F  E  E  D  -  P  O  I  N  T

On this last weekend of September, rain is falling but the landscape is bright with the yellow, orange and red leaves of the fall foliage. I sent several photos of autumn foliage to hams around the world. ON4WDL, who lives in Belgium, made some of my foliage photos into a musical slide show. He makes beauitful power point presentations and is very creative. The foliage pictures are presented in a frame superimposed on a foliage shot of a lake with autumn trees. As the slides change, colorful leaves flutter across the screen. His presentation was a nice surprise for me.

KJ5KV down in Plaquemine, Louisiana, had his radio tower and antenna collapse in hurricane Gustav. Gustav created havoc in his area, felling many tree limbs and trees and stripping roofs of shingles. It is taking a lot of work to clean up the mess. Power was out for several days.

The ARRL has reported in its newletters about the hams in the area where Gustav hit. They used VOIP for a lot of the communications.

Here is what the ARRL does to support hams in disaster areas. "As Amateur Radio operators prepared for Hurricane Gustav, the ARRL deployed complete radio stations comprised of industry-donated Amateur Radio equipment, thanks to the generous contributions of ARRL members to the Ham Aid Fund. Created in 2005 to assist with the response to Hurricane Katrina, the Ham Aid Fund is designated to finance Amateur Radio equipment needed for disaster response. In preparation for Hurricane Gustav, ARRL received requests for radio equipment from Louisiana and Texas. The shipping costs for this equipment were covered by the Ham Aid Fund."

Program: A video with an introduction to digital voice on the radio, and a description of the set-up for HF digital voice.


W1TCP motioned to adjourn the meeting. KA1SJV seconded. Adjourned at 19:ll

Next Meeting: Tuesday October 14th, UMFK, Nadeau Hall, Alum Conf. Rm 6:00 PM
Submitted by N1FG

"Jim Grandmaison (KC1SE) was one of the most pleasant, jolly and kind hearted fellows that I have ever known. I recall studying with him at his home for the Technician license upgrade quite a few years ago. I also recall his chagrin after that, when the new callsign he was awarded was "N1FRT"! He couldn't wait to upgrade and get a different call after that!! We often laughed about it.

Jim was an active Ham. He worked a lot on 40 & 75 meters and was also a key player in the Can Am Crown, dutifully manning his post at Machais and Rocky Brook.

Jim was also the music director for the St. Louis Church choir. My wife, Joanne, who is one of the organists there, tells me he was a joy to work with and was extremely knowledgeable about liturgical matters.

Jim was also very active in community affairs and was the financial officer for SAD 27.

When we had a total loss uninsured house fire in 2004, Jim was one of the very first persons to come to offer aid and comfort to us, the very next day. He brought us food, money donated by the parish, and loaned me his beautiful Martin acoustic guitar, as he knew that my guitar had been destroyed in the fire.

To say it was shocking to hear of his sudden death so many miles away would be an understatement. (He died in Italy during a bicycle trek.) The presence of this truly wonderful person will be greatly missed. I honor the memory of this silent key.