E.A.R.S.

1506 S. Parker Dr.
Evansville, IN 47714
(812) 479-5741

"Because a frequency..
..is a terrible thing to waste"

An ARRL Special Service Club

Member Indiana Repeater Council, Illinois Repeater Association, and Indiana Radio Club Council

W9EAR Spring, 1999 Newsletter W9EAR

O THE NEXT E.A.R.S. EATING MEETING will be at Old Country Buffet, Morgan and Green River in Evansville, on Friday April 2 at 6:30 p.m. Come put a face with the voice you hear!!

O THIS YEAR'S HAMFEST WAS GREAT! Teaming up with The Ham Station this year, the cooperative effort made the hamfest a success. Thanks also to Icom, who provided the Funmobile for display. The same building has been reserved for November 27, as the auditorium will again be in use by the 4-H crew. Thanks again to all those who helped. Attendance was up to 451, about a 9% increase over last year. All the tables were sold. We have some of the bugs worked out of the new location, and will make improvements for next year. Hopefully the weather will be just as good. Thanks again to Old Post ARS for providing concessions.

O REPEATER NEWS... for the latest information, check the EARS web site.

145.11... The duplexers have returned, and the repeater has been on in short-range testing mode. Once it has been retuned, it should be back on in a permanent setting.

145.15... We found more problems with the new Spectrum exciter, and have taken it out of service until it can be further repaired. This was the cause of the power fluctuations and brief outages. Eric has wired up an automatic weather alert system for the Evansville repeater now as well, and went on line in mid-February. All weather alerts issued by the National Weather Service on 162.55 will automatically air for two minutes. (146.925 and 443.925 do the same for the 162.425 NWS service in Edwardsport.) Repairs are being made on the voter, receive antennas, and plans for this summer include restoring some of the remote receive sites, including a local receiver that will not require subaudible tone access.

443.925... The only thing not working is the Indianapolis link to 5.25, which still requires work at

Seymour.

146.925... Don't forget that 107.2 CTCSS decode is now available.

145.25... Please send information!!

147.135... still operating with an input of 144.65 from

near Seymour. There is apparently a problem with the UHF link from Seymour back to Indianapolis for the receive site there, so traffic through this receive site is not working.

O UPCOMING HAMFESTS:

N March 13 Indianapolis, State Fairgrounds

N May 14-15-16 Dayton Hamvention

www.hamvention.org

N Saturday, November 27, 8 am - 2 pm CT Evansville, IN 4-H Fairgrounds Expo Bldg. Talk in on EARS Network! http://members.aol.com/earsham

O Because of a drop in interest of meetings, the frequency of eating meetings have been reduced. The newsletter frequency has also been reduced to note the change. More frequent updates are available on the EARS Web Site at http://members.aol.com/earsham, the EARS E-mail list. To subscribe to the e-mail newsletter updates, contact Neil at neilrapp@comsource.net.

VE TESTING INFORMATION:

EARS does not sponsor VE testing, but does list area testing dates and times. If you know of a test not listed, please write, call, or e-mail it to Neil ASAP!!!

Evansville, IN - Tuesday, April 6; 7:00 pm at Harrison High School, Lloyd Expressway and Fielding Road.  W5YI-VEC.  Sponsored by Harrison HS ARC.   Electronically filed.  Contact Neil WB9VPG (neilrapp@comsource.net)

Evansville, IN - Sat. Mar. 27, Apr. 24, May 22, June 19, July 31, Aug. 28, Sept. 25, Oct. 30, and Dec. 4; 9:00 a.m.... Red Cross Bldg., Diamond and Heidelbach, by Tri-State ARS. ARRL-VEC. Contact Terry AA9MM (tbrooks@ evansville.net).

Paris, IL - 1st Sunday of ODD numbered months at 1pm at the Community Hospital. Call John Welch at (217) 466-4315 or email jwwelch@juno.com.

Terre Haute, IN - 1st Sunday of EVEN numbered months at 1pm at the Terre Haute Red Cross on Hwy 41 North. Call Fred K9EBK at (812) 466-2122.

Greencastle, IN - 3rd Sat. of ODD numbered months, 1 pm EST. Contact Jim AA9FY.

Danville, IL - 1st Sunday of even months at VA hospital at 1pm Central time. Contact John Welch AA9JE.

Indianapolis, IN - IPL, 37th and Arlington, at 6:30 p.m. BY APPT. ONLY. Call Tom N9LFU at 317-326-3168. Thomson ARC/ARRL-VEC

Franklin, IN - Walk-ins only. For more

information, call 317-974-1488. MidState

ARC (3rd Sat. March thru November)

O VARIOUS TESTING SITES may differ, but the exams are the same. The National Question Pool Committee establishes the exact wording of questions and answers used on the multiple choice written exams. While testing teams and coordinators may select questions at random, the wording of such tests are the same. The QPC is considering a similar move when administering Morse Code examinations. Currently, some sites may use Farnsworth spacing (faster character speed, but more space between characters), while others use normal spacing. Some may use multiple choice tests over the code copied, while others use fill-in-the-blank. Of course, 1 minute of solid copy is accepted by all. The only difference you may notice is the time it takes to obtain a license/upgrade. W5YI-VEC gives the choice to VE teams to file the data electronically. If the VE team chooses, new callsigns can be issued as soon as the following day! Most electronic sessions are posted by the FCC within 2 days of the test session. ARRL-VEC exams are filed electronically, but only from the ARRL HQ. Local teams must still mail the results, which could delay receipt of a new callsign up to 4 weeks. The wait does make a difference, since operation is now allowed when the callsign is issued, not when the license is received in the mail.

The QPC has also announced delaying the revision of the Advanced class question pool, pending restructuring of the amateur service license classes.

Current Advanced class study guides are still valid until further notice.

O COORDINATION UPDATE... The ARRL Board of Directors did not approve the proposed NPRM that the NFCC spent nearly 3 years writing. Apparently, the Board agrees with the spirit of the NPRM, but disagrees with a few points. The NPRM was initiated by a meeting called in St. Louis 3 years ago where the FCC "welcomed" the idea of a more official coordination policy for repeaters. More news to come.

O THANKS to those who donated to EARS recently, including: Larry Worlow KB9KKD, Clarence Jerry Calloway KB9RBP, Earl Grieb KA9EHO, Bob McIntosh AA9VW, and Tracy Quisenberry KB9MBV. Your support keeps EARS going!

O THANKS to those who donated to Newsline at the hamfest! Together with your donations, and a donation from EARS, we were able to send $50 to assist with Newsline expenses. Newsline is available on the EARS Wide Area Net, Monday evenings at 8:30 p.m. Central, or in text or RealAudio at www.arnewsline.org.

 

The E.A.R.S. newsletter is a monthly production of Electronic Applications Radio Service, Inc., a non-profit, tax-exempt organization. Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, editor. Send donations, articles, comments or information to the address above or call (812) 479-5741. Articles for the newsletter and/or E-mail can be sent to EARSHAM @aolDOTcom. Information contained may be reproduced, provided that credit is given to the EARS newsletter.

 

http://members.aol.com/earsham

E-Mail: EARSHAM @ aol.com

EARS Wide Area Net and Newsline: Mondays at 8:30 pm Central

 

 

MCARS News...

Visit MCARS at http://www.bromac.com/mcars

MCARS meetings:

1st Tuesday of the month, 7:00 p.m. EST

In the basement of Friendship Apostolic Church, 2360 S. Meridian St., Indianapolis.

 

(Article not available from MCARS at press time...)

Electronic Applications Radio Service, Inc.