Volume 75
The May 2016 Meeting of QCEN will take place this Friday, May 13th at 7:30 at the Red Cross Building, 2111 Dana Ave. Kitty, W8TDA, will present a program on Service Animals. Friday’s program will feature Service Dogs and Amateur Radio. The likelihood that a service animal team will visit a QCEN meeting or activity is greater than ever before since both the number of people with disabilities and the tasks that dogs can be trained to do to mitigate the effects of a disability are on the rise. Your knowledge of what service dogs are and are not and how you interact with the team will go a long way in determining whether or not the ham or potential ham becomes an active member of this or any other club or organization you might belong to. Other reminders about the meeting include the fact that access to the building will be provided starting at 5:30 p.m. If you want to operate any of the rigs, especially HF, this is a good opportunity. Call on the repeater when you get to the building. This month’s meeting is on the second Friday, not the third, as usually happens. To make sure those who want can get to the Dayton Hamvention®, the May meeting is usually moved a week early. The business meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. Several important votes will be taken, so please attend.
No. 5
May 2016
viewed to everyone’s satisfaction. A copy of that lease has been posted to the “Forums” portion of the club’s website. If you have a user name and a password for the website, you can view the lease there. On Friday evening, at the meeting, the club members will be asked to vote their approval. Please look over the lease and be prepared to vote.
Dayton Hamvention® – Next Week! We need to have the flea market work positions filled by our May meeting this week. If you are going, please contact Bob (W8NFM) NOW! Still have 50% of our Flea Market shifts to fill, so your help is needed. If you will not be at the meeting, contact Bob at w8nfmusa@gmail.com We have received several lists of equipment people want to sell. It is a long, arduous task to put the complete list together, so please contact Bob (W8NFM) if you have anything to put on display at Dayton. A reminder of our sales policy: if we sell an item on your behalf, we’re doing the 10%/$30 as in past years: QCEN collects 10% of your sale item, up to a maximum of $30.00 for that item. Example: if we sell your rig for $200, QCEN collects $20; if we sell it for $400, QCEN keeps a maximum of $30. This helps pay for the booth space, which is once again along “Mendelson Row” – a prime location! Here’s the schedule; two people needed at each time period: Friday
Property Lease The lease with the City of Cincinnati for the property behind the Water Works was first signed in 1971. It was supposed to go until 1999. After many years of informal continuation, the club requested a new lease with the City. That was drawn up, and has been reThe Listening Post
Saturday
0800-1000
0800-1000
1000-1200
1000-1200
1200-1400
1200-1400
1400-1600
1400-1600
1600-1800
1600-teardown
Please sign up for a booth assignment! Page 1
Upcoming Ham Exams
Training Opportunity
By Rob Lindsay, W8MRL
By Mark Reising, WM8R
The Butler County Amateur Radio Association (BCARA) will offer amateur radio operator's license examinations, beginning at 9 am, on Saturday, May 14, 2016, at the Fairfield Township Police Department, 6485 Vonnie Vale Court, Hamilton, OH.
I am copying an announcement regarding ICS 300 and 400 level training that is being offered this fall.
Applicants must furnish the original and one photocopy of their current license (if any), original and one photocopy of any certificates of successful completion of examination (CSCE) they may hold, positive (photo) identification, and license ID number (FRN) or social security (SSN). If you are applying for your first license, please go to https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/coresWeb/publicHome.do and obtain a FRN. This web site is self explanatory and the FRN registration is free. License exams are free and no test fees will be collected. Walk-ins welcome; Preregistration not required. Additional information may be obtained from Thurl Golden, KD8VLU, (513-939-4891) or Carl Morgan, K8CM, (513-422-9384) Talk-in will be available on W8WRK/R 123 Hz PL
146.700 - ,
QCEN CALENDAR Fri. May 13th Weekend May 20-22 Month of June
Club Meeting Dayton Hamvention® 75th Anniversary of the Founding of QCEN Fri. Jun 16th Club Meeting Weekend June 24 & 25 ARRL Field Day
QCEN Officers for 2016 President: Bob Garfield, W8MRG Vice President: Mark Reising, WM8R Treasurer: Jim Walsh, N8ZZW Secretary: Rob Blocher, N8JMV Communications Manager: Steve Lewis, N8TFD Director: Bob Bross, W8NFM Director: Rob Lindsay, W8MRL
The Listening Post is a publication of The Queen City Emergency Net, 2111 Dana Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45207 Editor: Tom Delaney W8WTD
The Listening Post
