BARC Clubhouse & Communications Center

Sugarcreek Elementary School, Rooms 1 & 3 Lower Level

51 South East Street, Bellbrook

Talk-in on BARC 147.045(+) Repeater & 147.405 Simplex

Ken’s presentation will explain the what, when,

where, how and why of the Ohio QSO Party. Topics include

operational categories, operating tips, scoring, awards, etc.

The 2010 Ohio QSO Party event is Saturday, August 28, from 12 noon

to 12 midnight and is planned as the inaugural activity for BARC’s

Clubhouse Communication Center. A BARC Clubhouse Open House

event is planned in conjunction with the Ohio QSO Party activity.

By BARC Secretary Ed Kulesa K2VEE

There were 21 members and guests attending this meeting which was called to order at 7:35 PM by BARC President Chris Stauter, KD8APN. A warm BARC welcome to guests Harry Blair, Jeff Cooley, Steve Gilbert, Don Parker KB8PSL, Tim Procuniar, N8NQH, Yvonne Procuniar, KC8GDL,

We hope you will return often and participate in Club activities.

FIELD DAY BRIEFING by Field Day Chairman Fred Stone, W8LLY was the first order of business for this meeting.

BARC has participated in Field Day every year since its first Field Day outing at the Bellbrook Grange in June of 1976 – often under the expert guidance of Fred, W8LLY. Fred presented a detailed overview to outline, particularly for the newer hams, what can be expected during this year’s Field Day activities.

Fred covered all the bases from Antennas, Shelter Layout, Stations, Power Systems, Logging System, Schedule, Operations, Contingency Plan—in event of nasty weather, Site Coordinators/Control Operators, Food/Picnic, and Signs/Banners

Many thanks to Fred for taking the time to plan and review all the details—there certainly will be plenty to do, so everyone is invited to come out and pitch in.

Minutes of the May Meeting, as published in the June newsletter, were accepted and approved by unanimous vote.

Treasurer’s Report By Dave Walton, WD8GCR

The Treasurer’s Report was proposed for acceptance by John King and seconded by Ken Gunton. Approved by unanimous vote.

Darryl reported that the invitations for the Lions Club Parade will be mailed right after Field Day.

Clubhouse Committee by Darryl Fowler, KD8JQE

The Clubhouse Committee still plans to hold its next meeting as previously scheduled.

Education Committee by Fred Stone, W8LLY

Fred referred everyone to the June Newsletter for Education activity details.

Repeater Report by Henry, W8TOG

Despite a few recent brief power interruptions due to thunderstorms, the repeater seems to be up and operating quite well.

Fred brought up a concern about the practicality of holding the proposed Clubhouse Open House in early July—on BARC’s 34th anniversary. He suggested that with so many things yet to be completed at the Clubhouse, and with Field Day already upon us, it might be a bit of a rush getting things ready. Feeling that it would be better to get the job done correctly, Fred proposed that the Open House be postponed. After a brief discussion, the motion by Fred was seconded by John King and unanimously approved by the membership present.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 PM.

By Field Day Chairman Fred Stone W8LLY

This year’s Field Day exercise probably was one of the best ever. We had lots of help transporting equipment Saturday morning and about 20 members showed up to help set up following the coffee and donuts breakfast.

A photo review of BARC’s 2010 Field Day Exercise will be presented at either the August or September meeting, pending final scheduling of another tentative program.

Everyone who took pictures during BARC’s Field Day is encouraged to send copies to Fred via email attachments (any size OK). Photo credits will be superimposed in a corner of each photo.

BARC ended up with a total score of 3506 points. Here is the breakdown of points:

Food/Picnic Coordinator Dave Walton estimated that we had 60 people for the picnic.

A BIG THANK YOU to all of the members, families and visitors who participated to make this another very successful BARC Field Day Exercise & Picnic.

The Bellbrook Amateur Radio Club turned 34 years old on the 4^th of July based upon its official July 4, 1976 founding, on our country’s 200^th birthday.

As indicated in the newsletter masthead, BARC is an outgrowth of the Communications Group [of local radio amateurs] established in 1974 to support the City of Bellbrook & Sugarcreek Township Disaster Plan developed shortly after the historic 1974 "Xenia Tornado."

The Greene County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (GCARES) will be offering the ARRL Level 1 Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course (ARECC) beginning Sunday, July 25, 7:00-9:00 PM, and continuing weekly through August 22.  A VE-conducted test session for ARECC Level 1 Certification will be held on August 29.

