West Texas Section News
January 24, 2012
News From Around West Texas
I hope each of you in the West Texas Section had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year, and that at least some of the many resolutions are still intact! My wife Suzie and I spent Christmas with my oldest son Craig, our daughter-in-law and two grandchildren in Austin, and with Suzie’s brother, who also lives in Austin. After Christmas, we drove to Chireno, just east of Nacogdoches, to spend a few days with my brother and sister-in-law. We arrived back home on Friday December 30th.
In early January, I was invited to attend the club meeting of the Key City ARC in Abilene. All plans were in place until snow and ice was predicated all across West Texas on Monday and Tuesday. I finally made the decision, and with the recommendation of others, to cancel that visit. A couple of hours later, I received an email that the club meeting had also been cancelled. I hope that visit will be rescheduled later in the year.
I am also looking ahead to the St Patrick’s Day Hamfest and West Texas Section Convention in Midland on March 17th. Although the official announcement from the Midland ARC has not yet been issued, there has been emails indicating that planning is in progress. It will be good to visit with all the folks across West Texas on St. Patrick’s Day in Midland.
---West Gulf Division QSL Contest---
The following was received from David Woolweaver K5NAV concerning the QSL contest presently underway. I think all of you have received this as a Special Notice but I am including it in its entirety as a reminder:
The West Gulf Division is sponsoring a contest for the best QSL cards in the West Gulf!!!
The Contest
Starts: January 1, 2012
Ends: April 30, 2012
Prizes will be award to the first place winner in each of three categories and a Grand Prize will be awarded to the best of the three category winners.
The three categories are:
A. Most Humorous
B. Best Graphic Design
C. Best Photo Card
Each category winner will receive a Dual Band HT. The Grand Prize winner will receive a MFJ Antenna Analyzer.
The rules are as follows:
(1) Only amateurs whose QTH is in the West Gulf Division – Texas or Oklahoma – are eligible to enter.
(2) An actual QSL card must be submitted – photo copies are not allowed.
(3) Only one QSL card per category may be entered.
(4) Each entry must be accompanied by an entry form with all required information filled out. DIY Make your own entry form. See below.
(5) A card, or the same card, may be entered in each of the categories, but each entry must include the actual QSL card and a completed entry form.
(6) Each entry form must designate which category the card is being entered and must provide the entrant’s full name, call sign, physical address, telephone number and email address.
(7) If an entry form does not designate the category, the entry will not be judged.
(8) If an entry form does not contain the required information, the entry will not be judged.
(9) The maximum number of entries is three – one card per category;
(10) You may win in only one category.
(11) The decisions of the judges are final.
(12) The prizes will be awarded at the West Gulf Division forum at HamCom in Plano, Texas in June 2011.
All category entries will be judged by a team of five judges. Each of the four Section Managers has appointed a judge and the West Gulf Division has appointed one judge. The judges will declare a winner in each category. No cards will be returned.
The three category winners will be announced in early May and the three category winning cards will be posted on the West Gulf Division website. All Division resident amateurs will be invited to vote for the grand prize winner using an internet voting website. One vote per Division resident call sign.
Instructions on how to vote for the Grand Prize winner will be listed on the West Gulf Division website and distributed via the West Gulf Division Newsletter.
See the West Gulf Division website for details and an example of the entry form."
www.arrlwgd.org
Entries may be mailed to
David Woolweaver, K5RAV
West Gulf Division QSL Contest
PO Box 531605
Harlingen, TX 78553
-OR-
Entries may also be hand delivered to the ARRL Booth or a West Gulf
representative at the following hamfests/conventions.
01/14/2012 San Antonio Amateur Radio Fiesta
Location: Schertz, TX
Sponsor: San Antonio Radio Club
Website: http://w5sc.org
01/20/2012 North Texas Section Convention (Cowtown Hamfest)
Location: Fort Worth, TX
Sponsor: Lockheed Martin Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://www.cowtownhamfest.com
02/25/2010 Orange Hamfest
Location: Orange, TX
Sponsor: Orange ARC and Jefferson County ARC
Website:
http://www.qsl.net/w5nd/index_files/HAMFEST%20INFO/hamfest%20info.htm
02/25/2012 Williamson County ARC Hamfest
Location: Georgetown, TX
Sponsor: Williamson County ARC
Website: http://wcarc.com
03/03/2012 Elk City Hamfest
Location: Elk City, OK
Sponsor: West Central Amateur Radio Club
03/03/2010 South Texas Section Convention (Greater Houston Hamfest)
Location: Rosenberg, TX
Sponsor: Brazos Valley ARC (BVARC)
Website: http://houstonhamfest.org
03/09/2012 Oklahoma State Convention (Green Country Hamfest)
Location: Claremore, OK
Sponsor: Green Country Hamfest, Inc.
Website: http://greencountryhamfest.org
03/10/2012 10th Annual IARC Hamfest
Location: Irving, TX
Sponsor: Irving Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://irvingarc.org/iarchamfest.html
03/17/2012 West Texas Section Convention (57th Annual St. Patrick’s
Day Hamfest)
Location: Midland, TX
Sponsor: Midland Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://hamfest.w5qgg.org
03/24/2012 ARC of Parker County Hamfest
Location: Weatherford, TX
Sponsor: Amateur Radio Club of Parker County
Website: http://www.w5pc.org
04/14/2012 Belton HamEXPO
Location: Belton, TX
Sponsor: Temple Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://www.tarc.org/hamexpo/
Let the fun begin!