The announcement for this came in the email from Ohio Section Manager Scott Yonally, N8SY. If you do not subscribe to his emails, I recommend you get on the list as there are a lot of important announcements that come through that conduit, just email him at n8sy@n8sy.com. Note that Franklin County requires completion of ICS300 and ICS400 to work in their EOC, this may be a requirement for other locales as well. While I will be providing other modules from ICS300, I will not be able to teach a full course so this is an opportunity for some free training, if you have a week to spare. ---------- Forwarded message ---------From: Tickle, Pam K. <pktickle@franklincountyohio.gov> I wanted to let everyone know that FCEM&HS will be hosting another round of the ICS-300 and ICS-400 classes. The ICS-300 class is September 13, 14 & 15 and the ICS-400 class is September 15 & 16. Registration for these classes is through Ohio EMA’s Public Safety Training Campus; https:// trainingcampus.dps.ohio.gov/cm/cm710/pstc/pstc.html. After you register for the class(es), you must provide copies of your pre-requisite certificates to me either by email or fax. Pre-requisites for the ICS-300 class are IS-100, IS-200 and IS700. Pre-requisites for the ICS-400 class are IS-100, IS-200, IS-700, IS-800 and ICS-300. If you need both the ICS-300 and ICS-400 classes, you can register for both and take them back-to-back as long as you pass the ICS-300 class. I caution you not to wait until the last minute to register for the classes as they fill-up fast and we can only accommodate 30 people in each class. There are already 5 people registered for the ICS-300 class and 3 for the ICS-400 class. If you do not already have an account on Ohio EMA’s Public Safety Training Campus, attached are instructions on how to create your account. Respectfully, Pam Pamela Tickle Manager Training/Grants FCEM&HS 5300 Strawberry Farms Blvd. Columbus, OH 43230 (614) 794-0213 Fax: (614) 882-3209 Cell: (614) 205-4167 pktickle@franklincountyohio.gov www.fcemhs.org
Page 2
Digital Mobile Radio By Tom Delaney, W8WTD Following up on the excellent presentation given by Andrew, K4AWC, at the February meeting, the time may be right for the club to purchase a DMR radio. Recently, all the C-Bridge operators have made the Ohio State Talkgroup available, so now repeaters in Toledo through Cincinnati, and from Hillsboro through Columbus, Mansfield, and all the way to Cleveland can be accessed on the talkgroup. Some will ask, why use a radio for disasters when it is tied to the internet? The short answer is that one never knows what will or won’t be available, so every tool can be valuable. Talking to other groups in the state may be extremely important. Having the capability to do so is one more tool we should have. Connect Systems sells a mobile UHF radio for about $280. It works on analog repeaters as well as digital. We should have something that uses a power supply, not a battery. Let’s have a discussion at the meeting. I’ll have specs and other information.
Why Contest? By Kitty Hevener, W8TDA If you are not a contester, that thought has probably crossed your mind, especially when you just want to chat with other hams. Perhaps you have even been bold enough to speak your mind about freeing up the air waves by banning contesting. Like many other facets of our diverse hobby, contesting is a tool you can use to build and enhance skills you will need to provide emergency communications, the reason for our existence. In an emergency, you will likely be asked to send and receive accurate information about conditions at the same time that your adrenalin is pumping and controlled chaos is erupting all around you. Under these trying conditions, How long will you be able to stay on your A game? How tuned in to the little nuances of your equipment are you? And, last but not least, what’s the best way to get the information to its destination? I think that contesting is one of the best simulators of emergency operating conditions amateur radio has to offer. It can help you learn the ins and outs of your equipment and propagation. Through repetition and practice copying contest exchanges on crowded bands under less than ideal propagation, you will gain skill and confidence to provide effective communicaThe Listening Post
tions during an emergency. Working contests for as long as you can without stopping will help you build the physical and mental endurance you will need when the real call comes. Best of all, it’s fun, especially if you like competing against yourself or your friends for bragging rights! So, with all that contesting has to offer, perhaps the real question should be “why not contest?”
Contest Corner By Bob Bross, W8NFM Here are a few selected contests for May-June 2016. The “National Parks on the Air” contest continues – and then, there’s Field Day next month! National Parks on the Air www.arrl.org/NPOTA
2016 (all year)
CQ-M Contest (Russia) May 14th – 15thh t t p : / / www.cq-m.ru/en/rules.html Arkansas QSO Party May 14th – 15thh t t p : / / www.arkqsoparty.com/#!rules/c205y UN DX (Kazakhstan) May 21st undxc.kz/bez-rubriki/2015-2/
http://
Alabama QSO Party www.alabamaqsoparty.org/
Jun 4th – 5th
http://
ARRL VHF Contest www.arrl.org/june-vhf
Jun 11th – 13th h t t p : / /
ARRL Kids Day Jun 18th www.arrl.org/kids-day
h t t p : / /
West Virginia QSO Party Jun 18th – 19th http://www.qsl.net/w/wvsarc/ As always, you can find a list of most contests can be found on www.arrl.org/contest-calendar There may be something special going on which catches your interest, so please check it out!
Repeater News The VHF repeater has been thoroughly checked out and is performing much better. Just one faulty connection can make a difference. All looks good, from antenna down to the receiver, and the transmitter is making full power. The club thanks Harold, WB4VOA, for his time and skill in doing the maintenance. Now what the repeater needs are more conversations. Tune in and talk once in a while!
