BASIS and PURPOSE – (a)
by Bob Wexelbaum, W2ILP
Ham
radio means different things to different people….BUT…Last month I copied the
“Basis and Purpose” of Ham Radio here from FCC Part 97 and said that, as a group, we hams are supposed to set
our goals toward fulfilling some of our basic purposes. The first purpose is outlined in 97.1 (a) and
I’ll repeat it here.
Recognition
and enhancement of the value of the amateur radio service to the public as a
voluntary noncommercial communications service, particularly with respect to
providing emergency communications.
That
being said, I’ll talk about ham emergency preparedness. Field Day is a part of the plan to have
yearly emergency drills, which exercise portable power sources and train
operators to provide for communication all over the
I
was an active member of ARES and RACES during the “cold war”. I was also a member of MARS. I have membership cards and certificates,
including a certificate of thanks from
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE by ED
GELLENDER, WB2EAV
Perils of Pauline for the 21st
Century
Back in the days of silent films, there was a series of
films made under the name “The Perils of Pauline.” It was a classic example of the serial drama
where each episode ended with our heroine, Pauline, in some dire straits. No matter what happened during the episode,
you knew there would be a cliff-hanger ending to make sure that you come back
next week.
Our
In case you missed it, last year we discovered that the
When we complained, MetroCor offered us a compromise to
see if coexistence was possible. We
agreed, but the other repeater owner reacted by turning off his repeater’s PL,
making coexistence impossible. As the
last episode of this drama ended, we had just sent MetroCor a letter outlining
how their compromise had fallen apart.
Well, I finally got acknowledgement of our letter of March 1st. No answer, just that they got it.
In the interim, things have been totally untenable on
146.745, so we decided to take the next step and file a complaint of willful
and malicious interference with the FCC.
If you ever go to any national Ham Radio function, they
may have a speech by the FCC’s enforcement head, Riley Hollingsworth. Well, we have recently become acquainted with
Mr. Hollingsworth.
We again leave Pauline tied to the railroad tracks as the
train approaches. Kids, be sure to
watch again next time.
FIELD DAY –
Since Pat retired from Northrop Grumman and headed out of
town, we have had a nagging question about the next Field Day. We have known for years that no one else
would wrestle with those collapsible tower sections while standing on top of a
ladder…Heck, we never quite understood how Pat did it! A more important issue is the availability of
people. Last year we did not operate
overnight due to lack of people, and there were large operating gaps even
during the day. We have to seriously
look and see if we have enough people this year to make it what we want it to
be.
I am also active in another radio club, LIMARC, and I
know that they are having similar problems.
Not that long ago LIMARC was running as many as 7 stations
simultaneously for Field Day, with three running overnight. Even though their overall membership is
pretty much the same, this year their Field Day chairman, Don Kane, WB2BEZ,
tells me that they are thinking of going with 2 stations as a response to low
turnout last year….Sounds familiar?
So we have some decisions to make. I asked Northrop Grumman if we can have the
same spot that we had last year and have not received an answer yet. What I want to do is to see what the
membership wants and to act accordingly
Possibilities include; We do it ourselves (either on Northrop Grumman
property or elsewhere) using dipoles hung from trees…or team up with another
group such as LIMARC. I am asking for
input from the people who will be there.
Please let me know your feelings so that I can act accordingly. The best way to reach me is by e-mail at [email protected] or
to call my direct phone number at work (it is a good voice mail)
516-575-0013. If all else fails, you can
drop a note to: - Grumman ARC,
GRUMMAN AMATEUR RADIO CLUB MINUTES OF GENERAL MEETING
2/20/2008
Karen KC2OPX,
secretary.
The meeting was called to order by Ed at
5:40 PM.
TREASURERS REPORT – Ed, WB2EAV
Finances continue to be in good shape.
REPEATERS Gordon, KB2UB
Bill,
N2NFI visited the 5.33 site and replaced the batteries. He said that everything is in good shape.
.
VE REPORT –
Bob, W2ILP
There were no applicants. Thus there was no GARC VE
Session in February.
NET REPORT-
Zack, WB2PUE
Thursday night net has the usual attendance. Sunday morning we can hear some in
OLD BUSINESS
Ed received insurance papers.
NEW BUSINESS
Preliminary
Field Day suggestions were made.
