West Texas Connection Newsletter JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1997 The WTC Newsletter is available on a bi-monthly basis for a subscription/donation of $12 per year. Subscribers also receive new maps of the system twice a year. Send $12 to: WTC, P.O. Box 7033, Odessa, TX 79760 After postage, all money goes toward maintenance of the West Texas Connection. Editor - Les Blalock, N5KOA WTC Sunday Morning Net The WTC Sunday Morning Net meets at 0900 (Central) every Sunday morning. The net is informal and open to all. Check in for local ham news and events. WTC News On Friday, November 8th the Connection was used by officials in Howard County as a part of a Simulated Emergency Test. Gary, N5XXF, went to the NWS office to serve as net control and hams in the Big Spring area responded as spotters for a simulated tornado strike. Howard County public officials then activated their emergency response plan to test and evaluate the plan and response. There was some difficulty with the Kent/Balmorehea repeater (145.43) in early December. Apparently the UHF link was having receive problems. Please note the expiration date on your mailing label. We have just finished the first full year of the WTC Newsletter so it may be time to send another donation if you wish to continue supporting the WTC. Your support is appreciated and it's a way we can all contribute. As I travelled to the Weatherford area during the Thanksgiving holiday I had the chance to talk to some of you up and down the Connection. Sure enjoyed it, especially the area of the Colorado City repeater. I've missed the coverage to the east since the Sweetwater repeater was removed and it was nice to have some of that area back on. Thanks again to Fred, KC5BNS for providing and maintaining the C-City machine. New maps will be available in the MAR-APR newsletter. I'm sorry for the delay but we were just unable to get new ones made in time for this issue. SKYWARN A new club has been formed by members of the National Weather Service office at Midland and others interested in SKYWARN activity. The West Texas Skywarn Association has been issued a club call, KC5YDV and a vanity call has been applied for. The first two choices of calls were W5MAF and K5MAF, with MAF being the airport designator for Midland International Airport. In the future, Skywarn nets will use the WTSA call. Check out the West Texas Skywarn page on the Internet at: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ftproot/maf/ html/skywarn2.html Otherwise Weather If you are interested in weather-watching and have packet capability, you may be interested in the packet weather network now covering a large part of West Texas. Packet weather stations at Odessa (N5KOA, N5KOA-1), Andrews (W5YLT), Ft. Davis (N5KOA-2), Alpine (N5JOE-3), and San Angelo (KB5WSS) operate on 145.01 and are on-line 24-hours per day. Connect to any of these calls and you can retrieve live weather information. Any of these stations will send instructions for their use if you send the command //HELP. Available weather information, including rainfall amounts, includes current conditions, yesterday's conditions, highs/lows, long term information (like the highest or lowest temperature for the year) and more. These stations also beacon weather information in APRS format. If you are interested in setting up your own packet weather station, contact any of the above stations or look on the Internet at http://www.apex2000.net/personal/lcb9 11/main.htm This internet page contains information about the AutoWeather packet software and includes a link to download the AutoWeather program. The AutoWeather program interfaces the Ultimeter home weather station to your packet station but you do not have to have a weather station to use the AutoWeather program. It acts as a packet terminal program and also records all weather beacons from the packet weather stations that are online. (The packet weather stations at Ft. Davis and south of Odessa are owned and operated by Gareth, W5CDM. Gareth would be glad to help you learn more about all the packet weather sites. Give him a call.) Amateur Television Another interesting facet of ham radio is the transmitting and receiving of live television pictures, ATV. Tom, KC5ETW is actively recruiting hams that are interested in learning about ATV and setting up ATV stations. Wouldn't this be neat for Skywarn? If you're interested and/or have ATV equipment, contact Tom on the Connection. Misc. B.John, KE5PL, recently made a trip to the South Pacific to do some SCUBA diving. Around the Truk Islands, the divers explored several WW-II vintage ship and airplane wrecks. B.John said it was surprising that the wrecks were in very good condition, considering their age. I suspect you could imagine the sights and sounds of war while exploring these relics. Sure glad he returned in time to experience the Great Cold Spell of 1996. As I write this, the temperature is 14 degrees and it's a little hard to imagine the South Pacific. Silent Key - WB5WIB It's with sadness we have to report the passing of Mr. Wash, WB5WIB, of Big Spring. Wash, as most of us knew him, will certainly be missed. Delan D. Wash, Sr. was born September 13, 1908 and passed away December 18, 1996. Our condolences to the Wash family and his fellow hams in Big Spring. New ARC In West Texas The WTC welcomes the new Pecos County Amateur Radio Club. The PCARC was recently formed by the substantial ham population in the Ft. Stockton area. The Ft. Stockton area hams routinely outnumber all other locations on the Sunday Morning Net - they're an active group and will serve the Pecos County area well. Officers of the PCARC are President Richard, N5DLX, Vice-president Joe, W5BQZ, Secretary R.V., KC5SLS, and Treasurer Larry, KC5SLN. Congratulations! Farewell 1996 I've just finished my second year as "temporary" net control for the Sunday Morning Net on the WTC. While it's sometimes a chore to get out of bed and get ready for it, I've enjoyed it and it's such a small contribution compared to the load carried by the guys like Mark, N5SOR, B.John, KE5PL, Rod, N5XXO and Gareth, W5CDM. Newcomers like Fred, KC5BNS, are helping the Connection grow and the users' support with donations help out. Some users like Bob, KD5HP, throw in a little extra every year and deserve special recognition for their suppport. Thanks Bob. Jim, WA5QMJ, left a legacy that remains well-maintained and in good hands. Congratulations West Texas Connection ... and Happy New Year. (Please make copies of this issue of the West Texas Connection Newsletter available to your local club members. There may be others that would like to support the WTC by receiving it. Instructions are included in the small print below the masthead on the first page of the newsletter.)