The Indianapolis Radio Club Newsletter
Founded 1914
“The oldest continuously operating Amateur Radio Club in the United States”
April, 2007 Newsletter
Upcoming Meetings:
May 11, 2007: D-Star digital radio presentation
June 8, 2007: Annual equipment auction
Highlights of the April 13, 2007 meeting:
This meeting started off with a special tour of the WISH-TV facilities, arranged
and hosted by Jack Parker, W8ISH. Jack and Tom Weber, KC9GMJ, from WISH-TV’s
engineering department, gave us a brief talk about the station, and what the future holds
as it relates to digital TV. The large group from the Radio Club (numbering around 40)
was then broken down into groups of 10 to 12 for the actual tour. The tour guide of my
group was John LeSage, KB9TSG. John is one of the 10 or so hams that are currently
on staff at WISH, and is the main live truck operator. John gave us a very thorough and
informative tour of the station, from the newsroom, to the studios, through the engineering
department, and the master control hub, where 12 LIN owned television stations are
controlled from. These other stations are located in Fort Wayne, Terre Haute, Lafayette,
and several out of state locations in Ohio, New York and Rhode Island. John did a very
good job answering all of our questions, and there were many! He also showed us the
live truck that he operates on a regular basis. It has both terrestrial microwave and
satellite uplink capability. WISH currently operates two of these trucks, the one John
uses, and a larger one that is not used as regularly.
After the tour, everyone went up the road to the Training Center for special
refreshments (including Long’s donuts), and an abbreviated meeting. IRC President
Tom Chance, K9XV, was out of town, so Vice-President Dave Miller, K9RTT, officiated
at the meeting. Dave had everyone introduce themselves, talking about any awards
(continuing the theme from last month’s meeting) they had acquired, and if they had
recently completed any upgrades in their license.
After the introductions, Mike Palmer, N9FEB, Marion County’s ARES EC,
talked to the group about the “Ardent Sentry” exercise coming up May 10 - 13. This will
be the 7th “Ardent Sentry” exercise, but the first to involve amateur radio. It is going to
be a large scale disaster scenario, covering Marion, Jennings, and Johnson counties.
Mike stated that any ham who wants to participate in the exercise should contact him
as soon as possible. He also stated that any ham that participates needs to have
completed the NIMS 100 and 700 courses at a minimum. This will be a “continuous
play” 72 hour long exercise. Mike anticipates lots of media coverage for this event.
Next, Ron Cooper, WB9DKL, and Chuck Crist, W9IH, talked about the
Hilltopper contest coming up on Saturday, April 28. As far as could be determined this
is probably the first time the Indianapolis Radio Club has sponsored a contest. The
contest runs from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon, on the 28th. Ron requested that participating
stations use the log sheet that is available on the web site at
http://www.indyradioclub.org/irchiltoplogsheet-gen-1001.pdf . At present time, there will be
10 stations operating from hill tops, mostly in Central Indiana. There is also a need for
stations operating from other than hill tops (home and mobile). All participating stations
get a certificate. Part of the exchange is the elevation of the hill, which is not published.
Ron and Chuck stated that this was conceived as a short and fun event, kind of acting as
a “warm up” to the Indiana QSO party and Field Day. Complete information is available at
http://www.indyradioclub.org/irchilltopotae2007.htm.
Next, Chuck asked for a show of hands to see how many are interested in a
Field Day site being sponsored by the Indianapolis Radio Club, using the club’s call, W9JP.
There was a decent response.
Finally, tickets were drawn for the door prizes, including some even nicer that
usual ones, such as a wireless computer keyboard and mouse.
Before adjourning, Dave mentioned that the May meeting would be on digital
radio, primarily D-Star, with 1 or 2 presenters, June’s meeting will be the annual equipment
auction, and then August brings the annual picnic/swapfest, complete with the drawing for
2 radios and an antenna analyzer.
Ham Radio News:
AMATEUR RADIO ACTIVITY SHUT DOWN IN IRAQ
Iraq Amateur Radio Society (IARS) President Diya Sayah, YI1DZ, has informed
ARRL that all Amateur Radio activity in Iraq has been suspended until the security
situation there improves.
