Permission to copy is
granted provided that credit is given to “W6VIO Calling.”
Contents
50 Years of Hamming Celebration
2001 Field Day Member Input Form
Calendar
of Events
|
May
5 |
Club Field Day Prep
Work Party |
|
May
5 |
[Fontana Swap Meet, A.
B. Miller HS, Fontana] |
|
May
9 |
General Meeting, Noon
- 238-543 |
|
May
12 |
Club Field Day Prep
Work Party |
|
May
19 |
[CMRA Hamfest, Cal
Poly, Pomona, 7 AM] |
|
May
23 |
Board Meeting, Noon - 233-305J |
|
May
26 |
Club Field Day Prep
Work Party |
|
May
26 |
[TRW Swap meet,
Redondo Beach] |
|
June
2 |
Club Field Day Prep
Work Party |
|
June
8-10 |
[Mojave “Death” Race
250+, Primm, Nevada] |
|
June
9 |
Club Field Day Prep
Work Party |
|
June
13 |
General Meeting, Noon
- 238-543 |
|
June
22-24 |
2001 Field Day, Mount
Gleason |
|
July
7 |
[Fontana Swap Meet, A.
B. Miller HS, Fontana ] |
|
July
11 |
General Meeting, Noon
- 238-543 |
|
July
21 |
[CMRA Hamfest, Cal
Poly, Pomona, 7 AM] |
|
July 25 |
Board Meeting, Noon - 233-305J |
|
July
28 |
[TRW Swap meet,
Redondo Beach] |
Meeting
Notice
By Christopher
Carson, KE6ABQ
The May General Meeting of the JPL Amateur Radio
Club will be held on Wednesday May 9th in Bldg. 238-543. Bring your
lunch if you like. The topics are Field Day Preparations and New Shack
Renovations,
The May Board Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday May
23rd in Bldg. 233-305J. Bring your lunch if you like. n
Prez’ Mix
By
Bob Dengler, NO6B
Seems like the
months are getting shorter and shorter.
Didn’t I write a column last week?
This past month
most of my hamming hours were spent dealing with local frequency coordination
organizations. I started the month by
chairing my first 2 Meter Area Spectrum Management Association (TASMA) meeting
in Walnut. The meeting went fairly well,
but would have been poorly attended had there not been a large turnout from one
particular club that is currently seeking coordination for their repeater. The scenario at the 220 Spectrum Management
Association meeting held 2 weeks later in Agoura was very similar.
It’s too bad
that so many club and individuals only participate in their local frequency
coordinating and spectrum managing associations when things are not “going
their way”. From experience, I can tell
you that frequency coordination and spectrum management simply can’t work that
way. TASMA is about to embark on a
fact-finding mission via the formation of a new Spectrum Management
Committee. This committee will reshape
the 2 meter band plan in Southern California to reflect the change in activity
level over the past several years of various operating modes such as packet,
repeaters, simplex autopatches, satellite, FM simplex, weak signal, etc. If you have an interest in any form of
operation that uses 2 meters, you need to participate in order to make the
recommendations of this committee sound and sensible. E-mail me at no6b@rptrlist.w6jpl.ampr.org
if you’d like to help.
Yesterday I
participated in my first public service event outside of the LA Marathon in
many years: the Altadena Guild Home Tour.
This is a yearly event consisting of tours of 4 homes all within about a
square mile area in eastern Altadena.
When first asked to help by Greg LaBorde, KD6MSM, I asked “Why can’t
they use the phones in the homes for communication?” Well the answer to that question, along with “Why can’t they use
cell phones, NexTel or FRS radios?” became obvious during my half-day
assignment. The wired phones in the
homes were inconvenient to use and were not available for use by the staff, and
my wife’s cell phone barely worked outside the home at which we were stationed
- she had trouble dialing and maintaining a connection. We used 440 MHz simplex, which barely yet
reliably covered the distance between the homes, even when operating from
inside them. In comparison to our 1
watt of HT power, a lower-powered FRS radio simply would not have cut it, nor
would a network of NexTel phones have been likely to have equal foliage
penetration.
