MEETING NOTICE
Date: Wednesday, April 9, 1980
Time: 12:00 Noon
Place: 238-543
Our guest speaker on April 9 will be Pete Matthews, WB6UIA. Pete, who is Vice Director of ARRL from the Southwestern Division, is also with the United Radio Amateur Club of San Pedro. It is this club that successfully produced over 500 simple receiver-transmitter kits to be donated to prospective overseas hams as part of ARRL's "Project Goodwill". The purpose of the project is to stimulate more activity from far-reaching locations worldwide by providing suitable startup equipment.
Pete will show slides and describe how his club pulled off this logistic triumph! Don't miss this one and bring a friend! N6NO)
Minutes of Board Meeting, by Ron Zenone W6TUZ
A club board meeting was conducted on March 26, l980 at 12:00 noon in 238-543. Attendees included N6UK, WA6MYJ, N6BF, K6PGX, W6EJJ, WA6PEA, N6AVW, W6ABW and W6TUZ. George Morris called the meeting to order and noted that a quorum was present. Minutes of the February board meeting were read and approved.
An off-lab membership request submitted to the board by Vince Humphrey (W6RNO) was reviewed per club policy and accepted.
Club participation in the upcoming JPL open house was discussed by Jim Lumsden. During the two open house days (i.e., May 31 and June 1), the club station will be placed into operation and exhibited to touring visitors. Jim indicated that club members who would care to help operate the station during open-house hours should contact him.
Future usage of the club's 220 MHz rig that has been ordered through the group purchase was discussed. Most people present at the meeting believed that it was appropriate to slate the rig for primary use as part of an emergency communications system that will be established to link the trailer with building 171.
Norm Chalfin suggested that since Westlink tapes are being broadcast over the club's repeater to inform club members, the club should consider making a monetary contribution to the Westlink Radio Network to help defray costs associated with producing the material. The board is taking the suggestion offered by K6PGX under advisement.
Two ideas were tossed out for discussion by George Morris to determine if club members would be interested in having personal call-badges fabricated and in having club QSL cards printed which could then be purchased by the general membership and used with their personal call sign. As a result of the positive reaction to these ideas, George stated that he would pursue the subject further. The meeting was then adjourned by W6ABW.
W6VIO IS BACK! By Jim Lumsden, WA6MYJ
We are most fortunate to have most of the equipment stolen from the club over the past 1-1/2 years returned to us. (The Midland l3-513 and the Bird Wattmeter remain missing.)
Perhaps the greatest part of the outcome is being able to stand up as a club and know that the culprit was not one of our own. We can and should be proud of that.
Your Board apologizes for the operating inconvenience of the past few months. It is quite clear, however, that had we not moved quickly and stripped the facility of all attractive gear, we would have lost even more. As it was, we still had considerable equipment; it was just not out and available.
We have been moving forward very cautiously toward the purchase of new equipment for the club. We have been reluctant to commit funds to the direct replacement of stolen equipment; now we don't have to! We can use the funds to expand and improve our capabilities. The Equipment Purchasing Committee has been meeting regularly to decide upon a complete, comprehensive procurement plan. You are encouraged to participate and make your desires known. (Only about 1/4 of the club members responded to the equipment questionnaire of a few months ago.)
The trailer is up and running with the Collins KWM-2A in the prime phone position and the YAESU FT101 in the prime CW position. Either position can be used in either mode if desired. As I sit here composing, the new Dentron Clipperton L Amplifier just arrived, so both positions will be capable of full kW operation.
The 2 meter IC211 gear is back so all mode 2-meter operation is again possible, as well as the regular FM with the ICOM 21. The outboard synthesizer for the IC21 still needs work; any volunteers? 220 MHz is also in good shape with both a Midland 13-513 (new) synthesized rig and a Clegg FM 76 XTAL rig.
One of the embarrassing facts surrounding the equipment losses last summer was our inability to determine when the equipment was taken! An inventory procedure has been instituted to keep closer tabs on the equipment. It is a must that you take a couple of minutes to complete the form posted on the trailer door each time you enter the trailer. Please contact myself or Walt Diem in the event of discrepancies. We certainly hope our problems are over; however, we cannot afford to lower our guard.
Improvement will be taking place in the antenna farm this summer. An Inline Instruments wireless 3position relay has been received for evaluation. If it works as well as advertised, each of the 4 hardlines running up the hill will have 3 antennas selectable from the trailer. This gives us 12 possible antennas for the l60 meter to 220 MHz range of bands: Tremendous potential!
We hope you will be anxious to help. Contact George Morris (X7066) or Jim Lumsden (X6726). (By the way-my office is now in Bldg. 233, but the phone is still the same.)
This should be a busy summer with the goal of being really ready for the November Saturn Encounter.
CHP Field Trip, by Walt Diem, WA6PEA and Norm Chalfin, K6PGX
Twenty-eight members and guests enjoyed and interesting and informative field trip to the California Highway Patrol Communications Center on Thursday evening, March 13th.
Host Rich Christie, WA6TVX, began with a talk and discussion of reporting emergencies and hazards on the freeways. He described the type of incident that should be reported and how to efficiently notify the CHP. This is such an important item that it is covered separately in this issue under the title, "Reporting Emergencies on the Freeways."
Next, host Roger Zabkie, N6AVL, described the statewide communications network with the aid of color slides. After the talks, host Mark Shock, WB6LIV, gave us a tour of the VHF, microwave and tower areas. Roger Zabkie showed us the automatic switching and receiver voting equipment. Rich Christie then gave-us a tour of the dispatch center.
The dispatch center is a large room similar to the DSN Control Room in the Space Flight Operations Facility. There were about ten consoles, each operated by a dispatcher. The dispatchers handle calls from ZENITH 1-2000, call boxes and several non-emergency telephone lines. The system automatically handles ZENITH 1-2000 calls first, call box calls second and non-emergency calls last. The reason call boxes have lower priority is because they are primarily calls for assistance rather than for emergencies. Therefore, an emergency during the rush hour will get handled faster via the autopatch than via a call box. This is why you may have experienced a wait at a call box during the rush hour for possibly ten minutes before someone answered.
We observed several dispatchers handling calls from call boxes. In each case, the dispatcher inquired about the problem and offered to make a phone call to a tow service or friend. The dispatcher was able to answer questions about normal towing rates.
The dispatchers also handle radio calls - from CHP officers requesting information on individuals and vehicles that have been stopped. The dispatchers access a computer in Sacramento to obtain the information. Requests can be for a vehicle license number, driver's license number or an individual's name. If there is more than one person with the same name, the computer will indicate how many. The field can be narrowed by inputting additional information such as height, home town, birth date, etc.
Telephone numbers to reach a dispatcher are:
- Emergency calls only: ZENITH
1-200O
- General Information: 736-3374
During rush hour, emergency calls are usually backlogged. If you encounter an urgent emergency during the rush hour and cannot get an answer at ZENITH 1-2000, hang up, transfer the information to another ham on one of the repeaters and have him call 736-3302 or 736-3303. Then re-dial the ZENITH number. Alternatively, you can try the 3302 or 3303 numbers yourself. These numbers are answered by the Watch Officer who can also initiate dispatching of an ambulance and CHP officer.
The tour was arranged by Dave Whitaker, WA6JDV, and coordinated by Jack Patzold, WB6TXG.
Reporting Emergencies on the Freeways, by Walt Diem, WA6PEA
WHAT TO REPORT: Collisions, fires, hazardous conditions and obstructions to the flow of traffic. The CHP does not want reports of stalled vehicles that are safely on the shoulder. If a car is stalled in the center divider, report it only if you feel someone is endangered. The CHP does want a report if someone is attempting to cross the freeway in heavy traffic. They want to be advised of a lone woman driver stalled in the center divider at night but do not want such a report during the rush hour. A large piece of plywood on the freeway should be reported because it can be flipped up by a wheel and cause a serious accident. However, it would be ridiculous to report a sack of cement on the freeway because the CHP would find only dust and paper by the time they arrived.
TO WHOM TO REPORT: The California Highway Patrol is responsible for freeways and County roads and highways. Emergencies in other locations should be reported to the police., sheriff or fire department responsible for the area of the incident.
HOW TO REPORT: To report an emergency or hazardous road condition on a freeway or County highway, call the operator and ask for ZENITH l-2000. If you are calling on the WB61EA autopatch and the telephone operator asks for your number, say "790-2085". However, if the CHP dispatcher asks for your callback number, give your office or home number. They do not want the autopatch number because they can never contact you at that number.
