TMRA Amateur Radio Beacon November 2018

Transcription

1 TMRA Amateur Radio Beacon November 2018 News from the President From Rob, KV8P I don t know about you all, but northern Ohio sure is great this time of the year, and we don t have to deal with hurricanes or major earthquakes up here (huge bonus)! We also get a little more UHF range back when the leaves all fall. Yay! If you thought it was going to be a quiet amateur radio month, think again! We sure had a fun and busy ham radio month in October! Some highlights: LCARES completed the Simulated Emergency Test for Lucas County on October 6 th. Lucas County represented District 1 ARES well, and we were coordinated with the state for the event. Thanks to all that supported LCARES and the event that day. Alan, W8ALM, has agreed to take on our long time vacant Public Information Officer role for TMRA. Thank you, Alan! We look forward to working with Alan in this new role. Those that made it to our October General Meeting surely all really enjoyed the presentation by Bob Heil. Talking to Bob since then, he is definitely looking forward to coming back for another presentation for us in the spring. I m sure we are all looking forward to that! Lots of repeater work as of late. Big thanks to our talented crew that installed the new roof mount base and repeater antenna (the last of our new repeater antennas to get installed!) Ryan Carson, Tom, KD8WCD; Mike, W8MAL; Ron, N8APZ; Jim, KE8IJU; Bruce, AA8HS; Mike, WA8SYD; and myself Rob, KV8P; all took part. Please thank these folks when you talk to them. The new Motorola repeater is installed and the repeater is now back at 100 watts. Thanks to Rich, KQ6EF, for all his hard work bringing it together! Thanks to all of those that took part and helped the boy scouts at the Jamboree On-the-Air at Camp Miakonda! Big thanks to Steve, KC8TVW, and Ed, KE8EF, for your continued dedication for this event with the scouts as well as all that helped out. New Ham Technician Classes are now in full swing as of this posting. We definitely look forward to hearing from all of the new hams coming out of this class. For the rest of us, be sure to spend a little extra time on to welcome them on the air when they complete the class and hit the airwaves. They ll remember the time you spent with them and could use the helpful guidance getting started. Steve, KC8TVW, and Mike, WA8SYD, always do a fantastic job with this class (and it is no small job, especially with changing question pools). Also, remember, we are getting closer again to now having to worry about winter weather once again. (sorry to be the bearer of that great news haha) Please remember that, for any TMRA sponsored event (no matter the event), it will be cancelled if there is any active snow emergency as of 2 hours prior to the event. For 7pm meetings, this means a 5pm cut-off time. If a snow emergency (any level) is announced at 5:01pm, the meeting will go on, but please be safe and don t feel obligated. (We ll likely cut the meeting short anyway if that occurs this winter to ensure that everyone gets home safely.) On those particularly snowy nights, we ll also do our best to live stream any presentations on Facebook for those interested in catching them there. 1

2 Lastly, don t forget to join us at 6:00 pm for the TMRA Christmas Party on the regular meeting night on December (12 th ). Bring a dish to pass and don t forget the early start time (it is dinner, after all). We ll start setting up starting at 4:00 pm that day and Tom, KD8WCD, is the chairman for the event. If you can assist, your help is welcome. It s a great time and be sure to bring family, as it is our chance for some of us to continue getting to know them! Until next month! 73, Editor s Note: You can reach Rob at kv8p@kv8p.com. ARES News From Skeet, KD8KXD, Lucas County EC The next Lucas County ARES monthly meeting will be held Saturday November 24. The meeting location is at St Luke's Hospital in the basement Private Dining Room near the cafeteria. The meeting starts at 9:00am. Please tune into the Lucas County ARES in Brief Net, Sunday nights on the repeater at 7:30pm for the latest information. October ARES Meeting - photo by AA8HS Technician License Classes, VE Testing, and CW Classes TMRA will hold the second day of its two-day tech license class on November 10, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Then technician license exam will be held in the afternoon after the training session is completed. The class will be held at the Lucas County EMS Training Center, 2127 Jefferson Ave., Toledo, Ohio For information about the Technician License Class, VE testing or CW practice contact Steve, KC8TVW. Phone: or kc8tvw@arrl.net. 2

