UP-LiNK
THE OFFICIAL
PUBLICATION OF
THE CHERRYVILLE REPEATER
ASSOCIATION II, INC.
“Community Service Through Communication”
April 2000
CLUB MEETING April 14 ………………….BOARD MEETING April 12
Hamfest
success!
CRAII would like the following
members for their participation in this year’s hamfest:
Hamfest
setup Friday night: Lisa France, N3QDC, KD2EL, N3MSK, N3ODB, WB2NQV,
KB5U, N2MQZ, KC2CMC, K2YSY, WA2RMZ, NU2W, W2CG, W2CGX, N2VEK, N2QOR, N2ZGG,
KC2FRJ, N2ZVY, N2VWL, KE2HG, KB2DDM, W2RIJ, W2PSB, KA2TOV, W2GD
Hamfest Workers: Lisa France, N3QDC, KB2DDM, N2RDL, KE2HG, W2CG, W2NO, W2RIJ, W2PSB,
W2LE (W2HCA), W2CGX, W2BWL, N2VWL, K2WJ, W2PKE, N2SO, WB2F, WB2NQV, N2UYV,
KB2RWY, K2YSY, K2PA, W2XT, N2WYJ, N2MQZ, WA2TWS, KC2CXH, KC2CMC, KA2TOV, KB5U,
AA2MJ, N2QOR, KD2EL, N2ZVY, KA2YYB, N3ODB, N3MSK, NU2W, N2MIF, KD3KZ, AB2DW,
N3QQT, WA2RMZ, KB2JVI, N2VEK, WB2LVE, KC2DWF, N2ZGG, KB2RTS, N1BIV, W1LIB, XYL
de W1LIB, KC2FRJ, KC2EVJ, WA2BZF, WA2JVK, W2GD
Thank you all!
Public service
March of Dimes event, 2000
When: 4-30-2000
beginning at 7:30am
Where: Spruce Run Reservoir.
Need: 10 folks with HTs.
Contact: Call Marty, W2CG @ 908-788-2644 or see him the next meeting.
911 Test passes with
flying colors!
All 3 aspects of the
emergency system on 147.375 was tested
on 3-18 and all went well. 147.015 also performs up to par with our system.
Justin, N2QOR
SPURious
emissions
“Great
effort by everyone made our move back to Hunterdon County a huge success.”
-W2GD
“Only
trouble with the HS is that we don't get all that exercise going back
forth from the food hut at one end of the fairgrounds to the vendor building at
the other! Great the way everything turned out, and the way the Club members
work to get everything done!
– KB5U
I think this went very
well. No major problems. Amazing in our first dry run in a new facility. All
the vendors were very impressed with our help moving them into and out of the
event, thanks to Duncan for the plywood. Good job from the chairmen on down.
Way to go Cherryville
-
Anonymous
“Looks like the Hamfest was
a resounding success.”
– KD2EL
“Really enjoyed the time with all on Friday and
Sat...The kitchen crew was the best...The CRA-ham Burger was just right and
most timely given all the work for the VE's.... various comments from
customers/friends seemed to be very positive.”
- NU2W
Thanks to the many club members that made this hamfest possible. Looking very
much forward to success at next years event.
- N3QDC
Pictures of Hamfest 2000 can be seen either on www.qsl.net/W2CRA/
or www.qsl.net/kc2cxh/
KC2CXH, Marty Focazio
Results of Hamfest Survey
W2GD polled about 35 buyers
and 20 vendors (including our largest table buyers and major prize vendors). In
summary, the response from everyone was overwhelmingly POSITIVE. Below are the
questions/responses.
1. HOW DO YOU RATE TODAY'S
HAMFEST?
More than 90% of both buyers and sellers rated the hamfest Above Average or
GREAT! About 10% of each group rated the event "average" which is
still positive. ABSOLUTELY NONE of the interviewees rated the hamfest Below
Average or Terrible. The results were totally positive and unprecidented for an
event of this type.
