HOLIDAY DINNER AT COLONIAL Our January 10 meeting will be at the Colonial Steakhouse buffet and restaurant at the west Oakley interchange. Come out with the family to socialize, eat some good grub and see if the new club officers have any tricks up their sleeves. We will meet at 6:00 PM and plan to eat at 6:30.

KEARNEY HAMFEST FEB 2 The Midway ARC announces their winter hamfest 8:30AM Saturday Feb. 2 at Buffalo County Fairgrounds. Admission $3, under 12 free. 1^st swap table $8/add'l $4. Burghardt's will be attending, VE exams 12:30, pancakes and sausage, website wØky.kearney.net

CHRISTMAS PARTY DECEMBER 13 About 15 Trojans and family turned out for the Christmas potluck, bringing a nice variety of goodies to munch on. A nice time was had with eyeball QSOs as well. One highlight of the evening was the gifts KØBJ, who was celebrating his first half-century on earth, opened from the K-N crew. Having listened to Bruce's ramblings about putting up Beverage and 6M antennas "someday", Gregg and Jeff made BJ a 6M "Beverage"… It's a Diet Pepsi bottle with whip and 2 coils, and actually exhibits a low SWP on 6M (pattern and efficiency TBD….)! The second gift was in response to BJ's oft-heard comments about the dual-band gutter clip mobile antenna mounted 2 feet from his head in the Explorer. It's a kid's fireman hat, wrapped in aluminum foil with a grounding strap! Actually , this item might be a real benefit to BJ's continued health…. If he doesn't get beat up first.

NEW OFFICERS At the Christmas party the choo-choo train was stoked and the following officers were railroaded into service for the 2002 year:

President KØBJ

Vice Pres NØXJ

Sec/Treas NØXNJ

Program KCØJAO

Congratulations to all for attaining these hard sought-after honors!

MT SUNFLOWER CERTIFICATES The KØS certificates are out the door and to the post office after KCØJAO KØFJ KØBJ got them printed and filled out. Should be good training for the upcoming onslaught of NWS special event certificates……

SKYWATCHING 2 -- SWL? VWL??? After mentioning some events in the sky last month, maybe it should be mentioned that the International Space Station NA1SS, was visible in early evenings a couple weeks back. It was quite a striking sight with the shuttle docked there to add to the light output. The fast-moving pair were shining about as bright as Venus.

VHF CONTEST EFFORT KØFJ KCØHBR NØXJ KCØJAO hope to put on a multiop effort in the ARRL January VHF contest January 18-20. They'll use the 110' grain leg/hardline run of KØBJ's, a 14el 2M yagi KCØHBR just ordered, and KØBJ's 3el 6M yagi. Bruce w9ill be off at the ARRL BoD meeting, so Jim, Jeff, Gregg and Mike will bring out the command post, saddle up the rats the K-N guys claim inhabit those parts, and forge ahead. Any other ops/gawkers welcomed.

KØBJ BANISHED TO HELL Bruce and family will be down in Grand Cayman Jan 25 - Feb 3. Signing ZF2CM, Bruce will operate in the CQ 160 CW contest Jan 25-26 although he'll have a late start. He might also enter the 10-10 winter contest the next weekend as well as the North American Sprint Feb. 2 6-10PM, just before returning home. The following skeds with KS are planned. QSY to alternate freq. If no contact after 6 / 12 minutes

26 Jan 2300Z 21.380 / 14.280 / 28.380

30 Jan (0100Z 31 Jan) 14.280 / 21.380 / 28.380

2 Feb 2100Z 28.380 / 21.380 / 14.280

PACKET RACKET de Mike KØFJ – The new Hoxie APRS Digi chip is in hand. I hope to get it switched out in the next few weeks. A problem with the formatting of the AutoWX packets may still prevent a double hop into the Colby Digi. That will be determined and addressed after the chip is replaced.

Hustler resonators 75-$17 40-$12 20-$10 Cass Hepker C.R. Iowa 373-0386

Wilson SY1 5el tribander, Hy-Gain 14el 2M, 30 ' tower, HamIII $400 and buyer removes WBØWYA (Omaha) 893-2176

