********************************************* * Razorback Radio News - Electronic Edition * * (c) JULY 1994 * ********************************************* Annual meeting - 1st Thursday of September Regular meetings - 1st Thursday of each month Informal Lunch meeting - every Thursday Operation SKYWARN - whenever necessary!! Congratulations! ---------------- ... to John Carmack, Wade Espenschied, Bill Johnston, Abiy Zewde, and the wife and son of Lynn N0PMQ (whose names I can't recall) ALL of whom passed the tests necessary to become Technician class Amateur Radio Operators. Good Job! Jupiter ------- Hey, be glad it's them and not us! Look on page 62 of your July QST for info on how to *listen* to Shoemaker/Levy-9 impact Jupiter. On HF, no less. (Mullins Library also gets QST for those of you who are not yet ARRL members) National Exam Day ----------------- Mark your calendar! The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is sponsoring a national ham radio exam day this Fall. ARCUA will be participating by hosting a Exam session here on campus. The exams will be held in Bell Engineering Center, room 273 on Saturday, October 29 at 0900 CDT. The exam will be co-sponsored by the NWAARC. Also, ARCUA has a supply of the new FCC Form 610, so if you need to renew or change your address, let us know. All previous forms are now obsolete. ASG B-Funds ----------- Would you believe we are *still* waiting for most of our already-awarded B-Funds? It's true. We should get it "this week", we are told. Until then, no Kansas City Tracker board ... Weather News ------------ As of July 6, the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Ft. Smith, Arkansas (FSM) will no longer be issuing severe weather watches and warnings. This function will be assumed by the NWS office in Tulsa, Oklahoma (TUL). This means that FSM will no longer be collecting weather-related information from storm spotters on the 146.640 repeater. What does this mean for W5YM? As you may know, W5YM's function in past weather nets has been to act as a relay (and sometimes a filter) between spotters in NWA and the NWS office at FSM. Spotter reports will still be collected on the KA5BML repeater (146.760-) but the reports must now go to TUL. Fortunately, the KJ5BJ repeater (146.865-) in Prairie Grove, Ark. has a UHF link to a remote base in Oklahoma. This allows Amateurs in NWA to work into the WA5LVT repeater (146.880-) in Tulsa (among others). That repeater hosts the main Skywarn net in Tulsa and will be how the NWS will get reports from this area. W5YM has a long reputation of service during weather nets and we will continue to provide this service into the future. Just on a different repeater. NEXRAD - ARCUA has the new software installed on the club's PC to decode radar images posted to the packet server at TULWX. Ask for a demo! Work, Work, Work ---------------- We have a lot of station maintenance that needs to be done. We have some that has already *been* done. Done: o Moved "new" tower to roof - TNX: K5GOE, K5FXB, KB5RUI, KB5WAR, N5UWY and, of course, Clendon SWL. All lived. o Repaired PK232 - TNX: K5FXB. To Be Done: o Refurbish TH6DXX HF beam. (Parts are in - any volunteers?); o Install PacTOR upgrade to PK232 (to be done by a generous non-member); o Install KCT (pending receipt of B-Funds); o Install "WARC" band HF beam (Let's set a date for this one); o Construction of a "float" charger for the Emergency Power Supply. (Currently battery is being charged by a unit loaned by K5FXB); o Swap out rotator on 2m beam; o Install polarity switchers for satellite antennas; o Erect "new" tower (pending installation of new guy anchors by Physical Plant - This may take a while, let's get the beam refurbished in the mean time); o Get new QSL cards (this one ... oops!) Man, is that a long list!! Sheesh. Well, clearly, we won't get all this done by the time the Turnip Truck brings the new Freshmen. We *can*, however, get a start on some of it. Let me know when it's a good weekend for you. Remember, the lunch meetings go on all summer! =========================================================================== Considering joining the ARRL? If you do, make sure you do it through ARCUA. Why? Because the League lets us keep $5 from every new member that joins. We get $2 for every renewal, too. In addition to QST, widely viewed as the best amateur radio journal on the market, ARRL membership gives you important benefits like inexpensive equipment insurance, a Field Organization helping hams in every state and a voice in amateur radio related affairs in Washington DC. Please contact the treasurer 3 months in advance of your renewal date. 73 DE W5YM =========================================================================== Razorback Radio News is a publication of the Amateur Radio Club of the University of Arkansas, Inc. All contents are copyrighted. Peter Laws,Editor.