EDMOND AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY

The Edmond Amateur Radio Society is located at 28 E. Main Street, Edmond, OK in the Downtown community center, Room 219. Mailing address is EARS, P.O. Box 48, Edmond, OK 73083. Repeaters: 147.135+ and 443.425+. Station telephone 359-4386. Website www.k5eok.org. Webmaster e-mail .

September 2007

EARS’ Fall Technician Course Begins:

It’s not too late! If you are a non-ham or have non-ham friends who could be “radio-active”, help has arrived in the form of the EARS Fall Technician Course. This entry-level training will help you or your friends get a Technician license while also receiving some great exposure to amateur radio techniques, equipment, tall-tales and other sidebar commentary by some of EARS’ radio veterans. The course will run six consecutive weeks on Tuesday nights beginning August 28th and ending October 2nd , from 6:30 to 8:30, at the K5EOK club station in the Edmond Downtown Community Center, 28 E. Main Street in Room 219. An EARS-sponsored ARRL/VEC exam will follow the course on Saturday, October 6th at 9:30 a.m. There is a $40 registration fee for this course, which includes course materials and testing fees. For more information, contact Clara Granger KG5UG at 405-341-2968 or check out the EARS website: www.k5eok.org. Seating is limited- to pre-register call Clara or download the pre-registration form on the website and mail it to: Edmond Amateur Radio Society, P.O. Box 48, Edmond, OK 73083. Let’s round up some new hams!

Short Takes:

v Don’t forget Statehood Day coming up Nov. 10th and 17th in Guthrie at the Oklahoma Publishing Museum – more on the Centennial version of this fun operating event later.

v EARS Emergency Coordinator Curtis Foote KC5GEP reports that the City of Edmond is acquiring 13 new sirens; although some will replace existing ones, most will be installed at new locations to better cover the growth of the community. Our job, therefore, becomes a little bigger, so we need to recruit some new siren watchers for the monthly test. If you would like to help, please contact Robyn Price KD5ISC (see e-mail address below).

v EARS President Andrew John W80U is meeting with City staffers for the purpose of developing a Memorandum of Understanding regarding EARS’s service to the City of Edmond, principally in support of the Emergency Management organization. The MOU was developed and approved by the EARS Board for the purpose of memorializing the long-standing informal understandings between EARS and the City. When approved and signed by both EARS and the City, copies will be distributed to members and other interested parties.

v On a related subject, an ad hoc working committee has been formed to determine ways to use EARS’ newly-granted 501(c) 3 status with the IRS for the good of the Society, but more importantly for improvement of EARS’ capabilities to serve the City of Edmond and other agencies. 501 (c ) 3 refers to a section of the IRS code that authorizes deduction from reported income for donations of cash or personal or real property to certain qualified organizations. EARS has qualified as one of these organizations. Although many details must be sorted out at this point, one guiding principal has emerged from early discussions: if new assets are created by donations, the first priority for use of these assets will be to ensure that EARS maintains and hopefully improves upon its ability to assist the City of Edmond and the public.

v Watch for the September issue of the monthly magazine Edmond Outlook. EARS will be one of the featured topics.

As you can see, much is going on “between the EARS”, and we could use some more folks with ideas and a little time to donate. If you have an interest in any of the initiatives described above or can help in other areas, please feel free to call any officer or Board member and/or come to the next Board meeting September 13th or the Business meeting September 16th. We need your help!

Recap of Upcoming September Events:

August 28th – Tuesday – EARS Technician Licensing Course. 6:30-8:30 p.m. K5EOK club station, Room 219, Downtown Community Center. See above for details.

September 1st - Saturday - Monthly Siren Test for the City of Edmond. 12 Noon. Please volunteer to help with this important and visible service to the community. 147.135 MHZ K5EOK repeater. Contact Robyn Price KD5ISC ( ) for information.

September 8th – Saturday - EARS Volunteer Examiner test session. Get a new license or upgrade your existing one. The test session is held in Room 219 of the Edmond Downtown Community Center located at 28 E. Main Street. For more information, contact Larry Holden W5PA at . (Note: Normally held on the first Saturday of the month, the September testing session will be held on the 8th due to the Labor Day holiday.)

September 13th - Thursday - EARS Board of Directors Meeting. 7:00 p.m. K5EOK club station, Room 219, Downtown Community Center. All members welcome. (Note: Normally held on the second Tuesday of the month, the September Board meeting will be held on Thursday the 13th due to the Technician Licensing Course occurring on Tuesdays.)

September 16th – Sunday – EARS Bi-monthly Business Meeting. 2:00 p.m. Don’t miss out on the September EARS Business meeting. First Lt. Rick Gorman of the Oklahoma Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is our guest speaker and will present an overview of CAP and describe opportunities for amateur radio operators to assist the Edmond Squadron. The location of the meeting is Room 110 of the Edmond Downtown Community Center.

Monday evenings, 8:00 p.m. EARS Monday Night Information Net, 147.135+ and 443.425+ K5EOK repeaters. Check-in and get the latest information on Club happenings and other news of interest to Central Oklahoma amateurs. For more information or to volunteer to help as a net control, contact the net manager, Bob Coxsey KM5GZ at .