At the club meeting in January we will be filling some vacant committee posts. Attached is a description of all the committees we have taken from our new member booklet. Let me know if you would like to sign up for any or all of these jobs.
Have a good Christmas and I will be looking forward to
seeing everyone early in the New Year!
K9ZQ
Committee Descriptions:
The following is a list of committees, which have been
formed to cover the interests and business activities of the club. The
president appoints a chairperson for each yearly. Each member is asked
to participate in at least two of these committees / activities. Hamfest
will be one. Pick another that will reflect your interests / talents.
If you have an idea for a new committee or activity let the president know.
Activities - The chairperson will make a short presentation at each club meeting about our club activities and ham radio activities in general. Our club activities might include special event stations, fox hunts, and any other activities where Ham operators can help in the community. Other activities of general interest to report might include contests, band openings, DX expeditions, and other operating opportunities. Members of this committee can gather information for the presentation and help at club activities.
Building/Grounds - The chairperson will make a short presentation
at each club meeting
about the maintenance of our clubhouse and the surrounding
grounds. This committee is
responsible for arranging for grass cutting, snow removal,
and other building maintenance issues.
Digital Communications - The chairperson will make
a short presentation at each club
meeting about the status of our club packet station,
BBS, and related equipment.
Equipment - The chairperson will make a short presentation at each club meeting about the status of the radio related equipment at the clubhouse. Members of this committee should arrange for maintenance the radios and electronic equipment at the clubhouse. The equipment committee chairperson must approve any new purchases or disposal of equipment.
Field Day - The field day committee chairperson will make
a short presentation at club
meetings about the status of field day preparations.
Members of this committee should arrange for a public site each year, work
with the food committee chairperson to establish a menu, arrange for radios
and antennas, arrange for publicity, and other details to make field day
a success.
Food - The chairperson will make arrangements for refreshments at our club meetings and other activities. The committee members may also be involved in acquiring food for meetings, hamfest, field day, and special event station.
Hamfest - The chairperson will make a short presentation
at each club meeting about our
preparations and results from our club hamfest. The Hamfest
chairperson will appoint several subcommittee people to handle tickets,
soda sales, and other tasks necessary for the hamfest to be a success.
Each member is requested to work at least one shift at the Hamfest as directed
by the Hamfest committee chairperson.
Membership - The chairperson will make a short presentation at each club meeting about our club membership including number of members and information about any new members. The President will introduce any new members present. Members of this committee should maintain, print, and distribute the new member booklet. Recruiting material should be sent to prospective members as provided by the ARRL and distributed at our hamfest and other activities where hams might gather. Newspaper advertising should also be handled through the membership committee.
Net Control - The chairperson will make a short presentation at each club meeting about our club nets number of check-in’s etc. The chairperson will arrange for a net control for each of our Wednesday club nets as well as the Sunday night ARES net.
Repeater Monitor - The chairperson will make a short
presentation at each club meeting
about our club repeater involving any interference, music
playing, or other QRM on our repeater.
Repeater Maintenance - The chairperson will make a short presentation at each club meeting about our club repeater involving the repeater equipment, remote receive sites, etc. This committee will be responsible for maintaining or arranging for the maintenance of the repeater.
Training - The chairperson will make a short presentation
at each club meeting about the status of our club activities in the area
of classes as well as VE sessions. Club members who are also VE’s will
be considered members of this committee. Members of this committee
should schedule and arrange instructors for new ham and upgrade classes.
VE sessions should be scheduled quarterly as appropriate.
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Secretary’s Report – December Meeting Happenings
Fifteen members and one guest were there and enjoyed
a GREAT treat at
the recess. Thanks Kathy!! The December Technical
session/open house was cancelled. We talked about reducing it to
quarterly, or having it after the business portion, etc. More later.
We will purchase a really GOOD combination door lock and install it, and
re-key the other door. The problem with the furnace
pilot going out was discussed. A couple of good ideas were proposed.
We need to work on the details. More on that
later too!
In case you haven't heard - or seen it - the active
element of our tri-band HF beam antenna is now hanging vertically from
the boom. If possible, someone needs to climb up there and
see what is needed to fix it. It's probably a broken U-bolt.
Any volunteers? Next VE Session DEC 29th at La Salle Vet Home.
