MARCO Grand Rounds for June 3, 2012

From Warren KD4GUA,
 
This Sunday we will discuss "STROKES."   Need one say more...does the corkscrew device get better results than IV TPA?  Tune in should be educational.   

MARCO Grand Rounds for May 27, 2012

From Warren, KD4GUA:

 

This Sunday we will discuss Melinda Beck's excellent article in the May 22 Wall Street Journal entitled, "THE CURSE OF A DIAGNOSIS."  it concerns the new tests that are now able to pick up early Alzheimer's--does it do more harm than good? 

     We will also welcome the new members we enlisted in Dayton over the past weekend, and if time permits, some of the accomplishments we made.  Conclusion from Dayton:  Ham radio is very much alive--there was a line of young people around the block waiting to take their ham-exams, the ham census in the US is around 700,000, an all-time high. 

     Tune in Sunday, should be fun. 

MARCO at Hamvention, Part II

On Saturday temperatures were hot. Those who walked the flea market soon became drenched in sweat. It is a rare Hamvention at which one gets to complain about the good weather!

The action continued at MARCO's booth. Members old and new stopped by to chat, and we recruited close to 15 new members.

The banquet, held at the Airport Holiday Inn  featured a buffet and a rollicking 80th birthday in the adjoining room. Lou Wiederhold, WA1HGE led us in a remembrance of departed members Ted Hatfield, KQ4IC and Alfred Greenwald, WA2CBA.

The President's gavel was passed to Mary Favaro, AE4BX, who already had plans in place for next year's meeting, to be held in Myrtle Beach, SC. The tentative date is April 5th to 7th, 2013.

Chip Keister, N5RTF presented a thought-provoking talk, detailing his thoughts about concrete and abstract thinking.

With bodies, spirits and minds all well-nourished, we said our good-byes until next year.

MARCO at Hamvention

Here are a few random thoughts and observations after a day in Dayton.

The weather  is so good that many of us thought we had come to the wrong place. We have been treated to sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 70's.

The Membership Meeting was successful, with a good deal of constructive conversation (See previous post, which contains the minutes).

There are some interesting new toys to view at Hara Arena. The show-stopper in my view is Flex Radio's new Flex 6000. All of the required computing power has been moved within the case of this rig, so one needs to run only a simple interface program on the external computer. This allows simple remote operation of the radio. Slick!

The new Kenwood flagship radio is on display under glass. It is hefty, looks beautiful all lit up, and has more controls than the space shuttle.

Ten Tec is coming out soon with a nice QRP update of the Argonaut.

The BIG BUY of the weekend was by KD5QHV/KE5BQK, who will soon own a new SteppIR beam. . K6JW, KD5QHV and AA4FL made heavy purchases - they each will lug home a Vibroplex Cube, the new paddle affixed to a 6 pound base. N5RTF picked up a new Wouxun handheld. He is now learning to speak Chinese so he can use it.

Dinner  on Friday night was an odyssey. KE5QQK and KD5QHV peeled off and returned to Bob Evans, as this franchise has no restaurants in El Paso and Linda is sampling their fare every chance she gets. The rest of us piled into the hotel's van, and after a long drive over back roads arrived at a familiar strip of chain restaurants just off I-75. All of which had a 1 hour wait for seating. So... we piled back onto the van and returned to the area of the hotel. Eventually we dined at Tumble Weed Grill. The food was generic, the service was excellent, and we all had a good time.

Annual Membership Meeting Minutes

           MARCO Annual Membership Meeting

                                      May 17, 2012, Dayton OH

Attendees:

WB6OJB, WA3ZZU, KM2L, W4DAN, N5RTF, WA1HGE, KD4GUA, AE4BX, KE5BQK, KD5QHV, K6JW, N3IM, AA4FL, N8CL, W1BEW, 4X4LL, KT8E, W8CRK

The meeting was called to order by Linda, KE5BQK at 8:04 EDT. She thanked those members who have assisted her during her presidency.

Minutes of the 2011 meeting were read and approved. 

Secretary’s Report (W4DAN). Membership is 206, including 55 who are not currently paid-up. Some members have not received their copies of Aether. This appears to be due to damage by the post office.

Treasurer’s report (WA1HGE). Our balance is holding steady. We have $12697.73 and $6441 in a CD.

