ISSN 1067-0262, CODEN AAOVE3. ©Austin Amateur Radio Club, Inc. and/or the Austin Repeater Organization. Published monthly by the Austin Amateur Radio Club, Inc.

Viewpoints expressed in the AARCOVER do not necessarily reflect those of any club, or of its members, directors, or officers. Material quoted from the ARRL Letter is supplied by American Radio Relay League, Inc.

Members and other readers are encouraged to submit material for publication. Mail to Rick Herndon at the address shown for K5FNI on QRZ.com, or the contact means shown above. FAX available on schedule. Submissions may be edited for publication. Deadline is the 15^th of the month. Material may be used in a later issue. Unless otherwise noted, permission is granted to reprint AARCOVER articles, provided you credit the author and the AARCOVER.

AARC Speaker – November 19
"AM, SSB and FM, Why So Different?" by Jeff Schmidt, N5MNW. He will showcase advantages and tradeoffs of the modulation/demodulation techniques, using an all-mode transceiver and an HP8921A communications monitor.

Upcoming Amateur Exams

  ARRL VEC - Nov 2/Dec 7 @9 a.m. at Murchison Middle School  – Take Far West Blvd. exit from MoPac (Loop 1) west to Hart Ln. (turn left).  Then,  right on North Hills Dr. Enter school from south (North Hills Dr.) entrance.  Contact Joe Makeever, W5HS (345-0800) or Joe Thiel, N5SMN (832-0450) for information.

  W5YI VEC - Nov 16/Dec 21 @2 p.m. in room 208, Moody Hall, St. Edwards University campus. Contact Jim Greenwood, AB5EK@arrl.net, 327-6184, http://texasparadise.com/w5yi-austin for additional information.

11/1-2 Odessa West Texas Amateur Radio Club Holiday Inn Center, Hwy 80 in Odessa VE testing will be available at the event     http://www.wt5arc.com/fest.htm
11/2 Clear Lake ARC Hamfest- Bay Area Community Center 5002 NASA Road 1, Seabrook, TX, 0930-1400CT www.clarc.org, John Taylor, AJ5TT, aj5tt@arrl.net 713-302-6501
11/9 Gathering of Memories Airshow in San Marcos- W5CAF special event To volunteer for comms or Special Event- email n5mnw@arrl.net Airshow info- www.realtime.net/centex/
11/9 South Texas ARC 4th Annual Coastal Bend Area Hamfest Corpus Christi, Texas - Corner of Port and Leopard, off IH-37 Tailgate in Frost Bank parking lot. Forums & VE testing inside FREE BBQ served at 11:30am to 12:30pm 147.060 (107.2 tone) Steve Hampton, N0WZH@arrl.net 361-242-3282 www.starc-corpuschristi.org
11/11 Veterans Day & Gen. Curtis E. LeMay's birthday Special Event Strategic Air Command Memorial Amateur Radio Club- KØGRL 3.947, 7.247, 14.247, 21.347, & 28.347, 51.47MHZ 3905 Century Club WAS Net- evening SACMARC web site- www.sacmarc.org. Darwin Piatt W9HZC
Nov      Dec     Austin Meetings/Happenings
5             3        ARO Meeting,  Furr’s*  7:00 p.m.
9             7        ARO Transmitter Hunt 7:00 p.m.
9             14      Austin QRP Club, Furr’s  *  11:30 a.m.
19         10        Party AARC Meeting, Furr’s  *  7:00 p.m.
12         10        ATV Club Meeting, Furr’s  *  7:00 p.m.
16         21        QCWA Meeting, Furr’s  *  11:30 a.m.
23         21        Informal Transmitter Hunt - Contact Milton Miller
25         23        Travis County REACT, Furr’s * 7:00 p.m.
No         No       Travis County A.R.E.S., Furr’s  * 7:00 p.m.
*All these organizations meet at Furr's Cafeteria at Northcross Mall, at the corner of Burnet Rd & Anderson Ln. Visitors are welcome whether they are licensed hams or not. Other meetings or activities are listed under the headings for Calendar and for Periodic Events

ARRL RESPONDS TO IMPLIED
222-225 MHZ THREAT
Provided by ARRL, forwarded by K5KVH
The ARRL has taken issue with a suggestion made in a non-Amateur Radio-related FCC proceeding to turn the 222-225 MHz amateur allocation over to commercial interests. In reply comments filed this month, the League urged the FCC to "do nothing" with the proposal of Data Comlink (DCL), a consortium of 20 electrical coops and allied companies.

