From dick at twohams.com  Mon Dec 11 13:01:19 2006
From: dick at twohams.com (Dick Flanagan)
Date: Mon Dec 11 13:04:26 2006
Subject: [NvHam] All Ham Christmas Party Saturday
Message-ID: <5.2.1.1.2.20061211100025.049d2988@mail.greatbasin.net>

CQ CQ CALLING ALL HAMS  SURPRISES AND FUN EVENT!

ALL HAMS CHRISTMAS PARTY SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 6 PM - 9 PM.

Sponsored by SNARS and the Reno Salvation Army

This is POTLUCK although SNARS will be bringing a turkey and ham.

  Starting time for the festivities is 6 to 9 PM.

Location is in the Salvation Army Fellowship Hall, 1931 Sutro near the
corner of Sutro and Oddie in Reno.

Please RSVP to Dee Arnold KA7LOZ E-mail: deearnold@charter.net  Telephone:
775-331-5606

Please feel free to deviate from this.   Bring your favorite recipe.

Call sign suffix beginning with:

A-F Side Dish
G-N Salads
O-R Drinks/Sodas, Condiments
S-Z Deserts

Please post on all ham list serves and e-mails.

This promises to be a great fun event for all.  Bring guests and your
family.  You don't have to be a member of a ham club to attend!

73, Gary K7VY 


From dick at twohams.com  Tue Dec 12 14:37:41 2006
From: dick at twohams.com (Dick Flanagan)
Date: Tue Dec 12 14:40:54 2006
Subject: [NvHam] Bandwarming Party Slated for December 15
Message-ID: <5.2.1.1.2.20061212113706.04a243d0@mail.greatbasin.net>

December 15th band-warming party

Vintage radio hobbyists in the United States will celebrate the federal
government's expansion of the 75 meter phone band with a 'bandwarming'
party from 3600-3800Kc starting at 0500 GMT Dec. 15, 2006.

The festivities are slated to begin Thursday evening December 14th, when
vintage radio enthusiasts in Canada will gather around several frequencies
between 3700-3800, where they already enjoy phone privileges.

The Federal Communications Commission, as part of a decision to enlarge
and more closely match the size of the 75 meter phone band with levels of
activity, has specified enactment at midnight, Eastern time.

A number of U.S. stations have been granted the use of Special Event 1x1
Call Signs to help commemorate the regulatory upgrade.

By coincidence, December 2006 marks 100 years since radio pioneer
experimenter Reginald Fesseden's celebrated Amplitude Modulation
broadcasts, considered by many to be the first voice and music signals to
be heard by the public audience for wireless.

The 'bandwarming' of 2006 will again feature the AM mode, as vintage radio
enthusiasts warm up their vacuum tube gear on a December night a century
later.


For more information:
http://amfone.net

Thanks QRZ.COM for the information.   Besides the AM group, I'm sure there
will also be plenty of SSB on as well.   A great idea to celebrate the new
band expansion and Reginald Fessenden's AM invention.

Gary K7VY 


From dick at twohams.com  Wed Dec 13 10:55:23 2006
From: dick at twohams.com (Dick Flanagan)
Date: Wed Dec 13 10:58:45 2006
Subject: [NvHam] WX spotter presentation
Message-ID: <5.2.1.1.2.20061213075505.05ef17b8@mail.greatbasin.net>

Rhett Milne, the Warning Coordination Meteorologist from the National Weather
Service Reno Office is conducting the SKYWARN Spotter Program for members,
and friends of SIERA. The Sierra Intermountain Emergency Radio Association
General meeting takes place on, 21 December 2006 at 1900 (7:00 PM). Located
at the United Methodist Church building, 1375 Centerville Lane,
Gardnerville, NV

Although weather satellites, Doppler weather radar and computer systems use
the latest technology to provide a wealth of information to forecasters, no
tool has yet been developed that can replace a human observation of the
weather in a local area at a specific time.

As an amateur radio operator, you are one of the most valuable spotters in the
SKYWARN Spotter Program!  If you hear of severe weather or flood events from
other amateur radio operators, please relay those reports to the NWS!   Via
amateur radio, you have access to information from others that the NWS would
normally never hear about!  During periods of extended severe weather or
flooding, a voice and packet radio base station is activated at the Reno NWS
office. The voice station uses the call sign WX7RNO.