3 Mobile Fox Hunts From Ron, N8RLH The mobile fox hunt for October was cancelled. For more information, contact Ron, N8RLH at Six Meter Nets From Dan, KE8UE Editor s Note: There have been questions about the Monday night six-meter net, so I asked Dan, KE8UE what s happening. Also, see the Tech Committee News, below. Here is the deal on the six-meter repeater net on Mondays. If there is no noise being generated by the Promedica Billboard, the net will start at 9:00 p.m. If the repeater has been turned off, I will turn it on and check it for noise. This is kind of a fluid situation, but I would really like to get the net going. There is a SSB net on Thursday night at 9:00 pm on , which a round table and rag chew. Both nets go until question mark, but we generally close at 11:00 pm. Jamboree On The Air (JOTA) TMRA was present at Camp Miakonda for the Scout Jamboree on the Air. Thanks again to Steve, KC8TVW, and Ed, KE8EF, for setting up the station, conducting the fox hunts, and for sharing ham radio with the scouts of all ages. Here are some photos thanks to Bruce, AA8HS, and Glenn, W8MUK. 3

4 Tech Committee News From Rob, KV8P, President The technical committee did meet in October. A few updates: issues: Tom, KD8WCD; Rich, KQ6EF; and Chrissy, KC8UFV, replaced the receiver on repeater due to continued cycling/feedback which we are still in the process of tracking down. We have temporarily disabled the PL on the output until this is fully remedied repeater antenna was "raised" (WE ARE DONE RAISING THEM ALL NOW!!!!), and is working well. We ll be looking to add PL to this repeater receiver and loosen the squelch settings in the near future. 3. The purchase of the needed items for battery backup for has begun. Stay tuned for updates. 4. Duplexer training class was given prior to the October Tech Meeting, which taught calculation related to duplexer sizing and discussed tuning. 5. Rich, KQ6EF, got the new Motorola repeater working quite well, and we installed it. It is running 95 watts once again with the update (up from 20). Rich is currently checking out the Icom repeater that we pulled out in hopes to restore full power to that backup unit. 6. Chrissy, KC8UFV, is well under way implementing the echolink/allstar option. (just waiting on a few remaining items before implementation on ). As a reminder, all TMRA general members are welcome to attend committee meetings (where much of the club technical business is done/decided). We ll see you there! 4

5 And More Tech Committee News From Dan, KE8UE, Chairman Hi Everyone, It has been awhile since I have written an article for the newsletter, but I would like to thank Rob, KV8P, for the previous letters. It has been a very busy year and a big thank you to all who have put in the time to help the Tech Committee. The 6-meter repeater has been up and running this past week. There is a FM net on Monday nights at 9:00 p.m. If you try to reach the repeater and there is no response, we may be experiencing noise from the Promedica Billboard. I will bring it up, but if there is noise there will be no net. There is a 6-meter SSB net on Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. on The 220 antenna has been installed and seems to be working quite nicely. I have not tried working the repeater from an HT from my QTH. I have tested the repeater with another ham who lives in my area. The antenna is only about 12 feet from the ground with full quieting. The repeater is being setup with echo link and all-star modes as well analog. The repeater will still be linked on Sunday s Elmers and Newcomers net. There will be more info on those modes once we get them up and running. Chrissy is working out some of the programming issues. The repeater is doing better but we are using the Kendecom for receiving and the Motorola transmitting at 100 watts. We have added a couple cans or duplexers to help notch out any disease. If you live North and East or have trouble get in to the repeater use the downtown remote receiver; it has a PL of The Tech Committee has decided what battery backup system and if everything goes right it should be in service by the end of the year. We have all of our outside work done and will working on the inside maintenance and any upgrades that might be necessary. 220 Antenna Raising From Bruce, AA8HS, Assistant Editor The following pictures from the 220 installation are courtesy of Mike, W8MAL and James, KE8IJU. The crew included Mike, WA8SYD; Ron, N8APZ; Bruce, AA8HS; Rob, KV8P; KE8IJU; W8MAL, and Dan, KD8WDC. 5

