C H A U T A U Q U A C O U N T Y A M A T E U R F M A S S O C I A T I ON

Transcription

1 2 M E T E R R A D I O C L U B V O L U M E 1 2, I S S U E 1 C H A U T A U Q U A C O U N T Y A M A T E U R F M A S S O C I A T I ON S E P T E M B E R I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : C L U B O F F I C E R S I N S IPD RE E ST IOD RE Y N T 2 J O H N C O U L T E R A C 2 J C I NV SI CI DE E PSR TEO SR IY D E N2 T J O H N C R O S S L E Y WZ2X I N S I D E S T O R Y 2 S E C R E T A R Y D I A N E R Y A N I N S I D E KC2SOA S T O R Y 3 T R E A S U R E R E L A I N E C R O S S L E Y I N S I D E S T O R Y 4 N2BBL F I N A N C I A L I N S I D S T O R Y S E C R E T A R Y 5 M A R D Y B A C K S T R O M W3YZR I N S I D E S T O R Y 6 REPEATERS AND C C A F M A C O M P L E T E S S Y S T E M U P G R A D E Chautauqua County Amateur FM Association club members recently completed an upgrade to its emergency communication systems. An antenna was placed on the 150-foot tower and equipment installed that allows packet radio and provides better coverage to southern Chautauqua County and beyond. Packet radio gives ham radio operators the ability to send typed messages over the airwaves via computer. The digipeater installed at the site acts as a store and forward terminal which, in conjunction with other similar digipeaters, extends the range of home or portable packet radio stations. The site is located in South Valley. C L U B D I R E C T O R S C H A I R M A N B I L L S H A U F F K A 3 U T U N E W Y O R K E D S U L E S K I K 2 T S S A R T M C L E A N W B 2 F Q S B I L L S H A U F F K A 3 U T U P E N N S Y L V A N I A D I C K J O N E S K B 3 K O P TRUSTEES Dave Bartkowiak/N2PRS Duane Buchweitz/N2LRG Dick Jones/ KB3KOP Portable Dave Thompson/AB2WL Mardy Backstrom/W3YZR E V E N T S T O P U T O N Y O U R C A L E N D A R FALL BANQUET Saturday October 6, PM Fluvanna Fire Hall Buffet Dinner; prizes $15 per person Special Guest : Janet Wahlberg NAVAJO CODE TALKERS HAM of the year award Reserv to P.O. Box 81, Jamestown NY MEMBERSHIP RE- NEWAL Renew by November 30, 2012 And save $5 per membership The CCAFMA has the following three call signs: K2HE trustee: Dave Thompson/AB2WL K2LUC trustee: John Crossley/WZ2X KC2NMA trustee: Tom Joneson/W2TLJ

2 C H A U T A U Q U A C O U N T Y A M A T E U R F M A S S O C I A T I O N Page 2 F I E L D D A Y K I N Z U A C L A S S I C B I K E R A C E Times Observer photo by Mitchell Wilston On August 12, 2012, With a police escort behind them, cyclists take off from the starting point of the Kinzua Classic bike race, which had 30-mile and 60-mile courses, on Sunday at the Allegheny Reservoir. Mardy Backstrom, W3YZR, CCAFMA committee chair for this volunteer event, brought together 12 Hams at the Kinzua Dam to assist in radio communications for our club s volunteer event. They were able to utilize our club's portable repeater with their mobile and hand held radios. This race raises funds for Family Services of Warren PA. WEATHER SPOTTERS WANTED The annual winter weather spotter training will be held at the WCA Hospital in Jamestown on Monday, September 24, 2012, starting at 7:30 PM. SkyWarn Training is provided by the National Weather Service. Get Certified to be a weather spotter!

