OKDXA Newsletter for March 2002
From Da’ Prez
By JIM HOOD, K5TT
After months of soul searching, I have decided to resign as president of OKDXA. Since my retirement last year, my attention has been drifting away from ham radio. I will always be active in our hobby and will continue to be as active in OKDXA as possible, however, with our two children and three grand children living in Texas and California, Karen and I spend much of our time out of state. We also have plans to travel extensively in the next several years. So, I see that attending the OKDXA activities and staying in touch with the membership is going to be a challenge. I just don't see how I can fulfill the role of president and follow our retirement plans.
I would not make this move if I did not know that there is someone that can take OKDXA to an even higher level. I took this job last year because I did not see anyone stepping up to the plate to take the OKDXA into the future. I am extremely pleased that Dave, W5ATV has agreed to be a candidate for president after my resignation. Dave is currently the VP of Activities and is the driving force behind the development of the Oklahoma QSO Party. He is also a past president of the Tulsa ARC. The constitution requires that an election be held so other candidates may be nominated. The election will be held at the Green Country HamFest. My resignation will be effective at the end of March.
This action on my part has nothing to do with any issues in or out of the Association. My abbreviated term has been nothing but a pleasure. The spirit and enthusiasm of the officers, directors and members has been very encouraging and gratifying. I know you will give Dave the same support.
I wish all of you the best and thank you for your support. I will see you at the Green Country HamFest. K5TT
Secretary / Treasurer’s Report
By JERRY CHOUINARD, K5YAA
From Da’ Editor
By NELSON DERKS, AC5UP
This newsletter marks the beginning of a period of transition for both CORA and the OKDXA Newsletter, as publication of the traditional Collector & Emitter has been suspended in favor of an electronic edition to become available from a web site. The details of this have yet to be determined. I attended the Swapmeet and Eyeball QSO in Midwest City on February 23rd sponsored by the Choctaw ARC and the OKDXA. Ron McCubbin, KC5QCV and CORA president spoke at the OKDXA meeting regarding the recent changes in CORA. The minutes from their February 16th meeting will be found at the end of this column. The OKDXA Officers and Directors are currently in discussion about how this will affect the OKDXA and our plans for the future. Members are asked to keep an ear on the OKDXA Net (Monday evenings at 6:30pm, 3.860 kHz +/- QRM) as well as the e-mail reflector for updates. (visit the OKDXA web site at /okdxa for details on the e-mail reflector)
Coy, N5OK gave a fine presentation on upcoming events including the Oklahoma QSO Party, March 22-24th and the new ARRL DXCC Challenge Award. Thanks also go to Terry, K5HP for reminding us there’s plenty of fun above 29.7 MHz. It was a good turnout and a fun swapmeet…
I regret posting the resignation of Jim Hood, K5TT as our club president. Jim is a class operator and a very thoughtful gent who has done much to promote the association in its early years. Were it not for Jim and a handful of forward-thinking Hams, the OKDXA might have become a good idea that never happened. I trust Jim will continue his support and with all the changes we’re seeing this month, I’m reminded of his words that appeared in the November, 2001 newsletter:
We had an interesting discussion about the future direction of the OKDXA at our Directors meeting before the Banquet. The question I posed was “Do we want to grow the OKDXA in a manner that the objective is to increase membership numbers, or do we want to put emphasis on having a high quality club for whatever number of Hams choose to join us?” The question centers on the fact that we have some very talented, energetic and knowledgeable people in this club. We can accomplish about anything we set out to do. So, now the question becomes “How do we spend our time and energy?” This is a tough one. I think everyone’s first thought is that we should go to club meetings, set up displays at HamFests, send out letters and e-mails of invitation encouraging more people to join. Suppose we increase the membership by 50%. Where will that take us? What will that do for the membership beyond what we already have in place and have had for years? What will that do for the Amateur Radio community as a whole?
I don’t know all the answers, and I don’t think any of the Directors had the answers either, but we did have an interesting discussion. Several excellent ideas were contributed that can raise the enjoyment of Amateur Radio for the club members as well as all Amateurs. So, do we focus on providing more benefits to the members at the cost of not exclusively trying to grow the membership? I don’t know. I guess we need to be somewhere in between.
What to do you think?
