Short

Circuits

P.O. Box 73

Titusville, FL 32781

TARC Newsletter

May, 2006



Club Station Call K4KSC

Club Officers
President

Bud Hughes, K4CWG

269-2796

k4cwgbud@cfl.rr.com

Vice President

Ozzie Osband, N4SCY

321-Liftoff (543-8633)

n4scy@amsat. org

Treasurer

Becky Lee, KF4HTB

267-9375

beverly@peoplepc.com

Secretary

Cathy Johnson KI4GMF

268-2107

alncat007@netzero.net

Board Member

Pike Abell, W4EPU

269-4208

pikeatal@digital.net

Board Member

Jose` Ramos, KC4VIO

267-5892

kc4vio@yahoo.com

Board Member

Gary Johnson W4RBI

271-4500

GaryJay990@aol.com

Board Member

Bob Farrington, W4YBI

633-5664

bobandlinda3@juno.com

146.91 Repeater Trustee

Mic Woltman, KI4CFA

632-4601

146.97 Repeater Trustee

Warren Murray, W4CEL

pager - 638-5476

444.15 Repeater Trustee

Mike Hensley, W4LOV

639-1553

147.775 Repeater Trustee

Ken Denman, KD4HNW

269-5711

Meetings: 4th Tuesday of each month at 7 PM "Eating Meeting" Every Thursday 5:30 to

at the Titusville Public Library 2121 S. Hopkins 6:30PM at a local restaurant. Talk-in 146.91

Ave. Next: May 23th or call Sherry KU4ZO at 279-2796.



The President's Corner By Bud Hughes K4CWG



Hey gang Jamie W9QY, his bride Kristina KB3FYE and their 2-year-old son Owen just moved into their new home in the Imperial Estate subdivision.

Would you believe that even before the furniture was unpacked Jamie had already had his four sections of Rhone tower delivered and has staked out the exact location of where in his back yard he plans to erect said tower. Let us hope Jamie has the blessing of Kristina in this endeavor. We all wish Jamie and Kristina the very best.

On Saturday May 6th from 9:00PM until 3:00PM Boy Scouts Troops from throughout the county assembled at Whickham Park in Melbourne. Each Troop presented to the public their most interesting assortment of Boy Scout Projects.



The theme of Troop 497 of Port St John was very similar to last year's presentation and introductory lesson in Morse code. Included in this hands-on operation of Morse code sending devices each and every attendee had the opportunity to show his or her skills in the operation the straight key, keyers, paddles and code oscillators. The Port St John Troop had a steady flow of young scouts, their parents, grand parents and friends to attend the classes and many exhibited surprising skills in sending Morse code. Since CW is my choice mode you can bet I was on cloud 9. My thanks to Mic KI4CFA for letting me be a part of this wonderful event.



I hope all members are getting their portable gear all greased up and ready for the 2006 Field Day event. As the club voted at the April meeting, we have reserved Fox Lake Park Pavilion # 2 for the day on June 24th. Just as important are your picnic plans. It's a TARC tradition to spread a wonderful table for all Field Day and you are invited.



Following the club meeting May 23rd Sherry and I hope to hook our camp trailer behind our pick-up and head for Cheaha Mountain in N.E. Alabama. The last week in MAY (Memorial Day) brings on the Hughes' family reunion. For the clan that I belong to this is the opportunity for me to re-establish the rights of being known as the most handsome "Hughes of the hills." By the way, this feat never made the upscale mainstream headlines as appears in the hollow..

Hope to see you at the TARC meeting May 23rd. Bring a friend

Best wishes and 73s, Bud K4CWG



Abell's Anecdotes by Pike Abell W4EPU



THE BIGGEST OF THE BIG - SOME MIND BOGGLING FIGURES

We earthlings are situated 92 million miles from the sun. Light travels at 186 thousand miles/second. At that rate of speed, it takes light about 8 1/2 minutes to travel from sun to earth. Therefore, measured in "light distance", the sun and earth are about 8 1/2 light minutes apart. That is a relatively short distance compared to the diameter of our own solar system which is one light hour. Our solar system is a fly speck compared to the 100,000 light YEARS diameter of our own galaxy.

