SECRETARY’S NOTES OF THE MEETING OF JULY 20, 1998
OPENING: The meeting was held at Quonset Hut on Pine Street in Whitman. Members gathered early to socialize. Club President, Bill N1FRE officially opened the meeting at 7:50 p.m.
ATTENDANCE: The total attendance was 18 and included 3 of the
elected officers and 3 members of the Board of Directors.
| Bill Hayden | N1FRE | Charlet Sherman | N1VQZ | |
| Jeff Tracy | N1SOM | Walter Dolson | K1BZD | |
| Lenny Amabile | N1MII | Joe Diloreto | N1FEE | |
| Ed McSweeney | KB1CYX | Roy Logan | KB1CYV | |
| Bruce Hayden | NI1X | Jeff Lehmann | N1ZZN | |
| John R. Coombs | WQ1L | Bernard Snow | N1OQW | |
| Vic Kairis | N1OEH | Frank Hayes | N1OGP | |
| George Davis | KC1FZ | Tom Lehmann | N1ZZM | |
| Keith Lehmann | Guest | Fred Roog | WA1LXP | |
Jeff N1SOM handed out copies of the treasurer’s report for the first 2 weeks of July, and reviewed the transactions with the members present. The club had a beginning balance of $938.40, income of $2.08, expenses of $25.00, with an ending balance of $915.45 on July 20th. Walt, K1BZD made a motion to accept the treasurer’s report as read, The Bruce, NI1X seconded it, and the motion was accepted.
NEW MEMBER:
Ed McSweeney KB1CYX submitted a member-ship application. Lenny N1MII made a motion to accept Ed’s membership, the motion was seconded by Walt K1BZD, thirded by Joe N1FEE, and approved. Ed is a friend of George N1SUY. Congratulations, Ed.
HEALTH AND WELFARE:
It was reported that Yancee N1MHY is back in the hospital, in critical condition, of a possible heart attack. He is in the Brockton Hospital.
OLD BUSINESS:
The Bruce NI1X received 2 hand made QSL (SWL) cards from Keith Lehmann, from field day activities. Keith made two out of state contacts on field day. The Press Release for the field day activities has been dropped off.
Jeff N1ZZN participated on the USS Salem, K1USN in Quincy this past weekend. He made over 100 contacts on 2 meters. He reported that Pi K1RV made lots of cw contacts, and the antennae’s used were a R7000 Vertical, the ship’s original Sloper, and a 6 Meter Beam. He spent the night sleeping on the deck. The special event also included ships in Russia, Canada, and Texas, etc. To see more info on the event, and check the contact log, you can connect to their web page: www.uss-salem.org
Bill N1FRE displayed the certificate received from the school system for the Scholarship Donation. The Bruce NI1X will turn in a list of all the prior recipients of the scholarships.
The fox hunts are still going strong. They are back to the every Saturday morning schedule, starting at 10:00 am.
The Bruce NI1X brought up that since the Mount Washington event was listed as a special event, we need to get the log, and take care of Special Event certificates. A volunteer is needed to design a certificate. These are put on hold since several of the participants were on vacation. As a reminder, it is necessary to turn a copy of the event logs over to the repeater trustee when the club’s call is used for the event. Fred WA1LXP is the repeater trustee.
Walt K1BZD gave an update on Traffic Nets. He volunteered to submit reports for the Traffic Handler’s column if we start sending traffic. We need people to start sending messages, to friends, relatives, etc. We would get one point for each piece of traffic sent.
NEW BUSINESS
Bill N1FRE announced that we would not be participating in the station at the Marshfield Fair. The Boxboro flea market is on one of the weekends.
Bill N1FRE asked if there was interest in participating in the Plymouth Plantation special events station this year. There was a general consensus that yes, we are interested and there will be sufficient help to run the event.
QST magazine needs to be renewed for the Whitman Public Library. The Bruce NI1X made a motion to renew the subscription, Joe N1FEE seconded the motion, and the motion passed.
The Bruce NI1X reported that Charlet N1VQZ assembled a new computer for the packet station. It is a Digital 486/33 with 4 mg memory, Dos 6.22 and Windows 3.1, and a 14" color monitor. The first computer, an older Compaq is still running, and the second, an IBM, suffered a lightning crash. This will be the third packet computer.
The Flea Market is coming up, on Labor Day weekend, the first weekend in September. Discussion began on starting preparations. Bill N1FRE will make out the flyers, Joe N1FEE will hit his usual advertisers, he needs some bigger signs, and Lenny N1MII and Jeff N1ZZN will post the event on their web pages.
Walt K1BZD announced that he is now using email, and thanked Lenny N1MII and Charlet N1VQZ for helping him get on the internet.
The Bruce NI1X thanked Jeff N1ZZN for mowing the grass at the Quonset Hut over the weekend. The grass had become like a hay field.
Upcoming Dates - The Boxboro Flea market will be held this year
on August 29th and 30th.
