Recent Announcements:

• LEARA Club Net promotion - see the LEARA "On The Air" column in the newsletter for more info
• The Thursday LEARA Club net meets every Thursday at 8 PM on 146.760. All are welcome to participate.
• ARES nets are on hiatus for the rest of the year, Starting January 5 the nets will meet every Tuesdays at 8 PM on 145.410 repeater. .
  ARES meetings have been postponed until January 3.
• The Wednesday SkyWarn Wednesday night practice nets will meet every Wednesday in March thru September at 8:30PM on 146.760 repeater.
  At the end of the net a short simplex net will take place on 146.475.
  Feel free to check in and test your gear on simplex.
• The National Weather Service has cancled it's customary multiple county Spring Spotter training for Spring of 2020
  An On-Line Spotter training vidio from the NWS is available at www.facebook.com/NWSCleveland/videos/858879174941020/
• Next LEARA monthly membership meeting Will be Tuesday January 26, 2021 as a virtual meeting held on Zoom. See the latest newsletter for general info. Details will be emailed to the membership. If you are not a member but wish to attend, Contact a trustee to be sent information.
• Next LEARA Trustee meeting Saturday January 9, at 9:00AM -
  It is open to all Paid LEARA Members. To attend contact one of the Trusttees for Zoom instructions.
• Have pictures of your shack or mobile installation? Pass them along to the newsletter editor Carsten KD8WBB at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• IRLP is no longer on the '88 repeater; The 88 system has been upgraded to Allstar and Echo link. See the LEARA Newsletter and Web Page for more information
• The Fusion Repeater on 444.700 is temporarily off the air. Check out the Repeaters tab for more information.
• Upcoming Hamfests – See Newsletter on the Club's Net page. (None are scheduled due to COVID-19)
• Public Service events: The Public Service season for 2020 is on hold for now, please check out the link at: http://neoesg.org/events
  and scroll to the bottom or click "HERE"
• N8UPZ reminds everyone that the National Weather Service can always use help with precipitation monitoring. For further info please check out the CoCoRaHS web site at http://www.cocorahs.org


• We can always use net controlers, which means that you can try your hand at running a LEARA net! Give it a try, it's not that hard. Learn the voices and call signs of your fellow radio members. We presently have 7 active net controlers to bring you the net each week. Why not join up and give us a hand.
  You can even do a part time shift - say 4 times a year! Give it a try!
  Contact Carl KB8VXE at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  
  We want to welcome Ed Rivers W8IE and Jon Anhold KM8V to our Net Controlers
•  

NOTICE:

• LEARA Fundraiser: LEARA raffled off a Honda EU2200i generator to raise much-needed funds. Stay tune to see where it went!!!!

Sunshine Report

• It was nice hearing our own Ken (KG8DN) Back on the air, sounding good and recovering.
  
  We wish Tom Bishop (W8TAB) the as he goes through a change in treatments.Hopefully this one will work.
•  


 

Past Trivia / Discussion Questions

• 10/01/20 Question: When was amateur radio temporarily suspended in the United States?
  Choices:
  a) During the Vietnam War.
  b) During World War II.
  c) During World War I.
  d) During both world wars.
  Answer: d) During both world wars.
  
  Why the ARRL Matters
  by Eric Jessen, N8AUC
  October 1, 2020
  
  The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) was co-founded in 1914 by Hiram Percy Maxim, and Clarence D. Tuska. It is important to realize, and remember, that had it not been for Hiram Percy Maxin and the ARRL, we would not have amateur radio today.
  
  All amateur and commercial uses of radio came to an abrupt halt on April 7, 1917 when, with the entrance of the United States into World War I, most private U.S. radio stations were ordered by the President to either shut down or be taken over by the government. For the duration of the war it became illegal for private U.S. citizens to even have an operational radio transmitter or receiver.
  
  In fact, according to one zealous city manager, it was "Treason to Possess Wireless Stations" as reported on the front page of the April 23, 1917 San Jose Evening News. Radio in the U.S. became a government monopoly, reserved for the war effort.
  
  Amateur radio operators were particularly hard hit by the restrictions. Before the ban, amateurs read the monthly issues of "The Electrical Experimenter" in order to find out about the latest improvements in equipment design, but now that magazine was featuring articles like "How the Government seals Radio Apparatus", which appeared in July 1917. The American Radio Relay League's July 1917 issue of QST magazine contained a report by Arthur C. Young entitled "What happened at Buffalo When Closing Orders Were Received". QST began carrying monthly reports from former amateurs who were now enlisted in the U.S. Navy. And in the September 1917 issue of "Wireless Age" Marconi himself asked that the United States "Send the Wireless Men Abroad Immediately". In the September 1917 issue of QST, editorials mused about the uncertain future of Amateur Radio in the article "Another Season Opens, But...". QST suspended publication for the duration of the war.
  
