April 2015 Edition Vol 3 Issue 10. A publication of the Four State QRP Group and OzarkCon QRP Conference Group callsign WQ5RP

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1 April 2015 Edition Vol 3 Issue 10 A publication of the Four State QRP Group and OzarkCon QRP Conference Group callsign WQ5RP Ozark QRP BANNER Ozarkcon 2015 Photo by K5DCM Index Station Down...pg2..Ozarkcon Pictures pg 4 KB6NU s Column pg 10..SSS Standings pg 11 1

Station Down for Basement Redo Uncle Phil Anderson, W0XI I decided some weeks back to redo the basement, adding some new studs, windows, insulation and sheetrock!

Picture 1 shows my primitive ham shack with cement floor and insulation décor prior to tear-down!

2 Station Down for Basement Redo Uncle Phil Anderson, W0XI I decided some weeks back to redo the basement, adding some new studs, windows, insulation and sheetrock! The city has more rules/permits on a basement redo than adding verticals attached to the porch! Picture 1 shows my primitive ham shack with cement floor and insulation décor prior to tear-down! The station includes SteppIR control box at left for SteppIR vertical, HP display for logging/etc at upper left, K3 in the center, P3 Panadapter at mid-right, and SVGA monitor for the P3 at upper right. Picture 2 displays the shack empty nest awaiting the ½ sheet rock. You can see where the second window will go. 2

3 I m hoping to get the sheetrock hung by a local contractor, taped, and painted within the next 2 to 3 weeks. In the meantime, Picture 3 shows the K3 station stuff piled up in front of the living room couch upstairs! I m thinking I might have to dig out the K1 and set it up on the screen porch plus log by pencil over the next three weeks for a little evening fun. The poor ole thing has been hiding in a drawer for over a year! I m going to have to read the manual again! 72! 3

4 Ozarkcon 2015 Photos All by Dave Martin, K5DCM 4

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10 Dan KB6NU s Column Should we weep for Amateur Radio? Dan Romanchik, KB6NU On an amateur radio mailing list that I subscribe to, one fellow wrote, "I weep for the state of amateur radio in the US, since this dispatch is apparently necessary " He then pointed to an article on the ARRL website that reminded hams that while their local time may be switching to daylight time, Universal Coordinated Time did not change ( The implication, of course, was that we have dumbed down ham radio so much that a reminder like this was necessary. This thread went on and on, eventually garnering 17 different replies. Before it morphed into a discussion of whether or not DST is a good idea in the first place, the replies echoed the sentiment in the original It s become a push button, nanny state world, what do you expect, competence? We are truly in a time of appliance operating, not only in ham radio, but in practically every aspect of our lives. :-( At first, I had the same reaction. I thought to myself, How dumb are we getting in ham radio, if guys have to be reminded that UTC doesn t change when we switch to daylight savings time? After thinking about this for a while, though, I ve completely change my mind on this. I work with a lot of newcomers to amateur radio, and many of them just don t know how UTC works. This is not their fault -they just haven t had the opportunity to deal with UTC. What these old timers (old farts?) didn't realize is that the ARRL article is not directed at them, but at the newcomers to ham radio. I ll even go one step further. It s easy for us old-timers to be dismissive of newcomers lack of knowledge, and then complain that amateur radio is getting dumber, but knee-jerk reactions don't usually help anyone involved. A much better approach would be to roll up your sleeves and teach them something. The only way newcomers are going to get to be old timers like us is if we help them learn stuff like this. When not teaching newbies about UTC, you'll find KB6NU working on updates to his "No Nonsense" study guides, teaching one-day Tech classes, or blogging about amateur radio at 10

11 Second Sunday Sprint (SSS) Standings As published by John Lonigro, AA0VE Here are the current standings for the Second Sunday Sprints, as published by John on April 23, As you know, the station with the most contacts over the course of the year gets the coveted use of the 4SQRP club call, WQ5RP, for the October 4x4 Sprint! The current Top 5 are: Call QSOs KV6Z 45 WA0ITP 34 W2SH 28 AC0BQ 22 AA5CO 17 No major changes from last month, Bill, KV6Z has lengthened his lead will Terry be able to catch up to him by September? Johnny, AC0BQ climbs up to 4 th place, exchanging with Bruce, AA5CO. 11

12 Four State QRP Group is meeting at the Country Cupboard Restaurant in downtown Seneca, Mo. This is one of the locations that 4SQRP folks gather. The Country Cupboard has a nice menu and they have a separate meeting room we can use. The Country Cupboard restaurant is located in the first block north of the blinker light in downtown Seneca. From Barney's, head north on Cherokee Street (that's the main street of town). Go across the railroad tracks and keep going past the blinker light stop. The restaurant is located at 1038 Cherokee street, on the west side of the street. Caution: If you are headed north, do not make a left "J turn" into a parking spot. "J turns" are illegal in the downtown area. Keep going north past the restaurant till you reach the residential area north of downtown where a "U turn" is permitted. Make a U turn there (it's a wide street) and come back to the parking in front of the restaurant. Our group is an informal organization with no officers, no rules, no dues or any other things to get in the way of having fun with QRP. We get-together monthly for lunch and the sharing of ideas and information, parts swapping and just plain fun on our normal third Saturday of a month. All ham radio amateurs (or prospective hams) are invited to participate. 12

13 The Four State QRP Comfortable nets meet each Wednesday night beginning at 7:30 PM CDT, 0030z. Note: on Nov 6 we'll be on CST. If we have to QSY, I like to move up, Wayne likes to move down, and Dick doesn't have to move much at all. Add anything to the exchange that you wish, temp rig, ant, etc. Checking into all sessions is encouraged. 7:30 CDT 0030z... 40M CW Net on 7122, KCØPMH NCS 8:00 CDT 0100z... 80M CW Net on 3564, WAØITP NCS. 8:30 CDT 0130z... 40M CW Net on 7122, KCØPMH NCS 9:00 CDT 0200z... 80M PSK Net on , NØTGR Thursday mornings ~ 8 to 8:30am A gathering of CW ops are having fun on MHz...and you are invited! Join us on the air on the second Sunday of each month for the 4SQRP SSS Second Sunday Spring 7-9PM Central time See: for rules and log submission! Ozark QRP BANNER is a monthly publication of the Four State QRP Group and OzarkCon. Editor: Jeremy Utley, NQ0M - Deadline for publications copy is the 25th of each month - For news, articles, inquiries for the Banner: ozarkqrpbanner@gmail.com Copyright 2015 and all rights reserved this January 2015 edition of the Banner. The articles are the property of the writers which have shared their time and effort to help promote the enjoyment of Ham Radio and/or QRP. Links or references to individuals or companies or vendors do not constitute an endorsement of any product or service you may receive from such sources. Websites and contents used by the author s permission. 13

April 2014 Edition Vol 2 Issue 10. A publication of the Four State QRP Group and OzarkCon QRP Conference Group callsign WQ5RP

April 2014 Edition Vol 2 Issue 10 A publication of the Four State QRP Group and OzarkCon QRP Conference www.4sqrp.com Group callsign WQ5RP Ozark QRP BANNER The voice and CW fist of KØN Bart WØIIT, received