Oak Apple Run Adds 5K Run–More Volunteers Required!

This year’s Oak Apple Run will be held on Saturday June 1 in downtown Royal Oak. Race organizers have added a 5K event to the run this year that will require an estimated 16 additional amateur radio volunteers over and above the 40 volunteers that participated last year. If you have not participated in the past, please consider doing so this year. Encourage your ham friends who might not be HPARC members to sign up as well.

There will be a pre-race meeting for volunteers on Wednesday, May 29 at 6:30 PM at the First Methodist Church at 7th and Washington in Royal Oak. Please email our chairman for the event, Mike Van Buren WD8S, at wd8s@comcast.net for more information or to volunteer your services.

May is election month for the club. The nominating committee will present a slate of candidates and additional nominations will be accepted from the floor. Do make an effort to attend the meeting and vote in this important club election.

Preceding the club business portion of the meeting, our presentation will be by Larry Gauthier K8UT. In 2009 Larry took a vacation to South Korea which included a very brief journey across the DMZ into North Korea. Despite the fact that Larry’s visit occurred three years ago, recent news from the Koreas confirms that nothing has changed in the tense struggle between these two nations. Larry will describe his trip and explain how he coordinated with another Michigan ham to operate portable as HL9A from South Korea. In the event you’re wondering… no – there was no operating from North Korea!

The annual HPARC Banquet on Wednesday June 12 at DeCarlo’s Banquet and Conference Center is fast approaching. Purchase tickets now for the June 12 event at the May meeting, look for Banquet Chairman Rey Bora W8REY at the Saturday breakfasts, or mail a check to Kim Cox (Alan AB8SA’s wife) at Alan’s address in the roster. Cost is $20 per ticket. Tickets will not be available at the door.

The club recently received the ARRL’s Worked All States Award for contacts made with the club call, W8HP. Thanks to Murray KE8UM, who maintains our Logbook of the World account.

The Hazel Park Amateur Radio Club and Macomb County Amateur Radio Public Service Corps are sponsoring an amateur radio Technician Class license course:

Hazel Park Amateur Radio Club
Technician License Class – Spring, 2013

Location: Macomb Intermediate School District Building
44001 Garfield Road
Clinton Township, MI 48038
(North of 19 mile on west side of Garfield)

Classroom and Parking: Room 103A, park on the south side of the building.
Area map

Starting Date: Tuesday, April 9, 2013 for 10 consecutive weeks, ending June 11, 2013.
Time: 7 – 9 pm

Technician License Manual: The book can be purchased from the instructor the first night of class. The retail cost is $29.95 discounted to $25.00 – exact change would be appreciated.

Exam: The FCC exam will be held on the last night of class. The cost is $15.00 cash only – exact change would be appreciated.

Instructor and Contact: Rich Urbano, KC8WPW kc8wpw@arrl.net

Hazel Park Amateur Radio Club
General License Class – Spring, 2013

Location: City of Southfield Emergency Operations Center
26000 Evergreen Rd., Southfield, MI (Basement of the Parks & Recreation Center, North end of the Municipal Complex)
Area map, Civic Center map, Directions

Dates: Monday April 8, 2013 for 12 consecutive weeks ending June 17.

Time: 7 – 9 pm

General License Manual: The manual can be purchased from the instructor for $23.00 – exact change would be appreciated.

Exam: The FCC exam will be held on the last night of class. The cost is $15.00 cash only – exact change would be appreciated.

Instructor and Contact: Wallace Murray, KE8HR ke8hr@arrl.net

The Hazel Park Amateur Radio Club wishes to thank all the vendors and attendees, and Chairman Bernie W8NBC and Barb KD8SAA, and their team of volunteers who participated it the 47th Annual Hazel Park Hamfest. Without the participation and support of each one of you, our hamfest would not have been a success. Check back again for more details, and we look forward to seeing you again next year.

