the spirit of ’76 and ’88 - leara · the spirit of ’76 and ’88 march newsletter of the lake...

The Spirit of

’76 and ’88 Newsletter of the Lake Erie Amateur Radio Association March 2015

Kimberly A. Miller, KD8YSY, and Ken Kane, KG8DN, Co-Editors

Do you find amateur radio’s “alphabet soup of acronyms” confusing? SEC, ARES, EC, DEC? Stan Broadway, N8BHL, is coming from Delaware County to straighten all of this out. “I talk about the different levels of man-agement within the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (“ARES®”). As with any emergency field, it’s all about relation-ships — those that the (local) Emergency Coordinator cultivates and maintains. These relationships are both internal (within

ARES®) and external (with the other agencies we serve).” Stan will meet with us on Tuesday evening, March 31, 2015, at MiMi’s Restaurant. Each county or area within the State has an appointed Emergency Coordinator (EC). Then several coun-ties are combined as a district headed by the District Emergency Coordinator (DEC) Then these are sup-ported by the State Emergency Coordinator (SEC). Each of these coordinators has functions which Stan plans to articulate. In addition, Stan will confer with us about “what an active ARES® group looks like.” As part of his talk, Stan will discuss the “very first SOS sent in Columbus” in March of 1913.

We will meet as usual at MiMi’s, 7528 Broadview Road, Parma for our dinner meeting. Dinner is at 6:30 PM and is all inclusive (including taxes/tip!) at $15 per person, payable when you ar-rive. Dinners all include non-alcoholic beverage, salad bar, soup and dessert, and one of the follow-ing entrees: marinated chicken breast, roast beef, baked white fish, or rigatoni and meatballs. Please make reservations for your entree choices no later than 9:00 AM on Monday, March 30, at the LEARA website or to Marv Grossman (440-248-0031). We hope to see you at MiMi’s on Tuesday, March 31st!

Featured Speaker at LEARA on Tuesday, March 31

Amateur Radio Emergency Service How Ohio ARES® Works and What You Can Do

by

Stan Broadway, N8BHL, Ohio SEC

http://www.leara.org/meetings-and-events/dinner-reservation

The Spirit of ’76 and ’88 ~ 45 Years of Service to the Community March 2015

March

The calendar indicates that the

beginning of spring is a week

away, and the melting snow is exposing the

spring flowers emerging above the ground.

The ARRL DX Phone contest was last

weekend with a lot of participation and

some good conditions. I made several DX

QSO’s in many countries on five HF bands.

I have recently heard hams on 40 meters

talking about meeting at “Dayton,” and the

first mention of Field Day occurred today at the LEARA trus-

tees meeting -- Yep, it must be getting close to spring. Bring it

on.

During the fall and winter months, I have been soliciting opera-

tional information and observations at each of the membership

and trustees meetings, and initiated a Q&A for meeting at-

tendees on the agenda. We have been observing and receiving

questions regarding some functional operating characteristics

reported regarding one or more of the LEARA repeaters, and

discussing these things with some of the trustees.

Some of the reported issues can often be easily resolved with

some education or better understanding of proper operation,

while other issues clearly require some investigation to deter-

mine the extent of the problem and an appropriate solution. As

the snow disappears we will gain access to all of the repeater

(Continued on page 3)

The Lake Erie Amateur Radio Assn., Inc., LEARA, is a not-for-profit [501(c)(3)] organization dedi-

cated to Amateur Radio and Public Service. Club information packets and applications for member-

ship are available from Marv Grossman, W8AZO, 440-248-0031, or may be downloaded from our

web site at www.leara.org. Annual membership is $25.00. LEARA’s address is: LEARA, P.O. Box 22823, Beachwood, OH 44122-0823.

LEARA is an ARRL-affiliated club. When you join or renew the ARRL, LEARA benefits monetari-

ly if you do so through the club. Send ARRL Applications/renewals to Club Treasurer Dave Foran,

WB8APD, 5439 Nan Linn Dr. Willoughby, OH 44094-4365. Make the check payable to LEARA,

not the ARRL.

