Permission to copy is granted provided that credit is given to “W6VIO Calling.”
Contents
Calendar of Events
|
February 9 |
General
Meeting, Noon - 238-543 |
|
February 12 |
[Fontana
Swap Meet, A. B. Miller HS, Fontana} |
|
February 19 |
[CMRA
Hamfest, Cal Poly, Pomona, 7 AM] |
|
February 23 |
Board
Meeting, Noon - 233-305J |
|
February 26 |
[TRW
Swap meet, Redondo Beach] |
|
March 8 |
General
Meeting, Noon - 238-543 |
|
March 11 |
[Fontana
Swap Meet, A. B. Miller HS, Fontana} |
|
March 18 |
[CMRA
Hamfest, Cal Poly, Pomona, 7 AM] |
|
March 22 |
Board
Meeting, Noon - 233-305J |
|
March 25 |
[TRW
Swap meet, Redondo Beach] |
|
April 8 |
[Fontana
Swap Meet, A. B. Miller HS, Fontana} |
|
April 12 |
General
Meeting, Noon - 238-543 |
|
April 15 |
[CMRA
Hamfest, Cal Poly, Pomona, 7 AM] |
|
April 26 |
Board
Meeting, Noon - 233-305J |
|
April 29 |
[TRW
Swap meet, Redondo Beach] |
Meeting Notice
By
Christopher Carson, KE6ABQ
The next General Meeting will be
held on Wednesday, February 9th starting at 12:00 noon in 238-543.
You may bring your lunch. The agenda
for the business portion of the meeting will include discussion and voting on
this year’s general Club budget. Our
scheduled presentation will be by Phil Smith WB6LQP. He will be demonstrating a
very portable 2.4 GHz video cam system based mainly on off-the-shelf consumer
electronics.
Once again, it is very important
that we have enough General members as well as Board members attend so that we
can conduct the Club’s official business (which shouldn’t take very long).
Besides we have a great presentation planned. See you there.
The Club Board of Directors meetings are held at
noon on the fourth Wednesday of each month in 233-305J. Everyone is welcome at both meetings;
bring your lunch to the BOD meeting. n
Prez’ Mix
This month has been so busy for me that I barely got my column in this month. Thanks to the hard work put in by all your board members, we got this year’s Y2K budget ready for you to approve at our upcoming general membership meeting on February 9 at noon in 238-543. Be sure to be there so we can complete the ERC-mandated budget process ahead of schedule! Last month’s meeting was more interesting than any we had last year thanks to Phil Smith, who demonstrated his low-cost S-band ATV system, & Chris Carson, who arranged the program.
Speaking of ATV, it looks like our club activities are branching out in even more exciting directions as we are putting together a real-time fast-scan ATV system for the lab’s emergency preparedness office. Our current plans are to test with a 2.4 GHz receiver in our new high speed packet & satellite communications test bed in 180-R6 to feed the lab wide cable TV network, providing one-way video communications between virtually any two points on lab. More details on this test will be available at this month’s club meeting.
In case you haven’t heard, the club now maintains a repeater list on the web at http://rptrlist.w6jpl.ampr.org. The listings cover 6 meters, 2 meters & 440 MHz, with 220 MHz soon to be added.
Preparations for this year’s LA Marathon are in progress. In addition to the usual club compliment of nearly the entire medical net, the club will also be installing a node in downtown LA to provide APRS coverage over the entire course. If you would like to help out with LA Marathon amateur communications, call the LA Marathon office at 310-444-5544 or email your name & address to raceinfo@lamarathon.com.
There’s
much more to report on but that’s all the time I have for this month. 73. ¢
January Club Meetings
General
Meeting, January 12th
By Christopher
Carson, KE6ABQ
Once again I’m filling in for
Jonathan to report on the monthly meeting.
He should be back here next month. January broke our one-month streak,
and once again we failed to reach quorum.
So no official business could be conducted.
The budget was discussed briefly,
and the Board will continue to work towards a balanced budget at the next Board
meeting. It will be presented to the
general membership for discussion and vote at the February meeting.
Bob Dengler, NO6B, reports that the
Repeater List web page is up and working.
For an up to date listing of Southern California repeaters, point your
web browser to http://rptrlist.w6jpl.ampr.org/
where you will find lists of 2-meter and 440 repeaters, and a link to the 220
SMA’s site for 220 repeaters. Bob
expects to have the 6-meter repeater list up within the next several weeks, as
well.
Our first presentation (we had two!
See what you missed?), was an overview of the Club’s systems by yours truly. Did you know we have an RF presence from 160
meters through the 900 MHz band except for 6-meters? And that over 29
transmitters are operated and maintained by the Club? That we will soon have
packet capability in the EOC? That we have a fully functional HF station next
to the East Gate?
We support a wide variety of Lab
and community activities ranging from the recent Y2k effort, the NASA SHARES
program, JPL and City of Pasadena EOC’s, to the Rose Parade, the LA Marathon,
the Angeles Crest 100, and re-broadcast of shuttle audio and JPL mission
launches and landings.