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7 Ohio State Parks on the Air Toby, KE8CZO, reports there were 132 contacts including 13 Ohio State parks for a unofficial score of 1716 points. Congratulations to Toby and all who participated. The End of Cheap, Non-FCC Certified Radios By Bruce, AA8HS/WQUL444, Assistant Editor This article is part of a series which deal with topics that may be of interest to hams although not directly involving our frequency allocations. FCC Part 97 regulates the amateur service; Part 90, business and public safety; and Part 80, maritime. I mention each of these because the FCC has expressed its concern about the huge number of radios sold which could operate on parts 80, 90, 95, and 97 but are FCC certified for only one of two of these services. Some Baofengs are Part 90 certified and TYT MD380's are Part 90 and Part 97 certified, but not Part 95. Part 90 is defined as public land mobile radio service and most Chinese radios are certified for Part 90 while some are not certified at all. The FCC general counsel has found that Part 90 certification is adequate for amateur use as long as they are operated within amateur frequencies, mostly 2 meters and 440 MHz. Any radio that scans must also be Part 15 certified. Most of the concern about these Chinese radios involves cheap handhelds, which are sold to the general public. The overall concern with FCC certification and granting licenses is to prevent interference to frequencies used by police, fire, EMS, and hospitals. In addition, a child can still pick up a five-watt output Baeofeng radio and cause interference on a frequency used by a business or the output frequency of a repeater. Radios that many of us own can inadvertently or intentionally be programmed to interfere with either business or public safety communications in the or MHz regions. Since their antennas are removable (unlike most GMRS, FRS, and MURS units), amplifiers such as the BTech AMP-U25 could be used to cause even more interference. When Chinese manufacturers design some of these products, their interest is in bringing a product to market at a low cost and to sell a large number of them. FCC compliance seems to be a lesser concern and sites like EBAY and Amazon have not discontinued any products based on compliance issues. A very large number of these two-way radios have already been sold in the US. THE TOLEDO MOBILE RADIO ASSOCIATION P.O. BOX 9673, TOLEDO, OH President, Rob, KV8P; Vice-President, Tom, KD8WCD; Secretary, Zack, N8ZAK; Treasurer, Rich, KD8WCB. Board Members: Skeet, KD8KXD; Dan, KE8UE; Rich, KQ6EF, Brian, WD8MXR; Dave, KD8EVN. TMRA Home Page Webmaster: Zack, N8ZAK TMRA W8HHF Repeaters; , , (TMRA 2 meter, 220, and 440 repeaters operate with a "PL", or a touch-tone access code of 1-2-3) D-Star Repeater: APRS: The TMRA meets at 7:30 PM on the second Wednesday of every month in The Electrical Industry Building, Lime City Rd. Rossford, Ohio. The FCC received a number of comments about these radios from different sources and did make some changes in their rules, but has also taken actions against those who import and sell non-compliant radios. Certain manufacturers are also modifying their radios (Wuoxon KG-UV3D, Connect Systems CS800) or software so that they are only useable in the amateur bands. 7

8 FCC enforcement advisory number states: TWO-WAY VHF/UHF RADIOS MAY NOT BE IMPORTED, ADVERTISED, OR SOLD IN THE UNITED STATES UNLESS THEY COMPLY WITH THE COMMISSION S RULES. OPERATORS MUST ALSO COMPLY WITH FCC RULES. The last part could produce a lot of grief for the amateur community! But the regulations also say that equipment which is designed only for the amateur frequencies do not require certification (Part 97) if operated by a licensed amateur. This confuses the issue further by suggesting that US hams can only operate Part 90 certified radios if they are limited to ham frequencies like the two mentioned above. If taken literally, the FCC advisory means that many brands such as Baofeng (PoFeng), BTech, Retrevis,, Radioddity, Tytera, and Anytone cannot be used. If this is truly the FCC position, it is unworkable and certainly unenforceable. Some hams have suggested that such an FCC policy may be a form of revenge for Chinese tariffs and the trade wars. Whether the FCC will actually take action against importers of Chinese radios and levy fines against them is yet to be seen, but would be certainly change the market for these units. If you listen to the conversation between Lucky 225 and Laura Smith from the FCC (see below, medium.com), you get the definite impression that any radio that is not Part 97 certified is illegal. That would include all of the business band radios that we modify, and many of our repeaters. Many of our Motorola repeaters will operate outside of the ham and business bands and may have been designed for international use; what about them? Are kits and homebrew equipment still legal it would seem to be the case? How are we to obtain equipment on bands such 630 meters or 900 MHz when none is even available from commercial manufacturers? Fortunately, the ARRL represents the amateur community and immediately began talking to the FCC about this advisory. It is their position that Such equipment is being marketed principally to the general public via mass e-marketers and not to Amateur Radio licensees. Prohibiting the use of these radios would limit the flexibility of amateurs and the most important concern is that these radios should never be used outside of the ham bands. Hams with GMRS licenses might disagree and what about people who own a Baofeng and use one watt of power on the FRS frequencies? The FCC also issued new policies for GMRS and FRS users this year. My impression is that is very unclear what you are buying and what power levels are used when you examine offerings for GMRS or FRS radios. Garmin, Cobra, Midland, and Motorola are large suppliers of these devices and Motorola often just markets Two-Way Radios without any description. When BuyTwoWayRadios has a line This model no longer requires an FCC license to operate!, you might get the impression that the GMRS rules have changed. In fact, this is just an FRS radio with the new 2-watt power limit and extended channels that do not include GMRS repeater channels. These new radios have a 12.5 KHz bandwidth on all channels which reduces range. The only repeater capable, FCC certified radio is the Btech GMRS-V1. In addition, the number of combination GMRS/ FRS radios already sold has exceeded 500,000, but there are only about 45,000 GMRS licenses in effect. Although Family Radio Service (FRS) radios require no license, GMRS is still a licensed service; it may involve mobile units and repeaters, and users should identify with FCC assigned call signs. One of the reasons that I mention these services is because prepper YouTube videos and other emergency communication information sources suggest using equipment and frequencies without much concern for licensing, identification, and frequencies. Many people cannot distinguish between amateurs and these radio users. In part, this issue for hams is that we are responsible, licensed individuals. One of the early motivations for amateur radio was that we could learn about technology through this hobby. Thus, our knowledge and abilities would be useful to our country and perhaps the war efforts. Although our band allocations were, in part, based upon the idea that we could not control harmonics (80 meters, 40 meters, 20 meters, etc.), we have proven ourselves capable of controlling harmonics, spurious radiation, and interference. We respond to those who interfere with our frequencies and police other amateurs. Therefore, if a Chinese radio is shown to be non- 8