2. ARE YOU LIKELY TO ATTEND AGAIN NEXT YEAR?
100% of the Buyers and 95% of the Sellers (1 Vendor was Not Sure) interviewed
indicated they planned to return to the CRA Hamfest in 2001. Again, we
impressed both groups with how we staged our event, exceeding their
expectations which in turn seems to have won us their loyalty in the future.
3. WHAT CHANGES WOULD IMPROVE THE HAMFEST?
In general both groups would like to see more vendors and more selling space.
Some were disappointed we did not allow tailgating. From the planning stage we
deliberately limited our size this year, not knowing if we could sucessfully
overcome the change in venue and change in event date all at the same time.
This was a HIGH RISK move on our part (moving the hamfest) and we weathered the
changes and more than overcame these obvious obstacles in great style.
4. IF YOU HAD SOME HAMFEST
FOOD TODAY, HOW DO YOU RATE THE QUALITY?
A much smaller number of
interviewees indicated they bought food. There were a few complaints that the
burgers were a little too well done, or not available when they went to
purchase them. The need for OJ and Fruit Juices was indicated above. We still
got an overall positive rating on our food, with only two respondents rating it
below average and none saying it was terrible.
5. ABOUT HOW MANY MILES DID YOU TRAVEL TO GET HERE TODAY?
Based upon the sample it
appears about 65% of the buyers drive 50 miles or less to attend our hamfest
and 35% longer distances. Vendors tend to travel longer distances. Several
vendors were from VA and one from Rochester NY.
6. HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT
TODAY'S HAMFEST
The vast majority of buyers had received a hamfest flyer. The next most cited
source of information was from a site on the WWW, then from QST/CQ or other
magazines, several people cited hearing about it during a repeater
converstation, 2 during a local club meeting, and only one cited Newspaper
publicity.
Other verbatim comments suggested the following (in no particular order):
-Be sure to invite a Name Badge/Hat Vendor to our event. Several buyers
mentioned they were disappointed there wasn't one.
-Make the information about the hamfest more explicit and unambiguous on our
Hamfest Flyer, in announcements sent to the major magazines, notices posted on
websites, and especially on our own website.
-More clearly identify the
location/school, and provide more explicit driving directions.
-We should ask for an email
address on our ticket stubs.
-We should modify our website to allow vendors to make their table reservations
on-line (take a more e-commerce approach).
-We should serve Orange Juice in the morning.
-We should also offer some
fruit juices as alternatives to soda and ice tea throughout the day.
-We should put strings on
vendor tickets so they can be worn and are easier to identify during the
confusion of unloading.
-We need a "MAP"
of the site, identifying all the important security points, where we should
post a club member for security purposes at certain critical times.
-Many attendees mentioned
they were glad the event was so early in the year since they were anxious to
buy items for projects they would be doing in the upcoming good weather months.
Oveall buyers were happy to have an indoor venue.
-Several attendees complimented our use of signs on the major roads approaching
the site. But we should also indicate in our Hamfest notices the exact street
address of the high school (Route 31S and Regional Road).
-Our largest vendor (18
tables) indicated he did not make money, but was not surprised since he knows
indoor events are not as lucrative for sellers. Outdoor events imply
"bargains" and people naturally tend to spend more money at outdoor
events. But he did feel we had done a good job and he would return next year.
He would very much like to see a bigger selling area and more vendors. He also
suggested we play up the "computer" angle of the event, get more
computer equipment vendors to attend, since that will tend to draw more people
from the "general public," broading the events appeal and draw and
thus permit marketing the event more effectively beyond the ham radio crowd.
-All vendors seemed pleased
with the assistance we provided unloading their merchandise. As a practical
matter, it turned out to be essential to keep things flowing and get everyone
into their spots in the time available.
-It was suggested that
CRAII should consider making our hamfest an official FRC Meeting.
-One attendee suggested we
consider a 9 a.m. start time instead of 8 a.m.
-W2FNT wants us to send him
flyers as early as possible. He can include the info in his "for sale list".
