SD Section News for May, 2011

12 June 2011

To all SD amateurs:

Hello from the Black Hills. We have been enjoying a cool, wet summer so far in the Hills. With the spring semester completed, I am spending more time at home, trying to catch up on projects around the house. As I write this, I’m looking out over green prairie hillsides – quite a change from the usual semi-arid conditions we typically experience as the summer approaches. The hay crop looks good, and if we get a few sunny days, the first cutting should be put up in fine shape. In the eastern and north central parts of the state, however, there is still plenty of high water. And residents near the Missouri river have been busy with flood control as water is released from the dams along the river.

Black Hills ARC (Rapid City)

Skywarn training sessions were held at the BHARC clubhouse and at Surbeck Center on the School of Mines campus. This was the first year that the training was given at the School of Mines, and a large crowd of over 40 was in attendance.

Frank Shaw NU0F and Neal Hodges KA0SEZ provided assistance to the School of Mines ham club as they organized their first VE test session.

A direction finding exercise was held prior to the May club meeting organized by Scott WA0VKC. Gary Peterson K0CX gave the technical presentation on LC matching networks and antenna tuner design architectures.

Bruce K0NLE and Scott WA0VKC represented SD Amateur Radio at the SD Homeland Security conference held in Rapid City on 10 – 12 May. Bruce and Scott had a table in the exhibit area showing some of the capabilities of ham radio including a portable UHF repeater, a portable SSB and digital mode HF station, and various mobile and hand held VHF transceivers. Our participation in the conference was coordinated through the Pennington County Emergency Management office.

Several club members participated in two ARES planning meetings held in Hermosa. The summer public service events and the fall SET were discussed. Our public service event schedule was kicked off with the Crazy Horse Volksmarch, with the Big Mick ride scheduled for mid June. About a dozen events are on the schedule for this year.

We note the passing of another SD amateur radio icon, Ray Stepanek W0HVY. Ray was active for many years in the Aberdeen and Pierre areas, as well as in Rapid City during his later years. His estate sale was held in Rapid City on 4 June.

The BHARC will be again hosting its summer tailgate and auction at the clubhouse on 9 July.

The estate auction of Dewey Angerhofer, WØZUS, will be on August 27, near Edgemont. This will be a nationally advertised sale. The concessions will be organized by the local Lions club, with BHARC and HSARC members providing parking and general assistance. We expect buyers from all across the western US. Dewey was an avid AM operator, with a dozen operational commercial am transmitters. Gary Peterson K0CX is organizing the event and will be the auctioneer.

Brookings Amateur Radio Research Club

A VE test session was held earlier in the spring with Dan KD0MER passing the Extra test, and Josh KD0MES and Zek KD0MET both passing the General test. Work continues on the communications trailer with the goal of having it ready by Field Day. Field Day activities will be held at the Brookings Gun Club this year - additional details are available on the club’s w0bxo.org web site. Public service events for the year will include the Brookings Marathon. Skywarn training was held in anticipation of summer severe weather.

Deuel County ARC (Clear Lake)

Planning is underway for the 2011 Clear Lake Hamfest to be held on 30 July. The location will be the Clear Lake City Park and campground north of town. There will be VE testing, a flea market, and equipment demos. More information is available at the club’s website http://www.w0gc.org/dcarchamfest.html.

 Lake Area Radio Klub (Watertown)

Work has resumed on the new water tower near the elementary school which will be the site of the club’s repeater. We have been informed that the lead acid storage batteries that we have used for backup power will not be accepted at the new site by municipal officials. Also of concern is the method of connecting the antenna and feedlines to the tower. Options for the new installation are being considered.

The summer public service event season is underway with the May Day Run, the mini-triathlon, the Race for Chase, the Ford Law Office Kampeska Classic Time Trial and Poker Ride, and the Hospital Hill Run events scheduled.

The club’s amateur radio class held this spring culminated in a testing session which yielded three upgrades: ARIC, KF4CTI, and Paul, NØPTW, upgraded from technician to general class. Clark, KBØRBG, jumped from technician to extra class. Members of the testing team were Joe, KKØSD; Dave, NØDL; and Kevin, KBØLCR. David Kjelland of Morris, Minn., a walk-in applicant with no amateur radio license, earned an extra class license. His call is ACØWC.

