Net Topic - Favorite Family Recipes

I've done the last few nets on technology, and our hobby. I thought it would be nice to end the month with something fun, and a little off-topic. I think it would be a good idea to end each month with a net that is not hobby-related. Tonight my net topic is going to be Family Recipes or Favorite Recipes.

Millionaire Pie

Since Millionaire Pie is a no-bake recipe, it's great for the summertime when you don't want to heat up the house by baking in the oven.
-8 ounces cream cheese, softened
-8-ounce can of crushed pineapple, undrained
-1 cup grated coconut
-1/2 cup sugar
-1 cup chopped pecans
-8-ounce carton of whipped topping, thawed (or you can make your own)
-1 prepared 9-inch pie crust.

Mix together the cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer. Let the mixer run for about 3 or 4 minutes on high speed.
Stir into the cream cheese mixture the crushed pineapple, coconut and pecans, and mix well.
Carefully fold in half of the whipped topping until filling is blended well. Save the other half for the top.
Pile filling into a pie shell, my preference is Graham Cracker, and chill for at least 3 hours.

Just before you serve the pie, you can dollop the whipped topping over the pie and add a sprinkling of chopped pecans, or coconut. You can also just use all the whipped topping in the pie, and it just makes the pie lighter. (If you use this method, you need to chill the pie twice as long to allow it to stiffen up.)

Usually when I make this pie, I make it the night before I plan to serve it, to allow the flavors to mix into the whipped topping.

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KE5EQX - Sean shared his favorite recipe for Barbecue Brisket.

-1 Large or Med Beef Brisket, trimmed.
-Celery Salt
-Liquid Smoke
-Favorite Barbecue sauce

Preparation: Place your brisket into a large piece of aluminum foil. Top with celery salt until the Brisket is almost black. Add 2 Tsp of Liquid Smoke per pound of Brisket. Wrap everything in aluminum foil and marinate overnight.

Cooking: Place the Brisket into a large pan. Bake at 325 for about 10 hours, or until the Brisket is tender.

Serving: 30 minutes before you serve the brisket, smother it with your favorite BBQ sauce. (Sean's preference is Head Country.) Place the brisket, aluminum foil open, back into the oven for 30 minutes to 1 hour (to taste.)

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KE5GSB - Charlotte shared her recipe for Roast Salad.

-1 Large Beef roast
-Salt, Pepper, Garlic, Onion (use to your preference)
-2 Eggs, hardboiled and diced
-Miracle Whip or Mayonnaise
-Sweet pickles
-Onion, diced (to your preference)

Cook the roast to your preference, using the seasonings to taste. Let the roast cool completely.

Pull the roast apart, or cut into bite size pieces. In a bowl add the two boiled eggs, diced onion, and then Miracle Whip or Mayonnaise until creamy (usually about 1/2 to 1 full cup).

Mix all ingredients well, cover, and chill. Serve on your favorite bread as asandwichh, or with crackers as a snack.

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K5UZI - Larry shared his Grandmothers recipe for Banana Cake


-1 1/2 cups sugar
-2 eggs
-3 bananas, ripened
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-1/2 cup shortening (or oil)
-1 1/2 cups flour
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 cup buttermilk
-*optional 1 cup chopped walnuts
-Frosting- your preference


Pre-heat oven to 350

Mash and beat three ripe bananas until liquefied.
Mix in 1 1/2 cups sugar
Beat 2 eggs and mix into bananas and sugar
Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla and stir
Stir in 1/2 cup shortening or oil
Stir in 1 1/2 cups flour and beat until smooth
(optional: stir in 1 cup of chopped walnuts)
In a separate bowl mix 1 teaspoon of baking SODA into 1/2 cup buttermilk (will foam)
Fold milk/soda mixture into batter and mix thoroughly

Bake at 350 for 35 to 45 minutes, Cake is very moist and is sometimes difficult to check with a toothpick.

The cake will shrink a little as it cools, this is normal

The cake is best served with cream cheese or vanilla frosting, but it is pretty good bare!


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I really enjoyed putting this net together, and by the time I heard all of the recipes I was starving! Thanks to everyone who checked in, and to all of you who shared recipes with us.

If you have any recipes that you would like to share with the Radio Rose Rocks, feel free to email it to me at KE5GRX@yahoo.com and I will add it to this post.

73
-Stephanie

Tuesday Night Net - Foxhunting Part 2

I wanted tonight's net to be about the equipment used for foxhunting, and I was hoping that I would have a guest speaker. Unfortunately my guest was unable to join us, so I am just going to do my best to explain what I know.


The basic equipment you will need for your first hunt will include
1. A receiver. –2-Meter HT.
2. An antenna adapter or a paper clip. (I will explain the paper clip in a moment.)
3. A map of the area.