-One major vendor suggested
we arrange having one telephone line so they can verify credit card orders. All
venders could share the line.
Synopsis of VE session on March 18, 2000:
Total
Candidates: 43
Total Elements Administered: 57
Total Elements Passed: 43
New licenses earned: 9. N:0; T:4; T+:0;
G:3; A:0; E:2.
Breakdown of
elements administered:
Passed Failed
1A (5 wpm) 1 0
1B (13 wpm) 2 0
1C (20 wpm) 2 1
2 (N) 5 2
3A (T) 5 4
3B (G) 10 1
4A (A) 2 2
4B (E) 16 4
On April 15th 21 of our candidates will be eligible for an upgrade, with 14 of
them qualifying for Extra class and 7 General class licenses.
Your VE team:
W2CG, W2CGX, W2NO, K2PA, WA2TWS, NU2W, W2LE, K2WJ, WB2AZE
MESSAGE from the Program Chairman:
Attention All Cub Members!
Remeber to mark your
calendars for the MAY 12th 2000 club meeting. We will have for all ages a very
special high voltage safety presentation by Al Saharic from GPU. The lecture
and demonstration are something you will remeber for a long time. He did this
previously for the CRA club about 9 or 10 years ago and we still talk about how
much we enjoyed it. Please bring a young ham (or non-ham) with you to the
meeting. We are inviting the scouts (boys and girls) to attend so be there or
you will miss a real treat(!). See you there
Dennis, KA2YYB
N1CL to appear @ DELAWARE State Convention
Today I learned that Bill
Moore NC1L, who manages the DXCC / VUCC awards desk at ARRL HQ, will be at the
ARRL Delaware State Convention in New Castle on April 30. Bill will be at the
ARRL booth and will give a forum. The
convention is held in conjunction with the Penn-Del ARC's hamfest. It's a very
small hamfest / convention but a pleasant one. If you have questions, comments,
cards to be checked, etc., for DXCC and/or VUCC, this will be a convenient
opportunity to do it. More information about the event will be in April QST, in
case you need directions, etc.
73 - Kay
WT3P
Buy, Sell, or trade
I am cleaning out the attic
and have several items that are to be disposed of. Would you please let the
members of your club know about these items. Thank you.
2- Antique TV sets: One is a 1950 Dumont and the other is about a 1952 RCA. The
Dumont unit was repaired and worked for a short period of time while the
condition of the RCA unit is unknown. I have a complete set of schematics on it
along with some extra parts. They both are table model units and the cabinets
are not in the best shape. Both for $40
35- Graymark AM radio kits #145 with PC boards and boxes. I bought these in
large quantity and once used them with an electronic a kit building course that
was conducted with Boy/Girl Scout troops and at several senior citizen centers.
The kits retail complete for $15.85 but I am asking $10 per unit.
Charles Burke WA2SLK 732-938-2481
Hamfest Calendar
Here is a partial list of
up coming area hamfests to whet your appetite.
|
April 9 |
DVRA |
Trenton, NJ |
|
May 7 |
Warminster ARC |
Wrightstown, PA |
|
June 3 |
Bergen ARA |
Teaneck, NJ |
|
June 10 |
Colombia-Montour ARC |
Bloomsburg, PA |
|
June 17 |
Raritan Valley RC |
Dunellen, NJ |
|
July 2 |
Murgas ARC |
Wilkes Barre(Dallas), PA |
|
July 16 |
Sussex County ARC |
Augusta, NJ |
|
July 16 |
Mid Atlantic ARC |
Kimberly, PA |
|
August 13 |
Jersey Shores ARS |
Bayville, NJ |
|
Sept. 16 |
Delaware Lehigh ARC |
Schnecksville,
PA |
Note: CRAII is not responsible for typographical errors or spousal
intervention.
George,
N2VWL
Last Call for PowerSurge orders!
