Southwest Missouri Amateur Radio Club

Southwest Missouri Amateur Radio Club

19 hours ago

RadioShack “Express Stores” to Open in HobbyTown USA Locations
07/18/2018
According to a July 13 article in the New York Post, RadioShack is planning to open “express stores” within HobbyTown USA locations. The nearly century-old, twice-bankrupt retailer has signed a deal with HobbyTown USA to put a mini-RadioShack outlet in some 50 HobbyTown USA stores across the country that would sell items that might appeal to radio amateurs and experimenters. Those locations will be identified with RadioShack signage. HobbyTown markets remote-controlled cars and boats as well as drones and other hobby-related merchandise.

RadioShack shuttered all of its company-owned retail outlets. Its last unsuccessful effort to bail itself out of debt involved a deal with cellular provider Sprint. HobbyTown USA has 140 retail outlets, and, according to the Post article, RadioShack eventually could carve out a presence — on the order of 500 square feet — in all of them. HobbyTown USA stores in Parker, Colorado, and Mooresville, North Carolina, will be among the first to host RadioShack express stores.

“HobbyTown is purchasing the RadioShack merchandise and offering it to its hobbyist customers who need the tools, wires, and other accessories that RadioShack makes,” the Post article said.

The article quoted Steve Moroneso, chief executive of General Wireless Operations Inc. — an affiliate of hedge fund Standard General which acquired RadioShack in 2015 — as saying that RadioShack’s strategy now is not to own brick-and-mortar stores. RadioShack came out of bankruptcy in January with 400 dealers, an online retail presence, and a distribution center. General Wireless acquired the 1,743 retail outlets that survived RadioShack’s 2015 bankruptcy.

Moroneso also told the Post that there is “plenty of interest from dealers who want to open a full-line Radio Shack.”

Dating its founding to 1921, RadioShack once offered a broad array of name-brand Amateur Radio equipment — even beams and towers — along with home entertainment gear and discrete components, including transistors, resistors, and capacitors. Its iconic 1960s-era catalog ran to more than 300 pages. In later years, it sold a fairly popular 2-meter handheld transceiver for a time, as well as Citizens Band equipment, 10-meter single banders, and shortwave receivers. RadioShack’s retail website remains open, marketing many of the same items once available in its retail outlets.

www.arrl.org/news/view/radioshack-express-stores-to-open-in-hobbytown-usa-locations ... See MoreSee Less

Southwest Missouri Amateur Radio Club

1 week ago

Aug. 24 and 25 is Hamfest time!
joplinhamfest.org/ ... See MoreSee Less

Southwest Missouri Amateur Radio Club

3 weeks ago

-SMARC Friday Night Net for June 29th, 2018-

-Regular Announcements-

The Southwest Missouri Amateur Radio Club Meeting is held on the third Saturday of each month. Our next meeting will be Saturday, July 21st.

The meeting will be at the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) building at 2525 E. Division Street. This is across the street from the downtown airport, in Springfield, MO. The building is also located between Oak Grove Avenue to the East, and Engel Avenue on the West side of the building. There is no access to the parking behind the building from off of Engle Avenue, so you will need to use the DAV’s driveway at the corner of Division & Engle.

Testing will be at 3:00pm for anyone that wants to get their tech license, or want to upgrade to general or extra class. The fee for the test is $15. The meeting starts at 5:00pm.

Any one that is interested in becoming a licensed amateur radio operator should attend a meeting, or testing session. You do not have to already have your license, or be a club member to attend. Everyone is welcome including friends, family, and children.

An outstanding cook usually prepares a meal, and anyone is welcome to bring sides dishes, soft drinks, or desserts. Guests are welcome to stay to eat.

-DAV Drivers-

The DAV, have been very gracious in letting us use their building at a great rate for our club meetings. We at the club would like to help pay back some of their generosity! They are always looking for volunteers to help drive veterans both here in town, and out of town. Some of the duties may be taking veterans to doctor’s appointments, VA visits, running to the store, or other places.

