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SouthWest Dallas County Amateur Radio Club

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Contributed Article

The Chili Social After Action Report

October 25, 2016 by Steve Parks

img_20161018_190234chiliThe October General meeting and Chili Social was enjoyed by all who attended.  A special “Thank You” to each person who brought chili, cheese, chips, beans, salad, and etc.  Oh yes, and we even had some yummy deserts!  On the Monday Net, Ben (K5NEB) said that his cookies didn’t turn out good.  Well, by Tuesday night they got good enough that they pretty much disappeared at a fast pace.  Ed (K5ZPC) thoughtfully brought a jar of antacid tablets to aid with the after-effects of too much spicy food.  Teamwork prevailed with the set-up and clean-up and there were lots of friendly conversations to be heard as folks enjoyed the opportunity to visit and catch up with one another.   It was good to meet and get to visit with family members that do not always attend the meetings.

We are looking forward to another opportunity to get together and eat and visit at the December Christmas dinner.  Then there will be Field Day in June, and another October Chili Social.    

Looking forward to seeing everyone at the November meeting!  

73

Pat (KB5YPP)  

Filed Under: Contributed Article

Ham Radio Elmers

October 19, 2016 by Steve Parks

When I began my ham radio journey I was looking for elmers.  I was interested in building things, HF, and CW.  Russ Thompson (KX5G) was one of the first to help.  He gave me a power supply (that I still use).  I also met up with John Langridge (KB5NJD) who helped me configure a number of home antennas and gave me my first set of paddles.  I think I must have sent John at least a thousand emails asking questions.  He politely responded to every single one of them.

And yet. . . it wasn’t enough.

My desire to learn could not be satisfied.  I turned to media of all kinds.  Books, blogs, podcasts, etc.  Over time I have cultivated a list of media I enjoy.  I thought I should share it.  If YOU are wanting to learn more and have worn out your actual Elmer, here are some places  you can learn a lot!

Blogs:

Solder Smoke

Dave Richards AA7EE

Podcasts:

Soldersmoke

Amateurlogic.tv

Ham Nation

Books:

Solder smoke Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics – Bill Meara

Elements of Radio – Marcus and Horton  (This book is out of print, but you may find it at a ham fest.  I did.)

Solid State Design for the Radio Amateur – Hayward and Demaw (Also out of print)

Experimental Methods in RF Design- Hayward, Larkin, and Campbell (this book is the follow up to solid state design.  It also appears to be out of print.)

The Handbook

YouTube Channels:

QRP School – I actually got to meet Cliff on an NPOTA activation this year

WG0AT – Steve is the goat guy featured twice in QST this year.  He is often manning the Buddipole table at HamComm.

QRP CW – I believe this guy is in Spain, but he always has interesting short videos

And if you are looking for the Rocky Balboa Radio video — I think this is it.  The Rev. George Dobbs of GQRP fame talks about why QRP.

So — If your new to radio and interested in building things or learning things, these are some resources to get you started.  Enjoy!

-Steve-

KF5RY

 

 

 

Filed Under: Contributed Article

Annual Chili Cookoff and Fellowship

October 4, 2016 by Steve Parks

SAVE THE DATE!!      OCTOBER 18, 2016

SWDCARC  CHILI  SOCIAL  AND  COOKOFF

WINDSOR PARK BAPTIST CHURCH        

 Pleasant Run Rd. and Westmoreland     6:00 pm-8:00 pm

 

chili-1280569_640                                chili-con-carne-325587_640                                     

 

Chili mild, Chili Hot, Chili Hot n’ Spicy, Chili meaty, Chili with Beans, Vegetarian Chili, Chili, Chili Chili!!!

Some like it without beans, some like it with beans, some like it with cheese, some like it with raw onion.  Some like it with skillet cornbread.  Some like it with old fashioned original corn chips.

How do you like it?

If you don’t like chili, fix something you like to eat and some to share.

Come and enjoy the food and fellowship!  

Filed Under: Contributed Article

Amateur Radio Parity Act

September 23, 2016 by Steve Parks

amateur-radio-parity-act-2016

The Amateur Radio Parity Act Has Passed in the House!

Amateur Radio history was made on September 12, when the US House of Representatives approved the Amateur Radio Parity Act, H.R. 1301.

The wording directs the FCC to enact rules prohibiting the application of deed restrictions that preclude amateur radio communication on their face or as applied. Also prohibited would be deed restrictions that do not permit an amateur radio operator living in a deed-restricted community to install and maintain an effective outdoor antenna on property under the licensee’s exclusive use or control.

But we’re only halfway there. Now we must pass the corresponding bill in the Senate.

