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What
is the MARC ?
Since 1927, the Massillon Amateur Radio Club has been a diverse
radio hobbyist club that is currently over 80 members strong.
Active within our community as well as an ARRL Special Service
Club, we are actively involved in many facets of Amateur Radio,
including Public Service, Membership,
Field Day, Repeaters, Amateur Television (ATV),
Skywarn plus many other interests. Learn
More....
DMR Repeater Update
UPDATED Sep 16, 2020 - -
(Sep 10, 2020) Currently our DMR Repeaters are
experiencing some technical service issues. Normally, both the
East & West repeaters are linked together to the internet. Due
to a service upgrade the W8NP West system is not linked to the
internet. This results in multiple Talk Groups down and not
available for linking including the Ohio Talk Group 3139 used
for Statewide linking.
We are working with Verizon Wireless to correct
the problem. This will require the installation of a replacement
wireless modem at the repeater site. We hope this will be
completed very soon. We will provide an update when the repair
is complete. The repeater is still usable for local
communications. The W8NP East repeater is not affected by this
outage and is currently available for statewide communications.
Thanks to the efforts of Dave, WD8AYE the system is back working
perfectly. It was necessary to switch our repeater internet
program over to AT&T and install a pair of their wireless
modems. This was completed on Monday, Sept 15th with assistance
from Jim, WA8GXM and Terry, N8ATZ. Both W8NP East and W8NP West
are back linked together. It is expected we will test the
linking Wednesday during the Ohio Statewide Net.
MARC Hamfest Update
(Sept 11, 2020)
We still hope to have our
Fall hamfest this year on Sunday, November 1st with some
necessary changes.
Due to current
circumstances we will not be able to provide tables for vendors.
If you want a table you will have to provide your own. An 8 foot
space will be provided and will cost $10.00. This will include
one admission ticket. We hope to have some chairs available as
well but it may be best to bring your own.
Other changes may be
necessary as we prepare for our hamfest. These will be posted on
the website as we need.
KE8IDH Tower Project
(Aug 31, 2020) - -
After a year of
effort, MARC member Evan Rankl, KE8IDH finally completed his
home tower project on Sunday, Aug 30th with assistance from
multiple club members and family.
Have
a look at the final installation below !
FCC Proposes to Reinstate Amateur Radio
Service Fees
(Aug 27, 2020) - -
Amateur radio licensees
would pay a $50 fee for each amateur radio license application
if the FCC adopts rules it proposed this week. Included in the
FCC’s fee proposal are applications for new licenses, renewal
and upgrades to existing licenses, and vanity call sign
requests. Excluded are applications for administrative updates,
such as changes of address, and annual regulatory fees.
The FCC proposal is
contained in a Notice
of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)
in MD Docket 20-270, which was adopted to implement portions of
the “Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern
Services Act” of 2018 — the so-called “Ray
Baum’s Act.”
The Act requires that the FCC switch from a
Congressionally-mandated fee structure to a cost-based system of
assessment. In its NPRM,
the FCC proposed application fees for a broad range of services
that use the FCC’s Universal Licensing System (ULS), including
the Amateur Radio Service that had been excluded by an earlier
statute. The new statute excludes the Amateur Service from
annual regulatory fees, but not from application fees.
“[A]pplications for personal licenses are mostly
automated and do not have individualized staff costs for data
input or review,” the FCC said in its NPRM.
“For these automated processes — new/major modifications,
renewal, and minor modifications — we propose a nominal
application fee of $50 due to automating the processes, routine
ULS maintenance, and limited instances where staff input is
required.”
The same $50 fee would apply to all Amateur
Service applications, including those for vanity call signs.
“Although there is currently no fee for vanity call signs in the
Amateur Radio Service, we find that such applications impose
similar costs in aggregate on Commission resources as new
applications and therefore propose a $50 fee,” the FCC said.
Additional details available on the ARRL website.
