Where've I been?

Alright...

So it's been ... 6 months since my last post.

I just haven't been so good at keeping it going. Not much to say, I guess.

I'll try to do a little better.

Field Day 2008

You may have been led to this blog by the ARRL Field Day Station Locator!

http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/locator.php

As of this writing, there are about 100 days or so until FD2008.

We at the Mountaineer Amateur Radio Association are always looking forward to another fun time at Field Day.

We will operate 2A WV from the W8SP Repeater Site in Marion County, about 5 miles east of the I-79 "Downtown Fairmont" exit (Exit 137) on 310 (aka The East Grafton Rd) in the unincorporated community of Quiet Dell.

We will begin setting up the stations on Saturday morning. We will run one PHONE, and one CW station on all HF bands (we'll try again for 160m -- that hasn't worked out well in the past!)

We'll also take advantage of setting up a VHF/UHF station, as well as several Special Mode demonstrations. We may or may not run GOTA depending on availability of some of the club members. (Also, GOTA rules tend to change from year to year, and they may or may not make it practical for us!)

Of course, on Saturday night we'll have our usual dinner at 1800 local time. Some of the family come up to the site and join us for that event. It makes for a really nice time.

After dark, we're likely to have a nice fire going and sit around and chat, and we've even been known to "pick'n'grin" a bit.

FIELD DAY 2008 - JUNE 28-29 - W8SP Repeater Site
Hope to see you there!

73,
Bob WA8YCD MARA President

Still goin'...

Well, I haven't been on the blog for a while, should have updated it regularly.

I keep forgetting to check into it from home. I'll try to do better.

We've just had our 5th class session and many of the folks are still hanging in there.

We have covered chapters 1, 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, 2-4, 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, and 3-4. We'll cover 4-1 and 4-2 next time, and 4-3 after that.

Currently we're looking at April 3 for Jeff coming by and doing the Satellite and EME presentation.

We hope to do CQ-100, EchoLink, and IRLP coming up soon.

We may also have an HF & PSK-31 demo in the works.

Looking forward to some of the excitement coming up.
73
Bob WA8YCD

New Monongalia Wireless Association web site!

Randy N8OZY announced tonight at class that the MWA website
has been moved from www.qsl.net/w8mwa/ to

http://www.w8mwa.org/

The new server is in Randy's office, and he has control of it.

Tech License Class 2008 - First Meeting

Tonight was the first session of the 2008 Tech License
Class. Things went pretty well.

Turnout was lighter than I expected, but maybe some
additional folks will be there next week.

Looks like we have 10 participating so far.

I forgot to check the projector for all the required cables.
Luckily, Randy N8OZY was able to go to his office and bring
one back. At the mid-break we switched from the fuzzy little
TV screen to the projector.

Looking forward to getting this class moving along toward the
Element 2 exam!

73
Bob WA8YCD

West Virginia Hamfests

Good morning...

I got an email today with the flyer for the 29th Fayetteville Hamfest on Sunday, February 24, 2008. I wanted to have it in time to hand out to the folks coming to my Tech License Class (STARTS TOMORROW NIGHT!)

I also forwarded the flyer to officers of two other clubs: Monongalia Wireless Association c/o N8PDQ and Stonewall Jackson Amatuer Radio Association c/o K8TPH.

Don't know if anyone will be able to make it, especially since the weather may be dicey.

I went to Fayetteville a couple of years ago and it was a fun day.

The drive down was ... interesting ... I'd go through one cut in the hills and it'd be snowing so hard I couldn' t see my hood ornryment and then through the next cut, and it was bright and sun-shiny! It would alternate between blizzard and perfectly clear most of the way down US19. Truly strange.

It didn't take long to walk through the fleas. I stopped and talked to our ARRL SM Ann, KA8ZGY and with the WV Chapter 30 QCWA guys, Art W8PBO and Dave W8UI.

I particularly enjoyed the "CW Shootout"! We all assembled... no, that wouldn't be accurate... we all sort of milled around in the back room for a while. Clark AA8SH came in with his laptop and handed out pads and pencils. He explained to the crowd that they'd start out at low speed, sending about one minute of plain text, and then increase the speed in 5 WPM jumps. Contestants would copy each text burst and as long as they were still copying correctly, they were still in the competition. The last one to get solid copy would win a cash prize based on the speed.

