the longest arrl affiliated club in michigan june...
TRANSCRIPT
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The Longest ARRL Affiliated Club
in Michigan
June 2018 Volume 66 Issue 6
Last night was our regular Tuesday evening net at 9:00 PM. I turned on
my HT just before 9 and heard nothing for some minutes. Finally, I
adjusted the squelch and heard some weak signals briefly. I still didn’t
know what was going on. After I heard some more occasional signals, I
went to my car, backed it out of the garage and started listening. I
started hearing Net Control regularly but only some other signals. Only
then did I realize that this was a drill and we needed to transmit on the
output as a simplex net. It will be interesting to get a report from John
on how we did as a net. Many of us were not able to get through with an
HT so that indicates we need to look at our antennas to see if we can
hear and get out more effectively.
Of course, this month is Field Day. We are preparing for another good
one, but we do have at least one problem. John, N8KAM has been
loaning us his trailer for many years now and it won’t last much longer.
We use this trailer for the contesting station operations and it provides
screening (falling apart) and some place to rest in during the overnight
hours. We need a new trailer or rather a newer used trailer. So if anyone
knows where we might find one please let any of the board members
know. Of course we have non-profit status so that is a plus because
someone can claim that if they were to donate. . We can pay some
amount for the trailer if it is a good deal.
See you all at our meeting on June 8th.
Don K8THU
Don’s Ditherings Don K8THU
MCRC President
Inside this issue …
2018 Fox Hunts …………………………….. 2
April Meeting Minutes .………….…….. 3
2018 Field Day ..…………………..……... 5
VE Exams ……………..……………….….… 6
Bill NU3D interview …………………..… 7
Monroe Hamfest .…………………….…. 8
Wyandotte Street Fair ….….………… 8
Special Event Station …………………… 9
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2018 Fox Hunts Come and check out Foxhunting. Teams of "Hunters" using radio direction finding equipment try to sniff out the fox. Every one of the teams are trying to find the fox by figuring out where their radio signal is coming from. The winner is the team that finds the fox with least mileage.
Foxhunting is great fun, and is a challenging contest. Transmitter hunting also has lots of practical uses. Amateur
radio operators have been called on to use direction finding equipment to locate downed airplanes, boaters in
distress, and sources of radio interference. It can also be used to find illegal and unlicensed radio transmitters.
Hams use contests like fox hunting to test their equipment and practice their skills in preparation for more serious
searches.
Motor City Radio Club's first Fox Hunt was May 26th. The Fox Hunts run once a month until October.
Here's a list of the Fox Hunt dates for 2018:
May 26th Congratulations to Bruce AC8KD for winning the first Fox Hunt of 2018.
June 16th
July 21st
August 18th
September 15th
Season Finale October 20th.
2018 November
Dinner
Mark your calendar now, and save the
date for this year's Banquet. As of right
now, the menu and price are expected to
be the same as last year's. Location has
also not changed from the last two years.
CW Sportsmen's Grill
(formally the Sportsmen Den)
15001 Sibley Road, Riverview, MI 48193
November 10th, 2018
6pm to 8:30pm
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Motor City Radio Club
P. O. Box 1337
Southgate, MI 48195-0337
Est. 1932
MAY 11 General Meeting Minutes
Meeting called to order 7:11 p.m. Present: 21 Members 1 guest
Club Meeting Minutes
Acknowledgement of Guest K8VA Mike Kowaleski of Trenton.
President’s Report: general coverage of what will be discussed in meeting tonight.
Vice President’s Report – new members must attend 3 club functions before being eligible to apply for
membership.
Admin Report – brief review of last month’s report. Minutes accepted and seconded.
Treasurer’s Report - accepted subject to audit. WA8FRD Dale Poblenz gave specific numbers to the club on
various items of interest to the club. The numbers are not mentioned in this report as they are an internal matter
and not available to non members.
Committee Reports
Education – Kimball N8FNC. A thank you was given to all members who attended the event on Belle Isle. Classes
at the Bacon Memorial Library in Wyandotte have been concluded for the summer. The fall schedule of classes is
now being set up with the library.
Fox Hunts – Bruce AC8KD - the first fox hunt will be on May 26th. 10:30 start from Leo’s Coney Island on Fort and
Sibley. The fox will be Stan K8SB. There will be a breakfast there one week before the fox hunt and also on fox
hunt day. All the breakfasts will be in Riverview.
Net Manager/Emergency Communications/Custodian – John N8KAM – brought a copy of his 1st net from Jan 9
2001 for everyone to look at and remember some of the members on the check-in list that have passed. He also
brought net sheets for the summer guest NCO’S. Stop by and make sure your name is in the birthday calendar for
the net.
