THE SPARK GAP

A monthly publication of the Meridian Amateur Radio Club July / August 2010

 

 Bible Verse

1 Corinthians 10:13 / No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. NASB

 

Next Business Meeting

Next business meeting will be held at the Checker Board Restaurant on Saturday, August 7, 2010. Come join us for breakfast, coffee and fellowship.

 

Editorial

This years Field Day had the lowest number of attendees that I can recall over the last 15 years. Once upon a time, I remember having 40 to 50 highly motivated individuals attending the MARC Field Day activities. What happened this year? What went right? What went wrong?

For starters, during the December 2009 business meeting we voted to move our 2010 Field Day site from Coots Crossing at Bonita Lakes to Lauderdale Emergency Management Agency office. This turned out to be a blessing for some because of the extra hot days that Mississippi was treated to during the weekend. In addition, we learned there were a couple of serious problems with the antennas and were able to get these ironed out as the evening progressed. These problems took a few hours to get corrected; therefore we did not make any contacts until after dinner that evening. Had this not been discovered until an actual emergency, our communications net could have proven useless. Many thanks to all that helped out!

LEMA had a fantastic table full of helpful and informative brochures to help keep your family safe in the event of emergencies. Two representatives from Red Cross stopped by and updated us on Red Cross activities for our area.

Some were not excited about looking at four walls and elected to have a Field Day site at Lake Tom Bailey. This setup produced a number of digital contacts as well as introducing a few lucky fishermen to the exciting hobby of amateur radio and all of its benefits. Yet, a few others elected to have Field Day at the home of Jim, AD5OW, whom gathered a nice number of SSB contacts.

With all of the positive events that took place, why do I think anything was wrong? I did not see any of our newly licensed operators participating in the Amateur Radio Relay Leagues largest operating event of the year. This is an opportunity for the newly licensed Technician class operators to get on the HF bands and get excited about upgrading to an Extra class operator.

I feel pretty confident that many of the old-timers are getting burned out and tired from doing all of the work year after year. Please extend an invitation to these new HAM operators to come join us for business meetings, Ham Fests, 2-meter nets, HF nets, and the 2011 ARRL Field Day activities. Encourage them to get involved. It's now time for the new guys to learn from an experienced generation.

73, Darrell, W5MAV

MARC / ARRL VE News

Congratulations from MARC / ARRL VE Team to Frank, KF5ETN, on his upgrade to General Class at the recent exam session, July 22nd. The next scheduled session is September 23, 6 PM at LEMA, as usual. Email w5fq@arrl.net, or call Russ at 601*917*9612 for more info or to register. The team is in the process of creating a Facebook page; hopefully it'll become a useful resource soon. Watch it improve at Meridian ARRL VE Team or http://www.facebook.com/pages/Meridian-ARRL-VE-Team/112278628823835

Russ, W5RB

 

Meridian W5YI VE Team

The Meridian W5YI VE Team will host an Amateur Radio exam session every 2nd Tuesday of the month. The time of the test session is 7:00 PM and the place is at the Meridian Aviation Hanger just North of the main terminal at Meridian Airport (MEI). Cost of the exam is $14.00. Pre-registering is recommended but not mandatory.

Contact Eldon Richardson, W4IOS
Cell: 601-604-2063
E-mail: eldon.richardson@att.net

For groups or organizations that require testing on non-scheduled test sessions dates contact any member of The W5YI VE Team.

2010 Test Schedule

• Aug. 10, 2010
• Sept. 14, 2010
• Oct. 12, 2010
• Nov 09, 2010
• Dec. 14, 2010

73s, Eldon, W4IOS

 

2010 MARC Field Day Results

Call Used: W5FQ    
Class: 1F
Participants: 19    
Club Name: Meridian Amateur Radio Club
Power Source(s): Commercial
Power Multiplier: 2X

Submitted by:
Donna, KD5GWM

Bonus Points:
Setup in Public Place	100
Information Booth	100
Site Visit by invited served agency official	100
Submitted via the Web	50
Total Bonus Points	350

 

Summary	CW	Digital	Phone	Total
Total QSOs	0	0	61	61
Total Points				X2
Claimed Score				122

 

Band/Mode Breakdown	CW	Digital	Phone
80m			57
10m			4
TOTAL			61

 

 
 

 

FCC Modifies Amateur Rules to Allow Participation in
  Disaster and Emergency Drills on
Behalf of an Employer without a Waiver

In a Report and Order (R&O) released Wednesday, July 14, the FCC amended Part 97.113 to allow amateurs to participate without an FCC waiver in government-sponsored disaster preparedness drills on behalf of their employers participating in the exercise. The FCC also has amended the rules to allow employees to participate in non-government drills and exercises up to one hour per week and up to two 72-hour periods during the year.

“Experience has shown that amateur operations can and have played an essential role in protecting the safety of life and property during emergency situations and disaster situations,” the FCC noted in the R&O. “Moreover, the current Amateur Radio Service rules, which permit participation in such drills and tests by volunteers (i.e., non-employees of participating entities), reflect the critical role Amateur Radio serves in such situations. However, as evidenced by recent waiver requests, state and local government public safety agencies, hospitals and other entities concerned with the health and safety of citizens appear to be limited in their ability to conduct disaster and emergency preparedness drills, because of the employee status of Amateur Radio licensees involved in the training exercises. We therefore amend our rules to permit amateur radio operators to participate in government-sponsored emergency and disaster preparedness drills and tests, regardless of whether the operators are employees of the entities participating in the drill or test. We find that extending authority to operate amateur stations during such drills will enhance emergency preparedness and response and thus serve the public interest.”

In order to allow participation in non-governmental disaster drills -- such as those sponsored by ARES® or private hospitals -- the FCC will now allow amateurs employed by an agency participating in such a drill to participate up to one hour per week. In addition, they may also participate in up to two exercises in any calendar year, each for a time period not to exceed 72 hours. “This time limitation, which is consistent with the timeframes contained in the waiver requests filed with the Commission, should serve to further ensure the use of Amateur Radio for bona fide emergency testing,” the R&O stated. “We emphasize that the purpose for any drills we authorize herein must be related to emergency and disaster preparedness. By limiting the purpose in this manner, we further ensure that such drills will be appropriately limited.”

In amending the Amateur Radio rules, the FCC reiterated that it does not intend to disturb the core principle of the Amateur Radio Service “as a voluntary, non-commercial communication service carried out by duly authorized persons interested in radio technique with a personal aim and without pecuniary interest. Rather, we believe that the public interest will be served by establishing a narrow exception to the prohibition on transmitting amateur communications in which the station control operator has a pecuniary interest or employment relationship, and that such an exception is consistent with the intent of the Amateur Radio Service rules.”

The effective date of the R&O is to be determined and will be at some time after its publication in the Federal Register. A more detailed story will be forthcoming from the ARRL.

 

Have a great month

 

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