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This is http://icarc.org hosted at n952.ooguy.com



* * * * * * *
* * * * * * * The server has recovered from a disk failure.
* * * * * * * the disk has been replaced and the RAID volumes are rebuilt.
* * * * * * * The second (old) drive will be swapped out shortly (next week,after the next net)
* * * * * * *   Then we'll perform another rebuild (all over again; fun, fun, fun).
* * * * * * *       (AGONIZINGLY SLoooooooooooooW...)
* * * * * * *




Sunday Evening Net

We are looking at some changes in the operation of the Sunday Evening Net to try to speed things up a bit.
KC0JFQ is working, albeit rather slowly, to implement a web-based check-in system.
This would keep the list pared down to those that have checked-in on a regular basis.
A (configurable) period of inactivity would drop you off the list, but checking in would put you right back on the list.

There are also some additions to the net roll.
There are now PDF and Postscript versions of the check-in roll.
These have the save information as they are built when the web page is updated.
These lists are considerably more compact than printing the roll from the web page.
There should be links to them from almost any Sunday Evening Net page.

Local & HF
Nets
That red button, which appears at the top of every web page,
has links to saved net-roll that I have recieved.


A link to the script for the Directed Sunday Evening Net
A link to the Directed checkin roll

A link to the script for the Free-for-All Sunday Evening Net
A link to the Free-for-All checkin roll

Save the filled-in page to a file and send it to KC0JFQ...
Only the .html file is needed, the images directory has the ICARC logo image that is already on the website...




GROUPS.IO and FACEBOOK

ICARC groups.io

Group Email Addresses

A link to the club Facebook page...


Parks on the Air

Getting started in Parks on the Air


(it's still called) Hillbilly Shelter (on Googlemaps!).
18th. Aug 2023
16:00 to 19:00



RF exposure calculator

RF exposure calculator



Odds & Ends (Where are the analyzers?)


Skywarn Net Operations page


Welcome

Welcome to the Iowa City Amateur Radio Club (ICARC) home page,
your information source for Amateur Radio in Iowa City and Johnson County, Iowa.



For complete information about the club, please click on the "About ICARC" topic in the menu bar above. This page contains a great deal of information about the club, including membership requirements, a membership roster, club officers, a brief history, club incorporation documents and by-laws, and details on a wide range of club activities.



You may contact ICARC through this link or by "snail mail" at: ICARC, PO Box 4, Iowa City, IA 52244-0004. (Note: To use the email link above (or email links anywhere on this site), you must have JavaScript enabled in your browser.)



ICARC meetings are normally held at 7:00 PM on the second Wednesday of every month, currently at the First United Methodist Church of North Liberty
Room 203
85 N. Jones Blvd
North Liberty
For current meeting information, please see the "Upcoming Events" section, below. Visitors are always most welcome!



We also have a ICARC
Facebook
page. Please visit us there!



Interested in becoming a member? Please see the "Membership" section on the "About ICARC" page for details and a membership application form.



Click to visit ARRL'S Public Service page Click on the icon to the left to visit ARRL'S Public Service page for more information about Amateur Radio's emergency capabilities.







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Email Notes

Club email is manually handled by sending your traffic here:



I have been getting several bounces with each mailing.
Contact your provider to resolve this.
I'll try to list the providers at fault and the error type here:

I think I can update the management scripts and tools to deal with an arrl alias.
If this works, the scripts will use the arrl alias, if listed in the roster, before the home email.

Upcoming Events

ICARC Meeting Schedule

Scroll down a bit for meeting details!


RF Meeting Outline .
Any meeting presentation pages are linked through the date below.
There is also a link to the ZOOM page where the live presentation may be viewed.
Meetings usually start at 19:00 hours.


Mail Dues to:
        Iowa City Amateur Radio Club
        P.O. Box 4
        Iowa City, IA
                52244-0004
Roster shows when dues have been paid

Upcoming Iowa City Amateur Radio Club Meetings

June 14th. 2023 19:00
        Field Day!!!
First United Methodist Church of North Liberty
Room 203 (Please Use NORTH Door)
85 N. Jones Blvd
North Liberty
Questions: WB0VZK

Pre-Meeting at
        J&A tap in North Liberty
        440 N Dubuque St
        North Liberty, IA 52317

ICARC Next Meeting Program:

        HF Moonbounce!



