THE PREZ SEZ
Well, here we are with another New Year started. It was great to see everyone at our January meeting and boy what a turnout we had! I think we set an attendance record for a January meeting with 21 folks present; what a room full of energy we had!! Looks like everyone was ready to jump-start the year and a lot of new ideas were flowing.
This looks to be a year of new ideas and activities for the RCARC. Speaking of new and of energy, in the next few weeks we will see some changes made in the FCC license requirements with the elimination of the Morse code for all classes of amateur radio license. With the new rule changes, we are expecting new members and lots of new energy. When you couple all of this together, this is a sure sign of growth and strength for the RCARC!
Let's all join in on the new and the energy that will make our Club thrive. Take just a short time each day to promote our hobby to new folks. Help us promote our Club to those that may benefit from it. This will also allow the club to benefit from their interest and enthusiasm.
"Talk-It-Up"!! "Ham-It-Up"!!
Look forward to seeing each and all at our February meeting.

73 Dal W4YQY

ARRL AFFILIATED - The RCARC is an affiliated club with the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL). Please visit their website www.arrl.org to get a complete listing of the benefits available to the club and it's members. -Consider joining or renewing your ARRL membership through the club since a portion of your payment will be received by the club. Help the club and be a part of the largest Amateur Radio organization in the world! Contact Dal Williams, W4YQY for more information.

Sky Warn - Rockingham County is a member of the National Weather Service in Blacksburg, Va. Skywarn Weather Spotters (and all amateur radio operators) encountering sever weather, are encouraged to monitor, and make reports to the net control on 147.03 repeater. When; "Watches or Warnings" require net activation. The 146.85 and 147.345 repeaters will be programmed to state; "SEVER WEATHER ALERTS". The 147.03 repeater is one of several the Blacksburg office will activate when sever weather requires gathering weather reports from our county.

NOAA WEATHER RADIO BANDS
CHANNELS FREQUENCIES
1. 162.400 WXL42 Winston Salem NWS, PIEDMONT AREA.
2. 162.425
3. 162.450
4. 162.475 WXL60 BLACKSBURG NWS, ROCKINGHAM COUNTY.
5. 162.500
6. 162.525
7. 162.550 WXL58 RALEIGH NWS, PIEDMONT & CENTERAL N.C.

A Nation-wide network of radio stations broadcasts continuous weather information from nearby NWS offices. You can get weather 24 hours per day. NOAA weather radiois the best way to receive warnings from the National Weather Service. It's best to have a battery back up, and SAME (Specific Area Message Encoder) that will alert you when a watch or warning is issued for Rockingham County. Complete information at NOAA's website http://www.weather.gov/nwr/

RCARC club meeting:
The Rockingham County Amateur Radio Club meets on the third Tuesday of each month at the American Red Cross located at 3692 NC Hwy 14, south of Eden. The meeting starts at 7:00pm and everyone is welcome. Any changes in date and/or time will be announced at the club meeting prior to the change and on the scheduled Monday night RCARC 2 meter net. Next meeting is February 20th 7pm. Please plan to attend!

Local nets:
Monday 8pm - RCARC 2 meter net…. 146.850MHz 103.5 tone
The RCARC net is held weekly. We will use the 147.345 MHz 103.5 tone machine should the 146.850 machine be unavailable.
Your support is needed to insure that the club net is conducted each week to provide net business and announcements for members of the Rockingham County Amateur Radio Club.
Please consider volunteering to be net control on a regular basis or as needed, (note, you can try it once to see if you like it). Mike, KD4CSJ, and I would be glad to let you have the net when we are scheduled to call it. Mike or I will be glad to provide assistance or answer your questions about being NCS.
Don't wait for someone else to do this service for your club, VOLUNTEER YOUR SUPPORT NOW! - Jamey, K4RVJ

Tuesday 7:30pm - 440 rag-chew net…. 443.975MHZ no tone
This net meets each Tuesday night except the third Tuesday of the month which is the regularly scheduled RCARC club meeting

Wednesday 8pm - 10 Meter rag-chew net…28.450 usb.
Charles Davis, K4SWB is net control of this weekly Virginia/North Carolina ragchew net.

Thursday 9pm - ARES net…147.030MHZ 118.8 tone
The Rockingham County ARES net is a directed net for ARES members but all licensed amateurs are encouraged to check in.

