An ARRL Special Service Club RACES ARES

Transcription

1 THE AIRWAVES February 2015 SIERRA AMATEUR RADIO CLUB An ARRL Special Service Club RACES ARES P O Box 1442 Ridgecrest California BOARD President Harry Stephens K6HLS k6hls@webstephens.com First VP Steve Hendricks KK6JTB kk6jtb@icloud.com OF Second VP Tammy Johnson KG6VYA kg6vya@arrl.net Secretary Bill Burns WA6QYR bburns@mediacombb.net OFFICERS Treasurer Julie Stephens KI6YRA KI6YRA@webstephens.com SARC OWNED AND MAINTAINED REPEATERS Randsburg WA6YBN MHz (-), PL Hz, Wide Area, Emergency Power Ridgecrest WA6YBN MHz (+), PL Hz, Local, Emergency Power SARC Committees Technical Assistance: Mike, WA6ARA Public Relations: Steve, KK6JTB Program: Tammy, KG6VYA, Airwaves Editor: Mike, WA6ARA RF Interference: Bill, WA6QYR Emergency: Every Monday IWV Emergency Net 730pm WA6YBN Repeater MHz +600KHz offset, tone Visitors Welcomed! THE AIRWAVES CALENDAR 28 Feb / 1 Mar 20 Mule Team Ride details inside 14 Mar Palm Springs HamFest Night 75 Meter AM Rag Chew net 8pm 3935 Kcs Apr Visalia DX Convention Jun Field Day! 09 Feb SARC Monthly Board Meeting 7:00pm - USO building 09 Feb SARC Monthly General Meeting 7:30pm - USO building Program by Skip, N6SR The New HamNet Project Every Even Month, Second Saturday 14 February Amateur Radio License Exam Session Location: Guns 4 Us, basement classroom 417 East Ridgecrest Blvd, Ridgecrest CA No handicapped access Pre-reg by 09 February. Limited to 9 applicants. All must register at 9 AM Contact Elvy Hopkins NØLV <lvrh7589@iwvisp.com>

2 2015 SARC Dues are DUE! Yep, it's that time once again. Your 2015 SARC dues are due. Your dues support numerous repeaters, some future repeater expansion, insurance, meeting site, licensing classes, the newsletter and a host of other items. If you were a member in 2014, thank you. If you haven't been a member before or for a long time, then please consider joining. At the start of each year we send out the newsletter to all hams in the Ridgecrest, Inyokern, Rand, Death Valley, Olancha and associated areas. Please use the application at the end of the newsletter and join or rejoin! Or better yet, bring it to the SARC Installation Dinner on the 12th of January at the Historic USO Building. Please remember SARC will only be publishing an , PDF version of the newsletter President's Shack Happy New(ish) Year! Well, after being a member-at-large for a couple of years I guess it s time to start writing these newsletter blurbs again. Thanks to Hal N6HAL and Dave W6TLA for stepping up and taking turns as Da Prez. I hope some of you will consider serving on the club board next year. You ve got almost a whole year to prepare. Not much going on in the shack per se but I did finally invest in an antenna analyzer (RigExperts AA-600). Now have one less excuse to procrastinate over a few of those antenna projects especially the basket-case Isotron that needs a little TLC. The XYL got a new mobile rig (TMV-71) that we used at the base camp for the Fire Mountain ride. Eventually I ll find an acceptable mounting/antenna solution to put it in her vehicle. The Technician-class class (Mike WA6ARA loves it when people call it that!) should be starting up soon, and we have another horse ride coming up this one is the Twenty Mule Team over-nighter so please mark your calendars. The riders will need a lot of help for this one! More info on upcoming events is elsewhere in this issue. I look forward to serving the club membership this year. Please feel free to let me and any other board member know what s going right (or not). And even with negative feedback, as the saying goes, You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Come to think of it, I ve always wondered about that saying; who wants a bunch of flies? 73, Harry K6HLS K6HLS@webstephens.com

