 |
|
| Southwest Missouri Amateur Radio Club | |
Newsletter "SMARCalling" January 1998
 | |
|
| ||||
Newsletter "SMARCalling" January 1998 |
SMARCALLING, January, 1998 Editor: Jim Thorpe, KG0IV NEXT MEETING: JANUARY 17, 1998 RED CROSS BUILDING, SECOND FLOOR CLASSROOM 1998 dues may be sent to Jude Greisemer at the club address. Dues are $15 for one member, or $22.50 per family. (Family memberships are for those living in the same household) 73 to Karen, N0TDW Welcome Mike, NONQW This final letter to you has taken me some time to put together. I wasn't sure how an outgoing President should exit, and I couldn't find the right book to instruct me. So, this is my feable attempt. I want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement the past 2 years. As you know we have been through some terrifically rocky times, but we survived. The office of President is a serious position, as those before me can attest. I don't think I had a clue how much work would be involved, but I have no regrets. I just Thank everyone for their help, you have been great to respond to whatever the task at hand was. The SMARC club can stand proud in the service we provide to our community at large. Our membership is a true reflection of what Amateur radio is all about.Whether you are a novice just starting out or a seasoned Extra class working the world on CW, our club embraces each of you as an indiividual. It has been a true pleasure to represent you and serve as your President. The experience has opened two new doors for me that I might otherwise not have been afforded. I hope to be able to further represent you in my Assistant Director and Assistant Section Manager positions. At any rate, I am looking forward to focusung more on those obligations. Now, our attention tirns to Mike and the new leadership he brings to the office. I know each of you will lend your support to him as he gets more acquainted with his new position. Personally, I feel very confident that he will rise to the occasion without any difficulty. I believe he will be good for the club and I know he is eager to serve you. He has my full support and good wishes. I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and want to let you know that our adopted family was overwhelmed by your thoughtfulness. When they came to pick up the food and gifts both husband and wife had tears in their eyes. It was the perfect way to end my term and make me feel so great about our club. Just knowing that we made a major difference for four people through the Hoildays is a "warm fuzzy" feeling. Thank you so much for your contributions! Happy New Year to all!! 73's Karen |
Welcome Mike
Well 1997 is out of the way and we are into 98. I hope your families
had a wonderful Christmas and a great New Year. Thanks to all that made
the Christmas party a fun night to get together. I was a little upset that
Santa looked me over this year I guess I was not a good Boy this last
year.
I want to tell those of you that don't know me and my family. I am
38 years old and have lived in Willard, Mo. area all my life. My wife's
name is Dana (N0PYK). I work for Associated Wholesale Grocers in
Springfield and for the Willard Fire Protection District. My true love is
the fire dept. I have been in the fire service for 18 years. I had always
wanted to be a Ham but finally got my ticket in 1990 as a Technician
class. In the year that followed I upgraded to Advanced class. My call is
N0NQW.
I am looking forward to the coming year as president of the club. I am
looking for ideas of things to do at club meetings that are fun and
educational. We will be needing a field day coordinator this year. Wayne
(KB0PTE did a great job this past year.
My goals for the coming year are to continue the upgrading and repair
of all the club's repeater systems and to get the word out that Ham radio
and SMARC is a fun place to be.
Hope to see you all at the January club meeting.
Mike A. Blake, President, N0NQW
|
98 Winter Packet Workshop
The Sixth Annual "Winter Packet Workshop" will begin January 17 if
there is enough interest. It is important that you register if you plan
to attend. You can register by sending a packet message to N0KFQ at the
N0KFQ BBS or by sending e-mail to KBHiggs@compuserve.com The workshop will
be held at N0KFQ's home in Branson.
The "Winter Packet Workshop" is an annual packet training course
primarily concerned with "Full-Service BBS Operations," but also touching
on "Keyboard and Node Operations." It is an informal "hands-on"
workshop rather than a structured class.
A packet station will be set up and used by attendees during the
course. Questions, answers, and demonstrations will be the main thrust.
There will be printed material, handouts, and there may be homework.
The workshop will be held each Saturday afternoon from 2pm to 4pm and will
last four to six weeks depending on the ability of the attendees and the
amount of material covered. There is no charge for the course.
N0KFQ
Introduction to Packet Radio - Part 1
by Larry Kenney, WB9LOZ
Packet Radio is one of the largest major developments to hit the
world of Amateur Radio. If you haven't already been caught by the
packet bug, you're probably wondering what it's all about and why so
many people are so excited about it. Well, continue reading, because
you're about to find out.
Packet seems to offer something different from other facets of
Radio, yet it can be used for everything from a local QSO to a DX contact
thousands of miles away, for electronic mail, message transmission,
emergency communications, or just plain tinkering in the world of digital
communications. It presents a new challenge for those tired of the QRM on
the low bands, a new mode for those already on FM, and a better, faster
means of message handling for those on RTTY. Packet is for the rag
chewer, the traffic handler, the experimenter, and the casual operator.
A ham can get involved very easily with relatively small
out-of-pocket expenses. All you need is a transceiver, a computer or
terminal, and a TNC. A two-meter rig is preferred, since that's where
most of the packet activity is located. You probably already have the rig
and a computer of some kind, so all you need to buy is the TNC, which
costs just over $100. A TNC is a Terminal Node Controller, the "little
black box" that's wired between the computer and the radio. It contains
software for controlling the outgoing and incoming transmissions for your
station and a modem that converts the data from computer into AFSK tones
for transmission and changes the tones that are received by the radio
into data for the computer. The TNC modem works much like a modem that's
used to connect your computer to telephone lines. It's a simple matter of
wing up a plug and a couple of jacks to become fully operational on
packet.
Packet is communications between people either direct or
indirect. You work keyboard to keyboard, or use electronic mailboxes or
bulletin systems to leave messages. Due to the error checking by the
TNC, all of it is error free, too. (That is, as error free as the person
at the keyboard types it). As the data is received it's continuously
checked for errors, and it isn't accepted unless it's correct. You don't
miss the information if it has errors, however, because the information
is resent until it is correctly received.
The data that is to be transmitted is collected in the TNC and
sent as bursts, or packets, of information; hence the name. Each packet
has the callsign or address of who it's going to, who it's coming from
and route between the two stations included, along with the data and
error checking. Since up to 256 characters can be included in each
packet, more than three lines of text can be sent in a matter of a couple
of seconds.
There is also plenty of time between packets for several stations
to be using the same frequency at the same time. If all of this sounds
confusing, don't let it bother you, because the TNC or special packet
software does everything for you automatically.
Packet radio might seem very confusing at first, but in a day or
two you'll be in there with the best of them. In this series I'll be
telling you all about packet,how you get on the air and how to use it.
We'll talk about that little black box, the TNC, and tell you about all
its inner-most secrets. We'll discuss mailboxes, bulletin board systems,
and the packet networks that allow you to work stations hundreds, even
thousands of miles away using just a low powered rig on 2 meters, 220,
or 450. The world of packet radio awaits you!
Courtesy of N0KFQ
|
What is AMSAT?
By: Max Bodenhausen, W0ZZQ
AMSAT is a collective term for worldwide groups of ham radio
operators who are interested in building, launching, and QSOing through
non-commercial amateur radio satellites.
But let's start at the beginning. The Amateur Radio Satellite
Corporation (AMSAT for short) was formed in 1969 as a not-for-profit
corporation to push amateur radio participation in space activities. It
was founded specifically to continue the pioneering efforts of Project
OSCAR (Orbiting Satellites Carrying Amateur Radio). The project OSCAR
group built the first four OSCARs and secured "piggy-back"launches from
the Air Force. OSCAR 5 was developed by an Austrailian group, and the
newly formed AMSAT assisted with its testing and its launch aboard a NASA
rocket.
The rest is history as dozens of OSCARs and Radio Sputniks have shared
launch vehicles with a host of commerical and scientific satellites from
several nations. AMSAT groups have since formed in many nations and have
cooperated in the engineering, manufacture, financing, and operational
control of amateur radio satellites. It is fair to say that the original
American AMSAT group (now called AMSAT-NA), the German grou p (AMSAT-DL),
and the UK group (AMSAT-UK) have been leaders, but the efforts ofRussians
and Japanese as well as a dozen others can not be overlooked. AMSAT-NA was
instrumental in developing the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX)
which not only provides an oppurtunity to QSO with astronauts, but more
importantly provides direct contact between astronauts and groups of
school children to foster interest in space, science, and geography.
AMSAT-NA has also pioneered new technology - the digital
"store-and-forward" microsats. Similar satellites are now being used for
non-amateur purposes.
Besides helping to build and manage amateur radio satellites, what
can AMSAT-NA provide for you? In a word, resources. To name a few:
- Books on how to set up a station and operate on the various
satellites.