As I explained in last weeks net, your foxhunt coordinator will let you know what frequency you will be hunting on. When you begin hearing the frequency, you will not be able to tell which direction it is coming from (because the antenna on your HT is omni-directional, meaning it will receive signals from all directions at the same time.)

You will need to use your body to block the signal, so that you can begin to detect which direction the signal is coming from. So, in the most basic terms, you will stand in one spot, and rotate your body, by degrees, until you can discern which direction has the weakest signal and which has the strongest signal. Usually you will hear the weakest signal when the hidden transmitter (the fox) is directly behind you.

Once you have determined which direction the signal is coming from, you will need to begin traveling in that direction. However, once you begin to get closer to the “fox”, the signal will be much stronger, and you will have a harder time determining which direction to turn. It might appear that the fox is all around you.

This is when the handy dandy “PAPERCLIP” will come into play. Remove your rubber duckie antenna, and put a straightened paper clip in its place. This will reduce the signal so that you can continue.

This may sound very simple, but all the experts will agree; it isn’t! Once you’ve determined which direction the signal is coming from, you still have not figured out where the transmitter is hidden. This will take practice, and sometimes a very good eye. The transmitter may be hidden in a tree, under a bush, behind a rock, or even in a car. The possibilities are almost endless.

Sometimes your HT will just not be enough (even with the help of your trusty paperclip!) There are many other antennas that are used in foxhunting, that can be used for pinpointing where the fox is located, but I wanted to try to keep this, since my understanding is limited.

One of the recurring themes that I’ve seen in almost every website and magazine article that I’ve read is that a hunter should NOT GIVE UP! It’s too easy to get frustrated and quit when you’ve become confused or are having trouble, especially when you are a beginner. Just don’t give up, the only way that you can improve is to keep at it, the experience of just participating is Directional Finding education in itself.

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Announcements:

The new Tech classes are going to start on February 2. If you know someone interested in taking the class, they will need to register and pay by January 26th (which is this coming Thursday.)

The RRR Rail trip to Gainesville is rapidly approaching! Hopefully everyone has already signed up!

The last net of the month is next week, and I'd like to have a topic that will be fun and interesting for everyone. I'm probably going to have a topic not pertaining to Amateur radio. I'm considering the topic of "Family Recipes" or "Favorite Recipes". If you have a favorite recipe you would like to share, have it ready for the net so you can share it with everyone.

Have a great week!

73
Stephanie
KE5GRX

Tuesday Night January 17th - Fox Hunting Part 1

Foxhunting was suggested as a topic for this week’s net, but there is so much information to cover I thought I should break it into two parts. This week I’m going to talk about what Foxhunting actually is.

I know that most of you already know what Foxhunting is, but there are some of us, myself included, who have a lot to learn. Foxhunting is also known as T-hunting, hidden transmitter hunting or ARDF, (Amateur Radio Direction Finding).

Foxhunting is a contest where people are trying to be the first to find a hidden radio transmitter. The hunt can be just a few hours, or all day, and sometimes as long as a full weekend.

The transmitter in this competition is called “the Fox” and is supposed to be hidden. This activity is supposed to be fun and challenging, so the Fox should be hidden well. The Fox will transmit either continuously or at regular intervals.

The “Hounds” are the competitors who are looking for the hidden transmitter. The Hounds use receiving equipment to locate the Fox. Some foxhunts cover long distances and require using vehicles, and some cover smaller areas and so the competitors walk.

The person that goes and sets up the Fox is usually called a “hider” or a “setter”, but their job is to go set up the transmitter, turn it on, and then announce that the hunt has begun.

The Hounds will then begin attempts at getting a bearing on the signal of the fox. It’s a bit of a trial and error process, and can involve quite a bit of walking (or driving.) The first person, or team that finds the Fox is the winner.

When you find the Fox, the last thing you want to do is notify all the other competitors, so you’re supposed to just walk away. Depending on how your hunt is set up, you will then either announce on a specified frequency that you have located the Fox, or you will meet back at the starting point to let the coordinator know. The Fox will continue to transmit until all the competitors have either located it, or given up.

Part of the fun of foxhunting is building your own equipment used for locating the Fox. But, it’s not required that you build your own, there are kits available. So next week we’ll talk about the equipment used in foxhunting. I’m going to attempt to have a guest speaker to talk about the technical stuff, since I’m still a new ham myself.

Ever wondered why Amateur Radio users are called "hams"?

I found this bit of trivia while I was doing some research for my nets. I thought it was very interesting, and just had to share.


Why are Radio Amateurs called "HAMS"?

Have you ever wondered why radio amateurs are called "HAMS"? Well, it goes like this: The word "HAM" as applied to 1908 was the station callsign of the first amateur wireless stations operated by some amateurs of the Harvard Radio Club. They were Albert S. Hyman, Bob Almy and Poogie Murray.

