Roll Call:

25 member’s presence, with 2 candidates for exams.

Treasurer report:

• NCOCRA WordPress upgrade now provides website access on mobile phones…check us out.
• Savings balance is strong, with 74 member’s current on dues, with 24 needing renewal.
• The club has added 15 new members over the past 12 months.
• Prepay for Holiday meal worked well, and may well use prepay moving forward.

Members approved 2019 Board:

• David Snyder (W4SAR), President
• Lad Carrington (W4ORD), Vice-President, Program Committee
• Dan Eddleman (KR4UB), Treasurer
• Keith Stouder (W1KES), Secretary
• Steve Ahlbom (W3HAL), ARES EC
• Karen Snyder (KD4YJZ), Member at Large
• Dee Ramm (KU4GC), Member at Large
• Wilson Lamb (W4BOH), Member at Large, Program Committee
• Bill Bishchoff (N8BR), Program Committee

If you have ideas for enriching your club experience, we would like to know.  Please reply below.

Chatham County Radio Club Update, Nick (KA1HPM):

Chatham County radio club has established a club station at the county emergency operation center (EOC) with two VHF and two HR radios, and Winlink.   The club as applied for a vanity call, but with the FCC currently on furlough, it may be some time before the call is issued.

The club is preparing for an April 30 communication exercise at the Shearon Harris nuclear power plant.  Rehearsal for the event will be March 28. Please join the club net every Tuesday night on 442.15 MHz, PL tone 131.8. Hope to hear you on the air!

Vice President: Lad (W4ORD) – The Holiday Meal was well received.  However, suggestions to explore new food options are being considered.

“When All Else Fails:”

With the recent weather events in Wilmington, NC, hospitals are encouraging employees to become amateur radio operators offering communications when “all else fails.”  Opportunities for local radio clubs to assist may be forth coming.

NC QSO Party:

The NC QSO Party is quickly approaching.  This year, the event will occur on Saturday, February 24 from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM EST.  This is a great event to sharpen your SSB skills with running or search and pounce.  Click on link above for more information.

Club Meetings:

If you are new to amateur radio, or would like to refresh your knowledge, the Program Committee would like your ideas.  Considerations are being given for having instructions on coax termination with soldiering or crimpers.  Or, how to build an affordable wire dipole.  Do you have any suggestions on program content?  If so, leave a reply below.

Club Program:

Pete (WA1YYN) provided an overview of several emergency and life saving devices.  First, Pete created a GPRS enabled apparatus comprised of a raspberry pi that can be attached to a fire fighter’s outfit that captures both health and situation metrics. For example, the apparatus can capture, record, and transmit fire fighters body temperature, pulse oximetry, acceleration, etc.  such data is vital for ensuring situational safety.

Pete also explained that many emergency response communication technologies are proprietary and expensive.  He mentioned that the national fire protection association (NFPA) and NIST, national institute of standards and technology are working together to develop emergency response data interoperability and deployment standards.

Pete (WA1YYN) discussing his use of GPRS and amateur radio in emergency response communication and coordination.

Pete demonstrated an open source solution providing GPRS tracking with real time monitoring and visual overlay perspectives of the rescuer, drone, and incident command.  This solution will more accuracy and quickly identify persons in need improving resource coordination thus reducing response time in saving lives.

Pete’s work in supporting emergency response fulfills several key goals of amateur radio:

• Supports the awareness and growth of Amateur Radio worldwide;
• Advocates for meaningful access to radio spectrum;
• Strives for every member to get involved, get active, and get on the air;
• Encourages radio experimentation and, through its members, advances radio technology and education; and
• Organizes and trains volunteers to serve their communities by providing public service and emergency communications.

What is your passion?  What aspects of amateur radio keeps you involved?  Let us know by leaving a response below.

73

Introductions:

19 members and 1 guest present.

Reports:

Treasurer report:

Strong financial balance, with current membership at 77 with 21 members up for renewal and 3 members expiring this month.

ARES:

Steve (W3AHL)

Hurricane Florence prompted plans for several OCRA hams to be on standby for deployment to shelters in conjunction with the Red Cross, while others were on standby for deployment to several fire stations in case the Viper network became unavailable. Thankfully, neither groups were deployed, but were well prepared if needed.

Repeater 101

Dan (KR4UB) provided a wonderful presentation and demonstration of a radio repeater system.  OCRA operates several repeaters under our W4UNC call sign.

A listing of the repeaters and corresponding frequencies are available under the About tab on our blog site.

AUXCOMM

Nick (KA1HPM)

Nick is leading a three weekend, Chatham County EOC sponsored Auxiliary Emergency Communication (AuxComm) amateur radio technician review course.  The review course original had eight registered participants but is now at fourteen.  Each session meets for three hours culminating into an October 27 VE session.  The training and VE session occur at the Chatham County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) located in

Scouts – Jamboree on the Air

OCRA plans to drive the MCU to a Durham location providing Scouts and the community an opportunity to learn about amateur radio and participate in 61^st Jamboree on the Air.

Have another Meal (HAM) – Update

Wilson is considering hosting a “have another meal” meal at the homestead, tentatively schedule for the afternoon of October 20.  Communication and coordination of this event will occur via the reflector.

Introductions:

Sixteen members were present, with three people taking exams.

Treasurer Report:

Balance continues to be strong.  Currrent membership is at 78, with 23 needing renewal, and one expiring this month.

Seventeen new members have joined since January.

Repeater:

Dan (KR4UB) brought the latest Southeastern Repeater Association (SERA) repeater journal, providing a listing of repeater frequencies and other relevant information. The SERA was founded in 1971 as the North Carolina FM Repeater Association Inc., when a group of state repeater owners got together to form an organization designed to assist in coordinating, providing communication & technical information, and bringing together all amateur repeater owners into one united body.

RepeaterBook applications are available for Android and Apple devices.  The applications are helpful to identify local repeaters during travels.

Have another Meal (HAM)

Wilson (W4BOH) has offered to host a family friendly, fall cookout of burgers and dogs in October.  You should have received an email via the group.io list serve.  If you did not receive an email, but are interested in attending, please let Wilson known. Please bring vegetables and desserts to share.

Green Bank Telescope

Dan (KR4UB) is planning to revisit the Robert C Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in Green Bank, West Virginia.  The Green Bank site was part of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) until September 30, 2016. Since October 1, 2016, the telescope has been operated by the newly separated Green Bank Observatory. The telescope honors the name of the late Senator Robert C. Byrd who represented West Virginia and who pushed the funding of the telescope through Congress.

The Green Bank Telescope operates at meter to millimeter wavelengths. Its 100-meter diameter collecting area, unblocked aperture, and good surface accuracy provide superb sensitivity across the telescope’s full 0.1–116 GHz operating range. The GBT is fully steerable, and 85% of the entire local celestial hemisphere is accessible. It is used for astronomy about 6500 hours every year, with 2000–3000 hours per year going to high-frequency science.

Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES):

ARES:

Steve (W3HAL) stated OC Emergency Services has requested that OC ARES/AUXCOMM volunteers be on standby for probable activation to support evacuation shelters due to forecasted flooding, high winds and power outages. Details are pending updates on Hurricane Florence’s path and timing and probably won’t be available until late Wednesday or Thursday morning.

The typical scenario would have one or two shelters plus the EOC opening, with a team of two ham radio operators per site for two 12 hour shifts per day.  That would require 12 volunteers each day.

As always, the first priority is to make sure your family is safe and prepared for the storm, as mentioned on Saturday’s ARES Training net.  Meanwhile, evaluate your availability to deploy on Thursday, 09/13 through Saturday, 09/15.  If you think you might be available, depending, on how the storm actually affects our area of course, please email me directly so I can get a rough idea of how many volunteers might be available.

Volunteers would need to be registered in the AUXCOMM database to deploy to the EOC.  For shelters, at least one on the team would need AUXCOMM registration and the second could be an ARES volunteer.

And one final reminder to log into the AUXCOMM database and verify your contact info is still valid, if you haven’t done so recently.   https://www.auxcomm.us/db/nc/  (Ignore the certificate error notice)

Please contact Steve w3ahl@att.net for further information

Hog Day:

Hillsborough Hog Day may be postponed or cancelled due to Florence.  Please check the website for up-to-date information.

Boy Scouts Jamboree:

Jamboree-on-the-Air, or JOTA, is the largest Scouting event in the world. It is held annually the third full weekend in October. JOTA uses amateur radio to link Scouts and hams around the world, around the nation, and in your own community. This jamboree requires no travel, other than to a nearby amateur radio operators ham shack. Many times you can find the hams will come to you by setting up a station at your Scout camporee, at the park down the block, or perhaps at a ham shack already set up at your council’s camp.

Martin (KA5JUJ) shared how one creates a cantenna, a tin can waveguide for WiFi.

Baofeng handheld radios are popular in the amateur radio community as inexpensive, entry level HTs.  Future OCRA membership programs including learning more about repeater operations, programming a Baofeng, and overcoming “mic fright.”

Introductions:

Treasurer Report:  Dan (KR4UB)

Club balance was reported.

Dan created a new attendance sheet.  He also went through old club records to capture the date members joined.  There are many current members who helped establish the club in the early 1990s, when the club was called the Orange County Wireless Pioneers.  Steve Jackson (KZ1X) was the spark plug for establishing the club.  The first meeting was in the community room of OWASA.  Anyone with club records, please let Dan know. Dan will scan and add the content to the site, which will help preserve club records.

Dan has a repeater still occupying space in his basement.  The current repeater market in Durham and Alamance is rather saturated.  However, as Chatham County is growing, so is the need for communication towers.  Nick (KA1HPM) mentioned that the county is planning to install several new towers for 2020.   There may be opportunities to relocate the repeater to a tower in Chatham County for amateur radio and CERT usage.

Field Day results:

While radio propagation was sketchy, we were able to accumulate 2000 more points this year over last.  Every station, minus 80 meters, was able to increase their score, with digital exceeding last year by over 1000 points.   This year’s numbers will change slightly as Dave (W4SAR) thoroughly combs the combined log to eliminate duplicate contacts, fix broken exchanges, and eliminate broken exchanges that cannot be made good:

For more detailed information on Field Day, we encourage you to read the July 2018 DFMA newsletter. https://www.dfma.org/TheLink/2018/Link1807web.pdf

Show and Tell

Steve (KZ1X) was cleaning out an old radio box and brought in a Micron SWR field strength meter, which may have been purchased as the old Radio Shack in University Mall.  The Micron measures the amount of signal transmitted by your antenna system, and a signal pattern can be plotted by taking readings around your antenna.  The meter covers 3 to 30 MHz and can handle up to 1KW.

He also brought alligator clips with magnifier glass used for splicing wire and adding connectors.

Dave (KW4XL) brought in several 3D printed products, including a raspberry pi hotspot case and working crescent wrench.

The next membership meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 10.  Hope to see you there!

Meeting Attendance: 28

Treasurer:

• Club balance is still strong. Current membership is 79, with 24 requiring renewal.  The club has added 17 new members this year.
• Field Day – Thanks to all who assisted, supported, and participated in the Field Day food preparation and delivery. The pre-paid approach for Saturday’s evening meal and Sunday’s breakfast was very successful.  For Saturday’s meal there were 44 pre-paid with 6 people paying at meal time.  Likewise, for Sunday’s breakfast there were 36 pre-paid with 4 people paying at meal time. The success of meal pre-pay may become a new payment model for future field day meals.
• Overall, the club profited $174 from meals, which will be added to our club coffers.

Field Day (FD) Recap:

Dave (W4SAR) provided a comparisons of 2017-2018 point totals.  For 2017 the total point was 19,760.  For 2018, we had an estimated total of 21,635.  Dave should have final 2018 totals in the next several weeks.  Congratulations to all for the great work securing the additional points…and the fun had by all.

This year, the Digi mode was a good success.  Dan (KR4UB) mentioned that Digital radio mode success in amateur radio has been partly attributed to the work of Joe Taylor (K1JT), who developed the WSJT-X software.  Joe is a noble prizing winning physicist, who has focused the past two decades on weak signal communication.  Joe is the developer behind several popular digital protocols like FT8 and JT65.

General FD Observations:

• Less interference on 40 and 15 SSB than years past.
• Accessible stations in garage worked well for all.
• N1MM network may require piloting the software and associated computers a few weeks prior to FD. This may help reduce complexity, however, much of the issues are not the result of the application.  Rather, the issues are more likely attributed to the Microsoft OS and configuration of personal computers. Other clubs purchase refurbished PCs for FD from NewEgg to reduce configuration mismatch.

Band Captain Comments:

• 40/15 SSB propagation and noise on the bands most of Saturday. By Sunday morning the bands opened with much less noise.
• CW worked well…3 stations covered all night. Better scheduling provided coverage through the morning hours.  Power was more stable this year over lasts.
• 20 SSB – had similar propagation and noise issues like other SSB stations. The station ran on solar power directly or from batteries recharged by solar throughout the entire FD.
• 80 SSB did not have as many operators as years past. Was difficult getting confirmation due to static on the receiver.
• Digital was well covered and enjoyed throughout the event. However, next year more comfortable seating will be needed.
• VHF was challenging, but the 5 element Yagi provided a noticeable return on the points.

FD Logistics

• For the larger antennas, a dedicated spotter on point for ensuring safety should be available, with agreed upon standard communication and terms. Additionally, a tower safety demonstration and additional guide wires for support may reduce operational risk.
• Replace the wood antenna support “walk up” with metal. This will reduce the likelihood of the wood splitting and causing the tower to fall and potential hurt people.
• The scheduling spreadsheet helped ensure adequate coverage of stations throughout the event.