"ARRL presumes that the proposal by DCL for reallocation of the 222-225 MHz band will not be seriously evaluated by the Commission, as it is well outside the scope of this proceeding," the League said in its September 5 filing with the FCC. Until DCL raised the 222-225 MHz suggestion last month in its own comments in WT Docket 02-224, the ARRL had remained silent in the proceeding.

DCL claimed in its comments that the amateur allocation at 222-225 MHz "is being underutilized" and that the band "would be much better utilized for commercial use."

ARRL asserted that the band, far from being underused, "remains a critical VHF allocation" for amateurs. The League noted that the ARRL 2002 Repeater Directory--albeit not a comprehensive listing--lists 1690 repeaters throughout the US, indicating an even larger number of individual users. "Indeed the number of individual amateurs using this band has increased steadily since 1989, when the amateur allocation at 220-225 was reduced by 40 percent," the ARRL said, "and now much commercially manufactured equipment is available to amateurs."

DCL had claimed that "only handfuls [sic] of individuals in the Amateur Radio Service even use this spectrum, while hundreds of thousands of potential commercial users wait with no alternatives." The League characterized as "invalid" DCL's arguments in favor of reallocating 222-225 MHz from the Amateur Radio Service and noted that the FCC earlier this year had set aside an additional 8 MHz of spectrum for Land Mobile Service operations.

The League's reply comments in the DCL proceeding are on the ARRL Web site
<http:// www.arrl.org/announce/regulatory/wt02-224/arrl-comments.html>. The ARRL has not commented in an unrelated Petition for Reconsideration filed by Warren C. Havens on behalf of himself and Telesaurus Holdings GB LLC, in which he holds a majority interest. Filing last month under PR Docket 92-257 and RM-9664, Havens is seeking to have the FCC reconsider its decision to auction certain AMTS spectrum and instead adopt his "Advanced Technology Land Infrastructure and Safety Service" (ATLIS) proposal. Under that plan, Havens wants to see 222 to 225 MHz reallocated from amateur to public safety use. His ATLIS plan proposes to share 902-928 MHz on which amateurs are secondary.

CC&R BILL HR 4720 ATTRACTS
ADDITIONAL COSPONSORS
Provided by ARRL, forwarded by K5KVH
Five more cosponsors now have signed aboard HR 4720, the bill in Congress aimed at providing relief to amateurs faced with private deed covenants, conditions and restrictions--CC&Rs--in erecting antennas. The list is now up to 23 members of the US House of Representatives who have agreed to cosponsor the measure. It includes two amateurs--Oregon Republican Greg Walden, WB7OCE--one of the two original cosponsors of HR 4720 with Texas Republican Pete Sessions--and Arkansas Democrat Mike Ross, WD5DVR. Walden and Ross are believed to be the only Amateur Radio licensees in the US House of Representatives.

Arkansas Section Manager Bob Ideker, WB5VUH, says he lobbied Ross to sign onto the bill after running into him while waiting for a plane in Little Rock. He credits the Fort Smith Amateur Radio Club with influencing Arkansas Republican John Boozman, to sign onto the bill as a cosponsor. Also new to the list are representatives Constance Morella (R-MD), Mike McIntyre (D-NC), Michael McNulty (D-NY), and Neil Abercrombie (D-HI).

New York Democrat Steve Israel introduced HR 4720--the "Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Consistency Act"--on May 14. The measure would require private land-use regulators--such as homeowners' associations--to "reasonably accommodate" Amateur Radio communication consistent with the PRB-1 limited federal preemption. PRB-1 now applies only to states and municipalities.

