Have you been monitoring the Superlink System lately? If you have then you know that there’s been some low power/low volume issues on the 443.850 repeater. This repeater is one of 16 linked repeaters that provide service to the Northeast Oklahoma, Southeast Kansas and Northwest Ar-kansas areas for those times when severe weather rolls through. Fortunately, this has been a fairly mild storm season and there have not been too many occasions for the Weather Watch or the WX5TUL Weather Net to be activated. However, because of the large coverage area of the Superlink System, it does get a lot of use and this is good thing because if it never got used we’d never know if there were issues when it came time to really need it. So keep using it!
Bob W5RAB has been busy lately keeping the repeater on the air. He and several other members of the club have made multiple trips to the repeater site to determine what the trouble is and what can be done to fix it. One such trouble spot has been the power amplifier, which has now been replaced three times and as of this writing is still working ok. Other equipment in the cabinet can be as much as 40 years old and unfortunately is no longer supported and cannot be repaired.
Because of the age of the repeater equipment and the need for reliability in times of bad weather, this past Saturday, Bob W5RAB, Paul WB5ANX, David N5DMK, Matthew NR0Q and myself made a visit to the repeater site to discuss what can be done to bring the repeater up to a standard that it’ll be on the air for the next 20 years, it’ll be reliable on a daily basis and if for some reason it does go off the air, there will be backup repeater equipment available in the next cabinet. This is so it can be put back on the air in a short amount of time with a minimum amount of re-wiring.
More to follow on the repeater upgrade, but for now please use the repeater as you always have and if you notice any issues please let me know. We hope to have the 443.850 repeater upgrade finished well be-fore the end of the year.
Just a reminder…TARC needs to convene a nominating committee to organize replacements for the expiring club officer positions. Elections will happen in November. The nominating committee requires at least three members.
Oklahoma Parks On The Air (OKPOTA)
Put August 20th and August 21st, 2022, on your calendar for the Oklahoma Parks On The Air (OKPOTA) day. The POTA concept has taken the country by storm, and hams of all types are getting interested in the program. While every day can be a POTA day, we’re going to try to get Oklahoma on the map by activating as many of the 164 parks in Oklahoma over the weekend. And by getting as many Oklahoma PO-TA Hunters on the bands as possible. Activations will run from 0000Z on August 20th through 2359Z on August 21st. (7:00 PM CDT Friday night through 6:59 PM CDT Sunday night.) So, if you want to stay home and be a ‘hunter’ of POTA activations, get your home station antennas and radios tuned up and plan to make some great contacts across the country through-out the day. Check for POTA activations on the po-ta.app website. The good folks at POTA will be creating a special page to highlight our activations on that weekend. If you want to go mobile and activate a park, start working on your portable radio/antenna combinations, create an activation on the pota.app website RIGHT NOW to schedule your activation of your favorite park, and make plans to ‘hit the road.’
Take a look at the other scheduled activations at your same park to make sure you don’t over a given park. Create a POTA account and schedule your activation at the pota.app website. Park activations typically happen during daylight hours, so plan accordingly. More details will be available here as they develop and the current in-formation will be available at ok.arrl.org/okpota/. See you ‘on the air.’ If you need help with radios, antennas, connections, operation rules, creating a POTA account, or anything else, find an Elmer, work with your club, or send me a note to n5hzr@arrl.org. (Copied from ok.arrl.org/okpota)
There are several state parks and other designated areas within an hour or so from Tulsa that can be activated. We can coordinate with anyone or any other club to make sure we have our area active. This is your chance to go portable!!!
The Tulsa Amateur Radio Club is an active and thriving club! It’s not just a handful of hams that makes it what it is, it’s a whole group of active hams that enjoy a great hobby! However, this or any other club won’t survive without support from its’ members and we are asking for your help and support! Please volunteer and get involved with something that you’re interested in. You’ll enjoy the hobby more and you’ll get to fellowship with some great ham operators.
The ARRL Foundation Clubs Grant Program can provide up to $25,000 to a club for any projects that they may be working on or would like to do. Bart N5TWB is working on the grant proposal and he’ll be submitting it to the ARRL very soon. Got an idea for a club project? Send it to us so we can add it to the list. https://w5ias.com/2022/04/20/tarc-grant-project
Not interested in a helping with a bike ride but still want to support your community? Anyone interested in ARES participation should visit the website at https://aresok.org and/or contact Paul WB5ANX via email at wb5anx@arrl.net.
HamRescue… Bike rides not your thing… Not interested in ARES… HamRescue exists to help ham operators maintain their stations in working order and on the air. It relies on participation from volunteers. HamRescue is on an as-needed basis and the help you give a fellow ham is greatly appreciated. See this web -site for more information: https://neokamradio.com/ham-rescue
Weather Watch Net… Storm season is still here, so please monitor the Superlink System for the Weather Watch net. Frequencies for the repeater in your area can be found at W5IAS.com, click on Repeaters and scroll down to TARC: Wide-Area Link System. Please monitor the national VHF/UHF calling frequencies, too. Sometimes hams passing through the area call for local information, help or just looking for someone to talk to. You may even hear and talk to a ham in an airplane operating aeronautical mobile!
Coming to the Tulsa Amateur Radio Club in 2024… 2024 will be the 100 year anniversary of the Tulsa Amateur Radio Club. I know it’s more than a year away, but we can start planning now. It’ll be here before you know it! Got any ideas about how we can celebrate? Maybe a special event station? Ham banquet? What’s your idea?
We’re still looking for Net Control Operators and Loggers for the Tuesday night TARC Net so if you’d like to give it a try let us know and we’ll be happy to show you how easy it is and how you can help your club stay strong and active. Start small and when you feel comfortable, move on up to other events. No pressure…just fun doing ham radio!
Upcoming Events
MakerFair – August 27th
This year is the tenth anniversary of the MakerFair, which caters to Junior-High-School-age kids and their parents. MakerFair is scheduled to happen on August 27th. TARC will be present with the comm trailer and will need four or five volunteers to help that day. Steve KF5VCQ said that working with Fab Lab is an excellent opportunity to spark amateur radio interest among young people.
TARC Annual Ice Cream Social at Chandler Park
Pick a Contest…any Contest! Try POTA or SO-TA! Call CQ! Just get on the air! Go to ARRL.com, click Contest Calendar, scroll to Contest Corral, click on the month you want to check.
Our next meeting is the TARC Annual Ice Cream Social at Chandler Park Shelter #1 at 6 PM. Club members and non club members are invited. Come and have some ice cream and have an eye-ball QSO or two.
Next Meeting – TARC Annual Ice Cream Social Location: Chandler Park Shelter #1 at 6 PM.
Be safe, Be a good friend, Get on the air!
September 10th through the the 18th – Route 66 on the Air at Webster High School and Chandler Park and your home station
Dam Jam Bike Ride – September 10th
Mark WA5MA
President – Tulsa Amateur Radio Club