Should we plan to add a Sunday lunch? Please reply to this post with your suggestions. We would enjoy reading your ideas!

Introductions:

Treasure:

Financials remain very strong, and we are current on club insurance. Dues current is 73.

Field Day:  June 22-24

Food:

Friday night pot luck is being coordinated by John Boone (KM4MDR).  Setup is Friday, June 22.  Dinner will begin at 6:00 PM.  We would appreciate your letting us know in advance if you plan to attend so we can better plan for the number of guests.  Spouses are welcome.  If you have any questions, please email John at jsboone@msn.com.

If you plan to attend, please email John your call sign, name(s), number of folks attending, the dish you plan to bring, and special requirements, your phone # or email.  Please let us know if you can setup for dinner or clean up after dinner.

• To date, 26 have purchased tickets at $5 dollars. Reimbursement will be available until June 18.  Please reference the Meal article below on this blog.
• Still need cooks to help with preparation.
• Emails from groups.io will keep everyone informed over the next 2 weeks.

Stations

We will be operating 9A again this year.  The list of stations are as follows:

CW – in MCU – Bruce (N1LN)

80 SSB – In RV – Steve (W3AHL)

40/15 SSB – In Trailer – Joe (K4SAR) and Adro (KV7D)

20 SSB – In Trailer Lad (W4ORD)

10 SSB – In Barn Dave (N4AVY)

40/15 Digital – In Garage Dave (W4SAR)

20 Digital – In Garage Sherri (WB4OSU)

VHF – In RV Doug (K5ETS)

Accessible stations will be located in the Garage.

Logging Software Overview

Bruce (N1LN) presented an N1MM overview.  The presentation is located on the Groups.io web site. https://groups.io/g/OCRA-DFMA/files#

Login credentials are required to access presentations.

A few key points include:

• Band captains should ensure a PC is available for their station.
• Will need to ensure that software is installed and working.
• All stations must be same version (1.0.7193.0) to work properly.

Steve (W3AHL) provided an overview of the networking. Initial setup will be Friday afternoon.

Please refer to presentations on the groups.io website.  https://groups.io/g/OCRA-DFMA/files#

Login credentials are required to access presentations.

Introductions:

Treasurer Report: 

We have a strong financial balance.  Current membership listing is located under the Membership tab.

Repeater Update:

Dan (KR4UB) explained that installing the repeater at UNC is not cost effective at this time.  The club is seeking a cost sharing arrangement with UNC.  More information will be known later this Spring.

General Reports:

• Raleigh (RARS) Fest – The Club sold a few items totaling $40 dollars. Thanks to Steve’s (KZIX) $67 donation at the meeting, we added a total of $107 to our savings account.
• Durham Fest is Saturday, May 26, 2018. Tickets are now available.   – Tickets available.  Link to site with Dates.
• The Tar Heel 10 Miler is April 21^st. The Tar Heel 10 Miler and Fleet Feet 4 Mile run both start at the UNC Chapel Hill Bell Tower running you through the heart of downtown Chapel Hill, the historic Rosemary district, the UNC Campus and the beautiful Gimghoul neighborhood. Steve (W3HAL) has inquired with race management regarding amateur radio support.  We should have an update in the next week or two.
• A VE Session is scheduled for Saturday, April 14^th at the Orange County Emergency Services Center. Thanks to Paul (N2XZF), Nick (KA1HPM), Andy (W4KIL) and Dave (NA4VY) for their assistance.
• OCRA has experience difficulties managing our emails distribution with Yahoo. As such, earlier this month Dave (W4SAR) transitioned our Yahoo account to Groups.io, which provides a more mature platform providing more features and easier group management.
• Field Day is approaching…June 23 and 24. We are planning to retain the same band captions, but will move Digital to field, which will make the barn available for more easily accessible stations. We plan to leverage the NCOCRA blog calendar to manage station coverage throughout the event.  Still looking for a “few good hams” to manage the food committee.  If interested, please let Dave (W4SAR) know.

Program:

Vertical T-Wire Top Antenna 80 and 160 Meter Vertical and 80 Meter Dipole

Wilson was inspired by the  Bouvet expedition to build a “T” Top Antenna for 80 and 160 Meter.  While the Bouvet expedition was not successful (Inclement Weather) the “T” antenna was successful.  For more information on the Antenna, please reference Dan’s (KR4UB) blog article, “The Lurid Details of a W4BOH antenna for Bouvet.”

For more information on Low-Band DXing, Wilson recommends John Devoldere (ON4UN) book,  Low-Band Dxing: Antennas, Equipment and Techniques for DXcitement on 160, 80, and 40 Meters.

An overview of the EZNEC design and analyzer measurements of W4BOH’s 160/80M vertical/dipole antenna, as of mid-March is located at:
https://groups.io/g/OCRADFMA/files/Antenna%20Designs/W4BOH%20160M%20&%2080M%20Vertical%20T-Wire%20Elevated%20Radials%20L-Netwk%20&%2080M%20Dipole%20Project%20031218.pdf

Andy (W4KIL) presented a 5W CW Transceiver kit by QRP Labs.  The transceiver is a feature rich, high performing, single-band 5W CW transceiver kit, with WSPR beacon and built-in alignment/test equipment for only $49.

Due to winter storm road conditions reported in the vicinity of the Efland club meeting location, the meeting scheduled for 03/12/18 has been cancelled.

Information regarding a rescheduled meeting will be posted here.

 Introductions:

Suggestion was given to shorten introductions to just name, call sign, and location.  This would reduce the overall meeting time.  However, we want to encourage new people to talk about their experience and interests.

New hams will receive a free year membership to OCRA.  This is a great deal that we need to market better.

Treasurer:

Strong financial balance with 70 currently paid members.

Website:

Dan (KR4UB) has added a new document repository on the site.  We encourage members to post radio related documents that would benefit the membership. Likewise, if there are informative amateur radio YouTube videos, please post a link.  Our intention is to make our Website a great starting points and interactive resource for sharing ideas, experiences, and events.

Similarly, Google calendar is now on the site.  Under the “Events” section, located on the top ribbon, you can keep informed about when and where Membership and Board meetings, local nets, public service opportunities.

Repeaters:

Dan (KR4UB) and Steve (W3AHL) are working to get a quote to determine the feasibility for re-establish the repeaters back on the UNC campus.

ARES/Public Service:

Steve’s (W3AHL) recently has been absence on Saturday morning nets due to other public service commitments.  Mark your calendars now, the Tar Heel 10 Miler will occur April 21. Please clear your schedule and get your HT ready!

Dave (W4SAR) is near the top ranking of VE sessions participation in the Roanoke region. Thank you Dave for your years of commitment.

RARS Fest:

 Dee (KU4GC) requested and the Treasure approved expenditure to support 2 tables. This is a great opportunity to part with old equipment and purchase new, and add dollars to the club coffers.

