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The VALLEY HAM NEWS |
The Voice of the Yuba Sutter Amateur Radio Club
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E-Mail: ki6bkl@arrl.net
Web Page: http://www.ysarc.org/
Yuba Sutter Amateur Radio Club
C/O Clara Ansley, KC6JPP
1943 16th Street Olivehurst, CA 95961
March
2007 Edition
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Editor and Webmaster:
Sean Murphy, KI6BKL |
2007 CLUB OFFICERSPresident: Bob
McClard, W6OWH REPEATER TRUSTEEDave Gartner, WD6AXM |
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2007 BOARD OF DIRECTORSRon Murdock, W6KJ Lee Sheffield, KC6MCI |
UPCOMING EVENTS
VE TESTING SESSION: 9:00 a.m. Saturday, March 3th,
2007 at the West Building
YSARC CLUB DF OUTING: 9:00
a.m. Saturday, March 17th, 2007 at Peach Tree Mall,
YSARC/YSARES - MARYSVILLE BOK KAI
PARADE SUPPORT: 9:00 a.m. Saturday, March 24th,
2007 in downtown Marysville. A
public service event. Listen to the
WD6AXM 2m repeater for details.
YSARC BOARD MEETING: 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 28th, 2007 -
QTH of W6KJ, Ron Murdock,
MONDAY NIGHT NET: Monday
nights at 7:00 p.m. - Weekly YSARC club net with check-in, roundtable, swap
shop and ham help sessions on the local repeater.
YSARES NET: Thursday
nights at 7:00 p.m. - weekly ARES net on the local repeater.
ARRL SECTION NET: Every
Second Wednesday night of each month at 7:00 PM - ARRL Section Net on the local
repeater.
Every
Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. – Coffee and donuts get together. Location
changes weekly. Listen in for details during YSARC club net Mondays at
7:00 p.m.
No-so-daily at 12:00 p.m. (noon-ish) – Lunch bunch get together. Listen in for details daily on the local
repeater.
UPDATES AND ADDITIONS TO YSARC ROSTER
ADDITIONS: None were received by time of publication.
CHANGES: None.
NOTICE
TO ALL MEMBERS!!! When you send your dues to me, PLEASE
send an application with it. I realize that many of you have been
members for a long time, but things do change at times. I keep all
applications in a binder, and I note on them the day it is received and the
date it is deposited. I have received dues from a few of you without the
application. I do not keep the old
applications over 3 years. I become inundated in paper. Thank You.
Clara M. Ansley, KC6JPP
Ham Radio Glossary #13 (a ham
chuckle)
Integrated circuit: You have the only one in existence. This theory will be borne out when you
try to obtain a replacement.
MEET
A FELLOW HAM
KG6ZOA, Anna Horn-Orgovan, Technician class licensee, ARES member.
TREASURER’S REPORT - No Treasurer’s report was submitted by time of
publication.
As a reminder, dues for club membership renewals are past due. If dues remain unpaid you will no longer receive the newsletter. We have attached the YSARC Membership Application to all printed newsletters.These are also available for download at the ysarc.org website from the ‘Membership’ page. Thank you for your support and commitment to YSARC in 2006 as we look forward to a great 2007!
MINUTES OF THE BOARD
MEETING
Wednesday, February 28,
2007 @ Herb Puckett’s Residence, Yuba City CA
Officer attendees: Bob McClard,
President W6OWH; Don Fair, Vice President KB6RJH; Clara Ansley, Treasurer
KC6JPP; and Manna Whelchel, Secretary KG6PNE.
Board Members in attendance: Ron
Murdock N6KJ; Herb Puckett W6HBU; Lee Sheffield KC6MCI; Steve Sweetman K6YCS;
David Wainer WD6SCD.
1. Meeting called to order at
approximately 7:07PM
2. The Secretary Manna read last month’s meeting
minutes. Ron made the motion to
approve the Minutes as read. M/S/P
3. Clara stated that Treasurers
report is just exactly as shown on her report as submitted. The YSARC balance is $1,776.22 as of
2/28/07.
