The February Edition of the MARC
Newsletter is currently posted.
Don't forget to register your email with
editor Gary - WC8W to receive your newsletter by Email !
Net
Information
The West Stark Information Net convenes
every Thursday evening on the club's 147.18 repeater beginning at 8:00 PM
This is a general
information net and accepts all check-ins from the
community.
The Net has been suspended
beginning January if NCS operators cannot be found.
**********
The Massillon MRN Net
convenes every Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday evenings on
3600 Khz (+or- QRN) at 7:30 PM.
This net is designed to
provide code practice to all participants regardless of
skill level.
We are always looking for
stations willing to serve as net control stations. We will
provide all necessary materials and training. This is a
great way to increase your public service skills ! Contact
net manager Gary Kline, WC8W at wc8w@sssnet.com.
Member
Websites
MARC member Jason Stroll,
KC8LIN has a great website containing lots of interesting
information on ham radio, scanning info plus all kinds of
other stuff including many pictures from area events. You'll
find it at www.kc8lin.com.
Have a look !
Our Mission
It shall be our purpose to further amateur
radio by serving the public; to promote technical knowledge,
fraternalism, and individual operating proficiency;
and to advance the general interest and welfare of amateur
radio in the community.
With more than 60
authors and reviewers contributing over 70 percent of
new or completely revised content, The 2010 ARRL
Handbook for Radio Communications is the biggest Handbook
ever. Since it was first published in 1926, the
Handbook has been a mainstay for the radio
electronic experimenter. A core resource for radio
amateurs, hobbyists, engineers and scientists, the
Handbook is the single most authoritative
reference on practical communications topics. It is
both reference book and tutorial, woven together with
practical applications and solutions. The 2010 Handbook
-- the 87th edition -- is both a useful introduction
to radio communication and features the most current
material on electronics and Amateur Radio. Full
Story
Other
Amateur Radio Links
Check
out the links below to see a variety of Information
on the hobby we call Amateur Radio !
The National Conference of
Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC)
has released the new
pool of questions for the Amateur Extra class license. This
pool will become effective for examinations given on or after July
1, 2008, and should be in service until June 30, 2012
Go to our VEC Page for additional
details.
June 27-28, 2009
Thanks to everyone for another great Field Day
Weekend !
*************
VISIT THE
NEW OFFICIAL ARRL
SPORTSWEAR & LOGO MERCHANDISE
WEBSITE !
********
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What
is the MARC ?
Since 1927, the Massillon Amateur Radio Club has been a diverse
radio hobbyist club that is currently over 80 members strong.
Active within our community as well as an ARRL Special Service
Club, we are actively involved in many facets of Amateur Radio,
including Public Service, Membership,
Field Day, Repeaters, Amateur Television (ATV),
Skywarn plus many other interests. Learn
More....
Hello
Amateur Radio !
February
Meeting Update
(UPDATED
Feb 6th) Due to the heavy snow that
fell on Friday, Feb 5th, the monthly MARC Club meeting has been
rescheduled for Friday, Feb 12th. -- The
program for the month of February will be from member Mike
Sciarini, WA8MKH. Mike will lead a discussion on how to bring new
ideas with greater success to Amateur Radio Clubs, especially our
own club. He has spoken many times on new antenna ideas, technical
topics and related ham radio equipment.
Make plans to join us for our first official
meeting of the new year. See you this Friday, February 12th !
De Wade, WD8MIU.
Annual
Training Class Info
(Feb 2, 2010) -- The
MARC will sponsor training classes for those wishing to obtain
their entry level Technician Class Amateur Radio License. Classes
will begin on Monday, March 15th and will be held at the home of
the MARC, the Massillon Senior Citizens Center. Class begins at
7:00 PM for approx 2 hours. Classes are expected to last 8 week,
finishing up the week of the VE Exams on May 8, 2010. Gary Kline,
WC8W will be the instructor but is looking for someone to help
teach this year. Classes are free but there is a charge for the
student workbook. Contact Gary at (330) 837-2927 or by email to wc8w@sssnet.com
for additional information or to register for the class.
While Morse Code is no longer required to obtain
an Amateur Radio License, it is still in use every day on the HF
bands. Again this year, the MARC will sponsor a CW Class beginning
Friday evening February 12th also at the Massillon Senior Center.
Classes will be held at the club headquarters
which is on the 3rd floor of the Senior Center. Time will be from
7:00 - 9:00 PM each Friday evening except for club meeting night
when class will run from 6:00 - 8:00 PM. Instructor will be Parry
Ballinger, W8AU. Contact Perry at (330) 832 - 8612 or by
email to w8au@sssnet.com.
