GREATER PGH. VHF SOCIETY, INC.

Transcription

1 GREATER PGH. VHF SOCIETY, INC. A non-profit organization Dedicated to furthering the interest of VHF operation OCTOBER, 2009 NEWSLETTER Update from the President Rich WA3QKX It is now time for renewals for your 2010 club membership. Our club cannot exist without its members. Please help our organization stay alive into the future! We have antenna repairs, insurance, site rental, phone bills as ongoing expenses. It can t be done without you! Renew your 2010 membership today. Over the past year we have spent, just in repairs to the system, $350. That was for 2 used repeaters, for parts, and some 12v relays. The membership fees did not cover the cost of all this expense. If this is the trend of the future, the repeater system will not last more than 2 years. It is the membership call, do you want the system on the air, or you don t! We keep losing our link receiver, by losing the sites, something we have no control over. But the stuff that is left still works. I want to thank Dave- N3BJA, who has been keeping the radio network on the air and working. And Don-KA3IYI who works behind the scene to manage all our finances. And Linda-KA3SUB who, with Don, puts out these great newsletters. O forgot to mention, this is my 31 st year as president of the Greater Pittsburgh VHF Society. It has been a long ride; I don t want the horse I have been riding die due to lack of support. 73 Rich Colwell - WA3QKX Support your radio club by joining for another year!!! Officers President - Rich WA3QKX Vice President Dave N3BJA Treasurer - Don KA3IYI Secretary Linda KA3SUB Newsletter Don & Linda Younkin Trustees Ricky N3ZCH Brian AB3BT Phill WB3DHF Update from the Treasurer Don - KA3IYI All current bills are paid. Our finances are lacking due to low membership renewals. Please renew your membership today. GPVHFS Repeater System / MHz / 223/980 MHz / MHz / MHz (Aleg911) / MHz MHz ~Repeaters are linked to provide simultaneous transmission on all three bands~ Packet Frequency MHz ~Connect to W3PGH for digipeating or to read the Swap-n-Shop list~ ~Connect to CANON or PITTS for K-node functions~ 1

2 Freedom" Update #1 from the Vice- President Dave N3BJA Back in June, American radio enthusiasts celebrated an event that too many of us weren't around to enjoy: the freedom to operate six meters without risking the wrath of the Tennessee Valley Indians. Hams who lived in areas where there was no TV stations on either channels 2 or 3 had no such fears, and they worked the Magic Band with impunity. Hams around western Pennsylvania operated at their own risk, so those who chose to use the band either operated after midnight, back when TV stations left the air, or went mobile. The practice of "hilltopping" became common, and six meter radio ads of the time often depicted a family picnic in the country. Mom and the kids sat on a blanket beneath a tree, while Dad sat in the car and worked "the big DX". It was the only way to avoid the phone calls and knocks on the door to inform you that you were interfering with Walter Cronkite or Jackie Gleason. Many modern HF rigs include six meters. With lengths of roughly 54" per leg, constructing a simple dipole to try the band becomes easy, with everything you need costing less than $20 at your local hardware store. This summer saw a hint of the band's potential, as sporadic E openings enabled us to work DX. While it's true that the Sun is still on sunspot vacation, the fall season often brings with it sporadic E and tropospheric conditions. If six meter Worked All States is your goal, now is the time to get all those states east of the Mississippi. The Tennessee Valley Indians have become history, and one more ham radio item has taken its place in our unique museum along with spark-gap transmitters: the low-pass filter. I think I'll shine my Drake filter up and find a place on the shelf for it Here are your officer s for 2010: Update from the Secretary Linda KA3SUB President: Rich W3QKX Vice President: Dave N3BJA Treasurer: Don KA3IYI Secretary: Linda KA3SUB Trustees: Brian AB3BT Phill WB3DHF Ricky N3ZCH 2009 Pgh. Ham Radio Calendar * OCTOBER * 10: Two Rivers ARC Hams n Eggs Breakfast-Kings Restaurant-Corner PA 48 & US : Pennsylvania QSO Party 18: Western Pa Repeater Council Meeting Tentative-Clarion, PA 20: Two Rivers ARC Club Meeting 24-25: CQ World Wide DX Contest (SSB Mode) More Info: * NOVEMBER * 7-8: ARRL November Sweepstakes (CW Mode) 14: Two Rivers ARC Hams n Eggs Breakfast-Kings Restaurant-Corner PA 48 & US 30 17: Two Rivers ARC Club Meeting 21-22: ARRL November Sweepstakes (Phone Mode) 28: SWPPG Packet Group Meeting 28-29: CQ World Wide Dx Contest (CW Mode) More Info: * DECEMBER * 4-6: ARRL 160 Meter Contest 8: Two Rivers ARC Amateur Radio Exam Session 12: Two Rivers ARC Hams n Eggs Breakfast-Kings Restaurant-Corner PA 48 & US : ARRL 10 Meter Contest 2