So chalk up
another public service success story to Amateur Radio: gets through when other
commonly available communications resources can’t! n
April
Meetings
By
Jonathan Cameron, KF6RTA
General Meeting, April 11
The meeting was
opened at 12:10 by Bob Dengler. Those
present included Eric Archer (N6CV), Phil Barnes-Roberts (AD6PQ), Jonathan
Cameron (KF6RTA), Chris Carson (KE6ABQ), Bob Dengler (NO6B), Warren Dowler
(KE6LEA), Randy Hammock (KC6HUR), Walt Mushagian (K6DNS), Scott Nolte (N6SN),
Jerry Person (KK6TS), Bob Polansky (N6ET) and Bob Stiver (KF6PSS). A quorum was present.
Bob Polansky
reviewed progress towards getting the new shack set up and detailed upcoming
work parties necessary for that effort.
Bob also reported good progress on field day preparations. He reported that Rob Fredrickson (W1EEL)
would lead the food preparation activities but that Rob would need plenty of
help. In particular, Bob appealed for
volunteers to help prepare a complete meal.
If you would be willing to help out with food please contact Rob
Fredrickson or Bob Polansky.
Bob Dengler
reported that the HF antenna problem on the roof of building 180 has been
resolved (the paging antenna was moved).
Now the antenna can be rotated in all directions and seems to be working
well.
Scott Nolte
reminded the group that everyone needs to renew their club memberships and pay
dues.
Walt Mushagian
encouraged everyone to participate in the Monday noon emergency check-in on JPL
ARC’s 2m and 220 MHz repeaters. Walt
also reported that the sale of old club equipment was complete and that
approximately $500-$600 had been raised for the club through these sales.
Warren Dowler
reported on his progress in getting the pneumatic self-raising antenna
operational. He expects to have it
operational soon and plans to use it for field day.
Bob Dengler gave
an overview of the activities of the TASMA first general meeting under his
leadership.
Board
of Directors Meeting, April 25
The board of
directors meeting was not held. n
DX News
By Bob Polansky,
N6ET
No
preamble this month. Only the “good
stuff”.
CHESTERFIELD
ISLAND - TX0C is the call sign of this second-ever operation from this new DXCC
entity. They plan operation from 27
April through 2 May on 160 through 6 meters.
They should be relatively easy from here.
AGALEGA - Don’t
miss 3B6RF, which plans to commence operation on 2 May and continue through 18
May. They will have big stations and
big antennas. They should be good for
lots of new band-countries.
ASCENSION ISLAND
- ZD8Z promises operation from this Atlantic RF paradise from 7 through 17
May. He’s promised to try
160meters. I understand He’ll be quite
active on all bands.
COCOS KEELING -
A group consisting of 3 hams, call signs VK9CXF, VK9CXJ, and VK9CXW plan
operation from 28 April through 5 May.
160 through 10-meter operation is planned. See the latest “The Weekly DX Report” on the shack wall for
frequencies. The Club needs this one on
CW.
FALKLANDS - The
VP8SDX group has been making its presence known on most bands, primarily a few
kHz above the low band edges, and listening up. They’ve been quite loud on the West Coast. Look for them through 8 May.
FERNANDO DE
NORONHA - Look for K7BV operating from Fernando from 24 May through 1
June. No details available at the time
of this writing.
MALPELO -
HK0JJH/HK0M has been very active and plans to give out QSO’s through about 7
May. This is primarily an SSB
operation. He’s been spotted on 10 through 40 meters, working mostly split, but
some simplex.
ZAIRE - Look for
9Q5BQ through early July, as I understand it.
He’s been active from 1400 through 2000Z on 12 and 17 meter CW.
That’s all for
now. Enjoy the sunspots while they're
here. n
Mojave
“Death” Race 250+
By
Randy Hammock, KC6HUR
The JPL Mojave
Death Race Teams are looking for a few good communicators to provide
communications AND logistics support for the 2001 Mojave Death Race 250+. When: June 9-10, 2001. Time: 5:00 AM. Actually, the teams begin assembling at Stateline (Primm), Nevada
on June 8. What is the Mojave “Death”
Race 250+? Well, it makes the Baker-to-Vegas run look like a stroll in the
park. As quoted from their web page http://mojavedeathrace.com/ :
“This is not
another pretty 5 or 10 K race on Sunday morning at the beach. If you and your teammates are not up to an
Extreme Team Thing then go to the beach race and collect seashells.
