The Starved Rock Radio Club (SRRC) meets on the first Monday of every month, unless otherwise scheduled, at 7:00 p.m. at the SRRC clubhouse in Leonore, Illinois. Club nets are held on the SRRC repeater (W9MKS) every Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m. The W9MKS repeater is located in Ottawa, Illinois, and it operates on a frequency of 147.120 MHz (+ 103.5 PL). The Starved Rock Radio Club was organized in September of 1934, and has remained an ARRL affiliated club since 1934.
The mission of the Starved Rock Radio Club has continually
been to give faithful, co-operative service and assistance for the betterment
of amateur radio, in the promotion of interest in amateur radio communications,
for the advancement of the radio art, for the use of amateur radio for
public service and welfare, and for the maintenance of fraternalism and
the promotion of good fellowship along with a high standard of conduct.
Visit us on the web at www.qsl.net/w9mks
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Secretary’s Report – June Meeting Notes
23 members
and 3 guests were present when the meeting was called to order.
We talked about upcoming activities, Field Day and the hamfest.
The Club will provide hamburgers and hot dogs, and members are asked to
bring food to pass around. More details will be in the FD announcement
in this issue.
I talked about what's been going on with the repeater,
we heard preliminary reports from the hamfest Chairs. The worker
prizes were awarded to N9HON ( A VX150 handheld) and KB9WPT
( FT1500). Other winners were KB9TMA, N9PLJ, WB9ZJK, N9OUW,
KB9PUT, KB9LNK, N9MRG, and KB9NFW. We voted to donate $100.00 to
the Leonore Fire Dept. C U AT F D
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Repeater Maintenance
Just a note about those noisy squelch openings you hear. They are caused by the La Salle Cty Highway Dep't repeater. Unless thee are some emergency the Highway guys only use the radio during normal working hours. WB9MDM has a filter for this band, and he will get it to me so I can try it out. This should eliminate the noise.
de KF9NZ
Hamfest Report
The preliminary figures for the 2002 hamfest, as well as other financial numbers, will be reported at the July meeting of the SRRC. However, the hamfest this year was a success, and we wish to thank each and every single person and organization that devoted time and/or energy to ensuring the success of this year’s hamfest. A special thanks to all who helped set-up, maintain, and teardown the hamfest.
Also, if you are going to any hamfests this year and would be willing to sell advanced tickets for the 2003 hamfest, please contact Matt, KB9VZH, so that we can sign you up for checking out tickets to sell in advance.
Thanks Again,
Matthew Weaver KB9VZH - kb9vzh_gov@yahoo.com
Jesse Risley KB9TMA – kb9tma@yahoo.com
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Field Day 2002
Come join the Starved Rock Radio Club for Field Day 2002!
Where:
Shabona Park (IL 23 North to N 42nd Rd. Left (West) on
N 42nd Rd to the park.
When:
Saturday-Sunday June 22-23. Setup starts at 8am Saturday
June 22 and Field begins at 1 PM and runs for 24 hours.
Why:
The momentous events of September 11, 2001 served
to once again affirm that amateur radio plays an important role when our
communities are in need. If you ask those amateurs that served with great
pride during those first trying days after the attack, a common theme would
be echoed. The training and skills the volunteers acquired by participating
in emergency preparedness tests and drills paid off when they were called
to service. From its inception in 1933, ARRL Field Day has held a
place of prominence among the amateur radio community. This operating event,
arguably the most popular on-the-air event among hams, challenges us to
test our preparations and learn valuable skills that can hold up to the
challenge when "real life" interfaces with our hobby.
Two rule changes go into effect with Field Day 2002 that will take us a step further as we strive to test ourselves in these respects. The old Novice/Technician station from previous years has been replaced by a GET ON THE AIR (GOTA) station. The GOTA station will allow Novice, Technicians, and generally inactive hams a chance to GET ON THE AIR to help the group's Field Day effort. Non-licensed persons may also participate in the GOTA station, under the direct supervision of an appropriate control operator. You may complete up to 400 QSOs to your group's score with the GOTA station. In addition, any group that meets the 400 QSO goal from the GOTA station will also gain an additional 100-point bonus. This is the only change that affects Field Day scoring.
We have always been able to work DX stations during Field Day. Field Day 2002 now has expanded the opportunity for DX stations to more fully participate. DX stations from across Region 2 - encompassing North and South America - are now invited to fully participate and submit scores to the ARRL for inclusion in the results. DX stations should give as their sent exchange their entry category (just like W/VE participants) as well as the designation "DX" - in lieu of an ARRL section. Also, remember that third-party agreements must be observed.
The strength of Field Day does not lay in the score that
you post or the number of transmitters you put on the air. It lies in the
number of operators who actually participate and gain valuable operating
experience.
Activities Report / Calendar of Events
***The annual multi-club amateur radio picnic and meet
is now being scheduled for August 10th at Starved Rock. Stay
tuned to the newsletter for further details about this annual summer event!!
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¨ The next regular meeting of the Starved Rock Radio
Club will be held on Monday, July 1st 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!
