QCWA Peach State Chapter 49 March 2004 Newsletter MEETING NOTICE: SATURDAY April 3, 2004 The name of our meeting place restaurant has changed but it is the same building and location! Our next meeting will be at Fire Mountain Restaurant, 7045 Jimmy Carter Blvd. 12 Noon to eat and meeting to begin at 1PM. Directions to Fire Mountain: From I-285 take Peachtree Industrial Blvd (141) North. Stay on Peachtree Industrial for about 3 and a half miles to the Jimmy Carter Blvd exit. Exit off Peachtree Industrial at Jimmy Carter and at the traffic light at the bottom of the exit ramp make a left on to Jimmy Carter . You will go under Peachtree Industrial and get in the right hand lane. Fire Mountain will be about 200 yards up on the right. They have a separate turn-in lane. If you miss the turn-in lane, go to the light and make a right, go till the road ends (drive way into a motel) and turn right, the restaurant will be on the right. Leaving, to get back on to Peachtree Industrial Blvd, it is easier to go out the back way and make a left. Make another left at the motel and this will take you to a traffic light on Jimmy Carter. A left at the light and head towards the right hand lane entrance ramp to Peachtree Industrial Blvd South. 2004 Meeting Schedule: Note new dates and number of meetings 03-Apr Regular Meeting - Fire Mountain - Croft Taylor VE3CT, QCWA President will speak. 19-Jun Regular Meeting - Fire Mountain 07-Aug Regular Meeting - Fire Mountain 02-Oct PICNIC Meeting - W3CDE's QTH in Snellville. Directions will be provided. 04-Dec ANNUAL HOLIDAY PARTY - FIRE MOUNTAIN Our Program Manager, Sandy Donahue relates: "Croft Taylor, VE3CT, President of the national QCWA will address the Peach State Chapter 49 of QCWA at its next meeting on Saturday April 3 at noon. The meeting will be at the usual place, Fire Mountain Restaurant. Croft has served as a Director and headed two very active committees. He was first licensed in 1950 and has held several VE2 and VE3 calls since then. While in the University Croft joined COTC and pursued a military career in the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals, retiring as a Lt. Colonel. Afterwards he joined Bell System in Canada and directed a team of senior engineers in a long term planning of Canada's major telecommunications networks, and their integration with similar USA networks. At the same time he chaired the Carrier Working Group whose mandate was to develop fail safe high density networks for the military. Croft's major contribution to the Amateur Community was the development of a program with The Bell System to distribute surplus Bell teletype and data equipment to amateurs in North America. He personally handled about 5000 tons of such equipment during its distribution. He is a QCWA Life member and a member of several Chapters in Canada and in the USA. Croft spends his winters in Florida and is stopping by for a visit on his way back home to Canada. Please make an extra effort to come meet this fine gentleman and his XYL, Elizabeth." February 7, 2004 Meeting Minutes Nine members and three "Friends" inroduced themselves round-robin style after Mike called the meeting to order. Previous meeting minutes accepted as published. Treasurers report $315 in the checking account. Secretary/Treasurer still working on dues and awards for the year. Net report by Jerry, good check-ins lately. Wayne does call the net sometimes also and we appreciate both doing so. A mention was made about investigating another possible repeater to use for the Wednesday night net because of the continuing problems with the MatParc repeater. Any suggestions from the membership? Historian Doug passed around some pictures that Mary had turned over to him. No directors reports. Andy Funk brought a "Klein Bottle" to show around. Always of interest to Mathematicians and Physicists. Check them out at www.acmekleinbottles.com There were several books that had been donated to the chapter won as door prizes. We had a last minute visitor from the restaurant join us for the program part of the meeting. Welcom to William Reinhardt, NC4T. The program was given by ARRL SE Division Vice Director Sandy Donahue, W4RU. Sandy is also a member of Ch 49 and is our program chairman. When he does the program is it considered a conflict of interest? Sandy talked about the recent ARRL licensing proposal made to the FCC and the reasoning behind all the aspects. Thanks to Sandy for the enlightening presentation. Respectfully submitted, Bob Lear K4SZ "Presidential Pontification" (or Da President Yaps!!!) Hope you all enjoy the warming of the weather and the hopeful move into Spring. I am writing this in the anticipation of the Kennehoochee ham fest, of course by the time you read this it will have been another good time. Thank You, to all the QCWA Chapter Forty-Niners for your support and smiling faces at all the local hamfests or I should say gabfests this coming year. Hamfests have become not so much places for new or more equipment for us, but more in the QCWA tradition, a face-to-face re-acquainting, meeting, and talking event. Our January meeting was at the Fire Mountain Restaurant (the old Ryan's Steak House) and let me tell you what a step up. New and redesigned grill serving area and the food quality has definitely improved. As far as quantity, that is up to you as it is buffet style with