President's Corner
by... Jim Kirk - KJ5X

Happy New Year. We’ve gone on to that irresistible temptress 1998. However, it seems to me that a lot of NARS folks enjoyed themselves in 1997. One can recall the many good times at the Wednesday lunches, the Saturday breakfasts, the spring picnic and the monthly meetings. There was the contesting fun (including 4th place out of over 500 in Field Day class 2A) and the satisfaction of helping out with communications at civic events. There was also the joy of 25 new hams “graduating” from the NARS novice school, and there were the grins of the many new hams who passed at the NARS VE test sessions. I hope you enjoyed the year as much as I did.

As usual, the December Home Brew Night was a lot of fun with many remarkably good entries. Congratulations to Bill K5ZTY for his “Best in Show” award and to Jack WA8GHZ for his “Most Creative” award. We are long on talent in NARS it appears.

Remember the NARS banquet at 7 PM, January 16, at the Valley Ranch Barbecue Restaurant. It’s a fun event with good food, nice door prizes, awards, snappy patter and lots more.

You may have noticed some deliberate interference with your ‘66 repeater communications from time to time. The best way to deal with this is to ignore it. If it’s so bad that communication can’t be maintained, go to simplex or another repeater or just be patient. Do not talk on the frequency at any length about the interference or attempt to tell the individual what a sorry-sick-screwball he is. That will only enforce his notion that he has the power to do something that is noticed. Besides, the interference usually doesn’t last long and if it does, the perpetrator’s days on the air are numbered.

Best wishes to you for a super 1998. And thanks to all who gave their time and talent to make the 1997 NARS experience the great one it was.

Meeting Announcement
by... Paul Owen - N5NXS

January Meeting -
Annual NARS January Banquet

So what do NARS members do after the big Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners?

Why they get together and have a Banquet of course! Don't miss this annual event. Send your checks to the club PO Box to make sure there are seats for you and your drag-a-long.

The regular Friday night meeting will start with the usual eye ball QSO's. Then we will meet the new club officers and recognize some of the members who make the year a special one to remember. Then we will have a special program to sit back and enjoy. [This year’s version should be a real treat as it stars none other than Bill W5SB and John - W5PDW, both with infamous reputations in club entertainment. -Ed]

If you are new to the club, this is the time to come out and mix with the members of the best club in Houston. The location is at Valley Ranch Bar-Be-Que Restaurant, at the intersection of SH249 and Spring Cypress Road. See you there Friday, January 16, at 7:00pm.

From the looks of the 1997 NARS banquet, this years should be packed with fun and surprises.

Soapbox
by... Keith Dutson - WD5DXL

Wow! What a lineup of happenings us NARSinians have to look forward to over the next two months!

First and foremost is the annual Banquet on January 16 (oops - date wrong in last issue). You will be missing one of the best times of the year if you don’t show up for this.

And check out the contest lineup for the next 60 days. If you have always wanted to try your hand at contesting, this is the time to start. Take your pick from a GREAT list. Don’t know how to start? Just ask for some Elmering from any NARS contester.

Finally, there are some interesting events taking place soon. Read about them in the Events column.

Sign up today as a NARS News reporter; see me for details. You do not have to be a writer or photographer, but it will help if you can do either. Call me at 281-351-7683, or send email to kdutson@swbell.net.

DX News
by... Bill Gary - K8CSG

DX Notes --
The grief I feel I cannot tell,
I just heard that your tower fell! . . .

Propagation has been gradually working its way up. Recently the SFI has swung from the eighties to 100+. Some nice band openings have appeared, both on 20m and 15m. Nighttime conditions have not been good (yet) but early morning and late afternoon conditions have led to good DXing by some. After approaching 120, the SFI slowly faded down to 90 or less by mid-month, accompanied by mediocre band conditions. During the last week in the month good conditions prevailed as good openings were seen on 20 meters in the mornings and on 15 meters in some mornings and evenings. Sporadic openings on 10 meters gave added hope to some of the technicians and others.

