THE AIRWAVES CALENDAR
IT IS YOUR DUTY TO VOLUNTEER BE A SARC OFFICER ELECTION IS AT THE DECEMBER MEETING
FROM THE PRESIDENT'S SHACK I do not know if anybody reads this each month, but if you do, you will remember that last June, I discussed the SARC budget. At that time, Mike Herr WA6ARA had made a first cut on a budget for the club. At the last board meeting he presented a more detailed version of that estimate. The picture that comes out of the detailed view is not dire, but it is also not one with which I am particularly comfortable. Mike's list of direct income shows dues, fifty-fifty drawings and interest, which for 1999 totaled $1751.03. On the other side of the balance sheet are direct expenses which include the AIRWAVES newsletter, insurance, post office box rental, meeting room rent and tower trailer fees, totaled $1747.25. Pretty close - fuzzy math or not! Our total assets did grow somewhat due to donations that we received, but we cannot count on donations to keep us solvent. As a good example of that, the Desert Classic Mountain Bike Race was canceled this year. Usually SARC receives a donation of $500 or more from that organization. So, the club is barely making ends meet at this time. When you additionally consider the fact that we will need to pay for electricity and a phone line when the 147.000 repeater and 450 MHz link becomes operational, I believe that we have a problem. Those costs alone will likely take $400 per year in expenses from our budget. And, of course, in none of the above discussion is there any contingency made for breakdowns, repairs or updates In my mind, at least, we need to be putting something away for the next unexpected problem. We did have some discussion of the budget issue at the last general meeting. As you would expect when the topic is money, there were plenty of opinions expressed. Solutions raised included increasing dues, e-mailing the newsletter, holding auctions, selling advertisements in the AIRWAVES, and establishing a separate repeater group. Each of these approaches has its positives and negatives. I am sure that there are other good ideas out there as well. What do you think? Any decision that we make on this could have a major impact on the long-term health of the club, so we need your input. Please bring your suggestions to the next general meeting or contact one of the officers listed on the front page. MEETING PROGRAM Wed 8 Nov The program for the 8 November Sierra Amateur Radio Club (SARC) will be on Global Positioning System (GPS) it's purpose, use, benifits and how inexpensive hand held units can enhance your life. Demonstrations will be included. Sam Thompson and two other GPS group members will give the presention. Meeting location/time: Heritage Inn, Ready Room (downstairs, off the lobby, meeting room) at 7:30 PM
PUBLIC SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES Chris Rios, president of the Over The Hill Track Club, has scheduled this annual event for the second Sunday in December. The run will be south of Cerro Coso Community College. Five Hams are needed from 0700 hrs to about noon to provide safety and administrative communications for race officials. Contact Lloyd Brubaker WA6KZV at 375-7245 or on the Monday night net.
RECENT SARC ACTIVITIES The last VE session was a busy one. Our usual VE leader, Bill Maraffio N6PR, was visiting in-laws in Kentucky so Mark Rosenthal N6BVP took the reins. Mark was assisted by ARRL VEC examiners Lloyd Brubaker WA6KZV, Bill Burns WA6QYR and Hal Hazel KM6JM. Elvy Hopkins NØLV had received only four sign ups; this was increased by seven walk-ins. Eleven tests were taken; nine were successfully passed. Five new Technician licenses, three upgrades to General and one upgrade to Extra class were sent via express mail to the ARRL VEC for review and electronic transmission to the FCC. The new Technicians are Nathanael Lloyd KG6DTB, Micah Lloyd KG6DTC, Brian McMillen KG6DTD, John Owens KG6DTE and Wayne Olmsted KG6DTF. Upgrades to general were earned by Anthony Rice KP6RZN, Kenneth Lusk KC6YYU and Matthew Jensen KF6ZVF. Daniel Bushnell KM6WS upgraded to Extra. Congratulations to these folks. Thanks to the VEs spending half of their Saturday to assist Amateur Radio in maintaining the ranks. The new Hams will receive the next two AIRWAVES with handout sheets and membership applications. Boy Scout JOTA 21-22 Oct Bill Burns, WA6QYR the Ridgecrest Boy Scout executive, reports that no Ridgecrest Ham offered their shack and time to be Hambassador to bright young scouts. The plan was to contact other scouts, worldwide on Jamboree On The Air and spread the word about Amateur Radio to young people. Shame on us for missing this golden opportunity to bring young people into Ham Radio.
