KC DX NEWS AB0X-EDITOR DX PACKET CLUSTER: MARCH 2003 THE KCDXC HONOR ROLL DXCC TOTALS. The Official Newsletter of the Kansas City DX Club

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1 The Official Newsletter of the Kansas City DX Club KC DX NEWS IN THIS ISSUE Club News -AB0X Presidential Podium?-K0LW ARRL DX Bulletin Contest Corner-K0ZM More Hints & Kinks-WD0SRI Ode de Ducie- N8SM Club Members Out & About-AB0X NEXT KCDXC MEETING: MARCH 31 The next meeting of the KCDXC is on March 31, at 7:30 P.M. The meeting location will be the Salvation Army building at the corner of Troost and Truman Road. The address is 1110 Truman Rd.. Coffee and donuts from Lamar s will be served.. There s a very slight chance we will have a program this month. THE KANSAS CITY DX CLUB The Kansas City DX Club is a regional, ARRL affiliated amateur radio club dedicated to Dxing and contesting. The Club meets the last Monday of each month, except for the summer months. Membership is open to anyone interested in DX or contesting. Contact the Club President, K0LW, if more information is needed. Contributions for publication in the newsletter are always appreciated and should be sent to the Editor in a text file from Word or WP. Contact AB0X, at , or mcrabtree@kc.rr.com if you have any questions about the newsletter. The KC DX News is the official newsletter of the Kansas City DX Club. Any original article, except copyrighted ones, may be reprinted in another amateur radio journal as long the author and the newsletter are given credit. KCDXC DUES FOR 2003 It is time again for your 2003 KCDXC Dues. Please send $15 to KB0U at PO BOX 4798, Overland Park, KS, AB0X-EDITOR DX PACKET CLUSTER: MARCH 2003 THE KCDXC HONOR ROLL DXCC TOTALS Call Mixed CW Phone RTTY 160 W0TM K0JN 335 K0CS W0NS 348 AB0X N0XA AK0A K5ZQ 339 NX0I K0HQW K0ZM KR0I N0UF AA0MZ KG0UA K0XM NW0L AE9B KI7WO 169 WD0SRI If your DXCC totals are outdated or missing from the table above. Send an to the Editor with your latest totals at mcrabtree@kc.rr.com.

2 K0LW OPERATES MARITIME MOBILE: KCDXC President K0LW has been on a recent Dxpedition to the Ozarks. He operated Maritime Mobile. Pictured below is his yacht and shack. The Daily DX, WA7BNM and Contest Corral from QST. Thanks to all. ALGERIA, 7X. 7X0AD has been QRV using RTTY on 15 meters between 1500 to 1600z. QSL via EA4URE. OMAN, A4. Alex, YO9HP is QRV as A45WD and is active on 80 to 10 meters, including the newer bands, using CW and SSB. QSL to home call. TAIWAN, BV. Mark, BU2/JJ1TBB is QRV on 40 to 10 meters using CW and SSB. He is here for three to four years. QSL via JL1ANP. Meanwhile, Juergen, BX3/DJ3KR is QRV using CW until April 15. QSL to home call. Lee Bob is a charter member of the Redneck Yacht Club as well as KCDXC President. What a great operating experience! The Presidential Podium ARRL DX BULLETIN? ARLD010: DX news SB ARL $ARLD010 ARLD010 DX news ZCZC AE10 QST de W1AW DX Bulletin 10 ARLD010 From ARRL Headquarters Newington CT March 6, 2003 To all radio amateurs SB DX ARL ARLD010 ARLD010 DX news This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by Tedd, KB8NW, the OPDX Bulletin, 425DXnews, DXNL, QRZ DX, URUGUAY, CX. A group of Uruguayan operators are QRV as CW1OO from March 8 to 10 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the town of Vergara. QSL via EA5KB. ANGOLA, D2. Joao, CT1BFL is QRV as D2U until February He is active on 160 to 10 meters using CW and SSB. QSL to home call. SOUTH SHETLANDS. DP1ANF has been QRV on 20 meters using CW around 2100z. QSL via RK1PWA. SCOTLAND, GM. Leo, W3LEO is QRV as MM0LEO from Portpatrick until April 3. QSL to home call. HAITI, HH. Members of the Florida DX Group are part of a humanitarian mission team traveling in Haiti. Look for Jan, K4QD, William, N2WB, Bill, W4WX and Al, K3VN to be QRV as HH4/homecalls from March 10 to 21. When not involved with mission projects, their activity will be on 160 to 6 meters using all modes, including PSK31. QSL HH4/N2WB via N2OO and all others to home calls. OGASAWARA, JD1. Fukushige, JM6DZB is QRV as JM6DZB/JD1 from Iwo Jima, IOTA AS- 030, until the end of Activity is on 80, 40 and 15 meters SSB during his spare time. QSL via operator's instructions.

