
News
April 4, 2023

MARS Seeks Nominations
It’s election time and all officer positions plus one director position are up for grabs. Here is your opportunity to serve the Club by helping guide its future. The offices and abbreviated duties are:
• President - chairs regular meetings, appoints committees, and provides general supervision of the club.
• Vice-President - performs the duties of the President in his or her absence and serves as the general activity director.
• Secretary - keeps all corporate records and provides communication to the membership. This position requires a considerable amount of computer skill and attention to detail.
• Treasurer - receives money in the form of dues and contributions, pays bills and keeps all financial records. This position requires a considerable amount of computer skill and attention to detail.
• Director (1 of 3) - provides general guidance and advice to the Board of Directors. Directors are elected for a 3-year term.
Please review Article Nine of the By-Laws for more complete job descriptions. Eligible candidates must be 21 years of age, have been a full-time member for the previous 12 months and possess a current FCC amateur radio license (see Article 10.2).
The Nominating Committee will present a slate of candidates to the membership at our meeting on May 11. At that time, nominations from the floor will be considered. The vote will be tallied at our regular meeting on June 8.
Please consider running for one of these offices. An excellent club requires excellent leadership to be successful. We need your participation. If you wish to be considered, please contact the Nominating Committee, Elections@KB5A.org.
News from North Texas

ARRL North Texas Section Manager Steven Lott Smith, KG5VK, joined us at the March 9 meeting to share all the latest news and information in and around North Texas.
Volunteers on the Air (VOTA) is a year-long on the air celebration of ARRL Member Volunteers at the ARRL and Field Services level. You earn points ranging from one point for QSOs with ARRL members to 300 points for working ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR.
W1AW/portable is also part of VOTA. Each state gets two opportunities this year for their ARRL members to use W1AW/#. Texas had about 20 operators on the air as W1AW/5 during the first slot in February. Gary Nachman, K9JN, of Sachse had the most QSOs with 834 in the log. The next slot for Texas will be in September. For more information about VOTA, please visit: https://www.arrl.org/volunteers-on-the-air
ARRL Foundation Scholarships are just one of the benefits of membership. The Foundation granted over 1.5 million dollars last year and is on track to award more than 100 scholarships ranging from $500 to $25,000 in 2023. Visit https://www.arrl.org/scholarship-program for more information.
The ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology offers hands-on professional workshops that give teachers tools and strategies to introduce basic electronics, radio science, satellite communication, Amateur Radio, and much more to their students. The program is part of ARRL’s Education and Technology Program. Go here for more information: https://www.arrl.org/teachers-institute-on-wireless-technology
ARRL Contest Rules have changed. Please go to https://www.arrl.org/contest-rules for complete details. ARRL Field Day Rules have changed as well. Notably GOTA stations can earn more points for QSOs and there is no limit. Having a GOTA “Coach” can give you 100 bonus points. To discover other changes for 2023, download the FD rules here: https://contests.arrl.org/ContestRules/Field-Day-Rules.pdf
The ARRL is building a fund to revive old, defunct division-level hamfests (think Ham-Com). As part of that initiative the Trinity River Roundup Hamfest has been launched and will be our new division-wide hamfest. The Mesquite Convention Center has been chosen for its ability to host tailgating and reasonable costs. The second weekend of June 2025 is the target date. More information to come as things develop.
If you have questions about any of these topics, please contact Steve, KG5VK@ARRL.org.
MARS Gears Up for Texas State Parks on the Air

