Amateur Radio popularity has been growing in the past few years, with an all time high of more then 700,000 active licensed operators in the USA. The Fulton County Amateur Radio Club is organizing a free entry level Amateur Radio license class to help those new to Ham Radio prepare for the license exam. The three Saturday class takes place on February 11th, 18th, and 25th at the Delta Public Library from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm. Official VEC testing will be available at the end of the third Saturday. The club is providing all study materials for the class, however we are limited to five participants. While the class sessions are free, the test session does have a required FCC fee of $15.00. Contact class@k8bxq.org for details or to register.
Hello everyone, here are some notes from the club meeting this evening:
The meeting was called to order at 7:30pm with 22 members in attendance. Introductions were made as we had several new faces in attendance. Minutes from the previous meeting and the treasurer's report were read and accepted.
Committee reports follow:
Education: We had five individuals for testing at the end of December. The team issued passing grades for three new Extra class operators, one new General, and one new Technician. KA8KDS wanted to welcome Tom Servoss (KC8UOM) to the VE Team. Tom recently upgraded to Extra and immediately went out and got his ARRL VEC accreditation.
The next club meeting will be held on January 16th at the County Administration Building (same as the Drivers License Bureau), 152 S. Fulton St, Wauseon. The club meeting will be at 7:30pm. This is the first meeting of 2012 which means officer elections will be held and membership renewals for 2012 are due. Renewal letters were sent in December, if you did not receive one, please let me know. Your membership fees help offset the cost of running the club and your continued support is greatly appreciated.
Notes to pass along:
- The Henry County EMA is hosting NWS Skywarn Storm Spotting training on Tuesday March 13th. There will be two sessions, one at 2:30 PM and one at 7 PM. The training will be presented at the Henry County EMA EOC located at 1847 Oakwood Ave (County Rd 13) in the old Walmart Plaza. There is no need to pre-register.
Upcoming Hamfests:
01/15/2012 Hazel Park, MI
02/12/2012 Mansfield, OH
02/19/2012 Livonia, MI
03/17/2012 Marshall, MI
03/18/2012 Toledo, OH
The Henry County EMA is hosting NWS Skywarn Storm Spotting training on Tuesday March 13th. There will be two sessions, one at 2:30 PM and one at 7 PM. The training will be presented at the Henry County EMA EOC located at 1847 Oakwood Ave (County Rd 13) in the old Walmart Plaza. There is no need to pre-register.
Since Facebook changed policy settings for groups, our club landing page at that social network is no longer is accessible if you lack a Facebook account. I've switched our point of presence over to a Page style which is now viewable with or without an account. If you happen to have one, please like our page and see more frequent updates related to amateur radio!
Happy New Year to everyone, I thought it would be nice to put together a "year in review" for the Radio Club. It's been an interesting year filled with fun and successful radio events like the club Hamfest and Field Day, as well as somber moments when we said goodbye to some of the founding members of the club. We had some challenges early on in finding a new and permanent meeting location, and certainly some challenges in transitioning to new club officers. I want to thank everyone for their continued support of the club through this year, and we look forward to being a great resource for Amateur Radio operators in this region in the coming year.
Club Officers:
The normal meeting was deferred for the Christmas Dinner at The Barn Restaurant. It was nice to see a lot of familiar faces there on Monday night, as well as a few new ones. The food and conversation were great as always, and I think everyone had a good time.
I have some pictures posted at:
If anyone else managed to get pictures, please float them my way and I'll get them posted up.
Regular club meetings begin on January 16th at the County Administration building. As usual, the January meeting will include club officer elections, so please make plans to attend and cast your vote. January is also the membership/dues renewal, I have e-mailed renewal forms out to everyone I have an address for, and sent the others out via Postal service to those without internet. Your dues help us pay for club related expenses like insurance and out PO Box. Your continued support of the club is appreciated.
Upcoming Hamfests:
01/15/2012 Hazel Park, MI
02/19/2012 Livonia, MI
03/17/2012 Marshall, MI
The next club meeting will be held on December 19th at the The Barn restaurant in Archbold. This is an informal Christmas dinner at 6:30pm and everyone is welcome to attend. Members are responsible for the cost of their dinner.
Notes to pass along:
- Thanks to all the club members who assisted with the Archbold Festival of Lights Parade this year. We had a good turnout and our postings were a bit better organized this year.
- As a reminder, our membership year runs from Jan 1 to Dec 31. I'll be e-mailing out the 2012 renewal notices to club members within the next few days, and sending out traditional postal messages to those without e-mail. Dues and donations help the club pay our bills and keep our repeater equipment operational. Just a reminder if you have been a member for at least 3 years and have reached the age of 70, the club will make you a life member, so if you fit into this category let us know.