Date Correction - the Flea Market at Saftler’s will be September
6th and 7th.
ADJOURNMENT:
Charlet N1VQZ made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:30pm, Walt K1BZD seconded the motion, the motion was approved and the meeting adjourned
WHITMAN AMATEUR RADIO CLUB
SECRETARY’S NOTES OF THE MEETING OF AUGUST 3, 1998
OPENING: The meeting was held at Quonset Hut on Pine Street in Whitman. Members socialized outside starting about 7:15. Club Vice President, Chris N1WWI officially opened the meeting at 7:45 p.m. with the roll call.
ATTENDANCE: The total attendance was 16 and included 3 of the
elected officers and 2 members of the Board of Directors.
| Chris Tilden | N1WWI | Charlet Sherman | N1VQZ | |
| Jeff Tracy | N1SOM | Bruce Beaman | K1HTN | |
| John Logan | N1ZZP | Roy Logan | KB1CYV | |
| Fred Roog | WA1LXP | Bernard Snow | N1OQW | |
| Joe Diloreto | N1FEE | Bruce Hayden | NI1X | |
| Jeff Lehmann | N1ZZN | Bob Schillinger | KA1PGU | |
| Bill Tracy | N1SON | George Davis | KC1FZ | |
| Vic Karois | N1OEH | Frank Hayes | N1OGP |
TREASURERS REPORT:
Jeff N1SOM distributed copies of the treasurer report and reviewed it with the members. The club had a beginning balance of $938.40 on July 1st, July income of $2.08, expenses of $108.61, leaving an ending balance of $831.87 on July 31st. Bruce K1HTN made a motion to accept the treasurer’s report as read, the motion was seconded by The Bruce NI1X, and approved.
OLD BUSINESS:
The Bruce NI1X is looking for his certificate from the Mount Washington expedition. Chris N1WWI will get together with George N1XXR and start the process of designing and mailing certificates
Corrections to the minutes of the July 20th meeting were found. Pi’s call is K1RV, and the USS Salem’s call is K1USN.
Jeff N1ZZN reviewed the USS Salem special event activities. The Bands operated on included 20 cw and phone, 40, 17, 6, 80, and 10 meters. Jeff is also looking for copies of any newspaper articles covering the event.
Flea Market Update: Bill N1FRE is in the process of making up the flyers. It was decided to advertise only in the Patriot Ledger, since it is less expensive and has better coverage. Also, prior response to ads in the Brockton Enterprise has been poor. The current insurance certificate number will be given to Steve, which he needs to secure the use of the parking lot.
The Bruce NI1X asked if anyone has a copy of the articles about Field Day from both the Brockton Enterprise and the Patriot Ledger. Several members have copies, and it was suggested that copies be distributed at the next meeting, and included in a thank you letter to the Ames Nowell Park.
George KC1FZ reported on the Skywarn training which took place in Walpole over the past weekend. Approximately 14 area hams attended the training. George said the training was given in several 1 hour long sessions, and included Net Control, Message Handling, First Aid, Equipment, Administrative Setup, Races and Ares, and Skywarn. The Boy Scouts fed them lunch. Several of the instructors are involved with the Boston Marathon, so they also pitched the need for volunteer hams at this and other events.
Some local hams that participated in the Skywarn training included:
Gil WA1DGJ George KC1FZ
George N1SUY John N1ZZP
Jeff N1ZZN John N1TWI
Carl N1FYZ Bob N1EDM
Paul N1OTX Myron N1XJK
Ted N1WAI.
George KC1FZ also added that Lou N1UEC would be a great speaker for one of our meetings. Lou did the presentation on equipment, and had a lot of good tips.
HEALTH AND WELFARE
Frank N1OGP spoke to Yancee recently. Yancee had an operation, and is in serious condition at the Brockton Hospital. Walt K1BZD sent a gift on behalf of the club. Bill N1FRE visited, however visitation is currently limited to immediate family.
NEW BUSINESS
Jeff N1ZZN showed his new QLS card, which he made from a template, which is available to the public on the New Hampshire repeater web site. You can add a picture, etc to the card. Catch Jeff on the repeater for more information.
SCUTTLEBUTT
Chris N1WWI checked in to several nets during his stay in Hawaii. He was invited to a local meeting, which he attended. The main topic of discussion at the meeting was the siren system for the tsunami’s. They do have a Skywarn group out there, but not much activity.
Bruce K1HTN made many contacts in Alaska on 2 meters and 440 while in Anchorage and Fairbanks, but found it difficult to get a response from local hams when out in other areas of the state.
Jeff N1ZZN and John N1ZZP are still active on the Cape Traffic Nets. They now alternate as net controls on Sunday nights. Jeff passed his first piece of traffic to the Boston Net last weekend. The Cape Traffic Net operates on 147.045 out of Dennis on the Cape.
