West Gulf Division March, 2013 Newsletter

--- WGD Announces New Annual Division Awards
--- QST, QST, QST
--- WGD Legislation Gets Active
--- K5RAV to operate Battleship Missouri KH6BB
--- ARRL Fall School Round Up Notes
--- West Gulf Leadership, Board Appointments
--- Things that Work
--- Texas State Parks on the Air
--- UT in Action!
--- Planned ARRL Events for K5RAV and N5AUS
--- Upcoming Hamfests/Conventions

News from David Woolweaver, K5RAV, West Gulf Division Director

--- WGD Announces New Annual Division Awards

Director David Woolweaver is pleased to announce the creation of the
West Gulf Division Annual Division Awards. There are two primary
awards: Ham of the Year and Young Ham of the Year, which will be
complimented by a third award, the West Gulf Division Excellence Award.
While the first two awards are self explanatory, the third award
represents any Amateur Radio endeavor that the nominators feel deserves
recognition. Suggested categories can be found on the Division website.
www.arrlwgd.org They include Educator of the Year, Radio Scouter of the
Year, Technical Achievement and Amateur Radio Organization of the Year
among many others. For the WGD Excellence Award only, the nominators
are not limited to the suggested categories.

Divisional Awards will be presented at the West Gulf Division
Convention each year. Nominations for 2012 Award Winners will be
accepted until April 15, 2013 for presentation at HamCom in June.
Nomination forms for each nominee (by category) must be supported by at
least three ARRL members on the award nomination form, a minimum
150-word statement and any available supporting documentation. Other
rules do apply and can be found on the WGD website at www.ARRLWGD.org.


The Division Awards judging panel consists of four (4) ARRL members,
selected by each of the Section Managers in North Texas, Oklahoma,
South Texas and West Texas Sections. The Section Manager may opt to
appoint his/herself to the committee. The fifth judge is selected by
the Division Director and may reside anywhere within the West Gulf
Division. Neither the Division Director nor the Vice Director will
participate in the vote.

--- QST, QST, QST

Congratulations to Trevor Watts KF5RRH, accomplishing a perfect score
for the ACT. Trevor has been accepted to the University of Oklahoma
and will start in the fall with an undecided Major. In addition to
studying at OU, Trevor plans to be an active participant at the OU
radio club, W5TC.

KF5RRH has been involved with amateur radio since his sophomore year at
Lawton High School, Lawton, OK, working with school club amateur radio
station W5LHS. Trevor became committed to amateur radio while a guest
operator aboard the USS Batfish WW2SUB, Muskogee, OK, during the 2012
Museum Ships Weekend. With a challenge from the WW2SUB trustee Wade
Harris KF5IF, Trevor started studying and passed his Technician license
in August, 2012.

Trevor has participated in several amateur radio outreach events in the
Lawton area. Trevor is forever introducing amateur radio to other
students and is proving to be an excellent on the air coach. In
addition to amateur radio, Trevor is a member of the Academic Decathlon
Team, Key Club (community service organization) and plays the violin in
the school orchestra.

(Contributed by Paul Goulet, KC5CYY)

--- WGD Legislation Gets Active

As part of Director Woolweaver's ongoing legislative agenda, new West
Gulf Division legislation has been filed in both Texas and Oklahoma.
The Texas legislation, HB2524, the "Electric Generator Bill", is
sponsored by Rep. Rene Oliveria-D, Brownsville, TX. Passage will
eliminate Home Owners Association's prohibition on back up electric
generator installation. The bill will receive a hearing from the House
Business and Industry Committee on April 2nd. Representative Oliveria
is the Chairman of this Committee. The bill was to be heard on March
26th, but the House session ran late and the hearing was postponed.
Updates will be posted on the WGD website as they become available.

HB2524 is the third piece of WGD legislation to get play at the Texas
legislature. Last session, the Solar Panel bill and the Flag Pole bill
were passed and signed into law.

