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Contents
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Calendar of Events
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March 14 |
General
Meeting, Noon - 238-543 |
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March 17 |
[CMRA
Hamfest, Cal Poly, Pomona, 7 AM] |
|
March 28 |
Board
Meeting, Noon - 233-305J |
|
March 31 |
[TRW
Swap meet, Redondo Beach] |
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April 7 |
[Fontana
Swap Meet, A. B. Miller HS, Fontana} |
|
April 11 |
General
Meeting, Noon - 238-543 |
|
April 21 |
[CMRA
Hamfest, Cal Poly, Pomona, 7 AM] |
|
April 25 |
Board
Meeting, Noon - 233-305J |
|
April 28 |
[TRW
Swap meet, Redondo Beach] |
|
May 5 |
[Fontana
Swap Meet, A. B. Miller HS, Fontana} |
|
May 9 |
General
Meeting, Noon - 238-543 |
|
May 19 |
[CMRA
Hamfest, Cal Poly, Pomona, 7 AM] |
|
May 23 |
Board
Meeting, Noon - 233-305J |
|
May 26 |
[TRW
Swap meet, Redondo Beach] |
Meeting Notice
By
Christopher Carson, KE6ABQ
The March General Meeting of the JPL Amateur Radio Club will be held at noon in Bldg. 238-543 on March 14th. We will be discussing the direction to take for planning our Field Day effort this year. Maybe something a little different from years past?
The March Board Meeting of the JPL Amateur Radio Club will be held on March 28th at noon in Bldg. 233-305J.
All are welcome to attend either meeting, and bring your lunch if you like. n
Prez’ Mix
By Bob Dengler,
NO6B
I would
like to thank everyone who volunteered their amateur communications skills and
equipment for the 16th Los Angeles Marathon. I heard of at least once instance where
JPLARC members summoned for emergency assistance that may have been crucial in
saving a life. Your participation
really makes a difference!
Our 222 MHz repeater located in the
downtown area did a good job providing communications for the Medical Net. However, its coverage along the course is
lacking from what it should be and some teams had trouble accessing it. In addition, its controller is not working
well, so we will be budgeting for some further improvements to that system
which will be implemented next year.
We already
have a replacement antenna, but it was not installed as it was discovered that
the Isopole antenna used by the 222 MHz repeater was lying on the roof of the
building. However, this must have
occurred shortly before the February site visit as reinstallation of this
antenna simply yielded the same mediocre course coverage as last year.
Be sure to come to this month’s
general meeting on Wednesday, March 14th. We plan to have a guest speaker (yes, a REAL program again thanks
to Bob Polansky) who will be discussing some unique plans for this year’s Field
Day. 73, Bob n
February Meetings
By Jonathan
Cameron, KF6RTA
General Meeting, February 14
Those present included Vaughn Cable
(K6ZTA), Courtney Duncan (N5BF), Jay Holladay (W6EJJ), Randy Hammock (KC6HUR),
Dayton Jones (K6DJ), Walt Mushagian (K6DNS), Jerry Person (KK6TS), Bob Polansky
(N6ET), Carl Puckett (K7UFO), Asim Sehic (KF6HKP), and Michael Tope (W4EF).
Since neither the President nor
Vice President were present, Bob Polansky led the meeting. The members voted to create a plaque to send
to Arthur C. Clarke. Carl Puckett
agreed to lead this effort, soliciting funds from those club members who wish
to contribute to the effort.
Bob Polansky made a presentation on
the proposed W6VIO HF antenna and new building layouts. He solicited comments on both for planning
purposes. The meeting adjourned at 1 PM. n
DX News
By
Bob Polansky, N6ET
The DX gods have been working
overtime this month. Propagation to
many exotic DX entities has been possible on virtually every band from 160
meters through 10 meters. A few 6-meter
spots have also appeared; however, I have personally not been blessed with any
resultant DX QSO’s on that band. Maybe
next month when, hopefully, we’ll be able to rotate our 6-meter beam again!
At W6VIO, 160 meters is a little
noisy, but by “exercising” our receiving antenna resources, we can hear lots of
good DX. The station performs well on
the transmit side on 160, almost always beating out the “big guns” on that
band. Station performance is pretty
great on all the 80 through 10 meter bands too. I just filled out more than 100 QSL cards which will be sent
through the outgoing ARRL QSL Bureau to posture the W6VIO club station for
obtaining the 5BDXCC award, should interest in that adventure surface in the
future. I believe we are close now with the possible
exception of 80 meters.
By the way, one of the most used DX
reports for my source information for this monthly article, The 59(9) DX
Report, has been sold to Bernie McClenny, W3UR. Bernie is well known in DX circles and he plans to continue the
publication under the new name, The Weekly DX.
I expect that the level of information available from this new
publication will be up to the fine standards of Bob Nadolny, the current editor
of The 59(9) DX Report. You did a fine
job for us, Bob. Good luck on your future
endeavors. Now for the up to date DX
news:
ASCENSION ISLAND - Jim Niger, N6TJ,
a fantastic contest operator plans to operate from here with his ZD8Z call from
7 - 17 May. He operates both SSB and CW
from 160 through 10 meters. Look for
the big pile-ups.
GABON - Look for TR8CA on 28462 kHz
from 1530Z -1600Z. If you miss him, TR8CX
is often QRV on 21260 kHz after 2130Z
GUANTANAMO BAY - KG4MO and KG4IZ
plan to operate from here from 16 - 25 March.
160 - 6 meter activity is planned, mainly on CW, but with some SSB and
PSK-31.
INDIA - India has given permission
for radio amateurs to operate from 3790 - 3800 kHz, and 10100 - 10150 kHz
through 31 July. Good luck on this one!
JERSEY - MJ/K8PT and MJ/K3PLV plan
another operation from Jersey from 14 - 20 March. 80 through 10 meter operation is planned. On their last trip, they concentrated on
SSB.
MELLISH REEF - Look for VK9ML (not
sure of the call yet) activity from 21 through 24 April on 80 through 6 meters,
both CW and SSB. Frequencies are posted
in the W6VIO shack.
SRI LANKA - 4S7EA frequents 10106
kHz from 2300 to 0100Z. He has been
easily copyable on the West Coast.
That’s all for now. Have to do some more work prior to operating
in the ARRL SSB DX Contest later today.
Enjoy the DX while the sunspots favor us. n
FEMA Net Check In
By Christopher Carson, KE6ABQ
On March 1st, 2001, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) conducted the quarterly test of the National Emergency Coordination Net (NECN).
The NECN provides a backup Command and Control communications link that includes various federal agencies and Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) amateur radio stations. This HF radio net provides a way to exchange information, coordinate activities, and request assistance in the event of an emergency.
The JPL Amateur Radio Club supported this net by checking in by radio for JPL with both the FEMA Regional Center, located at Denver Colorado, and with the NASA – Ames Research Center located at Moffet Field, CA.
Propagation was good to both locations at mid-morning. K6DNS can be seen
at the rig passing traffic to FEMA Denver. (Photos by KE6ABQ) n
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
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, March 30 for the April 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 March
12, 2001