3 BULGARIA, LZ. Members of the Balkan Contest Club are active as special event station LZ125O to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire. Activity is on 160 to 10 meters, including the newer bands, using CW and SSB. QSL via LZ1KZA. POLAND, SP. Special event station HF2VL is QRV until March 31. QSL via SP2PI. EGYPT, SU. Tom, SU9NC has been QRV on 80 meters just after 0400z and also around 2000z. QSL via OM2SA. DODECANESE, SV5. Steve, G0SGB will be QRV as SV5/G0SGB/p from Kos Island, IOTA EU-001, from March 8 to 22. His activity will be on a daily basis from 0800 to 1100z, mainly on 20, 17 and 15 meters. QSL to home call. CENTRAL KIRIBATI, T31. Mike, T31MY has been QRV on 17 meters from around 1700 to 1830z. QSL via OM2SA. ANGUILLA, VP2E. Nigel, G3TXF plans on being QRV as VP2EN until March 12. He also hopes to be active in the RSGB Commonwealth contest. QSL to home call. DUCIE ISLAND, VP6. A group of operators will soon be QRV from March 8 or 9. The callsign has yet to be announced. Activity will be on all HF bands, including 6 meters and possibly AO-40, using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via JR2KDN. SOUTH AFRICA, ZS. Special event station ZS03CWC is QRV until March 23 during the Cricket World Cup. Activity is on 80 to 10 meters. QSL via ZS1AU. THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO. The North American RTTY Sprint, SARL Field Day Contest, RSGB Commonwealth CW Contest, UBA Spring CW Contest, NSARA Contest and the Wisconsin QSO Party are all scheduled for this weekend. Please see March QST, page 99 and the WA7BNM contest website for details. NNNN /EX MORE HINTS & KINKS By WD0SRI Now let s get down to some real items reported by real members in a real world of ham radio. N0XA: I installed a full size 40 meter Vertical in the front yard that doubled as a flagpole when we first moved in here in Spring Hill. Of course, it worked fine and had a good SWR. However, I guess it was too close to the house, because when I turned on my Dentron amp, it caused the clock radio in my daughter s bedroom to turn backwards. The RF was literally turning back time! The lesson is clear. Always place your antennas as far away from the house as possible. Also, the report that I caused the paint on my neighbor s house to peel off from excessive RF was not true, but that s another story I will save for another issue of the newsletter. K0VBU: Last summer at Boy Scout camp I made and interesting discovery that I wanted to share with others. I taught a class in ham radio and had many interested young men who wanted to join the amateur ranks observing our station. Of, course, the insects are always quite a problem in central Missouri in July. One night, as we pounded brass on 40 Meters demonstrating ham radio to a group of boys, it was by accident I discovered that mosquitos will not fly into an active RF field. The end fed long wire antenna came right down to the ground rod and Tuner. They swarmed around the rig and operating area like crazy until we started transmitting. The familiar sound of mosquitos buzzing in your ear completely disappeared! The end of the antenna was obviously a high voltage point because we heard hundreds of little critters burn up in smoke if they came into contact or even near the copper antenna wire. We had accidently created a bug zapper! This might be a cheap way to rid your QTH of pests. Many of us have old transmitters that could be put to use throughout the summer. An old Heathkit DX-60 could be the answer to a safe and peaceful patio or backyard deck! AB0X: Last October I was having trouble with my 40 Meter phased verticals. I could not get the antennas to resonant, no matter what I did. I would adjust the matching section then run back inside to the shack and tested the SWR. After about a hundred tries I finally gave up and asked my XYL to help out.