We have several web sites including
Bob’s repeater list page mentioned above, as well as the JPL ERC Home page at http://www.jplerc.org/index.html
and the WR6AZN TMO Repeater Home Page at http://home.earthlink.net/~w6fxj/
which are both maintained by Bill Wood, W6FXJ, our multi-talented editor of
this newsletter.
VP’s Note:
Who is ALWAYS looking for material
for W6VIO Calling? Did you get a new
toy for Christmas? How about writing a
mini-review about what you like/hate about it?
The neat widget you have to make something work - dare I say it -
Faster, Better, or Cheaper? The last
trip to the beach/mountain/desert where you worked DX? Twenty minutes or 200 words, whichever comes
first. E-mail it to Bill and he’ll
spell check it and format it for you at no charge. Soapbox mode off.
We now return to regular programming...
Our
second presentation was by Phil Smith WB6LQP.
This was actually a teaser. The
real presentation is set for the February meeting. He showed us his “helmet cam,” which is based on a 2.4 GHz
consumer video system available locally or through the mail or web. Inexpensive, fun, experimental, practical,
geeky? You decide. Come to the February
meeting and see it. We promise to have
the TV working!
There was some discussion of
starting VE testing again or actively supporting existing activity. Several club members expressed interest in
setting up classes and/or testing sessions.
Can you help?
We also looked at the current W6VIO
QSL card. It’s looking a little long in
the tooth, and dated. How about a
contest for a new design? Any graphically inclined folks out there? Got a good
idea but can’t draw because they took your crayons away? Describe it. Take a picture of it. Find an artist. What about the Club logo? Is it outdated or is it a classic like
the NASA meatball? Inquiring minds want to know.
See you at the February
meeting. February 9th in
238-543. Bring your lunch. Admission is free. Unless you want to pay your dues then. Cash or check - we don’t take American Express.
Board of Directors Meeting, January
26
By Jonathan
Cameron, KF6RTA
The meeting was convened with a
quorum at 12:10 PM. Those present were
Eric Archer (N6CV), Jonathan Cameron (KF6RTA), Chris Carson (KE6ABQ), Bob
Dengler (NO6B), Bob Polansky (N6ET), and Chuck Sarture (KG6NF).
Bob Dengler presented a preliminary
budget. As presented initially it did
not balance. After some adjustments,
such as deferring satellite radio related items for a year and a few other
minor adjustments, the budget was balanced.
The budget was accepted by a
unanimous vote as the working budget.
In a second vote, the board approved presenting this budget to the club
at the next regularly scheduled meeting.
After informal discussion of a few
other items, the meeting was closed. n
Field Day Reminder
By Bob Polansky, N6ET
Just a friendly reminder:
Put aside the weekend of 23 through 25 June for Field Day this
year. The joint JPL ARC and CIT ARC are
undertaking an all-out effort in Class 3A to set an all time record score. Your Club needs your support.
There are antennas to be tuned, band plans to be created, the site
to be laid out, a weekend “city” to be built and stocked with club members, and
meals to be planned and prepared, and best of all, stations to be operated and
logs to be maintained.
We will be calling upon the Club members to help with the planning
for this activity. We will have an
exciting time on the mountaintop this year!
Please plan to lend a hand. ¾
DX News
By Bob Polansky,
N6ET
It’s been an interesting month so far. The 160-meter antenna is in place and apparently working
well. The TS-850S has been repaired and
is busy feeding exciter power into the new AL-82 legal-limit amplifier. The FT-1000D has been returned from
Goldstone and will shortly be put in place as a third HF capability in the
W6VIO shack. The FT-1000D and Dentron
amplifier are on their way back from Madrid and will also be installed upon its
arrival. All that said, what’s going to
be out there to work with all these resources???
First, 80, 40, 30, 20, 17, 12, and 10 meters have all been exercised
by a number of us since everything got back together. The antenna arrays have performed exceeding well and are yielding
lots of rare DX QSO’s. The following
gives you some indication of what’s upcoming in the world of DX. I’ve ordered everything by date this time
as opposed to alphabetically by country.
Does anyone of my readers have a preference?
5U7X/5U7Z --- Now - 30 January
FH/G3SXW --- Now - 31 January
XU? --- Now
- 4 February
XZ0A --- Now
- 6 February
V73XP --- Now
- 7 February
ZS8D --- Now
- 29 April
VP6BR (VR6) --- Now - 30 April
E4/G3WQU --- Now - Year 2001
H40MS --- February
3 weeks
CE0ZX/ZY --- 17 February - 29 February
ARRL CW Contest --- 19 February - 20 February
CQ 160M SSB --- 25 February - 27 February
FO0C --- March
- 20 March
TX0DX (Chesterfield
Is) 15 March - 8 April
H40?? --- March
Don’t
miss the fun. ¾
25 Years Ago in:
By Bill Wood, W6FXJ
Editor pro tem Norm Chalfin, K6PGX, packed the February 1975 with 16 pages of tightly packed news of interest to amateur radio. This included an article excerpted from Paraplegia News by club member Allan Chapman, W6MEO, about a Barstow quadriplegic ham Otho Jarman, WB6KYM. (Otho continues to be active in ham radio and the Internet in Barstow). Other excerpts were included from the Amsat Newsletter, Ham Radio Report and Communications News as well as Skip Reymann’s (W6PAJ) Oscar 6 and 7 orbital crossings data. .
