NewsLetter for March |
(Cheefully mutiliated by KC4GCK) |
It's almost SPRING |
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NORTH GEORGIA AMATEUR RADIO CLUB |
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CALENDAR |
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| Club Net: Thursday nights, 8:30PM, 146.835 + T100 Dahlonega Repeater |
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Reminder: Club dues of $10 are for the year Jan to Dec. The Secretary or Treasurer will be collecting at the next meeting for 2005 for those of you not already paid up. Also, please fill out one of the new NGARC club application forms even if you are a long time member so we will have your information for our records. Diana is working up a roster for all the members. |
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Other March Ham Radio happenings: |
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| From the President: The days are getting longer and the temperature is warming, that means that spring is just around the corner. Spring brings with it the increased chance for severe weather in our area. Everyone should be ready both as a resident and a ham radio operator. If (when) we get bad weather in our area, turn on your 2-meter radio and report what is happening in your neck of the woods. Not only will it help other hams brace for what is coming but it helps the county authorities warn the general public about dangerous weather. During the last round of severe weather, our County Emergency Manager ( Don Seabolt - KE4VDX ) was on frequency asking for weather information. It is Don's responsibility to activate the warning sirens for Lumpkin County and he had his finger on the "button" listening to our reports of hail and lightning. The Tour de Georgia is coming up soon, April 22. We can use all the help we can get. In this type of event, there is no such thing as too many hams. We welcome not only our own hams, but any hams from any other areas. In other words, invite your friends. The folk's with the tour are telling us to expect up to a million spectators into the north Georgia area during the three days the tour is winding through the mountains. I am still working on identification for our communications group. I plan on having a sign-up sheet at the next meeting for persons interested in T-shirts and/or ball caps. I am putting together a presentation on GPS use and operation for our next meeting. Anyone with input please drop me an e-mail ( TPCrowell@rader.com ) with your comments. If you have a GPS, plan on bringing to the next meeting, April 17, at the Old Town Grill. (Any one interested in volunteering to help me with a horse show in Gainesville on the weekend of April 9 & 10 please let me know. More on this at the next meeting.) Tom Crowell KD4DK |
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| The NGARC Volunteer Examiners can probably remember how to administer an exam if asked!! We'd like to see at least three people looking for an exam session and we could schedule one. Contact K4SZ if you are interested and we'll see what we can put together. | |
| The Sykwarn Class (Weather Spotter Training by the National Weather Service) on Tuesday February 8 was a success with over 25 in attendance. Craig will hand out certificates at the next meeting. | |
| The newsletters will again be on the web courtesy of Buck Cheves KC4GCK
at: http://home.syclone.net/~kc4gck We are glad to have Buck back active in HR and on the repeater. He's been playing with APRS in anticipation of using it for the upcoming bike races. He's also active on HF with PSK31. |
A reminder for anyone needing a ham (or other) ID badge. There are usually vendors at the hamfests who make them on site, but if you can't make it to a fest and want to order a badge, check out the offerings at www.thesignman.com Rick has a great selection of engraved name badges with logos for ARRL, Red Cross, Skywarn, etc. He also has coffee mugs, sew-on patches, decals, license plates, magnetic signs, pins and many other items. Check out his web page. He will also do custom plates for the club if we so desired. |
| Speaking of PSK31, we have been having discussions about having a PSK
(and other digital modes) station for our Field Day effort this year.
Jim Balaun KG4WLA has generously offered to be the coordinator for such
a station for Field Day. We also have a volunteer in Art Chase KC4FRV to bring a boy scout patrol out to the site to camp out and participate in FD. This will be a great opportunity to get some younger folks exposed to and interested in Ham Radio. Make your own wishes known about what you would like to see and do at Field Day. Always the great opportunity to learn about Ham Radio and various modes. |
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| Congratulations are in order for our members Jim Balaun KG4WLA and Larry
Floyd N4RPH. Both of them recently passed the Extra Class exam to
upgrade and are rightly proud of their achievement. |
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