NC4ML REPEATER. The President s Corner. Upcoming Hamfests. Charles Wackerman. MOCARS Officers 2011

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1 NC4ML REPEATER Moore County ARS Carthage. NC Vol Vii No 3 MARCH 2011 MOCARS Officers 2011 President &: Charles Wackerman, W3CY Editor cwackerman@broadlink.biz Vice President: Secretary & PAO: Robert Biamonte, WU1W, bobbymonte@earthlink.net James Johnson KI4TAT cvttejim@yahoo.com Treasurer & Lionel Bryson, N4YYL ARES EC n4yyl@arrl.net Repeater Trustee Ernie Bryant, KR4W & Past President: ARES AEC & Ray Arnold. KG4CPM Skywarn AEC kg4cpm@arrl.net Upcoming Hamfests 12 March 2011 Charlotte Hamfest Mecklenburg ARC Concord, NC 23 April 2011 RARS Fest Raleigh, NC 14 May 2011 Rockingham Cty Swapfest Rockingham Cty ARC 11 June 2911 Winston Salem Classic Forsyth ARC Reidsville, NC Winston Salem NC If you know of any hamfest that should be listed and Is not, please let me know so it can be included in the Next edition. Hamfests need your support and attendance to survive. The President s Corner It s March, time for daylight savings time (this weekend in fact), the trees are blossoming, grass is beginning to turn green, and Sunspot Cycle 24 is revving up. In the last few weeks the sunspot numbers have consistently risen to above 100 and the solar flux numbers are in the 130s. The bands have begun to come alive. I have worked 7 new countries in the past 10 days, and I am certain a great many DX minded hams have done several times that number. In fact, I have heard it reported that it would have been possible to earn DXCC just this past weekend because of the number of countries active on the ARRL SSB contest. Of course, the warmer weather and longer days are providing competition for our DX time. I have finally achieved one of my non-radio goals, to have high speed internet at my home. Strangely, the only way I could manage it was via a 900 mhz link with my ISP. They installed an 11 element yagi in a very tall pine tree and ran the wires to my house where I now have an always on high speed internet connection house wide. My new address is cwackerman@broadlink.biz Also, you can still use the w3cy@arrl.net address. Please eliminate the connectnc address that may of you have as it no longer works. Both ARRL and QRZ have sent out notices that the ham 73 cm band the 440 band is under very serious attack and there is a good chance we may loose it in the near future. A member of the new majority in the house has proposed a bill which will force the FCC to place the band up for auction and thus close it forever to our use. If you want to express your opposition to this you need to contact your congressman THROUGH THE ARRL. The ARRL will hand deliver the mail to the congressman, otherwise the USPS will send it through a screening process which delays its arrival for up to 8 weeks. See the ARRL site for more information. See you at the meeting on Thursday! Have a good week and good DX! 73s Charles Wackerman

2 NC4ML Repeater MARCH Amateur Examinations in Carthage Location: Meeting Room, Carthage Fire Department at Carthage Town Hall, 4396 US Highway Carthage, NC Test Dates: on the following Saturdays: On the corner of Worth and Cox Streetsground floor meeting room. Individuals wishing to take the test must have a valid drivers license or other valid government issued picture ID, a social security card, (and a copy of the front and back of both documents on a single page). If the candidate currently holds an amateur license issued by the FCC they must also bring the original license and a copy. No reservations needed but handicap candidates should call to assure that we are prepared to accommodate you. Cost $12.00 cash only. For further information contact: Butch Simpson, WS4H on or butch@atomic.net March 19, 2011 September 17, 2011 May 21, 2011 November 19, 2011 July 23, 2011 Time: 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon (room opens at 9 am) Individuals wishing to take the test must have a valid drivers license or other valid government issued picture ID, a social security card, (and a copy of the front and back of both documents on a single page). If the candidate currently holds an amateur license issued by the FCC they must also bring the original license and a copy. No reservations needed but handicap candidates should call to assure that we are prepared to accommodate you. Cost $12.00 cash only. For further information call Charles Wackerman at or w3cy@arrl.net Tests administered by the Carthage/MOCARS VE TEAM Amateur Examinations in ASHEBORO Randolph County Library :201 Worth St., Asheboro NC Saturday, April 9, 2011 at 10:00 AM Saturday, June 11, 2011 at 10:00 AM Saturday, August 13, 2011 at 10:00 AM Saturday, October 15, 2011 at 10:00 AM Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 7:00 PM (Night Session) CAPE FEAR ARS METHODIST COLLEGE SCIENCE BLDG rooms S-222 & S RAMSEY ST NORTH 401 FAYETTEVILLE, NC Check-in begins at 0900 Testing begins at 0930 March 19, 2011 August 6, 2011 June 11, 2011 October 8, 2011 Bring a handheld calculator, a photocopy or original current FCC issued license, and $15 (cash) for the exam fee. For further information contact: Pat, N4UGH, n4ughpat@aol.com