Board of Directors Elects New ARRL CEO David
Minster, NA2AA
(Aug 26, 2020) - -
The ARRL Board of
Directors has elected David Minster, NA2AA, of Wayne, New
Jersey, as ARRL’s new Chief Executive Officer, starting on
September 28. Minster is currently Managing Partner at
Talentrian Partners, a management consulting firm serving the
consumer goods and luxury goods industries.
Minster began his career as a software engineer,
moving into management at Unilever, as a Chief Information
Officer of this globally recognized portfolio of brands that
includes Elizabeth Arden Company, Chesebrough-Ponds Canada,
Thomas J. Lipton Co., and others. From there, he moved to fine
jewelry manufacturer and retailer David Yurman, where he served
as COO and CIO. More recently, Minster served as CEO of jewelry
brands Scott Kay and Judith Ripka.
“Building a culture of accomplishment and
accountability is what I do best. My initial focus will be
working with the Board on establishing strategic goals and
concrete plans to navigate ARRL through the digital
transformation required for the coming decades of its Second
Century. This includes exciting and innovative ways to be
engaged in amateur radio, while growing activity and
membership.”
Minster got his Novice license, WB2MAE, in 1977,
when he was in his teens. He progressed from Advanced to Amateur
Extra and, after a stint as NW2D, he settled on the vanity call
sign NA2AA in the 1990s as a way to honor a mentor, N2AA, and
the contest station that he used to frequent, K2GL, in Tuxedo
Park, New York.
Minster’s ham radio pursuits have ranged far and
wide over the years. His background includes National Traffic
System training and participation in public service events, as
well as contesting from home, club stations, and contest
stations in the Caribbean — particularly on Bonaire, where he is
a member of PJ4G. Primarily a CW operator, Minster collects
unique and vintage bugs and keys.
Minster earned a bachelor’s degree in computer
engineering from The Ohio State University and has a special
interest in satellites, digital communications, remote
operation, and ham radio computing and software. He has written
keyer software for the commercial market, and contest logging,
packet, and satellite telemetry software for personal use.
Additional Details posted on the ARRL website.
Club Event Invitation
(Aug 22, 2020) - -
A club event has been scheduled for August 29 and 30 at the home
of club VP Don Rankl, N8IVJ to assist with final tower and
antenna
installation. Don is inviting any club members to take part in
this activity. Don has rented a 60 foot lift which should make
the project easier, Time permitting, both Perry - W8AU and Vern
- KE8VS may also have some antenna work completed. Work is
scheduled to begin around 9:00 AM. Monitor the 147.18 club
repeater for details. Don is located at 2363 Kenyon Ave NW,
Massillon. Feel free to drop by !
September Club Meeting Agenda
(Aug 11, 2020) - - The September meeting of the MARC will be held at the R.G. Klein Museum in downtown Massillon at the corner of Erie and Federal Avenue NE. This is one block north of our Senior Center club HQ. Enter by the read door facing Federal Avenue. The meeting will be on Friday, September 4th.We will have a regular meeting and include ZOOM for those who cannot make it. Vern, KE8VS will serve as ZOOM Host and extend invitations. If you do not have this program you can download the App on your PC or smartphone. Meeting topics will be Field Day results and our Nov 1 Hamfest preparations.
Volunteer Monitor Program Recognizes Good
Operators
(Jun 11, 2020)
Volunteer Monitor Program
Coordinator Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, said the program has
recognized numerous radio amateurs with Good Operator Notices.
“One facet of the ARRL and FCC agreement that set up the
Volunteer Monitor Program calls for ARRL to recognize especially
good amateur radio behavior, in order to encourage compliance
with FCC rules and further the efficiency of the Amateur Radio
Service,” Hollingsworth said. “Seventeen operators in 15 states
received Good Operator Notices in the first quarter of 2020. The
Good Operator Notices went to veteran operators as well as
newcomers, including a 13-year-old in North Carolina for CW
operation during the Youth on the Air Special Event, and a
14-year-old in Wyoming for SSB operation.”
