As president of= SACMARC, I want to add my comments regarding K0AIR
station at air show:
1. This is = a SACMARC club issue, not a BARC club issue.
2. This ite= m is on the agenda for the next SACMARC meeting, June
20, 7:00pm at Wendy= 's. A decision will be made by club members in
attendance.
3. SACMARC = club calls signs can only be used with SACMARC
permission, and only by du= es paid SACMARC members.
George Bellairs, = kb0zzt
SACMARC Presiden= t
------ Original Message ------
_Received: _Thu, 05 Jun 2008 09:10:50 PM CDT
_From: _"Dennis Mitchell \(kc0ykn\)" <kc0ykn@cox.net>
_To: _"'Ron'" <n0pom@cox.net>, "'Bob McCoy'" <bob@mc= coy.net>, "'ken
lemke'" <kclemke@gmail.com>, "'George Bellairs'"= <kb0zzt@usa.net>,
"'John Sheffield'" <n4owg@msn.com>
_Cc: _"'Frank Taylor'" <AA0ZP@juno.com>, "'Mitchell, Den= nis \(FNN
Info Sec\)'" <dmitchell@fnni.com>, "Darwin Piatt \(W9HZC\= )"
<W9HZC@cox.net>, <dpiatt@fnni.com>
_Subject: _RE: Crazy idea - K0AIR station at air show?
All,
It sounds like I've struck = a chord. Let me summarize what appear to
be the key issues and what I see= 'between the lines'.
1 - Authorization to operat= e on base: From Ken's (AC0DQ) comments
that do= esn't look like a problem. It will require paperwork and
coordination, bu= t it's doable.
2 - Authorization to use th= e K0AIR and K0GRL callsigns: We have yet
to hear from Frank (AA0ZP), but = if John's (N4OWG) response is
anything to go by, I think it's a go. John,= thank you for pointing
out the requirement to have a copy of the station= license(s) on site
for legal operations. I'm so used to carrying my lice= nse in my
wallet that I don't even think about _not_ having a license to operate! Proof once again that rookies (such as me) need mentors and
elme= rs to keep out of trouble.
I had already considered th= e need for an explanatory display. That's
part of the charm of the airsho= w. It wouldn't have to be complex, a
lot of the display aircraft have fai= rly simple display placards
themselves. Does SACMARC have any existing di= splay material which
could be used? If not, may we use the information on= the SACMARC web
site in building displays?
I'd also like to have a 'fl= yer' to hand out to interested attendees.
It should include links to the = www.sacmarc.org web site as well a= s
the web sites of other local amateur radio clubs and organizations.
Tha= t would keep it small (economical) but give people who want more
informat= ion a place to go for it.
3 - Authorization to take v= ehicles/radio gear into the air show
area: It's been done before, so it s= hould be doable again. Who can
tell me the process?
If Jim Wescott volunteers t= he use of his RV again this year it would
make an excellent base of opera= tions. Has anyone been in touch with
him on that topic this year? If I re= member correctly, where it was
parked in 2007 there was grass between it = and the fence around the
flightline. Having an awning (or two) to hide fr= om the sun
(hopefully not rain) while operating is a survival essential.<= /span>
The satellite picture in Go= ogle Maps is so old it shows the
construction site that became the fire s= tation. But I think Jim's RV
was on the edge of the pavement right about = here:
http://maps.google.com/maps? f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=offutt+afb&ie=UTF8&ll= 41.118511,-95.919292&spn=0.001827,0.005407&t=h&z=18= . If we
were in that spot again we couldn't complain.
4 - Electricity to operate:= I'd love to have a small generator, even
if just for backup power, but i= f getting a permit for a generator is
an issue, operating off batteries w= orks. I can contribute a 60ah
battery to the collection. I also have a sm= all, quiet, inverter
generator which could be used if permitted. While it= couldn't run all
day on its small tank of gas. It could recharge batteri= es if they
get low. It ran for 4+ hours at the safety fair on less than a= gallon
of gas.