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ARRL West Gulf Division
Director: David A Woolweaver, K5RAV
k5rav@arrl.org
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The contest presents an excellent opportunity for individual amateur radio operators to showcase their QSL cards. Thanks to David Woolweaver for his planning efforts in organizing this contest and setting it in motion.
---Earth Day Special Event Station in Earth, Texas April 21-22, 2012---
Received notice that Earth Day will once again be observed in Earth, Texas April 21- 22 with a Special Event Station being sponsored by the Ransom Canyon ARC in Lubbock (W5LCC). An excerpt of an email received from Bob Boyd WA5VSK is included here:
The Ransom Canyon Amateur Radio Club, W5LCC, will be holding its third Earth Day celebration in where else but Earth, TX of course on April 21 -22, Saturday and Sunday. We started this three years ago and everyone had so much fun we have kept it going. The call sign will be W5E. I just submitted the info to be published in QST this evening. Usually I am late in getting it in but this year I am early!!. In QST I indicated we would start Friday night, April 20 and we may. In years past some of us have taken campers up and spent the night there Friday and Saturday. I haven’t discussed plans with the club members yet but will let you know when we firm up plans. We usually try to run 2-3 stations depending on the West Texas spring Wx. The first year we almost blew away in a old fashioned dust storm. Last year was fairly nice. We have had a problem hearing stations due to very high noise levels from electrical lines. Gerry Grant went up there today and located some of the offenders and will talk to the appropriate individual at Excel to see if they can fix it before we go up again. It really is S9 plus nearly all over town. Frequencies will be 7.260 / 7.030, 14.260 / 14.030, 21.285 / 21.030 and 28.450 / 28.010. We may also work 30 and 17 meters depending on propagation. We will be working SSB, digital modes and CW.
There is a very good BBQ place on the main drag open only for lunch if it is still there. They make really good jerky as well. If you and your wife would like to drop by and operate from Earth we would love to have you. I will copy you on further emails as plans firm up. The city usually has some type of celebratory event even if it is an arts and crafts show. I will be calling them in the next few weeks to see what they are planning."
Thanks Bob for the information sent, and to members of the Ransom Canyon Club for their efforts in putting this together. For anyone that does not know where Earth, Texas, is located (and I admit I had to look it up on the map), it is 39 miles west of Plainview and 18 miles east of Muleshoe of US Highway 70.
---2012 Big Bend Ultra Run---
An annual event in the Big Bend Park on Martin Luther King weekend is the Big Bend Ultra Run. The event includes foot-races of 50k (31.6 miles), 25k (15.5 miles) and 10k (6.2 miles). The races follow dirt roads in the Park, some of which receive periodic maintenance and some no maintenance. The race courses are rough for walking and tremendously rough for runners. The event is supported by ham radio communications which was supplied by the Big Bend ARC and ham operators from San Antonio. On Friday January 13th, two portable repeaters were set up by BBARC operators. On Saturday, communications checks were made from all communication/aid stations, and finally on Sunday, the official race was conducted. There were a few pulled muscles, and one hamstring problem, possibly a few turned ankles, but overall there were few medical problems, and all went well. I can well imagine that Monday morning for the race participants was not a pleasant experience.
Thanks to all, both operators and race officials, for all they do to make the race a successful event.
---Silent Keys---
I received emails from Peg Richard KA4UPA and John Dyer AE5B advising me of the passing of Elbert J.W. Jackson WA5EAF of Abilene. He became a Silent Key on Thursday January 19th. Services were Tuesday January 14th at the Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Abilene, with burial at Elmwood Memorial Park. Elbert was a longtime member of the Key City ARC. Our condolences go out to Elbert’s family.
---Monthly Section Emergency Report---
(This report can be seen in its entirety by scrolling to the bottom of the West Texas Section Web Page. Once there, scroll to the bottom of the Web page to the see the link to the files under "downloads." Click on the link to open the file.)
Signature and Call Sign:
Howard Collier WB5EKW
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http://www.w5qx.org/ San Angelo ARC
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Thanks for all you do for the West Texas Section and Amateur Radio as a whole.
ARRL West Texas Section
Bill Roberts W5NPR
Section Manager
http://www.csvhfs.org Central States VHF Society
http://k5wph.org Sun City ARC K5WPH
http://www.w5es.org El Paso ARC W5ES
http://k5elp.com West Texas Rptr Asn, K5ELP
http://www.hamradioelpaso.com New web site in El Paso
http://www.bigbendarc.com Big Bend ARC, Alpine TX
http://www.w5qgg.org Midland ARC, Midland TX
http://www.orgsites.com/tx/w5lcc Lubbock Contest Club
http://hamradio.noaa.gov/ United States Skywarn
http://wx.findu.com/k5wph SCARC's WX Sta
http://dx.qsl.net/propagation/index.html Flare/MUF info
http://spaceweather.com/ Aurora, sun spots, CMEs
http://www.irlp.net/ Internet Radio Linking Project
http://irlp.g4eid.co.uk/status/all_reflectors.html Shows status of all reflectors
http://www.sota.org.uk Summits on the Air