  World War I ended on November 11, 1918. At the end of World War I, the U.S. Navy found itself in total control of all radio in the United States. And it intended to keep that total monopoly. When the war ended, hams were allowed to use receivers again, but were not allowed to transmit. The Padgett Bill, introduced in the House in April of 1917, proposed leaving control of all radio in the U.S. with the Navy, which would have ended Amateur Radio in the U.S.
  
  As was previously mentioned, publication of QST had ceased during the war, and most amateurs had allowed their ARRL membership to lapse, leaving the organization with virtually no income. ARRL officers, and key members, spent their own money to mount an effort to thwart the Padgett Bill. Using those funds, the ARRL mailed a "little blue card" to members, urging them to ask their congressman to stop the Navy's proposal. Many of these little blue cards arrived at the homes of hams who were still serving in Europe, and even some who had been killed in action. In those cases, the ham's family acted on the request.
  
  An 8-page special issue of QST mailed to members in April 1919 reported that, as a result of the "little blue card", Washington was flooded with letters and telegrams of protest from ARRL members and others who knew the value of Amateur Radio. The article further noted that ARRL President Hiram Percy Maxim went to Washington to oppose the bill at its hearing, and "did such a good job that the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries declined to report the Bill out of committee". In other words, the Bill was absolutely killed.
  
  Even after that, it took a while before hams were allowed to transmit again. In July 1919, the Secretary of the Navy wrote a letter to the President of the Senate, urging that total control of radio be given to the Navy. As a result, a Bill was introduced, and failed once again, because of opposition from amateurs, and other U.S. radio interests.
  
  However, the ban on transmitting was still not lifted. Maxim went to Washington again, and found a sympathetic ear in Massachusetts Congressman William Greene, who ultimately introduced House Joint Resolution 217, which asked the Navy "to remove the restrictions on the use and operation of amateur radio stations throughout the USA". The resolution was successful, and hams were allowed back on the air in the autumn of 1919.
  
  In conclusion, had it not been for the efforts of the ARRL, and its President and co-founder Hiram Percy Maxim, total control of all radio would have remained in the hands of the U.S. Navy after World War I. Amateur Radio would have ceased to exist, and we would not have the hobby we enjoy and so dearly love today. This was the beginning of the legacy of legislative advocacy that continues to this day at the ARRL. Above all else, that is why the ARRL matters.
  
  sources:
  1) https://earlyradiohistory.us/sec013.htm
  2) Journal of Medical Amateur Radio Council (MARCO) - December 2019 Edition


• 10/08/20 Question: The ARRL entered into a memorandum of understanding between itself and what other organization?
  Choices: A) American Red Cross, B) OTU , C) MARS , D) FAA
  Answer: A) American Red Cross
• 10/15/20 Question: When is the Witching hour?
  Choices: A) Midnight, B) 3AM, C) 6 PM, D) 9 PM, E) Sundown
  Answer: B 3 AM
• 10/22/20 Question: What TV show did amateur radio operator Jerry Schatz (W2MFW) co-star on?
  Choices: A) Howdy Doody , B) Captain Kangaroo , C) Barnaby , D) Little Rascals Our Gang Comedies
  Answer: D: Little Rascals Our Gang Comedies
  Our Gang Name was changed by the studios to Jerry Tucker Jerry appeared in 18 'Our Gang' episodes and six movies. In 1942 he quit acting and joined the US Navy and was wounded when a kamikaze attacked his ship, the USS Sigsbee. After World War II he studied engineering and retired as an engineer for RCA. He was born in 1925 and is 95 this year and lives in N.Y.
• 10/29/20 Question: Which famous science fiction author proposed world wide satellite communication systems?
  Choices: a) Robert Heinlein. b) Isaac Asimov c) Murray Leinster. d) Arthur C. Clarke
  Answer: d) Arthur C. Clarke
• 11/05/20 Question: In 1909 the first published listing of call shigns, how many were there?
  Choices: A)100 , B)200 , C)300 , D)400
  Answer: A- less than 100 Actural count 87
• 11/12/20 Quesetion: How many Ships were lost at Pearl Harbor:
  A)3, B)5, C)16, D)66, E)97
  Answer: E)97
  
