The Quarter Century Wireless Association – Chapter 41 – Dallas, Texas met on Saturday, 02 February 2013 at Midway Point, 12801 Midway Road, Dallas, Texas 75244. Lunch was attended by 13 people, and the business meeting was attended by 10 people. Although this chapter does not collect dues, a membership application must be completed and dues paid to QCWA national current. QCWA table will be in the market area at Ham-Com 2013. The Midland Hamfest will be affected by the boom in oil and gas production because all lodging in Midland and Odessa is occupied by oil and gas production personnel. A chapter member has formed an amateur radio club in a retirement community. Proposed changes to license renewal requirements by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are appropriate, will probably go into effect, and should apply only to persons who received their license by examination before the FCC. Read about these proposed changes at http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-seeks-to-change-amateur-radio-licensing-rules-allow-additional-emission-types or at http://www.fcc.gov/document/part-97-notice-proposed-rule-making-and-order. 

The Rockwall Amateur Radio Club met on Tuesday, 15 January 2013 at Soulman’s Bar-B-Que, 691 E. I-30, Rockwall, Texas 75087. I was in a manager’s meeting for the Seven Loaves Community at 6:05 PM on the West side of Plano, Texas. Also, I did not realize that people arrive at the Rockwall ARC meeting 30 minutes before the meeting starts to eat dinner. Thanks to the George Bush Turnpike and having located the restaurant as I went through Rockwall last Saturday, I made good time from Plano to Rockwall. I arrived just as the business meeting was starting. Minutes of last month’s meeting were read and approved. Officers made their reports. There was discussion about the trailer that the club recently acquired. Two committees related to this trailer were established: one committee is responsible for maintenance and enhancements to the trailer while the other committee will research possible antennas for use with this trailer; a rotatable dipole came with the trailer.

I spoke briefly with a Rockwall ARC club member during the break; however, I could kick myself for failing to get his name and call sign. Following the brake, David Kaun, N5DBK, lead a lively and entertaining auction that raised some money for the club treasury.

Following the meeting, I took a brief look at the trailer that was parked behind the restaurant. I spoke with another person while looking at the trailer; unfortunately, I did not get his name or call sign either. I am disappointed with myself for not becoming better acquainted with members of the Rockwall ARC.

I counted 27 people at this meeting. Typically, each person who attends an amateur radio meeting is expected to introduce their self, state their call sign, and say something about how they are involved in amateur radio. If this happened at the Rockwall ARC meeting, I missed it. When I attend amateur radio club meetings where this is the practice, I use my turn to say my name, call sign, pitch TCINFO Amateur Radio Yahoo! Group, offer a business card to anybody interested in this group, and repeat my name and call sign. Lacking this opportunity, I managed to give away three of my TCINFO Amateur Radio Yahoo! Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tcinfo_amateur_radio/ business cards at this meeting of the Rockwall ARC.

If you are an amateur radio operator or interested in becoming one and live near Rockwall, Texas, I suggest that you visit this club on a third Tuesday evening at 6:30 PM at Soulman’s Bar-B-Que and meet some fine amateur radio operators. I enjoyed my visit to this club. Please verify meeting information at https://sites.google.com/site/rarck5rkw/meetings before making the drive.
 

The Quarter Century Wireless Association – Chapter 41 – Dallas, Texas held their monthly meeting at the Midway Point Restaurant, 12801 Midway Road, Dallas, Texas 75244 on Saturday, 05 January 2013. There were 12 or more people in attendance. This was primarily an “eyeball” meeting where general conversation over a meal was the primary event. One conversation was between a former Crosier Tech High School of Dallas, Texas drafting teacher, Jerry Murray W5KUP, and his former student, Jerrold Jones W5TUU. Some people made selections from the buffet and others ordered from the menu. A few people left shortly after they finished eating. Bob Olney, N5NT called the meeting to order when nearly everybody had finished their meal. Each amateur radio operator present introduced their self, stated when they were first licensed, how they became interested in amateur radio, and described their primary amateur radio activities. 

Quarter Century Wireless Association – Chapter 41 - Barney Moffatt Memorial - Dallas, Texas met on Saturday, 08 September 2012 at Midway Point Restaurant, 12801 Midway Road, Dallas, Texas 75244. There were 19 people who participated in this lunch meeting.

Val Erwin – W5PUT announced that the chapter charter has been modified to state that there are no chapter dues; however, current dues in Quarter Century Wireless Association national are required.

The chapter has a new website that is up and running at http://www.texasqcwa41.org/. Verify meeting dates on this new website.

