In case you missed it…
The second HF University is in the books.
Saturday, February 18th was the second HF University with good attend-ance, great speakers and some even better discussion. Topics included “How not to be a LID” given by myself, Mike KI5EGH did a deeper dive into POTA activations and how to use the POTA website to it’s fullest potential and Paul WB5ANX gave a presentation on grounding your sta-tion…always a good topic!
We had a short mentoring session and discussion time after lunch. We even had a radio to work on that wasn’t transmitting with full power. Many of those in attendance took a turn at trying to figure out where the trouble was, but no joy.
The presentations should be posted on the TARC YouTube channel and the documentation is available on the TARC website. My thanks goes out to Ian KC9THI who coordinated HF University and to Mike KI5EGH and Paul WB5ANX for their participation. We’ll be having another HF University and… If HF is not your thing, we’re thinking about adding a VHF/UHF University too in the not too distant future. If you’d like to help out as a presenter or just offer your help behind the scenes, contact Ian at KC9THI@gmail.com. Thanks.
At our last club meeting in February, Andrew W5AWS gave us a wonderful breakdown of the club by way of an organizational map that summarizes our activities and operational planning. Paul WB5ANX commented that it shows that there is a lot happening with TARC and that the club depends on its members to exist and thrive. We have some vacant positions for any interested volunteers and we could sure use the help. Whether you want to do a little or a lot, let us know and we’ll find a fit for you! Thanks.
W5AWS gave an in depth NetLogger presentation, too. Some very good information and you’ll see that it’s not as tough as it looks. We need hams to step up and help with logging during the Tuesday night net. We’ve got a couple of hams to help with Net Control duties so you’ll hear some different voices running the net.
Download Andrew’s slide deck via this link:https://drive.proton.me/urls/XZMR0MX03C#Kk2OKzyiBuGL
At the last two meetings it was discussed that we would like to put together an HF go box (or two) and make it available to the club members for their short term use on a POTA activation, camping trip, Field Day or other outdoor ham radio activity. The pro-posal was for the club to pay approximately $1,500. (See the itemized price list)
The discussion continued around the valid and important questions about club operations, in-cluding tower work to maintain the Superlink Re-peater System which is why we have meetings, to seek and listen to what the general membership has to say about what we do as a club. A suggestion was made to ask for donations spe-cifically for an HF go box and the majority of those in attendance responded in the positive and would contribute to the project with one member donating right then.
If you would like to donate to this project, and any amount will be graciously accepted, you can do so on the website under the “Join” dropdown. Look for the PayPal link. Of course you can al-ways donate at a club meeting or other TARC event. See Ian KC9THI or Jerry KE5PMK or myself.
Thank you!!!
We have a new (well…new to us) repeater…
Bob W5RAB, Paul WB5ANX and David N5DMK have been working on various parts of a new repeater that has now replaced the old 443.850 repeater. The new equipment is 30 years old, but that’s an improve-ment since the old repeater equipment was pushing 50 years old. It got a workout on Sunday night when the storms blew through the Tulsa area. Fortunately, the storms were not too severe because a few bugs were found, but overall the work they’ve done has really paid off and the repeater sounds really good. You’ll hear some different voices and messages so please pay attention and monitor the Superlink System. If you hear something that just doesn’t sound quite right please let us know. Contact Paul WB5ANX or Bob W5RAB.
Thank you for all the work you’ve put into this!!!
The ARRL Foundation Clubs Grant Program…
Bart N5TWB will be again submitting the club’s pro-posal for some project funding to the ARRL Founda-tion Clubs Grant Program during the next round of the application process.
He’s also writing a proposal that will be submitted to ARDC. 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
We’re hoping for some good news so we can start on some of these projects!!!
Would you like to have a hand in some of our TARC projects? Now’s your chance!
The next regular club meeting of the Tulsa Am-ateur Radio Club is March 21st 2023 at TU’s Keplinger Hall room 3140. Whatever your inter-est in amateur radio, we’ll have something for you! We would like to get hams connected with other hams that have the same interests so we can get some activity going. HF contesting, VHF UHF / Bike Rides / Net Control Operations, Digi-tal operations and anything else we can think of that you’d be interested in learning and doing.
As always, monitor the Superlink Repeater System when severe weather is forecast…
As we’ve seen in the last few days, storms can be here year round, so please monitor the Superlink System for the Weather Watch net when severe weather is forecast. 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.
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 be-fore you know it! Got any ideas about how we can celebrate? Maybe a special event station? Ham ban-quet? What’s your idea?
We’re still looking for Net Control Operators and Loggers for the Tuesday night TARC Net. To save time we’re using NetLogger more now for check ins 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 du-ties.
No pressure…just fun doing ham radio!
Thanks going out to Ian KC9THI and Grant KC1KCE who will be joining me in doing net control for the Tuesday nets.
Every month is a contest month…
Pick a Contest…any Contest!
Try POTA or SOTA! Call CQ! Go to a local park and get on the air!
Go to ARRL.com, click Contest Calendar, scroll to Contest Corral, click on the month you want to check.
Upcoming contests and operating opportunities…
Mark you calendar for April 15th when we have an opportunity to participate in the Outdoor Adventures event at The Gathering Place. Hours are 1 – 6 PM and we’ll have the Comm 1 trailer to show off what we do. More details as they become available.
· March 4th – ARRL International DX Con-test, SSB (it’s a 48 hour contest, but just get on the air for a few hours and feel the thrill of making some contacts! Even 10m!)
· March 11th – South American 10m Contest (10m has been pretty active lately)
· March 11th – Oklahoma QSO Party (If your not sure what a QSO Party is? Go to http://www.k5cm.com/okqp.htm)
· March 12th – North American Sprint, RTTY (This is 4 hour contest using RTTY)
· April 6th – Tour de Tulsa Bike Ride
Go to ARRL.com, click Contest Calendar, scroll to Contest Corral, click on the month you want to check.
If you’ve read this far in the TARC Newsletter, thank you! I try to make it interesting reading and give lots of important club information on past and future activities. Maybe you’ve seen a re -curring theme in this newsletter about volunteer-ing your time, experience and knowledge to help others in the club that are just starting out or re-turning to the hobby after a long absence. Many things are new and many things have changed over the years. We have over 180 members with different interests and we need your help to keep that interest alive and growing! As was said ear-lier in the newsletter, all the club activity shows that there is a lot happening with TARC and that the club depends on its members to exist and thrive.
Send me an e mail with your interest and how you’d like to help your fellow hams at wa5ma.mark@gmail.com
Be safe, Be a good friend, Get on the air!
Mark WA5MA
President – Tulsa Amateur Radio Club