You can help!  By alerting the NWS about significant weather events, you
become the "eyes and ears" for the National Weather Service in your area and
help them determine when and where to issue warnings. Your participation in
the SKYWARN spotter program is entirely voluntary. You are under no
obligation and cannot be compensated. However, your vigilance is valuable
and greatly appreciated! It helps others and could save lives.

This is good training for everyone.  You will learn about different weather
events, and will have a clear explanation of the different weather warnings.
Some of us have had the Spotter training in the past.  This will be a good
refresher for some, and new information for others.  Come on over and learn
some interesting facts about the weather, meet new people, and have a cup of
hot coffee.

See you there, John Abrott KD7NHC <jabrott@tele-net.net>
--
Dick Flanagan K7VC NV SM
k7vc@arrl.org


From dick at twohams.com  Thu Dec 14 11:30:27 2006
From: dick at twohams.com (Dick Flanagan)
Date: Thu Dec 14 11:34:02 2006
Subject: [NvHam] Solar storm forecast to begin mid-day Thursday
Message-ID: <5.2.1.1.2.20061214083015.03e7fb10@mail.greatbasin.net>

www.space.com/scienceastronomy/061213_solar_storm.html

73, Dick
--
Dick Flanagan K7VC NV SM
k7vc@arrl.org


From dick at twohams.com  Fri Dec 15 21:31:15 2006
From: dick at twohams.com (Dick Flanagan)
Date: Fri Dec 15 21:34:50 2006
Subject: [NvHam] Morse Code Requirement Dropped
Message-ID: <5.2.1.1.2.20061215183059.049fb320@mail.greatbasin.net>

Check out the FCC Website
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-269012A1.pdf

The ARRL News Announcement:

End of an Era: FCC to Drop Morse Testing for All Amateur License Classes
(Dec 15, 2006) -- In an historic move, the FCC has acted to drop the Morse
code requirement for all Amateur Radio license classes. The Commission
adopted a Report and Order (R&O) in WT Docket 05-235 late today. In a
break from typical practice, however, the FCC only issued a press release
at or around the close of business today and not the actual Report &
Order, so some details -- and the effective date of the R&O -- remain
unclear for now. Also today, the FCC adopted an Order on Reconsideration,
modifying the Amateur Radio Service rules in response to an ARRL request
to accommodate automatically controlled narrowband digital stations on 80
meters in the wake of rule changes that became effective at 12:01 AM
Eastern Time today. The FCC agreed to carve out the 3585 to 3600 kHz
frequency segment for such operations.

Thanks to all the that sent me the information.  The effective date has
not been set!

Gary K7VY 


From dick at twohams.com  Sat Dec 16 01:56:57 2006
From: dick at twohams.com (Dick Flanagan)
Date: Sat Dec 16 02:00:32 2006
Subject: [NvHam] ARLB030 FCC to Drop Morse Testing for All Amateur License
 Classes
Message-ID: <5.2.1.1.2.20061215225647.04c76260@mail.greatbasin.net>

SB QST @ ARL $ARLB030
ARLB030 FCC to Drop Morse Testing for All Amateur License Classes

ZCZC AG30
QST de W1AW
ARRL Bulletin 30  ARLB030
 From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  December 16, 2006
To all radio amateurs

SB QST ARL ARLB030
ARLB030 FCC to Drop Morse Testing for All Amateur License Classes

In an historic move, the FCC has acted to drop the Morse code
requirement for all Amateur Radio license classes. The Commission
today adopted a Report and Order (R&O) in WT Docket 05-235. In a
break from typical practice, the FCC only issued a public notice at
or about the close of business and not the actual Report and Order,
so some details -- including the effective date of the R&O -- remain
uncertain.  The public notice is located at,
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-269012A1.pdf.

Also today, the FCC also adopted an Order on Reconsideration, in WT
Docket 04-140 -- the "omnibus" proceeding -- agreeing to modify the
Amateur Radio rules in response to an ARRL request to accommodate
automatically controlled narrowband digital stations on 80 meters in
the wake of rule changes that became effective today at 12:01 AM
Eastern Time. The Commission said it will carve out the 3585 to 3600
kHz frequency segment for such operations. Prior to the long-awaited
action on the Morse code issue, Amateur Radio applicants for General
and higher class licenses had to pass a 5 WPM Morse code test to
operate on HF. The Commission said today's R&O eliminates that
requirement for General and Amateur Extra applicants.

