The Spark Gap 2002-03

The Spark Gap

Newsletter of the

Mid-State Amateur Radio Club

Volume 19 MARCH 2002 Number 3

THE SPARK GAP HAS RETURNED

After a brief absence the Spark Gap has once again returned to keep our members informed of
club meetings, activities, up-coming events, hamfests, etc. Bob LaGrange, N9SIU, is now
editing the newsletter. Club members are encouraged to contribute to the newsletter. Articles
concerning things of interest to amateur radio is needed to make the newsletter useful to our club
and it’s members. If there are ideas of what you would like to see in the MARC Spark Gap
please contact me. I am always open for suggestions and will try to make the Spark Gap a good
source of information for club members and hams in and around Johnson County.

“4737

Alex Whitaker — AA9XY

Many of Amateur Radios classic models are closer to home than you might expect. Next
Saturday Whiteland resident Alex Whitaker-AA9XY will bring some of his favorites and share
the history behind these classic models. Join us for a trip back into the golden age of Amateur
radios at the March 16" meeting. The fun starts at 8AM in the EOC.-W8ISH

LAST CALL FOR MARC 2002 DUES
If you haven’t already paid your club dues for 2002 please do so by the our next meeting March
16". The dues are $ 18.00 per year and include all privileges for club members. Please see
Emest Clark, KB9SKI before or after the meeting to keep you dues current.

VE TESTING RESUMES MARCH 16"

The VE team is ready to begin administering testing for ali amateur licenses and license up
grades at the conclusion of the March MARC club meeting. The testing should begin about
9930. No pre-registration is needed. You will need to bring a copy of your license with you if
are planning to up-grade. Good luck to all that are testing.

MARCH 2002

SKYWARN TRAINING MARCH 20°
7:00 PM
Johnson County Emergency Management Agency

Emergency Operations Center
Talk-in on the 146.835 —

Ham Radio License Class

The Mid-State Amateur Radio Club is sponsoring a license preparation class for the Technician

Class license starting March 11" at 7:00 PM. The class will be held in the EOC and should last
about one hour. The classes are free but the student will need the No Code Technician study aid
from your local Radio Shack store. Please contact Ernest Clark, KB9SKI at 317-889-1931 or e-

mail kb9ski@arrl.net.

Chikpnas A ng a Program "HRNEN ERNE RAK AUK AR RARER RE REL EEA.
As all of you know, we are collecting each week for this program. By doing this, we won’t miss
the money as much as we would at Christmas time. This should allow us to sponsor two families
this year. To date we have collected $ 82.00. Any ideas on this program are welcome.

contact Barb, kb9nog

.... See copy of letter page 4
e ed

WHAT’S NEW????

Carol Osborne (xyl-kb9hse) and Barb Rogers (kb9nog) have joined Ladies Only. They have a
“heavy” bet going on. Watch the pounds fly! (hopefully) Stay tuned .............
.... kb9nog

MARCH 2002

Prayer Corner +
Please continue to pray for irene Gill. She is still unable to walk on her own and has trouble
with her speech. She has been transferred to Homeview on Old US 31 across from the
Masonic Home. Vernon could use a word of prayer for a speedy recovery from his knee surgery.
He should be back with us very soon.
Homer Keasley (wb9o0zz) and his wife, Lela is both in the hospital at this time. You can visit
them at the Todd Aikens at Johnson Memorial. Homer is in room 280B and Lela is in room
233A. I’m sure they would appreciate a visit or a cail.

.... Kb9nog

HAMFESTS
April 6" - Columbus ,

Bartholomew County Fair Grounds, 8 am to 2pm
Talk —in: 146.790-

Ken Brewer, Weather forecaster for WISH-TV Channel 8 Indianapolis made a visit to the
MARC February meeting. Ken spoke to us about severe storms and being prepared for them.
He also showed a video tape concerning being storm ready the equipment used at WISH-TV
weather room. Ken was very well received and it was good to have him as our guest again.

THE SPARK GAP
Editor — Bob LaGrange, N9SIU
n9siu@artl.net

MARC CLUB OFFICERS
PRESIDENT VICE-PRESIDENT SECRETARY
Jay Chrisman — AA9YP Joan Kemp — N9DON Ernest Clark - KB9SKI
daisy@iquest.net lwkemp@tls.net kb9ski@arrl.net