LOCAL EVENTS: Steve KD5AIJ worked JR2TQG on ten meters for a new DXCC counter from his mobile radio; he also captured a ZC in New Zealand later from his mobile. Bill K5ZTY worked 4U1ITU in Geneva during the last weekend in November. Mike K5NZ worked 5A2A (Libya) and 8Q7DV (Maldives). The 8Q7 was a new DXCC country. Mike KM5LA reports receiving QSLs from Mexico (XE) and the Falkland Islands (VP8), and that he worked Bulgaria (LZ) at the first of December; later he worked OE (Austria). Conrad was heard working 5R8EE in Madagascar. Gerald W5BA worked P40P on 160m. KB5ZXO worked VR2 (Hong Kong). Dick W5VHN worked 3E1DX on Contadora Island off the coast of Panama. Jim KJ5X received a card from 3V8BB for his 200th confirmed country. Dan KK5LD reports his new tower/beam combination is providing results. He worked CX (Uruguay) recently. Gerald W5BA worked 9Q5YT in what until recently was Zaire. George K5VUU worked HK3JJH in Colombia. Mark KM5AO worked 9Q5YT barefoot with his attic dipole. I'm impressed! Cal WF5F was heard working HB0/HB9LEY on 40CW. W5PDW received cards confirming new countries Chad (TT8) and Zambia (9J2). W5MN worked a VR2 and an LA9 on 40-meters (his count continues to grow). John W5PDW worked KC4AAA (Antarctica) on 20m around 0010Z. Dan KK5LD reports working DL (Germany) and another European country recently. Frank KC5WDP is now on ten meters and worked Argentina in mid-December. Loyd KD5AIG worked No. Ireland (GI0) and St. Helena Island (ZD7). Bob K0DQW worked Cape Verde Islands (D44) and Argentina (LU). Conrad W5MN worked 9V1 (Singapore) and 3B8 (Mauritius Island) on the low bands. Robert KK5TC worked Ireland (EI), England (G) and the Isle of Man (GD). Walter KK5LO worked EI2II in Ireland. Mike K5NZ worked H44 (Solomon Islands) and 4S7 (Sri Lanka) for new countries, bringing his total to 275.

Gerald W5BA sends an interesting report of his DXing. He is using only a 135-foot Windom fed with 450-ohm ladder line and has been operating barefoot. Some results: 20m -- 9A1AA, FG5HR, J69AZ, JW5NM, TU2WL, UA4PK; 15m -- 5N37T, HR1JPT, S59W, ZD8Z, ZP1AB; 40m -- HB0/HB9LEY. And there were others on other bands/CW including the 10-meter contest. Nice work, Gerald!

Conrad W5MN is having a great time working DX from Normangee, TX. Recently he worked VR97JK (Hong Kong) and 9V1ZB (Singapore). Loyd KD5AIG checked into the 75m LID NET during his end-of- year vacation in West Texas. Loyd reports working some good DX recently, i.e., ZK1DI (So. Cook Islands), 4S7DA (Sri Lanka), ZL1BOS (New Zealand), KC4AAA (South Pole), JA9AA (Japan), and VK2IGW (Australia).

DX WORKED: KC4AAA (Antarctica) 20m 2348Z; T48RCT 20m 1938Z; 5R8EE 20m 1657; ET3AA 15m 1601Z; JA8RY 15m 2257Z; HL5FUA 15m 2306; HL3ERJ 15m 2326Z; KH2JU 15m 2330Z; JA5GPJ 15m 2247Z; VK2AEJ 15m 2254Z; ZS97GSH 15m 1940Z; ZS6AFA 20m 2154Z; A35RK 15m CW 2214Z; 9J2JT 15m 1819Z; 3XA8DX 20m 2146Z; ZB2JO 15m 1434Z; 9Q5YT 20m 2239Z; TF3GC 15m 1430Z; VK6WJH 20m 2158Z; 3A2HB 20m 1453Z; YL2AZ 20m 1438; 5T5TY 20m 2230Z; VK6VU 20m LP 2251Z; JA3CZY 20m 2243Z; LY1TR 20m 1306Z; UR4MZL 20m 1334Z; ZS4KA 20m 2117Z; ZS4KB 20m 2202Z; ZS6ZXN 20m 2229Z; ES5TV 20m 1235Z; RK3AH 20m 1302Z; UR2IFB 20m 1311Z; VK3MO 20m 2206Z; V63KC 20m 2216Z; 5N9NJM 20m 2232Z; LY2OX 20m 1300Z; UA3PAB 20m 1331Z; 9X0A 20m 2057Z; HL0C/4 20m 2330Z; JA3GFA 20m 0020Z; RV3ACA(YL) 20m 1313Z; SM3NRY 20m 1329Z; 4F4IX 20m 0142; JH7FNM 20m 0023Z.