"This change eliminates an unnecessary regulatory burden that may
discourage current Amateur Radio operators from advancing their
skills and participating more fully in the benefits of Amateur
Radio," the FCC said. The ARRL had asked the FCC to retain the 5 WPM
for Amateur Extra class applicants only. The FCC proposed earlier to
drop the requirement across the board, however, and it held to that
decision in today's R&O.

Perhaps more important, the FCC's action in WT Docket 05-235 appears
to put all Technician licensees on an equal footing: Once the R&O
goes into effect, holders of Technician class licenses will have
equivalent HF privileges, whether or not they've passed the 5 WPM
Element 1 Morse examination. The FCC said the R&O in the Morse code
docket would eliminate a disparity in the operating privileges for
the Technician and Technician Plus class licensees. Technician
licensees without Element 1 credit (ie, Tech Plus licensees)
currently have operating privileges on all amateur frequencies above
30 MHz.

"With today's elimination of the Morse code exam requirements, the
FCC concluded that the disparity between the operating privileges of
Technician Class licensees and Technician Plus Class licensees
should not be retained," the FCC said in its public notice.
"Therefore, the FCC, in today's action, afforded Technician and
Technician Plus licensees identical operating privileges."

The wholesale elimination of a Morse code requirement for all
license classes ends a longstanding national and international
regulatory tradition in the requirements to gain access to Amateur
Radio frequencies below 30 MHz. The first no-code license in the US
was the Technician ticket, instituted in 1991. The question of
whether or not to drop the Morse requirement altogether has been the
subject of often-heated debate over the past several years, but the
handwriting has been on the wall. A number of countries, including
Canada, no longer require applicants for an Amateur Radio license to
pass a Morse code test to gain HF operating privileges. The list has
been increasing regularly.

The FCC said today's R&O in WT Docket 05-235 comports with revisions
to the international Radio Regulations resulting from the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Radiocommunication
Conference 2003 (WRC-03). At that gathering, delegates agreed to
authorize each country to determine whether or not to require that
applicants demonstrate Morse code proficiency in order to qualify
for an Amateur Radio license with privileges on frequencies below 30
MHz.

Typically, the effective date of an FCC Order is 30 days after it
appears in the Federal Register. That would mean the Morse
requirement and the revised 80-meter segment for automatically
controlled digital stations would likely not go into effect until
late January 2007.

The ARRL will provide any additional information on these important
Part 97 rule revisions as it becomes available.
NNNN
/EX
--
Dick Flanagan K7VC NV SM
k7vc@arrl.org


From vhfplus at bmg50.com  Sat Dec 16 21:25:05 2006
From: vhfplus at bmg50.com (Jack/NA7RF)
Date: Sat Dec 16 21:28:33 2006
Subject: [NvHam] Line Noise
Message-ID: <4584AA81.1040402@bmg50.com>

Well, it's snowing at my QTH and my line noise level, which has been 
moderately high all summer, is now running over S-9 listening on 3.9MHz. 
That makes 80-meters completely useless. 40 is better with an S-6 noise 
level.

My question is: Who can I contact at Sierra Pacific Power to help 
resolve this issue? Unfortunately I do not have access to any sort of 
RDF gear that might help me pinpoint the source(s) of the noise. I do 
have distribution lines (voltage unknown) running in front of my home 
about 120 feet from my 80 meter inverted vee and about 200 feet from my 
1/4-wave vertical on 40.

I appreciate any suggestions that anyone might have.

Thanks,

Jack, NA7RF
Silver Springs
From dick at twohams.com  Mon Dec 18 19:21:16 2006
From: dick at twohams.com (Dick Flanagan K7VC)
Date: Mon Dec 18 19:26:14 2006
Subject: [NvHam] Announcement -- New OO
Message-ID: <5.2.1.1.2.20061218155944.04b1cbc8@mail.greatbasin.net>

I am pleased to announce that Paul Cavnar K7IN (ex-NN7B) has re-qualified 
for appointment as an Official Observer (OO) for the Nevada Section and 
will report to Official Observer Coordinator Tim Hunt WA6TNW.  A detailed 
description of the OO position can be found at 
http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/org/oo.html

Paul was originally certified as an Official Observer almost 28 years ago 
and has re-qualified to ensure his knowledge and skills are up to 
date.  Please congratulate Paul and give him your full support.  Paul can 
be reached by e-mail at k7in@charter.net.