Mission and Membership:

The OCRA club was established in the early 1990’s when life was technically simpler.  With the advent of competing technology provided by the Internet and cell phones, the role of amateur radio has changed.  This year, the Club is embarking on a discussion to revisit our Mission statement and discuss how we can enhance the Membership experience.

With the club beginning to age out, how do encourage new membership, increase active participation, and prepare for succession planning?  These are questions we seek answers to sustain trained hams for community service, promote the fraternal aspects of radio, and encourage technical outreach.

During this Membership meeting, many people raised questions, voiced concerns, and offer suggestions to improve club participation and amateur radio awareness in the area.  We truly appreciate the engagement and discussion.  Below are some of the salient points that were raised and will be discussed in future meetings.

• The role of ARES and Auxiliary Communication has changed over the past several decades with increased consolidation and redundant infrastructure. What and how can we leverage these roles in OCRA?
• How do we foster more relevancy with newer hams?
• Chatham County Emergency Management has expressed interest in establishing an amateur radio CERT team. The 442.15 repeater is ideally located to support this effort.
• Increase “hands on” programming to learn about lightning surge suppression, antenna building, and grounding.
• Show and Tell makes for good programming. We have many DIY hams that engage in educational and fun development projects, which make for a good program.
• Explore amateur radio in local high schools as an introduction during a class room and/or sustained activity with a station.
• Establish a group build activity (QST project) where hams meet for a day or two to construct an antenna, or create various types of feedline.
• Cross pollenate amateur radio with other local groups or clubs, like Linux club. Many hams use Linux in the shack.  Perhaps this becomes a cooperative topic for those interested in combining amateur radio with computers.
• Park the MCU at a mall for a day. This would provide us an educational opportunity to demonstrate and discuss the continuum of amateur radio activities like satellites, repeaters, DX, etc.
• Establish a bi-monthly agenda that repeats each year. The 5-6 agendas would be an annual topic .

What other ideas do you have?  Please be sure to “reply” to this post.  We look forward to hearing from you!

Introductions:

Treasurer:

• 71 membership dues are current and an appropriate reserve balance is in our accounts
• Individual OCRA members supported the Bouvet DXpedition with $210 dollars’ worth of donations. The Board agreed to match individual donations up to $200, thus total contributions from OCRA for the DXpedition were $410.

Quick Notes:

• First 2018 OCRA Membership meeting at Efland Baha’i Center went well. Membership agreed to continue using the facility for the remainder of the year.  Thanks to Dave, W4SAR, for managing the new location.
• Dan, KR4UB, has made updates to the NCOCRA website. The goal of the updates are to improve the user experience, search ability, and navigation. Please let us know your thoughts on the changes and any suggestions for improvements in the “reply” section.
• Steve (K1ZX) presented the FA-VA4 Vector Antenna Analyzer Kit from com. This low cost, $139 antenna analyzer powered by 2 x AA alkaline batteries, has graphing capabilities and provides one port measurement of frequencies ranging from 100 kHz to 100 MHz with a system impedance of 50 Ohms (BNC).  Good features at an affordable price….Thanks for sharing Steve.
• Sherri Rapp, WB4OSU, recently purchased an Elecraft KX3, nice! As such, she is no longer in need of her Kenwood 440.  If interested please email Sherri at staleyrapp@mebtel.net or call her at 336.253.5549

Repeaters:

Dan, KR4UB, made large scale copies of the current Tower drawings.  He and Steve, KZ1X, will present the drawings to Tower Engineering in Raleigh to assist in the feasibility of putting the repeater on the air.

2018 Elections Results:

Officers:

Dave Snyder, W4SAR – President

Lad Carrington, W4ORD – Vice President

Keith Stouder, W1KES – Secretary

Dan Eddleman, KR4UB – Treasurer

Board Members At Large:

Karen Snyder, KD4YJZ

Dee Ramm, KU4GC

Wilson Lamb, W4BOH

Program Committee:

Wilson Lamb, W4BOH

Bill Bischoff, N8BR

Lad Carrington, W4ORD

Christmas Dinner:

The 2017 Christmas Dinner held at the Hillsborough Exchange Club was well attended, and enjoyed by all.  Thanks to Lad for managing the details and for being a very gracious host.

Discussion regarding the 2018 Christmas Dinner entertained the idea of purchasing tickets in advance, rather than pay at the door.  This payment approach would better ensure an accurate head count and associated cost.  Further discussion will be occur later in the year.

 Field Day 2018:

There was much discussion on how to improve the Field Day experience.  Several notable discussion points included:

• Establishing a food committee with dedicated resources responsible for suppling and preparing the meals.
• Establish an operator schedule to ensure coverage of stations throughout the event.
• Operational options ranging from antenna design and deployment to use of a bucket truck for adequate antenna height.
• Sherri, WB4OSU, and Loren, KV4ZR offered to assist Lad on the food committee.

These discussion points as well as others will continue to be debated and discussed at future Board and Membership meetings as we get closer to the 2018 Field Day, June 23-24.

Membership Meeting Improvements:

Steve, KZ1X, suggested leveraging the large screen TV and wireless access for displaying content, like documents and videos, focusing on “how to” programs.  Wilson, W4BOH, also mentioned that there is good amateur radio content on the Internet that we can use in developing membership programming.

This new program approach may provide new Hams an opportunity to explore and learn about the hobby, while providing experience Hams an opportunity to share their experiences, best practices, and lessons learned.

If you have additional ideas or suggestions on how to improve the membership meeting experience, please reply below.

Introductions

Treasurer:

73 membership dues are current and an appropriate reserve balance is in our accounts

NCOCRA Annual Christmas Dinner:

The OCRA Annual Christmas dinner will be held this year at the Hillsborough Exchange Club on Monday, December 11, at 6:00 PM. We are striving to have attendance be above 60, which will secure the cost at $20 per person. Reservations for attendance are required no later than December 4^th. Please email Lad (W4ORD) via the Yahoo reflector reserve your reservations.

Repeater Manager:

Danny Hampton made the Club aware that our current Kenwood TKR repeater series is being discontinued. As such, Dave (W4SAR), club president, made an executive decision to purchase an extra repeater as a spare.

The new backup repeater is identical to the one currently in operation.  This particular model is now discontinued, thus the urgency to purchase.  The new repeater was $1,000 and can be cloned to provide additional continuity for the existing repeater for many years.

For comparison, a newer repeater model is roughly $4000.  While the new repeaters are both digital and analogue, the additional cost would not have provided an identical clone to the existing repeater.  With the cost of tower work now around $1,000 per incident, cloning the existing repeater and having a ready backup made better fiscal sense than purchasing a newer repeater model.

Elmering or mentoring has long been the backbone of Amateur Radio. While technology constantly evolves, the human interaction between hams will not be replaced and will always remain one of the hobby’s strongest traditions. As such, there is a need to begin Elmering the next generation of FM repeater managers.  Understanding repeaters is a valuable skill for any ham, and especially for those ham’s interested in emergency response.

Please let Dan (KR4UB) or Steve (W3HAL) know of your interest to learn about repeater management.

