Early TV Techniques and History will be the subject of RaRa’s annual and popular Old Timers Night, May 2nd at 8:00 p.m., featuring Ed Gable K2MP/W2AN.  In the March, 2003, RaRa Rag, Ed told the story of the successful recreation of the 1928 event where John Logie Baird sent the first television signal across the Atlantic.  John Baird is credited with the growth of television from those early days, but he was not alone as experimenters were busy in the US, Germany, France, and Russia independently making similar progress.  You will learn of that, more of the 1928 event recreation and other interesting facts from the very early TV days via a slide program and hardware from the AWA Museum.

American Red Cross and Emergency Preparations by Becky McCorry (Dir. of Em. Social Services)
April 4, 8:00 at PM,  Henrietta Fire Hall (this was cancelled due to an ice strom)

     Our speaker at the April 4th RARA meeting is the American Red Cross professional who manages Red Cross Shelters in our area.  She is Becky McCorry, Director of Emergency Social Services at the Greater Rochester Chapter of the American Red Cross.

     Be prepared!  This is more than a Boy Scout slogan.  It is a rule that most successful people follow.  The staff at the American Red Cross are prepared and they help others prepare for life threatening events caused by nature or man.  Unfortunately, we may be caught in events that are beyond our control. We may need desperate assistance.  The American Red Cross helps us with this.  They prepare us to avoid risks during hazardous events and they assist us when events become overwhelming.

     Becky will cover both aspects in her presentation.  She will first cover emergency preparations for you and your family.  For which emergency you may ask?  Well, Becky will cover many events from ice storm to weapons of mass destruction.  The threats of nuclear and biological contamination are more poignant than in past years.  You will find Becky's information very timely.  Secondly, Becky will touch on the operation of emergency shelters in Monroe County.  This is informative to hams from two viewpoints:  as a potential victim who may need shelter or as a volunteer at a shelter.  Additionally, Becky will have comments regarding opportunities for amateur radio operators to participate with the Rochester Chapter.  She will also inform us of interesting courses that most people are not aware of.  These courses are different than the familiar multimedia first aide courses.

Jim Stefano, W2COP, will be demonstating the ability to communicate via voice over your radio or PC, to other hams around
the world using the Internet Radio Linking Project or Echolink PC software.  The conversations are in digital quality audio and
can be one-on-one or one-to-many.  Contacts can be made through your HT, Mobile Radio or PC, to gateways that are linked
to Repeaters or VHF/HF base radios.  There are currently over 85,000 registered users using this Voice over IP technology to
communicate and thousands more casual users.

Amateur radio is flying high at the Rochester Institute of Technology these days. The campus amateur radio club, K2GXT, has
been operating real-time ATV onboard radio controlled model aircraft and a blimp. This has evolved into an ambitious senior
design project by a group of engineering students. Recently the group is involved in developing a 10 ft. model airplane to carry
ATV, GPS, using a packet radio transmitter.

And ATV on a blimp!!! Ever wanted to pilot a blimp and race the Zambian at a hockey game? K2GXT does it regularly, and
efforts are underway to retransmit the live video to a remote location on campus via ATV.

Members of the RIT amateur radio club, Jason Farnung, K2WLK, and Jim Stefano, W2COP, are leading an effort to develop
ATV, and other image and data oriented systems for K2GXT.  Jason is club president and Jim is a staff member with the
Electrical Engineering department.  They, and other members of the RIT club, will attend the RARA meeting, on February 7th,
to give a show-n-tell update of K2GXT activities and to show images from the airplane and blimp.

The traditional joint RARA/Kodak meeting, scheduled for Friday, December 6th, will feature a simulated demonstration by John Gilly, W3OAB/2 and Jeff Tewskbury, N2JQR, of two new "computer enhanced" communication modes used primarily by VHF DXers. These modes take advantage of the digital signal processing capability of the "common" PC sound card; paired with a free shareware computer program called WSJT.  You read that correctly - FREE! - no investment of funds required if you have a PC with a sound card!!!

WSJT stands for "Weak Signal communications, by K1JT".  This program currently supports two digital signaling modes. The first, FSK441, is designed to support communication using the very brief "pings" from meteor trails in the ionosphere.  The second mode, called JT44, is designed for extremely weak but roughly constant signals such as those found on troposcatter, ionoscatter, and Earth-Moon-Earth (EME) paths. Both modes provide very significant improvements in sensitivity over traditional CW.

