AMATEUR RADIO ((((( ))))) The Friendly One MILWAUKEE REPEATER CLUB, INC. SERVING OUR COMMUNITY 146 91- May 2015 Operating the 146.91- repeater under the callsign WI9MRC. For best access use 127.3 PL. Mailing address: PO Box 2123 Milwaukee, WI 53201 http://www.mrc91.org/ MRC News President Steve Mueller KD9NW kd9nwqrz@yahoo.com Vice Pres Dean Berglund KC9REN deanberg@wi.rr.com Secretary Dale Webler AB9DW ab9dw@arrl.net Treasurer Ted Carlson N9KQQ carlsonted@att.net Activts Mgr Karen Burris KC9WQJ kc9wqj@gmail.com From the Prez Well, it looks like the area is finally starting to green up and come to life. One of my favorite warm weather activities is working in the yard as I monitor.91 with my HT. Now, that s not to say that I don t love my shack, but after a long winter, it s nice to get out of the dark corner in the basement where the wife keeps me and my radios. All kidding aside, I would like to thank the.91 responders. I really enjoy listening to them most everyday, usually before I go to bed after a long night shift at work. It is such a great program that is coordinated by Warren, K9IZV, and is one of the reasons that this great repeater is so very active. All the responders have unique stories and experiences, making every conversation different. Every time you key the.91 it allows the opportunity to learn more about radio and other interesting topics. It s one of my favorite things about this repeater, the chance to learn something new on it everyday. So a big thank you to the responders, and.91 members for keeping the repeater active, educational, and fun. See you at the next meeting. Vice Presidents Report Best Regards, Steve KD9NW At our March meeting, we enjoyed the very informative Storm Spotter presentation put on by Milwaukee Area Skywarn Association. We concentrated on the proper reporting procedure to be used on Amateur radio. I believe most of you know the General Class question pool will be updated June 1, 2015. There will be a Meeting Notice May 13 (Wed) 7:00pm Membership Meeting. (Basement) 6560 S. 27 th Street, Oak Creek 2015 Club Calendar July 15 (Wed) Meeting Sept. 16 (Wed) Meeting October 21 (Wed) Meeting Nov. 18 (Wed) Meeting VEC testing session at AES on May 30, 2015. This will be your last chance of taking your General Class test in the area before the new question pool comes out. This applies only to the General Class question pool this year. After June 1st, the test will be using the new question pool. ARRL Field Day June 27-28th Field Day Objective: To work as many stations as possible on any and all amateur bands (excluding the 60, 30, 17, and 12-meter bands) and to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less than optimal conditions. Field Day is open to all amateurs in the areas covered by the ARRL/ RAC Field Organizations and countries within IARU Region 2. We will be having Field Day at Whitnall Park as we have in past years at the Winter Sports area. Field day preparations will be Friday June 26th at 12:00 Noon. I always have a great time setting up for Field Day and I invite you to come out and help us out set up the antennas and various other equipment also, to enjoy the comradery of fellow Ham radio operators. We can also use some help during tear down on Sunday. It goes quite fast when there are lots of people lending a hand. Dayton Hamvention May 15-17, 2015. Looks like some nice events going on this year including Amateur Satellite Demonstrations being put on by AMSAT. Are you planning on going this year? Pink HAMsters.......... Page 2 Field Day............. Page 2 From the Treasurer........ Page 3 Board Meeting Minutes...... Page 3 Renewal Form........... Page 5 Continued on Page 2 Committees Awards Al KC9IJJ Computer Net Control Operators Gary N9UUR Emer Operations & Training open Fun Net Historian Librarian open Social Media Committee Dean KB7QDI Net Announcements Coordinator Nathan KC9HYY Newsletter Heidi N9TUY & Bob AA9JW aa9jw@amsat.org Public Service Kate KA9MWT Skywarn Skip WD9HAS Swapfest Matt KC9COY Swap Net D.J. N9UNV Technical Mike K9MDJ Dave KA9WXN Webmaster Gary N9UUR MRC is now on Facebook!
