I am trying something new with an EARS newsletter. My goal is to improve club communication. The plan is to publish a newsletter weekly but I may need some help to do so. If any of you are able to help, please let me know.
Steven Christy, N5ZQ
n5zq@n5zq.us
Ham Holiday – July 26-27, 2024!
Preregistration for Ham Holiday 2024 is now open!!!!
Ham Holiday 2024 will be on Friday, 26 July and Saturday, 27 July at Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC). Preregistration tickets are available on the Ham Holiday website at hamholiday.com/tix.
More information on prizes, forums, special drawing, and other Ham Holiday 2024 activities will be announced over the next few months. Please visit hamholiday.com regularly for all of the updated info!
Tickets Available Now – Click To Get Yours Today
Membership Renewal
EARS membership runs on an annual basis so it is time to renew your membership if you have not already done so. Renewing is as easy as completing the membership form on the Membership Form page. You can either pay at that time using a credit card via PayPal or you can mail in a check.
If you have any questions, they can be directed to the membership coordinator, Chris, KD5OOJ, at membership@k5eok.org.
New Members and New Hams
Speaking of membership renewal, we have had a number of new members (and new hams) join the club in recent months. Welcome to the club! We are glad you have joined and I would like to use this space to provide some club/ham radio info. This may be new to you or just a reminder but either way please keep reading.
EARS operates two FM repeaters: 147.135 2m and 443.425 70cm. Both repeaters are open and can be used by anyone. All amateurs are welcome! The offset and tone details for both repeaters are available on the Repeater Information page of the website.
One document you will also find on the Repeater Information page is the Repeater Policies and Procedures document. This document covers how to make calls on the repeater, FCC rules such as identification, how to handle an open mike situation and how to deal with unlicensed or malicious operators. I recommend that everyone takes a couple of minutes to read this document. Even if you are a seasoned operator this information is a great reminder!
In addition to this document, the blog “On All Bands”, has a really good post on repeater etiquette and best practices. You will probably notice that much of the information contained in the EARS policies and procedures document is also in this blog post. The post can be found here: https://www.onallbands.com/repeater-etiquette-best-practices-dos-and-donts/.
Again, please take a look at these resources. They contain some great info especially if you are just starting out!
As you work to get your radios programmed, you can always key your microphone on a repeater, give your callsign and ask for a radio check. Most of us, if we hear you, are happy to come back to your call and give you a report.
If you have any questions about the above info or about anything radio (or EARS) related, feel free to contact us at k5eok@k5eok.org and we will do our best to help.
EARS Volunteers
I am sure all of you are aware that EARS is an entirely volunteer organization. That means we alway need volunteers. There are many tasks to get done and the more we share the load, the more this club will be able to do!
Below is a summary of just some of the events and activities in which the club participates:
St. Patrick’s Day Parade
LibertyFest Parade
Cowboy Christmas Parade
Cycle 66 Bike Race
Monthly Siren Test
Weekly Information Net – 52 Net Control Volunteers
Monthly VE Test Session
Bi-Monthly Club Dinner – 5 Dinners
Christmas Dinner
Technician License Class – Spring and Fall
Field Day – Also One of the Club Dinners
Severe Weather Spotting
This list does not include all of the administrative and management function of the club. The website needs frequent updates, this newsletter needs to be written, etc.
What does all this mean? It means We Need You! If you are able to help in any way, please let us know. Even if you are unsure how to help or where you might best fit, please let us know and we will work with you to find the best fit.
If you are willing to help, please contact us at k5eok@k5eok.org. That will send a message to both myself, Steven, N5ZQ, and Clay, WA6LBU and we will be in touch!
Winter/Spring 2024 Technician Licensing Class
The technician class started Tuesday, January 30, 2024 and it takes place from 6:30pm to 8:30pm on each Tuesday for 9 weeks. If you would like to sign up or if you know someone who would like to take the class, please have them sign up on the Technician License Class page.
February Board Meeting
EARS holds a monthly board meeting on the second Tuesday of each month. The next board meeting is Tuesday, February 13th at 7pm. The meeting is in classroom A at Edmond Fire Station 5. Fire Station 5 is located at 5300 E Covell Rd which is just East of I-35.
We look forward to see you there!
NWS Weather Spotter Training
Believe it or not severe weather will be here before we know it. That means that the National Weather Service will be holding their annual weather spotter training soon. They recently released the schedule. There are 3 online sessions and the closest in-person sessions are Tuesday, February 20th in Norman and Thursday, February 29th in Guthrie.
The recommendation is to take the class at least every other year. If at possible, please consider attending the class. Even if you have taken it before, you may learn something new!
A link to the full training schedule is below.
https://www.weather.gov/oun/spottertalk
St. Patrick’s Day Parade
The Stockyards City St. Patrick’s Day Parade will be here before you know it. The date this year is Saturday, March 16th. It is a great starter parade if you have never helped with one before. I highly recommend it. Usually the reporting time is 8am and the parade is over by 11am.
