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See the mailing list page for information about adding yourself to the reconstituted mailing list. Monthly meeting notices and other club news are posted periodically in your inbox.
May W7ASC Teardown postponed
Please see the May W7ASC column for information on tear-down delays. This column has just been added.
Arizona PRB-1
--ARRL Section News, May 2008
Two months ago, House Bill 2721 on Amateur Radio; structures;
accommodation passed in the House. Our sponsor Rep McLain has been absolutely fantastic. Turns out that Rep McLain's late husband was a ham. Rep McLain has tried several ways of getting our bill passed in the Senate. As was the case last year, Senator Harper and the Home Owners Association have been our biggest battle. She is working on one other idea she has to
get this passed and we are waiting to see if this works.
If this gets passed, this would mean that your home owners association would have to reasonably accommodate those hams who are actively involved in emergency communications. A reasonable antenna might be a vertical, a dipole, and maybe a beam.
We have had several folks just put up antennas before getting written permission from their HOA. They have been asked to take down the antennas. Hopefully this is just temporary. Another note, if you are talking about
your antenna or beam to the city or your HOA, do not use the word "tower." Use the phrase "antenna support structure." Non-hams view a tower as a very ugly
thing (ie Cell tower).
Superstition Amateur
Superstition ARC:
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Club Mailing List
We have a mailing list that we encourage all members to join. It serves as the monthly e-mail reminder of upcoming club events and meetings. Go over to the Mailing List Page and check it out.
Club Information summary
Superstition ARC Meetings
Next Meeting: Tuesday, May 20, 2008
The next meeting of the Superstition ARC will be Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at 7:00 pm.
Our meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month, from January through November at the City of Mesa Utilities Office, located at 640 North Mesa Drive. There is no meeting in December, as instead we meet at a restaurant for our Christmas Party.
As always, our meeting is open to visitors. Visitors are welcome and encouraged to attend.
Driving Directions to the Meeting:
Take Mesa Drive north 2.5 miles from the Superstition Freeway (Exit 180) and cross University Drive. Correction: The office is 0.3 miles north of University on the left, almost directly across from Royal Palms Drive (previously mislabeled here as 8th Street). See the map courtesy of Google Maps.
Previous Superstition ARC
April Club Meeting Notes
Club Picnic
With Ron, AJ7T Presiding, the meeting was called to order at about 7:00 on the evening of April 15.
The Picnic was announced for Saturday, April 26, and was put together by a committee of volunteers who wanted the club to have a successful picnic, and who made it happen. I did not get the names of all of the committee members, but they included Judy, K7JLF and Jo Wilson (OM K8WQ).
Let's use this picnic as a membership drive. It is open only to paid-up members and their families because the food is free, subsidized by the club. We encourage those who are not members and whose membership is not paid up-to-date to bring your membership with you to the picnic.
The picnic is located at Red Mountain Park, under the ramada closest to the restrooms. We get the facility from 10 am till 2 pm. My notes are a bit short on this point: "Second entrance from Brown." Perhaps should read "second entrance from Power on Brown."
Drinks include Crystal Lite, soft drinks and water.
We will also be celebrating KD7VK-Harold's 80th birthday.
Pledge of Allegiance
The flag is located at the back of the room, and Ron was not going to try moving it to the front after it fell apart in January's meeting as he picked it up to move it back to its original location -- it dumped the sand that weighs down the base of the flag support mast. So we just turned around to face the flag.
Introductions
Everyone introduced themselves, and there were over 30 people present.
Arizona Near Space Research program presentation
James, AC7ZT, presented a multimedia video show describing ANSR's launches that lift experiments to the edge of space about 19 statute miles above the surface of the earth. (Calculator: 100,000 feet divided by 5280 equals 18.93 miles.)
He showed data tracked by the balloons as they rise, being blown first one direction by surface winds and then the opposite direction by winds in the upper atmosphere. Temperature measurements usually indicate a dropping temperature as the balloon rises, then a short temperature rise before the temperature falls to around 70 degrees below zero.
Experiments include samples of seeds exposed to the ultraviolet radiation of the sun above the ionosphere, data-collection probes, a radio repeater and sometimes a television camera.
A repeater flies aboard the balloon, with an input frequency of 145.56MHz, input tone access of 162.2Hz, and an output frequency of 445.525MHz. It is common for New Mexico to contact California through a repeater over Arizona, and you can listen to the repeater's communications via IRLP on node 9255.
To hear the repeater audio during a launch, you may listen direct on 445.525MHz whenever the repeater is above your horizon, or you can listen to it over your local IRLP repeater. See www.kd7lmo.net for a detailed description of the process.
Arizona Near Space Research (www.ansr.org ) is also putting on a membership drive. Anyone interested in supporting the group's work should visit their site and consider becoming a member. James provided the email address compassing@gmail.com , along with www.ansr,org and www.kd7lmo.net.
Break and Meeting Business
Jeff, N7JJK has donated a laptop computer to the club for meeting Minutes. Thank you Jeff!
Treasurer's report was given by Gene, K8WQ. Minutes were read by Jon, KD7VCF (I'm glad I have these names already on the site with their call signs, because on this day, Friday, April 25, I am drawing a blank!)
Mary, KD7ZBC reported from the back of the room on the upcoming programs for the coming months' meetings. I'm sorry I didn't catch them in my notes to be able to report the meeting programs here!
In need of repeater donations for some upcoming projects, and the club share of the 50-50 pot goes into the repeater fund. However, Dianne, KD7DJE said we need to get our insurance in order before we go out to get more equipment. That requires an inventory and photographs be submitted to the insurance company.
