© DELARA News a monthly publication of the Delaware Amateur Radio Association
DELARA NEWS is the monthly publication of the Delaware Amateur Radio Association, Delaware OH.
February, 2019 VOL 38 Number 2
Welcome
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.
Kicking off the year with a party!
A bout of winter weather kept some safely at home
Honestly, it wasn’t pretty. The weather turned cold, and the snow was falling. All the ingredients
to go along with the DELARA Holiday Party in the middle of January. Unfortunately, all the
ingredients to make driving and walking hazardous kept many DELARA members safely home,
and we couldn’t blame them! But despite the hardships, our intrepid chef Tim, NS8B, took on
the challenge and managed to lay out a great dinner fare of - what else? - ham. Our members
who did brave the weather added their tasty contributions so that we all had full bellies before it
was time to go home. To those (exhibiting a large amount of common sense) who didn’t make it,
we did our part to make up for you! It was a great time of family and fellowship!
The Prez’s Shack
The Prez’s Shack
By the time this reaches the masses, the groundhog will have popped out of his warm lair to
give us his weather prediction and the Super Bowl will be over. When will the snow melt? Were
there any more officiating blunders or wardrobe malfunctions? The crystal ball here at the
AA8TA shack is cloudy on those questions.
What is the ARRL and why do we need it? Of course, they are our national radio club and they
provide a long list of services and learning opportunities for hams. They also represent us
before the FCC and can let certain groups know that we exist and we do not appreciate our
frequencies being take away from us or having our bands rendered useless by spurious noise.
In some countries, national radio clubs are a vital link to getting an amateur radio license and,
although the ARRL provides licensing education and testing, ARRL membership is not a
requirement to get a license.
What has been interesting is some shakeups that have happened within the League within the
last year or so. There was much controversy over some decisions made by the board of
directors and chief executive stepped down. Shortly after naming a new CEO, a few directors
were replaced after voting in their divisions. It looks like things are going to be different in
League headquarters.
One of the interesting things that the new CEO wants to do is to start a program to assist newly
licensed hams as they get on the air and take advantage of the privileges they have. There
seems to be a thinking that new hams are given their CSCEs, a pat on the back and told to have
fun and all the while they do not know what to do next.
One of the reasons that we offer membership in DELARA to those who pass one of our
sponsored exam sessions is so that they can hang out with us and get to know some people and
ask questions as they go about figuring out what to do. This can and should be a gradual
process of talking, seeing and asking as a person starts their ham radio journey. Thinking back
to my reentry into ham radio, I do not think a one-time class on what to do next would have
helped as much as just hanging around and listening and asking more experienced operators
why this might work and that might not.
We do get several new hams who visit us from time to time. I encourage you to say hi to them
and ask them what they are up to. If they ask you a question that you cannot answer, point
them to the front of the room and we will try to find the expert who can help them. Also, do not
be afraid to ask questions; it’s all a learning opportunity.
Please join us for our next meeting on Wednesday, February 20, 7:30 p.m. at the Delaware Red
Cross, 380 Hills-Miller Road. Bring your questions or answers or both.
73, Joe, AA8TA
LEARN CW!
Dale Bauer, W8KTQ, has staged a
solid class for many in DELARA who
want to learn the original digital
mode- CW. Over a dozen showed
up for the first class, and interest is
high! This report shows the class is
already a success:
Roy, W8REH, came to his first CW
class last night (the 2nd one we've
held) and after an hour or so, he
must have gotten enthused
because he got on 80 CW this
morning and made a contact with
the Straight Key Century Club
operating the Straight Key CW
Special Event Station, K3Y. I asked
Roy how long it had been since he
had been on CW; he replied: 1967!!!
CONGRATULATIONS ROY! Terrific to
see you're back in the saddle!!!
Dale-W8KTQ