Upcoming Hamfests:
12/04/2011 LCARC, Harrison Township, MI
01/15/2012 Hazel Park, MI
02/19/2012 Livonia, MI
Dear Amateur Radio Operators of the Ohio Section,
As you know, the legislation for zoning of Amateur Radio Antennae has been moving through the Hose and Senate Sides of the Statehouse, under House Bill 158 (aka “PRB-1 for Ohio”).
Currently this Bill sits in the State and Local Government and Veterans Affairs Committee. This Bill has going to its fourth hearing this Wednesday, and may conclude with a vote to send the Bill to the Senate Floor, where a favorable vote will move it to the Governor. We have never been so close to seeing a piece of legislation supporting Amateur Radio in Ohio move to the Governor’s desk, as we do now.
But…we need your help!
For everyone meeting for the Archbold Festival of Lights Parade this Friday, Please meet at the Archbold Police Station (same time, 5:00pm-5:15pm) for postings. Do not meet at the ConAgra Parking lot.
73, Craig Szczublewski - KD8KBU
Hi folks, here are some notes from the club meeting this evening, our normal secretary was not in attendance, so these might be a bit incomplete:
The meeting was called to order at 7:35pm with 11 members in attendance. Introductions were made as we had several new members in attendance. Minutes from the previous meeting and the treasurer's report were read and accepted.
The Telles family recently donated the radio collection of Claude Cass Telles to the Fulton County Amateur Radio Club. This was beyond the definition of generous as it will help us put equipment into the hands of new Hams, as well as raise the funds for a new repeater controller. The following is the published obituary:
We Have been asked for help again this year. The parade day a November 25th, the day after Thanksgiving. I feel it is our obligation to help out when the need arises. If you can help, please reply back as soon as you can.
Thanks,
Bryan
kb8elg@hotmail.com
The club Field Day page has been updated with our operating statistics for 2011. The FCARC (K8BXQ) finished with a score of 4,160 with 1,135 contacts. That allowed us to finish 11th out of all divisions in category 7A, and 1st in Ohio in category 7A. The ARRL has their stats available here.
The next club meeting will be held on November 21st at the County Administration Building (same as the Drivers License Bureau), 152 S. Fulton St, Wauseon. The club meeting will be at 7:30pm. This is the last regular meeting of 2011, The December club meeting will be the holiday dinner at The Barn restaurant in Archbold.
Notes to pass along:
- The Archbold Festival of Lights Parade is Friday November 26th at 6:00pm. I have not heard from any of the club officers if the Archbold PD is requesting our assistance this year or not. Details will follow as they become available. As always, Mr and Mrs AB8RC wanted to pass along that you can feel free to stop by after the parade to warm up and have some munchies.
- The Christmas Dinner is set for December 19th at the Barn Restuarant in Archbold. The dinner replaces our normal club meeting. Members are responsible for the cost of their dinner.
Upcoming Hamfests:
11/19/2011 Fort Wayne, IN
12/04/2011 LCARC, Harrison Township, MI
01/15/2012 Hazel Park, MI
02/19/2012 Livonia, MI
An old fashioned antenna raising! One of our radio club members took a direct lightning hit this summer, destroying a vertical VHF antenna and damaging the control elements on his StepIR. After a few months of acquiring replacement components, we started putting the system back together. New enhancements to the StepIR included a 40 meter element, replacing the main feed point, and a heavy duty pivot plate that keeps the beam elements horizontal to the ground while the tilt tower is raised and lowered. We got the beam balanced and positioned before a strong thunderstorm moved in and stopped work for the afternoon.
Click on the image to view additional photos from the afternoon...
Hi folks, sorry for the delay in this. I wrenched my back pretty good and did not make the meeting on Monday. I have some notes courtesy of KB8ELG:
The meeting was called to order at 7:35pm with 12 members in attendance. Introductions were made and the treasurer's report was read. Committee reports follow:
The next club meeting will be held on October 17th at the County Building (same as the Drivers License Bureau), 152 S. Fulton St, Wauseon. The club meeting will be at 7:30pm. There are two regular meetings for the rest of 2011, The December club meeting will be the holiday dinner at The Barn restaurant in Archbold.
A few Notes to pass along:
- A quick thank you to everyone who helped out at the Lockport 5k run/walk last Saturday. We had 10 club members on hand which was perfect for the length of the course.
- Ed Roth passed along a silent key, Stanley Fauver (W8ZHQ) of Wauseon. While off the air for some time now due to health issues, Stanley was one of the last charter members of the club. Stanley passed away October 3 at the age of 92.
Upcoming Hamfests:
10/16/2011 Kalamazoo, MI
10/23/2011 Sterling Heights, MI
11/19/2011 Fort Wayne, IN
Upcoming Events:
11/21/2011 November Club Meeting
11/25/2011 Archbold Festival of Lights Parade (?) (waiting on more info)