RACES DIR.
Jay Chrisman — AA9YP

daisy@iquest.net

REPEATER TRUS
Matt Payne — KB9UJE

kb9uje@qsl.net

VE COORDINATOR
Dave Wendt - KB9O00H
wendt@indy.net

ACTIVITIES DIR.- Jack Parker -- W8ISH

jparker@iquest.net

TREASURER
Vernon Gill — N9QBO

gillv@juno.com
ARES
Vernon Gill — N9QBO

gilv@juno.com

PUBLIC INFO. - Leroy Perry- KB9ZLC

Ipfe428@aol.com

cane eee

@
United Way

of Johnson County

2525 N. Morton Street, P.O. Box 153
Franklin, iN 46131
GI7)736-7840 © FAX GIT) 736-4449

E-mail: uwjc@netdirect.net
Board of Directors
Presidem
‘Trent McWilliams
Heartland Community Bank
Vice President
Eric Fredbeck
Deppe, Fredbeck & Boll
Treasurer
Bill Oakes
Johnson Memorial Hospital
Secretary
Betsy Schmid
Franklin College
Directors
Watt Aldorisio
Center Grove School Corporation
Mike Aldrich
Community Volunteer
Janet Alexander
City of Franklin
Rick Belses
National City Bank
Tom Brown
Northwestern Mutual Financial Network
Mike Crumbo
Alpine Electronics Manufacturing, of
America
Ed Deiwert
BANK ONE Indianapolis
Tins Fearin
IC Penney
Ruth Freese
Community Volunteer
Keith Grant
Nineveh-Henstey-Jackson Schoot
Corporation
Yvette Hauser
Indiana Department of Education
Marga Mastin
Community Volunteer
Jackie McNeclan
Huntington Bank
Jeff Owen
Datly Journal
Joe Pitcher
Johnson County Attorney
Joe Trucbload
Franklin United Methodist Community
Ken Wiliams
Community Volunteer

Executive Director
Nancy Lohr Plake

Teton gy

rary eae Ccarbied.
ee vi bhe &? oe

January 17, 2002

Ms. Barbara Rogers
Wenesday Supper Club
1472 S. Center Lane
Franklin, IN 46131

Dear Barbara,

On behalf of the United Way of’ Johnson County, i want to thank you tor
being an integral part of the 2001 Christmas Angels program. As a
Christmas Angels Sponsor your organization truly made a positive
difference in the lives of many Johnson County families and demonstrated
the true meaning and spirit of the holidays.

During December, more than 1,100 children received toys and clothing
through the Christmas Angels program. The United Way staff is currently
reviewing this past year’s operation, if you have any suggestions or
comments please send an email (gabell@uwjc.org) or call me at your
convenience.

Again, thank you for your time and contribution to this important initiative.
Your participation made a tremendous impact!

Cordially,

Gary il
Chris! Angels Program

Tharks Sr all of your help, ¢

working wth you and nude that your

eny oye

group found the Experience te be valable,

Dlence let me know iE ue have Sugaestans

MARCH 2002

MARCH 2002

REPEATER NEWS

Repeater Trustee, Matt Payne — KB9UJE reported at the last MARC club meeting that the club
repeater is getting nearer to a date for moving to a new location. The new site is located south of
Greenwood off SR. 135 on a Bargersville water tower. Matt stated that the site is an excellent
location and should give good coverage to the county and beyond. Help will be needed when the
repeater is moved to the new site. See Matt and let him know if you can be of assistance with
this very important move for our club repeater. With this new location the 146.835 repeater will
once again be a high profile repeater to serve the Johnson County area.

.... NOSTU

POORER URUUORERCCCRCCECCOCCPOCTORC CCS ESTEE SSE URe eee ere ere

answer: 1. flag on balloon 2. three birds 3. window in van 4. tree 5. house 6. smoke from three stack’s

AMATEUR RADIO SUMMIT 3/2/02

In an effort to identify and develop a cohesive emergency communications plan the first ever-
Amateur Radio Emergency Communications summit was held in Indianapolis this month.
They came from the Red Cross, Salvation Army, ARES, RACES and even CB-radio’s REACT
team. . Two dozen representatives of different Amateur Radio emergency communications
groups met in a Federal Building training room to find ways of helping local and state
emergency management organizations. Marion County ARES director Mike Palmer-N9FEB
organized the summit. Palmer cited a need to develop better communications and cooperation
between the different groups.

Many amateurs wear two or three different hats when it comes to providing public service.
Palmer wants to identify those who are willing to help and to better utilize the voice and data
communications available in the Marion County Amateur Radio Community. Many of the
summit participants agreed this type of effort is long overdue.

Members of Army-Navy and Air Force Mars, as well as the Indiana Wing of the Civil Air Patrol
offered their services during times of disaster. Everyone agreed this was a good start and look
forward to future efforts to better train and organize Amateur Radio Emergency Communications
in Marion County and Central Indiana. -W8ISH.

LABEL PROGRAM TO CONTINUE

Good ideas are worth continuing and MARC member/club Secretary, Emest Clark — KB9SKI is
making available to all club members labels to put on your used QST, CQ & 73 etc magazines.
You place the label on your old magazine and strategically place it among the other magazines at
the doctor’s, dentist, or your favorite barber shop. Each label shows the club address, webpage
address, e-mail and a telephone number for the interested person reading the magazine. Emest
will have a supply of these self-sticking labels ready at the next club mecting.