ARES:

Public Service: AUX Comm site is down. Work is in progress to restore.

ARES Portable Station Equipment, Steve (W3AHL)

Many ARES/AUXCOMM events are best supported using a portable radio station.

“Portable” is defined here as:

Capable of being set up inside a building, such as a shelter.

1. Twenty+ watts of output power.
2. Antenna, mast and coax that allows placing the antenna outside, if necessary.
3. Battery back-up capacity for 12 hours of heavy usage.

Often your mobile radio and antenna can serve as your portable go-kit (if easily removed from the car) by adding a battery, coax and mast.   An HT is not recommended as a primary portable station, although with an exterior gain antenna and a 12 VDC 7 AH battery, it may be sufficient for many locations.

Almost any VHF or UHF transceiver is suitable for portable operation.  A dual-band radio is desirable, but lacking that you may be able to use an HT or another single band radio to monitor activity on other nets.  The radio should be programmed with all of the frequencies in the ARES Communication Plan.  It should be used weekly or monthly to verify it is working.

Many ARES operators build a radio go-kit containing the radio, power supply, speaker, microphone, headphones, power/SWR meter and battery voltage meter permanently mounted in a self-contained box that may be weatherproof when closed.   Others keep their gear in a duffel bag, tote container, or just remove their mobile equipment when needed for portable operation.

Don’t forget to include “office supplies” like pens, note pads, ICS-213 General Message forms, stapler, tape, a small All-In-One printer/copier/scanner, etc.

Choosing the correct portable antenna system may be the most important decision in assembling your go-kit.  If local repeaters are off the air due to a storm and more distant repeaters or simplex operation is needed, your normal antenna may not be adequate.

We try to deploy in teams of 2 if enough volunteers are available.  That allows pooling of resources if one operator is missing some items needed for the site.

Some factors to consider are:

1.     Many commercial buildings will attenuate your signal and require using either an external antenna or one mounted near a window facing the required direction.

2.    A dual-band base, mobile or j-pole antenna that can be mounted on 15 feet of mast, with 75+ feet of coax is recommended.  A chart at the end compares the relative signal strength of typical antennas at various heights.  A 5’ base antenna mounted 15’ high will have 12 dB more gain than a mag-mount antenna on your car.  This is the equivalent of increasing your transmit power from 20 watts to almost 300 watts, without using more battery power.

3.   The mast can be a commercial push-up pole, 1.25” TV mast in 5’ sections or military surplus mast.  Fifteen feet is a good height that can be supported without guy wires and improves the antenna gain by 3-5 dB compared to 5’ height, or much more if it clears nearby obstructions.

4.   You should try to have several options for supporting the mast.  A tire board is good if open parking is near your operating position, which is often not the case.  A 3’ roof tripod can be used with a tire board, 12” long spikes driven into the ground, or with large rocks or cement blocks.   If guy wires are used to support the mast, they must be well-marked to avoid injury to pedestrians and cars.  This is often impractical, especially at night.  Chemical or LED battery powered light sticks on guy lines are a must.  Make sure they last all night.

5.    Coax and power cables must be routed to eliminate any hazards to foot traffic.  Red duct tape can secure it across aisles, but may leave a residue that is hard to remove.  White gaffers tape is a better option.  RG-8X coax can often be routed under a door threshold or window seal, but has 8 dB loss at 440 MHz per 100’.   Several shorter pieces of coax will allow you to use only what you need and reduce loss. Larger low-loss coax such as 9913F or Davis Bury-FLEX work well for long runs and only have 2.5 dB loss. Use a short piece of RG-8X to go under a tight door if needed.  Waterproof your connections.

6.   A simple power/SWR meter should be used to check your antenna & feed line before operating.  It’s better to find a shorted or open coax with a meter than by smelling smoke from your radio.

7.   Headphones are a must!  You will be able to hear messages more clearly and those sharing the space will appreciate the silence.

8.    Always carry a charged battery that will allow at least 12 hours of operation, assuming you will be transmitting 20% of that time typically.  An 80 amp-hour battery is rated to provide 4 amps for 20 hours, but your radio may not operate below 11.2 volts, so you may only get 12-15 hours instead of 20.  And batteries that are old, too cold or have been over-discharged may provide only a fraction of their rated power.   Carry a spare and learn how to load test a battery.

9.   The battery cables must be fused near the battery.  If the battery is connected to a power supply, use dual diodes to isolate them (or a West Mountain PowerGate), or you may fry the power supply when you lose AC power.   Battery terminals should be insulated to prevent accidental shorting.  Looded-cell batteries should always be in a battery case to prevent acid leakage during charging.

10. Use Anderson PowerPole connectors on all power cables.  Borrow a PowerPole crimper to make your cables. Don’t use a single-dimple crimper if you want reliable connections.

11. If your antenna is inside the building you may desensitize other agency’s radios or interfere with public address systems.

12. Frequently check your antenna, mast, coax and power for safety issues.   Don’t allow your station to become part of the emergency!

13. Once you get your portable go-kit packed up, actually use it occasionally, even if it is just in your back yard during the Saturday ARES Training Net.

Portable Antenna Performance Comparison

Relative gain in dB compared to a mobile mag mount, as measured from W3AHL to W4UNC 443.475 repeater at UNC Hospital (5.5 miles) in 2009 using a spectrum analyzer.

Note:  Most Mag Mounts have a 3 dB loss (50% of power) compared to body-mounted antennas with shield connected to metal body panel.

Bouvet Dxpedition:

OCRA and the DFMA are trying to raise money for the January 2018 Bouvet Island Dxpedition. Both clubs will each match donations up to a total of $200. While cash and Paypal are acceptable forms of payment, checks are preferred. Please make the check out to Bouvet Dxpedition and add OCRA or DFMA in the check comment section. Additional donations can be made on the Bouvet Dxpedition website.

Field Day:

The joint field day operation for OCRA and DFMA has ranked 3^rd again nationally. Second place went to W4IY, who had 1200 points on us. Please visit the ARRL Field Day results for more information.

Great Job Team!

We will begin focusing our 2018 Field Day efforts in January. Have a Great Holiday Season.

Quick Notes:

• Welcome back Dave…thanks to Karen for taking care of Dave.
• The Bouvet Island Dxepedition is planned for early 2018. Bill (N8BR) suggested the club donate money to the dxexpedition. The OCRA Board will discuss financial support options at the next Board meeting.
• This Saturday, October 14, OCRA will hold a testing session at the Orange County EOC.
• Final Field Day results should be published in the next QST.
• Amateur Radio operators have been working diligently assisting with communications in Puerto Rico. The following media outlets have covered these efforts.
  • National Public Radio
  • CNN
  • ARRL

Officer’s Report

Treasurer

• 72 membership dues are current and an appropriate reserve balance is in our accounts

Program Topic – MFJ Enterprise 45^th Anniversary Celebration

During the last week of September, John Green (KX4P) and Nick Szydlek (KA1HPM) and their better halves took a road trip to the deep south. In Birmingham Alabama, John and Nick and spouses visited the Barber Motorcycle Museum. The museum is a building consisting of four floors. At any one time, more than 600 motorcycles are on display in the museum. The total collection numbers over 1,400. They have have many bikes in storage, and museum guests can view this area of the collection during large events and when purchasing a Premium Museum Tour, which features the Restoration Level.

