Denton County Amateur Radio Association

The Exciter

Meeting Monday, 24 Jan, 1900L (Denton County EOC)
EDITOR: Don, KG6LE <(callsign)@peoplepc.com> 817-491-9472 MEMBERSHIP: Gerald, WB5NZV <WB5NZV@ARRL.NET> 940-387-2314

Jan 2011

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Presidents podium

By Walt, KE5SOO

SM soapbox

By Jay, W5GM
Greetings Dentonites! I would like to take a moment to bring you up to date on the happenings around the Section. Many clubs are keeping folks engaged and participation high by having more than a boring club meeting once a month. Mesquite club continues with its highly successful Ham Radio in the Park event every month as well as holding several nets on their club repeater. The Metrocrest club (Carrollton) brings everybody together for a Hams and Eggs breakfast on a Saturday morning. The Plano Club is holding a 2m simplex challenge coming up in late February. I know from experience when we do those as part of an ARES training net, everybody has a

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Antenna contest Minutes Events Speaker ARRL Sticky notes SkyWarn school Ops report For sale
Happy New Year! Where did 2010 go? Even though last year went really fast, we had several great events, meetings, and a whole lot of fun. This year will hopefully bring a lot more of the same. I have several things to tell you about that I think you will enjoy hearing. At this month's meeting we will be asking for volunteers for our several committees like field day. The Officers will be meeting the second Wednesday of every month at 7pm at the EOC. This will be an open meeting to discuss the status of the many things we are working on and for the Committees to report and discuss were they are at on their current projects. Next Wednesday the 26th at 7p we will have our first weekly training and information Net. The purpose of the Net is to encourage new operators to talk on the radio and provide weekly updates on what is going on in the club and HAM Radio in General. Operators will be encouraged to stay on after the net and talk. This Net will be coordinated by Wes Baugh AE5NS. We will need several net control operators to be scheduled in advance so that we can insure the Net occurs as scheduled every week. If you are interested in Net control please email AE5NS@ARRL.NET. I will be sending an announcement to everyone about the new Net and encourage you to send it out to anyone interested. This years Newsletters will begin to have additional articles that will contain very basic information that will be a good refresher for experienced HAMs as well as good info for new HAMs. I hope to see all of you at the next meeting which is January 24th at 7p at the Denton County

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Repeater news

By Gerald, WB5NZV

The 145.490 WD5U repeater located at 1500 ft on the Rosston Tower is currently off the air due to technical problems from a lightning strike. The repeater will be back on the air soon with new equipment on its new coordinated frequency of 147.020 +.600 110.9 pl The new D-Star repeater scheduled to be installed on the Rosston Tower is now on the air at a temporary location in north Denton for beta testing. It is connected to a 30 ft antenna, therefore coverage is limited. The repeater call is KE5YAP and is running a full ICOM D-Star stack of VHF, UHF, 1.2 voice, and 1.2 data modules with internet connection. Frequency Table on page 4

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The EXCITER
Is published each month for the purpose of informing DCARA members of current events and issues of interest to amateur radio. Articles and suggestions are always welcome. Articles that appear in this publication may be reproduced provided credit is given to The EXCITER and to the original source.

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THE EXCITER

JAN 20 11

Antenna contest

By Guy, KC5GOI

Do not forget the ongoing antenna contest. Antennas must be in a band accessible to technician class licensed operators. They must operate (transmit and receive) with an SWR of 2:1 or less over a 2 MHz area. If you build an antenna for any of the HF frequencies, it must be 2:1 or less over at least half the designed band. Bring them to the January club meeting by start of meeting to show them off and be measured for the bandwidth requirements. Prizes for most creative and widest bandwidth will be awarded. (Continued from page 1) EOC. I will be the speaker this month. I am giving a presentation on HF for Beginners. This will cover a lot of different resources available plus my experience obtaining my Worked All States. I think everyone will enjoy it. I hope some of our experienced HF and DX folks will come to chime in their experiences as well. Have a great week and see you at the meeting!

