KISHWAUKEE AMATEUR RADIO CLUB Club Call: WA9CJN /Repeater 146.730, -O/S, 100PL March 2018 NEWSLETTER Editor: Kent, KC9LIF Club Officers: President Tom, K9GPC Vice President Brian KD9BKS Treasurer Bob W9ICU Secretary Ed, KC9PMM Club Dues due on Nov 1 st *************************************** Next Club Meeting: March 14, 2018 Location: Christ Community Church 1200 South Malta Rd., DeKalb, IL On the web: www.kish-club.org or KARC at P.O. Box 371, DeKalb, IL 60115 Monday evening 2 meter net: 8:30 PM on WA9CJN repeater, featuring ARRL audio news AREAS/RACES net: Thursday evenings 7PM on WA9CJN repeater Officers for 2018 year are, Tom K9GPC - President, Brian KD9BKS - VP, Ed KC9PMM Secretary, Bob W9ICU - Treasurer. Club and ARES/RACES nets You have probably noticed some changes in net controls. Tom K9GPC will be doing the KARC Net the first Monday of the month, the rest of the month for KARC and ARES/RACES nets will done by Matt, KD9HWK, Dan, W9DDH and Sean, KD9CFO. Special Thanks to Mike, WD9GNX and Barry, W9JBL for their dedication in running the nets over the past few year. every evening. Then we did have to move to 7.213 +/- 5 kc, and then moved to 3.846 KHz. Unfortunately, 40Ms is not doing well these days. FYI We will have a few tickets available for the Princeton Hamfest on Sunday June 3, 2018. If anyone is interested. Contact Bob, W9ICU Welcome New KARC Member. Bill O' Neill, N9IGD of Elgin, IL was officially voted in as a new member at the February meeting. Bill holds a General Class Ham License, also a Licensed Pilot, Professional Photographer and Licensed Commercial Drone Operator. 80/40 METER RAG CHEW NET: Mike WD9GNX reports that the net is currently on 3.780 +/-5 khz at 8PM on Thursdays and Fridays, with Mike and Paul KD0GIX and occasionally, John K9VIS. Formerly on 160M, at 8:00pm 1
DeKalb Hamfest: Each question pool is only good for 4 years. Make sure you use the right study materials! Future dates in 2018 (all times from 9AM to Noon). Be there early, as we have to finish up no later than noon): Sunday May 6, 2018, mark your calendar for loading tables on Friday 3rd early evening, setup on Saturday the 4th and Sunday the 5th Hamfest day, will need volunteers for all three operations. Several tables already sold. Also Advance tickets are available if anyone needs some. Contact Bob, W9ICU. VE TESTING SESSIONS in Dekalb are now by appointment only! The DeKalb, IL (W5YI-VEC) VE (Volunteer Examiner) Team is pleased to announce the 2018 VE Testing schedule. In addition, we are administering tests now on Saturday mornings, rather than the Tuesday or Wednesday evenings held previously. So, please note the VE Testing days the third Saturday of every odd-numbered month, from 9:00 AM to 12 Noon. Important: a new Element 2 (Technician) question pool came into effect on July 1, 2014, effective thru June 30, 2018, new Element 3 (General) question pool became effective on July 1, 2015, effective thru June 30, 2019, and a new Element 4, and (Extra) Pool became effective on July 1, 2016 until June 30, 2020. 2 March 17, 2018 May 19, 2018 July 21, 2018 September 15, 2018 November 17, 2018 The testing site remains the same, Community of Christ Church, 1200 South Malta Road, DeKalb, IL 60115 (see Google Maps for directions). For some other sites in the Northern IL area, see: other Ham License Testing Sessions w/in +/- 60 mi. of DeKalb, courtesy of Google Maps Club Event Calendar: Be sure to contact Tom K9GPC or Bob W9ICU for those events that you want to volunteer for. The more the merrier. KARC Event Calendar for 2018 January Wed 10th Club Meeting at 7PM Spotter Training NIU at Tues 16th 7PM Sat 20th VE Testing 9AM February Wed. 14th Club Meeting 7PM March Wed 14th Club Meeting 7PM Sat 17th VE Testing 9AM April Wed 11th Club Meeting 7PM Sat 28th March of Dimes Walk
