February 2007
Volume 8 Issue 2
Volume 8 Issue 2
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Radio Association of Erie Meeting -- Thursday February 7th
The next Radio Association of Erie club Meeting will be held on Thursday February 7th at 7 pm at the American Red Cross on
Program topic:
Short Video on how to use the Ham Radio Deluxe Software with your HF Rig.
Holiday Party Recap
A good time was had by all at the annual RAE Holiday Party at the Shrine Club on Friday January 11th. The food was good and the fellowship was great. RAE President Kevin McKenna presented two certificates at the dinner. A Certificate of Appreciation for work done on the repeaters was presented to Lee Williams N3APP and The Exemplary Service Award was presented to John Lis N3NKV. A big thanks goes out to Neal Shea N3ZNP for handling the arrangements for the party.
December 6th General Membership Meeting Minutes
Radio Association of Erie General Membership Meeting December 6, 2007 Minutes
The meeting was called to order by KE3V at 7:02 pm.
Board Members Present: KE3V, N3ZNP, KB3BAM, KB3CAT, N3NKV
Board Members Not Present: KD3D, KB3JSN, K3LD, AD4UL
Secretary’s Report: N3NKV asked for a motion to accept the minutes from the November meeting as printed in the QUARAE. Motion made by N3LBI. Seconded by N3DBC. Motion Carried.
Upgrade: None
Silent Keys: None
Board Meeting: Holiday party, bylaws committee formation, misc. repeater stuff, status of club insurance policies, property tags, membership cards.
Membership: N3NKV reported that dues letters were sent out within the past week. Dues payments should be sent to KD3D at the PO BOX.
Repeater: N3SRD mentioned that KA3WYO is working on making new pieces for the antenna for the North East voter. Once it is fixed he will repoint toward downtown
Pictures of the equipment for insurance purposes have been taken of the 82 site but not of the St. Vincent Site nor North East Site nor clubhouse. Goals for the future: replacing the weather radio for 61, serial interface to control link radio for 440 link on 61. A filter may need to be added to be added to the Packet Station at St. Vincents.
N3NKV mentioned that he has been in contact with N3BXL and the Corry Radio Club. The Corry Radio Club is interested in purchasing the 444.875 repeater. KB3BAM made a motion that the RAE sell to the Corry club 1-440 micor repeater as-is without the crystals for the amount of $200 but no less than $150. Motion Seconded by N3SRD. Motion Carried.
N3APP returned the 220 mhz mobile that can be used as a backup link radio for the 61/82 link. He also mentioned that he has other club items that need to picked up and taken to the clubhouse.
Also discussed was the jamming that occurred during a recent ARES/RACES net and what to do.
ARES/RACES: WX3E mentioned that at the new county 911 center RACES will have a room with access to a piece of conduit for coax. Also a $1500 grant for equipment was received.
Skywarn: WB3DOM mentioned if we could switch from coordinates to locations. WX3E to look into it.
Clubhouse: N3ZNP gave status update on stairs. He also mentioned not to flush the toilets if you go out there because of winterization.
Education: K3UFG mentioned the upcoming Extra Class that is starting.
VE: K3UFG mentioned that he would like to see me people get involved in the VE program. In order to be a VE, you need to take an open book test and have your General.
Old Business:
Bylaw Revision 1st
Repeater Committee: The Repeater Committee shall operate, maintain and improve the repeaters owned by the RAE. The Chairman of the Committee must be an Active Member. The Chairman or an appointed assistant will handle all frequency coordination issues, may appoint assistants with board approval, may appoint control operators with board approval, may make expenditures up to a $300.00 per incident with the approval of 3 board members provided such expenditures are for the repair of the repeaters. The station trustee shall serve on this committee.
Bylaws: K3UFG mentioned that if the bylaws committee plans on reworking the bylaws. He would like to be part of the committee.
WB3DOM made a motion that the RAE purchase a $50 calling card for the Vets. Seconded by WX3E. Motion Carried.
New Business:
N3ZNP mentioned that the holiday party would be held on Friday January 11th at the Zem Zem Shrine at 6:30 PM. N3ZNP went over a tentative menu. Price of the buffet dinner is $15.00 and reservations are due the Sunday before.
Other upcoming Meeting:
K3UFG mentioned he was going to have a VE training Session on December 15th at 10 at.
N3SRD mentioned that he would be having Control Operator training on December 16th at 3 pm at Perkins on
50/50 Winner: Ron WB3DOM $10.50
Motion to Adjourn: KB3CAT. Seconded by N3LBI. Meeting Adjourned at 8:10 pm
Respectfully Submitted,
John Lis
From the President's Desk
Happy Groudhog Day!
2008 is under way here at the ol' RAE and here's what we have planned for you so far:
- Install new rear stairs at the EOC
- Bus trip to The Dayton Hamvention (if there's interest)
- Opening day at the EOC in May
- Public service events
- Field Day
- Summer picnic (if there's interest)
- VHF contest
- Pa QSO Party
- Christmas party
- Whatever else the membership wants to do.
These are all fine things for hams to be involved with, but I think we have to reach a little beyond our shell.
Dan, K3UFG and his crew have helped no less than two dozen new hams get their licenses in the past year. The WWA has helped a similar number of people get their tickets. Have you talked to any of these 40 new hams on the air? Have you seen them at any club functions?