Most athletes
that take on this challenging event will have more war stories and adventures
to talk about than they have friends who will listen! We’re gonna test you to
see if you’re a challenger or a wannabe!
If you enter the
race and don’t survive, don’t expect us to come looking for you. We’ve heard about a lone telephone booth in
the desert someplace. Find it and call
your mommy to come get you! Heck, if you go out in some spectacular fashion you
might get an honorable mention here on the web page... maybe.”
But really, this
is a very fun activity. What I get such
a kick out of it is, having all the competitors telling me that they felt sorry
for me, because I have to be there, providing support for the duration, while
they only have to do their legs of the relay then go back to the hotel to rest,
play or whatever. OK, I do have to put
up with a bit of sleep depravation, drive hundreds of miles, shuttling runners,
bikers, bikes and such around on a tight schedule. And since I’m one of the RV support vehicles, I get to prepare
meals and snacks for the other participants.
There are few points where I can take a rest as I get to the checkpoint
a few hours ahead of time, so I get to take a nap. The worst thing that happened to me last year was, after two
hours of running, my generator conked out, so there was no air conditioning in
the camper at the check points. Still,
it was not too bad, even in the 115 degree heat.
Now, what can
you do? Since JPL is trying to field 3 teams this year, more than ever, we need
people with 440 radios, preferably mobiles because of the distances we have to
communicate (sometimes as much as 40 miles). There may be a possibility of
using APRS; however, we have never used it in the past (unlike B2V).
The more
communicators and drivers we have, the more rest everyone gets. Four-wheel drive vehicles are also a plus as
there are a few places where the road gets sandy, rough or close to
nonexistent. Personally, I’ve never had
to use 4WD but some others have. Oh
yes, air conditioning is also a great plus.
Bicycle racks are very much needed as well. Except for the 440 radio requirement, don’t let the rest of the
requirements stop you. Many of the
participants will have their vehicles there but need communicator support.
Contact
me: Randy Hammock KC6HUR rhammock@sierra.jpl.nasa.gov
for more information or to sign up.
OOPS! I almost
forgot, we are not required to pay any entry fees, get a neat T-shirt, and they
will reimburse our fuel costs (or they have in the past). n
Callsign
License Plates
By Bruce Nolte, N1BN
Call
plates, what are they, where do they come from? Once we get our first FCC license in hand many of us begin to
think about showing pride in our new call sign and the Amateur Radio service by
putting State of California call plates on our vehicle. These plates, in the normal large DMV type
face will display the owners FCC call sign (letter prefix, number district and
letter suffix) as the official vehicle identification number, and will appear
on your DMV registration as such.
Amateur Radio call plates are unique and
misunderstood by the public, even the police.
Those of us that sport them on our vehicles have gotten asked all kinds
of questions by the unwashed public.
“Don’t tell me… don’t tell me… let me guess, you are a pilot, or it’s a
secret code? - Don’t tell me… it’s your initials, or something?” The encounter in a parking lot usually goes
something like that.
One of my reasons for writing this is the special
problem that police have with our call plates.
And actually it is not the fault of the police, but the DMV computer
database. Their database uses a space
between the number district and the first letter of the suffix. But the actual metal license plate looks
just like the FCC call sign, no spaces.
Some old call plates do have the space on the plate. Why?
I have no idea.
Anyway, I know hams, including myself who have been
pulled over by police. I was asked by
LAPD as to where I got that fake license plate. So much for Amateur Radio PR.
I explained that it was an Amateur Radio plate and that he should try it
in his computer again, this time with a space after the 6, back when I was
N6TFS. But a look at my registration
showed N6 TFS, with the space between the 6 and the T. The wonders of computers.
