I called Denny Hahn the other day and left a message on his voice mail.
I told him that we could commit to Armed Forces Day on May 20th. We
have at least 3 volunteers (including myself), 2 leaders, and a radio
with an antenna to participate in the cross-band communications tests
with military stations (including copying a special digital message from
the Secretary of Defense at the end of the day). We should also have
enough General-class operators if the 2 or 3 SACMARC members planning to
take FCC Element 3B pass it before April 15th. I appreciate others
checking their schedules and letting me know about prior plans keeping
them from attending either of the proposed events.
I told Mr. Hahn that we liked the idea of participating in Family Day at
the SAC Museum (which is scheduled for April 6th this year) in
principle, but at the present time we felt we didn't have the manpower,
planning, or technical capabilities to do a good job. Some of the
special challenges in having a Family Day demo or presentation would
include:
1. Appeal to a younger audience (many of whom are jaded by the
ubiquitousness of cell phones and beepers and would likely be
unimpressed by plain wireless communication in and of itself)
2. Lack of a national operating event (like Armed Forces Day, or the
September USAF Anniversary QSO Party) that would give us an existing
on-air HF radio audience of military and/or veterans.
3. Lack of sufficient coverage in the Ashland area for the current
Automated Position Reporting System (APRS) digital repeater
network.
4. Lack of volunteers and equipment to do other techniques like amateur
satellites or television.
Some of these challenges could be overcome in the future, which is why I
asked him to keep us in mind for future Family Days.
Now that we have a good base of promised participation for the Armed
Forces Day activity, others who do not wish to take a leadership role
may now volunteer. If you are available (Saturday, May 20, 2000 anytime
from 9 to 5 PM), please let me know as soon as possible.
73, Paul, K3FU
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