********************************************* * Razorback Radio News - Electronic Edition * * (c) October 1994 * ********************************************* Annual meeting - 1st Thursday of September Regular meetings - 1st Thursday of each month Informal Lunch meeting - every Thursday Operation SKYWARN - whenever necessary!! ******************************************************** Ham Radio License Exam THIS SATURDAY, 0900 CDT, BELL 273 ******************************************************** Meeting ------- The next ARCUA meeting is Thursday, November 3rd, 1900 CST, BELL 291. A representative from SWEPCO, the local electric power utility, will discuss the utility's efforts to track down EMI and RFI. Refreshments will be served. Frank may even be there ... Fundraising ----------- In preparation for ARCUA's fundraising drive, several members will be gathering in the EE lounge in Bell on Sunday October 30th to go through old logs to see if we can find names to add to our Alumni database. Do your part to help ARCUA grow. ARRL Sweepstakes ---------------- Can you say "Radio Razorbacks, National Champions"?? Did you know that Amateur Radio has a competitive side? Admittedly, it's one that appeals to the couch potato in all of us but nonetheless can be exciting and rewarding! "Contesting" involves operating your Amateur Radio Station with the object being to contact as many other stations in a set period as possible. Points are awarded for each QSO (contact) and "multipliers" are awarded for contacting different areas of the world or the country. Plaques and certificates are awarded based on total scores. One of the many contests that takes place each year is the ARRL's "Sweepstakes". This is a North America-only contest that attracts several hundred participants each year. This year there is a twist: a national collegiate champion will be crowned! So far, approximately 12 other university radio clubs are scheduled to compete with more signing up each day. The phone portion takes place on November 19th and 20th (the weekend before Turkey Day). Plans will be discussed at the lunch meeting and the regular club meeting. SAREX ----- Mark the last week of February and the first week of March on your calendar. Why? Sometime during that window, W5YM will be hosting approximately 10 school children from Watson Elementary in Huntsville, Ark who will talk to the astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle!!! That's right, ARCUA/W5YM was picked as one of the schools in the Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment (SAREX)! This will be the culmination of a process that began over two years ago. More details at the meeting. What's new on the W5YM WWW page ------------------------------- W5YM's web page (http://cavern.uark.edu/w5ym/) continues to improve. Recent additions include a categorized archive of ARRL bulletins and a forms-based gateway to the the callsign server at U Buffalo. Tower ----- Plans for the new-to-us 64' tilt-over tower continue to go well, with full cooperation being received from Physical Plant. Some design changes are being considered which may leave W5YM in the enviable position of having *two* towers ... Dr. Charlton will update us at the meeting. RSOIF ----- October 5th saw ARCUA participate in the Registered Student Organization Fair on the Arkansas Union Mall. This was our best station yet with dipoles being strung from the Union's balcony to the clock tower - with help from Union staff!!! With this setup, W5YM/5 was able to make about 20 contacts on HF, most using CW. TNX: KB5TFX for the Icom 725, K5FXB for most of the manpower, N0QLT and N5UWY for operating and answering questions. An especially big TNX goes to Brian Johnson of Campus Activities who granted us permission to string the antennas (something some of us thought would never happen in a million years!). 73 DE W5YM =========================================================================== 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. =========================================================================== Razorback Radio News is a publication of the Amateur Radio Club of the University of Arkansas, Inc. All contents are copyrighted. Peter Laws,Editor.