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S.H.A.R.C. BYTE NEWS
Southern Humboldt Amateur Radio Club

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June 2001 Issue

OUR NEW ADVERTISER!!!

Well, after having to pay for the cost of printing the postal version of the newsletter for a few months I have found that Seth Galli, the new owner of TELEPAL, is more than willing to print a monthly two-page double-sided copy of our newsletter!!!!!

Seth is now the ONLY place in town to get one-hour photo service in the Garberville area! From the amount of film I used to see go through TELEPAL, this new convenience should be a great success!

Seth is a friend of Dan Gribbi, WD6AOJ, and is now a friend of ours! Wow! Sometimes things work out with a bit of support! Thanks Seth.

TELEPAL is also is gearing up to provide some other services as well as a full service color printing and copy service. Seth has done his homework and will have a "coin counting machine" for those who hoard their change in a drawer or bottle! Hi!

Seth has also let me hang some of my photos on the walls in his business. That’s the way things go in Southern Humboldt! I can’t wait to ask Dan Gribbi about this fun and enthusiastic individual.

So I encourage all to go in and introduce yourself by hand to Seth or his staff. I have to say as a semi-professional photographer, the one hour photos I saw were "dust free" and flawless! That’s just the way things will be at TELEPAL now that Seth is at the helm!!!

THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT SETH!


HAMS IN SERVICE

The Tour of the Unknown Coast (The T.U.C.) occurred May 12th. As I drove from my house with the sun shining and the warm weather at 2740’ I was surprised to find the need to use my windshield wipers because of the thick fog or drizzle as I made my way north along the Eel River Valley to Ferndale.

I checked in with Net Control (Don, KN6ZW) as I approached the Fairgrounds. As usual the crowd was "pumped up" and ready for the ride.

The first and only serious accident happened early in the race near Ferndale. Ferndale was dispatched by CDF who were set up in the front part of the CDF Comm Van. The Comm Van is one of the most sophisticated mobile communication units in the state. With everything from a satellite phone to a complete media station with a DSS and VCR to a 19" TV, the Comm Van is well worth inspecting in person.

With three ham radios on board, consisting of one VHF mobile radio, one dual band mobile, one tri-bander, and a packet station, the CDF Comm Van is well suited for "inter-agency" emergencies that include ham radio operations. It’s good to have CDF recognizing the help that hams provide in the event of any large fire or disaster.

It was good to see my friends in CDF and find out the skinny on the "new" County Fire Repeaters. Ron Samuelson, the new CDF Ranger Unit Chief of Communications (replacing Gene Witten) was very personable and informative.

The race went smoothly with few problems that could not be solved by the hams stationed along the entire course. So without further ado, Don and I would like to thank the following hams for taking to the road and helping make this potentially dangerous 100-mile bike race a complete success!

Thanks to Sue, KF6MNE, Dick, WB6HII, Rich, WB6MYF, Earl, KE6PAQ, Nancy, KF6GAW, Les, KE6KKJ, Doug, KD6EGJ, Bernie, WA6HZG, Claire, KF6FLF, Jim, KA6OQJ, Irma, KF6FY, Cary, KF6WMQ, Del, W6KOZ, Ed, KM6RO (Don’s Dad), Charlie (Don’s Brother on FMRS) Rusty, KF6WMS, Shawn, KD6PCS and Robbie, KC6SJO for being HAMS IN SERVICE!


HAM OF THE MONTH

This month’s Ham of the Month goes to Irma, KF6FY for her tireless efforts in organizing the hams involved and being net control for the Kinetic Sculpture Race each year! This is a Monu-mental chore with chaos starting long before the race starts! Hi! The course changes, the maps, the calls, and the "Info packs" all take a grand amount of time so we as hams look so organized! Still she manages to get a vast list of hams to help in the "Best Planned Disaster" in this area! Hi!

My hat is off to this fine ham who is also a driving force in the VE (Volunteer Exam for ham licensing) program in the North County.


KINETIC MADNESS!

Yes, once again we had an absolute fantastic time being the main form of communication for one of the zaniest events in the country! As mentioned above Irma, KF6FY was admiral in organizing a vast amount of data, hams, and logistics to make this event as safe as possible!

I am always impressed by the amount of information she provides along with "Laminates" for access to "closed areas" in her information packets each ham receives. Each ham gets a very complete list of who and what is intended to occur as well as up to date maps. I say "intended" because it’s not until the start/end of the first leg of this three-day race that it’s known how many sculptures are entered in the race! So day-two usually starts with an "over the air" listing of the names of the sculptures.

I think this over the air listing is a good thing, because it provides everyone a chance to hone his or her skills in copying information. Boy, I’m glad I brought a tiny voice-activated tape recorder as I had to dash away from the radio just as Irma was starting to read the list. I was able to retrieve the information at my leisure at a later time. Whew! What a list! (40 or so entries)

As for the names and calls of the Hams in Service it is a long one for any event using ham radio communication for the safety of the public.