4. GOOD NEWS ABOUT REPEATER: The upper site of on top of the Buttes
was the source of our repeater noise floor problem. Dave made the connections with the site
coordinators who were very responsive to the situation. The noise problem has been cleared up. There remains an intermittent noise
problem that is the reason for the continued use of 127.3 PL tone. It is
anticipated that when/if the intermittent noise is cured that we can remove the
use of PL… Yea!
5. VE TESTING: 9:00AM, Saturday, March 3, 2007 on west
side of Evangelical Free Church, as in the past. A
big group is expected to test.
All preparations are ready.
6. CORRESPONDENCE:
A.World Radio Magazine - Five gift subscriptions will be
used for club prizes.
B. Invitation from
North Hills Radio Club announcing it’s annual HamFest
Sunday May 20, 2007,
7am – 12 noon, at Bella Vista High School in Sacramento, 8301
Madison Ave; raffle, free parking,
free admittance. Web site: www.K6IS.org
C. CORPORATE
COMPLIANCE CENTER re: YSARC
non-profit public benefit corporation status
paperwork arrived in mail and is now available for signatures of 2007
Officers and Board
Members. All board members
were present and signed. Clara said
the fees went up this year as
she paid $120.00. Clara
keeps this information on file.
7. OLD BUSINESS: BOK KAI
PARADE coming up March 24, 2007.
Ham’s will help and the plan is
“D”
street only, no side streets.
Arrive 9am for pre-organization.
Meeting site yet to be determined
so check in on
the repeater for exact location by 9 AM.
8. Tour de Lincoln coming up in
9. Next Board Meeting to be at
Ron’s on Wednesday, March 28, 2007.
10. NEW BUSINESS: Don asked
when we would resume the sale of raffle tickets for prizes for ongoing raffles.
Bob said tickets will be sold as soon as we get another radio for a grand
prize. He also asked if the big
radio winners had to be present to win and the answer is no. Get ready for the next Big YSARC
Raffle. Don asked questions about
repeater usage for public events like parades, horse back rides and bike
rides. In the past a representative
of the group or our club asked our trustee, Dave, if the use was OK for a
particular event. It is common
courtesy to run things like this through him. (Bob, as club president, would
like them to present it to the board as well, where the proposal can be
refined. The board took no position on this.).
11. As there was no further
business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:59pm
Respectfully submitted by: Manna Whelchel, KG6PNE Secretary, YSARC
QST-QST-QST Check-in Monday Nights at 7:00
p.m. with YSARC!
PRESIDENT’S
MESSAGE
Have you ever wondered how the five
YSARC Presidents present and past came to be hams? Well here is a little story
of a different sort. Not about how they came to be hams but about how thousands
came into our hobby from the ranks of CB. What
is CB and how did it come about? Well here are some answers about the
heritage of many hams. The Golden Anniversary of the Citizens Band
is near. Don’t expect a great celebration. Most Veteran Hams show deep
hostility toward CBers, and attitude interpreted by CBers as arrogance. Yes, we hams are licensed to practice
the wireless art in a more serious way and with much greater power if needed.
We have worked hard for our licenses and were brought up in the traditions of
Ham Radio. Why shouldn’t we disapprove of the often illegal activities of
CBers? Why does the negative mindset of hams go so
much deeper than mere haughtiness? Shouldn’t we be proud of our accomplishments?
Yes, there are sound reasons to be proud.
In the late 1940s the use of
diathermy was thrown out as medical therapy and its 11 meter spectrum was
reassigned to Hams. The adjacent 10 meter band was jumping with easy DX and 11
meters never really attracted many hams. This is a case where use it or lose it
came into play against hams. Ten years later here is what happened to this ham
band.
During the mid 50s the FCC decided
to make use of the band for QRP services for the general public to use. The
lightly used 27 Mhz band was reallocated for this use. The loss to our hobby
was barely noticed as we had the band for such a short time. The basic CB
regulations required channelized AM, with five watts
maximum input power, no homemade haywire rigs, antenna size was restricted.