Webmaster report (KM2L). The email  list has approximately 90 members. The web site has remained secure over the past year with no incidents of hacking. Skype continues on Sunday mornings during grand rounds with W1BEW, N4TSC and sometimes N6DMV checking in.

Newsletter report (KD4GUA). Contributions are always welcome. There have been no complaints about about the jokes! There is sentiment to archive back copies of the newsletter on the website. These could be scanned and posted as .pdf files.  

Internet Audio report (N5RTF). Chip continues to try to stream audio for those who have no radio or are traveling. The quality is limited by his antenna situation and local noise. He would like to stream Warren’s audio directly. Chip can process, stream and record the audio and archive it to the website.

Medishare report (WB6OJB). We have $6524.11 in funds, but no project currently. Arnold has take on a project personally. W4DAN was contacted by a prisoner in Louisiana who requested a licensing Q&A book. Arnold obtained one for him, and he and Danny have sent him copies of QST and CQ. Arnold requested information on when and with whom our Zambian project took place. AE4BX has a contact who is a nurse in Zambia, and wil look into what her needs are.

New Business:

Discussion of Medishare projects. There is nothing that restricts us to projects in the third world. Sometimes members have outdated or surplus equipment, but it is not clear what to do with it. In the past, these were funneled to DRI or International Aid. Suggested that surplus equipment be listed in the Aether. Anyone with ideas for projects can email them to the President or Medishare Chair.

Change in dues schedule (W4DAN). Currently everyone has different dues renewal dates. It would be simpler to make payments due for everyone at the same time. W8CRK moved that this be adopted. Second by K6JW. WA1HGE spoke in support as the treasury runs on a calendar year. Motion carried - payments will be due on January 1 each year. 

Google Adwords proposal (NT8E). Dave had suggested an online advertising campaign to boost membership. He gave a powerpoint presentation explaining the Google ad words campaign. This is a Google pay-per-click advertising program (the top and right side of a Google search page). This is targeted advertising and thus generates a high percentage of interested viewers. You pay for each user who clicks on the ad.  That drives the user to our web site - then we need to capture their information and interest.  There are 450,000 monthly searches on “amateur radio.” There is low competition. This means our add would appear on page 1. You can set a daily budget or the price you pay per click. It is a competitive situation, so if you are too cheap your ad drops down the page. The price drops as your campaign’s quality score increases - this is based on longevity and activity of the add and the relevance of content on your landing page. It is a good idea to include a relevant keyword in your url. The Adsense campaign is a separate program that places Google ads on your page. If a visitor clicks on the ad, we receive revenue.

Suggestions for the website: We need to give people a reason to join - access to newsletters, (audio stream archives), and a members-only area with exclusive content. 

W8CRK moved that we authorize N8TE to establish a campaign, to include designing a landing page, authenticated membership area and online dues payment for the web site. The changes will be reviewed and approved by the Internet Committee prior to publication. Second by K6JW. Motion carried.

WA3ZZU moved that the budget for this project for the next year by not more than $1000. Second by K6JW.  Motion carried.

Discussion of Dayton meeting schedule (WA3ZZU). Chuck would prefer to have the meeting on Saturday and the go to the ham fest on Friday. Motion seconded by W8CRK. Motion carried.

Orlando Hamcation (KD4GUA). Warren and W4DAN visited last year and had a wonderful time. It is held in mid-February, and would be fun for other members to attend and hold a mini-meeting.

WA1HGE moved that we adjourn. The meeting was adjourned at 10:12 EDT. 

Election of officers was tabled until the evening of May 19, prior to the banquet. At that time, with no nominations from the floor, the following slate was elected:


President-Elect: Jeff  Wolf, K6JW
Secretary: Danny Centers, W4DAN
Treasurer: Lou Wiederhold, WA1HGE.


After some discussion, the following changes were made to the Board of Directors:
Per the Bylaws, immediate Past-President Linda Krasowski, KE5BQK, became a Director-At-Large. She replaces Bud Clark, KE2DT.
The new 4th Area Director is John Bennet, WD8NMV.
The New 5th Area Director is Tom Reilly, W3GAT.
The New 6th Area Director is Paul Lukas, N6DMV.

