SOUTH FLORIDA FM ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2000 THIRD NEWSLETTER FOR THIS MILLENNIUM

DUES FOR THE YEAR 2000 ARE DUE NOW. $30 for renewal plus $5 per licenced household member.MAIL TO SCOTT KF4FIK TREASURER SFFMA POB 430025 MIAMI, FL 33243-0025 PLEASE

PRESIDENT LEE CIERESZKO N4TCW VICE PRESIDENT ROBERT CRUZ KE4MCL SECRETARY JOSEPH CHWICK AC4TV TREASURER SCOTT POWERS KF4FIK PAST PRESIDENT JASON SWIFT KE4KYY

DIRECTORS SAM HARTE KQ4MR 00-02 JOE CHWICK AC4TV 99-01 RICK VAHAN N4PBF 98-00

WEB SITE http:/www.sffma.net

SOUTH FLORIDA FM ASSOCIATION MEETING OF MARCH 13 2000 at the Dade EOC.

Meeting opened at 7:50 Pm with 21 members present. The first order of business was the introduction of those present. A motion to accept the minutes as printed in the newsletter was made by SAM KQ4MR and seconded by JOE AC4TV motion passed. The next order of business was the treasurers report made by SCOTT KF4FIK. The club is financially alright at present, but we are looking ahead to some heavy expenses. Scott has closed out the money market and transferred the funds to the checking account. A motion to accept the report was made by Sam and seconded by Joe. The motion passed.

A motion by Sam KQ4MR to extend our insurance coverage to all members engaged in any amateur radio project or activity. This is for the Key Largo Breakaway, March of Dimes, the Orange bowl Parade, The Boy Scout Jamboree, picnic, Testing at the testing sites, Youth Crime watch relay, Multiple Schlerosis and CERT, in fact, any event that the club membership does participate in . Motion seconded by JOE AC4TV. Unanimously passed. Coming up on March 18 is the BOY SCOUT Jamboree at the PRO PLAYER stadium. SAM and LEE N4TCW will be engaged in amateur radio demonstration for the Scouts. Lee will bring his vehicle and equipment as will Sam.

The Key Largo Breakaway for MS is slated for the 29 th and 30 th of April. This promises to be one great bike race. The breakaway is a two day event with a sleepover\beer party\food in Key Largo. In the past everyone has had one great time, and this year it will even better. The manpower chairman JASON KE4KYY says we need some more volunteers. If you need a radio, some arrangements will be made. Last years communications were a success, and this year we will more or less do the same way. This year the sponsor of the event will be in the commandpost with Jason, so if anything occurs, the solution is there. alets hope for a nice weekend, and perhaps a little cooler?

The 147.000 has been repaired and is now at the EOC for a "burn in" period, which is to see if it will work, and to locate any malfunctions so it can be corrected before it is re-installed on the Channel 6 tower. As I said earlier, its not so easy to get up on that tower. A big THANKS to GEORGE KERLEY W4TX for installing the new controller on the double 00. George is the trustee for the 443.250 repeater. We can look forward to its return to regular amateur use shortly. There is some talk about a new cabinet for the repeater. Because of its location, it takes a beating with corrosion. An all aluminum (aircraft metal type) would be ideal, but expensive. The 146.760 is also working fine, The trustee is Ray Vaughan KD4BBM. The 442.400 is working fine. The 220 repeater and the 146.760 will soon be cross linked. The 1.2 ghz repeater is not working.

The Club Picnic will be held Sunday MAY 7 at the INDIAN HAMMOCK PARK from 11 Am till 3Pm. The menu will be steak and all the goodies that make up a picnic. As has been our desire, the Members of the America Radio Club will be our guests. There will be a Five dollar fee per person. The place will be the Indian Hammocks Park located between KENDALL DRIVE AND SUNSET. YOU CAN ENTER THE PARK ON sw 107 ave on the west side of the street, or on SW 117 Ave on the east side. We will be in Pavillion 5. Bring a radio if you so wish. Come on down and meet your friends.

The new EOC will open toward the end of April. We are going to have to find a new meeting place and testing site. ANY SUGGESTIONS??

Our program for the evening was all about antennas. DRAYTON HANNA KF4AME and LEE CIERESZKO N4TCW were the speakers. Both are taking electronic courses. The first antenna discussed was the "DIPOLE". This is the simplest antenna to construct as it is just two pieces of wire. Works well and can be center fed of end fed. An antenna tuner is a must if it is to be multi bander. Then there were the mag mounts, quarter wave and five eighth wave and a five eighth over a five eighth over a quarterwave. VHF and VHF/UHF types.

