Meetings & Nets
First Friday Monthly meeting at 7:30 PM at LaPlata Train Station; Net-Tuesdays 8:00 PM on 443.700 MHz, (No PL, TSQL 179.9 Hz)
Once a month social gathering for breakfast –please check the website for schedule
Second Tuesday Commex with the ARES/RACES team Charles County 7:00PM EOC LaPlata
How to Contact Us:
PO BOX 169, La Plata, MD 20646
Web: http://www.qsl.net/k3smd/index.html
President: Art Audley aa3rt@comcast.net
Vice-president: Charles Hallock aa3ws@arrl.org
Secretary: Bill Palmer, catwilpalm@verizon.net
Treasurer: Andrew Davidson rdavidson@aceweb.com
Membership/Activities: Bob Davidson, rdavidson@aceweb.com
Training officer Bob Curran (KE3GG) flyingham@verizon.net
Smoke Signals is published monthly as the newsletter of the Charles County Amateur Radio Club, Inc. Items to be published in the Smoke Signals should be submitted by the Sunday before the first Friday of the month. Email submissions are most efficient msack@verizon.net or mail to Michelle Sack PO Box 1182 Waldorf, MD 20604. Permission is granted to reprint.
Activities:
The Charles County Department of Emergency Services will host a tropical weather training class on Monday, May 14, from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in the County Commissioners Meeting Room of the Charles County Government Building, 200 Baltimore Street, La
Plata, Maryland.
The prerequisite for this class is successful completion of the Basic Skywarn I class. Individuals may register for the tropical weather training class by contacting Ms. Jennifer Adams at 301-609-3430 or AdamsJen@CharlesCounty.org
Hi all, I’d like to get an idea of how many folks would take a class on learning how to program and use the Arduino microprocessors. The class would likely take a few weeks to complete. You would need to purchase the Arduino experimenter board which costs about $40, but if enough people take the class we may be able to get them much cheaper through a quantity purchase. It would be best if you also had a laptop computer to bring to the class as well.
If this is successful we might be able to plan some similar classes for other microprocessors such as the Basic Stamp and the Propeller, or perhaps a class on robotics.
Right now this is in the early stages of planning so I’d like to get some feedback on your preferences for such a class via the questions below.
Do you intend to take the class? (Yes/No)
Would you prefer weekly classes (every Monday for a few weeks) or monthly (the third Monday of each month for a few months)? (Weekly/Monthly)
Do you have a laptop to bring to class or would you need to borrow a computer? (Have/Need to borrow)
Do you have a laptop or desktop computer that could be made available on class night for those needing a computer? (Yes/No)
Thanks, 73, Bob, KE3GG
Hamfests:
Saturday, April 21, 2012 Delaware State Convention
(Delmarva Amateur Radio & Electronics Expo)
Location: Georgetown, DE http://www.radioelectronicsexpo.com
Saturday, May 5, 2012 The Great Hagerstown Hamfest
Washington County Ag Expo Center, 7313 Sharpsburg
Pike (Route 65), South of Hagerstown near Sharpsburg, MD
http://www.w3cwc.org/HamFests.html Contact: Page Pyne, WA3EOP, 204 North Locust St, Hagerstown, MD 21740-4051, Phone: 301-393-8772 wa3eop@arrl.net
Talk-In: 147.090 (+) No PL
I am selling a Yaesu FT-101ZD 160-10 meter HF transceiver, Yaseu FC-901 Tuner, & Turner Super Sidekick power mic. Includes power cord, original FT-101ZD instruction manual, original FT-901 instruction manual, FT-101 service manual, & FT-101ZD Yaesu product flyer. Clean & Very Good condition, $310. Let me know if interested. Thanks!! Jim, W3JTD
March Meeting:
As was advertised, we had a presentation by Patrick and Jean Burke and the topic was the paranormal activity around the various battle fields and even in our own backyard at the Dr. Mudd home.
After the normal rounds of introductions Patrick started out by noting that he has been doing this since a very early age when he realized he was sensitive to the paranormal (as well as his siblings). His goal is not to just point and say “there is a ghost” but to look at the history surrounding the area so that they can represent anything they see not from our modern day view, but from the view of those who were there.
Patrick and Jean noted that much of their research has been around Civil War battle fields as there is always a lot of paranormal activity in these areas and the number of battle sites.
He presented a number of photos, many of them taken from video, showing the apparitions. We were also treated to a video taken at night on one of the battle fields that showed a real person climbing over a small wall as well as the appearance of a ‘ghost’ who was going in the same direction and also stepping
over the same wall. While you may have your doubts, this video may have put those to rest.
The photos taken at the Mudd house were also interesting. Some of us have been there for Scouting related activities and have heard decedents of the Mudd home talk about the strange sounds from the house as well as what they felt were indications of the presence of ghosts.
They have added me to their mailing list and will be sponsoring a
Ghost Walk in the future. As I get the info, I’ll forward it out to the
club for anyone interested. They also noted that if you, or anyone you know, has experienced paranormal activity, you are welcome to contact them to share your story or seek further research.
Afterwards we held a very brief business meeting. As a reminder:
1) Elections are in April. We need individuals to step out and volunteer for a tour in the various positions.
2) If anyone still owes dues, please send them along or pay at the next meeting. The Treasurer has a license now, so he can drive himself to your home to collect!
Other information:
‘Twisted’ radio waves could boost capacity of radio spectrum.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17221490
Read the article (linked below) about the new generation of biodegradable semiconductors being developed to replace silicon technology. http://ke3gg.net/Biodegradable_transistors.pdf
Here is the link for the latest edition of the Sterling Reporter!
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/lwx/reporter/winter_2012.pdf