MONTHLY FOX HUNT For the 14 October Fox hunt Mike Herr WA6ARA was the fox. He was using a new fox transmitter which included a programmable identifier with a one minute on, four minute off cycle. He was well hidden in the center of the Ridgecrest. The hounds, made up of Paula Herr N6VGW, Greg Roush WA7IRW and Team Evans, W6TOD/KC6UUS, went around and around in circles. At one point early in the hunt, Greg drove within fifty feet of the transmitter. It was suggested that the fox, WA6ARA, might have been spoofing the hounds with extra transmissions from a second location but this was not proven. Team Evans located the transmitter first and were declared the winners. The next hunt will be on 11 November at 0800 hrs starting at the Heritage Inn parking lot.
IN THE MILL The following badges are available for pick up from SARC Treasurer, Ralph Frasier. AK6C Harry Helms, AD6QK Charlie Hawthorne, WA6IYH Jim Cotillier Jr.and KG6BEO Andrea Shipley
RACES RAMBLINGS We are still working on the new communications trailer but that is not our basic activity. The first medical subcommittee of the Emergency Services Committee (ESC) met a few days ago. The representation was small but the lead time was short so it is understandable. Several medical agencies showed up and a couple more called in to be sure they would stay on the mailing list. Plans were made and the next meeting was scheduled. The ESC has a new badly needed vehicle. On the 9th of November another hospital drill will take place. Only a few select RACES members will participate since this is a state wide drill and we are helping the local hospital with communications. Next year we may have a more formal presence.
OLD BUSINESS October 11, 2000 Those present: President Larry Merwin KE6YLG, 1st VP David Stone KC6UUR, 2nd VP Mike Herr WA6ARA, Treasurer Ralph Frasier KQ6UU, Secy. Tom Ingram WB6EPD and AIRWAVES editor Elvy Hopkins NØLV. The meeting was called to order at 1903 hrs. Larry announced that there was no interest at the NAWS museum for a radio exhibit. Elvy announced that the cost of printing and mailing the October AIRWAVES was $82.11. Elvy announced that the Desert Classic bike race has been canceled for this year. This means that their $500 donation to the club will not be received this year. Elvy announced that the Tehachapi radio club is using the SARC logo on their web site. Elvy sent the Tehachapi club an e-mail. Larry announced the need for a nominating committee for the upcoming elections. Mike provided his rough draft of the SARC budget. A discussion followed on the budget, repeater expenses and possible ways to reduce operating costs. Tom announced that he had ARRL membership applications which are also available on the ARRL web site. Larry announced that the local jammer is back on the SARC translator. It appears that we will need an Official Observer in the local area to solve the problem. At present there is no program scheduled for the November meeting. Mike will work on getting a program. There is a program set for December. The meeting was adjourned at 1926 hrs.
Minutes, Membership Meeting The 11 October meeting was called to order by President Larry Merwin KE6YLG at 1930 hrs at the Heritage Inn. Fifty-fifty tickets were available for the meeting. The Sign-in sheet was started around. Announcements: Mike Herr WA6ARA announced that there would be a Fox Hunt the following Saturday, 14 Oct. Hal Hazel KM6JM announced a GPS Receiver Tracking exercise. Those interested can check the October issue of AIRWAVES. Larry announced the need for a Nominating committee. Lloyd Brubaker WA6KZV volunteered to be a member of the committee. Larry announced that the local jammer was back. A local Official Observer is needed to take proper action. Elvy Hopkins NØLV announced that the Desert Classic Mountain Bike Race was canceled this year. Elvy announced that there is a VE session this weekend 14 October. He has four people signed up for the session. None are taking test above advanced. Dennis Farrell AD6SA announced that the NAWS museum board expressed a massive lack of interest in a radio display at the NAWS museum as displays usually relate to NWC projects. Larry announced that Mike Herr had provided a preliminary budget for the club. At this time our direct income equals our expenses. There is no room for extra expenses. Donations do help but they cannot be counted on as part of the budget. The operating expenses of the 147.00 repeater were not included in the budget and is expected to be about $400 per year. A discussion was held on possible ways to save money. Paula Gibeault N6OQQ mentioned the possibility of selling ads in the newsletter to help offset the cost. A rent free meeting location would also help. Paula has attended a GPS meeting and mentioned that the group might be interested in giving a presentation at a future SARC meeting. Lloyd announced that work was progressing on the new communications trailer. Metal is still needed for the roof. The old trailer is still operational but it will be sold when the equipment is moved into the new trailer. The program for this meeting was on QRP operations presented by Keith Clark W6SIY. Phelps Terheun was the winner of the 50-50 drawing. Seventeen amateurs were present at the meeting. The meeting adjourned at 2056 hrs.
TREASURERS REPORT from Ralph Frasier KQ6UU As of 28 Oct. Y2K Share account $4,444.45 Draft account 323.68 Total $4,768.13 Obligated funds Relocate 147.00 repeater 574.86 Balance $4,193.27 |