Licenses were issued with call signs until the FCC work load grew too big to
handle it. The fee as I remember was $20. The idea of a local communications
medium on low power looked good except the FCC engineers neglected to factor in
the ionosphere. During the late 50s and early 60s the
northern hemisphere was having some of the best DX conditions of my lifetime. I
remember working across the
March Activities: 3rd
Saturday VE testing session. 9:00
AM
17th Meeting Direction Finding Do’s and Don’ts @
Peach Tree Mall. 9:00 AM
24th
Bok Kai Parade, Marysville, listen on MNN for details. 9:00 AM
28th Board Meeting @ Ron’s W6KJ, YC.
Hope to see you
at the above activities and Wednesday’s coffee and donuts.
Please send your dues in ASAP to be
included in the published membership list.
73,
Bob – W6OWH
TRY WORKING SOME 2 meter SSB!
THROW OUT SOME RF.
FURTHER…
WHO AM I?
The
answer to last month’s Who Am I:
Newly licensed General Class operator and YSARC Board Member Steve
Sweetman, K6YCS; or should we say K6Yuba County Steve. Now Steve can have fun on the HF
bands... See you on HF Steve.
This months ham lives in a new house on a tiny lot with 3 wire
antennas all over the back yard for HF operation. He has a big signal on 160, 80, 40 and
20 meters. He can be found at lunch at the
EDITOR’S
RAMBLINGS
Congratulations
are in order to all the new hams who successfully passed their Technician exams
at the recent VE session at the Technician licensing class as administered by
W6KJ Ron and W6HBU Herb. Very good
job profs! Kudos. I also understand that proud papa Chris,
KG6PNH announced that his young daughter Christina, received her Technician
CSCE after attending the class. Way
to go Christina! It is always a
pleasure to see young amateurs entering the hobby. Too bad that some of us didn’t
have an opportunity to grow up as hams… Nice to know that amateur radio as a hobby
is one for all seasons and with no age limits.
Congratulations are also in order for all the newly licensed General class
licensees who recently passed their Element 3 exams at the VE Session held in
Oroville by the OARS group. Good
job!
Now, I have an
official announcement to make.
After due consideration I have decided for personal reasons to submit my
resignation as the editor of the Valley Ham News aka YSARC newsletter to the
YSARC Board effective March 1st, 2007. With the approval of the Board, I am
willing to remain the webmaster of www.ysarc.org and as
a contributing editor of the newsletter at the pleasure of the Board. However, I can no longer commit my time
to execute the duties of editor of the newsletter. I will leave it to the YSARC Board to
decide what would be in the best interests of the club in a final arrangement
determined by them. I would ask
club members with an interest and positive intention to pursue the
editor’s position to volunteer and to please approach the YSARC Board. It has been a privilege to serve you
since June 2006. Thank you all for
your continued support of the club, this publication and www.ysarc.org
and for your many compliments in acknowledgment of
the toil of many a night spent in front of a PC, word processing till the wee
hours of the morning. Most of all,
thank you for your support, understanding and consideration as I take my
leave. You were right Herb, so
right.
Now with that
bit of business out of the way, I am genuinely looking forward to the DF (Fox
hunt) on 3/17 and the Bok Kai parade coming up on 3/24. Bike around the Buttes is just around
the corner, so contact Herb, W6HBU to let him know of your interest. Spring will be here quicker than we
think…
I am currently
sitting through Gordon West CD’s and reading the book, taking online
practice exams and prepping for the VE session on 3/3. Perhaps I too will join the HF crowd if
all goes well. We’ll see come
Saturday. I expect it will be a
busy day for all concerned. Calling
all VE’s – COME ON DOWN!
It’s been nice
to see that the rain has finally fallen round these parts as of late. We had a heck of a dry spell going there
for awhile. It seems that Mother
Nature took her time this year, and it’s nice to see it all signaling the
coming green of Springtime.
Fortunately, the rainfall has not been too much to be a worry, and the
cold air is keeping a good snow pack right where it belongs. What’s been strange to see is the
early blooms out in the orchards.
In that case I think Ma Nature is rushing things a bit.
Onward and upward. 73, Sean
KI6BKL
YUBA-SUTTER
ARES NET, Thursdays at 1900 on the WD6AXM 2m repeater.