73, Dick
--
Dick Flanagan K7VC NV SM
k7vc@arrl.org


From dick at twohams.com  Tue Dec 19 15:51:28 2006
From: dick at twohams.com (Dick Flanagan)
Date: Tue Dec 19 15:55:25 2006
Subject: [NvHam] FCC Formally Releases Morse Code R&O
Message-ID: <5.2.1.1.2.20061219125120.03d56288@mail.greatbasin.net>

The FCC has released the Report and Order on WT Docket 05-235 removing the 
Morse code requirement for all amateur radio licenses.  The effective date 
will be 30 days after the R&O appears in the Federal Register.  The R&O is 
not expected to appear in the Federal Register until sometime in January, 
with an effective date sometime in February.

More information is available from ARRL at
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/12/19/101/?nc=1

There is also a FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) list at
http://www.arrl.org/announce/regulatory/wt05-235/

73, Dick
--
Dick Flanagan K7VC NV SM
k7vc@arrl.org


From dick at twohams.com  Fri Dec 22 01:36:12 2006
From: dick at twohams.com (Dick Flanagan)
Date: Fri Dec 22 01:40:27 2006
Subject: [NvHam] ARES E-Letter for December 20, 2006
Message-ID: <5.2.1.1.2.20061221223600.00c534d0@mail.greatbasin.net>

The ARES E-Letter
December 20, 2006
=================

Rick Palm, K1CE, Editor

<http://www.qrz.com/database?callsign=K1CE>,
<http://www.iaru-r2emcor.net/>

===================================
ARES reports, other related contributions, editorial questions or
comments: <k1ce@arrl.net>;;
===================================

+ THE VIEW FROM FLAGLER COUNTY

Our Flagler ARES meeting was held last night at the Fire House, and
was essentially an "End of Year Party" (with the obligatory copious
pizza and soda). There was one piece of business transacted relative
to the proper way to check into our nets and the use of accepted
(standard) phonetics. A list was distributed to all in attendance.

The socializing was wonderful, and it occurred to me that it's the
camaraderie that still floats my boat in ham radio after all these
years. It was a great evening. Thanks to FECA for the pizza!
________

With hurricane season over, our section's ARES leadership is studying
jump teams. SEC Joe Bushel, W2DWR, wants every county to draft their
own group ready to deploy to another county to provide relief
operators. He also wants each ARES district to have a super jump team
composed of radio amateurs with other specialties: pilots, divers,
law officers, medical professionals, and electronics techs, for
examples. Bushel's initiatives are laudable, and we are grateful to
have him as our SEC in Northern Florida.
_________

Controversy swirls about the Red Cross requiring background checks,
and our section's policy is that ARES works under government
emergency management, not the Red Cross. In the EOC, the Red Cross
has its own ESF number, and Communications has its own ESF number. A
shelter is opened by emergency management, requesting it under the
Red Cross ESF. Communications is provided to that shelter under the
Communications ESF at the request of emergency management to the
local EC. Untested yet, but Red Cross doesn't seem to be in a
position to demand clearance of persons working in shelters under
control of the EOC. At least that's the current thinking of our
section's leadership.

====================================
IN THIS ISSUE:

+ THE VIEW FROM FLAGLER COUNTY
+ ECV SURVEY CLOSES DECEMBER 31
+ MASSACHUSETTS ARES/RACES ACTIVATES FOR EXPLOSION
+ FLORIDA COUNTY USAR TEAMS UP WITH AMATEUR RADIO, CERT, OTHERS
+ EMCOMM IN THE AFTERMATH OF CASTRO'S DEATH
+ LETTERS: "NATION'S OLDEST WEATHER NET"
+ MISSISSIPPI HAMFEST FORUM REPORT HIGHLIGHTS KATRINA STATUS
+ LETTERS: RED CROSS BACKGROUND CHECKS
+ LETTERS: PERSONAL PUBLIC SERVICE RETROSPECTIVE
+ LETTERS: HELP WANTED
+ K1CE FOR A FINAL
====================================

+ ECV SURVEY CLOSES DECEMBER 31

ARRL seeks data on mobile emergency communications vehicles: The
League's National Emergency Response Planning Committee (NERPC)
continues to invite responses from clubs or groups having access to
an emergency communications vehicle (ECV). If your group has an ECV
and has not yet participated in the survey, please have someone take
a few minutes and be a part of this effort. The Committee's response
to the ARRL Board is due in January. A number of responses have been
received to date, but the Committee wants to collect as much
information as possible to develop its report.

