RCWA
March Newsletter
(March 2008)
From
Frances Emerson – KC5CSC
Email
address: kc5csc@rcwa.org
- Please send articles (txt, pdf, doc or htm formats), news (same), images (in
jpg format), drawings (in gif format), etc. to this address.
RCWA Does Field Day
For the first time since I’ve been a member of the Rogers
County Wireless Association amateur radio club it’s going to participate in a
Field Day Fun Event. Planning and coordination for this event is well underway
and will culminate in a 24-hour fun for all.
Each year, on
the last full weekend of June amateur radio enthusiasts (hams) all over the
country practice their hobby, bringing the hobby to the public and testing their
preparedness to rapidly set up and handle emergency communications (sometimes
around the world) under adverse conditions.
Some will participate for points and recognition, others for fun and
practice. RCWA has decided that its
first steps into this annual event will be for fun and practice alone. This will allow us to experience the
intensity of coordination and holding the event without the added stress of
worrying about specific guidelines that need to be adhered to for accumulating
points and recognition. The possibility
of more serious participation next year has not been ruled out and will likely
be determined based on success of this year’s Field Day.
Field Day
allows hams to practice setting up communications in the field. That generally means they use alternate means
of power (battery, solar, generator, etc.) and can work ‘off the grid’ by not
being connected to commercially supplied electricity. Communication stations of various
frequencies, some of which are excellent for talking around the world, are set
up and manned by amateur radio control operators who are licensed for those
frequencies. GOTA (get on the air) is
intended to generate interest in and enthusiasm for the hobby by the public. This means non-licensed persons of all ages will
be able to actually operate a radio and speak with other hams perhaps in
another state, across the country or even another country (when conditions
allow).
Annual Picnic
The Spring
picnic for 2008 will be May 3. This
happens to also fall on our monthly meeting day. That means the meeting will be held at