Membership Meetings are held the last Tuesday of each month (except December and June) at

a Cleveland-area restaurant to be announced each month in the newsletter. The LEARA newsletter

usually arrives near the middle of the month. Dinner is served at 6:30 p.m. The meeting begins at

7:30 p.m. Meetings are open to all interested persons. You may attend without eating, but reserva-

tions are typically required if you do wish to eat. Call Marv Grossman, W8AZO at 440-248-

0031 to leave a message.

Trustees’ Meetings are on the second Saturday of odd numbered months. Meetings are open to

all current members of LEARA; locations are currently subject to change. The meeting at 9:15 AM

on May 9, 2015, is planned for the Cuyahoga County Public Library, Southeast Branch, 70 Columbus

Road, Bedford, Ohio. Contact a trustee or check the website at www.leara.org for details.

OFFICERS

and TRUSTEES

Gary Zimmet

President WA8TJL

440-446-0402

Bryan Torok Vice President

N8OOF 440-871-5456

Jeff Kopcak

Vice President K8JTK

[email protected]

Bob Winston

Secretary W2THU

216-771-3314

Dave Foran

Treasurer WB8APD

440-942-0618

Eric Jessen

License Trustee N8AUC

440-734-3146

TRUSTEES

Mike Cegelski K8EHP

216-252-6640

Jeff Garvas

[email protected] N8YNR

216-496-3928

Marv Grossman W8AZO 440-248-0031

Bill Hess K8SGX

440-286-9779

Ken Kane KG8DN 440-338-8078

Jim Ozello N8XDO 216-475-7218

Eddie Stevens KD8FTS 440-888-9536

TRUSTEES EMERITI Al Amster

Don Raith

Fred Collins

John Radney

Pat Shreve

Al Severson

W8TTY (SK)

N8DJG (SK)

W8ADW(SK)

KC8FOC(SK)

W8GRG (SK)

AB8P (SK)

POINTS OF CONTACT

Kelly Manuk “Sunshine”

KC8UIX

216-459-8523

Eric Jessen

Radio Officer N8AUC

440-734-3146

Bryan Torok Radio Officer

N8OOF 440-871-5456

NEWSLETTER

The Spirit of ’76 & ’88 is published

monthly except in December.

Contributions must be received by

the 2nd Sunday of the month

except on months with

5 Sundays and 5 Tuesdays

when the 3rd Sunday

will be sufficient. Editor: Ken Kane, KG8DN

E-mail: [email protected]

Proofreading: TNX to

W8AZO, N8YNR, & KD8YSY

The Prez Says by Gary

http://www.leara.orghttp://www.leara.orghttp://www.leara.orghttp://www.leara.orghttp://www.leara.orghttp://www.leara.orghttp://www.leara.orghttp://www.leara.orghttp://www.leara.orghttp://www.leara.orghttp://www.leara.orghttp://www.leara.orghttp://www.leara.orgmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

March 2015 The Spirit of ’76 and ’88 ~ 45 Years of Service to the Community Page 3

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

15 16 17 ARES®: 7pm OHHF

8pm Cuya. ’41

8pm OHDN

18 8:30 pm

Skywarn ‘76

Practice Net

Then 146.475/S

19 8pm LEARA VOICE ’76

9pm LEARA

DIGITAL ‘88

20 Spring

Begins

21


8pm OHDEN

25 8:30 pm

Skywarn ‘76

Practice Net

Then 146.475/S


9pm LEARA

DIGITAL ‘88

27 28 9am FAA Oberlin

Center Tour

if registered

29 Easter

Sunday

30

9am MiMi’s

Reservation

Deadline

31 LEARA at

MiMi’s in

Parma

6:30 pm

1 8:30 pm Skywarn ‘76

Practice Net

Then 146.475/S


9pm LEARA

DIGITAL ‘88

3 4


8pm Cuya. ’41

8pm OHDN

8 7pm Dist 10

ARES® 147.015

8:30 pm

Skywarn ‘76


9pm LEARA

DIGITAL ‘88

10 11

12 ARES® Cuyahoga 2pm

Maple Hts.

