ROAR Communicator

June 2010 - RI Convention Issue

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From the President

Members of ROAR and fellowRotarians,This is our second issue to be publishedprincipally on the Internet. So far youhave been able to read the magazineif you remember to check our web site.The Directory is also going through ametamorphosis in the form that it willbe available on the net, but only to themembers who are registered.Registration will give them the "key" toopen the roster. So keep updating yourparticulars and contributions!This issue of Communicator containsmaterial related with discussionsduring the last AGM in Birminghamabout more active participation in theemergency service and disaster relief.Read them well , ponder thepossibilities and try to find ways howwe could be of assistance in a situationwhere human help in the form ofcommunication is vital. More ofRotarian Action Group inwww.drrag.org/ .Your view is valuable,express it in Communicator ! In duecourse our website will offer theopportunity to vent i late yourproposals.Seppo, OH1VR has written of theactivities of the ham radio world. He isthe Chairman of the organizingcommittee of GAREC 2010 (GlobalAmateur Radio EmergencyCommunications Conference; seewww.garec.net) and past president ofthe Finnish Ham Radio Union (SRAL).Montreal Convention is nearly here.Like previously we plan to have anoperational station in our exhibitionbooth in the House of Friendship.Whenwriting this we have not yet managedto solve the way how we get the signalinto the air. Originally we planned toremote control a station but ultra highinternet cost and some technicalitiesinhibited it. Montreal area is thin of ourmembers but Joe, AF1E has taken the

responsibility to be the "chief" of ourstation VC2R.In relation with this I have asked myfriend Ville, OH2MM to tell in this issuesomething about remote controlledcontest stations.(Ville was a member of OH2AM clubstation in 1960's when I was withOH1AD and the clubs competedfiercely!! Ville has since been achampion player in the big contestsfrom exotic posts of the world).The new sun spot cycle has started andwe have been blessed with improvingcommunications in our nets. In duecourse even the more modest stationswill be capable of participating in the"meetings in the air"! And remember:

Even if your hands are full of things todo, the future of ROAR is in them, too!Pertti Kause, EA7GSU

President

Robert W Shoemaker W9MTU, Past RI Director 1979-81, RC Anderson, D6560

ROAR Annual General Meeting

Montreal, CanadaSunday, June 20th 2010, at 0900 - 1030hrs

Global Networking Groups, Room 525

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ROAR Communicator - June 2010

E d i t o r i a l

I am now presenting to you my secondissue of ROAR Communicator, just intime for RI Convention. I have kept thisalso as simple as possible, though thesubjects covered this time are muchmore serious than before. I wish Icould use more stories and pictures.But alas, I did not have many ! I thinkwe need to improve on this very much.

Please send me your stories(editor@ifroar.org), however short orlong they may be, and I will find a wayto put them in.

73,

Yours in Rotary,

Rtn James Kalassery VU2ARL,(RC Cochin Midtown, India),Editor, ROAR Communicator. Peter Doughty G3TKK

Rotarians ofAmateur Radio

(ROAR)

The Rotary Movement was created morethan a hundred years ago by four men witha common interest. Over the years itbrought together men and women fromdifferent backgrounds who also had otherinterests and hobbies. They formedassociations which served two purposes;that of Rotary as well as some other activity.The Rotary Movement found thesefellowships to have particular value inincreasing solidarity and now emphasisestheir importance during Governor training.Under the Rotary umbrella there are todaymore than sixty active fellowships. Pilots,scouts, stamp-collectors, joggers andmotorcyclists all have their own fellowshipswith organized structures appropriate to thenature of their activities. For example,caravaners meet on caravan sites;convention-goers during conventions, andgourmets maybe in the restaurant of afamous chef. A great diversity exists and inaddition to the above-named, there arefellowships of bird-watchers, doll-lovers,Esperantists, go-players, magicians andmilitary personnel, amongst many others.As well as the recreational fellowships thereare a number of vocational andhealth-related action groups.Rotary International carefully monitors allactivities and requires annual and financialreports and copies of all membershipnewsletters and information sheets.The author is the current president (a Finnliving in Spain) of Rotarians of AmateurRadio (ROAR). It is one of the oldestfellowships, established in 1966 by ByronSharpe (W9BE), an American Rotarian from