Going a step further, the diameter of our galaxy is a pin point compared to our universe - I don't know what the diameter of our universe is but it is said that, as observed by Hubble telescope, the furthest away know object is a galaxy located 13 billion light years from earth. Without boring you with the math, that is 76 septillion miles away. (Oh, what the heck -- 76,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles, or, 76 times 10 to the 21st power.) However, that galaxy is seen as it was 13 billion years ago. Who knows what is happening there right now?

Taking it to the next level - according to the Big Bang Theory, the universe is expanding like an inflating balloon. Some speculate that it may eventually cease to expand and collapse upon itself, like a deflating balloon. Others have it that it will forever expand. In order to do that, there must be infinite space into which it will expand.

If there is infinite space beyond our universe, who is to say that there are not other universes out there? In infinite space, there is room for an infinite number of universes. In the event that there are others, some of which may also be expanding, in a few trillion or so years they may all collide and intermix, creating a colossal mess.

Now that I have gone far beyond my very limited comprehension, by getting into something of which my knowledge is extremely limited, perhaps it is best that I bail out here and simply say - 73s es 88s. Pike W4EPU



New Repeater on 145.25 Coming Soon



The 2 meter Repeater, controller and cavities are on site at The Great Outdoors and preliminary testing went well. We've installed a new 2 band stick (7 db gain) and have received good reports, however testing and SWR readings still remain to be taken. We've ordered some additional cables to facilitate locating the cavities in the garage out of the way.

With the fire threat over the weekend at TGO we had to take the new repeater down and put our base unit back in service to coordinate the "voluntary" evacuation orders on multiple days. Plans are to reinstall the repeater and continue testing. We know we have an issue with the first Tx cavity, so there will definitely be some ups and downs. We will send out an e-mail notifying TARC Amateurs of the initial testing times.

Please note the repeater RF is 145.250, is completely open, has the courtesy tone activated. All licensed hams are encouraged to make use of this community service. This pair is FRC and ARRL coordinated RF. The assistance in obtain this coordination is due to the outstanding support of many members of TARAC and is greatly appreciated! EasyLyle KI4MYT



444.15 Will Be Back On the Air Soon!

Club member Rob McKiness KI4DYJ has taken it upon himself to reactivate the 444.15 repeater which has been off the air or operating on extremely low power for several years.



Rob discovered and purchased a repeater and all the accessories from an individual in Miami. Now the job is underway to have the machine set to the proper frequency pair and to tune the antenna cavities for optimum operation. Two of the club's most talented repeater experts have volunteered to help with the job. John K1KSC already has waved his magic wand over the cavities and Mic KI4CFA will tackle the job of getting the repeater on the proper frequency.



Titusville Amateur Radio Club

PO Box 73

Titusville, FL 32781-0073



TREASURER'S REPORT



Beginning Bal. 1/1/06 $4,173.31

Deposits 2006 $2,542.00

Total Income $5,715.31

YTD Expenses -$2,118.92

Balance as at 5/10/06 $4,596.39











April Meeting Minutes by Cathy Johnson KI4GMF

The members enjoyed a special video presentation prepared by Jose` KC4VIO and Carole KC4VIN. The program reviewed the special event celebrating the anniversary of the first NASA shuttle flight. After the show, Carl AA4MI presented certificates to all of the club members who operated the special event station N4S. Also before and during the meeting several club members received their ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) badges.



The club voted to hold this year's Field Day June 24th at Fox Lake Park



The meeting closed with a moving ceremony to remember three silent Keys - John KE4ZPA, Tom KC4RUF and Gene W8OFR.



HELP A HAM.....

Clarence Bauer KV4BY has a Kenwood TM-701A 2 meter transceiver, but he does not have a manual for it. If you have a manual you'd be willing to allow Clarence to copy, he certainly would appreciate it. His number is 321-271-4645.



Next Meeting is May 23rd, 7 PM at the Titusville Public Library