Special Events/Publicity – a volunteer is needed.
VE Program – Woody N8MWQ – Field Day will again be held on Grosse Ile at Centennial Farm. The next VE exam
will be the last time the old Technician questions will be used. A new set of questions will be used after that.
continued on Page 4
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Spark Gap – Mike W8MRA. Calling all writers! New articles about the club should be submitted for publication.
Webmaster – Jim KD8HFX – A chat room has been added to the newly redesigned website.
Field Day 2018 – Mike W8MRA and Bruce AC8KD - Everything is organized and we are good to go. We are going
out to the Centennial Farm with Dale WA8FRD to evaluate locations. THERE WILL BE FOOD!
Refreshments: Coffee – Dale WA8FRD. Soda – Rick KE8BPZ.
In General
Old Business - The Metro Grand Spring Tour was on Sunday, May 6th. There were 8 stations. The repeater
“worked great” according to Dale WA8FRD.
New Business – magnetic signs for cars can be ordered at the next Board Meeting.
For the good of the club – Field Day T shirts can be ordered from Dale WA8FRD.
The next general meeting will be Friday June 8th from 7:00 p.m. to about 9:30 p.m.
Continued from Page 3:
2018 Field Day
Location
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2018 ARRL Field Day is June 23-24
Greeting fellow MCRC members. Field day is fast approaching and we are in the final stages of planning for this great event and there is still plenty to do! First and foremost we looking for operators and loggers for the W8GTZ
and W8MRM stations. Everyone can sign up for operating and logging
times on the club website at w8mrm.net. Look for "Field Day Signup now
Available" on the home page. The contesting station is W8MRM, and will
be in the back by the pond. The experimental station is W8GTZ, and will
be across from the Welcome Station. Also on the Field Day Signup page,
please indicate if you are planning on helping with the Friday setup of the
tents and antennas. There will also be signup sheets at the June meeting
for operating, logging, setup and
This year, Don K8THU is the tent captain for W8GTZ, and Dale WA8FRD is the tent captain for W8MRM. Field Day Schedule: Friday June 22nd at noon: Lunch at Mom's Kitchen on Fort in Trenton. Friday June 22nd at 1400 hours. Field Day set up at Centennial Farm. Friday June 22nd after set up: Steak dinners under the pavilion. Saturday, June 22nd at 1000 hours: VE Session. Saturday June 23rd at 1400 hours: Field Day begins. Sunday June 24th at 1400 hours: Field Day ends, take down begins. Looking forward to a great Field Day this year. 73, Bruce AC8KD and Mike W8MRA 2018 Field Co-Chairs
When ordering T-shirts,
please indicate if you would
like your call, your name, or
both your call and your
name on your
T-shirt. There is no
difference in cost,
depending on what you
would like on your shirt.
Orders are due by June 1st
please.
You can mail your order to
the club mailbox, give to
any board member at the
May meeting, drop or mail
the order to Dale's house,
or order online on the club
website.
Club Address:
P.O. Box 1337 Southgate
48195
WA8FRD Dale's Address
2095 22nd Wyandotte
48192
Club website:
www.w8mrm.net
Jim KD8HFX has provided a way to familiarize yourself with the N3FJP field day logging software which will be used at Field Day. There is a video training that is posted on our website w8mrm.net. Go to Field Day page then look under Field Day Education. The short video takes you though the basics of using the N3FJP software. You can also download the software yourself from the N3FJP website and practice at home.
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Items to bring with you when taking the exams:
1. $15.00 exam fee (Exact Amount Preferred)
2. Number 2 Pencil
3. An original of your current FCC license (if you have one)
4. A copy of your current FCC license (if you have one)
5. Two pieces of Identification (at least one photo)
6. Your PayPal Receipt if you choose to pay online
7. Your FRN number if you choose to pre-register
Although not mandatory, we strongly recommend you pre-register
for your FRN number at: http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls to avoid using
your Social Security number on the NCVEC QUICK-FORM 605.
Those interested can register for the exam ahead of time on the
Motor City Radio Club's website. Go to w8mrm.net. Click on the
"Operating and Events" tab on the top, then click on the exam
announcement date. On that page, you can register for the exam
and also pay beforehand using PayPal.
Woody N8MWQ
V.E. Liaison
MOTOR CITY RADIO CLUB VE EXAMS On Saturday, May 12th, The Motor City Radio Club conducted
our regular bi-monthly VE test session. Five applicants arrived
at the First United Methodist Church in Wyandotte. Three were
successful in obtaining an upgrade.
Congratulations to Larry Van Belle KE8HCD, David M.
Beaujean N8EPF, and Gregory P. Dickie KE8HXR who
all upgraded from Tech to General!
