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Contents
Calendar of
Events
|
January 6 |
[Fontana
Swap Meet, A. B. Miller HS, Fontana} |
|
January 10 |
General
Meeting, Noon - 238-543 |
|
January 20 |
[CMRA
Hamfest, Cal Poly, Pomona, 7 AM] |
|
January 24 |
Board
Meeting, Noon - 233-305J |
|
January 27 |
[TRW
Swap meet, Redondo Beach] |
|
February 3 |
[Fontana
Swap Meet, A. B. Miller HS, Fontana} |
|
February 14 |
General
Meeting, Noon - 238-543 |
|
February 17 |
[CMRA
Hamfest, Cal Poly, Pomona, 7 AM] |
|
February 24 |
[TRW
Swap meet, Redondo Beach] |
|
February 28 |
Board
Meeting, Noon - 233-305J |
|
March 3 |
[Fontana
Swap Meet, A. B. Miller HS, Fontana} |
|
March 14 |
General
Meeting, Noon - 238-543 |
|
March 17 |
[CMRA
Hamfest, Cal Poly, Pomona, 7 AM] |
|
March 28 |
Board
Meeting, Noon - 233-305J |
|
March 31 |
[TRW
Swap meet, Redondo Beach] |
Meeting Notice
By
Christopher Carson, KE6ABQ
The January General Meeting of the JPL Amateur Radio Club will be held at noon Wednesday, January 10th, 2001 in 238-543.
This will also be the January Board Meeting. On the agenda is the FY 2001 budget and ways to manage the projected shortfall. This will include discussing what items to cut and/or alternate sources of income. We need YOUR input!
Also on the
agenda, if time permits, will be a chance to see Yaesu’s new all-mode QRP
offering, the FT-817. HF to 440, 5 watts max, “AA” batteries, all-mode – it’s
quite a rig. Bring your lunch if you
like. n
Prez’ Mix
By Bob Dengler,
NO6B
Unfortunately my first bit of club
news in the new Millennium is not good.
Our treasurer reported last month that the Emergency Communications
account is not as large as we expected., so we’re going to have to revisit the
budget to see what other funding sources can be identified. Without replacement funding, some of our
club projects may suffer a setback in 2001.
We will discuss this situation at our next meeting on Wednesday, January
10th at noon in 238-543, which will be a combined general and board
meeting. As always, feel free to bring
your lunch.
Our club’s holiday dinner at El
Torito restaurant was quite a hit. It
was good to see so many club members there.
Many thanks to Manny Caldera, KC6ZSY who organized the dinner
meeting. Between that and his food
duties at Field Day, I think he’s earned the honorary position of official club
chef!
Hey, did you know that the 16th
LA Marathon is only two months away?
This event has become one of our club’s biggest public service
activities, with over a dozen club members participating and two of our club
repeaters and an APRS digipeater utilized to support communications. If you would like to help with this event
you can sign up at http://www.dolphinsci.com/signup.html. The form currently says that it’s for the
2000 Marathon but hopefully the page will be updated soon.
Finally, since I’m now the Chairman
of TASMA, the local 2-meter frequency coordinator, you’ll probably see me
bringing TASMA membership applications to our club meetings. Since our club has two 2-meter repeaters
(more than most clubs), I think it’s important for YOU to participate in this
organization. TASMA has been suffering
from a lack of interest for a couple of years now, as their meetings have been
poorly attended. Many complain about
what they perceive as a poorly coordinated band, yet they don’t participate in
the one organization that could make a difference in reducing interference
between repeaters while at the same time making as much room as possible for
everyone to enjoy the band. Please
consider joining and participating in TASMA this year - make it your New
Millennium’s resolution! 73 n
December
Meetings
By Jonathan
Cameron, KF6RTA
Year End
Banquet, December 7
This combined special Christmas
Dinner meeting and general meeting was convened at the El Torito restaurant on
Foothill Boulevard in east Pasadena.
The following people were present: Manuel Caldera (KC6ZSY), Jonathan
and Janet Cameron (KF6RTA). Chris
Carson (KE6ABQ), Bob (NO6B), Melinda (N6OB), and Emily Dengler, Bob Dye (KK6B),
Rick (KA6DAN) and Leona (KA6RHA) McKinney, Walter (K6DNS) and Diana (K6DNT)
Mushagian, Jerry (KK6TS), Nancy (KF6EHF), and Nina Person, Bob and Judy
Polansky (N6ET), Owen and Judy Robbins (KB6WYU), Mike Tope (W4EF).
After some time for conversation,
drinks, and ordering, the dinner commenced at 7:30pm. At 8:30pm, Bob Dengler called the official general meeting to
order. He gave thanks to Manny Caldera
for arranging the dinner for us.
The slate of officers for next year
was presented: Bob Dengler for President, Chris Carson for Vice-President,
Jonathan Cameron for Secretary, and Chuck Sarture for Treasurer. Since there was no dissent and no
competition, this slate of officers was voted in by acclamation.