Hollingsworth also said that a 2-meter repeater operator
received a Good Operator Report for establishing and managing a
COVID-19 net in Pennsylvania, while other operators of various
license classes received notices for everyday SSB and CW
operation on the HF bands. Recipients were nominated on the
basis of operation observed by Volunteer Monitors.
According to Hollingsworth, Volunteer Monitors reported 2,035
hours monitoring on HF monitoring, and 2,856 hours monitoring on
VHF/UHF and other frequencies during May. Two cases were
referred to FCC.
After kicking off on January 1, the new Volunteer Monitor
Program ramped up to operational status earlier this spring,
starting with a “soft rollout” that started on February1,
designed to familiarize Volunteer Monitors (VMs) with issues on
the bands and to put into practice what to report — and what to
ignore, based on their training.
VMs not only look for operating discrepancies, but for
examples of good operating. Hollingsworth is using a system
called VMTRAC — developed by a VM — to measure the work
of VMs and determine instances that qualify for good operator or
discrepancy notices, referral to the FCC, or follow-up with FCC
requests to the VM program. — Thanks to Riley Hollingsworth,
K4ZDH
ARRL FIELD DAY !
(July 1,
2020) - -
This years
Field Day
exercise was
another
great time
for the club
despite the
restrictions
caused by
the Corona
Virus
as nearly 20
members and
friends took
part in this
year's
annual
event.
Mother Nature blessed us with near perfect weather and decent
operating conditions making for a solid Field Day event.
Our stations performed well and thanks to multiple club
members who participated we also enjoyed a great summer Field
Day Feast !
Everyone enjoyed operating the club's new Yaesu FT-991A HF
Rig now a permanent addition to the EComm Trailer. While Six
Meter conditions were poor, our phone and CW stations produced
super results. Have a look at some of this years pictures !
Thanks to the following for the great
assortment of pictures from this years Field Day Event !
Terry - N8ATZ, Don - N8IVJ, Evan - KE8IDH and others
!
May Club
Program, Ohio Section Manager Scott Yonally - N8SY
(Apr 28, 2019) - - The club program for our May meeting
is our annual ARRL Night featuring our Ohio Section Manager
Scott Yonally, N8SY.
Scott will update us with the current
happenings at the ARRL including the new ARES Connect System and
the League programs expected at Dayton Hamvention.
Bring your questions for Scott to the
meeting. As a courtesy to Scott, his program will be first on
the agenda after member roll call with our normal business
meeting after the program.
Scott always has a great program for us as
we always look forward to his annual visit to the MARC. Please
join us this Friday, May 3rd at 7:30 PM !
New DMR Weekly
Net Announcement
(Mar 6, 2019) - - A new DMR Net sponsored by the
Massillon Amateur Radio Club is held every Monday night at 7:30
PM on the KG8DQ Repeater System.
If you are using the KG8DQ code plug set
your radio for the Massillon Zone, Channel 1. To access the
Canton System go to the Canton Zone, Channel 1. Both systems are
tied together and have nearly countywide range and can be used
using either a handheld or mobile.
Net Control is currently Jim Farriss,
WA8GXM who accepts all check-ins. Some local news items are
covered as well as comments.
Club Banquet
Photo's
(Jan 27, 2019) - -
The club annual awards banquet was another great evening as we presented
several awards recognizing several member achievements over the
past year.
We also had a great dinner prepared by the
K of C Hall. A few pictures are shown below of several major
award recipients. Click the link below to see all the
pictures thanks to new Vice-President Don Rankl, N8IVJ.
Click Here to see the
pictures....
Attendance was great at
this years dinner.
Evan, KE8IDH (R) receives
an award from Club President Perry, W8AU.
Annual Holiday Parade !