VHF DX consists of two distinct types of QSOs, one being extremely sporadic (caused by ionized meteor trails) and the other being operation near or below the noise floor (EME etc.). In either case, a specialized mode is used to deal with the particular needs of the type of DX. John and Jeff are hard core VHF contesters from the N2PA multi-op team near Naples, NY. Their demonstration of these two modes will attempt to simulate the conditions under which a meteor scatter or EME QSO would occur. Club members with PSK-31 rig interfaces will be able to experiment immediately when they download and install this software. We hope this will encourage further utilization of our endangered VHF/UHF/Microwave frequency allocations.

Annual RARA Auction  Nov. 1, 8:00 PM,

Auctions have never been this fun!  This year, as in the past, we will have two extremely
knowledgeable and entertaining auctioneers.  Dick Goslee, K2VCZ, and Ed Gabel, K2MP, along
with an expert audio engineer Brad Allen, KB2CHY at the amplifier controls.  These fine amateurs will
amaze you with their knowledge of the equipment they are selling.  Done with great humor and levity
you may think you are attending the "Dick and Ed comedy hour"!  Kidding aside, these guys really
know the ins and outs of radio equipment.  If you have questions about a piece of equipment, ask
these guys before the auction begins.

This auction is a great opportunity to find that elusive and inexpensive piece of equipment you have
been looking for.  Conversely, it's a great opportunity to unload that surplus equipment in your shack.
We ask that you be considerate when selecting the items you offer for sale.

Doors will open at 7:00 PM.  Sellers come early to place your equipment on the tables provided at
the club.  Buyers come anytime between 7:00 and 8:00 PM to preview the selections and plan your
buying strategy.  The auction starts promptly at 8:00 PM.

RARA will assess a 10% fee on each sale.  The seller pays the fee from the proceeds of the sale.  The
seller must come to the treasurer's table as soon as the item is declaired "sold" by the auctioneer.  You
must be a RARA member to gain entrance to the auction or be the only guest of a member.  You can
renew you membership at the auction entrance.  Please respect the auction protocol; NO PARKING
LOT SALES or SALES PRIOR TO THE START OF THE AUCTION.  This event will benefit the
club and is an important fundraiser for paying our bills.  Donations to RARA are tax deductible.

Treat yourself to an entertaining Friday evening with your ham radio friends.  Refreshments will be
available.

     The scout leaders will  present the amateur radio activities they enjoyed while participating in various JOTA's from 1997 (at Camp Dittmer) to the 2001 (Northern Lights District fall camporee, held in Mendon ponds).  There will  slides show of the  Scouts and Scouters enjoying these event.  They will also discuss plans for this years JOTA in Naples, NY

     Closing this talk, we will be playing an audio file that captured the full Horizon to Horizon QSO between the ISS and the K2BSA/5 station at the National Scout Jamboree  held July, 2001, in Bowling Green, Virginia.

• October 19th 2002  JOTA event at Camp Cuttler near Naples.
• Over 1500 kids expected!
• Many amateur radio hands on exhibits are will be displayed Saturday including:
• 
  
      * Hidden transmitter games                        * Satellite station
      * HF station                                               * VHF repeater usage
      * Morse code sending / receiving games     * First aide communications...more.
 
• Need  hams to support the leaders of above activities
• Need  hams to support a massive registration process Friday evening.

FBR welcomed.

When tuning the HF bands one can not escape the strong signals related to religious broadcasting.  For example listen on 9.745, 11.960 or15.115 Mhz and you will know that someone is transmitting some powerful RF.  Our guest speaker Rich Place, WB2JLR will tell you all it about!  Rich volunteered 3 weeks to work at HCJB World Radio in Ecuador.  The place really impressive him and he took a lot of slides with his new digital camera.  Rich writes:

"They've got 45 towers, as high as 450 feet, spread out over 110 acres supporting dozens of antennas.  They've got a dozen state-of-the-art short-wave transmitters, designed and built by missionary volunteers, with powers up to 500 KW.  Then they've got a dam and power plant capable of generating 6 Megawatts electricity to power it all.  As you can tell I get excited talking about it."

April 5, 2002
The Science and Art of Troubleshooting by Ron Jakubowski, K2RJ?

