DELARA NEWS is the monthly publication of the Delaware Amateur Radio Association, Delaware OH.
May, 2019 VOL 38 Number 5
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.
DMR down in Delaware
This is an update to the situation surrounding the new DMR repeater in Delaware. You may
know that the new repeater lasted a little over a month until a lightning strike forced all the
smoke out of the chips. Ken Snare reports the brand new replacement is supposed to be in the
delivery process. So we hope we can be back on DMR fairly soon. OK, this is going to be a BIG
jinx, but the other repeaters (Ken Bird’s 17, my 19 and Gary’s Fusion) have all been performing
very well through the winter.
The Prez’s Shack
Are we there yet?
Perhaps you have had back-seat passengers ask that question or you did yourself. In this
context, “are we there yet” refers to whether we have hit the bottom of the sunspot cycle. I have
read competing analyses with one side saying that we are on the verge of heading upwards and
another camp thinking that we might not hit the bottom until next year or the year after.
Nobody seems to think that the next solar cycle will be any better than the one we just had.
Looks like those buttons on my radio labeled “21” and “28” might be lonely for a while.
There will not be much time to say “are we there yet” as we head to Xenia and Dayton for
Hamvention and related events. I have not heard that the big manufacturers are coming out
with anything exciting so that might be left for the smaller vendors. Will the third year be a
charm with dry weather?
Here is hoping that if you are looking for something specific that you find it. If you are hoping to
find another home for something, hopefully you find a willing partner. I wonder if there is a
Drake or something like that that makes its way around the Hamvention flea market like the
proverbial Christmas fruitcake?
We welcome you to our next meeting on Wednesday, May 15 (two days before Hamvention
officially kicks off) at 7:30 p.m. at the Delaware Red Cross, 380 Hills-Miller Rd. Everybody is
welcome so come on out.
73, Joe, AA8TA
Dayton!
As you know, thousands of amateur
operators will make their annual
pilgrimage to the Mecca of the
west: Green County Fairgrounds for
another edition of “Hamvention”.
There are several very important
questions. One, will the lady with
her hair wrapped into a tower be
there? Will she be blond? Two,
where is the guy with the blinking
light tower on his head?
These are critical milestones to
measure the success of the whole
deal.
Will the inevitable rains soften the
parking fields again? (Well, that’s
rhetorical I guess.)
It’s all part of finding that ~one~
thing on your list! Hope to see you
there (as for me, look for Canned
Ham II at the emcomm vehicle
display.) Good hunting!