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1 Issued April 2016 Issue No. 74 Club Website: S-Meter Club Repeater: Output MHz; Input MHz, No Tone Next Meeting Friday May 20 th 2016 Meeting QTH is: Hawthorne and Walnut - Colville CLUB NET: Sunday Evenings 8:00p.m. Local Eating before the meeting at Rancho Chico 6:00 pm

2 Highlights from our April meeting. Attendance: 14 Meeting was called to order by President Jim Frees WW7DD There was a quorum of Officers present. Minutes of the April meeting were read and accepted. Treasurer's Report Randy N7CKJ $ ARES Report None PARC Net None Board Report Bruce KC7H No Report Announcements: Randy N7CKJ has PARC Patches. Old Business: Jim W7JWT, asked about the food for Field Day, is it going to be potluck as before. Bruce KC7H said that we should budget for food. He moved that the club spend up to $200 for food, it was approved. Lunch and dinners will be potluck, with the club furnishing the meat (dinner) and drinks. Club will also do breakfast. Discussion of equipment needed for Field Day followed. Jim W7JWT said he was bringing an Astro 102 and Atlas 215 transceivers, band pass filters, and a generator which would allow the club to be a class 2E entrant. New Business: Gimmie AL7LB is having a yard sale (when?). John KL7LL has a multi-purpose printer to give away. Ed N7ELZ brought in some things to give away. Bruce KC7H, discussed the SAR Conference coming up May 20 th in Longview WA, and informed the group that the Republic Club is taking it on May These conferences provide training for Search and Rescue groups and for first responders. He asked that the club think about participating next year, by either attending the event, or by volunteering. Diane KC7WQB, sent out 28 welcome to Ham Radio letters to the new Hams in our area. John KL7LL, said that people have been stopping by his house, because they see his antenna from highway 395. He gives tham a tour and talks with them about amateur radio way to go John! Randy N7CKJ, suggested that John contact the ARRL for some printed materials to distribute, he could also use our club s brochure as well. Meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted by: Edward L. Zeiser - Secretary 2

3 NO MORE ARES REPORTS PARC Sunday Night Net 8:00pm on the Interested in becoming one of the Net control operators? Just George W7WBN at Coming Events June 11 th June 25 th July 8 th July 16 th August 25 th 28 th September 17 th KARS HamFest Hayden Idaho Field Day KUH Pig Roast Springdale WA Tiger-Tri Northeast Washington Fair Blazing Saddles Bike Ride 3

4 The Radio Corner by Jim W7JWT The Heathkit HW-2036A 2-Meter FM Transceiver Ok, we're back again this month, but I've been OOT and starting to think about Field Day at Black Lake. As a result, I haven't made any progress on my Heathkit Novice Station. But you may have heard me playing with an old Heathkit 2-Meter rig on the Net a couple Sundays. Since I got that thing up and running, I'll go with it for this month's article. As I was working on some Heathkit stuff, I ran across Heathkit's synthesized 2-Meter rig, the HW- 2036A on E-Bay. It came out in Remember the term Phase Locked Loop? All Hams and CB ers were drooling over the digital rigs that didn't require you to purchase a handful of crystals to fill them. For a 2-Meter rig, the crystals could be as much as the radio! The new rigs were easy to operate and the new technology worked extremely well. The HW-2036A was Heathkit's Phase Locked Loop entry into the hobby. I had to have one. I found a HW-2036A E-Bay listing with a you tube video link describing its operation. The radio had no audio on its transmitter, and had only 5 watts out. The receiver section, however, appeared to operate fine. It had very clear receive audio. It didn't appear to have any sync issues and it came with the original manual. I figured the mic probably had a wire or switch contact issue that could be easily corrected, so I bought it. It turned out being a lesson on microphone impedance. Technical Specifications Sensitivity dB signal to noise ratio at 0.5 microvolt Audio Output watt Power Output watts Modulation FM, khz, adjustable Duty Cycle % with infinite VSWR Tone Encoder tones, Hz Transmitter Offset Simplex, -600 khz, +600 khz, and one Aux crystal controlled Frequency mhz The voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), which is the heart of this transceiver provides the proper frequencies for the transmitter and receiver injection. The VCO is part of a phased locked loop called a frequency synthesizer which determines the frequency of the VCO and holds it as stable and accurate as a crystal controlled oscillator. Three lever operated binary-coded decimal switches and a 0/5 kilohertz miniature toggle switch select the receiver frequency you desire. A four position rotary switch allows you to select the transmitter offset frequency so that the transmitter automatically tracks 4

