Prepared - July 16, 2007
By: Darrell R. Norris - WA3AJQ
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On June 13th I toured the WWCP Channel 8 facility on Scalp Avenue in Richland Township with some members of Johnstown's Conemaugh amateur radio club. The people at channel 8 couldn't have been anymore gracious. They took an appreciable amount of time showing us the in and outs of their business. It was interesting to see how much goes on behind the scenes and the amount of preparation that goes into preparing for the news etc.
Thanks to Travis for showing us all about forecasting and presenting the weather and thanks to Josh for taking us through the facility and answering our many questions. I also want to thank Cliff Miller, KB3AGT, for inviting us. I wish more of our club members would have taken advantage of Cliff's invitation.
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ARRL Field Day -- June 23rd & 24th -
Ron Carnahan, KB3JOE was in charge of the event for the club this year. At the club meeting in July, Ron gave me a written report which pretty well summarized their success. In general he indicated there were some fifteen members participated in the event. Setup, mowing and painting of the picnic tables started on Wednesday evening and continued again Friday evening. Various antennas and tents were set up to accommodate the operators. A picnic was enjoyed Saturday evening and the weekend weather couldn't have been any nicer. Ron congratulated Missy Carnahan, KB3MDS, for her fifty one contacts, several of which were with other countries. All seemed to have enjoyed themselves.
Thanks to Rusty, WB3EUQ for providing the generator and thanks to all who participated in the event. Especially thanks to Ron for taking the lead in our field day activities this year.
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ARRL:
New General class books are good to go!: According to ARRL Sales and Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, the new ARRL General Class License Manual is ready for shipping. As of July 1, 2007, a new General Class license exam pool will take effect; the old pool will no longer be valid. The new ARRL General Class License Manual has everything you need to pass the General Class exam. Also available is the ARRL General Questions and Answers. This book makes upgrading to General Class quick and easy, allowing you to review from the entire question pool with brief explanations following each question. You can order the new manuals, plus manuals for Technician and Amateur Extra from www.arrl.org/catalog/lm/.
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Somerset Ham Fest July 15th
I attended the Somerset ham fest again this year, arrived in time to see the departure of Dave and Walt Dzelsky N3DZ and N3NFY respectively. The weather man had called for rain Sunday morning however, it held off and the weather was rather nice. This was their forth annual ham fest and I think it was rather nice. I saw hams from Altoona, Pittsburgh and all around the area. A fellow ham from Pittsburgh was telling me about their antenna restrictions. Guess we're lucky we live in an area where we don't have any restrictions. I enjoy the drive from New Florence to Somerset and enjoy the beautiful country. The Somerset Vo Tech site is a great location for a ham fest.
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General Notes:
It may be a little early however, 2007 is half over and we need to start thinking about club officers for next year. I'm afraid we'll be looking for a president, vice president and secretary, so please start giving this some serious consideration.
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Keep in mind we're always looking for net control operators for the Monday night nets.
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Kent Badger, N3KB, will be our guest speaker at the August 7th meeting. We will be discussing message preparation and traffic handling. Please plan to attend. Feel free to bring a guest.
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Hope everyone enjoyed their July 4th celebration.
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Thanks and 73's,
Darrell R. Norris - WA3AJQ
President - 05 / 06 / 07
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 PM by the president Darrell R. Norris, WA3AJQ.
Minutes from last meeting: (June 5, 2007)
Are there any additions or corrections to the June minutes?
Motion by: Roger, N3PHX - Second by: Ron, KB3JOE to accept as written.
Financial Report: Kim Frech
Financial report accepted as Reported
It was mentioned that we need to consider a future fund raiser such as the Sheetz coupons. (Something to think about)
ARES: Emergency Coordinator: Robert Zugates, KB3JOF
Robert would like to establish some practice messages among ourselves for much needed experience.
Cliff, KB3AGT, gave Robert a Power Point program for traffic handling and amateur radio.
Robert asked that we "assume" Kent Badger, N3KB, will be a speaker at our August meeting. Kent is tentatively planning to be here and will talk about message preparation and traffic handling.
Net Coordinator: Jerry Kiehl, WB3DUD (Not at Meeting)
Darrell, WA3AJQ, requested volunteers for net control for the remainder of the year. He is net control for the month of July.
