[Alexandria Radio Club Reflector] ARC Shorts - Volume 52, Number 2

[ARC Shorts]

ARC Shorts 
The newsletter of the Alexandria Radio Club - Celebrating over 50 years of
amateur radio!
Serving the city of Alexandria, VA and the general Northern Virginia area. 
http://w4hfh.org/

In this issue of ARC Shorts:

* QST Mention
* Have You Paid Your Membership Dues?
* Club Hosts Upcoming Test Session
* April Fox Hunt Fun
* May Fox Hunt Scheduled
* ARES 
* New Feature - ARCharacters
* Equipment For Sale
* Club Items Available 

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The next meeting of the Alexandria Radio Club is Friday May 12 at 7:30 at
the Fire Training Center in the rear of the Nannie Lee Community Center.
Bruce Freund will be our guest discussing digital modes. As always, there
will be an informal gather for dinner at Chicken Out on Washington Street in
Old Towne about 6:15. Directions to the meeting are available on the club
web page http://w4hfh.org/ 
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The Alexandria Radio Club receives mention on page 12 of the May 2006 issue
of QST magazine! Media Hits mentions our nice write up in the February 23
issue of the Alexandria Gazette Packet following the George Washington's
Birthday Parade. ....................................................

While dues are typically paid in January of each year, it is never too late
to support the club. Dues are accepted at any regular club meeting or you
may send payment to Alexandria Radio Club, PO Box 30721, Alexandria, VA
22310. ....................................................
The club will host licensing exams test on May 16th beginning at 7:00 PM The
exam fee is $14.00 and open to the general public. For further information
or to register for the exam please contact Rich Adamy KA4GFY at ARRL.net
....................................................

April Club Fox Hunt by Marshall DeBerry KI4MWP

If you listened carefully on the morning of April 30 in Alexandria, you may
have heard the clear, crisp air punctuated by the sound of a steady tone
every five minutes on 146.49. That's right; the club's first fox hunt of the
year was in progress! The "Master" for this hunt was Rick Bunn, N4ASX, with
a field of car followers comprised of Tim O'Neill, KT4MV, Art and Deanna
Lutz, K5DID and K7DID, Rich Adamy, KA4GFY, Marshall DeBerry and Randy
LaPorte, KI4MWP/KI4MPWQ, and Ian Keith, N8IK. Club historians indicated this
was one of the largest turnouts for a fox hunt in recent memory-perhaps it
was due to the enticement of food after the fox was accounted for! Promptly
at 11:00 AM, antennas were poised expectantly throughout various areas of
the city, as a hushed silence fell over the participants. Slowly but surely,
a faint tonal sound was heard over the air-which was immediately punctuated
by car doors slamming, engines revving, and kick stands clunking, as
participants raced in the direction they were "absolutely certain" lay the
lair of the fox. The $3/gallon price of gas was but a distant memory as the
field of followers raced from the city's West end, East side, and other
points in-between, steadily honing in on the sly signal. Within the hour,
KT4MV had bagged the quarry, cleverly concealed in the Potomac Yards
shopping center, carrying home the honor of being "First in Pack to Place."
Hot on his heels was the K7DID team, coming in a quick second place. Not to
be outdone, "Team TDOA", KI4MWP/KI4MWQ with their home brewed antenna took
the honorable third pole position in the hunt. KA4GFY arrived shortly
thereafter, followed within a very few minutes by the very able N8IK,
arriving on his trusty two wheeled steed. From start to finish, the first
hunt of the year lasted an hour and 45 minutes, and the Master, N4ASX,
declared it a good and fun hunt. With cries of "Let's Eat!" piercing the
fine spring air, the crowd took off for sustenance at Shooter McGee's, where
certificates where handed out and many a tale were told about missed turns
and opportunities relating to the day's hunt. All agreed it was a great way
to spend the morning, and everyone is looking forward to the club's next
hunt, to be administered by KT4MV. So, if you weren't able to attend this
one, pencil in the date for the next one-you don't want to miss the
opportunity to have fun in showing that sly fox how clever your tracking
skills are! 
....................................................

May Fox Hunt scheduled for Saturday, May 20 starting at 10:00. April winner
Tim O'Neill, KT4MV will by our sly fox. Details to be released soon.
....................................................

ARES For ARC Shorts by Rick N4ASX - Alexandria Emergency Coordinator. 

Events
We have had a few really interesting public service activities in the last
few months, but Alexandria, ARES's participation has been less then an all
out effort.
Two events that came up recently were the National Marathon, a last minute
affair that next year will be a much more involved ham radio event, and the
Bull Run Run which happened in the rain this last weekend (April 8th). The
Bull Run Run is a 50 mile foot race that threads its way along the Occoquan
Reservoir. This year it was in the rain with temperatures between 56 and 43
degrees. 340 starters and 280 finishers. This use to be a largely Alexandria
ARES event, but this year there were only 2 of us.

