THE SPARK GAP

A monthly publication of the Meridian Amateur Radio Club October 1998

Club Information

President: Dennis KI5FW

Vice Pres: C.P. W5OQY

Secretary: Bill KB5ASR

Treasurer: Ross WB4ZIK

Editor : Darrell W5MAV

Club meets every Saturday 10 A.M. at Queen City Truck Stop. All visitors and new members are welcome. Some folks come early for breakfast.

President Report:

G.E. TO ALL:

Once agn. another month has slipped us by. The summer has melted away and Fall is in the air. The cooler nites sure do feel gud. It is time to pack away the short pants and bring out the long pants and sweaters.

First I wud like to thank everyone who participated in the Fish catching/eating that the club sponsored a couple weeks back. There are to many to name and thank but I wud like to say a special thanks to Ross and Wanda Wingo fer allowing us to come out and use there home QTH fer this activity.

I'm sure Mel will have more to say in his article but for the ones who missed it sure missed out. Remember VE EXAMS on the 17th of this month (OCT.) at MCC. Tell every one u know. Put it on all the nets u check in on, HF and VHF/UHF. We want people to show up and test with us. I don't think u will find a bunch of nicer Hams to test with. Register at 11:30 a.m. and testing begins at 12:00 noon. Talk in will be on the 146.700 (W5FQ) rptr.

I have relocated and mailed all the appropriate forms and info. concerning ARRL club affiliation off to the ARRL this last week in September. We should hear back from them or our section manager soon on whether we will be accepted or not. Lets hope they don't check the criminal records of sum of our members, no names mentioned, they know who they are.

We got very lucky with the situation of Hurricane Georges. Receiving a little wind and rain was lots better than what we all thought what we were going to get. It was gud though to see that we all were waiting to assert ourselves the way Hams should when threatning weather approaches our area. It is gud to see Jim Stevens take the reins of the WX NET COORDINATOR. I know he will be dedicated to this position and do a great job with it.

That's abt it from the prez's head this time. Hope everyone takes care and has a gud Halloween. I heard the hottest thing this year was a W5UTL (Howard) mask. Don't that make u cringe...........73's......de...... Dennis (KI5FW)..............

Vice President Report:

Hello to all. Was it a good month for you? Hope so. Mine was good. Fall is here and along comes the sniffles. I have mine already. Glad we missed Georges. The Mobile Hamfest wasn't too good. People didn't come because of the storm. The fishing tournament was a huge success. Everybody seem to have a good time and enjoy it. Of course the CHAMP was - I want say it; YES I will. You will want to know if you weren't there. Yes it was yours truly. Beat them bad. Of course Wes knew it before we started. ha. Still waiting on the check. We need to be thinking about a Christmas party.

73's to all W5OQY CP

Fish Master Report ?????

WX NOTE:

During the past week there was a serious threat of severe weather. As usual, there were numerous amateurs available. Although the local weather did not get hit bad, there was always someone monitoring VHF & HF. A lot of good information was passed and there was someone there to pass messages. Some operators joined in on HF and assisted with traffic, both to EOC and Health & Welfare. Meridian amateurs were well represented during this operation.

Lets all get together and give our support to WB5OCD, Jim, our new WX net coordinator. Jim spent many hours monitoring during the storm period. Afraid to leave someone out I won't try to list all who participated. Thanks a million to all. We should all be WX minded and be ready to help our Family, Friends, & Neighbors through what could be tragedy for any of us at any time.  73 N5JCG Mel

Editor Note:

A special THANK YOU to Ross & Family for the hospitality at our first fishing tournament / fish fry. Additional THANKS to N5JCG, WB5OCD, and KB5DKW for their contributions to The Spark Gap.

Call Darrell W5MAV @ 626-0053 to place an add, newsletter suggestions, an article you would liked published, complaints, compliments, likes, and dislikes.

WX Net Coordinator:

Just wanted to say thanks to all those that helped with the hurricane of last week. We did not activate the weather net but much was learned about how we can help in future events of this type.

The jet stream should soon start pushing southward which will cause an increase in thunderstorms in our area. When this happens the wx net will be activated when our area goes into a thunderstorm warning or when the wx looks to be severe enough to warrant such action.

All area amateur operators are encouraged to participate in the wx net. You do NOT have to be a member of the Meridian Amateur Radio Club to participate. All you need is a Technician class license, a radio that will operate on the frequencies we will use, and the desire to serve your community. If you would like to be trained to function as a net control operator or storm spotter, please contact me on the W5FQ repeater or at 601-644-3226. We need to prepare so that we can integrate our operations into those of LEMA. LEMA will not depend on us until we can give them what they need.

