Dickson County ARC Monthly Meeting Programs All programs subject to change. FEBRUARY 9, 2015 DX and CARD CHECKING Vollie, NA4C and Chuck KJ4KVC

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1 DICKSON COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB RADIO SIGNALS WC4DC Monitoring: , (24/7) Repeaters: PL White Bluff PL White Bluff PL Cumberland Furnace Issue 45 FEBRUARY 2015 Dickson, TN Editor NA4C Dickson County ARC Monthly Meetings Second Monday Each Month 7:00 p.m. at Dickson County EOC Dickson County ARC Monthly Meeting Programs All programs subject to change FEBRUARY 9, 2015 DX and CARD CHECKING Vollie, NA4C and Chuck KJ4KVC DICKSON COUNTY ARC VE TESTING SESSIONS Dickson County EOC 7:00 p.m. Walk in s Welcome VE Testing Dates 2015: January 29 th March 19 th May 21 st July 23 rd September 24 th

2 QUSTION OF THE MONTH What is Rock Bound? Crystal Control of a rado. Commonly found in older VHF and UHF radios. Congratulations to W4VTH and AF4YL for getting the correct answer. FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT Afternoon All, I have got the Club down to participate in the Community Preparedness Fair again this year. The date is March 28th from 10 am until 2 pm. We will have the same spot we did last year.(helps to get your name in early) This gives us plenty of time to get our thoughts together on what we want to do this year. I will have it on the agenda next month to talk about it. Stay warm, Warren W4WJV THE SILENT KEY (SK) There come a time in each Amateur Operators career where each will have equal status. When you see a call KX4XXX, SK, it is fact this ham has passed on to the land of no QRM, unlimited equipment and DX. The SK no longer has any earthly problems. But what about those left behind. Over a hams career, maybe five years or fifty five year a lot of equipment is accumulated, borrowed and loaned. What usually happens to the equipment. If through carefully planning the equipment will be dispersed as to the desires of the individual.

3 What steps can be taken to insure your desires are followed. Include in your will how the equipment should be disposed of, i.e. given to an individual or club, sold an how funds should be applied. It is often best to be sure your family get the proceeds. Keep an inventory of your equipment, the cost of the equipment, equipment you have borrowed or loaned. If you wish for a certain piece of equipment goes to a certain person or for a program be sure it is stated and make known. The key is to let you desires be know, a will, inventory, with cost and present value, an direct in the final disposition of equipment. What steps should be taken if you did not leave any clues as to dispose of the equipment? The beneficiaries may have complete knowledge of your equipment an desires but the chances of this happening are not the best. A local club or trusted ham should be contacted about the equipment. Trusted because that are some hams who will look at a station an say the equipment is not worth anything and offer a very small percentage of the true value. Most hams considered an honor to help with the amateur portion of an estate. How can individual hams, not SKs, assist. If asked assist in any way possible, moving equipment, selling the equipment and obtaining the best possible price for equipment. Also if you happen to be at a hamfest an there is an estate sale, pay what is asked, do not argue about the price. This information about what can be done is not complete. Any additional suggestions and input will be included in future editions of Smoke Signals. DE NA4C Minutes of the January 12, 2015 Meeting of the Dickson County Amateur Radio Club: The meeting was called to order at 7:04 pm. The invocation, given by Larry Duke, was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Don Tigges discussed the U.S. heightened alert and news that ICIS had hacked into CENTCON at McDill Air Force Base to get the names of service members and their families. Don and Marie s daughter and son-in-law are among those names. The minutes of the last meeting were accepted as read. Richard Anderson,

4 Treasurer, reported that at the end of 2014, we had $ in the treasury enough to pay the liability insurance. President Vaughn checked on the status of Joyce Seay and Jerry Frank. He also noted that we had a great turnout 16 members were in attendance. It was noted that there was a good turnout at the Saturday morning ham breakfast. The group decided to keep the breakfast gathering at Houston s. New Business: The estate of Mr. Henry Morris has been probated. His wish was for some of his radio equipment to be used for training purposes. A list of the equipment with estimated values was distributed to all members. Larry Duke is in possession of all the equipment. The tower is down and located at Larry s house. The tower is approximately 5-6 years old, aluminum and in good shape. President Vaughn stated that he would like for the Dickson County Amateur Radio Club to keep the Yaesu FT1000-MP HF transceiver, the Yaesu MD100 microphone, the 2 headsets and the Heathkit lab generator - everything else is fair game President Vaughn stated that everyone should look over the list of equipment and we would discuss purchases at the February 2015 meeting. It was noted that the Christmas dinner was very good and the food was great. Vollie Miller requested articles for the newsletter. Jerry Frank gave a very informative presentation on APRS. The meeting adjourned at 8:04 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sena Frank, Secretary