BANDSCAN KBØSYH is Dale, not Dave… sorry about that! BT KBØZIA is now part of the Colby volunteer fire department. Jake, if they issue you KØBJ's "RF helmet" for your fireman's hat, you know you're in trouble! Thanks for your service. BT NØXJ installed his multiband coax-trap dipole at home after service at NWS. Gregg reports good luck in snagging a number of European and other DX stations on PSK31 on 20 meters. Look for the DX bug to be biting hard on County Road 15. Even some rumors XJ might be looking for another tower. BT KØBJ KCØJAO and NØXJ recently completed a cooperative effort on a 40 M QRP rig. Bruce's contribution was to have one too many at the QRP hospitality suite in Dayton and foolishly buy a Surface Mount version of the famous Tuna Tin 2 transmitter with associated rx. Jeff hated seeing the kit remain as a bag of forlorn, if microscopic, parts, and built it as a birthday present. Gregg looked at the PCB/jack/silkscreen kit and decided he could solder the box parts and complete final assembly. After chasing down one cold joint on a 3/16 x 1/8" IC (no joke!) connection, the rig is perking with 300 deathray milliwatts of 40M cw RF. BT KØFJ recently added a 2m/70cm yagi formerly owned by KØMXU, to his rotatable stack. Horizontally polarized, these yagis should net Mike some SSB QSOs on the nosebleed bands. KØBJ and KØFJ did the tower work which involved a holiday season rendition of "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies" with KØBJ just above FJ's rotator. BT KBØZIA recently acquired a VOX boom mic that he wants to use for going motorcycle mobile. Sounds like a good way for Jake to get some 5 by 9 grasshoppers to QSL his front teeth! Well, oughta be some fun QSOs anyway. BT Ex-Trojan Mike KCØIWH is (sorta) happily chasing QSOs and DX on the HF bands in Overland Park. The 'sorta' comes from his being plagued with some nasty line noise. He's hoping to get it found and cured and in the meantime is managing some fun CW QSOs. BT Congrats to KCØHBR who apparently got some good treatment from Santa. A little seed planted in his mom's Christmas list blossomed into a Yaesu mobile rig! Jim has located a 14el HyGain 2M beam for a good price and hopes to round up that and some coax to beef up the home station too. BT The June VHF contest results are out and congratulations go to KØBJ who somehow moused out a 6M band win for KS low power, with only 100 QSOs. Scott and Matt NØQE/KBØYFN also placed 3^rd in Midwest in the Rover category. #2 was KØDAS, a KSU ham buddy of KØBJ and former president of the respected Central States VHF Society. BT KCØIWH downloaded DigiPan and is playing with HF packet. Oughta get through his local line noise problem a little better than the traditional modes. Mike was thinking about spending on a new jacket to replace a worn out one, but Hayli rescued him in style by getting him a new one with name and call embroidered on the front! BT KØBJ lucked out recently, after his 20M Spider resonator parted company with his mobile mast. Bruce had written it off, but Janice found a 'suspicious ham thing' near the railroad tracks at the side of the road a few days later….. BT Dan KBØZNU of Topeka recently visited KØBJ's shack with his girlfriend Chrissie -- Bruce's niece. The couple are both blind, and Dan's perception of audio was pretty amazing. He can identify Touch Tones in a flash, knows all about telephone switching networks, and is quite an AM bcst SWL. If Dan manages to upgrade to General he ought to be dangerous at digging out weak QRP signals! BT Condolences to Cokry WBØVOQ, whose XYL Adeline recently died from cancer. BT

Mike KØFJ has had some experience listening to what is essentially VHF audio, gated or "internet linked" to numerous 2 meter simplex radio or repeaters. The idea of trying this in Colby intrigues him, and this would be a good discussion topic for a meeting. He offers the following info:

IRLP stands for the Internet Radio Linking Project. The aim of this project
is to link radio systems separated by long distance without the use of
expensive leased lines, satellites, or controllers.

The IRLP uses Voice-Over-IP software and the power of the Internet that
would link a simplex or repeater radio site to the world. The system uses
its own custom interface board and software suite, which makes interfacing
your radio system to the world simple and cost effective.

The IRLP runs a large network of dedicated servers and nodes to offer the
very best in voice communications. The heart of the IRLP is its Amateur
Radio network which reaches hundreds of towns and cities across North
America, linking them all with a full dynamic range, telephone quality

sound.

The system would require high-speed Internet access, dedicated Red Hat Linux
IRLP Node server, IRLP project board, two meter or 440-radio and antenna
system for a simplex link, and the IRLP software. The cost to join the
network is free at this time, however they may need to charge $ 30.00 per
year for sever storage.

I could provide the PC, Red Hat Linux and site location. If Club members
are interested, we would need the IRLP board, radio, and interface
cable.