Sayah says the suspension affects both Iraqi citizens as well as any foreigners, including
military personnel and contractors -- who have been on the air from Iraq identifying with
YI9-prefix call signs. It does not affect the operation of Military Affiliate Radio System
(MARS) stations, however, since they operate on military frequencies, not amateur
frequencies. The IARS is informing its member to stay off the air, although some
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) modes like IRLP and EchoLink still are okay to use,
as long as they don't involve transmitting a signal over the air.
Welcome New Members:
The Indianapolis Radio Club would like to welcome new members Bret Boyd, K9NBR,
and Dan Greil, AE9K.
FCC NOW POSTING AMATEUR RADIO ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
Amateur Radio enforcement correspondence -- with some exceptions -- now is available
to the public on the FCC's "Amateur Radio Service Enforcement Actions" Web site
http://www.fcc.gov/eb/AmateurActions/Welcome.html. The listing will be cumulative,
and Special Counsel in the FCC Spectrum Enforcement Division Riley Hollingsworth
anticipates updating it every 7 to 10 days.
The site will not be a comprehensive listing of enforcement correspondence. For example,
it will not include letters requiring retesting pursuant to §97.519(d) of the FCC's rules,
letters regarding radio frequency interference to amateur licensees and letters requesting
an initial response to a complaint.
Direct all questions concerning the Amateur Radio Service Enforcement Actions Web
postings via e-mail only to Riley Hollingsworth in the FCC Spectrum Enforcement
Division fccham@fcc.gov .
2007 IRCC Technical Excellence Nominations are Open
Spring is almost here and it's time for all Indiana amateur radio clubs and organizations
to consider one of their own as a nominee for the 2007 IRCC Technical Excellence Award.
For the past six years the Indiana Radio Club Council has selected one Hoosier Amateur
Radio Operator to receive this prestigious award during the July Indianapolis Hamfest at Camp Sertoma.
To nominate an individual for this award send a detailed explanation of how this person
uses their technical abilities to help their club, community or other amateur radio operators.
This award is for the unsung heros that continue to give of their time, talents and technical
expertise to make a difference in amateur radio. Please be as detailed as possible when
writing the candidates qualifications. Remember the committee will only have what you
have written on which to evaluate the nominees.
Deadline for entries is Midnight Friday June 8, 2007. E-mail your entry to:
W9EEU@arrl.net or mpgadams@aol.com
A bogus email warning from ARRL
Do not follow instructions in bogus e-mails: The ARRL is alerting members -- and especially
users of the ARRL E-Mail Forwarding Service -- about bogus e-mails that claim to be from
the "arrl.net user support team." There is no such entity, and the messages do not originate
with ARRL but appear to be coming from outside the US. Recipients should not follow the
instructions in the e-mail, which reads, "We have received reports that your e-mail account
has been used to send a large amount of unsolicited commercial email messages during
this week. We suspect that your computer had been infected by a recent virus and now
contains a hidden proxy server. We recommend you to follow our instructions in order to
keep your computer safe." Following the instructions will have the opposite effect, however,
infecting your computer with the MyDoom Trojan worm and making it part of a spamming
network. The League urges all members to invest in and use anti-virus software.
TSA Wants Staffers as Amateurs
From the April 18 ARES E-Letter:
I think we are seeing an increase in the speed with which our federal government is formally
adopting Amateur Radio as their supplemental and backup communications service, and
their intent to use government employees as the primary operators. The camel has more
than just his nose under the tent.
From an ARES EC who attended a Houston, Texas, Amateur Radio club meeting Monday
night April 9: "We had an unusual guest at the ECHO [Society] meeting tonight. The 'Assistant
Federal Security Director' for the TSA, as in Homeland Security, was there gathering assistance
and information on establishing training, licensing and mentoring TSA employees to get their
ham tickets. It would appear that they are setting up HF/VHF stations at all 27 key Gulf Coast airports."
On March 28, Army MARS conducted a regional communications exercise, with stations
operating at the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth airport TSA offices, FEMA Region 6 HQ
in Denton, Texas, Texas state operations center in Austin, and 5th Army HQ in San Antonio.