Socials:
RCARC social - Everyone loves to eat so mark the first Saturday of each month and bring the family. We gather at 6:00pm at the Sirloin house, 207 S. Van Buren Road in Eden. Lots of good fellowship and food is guaranteed! Any changes to the date/time/location will be announced on the Monday RCARC club net. The next social will be February 3rd.

Thursday breakfast - Join us every Thursday morning between 7am and 7:30am at Chaney's Restaurant on Freeway Drive in Reidsville. You can catch any changes on the Monday night RCARC 2 meter net on the 146.850, N4IV repeater.

Sunday - 8:30pm..…Southern Alamance Net………………146.670 no tone
Sunday - 9:00pm..…Greensboro News & Information Net…145.150 100tone
Sunday - 9:30pm…..Central N.C. Traffic Net……… ……….146.820 no tone
Monday - 8:00pm…. Randolph County Net…………………147.255 no tone
Tuesday - 8:00pm..…Burlington ARES Net…………………146.670 no tone
Tuesday - 8:30pm…..Triad Skywarn Net…………………….147.255 no tone
Wednesday - 8:00pm..Roanoke Amateur Club Net…………..146.985 no tone
Wednesday - 8:30pm..Forsyth County ARES Net……………145.470 100 tone
Wednesday - 8:45pm..Greensboro Amateur Society Net……..145.250 88.5 tone
Thursday - 9:00pm…..Guilford County ARES Net…………..145.150 no tone
**Daily nets***
5:30am………………..Possum Trot Net………………………147.225 no tone
2:30pm……………….Vag-A-Bon Net………………………...145.470 100 tone
7:30pm………………..Tarheel Emergency Net (ARES)………3.923 lsb

Socials:
RCARC social - Everyone loves to eat so mark the first Saturday of each month and bring the family. ****NOTE**** The social will deviate from it's normal meeting place and location for February ONLY! We have been invited by the Boy Scouts to join-in their annual BBQ dinner to be held at the First United Methodist Church, 1520 S. Scales St. in Reidsville at 6:00pm. The church is across the street from the Penn Rose Mall. The cost is $6.00 per person and will be served in the "Fellowship Center" located in the basement. The scouts will set aside some tables so we can sit as a group. The social will be February 3rd.

Thursday breakfast - Join us every Thursday morning between 7am and 7:30am at Chaney's Restaurant on Freeway Drive in Reidsville. You can catch any changes on the Monday night RCARC 2 meter net on the 146.850, N4IV repeater.

February 3rd : South Carolina State Convention - Ladson, SC (Charleston) http://www.wa4usn.org
February 18: Virginia State Convention - Richmond, VA, http://www.frostfest.com
February 25: Winterfest 07 - Annandale, VA, http://www.viennawireless.org
March 10-11: North Carolina Section Convention/Charlotte Hamfest, http://www.w4bfb.org/hamfest
March 25: Down East Hamfest, Kinston, NC,
April 1: North Carolina State Convention/Raleigh Hamfest, Raleigh, NC, http://www.rars.org/hamfest

IT'S OFFICIAL! MORSE CODE REQUIREMENT ENDS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23
Friday, February 23 is the date! That's when the current 5 WPM
Morse code requirement will officially disappear from the Amateur Radio
Service Part 97 rules. Effective that date, applicants for a General or
Amateur Extra class Amateur Radio license no longer will have to demonstrate
proficiency in Morse code.
An applicant holding a valid Certificate of Successful Completion of
Examination (CSCE) for Element 3 (General) or Element 4 (Amateur Extra)
credit may redeem it for an upgrade at a Volunteer Examiner Coordinator
(VEC) exam session. A CSCE is good for 365 days from the date of issuance,
no exceptions. Note - upgrade is not automatic. You must redeem your CSCE at a VEC session and PAY the normal VEC examination fee!
The new rules also mean that after February 23rd, all Technician licensees,
whether or not they've passed a Morse code examination, will have CW
privileges on 80, 40 and 15 meters and CW, RTTY, data and SSB privileges on
10 meters. Once the new rules go into effect Technicians may begin using
their new privileges without any further action.

