March Meeting

Our next meeting is scheduled for March 20. Jack and Christina Staat will be giving a presentation on their sailing trip to the Mediterranean. They lived aboard their sailboat for seven years and started in Detroit in June of 1999 and ended up in Turkey in August of 2005. Part of the presentation will include how they used Amateur Radio while on the boat including using email with Winlink. They will also discuss some interesting places they visited on the Eastern Atlantic and Western Mediterranean.

Congratulations

Congratulations to all our new General Class operators who upgraded at our last test session. We had six people bring in their paperwork and we sent it all out to the FCC. Hopefully they all have that new license mounted on their wall. Also, congratulations to all the Technician Class operators who have gained a good chunk of the HF frequencies to play on. To celebrate their new privileges we held a net on ten meters on the night of Friday February 23. Twelve people checked in including two brand new Tech-Plus operators who were flexing their muscles on those new frequencies. Look for some more operating activities like the Michigan QSO party and a few tips in this issue of The Static.

Straits Area Amateur Radio Club
Petoskey High School
Room 106
Petoskey, MI. 49770

Minutes for January 16, 2007

President: Jack Felton KC8VXI Called Meeting to Order At 7:35 pm.

Introduction of members present (18)

Minutes of January copies of minutes passed out by Jack KC8VXI and said that the minutes were in Static he asked if there were any correction or additions. None required. Motion by Herb KC8YLJ, Seconded John KC8ZFN. Motion Approved.

Treasurer Report: Maxine KC8WXN gave the following totals for Savings $79.33, Checking $251.62 Supersaver$1,698.33, Total of Accounts $1,969.28. Total paid out from Jan.18 to Feb 19, 2007 $272.00 Motion to approve Treasurer report Herb KC8YLJ Second John KC8ZFN. Motion Approved.

Old Business: Maxine reported she has received license for Swap Raffle. Jerry KC8FAR will make initial contact with Ed owner of Seeley Printing in Charlevoix to check on better price than last years, John KA8DRJ to follow up and order 1200 tickets.

Chuck N8DNX reported he reduced the power on repeater for a temporary fix of problem, the new parts will approximately be $450.00. The repeater should be back full operating power in spring.

Announcements: Jack KC8VXI reported that Jeff Morey WD8DX of the Gaylord club has set up a Mentor web site at www.wd8dx.com for any on interested.

Cliff KC8NVI reported he received a Dip Net Scepter from Sam KC8OZG and Elaine KC8VUY at the Traverse City Swap, he describe it to group and promised to bring it to the March meeting.

Cliff KC8NVI also reported he had been in contact with Bill N8NJA from Marion, Mi. in regards to the 50th anniversary of Mackinaw Bridge, Chuck N8DNX said he information on that and he would put it on the clubs Yahoo group site.

Maxine reported to the club received a $50.00 donation from Carroll Sattler KC8GCJ from Cedar Mi. Maxine will forward a Thank you along with a membership card.

Motion by Jack KB9RJ Seconded by Bob KD8CYQ to closed the Business Part of meeting. Motion approved

Program: Chuck N9DNX gave a presentation speech for the evening; he explained the many modes available on the Stutsmanville repeater site. We have Three (3) available, N8DNX's 442.375, 443.375 and the club repeater W8GQN 146.680 Mhz. A complete user guide may be downloaded or viewed on www.n8dnx.org

Chuck also mentioned that we need to have a work group later this spring to replace ground Radials on the HF Antenna. Thank you Chuck for the information.

March meeting program will be by Jack KB8RJ and Christina WD8KUG on A Sailing Adventure with Power Point .

Cookies: For March meeting Cliff & Annette.

Dirk KG8JK won the 50/50 drawing of $11.00 and donated a portion back to club.

Respectfully Submitted by Annette KC8QII

Cookie Report

Here is who will be bringing you treats for the next couple months at our club meeting. Just one other reason to attend.

March - Cliff Rosebohm

April - John Peterson

May - Bob Still

SAARC VEC

Here is the schedule of our test sessions. Please contact KG8JK, our test liaison, at least one week prior to the test date if you are planning on attending. You can call 231-348-5043 or email kg8jk@qsl.net. To save wear and tear on our small group of ve's, we will cancel a test session if no one signs up.