In my mind, the goals and opportunities remain ours for the taking. We’ve seen a start in the OKDXA Elmer program and are near to completing our first Oklahoma QSO Party. As with all projects the club takes on, the goal is to promote the hobby while providing opportunities for all Hams to enhance their abilities. Despite my reluctance at seeing K5TT step down from the presidency, I was glad to see our VP of Activities, W5ATV accept the challenge of the position for the interim. Dave saw the Tulsa ARC through some good years of growth with a positive agenda. The TARC continues to prosper and much of that can be credited to an attitude that encourages participation and cooperation from the membership in setting goals that benefit the greatest number of Hams. A little of that goes a long way, and once the dust settles from this transition period I’d like to see us get serious about Elmering new-comers into a hobby that lasts a lifetime… Amateur Radio. AC5UP
Minutes Of The CORA Meeting
February 16, 2002
(Submitted by Forrest Rush, N5VWF)
{As of 2/20/2002 I have yet to receive the E-mail addresses of the CORA Directors from the President of CORA, Ron McCubbin, KC5QCV. I am therefore sending on the 21st of February the draft minutes of the February meeting to the President of CORA and the Presidents of the member societies as of 2/02/2002. Dated 2/20/2002, Forrest Rush, N5VWF, CORA Secretary}
The President of CORA asked for permission to have the meeting taped and the Board of Directors of CORA gave assent. The minutes of the meeting for January 12, 2002 were read and approved.
Hal Miller, KB1ZQ gave the Treasurer's report in the absence of the Treasurer. There were questions as to why he was giving the Treasurer's report. The Board was informed that the Treasurer was out of town. The Board was also informed that there was some question as to whether the Treasurer wished to continue at his post.
There was discussion about the separation of the jobs of Circulation Manager and Treasurer. Hal explained that he had shown the Treasurer what was involved in the duties of Circulation manager and had tried to give the Treasurer all he needed to carry out the job, and the Treasurer had refused to do it.
The Immediate Past President of CORA was offended by the President of CORA and his refusal to recognize him and by the Board's discussion of Treasury matters as if he were not present. He left in an angry mood. The Editor of the C&E left to try and calm down her husband and neither the Immediate Past President of CORA nor the Editor returned to the meeting. The President of CORA read two letters that had been sent to him. One was from Tri State Amateur Radio Group; the other was from the Oklahoma Central VHF Amateur Radio Club.
The Tri State ARG wished to inform CORA that it supported CORA, and offered CORA its full support.
The Oklahoma Central VHF ARC wished to inform CORA that it was withdrawing its Membership from CORA pursuant to Article 2, B, (2) of the CORA Constitution. The letter was signed by Bill Noland, WA5FWD, President, Oklahoma Central VHF ARC.
The President of CORA was dissatisfied with the official records of CORA. Accordingly he asked for a motion and the following motion was made, seconded, and passed.
1. That the CORA Secretary writes the pre-publication minutes from the tapes and notes made at the meeting; within five days the pre-publication minutes are transmitted to the Directors of CORA. The Directors have three days to recommend any additions, changes, or deletions to the Secretary. Then the Official Minutes are transmitted to the Editor of the C&E and to the Board of Directors. The motion carried.
Jim Richardson, N5OHL, reported that the OKDXA is considering leaving CORA because of the cost of the C&E to the OKDXA.
Chuck Kanach complained that the Choctaw ARC had turned off its autopatch because of the cost of the C&E to the Choctaw ARC.
The gist of the discussion was that the directors or the clubs the directors represented did not want to pay $1.00 per issue as agreed to in the January meeting. The following motion was made. The Secretary of CORA objected to the motion on Constitutional grounds but was overruled by the Board of Directors.
2. Effective Immediately, the C&E will cease publication as a printed journal in favor of an electronic publication. Motion was made by Bill Tarkington, KC5ICR, and was seconded by Jim Richardson, N5OHL.
{Question. Is the above motion a violation of Article 2 and Article 9 of the CORA Constitution?}
The Board of Directors voted on the motion and the motion carried. Four Amateurs, including the Secretary, voted against the motion. The following motion was made after motion #2.
3. Move that a committee headed by the President of CORA (Ron McCubbin, KC5QCV) bring a report to the next meeting (March 9, 2002) about the funding impact of discontinuing the C&E as a published journal in favor of an electronic journal. Committee members are: Ron McCubbin, KC5QCV; Tom Miller, KD5ENJ; Chuck Kanach, KC5EZS; Mark Hamblin, WL7FT; Clay Mayrose, WA6LBU; Lucien, KD5LPV. Motion made by Lucien, KD5LPV, seconded by Bill Tarkington, KC5ICR. Motion carried, 2 opposed.
