Evansville, IN 145.11-

Evansville, IN 145.15-

Vincennes, IN 146.925-

Vincennes, IN 443.925+

Mt. Vernon, IL 147.18+

107.2 CTCSS

Electronic Applications Radio Service

W9EAR
c/o 1506 S. Parker Drive,
Evansville, IN 47714-3154

(812) 479-5741  http://w9ear.org/

E-mail: ears@w9earDOTorg

 

An ARRL Special Service Affiliated Club

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

 

“Because a frequency is a terrible thing to waste”

 

 

Winter, 2001 Newsletter

THE NEXT E.A.R.S. EATING MEETING will be at Golden Corral, Lloyd Expwy. and Cross Point Blvd. (behind the east side Drury Inn near I-164), on Friday, February 16, 2001 at 6:30 pm, in the banquet room.  EVERYONE is invited.  It’s a great way to meet the people you hear on the radio in a casual atmosphere.

 

THANKS to those who donated to EARS recently, including: Bill Sage K9IHU, Robert Jenkins KB9VID, Tracy Quisenberry KB9MBV, Tim Staker KB9FRR, Beth Staker KB9MXM, Barry Tate KE4OXZ, Tom Anderson KB9NVI, and Bob McIntosh AA9VW, and Robert Henn KB9QAW. Your support keeps EARS going!

 

SILENT KEY  Our deepest sympathies go to the family of Bob Helderman KB9SEQ, who passed away in December.  Bob, a resident of Vincennes, joined EARS in August, 2000.

 

REPEATER NEWS... for the latest information, check the EARS web site.  We’re hoping for coverage maps in the next newsletter, pending the new antennas.  Please send in signal reports!!!

 

·          145.11... The repeater is on from Chrisney in testing mode thanks to Pete WB9DRB.  Be sure to use 107.2 CTCSS.

·          145.15... Dan (KB9KCF), his daughter Becky, and I went to the 145.15 main transmitter site on October 21. The 100 watt amplifier is back on the air! We also put a new attic fan in, and adjusted the squelch. We also took a look at the weather radio, which had been cutting off early. We're still working on that problem.  The main receiver is working fine, and seems to be much more stable than the old one.  We have only experienced one outage since the change was made in August.  The voter project has been put on hold for the winter, and will resume in the spring.

·          146.925... The new antenna is in and working great!  The Farmersburg remote receiver is working, but we're having problems getting a signal back to Vincennes.   (See 443.925 notes)

·          443.925...  Apparently the connector is bad on the new antenna, so coverage is slightly better but still not up to par.  We're having problems picking up the UHF link from Farmersburg.  We are waiting on an analysis of the antenna, feed line, and connector before climbing.

·          145.25... The amplifier is down, so it's running on exciter power.  But, it is back on the air from a new location.  The transmit site is now near Lebanon, directionalized south. The receive site is in the downtown Indianapolis area. More work, equipment, and details to come. 

·          147.18… Has been on and off the air in Mt. Vernon in testing.  KA9JJS has been working on this project some more, and is progressing.  Some interference from a repeater in Kentucky continues to cause problems on this frequency.

 

THE ANNUAL EVANSVILLE HAMFEST was another success.  We sold out of tables Friday evening.  We were able to add a few more, which sold out early Saturday morning.  Over 80 tables were sold in total.  Attendance was down, though, about 18%.  367 people attended this year, the fewest ever.  While this is not encouraging news, it is consistent with other hamfests across the nation.  The weather was also not cooperative.  The Ham Station and EARS will be teaming up for another great hamfest on November 24, 2001.  Make plans to attend now!  Thanks so much to those who helped, including:  KB9KCF & family, KE4OXZ, KB9WAC, N9APA, KB9FRR, KB9MXM, N9RTB, and KA9ZHY.

 

DAYTON HAMVENTION is just a few months away!  Some members of EARS have once again reserved a space in the outdoor vendor (flea market) area.  The Wabash Valley ARA in Terre Haute would like to announce their annual charter bus trip to the Hamvention on Saturday, May 19, 2001.  They will pick up and drop off at:  Turner Bus in Terre Haute at 4:30 AM EST, the US Hwy. 231 exit on I-70, the State Road 267 exit on I-70, the Post Road exit on I-70, and a stop somewhere along the way for breakfast.  The bus will deliver you to the front door of Hara Arena, and start back at 5:00 pm EDT.  Dinner will be at Shapiro’s in Indianapolis.  The cost is only $30 for the round trip.  This is a great way to see the Hamvention in one day, and saves a lot of hassles.  They also have plenty of room to haul equipment back for you.  For more information, e-mail John N9YRX at n9yrx@hotmailDOTcom, or send your check and information to WVARA, PO Box 81, Terre Haute, IN 47808-0081.