GETTING THE
MOST FROM YOUR HANDHELD TRANSCEIVER
C. Edward Harris, KE4SKY
When
limited to "barefoot" operation, with a "rubber duck" on
simplex, HTs are not adequate as a primary rig for
emergency communications. I started
with an HT when I first got my license. Today, I would recommend a mobile as a
first rig, and if need be, carry it in a briefcase with a suitable gel cell
battery for portable use, with the caveat that it doesn't work for everyone. If
all you have is an HT, the following is recommended to enable you to "make
the most of it." An HT does
make perfectly good sense for: Anyone who doesn't drive; commuters who use
public transportation; controlling dual-band mobile in cross-band repeat or; as
a "spare," backup or loaner.
Here are some facts about HT antennas: National Bureau of Standards tests of
Public Safety high band and amateur 2-meter antennas indicate that a
"rubber duck" has -5db, "negative gain" compared to a
quarter wave held at face level. In terms of effective radiated power (ERP),
this means that a 5w HT with rubber duck, radiates only 1 watt. Placing an HT
on your belt results in another -20db attenuation, reducing ERP to 50 milliwatts! UHF results are no better... This simple helical spring is intended
to withstand rough handling, but is not indestructible. Flexible antennas used
on fire lines for several weeks showed a 60% failure rate. The California
Auxiliary Communication Service recommends that flexible antennas be replaced
annually or as soon as they show apparent kinks, abrasion or other wear to
visual inspection. A simple, inexpensive and effective
expedient to improve a "rubber duck" is a counterpoise or "tiger
tail. Make this from a quarter-wave piece (19.5" on 2m, 11.5" for
220 and 6.5" for 440) of stranded wire, crimped and soldered to a battery
clip. Always reinforce the soldered connection with heat shrink tubing or tape
to resist flex. When clamped to the outer collar of the BNC connector on your
HT antenna, the counterpoise prevents RF from coupling with your body, so your
antenna acts like a center-fed dipole instead of an end- fed dummy load! In
marginal conditions extend it horizontally, pointing your hand to direct the
main lobe of the radiation pattern in the direction where you need a stronger
signal. Several HT antennas are
commonly available which perform much better than the standard helical "rubber
duck." A J-pole antenna constructed of 300-ohm twin-lead rolls up and fits
into your pocket. When thrown up in a tree, it increases antenna height and
gain. Flexible 1/4 wave and telescoping ½-wave antennas also work
well. A quarter wave provides unity
gain when used with a "tiger tail" or counterpoise and held at face
level. This represents a 5 db improvement over a typical rubber duck, because
more of the effective signal is radiated. If using an HT in a vehicle, use a
mobile magnetic-mount antenna to provide a clear RF path outside the vehicle. This
overcomes the -20db attenuation which otherwise results from operating your HT
with a rubber duck antenna inside a metal vehicle. Always carry a male BNC to
female UHF adapter so that you can attach your HT to an outside base or mobile
antenna, when one is available. In
marginal operating locations a telescoping half-wave is a better performer,
because it provides the same unity gain without a ground plane that a 1/4 wave
does when used with a ground plane. A ½-wave antenna can be pulled up
into a tree, dangled out of a window, attached to a window pane with suction
cups, or be used bicycle or motorcycle mobile, or in city driving on a window
clip mount. Adding a ground plane
or counterpoise to a ½-wave produces about 2 db gain. A telescoping
half-wave boosts the readable simplex range of a typical 5 watt, 2-meter HT
from about a mile with a rubber duck to 3 miles or more, depending upon
terrain. Adding a tiger tail to a full-sized quarter-wave or telescoping
half-wave dramatically improves receive and in favorable terrain extends
simplex range of a typical 5-watt handheld to about 5 miles under average
HT-to-base suburban conditions.