They started off at 15 WPM. They sent a text line and everyone pretty much said -- yeah, OK, bring it on! They kicked it up to 20 WPM and almost all were still in ... some dropped out. At 25 WPM I was clueless, but I stayed around to watch the fun. At 30 WPM the herd was thinning. On and on... 35... 40... 45 WPM. More and more were dropping by the wayside. Finally, it was down to just a couple of contenders. They announced that 50 WPM would be the last level ... 'cuz, actually, their laptop just wouldn't go any faster than that.

When the dust cleared, one guy -- I wrote down his name and call at the time, but don't recall it right now -- was still standing like the last gunman in an old western. This hardy ham copied that 50 WPM burst. Perfectly. He even did it TWICE.

Frankly I was amazed. I've heard about folks who copy at phenomenal speeds, and I've always been in awe of them. There should be, like, an MVP award or Hall of Fame.

I was glad to see him walk away with the cash prize -- $50 for 50 WPM.

I've missed the Fayetteville Hamfest the last couple of years. I hope to make it down there this year.

I would ALSO like to see the Fayetteville gang come to the 50th WV State ARRL Convention & Hamfest and Roanoke Division Convention and maybe run the CW Shootout there.

I like the idea of preserving and promoting CW. Now that it's no longer required, we're in "use it or lose it" mode. Not that I think we'll lose CW privileges, but we'll lose "the knack" unless we get younger hams interested. Some say "so what?" -- that it's an obsolete and arcane skill. Maybe. But I think it's a skill we might appreciate some day when all the computers are down. Ham radio is all about "When All Else Fails"... right?


But more importantly, we need to keep as many clubs involved in the State Convention as possible. It is, after all, a STATE convention. Not just a few groups. I can't help but remember how it was... (Oh no! Waxing nostalgic! Must... quit... before... I get all sentimental...)

Field Day is getting closer!

Like Spring, FIELD DAY 2008 is coming!

ARRL has already posted the FIELD DAY
packet, and their graphic designer has
come up with this logo for FD08.
http://www.arrl.org/contests/forms/#FD

WD8KOI - Long Time No Super Pickle*!

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

It was good to see Paul WD8KOI at the MARA meeting
tonight. Haven't seen him for many years. He's ordered
some new radios so we'll probably see him around a bit
more! Neat!


*Whiskey 8 Super Pickle
Funny Field Day phonetics from back in the 80's.

Wither or whether there's weather...

Got out of the MARA meeting tonight and was pleasantly
surprised. It was almost warm -- 40°+ and NO rain.
Looks like the bulk of it went north. Columbus and Pittsburgh
are getting clobbered again.

The northeastern sky was clear when I got home. Orion and
his pals Canis Major and Minor were above the porch roof as
I walked from the garage to the house. Much better than the
snow this morning.

One of the cats -- Dot-- came in with me. Dash was nowhere to
be seen. She wanted to play. Finally she curled up in the box of
License Manuals and took a nap. After a bit she was ready to go
back outside.

Another exciting day of weather in North Central West Virginia.

When Winter Comes, Can Spring Be Far Behind?

This was a quote from Yogi Bear. No, not Yogi Berra,
who is often quoted, but the Hanna-Barbera ursine
character and denizen of Jellystone Park.

As I recall he was talking to his counterpart Boo-Boo,
in regard to hibernation.

This morning was a lousy weather morning. I would
rather hibernate than drive in this. Last night coming
home from M'town at about 2330, it had been snowing
for a while and it was kinda pretty. I was the only vehicle
on Hornbeck Road past the 4-H Camp Road since it
started snowing. There were faint tracks on Goshen Road
in the eastbound lane.

I'm tired of Winter. I'm ready for Spring.

We're past Groundhog Day which is the midpoint between
the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox, so we're closer
to spring than to winter, I guess.

Those few warm days we had were enticing. 60°F felt so good.

But it's comin'.

I'm tired of Winter. I'm ready for Spring.


Cheers,
...YCD

The New HRLM Books are here! The New HRLM Books are here!

Between Amazon.com and eBay, I often have a box
on my porch when I get home.

Most recently, a nice box was left by the delivery elves--
my order of Ham Radio License Manuals from the ARRL
pubs shop.

These batch came individually wrapped, which
is neat, and I'll give them to the folks in class that way.

This is still 1st ed, but it is the 3rd printing. They've managed
to catch some errors from the first run. They put the errata sheet
on the ARRL website (http://www.arrl.com/hrlm/).

