We are starting a new year for the club, and I would like to thank all of the departing board members who have worked so hard for the club in the past several years. They deserve a standing ovation for their efforts. Special thanks to our past president who has worked for the club and put in a great deal of his time and efforts over the years. I will no doubt need his assistance and advice. We should also applaud those who have remained on the board to work for us, this new club year.  Plus the new board members should be commended for stepping forward to help the club.

I would like to try and put the club on a new path to expand the membership, and bring in more of the local hams and interested non-hams.  This should be a group effort by all the members of the club to contact other hams who have not been to meetings in months or even years.  I look at this new year as an opportunity for the club to grow not only in membership but in activities that we are involved with.  By expanding the membership, we can bring back some of those old members we haven't seen in a while, as well as bringing in new members and their new energy to our group. I will need all of the club to help in this, and the first step will be to appoint a membership committee to start the process of contacting the other amateurs in the area, and bringing in people who are interested in becoming hams. We cannot rely on this committee to do it all and ask that other club members help them in contacting prospective members. The committee will help with information cards which will include personal contact information.

There are a number of other committees, for which I will be looking for chairpersons, to help strengthen the clubs varied interests, and to promote ham radio in the community. I hope that some of you will stand up and help in areas that are of interest to you. By donating a bit of your precious time, as a chairperson or member of a committee, you help yourself and the club. I assure you that your contributions of time in support of the committees and the club will be recognized by myself, the board membership, and the other club members.

There are a number of things on the list of activities for the club I would like to promote as part of what may be a new direction for this club. I think that if we start with a few key items during the next several board meetings, and general club meetings, and these are successful, we can continue to expand.  I would hate for us to take on more than we can possibly accomplish, and then fail at all of them.  Over this new year I hope you will see the changes in the club and your own involvement as a club member. 

Finally, this is a club of amateur radio operators that represents the local area. We have a wide variety of interests in ham radio within the club. There are DX chasers, contesters, experimenters, VHF/UHF operators, local emergency response operators, repeater users, RACES and MARS members, and those who are just interested in rag chew. We are all members of this club and many of us are members of other more specialized groups. Not everyone has the same interest in ham radio or in community activities as you do. So, remember, you are a member of this club and I hope you keep that in mind when comments are made about what this club does or doesn't do. I do appreciate your membership and extra efforts, and they will be acknowledged.  I plan on working towards changing this attitude, so we can all work together to support ham radio activities in our area.

I want to hear from you, either face to face or drop me an e-mail. See you at the meeting.

73, Dennis Recla, WA5KTC

Club President 2005

What changes would you like to see in the year ahead? Now is your chance to really become involved in the operation of your club. New ideas for programs, working committees for most areas of interest, increased community involvement — we will be discussing these topics and more at the next meeting. Don't miss it!

Unless we receive a substantial amount of rain and snow this spring, we are looking at another drought this summer. Now is the time to begin preparations to provide emergency assistance in the event of forest fire. Service your vehicle, check your radio equipment, and gather any supplies necessary to spend time out in the boonies. I think we should have a committee in place to coordinate our involvement with other agencies through ARES and/or increase our direct participation with ARES. I feel that all hams should be involved in ARES to some extent. I was the District Emergency Coordinator for Central Kentucky but I haven't taken the time to become involved with ARES since moving back to Grants Pass. This will change very soon.

Reminder: 2005 dues are due by March 31st.

Don't forget--you can list your "for sale or trade" or "wanted" items in the newsletter. Please limit them to ham or computer-related merchandise or services.

If you have anything to contribute to the Gnus, see the contact information above.

73, Mike, N7GEI

Western Belles is a women's ham radio chat group that meets at 7:30 PM on the 1st and 3rd 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 March 5th at Hart's Café, 112 NE Morgan Lane, Grants Pass.

We will have a very busy and important meeting this month. We will be forming committees and discussing club programs and activities during the coming year. Be prepared to get involved in your club!

The Southern Oregon Amateur Radio Club is sponsoring ARRL licensing examinations for 2005. ARRL has once again increased the fee for licensing from $12.00 to $14.00 per license class exam. As usual, if you take a written and code test together you only pay the single fee. Either one by itself is $14.00. Should you take two written tests to upgrade twice in one session it will cost $28.00. Even if you don't take any tests, the fee for an upgrade (in this instance, the invoking of the grandfather privilege for pre-1987 technicians) will be $14.00.