Zoom Link:
March Zoom Link (David):

----------------------------------------------------
ICARC_Zoom_Meeting_Primer.pdf notes on attending using ZOOM

        DISABLE/MUTE your computer microphone when not talking if you're also listening on the repeater (or we get that delayed feedback)
        DISABLE/MUTE your computer speaker if you're also listening on the repeater (or we get that delayed feedback)
        Enter your CALLSIGN in the name here field



Usual meeting place is:
        The First United Methodist Church of North Liberty
        Room 203
        85 N. Jones Blvd
        North Liberty
Buffet and pizza are, of course, available at this venue. Be sure to watch this web page for late-breaking updates!

Note: Before the meeting, Before the meeting, around 18:00 hours, you are invited to join us for an informal meal and socializing at the J&A Tap in downtown North Liberty across from Reds Alehouse.
J & A Tap
440 N Dubuque St
North Liberty, IA 52317


We hope to see you there!
Please consider bringing a ham guest, either a non-member or an inactive member.

ICARC Meeting Presentations



University of Iowa Amateur Radio Club Meeting

Dec 27th. 1900 hours
Room 309 VanAllen Hall (third floor, middle of building)


Dr. David Andersen presents a seimnar on the theory and use of a 4-square antenna.

Davenport Ham Fest

Saturday August 27th, 2022

South East Iowa Ham Fest

Sunday, October 2, 2022

Next Fox Hunt

6 May 2023
Hickory Hill Park



ICARC
Fox Hunt





2023 Lake Macbride Trail Races

Saturday 15 July 2023 07:00 CDT

The Lake Macbride Trail Races are run on a 25 kilometer course mostly on trails at Lake Macbride State Park.
Some participants will run the course twice (50 kilometers).
The event is on Saturday 15 July 2023.
The 50k starts at 0700 and the 25k starts at 0745.
The race cutoff is at 1600.
Communications volunteers are needed for the water stops, race officials, timing, and medical.
Operations will be similar to the Pleasant Creek Trail Run.
Thank you to the following stations for already volunteering:  K0ECW, KE0WLX, KOCTA, KD6UCE, KD0HUE, K9PYR. 

Fill out form to help!



VE (Volunteer Examiner) Session

NOTE that you will need an FCC issued "FRN" in order to take your license exam!

Obtaining FRN (FCC)
Obtaining FRN (ARRL)
FCC: Universal Licensing System (ARRL)

FCC license fee
From the ARRL WEB pages:
VECs and Volunteer Examiner (VE) teams should not collect the $35 fee at exam sessions.
The FCC fee must be paid online directly to the FCC not to the VE team or organization processing the application form.
VEC and VE team licensing procedures are unchanged.
New applicants will pay the $15 exam session fee to the ARRL VE team as usual,
and pay the $35 application fee directly to the FCC by using the
CORES Payer FRN System (easier to use) or the CORES FRN Registration system.

CORES Payment System

VE Logo

Next
Sponsor: Iowa City ARC & U Iowa ARC
Date: 04 December 2023
Time: 7:00 PM (Walk-ins allowed)
Fee: $15.00
Contact: Richard S. Haendel
(319) 331-6805
Email: rhaendel@q.com
VEC: ARRL/VEC
Location: Van Allen Hall
30 North Dubuque St
Iowa City, IA   52242

VE's:
        Jeff     KI0JP
        David     K0LUM
        Willy     KC0JFQ
        Rich     W3ACO
        Brent     KQ0Y
VE Checklist

Sponsor: Southeast Iowa Hamfest
Date: ????
Time: 10:00 (Walk-ins allowed)
Contact: Bruce C. Dagel
Email: bdagel@machlink.com
VEC: ARRL/VEC
Location: Louisa Cty Fairgrounds
101 Fairgroud Rd
Columbus Junction IA 52738-9999




Sponsor: CVARC
Date: 29 OCT 2022
Time: 16:00 CDT (NO Walk-ins, please call)
Contact: KA0IES, Allan J Butler
Email:ka0ies@arrl.net
VEC: ARRL/VEC
Location: Cedar Rapids Christian Church
727 Collins Rd NE
Cedar Rapids IA 52402-2105
Need usual "stuff" (ball point pen, FEC #, etc.)


when
where


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What is Amateur (Ham) Radio?

This section was suggested by Brownie Girl Scout leader Carla Rodriguez and her daughter Willow. Her Troop has been talking about ham radio in their meetings lately while learning about emergency preparedness and communication skills. One of the girls mentioned that her grandfather and father have been ham radio operators for many years, and all the girls are really interested! We hope you will be, too!