Deciding on a new or old location or whether we should combine with another club for the event. A suggestion was made to combine FD with a
picnic.
PROGRAM
The
The meeting was adjoined at 6:35 PM
GARC NETS:
40 Meters: 7.289 MHz at 7:30 AM EST
Sundays.
2 Meters (via repeaters): 146.745
MHz (-.600)at
145.330 MHz (- .600) at 9:00 PM EST Thursdays.
[Tone for both
repeaters is 136.5 Hz]
(ARES/RACES) Mondays
MEETINGS
General Meetings of the GARC
are held on the third Wednesday of each month, starting at 5:30 PM. The meetings are usually held at the
GARC WEB SITE
The web site of the GARC can
be found at http://www.qsl.net/wa2lqo/ Webmaster is Pat Masterson, KE2LJ. Pictures of GARC activities, archives of
newsletters, roster of members, and other information about the GARC may be
found there.
INTERNET LINK OF THE MONTH FOR INTERNERDS
A very new web site is called
“Amateur Radio Wiki – The Online Encyclopedia for Hams.” It was set up this month by Tom Roberts,
VK4YEH of Brisbane, Australia. It is
being billed as an encyclopedia, but is now only an encyclopedia ”in the
works”, because most of its pages are blank now and they are just beginning to
be filled in, mainly by VK4YEH himself.
There are some useful pages however, and there is hope that more will be
coming and that will depend on contributions from hams like you, who might fill
in some of the subjects and/or join in rag chewing with the host. I hope that this site becomes a success because
it intends to keep all information received on easy to locate pages in
alphabetical and categorical order.
There has been lots of good information sent to such sites as QRZ.com,
but it becomes lost in unsorted archives that make it near impossible to recall.
“Amateur Radio Wiki” can be
found at:-
http://www.amateur-radio-wiki.net/index.php?title=Main_Page
PUZZLE
Here is another
cryptogram:
FHBGCLRIFGH FQ
HGI AHGMNPOVP. AHGMNPOVP
FQ HGI MFQOGL.
MFQOGL FQ
HGI ICWID.
ICWID FQ HGI
YPRWIT. YPRWIT FQ
HGI NGEP. NGEP
FQ HGI LWQFZ.
LWQFZ FQ
IDP YPQI. –BCRHA
JRXXR--
Solution to February’s Cryptogram:
WHEN I WAS A BOY THEY USED TO SAY THAT “ONLY A MULE AND A MILEPOST NEVER
CHANGES ITS MIND.” --BERNARD M.
BARUSH--
Northrop Grumman Gets Tanker Project
In the 1960s when I was
employed by Loral as a field engineer I serviced the Air Force B-52 ECM systems
and associated test sets that were used by the Strategic Air Command
(SAC). The B-52 bombers were made by
Boeing in
In a recent “Newsday” article
I learned that Northrop-Grumman will now be the prime contractor of a new Air
Force tanker aircraft. Some of the
tanker’s electronic systems will be made by Telephonics, here on Long Island,
but only a few NG people will be assigned to the project in
Enuf sed. No further comment.
GARC VE EXAMS We are continuing to proctor exams for all classes of ham
licenses on the second Tuesday of each month, starting at 5:00 PM. The present exams are:- Element 1: 5 WPM CW Element 2: Technician Element 3: General Element 4: Amateur Extra Class The fee for 2008 is $14.00 for all exams taken in one
sitting. Applicants for upgrades should bring their present license
and a photocopy of it and know their FRN number. New, first time applicants should be aware that their
Social Security number will be required on their application form, unless
they register with the FCC for an FRN. All applicants should bring picture ID such as driver’s
licenses. Until further notice exams will be given at:- Room: Briarcliffe in All applicants should contact W2ILP to preregister, so as
to confirm location. If no applicants
apply, the exam session will be cancelled.
