Georgia Section Announcements

Greetings! I've got lots of news to pass on to you this month. First, a couple of REMINDERS:

1. If you haven't already filed your comments with the FCC concerning proposal 15.240, which concerns the use of unlicensed devices, like RF IDs, on 70 cm, time is running short. Go to www.arrl.org/news/bandthreat/ to voice your concerns about this very real threat to our ability to operate on this band without interference. This website has the original petition, the ARRL's opposition, and the NPRM (Notice of Proposed Rulemaking). You can file your comments by following the directions in paragraphs 51-54 of the NPRM. I've actually had some people tell me that they don't "use" 70 cm, so they don't really care. If that's your thinking, let me remind you that many of the 2 M repeaters use 70 cm for their link frequency. Besides, a threat to ANY of our bands should not be taken lightly. If the FCC believes, that we "don't care", they'd be more than happy to make some money off of those bands we may be taking for granted.
2. The State ARES meeting is coming up on February 9, in Forsyth, GA. For more info, check the ARES webpage at http://www.qsl.net/gaares/ Also, talking about ARES, I'm sorry to report that ROBERT TYLER, KF4VBR, had to tender his resignation. Unfortunately, his plate is just too full at this time. So, the search is on for a replacement. Expect an announcement very soon.

CLUB NEWS

1. Alford Memorial Radio Club named MARY ANN FLACK, KE4AXE, as its Amateur Operator of the Year. She's a hard-working volunteer with a heart of gold, and the reward was much deserved. Also at their meeting, DR. GEORGE COLLETTI, KE4SFO, presented a U.S. flag to the club that he'd received from MAX CLELAND, that had flown over the U.S. Capitol building on July 4, 2001, as a gesture of appreciation for all of the hard work that the club has done for many years in helping the city of Stone Mountain with its annual 4th of July parade. There weren't many dry eyes in the crowd at this very kind and meaningful gift.
2. ARC of Savannah held its annual banquet on January 12, and it was a privilege to be in attendance, along with SANDY DONAHUE, W4RU, my better half MIKE, K4HBI (OOC), and MARSHALL THIGPEN, W4IS (Asst. SM). ANDY BLACKBURN, WD4AFY, was honored for being a member of the club for 25 years, and club president MAC MCCORMICK, KF4LMT, was named Amateur of the Year for the second year in a row. Congratulations, Mac, and thanks to all of you for making us feel so welcome.
3. Gwinnett Amateur Radio Society had a couple of "specials". JACK SHIPLEY, W4UVQ, marked his 50th anniversary as an amateur radio operator on the 2nd of January, and BOB VARONE, W4ETN, club DXer extraordinaire, was pleased to announce that he'd made a contact with North Korea over the Holidays. (Hope it'll "count", Bob!) And how many of you have ever received a "good operator" report from an Official Observer? (I said GOOD.... Y'know, the white slips, not the pink ones!) Well, ANDREA HARTLAGE, KG4IUM, got one from OO KEN COUGHLIN, N8KC from MI... his comments: "12 years old and already a general! Great job! Keep pounding brass and that CW confidence and speed will come soon enough. A pleasure to listen in." That's right.... She's only 12 years old. Pretty impressive, huh? Good job, Andrea! (On an aside, I heard someone on 2 M state that he knew that you're "supposed" to identify every 10 minutes, but he only identified when he thought someone might be listening. And this statement was made on the calling frequency, yet. I'm not saying this just because my husband is the OOC, but it's wise to ALWAYS comport yourself on the radio as though someone were "listening". And if everyone would assume that someone was out there listening with a CHILD, maybe some of the bad language that crops up on the bands would go away, too.)
4. New officers for the Thomasville ARC include president MIKE BROWN, KE4FGF; VP BOBBY COOPER, N4KXL; Secretary TOM DANNER, KG4BIS; Treasurer BILLY JOE LEWIS, W4ZDP; Activities Manager WYNONA SADLER, KF4HSM; and newsletter editor BUDDY PEEPLES, WD4CJI. The Thomasville club recently gave a special Recognition Award to SALLY SHIRLEY, mother of RUSSELL SHIRLEY, KF4GBS, for her "acts of kindness and dedication to her son and the club".
5. New officers for the Albany ARC are President GENE CLARK, W4AYK; VP KEN FIELDS, KE4KRE; Treasurer BOB SMITH, K4PHE; and Secretary STAN HALSTEAD, W4GOD. The club has over 100 members at present and they are very active in ARES and Skywarn. They will be operating W4MM from Camp Osbourne March 1-3 to promote amateur radio to the Boy Scouts.

Is it getting to be time to renew your license? Ignore the card you may get in the mail with an offer to do it "for you".... for five dollars. There's no need to pay any money. Go to http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls/ and you can take care of it easily and efficiently all by yourself. You can apply 90 days before expiration. The ARRL site has a bookmark, too.

MARS: THEODORE HATFIELD, KQ4IC, was recently appointed the State Director for Air Force MARS for GA. (Congratulations!) He invites any interested amateur radio operator to become a member. AFMARS runs nets on military frequencies in SSB, FM, and digital modes. He says that their major mission at this time is emergency support of FEMA and SHARES and handling phone patch traffic with military aircraft. The Georgia section AFMARS meets monthly at either the Lockheed Recreation Center in Marietta, or at Warner Robins, on alternating months. If you'd like more info, you can get in touch with Ted at [email protected] For the Army MARS, check out www.asc.army/mil/mars/ and for the Navy/ Marines, go to http://navymars.org/.

