Minutes of Oct. Board Meeting by Ron Zenone, W6TUZ
A board meeting was conducted on October 22, l98O at 12:00 noon in 238-543. Attendees included K6SUP, WA6MYJ, N6AVW, K6GPK, WA6PEA, K6PGX, W6EJJ and W6TUZ. The meeting was called to order by Warren Apel who noted that a quorum was present. Minutes of the September 1980 board meeting were read and approved with the following addition to paragraph 5:
The club needs a QSL manager to fill the vacancy caused by K6BER leaving the lab.
John McKinney indicated that his request for committee chairmen to review the adequacy of l980 budgets and to discuss status with him before today's meeting was unanswered. Along this vein Walt Diem mentioned that the Repeater Committee was thinking of purchasing a duplexer for one of the club's repeater. Walt added that he would determine the best available price and report his findings to the board.
The contingency fund being maintained for autopatch repeater operations was described by WA6PEA as being more than required. Walt suggested that the Repeater Committee formulate suggestions as to the size of contingency required and how excess money, if any, could be used to provide better repeater service. John McKinney and Warren Apel are to approach the ERC to determine if the contingency fund can be divorced from the principle operating account and made into a separate account.
It was announced by K6GPK that he and five other club members successfully supported the 10-kilometer Mercury Run conducted in downtown LA over the past weekend. Club members who participated included N6MP, WD6HEZ, WA6KPW, W6EJJ and W6TUZ.
Dick Piety stated that he has received tentative approval of a letter containing names of members who will be given after-hours on-lab parking privileges during commemorative operations.
It was mentioned by Jim Lumsden that AVON had donated $150 to the ERC because of the radio club having supported this year's AVON Marathon. Jim also indicated that the donation was then inadvertently given to the JPL Jogging Club by the ERC. An equitable adjustment between the two clubs will be made in the future.
Status of the club antenna installation effort was provided by Jim Lumsden. All antennas have been installed and the antenna rotator is working properly. Same-minor adjustments still need to be made to the verticals.
An announcement was made by N6AVW that the club was going to support the Great Pumpkin Run to be held, at noontime on October 31 at the Rose Bowl by the JPL Jogging Club. Volunteers are being sought for the event.
K6GPK announced that the Cal Tech Radio Club was looking for new members. It was suggested by Warren that an appropriate article be written for "W6VIO Calling." Nash Williams is to be contacted regarding the generation of such an article. The meeting was then adjourned by Warren.
Congratulations to Jim Lumsden
I want to express my congratulations to Jim Lumsden, WA6MYJ, for the outstanding job he has done as Facilities Manager in preparing the club station, W6VIO, for the upcoming Voyager Saturn encounter. Jim has really excelled in his managerial role by assembling teams of members who have accomplished wonders. The tilt-over tower has been put on the telephone pole, and the KT-34XA triband beam assembled and installed together with a retuned 40-meter beam on the tower. The TH6DXX tower guys have been reworked and two new HF multiband verticals installed. The new remote coax switches have been installed and checked out. The station was ready to begin training classes on October 15.
Congratulations, Jim, on the successful completion of this difficult task in which you were not only the leader but most often one of the workers. In behalf of the entire club I want to express a hearty THANK YOU. - George Morris, W6ABW
W6VIO Station Upgrade Status Report
by Jim Lumsden, WA6MYJ
W6VIO is on the air! On time! With the exception of a couple of minor items, all anticipated upgrading work and more has been accomplished. Many of you have had a chance already to use the new antennas and rigs and have seemed pleased. A complete description of the capabilities of W6VIO will appear next month. For now, I want to express my appreciation to all who pitched in during the past several months and most of all to the major task leaders. It really was great to see so many club members pitch in while still maintaining the regular activities such as nets, newsletters and race support. The focal point of the entire effort is the special event of the Voyager I encounter with Saturn. Now that we have the facility, let's do justice to the event. (WA6MYJ)
Club Supports 10 Kilometer Running Race by Warren Apel, K6GPK
The club once again provided communications for a long distance running race. This time it was the annual Mercury 10k, sponsored by the Los Angeles Athletic Club, and this year, part of the Los Angeles bi-centennial celebration. The race was held on October 19 through the streets of downtown Los Angeles, starting at Seventh and Olive and ending inside the Coliseum. The race attracted about 1,000 runners from all over the country.
The JPL Radio Club support consisted of providing emergency communications capability as well as communications for management of the race. The most important function was the transmission of the sound of the starting gun around the course for clock synchronization. Another function was to provide reports of the progress of the leading runners from various check points on the course to the finish line. These reports were relayed to the spectators in the coliseum over the public address system by TV news personality Mario Machado.
Club members participating on race day were Warren Apel (K6GPK), Bruce Beaudry (WD6HEZ), Jim Longthorne (WA6KPW), Jay Holladay (W6EJJ), Stan Sander (N6MP) and Ron Zenone (W6TUZ). Also, John Earnest (N6CTT) assisted Warren in checking out the communications around the course on the day before the race. Walt Diem (WA6PEA) tuned and checked-out the portable repeater.
Communications were handled on the WR6APR repeater frequencies using the club's back-up, portable repeater, which was located in Jim's Jeep on Bunker Hill (across the street from the Music Center), along with hand-helds used at the race check-points. Warren handled the start and the two-mile point$ Stan at the one-mile point, Bruce at three miles, Ron at 5.2 miles and the entrance to the Coliseum, and Jay set up on the stage at the finish line.
In supporting these running race events, we provide a public service to the volunteer track clubs that organize and put on the races, and we practice our ability to set up and provide for emergency communications. Incidentally, the participants have a lot of fun doing it!
Logo Contest News
As announced in the October issue of "W6VIO Calling", the club is sponsoring a contest to select a logo to be used on the newsletter masthead, stationery, QSL cards, etc. The grand prize is a check for $30 with the runner-up receiving a $15 award.
With all the activity going on at W6VIO, I'm sure that may of you prospective entrants have been distracted from your drawing boards. This probably accounts from the rather small number of entries (three to date). With this in mind, the deadline for receipt of entries has been extended to Friday, December 12, l980. This is the absolute latest deadline, so get to work in time to go after one of the prizes. Complete rules appeared last month. Call me at ext. 2625 for a copy of the rules if you need one.
One final note. One of the entrants, whose code number is 16046, did not include a sealed envelope with his/her name in it. Without this, we can't tell who sent in the entry, so please do so as soon as possible. (N6MP)
Nominating Committee
I have selected a nominating committee to prepare a slate of officers for presentation to the membership at the December meeting as required by our Bylaws. I have appointed Jim Lumsden, WA6MYJ, Merv MacMedan, N6NO, and Stan Sander, N6MP, to the committee. I have asked Stan to be the chairman. I selected the individuals for the committee because of their knowledge of obtaining volunteer support from club members for their activities; Jim for his recent work parties to upgrade the W6VIO station, Merv for his organization of operators to meet scheduled times for the Voyager Saturn encounter, and Stan for his continued effort to find contributions for the newsletter. It is important to the future of the club to obtain a slate of officers who are enthusiastic and can devote the time to make our club a success. (W6ABW)
Report of the Nominating Committee
by Stan Sander, N6MP
It is traditional for the slate of officers proposed by the nominating committee to be presented at the November club meeting so the membership will have the opportunity to consider the choices and propose alternates, if they desire, at the December election meeting. Unfortunately the November club meeting was cancelled due to the difficulty of finding a meeting place during the encounter period. Consequently, the slate is being formally presented here in the newsletter.
The nominating committee, consisting of Merv MacMedan, N6NO, Jim Lumsden, WA6MYJ, and myself came up with the following list of names for the 1981 club officers:
- President: Stan Sander N6MP
- Vice-President: Ron Zenone W6TUZ
- Secretary: Art Zygielbaum WA6SAL
- Treasurer: John McKinney N6AVW
- Vice-President: Ron Zenone W6TUZ
Congratulations to the officers of l98O for a job well done!
A SPACE-AGE QSO TO REMEMBER (By Merv MacMedan, N6NO)
While operating the Voyager Commemorative station W6VIO, I ran across a CQ on 10-meter CW one day that was so unusual I'd like to share it with you.