  97 docked in harbor
  66 undamaged
  16 damaged
  8 hit
  3 sunk
  
  * Arizona: (flagship of Battleship Division One) hit by an armor-piercing bomb, exploded; total loss. 1,177 dead.
  * Oklahoma: hit by five torpedoes, capsized; total loss. 429 dead. Refloated November 1943; capsized and lost while under tow to the mainland May 1947.
  * Utah: hit by two torpedoes, capsized; total loss. 64 dead. Was commissioned as a target ship at the time of the attack and was docked on the west side of Ford Island, opposite Battleship Row
  * Maryland: hit by two bombs; returned to service February 1942. 4 dead (including floatplane pilot shot down). Fought at the battle of Midway.
  * Tennessee: hit by two bombs; returned to service February 1942. 5 dead. Battles of Iwo Jima and Okanawa.
  * Nevada: hit by six bombs, one torpedo, beached; returned to service October 1942. 60 dead. Flagship for D-Day
  * California: hit by two bombs, two torpedoes, sunk; returned to service January 1944. 100 dead. Mariana and Palau Islands campaign and Okanawa
  * West Virginia: hit by two bombs, seven torpedoes, sunk; returned to service July 1944. 106 dead. At Tokyo Bay for surrender of Japan. Battle of Leyte, Iwo Jima, and Okanawa
  * Pennsylvania (flagship of the U.S. Pacific Fleet):[2] in drydock with Cassin and Downes, hit by one bomb, debris from USS Cassin; remained in service. 9 dead.
  
  My sources were voluminous for this one:
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Navy_ships_present_at_Pearl_Harbor,_December_7,_1941
  https://www.nps.gov/valr/learn/historyculture/index.htm
  https://pearlharbor.org/sunk-not-forgotten-american-ships-sank-pearl-harbor-attack/
  and https://www.census.gov/history/pdf/pearl-harbor-fact-sheet-1.pdf
  Not to mention individual Wikipedia entries for each ship. de AB8UM
•  


• 11/19/20 Question: Which department store was first to have a Christmas Parade on Thanksgiving?
  Choices: A)Macy's , B)Gimble's in philadelphia , C)J.L.Hudson in Michigan , D) All of the above
  Answer for the trivia was B: Gimble's
  Gimble's was the first to have a procession on Thanksgiving. It consisted of
  50 people, 15 cars and a fireman dress as Santa sitting atop a mountain
  of crushed ice. This was in 1920.
• 11/26/20 No Net Happy Thanksgiving
• 12/03/20 Question:For Radio work, how far below the D layer does the C layer usually form?
  Choices: A) 100 Km, B) Approx. 10 Km , C) There is no C Layer, D) Nil, The C and D are intertwined
  Answer: C, There is no C layer.
  Discussion: How was your Thanksgiving and how did you fare with the Snow Storm Monday?
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionosphere
  https://www.electronics-notes.com/articles/antennas-propagation/ionospheric/ionospheric-layers-regions-d-e-f1-f2.php
  
  The traditional view of the ionosphere indicates a number of distinct layers, each affecting radio communications in slightly different ways. Indeed, the early discoveries of the ionosphere indicated that a number of layers were present.
  
  While this is a convenient way of picturing the structure of the ionosphere it is not exactly correct. Ionization exists over the whole of the ionosphere, its level varying with altitude. The peaks in level may be considered as the different layers or possibly more correctly, regions. These regions are given letter designations: D, E, and F regions.
• 12/10/20 Many famous people are amateur radio operators.
  Question: Which of the following musicians is not or was not a licensed Amateur Radio Operator?
  A) Alice Cooper, B) Ronnie Milsap, C) Joe Walsh, D) Jim Croche
  Answer: A) Allice Cooper was never a Ham Operator.
  RONALD L MILSAP - WB4KCG
  JOSEPH F WALSH - WB6ACU
  JIM CROCE - WN3OQW (January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973)

Related info on WWV

• During the 8/23/18 net, we were made aware of the proposal to eliminate the WWV-WWVH radio transmissions. read more about it at the following links.
  http://www.arrl.org/news/nist-fy-2019-budget-would-eliminate-wwv-and-wwvh
  http://www.arrl.org/news/concern-rising-within-amateur-radio-community-over-wwv-wwvh-shut-down-proposal

Trivia Question Etiquette

• The Trivia Question is supposed to be a fun and learning experience for everyone checking in. Most of the time the answer is a multiple guess, and for many literally a guess. It makes the people sit and ponder the possible answers. If you don't know the answer, you may say so and acknowlege that you are taking a guess, and then give your answer. If you KNOW the correct answer, please just give give the letter or text of your choice only. Don't spoil the question for others by giving a complete dissertation on the principals, theories and biographies of the author or scientist. Giving that information early in the net spoils the fun for the people who have yet to play. Factoids and anecdotal information regarding history or even personal experience relating to the question is a most welcome additive to the discussion AFTER the answer has been given. Let the Net Control KNOW you have additional info for the end of the net.
  
  Thanks for checking in and enjoy learning new facts, or basking in the knowlege that you have.

  Please note there is a slight change in the schedule.