We have another very special program this month.  Do you remember Mr. Ron Jakubowski, K2RJ  He is a Life Member and
Past President of RARA,  a Past President of RRRA, and editor of the RARA Rag in the early 80's.  Ron will join us at our April 5th  meeting at the Heniretta Fire Hall, and present a "killer" program on "The Science and Art of Troubleshooting" or a simpler title, "How to Fix Something that's Actually Broken!"

Ron has many years of experience with troubleshooting equipment through his work experience at Harris/RF, Antenna Specialists, Allen Telecom and TX RX Systems as well as his 40+ years experience with ham radio. He is a past president and life member of RARA and served as editor of the Rag from 1981-86.  While in Rochester, he was also Technical Director of RRRA and is one of its past presidents.  He is now Chief Engineer - RF Systems of TX RX Systems, Inc. in Angola, NY.

Most hams get caught-up in having to troubleshoot a problem with a piece of radio or ancillary equipment which today includes
computers and software.  Problems range from reports of poor audio quality, key clicks and poor antenna VSWR to strange smells and smoke emanating from the equipment!  Before attempting repairs on your own or even sending equipment out for repair, it is important to understand where the problem is occurring and be sure that the suspect equipment is really broken.  A simple example would be replacing the power cord when the real problem is a circuit breaker that is turned off.  This program will challenge you to think in a more-structured way about equipment or systems that not meet expectations. Ron has hints on how to make sure something is really broken before you try to fix it.

This is going to be an excellent program.  Please invite a guest to come with you wheather a ham or not.  This is a great opportunity for anyone with an interest in electronics and repairs.

We have a very special guest traveling all the way from Saegertown, Pennsylvania.  Bernie Fuller, N3EFN is our ARRL
Atlantic Division director.  Bernie usually talks on more than one topic so he will address us on several relating to amateur radio
and ARRL.  As an ARRL Director, Bernie is involved with many topics that we read about in QST.  This is a chance for a very
special and insightful perspective on our hobby.  Bernie is a dynamic speaker who provides a very descriptive and frank
understanding of the topics.   We are fortunate to have him as our guest.

Please spread the word that everyone is welcome to attend this address.  This includes hams, non hams, club members and non
club members.  The only requirement is that you have a interest in the hobby of amateur radio.

Model airplanes.

Are you interested in participating in a VHF contest? Do you Know what the Rochester Cup is? Have you enjoyed contests in
the past?  Well get ready for Jim Howard, N2JMH he will be presenting a wonderful program about roving and vhf contesting.  He will include the January VHF contest and the Rochester Cup that is sponsored by the RVHFG.  Get out, see the snow and socialize with some very friendly ham radio operators.  Don't forget to bring a unique and prized QSL Card to this meeting.

In addition to our scheduled program, we will give Mr Harold Smith, K2HC the floor to intorduce Hamfest this year along with
his new title, what it stands for.  There are opportunities for club members to participate to make this Hamfest the greatest ever.

It's that time of year again for our annual auction, it's so exciting!  As tradition has it, our auctioneers and comedy entertainment
will be hosted by our very own Great Amateur Radio Experts:  Ed Gable, K2MP and Dick Goslee, K2VCZ; accompanied
by Brad Allen, KB2CHY, our Expert Sound Effects and Audio Engineer.  So lets dig out that surplus equipment that's just
sitting in your shack or garage and watch these experts extract the highest bid for your hidden treasures.  This auction is also, a
great way to find that elusive and inexpensive piece or pieces of equipment you have been waiting for but just couldn't get your
hands onto.  Or a nice way for your other half to approve of a purchase or sale or Radio Equipment.

Doors will open at 7:00 PM, so that sellers may come early to place your equipment on the tables; and buyers may come early
to preview the selections and to plan buying strategies.  There will be no regular business meeting this month, so the auction
will start promptly at 8:00 PM.  If you are late, you may miss some exciting opportunities.

Ok, down to business, as you all know we have some very important simple rules to be followed to make this buying and
selling auction a great and fair experience for everyone.

RaRa assesses a fee of 10% on each sale (this benefits the club and is an important fundraiser for paying the bills).  The fee is
paid by the seller from the proceeds of the sale.  Both the seller and the buyer must come forward to the Treasures table as
soon as the item is declared SOLD by the auctioneers.  This is a Members only auction, therefore, you must be a RaRa
member to gain entrance to the auction.  Forgot to pay your dues, don't worry Membership renewals may be paid the night of
the auction!  Each paid member may bring ONE guest to the auction. Please respect the auction protocol, NO PARKING
LOT SALES or SALES PRIOR TO THE START OF THE AUCTION.  As stated before, this event will benefit your club
and is a very important fundraiser for paying our bills.  Don't forget Donations to RaRa are tax deductible!

