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 meet every Tuesdays at 8 PM on 145.410 repeater. A simplex net follows. .
  ARES meetings are usually held 2PM the first Sunday each month unless there is an event or special occation.
  They are held on zoom. They are open to all, but if you are not an ARES member, please send a request at https://n8esg.org/contact/
  The next meeting is April 11.
• The SkyWarn Wednesday night practice nets meet every Wednesday in April 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 2021
  An On-Line Spotter training video from the NWS is available at www.facebook.com/NWSCleveland/videos/858879174941020/

In place of in person training, the NWS is offering a few on-line training sessions. See below
On-Line Spotter registration with NWS is available at https://www.weather.gov/cle/SKYWARN_schedule
 

Skywarn Spotter Training (limited)
Location Online Online Online Online FACEBOOK LIVE Online Online	Date & Time 3/2/2021 600 pm 3/8/2021 1000 am 3/12/2021 1000 am 3/15/2021 200 pm 3/22/2021 200 pm 3/30/21 600 pm 4/6/2021 1000 am	Date & Time 3/2/2021 600 pm 3/8/2021 1000 am 3/12/2021 1000 am 3/15/2021 200 pm 3/22/2021 200 pm 3/30/21 600 pm 4/6/2021 1000 am	Basic / Advanced Basic Basic Basic Basic Basic Basic Basic	Pregeistration Required: Required: Required: Required: None Required: Required:



• Next LEARA monthly membership meeting Will be Tuesday March 30, 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 May 8, 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 on the air, but WiresX is not working at this time. . Check out the Repeaters tab for more information.
• The '76 repeater is being removed from service to undergo in depth maintenance. Activities will be moved to the 146.880 repeater.
• 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.
 
•  

NOTICE:

Sunshine Report

• Best wishes for a quick recovery goes to Don Byrer N0DLB (aka ND8B, KJ5KB) who slipped on some ice and couldn’t get up. Don had to undergo surgery to repair broken bones. Besides being a LEARA member, Don was also the local coordinator for Skywarn before moving to Kansas.
  
  We also want to wish Tom Bishop W8TAB well in his daky nine of radiation theapy.
  Next week lets hope you ring that bell!
  P.S. Side effects may include glowing in the dark. ;>)
 

Past Trivia / Discussion Questions

• 01/28/21 Everyone attributes Alexander Graham Bell with the invention of the telephone, but you need a system to make it work. It was on this day January 28th 1878 that the worlds first commercial Telephone exchange opened in New Haven Connecticut by George Coy.
  Queston: What was the monthly subscription rate to have a phone?
  Choices: A)$0.75, B)$1.00, C)$1.50, D)$2.00, E)$3.00
  Answer C-$1.50 per month. $1.50 in 1878 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $39.07 today
  
  Nevertheless, it meant telephone owners could now talk to someone else without
  buying them a phone and connecting their own wires, and in January the exchanged opened
  with 8 lines and 21 subscribers, Physicians, businesses, police were early adopters and within a month,
  Coy had 50 subscribers and had to publish the first phone directory.
  Before long, telephone exchanges were springing up across the country.
  The New Haven District Telephone Company grew rapidly and by 1882, it was rebranded
  the Southern New England Telephone Co. with the rights to serve all of Connecticut.
 

• 02/04/21 Question: Have you done anything new with your "shack"?
  Discussion: What is your favorite Go-To radio?
• 02/11/21 Quesion: Which of the following does Amateur Radio NOT Have?
  a) A patron saint
  b) Its own cryptocurrency
  c) Satellites in orbit around the earth
  d) Its own block of IP addresses on the internet
  Discussion: What is your favorite radion contest?
  Answer: B- It's own cryptocurrency
  
  a) Maximillian Kolbe was a Polish Catholic priest and Franciscan friar who volunteered to die in place of a stranger in the German death camp of Auschwitz during World War II. Pope John Paul II canonized him in 1982. He operated an amateur radio station in Poland with the callsign SP3RN and is considered the Patron Saint of Amateur Radio.
  