5 - People to man the stati= on: I'm optimistic on this point. I think
Ron (N0POM) is right that it wo= n't take hams away from the normal
air show routine. I suspect it may dra= w more hams to the airshow
because it will be an amateur radio event, not= 'just' a public
service opportunity. And Bob's comment that it's a good = recruiting
tool was just him voicing my thoughts. ;) On that note, we sho= uld
have flyers for amateur radio classes available.
6 - An antenna: It will dep= end a great deal on where we are located
and how much space is available.= I don't think I'm qualified to have
an opinion at this point, but someho= w I suspect that if everything
else comes together we'll be able to cobbl= e _something_ together.
Ideally we should have multiple antenna options j= ust in case the
first doesn't pan out.
7 - Location, location, loc= ation: I don't know how far in advance we
can get a firm grasp of the loc= ation we would be in for planning
purposes. Ron & Ken, you're probabl= y in the best position to find
out that kind of information. Any ideas? <= /span>
8 - The 101 things I haven= 't thought of because I don't have a clue:
{ add your thoughts here }
This morning my e-mail was = "Crazy idea". This evening it's more like
"Credible concept". According t= o my calendar the air show is 10
weeks away. What do I need to do to turn= my idea into "Wow, that was
fun!"?
Dennis - kc0ykn
_________________________________________________________________
_From:_ = Ron [mailto:n0pom@cox.net]
_Sent:_ Thursday, June 05, 2008 4:23 PM
_To:_ Bob McCoy; 'ken lemke'; kc0ykn@cox.net; 'George Bell= airs';
'John Sheffield'
_Cc:_ 'Frank Taylor'; 'Mitchell, Dennis (FNN Info Sec)'
_Subject:_ RE: Crazy idea - K0AIR station at air show?
Gents, (my added comments in blue)
At 07:34 AM 6/5/2008, Bob McCoy wrote:
Dennis, the BARC board has no = say in this whatsoever. However, I
am wrapping in some of the other SACMA= RC board members. There is
an overlap with BARC in terms of members of SA= CMARC also tend to
be members of BARC. And that may impact the availabili= ty of
operators to work the air show. On the other hand, if we can
actual= ly get a booth to operate from, it could provide a drop-in
point for some= of the roaming hams that day.
I’m also cc’ing Ron so he knows that there may a competing pull for ham operators for the event.
It should not draw operators away from th= e air show staffing. It
might even give those who are working the air sho= w an opportunity
to sit down
and take a break if they want to man the booth. Just be aware tha t on Sunday, the REACT folks have a Corporate Cup Run to do also up
in Om= aha
so Sunday we will need more hams than on Saturday. I plan to soli cit ham help from surrounding co unites for Sunday.
Overall I like the idea. It’s a great recruiting tool for ama teur radio in general. But the KØAIR/KØGRL slant to it makes it
much = more aligned to the activities of the day as opposed to just
another grou= p from off base.
The major technical issue is going to be an antenna(s) for oper ating on HF. We really kind of “fudged” it with the Outbacker
antenna= for “Spring into Safety”. The Outpost antenna mount
really should be= on a grassy surface for proper ground coupling.
So I wouldn’t expect i= t to work very well on the tarmac. And I
doubt we’ll be able to string = a dipole or other wire antenna.
So the antenna experts out there need to = noodle on this one.
If anyone can pull this off it will be Ke= n! But do not hold your
breath for getting down on the grassy area where = everyone else
is. And I will tell you
why. This year is supposed to be one of the biggest shows ever fo r Offutt. At least from the standpoint of static displays. So last
I hear= d space on
the grassy infield is going for about $100 a square inch! hi hi. Seriously of all the air shows I have done I did not know this
until 2 we= eks ago when
talking to Jack Griffey, the REACT prez. He is also a member of t he Marine Auxiliary or something like that. Every year for many
they woul= d be down
there selling food. Well this year they were not invited. Turns o ut that the Air Force charges all the vendors who sell
food...souvenirs e= tc a percentage
of their profits for the privilege of being there! So this year t here are several big name food vendors there who most likely will
pay big= bucks over the little
guys doing it for fund raising. Guess who gets the patch of grass ?? So do not fell slighted if you cannot get where you want to be.
