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Kansas City DX Club Meeting Minutes
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Building
Overland Park, KS
March 25, 2013
Kansas City DX Club Meeting Minutes
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate - Kansas City - Overland Park, KS
The March 25, 2013 meeting was called to order by President Tom, N0AG, at 6:35 pm.
Agenda
Announcements
Program by Dragan, K0AP Islands On The Air (IOTA)
Announcements
- Introductions
- Dues of $20 are due and get them to Jeff Blaine, AC0C.
- Mike, AB0X, reported that the Crowne Plaza Hotel had received our deposit payments for our Dayton Hamvention hotel rooms.
- Contact Jim, AC0KN, to order KCDX Club apparel.
- Now is the time to send your preliminary scores or at least your intent to enter the W0AR contest for 2013. Include your score so far and the category(ies) you intend to compete in.
- Bob, W0AO, reported that 95 year young Margaret, WB0JBQ, of Weston is active on the air. (That call may be incorrect. It doesn’t compute on QRZ.COM – secy)
- Russ, K0VXU, reports that the CW pileup laptops have been normalized to a common configuration.
- Steve, K0OU, sends regards to the club.
- There will be a Summit On the Air activity at Branson, MO on the 4th of April.
Program
Islands on the Air (IOTA)
Dragan, K0AP presented a three part program.
The first part described the IOTA award, rules, and why he enjoys it. It is a very challenging activity because most stations operating on the rarer islands use low power and simple antennas. The program is operated by the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB). There are currently 1200 Island Groups listed and it is a challenge to get to the 650 or so level. There is an IOTA Marathon contest.
The second part of the presentation was a series of still photos and videos from an IOTA activation Dragan participated at in October, 2011 at Half Moon Island (IOTA NA-089) off the coast of Louisiana, US. The team of three made a total of approximately 4000 QSOs in 48 hours. The call sign they used was AB5EB/P.
The third part was a sea sickness inducing video of a 2011 activation by some Belgian hams on Rockall island in the North Atlantic (EU-189). I say sea sickness inducing because the video was pretty shaky due to wind and rough seas. Only two of the intended four operators were able to make it onto the rock and they were unable to stay long due to an impending storm. It was a very dangerous attempt due to the steep cliffs of the rock. The call-sign used for this activation was MM0RAI/p. Dragan was very disappointed that few if any QSOs were made with North American stations including himself. He did not hear them.
This is a little of what Wikipedia says about Rockall:
Rockall (Irish: Rocal, Scottish Gaelic: Rocabarraigh) is a small, uninhabited, remote rocky islet in the North Atlantic Ocean. It gives its name to one of the sea areas named in the shipping forecast provided by the British Meteorological Office.
Since the late 16th century Rockall, a 20-metre-high rock in the Atlantic Ocean, has been noted in written records, although it is likely that some northern Atlantic fishermen knew of the rock before these historical accounts were made. In the 20th century the location of the islet became a major concern due to oil and fishing rights, spurring continued debate amongst several European nations.
Rockall has also been a point of interest for adventurers and amateur radio operators who have variously landed on or occupied the islet for up to several months, although fewer than 20 individuals have ever been confirmed to have landed on Rockall.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:40PM.
Charlie Hett, K0THN, KCDX Club Secretary
Previous Minutes
No Minutes for Christmas Party December 2012 Meeting