The list of HR 4720 cosponsors also includes Representatives JD Hayworth (R-AZ), Patrick Tiberi (R-OH), Patsy Mink (D-HI), Ken Calvert (R-CA), Rick Boucher (D-VA), Joseph Hoeffel (D-PA), John Duncan Jr (R-TN), Dennis Moore (D-KS), Charles Stenholm (D-TX), David Price (D-NC), Bob Schaffer (R-CO), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bart Gordon (D-TN), Charles Taylor (R-NC), and Ralph Hall (D-TX)

Visit the US House of Representatives Write Your Representative Service Web page, www.house.gov/writerep/ for information on how to contact your representative. The ARRL requests those writing or e-mailing members of Congress--whether or not they are supporting this legislation--to copy ARRL on their correspondence--via e-mail to ccr-bill@arrl.org or via US Mail to CC&R Bill, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. Correspondents should include the bill number, HR 4720, as well as their name and address on all correspondence.

For more information, visit the HR 4720, The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Consistency Act of 2002 page on the ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/govrelations/hr4720>.

Austin Combined Clubs Anxiously Await Field Day Results
Stu Rohre, K5KVH

Proposed Changes to ARO Bylaws
John Suchyta, KG5O, ARO Secretary

The following changes to the ARO bylaws are proposed by the Bylaws Committee. These changes were read at the October meeting and will be voted on at the November meeting, 11/5/2002.
2.04 Limited Membership. Replaced entire paragraph with: “Limited Membership was deleted in 1989.”
Reason: This simplifies the section and avoids having to renumber the bylaws.
2.07 Dues. Replaced entire paragraph with: “Annual Dues and the due date each year will be set by the Board of Directors and Principal Officers of ARO and revised from time to time as needed.  Change of Dues, after approval of a majority of Directors and Principal Officers, will be brought to the voting members for approval at the next regular meeting after the dues proposal is published to the membership.”
Reasons: Matches the revised AARC constitution of 1991. Accomplishes needed adjustment of dues (increased postage rates, backup funds for major expenses, or recovery from a disaster). Fund potential needs to support ARCHES, Packet, APRS, ARES.
2.08 Delinquent Payment of Dues. Changed time from “90” days to “60” days.
Reason: The drawn out collection of dues is a dis-service to budget planning, the treasurer, the club’s treasury, and timely issuance of a new joint clubs roster, and thus the majority of members.  The budget year and renewal need are well publicized now by web and mailouts.
5.01 Principal Officers. Removed Editor from Principal Officers. Added: “The principal officers will appoint an Editor.”
Reason: For some years, it has been necessary to rely on volunteers to edit club newsletters. Let’s drop the formal election of an editor and change it to an appointment by the officers.
7.08 Dissolution. Changed “the Austin/Travis County Office of Civil Defense” to “an emergency amateur radio communications group”.
Reason: There is no longer an 'Office of Civil Defense' and any donation of ARO assets should benefit amateur radio, not the City/County government.

Mobile Misalignment
Mark Florian, KD5PSR

Proposed ARO Dues Structure
John Suchyta, KG5O, ARO Secretary

The ARO Board of Directors proposed the following dues structure which will be effective for the 2003 fiscal year. This proposal was read at the October meeting and will be voted on at the November meeting, 11/5/2002.
Individual joint membership in both clubs (AARC and ARO) is $20.
Family joint membership is $30.
Individual membership in ARO only is $25.

Your editor received the good/bad news that Rick Lawn, W5JAZ, has moved to PA.  The good news is that he is now Dean of the College of Performing Arts at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
Rick was a regular on 444.1 MHz repeater for some years, with his dad ‘on the side’.  He says of his move, “I was offered the job at the end of June and accepted it as it is an exciting situation and offered us a chance to move back to our home soil.”
“Dad is living with us and we are still getting settled in as we didn't close on the house here until 9/17. All is well, and I do hope to be doing
some playing once I get things on a more even keel.” [He plays world-class jazz on the saxophone!]
He says that he pops up from time to time on the 444.1 repeater using Echo Link and he has had many enjoyable QSOs with old friends.

Alan Wormser, N5LF, an ex-Austinite, writes about his wife,  “My darling wife, Kerynn Bissett, passed away at 12:20 pm eastern time today (Friday, Oct. 4) - just two days shy of her birthday. She had a 1-1/2 year long struggle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) also called Lou Gehrig's disease. It started with a slight slur and a stiff  left hand, and ended with almost total paralysis, inability to speak or  swallow, and -- eventually- - inability to inhale.”