There was the realization that as of February 16, 2002, the only person with the legal authority to write checks in CORA's name was the Immediate Past President of CORA, Hal Miller, KB1ZQ. After some discussion the following motion was made.
4. To authorize Ron McCubbin KC5QCV, to pay outstanding bills of CORA and be reimbursed by CORA after the treasury is transferred. Motion carried.
After two hours of discussion, the Board of Directors finally got around to Ham Holiday. The committee that was formed in January to look for an alternate site could not find one. The following motion was made;
5. Move that CORA rent Hall 2 in the Made in Oklahoma Building for $700.00 per day, chairs $1.00 per day, tables $6.00 per day (this includes setup).
To summarize, CORA decided to:
·Discontinue the C&E as a printed Journal, effective immediately. This means no March issue. An electronic journal will be started with Tom Miller, KD5ENJ as Webmaster.
That a committee be formed to assess financial impact of discontinuing the C&E · That CORA rent Hall 2 of the Made in Oklahoma Building for HH 2002.
Ham Holiday 2002
· The site will be the Made in Oklahoma Building.
· The date is July 19-20, 2002.
· Times will be on Friday from 5PM to 9PM; Saturday from 8AM to 5PM.
· Prices remain the same. $7.00 in advance, $9.00 at the door. Tables $10.00 each. AC access $5.00 extra per table.
· No other action taken. There is a huge list of things to do to put on HH 2002 and only 3 months to do it in.
A motion to adjourn was made and passed. The meeting ended at 3:40PM. The next meeting is scheduled to be at the Skyline Café on March 9th, 2002. Lunch will be at 12:00. The meeting will begin at 1PM.
Submitted by Forrest Rush, N5VWF
TwoThreeFourFive Six Things To Remember in March:
OPDX Bulletin - Internet Edition
The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster
Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW
Provided by BARF-80 BBS Cleveland, OH
3W, VIETNAM
Conny, DL1DA is expected to be active as 3W9KCS until March 15th. He will be on holiday so activity may be limited. Listen for 40-10 Meters CW. QSL via DL1DA.
CARIBBEAN DXPEDITION
Bert, PA3GIO will activate several islands during the month of March:
FS - From March 5-6th, listen for Bert as FS/PA3GIO/m from St. Martin Island (NA-105) on 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10 Meters SSB. QSL to PA3GIO (bureau preferred).
PJ7 - From March 5-6th, listen for Bert as PJ7/PA3GIO/m from St. Maarten Island (NA-105) on 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10 Meters SSB. QSL to PA3GIO (bureau preferred).
PJ6 - From March 7-14th, listen for Bert as PJ6/PA3GIO/m or /p from Saba Island (NA-145) on 40, 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10M SSB. QSL to PA3GIO (bureau preferred).
HI9 - From March 15-21st, listen for Bert as PA3GIO/HI9 from the Dominican Republic (NA-096) on 80, 40, 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10 Meters SSB. QSL to PA3GIO (bureau preferred).
FJ - From March 22-28th, listen for Bert as FJ/PA3GIO/m or /p on St. Barthelemy Island (NA-146) on 80, 40, 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10 Meters SSB. QSL to PA3GIO (bureau preferred).
Bert has set up several Web pages that can be found at these URL’s:
D2, ANGOLA
Joao, CT1BFL is in Luanda and signing as D2U for the next two years. Activity will be on 160-10 Meters CW/SSB. QSL via CT1BFL.
EA8, CANARY ISLANDS
Axel, DL5SDK will be active as EA8/DL5SDK March 17-22nd. Activity will be on 14300, 21350 and 28400 kHz using only 100 watts into a 3 element tri-band beam. QSL via the bureau.
ET, ETHIOPIA
Paul, W4PFM will be here for six months and has received his call sign ET3PMW. He has been active on 10 and 15 Meters recently, listen around 28438 kHz after 1430z and on 21270 kHz (net) after 0700z. QSL via W7KEU.