The full February 1975 issue can be accessed at the following Internet address: http://www.jplerc.org/radio/calling/1975/feb/feb75.html ¾
Classified Section
Wanted:
Your want-ad or article for inclusion in a future issue of W6VIO Calling. Submit to Bill Wood, W6FXJ, 31094 Hemlock Ave, Barstow, CA 92311; or email w6fxj@earthlink.net
Kenwood TM-642 or TM 742 with both 2M and 220MHz modules. Bill Westphal wb6ypf@pacbell.net 213-787-9991
For Sale:
QST 1990-1994 CD-ROM set, new. $25 (ARRL price $39.95) Skip, W7NWY, 818-354-9674
US Tower (MA40) 40 foot tubular
telescoping tower, hinged base, 2 co-ax arms, mast extension, Hy-gain Explorer-14
beam antenna with 40 meter dipole add-on, and Hy-Gain antenna rotator (Ham
IV). Original cost, less tax, was over
$2200. Sell all for $800. Contact Ron Zenone (W6TUZ) at (626)
914-5585.
Icom UT-40 Tone Squelch Option Board (CTCSS) for HT models 2GAT, 4GAT, 12GAT, 32AT or for mobiles 228, 448, 901, 1201, 2400 and 2500. Cost: $80 (AES Catalog) Sale for $40. Radio Shack, Rotor/Controller and Cable, 3 years old, never used, have box/papers, like new. Cost: $70+ Sale for $50. Scott Nolte, N6CUV 818-354-9724n
|
Newsletter
Deadline: Friday,
February 25 for the March issue of W6VIO Calling.
Your articles, ads, photos, diagrams, letters to the editor,
or technical material should be submitted to the editor via email
(w6fxj@earthlink.net)
or regular mail to: Bill Wood, 31094 Hemlock Ave, Barstow, CA 92311. |
ARRL Bulletin
Flames Claim Ham Radio Outlet's Anaheim Store
Via ARRL Online
Letter, January 28, 2000
Photo courtesy of Janet Margelli,
KL7MF
Ham Radio Outlet's Anaheim,
California, store was destroyed by fire early Sunday, January 23. The fire--said to be of suspicious
origin--apparently first broke out in a dental office at the south end of the
strip mall that housed the HRO store on North Euclid Avenue. After spreading into an attic area, the flames raged through the rest of the
business center, engulfing the HRO store, the dental office, and two other
businesses. Two other shops were damaged.
The Anaheim HRO store's manager, Janet Margelli, KL7MF, said she was alerted to the fire by the store's alarm company. She arrived just in time to see flames engulf her store. "Talk about feeling helpless and hopeless--you just watch it burn," she told the ARRL. Margelli said the store and its contents were a total loss.
The cause of the fire has not been determined, but arson investigators
were said to be focusing on the burned-out remains of the dental office where
the fire is thought to have originated.
Fire investigators also are trying to determine why a car parked in an
alley several hundred feet away caught fire and exploded, since it did not
appear that the fire in the strip mall caused the car fire.
More than 80 firefighters were called out to battle the four-alarm blaze, and it took them the better part of two hours to bring it under control. Margelli said flames were shooting 200 feet into the air as she arrived on the scene. No injuries were reported. Damage was estimated at $1.5 million.
Operations at the HRO Anaheim store--including telephone and fax--are being handled temporarily by the company's Burbank store a couple of hours away, using staffers from both stores. Margelli is coordinating the opening of an all-new store in an undamaged store area in the same business center.
The only item recovered from inside the HRO store was a plastic owl decoy that now has become the store's new mascot. The owl decoys--sold to scare birds away from towers and beams--had been suspended from a display tower in the store. After the fire, Margelli said, one decoy--"Smokey," as it's now being called--was found a bit worse for the wear atop a pile of ash and charcoal in the center of the display. Margelli said Smokey will get his own display case in the new store.
HRO operates a dozen stores across the US,
including five stores in California.
Margelli said she hopes to have the new Anaheim location open for
business within two or three weeks. ¾
HQ restructuring e-mail:
ARRL Headquarters personnel have received thousands of e-mails (in addition to telephone calls and snail mail) with questions or comments on restructuring. The ARRL-VEC department alone has received nearly 1600 messages since the FCC announced the restructuring program December 30, 1999. If you have e-mailed HQ with a question or comment that has not been acknowledged and/or answered, please be patient. Staff members are working their way through the backlog in the order messages were received. To ensure e-mail goes to the most appropriate department at Headquarters, questions about the new FCC rules should be directed to John Hennessee, N1KB, jhennessee@arrl.org, in the ARRL Regulatory Information Branch; questions about amateur examinations should be directed to the ARRL-VEC at vec@arrl.org; questions about the availability of ARRL license study materials should be directed to pubsales@arrl.org. Members should direct questions or comments concerning ARRL policies and positions to their ARRL division directors. Contact information for ARRL directors is on page 10 of any issue of QST.
Posted February 3, 2000