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   email:  LCB911@apex2000.net
 

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.

The West Texas Connection homepage is:
www.apex2000.net/nonprof/wtc

Odessa HAMFEST

The Odessa hamfest will be held on
November 1st and 2nd this year and
Robert, N5RKN is updating the mail list
before flyers go out.  Be sure to let him
know if you have a new address or
callsign.  Contact Robert on the WTC or
by email at n5rkn@apex2000.net.  Spread
the word at your local club meetings and
coffee gatherings to make sure no one
misses a flyer this year.

WTC News

The movers and shakers have really been
busy the past couple of months.  The
Kent/Balmorhea machine received
attention from Mark, N5SOR, in July
after the PA went out.  Because of the
excellent site, the repeater was still useful
even on the 1/2 watt output before
repairs were made.  Mark reports the
repeater still needs work on the receiver.

The Mt. Livermore repeater received
attention from Doug, N5HYD around
the first of July and was back up and
working within a couple of weeks.  Also,
in August, Doug replace two batteries
there.

Albert, WB5FWR, and Foster, WD5CGL,
visited the Marathon site on the weekend
of July 19-20 and placed larger solar cells
and 6 batteries there. The extra power
should help alot in keeping the new site
on-line.

On July 26th, Mark, N5SOR, and Tom,
KC5ETW went to Dark Canyon where
they reset the controller and performed
other maintenance.

Fred, KC5BNS still hopes the new
Lamesa repeater will go up at the end of
August.  The frequency will be 444.750.
Plans call for the antennas to be oriented
to the north with the hope of extending
coverage throughout Dawson County
and close to Lubbock.

Rod, N5XXO had to make a couple of
trips to Pleasant Farms during July but
necessary repairs were minor and handled
in short order.

My Thanks to Rick, WB5MPX, and Tom,
KC5ETW, for filling in as net control on
the weekends of July 5-6 and July 12-13
when family and I drove up to Paducah,
Kentucky to visit my sister and to avoid
the West Texas heat.  While we were
gone, West Texas received big time rain
and Kentucky had nice hot weather.
On the road, we stopped to visit Elvis at
Memphis, TN and Superman at
Metropolis, IL.  (One of these guys had a
weekness for Kryptonite and the other
for Dr. Pepper - can't remember which
was which but it doesn't matter because
both are dead anyway.)  My wife and I
also made donations to the Merv Griffin
Riverboat Casino at Metropolis.  You're
Welcome, Merv.

I was also in Charlotte, N.C. a week in
August at a conference of the Association
of Public-Safety Communications
Officials (APCO).  A couple of the
sessions addressed ham radio volunteers
working with public safety.  I also got to
go go-cart racing with NASCAR driver
Ken Schraeder (kinda).  Anyway... thanks
to Tom, KC5ETW, for again filling in for
me during that week.
 

Skywarn

There was not much Skywarn activity in
July and August.  Lots of heat was the
typical daily fare throughout August.

The NWS office would like to see more
Skywarn participants from some of the
smaller areas and recruiting new hams in
areas where there currently are none
would be a big help.

If you would like to see Amateur Radio
and Skywarn promoted at a local event,
such as a community fair or other local
celebration, contact George Matthews at
the NWS Midland office.

MISC.

Msg #378  From: N3RU  Date: 14-Aug
1748Z  Subj: THE REAL HISTORY OF
HAM RADIO

4 Billion BC - Earth is a swirling ball of
flaming gases. Propagation is extremly
poor.

1 Billion BC - First dry land appears. It is
divided up into squares. County Hunters
Club formed.

500 Million BC - Second patch of dry
land appears. First DXpedition. Credit
disallowed because of questionable
licensing agreement.

400 Million BC - Flowering plants and
grasses evolve. Telrex invents first beam
antenna but sales area slow because of
lack of suitable structures.

300 Million BC - First tree appears. It is
immediately cut down, stripped of
branches, placed in a concrete base and
named a telephone pole. Telrex sells first
beam.