The Oklahoma SGL, Eddie Manley K5EMS, and Oklahoma SM, Kevin O'Dell
N0IRW, have supervised the successful advancement of Oklahoma HB1921
from the House to the Oklahoma Senate. Oklahoma HB1921, an
"Enhanced" PRB-1 bill, is sponsored by Dale Dewitt-R and Ben
Sherrer-D. Passage looks good according to Eddie. Kevin states,
"…our legislation changing the wording in our state PRB-1 law has
passed the House floor vote unanimously". When passed, HB1921, will
greatly benefit the amateurs in the Sooner State

--- K5RAV to operate Battleship Missouri KH6BB

The Battleship Missouri Amateur Radio Club (BMARC) encourages visiting
amateurs to operate KH6BB in "Radio Central," the principal radio
compartment on the main deck of the ship. If propagation is right, you
will usually find a large number of stations calling KH6BB, as a
contact with the ship is considered a real honor.

Pearl Harbor is 2500 miles from California and 5000 miles from the East
Coast. The best propagation to the mainland is usually in the mid to
late afternoon, say from 0000Z (2 PM local time) to 0300Z (5 PM local)
when the ship closes to visitors. The best band is usually 20 meters,
with 17 meters as an alternate.

Since the Navy designation for the Missouri is BB-63, we have the
vanity call sign KH6BB and our nominal SSB operating frequencies are
14263, 18163, and 21363 kHz (also 24963 and 28463. RF equipment varies,
but will likely be a Kenwood TS-450 driving an AEA linear amplifier at
about 1200W output. We also have a Collins S/Line which may be in
operation. The antenna most commonly used is an original Navy HF
discone (omnidirectional 10-30 MHz vertical) up on the bow of the ship,
installed as part of the ship's refit in the mid 1980's.

Director Woolweaver will activate KH6BB on Sunday, April 7, at 0000Z
(7:00 PM CDT). Look for KH6BB calling CQ "West Gulf Division" on
about 14.263 MHz. Look for real time Twitter updates at ARRL_WGD and
on our Facebook page at ARRL - West Gulf Division.

--- ARRL Fall School Round Up Notes

The great news for WGD is that there is a very strong showing of
college level submitters, ALL the High School Submitters and the ONLY
Middle School in the Fall School Round Up Contest held last November.


K0HC, KS, School Club, HESSTON COLLEGE AMATEUR RADIO CLUB
K0KU, KS, School Club, ARC at the University of Kansas
K0VVY, SD, School Club, SOUTH DAKOTA SCHOOL OF MINES & TECHNOLOGY ARC

K2CC, NNY, School Club, Clarkson Univ ARC
K4KDJ, VA, School Club, VIRGINIA TECH AMATEUR RADIO ASSN
K5LBJ, STX, School Club, LBJ High School Amateur Radio Club
K5LSU, LA, School Club, ARS at Louisiana State University
KF5CRF, OK, School Club, VIKING RADIO CLUB Eisenhower Middle School
N9GTC, WI, School Club, GATEWAY TECH COLLEGE AMATEUR RADIO CLUB Society
of Midwest Contesters
W0EEE, MO, School Club, UNIVERSITY OF MO ROLLA ARC
W1AF, EMA, School Club, Harvard Wireless Club
W1KBN, EMA, School Club, NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY RADIO CLUB
W1MX, EMA, School Club, M I T RADIO SOCIETY
W1YK, WMA, School Club, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
W3YI, WPA, School Club, Panther ARC at Univ. of Pitt.
W4UAL, AL, School Club, UNIVERSITY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB
W5UNT, NTX, School Club, TEXAS ACADEMY OF MATHEMATICS & SCIENCE High
School ARC
W5YM, AR, School Club, ARC of the University of Arkansas
W6YX, SCV, School Club, STANFORD AMATEUR RADIO CLUB Northern California
Contest Club
W8SH, MI, School Club, Michigan State Univ. ARC
W9JWC, IL, School Club, BRADLEY UNIVERSITY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB
WD5AGO, OK, School Club, TULSA COMMUNITY COLLEGE ARC

(Contributed by Paul Goulet, KC5CYY)

--- West Gulf Leadership, Board Appointments

In January, the ARRL Board held its Annual Meeting in New Orleans. For
the third consecutive year, Director Woolweaver was voted on by his
peers to serve on the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is
assigned specific responsibility for applying existing Board policy to
make decisions in between Board meetings, as well as other specific
tasks. The Executive Committee meets generally twice a year.

