Well, it looks like Spring is just around the corner, and closely on the nice weather's tale will be
some not so nice weather. It would be a good time to tend to all those antenna projects we've
been putting off since November (I won't say which year), and also a good time to make sure
your lightning protection measures are up to par. My main scheme is to not leave anything
plugged in unless operating. I've been pretty lax in that regard during the Winter, so I need to pay
more attention to it when we get into the thunder storm season. Another real good protective
measure is the ARRL insurance program. I just got the notice for it in today's mail. The rate they
mentioned was $1.50 for each $100 of coverage. I'm not sure how that stacks up to the typical
homeowner's policy, but they seemed proud of it. I'll bet they pay off a lot more readily in the
event of a claim (perish the thought), than another company might if you had to explain to the
adjuster exactly why it is that you need 5 computers, 2 televisions, a VCR and camcorder, plus all
the rest of the radio gear!
The April meeting will be held at Boone Hospital at 7:00 p.m. in the cafeteria. See you there!
The March meeting was short and sweet. The February minutes were read, the treasurer's report
was given, and there was some discussion about the upcoming CMRA Hamfest. There were no
other committee reports presented. A VE session was held after the meeting, and I am happy to
report that there are two new amateur radio operators in the area. Congrats to William Anglen
(call pending) of Columbia and John Oswald (call pending) of Boonville. Hope to hear you both
on the air.
Speaking of on the air, it sure seems like there is a lot less activity on the Club repeater these days
than there use to be. You can usually find somebody to talk to, but it is usually the same handful
of people. I think some people got out of the habit of using their 2 Meter rigs when the K0SI
machine was QRT for an extended period of time. I know I went without a mobile or HT for
about a year. I suspect another reason 146.76 seems a bit vacant these days is because there are a
number of other machines to choose (2 meter and 440). Also, some hams have moved away or
changed jobs where they have little "drive time" or are on the road at different times. Whatever
the reasons, I would like to see more activity on '76. How about you? Are you
QRV/mobile/portable? The repeater is a big part of our Club, so we should put it to more use.
What better way to keep up on upcoming hamfests, antenna projects, your fellow amateur's feats
on HF, who is the DX on the air right now, how can I get my pc to work, etc?
Also related to K0SI, Dewey, WM0H is looking for anyone that would like to take a turn at being
the Net Control Operator for the Wednesday night 9:00 Net
The March Breakfast was well attended. About 10 hungry hams got together to share some
conversation (but not the food, hi). Robert had gotten together with Mark, N0ZOF, and picked
up the second club generator, which is now residing at the club station. Mark has taken a job in
the Hannibal area, so he will be leaving our group in the near future. Thanks for all your help in
the past Mark. Hope you have a Fine Business time at the new QTH!
Speaking of the club station, I managed to sneak in a few Q's from there during the WPX contest.
I only stuck around for a few because while the new call K0SI is great for most contests, it is not
much good for the WPX. The goal of this contest is to work as many prefixes as possible. The K0
prefix is not in very high demand. WY0B, however, was, and I got a lot of "Thanks for the new
mult" comments from the home shack even towards the end of the test. I'm not sure when the cw
portion of the test is scheduled for, but if anyone is interested in having a go at it, let me know. I
think a multi op/ multi transmitter attempt from the club station under a different call would be a
blast. One of the neat parts of this test is that the US qso's aren't worth any QSO points, but they
sure are good for multipliers, so as long as the "Big Guns" haven't worked your prefix a hundred
times already, they are happy to make the contact.
I've recently had an RFI problem in my shack. I inherited the old 486 computer from upstairs
when the XYL brought home a new Pentium ( I think she just go tired of the old erratic dirty
mouse, heh heh). Unfortunately, when the pc was turned on, it wiped out the HF rig. It was
generating some serious noise! Sniffing around with the HT (radio direction finding at work)
showed the 2 main offenders to be the cheap speakers on the sound card and the CRT. I took a
hint from Greg, K0GN, and snuck upstairs when Bonnie was asleep and switched CRT's. Okay, I
asked first. Anyway, that cleared the CRT noise. The original monitor is a KEC brand. The
replacement is a Samsung. The Samsung is much quieter! I was able to run CT while operating in
the WPX contest and didn't hear too much RFI. Now if only I can talk Bonnie out of her speakers
...
Plans are still coming together for the 1997 Hamfest. It will be held at Good Time Country on
September 6th, 1997. There will be an indoor flea market area and commercial vendors. We are
still finding out which vendors will be able to make it. We also plan to have a VE session and are
planning on some pretty good prizes. There will be a special mailing when all the details are
worked out. If you have question or suggestions, talk to Perry, N0NMC, the Hamfest Chairman.
Some of the local nets:
CMRA Wed 9:00 pm 146.760
Jefferson City Wed 8:00 pm 147.000
Ashland Wed 8:00 pm 146.685
Simplex Fri 8:30 pm 146.550
There are also nets in Fulton, Moberly, and Mexico, but I don't have the freqs / times.
Club dues are still due. If you haven't got yours in yet, get with John, KB0PHQ, or send them to
the Club PO Box.
Dewey, WM0H, has a TRS-80 looking for a home. The price is about as right as it gets, FREE.
He also has an Atari 13XE in the same price range and some discs. If interested, give Dewey a
call on 146.76.
The club fox has been reprogrammed with the new KOSI callsign, and since the weather is getting
nicer we might want to set up some more foxhunts. This is a great activity to hold after the
breakfasts (or any other time). The O.M. we got the fox from had just gotten back from a hunt in
his area when I talked to him on the phone ordering it. He said the fox that night was tied to a
weather balloon and tethered at 80 feet. That must have driven the hunters nuts at night. I've also
heard of foxes sewn into 2 flags and run up a pole. We'll need to get lots of hunts under our belts
before we get so creative, but it sure sounds like fun. Get your antennas and attenuators ready!
There is no new news regarding the Memorial Day Salute to Veterans Air Show. We are still
planning on having a tent setup to put amateur radio in the Public Eye. There will be more details
as the event approach-es. Let me know if you can make it.
Meetings:
Second Tuesday of the month:
2/11; 3/11; 4/8; 5/13; 6/10; 7/8; 8/12; 9/9; 10/14; 11/11; 12/9. 7:00 pm
Breakfasts:
Last Saturday of the month:
2/28; 3/29; 4/26; 5/31; 6/28; 7/26; 8/30; 9/27; 10/31; 11/29; 12/27. 8:00 am
Well, that's about all for this time around. As always, if you have an item you would like to see here, let me know.
73, es CUL,
de Jim/ WY0B ...
Central Missouri Radio Association
PO Box 283
Columbia, Missouri
65205