The SELARC "Hamster"

*Serving Amateur Radio Since 1974*
Published Monthly by the Southeast Louisiana Amateur Radio Club Inc.
P.O. Box 1324, Hammond LA 70404
Visit our website: www.selarc.org
Vol. 49, No. 2 ......................... February 2022
* Club Meeting *

Tuesday February 8, 2022 7:00 PM CDT
Location: Ponchatoula Community Center
(300 N. Fifth Street, Range Road)

Talk-in 147.00 (-600) w/107.2 Tone -- Handicap Access

If you would like to become a member of SELARC, please print out and complete the application/renewal form and return it with your check to: P.O. Box 1324, Hammond LA 70404. Thanks!

 

 

Special Events, Other Hamfests & VE Sessions

2022 Orange Hamfest - February 26, 2022 7:30am - 2:00PM - link

Florida Parishes VE Group - Testing sessions are scheduled for the last Sunday of each month [with the exception of holiday conflicts] at AmVets Post #68; 26890 Hwy 42 (jct. of Hwys 42 and 43) - Springfield, La. 70462 (approximately 3 miles south of I-12 at exit 32) at 2pm with $15 testing fee. Bring photo ID and any appropriate CSCE. For more information contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Find an Amateur Radio License Exam in Your Area.

Happy Birthday

Birthday Wishes for February go out to - John AA5UY, Pat KE5KMM, and David N5QOX.
If we missed your birthday, then please let us know.

VE Session Results

VE Report - 15 January 2022

Congratulations to the following new Amateur Radio Operators and or upgrades !

15 Jan, 2022 - SELARC Hammond HamFest VE Session

Technician
Peter Alongia - Morganza, La.
Jerry J Billiot Jr. - Amite, La.
Ryan Patterson - Covington, La.
General
Stephen Harrison - KB5UIO - Gulfport, Ms.
Kevin S. Smith / K5PEW - Prairieville, La.
Lannie M. Calhoun / KK4FVZ - Greenwell Springs, La.
Kyle Trahan - Houma, La.
Bernadette Gryzbac / KC5GYK - Walker, La.
Lawrence Gryzbac / KC5GYL - Waslker, La.
Charles Bell / KO4OXO - Newport, N.C.
Christopher Rogers / KI5RQO - Mandeville, La.
Extra
Craig LaRose / KI5PLA - Thibodaux, La.

30 Jan, 2022

Technician
Kyle Newman - Bush, La.
General
Mikel H. Starr / KF5INT - Hammond, La.
Charles M. Efferson Jr. / KI5SFJ - Baton Rouge, La.
Anthony Champagne / KI5TCZ - Crystal Springs, Ms.

Again , Many thanks to all the VEs who attend our sessions to help make things run smoothly!!
73
Tyrone Burns / N5XES
ARRL VE Liason - Florida Parishes VE Group

Minutes of the General Meeting, January 2022

SELARC Meeting Agenda - General
(Meeting Type: In-Person)
Jan 11th, 2022

Call to order: Russ Plyler (WI5ARD) at 7:01pm

Introductions: Yes

Pledge of Allegiance: Yes

Minutes of previous meetings: Ryan Plyler (KI5FMA) - Not Present

  1. Motion to accept number 1 Tyrone
  2. Motion to accept number 2 Mark
  3. All in favor. Yes

Members present: Russ Plyler (WI5ARD), Tyrone Burns (N5XES), Mark Lacey (WX5RN), Scott (KD5PCK), Ed Mason (KE5GMN), Keith Samrow (KF5VLX), Terry Williams (N1TDW), David Oehler (K4BHY), David Muller (W5NPV), Bill Harris (KF5YBY), Jimmy Hess (AG5EJ) Ernie Bush (N5NIB)

Guest present: N/A

Treasurers’ report: Ernie Bush (N5NIB)

  • Hard Copies
  • Hanover Insurance $1,700 check issued and received.
  • (1) Motion to accept number 1 - David
  • (2) Motion to accept number 2 - Ed
  • (3) All in favor. - Yes
Bills/ Correspondence:
  • Insurance for equipment will be about $400.00. The Feb meeting should discuss changes for better coverage.

New member applications / renewals: Ernie Bush (N5NIB)

  • Terry Williams, Springfield, LA - N1TDW
  • 1st - Tyrone
  • 2nd - Dave
  • All in Favor Yes

Health and Welfare:

  • Mel Simon WD5CAE Silent Key
    • 9/19/1940 - 12/29/2021
    • Hurricane Nets
  • KD5RGT Silent Key
    • o Maybe Columbia Mississippi.

ARES report: Pat / KE5KMM 36 Check-ins

  • 147.000
    • Stay on 610 till further notice.
    • MS-150 Ed to try Kentwood machine to see if it works. Ed to send details on repeater to Scott.
    • Numbers have dropped down to about 10-11 on the number of check-ins. Question came up net time. Next meeting recommends moving up the meeting to 7:30 to help with numbers for a better time.