Noting that the severe weather season is approaching, Jim Sutton, Codington County Emergency Management director, encouraged LARK to have someone at his office when storms approach. Sutton thanked members for their past support. The club also expressed appreciation to Sutton for his long-term support for the club and amateur radio.

Clark, KBØRBG, said contact has been made but no date set to meet with a Prairie Lakes Hospital employee and explain what LARK can do to provide emergency communications support. KF7CTI, who works at the hospital, said employees can communicate via the family radio service and the state digital radio system. What probably is needed is the ability to communicate outside the hospital should the facility’s telephone system fail. Although considerable time has passed, John, NØMEA, recalled instances when LARK provided communications support to the hospital.

The club will particpate in Field Day again this year at StokesThomas Lake City Park per FD chairman KKØSD.

NØPTW said he spoke recently with Dave Zaug, who supervises the Codington-Clark Electric Cooperative distribution system. Members should keep him in mind because the co-op could need communications support during an emergency.

 Hot Springs ARC

The club will be taking book orders over the next few weeks – if you need any of the ARRL publications, you are welcome to add them on to our order. The IRLP is up and running at Hot Springs. The frequency is 146.475 with an input tone of 146.2 Thanks to Phil WØFUI for all his work to get this going. A big thanks to John KCØWIB for keeping the grass mowed at the club shack during all the rain in May. John is also working on setting up a web site for the club. Kudos to the HSARC club members that helped with communication for the Crazy Horse Volksmarch and the Big Mick Bike Ride.

Our Field Day operation will again be at the world famous Mammoth Site. We will be setting up on Friday night and operate full speed ahead, starting at noon on Saturday. Plans are to have 2 towers and hf yagis up this year, along with dipoles and a 6 meter station also. The big burger and brat cookout starts at 5:30pm and anyone is welcome to join us. Come to help set up, operate, eat or just chew the rag. We could use a good sidewalk supervisor!

We are planning a transmitter hunt on July 7. We will start at the club shack and after the fox is found, everyone will enjoy root beer floats at the qth of Heath, KDØGTE.

VE testing was held on May 6^th. Congratulations to Robert, KCØWID, Ike, KCØKBZ, and Berline, KDØNYH, for earning their General Class license. Another VE test session will be held in June. We look forward to the new hams becoming active in the club.

Several club members attended the two recent ARES planning meetings in Hermosa. Tim K0OR reported on the evening 2 meter net and thanked all the net controls for their professional handling of the net. When the roads become passable on Terry Peak and Bear Mountain, we will be able to tackle some of the repeater issues at those sites.

The estate auction for Dewey Angerhofer, WØZUS, will be on August 27, near Edgemont. This will be a big event and you won't want to miss it.

It is with true sadness that we report the passing of Keith Miller, NØTHA. Keith was the Hot Springs Airport Manager.

 Huron ARC

 Arrangements are being made to hold Field Day in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

The Little House Special Event is scheduled for July 16-17.

The club will be placing an order for Field Day T-shirts.

The comm trailer, complete with a freshly painted logo, will be used to kick off the summer special events beginning with the Scout-O-Rama.

A VE test session was held on Apr. 30 at the Huron city hall.

 Northern Hills ARC (Lead, Deadwood, Sturgis, Belle Fourche)

Skywarn training was held in Deadwood at the EOC, in the Newell city hall, and at the Union Center community hall.

We note the passing of one of our active hams Harry Irwin KF0QB. Harry lived in Spearfish and was a regular attendee of the Northern Hills Saturday morning breakfast group and the Black Hills Sunday morning net.

Bill, N7MOG discussed the possibility of buying some Ham radio related books, ie: Tech Class License Manual or Operators Manual to give to local libraries. We decided to buy one Gordon West book for each library in the area.

A special presentation was given at the May club meeting by Bruce K0NLE on direction finding and portable antennas.

We had several of our club members attend the ARES planning meetings in Hermosa held in April and May. We need to make trips up Bear Mountain and Terry Peak once the weather warms up.

