[Alexandria Radio Club Reflector] Alexandria Radio Club - ARCShorts for November - Meeting Notice

[Bunn, Richard, Mr, OSD-ATL]

ARC SHORTS =96 November 2008

Our next meeting is November 14th, 2008.  Our next meeting will be on =
November 14th at the Fire Training Center at 7:30 PM.  This is an =
important meeting as it is our last regular meeting of the year.  WE =
will be electing our 2009 officers, appointing a budget / audit =
committee per our new buy laws.  Taking a count of who will attend our =
December dinner party.   In addition, we will have a program on the =
Virginia QSO Party presented by the Sterling Park ARC.  (If we can get =
WV8AA maybe we can get info on the latest software as well!!!!) =20

One other issue we need to discuss is the club communications trailer.  =
I talked to Mike KA2ZEV about two of the Midland radios and he has =
loaned us one 440 MHz 30 watt unit that holds 22 channels and one VHF 40 =
Watt 99 channel unit.  Both of these radios have remote control heads =
and can be programmed by a laptop using a serial cable.  The advantages =
are that they are simple to operate, cheap,  have great audio outputs =
for noisy locations and will not take up a great deal of space on the =
work table.  The cost for both of these radios is $190.  So we need to =
take a look at our trailer fund and vote on this issue.

The October meeting was one that was poorly attended with only 15 or so =
members.  We did not have any nominations for officers so a committee =
was formed and headed by Rich KA4GFY to find officers for next year.  =
Please, if you have not had an office before, think about taking on a =
leadership role.=20

Our program was provided by Jim DeYoung, N8OQ (ex. KG4QWC).  He talked =
about Doppler frequency shift when working the OSCAR satellites.  Thanks =
Jim, as always a great job.

D*Star

Marshall, KI4MWP, has been attending the National Capital D*Star group =
and may have some news on D*Star.

Repeaters,

If Tim can make it to the next meeting, he should have some exciting =
news for us on the repeaters.

CITY EMS DRILL Oct 18th.

I want to thank Jack, K5OTC, Ted W9TCE, Jim, N8OQ and Rich, KA4GFY for =
there help with the City EMS drill.  Like the CERT drill last spring =
there was not a great deal of traffic passed, but just being there was =
sufficient.  During the drill, which involved evacuating 15 residence of =
Goodwin House, the incident commander and his units were called away for =
a real incident with Rich with them.  So, our drill proceeded at a =
slower pace and ended with a table top review lead by Charlie McRorie.  =
Jim attended the review and relayed that Amateur Radio did a great job.  =
Part of this was our being where we needed to be and ready to go.  While =
these drills are not very technical or very demanding, they allow us to =
get out and work in a structured net.  It also helps to use your gear to =
get a better idea of what you really need to have with you.  I=92ve also =
found that those who say they will make themselves available for =
=91real=92 emergencies but do not train do not show up when there is a =
real emergency.

Marine Corps Marathon

By the time this goes out the Marine Corps Marathon will have been run =
once again and some of us will not have to worry about it for another 7 =
months.  If you participated, thanks, it=92s a long day, but it can be a =
fun day out, sometimes exciting and sometimes interesting.  What is =
important is that it is a very complex set up with many nets and it is =
also our best way to prove the value of Amateur Radio to the public and =
the Government.  As it was we had a great day weather wise,  learned =
about 1.2 GHz propagation and amateur radio gets another gold star.

Audit Committee and Next Year's Budget

Per our by-laws, when our officer=92s change we must do a handover audit =
to make sure that the books are in order.  I would suggest that this be =
combined with the formulation of next year=92s budget.

At our next meeting we need to discuss our expenses and determine what =
we want to spend money on next year.  It=92s also a good time to go over =
the calendar and look at next year=92s activities.

DECEMBER CLUB DINNER

When:  December 12th at 6:30 PM at Red Hot and Blue in the Kingstown =
Shopping Center at the corner of Beulah  and Telegraph Roads.  =20

Cost $27 each which includes a BBQ platter, soft drinks and desert.

This is a good way to end the year. We give out a few awards (if you =
have an idea of an award or who should be recognized, please let me =
know.)  for some of our members,  we will install our new officers and =
give a swift kick to those going out of office.

HELP

NEED your ideas for AWARDS,  DXer of the Year,  Elmer of the Year,  Most =
valuable member who is not an officer,   you name it and we can both =
recognize those who have inspired us and those who have not with a =
friendly award. =20


A FEW NOTES

This has been an interesting year for the club.  We lost several of our =
long time active members when they moved out of the area and as a result =
the club has not been as active as it once was.   I participated in =
about 10 public service events which included , at 2 city EMS drills,  2 =
minor marathons, the Marine Corps Marathon, Venture Quest, Bull Run Run =
and our Washington=92s Birthday events.  While many of our members did =
the same, the presence of members of the Alexandria Radio Club was not =
as pronounced as it use to be.  Net attendance on Thursday evenings nets =
have been way down as well with some nets only having 5 check ins for a =
club with 50 members.  It is up to you to make the club an interesting =
and enjoyable institution.  I generally have asked at each meeting what =
folks have done with Amateur Radio and many come back with nothing to =
report.   We are all busy with our day to day activities and sometimes =
the hobbies take a real back seat, but most of us have a 2 meter rig in =
the car we drive to work.  Jump on the repeaters and give them some =
exercise.  If you have an HF radio, try CW or Digital modes.  The =
interfaces are simple and you would be amazed at what can be decoded =
with FREE software.

Next Year

It has been a lot of fun being the club=92s President this last year and =
I thank you all for your support.  I know that the new officers will =
work hard to keep the Alexandria Radio Club one of the best clubs in the =
area.  I hope that all of our members will make a new years resolution =
to be more active in amateur radio, support public and emergency =
services and support the club.

73 Rick=20
N4ASX