Stars and Stripes Forever W 1 O R S Year in Review (1995)

Stratford Amateur Radio Club

Stratford, Connecticut USA 06614

History

Year in Review (1995)

The President's

"YEAR in REVIEW" & "STATE of the CLUB"

report for year end, 1995

(to be given at January 1996 meeting by Bob Betts, N1KPR)

 

Your President officially declared 1996 as the Golden Anniversary of SARC/W1ORS. This was after much research, digging and searching for remaining past members. Most of the work was accomplished by Doug, KB1SS and his assistant Jim, KA1TXF. Ted, W1ZQT contacted the Call Book publishers and confirmed the club call sign's first appearance in that publication. We now know that the W1ORS call sign was issued between May and July of 1946. We also have documentation in the form of letters from the ARRL and clippings from QST magazine which confirm the original occupancy of the current club house to the period of Fall or Winter 1951. Your President (and Editor of all this historical information) has spent considerable time and effort verifying and confirming the data. To my delight, nothing of any significance was found to be erroneous. We have in our possession, archival documents which verify this printed history of our club. The recent history of the club has been researched and documented by May, WA1EHK and myself from the available meeting minutes for the period of 1989 to present. Thanks to all who made this report possible. The anniversary will be celebrated with a Special Event station beginning February 10, 1996 and running for one week. Monday through Friday the contacts will be made from various members' home shacks. We have special QSL certificates for making contact and certificates for the W1ORS operators. All major Ham publications have been contacted by May.

We finally got an American flag; additionally, Bob, N1KPR and his sister, Carol fabricated a SARC flag. Bob did the ink work and Carol did the Betsy Ross work Both flags were christened on Field Day 1995. The club house looked great with the "colors" flying.

Speaking of Field Day; Carl, N1ORW, the Communications Committee, the Operators and the cook provided for, and pulled-off an excellent event. There are too many people to mention here, but suffice it to say that all present contributed in their own way. Special thanks to the drop-in ops and of course Hal, K1TEY for the grub. . . especially the 3:00 AM potatoes and ribs during the very violent lightning storm. Hal got very wet - Carl and I wondered about our collective sanity.

The VHF contest in the Fall was at the insistence of Frank, WA2TJR. If anything came close to the total involvement, fun and excitement of Field Day - this was it. In some ways (because of less set-up effort), it was even better. In terms of total score, we finished sixth in a field of 18 (if you choose to view it that way) Thanks to all workers and participants. Yah, you too, "Hal-the-cook."

I met with Ron Horsley, G0MRH of Stratford-upon-Avon during the Summer. Ron, his wife, Ray, WD1X and I sat and chatted for more than four hours! We never were able to contact Ron as a part of the Sister Cities program on-the-air. Ron confessed to me that the antenna facilities in England weren't quite as good as they would like to have.

Adam, AA1HY, our VP, received his VE credentials in the fall of 1994 and has served at test sessions at the Valley Amateur Radio Association (VARA) along with yours truly.

House rules were developed and issued with the help of Ted, W1ZQT. These rules help to supplement the By-Laws and Trustee's Provisions previously set-forth. They involve individual safety, club maintenance and general common sense behavior of members and guests.

Adam, AA1HY chaired the International Special Olympics held here in New Haven. Our day of operation was July 8th. VARA operated in the morning and we took-over the activities until shutdown. Participants were Adam, AA1HY; Carl, N1ORW; Frank, WA2TJR; Bob, N2BQA and Bob, N1KPR. It was a fun, hot, tiring day. I suppose we would do it all again.

The Communications Committee and others (volunteers and draftees) have done quite a bit of maintenance work and many improvements were added to our facility. Bob Blakley got a gallon of aluminum paint donated to the club and spent a day or two painting our two towers. Frank, WA2TJR and his crew of followers revamped the 6, 2, 1.25 and .75 meter sky hardware. The club is now 160 through 440 capable. Additionally, Bob Blakley built a wall plaque for our jumbo transmitting tube and fabricated a much needed equipment shelf for the main operating position. He also added "Rat Stops" to the two side towers in order to keep curious feet safely planted on the ground. Ted, W1ZQT donated an inside/outside thermometer (remember him, he gave us the computer and 24 hour clock last year).

Through the abundant generosity of Frank, WA2TJR we added a Yaesu FT 650 to our inventory of rigs. It is and will be getting plenty of use.

Ted still keeps the old Apache/Hammarlund AM station on-the-air.

Carl urged a vote to appropriate funds for a TNC. Carl, N1ORW; May, WA1EHK; Bob and Dave, N1OLX are setting it up for HF and VHF operation.

We enjoyed Thanksgiving and Christmas parties just like last year - good food, good drink, good friends.

Well, that's just about all the major stuff. It really was a good year at SARC. Again, I probably have skipped over some of the less obvious activities and accomplishments and for that I apologize. Since there is space on the back of this report - you can add whatever it was that I forgot or missed in the meeting minutes and submit it to me in good faith, for the next edition. If your plan is to chastise the Editor and Authors. . . please keep it to yourself (unless it's really important).

My most sincere thanks to the workers, doers and achievers; our predecessors who laid a solid foundation and the present members who support and contribute to the activities and efforts of the club. They all go into the sum total that makes SARC/W1ORS a good place to be! I have a special kind of appreciation for those individuals who helped to make my two terms as President successful and memorable.

Officers: Bob, N1KPR, President; Adam, AA1HY, Vice-President; May, WA1EHK, Secretary; Frank, WA2TJR, Treasurer; Carl, N1ORW, Communications Officer; Al Thorpe, K1TMW, Trustee.

 

Happy New Year and VY 73,

Robert W. Betts, N1KPR

President

Club History Introduction & Forward Early Years 1945-1951 History (1945-1988) Text

Years of Revitalization (1989-1993) 1994 Year in Review 1995 Year in Review

1996 Year in Review 1997 Year in Review 1998 Year in Review  

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