KB9EZZ says he won't be able to be ARRL Liaison for a while due to work
commitments. K9ZQ will probably take over as soon as KB9JTL/ JR looses
the /JR on his "call"
In response to a question, there was a little discussion
about DX QSL'ing. I have written a short treatise on this subject
and submitted it to our STATIC Ed. Look for it in this issue.
73 de KF9NZ SK CL
I WORKED HIM - NOW HOW DO I GET HIS CARD??
Someday - maybe soon, the ARRL will solve this problem.
Well.....almost solve it. Their plan for electronic QSL's is almost ready
to roll. In the meantime, the only alternative is "snail mail", and I DO
MEAN SLOWWW.
I have about 200 countries confirmed, have my WAZ, as
well as WAC, etc, and I still get a big kick out of hearing my call come
back from somewhere halfway around the world. I also have around 15 countries
(DXCC entities) UN-confirmed 'cause I can't get a card from them. All DX'ers
have the problem. One big reason for it is mail theft. If you think lost
or stolen mail is a problem in the U.S., you should know about what it's
like in many under-developed and poverty stricken countries around the
world. Postal workers in those places learn that U.S. hams often send money
- real U.S. dollar bills - to foreign hams.
Now why would a U.S. ham do that? Are we "buying" qsl
cards? No. If you are a ham in Germany, for example, it costs the equivalent
of about $2.50 in POSTAGE ALONE to send an air-mail to the U.S. Add the
cost of printing a card, and the envelope, and it gets up to $3.00. How
many cards can a German ham afford to send before it blows his household
budget? If you want the card, it's only a common courtesy to re-imburse
the foreign ham. The U.S. dollar bill is almost a universal currency. The
slang for this is "green stamps" If you hear someone say he sent so-and-so
a "green stamp" with his card, it's a dollar bill. This covers the postage
cost in many countries, but it's getting to the point that lots of countries
rates are up to $2.00 or even higher.
There are problems associated with sending green stamps
however. In some countries, just possession of foreign currency is against
the law. In a few places, they are hard to exchange. There are other options.
One of these is the "IRC" - International Reply Coupon. The international
postal union, a U.N. agency, handles this. You may go to your local post
office and purchase these coupons. I think the cost is now $1.50 each.
You send this with your QSL, and the foreign ham takes the coupon to HIS
post office, and they will give him postage of the country to air mail
one letter back to the U.S. That's the theory at least. Some countries
are not members of the Postal Union. Some countries, even though they are
members, will refuse to honor the IRC's for various reasons. Some foreign
hams who get them dislike having to deal with the whole thing. Maybe their
P.O. is difficult to deal with, etc. You may find a blank look when you
go to your P.O. and ask to buy them. If the Postal Clerk is not experienced,
he/she may have never sold one. Often they have to look in drawers around
the place to find some. Then, they sometimes stamp them wrong. I had an
argument with a postal clerk in Morris once about how he was supposed to
stamp the coupons. (I was right).
OK. Nothing is perfect - right? Well how about this -
send the foreign ham a stamped, self-addressed envelope. That is, an envelope
addressed back to you, with postage of the country already on it! All the
DX has to do is write out his card, stick it in the envelope you sent him,
and drop it in the box! Wonderful you say, but how do I get Russian stamps,
or French stamps, or Chinese stamps? Yes, you can buy them. They are not
cheap, but then they are not much over the actual cost of the postage.
The guy I deal with is Bill Plum in New Jersey. He also sells "nesting"
air mail envelopes. These are the blue tint envelopes with the red and
blue border that is recognized as the international air-mail envelope.
You get two sizes, and one fits in the other nicely. You put your address
on the small one, stick the foreign stamp on it, put it and your card in
the bigger one, put enough U.S. postage on it, and, of course, the DX's
address, and away it goes. You would think this was fool-proof. The DX
doesn't have to fool around with foreign money or IRC's, or even address
an envelope. Unfortunately, nothing is foolproof. I don't have a much better
track record using this method than I do the others, but it DOES work.
The address is:
William J. Plum
12 Glenn Road
Flemington NJ 08822-3322
Send him a business size envelope, SASE, and ask for
his current price list.
Well, now there is the bureau. You may often see it spelled
"buro" the CW shorthand for it.
There is not ONE "Bureau" It is a bureau system, and
the outgoing and incoming systems are different. The outgoing bureau is
for ARRL members. The incoming bureau is for anybody who wants to use it.