Emergency traffic will be handled much faster if you use the same format they use. This will assist the dispatcher in entering the information into the computer via a-remote terminal. The format is given below under the heading, "Reporting Procedure". It consists of reporting the type of incident and the location in an orderly manner. What the dispatcher needs to know is, WHAT and WHERE.
REPORTING PROCEDURE (ZENITH 1-2000):
- 1. Type of incident
- 2. Direction of travel
- 3. Freeway number
- 4. Lane number (#1 is closest to center divider)
- 5. Nearest cross street, off-ramp, call box number or road marker number.
- 6. City or area.
- 7. Your name and callback number
- 2. Direction of travel
Example #1: "Three car collision with possible injuries, southbound on I-5, lane #1, about a quarter mile south of the Rosemead exit in Downey."
Example #2: "Stalled vehicle blocking traffic, transition road, northbound Route 11 to northbound Route 101
Note the method of describing a transition road as illustrated in example 2. Giving the directions on the interconnecting freeways uniquely defines the specific transition road. Always define freeways by their route number. The dispatchers use route numbers, not freeway names, however, giving the freeway name after the route number may add clarity. Remember that lanes are always numbered from left to right. Indicate the direction as north, south, east or west; do not use inbound or outbound.
The dispatcher has to determine in which beat the incident occurred. Sometimes the dispatcher has to check a Thomas guide to determine the beat. Giving the city or areas, as illustrated in example 1, will expedite determining the beat and which car to call.
Define the location as accurately as possible. Remember that the CHP normally must approach the scene in the direction of traffic. A cross street or call box number defines the location more precisely that the next off-ramp.
Whenever reporting or relaying an emergency situation, try to obtain all the pertinent information and organize it into the proper format before calling the CHP. - Remember that clarity, brevity and accuracy will expedite dispatching assistance to the scene. The difference could save a life.
Project OSCAR Meeting Held in El Segundo,
By Norm Chalfin, K6PGX
Among the 65 attendees of the PROJECT OSCAR IN SUPPORT OF AMSAT MEETING held in El Segundo on March 8th were five members of the JPL Amateur .Radio Club: Bob Cesarone, WA9JIB; Norm Chalfin, K6PGX; Randy Johnstone, WB6QWR; Skip Reymann, W6PAJ;, and Rich Van Allen, KA6DEX. John Browning, W6SP, Chairman of the Board of Directors of AMSAT gave a rundown on the history of AMSAT and Project OSCAR which preceded it. Project OSCAR was responsible for OSCAR I, II, and III. TRW amateurs built OSCAR IV. OSCAR V was a product of the amateurs of Australia who brought it over here for launch. It was at this point that AMSAT came into the picture ,and continued on from there with OSCARS VI, VII and VIII and now with Phase III.
OSCARs I through V can be considered the Phase I OSCARS. They were short-lived spacecraft in low circular polar orbits designed to provide training in tracking satellites. The Phase II OSCARs were OSCARS VI and VIII which were relatively long-lived communications satellites with which thousands of amateurs around the world have made hundreds of thousands of contacts with one another on the relatively short passes lasting from 12 to 25 minutes. The PHASE III satellites will be longer-lived, in highly elliptical geostationary or .circular orbits higher than the Phase II spacecraft and permitting much longer view periods. The AMSAT Phase III-A spacecraft, to be launched between May 20 and May 28 from the ESA launch pad at Kourou, French Guiana, will be renamed OSCAR 9 once in orbit. The view period for the Northern hemisphere will be about 6 to 8 hours during which communications with any amateur in the same hemisphere will be possible. All modes except AM and FM will be encouraged.
John Pronko, current President of Project OSCAR, discussed the 23 cm linear translator which is operating from Mount Ununuhum in Northern California. The translator has been in operation for some time now and is being constantly improved. The site provides a clear view of the Bay area in all directions except for shading by the lower foothills in nearby communities. The 23 cm translator is designed to help develop new translator techniques for both terrestrial and orbital communications, provide a higher level of activity at 23 cm, aid experimenters in the provision of a duplex capability-and self-testing of new equipment. The system acts as a 23 cm beacon with its CW ID-er for propagation studies and determination of band openings.
Vic Reubhausen, W6WNK, discussed a circularly polarized helical antenna for the mode B, mode J and Phase III operations. John Pronko brought along an engineering model of a new 10 element crossed dipole array which KLM is planning to have ready for the Phase III launch period. The driven elements are folded dipoles.
LERC Hamfest
The 15th Annual Los Angeles Amateur Radio Convention, sponsored by the Lockheed Amateur Radio Club will be held on May 17 and 18 from 9 am to 4 pm at 2814 Empire Avenue, Burbank, California. Technical presentations start every hour on the hour, with a prize drawing held to conclude each session. An Argonaut CW/SSB lO-80 meter transceiver is the pre-registration prize. A Smorgasbord will be held starting at 5:00 pm Sunday to conclude the convention. A wide assortment of indoor and outdoor displays will be shown, along with a swap meet. A flyer giving full details and information on tickets will be attached to next month's "W6VIO Calling".
POTENTIALLY DEADLY THREAT
A potentially deadly threat exists in many ham shacks due to PCB, the potent cancer-causing chemical widely used as a high voltage insulator until a recent ban was imposed on its use by the Environmental Protection Agency. Polychlorinated biphenyls have been widely used in the manufacture of capacitors and transformers since the early l930's and many amateurs are currently using PCB-filled capacitors in their high-voltage supplies without being aware of the potential hazard.
There is no danger so long as seals are intact, but exposure to liquid PCB seeping from a leaking capacitor could have grave health consequences for an amateur or his family. Amateurs who suspect their oil-filled capacitors might contain PCB -- GE's Pyranol is one well known example -- should check all seals carefully for leakage and make sure the capacitors are run well below their ratings to avoid stress.
Damaged or leaking PCB-filled components should not be thrown in the garbage; in fact, it is illegal to dispose of more than three pounds (one quart) of PCB except in a sealed drum at a government approved disposal site! At this time, alternative disposal arrangements for PCB filled components are being contemplated by the EPA. (Tnx HR Report and "Cross Talk")
Ed: Transformer oil also contains PCB's. Hams using transformer oil in their Heath Cantennas or similar dummy loads should be aware of the danger.
WANTED
2-meter rig, crystal or synthesized that covers the entire band, 5/8 wave mag mount antenna and a 2-meter duplexer (cavity). Contact Nash Williams, W6HCD at 449-7522 before 8 am.
Reduce your GLB 220 Channelizer Spurious Radiation,
by German Von Thal, WB6JYJ
This article is written specifically for the 220 configuration compatible with CLEGG FM-76 and MIDLAND l3-5O9 220 MHz transceivers. The most pronounced interference caused by the GLB 220 is in the region of the lower end of VHF television. Before assuming that the interference is caused by outside sources, a quick analysis will show that the source may be the GLB 220.
The frequencies required for operation of the transceivers between 220.0 and 225.0 MHz are as follows:
The Channelizer generates frequencies in the 18 MHz range and uses a tripler multiplier to produce the desired frequencies in the 54 MHz region as follows: During receive mode it generates from 17.44167 MHz to 17.85833 MHz at the synthesizer which is converted to 52.3250 and 53.5750 respectively by the tripler stage.
During transmit mode, the-receiver stage of the GLB is still active, consequently the tripler stage generates frequencies from 55.000 (18.333X3) to 56.250 (18.750 X 3) MHz, right in the channel 2 television band! The activity of the frequency tripler coupled with the poor design (circuitry and EMI shielding) of the GLB 220 make it in my opinion a good candidate for outlawing!
The ideal operation would be to suppress gate 1 during receive and gate 3 during transmit which can be done with transmit-receive logic available within the GLB (see Fig. 1). Note that the NAND gates can be suppressed by providing a LOW in one of the inputs and can be enabled by providing a HI at the same input.
The quickest and simplest solution to keep the tripler stage from producing channel 2 frequencies is to separate inputs 9 and 10 (gate 3) and to connect pin 9 to point A with a 2" length of wire as shown with the dashed line. The writer experimented with other logic points with the same logic voltages but point A allows the most suppression as well as the shortest interconnect wire. There is still some generation of undesired frequency at the tripler due to poor layout and bad RF isolation within the box but the levels were insufficient to cause interference on nearby TV sets.
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