DELARA NEWS is the monthly publication of the Delaware Amateur Radio Association, Delaware OH. April, 2019 VOL 38 Number 4

Welcome to

APRIL!

This is the official newsletter of a great ham radio club! Our DELARA family appreciates what you’re doing with the hobby! Why not take a few minutes and write out what interests you in our hobby! We have room for your article always! Send it to Stan [at] standi.com by the end of the month. Unfortunately, our note on Bob below is not part of the April Fool.

See Page 4 for N8OB, Bob’s obituary. The

club mourns the passing of this wonderful

ham operator!

Changes to Ohio License

Plates

Ohio is making some changes to the license plate legislation. It appears that if approved, this state will no longer require front license plates. The Ohio House tacked on some changes to the Governor’s transportation budget bill, one of which was to end the 100 year old tradition of front plates. Another little-noticed change will reportedly affect amateur radio plates. Authors of this amendment note that the state is engaged in a massive anti-distraction campaign. The authors noted that ‘hams’ when noticing another amateur plate, lose all track of time and direction while trying to figure out where that ham is from - although there are no official statistics denoting this to be a real problem (kind of like gun control) the amendment seeks to avoid distraction by forcing amateur plates to be mounted upside down- in order NOT to be noticed and read by other hams. The authors theorize that by the time hams have turned themselves upside down in the seat to read the plate, the other vehicle will have passed. House Finance Committee Chairman Rep. Scott Oelslager told Cleveland.com the measure would save the state $2.5 annually.

The Prez’s Shack

Perhaps you have tuned around the CW portions of 40 and 20 meters and heard a familiar high-speed call sign: PV8ADI. Clovis was like a beacon from Brazil and, if propagation to that part of the world was good, he was likely to be found calling CQ for a few hours, usually every day. Sadly, Clovis is no longer with us. Reports I have read said that he was 80 years old and still climbed his extensive antenna system using various aids to assist him in climbing and descending. Unfortunately, something must have failed and it led to a tragic result. You might see a very similar and sad parallel to Paul, WØAIH, who also died in a climbing accident at his extensive antenna farm. Rev. Bittner was also 80 years old. So, the point? Now that the weather is warming up, hams are venturing out to survey how their antennas fared over the winter and begin working on modifications or new projects. Perhaps other ham station reorganization is going to take place such as re-wiring or moving things around. Nobody plans to have an accident even if the injuries are not severe. Nonetheless, it is important to be careful. We want you to be around for as long as possible. If something is beyond what you can safely handle, hire the work out or ask if somebody more capable can assist you. And, always watch out for Murphy. Please join us for our next meeting where things are hopefully much more upbeat. That will be Wednesday, April 17, 7:30 p.m. at the Delaware Red Cross, 380 Hills-Miller Road. Our meetings and events are open to everyone even if they do not have an amateur radio license. Come on out! 73, Joe, AA8TA