Hamfest 2022: Tyrone Burns (N5XES)

  • MC Duties
    • Comment about Lyle Wales. Russ to reach out. Dave Pertania may run the MC efforts
    • Two swap tables reserved.
  • Need volunteers to put out signs.
  • Need more tickets being sold.
  • Ed Mason has volunteered for talk-in station 1st shift.
  • Ed Mason believes Pat is helping Mrs. Carol with ticket sales.
    • o Need a barrier at the table for sales. Ernie’s wife said she was going to help out.
  • Electrical
    • Keith will be taking care of the electrical.
    • Gaffer Tape for cables. Picked up by Russ today at Ryan’s house.
  • PA System
    • Dave Catania to provide
  • Forums
    • 2 forum rooms, ARES, ARRL, Council Meeting.
    • VE session in one of the rooms completed by 10am
  • Vendors
    • Ham World
    • Signman
    • Navicom (Connector Guy)
    • The computer guy we typically see will not be making it this year. Max has not been up to par with all the medication treatments around cancer.
  • Door Prizes
    • The EZ Way by Craig Buck K4IA. 5 books
  • SLU
    • Tyrone will reach out to Carmen. Are there any special requirements around Covid-19 to consider. No mask mandate currently.
    • Carmen will handle security. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
    • WiFi access at SLU.
  • Catering
    • Tyrone checked and the church group was unavailable
    • It was recommended that Bob and his girlfriend could run the concessions stand. Scott to reach out.
  • Security
    • Tyrone to look for wristbands at the community center.
  • Swap Table
    • Tables to be held to side for the SELARC stuff
      • Mark, Tyrone, Russ to go pick up stuff for swap along with other Friday afternoon. 10 at the ponchatoula center
  • Signs
    • Terry, New member looking to help lay them out.

Repeater Committee: Tyrone Burns (N5XES)

  • Tickfaw
    • Repeater swap is possible with Yaesu from the hospital site for testing.
    • Insurance check received for $1,700.00
  • Hammond
    • Hurricane Ida took down the tower
    • Still out looking for bids on the tower. Antennas are being put in for the bid on the updates. Mike KI5GGP includes the ham gear. He is one of the bidders.

2022 Bike MS: Dat’s How We Roll: Russ Plyler (WI5ARD)

  • With everything going on between Covid mandates and Hurricane Ida the ride has been postponed till March 19-20, 2022. The ride could possibly stay here to keep the event out of the hurricane window
  • Need to see what happened to Bob’s list of volunteers

Old Business:

  • Waiting on Allen to get hardware. No more activity till after Jan

New Business:

  • Anything New
  • Repeater Committee: Tyrone Burns (N5XES)
    • Hammond
    • Tickfaw
    • Quotes
      • Second call placed to Test Communications in Slidell on 1/11/2022. The previous email was forwarded to 2 more PM’s from the previous contact. This is the 3rd time reaching out to them for a quote
    • Shirt’s for club Scott worked with Carol making shirts. She may be out of business. If we do silk screens we should be
    • o Scott asks the board to consider reaching out to Miss Ellen to get Bob’ callsign assigned to the club.
    • Pete and Leslie Liuzza are printing pictures for a table dedicated to Bob. Pictures are being sent to Ernie for display at the HamFest
  • Website Support
    • Jimmy is the only one supporting the website
    • Some clean-up needs to be done on the site. There are two different layouts showing going to the site Can we get it down to one?
  • Donations
    • Heath Kit Radios & Cable
      • Will go to Hamfest if not sold prior.?
      • Pictures along with links to prices on items have been sent to Ernie and Tyrone to review so that we may come up with fair recommendations on asking prices for parts and/or the complete items.

Upcoming events / Hamfest / Cancellations:

  • January 15th, 2022 – SELARC Hamfest (Hammond, LA
  • January 28th & 29th, 2022 - Capital City Hamfest (Jackson, MS)
  • January 29th & 30th, 2022 - Winter Field Day
  • February 26th, 2022 - Orange Hamfest (Orange, TX)
    • 11475 FM 1442, Orange, Texas 77632, Exit 869 from either direction off IH-10, Talk-in Frequency 147.180 +600 PL 103.5
  • March 19th & 20th, 2022 - Bike MS: Dat’s How We Roll
  • Rayne Hamfest (Canceled till 2023)

General discussion, presentation, or training:

  • Mark suggested in the Feb meeting to start discussing Field Day.

