July meeting notice
RCKARA will have an eyeball meeting once again. It will be at our usual time, 7 p.m., Tuesday, July 14. The place will be the AMVETS Post, 1427 East Avenue B.
Field Day 2020
RCKARA will hold its annual Field Day at the National Guard Armory, 1111 N. Severance St., from 1 p.m. Saturday to 1 p.m. Sunday. Due to the ongoing pandemic, this won’t be the public event it usually is. All area hams are invited to come and join in, though.
POST-FIELD DAY UPDATE
From club secretary Jerry, ACØRL:
RCKARA members, guests, applicants, and wannabees,
I would like to thank all of the participants that made this year’s Field Day so much fun and a huge success!
We had hams from Great Bend and McPherson show up and participate!
Our total score was 1250 points due to the served agencies and elected officials that showed up, and the kiddo’s that parents brought by.
Our thanks to the Kansas National Guard for allowing us to use their facility again and Reno County Emergency Management for the use of the Mad Cow.
Field Day Entry
May meeting notice
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our May meeting will be on the air, as our April meeting was. Do not go to Mennonite Manor. Join us on the 147.12+ repeater at 8 p.m., Tuesday, May 12, to discuss the club’s business.
April meeting notice
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our April meeting will be on the air. Do not go to Mennonite Manor. Join us on the 147.12+ repeater at 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, to discuss the club’s business. We’ll use the 2-meter band to keep the proper 2-meter distance from other folks.
Minutes: March 10, 2020
Meeting called to order at 1900
Announcements:
· BSA merit badge event went fantastic. Great turnout from the club. Well done!
· 160 Meter contest at ACØRL’s was a lot of fun and very challenging. Thanks to all that attended.
· Storm Spotter event was well attended and very informative.
Minutes from previous meeting were read and approved
Treasurers report was read and approved
Repeater trustee reported no issues with any if the repeaters.
Committee for Field Day will need to be established.
· Armory will be the location
· Weekend of June 27-28
· Mad Cow is going to be used to support antenna(s)
Christmas Party:
· Club will provide meats and drinks, etc.
· Members should bring a dish or desert.
· Club will have Hog Wild pulled pork, brisket, hot links, along with rolls and side dishes.
Hamfest:
· Charles will handle vendors, vendors committed to date:
o Derby Radio Shack
o Jake, vinyl signs and tags
· Jerry will handle presenters
· Gina will handle snacks and drinks
· We will need to have Richard (KØRCJ) arrange for VE testing
· We will need a sound system
· Vendors will need to provide door prizes.
· ARRL sanctioned?
New Business:
· Motion was made and carried that Jake Fields will be exempt from dues for 2020 because of his giving the winners of the 50/50 second drawing free shirts or hats.
NCS:
· March 13: KBØZIA
· March 24: ACØMO
· March 31: KEØBWJ
· April 7: KBØSQL
50/50:
· Gina won the pot again, of course she spent big, buying five tickets improving her odds. $10 to her and $10 to the club!
· Philip Muth won the shirt/hat drawing, again.
If you haven’t yet; please support your club and pay your dues. You can pay them online via PayPal, the club’s PayPal account is ACØRL@yahoo.com, please add an extra two dollars to cover PayPal fees, $27 for single, $32 for family.
Minutes: February 11, 2020
RCKARA members, guests, and wannabees,
I want to thank all of those that turned out at our last meeting. It was great to see so many show up and support our club. If you haven’t been to a club meeting in while, we welcome you to visit. We have many exciting projects and we have a lot of fun!
Meeting was called to order at 1900 local.
· I, ACØRL, will be hosting the CQ World Wide 160m SSB contest at my QTH, 1824 Nickerson Blvd. I am east of the bridge closing. My 160m station is running great and we should have some great fun making contacts all over the world. This contest runs from 2200Z/4pm local Friday the 21st until 2200Z Sunday the 23rd. We can operate overnight for best results. New and old hams should show up to get a taste of some high energy “Top Band” action.
· A new face/ham showed up at our meeting, Dick Oswald, KEØWZW. He will need some Elmering so let’s show him what a helpful and knowledgeable bunch we are.
· Dave Powers attended our meeting. He is moving back to Hutchinson from Missouri. He brought a vintage Henry 2020 radio set, with the second VFO, matching speaker, service and operating manual, and an all-band fan dipole. Joe, ACØMO, purchased the set. We look forward to Joe cleaning it up and getting it on the air. Bet it will sound great!
· We had a guest appearance from Gary, NØFHF, so the rumors of his disappearance from the face of the Earth were premature. Aliens don’t even want him…
· The Christmas party for this year will be held at the Mennonite Manor on our regular meeting night December 8. Club will provide the main meal and members and guests can provide the side dishes.
· QCWA meeting will be the last Tuesday of February, if you wish to attend this meeting we will be departing from Larry Cannon’s house, 17th and Jefferson, at 5PM to carpool to Wichita.
· Storm Fury on the Plains storm spotter training will be March 9th at the Fire Training Command Center, East 4th Avenue across from the Dillon’s distribution center.