MARCO Grand Rounds for May 13, 2012

From Warren KD4GUA:

 

This Sunday we will discuss:  "FDA(/topics/food-and-drug-administration/) says over-the-counter distribution of drugs used to treat conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes without obtaining a prescription could help the government trim its burgeoning health care costs."  This would cut down office visits but would increase costs of drugs to patients since over-the-counter meds are not usually covered by insurance.  What is your opinion and, if you have the time, your patient's opinion.  Tune in, should be fun. 

MARCO Grand Rounds for April 29, 2012

From Warren KD4GUA:

This Sunday we will discuss "Electronic Medical Records."  The young are trying to teach old dogs new tricks and are running into a generation gap of about 17 years.   The advantages and disadvantages including increased liability will be discussed.  Take your aspirin prior to listening.  It should be great FUN ! 

MARCO Grand Rounds for April 22, 2012

Warren KD4GUA says:
 
 Using a condom is like taking a shower wearing a raincoat--BUT, it keeps you from getting wet--From the social diseases-- we will discuss this Sunday, by request.   Tune in, should be fun (?)  

MARCO Grand Rounds for April 15, 2012

From Warren KD4GUA:

This Sunday we will discuss a group of newsworthy events which will include:1.  Alzheimer diagnosis possible with new amyloid scan (the chemical alone costs $1,000); 2. Male Fertility Test in Stores (why not trial and error?;)   3.  "Once a year Pap test no longer necessary;" and 4.  "The Robots are coming to Hospitals."   (Although the military is scaling them back!).  Tune in, should be fun.

MARCO Grand Rounds for April 8, 2012

From Warren KD4GUA:

 

 Bill KC9CS has a 6-year old grandchild who has SUDDENLY come down with a new disorder probably brought on by the reluctance of physicians to use antibiotics in children's URI infections.  This is manifest OVERNIGHT as an ACUTE obsessive-compulsive disorder that is thought to be an autoimmune reaction to the streptococcus. 

     It is suggested that you look up"PANDAS" on the internet prior to the program.  Do not confuse this with the teddy bear--it is a real problem that we will probably see more of in the future--keep on the cutting edge by tuning in.   Keep the blue side up.   

MARCO Grand Rounds for April 1, 2012

From Warren KD4GUA:
 
This Sunday we will discuss "Shortening Medical Training by 30%."  The article is in the March 21st edition of JAMA.   This is a very interesting subject so don't miss it...., page 1143.  Sorry about missing last Sunday but couldn't be helped.    Keep the blue side up.

MARCO Grand Rounds for March 25, 2012

Warren will be unavailable for Grand Rounds this Sunday. He was kind enough to "volunteer" me for duty. 


Subject to the vagaries of HF propagation, the highly-underachieving solar cycle and the CQWPX SSB contest this weekend, we will discuss "Can Your Vitamin Supplement Kill You?"


14.307 MHZ at 1500 UTC/1100 EDT.


-KM2L

MARCO Grand Rounds for March 18, 2012

From Warren, KD4GUA,
 
This Sunday, we will discuss "Diseases of the--week!"  Included are  potential topics such as "Once a year Pap test no longer necessary," due to the co-testing, a Pap smear and an HPV test every 5 yeasr.  The availability to buy a sperm fertility test over-the-counter for $39.  Also, the hiring of 20 robots to take the place of para-clinic personnel in a Silicon Valley hospital.   Also on the list are topics such as "Time for a Good Old-Fashioned Nervous Breakdown,"  "Can Genomics Bend the Cost Curve,"  and "Doctors Struggle to Make Ends Meet."  Take your pick give your preference Sunday.  Should sharpen the cutting edge.  Keep the blue side up.

MARCO Grand Rounds for March 11, 2012

From Warren KD4GUA:

 

This Sunday, by request, we will discuss "GOUT."  The word "Gout" comes from the Greek word "Gutta" meaning drop (we still use the abbreviation "ggt" on prescriptions) or bad humor dropping into the joints.  The incidence of gout has increased lately--have you checked your big toe lately?  Tune in should be exotic!   Note:  Daylight savings time starts on March 11th SUNDAY.

