What beautiful antenna weather we've been having! Just put up a 160 meter dipole I bought last August at a Hamfest. Strung it between the house and two trees so the ladder line would feed into the shack in the garage. Connected it to the balanced line feed connectors on the MFJ tuner and. ...Nothing! Acted just like there wasn't any antenna connected. What the. ..???? If it doesn't work the first time. ...Could I locate the instruction manual for the tuner? Yup! Right there in the filing cabinet under MFJ. Oh yeah, when you hook up a balanced wire antenna feed line you need to install a jumper to the third wire antenna post. Much better! Loads nicely with the

Our noble Editor of this Newsletter, Dave WD2K, is gaining strength now that he has whipped the germs, microbes and other nasties, that had checked him into an Albany Hospital for the past few weeks. The good news is that he's getting better and will soon be up and about. So, it shouldn't be too much longer before he'll be back home, chasing DX, holding forth on the .21 repeater, and keeping us all informed as to the current goings-on in the world of Ham radio. Dave, through his family members, sends his thanks and appreciation for all the cards, letters, thoughts and prayers he has received over the past several weeks.
We've missed you Dave!

Ann, WA2KCU is also doing very well following her Hospital sojourn in Hudson. She wonders if WD2K wasn't a little envious of all the attention being paid to her, so he had to go for the Hospital experience, too! Ann sends her thanks for all the cards and flowers. She's back to her routine of Tuba playing and Band conducting. Husband Dave, W A2FTI, finally has an antenna up, so she's hoping for some CW contacts soon.

tuner on 160,80,40 and 20. No sense bothering with 15 and 10. The beam works wonders on those two bands. Towers and beams are nice and they work well for their intended bands, but there is still something magical about a wire antenna. Cut it to length, hang it, tweak it, you're on the air! So how come I bought one? Pre cut and tuned, nice commercial center insulator and balun to match the di- pole to the ladder line, supplied with nylon rope and end insulators. Sometimes you just can't resist.

Do you check out the ARRL web site once and awhile? It's not just an online version of QST. Yes, some of the same articles are repeated here, but there is also information for all hams that might not be found in QST. You need to be an ARRL member to visit the "Inner Sanctum", but there is lots of stuff on the public web site. To save publishing costs, the ARRL is considering moving some of the more mundane items from QST (board minutes, contest results, etc.) to the web site only. Not on line yet? Well, give it some serious thought. Most hams will admit that rather than destroy ham radio, there are many aspects of THE WEB and being on line that actually enhance our hobby.

Speaking of enhancing the hobby, if you follow the FCC enforcement efforts of Riley Hollingsworth you might be surprised as to the types of activities requiring his attention. The ARRL web site makes regular postings of Riley's efforts. Evidently there lfe many hams who still don't believe that along with the privilege of using the public airwaves goes :1 tremendous responsibility .I know that I will never see any call signs of RVW ARS members on Riley's list.

The call went out and members responded. Bob WB2DUW and I will be co-chairing Field Day ef- forts. We still could use some help with the food de- partment. No experience necessary, plenty of OJT will be available. Good working conditions, excel- lent benefits, salary is negotiable. Dave W A2FTI is helping with the newsletter while Dave WD2K is getting back on his feet. I know W A2Fn would ap- preciate some contributions to the newsletter. Regu- lar mail or email would be fine. Don't have a club roster? Did you pay your dues? Contact Stan WA2EUT .

Mark your calendars; February 18, Columbia County E911 Conference Room (same QTH as last month); March 18, JLE school Annual Auction; April 15, Athens Community Center; May 20, JLE school; June 17, Athens Community Center. The RVW ARS Education Committee will begin a Tech- nician Level licensing course on March 20, 2002. The class will be held in Room S101 at the Taconic Hills High School, 73 Route 11 A in beautiful down- town Craryville, NY. If you need directions, contact me or Marty N2LDR. If you know of anyone who wants to get started in ham radio, tell them about this class. Marty could also use some volunteer help for some of the lectures and the demos. Give him a call and let him know when you can help. The course will meet every Wednesday from 6;30- 9:00 PM for 10 weeks (except 4/17/02).
73 for now AR SK deK2WG

Technical Committee Chairman Bob WB2DUW, has outlined plans for the maintenance and upgrad- ing of the equipment on the hill at our repeater site. There is some concern over signs of rusting near the antenna supports at the top of the tower. Since most of the supports and the tower have been in place for over 20 years, it's imperative that the tower be painted and the antenna hardware be replaced with stainless steel mounts.

Improvements continue to be made on the 440 repeater. An antenna has been donated and work is progressing in the controller and Ider. Control of all the repeaters at the site will be moved to 440 within a month.

"On-Air" meetings of the Technical Committee will continue to take place on the first Tuesday of the month following the ARES net. All are welcome to join in. ...or at least listen in, to keep up with the latest developments with our communications systems.

Freeplay Energy and Motorola will soon be selling a hand operated mini-generator that can be used to hand crank and charge up a cell phone battery. They say that it's for use in isolated areas lacking electricity (come to think of it, they are probably also lacking cellular service!)

It won't be long before we have a -hand cranked 2 meter hand-held! Wonder what the Field Day multiplier will be for a hand cranked rig?