So treat yourself to an fun, exciting, and entertaining Friday evening with your fellow amateur radio friends.  Doors open at
7:00 PM and auction starts promptly at 8:00 PM at the Henrietta Fire Hall, 3129 E henrietta Road.  As always, Refreshments
will be available!

Our October topic will be on AMSAT presented by Walter Obenhofer, NQ2O.  Walter is our local
AMSAT field Operations area Coordinator.

AMSAT is Amateur Radio Operators who share an active interest in building, then launching and communicating with each
other thru non-commercial Amateur Radio Satellites. AMSAT groups experiment with new and more sophisticated ways of
communicating, which has played a key role in significantly advancing the state of the art in space science, space education and
space communications technology.

AMSAT Area Coordinators are volunteers who serve as AMSAT's ambassadors to the Amateur Radio community.  They
serve in a variety of roles, like making presentations at local hamfests and clubs.  They also serve as local Elmers", providing
technical and operational help to hams in the area.

The RARA picnic starts about 12 noon Saturday, June 16 at the Creekside Lodge in Ellison Park. It's a time for casual eyeball QSO's, sharing food, sharing stories and finding the hidden transmitter.  A door prize will be drawn and prizes will be available for games and finding the hidden transmitter.

We will be at the Creekside Lodge at Ellison Park in the Brighton - Penfield area.  Take the Blossom Rd. exit off Rt. 590 North and drive about 1 mile away from the city.  Parking is at the bottom of the hill, in the large parking lot on the left side (West) of Blossom Rd. There will be a sign.  The lodge is on the other side of the creek. Talk-in will be on the 146.88 repeater.

Bring some food to pass and a friend to share ham radio with.  Soda will be provided at club expense.  Also bring you HT and best body fade technique if you want to find the hidden transmitter.  Lawn chairs are a good idea although ample picnic tables are available inside and outside the lodge.

So you think your antenna is big!  You've got multiple towers, big yagis, and lots of wire.  Well, you ain't seen nothin yet.

For Old Timer's night this year Ed Gable, K2MP and W2AN, will take you back to the days of really really, BIG antennas,
plus a few transmitters to boot.  For example, does your wire antenna have 96 insulators, 400 feet in the air, with each weiging
110 pounds like the one shown in the May RARA RAG?  You'll see this extravaganza, and much more, during the new AWA
slide show prepared just for RARA.

Election of officers will also occur.

Join us at our May 4th RARA meeting and feel the power of an old time radio operation.

The topic at our April 6th meeting is best summarized by Mark Hoffman's (K2AXX) email.

"We are on for April - Myself and N2JMH (Jim Howard) will be teaming up to talk about VHF, VHF Contesting and ROVING!  Jim is our famous rover, who travels around with a 30' tower on top of his van, with 300w on 2 meters! He's got some interesting stories to tell."

Here is you chance to find out.  Our speakers, Mark and Jim are two of those "wild and crazy guys".  They will be addressing our curiosity about this high-energy activity with pictures and stories about the VHF+ bands.

Mark will focus on the VHF bands, their characteristics and uniqueness as he steps from 50 Mhz to light.  He will address what we can expect from VHF+ operation… things like, propagation, band-by-band comparisons of distance & activity.  Mark will cover some typical equipment you'd find at hamfests that can get you on the weak-signal segments. What is VHF contesting like, outside the FM only categories?

Jim will focus on roving with description of equipment, preparations and stories of operating in the corners of those remote grid squares.  How do you get 6-8 VHF+ bands operational in a van?  Can you really operate them all from Watertown, Syracuse, Wellsville and Leroy in one wintry weekend?  Anyone who has tried to operate multibands from just the Leroy Grid Square can relate to the special consideration of this insane accomplishment.