Vice Presidents Report, Continued From Page 1 I enjoyed receiving SSTV images from the ISS April 11th and 12th. The Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) performed another round of amateur radio Slow Scan Television (SSTV) activity from the International Space Station (ISS). It commemorated the anniversary of the first human spaceflight by Yuri Gagarin which took place on April 12, 1961. Twelve I enjoyed receiving SSTV images from the ISS April 11th and 12th. different images were sent on 145.800 MHz FM using the SSTV mode PD180, with a 3-minute off time between transmissions. I was able to get two of the images in our area. I used a tape measure antenna, my Yaesu FT-60R HT, and I recorded the sounds on a digital recorder and played it back into my laptop running MMSSTV, a free software used to decode the images. Here s another fun event you don t want to miss. This year s MRC 91 picnic will be held August 22, 2015. Mark your calendar. We will be discussing the location at our next meeting. The South Milwaukee ARC will be having their swapfest this year on July 11th American Legion Post #434 9327 S. Shepard Ave. This is always a big swapfest and lots of great deals to be had. The Wisconsin Antique Radio Club will be having their next swap meet May 31st. Free at The Terminal 5917 S. Howell Ave. http://warci.org/ I m looking forward to seeing all of you at the May club meeting May 13, 2015. Dean, KC9REN Page 2 MRC News May 2015 Pink HAMsters By Heather Schulz, KC9QXD Hello everyone, I wanted to give you a brief update on the Pink HAMsters. We started the net on July 13, 2013, and have been going strong since. We average 5-7 YL s weekly, and I must say I have a lot of fun participating on the net. (For those of you who may not know, it took FOREVER for me to get the courage to actually pick up a mic, and much less speak into it. On top of that, I had people watching me, also because I was a third party ). Bit, by bit, I finally broke through my barrier, and got on the air with confidence! Fast forward to July 2013 I met with Cindy Downes, K5CED, via Facebook of all places, and found out she started a group of YLs in Oklahoma, called the Pink HAMsters. She was in a position to do so, one, because of her interest in ham radio (due to her husband), and two, because there are not a lot of YL s on the air. Yes, YLs are out there, using different modes of communication, but not very social like we hear our OMs. I took this as an opportunity to step up to the plate, and challenge myself to get women on the air. With Cindy s blessing, I started our own Wisconsin Chapter of the Pink HAMsters. So with the MRC s support on July 13, 2013 the first net of the Pink HAMsters started. This group of YL s that join weekly for the net is outstanding! We are an all-female group that meets for one hour every Saturday night. Everyone is invited to listen, but we would like all YLs to check in, technician class or higher( third party is welcome with open arms; after all, being a third party is the spark that could lead to a future licensed amateur radio operator). We have received lots of (positive) feedback from people, and it has been very exciting. Our topics vary from week to week, and this is a great net to practice being a net control operator. We even had a totally rocking booth at this year s Superfest! It got a lot of attention, and you can bet we will start to represent our group more; we want as many YLs out there to be heard on the air. This net is coming up on TWO years on the MRC repeater, and I want to say THANK YOU to all the members for your support. This may not seem like a big issue to some, but for me personally, this is one of the biggest challenges I have ever taken on. 73 de, Heather Schulz, KC9QXD Field Day By Dean, KB7QDI Once again, the Milwaukee Repeater Club is going to participate in ARRL Field Day. The dates this year will be June 27th and 28th, and the location will be at Whitnall Park. It is a big weekend, so we are asking for your help. On Friday, June 26th at Noon, we all meet at the site and start preparations on getting the tents, generators, and antennas up and working. Many stay and get together for the local Friday Fish Fry later that evening. Starting at 1 PM on Saturday, the event begins. As with previous years, we ll have a voice, CW, digital, and GOTA (Get On The Air) tent available. Whether you are new to the hobby, or Continued on Page 3
Field Day, Continued From Page 2 a veteran, there is a tent where you can help make or log contacts. Field Day officially ends Sunday at 1 PM, but we again ask for help in breaking everything back down. The more volunteers we get, the shorter it takes for us to be finished and on our way back home. Lastly, everyone is invited. Bring your families along. Kids of all ages will be able to get their first ham radio contacts in our GOTA tent, which is specifically designed for getting new people on the air. If you have any questions, you can reach out to myself, Matt KC9COY, or John KC9FMC. Until next time, 73 de Dean KB7QDI From the Treasurer The weather training in March was excellent as always. The Skywarn team always does a great job in presenting the information. Looking forward to June we have Field Day. I see this as a continuation in the process started by the training you received in weather spotting. Severe weather can cause