The Indianapolis Radio Club Newsletter Founded 1914 “The oldest continuously operating Amateur Radio Club in the United States” November 2008 Newsletter Upcoming Meetings: December 12: 6:30 pm Annual Holiday dinner at MCL on West 86th Street with speaker General Goodwin from the Indiana War Memorial talking about Indiana's history in wars. One free dinner for paid up members. January 9, 2009: Emergency Communications Meeting with Don West, W9DEW, from the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. Also Annual Chili Cook-off! February 13, 2009: Legacy Radio Highlights from the November Meeting: Club president Tom Chance, K9XV, started off the meeting with sell-introductions. There were 53 in attendance at the meeting, including 3 first timers, with one from Australia! Chuck Crist, W9IH, talked about the progress of a station being put in the Indiana War Memorial on the main floor next to the USS Indianapolis display. The station will be styled as a replica of the USS Indianapolis radio room, and will operate primarily for special events. Tom asked how many were interested in another bus trip to Dayton. There was a great deal of interest expressed. Malcolm Mallet made an announcement and passed around some pictures of some old tube type equipment he is trying to give away before taking to be recycled. Tom mentioned that the January, 2009 meeting would be the site of the annual chili cook-off, also Don West, W9DEW, of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security will make a presentation on Emergency Communications. The results of Field Day were discussed. The Indianapolis Radio Club's station, W9JP, came in second in the state for 2A stations. It was also mentioned that W9IMS will be very busy for the next two years, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the track. Ron Cooper, WB9DKL, announced the results of the IRC's 2nd annual hill top contest. Bob Osterhous, W9PSE, was the winner in the fixed station category. The winning hilltop was Chuck Crist's, W9IH. Mike Palmer, N9FEB, gave an update on Jerry Skoll, KC9DTB, and his sailing progress. Jerry is on a boat going to the British Virgin Islands. He is checking in on 14.3 Mhz (Maritime Mobile Net) daily, and making contacts as he can. He can be tracked on “shiptrak.org”.(Ed. Note: As of the writing of this newsletter, Jerry has returned home to Avon, IN). Tom reported that there were 24 in attendance at the first meeting of the MFJ analyzer class held this evening prior to the membership meeting. The second class will be on January 12th at 5:30 pm, prior to the January membership meeting. Bob Blake, N9FIM, reported that the Marion County Severe Weather meeting was going to be held at the ITC on March 14th at 9:00 am. Ken Bandy, KJ9B, reported that the club now had two email lists, one “broadcast only”, for official information from the club, and a general email “reflector”, for an open exchange of information amongst hams in the Indianapolis area. Greg Herman, KC9NRO, announced that he had put together a pocket sized repeater guide for the Central Indiana area. He can be reached at KC9NRO@COMCAST.NET to request one. Bob Burns, W9RXR, talked about APRS, and how a digipeater had been temporarily set up at the ITC to support the “Monumental Marathon” run earlier in the month. He also announced that there will be a full time digipeater installed at Community North Hospital later. Next, nominations were held for the 2009 officers of the Indianapolis Radio Club. The nomination committee was Tom Chance, K9XV, Dave Miller, K9RTT, and Chuck Crist, W9IH. Nominations were as follows: President: Ron Cooper, WB9DKL Vice President: Dave Miller, K9RTT Secretary: Ken Bandy, KJ9B Treasurer: Jay Willever, K9LJW Chief Operator: Steve Wendt, KB9RDS Director at Large: Tom Chance, K9XV Director at Large: Bob Osterhous, W9PSE Director at Large: Bob Begeman, W9KVK These nominations were accepted by unanimous voice vote. Hank Wolfla, K9LZJ, announced that he and Gary Stouder, K9SG, need a tower climber to help them with the installation of a dipole. Next, Hank gave his presentation on Software defined radio. Hank presented a nicely done PowerPoint presentation prepared by Scotty, WA2DFI, and presented at Dayton in 2008. Hank stated that everything such as modulation and demodulation and filtering is defined in the software. Hank said that this is is not computer controlled