Course instructor will be Bill Watson, K8WEW.  The course will be held in the Training Room at Beavercreek Township Fire Department Station 1 on Dayton-Xenia Road, just west of Orchard Lane.

The course is open to ham from Greene and surrounding counties. All hams interested in providing emergency communications support for served agencies (fire/EMS. law enforcement, hospitals, public health, EMA, Red Cross, etc., are encouraged to complete the Level 1 ARECCourse.

There is no charge for the course and students successfully completing the ARECC Level 1 test will be certified by GCARES at no cost.  However, there will be an ARRL VE examination fee of $15 if official ARRL certification of successful course completion is desired (recommended).

All course material will be provided through PowerPoint presentation and associated questions, discussion and handouts.  See Course Outline below.  The ARRL ARECC Level 1 textbook is optional and may be ordered directly from ARRL, if desired.  Or, if there is sufficient interest, a group order will be placed after the first session on July 25.

01 Introduction to Emergency Communication

05 Served Agency Communication Systems

06 Basic Communication Skills

07 Introduction to Emergency Nets

08 Basic Message Handling - Part 1

09 Basic Message Handling - Part 2

10 Net Operating Guidelines

11 The Incident Command System

12 Preparing for Deployment

14 Emergency Activation

15 Setup, Initial Operations, and Shutdown

16 Operations & Logistics

18 Alternative Communication Methods

19 What to Expect in Large-Scale Disasters

20 Hazardous Materials Awareness

21 Marine Communications

22 Other Learning Opportunities

23 Modes, Methods, and Applications

BARC Public Service Coordinator Darryl Fowler has been busy during the past couple of months overseeing preliminary activities for BARC’s management of the 2010 Bellbrook Lions Club annual Lions Festival Parade.

The parade will step off at 4:00 PM on Saturday, August 21. BARC will provide communications support for parade line-up, safety and security. Operators will gather in the parking lot of the Bellbrook Community Church at the intersection of West Franklin Street (SR-725) and Vemco Drive at 2:30 PM to pick up an orange safety vest, an assignment and a parade line-up sheet. Operators will then report to their assigned post by 3:00 PM.

Please mark this date and time on your calendar and plan to support this event. Also, remember that several BARC members meet their families for dinner under the Festival’s big tent following the parade. Plan to join them—great food and reasonably priced.

The next Greene County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (GCARES) meeting will be August 23 (4^th Monday), 7:30 PM. All Greene County hams are encouraged to be Active members of GCARES.

There will no meetings during May, June and July. We take off May because of Hamvention, June because of Field Day and July because it’s a popular summer vacation month.

The Greene County FALL 2010 Amateur Radio License Courses will begin Sunday, September 12, 7-9 PM. Locations for each of the course now have been determined.

I am pleased to report that the BARC Clubhouse and Communications Center has been identified as the new location for the Technician Class Course. This site also offers a great opportunity for demonstrating various radio principles and techniques for prospective new hams.

(Note: The Beavercreek Township Fire Department Administration Building Training Room previously used for the Technician Class course has been remodeled and dedicated for use by the Beavercreek Township Trustees and no longer is a feasible site for the course.)

Beavercreek Township Fire Department Station 1 on Dayton Xenia Road already has been reserved and will be used for the General Class Course, and also for the Test Session.

Fairborn Fire Station 2, the former location of the Extra Class courses, is slated for closing due to budgetary constraints. However, Extra Class Coordinator Jim Bishop has learned that we still will be able to use that site for the Extra Class Course.

Your help is needed to help recruit prospective new hams—especially young people. Please talk with family and friends about taking the Technician course and becoming a ham. And, all current Technician Class licensees are encouraged to consider upgrading to General Class.

The Fall Test Session is scheduled for November 14 at the BTFD Station 1 Training Room.

These Greene County amateur radio license courses and test sessions are sponsored jointly by the three Greene County amateur radio clubs (BARC, UVARC and XWARN) and GCARES.

BARC members and new hams are reminded that they may become an ARRL member or renew an existing ARRL membership at a discounted rate. BARC is an ARRL affiliated club and receives a commission for ARRL memberships transacted through the club. BARC passes on this discount as a club membership benefit in order to promote ARRL membership. New ARRL members receive a $15 discount on first year cost. Please contact BARC Treasurer Dave Walton KD8GCR for details.