· Roger Darrow from the Boy Scouts of America gave a presentation on their Merit Badge College and solicited help from our club to put on the communications merit badge training, March 7th at HCC. Contact Charles, KBØSQL, charlesmtucker@hotmail.com, 620-727-2862, if you can help out on that day.
· Gina, KEØBWJ, won the evening’s 50/50 and generously gave her half to the club, $14 to the charity fund!
· Gary, NØFHF, won the second drawing for a t-shirt with his call emblazoned conspicuously on it. The t-shirts are provided by Jake Fields.
· NCS’s for Tuesday Repeater net, 2000 local Tuesdays:
* ACØMO, Joe
* KCØZBO, Nancy
* KBØSQL, Charles
Meeting was adjourned at 2000 local.
Secretary/Treasurer Jerry Kahn, ACØRL
Storm Fury on the Plains 2020
The National Weather Service Office in Wichita has announced the Storm Fury on the Plains storm identification training schedule. For Reno County, the training session will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 9, at the Hutchinson Fire Training Center, 3201 East 4th St.
To quote the weather office:
“Meteorologists from the National Weather Service office in Wichita have partnered with your local Emergency Management office and will be presenting information that will help prepare storm spotters and weather enthusiasts for the upcoming storm season. Our staff will provide an in-depth weather presentation that will engage the audience by teaching them about the different types of storms, the individual storm features that helps a person to recognize a storm’s potential severity, how to report hazardous weather, and severe weather safety.
“The presentations are hosted by local county Emergency Management agencies and typically last up to two hours. They are open to anyone that has an interest in weather. There are no fees to attend, you do not have to register, and you do not have to sign up to be a spotter. So, if you are interested in learning more about severe thunderstorms and their hazards, please take the time to come out and join us for a very interesting and enjoyable evening.”
Minutes: January 14, 2020
19:04 the meeting was called to order.
Announcements:
* Roland NØRAB has passed. There will be a ceremony Jan. 16th at 11800 W. Hwy 54. S. Haven Rest Area @ 1PM
* NA QSO Party Jan. 18, Noon to Midnight. If you wish to participate with a fun group, show at Jerry’s QTH 1824 Nickerson Blvd.
* CQ WW 160m SSB contest Feb. 21-23, again at Jerry’s.
Program:
We had a presentation from Chuck Skolaut, KØBOG, about his tenure with the ARRL.
Business Meeting:
* Minutes were read
* No repeater issues.
* We are needing participants in the Field Day Committee, So Far KBØZIA, KBØSQL, ACØRL, KEØBWJ have offered
* Hamfest committee will also need participants.
* We are deciding on a venue for our Christmas party. Locations discussed are: Hutch Home Builders Shelter, S. Hutch rec ctr, AM Vets, Mennonite Manor. We will vote on the venue next meeting.
* Our domain name for our club website requires renewal, the .org registering authority has been privatized so the club voted to pay nine years ahead to avoid any price increases. A check for 98.91 was provided to club webmaster Bryon Cannon, KAØIIU.
* NCS: Jan. 21-KBØZIA, Jan. 28-KEØBWJ, Feb. 4- ACØMO.
* 50-50 raffle collected $12. Our speaker won the pot for $6.
* Another drawing for a ARRL Logbook was won by John O’Connor.
* Philip Muth won the drawing for a T-shirt provided by KBØZIA.
* Meeting was adjourned 20:03
Two Silent Keys
John Smith, NØOBY, died Nov. 22, 2019. He was a member of RCKARA. His funeral service will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, November 27, at Journey at South Hutchinson, 808 S. Poplar, South Hutchinson, KS. You may read his obit here.
Eugene Zheng, AAØQP, formerly of Hutchinson and former member of RCKARA, died October 20, 2019. You may read his obit here.
Minutes: November 12, 2019
We had a very productive meeting Tuesday night at the Mennonite Manor.
The meeting was called to order by President Charles Tucker, KBØSQL, at 1900 local.
Announcements:
· Christmas party will be held on December 10th at 1830 local at Anchor Inn, located at B and Main.
· Gina Long enjoyed an appendectomy on November 11th. She is at home resting.
October minutes were read
Treasurer’s report was presented. The club is on sound financial ground with a total of $3867.51 banked.
Repeater trustee reported no known issues with the repeaters.
Old Business:
None.
New Business:
· Club elected to get Gina a bottle of Fireball instead of cards or flowers.
· Nominations and Elections for 2020 were held:
* Vice President – John O’Connor
* Secretary/Treasurer – Jerry Kahn
* President – Charles Tucker
· Club elected to donate $250 to the Kansas DMR group in appreciation of the installation of a very nice DMR repeater in Hutchinson.
· Kansas DMR group will be holding some training and Q&A early next year, TBA.
· W0WR/R (147.120+) Net Control Stations:
* Nov 19, KØSFV
* Nov 26, KBØSQL
* Dec 3, KAØIIU
Presentation by John O’Connor about WA9EXS and his association with the World War II submarine exhibit of USS Cobia. Something to Google!
Meeting was adjourned at 2000.