3 3 MARCH 2011 NC4ML Repeater Meeting Minutes 17 February 2011 Attendance 10 members, 0 guests Call to order/pledge of Allegiance 7:00p.m. by Charles Wackerman, president Secretary s report January report approved as published in Newsletter Treasurer s report approved as presented Announcements/Introductions VEC testing Saturday, March, 2011, 10:00a.m.Carthage Fire Department, rt 15/501. January testing, 6 tests to 3 candidates, 2 earned Technicians licenses. Contact Charles Wackerman or Bob Biamonte for details. Club apparel Charles Oswalt has shirts and jackets with club identification available for sale. Old Business MOCARS Newsletter - Charles always needs noncopyrighted material for newsletter. General Licensing Class Session planned for early in Contact Charles Wackerman or Bob Biamonte for details. Date not set as instructional outline has not been identified 2011 Activities Uwharrie Mountain Run, Feb 4 successfully completed, nearly 500 runners, weather was cold/ wet, no one got lost, excellent cooperation from Stanly and Montgomery county ham clubs, successful test of portable repeater at both fire tower and Eldorado general store parking lot. Send suggestions for future improvements to Lionel. Dressage/Equestrian Event 6,7,8 May (Mothers Day weekend) questionable as no response has been forthcoming from organizers regarding continued MOCARS participation/charitable organization. Lionel has advised them that we will not be able to continue if they are not a charitable organization as in previous years. Baden Bomber Saturday, 4 June Pinehurst Triathlon Sunday, 2(?), October, date to be confirmed Uwharrie Exterra (triathlon) Sunday, 1(?) May, date to be confirmed Dues club dues are due and payable now for $12 individual, $17 family New Business Field Day 2011, 24/25 June Chuck Oswalt leading organization. other sites being investigated with Southern Pines and Aberdeen most promising. Requirements include shelter, restrooms, 24hr access, trees for antennas. Silent Key ham radio equipment for sale, contact Tim Nickens for details. NC legislature pending cell phone use restriction bill, ARRL has asked that hams not contact their legislative representatives regarding ham radio exclusion until bill is rewritten Boy Scouts/ham radio memorandum of understanding (MOU) reached where amateur radio will be the primary resource for merit badge activities. 220 repeater Pat Sheely has access to a 220mhz repeater to be installed at Wackerman s in the near future. Communications Charles Wackerman requested his w3cy@arrl.net be the only address used Adjournment 7:40p.m. Respectfully submitted, James D Johnson, KI4TAT Secretary/PIO Monthly Meeting for March is on THURSDAY MARCH 17th at 19:00 at the County EOC (rear, lower level) in Carthage. DINNER before the meeting is at The Country Kitchen in Carthage AT 17:00

4 NC4ML Repeater MARCH A Corner Reflector for 70cm Rick Murray, K6WXA A few years back I stumbled across an advertisement from a major amateur radio antenna distributor, advertising a corner reflector for 70 Centimeters, with an asking price of $ I had made yagi s, j -poles, dipoles and even a quad, but never a corner reflector. That, and quite frankly, $ for a UHF antenna I thought was a little ridiculous, and so my project design was born. The reflector measures a total area of 46 by 13 bent to 90 in the middle and is made from heavy gage aluminum screening; the kind pet owners put over their sliding screen doors. A like material similar to the type of screening that is used in garage or attic vents could be used. To keep its shape, the screen is surrounded by a U shaped aluminum frame and bolted at the corners. An additional cross member piece is bolted in place at the top and bottom of the reflector for additional support. The reflector screen is then secured to the support mast, a section of 3/4" PVC pipe, with hose clamps. The dipole is constructed from elements of 1/2" copper plumbing pipe, tuned through an open hair-pin tuning loop and is mounted to a length of 3/4" PVC pipe as the support boom. The boom slides through a 3/4" PVC cross, the interior horizontal stops of which have been milled away to allow the boom to slide all the way through the horizontal opening of the cross. This is done to allow determining the focal point of maximum gain of the antenna while using a field strength meter. One of the aspects of the advertised antenna was its broad-banded ness, along with its high gain capability. Set up and testing of the completed antenna found it to have 8 Dbd of gain across the entire 70 Centimeter Band, with an unchanging VSWR of 1.3:1 from 440 to 450 MHz. Additionally, the VSWR never exceeded 1.7:1 from 429 MHz, to 468 MHz. At lower left is the computer predicted, theoretical radiation pattern of the corner reflector. During testing, no lobes coming off the back of the antenna were detected while using a field strength meter. It was also noted that the antenna had a roughly 45 radiation beam-width pattern while turning the antenna towards and away from, the field strength meter. You can go out a purchase one of these antenna s from a reputable dealer for roughly $129.00, or you can build it yourself, build it to perform just as well as a commercially made model, and you can build it for a fraction of the cost using simple materials readily available through any home improvement store. As always, the following diagrams illustrate the completed antenna with all measurements indicated for maxi- mum performance and an illustration for tuning the antenna.

