Below is the newsletter for October 28th, 2024. Please let me know if you can help with the newsletter so we can keep sending one out regularly.
I am trying to include original articles and I could use some help. If you can write an article or even if you have a suggestion for an article, please let me know!
Steven Christy, N5ZQ
n5zq@n5zq.us
EARS VHF Repeater – PL Tone Access Required Soon
A number of months ago it was announced that the EARS 147.135 VHF repeater would start requiring a PL (CTCSS) tone of 79.7 at some point in the future. That time is now upon us.
Even though tone has not been required to use the VHF repeater, it has been listed in all of the repeater directories for as long as I can remember. It is likely that many of you already have it programmed but now is a good time to check.
The change was planned for Saturday, October 12th but it was postponed due to technical difficulties. We will communicate an updated date soon.
If you have any questions about this change, please let us know!
73
Steven, N5ZQ
n5zq@n5zq.us
November Siren Test Saturday
The next Edmond Siren Test is Saturday, November 2nd. Please let Clay know if you have an assigned siren and you are unavailable to help this month. If you would like to be added to the list to help, please send an email to Clay, WA6LBU, at sirens@k5eok.org.
November VE Test Session Saturday
The next EARS VE Test Session is Saturday, November 2nd at 9am. If you or someone you know is planning to attend, please visit the License Testing page and complete the sign-up form. This allows the VE team to prepare to accommodate all of the testers.
If you have any questions, please contact Ralph Turner, N5AMR at Raltur47@gmail.com or you can contact him by phone at 573-999-4748.
EARS November Board Meeting
EARS holds a monthly board meeting on the second Tuesday of each month. The next board meeting is Tuesday, November 12th at 7pm. The meeting is at Edmond Fire Station 5 in the training building down the hill by the tower. The blue pin on the map below shows the meeting location.
This meeting is also the annual membership meeting and elections for officers and board members will take place. Please make plans to attend as we need approximately 35 members to be in attendance in order to hold the election.
The proposed slate of officers and board members for 2025 are below.
Officers
Clay Mayrose, WA6LBU – President
Steve Christy, N5ZQ – Vice-President
John Little, AE5XZ – Treasurer
Dale Durnell, KF8DLD – Secretary
Board Members
Bob Coxey, KM5GZ – Board Member
Randy Donaldson, KG5GOV – Board Member
John Garnett, N5RET – Board Member
Harvey Jones, W0HGJ – Board Member
Frankie Tassone, KE5KQL – Board Member
Anthony Tompkins, K5AJT – Board Member
Curtis Foote, KC5GEP – Board Member – Emergency Coordinator (Appointed by the Board)
Gary Stillman, AE5GS – Board Member – Club Trustee (Appointed by the Board)
Fire Station 5 is located at 5300 E Covell Rd which is just East of I-35. If you need any help finding the meeting location, please give us a call on the repeater and we can help you out.
Cycle 66
We will once again be helping with the Cycle 66 bike race which takes place on Sunday, November 3, 2024. This year there are multiple races of 10 miles, 33 miles, 66 miles, a kids route and criterium race. Our amateur volunteers are a fundamental part of insuring the success of this event. We will need a decent number of volunteers so please consider helping.
The volunteer form is now live! Please visit the Cycle 66 page on the website to volunteer!
If you have any questions, please contact Clay at wa6lbu@gmail.com.
Stockyards City Cowboy Christmas Parade
The 2024 Stockyards City Cowboy Christmas Parade is on Saturday, December 7, 2024, starting at 10am. Volunteers are needed from 8am to 11am, meeting at the northeast corner of Penn and Exchange, with an optional breakfast at 7am at Cattleman’s.
This is a short, easy parade that is great for newcomers and veterans alike. Less experienced volunteers will be paired with more experienced volunteers so don’t hesitate to sign up to help!
Please complete the sign up form on the Stockyards City Cowboy Christmas Parade page to volunteer.
Contact parades@k5eok.org for any questions.
Frankie, KE5KQL
Christmas Dinner
The annual Christmas Dinner is scheduled for Saturday, December 7th. The location and menu will be announced soon. Please make plans to attend!
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!
Space Weather
Space (Solar) Weather is important is impacts our radio communication. While the greatest impact is usually on HF frequencies, it can also impact VHF, UHF and even higher frequencies. The video below comes from a YouTube page that is updated about every 2 weeks with new space weather reports. I encourage you to watch her channel for updates when you can as it is very educational.
Contests
Below are a few upcoming HF contests. The ARRL has a more complete list in their Contest Corral from QST which is available as a downloadable PDF file. You can also find a list of upcoming contests along with contest details at contestcalendar.com.
| ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, CW | 2100Z, Nov 2 to 0300Z, Nov 4 |
| ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, SSB | 2100Z, Nov 16 to 0300Z, Nov 18 |
| CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW | 0000Z, Nov 23 to 2400Z, Nov 24 |
| ARRL 160-Meter Contest | 2200Z, Dec 6 to 1600Z, Dec 8 |
| ARRL 10-Meter Contest | 0000Z, Dec 14 to 2400Z, Dec 15 |
Web Links
Here are a few links to other websites that may be of interest.
- ARRL (American Radio Relay League) – https://arrl.org
- 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.
- ARES
- ARRL ARES – https://www.arrl.org/ares
- OK ARES – https://aresok.org
- Winlink – https://winlink.org
- AREDN – arednmesh.org
- POTA (Parks on the Air) – https://pota.app
Upcoming Events
- EARS Information Net – Every Monday at 8pm
- Route 66 10m Net on 28.390 – Every Monday Following the Information Net
- EARS Breakfast – Every Saturday at approximately 6:30am at Around The Corner, 11 S. Broadway, Edmond
- Fall Technician Class – Starts August 27th on Zoom – Register on Technician License Class page
- EARS Licensing Testing – Saturday, November 2nd – Sign Up on License Testing page
- Edmond Siren Test – Saturday, November 2nd at 11:30am
- Cycle 66 – Sunday, November 3rd – Sign up on the Cycle 66 page
- Annual Membership Meeting and Elections – Tuesday, November 12th at 7pm at Edmond Fire Station 5, 5300 E Covell
- November Board Meeting – Tuesday, November 12th at 7pm at Edmond Fire Station 5, 5300 E Covell
- Stockyards City Cowboy Christmas Parade – Saturday, December 7th – Sign Up on the Christmas Parade Page
