[SMCARA] D-STAR digital overview at upcoming SMCARA club meeting

[petebutt at comfac.com]

Hi folks,

  The next meeting of the St. Mary's County Amateur Radio Association
(SMCARA) will be held this coming Thursday evening (26 January)
beginning at 7:30 PM sharp at the Naval Air Museum in Lexington Park.

  Yours truly will be presenting a comprehensive overview of the D-STAR
(Digital Smart Technologies for Amateur Radio) protocol and will delve
into how it got started, who is using it now, some of the various types
of equipment you can use, how it compares with other digital offerings
and what you can do with it.  We will be showing off some representative
equipment you can use and (hopefully) do several demonstrations of
D-STAR in action by making several real contacts.  If you ever wanted to
understand what this stuff is all about, now is the time to attend and
become an expert!

  Also, at the meeting we need to elect a new slate of officers to run the
club for yet another year.  ALL positions are open and we are always
looking for others to get involved in your club operations.  If you
think you might be interested, please give me a call this week at
301-862-2214 (h) or 301-342-1354 (w) and I'll get you on the ballot.  Of
course, we will still accept nominations from the floor at the meeting
but it would be nice to do some pre-coordination to speed up the
election process.  Only paid up, full members of the SMCARA are eligible
to hold an elected office.  You must be willing to give some of your
time to doing a good job... a lot of your friends and fellow hams are
depending on you to keep the club running successfully!

  Take a look at the updated club web site when you have a chance... go to
www.qsl.net/smcara on the web.  Some of your fellow hams have been busy
writing up articles on various facets of the hobby and you might be
interested in taking a look.  New in the last week is a write-up by Sam
Leach (K3KLC) giving a complete description and overview of his K3KLC-L
Echolink node in Callaway, Maryland; a re-written article by Tom (AB3IC)
discussing the basics of contesting; and a short article by Pete
(WA3UMY) on the correct process for registering to use the International
D-STAR Internet gateway system once you get active on D-STAR.  The
repeater listing has also been updated and you will find a comprehensive
listing of recent repeater and specialty mode happenings on the main
page of our site.  Take a look and get updated on some of the things you
can get involved with.

  At the meeting, I would like to propose several additional fun
initiatives I feel we should consider for undertaking in the new year
including a new way to conduct training and some ways to get new folks
interested and involved in the hobby.

  Looking forward to seeing all of you this coming Thursday evening for an
informative and important meeting as we move the club into a brand new
year.

  Best 73,

  Pete (WA3UMY)
  President, SMCARA