(Nov 2, 2018) - -
The MARC just finished assisting with the
64th Annual Massillon Holiday Parade sponsored by Massillon Main
Street and the Downtown Massillon Association. This continues to
remain the oldest public service event that is handled by the
club and our responsibilities have grown over recent years to
include many aspects of parade operation. The parade was
rebroadcast over Massillon Cable TV and I hope some of you had a
chance to view it. The club trailer looked great on the route
with our new decorations and special thanks to Jim Farriss -
WA8GXM for pulling the trailer in the parade.
In the early years of the parade, we provided only
communications support to the Massillon JC’s organization who
handled the staging of all the parade units. When they
disbanded, the city struggled to find volunteers willing to take
on this task. Since the MARC handled communications support,
somehow we got nominated to take on this responsibility as well.
A few years later, Massillon Cable began filming the parade
in conjunction with the Massillon High School Communications
Department and again the club was called upon to assist with
this part of the parade also. Last minute omissions or changes
to the parade line up are passed on to the production crew so
that the announcers can follow along with the parade units. We
had experience with this as well as amateurs routinely handle
staging activities including TV production control relay duties
at the Hall of Fame Festival Community Parade. The Holiday
Parade has depended on this ever since.
Over the past several years the parade has been sponsored by
the Downtown Merchants Association with President Donald Harwig
serving as Parade Chairman. During this time and before the club
has always been there to make sure the parade is properly staged
and starts on time down the parade route. We have become an
integral part of the parade and I wonder if they could pull it
off without us.
I’m glad to report another successful public service event
with very few problems thanks to our communications and parade
skills. Over 50 years and counting Santa has arrived in the city
in no small part thanks to the MARC.
Parade Organizers and Communications Coordinator Perry
Ballinger, W8AU express their appreciation to the MARC for their
continued support of this annual holiday parade. The following
club members assisted with this years event.
Perry Ballinger - W8AU, Steve Hall - KD8ACF, Igor Nikishin -
K8INN, Dan Anastis - N8DZM, Jim Farriss -
WA8GXM, Evan Rankl - KE8IDH, Tom Gill - KC8QOD, Terry Russ -
N8ATZ, Bob Ballinger - N8KXO, Robin - N8EBS, Vern Sproat -
KE8VS, Fred Reed - KD8SMO, Mike Daughenbaugh
- KE8EHG, Wade Huthmacher - WD8MIU, Russ McMahen - N8PII, Don
Rankl - N8IVJ and Anne Ballinger - N8GAF. This event provided
over 60 hours of community
service.
MARC Visits Touch-A-Truck
(June 18, 2018) - - On
Saturday, June 17th the club
participated in the Annual Touch-A-Truck
Day at Buhler's Market parking lot in
Jackson Township. This event allows
children of all ages the opportunity to
experience first hand cars and trucks of
all kinds. Everything from Police and
Fire vehicles to a helicopter and many
more were on display.
The club had our EComm Trailer on site
with our mast extended and equipment on display and operating to
demonstrate our hobby to the public. Perry, W8AU also brought
his military jeep to show. Lots of children toured our trailer
and the Jeep many having their picture taken operating our main
station. Eleven club members assisted with this event.
It was a great time and we received many
comments about our equipment and how we serve as a backup
communications service to public safety forces and our
community. Many thanks to the several club members who helped
out or stopped by to have a look including Terry - N8ATZ, Perry
- W8AU, Wade - WD8MIU, Jim - WA8GXM, Wade - W8DEA, Chris -
KD8TNF, Ted - K8TWA, Mike - KB8OTK, Mike - KE8EHG, Don - W8DEF,
Tony - KD8UXK and Ralph - K8HSQ. Also thanks to Jim for some
great aerial drone shots.
Jim acts a tour guide for
our many visitors !
Our Drone shot, that's our
mast on the right !
We even had a shady spot to
handle the very hot day !
