[FPARC] Club News

[Bill Sinbine]

Get On the Air







Plenty of operating activities planned for the first weekend of 2005



Straight Key Night 2005 a Chance to Revisit an Earlier Era (Dec 27, 2004) 
-- Dust off that straight key that's been sitting on the ham shack closet 
shelf and get ready for Straight Key Night 2005 (SKN). The ARRL-sponsored 
24-hour operating event takes place every New Year's Day (UTC), which means 
it begins New Year's Eve in US time zones. It's an opportunity to operate 
at a slower pace, maybe using vintage equipment, and recall the way many of 
today's master CW operators got their start. It's also a chance for CW 
newcomers to venture out on a more level playing field.

Read the full story at:

<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/12/27/1/?nc=1>http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/12/27/1/?nc=1



SKN is a great way for clubs to get members on the air.  Invite some guest 
ops to your shack and bring in the New Year pounding some brass for auld 
langsyne.



Another great operating activity this weekend is Kid's Day.  This will be 
the first Kid's Day of 2005.  It is a great mentoring opportunity for 
experienced hams to give some radio exposure to youngsters.  Rather than 
rewrite the story here is the announcement from the ARRL webpage.



Reminder: First 2005 Kid's Day is Sunday, January 2 (Dec 26, 2004) -- The 
first <http://www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/kd-rules.html>Kid's Day in 2005 will 
be Sunday, January 2 (the second will be Saturday, June 18). Kid's Day will 
run from 1800 to 2400 UTC. Suggested frequencies are 14.270-14.300, 
21.350-21.400 and 28.380-28.400 MHz plus 2 meter repeaters (with the 
permission of the repeater's sponsor). There's no limit on operating time, 
and the recommended exchange is name, age, location and favorite color. 
Intended to encourage young people to get acquainted with Amateur Radio, 
Kid's Day offers a "mentoring opportunity" for experienced amateurs while 
giving youngsters some firsthand ham radio experience and perhaps sparking 
a lifelong interest. ARRL Education and Technology Program Coordinator Mark 
Spencer, WA8SME, hopes veteran radio amateurs will "walk the walk" by 
getting involved. To serve as a positive example, he'll be putting W1AW on 
the air for Kid's Day. Perennial Kid's Day promoters Peter and Jeanne 
Schipelliti, W1DAD and K1MOM, plan to be on the air from special event 
station K1D during the week before and the week after Kid's Day. The 
couple's two older children, Geena and Luciano (photo), are old hands at 
Kid's Day. All participants are eligible for certificates. To coincide with 
ARRL's Kid's Day, <http://www.amsat.org/>AMSAT-NA will sponsor its own 
event for youngsters on the Echo satellite (AO-51) from approximately 1600 
UTC on January 2 until 0345 UTC on January 3. AMSAT asks for the 
cooperation of all satellite users in using the window as a way to promote 
satellite operation with kids and to limit contacts to stations operating 
with youngsters at the microphone. Note the change in uplink frequency for 
the event to 145.880 MHz FM voice, 67 Hz tone; downlink is 435.300 MHz FM 
voice.--some information via ANS



New Resources Link

A new link has been added to the ARRL Mentor page 
<http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/club/mentor/>http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/club/mentor/ 


The "Help For Beginners" link located in the resources block will take the 
user to the ARRL publications that are useful to new or prospective 
hams.  These publication include the Now You're Talking study manual, 
Understanding Basic Electronics, FCC Rule Book, Ham Radio FAQs and many 
other titles that the new ham or seasoned veteran  would find useful.

A Question for Clubs

Would your club be interested in running a program that teaches about how 
microcontrollers work?  This would be a program spread out over a few 
meetings or classes and would involve using a commercial kit and a course 
program.  Kits are reusable and could be used for many classes.  If this is 
a type of program that your club would consider, please send any feedback 
to <mailto:w3iz at arrl.org>w3iz at arrl.org



Thank you.

73 & HNY



Norm Fusaro, W3IZ

ARRL Affiliated Club/Mentor Program Manager

225 Main St.

Newington, CT 06011



<mailto:w3iz at arrl.org>w3iz at arrl.org

860-594-0230

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Bill Sinbine
n4xeo at bellsouth.net