There will be a memorial service in Austin for Kerynn Saturday, Nov 2 at 2 pm at All Saints Episcopal Church, 209 W. 27th St. in Austin, just east of Guadalupe St. and north of the U.T. campus..

Maximize your public relations efforts with new PC presentations:

Thanks to the efforts of ARRL Public Relations Committee member and Santa Barbara Section Public Information Coordinator Jeff Reinhardt, AA6JR, the ARRL is happy to offer two new PowerPoint presentations to help field volunteers get the most out of their public relations programs. Both presentations can be found on the PR Department Web site <www.arrl.org/pio>. The presentation "How to be a Media Relations Superstar" <http://www.arrl.org/pio/Superstar.ppt> is packed with lots of helpful pointers to guide you in successfully promoting Amateur Radio in your area. This presentation also would work well for anyone giving a talk on how to promote ham radio. The presentation "100 Great Publicity Ideas for your Amateur Radio Club"  <http://www.arrl.org/pio/100Ideas.ppt> speaks for itself. Check it out for great tips to help you build positive public awareness about Amateur Radio all year long!
--Jennifer Hagy, N1TDY

Hiram Percy Maxim II held members of Connecticut's Newington Amateur Radio League (NARL) spellbound October 7 with tales of his famous grandfather, Hiram Percy Maxim, 1AW, also known as HPM. As most ARRL members know, Hiram Percy Maxim co-founded the ARRL in 1914 with Clarence Tuska, and he became its first president.

"HPM II"--who bears a strong resemblance to his grandfather--was around a year old when the elder Maxim--who often referred to himself in QST as "The Old Man" or simply "TOM"--passed away in 1936. "What he knows of our founder was gleaned from family stories and the films and writings that were passed down to him," said Joe Bottiglieri, AA1GW, an ARRL staffer and a NARL member who attended the talk.

HPM was an amateur film buff, and a highlight of his grandson's presentation was a short 16-mm film that showed the elder Maxim and some of his friends working, relaxing and frolicking on the grounds of the family's summer home in Lyme, Connecticut, where HPM II now lives.
"No evidence of radio activity appeared on that clip," Bottiglieri said, "but 'The Old Man' comes across as a real cutup!" The elder Maxim also founded another "League"--the Amateur Cinema League--in 1926.

Not a ham, HPM II says he doesn't feel he shares the inventive talents of his grandfather and great-grandfather, who held many patents between them. HPM II told the club audience that his grandfather took on radio and filmmaking as diversions from inventing--an endeavor he considered extremely hard work. He also thought of Amateur Radio as a means to "bring together" individuals from distant locations and believed that communication was a key to better understanding other people and cultures.

Filmmaking was an extension of that same philosophy, HPM II said. His grandfather's interest in astronomy--he was fascinated by the planet Mars--was born of similar motivations, and he died while on his way to visit Lowell Observatory in Arizona.

Note the membership price increase for 2003!

Over the Radio WWWaves….
Collected by Rick Herndon, K5FNI

South Texas ARES Web Site
http://www.qsl.net/n5lyg/official/ares.htm

For emergency field operation where a headset (not earset) is needed for communications.
See the subject heading on
http://www.racescanners.com/access.php?racescanners_Session=0b02e0f50dcd9e1d859ae64dd48167a9

also see
Headphone Volume Control
heading on the same page. This is handy for the second headset or logging headset for FD operations. I use one of these at work for my cubicle Walkman speakers to vary volume during the day without having to move to the location of the 'boombox' to turn the volume up and down when the phone rings or I get busy on a project.
Headset Splitters
Same page has this item that would be good for multiple ops off the same audio feed.

Good site for radio news
http://strongsignals.net/index.cgi
[Run by a ham]

An article covering a Bearcat scanner emergency power source is at
http://www.strongsignals.net/access/news/news.cgi?type=single&section=acc&entry=173
and references an item on the previous page that uses an alkaline 9V battery to supply power to a scanner when the rechargeable battery goes flat in the field with no spare.

