Tech Class begins with 11 students

Students take practice exams

Eleven students, raging in age from 9 to over 60, began their journey to becoming radio amateurs Saturday, the first day of the RCARC's current new ham course. Keith (KN5G) and David (W5CWT) lead the class as the students learned about the vast aspects of ham radio, how to use an HT and a little bit of wave theory.

Out of the four women and seven men who made up the class, most said they were drawn to amateur radio because of its role in emergency communications and public service.

the class runs each Saturday, 8 a.m. to noon through April 30th. At the end of the last session, students will have an opportunity to take the FCC's Technician Class License test administered by a local volunteer examiner team.

Longview club to host sidewalk sale

The Longview East Texas Amateur Radio Club is hosting a sidewalk sale this Saturday on the campus of LeTourneau University. While the website says the sale runs from 8 to noon, several folks (with apparently nothing better to do in the wee hours of the morning) will forgo sleep an arrive closer to 7 am. (I'm sure the college students would prefer the later time!)

Anyway, it's always a fun time and typically there are lots of good deals to be had. There's also some nice door prizes throughout the morning. The exact address is the Glaske Center Parking Lot, 2100 S Mobberly Avenue, Longview, TX 75602.

For more info, visit their website, which includes a map.

Club Invited to Tour Broadcast Station

Chuck (far right) poses with RCARC members.

The club had a wonderful experience traveling back in time as Chuck Conrad (KD5TZT) owner of KZQX in Chalk Hill, better known as QX-FM, hosted the club at his stations' studios March 31st.

Chuck has been in the radio business for a number of years, starting out with a Low-Power FM station and eventually transitioning to a full-sized commercial station. He also owns an AM station in Jacksonville and an FM translator station in Tyler. He began his career in the TV industry and then owned a sound company for many years.

Chuck is also a collector broadcast memorabilia and is preparing to open a museum in downtown Kilgore. However, during the visit, most of his collections were still at the KZQX studios, allowing club members to get a preview during the tour.

Read more about Chuck and his broadcast story here. Or visit the QX-FM station website here.

RCARC members got a chance to see the station studios in action, browse a huge collection of vintage broadcast receivers, view a large collection of television cameras and even step inside a classic mobile unit from KBTV (the pre-cursor to Dallas' WFAA Channel 8). His brownies weren't bad either!

Continue (by clicking "Read more" below) for more photos...

Radio books donated to Rusk Co. Library

The Rusk County Amateur Radio Club donated 11 new books to the Rusk County Library on Thursday. The books, worth more than $250, cover a variety of topics including basic electronics, antenna designs, radio frequency interference and amateur radio satellites.

A copy each of the American Radio Relay League's Handbook for Radio Communications and the Antenna Book for Radio Communications, both large reference-style books, were also given to the library.

The club voted to donate the books in order to promote electronics knowledge and skills and increase the awareness of the role amateur radio operators play in public service and emergencies.  The books can be checked out or requested at any of the library's four locations in the county.

The club also donated study guides for each of the three levels of amateur radio licensee exams required by the F.C.C. The guides cover material in the Technician, General and Extra level exams. After using the guides, a prospective "Ham" can contact the club for help in scheduling an official testing session.

Several club members were on hand to deliver the books and the library's assistant director, Michelle Zenor, accepted them on behalf of the library.

East Texas Net now heard in Rusk Co.

Rusk County amateurs now have the ability to check into the East Texas Emergency Communications Service's monthly training net. The ETECS net is called on the last Monday of each month at 7:00 PM on the W5ETX linked system repeaters which includes the new repeater recently installed on ETMC's facilities in Henderson.

The net's agenda includes check-ins, announcements and training pertinent to EmComm operations. ARRL radiogram traffic and digital traffic using various modes of the Narrow Band Emergency Messaging Software (NBEMS) may also be handled during the net.

The net can be heard on any other linked repeaters, including:

• Tyler on the “210” repeater (145.210 – 136.5),
• In Henderson and Rusk County on the  “92” repeater (146.920 – 136.5),
• In Hawkins on the “24” repeater (147.240 + 88.5) and
• In Edom and Van Zandt County on the (146.620 –  136.5).

For more information about ETECS, visit their website.

Tyler Hams plan digital net on Sundays

The fldigi program is a free.

Several Tyler hams will begin holding a digital-mode net on Sunday evenings at 9 pm starting on February 21. The net is currently planned to be held on 10 meters, 28.123 MHz dial frequency, USB digital (1500 Hz audio--28.124.5 MHz rf--center frequency).

The first mode to be tried is a new mode called FSQ (Fast Simple QSO). This mode is available in the most recent versions of fldigi beginning in version 3.23. (User manual available here)

Not sure how well (or even if) Rusk County hams will be able to here them, but it's worth a try. The regular SSB net starts at 8 pm on 28.365 MHz. Then stick around at 9 pm as they move down the band to 28.123 MHz (+-) for digital.

The full details are available on the Tyler ham club's page.

Friends help new ham get on the air

Dana (AG5DA) got a little help from his friends this week. The guys, also members of the RCARC, help put up a 30-foot tower at Dana's house and stick a Comet GP-9 on top.

Craig, who is not that fond of heights, admitted it was a little harrowing at times. But in the end, Dana was able to get a nice signal out and sounded great on the repeater during the weekly net. In the shack, Dana uses a Kenwood TM-V71A dual band transceiver powered by an Astron VS-35M power supply.

He notes that he's "still got work to do such as grounding, but I am up and running!" He also adds that he "wouldn't have it running without Craig, Ken, and Eric!  It was done right thanks to those guys."

New Tech License Course set for April

The Rusk County Amateur Radio Club will offer a Technician's license course to help non-hams earn their entry-level Technician License over three Saturdays in April. The course dates are set for April 16, 23, and 30.

Club members will present the study material in a fun and interactive way that will help students remember everything they need to pass the exam. Participants will also get a change to actually use radio equipment, send email via radio and practice their new skills.

Volunteer Examiners will be on hand for students to take their test at the end of the final class time. For more details on the course, visit our Technician Course page.

New NTX Emergency Coordinator named

Matthew Morris, K5ICR, has been appointed to the position of Section Emergency coordinator.  He may be reached at: K5ICR@arrl.net or by phone at 940-441-7220.

Matthew is currently in the Masters Public Administration program at the University of North Texas. His background in public safety includes active reserve deputy sheriff, assistant fire chief and in EMS.

Please join us in welcoming him to this position. I look forward to working with him for the future growth of North Texas ARES.

Nancy McCain - K5NLM
Section Manager - North Texas

Skywarn Class set for February 2nd

Rusk County residents will have an opportunity to refresh their storm-spotting skills (or learn them for the first time) in February. The National Weather Service will be in Rusk County on Tuesday, February 2, 2016. The class will run from 6 pm - 9 pm at the Rusk County Sheriff's Department Training Room, 210 W Charlevoix St, in Henderson. (Click link for a map).

The free training will include both Basic and Advance level training sessions and is open to the public. Hams, along with local EMS, firefighters and first responders are encouraged to attend.  Rusk County Office of Emergency Management is organizing the classes, so if you plan to attend, please RSVP emailing Patrick Dooley at patrick.dooley[at]ruskcountyoem.org so he can get a head count.