2010 has arrived with a shiver! That gives all of us a good excuse to sit beside some warm radio equipment and try to make contacts all over the world with fellow ham radio enthusiasts.
Our club meetings are, as usual, on the 1st Tuesday of each month. We’d like to see some more faces show up and spend time with us.
And it’s not too early to be planning for Field Day in June. Ah, the thought of warmer weather, mosquitoes, and contesting. We are going to do better this year!
Keep talking!
The ARRL has posted the results of the 2009 Field Day. We did pretty well for ourselves!
Here’s the breakdown of the scoring.
W4ATD (GOTA call KB4CAY) was credited with 9,922 points overall with 3,143 QSO’s total.
We were #59 out of 2,612 total entries.
We were #12 out of 502 total entries in class 2A
We were #4 out of 189 entries in the Southeastern Division.
We were #2 out of 35 entries in class 2A in the Southeastern Division.
We were #2 out of 29 total entries from the state of Alabama.
We were #1 out of 7 entries in class 2A from the state of Alabama.
From our last good outing (2007) we fell very slightly compared to the total entries. But we stayed consistent in the division and in the state.
Next year can be even better! Many thanks to all those who participated or just came out and enjoyed the fun.
See you next June!
The club has elected officers for 2010. They are:
President - Bob McKenzie K4MLR
Vice-President - J. Lester Christophe W5GSU
Secretary - Richard Matthews KB4CAY
Treasurer - Ray Frederick KD4VCW
It is with sadness that we report the passing of Dave Knight, W4ZJY. Dave was a life member of the ARRL, former member of our club, and was extremely active on the air. His call sign regularly appeared in QST magazine in the “Field Organization Reports” His call appears twice on page 101 of the August 2009 issue. He did a lot of CW work, so he truly is a “silent key”.
The graveside service and burial were in Cookeville, Tennessee, on Monday, August 10.
His obituary was in Sunday’s Decatur Daily . SK information has been forwarded to the ARRL.
Club member Bill Blackburn W4ZLU sent this rememberance:
David and I went thru High School together and played in a country band together (Phiffer Ridge Runners). We took the Ham test together in 1953 and both of us passed the Novice however I was the dumb one and failed the General test once. He of course passed his. This is the time the test was given only every 3 months in Nashivlle and you had to send and receive 13 wpm. Then after about 6 weeks you received a license or failure notice in the mail. It was quite a bus ride from Cookeville.
After school I went into the Navy and he later went to the Air Force. After almost 40 years we ended up two blocks from each other.
His “fist” will be sorely missed on the air.
Last year’s Field Day was a real bust! We made up for it this year.
We ran the usual 2 stations, plus the “Get On The Air” (GOTA) station. We even had a dedicated 6-meter rig this time.
Our overall total score was over 9,900 points! That, folks, is a record!
Now we wait for October/November and see where we fall in the scoring chart.
Thanks to all who helped out!
It’s almost here! Field Day is the event that our club really looks forward to every year.
This year we plan to do better than last year. Of course, looking at last year’s dismal score, that should be pretty easy!
We will operate from Point Mallard Park again, as we have in recent years. We will have the usual 2 HF stations, plus a dedicated 6-meter radio and a GOTA station.
What we really need are PEOPLE! If you are in the Decatur area on June 27th or 28th, please stop by. Call on 2-meters on 147.00. Hopefully someone will be monitoring the repeater and can direct you to the site.
We’d love to meet new people and make new contacts in person and on the radio. Come out to Field Day!
We have taken a survey of our members about the interests for programs for our club meetings. We have received some excellent responses and are trying to figure out how to best meet the interests and needs of the club.
Come join us at our meetings on the first Tuesday of each month and learn more about our great hobby!
It’s more than a hobby!! This is tornado season in North Alabama, and we are ready to provide storm spotter service to the National Weather service. If you are a trained spotter, call in on 147.00+ during storms and help us keep our families and neighborhoods safe in severe weather.
It’s the end of January and 2009 is already 1/12th over! We have already started a few plans for Field Day in June.
If you want to be a member of the club, annual dues need to be paid immediately! Dues are only $15, and each additional family member is only $5 more. What a bargain!
Come out to a club meeting on the first Tuesday night of the month at the Morgan County Courthouse! We’d love to have some fresh ideas to keep our club active and growing!
The club is having its Christmas dinner at Ryan’s in Decatur on Tuesday evening, December 2nd, at 6:00. This takes the place of the regular monthly business meeting.
All are invited to attend, whether a ham or not! Come eat with us and enjoy some time together at the beginning of the holiday season!
See you there!
The club has reelected the same officers for 2009. They are:
President - Carl Spanyer KD4BXF
Vice-President - Jerry Montgomery K4SAV
Secretary - Richard Matthews KB4CAY
Treasurer - Ray Frederick KD4VCW