In some states the call plates include the words,
“Ham Radio” or ”Amateur Radio” or even a lightning bolt symbol. California takes a lower key approach to
the call plate situation, we have the call sign, and that’s it! I am a big booster of public relations for
our radio service, but frankly I prefer not to advertise the fact that I might
have radio gear in my car. Some people
understand call plates, some see the antenna on my fender, but having the word
radio on the plate might be pushing my luck in some parts of the city.
And by the way, our call sign combinations are held
in trust for us and are not part of the vanity license plate system. That means that only licensed Amateur Radio
operators may apply for license plates with the typical FCC call sign format. Go to the DMV web site to check for
yourself: http://plates.ca.gov/search/
So let’s say I haven’t scared
you off and you would like to apply for a set of call plates. Well the DMV is now the only vendor. In the past you could go to the AAA and do
it, no longer. And I am told that at
this point you cannot do it on the web, yet.
So go to your local DMV office and request Form REG
17A. If you call the DMV they can mail
it out to you to save on trip, but you still have to appear in person, with it
filled out. The DMV requires original
and a copy of your ham license, and bring in your car registration. And the California DMV can grant
applications even if your call sign is not in district 6, which is happening
more frequently because of the FCC’s Vanity Call Sign system.
It requires a flat, one-time, fee of $21. No special yearly fee, as it is an Amateur
Radio plate, not a vanity or environmental plate. Lost call plates can be replaced for $8 and you can move call
plates to another car for $12. And I
believe that you can even get it stamped on an environmental type plate
background
for an extra $2 per year. Check with
the DMV for all details. Generally it
takes 2 to 3 months for the DMV to process your application and mail out your
plates. n
An Unusual
Celebration of 50 Years of Hamming
By Merv MacMedan, N6NO
I know there are many hams who have become eligible
for membership in the “half-century wireless club” but in my case I thought it
would be appropriate to do something special to celebrate this occasion.
Back in New York when I was around 10 years old just
after World War II ended, I took an interest in telephones, doorbells,
electricity and radio. My mother asked
a neighbor (who worked as a radio operator for TWA at La Guardia Airport) how
to develop this interest and encourage me to learn more. (She also probably figured it would keep me
out of trouble, making her life easier.)
Harry, the neighbor, was also a ham radio operator
(W2LRE at the time) and he suggested getting me interested in a hobby called
ham radio. He said by the time I
reached 12 years of age I would be able to comprehend the physics and
math. In addition, the exams required
sending and receiving Morse code for a Class B license (the entry level at the
time) so some practice was needed.
My mother got me a Boy Scout buzzer/clicker/flasher
training set that ran on flashlight batteries.
It had the Morse alphabet in dots and dashes screened on the case, and
she started awkwardly sending me a few letters.
Soon I didn’t want my mother playing with my buzzer
any more. But learning alone was hard
work, so I talked my friends into practicing with me, hoping we would all get
our licenses. Progress was slow for all
of us and my friends gave up. I began
to think I could never get my speed up to the 13 words per minute needed to
pass the test.
But then in 1951, the FCC announced a new license
structure that had an entry grade called “Novice Class.” The Novice Class was just the encouragement
I needed - a code speed requirement of only 5 words per minute! I already knew most of the letters, so I
began practicing in earnest, and started listening to code practice
transmissions from W1AW on an old short wave broadcast radio.
At first I tried to pick out the simple letters I
could recognize (e, a, t, i, o, etc) and let the rest slip by. Soon I was catching more and more letters of
each word and then I started catching whole words. When I recognized a word, it was a thrill. Then came sentences, and when the words in
the sentence made sense I knew I was copying OK.
When I felt I was ready I went into Manhattan to the
FCC office for my exam just a few months after the new license became
available. With trembling knees in
front of the strict old crabby FCC examiner I passed it and got my first call
letters - WN2JOA.
During the following two years I upgraded to
Technician, General, Advanced and Amateur Extra Class with the call W2JOA,
exchanging it for W6IUV when I moved to California in 1966. In 1977 when my 25 years of hamming made me eligible
for a 2-letter call I traded that in for N6NO, which I now hold.