A motion was made, seconded, and
passed to cancel the board of directors meeting for the month due to fact that
very few members were likely to be at JPL on the day in question, December 27th. Bob Polansky also took a moment to
informally report on our success in the last field day.
Many thanks go to Manual Caldera
who arranged the event for us. The
location was charming. The restaurant
staff were very attentive, the food was excellent, and the room was comfortable,
quiet, and secluded from the rest of the building. The menu that Manny and the restaurant staff arranged was
excellent
and featured several different entries.
The details of the menu were published in the December “W6VIO
Calling”. We also thank Manny for
securing a $50 group discount by mentioning that we were from JPL. n
DX News
By
Bob Polansky, N6ET
The Club station, W6VIO, has been
getting quite a workout at the hands of Mike tope, Rob Smith, and yours
truly. The 80 and 40 meter long path
openings in the mornings have been real exciting with the station performing
like a major contender on those bands.
In addition, 12 meters has yielded lots of new countries, even with the
beam “stuck” on Europe. Mike has
provided labeling on the AL-82 linear, which has significantly simplified its
tuning.
Serious consideration is being
given to moving the shack to the building just to the north of the trailer,
given that JPL will provide the needed “help” to retrofit the building as
needed. Time will tell. Now for the DX news.
BANGLADESH - S21YD will try to
operate from this remote QTH from 12 to 19 February. He had planned an operation in January, but the weather didn’t
cooperate.
BOUVET - 3YOC has been active on 160 through 10 meters and will be
on site for the next four months. That
should take them off the high position they currently occupy on the “Most
Wanted List”.
CYPRUS - Look for ZC4ESB, a new club station just appearing on
the bands. The two operators are avid
contesters and should make ZC4 much more available to the ham world.
LIBYA - 5A1A, Abubaker, is currently the only station active from
here. Due to his activities, there is a
strong possibility that other hams will soon be licensed to operate from this
rare Zone 34 location. Keep your
fingers crossed!
MALAWI - 7Q7HB will be active from this African entity during the
month of February. Good luck!
NORTH KOREA - A P5 operation had been rumored as starting on 7
January. I am sad to report that the
North Korean Army has refused to support that activity. Maybe next year.
That’s all for now. Sorry
for the short article, but my source material is not immediately available
today. Have a Happy New Year, and
please leave some of the DX for me. n
25 Years Ago
in:
By Bill Wood, W6FXJ
The January 1976 edition of W6VIO Calling sported
a new masthead and a new look with Merv MacMedan’s first issue as Editor. Merv, W6IUV, also packed twenty articles
into four close-typed pages, including, for the first time, Board of Directors
meeting notes.
Newly elected club President Stan Brokl, K6YYQ,
flexed his muscles by appointing 16 club members to different club positions
for the new year. Stan also announced
plans to support a special event operation to celebrate the expected landing of
the Viking spacecraft on the surface of Mars on July 4, 1976.
The Goldstone Amateur Radio Club was formed in
January 1976 with Wes Weems, W6PVR, elected as President and Roland Bibeau,
W6GFX, designated club Trustee. Bill
Wood, WB6FXJ, was designated by Stan Brokyl as Goldstone Liaison to the JPL
ARC.
Editor Merv MacMedan included an article
describing a unique linking repeater that allows amateurs in the San Gabriel
Valley to communicate with the Upper Desert over the JPL ARC sponsored WR6AFX
repeater located at the JPL Table Mountain Facility.
The January 1976 issue also included a plea for
club members to get their $2 to club Treasurer Jim Lumsden to renew their
membership
for the year by the end of January.
The full January 1976 issue can be accessed at
the following Internet address: http://www.jplerc.org/radio/calling/1976/jan/jan76.html
¾
Classified Section
Wanted:
Reliable Person to receive about 40 copies of “W6VIO Calling” each month to address and mail to retired and other off-lab club members. Job involves applying club supplied adhesive address labels and postage stamps. Takes only 30 minutes each a month. Contact Bill Wood, W6FXJ, at 760-256-5529 or w6fxj@earthlink.net for details.
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
For Sale:
Radio Shack (Realistic) PRO-2021
Scanner. 200 Channels. 30-512 MHz.
AC powered Desktop Scanner.
Excellent condition. $75.00 Contact Bill Westphal WB6YPF at 213-787-9991
or wb6ypf@pacbell.net
Uniden Bearcat BC-760XLT
Scanner. 100 Channels. Covers 800 MHz band. Preprogrammed police, fire, marine,
weather. 12 VDC powered Desktop or
Mobile. Comes with AC-DC Converter,
Telescopic whip antenna, Suction cup window antenna and mobile mounting
hardware. Excellent condition $100.00
Contact Bill Westphal WB6YPF at 213-787-9991 or wb6ypf@pacbell.net
Cushcraft ARX2B Ringo Ranger II 2
Meter antenna. Good condition. $35.00Contact Bill Westphal WB6YPF at
213-787-9991 or wb6ypf@pacbell.net
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 818-354-9724 n
Newsletter
Deadline:
Friday, February 2 for the February 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.
Posted January 4, 2001