5 the receiver. The frequency of the VCO is varied in step with the output of the transmitter audio stages to cause modulation. The receiver mixes the incoming signal at the antenna with the sixth harmonic of the VCO signal. The resulting 10.7 megahertz IF signal is filtered by an eight pole crystal filter, amplified, and mixed with the output of a crystal control oscillator to produce a 455 kilohertz IF signal. The transmitted audio is recovered from this IF signal by means of a quadrature detector. This audio signal is then amplified to a level sufficient to drive the speaker. The transmitter multiplies the VCO output frequency by a factor of six and steps up the power to the level required to drive the power amplifier. The power amplifier boosts the RF signal coming from the transmitter circuit board to provide a minimum of 10 watts of RF power, which is coupled to the antenna. Restoration I expected this to be a quick restoration. While it wasn't particularly hard, it definitely wasn't quick. I also bought its matching 12 VDC power supply. The seller said it worked fine. I didn't get into the rig until after I had the power supply up and running. The PS did work, but would arc and spark some. I had to resolder the board and all was well. I could easily adjust it to 13.8 VDC. It did require a new rotary On/Off switch, a new neon Pilot lamp with new Red colored lens, a correct Molex power connector and a new paint job. While none of this was hard, it was always more E-Bay or Mouser purchases. Once the power supply was done, it was on to the transceiver. I power it up with the restored PS and the receiver operated correctly with no synthesizer issues. However, as the youtube video showed, power output was low and no audio on the output. I checked the microphone DC resistance and it was around 100 ohms. I figured it was a low impedance mic and the element was fine. I assumed the problem was the mic cable or switch. But when I checked for continuity, all was fine. That was strange. I checked the schematic and found a Dual Op-Amp amplifier chip MC1458 installed between the mic output and the VCO input. Because on the PCB layout, I couldn't measure the chip input, but I could measure the chip output. It was supposed to be around 5 V P-P. I measured nothing. Great, a bad chip. Back to E-Bay. I found a listing for a CA1558E chip from China. It appeared to be an upgraded chip from the MC1458, so I ordered it. Unfortunately, it was about a month turnaround time. Well I got the new chip and NO CHANGE! OK, it must be the microphone element it self, but it seems to test out OK with an ohmmeter. I couldn't see any voltage output on the mic element itself, but this isn't too unusual for a low impedance element. Is it REALLY a low impedance element? Well I found a Shure 444D microphone pamphlet on the web that showed how to use a 444D with my HW-2036A. It said to place the impedance switch in the Low impedance position. I guess this confirms it IS a low impedance element. Maybe the element just isn't working right and needs to be replaced. The original Heathkit mic is actually a Turner 360, but there were no markings on impedance. Unfortunately this Turner mic was sold in the past with both the low and high impedance elements available. I found a low impedance dynamic element that would fit, from Ken's Electronics. After a couple weeks it arrives and in it goes. I now had some audio, but the gain was too low. I adjusted the gain (deviation) up as high as it would go, but not enough. I guess after ALL OF THIS, it is NOT low impedance. It is HIGH impedance. Back to Ken's Electronics and after a couple more weeks, I finally receive the last high impedance ceramic element they have that would fit the microphone. A ceramic element puts out around mv 5

