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The Handiham World for 07 May 2008
This is a weekly news & information update from Courage Center's Handiham System. Please do not reply to this message. Use the contact information below, or simply email handiham@courage.org. For subscribe/unsubscribe information, please see the bottom of the page. Contact us at: Courage Center - Handi-Ham System Welcome to Handiham World! Picture: The Red Cross truck with many antennas, as shown to HAMVENTION participants. It is one of many informative displays that make the world's largest amateur radio trade show well worth your time and effort.
Dr. Tom Behler, KB8TYJ, from Big Rapids, MI, will be giving a presentation in one of the forums at HAMVENTION, and I have accepted his kind invitation to attend, as there will be several references to Handihams. In addition, Tom says that he plans to cover the following topics:
If you are at Dayton, you won't want to miss that! Patrick Tice Avery's QTH: In which Avery talks about SKYWARN 2008.
Welcome once again to my Humble QTH: Well, here I was in a parking lot sitting in my car watching the driving rain come down as I had the engine running with the heat on trying to dry out. I got soaked (to say the least) on the way out to my car. Yes! The sky was quite dark and people had their headlights on. A stream of water a couple inches deep was running through the lot. It reminded me of one year I was at Hamvention in Dayton, Ohio when the same thing happened and people in the flea market area were in a panic trying to get their items up off the ground so they wouldn't get wet. After the rain stopped and toward evening as people wanted to leave, tow trucks were called in to pull people's vehicles out of the heavy mud in what was once a nice dry solid dirt field. Some vehicles were up to their axles in mud. The pouring rain also made me think about tornado season and SKYWARN. Some parts of North America have already been hit by tornadoes this season. They have the sad job of cleaning up and getting things back to normal again. SKYWARN is in most areas of the United States. Each area is slightly different but my suggestion is that all licensed amateur operators take the SKYWARN training and become SKYWARN spotters. It is very important that people with our communications knowledge and ability are around and can send in validated reports to the SKYWARN Emergency Operations Center. Many times the radar shows a "HOOK", or question mark type formation, but the people watching the radar have no real way of knowing if the wall cloud is rotating or not. That is where you the trained spotter take the stage. If you happen to be in the area of the "HOOK", you will be able to see the rotating wall cloud or just one that has formed but is not in rotation. Maybe even the clouds some people see are just harmless scud clouds but they think it is more serious. That is where your SKYWARN training becomes very important. You will know the differences and will be able to give a credible report to the EOC who will then pass it on and somewhere along the line it will end up on TV and radio to warn folks to take cover. You do not want to be like the one person who called in this report on one of the local SKYWARN nets in this area. The report was something to the effect that there were no bugle clouds in sight and that the sky was clear! Of course the trained SKYWARN operators had quite a laugh out of it but it just shows why the training is so necessary. It is important to know the correct terminology for the different cloud formations and to know things like a straight wind can also cause a lot of damage. It helps to know what repeaters or simplex frequencies are being used for SKYWARN nets. It is very important that the proper procedures are followed during the nets as lives are at stake. Even if you do not happen to want to become a SKYWARN Spotter, it is still a good idea to take the training, or go with a friend or relative to help you with the spotting, because you could be out somewhere with family or friends and the knowledge you have could save your life and or that of others with you. Don't forget the QSL card contest. You have until the last day of 2008 so there is still plenty of time left. 73 es DX de K0HLA Avery You can reach me at: Looking for information: Does anyone know if Ham radio is providing post-storm emergency communications in Myanmar (Burma) (XZ)?