You can find details by going to www.arrl.org, click on "SERVICES" and
then "QSL SERVICES" You will get a choice of "INCOMING" and "OUTGOING"
I will briefly summarize the info for the internet-less
among you. For the INCOMING service, the best way is to write a check for
$8.04 made out to "NIDXA". Mail it to : NORTHERN ILL DX ASSN
PO BOX 273, GLENVIEW IL 60025-0273, and tell them your
CALL SIGN, NAME and ADDRESS. They will make up 12 envelopes with your address
and put postage on it. Then, as they receive foreign cards, yours will
get stuck in one of the envelopes, and mailed to you periodically. Most
of the cards you get will be many months old - often over a year, but you
will get cards if you work DX. Please NOTE that this is for those that
have a "9" call. If you have any other prefix, you must use the bureau
for your prefix - even though you live in "9" country!
As for the outgoing service, you must presort the cards
by prefix, enclose proof of ARRL membership (QST mailing label works fine)
and $8.00 a pound. A pound is about 150 cards. Don't work THAT much DX?
OK. Ten cards or less is $1.00., and a half-pound is $4.00. Mail the package
to: ARRL OUTGOING QSL SERVICE, 225 MAIN ST, NEWINGTON CT 06111.
The bureau system is far from perfect too. In the first
place, there is a fair sized list of countries that do not have a bureau
- so no IN or OUT. Be sure and check the list before sending cards to ARRL,
and don't expect cards from DX in those countries. The speed of the buro
system is, as noted before, glacial. Some hams will not use the buro, especially
certain DX that gets many cards. They may have many different reasons for
this, but it often involves money. This is often true of foreign QSL Managers,
which brings me to the last method of QSL'ing.
Listen closely when you work DX. They should give their
QSL route periodically if they are working a pile-up. If it's not rare
DX, and you are rag-chewing with him, ask his QSL route. Most DX that are
at all rare, and work a lot will have a QSL MANAGER. This is someone who
has volunteered to take on the job of handling the QSL chores for a DX
station, or even several (many?) DX stations. Usually these Managers are
in the U.S. (GREAT!), Germany, France or other developed nation. The DX
sends his log to the manager periodically. The Manager receives your card,
checks the log, and makes out the card and sends it to you. You MUST include
a SASE. If the Manager is a U.S. ham, that's easy. If he's another foreign
national, you still have the problems, but you usually get better results.
My experience is that I get better than 90% returns from a Manager. Some
Managers (foreign) will only respond for a green stamp - or two. Most DXpeditions
have a Manager. They would like to receive a few green stamps to help with
the cost. It's up to you, but any DXped of any size costs lots of money.
There are all kinds of sources of DX routes. If you are
in a big pile-up DON'T -PLEASE- ask the guy's QSL route!! Wait for him
to give it. If he doesn't, you will be able to find it in one of the many,
many sources available, but that, and DX spotting systems, is for another
treatise.
73 and gud dx
de KF9NZ
Activities Report
Seasons Greeting to Everyone
The VOL EXAMINERS OF THE IL VALLEY will host another VE
session on
December 29, 2001 at 4:00 PM (No walk-ins). The
exams will be conducted at the ILLINOIS VETERAN'S HOME, 1015 OCONOR AVE
- LA SALLE, IL 61301. For more information, contact: Joe Tokarz,
KB9EZZ, at (815) 433-2347 or Email: KB9EZZ@ARRL.NET
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In this era of digital communication, keyboarding, FM
and electronic keys, once a year many excellent operators bring the past
to the present and participate in the annual ARRL Straight Key Night. If
but for a brief 24-hour period, it is a trip to a nostalgic time, much
the same way an old soldier tries on his old uniform. For others, it is
an excellent opportunity to try their hand much as their Elmers did in
the past.
The object of this friendly event is to enjoy some good,
old-fashioned QSO fun, using straight keys. The emphasis is on rag chewing
rather than on fast contest-type exchanges. SKN 2002 begins at 7 PM EST
December 31 and runs for 24 hours through 7 PM EST January 1 (0000-2400
UTC January 1, 2002). For more information, visit
http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/rules-all.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Illinois Valley Radio Association (IVRA) will be
holding their annual holiday dinner on Saturday, January 5th 2001 in Hennepin,
Illinois. For more information, contact Dan Dematia, N9OBB at n9obb@hotmail.com.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The next regular monthly meeting of the Starved Rock
Radio Club will be held on Monday, January 7th 2002 at 7:00 p.m. at the
SRRC clubhouse in Leonore, Illinois. Everyone is welcome and encourage
to attend the meeting. There is a “pre-meeting” over dinner, held
prior to the regular meeting, beginning at 5:00 p.m. at Schmitty’s Grill.