We will be asked to help out with the second annual Potomac Runners Marathon
that goes down the G.W. Parkway from Marina to Mt. Vernon and back. Not a
big event, but if you find the time, we could use a few more Alexandria
volunteers. Other events will be coming up within the year, check into the
Thursday night net to get the latest list of events. 

The Net
Each week we have the Alexandria Radio Club and Alexandria ARES Net on
Thursday evening at 8PM local time. The net is for the passing of
information of interest to club members and ARES volunteers. If you can
please check into the next (147.315) net and give us your 2 cents worth.

Being Ready
I always find myself running around to get ready for these various events
and I then have to think, "What if this were a real emergency?" What I've
found is that I do have the batteries more or less charged for my small
collection of handhelds. I have dual band antennas and masts so that I can
set up out of my jeep in a fairly remote area and still have good simplex
range. A lot of the equipment comes from many years of buying "stuff" as
part of the hobby. The important thing to remember is have the "stuff" you
expect you may need for a "real emergency" available. 

A check list is a good idea and I have one that has two columns. One column
is "Applicable to Event" and the other is "Packed". I will share my list
with ARES members at some future meeting. Things you need to think about
are: Radios, power sources and interface connections, antennas, coax cables,
antenna supports, headphones, microphones, chair, operating stuff, food,
water, paper, pens, shelter. If you think about what you would need for
Field Day then you have an idea of what you should be thinking about. If we
are doing a parade under the shadow of a repeater you will only need a few
items, but if there is a major disaster, you may find yourself needing more
equipment and having less provided for you on site. 

Volunteering and Public Service
If we only trained for emergencies, I can guarantee you that we would not be
very efficient when we were called out to do the real thing.

I strongly recommend that all ARES volunteers volunteer to work at least two
public service activities or simulated emergency tests per year. Nothing
says you have too, but it's a great way to meet the others you will be
working with and learn how you and your equipment work in the field.

Some events that come up yearly are: Bull Run Run (April), Venture Quest
(August or September), Washington's Birthday Parade (February), the Marine
Corps Marathon, Alexandria City's yearly drill (SET) and a drill held in
conjunction with the Red Cross are just a few examples.

Training 
The ARRL has three classes that can be done by distance learning that cover
in great detail ARES. These classes are not the type you can do in a hour or
two, but they are very well done and highly recommended.

FEMA and other Government Agencies classes: Most of our neighboring
jurisdictions are requiring FEMA classes in the National Incident Management
System (NIMS) in order to set foot in their EOCs. Alexandria has not asked
for this year, but it could be just a few months away. Red Cross also has
some classes in disaster preparedness. All are good and I would recommend
that Alexandria ARES volunteers find the time to take some of these classes.
My goal this year is to complete the three ARRL classes and the FEMA NIMS
class.

Inputs
ARES is not a one way street. I would like to hear from the volunteers on
how we can better prepare to be of real assistance if and when we are called
upon.

73 Rick N4ASX 
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ARCharacters

This issue of ARC Shorts begins a new feature just for the fun of it! I'm
sure some of you remember the Dewar's Profile advertisements that ran in
popular magazines until the 1990's....well, we've we're doing our own
version of the profiles but with a radio twist titled ARCharacters! Enjoy
the fun as we get to know a fellow club member each month. The club's
inaugural profile is Rick Bunn N4ASX.

Home: Small house in a neighborhood with NO antenna restrictions. Special
room reserved for ham radio and other toys. 
Age: 52 
Marital Status: Married - XYL is NOT a ham. 
Profession: Electrical Engineer / DoD Program Manager / DoD Acquisition
Policy 
First Licensed: 1971 
Most Memorable QSO: Long conversation on 20 meters with VK station who
announced that he did not send out QSL cards thus clearing the frequency.
Other Hobbies: In active private pilot and shooter 
Last Book Read: Network Centric Warfare 
Latest Accomplishment: Convinced XYL that we needed to buy a new radio jeep
and still keep the old one as a backup. 
Motto: Never say you can't do something. 
Why I Do What I Do: Fun 
Favorite Morse Code letter and why? "Z" never sure if it's ..-- or --.. 
His Scotch: (No Scotch) Old Forester Bourbon with a little bit of water.
Need the alcohol to kill the bugs in the water!
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Equipment Sale - Located in Herndon area (zip code 20171) 
ICOM IC-730 with IC-HM-7 mic 
ICOM IC-738 with HM-36 mic
ICOM IC-2000 with HM-95 mic
Yawsu FT 847 with HM-31 mic
RFConcepts RFC 4-310 amplifier
MFJ Versa Tuner II MFJ-949E
Yaesu G-5400B Rotor Controller
spool of heavy coax 
Heavy-duty regulated power supplies (2)
Henry Ottman 202-303-5785 
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New club hats are in and will be available for $16.00 at club meetings. 
Coffee cups are still available for $8.00. 
100% of the profits from all sales go back into the club. Thank you for your
continued support! 
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ARC Shorts is always interested in hearing what you have been doing in the
area of ham radio. If you would like to contribute an item for the next
issue of ARC Shorts please send your email to ARCShorts at W4HFH.org