Motion to adjourn:

  • Anything New Tyrone motion, Mark 2nd Mark,

 

 
News from The ARRL Letter

==> IARU Region 1 Working to Resolve Potential Amateur Interference to Satellite Navigation System
IARU Region 1 (Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Northern Asia) continues wrangling with the issue of interference potential to GALILEO global navigation satellite system (GNSS) sites in Europe from amateur radio operation in the 1240 - 1300 MHz (23-centimeter) band. Considerable work has gone into documenting an interference case on a single GALILEO channel between a "very local" Italian 23-centimeter repeater and receivers at the nearby European Commission Joint Research Centre in Ispra, where GALILEO applications are developed and tested. ...

==> Research on Ancient Massive Solar Storms Suggests a Need to Prepare for the Next Ones
Numerous powerful X-class solar flares occurred last fall as Solar Cycle 25 activity picked up. Jon Jones, N0JK, covered the event in his QST column, "The World Above 50 MHz," in the February issue, and he pointed out, "More powerful flares than these have taken place, such as the Carrington Event of 1859, during which aurora was seen in the South Pacific and in Cuba, and it sparked electrical fires."
Similar events took place in the 20th century, but, as Jones notes, scientists are researching spectacular solar storms that took place as early as 7176 BC and in 5259 BC. The huge solar flare some 9,200 years ago has convinced researchers that we are not ready for the next one, and our modern technology would take a major hit.
"Also worrisome is that Earth may have narrowly dodged a 'Carrington-level event' in 2012," Jones said. Daniel Baker of the University of Colorado -- speaking at a NOAA Space Weather Workshop -- said, "If it had hit, we would still be picking up the pieces."
Jones said his reading has led him to conclude that these solar superstorms occur more frequently than people think. "As more ice cores and tree rings are sampled, scientists are finding there have been more of these [major solar storms]," he said ...

==> Next QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo set for Mid-March
What's become a regular March event, the next QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo will be held live from March 12-13, and then on demand for 30 days afterward. More than 60 speakers will deliver presentations on their subject areas. "There's content for everyone whether a newly licensed ham looking for next steps to using that license or a 30+ year experienced ham looking for new projects," the QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo organizers promise. ...

==> ARES Activates as Wind-Driven Year-End Fire Destroys 1,000 Colorado Homes
Members of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®) in Colorado, volunteering for the Boulder County (Colorado) Amateur Radio Emergency Services (BCARES), turned out on December 30, 2021 as the devastating Marshall Fire roared through Superior and (portions of) Louisville, Colorado. Intense winds whipped a grass fire south of Boulder near Marshall into a massive firestorm that became too large and fierce for firefighters to battle.
"The only battle was evacuation, as the towns of Louisville and Superior and [the] northern suburbs of Denver lay in the fire's wind-driven path," said Amateur TV (ATV) enthusiast and equipment dealer Jim Andrews, KH6HTV, of Boulder. Andrews said the only thing limiting the fire's spread was the fact that the winds diminished by that evening. ...

==> ARRL Foundation to Create Club Grants Program
A new ARRL Foundation Club Grants program, funded by a grant from Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC), will make $500,000 available to radio clubs. The program will provide up to $25,000 for worthy club projects. Requests for more than that will be referred back to ARDC ...

==> Growing Number of Operators Completing WAS on 222 MHz
Until very recently, it had been some 35 years since the most recent Worked All States (WAS) was awarded on 1.25 meters. Former ARRL President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, in Arkansas; Marshall Williams, K5QE, in Texas, and John Swiniarski, K1OR, in New Hampshire stand at the vanguard of a new generation of VHF enthusiasts aiming at earning the Worked All States (WAS) Award on 222 MHz (1.25 meters). Harrison was issued WAS #11 on 1.25 meters on December 27, 2021, while Williams was issued WAS #12 on January 11, 2022, and Swiniarski was issued WAS #13 on January 12. ...

==> ARRL Foundation Grants First-Year Funding for ARISS *STAR* Keith Pugh Initiative
A $47,533 ARRL Foundation grant will fund the initial phase of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS‐USA) *STAR* Keith Pugh Memoriam Project. *STAR*, which stands for Space Telerobotics using Amateur Radio, honors the memory of Keith Pugh, W5IU, a highly respected member of the ARISS team who died in 2019. ARISS arranges live question-and-answer sessions via ham radio between International Space Station (ISS) crew members and students. ...

==> Youth on the Air Camp to Return in June
After a successful pilot camp program in 2021, the next Youth on the Air for the Americas camp has been set for June 12 - 17, 2022. The camp will return to the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting in West Chester Township, Ohio.
The application period will open online February 11. Eligible participants are amateur radio operators between ages 15 and 25. A total of 30 campers will be accepted. Some of the 30 spots will be reserved for campers who reside outside of the US but do reside in the Americas. Priority will be given to first-time attendees. Returning attendees will serve as camp leaders ...

 

--The ARRL Letter and The American Radio Relay League

 

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Stay Radio active -- Hope to see you at the next meeting. Be sure to monitor your weekly nets, e-mail, and the SELARC website at https://www.selarc.org for any updates.

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