3 Minutes January 2015 SARC Installation Dinner The annual installation dinner was held at the Historic USO Building on 12 January. There was lots of fine food, conversation and fellowship had by the approximately 40 people present. There were 27 prizes handed out to current members. The prizes included a 2014 ARRL Handbook, two HT s, a couple of ARRL antenna books, 2 - two meter handheld beams, some calendars, a number of power pole connectors and a $75 Walmart gift card. New business included the approval of the 2015 club budget, the upcoming horse ride and the T-hunt on Saturday. Submitted by Bill WA6QYR secretary. Treasurer's Report Beg Balance $7,332 Income $1,159 Expense $(402) End Balance $8,089 Reserve $(1,000) Available Cash $7,089 Income is from membership dues and donations for the wireless mic and from the Bill Thornburgh Ride. Expenses are for the banquet and newsletter mailing to non-member area ham s Julie Stephens SARC Treasurer KI6YRA Technician Class 2015 The start date for the Technician class 2015 is February 5th. The classes would be on every Thursday, for 8 weeks, ending with the test on class night. The location will be the Historic USO building. The cost will be $35, which will include the book and all materials, except for the test at the end of the class. So, if you know anyone who is interested in earning their technician class license, please have them contact me to be put on the list. Also, note that the test questions, and the study material, changed as of July If you have the older book most of the material will be the same, but the presentation, page numbers and some of the questions will be different. Future Programs Tammy, KG6VYA, is the program chairman for She is looking for possible programs for the SARC meetings. Consider giving a short talk on a subject you are interested in. Contact Tammy at (760) or kg6vya@arrl.net

4 SARC Installation Dinner! Once again we had a terrific installation dinner for SARC. If you weren t there, you really missed a grand event. Your board for 2015 are: President Harry Stephens, K6HLS 1st Vice Pres Steve Hendricks, KK6JTB 2nd Vice pres Tammy Johnson, KG6VYA Secretary Bill Burns, WA6QYR Treasurer Julie Stephens, KI6YRA

5 Fire Mountain 30/50 Endurance Ride Harry K6HLS A cast of many SARC members supported the Fire Mountain horse ride last month, which went very well for the most part. One rider was injured on Saturday when she was thrown from her horse a mile or two after passing a staffed checkpoint on the way back toward Base Camp. We did not get the initial report via radio, but helped coordinate the rescue once another rider reported the mishap. Other than that the biggest issue was logistical: the map provided to us had one change and one omission, so there was a bit of confusion, and Dave AI6S and I had a nice drive in the desert until we happened upon the relocated water station. There were no problems on Sunday as far as I recall. All in all, it was a relatively drama-free event. The best part was that, once on-station, everyone s equipment worked, and everyone knew how to use it. I ve been remiss in getting written thankyou s out to the participants, so I d like to use this space to recognize our folks for contributing to a successful event. Julie KI6YRA ran the base camp on both days and did a great job; I think she s finally gotten over her case of mic-shyness. Members and guests who came out to staff water stations all performed in an exemplary fashion, and include (in no particular order) Tom W1ERG, Bill WA6QYR, Roger KI6PSX and guest Claudia, Dave AI6S, Stanley KG6TJY, Mike W6PM, Dave AD7GU, Charlie KK6RAI, Dave W6TLA, and Jim KI6PTA. Brian KK6LKK was also there with his son, Joe, to check things out and see what all the fuss is about, and Joe had fun learning about radio and doing some 3 rd -party operating. Tammy KG6VYA remained available on stand-by and we didn t even have to activate her (though it was a very near thing). Last, but not least, Mike WA6ARA was the Chief Portable Repeater Wrangler I think Stanley KG6TJY and Paula N6VGW may have given him an assist. While it is portable, the beastie can be a handful, but it worked flawlessly all weekend. Thank you all for volunteering your time! If I ve left anyone out, I apologize my photographic memory has long since run out of film. Emergency Council Meetings The Emergency Council in Ridgecrest meets every second Thursday of the month at 1130 am at the Kerr McGee Center. The room is in the Northwest section of the center. If you are interested in emergency operations, RACES / ARES, try to make the meeting. It is recommended to park on the west side

6 Twenty Mule Team Endurance Ride February 28 March 1 This is a true 100 mile endurance ride. Meaning they do not stop when the sun goes down. We do not have a trail map yet, but per the website.. New for 2015! - Saturday's ride will be a 30, 50 and 100 mile ride. A 25 and 50 mile ride will be added on Sunday with new trails along with a 15 mile Introductory Ride! So we need lots of support for this event. Theoretically we will need 36 hours of continuous coverage. Based on previous maps, there are at least 6 waypoints plus base camp that will need coverage at various times. But could be more with the new trails. If you can help, please contact Harry or Julie Stephens with the following info: 1) Times you are available (i.e. before noon sat & sun; overnight; etc) 2) High clearance vehicle? (a few spots may need this) 3) Call sign, and/or phone number Harry k6hls@webstephens.com Julie ki6yra@webstephens.com Home Early Radio Want to read about very early radio? Here is a link to an article from the June 1899 McClures Magazine about Marconi's Wireless Telegraph. Thanks from Jerry, KK6PA for the info and URL Inyokern Pirate Radio On December 31, 2014, The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issues a Notice of Unlicensed Operation to Martin K. Elliott of Inyokern, for operating a pirate radio station on 6280 KHz and KHz. The official notice may be found at the FCC Los Angeles District Office. The pirate radio station is Radio YHWH, a religious broadcaster. The FCC has directed the radio transmission cease immediately and to contact them with 10 days. As more than 10 days has elaspsed, what has happened is unknown. The ARRL Official Observer also reports Radio YHWH on 7185KHz, the 40 meter ham band. The pirate changes frequency often so who knows where he might resurface again. In checking the ULS for amateur no Martin K. Elliott showed up as an amateur radio operator, but certainly the individual responsible has radio knowledge. LXCC Award Standings Sandy, KJ6VRW - 11 unique QSOs Dave, W6TLA - 10 unique QSOs