As of November 29, clubs and groups had entered information on 29
ECVs into the survey database. Most ECVs are owned by individuals or
local governments, 14 have portable repeaters onboard and another 25
have their own power generators. This information will help determine
what assets are available and help in planning for future disasters.
To participate, visit the Emergency Communications Vehicle Survey Web
site <http://www.bullock.org/nerpc>.

+ MASSACHUSETTS ARES/RACES ACTIVATES FOR EXPLOSION

Eastern Massachusetts ARES and RACES teams went on alert November 22
after an early-morning explosion destroyed a paint and ink plant in
Danvers, 15 miles north of Boston. The blast, felt as far away as
Southern Maine, destroyed more than a dozen nearby homes and damaged
upward of 100 others. Minutes after the 2:45 AM explosion North Shore
ARES members initiated an informal net on a Danvers repeater while
monitoring the situation. The blast awakened North shore EC Jim
Palmer, KB1KQW, who lives about a mile from the plant site.

"As soon as I heard the explosion, I followed our well-established
ARES protocols by getting on my local SKYWARN/ARES frequency and
starting an informal net," Palmer said. "I also monitored my scanner
to hear information directly from the incident area." DEC Eric
Horwitz, KA1NCF, and Eastern Massachusetts SEC Rob Macedo, KD1CY,
were notified, as well as Region One RACES Radio Officer Terry
Stader, KA8SCP.

Macedo contacted Massachusetts Bay Red Cross, which opened a shelter
at Danvers High School to accommodate some 100 to 150 displaced
residents. Radio amateurs were ready to provide communication support
for the Red Cross or other agencies.

"We continued the informal net until 6 PM and secured," Macedo said.
"No deployments were required, but we were ready to deploy if needed.
We had over 40 check-ins to the informal net and between 6 and 12
amateurs ready for deployment." - excerpted from the ARRL Letter

+ FLORIDA COUNTY USAR TEAMS UP WITH AMATEUR RADIO, CERT, OTHERS

The Alachua County (Florida) Fire Rescue's Reserve Division K-9
Search and Rescue unit has teamed up with local radio amateurs,
members of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), and reserve
EMTs to form a combined resources team for improved wilderness and
urban search and rescue (USAR). In November, the USAR K-9 team
initiated training in basic SAR skills for the new team members. Held
near the Gainesville Airport, team members conducted practice
searches and practiced skills required for the NASAR SARTECH II
certification. Nearly 20 volunteers participated in the on-going
training, learned teamwork, and were cross-trained in skills such as
medical, communications, and navigation. The team's goal is to
increase their response capability and improve the level of service
to the community.

+ EMCOMM IN THE AFTERMATH OF CASTRO'S DEATH

The Miami Herald ran an interesting article this week about the
extensive preparations being undertaken by the State of Florida, DHS,
and others to prepare for events in the aftermath of Cuban President
Fidel Castro's death. The article cited potential problems with
communications.

It would seem to me that in the event of widespread civil unrest in
Cuba, Amateur Radio could help in the following areas:

(1) Handling direct requests from the population of Cuba for aid,
emergency supplies, etc.; (2) Providing real time intelligence about
conditions on the ground, by relaying reports from Cuban amateurs;
and (3) Relaying critical communications for the US entities on nets
like MARS, SHARES, Maritime Mobile Nets, etc.

It would be interesting to hear if any of the various ARES groups
have started to train or prepare for this eventuality. -- Les
Rayburn, N1LF, Helena, AL, Official Emergency Station

[As IARU Region 2 EMCOR, I can tell readers that there is a robust
amateur radio emergency communications community in Cuba. Of all the
countries in Region 2, Cuba's radio amateurs are at the top of the
list for severe weather and other emergency communications planning
and practice. - K1CE]

+ LETTERS: "NATION'S OLDEST WEATHER NET"

In the November ARES E-letter I read with interest the item about
Wisconsin's Badger Weather Net. The net was described as the nation's
oldest weather net, organized in December 1964.

