As mentioned before in this "Prez Sez" effort, increasing membership in our Club is my main goal. How can we get more individuals into our organization, and how can we get better attendance at our meetings? We all know "hams" we meet on the air, see in our stores and even have an "eyeball QSO at times, and what an opportunity to utter a word of welcome for our Club. I’d like to issue a challenge to all our members to bring at least one potential member to a meeting before the start of the New Year. To be able to double our attendance would be a giant step to further the cause of Amateur Radio in North/Central Kitsap County.

Unfortunately, three of our stalwart members will be leaving the area sometime in the near future. Bill Frazier(W7ARC) has been a super great volunteer that has provided so much to achieve the success we’ve enjoyed in our programs. Susan Johnson(AB7MD) has been most active and helpful in our volunteer examiner program, and managed well our finances; and Gene(AB7LH) has helped in so many ways especially with the trailer and other projects. They can’t be easily replaced, but we’ll have to try. Special thanks for them and their efforts for the Club. Hopefully, someone will come forward and show us how volunteerism works well in the Club.

A nominating committee will be appointed soon to provide for next years officers, and any interested persons are free to volunteer their services. Our next meeting will be next Wednesday, November 10^th, and will feature our V\P Saftich who will give us a presentation on "Awards and Groups" that help us decorate our walls with meaningful paper well earned and prized. Come and bring a friend. Tnx to Russ or John, donuts and coffee will be provided.

73 -- (Rev) Jerry Turner, K9CCZ NKARC President.

If you intend to take the VE tests, cash only to make the payment. Checks are no longer accepted.

Thanks to all who helped produce another successful hamfest in October. Based on reports received from other hamfests in the Puget Sound area, we were concerned that the attendance would be lower than previous years. Fortunately, the NKARC Hamfest bucked the trend and attendance was comparable to other years.

Typically, many individual vendors show up at the last minute and we used more tables (48) than we had set aside for them.

One vendor missed at this Hamfest was ICOM who stated that budget constraints forced them to drop hamfest participation this year. NKARC trustee Jeff, KS7Z, showed up with the wares from his enterprise, "The Ham Shack." Give him a look-see at www.thehamshack.biz.

The Tacoma Radio Club set up their antique stations and operated as a field event They attracted a number of people with their demonstration of lighting a fluorescent tube in the RF field radiated from an antenna. The digital radio demonstrations and the astronomy exhibit also generated positive comments.

Thanks again to all the members who showed up to handle the various tasks. Many hands make for light work as they say. Clean up went particularly fast this year as several members stayed on for the job. NKARC President Gerry, K7CCZ was first on the job and last to finish. (He towed the club trailer to and from the event!) He also coordinated the table assignments as the vendors arrived for the setup.

Special thanks to Lester, AB7Y and Jere, W7TVA for their efforts in placing the emergency communications van at the site and manning it for the visitors. They both had busy schedules that day and we appreciate their dedication to the hamfest. Tnx to Russ, KI7PG for doing the talk-in using the club "hand cart" station.

Nov. 10th -- Presentation meeting -- 7:30 PM– Viking Park Clubhouse -- Paper Chasing in Amateur Radio Awards and Certificates – Ed Saftich, AK7H

Nov. 20th -- VE testing Community Room, Poulsbo Library, 700 NE Lincoln St., Poulsbo. Doors open at 9am. Picture ID, original and photocopy of current amateur radio license and pending CSCE's needed. Cost of session is $12.00. Cash only – No checks accepted. Questions please call Susan, AB7MD at 360-697-9379.

Nov. 24th – No Business Meeting

Nov. 25th -- Thanksgiving Day – Happy Holiday

Dec. 8th – Annual Club Banquet – Details to be given in a special release later in the month.

Dec. 19th -- VE testing Community Room, Poulsbo Library, 700 NE Lincoln St., Poulsbo. Doors open at 9am. Picture ID, original and photocopy of current amateur radio license and pending CSCE's needed. Cost of session is $12.00. Cash only – No checks accepted. Questions please call Susan, AB7MD at 360-697-9379

Dec. 22nd – No Business Meeting

Dec. 25th -- Christmas Day – Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday

It’s almost time for the changing of the guard. The nomination and election of club officers takes place at the December dinner meeting. We are going into the eleventh month of the year and there is just a short time to think about who will lead the club next year The officers who led the club through the year have been in office for at least two years. A few have agreed to stay for another year but some have indicated that they would like to leave their positions..

The club offices are listed on the newsletter mailpage. Look over the list and think about the office you would consider or else who would make a good candidate. If somebody approaches you and asks you to consider a position, listen and give some thought to it. After all, they have confidence that you have the qualifications for the office you are being asked to consider.

NKARC is an active club with many interesting programs and presentations. Club members represent many diverse aspects of amateur radio and they are willing to share their experiences and expertise. The club has had exceptional leadership but the leadership must change to avoid stagnation and to introduce new ideas. Take an office and help continue the action.

Just to let you know that the NKARC has a new website home. We now have our own domain:http://www.nkarc.org and I hope as many of you will take a look at what is there and give me your ideas as to what more you will want.

If you have any items advertised on the site and they have been sold, please let me know so I can remove them. The site is live and there will be lots of new and useful changes in the very near future.

73, Bill, W7ARC

Bill has agreed to continue as webmaster even though he is moving to the other side of the Sound.