June 2 - July 14* - October 6 - November 3

All sessions will be in room 106 of Petoskey High School at 10:00 am.
*12:30 after the Swap 

Remember to bring a photo ID, a copy of your license and, if applicable, a copy of your "Certificate of Successful Completion of Element" you received at your last session. You will also need $14, a pen and pencil, and a calculator if you think you'll need it.

SAARC Area Nets

MONDAY
08:00 pm EST The Bill DeMay Memorial Two Meter Social Net
146.680- MHZ pl 110.9 - Net Control - Rotating

WEDNESDAY
08:00 pm EST The Chain - O - Lakes Net
147.280+ MHZ pl 103.5 - Net Control - Rotating

THURSDAY
01:00 Z Northern Michigan Amateur Radio Emergency Service Net
Primary net frequency 146.520 MHZ Secondary frequency 146.550 MHZ
Net Control - Jim Davis - KC8NTE 

SATURDAY
08:30 pm EST The Dip Net
146.680- MHZ pl 110.9 - Net Control - Cliff Rosebohm KC8NVI

DAILY
06:30 pm EST The Nothern Lower and Eastern Upper Pennisula Traffic Net
146.64- MHZ - Net Control - Marv DeWitt KC8MLD

Bill DeMay Memorial Net Controllers

Here are your net controllers for the Monday night net. So far we only have three net controllers to share the load. If you would like to be added into the list, just let any of the current controller know. I am sure they would be happy to have the help.
 

NMARES

The Northern Michigan Amateur Radio Emergency Service group (known as NMARES) will foster family friendly activities and social interaction, between like-minded Amateur Radio Operators and their friends.

The NMARES group will promote Exemplary Station Operation, and FCC Regulation Compliance. NMARES members will focus on the development of Technical Skills, Experimentation, and Emergency Communications for Northern Michigan.

The Northern Michigan Amateur Radio Emergency Service group will meet on the third Wednesday of each month at 18:00 hrs.(6:00pm) The meeting location will be announced prior to each meeting.

If you are interested in joining the new NMARES group please contact Jim - KC8NTE, for a membership application at " KC8NTE@arrl.net ".

The new NMARES group is not affiliated with any existing Group or Club. This is a new group for Northern Michigan, with new goals and ideas.

There are no fees or dues involved to join this group.

The NMARES group will strive to put the fun back in our meetings. We will also provide an interesting and educational forum for self-improvement.

Ten Meters and More

So all of a sudden you find yourself with a lot of new HF privileges and you aren't too sure what to do with them all. There is tons of fun to be had and you don't have to spend a lot of time and money to start working the world.

Of course you first need to get a rig that will let you get your signal out on those new bands. You don't need to get out the credit card and call that radio outlet store. There are plenty of older rigs that still work great and won't dent the pocketbook too bad. Something like a Kenwood 520 can get you on the air for next to nothing. Of course, be sure to have someone help you find one that is in good working order.

Now for antennas. For ten meters a simple dipole will work great. One that is 16.5 feet long should resonate pretty close to 28.360 Mhz, right where your new voice privileges are. Even better, make one out of aluminum tubing or metal conduit and put it on a small television rotor. Even though it isn't a beam it still has lobes on both sides and you will be surprised how big a difference it can make if you just rotate it a little to the east or west.

For the other bands, a simple G5RV works great. It is like a dipole with 51 feet of wire on each leg. Connect one of those to each side of a 34 foot piece of TV twin-line and then connect the other end of the twin-line to a piece of 50 ohm coax, one wire to the center conductor and the other to the shield. You will need a tuner for this one but you can work 80 through 10 meters with great results. Try sloping it from north to south and you will also get coverage to the east and west.

Don't be shy of the code. Look at the upper portions of the bands for other operators working at slower speeds.

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FOR SAARC Dues: Regular - $10.00 Student - $5.00 Family - $15.00 Associate - $4.00 Help support this great organization and repeater system. Thank You.   Name - Call Sign   Address   City/State/Zip   Phone Email Send to: Maxine Holmes KC8WXN 4047 Quarter Mile Rd. Harbor Springs, MI 49740 Make Checks Payable To: STRAITS AREA AMATEUR RADIO CLUB Regular______ Family_______ Student_____Associate______TOTAL______

http://www.qsl.net/k4adl/

  The SAARC Officers

73 KG8JK