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Issued August 2015 Issue No. 66 Club Website: www.qsl.net/k7jar S-Meter e-mail: parcnews@hotmail.com Club Repeater: Output 146.62 MHz; Input 146.

1 Issued August 2015 Issue No. 66 Club Website: S-Meter Club Repeater: Output MHz; Input MHz, No Tone Next Meeting Annual Picnic Black Lake Rd off Highway 20 East Mile Post This is our annual club picnic; it is a potluck so bring your favorite dish! CLUB NET: Sunday Evenings 8:00p.m. Local

2 Announcements Amateur Radio Volunteers Face Fire Threat While Supporting Emergency Communication The North-Central Washington town of Republic touts air you can t see on its website. That s not the case today. Wildfires in the US Northwest have not only hampered the air quality and visibility, but led to a Level 2 evacuation order in the Ferry County community of about 1000 residents. That could rise to Level 3. Amateur Radio volunteers in Ferry County have been on the front lines of the wildfire emergency there. In Republic, a combination of Ferry County Search and Rescue (SAR), Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), and ARES/RACES volunteers have been supporting communication for a shelter housing some 4 dozen evacuees with more to come, according to Ferry County ARES Emergency Coordinator and RACES Radio Officer Sam Jenkins, WA7EC. We are now close to our maximum support level for local volunteers, Jenkins told State RACES Officer Monte Simpson, AF7PQ, who also is ARRL Western Washington Section Manager. We are now expecting to operate for several weeks at the Republic High School. The firefighters say they are going to attempt to defend our emergency operations center/emergency shelter at all costs, Jenkins added. We are standing our ground. In addition to being the Ferry County ARES EC and RACES RO, Jenkins explained, he also heads the SAR component of the dual Ferry County SAR-CERT contingent. I have networked these three units together over time to increase the effectiveness of our small, poor, but valiant teams, he told ARRL. Firefighters from several states and British Columbia, Canada, have been working the Kettle Complex of three fires in Ferry County, which covered nearly 60,000 acres as of August 26. No injuries have occurred and no homes have been lost. Support teams from the Washington National Guard are assisting fire managers to ensure safety. West of Republic near Omak, the Okanogan Complex at more than 280,000 acres is now the largest fire complex in the state s history. According to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), wildfires continue to burn actively across the West. The NIFC reports that 66 large fires or complexes have burned nearly 1.6 million acres in 11 states. Twelve fires are burning in Washington alone. Jenkins said his team of volunteers would like to have additional support, but, he told Simpson, I would expect that it is asking a lot for anyone to leave the comfort of their home to travel to a place where the smoke is so thick you can cut it with a knife, and not know if they would escape. Radio amateurs responding to the wildfire emergencies have been using VHF repeaters as well as HF on 75 and 40 meters, including SSB and digital modes, and IRLP. We are doing our best at doing our thing, Jenkins said. I am concerned about what is happening in our sister counties. ARRL Eastern Washington Section Section Manager: Mark J Tharp, KB7HDX kb7hdx@arrl.org Northwestern Division Scholarship Fund For more information on the Scholarship or to make a contribution, go to or contact your Section Manager. 2

3 Highlights from our August meeting. Attendance: 9 Meeting was called to order by President Tom Howe KE7TEG A quorum of Officers was present. Minutes of the July meeting were read and accepted Treasurer's Report $ Randy N7CKJ ARES Report - No Report PARC Net No report Board Report Bruce KC7H led a discussion regarding Tom s role as president. He does want to continue his role as club president until the end of year, he will however, notify Gimmie AL7LB, and Jim WW7DD if he is unable to attend a meeting. Announcements: Randy N7CKJ announced that he has been dispatching the helicopters for the fire base at work, and said it was pretty interesting. Eating before the meeting will be at Rancho Chico s Old Business: Debbie KF7GUB would like the club to sponsor a water station for the Blazing Saddles event, as well as offer radio support. There was a discussion about whether this would benefit the club. Gimmie, AL7LB made a motion to co-sponsor the station with Debbie which was approved. Purchasing a club banner was brought back up by Debbie KF7GUB, there was discussion about the cost and whether to do one or two. Debbie made a motion to purchase two banners for not more than a total cost of $ Bruce KC7H, made change to the motion to purchase two banners about 12 sq.ft for no more than $ Motion was approved. Board members asked Debbie to send them a proof of the banner before it was made. New Business: The club picnic will be September 12 th at Jim Tills W7JWT place at 2027 Black Lake Rd, off highway 20 E. There will be a meeting at 11:00am followed by a pot luck picnic. Meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted by: Edward L. Zeiser, Secretary 3

