Megan's Message and Musings The 2010 Radio season is well underway. We have just completed the first quarter of the year and I am going to take this time to reflect a bit on where we have come in these first 3 months. It all started at the end of December when I was elected President of HARC and the gavel was handed over by the outgoing leader. That lull in my schedule lasted but a few short weeks until the clock struck 12, the ball dropped, the calendar flipped and we were off and running. I had made up a list of things I wanted to see implemented, both changes and challenges. It was at that time when my call sign WO0MEG took on a life of its own. There were things to do. people to see, places to go. So here is a brief recap of what has happened during the first three months of this year: A Board of Directors (BOD) was developed and officers seated. A HARC calendar of events was organized and implemented. The RST newsletter was reborn. The HARC website was redesigned and is up to date. The K8DAA Yahoo Group has a fresh new look. HARC is now an ARRL affiliated club, an ARRL Special Service Club and an official ARRL Club Commission club. A club “cancellation notification” policy and procedure have been developed and put to work successfully. ARRL Hamfest information is now published in our newsletter and on our website calendar. ARRL contests are also published in our newsletter and website. “Ham is for Breakfast” is still running strong on the last Saturday each month, and “Donuts at Donutville” is likewise well-attended each Wednesday We have sponsored a General License upgrade class. Our Monday 2m Net is becoming The Place To Be each week. Open Mic night continues in its popularity, and grows weekly. We continue to reach out to our neighboring Ham organizations. SKYWARN training included a record number of HARC members in attendance. We have a brochure explaining HARC, printed and ready for distribution to help raise interest in Amateur Radio and our club. Our Projector Project Fund Raiser has now reached its goal! We hosted our first Mini Swap and Breakfast. We will be hosting several Fox Hunts this year, encouraging several local and county rivalries! We have moved to a new meeting place that can accommodate everyone. Antennas and Foxhunting have been the topics of our meetings. HARC membership has reached a record high! We now have a new Last Call Committee and a Santa Net. We are starting the HARC HAM HUNT - a new member directory Plans for Make and Take classes are being formed. Schedules will be posted soon for our new Extra, Tech, and Morse Code classes. We have booked our Annual Banquet - it will once again be at Beechwood Inn November 9, 2010. Now for the tough stuff: Sadly, we lost one of our founding members, Hollis Roels W8FIZ. His quick wit and mischievous grin will be missed. Since nobody came forward at the March membership meeting to volunteer to Chair the Swap, we decided to hold special Swap Meetings to discuss how HARC can host a Swap this year. Why are we so concerned about the Swap? Aside from our pride in hosting this annual event, in past years a profitable Swap brought in enough extra income to cover the expenses of our clubhouse. As reported by our Treasurer at the March Meeting, the expected income from Dues, licensing classes, and donations will total about $2,000. This will easily cover the club's expenses for liability insurance, Field Day, and other operating costs that total about $1,000. Our Treasurer also reported that we spend about $150 a month, $1,800 a year, for gas and electric utilities for the clubhouse. Some quick math reveals that the $1,900 in the Club's account will keep the doors open through December 31, but without an additional source of income this year we may not be able to keep it open next year. We will continue to monitor this situation and keep you all updated. That is the long and short of the first 3 months. My goal was to make HARC an equal opportunity club with something for everyone,and from the above list, I'd say that we are well on our way! We have a great team of chairmen to lead our group's events coming up thru the year. Thanks go to all of my “team” and to all of the members who help to make HARC what it is today... a thriving, exciting, educating, fulfilling fun group to belong to! Everyone is welcome to attend the Board of Directors (BOD) meetings and see all the nitty-gritty operations that take place so each and every one of you can enjoy any and all facets of this hobby. It is all of you that make “my job” one I am proud to have. 73, WO0MEG FOXHUNT Tuesday April 20, 2010 Get the cobwebs off your RDF gear and tune it up for the season. Representing "Team Kent" will be the winners of last year's fox hunt, James Richards, K8JHR, and Chuck Nowak, AJ8W. Come on out and see if they can hide as well as they can hunt Everyone is welcome. The starting location will be at the at the Ken Groom Technical and Training Center. Talk-in will be on the 147.060 Repeater. The Hunt starts promptly at 7:00pm, so please be there plenty early (6:30pm or so) to finalize teams and record your odometer reading. The winner of this foxhunt will be in the car that finds the fox within the two hour limit and has the lowest odometer/trip reading. Being the first hunt of the season, this will be a basic level hunt with no Doppler antennas allowed. Winners will get the first option to be the fox at the next HARC fox hunt. New to fox hunting? Come on out and learn the fun way -- by doing it! We will show you how. It's great fun. Meet, Greet and Eat Times and places to meet fellow amateurs Regularly-scheduled events At our handicap-accessible Ken Groom ZR5AAD Memorial Technical and Training Center, 280 East 8th Street in Holland, Michigan. “Open Mike” Night Every Tuesday night at 7:00pm. Come to operate or just enjoy coffee and conversation, members and guests welcome. Board Meeting 1st Tuesday of each month at 7:00pm. Presentation and General Membership Meeting 2nd Tuesday of each month at 7:00pm. Guests are welcome. This meeting has been moved to a new location in the Holland Fire Department meeting room, 279 Kollen Park Drive, in Holland, Michigan. This facility is also handicap-accessible. Donuts @ Donutville Every Wednesday at 2:30pm. Meet at Donutville, 676 Michigan Avenue in Holland for coffee and conversation. “HAM is for Breakfast” Join us at at 9:00am for an informal gathering on the last Saturday of each month. We meet and eat at Perkins Restaurant, 2332 North Park Drive in Holland, Michigan, across from the Walmart plaza. We usually occupy the back corner. Members, spouses, friends, family, and anyone else interested in amateur radio are welcome. Public Service Spotlight Tulip Time 2010 With Spring's arrival comes Holland's annual Tulip Time Festival, and what is a Festival without a parade? Of course, a parade without good communications only invites confusion, so for years Amateur Radio Communications has been used to support the Festival's three parades. There are two separate and distinct needs for communications; Parade Route First Aid and Parade Line-Up. The American Red Cross provides Parade Route First Aid, Holland's Tulip Time Committee is responsible for Parade Line-Up, and Amateur Radio Operators provide communications support for both groups. Parade Route First Aid Coordinated by Ottawa County Emergency Communications (OCEC) this year, amateurs will provide communications for two-person American Red Cross First Aid teams assigned to each one block section of the parade route. An Amateur walks with each First Aid team, and a Net Control Station coordinates all communications. For the first parade, the Volksparade scheduled for Wednesday, May 5, we will need 14 Amateur Stations to walk with the First Aid teams and two to serve at Net Control. These assignments are from approximately 1:00pm until 3:30pm. Similarly, we will need 14 Amateur Stations to support the second parade, the Kinderparade on Thursday, May 6, or in case of rain, on Friday, May 7. The third parade is the Muziekparade, largest and longest of the three, scheduled for Saturday, May 8. We will need twenty-four Amateur Stations to walk with the First Aid teams now covering an expanded parade route, and three more at Net Control. We also plan to have packet radio stations operating at the American Red Cross Tulip Time Headquarters, Holland High School, and at Net Control. Parade Line-Up We will need approximately ten Amateur Stations; six assigned to Parade Marshals, one to work with Floats, one to assist the TV crew with their coverage, one to work with the cars, one to work directly with the Grand Marshal, and two at Net Control. Altogether, we will need at least forty (40) Amateur Radio Operators for this parade on Saturday, so we need to draw from the resources of the Holland Amateur Radio Club and the surrounding Amateur community. Please Volunteer Whether you are new to Amateur Radio or have “sat on the sidelines” in the past years, please consider volunteering this year. It is a great opportunity for you to experience large-scale Net operations while providing a highly visible community service. Oh, and it can a fun way to get some exercise! Volunteer For Parade Route Contact Jim Miller, W8JRM, who is OCEC's Emergency Coordinator, at w8jrm@arrl.net. Please include your full name, call sign, telephone number, email address, and any assignments you would prefer, as well as any physical limitations or special needs you might have. Many of you have helped to support this festival for years, and if you are willing to serve again this year and have a favorite assignment, please let him know and he will do his best to assign you to that position. Volunteer For Parade Line-Up Contact Dave Lamer, WA8RSA, wa8rsa@charter.net. Manistee National Forest Cleanup On Saturday, April 17, the Two Trackers will be sponsoring the 12th annual Forest Cleanup in the Manistee National Forest area and other public lands, in northern Muskegon County and southern Oceana county. Last year, over 200 volunteers showed up with pick-up trucks and trailers to clean out trash and tires that gets dumped. More details and trash statistics at http://www.twotrackers.org/events Last year I was approached by the coordinators of this event to help with communications. The organizers had discovered that cell phones and CBs don't do so well in the woods. That's where the "to provide a public service" part of amateur radio comes in. Being a member of the Two Trackers, being involved for the past few years picking up and hauling trash, and being a ham operator, I was approached to organize communications. We did such a good job last year, I was asked to do it again this year. I have volunteered to organize and operate ground zero / net control. We'll need radio volunteers at 3 dumpster sites with-in the forest area, with the tour vehicles, the coordinator(s), and photographer. Additional radio assignments may be needed. The event starts in Twin Lake at the CarGo gas station on Hwy M-120. Registration at 8AM (radio volunteers will have our own registration), volunteers sent out in the field at 9. Rolls, coffee, and volunteer "communications" shirts provided to those who volunteer early enough that I can forward sizes to the shirt printer. Hot dog lunch provided at about 1PM. After volunteers move into the field, ground zero will move from the CarGo station to where lunch will be served. After lunch, those who want to help wrap up the event are welcome to, other wise done for the day. An event flier can be found at http://www.twotrackers.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/cleanup-flyer-2010.pdf We will use the Muskegon County Emergency Service 146.82(94.8Hz) 2M repeater. 73 Jack NY8D Jack Amelar 1554 Lincoln Lake Ave NE Lowell, MI 49331-9711 Home: (616)897-6885 Office: (616)493-8736 Cell: (616)318-4551 (Nextel 130*719*68) E-mail: mailto:jamelar@localnet.com Public Service Opportunities Please contact each event's coordinator for more information. Tulip Time - Parade Routes May 5,6 & 8, 2010 Jim Miller, W8JRM w8jrm@arrl.net Tulip Time - Parade Line-Up May 8, 2010 Dave Lamer, WA8RSA wa8rsa@arrl.net Burn Survivors Car Show May 15, 2010 John Hanse, KC8QDE 616-836-3737 johnhanse@charter.net West Michigan Bike MS June 12-13, 2010 Jim Heyl, N8QMD n8qmd@arrl.net Coast Guard Festival Parade July 31 through August 8, 2010 North Ottawa Amateur Radio Club Details to follow Air Affair, Park Township Airport Saturday August 21, 2010 Brian Fredricks, KD8IFE Megan Heyl WO0MEG Details to follow Parade of Lights Tuesday, November 30, 2010 Ivan DeWitt, K8EMU idewitt@charter.net Nets of Interest Compiled by Tom Wilson, KD8DEG Sunday 8:30 AM 50.400 AM, Grand Rapids 8:00 PM 145.270 FM, Lowell Club 8:00 PM 50.400 AM, Kalamazoo, Gary K8BKB 8:00 PM 147.240 FM, Allegan, Jim AC8AG 9:00 PM 50.150 USB, Zeeland, Charlie N8QEM 9:30 PM 144.155 USB, Holland, Bill K8NFT Monday 7:30 PM 147.060 FM, HARC, 2m Net. Ed, KF8EV is Net Manager Tuesday 7:00 PM 144.222 USB, Kalamazoo, K8BKB Gary 8:00 PM AM, Kalamazoo WJ8L Phil 9:30 PM 50.300 USB Kalamazoo, K8BKB Gary 9:00 PM 145.270 FM, MDXA, Dave KC8PCL 9:30 PM 50.400 AM Kalamazoo, K8BKB Gary Wednesday 8:00 PM 28.380 USB, Allegan 9:00 PM 50.140 USB, Cedar Springs, AC8AH Jerry Thursday 7:00 PM 147.160 Michigan youth, 22 and younger 8:00 PM 146.800 FM, MAARC weekly Net Daily 7:00 PM 50.200 USB, Cadillac, round tables Michigan’s Proposed Tower Law Excerpted from an email by Len Todd, N8AGS, Michigan Tower Law Project Manager, and with some 'massaging' by your editor... We have changed the name of the PRB-1 Project to a name that better fits the proposed law and more accurately describes its intent. We now call it the Michigan Tower Law, because it will standardize acceptable tower heights across the state. There is no state tower law in Michigan, so each local government is free to make up their own ordinance. Unfortunately, lack of a standardized Michigan law has resulted in a patchwork of “acceptable” tower heights that ranges from from ZERO feet to 200 feet. Yes, ZERO feet is considered an acceptable tower height in some Michigan communities. There is one Michigan community in which there is no ordinance against a ham tower. The local government there interprets “no ordinance” to mean that “towers are prohibited” and they