Archive for the ‘News’ Category
August Foxhunt Postponed
Due to some of the Foxhunters being out of town, and their kind concern for the health, and welfare of the Foxes in the stifling heat, theFoxhunt has been postponed until September.
07/20/2010
On July 19, the FCC announced via the Federal Register that the cost of an Amateur Radio vanity call sign will decrease 10 cents, from to $13.40 to $13.30. The new fees take effect 30 days after publication, making August 17, 2010, the first day the new fee is in effect. In FY2010, the FCC expects to grant 14,800 vanity call signs, bringing in $196,840 from the vanity call sign program. Earlier this year, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order (NPRM), seeking to lower the fee for Amateur Radio vanity call signs.
The notice in the July 19, 2010 edition of the Federal Register — entitled “Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2010; Final Rule” — includes all FCC regulatory fees; these fees are expected to recover a total of $336,712,213 during FY2010, encompassing all the Services the FCC regulates.
The FCC is authorized by the Communications Act of 1934, As Amended, to collect vanity call sign fees to recover the costs associated with that program. The vanity call sign regulatory fee is payable not only when applying for a new vanity call sign, but also upon renewing a vanity call sign for a new 10 year term.
Via – http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-vanity-call-sign-fees-to-decrease-august-17
USS Batfish Work Day Update
The workday scheduled for the USS Batfish went well, but not as well as expected. We, the Ham Radio bunch, arrived just as the museum was opening, the work crew was already working, and after meeting briefly with Rick, the park manager, we continued our meeting of the Ham Radio Operators. We then had a wonderful lunch at Fajita Rita’s in Fort Gibson, them back to the Museum for a continued meeting with Rick. (Our meeting with him was interrupted by a Oklahoma Submarine Veteran’s Organization, and a hamburger cookout for the various volunteers. The work crew called off the work because of the heat.) We did accomplish some things, basically establishing an Electrical Committee to oversee electrical work that needs to be done to the boat for safety reasons, we talked about operating some special event stations at the submarine for up & coming events such as a “Living History Day” on 13 August, and a “Scouts At The Batfish” day on 16 October, as well as several dates. (Living History Day is a day where military reenactors dressed in period uniforms, and stand in various places throughout the submarine, and tell visitors what happened in that particular area of the boat.) (Scouts At The Batfish will be a day where Boy Scouts, and Cub Scouts will be there talking to various groups, such as Police, Fire, Military units as well as others.) August 21st will be another workday. There is lots of work that needs to be done, such as mowing the grass, (Which the museum currently has to pay an individual to do. One of the things that we found out was that the museum exists only on what money they collect at the front door, and donations.) Let me know if you can help with any of the work that needs to be done. Anything helps quite a bit. Thanks-Ron-KB5VDB
Foxhunt Results
The July Foxhunt was a challenge, and a lot of fun. Mike AE5QL, his two harmonics Emily, and Jordan, and Tom KD5CNY were the Wiley Foxes. They were hidden in the Coney Island on the South East Corner of Kenosha & 9th (71st & Lynn Lane) Laci, KD5PFG, Daniel, KF5FPG, Dakota, and Ron, KB5VDB were the first foxhunters to find the fox, and in good time, 1 hour & 1/2, with Scott KD5NJR, next, Craig KD5CUZ, Wade KF5IF, Randy KF5COA, Cathy KF5CNY, her daughter, Darby, next, Bob KK5J didn’t go inside but was next, then Brian K5BBM, and his partner were last. Craig had walked into the Coney Island, but didn’t go far enough to see the foxes. Laci saw Jordan playing a video game through the window, and Mike had parked his truck across the street at the Reasor’s. Tom had parked his wife’s car quite far away from where they were hiding. Next month, Ron, Laci, Daniel will be the fox. Make plans next month to join us for the foxhunt. Ron
Ice Cream Social Wrap Up
Thanks to one and all who showed up for the BAARC Ice Cream Social.
