[FARC] Special Event -- American Legion

[N3HTA at aol.com]

The announcement below is from FARC member Bill  (KA3HJC).  If you have 
interest and/or questions I recommend you email Bill  at _BHo7825 at aol.com_ 
(mailto:BHo7825 at aol.com) .
73   Jim N3HTA
 
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LEGION BIRTHDAY SPECIAL EVENT, FUTURE NET SCHEDULE  FIRMED
 
        To  commemorate the 93rd birthday of the Legion, the Legion's 
Amateur Radio Club station [K9TAL] will operate as a  special event station 
Thursday to Saturday, March 15 - 17, from 1000 to 1600  hours Eastern (1500 to 
2100 UTC) each of the three days on or about 14.270 MHz.  A  special 
commemorative certificate will be issued to stations that work K9TAL  during that 
time period.  TALARC members in the Indianapolis area are  invited to operate 
the headquarters station during the event.  Contact Joe  March – KJ9M – _to 
sign up or  get more information (_ 
(mailto:to%20sign%20up%20or%20get%20more%20information%20() _jmarch at legion.org_ (mailto:jmarch at legion.org) ).
 
        On the heels  of our first net – in December – members reported 
high noise levels on the 40M  band. Net control [W3CRR] on the east coast was 
able to reach eastern states  reliably, but got only sporadic reports from 
those west of the Mississippi  River.  We looked at many member's suggestions 
and there seemed to be some  consensus to move to the 10M band.  With that 
determination, the Club will  operate its next nets on the second weekend of 
February.  
 
    *   Saturday, February 11 will be devoted  to our inaugural IRLP net 
using the Crossroads Reflector (9205) at 1400  EST (1900 UTC).  Bill, KC9ANG, 
will be net control.  
    *   Sunday, February 12 will be devoted to  a 10-meter TALARC net, 1400 
EST (1900 UTC) on or about 28.610  MHz.  This presumes Solar Cycle 24 will 
continue to cooperate.   Craig, W3CRR, will be net control and may call on 
regional assistant net  controls to get everyone checked in. If you would be 
willing to serve as a  regional net control, please contact Craig at 
_croberts at legion.org_ (mailto:croberts at legion.org) .  
Nothing would please the  headquarters group more than to have TALARC 
members visit the Legion's National  Headquarters and see "their" station, and as 
time and proximity to downtown Indy  allows, volunteer their time and 
talents to assist with routine net operations  or with special events, like the 
Legion birthday event in mid-March.  As  much as possible, let us know in 
advance if you want to visit, or if you are  able to help with a scheduled net, 
by contacting Club Station Trustee Joe March,  KJ9M  (_jmarch at legion.org_ 
(mailto:jmarch at legion.org) ).
 
Communications within the Club
        Those in the know at National  Headquarters tell me that the TALARC 
forum is the most popular one on the Legion  website.  [You folks make me 
so proud!]  Let's keep it that way by  visiting the forum regularly, register 
a comment or concern, "work" other  members, or tell us all about the best 
practices of your club or group.  
        Watch for the March 2012 edition  of your Legion magazine for a 
brief mention of the Club and information on the  Legion birthday special 
event.  You'll find it in the "Rapid Fire" section  of the magazine.
 
K9TAL Shack
        The Club operations center is  about as complete as can be – given 
space available – to be a fully functioning  radio room.  
        The latest equipment donations  to the Club include an AT-250 
antenna tuner to match our secondary rig, and an  electronic keyer for CW mode.  
Now, for those of you who have a special  appreciation for Samuel Morse,  
don't go getting too terribly excited about  this innovation.  At least not 
just yet.  Several of the headquarters  staff copy code well, but most of us 
are in need of substantial keying practice  in order to keep the frustration 
levels low – yours and ours.  
 
Establishing a Post amateur radio station
         The following item is a distilled email message issued recently  
by K9TAL Club secretary Bill Sloan, KC9ANG, to one of our members.  It's  
both interesting and informative.  It addresses the question of post  
participation in emergency management, with a touch of history rolled in.   The email 
carried the subject: "Establishing Post Amateur Radio  Station."
 
Hi Larry,
 
The Legion's initial purpose in forming  TALARC was to encourage posts to 
consider establishing amateur radio stations  and advance a hobby thought to 
be popular with our members.  But it has  become very apparent that many 
posts are light-years ahead of National.  
 
Some decades ago, and as early as the  1930s, The American Legion's 
National Security Commission encouraged posts to  become part of The American 
Legion “Amateur Radio Network” in support of civil  defense.  We even published 
and distributed a radio instructional course in  the 1950s ... and posts 
around the country formed groups for ham radio  operations.
 
Today, many of those groups have  survived.  More to the point, with the 
passage of Resolution 97, passed by  National Convention delegates in Salt 
Lake City in 2006, which stated national  encouragement for American Legion 
posts to become involved with Homeland  Security, our organization resolved to 
encourage all posts and departments to  develop emergency kits and plans, 
work closely with the Citizen Corps and local  FEMA offices and public safety 
agencies, and generally become involved with  emergency disaster planning.  
Soon after, we developed and published a  pamphlet on Disaster Preparedness 
and Response, outlining steps any local post  can take to be ready to 
respond effectively during civil or natural  disasters.
 
Ham radio is a natural fit, and we've  seen a resurgence among our members 
who have been licensed hams for many years,  and a great deal of interest 
from members interested in getting a ham  license.  Many are military-trained 
but have had no reason until now to  pursue a ham license.
 
If you haven't already gotten a copy  somewhere, let me send you the 
Disaster Preparedness and Response  publication ...  I'll put it in the mail 
today.  Very useful for  setting up a post program inclusive of both hams and 
interested members who  would like to start setting up a community emergency 
response plan.   Hopefully you can help many members get their license, and 
also bring in local  hams to assist, even join, the post's new station.
 
Bill, KC9ANG
 
TALARC Club Secretary
–– 30 ––
 
        Thanks to Bill for this brief  overview of how the Legion came into 
amateur radio and what we are, and  definitely should be about, as an 
organization.  
 
73s,
 
Marty Justis, W9WMJ,  President
The American Legion Amateur Radio Club