HEARD/NOT WORKED: GI4TUE 20m 1611; GJ4HSW 20m 1611; TT8KM (Chad) 15m CW 1348Z; VK2FLA 20m LP 2028Z; 9V1AG 80m 1356Z; 9Q5TE 20m 2142Z; OX3SA 20m 2157Z; HC4L 20m 2203Z; LA2CM 20m 1425Z; UA1CDL 20m 1415Z; LA2NC 20m 1440Z; VK6UE 20m LP 2255Z; TT8JWM 15m 1418Z; LX1HD 15m 1429Z; A71BY (Qatar) 20m 1425Z; 4S7DA (Sri Lanka) 20m 1432Z; TU2BB 20m 2233Z; VK6VU 20m 2235Z; BY1QH 20m 0104Z.

QSL ROUTES: 3XA8DX via DJ9ZB; CO6XN via PO Box 1, Venegas 64180 Cuba; 3A2HB via CBA; 4S7DA via W3HNK; TU2BB via N2HHS; 9X0A via DL5WM.

5R8EE in Madagascar came onto the 15m band without announcement on Dec. 4 with a good, readable signal here in Texas. The first station to answer him and to work him was W5MN. Nice going, Conrad! Shortly, after re-tuning the amplifier I worked him and then the pileup arrived. Many stations calling, lots of them on the East Coast. Some are obviously new DXers as displayed by their tactics; some were not pretty. Suddenly, out of the pileup I heard Jim KJ5X calling him. Mike answered the first call. Some of us really know how to call and work DX! Jim Kirk, by the way, also worked 3A2MD in Monaco for two new DXCC countries that same day.

Around the start of this month a station signing P5/JA1CGR was heard working JA stations like crazy. This stirred a lot of people to ask questions and to begin calling the P5 (P5 is North Korea -- at the head of the most wanted list). Heard elsewhere on the band a JA station who knows JA1CCR was reporting that JA1CCR was at home in Japan because he had just spoken with him to check. Another Slim!

Most of our DXers and contesters will recognize the callsign ZD8Z. The operator is Jim Neiger, who has developed a fascinating resume of DXing. I met Jim on the air some 25 years ago when I worked him as KB6DA. He was on Canton Island in the Pacific, one of his many stops along his career. Canton Island is in the Phoenix Island group and was claimed by both the British and the USA. A result of WWII cooperation, both countries occupied and managed the island as a condominium arrangement. Although working the island has never been especially easy, it offered a special attraction back then. Amateurs operating from Canton then could hold either a British or American license -- or both. Jim was one of those who held both, KB6DA and VR1W. I worked him one Sunday morning using his American callsign. Not being a bashful DX-type, I asked him if he would work me using his British callsign, also. Jim's initial response was that he never used both callsigns on any given day, but that he usually alternated them. After some discussion and cajolery, he suddenly said "K8CSG this is VR1W, you're 5 and 9. How's that?" I promptly gave him his report, thanked him and went away quietly. Both QSOs were confirmed in a timely manner and they count for two of my DXCC Countries. Now when I hear Jim on Ascension Island (ZD8Z) I usually use one of his old Cantonese callsigns when I call him. The typical response, until he gets my callsign up on his computer, is "Now, there is an old-timer!"

Mark KM5AO continues to surprise me with some of his accomplishments. After I labored a good bit in working 9Q5YT with my QRO and beam, Mark came along a little later and worked him with little effort and a relatively mediocre antenna. Impressive! Dan KK5LD enjoyed working the ten meter contest with his new beam, reporting he has worked all but eight of the states now. His longest contact was with a ZL in New Zealand. Nice going!

John Ellis W5PDW reported a rare DX contact recently. He worked WF5F, Cal White, on CW (long path) on 80 meters. This is extraordinary when one considers that the long path between the two is only 1300 meters less than the circumference of the earth. But, then, some of you know John and can understand his "interesting" claims! Come to think of it, the same comment applies to W5SB telling me about his recent DX: WO3B

Front Page
by... Ed Manuel - N5EM

Houston QRP Club Meeting - January 17, 1998

QRPers of the area, UNITE! This is the announcement of the first meeting of the Houston QRP Club. The meeting will be held on Saturday, January 17, 1998 from 9 AM to 11 AM with lunch to follow at a nearby restuarant for those who care to stay.

The location will be my office conference room, 5718 Westheimer at Bering Street (one block west of Chimney Rock), Suite 970. Plenty of free parking in the garage (please remember to remove your big mobile antennas). I will be monitoring the 146.700 (- offset) repeater for anyone who needs directions and who works QRP that high.

