The
Marinette and Menominee Amateur Radio Club
GROUND WAVE
Repeater
Frequencies 147.00 MHZ & 444.075 Mhz
Club Net: Sunday 7PM 147.00 MHz
Simplex DX Spotting and Ragchew Frequency 146.55
Web Page: http://w8pif.com
Officers
President: Jim Callow K8IR
Vice President: Ed Engleman KG8CX
Treasurer: Lynne Rynish N8OSK
Secretary: Gary Luthardt KG9AD
The MMARC Newsletter May 2003
MAY MEETING…
Our
next meeting will be on May 8th, 7:00pm in the cafeteria of BAMC in Menominee.
This may be our last at that location which we have had for many years.
A new location is being sought, and as soon as something comes up, we will let
all know. In the meantime, we have been considering picnic meetings for
the summer months. Hopefully, we will come up with something in time for
the September meeting. In the meantime let's have a good turnout for
what may be our final meeting at BAMC. Field Day planning will be the main
topic of discussion.
VE SESSION RESULTS AND NEW HAM REPORT…
Our
testing session of April 10th was 100% successful. Earl Bramschreiber
and Jim Voss both tested and passed with flying colors. Both Earl and
Jim received their Technician tickets. Jim also passed the 5 wpm Morse
code which gives him some HF privileges on most bands as well as phone on the
28.300 to 28.500 portion of ten meters.
Both
received their new calls exactly one week later...Mark these down.
Earl,
KC8WJN and Jim, KC8WJO
Congratulations
to the area's two newest ham radio operators.
NEW CLUB MEMBERS WELCOMED…
At
the April meeting three new members were approved for membership.
They are Joe, N9LLA and his XYL, Terrie, N9MPR, of Luxemburg, WI. Joe
has attended several of our functions already. We appreciate their
driving all the way up from Luxemburg to attend the meeting.
Also,
Jim Voss, KC8WJO became a member at the April meeting and we welcome him as
well. The club now has 57 members.
NEW HAM MAKES PILGRIMAGE TO AES…
On
Wednesday April 23rd, Earl, KC8WJN made the trek to Milwaukee to stock up on
some ham gear. He was accompanied by Ed, KG8CX and Dwight, W9YQ.
He is now the proud owner of a dual band mobile radio, mag-mount antenna, MFJ
analyzer, power supply and a dual band HT, which he acquired a day earlier.
Earl plans to build his own antennas and put up a good-sized tower on his
property northwest of Menominee. We'll all be looking for you on the vhf
bands. Have fun with your new privileges.
MICHIGAN QSO PARTY SUMMARY…
Only
time will tell how the M&M ARC did in the club score competition in this
year’s Michigan QSO Party, but there probably wasn’t another club that
worked as hard to put up their point total.
Once
again, the W8PIF call was a familiar one during the 12 hour competition on
Saturday April 19th. The multi-transmitter operation from the Bog
Jumpers Deer Camp in Menominee County (you may remember it as the site of last
year’s Field Day) was manned by K8NB, W9YQ, K0SN, NS9R, AA9PB AND SON JAKE.
They logged 1270 QSO’s, and a claimed score of 350,946.
Meanwhile,
Jeff, KE9S, did his one-man show from a cabin in Iron County,
Jeff set up and took down the station alone, and logged 535 QSO’s and
83, 433 points.
THE
KE9S/8 OPERATING DESK
Jim, K8IR, and Ed, KG8CX, made their second annual mobile trip across the UP. Despite battling dense fog, heavy rain, and frogs (!) on the roadway, the pair logged 571 QSO’s from 11 counties and 111,618 points
K8IR AS BEN FRANKLIN, PLAYING WITH WET
STRING (ANTENNA GUY) DURING A THUNDERSTORM IN CHIPPEWA COUNTY
All the stations reported higher scores as compared to
last year, when a solar flare made for very poor propagation.
FIELD DAY PLANS TO BE DISCUSSED…
We
will decide on the location for the 2003 Field Day event, to be held June 28
and 29. We are hoping to find a spot where the public has reasonable
access, but a number of locations have been proposed. We have had some
great locations in the past, and perhaps we can return to one of them again
this year.
REPEATER(S) REPORT…
The
147.000 and 444.075 M&M ARC repeaters have been operating flawlessly for
some time now, thanks to Noel, K8NB our expert repeater trustee and
technician. The 444 machine continues to function very well with its
extended coverage, compared to what it was. A return of the 147 machine
to the 400 foot tower site north of the city is still hoped for once the wind
static problem is corrected. We are hoping that will occur sometime this
year.
The
Abrams 146.835 and Wausaukee link repeater project is moving ahead at a steady
pace. A new 100 watt repeater is online at the Abrams site. The
Wausaukee frequency has been approved by W.A.R. (Wis. Assn. of Repeaters), and
the equipment for that site is already in the hands of Bill, WA8WG. At
this time, a projected timetable of mid to late June is planned to put the
link system online. There are also plans to put a receive site in
Marinette which will tie into the system, but this is a future decision.
Once established, the linked system will cover Brown, Oconto, Marinette,
Menominee, and portions of Door, Outagamie, Shawano, Manitowoc, Kewaunee
counties in Wisconsin, as well as Delta, Dickinson, Forest,
Florence
and Iron counties in Michigan. It will open up reliable communications
for hams to most of NE Wisconsin and the central Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
During band openings, this can extend as far west as Wausau and central
Wisconsin, and up to Marquette and the copper country in the U.P.