For a review of Shortwave Listening in NYTimes:
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/30/technology/circuits/30BASI.html
[Have to have sign-in, but the article is free.]

Where is my kid/fellow operator?
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-02-2033A1.pdf

Periodic Events

Club Minutes

The meeting was called to order at 7:02 by President Jeff Schmidt, N5MNW, at Furr's Cafeteria in Northcross Mall.
Visitors: Brad Newberry, KD5TUK, visited with us this month.
Monthly Drawing Winner: Robert Bains, K5MJU, if present, would have won the drawing and had his dinner paid by the club. Milton Miller, KB5TKF, was present and won the door prize, an ARRL publication entitled "From Spark to Space - A Pictorial Journey Through 75 Years of Amateur Radio".
Minutes: The September 2002 ARO meeting minutes were approved as written. President Schmidt also read the minutes of the ARO Board of Directors meeting that was held September 21.
Treasury Report: Treasurer Roger Wines, W5WIA, reported that the bank balance was $4540.34. Roger also proposed the new dues structure to the membership. Joint membership in both clubs (AARC and ARO) is $20; joint family membership is $30. Membership in ARO only is $25 for an individual. Roger and Jeff stated that joint membership is the main intent of the new structure.
Technical Committee: President Schmidt mentioned that Nick Broline, W5FUA, is investigating adding a remote receiver to the 146.94 repeater.
Web Site: Lee Cooper, W5LHC, Scott Chrestman, KD7LCU, and Barry Dunlap, KA5KTH, continue to make changes to the www.AustinHams.org site.
Old Business: None
New Business: A special vote to change the bylaws will be held at the November ARO meeting. Look for information in the AARCOVER and on the AustinHams.org web site.
Roger Wines, W5WIA, announced that members who pay the upcoming year’s dues before December 1 will pay at the old dues rate. After December 1, the new rate takes effect.
The election for the 2003/2004 board members will take place at the November ARO meeting. The terms of June Parchman, KK5AM, and Nick Broline, W5FUA, expire this year. Nominations from the floor included Don Dudley, AC5YK, Nick Broline, and Lee Cooper, W5LHC.
Ham of the Month: Roger Wines, W5WIA, and Lori Schmidt, KM5MQ, share the Ham of the Month honors. Roger and Lori worked with Furr’s to arrange meeting times for 9 regular radio club events.
Also recognized as past HOM was Paul Walhus, KA6ATN. Paul accepted the plaque that was shown at last month’s meeting.
Equipment Loaner Program: The antenna analyzer is available. Contact Lori Schmidt, KM5MQ, for signup.
Announcements: Stu Rohre, K5KVH, reminded all that the QRP group will meet for lunch on the second Saturday at Furr’s at 11am.
Lori Schmidt, KM5MQ, announced that there will be no more radio classes this year. Jeff and Lori need a break. Lori did ask for inputs on which classes are needed next year.
Rick Herndon, K5FNI, announced that the Bastrop Amateur Radio Club will meet at the LaCabana restaurant outside of Smithville at 7pm on October 5. Show up at 6pm for dinner!
Skip Cameron, W5GAI, announced that the Corpus Christi Ham Fest will be held on November 9.
Jeff Schmidt reminded all that the San Marcos airshow will also be held on November 9.
Activities: Lee Cooper and Don Dudley reminded all that volunteers were still needed for the SET on October 17 from noon until about 7pm.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:38pm.
Program: The October program was presented by Roy Walker, WA5YZD. Roy’s topic was “Internet and Amateur Radio – What is it and why do we need it”. Roy went over the many recent advances in internet technology, from higher speed PCs, bandwidth availability, Voice over IP, to PC sound card technology. He then introduced the concept of linking amateur radio with the internet.
Several software clients are available for the PC, including EchoLink, www.echolink.org, iLink, www.ilinkca.com, and IRLP, www.irlp.net. Roy presented screen shots of the EchoLink client. He said it is a good starter program and very stable. It connects to servers and other stations.
Roy covered some of the “legalities and formalities”. Since amateur radio is involved, the client software validates your call before you can proceed. You are then assigned a node ID.
To get started with internet linking, you need a PC with a “standard” sound card, a PC microphone and speakers, the link software, and access to the internet, either dialup, DSL or cable modem.
A live demo was scheduled with a ham in Adelaide, Australia, but Roy’s HT did not transmit well enough out of Furr’s to complete the QSO. We did hear the Aussie station talking to a local ham however.