7 January T-Hunt continued. The first Fox Hunt of 2015 started with bang on the January 17. Richard, KF6AOY was the fox for this session. Richard is relatively new to the fox hunt scene, having only attended his first one in November. As Fox Richard gave us a real run for the money. All the hunter zeroed in to the general area very fast and then the hunting really started. It was quickly noted by all that Richard was standing nearby, with a ladder, rope, a line to shoot over a tree branch, etc. Hmmm. Shortly Paula, N6VGW, located the fox, an owl up in a tree. With the help of Ryan, KJ6HBY, the owl was retrieved. It had an antenna out the top and a key switch in the front. But, located at the bottom was a note - this is not the fox - A completely but non functioning decoy! The hunt For another 20 minutes or so the hunters walked around in circles, chasing the illusive transmitter. Garbage cans and tables were checked, trees were scanned and re-scanned for the box. Finally, Mike, WA6ARA, noticed that Richard was always smiling and wore a rather heavy coat. It was cool but not that cool. Finally Mike asked Richard to open his coat. There was the transmitter, hanging around the neck of Richard. A most excellent hunt! The next Fox hunt of 2015 will be on March 21. We will be starting at 0900 at Crest Donuts. Get those t-hunting antennas ready the the dust of the attenuators, check out the handhelds and gas up the car. Mike, WA6ARA will be the fox for the hunt and is already working on some new twists.

8 Ask Elmer This subject has come up from time to time and I think it is worth repeating in the newsletter for all. Here is what typically happens. You have a nice new 2 meter radio in you car, and you are driving around town. Suddenly, BOOM! the squelch opens and audio pours out of the speaker. Was that someone calling you or a general hello? No, no voice was there. Rather, it was some weird, ugly sounding noise. Brief but really annoying. And it is happening as you drive around Ridgecrest. Is it someone interfering with the repeater? Or is the repeater on the fritz? The answer is neither. You are picking up unintentional radiators around town. Just about everything these days has some sort of computer or digital controller associated with it. Gas pumps, cash registers, computers all use them and they all unintentionally radiate RF, some of it is at the 2 meter band. So your nice radio hears it, and obediently opens the squelch - NOISE! Wait, isn't that against the law. Well, yes and no. There are allowances for unintentional radiators, but they must be at very low levels. And they usually are. But sometimes they exceed the limits, or you did a great job in the radio / antenna installation and you have a sensitive set up. What to do? But wait, there is a solution! In our example, lets use the repeater. It requires you to transmit along with your voice a tone of hz. This is low in frequency and is called a subaudiable tone, PL or CTCSS. It allows the repeater to only function if the tone is present. This is to reduce interference with a far away repeater on the same frequency. That's nice for the repeater but what about us? Well, the repeater also transmits the tone of 107.2hz. This is exactly for our use. We can use it to control our radios. Just as the repeater opens up only when the Hz tone is present, we can set most radios to only open the squelch if the Hz tone is present as well. For example, in the Yaesu handhelds the menu setting of TONE turns on the HZ tone encode so the repeater will function but the T-SQL setting both encode the Hz for the repeater AND requires a Hz tone before the squelch will open. Problem solved! For Sale 1. Icom IC765 hf xcvr. Trimmer caps replaced. IF shift/bandpass mod. Xmit opened up for 60 meters Heil head set with IC mike element. I have used this radio for the last 10 years with no issues - I would rate it $ Icom IC2KL watt amp and pwr supply + Icom ICAT500 automatic tuner. - $ /pair. 3. Dentron RT-3000 roller inductor tuner - $ Tubular tower - 55' with motor drive. I believe it is a Wilson. - $ Tail twister rotor with controller and mast mount. - $ KLM KT-34A four element tri-bander down approx 2 months. - $ Contact Ray Stevens (760) raysak6e@yahoo.com

