SIERRA AMATEUR RADIO CLUB MEETINGS Monday SARC Emergency Net Every Monday 1930 hrs WA6YBN translator 146.64 MHz (- 600 kHz) Visitors welcome May 6 Board of Officers Meeting First Wednesday Heritage Inn 1715 hrs May 13 Membership Meeting Second Wednesday Heritage Inn Flight Deck Room 1930 hrs Program: Six Meter Over the Horizon Propagation by Ron Ogren WA6PEV Jun 3 Board of Officers Meeting First Wednesday Heritage Inn 1715 hrs Jun 10 Membership Meeting Second Wednesday Heritage Inn Flight Deck Room 1930 hrs Program: MARS participation in SHARES, Federal level HF emergency communications by Lloyd Brubaker WA6KZV Jun 27-28 Field Day Mike Cash KN6IS 375-4441 Jul 8 145th Annual SARC Bar-B-QSO, Pot Luck and Tail Gate Swap Fest Fine food Fine QSOs Fine RF Junque More details next month

PUBLIC SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES May 8-9 Rim of the World Auto Rally Call Mike N6PYM or Paula N6OQQ Gibeault at 375-8704 See article May 9-10 Death Valley to Mt. Whitney Bicycle Race Call Elvy Hopkins NØLV at 384-3589 to volunteer for one or both days LICENSE CLASSES AND EXAMS May 28 Volunteer License Exam Session Cerro Coso Community College 1800 hrs Novice, Tech & Tech Plus Elements 1A, 2 & 3A only Pre-registration is required Call Bill Maraffio N6PR 446-4165 Jun 13 Volunteer License Exam Session Kern County Library, Ridgecrest Branch, Meeting Room, 131 East Las Flores Ave. Written exam 0900 hrs, Code test 1100 hrs Call NØLV 384-3589 Aug 8 Volunteer License Exam Session Kern County Library, Ridgecrest Branch, Meeting Room, 131 East Las Flores Ave. Written exam 0900 hrs, Code test 1100 hrs Call NØLV 384-3589 Oct 10 Volunteer License Exam Session Kern County Library, Ridgecrest Branch, Meeting Room, 131 East Las Flores Ave. Written exam 0900 hrs, Code test 1100 hrs Call NØLV 384-3589

FROM THE PRESIDENTS SHACK
by Charlie Hawthorne KE6WQR

Sometimes it is strange how many things happen around you that you never know about. For me, one of these items was the ARRL Special Service Club. Yes, I knew that the Sierra Amateur Radio Club of the High Mojave was an ARRL Special Service Club, but I did not realize that a renewal application had to be generated and sent in each year. You say to yourself, "Big deal, fill in a few blanks and send it in." Well, it may not be a big deal, but it requires more than filling in the blanks. Instructions were: "To be renewed under the ARRL SSC program, your club must be actively involved in each of the following areas. Please describe your planned programs and activities in each area briefly on a separate sheet of paper." There followed a list of areas for which the club was responsible: New Ham development and training, public relations, emergency communications, technical advancement, operating activities, miscellaneous activities. Of course, as a relatively new member of SARC, I had no idea how to fill this out, so I went to Lloyd Brubaker WA6KZV, a fount of information.

You knew, of course, that SARC supported, in any way possible, the Amateur Radio License class that are given by Cerro Coso Community College. You knew that SARC provides a subscription to QST for the Kern County Library and a current copy of "Now You're Talking" is among thirty other books presented two years ago. You knew that SARC provides safety communications for many public activities. SARC has representatives, RACES members, attending monthly emergency preparedness meetings with the City of Ridgecrest, Kern County and other organizations that would be involved when an emergency hits? Did you know that SARC maintains the custodial supervision and operations of three emergency communication vehicles? Did you know that RACES is an agency of the United Way of Indian Wells Valley? Did you know that SARC owns and maintains four repeaters and three packet nodes?

All of this is going on in the background, fueled by the efforts of a few "believers" in the worth of Amateur Radio. You, as a licensed Ham, are a beneficiary of these efforts. Instead of just "taking", I invite you to consider "joining up" and "giving" by becoming one of those "believers."