You can get a preview of the topic by visiting the RVHFG web site at http://vhfgroup.rochesterny.org/.  Some of the pictures and stories are located in their online newsletters.
Van side view pic, 97BK
Van in route pic, 47KB
High Res pic, 1.2MB

Our ARRL Western NY Section Manager, Scott Bauer W2LC, will address us at the March 2nd meeting.  The topic might
best be called "The care and feeding of Amateur Radio".  This will be an informal exchange of information between the audience
and our section manager.  It is a golden opportunity for you to gain insight into the ARRL and how it is administered in the field.
It is also one of your best chances to influence the direction of our hobby!  The ARRL has a profound influence on FCC and
international decisions.  You can influence the ARRL.  One of Scott's purposes is to listen to your opinions and arguments.  It
will impact his actions and the messages he carries back to our Atlantic Division Director Bernie Fuller.

Our hobby is still reacting to changes in technology,  life styles, pace of living, global issues and political issues.  Some of the
hottest issues we face are: more restrictions to antennas, possible elimination of CW licensing requirements, elimination of the
Novice and Advanced class licenses, and our shrinking membership… to name a few.  The ARRL has been coping by
adjusting operations and programs.

Do you think that the ARRL is on top of this change?  Are they over reacting, under reacting, following or correctly anticipating
change?  Are you aware of what the ARRL is doing about it?

Scott will be addressing many of these issues.  In some cases the ARRL has clear direction and activities to deal with it.  For
example it actively lobbies Congress and state legislatures to protect hams from antenna restrictions generated by local
governments and homeowners associations.  Also, the ARRL is partnering with companies in the communications industry to
educate schoolteachers about the vocational aspects of amateur radio.  There are many, many more ARRL programs that your
are probably aware of.

The organization is looking for your input on other issues.  For example should ARRL lobby the FCC to eliminate or retain the
CW licensing requirement for HF privileged licenses?  Scott has gathered interesting data about this from 8 clubs in WNY.  He
will share his results.  He has also studied the NYS bill covering antenna restrictions and can give you his insight.  That bill will
be reviewed in the NYS legislature this year. He has many more interesting items to share.

October 1996 was the last time the Monroe County Office of Emergency Preparedness addressed RARA.  George Lloyd,
N2UIO wrote the topic announcement at the time.  His write up is applicable now and is repeated below.
_____

As you all know, the Rochester Amateur Radio Association is mainly a public service oriented club.  Many of us have
participated in a wide range of public service events that the club has involved itself with.  Everything from foot races to horse
shows.  But there is one public service that stands out from them all and I believe is the most important to each and every one of
us.  I am speaking about public safety and our club's role in association with the Monroe County Office of Emergency
Preparedness.

Amateur radio operators have always volunteered to assist the community by providing emergency communications whenever
possible during times of disaster and RARA is certainly no exception.  Many of our members have done just that.  We are all
very fortunate indeed to live in a county that has such an extensive public safety program.

I have invited the Administer of Monroe County's Office of Emergency Preparedness, Muffy Meisenzahl, to visit us and speak
about OEP and the various services that they provide our community.  I think her visit will be a real "eye-opener" for those who
aren't too familiar with OEP and what they do.  I for one have seen the OEP in action last year during the Ginna nuclear power
plant drill and pre drill when I volunteered to participate by sending ATV pictures back to the command center at Westfall Rd.
I was impressed to see what lengths civil servants and amateur radio volunteers go to in order to insure our safety.  This was
and is a prime example of amateur radio serving the community for the common good.

Ms. Meisenzahl will discuss many aspects of the Office of Emergency Preparedness such as the Ginna drills, assorted
emergency services, civil defense and the roll of amateur radio volunteers.  This will be one NOT to miss.  The day may come
when their help will be sorely needed and we should all be ready.  Remember the ice storms?

A tutorial on repeaters and a review of the N2HJD repeater system is the topic of the January 5th meeting.   Bob has been developer and operator of the Megaplex system, the most extensive system of linked repeaters in and around Rochester.

Bob's N2HJD repeater system is all home brew at 10 sites, involving 6 ham bands, 14 controllers, 23 receivers, and 19
transmitters. There is full telemetry, with normal and reverse autopatch along with a link to NOAA weather. Most sites have
emergency power because the system is affiliated with RACES and ARES. This network has evolved since May 1988, is
privately owned and is also affiliated with the Rochester Radio Repeater Association.  About 45 "friends" support this system.
Bob also services commercial repeaters in the area.