We will be discussing what we want in a local club so this is the chance to come have your input! There will be a free gift for everyone who attends - a 2W audio amplifier kit courtesy of the St. Louis QRP Club and K5BDZ. Also there will be a special prize for the person traveling the farthest to attend the meeting. Someone in Austin is making noise about winning that one. If you would like to make a presentation on some favorite subject, please email me. We have good presentation tools at work. There will be coffee and pastries so you can even sleep late and still have a fine morning of total immersion QRP. Please RSVP via email so that I know how many hungry QRPers to expect.

By all means, bring your latest QRP project to show and tell. And remember, if you are one of those who die for low club member numbers, you'll kick yourself if you aren't there! Bill and I will flght over #1 and #2. Glen will want PI. But everything else is fair game. So be there! Pass the word on to the unconnected in all the area clubs.

Contact - Ed Manuel N5EM n5em@amsat.org or n5em@flash.net

Feature Article
by... Keith Dutson - WD5DXL

Contest Connection

Since there was no article submitted this month for the contest column, I shall take this opportunity to tell a little story about my most recent contest experience.

I had been looking forward to the ARRL November Phone Sweepstakes for several months. I diligently carried out a plan to move the shack out of the house and into the apartment (former in-law quarters) next door. This involved several major tasks, including the actual equipment move, moving the Gap Titan vertical antenna, running new ladder line from the Alpha-Delta DXCC dipole over the house to the apartment and, finally, installing a 240 volt circuit in the apartment to run the Alpha 87A amplifier.

The most difficult job was running the 240 volt circuit. It was hard because the breaker box for the apartment is located on an outside wall, close to one corner of the building. My son-in-law, Mark, has worked as an electrician and assisted me, otherwise I would not have been able to figure out how to get the romex from the breaker box into the attic. As it turned out we had to rip out a wood panel above the breaker box and use a professional-grade heavy-duty fish tape to run from the box up through the plate at the roof line. There was little room in the attic to grab the fish tape, but Mark managed to use a straightened-out coat hanger to snag the tape and pull it into the attic. Once that was accomplished the rest was fairly easy. I ran the romex across the attic to the internal wall by the equipment, and ran it down the wall to an existing 120 volt outlet box. After removing the duplex outlet, the 120 volt wires were tied together so that the next “drop” would remain powered. Next, a 20 amp 240 volt outlet was wired and placed into the outlet box. Ten gauge romex was used, so this can be replaced with a 30 amp outlet later, if I ever get that second Alpha 87A for my contest station (yeah, right).

Well, the last-minute preparations were finally completed by 3:45 PM on contest day, so I missed the beginning of the contest. Undaunted, I settled into my chair and began to call CQ on an open spot on 15 meters. Within a minute I realized I could not call CQ because I was coughing between every other word. Little did I know that this was the beginning of a severe cold that lasted several weeks. So the strategy changed to the “hunt and pounce” method. This worked until 6:00 PM when I got chilled and weak with fever. I only worked stations that were new sections. My total was 41 QSOs, 41 sections.

So, my goal of working a clean sweep and having more than 600 QSOs (last year’s total) was not realized. But ... I DID get the shack moved, got a lot of experience and had a blast while operating for that short period. With a little luck with good health, look for me in the next contest.

Feature Article
by... Gord - VE7TGR / Submitted by John Ellis - W5PDW

Why We Are Called HAMS

Have you ever wondered why we radio amateurs are called HAMS? Well it goes something like this – the word ham was applied in 1908 and was the call letters of one of the first amateur wireless stations operated by some of the members of the Harvard Radio Club. They were Albert Hymen, Bob Almy and Peggie Murray. At first they called their station Hyman-Almy-Murray. Tapping out such a long name in code soon called for a revision, and they changed it to Hy-Al-Mu, using the first two letters of each name. Early 1909 some confusion resulted between signals from HYALMU and a Mexican ship named Myalmo, so they decided to use only the first letter of each name and identified their station as HAM. In the early pioneer and unregulated days of radio, amateur operators picked their own frequencies and call letters.

Then, as now, some amateurs had better signals than some commercial stations. The resulting interference finally came to the attention of congressional committees in Washington, DC and they gave much thought to proposed legislation designed to critically limit amateur activity. In 1911, Albert Hyman chose the controversial Wireless Regulations Bill as the topic of his thesis at Harvard. His instructor insisted that a copy be sent to Senator David Walsh, a member of the committee hearing the Bill. The Senator was so impressed that he sent for Mr. Hyman to appear before the committee. Hyman was put on the stand and described how the little amateur station, HAM, was built, and he almost cried when he told the crowded committee room that if the bill went through, they would have to close up the station because they could not afford the license fees and other requirements which were set up in the bill. The debate started and the little station HAM became a symbol of all the little amateur stations in the country that were crying out to be saved from the menace and greed of the big commercial stations who did not want them around. Finally the Bill got to the floor of Congress and every speaker talked about the poor little station, HAM.