CCPL

13 NWS

Spotter

Training

6622 Wilson

Mills Road

14 ARES®:

7pm OHHF

8pm OHDEN


Practice Net

Then 146.475/S


9pm LEARA

DIGITAL ‘88

17 18


8pm Cuya. ’41

8pm OHDN


Practice Net

Then 146.475/S


9pm LEARA

DIGITAL ‘88

24 25

26 27

9am MiMi’s

Reservation

Deadline

28 LEARA at

MiMi’s in

Parma

6:30 pm


Practice Net

Then 146.475/S


9pm LEARA

DIGITAL ‘88

sites and tackle some of these items. Fortunately, there are several members and

trustees with very good skill-sets that have expressed interest in helping with

the repeaters and learning more about FM and the repeaters. I am looking forward to what

we can accomplish together.

The 146.76 MHz system that provides communications support for many area events and

activities needs some attention as it is not working up to it’s potential. This needs to be a

high priority. I did go by the 146.76 MHz site a few hours ago, the access dr ive and

parking lot inside the fence still has about one foot of icy snow on everything.

As I mentioned earlier -- bring it on.

Gary WA8TJL

(Continued from page 2)

Prez

cont.

March

April


LEARA MEETING AT MIMI’s

Jim Yoder, W8ERW

ARRL State of Ohio

Technical Coordinator

February 24, 2015


LEARA “On The Air” Club Net Information

by Bill Schultz, AC8CO, and Carl Gedeon, KB8VXE

The Digital Communications Net is held every Thursday on LEARA’s 146.880 (-600 kHz offset, PL 110.9) repeater.

The Wednesday Skywarn Practice Net

Skywarn season runs from March through September. Skywarn The practice nets are on Wednesdays at 8:30 PM on LEARA's 146.76 repeater.

If you would like to give us a hand please contact us at [email protected]. Be sure

to visit the web page at www.ccskywarn.org.

Thursday Net NCOs

The LEARA Net operations committee is composed of the Net Control Operators (NCOs). Bill, AC8CO, and Carl, KB8VXE, are the present committee co-chairs:

We can always use more LEARA Members to become Net Control Operators (NCOs). It’s not that difficult to do. It’s a GREAT way to learn the voices and call signs of the mem-bers of the club as well as the visitors of the ham community. Why not give the NCO slot a try? It's an easy to learn job that is very im-portant in emergencies (see also the Sky-warn Net). Your help is really needed!

So, if you are a LEARA member, please con-sider joining us as an NCO. We meet every Thursday, we learn to lead and test our radio skills, and we all want to help you be the best! Contact Bill ([email protected]) or Carl ([email protected]) via email to join us and get started. We look forward to your participation!

Bill, AC8CO, and Carl, KB8VXE

The Thursday Club Net is held on our 146.760 MHz (- 600 kHz offset, PL 110.9) repeater. For the month of February, 25 people checked in to

the Net:. Thank you ALL!

Remember if you missed a net, check out the web page for a recap of trivia and discussion questions.

For March, April and May the tentatively scheduled NCOs are:

AC8CO Bill KB8VXE Carl KG8DN Ken

AC8SV ANDY KC8FQV Mark N8UPZ Bill

AD8WS David KC8TJH Jeanne N8UUC Dave

K8ARP Arp KD8ACO David NO8J Mark

K8EHP Mike KD8FTS Eddie W8IE Ed

K8JTK Jeff KD8TWG Dave WA8TJL Gary

K8SAS Steve KD8WPI Bob WB8QLT Linda

K8SHB Joel KD8WYL Anthony WB8ROK Ed

K8WHB Bill

NOTE: Check the website for the latest

assignments as these may change.