by Dave - WD7K COLVILLE ROTARY BLAZING SADDLES and SPOONS BIKE RIDE - SEPTEMBER 19, 2015 The Communications van will be stationed at the AG Center in Colville and operate as net control for the event.

4 by Dave - WD7K COLVILLE ROTARY BLAZING SADDLES and SPOONS BIKE RIDE - SEPTEMBER 19, 2015 The Communications van will be stationed at the AG Center in Colville and operate as net control for the event. Volunteers are needed to staff the communications van and the outlying positions on the course where the use of a mobile radio will be necessary. Please contact Dave - WD7K to sign up or for more information. A reminder that the ARES Net is every Sunday at 7:45pm local. The Stevens County ARES net can be heard on the repeater located SW of Colville on Monumental Mountain and, when linked, the repeater (which has a PL tone of 77.0) located NW of Spokane on Lookout Point. The Washington State Emergency Net (WSEN) anyone with HF privileges is welcome (encouraged) to check in when Stevens County is called. Saturdays at 0900 on 3985 khz and on Mondays at 1830 also on 3985 khz. Dave Klimas - WD7K Stevens County ARES Emergency Coordinator H (509) C (509) wd7k@hughes.net PARC Sunday Night Net PARC Net Simplex Tests George, W7WBN Operators are needed for the PARC Net. If you want to give your hand a try at the Sunday night Net Control contact George at audax@gotsky.com This Net meets every Sunday Night at 8:00 pm local time on the repeater located SW of Colville on Monumental Mountain and, when linked, the repeater. 4

PARC BIO August 2015 sorry nobody stepped forward this month. Where is he? Alberto is on the USS Anchorage which left Djibouti, Africa heading for Oman. Oman is an Arab State in S.W. Asia on the Southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula.

5 PARC BIO August 2015 sorry nobody stepped forward this month. Where is he? Alberto is on the USS Anchorage which left Djibouti, Africa heading for Oman. Oman is an Arab State in S.W. Asia on the Southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. He hopes to have some shore leave here. Mailing Address: CPL Gomez, Alberto CLB-15 Det 1 TS UNIT FPO AP Landing craft Air Cushion Entering the well deck of the USS Anchorage 5

The Radio Corner by Jim W7JWT The Heathkit AT-1 Transmitter It's time to remember back to our early years of Ham Radio. How many of you started out as Novices.

I got my Novice Class license in 1972 at the age of 18. My call was WN9LAM. The N stood for Novice Class. What was your first transmitter? Mine was a Heathkit DX-60B.