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¨ The Illinois Valley Radio Association (IVRA) will
host their next monthly meeting on Tuesday, July 2nd 2002 at 7:00 p.m.
at the Hennepin Town Hall in Hennepin, Illinois. Everyone is welcome
and encouraged to attend the meeting!
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¨ The Streator Amateur Radio Club will be hosting
their monthly dinner/meeting on Saturday, July 6th 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, July 5th by contacting Jesse Risley, KB9TMA on the air, or
by phone at 815-673-1023 (home) or 815-674-1059 (cell).
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¨ Special Event Station - Beecher, IL: Hams
of Monee, W9B. 1600-2300Z Jul 4. Second Annual Welcome Home Beecher Train
Depot. 28.340 14.270 14.040 7.270. Certificate. Gene Backlin, 26811 Greenbriar
Dr, Monee, IL 60449.
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¨The Kankakee Area Radio Society will host their
annual KARSFEST 2002 in Peotone, Illinois on Sunday, July 7th 2002.
Take I-57 to Peotone Exit 327 (East) to the fairgrounds. For more
information, contact Chip Moore, K9IOC, 289 S. Euclid Ave in Bradley, IL
60915 or e-mail karsfest@yahoo.com.
73's DE
Jesse L. Risley, KB9TMA
SRRC Activities Chairman
Around the Hobby – Stray Items Relating to Amateur Radio
WANTED - TOWER WORKER
I need someone to do some tower work for me.
I promised the XYL several years ago that I had "retired" from climbing
(I used to do it for a living - poles that is, not towers) so to keep what
little domestic peace I have, I have mostly stayed off of them.
I have problems on both my 50 foot guyed Rohn 35, and my 40 ft old style
Rohn. There is
about 2 hours work all told (If you work at a reasonable
pace) and I am willing to pay for it. Name your price - be
reasonable, I am one of those "fixed income retirees" and I have 6 harmonics
and an XYL to feed. I have a belt (if you are close to 34-40
waist) and safety strap, and all necessary tools, and I do carry insurance
if the worst should happen.
If interested, call and I will describe what needs
to be done, and otherwise negotiate.
Frankf9nz
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PL on 2-Meter Repeaters
Just for everyone's information, I did a little research on the use of PL on 2 M machines. According to the Illinois Repeater Association Directory, there are 191 2 Meter repeaters registered in the State. Of those, 97 use PL, and 94 don't. I also did a little experiment. From my station, with a decent omni ant at 40 feet, I can hit 20 2 M machines. Of those only 9 use PL. I am sure, just looking at the listing, that those repeaters close to Chicago and probably St. Louis, use PL, while those out in the hinterlands often do not.
Submitted by Frank Carraro, KF9NZ
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June 4th, 2002 Southern La Salle/Northern Livingston
County Tornado
We had a busy time Tuesday evening, June 4th. I was just a relay between the NWS and our spotters. I was just getting a net going and KB9TMA had a wall cloud in sight, which was spinning and dropping funnels. Bill Wilson, KB9ZXN called me on the phone from the NWS office just then. Talk about everything falling into place! KB9UPS was soon out there spotting too, and KB9UIU on his way home added several reports too. We followed the cell east along the Livingston/LaSalle line area for about 30 minutes, and it dropped funnels several times. It looks like it did touch down at Reading, which is about one or two miles SW of Streator.
When the cell got around Dwight, I was afraid that I would
lose Jesse, and Bill was telling me there was something else going on back
west around Ancona again. I had Jesse and Steve backtrack,
and they were able to give several observations of this thing, but it was
not as well organized. There was more, but the main reason
I am writing this e-mail is to kick some ideas around about how to improve
the NWS-HAM communication. It was tough to be able to
listen to the net and the phone at the same time, and pass info both ways.
I have a couple of ideas:
FIRST -
We have the autopatch on the repeater. I am sure we don't
want a NWS forecaster to listen to our net when there are a bunch of eager
spotters out there all trying to comment on what they see, but there are
times when it would be helpful.
SECOND
I have a phone patch. It doesn't have a VOX but I could rig
one. I could turn it on to let the NWS ask a specific question,
clarify something, or whatever, without trying to translate between them.
Anybody else
have ideas?? Let us know at the meeting or drop Frank a line!!!
Submitted by Frank Carraro, KF9NZ
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SRRC in the News
The following article recently appeared in the La Salle
News-Tribune.
Submitted by: Don Houde, K9EWU
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From the Editor’s Desk
My apologies for this edition of the newsletter being one week late. I recently returned from a much-needed vacation in Florida, so the newsletter was delayed for one week due to my vacation interfering with the publication schedule. Also, there was a mix-up with mailing the hard copies of the May newsletter via US Postal Service. I did not receive the copies for mail until the June meeting, and by that time, most of the events in the newsletter had already passed. Therefore, if you receive the newsletter by snail main, the May edition was not sent to you. My apologies for this, and I don’t anticipate this being a problem again in the near future.
I hope to see everyone at the SRRC Field Day 2002 this coming weekend at Shabbona Park near Harding.
The deadline for submitting items for publication in the July edition of the newsletter will be Sunday, July 7, 2002.
Regards,
Jesse L. Risley, KB9TMA
Kb9tma@yahoo.com; 815-673-1023 (home phone)
SRRC “Static” Editor