9 compliant with FCC and amateur standards, as the ARRL has sometimes demonstrated in the lab, we would take appropriate action. The ARRL would also inform the manufacturer of these defects. The ARRL is not, however, responsible for determining that a radio does not meet standards other than those of the FCC Part 97, amateur community. One of the difficulties facing amateurs is whether to purchase the more expensive radios sold by familiar names such as Kenwood, Yaesu, Alinco, and Icom versus the cheaper Chinese brands. The common ham manufacturers may also use Chinese factories with a substantial price difference. It is true that the more expensive radios generally are of a higher quality with more conversion stages in receivers. They are also limited to the ham bands, although a software modification, key sequence, or minor hardware modification may open them up to use on GMRS or other services. The Chinese radios are often so inexpensive that they are considered disposable or more suited for outdoor uses where they may be damaged. They may also be useful for those contemplating an amateur license and lowers the cost of starting out as a Technician ham operator. They also put DMR radios in an affordable price range. These non-compliant radio issues are far from being settled and the FCC needs to become realistic in their expectations. If the trend continues with certain manufacturers, Chinese handhelds will be limited to amateur, GMRS, FRS, or MURS frequencies with appropriate frequencies and power limits. The ARRL has a crucial role in representing our interests to the FCC and may play a part in developing standards for the Chinese manufacturers. Enforcement of the FCC advisory seems impossible although they could act against companies that import and sell these radios. So stay tuned References: Amateur conversion of Motorola equipment. Editor s Note: You can reach Bruce at AA8HS@arrl.net Dales Tales Dale Williams, WA8EFK, Director, Great Lakes Division Greetings, welcome to "Dale's Tales" for October Congratulations to the Dayton Amateur Radio Association for their selection as the host club for the 2019 ARRL National Convention!! The ARRL National will be held in conjunction with Hamvention at Xenia next year. Here is the official announcement: NEWINGTON, CONNECTICUT ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio, has announced that Hamvention will host the 2019 ARRL National Convention in Xenia, Ohio, May 17-19, Hamvention is the largest annual Amateur Radio gathering in the US. Hamvention and the ARRL National Convention will share a joint theme, Mentoring the Next Generation of Amateur Radio operators. As host of the 2019 ARRL National Convention, Hamvention will feature dozens of forums covering a variety of topics in Amateur Radio, such as technology, public service, on-air operating, training, and learning. A 9