Val Erwin – W5PUT – QCWA National Director will be at the QCWA 2012 Convention in Reno, Nevada.

Several members plan to attend the Belton Hamfest on the first Saturday of October. Therefore, it was agreed that Chapter 41 will meet on the second Saturday of October - this will be the 13th day of October 2012. 

Several awards were presented. See the attached photographs.

Steve Brodie – K5ZYZ resigned as chapter president following seven years in office. The distance that Steve drives to and from the chapter meetings and increasing cost of gasoline make it impractical for Steve to continue attending chapter meetings every month. He plans to participate three or four times a year.

Bob Olney – N5NT agreed to be chapter president (commander and chief) in the interim until somebody else agrees to assume responsibility for the office of chapter president. The most difficult task for the chapter president is storing and transporting the audio video equipment to each meeting.

Every person who received an award today is on a chapter committee to assist the chapter president. 

Richardson Wireless Klub (RWK) (amateur “ham” radio operators) met for their monthly breakfast at Southern Recipe, 1381 W. Campbell Road, Richardson, Texas on Saturday, 18 August 2012 from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM (planned 9:30 AM). Seventeen people participated in the RWK breakfast. Owners and enthusiasts of the classic Thunderbird were also at Southern Recipe; 20 to 25 Thunderbird owners and enthusiasts were present. (Big 'D' Little Birds chapter of the Classic Thunderbird Club International meets for breakfast at Southern Recipe weekly on Saturday morning at 8:45 AM.) I was attending the RWK breakfast when a man with the Thunderbird group recognized me from St. Andrew United Methodist Church of Plano, Texas.

Southern Recipe lost electrical power at 8:33 AM, but conversations continued as if nothing had changed. While the electricity was off, an RWK member asked our waitress if they cook on gas, and she answered that THEY DO NOT. Therefore, we became concerned that our meals were in limbo waiting for the electricity to come back on. Thunderbird owners and enthusiasts moved from a dining room that does not have any windows into the dining area where the RWK was meeting. I was surprised at how patient everybody remained; I saw only one party of three or four people leave before the electricity came back on. Electrical power came back on at 8:55 AM, and our waitress told us a few minutes later that she had just called our orders into the cook. We were all relieved that our meals were NOT in limbo while electrical power was off. We were promptly served excellent meals after the electrical power came back on. RWK conversations included descriptions of our radio stations. I gave some reasons that I have not installed my radio transceiver in my truck; one reason being that I am reluctant to spend money on this while looking for my next source of employment. I made three new friends and noted their names and radio call signs.

After breakfast, most RWK members went to visit a member’s ham shack near the Owens® Spring Creek Farm. A few members did not visit this ham shack because the power outage put them behind schedule. Although this ham shack is near the Spring Creek Farm, it has nothing to do with ham, sausage, bacon, or anything else edible.  Amateur radio operators call the room that houses their radio station a ham shack.

Amateur radio operators participate in a wide variety of activities. However, their public service in response to severe weather, tornadoes, hurricanes, and terrorist attacks receive the most publicity. They monitor severe weather and report events that meet or exceed minimum reporting criteria to the National Weather Service SKYWARN® program via amateur radio. Anybody who has a shortwave radio receiver can listen to these reports; however, a license issued by the Federal Communications Commission is required to transmit on these frequencies.

Skywarn® and the Skywarn® logo are registered trademarks of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, used with permission.

Fourteen members of Quarter Century Wireless Association (QCWA) – Chapter 41 (Dallas, Texas) met on Saturday, 02 June 2012 at Midway Point Restaurant. Each person who attended this meeting was nourished by the food, conversation, and friendships. Some members selected food from the buffet and others ordered from the menu. Separate checks were identified by first names and included an automatic gratuity; a copy of the check was available by request. A video presentation about the “High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP)” was shown. Thought provoking remarks made in this video include statements that this project could be:

• “Ground Based Star Wars Technology”
• “Electromechanical Warfare”
• “Geophysical Warfare”
• In violation of a “Treaty Prohibiting Weather Modification”
• “Embarking on an Arms Race that is totally unnecessary” 

Interest in this video presentation was anticipated because it discusses:

• Radio Frequency transmissions
• Antennas 
• The Ionosphere
• The scientific method
• Events that require the services of emergency communications responders

Next Month: The meeting will be on the usual day, at the same time, and in the same location.

Official information about the Quarter Century Wireless Association (QCWA) – Chapter 41 (Dallas, Texas) is available from http://www.chapter41.org/.