6 The Radio Corner by Jim W7JWT The Heathkit AT-1 Transmitter It's time to remember back to our early years of Ham Radio. How many of you started out as Novices. No not a novice inexperienced operator, but getting our first ham license, the Novice Class. How many of you started with a Novice Class license? What year? I got my Novice Class license in 1972 at the age of 18. My call was WN9LAM. The N stood for Novice Class. What was your first transmitter? Mine was a Heathkit DX-60B. No, that is not what the article is about. It is about Heathkits' first ham transmitter, the AT-1, (Amateur Transmitter Number 1, how creative!). Heathkit introduced the AT-1 in 1951 when ham radio was in a simpler time. This coincided with the FCC implementing a new ham radio licensing structure which included a new introductory class, the Novice. Novices were allowed privileges in small CW segments of the 80 and 11 meter ham bands. See, it's OK to say you got your start on 11 meters! They could run up to 75 watts input power but the transmitter had to be crystal controlled. The AT-1 offered an inexpensive transmitter for the novice that could allow him or her to use additional features after upgrading to a higher class license. The three tubes AT-1 ran 35 watts input, CW only with crystal control. The AT-1 did have connections for an external VFO and an AM modulator. Heathkit introduced the VF-1 VFO in 1952, but never offered a modulator, per say. The AT-1 sold for $ It was the lowest possible dollar-per-watt price of the early 50's. The AT-1 is shown in figure 1 below as it appeared in a 1951 Heathkit flyer. SPECIFICATIONS: Range... 80, 40, 20, 15, 11, 10 meters. Oscillator-multiplier... 6AG7. Amplifierdoubler... 6L6. Rectifier... 5U4G. Panel mounted crystal socket, stand-by switch, key click filter, A.C. line filtering, good shielding, etc. VFO or crystal excitation--up to 35 watts input. Built-in power supply provides 425 volts at 100 MA. Size /8 inch high x 13-1/8 inch wide x 7 inch deep. The kit price includes all circuit components, tubes, cabinet, punched chassis, and detailed construction manual. How can you beat this! 6

7 Circuit Description: The AT-1 circuit consists of three sections, the power supply, an oscillator - multiplier section and the output amplifier - doubler section; each uses one tube. A schematic of the AT-1 is shown in Figure 2 below. Figure 2 The transformer power supply section uses a 5U4GB rectifier tube in a simple full-wave, capacitor - choke - capacitor circuit. The transformer provides 860 volts AC center tapped, 5 VAC for the rectifier filament and 6.3 VAC for the other two tube filaments and the accessory socket. Each filter capacitor provides 4 µf by series connected 8 µf capacitors. A pair of series bleeder resistors complete the supply. The standby switch opens the secondary HV center tap lead to remove voltage from the oscillator and amplifier when receiving. The oscillator uses a 6AG7 metal octal pentode as a grid-plate Colpitts crystal oscillator. The plate circuit can be either untuned or tuned and when tuned the stage may operate as a multiplier. The frequency of the crystal used depends upon the band, as shown in Table 1 below. 7

The amplifier stage uses a 6L6 metal octal tube. On 80 meters it runs straight through and on the other bands, depending on the crystal used, it acts either as a doubler or runs straight through.

8 The amplifier stage uses a 6L6 metal octal tube. On 80 meters it runs straight through and on the other bands, depending on the crystal used, it acts either as a doubler or runs straight through. The output stage does not offer a Pi network, which is not yet well known; instead it is link coupled and loading for best output requires an antenna tuner, such as the AC-1. Though the ad says 35 watts input, the Heathkit manual more realistically specifies the AT-1's input power at watts. TVI: Television was finding its way into homes in the early fifties and TVI became a dilemma for many hams. The AT-1 took a series of precautions to help prevent TVI. The AC power line leads were bypassed, shielding was used throughout the AT-1 and the manual included a chapter on TVI including how to build a low pass filter for the transmitter, a high-pass filter for the TV and an RF line filter for the AC line. Controls: The T-1 is simple to operate. The front panel is laid out in three rows. The top row just has a basic meter that measures grid or plate current. The second row has the Driver tuning control (0-10), the Band Switch (80M - 40M - 20M - 10M) (the 10M position is also used for 11 and 15 meters), and the Output tuning control (0-10). The third row has the Crystal socket, power OFF - ON, meter switch marked Current (Grid - Plate), Plate-on - Standby switch, and a 1/4" Key jack. On the rear, left to right is an octal socket for an external modulator, the power line cord, an SO-239 antenna connector and a second octal socket for an external VFO. The modulator socket requires an external octal plug that shorts pins 3 and 4 for normal operation when no modulator is in use. Conclusion: The Heathkit AT-1 was manufactured through By then the higher power DX-100 had become very popular with advanced hams and bred the DX-20 and DX-35 as replacements for the AT-1. Many new hams, starting as Novices in the early fifties, used the AT-1 as their first transmitter. The AT-1 can still be found on ebay. They sell on the average of $100 each in very good shape and a collector grade unit can go for over $300. Ones in less than good shape can be had for under $30. This is based on the Orange County Amateur Radio Club article, Heathkit of the Month #25, by Bob Eckweller, AF6C. 8

