Faulkner County Amateur Radio Club (FCARC) Tuesday, October 14, 2008.
Minutes: Meeting called to order at 1832 hrs.
Tresuary Report: Current Balance = $1,290.37
Attendance:
Members Present = 21
Larry Appleby - KC5YWC
Kelly Boswell - KA5MGL
Chris Brannan - K5ELY
Perry Carlton - AE5EE
George Carrol - N5GC
David Doty - N5XF
Kayla Dowdy - KE5JYX
Lynette Dowdy - KD5QMD
Bill Fill - KD5IC
Dora Anna Fill - NI5D
Taylor Francis - KA5NOM
Gary Hawkins - KD5ZQF
Wayne Johnston - KD4TA
Glenn King - N5GK
Dave Moore - K0DST
John Nordlund - AD5FU
Frankie Parks - K5FRP
Joe Seiter - KI5ZT
Dan Ward - W5MAN
Roger Williamson - N5QNA
Kathy Williamson - KB5RMY
Guest Present = 8
Cindy Francis
Gail Pledger
Stefan and Annie Johnson and kids
Total Present = 29
Old Business:
Repeater Update
Glen King (N5GK) has finished working on the 146.97 repeater and it is ready to put it up as soon as someone can help him place it in the rack. Work will be completed on the 145.210 repeater shortly. George Carrol (N5GC) is working on the upgrade for the .03 machine. He will pick up the EPROM and TNC this Saturday from Mike Nettles at the DEC meeting at Camp Robinson.
Fair Parade Recap
The Parade Committee was very thankful for the work preformed by the FCARC at the Faulkner County parade on September 16, 2008. The members were noticed and participation was very much appreciated. Members keep the parade officials and police informed of what was happening. The good news-- nothing happened that required emergency communications assistance. Thanks to all the FCARC volunteers who participated.
Big Dam Bridge 100 Recap
Those FCARC members who volunteered for the event were able to pick up their T-shirts. The staff appreciated FCARC help. Both Conway police and Faulkner County sheriff's department expressed their appreciation for the help from FCARC. George Carrol reported that he and other volunteers had to help slow down and direct traffic along the Military Road. Because FCARC members were officials for the event, their help in directing traffic was appreciated by the Sheriffs Department. In the future, the race may become sanctioned by the County -- resulting in roads being blocked off for the event. Ham radio was crucial for sending in reports from Hwy 286 and Fortune Road in the vicinity of Satillio -- a county EMT unit there were unable to communicate with either of their radios when a biker went down. Brian Kessler (N1WNC) actually called in the incident for them, once again proving the worth of ham radio for such events. Any after action comments or lessons learned should be forwarded by email to Frankie Parks K5FRP@arrl.net
Boy Scout Camporee Recap
The BSA Quapaw Area Council had their Fall 2008 Camporee at Burns Park in North Little Rock on Saturday, October 11, 2008. About 500 scouts and several hundred visitors attended the event whose theme was "Emergency Preparedness." Displays include fire and rescue, MEMS, and MEDIVAC, etc. The FCARC was represented by Wayne Johnston (KD4TA) and Bill McIntire (KC5ECB). Wayne set up his Field Day GOTA station, complete with 2m, 20m, and 20m digital antennas. A continuous demonstration of PSK31 using Digipan 2.0 software to simultaneously translate a dozen QSOs caught the boys attention. Bill brought the "Mother of all Solar Panelsās" -- forty (yes 40) panels provided 5,000 watts of power for the station and other exhibits. Photos of the panel and event will be on the FCARC website. That same solar panel is currently being used to provide electrical power to a construction site for a 4,000 square foot solar house.
Arkansas Traveler 100 Recap
John Nordland (AD5FU) reported successful communications support for the 100 mile foot race on Saturday and Sunday, October 5, 2008. One of the aid stations was vandalized by disgruntled hunters (apparently) while other runners were forced off the road by a driver (vehicular assault). One of those runners suffered a twisted ankle or knee jumping out of the way. Another runner became disoriented from dehydration at the 96 mile point and fell into a ravine where he was discovered by searchers midway between the Pumpkin Patch (with ATV) and Crossroads checkpoints. He was bruised and mad that he could not complete the last four miles of the 100 mile footrace. John Nordland (AD5FU) and family, Perry Carleton (AE5EE), David Turner (KD5JKX) and Jim Grinder (N5TSG) supported the race.
Home School Ham Radio Class in Conway
John Nordland (AD5FU) is teaching a combined Technician / General ham radio class for home schooled students at the Faulkner County Library in Conway on Wednesday afternoons. (A family who has several members taking the class attended the FCARC meeting.)