I have heard Amateurs from Australia, Canada, and all across the United
States on the reflector. Access to the node and reflector would be
restricted to Club members who have reviewed and understand the rules and
procedures needed to access the IRLP Reflector. Users need touch tone
capability on their radios.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Confusion over "Business Communications "When a large California forest was destroyed by wildfire, causing the evacuation of tens of thousands of mountain residents, hundreds of ham operators provided support communication for the US Forest Service, the California Department of Forestry, the American Red Cross and other relief agencies. This was a widespread emergency and normal fire and rescue channels were overloaded. Amateurs were called to provide assistance. Once the fires were out, several hams were heard asking, "were we legal?" Of course they were legal, under both sections 97.401(a) and 97.403
discussed above. The fact that this question was asked at all, under these
circumstances, illustrates the confusing interpretations of the FCC rules
within the amateur fraternity. As ARES and/or RACES leaders, you need to
discuss these issues with your members as part of your planning efforts.
The confusion stemmed from some old FCC rules. Around 1970, when amateur
repeaters first became popular, concerns about possible abuses by
non-amateur and business interests led the FCC to prohibit amateur
communications "to facilitate the business or commercial affairs of any
party" or "as an alternative to other authorized radio services." Over time,
the interpretations of these rules became progressively more literal until
they had a chilling effect even on meritorious public service activities.
Something had to be done to put things back on track.
In 1993, the FCC dropped the rather broad "no business" language, and
replaced it with a more specific prohibition on communications for
compensation, on behalf of one's employer, or in which the amateur has a
financial interest [97.113(a)(2)(3)]. In place of the flat prohibition on
providing an alternative to other radio services is a less restrictive one
against doing so on a regular basis [97.113(a)(5)]. These changes meant a great deal to public service-oriented amateurs. They removed the ambiguities that plagued amateur public-service communications for years, and silenced the endless hair-splitting discussions about whether particular communications were permitted. The focus now is on whether the amateur, or his or her employer, stands to benefit financially, rather than on the content of the communication. If so, then the communication is still prohibited. If not, then the remaining question is whether the communications need is one that ought to be met by some other radio service. Here, the rule of reason applies. Amateur Radio should not meet a need that arises on a regular basis, and for which other communications services are reasonably available. The FCC declined to define "regular," but this shouldn't pose much of a problem for us since abuses will tend to be self-limiting. Volunteers don't like being taken advantage of, and if they are, they should just say no. One popular activity for which there is no practical communication alternative available, collecting data for the National Weather Service, was singled out by the FCC as an example of what is permitted under the new rules. The new rules do not represent a philosophical departure from our "roots." In fact, they are almost identical to the regulations in effect prior to the "no business communications" rule. They provide latitude in our operating and especially in our public service communications, just as we had for decades before the onset of over-regulation in the early '70s. This is one of those rare times when we get to return to the "good old days." For a more general discussion of the business rules, see Chapter 2 of the ARRL's The FCC Rule Book. Tactical Call Signs Tactical call signs are often adopted during an emergency, or during large public-service activities. Names like "Med Tent," "Fire 1," "Shelter 2," and "Red Cross Staging" quickly identify each function, and eliminate confusion when working with other agencies for whom amateur call signs are meaningless. They also help prevent confusion when several operators may take turns at a position. The use of tactical call signs is a good idea, but it in no way relieves you of the obligation to identify your operation under the FCC's Rules for normal station identification. You must still give your FCC-assigned call sign at the end of your communication, and at least every 10 minutes during the contact [97.119]. Working with the Broadcast Media In a disaster situation where the immediate safety of lives and/or property is at stake, amateurs may provide related communications to the broadcasters for dissemination to the public when no other means of communication is available. Otherwise, under normal conditions, amateurs are prohibited from assisting in program production or news-gathering. [97.113(b)]. Other Emergency-Related Transmissions * Amateurs may exchange messages with stations in other FCC radio services for emergency communications. [97.111(a)(2)]. * Amateurs may make one-way transmissions for emergency communications. [97.111(b)(4)]. Generally, one-way transmissions are prohibited except for certain limited circumstances.
* Amateurs may also send one-way information bulletins, as long as they are
directed to amateurs only, with information of interest to amateurs only.
[97.111(b)(6); 97.3(a)(25)]. A good example would be a bulletin on the ARES
net to ARES members during an emergency deployment. Allowing Critical Responders to Speak Directly Over the Radio During a Florida hurricane disaster a few years ago, a serious accident at a rural site brought an ARES response. A paramedic was already administering first aid. Because of the extent of the injuries, the paramedic asked to confer with a physician who happened to be in the vicinity of the amateur net control station at a hospital 10 miles away. Strangely, the net control operator refused to allow the physician to speak directly over the radio. In spite of complicated medical terminology and the potential for mistakes, the net control operator insisted on verbally relaying each message. The control operator questioned whether it was would be legal for the paramedic to speak directly with the physician. Not only would this have been legal as communications in connection with the immediate safety of human life when normal communication systems are not available, but it would also have been permitted under normal circumstances by the third party traffic rules as long as the control operators continuously monitored and supervised the doctor's and paramedic's participation. [97.115(b)(1)]. In this case, the ARES operators should have immediately handed over their microphones to the physician and paramedic.