NOW IS THE TIME FOR ALL HAMS TO GET INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS!

  • If you want to have effective outdoor antennas but are not currently allowed to do so by your Home Owner’s Association, SEND AN EMAIL TODAY!!
  • If you already have outdoor antennas, but want to support your fellow hams, SEND AN EMAIL TODAY!!
  • If you want to preserve your ability to install effective outdoor antennas on property that you own, SEND AN EMAIL TODAY!!

The ARRL has made it easy for us. They’ve created a web page where you enter your name, address, telephone number and email address. All you need to do is click here:

 

I typed this in and filled out the form in 2 minutes and 7 seconds. Surely you can do it in 5 minutes. Please do it for those of us who live in HOA neighborhoods!

Thanks,

Justin  K5JTL

Filed Under: Contributed Article

My First Field Day: An Essay

August 1, 2016 by JD Toony

kidscratch

… aaand that’s pretty much how I felt at my first field day! I was totally the new kid at school. Before, I only THOUGT I had a lot to learn. Now, after field day, I KNOW I have a lot to learn. From Jerry’s (KB6OJE) most patient tutelage at the GOTA station to Larry’s (KY5S) dizzying and encyclopedic knowledge of antennas, I was kept in a constant state of wide-eyed wonderment. I felt like the dog in the movie UP, seeing squirrels around every corner, or the crow in The Secret of Nimh constantly distracted by the next shiny object and dropping the one already in hand. I couldn’t decide which part of field day I wanted to play in the most, so I started splitting my time between them all. What can I say, I like to have AND eat my cake (never did understand that saying).

IMG_1314
Jerry giving pointers to Dylan.

My main spot was at the GOTA (G.et O.n T.he A.ir) station. Jerry (KB6OJE) was the main man at that station, and after 5 minutes I knew why. The man seems to have an infinite level of patience, and he really knows how to teach the basics of ham radio without you feeling like you’ve been taught. From kids to adults, non-hams to long absent hams, he treated everyone with the same level of care and personal attention. When I sat at his station, I never felt rushed or pressured in any way. It was my first contesting experience and was so much fun, due largely to Jerry. What a joy!

IMG_1209
“Maybe if I up the wattage to 125…”

However, I am about to throw him a little ways under the bus. When he and I were getting set up and testing the radio prior to the official start, we could hear some one doing their own contest out of Estonia on the 20 meter band. We could hear him just fine, but we just weren’t getting through to him. Jerry said it was due to us only being on 100 watts where everyone else was pushing 1500 or so, but we persisted and tried and tried again. After some time of this, I hazarded out that maybe he couldn’t hear us even if there was no body else interfering. Jerry just calmly repeated that it was due to stronger signals prevailing. Hey, I’m a newbie, so I nodded sagely and respectfully concurred with him. After a time we gave up trying to get this particular QSO and I went to see what the CW folks were doing. When I got back, Jerry paused, looked at me deadpan, and said that I was right, Estonia couldn’t hear us. Not a little bit surprised that I was correct about anything ham, I enquired how he knew this. He then pointed at the floor in the corner of the room and said “Because our 20 meter antenna is right there.” Sure enough, coiled smugly in the corner was our antenna.

I do so love hams who can laugh at themselves. Gives me hope for the enjoyment of my own inevitable mistakes.

Yukking it up with the offending antenna in hand.
Yukking it up with the offending antenna in hand.

I did eventually make a contact but didn’t want to hog the station so stepped off and then never managed to get back as I had to leave and couldn’t get back on Sunday. C’est la vie, life happens but I’m so very looking forward to next year’s Field Day. I’m determined to be proficient enough in Morse to man the CW station next year. Now THOSE guys take their fun seriously! Or maybe the serious faces were just due to the concentration needed to listen to the CW signals.

IMG_1335
Why so serious?!?

Either way, that part really intrigues me, so that’s where you’ll find me next go-round. Steve (KF5RYI), warned me that if I listened to the CW station long enough, I’d be hearing code for days afterward. Sure enough, that night when I was going to sleep, I could’ve sworn my air conditioner was trying to speak to me in Morse Code.

Honestly, so much went into Field Day that, a month later, I’m still processing everything I saw and heard. All the men and women of the club worked tirelessly throughout the whole weekend, and made the whole thing a very special event. Hats off to everyone who came and worked it. It really hit home that I’ve picked a great hobby to get involved with. I mean really, without the ham community, who would we have to speak to on the radio?

To all new hams like me, welcome home! To all old hams (I use the term loosely), thank you for events like this and for keeping this wonderful craft alive!

IMG_1427
This is what it’s all about!

Filed Under: Contributed Article

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