Storm Spotters Class Update
Although the class was interrupted by bad weather and that may have kept attendance down,, 399, yes 399 students attended the classes taught by video conferencing at the medical centers around Arkansas. Twenty eight students attended the class in Conway at the Regional Medical Center. The total number of students in the storm spotter class set a record for attendees in Arkansas, and possibly for the USA!
New Business:
Super Session for Technician License for Hams
This coming Saturday (18 Oct) and next (25 Oct), John Nordland will conduct another two -- Saturday license class using the state-wide video conferencing system from the Health Department. The classes will run from 0800 to 1700 hrs. Conway Regional will not participate, but seats are available at the State Health Department in Little Rock on Markham. The VE exams for the class will be conducted in the afternoon of 25 October. All the locations (Searcy, Crosett, etc.) have not yet been identified where VEs may be needed for the exam. The Health Department is grateful to those hams across Arkansas who have supported the Super Sessions.
Main Program "Expanding your PC with VMWare."
Frankie Parks (K5FRP) presented a class entitled "Expanding your PC with VMWare." This class came about because of suggestions from members for possible programs for the FCARC.
VMWare is a software program that acts like another PC within your PC. For example, using this system it is possible to run XP Professional (or Windows 98, or specific DOS versions, etc) as a separate computer on a Vista computer (or on a Linux computer). The software does not allow a MAC simulation, but it will do Novell and free BSD.
VMWare completely isolates what is going on in the virtual computer from the real computer. If the virtual computer crashes, just wipe it out and redo the installation without harming the real computer that is running in the background.
The Virtual Machine created by VMWare can be used to: sample other operating systems (helping you learn the system and make the transition from Windows to Linux): visit questionable web sites that might have malicious code: establish a snapshot of a system that worked before it was tweaked (and redo or undo it if necessary); test security settings and vulnerabilities on a virtual computer before running them on the real computer; run simulated fixes; etc. In other words, the software allows you to create a sandbox to play in without hurting your real machine and your current operating system.
The software for VMWare can be downloaded from http://www.vmware.com/download/server/. The current version VM Server 1.0.7 is the most recent stable version that should be used. It is about a 100 mb file, so use a good connection. It will install all the way back to Windows 98. Version 2.0 in beta phase may have bugs. VM makes an advanced version for cost that operates its own operating system. Beginners should use the free version -- 1.0.7.
The installation is very easy for Windows -- the typical "next, next, next, next...." prompt until it is installed. One question about networking may seem tricky -- just select "bridge" the network. Thus it will pick up another IP address off the router.
For the Linux install, you download a tarball for the Linux file. You have to run a Pearl script that will ask several questions. For the Linux install, you must have the GCC compiler installed before you run. If your version of Linux does not come with a kernal (i.e. A driver), the install will compile a native driver for your box and place it in memory. The GCC compiler is like the mortar that holds the bricks (software programs) together.
Frankie used a computer projector during the presentation so that everyone could see his laptop screen as he did a Windows install for Linux. With the VMWare install, a person can use the Linux operating system as a completely separate computer, a "virtual" machine that will not affect the Windows partition in any way. For example, you can partition the Linux hard drive in the virtual machine without partitioning the hard drive on the real computer running Windows in the background. The virtual machine can interface with USB ports, the CD ROM and floppy, and may allow you to "add" serial ports.
Frankie walked the FCARC members through each step as he uploaded the VMWare program and installed a virtual machine to show how easy it was to do. First, he allocated space on the existing hard drive for the program (while identifying the operating system that will be used in the virtual machine -- this is necessary as some older systems had particular hardware requirements). This step creates a file that is the space for the virtual machine to operate. The space allocated in files for the VMWare simulation can be later uploaded to a totally different computer and run on it as well. No configuration will be needed on that different computer, and the virtual computer should start without problem.
Second, Frankie allocated memory for the program -- he usually uses 512 MB for memory. The simulation will run fine without that much memory, but that is his preference.
Third, Frankie booted the chosen program from an ISO image and clicked "install." The software allows you to chose your graphics for the interface with the operator. For the demonstration, he loaded a Red Hat version of Linux. The free version is called Fedora. During this step, the VM simulation wipes the virtual hard drive clean -- the space previously allocated for the simulation -- but this does not affect the real hard drive. For the Linux install demonstration, Frankie added a password for controlling access to the virtual machine and also selected the options he wanted on the install.
The handout from the program "Expanding Your PC with VMWare" will be available on the FCARC website at W5AUU.org.
The meeting adjourned at 1932 hrs.