At the request of ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, Director Woolweaver
will be chairing the new Ad-hoc Committee on Symbol Rate Rule
Modernization after spearheading that discussion and motion through the
Board during the January meeting. Additionally, Programs and
Service's Committee (PSC) Chairman David Norris, K5UZ tasked Director
Woolweaver to chair a sub-committee on the enhancement of the Volunteer
Examiner and Instructor programs and report back to the PSC in July.

Rounding out K5RAV's ARRL service is his membership on the ARRL
Centennial Committee and his elected membership to the ARRL Foundation
Board of Directors.

Vice Director Stratton will continue to serve as the Board Liaison to
the RF Safety Committee chaired by Dr. Gregory Lapin, N9GL

--- Things that Work

Lawton Oklahoma, Eisenhower Middle School teacher and Viking Radio Club
Trustee Clifton Harper KE5YZB reports the follow results from
November's test session.

Congratulations to Lily KF5PBL on her upgrade to General.

The following students passed their Technician test, 7th Graders Jada,
Lexley, Kerson, Jonathon and 8th Graders Logan, Jessup, Kristopher and
Kolby.

Harper teaches an elective class offered to 7th and 8th graders titled
World Wide Communications Class. He uses amateur radio as a teaching
vehicle to reinforce fundamentals in science, technology, electronics
and math. Students are encouraged to get a license but earning a
license is not a course requirement or course creditable milestone.
ARRL text books are purchased by the Viking Radio Club. Students are
given scholarships covering the cost of study materials and testing
fees. Licensed students may purchase a new dual band HT at half price,
about $50 dollars.

Students regularly participate in amateur radio activities such as the
School Club Roundup held in October and February. Harper sponsors
several amateur radio activities that take place during non-school
hours. Harper makes sure that students have access to operating
activities outside of school times, such as the November Sweeps Stakes.
On Saturday's when the weather permits, Harper will set up a station
at a local park and operate a community outreach station K5USA with
other volunteers. Students also participate in community activities
that involve amateur radio such as the recent International Festival.
Several students have participated as operators during Museum Ships
Weekend. Operating from inside the USS Batfish Submarine as WW2SUB or
outside in view of the USS Oklahoma Memorial WW2OK.

The Viking Radio Club, KF5CRF was mentioned in the September 2012 QST
and a feature story of the Monitor Times in the winter of 2011. The
number of licensed middle school students is currently 24. Harper has
about 80 students in three classes of 7th and 8th graders and about 15
6th grade students that frequently participate in various amateur radio
activities.

Congratulations to Mr. Harper and all the recent upgrades and new
licensees. To see this class in action, visit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z2fZh_eloI&feature=youtu.be.

(Contributed by Paul Goulet, KC5CYY)

--- Texas State Parks on the Air

The Texas State Parks On The Air (TSPOTA) is sponsored each year by the
Northwest Amateur Radio Society to encourage contacts between Texas
amateur radio operators and amateur radio operators throughout the
world. This event is an excellent opportunity for park hunters to add
to their list of Texas State Parks, Natural Areas, and Historic Sites
worked. The contest is scheduled for the first full weekend in April
(6th).

A certificate suitable for framing is available to confirm that you
have worked all the parks, natural areas, and historic sites on the
list. To qualify for the certificate, send QSL cards to verify your
contacts with all 99 parks since January 1, 2013.

For more information on both the contest and the certificate, see the
Texas State Parks On The Air website. http://www.tspota.com

(Contributed by the Northwest ARC/STX Ares)

--- UT in Action!

Michael Willett, K5NOT has been coaching the Women In Aerospace
Leadership Development (WIALD) group at UT-Austin, who wants to start
launching ARHABs as part of the freshmen and higher curriculum. As the
name implies, WIALD consists of a group of women students that are
pursuing an engineering track in Aerospace. The ladies make up around
12% to 18% of the engineers in this track. This effort is to help keep
women students interested in the demanding aerospace track and realize
enthusiasm and motivation through creating their own payloads and
experiments and sending them to the edge of space!

We have a date set for a launch from Hillsboro Airport on April 6th,
fallback April 7th. The students are traveling up from Austin to stay
in Grand Prairie at the WIALD president parent's home, and then will
make the trip back to Austin post flight for classes. Several of these
women have passed their Tech exam; more are working on theirs. They are
acquiring ham radio gear, including an APRS tracking system for the
balloon and for the chase vehicle. They are very motivated for this
flight, but as we all know, first exposure to APRS and ballooning
details can be a challenge!