The signup form is live on the website at the link below. Please check your calendar and consider helping!
St. Patrick’s Day Parade Signup
Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon
Please read the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon info below from Gayland and consider volunteering if you are available.
Registration is open for volunteering for the communications unit that supports the Oklahoma City Marathon. Last year we had more than 70 amateur radio operators supporting the nearly 19,000 runners over a two-day period. Amateurs helped with logistical tasks, such as providing information on locations of the head and rear of the races, supported delivery of ice and water to the various water stops, provided communications at each of the medical stations, gave real-time information to relay team members readying to make their exchanges, and in general provided another set of eyes and ears for the Marathon operations leaders as well as the public safety responders.
The Marathon events we support will be on Saturday April 27th and Sunday April 28th. We’ll need folks on Saturday to support the 5K race, Senior Marathon and Kids Marathon; and then a full contingent of communicators to support the full/half marathons on Sunday.
Register to volunteer for either or both days by going to the Marathon website at https://okcmarathon.volunteerlocal.com/volunteer/?id=76852&job_name=Auxiliary%20Communications . When you’re asked for a password or code, enter 20HAM24 ; this takes you directly to our communications section of the volunteer registration. If you have a preferred location to work or preferred hams to partner with, there’s a place for you to enter that as well.
For planning purposes, this year’s pre-event meeting will be on Monday evening, April 22nd, at the Oklahoma City Fire Training Center (more details to come).
Please feel free to share this far and wide among your fellow hams; this event requires as many people as we can provide. And yes, we’ll be making recruiting visits to the various clubs shortly.
Thank you for your participation in last year’s event and we’ll hope to see you this year too!
WX5MOR / Gayland
2024 Auxiliary Communications Unit Leader
gkitch@cityofmoore.com cell 405-834-6304
Field Day 2024
Field Day 2024 was a topic of new business at the January 9th board meeting. The board voted unanimously to hold Field Day at Fire Station 5 this year. We have reserved the same space we have started using for board meeting which is at the main building right next to the station. This space is large enough for both the Field Day operations and the dinner. The best part is that it is air conditioned!
I know June is a ways off but we need to start our planning now. If you are able to help in any way, please contact myself, Steven, N5ZQ (n5zq@n5zq.us) and let me know!
2024 Green Country Hamfest – April 12th& 13th in Claremore, Oklahoma
Pre-Reregistration is OPEN!
2024 Green Country Hamfest – April 12th& 13th in Claremore, Oklahoma.
Only 30 minutes from Tulsa!
Claremore Expo, 400 Veterans Parkway, Claremore, OK, 74017
MAP: https://goo.gl/maps/X9kEa
Talk-in on: 147.09+
Free Parking!!! – Low Cost ON-SITE RV Parking!
Terrific Prizes! Fantastic Forums – Learn something new! See
Flea Market – Great Bargains!
Free Test Table – Check It Before You Buy It!
On-site VE Testing Get or upgrade your license!
Advance admission is $8.00.
Preregistered Tables are $15.00 each.
Commercial booths are $50.00 each.
Tickets are $10.00 at the door.
Tables are $20.00 at the door.
Order early and save!
Online Preregistration Closes
March 31, 2024
Several Commercial Tables remaining
and Flea Market Tables remaining
Children 12 and under are Free!
Friday open to public at 4 PM to 9 PM
Saturday open to public 8 AM to 3 PM
Setup Friday 12:00PM.
Setup at 7:00AM Saturday until 8:00AM.
More info at http://www.greencountryhamfest.org
Web Links
Here are a few links to other websites that may be of interest.
- CORA (Central Oklahoma Radio Amateurs) – https://coraok.org
- Ham Holiday (OKC Hamfest) – https://hamholiday.com
- ARRL Oklahoma Section – https://ok.arrl.org
- South Canadian Amateur Radio Society (SCARS)
- DMR Info – https://w5nor.org/okdmr/
- They have lots of other good info on their website such as modes of operation, weather/emergency info etc.
Upcoming Events
- EARS Information Net – Every Monday at 8pm
- Technician Class – Starts Tuesday, January 30th at 6:30pm to 8:30pm and runs for 9 weeks
- February Board Meeting – Tuesday, February 13th at 7pm at Edmond Fire Station 5, 5300 E Covell
- February Club Dinner – Thursday, February 15th at 6:30pm – Location TBD
- EARS Licensing Testing – Saturday, March 2nd at 8am – Sign Up on License Testing page
- Edmond Siren Test – Saturday, March 2nd at 11:30am
- Stockyards City St. Patrick’s Day Parade – Saturday, March 16th – Signup Form Now Live!
- Green Country Hamfest – April 12th and 13th
- Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon – April 27th and 28th
- All Ham Dinner – May 9th at 6pm at Golden Palace Buffet at 1224 South Air Depot Boulevard
- Ham Holiday – July 26th and 27th