Areas where we can be of service to our community:

Upcoming events:

I already have the names of a few people that want to attend. Please let me know if you desire this training so I can let LEMA know the number of Hams that are interested.

As Hams, we have an opportunity to assist our community during many types of emergencies. To do a good job during that time requires some preparation on our part. We would sure like to have your help.

Jim WB5OCD

Lost and Found by KB5DKW

Put yourself in this person's place. (Stay with me. I am not getting paid to bore you). Let us suppose that you have just returned from a long and unpopular war or you are an ex-convict that just did two years hard time (same deal). Your friends have forgotten you and your sweet-heart is now married. Your parents try to understand and some how still be proud of you, but you have been exposed to a hostile and alien culture with effects that will follow you to your grave.

So, looking for a friend, you visit the city animal shelter. The 'dog and cat lady' does not like you very much but shows you the animals that are up for adoption because it is part of her job. Most of the dogs do not like you either and growl at you through the wire. They know that you are the one that belongs in a cage, and they should be out working the garbage-can circuit if there was any JUSTICE in the world. However, one particular animal has bright, intelligent eyes and looks up at you with a " let's you and me make a deal" kind of look on his face. Was it love or infatuation, who knows? Anyway, you fall for it and go through the lengthy adoption process. While leaving the 'dog pound' he walks by your side at the end of the leash like he has been to college for it. However, somehow you just know that if you 'unsnap' for only one second, he will be gone. You will lose your dog and all the money that you spent for the collar, the tick and flea job, the shots and the 'bed and breakfast arrangement' that he had with the CITY.

Thinking that you are SMARTER than the dog, you avoid this obvious mistake. After arriving at your apartment, he eats a half-bag of TRAILBLAZER and the part of your hamburger that you just could not eat with him looking and longing. After that he curls up in a chair, looks up at you, yawns and then he starts to tell you how to LIVE. The Dog said, "Boy, you need to quit drankin' that ol beer and quit pickin that git-tar in them Honky Tonks. You go to church and find you a "purdy" woman. You move to the country. You build your own house. You fix your own pickem-up truck but above all you learn CW and become a HAM 'cause it's FUN". He said, "Now I ain't gonna always be around to look after you, so you remember what I just said". Being an American and a Mississippian on top of that, I listened to every word.

I had become accustomed to taking direction from critters that had never done an honest days work in their lives and had made a living robbing from the poor and giving unto themselves.

Love is blind and some times very stupid. However, I was impressed by the last part of his prediction (that he would not be around for long) because he "split"," lit a shuck" as we said in the Air Force, he "hooked up". In other words, I no longer had the pleasure of his company. I do not know if he found a person of more substantial 'means' or if he went back into the 'trash-can business' but I remembered every word, just like he said. If a DOG says something to you, (as Hanoi Hanna used to say) "you WILL remember".

In my mind I went down the 'check list' flipping switches until I came to 'fix your own truck'. My ignition switch had been rendered 'in-op' because of a wad of keys that I kept dangling from it while driving 114,000 miles at least. In an attempt to replace said item, I came upon the person of WD5HLD (Don Thomas). He worked for a family-owned business that sold such things. He was standing behind the counter holding a strange object that was wrapped in a white but slightly oily piece of cloth. He had bright, intelligent eyes, so I asked him what it was. His eyes then became a little 'misty' and at the same time his face assumed a look that I can only describe as 'protective'. 'It's an old TELEGRAPH KEY" he said.

I could tell that he assessed my I.Q. to be some where around room temperature when it's cold outside and the fire goes out. Therefore, I did not press him for details. Even in my ignorance, I knew that he was holding 'Chet Adkins Guitar, Wolf-Man Jack's Microphone, Elizabeth Taylor's Diamonds. In other words, if you had all the CW that thing ever sent; you would have a Lightening Bolt that could take Clarke County off the map (if it is on the map). Clarke County, that is where I found my XYL, work on old junk, and have been building my house for over ten year now! I would have been finished by now but HF radio leaves little time for such trivial things. When some one asks me,how I got so interested in HF Charley Whiskey. I just say that I learned it from a 'DAWG'!......PS, You may send questions or comments, but I am too far gone for them to be of much help, now..

Next time, I am going NERD hunting. N5HGN is NEXT...Ronald

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