That’s how it all got started. You can find the whole story in the Congressional Record. Nationwide publicity identified the station HAM with amateurs. From that time to this, and probably to the end of time, in radio, ”Every amateur is a HAM.”

73 de Gord VE7TGR

Feature Article
by... Harry Gage - N5WIZ

Try A Sloper For A First Antenna

A sloper dipole wire antenna may be a good compromise for hams new to the hobby to try as their first antenna. Cutting the wire for example at mid-band 40 meter operation (65ft., 6 inches) should allow operation on 40, 20 and 10 meters with a tuner. Use the formula L(ft) = 468 / F(MHz) for the frequency you select as your mid- point.

Losses on the feed line (SWR) will be minimal if quality cable is used such as RG-8 coax and the cable run is 100 ft. or less from transceiver to antenna. Antenna wire should be 12 or 14 gauge, and use good quality insulators. The RG-8 can be buried to facilitate mowing your lawn.

The sloper should be angled 45 degrees from a non-conductive mast or a tree, and the height should be a minimum .5 wavelength above ground.

The polarization is vertical and has an omnidirectional pattern set at 45 degrees from the tree or non-conductive pole. This would be a good inexpensive antenna to try on the bands mentioned especially if the amateur has a small house lot. Contact an appropriate ham advisor on the Resource List printed in the NARS News who has an SWR Analyzer for checking your antenna. I wish you happy hamming in the states and with DX.

(Adapted from material by Doug DeMaw W1FB)

Feature Article
by... Harry Gage - N5WIZ

Quad Antennas For Tower Owners

I had a QSO with W6SUN George McCarthy WWII veteran, some time ago on one of the HF bands. He uses Quad antennas for his ham operations with great success. George is one of the American ham experts on Quad antennas. Some excerpts from his writings are listed below:

"The formula 1005 divided by frequency in MHz will give the correct length for the driven element - unless you are using a plastic or Teflon coated wire, in which case the distributed capacity of the coating will affect the electrical length of the wire significantly lengthening it."

"Choose the frequency at which you want resonance for each band with your operating frequencies in mind. Most high gain Quads will cover only 35% of the band with an SWR of 1.5-1. If you want to cover both CW and SSB you'll need to pick a spot that will give you some of each."

George W6SUN, Pilot Hill, CA, describes complete details in his book "More About Cubical Quads" sold by the Radio bookstore, Rindge, NH. It can be ordered by calling 800-457-7373. He states that "I have no financial interest in the book." So the tower hams in NARS might be interested in his approach to Quad antennas.

Feature Article
by... Walter Hock - KK5LO

SunMart Texas Trails Endurance Run

The morning crew, K8CSG Bill, WC5CW Bruce, KC5JZO Bob, WA5REJ Allen, KC5EZQ Bill, KJ5X Jim, KC5NVY Larry, WA8GHZ Jack, KB5VGD Jerry and N5NXS Paul arrived at the Wells Fargo Bank at 5 am (I think we roused the security guard). We then headed for Huntsville State Park to provide communications for the SunMart Texas Trails Endurance Run, a long distance run event for over 800 ultra-marathoners from different parts of the globe. This is one of their many events each year to run 50 miles or 50 kilometers.

This year we had enough volunteers to have an afternoon crew. The afternoon crew were, KD5AUQ Roel, KC5MOE John, WD5DXL Keith, KC5ZRO Rick, KD5AYF George, KB5UJS Allen and KD5CIT Manny. They arrived before 11 am and went out to relieve the morning crew.

The morning crew was not tired but needed time to thaw out. The temperature that morning was in the 30’s, burrrr! And it did not get much higher all day long.

I want to take this opportunity to THANK YOU for your help. The runners also want to express their gratitude to you. It is mainly for them we do this. The race director, Norman Klein, has said to me that NARS has provided the most reliable and efficient communication for their event. That right there says a lot about all of you who volunteer. He has asked that we return next year and do it again. So, get out your calendars and mark the second Saturday in December. We want everyone to get the opportunity to work this event.

I want to especially thank Paul N5NXS because he stayed out there with me all day long and helped organize this event.

