Archive for February, 2007

WalkAmerica

March of Dimes WalkAmerica 2007
The Clovis Amateur Radio Pioneers will be providing communication support for the event. Breakfast and lunch will be provided for all volunteers. If you wish to participate with radio communications, please contact Rob Mavis.

Date/Time:
SundayApril 22, 2007 – 7:30am

Location:
Woodward Park – Mountain View Shelter

Required Equipment:
2-meter HT

Suggested Equipment:
Sunscreen
Jacket (It has rained in the past at this event)

Contact:
Rob Mavis AE6GE
(559) 440-6053
ae6ge@k6arp.org

More information as it becomes available.

No Comments »

VE Exam: Fresno

Sponsor:
Valley ARRL VE Team

Time/Date:
April 1 at 1:30 pm

Location:
Fig Garden Regional Library
(S/W Corner of Marks and Bullard)
3071 W Bullard
Fresno, CA 93711

Contact:
Kim Davis
(559) 287-9051

Walk-ins allowed

No Comments »

VE Exam: Madera

Sponsor:
Madera County Amateur Radio Club

Location:
United Methodist Chuch
500 Sunset Ave
Madera, CA 93637

Contact:
Frank Reynolds
(559) 645-0067

Talk in on 147.180 no pl

Walk-ins allowed

No Comments »

VE Exam: Sonora

Sponsor:
TCARES

Date/Time:
February 24 at 9:00 am
April 28 at 9:00 am

Location:
Tuolumne County Library
480 Greenly Road
Sonora, CA 95370

Contact:
Carl Croci
(209) 962-7146

Walk-ins allowed

No Comments »

Texas Group Hams it up with Amateur Radio

by Katy Moore, Staff Writer
Star Community Newspapers

February 14, 2007 – When disaster struck the Gulf Coast in 2005 with Hurricane Katrina, cell phone towers were knocked out and communications came to a standstill in that region.

It took weeks for communications to be restored. It was a slow process, one that left many people wondering where their loved ones were and how anyone would rebuild.

Only one group had any access to the outside world. At least, that’s what Tom Brewer says. Brewer is the program director for the Metrocrest Amateaur Radio Society, and he said that in a tough situation, the most advanced technology sometimes fails and it’s left to the amateurs to go back to the basics.

Continue Reading »

No Comments »

University of North Texas to add Ham Clubs

UNT’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering laying groundwork for student robotics, amateur radio clubs
UNT News Service

DENTON (UNT), Texas — Based on student demand, the University of North Texas’ Department of Computer Science and Engineering is planning to add two new student-led clubs. Organizational meetings are scheduled for Feb. 16 (Friday) for a UNT Robotics Society club, and a UNT amateur radio club.

David Keathly, UNT lecturer and undergraduate advisor in the department of computer science and engineering, has agreed to assist the two groups in their formation and will serve as initial faculty sponsor.

The Robotics Society will build robots, investigate concepts in robotics, participate in competitions, and assist as judges, coaches and mentors for middle and high school competitions. Keathly says, “The intent of the club is to enter a variety of competitions that are available to college students. Probably the best known of those clubs is the ‘RoboCup’ robot soccer competition.”

Continue Reading »

No Comments »

Not Your Average ‘Ham’

Hurricane Valley Journal

In a natural disaster or other emergency situation, the Dixie Amateur Radio Club could be Washington County’s lifeline for help. DARC vice president Thom Oliphant said ham radio is often the only form of communication linking a community to the outside world when disaster strikes.

“When everything else fails, ham radio can get through,” he said. “You look at Florida with the tornado that they had down there; it wiped out all their communications systems. Well, they still have ham operators, same thing with Katrina. When all else fails, you can get through with a radio where you can’t get through with phone lines, cell phones, or the Internet.”

Amateur radio, commonly called ham radio, is a pastime that encompasses many forms of communication, such as Morse code, data, and voice transmissions, Oliphant said. DARC is a nonprofit group that formed in the 1970s, and while the club is composed of ham radio enthusiasts who thoroughly enjoy amateur radio as a hobby, a large part of the club’s activity involves providing communication services for the community.

Continue Reading »

No Comments »

OH Special Event Station to Operate During Field Day

ham radio buffs to work FinnFest on WBF
by Chuck Altonen

The Star Beacon

ASHTABULA – - FinnFest USA 2007, which will be held here on July 26 – 28, will have an added feature not heretofore an aspect of any previous FinnFests held in America. Local amateur radio operators will be holding a “field day” event from the Lake Erie Region Campus of Kent State University here, except that it will continue over two days, Friday, July 27 and Saturday, July 28.

Individual members of both the Ashtabula County as well as the Conneaut Amateur Radio Clubs have been granted a special event call sign for FinnFest USA 2007 at Ashtabula. The call sign is W8F and has been issued by the Federal Communications Commission specifically for those involved in the field day exercise are all 100 percebt Finnish-Americans and include Dick Madison, KC8FNJ; Jack Marttila, KA8TUU; Alan Altonen, KC8EPA; and Chuck Altonen, KC8HIZ. Other area Hams are expected to enlist their services according to even organizer, Dick Madison.

Bands that will be worked are in the 20 to 40 meter range on both phone and continuous wave, also known as code; and the 2-meter local band will be worked as well.

Continue Reading »

No Comments »

Time Change to Bring Computer Glitches

A Mini, Minor Y2K: Earlier Daylight-Saving Time Could Foil Computer Calendars

By BRIAN BERGSTEIN,The Associated Press
ABC News online

For three weeks this March and April, Microsoft Corp. warns that users of its calendar programs “should view any appointments … as suspect until they communicate with all meeting invitees.” Wow, that’s sort of jarring is something treacherous afoot?

Actually, it’s a potential problem in any software that was programmed before a 2005 law decreed that daylight-saving time would start three weeks earlier and end one week later, beginning this year. Congress decided that more early evening daylight would translate into energy savings.

Software created earlier is set to automatically advance its timekeeping by one hour on the first Sunday in April, not the second Sunday in March (that’s March 11 this year).

The result is a glitch reminiscent of the Y2K bug, when cataclysmic crashes were feared if computers interpreted the year 2000 as 1900 and couldn’t reconcile time appearing to move backward. This bug is much less threatening, but it could cause head-scratching episodes when some computers are an hour off.

Continue Reading »

No Comments »

Maine’s Governor Is A Real Ham

Matt Bush, Wed Editor
WCSH6.com

Governor John Baldacci doesn’t have a lot of free time these days. But between his many meetings and functions he has to attend, he likes to take part in a unique hobby. He is a licensed ham radio operator.

Governor Baldacci first got interested in Ham radio during the 1998 ice storm, and got his license after he was elected governor.

The governor uses the radio to chat with other Ham operators around the world. His call sign is KB1NXP.

The Governor keeps his radio in a location only a Governor could, right next to his homeland security phone and the red phone that is used strictly for state emergencies.

No Comments »

Next »