  b) Not yet, although there are people who are considering building a QSL confirmation system similar to Logbook of the World or eQSL but built on blockchain technology. There are some people who already tried to create HamCoin, but it isn’t really a thing.
  
  c) There are many amateur radio satellites in orbit around the earth, including a geostationary one that covers a fair bit of the eastern hemisphere, QO-100. Check out AMSAT.org for more information. In addition, there are ham radios on the International Space Station, and plans to potentially put ham radios in lunar orbit as part of NASA’s Artemis project.
  
  d) Since its allocation to Amateur Radio in 1981, Internet network 44, known as the AMPRNet™ , has been used by amateur radio operators to conduct scientific research and to experiment with digital communications over radio with a goal of advancing the state of the art of Amateur Radio networking, and to educate amateur radio operators in these techniques. Until recently, he entire 44/8 block of 16,777,216 addresses was available to amatuer radio use, but recently the managing body Amateur Radio Digital Communications [ARDC] sold half of the block to Amazon and is holding the proceeds from that sale in a non-profit that issues grants to various amateur radio pursuits. See ampr.org for more information.
 

• 2/18/21 Quesetion: Remember the tones that you would hear on NBC? What was that three tone represent?
  A) NBC Theme Jingle
  B) Tune inspired by local clocks
  C) General Electric Corporation
  D) First three notes that an NBC’s executive’s kid played on his xylophone.
  E) None of the Above
  Answer: C- General Electric Corporation
  The three notes were GEC for General Electric Corporation, who had sut purchased NBC.
• 2/25/21 Question: Which of the following digital voice mode or modes used in amateur radio send a callsign in the voice/data packet?
  Choices:
  A. DMR
  B. DStar
  C. P25
  D. Yaesu System Fusion
  E. DStar and Yaesu System Fusion
  F. DMR and P25
  Discussion: Have you tried any of the digital voice modes?
  
  Answer: E. Callsigns are sent in the voice/data packet for DStar and Yaesu System Fusion. Numeric Radio IDs are sent in DMR and P25.
  If you have a hotspot, you do need to have a CW ID enabled if you are running DMR or P25 since they only send a radio ID and not a callsign.
  Some countries do require a CW ID for all digital voice modes.
• 3/04/21 Question: What is a "Wouff Hong"
  A: An exotic island coveted by many DX Hounds.
  B: An instrument of torture to be used against bad operators.
  C: A new digital mode invented in China.
  D: A full wave horizontal loop antenna.
  Answer: B: An instrument of torture to be used against bad operators.
  
  Beginning in 1917, stories by an anonymous writer using the pseudonym "The Old Man", or "T.O.M." began to appear in the American Radio Relay League's (ARRL) monthly publication QST. Titled the "Rotten Radio" series, they harshly assailed and exposed the poor operating practices of the day with caustic satire and humor.
  
  It was in the July 1919 issue of QST that the portrait of the Wouff-Hong first appeared. At each meeting of the Leagues Board, the Wouff-Hong stood on display, to the humbled looks of the Directors."
  
  Only after his death, was it was revealed to all that T.O.M. had actually been Hiram Percy Maxim, the founder and first President of the ARRL. It is said that he took the secret of the origin of the first Wouff-Hong to his grave.
  
• 3/11/21 Question: Does a U.S. ham need written authorization from Canada before operating an amateur radio in Canada?
  Choices: A) Yes, B) NO
  Answer: B- No
• 3/18/21 Question: For amateur callsigns (i.e. WB8CQR), what is the regional number for the District of Columbia
  Choices: 1, 2, 3, or 4
  Answer: 3
• 3/25/21 Quesetion: What is a better antenna to use for NVIS Day?
  Choices: A) Verticle, B) Horizontal
  Answer: B- Verticle
  Discussion: Have you ever built your own antenna?

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.