THE LOCAL OSCILLATOR - November 2009 NOTE: The text file is very difficlt to format. Nicely formated and easier to read versions are the HTML version,available at www.mvrc.qzxservices.com. And the pdf file of the web edition available at http://www.mvrc.qzxservices.com/pdf/LO0911.pdf. It will be easy to print that edition. If you do not have the free pdf reader, you can get it at http://www.adobe.com TABLE OF CONTENTS COMING EVENTS PRESIDENT'S CORNER CLUB NOTES CHRISTMAS DINNER RACE COMMUNICATIONS USE OF AMATEUR RADIO PROPOSED BUDGET FOR 2010 TREASURER'S REPORT OFFICERS JOIN THE CLUB COMING EVENTS Sun Slow CW net 3.575 MHz 3:30PM Sun CW net 3.575 MHz 4:00PM M-F 6 m FM net 52.540 6:00AM Mon WTRA Swap net 146.88 8:00PM Wed Net 146.64 6:45PM MWF Informal get together Wal-Mart W (Valley) 10 AM TTH Informal get together Wal-Mart E (Walton) 10 AM Nov 03 Builder's Group 7 PM Club House Nov 7 Breakfast 8 AM Club House Nov 7 Business meeting 9 AM Club House Nov 11 Board Meeting 7 PM Club House Nov 17 Builders Group 7 PM Club House 7 PM Dec 01 Christmas Dinner 6 PM Furr's PRESIDENT'S CORNER KC5HFJ The usual business meeting will be held on November 07 CLUB NOTES KD5SSJ The club is faced with a leadership problem. Officers are to be elected Saturday (November 7) but almost nobody has volunteered to be nominated for several positions. The duties of officers and board members is rather completely spelled out in the constitution which is readily available on the Internet by clicking "archives" on the page http://mvrc.qzxservices.com. Many disastrous things can happen without a president, secretary, and treasurer. We do have a vice-presidential candidate, KD5SSJ, Cash. He has indicated that he will continue in that office. Also he has indicated that he will continue to run the Builder’s Group, the single most successful ongoing effort the club is undertaking. It would be unfair to ask him to assume additional duties. Most of the bard members have indicated that they are willing to continue with there present responsibilities. K5XY, Alex, (Newsletter), AD5LJ, Bob, (clubhouse), KE5OFK Rob (repeaters) have indicated that they are willing to carry on with their assigned duties. AD5FE, Henry, and KD5OHA, George, are willing to be co-chairpersons of communications. KE5ZRZ, Evan Salazar, accepted the Education position late in this year and just finished a very successful Technician class the produced 11 new hams and 5 new members . He has agreed to continue in that position. We need a board member to direct special events . If nobody is willing to assume the responsibilities indicated in the constitution, one possibility is for the board of directors to reduce these responsibilities to the bare minimum and carry on. This procedure could be called unconstitutional but no other alternative has been suggested and, fortunately, there are no penalties mandated for such actions. However it will mean greatly reduced club activities, reduced membership, and financial difficulties. The president’s job can be reduced to signing official state required reports, the secretary’s job can be deduced to almost nothing, and the treasurer could collect dues, pay taxes, insurance, and utilities, and try to keep the books from becoming chaotic. Of course club activities would quickly run down, Club meetings would dwindle both in content and attendance, The bean feed would be eliminated, and field day would be completely unorganized. Fortunately, there is enough money in the bank to keep the the clubhouse and repeater maintained at least for a year. At the meeting on Saturday, November 7, we must try to fill these positions and finalize a budget. We need a big turnout to show that we have a viable club and make some decisions that will shape the future of the MVRC. A quorum is required to do business on Saturday. The next board meeting will discuss the above and any other suggestions presented and report briefly to the members at the Christmas party which has miraculously been organized for Tuesday December 1 at 6 PM in the reserved dining room at Furr’s cafeteria. CHRISTMAS DINNER The annual Christmas Dinner will be held December 1 at 6 PM in Furr's Cafeteria near Wal-Mart East. RACE COMMUNICATIONS KD5OHA The next upcoming special event is the Baylor Pass Run Saturday. Nov. 14. I have enough people to cover this event. Sunday Nov. 15 at the Isaac's Ranch sees the Horse Jump competition off of highway 70. I still need six people to help cover this event. The Turkey Trot foot race Thanksgiving Day needs ten people to cover this race. All these positions need to be filled. This will be the last race for 2009. You can contact me to volunteer at 525-1956. USE OF AMATEUR RADIO ARRL There has been a lot of discussion lately about the appropriate use of amateur radio in non-amateur communications such as our race monitoring and emergency preparation activities. There is no definitive answer but the ARRL has written about the problem. Some of these ideas appear below. ARRL