radio, rather it's radio inside of a computer. Coming up next in Software defined radio is HPSDR (High Performance Software Defined Radio). Hank said that a Field Programmable Gate Array is the “secret” of the next generation of SDR. Door prizes selected by Bob Osterhous were awarded to close out the evening's program. Ham Radio News: W1AW 2008/2009 Winter Operating Schedule Morning Schedule: Time Mode Days ------------------- ---- --------- 1400 UTC (9 AM EST) CWs Wed, Fri 1400 UTC (9 AM EST) CWf Tue, Thu Daily Visitor Operating Hours: 1500 UTC to 1700 UTC - (10 AM to 12 PM EST) 1800 UTC to 2045 UTC - (1 PM to 3:45 PM EST) (Station closed 1700 to 1800 UTC (12 PM to 1 PM EST)) Afternoon/Evening Schedule: 2100 UTC (4 PM EST) CWf Mon, Wed, Fri 2100 " " CWs Tue, Thu 2200 " (5 PM EST) CWb Daily 2300 " (6 PM EST) RTTY Daily 0000 " (7 PM EST) CWs Mon, Wed, Fri 0000 " " CWf Tue, Thu 0100 " (8 PM EST) CWb Daily 0200 " (9 PM EST) RTTY Daily 0245 " (9:45 PM EST) VOICE Daily 0300 " (10 PM EST) CWf Mon, Wed, Fri 0300 " " CWs Tue, Thu 0400 " (11 PM EST) CWb Daily Frequencies (MHz) ----------------- CW: 1.8175 3.5815 7.0475 14.0475 18.0975 21.0675 28.0675 147.555 RTTY: - 3.5975 7.095 14.095 18.1025 21.095 28.095 147.555 VOICE: 1.855 3.990 7.290 14.290 18.160 21.390 28.590 147.555 Notes: CWs = Morse Code practice (slow) = 5, 7.5, 10, 13 and 15 WPM CWf = Morse Code practice (fast) = 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 13 and 10 WPM CWb = Morse Code Bulletins = 18 WPM CW frequencies include code practices, Qualifying Runs and CW bulletins. ARRL VEC Announces Exam Fee Increase On November 6, The ARRL VEC announced that as of January 1, 2009, the fee to take an ARRL Volunteer Examiner (VE)-administered Amateur Radio license exam will increase by $1, from $14 to $15. According to ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, ARRL VE teams may retain up to $7 of this fee to directly reimburse their teams out-of-pocket examination expenses; currently, VE teams keep $6. This is the first time in four years that the examination fee has been adjusted. More info at http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/11/06/10438/?nc=1 INDIANAPOLIS VE Testing Schedule for 2008 December 6th Calling in advance to ensure testing availability is suggested but not mandatory. SPONSOR: Indianapolis Radio Club (W9JP) LOCATION: Indianapolis Training Center 2820 N. Meridian Street. CONTACTS: Gale Wuollet, AA9WU (h) 317-849-8449, or Dr. Jay Wright, KK9L 317-203-3335. All testing at the Indianapolis Training Center starts at 9:00 am and the last test will be administered no later than 11:00 a.m. GLOBAL ALE HFN CELEBRATES MILESTONE The Global ALE High Frequency Network (HFN) has become the first network to operate continuously for more than 500 days on all international amateur radio shortwave bands simultaneously. The main purpose of the network is to provide efficient emergency and disaster relief communications to remote areas of the world. Beginning with a core group of 6 North American radio operators in June 2007, HFN rapidly expanded to cover large areas of the planet with 24/7 digital communications. It was designed to be an open framework for amateur radio emergency services of the world to interoperate on high frequency (HF) using the global standard Automatic Link Establishment (ALE) system. Relying on ionospheric radio communications, the system of interconnected HFN base stations scans the radio bands every 10 seconds, from 3.5 Megahertz to 28 Megahertz. Through this net, ham operators stay connected with each other at all hours of the day or night in any mode of operation, and can send internet email or cell phone mobile text messages from the field. To track the operations of the Global ALE High Frequency Network, please see the HFLINK.NET website for more information. SUN SHOWING SIGNS OF LIFE (FINALLY!) After two-plus years of few sunspots, even fewer solar flares, and a generally eerie calm, the sun is finally showing signs of life. "I think solar minimum is behind us," says sunspot forecaster David Hathaway of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. His statement is prompted by an October flurry of sunspots. "Last month we counted five sunspot groups," he says. That may not sound like much, but in a year with record-low numbers of sunspots and long stretches of utter spotlessness, five is significant. "This represents