Back to the News Section
February 2005
|
Minutes of the General Membership of the Silver Springs Radio Club January 17, 2005 The meeting was called to order by President Bill Britt, KQ4UJ at 7:30 p.m. In addition to the president, the following officers were present. Bill Miller, Vice President N6WGM, Secretary Richard Cardinali, KG4TLE, Jeanette Frantz, Treasurer KG4DJA. Board members were present There were 35 members in attendance which represented a quorum The invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance were provided. The membership participated in general introductions. A motion was made and seconded to approve the general membership minutes for November 2004. A similar motion for the last board meeting was approved as well as the treasure's report Membership: there were three new members' applications before the board. All were approved. They are Robert Hood Jr., Frank Wood and Lois Wood. MARS. Russ Merkel reported on the lack of MARS activity in recent weeks. Mert. Charles Hensley repeated his request for members to become part of the MERT team. He also announced that the January training exercise was excellent and there were many lessons learned. If you are interested please call him at 732-3795 Tech Class. Charles Hensley reported that the next class is scheduled to begin on February 3rd. He also announced that the students need to be advised of a room change for that first class. It was arranged that a person will be in front of Green Clover to direct students to the substitute classroom. License testing. It was announced by Bill Britt that the testing fee would increase from $12.00 to $14.00 effective immediately. Old business. There was a general discussion of the success of the HAMFEST and Bill Miller announced that the next one would be on December 10,2005. He also mentioned that recruiting for committee members to work the event will begin soon. Bill Britt announced that there appeared to be no complaints concerning the Christmas. It was also mentioned that the Christmas parade was successful except for one incident with a frightened horse. He also presided over the awards for the year. Russ Merkel as honored as the outstanding member for his dedicated involvement in the club and MARS operation. New Business. Bill Britt read a letter of appreciation for our contribution to the Hospice of Marion county. The secretary announced the annual audit, as required by our charter was completed. The purchase of the Kenwood TS 570 was approved. Bill Britt will make the purchase on behalf of the club. This item was selected because of its excellent MTBF. |
|
Larry Phelps rendered a progress report on his
work on the Asatellite project.@ Progress continues
with initial Alift off@ at one of the school sites by
Emily Cardinali in Mach 2005. This is a club project
and you may wish to speak to Larry about
involvement in this excellent project.
Tony Blalock provided the membership on several Boy Scout up coming events. He suggested that it would be an excellent project to assist the scouts by club members. See Tony if you are interested. The official meeting adjournment time was 8:34 P.M. Richard Cardinali Secretary The meeting was adjourned at |
| MEETING NOTICE |
| Silver Springs Radio Club takes place on the third Monday of each month, except December. The February 2005 meeting will take place on Monday, February 21, 2005, at 7:30 p.m. at Green Clover Hall. All members are urged to attend. |
|
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING February 7, 2005 The meeting was called to order by President Bill Britt KQ4UJ at 7:35 P.M.. Board members present were Bill Miller N6WGM, Richard Cardinali KG4TLE, Jeanette Frantz KG4DJA, Ernie O'Berry,and Russell Merkel WB9GIU and Maurice Schietecatte W9CEO. Also present was Tony Blalock K4OCF, Phillip Frantz, KF4QIC Membership Chair,and Emily Cardinali KI4BIH. The following documents were distributed: Proposed budget Summary of dues collected Treasurer's report A copy of a letter from Bill Boyer WA3YOX was shared with the members of the board and it was decided that Bill Britt would respond. Phil Frantz distributed a copy of a new member application, John Wilcox. The board agreed on the application and action will be taken on the February meeting on acceptance of this person into membership. Old business none recorded Bill Britt mentioned in passing that items mentioned in the last board meeting were exhausted. New business Bill Miller discussed that planning continues for the HamFest. Vendor contacts were discussed, Ernie O'Berry was designated to secure the facilities. There is continuing discussion on the "tent " issue. Also mentioned was food for Friday evening, the evening prior to the event. It was suggested that the food vendor would be asked to consider setting up their wagon on Friday evening. Tony Blalock will see to it. Budget. Bill Britt presented the tentative budget for 2005. There was a stimulating discussion concerning the monies dedicated to mailing the Oracle. It was decided that some type of survey would be conducted to see if there could be a reduction of the "mailed" copies and better utilize the e-mail for distribution. Also mentioned was the distribution of the Oracle to "associate members" . It was generally agreed that the "fixed" cost were in line with past years expenditures and that "variable" cost would be reexamined. There was no finalization of the budget and Bill Brett will review the document and bring it forth at the next membership meeting. Bill Britt also announced the new equipment cited in the last board meeting had been purchased and received. There was a $70.00 savings on the purchase as announced by Bill. The meeting adjourned at 8:37 P.M. Richard Cardinali Secretary THANKS, TONY BLALOCK, K4OCF, for the email on the article From The ARRL. The Editor |