Telescoping antennas are more fragile and work best when stationary or
in the open, avoiding side impacts or rough handling. Avoid prolonged mobile
use of telescoping antennas on mobile window clips at highway speed, because
excessive flexing loosens the internal electrical connections. Never collapse a
telescoping antenna by whacking it down with the palm of your hand. Gently pull
it down with your fingers. If you note any wobbling or looseness, replace the
antenna. Flexible antennas are safer when working in close quarters around
people and are more durable when walking through dense vegetation for wildfire
suppression or search and rescue operations. They better for dual-band
transceivers because telescoping antennas are usually single-band. Most
dual-band flexible antennas approximate a 1/4 wave on 2 meters and a 5/8 wave
on 70 cm, are optimized for one band and may resonate poorly on the other. Some
do perform better than others. How efficient a particular antenna is can be
determined for sure only by testing.
If you want to buy an emergency HT gain antenna, a telescoping half-wave,
long-flexible, dual-band quarter wave; or a half-wave, dual-band-mobile
magnetic mount, which works without a ground plane, offer the best "bang
for the buck." Any emergency HT gain antenna you get should be able to
handle at least 25W so that it can also serve as a mobile antenna or be used with
a brick amp. In our experience the
Comet CH-72 and SBB-1 dual-band flexible antennas, rated for 50w, and the
Larsen telescoping half-wave, rated at 25w work very well. Adapters enable any
of these to be used on an HT, attached to a magnetic-mount or pulled up into a
tree with its attached tiger tail and coax to a mobile rig or brick amp. A magnetic-mount works best on a car,
but an improvised ground plane can almost always be found around the home or
office, such as a metal filing cabinet, metal trash can, cookie sheet, rain
gutter, refrigerator, window air conditioning unit, balcony railing or any
other large metal object. On bikes, boats, motorcycles, fiberglass truck caps
or wooden balcony railings use a half-wave which doesn't require a ground plane. If all you have is an HT, the above will
enable you to make the most of it so that nobody will complain about your
"worthless and weak, hand held baby monitor!" Reprint by permission C. Edward Harris, KE4SKY, State Training Officer, VA RACES
Copyright 1998, 1999 All
Original Materials Copyright Virginia RACES, Inc. - All Rights Reserved.
YOU NEVER KNOW WHO IS LISTENING
February 21, 2001
Mr. Gregory S. Cook
Subject: Amateur
Radio License KC6USO
Operation on the W6NUT repeater System
Dear Mr. Cook:
The Commission has monitoring information indicating
that beginning at approximately 11:10 p.m. on the evening of February 1 and
continuing until at least 1:17 a.m. on February 2, 2001, you transmitted on the
W6NUT repeater system a lengthy broadcast that timed out the repeater numerous
times. Our evidence shows that you also played music and broadcast one-way
utilizing a phone patch with another user. During this period and you prevented
the repeater from being used for legitimate Amateur use.
Monitoring information also indicates that beginning
at 11:23 p.m. on February 4 and continuing until at least 1:01 a.m. on February
5, 2001, you transmitted a similar lengthy broadcast over the W6NUT repeater system
by a phone patch through another user's station that timed-out the repeater
numerous times. During that period also you prevented the repeater from being
used for legitimate Amateur purposes.
Section 308(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as
amended, 47 U.S.C. Section 308(b), gives the Commission the authority to obtain
information from applicants and licensees regarding the operation of their
station. Therefore, you are requested to respond to this letter within 20 days
from the above date. The information you submit will be used to determine what,
if any, enforcement action will be taken in this matter. Enforcement action
could range from forfeiture of up to $7,500, revocation and suspension
proceedings, or modification of your license to restrict frequencies, mode or
both.
We note that your license expires May 7, 2001. You are
advised that should you file for a renewal, it will not be routinely granted
unless these issues are resolved. Your renewal application may be designated
for hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. The hearing would be held
pursuant to the Federal Rules of Evidence and you would be allowed to submit
evidence in response to the Bureau's case. Specific issues relating to your
conduct on the W6NUT repeater and to your qualifications to be a Commission
licensee would be detailed. At the conclusion of the hearing, proposed findings
of fact and conclusions of law would be filed by both parties, after which the
Administrative Law Judge would render a written Initial Decision to the full
Commission.
Please be advised that Congress has made punishable a
willfully false or misleading reply to a letter of this type. See Title
18, Section 1001 of the