If you would like to volunteer to be a driver please contact Jack Buckley, at: 417-862-3910. The DAV has vans that they use for transporting people, so I do not think you will be using your own vehicle.

-Field Day 2018!!-

One week ago tomorrow was the 2018 ARRL Field Day. For the 2nd year in a row we meet out at the Probst Home, and set up operations in their field. Temps weren’t too bad, but not the lovely mild 60’s we had last year. That, and poor band conditions didn’t dampen our spirits though.

We had a handful of club members that brought out their radios, and we were even able to work 80 meters with on amplifier running on a generator. The other stations ran off a combination of solar, and battery power.

Due to poor band conditions, we didn’t make as many contacts as we would have liked to, but a great time, and good fellowship was had by all!

I would like to especially thank Bob Heil, K9EID, for the very generous loan to the club of an iCom IC-7000, 2 Heil Pro 7 Headsets, and 2 other Heil Headsets, with all the adaptors! We weren’t sure we would have enough people able to commit to having radios for the full 24 hours, and Mr. Heil really came through for the Club! Thanks again Bob!!

-Technician Question Pool Change!-

If you are studying the Technician materials, the current question pool will only be good through June 30. As of July 1 there will be 60 questions that will change! Technology is rapidly changing and thus the questions move with the times!

-FlipGive-

Last year, we had the opportunity to purchase a repeater to replace our aging 146.640 MHz Skywarn repeater. We were able to make this happen mostly through members donating money for the new repeater.

Just 3 advantages this has given us are: increased transmit power, ability to eliminate interference with a PL Tone, and the option to include Echolink.
This is just the first step the Southwest Missouri Amateur Radio Club has taken to improve or repeater systems. SMARC has set a goal to raise funds for some new digital repeaters that can expand our area even more. But we need your help to make this happen.

We have established a fundraiser with FlipGive.com. FlipGive is a great way to give back to your club by purchasing the things you already shop for every day. Companies like Wal-Mart, Dominos Pizza, Apple, Target, Nike, and many more will donate a percentage of your purchases back to the club. If you shop online, why not help our progress by signing up for FlipGive today.

Even if you normally only make purchases in the stores, you can still help. Purchase gift cards on the website, that you can use in store, and it still counts! The club will get a portion of those gift card purchases too.

Tell your friends & family to help raise funds to build our repeater system here in Southwest Missouri. A little bit can go a long way.

Go to www.flipgive.com and search for Southwest Missouri Amateur Radio Club for more information on how you can help us take the next step in upgrading our coverage for Skywarn and emergency communications.

-Skywarn Youth Net-

I would like to talk to you about the Skywarn Youth Net. It begins at 7:30pm on Sunday nights, on the 145.490 N0NWS repeater. This net is sponsored by the Southwest Missouri Regional Skywarn repeater system to encourage young amateur radio operators & their families to key up, and get out on the air.

This helps create educational awareness amongst these operators about Skywarn, and basic weather facts. It helps introduce young hams to net operations, and how to participate in a net. There are trivia questions about weather, and a lot of fun for all! Everyone is welcome to participate.

For more information about this net, please go to www.N0NWS.com/youth.

-R&L Electronics Offer-

R & L Electronics has put together a couple of radio packages for brand new Hams in the Southwest Missouri area! The basic pack includes a Baofeng UV5 hand held radio, and a Gordon West Technician study guide, and is less than $50, with free shipping!!

You can see details for both the basic & deluxe packages at:www.randl.com. Once on the main page, just type "new ham" into the search bar, and you will see both of the radio packages.

-Check Inns-
K9EAR / Bill / Springfield, MO
KE0BTZ / John / Mt. Vernon, MO
N0CEL / Carl / Springfield, MO
KE0KLW / Dale / Springfield, MO
AD0YV / Rodney / Springfield, MO
K0PRM / Paul / Springfield, MO

-Net Control-
KD0RSJ / Franklin / Springfield, MO ... See MoreSee Less