MERT (Marion County Emergency Radio
Communications Team) NET, every Thursday at 7:30
p.m. LOCAL time. K4GSO
Repeater (146.610-) PL 123 |
| FINANCIAL REPORTS |
| The financial reports of Silver Springs Radio Club, Inc. are not available on the website. If you are a member and entitled to view the financial reports, please contact the Oracle Editor or one of the club's officers or board members to secure a copy of the financial reports. By Direction of the Silver Springs Radio Club Officers and Board of Directors. Thank you.The Editor. |
|
FLORIDA HAMFESTS February 2005 Compiled by Bill Britton KB4VOL/AAM4AFL THESE LISTS ARE ONLY AS ACCURATE AS THE INFORMATION RECEIVED. PLEASE SEND CORRECTIONS OR ADDITIONS---SEE BELOW. SEND PL FOR REPEATERS WHERE NEEDED. DATE LOCATION NOTES Feb 26 Feb 27 Feb 27 Mar 5 Mar 5 Mar 5 Mar 12 Mar 19 Mar 19 Mar 26 Mar 26 For a complete listing of Hamfests in Florida, please visit the Florida Ham Website at its new location, http:// bellsouthpwp.net/k/b/kb4vol. |
|
Get Your Radio Merit Badge Day By Brian Mileshosky, N5ZGT February 7, 2005 A simple idea ended up introducing 25 youth and their parents to ham radio. Nestled in the small town of Belen, New Mexico, the Valencia County Amateur Radio Association is always looking for new things to do for the betterment of our hobby. One such event happened with a bang in January 2004, when VCARA hosted a "Get Your Radio Merit Badge" day for Scouts from the surrounding area. The motivation behind this event was threefold. First, the club recognized the need for youth in our aging hobby, and this would be one way to interest them in ham radio. The source would be Scouts, who are enthusiastic, have a desire to learn new things and could enjoy ham radio in the backcountry. Second, the club wanted to give back to their community by reaching out and helping others. And third, they just wanted to have a great time trying something new themselves! The idea was simple--teach the Boy Scouts everything they needed to know for their Radio merit badge, and do it in a fun and constructive way. Preparations began months in advance through announcing the idea to the club membership and soliciting volunteers who wanted to get involved. Ralph Clark, NM5RC, and I helped promote the idea to the El Valle Manzano District of the Great Southwest Council, Boy Scouts of America. They welcomed it with open arms, and in turn helped us promote it to the Troops around the Belen area as well as to those up in Albuquerque. As the event approached, a program was formulated to teach the various requirements in a way that maximized the fun yet minimized the lecturing. Hands-on and group discussions were key for an all day event involving youth. By the time "Get Your Radio Merit Badge" day arrived, 21 VCARA members volunteered to lead the event. Tasks related to the various merit badge requirements were then given out. Little did they know that 23 Boy Scouts, one Girl Scout and another interested girl would attend, enthused about what they were about to learn! The event started early in the morning with a welcome by Ralph Clark, the organizer of the event, who set the stage for what the youth (and their accompanying parents) were about to learn. As an Assistant Scoutmaster, I then talked about how ham radio complements Scouting perfectly. I explained that Scout groups can use ham radio in the back country as a source of fun communications, but more importantly, as a source of emergency communications should the group need help. After all, the multi-million dollar cellular phone industry and all of their infrastructure doesn't work deep within the wilderness--yet a $150 handheld radio can do the job through a mountaintop repeater in a heartbeat! I gave many other examples, including the ability for Troops to use ham radio while in transit, often in a convoy, to and from their outing. The Patrol Leader Council, a group of youth leadership within a Troop, could use ham radio to take care of last minute planning for the trip, or the Scoutmasters can just chew the rag as the miles pass. After the introductory session, the 25 participants were split up into four groups to begin the Radio Merit Badge through visiting "stations" for 10 mini-classes that were manned by club members who would teach a certain set of requirements. One station taught electronic components, schematic symbols, electrical and RF safety, and block diagrams. A second introduced radio waves, how they propagate and how radios work. A third station taught the Scouts how to use a radio properly. Family Radio Service radios allowed Scouts to practice eliminating "mike fright" before they were actually placed on the ham bands to make QSOs on HF as well as on the club's 2 meter repeater. About 15 hams from around the nation and Canada gladly visited with the Scouts so they could satisfy their 10 minute QSO requirement. The fourth station taught Scouts about ham radio's license structure, what it takes to get a license, what kinds of activities hams enjoy within the hobby, and other