Area repeaters

Freq 145.0100 145.1700 145.2100 145.2300 145.4000 145.4900 146.9200 147.3800 147.4500 441.3000 441.3250 441.3750 441.5500 442.1750 442.6500 442.9250 443.5250 443.7375 443.8750 444.0500 444.2250 444.7000 444.8500 927.1250 927.4125 927.6125 927.8750 1253.6000 1293.4000 Shift none -.600 -.600 -.600 -.600 -.600 -.600 +.600 -1.0 +5.0 +5.0 +5.0 +5.0 +5.0 +5.0 +5.0 +5.0 +5.0 +5.0 +5.0 +5.0 +5.0 +5.0 -25.0 -25.0 -25.0 -25.0 none -20.0 PL none 110.9 110.9 110.9 110.9 85.4 110.9 110.9 none 146.2 88.5 114.8 123.0 110.9 110.9 none 118.8 141.3 110.9 110.9 110.9 110.9 110.9 103.5 432.0 110.9 103.5 none none Call W5NGU W5FKN N5MJQ N5ERS WD5U W5NGU K5LRK N5API W5NGU KA5R KE5UT N5MJQ Name DCARA Digipeater-DENTON DCARA-Denton County EOC Metrocrest ARA-Carrollton Flower Mound Rosston Tower DCARA - Denton LAARK - The Colony UNT - Denton DCARA - Denton - eCOMM Trophy Club Celina Metrocrest ARA-Carrollton

NETARC Grapevine

W5NGU-C DCARA - EOC - D*Star "C"
NETARC Southlake W5NGU-B DCARA - EOC - D*Star "B" WA5LIE DCARA - Denton N6LXX W5NGU WI5J N5ERS N6LXX N5API W5NGU N5YEJ Rosston Tower DCARA-Denton County EOC Coppell Flower Mound Rosston Tower Denton DCARA-Denton County EOC Flower Mound NETARC DFW Airport

NETARC Southlake

W5NGU-G DCARA - EOC - D*Star "G" W5NGU-A DCARA - EOC - D*Star "A"
We appreciate the continued support of the Wal-Mart Super Center on Main Street in Lewisville.

DCARA information

Meetings: Fourth Monday of each month (except Dec) at 1900L. We are currently meeting at the new Denton County Emergency Operations Center (EOC), 9060 Teasley Lane, Denton. For more info on the Denton County Amateur Radio Association, contact one of the individuals listed to the right. Name Walt Mayfield Mike Carline
DCARA on line: www.dcara.net Denton ARES on line: www.denton-ares.org
Position President Vice Pres. Secretary Operations Tech Dir. Phone No. 940-368-4659 972-347-5390 940-387-360-304-0904 Email walt@Mayfield7.com kd5zca@fam2.com wb5nzv@arrl.net k5yx@arrl.net kd7cao@gmail.com
Gerald Marchant Mike Nelson Eric Gildersleeve

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Meeting minutes
Regular Monthly Meeting of the DCARA - Nov 22, 2010 Denton County Emergency Operations Center, Denton, TX The meeting was called to order by President Walt Mayfield at 1900 Introductions of all those present Program tonight presented by Dave Martin, K5YFO, TX Army MARS AAR6JN The topic was Emergency Management Communications Motion from the floor by Jay Urish to accept last month minutes as printed in newsletter. The motion was seconded by Bill. Motion carried D*Star-report by Eric. W5NGU system at the EOC is working well. The KE5YAP Rosston system is being assembled for beta testing. Financial report by Gerald approx $2700 balance ARES report by Guy planning to train on ICS213. He will be working on training requirements. All ARES members need to complete ICS 100 and 700 by end of year 2011. A spring SET is being planned. Details to follow. Be sure to attend the on air training nets. Guy also announced that the antenna building contest has been extended to January Mike Nelson discussed recent Operations events. A Horse ride, Turkey roll, and Touched by suicide walk Coming events: Mall Watch next four weekends on Fri/Sat. Mike asked for meeting topics ideas from the members. Also need ideas for Saturday work projects, etc Walt mentioned that Alan Batteiger is holding training classes Dec 11 & 12 Field day report we were first in NTX and 3rd in 4F class Walt then recognized Dick for his efforts to get the reports into the ARRL Christmas dinner will be Thursday Dec 2nd at the Prairie House restaurant at 7pm. Can pay by PayPal, cash or check. Deadline is Wednesday. Guy announced that in Jan/Feb, there will be a multicounty ARES HF communications test. Jan meeting will be an Introduction to HF presented by Walt. He is asking for input from the experienced operators. Announcements: Dr. David Woolweaver is reelected West Gulf Division Director. John Stratton is the new vice director. The meeting adjourned at 8:30pm

