We are saddened to note the passing of Bob Fajardo, WA6VOI, a long time member of MARS. Bob passed on February 20, 2015. Bob was a Navy veteran, serving in WW II and Korea, and volunteered on the USS Pampanito submarine. Bob was also associated with training many Marin RACES operators. He is survived by his wife, Eleanor, KA6VEU; his sons Douglas and Robert; and grandchildren. He is missed.
If you have stories about Bob that you would like to share, please send them to us via the Contact form.
John Kenneth Butler KF6GNI passed away on 5 November 2014. He was long a member of our club. He served as our building manager and built the radio shack we use today. He also was a mentor, or as we say in the argot of ham radio an elmer, to many hams in the bay area. Jonathan Westerling N1JLV organized a remembrance of John which took place at the 6 March general meeting. Ashley, John’s daughter and her husband Cody joined us. Both made moving remarks about John and thanked the members of the club for being part of John’s life.
In honor of John the club has created a new award called the John Butler Elmer award to be given to a ham who has done an exceptional job of being an elmer to other hams.
John wished to recognize the members of the club and to that end donated his “Junk Box” of components and many items that he constructed to the members.
The March 2015 Board of Directors has been moved up a week to Thursday, March 05 from March 12.
The 2015 Public Service Season starts soon. Our first scheduled event for MARS is Ridge to Bridge on April 25, 2015.
Our schedule is listed at: Public Service http://w6sg.net/site/?page_id=33
To sign up for any event, please contact Michael Fischer, K6MLF (fischer@igc.net) or Randy Jenkins, KA6BQF (ka6bqf@arrl.net).
To check which events you have already signed up for. go to: Public Service Signups http://w6sg.net/site/?page_id=1965
Just a reminder to everyone that we are starting off the New Year with a great guest speaker.
At the January 2nd meeting we will have Ed Fong talk about the DBJ-1 and DBJ-2 antennas which he conceived about 10 years ago. The theory and design of these antennas appeared in the March 2003 and April 2007 issues of QST. It is also reprinted in the ARRL Antenna Classics Handbook. To date over 9000 have been delivered to hams, Red Cross, Department of Justice, Department of Forestry, various police and fire departments and even the FBI.
Ed Fong was first licensed in 1968 as WN6IQN. He later upgraded to Extra Class with his present call of WB6IQN. He obtained the BSEE and MSEE degrees from the Univ. of California at Berkeley and his Ph.D. from the Univ. of San Francisco. A Senior Member of the IEEE, he has 10 patents and over 30 published papers and books in the area of communications and integrated circuit design. Presently, he is employed by the University of California (previously at Berkeley and presently at Santa Cruz) as an instructor teaching graduate classes in RF design and High Speed interface design. During his 30 year career he has performed worked for Motorola, National Semiconductor, Phillips Semiconductor and Advanced Micro Devices.
Meeting will start at 7:30, but come early for pizza and soft drinks… Ed will have parts available for sale so you can build your own VHF/UHF antenna
Our Thank-You lunch for our Public Service Volunteers is scheduled for Saturday, January 17, 2015, 11:00 AM. All hams who participated in at least one Public Service Event in 2014 and anyone who is interested in participating in public service in 2015 is invited. Public Service awards for 2014 will be presented. Lunch will be served.
Please RSVP to Randy (ka6bqf@arrl.net) or Michael (fischer@igc.com). We want to have enough food.
HR 4969 update from Bob Vallio, ARRL Pacific Division Director:
As we all have discovered, the political process is complex and slow
and the wheels of government are even slower. That being said, our
efforts with HR 4969 have had measures of success; we had hoped to
obtain 30 cosponsors for the Bill and actually ended up with more than
70 cosponsors. ARRL’s advocacy is once again being recognized and
finding support in the halls of Congress.
It took us a while to line up an original minority cosponsor so that a
truly bipartisan bill could be introduced. Even so, we were able to
amass an exceptional and surprising level of support for the Bill.
This will give us a big head start in the 114th Congress in January,
and we have in mind reassembling many of the cosponsors that we had for
H.R. 4969. That will give us the opportunity to obtain a much larger
number of cosponsors for the new Bill.
We were well aware that there was likely not enough time to pass H.R.
4969 in the 113th Congress, but it was urgent to begin the process and
amass the largest showing of support for the good work of Amateur Radio
operators that we could, so as to build momentum for the continuation of
the process in the 114th Congress. So far, we are way ahead of where we
had hoped to be at this time.
Many thanks to all of you who wrote, called, and visited your
Congressional Representatives as we began our travel in the maze of
representative government; your efforts have not gone unnoticed, and
have built a strong foundation for the next phase.
Thank you and 73,
Bob Vallio, W6RGG
Director, Pacific Division
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ARRL Pacific Division
Director: Robert B Vallio, W6RGG
w6rgg@arrl.org
The East Bay Amateur Radio Club has announced an 8-week Technician class beginning January 06, 2015, Tuesday evenings, 6:30PM at the West Contra Costa Adult School, Alvarado Campus, 5625 Sutter St., Richmond, CA. Classes run through March 31. Students may join the class through week 3 (1/20). The Adult School charges a $15.00 registration fee, and the textbook is around $27.00. A VE session will be held at the end of the class ($15.00 test fee). Contact Ken Fowler, KO6NO at: ko6no@comcast.com ko6no.com
EBARC Website School Website: www.wccae.info
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The Salvation Army together with the Mt. Diablo Amateur Radio Club will
be holding a 7 week course where you can learn everything you need to
earn your Technician Class (entry level) FCC Amateur Radio License.
Getting On The Air 2 week course follows.
The Technician Class license is your entry to the world-wide excitement
of Amateur Radio and Emergency Communications, and now you do NOT need
to learn Morse code!
Course begins on Thursday January 15, 2015, at 6:30-9 pm.
The Salvation Army 3950 Clayton Road, (at West St.), Concord 94521.
Registration is required.
Class is FREE but there is a $7 materials fee and Textbook if needed
about $27. Each student must have full access to a copy of the text.
Follow up training and License testing will also be available.
To sign up email: HamRadioClass@gmail.com
Our annual Christmas Party has been scheduled for Wednesday evening, 6:30 PM at the MARS Clubhouse at 27 Shell Road, Mill Valley. (Dinner at 6:30, gather starting at 5:30.) Cost: $25.00 per person, includes food, soft beverages, and door prizes. ( Collected at the door, or pre-pay on the website here.) PLEASE RSVP.
To sign up to help contact Rita Brenden, KG6WPN, Christmas Party Chair. KG6WPN or KA6BQF. Volunteers needed for set up, food prep, & clean up.
Menu: Honey-Baked Ham, Turkey, Pot Roast, Gravy, Whipped Potatoes, Potatoes Au Gratin, Soup, Salad, Stuffing, Vegetables, Desserts, Soft Beverages.
TO ATTEND, PLEASE RSVP TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE by December 10. rsvp@w6sg.net or KG6WPN
Flyer v3: 2014 Christmasparty
Updated 11/26/14