Page 3
Special 75th Anniversary Section For the next several months, we plan a series of articles on various aspects of the Club’s history. This month we look at 1946, an important year in the history of the Net.
Seventy Years Ago in the LP By Tom Delaney, W8WTD Continuing our look back in history during our 75 th anniversary year, we go back 70 years to 1946. What was going on then? What do we find in the minutes? You’d think the first five years would be important for the direction of any new organization. But what a five-year period! Just six months after the club was founded, Pearl Harbor was attacked, and a month or so after that, ham radio activities ceased. During the war years, most QCEN members became active in the War Emergency Radio Service (WERS) operating under strict regulations, mostly on the 2 ½ meter band, which is probably near today’s aircraft band. By late 1945, the FCC allowed the hams back on the air. The club had continued to meet and publish a newsletter through those years, and in 1946, Jack Thornell, W8TQS (later W8BZN), was elected president. Jack would be influential in the club until his death in 1985. He wrote a long piece in the June, 1946 LP entitled “Should Every Amateur in This Area Be a Member of the Queen City Emergency Net?” Although the club was interested in operating on all frequencies open to hams, a report in the January LP indicated that they thought the new two-meter band, just up in frequency W8TQS from where they had operated during the war, was going to be the band of choice for local emergencies. It noted that only five people were on the air, and only two of those could go mobile. There was old WERS gear available for modification, and club members were encouraged to get on two meters on Thursday evenings to test equipment and make contacts. In April, a notice appeared in the LP that QCEN was going to be the recipient of an award from the Red Cross.
Other late-breaking news in the April edition indicated that the FCC had released the 80-75 meter band for amateur use starting April 1st of that year. And the FCC also allocated the 11 meter band to ham radio operators starting in March. In the May issue, it was announced that hidden transmitter hunts would begin again. These would become a favorite activity of the club for many years. Harold, W4YWH, won one of the hunts in 1948, and also had a hand in planning many of those events in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Detailed maps were printed in the LP about the start, and from there on, the skill of the operators came into play. Not content just to have some conThe Listening Post
Page 4
tests, these hunts usually concluded with a family picnic, and much kidding of both the winners and those who were last to finish.
These photos are from the collection of the late Paul Luhn, W8MXR.
In July 1946, the FCC authorized the club call W8VVL. And, the LP noted that the July club meeting would be held at the Red Cross chapter building at 321 E. Sixth St. The August LP, which printed the minutes of the July meeting, contained this announcement from the President: “henceforth, all QCEN meetings will be held at the Red Cross Headquarters building.” And that’s where the club has met ever since, at that building, followed by the “new” building at 720 Sycamore St., and now the “new” building on Dana Avenue. (Photo at right.) An undated picture, obviously at the Red Cross building, with equipment set up for a meeting.
The Listening Post
Page 5
And, finally, for this edition, here is the summary of the 1946 activities of the net, as printed in the January 1947 LP.
The Listening Post
Page 6
Photo Gallery for This Month
Right: Steve, KD8REK, working on installation of the microwave dish at W8VND. Below, the ground crew: Tom, W8WTD, John, KD8MMY, and Michael, K8GLD.
Another Running of the Flying Pig Marathon
Left, runners passing the First Aid station at Madison and Torrance. Right, runners approaching the Water Station in the Half-Marathon at mile 11.
The Listening Post
Page 7
Q. C. E. N. * * MEETING * * APRIL – 15 – 2016 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The meeting was called to order at 7:37, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and self-introductions. **
Pres. Bob G., W8MRG – Welcomed all in attendance..
**
Program: A.P.R.S. by Andrew R. KE8P – A good presentation on How APRS Works, lots of Q & A .
**
Pres. Bob discussed the Proposed lease w/ Cin. Water..
**
Secretary’s report of March meeting on website – passed.
**
Treasurer – not here – audit before May meeting.
** Tom D., W8WTD – 147.240 repeater to be checked for receiver trouble on 4-23-16 by WB4VOA, same day Remote Control Project work to be done at the trailer. **
Hamvention – Bob B., W8NFM – Thursday 5-19-16 we go to Red Cross to fill the truck. Tom has arranged for a truck. We need a driver & volunteers for Friday & Saturday. Contact W8NFM if you can help.
**
Pres. – Tom found our old QCEN info flyer, to be updated for QCEN 75th anniversary celebration. ARRL Officials will come.
**
Kitty W8DTDA May meeting program – Service Dogs & Ham Radio.
**
W8VND Trailer replacement being talked about what & when.
**
Rob L., W8MRL introduced a New Member: Matt KD8SES.
**
Split-The-Pot winner: Kitty H., W8DTA
**
Meeting adjourned at 9:31pm,
**
Next meeting at Red Cross to be Friday May 13 2016
~~
Call: 73;
18 people attended.
W8VVL on 147.240 (123.0) when arriving.
Robert Blocher,
N8JMV, Secretary
2016 QCEN MEMBER DUES CAN BE PAID AT MEETINGS –or- www.QCEN.ORG
The Listening Post
Page 8