03/19/15 Jeff K8JTK

03/26/15 Eric N8AUC

04/02/15 Will KD8VHP

04/09/15 David KD8TWG

04/16/15 Carl KB8VXE

04/23/15 Jeanne KC8TJH

04/30/15 Bob W2THU

05/07/15 Ken KG8DN

05/14/15 Carl KB8VXE

05/21/15 Eric N8AUC

05/28/15 David KD8ACO

AC8CO BILL KD8TWG DAVID

K8JTK JEFF KD8VHP WILL

KB8VXE CARL KG8DN KEN

KC8TJH JEANNE N8AUC ERIC

KD8ACO DAVID W2THU BOB

http://www.ccskywarn.orgmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


Upcoming Hamfests and Conventions

from www.arrl.org

Volunteer Exam Dates and Locations from www.arrl.org

03/28/2015 32nd Annual Columbus ARC 2015 Hamfest Location: Columbus, INDIANA Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Columbus Amateur Radio Club Website: http://carcnet.net

Learn More

04/11/2015 Cuyahoga Falls ARC's 61st Annual Hamfest Location: Cuyahoga Falls, OH Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Cuyahoga Falls Amateur Radio Club Website: http://www.cfarc.org/hamfest.php

Learn More

04/18/2015 North Central Indiana Hamfest Location: Peru, INDIANA Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Kokomo ARC, Cass County ARC, Grant County ARC, & Miami County ARC Website: http://nci-hamfest.net

Learn More

04/26/2015 Athens Hamfest Location: Athens, OH Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Athens County Amateur Radio Assn. Website: http://ac-ara.org/ Learn More

03/27/2015 | Cleveland OH 44106-1712 Sponsor: W8EDU Location: Glennan 313 Time: 6:30 PM (Walk-ins allowed) Learn More

03/29/2015 | Cuyahoga Falls OH 44221-5520 Sponsor: Cuyahoga Falls ARC Location: Buckingham Commons Club House Time: 5:00 PM (No walk-ins) Learn More

04/04/2015 | Kirtland OH 44094-8500 Sponsor: Lake County ARA Location: Kirtland Library Time: 12:00 PM (Walk-ins allowed) Learn More

04/04/2015 | Ravenna OH 44266-2191 Sponsor: Portage County ARS Inc. Location: PCARS Club Site (Rear of complex, under BIG tower) Time: 10:00 AM (Walk-ins allowed) Learn More

04/17/2015 | Cleveland OH 44106-1712 Sponsor: W8EDU Location: Glennan 313 Time: 6:30 PM (Walk-ins allowed) Learn More

http://www.arrl.orghttp://www.arrl.orghttp://www.arrl.org/hamfests/32nd-annual-columbus-arc-2015-hamfesthttp://www.arrl.org/hamfests/32nd-annual-columbus-arc-2015-hamfesthttp://carcnet.net/http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/32nd-annual-columbus-arc-2015-hamfesthttp://www.arrl.org/hamfests/cuyahoga-falls-arc-s-61st-annual-hamfesthttp://www.arrl.org/hamfests/cuyahoga-falls-arc-s-61st-annual-hamfesthttp://www.cfarc.org/hamfest.phphttp://www.arrl.org/hamfests/cuyahoga-falls-arc-s-61st-annual-hamfesthttp://www.arrl.org/hamfests/north-central-indiana-hamfest-5http://nci-hamfest.net/http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/north-central-indiana-hamfest-5http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/athens-hamfest-4http://ac-ara.org/http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/athens-hamfest-4http://www.arrl.org/exam_sessions/cleveland-oh-44106-1712-33http://www.arrl.org/exam_sessions/cleveland-oh-44106-1712-33http://www.arrl.org/exam_sessions/cuyahoga-falls-oh-44221-5520http://www.arrl.org/exam_sessions/cuyahoga-falls-oh-44221-5520http://www.arrl.org/exam_sessions/kirtland-oh-44094-8500-39http://www.arrl.org/exam_sessions/kirtland-oh-44094-8500-39http://www.arrl.org/exam_sessions/ravenna-oh-44266-2191-26http://www.arrl.org/exam_sessions/ravenna-oh-44266-2191-26http://www.arrl.org/exam_sessions/cleveland-oh-44106-1712-34http://www.arrl.org/exam_sessions/cleveland-oh-44106-1712-34


LAKE ERIE AMATEUR RADIO ASSOCIATION TRUSTEES’ MEETING

MINUTES OF THE MEETING 14 March 2015 at the Maple Heights Branch, Cuyahoga County Public Library