While this net has been in operation for a long time, there is
another Weather net called "The New England Weather Net," operating
continuously even longer, since December, 1955. I first checked into
the New England Weather Net in August 1959, and am currently the
Tuesday net control operator. I have been active in this net for the
last 47 years serving as net control for much of that time.

The New England Weather Net was founded by a small group of amateurs
in the Boston-Cape Cod area who were interested in exchanging weather
information and communicating with other amateurs involved in the
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and the "Texas Towers" early
off-shore radar detection operations. Members of the Weather Net were
able to provide that vital link to the mainland that was so
appreciated by those stationed at sea and on the towers.

The net is still active today with 30 to 40 stations reporting their
weather conditions each morning from all of New England, to as far
north as Nova Scotia, as far south as Florida, and as far west as
Idaho. There are check-ins from 17 states, primarily in the eastern
section of the country.

The net meets each morning from 0530 to 0620 local time. At 0620, a
summary of the reports received is given by the net control station.
Each report contains the station's temperature, barometric pressure,
wind speed and direction, cloud cover, precipitation amounts, 24 hour
temperature gradient and any other data the reporting station wishes
to give.

All stations are welcome and no membership is required. We meet every
day except Sunday on 75 meters at 3905 kHz. Additional information
can be received by contacting the net manager Dave Haas, N1PT,
Lancaster, New Hampshire. See <http://newn.org/about_newn.asp> --
John P. Bretz, KE2EA <KE2EA@infoblvd.net>

+ MISSISSIPPI HAMFEST FORUM REPORT HIGHLIGHTS KATRINA STATUS

[ARRL Delta Division Director Henry Leggette, WD4Q, and Vice Director
Karl Bullock, WA5TMC, attended the Ocean Springs, Mississippi Hamfest
last month. Here are portions of Bullock's report. - ed.]

This was the first hamfest I'd been to on the Gulf Coast since
Katrina. The hamfest was a success, though the clubs there have lost
membership, and are in the rebuilding stage. The ARRL Forum was the
liveliest ever. The attendees were the hams who walked through the
fire last year, and we listened carefully.

TRAINING. "We're going to have to look at NIMS training, whether we
like it or not", was a recurring comment, along with "but, none of
these courses instruct hams how to communicate in an emergency. Such
training should be done in person. Clubs would be ideal for
conducting this training. Certification would be nice upon
completion. Needed is a syllabus, and some training aids, probably in
the form of a DVD video that clubs could obtain at minimal cost from
the ARRL."

Other comments: Assembling a working station isn't enough. Training
on message handling is needed. Attendees liked our idea of having HQ
originate test emergency messages, in addition to taking another look
at strengthening the SET.

"We weren't ready then, and we're not ready now," was a resonant
comment.

LICENSE EXAMS. There should be some emphasis on emergency
communications in the VEC Question pool.

LACK OF EQUIPMENT. On the coast, pre-disaster, the local hams had
constructed an emergency communications station complete with
equipment necessary to manage a large-scale local disaster. They had
radios across the spectrum, including SHARES, local government, HF,
VHF, digital, antennas, and backup power with fuel. It was totally
destroyed in the early hours of Katrina. Nothing else came close to
providing that capability, and equipment that would show up would
disappear when those who brought it had to go home. The equipment
from HQ was welcome, but again, not everything the operators needed.
They didn't have a solution to the problem, but we do need to look at
providing more capability in these large disasters. -- Karl Bullock,
WA5TMC, Delta Division Vice Director, and member, ARRL National
Emergency Response Planning Committee

+ LETTERS: RED CROSS BACKGROUND CHECKS

As for the Red Cross background checks, I am concerned about identity
theft and exposure to errors that are inherent in any system. Would
the Red Cross be liable for my costs to correct problems? What
protection is offered? I know of two people who have still not
recovered from theft of their identity. I will decline the overly
broad demand of every bit of personal information that is required to
be authorized for collection. I can see the criminal check for people
who are working with kids and stressed adults, but what business is
it of theirs to find out that I owe no one anything and have never
missed a payment? I have done checks with the three reporting
companies and have found errors like one that listed some 20 credit
cards as active when the number is just three. I will probably drop
out of ARES and concentrate on RACES where the Vermont DPS has
already run a more reasonable background check. -- Gordon Pugh, PE,
W2NH