9 The Heathkit AT-1 Transmitter Inside of the AT-1 9

10 Bottom of the AT-1 The AT-1 VFO Accessory The VF-1 10

11 The AT-1 did not have a tune-able Pi Network on the output. This accessory compensated for it and made a pretty good antenna tuner too. 11

12 Tiger-Tri Pictures Thank you Cynthia WW7CA Jim WW7DD Cynthia WW7CA Bruce KC7H With his portable anntena On a more serious note Smoke Plume from the Carpenter fire seen From Jim & Cynthia s place off Addy-Cedonia Road 12

September 2015 Calendar of Events 2015 4 th NCCC RTTY Sprint Ladder & NCCC Sprint 4 th Northport Labor Day Celebration 5 th ARRL EME Contest 6 th DARC 10-Meter Digital Contest 6 th Sunday Night Net

13 September 2015 Calendar of Events th NCCC RTTY Sprint Ladder & NCCC Sprint 4 th Northport Labor Day Celebration 5 th ARRL EME Contest 6 th DARC 10-Meter Digital Contest 6 th Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm Net Control Operator George WA7MLS 7 th Labor Day 12 th Salsa Fiesta at the China Bend Winery 12 th Ohio State Parks on the Air 12 th ARRL September VHF Contest 12 th PARC Picnic and Club meeting 11:00am at 2027 Black Lake Rd off Hwy 20 E. 13 th Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm Net Control Operator Cynthia WW7CA 13 th Southwestern Division Convention in Torrance CA 13 th North American Sprint CW 14 th Selkirk Loop Bike Riders come through town, visit them at the Colville City Park 19 th Blazing Saddles Bike Ride and Chili Cook-off 19 th Amateur Radio Public Awareness Day 19 th ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest 19 th Washington State Salmon Run 20 th Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm Net Control Operator Jim WW7D 20 th North American Sprint RTTY 26 th Spokane HamFest Volunteers needed 26 th Texas QSO Party 27 th Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm Net Control Operator Larry KR7LRJ October rd 4 th 4 th 9 th 10 th 10 th 11 th 16 th 16 th 17 th 17 th 18 th 18 th 19 th 19 th 21 st 24 th 25 th 28 th 30 th 31 st Cider Fest in Marcus and Colville High School Carnival Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm Net Control Operator George W7WBN California QSO Party NCCC RTTY Sprint Ladder Microwave Fall Sprint Oceania DX Contest, CW Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm Net Control Operator George WA7MLS PARC Monthly Meeting 7:30 pm Corner Hawthorne & Walnut Colville Snacks: Cynthia NCCC RTTY Sprint JARTS WW RTTY Contest Telephone Pioneers QSO Party Asia-Pacific Fall Sprint, CW Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm Net Control Operator Cynthia WW7CA Run for the Bacon QRP Contest ARRL School Club Roundup Phone Fray CQ Worldwide DX Contest, SSB Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm Net Control Operator Jim WW7DD SKCC Sprint Kiddie Parade and Moonlight Madness - Colville Hoot Owl 6:00 pm Calendar of events will be an ongoing part of the news letter, submit your dates to parcnews@hotmail 13

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Club Website:

Issued May 2016 Issue No. 75 Club Website: www.qsl.net/k7jar S-Meter e-mail: parcnews@hotmail.com Club Repeater: Output 146.62 MHz; Input 146.02 MHz, No Tone Next Meeting Friday June 17 th 2016 Meeting