    Propagation was super bad the past Sunday.  We wrapped up Thyroid diseases...if you have any hot topics for the future type in below:

 

_______________________________(hot topic) 

MARCO Grand Rounds for February 26, 2012

From Warren, KD4GUA,

 

This Sunday we will continue the discussion on "Thyroid Disease."  We learned this week that the TSH is a screening test that if positive should be checked with a T-3 and a free T-4.  Propagation started out fine then deteriorated but we managed to pick up 48 stations, a near record (55).

     Anyone who wants to share a room with another Marco member in Dayton should let us know as soon as possible as time figits...we already have one member seeking a roommate--and he claims he doesn't snore---loudly! (he hasn't woken, awoken  himself up yet).

MARCO Grand Rounds for February 19, 2012

There was no formal net on February 12, as several folks were unavailable.


On February 19, the topic will be Thyroid Diseases. Lots to cover, so keep your ears open and your radio tuned to 14.307 MHz at 11 AM EST/1600 UTC.

MARCO Grand Rounds for February 5, 2012

From Warren KD4GUA:

This Sunday by request, we will discuss Metabolic Syndrome.   There are some good articles in the latest JAMA which states that "Overweight doctors are not pushing overweight patients enough as are smoking doctors (are there any?) push abstinence from tobacco. "  (an indirect quote.)  STOP pancreatic poop-out, tune in and join the march against METABOLIC SYNDROME !  Should be fun.

The Return of Streaming Audio

The last time streaming audio was tried for the MARCO net was in 2009.  Subsequently, the sunspot cycle dropped so low that I could not hear Warren and there was nothing to stream or record.  A beam antenna is just not going to happen in uptown New Orleans, so this project has been on hold until the past few weeks when Warren and the 'topic of the week' have been booming in.

Note that Bruce, KM2L is already providing net audio through Skype, which is high-quality and has the potential for being 2-way.

The audio stream coming out of New Orleans will be in Icecast or Shoutcast MP3 format.  It is one-way only.  It has the advantage of being playable on any computer or portable device with an internet connection, without subscribing to a service, simply by clicking on a link.  Hopefully this will entice some non-members to get involved, and will provide a service our members who are traveling or without a radio.

Initially, I will stream it from my home computer and ADSL line which can serve about 10 simultaneous 32K streams.  If the demand ever becomes consistently higher than that, space on a commercial Shoutcast server can be rented fairly cheaply.

Audio quality is directly proportional to the stream bandwidth.  32K should handle the full spectrum of a SSB signal and is a good compromise between number of users and quality.  Additional bandwidth will be purchased if there are complaints.

Another advantage of an MP3 stream is that it can be recorded.  The software I am using now: BUTT! (Broadcast Using This Tool) is open-source and has the ability to stream and record simultaneously.  The goal is to make these recordings available as podcasts on demand for people who miss the nets due to conflicts.

Access the stream by clicking on: http://tkeister.net:8000/stream

or type this link into the music player on your computer, phone, or pad.

I am interested in feedback on quality of the link and of the audio.  You should hear everything I hear on my radio with about a 15-second delay.  I might miss some mornings due to on-call, social, or religious obligations.  I am also fast to pull the plug if there is lightning nearby.  Finally, I still have to rebuild the monitor bypass for my own audio, so now when I press the Mic, you will hear dead air.  Within these limitations -- Enjoy!

Chip, N5RTF.

MARCO Grand Rounds for January 29, 2012

From Warren KD4GUA:

This Sunday we will continue the discussion on Needlestick Injuries, since we didn't finish it last week.  Lot of interesting comments, i.e., it costs round $700 for your ER visit after a needlestick for lab work and meds.  

Harry EDP chipped in with great comments claiming the writer in JAMA (Jan. 4, 2012, page 75) was behind schedule with his protocol.  Problem with police also in searching druggies.   Using needles now-a-days is like walking on slippery ice-- and be careful using hemostats to sew--use a real driver, like a needle holder.  

Tune in should be fun.

MARCO Grand Rounds for January 22, 2012

From Warren KD4GUA:

This Sunday we will discuss "Management of Needlestick Injuries."  Fear & anxiety rise when we accidentally stick ourselves with a dirty needle....did the patient have HIV? Hepatitis B? C?  What should I do?  Ignore it?  After all it was just a needle stick!  Oh yeah!  Better tune in, we want you on the front lines--with heavy armor and reasonable thinking.  Tune in, it may save you something.

   

Suggest you read article JAMA Jan. 4, 2012, Page 75.