag, sing my National Anthem, quote my national motto, and cite my pledge whenever and wherever I choose. If the Stars and Stripes offend you, or you don't like Uncle Sam, then you should seriously consider a move to another part of this planet. The American culture is our way of life, our heritage, and we are proud of it. We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change, and we really don't care how you did things where you came from. Like it or not, this is our country, our land, and our lifestyle.

Our First Amendment gives every citizen the right to express his opinion about our government, culture, or society, and we will allow you every opportunity to do so. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about our flag, our pledge, our national motto, or our way of life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great American freedom: THE RIGHT TO LEAVE!

Another thing: To those who do complain about the usage of words like 'God' and 'American' and speaking the language of our great nation, TRY GOING TO ANOTHER COUNTRY AND SPEAK AGAINST WHAT YOU DON'T LIKE. YOU WILL MORE THAN LIKELY END UP JAILED, OR EVEN KILLED.

In America, you take your right to complain for granted. The more patriotism that is removed from where our children are taught, the less our children will learn about what it is to be an American and our nation's spirit will slowly be taken away.

God bless America, our military, and our veterans!

Anonymous from the internet

(Supposedly from a 78-year-old nun)

Editor's note: My forefathers were Scotch-Irish, German, English, and Norwegian, but the following generations have all been American!