I applaud the efforts put forth by those who are doing the hard part;- convincing new people that ham radio is something worth getting involved with, helping them study, and administering the exams. These new people have enough desire that they'll spend many hours studying, and pay money to take an exam. Once they get their licenses though, where do they go? Do they suddenly lose interest? I sincerely doubt it.
I think we're really missing an opportunity to make new friends and bring fresh blood into our ranks. I witnessed six bright, young boy scouts pass their Technician Class exams this week at the Red Cross. I felt really good about it and was proud that these kids thought my hobby was worth their time and effort. I'm concerned though, that I may never get to talk with them on the air, or see them at a club event. Of course, I gave each of them a flier offering them a free membership in the RAE, but I've done that before and have gotten very little response.
We all know the first contact is the hardest, (especially before you've purchased or built, or borrowed a radio) and I think maybe this is holding some of our new friends back. We've all heard how important Elmers are and I'll bet each of us can remember how our Elmers helped us get started. When you think about the person who elmered you, how do you see that person? Wouldn't you like some young person to think the same of you?
I'm asking for your help to get our new hams started in our hobby. They've proven their commitment to us by studying for and passing the entrance exam. Now it's up to us to make sure they feel welcome and to let them know we're here to help them with their questions about radio, antennas, what to say on-air, etc.
As an extension of this, I'd like to propose we hold workshops at the EOC for the new, and the more experienced hams on subjects such as contesting, antenna building, storm spotting, direction-finding, DX-ing, digital modes, portable operation, soldering techniques, and even our old friend- CW operating. We could hold these workshops on week nights, or weekends (whatever works). Our members have such a rich set of skills and experience that it would be a shame not to share them.
Please consider hosting, or at least attending some of the sessions this year and maybe you'll get to help a young person get started in ham radio, or teach an older ham some new tricks.
Another way to expand beyond our shell is to hold Field Day at a more public site. We're talking about possible sites now and welcome your ideas.
Thanks for your time & 73,
Kevin, KE3V
ARES UPDATE
ARES UPDATE
By Dave Wellman WX3E
On Wednesday, January 9, 2008 at 11:30 AM, I received a telephone call from the Erie Chapter of the American Red Cross advising me that they might be opening a shelter due to the wide spread power outages in Erie. I immediately called John Churchill, N3DBC, who is the “team leader” for the ARES Red Cross communications team. I advised him of the possible activation and told him to advise other members of his team. At 11:55 AM, I received another call saying that a shelter would be opened at
At 12:00, John was responding to the shelter and later, Sam Simpson, KB3DAF. I contacted Ron Seyboldt, WB3DOM, and asked him to serve as a liaison station from his home until an operator arrived at the Red Cross. A group page was sent out over the Alpha-page system and Alan Jordano, KB3DUO, advised me that he could leave work shortly to go to the Red Cross with an ETA of about 15-20 minutes. I advised the other two stations of this and continued other duties from my home, before leaving for the Red Cross. Several other operators were brought up to date on what was happening as well as Brian Zentis, KA3JVX, Deputy ARES EC, and a message was left on an answering machine for Kathleen Peca, WY3R, Western Pa. Section Emergency Coordinator.
At 1:05 PM, John notified us that the shelter was officially open and staffed by Red Cross volunteers.
At 4:00 PM, the Red Cross advised me that they would be opening a second shelter although the location was yet to be determined. I contacted two operators who were on standby, one on the east and one on the west side of town. At 4:50 PM, they advised me that it would be
At 8:10 PM, we were advised that the
As we were preparing to leave, Laura DiPasqua, Red Cross Emergency Services Director, stopped Brian and I and thanked us for the excellent service we had once again provided. She told us that the information we were giving to her as we received it certainly made her job much easier. She assured us that whenever a shelter is opened again, that we will definitely be called.Participating stations include:
N3DBC John Churchill, Red Cross Team Leader
KB3DAF Sam Simpson, Red Cross Team Member
KB3NAT Frank Henry, Red Cross Team Member
WB3DOM Ron Seyboldt,
KB3DUO
KA3JVX Brian Zentis,
WX3E
I feel that the operation went very well.
- The first responding operators immediately began using tactical call signs as we have done in previous drills.
- There were always operators standing by, available for immediate deployment which accounts for our being on location well before the Red Cross personnel.
- Due to pre-assigning of teams and team leaders, we did not have to waste valuable time looking up contact information.
- Due to pre-planning by the previous ARES leadership team, a complete HF / VHF / Packet station is in place in a Communication Room adjacent to the Red Cross EOC and just down the hall from the Emergency Services Director
PA QSO PARTY -- PRELIMINARY POINTS
W3P/ERI -- 200,498
W3P/MCK-- 117,702
K3GY-- 180,539
N3NKV-- 12,430
AA3II-- 9,777
W3PIX-- 9,646
N3MWZ-- 480
Upcoming Hamfests
March 2nd – Greater Buffalo
1600 Southwestern Blvd RT 20
Check next month for information about the Ripley Hamfest!
** There maybe a
Dayton Hamvention Bus Trip
A few of us at the RAE were looking into the possibility of a 1 day bus trip to
Please pass this on to other area hams you think might be interested! This is not just for members of the RAE, but for all area hams who would like to go without the worry of driving back and forth.
If you have any questions, or would be interested, please e-mail me at mfullererie@verizon.net. We would be trying to fill 41 seats.
Thanks and 73s,
Matt Fuller KB3CAT
RAE Board Chairman
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