200 Million BC - Second beam sold by
Telrex. Installer falls from top of pole.
First safety belt sold.

100 Million BC - First mountain appears.
Repeater invented

50 Million BC - It is decided by WARC
that "seek you" is too cumbersome
to send on CW, so abbreviation "CQ" is
adopted.

4 Million BC - Humans replace swine as
dominant species.  The name "Ham
Operator" hangs on, however.

3 Million BC - Dugout canoe invented.
Maritime Mobile Net formed on 14.313
mHz.

2 Million BC to 800 AD - Nothing much
happens for a long time.

900 AD - Chinese invent gunpowder.
BY1AA is first "Big Gun" DXer.

1790 AD - Ben Franklin invents long
wire receiving antenna. Ground switch
invented.

1961 AD - Second repeater erected. First
repeater group refuses to change
frequency. First frequency coordinator
appointed.

1990 AD - Amateur radio humor sinks to
a new low.
 

Midland NW Service Office Staff

As I mentioned in the the last issue of the
WTC Newsletter, we're very fortunate in
West Texas to have National Weather
Service personnel at the Midland office
who are licensed hams.  The July-August
issue of the Newsletter introduced T.J.
Turnage, KC5NHZ, Robert Boyd,
KC5ZHJ, and John Pendergrast,
KC5SVA.
In this issue of the Newsletter I'd like
you to learn more about Ray Fagen,
KC5JHC.

Ray is the Meteorologist-In-Charge of the
Midland office and tracks storms for
personal enjoyment as well as
professionally.  Members of of his staff
cite Ray as their primary motivation for
becoming licensed and they speak highly
of him.

Born in Ohio and raised mostly in
Altoona, Iowa, Ray now calls Texas his
home.  He's a member of the American
Meteorological Society and of the
National Weather Association. Ray holds
a Masters degree from John Hopkins
University and baccalaureate degrees
from the University of Michigan and the
University of Maryland.  Away from the
office, Ray also is a board member of the
American Red Cross and his local church.

Ray served in the U.S. Navy forcasting
typhoons and flying hurricane recon.  He
was active duty Navy 1977-1983 and is
currently a Commander in the Navy
Reserve. From 1987-1993 Ray worked at
the National Hurricane Center where he
saw Hurricane Andrew arrive.

Obviously the ability to communicate
directly with weather spotters gives NWS
staff another tool in their professional
resource bin but the spinoff benefits us
all.

When any professional becomes active in
amateur radio, the rest of us benefit from
their expertise.  The opportunity to work
directly with these guys allows us to get
to know them as persons, too.  We hope
they all continue their involvement and
explore the other benefits and pleasures
of the amateur service, too.
I thank these members of the NWS office
for their time and cooperation
while I gathered information for this
story.  I've had the pleasure of knowing
them casually for awhile now, and must
say they all are welcome members of the
amateur radio community.  Nice Job
Guys!

(There are a couple of other members of
the NWS staff that are studying for their
ham licenses.  Good luck to them and
please call on any of us if you need help.)

Here's the entire staff of the NWS Office,
Midland Texas:

Managers

* Raymond Fagen  KC5JHC.... Meteorologist-in-Charge
* George Mathews............Warning Coordination
Meteorologist
* Brian Francis............ Science and Operations Officer
* Eddie Brite.............. Data Acquisition Program Manager
* Wayne Patterson.......... Electronic Systems Analyst
* Karen Fago............... Administrative Support Assistant

Forecasters and Their Specialties

* Robert Boyd  KC5ZJO...... NOAA Weather radio, NAWAS
* Wade Earle............... AWIPS & Computer Systems
* Terry Huber.............. WSR-88D Radar, Co-Webmaster
* Greg Murdoch............. Aviation and Fire Weather
* T.J. Turnage  KC5NHZ..... Hydrology, Assistant to WCM

Hydrometeorological Technicians and Their Specialties

* John Frazar.............. Climatology and NLSC
* Susan Griffin............ ASOS
* Mike Young............... Upper Air and EEO

Meteorological Interns and Their Specialties

* John Pendergrast  KC5SVA..Technical Procedures,
WSR-88D assistant
* Mike Wrinkle............. AFOS and COOP Program

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Electronics Technicians and Their Specialties

* Gene Barry............... ASOS
* Richard Businger......... WSR-88D Radar

Until next time....
73 de N5KOA