Come on over for some casual chat, and enjoy the evening steak dinner special!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Illinois Valley Radio Association (IVRA) will host
their next monthly meeting on Tuesday, January 8th 2002 at 7:00 p.m. at
the Hennepin Town Hall in Hennepin, Illinois. Everyone is welcome
and encouraged to attend the meeting!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Streator Amateur Radio Club will be hosting their
monthly dinner/meeting on Saturday, January 12th 2002 at Chippers’ Grill,
route 23 North in Streator. The dinner/meeting begins at 5:30 p.m.,
and everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend!! If you would like
to attend the monthly dinner/meeting, please make reservations no later
than Friday, January 11th by contacting Jesse Risley, KB9TMA on the air,
or by phone at 815-673-1023.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Special Note: Due to both holiday related activities
and a VE session in the area, there will be no "open house and technical
operating session" this month at the SRRC. The event would have been
regularly scheduled for Saturday, December 29th (last Saturday of the month).
Enjoy the holiday, and best of wishes to all for a merry Christmas and
a Happy New Year.
73's DE
Jesse L. Risley, KB9TMA
SRRC Activities Chairman
Equipment Report
The major item of concern this month is the tri-band HF
beam. The active element of the beam has detached, and is dangling
in a vertical position. I am not sure what the cause of this antenna
predicament is, but as Frank has stated, the likely culprit may be a worn
out U-Bolt. Joe, KB9EZZ, stated that he believes this detached element
is touching the 40-80 meter inverted "V" antenna, so thus both HF antennas
were taped off as "broken" at the coax connection terminals. We will
need someone to climb the tower
and check the antenna(s) out. If a couple people
would be willing to accompany me out to the clubhouse to detach guy wires
and the such, we could probably have the situation resolved in a few short
hours or so. The only other primary role player we will need is someone
willing to climb the tower. Please let me know ASAP if you would
be willing to get together and help over an upcoming weekend to get the
antenna(s) fixed. I would rather not let the project sit until spring,
but if the weather turns bad, there is nothing I can do until that time.
In other matters, a complete inventory of all tangible club equipment is in order, so as to comply with the resolution passed at the Board of Directors meeting this past summer. After two years, and with juggling new roles in the club, I am re-considering accepting the Equipment Manager position for 2002. However, if a few people would like to get together and help with the inventory over winter and the coming spring, that would help out whomever the future Equipment Manager is, in a very big way.
I would like to thank everyone for complying with my requests for procedural changes on borrowing club equipment, as compliance at this point appears rather high. Remember to write your name and call sign on the dry erase board if you are borrowing any of the clubs equipment. Doing so assures that no equipment is borrowed and then mistakenly not returned!!
That's all I have for this month, have a great holiday season.
73's
Jesse L. Risley, KB9TMA
SRRC Equipment Manager
From the Editors Desk
Hello again to everyone. I am pleased to be able to again serve as “Static” editor for the Starved Rock Radio Club newsletter. I hope that you are pleased with this edition of the newsletter, as it is my first edition that I have published as editor in over one and a half years. Remember that this is your newsletter, as you are an active member of this club. Therefore, I encourage everyone to submit items for publication in “Static” on a regular basis.
I encourage everyone to stay active in club functions, and keep an active presence on the radio. There have been many DX openings across various parts of the spectrum, and these DX openings are but a small part of what amateur radio has to offer us as a hobby. I hope to hear everyone on the air sometime in the near future. If there is anything that I can do to make “Static” better, please be sure to let me know. I am e-mailing this edition to all active club members who stated that they would like to receive “Static” via e-mail. The rest of the club members are receiving “Static” via snail mail. If you would like to receive “Static” different from the way you have currently received it, then please don’t hesitate to inform me.
Happy Holidays,
Jesse L. Risley, KB9TMA
Kb9tma@yahoo.com, 815-673-1023
SRRC “Static” Editor