5 DX Code of Conduct With the sunspot numbers and solar flux rising and staying high, we are now entering the point in sunspot cycle 24 when real DX is not only possible but actually appearing on a consistent basis. Your editor has worked seven new countries in the past three weeks, and I am no where near a champion DXer. None the less, I am noting some very annoying hams out there who walk over everyone and make working the rare stations difficult or even impossible. This problem could be eliminated if everyone would follow these 13 simple rules. 1. I will listen, and listen, and then listen some more. 2. I will only call if I can copy the DX station properly. 3. I will not trust the cluster and will be sure of the DX station's call sign before calling. 4. I will not interfere with the DX station nor anyone calling him and will never tune up on the DX frequency or in the QSX slot. 5. I will wait for the DX station to end a contact before I call him. 6. I will always send my full call sign. 7. I will call and then listen for a reasonable interval. I will not call continuously. 8. I will not transmit when the DX operator calls another call sign, not mine. 9. I will not transmit when the DX operator queries a call sign not like mine. 10.I will not transmit when the DX station calls other geographic areas than mine. 11.When the DX operator calls me, I will not repeat my call sign unless I think he has copied it incorrectly. 12.I will be thankful if and when I do make a contact. 13.I will respect my fellow hams and conduct myself so as to earn their respect

6 NC4ML Repeater MARCH Weekly Listing of Regional s on 6 meters, 2 meters and Meter SSB`s ALL M-F MON Meter SSB s Sunday: Roanoke Va Monday: Richmond Va Tidewater VA Tuesday: Greensboro NC Friday: Pink Hill NC * 2 Meter FM s (on repeaters) Sunday: Carthage, NC Wednesday Carthage, NC Thursday Mt.Giliad, NC 440 SSB s 8am EST 10pm 9PM W4ROG KR4EO WA4NJ WA4JNL Wednesday: Locust NC *** May be off the air temporarily due to antenna problems. Richmond Huntsville Georgia Lynchburg TUES PM K4IRT Lexington WED PM KE4UWJ Georgia THUR SAT SUN :30pm 9pm 8AM 8PM 8PM 8PM KK5IX KJ4RB KD4MYE KI4AYZ K4KXY KI4OCN Arkansas Pink Hill Wake Forest Bristol, TN Georgia Sherills Ford NC If you know of a net that should be listed, a net that is no longer in operation, or any corrections of days, times and frequencies please notify the editor at W3CY@arrl.net. Submit articles, items for sale, want adds, and notices of upcoming events to W3CY@arrl.net. The NC4ML repeater operates on with an offset of and a pl tone of Statewide Traffic and Emergency s TYPE TIME FREQ REQ. MODE NCAM Traffic ssb NCPM Traffic ssb Carolina (early) TarHeel Emer- gency Carolina Slow Carolina (Late) Traffic CW 20/22 wpm ARES ssb Traffic Cw 8/10 wpm Traffic Cw 15/18 wpm Please Attend the MOCARS Monthly Meeting on Thursday, MARCH 17th at 19:00 at the Moore County EMS center (lower level, back of building) in Carthage. Pre meeting supper at The Country Kitchen in Carthage at 17:00

7 7 MARCH 2011 NC4ML Re- March 2011 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Ash Wednesday Meeting VE Test Session April 2011 April 2011 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Palm Sunday Meeting Easter Sunday

8 MOORE COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY 753 LAMMS GROVE ROAD CARTHAGE, NC FIRST CLASS Moore County Amateur Radio Society 753 Lamms Grove Road Carthage, NC MEMBERSHIP REQUEST Meetings are held in the meeting room of the Moore County EOC (lower level) on the third Thursday of each month (except December) at 7:00PM. Meetings usually last about an hour. Licensed Amateur Radio Operators and those interested in HAM radio are invited to join. Annual dues are $12 for an individual or $17 for a family membership. If you are interested in joining the club and ARRL at the same time, call Charles at first as there may be a special deal. To join, return this form to the address above together with a check written to Moore County Amateur Radio Society for the required amount. Name Call Class Address Phone City State ZIP address Are you a member of ARRL If not currently a member, have you ever been If you are a former ARRL members, approximately when did your membership expire