We didn’t have a sign in sheet so I’ll try to remember who all was there
Scott KD5NJR, Kevin KD5RHF, Wade KF5IF, Randy KF5COA, Cathie F5CNY, her daughter Darcy, Tom AE5TD, LLoyd AE5MM, Stan KE5LEP, and his wife Shirley KE5PAQ, Laci KD5PFG, and Dakota, Gerry KC5JKU, Ray KE5WGA, and his wife, Guy WB5MXO, and his wife Cathy WB5MXP, Earl WB5UUW, Curtis KF5ECI, and his wife, and kids, James KE5SWU, Ritchie W5OKL, John K4ISP, Me KB5VDB, and several people whose name I did not catch. There were at least five prospective new hams there as well. GREAT TURNOUT de RON KB5VDB
John Anderson (left) and Tony White, both of Broken Arrow, set up a 30-foot directional beam antenna Friday as they and other amateur radio club members prepare to hook up with thousands of other radio operators for a public demonstration this weekend in south Tulsa. MICHAEL WYKE/ Tulsa World
Radio operators take to the air
Amateurs will test their emergency communications.SUSAN HYLTON World Staff Writer
Published: 6/26/2010 2:20 AM
Last Modified: 6/26/2010 6:03 AMBROKEN ARROW — Acts of God are beyond human control, but thankfully there’s always ham.
Ham radio, that is.
Starting at 1 p.m. Saturday, thousands of amateur radio operators from around the world will test their emergency communications abilities. The event continues through 1 p.m. Sunday. About 35,000 ham operators took part in last year’s event.
The Broken Arrow Amateur Radio Club is leading the demonstrations in a vacant lot north of the Asbury United Methodist Church, 6767 S. Mingo Road.
The public is invited to observe, ask questions and talk to other stations on the air.
Ham radio operators point to the importance of their network when other forms of communication fail, such as during hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes and other disasters.
When Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast and New Orleans in 2005, hundreds of volunteer ham radio operators were able to help emergency crews.
Locally, an ice storm in 2007 knocked out power for weeks, and cell towers ran out of backup power. But none of the hams went down, said Ron Lancaster of the Broken Arrow Amateur Radio Club.
“We all have battery backup and emergency generators,” he said. “In times of need, we’ll put ham operators at various hospitals. We put people at the emergency operations center downtown, at the City-County Health Department and the Medical Examiner’s Office.”
The modern digital and satellite capabilities of ham radios might be surprising. Messages can be sent through a variety of ways, including text, voice and, as always, Morse code.
Hams were sending text messages across the air before cell phones, Lancaster said.
“We do have our own satellites, and we can talk back and forth to the international space station,” he said.
By SUSAN HYLTON World Staff Writer
Ham it up with radio buffs
By G.B. Poindexter
Chief Photographer
gregoryp@baledger.com
Published: Broken Arrow Ledger
Ron Lancaster, known worldwide as KB5VDB, is tuning in with hundreds of his close and not so-close friends at this year’s Field Day exercises Saturday and Sunday at 6700 S. Mingo Road on the campus of Ashbury Methodist Church.
During Field Day, approximately 30,000 ham radio operators from around the world set up temporary stations under less than ideal conditions and begin to transmit.
“They will continue to transmit for 24 hours, during which time they attempt to communicate with as many other ham radio operators as possible,” Lancaster said.
Lancaster and several members of the Broken Arrow Amateur Radio Club set up a mock-field day exercise at the actual training site for this year’s event in order to demonstrate what members will be doing during the two-day event.
The American Radio Relay League national and international organization calls the event, “the single most popular on-the-air event held annually in the US and Canada. While some will treat [field day] as a contest, most groups use the opportunity to practice their emergency response capabilities.”
Lancaster agrees.
“This is how we test our ability to provide communications in support of our local communities during times of emergency,” he said.
Field Day is a free event. There will be food, several vendors and many amateur radio operators practicing their craft.
http://baledger.com/articles/2010/06/23/news/doc4c21f6cae49c3997592481.txt
I just found out this morning that a 40′ piece of the mast of the battleship USS Oklahoma , is being flown from Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City to Muskogee, where it will become a permanent part of the display of the submarine USS Batfish. No other details, but it might call for a Ham Radio Special Event Station. Watch for additional details.
American Automobile Association says that laws that ban texting while driving won’t reduce crashes.
The agency that looks out for drivers on the road released a shocking report. AAA now says laws banning “driving while intexticated” don’t do any good.
Researchers looked at states with long-term laws against texting behind the wheel, and found the number of crashes never declined. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said it’s the conversation, not the phone that causes crashes. They say the only solution is a total ban on using phones while driving, even hands-free devices.
“We don’t want people to have this misperception that just because they have a blue tooth, then they’re risk-free because that’s not the case,” said Ragina Avarella with AAA.
Maryland has banned all cell phones and hands-free devices if you’re driving.
An Oklahoma law banning all beginner drivers from using a hand-held phone takes effect in November.
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