May Fri. Sat. 4th 5th Hamfest: Load Equip 5:45PM Hamfest: Setup at Fairground 9AM 6th Hamfest: 5AM until Done. Wed. 9th Club Meeting Sat. 19th VE Testing 9AM June 10th ADA Bike Ride-- Kane&Dupage Co. Wed. 13th Club Meeting 7PM Sat. 23rd Field Day 24th Field Day July Wed. 11th Club Meeting 7PM Sat. 21st VE Testing 9AM August Thurs. 29th 9th Classic Car Show Sycamore, IL Steam Show, Sycamore, IL (start) 12th Steam Show (Ends) Wed. 15th Club Meeting 7PM Sat. 18th Egyptian Ride, 6am-4pm September Wed. 12th Club Meeting Sat. 15th VE Testing 9AM October Wed. 7th 10th Autum on Parade, Oregon, IL Club Meeting 7PM (Officer Election 15th Crop Walk for Hunger Sat. 20th JOTA (BSA) 21th JOTA (BSA) 28th Sycamore Pumpkin Parade November Wed. 14th Club Meeting 7PM Sat. 17th VE Testing 9AM December Wed 12th Christmas Party (No Meeting) 3 Upcoming Events: March 4 th, 2018 Sterling Rock Falls ARS Hamfest HAMFEST/CONVENTION NEW LOCATION THIS YEAR!! 03/04/2018 Start Date: 03/04/2018 End Date: 03/04/2018 Location: Rock Falls Community Center 601 West 10th Street Rock Falls, IL 61071 Website: http://www.w9mep.org Sponsor: Sterling Rock Falls Amateur Radio Society Type: ARRL Hamfest Talk-In: 146.850 (PL 114.8) Public Contact: Joe Baldwin, N9ORQ 10304 Hoover Road Rock Falls, IL 61071 Phone: 815-626- 4766 Email: joepatb@comcast.n NWS Chicago Storm Spotting http://www.weather.gov/lot/spotter_talk Spotter training classes cover severe weather hazards including thunderstorms and tornadoes. This includes the general structure and movement of severe thunderstorms, identification of important storm features, and safety concerns. Additional classes can be added. Please check back for updates. All classes last about 2 hours. They are free and open to the public. Classes are appropriate for all ages. Ages 10 and up will likely get the most out of the training. Pre-registration is NOT required unless specifically noted for a particular class. Classes are scheduled in collaboration with local emergency management officials.
You may attend a class in any location, offered by any NWS office, regardless of where you live. If interested in a particular date, go to website and click on location for additional information. Wednesday, March 14 6:30pm Spotter Training - Rockford, IL (Winnebago/Boone Co.) Wednesday, March 21 7:00pm Spotter Training - Pontiac, IL (Livingston Co.) Thursday, March 22 6:00pm Spotter Training - Crystal Lake, IL (McHenry Co.) Thursday, March 29 6:30pm Spotter Training - Oglesby, IL (LaSalle Co.) Tuesday, April 24 7:00pm Spotter Training - Coal City, IL (Grundy Co.) The National Weather Service Chicago (LOT) operates Amateur Radio Station WX9LOT for the purposes of passing SKYWARN related traffic into and out of the NWS office. The goal of the Amateur Radio Team at the NWS is to provide a reliable 100% Amateur Radio path to the NWS during severe weather events. The LOT weather forecast area is very large and diverse ranging from densely populated urban areas to lightly populated rural areas. Due to the unique nature of the LOT WFO, it is not possible to have a single means of amateur radio to serve the entire area. Because of this the Ham Team monitors a combination of VHF and UHF repeater systems to gather reports from SKYWARN operations. The team evaluates and revises the systems it monitors on a regular basis to ensure 4
the needs of the WFO are met despite the changing amateur radio landscape. Primary Liaisons not in an active severe weather area will not be monitored. The NWS has designated several repeater systems as Primary Liaisons for LOT. This means that the NWS will always monitor these systems when severe weather is in their area. Liaison systems are chosen by a combination of factors. They must cover a large geographical area as accessed by a moderate base-type station (NOT mobile or portable coverage), have backup power or facilities, have regular SKYWARN net activity, and maintain regular contact with the Ham Team. Smaller non-primary net operations are encouraged to relay their significant reports to the NWS through these Primary Liaison systems. Starting in 2016 the NWS Ham Team will have two levels of operations. The reason for these levels is that WX9LOT cannot monitor all of the Primary Liaisons at the same time. Having two levels of operations will maximize the efficiency of getting reports from ongoing SKYWARN nets. The NWS Ham Team will announce to the Primary Liaison net control operators when they come on frequency what level of operations they are in for that event. Level 1 Operation: Level 1 is the normal level of operation for WX9LOT. During Level 1 the Ham Team operators will monitor the Primary Liaison in the area(s) of severe weather, and with a secondary operating position will scan and monitor non-primary systems active in that same area. This means that REMEMBER Club MEETING: March 14, 2018 73, Kent KC9LIF 5