Now let’s spring forward to the year 2001. To celebrate my 50-year anniversary event
this year, I decided to find Harry, the guy who originally caused me to get
into this hobby. He too had moved to
California when he retired.
My mother had kept in touch with him but, even
though she had died years ago, I was able to locate his address in Manhattan
Beach. I went to see him a few weeks
ago. He had traded in W2LRE for his
current call, W6RCX, but he is no longer active because of a degenerative eye
condition that has left him nearly blind and unable to read the dials on his
equipment.
I found out he will be 90 years
old this year so I was lucky he is still alive! I came prepared to manufacture
a QSO, and we made an official QSO-of-record on 220 MHz FM simplex between two
handy-talkies. In all these years, it
was our first on-the-air QSO and I was proud to put it in my log book! It goes without saying that we enjoyed the
reunion immensely and it surely brightened his day to revive memories about the
last 50 years.
I’m sure each of you has an Elmer that in some way
got you interested in ham radio. My
Elmer’s name was Harry, Harry
Leatherman. 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
K7VVV
Solar Update
Via ARRL.org
SEATTLE, WA, Apr 27, 2001--After bottoming out on
April 16 at 123.4, solar flux is on the rise.
Average flux values for this week were up more than 50 points, and
activity continues to rise with the return of sunspot region 9393.
Solar flux is expected to peak this weekend around
210, but a rise in geomagnetic activity due to a large M7-class solar flare on
April 26 is expected on Sunday. This
flare was from sunspot 9393, which also hurled a full-halo coronal mass
ejection. This sunspot covers about
half the area that it did when it was on our side of the sun last month, but it
is still quite large. Last month it
produced the largest solar flare ever recorded--which fortunately was not
pointed toward Earth.
On Monday an enormous prominence--a filament of cool
dense gas suspended above the sun--extended over the sun's southwestern
limb. You may still be able to view a photo
from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory.
Bob, N4CD, took a trip to Costa Rica April 4-17 and
reported that he had great HF propagation, even as higher latitudes were
disrupted. He worked about 9300 stations on his
trip. Probably the worst days during
that period were April 8 and 11-13, when geomagnetic storms raged. But he worked many stations on 10 meters
who said that his was the only signal they heard. These were probably stations working him on a north-south
path. This isn't because north-south propagation
is enhanced during geomagnetic storms, but because when propagation is
disrupted these are often the only paths that work for high frequencies. He said his best DX for QRP was working
Larry, WD3P, who was only running 500 mW into a dipole.
A number of e-mails have arrived lately asking about
some of the numbers reported in this bulletin.
It's is probably time to review some bulletin basics.
Amateur Radio operators who use HF generally like
increased sunspots because they correlate with better worldwide radio
propagation. When there are more
sunspots, the sun puts out radiation that charges particles in Earth's
ionosphere. Radio waves bounce off
(refract from) these charged particles, and the denser these clouds of ions,
the better the HF propagation.
When the ionosphere is denser, higher frequencies
will refract rather than passing through to outer space. This is why every 11 years or so when this
activity is higher, 10 meters gets exciting.
Ten meters is at a high enough frequency, right near the top of the HF
spectrum, that radio waves propagate very efficiently when the sunspot count is
high. Because of the shorter
wavelength, smaller antennas are very efficient on this band, so mobile stations
running low power on 10 meters can communicate world wide on a daily basis when
the sunspot cycle is at its peak.
There are also seasonal variations, and 10 meters
tends to be best near the spring or fall equinox. If the ionosphere is not so dense, the maximum usable frequency
(MUF) may be below 10 meters, and perhaps only signals with Frequencies as high
as 15 meters or below will propagate.
The sunspot numbers used in this bulletin are
calculated by counting the spots on the visible solar surface and also measuring
their area.
Solar flux, another value we report, is measured at
an observatory in Penticton, British Columbia, using an antenna pointed toward
the sun hooked to a receiver tuned to 2.8 GHz, which is at a wavelength of 10.7
cm. Energy detected seems to correlate
somewhat with sunspots and with the density of the ionosphere.