3 Amateurs with General Class Licenses to be Granted Reciprocal Licenses in Some CEPT Countries The Federal Communications Commission released a Public Notice implementing changes in CEPT reciprocal operating arrangements for US citizens who hold an FCC-issued General, Advanced or Amateur Extra class Amateur Radio licenses. DA continues to allows US licensees "to utilize temporarily an amateur station in a European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) country that has implemented certain recommendations with respect to the United States," subject to the regulations in that country and implements recent changes in the agreement. It did not extend those privileges to US Technician class licensees When an Amateur Radio operator with US citizenship holds an Advanced or Amateur Extra Class license, they continue to be granted CEPT Radio Amateur License privileges in accordance with CEPT Recommendation T/R (as amended). There is no change in reciprocity for those license classes. What has changed is that US citizens holding a General class license -- who had lost all CEPT reciprocal privileges in are now granted CEPT Novice Radio Amateur License privileges in accordance with ECC Recommendation (05)06 (as amended). The Public Notice states that while operating an amateur station in a CEPT country, the person "must have in his or her possession a copy of this Public Notice, proof of US citizenship and evidence of an FCC-issued Amateur Radio license. These documents must be shown to proper authorities upon request." Not all European countries have implemented this recommendation. As with any reciprocal operation, the band frequencies and privileges are those allowed by your host country -- they are not the frequencies and privileges extended by your FCC license. Travelers need to make sure they are familiar with the authorized privileges for the CEPT Novice Radio Amateur License if operating using ECC Recommendation (05)06 or T/R " CEPT countries participating in CEPT Recommendation T/R as of September 10, 2009 include Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark (including Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Estonia, Finland, France (including Corsica, Guadeloupe, French Guyana, Martinique, St Bartholomew, St Pierre and Miquelon, St Martin, Reunion and its Dependencies, Mayotte, French Antarctica, French Polynesia and Clipperton, New Caledonia, and Wallis and Futuna), Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Monaco, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom (including Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man). CEPT countries participating in ECC Recommendation (05)06 as of September 10, 2009 are Belgium, Denmark (including Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Germany, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Switzerland. At its meeting in late spring 2009, the ECO working group that handles issues pertaining to Amateur Radio accepted the US request to join ECC Recommendation (05)06, and authorized US General Class licensees to operate under that recommendation's terms.. 3

4 Update #2 from the Vice- President Dave N3BJA This and That Those of you who read this newsletter are familiar with my musings. Yes, I am a wannabee journalist. having actually taken a journalism class back in high school, in the Pre-Computer epoch of human history. Don and Rich ask me to write, and so I do. The world of amateur radio newsletters has not escaped the same forces acting on traditional newspapers. We try to save the club's resources by ing our newsletter whenever possible, and in these times of decreasing membership, the savings help to keep the repeater system alive. The current rage is something called a "blog", a catchterm for "weblog". On many sites, blogs enable you, the reader, to comment upon the topics of conversation. What I would like you, the reader, to do is to write Don with your thoughts about things that are radio and electronics in general related. There is enough Internet bandwidth devoted to computer stuff, and since this is all about radio and electronics, let us know what you're doing. While I myself am a devotee of pre-40 channel CB radios, mostly because that's where I spent a lot of my teenage years learning about radio and electronics, perhaps you built an original Ampzilla, or were a fan of MacIntosh and Scott tube-type audio gear back in the day. Perhaps you built some of the primitive "computers" of the day, or experimented with the then-new Space Age Integrated Circuits. Whatever you tinkered with, tell us your stories. I'll be over in my CB corner, waiting for the solar flux to break 70. MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS Applicants for REGULAR MEMBERSHIP: 1) Write a check to GREATER PGH VHF SOCIETY INC FOR $ ) Complete the Application. Applicants for 2 nd PERSON IN HOUSEHOLD MEMBERSHIP: 1) Write a check to GREATER PGH VHF SOCIETY INC for $7.50 2) Complete the Application. Applicants for ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP: 1) Write a check to GREATER PGH VHF SOCIETY INC for $7.50 2) Complete the Application. 3) Mail everything to: Greater PGH. VHF Society, Inc. ARS - KA3IYI Don Younkin 716 Joyce Drive W. MIFFLIN, PA