(subject to revision)

FAA CLEVELAND CENTER TOUR Oberlin, Ohio

for Adult US Citizens

Saturday, March 28, 2015 (Date is Subject to Change)

Limited Space … Register by March 21, 2015 To register, please complete required form at

Questions? Contact Gary: 440-446-0402

Trustees Present: Gary WA8TJL, Marv

W8AZO, Ken KG8DN, Jeffrey K8JTK, Jeff

N8YNR, Bob W2THU, Jim N8XDO, Eric

N8AUC, Bryan N8OOF and Eddie KD8FTS

Trustees Excused: Dave WB8APD, Mike K8EHP

Trustee Absent: Bill K8SGX

Guest: Carl, KB8VXE

1. Call to Order – WA8TJL called the meeting

to order at 0925

2. Corrections to Previous Meeting’s

Minutes – N8XDO moved, with a second from

W8AZO, that the minutes be approved as pub-

lished in the January 2015 club newsletter. The

motion passed unanimously.

3. Treasurer’s Report – WB8APD reported via

email that the balance in the club treasury is ade-

quate and all bills are paid.

4. Membership Report – W8AZO stated that

the club has 148 paid up members and that 37

have not yet renewed. Those members have re-

ceived several email reminders to renew.

5. Selection of Nominations Committee

Members - WA8TJL said that the following

Trustees are up for re-election this year:

WB8APD, W8AZO, KD8FTS, N8OOF and

W2THU. He requested volunteers for the nomi-

nation committee and Ken KG8DN volunteered.

Gary also asked for volunteers for the election

committee, which handles the mechanics of the

election, and Jeffrey K8JTK volunteered to do

the electronic balloting.

6. Net Control Operator’s Email List –

Carl KB8VXE, the LEARA net control coordi-

nator, asked if we can set up a special email list

for the controllers to send their net control re-

ports. The Trustees were asked if they read these

reports and if they were interested in the statis-

tics that Carl has been gathering and reporting.

The consensus is that the reports and statistics

are useful to the club and that they be accessible

on the club’s website. How the individual net

controllers are to report the net activities is still

in flux. (At present, the reports are emailed to

the Board and the other net controllers.)

7. Future Trustee Meeting Locations – Jeffrey

K8JTK will continue to book the Maple Heights

Library and if not available, nearby libraries. He

pointed out that the Trustee’s meetings locations

are now announced as a news “flash” on the club

website.

Link to Oberlin Center Tour Registration

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1W3KJMITkVQb3ubCfos28_QNnv9sURgYqLvV3_wlsRFA/viewform?usp=send_form


8. Programs for 2015 – N8AUC announced

that the March meeting will be the Ohio SEC,

Stan Broadway N8BHL. April is a special Sky-

warn Training session by Matt KC8NZJ, June is

Field Day, July is the picnic, and August will be

Jeffrey K8JTK lecturing on the Raspberry Pi.

9. Technical Committee Report – WA8TJL

stated that he is investigating why the 146.76

voter is deselecting the better signal and the

origin of the buzz like sound. He needs to disable

the remote input paths one at a time. This led to a

discussion of easier access to the repeater site via

remote access through the internet. W2THU said

that this should be a priority item and K8JTK

said that other groups are relying on 146.76 for

public service. N8AUC moved, with a second by

W2THU, that LEARA install internet access at

the 146.76 repeater site. The motion passed

unanimously. WA8TJL and N8AUC agreed to

get together very soon to resolve these problems.

K8JTK reported that he had repaired the

IRLP audio problem a few weeks ago by re-

installing a loose cable.

KD8FTS reminded us that it is not possible

to hear the 146.88 repeater when one listens in

tone squelch mode under the following scenari-

os: a) Since 444.70 is linked to 146.88, a ham

transmitting into the UHF side which requires PL

of 131.8, results in the VHF repeater transmitting

PL of 131.8 instead of the usual VHF tone of

110.9. b) When 146.88 is connected to the IRLP,

the repeater transmits no tone at all.

10. Attracting Young People Into the Hobby

– W2THU reminded the Board that LEARA is

presently doing nothing to attract young people

into our hobby, such as working with schools.