MARC Participates in Memorial
Day Parade
(May 28, 2017) - - The MARC will participate in this years
Memorial Day Parade in Massillon on Monday, May 29th. The club
EComm Trailer will be decorated in full colors with flags
denoting all branches of our armed services and will be part of
the parade starting at 9:30 AM Monday morning.
Club members are encouraged to attend the
ceremonies to recognize our members who have served in the
military and to reflect on the true meaning of this important
holiday.
W8AU ready to join the parade units !
EComm One Shows Off the Colors !
Perry Twp PD Honors WB8HHP
(Feb 11, 2017) - - We would like to take
this opportunity to introduce and honor Officer Timothy J.
France. Officer France has been serving the community of Perry
Township for the last 35 years and will be retiring from our
department February 9, 2017.
Officer France obtained his bachelors degree from Kent State
University in 1979 and continued his education by completing the
Lawrence Township Police Academy in 1980. He began his career as
an Auxiliary Officer for Lawrence Township and Jackson Township.
Officer France started as a full-time police officer with the
Perry Township Police Department on June 2, 1981 and was one of
the original nine full-time police officers when the department
first began operations.
During Officer France's career he was a Road Patrol Officer,
Detective, Union Representative and Evidence Officer. Officer
France has had many highlights in his career and has helped
tremendously with multiple large projects within the police
department. Officer France was one of several employees to
assist in the creation and implementation of the “Special
Response Unit,” as well as the radio/communication system and
the organization of the evidence room by applying advanced
professional standards. Officer France not only has great
attendance for his regular shifts but in times of significant
and critical investigations he responds to calls for service at
all times of the day or night with no questions asked.
The Board of Trustees will be honoring Officer France at the
Board meeting on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at 7:00pm at the
Perry Township Administration Office- 3111 Hilton St. NW,
Massillon, Ohio 44646. As always the public is welcome to
attend. It has been a privilege to work with Officer France. His
kindness and sense of humor will be greatly missed! We wish you
the best of luck, Timmy!
Retiring Officer and Lifetime MARC Club
Member Tim France, WB8HHP (R).
Congratulations Tim on a fine career of
public service to our community !
New Repeater Antenna Installed
!
(Oct 12, 2016) - - On Saturday, October 8th members of the
MARC Technical Committee completed the final phase of the 147.18
Mhz upgrade project. With the help of Marty Baker, N8XPK and
Committee lead Jim - WA8GXM along with helpers Terry - N8ATZ,
Mike - KB8OTK, and Vern - KE8VS, the new commercial 4 bay
antenna was replaced along with a new section of feedline to the
Tower Site. We noted that when the old antenna was lowered to
ground level it was clear that the antenna had been damaged by
lightning multiple times certainly affecting it's performance.
This completes a nearly year long upgrade
process that included the installation of the new Yaesu Fusion
Repeater, a GE Power Amp, and a newly refurbished duplexer and
many other minor upgrades in our effort to eliminate
intermittent repeater noise and poor performance to our main two
meter repeater.
During this time we also upgraded our UHF
System on 442.85 Mhz with a new Yaesu Fusion repeater, new
feedline and in September a new commercial grade 2 bay antenna.
Over the next few months, we will be
closely monitoring the main club repeater performance to make
sure we have cured several problems and will once again have a
great sounding solid repeater system for our membership. Our
thanks to Marty and the repeater committee for completing this
project before winter weather arrived.
A few pictures are posted below from the
antenna project...
The Ground Crew prepares
the hard line
The feedline is ready to be
hoisted up the tower
Marty, N8XPK makes his way
to the top of the tower
Marty's assistant working
his way to the top
The new antenna ready to
hoist up the tower
The new antenna set at
approx 200 feet atop the tower
The existing repeater
antenna removal
This is tough and dangerous
work nearly 200 feet in
the air with a 15 to 20 mph wind !
The new antenna as seen
from a drone at the top of the
tower. Thanks to WA8GXM for the pix !