ARRL Membership through the club: It is important that the club have at least half of our membership as ARRL members in order to retain our ARRL affiliation, a point not brought up in the club meeting ; however, there is insufficient monetary benefit to the club to have the Treasurer process ARRL renewal membership paperwork. The club Treasurer, Gene, K8WQ, requests that you file your ARRL renewal directly with the League, as he feels his time is worth more than the buck-fifty that we realize after pasting a postage stamp to the application.
The club, however, does receive a $15 contribution for each new ARRL membership filed with the club Treasurer, at no added cost to the applicant, and you are encouraged to both join the League and run your application through the club Treasurer.
A new Technician class will start in August, with registration deadline set in early August. TO DO: Scan and post the flyer, and update the class page on the site.
-- Notes by Larry, WB7CRK
Ham Breakfast every Thursday at Hoosier Cafe
A Ham Radio Breakfast at the new Hoosier Cafe meets every Thursday in Mesa since May 24th, 2007. Steve, KY7W shot this picture , from the north end of the table row instead of from the front door on Thursday, September 13. He had somewhat better fortune with the sun, though he reports there were only 13 at this breakfast. There are 11 heads in this view that I could count, and with one behind the camera, that leaves just one other unaccounted for!
It's at the Northwest corner of University and Higley, just West of the Gas Station at that corner. Entrance is on University Drive. Most people start gathering at 6:30 am although the official starting time is: 7:00 am.
Superstition ARC Repeaters
On the Air
Club Repeaters
147.12 MHz (+) (162.2Hz tone access) WB7TJD/R
The 147.12 and 449.60 WB7TJD Repeaters in northeast Mesa cover Mesa, Gilbert, Queen Creek and Apache Junction, with extended coverage into Chandler, Tempe, Scottsdale and Phoenix.
Handheld coverage is relatively solid from ground locations in Mesa within 10 miles of the repeater on a rubber duck, if you are operating from an open location. A one-watt signal will be fairly solid into the repeater if using a mobile whip antenna with a good counterpoise for a distance of 15 to 20 miles, further if in the clear.
As always, your mileage may vary.
Operating on the repeaters
Many users combine the convenience of handheld portable operation with the power and reach of a mobile station antenna, by transmitting with an HT to their dualband radio in the car, which relays a stronger signal into the repeater. In order for these users to join a conversation on the repeater, the repeater tail must be allowed to drop off the air for a full second.
For more details and pictures please turn to our repeater page .
Club Nets
Weekday Mornings
From 7 AM till 8 AM Monday through Friday, join us during your commute as we tickle your knowledge of obscure facts and trivia. Net runs on the 147.12/449.20 linked system.
Energy Net - "Running On Empty" - 1st, 3rd, 5th Mondays 8 PM
On the First and Third Mondays at 8:00 PM on 147.12, Richard, KE7SAS hosts the Running On Empty net, discussing energy issues. Look for it also on the fifth Monday of the month.
Wednesday Night Net 8 PM
Check in for the latest club discussion and Amateur Radio Newsline on the 147.12/449.20 linked system. John, KG7FA is always looking for new victims — ahh — check-ins.
Thursday Night 10 Meter Net 7:30 PM
28.470MHz SSB and 147.56MHz FM simplex
Jeff, N7JJK conducts the Ten Meter Net on 28.470 MHz SSB and is open to check-ins from across the country if propagation permits. Check-in and Discussion for an hour on many topics.
Feel free to check in on ten meters or two meters on the 147.56MHz simplex, centered on Warner and Cooper roads in Gilbert. Ron, AJ7T provides the ten-to-two and two-to-ten crossbanding. Due to a hard-wired three-minute time-out timer in Ron's equipment, please limit all net transmissions to three minutes, even if you are on ten meters.
Superstition ARC Tax Status,
501 (c) 3 NonProfit Organization
Superstition Amateur Radio Club, Inc. has been approved by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)3 tax-exempt nonprofit organization, effective with our initial incorporation in July 1977. Our filing was approved in July 2006.
Officers and Board of Directors
2008 Officers and Board
President: Ron McKee, AJ7T
Vice-Pres: Mary Simmonds, KD7ZBC
Secretary: Jon Simmonds, KD7VCF
Treasurer: Gene Wilson, K8WQ
Directors
Jo Wilson
Paul, KD7GWD
Judy, K7JLF
Tony, K7AJF
Jeff, N7JJK
Harold, KD7VK
Ray, K7RAM
These are the people in charge of the day-to-day business affairs of the club. It is customary for the prior President to sit on the Board in an advisory capacity.
Elections are in November at the General Meeting, but things begin to heat up along about September. Typically, a nomination committee is formed in September to draw up a slate of candidates to be presented at the October meeting. Nominations are taken from the floor in October, closed, and the ballot is presented in November. New officers are installed at the December Christmas Party that takes the place of a December membership meeting.
Committees
ARCA Delegate:
ARCA Alternate: Myrna Cross, KN7M
Editor: Rod Bevill, K7RLB
Technical Committee: Brian Romine, KC5CAY
Trustee, WB7TJD: Larry Kuck, WB7CRK
Trustee, WG7VA: Rick Willis, K2DLZ
Web site maintenance: Larry Kuck, WB7CRK
For Contact information, please visit:
Board Meeting Time and Location:
The JB's Restaurant, northeast corner of Power and Main, Mesa, 6:30 PM on the Second Tuesday of each month, between the 8th and 14th of the month. The location change took effect with the February 2007 meeting.
This meeting is open to all members of the club who wish to sit in on the Board actions.