- Software to help you know when and where to point your antennas
to acquire amateur satellites.
- A bi-monthly journal, AMSAT nets, bulletin boards, and AMSAT
News Service to keep you informed.
- "Elmering" by AMSAT Area Coordinators ( I'm one. Call me at
443-3690 or e-mail me: maxbo@compuserve.com if you need help or are
interested in joining AMSAT-NA).
References:
1. The AMSAT Web page:
|
Articles for Newsletter
If there is anyone out there that wants to write an article or has a
item for sale for the
newsletter, you can submit it to:
Jim Thorpe, KG0IV
POB 4853
Springfield, Mo 65808
or
e-mail: kg0iv-1@juno.com
or
phone: 889-6775.
FOR SALE
Kenwood Handheld TH- 28A
with quick charger, extra battery.
$275.
Contact Jim, KG0IV at 889-6775 or e-mail: kg0iv-1@juno.com
Meeting Minutes
December 15, 1997
Submitted by:
Fred Drake, KI0ET, Secretary
The annual meeting of SMARC convened December 15, 1997 at 7:10 PM.
in Springfield, MO at the Golden Corral restaurant. President Karen Thorpe
opened the meeting with greetings to all. A motion was offered and
approved to accept the November minutes. Karen reported that the .91
machine is completely fixed. Food and money was collected in good measure
for the family in need that the club sponsored. The money will be used to
purchase a gift certificate at a local shoe store.
Woodie Moore conducted the election of club officers. The following
were elected: President, Mike Blake, N0NQW; Vice-President, Karen Thorpe,
N0TDW; Secretay, Fred Drake, KI0ET; Treasurer, Jude Griesmer, KF0YZ;
Public relations Director, Ern De Camp, KD0UD; Director at Large, Richard
Wood, KB0MPO; Director at Large, Bruce Braithwaite, N9TTN.
Santa, N9TTN, made an appearence to the delight of everyone;
especially the children. Dan Copeland, KF0OV, awarded door prizes to the
lucky winners of a drawing.
Karen Thorpe presented Max Bodenhausen, W0ZZQ, with a certificate and
a hat in appreication for two outstanding years as editor of the club
newsletter. Ed griesbaum, KB0GSV, presented a plaque of appreication to
out-going president, Karen Thorpe in recognition of her two years of
outstanding service to the club in the office of President.
The January meeting will be on the second floor of the Red Cross
building, January 19, 1998, 7:00 PM
The meeting Adjourned at 7:50.
|
Operation Santa Report
On Christmas Eve after having problems with his APRS/GPS delivery
system, Santa enlisted the assistance of SMARC members to make special
visits, via the 146.91 repeater to a number of patients at Cox South
Hospital. Chaplin Bill Harris, KA0DGK, who knows who is in the hospital
and who is not, assisted with delivery location data. It was a great time
for everyone. Some that were visited by Operation Santa team were even
noted to have tears in their eyes. A special thanks to all that helped
make this project a success.
Thanks also to those that helped by keeping the .91 repeater frequency
free of regular traffic during the project. If you have a couple hours
free on Christmas eve next year you may want to come an share a little
Christmas cheer.
Hope you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
73s,
SANTA
VE Exams for 1998
The following is the schedule for VE exams that are sponsored by the
Southwest
Missouri Amateur Radio Club and the Evangel College Amateur Radio Club.
All exams will be given at the Evangel Library with the exception
of the one given at the Springfield Hamfest.
Feb 21 Library
April 11 Library
June 2 Library
August 1 Hamfest
Oct 17 Library
Dec 12 Library
Exam fee for 1998 will be $6.35. P.O.C. Ron Baldwin AA7SF.
1-417-637-2668
or
e-mail: aa7sf@juno.com
SMARC Officers for 1998
Mike Blake, N0NQW, President 742-3955
Karen Thorpe, N0TDW, Vice President 889-6775
Fred Drake, KI0ET, Secretary 882-5568
Ern De Camp, KD0UD, PR Director 883-1020
Richard Wood , KB0MPO, Director 967-2892
Bruce Braithwaite, N9TTN, Director 889-5156
Address all membership/mailing correspondence to:
Jude Griesemer, KE0YZ, Treasurer 831-8254
Station Trustee
Dwight Keen, N0ZGG 759-2251
Club e-mail n0zgg@juno.com
Any questions concerning e-mail distribution should be directed to Fred
Drake, fdrake@mail.orion.com
|