Storm Outlook added to Weather Page

In a continual effort to make the RCARC website as useful as possible, we've added graphics provided by the Storm Prediction Center to our weather page.

The SPC, a part of NOAA, creates storm prediction models every day for the next eight days. We've added five small images to our Weather Page (just below NOAA's national weather loop) as well as links to the full pages with detailed information on each day's prediction.

 If there is not a measurable chance of severe weather on a specific day, the image will be mostly blank and include text stating there is no expected severe weather that day. The SPC updates these images and their corresponding pages once a day unless rapidly changes weather patterns require quicker updates.

 To view the complete weather product on NOAA's site, simply click one of the images.

Fun at the Christmas Dinner!

Several members of the Rusk County Amateur Radio Club gathers for a Christmas Dinner recently. The group enjoyed a variety of Mexican dishes in the company of fellow hams.

Among the festivities, several awards were given including New Ham of the Year, to Dana Ashby and Net Control Operator of the Year to Eric Smith. Craig Roquemore, Tommy Vaugh and James Pike were also recognized for their service to the club over the past year.

FT-991 and Digital Modes

The Yaesu FT-991 transceiver is a relatively new offering from Yaesu. It covers the HF bands, 6 Meters, 2 Meters and 70 cMeters amateur bands and offers All Mode operation on those bands.

After receiving my new FT-991 I wanted to get it hooked up for the digital modes, but the owner's manual didn't go into any details about using the FT-991 in this mode. After some time spent searching the Internet I discovered that the FT-991 actually has a built-in soundcard that can be accessed and controlled by installing one standard USB cable between the radio and your computer. The data signals for CAT control of the radio as well as the data signals controlling the on-board soundcard all travel across this one USB Cable.

Bottom line is this; the FT-991 does not require an interface, like the SignaLink or any kind of level conversion, isolation to communicate with your computer!

Should anyone else be looking for some assistance with getting a FT-991 hooked up to their computer, a short write up containing my notes can be seen here.

Keith
KN5G

Club Christmas Dinner

Club Christmas Dinner..

Make your plans and mark your calendars now to attend the Rusk County Amateur Radio Club's Christmas Dinner.

Tuesday, December 15, at 7:00 p.m.

Bring your spouse, children, and your appetite, and share in the fellowship during this special time of year. Our club has a great and diverse group of members and we want to spend this evening with our fellow amateurs and their families to celebrate the Christmas Season.

The club has a room reserved at Sombrero's Bar and Grill, so we should have plenty of room to visit and enjoy each other's company during the meal.

The restaurant is located in Henderson, at 405, Hwy 79 South, across from the old Sonic.

Merry Christmas !

A nice multi-band antenna that works!

by KN5G - It's always a struggle, trying to decide what antenna is simple but effective and worn't break the bank. For me, this multi-band antenna has been a real pleasure to use. Takes a little time and effort to install but well worth it in my opinion.

Just switch to the frequency you want to use, hit the auto tuner and you’re ready to call CQ! And you don’t have to put up 500 feet or wire if you don’t have room for it.

Just figure out the length you have room for and put that up. You lose the lower bands but you still have a multi-band antenna for the higher bands.

Here's the full article on the SkyWay Antenna in PDF format.

And for more information especially useful for "new hams" check our our New Ham page. - Keith

Club gives away new TV

Guy Bridges of Laneville won the grand prize, a large 42" HDTV, during the RCARC's recent fundraiser. Guy's name was drawn from the dozens of entries during the giveaway on Sunday at the Syrup Festival. Guy, who works at Luminant with Keith (KN5G), got his hands on the new TV Monday morning when Keith delivered it to him at work.

Congratulations to Guy and thanks to everyone who donated to the club during the fundraiser!

Henderson linked to Tyler and Hawkins

KC5KCT (left) and N9JN install a
VHF Yagi linking the new repeater
with a sister repeater in Tyler.

A new repeater linking Henderson to Tyler and Hawkins was installed Thursday, November 12th. The new machine, carrying the W5ETX callsign, is the result of many hours of work by Thomas Moss (KC5KTC) and John Newman (N9JN).

Moss, who works for the ETMC Hospital system and Newman, who is part of the East Texas Emergency Communications Systems club in Tyler, began dreaming of a network of repeaters located on hospitals all across East Texas years ago. Recently, the project got a major boost when new government funding became available for emergency equipment.

Field Day station places in West Gulf!

The Rusk County ARC's Field Day station, K5R, took first place in the 2F category in the West Gulf Division! The club operated at the Rusk County Office of Emergency Management's Emergency Operations Center, qualifying for the 2F designation and made 734 contacts over 24 hours during the contest in June.

That was enough to bring the club's total score to 1740 which was nearly 500 points more than the next 2F station. The West Gulf division includes the North Texas, South Texas, West Texas and Oklahoma sections. Overall, K5R placed 28th among all the 2F station across the country. Several club members participated in the event helping the club earn the distinctive honors.

RCARC planning for Syrup Fest

Syrup Festival 2015

The Rusk County ARC will be setting up a booth, once again, at the Syrup Festival in downtown Henderson Saturday, November 14th. We will be on the grounds of the County Courthouse. We'll need all the hams we can get to help out with the day, showing off ham radio and greeting visitors. Also, we'll be giving folks a chance to enter a drawing for a 42-inch HD television! So make plans to join us at the RCARC booth at the Syrup Fest from 9am - 2pm.

We also have a new opportunity for public service this year! The RCARC has agreed to help Henderson Main Street with communications for the Christmas Parade. The parade will be Thursday evening, December 3rd at 6pm. The club needs as many Technician or higher class operators as possible to volunteer. Please contact David (w5cwt@arrl.net) if you can help.

New 2016 Officers and New Dates

Christmas Dinner 2014

The RCARC recently elected new officers for 2016 and set dates for its November and December meetings. Each October, the RCARC is required to elect new officers. This year, most of the officers were eligible to serve another year in their current slots and agreed to do so.

However, on January 1st the Secretary slot will be vacant due to a lack of nominations during the October meeting. That means we must elect a secretary before December 31st! If you would be willing to serve in this position (or would like to nominate someone), please contact David (w5cwt@arrl.net) as soon as possible! The other slots will remain the same with: WX5WMS (Michael) as Public Information Officer, KF5UNL (Lester) as Treasurer, AF5RI (Craig) as Vice-President and W5CWT (David) as President

Also, the club voted to hold the November meeting on Tuesday, November 17th, 7pm, at the Henderson Central Fire Station. The change is required since the regular meeting dates falls on Thanksgiving. Also, the club has scheduled its annual Christmas dinner meeting for December 15th at Sombreros at 7pm.