WA5MA welcomed new attendees and those who are working to get their
Technician license.
WA5MA introduced the club officers present then requested round-robin
introductions of the company.
WA5MA asked whether anyone doesn’t receive the newsletter.
WA5MA asked for any questions or comments about the minutes of last
month’s meeting. Nothing heard. Ian, KC9THI, moved to approve the
minutes as written; John, NJ5Z, seconded; the minutes were approved
by acclamation.
WA5MA asked for any questions or comments about the financial report.
Nothing heard. Ky, KY5VAR, moved to approve the financial report;
Paul, KE5EHM, seconded; the minutes were approved by acclamation.
WA5MA said that given the absence of Bart, N5TWB, news of the grant
proposals is postponed.
WA5MA asked Paul, WB5ANX, about the state of the Superlink node on
443.850.
WB5ANX said that the repeater replacement is complete except for some
fine adjustment of configuration.
From the floor, someone asked whether the interfering station ID had
been located. WB5ANX replied that it had not, and suspected that it is
due to a cross-band connection somewhere in the geographic coverage
area. WB5ANX and Gregg, W5GGW, reiterated that cross-band connections
with the Superlink are prohibited to prevent this kind of interference
that is broadcast over a wide area. Some radios automatically transmit
Morse IDs when in cross-band mode.
WA5MA, W5GGW, and others strongly recommend that when operators in a
QSO are within range of each other, they should QSY from the Superlink
to a local simplex frequency or local repeater like 145.110 for lengthy
chat thereby releasing the Superlink system for use by others around
the coverage area. As amateur radio operators, we share the bandwidth
and therefore should always be considerate of other users who may want
or need to use the wide-area Superlink system.
WA5MA asked David, N5DMK, about the exam session held in this meeting
room on Saturday, 18 March.
N5DMK said that there were five examinees of which four passed, one of
whom passed the Technician and General levels, but failed the Extra
level. One fifteen-year-old girl brought by her uncle passed her
Technician level and received a round of applause and a new Baofang
dual-band radio ready-to-go programmed with the repeater frequencies.
N5DMK said that as previously approved, the club is now giving dual-
band radios to new Technician licensees who are under the age of
eighteen. If there are multiple Technician licensees who meet the
criterion then the we will bestow the radio on the person who wins a
drawing of lots. Also, all new Technician licensees now receive a one-
year membership to the club. Purpose of this largesse is to encourage
newly licensed operators to get on the air and become active in the
hobby.
There being no further business, WA5MA asked for a motion to close the
meeting: Paul, KE5EHM, made motion to adjourn; Andrew, W5AWS, seconded;
approved by general exodus.
WA5MA asked Andrew, W5AWS, to count the people present in the room.
Room-3140 was full with fifty persons present, which included two
future amateur radio operators.
WA5MA said that the Storm Spotter Training held on March 11th at the
north campus of OSU Tulsa was well-attended and worthwhile. W5RAB said
that he and Paul, WB5ANX, had visited the National Weather Service
offices where they repaired two UHF and two VHF antennas.
WA5MA asked Steve, KF5VCQ, to talk about fox hunting.
KF5VCQ said that the club now has a Fox-box built around an HT with a
strong enough signal to cover a radius of five miles. We tried it
during winter field day when James, ????, brought his tape-measure
antenna. KF5VCQ said that it is possible to QRP the HT to reduce signal
strength.
WA5MA asked Kenny, KC5MJE, about his experience on HF.
KC5MJE said that using his 100W rig with an EFHW nine feet off the
ground running under the eaves of his house he’s been quite active as a
hunter for Parks On The Air, mainly on 10 meters, but now that he
upgraded to General, he’s made contacts on 40, 20, 17, and 12.
WA5MA said that a couple of weeks ago during an afternoon of portable
operations at Chandler Park, he had a long QSO on 10 meters with an
operator on holiday in Belize who was calling CQ. Bottom line is that
the bands are open.
WA5MA delivered his State of the Club address now that the club
membership has more than doubled from approximately 60 two years ago to
190 members, as of this meeting.
WA5MA reviewed the list of club activities:
1. Weather Watch: During onset of severe weather, the Weather Watch
activates on the Superlink system to receive reports of the
developing weather that are then passed to the National Weather
Service when W5IAS becomes WX5TUL at the official declaration of
Severe Weather.