Last class we noticed that "SHF" and "EHF" were switched on
the diagram showing the spectrum ranges. Actually, one of the
students pointed it out.

They also post Ward N0AX's "Back Reference" which is
a map of the question pool questions to pages in the book.
I did this last year as a study aid.

I'm planning to order a W5YI book as well, and map them to it,
then maybe the ARRL Handbook, ARRL Antenna Book, ARRL
Operating Manual, etc., so that each question will have a number
of places referenced.

The Question Pool comes from the NCVEC with Part 97 references,
but these additional pointers seem like a good way to help students
read more about a question they might have problems with.

Well... continuing with the checklist. Three days and counting!

73,
YCD

We Are The Blog; Resistance Is Futile!

THIS DIDN'T GET POSTED ON MONDAY. HOWEVER, IT REMAINED IN MY "DRAFTS" LIST. SO HERE IT IS. BETTER NEVER THAN LATE? NO, THAT'S NOT IT. BETTER LATE THAN NEVER? MAYBE.

Monday, 11 Feb 2008 - it was a cold night, down into the
single digits, and promises not to get much above 20ºF today.

Well, this is my new blog. I couldn't decide what the title
of this entry should be until the Star Trek:TNG reference
occurred to me: "We Are The Blog; Resistance Is Futile!"

OK, it's a stretch, but whaddya expect for a Monday morning?

I dunno, is a blog something I need to do? Seems a lot
of folks are doing it, and it's really easy to set up thanks
to sites like blogspot.com.

An awful lot of e-mail teeters on the precipice of SPAM.

I guess it's a place where one can ramble on aimlessly
or rant pointlessly (both of which I tend to do in e-mails)
but in a forum where access is random and optional rather
than shoved at you like e-Mail. e-Mail tends to not be visible
to those except those upon whom you choose to inflict it...
Whereas a blog lets you blather on...and readers can choose
to scan it or not.

If you send them an e-Mail they tend to wade through it,
just in case once you've vented whatever concludes there's
something relevant and interesting.

So generally, I guess my conclusion (finally!?!) is that blog
and e-mail are a powerful combination. You can save the
rambling nonsense for the blog and keep your emails concise
and to-the-point.

Sort of a SPAM buffet.

Cheers,
...Bob

Upgrade to General Class Class

In addition to the Tech Class starting 14 Feb,
http://rlwest.blogspot.com/2008/02/technician-license-class-2008.html
we are also going to give a try at a General
Upgrade seminar on the three Saturdays
before the April VE Session. That will be
Saturday April 5, 12, and 19 from 9:00 AM
to 4:00 PM at the Red Cross.

This class is also free, but we are recommending
the ARRL General Class License Manual ($25)
and we'll have copies available at the first session.

We'll cover Element 3 in preparation for the VE
Session on April 24th.

If you've been a Technician for a while and want
to upgrade, consider coming and joining us on
April 5th.

73,
Bob WA8YCD
wa8ycd@hotmail.com

Technician License Class 2008

Starting February 14, 2008 (yes, Valentine's Day!)
we will conduct another Technician License Class
sponsored by the Monongalia Wireless Association.
We will meet for 10 Thursdays, then the 11th week
will be the VE Session.

We will use the Red Cross suite on the 3rd floor of
White Birch Towers at 1299 Pineview Dr, Morgantown.


View Larger Map


Sessions will run 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm and will cover
Element 2 in preparation for the Technician Class
exam. We will also have some guest demonstrations
and discussions including APRS, SSTV, ATV, and
Satellite.

All prospective hams are welcome. There is no charge
for the class, but the (optional) recommended book
will be available for $25.




The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual
1st Ed, 3rd Printing


Please note that there is also a $14 administrative
charge for the VE exam, payable at the time of the
exam.

For more information e-Mail me at wa8ycd@hotmail.com
73,
Bob WA8YCD

Hello, World!

Thanks to my pal W8TN, Clark, I followed the link from
his Blogs:
(personal http://w8tn.blogspot.com/ &
WV DX Assoc http://wvdxa.blogspot.com/)
to find out how to create this blog.

I have been known to enter RANT MODE in emails, but
this is my first attempt at blogging. We'll see how it goes.

I have visited others' blogs and found it an interesting way
to share a stream of thought, even one that is under construction.

Probably not much of interest here to the general public,
but I'll point people to it from time to time and maybe get
something cool going on.

Cheers,
...Bob