5 January Testing Results: We had two people show up for the test session January 29 th. Both people passed the Technician exam. Congratulations to Jerry Morris from Lobelville and Jason Meek of Dickson!! Thanks to all the VE s that attended the test session we couldn t do it without you. WANTED OR FOR SALE ROHN 25' TOWER John, N4GRW, lp14255@yahoo.com What is a Hamfest and why should I go? Hamfests are events organized by amateur radio enthusiasts, for social gathering and promotion of the amateur radio hobby. Typically annual or semiannual events held over a weekend, they can last from several hours to several days. Most feature a flea market where the attendees buy and sell radio and related equipment. The equipment found at a hamfest can vary significantly from the newest high-tech gear to used, refurbished, or even antique equipment, and haggling or bargaining is the most common means of sale. Equipment that originally sold at great expense to commercial users (such as public safety agencies) can often be found at a fraction of the price. Likewise, accessories which are no longer available from manufacturers may be found, and many sales of complete systems are made to buyers who only need one or two components. Junk boxes are common, frequently containing scraps and remnants from finished projects or equipment long-since gone. Some hamfests feature demonstration and sales booths manned by vendors and manufacturers of commercial amateur radio equipment. Hamfests may also include meetings of amateur radio clubs, seminars on technical, operational, or legal aspects of amateur radio, and license examination sessions. The Dayton, Ohio Hamvention, the International DX Convention, the HAM RADIO event in Friedrichshafen, Germany, and the Central Coast Amateur Radio Club Field Day near Sydney in Australia are events where manufacturers most commonly introduce new products to the amateur radio marketplace. In the United States hamfests are a popular tradition; at regularly scheduled hamfests in the USA begin with an event such as a waffle breakfast, with proceeds going to the sponsoring organization or a worthy charity. Larger hamfests almost always include one or more food vendors, staffed by volunteers, with the proceeds going to a

6 local high school or other charity. It is not unknown for a seller to ask more for a single part from the box than for the entire box, the intent being to have less stuff when it's time to go home than the seller arrived with. Larger old items are often referred to as boat anchors with the suggestion that they are obsolete and of such low value that this is the only use left for them. Numerous jokes are based on this concept, and some sellers will tie ropes to handles, or post signs on especially large and heavy items seeking customers who own aircraft carriers. Regular attendees often visit their first hamfest in search of some piece of equipment, but end up returning due to the social aspect. In the current century, the Internet has come to be used to advertise and sell ham radio equipment, downgrading the sales of useful used equipment at all hamfests. Thus, hamfests' social aspects have become more of a reason to attend as well as to learn from the numerous lecturers and forums. Door prizes and raffles also occur. Also, inspection of the vast array of commercially made new radio equipment (conveniently available in one place) and the extensive inclusion of computers and computer parts and software for sale rise in importance at these events. The Dayton Hamvention is generally considered to be the largest hamfest in North America.[6] It is held each May at the Hara Arena in Trotwood, Ohio near Dayton. The Hamvention offers forums, exhibit space and a flea market and usually claims to have over 20,000 visitors (verified by the ARRL). Many amateur radio enthusiasts go out of their way to attend the Hamvention, traveling from all over the United States, Canada, Mexico and various parts of the world and even as far as Australia, Japan and Russia. The Shelby Hamfest, hosting 8,000 to 12,000 visitors per year is perhaps the second largest hamfest in the United States, and claims to be the largest in the Southeast. [7] Rising stars of Hamfests are the annual event in Orlando, Florida (often coupled with a family vacation) and the one in the Dallas area (lately held in the city of Plano). Hamfests can also be as small as a few hundred local attendees. The largest hamfest in New England is the New England Amateur Radio Festival, commonly known as NEAR-Fest, which is held twice a year at the Deerfield Fairgrounds in Deerfield, New Hampshire. Deerfield is located approximately 15 miles (24 km) east of Manchester on Route 43. The next NEAR-Fest (XI) is scheduled for May 4 and Two of the largest Hamfests in Canada are HAM-EX,[8] held by the Peel Amateur Radio Club (PeelARC) and the Mississauga Amateur Radio Club (MARC), once a year at the Brampton Fall Fairgrounds just north of Brampton, Ontario, and the York Region Amateur Radio Club (YRARC), on the first Saturday of November each