The ot= her option is
to set up shop next to Jim Wescott's motor home assuming we can g et IT on base this year. Last year it was over by the fire station
on con= crete. While
at least you will be on the tarmac in may not be on grass. So YES , get creative with antennas. The UP side to that is that you may
have AC= power.
As Ken said generators are a pain in the rear. The Air Force allo ws them on the tarmac however once the gates open at 9AM and close
at 5PM= you are
forbidden to refuel them if you run out. We found that out a few yrs back when we brought the Sheriff's command post to use as our
ops cen= ter. It has its
own generator. The Air Force will not allow any spare gas cans on the tarmac for obvious reasons. They will come around overnight and
fill= your generator
for free even...but it cannot be done from 9-5. So if you are gon g to be operating for 8 hrs, you do the math.
Good luck in getting it Accomplished. I suggested the club do thi s years ago. But be prepared to jump through some hoops. Between
Ken, Lar= ry Lavelle and I we may be
able to pull hard enough on some strings. The Air Force loves us for the help we provide. How do I know that?? The year Joe left he
was su= pposed to give the
Major a count on how many hats we would need. We don't always get as many as we ask for but this year he forgot period! I did not
know tha= t until two weeks
before the show! I called the Major and said I think we missed th e plane but is there any way we can get a few hats this year. He
said do = not worry about it. I
set aside 30 for you. Now THAT is the result of many years buildi ng trust and rapport with the served agency just like we have with
Bellev= ue PD.
Ron N0POM
I will not be available to operate, since I plan on operating b oth days from inside the MCC at the base clinic.
Bob/NBØB
_From:_ ken lemke [ mailto:kclemke@gmail.com]
_Sent:_ Thursday, June 05, 2008 6:32 AM
_To:_ kc0ykn@cox.net
_Cc:_ Bob McCoy; Frank Taylor
_Subject:_ Re: Crazy idea - K0AIR station at air show?
No problem with frequencies. There are no conflicts between mil and ham freqs. To make it "legal", I'll do a "to whom it may
concern" le= tter stating that it's ok to operate whereever ya
want.
Ron thinks it may be a hastle getting the station equipment on base, but I can work that fairly easily. I asked the Air Show boss,
Major= Shook, about setting up a both/station and am waiting for
his response.
Good idea about K0AIR...that would be fun. Plus, it would give = an
element of credibility to the operation. Shoot, go all the way and
do = K0GRL also!
I'm guessing that battery power would be the way to go, since g enerators are a pain to get permitted, as I understand it. Also,
the prob= ability of getting power is pretty slim. That said, Dar
and I both operat= ed off my 2 batteries with 2-100w stations at
field day and had plenty of= power. Can recharge at the LMR site
overnight if necessary.
73 de Ken, AC0DQ
On Thu, Jun 5, 2008 at 6:11 AM, Dennis Mitchell (kc0ykn)
<kc0ykn@cox.net> wrote:
Gentlemen,
At the picnic last weekend one of the side discussions was rega rding setting
up a ham station at the Offutt Air Show in August. That continu= es
to haunt
me, so I thought I'd bring it up for discussion.
Frank, you're the custodian of the Strategic Air Command Memori= al
Station
callsign, K0AIR. How would you feel about that call sign being used for an
event station at the air show?
Ken, you admitted being the frequency manager for Offutt. What procedure(s)
would we need to follow to be authorized to operate on base tha= t
weekend?
Also, what bands could we be permitted to use?
Bob, could you bring the topic up at the BARC board meeting on Thursday to
see if the idea has any support there?
Dennis - kc0ykn
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