This EC's report hints at TSA's Amateur Radio infrastructure and resource
expansion beyond the Army MARS-TSA agreement. Perhaps TSA recognizes the limited
Army MARS resources and facility access obstacles. --Jerry Reimer, KK5CA, SEC South Texas
IRC Hilltoppers On The Air contest coming up!
Don’t miss out on the fun! Saturday, April 28, from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon, local EDT, will
be the first Hilltoppers contest! At the present time, there are 10 hilltops registered to participate.
We also need any fixed or mobile station that can to try to contact these hilltops. It’s going to be
a fun event, and everyone who participates gets a certificate! If you want to operate from a hilltop,
you need to get registered, but hurry up, time is drawing short! Contact Chuck Crist at
indytrax@core.com to get registered. You can go to http://www.indyradioclub.org/irchilltopotae2007.htm
for more information.
Free VE exams at Dayton Hamvention®
This year, license exams will be administered by volunteer examiner (VE) teams with Laurel VEC.
Laurel VEC does not charge for license exams so there will be no fee for the exams at Hamvention®.
Admission to Hamvention® is not required to take an exam. If you want to take an exam but do not
wish to attend Hamvention® let the security person at the gate know that you are there for an exam
and someone will escort you to the exam site and back out after the exam. Parking is not provided
for Hamvention® and you will be responsible for parking fees at the nearby lots. For additional
information, point your browser to http://www.hamvention.org/exams.htm
ARRL, NATIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATIONS COUNCIL INK PACT
ARRL and the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC)
have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA). The League is an
NPSTC member organization, and the MoA culminates efforts begun in 2003 to formalize the
relationship between the two organizations.
"This agreement promotes the concept of strength in unity," the MoA says. "Speaking with one
unified voice provides a clear and strong message from the public safety community." The MoA
also aims "to promote a consensus input decision-making process." The NPSTC has been
among the organizations that have asked the FCC to thoroughly explore the potential of broadband
over power line (BPL) technology to interfere with public safety and other licensed radio systems.
A federation of public safety organizations, NPSTC serves as a forum for the exchange of ideas
and information for effective public safety telecommunications in the US and abroad.
In addition to the ARRL, the Council's 13 member organizations include the American Red Cross,
the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials -- International (APCO), the International
Association of Chiefs of Police and the National Association of State Telecommunications Directors.
Kim R. Miles, N9IS, SK
We are sad to announce that on March 27, Acute Leukemia claimed the life of Kim R. Miles, N9IS,
of Greenwood (New Whiteland), Indiana. Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.
Indiana QSO Party is on May 5
The annual Indiana QSO Party is set for Saturday May 5, 1600 UTC to 0400 UTC May 6
(noon to midnight EDT).
Indiana amateurs are encouraged to get on the air and make sure the rest of the world hears
(and works) Indiana. They will be looking for each of the 92 counties on 80/75, 40, 20, 15, and
10 meters, CW and SSB.
Local clubs are encouraged to round up their new "HF hams" (and some of their less active
members) and give them a chance to experience the receiving end of a pileup. It's great
practice for June Field Day, and some clubs are planning to set up Field Day portable
operations in some of the "rarer" counties.
There are plaques for top mobile, fixed, portable and out-of-state scores, but there are
certificates, too, that don't require a 12 hour effort to win.
There's also a chance to get started on the Worked All Indiana Award for confirming at
least 60 Indiana counties.
Details on INQP and the Worked All indiana Award are at http://www.hdxcc.org/
Anybody interested in operating can contact Mel KJ9C, e-mail: kj9c@iquest.net
who is coordinating mobile activity
Let's make this the best INQP yet and show the world that a little state can make a lot of noise!
Tim N9LF, Mel KJ9C
ARRL SAYS KNOW YOUR PRIVILEGES! MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUND REGARDING
TECH HF PRIVILEGES
Some Technician licensees who gained new privileges February 23 remain unaware or
uninformed as to what they may and may not do on the HF bands, says ARRL Regulatory
Information Specialist Dan Henderson, N1ND. In addition to all Amateur Radio operating
privileges above 50 MHz, Technicians who never passed a Morse code test now have
CW privileges on certain segments of 80, 40 and 15 meters plus CW, RTTY, data and
SSB privileges on certain segments of 10 meters. And that's it. "Know your privileges
,"; Henderson
advises all Amateur Radio licensees. He says some Technicians apparently believe their
new HF phone privileges go far beyond what they really have.