They have have many bikes in storage, and museum guests can view this area of the collection during large events and when purchasing a Premium Museum Tour, which features the Restoration Level.

According to Barber’s Website:

Since the world’s best and largest car collections had already been established, George Barber heeded some wise advice. His longtime friend Dave Hooper—a motorcycle enthusiast as well as the person who ran Barber’s delivery fleet for 27 years—suggested that Barber shift his focus from cars to motorcycles. Being a man of big dreams, Barber seized the opportunity to accomplish what no one else had done… build the world’s “best and largest” motorcycle collection.

The adventure continued as John and Nick visited the Alabama Historical Radio Society. John mentioned that the society was founded in 1989. Don Kresge, a retired General Electric engineer, founded the society to provide an opportunity for people of all ages to pursue their interest and enjoy the history of vintage radios. The museum is housed in an old bank owned by the Alabama power company. The museum holds educational sessions for teaching radio history, and on Saturdays they hold workshops to restore old radios.

From Alabama, John and Nick ventured to Mississippi where they rendezvous with other participants of a Sunday night 80 meter net. Many of the net participants have known each other since childhood and continue their strong relationship through their interest in amateur radio. Their shared interest in amateur radio led them to participate in MFJ Enterprise’s 45^th Anniversary Celebration.

MFJ Enterprises, founded in 1972 by Martin F. Jue K5FLU, is a manufacturer of a broad range of products for the amateur radio industry.

They specialize in station accessories, such as antenna tuners and antenna switching equipment. MFJ now manufactures more amateur radio products than any other company in the world.

Hundreds of representative products and several pages of advertisement can be found monthly in publications like QST Magazine and CQ Amateur Radio.

The team, visited MFJ’s “manufacturing” facility in Starkville Mississippi on September 29 and 30, along with 500 other employees, patrons, and supporters of the company. Nick mentioned very little automation is employed in the facility. Rather, most of the development and production is still done by human effort.

John presented several videos demonstrating the making and testing of equipment. Thanks to John and Nick for sharing a great presentation of their trip to Alabama and Mississippi.

OCRA Membership Meeting Notes – September 11, 2017

Quick Notes:

• Location: Efland Baha’i Center
• Introductions:
• VE Session – 3 candidates
• Hillsborough annual Hog Day this weekend, September 15 and 16.

Officer’s Report:

Treasurer:

• 74 membership dues are current and an appropriate reserve balance is in our accounts
• Please consider using Amazon Smile to support OCRA. Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible Amazon Smile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice. This year, OCRA has received nearly $50 from Smile purchases.

Show and Tell:          

• Over the weekend of September 4^th, Chuck (KW4KZ) placed the Ed Fong orders. The order included 11 radios, 5 antennas, and one 50ft real of coax.  Shipping should occur in the next several weeks.
• Andy (W4KIL) recently purchased a Radiooddity GD-77, a digital mobile radio (DMR), dual band handheld. Andy mentioned Durham DMR is very active, and with this radio and Internet connection, you can make contacts to other DMR repeaters all over the world.
• Wilson (W4BOH) demonstrated a push/pull butterfly capacitor, which contains two stators and a rotor arranged in such a way that turning the rotor will vary the capacitance between the rotor and either stator equally. This has the great advantage that current flows through two series capacitors from stationary plate, across the rotor to stationary plate without any sliding contacts. Wilson’s capacitor was manufactured by Barker and Williamson and would have cost roughly $25 in the early 1930’s, or nearly $500 in today’s dollars. Wilson explained how this capacitor suppresses 2^nd harmonics. For more information on suppressing harmonics, please visit the following site.
• Dan (KR4UB) elaborated on the importance of equal balance, which supports longitudinal balance required for maintaining voice signals along telephone lines, and how perfect symmetry for balance in computers allowed for longer Ethernet lines, thus securing Ethernet as an affordable networking technology.

DIY:

Interested in building your own air variable capacitor, check out the links below.

1. http://www.eham.net/articles/5217
2. http://www.instructables.com/id/air-variable-capacitor-from-scrap-aluminum-sheets/

Emergency Preparedness:

As this day represented the 16^th anniversary of 9/11, and with the recent hurricanes in the Gulf, we felt the need to reflect and discuss the importance of amateur radio and being prepared for emergency events.  Several notable best practices we discussed, included the following:

• The importance of a generator. Gas generator’s work well, as long as there is gas.  The recent events in the Key’s illustrates that gas may be difficult to find and limited in supply. A dual fuel solution, or propane or natural gas may better if power outages are sustained beyond a few day, and one has access to a large propane tank, or existing natural gas line.
• Also, be sure to have cash on hand. If power outage is widespread, banks will be closed. However, during the day, restaurants may have ability to serve food, but may not accept credit cards, if power is out…in this situation, cash is king.
• The Red Cross Hurricane Safety Checklist provides a good starting checklist to follow on hurricane preparedness.

Equifax Breach 

We had a very informative discussion on the recent Equifax breach. Dan (KR4UB) provided a document with links to the various credit rating bureaus. We discussed the values and challenges of credit freezes.  We would encourage people who are interested to research the value of credit freezes and determine if it makes sense given your personal situation.

Adro (KV7D) sent an email (September 18) via the yahoo reflector with helpful information, including malicious websites not to visit and emails to delete.

Please let me know of any errors or omissions.

73, Keith (W1KES)

OCRA Meeting Notes – August 14, 2017

Quick Notes:

• Dan (KR4UB) – Facilitated the meeting
• Quick introduction by attendees
• Joel (KF4KQW) moved to the coast permanently. We wish him well.
• Keith (W1KES) was approved as Club secretary.
• Dee (KU4GC) provided the following Interactive NASA solar eclipse map
• EOC renovations will commence soon. We will most likely hold the September OCRA Membership meeting in the Fellowship Hall of the Efland Baha’i Center.  More details to follow.

Officer Report:

Treasurer Report: current Budget is $13,262.59, with 72 paid members

Kirby Saunders, Orange County Emergency Management Coordinator, stopped by for quick introduction.  Orange County is eager to have active ARES involvement in local emergency training exercises.

Such participation is part and partial to being an amateur radio operator. All OCRA members and active hams are encouraged to get involved in ARES.  The Weekly Orange County ARES Training Net begins on Saturday mornings at 9:30 am on the W4UNC 442.150 MHz PL 131.8Hz repeater.