HUMAN INTEREST

RANDALL KOEHL has a special callsign.... K0EHL. He says, that as far as he knows, he and another ham, http://navymars.org/, are the only two amateurs who have their names as callsigns. Pretty neat, huh?

CONGRATULATIONS to TIM HARDY, KC0PA, of Kathleen, GA, who recently retired from the USAF after 27 years of Service. He started his military career as a missile launch officer for Minuteman ICBMs, and actually had the rather unique experience of working HF from the missile silo, in an underground launch control center. (Needless to say, he didn't reveal his exact location during his QSOs!) He ended his career as a Lt. Col. in the USAF Security Police. Although his time in the Service has ended, his time of service continues with the Peach County Sheriff's Department, where he works as a School Resource Officer in one of the local middle schools. It's no surprise that he's hoping to establish a school radio club for the students. Good luck to Tim, his wife Dawn, and their twin 8 year old daughters. Thanks for all of your years of service.

DREW MCCARSKY, KB2SEO, EC of Murray county, is working to get some media coverage from his local newspaper, a sort of "Ham Radio 101" approach to teach some of the basics to the public. He plans to emphasize the involvement of his two children, STEPHANIE, KG4GQX (now 10, but who got her license at the age of 8!) and MITCH, KG4GQY, who's planning a VHF net called "Lunchmeat Net... for the Kids, by the Kids". Drew also teaches 5 WPM code classes and is working on starting a class for technician, and then general class licenses. Good job, Drew. Keep up the good work.

BIG ACCOMPLISHMENT in Long county: Thanks to PAUL MORGAN, KF4ZUR, the Long County Amateur Radio Group started teaching an amateur radio class at Long County High School on January 10th. It took months to get the needed approvals and to put this all together. Plans are for the classes to run for 17 weeks, followed by a VE session at the semester's end. Paul and fellow instructor, FRED BALLANTINE, KG4ERP, will be helped by other caring hams with some hands-on projects and an HF station set-up. If all goes well, the class will be taught for the entirety of next school year.

UPCOMING CLASSES

1. Statesboro ARS will be teaching a free all-day technician ham class on Saturday, January 26, at the offices of the Bulloch County Chapter of the Red Cross, in the Outreach Center on Denmark Street. (near Bulloch county Health office) It'll be 9AM- 5PM, and includes 6 hours of video instruction, review, a practice test, and a lunch break. Bring "Now You're Talking" book. There will be a VE session the following Saturday, February 2, at 9 AM at the same location.
2. ARC of Augusta will be offering free licensing classes for both technician and general class, beginning February 4th, from 7PM- 9PM, in the first floor classroom at Doctor's Hospital, and lasting for 8 consecutive weeks. Bring "Now You're Talking" or the "ARRL General Class Licensing Manual". For more info, contact KEVIN MARTIN at (706) 394-6881

HAMFESTS

If you can't wait until the DALTON hamfest coming up on February 23 at the fairgrounds in Dalton, Charleston, SC, will be having one on February 2nd at Stall High School near I-26 and Ashley Phosphate Road. Doors open at 8:30 AM, and talk-in will be on 146.790(-). I won't be in SC, but we never miss Dalton.... despite the c-c-c-cold. Come say hello to me at the ARRL booth.

In last month's newsletter, I mentioned the GA Training Net, and expressed some concern about its future, what with the possible demise of the Novice CW bands. Well, guess you've all heard by now that the Board of Directors made a couple of compromises from the original proposal, but it looks like the novice subband will be a thing of the past in a year or so. But the GTN will go on! The GTN meets daily at 9PM on 3702 khz and offers training courses and certificates for completing courses in Basic, Advanced, NCS, Liaison, and Instructor. Net Manager BILL CARTER, KG4FXG, reports that JARED LAMBERT, K4JJL completed his Basic training course recently, and ANDREA HARTLAGE, KG4IUM, has begun the Basic course, and is doing a fantastic job copying the messages. According to ARLEN GARVIN, WB5NKC, of OK, "The QN signals on the pink card were set up by the originator of the ARRL. He formed the first training nets to help him to get parts for radios that he couldn't get by direct contact, or from local sources where he was at the time." So, the training used by Bill and the other NMs for the training nets use some training material that go back to the start of the NTS system, a little piece of history that continues on today. For more info on the GTN, check their webpage at www.qsl.net/ad4dx/indexG.html.

SILENT KEYS

Anyone interested in submitting a paper to be included in the CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS for the upcoming VHF Conference, the deadline is March 1st. Get in touch with SKIP COPPOLA at [email protected]

Talking about VHF, our friends from the Dynamo Hum Radio Club and the North Fulton Amateur Radio League, who planned an outing at Waller Park in Roswell for the VHF Sweepstakes last weekend, had an unwelcome guest, everybody's nemesis "Murphy". A TREMENDOUS amount of rain, high winds (which get higher every time I hear the story), a rotor that refused to work, more rain, higher winds, food that didn't want to cook in the rain and wind, a huge tent (which gets huger every time I hear the story) that decided to go airborne... and tried to take KEITH HYLTON, KE4TEG, with it. He went anywhere from six... to sixteen... feet into the air before letting go. They didn't make many contacts, but in the true spirit of amateur radio, MIKE DEL POZZO, KR4TG, said, "But we still had a good time!!"

Thanks to all of you who've been sending information this-a-way so I can pass it on to the rest of you. Hope you found something interesting in this batch. Please keep the information a-coming. [email protected]

Until next time, this is AF4FO, signing clear. 73, Susan