2. Comm-1 Trailer: Steve, KF5VCQ, designed, built, and configured
the club communications trailer. It is equipped with a Fusion
repeater, WiFi, HF transceivers, VHF & UHF transceivers,
generator, photovoltaic panels, batteries, charge controllers,
air conditioning, and a pneumatic antenna mast. We use the
trailer at public events and during emergencies. Tests show that
we can deploy the trailer within fifteen to twenty minutes from
parking to fully operational.
3. ARES SET: We participate in the Amateur Radio Emergency Service
Simulated Emergency Test. Paul, WB5ANX, is the coordinator for
Tulsa County. We used Comm-1 during the SET last year; operations
continued without a glitch during a simulated power failure.
4. Field Day: We participate in the Amateur Radio Relay League
(ARRL) field day event on the fourth full weekend in June. Last
year, we took Comm-1 to Chandler Park and other operators
deployed there their portable stations.
5. Winter Field Day: Again, we took Comm-1 to Chandler Park. The
weather wasn’t too cold, and other operators deployed their
stations.
6. Club Flag: Remell, KA6DOY, thought we should have a club flag
that we can fly from the pneumatic mast of Comm-1 to make us
easily visible when on-station. We reached consensus about the
design and Mark, WA5MA, had the flag manufactured. We got a
significant discount by buying three flags. We flew the flag for
the first time at Winter Field Day. Ky, KY5VAR, checked-out one
of the flags to take with him on his portable adventure Little
Sahara State Park in western Oklahoma.
7. Route 66 On The Air: We participate in the annual event using our
special event call-sign W6L. Oklahoma is underrepresented in this
event and therefore a very desirable contact to others around the
country. Usually, anyone operating W6L experiences a pile-up. We
need a presence on 80 meters.
8. QSL Cards: We reached consensus about a design and WA5MA had QSL
cards printed for W5IAS and W6L.
9. Superlink Hub Repeater: Since last year, Bob (W5RAB), David
(N5DMK), and Paul (WB5ANX) have worked to replace the fifty-year-
old UHF hub of the Superlink repeater system on 443.850, which is
now in service with new voice messages and capabilities. They
also configured a backup system that requires manual changeover
when the main system fails. WB5ANX is also interested in the
possibilities of providing solar-power to the repeater.
10. TARC Net: Every Tuesday at 2000 hours, except the third Tuesday
of the month, we conduct a Tulsa Amateur Radio Club Net on the
Superlink system. This net is open to anyone who wants to check-
in, including other clubs in the coverage area. Our purpose is to
test our equipment, receive signal reports, discuss any amateur
radio related topics of interest, and play trivia. We use
NetLogger to help control the traffic. Lately, we have had
between 30 and 40 check-ins. We’ve been doing well checking-in
slowly and clearly using the international phonetic alphabet.
WA5MA said that he got the idea for trivia from Remell, KA6DOY,
who is active on the 3916 Net.
11. License Exams: We now conduct licensing exams in Room 3140 of
Keplinger Hall every three months. David, N5DMK, leads this
activity assisted by a cadre of Volunteer Examiners. Last session
was on Saturday, March 18, when five persons sat their respective
tests. Next session is in June.
12. Ice Cream Social: Every year in August, our in-person meeting is
at a shelter in Chandler Park for ice cream and chat. Bart,
N5TWB, fields the ice cream on dry ice.
13. Sand Spring Christmas Parade: In recent years, the Sand Springs
Chamber of Commerce asks us to help marshal the participants into
parade order. We begin at 1600 hours, led by N5TWB who assigns
volunteers to sections of the parade. We coordinate with each
other via VHF radio, directing floats to their designated place
in the parade. Parade start is at 1900 hours, at which time we
stand down and return home.
14. Web Site Upgrade: Jack, W5JHC, upgraded the web-site
(https://w5ias.com/) using WordPress, adding several new features
that improve its operational capability. This is the main place
to go for current information.
15. Facebook: We have a Facebook pages, but we could use a volunteer
dedicated to keeping the social media running and up-to-date.
16. Decals: Mark, WA5MA, had self-adhesive decals made that bear the
club logo. These you can put on the window of your vehicle or
equipment. WA5MA usually has decals available at club meetings
and events.