The SOARC VE Group keeps $6.00 per examinee to cover paper, envelope, cookies, pencils, and code test-related hardware items. What little money is left after those incidental costs are addressed goes into the SOARC treasury.

Again this year the dates reflect the maximum calendar distance possible from the Rogue Valley Club exams to offer you the most convenience. As of this writing, Roseburg did not have their schedule done.

Here is the SOARC schedule: March 29th - June 28th - November 29th.

• Test Sessions this year will be on the last Tuesday of the specified month.
• Please take note of this change from previous years scheduling!
• Senior Center: 510 N.W. 4th St. (4th and C). Come in from the parking lot.
• Walk-ins are dandy with no pre-registration required. If there are many of you arriving in a group, or are examinees requiring special accommodation (PWD), then please do advise me in advance so that we can best meet your needs.
• These are evening exams.
• Register between 6:00-6:15 PM.
• Exams begin at 6:30 PM. Plan on spending from 1 to 2 hours.
• Contact: Bill Tyner (WX7U) by e-mail: goodgrendl@aol.com or leave a phone message at (541) 476-2703.

How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong.

Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.

~George Washington Carver, American inventor and horticulturist~

(Contributed by Chris Maitrejean, KF7FO)

Seems that car thieves have found yet another way to steal your car or truck without any effort at all. The car thieves peer through the windshield of your car or truck, write down the vehicle identificaion number from the label on the dash, go to the local car dealership and request a duplicate key based on the VIN. I didn't believe this, so I called a friend at Chrysler-Dodge and pretended I had lost my keys. They told me to just bring in the VIN, and they would cut me a key on the spot, and I could order the keyless device if I wanted.

The car dealer's parts department will make a duplicate key from the VIN, and collect payment from the thief who will return to your car. He doesn't have to break in, do any damage to the vehicle, or draw attention to himself. All he has to do is walk up to your car, insert the key, and off he goes to a local chop shop with your vehicle.

You don't believe it? It IS that easy.

To avoid this from happening to you, simply put some tape (electrical tape, duct tape, or medical tape) across the VIN metal plate located on the dashboard. By law, you cannot remove the VIN, but you can cover it so it can't be viewed through the windshield by a car thief.

Also, try slipping a 3x5 card over the VIN plate.

(E-mail received by Elmer Seutter, W6IGK)

A new virus  has just been discovered that has been classified by Microsoft as  the most destructive ever. This virus was discovered recently by McAfee and no vaccine has yet been developed. This  virus simply destroys Sector Zero from the hard disk, where vital information for its functioning are stored.

This virus acts  in the following manner: It sends itself automatically to all  contacts on your list with the title: "A Card  for You".

As  soon as the supposed virtual card is opened, the computer freezes so that the user has to reboot. When the ctrl+alt+delkeys or  the reset button are pressed, the virus destroys Sector Zero, thus permanently destroying the hard disk. Yesterday, in just a few hours,  this virus caused panic in New  York,  according to a news broadcast by CNN.

This alert was  received by an employee of Microsoft itself.

So  don't open any e-mails  with the subject: "A Virtual Card for You". As soon as you get the mail, delete it! Even if you know the  sender!

(E-mail received by Elmer Seutter, W6IGK)

Interested in compact one-turn transmitting antennas for restricted space? Check out the following:

home.datacomm.ch/hb9abx/loop1e.htm

www.standpipe.com/w2bri

www.kr1st.com/magloop.htm

www.iri.tudelft.nl/~geurink/magnloop.htm

For a free reference on the selection and use of ferrite materials, check out:

www.fair-rite.com

Click on the big red "catalog" for 160 pages of tables and technical articles.

For links to hundreds of ham web sites, check out:

www.ac6v.com

www.eham.net

World Radio Site:

www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/nation

Would you like to build a detector to determine the direction (not intensity) of the earth's magnetic field? For an extremely sensitive detector, using common materials, which can detect disturbances associated with some flares and aurora events, do a web search for "jam jar magnetometer" .

To remove scratches on plastic parts and meter faces, try "Mother's" brand mag and aluminum polish, available at auto parts stores. Use a back and forth linear motion, instead of a circular motion. Also, try "Maguire's" plastic polish , also at auto parts stores.

73, Elmer Seutter, W6IGK