NEW VANITY CALL SIGN PROCESSING HIATUS CONTINUES
The Commission has stopped processing new vanity call sign applications while it
modifies the software that handles vanity applications. The suspension,
which does not affect vanity call sign renewals, resulted from a new Amateur
Radio Service rule that went into effect December 15 to discourage the
filing of multiple applications by one individual for the same call sign on
the same receipt day.
The FCC continues to accept vanity call sign applications. However, these applications will not be processed until software changes in accordance with the recent rule making have been fully implemented.

Rockingham County VE Testing
The Rockingham County VE Test team conducted a test session on January 27th at the Eden public library. The outcome of the testing was one new ham, Sylvia Mosser (xyl of Terry, KF4KPM), and two hams who upgraded. This was the last session where Morse code would be administered by the VEC team.
With the FCC recently announcing the dropping of code, we expect to see an increase in people upgrading or testing for their first license. Therefor, it was decided to conduct an additional session February 24th, the day after the rule making goes in effect. This session, is in addition to the regularly scheduled VEC testing which is held on each odd numbered month. The exams are given at the Eden branch of the Rockingham County Library located 598 South Pierce Street in Eden, NC. Registration begins at 9:00am with testing starting at 9:30am. Be sure and read what you need to bring and fee on our website link: http://www.rcarc.com/vesched.html

Please note that the Special Exam Session on Feb 24 will be held at the American Red Cross on Hwy 14. We will return to the Eden Library on our normal schedule in March.
RCARC 2007 Hamfest
The first Hamfest committee met January 13th to continue planning for the 2007 RCARC Hamfest to be held on May 12, 2007. Calvin mentioned we'll be seeking more sponsorship than in years past. It was also decided not to have a VEC test session during the hamfest. Help is needed getting door prizes and getting the word out. The next committee meeting will be February 17th at 2:00pm at the Red River Grill in Eden. The meeting is open to anyone interested in attending. Show up
at 1pm if you want lunch before the meeting. Please go the website and download this year's flyer at http://www.rcarc.com/2007Flyer.doc

Operating
Solar update:
This week (January 18-24) saw lower sunspot numbers (seven points
lower, on average) than the previous week. Geomagnetic numbers were
also lower, especially the past few days. January 22 through the
first hours of today (January 26) at all latitudes had K index
readings of 0 or 1.
Sunspot numbers for January 18 through 24 were 23, 15, 31, 18, 23,
18 and 15 with a mean of 20.4. 10.7 cm flux was 76.8, 76.3, 78.8,
78.6, 78.5, 79.3, and 80.4, with a mean of 78.4.
Even though cycle 24 has begun, we continue to see low numbers of sun spots which is typical as one cycle ends and replaced by the magnetically opposite new one. It will be many months before we can expect to see any indication of improved conditions.

For more information concerning radio propagation, see the ARRL
Technical Information Service at,
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html.

Ever wonder how to make sense of the solar update information? Here is a very brief explanation:
The sun emits electromagnetic radiation and matter as a consequence of the nuclear fusion process. Electromagnetic radiation ionizes the F, E and D region of the Earth's atmosphere. Solar matter (which includes charged particles--electrons and protons) is ejected from the sun on a regular basis, and this comprises the solar wind. On a "quiet" solar day the speed of this solar wind heading toward Earth averages about 400 km per second.
The sun's solar wind significantly impacts Earth's magnetic field. Variations in Earth's magnetic field are measured by magnetometers. There are two measurements readily available from magnetometer data--the daily A index and the three-hour K index. The A index is an average of the eight 3-hour K indices, and uses a linear scale and goes from 0 (quiet) to 400 (severe storm). The K index uses a scale that goes from 0 to 9 (with 0 being quiet and 9 being severe storm). Generally an A index at or below 15 or a K index at or below 3 is best for propagation.
Sunspots are areas on the sun associated with ultraviolet radiation. Thus they are tied to ionization of the F region. Sunspots come and go in an approximate 11-year cycle. The rise to maximum (4 to 5 years) is usually faster than the descent to minimum (6 to 7 years). At and near the maximum of a solar cycle, the increased number of sunspots causes more ultraviolet radiation to impinge on the atmosphere. This results in significantly more F region ionization, allowing the ionosphere to refract higher frequencies (15, 12, 10, and even 6 meters) back to Earth for DX contacts. At and near the minimum between solar cycles, the number of sunspots is so low that higher frequencies go through the ionosphere into space.
The daily sunspot number, when plotted over a month time frame is very spiky. Thus a more averaged, or smoothed, measurement is needed to measure sunspots. This is the smoothed sunspot number (SSN). Unfortunately this smoothing may mask any short-term unusual solar activity that may enhance propagation. Commensurate with solar minimum, though, is less absorption and a more stable ionosphere, resulting in the best propagation on the lower frequencies (160 and 80 meters). Thus, in general, high SSNs,( smoothed sunspot number ) are best for high-frequency propagation, and low SSNs are best for low-frequency propagation.
Most of the disturbances to propagation come from solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). The solar flares that affect propagation are called X-ray flares. X-ray flares are classified as C (the smallest), M (medium size), and X (the biggest). Class M and X flares can have a progressively adverse impact to propagation. This type of flare can cause the loss of all propagation on the sunlit side of Earth due to increased D region absorption. These types of flares can disrupt satellites and power grids. For a complete explanation visit the website http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/k9la-prop.html