We need to reach out to the entire membership to

see who can help. N8YNR said that we reach

young people via social media, such as Face-

book, because that is where they are. N8YNR

said he would look for appropriate amateur radio

videos on You Tube that could be useful in this

endeavor.

(Continued from page 8)

11. Field Day Plans – W8AZO moved, with a

second by K8JTK, that the club appropriate

$500.00 for Field Day. The motion passed unani-

mously. N8AUC will coordinate.

12. Any Other Old Business – None

13. New Business – WA8TJL has arranged a

visit to his work site, the ARTCC in Oberlin,

which will take place on 28 March 2015. The

tour is limited to the first 25 who sign up.

14. Adjournment – N8XDO moved, with a

second by W8AZO, that we adjourn at 1125. The

motion passed unanimously.

Respectfully submitted,

Robert M. Winston, W2THU

Secretary

LEARA offers condolences to the

Mervis family on the recent

passing of LEARA member,

Robert L. Mervis, W8RLM

Bob Mervis, W8RLM SK Link

http://obits.cleveland.com/obituaries/cleveland/obituary.aspx?pid=173466857

LEARA The Lake Erie Amateur

Radio Association 45 Years of Serving Greater Cleveland Since 1969 - VOICE REPEATERS:

146.76/R- Highland Hills (Requires 110.9 Hz tone) 146.88/R– IRLP Lakewood (Requires 110.9 Hz tone) IRLP Node 4282 224.90/R- Lakewood (141.3 Hz tone) 444.40/R+ Macedonia (Requires 131.8 Hz tone) 444.70/R+ Lakewood (131.8 Hz tone)

INTERNET:

● www.leara.org ● To subscribe via e-mail, send a message to: [email protected]

Put subscribe in the subject area and your name and callsign in the body.

Those who subscribe via e-mail will not receive a paper copy.

4 March 2015 Amateur Radio growth in the US continues to soar. At the end of 2014, the total number of radio amateurs in the FCC’s Universal Licensing System (ULS) database reached an all-time high of 726,275. The trend has continued in the first 2 months of 2015, which saw the ham population rise to slightly more than 727,000. The figures exclude expired licenses that are within the 2-year grace period, and club station licenses. Outside of a little dithering last fall, growth in the Amateur Radio Service in 2014 was steady, ac-cording to figures compiled by Joe Speroni, AH0A, on his FCC Amateur Radio Statistics web pages. Over the past decade the number of Amateur Radio licenses in the ULS database grew by some 8.1 percent. But 2014 also was a banner year for the ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordina-tor (VEC). “For the first time in the ARRL VEC program’s history, we have conducted more than 7000 Ama-teur Radio exam sessions in a year, an important milestone,” said ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM. “A total of 7216 ARRL-sponsored exam sessions were administered in

2014, compared to 6823 in 2013.” Somma said the number of new licensees spiked to more than 33,000 in 2014, up by about 15 per-cent from the previous year. Successful license upgrades rose last year by an unprecedented 13 percent over a year earlier. At the end of 2014, there were 136,405 Amateur Extra, 169,524 General, and 357,236 Technician class licensees — all record numbers, Somma pointed out. …(Continued at arrl.org)

US Amateur Radio Numbers Reach an All-Time High from www.arrl.org Link to Full Story

Pay Your 2015 Dues!

This Could Be Your

Last Newsletter!

To check, e-mail Marv at

[email protected]

Number of Licensed Hams vs. Calendar Year

?
http://www.leara.orgmailto:[email protected]?subject=subscribehttp://wireless.fcc.gov/uls/http://www.ah0a.org/FCC/index.htmlhttp://www.arrl.org/news/us-amateur-radio-numbers-reach-an-all-time-highhttp://www.arrl.orghttp://www.arrl.org/news/us-amateur-radio-numbers-reach-an-all-time-highhttp://www.arrl.org/news/us-amateur-radio-numbers-reach-an-all-time-highmailto:[email protected]

the spirit of ’76 and ’88 - leara · the spirit of ’76 and ’88 march newsletter of the lake...

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