10 track of presentations will be organized to build on the convention theme, encouraging more individuals and radio clubs to serve in mentoring roles, leading new and inexperienced radio amateurs to become more active, involved, and engaged. A special event Amateur Radio station, call sign W8BI, will be set up and operating from the fairgrounds inviting attendees to join in for some on-air fun. The National Convention will also feature ARRL EXPO a large assembly of ARRL-sponsored exhibits, activities, and representatives for ARRL programs and services. Several ARRL-sponsored presentations and forums will be given. Information will be posted to as it becomes available will be the third Hamvention to be held at the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center in Xenia, Ohio since the event relocated from Dayton. At 28,417 visitors, Hamvention recorded its third-largest attendance ever in It attracts many international attendees. Since 1952, Hamvention has been sponsored by the Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA), an ARRLaffiliated radio club, and is supported by volunteers from radio clubs throughout the country. In past years, Hamvention has received regular sanctioning as the ARRL Great Lakes Division Convention. Hamvention hosted the ARRL National Convention most recently in 2005 and Hamvention features multiple buildings of indoor vendor exhibits, an outdoor flea market, and many food trucks and concession stands. There is free parking onsite and at nearby remote parking lots served by free shuttles. The Hamvention website will include details for convention tickets and information about forums, exhibits (including information for vendors and flea market), travel, and preferred hotels with special rates. Convention tickets are $22 in advance; or $27 at the gate. Each ticket includes convention admission for all three days. Electric scooter rental information can be found at the Hamvention website. Onsite RV camping is managed by the Greene County Fairgrounds. Ham radio operators are encouraged to bring family and friends, and extend their convention trip by visiting nearby popular attractions. The National Museum of the US Air Force, the oldest and largest military aviation museum in the world, is located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. The Dayton region also boasts many parks, museums, shopping, entertainment, and dining options. All major airlines serve the minutes-away Dayton International Airport (DAY), and some travelers use the airports in Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio, driving the final 60 to 90 minutes to Dayton/Xenia. Plan your trip to Hamvention at and Interested parties will find complete details for the 2019 ARRL National Convention at (coming soon). For information about ARRL and Amateur Radio, visit and IN OTHER NEWS: "Well how did that work out for you Dale?" Oh yeah, that was for my commitment to make contact with several of the local hams in my community that seem to be inactive. That is my personal effort to get involved in mentoring inactive hams and help in any way to get them active and on the air. This did turn out to be a bit tougher than I had expected, so it is still a work in process. First, one has moved from the area according to his dad. And then it seems most have no listed phone so that puts a limit on accessibility right from the start. Now, it my effort is to try to locate an address and go on from there. That has met with limited success and a couple of contacts are in the works. One chap even found me! He is new to the area 10

11 and was not yet on the local list, but has already participated in the local Saturday lunch. So, I'll keep at this and report again next month. Hopefully November will be a little less busy and more time can be devoted to the effort. How about you? Did you give this effort a shot? SPECIAL NOTE from AC8W: Fellow Great Lakes Division DXers Given the evident popularity of the new FT8 mode of communication demonstrated by the data collected in LoTW showing a seven-figure increase in the number of monthly QSOs year over year resulting from the explosive adoption of the mode by hams worldwide, and the extremely high percentage (approximating 40%) of all QSOs being made with this mode at the current sunspot minimum The DXAC is investigating the advisability, feasibility and desirability of creating or modifying one or more digital mode awards in the DXCC program to accommodate encourage and reward new modes of amateur radio activity on the bands. How do you feel? Should we: a.) Create endorsement stickers for the existing Digital DXCC (i.e. RTTY-100; PSK31-100, JT65-100, FT8-100, etc with incremental stickers 125, 150, 200 and so on) b.) Create a separate DXCC award for each mode c.) Do nothing at all and leave new digital modes under the existing Digital DXCC. Are there other options? Your opinion is important so let me know at ac8w@arrl.net Deadline for responses is Wednesday, November 14. Thanks. Stan Arnett II, AC8W, DXAC Representative, Great Lakes Division TOM'S COMMENTS: Comments from our Vice Director Tom Delaney, W8WTD Excitement was in the air as the students at Tallmadge Elementary School in Lancaster (Ohio) filed into the auditorium for their much-anticipated contact with the International Space Station. There are many ways to introduce people to amateur radio, but this has to be the best. Only problem is that there are so few opportunities for contacting the ISS. Congratulations to the Lancaster & Fairfield County Amateur Radio Club. They worked more than a year on the project, and that hard work paid off with a great contact! Another activity that seems to have a lot of promise for interesting young people is a balloon launch with tracking. Kids get interested in weather and other science experiments that they can observe and/or participate in. Dale and I have talked a lot about recruiting new hams and getting people of all ages interested in ham radio. We all have opportunities to show off ham radio, ranging from the dramatic (the ARISS contact) to the everyday. What works for your community, and your club? It s important for all of us to remember that what got us interested in ham radio is not necessarily of interest to new people. Maybe they will eventually get interested in whatever you like, whether it is DX, weak-signal, traffic handling, public service, or any of the numerous other things we do. But reaching out to them requires finding out where their current interests in science and technology are, and showing them how ham radio can be a part of that. Let s all follow the example of the club in Lancaster by planning an activity and carrying it out with great results! --73, Tom, W8WTD, Vice Director, Great Lakes Division 11