a real increase in solar activity." Even more significant is the fact that four of the five sunspot groups belonged to Solar Cycle 24, the long-awaited next installment of the sun's 11-year solar cycle. "October was the first time we've seen sunspots from new Solar Cycle 24 outnumbering spots from old Solar Cycle 23. It's a good sign that the new cycle is taking off." More info at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/07nov_signsoflife.htm?list69914 INARES PSK NET CHANGES TIME >From Larry Jones, WB9FHP, INARES PSK Net NCS: Due to the 80 meter band lengthing out so long that intrastate comms are almost impossible we have moved the time back to 8PM EST. Hopefully everyone will still be able to get checked in. The net occurs every Tuesday night on 3.583 USB at about 1000Hz on the waterfall +/- QRM. For those of you who have not checked in yet the net meets on 3.583 USB around 1000hz on the waterfall. The net meets every Tuesday at 8PM. Hope we see you on the waterfall! WorldRadio to Cease Print Publication In a joint statement, WorldRadio Publisher Armond Noble, N6WR, and CQ Publisher Dick Ross, K2MGA, announced that WorldRadio magazine will no longer be published as a print magazine. According to the announcement, CQ Communications Inc has acquired WorldRadio and plans to continue it as an online publication on CQ's Web site. WorldRadio subscribers will have their subscriptions transferred to CQ magazine. Readers will be notified of details as plans are finalized. CONGRATULATIONS, K9DY! Congratulations to Steve Carmean, K9DY, Awarded 2008 Indiana outstanding amateur of the year at the Ft. Wayne Hamfest, November 15, 2008. OFFICIAL WORD ON INDIANA SECTION MANAGER POSITION Indiana will have a new Section Manager starting in January, since incumbent Section Manager Jim Sellers, K9ZBM, of Middlebury, decided not to run for another term. Sellers has served as Section Manager since July 2002. Raymond Andrews, K9DUR, of West Terre Haute, and John Poindexter, W3ML, of Knox, were candidates for the open seat. Andrews received 531 votes and Poindexter received 261 votes. After ballots had already been mailed out to ARRL members in the Indiana Section, Andrews wrote to ARRL Headquarters withdrawing his candidacy due to health concerns. As such, the Section Manager's position for the new term starting in January was considered vacant because Andrews won the majority of votes. According to the Rules and Regulations of the Field Organization, vacancies in the office of Section Manager shall be filled by appointment by the ARRL Membership and Volunteer Programs Manager, in consultation with the respective Section's Director. After ARRL MVP Manager Dave Patton, NN1N, consulted with ARRL Central Division Director Dick Isely, W9GIG, John Poindexter, W3ML, has been appointed Indiana Section Manager with a term to begin January 1, 2009. Poindexter's term of office will be for 18 months -- instead of two years -- because this new term of office in Indiana had to be resolicited. Poindexter has been a radio amateur since 1979 and has held appointments as an Assistant Emergency Coordinator, past president of the Wabash Valley Amateur Radio Club, and president of the Starke County Amateur Radio Club. He is active in public service communications, DXing and contesting. NOTICE FROM NEW SECTION MANAGER, W3ML I have been informed by other Section Managers that when a new SM goes into office he should do a complete update of the section appointees. I asked ARRL HQ about this and they informed me that this is a common occurrence as the appointees serve at the pleasure of the Section Manager. It also cleans up the list of those that have moved, became a SK or gave up their appointment and was never removed from the list. Therefore, I am notifying everyone that all ARRL Indiana Section appointments will expire on Dec 31, 2008 at the end of Jim Sellers, K9ZBM's term.   I invite those that are interested in reapplying for their present appointment to contact us to discuss their job and accomplishments, as well as their plans for the future.  PLEASE contact us by email, telephone (my preferred method), or by postal mail.  