The next meeting of the Hazel Park Amateur Radio Club will be held on Wednesday, January 9, at 7:30 PM. Wes Plouff AC8JF will present “The Joy of State QSO Parties.” QSO Parties are contests focused on a single host state, run in a relaxed and friendly fashion. They’re great for hams who don’t usually work contests. Wes will explain what they are, how to work them, and variations among states. Wes will also talk about the Michigan QSO Party coming up in April.

The presentation by Jerry Begel W9NPI will cover the works of several inventors who, years before Hertz and Marconi, made claims of successful wireless communication. It will also explore the more firmly rooted technology of arc-generated sound and RF systems, alternator transmitters, and signal transmission below the earth. He will show that modern technology may depend on “ancient” ingenuity.

November is ARRL Sweepstakes month. The oldest domestic radio contest dating back to 1930 makes its 2012 appearance for CW at 5 PM local time Saturday November 3 for a period of 30 hours. Be careful of the finish time since daylight savings time ends during the middle of the contest! The phone portion begins two weeks later on November 17.

The ARRL offers a pin to any station that makes 100 or more contacts in either of the Sweepstakes weekends, and a mug to those that work a “clean sweep” of all 83 ARRL sections. The club covers the cost of the pins and mugs for its members, so get on the air and have some fun this month.

Rules and lots more information is available from the ARRL website.

The meeting on Wednesday, October 10 features a presentation on fox hunting by Ryan Marrs K8RDM. Ryan’s presentation will include details on a simple homebrew 2-meter yagi suitable for direction finding on foot. This antenna would make for an interesting club project if members are interested. The meeting starts promptly at 7:30 PM, but come early and socialize.

Regular meetings resume after the summer break on Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at 7:30 PM.  K8MU will present a program entitled: “Murphy Goes to Hell — An Introduction to Hellschreiber and My Misadventures Operating a Hell Contest from Hell, Michigan.” Learn about the “sound card mode” that really isn’t new at all. Check the left sidebar for further details on the meeting location.

”CQ Field Day!”

On June 23 and 24, members of the Hazel Park (MI) Amateur Radio Club will join over 35,000 other “ham” radio operators in the U.S. and Canada as they take their gear to the field.  They will use emergency power generators and hastily erected antennas to show officials in government and disaster relief agencies what “amateur radio can do” under emergency conditions.

This operating event dates back to the 1930’s, and has been performed every year (except for the radio blackout during World War II).  Although this is not a contest, radio clubs and individuals in the field will make as many contacts as possible, to “prove” their equipment and operating expertise.

Last year, using the “diddle-dah” of Morse code, single-sideband radiotelephone, satellite bounces and sophisticated digital signaling processes, hams managed to make over 1.3 million two-way contacts over the 24-hour event.

Recently, the U.S. government ran a Simulated Emergency Test, assuming that a severe earthquake occurred in the Midwestern states.  If the everyday communications infrastructure were destroyed, amateur radio would provide a significant link to coordinate emergency aid.

The Hazel Park Amateur Radio Club has been fortunate in obtaining the remote facilities of Camp Hazel Woods for their field days.  This rustic campground, located near Holly, MI, is owned by the Hazel Park School District.

Amateur? We are amateurs only in the sense that Federal Communications Commission Regulations stipulate that we cannot accept remuneration for our services. Our national organization, the American Radio Relay League, is accounted a National Voluntary Organization Active in Disaster (NVOAD), along with the Red Cross and Salvation Army.  We participate in Skywarn (storm tracking for the National Weather Service), Amateur Radio Public Service Corps—associated with the Department of Homeland Security, and other volunteer services. See us at the Oak-Apple Run or Woodward Dream Cruise!

The Hazel Park Amateur Radio Club (HPARC) is an ARRL Affiliated Special Services Club open to all who are interested in the hobby of amateur radio communications. The club was formed in 1965 with a motto of Service through Education. We have held FCC license training courses every year since that time, helping hundreds of people to become amateur radio operators. Our accredited Volunteer Examiners provide FCC licensing sessions every other month in Oak Park, and at the end of each of our training courses.