major damage that destroys infrastructure. This has been seen many times in the past. The experiences we get from setting up Amateur Radio in a location that has no support for radio communications give us a better ability and confidence to support the recovery operations. Public service is one of the justifications we have to be able to use and keep valuable radio spectrum. That being said Field Day is a great fun event. I always look forward to this weekend and hope to see you at Whitnall Park. There is additional information on Field Day in this newsletter and more will be available at the May meeting. Any one who wants to order a club name badge needs to contact me at carlsonted@att.net. Please provide your name as you want it to appear on your badge and your call sign. The badge cost is $7.75 and must be paid for before I can order them. If you need to change any of your information like call sign, email address, home address, phone number or class of amateur license please contact me. If you want to mail dues or name badge money please mail them to the: Milwaukee Repeater Club, PO Box 2123, Milwaukee, WI 53201. The Club will also gladly accept donations to the Capital Improvement Fund. The donations are tax deductible. A club polo shirt with our logo on it is available for purchase. Contact or see Dean KB7QDI for details. 73, Ted N9KQQ Page 3 MRC News May 2015 Membership Meeting Minutes March 18, 2015 The Vice President, Dean KC9REN, called meeting to order at 7:00PM. The members introduced themselves. There were 28 attendees including the board members. The President, Steve KD9NW was unable to make the meeting tonight, so Dean ran the meeting. Dean opened the meeting by clarifying a misinterpretation in the Open Board Meeting minutes regarding tower rental fees. The club pays $1800/yr. in rental fees to the main site tower provider. The going rate for tower rentals in the region is in the area of $1/ft./mo. Our antenna is located at about 350 ft. on the tower, resulting in a potential charge of approximately $350 monthly or $4000/yr. at average rates. Thus the club is currently enjoying a significant discount on tower rental cost when compared to the average rate. The minutes are hereby corrected to reflect this information. The Secretary AB9DW called for any additional changes to the Open Board meeting minutes. Hearing none, a motion was made to approve the minutes: Dean KB7QDI, 2nd: Mike AC9MN. Ayes: All. Motion carried and minutes approved as amended. Vice President Report: Dean KC9REN introduced a request by Dean Hoover KB7QDI, our repeater trustee who also leads the membership committee, to change the title of the committee to the Social Media committee. The name change more accurately reflects the current technology and tasks being accomplished by the committee. This was discussed at the open board meeting with Steve KD9NW present and there was general agreement from those present. While no motion was required to make this administrative change, there was some discussion, the result of which was general agreement from the membership to make the change. Beginning immediately, the committee will be known as the Social Media committee. Treasurer Report Ted N9KQQ: Beginning Savings Balance: $14,164.38. $.46 was posted for interest earned. Ending Balance: $14,164.84. Beginning PayPal account: $48.52. Total deposits: $40. Total expenses: $1.48. Ending PayPal balance: $87.04. Beginning Checking Balance: $1,035.91. Total deposits: $1203.89. Total expenses: $811.16. Ending Checking Balance: $1,428.64. Total available funds: $15,680.52. 112 paid members with 54 members in suspension. We had one member write a check (that the bank did not pay as it was NSF) for a name badge. Ted will be sending a note to the member confirming that if the member wants the name badge, the $7.00 fee plus a $2.00 NSF fee Continued on Page 4
Membership Meeting Minutes, Continued From Page 4 charged by the bank must be remitted. Motion to accept finance report: Mike AC9MN, 2nd: John KC9FMC, Ayes: All. Motion carries and finance report is accepted. Activity Manager Report: Karen KC9WQJ was out of town and therefore no report. She did indicate via text that she wishes she were here and is looking forward to getting back and hello to everyone. Committee Reports: Field Day committee Dean KB7QDI announced the date of the next Field Day is June 26-28. Site will be at Whitnall Park unless otherwise notified. If you can t make the MRC club s field day, Dean recommends you try to make another club s field day this summer. Dean also brought in a bunch of RF chokes that are free for the taking. See Dean at the end of the meeting. Swap Fest will be on October 29th this year (the last Saturday in October this year). Location this year will be the Elks Lodge (across from AES) as in the past. SuperFest is this Saturday, March 21st. MRC will be represented as well as the Pink Hamster club. Several people volunteered to help out to man the tables (KD9BKB, KC9FMC, AC9MN, WQ9A, KC9REN, AB9DW, and N9KQQ). Grand prize this year is a Kenwood TS-590sg. Old Business: Please review the Open Board meeting minutes from November 2014. There is an agenda for what the board will be focusing on in 2015. Please let the board know your thoughts regarding any of the items listed in the minutes. Once again the board reminds the members to keep the