Jerry KG0GG was presented a certificate of appreciation at the Hermosa ARES planning meeting from Section Manager Scott WA0VKC. Jerry was recognized for his dedication and perseverance as Section Emergency Coordinator, and for his contributions to Black Hills area ham radio activities over the last 11 years.

 Pierre ARC and DARN

The Flood Net was activated for the 2^nd year in a row for a period of 6 days. Forty two reports were received from 34 individuals. The reports were forwarded to the NWS for use in their flood forecasting models.

Jim KD0S organized this year’s SD QSO party which was held in April. Many SD stations were heard participating in the event.

Weather spotter classes have been completed in anticipation of the summer severe weather season.

MT-63 hf digital mode practice sessions are being held every Sunday afternoon at 4:30 mountain time on 3570 kHz.

 Amateur operators were mobilized during the recent levee construction activities in the Pierre / Ft. Pierre area. Several hams from across the state volunteered to participate. The group was activated for several days, and helped direct traffic during the sandbagging operation. A more detailed report will be forthcoming.

School of Mines ARC (Rapid City)

 We organized our first VE testing session just prior to the end of the semester, with Frank NU0F and Neal KA0SEZ from the Black Hills ARC in attendance to oversee and critique our first session. We will be in a position to do our own testing sessions after the fall semester begins.

Club members have been collecting components and fabricating mechanical parts for a satellite radio system. The transceiver arrived just before the semester ended, and hopefully we will be able to get it on the air this fall.

Seven members of the club hosted Section Manager Scott at the Tinder Box in Rapid during finals week for an "end of the semester" celebration. Cigars and craft beer were enjoyed by all. Scott also reported that the prior week, BHARC member Kenny KD0DLA’s jazz band had performed at the Tinder Box. We were disappointed to learn that Kenny will be attending U of Illinois next fall as a freshman instead of the School of Mines, but we wish him well, and look forward to hearing from him as he works on his EE degree at Illinois.

A new workbench was donated to the ham club, and has been installed next to the operating position. A new (to us) couch was also donated to the club, and will be put to good use during our contesting sessions.

Alex and Tyler presented their software defined radio senior project at the senior design fair. This project will be finished up next December.

Most of our members will be gone for the summer. Karl NM0H will be around during the summer session. Best of luck to Logan AC0LU who has been an active club member for the last several years. Logan finished up his EE Masters degree, and will start work at Collins in June.

 Sioux Empire ARC (Sioux Falls)

The summer public service event season was kicked off with a bike race including 54, 75 and 100 mile routes, from Sioux Falls to the Dakota State campus in Madison.

 Dakota Chapter QCWA

The QCWA meets Sunday mornings on 3889 at 7:00am mountain time. You can search the internet for the QCWA site for membership information. The national organization publishes a nice quarterly journal.

 SD Nets

Tom Wilson NI0I, our Section Traffic Manager, reported that in May we had 4288 checkins, with 493 messages passed in 153 sessions. We currently have the following 13 nets active in SD: Aberdeen 2 meter net, Brookings 2 meter net, Brookings sixer net, Dakotas Ch 102 QCWA net, Morning HF WX net, NESD 2 meter net, Sioux Empire 2 mtr net, SD NEO evening net, SD NJQ noon net, SD QRP CW Net, SD Sunday Morning Emergency net, SD Slow Speed CW Net, and the Tri State Emergency Wx net. Thanks to everyone who checks into our statewide nets, and to our volunteer net control stations and net managers.

Thanks also to our Region 10 reps Jim W0CLS, Tom NI0I, Randy KA0ZEE and Dave W0NWT who reported that the Region 10 nets handled 81 messages in 60 sessions during May.

 State-wide

Mark your calendars for the following events:

July 9: Black Hills ARC summer tailgate and auction at the Radar Hill clubhouse.

July 16: Tea Tailgate (at the truckstop, I29 Tea exit)

July 30: Clear Lake Hamfest

August 27: Dewey Angerhofer W0ZUS Estate Sale, near Edgemont. This sale will be advertised nationally.

Email any items that you would like included in the section news to me at serausch@aol.com .

73, Scott WA0VKC