Short Skip - April 2023

By Tim McGillen/N9CA   2023 LCARC President
 
April  2023 issue
    *Click on blue and underlined wording to open the internet topic links

Last Month’s meeting was: A live ZOOM video presentation by Richard Glover KD9VCQ . Richard is the Indiana Aux-Comm Coordinator for the State of Indiana. He explained that they are looking for hams to join their organization. Contact him with questions at:   RGlover@ipsc.in.gov
April’s Meeting on Friday the 14th WILL NOT BE AT THE EMA OFFICE !  Instead, we will meet for a hard to come by a personalized tour of a local historical museum featuring old radios in Griffith!  This free unique  tour begins at 6:30pm…  sharp at:  1423 Gatlin Drive, Griffith Indiana 46319
You do not have to be a Club member to attend our events or be  licensed.

The LCARC Information NET    Every Wednesday - at 8:00pm. 147.000 and 442.075 (pl 131.8)   Informal, informative, and fun. A great way to stay connected with local hams in 30 minutes. You do not need to be a Club member to check in.

In Memorial: The passing of longtime LCARC member Nick Cominos W9UM SK in late March. His years of dedication to our Club, and to the hobby of Amateur Radio will be hard to replace. A twice wounded marine war veteran, he served our country with honor and distinction willingly. 
RIP brother. RIPWhew!  There IS Cellphone Service On Mount Everest!

On May 21, 2007, Rod Baber placed a 1-minute, 48-second phone call. He called a voicemail account to leave a message, a move that cost him $4.72. By all accounts, Baber’s call was much like millions made from cellphones every day — except that the renowned British climber was standing on the summit of Mount Everest. Using a Motorola Rizr Z8, Baber made the call at 29,035 feet, earning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for “highest mobile phone call.” The feat was made possible by China Telecom, which had set up a cell tower at the base camp on the mountain’s north side. Baber also called his family and sent a text to a Motorola employee: “One small text for man, one giant leap for mobilekind.”
Since Baber’s historic phone call, Everest’s cell service has kept up with the times. In 2013, Everest received 4G service so climbers could livestream the view from the summit. In 2020, the mountain got the 5G upgrade, which offers 20 times more capacity at one-third the size. That means that if you want to find some excuse to unplug from work, “climbing Everest” might not be a good one.
LOCAL HR NETS
Courtesy of KC9UNS   http://www.tinyurl.com/chicago-ham-nets

Tornado Siren Test Help Request
David KD9UOW (Hobart) wants us to know that on the 1st Saturday every month at 12:00 noon there will be a test of ALL our local tornado sirens. He is hoping that we can log into their 2 meter HR net to report what we hear inside and outside.
This special - first Saturday of the month -  net is on the N9IAA repeater 146.685 with a PL of 173.8. No membership or special training is required.  Thanks David!
ARES local 2 meter NET  
Tuesday evening at 7:00pm. N9IAA repeater 146.685 MHz PL 173.8
ARES Indiana HF VOICE Net
Sunday 4:00 PM - 40 meters 7.272 MHz +/-  on  LSB
On-Line EmComm WINLINK VARA Digital Training
http://www.EmComm-Training.org


NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE   STORM  SPOTTER  TRAINING
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/LOT/SPOTTER_TALK
VIRTUAL SESSIONS:   6:30PM WEDNESDAY APRIL 5TH AND 12TH


UPCOMING HAMFESTS


04/22/2023 - St. Joseph County Michigan Amateur Radio Club Ham Fest
Location: Centreville, MI
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: St Joseph County Michigan Amateur Radio Club
    
  LIVE VE TESTING
EXAM SESSION
04/15/2023 | Valparaiso IN 46383-4820
 Location: Valparaiso Public Library
Time: 9:00 AM (Walk-ins allowed)
Learn More
 
APRIL CONTESTS
www.contestcalendar.com
www.arrl.org/contest-calendar      
*pick the dates, then go to that contest website for full rules
 
 World Amateur Radio Day is April 18
WARD is held on April 18 every year and is celebrated by radio amateurs and their national associations which are organized as member-societies of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU). It was on this day in 1925 that the IARU was formed in Paris. American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Co-Founder Hiram Percy Maxim was its first president.
 
ARRL Podcasts
On the Air
Sponsored by Icom
Radio orienteering (aka amateur radio direction finding, or ARDF) is a radio sport like no other. In this episode, we talk to USA ARDF Co-coordinator Charles Scharlau, NZØI, about how get involved in what he calls, "the only athletic radio sport." Radio orienteering will get you out of your shack chair and bounding through the woods or a park, using a handheld receiver and directional antenna to find a transmitter that's located somewhere in the vicinity. People of all ages and skill levels can have fun with radio orienteering -- and you don't even need a ham radio license to join in.
ARRL Audio News
Listen to ARRL Audio News, available every Friday. ARRL Audio News is a summary of the week's top news stories in the world of amateur radio and ARRL, along with interviews and other features. 12-15 minutes
The On the Air podcast is available on iTunes (iOS) and Stitcher (Android). The On the Air podcast and ARRL Audio News is also on blubrry –
 On the Air | ARRL Audio News.


John Gibbons, N8OBJ, introduced the “Grape Version 2” at the 2023 HamSCI Workshop March 17 and 18 at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. 
Grape is a high frequency (HF) Doppler receiver that is used as a low cost, personal space weather station (PSWS). The project was created for ionospheric research. The Grape collects Doppler measurements of time standard stations, like WWV in Fort Collins, Colorado. The data is used by professional and academic researchers to learn about solar flare impacts and geomagnetic storms. Grape receivers can be easily deployed by amateur radio operators. A video introducing the Grape Version 2 is available on ARRL's  YouTube channel.
 
NEW MORSE CODE LEARNING BOOK
There is a lot of rumble out in the CW community regarding a new book on the market. The CW Way of Life written by Chris Rutkowski NW6V.
Once past a short history lesson, you read and learn about how code is linked to harmonics, and rhythm. Topics are; moving from counting Dits and Dahs, code speed blocks, habits for code learning and so on.
This book is worth a look and can be done here for your kindle the book is also available as a paper page-turning book on Amazon as well.
 
APRIL FREQUENCY MEASURING TEST
On April 20th  Thursday … evening starting at 10:00 CDT the ARRL will hold a frequency measuring test.
There will be 2 tries on 40 meters, followed by  2 on 80 meters.
Don’t you want to know ? It’s quick and easy. Mark your calendar!
Details at:       WWW.FMT.ARRL.ORG
To submit measurements:      WWW.fmt.arrl.org/fmtentry.php
 
CONVERTING  UTC TO CDT
Because we just flipped to daylight saving time, the conversion factor is; subtract 5 hours from UTC time to get CDT local time.
 
 
 A Resume Writing LessonSingle handedly managed the successful up-grade and deployment of a new environmental illumination system with zero cost overruns and no safety incidents, or  “I changed a lightbulb”
 
73 everyone. See you at the Historical Museum…  Friday April 14th @ 6:30pm
Tim/N9CA