Other solar activity of concern to HF operators
includes solar flares and coronal holes, which emit protons. Since the charged ions in the ionosphere are
negative, a blast of protons from the sun can neutralize the charge and make
the ionosphere less refractive. These
waves of protons can be so intense that they may trigger an event called a
geomagnetic storm. In addition, energy
from a solar flare may energize the D-layer of the ionosphere, which absorbs
radio waves.
The Planetary A index relates to geomagnetic
stability. Magnetometers around the
world are used to generate a number called the Planetary K index.
A one-point change in the K index is quite
significant. K index readings below 3
generally mean good stable conditions, and above 3 can mean high absorption of
radio waves. Each point change reflects
a big change in conditions.
Every 24 hours the K index is summarized in a number
called the A index. A one-point change
in A value is not very significant. A
full day with the K index at 3 will produce an A index of 15, K of 4 means A of
27, K of 5 means A of 48, and K of 6 means A of 80. You can find an explanation of these
numbers on the web.
The geomagnetic number reported here is the
Planetary A index--a worldwide average based on the K index readings from a
number of magnetometers. The numbers
reported on WWV are the Boulder K and A index, measured in Colorado. Generally, the higher the latitude of the
measuring station, the higher the K and A indices reported. This is because the effects of geomagnetic
instability tend to concentrate toward the polar regions of the globe. You can hear the Boulder K index updated
every three hours on WWV or by calling 303-497-3235.
Check the web for interesting information
on Earth's magnetosphere.
Sunspot numbers for April 19 through 25 were 85,
103, 156, 164, 140, 175 and 182 with a mean of 143.6. The 10.7 cm flux was 144.5, 180.4, 191.1, 192.5, 196.4, 193.5 and
193.9, with a mean of 184.6. Estimated
planetary A indices were 7, 8, 7, 28, 21, 8 and 7 with a mean of 12.3.
Amateur
solar observer Tad Cook, K7VVV Seattle, Washington, provides this weekly
report on solar conditions and propagation.
This report also is available via W1AW every Friday, and an abbreviated
version also appears in The ARRL Letter.
Readers may contact the author via k7vvv@arrl.net. n
Field Day
2001
By Bob Polansky,
N6ET
Field Day planning is moving ahead and
work is being done by a precious few on behalf of what I believe will be a much
larger group that will join us for Field Day itself. The last several work parties have been supported by relatively
few of the Club members and we’re getting a bit tired of doing all the work
ourselves. For the April 28 work party,
I expected to have a party of ONE.
Folks, we’ve got to do better.
We need to get commitments from our Club members to help with the
planning,
and to lead various set up and operating activities on Field Day, if its really
going to come together.
PLEASE lend us a hand when you get the
next work party call or when you see the announcement on KILROY. Of the 20 folks I called on the phone trying
to get Field Day commitments, I got exactly one return call. That makes the planning effort darn near
impossible. HEEEEEEELP! In case you forgot, Field Day weekend is 22
through 24 June.
We did have one work party that was well
attended (by Carson, Dowler, Holladay, Mushagian, Person, Polansky, and Woll,
not even a JPL ARC Club member). My
heart-felt thanks to these hard workers.
We built and
tested the Club’s new 4 element, 10-meter beam, and pronounced it “Field Day
ready”. We also fully rebuilt, tuned,
and tested the Field Day R-7000 vertical antenna. It was also pronounced “Field Day ready”.
As if that
wasn’t enough, the 2 meter antenna that feeds the DX packet system was moved to
the top of the stairs about 70 feet West of the W6VIO shack and now feeds the
packet system through new coax laid during the work party.
The system is
not fully operational yet, but we believe that the multi path problems, which
plagued its operation from the old antenna site, should be significantly
reduced. Again, “good job helpers”!
Finally here is good news for pack rats and other
collectors of radio accoutrements.
Last Saturday’s work party generated two boxes of valuable radio
accessories that will be a welcome (?) addition to any ham shack.
The boxes are just inside the W6VIO shack door on
the left and near the file cabinet. All
club members are welcome to take the various items for their own use. That way there will be less to carry to the
nearby dumpster for permanent reassignment.
n
Newsletter
Deadline:
Friday, June 1 for the June 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
May 1, 2001