Willow found a great introductory web page, and I am pleased to publish a link to it here:
    alertfind.com/amateur-radio-and-emergency-communications



This web page concludes with a list of many interesting links to other web sites about amateur radio. The first one, which I will repeat here, is this page, published by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL):
    www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio?



My thanks to Carla and Willow for providing the inspiration for this section!



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Special Announcements

Weather Spotter Safety

Skywarn ®  
NWS is now conducting the spotter training via webinar on Tuesday and Thursday



Johnson County Emergency Management has joined Project Lifesaver.

"The primary mission of Project Lifesaver is to provide timely response to save lives and reduce potential injury for adults and children with the propensity to wander due to a cognitive condition."
Adults and children with cognitive issues who are at risk of wandering are outfitted with small transmitters. If it becomes necessary, they can be located with direction-finding devices.
While the transmitters don't operate on amateur radio frequencies, many of the skills amateur radio operators use in direction finding exercises could be applicable.
Johnson County Emergency Management is planning to hold training on Project Lifesaver equipment and procedures soon. 
If you are interested in learning more, please let me know and I will notify you when the training is scheduled.
Thanks, and 73's
-Neil N0SFH (ARES emergency coordinator for Johnson County)



We have provided a page of Weather Spotter Safety information (from the National Weather Service) to remind you of proper safety procedures when you are engaged in spotting severe weather for the Johnson County Skywarn® Net. Please read this information before you become active in Weather Spotting, and review it every month or two during the severe weather season!





Subject: Amateur Radio support for Lake Macbride Trail Races

Good Evening,
This message is going to the Jones County Amateur Radio Club and the Johnson County Amateru Radio Club.
I am Eric Watson, K0ECW, the Cedar Valley Amateur Radio Club Communications Activities Director.
CVARC has been asked to provide communications support for the Lake Macbride 25k and 50k Trail Races on Saturday 15 July 2023.
I'm contacting you to ask if your club members would be interested in helping CVARC support the event.
 
Information on the challenging course around and partially through Lake Macbride can be found here: 
https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=102176&fbclid=IwAR01u02CTxDq8cK3o_IJACmXds4lYsYJZV_BWtGjGAgFNaKIFWlEmutJKBY
The course route is 25k and some of the runners will run two laps.
Ham will be positioned at the Start/Finish, at the water stops, with medical support, shadowing the Officials, in the Timing Tent, and at any potentially dangerous locations along the course.
There is one point where the course crosses a rocky spillway.

Please let me know how to contact your club members if they are interested in helping out.
I will send out a google form by email to capture the volunteers information and capabilities as we get closer to 15 July.

Thanks,
Eric

Eric Watson, K0ECW
Communications Activities Director
Cedar Valley Amateur Radio Club
w0gq.org [w0gq.org]
Eric Watson, K0ECW
k0ecw.ericwatson@gmail.com
319-270-1179

Please Keep Your 2 Meter Radio ON!

2m Radio
To truly make amateur radio a valuable emergency communications tool here in eastern Iowa, and to make our local amateur community more welcoming and open, we must all resolve to keep our 2 meter radios ON, both at home and in our automobiles, at all times (except maybe when asleep!). You should try to monitor at the very least the 146.85 (WØJV) repeater. If you have scanning capabilities on your radio(s), it would be helpful to include the 147.15 Coralville repeater and the national simplex frequency (146.52 MHz) as well. And, if you are so truly lucky as to have a dual-band FM radio, there is some activity on the 444.75 MHz repeater, too.



Let's all give it a try! Keep the radio on, and respond when somebody announces "KØXYZ monitoring". Most importantly, respond to visitors to our community who are looking for directions or just somebody to talk to as they pass through town. We can have a much more enjoyable, open and friendly hobby if we all will simply have QSOs with other local hams or travelers as they pass by on the Interstate. It doesn't have to be a half-hour "rag chew" -- short "How are you today?", or "Can you believe this weather?" QSOs are often quite adequate.



So, how about it? We'd love to hear you on 2 meters!



