Commentary
CHRISTMAS 2024!
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Kilowatt Amateur Radio Club (K0KWC) celebrated Christmas on December 7th at the Lamar Memorial Hall with their usual flare. Participation this year was even greater than the year before, despite missing a few regulars due to illness.
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New club members and new faces joined us in a pot luck lunch with the Kilowatt Club providing an excellent turkey as the main dish. Major Kudos go out to Tim, N5STR, and Sara for their tireless efforts in arranging and executing a most enjoyable event.
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Gifts were exchanged and laughs shared. The new Ham Of The Year award was given out to Steve Sweet. Steve was our 3rd annual recipient of this prestigious award. The membership elected a new Treasurer, Caleb Winslow, to the executive board. He will be a welcome addition. Thanks goes out to Kathy, KF0KAT, for holding the Treasurer position for several years.
WINTER FIELD DAY 2023!
Winter Field Day 2023 did not go off without a fight but the Kilowatt Amateur Radio Club won the battle. Starting early Saturday morning the first order of business was to raise the tent in the middle of 20 mph gusts that felt more like 40 mph at times. But raising the tent and establishing our kitchen in tornadic winds tested the mettle and determination of the club.
Once the tent was up and running, attention was focused on the radios and antennas. John, KF0BQL made first contact and set the pace with his personal radio and antenna. Ten meters was in and out but when it was on it was strong.
Since Kilowatt ARC is a nation wide club, we had some special assistance from Leonard, K6LBB, live from California. Leonard was significant in adding to our total numbers and was gracious enough to send us photos of him hard at work. Thanks Leonard!
A few members had to leave by evening but the bus and it's inhabitants pressed forward. Sunday was a different story as weather and icing moved in. Ice build up on the antennas made it necessary to call it an early day and Winter Field Day was finished for the Kilowatt crew.
Still, regardless of the weather and technical difficulties, fun and great food was had by all who attended and we look forward to next year.
2023 Kilowatt ARC Christmas Party
The year 2023 ended on a good note as 12 club members and family attended the annual business meeting and Christmas Party
Also attending via Zoom was Buddy, K5MCK and Leonard KF0LBB.
Elected and re-elected were Nic, KF0HHG as club Secretary and Tim N5STR as club President.
Well prepared food and side dishes were provided and even delicious desserts were nearby for all.
It was a good Christmas party for a good year and we all look forward to attending next years party! Merry Christmas everyone!
Summer Field Day 2023!
In Like a Lamb - Out Like a Lion
- John, KF0BQL, gets ready for Summer Field Day 2023
The Kilowatt crew faced a lot of unexpected challenges during their Summer Field Day event, including the intense heat and antenna issues. However, with focus and determination, the team was able to overcome these obstacles and make the event a huge success. One of the highlights of the day was a visit from Lamar District State Legislator, Ann Kelly. Kelly was thoroughly impressed with the setup and decided to engage in a QSO with N0SSG, which was definitely a memorable moment for everyone present. The event got coverage from KOAM News, who shared the story on their website and evening news, helping to make the event even more widely known. Visitors to the venue at Lamar City Lake were particularly amazed by the setup. The team is already looking forward to next year's event and is eager to see what new challenges and triumphs await them. In the meantime, the crew sends out a hearty 73 to all who were involved in making the event a resounding success!
You can read the News story here KOAM News Story and see the news video here at the 5 minute mark. KOAM News at 9pm (6/25/2023)
Patti & Tim
Ann Kelly makes a QSO.
2022 Kilowatt ARC Christmas Party
The Kilowatt Amateur Radio Club annual Christmas party on Dec 3rd, 2022, was a resounding success. Fourteen members attended with two members visiting on Zoom. It was a lot of fun as gift were exchanged and a lot of food eaten, although there was plenty left over.
This K0KWC event grows in size and gets better each year. The Kilowatt coffee mugs given to every member was well received by all.
A special thanks to Tim & Sara for organizing this and making it happen. Without them it couldn't happen. Thank you all and have a Merry Christmas!
AMATEUR RADIO EMERGENCY SERVICE
&
THE “HAM-MOBILE”
The club was fortunate last year to receive the donation of a small school bus to use for the Lamar/Barton County ARES chapter. While it was free, it was far from ready. Tim, N5STR, the head of the Lamar chapter of the Barton Count ARES team, invested many, many hours of sweat and labor in retrofitting the bus. This herculean effort was only accomplished through donations of money and labor as well as supplies. Even the local school auto shop chipped in by replacing the brakes ensuring that the bus was roadworthy and safe.
As a side story, Tim had spent so much time working on the bus that a concerned citizen thought he may have been a homeless man living in it and called the police. Tim found himself having to convince the local police that he, and his bus, were fine. This happened at the beginning of the club’s weekly net and fellow hams were left wondering why the net host had fallen off the air. Soon, Tim was back on the radio with a good story to share.