Then there was a 3 element beam (yagi) sold by MFJ which can be knocked down and set up easily for emergency use. The cost is low and has a gain 0f 8 Dbs.

Then we had a vertical antenna (vhf/uhf) which had a 9 Db gain on vhf and 6 on uhf. The antenna had counterpoises on its bottom.

The last antenna to be described was a log periodic multibander which is a cross between a yagi and a dipole. It is used for satellite and line of sight use. Proper polarization is a must. Vertical for VHF/UHF and horizontal for SSB. There was no 50- 50. Meeting ended at 9 Pm, refreshments followed.

Respectfully JOE AC4TV sec'y

Testing for the new restructure has been quite brisk. There are a lot of TECH pluses who took and passed general written and general class hams taking extra written who will finalize their upgrade April 15 or later. There were a few hardy ones who still took 13 wpm and 20 wpm morse.

WANTED: It is getting difficult to produce a newsletter with out input from YOU our membership, and readers. It would be appreciated if you would contribute some articles for this newsletter, that will be of interest for amateur radio.

Dont forget our April 10 meeting, begins a t 7:30 Pm

Wounded Boy Transported to Dallas Hospital

NEWINGTON, CT, Apr 3, 2000--Willem van Tuijl--the 13-year-old boy from the Netherlands wounded during a pirate attack off Honduras--is in the US today. The youngster, the son of Amateur Radio operators Jacco and Jannie van Tuijl, KH2TD and KH2TE, was seriously injured by a single bullet on March 28. His father was able to summon help via the Maritime Mobile Service Net on 20 meters.

Through contacts with amateurs in the US and elsewhere, the boy and his mother were transported by Honduran authorities to a hospital in La Ceiba, where Willem underwent emergency surgery.

"Willem is great," Jacco van Tuijl said this morning. "He's the best kid and he's got enormous willpower." The father said Willem was "talking and smiling" and was aware of his medical situation. "His spirits are very high," he said.

Both parents have had little sleep in the past six days and are nearing exhaustion because of their ordeal. They're staying at a Ronald McDonald House about two miles from the hospital. "They're wonderful," van Tuijl said of the McDonald House staff.

The Dallas hospital has agreed to accept Willem as a patient and treat him without guaranteed payment. An SBAir Lifeguard aircraft with a medical team from CMC was dispatched from Dallas to Honduras Friday evening, and the boy and his parents arrived in the US early Saturday morning.

The arrangement with Children's followed contacts by Haynie's office with the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital--an orthopedic facility that, in turn, recommended Children's--and with US Rep Pete Sessions. "Without Amateur Radio, this would be a story about a boy who died in a Honduran Hospital," said Haynie in an interview with the Dallas Morning News.

A fund has been established to assist the family. Donations are invited to Willem Fund, c/o Southwest Bank, 1603 LBJ Freeway, Suite 100, Dallas, TX 75234.

Local amateurs in the La Ceiba, Honduras, area have said they will cover Willem's hospital expenses there. van Tuijl said the Honduran hospital did a good job of treating his son. The family's 44-foot sailing sloop remains in Roatan. Jacco van Tuijl says family's cat, "Ketchicat," remains aboard. The vessel and Ketchicat are being taken care of by a local marina, which gave the family a month's free dockage.

In public statements, both parents have expressed their thanks and gratitude to the Amateur Radio community for their assistance and support. Jacco van Tuijl indicated the family was taking things one day at a time at this point. "It's a big disaster, yes," van Tuijl said, "but he didn't die."

The van Tuijls have been cruising various parts of the world since 1995. They obtained their US Amateur Radio licenses during an extended stay in Guam. Last Tuesday, the father and son were in an inflatable dinghy, not far from their 44-foot sailing sloop, anchored behind a reef with a couple of other sailboats in the vicinity some 50 miles off the coast of Honduras.

After spotting four or five men from an open wooden boat board his vessel--where his wife was still aboard--van Tuijl and his son headed back toward their vessel. One of the pirates brandished what appeared to be an automatic weapon when they were about 20 yards away. In ensuing gunfire, the boy was wounded in the abdomen and the dinghy was damaged and flipped over, dumping the pair into the water. van Tuijl said the marauders "got nervous" and soon left the scene after taking the damaged dinghy and outboard motor with them. van Tuijl managed to get his injured son, bleeding badly, back on board his sailboat, then got on the radio to summon urgent help. Among those responding was Dr Jim Hirschman, K4TCV, a Miami physician, who was able to provide first-aid advice over the air.

Media interest in the story has been high. TV crews and reporters met the boy and his family as they arrived to admit the youngster to Children's Medical Center. A news conference was held this afternoon in Dallas.