VEC
Exam February 27th
(Feb 2, 2010) -- The
MARC/CARC VEC Exam team will hold an exam session on Saturday,
February 27, 2010 which will be held at the Stark County Emergency
Operations Center on Route 62 in Canton, Ohio. The EOC is in
the lower part of the Stark Co Sheriff's Office.
Registration will begin at 8:00 AM will testing to
commence at 9:00 AM. Complete information on this test session are
available on our VEC Page.
NX8G
Participates in CQ Contest
(Feb 1, 2010) -- Kudo's
to club member Rex Simmons, NX8G for his participation in the 2009
CQ WW VHF Contest.
Held in July each year, Rex scored 140 points, on
12 QSO's placing him 12th place in Ohio, Michigan and W. Virginia
listings. The results of last years contest appear in the February
edition of CQ Magazine.
Congratulations Rex on this fine accomplishment !
Annual
Club Awards Banquet
(Jan 17, 2010) --
The Massillon Amateur Radio Club's Annual Awards Banquet was held on Saturday,
January 9th at the Otterbein Methodist Church in Navarre with nearly 50 members and guests attending.
(Jan 10, 2010) -- In
accordance with MARC Club By-Laws each January annual dues are due
from each member. Dues remained the same for 2010. $10.00 per
member, $5.00 for the XYL and $2.50 for children living at home.
Our customary grace period will extend until March
31, 2010. Members not having renewed by this time will be removed
from the roster.
Dues can be paid at any club meeting or sent
directly to club Treasurer Gary Kline, WC8W at 6500 Highton SW,
Navarre, OH 44662. Please remember to renew your membership and
help support our great club, we don't want to lose a single member
!
Important
Newsletter Announcement
(Jan 10, 2010) -- At
the December meeting members of the MARC unanimously voted to
begin sending our monthly newsletter entirely by email. This will
commence with the February issue. This method will provide
substantial cost savings to the club annually saving on both
printing and postage.
As with any major change there is both good and
bad points. The good side will be a better looking newsletter. You
will receive it in full color with sharp color graphics. Size is
no longer a limitation. We were limited to ten pages due to
postage weight. More content can be included in an electronic
version.
The down side is that now each member will have to
have access to a computer with an email address in order to
receive your newsletter. We will continue to post all
monthly newsletters on our website. If you don't have an email
address you will be able to download it from our site.
Please provide editor Gary Kline, WC8W with your
email address in order to continue to receive our newsletter. You
may contact Gary with any questions by email to wc8w@sssnet.com
or by phone to 330-837-2927.
White
House Names Ham as New Cybersecurity Coordinator
(Dec 23, 2009) -- On
Tuesday, December 22, President Barack Obama named Howard A.
Schmidt, W7HAS, as the new White House Cybersecurity Coordinator.
According to the White House, Schmidt -- an ARRL member -- is one
of the world's leading authorities on computer security, with some
40 years of experience in government, business and law enforcement
and "will have regular access to the President and serve as a
key member of his National Security Staff. He will also work
closely with his economic team to ensure that our cybersecurity
efforts keep the Nation secure and prosperous." Full
Story
25th
Anniversary of STS-9
(Nov 28, 2009) -- Amateur
Radio has been carried aboard US Space Shuttles for over 25 years.
It all began in the fall of 1983 with Shuttle Mission STS-9.
On November 28, 1983, STS-9 was launched carrying
Mission Specialist Owen Garriot, W5LFL, and his ham radio into
orbit. For 10 days the Space Shuttle Columbia streaked through the
skies, and for the last seven of those days, hams around the world
were sent emotionally into orbit when they heard Dr. Garriot's
voice break their radio squelch's calling earthbound stations.
But it was just the beginning. Amateur Radio had
moved into it's newest frontier, and it was here to stay. By the
time the flight had ended, Owen Garriot had made the first ham
radio transmissions by an amateur radio operator in space during
the flight. This led to many further space flights incorporating
amateur radio as an educational and back-up communications tool.
QST published an account of Owen's flight in an article in
February 1984.
The
MARC also took part in this historic flight by activating our club
station W8NP during one pass close to North America and tried to
contact the shuttle. We used our 2 meter rig and a vertical
antenna. Reluctantly after multiple attempts during the short
pass, we were unable to break through the intense pile-up and make
a contact.