3 C H A U T A U Q U A C O U N T Y A M A T E U R F M A S S O C I A T I O N Page 3 CLUB MEETING MINUTES August 27, 2012 The meeting was called to order at 7:45@ WCA Hospital by John Crossley, WZ2X, Vice President. Sixteen members were present. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by John, and a moment of silence held for silent keys and military troops overseas. Introductions were made. Minutes from the July Club meeting were read by the secretary. A motion to approve as is was made by Mardy Backstrom, W3YZR, seconded and approved. Board meeting minutes from August were read by the secretary. Corrections were made. Reports: August 2012 Treasurer s report was given by Treasurer Elaine Crossley, N2BBL Total Income $78.00 Total Expense $ CD earned $0.20 (CD balance $1,157.94) Total Assets $3, Elaine reported that total Field Day costs were $ She also reported that the Post Office will now notify the club when they have mail. This is a free service. Mr. Nelson lost the check we gave him in honor of his wife Deb. We will check to see how long the check is good for before we pay to have a stop payment done and issuing a new check. A motion to approve the treasurer s report was made by by Dick Jones, KB3KOP, seconded, and approved. Repeater reports - All working well Now requires a tone (127.3)for access. This has helped cut down on the noise Elaine read a letter from Steve Baker, nephew of Kay Nuttal, that he will contact us when he is in the area again so we can complete the dedication good Portable working fine. It was used for Kinzua Classic bike race. There was discussion as to whether it needs to be tuned and who could tune it. No decision was made regarding this. Dave Thompson, AB2WL, will research and report to the club. RACES /ARES Chautauqua County - Dave Thompson, AB2WL, reported there will be an Airport drill Saturday, September 29, Dave Bartkowiak will be in charge on the Fire Department side. A helicopter will be used. Packet will be used. All transports will be to WCA. RACES/ARES Warren County there was a RACES Red Cross Drill 2 weeks ago Committees: Kinzua Classic Mardy, W3YZR reported that it was a good day. There was light rain. The portable repeater worked after some adjustments. The picnic was fun. The highlight of her day was seeing the mama bear and cubs. Mardy thanked everyone who volunteered. She would like to send a thank you note the Elk County folks. Banquet committee John Crossley, WZ2X reported that the event will be October 6 th at the Fluvanna Fire Hall at 6 pm for meet and greet and 6:45 for dinner. The dinner will be buffet style by VNV catering. The cost is $15 per person. The guest speaker will be Janet Wahlberg, on Navaho Code Talking. The Ham of the year award committee was announced: Ken Vossler, Tom Joneson and Dave Bartkowiak. VE- if anyone knows anyone who is interested in testing just have them contact the club and we will arrange it. Old Business: Tom Joneson W2TLJ, announced that the new web site is up and running. It is still ccafma.com. There is a link for blogging and a link to the National Weather Service if you want to give them a report. Sky Warn Training is September 24, at the WCA, at 7:30pm. There will be a press release in the post journal. New Business: Elaine Crossley, N2BBL, reported the club s total membership is 80. Harry Fiedler KS2D is looking for and old Pentium II computer. Next Club Meeting will be Monday September 24, 2012, at WCA in Jamestown at 7:30 PM.

4 V O L U M E 1 2, I S S U E 1 Page 4 T H E V I E W F R O M S Q U I R R E L H I L L First, let me say that it's great to have the newsletter reactivated. Things got kind of hectic for a while and we just didn't get it out! Hopefully that is past tense! I'm sitting in the shack listening to the Hurricane Watch Net on as Issac approaches the Gulf coast and New Orleans. It's a point of pride for me that fellow hams are providing the real time reports that help the National Weather Service and other agencies make the announcements and decisions that are so critical when hurricanes threaten! We all owe them a debt of gratitude because such actions are the reason, perhaps the BEST reason that Amateur Radio is still allowed to exist in the face of ever increasing demands for radio spectrum space! Locally, we'll soon have a chance to pay our dues in Chautauqua County. The mandatory disaster drill for WCA hospital is on the horizon and RACES amateur radio communications will figure into it prominently! If you think it doesn't matter locally, think again. I've recently been made aware that some localities have a policy of not interfering with antenna structures in their districts if it's for Ham Radio and the Ham is involved in emergency communications. Our good work in the past is paying off in that local governments, at least some of them, see the value of having us in the neighborhood! We are heading into our busy time. The annual banquet will be held October 6 th and we have a great program lined up. Janet Wallberg will talk about the Navajo Code Talkers of WWII. These fellows stymied enemy attempts to intercept critical communications in the Pacific by using their native language over the air! That's October 6 th, get your reservations made early, you don't want to miss this one! October 30 and 31 will see us manning the overpasses on the Thruway for Pumpkin Patrol. If that's new to you, we watch our bridges and report suspicious activity to prevent hoodlums from throwing articles onto the Thruway as a Halloween prank! This is a Statewide effort by the Thruway authority and has likely saved many from injury or death due to such Pranks. Yet another opportunity to earn our privileges! It's a point of pride for me that fellow hams are providing the real time reports that help the National Weather Service and other agencies make the announcements and decisions that are so critical when hurricanes threaten! After that, we'll calm down a bit and get ready for the Christmas/ New Years seasons and start making plans for next year! Personally, I hope to fill the freezer with some fresh venison and maybe a turkey! I'll let you know later how that works out!! Bring a friend or loved one into Amateur Radio! We could use the help and they will have some fun like we do! 7 3 D E W Z 2 X / J O H N T H E V O I C E O F S Q U I R R E L H I L L!

5 CCAFMA W E E K L Y N E T S S C H E D U L E F O R O F F I C I A L N E T S : M O N D A Y 9PM RACES Net UHF , , , , and more. Wednesday 8PM CCAFMA Club Net VHF , , Friday 9PM Races Net VHF , , Saturday HF digital training net and NBEMS net 10 AM local time. Using 40M 7036 USB using Olivia ARES Emergency Coordinator Andy O'Brien K3UK RACES Radio Officer Duane Buchweitz N2LRG Visit us on the