MARCH 2002

em

Seca

Prana eae
PTTL EA TTT am

oo
fay >
arta

Answers somewhere inthisissue. —...... Joe KF9LQ

6

MARCH 2002

Calling the Lonely Guys

By Peter Costa, WIZZZ
March 8, 2002
Seeing ourselves as others see us can be a humbling experience. Describing our ham activities
as others may view them is equally difficult. But if you did, would this club's charter sound the
least bit familiar?

Some Amateur Radio operators participate in contests, design exotic circuits, handle emergency
traffic, work DX, run QRP or pound brass. But many hams don't do any of these things. They are
just plain Lonely Guys looking to talk to other Lonely Guys. After more than 100 weeks of
meeting every Saturday moming at 8 Eastern Time on 3890 kHz, The Lonely Guys Amplitude
Modulation Net can confirm there is definitely a need for an RF hangout where everyone knows
your name.

lonelyguys-Irg.jpglonelyguys- The Lonely Guys AM Net boasts more than 90 certified
Irg.ipg members. More than twice that number listen to the net

Lonely Guys attended the Marlboro, every Saturday morning. Lonely Guys live anywhere
Massachusetts, flea market in from Maine to Michigan to Maryland and are from 28-86
: ra peek ae Bake ai an years old. There is even one female Lonely Guy.
Steve Cloutier, WA1QIX; Peter. | - What makes one a Lonely Guy? Being a Lonely Guy
Costa, W1ZZZ; Bob Albo, K1KBW; doesn't necessarily mean that one lives alone in the
Rich Leverone, K1ETP; and, George wilderness--although several net members actually do.
Cogswell, W1UAX. [Photos bythe = Many Lonely Guys are married or have girlfriends or
author “significant others" and live and work in the heart of
Manhattan or Baltimore or Boston--surrounded by millions of people.
Nevertheless they all seem to exhibit classic signs of Lonely Guy behavior--excessive--almost
compulsive--listening to 75-meter AM activity, talking into the small hours of the morning to
other Lonely Guys whom they see at most twice a year at a hamfest or whom they never see, and
working with a jeweler's skill and a mad scientist's intensity restoring rigs that reflect their
childhoods. They all try to recapture times past when they sat in tube-lit shacks listening to their
dad's friends, their uncle's buddies, or their Elmer's colleagues tossing signals into a forest of
heterodynes.
Lonely Guys talk about many things--from aviation to rock 'n roll, from baseball to philosophy,
from push-pull amplifiers to pushy relatives. But primarily, Lonely Guys are Amateur Radio
operators who spend Saturday mornings alonc in their shacks talking to other Lonely Guys.
Net control poses a suggested topic for discussion each week, and these topics have included
proposed ARRL band plans, modulation circuits, antennas, and non-electronics subjects, such as
aviation, sports, ham etiquette, loneliness, relationships, current events, and philosophy.

A recent topic was 10 Ways to Know if You Are a Lonely Guy:

e You have more than three volt-ohmmeters in your shack. b-Irg.ipgb-irg.jpg
¢ You can name all the original cast members of Star Trek and ste rains
mimic their accents. WAIGIN tecewad 4
: 3 Certificate of
¢ You arrive at a hamfest more than 24 hours before it opens. Appreciation for his
¢ You try to engage female toll collectors in conversation. work helping Lonely
¢ You still read all the classified ads in OST. Guys design and
Yy. : than two fi : ti build high-power
e¢ You monitor more than Wo frequencies at a time. solid state AM
e You know the voltage ratings of all the capacitors at your local transmitters.

RadioShack store.
¢ You listen to The Lonely Guys Net each week but have never officially checked in.
¢ You say, "I don't really qualify as a Lonely Guy." (This is a dead giveaway--the first
symptom of Lonely Guy-ness is denial.)
¢ The longest you have ever gone without being on the air or monitoring radio
transmissions was ...
So, if you are looking for a group to talk with about almost anything, join the Lonely Guys on
Saturday momings.
ARRL member Peter Costa, W1ZZZ, of Wellesley, Massachusetts, is the founder of The Lonely
Guys Net and often serves as net control. He's been active on the HF bands since 1976. Costa
works primarily AM using highly modified, vintage, tube-type equipment. His favorite rigs are
the Collins 32V2 and the companion 75A2 receiver. His wife, Sara, is NIXXY. The recently
launched Lonely Guys Web site - lists Lonely Guy members, news and commentary articles, and
Saturday morning dis

Reprinted from the ARRL Website: http://www.arrl.org

VISIT THE MID-STATE AMATEUR RADIO CLUB WEBSITE
http://www.midstatehams.org

Indiana QSO Party
May 4, 2002

Sponsored by Hoosier DX and Contest Club
Information on HDXCC homepage