County and City declare Radio Week!

Both Rusk County and the City of Henderson have declared the week of June 23-29, 2014, Amateur Radio Week. The declarations come as the the RCARC prepares to host its first-ever test session on Thursday, June 26th and Field Day that weekend.

During their regular commissioners' court meeting on Monday (June 9th), Rusk County Judge Joel Hale thanked several members of the RCARC for their readiness to provide public service radio communications. The county's commissioners then unanimously approved the declaration.

The next evening, during the Henderson City Council's meeting, Mayor Pat Brack made a similar declaration and thanked the club for its assistance with storm spotting and other emergency communication assistance.

Preparing for Field Day 2014

Field Days is fours weeks away and it is time to think about specifics!

The club asked, and received permission to hold Field Day 2014 at the Rusk County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) which serves as the county's Emergency Operations Center or "EOC". There is a special provision in the ARRL Field Day rules that allow for EOC operations and would classify our station as an "F" station. Once nice benefit is we can use normal power mains and even has air conditioning! (Can I get a big "yeah!"?)

 Going over the rules again here are some thoughts:

The first thought is deciding on how many transmitters we need. Field Day rules classify all participating groups by the number of radios they have transmitting simultaneously at any time during the event AND the type of operation (low power, off the grid, individual at home, at an

Calling CQ CQ CQ de KG5CGV!

Who is that on the air? It's the RCARC with its brand new club call sign! The FCC officially assigned KG5CGV to the club earlier this week and it now appears in the FCC database. 

But don't get too friendly with it yet. The club decided several months back to apply for a vanity callsign that would be shorter and more significant than a sequentially generated callsign. However, you have to have the regular call before you can apply for a vanity, so this is only the first step. Still, it calls for a celebration!

Here's a link to the page on the FCC's website so you can see it for yourself: http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/license.jsp?licKey=3599066

Catching DX with "Regular-Guy" Station

By W5CWT - I've really come to enjoy JT65 and the slooooow QSOs it allows. I'm able to work some great DX with a very modest station (at only 20 watts!) while doing other work on my computer. NICE! I recorded a quick video of a recent QSO with an Italian station to give you a feel for it.

Take it to Ground! Protecting your gear

Tom Wilbeck speaks on grounds

(VIDEO) Tom Wilbeck, N5KGN, from Longview, spoke about the importance of having a good grounding system during the Rusk County Amateur Radio Club's monthly meeting Thursday evening.

Tom, who spent his career working with in the electronics and telephone industry, said his motivation for building a safe system came quite suddenly, in less than 4 milliseconds to be exact.

"The entire room lit up with a green glow. And although I had my eyes closed, it was so bright, I could see it through my eyelids." It happened just over 20 years ago, Tom explain. He was in bed when his amateur radio tower took a direct hit from lightening. The strike took out his computer and several items in his radio shack, and while he says he didn't loose his main HF rig, he did gain a healthy respect for proper grounding techniques.

6 Meter Opening brings QSOs

Six Meters is open to California this afternoon. Several six stations working into Texas.

Up-Coming Events for RCARC

Up-Coming events for the Rusk County Amateur Radio Club

22 May, RCARC Monthly Meeting - Henderson Fire Department, Station One, West Main St.

14 – 16 June, VHF QSO Party - For amateurs in the US and Canada (and their possessions) to work as many amateur stations in as many different 2 degrees x 1 degree Maidenhead grid squares as possible using authorized frequencies above 50 MHz.

26 June, Rusk County Amateur Radio Club Testing Session, with monthly club meeting to follow the testing session - 6 p.m. Henderson Fire Department, Station One, West Main St. Let’s talk this up and encourage folks to take advantage of this testing session to up-grade their license, and especially let’s get the word out to non-licensed folks that are interested in getting their amateur license.

28 – 29 June, Field Day - To work as many stations as possible on any and all amateur bands and to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less than optimal conditions. The Rusk County Club is planning to have three stations on the air and we will need operators to man the stations. We will have a HF, 6 Meter, and 2 Meter station set up at the Rusk County EOC Office, located on the North West side of the Rusk County Court House, in the old county jail building. Make plans now to come out and participate. Everyone is welcome to take a turn or turns operating the various stations. Be sure to check the RCARC website http://www.ruskcountyarc.com/ for updates as we firm up the plans and schedule. Spread the word!

73-

KN5G - Keith

Storms prompt Rusk Co. Skywarn Net

A series of storms moved through Rusk County in the early morning hours of Monday, April 26, prompting Rusk County hams to activate a llocal Skywarn net on the RCARC's repeater.

Michael (KF5QXL) drove from his home in Smith County, tracking a series of cells that had developed out infront of a dryline moving across East Texas. The net was activate just after 2 a.m. The storm moved just east, south of Henderson and just north of Mt. Enterprise.

At one point, Michael found himself in the unpleasant reality of being right in the middle of a Tornado Warning. The warning was issued when National Weather Service forecasters saw signs of rotation in the cell. Due to limited visibility, Michael was not able to see a funnel cloud, although he did report numerous sightings of wall clouds associated with the storm.

 Jon, (NU5G) also checked into the Skywarn net and spotted from his location just south of Henderson. The net was finally shutdown just after 4 a.m., once all the potentially severe weather had passed the area.

Large crowd turns out for Skywarn

More than 30 firefighters, hams, emergency responders and citizens turned out to learn about storms and how to report severe weather to the National Weather Service (NWS). Bill Parker, with the NWS office in Shreveport, taught a basic and an advanced class Tuesday evening (4/22/14) at the Rusk County Sheriff's Office.

Several RCARC members were part of the group. The club is currently working on establishing the protocols to activate storm-spotting nets when severe weather is possible in the area.

RCARC hams it up with the Kiwanis

Richard (K5RRB) and David (W5CWT) spoke to the Henderson Kiwanis' Club on Tuesday about the importance and fun of amateur radio. The Kiwanis were most impressed with Richard's ability to make a QSO to Lake Palestine from the basement of the ETMC hospital, where the club meets for lunch.

"How many of your cell pones have service down here?" Richard asked, before calling "CQ" on the repeater. When a fellow ham responded from more than 50 miles away in crystal clear audio, the room was in awe. It was a fine example of how when everything else fails...ham radio!