are currently refusing a building permit for a proposed 30’ tower. The Michigan Tower Law basically proposes that for Ham towers up to 90 feet the local governments must leave us alone, while for towers over 90 feet you may still be directed to the Board of Appeals and you may then have to use the Federal PRB-1 protection. Status of House Bill HB #5556 This Bill is currently in the Committee on Intergovernmental and Regional Affairs. Representative Lindberg, the Bill’s original Sponsor, is asking the Committee Chairperson to move on the Bill. Once accepted or modified by the Committee, the Bill moves to the House Floor for discussion and/or vote, and if enough Representatives support the Bill, it passes. Now is the time to write, call and personally contact your Michigan Representative. If you have already written a letter, it is time to call. If you have already called, it is time to meek out your Representative for a face-to-face discussion. This Bill will only move if you move it, so please take a moment to contact your Representative to ask to him or her to co-sponsor the amendment to the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act, HB #5556. How to Contact your Michigan House Representative Step 1: Review the Bill. A copy can be found at: http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?2009-HB-5556 Step 2: Find your House District Number. A map is available at http://www.prb1michigan.org/id36.html Step 3: Find your Representative's name, email address and phone number . A list is available from http://house.michigan.gov/replist.asp. Step 4: Write a letter in our own words, or you can use a Template that is available at: http://www.prb1michigan.org/id18.html. Be sure to prepare your letter by addressing it to your Representative, with your signature and address. Tailor the letter with your own words as you see fit. Step 5: Print and mail your letter. You can mail hard copy, or cut and paste the text and send an email, but please avoid attachments to emails. Step 6: Send another copy of the letter to the Representative’s staff. Feel free to make a telephone call to express your views and the content of your letter Using whatever method you choose, please take the time to contact your Representative! Senate Bill – Status We have not been able to get a firm commitment of support from a Michigan Senator, and unfortunately, no Senator is currently a Ham. We are seeking support from several potential Sponsors, but thus far the response has been somewhat cold. It could be that Michigan’s budget issues are also precluding this body of government from considering our Bill. However, we continue to press our contacts. If you have a solid connection with your Senator, we ask you to consider working directly with us to contact that Senator and solicit the Senator’s support for our Bill. If you would like to tackle this approach, please contact me for some sample letters and other supporting documents. We have currently overspent our budget by $400, so contributions would be most welcome. Please send any donations to our ARRL Michigan Section Manager Dale, WA8EFK: Michigan ARRL PRB-1 Committee 291 Outer Drive Dundee, MI 48131 Thank you for all of your support Len Todd, N8AGS Michigan Tower Law Project Manager, N8AGS@arrl.net Minutes of March Membership Meeting March 9th, 2010 SOCIAL PROGRAM Introductions, welcome and opening remarks: A record-breaking attendance of 46 people filled in the sign-in sheet. Kim Loebert N8KAL sends his thanks for everyone's prayers and support during this difficult time. Program: “Fox Hunting” - Presented by Tom Bosscher, K8TB, Laryn Lohman K8TVZ, Mike Hill, W8DER and Charles Nowak AJ8W Refreshments: Sue Seidelman, KC8RQS baked a variety of homemade cookies that disappeared even before our refreshment break! Thanks Sue! BUSINESS MEETING Call to Order: 8:30pm. 50/50 Raffle: Winners: HARC $17.00, placed in Projector Fund, and Mike, W8DER won $17, which he donated to the Projector Fund in exchange for a Yaesu ballcap! President's Remarks: Megan, WO0MEG Our fox-hunting "dream team" will be putting together a class on tape measure antenna building. Watch for this announcement soon. There will be a nominal cost to cover materials. There are other ideas for make and take / mini classes in the works... watch the website and newsletter for this information. Meg again thanked Jim KC8KE for his excellent service in keeping the parking area plowed for us, even though the February meeting was canceled due to weather conditions.. If anyone is interested in Morse Code classes, let us know. A few have already inquired. Contact Ed, KF8EV, kf8ev@arrl.net and let him know that you wish to sign up. Jim Miller and Jason McKay will be our speakers on April 13th. The topic will be : OCEC - who they