7:00 PM Meeting was opened by President Gene W0KAD
Vice President Ray W2RS and Secretary Phil WE7PB were introduced
New members were introduced:
Lloyd N7GV said he had a file of letters to send to HOAs regarding antennas which he made available to anyone that needed some help. He indicated that they all had been successful.
In the Technical class given before Christmas all eleven students passed the exam with the lowest score being 31 out of a total of 35. Congratulations to all.
1/14/07 will begin and General Class and the following Sunday another Technical class will begin. The General class will run for 6 weeks and the Technical class will run for 5 weeks. The Test for the above classes will be on February 25, 2007.
Continental School is back in session and there are 17 kids taking the extra curricular Ham Radio class. There was a loss of 2 kids due to poor grades. Two new projects have been started. One a roulette wheel kind of machine and the other a 3 digital volt meter. Lloyd was not sure how well the roulette wheel would be accepted by the parents and warned those making the volt meter to watch that their dads don’t take away from them for their own use.
Ron VE6RGP says that the repeaters are all in good operating order. Now that the “27” antenna has been realigned it is working much better to the south end of town and working pretty well to the north with the replacement of the coax. He reported that the “27” has IRLP and EchoLink capabilities. Ron is working with SAV to get a high speed internet which would allow us to pursue controlling both the HF radio and beam antenna remotely from our homes. This project will requires more study, a small investment and some free software.
Jon Mitchell AD7JM reported that the HF radio in the club shack is a very good and that we would all enjoy using it. The HF radio was donated by Nils, N1LS.
We need a person to head this committee.
January 27th President Gene W0KAD needs some help to work the Command Post for some activities during Safety Week.
Spring Picnic date is to be announced. There will be a Beam Antenna group at the picnic erecting a beam antenna donated to the club by club member Dale W7DGY in the hopes it will be tuned and ready to use on Field Day.
GPS Geocaching contest announced by Bill AA0TF. He handed out a sheet with clues to find 5 different further sites. The winner will be drawn at the Wednesday AM Breakfast in 2 weeks and could win $20 or $25 depending on the correct answering of questions regarding the clues. It should be fun.
AA0TF suggested the club get QSL cards that are generic that all members could use.
The idea of getting club T shirts or polo shirts was presented and seemed to be favorably approved.
The Tech and General classes are both past the mid point and have been well attended. Classes end February 18th with testing the following week. Testing is scheduled for Saturday, February 24, and Sunday February 25. Testing on both days will start at 2 P.M. at the SAV building in Green Valley.
With the start of the second semester, all students started on new projects. Most of the first year students are now working on their AM/FM radios. Older students are working on various projects including digital clocks, digital meters and an electronic roulette game. Several students are enrolled in the Tech Class and we are looking forward to ordering 2 meter hand held radios for those that successfully earn their call letters.
When the Warden throws a party, at least you know where it's going to be (at the county jail). GVARC is planning its Spring party. It's going to be sometime around St. Patrick's day... Somewhere around Green Valley. We'll have something to eat, provided by someone. So get ready to rock.
Morse Code Requirement Ends Friday, February 23 (Jan 24, 2007 [REVISED Jan 26, 2007 14:15 ET]) -- Circle Friday, February 23, on your calendar. That's when the current 5 WPM Morse code requirement will officially disappear from the Amateur Radio Service Part 97 rules in accordance with the FCC's Report and Order (R&O) in the "Morse code proceeding," WT Docket 05-235. Beginning on that date, applicants for a General or Amateur Extra class Amateur Radio license no longer will have to demonstrate proficiency in Morse code. They'll just have to pass the applicable written examination. Publication of the new rules in the January 24 Federal Register started a 30-day countdown for the new rules to become effective. Deletion of the Morse requirement -- still a matter of controversy within the amateur community -- is a landmark in Amateur Radio history.
Available until February 23 (Feb 5, 2007 [REVISED Feb 5, 2007 10:21 ET]) -- Code-free upgrades to General or Amateur Extra will not be available at volunteer examination sessions until the 5 WPM Morse code requirement disappears from the FCC's Amateur Radio Service rules on February 23. ARRL Regulatory Information Specialist Dan Henderson, N1ND, says that, judging from the questions he's been getting, many in the amateur community -- including some Volunteer Examiners (VEs) -- don't fully understand the new rules and privileges resulting from the FCC's Report and Order (R&O) in the "Morse code proceeding," WT Docket 05-235. He stresses that VE teams may not accept upgrade applications in advance of February 23, then hold the paperwork.
No End in Sight to Vanity Call Sign Processing Hiatus (Feb 7, 2007) -- Tomorrow will mark five weeks since the FCC granted a new Amateur Radio vanity call sign application, although it continues to act on vanity renewals. The Commission's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) issued the last new vanity call signs January 4 for applications received December 15, but it didn't announce the processing hold until January 11 -- a week after the fact. The Commission has halted new vanity call sign processing while it's modifying the Universal Licensing System (ULS) software that handles vanity applications. When processing might resume remains up in the air.
(Feb 8, 2007) -- When deadly tornados struck Central Florida early Friday, February 2, Amateur Radio volunteers turned out to assist emergency managers and relief organizations to supplement communication and offer other support. The National Weather Service (NWS) rated two of the three twisters as EF-3 events -- 160-165 MPH winds -- on the new "Enhanced Fujita Scale," marking the first time the NWS used the new scale. The tornadoes took many residents by surprise since they hit in the early-morning hours. They left behind a landscape of downed trees and extensive structural damage in at least four Florida counties and claimed 20 lives -- most within the tornado's first two minutes, authorities say. Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and SKYWARN volunteers were active in Lake, Seminole, Sumter and Volusia counties -- all designated as federal disaster areas.