6 when blowing into it. You can not measure its impedance with an ohmmeter; (it shows infinity). I guess the original element was a ceramic element, but it was internally shorted, making it LOOK like a low impedance element. Live and learn. Anyway, in goes the new ceramic element and NOW I have audio. I then adjusted the gain (deviation) to what sounded good on my handi-talkie. On a Sunday night Net I tested it out. Everyone said it sounded as if it was clipping. I turned down the gain (deviation) and all was fine. Happily I went on to other restoration items. The meter lamp needed replacement and the rig needed realignment. The lamp replacement was easy and the realignment went fine. I was able to get the rig's output back to 10 watts. I also spent time repainting both the PS and the rig. The following Sunday I was on the Net again and the audio was again clipping. I guess the realignment's increase in power output required the mic gain (deviation) to again be adjusted downward. But that was it. All was well and the Rig / PS could now go on the shelf. Heathkit had made a pretty nice synthesized 2-Meter rig, the HW-2036A. That's it for this month. Now I need to get busy for Field Day with antenna installations up at Black Lake. Remember, Field Day this year is at my place on Black Lake. We will be operating 2E, (home location with emergency power). All are welcome, whether you want to operate or just take in the scenery. Until next time, keep those tubes glowing. 73s and CUL. Jim W7JWT 6

7 This picture shows the Receiver Board in the upper left, the Synthesizer Board in the upper right, and the VCO in the Box in the lower left. 7

8 This picture shows the Transmitter Board in upper center, the Power Amplifier Board set vertically against the rear panel / heat sink, and the speaker in lower center. Here is a picture of the Power Supply. For a 3 Amp supply, they used nice big transformers. No switching power supply here! 8

9 Join Us for Field Day June 25 th & 26 th At Jim (W7JWT) & Linda s Cabin 2027 Black Lake Rd off Highway 20 East Mile Post Club will provide brunch on Saturday and breakfast on Sunday. Potluck for Saturday evening, with the club providing the meat and drinks and all utensils. Jim has room for some tents and a couple of small camp trailers. He has a beautiful dock for fishing, canoeing, Kayaking. Hey that could be your potluck fresh fish!! More discussion at our meeting Friday May 20 th at 7:30. 9

10 Calendar of Events 2016 May st Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm Net Control Operator George WA7MLS 5 th Cinco de Mayo 5 th SDXA Meeting 7:00pm 7 th 7QP Contest 8 th Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm Net Control Operator Cynthia WW7CA 14 th Stanwood Camano Amateur Radio Club Hamfest in Stanwood WA 14 th Matanuska Amateur Radio Association Hamfest. Wasilla, AK 14 TH hpc World Wide DX Contest and CQ-M International DX Contest 15 th Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm Net Control Operator Jim WW7DD 15 th PARC Monthly Club Meeting 7:30 pm Snacks By: George K. 16 th Run for the Bacon QRP Contest 20 th ESAR Conference for Washington State in Longview WA 20 th River Radio Campout Pateros WA. Free "dry" camping along the Methow River at Pateros. Contact Roger W7CH w7ch@arrl.net (509) th Arden Old Timers Rodeo 22 nd Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm Net Control Operator Tom KE7TEG 28 th CQ WPX CW (9/10) 28 th Portuguese Navy Day Contest, Digital 29 th SARL Digital Contest 29 th Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm Net Control Operator Larry KR7LRJ 30 th Memorial Day June rd Sea-Pac Hamfest Seaside OR see flyer below 4 th Int. Open Season PSK Contest and Alabama QSO Party 5th Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm Net Control Operator George W7WBN 6 th SEA-NET Contest 10 th 48 th Annual Apple City ARC Hamfest Dryden WA 10 th NCCC RTTY Sprint 11 th 4-H Fishing Derby 11 th ARRL June VHF Contest 11 th KARS Hamfest Hayden ID see flyer below 12 th Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm Net Control Operator George WA7MLS 17 th PARC Monthly Club Meeting 7:30 pm Snacks By: No-one Signed up Volunteer? 17 th Father s Day Weekend Rodeo Colville Fair Grounds 18 th Kid s Day Contest 19 th Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm Net Control Operator Cynthia WW7CA 20 th Run for the Bacon QRP Contest 23 rd NAQCC CW Sprint 25 th FIELD DAY 2027 Black Lake Road Directions above. 26 th Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm Net Control Operator Jim WW7DD Calendar of events will be an ongoing part of the news letter, submit your dates to parcnews@hotmail 10

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