VE’s making this happen were Don Novak K8THU, Bill Loeber
NU3D, Ralph Nagy KA8KGW, and Dean McKinney KE8HVA.
Thanks to all for their help.
Our next exam session will be held on Saturday, June 23, 2018
at 10:00 AM at our Field Day Site, the Grosse Ile Centennial
Farm, 25797 3rd Street, Grosse Ile in the outdoor pavilion.
The June 23rd Technician exam is the last Technician exam
session using the current question pool. The NEW Technician
class question pool takes effect on July 1, 2018.
You can download the new Technician class question pool
here: http://ncvec.org/page.php?id=369
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Interview with
Bill NU3D
Bill was first licensed in 1990, then family and other things (like
so many of us) had him step back from the hobby for awhile.
After retiring in 2007, Bill got back in the hobby, and has been
active since. Bill's HF rig is a Kenwood TS-590S going into a
Comet CHA250B broadband vertical antenna. Bill says the
antenna works very well from 10 down to 40, and fairly well on
80. His dual band 2M/440 antenna is also a Comet.
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Upcoming Hamfest:
Monroe Michigan
Sunday, June 17, 2018. 7:30am until 1:00pm
Location: Monroe County Fairgrounds
Fairgrounds are located on the corner of M-50 and South Raisinville
Roads. Monroe, MI 48161
Website: http://www.mcrca.org/Hamfest
Sponsor: Monroe County Radio Communications Association.
Talk-in is provided on 146.72/12. Input tone 100 Hz.
The club will have a booth at the Wyandotte Street Fair
if enough people can commit to spending a few hours
sitting in the booth. Plans right now are to pass out
information from the ARRL on Amateur Radio,
information on the fall Technician Classes at the
Wyandotte Bacon Library, and information about the
club. A couple of hands-on demonstrations are also
planned. The fair runs 12 hours a day, for 4 days. So we
will need more than a few people to sign up to make
this happen. This can be a great exposure for our club.
Last year, an estimated 150,000 people attended the
fair. There will be a sign up clipboard making the
rounds at the June meeting. Please consider helping
out when you see the board come around.
Field Day Set-Up
Lunch Location.
Noon on June 22nd.
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MCRC Officers
President Don K8THU
Vice President Rick KE8BPZ
Secretary Denise Keeler KC8HDX
Treasurer Dale Poblenz WA8FRD
Custodian John Roberts N8KAM
Trustee(s) Jim Baksa KD8HFX for W8MRM
John Roberts N8KAM for W8GTZ
Parliamentarian Bill Loeber NU3D
Committee Chairs
V.E. Liaison ‘Woody’ Kirkman N8MWQ
Net Manager John Roberts N8KAM
Education Kimball Williams N8FNC
QSL Manager Jim Baksa KD8HFX
Webmaster Jim Baksa KD8HFX
Associate Webmaster ‘Woody’ Kirkman N8MWQ
Spark Gap Editor Mike Antio W8MRA
Special Event Station
06/24/2018 | Boy Scouts of America Trail To Eagle XXIV
Jun 24-Jun 29, 1300Z-0500Z, K2BSA/8, Metamora, MI. Garden
City Amateur Radio Club. 14.330 7.270 3.840. QSL. Richard
Zarczynski, AC8FJ, 7371 N. Farmington Rd., Westland, MI 48185.
An opportunity for older scouts to earn merit badges at camp toward
their Eagle Scout award. Radio merit badge will again be taught to
scouts who will be looking to engage in a QSO with amateurs on-
the-air as a requirement. AC8FJ and W8MKB will be operating the
K2BSA/8 station at the D-Bar-A scout ranch during the week at
opportune times.
www.michiganscouting.org/outdooradventures/properties/d-bar-a-
scout-ranch/trail-to-eagle-at-d-bar-a
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Coming Events
June 8th General Membership Meeting. 7pm. Copeland Center. 2306 4th Street Wyandotte 48192.
Topic: Field Day.
June 14th Board Meeting at 7:30pm. Leo's Coney Island, 19230 Fort St., Riverview, MI 48193
Everyone is welcome at all Board Meetings.
June 16th Club breakfast at 9am. Leo's Coney Island, 19230 Fort St., Riverview, MI 48193
June 16th Second Foxhunt of the season starting at 10:30am from the parking lot of the Club breakfast.
June 22nd at Noon. Field Day Lunch at Mom's Restaurant in Trenton. See map on Page 8.
June 22nd at 2pm. Field Day setup begins at Centennial Farm. See map on Page 4.
June 23rd at 10am. VE Exam under the pavilion at Centennial Farm.
June 23rd at 2pm. Field Day operating begins.