Illinois. ROAR members are perhaps themost active in communicating with eachother apart from the Computer Users andRotarians on the Internet group. In 1989,Hugh Archer (W8JA), a member of ROAR,became President of Rotary International.I hope the following will give you a glimpseof the activities of ROAR:The President is elected at the AnnualGeneral Meeting held at the same time asthe Rotary Convention. The Presidentserves for three years and his board ofdirectors consists of a Secretary and aTreasurer (at present, both Americans).Working closely with the president are anAustralian webmaster and an Indian editorof "Communicator", our magazine. We havea board of eight vice-presidents, each ofwhom is located in one of the areas in theworld which has the highest density ofmembers and activities. We collect annualsubscriptions to cover the cost of theprinting and distribution of "Communicator"and the Directory. The subscription alsoserves to update the membership list whichtoday comprises some five hundred names.In addition, there are two sub-assemblies,based on local conditions, one in Japan andanother in the UK. They have their ownstatutes of association and officers.Radio communication being the primaryactivity, we have weekly "meetings" onradio waves. Nets have a regular time andfrequency. For example, on Sundaymornings ANZO (Australia, New Zealandand Oceania) amateurs meet Europeans.Participants may be of many differentnationalities. Similar net operate betweenthe USA and Europe and there are alsonational nets in Britain, Japan, USA, etc.News of club activities, hints on successfulways of collecting money and of projects

which are in need of assistance are some ofthe topics of the radio conversations.At the last AGM, the subject of physicalparticipation in disaster relief was raised fordiscussion. Some activities exist but themembership wants more. There areinternational organizations active in thisfield and we would naturally seek ways towork with them, once we ourselves know towhat extent we are willing and able toparticipate.Ordinary radio amateurs already have activeorganizations for disaster relief and thiscould be an alternative area of cooperativeaction.Our members are not only technicallycapable communicators but also have,between them, a wide range of professionalskills which might be able to be put to gooduse in the difficult circumstances of adisaster.Solar activity has an important influence onthe quality of radio communication. A neweleven-year cycle has just begun which willgreatly benefit our "meetings in the air". Inthat way it fosters internat ionalunderstanding, friendship and service in anexciting and innovative manner; this is soimportant for cooperation and in thebuilding of a better world.More about all the Fellowships atw w w . r o t a r y . o r g / f e l l o w s h i p s

and you can f ind our website atw w w . i f r o a r . o r g

Pertti Kause EA7GSU/OH1SH,

President of ROAR

2009 - 2012

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ROAR Communicator - June 2010

ROAR Nets around the World

Day/Time Frequency Area Net Controller1st SUNDAY02.00 UTC 14.292 Mhz. India07.30 UTC 7.090 Mhz. South Africa08.00 UTC 14.300 Mhz. South AfricaEVERY SUNDAY07.30 UTC 14.293 Mhz. Europe - VK-ZL [November - March] G4YZE / VK2GWK/VK4ZD06.30 UTC 14.293 Mhz. Europe - VK-ZL [April - October] G4YZE / VK2GWK/VK4ZD08.00 UTC 3.692 Mhz. Inter - UK [Summer] G4HMG, G4FTA, G3JJR, G3LUW09.00 UTC 3.692 Mhz. Inter - UK [Winter] G4HMG, G4FTA, G3JJR, G3LUW09.30 UTC 3.630 Mhz. New Zealand10.00 UTC 14.293 Mhz. Australia - New Zealand VK2GWK/VK4ZD11.30 UTC 14.293 Mhz. International18.00 UTC 14.288 Mhz. North America - Trans. Continental W0TBC, KF5BD, AF1E, WB7RQG18.00 UTC 3.692 Mhz. Inter - UK [Summer] G4YZE19.00 UTC 3.692 Mhz. Inter - UK [Winter - not Dec & Jan] G4YZE22.00 UTC 3.955 Mhz. U.S. Mid StatesEVERY FRIDAY09.00 UTC 14.282 Mhz. UK - Spain [Summer] EA5ALK10.00 UTC 14.282 Mhz. UK - Spain [Winter] EA5ALK11.30 UTC 14.293 Mhz. InternationalEVERY DAY22.30 UTC 7.0775 Mhz. JapanDAILY EXCEPT SUNDAY07.30 UTC 7.0775 Mhz. Japan12.30 UTC 3.935 Mhz. North Carolina - USA

Use 14.293 MHz and 21.403 MHz as our calling frequencies.

Rtn Jack W Page KF5BD, RC Albuquerque, D6660

Annual GeneralMeeting

Montreal, CanadaSunday, June 20th 2010, at 0900 - 1030Global Networking Groups, Room 525

AgendaCall to orderConfirmation of the ChairpersonElection of the secretaryIntroduction and registration of attendeesTribute to silent keysMinutes of last meetingReport of this years activitiesTreasurers reportPreparing for 2011 Convention- remote controllingIncreasing annual fee to $20 p/aEmergency Service, Disaster ReliefAny Other BusinessClosing

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ROAR Communicator - June 2010

Tech Test Gets aLittle More Technical

by Rtn Dan Romanchik KB6NU (MemberROAR & RC Ann Arbor, MI, USA)

Ever since the FCC dropped the coderequirement and the Novice licenseexam, the Technician Class license hasreally been misnamed. Being the firstlicense that most hams obtain, it rea