At first they called their station "HYMAN-ALMY-MURRAY". Tapping out such a long name in code soon became tiresome and called for a revision. They changed it to "HY-AL-MU", using the first two letters of each of their names. Early in 1901 some confusion resulted between signals from amateur wireless station "HYALMU" and a Mexican ship named "HYALMO". They then decided to use only the first letter of each name, and the station callsign became "HAM".

In the early pioneer days of unregulated radio amateur operators picked their own frequency and call-letters. Then, as now, some amateurs had better signals than commercial stations. The resulting interference came to the attention of congressional committees in Washington and Congress gave much time to proposed legislation designed to critically limit amateur radio activity. In 1911, Albert Hyman chose the controversial Wireless Regulation Bill as the topic for his thesis at Harvard. His instructor insisted that a copy be sent to Senator David I. Walsh, a member of one of the committees hearing the Bill. The Senator was so impressed with the thesis is that he asked Hyan to appear before the committee. ALBERT Hyman took the stand and described how the little station was built and almost cried when he told the crowded committee room that if the bill went through that they would have to close down the station because they could not afford the license fees and all the other requirements which the bill imposed on amateur stations.

Congressional debate began on the Wireless Regulation Bill and little station "HAM" became the symbol for all the little amateur stations in the country crying to be saved from the menace and greed of the big commercial stations that didn't want them around. The bill finally got to the floor of Congress and every speaker talked about the "...poor little station HAM". That's how it all started. You will find the whole story in the Congressional Record.
Nationwide publicity associated station "HAM" with amateur radio operators. From that day to this, and probably until the end of time in radio an amateur is a "HAM"

From Florida Skip Magazine - 1959 - Issued - January 2001
(And borrowed from the website RATS.net)

Tuesday night net January 10th

Our net on Tuesday was about the importance of recruiting in ham radio.

Amateur radio is one of the oldest technologies still in use. People that learned how to use ham radio more than 50 years ago are still using it today.

Being that ham radio is an older technology, the demographics of ham users are proportionately older. The only survey that I could find was from a 1997 QST magazine, but it basically showed that 29% of operators are 65+. Only 5% of operators were under 24 in 1997.

Given that the technology is ever growing, expanding, and changing, there are younger hams getting their license every month. But on the other side of the coin, older hams are getting older, and frankly, the overall number of hams is decreasing by a small amount every year.

In other words, in just 30 years, most of the older hams will, "age-out", so to speak. In order to ensure that there will be enough hams to meet the demand in emergency situations, we need to keep interest up in amateur radio. I almost hate to use the word recruiting, but that is basically what needs to be done.

We all know that ham radio isn't for everyone. There are the people who see amateur radio as an outdated and unnecessary technology that has been replaced by cellular service. Until they are put into an emergency situation, they cannot understand how useless cellular service will become in a catastrophe.

But there are the people who will find ham radio as fun, interesting, and exciting as the new hams did 75 years ago (or more.)

-·Scouts. Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts are a great group of young people. As a former scout myself, I can say that Ham Radio would have fascinated me, had it been introduced to me at the time I was scouting.

-·Youth clubs. Girls Go-Tech is a club that encourages girls to become interested in math, science, and technology. 4-H is also a club that has technology programs for youth.

We can set up a Youth day for the ham radio club and invite local Scout Troops and other Youth clubs to come learn about ham radio. They could watch some hams making contacts on HF radio, 2m. radio, and other ham technology. If it's not feasible to set up a youth day, perhaps we could take ham radio to them.

-·Your family and friends are another great resource for future hams. They might have seen you using your radio, and it piqued their interest, or when you told them you got your license, they were very supportive of you. Some of your family might not seem interested at all, but given the right information, they might change their mind.

Remember when you were a new ham. Think about how everything was new, and exciting, and a little overwhelming. You knew a LITTLE, but you wanted to know it ALL RIGHT NOW. The best way to learn is to be involved. Don't neglect the new people. Make sure everyone knows they are more than welcome to participate in events. Invite your new ham friends, and people interested in the hobby to W5PAA and other amateur radio events.

Perhaps the best recruitment tool is your enthusiasm. The more interested and enthusiastic YOU are about your hobby, the more interested and enthusiastic others will be. When you share everything you've learned, and everything you've done with your hobby, most people will be naturally curious. Talk about ham radio every chance you get.

We all enjoy our hobby, and want to see it around for generations to come. Only hams can keep ham radio alive.


Other groups of people that are potential hams:
-Co-Workers (Gary KE5GRV)
-Firefighters/Police (Mike KE5EQV)
-Medical Personnel (Charlotte KE5GSB)
-Your child's classmates (Stan WA7WMN)

Some suggestions for activities that could be set up to generate interest for new hams would be things like a Fox Hunt, class activities with teachers and children, field day, and making contacts with the astronauts/shuttle.