salad and dessert bars of tremendous variety, so come join us. Sandy, W4RU, presented the program on the recent ARRL restructuring proposal to the FCC. No food was wasted in Sandy's direction, however a lot of air molecukes were greatly disturbed in the ensuing discussion. Thank You Sandy, even if the messenger was shot a few times, tee hee. Those not there missed a good time. We were even joined by a ham from the regular restaurant customers. Had several new faces that Bob, K4SZ will probably mention. Thank all that did come. I am excited about our April 3rd meeting with Croft as speaker. Besides Croft and his bride, we are also expecting some of the Augusta Chapter 100 folks to join us for the occasion. You all come now - ya hear. Spread the word far and wide. Please keep the members of the QCWA family in your thoughts and prayers. Hope all stay healthy and if not, wish you a speedy recovery. Please keep us informed about your health, so we can put you in our prayers and let your friends know of status. With the travel season approaching to various hamfests and vacations, please be extra careful out there, and try to make some of these special events. We spoke of past hamfests and the local hamfest/event season fast approaching So plan on seeing your QCWA family at some of these upcoming events: Sci-trek Amateur Station Participation (every 3rd Sunday on the month) Apr.18; Calhoun GA Hamfest April 24th; Southeastern VHF Conference, Marietta, April 23 & 24 Mothers Day, May 9 Armed Forces Day, May 15 Our 35th Wedding Anniversary, May 24 Atlanta Radio Club Hamfest, June 5th We are still looking for someone to help Bob, K4SZ, by providing National with our Chapter news to be put in the quarterly QCWA Journal. You can always use the newsletter or minutes as a cut and paste source for info. Just need someone to remember to do this function and take some of the workload off Bob. The meeting more often, every other month, is working well. This gives us more time to catch up on each other and less time to forget what we were going to tell each other. Please join us at these gatherings and please really consider the blessings you have been given, including the QCWA Chapter 49 Family. (Of course this family may have a few more eccentrics than most families, and yes - I are one.) Thanks Bob, K4SZ, for the great Chapter 49 Newsletter. See you all soon, 73 Mike K4HBI NOTE FROM W9BKJ NET MGR. My thanks to Jerry -W3CDE for his help in keeping the Chapter 49 nets active. I think having an alternate net control station available turned out to be a great help. In any case I'm glad to be more active on the nets again. Sure was good meeting the members that attended the Dalton Hamfest. Hope to see more on March 20 here in Marietta. I was very sorry to hear about Leland Smith becoming a silent key. He sent me several E mails in the past, and I will keep copies in my files. I also plan to attend the next Chapter 49 meeting "surprise". Look forward to this one too. That's about it for this time. 73, Wayne K4VN/W9BKJ New Members: Welcome two new members joining Chapter 49 since our last meeting. John Benka KF6JG from Adairsville and Dave Burrows WB7CQK from Cumming. New member John Elicker N4FAI made it to the February meeting and was introduced all around. John was with RCA (Thompson) in Indiana and made us aware of their club web site where there is a listing of surplus parts for experimenters. Check it out at http://www.w9rca.com Silent Keys: QCWA President Emeritus Leland Smith W5KL died in Harrison Arkansas in mid February just after his 90th birthday. Leland was president of QCWA from 1986 to 1989 and has served since as the chairman of QCWA's Scholarship Fund. Leland has been an honorary member of Chapter 49 since he lived in the Atlanta area. Leland will certainly be missed by QCWA and Amateur Radio. Chapter 49 will send a donation to the National Scholarship fund in his memory. Secretary/Treasurer Notes: We spotted quite a number of Chapter 49 members at the recent Dalton Hamfest. Was nice getting out to a hamfest after the four month layoff and the weather couldn't have been any better. A good turn out and we're sure a good time was had by all. AE4GQ went home with a 1929 deVry BC AM receiver with all original tubes. Took it right home and it's working. He is quite proud of it and you can ask him about it at the next meeting. Announcing the Eighth Annual SVHFS Conference in Marietta, April 24 and 25. Holiday Inn Marietta, Delk Road at I-75. Details of all activities and the registration form at www.svhfs.org If you haven't been to one before it is a great time. Presentations, Antenna Range, Flea Market, Auction, and the great Banquet with many door prizes. 73, Bob K4SZ QCWA PEACH STATE CHAPTER 49 Web address: www.mindspring.com/~w4gbu/qcwa.htm 2004-2005 CHAPTER OFFICERS President Mike Swiderski K4HBI 770-449-0369 k4hbi@arrl.net VP/ Asst Net Mgr Jerry Lofstead W3CDE 770-979-5500 w3cde@arrl.net Secretary/Treasurer Bob Lear K4SZ 706-864-6229 k4sz@arrl.net Executive Committee: Fred Runkle K4KAZ 770-945-6326 runkle@charter.net Frankie Womack W4BJT 404-767-5382 w4bjt@mindspring.com Sandy Donahue W4RU 404-315-1443 w4ru@arrl.org NetManager Wayne W9BKJ and Asst NM Jerry W3CDE using the K4VN Chapter 49 Club Call: Chapter 49 QCWA VHF Net Wednesday 2000 145.41- MHz. Chapter 49 QCWA HF Net Saturday 0900 3.8575 Mhz.