general information. As each group finished with their respective station, they rotated to the next. Lunch was provided by the club, too, which was appreciated by those growing Scouts. The day was wrapped up by reviewing the requirements with the youth one-on-one to ensure that they had indeed learned what was called for in the Radio Merit Badge requirements. Much to our surprise, 22 of them passed with flying colors! We attribute this mainly to the enthusiastic youth, but also to the club members for teaching in such a fun and productive way. Few of the participating youth and parents knew what ham radio was before the class, and by the end of the day, most wanted to pursue ham radio further, even through getting their own ham licenses! In the following weeks, club members worked with the other three youth (two of whom had not been able to attend the full day) to complete the remaining merit badge requirements. The VCARA volunteers did a superb job, considering this was the first event of its kind within the club. Now our eyes are on organizing a second "Get Your Radio Merit Badge" day and helping other clubs organize their own events for their own Scouting community. If your club has such an interest, head on over to the VCARA Web site, where you are welcome to download the course material, syllabi and notes for your own use. Many thanks to the folks who helped make this event such a great success: Paul Ridley (N5PR), Pat Libertell (KA5PAT), Chris Gillespie (W5SCS), Felipe Gallegos (N5YGE), Laura Simmons (W5ZIG), Keith Pfefferie (N5ZGM, now a SK), Ralph Clark (NM5RC), Les King (KD5ZMH), Elvira Hunt (KD5UJQ), Russell Hunt (KD5UJR), John Eldridge (KB5ENN), Terri Cresap (KD5NGI), Everett (Goose) Gaussoin (K5EMH), Joyce Rumschlag (KD5IAI), Dave Kirk (KN0LMO), Grace Barreras (KC5RGS), Charlotte Gaussoin (KD5OHZ), Brian Richardson (KD5RPO), Richard Gorby (KD5NTL) and Mary Cresap (no call sign yet). Those of us who call ourselves hams aren't getting any younger, but an enthusiastic club can sure make a difference in many youths' lives by introducing them to ham radio in a fun way. "Get Your Radio Merit Badge" day was our way of accomplishing this, and the VCARA had just as much fun as the youth. First licensed in 1992 at age 12, Brian Mileshosky, N5ZGT, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, recently began his first term as ARRL Vice Director from the Rocky Mountain Division. He was the 1999 winner of the ARRL Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award. You can reach the author at 1021 Dakota SE, Albuquerque, NM 87108; n5zgt@arrl.net. Copyright © 2005, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved. EDITOR'S NOTE: The foregoing article was reprinted from the ARRL Website. Congratulations to the author for a fine program. |
|
DUES WERE DUE 1/1/05 Silver Springs Radio Club dues were due January 1, 2005. Remember that your dues increased effective January 1, 2005. The amount for each membership category are as follows: Regular Membership $28.00 Family Membership $38.00 Associate Membership > $18.00 Dues may be mailed to the club's post office box in Silver Springs (see cover), or delivered at club meetings to Treasurer, Jeanette Frantz, KG4DJA. |
|
SSRC PROPOSED BUDGET CALENDAR YEAR 2005
Please attend the February 21 General Membership Meeting to voice your opinions and/or suggestions for this and other club business. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
CLUB MEETINGS are the third Monday of each month 7:30 PM at Green Clover Hall in the Marion County Government Complex on Southeast 25th Avenue. Coffee & Doughnuts are available. BOARD OF DIRECTORS meetings are the first Monday of each month, 7:30 PM at Green Clover Hall, at the Marion County Government Complex. K4GSO, club station, Green Clover Hall, is available to all members. Contact Bill, KQ4UJ, 694-1605. MARS, club station located at 161 Oak Circle, Silver Springs Shores. Phone number is 680-1528. Contact Bill KQ4UJ, at 694-1605. LICENSE TESTING, on the second Monday of each odd number month, except July, 7:30 PM at Green Clover Hall. Call Jack Scott at 622-4447. RADIO NETS are conducted over the club repeater, K4GSO, on 146.610 MHz (-600). LADIES AUXILIARY. Sunshine - Provides flowers and get-well cards for members or members' family. Also orders SSRC logo shirts and caps, Barbara Million, KE4ZTW, 694-5744. NOTE: For change of address or corrections (with SSRC) contact the Membership Chairman. SSRC NET, every Tuesday at 7:30 (local time). Contact Jeanette at (352) 489-0571. MERT (Marion County Emergency Radio Communications Team) NET, every Thursday at 7:30 p.m. LOCAL time. Contact Jeanette Frantz, KG4DJA at (352) 489-0571 Repeater Trustee,(146.610)Bill KQ4UJ, at 694-1605
President Bill Britt, KQ4UJ 694-1605 V. President William Miller, N6WGM 873-2017 Secretary Richard Cardinali, KG4TLE 690-7500 Treasurer Jeanette Frantz, KG4DJA 489-0571 Trustee Bill Britt, KQ4UJ 694-1605 Board Members: Russ Merkle, WB9GIU 624-2285 Ernie O'Berry, K4OSM 732-0374 Maurice Schietecatte, 245-1038 W4CEO Oracle Editor: Jeanette Frantz, KG4DJA 489-0571 Oracle _editor@prodigy.net Membership Phillip Frantz, KF4QIC 489-0571 Ladies' Auxiliary Barbara Million, KE4ZTW 694-5744 Email: funyet2@earthlink.net Silver Springs Radio Club Website: http://www.qsl.net/ssrc/ Ocala Radio Amateur's Candid Letter of Enlightenment SILVER SPRINGS RADIO CLUB P.O. BOX 787 SILVER SPRINGS, FL 34489 February 2005
|