Board Adopts Guidelines and Recommendations on the Appropriate Use of Amateur Radio. On Friday, September 25, the ARRL Board of Directors adopted guidelines on the appropriate use of Amateur Radio on behalf of commercial, non-profit and government entities, as well as recommendations for additional steps to be taken by the ARRL to educate radio amateurs and others on how to prepare and train for public service and emergency communications while complying with the current FCC Rules. At its meeting in July 2009, the ARRL Board created an ad-hoc committee to study the issue and prepare suggested guidelines. The committee submitted its report to the ARRL Executive Committee, which reviewed and revised the document. After additional discussion among Board members by electronic mail and teleconference, the Executive Committee submitted the document to the Board for formal adoption. Entitled The Commercialization of Amateur Radio: The Rules, The Risks, The Issues, the document offers guidelines to assist radio amateurs and anyone wishing to utilize the capabilities of Amateur Radio in understanding the FCC Rules that prohibit communications in which the amateur has a pecuniary interest, including communications on behalf of an employer. While the FCC Rules in this regard have not changed in many years, there has been increasing discussion of the issue as growing numbers of employers and non-amateur organizations recognize the value of Amateur Radio as an emergency communications resource and encourage their employees to obtain amateur licenses. Also included are guidelines for evaluating the appropriateness of Amateur Radio volunteers providing communications services to commercial enterprises and other entities for which other communications systems are available. "The guidelines are not intended to be the last word on the subject, and surely will not be," observed ARRL First Vice President Kay Craigie, N3KN, and chair of the ad-hoc committee. "The report includes several recommendations for additional steps that the ARRL needs to take to help amateurs and the organizations we serve to better understand the Rules and to ensure that what we do to prepare to be of service in emergencies is consistent with the current Rules." A PROPOSED BUDGET FOR 2010 KI5FJ INCOME 2010 PROPOSED BUDGET (31 Oct 09) 2009 ACTUAL YTD Bean Feed Food 300 375 Breakfast & Drinks 200.00 500 Drinks only Nov & Dec Contributions 250.00 943 Dues 2100.00 (60 paying members) 1995 Education Classes Balance to savings Equip Sales & Raffles 1635 2083 Bank Interest 20.00 20 Other 0.00 TOTAL 4505 5916 EXPENSES $$ = Must Pay $3485 2010 PROPOSED BUDGET 2009 ACTUAL YTD Bean Feed 300.00 296 Breakfast & Drinks 200.00 150 Clubhouse 150.00 734 N5BL Domain Due 09 2014 20.00 50 Education Classes Balance from savings Field Day 50.00 90 Insurance $$ 1050.00 900Projected 100.00 125 NM Emergency Fee $$ 30.00 30 NM Tax Exempt Fee $$ 10.00 10 PO Box Rent $$ 70.00 60 Postage $$ 50.00 75Projected President’s Fund 100.00 207 Property Tax $$ 1100.00 1070.46Projected Repeater Maintenance 100.00 523 Electricity $$ 500.00 430Projected Propane $$ 500.00 550Projected Water $$ 175.00 200Projected TOTAL 4505 4759 Projected 2010 Treasurer’s Projections for Balance INCOME 4505 EXPENSES 4505 NET Balanced Budget !! OCTOBER TREASURER'S REPORT KI5FJ INCOME BUDGET ACTUAL YTD Bean Feed Food 400.00 375.00 Breakfast & Drinks 600.00 535 Contributions 250.00 994.44 Dues 2000.00 2245 Education Classes 850.00 1208.13 * Equip Sales & Raffles 1845.00 2158 Bank Interest 30.00 Other 0.00 TOTAL 5975.00 7515.57 EXPENSES BUDGET ACTUAL YTD Bean Feed 300.00 296.72 Breakfast & Drinks 400.00 199.96 Clubhouse 400.00 734.91 N5BL Domain Due 09 2014 20.00 Education Classes 850.00 929.03 * Field Day 150.00 90.42 Insurance 1000.00 Misc 100.00 157.92 NM Emergency Fee 30.00 30.00 NM Tax Exempt Fee 10.00 30.00 PO Box Rent 60.00 60.00 Postage 100.00 37.56 President’s Fund 75.00 207.17 Property Tax 800.00 Repeater Maintenance 600.00 523.70 Electricity 450.00 410.53 Propane 500.00 306.30 Water 150.00 147.78 TOTAL 5995.00 4162.00 AS OF 31 Oct 2009 INCOME 7515.57 EXPENSES 4162.00 NET +3353.57* 279.10 for 2010 Classes OFFICERS Pres Perry Welch KC5HFJ SK VPr Cash Olsen KD5SSJ 382-1917 kd5ssj@arrl.net Sec Jack Lemons N5PK 644-7207 jack_N5PK@hotmail.com Treasurer Joe Ostrowski ki5jf@arrl.net BOARD Communications Henry Schotzko AD5FE 526-1922 schotzko@comcast.net Education Evan Salazar KE5ZRZ Special Events Kevin McNelis K5KMC 571-7326 kmcnelis@nmsu.edu Newsletter Alex Burr K5XY 522-2528 k5xy@arrl.net Clubhouse Bob Bennett AD5LJ 382-0148 rpbennett1@comcast.net Repeaters Robert Truitt KE5OFK 649-4173 robtruitt@zianet.com JOIN THE CLUB To join the Mesilla Valley Radio Club, renew your membership, or to support the repeaters, please complete the form below and send it with dues ($35 single, $45 family per year) to: Treasurer, MVRC, Box 1443, Las Cruces, NM 88004. Name: Address: Call: Class of License: Phone: E-Mail Address: ARRL Member? Yes? No?