The
first official Skywarn activation of the year was called during the
evening of April 15th. A line of severe thunderstorms was forming in
Shawano and Oconto counties that were moving in our direction. Both the
147.000 and 146.835 repeaters were activated, with most of the action being in
Oconto county. Net control there was Dave, NS9R, assisted by Earl,
KB9DSV. Jeff, KE9S, the ARES coordinator for both Marinette and Oconto
counties also relayed reports to the Green Bay office on behalf of the Abrams
system. A total of 14 stations (9 fixed and 5 mobile) responded to the
M&M ARC call on the 147 repeater.
About
50% of club membership has taken weather spotter training over the past
several years, most on an annual refresher basis, conducted by either the NOAA
weather office at Marquette or the NOAA office in Green Bay. We often
have the largest number of hams responding throughout the 20 county Green
Bay weather office region. The weather office meteorologists really
appreciate the cooperation they receive from the Marinette, Menominee and
Oconto county area hams.
W8 QSL BUREAU ADDRESS CHANGE…
Effective
May 1, the address for the W8 incoming QSL Bureau will change to W8 QSL
Bureau, PO Box 307, W Chester, OH 45071-0307. Jay Slough, K4ZLE <k4zle@arrl.net>,
has been named to replace the retiring Ed Gassman, N8HTT, who has managed the
W8 QSL Bureau for several years
June 1 - 7 is
Driving Safety Week. Learn how to
protect yourself, your passengers, and other drivers.
June
8 - 14 is Home and Community Safety Week. Protect yourself, your family and
friends. Create a safe community.
June
15 - 21 is Preparedness Week. Prepare
for emergencies at home, at work and in the community.
June
22 - 30 is Workplace Safety Week. Take
a position of safety leadership - promote safe practices and prevent injuries
on the job.
Marinette-Menominee
Amateur Radio Club
Minutes
of the April 10, 2003 Meeting
President
Jim K8IR called the monthly meeting to order at 7:07 p.m.
Prior
to the club meeting, a testing session was held. The two successful candidates were Earl Bramschreiber of
Menominee and Jim Voss of Stephenson.
Minutes
of the previous meeting were approved on motion of Paul WC9E and second by Tom
N8LHB.
The
treasurer's report shows a deposit of $15.00
for dues, one disbursement of $50.00 to the Sorensen Memorial Fund.
Balance in the checking account is $477.68 and balance in the savings
account is $348.08 for total assets of $840.76.
The treasurer's report was approved on motion of Arde KA9WAR and second
by Keith N9PQV.
In
the absence of the club secretary, President Jim K8IR read thank you notes
from the family of Barbara Benoit, the family of Howard Sorensen and from the
Salvation Army for our Christmas donation.
Discussion
was held with regard to sending flowers from the club for funerals.
Paul WC9E moved we allow up to $40.00 for flowers for a deceased club
member or their spouse. Second on the motion was made by Bob AA9GZ.
Motion carried.
Repeater
report: Noel has worked on both of the repeaters since the last club meeting.
One duplexer will need repair.
SkyWarn
Simulated Tornado Drill:
Ed reported 8 fixed and 3 mobile check-ins for the State of Wisconsin - NOAA
simulated tornado drill. Marinette
Sheriff's Department put out the page for the drill for all agencies within
Marinette County. Oconto County
had 5 fixed and 1 mobile check-in for the simulated tornado drill.
Old
Business:
Eric
KG9GH moved for dissolution of the By-Laws Committee. Second by Dwight W9YQ. Motion
carried.
Lynne
N8OSK is still working on a new location for our monthly meetings.
For the months of June, July and August, the club will hold meetings at
a local park. It appears that we
will have a new meeting site for our September meeting.
New
Business:
Discussion
was held on a location to hold the annual Field Day activities.
Dwight W9YQ offered a location in Marinette County, and Earl
Bramschreiber offered a location in Menominee County.
The site of Field Day will be decided at the May club meeting.
On
Friday, April 11th club members and guests will gather at Little
River County for a fish fry. A
total of 21 reservations had been made.
Club
members were reminded of the Michigan QSO party to be held on April 19th.
The QSO party runs from 11:00 a.m. through 11:00 p.m.
New
Members Voted into Club:
Three
applicants for membership in the club were voted on during the meeting.
New members are Joe Yedynak N9LLA, Terrie Yedynak N9MPR of Luxemberg,
WI and Jim Voss of Stephenson, MI.
The
meeting was adjourned at 7:50 p.m.
Club
Members in Attendance:
Jim
Callow K8IR
Lynne Rynish
N8OSK
Ed Engleman KG8CX
Bill Becker
WA8WG
Earl Andre
KB9DSV
Earl Bramschreiber
Tom Rynish N8LHB
Paul Drees
WC9E
Arde Nelson KA9WAR
Dwight Bosselman
W9YQ
Bob Schrader AA9GZ
Keith Tonn
N9PQV
Terrie Yedynek N9MPR
Joseph Yedynek
N9LLA
Jim Voss
Guest:Dennis
Knutson KB9GFX
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary Pro-tem
Lynne N8OSK