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ALERT: Sat, January 30, 2010; 11:24 PM ET
RACES is alive again in Illinois! Governor Patrick Quinn and Andrew Velasquez, Director of IEMA, made the announcement in a press release from Springfield yesterday. IEMA forms partnership with amateur radio operators My personal thanks go out to Brad W9FX, Charlie Richey K9DUE, Jim Pitchford N9LQF, and the other folks who made our dream into reality. |
News last updated: Sun, January 10, 2010 at 12:30 AM ET
SM--Tom Ciciora KA9QPN
SRM/ASM--Ron Morgan, KB9NW
SEC/ASM--Brad Pioveson, W9FX
ASM for
Youth--Neil Gebhardt, KB9ZGZ
ACC--Joe Serocki, N9IFG
SGL--Charles Richey,
K9DUE
STM--Harold Dunn, K9CNP
PIC--Fritz Bock, WD9FMB
TC--John Dinella,
WA9IL
OOC--Tim Childers, KB9FBI
ASEC--Pat Ryan, KC6VVT
ASEC--Pat Stowell N9PN
DEC: Central--OPEN,
Northeast--Bob Cockream, AB9EE, Northwest--Jim Conrad, W8MQ, Northern
Border--Wayne Hansen KA9IMX, Southern--Bruce Talley, WA9APQ, Southwest--Curtis
Williams, W5DTR, Eastern Border--John Van Sandt N9YRX, Cook County/Chicago--Neil
Ormos N9NL, Illinois Medical Emergency Response Team Liaison--Dale Marzano, N9JH
OK, then...where are we going?...
**Two articles which crossed my desk this month made me wonder about the direction of the Service. One was the 'It Seems to Us:' column in the current QST, written by the League's esteemed CEO, David Sumner K1ZZ. In my own humble and personal opinion, it seems to have been done to placate both sides of the debate called 'pecuniary interest'. The other was an article in the November 09 Monitoring Times. Now, MT isn't a ham radio publication by any stretch. It does a credible job of trying to be all things to all radio hobbyists (apologies to the Jesuits!) without donning the tinfoil hat regularly like another popular communications publication. MT had an article by Harry Dannals W2HD. For those who came in late, Harry was the President of our League from 1972 into 1982. Interestingly, as W2HD briefly chronicled his tenure as League President, he detailed his message over ten years. It bears repeating here: "Amateur Radio is a service organization established with a basis and purpose as set forth by the...(FCC) in simple terms...It is a voluntary, noncommercial communications service, particularly with respect to emergency communications; to demonstrate a proven ability to contribute to the advancement of the radio art; to provide for advancing skills in both the communications and technical phases of the art; to provide trained operators, technicians and electronics experts; and finally, the extension of the Amateur's unique ability to enhance international good will.' (Emphasis by the editor.) He also added that he started many of his talks while visiting groups and conventions with the words: 'I am proud to be a Radio Amateur because we continue to be responsive to our basis and purpose.' The question for us is: where are we going and what is that basis and purpose? Do we retreat from 100 years of community service because a loud minority insists that the Service is 'just a hobby', or do we press for resolution of the pecuniary interest question so as to dispel the fear instilled by the infamous Smith email 'almost' citation. We need to safeguard the Service against becoming a convenient substitute for increasingly expensive public safety communications. However, we can't abandon our time-honored position as the people who prevail When All Else Fails.
**Take that, doomsayers! ARRL VEC manager Maria Somma AB1FM says that the FCC issued over 30,000 NEW ham licenses this past year. This is up nearly 2000 souls from 2007 and not quite double the increase of 2005. Please bear this in mind the next time that you hear a stumbling voice with a new call on-air. You just might be the difference between whether or not that person continues in Amateur Radio. Don't spin the dial or jump down the person's throat because of some perceived shortcoming. Talk to them. Help them. We control our future. Last summer, I was traveling in a large western city and had occasion to hear a child with a new call on a local repeater. I listened to this poor kid sign his call as listening on frequency every 15 minutes for an hour and a half. Silence. Finally, I went back to the boy, and learned that he was eight years old, newly licensed, and enjoyed ham radio, video games and computers. We chatted for about 15-20 minutes until he was called for supper, he talking about his new HT and me undoubtedly boring him to tears with the fact that I have two grandchildren his age. Did I keep him from losing the blush on his new pastime? I sure hope so.
Get
informed...
**MARS is getting a new name, but in an economy uncharacteristic of the military, the acronym has been recycled. Instead of Military Affiliate Radio System, it becomes the Military Auxiliary Radio System. Now, in addition to the time honored but fading practice of providing servicemen abroad a way to contact home, MARS will now 'provide "contingency radio communications" to support US government operations, DoD components and "civil authorities at all levels," providing for national security and emergency preparedness events' according to an ARRL news article. Oh, so interesting in light of the current goings-on. Where were we going again?
**The January 2010 issue of Linux Journal prominently featured the various flavors of Linux as applied to Amateur Radio. For those who don't play, Linux is a broad term for the core of an open-source operating system which lends itself well to tinkering. Many distributions are free or much lower cost than Windows and most run well on older hardware. You can even test drive it without permanently installing it to your computer! That's as good of an explanation that I can offer in this brief space. I suggest that if you are computer literate and don't have any operating system prejudices, Linux is worth a look as is a copy of the referenced magazine. Once upon a time, my friend and neighbor Tim N9NU hosted a fairly definitive website dealing with Linux and Ham Radio, but he unfortunately abandoned it in favor of a business startup. There is plenty of other information just a Google away. Now, if we can only get someone to rewrite some more of those Linux apps to OS X...
**Stay tuned for progress on our attempts at a state PRB-1 and the effort to amend the state anti-texting law to fix the badly written definition of 'mobile communications devices'.
**Whither the Great American Tailgate Hamfest? The Bolingbrook ARS has decided to discontinue their hamfest, which was a State Convention venue until not very long ago. The club got slugged with some unexpected charges from the School District from their last fest, and appear to have some problems getting that elusive 'somebody' to help out. It's impossible to say if one of my favorite projects, Hamfest Consolidation, would have saved this fest. However, it sure could not have hurt.
Around the
Section...
**The latest issue of the Fox River RL ArcOver contains details of Larry Stark K9ARZ's efforts to replicate a 1950's vintage CW transmitter. Larry's effort is an update of one which appeared in QST in 1952 and later editions of The Radio Amateur's Handbook. Playing with one of these old designs is just plain fun, although parts sourcing could be a challenge, especially the vacuum tubes. If you've no experience with such things, there is nothing like the glow of tube filaments. However, Larry points out that these old critters carry lethal voltages. Enough, as my grandfather so picturesquely put it, to make your ears light up. Tesla's old trick of keeping one hand in a pocket when energizing higher voltage equipment has served me well over my time in the electrical industry and ham radio. Have fun and play safe.
**Congratulations to the Western IL ARC on their 70th year of service, and to newly elected President and Vice President Todd (AB9QW) and Amber (KC9NYN) Clevenger. This is the first father/daughter combination like this that I've heard of.
**The Podunk Hollow News of the Egyptian RC carries a great detail of their new (to them) communications van as used to celebrate the club's 80th anniversary.
**Why, yes I am. Thank you for asking. I'm not finished yet and I'm still having fun.
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