If you have heard anything about ham radio emergency operations here, please let us know: Letters The most prepared man in America talks to amateur radio operators
Col. Simonet has had a lengthy and distinguished career with the Air Force, and is currently assigned as an Emergency Preparedness Liaison Officer for the State of MN. In that position, he coordinates with local communities, emergency managers, FEMA, and the Department of Defense to evaluate the most effective assets available to aid local communities when their resources become overwhelmed. This promises to be a very informative program for not only ham radio operators, but others as well. Being informed is an initial step in being prepared, so bring a friend and come join us for the May 10th meeting at 9 a.m. 73, Editor's note: If you live anywhere around the Twin Cities metropolitan area here in Minnesota or in western Wisconsin, this is a program that you shouldn't miss! The location is Boutwell's Landing, Oak Park Heights, Minnesota. If you use Google Earth, you can find a location easily with the following link to Boutwell's Landing: http://radioham.org/local/boutwells_landing.kmz The street location is: 5600 Norwich Parkway, Oak Park Heights, MN 55082. The SARA-Handiham meeting is open to the public. Handiham Radio Club members,
How to Apply for or Renew SSC Status: To become an SSC, you must fill out and submit an application form. Once received, ARRL HQ staff will forward the completed form to your ACC, who will contact you to discuss your club's projects. The name of your ACC is available from your Section Manager (see any current QST.) Check the club page on the ARRL web site. Existing Special Service Clubs may renew their SSC status by filling out and submitting the on-line renewal form: 73, Linda Reeder, N7HVF Editor's note: Please send your comments on this topic to wa0tda@arrl.net and I'll make sure Linda gets them. The Handiham Radio Club meets at Radio Camp sessions.  The cartoon guy's story
This image of a cartoon guy carrying a stack of ham radio study books with the titles reading "all about ham radio" dates back about 20 years, and was an original drawing created just for Courage Center's Handiham System. It appeared in a really creative little booklet that served as a brochure for marketing Handiham services. The booklet was provided for us through the generosity of Kiwanis International, a service organization that has also supported Courage Camps and other Courage Center projects and activities over the years. Of course that wonderful brochure eventually became too dated to continue using and was replaced by a series of others, as well as marketing tools like the Internet and our current Handiham DVD. The cartoon image remains and is in this story as a tribute and a thank you to Kiwanis International and all organizations and donors who help support the work of Courage Center's Handiham System. Handiham Net Schedule, Effective May 7, 2008 - New node added. Join our worldwide EchoLink net every day but Sunday. All licensed operators are welcome. The net is controlled but informal, and there is no need to be a Handiham member to participate. Sometimes the net control station will throw out a discussion topic to liven things up! Listen in a few times if you are shy, and then take the plunge and throw out your callsign. We have added another node for your convenience. Days: Monday through Saturday, and Sunday if anyone wants to take an informal session. Times: 11:00 hours United States Central Time Monday through Saturday and a second Monday session at 19:00 Central Time. Frequency in the local Minnesota repeater coverage zone: 145.45 FM, negative offset with no tone in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul Minnesota. EchoLink nodes: KA0PQW-R, node 267582 Could another massive solar flare happen?
In September 1859, the sun unleashed a solar flare so intense it was visible to the unaided human eye. A ferocious geomagnetic storm ensued in which Northern Lights descended as far south as Cuba, the Bahamas and Hawaii. Meanwhile, telegraph engineers disconnected their batteries and powered communications by electricity from the auroras! Could it happen again? Read the story to find out. FULL STORY at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/06may_carringtonflare.htm?list6529 This week at Headquarters May 7 Handiham Website update: The beta website is online at http://handiham.net. Today Phil, K9HI, performed the update to the latest version of Drupal, our content management system for the website. The upgrade was a bit bumpy, so if you experienced problems using the site this morning, that was the reason. Everything is now working again. Please send comments to wa0tda@arrl.net. If you are a Handiham member and want your password to work on the new beta site, please use the website's Create new account link. Please use your callsign as your username, unless you are a Handiham member who is not yet licensed. In that case, just use your members only username as your username on handiham.net. ***
Handiham members who pass their Technician license exams at Radio Camp this summer will receive new handheld radios. If you know a person with a disability who would enjoy ham radio, please send them our way. We want to get those new hams on the air! Camp begins on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 and finishes on Wednesday, August 27. Both Wednesdays are travel days. *** Stay in touch! Be sure to send Nancy your change of address, phone number changes, or email address changes so that we can continue to stay in touch with you. You may either email Nancy at hamradio@courage.org or call her toll-free at 1-866-426-3442. Mornings are the best time to contact us. *** Reminder: Contact Handihams Contest