ARES Report:

Steve Ahlbom (W3AHL): Orange County ARES/AUXCOMM has been requested to participate in a formal shelter exercise at the C.W. Stanford Middle School in Hillsborough on Wednesday, August 16^th from 9:00-12:00 (first shift) and 12:00-1500 (second shift).  The exercise will simulate power outage and establish shelter for 85 people.

This is a great way to learn or refresh shelter exercises.  Typically, one must complete ICS 100, 200, 700, and 800 free online courses from the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and have some ARES experience (training nets, public service events, etc.)  Steve will request a waiver for those who have not completed the courses prior to the exercise.

Incident command training is standardized across the country, which provides a common vocabulary and means of planning and organizing people to accomplish task.  To participate in formal training exercises, one needs to complete the courses listed above.

Public service events are good way to learn about ARES and incident response. There are several ways to keep informed of training exercises…reflector emails, OCRA website, or contact Steve.

Show and Tell:

Dan (KR4UB) provided a reflection of the winter 1996 OCRA Newsletter, which mentioned the initiation of OCRA’s repeaters now known as W4UNC. Tremendous effort was involved to get the repeaters on the air.  A key participant in this effort was John Welton (N4SJW), whom has since moved to Colorado, but was in attendance for this meeting.

John provided a similar recollection on the effort to establish a repeater on the UNC Campus.

John recalled that emergency response played an important part in establishing the repeaters on the Faculty Laboratory Office Building (FLOB), better known today as the Mary Ellen Jones building on the University of Chapel Hill (UNC) Campus.  The UNC hospital, also located on campus, is the largest burn center in the South East.  As such, a means for providing emergency communication coordination with the hospital and surrounding area was needed.

In 1996, with financial assistance provided by the Hospital, Orange County, and Town of Chapel Hill, along with sweat equity from OCRA and DFMA members, the repeater was installed on top of the FLOB.  The repeater still provides Chapel Hill and the hospital wide area communication capabilities today.  John also recalled the challenges associated with RF coverage inside the building, as the structure had very thick concrete walls.  The site leveraged IRLP as the communication infrastructure, as cell phone coverage was not pervasive at that time.

Continuing the conversation on John Welton’s influence on disaster preparedness, Dan shared a 2009 QST article entitled, “When the Big One Hits, South Carolina Will Be Ready!”  The article mentions John, along with fellow University of South Carolina nurse Brian Fletcher, involvement in obtaining funding to establish a statewide Amateur Radio 2 meter and 70 cm repeater system.  The article states, South Carolina is prone to earth quakes, and John and Brian implemented a project at the Medical University of South Carolina to provide hospitals with Amateur Radio communications for redundant communication capacity in the case of hurricane evacuations and earthquakes.  We were glad to have John and Dan’s reminiscing on past experiences and share the role amateur radio operators play in emergency management and natural disasters.

Chuck (K4RGN) – At the July DFMA meeting, Ed Fong (WB6IQN) presented a program where he discussed his antenna designs and his latest, patented, triband antenna, which was featured in March QST 2017.  Chuck brought one of Ed’s TBJ-1 triband antenna to the meeting.  He separated the antenna from the PVC casing and explained the design.  Dan also added commentary on the eloquent helix transformer design.  Ed is selling the antenna for $60.  Likewise, Ed is selling an HF SSB handheld SDR based receiver, and a GP5/SSB for $60.  If interested in any of these items, please contact Chuck at chanoia33@gmail.com

Steve (KZ1X) – Presented a low cost ($59), 40 meter SSB HR rig from HFSigs, based on the popular Bitx40 design.  The rig is shipped built from Indian with digital read out…did I mention it was only $59. This rig is ideal for low power WSJT-X communication modes like JT65 and JT9.  A friend of Steve’s created a 3D mounting for the rig, which is makes a solid rig worthy of addition to any ham shack.

Andy (W4KIL) – Has been active with DMR radio listening to repeater’s out west.  He recently purchased an AAI Impendence Analyzer with graphing function for $150.  The analyzer covers 140MHz~2700MHz, which includes Wi-Fi and maps all S parameters. Nice purchase Andy.

Wilson (W4BOH) – Son and friend reuse computer batteries.  If you have extra computer batteries, let Wilson know and a deal can be made, and they will be used.

Lad (W4ORD) – mentioned that Southern Battery in Kernersville has refurbished batteries at great prices.

Nick (KA1HPM) – Attending the Cape Fear Amateur Radio Society swap in Fayetteville last weekend.  Purchased a DL1000 dummy load.  Tried it out on Sunday, and it worked.  There was no documentation, or any manufacture listed on the product. Nick conducted an internet search and noticed a similar item in a 1980 British publication.  Steve thinks it maybe of Japanese origin.  In any case, it was a good find at an affordable price. Just goes to show you what deals you can find at a swap.

Rick – mentioned that Timber Lake Fire Department will be offering ICS 400 training on August 22, 23, 24.

The OCRA meeting for March was held on Monday, April 10, and was well attended with 25  operators and two CERT volunteers in attendance.  introductions and roundtable.

We started with the usual monthly introductions and roundtable.

Then, we had the Treasurer’s report from Dan KR4UB. We have 68 members paid at this point in time. Dan also said that we should all contact our NC General Assembly to include an amateur radio exemption in legislation currently under consideration (Dan posted an update after the meeting).

Secretary Joel KM4NOU encouraged all to contribute to the website in their areas of expertise. Contact Joel for an account if you are interested.

Dee KU4GC reported that preparations for RARSFest on 4/15 were well underway, and he implored members working at the table to keep documentation on what was sold, but also to volunteer to help!

Steve W3AHL gave the ARES report. While we had problems filling our slots for the “Not So Normal Run,” all volunteer slots for the Tarheel 10-miler are full, for this community service event. Steve also introduced our CERT guests.

Dan KR4UB, wearing his repeater hat, said that we are still working on the the UNC Neurosciences installation, and right now we owe UNC some drawings, on which we are working.

Dave W4SAR gave the President’s report, which focused on Field Day.  He explained that Field Day is a combination disaster drill and contest, and that our club (partnering with DFMA) was #3 of 1,500 clubs entering nationwide! He said we are still fine tuning the bands and working with Band Captains, but should have as many as last year. We are working on a wireless networking installation that will allow communication among logging stations but which will not create RFI. John KM4MDR is coordinating the pot luck, Lad W4ORD is running the Sunday grill, and we’ll be getting help from DFMA (Noble Phelps N4UOQ) for Saturday. Dave is still working to try to make sure we can get as many bonus points as possible. Joel KM4NOU reached out to County Commissioner Barry Jacobs, who has tentatively agreed to visit. See Dave’s April post on Field Day for more information.

For the program, Joel KM4NOU presented the Zoom videoconferencing tool, and turned things over to Bruce N1LN to describe how training on the N1MM software to be used for Field Day will be managed using Zoom.

