Bible
Verse
Proverbs 22:1-6 / A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all. The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty. Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life. In the paths of the wicked are snares and pitfalls, but those who would preserve their life stay far from them. Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. (NIV)
President's Report
Hello all,
From ghosts and goblins to turkey and dressing. It has become my favorite time of the year again. Our next meeting is November 6th. We will meet at the Western Sizzlin and will be discussing our Christmas social. Please come and join us, there is plenty of room.
I had hopes of bringing in news of a new weather spotting class, but those have been postponed until sometime in the next year. We will still have our training after the meeting, so stick around afterwards. This month's training will be a portable working simplex repeater that I will have featured on the RADIO ELECTRONICS STUDY GROUP page. This one is not digital but we could plan to possibly move that direction in the future.
On another note, I would like to say that winter is approaching and if we have a dry winter then we may have the possibility of brush/woods fire. If we have a wet winter, then we could have the possible chance for ice and snow. Either could cause power outages that could last days. It can happen at a moment's notice and with that said the need for EMCOM operators may be needed. If you would like to lend a hand in this area, we would be glad to fit you in somewhere. At our last LEMA meeting we discussed a restructure of some of our groups. This will mean that some openings may need to be filled. Please feel free to contact me on one of the repeaters or at the meeting to help fill these positions.
Digital traffic has slowed a little but I think we have some new blood in that area that will help us if we need it. Again in closing, I hope to see you at the meeting.
73's Charles Grisham, KB5SZJ
Next MARC Business Meeting
The next business meeting will be held at the Western Sizzlin Restaurant located on North Frontage Road on Saturday, November 6th beginning at 11 A.M. Come join us for some awesome sweet tea, lunch, and fellowship.
We will meet in the back room. Hope you can join us!
ARRL Clean Signal Initiative on the horizon
By Dan Romanchik, KB6NU
In recent message to his Northwest Division membership, Mike Ritz, W7VO, described a new program that he’s gotten the ARRL to take on—the Clean Signal Initiative. He writes:
“After a few months gathering support from the amateur community for the project, the ARRL Clean Signal Initiative (CSI) is finally getting off the ground. The Board’s Programs and Services Committee approved the concept several months ago, and since then I have been canvassing some of the best known RF engineers in amateur radio to get their support and input. As a result, the team will be conducting our first Zoom call next week to lay out the next steps for the project. All I can say at this time is that there are some amateur radio “heavy hitters” behind this, and I believe will be a game changer for the ARRL.
For those that may be unaware of this project, here is a synopsis (or at least my vision):
- The CSI gets the ARRL formally in the “technical standards” business. (Other technical organizations already do it: IEEE, UL, ASTM, and SAE, and others.) The ARRL currently tests new products to informal standards, with no real hard benchmarks for manufacturers to meet, other than the minimal standards outlined in FCC Part 97.307.
- Creates and incorporates documented “best practice” standards and testing methodologies to ensure commercial amateur radio transmitters and amplifiers meet not only minimum FCC requirements for signal cleanliness, but push the envelope.
- These new standards can be “home grown”, or passed through the IEEE, but I think it’s important they be also branded as “ARRL Technical Standards.”
- Test new commercial transceivers and amplifiers against these standards.
- Certify the transmitters and amplifiers that pass the standards: “CSI certified by the ARRL.”
- Work with manufacturers to ensure compliance of those that don’t. (Market pressure will drive this.)
- Market the program to the amateurs through QST.
- Work with manufacturers and social media experts to create training materials to teach hams how to set up their equipment to ensure the cleanest transmitted signals. (This education part is key!)”
Rob Sherwood, NC0B, of Sherwood Engineering, who is most well-known for his ranking of receiver performance (http://www.sherweng.com/table.html), is part of this effort. You can see a video of a talk that he gave recently to the Sutton & Cheam Radio Society by going to https://youtu.be/IioApKRecrI. Also on the committee is Ward Silver, N0AX.
Based on my knowledge of how IEEE standards committees work, I stressed that the initiative should make every effort to get as many stakeholders—including manufacturers and users—involved as possible. Involving so many people may be cumbersome at times, but standards require consensus for them to be effective, and the only way to do that is to get everyone involved. I’d suggest that if you feel that you have something to contribute that you contact Mike directly. His email address is w7vo@arrl.org.
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Dan Romanchik, KB6NU, is the author of the KB6NU amateur radio blog (KB6NU.Com), the "No Nonsense" amateur radio license study guides (https://KB6NU.Com/study-guides/), and often appears on the ICQPodcast (https://icqpodcast.com). When he’s not worry about how clean his signal is, he operates CW on the HF bands and teaches ham radio classes.
Upcoming Hamfest
November 20, 2021 / Montgomery ARC Hamfest
https://w4ap.org/marc/hamfest
Alcazar Shrine Temple
555 Eastern Boulevard
Montgomery, AL 36101
Call W4AP 146.84- Mhz Tone 123Hz
Contact: Kevin L Calhoun , KN4AAZ
4050 Rose Hill Road
Millbrook, AL 36054
Phone: 334-462-2552
Email: KN4AAZ@arrl.net
Quote of the Month
“Long cold nights mark November’s return, grey rains fall, wind walks in the bronze oak leaves” – Gladys Taber
Have a BLESSED month!
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