A job well done by everyone
and Thanks !
March Program Details UPDATED
!
(Feb 21, 2016) - - Our scheduled March program was to
have been presented by club member Don Wade, W8DEA on his recent
FEMA assignment. Due to scheduling difficulties, this program
will have to be postponed until later this year.
Fear not however, we have a very nice backup program that we
will have for you at the March meeting. Several months back an
interesting article appeared in either QST or CQ Magazine that
covered how well the new series of handhelds performed up
against the current big three manufacturer's (Icom, Yaesu and
Kenwood). The results were a bit of a surprise as many of the
current crop of very low priced HT's did not fair well during
compliance testing. How about yours ?
Club President Ralph Bugg, K8HSQ will bring along his
portable spectrum analyzer to the meeting and will be happy to
run a simple test on your HT to see how clean your output signal
is. It is simple and quick to test. Just make sure you bring
your HT and it's antenna. I know we all have at least one
handheld, I have one for every day of the week !
So make sure you bring it along to the meeting and let us put
it to the test !
......THE RESULTS OF
THE TESTING......
Our fill-in program on HT Purity testing yielded some very
interesting results as we expected it to. The two pictures below
show the results of testing on two common manufacturers of
current HT's. One was the new infusion of a China made
model BAOFENG - UV-5RA and the current Yeasu FT2D Digital HT.
Several HT types were tested along with a few commercial models.
Have a look and make up your own mind !
This shot is from the Yeasu FT2D. The tall
vertical trace on the left shows a nice signal with only a few
spurious emissions shown by shorter vertical lines to the right.
This shot is from the China made Baofeng
UV-5RA. While the signals are similar you can easily see
multiple spurious emissions on the right. A slightly "dirty"
radio signal.
In all, about 15 handhelds were tested with
various results. Not scientific but it would appear that you do
indeed get what you pay for !
February Program on NPOTA
(Feb 6, 2016) - - The February club program was given by
our Affiliated Club Coordinator John Meyer, KD8MQ who gave us a
great introduction to this years major ARRL operating event,
National Parks On The Air.
John's powerpoint presentation gave us the
full details of this nationwide operating event that promises to
be very exciting and give plenty of fun operating for everyone.
This event will help the NPS celebrate their 100th Anniversary.
Hams from across the country will activate
NPS units, and promote the National Parks Service and showcase
Amateur Radio to the public. The club may even explore the
possibility of operating from one of the nearby NPS units.
John had a great
presentation at the meeting
Steve Hall, KD8ACF Merit Award
(Feb 6, 2016) - - In recognition of his continuing
service to the club in many areas throughout 2015 and before,
member Steve Hall, KD8ACF was presented a Special Recognition
Award at the February meeting. A special thanks to Steve for his
dedication to the club year after year !
Steve Hall, KD8ACF (R)
receives his Special Recognition Award
In Memoriam to our dear friend
and member Ed Clinger, WA8DRT
(Jul 5, 2015) - - At age 86, Ed passed away
on Tuesday June 23, 2015. Born in Harpster, Ohio the son of the
late Clifford and Orel (Swihart) Clinger, he had been a resident
of East Sparta and the Canton area since 1940. Ed was a 1947
graduate of East Sparta High School. He retired from Ashland Oil
Refinery in 1989 after 36 years of service where he was an area
supervisor. He was a member of the Ashland Oil Retirees Club,
Otterbein United Methodist Church—Navarre, The Canton Amateur
Radio Club and the Massillon Amateur Radio Club and Quarter
Century Wireless Association Chapter # 21; Ed’s Call sign was
WA8DRT, Ed’s humorous phonetics were “ Whiskey
Delta 8 Dirty Rotten Tomato” Ed was also a member of Caldwell
Lodge #330, F.A.& M. in Bolivar, A.A.S.R. Valley of Canton, the
Mercy Medical Center Ostomy Club, Wilderness Center Nature Photo
Club and he served in the U.S. Naval Reserve.