Final reminder to all who are
interested in ordering a power line protector from ZeroSurge in Frenchtown. Our
group purchase and club discount will add up to over 22%. So bring your
checkbook to the APRIL 14th club meeting, last day
for ordering. For details see Denis KA2YYB at the meeting.
73 de KA2YYB
** Special note **
John Witt, KD2UF, reports that Sue, N2FFB suffered a
stroke and is in intensive care at Somerset Medical Center.
John and Sue were very active in Cherryville for many
years and Sue was the "Voice of Cherryville" on many repeater
announcements. John's creative abilities are responsible for many of the club
signs, banners, etc.
Their
address:
John and
Sue Witt
889 Country Club Road
Bridgewater, NJ 08807
Let's all wish her a speedy recovery.
-Derry, W2XT
ELECTIONS
Time again for
the Cherryville Officer and Board member elections. Elections are held at the
April meeting, with only those members in ‘good’ standing with dues paid
eligible to vote. Ballots are mailed out after the March meeting. All officer
positions are open for election as well as 2 Member-at-Large Board positions.
Here is the
current slate of candidates for the upcoming election:
President:
N3QDC
Vice
President: KB2DDM
Secretary:
N2ZXF, K2YSY
Treasurer: W2NCN
Member
at Large:KD2EL, KA2YYB
The Election
Committee consists of those Board members not up for re-election (Board seats
are two-year terms, alternating 2 or 3 open each election.) The Election
Committee for this year consists of:
Ed Kita, N3MSK
John Crovelli,
W2GD
Roberto
Matos, K2PA.
Contact any of the above or a Club Officer if you are
interested in running for a position or nominating someone.
Skywarn
Spotters Training classes:
10 April, 2000 @ 7:00 PM
Monroe County Public Safety
Center
Snydersville, PA
22 April, 2000 @10.00 AM
Lehigh Valley Red Cross
Bldg.
Allentown, PA
17 May, 2000 @ 7:30 PM
Somerset County Fire
Academy
Somerville, NJ
25 May, 2000 @ 7.30 PM
Vernon Municipal Bldg.
Church St., Vernon (Sussex
Cnty.) NJ
Directions to these and other sites can be found at:
http://wx2phi.skywarn.net/skywarn~training.html
George, N2VWL
SPECIAL service clubs
ARRL says "thank you" to
exemplary Special Service clubs: Every two weeks, a Special Service Club will
be featured in the ARRL Special Service Club Spotlight at http://www.arrl.org/field/club/sscspot/.
The first ARRL Special Service Club Spotlight features Carl Hayden Community
High School Amateur Radio Club of Phoenix, Arizona. This page is open for all
to see and enjoy. If you'd like to suggest your SSC for the ARRL Special
Service Club Spotlight, send your information, including e-mail and Web site
addresses, to Dan Miller, K3UFG, at dmiller@arrl.org.
Photographs, particularly those that highlight club activities, are especially welcome.
Dan Miller, K3UFG/Field & Educational
Services
Note:
Cherryville is a Special Service Club. We should have someone suggest CRA for
the spotlight.
UPLiNK
First of all, some of you may have noticed
that you did not receive an Uplink in the ‘snail’ mail lately. To conserve on
postage costs, all members with e-mail now receive the Uplink electronically.
If you would prefer to receive the paper version by mail, let Keith or Marty
know. If you have e-mail and are not receiving it electronically yet, please
send us a note with your e-mail.
HELP WANTED: Uplink Reporter
Especially, information on Club happenings,
Public service events, repeater activities/repairs, member info and updates. If
you would like to be the Uplink ‘Club Reporter’, contact Keith or Rob. And
also, anyone can forward this type of info anytime!
Thanks,
Keith
Enhanced DXCC
The ARRL DXCC Desk says that effective
April 1, 2000, DXCC members may have their cards checked by local card checkers
without having to mail cards to ARRL Headquarters. Under the new program, DXCC card checkers will be able to check
all awards except 160 meter DXCC, as well as all QSLs from any current DXCC
entity. This will apply to both new awards and endorsements. QSOs made up to 10
years prior to the current year will be eligible for field checking, while
older cards and those from deleted entities still may be sent to ARRL HQ. The
current DXCC Field Checking program ends March 31, 2000. Reappointment of DXCC
Card Checkers under new criteria will be necessary. For more information,
contact
Bill
Moore, NC1L, dxcc@arrl.org; 860-594-0234.