MEETING PROGRAM Wed. 8 April
Six Meter Over The Horizon Propagation

Ron Ogren, the local authority on six-meter-and-up DX, will present a talk on over the horizon propagation and it's use in the pursuit of six meter DX. Ron's talks are always easy to understand, very informative and full of personal anecdotes. With the current upturn in the solar cycle, the activity on six meters will increase. Come hear how to add rare DX to your six meter log.

PUBLIC SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES
Rim of the World Auto Rally 8-9 May
by Paula Gibeault N6OQQ

It is time for the 1998 Rim of the World Pro Rally. This event, organized by Mike N6PYM and Paula N6OQQ Gibeault, is in its fifteenth year and once again promises just about every type of adventure a special event can provide. Pro Rallies are definitely not your tame street rally. These are flat-out, time trial competitions on twisty, cliffy, rocky dirt fire roads.

The majority of amateurs working the rally or tracking the cars get a front row view of the rally racers blasting down dirt roads. Others work net control for their own stage and some get to ride along in the organizers' cars. And then there is the intrepid packet crew who do a beautiful job of sending all scores from the field to headquarters, thereby allowing the rally scores to be final before the cars even get back to the finish.

Rim of the World will take place Friday and Saturday May 8 and 9 starting in Palmdale and running in the Angeles National Forest south of that city. If any of the various positions sound interesting to you, please give Mike and Paula a call at 375-8704 or e-mail them at gibeault@ridgecrest.ca.us. All workers receive a very nice T-shirt and a $20 room rebate toward a motel room, each night, if needed. We hope to hear from you.

Death Valley to Mt. Whitney 9-10 May
This two day, nationally known bicycle race runs from Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley to Whitney Portals above Lone Pine. It is an early and long Saturday and ninety miles from home on Sunday. There is a free picnic in Lone Pine on Saturday. Call Elvy Hopkins NØLV at 384-3589 for information.

RECENT SARC ACTIVITIES
Volunteer Exam Session

The SARC Volunteer Examination Session conducted on 11 April resulted in three new technician licensees: Robin Adamson KF6QMP, Catie Kusznir KF6QMQ and James Adams KF6QMR. Tod Evans W6TOD upgraded to Advanced class. Eight tests were administered by SARC VEs Lloyd Brubaker WA6KZV, Jerry Brooks KK6PA and Bill Maraffio N6PR.

SEMS Training
by Lloyd Brubaker WA6KZV

Bill Burns WA6QYR and Lloyd Brubaker WA6KZV recently traveled to Bakersfield for a Kern County training session on the Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS). They found the sheriff's auditorium crowded with a generous mixture of fire, police, city, county and utility personnel. Over a hundred persons, including six RACES members from both ends of Kern county, were in attendance.

We had been sent a training outline prior to the session and a study exam to complete and take along. We were given a thick handbook on SEMS to review later. The five-and-one-half hour course was divided into logical sections. While the subject matter wasn't deeply fascinating, it was easy to see the need for people trained in SEMS when the crunch comes.

SEMS takes into account two of the three dimensions of any disaster. One dimension, time, is handled by applying the preparations taken for the other two over and over again until recovery is complete. This is an oversimplification, but it works.

The other dimensions are space and intensity. A tornado doesn't usually cover much space, usually just a few blocks. The intensity is terrific, however with winds in the hundreds of miles per hour. A hurricane or earthquake can take up hundreds of square miles with high intensity in the center and tapering off as you get further away. A volcanic eruption is similar. A hazmat spill is also usually small in size and of varying intensities. SEMS is a management device to take care of all of these with a single system that can be easily tailored to fit the intensity and size. It can be applied to a flat tire on the freeway, to earthquakes and to a volcanic eruption in a metropolitan area. The same training fits all.

SEMS is divided into five functions and five levels. All five functions must be taken into account in varying degrees. The number of levels involved depends on the area involved. The functions are: command/management, operations, planning and intelligence, logistics and finance and administration. Again, all of these are needed for minor disasters as well as major ones. The five levels depend upon the intensity and area covered by the disaster. They are: field, local government, operational area, region and state. Obviously a flat tire will probably not involve the state, or even the local government (Unless it is one of their tires.).

For disaster service workers to be effective, they must have common training. The training must be standard and encompass all that needs to be done. For any two disasters the workers may not be the same personnel. All of their backgrounds will be different. All of their experience will be different. Yet they must work as a team right from the start. Thus, the reason for SEMS training.