Proceeded in death by his son, Jay Clinger. Survived by his
wife, Doris Clinger; two daughters and sons-in—law Jamie Sue and
Steve Voican, of Massillon, and Robyn and Roy Adkins of Lake
Butler, Fla.: two sons and daughters –in-law Stanton and Lois
Clinger of Broomfield, Colo, and Stephen and /Karen Clinger of
Boalsburg, Pa; one sister, Lois Armington, of Willoughby, Ohio;
and ten grandchildren and 14
great
grandchildren.
As per Ed’s wishes he was cremated. A memorial will be held
at a later date at the Otterbein United Methodist Church–
Navarre. Service information will appear in the Repository and
on the Funeral Home website closer to the Service date. Instead
of sending flowers, contributions in Ed’s memory may be made to
the Otterbein Methodist Church –Navarre, 6025 Shepler Church Ave
SW, Navarre, Ohio 44662 or the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box
22718 , Oklahoma City, OK 73123-1718. The Finefrock—Gordon
Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Condolences may be
left at:
www.gordonfuneralhomes.com
Our Most Sincere Condolences to the Family of Ed Clinger.
73’s good friend we wily surely miss you!
Our dear friend and member Ed, WA8DRT (R)
April Meeting - ARRL Night
(Apr 4, 2015) - - Our April meeting was our annual ARRL
Night as our Special Guest was Ohio Section Manager Scott
Yonally, N8SY. Also attending was our Affiliated Club
Coordinator John Myers, KD8MQ. Scott's annual visit included
current happenings within the Ohio Section and the renewed
importance of public service and active club participation in
our community.
His visit also included a presentation of
our active renewal for our ARRL Special Club Status. This elite
ARRL status recognizes a affiliated club that goes above and
beyond for their community and for Amateur Radio is what defines
a Special Service Club. They are leaders in their Amateur Radio
community who provide active training classes, publicity
programs, and actively pursue technical projects and operating
activities.
Thanks to the clubs strong belief in our
hobby and our community, we have been a Special Service Club for
the last ten years.
Affiliated Club Coordinator John Myers,
KD8MQ (L) presents President Ralph, K8HSQ with our renewed
Special Service Club Certificate.
March Mentoring Class
(UPDATED) (Mar 7, 2015) - - - Continuing on the current theme
of kit building and fox hunting, the March Mentoring Class
covered the construction of a Tape Measure Beam for Fox Hunting.
The class was held at the
Massillon Senior Center on Saturday, March 7th. This months Mentor
was
Dan Anastas, N8DZM our resident Fox Hunter. A kit of parts
needed to construct the Tape Measure Beam was provided for
$13.00.
Dan coached the builders on the
construction of the beam antenna providing some theory on its
design and operation.
This will continue in our April
Mentoring Class which will be on learning how to Fox Hunt and
will give you a chance to use both your Attenuator and Tape
Measure Beam. This class will be held on Saturday, April 11th
also at the Massillon Senior Center. Additional details will
follow. Our thanks to club member John, N8CD for the great
pictures !.
.jpg)
Mentor Dan, N8DZM oversees
our beam builders
.jpg)
Wade, WD8MIU put the final
touches on his new DF beam
.jpg)
Dan (R) checks the final DF
Beam for Thomas, KC8ZEH
.jpg)
Another successful
Mentoring Session !
February Mentoring Class Info
(UPDATE) (Feb 7, 2015) - -
Our February Mentoring Program was conducted on Saturday, Feb
7tg at the Senior Center. This training was conducted by John
Wagner, N8CD and was part of a series on Direction Finding. This
part was on the construction of a Variable Offset (Active)
Attenuator built from a kit.
John began with the basics of soldering, a
skill all radio operators should have. This included proper
safety techniques, the theory of how an attenuator works and
testing out the kit when completed.
