[LeArc] Field Day 2007/2008
Dave Nissen
dave at w9cop.com
Mon Jun 25 18:24:49 EDT 2007
Brandon
Nice thought, been there, done that. At one time we did have a Field Day
Station in Chandler Park. Sent ARRL messages, ran wire antennas, and had a
good time. I had some of my equipment there and it came back scratched, bent
and not as it was when I brought it. I said nothing, other than to myself,
thinking that this is the last time for this.
The club had a great field day station at Argyle Lake when Bud KT9Z, former
WB9IXR (SK) was president. Many members were there and I learned a great
deal, along with having the time of my life in amateur radio. Joe N9AYO
brought a generator, everyone brought something to eat. It was hot and fun!.
The last Field Day station that I recall was held at Spring Lake. I super
nice air conditioned building, inside plumbing and all. Then things went
away.
I asked several if the club was going to have a Field Day station for the
past few years. The general response was, no, with no reason given. I know
that a great many club members are involved with other Heritage Day projects
with compound the problem. I, for one, am not a great fan of Heritage Days
as I have always had to work somewhere that week-end and have been unable to
attend.
I am all for a Field Day station. I am not for the Field Day station to be
located any where near Chandler Park. If the club wants to do some type of
demonstration there, fine. I am all for promoting ham radio and raising
public awareness. If I am operating in a contest ( and it is a contest no
matter what the ARRL says) then I would far rather be around other hams and
not the general public.
I would just about bet that if the club went all out to promote Field Day we
could interest many hams in our area to attend, even for a short time.
Obviously SRRC put on a good show as you said that you had a great time. The
cost to the club would be slight. I know that I would enjoy seeing WA9BTT
and N9AKS, K9OKO, KD9EB, KB9BI, N9GA, N9AYO, N9BA, N9BKP, KA9OUM, N9GQR,
N9MTI, and many others who's calls I seem to have forgotten. I would like
have Field Day also include some type of Memorial for those that worked and
enjoyed the club and have since died. WB9MSC, KT9Z, K9HLT, WB9MWQ, W9MFC,
W0IJL, WA0BTT, and W9SSP come to mind. I remember that Joe AG9Y was going to
come up with some type of memorial with the call signs, but don't know if
that happened or not.
While I'm on my soapbox, what is the status with the 440 machine? To be
honest Brandon, I have some real concerns about the club. I recall in the
not to distant past that one had to wait to get on the .06 machine because
it was very busy. Now you can go for hours and not hear a thing. The 440
machine has been down for some time. I have asked a few about it, but no one
seems to be able to give an answer as to why and when it will (if ever) be
back up. True, I have not been to a club meeting for sometime and I am way
out of the loop as far as knowing what is going on. Work is a necessary evil
and seems to get in the way of things that I would rather do. The ATV
signal is long gone, last I knew there was an antenna somewhere or the stuff
to make one that never happened. The club has an investment in the 440
machine that is just sitting there, doing nothing. As I ride around I scan
several area repeaters and hear all kinds of traffic. Burlington is active,
Quincy is going strong, Galesburg, at least on net night, has many
check-ins. Try to check into the Peoria machine(s) and the QRM is terrible
from friendly folks that answer. Just because these are larger towns mean
nothing, ham radio doesn't stop at the city limits. At one time the .06
machine was the .06 flame thrower, heard for many miles away. Guess you
still can if you can find anyone that wants to visit. I recall a gab session
on 146.440 about every night. Dang that was fun, and at times you just
might learn something. I have 146.440 in scan on my truck radio. I don't
know when I have heard a sound there.
Please accept my apology if this rant seems to be some attack toward you or
the club. I assure you that this is not the case. Simply stated, I miss what
used to be there, I miss talking with the many that frequented the .06
machine and the fun we had. Perhaps this message will start some thinking
about the past and what the future may hold, thereby causing some to get
back into the fold so to speak. I mean really, grabbing a mic, pushing the
button, and uttering sounds is not all that hard and takes little time. The
future of LEARC can be exciting and most of all fun. But if things continue
as they are, we may as well sell the whole thing off, take the cash and buy
some cookies and milk. And no one would show for that either. As I age and
approach "old fart" status (please note K9HLT smiling from above) I tend to
complain more than I should. I know that of late there have been good things
come from the club meetings and more are attending, or at least this is what
I have been told.
My $0.02, YMMV
73
Dave de W9COP
----- Original Message -----
From: "Brandon Sullivan" <brandude at hotmail.com>
To: <learc at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Sunday, June 24, 2007 11:06 PM
Subject: [LeArc] Field Day 2007/2008
> Next club meeting July 10th 2007 at 7:00 PM
>
>
> Please join us Sunday Night for the
> Lamoine Emergency ARC Sunday Evening Net.
> Net time is 8:00 PM local time.
>
>
>
> After attending Field Day 2007 with the SRRC ( Starved Rock Radio
> Club ) up North, I think it would be very interesting to have a Field Day
> in Macomb next year.. Timing with the Heritage Days Parade would be very
> beneficial, in increasing public interest and awarenes..
>
> As we all know, an event like this would take a nice deal of
> planning by the club, and collaboration with the city council and other
> officials. At the next meeting I would like to get a vote of interested
> members. As we would need to start working out details quickly... Hope to
> see many there.
>
>
> 73's
>
> Brandon Sullivan
> LEARC Secretary
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> Lamoine Emergency Amateur Radio Club
>
> W9SSP - 147.060 (103.5 tone)
> WB9TEA - 444.300 (offline)
>
> Meetings on the second Tuesday of the month. 7:00 PM at the Red Cross
> Building (1224 S. Maple Ave) in Macomb.
>
> LeArc mailing list
> LeArc at mailman.qth.net
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/learc
>
>
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