Attending:

W4MKR – MK Ramm
KU4GC – Dee Ramm
Cert Volunteer – Ken Morgan
Cert Volunteer – Tom Milledge
KA5JUJ – Martin Brody
KD4YJZ – Karen Snyder
N4ZAK – Robert Little
KM4LBW – Chris Florio
N2XZF – Paul Robertson
WA4HHR – Dewey Thompson
Kw4KZ – Chuck Anoia
W1KES – Keith Stouder
N1LN – Bruce Meier
W4BOH – Wilson Lamb
KG4NEL – Jim Jingozian
K4TY – Charles Battig
KB4BM – Rose-Marie Battig
WA4PSC – Howie Hoyt
W3AHL – Steve Ahlbom
W4KIL – Andy Yates
N8BR – Bill Bischoff
W4ORD – Lad Carrington
KW4XL – David Vielbaum
NA4VY – Dave Belt
KR4UB – Dan Eddlemon
KM4NOU – Joel Dunn

The OCRA meeting for March was held on Monday, March 13, and was well attended with 31 operators in attendance! Always fun to hear the introductions and roundtable.

We started with an update from Steve on ARES. He has built and relocated cables in the emergency communications radio room, so they are ready for use. Additionally, he reported that classes are being offered during the first week of May for DHS emergency communications, ICS protocols, and AUXCOMM. Steve said:

• The classes offered below are excellent opportunities, with the AUXCOMM course being the most useful for Amateur Radio operators with an ARES/AUXCOMM interest.  Note that to obtain certification, there is a task book requiring you demonstrate your understanding and ability to perform the tasks, witnessed  by a qualified supervisor.  Which is how critical training should be conducted!  You have about two years to complete the task book signoff, although many of the tasks can probably be completed during the Exercise on May 5th.
• Note that prerequisites are:  completion of IS-100, 200, 700 & 800 courses; a General class license or above; experience with auxiliary communications and a desire to learn how to work with a COML in a NIMS/ICS environment.

See his email of March 13 for detailed information on how to sign up.

Dan presented the Treasurer’s report, including a discussion about the new membership processes. We have the new membership list on the website; dues updates will be posted to this list every two weeks. Dan also reported as repeater coordinator that the 442.15 repeater will be used for upcoming special events (see the website for information). He also reported that RARS is redoing their website, with a new location to sign up for public service events. OCRA leadership will be looking at ways we can also leverage online event signup.

Dee reiterated that we have a total of 4 tables for DFMA and OCRA at the upcoming RARSFest. Jack reported that we do need volunteers to help with DurHAMFest.

Joel and Dan gave a presentation on the member database on the new website, including the ability to collect information on member interests and make this available for search and filtering. We will be expanding our use of this database as we discover other things we want to collect and manage. Dan emphasized that we are doing this with security and privacy in mind, using HTTPS for data transmission.

Dave led a discussion about preliminary field day planning. He had previously posted a message about this, but emphasized that the clock was running and we needed to start detailed planning as we are only 3 months out. Getting band captains identified is critical! Bruce will be organizing CW, Lad will do 20 phone, Adriano will do 40 phone, we’ll run 10 and 15 together. John and Dave will be working on digital modes, and Jack will do a VHF station. A major change will be use of a common logging program, N1MM. Bruce will lead a training session on this. Joel suggested using the Zoom communication program for an online training session, and all agreed that this was a good idea.  Joel volunteered to do a presentation on Zoom at the April member meeting. This will be very helpful to Joel, as he’s out of town on a business trip for the April member meeting, and this way he can not only attend but present!

Dan, KR4UB takes yet another photo with his cell phone and, having editor authority, posts it to the OCRA website within minutes.  Pictured on the lower right corner is Joel, KM4NOU, OCRA Secretary and webmaster giving a presentation of recent capabilities he has recently added to the OCRA website. This includes the change to the website to make the section you are currently viewing,  the home page.  The intent is for the site to become the place where OCRA members can communicate on more of a real time basis, for example Dave W4SAR’s “presidents message” and frequent updates on 2017 Field Day planning. Members who would like to contribute articles of interest to the membership are encouraged to contact Joel the OCRA Club Secretary.

The second part of the demo was of the membership listing page and how members can update their information, whether it be vanity call sign changes, contact information, ham radio interest areas, check their dues expiration date and as has been on the site for some time, the PayPal links for dues payment.  Joel demonstrated how members can obtain their private access secure link to update their information.

He also gave a glimpse of the back end that powers this capability, a site plug-in called “Participants Database”. This tool is very flexible and easy to adapt to however the club membership elects to use it in the future.

Dan, KR4UB pointed out that the site uses SSL or Secure Sockets Layer that encrypts data to and from the user, whether it be from their computer, cellphone, tablet or notepad to the website.  This is the same methodology used for financial transactions over the internet.

Due to the winter storm affecting our area through the weekend, the Orange County EOC will be activating tonight , and at minimum will be active through Sunday. The monthly OCRA meeting, as well as the exam session has been cancelled. Elections for club officers and board members will be postponed until the February meeting.

I had contacted the EOC this morning, asking them to contact me as soon as possible if they believe the training room would be active use or on standby due to events. I received the response just a few minutes ago, and stated they felt it best that we make alternate arrangements as it is not clear when the EOC will stand down.I decided on a cancellation instead of a change in venue as travel conditions on Monday may still be unsettled

Thank you all for your understanding. Get the word out and stay safe.

/for Dave Snyder, W4SAR; by Dan, KR4UB

The OCRA Christmas Dinner Monday, December 12^th will be $18.50 per person Paid at the door.  $18.00 if enough pre-register. If there is any change in price I will post after my next meeting with Kelly.

The location is the exchange club building in Hillsborough on Exchange Club Rd. The hall will be open at 6:00 pm with an expected serving time of 7:00pm. Going south in Hillsborough – to Sun Trust Bank (turn right). If going north – to Exxon Ctr turn left.  After turning on Orange Grove Rd, at the immediate right is Exchange Club Rd – turn right and in about 100 yards is the Exchange Club on the left.  If you have ever gone to the Sat morning gathering at Bojangles, the turn is the first stop light past Bojangles heading into Hillsborough. The other way in is to turn down the street that runs beside the Weaver Street  Grocery  parking lot (opposite side of the lot from the building) and proceed past the trestle to the Exchange Club on the right. Talk-in frequencies  145.450 & 147.225

Anyone needing more detailed directions may call me at 919-304-0796 or 919-455-3330

73 everyone,

Lad

This is a list of the items to date selected by the last number of votes:

Meats:

Salmon Broiled / Baked
Baked Ham
Roast Beef
Chicken Tenders

Vegetables:

Vegetarian Pinto Beans
New Potatoes
Cornwallis Yams
String Beans
Greens
Carrots
Vegetarian Lasagna

Salads:

House Salad
Beverages:

Iced Tea – Sweet and Unsweet
Water
Coffee

Desserts:

Apple Cobbler
Chocolate Chess Pie
Caramel  Iced Pound Cake
Peanut Butter Pie

Additions or substitutions are possible but I need early notice to let Kelly know. I also need to know if anyone needs any special dietary conditions or has food allergies.