Approximately 10 club members took part in
this session including builders and mentors. John's program
included an excellent powerpoint presentation following step by
step help and guidance in building the K0OV kit from Marvin
West, KE6HTS. The kit included a great looking case from the
famous Altoids Mint Tin.
Everyone had a fun time during this mentoring
session and learned a lot. We especially want to thank John,
N8CD for the time he spent preparing this training session
including the individual help he and his mentors provided the
members. Everyone's kit went together fine and all worked !
Our March and April Mentoring Sessions will
continue this theme as we build the famous Tape-Measure Beam
used for DX'ing and some actual field training during April.
John has made available the powerpoint
presentation for those who missed the training. You can view it
by clicking the following link.
http://bit.ly/marc-kit
Some pictures of the event are posted
below...
The
members enjoyed a great presentation
The build
station with lots of help provided !
Proper Station Grounding Class
(Jan 18, 2015) - - The clubs first Mentoring Program was
held on Saturday, Jan 17th with about 20 members and guests in
attendance. The class was held at the Massillon Senior Center.
This months Mentor was James Andrews,
KD8VT and the class covered proper station grounding for your
shack. The training included a very informative powerpoint
presentation and lecture from James. The attendees learned the
basics of station grounding including lightning protection for
your equipment and tower installations. James also included some
show & tell on various types of coax and hard line usage.
The club provided coffee and donuts for
the morning. Thanks also to James XYL who brought an assortment
of cookie's and cupcakes.
The presentation was excellent and well
received by everyone. James also will provide a copy of the
powerpoint that will be posted to the club's website for those
who couldn't attend.
Our first Mentoring Class was well
received by the attendee's
A
Bit of Repeater History !
The
clubs 147.18 Repeater is the high profile wide area
coverage repeater in Western Stark county and has been for quite
some time. But it wasn't always so, in fact at one time it was not
even a repeater at all ! Learn about the colorful history of
the repeater thanks to an early issue of the clubs newsletter that
I recently found.
Click
here to read the full story.
What
is the MARC ?
Since 1927, the Massillon Amateur Radio Club has been a diverse
radio hobbyist club that is currently over 80 members strong.
Active within our community as well as an ARRL Special Service
Club, we are actively involved in many facets of Amateur Radio,
including Public Service, Membership,
Field Day, Repeaters, Amateur Television (ATV),
Skywarn plus many other interests.
You are welcome to join us at our monthly club
meetings held on the first Friday of each month at 8:00 PM
at the Massillon Senior Citizens Center, located at 39 Lincoln
Way West, Massillon, Ohio 44647. We usually monitor the club's
147.18 repeater, give us a call and we'll guide you in !
MARC owns and operates repeaters
in the 2 meter and 70 centimeter bands. Our annual Hamfest
is held at the Massillon Boy's & Girls Club in Massillon. We have a large indoor
hamfest area, as well as ample outdoor parking. The prizes are
some of the best you'll find at any area hamfest and the bargains
are many. As
a club member, not only will you have access to the autopatches
on our 2m and 70 cm repeaters, but you will also receive a monthly
subscription to our newsletter, Feedback.
In each issue you will find published, the minutes of the previous
month's meeting, informative articles, and interesting narratives
by our club members.
 The
club owns an emergency response communications
trailer that is stocked with radio equipment and back up batteries,
as well as a generator. With little notice, MARC can have an emergency
station on the air, ready to provide any help we can. Our club
station, located at the Senior Center, contains an HF station,
VHF and UHF gear, and a computer system. The station is open to
any club member, during the hours that the center is open.
The club also sponsors quarterly VE Exams
quarterly at the Emergency Operations Center located
at the Stark County Sheriff's office and
during our annual Hamfest. Please check the link for
times and specific dates.
Questions ?
Reach us at truss@sssnet.com
Number of Contacts with this site
Counter Courtesy of digits.net
This page was
last updated on
09/19/20
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