9 More For Sale Vintage Collins S-Line. Collins Radio was the Cadillac for radio amateurs and the workhorse for armed forces communications. The S-Line is comprised of a transmitter (32S-3) with power supply (516F-2), receiver (75S-3), linear amplifier (30L-1), station console (312B-4), manuals and associated cables. The S-Line can be configured to operate as a transceiver. All units have been professionally refurbished and operationally adjusted by Steve Berman of Collins Precision Services. Asking price for the complete package is $2200. (By purchasing locally, you save about $400 in additional packing and shipping costs.) Last chance for local sale else it will be listed nationally. If interested, please contact me by at wa6ric@arrl.net or These units will be on display at the February SARC Meeting. And Even More For Sale Copper wire enamel coated #14 fifty feet coils $1 each. TVRO dishes 10 ft, 6 ft, and 5 ft free 2 motor home motorized Az/el 5ft TVRO dishes $10 each 6 ft and 4 ft 19 inch racks $5 each HP 5381A 80 MHz counter $10 Bill WA6QYR 247 Rebel Road bburns@mediacombb.net

10 Open Area Repeaters Status Location Call Freq in MHz Tone Notes Distance UP Randsburg WA6YBN (-) Wide Area, Emergency Power S 18.6 Mi Down Ridgecrest WA6YBN (-) Translator, No Squelch Tail, Emergency Power S 2.5 Mi UP Ridgecrest WA6YBN (+) Allstar #27178, Echolink #518309, Info *510 IWV Emergency Net 7:30 PM W 2.5 Mi Standby Ridgecrest WA6YBN (+) Club Portable Repeater, used only for events SW 1 Mi UP Randsburg N6BKL (-) 82.5 Linked to other 6m repeaters in SoCal. Net S 18.6 Mi 6:30 PM UP El Paso Pk WI6RE Packet Node (ELPASO) S 10 Mi UP Calif City KG6COM RMS Packet - WINLINK 2000 UP El Paso Pk WI6RE APRS W1 Digi, iwvaprs.net KI6PSP@gmail.com S 10 Mi UP El Paso Pk WI6RE (-) Allstar Node usually on WINSYSTEM S 10 Mi UP RF Linked to m Remote Base on FM E 15.9 Mi Trona K5GFM (-) call frequency MHz - Controls: Rx 61, Tx 62, Off 63 UP Little Lake W6TD (+) RF Linked to Mazourka Peak NW 24.9 Mi UP Bird Springs KF6FM (+) Wide coverage of Indian Wells Valley - swrrc.org WSW 27 Mi UP Mazourka Pk W6TD (-) RF Linked to Little Lake N 96.5 Mi UP Hauser Pk K6OX (-) Near Palmdale, Wide coverage of Antelope Valley SSW 80 Mi UP Keller Pk KE6RYZ (+) kpra.net - Near Big Bear, Wide SoCal Coverage SSE 104 Mi UP Sawmill (-) Lake Isabella area W 60Mi UP Ridgecrest W5HMV (-) RF Linked to Input is about -4 KHz off. SE 2.6 Mi UP Ridgecrest WI6RE IRLP-3741, contact tiplerek@iwvisp.com for codes W 2.8 Mi UP El Paso Pk WI6RE (-) IRLP WinSystem.org S 10 Mi UP Ridgecrest NC9RS (-) 88.5 Input: Linked to others - NC9RS SW 2.0 Mi to wa6ybn@gmail.com to report invalid data. Last Update: Nov 11, 2014

11 Sierra Amateur Radio Club Membership Application Please fill this out. It is used to make the club roster and newsletter mailing list. This form must accompany all membership and badge payments. All renewals are due by March 31 st. Please mail this application along with your payment to: SARC P.O. Box 1442 Ridgecrest, CA or give them to the Secretary at a meeting. Membership Individual - $17.00 Family - $27.00 Full Time Student - $8.50 Active Duty Military - $8.50 Individual or Family Member Last Name: First Name: Date: Callsign: Class: Address: Address: Radio Interests: Phone: < Required for newsletter delivery Are you currently an ARRL Member? May the club publish your Name, Callsign and Interests only, on its web page? Yes Yes No No Second Family Member (For more Family Members, please duplicate) Last Name: Callsign: First Name: Class: Address: < Required for newsletter delivery Radio Interests: Are you currently an ARRL Member? May the club publish your Name, Callsign and Interests only, on its web page? Yes Yes No No Badge Order Club Badges are now done Online. Visit the club web site at and click on Club Badges for more information and to place an order. - Membership Application v2 by KI6PSP (May 2010)