7 year at the Newmarket Community Centre Newmarket, Ontario. Both of these Hamfests typically attract over a thousand visitors each year. Many smaller Hamfests are also held in every province across Canada each year. A full listing of Canadian Hamfests can be found on the Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) website. In Western Australia, the biggest Hamfest is run by the Northern Corridor Radio Group. They held their first few at the former Carine TAFE College site. Following its closure their hamfests have been held in Bassendean, a suburb of Perth saw a demonstration of military radio equipment and a demonstration of a tesla coil. These were in addition to the "bring and buy" tables and stands for various retailers and groups. The International Exhibition for Radio Amateurs known as HAM RADIO in Friedrichshafen, Germany, is Europe's largest and most well-known hamfest, which includes a trade show and "youth days". The first HAM RADIO took place in 1976 with 62 exhibitors. In India Hamfest has been popular since In 2009 it was held in Bangalore, along with Golden Jubilee celebrations of Bangalore Amateur Radio Club VU2ARC [13] Two ham conventions, with mostly forums, were held by the National Institute of Amateur Radio in Hyderabad in recent years which uniquely coupled the events with major DXpeditions, allowing foreign hams to operate from the rare locales of Andaman I and Lakshadweep I. Japan, the primary source for new commercially made ham equipment, hosts at least one large annual hamfest with world-wide attendees. This is the start of the Hamfest season locally, The first within reasonable driving distance is located in Tullahoma, TN. A copy of their flyer is included within this newsletter. Other local Hamfests include, Cave City, KY, Huntsville, AL Freefest, Memphis, TN and Union City, TN. Additional information will be included in future newsletter. Another good sorce of information is the ARRL web site The MTARS is always a good Hamfest. You can meet many people from all over Middle Tennessee, East Tennessee, North Georgia and North Alabama. You never know what bargains may be available. The concession food is great and you never know when you name may be drawn for a door prize.

8 MTARS TULLAHOMA HAMFEST SATURDAY MARCH 14, 2015 First Methodist Church 208 West Lauderdale St Tullahoma, Tn Show features 2-way radios, Electronics, Computers. (Boneyard &Tailgating on site!) "Something for everyone..." Admission is $5 per person, Includes Tailgating!. Boneyard/Tailgating on site! w/paid admission! Children 15 and younger free. Time Doors open on Saturday at 8 am to 2pm. Vendors may set up on Friday at 5 pm until 8 pm and Saturday 6 am until 8am. Tables are 8 ft. $15.00 ea., 6 ft. $10.00 ea. (Check or Money-order) Preferred, NO CASH For tables contact: Ed Hohenthaner, W7LDG 717 McKown Street Cowan, TN w7lgd@gmail.com Concessions Award Winning BBQ PENDING Smoked Pulled Pork BBQ plates, Sandwiches,

9 Sausage Biscuits, Desserts, Drinks & Much more! WCARS VE Ham Radio Exam Testing Saturday at 9:00 am with a fee of $10. Bring original and copy of your current license w/photo ID and original and copy of any pending CSCE's. VE testing contact is Bradley Brake, W4BB, at bbrake@charter.net Forums ARRL TN SEC / EC / ARES ~10:30 Tri-Service MARS forum TBA, PENDING Forum scheduling contact is kb4jhu@arrl.net Talk-in & Parking Primary offset, PL Tone Secondary / Ragchew offset, PL Tone Mhz offset, PL Tone Look for MTARS HAM Local Motels / RV Parks Executive Inn N. Jackson St, 3 blocks from Hamfest Hampton Inn Located on Hwy 41A, near Waffle House Jameson Inn

10 Located on Hwy 41A, near Wal-Mart Manchester KOA Holiday Landing *Old Stone State Park Directions N W I-24 to Exit 111 (Hwy 55 South), approx 11 miles to Jackson Street, turn right on Hwy 41A North, Jackson St; Go.4 miles; Church on left next to Tullahoma Post Office. Hamfest Co-chairman Michael Glennon, KB4JHU 302 Twelve Oaks Rd Tullahoma, TN MTARS HAMFEST 2013 IS ARRL SANCTIONED Prizes To be announced; Must be present to win! Main Drawing is Saturday at 1 pm