Sunmart letter

Feature Article
by... Keith Dutson - WD5DXL

Public Service Events
Your radio skills are needed

Mayor’s Cup, Saturday, January 17

Houston Methodist Marathon, Sunday, January 18
Contact: Carl Hacker KB5LDY, home: 713-977-9754 work: 713-500-9185
email: chacker@utsph.sph.uth.tmc.edu

Carl is looking for about 150 hams to help with these prestigious events.

MDA March of Dimes Walkathon, Sunday, April 26
Contact: Paul Owen N5NXS, phone: 281-894-7758

Here’s a chance to take part in an event that NARS members have faithfully supported with radio communications for years. With reasonable weather, it is always fun and requires only a 2 meter HT, fresh batteries and a few hours time. The Walkathon this year will be held near the intersection of Hwy 6 and Westheimer. To participate, call Paul Owen.

Other Events

Ham Radio Auction, Saturday, February 21, 9:30am
Contact: Bob Peters K1JNN, phone: 972-288-0484, email: soundimp@pobox.com
Contact: Glen Kitto KC5WBQ, phone: 972-383-7507, email: gkitto@pobox.com

This auction is an annual event of the Dallas Amateur Radio Club W5FC. It is to be held at HMK Auctioneers, 1207 Tappan Circle, Suite 104, Carrollton, TX 75004. There is a 10% fee to the seller.

VE Results
by... Bill Gary - K8CSG

The NARS/Compaq VE team conducted examinations for nine candidates on November 22, 1997 in Tomball. One new Technician and two Tech-Plus licenses resulted, plus several CSCE's for partial credit on others. Of fourteen elements tested, there were seven passed and seven failed. Three of these failures were on code elements. Participating VEs included Bill K8CSG, Dick W5VHN, Jim KJ5X, Bruce WC5CW, Walter K5WH, Rick KZ5E, Larry WA5SAJ and King KK5LU. Willie KB5TES assisted with paperwork chores.

Board of Director's Meeting
by... Bob Argo - KC5JZO - Secretary

NARS Board of Directors Meeting - December 30 1997

Treasurer's Report - The checkbook balance on November 30, 1997 was $4251.62.

Programs - January - Banquet; February - Dan Consiglia WA6TWF of DRC Electronics on batteries.

Rose Hill Node - Letter of Agreement submitted to Jim Davis for his agreement/comments.

Texas Trails Endurance Run - Letter of Appreciation and donation received for our help.

Special Service Club Award - Received for the year 1997 from ARRL. Old Node at Hospital - Plans include keeping this location and converting it to a remote receiver link for the 146.66 repeater.

Field Day Video - Fritsche Cemetery Park reservation confirmed for 1998.

Important Dates
by... Keith Dutson - WD5DXL

January '98

NARS Breakfast
Many members meet for an informal breakfast every Saturday at 8:00 am at Victor's Deli and Restaurant. Join us for informal ragchew, conversation, information exchange, and usually a few tall tales. Victor's is located at 4710 FM 1960 West.

Monthly Meeting
Friday, February 20, 1998, 7:30 pm - NARS monthly General Membership meeting, Spring Cypress Presbyterian Church, 6000 Spring-Cypress Road (1.7 miles East of Stubner-Airline) - Eyeball QSO's, 7:00 pm

VE License Exam Session
Friday, January 16, 7:00 pm, NARS Annual Banquet, Valley Ranch BBQ, SH249 & Spring-Cypress.

Houston Methodist Marathon
Saturday, January 18

Dallas Amateur Radio Club
Saturday, February 21, 9:30 a.m., Ham Radio Auction

VE License Exam Session
Saturday, January 24, 8:30 am, Tomball Community Center, South Cherry St. and Market Streets (just South of Main).

Board Meeting
NARS Board of Directors meeting - Tuesday, January 27, 7:30 PM - NARS Board of Directors meeting, Terra Nova Clubhouse, 5200 Woodville

Contests
January 10-11 - North American QSO Party, CW
January 17-18 - North American QSO Party, Phone
January 17-19 - ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes
January 23-25 - CQ WW 160 Meter, CW
February 1 - North American Sprint, Phone
February 7-8 - FYBO Winter QRP Field Day
February 8 - North American Sprint, CW
February 9-13 - School Club Roundup
February 21-22 - ARRL International DX, CW
February 27-Mar 1 - CQ WW 160 Meter, SSB

Notice
NARS membership dues is $20 per year, renewable on anniversary of last year's full payment.

NARS News deadline for articles to appear in NARS Newsletter - The last day of month.