Spokane DX Association

june 2012 minutes

AMATEUR RADIO PROCLAMATION BY THE GOVERNOR

Washington state Governor Christine O. Gregoire proclaims June 18-23 as AMATEUR RADIO WEEK. To see the proclamation, press GOVERNOR.

http://wwa.arrl.org/pdf/120615Proclamation.pdf

NEWS FLASH!! – Dash Is Now A Coug!!I just wanted to let everyone know that Dash, The Dog-Faced Ham, is back in college attending WSU!! Jeff, K1NSS, sent me the following press release this morning:

“Not many would-be electrical engineers choose spring break for a now-or-never return to college, but Dash! The Dog-Faced Ham is no ordinary sixty-something. Dashiell “Dash!” Hammutt is the webcomix creation of Jeff Murray, K1NSS and has appeared at www.dashtoons.com since late 2005.

K1NSS got the idea to send his character back to school after friend WT0G recently worked W7YH, Washington State University’s amateur radio club station. When his friend posted the W7YH QSL on Facebook, Murray noticed the club’s original proper name – Alpha Chapter, Rho Epsilon Radio Fraternity.

“The cool old school club name triggered all my sensors,” said the cartoonist. He immediately contacted the club and discovered that WSU’s Alpha Chapter is one of the oldest collegiate radio clubs in the country, established in 1911. When K1NSS learned more about WSU’s premier engineering school , he said “Everything fell into place”

“I never joined a fraternity and never followed my original plan to become an electrical engineer,” said K1NSS. “ And as I got older, I wondered how my life would have been different if I did those things, among others. Of course, as a 60-something ham radio cartoonist, I’m too dignified to take one last desperate swing at the cheap seats. But my cartoon character has no dignity whatsoever. And frankly, I’m the boss of him.”

Continuing episodes of Dash!2 Alpha Chapter, A Dog-Faced Ham Repeats College All Over Again, are now appearing at www.dashtoons.com.

I’m sure all of us in the SDXA are looking forward in keeping track of Dash’s escapades as he attends WSU!
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A TALE OF TWO PLAQUESSteve K7AWB submitted a nice article about two Salmon Run plaques — one that was sponsored by the SDXA and awarded to Rick Olsen (N6NR), and other awarded to members of the SDXA (Wayne – WA1PMA, Jay – WS7I, and Lynn – N2HS). You can read the full article HERE. And the Salmon Run is coming up soon in September so figure out how YOU CAN WIN ONE!

From Our Brother In Our Sister City
Elvin (JA3CZY) sent these great pictures of his antenna array and I thought I should post them on our site. It can’t get much better than a stacked array on a tower located on a high rise 🙂 It makes my little 3-element Steppir pale in comparison! Arigatou gozaimasu Elvin-san!

SDXA member Jay Townsend, WS7I, recently published an article in the leading ham radio contest magazine called the National Contest Journal (NCJ), a publication of the ARRL. His article, in cooperation with the other members of the local BelchFire Team (Lynn N2HS and Wayne WA1PMA), was in the most recent March/April issue. It is reprinted here with permission of Jay WS7I and the NCJ. More information on the NCJ is available from their website:

http://www.ncjweb.com/

As most of you may have noticed the scores for these QSO Parties are all over the place. The National QSO Parties and the State QSO Parties are good places to get in and have fun. It’s a good chance to try out your station and antennas, and see just how things are going to work. If you would like to go for an award like WAS or DXCC to name a couple, this is a good place to get a good start. It also will show you the different propagation patterns that come with being on the radio for the duration of these Parties.

The main goal here is to have fun and not feel like you have to compete against the bigger stations. If you look at the pages of QST and CQ magazine, there will always be scores all over the place just like in these QSO Parties. Generally QSO Parties are considered places to have fun.

Just as in sports, there are different classes or categories of contestants. Major Leagues, Minor leagues and people out just having fun with backyard games with friends and family. Usually these lines don’t cross, but in Ham radio there are none of these divisions so easily marked out.

The purpose of my writing this is to let all SDXA members know that there should be no embarrassment in posting a low score. Everyone has responsibilities that supersede our hobbies. Each of us should be encouraged to join in and have fun and the fact of getting on and just making a few QSOs should be rewarding in and of itself.

Some seem to think you need to do better than the last time in an outing, and others just want to enjoy the fun of it. Not all will want to enter any competitive type of activitiy and that is fine also. It’s important to remember we all don’t have the same goals or standards. DX, Contesting, rag chewing are all part of getting on the Amateur bands and having fun. This hobby has many different aspects to it, but if you don’t take an active part in some way, are you really enjoying the hobby?

With the diversity in Amateur Radio, it is necessary to keep in mind we all have different wants and desires to enjoy the hobby.

Writing as your former Club President, I am just trying to say no matter how big or small a score you made, (so far mine is the smallest team score posted! HI HI), the main goal from my perspective is to have fun first.

I’m interested to hear what others think about this.

73
Wayne WA1PMA
June 2012