—DXCC
**************************************
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and
"mental illness."
CRA II CLUB INFORMATION
The Cherryville Repeater Association II,
Inc. is a non-profit New Jersey Corporation dedicated to Community Service
Through Communication. Meetings are held on the second Friday
of each month at 7:30 PM at the Flemington Baptist Church unless
otherwise announced. Visitors are always welcome! Also, everyone is
welcome on the Thursday Night Traffic Net, at 8 PM every Thursday, followed at
9:30 by the Swap-Net, and the ARES-RACES net at 8:30 PM on the first Thursday
each month (immediately following the traffic net), all on the 147.375
repeater.
UPLiNK
A CRA II Publication
Editors
Articles
& Info:
KB5U, Keith Burt - kb5u@blast.net
Interviews:
K2PA, Roberto Matos - K2pa@arrl.net
Roster
& Mailing:
W2CG, Marty Grozinski - mjgrozi@postoffice.ptd.net
Many
thanks to all those who have contributed articles or information for this
publication, including: The ARRL, ARRL Letter, QST, The Hudson Loop, N2FF,
N3QDC, N2MQZ, W2CGX, N2ZVY, N2OCW, W2GD and all not mentioned for their help.
This newsletter is an open forum for the Cherryville Repeater
Association, II Inc. and its members, of general interest Club and ham radio
related interest items. The opinions contained herein are those of the authors
who have contributed their work. The officers and members if the CRA II Inc.
are not liable for its contents.
Articles and information are always welcome, and may sometimes be edited
for content, punctuation, grammar, and newsletter space.
Deadline for submission for all issues is two weeks
prior to the Board meetings.
Ttime to renew
REGULAR $30.00
FAMILY $45.00
SENIOR $20.00
Please see the Treasurer or mail to the Club: PO Box 308,
Quakertown, NJ 08868
THE CHERRYVILLE REPEATER ASSOCIATION II
BOARD OF
TRUSTEES:
|
Pres |
N3QDC |
Rob France |
(215) 766-8066 |
|
|
VP |
KB2DDM |
Susan MacRae |
(908) 475-5299 |
|
|
Sec |
N3ODB |
Elaine Kita |
(610) 252-6193 |
|
|
Treas |
N2RDL |
Brian Campbell |
(610) 559-1509 |
MEMBERS AT
LARGE:*
|
|
W2CGX |
Barry Campbell |
(908) 725-0478 |
|
|
|
KA2TOV |
Mike Grohol |
(908) 782-9698 |
|
|
|
W2GD |
John Crovelli |
(908) 996-3043 |
|
|
|
N3MSK |
Ed Kita |
(610) 252-6193 |
|
|
|
K2PA |
Roberto Matos |
(908) 788-8253 |
COMMITTEE
CHAIRPEOPLE:
|
Public service |
N2UYV |
(908) 253-8783 |
|
|
Technical |
N3MSK |
(610) 252-6193 |
|
|
Hamfest |
N2MQZ KC2CMC |
(908)454-4370 (908) 806-3998 |
|
|
Emerg Mgmt |
KC2CMC K2PA |
(908)806-3998 (908) 788-8253 |
|
|
Education |
W2CGX |
(908) 725-0478 |
|
|
VE Testing |
W2CG |
(908) 788-2644 |
|
|
Field Day |
N3QDC |
(215) 766-8066 |
|
|
Holiday Party |
KB3RWY |
(908) 253-8783 |
|
|
Merchandise |
N2VWL |
(908) 475-4716 |
|
|
Traffic net |
N2MIF |
(908) 638-6172 |
|
|
Programs |
KA2YYB |
|