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Amateur Radio Club At our last meeting we were greeted with two new, licensed Amateur Radio Operators. Both Rob Gardner and Fred Weck passed the Technician class license test. Diligent study allowed Rob and Fred to pass on their first attempt, and were assigned the Call Letters KK6HBP and KK6HBQ respectively. They also were accepted into SPARC, the San Gorgonio Pass Amateur Radio Club, in Banning. They now join 738,000 amateur radio operators in the United States. Obtaining a license is the first step. What follows is acquiring the knowledge to find the correct radio for what you wish to do and learn how to operate the radio effectively. Finally 'getting on the air' to make contacts with other amateur radio operators. Some amateurs prefer to operate in a Morse code environment (called CW). Others utilize a computer interface to operate in digital modes. While still others enjoy 'phone', i.e. just simple conversation. Our club is closely associated with the Banning Amateur Writers' Club At our first meeting in September, a kind of complete program for future meetings was presented by the coordinator, discussed and approved by the members. It was possible to offer such a complete program for the first time at the November meeting as follows: First, two follow-ups from the October meeting: one by Jean Laurin-Lawrence who had submitted the foreword of a book of poems written by her son, Ronnie Price, who died in 2011, She is currently publishing the book under the title of Poems of a Lonely Heart and may be reached at (951) 769-1309. The other follow-up by Roland Harrah about his progress made in writing his experience as a veteran of the Vietnamese war, his marriage and return to the United States. Second in the program: two new presentations, one by Brooks Adams about his poems and the other by Dr. Zee Knapp about examples of her scientific writings, especially for young people. The December meeting will be Tuesday, Dec. 10, at 1:30 pm. For more information contact josephlaurin@verizon. net. ~ Joseph Laurin 34 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | DECEMBER 2013 | clubs & Groups Radio club, and two of our club members are up for election to the board as officers in the Banning club. We have come a long way since our initial organization two years ago. One hallmark of the Banning club is participation in events held locally: bike races, radio demonstrations and running events. In March, members will participate in the famed Baker to Vegas race. This race consists of several thousand law enforcement officers and approximately 400 Ham Radio operators. Since the race actually takes place in the desert between Baker and Las Vegas, we maintain desert radio outposts. The lack of cell phone coverage in this remote area necessitates radio communication. So it is a great venue to practice skills which can come in handy during any emergency where cell phone coverage may be minimal or not at all. This race is held every year; visit the web site: bakervegas.com. Our website is w6fsb.com; meetings are on the last Friday of the month at 10 am in the Lodge Ballroom. ~ Dick Van Bree, W6RVB

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