Visit a veteran Ham’s shack and you’ll probably see the walls decorated with QSL cards, award certificates, and maybe special event contact certificates. These decorative additions are the result of a part of Ham radio called "Paper Chasing." It’s a disease that can affect you as soon as you get into the hobby or one that grows on you very slowly without you realizing the addiction has become part of you.

Award certificates come from many sources – ARRL, countries, publications, Ham Radio nets and organizations. NKARC even sponsored an award called "Off the Wall" for which your editor owns certificate number 57. The ARRL provides the most popular awards among which are the Worked All States, Worked All Continents, Rag Chewers, and the most prestigious DXCC Awards. These awards also carry endorsements for bands and modes worked.

NKARC Vice President and avid Paper Chaser Ed Saftich, AK7H, will present a talk on this fascinating facet of amateur radio describing the most popular awards and the requirements to obtain them at the presentation meeting on November 10th. He will also show some of the award and certificates he has earned while in Ham Radio. He might even give hints on self-diagnosis to determine if you have been affected by this "disease".

Please notify the club secretary to update the roster if you changed your address, call sign or e-mail address. Include your phone number so that you can be contacted in case of emergency or for assistance. This will insure that you will get the latest news via the club newsletter. Either notify Horace at the meeting or drop a card to NKARC at PO Box 2268, Silverdale, WA 98383-2268. You can also send the changes via e-mail to Horace or Bob Tomas at the addresses listed in the club officers list on the mailing page.

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Help the environment by properly disposing of discharged household batteries. This includes alkaline, regular zinc carbide batteries, and batteries with heavy metals such as mercury, ni-cads and lithium ion. The Solid Waste Facility on Hansville Road accepts the batteries as part of the county-wide recycling program. Otherwise, bring them to the meeting for transfer to the disposal site.

Do not bring lead-acid batteries to the meeting for disposal. It is your responsibility to take them to the Solid Waste Facility. There is no cost for the battery disposal because it is considered one of the items in the recycling program.

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Halloween has passed and the malls and stores are showing signs of the oncoming holiday season -- Frosty the Snowman and Santa are competing for attention.

These signs also signal a change in the NKARC meeting schedule for the months of November and December. Thanksgiving is on the fourth Thursday of November and, this year, Christmas falls on the fourth Saturday of December. It is apparent for most that holiday preparations and/or travel take precedence over something like a club meeting. Therefore, the NKARC meetings will be November 10th and December 8th.

It costs approximately 60 cents per copy to print a newsletter and postage to mail it. Receiving your newsletter electronically helps keep publishing costs down allowing the funds to be used for other club projects

The following items have been donated to the Club for sale to members or interested parties: Collins 75A2, Hallicrafters HT-37, HeathKit Freq Counter B-101, D 104 mike(top, no base), Viking Messenger CB rig. I received them a couple of weeks ago from Dennis B. Waldron (WD4O),the Son-in-law of W7LHW ("Red" died Sept 11, 1996) and Elsie Clotfelter. I have the above articles for viewing should anyone be interested. Rather than assign a price, we are asking for a reasonable donation from those who might be interested. If none, then we will keep them for the next Hamfest. Comments about the sale are welcomed.

Elsie also has two mono-band beam antennas that someone can have if they take them down. I didn't offer to take them down on behalf of the Club as I doubt that we could get much for them, and it would be difficult to get the old ant's down. They were homebrew and there are no manuals. If anyone is interested, contact me and I will arrange a meeting. The club will not assume any liability in case of an accident.

73 Jerry President, NKARC.

Newington, Conn., October 15, 2004 - Over the past weeks, we have all heard of the devastation in central Florida. Many hams actually heard it first hand through volunteer service or on the HF nets. While many areas of the country were affected to differing degrees, Florida was the worst. Thousands of families are without a place to live and will be homeless over the coming Holiday Season. For a child suddenly living out of a tent, or car, or someone else's home, the 2004 holiday season will be anything but jolly. But hams are coming to their rescue in a new way.

Between now and Thanksgiving, hams across the country are being asked to purchase a new child's toy and send it with a QSL card or 3x5 showing their callsign to:

Ham Radio

The United Way White Dove Project

50 Kindred Street - Suite 207

Stuart, FL 34994

What kind of toy? The homeless children come in all ages, but we suggest thinking of age 1 to 14, both boys and girls.

Should I wrap it? No, just put it in the box unwrapped.

Why the QSL card? The cards will be collected and sent to the ARRL to track results.

Can non-ham friends join in? SURE! And if you give them your QSL cards to put in the boxes, your area will get the credit for their generosity.

Can't I just give to something here locally? Of course you can. We're not saying "don't give" to any other place or cause. We are simply offering this option for hams to show the world that we remember the victims in disasters after the headlines are gone, and to do something good for children in real need.

I know our club can get more people involved than their club.... Club and area and section challenges are encouraged. We'll use the QSL cards as a way to track results.

Can I just give money? Money is always good. Checks should be made payable to:

White Doves,
c/o United Way of Martin County
50 Kindred Street, Suite 207
Stuart, FL 34994

Unwrapped toys for boys and girls of ages 1 to 14 will be gathered and shipped by amateur radio operators to the Stuart facility between now and Thanksgiving for distribution over the holidays. Non-hams are also encouraged to join in this effort to provide for the thousands of children suddenly homeless due to the series of hurricanes.

Those wishing to donate money instead of toys can send a check to:

White Dove, c/o United Way of Martin County
50 Kindred Street, Suite 207
Stuart, FL 34994

Have surplus gear in the shack or garage? Need some cable to finish the antenna? Advertise in the Solid Copy classifieds. Cost is free.