RACES: Rusty O'Donnell, WB3EUQ
Rusty took this responsibility over again since he return to the area. He had nothing to report.
ECHOLINK: Rusty O'Donnell, WB3EUQ
Rusty reported that our ECHOLINK was up and running. Darrell, WA3AJQ mention again, that he has still never gotten Echolink working since he went to Verizon DSL.
Repeater Operation - Elmer Sorisio, KB3WG (Not at meeting)
WWCP Channel 8 tour June 13th Darrell, WA3AJQ
Darrell reported the tour was scheduled through the Conemaugh club in Johnstown and Cliff Miller, KB3AGT, their president and a member of our club. The tour was very interesting and the channel 8 people made us feel very welcome and gave us an interesting presentation. Thanks to Cliff for the invitation.
Board Meeting</b> - Darrell Norris, WA3AJQ
The board members are to feel free to have agenda items added for discussion at the meetings. Darrell also reminded everyone that it's time to start thinking about offices for next year. We had seven board members present for the board meeting.
50 /50 drawing was won by: Ron Carnahan, KB3JOE, who donated it to the club, thanks Ron!
Potential activities for 2007
VE Testing -- Bill McMillen, N3QM - 1st Saturday in April & October
ARRL Field Day -- June 23rd & 24th - Ron Carnahan - KB3JOE
Ron gave a written report to Darrell. In general he indicated there were some fifteen members participated in the event. Setup, mowing and painting of the picnic tables started on Wednesday evening and continued again Friday evening. Various antennas and tents were set up to accommodate the operators. There was a picnic held Saturday evening and the weather couldn't have been any nicer. We want to congratulate Missy Carnahan, KB3MDS for her fifty one (51) contacts, some of which were with other countries, this is outstanding!
Thanks to Rusty, WB3EUQ for providing the generator and thanks to all who participated in the event and a very big thanks to Ron for taking the lead in this year's ARRL field day
.** There were no financial charges to the club. **
Club Picnic
The covered dish picnic is scheduled for Sunday September 16th at 2:00 pm at Richard Stinson's, KB3KBC. Ron Carnahan, KB3JOE made a motion to have the club furnish the hot dogs, hamburgers, rolls etc same as they furnished last year. The motion was second by Fred Maize, KM3M.
Kim Frech, our secretary, will let Richard, KB3KBC know exactly what items the club will furnish.
Christmas Party - Roger, N3PHX, & Kathy, N3SJY Lute
Darrell mentioned that the club had some minor complaints about Hoss's last year, mainly the small room and a limited menu. After some discussion it was agreed to consider either Hoss's or Fire Mountain, Kathy agreed to check with both.
Kathy reported she has a $25.53 expenditure from last years Christmas party, she asked to be reimbursed. Carl Hvozda, N3PIE, made the motion to reimburse Kathy as requested, it was second by Fred Maize, KM3M, motion passed. Kim will mail a check to Kathy.
Notes or comments?
Darrell announced the Somerset ham fest is scheduled for Sunday July 15th from 8:00 AM to 12 noon. He also made copies of their flyer for anyone interested in going.
Darrell reminded everyone that we need to keep thinking about offices for next year. He also mentioned he has one board member, a webmaster and an emergency coordinator signed up for next year. (Robert Zugates)
It was great that we had sixteen members present at the meeting considering the next day was a holiday.
Darrell had Eat*N*Park set the tables together in a big square. It appeared this worked very well. Carl Hvozda, N3PIE, felt it was an improvement.
Motion to adjourn was made by: Richard Stinson KB3KBC and Second by: Rusty O'Donnell, WB3EUQ.
The meeting adjourned at: 8:22 PM. (Local time)
ATTENDANCE:
| Melissa Carnahan KB3MDS | Kathy Lute N3SJY | Roger Lute N3PHX | Rusty O'Donnell WB3EUQ |
| AL Fister N3ZFZ | Carl Hvozda N3PIE | Fred Maize KM3M | Ron Carnahan KB3JOE |
| Kim Frech ------------ | Darrell Norris WA3AJQ | Robert Zugates KB3JOF | Dave Dzelsky N3DZ |
| Larry Freeman N3LT | Terry Carnahan KB3JOD | Richard Stinson KB3KBC | Jim St Clair N3TQR |
Respectively Submitted by:
Kim Frech, Secretary / Treasurer
05, 06 & 07
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