THANK YOU FROM SARC BOARD
The Board of Officers of the Sierra Amateur Radio Club would like to thank all those that made a donation to the club over and above their dues. While it is not possible to acknowledge each one individually, your generous contribution was noted and appreciated.

REPEATER HAPPENINGS
Jack Bitzer NL7SX reports a new repeater available to the Indian Wells Valley. It has been installed by the Kern River Valley ARC on Shirley Peak, west of Lake Isabella. The output is on 145.41 MHz with input down 600 KHz. A sub-audible tone of 103.5 Hz is required on the input carrier for access. KRVARC plans two more repeaters, a second in the lower Kern River valley and a third usable in the Walker pass area. Auto-patches are also in the plans.

IN THE MILL
Field Day Field Day Field Day
Field Day 1998 will be June 27 and 28. Mike Cash KN6IS has jumped at the invitation to head up the effort to hold SARC Field Day at the Leroy Jackson park in Ridgecrest.

The object of Field Day is to work as many stations as possible on any or all amateur bands (excluding the 30, 17 and 12 meter bands) and, in doing so, to learn to operate in abnormal situations under less-than-optimum conditions. A premium is placed on skills and equipment developed to meet the challenge of emergency preparedness and to acquaint the public with the capabilities of Amateur Radio.

SARC will operate a Class A, club/non-club, portable station with three or more licensed amateurs, set up specifically for Field Day. Such stations must be located in places that are not regular station locations, must use no facilities installed for permanent station use or any other permanently installed structures. Stations must be operated under one call sign and under the control of a single licensee or trustee for each entry. All equipment and antennas must lie within a circle whose diameter does not exceed 300 meters. All contacts must be made with transmitters and receivers operating independent of commercial electric power. Any Class A group whose entry classification is two or more, non-Novice, transmitters may also use one Novice/Technician-Plus operating position on the Novice bands only, without changing its basic entry classification.

The SARC tower trailer with it's three element, tri-band beam will dominate the park skyline. Wire antennas will burden the trees. Weird concoctions of wire, rope, coax and strange little boxes will be strung from poles of various materials. Computers, gas lanterns, tents, not to mention transceivers and the full gamut of Ham gear will live in the park for twenty-four hours of attack on the RF spectrum. A Saturday evening picnic and BBQ is in the planning stage. We wouldnąt want to let Burger King bring any civility to this all out assault on the ether.

Contact Mike Cash at 375-4441 or cash@ridgenet.net if you would like to be an operator, be a logger, help set up, help tear down, kibitz, cook, take pictures, take videos or participate in any manner. Experience is not required. Field Day is where experience is gained.

Cerro Coso License Class
The spring semester CCCC Amateur Radio (Technician) License class has eight members. The instructor, Tim Lyons KF6LCH, is asking for IWV Hams with special interests or skills, applicable to the class, to volunteer to make a presentation in the class. You may contact Tim at 375-9886.

Show and Tell Program
Have you constructed a neat, one of a kind, magic black box? Are you exploring another of the myriad of RF toys available to Hams? Have you written a technical paper that is of interest to Hams? Do you have a special expertise that is RF applicable? The SARC second vice president and program chairman, Larry Merwin KE6YLG, is considering a Show and Tell meeting program consisting of several short subjects presented by members. Call him at 384-3180 if you want to contribute a short subject or do a demonstration.

RF Exposure Document Package
Are you working on your station's FCC mandated RF exposure evaluation? Do you want a complete package of FCC and ARRL documents which will guide you through the task? The March issue of The AIRWAVES had complete instructions for getting these documents off the internet. Not on the internet? Don't want to wear out your printer? Don't want to fight with the government printing office? Bill Burns WA6QYR has a complete set of the these documents. He will have them copied for you with advance payment of approximately $9.00. Contact Bill at 375-8566 or e-mail bburns@ridgecrest.ca.us.

SARC Patches Now Available
Mark Rosenthal N6BVP has received our order of SARC patches. The price is $4.00 each. See Mark at a meeting for purchases or use the order form on the bottom of the membership application.

TREASURERS REPORT
from Mark Rosenthal N6BVP

As of 27 April
	Share account	          $2,444.09
	Draft account	          $2,419.34
	Total	                  $4,863.43
	Obligated funds	
	Relocate 147.00 repeater  $1,200.00
	Balance	                  $3,663.43