 

UPCOMING HAMFESTS/GATHERINGS:

VE TESTING: updated daily on EARS Web site

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!!! For all tests, bring 2 forms of ID, one must include picture; calculator; pens/pencils, CSCEs and current license photocopies (if any); test fee ($10.00 for all Amateur (Ham) tests... $35 for commercial GROL).  Effective January 1, 2001, both ARRL-VEC and W5YI-VEC will charge $10.00 per exam for all Amateur Radio exams.  Also effective January 1, 2001, W5YI-VEC will no longer offer multiple choice Morse Code exams (all VEC's must make this change by July 1, 2001).  In order to pass, you must have 1 minute of solid copy (25 characters), or answer 7 out of 10 fill-in-the-blank questions correctly.

Evansville, IN -  Saturday, Jan. 27, 2001; 8:30 a.m.... Evansville/Vanderburgh EMA office, located in the Red Cross Bldg., Diamond and Heidelbach, sponsored by Evansville / Vanderburgh EMA.  Pre-registration is not required.   ARRL-VEC. Contact Terry AA9MM tbrooks@sigecomDOTnet or evenings 812-421-9135.

Evansville, IN - Tuesday, February 20, 2001 - 7:00 p.m.   Harrison High School, Room 213 of the Harrison High School Science Department at 7:00 p.m. Central time.  Enter on south side, entrance #5.     Commercial exams are at 6:00 p.m. BY APPOINTMENT ONLY.  Contact Neil Rapp WB9VPG at 812-479-5741 or by e-mail at neilrapp@insightbb.com for more information. W5YI-VEC, Electronically filed.

Vincennes, IN -  3rd Saturday in January, May, and November. 9:00 am Eastern. Vincennes University.  For more information, contact Phil Smith AA9ZZ at 812-885-5830 (work). ARRL-VEC.

Terre Haute, IN - 1st Sunday of EVEN numbered months at 1pm at the Terre Haute Red Cross on Hwy 41 North. Call Bob Harker KC9UU at (812) 235-9374 or rharker@email.msn.com

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)

 

VANDERBURGH COUNTY RACES is planning drills for the spring and fall of 2001.  RACES is the organization that is designed to assist with emergency communications in the event of a disaster.  If you haven’t signed up for RACES, please consider doing so.  For more information about RACES, contact Norm King W9AU at nking@usi.edu.

 

A REMINDER THAT AUTOPATCH CODES do not change.  If you have ever had an autopatch code for 145.15 or an autodial code for 146.925, it should still work.  Some features have been added or dropped in the last few years.  If you need a new code sheet, or have problems, please contact Neil ASAP. 

 

YOUR COMPLETE HAM INFO SOURCE IN THE TRI-STATE is the EARS Web page!!! And now, we offer FREE E-Mail!  The new address is: http://w9ear.org.  You can sign up for free email in the top right corner, just click on New User.  Your address will be the user name that you pick followed by @w9earDOTorg. 

 

VE information is updated DAILY.  We list a wide range of testing opportunities all throughout Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky.

 

SIGN UP FOR EARS NEWSLETTERS using our new online form, on the support page.

 

DONATIONS can now be accepted on the web site thru X.com’s PayPal service.  Just click on “How to Support EARS”, or click on the Donate button on the front page.  Also, if you sign up for a PayPal account using the button on the support page, EARS receives a $5 donation from PayPal.

 

Please visit our web sponsors at the bottom of the page.  EARS will receive a donation if you look at about.com thru our site, or make a purchase from any of the other businesses, like 800.com electronics.

 

Because of a drop in interest of meetings, the frequency of eating meetings and newsletters has been reduced.  More frequent updates are available on the EARS Web Site, and on the EARS E-mail list.  To subscribe to the e-mail updates, contact Neil at wb9vpg@w9earDOTorg.

 

The Indiana Section of ARRL has a new web site!  You can find all kinds of things that are going on in Indiana in ham radio at this extensive site, like club meetings, test sessions, hamfests, awards, special events, and more.  The URL is: http://www.inarrl.org.

FROM HAMTAGS:  Hamtags wants to recruit amateur radio clubs across America to sell our products to their members, friends and associates as a fundraiser.  We're particularly interested in reaching the fundraising chairperson in every club
across the country.  We offer ham clubs a terrific opportunity to raise needed funds through the sale of HamTags.  Our program is free to join.  It's our intent to direct fundraisers to our recruitment web site for more information about joining our program.  For more information, e-mail Bob W9LDN at bob@hamtag.com, or visit http://hamtag.com/opportunity/hamtags.htm.


 

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 ears@w9earDOTorg. Information contained may be reproduced, provided that credit is given to the EARS newsletter.