What better way to get updated on repeater operation than to get it from the guy who operates them, especially on this
important local system.  Bob will start with a general explanation of repeaters covering the basics including transmitter, receiver,
controller, antennas, services and etiquette.  He will be using the many pictures from his web site.  You can get a good preview
by going to the N2HJD web site.  Beyond that he has some interesting stories about management, repair and operation of these
repeaters.   He also has interesting usage statistics related to local events.

Many local hams support our local repeaters by making annual donations.  The grateful operators respond by giving codes to
the donors that enable hams to access additional repeater services such as auto patches and linking.  Find our how to use
access the telephone, or get time, temperature, keypad verification and functions using your HT or mobile transceiver.

This month’s topic is about teaching radio to 5th and 6th graders.  The Rochester Radio Coaches will share their
experiences gained from teaching students in the Rochester City Schools. This is a joint meeting with the Kodak.  We will
meet at Kodak's Theater on the Ridge and start at 8:00 PM.  Exhibits will be displayed prior to the meeting.

The coaches have a ten-week program that is taught in the classroom.  To date, 4 of these have been delivered to 80
students.  This has involved 2 different schools and 4 classrooms.  Twelve different coaches have delivered segments in the
classroom with 8 other hams involved with the field trips.  Many additional hams and non-hams have supported the
program through donations and special skills.

The Radio Coaches are proud of their achievement and have many stories to tell.  About 8 coaches will participate in this
presentation.  It will give the audience a good feel for what they do and how they do it.  Many of the electricity
demonstrations that they use in the classroom will be described.

The Rochester Radio Coach Program has roots in Presidents' Bush and Clinton's 1998 "America's Promise, the Alliance
for Youth".  The ARRL designed and launched its Radio Coach program shortly after.  The goals and methods that they
use were derived from these programs.  RARA sponsors this Radio Coach program drawing on volunteers in the ham
radio community. The first class was pioneered in the spring of 1999.

This presentation will focus on what they do in the classroom and how they do it.

Annual Auction - at the November 3 RARA Meeting

    Auctions have never been this fun! This year, as in the past, we will have two extremely knowledgeable and entertaining
auctioneers. Dick Goslee, K2VCZ, and Ed Gabel, K2MP, along with an expert audio engineer Brad Allen, KB2CHY at the
amplifier controls. These fine amateurs will amaze you with their knowledge of the equipment they are selling.  Done with great
humor and levity you may think you are attending the "Dick and Ed comedy hour"!  Kidding aside, these guys really know the
ins and outs of radio equipment. If you have questions about a piece of equipment, ask these guys before the auction begins.

This auction is a great opportunity to find that elusive and inexpensive piece of equipment you have been looking for.
Conversely, it's a great opportunity to unload that surplus equipment in your shack. We ask that you be considerate when
selecting the items you offer for sale.

Doors will open at 7:00 PM.  Sellers should come early to place your equipment on the tables provided by the club.  Buyers
come anytime between 7:00 amd 8:00 PM to preview the selections and plan your buying strategy.  There will NOT be a
RARA business meeting so the auction starts promptly at 8:00 PM.  Following are a few rules to keep the auction going at a
good pace and assure everyone is treated fairly.

RARA will assess a 10% fee on each sale.  The seller pays the fee from the proceeds of the sale.  The seller must come to the
treasurer's table as soon as the item is declaired "sold" by the auctioneer.  You must be a RARA member to gain entrance to the
auction.  Membership renewals can be done at the auction.  Each paid member may bring one guest to the auction.  Please
respect the auction protocol; NO PARKING LOT SALES or SALES PRIOR TO THE START OF THE AUCTION.  This
event will benefit the club and is an important fundraiser for paying our bills.  Donations to RARA are tax deductible.

Treat yourself to an entertaining Friday evening with your ham radio friends. Doors open at 7:00 PM.  Refreshments will be
available.

Operating DX is one of the original thrills of our amateur radio hobby.  Now paralleled by chat rooms and Internet phone that
opportunity has been broadened to everyone with an Internet connection.  People without radio equipment can collect contacts
from countries and interesting QSO's from the Internet.  However, to amateur radio operators the thrill is heightened by the use
of our own transceiver, antenna and operating skills.  The thrill is further stimulated by Mother Nature's control of the
ionosphere which adds unique challenges to radio communications.   Timing and frequency selection requires a significant
knowledge of radio wave propagation and the skill to apply it.  QSL cards and DXCC count are a verification of our skill,
character and luck.  Most hams from beginners to advance on LF to UHF share these thrills.