ARES RESOURCES

ARES: Amateur Radio Emergency Service http://www.arrl.org/ares/

FEMA Independent Study Program
        https://training.fema.gov/is/

CERT: Community Emergency Response Team
        https://www.ready.gov/cert/



MARS

MARS: Military Auxiliary Radio System
        https://www.mars.af.mil

Military Auxiliary Radio System
MISSION - The United States Air Force Military Auxiliary Radio System provides contingency communications support on behalf of the men and women of the Department of Defense and other U.S. Government users in support of their important and diverse national security missions whenever, however and wherever required..
VISION - To support the Department of Defense and U.S. Government in any manner ... www.mars.af.mil Military Auxiliary Radio System
        Home [www.mars.af.mil] MISSION - The United States Air Force Military Auxiliary Radio System provides contingency communications support on behalf of the men and women of the Department of Defense and other U.S. Government users in support of their important and diverse national security missions whenever, however and wherever required.. VISION - To support the Department of Defense and U.S. Government in any manner ...
        http://www.mars.af.mil[www.mars.af.mil]



QSO Today

https://qsotoday.vfairs.com
Register and then login.

Davi K0LUM



Share a Radio Program

If you have never been on HF and would like to find out what all the excitement is about, the Share a Radio program provides a way for you to become acquainted! Share a Radio allows hams who have little or no HF experience or who do not currently have an HF station to team up with hams who do have HF stations for a demonstration or to get some time on the air. When visiting a station, you may use your own call sign and log while operating under your own license class privileges; or with the station owner as control operator, you may enjoy the "Extra Class" experience. Please visit our Share a Radio page for more information!





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For Sale...

Post your ad here!

Contact the webmaster through one of the email links on this page.

Offered by John Canady: W0JWC



Updated 08 Mar 12:45

I would like to sell a Yaesu MH-31 microphone that I no longer need. 
$20 or best offer It came from an old 817 unit I had that went belly up but the mic was always good so I think it should be fine. 
If it is not I will give the buyer their money back.
my email is drjohn@johncanady.com Thanks.
John Canady
W0JWC







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Features

W0TER Lowells interview as he approaches his 100th.

https://www.kcrg.com/2023/03/13/wwii-veteran-iowa-city-will-turn-101-st-patricks-day/

PJ2T

PJ2T Scores from Richards (W3ACO) latest DXpedition!

Interesting Battery Chemistry Notes

From David: Everything you need to know about Lithium Batteries - QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo 2020

Real-Time Propagation Information

 Solar X-Ray Flux: N3KL Down?
 Geomagnetic Field: N3KL Down?

Solar-Terrestrial Data
Click to visit GOES X-ray Flux (5 minute data)   Click to visit 3-day Estimated Planetary Kp-index Monitor

For weekly propagation bulletins, please visit the ARRL's W1AW Propagation Bulletins web page. A new bulletin is posted every Friday. Also, N6RT's excellent Propagation page is a great resource.



DX Code of Conduct

Click to visit DX Code of Conduct
(The following is from the DX-Code web site. This should be required reading for everyone who chases DX. Please read and heed these rules -- or, even better, a copy of the Code in PDF format is available here for you to print out and hang over your operating desk! Just think how much more pleasant DXing would be if only everyone followed these rules!)



It is no secret that the on-the-air behavior of hams, especially in pileups, has gotten worse in the last few years. Unpleasant, uncivil, impolite behavior of our fellow hams reduces the enjoyment of our hobby.



It does not have to be that way nor should it be. Impolite behavior is counter-productive and simply inconsistent with the aim of our hobby, to have fun.



Just as we work to improve our technical skills, we should all aspire to hold ourselves to the highest ethical operating standards. This Code is a reminder of the high ideals of which we are all capable.

  • I will listen, and listen, and then listen some more.
  • I will only call if I can copy the DX station properly.
  • I will not trust the cluster and will be sure of the DX station's call sign before calling.
  • I will not interfere with the DX station or anyone calling him and will never tune up on the DX frequency or in the QSX slot.
  • I will wait for the DX station to end a contact before calling him.
  • I will always send my full call sign.
  • I will call and then listen for a reasonable interval. I will not call continuously.
  • I will not transmit when the DX operator calls another call sign, not mine.
  • I will not transmit when the DX operator queries a call sign not like mine.
  • I will not transmit when the DX station calls geographic areas other than mine.
  • When the DX operator calls me, I will not repeat my call sign unless I think he has copied it incorrectly.
  • I will be thankful if and when I do make a contact.
  • I will respect my fellow hams and conduct myself so as to earn their respect.
For a detailed discussion of the Code, please visit DX-Code.org.



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What's New?

News of the day.

