[Alexandria Radio Club Reflector] ARC SHORTS NOV 2018 Resend

Tue Nov 6 17:15:50 EST 2018

ARC-SHORTS

November-18

Club Repeaters: 147.315 (PL 107.2), 444.6 (PL107.2), 224.82 (PL107.2), 53.13
(PL107.2) 927.6 (-25Mhz, PL107.2), and 1282.600 (PL 107.2), DSTAR 145.38Mhz,
442.060, and 1284.600 ALL 
ARE UP AND RUNNING - HAM IT UP! Get on the air!
SPECIAL NOTE:  DMR IS UP AND RUNNING 442.4125 +5Mhz Color Code 1.

NEXT CLUB MEETING

 Our meeting is held on the 2nd Friday of each month at the Alexandria
Police Dispatch Center at 3600-Wheeler Ave.   Just off Duke Street just east
of Quaker Lane.  Meeting starts at 7PM and ends at 9PM.  The next meeting is
NOVEMBER 9th  

This month is our last business meeting of the year and we will hold
elections for next year's club officers.  Our current President and Vice
President have served one year and have agreed to run for a second term.
Our Secretary and Treasurer have served two terms and due to our by-laws,
they cannot serve next year.  The nominating committee has come up with
replacement candidates, but anyone interested may be nominated from the
floor at the meeting.

Additionally, we hope to get feedback from those who participated in the
Marine Corps Marathon and provide that feedback to the MCM Leadership
committee.  

Other issues to discuss include:  next years programs, club activities and
input for the budget.

Many of our members have dinner at Atlantis Restaurant in the Bradlee
Shopping Center on the south side of Rt 7 just east of 395 most arrive
around 5:30. Our program presenters are invited to join us. 

October Meeting Minutes

There was no program for the October meeting, but there was a great deal of
discussion on the Marine Corps Marathon.  So, expect that we will have a
great after-action session this month.

Future Programs
November 9, 2018 -- Elections
December 14,2018 - Annual Holiday Party.   (Fiona's)

Let me know what you want to hear about.  HELP!!!!  If you have an idea for
a program, please let Rick know and he will try to find someone to provide
the program.  If you know someone you would like to have present a program,
let me know Rick, N4ASX
Hamfests.-  
The Prince George's County Emergency Radio Association' SantaFest will be
held December 8, 2108 at the American Legion Youth Camp, 9201 Surratts Road
in Cheltenham, MD.  Talk-in is on the 145.230 MHz repeater (PL 110.9 Hz).
Here is the link:   http://pgares.org/santafest/
 The Maryland Mobileers Post Holiday Hamfest in Odenton, MD on January 27,
2019.   I have found some really cool items there.  The location is the
Odenton Volunteer Fire Department station on Route 175.  It's a short drive
North on I-95 or 295 (BW Parkway) and East on Route 175.  Talk-in will be on
the 146.805 MHz repeater (PL 107.2 Hz).  Here is the link:
https://sites.google.com/site/marylandmobileers/hamfests-1/hamfest-2
The following week, February 2, 2019 is the Richmond Frostfest.  It's
sponsored by the Richmond Amateur Telecommunications Society.  The location
is the Richmond International Raceway complex.  For those of us who have
been around awhile, it's the old Virginia State Fairgrounds.  Talk-in on the
146.88 repeater (PL 74.4 Hz).  Here is the link: http://frostfest.com/

Training - 
It's hard to believe we are halfway through the current class and we still
have the same number of students we started with.  We even had one student
sign up after we got started.
The next exam is December 4.  If you are thinking about upgrading to General
or Extra, let me know so I can save you a spot. 
The new Technician question pool became effective on July 1 and the
questions have been updated to cover areas today's Technicians will be doing
once licensed.  The General question pool will change July 1, 2019 and the
Extra question pool will change July 1, 2020.

Contests - 
Nov 17 and 16 - ARRL Sweepstakes, SSB.  Exchange is the other station's
call, serial number, precedence, your call, check (year first licensed) and
section. 
November 24 and 25 - CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW.  Exchange is RS and CQ
Zone (we are in zone 5).
December 8 and 9 - ARRL 10 Meter Contest.  Exchange is RST and state 
Don't forget, be sure to send in your log within 7 days after the contest
ends for all ARRL sponsored contests.  ARRL now uses a web application for
contest log submissions.  Here is the link:
http://contest-log-submission.arrl.org/  Be sure to convert your file to
Cabrillo format before submitting.  Most logging programs support Cabrillo.
REMEMBER to support the CLUB'S score for contests by providing Ian N8IK your
info (Name, Call sign and Grid Square location) and submit your scores for
the contests you play in.  If the contest asks for a club affiliation, the
Alexandria Radio Club is on the list of contest clubs.  Contesting is one
way we show that we are using our frequency allocations. 
Contests may not be your thing, but contests are a great way to show outside
interests we do use our valuable spectrum.  By showing we use our spectrum,
other services will have a hard time proving that we don't use our spectrum
and it's up for re-allocation to someone else.  
Contests can also be a great way to become introduced to HF communications.
While it can be intense, pick the contest and jump in.  Most contests have a
limited exchange, so it is usually easy to get what the other station needs.
State QSO parties are a great introduction to contesting.  Most are low-key,
and the exchange is limited.   

Repeaters -  
 In addition to the regular Thursday night net on the 147.315 repeater,
there was a proposal in the February ARC Shorts to do a follow - on net on
other ARC repeaters.  The rotation would include other analog repeaters as
well as the digital repeaters.  
During the weekend of November 3 and 4, the power cycled at the digital
repeater site, shutting down the DSTAR system.  The repeaters are emergency
power and on an uninterruptable power supply (UPS).  However, the UPS is
very old and failed to maintain power to the computer.  When power was
restored, the computer tried to reboot and failed.  N8IK visited the site
and restarted the computer.  
One of the agenda items for the November meeting will most likely be
replacing the UPS for the DSTAR repeaters.   
The club repeaters are all up and running.    The Alexandria Radio Club has
analog, DSTAR and DMR repeaters.  No other club in the area has that many
repeaters.  As always, ham it up and get on the air. 
73, Rich, KA4GFY

ARES
Seams like we go from Summer to Winter in a few short weeks.   We have very
few weather emergencies in our area and that is a GOOD THING!  However, we
must aways be prepared.

As we get closer to winter, we need to check our go kits, are your radios
ready?  Are your vehicles able to operate in wintry weather?  

First consideration is how your equipped at home.  Extra water, a few days
of food in the house,  maybe backup power.  THEN, are you ready to support
ARES should we have a need.

We do NOT self-deploy but wait until we are asked to support the City,
Hospital, Red Cross or to support a neighboring jurisdiction.

Our weekly club nets are designed to give all of our club members and in
particular ARES volunteers.  A few rules to keep in mind:

1 - Check in but listen first to avoid doubling.
2 - Key the mic and wait a second or two.  We get a lot of 4. check ins and
the Net Control misses the prefix.
3 - If you cannot stick around for the second round of comments, please
advise the Net Control so the net knows to move on.  In the past the rules
on formal nets were that you needed to "check out", not just disappear.
4 - It's a good idea to keep a pad of paper handy to take notes and also
good practice to copy the check in list, so you can take over should the Net
Control Station need to leave the air.

Social Events

Monday Night Burgers - There is a group that gets together at 6:15 PM on
Mondays at a local burger joint.   Mark up on the 147.315 repeater and join
them for the fun.  Mark up on the repeater about 6PM and join the group.
The location does change!  IF you have a good spot, you might suggest it to
the group.

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