We meet at the Hoover School in Hazel Park, September to May, on the second Wednesday of the month.    Most of our members come from the Detroit metropolitan area, but a few members live as far away as Thailand!

Please check out our website at HPARC.org, or contact Jerry, W9NPI@arrl.net for details that may lead you into our interesting and rewarding hobby.

The annual election of officers was held at the May meeting on Wednesday, May 11. The new lineup of officers is as follows:

President: Bill N8QVS
First Vice President: Jim K8ABZ
Second Vice President: Larry K8MU
Treasurer: Bob KD8AMP
Director: Wes AC8JF
Secretary: Walt KD8LWC
Parliamentarian: Ed N8LBS

Bill and Walt are assuming different roles on the board than in the past, while Wes is new to the board. At the board meeting following the election, the board offered its thanks to Murray for his years of service to the club as President. The new board will be installed at the club’s annual banquet on Wednesday, June 13, 2012.

We received the following on Monday, April 16, 2012 from John Lewandowski, WD8R:

Robert Rochte KC8UCH, will speak about his experiences flying high altitude, long-distance balloons carrying amateur radio payloads. These flights were projects for Robert’s students at Grosse Pointe Academy, and one of his flights held the record for the longest flight distance as listed by the Amateur Radio High Altitude Ballooning website at the time of the flight.

Raising that new dipole is a lot easier when there’s a reliable way to get it up into the treetops. One tool that makes the job fast and easy is a “spudgun,” a gadget that uses low-pressure compressed air to shoot a lightweight plastic “spud” high up, dragging a fishing line behind it. From there, an antenna builder can just pull sturdier line back through the tree, then haul up the antenna by its mounting rope. With a little practice and steady aim, it’s easy to hit within a foot or two of a spot fifty feet up.

W4SSY’s version is very popular, with plans written up in the March 2009 issue of QST. You may have seen one in action on Field Day. It’s made from easy-to-find materials like PVC pipe, a sprinkler valve and a fishing reel.

Wes AC8JF wants to bring more spudguns to HPARC. So he is asking for other members to join him in a group build of W4SSY spudguns. This would take place on the first or second weekend of May in some outdoor location. The guns should take only a couple of hours to build. The cost would be about $50 apiece for everything except a bicycle pump. The guns would use manual valves to keep the cost low.

Anyone interested can contact Wes via e-mail at ac8jf@arrl.net, at the HPARC meeting, or on the DART repeater.

Russell Dwarshuis, KB8U will present his experiences with a solo “grid-expediton” to northern California to activate one of the more difficult locations in the contiguous 48 states that count for the popular ARRL VUCC awards.

See the ARRL account of the Fred Fish Memorial Award that resulted from Russell’s operation.

The ARRL has posted preliminary results for the CW portion of the 2011 Sweepstakes. Sweepstakes is the focus event for the club’s contesting activity. (Remember that Field Day technically isn’t a contest, hi hi.) See how members K8GT, KE8UM, and WD8S fared against the thousands of competitors across North America in one of the most popular domestic contests. Preliminary results for the SSB weekend will be available soon, and the full results for both modes will be published online in April.

From the ARRL website on the history of Sweepstakes:

…the oldest domestic contest, beginning in January 1930, it was called “The All-Section Sweepstakes Contest.” It was truly a relay contest with 1 point for sending a complete message with at least 10 words of text in correct message format and 1 point for receiving a similar message. Most stations worked were not in the contest and had to be schooled (on the air) on the desired info exchange. Sixty-eight sections were possible and 48 sections participated. The contest ran for 14 days on 80, 40, and 20 meters–mostly CW but some phone entries. The first winner was W1ADW with a whopping 153 QSOs in 43 sections–when did he have time to sleep? (Thanks, SS Manager, Larry K5OT)