Note the following dedicated hams:

Irma, KF6FY, Jim, KA6OQJ, Brenda, KB6RPX, Dave, KK6ZY, Ben, KF6FKW, Bob, KA6ULG, Jerry, K6TYK, Earl, KE6PAQ, Nancy, KF6GAW, Del, W6KOZ, Jarrod, KF6RZO Tom, W6GGR, Mike, KF6BUZ, Gene, KF6RZN, Eric, KF6JBP, Skip, KD6LWN, John, KF6RZP, Dennis, KE6ETK, Kate, KE6ETN, Jim, KG6FWT, Dave, WA6KEB, Tom, K6IOG, Scott, AB6TR, Wayne, AB6I, Don KN6ZW, Jim, WB6ZLE, and myself Cory, KN6ZU. That’s 27 by my count!

There were moments when each of the above served above and beyond the normal level of communications and went to great lengths to help other hams that were in need of some item or help.

Wow! What a fantastic time! The sun even came out for a brief time! The race was not called off because of that abnormality! Hi! Again, many names are the same for this event as were listed for the T.U.C. So I consider them all very dedicated HAMS IN SERVICE!


SUBMISSION BY JULIE, KF6RLR

Hams in Service

Back-to-back amateur radio operators May 6th & 12th showed their expertise and necessity as excellent communicators.

Cory, KN6ZU was I.C. (Incident Commander CDF lingo) or Net Control for the Avenue of the Giants Marathon. A job performed professionally.

The following Saturday May 12th was the T.U.C. (Tour of the Unknown Coast). This event was an interagency effort executed in a very professional manner. Don, KN6ZW, and Cory, KN6ZU, were I.C.s .

Again all involved performed professionally. What a fine group example.

Thank you so much for jobs well done.

Sincerely,

Julie, KF6RLR


MINUTES

Southern Humboldt Amateur Radio Club

Minutes of May 22, 2001

 

President Leland Smith (W6CLG) brought the meeting to order at 1900 Hours

The following members were present:

  • Jack Foster Treasurer KM6TE

  • Jerry Wilson Secretary KF6IBP

  • Gladys Smith KD6IBF

  • Todd Barton KF6KBX

  • Ron Aronson KF6IBO

  • John Ek

 

AGENDA: accepted as presented

PREVIOUS MINUTES: Approved

TREASURER'S REPORT: There is $661.87 in the Savings Account and $588.08 in the Equipment Fund. There are 32 Paid-up Regular Members and 8 Associate Members

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Repeaters: The duplexer for the 146.94 repeater above Shelter Cove needs some attention.

Antennas: No Report

Event Communications: We will be doing traffic control for the Rodeo Parade Jack is looking for volunteers to stand at the intersections with hand held radios on June 16 10:30 AM to 12:00 Noon. Jerry and Ron plan to be there and Jerry volunteered Nancy KG6BIL. Jack will contact Steve KF6WLH.

Disaster Preparedness Committee: Will meet Thursday May 24 1:PM at Public Health all are welcome.

OLD BUSINESS

Newsletter: Cory has made arrangements with the new owner of Telepal to print the mail version of the newsletter.

Redwood Coast Amateur Radio Convention: Jack reviewed last month's information about the Convention. It will be held at the Ferndale Fairgrounds June 23 and 24, 2001. There will be a Banquet and a Speaker. He repeated his request that members donate their unwanted equipment to SHARC for selling at the Convention to help our bank balance or buy some test equipment. The Club will be setting up a table to sell this equipment and Jack would like some one to help him at the table.

CDF V.I.P.: Jerry once again asked for volunteers but most of those present had other commitments for the times that the V.I.P. Hams would be called out. To review the program; it involves patrolling the back country and reporting smoke during high fire danger times. There may be more need this summer and fall since it seems we are in a bit of a drought this spring, and Grasshopper lookout will not be in operation. Jerry has the application forms and will be trying to contact other hams to help out. One requirement is that one must attend the CDF defensive driver class up in Fortuna.

NEW BUSINESS

Ham Class Steve KF6WLH has several people in the Alderpoint area who are interested in getting their license. Jack and Jerry feel that prospective students need to get the ARRL book, study it and then in the fall we will hold 3 or 4 question and answer evening sessions or an all weekend day session. The new book and test is a lot less complex and goes a lot faster. Jack suggested that we get the new ARRL training video.

OPEN FORUM

Compliments to Kim about the web page. Some good pictures of the club members. She would like some more. Discussion about the Simplex repeater that Cory used last Monday - Jerry asked about how much time between the end of the original message and the start of the repeater transmission. Jack said, "pretty fast." We then got involved in setting up a cross-band portable repeater.

DOOR PRIZE

Jerry won a crimping tool.

ADJOURNMENT: 20:07 Hours

Respectfully submitted: J.R.Wilson KF6IBP, Secretary

 


YOUR INPUT WELCOME

I do hope that some articles will come in from hams in the community. Your input is always welcome.

 

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S.H.A.R.C.

P.O. BOX 701

REDCREST, CA

95560