The payloads consist of an impressive array of CPU boards interfaced to
pressure sensors and accelerometers, and of course will include cameras
(Cannon modified with a script) and a high-def video camera or two.
They have a good grasp on the basics, FAA rules and challenges of those
high-altitudes. ARBONET will be supplying some of the launch gear to
include our K5ARB-10 APRS beacon, as well as a SPOT messenger for
ground locate backup.

The balloon will likely be a 1200 to 1500 gr balloon and they are
working on getting helium through UT-Austin. ARBONET will back them up
on these items as needed.

If you are interested in assisting with any or all aspects of this
flight, your participation is encouraged! I would like them to see the
support from our DFW area Ham community and realize a very successful
first flight!

Here is a link to their web page, as well as, a power point somewhat
based on Mike's talk there earlier this year:

http://wiald.ae.utexas.edu/Current%20Project/Current%20Project.html

Again, the plan is Hillsboro, April 6th, 8:30-9:00AM launch, recovery
and lunch.

(Contributed by Jerry Keisler, WA5KZA)


--- Planned ARRL Events for K5RAV and N5AUS

Director Woolweaver, K5RAV and Vice Director Stratton, N5AUS are
planning to attend the following upcoming events:

K5RAV
- -HamEXPO, April 20, Belton, TX
- -7290 Picnic, April 20, SPJSP Lodge Hall #48, Beyersville, TX
- -Four States ARC Hamfest, May 4, Texarkana, AR
- -HamCom, West Gulf Convention, June 6-7, Plano, TX
- -Ham Holiday, Oklahoma State Convention, July 26-27, OKC, OK
- -Austin Summerfest, Texas State Convention, August 2-3, Austin, TX

N5AUS
- -HamEXPO, April 20, Belton, TX
- -7290 Picnic, April 20, SPJSP Lodge Hall #48, Beyersville, TX
- -Smithville Hamfest, May 4, 2013, Smithville, TX
- -HamCom, West Gulf Convention, June 6-7, 2013, Plano, TX
- -Austin Summerfest, Texas State Convention, August 2-3, Austin, TX


ARRL Convention and Hamfest events are a great place to visit with the
Division and Section Leadership! Each event will also include an ARRL
forum where you can receive additional insight into Division and
Section matters.

At anytime that you have a concern or just want to say hello, contact
Director Woolweaver at K5RAV@arrl.org. Visit our website at
www.arrlwgd.org; follow us on Twitter at ARRL_WGD and on Facebook at
ARRL West Gulf Division.

-- Upcoming Hamfests and Conventions

04/06/2013 | East Texas Regional Amateur Radio Tailgate Sale
Location: Longview, TX
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Longview East Texas ARC & LeTourneau University ARC
Website: http://letarc.org

04/20/2013 | HamEXPO
Location: Belton, TX
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Temple Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://www.beltonhamexpo.org

05/04/2013 | Four States ARC Hamfest
Location: Texarkana, AR
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Four States Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://4SARC.org

05/04/2013 | Smithville Hamfest 2013
Location: Smithville, TX
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Bastrop County Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://www.bcarc-hams.org

05/11/2013 | Panhandle ARC's 13th Annual Picnic/Swapfest
Location: Amarillo, TX
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Panhandle Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://www.w5wx.org

06/07/2013 | West Gulf Division Convention - 35th Anniversary Ham-Com
Location: Plano, TX
Type: ARRL Convention
Sponsor: Ham-Com, Inc.
Website: http://www.hamcom.org

07/13/2013 | Texas City, Tidelands Hamfest
Location: Texas City, TX
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Tidelands Amateur Radio Society
Website: http://www.tidelands.org

07/26/2013 | Oklahoma State Convention (Ham Holiday)
Location: Oklahoma City, OK
Type: ARRL Convention
Sponsor: Central Oklahoma Radio Amateurs
Website: http://www.hamholiday.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARRL West Gulf Division
Director: David A Woolweaver, K5RAV
k5rav@arrl.org


--
Lloyd Colston director
Altus Emergency Management
Altus, OK http://www.cityofaltus.org
Phone: 580.481.2260
Fax: 580.482.4738

It is better to be informed than it is to be afraid.

http://twitter.com/altusready
http://altusem.blogspot.com
http://doodle.com/kc5fm