5 Greater PGH. VHF Society, Inc. Membership Application -Part One ========================================================================= Call : Date : Name : Address : City: State: Zip: Phone Number: Area Code ( ) address: ( ) ok to publish phone number ( ) do not publish phone number Name used on the air: License Class: License expiration date: Age at end of this year: Year first licensed: Are you a member of: ARRL? ARES? SATERN? Occupation: ( ) OK to publish ( ) Do not publish Other Hobbies: Where did you hear about the Club? ( ) on air ( ) on Swap Net ( ) on Internet ( ) Other ========================================================================= Modes of VHF/UHF operation you use : ( ) 2mtrs ( ) vhf/uhf ssb ( ) vhf/uhf dxing ( ) 2mt packet radio ( ) vhf/uhf rtty ( ) uhf atv ( ) satellite operation ( ) vhf/uhf cw ( ) other ( ) vhf/uhf contesting bands that you have equipment on the air for: ( ) 160 ( ) 80 ( ) 40 ( ) 20 ( ) 15 ( ) 10 ( ) 6 ( ) 220 ( ) 450 ( ) 1296 ( ) other As a member of the Greater PGH. VHF Society, I pledge agree to keep confidential all repeater codes that I may be given to use. Signed: ========================================================================= Dues received and accepted for membership in the society. By: Date: 5

6 Across 1. Eight furlongs 5. Propagation predictor, with solar 9. Early ham technology maker 15. Network, especially in I-land 16. Blender setting 17. Solar WX org. 18. Kit maker of the 1960s 19. Poem of lament 20. Propagation predictors, with 58 down 22. OX dir. from XE 24. Formerly known as 25. Chop (off) 26. Solar minimum result 28. Fed. fiscal agency 31. "Encore!" MHz 34. Phoned 36. Deteriorates 38. Post det. stage 42. Hams eagerly await it s sat. 46. Garbage barge 47. "I'm your tricks!" 48. Checks in check ins 50. Calls from NJ or NY 52. What some amateurs are, professionally 53. The 2009 sun, mostly 57. W7 ARRL sect MHz region, say 60. Prefix, opposite of 63 down 61. Early receiver maker 65. Wanderer 67. Generate RF sig. 69. Handle 70. Nonsensical 71. Tropospheric propagation path 72. Connectors with shells 73. FD abodes 74. Ckts. for CW 75. Put in stitches Down 1. Subcompact 2. Desktop feature 3. PA front panel label 4. In-box contents 5. C6 city 6. KH6 rings 7. GMT replacer 8. Veracruz prefix 9. Indy place 10. YA cent 11. Hara, for example 12. Superhet alternative 13. Sent CW 21. It may follow a dot 23. King Cole 26. Picks up, on the air 27. Fab 28. Shamu, for one 29. W0 Clinic 30. Locking connectors 32. Column crossers 35. Sparkle 37. KC4 WX 39. Code for code 40. Receiver rear panel label 41. Con cons 43. Rules out dbm 49. K7UGA, once: Abbr. 51. Ant. measurement down measurement 54. Second SS weekend 55. GD isle 56. See 53 down 58. Types of 20 across 61. Micro micro 62. Antenna measurement 63. Prefix, with directional 64. What crank-up sections do when crankeddown 66. Dip. or Inv-V, e.g. 68. Propagation condx indicato

7 Greater Pgh. VHF Society ARS-KA3IYI Don Younkin 716 Joyce Drive W. MIFFLIN, PA ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED