President's Message
One of the first duties I had to perform as the new Club President was to find capable volunteers to serve in various club positions. As I reviewed the membership roles, it was obvious that our club is indeed blessed with a wealth of very capable members. Although the list got shorter when the "volunteer" criteria was applied, we will be able to continue the excellent work that our club has accomplished in the past. I would like to especially note a couple of key changes from last year's positions.
Emergency Communications Manager - Glen Berry, K6GHJ, has held this position for a number of years doing a remarkable job and seeing many changes in our club. Finding a suitable replacement, was enough to panic even a well- seasoned President. Fortunately Merv MacMedan, N6NO, accepted the position and his appointment was confirmed at the January Board meeting. I am confident that Merv will do an outstanding job in expanding our current plans for emergency communication.
Programs - My panic had barely subsided when I realized that a replacement would now have to be made for Merv as the Programs Chairman. This position requires a member who has contacts in all areas of Amateur Radio. The excellent speakers at our monthly meeting are a testimony to the fine job that Merv has been doing. Once again a most capable Club member, Stan Brokl, N2YQ, came to the rescue and agreed to replace Merv. As the ARRL Los Angeles SCM, Stan has the necessary qualifications and I am sure will do an out standing job. (The Editor has just informed me that my allocation for space in this month's Newsletter has been reached so I will call it quits for now. Next month I will provide a complete list of Club positions. (How about a new Editor?????) (John N6AVW X6610)
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Every Club has a "favorite" son - a
member who gives his all to the organization. We are fortunate in having
several. One such "favorite" was finally recognized during the January
Meeting. Walt Diem shown here with Stan Sander, former Club President, was
presented a plaque which stated "To C. Walter Diem, WA6PEA, in recognition
of your past and ongoing support of the JPL repeaters and other Club activities.
January 13, 1982." The plaque wasn't large enough to thank Walt with words
and letters for the devotion that he has shown through the years. WAIT - WE
THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS.
Our speaker will be KEN
ANDREW, WA6SMB, from TEKTRONIX. He will be showing a video tape on using those
spectrum analyzers and will have a unit here to use on our handi talkies. So if
you would like to see what your rig looks like on the spectrum analyzer, be it
2 meter or 220 MHz, bring it with you to the Club Meeting on February 10th. at
12:00 NOON. There will also be a useful handout and a surprise at the end of
the talk. 73's. (Stan N2YQ)
The Repeater Committee will be meeting on a regular
monthly basis for the next few months until the Repeater upgrade effort reaches
the target plateau. Please communicate any significant concerns you have
regarding the Repeater operations to me at 233- 103, X- 6726. I
apologize for the inconvenience the recent changes have caused and expect the
situation to settle back to normal soon. (Jim WA6MYJ)
As is typical in the Wild & Wonderful World of
DX, several near- term planned operations seem to be moving toward the
"it would have been nice" list. Bouvet, Albania, Heard Island, and
South Yemen planned operations appear to be falling into this area. Fear not,
however, more operations are now planned to different exotic locations to take
their places. To wit:
North Yemem - G3DYY is planning to operate
from here starting in March or April from 1 to 3 months. This will be a 21 MHz
CW only operation.
Crozet - FB8WG has resumed 14225 KHz schedules
on the long path starting at about 1430Z on some weekdays. Good luck- I
still haven't heard him!
Annobon - WB4ZNH and XYL were hoping to
operate from Annobon (3CQ__) and Equatorial Guinea (3C1 about now. I heard a
large pile- up calling 3C0CG at noon today. It may be them.
Anguilla - A number of VPZE calls have been
assigned for near term operations from Anguilla. These operations will occur
during the 15 Feb through 10 March time frame and are expected to be all bands- all
modes.
Revilla Gigedo - XF4MDX is expected to operate
from here from 12 Feb to 16 Feb.
Angola - OK3TAB was to operate portable D2 as
opposed to DZ as indicated last month. An April lst. end date is still
expected.
Good luck in the pile- ups.
[Bob - N6ET)
This is the first in a series of articles for VIO
Calling illustrating the ARRL Los Angeles Section Organization.
The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) will be
this month's topic. Prior to 1980 no attempt at organizing an effective ARES
Group on a Section-wide basis was done. Many small groups (none knowing the
other existed) were in place, but no coordination of efforts had taken place.
Today this has changed. The Section is divided into
three districts. The South Bay District with boundaries starting at the L.A.
County Line South and East to the Santa Monica Fwy and Pomona Fwy at the North.
The Northwestern District running from the Santa Monica Fwy to the L.A. County
Line to the North including Palmdale, the Eastern Boundary is the Pasadena Fwy
and Arroyo Seco. The San Gabriel District goes East from the Pasadena Fwy to
the L.A. County Line and South to the Pomona Fwy.
Each District has a District Emergency Coordinator
(DEC) appointed by the Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC). in turn each DEC
appoints Emergency Coordinators (EC's) to aid local City governments, Red Cross
shelters, police departments or fire departments. Fig. 1 illustrates the L.A.
Section Emergency Communications Management Team. Each District is further
broken into areas with each area assigned an EC.
There are presently 16 EC's in the Los Angeles
Section and growing. For more information on an ARES Group near your QTH
contact your DEC or SEC listed at the end of this article. In addition to the
EC's there are several Official Emergency Stations (OES) within the Section
capable of running on a minimum of 72 hours without exterior power. W6HCS is
solar powered in the Northwestern District and can run indefinitely. W6RO in
the South Bay District is on the Queen Mary and has an emergency power plant
capable of extended operations. AK6Y is a self-contained mobile unit capable of
multi- band multi- mode operation. To help bring all of this together
a Section Level ARK League appointee's NET meets weekly on the K6QQN/R Repeater
147.705/ 147.105 at 8PM local time Thursdays. In case of a major disaster this
repeater should be monitored for information of local group frequencies and
coordination. For more information call:
LOS ANGELES SECTION EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT TEAM
| SEC | John Walsh | N6UK | 335-0036 | or 354-3303 | |
| N.West. | DEC | El Fullmer | K6IYK | 998-1534 | P.S. Where is the |
| So.Bay | DEC | Jim Hoff | KE6EF | 423-5054 | JPL ARES Group? |
| S. Gab. | DEC | Jim Fortney | WB6MKA | 963-1380 |
Next month the NTS. 73's (Stan- N2VQ)
220 SMA MEETING
I was pleased and impressed with the results of the Jan. 82 General Meeting of the 220 MHz Spectrum Management Association (220 SMA). As most of you know, the decision by the 220 SMA Frequency Coordination Board to terminate the co-channel test sanction for the WA6OPQ/R Repeater on 224.08 MHz was appealed by WB6TPG, the current trustee of the WA6OPQ/R machine. An appeal must be acted upon at a general meeting. The response by the JPL ARC members was, tremendous and gratifying. With 27 JPLers out of 46 attendees, the potential was there for us to completely dominate the meeting. Since WB6TPG had indicated at the beginning of discussion that they recognized the incompatibilities of the two repeater systems on the same frequency with overlapping (not congruent) areas of coverage and common prime operating times, any attempt by JPL to force them to return to their previous co-channel assignment would have created an untenable situation for them and made JPL look like ogres.
Any band plan that is not dictated by the FCC can only succeed by gentlemen's agreement and adherence of all parties that operate in Ham Radio. The proper decision mechanism is agreement among all parties with the leadership of the Frequency Board. It became evident that WB6TPG's appeal was against returning to their previous frequency, not against moving off 224.08 MHz. Therefore, I am pleased that the unanimous decision at the meeting was to return the matter to the Frequency Board, and not generate an emotional decision at the General Meeting that would most certainly create hard feelings.
We do not know yet how long the WA6OPQ machine will be with us. They are very anxious to settle on a final frequency. Certainly, the Frequency Board is anxious to see the whole matter resolved. Based on that, I do not think it will be too long. In the mean time, it is important to our Club image and to the 220 Band image that we be sensitive to each other's presence.
The vote to return the appeal to the Frequency Board was a vote of confidence in that Board. None of us can fully appreciate the efforts and struggles that such a Coordinating Board has. Let's continue to support their efforts. The JPL ARC must continue to be diligent and not assume that the Frequency Board will look out for our interests. We must demonstrate continually that the JPL ARC use of the frequency 224.08 MHz justifies sole coordination. If we cannot do that properly, then we will be co-channeled. Walt, WA6PEA, has tried for years to get many of us active in the 220 SMA. Maybe this was the jolt that will result in the increased participation in 220 affairs. The meeting times are being changed so that only a Saturday morning is tied up, instead of an entire day. Remember, use 224.08 MHz or LOSE IT! But- - use it wisely and appropriately! (Jim WA6MYJ) P.S. Eileen KA6DCV and Jim WA6MYJ won the two door prizes. It can be profitable to attend. Jim.
REMEMBER WHEN?
It's 1971 - Remember when ...
Jay Bastow was Treasurer?
Merv's call sign was W6IUV?
ARRL dues were $6.50 a year?The Field Day site was 150 yards east of the giant 100- inch Hale Telescope atop Mt. Wilson's highest point?
W6VIO achieved the first 2-way radio-teletype communication with another ham station (WA3IKK in Pennsylvania) using our NASA KWM2A transceiver and a Club- built solid state terminal unit to interface between the TTY machine and the radio equipment?
Remember when JPL ARC dues were $1.00 a year? (They haven't gone up much have they)
Jay Holladay received the coveted 5- Band DX Century Club (5BDXCC) Plaque #70, confirming that he worked 100 countries on each of the 5 bands?
Remember when someone borrowed the Club's copy of the Radio Operator's Handbook and 11 years later still hasn't returned it?
Next month we'll remember back to 1972! (Eileen KA6DGV)
NEWS OF NOTE FROM FELLOW CLUBS
Happy 50th. Anniversary to the Associated Radio Amateurs of Long Beach. The end of 1981 marked the end of their 50th. year. Our best wishes for their next 50 years.
Happy Anniversary to the San Gabriel Valley Radio Club, Inc. This year marks their 30th. anniversary. May they have at least 30 more happy years.
This next article is reprinted from the Hughes ARC Bulletin Jan 82.
NEWEST DXCC COUNTRY IS ALSO SMALLEST IN THE WORLD (S.M.O.M.)
Did you happen to see the write-up that Parade Magazine, a Sunday newspaper supplement did (p. 19, 11/1/81) on the Sovereign & Military Order of Malta (SMOM)? Starting January 1, 1982, SMOM (1A0KM) QSL's can be submitted for DXCC credit. The country is a walled enclave about half the size of a football field! SMOM is the only nation in the world that exists at a single street address (68 Via Condotti)! Recent estimates give it's population as 80 ruled by a "Grand Master." It's principal business is "good works" running hospitals, clinics ... leper colonies throughout the world. Through it's main gate keyhole, you can see an exquisitely framed view of the Basilica of St. Peter and three countries at once ... Italy, The Vatican and, of course, SMOM. (Thanks K3ZJ).
IN MARCH LOOK FOR OSCAR ARTICLE BY NORM and HAMMING IN LOWER CALIFORNIA BY DON LAWSON WA6SQF
Space this month was limited to 4 pages and so many articles were set aside for future issues. Please keep contributing to W6VIO CALLING. Eileen
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY - HAPPY LINCOLN'S BIRTHDAY - HAPPY WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY - HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!
W6VIO's CLASSIFIED SECTION
Time to straighten up those radio shelves - clean out those closets and simplify your life. Place a free ad in the W6VIO Calling "Classified Section".
WANTED: Individual who has on- lab tape recorder to record the monthly club meetings on provided cassettes and mail them to me in postage paid envelopes. Call Jim Longthorne, WA6KPW at 226- 4175 work or 285- 6279 at home.
FOR SALE: SWAN 350C VOX, XTAL Calibrator X117 VAC Supply 14C 12 volt module- Price $275.00 Call Walt Mushagian K6DNS - X- 3036.
FOR SALE: Collins 62S1 2- 6 meter converter. Yaeasu 207R DC conv 2 meter PL multi charger, spkr- mic, extra battery. Call WB6FGO 790- 1218.
AMSAT/OSCAR COLUMN
(Submitted by Norm- K6PGX)
Transponder and Auto-responder Frequencies
At this writing the frequencies of operation of most of the modules aboard the six new Russian satellites were becoming known. Moreover, there are six complete transponders and three auto-responders (robots) in orbit. RS- 3, 5 and 7 each have a transponder and auto-responder while RS- 4, 6 and 8 have only the transponders. The following frequencies are the best available at press time:
Transponders
| Sat # | Uplink Freq. | Downlink Freq. | Beacons |
| RS- 3 | 145.820-.900 | 29.360-.400 | 29.321, .401 |
| RS- 4 | 145.860-.900 | 29.360-.400 | 29.360, .403 |
| RS- 5 | 145.910-.950 | 29.410-.450 | 29.331, .452 |
| RS- 6 | 145.910-.950 | 29.410-.450 | 29.411, .453 |
| RS- 7 | 145.960-6.000 | 29.460-.500 | 29.341, .501 |
| RS- 8 | 145.960-6.000 | 29.460-.500 | 29.461, .502 |
Auto-responders:
| Sat # | Uplink Freq. | Downlink Freq. |
| RS- 3 | 145.820 | 29.320 |
| RS- 5 | 145.826 | 29.331 |
| RS- 7 | 145.840 | 29.340 |
WE DON'T MEAN TO NAG -
- - BUT HAVE YOU MAILED IN YOUR DUES? $3.00
When we bought our house 10 years ago we expected a
dishwasher, wall-to-wall carpeting and a built-in stove. We
didn't expect built-in neighbors, Wendy and Wendell Wonderful. Every
neighborhood has it's drawbacks and ours are the "Wonderful" family.
Now John is a good person. He sees the best in everyone. I am not a good person
but then my eyesight is 20/50 and I have trouble seeing the other person at
all.
When John told Wendell Wonderful that he had gotten
his radio ticket. Wendell smiled at John and then turned towards me with bared
teeth.
When John started to put his antenna on the roof
Wendell offered to help, John was happy. I pointed out Wendell helped by
hiding the ladder.
When the first QSO was made at our house W.W.
developed TVI - John was concerned. I pointed out Wendell didn't own a tv
set.
But undaunted John continued to see the good. When
the "Wonderful's" marched out front with signs John was glad to see
community involvement. I pointed out the signs said "Radio Go Home".
When Mrs. Wonderful brought over a plate of cookies
John told me how wrong I was condemning them. I pointed out that the plate she
left was empty.
When Wendell came over to borrow John's radio John
told me he was glad to see the man's interest. I pointed out Wendell was
smashing it with a hammer.
When Wendy Wonderful told us she just loved hams
John thought she was terrific. I pointed out she meant baked and glazed.
When Wendell commented on how cute our beagle was
John thought he was an animal lover. I pointed out the dogcatcher was hauling
our beagle away. Wendy Wonderful brought over flowers today. John thought she
was an energetic gardener. I pointed out they were my begonias and they still
had the roots attached.
The Wonderful's twins came by this afternoon. They
wanted information about amateur radio. John was impressed with their interest.
I pointed out the only questions they asked were on how to jam a frequency.
Yes but John sees only the good. Our antenna is
missing off the car And Wendy just took a course in metal "art" But
who am I to accuse?
(Eileen KA6DGV)
ATTENDEES: Norm Chalfin, John Earnest, Jay Holladay,
Jim Lumsden, Merv MacMedan, John McKinney, Jack Patzold, John Repar and Stan
Sander. Appointments were made and approved for the following Members of the
Board: Jay Holladay to continue as Trustee, and Merv MacMedan to serve as
Emergency Communications Manager. John Repar stated that 62 members were paid
up as of this date. John McKinney discussed the various Standing Committee
Chairmen and Ad Hoc Chairmen. Personnel for 3 positions were approved: Jim
Lumsden as Repeater Chairman, Walt Diem as Repeater Trustee, and Bruce Beaudry
as QSL Card Mgr. Status of Voyager QSL cards was discussed (about 22 Feb
estimated delivery) and status of slow scan TV tapes (script to be ready for
Hibbs soon). John McKinney reported on the recent ERC mtg with the various club
presidents. The new insurance policy will cover club members. Jim Lumsden
reported on the 23Jan SMA Mtg. Mike Griffin was voted in as an Off- Lab
Member. (John N6CTT)
The first group from the JPL ARC fall Novice Class
have now received their licenses from the FCC. They are:
| KA6SMO | Joe Billitti | La Canada |
| KA6SMP | Kathy Baird | Claremont |
| KA6SMQ | Richard Anglin | Belaire |
| KA6SMR | John Watkins | Pasadena |
| KA6SMS | Sharon Carman | L.A. 90042 |
| KA6SMT | Kay Goodwin | La Canada |
| KA6SMU | Don Lord | La Canada |
| KA6SMV | Jim Wilson | Pasadena |
| KA6SMW | Kirk Stevens | Whittier |
Big Brothers are needed for
KA6SMQ and KA6SMW, so any club member living within 5 miles of either Belaire
or Whittier is asked to contact Paul Goodwin, K06D, X- 4820 (evenings 790- 5785).
The Big Brother Program assists new Hams in getting on the-air - - -
everything from initial rig selection to making their first contact. Please
volunteer. (John N6UK & Paul K06D)
One of the most abused and misunderstood areas in
the communications field is antenna performance measurements. All too
frequently gains claimed for some widely advertised antennas are so extravagant
they can only be described as imaginative, particularly as no comparison
reference is ever provided for the dB gain claims made for these
"incredible" antennas. All antenna gain figures depend on a reference
before they can be meaningful. In VHF and UHF communications a vertically
polarized half- wave dipole is the most common reference (dBd). Some manufacturers
reference the gain to an isotropic source (dBi), a theoretical point source
that radiates a signal equally well in all directions. Others reference the
gain to a quarter- wave monopole or ground plane antenna. All of these are
excellent references as long as the antenna gain figure is related to one of
them.
The following table lists the gain relationship of
the reference antenna, also the relative gain of other commonly used antennas.
The ground plane reference used, assumes a quarter- wave vertical radiator
over a sheet metal ground plane one wavelength in diameter. From this
illustration, the importance of a gain reference is readily apparent, without
it the gain figures are ripe for misinterpretation.
| Antenna Type | Gain over | Gain over Ground | Gain over |
| Isotropic (dB) | Plane (dB) | Dipole (dB) | |
| Isotropic | 0.00 | - 0.60 | - 2.15 |
| Ground Plane | 0.60 | 0.00 | - 1.55 |
| Dipole | 2.15 | 1.55 | 0.0 |
| 2 Stacked Dipoles | 5.15 | 4.55 | 3.0 |
| 4 Stacked Diploes | 8.15 | 7.55 | 6.0 |
This article was found in a Sinclair Antenna and
Filter Research Publication by (Jim WA6KPW)
To George Morris (W6ABW) who was recently presented a beautiful plaque by the JPL Gun Club, in recognition of his unselfish devotion and distinguished service in teaching the National Rifle Association's basic pistol marksmanship training to club members.
