Metrocrest Amateur Radio Society
News
May 11, 2021
Nominations on Tap for the May meeting
The Nominating Committee for the 2021 Board of Directors election will present the list of nominees to the Board on May 12. Up for election are President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and one Director.
Additional nominations will be taken from the floor during the May 13 club meeting. The Board will then submit the final slate of candidates to the voting Membership before the meeting concludes. The complete slate will also be published to the Membership within seven days.
The Board of Directors has the responsibility to carry on the business of MARS, so having qualified candidates is extremely important to ensure the future growth of our club. If you are interested in serving as a Board member, send an email to nominations@KB5A.org.
President’s QRM — Random noise from the President’s Shack
May 2021
• The MARS Board of Directors meeting is in-person this month! This is the first in-person BOD meeting we have had since March 2020. While we aren’t quite ready to have in-person meetings yet, this is a step towards normalcy.
• ARRL 2021 Field Day is June 26 and 27. The ARRL has extended the Field Day waivers from 2020 which allows operators to work from home (Class D = home power, Class E = emergency power.) and they’ve added two nice new waivers: Class D stations can work any other classes and receive points. Class D and E are limited to 150W PEP transmitter output. There will still be a club aggregate score calculated, just like last year. These waivers will make ARRL FD 2021 a lot of fun to work from your home shack!
• Our friends at Main Trading Company had a very successful Spring tailgate sale recently! Richard says he took in a lot of trades so check out mtcradio.com to see what he has to offer.
• I’m really looking forward to being able to go to a hamfest swap meet and look at “stuff” again! Maybe this fall....
• We are in the middle of our North Texas severe weather period (it’s thundering as I write this.) Keep your home rig backup battery charged and remember to charge your HT in case you need it as a backup. Having a weather radio is a good idea. Even if you don’t get a text from Carrollton/Farmers Branch/Addison ARES/RACES, when severe weather is in the area it’s a good idea to monitor the main MARS repeater 145.210 in case we need to bring up a storm net quickly. Remain Storm Ready!
• Fire up a radio and LISTEN, you never know what you might hear and learn. Try tossing out a CQ once in a while or try a digital mode.
That’s it for now. Let’s plan to have some FUN with Amateur Radio!
73 David K5GIL
At the April 8 meeting, Tom Schiller, K6BT, gave an excellent presentation about how antennas behave in the real world. Tom is founder and owner of Next Generation Antennas and provides a variety of services to the Amateur Radio community including the measurement of take-off angles use high tech equipment and even a drone. Please go here to download a PDF of his presentation.
All About Antennae
Random Shots
(Click to enlarge)
Next Regular Meeting
Thursday, May 13, 2021
Fred Varian, WD5ERD, will present an “Introduction to Digital Smart Technologies for Amateur Radio,” aka D-STAR.
We will meet by teleconference using your computer, tablet or phone. Watch your email in-box for instructions about how to join the meeting.
Remote License Exams Continue
Allan Batteiger, WB5QNG, is still offering online exams through W5YI. Please visit https://wb5qng.org/ for detailed information.
Health & Welfare Net
Every Saturday at 10:00 AM, on the 145.210 repeater.
More on the EVENTS page.
Play Day on Hold
Play Day is postponed indefinitely until we can get together.
Carrollton
Farmers Branch
Addison
ARES/RACES
Next scheduled nets
ARES Training
13 June 2021, 8:00 PM CDT
145.210 Tone 110.9
RACES Training
16 May 2021, 7:45 PM CDT
145.210 Tone 110.9
Extra License Study Group
The group meets by Zoom each Saturday at 10:45 AM – 11:45 AM CT.
If you wish join, send your name, call sign, and your club name (if applicable), to ke5kof450@gmail.com. Beat the FCC license fee—get your Extra soon! Good luck to the new candidates!
This self-taught scientist was born in 1850 and grew up to suggest that a special layer could account for long-distance radio transmissions. It accounts as well for lyrics in a Broadway musical:
For waiting up there is the Heaviside Layer
Full of wonders one Jellicle only will see
And Jellicles ask because Jellicles dare
Who will it be? Who will it be?
—Andrew Lloyd Webber, CATS; T.S. Eliot
Support the Metrocrest Amateur Radio Society
Amazon Smile
Shop AmazonSmile at no extra cost to you. A portion of your eligible purchases will be donated to the Club.
On your phone simply follow the instructions below to select “Metrocrest Amateur Radio Society Inc” as your charity and activate AmazonSmile in the app.
1. Download the Amazon app to your phone
2. Open the app, select the main menu (=) and tap on “AmazonSmile” within Programs & Features
3. Select “Metrocrest Amateur Radio Society Inc” as your charity
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to activate AmazonSmile in the mobile app
Tom Thumb’s Good Neighbor Program
Use your Tom Thumb Reward Card to benefit MARS. Here’s how:
1. Download and print the registration form here: https://www.tomthumb.com/content/dam/store/good-neighbor/GOOD_NEIGHBOR_CHARITY_TT.pdf
2. Fill out the form with your Reward Card number, the MARS charity number 14223, your name and phone number.
3. Sign, date and take the form to your store’s courtesy booth.
Kroger Community Rewards Program
MARS is registered with the Kroger Community Rewards Program. To set up your card, log in to your Kroger account,
http://www.kroger.com. Search for Metrocrest Amateur Radio Society, Inc. – or – RD792 and click Enroll. New users will need to create an account which requires some basic information, a valid email address and a Rewards card.