Owen did record over 350 contacts during the
flight with amateurs all over the world. While W8NP did not end up
in his log, the thrill experienced in just hearing his callsign
emanate from space was a great time and made us all proud to be
ham radio operators. The tape recorder was running during our
attempt and you can hear Owens call to earth by clicking on the
audio link below. The recording is in a short WAV file playable by
most media players.
Owens son Richard, W5KWQ continued the family
tradition by operating ham radio from the International Space
Station during his visit in October 2008, almost 25 years later. Click
Here to read his account on the ARRL website.
MARC
Celebrates 75th Anniversary as ARRL Affilated Club
(UPDATED)(Sep 5, 2009) -- A very
special meeting was held on August 7, 2009 at the
Massillon Senior Center at our usual start time of 8:00 PM. We
celebrated our 75th year as an ARRL Affiliated Club.
To celebrate this very special achievement, Mr Jim Weaver,
K8JE, Great Lakes Division Director attended our meeting to
present the club with a plaque honoring this great achievement.
This is quite an honor for the club we encourage everyone to
attend the meeting. We are all looking forward to Jim's visit and
being with us to celebrate this great club achievement.
In 1934, members and Officers of the Massillon Amateur Radio
Club voted to become an American Radio Relay League (ARRL)
Affiliated Club. In the succeeding years each new club president
and Executive Board has continued to uphold the standards set
forth by the League to remain an Affiliated Club. We have been
honored to maintain the high standards that come with being an
ARRL Affiliated Club.
Great Lakes Division Director Jim Weaver,
K8JE presents our 75th ARRL Affiliation plaque to the club.
A
Bit of Repeater History !
The
clubs 147.18 Repeater is the high profile wide area
coverage repeater in Western Stark county and has been for quite
some time. But it wasn't always so, in fact at one time it was not
even a repeater at all ! Learn about the colorful history of
the repeater thanks to an early issue of the clubs newsletter that
I recently found. Click
here to read the full story.
Since 1927, the Massillon Amateur Radio Club has been a diverse
radio hobbyist club that is currently over 80 members strong.
Active within our community as well as an ARRL Special Service
Club, we are actively involved in many facets of Amateur Radio,
including Public Service, Membership,
Field Day, Repeaters, Amateur Television (ATV),
Skywarn plus many other interests.
You are welcome to join us at our monthly club
meetings held on the first Friday of each month at 8:00 PM
at the Massillon Senior Citizens Center, located at 39 Lincoln
Way West, Massillon, Ohio 44647. We usually monitor the club's
147.18 repeater, give us a call and we'll guide you in !
MARC owns and operates repeaters
in the 2 meter and 70 centimeter bands. Our annual Hamfest
is held at the Massillon Boy's & Girls Club in Massillon. We have a large indoor
hamfest area, as well as ample outdoor parking. The prizes are
some of the best you'll find at any area hamfest and the bargains
are many.As
a club member, not only will you have access to the autopatches
on our 2m and 70 cm repeaters, but you will also receive a monthly
subscription to our newsletter, Feedback.
In each issue you will find published, the minutes of the previous
month's meeting, informative articles, and interesting narratives
by our club members.
The
club owns an emergency response communications
trailer that is stocked with radio equipment and back batteries,
as well as a generator. With little notice, MARC can have an emergency
station on the air, ready to provide any help we can. Our club
station, located at the Senior Center, contains an HF station,
VHF and UHF gear, and a computer system. The station is open to
any club member, during the hours that the center is open. Our
VE Team, headed up by Gary WC8W, gives license
exams quarterly at the Emergency Operations Center located
at the Stark County Sheriff's office. Please check the link for
times and specific dates.
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2010 MARC
ARESŪ, Amateur Radio Emergency Service and the
ARES logo are registered trademarks of the American Radio Relay
League, Incorporated and are used by permission.
Greetings
from Jim Weaver, K8JE your ARRL Great Lakes
Director.
Fellow amateurs and
members of the Great Lakes Division, my goal is to
represent the members and the best interests of
amateur radio. Using this column, I will present
periodic messages of interest that I believe are
important to our hobby.
Q.
Do I have to give my call sign at the beginning of a
contact ?
A.
You only have to ID at the end of the QSO and at
least once every 10 minutes during it's course as
per Article 97.119(a). There is no requirement to
transmit your call at the beginning of a contact but
it is customary when calling another station to give
your call as part of the exchange so the other
station knows who is calling him !
Q.
How often do I have to give the call sign of the
station I'm talking to ?
A.
You are not legally required to mention the other
amateur's call at all per Article 97.119(a). The
only exception is when handling traffic with foreign
stations - you must then give the other station's
call sign at the end of an exchange of third party
traffic per Article 97.115(c).