Spearheaded by our TSPOTA Event Committee, Andy Parcel, KE5KOF, Ken Wendel, W5RPS, Steve Darrah, KD5YPB, and Tom Yenny, K5LOL, MARS plans to activate the Johnson Branch Unit of Ray Roberts Lake State Park.
We will operate under our club call, KB5A, only on Saturday but lunch and dinner will be provided! Here is the essential information.
What are the dates and times?
TSPOTA runs Saturday and Sunday, April 15 and 16. However, the Club plans only to operate on Saturday. The park opens at 6:00 AM CDT and we will muster at 7:00 AM to set up our equipment. Admission is $7.00 per person unless you have a yearly pass. The talk-in frequency will be on the Denton County ARA repeater 146.920 MHz, tone 110.9. Local comms will be 146.48 simplex, no tone. The event starts at 9:00 AM CDT. We plan to shut down not later 8:00 PM CDT.
Because we’re on the air only one day, we’re considering doing some of the antenna setup on Friday afternoon starting at 1:30 PM CDT. If you can help with the Friday setup, please let us know.
Where is it?
Thanks to Steve Darrah, KD5YPB, we’ve once again secured a spot at the Johnson Branch Unit of Ray Roberts Lake State Park. Our operation will be at a pavilion near the Nature Center. We’ve secured the parking lot for antennas. Click here to download a map to the Nature Center.
Can I bring my own radio?
Radios will be available. If you prefer to bring your own HF radio or a radio that features 2-meter sideband or 6-meter sideband, please feel free to bring it and connect to one of the provided antennas. If you are willing to volunteer the use of your equipment for the day, you are welcome to do so. Please sign up now.
Can I set up my own antenna?
No, you should not plan to use your own antenna. However, if you have an antenna the Club could borrow for the event, please contact Operations Manager Tom Yenny, K5LOL@ARRL.net. The TSPOTA Committee will provide antennas to cover 2m, 6m, 10m, 15m, 20m, 40m and 80m. We will be tightly coordinating what radios will operate on specific bands. TSPOTA rules do not allow for more than one radio on any particular band at one time anyway.
A note about tuners: We will be using band pass filters and multiplexers to help manage RF. You will not be able to use internal tuners, but you may use an external tuner if you wish.
How many stations will be operating?
We will have up to 5 stations on 7 bands. The Mobile Command Center (MCC), courtesy of Kevin Grantham, N5KRG and Andy Parcel, KE5KOF, will have 2- and 6-meter stations; three HF rigs will be at the pavilion.
What if there’s foul weather?
The weather is always a little tricky. “Plan A” is our good weather plan which will have us operating outdoors under the cover of a pavilion. “Plan B” will have our HF stations inside the comfort of the Nature Center as we did last year.
What does the Club need to make this happen?
We need you to participate. As of this writing we still need:
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Chef— Burger wrangler and such on the grill.
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Safety Officer— This is a public park. It’s extremely important to monitor the site for hazards.
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Talk-in Monitor— Monitors the VHF rig to help guide any lost hams.
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Equipment— We do need some stuff: coax (long lengths ≈ 200 ft); antennas (see above); rigs; computers; ethernet cable. Visit the sign-up sheet to let Tom know what you can share for the duration.
If you’ve never been involved in a field event, now is your opportunity. Go now to the sign-up sheet to let us know if you plan to attend, what you will bring, and most importantly, how many folks will eat.
This will be a really fun event. We hope you can come out and join us Saturday, April 15. If you have any questions or comments, please contact Tom, K5LOL@ARRL.net.
Next Regular Meeting
Thursday, April 13, 2023 • 6:30 PM
Joseph Carcia, NJ1Q, will give us a tour of W1AW, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station at ARRL’s headquarters in in Newington, Connecticut.
Go to the EVENTS page for details.
Play Day
Play Days are usually on the third Saturday of each month. Due to TSPOTA on April 15, the next Play Day is May 20, 2023.
Go now to the EVENTS page for more details.
License Testing
Allan Batteiger, WB5QNG, will have an in-person test session on April 15 at the Library. Check the EVENTS page for details. Allan continues to offer remote testing sessions as well. Please visit https://wb5qng.org/ to learn how to sign up.
Carrollton
Farmers Branch
Addison
ARES/RACES


Next scheduled nets
ARES® Training
April 9, 2023, 8:00 PM CT
145.210 Tone 110.9
RACES Training
April 16, 2023, 7:45 PM CT
145.210 Tone 110.9

Seen here proudly wearing his radio merit badges, this well-known American painter was born and grew up to develop a code using dashes and dots.

These fellows got together and formed a famous organization.
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