About the Newsletter:
This newsletter is published monthly by and for the members of the Rockingham County Amateur Radio club, and friends. An email of the newsletter is available by letting the editor know in advance. Please let the editor know of your change of address! Your suggestions, articles and questions are always welcomed.
Paul Patterson (N4CE) 336-548-2027, n4ce@rcarc.com

RCARC MINUTES MEETING JANUARY 16, 2007

The RCARC meeting started at 7:01pm and ended at 8:11pm.
-President, Dal Williams opened the meeting.
-Introductions were made by the 21 members or guests present.
-Minutes from the December meeting were read by Paul Patterson and approved by the members present.
-Treasurer's report was given by Tim Walker. Income: Club has received 10 membership apps since last meeting. Expenses include office supplies and insurance. The Capital account as of January 15th was $1,701.03. The General account as of January 15th was $2,009.84. Total assets - $3710.87.
----Committee reports:
-Technical - Dal Williams stated that the 146.85 repeater is going to be sent back for repairs since it has been determined that the loaner repeater is working ok on site. Dal reminded people to be careful of open mics.
-Program - No program for this month's meeting. Frank informed the club that due to health he would not be able to continue coordinating programs.
-Membership - None
-Club Publications - Paul Patterson has assumed the duties of getting out a monthly newsletter for the club.
-Historian - Paul Patterson said he will make a free copy of the RCARC 2006 DVD for anyone interested.
-Budget committee - George Brewer turned in the 2007 budget based on data from the club treasurer.
----Old Business:
-Audit Report committee - Tom Uhlman informed the club that the committee did NOT find any discrepancies from the previous year.
-Hamfest - Calvin Chandler stated that the hamfest committee met on Saturday the 13th. Calvin mentioned that there would be a bigger push for sponsorship this year. Committee will need Phil Smith to be included in the meetings. Next meeting is February 17th.
-VEC - Dal announced that the January 27th testing at the Eden public library would be the last code exam given by the team.
-Dal informed the club that Lemar will have the radio equipment cabinet finished by the February meeting.
----New Business:
-President, Dal Williams presented appreciation plagues to outgoing president, Russ Harrison, WN4NCC and outgoing secretary, George Brewer, WN4LTY.
-Dal stated that the Membership committee chairman position needs to be filled.
-Publicity - Wesley Chandler has agree to head this committee.
-Program Committee - Calvin Chandler will head the Program Committee.
-Paul Patterson will continue to head Historian but looking for assistance.
-Dal advised the club that DJ Barney has been working on the club by-laws revisions.The board will need to review the document before presenting it to the club.
-Dal asked for discussion on how and what our club could do to be more involved in area public events. Ideas such as a simple club trailer equipped with a station could be setup at events (ARES ready), Radio-grams at Christmas time, Riverfest, Applefest, etc.
-Calvin Chandler said that the club is still working on setting up station and club at Morehead high school in Eden.
-Henry, K4UUM invited the club to support the Boy Scouts BBQ dinner February 3rd as our social for that month. Motion was made to have the February Saturday social at the First Methodist church for the Boy Scouts fund-raiser. Motion seconded and carried.
-Dal went over the procedure for ARRL renewal through the Club.
-Frank Rogue made a motion that meeting be adjourned. Motion seconded and passed.

Respectfully submitted,
Paul Patterson, N4CE
Club Secretary