Submitted by John Suchyta, KG5O
ARO Secretary

AARC Meeting, October 15, 2002

The monthly meeting of the Austin Amateur Radio Club was held on October 15th, 2002 at Furr’s Cafeteria, Anderson Lane, Austin, Texas.  Club President Don Dudley, AC5YK, called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM.   This was the clubs first meeting at the new location, date and time.
Monthly Prize Winners Chuck Dear, KB5YKJ was present and won the free dinner.
Visitors and New Members  The meeting date was also the occasion of Joe Fisher’s, K5EJL, sixtieth birthday and several members of Joe’s family, including daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter attended the meeting and brought a birthday cake to share with the members.
Minutes  The minutes from the September meeting, as published in the AARC/Over were approved.  Chuck Dear, KB5YKJ, made the motion and was seconded by Blake Roberts, KD5RQY.
Officer Reports
Treasurer – Roger Wines, W5WIA, reported that the balance was $789.00.  He also reviewed some of the expenses that were incurred as well as income received. The largest expense of recent was for $500 deposit and fee for the location of the club Christmas party.
Vice President – Jeff Schmidt, N5MNW, commented on the large turnout for the Belton Hamfest that occurred on the 5th of October and that, as usual, the hamfest was well received by all.   Jeff also mentioned the San Marcos Air show that will occur on the 9th of November.  There will also be a special events station conducted on site that day.
Activities Manager – Mitch London, KD5HCV, discussed some of the plans for the annual club Christmas party. It will be held again this year at the Fiesta Gardens clubhouse. It will be held on the second Tuesday of the month instead of the normal third Tuesday that the club now meets.  The clubhouse is reserved from 5 PM until 11 PM and the party starts around 7 PM.  Any assistance with decorating and cleanup will be very appreciated. The parks department gives us credit if we leave the place cleaner than we found it. Please contact Mitch if you can help.  There will be the usual QLF and Tabletop contests, door prizes and other activities. Mitch is working out the details for the entertainment at this time, although we will be trying a new caterer this year.  There should also be snacks and refreshments available both before and after dinner.  Cost for the party is $5 in advance and $7 dollars at the door.
ARES – Lee Cooper, W5LHC
Lee mentioned the upcoming SET drill on the 17th and asked for volunteers that can help out with the exercise.
Technical Committee (Ed Golla, K3AHS)
No report was received from the committee, but Stuart Rohre, K5KVH, reported that the 146.780 repeater has a problem with the autopatch, and possibly with normal operations. Keying up the repeater causes you to get to long DTMF tones back and no indication that the repeater is responding to voice or other commands.
Jeff Schmidt, N5MNW, reported that tests are currently underway on the 146.94 repeater using Echolink and the N4SMN Conference Bridge to see if it can be successfully linked to other repeaters in the surrounding areas during weather nets.
Old Business None
New Business  Stuart Rohre, K5KVH, went through a proposal by the club officers to increase club dues so that it could meet the increased expenses, particularly in the printing and mailing of the club newsletter. It was proposed that the dues be increased to $20 for a single membership in both clubs, and for and increase to $30 for a family membership in both clubs. He then made a motion that the increases be approved and adopted. Several members seconded the proposal and a vote was taken. The motion was approved.
Jeff Draper, N5SSI, then made a motion that the meeting be adjourned and moved to Hooter’s. Blake Roberts, KD5RQY, seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion was rejected.
Adjourn The meeting was adjourned at 2000 Hrs.
Program  Scott Chrestman, KD7LCU, put on a program that reviewed the history of the Internet, what the Internet is and how Ham radio is involved with it. He discussed the new Web site for the clubs, austinhams.org, and some of the changes that may be coming to it in the near future. There was also a discussion on the club’s Internet Privacy policy.  The complete PowerPoint presentation from the meeting can be seen on the club Web site.