12 HAMFESTING: Here is the current Great Lakes Division ARRL Sanctioned Hamfest Schedule covering the next few months. These swaps have received their sanctioning approval from ARRL HQ at the time of this publication. If you plan to request ARRL Sanctioning, please be sure to do it well in advance of your Hamfest date, as this allows adequate time for QST Listings. Be sure to invite your ARRL Officials as soon as your date is set. With 52 weeks and 65+ hamfests, things do double up a little. Plan ahead for requesting your ARRL Officials to attend. 11/3/18 Grant ARC Hamfest Georgetown, OH 12/1/18 Fulton Co. Winterfest Delta, Oh 12/2/18 Lanse Creuse Hamfest Madison Hts, MI 1/20/19 S.C.A.R.F. Hamfest Nelsonville, OH 1/27/19 Hazel Park Hamfest Hazel Park, MI 1/27/19 Tusco ARS Hamfest Strasburg, OH 2/17/19 Livonia Hamfest Livonia, MI 2/17/19 Mansfield Hamfest Mansfield, OH Be sure to check your Section's news pages for the latest local happenings, club and net information. 73, Let's go light up the bands, Editor s Note: You can reach Dale at wa8efk@arrl.org From the Editor This month s newsletter was delayed because of computer problems. It seems that my word processor has decided that I may open my documents only in Read Only mode. This makes preparing the newsletter impossible. Fortunately, my brother, who knows more about computers than I will ever know, showed me several options to work around my stubborn computer. Unfortunately, it took a couple of weeks for me to understand and to make the changes. Hopefully, next month will be better. Thanks for your patience. Glenn, W8MUK, Editor P.S.: My brother also knows more about electronics that I ever will, too. 12

13 Did You Know? The Lucas County ARES Informational Net is every Sunday at 7:30 pm on The TMRA Newcomers and Elmers Net is every Sunday at 8:00 pm on The Tech Committee meets the second Monday of each month at Maumee Fire Station #2 on Dussel Drive (in front of the water tower). The Fldigi Net meets every Tuesday night at 7:30 PM at MHz The TMRA general meeting is the second Wednesday of each month at the Electrical Industry Building, Lime City Rd., Rossford, Ohio. New meeting time is 7:00 PM. The Six Meter Net meets every Wednesday and Thursday at 9:00 PM (EST). The Thursday night Net is on USB. For more information contact Dan, KE8UE, at The Lucas County Siren Net is the first Friday of each month from 10:30 to 11:30 AM on W/103.5 PL and W/103.5 PL. The Lucas County Hospital Net is the first Saturday of the even numbered months at 10:00 AM. The NORC Net is the first Saturday of each month. This net typically meets at 11:00 AM on or around +/ MHz LSB. ARES meets the fourth Saturday of each month. TMRA Technician License Class days are October 27 and November 10. The TMRA Christmas Party is December 12. VE testing is each month. Contact Steve, KC8TVW at or kc8tvw@arrl.net. Register for CW classes by contacting Steve, KC8TVW at or kc8tvw@arrl.net. Ron, N8RLH, has ham gear from the estates of silent keys. Contact: or rlhornbeck@att.net. The calendar at the TMRA website, lists numerous ham radio activities each month. Contact Brad, WB8RG, TMRA Information Officer at tmrainformation@gmail.com to receive weekly s about club news and activities. TMRA has a Facebook page and an Instagram page, which can be accessed from an icon on the TMRA website or at Don't forget to select TMRA as your Organization of choice for Kroger Cares and Amazon Smile. This results in a donation to the club as a portion of your purchase. The TMRA Amateur Radio Beacon is published monthly by the Toledo Mobile Radio Association. #318 Editor: Glenn, W8MUK w8muk@arrl.net Assistant Editors: Bruce, AA8HS and Mike, WB8TNF 13

14 TMRA P.O. BOX 9673 TOLEDO, OH November