"Technicians have no phone privileges on any HF band other than 10 meters, period!"
Henderson emphasizes. "That's the bottom line. If you want to operate phone on the other
HF bands, you'll have to upgrade to General or Amateur Extra class."
On 10 meters, Technician and Novice licensees have CW, RTTY and data privileges
from 28.000 to 28.300 MHz, and CW and SSB privileges from 28.300 to 28.500 MHz.
"We're sorry that the sunspots aren't favoring 10 meters at this point in the sunspot cycle,
but they will in a few years," Henderson allowed.
In addition, Technicians and Novices have CW -- and only CW -- privileges from
3.525 to 3.600 MHz on 80 meters, from 7.025 to 7.125 MHz on 40 meters and
21.025 to 21.200 MHz on 15 meters.
GET YOUR BLIND DRAW DONATION TICKETS!
For only $10 per ticket, you can get a chance to win one of the following great prizes:
1st prize – Kenwood TS-570D (radio only)
2nd prize – Yaesu FT-857D (radio only)
3rd prize – MFJ-269 Antenna Analyzer
Drawing will take place at the Indy Radio Club’s K9OOA Broad Ripple Swapfest on
August 4, 2007. You don’t need to be present to win! There will only be 300 tickets sold,
so the chances are good! You can buy your tickets at an IRC meeting, at the Swapfest,
or from an officer of the club.
SEND ME YOUR HAM RADIO NEWS
If anyone has any items for the newsletter, please send them to Ken Bandy at kc9glq@arrl.net
Signals from the Past:
From the April, 1958 Indianapolis Radio Club Amachewer:
News from the Clubs:
RCA AMATEUR RADIO CLUB: The RCA club just missed being the newest club in the
County by a very few days. The organizational meeting was held March 25 with officers elected:
W9HKZ Pres; Kn9KJE, Vice Pres; W9CMQ, Sec-Treas; W9BUQ, W9HRA, W9JUT and
W9SJQ were elected Directors. The club will meet on the 1st Wednesday and the 3rd
Thursday of each month. A constitution and by-laws were adopted at this meeting.
Again, IRC wishes the best of success for this new club…W9TQC
Upcoming Area Radio Events:
* IRC “Hilltoppers On the Air” event; Saturday, April 28, 8:00 – 12:00 local time
Go to http://www.indyradioclub.org/irchilltopotae2007.htm for more info.
* Indiana QSO Party Saturday, May 5, 2007
* Bus Trip to Dayton “Hamvention”Saturday, May 19 ;Tickets for the bus trip are $25, and
non-refundable. They are available at the club meetings. NOTE: This only covers the cost
of the trip, tickets for the show need to be purchased separately. Point your browser to
http://www.hamvention.org/ for ticket information.
* Indy 500 related events Mike Palmer, N9FEB, is filling slots for volunteers for Race related events.
Go to Mike’s web page at http://indyhams.org/seg/events for details.
* USS Indianapolis “Museum Ships OTA” Station June 8 – 10 (local) Stations will be set up
close to the USS Indianapolis Monument, same location as last time. Go to
http://www.indyradioclub.org/ussindy.htm for more information.
* Indy Hamfest Saturday, July 7 Go to www.indyhamfest.com for more info
Current IRC Officers:
* President: Tom Chance, K9XV - ..EMAIL k9xv@arrl.net
* Vice Pres.: Dave Miller, K9RTT - ..EMAIL dmiller@ivytech.edu
* Sectretary: Ken Bandy, KC9GLQ - ..EMAIL kc9glq@arrl.net
* Treasurer: Judy Gardner, AA9GW - ..EMAIL aa9gw@juno.com
* Chief Operator: Dave Craig, N9QVO - ..EMAIL slough@svs.net
* Dir. at large: Bob Osterhous, W9PSE - EMAIL rosterhous@iquest.net
* Dir. at large: Tom Price, WB9UNG – EMAIL pricetr@comcast.net
* Dir. at large: Hank Wolfla, K9LZJ – EMAIL hwolfla@insightbb.com
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