conversation on the repeater and Facebook positive and professional. Other members at the meeting echoed that. There is also a commentary in the March newsletter from the club president, Steve KD9NW, regarding etiquette on the air and Facebbook. The club flyer has some outdated information. Gary N9UUR is updating the flyer and it will be available as a 4-fold. There was discussion regarding the repeater operation and the fact that there have been some problems recently with reliability. The board is satisfied that when these problems occur and are reported to the correct people, there is immediate attention being paid to the corrective measures. The most recent example of this is a bad UHF connector that caused our remote sites to not be voted by the voter, effectively silencing them at the main site. Dave KA9WXN was out to the main site twice to correct the issue and get the repeater back to full operation. Maintaining and trouble shooting a repeater system is Page 4 MRC News May 2015 an ongoing process and the club has spent a significant amount of money in 2014 to upgrade the antenna at the main site. There is still more work to do on the antenna installation at the main site but such work needs to be coordinated with the tower owner as it requires a climber. The same is true of the southeast site. The site is in operation at a temporary site not too far from the original site, but must be relocated back to its original site on the top of the Oak Creek water tower. The city of Oak Creek is requiring that the club recertify the equipment for wind load and other technical requirements before they will let us put the antenna and equipment back in service at the water tower. Dave KA9WXN, our technical coordinator, is working with the city to get this done. Patrick KA1RB, representing his other role as the Wisconsin Official Observer (OO) coordinator, also reiterated that when jammers are present on the air, his group recommends that we should ignore jammers and not engage them with any commentary at all. New Business: The idea of having a club roster was introduced by Dean KC9REN. He asked the membership for their viewpoints. At this point we know that the roster would not be generally available. The board is thinking that it would be a useful tool for the board members (e.g. Karen KC9WQJ our activities manager) to communicate with members when there is a need to communicate directly with members. Steve KD9BKB also suggested it could be a good tool for net control people to have a list of members and their associated call signs. There was much discussion and the board will continue its discussion on the topic. Patrick KA1RB will be starting a new General/Technician combined license training class on Saturday, March 28th. Doors open a 9:30AM at the Miller Valley club site. Session will go to approximately 3:00PM. They will be using the W5YI books for the class. This will be the last class to use this version of the books because the VEC is updating the question pool this year. There is also a testing session scheduled at AES on March 28th. Testing begins at 11:00AM. Dean KC9REN mentioned that if anyone would like to write an article for the newsletter, send it to the newsletter editor, Bob Manak AA9JW. These articles give a broader view of what is going on in the community and help to create a newsletter that is really a reflection of the membership. Having no other business, Dean KC9REN called for a motion to adjourn the meeting: Motion: KC9FMC, second: Darlene KC9SBN. Ayes: All. Motion carries and the Membership meeting was adjourned at 7:50PM by Dean KC9REN. Respectfully submitted by Dale Webler AB9DW
Page 5 MRC News May 2015 Milwaukee Repeater Club Membership Application MRC memberships may be renewed on line at www.mrc91.org/member_application.html Type of Application? New Member Renewal Type of Membership? Individual Family (If Family: Please list the names, calls and other pertinent information on any family members living at the same address who are Hams and desire to become MRC members. The $20.00 dues payment covers an entire family for MRC membership.) NAME(s) CALL SIGN(s) NAME(s) YOU USE ON THE AIR STREET CITY STATE ZIP HOME PHONE #: WORK (optional) CELL (optional) BIRTH DATE (optional) CLASS OF LICENSE EXPIRATION DATE PLEASE NOTE! If there is ANY personal information that you DO NOT wish to be published into the club roster, please note it on this form. EMAIL ADDRESS (for newsletter notification) Please indicate if you would you like the Club Newsletter delivered by e-mail (free of charge) or U.S. Mail (additional $5 per year)? Are you currently an ARRL member? YES NO DUES: NEW MEMBERS - January thru December $20.00 $ NEW MEMBERS After July 1 $10.00 $ ANNUAL RENEWAL - $20.00 $ NEWSLETTER POSTAGE ASSESSMENT - $5.00 $ MRC NAMETAG w/mrc LOGO $ OF NAMETAGS x $7.75 = $ DONATION TO MRC CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUND (tax deductible) $ TOTAL AMOUNT ENCLOSED $ Send check payable to Milwaukee Repeater Club at the address below: THE MILWAUKEE REPEATER CLUB, INC. P.O. BOX 2123 MILWAUKEE, WI 53201 I hereby agree to abide by the Constitution, by-laws and rules of the Milwaukee Repeater Club. (Signed) Date Your membership will be voted on at the next membership meeting once the application is received. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE MILWAUKEE REPEATER CLUB!