are, what they do, how YOU can help! Don't miss this meeting... they will show you what is available to HAMS in Ottawa County, and how you can put your radio skills to work. There will also be a short presentation on “Go Bags.” March 2, 2010 Board Meeting: The Board discussed options for remodeling the clubhouse. Interior walls must be removed to make room for more seating, and since these are “load bearing” walls such remodeling will be difficult and expensive for an increase of about 10-12 seats. The Board learned that the City has no funds for maintenance or remodeling of the clubhouse, and that the lease is on a month-to-month basis. Given the potential expense for remodeling, and the temporary nature of the lease the Board feels that any remodeling would far outweigh the small gain in seating capacity and thus recommended that the club not spend any funds to modify the clubhouse. With the ever-increasing numbers attending our meetings, and the realization that some of our paid members and guests already have to stand in the hallway during the presentations and the meeting, the Board discussed alternate meeting places, and after learning that the Kollen Park Fire Station conference room would be available for our use free of charge, decided to move the Membership Meetings to this new location. The Board opened a discussion on what to do with the many surplus items in the clubhouse, such as the copy machine in the conference room that does not work, old computers that are "out of date" along with some odds and ends and desks in the basement. The Board recommended that our members be given the opportunity to purchase any of these items for a nominal donation to the club. Eventually, if nobody wishes to purchase these items they will be donated. The specific items to be sold, and the sales method, will be discussed at a future Board Meeting. Other Announcements and Club Business: Weather Cancellations: Last month we canceled the meeting due to the snow storm. The information was put on the 3 local TV stations, 3 radio stations, the reflector, the repeater, the web page and on the Repeater. We had only ONE member show up! Calendar Changes: Memorial Day Parade officials have informed us that they do not need our assistance for this event. HARC Banquet November 9, 2010: The Board recommended that the Banquet be held once again at the Beechwood Inn. The cost would remain the same at $20 per person, the menu will be equally extensive, including the fried mushrooms and onion rings! Rick N8GGO made a Motion that the club reserve the Beechwood Inn for the 2010 Banquet. Motion supported by Dave N8UJH. Motion was approved and the 2010 Banquet will be at Beechwood Inn. Date Change for June and July Meetings Due to the popularity of the American Legion Band concerts at the park bandshell, our June and July Meetings will be held on Monday June 7 and July 12. 50/50 raffle donations: If anyone has items they would like to donate for the raffle, please do so! We received a great box from ICOM and a few awesome ball caps from Yaesu. Thanks to those who have already donated to this. Tulip Time: Jim Miller (OCEC), Steve Vanderhill N8UJD and Dave Lamer WA8RSA will be our liaisons for this event. Watch for more information shortly. Members may choose to help Dave with parade line up or the Jim with OCEC and Red Cross. Communication Committee: If you are not signed up on the k8daa Yahoo group then you are not getting email from this reflector, so sign up on Yahoo today! At the last Board meeting there was discussion about formalizing a policy for use of the reflector, and the Board recommended that a statement be added to the reflector stating that the purpose of this group is to promote amateur radio and radio related activities, and that no business-related activity will be allowed including advertising in signature lines, logos, banners, and website links, and that only computers and other radio-related items may be listed for sale. The March RST newsletter is available to download now. Jim N8QMD is looking for people to submit short stories about their most memorable HAM experience and he will get them published as room allows, so send in your manuscripts soon! Monday 2m Net – We are looking for HAMS to take a turn at the helm for April. See Meg, WO0MEG or send her an email with dates that fit your schedule. Remember, if you have never run the net, it takes about 30 minutes of your time, the script is available for download on the website, and everyone is there to help and have fun. So give it a shot.. step out of the box and take a turn at the mic. ARRL - if you want to join ARRL, or if it is time to renew your membership, please consider joining or renewing thru HARC. When you go through our club the ARRL sends us a “kickback” of