You will have to work a Handiham member and send in a self-addressed stamped envelope along with their filled out QSL Card to me here at Handiham Headquarters. A contact will only count once no matter how many other bands or modes may be used. After the QSL's have been counted, they will be bundled and sent to the Handiham member who made the original contact. Echolink contacts count in this contest. The first three Handiham members that have the largest number of contacts sending in QSL's will receive one of the few remaining Handiham 40th Anniversary coffee mugs. Any band that you are able to use with your license class is acceptable and of course all FCC rules must be followed. For some of the old timers who may remember the "Novice Roundup" contest for only Novices, this is somewhat similar but yet a bit different at the same time. To make it a bit more interesting, a CW contact will count as 2 cards. To make it still more interesting, QRP (under 5 watts or less) counts as 5 cards. It must say on the QSL that was sent that it was a CW contact or a QRP contact to claim the extra points. So, it might be a good idea to brush up on your contest operating skills. Send all cards to: Courage Handiham Contest If you want call me, my direct line is: Ask Elmer Dear Elmer, Do you have any idea where I could purchase an atmospheric balloon? I would like to try to hook up an antenna on it for Field Day and see how well it would perform. Signed, Elmer says: Well, that has to be the question of the day! I Googled it and found this company that sells weather balloons: Let me know how this works out if you actually go through with it. There are some articles on ARRLweb here: Good luck on Field Day and stay away from that high-flying antenna if the lightning storms roll in! You can write to Elmer with your questions:  RekkyTec Links Flying Blind LLC website, a resource for adaptive technology information: If you are blind yourself, we recommend skipping the intro page and using this link for Flying-Blind: Free screenreader via the web: $39 Talking Digital Multimeter from a surplus vendor who has some units left: KNFB Reader:
Image: Meet our new dues collection agent! A huge alligator grabs Pat, WA0TDA. "Sure wish I'd renewed my Handiham dues sooner." For years Handiham membership renewals were done each July. This year, we are going to a monthly system. If you renew in March, your membership goes until the following March, for example. You will have several choices when you renew:
Return your renewal form and get entered in a drawing for a free Handiham coffee mug! There is a postage paid envelope provided, and of course we will do a drawing from each month's returned renewals. And you won't get a visit from you-know-who. Your support is critical! Please help. The Courage Handiham System depends on the support of people like you, who want to share the fun and friendship of ham radio with others. Please help us provide services to people with disabilities. We would really appreciate it if you would remember us in your estate plans. If you need a planning kit, please call. If you are wondering whether a gift of stock can be given to Handihams, the answer is yes! Please call Nancy at: 1-866-426-3442 or email: Ask for a free DVD about the Handiham System. It’s perfect for your club program, too! The video tells your club about how we got started, the Radio Camps, and working with hams who have disabilities. Call 1-866-426-3442 toll-free. DONATE USED HAM GEAR 1-866-426-3442 toll-free Help us get new hams on the air. FREE! Get the Handiham E-Letter by email every Wednesday, and stay up-to-date with ham radio news.
Handiham members with disabilities can take an online audio course at www.handiham.org: • Beginner
That's it for this week. Pat, WA0TDA
ARRL is the premier organization supporting amateur radio worldwide. Please contact Handihams for help joining the ARRL. We will be happy to help you fill out the paperwork! The weekly e-letter is a compilation of software tips, operating information, and Handiham news. It is published on Wednesdays, and is available to everyone in a choice of formats. To administer your subscription to the HTML version, go to: The text-only version is at:
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It's time to remind our readers and listeners about the biggest ham radio event of the year: Dayton HAMVENTION®. Visit Courage Center's Handiham System while you are at HAMVENTION. We will be at booth number 332-C, which is indoors not too far from the forum rooms. If you attend, you will be part of the world's largest ham radio get-together, the place to meet your fellow amateur radio operators, learn about new technologies, and shop for new equipment. All of the "movers and shakers" in ham radio will be there, so it's fun, exciting, and a place to learn and grow. Dates are May 16, 17, & 18, 2008.
Last Saturday Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta was devastated by Cyclone Nargis. Myanmar, also known as Burma, uses amateur radio prefix XZ. According to ARRL, until recently Amateur Radio has been banned in the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma. The cyclone (another name for a hurricane) was extremely powerful, and has killed tens of thousands of people in the region. Power lines are down over a wide area, and communications are difficult. So far we have seen no reports of amateur radio communications assistance related to Cyclone Nargis. If anyone has a story or web link about how ham radio is assisting in communications, please share it with us. The latest news is available on the Pacific page of the BBC website, where video and audio are also provided: 
Our affiliated amateur radio club, the Stillwater Amateur Radio Association will be welcoming Colonel Thomas J. Simonet as a guest speaker. The topic for the May 10th program is Emergency Preparedness, and Colonel Simonet is well-prepared. In fact, he has been called "the most prepared man in America".
It has been suggested that we apply for ARRL Special Service Club (SSC) status. Here is the information from ARRL. What do you think?
NASA Science News for May 6, 2008 tells us about a flare that made history! 
We have a large number of Handiham 40th Anniversary QSL cards left from our special event station at the last Minnesota Radio Camp. We want to send them out even though it’s 2008 (we are quite frugal, you know), but you are going to have to earn them. So I am announcing the Avery’s QTH use-up-our-old-QSL-cards contest!
Reminder: Handiham renewals are now on a monthly schedule