NET CONTROLS
Following is the net control schedule for the remainder of the month:
Aug 9th Bruce NI1X
Aug 16th Chris N1WWI
Aug 23rd Jeff N1ZZN
Aug 30th Jeff N1SOM
ADJOURNMENT:
Frank N1OGP made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Vic N1OEH seconded the motion, the motion was approved and at 8:20 p.m. the meeting was adjourned.
ARRL Proposes Simplified License Structure
--courtesy of K1JMR News Carrier
Norwood Amateur Radio Club
In what appears to be one of the most controversial moves in many years, the ARRL has announced a sweeping proposal that would restructure the license classes.
The League’s proposal features a simplified Amateur Radio license structure with four license classes and reduced Morse code requirements for full HF access.
In approving the plan July 18th, the ARRL Board of Directors said the hobby no longer needed six license classes.
Board members emphasized that the objective was to rationalize and simplify the amateur license structure without reducing the requirements for any class of license.
Among its recommendations, the plan would eliminate the current Novice and Tech Plus class licenses and merge those operating privileges into a new license class equivalent to the current General ticket. The plan would replace the present named license classes with Class A, B, C, and D tickets, revise written examination requirement and content, and set 12 WPM as the highest Morse code test requirement. Most of the spectrum freed up by the elimination of the current Novice CW bands would be "refarmed" into expanded HF phone segments. Some would remain available for digital and CW, however.
The League has forwarded details of the plan in a letter to the FCC but will not petition for rulemaking until a review of the just released Commission’s own ham radio restructuring plans.
In July the ARRL Board had twice voted down motions to consider changing the licensing structure. This time, the impending FCC rulemaking provided the impetus for the Board to issue its own plan, in time to stimulate debate on the topic and possibly serve as a counterpoint to the anticipated FCC proposals.
ARRL Board approval of the plan followed extensive discussion and debate during its recent three-day meeting. "The debate was, at times, contentious, and the result was not unanimous." Said ARRL President Rod Stafford, W6ROD. The vote to approve the plan was 9 to 6.
Here are the highlights of the ARRL Board’s restructuring plan:
The Class D license, equivalent to the current Technician class, would be the entry level ticket to Amateur Radio. Operating privileges and the written examination would remain at the same level at Technician, but the exam would be more consistent with Class D operating privileges.
The Class C would supplant the Novice as the entry level to HF. Under the League plan, all General, Tech Plus, and Novice licensees would become Class C licensees. The Class C ticket would convey current General privileges, but would offer bigger HF phone bands. Class C licensees would have access to another 50 kHz on 75 and 15 meters and another 25 kHz on 40 meters. To upgrade from Class D to Class C, an amateur would pass a written examination on the operational and technical qualifications required for HF operation plus a 5 WPM Morse code test.
All amateurs now licensed as Advanced would become Class B. The Class B would convey the privileges of the present Advanced license, but with additional phone privileges. The Class B ticket would offer an additional 50 kHz on 75 and 15 meters and another 25 kHz on 40 meters. To upgrade from Class C to Class B, an amateur must pass a more advanced written examination—similar in difficulty to the present Element 4A—and a 12 WPM Morse Code exam.
All amateurs presently licensed as Amateur Extra Class would become Class A. The Class A ticket would convey the full privileges of the present Amateur Extra Class but, one again, with expanded phone subbands. Class A licensees would get an additional 50 kHz on 75 and 15 meters and another 25 kHz on 40 meters. To upgrade from Class B to Class A, an amateur would be required to pass the most difficult written examination in the sequence. Consistent with the practice in many other countries, no Morse code examination beyond 12 words per minute would be required for a Class A ticket.
Charts depicting the proposed operating privileges and licensing structure and the text of the League’s letter to the FCC are available on the ARRL Web site at: http://www.arrl.org/news/restructuring/. Members may comment on the ARRL plan via the Web or via e-mail to restrux@arrl.org.
Any member wishing to post equipment that they would like to sell; send
the info to the editor to be added to the next newsletter
" The Bruce " NI1X and Don Tanguay N1BVZ team up to be the "foxes" on May 23, 1998. They used a "rotating" beam mounted in the passenger seat through the T-roof from North Middleboro and held a cookout following the foxhunt.
The beam is Bruce’s K1HTN 2 meter 4 element; the Pontiac Firebird belongs to "The Bruce" and has a 45 watt 2 meter rig. We operated at 45 watts- 10 watts- 5 watts and 2 ½ watts (hand held) from the car every 5 minutes from 10AM to 1PM during the Foxhunt. (operation 30-45 seconds).
FIELD DAY UPDATE
I have tallied the total points for Field Day, we have a total of 916
points, not including the bonus points awarded by the ARRL. The total points
were 2,136 last year. In November’s QST the total points including the
bonus points will be published. I am sure everybody is looking forward
towards and planning for next years Field Day and maybe we can top our
score next
year.