- KB5EH KB5EH DE W6VIO W6VIO K
- W6VIO DE KB5EH TNX PER CALL = U ARE IN QSO WITH A TRS 80 COMPUTER. U ARE RST 599 599 = PSE ONLY My RST? BK
- BK DE W6VIO UR RST 599 599 BK
- QSL 599 TNX = QTH LAFAYETTE, LA. UR QTH? BK
- BK QTH IS PASADENA, CA.? PASADENA, CA BK
- AS (seeming to muse over the QTH) R FB = NAME IS TERRY? TERRY = UR NAME? BK
- BK MY NAME IS VOYAGER VOYAGER BK
- AS (a in giving the strange name much consideration) R OK VOYAGER TNX FER QSO ES HPE U ENJOYED TALKING TO A COMPUTER 73 W6VIO DE KB5EH K
- OK TERRY TNX 73 TK KB5EH DE W6VIO
- TNX ES QNSL SURE E E
Each QSO he had followed exactly the same format, with essential data being received and included in the reply message (RST and name.) The speed was about 15 wpm. Obviously it was not possible with such a format to explain the commemorative nature of the W6VIO operation, so I chose to insert the name "Voyager!" instead of my own so that it would call the attention to the owner of the computer! It was a QSO to remember, and to give thought to the ham station of the future.... perhaps TRS-80's talking to other TRS-80's all day and night and getting WAS, WAC, WAZ, DXCC . !
Amateur Radio Licensing Classes
Amateur radio licensing classes continue to be given in Pasadena City College's Adult Education Program. The non-credit classes cover beginners through General level, and meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 to 9:30 pm at PCC, room C-337. While the term has already begun, new participants are welcome to join at any time. The instructor is Mike Callaghan, WA6KPD, who is a broadcast engineer for KIIS. For further information, Mike can be reached between 4 and 5 pm on the PRC repeater, 147.105/147.705.
CQ DE 7403
Stan Brokl, N2YQ, announced yesterday that he now has a new number where he may be reached at JPL. Call him at ext. 7403 and exchange reports. Stan says his QSL cards for this operation are "in the printer's".(N6NO)
RALAC Sponsors Emergency Communications System
by Merv MacMedan, N6NO
RALAC, the Latin American Radio Amateur Club of Los Angeles, is ready to serve those with emergency traffic. Their capability ties together 15 meters, 20 meters and 220 MHz in a unique way.
To begin, a bilingual control station monitors 21430 kHz Monday through Friday from 6-8 pm local time. At 8 pm, a formal net opens up on 14340 kHz for emergency and welfare traffic only. This net is run by 5 teams of 3 people each who rotate responsibilities each week. It is conducted bilingually.
A unique feature of the system is that there is always someone on the net with the assigned responsibility of patching between the 15 or 20 meter net and the RALAC repeater (WB6QWR/R, 223.28 in/224.88 out). Normally this is a closed repeater for RALAC member's use only, but during the net period the repeater becomes an "open" repeater to permit nonmembers to call in with emergency traffic which can then be relayed or patched directly to its destination in Latin America.
Further information on this innovative approach to emergency communications may be obtained from the chairman of the RALAC Net Committee, Luis Rodriguez, WA6AKL, at 213-963-7763 or any RALAC member. (N6NO)
DO YA' KNOW ABOUT JUN'S?
by Paul Goodwin, K06D
They advertise in "Worldradio" rather than "QST" or "731' Magazine - so maybe you've missed their ads. If you are looking for a good deal on the latest Yaesu, Azden, Bird, Dentron, DSI, Swan-Cubic, etc. gear, you may want to visit one of Jun's Electronics two stores:
1156 W. Pico Blvd. (near Bundy) Los Angeles, CA 90064 (213) 477-1824 or 7352 University Ave. La Mesa, CA 9204l (714) 463-1886
Operated by hams, Jun's gives a 1-year Service Warranty on all their new products. You can negotiate a discount - even on hard-to-get items. For instance, Jun's gave me a nice discount on my new FT902-DM plus delivery before Yaesu had even announced it was up-grading their famous 90l. Jun's also takes trade-ins, which they service before putting on their shelf. The store is small and in a low-rent area, which cuts-down on overhead. They carry a good selection of accessories, but no piece parts or big beams. They do, however, carry RG-8/u, connectors and the stuff one needs to put his rig on the air. I was and am very satisfied with the treatment I got at Jun's. Pope you will be, too.
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