+ LETTERS: PERSONAL PUBLIC SERVICE RETROSPECTIVE

Last night I was watching a TV program on the 1996 civil war in
Liberia. At the time of the conflict, I was tuning around on 20
meters when I heard an emergency call to any US ham. For the next
several hours I relayed information from our embassy in Liberia to
the State Department in Washington concerning health and welfare.
Rebels had taken over the capitol and shut off all communications.
Our embassy was able to communicate using ham radio as hundreds of
people herded into the embassy compound for safety.

I was a first responder at Ground Zero, 9/11. Again, I concentrated
on performing the communications job at hand and was not able to
contemplate the event's significance, as the rest of the world could.
There was info going out of the area, but none coming in. The
helplessness of the country as they saw the damage in New York and
Washington must have been terrible. I feel it now, as, after watching
that TV program, I now feel what went on in Liberia in 1996, when I
was doing my communications "job." In 1996 I had no idea of the
slaughter that was taking place in that country, nor its
significance.

Perspective during an emergency is a strange thing: it's lost. During
an emergency we are so focused on doing what needs to be done that we
lose the impact of the event and the feelings that other people
experience. Amateur Radio has allowed me to help others, but I feel
as if I have missed real-time significance by being in another
"loop." - Bob Hejl, W2IK

+ LETTERS: HELP WANTED

Our ARES district has been asked by a local fire department to teach
a basic license course for their radio dispatchers. Regional police
have also indicated an interest in a similar course, and efforts are
underway to involve dispatchers from two other fire services.

Having taught adult learners for a living, I know how important it is
to make the information relevant to their jobs. That's where I need
some assistance. Apparently, the idea of dispatchers having radio
amateur licenses came from a conference in the U.S. I'd sincerely
appreciate hearing from anyone who may have attended such a
conference session, or anyone who may be teaching a similar course.
-- Gord Hewit, VE3GIH, <VE3GIH@rac.ca>

+ K1CE FOR A FINAL

It's the time of year for cheer, friends, family, reflection, but
also melancholy and loss. We recently lost SEC John Warne, K4KAM. Joe
Bushel, W2DWR, writes: "He was a Ham's Ham, and a tremendous friend.
During the years that I knew John, I found him to be always there
when I needed his advice, which I often did, and he never shirked a
request for assistance. He fought illness for years with a positive
attitude in all he did. When North Florida lost John Warne, they lost
a terrific ham and a very dear friend."
________________

For us sentimental old fools, check out http://www.novice.bappy.com
for a short walk down memory lane.
________________

And finally, a gem from Joe Shea, of the HQ's Production staff,
reflecting on the FCC's Morse code decision, sung to the tune of "Mr.
Ed":

A Morse is a Morse, of course, of course,
And no one can talk with Morse of course,
That is, of course, unless the course is taught by A-R-R-L.

Go right to the source and ask about Morse,
We'll give you a program that you'll endorse,
You'll always stay on a steady course,
Contact A-R-R-L.

Phone ops yakkity yak a streak and waste your time of day,
But Morse operators will never "speak" unless they have something to
say

A ham is a ham, of course, of course,
And some will talk 'til their "voice" is hoarse;
Would you rather sound like a horse's a--?
Well why not learn this: "dot-dit-dit-dit-dash"
________________

Happy Holidays! Keep warm by those glowing rectifier tubes!

73, Rick, K1CE

======================================================================
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by the American Radio Relay League--The National Association For
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====================================================================== 


From dick at twohams.com  Fri Dec 22 20:23:50 2006
From: dick at twohams.com (Dick Flanagan)
Date: Fri Dec 22 20:28:07 2006
Subject: [NvHam] Get Well Cards To WB5RWF
Message-ID: <5.2.1.1.2.20061222172338.0415fa68@mail.greatbasin.net>

George WB5RWF a recent stroke patient from Hawthorne NV would like to hear
from other hams.

Please send QSL, Get Well Cards, Christmas cards to George Grossen WB5RWF,
Life Care Center, Room 412, Bed 1, 445 Holcomb Ranch Lane, Reno NV 89511.

Thanks & 73,

Gary K7VY 


