Minutes of the March, 2017 FWRC general meeting are available for download using the link below.
Indiana Michigan Power has notified the FWRC it plans to temporarily disconnect power to the building at its north Clinton Street substation that houses several local repeaters. The outage will allow workers to remove a generator transfer switch. The work is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 21 and the company expects the task to take about one hour.
Repeaters that might be affected include:
- FWRC 146.76 MHz
- FWRC 444.875 MHz
- ACARTS 147.255 MHz
- ACARTS 144.390 MHz packet radio
The March 2017 Issue of the Allen County HamNews newsletter is now available for download using the link below. This and previous issues are also available for download by clicking the “Files” link in the main menu and then clicking “Newsletters.”
The Allen County Amateur Radio Technical Society (ACARTS) will sponsor a simplex FM contest on the two-meter, 1.25-meter and 70 cm bands April 8, 2017. The contest will run from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. EDT.
According to information provided by the ACARTS, the contest is designed for hams to have fun over a short period. “You don’t need to devote an entire weekend, just an enjoyable Saturday evening. So get a cup of hot chocolate, a comfortable chair, and sit down for a few hours to see who is on the air. There will be some rovers running around during the full contest period to keep activity going the entire time.”
Complete information, including rules, etc. is available by downloading the PDF file below.
{jd_file file==189}
The amateur radio SKYWARN net based in Fort Wayne will undergo slight changes, effective Feb 1, 2017. Formerly known as the IMO SKYWARN Quadrant Two Net, it will now be referred to as the Allen County SKYWARN Net. The net will continue, however, to accept and relay reports from spotters outside Allen County, including stations in places like DeKalb and Defiance County, which were not officially part of the former quadrant net’s responsibility.
The de facto demise of the IMO SKYWARN organization led to the change. IMO SKYWARN’s fade from existence was symbolized by the recent disappearance of the organization’s website and further indicated by its board’s lack of activity for the past few years (a conference call in 2012 was the board’s most recent meeting).
IMO SKYWARN originally formed to implement an organized system to get reports from trained SKYWARN storm spotters to the Northern Indiana National Weather Service office via amateur radio. That system continues to exist. An amateur radio station at the NWS office (WX9IWX) can still simultaneously monitor four repeaters, including one in Fort Wayne, although recent difficulty staffing WX9IWX with volunteer hams has hampered the system. IMO SKYWARN also organized biennial advanced spotter training seminars in the past, but has not produced such an event since 2011.
Amateur radio continues to be an important resource to the NWS SKYWARN program as evidenced by a memorandum of understanding between the ARRL and the NWS. Spotter reports to many local ham radio nets, however, no longer travel all the way to the NWS via amateur radio. Instead, many local nets send their reports to the NWS via a private NWS internet chatroom known as NWSChat. In fact, our local net has used that method during several activations when WX9IWX was not on the air, including the August 24, 2016 tornado outbreak. Despite the popularity of NWSChat, the leadership of the Allen County SKYWARN Net intend for the net to remain a viable alternative in the event of internet failure, assuming WX9IWX can be staffed at such times.
Speaking of net leadership, it remains in the hands of the same people, with former IMO SKYWARN quadrant director Jay Farlow, W9LW, continuing the functional role of net manager, and the following experienced hams continuing as designated net control station (NCS) operators:
- Rich, Andrew N9HRA
- Chad Beach, W9GGA
- Fred Gengnagel, KC9EZP
- Steve Haxby, N9MEL
- Bernie Holm, K9JDF
- Brian Jenks, W9BGJ
- Jim Moehring, KB9WWM, Allen County ARES Emergency Coordinator
- Joel Tye, KB9RH
- Woody Woodbury, KC9CGN
The net continues to seek additional NCS’s. Contact Farlow at the email address below for more information.
Other than the net name, the only change operators might notice is that the net repeater might enter “standby mode” less often. As a quadrant net, it entered standby mode for any severe thunderstorm watch or tornado watch that affected any of the 11 counties in its quadrant, if an NCS was available. NCS’s will continue to have discretion about when to enter standby mode, but revised net procedures will no longer require standby mode for watches that do not include Allen County. To repeat, however, the net will continue to accept reports from any station that can reach the net repeater, regardless of location. And spotter traffic from a nearby county may continue to prompt a directed net, even if severe weather isn’t threatening Allen County.
Anyone who’d like to see details of how the net will now operate may download an updated net operations manual from the FWRC website. Persons with questions about the net are encouraged to direct them to Farlow, w9lw@arrl.net.