some of your dues. To pay through our club, please make your check for the amount payable to Holland Amateur Radio Club and get it to Phil, K8PVH. He will collect the dues, fill in the forms and submit them at the end of each month. Vice-president: Jim, KC8KE - Nothing to report. Secretary: - Nothing to report. Treasurer: Phil, K8PHV Main account balance $1878.65 and the Swap account balance $2500.00. Motion to approve the report by Rick N8GGO, supported by Jim KC8KE, motion approved.. Phil also reported that have about $350 of the $500 needed for the purchase of the projector. Club Station: Dave, WA8RSA - Nothing to report. Emergency: Steve N8UJH, announced a Skywarn training class March 25, 2010 in the Main Conference Room of the Fillmore Complex Education: Ed, KF8EV, is in Florida catching rays and trying his hand at not catching boats. In his absence Meg, WO0MEG presented the following: The club would like to acquire at least one book for each license class to keep in the library to help our instructors, any student who forgets his book on class night, and anyone who might be a hardship case or otherwise can't afford a book. If anyone has a book they would like to donate, we would greatly appreciate it. If no books come forth, then the Board will authorize the purchase one book for each class - Technician, General, Extra. VE testing for the current General class and all walk-ins will be held on March 29th, at 7 p.m. at the Kollen Park fire station. You will need 2 pieces of ID (one with photo) and $15 to take the test. All license levels will be available so try your hand at upgrading at the end of the month! Other amateur groups in our area will be informed of this testing, so hopefully we will have a few visitors for the test. Any VE's who want to help with testing should contact Rick Elushik, N8GGO richarde_97@yahoo.com This fall Technician and Extra classes will be offered. Tom K8TB will head up the Extra Class, and Jim N8QMD will head up the Tech classes. Building & Facilities: Kim, N8KAL was absent, no report New Business: 2010 Swap Chair needed: Steve Vanderhill N8UJH took the floor and explained that we are in need of a swap Chairman. He said that others have already said that they would be available to assist, but that we need someone to take the Chair position. After several calls for volunteers for this position but with none forthcoming, it appears that we have no Chair and thus we cannot host a Hamfest this year. Should a volunteer come forward after this meeting, we have until mid-April to pay a $350 partial deposit to hold the school and the space. If nobody steps up before our April meeting it is clear that there will be no Swap in 2010. Clubhouse expenses: We passed out a financial analysis that shows our clubhouse expenses for electric and gas were about $1,800 last years, and the telephone line at the repeater was about $900 last year. Since we have terminated telephone service at the repeater, utility expenses for the clubhouse are projected remain the same as last year at about $1,800. As reported on the financial analysis sheet the Swap netted about $1,350 last year after expenses, so even a successful Swap does not generate enough income to offset the clubhouse expenses. There was a suggestion from the floor to use the $2500 in the Swap fund to pay for the clubhouse utilities. The Board will take this idea under consideration, will monitor finances and, advise the membership if the General Fund begins to run short, and may then ask for approval for this use of Swap funds. The Board will continue to monitor expenses and search for ways to generate additional revenue. Club meeting: It appears that we have outgrown the clubhouse building. Over the past several months we have had an increase in attendance, and found that there is not enough room for all to be seated, with some members and guests alike spilling into the hallway where it is impossible to see the presentation. With that in mine, the Board wanted to find a facility with room to accommodate us comfortably. The Holland Fire Department has generously allowed us the use of their conference room at no charge. We plan to take advantage of this larger room to hold our next classes, since with a dozen students we are tight for space at the clubhouse. Our VE will also hold their testing in this room, so that those being tested can spread out with plenty of room between. Open Mic night and the Mini Swap and Breakfasts will continue to be scheduled at the clubhouse for the time being. There was no further business. Adjourned: 9:30 pm Respectfully submitted Jim Heyl, N8QMD, Secretary secretary@hollandarc.org Please contact the Secretary with comments or corrections. In Memoriam W8FIZ (Silent Key) Hollis Roels Jun 1, 1926 - Mar 15, 2010