This knowledge and skill is the topic at our October 6th meeting. It is a primer on working DX.  The presenter is a skilled
veteran of DX and DX Contesting, Fred Gern, K2FR.  Fred will be covering the topic including where to listen, how to operate
and QSLing.  There will be a lot of tips.  Although focus is on the new DX operator, it will serve as a refresher for the
experienced operator.  Ed Gable will be available for VUCC and WAS QSL checking.

Come to the RARA meeting October 6th, 8:00 PM, to get primed for DX.  The meeting is at the Henrietta Fire Hall at 3129
East Henrietta Rd. about 0.3 mile South of the Dome Arena entrance.  Know a friend who enjoys the Internet form of DXing?
Invite him to the presentation.  He just might like the added thrill that comes with using radio!
Handouts:
        DXCC List 2000 in rtf format
        K2FR's DX Log Sheet in rtf format
        Call Sign Prefex List in rtf format

A hands-on demonstration of the new and popular digital mode, PSK31 will start this season's meeting program.  Bill Hopkins, AA2YV has prepared this informative program that will have you hear, see and feel PSK31!  (We'll leave the taste to your imagination.)  Bill will describe this digital mode, make HF contacts with it and give you the information that you need to get it going in your shack.

PSK31 has rapidly gained popularity in the past year because of its simplicity.  Most hams have the essentials in their shack… their transceiver and their computer sound card.  You can have it running with a little free software and interconnecting wires.

Another reason for its rapid growth is the intrinsic reliability under adverse band conditions.  People have claimed to have received the message when they couldn't hear the signal.  PSK31 is rapidly becoming the preferred mode for reliable digital HF communications.

Links to PSK 31 resources:
 http://www.qsl.net/wm2u/psk31.html WM2U's website is a good place to begin
 http://bipt106.bi.ehu.es/  The good stuff is all over the world
 http://members.home.net/hteller/digipan/  Download Digipan software, also interface box description
 http://www.packetradio.com/psk31.htm  Schematics of an interface between the XCVR and the PC

April 5th, 2000

Old Timers Night with A.W.A. exhibits.

April 7th, 2000

QRP Equipment review

Steve and Bob are employed by Lockheed Martin in Syracuse, New York. Bob specializes in the design of complex digital
systems and Steve is responsible for the production of high-power, solid state radars. Neither considers themselves a "QR.
expert" but both have been attracted by the ease of construction and the low cost of the hardware involved. Maybe that's
another way of saying that they're "cheap tinkerers."

October 1, 1999

The Four Minute Forecast

September 10, 1999

The Secrets of Railroad Communications OR Communicating on the Iron Road: Then & Now

June 19, 1999

RARA Picnic, Ellison Park (pictures,777KB zip file)

May 7, 1999

RARA’S Old Timers Night  “The Development of Early Radio”

April, 1999

PROJECT PROPNET - CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY

If the band opens, but there is no one there to take advantage of it, what good is it?  PropNET promises to keep us informed of band openings; with the potential of notifying us of the event by pager!  There is no need to rely on the good nature of DX Cluster spotters, because the PropNET system is fully automated.  There is no need for operator or spotter intervention.  Intrigued?  Come to the next RaRa meeting and learn all about it.  You will truly be amazed at what our “local talent“ is contributing to the Amateur Radio Hobby.

March, 1999

SATELLITES,  PHASE III D AND BEYOND

February, 1999

APRS - Amateur Position Reporting System

January , 1999

The World Of Digital Photography

December, 98

Radios in the Cockpit

A great time was had by all as Joe tackled the tough questions of just 'How you find out where you are?' using radio and 'What magic do radar centers use to tell who you are from that little blip on the screen?'  Thank you Joe! And Thank you Kodak Amateur Radio Club for hosting a great evening!
 

Rochester,NY - 12/04/98 -- Hams Recieve Awards At Joint Meeting

(ref Photo: Left to right - WB2BWQ, KB2SOZ, N2UEE, WB2UTI, Bonnie Webster, N2BEL, WB2EFU and KA8WJH)

Fifteen Rochester Area Hams were honored at Fridays meeting for going the extra distance at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) "America's Walk for Diabetes" event in October.  Bonnie Webster, ADA Area Representative,
spoke of the need for amateur radio in public service and the rewarding experiece she has found working with such dedicated volunteers.