17. T-shirts & Hoodies: Periodically, WA5MA gets a list of those who
want a T-shirt or hoodie that have the club logo and your call-
sign printed. To minimize the set-up costs, WA5MA usual waits
until there are 12 orders.
18. Biz Cards: WA5MA has business cards with the club logo & meeting
information on one side and the repeater frequencies on the other
side. WA5MA usually has some available during meetings and
events.
19. Green Country Hamfest: We are usually present at the Green
Country Hamfest in Claremore. This year, we have three tables
near the main door plus an electrical power drop. Comm-1 will be
out front. We need volunteers to take turns staffing the booth,
who will be entered into a raffle with an opportunity to win a
Yaesu FT-70D handheld transceiver.
20. Bike Rides: We provide coordination and safety surveillance of
bike rides. We need volunteers to help with this and offer the
chance to ride along to see what’s involved with an experienced
operator. Four main events each year are: Tour de Tulsa, Cop-land
Classic, Tulsa Tough, & Dam Jam.
21. Christmas Party: Instead of Room-3140, we meet at the Golden
Corral for a buffet dinner, raffle, and camaraderie.
22. Maker Faire: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maker_Faire)
(https://makerfaire.com/) “Maker Faire is a convention of do it
yourself (DIY) enthusiasts established by Make magazine in 2006.
Participants come from a wide variety of interests, such as
robotics, 3D printing, computers, arts and crafts, and hacker
culture.” We have been involved in the local event in recent
years. Last year, we took Comm-1 to the Expo Center where offered
participants to opportunity to learn about Amateur Radio, make
third-party radio contacts, and play with Morse code practice
oscillators. Third-party contacts and Morse was particularly
interesting to young persons. To anyone making their first radio
contact, we provided a certificate of achievement. This year in
Tulsa, Maker Faire is in August.
23. HF University: This year, we have conducted two HF Universities
where oprators can learn how to get on the air with HF. Ian,
KC9THI organizes these events that consist of seminars on topics
related to HF by subject matter experts. Objective of KC9THI is
to demystify HF and make it easier for Technician and General
class licensee to be successful. Ham radio is a vast ecosystem
that makes it difficult to know which way to turn. HF University
helps to provide guidance.
24. Newsletter: Richie, W5OKL, is the editor of the newsletter and
needs material contributions from members.
WA5MA turned to a list of prospective activities and solicited
suggestions from the floor:
1. TARC 2024 Centennial: Next year is the centenary of
club foundation. We need ideas for ways in which to mark the
event: Special event stations leveraging the interest in Route 66
OTA; perhaps portable operations on disused sections of the
original Route-66.
2. Young Ladies Net
3. Engraved Name Tags: Andrew, W5AWS, asked about names tags
engraved with the club logo, op’s name and call-sign. W5AWS said
that he would investigate the possibilities.
4. TARC YouTube channel. Need a volunteer to maintain the channel.
5. Fox hunts. Need volunteers to make this happen.
6. Go-box: We are currently fund-raising to build an HF Go-box that
members can check-out for temporary operations.
7. We expect to conduct future HF and VHF universities.
8. There is an event at the Gathering Place scheduled for April 15
and again in October.
9. Special event Sooner Spring.
10. HF nets.
11. CW nets.
12. 10 meter repeaters.
13. WinLink Node on FM UHF or VHF (443.750).
14. 6 meter nets.
15. Multi-mode digital repeater & M17.
16. HF digital modes.
17. Kids kit fabrication introducing electronics to kids.
18. JOTA: Scouts Jamboree On The Air.
WA5MA concluded by saying that we are a very active club limited only
by our participation. We cannot sustain this level of activity without
the active participation of the membership. Find something that
interests you and make it happen for the other members and surrounding
community.
WA5MA asked for a motion to approve our customary two $50 donations to
the Green Country Hamfest sponsors. Bob, W5RAB, moved to approve the
donation; Gregg, W5GGW, seconded; motion approved by general
acclamation.
Gregg, W5GGW, move to adjourn the meeting; John, NJ5Z, seconded;
approved by exodus of feet at 2030 hours.
Minutes respectfully submitted by:
Andrew, W5AWS, Secretary.
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