From the top... **The start of contest season has prompted
a message from HQ. The short version: be courteous, be tolerant (of those on
both side of the fence: contesters and non-contesters alike...and all modes
within their bandplan!) and 'play nice'. Most of the contests these days have
been in place for a while. Should be no surprises here. We share the spectrum.
Any harm to one of our pastimes diminishes them all, be it contesting, experimentation,
traffic handling, EmComm or whatever. (National Rifle Association members have
understood this for years. It's the 'we're all in this together' mentality that
keeps them generally marching in the same direction and mostly successful in
their efforts.) We are all in this wonderful kaleidoscope of a Service together.
Let's enjoy it and be tolerant of each other's pursuits.
**If I didn't know better--and I really don't--I'd offer the opinion that the
current EmComm/Pecuniary Interest fracas was instigated by the rise of 'cram-to-order'
hams. The fear expressed both by this writer and elsewhere is that these operators
would only provide a captive group for the agency sponsoring the license class.
The minefield ensues when it's a business sponsoring the creation of the new
hams. In the opinion of some, it's a quick slide from emergency communications
to a stealth business band operation. (Insert long discussion here on how the
general ham community would never know such a thing was going on if some of
the digital voice or data modes were used. Or if it was done on 222, 900, or
1.2G? How many of us can or do casually listen to every possible mode on every
band? And: NO. That's not an excuse to restrict the digital mode which you don't
like/don't understand/can't afford.) I'm unhappy with the 'cram-to-order' concept
as implemented. Sure, it increases our numbers (which is why I was initially
glad to see this phenomenon). However, as I've said before, these folks are
beholden only to their patron agency. By and large, they add nothing to the
general Amateur Radio community by operating outside of their agency's domain.
They generally do not advance the art by experimentation, nor foster goodwill
via casual communications, nor participate in clubs. They usually buy no equipment
to entice manufacturers to offer more and better products to the general ham
community. None of the current solutions in play (from doing nothing to Petitions
for Rule Making) offer a good solution to this elephant in the room, although
the FCC appears to like the 'do nothing' option.
Get
informed...
**ERRATA: There is no antenna bill known as SB 5655 circulating through the Illinois General Assembly. This is a Washington State issue erroneously reported to me as an Illinois thing. Whoopsie...
**NWS SKYWARN Recognition Day is coming, and there are some big changes due
to the current H1N1 concern. There will be no Open House at NWS/Romeoville
this year, and the operators for the on-air event will be limited to pre-scheduled
participants. Full details are available on the NWS
Chicago web site. Very unfortunate about the Open House. Those of us who
missed the one earlier this year were looking forward to a second chance.
**Speaking of H1N1, several ARES/RACES groups have notified me of participation
in local vaccine distributions. Please be aware of possible opportunities for
public service.
Around the
Section...
**The current issue of the Bolingbrook ARS 'CQ BARS' Newsletter reprints an article from the National Institute of Science and Technology's 'Tech Beat' newsletter. The article urges caution in portable electric generator use, specifically distance from dwellings. NIST is currently studying the problem. Preliminary data suggests that fifteen feet might not be sufficient.
**The Chicago Suburban RA will be operating special event stations signing W9C from 0000Z 22 November through 0000Z 7 December to commemorate the club's eighty-fifth anniversary. Details at www.csraham.com.
**The Fox River RL 'ArcOver' newsletter (among others) carried excellent details on the Amateur Radio support for the recent Chicago Marathon. Still wondering what happened to the article on the League web page which vaporized as soon as it was posted.
**Finally, Roger Bonuchi AC9Y sends the following account: 'Our Plainfield Radio League / Plainfield EMA hosted Jamboree-on-the-Air (JOTA) held October 18th was a success. We had 46 kids and their parents come by and take part. Our JOTA here in Plainfield has been hosted by PRL/PEMA members for 6 years. We've typically gotten a good turnout and good weather. This year we also held a touch-a-truck outside the garage. The JOTA "stages" for the kids to attend and learn are: - A demo of Morse code and a chance to send their own name in Morse on a practice code key. - Viewing the video Amateur Radio Today with Walter Cronkite. Highlights Amateur radio in emergency response. - An opportunity to sit with an amateur radio operator in front of a live HF radio and talk to other kids around the world. This was a difficult event for me this year due to my work schedule. I had worked all night Saturday into Sunday morning. JOTA setup was planned to start at 11:00. I had slept for about an hour when I drove over to the garage. I drove up and was happy to see that Heidi and Brent were already setting up the wire dipole antenna and others had set the trucks up in the parking lot for the touch-a-truck event. We truly do have a "team" here at Plainfield EMA! I send out a special "Thank you" to the following members for their help in setup and support of JOTA 2009: Kelly McCann, Stacey Stofko, Brent Oots, John Fleming (PRL), Donna Vojensky, Heidi Kelly, Donna Madia' (no callsigns given-Ed.).
DeKalb and Ogle County ARES members acting as Parade Marshals and comms for the Sycamore Pumpkin Parade. Front row left to right:
Luc Yurs KC9PJM, Tom Lower K9GPC (EC Ogle Co.) Eric Behr KC9DUX, Gene Adee N9ZNC, David Stein KC9NVP (Ogle Co.) Kent Berglund KC9LIF, George Greene NE9ET, Dennis Bell KA9DVS, Bob Yurs W9ICU (EC Dekalb Co.)
Back row left to Right:
Randy Sherman KB9TVK, Charlie Anderson N9QDJ, Brenda Anderson KA9DXH (Ogle Co.)
Pete Barik K9BAG, Mike Heiderscheidt WD9GNX, Mark Johnson N9YEX, John B. Leonard Jr. W9JBL.
Dekalb Co. ARES and Kishwaukee ARC have been doing the Parade since 1998. (Photo courtesy KARC)
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