For any information e-mail:- or phone- (631) 499-2214 Study material is available at
the web sites of the ARRL http://www.arrl.org or W5YI http://www.w5yi.org All VECs use the same Q &A
pools. Since the beginning of the VE program the GARC has
provided opportunities to take the ham exams monthly, during all 12 months of
every year. Bob Wexelbaum, W2ILP and the GARC VE team. |
Our Field Days of the past were well attended and it was not
long ago when we ran five stations and had so many operators that we had to
work in short shifts, so as to give everyone who wanted to operate or log, a
chance to do their thing. Many hams were
willing and able to stay overnight, no matter what the weather, including high
winds and thunder storms. I suspect that
those days are gone forever. We must
remember that the task of tallying up all the logs (either paper or computer
downloads) was usually placed upon the GARC president, who had to forward the
itemized results to the ARRL. This is
not a simple task and it had to be done by a president who was a full time
employee. Then too there was the heavy
carting of tents, generator and antennas to the site, as has been most recently
done by Bill, N2SFT. We must be
appreciative of what everyone did in the past and resolve what can be expected
this year. As Ed has said; we need your
response. I know it is difficult to plan
ahead but give it your best shot, and tell us what you can or can not do. Also… What about another picnic, either with
or without FD?
w2ilp (I Like Picnics)
CQ de WA2LQO
March 2008
VOL. 81,
NO. 3
EDITOR
Bob Wexelbaum W2ILP
(631) 499-2214
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
All the members of GARC (we hope!)
CQ de WA2LQO is
published monthly by the Grumman Amateur Radio Club for its members and friends.
Send articles and amateur equipment advertisements to: W2ILP
Articles may be sent
by e-mail or postal mail. They can be in
MS Word format or simply in plain text.
Articles will only be edited when permission is granted by the author.
ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS
For insertion to the
WA2LQO website, information may be sent to Pat Masterson.
Pat Masterson’s
e-mail address:
Ed Gellender’s e-mail
address:
[email protected]
[email protected]
GRUMMAN
AMATEUR RADIO CLUB OFFICERS FOR 2006
President Ed Gellender WA2EAV X02-14 516-575-0013
Vice President Gordon Sammis KB2UB Retiree 631-666-7463
Secretary
Karen Cefalo KC2OPX 631-754-0974
Treasurer Ed Gellender WB2EAV X02-14
516-575-0013
1Yr Board Member
Zack Zilavy WB2PUE Retiree
631-667-4628
1YrBoard Member Dave Ledo
AB2EF
1Yr Board Member Bob Christen W2FPF
2 Yr Board Member Bob Wexelbaum W2ILP Retiree 631-499-2214
2 Yr Board Member Jack Cottrell WA2PYK Retiree 516-249-0979
Trustee WA2LQO Ray Schubnel W2DKM Retiree
STANDING
COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN
FCC Exam Coord. Bob Wexelbaum W2ILP Retiree 631-499-2214
Webmaster Pat Masterson KE2LJ Retiree 831-938-4614
IMPORTANT
Please be sure to
read our President’s message in this newsletter, where Ed has written about
Field Day 2008 and his optional suggestions, to try to plan for it. We need a response from all of our members
ASAP. Are you planning to be available
for FD? Will you operate? Will you help in set up and/or take
down? Do you want the GARC to have its
own FD or to combine FD with another club?
Do you have suggestions for antenna installations? Ed and the GARC board need your suggestions
and need to know your willingness to participate in FD 2008 or not. As Ed says, the GARC is your club and it will
be your FD or no FD.
Please respond to Ed.
His e-mail address, phone number and the GARC mailing address are listed
in his message. If no response is
received Ed and the GARC board can only assume that you are not interested in
FD and have no suggestions and no interest in participating this year.
I again want to ask all members to submit original articles
for this Newsletter. It is your
Newsletter not just mine. I need your
inputs.
I don’t want to hog this paper with any of my own
opinions. Let me hear any of your
complaints. I know that many typos and
errors have managed to creep into previous newsletters. At this time, I can only apologize for them,
and hope to be more careful. I can not
use as an excuse that I am not to be blamed because no one else is willing to
replace me as an editor. If you would like to take over my job as editor; let us know, as I admit that
it is a task that does demand my time each month.
I want to thank Jack, WA2PYK for getting this newsletter
reproduced and for delivering it to the GARC board, who fold, staple and stamp
it each month….and last but not least, I want to thank all of the GARC members
who take the time to read all of this stuff., because without them I can not
sustain the motivation to continue.
ENUF SED
AR K
73,
Bob w2ilp
P.S. We are updating
a list of member’s e-mail addresses, please be sure that we have your present
address.