Changes to the membership roster

I received a bit of memorabilia from Tom Nelson along with his yearly renewal. THis looks to be of some interest, so I added some hooks to the code that creates the membership roster web page to link to additional content.
If you scan down the list, note that all the callsigns show up as hyperlinks. This hyperlink will take you over to their QRZ web page.
What is added is the capability to add a link in the Name column and in the City column. A couple of the entries have links to pictures or images that you might find interesting.
If you would like me to add some content, send it to the ICARC email address and I'll try to accommodate it.
-W

3Y0J Dxpedition to Bouvet Island, January/February 2023

Press Release from the Intrepid-DX Group
As we completed our successful VP8STI-South Sandwich and VP8SGI-South Georgia DXpeditions in 2016, we began to plan for our next Dxpedition. Our target is the Norwegian Island Bouvet. This is the #2 most wanted DXCC entity.
At this time, it gives us great pleasure to announce that we have joined forces with Intrepid Norwegian DXpeditioner Ken Opskar-LA7GIA in our quest to activate Bouvet.
Together, in January 2023, 14 men will board the Braveheart in Capetown and make the treacherous voyage to Bouvet. We will plan to spend twenty days at Bouvet and weather permitting, we plan to have 14 to 16 good days of radio activity.
This will be an arduous and expensive mission. Our budget is $764,000 USD and the 3Y0J team will fund much of this mission. We desperately need the global DX Community to support our mission and help us make this important activation of the #2 most wanted DXCC entity. It is only through this kind of support that we can achieve our mission of making 100,000 contacts or more from Bouvet.
We plan to make best use of Propagation and Modes on 10-160 meters.
We pledge to assemble the strongest team possible and to use good operating practices to optimize your ability to reach our stations. We are confident that the Braveheart crew can get us there and back safely.
In closing, we especially wish to recognize and thank the Northern California DX Foundation and the International DX Association as our premier donors. Without the support of the NCDXF and INDEXA, operations to the world's rarest entities would not be possible.
You can follow our plans from our website and the 3Y0J Facebook pages:
http://www.3y0j.com [www.3y0j.com]
https://www.facebook.com/groups/901378553769436 [www.facebook.com]
  Thank you,
Paul Ewing-N6PSE Co-Leader
Kenneth Opskar-LA7GIA Co-Leader
INDEXA is a proud supporter of the 3Y0J DXpedition to Bouvet!
73 - Bob Schenck, N2OO
        INDEXA President

Interesting Science Article

This link was provided by Dr. William S. Kurth
(Bill has been the main science investigator at Iowa on both Voyager missions, Cassini, and Juno)
Ham Radio Forms a Planet-Sized Space Weather Sensor Network - Eos

MORE Radio DF toys!

Another project is in the works, this one a receiver dedicated to radio direction finding in the 2M or 70cM bands.
The Presentation material from the October 2020 Meeting is linked here.

Video Conference Initial Testing

We are rolling out (or at least giving it a try) a video conferencing system for the monthly meeing.
This, we hope, will allow us to present an interesting program, much as we would at our (seemingly ancient) face-to-face meetings.


We plan to use the Sunday evening net to stress test the system prior to having it in active use for the August Meeting.


Links to the video conference may be found near the top on the primary ICARC web page.
Clicking on the Sunday Evening Net Link will take you to the Local & HF Nets page where the actual link to the video conference meeting.
Please let us know how it works for you.


Meeting Location Information

Meeting Location Changed to The First United Methodist Church of North Liberty
        Room 203
        85 N. Jones Blvd
        North Liberty



Web pages status

I am working slowly to make these pages html 4.01. If you refresh and get garbage, or no response, try again in a few seconds.
I'm also working to increase the contrast of the page.



The web server does not serve encrypted pages (https: will not work).



Other odds & ends

  • Antenna Analyzer
    • MFJ 249: K0GH - Business Radio, Coralville
    • AA230: KE0QKF - Mike, Iowa City
    • For those that found Coralvikki, please let us know where you found it :-)
  • March 2020
  • February, 2020:
    • UIARC Monday Technician Classes
    • 172 VAN 18:30
    • Runs until 06 APR
  • December 18, 2019:
    • Web pages have moved over to KC0JFQ server.
  • December 11, 2019:
    • Election of Officers
  • October 29, 2018:
    • Added a new "What is Ham Radio?" section. See above...
  • July 4, 2018:
  • VEC Session
    • WAARC is testing 14-Feb, make contact so they can prepare it all.

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Quick Link to QRZ.com callsign lookup

QRZ callsign lookup:  

Callsign lookups provided by qrz.com



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Last updated 26 Apr 2021 by KC0JFQ
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