Coming events

JAN San Antonio Hamfest, see page 5 VE Test session, 1500L, see below DCARA Meeting, 1900L, County EOC FEB Ada Hamfest, see page 5 Georgetown Hamfest, see page 5 SkyWarn School, see page 4 VE Test session, 1500L, see below DCARA Meeting, 1900L, County EOC
For up to date info on contests, go to: www.arrl.org/contest

Amateur test session

By Jon, N5JDG
Test Session for this month will be on Sunday, 23 Jan. The time is 1500L and the place is the Denton County EOC which is located at 9060 Teasley Lane (FM 2181), south of Denton. For licensed amateurs, talk-in is on the Denton 146.92 minus (110.9) repeater. Tests will normally be conducted on the fourth Sunday of every month. All test participants: you must bring your picture ID, and $15.00. If applicable (ie. upgrading) also bring your FCC License, a COPY of your FCC License, your CSCE, and a COPY of your CSCE. For more information please contact Jon Gumfory (N5JDG) at 940-300-0243 or <n5jdg@cebridge.net>.
Jan meeting speaker: Walt, KE5SOO HF for beginners

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From The ARRL
---Jay Urish, W5GM, NTX SM re-elected North Texas Section Manager Jay Urish, W5GM did not face opposition in the 2010 Winter Section Manager elections and was declared elected for the upcoming term of office beginning April 1, 2011. With continuity in the North Texas leadership, Jay plans to continue his work with SEC Walt Mayfield, KE5SOO, in strengthening the EmComm system and in securing volunteer appointees to cover current vacancies. Jay also hopes to engage Amateurs and clubs in the North Texas section by appointing a new Section Training Coordinator, whose primary function will be to assist in the development of an education program that puts amateur radio in front of young people. As Section Manager, Jay looks forward to working with the WGD Leadership in abolishing overly restrictive Home Owner Association CC&Rs and tower restrictions in the upcoming Texas legislative session. Additionally, local issues such as emergency preparedness, membership growth not only in the ARRL but in clubs and, increasing community awareness about the Amateur Radio service will remain high on his agenda. Over the past two years, tremendous strides have been made in the NTX Section to improve communication, rebuild services that had been eliminated or sorely lacked attention, and to build a team of volunteers dedicated to making NTX even stronger. If you would like to join Jay in his efforts to expand these Amateur Radio initiatives, please contact him at W5GM@arrl.org. ---CC&R Relief Legislation Ready The WG legislative team is working to file the CC&R Relief bills in this Texas Legislative Session that it filed, to great support, in the 2009 Legislature. The team members are currently meeting with Representatives and Senators to finalize the supporters and sponsors for the bill. We intend to file the bill in the Senate and the House within the next two weeks. To obtain passage of the Texas CC&R Bill, it will be important for each of you to contact your Representative and Senator when asked to so. Please wait until the Bill is actually filed. Concerted contact is more effective than random contacts. You should expect to receive E-Mail notices providing updates and requesting action. You will also be able keep up to date at www.WestGulfLegislation.org and

Sticky notes

By Mike, KD5ZCA
The Repeater Info page of the DCARA web site has been updated with some minor cosmetic changes and the addition of a news section. We will attempt to keep you updated in a timely fashion with local repeater information that may impact your daily operations. Due to changes in management at the site hosting the club's web servers, we are relocating them. We have received a donation of a computer, UPS and Internet access and will now have our web sites running under the club's complete control. With this change, we will be able to provide additional web services to our members. The changeover is largely transparent and may already have occurred by the time you read this. As always, if you have any suggestions for additions or improvements to our web sites, contact your webmaster at kd5zca@fam2.com.