FM, MARTINIQUE
Members of the "Pordenone Gangsters Group" Luke, IV3JVJ; Max, IV3FHH; Andy, IV3BTY and Claudio, IV3OWC will be back in Martinique for DX’ing, contesting and a leisure trip. From March 24th to 29th they will call as FM/homecall from the FM5GU station. They should have a great signal and will concentrate on the lower bands. Max will operate CW (only) while the others will operate SSB with some CW and RTTY. Their QSL Manager is Daniele IV3TDM; please use the call book address. Dennis, FM5GU and Lucien, FM5WD will join them for the WPX SSB Contest as a Multi-Single station calling FM5GU. QSL manager for FM5GU is Steve, KU9C, as usual. Details about this op, The Pordenone Gangsters and their sked is at:
GJ, JERSEY
Pete, K8PT and Craig, K3PLV will make their 3rd annual trek to the Channel Islands and activate Jersey from March 13-19th. The emphasis will be on CW and RTTY, however, Craig will try RS-12/13 during evening (USA time) passes. Concentration will be on WARC bands during daylight and 30/40/80 Meters during the evenings. Call signs will be MJ/K8PT and MJ/K3PLV. QSL via their home call signs.
HSØ, THAILAND
Charlie, N4CT (ex- K4PHY/YV5, T5CT, SVØCT, G5BAU, GC5BAU, TJ1AW etc.) is now licensed as HSØZDR. His time for operating and QSL’ing will be limited by his travels to various overseas locations for the next two months. When he is active it will be from Chiang Mai, Thailand. He has unlimited access to a 150 ft roof and will be installing a 2 element 21 MHz beam in March or April. Presently, he is using a 7 MHz fishpole vertical and has worked many stateside stations using the call sign HSØ/N4CT in October thru December of last year. E-mail to:
JD1, OGASAWARA AND
MINAMI TORISHIMA
Yoshi, JE2EHP reports that JM1KNI/JD1 has been operating from Ogasawara, and as far as he is aware, there are no active Hams on Minami Torishima (another JD1) presently. Minami Torishima is a restricted area only for the Meteorological Agency and the Self-Defense Force. He states, "We have to wait for some Hams related to those two organizations to land on the island. Let's keep our fingers crossed!"
KH1, BAKER ISLAND
Hrane, YT1AD announces the crew for the KH1 DX’pedition to Baker Island is:
Hrane, YT1AD; Vlado, Z31FU (ZS6MG); Dough, N6TQS; Steva, YZ7AA; Roman, RZ3AA; Dave, KW4DA; Miki, YU1AU; Igor, RA3AUU; Eric, K3NA; Dragan, Z32AU; Krassy, KZ1LZ; Mome, Z32ZM and Will, K6NDV.
The team will travel for six days on the "Princess II" via 3D2 and T2. Their arrival on KH1 is expected on April 29th for a sked with N5UW. A special 1 x 1 call sign will be announced on April 29th. There will be six stations active in three tents using IC-756 Pro II, 5 LPA (3 x ACOM 1000 and 2 x 400 W solid-state amplifiers). They will have 7 beams, 3 dipoles, 3 verticals and 1 Beverage for 80/160m. For power, they will use 3 generators (2 x 5kw and 1 x 3.5kw). Activity will be on 160-10 Meters as well as 6 and 2 Meters. Modes will be CW, SSB, PSK, RTTY, SSTV, FM, and satellite 28/144. Pilot stations will be VE3EXY and YU1AA. Their Web site will be edited by 4N1NM and 4N1FG.
LU, SOUTH ORKNEY ISLAND
Claudio, the current operator at LU1ZA (the club station of "Base Naval Orcadas") will be going QRT on March 11th. The supply vessel was expected to arrive at the end of last week with a new crew and a new operator (Jose-Louis) who might be active on the amateur bands again. QSL’s for Claudio operations go via LU4DXU.
P5, NORTH KOREA
It was reported in February that Bruce, KK5DO and QSL Manager for P5/4L4FN, has a good feeling that all P5/4L4FN contacts will count for DXCC. However, this is not official yet. He mentioned North Korea doesn't issue any license so any written permission to operate will suffice. Government officials have checked his station on a few occasions and the North Korean government obviously knows he is operating there. His current contract with the United Nations World Food Program is good until June and if it is renewed he will be there for another year. Ed continues to be active on 15 Meters SSB. However, he has been practicing some RTTY and CW and should be on those modes soon.