SOMETIMES, we find time for ourselves, but find it difficult to have the time to share with others. We all need to spend a little of our personal time helping those around us that are interested in what we do. Sure, it's a hobby/service. But what can be more interesting to us than that? Your excitement about the things you do might seem sort of ho-hum at times, but to someone that is looking in from the outside it can be very exciting. We look around and what 'don't' we see? We see very few young folks active in our hobby. It's up to us to share with them what we are enjoying.  I have been trying for a couple years to take our hobby/service to the schools. The schools are willing, the students are eager, now it's time for us to stand up and be counted. If you are interested in this hobby, and want others to learn about it, then you too can help. Contact me for an assignment (453-2193). It will require either some early morning or mid to late afternoon time on occasion. You will need to go to the schools to help. You can't sit at home and expect it to happen. There is plenty to do, and the time to do it is now.

This is an announcement of a good deal for club members. If you are not yet an ARRL Member, sign up through Roger Wines, as a NEW ARRL member, and you receive a year's membership in AARC & ARO for the cost of the ARRL membership, (which features a rebate to the club). To get this free membership, you must sign up through Roger Wines, W5WIA or other club officers and helpers. The form is on the ARRL web site at http://www.arrl.org/member.pdf. Download it, use the free Adobe Acrobat program to print it out, fill it in, and bring to the next club meeting with your checkbook. Roger will direct you how to fill out the check to AARC. (As the ARRL-affiliated club, AARC must process these memberships).  Again, the free membership is only available to those not holding current membership: it is NOT for renewals.  [However, please renew your ARRL membership through the same folks at the club and the club gets a monetary benefit and you save an envelope and stamp!]
Club officers have diligently been discussing budgets and the coming crunch caused by Postal rates increasing later this year. The rise in printing costs, costs of bulk rate permits and bulk mailings have all gone up since the club dues were last set, to feature the $15 combined club membership for ARO and AARC, (your best bargain in TX ham radio). It has been ten years or more since club dues were updated. The Club bulk mailing permit also supports all the Summerfest mailings, which generally go outside Austin. (Summerfest Convention publishes an entry form in the summer AARCOVER newsletter for the convenience of local hams). Summerfest moves to a different hotel, this August, back to the Red Lion, IH 35 and 290, so will need this mailing publicity.
Don Dudley, President, and Lee Cooper, Secretary are seeking ideas on fundraisers you think would be good club moneymakers. Ideas afoot include a meeting with a member's gear auction where a percentage of the selling price goes to the club treasury. Lori Schmidt has pointed out ways nearby clubs make extra money, and some sell donated old parts or New Old Stock vacuum tubes, and parts, or sell tickets for drawings for donated ham gear. Roger Wines and Rick Kirchhof have also contributed ideas from fund raising events in other organizations. The range of possible events extends to a golf tourney, a catered high-class banquet with entertainment for hams and family, and revival of the Austin Amateur Radio Club Swap Meet.
Manchaca Swap Meet is still a fond memory around the state. Its replacement has awaited a venue with sufficient parking, off-road vendor access, and covered facilities were available at a price that would allow the club to recoup costs. The club would hope to make money by selling tickets with a drawing during the event. A venue may be available, meeting the needs that crushed the Manchaca meet. (These included the loss of free parking, and increased traffic early in the morning, when vendors were trying to enter and unload from an increasingly busy and dangerous highway. Travis County, who owned the Manchaca site, discouraged the continuance of the swap meet there.)
Other ideas for fund raising are solicited from the membership, to rebuild the Treasury. The beefed up treasury would allow us to support:
an outstanding Christmas party
door prizes at meetings
expand the public service activities in support of ARES efforts
maintain our TWO club stations, W5KA for the Red Cross support, and W5TQ at City EOC in Austin
maintain the ARCHES stations, W5OEM at the various area hospitals

[Yes, we have another club call sign for the ARCHES network! You will see that on packet and voice.]

Central Texas DX and Contest Club (CTDXCC)

A BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE!

I’m sure we have upcoming events that need volunteers that would net more
volunteers if the event were explained clearly by an article in this newsletter.

DO IT NOW!

—The Editor
            Rick, K5FNI