4 I took the 2 Meter handheld outside along with the Bird and connected it at the feed point. I told my wife to be ready and when I say hit the key to turn the transmitter on. Sounds simple doesn t it? After a couple of adjustments I made little progress. However, my XYL got a phone call and was busy talking a hundred miles an hour to her friend Bonnie Sue. I told her several times over 2 Meters to key up the transmitter. When she didn t respond, I thought I might as well check the coax for water as nothing else seemed to make much difference. I was holding the PL-259 in my hand when her brain caught up with her body and she pressed the tune button on the rig. I found out that my hand is pretty close to 50 ohms because all 200 watts of my IC-775 went right into my hand. I saw a little curl of smoke rise up in the air long before I felt the burn. The smell of burning flesh is a unique odor that one never forgets! I reverted to my youth and did the Wautusi all over the backyard before I could get the coax out of my hands! Obviously, the Hint & Kink is simple: Don t put 200 watts of RF into your hand! Or better yet, don t rely on your XYL to listen to you when her best girl friend is on the phone unless you want Amphenol branded into the palm of your hand! My hand was so sore that I had to eat with my left hand for several days! For a fat boy, this is important! NX0I: I recently purchased a special order Alpha, 2 holer(2-8877's export model). This model is only made on special order now. I told them I was moving to Mexico next month. It can handle two bricks on the key it is so big! However, we have a problem in this area of the metro with AC service. We have AC fluctuations and voltage surges quite often. I decided the only way to properly monitor this is to modify my new amp. Even though it is still under warranty I drilled out a circle in the center of the front panel with my 3/8" Blacker & Decker approximately the same diameter as a new AC line voltage meter. It took about 22 individual drill holes with the 1/4" bit. I then filed down the rough edges as best I could. I then inserted the AC line meter. The hole was a little big, and the meter and kept falling out of the front panel, so I cut out a piece of aluminum from some 1/16" sheet material to make a homemade washer to make the meter fit tighter. The AC line meter was then connected to the AC input. The meter now was a snug fit in the front panel of the new Alpha, but the homemade aluminum washer was not a very good match for the paint on the front panel. If you plan on doing this mod to your amp, take special care to unplug the amp when drilling the holes. The drill bit slipped thru once and hit the start up relay and shorted out. It took me 2 weeks to get the new part back from the manufacturer. Also, take special care when actually drilling the holes in the front panel. The drill slipped a couple of times in my hands and left a trail across the front panel. Also, make sure you get all the small bits of drilled metal out of the amp before you turn on the power. A lot of the metal dust got into the blower and was shot all over the amp when I turned it on. It shorted out the HV, plate choke, filter caps and diodes. After installing the burned out parts, I was finally ready to test the AC line meter. It worked great, too! Despite a few set backs, now I can monitor my AC Line voltage constantly when I use the amp! Some housekeeping chores: Last month I got some negative comments from a couple of club members about my article. I have just one comment to you guys, quoting that famous American, NW0L, Duct Off! CONTEST CORNER BY K0ZM We are well into the contest season. There has been more participation than I or many others expected. A hardy thank you goes to Tom AE9B for his tenacious organization and prodding to get people involved in contesting. Tom has been a real inspiration. He is indeed a real competitor himself. Just as a review, we will be having awards passed out at our April meeting that will award those who took their time to contest this last season. Some of the awards that will be considered are: Most QSO s for the whole year (AE9B sponsor) Most contest QSO s Most contests entered (K0ZM sponsor) Newest contester with highest scores Highest total scores Oldest and youngest contesters Highest high power scores Highest low power scores Etc. for example baldest contester

5 We are open to any suggestions. If you have any thoughts or want to sponsor an award, let me know ASAP. If you would like to sponsor an award let me know. Sponsors should be willing to chip in a few dollars for an award plaque. The goal of this program is to have fun and encourage participation. Currently, we have so many entries that it will take some time to sort out the winners. We still have a few contests coming up, ARRL DX CW and WPX SSB to name two. I bet that some of our folks can come up with several others. We may need help sorting out the winners. I am sure that we will miss something. I am trying to keep a running record of scores etc. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please let me know. There are no real rules and we want everyone to feel that they can win. Tom k0zm trose2@kc.rr.com SECOND DUCIE DXPEDITION FAILS ON 160: Topbanders 0-2 Ode to VP6DIA Ducie 1 was a pretty good 'op' with QSOs on all bands but top with news of D2 I knew what to do namely listen on topband nonstop March 9 was glorious day to hear V-P-6-D-I-A but there was no show on frequencies low during the start of their stay with storms all roun' and the noise packing plenty of might 0550z on I was hoping to get in the mix the Ducie op beckoned as did lightning (4-per-second) the static unleashed its worst licks Of course I sat and cursed at burst after burst after burst could not hear a letter would morning be better? QRN was surely the worst Later some east coast got through Hopefully I'd get lucky too but before my sun rose the VP6 goes to the 75 meter zoo The log is still empty you see but you certainly can't blame me QRN was too strong or they waited too long Now when will there be Ducie 3? 73, Steve N8SM Topband@contesting.com CLUB MEMBERS PREPARE FOR ANNUAL CARP TOURNEY The photo below shows K0XM practicing his techniques for annual KCDXC Carp Tournament during a lunch break at work. Make plans now for the annual festive event. It will be held on July 14 th. And so went days 2, 3 & 4 this could not go on too much more would they QRV on topband for me? the chances were looking quite poor Finally on their last night they said '160 tonight' the sun went down

6 AA0MZ CALLED UP FOR ACTIVE D UTY: COAST GUARD TERRORISM PATROL! One of our own has been called up for active duty. AA0MZ, Jim, has been assigned to the Coast Guard Terrorism Patrol on the Missouri River, north of KC. Jim appears to be well armed, too! Notice AA0MZ s 2 Meter antenna attached to his helmet so he can stay in touch with KCDXC. KC DX NEWS AB0X-Editor 7871 Webster Kansas City, KS First Class TO: