DELARANEWS
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!
DELARANews
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!