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. 

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.