The February 2017 Issue of the Allen County HamNews newsletter is now available for download using the link below. This and previous issues are also available for download by clicking the “Files” link in the main menu and then clicking “Newsletters.”
The FWRC annual Auction this coming Friday will feature several vintage radios. The club is selling three stations of vintage gear, and we would like to report that three other vintage rigs are also planned to be present.
The FWRC stations are a vintage Kenwood TS-520 radio with accessories and a Drake TR-3 Transceiver with power supply, matching speaker and D-104 microphone. Also, donated to the club is a Heathkit SB-104A station.
Here is a picture of the Kenwood station:
This Kenwood station has been checked out and it receives great. The transmitter has a little 120 HZ buzz, but otherwise works fine, and the CW works too. It has two filters, one for SSB and one for CW (500 HZ bandwidth). In original boxes. The station is excellent cosmetically, except for the Electro Voice microphone, which has been through a war (but works fine). The digital display is very accurate. The remote VFO has not been tested, as the cable is missing. This rig has AC and DC power supplies, but the DC cable is missing as well. The tuner is great, and has only two knobs. It was tested with a long wire antenna and a 9:1 UNUN.
Here is a picture of the Drake station:
The Drake TR-3 is in good condition. The receiver is very weak and needs attention. The transmitter has not been tested. The D-104 mic is included. Original manual is included. All tubes light. The speaker includes an AC power supply. It is recommended that only some one familiar with tube circuits purchase and work on this rig.
Here is the Heathkit station:
The Heathkit SB-104A is the solid state replacement for the famous SB-102 series. The tuner is home brew in a cabinet to match the SB series. Operational status of this station is unknown. Manuals are included.
Another FWRC rig to be sold at the auction is a Yaesu VX-170 HT with charger and speaker mic. This is a 2 meter only HT and it works fine.
The club also has a Century 21 CW transciever, if someone is interested, let me know.
Also coming to the auction are the following older rigs:
- Collins 75S-3B receiver
- Hallicrafters SX-100 receiver
- Halicrafters HT-32 transmitter
Condition of this gear is unknown; see it at the auction!
For more information, contact Steve, W9SAN, at w9san@arrl.net, or visit Paul Pestia’s auction website.
73, See you at the Auction!!
The January 2017 Issue of the Allen County HamNews newsletter is now available for download using the link below. This and previous issues are also available for download by clicking the “Files” link in the main menu and then clicking “Newsletters.”
It’s time for YOU to start planning for the upcoming foxhunting season. Foxhunts will occur on Sundays in the months February through November. We knock off for December and January. The dates established for 2017 are as follows:
- 5 February,
- 5 March,
- 2 April,
- 7 May,
- 4 June,
- 9 July,
- 6 August,
- 10 September,
- 1 October, and,
- 5 November
A foxhunt in any particular month can be rescheduled once within that month (due to weather, civil riots, Godzilla attacks or other unforeseen events). If the rescheduled hunt subsequently cannot be executed for whatever reason, then there will be no hunt that month.
The Fort Wayne Radio Club will host it’s Christmas Banquet on Friday, 9 December at the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church (at the corner of Vance and Reed, across the street from Snider High School) starting promptly at 6:30 pm. The club will be providing both baked and fried chicken, soft drinks, coffee, plates, cups and utensils.
As this is a carry-in affair attendees are asked to bring some other goodies in to supplement the chicken. It can be side dishes, salads, vegetables, desserts or whatever suits you’re fancy. (You know, you can’t go wrong with meatballs and/or deviled eggs, you just can’t).
This year we will be entertained by a special guest. Her name is Ann Bigley and she is an accomplished music educator, teacher, pianist, choral director, vocalist, musician, actress, and, in her spare time the mother of club member Elizabeth Wolverton, KD9BCH. Ann is all set to provide us with a program that will put us in the holiday mood.
We will also have a voluntary gift exchange again this year. Those interested in participating should bring a wrapped gift suitable for, and identified as for a man or woman, perhaps something an OM or XYL would appreciate. But it doesn’t necessarily need to be something related to our hobby.
The value of the gift should be limited to not more than $10.00 to keep things within reason. (The only exception to this guideline is that if you intend to bring in ANY item of Collins gear, just be sure to mark it “For An OM, specifically WB9SSE”). It’ll make him happy, and you feel warm and fuzzy.
So please plan to join us for this evening of good food, good friends and good entertainment. Remember, Friday, 9 December starting at 6:30 pm at the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, corner of Vance and Reed Rd.