As you can tell from the pictures, this little “short bus” made a miraculous transition from “Zero to Hero” and has been affectionately dubbed the "Ham-Mobile". Work is still ongoing, and funds are being sought to cover the cost of a paint job.
Tim wishes to give a Special Thanks to the following people. Without your support the Ham-Mobile would never have become a reality. You exemplify the highest traditions of amateur radio in your generosity and willingness to help others. Because of you, Barton County and surrounding areas are a little safer. Thank You!
Sarah – My XYL who contributed labor, patience, and understanding.
Tyler, KB0PQP, Leon, N3LRH, and Justin, KE0WSY.
Technical experts, and all-around nice guys!
And to the many donors who contributed items and/or cash donations I say
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
ARES is always seeking volunteers and if you are interested in learning about emergency communications and disaster relief, or just wish to give back to your community, contact Tim Ryder, N5STR, for more information.
ARES, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, is a main staple in the Ham world often combining sponsorship with ARRL club affiliates such as the K0KWC. The Kilowatt club is fortunate to have our own in-club ARES chapter headed by Tim, N5STR, the founder and club president.
Amateur radio operators use their training, skills, and equipment to provide communications during emergencies. Hams serve our communities when storms or other disasters damage critical communication infrastructure, including cell towers, and wired and wireless networks. Amateur radios can function completely independently of the internet and phone systems. An amateur radio station can be set up almost anywhere in minutes. Hams can quickly raise a wire antenna in a tree or on a mast, connect it to a radio and power source, and communicate effectively with others.
Summer Field Day 2022
The Kilowatt Amateur Radio Club, K0KWC, participated in the 2022 summer Field Day as has become our custom lately. This year we combined with the Pittsburgh club, K0SEK, where we combined our forces for a successful event.
Noteworthy were Tyler’s, KB0PQP, aluminum ladder antenna with which we made many contacts, and the K0KWC “Ham-Mobile” bus donated to the club last year. The bus is a story all it’s own and will be featured in a separate article.
A great time and great food was had by everyone and many laughs and stories were shared among friends. If you have not participated in a Field Day event before you are missing out.
ARRL Field Day is the single most popular on-the-air event held annually in the US and Canada. On the fourth weekend of June of each year, thousands of radio amateurs gather with their clubs, groups or simply with friends to operate from remote locations. Field Day is a picnic, a campout, practice for emergencies, an informal contest and, most of all, FUN! It is a time where many aspects of Amateur Radio come together to highlight our many roles.
While some will treat it as a contest, other groups use the opportunity to practice their emergency response capabilities. It is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate Amateur Radio to the organizations that Amateur Radio might serve in an emergency, as well as the general public.
For many clubs, ARRL Field Day is one of the highlights of their annual calendar. The contest part is simply to contact as many other stations as possible and to learn to operate our radio gear in abnormal situations and less than optimal conditions. We use these same skills when we help with events such as marathons and bike-a-thons; fund-raisers such as walka-thons; celebrations such as parades; and exhibits at fairs, malls and museums — these are all large, preplanned, non-emergency activities. But despite the development of very complex, modern communications systems — or maybe because they ARE so complex — ham radio has been called into action again and again to provide communications in crises when it really matters. Amateur Radio people (also called “hams”) are well known for our communications support in real disaster and post-disaster situations.
CLUB HISTORY
It all began when Tim Ryder, N5STR, President and founder of the Kilowatt Amateur Radio Club, got his ticket in October of 2019 and began exploring the myriad of avenues open to the hobby.
As a new Ham, Tim was excited to try all that Ham radio had to offer and found himself experimenting with Slow Scan TV (sstv) over the repeater of a nearby club in which he was, and still is, a member in good standing. Tim and a fellow ham friend spent time learning the use of sstv and had unintentionally monopolized the repeater. This offended a few club members, and he was asked to stop.
It was under the advice of a friend and fellow club member that Tim should consider putting his own repeater on the air and starting a local club to support it. So long as he follows the FCC rules the repeater can be used for any purpose his club decides. Since Tim happened to already have a 440 repeater, this is what he did.
In March of 2020, the Kilowatt Radio Club, (K0KWC), was formed. Since then, there has been plenty of noise coming from the 440 repeater in Lamar Missouri and it continues today.
You can catch our weekly net held every Saturday evening at 7:30pm central time on the following repeaters, Lamar MO 442.975, Girard KS 147.24, Pittsburg KS 146.94, the 52.83 Crawford County 6m, and the Nevada MO 146.85. All repeaters use a 91.5 pl tone. You can also check into this net using EchoLink K0KWC-L and K0SEK-R as well as HamShack Hotline # 94082. (*99 to transmit and # to unkey.) For more information, please visit the clubs website at Kilowattarc.com or the club’s Facebook page.
All licensed operators are welcome. You do not have to be a club member to participate. Check in, let us know what’s new in your world! 73