If you wish to be reassigned, or are new and would like to be assigned, please contact the Indiana Staff member below or me, W3ML, to discuss your qualifications and the information highlighted above. Just remember, if you are offered an appointment, you are required to report monthly to the Staff member in charge of your position, failure to do so will lead to termination. Deadline for reappointment is January 31, 2009. Net Managers and Official Relay Stations contact: Jim Baughn, K9EOH, Section Traffic Manager at k9eoh@arrl.net Telephone: Home (812) 828-0629,   Cell (317) 373-5193Address:  4300 Lennox Road, Poland IN 47868 District Emergency Coordinator, Emergency Coordinator, Official Emergency Station contact: Tony Langer, W9AL, Section Emergency Coordinator at w9al@arrl.net or indianasec@gmail.com Telephone: Home (574) 896-3510 or Cell (574) 249-8050 Address: 8530 S 100E, North Judson, Indiana 46366-8458 Public Information Officer contact: Linda Harshbarger, KC9GCH, Public Information Coordinator at kc9gch@arrl.net Telephone: (317) 274-7677, or (317) 887-2558 Address: 1768 Farm Meadow Dr., Greenwood, IN 46143-7751  Official Observer contact: Contact John Poindexter, W3ML  Local Government Liaison contact: David Spoelstra, N9KT at n9kt@arrl.net  Please email, as this is the only way to reach David at the moment. Technical Specialist contact: James P. Osburn, WD9EYB Telephone: (812) 238-0584 Address: 2303 Hulman St., Terre Haute, IN 47803 Again, if you are interested in one, or have questions contact me or the appropriate staff person. Thank you for your attention and your interest in participating in the IN ARRL field service! 73 John Poindexter, W3ML, Section Manager at w3ml@w3ml.com Telephone: Home (574) 772-2772 or cell (574) 806-1162 Address: 204 South Main, Street Knox, IN 46534 DEADLINE APPROACHING TO RESERVE HAM PLATES Dick, W9FG, reminds us that we have until December 15th to order or re-order our Amateur Radio License Plate.   If you have any questions you can visit www.myBMV.IN.gov or call 317-233-6000. “AMATEUR RADIO TODAY” RADIO SHOW Bob, W9PSE, writes, that he recently heard of following:   "Amateur Radio Today" Radio Show on at  4:00 PM Indianapolis time Sundays for 1 hour on the following frequencies (all in KHz, AM):  5110,  7415, 9330, 15420 from WBCQ Radio Station.   See www.twiar.org   (This Week In Amateur Radio web site) for more information. WELCOME NEW MEMBERS New members at the November meeting: Paul Moran, KE9XY Scott Scheid, KC9NZA (NEW LIFETIME MEMBER!) FEEL FREE TO SHARE OUR NEWSLETTER If you belong to any other radio groups, please feel free to share our newsletter with them. They can also sign up to be on our mailing list by filling out the form available at http://www.indyradioclub.org/rqstnewsletter.htm. SEND ME YOUR HAM RADIO NEWS If anyone has any items for the newsletter, please send them to Ken Bandy at kj9b@arrl.net Signals from the Past: >From the December, 1949 Amachewer: Schultz, W9NNX, is now rusticating (?) down in Morgan County, Indiana over week ends at his newly acquired manse known as Hurricane Hall. With 10 acres at hand rhombics are in order. The ground resistance should be low what with all the COPPER headed snakes acting as ground rods. Upcoming Area Radio Events: * Wednesday, December 3, at 7:00 pm: Annual Hendricks county Amateur Radio and Volunteer recognition night at the Hendricks county government center on South Washington St. in Danville. Contact Dr. Jay Wright, KK9L, for more information. 2008 IRC Officers: · President: Tom Chance, K9XV - ..EMAIL k9xv@arrl.net · Vice Pres.: Dave Miller, K9RTT - ..EMAIL dmiller@ivytech.edu · Secretary: Ken Bandy, KJ9B - ..EMAIL kj9b@arrl.net · Treasurer: Jay Willever, K9LJW - ..EMAIL k9ljw@arrl.net · Chief Operator: Steve Wendt, KB9RDS - ..EMAIL kb9rds@arrl.net · Dir. at large: Jim Rinehart, K9RU – EMAIL k9ru@arrl.net · Dir. at large: Tom Price, WB9UNG – EMAIL pricetr@comcast.net · Dir. at large: Hank Wolfla, K9LZJ – EMAIL hwolfla@insightbb.com · W9JP Trustee: Don Hemenover, N9DOO – EMAIL don9doo@lightbound.com 2009 IRC Officers: · President: Ron Cooper, WB9DKL - ..EMAIL wb9dkl@sbcglobal.net · Vice Pres.: Dave Miller, K9RTT - ..EMAIL dmiller@ivytech.edu · Secretary: Ken Bandy, KJ9B - ..EMAIL kj9b@arrl.net · Treasurer: Jay Willever, K9LJW - ..EMAIL k9ljw@arrl.net · Chief Operator: Steve Wendt, KB9RDS - ..EMAIL kb9rds@arrl.net · Dir. at large: Tom Chance, K9XV - ..EMAIL k9xv@arrl.net · Dir. at large: Bob Osterhous, W9PSE - ..EMAIL rosterhous@iquest.net · Dir. at large: Bob Begeman, W9KVK - ..EMAIL w9kvk@juno.com · W9JP Trustee: Don Hemenover, N9DOO – EMAIL don9doo@lightbound.com