Bonnie made presentations to; Al Bowers (N2JSZ), Lloyd Caves ( WB2EFU), Roger Harnaart (WB2BWQ), Bob Smith (N2YRJ), Judy Stonehill (N2KXS), Gil Chapin (WB2UTI), Bob Moore (N2USB), Kevin Reynolds (N2RLY), Ed Mack
(KC2DRG), Aaron Mack (KC2DQQ), Charlie Escriva (KB2SOZ), Joe Walker (KA8WJH), Wynona Walker (N2UEE), George Shapow (NY2O) and Keith Freeberg (N2BEL) with 'Team Work Awards' in recognition of their extra effort in
making the event more successful than previous years.  Al Bowers (N2JSZ), who could not make the meeting due to injury (see seperatePhoto: Rick Wells, Al Bowers, Bonnie Webster (American Diabetes Association Area Representative) was presented his award in a private ceremony.

photo and articles by Keith Freeberg, N2BEL

November, 98

Annual Auction

    This year, as in the past, you will have two extremely knowledgeable and entertaining auctioneers. Dick Goslee, K2VCZ,
and Ed Gabel, K2MP, as well as an expert audio engineer Brad Allen, KB2CHY at the amplifier controls. These fine amateurs
will amaze you with their knowledge of the equipment they are selling or at least their ability to make up some very believable
story about the item up for sale. Don't let the levity and fun of the auction in any way overshadow the fact that these guys really
know the ins and outs of radio equipment. If you have questions about a piece of equipment, ask these guys before the auction
begins.

September, 98

ISDN, The Next Step Beyond 56K

We are looking forward to starting this year’s programs with a presentation by RARA’s own  John Woika, W8JW titled “ISDN, The Next Step Beyond 56K.”  Come and learn if this transportation mode is the right one to replace your old modem.  What does it take to bring ISDN to your house?  How much does it cost?  What is the value of this?  “What’s beyond ISDN?”  John will share the latest with us.

Also, I would like to hear from anyone who has an  idea about a topic of general interest that you would like to see presented at a meeting. Or, if you would consider presenting a program on one of your special interest, please let me know.

June Picnic 98

        Ellison Park provided a lot of shade trees, a flowing stream, and plenty of places to re-fill water guns.  It is common to see wild animals if you go for a quite walk away from the lodge.  Bring you baseball bat, glove and balls and we'll have a ball game.  Hot dogs, condiments, drinks and salad will be provided by RARA.  Don't be bashful.  Be sure to bring your favorite desert to share.

Eating again
Eating
N2YKK & N2ZWF
N2ZWF
W2IC & K2PAM
W2IC & WB2KAO
W2RW at the grill
W2RW
Water balloons
WB2KAO & others
 

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May 98

Annual Meeting & Old Timers Night

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April 98

ARRL Lab programs

o Overview of ARRL Lab programs
   - Advertising acceptance testing
   - Technical assistance
   - Circuit development
   - Evaluating technical materials
   - Technical resource gathering/organization
o QST Product Review process
   - Product selection
   - Ordering
   - Lab testing
   - Reviewing
   - Final product: The QST column

March 98

Alaskan Adventure

Actually, it is Frank Di Stefano, WB2DZF, who has volunteered to delight us with an account of his 4 ½ month trip to Alaska. He traveled throughout the KL7 area last year from May until October. His journey was about 14,000 miles in length.  Hey, Frank, how much gas did your RV burn up at 3 mi/gal or so?

Frank operated HF and VHF mobile during the trip and will show us his setup as well as many beautiful pictures of the scenery along the way.  He very much enjoyed the incredible DX on just his mobile whip from the Yukon Territory.

Frank retired from Kodak in 1988 and enjoys his RV and DXing very much. Please join us at the usual time and place for a fun and informative evening.
by Rick Wells, W2RW

February 98

January 1998

VHF Contesting, the Old Fashioned Way

This is for real. Bob is an accomplished VHF/UHF operator and DXer. He has VUCC on 50, 144, 432 and 1296 MHz, 6 and 2 meter WAS, and also has done 2 m and 70 cm moonbounce. Guess that 6 meter WAS was pretty easy compared to the 6 m DXCC that I have seen on his wall! If anyone has questions about VHF and UHF operating, Bob will be the guy to ask.