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Frequency KE5YAP-C KE5YAP-B KE5YAP-A KE5YAP-G

Input 147.4900 440.7125

Output 146.4900 445.7125 1273.2000 1259.2000

1293.2000 1259.2000

This information can also be found on the DCARA web site at www.dcara.net

SKYWARN SCHOOL, 2011

Saturday, 26 Feb 2011 Basic: 0900-1200, Advanced: 1330-1600 Texas Womens University, MCL Auditorium

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(Continued from page 4) www.WestGulfDivision.org Depending on recommendations from Kevin ODell, OK SM, we may file a duplicate of the Texas CC&R Bill in the Oklahoma Legislature. Stay tuned. (John Robert Stratton, N5AUS, Vice Director)

Operations report

By Mike, K5YX
DCARA Operations Report, Jan 18, 2011 We concluded last year with Mall Watch at the Golden Triangle Mall in Denton. Thank you to all operators who came out on any of those Friday and Saturday evenings between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year was quieter than in past years with respect to the number of incidents we observed and reported to mall security. We did, although, have some incidents reported and mall security expressed their gratitude to your time, efforts, and professionalism. The clubs portable 441.325Mhz UHF repeater for mall watch with a J-pole antenna. It worked beautifully and gave us the coverage we needed for the event. We are making a change in the services we as a club will provide going forth. In past years we have assisted various bicycle events with communications, but also would help transport participants and their bikes back to start finish when they have to drop out on the course. The DCARA officers discussed this in the December board meeting and concluded that we will go back to a communications role and not provide SAG (Support and Gear) services to transport riders and their bikes. Providing SAG services introduces an element of risk and liability that we should not place our membership in. We will continue to provide communications at rest stops and rovers on the course. We are in a lull in the events for which DCARA provides communications support. Our next event will be in the spring with the Cross Timbers Classic bicycle ride. These events are opportunities to exercise and test our equipment, club and personal, as well as practice communications skills in a controlled net. I encourage everyone, regardless of experience, to sign up and assist with the events that DCARA supports throughout the year. January Meeting Topic HF Radio 101

FUTURE HAMFESTS

Hamfests01/22/2011 San Antonio Amateur Radio Fiesta Location: Schertz, TX Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: San Antonio Radio Club Website: http://w5sc.org 02/05/2011 Ada Hamfest Location: Ada, OK Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Ada Amateur Radio Club 02/12/2011 Williamson County Amateur Radio Club Location: Georgetown, TX Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Williamson County Amateur Radio Club Website: http://www.wcarc.com 03/05/2011 West Central Oklahoma Amateur Radio Club Location: Elk City, OK Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: West Central Oklahoma Amateur Radio Club 03/05/2011 South Texas Section Convention (Greater Houston Hamfest) Location: Rosenberg, TX Type: ARRL Convention Sponsor: Brazos Valley Amateur Radio club Website: http://www.houstonhamfest.org 03/12/2011 Ninth Annual IARC Hamfest Location: Irving, TX Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Irving Amateur Radio Club Website: http://www.irvingarc.org/iarchamfest.html 03/19/2011 West Texas Section Convention (56th Annual St Patricks Day Hamfest) Location: Midland, TX Type: ARRL Convention Sponsor: Midland Amateur Radio club Website: http://www.hamfest.w5qgg.org 04/02/2011 HamEXPO Location: Belton, TX Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Temple Amateur Radio Club Website: http://www.beltonhamexpo.org/
(Continued from page 1) good time! Its warming to see people enthusiastic about our hobby, especially when there are so many bigger things on people minds these days. I would love to take a moment to encourage you to support the League. I know the dues can be an issue to some, but I urge you to look past that towards the things that the League does to support and grow the hobby. I want to remind everybody that the League is the only bunch that fights off commercial interest in our frequencies and commercial interference to same frequencies a.L.a BPL etc. If you have let you membership lapse, please take a moment to renew. Thanks and 73! W5GM
DENTON COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO ASSOCIATION P.O. BOX 50433 DENTON, TX 76206 JAN 20 11

Surplus Equipment

As long as this section does not get too crowded, I will accept sale or wanted notices for personal equipment from members or non-members. Priority will be given to members. Editor.
Second month listing (Jan Sale) None
ICOM IC-271H - 2 meter all mode base, with IC HM12 hand mic, power cable, and user manual. This is a solid state radio with CTCSS tone encode that I bought in the late 1980s. I used it for several years until I found a newer model. Note: This radio has an intermittent transmit power problem. I suspect a cold solder joint that allows the transmit power to exceed the 100 watt design limit occasionally. $250

First month listing (Feb Sale) None
ICOM BC-35 - HT drop in charger for the IC - 2AT, IC - O2AT style battery packs. $50 Contact Don, KG6LE (callsign)@peoplepc.com