THE SPARK GAP

A monthly publication of the Meridian Amateur Radio Club April 2013

 

 Bible Verse

James 1:19-20 / My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. (NIV)

 

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Next Business Meeting

The next business meeting will be held in the back room at the Checker Board Restaurant on Saturday, April 13, 2013 beginning at 10 A.M. Come join us for breakfast, coffee and fellowship.

 

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Invitation to the Relay for Life event at Archusa Creek Water Park

Guys, I have just returned from a meeting with event and other officials at Archusa Creek Water Park. We were finalizing our locations and plans for participants in the upcoming event Relay For Life on Saturday, April 27th. Clarke County Relay for Life event times are 10:00am until 10:00pm. This has turned out to a very big event with people coming from all over the state to participant.

Eddie Ivy has returned to Clarke County and as of a month ago is now the new Emergency Management Coordinator for Clarke County. He is bringing out to newly reworked EM Mobile Command Trailer. This trailer, Ares Amateur Radio, the Ambulance Service, Fire Department, Board of Supervisors, Blood Services, and maybe the Air Ambulance Helicopter, will all be located together.

This event has grown many years and now is one of the biggest events in Clarke County. This could truly be a great opportunity to promote ARES and Amateur Radio in Clarke County and the surrounding area.

All licensed Amateur Radio operators are invited to come by and visit with the public, demonstrate equipment, make QSOs, answer questions, and just generally have fun. I could use all the help I can get from Amateurs. Also, If you want to bring equipment to demo, feel free.


Gary White, KF5MWE
AEC Clarke County, MS
Quitman, MS 39355

UPDATE: Everybody, I just got back from setting up the canopy, antenna and banners at the Relay for Life event. All the real work has been done. If you can make it and I hope you can, at the gate please tell them your are an Amateur Radio Operator and you are with me and the entry fee will be taken care of. All that we be needed is someone to help answer questions, eat some of the food available, enjoy the activities and entertainment, and play on the radio.

I know that "Bullet Proof (formally Ace)" will be one of the bands playing Sat evening and many more during the day.

Quote from the Relay for Life Facebook page... Lots of different food choices this year include: Home made peanut brittle, pulled pork sandwiches, rib plates and rotel dip, Award winning Gumbo, homemade cakes by the slice, frito chili pies, hot dogs, cotton candy, pop corn, sweet tea, water, Gatorade, chick-fil-a sandwiches and lemonade, mugshots hamburgers, peppermint ice cream, peppermint bark, peppermint cupcakes, peppermint pretzels, tye dye snowballs, BBQ Brisket nachos, chili cheese fries, nachos, banana splits, and homemade tamales.

Activities for the day include: Dr. Seuss stories, face painting, ping pong toss, basketball toss, kids crafts, horse shoe toss, ring toss and beanbag toss, minute to win it games, musical chairs, cake walk, pet show, jail and bail, dunking booth, hair color and glitter.

73, Gary, KF5MWE

 

 

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Assistant Emergency Coordinator Appointed

Lauderdale-Clarke Counties ARES Emergency Coordinator, Rick Morefield AE5FE, presents Certificate of Appointment to Fred Gray WB5BNV as Assistant Emergency Coordinator Operations Lauderdale County ARES. Gary White KF5MWE(not shown) accepts appointment as Assistant Emergency Coordinator Operations Clarke County ARES.

Assistant Emergency Coordinator Appointed

 

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W8P Spreads the Word about End Polio Now

by Dan Romanchik, KB6NU

On Saturday and Sunday, February 23-24, 2013, amateur radio operators gathered at WA2HOM, the amateur radio station at the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum. We were there to operate special event station W8P to commemorate the founding of the Rotary Club on February 23, 1905 and spread the word about Rotary International’s End Polio Now Campaign (www.endpolio.org).

The goal of the End Polio Now program is to rid the world of this terrible disease. Rotary International launched this program in 1985, and with the aid of UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has cut the number of cases by more than 99.9%. In 1988, polio was endemic in 125 countries. In 2012, polio is endemic in only two regions. We like to say that we're "this close" to eradicating polio.

The unique part of the special operating event is that stations all over the world took part in it. Rotary is an international organization, and its amateur radio fellowship, Rotarians on Amateur Radio (ROAR), includes members all over the world. In Australia, a group operated the special event station VI4POLIO. In Europe, Pertti, past president of ROAR, operated his station, EA7GSU. Here in the States, a group that included yours truly; Jack, N8PMG; Jameson, KD8PIJ; Dinesh, AB3DC; and Mark, W8MP operated W8P.

Since the museum is only open from 1500Z – 2200Z, we were only able to operate for seven hours on Saturday. We spent all of our time on 20m phone, with our beam pointed southwest, concentrating on working mostly U. S. stations. We had originally intended to operate on 14.287 MHz, but quickly had to change frequencies, as that portion of the band was occupied by participants in the Mississippi QSO party.

We finally ended up on 14.227 MHz and made a total of 110 contacts on Saturday. This included 29 states and four DX contacts.

On Sunday, we only operated for a couple of hours and made another 27 contacts. While we made fewer contacts on Sunday, the contacts that we did make were more poignant than the ones on Saturday.

My first contact on Sunday was with a gentleman who was spending the winter in Florida, but whose hometown was Standish, Michigan. He told me that his mother had polio, and in the late 1930s and early 1940s, they would put her on a bus for Ann Arbor, where she would receive treatments. While there’s no way to be sure, I think that this ham’s mother was taking part in some of the research leading to the Salk vaccine in
1955. That research took place right here at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

I also talked to hams that had direct experience with polio. One was a polio survivor himself. Another’s wife was a polio survivor. A third was a physician who had been to Africa and had treated polio victims there.

It was a real treat to combine two activities that I enjoy so much–amateur radio and Rotary–and it felt good to know that in some small way I was furthering the work of the End Polio Now campaign. I hope that next year we will once again operate this special event and get even more Rotarians and amateur radio operators to participate.

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When he's not trying to save the world, Dan, KB6NU enjoys working CW on the HF bands. For more information about his operating activities and his "No-Nonsense" series of amateur radio license study guides, go to KB6NU.Com or e-mail cwgeek@kb6nu.com.

 

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Echolink Stations KC5CZX-R

Darrell here in Lubbock TX. I have added a IRLP system to my repeater. Now station may use AllStar, Echolink, or IRLP to access my repeater For AllStar stations may use either 28232 or 28273. For Echolink Stations KC5CZX-R node# 512874. KC5CZX-L node# 500272. For IRLP node# 7394. Please post in the news letter if you can Thanks

Darrell Wilkinson KC5CZX

 

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Have a great month

 

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