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We are planning a Valentine's Dinner for either Valentine's Day or the Saturday before. EVERYONE is welcome to come, and bring your sweetheart, your familfriendsour freinds. Each family that comes is asked to bring a covered dish. Let us know if you would be interested in attending, and what you are planning to bring.

All other announcements mentioned during the net have been listed in previous entries.

73
Stephanie

Urgent Numbers

Allergy: http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/
Center for Disease: http://www.cdc.gov/
Health Dept: http://www.health.state.ok.us/
Hospital: http://www.integris-health.com/
Incident C :http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/ics/index.html
Net Information ARRL:: http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/pscm/
Poison: http://www.aapcc.org/findyour.htm
SA: http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn.nsf

Tuesday Night Net January 3rd

We had ten check-ins for our Tuesday Night Net, including two that were third-party transmissions via Laqueta, KD5WEV.

The topic for the net was Keeping Records.

Overview:

We all know that it is very important to keep station records. Although the FCC doesn't require that ou keep a record of your amateur radio activities, it is a very good idea to keep a log.

If you're not already keeping a log, don't feel bad, you're not alone. The ARRL did a survey in October of 2003 asking whether or not people were keeping records of their contacts. Out of almost 3000 respondents, about 15% said that they do not keep a station log.

Those of us that tend to only make contact on 2m with friends probably don't think of keeping a log as someing necessary. However, when we begin to "expand our horizons" and venture into the world of HF and other DXing, keeping station records will begin to take on more importance. (Don't forget that the FCC can inspect your station at any time, and you want to be prepared.)

There are many ways to keep station records, from the very simple, to the technologically advanced.

You can start with a handwritten log in a bound notebook, or you can create a log on a computer using any word processing software. You can also purchase a Log Book from the ARRL at most amateur radio stores. (In OKC we have K&E Electronics on NW 23rd and Tony Merritt, to name a few.)

There are software programs that you can use for your home pc or laptop computer. Some of these programs are called "shareware", which usually means that they are free to download and use, and then other software , that can be purchased for a nominal fee. You can visit N3FJP's Amateur Radio Software, XMLog, and AC6V.com for a few examples. There are even programs that can be downloaded to your Palm Pilot!

Keeping station records can be as simple or as complicated as you choose it to be, but at a minimum you should document the Date and Time of the contact, the Name, Call Sign and Location of the person you DX'd with, the frequency used, and the length of the transmission.

A couple of other things you might consider keeping in your station logs would be:
- Third-party transmissions from your station.
- Any illegal or disruptive activities you might overhear on the frequency.

When asked if anyone is already using a station log, there were several responses.

KE5EQX, Sean, said that when he uses the IRLP, he keeps detailed records in a spiral notebook.

KD5WEV, Laqueta, said that during drills with the Health Department, she is required to keep records that are kept in triplicate and are extremely important.

KE5CXX, Jim, mentioned that for most awards QSL cards verifying contacts are required, and that station records are necessary for sending out QSL cards. Jim also brought up the point that it is usually only useful to keep records of HF transmissions.

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Laqueta made several announcements.

This Thursday, January 5th, the W5PAA Aeronautical Center Amateur Radio Club will have their monthly meeting at 7 p.m. The meeting is held at the Metro Tech at 5600 S. MacArthur.

The Radio Rose Rocks will be having a scavenger hunt at the Home & Garden Show at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds January 20-22. There is a $5.00 donation requested with your application that will need to be paid no later than Midnight, January 19th. When you register, you will be given a free ticket to the show, and a list of the things you will need to find for the hunt.

First prize:
Round trip Amtrak to Gainesville, TX on February 4th, 2006

Second prize:
Half price on Amtrak to Gainesville, TX February 4th, 2006

Third prize:
Breakfast with Radio Rose Rocks on Feb 4th, 2006

The Rose Rocks will be riding the rail to Gainesville, TX on February 4th. We have a limited number of seats available, so you will need to confirm your reservation ASAP! This trip is not limited to the Rose Rockers, so feel free to bring your family or friends. We will be meeting for breakfast that morning at __ a.m. , and departing on AmTrak at __ a.m. We will arrive in Gainesville at __ a.m. , where we are free to go our own direction, but for the most part we will be SHOPPING at the Outlet Mall. We will depart Gainesville at __ p.m. , and arrive back in Oklahoma City at __ p.m.


We are planning a Fox hunt for March 26th, details will be forthcoming.

There wil be a Health Department drill on April 26th, and they are going to need volunteer hams. If you can be of assistance that day, please contact Laqueta.


If you need information on any of these dates, please email Laqueta at radioroserocks@gmail.com. The email for the Rose Rocks will begin transitioning from the old email address to this new address over the next few weeks. Please change your Address Book accordingly.


Happy New Year everyone.

73,

Laqueta - KD5WEV and Stephanie KE5GRX