Q 200109
Q 200109
Q 200109
59
110
Our Cover:
With a US amateur allocation at 136 kHz
on the horizon, this is a good time to begin
exploring the low frequencies. This active
receive antenna will give you the “ears”
you need for LF listening, and sensitivity
all the way up to 30 MHz.
ARRL Directors
Atlantic Division Great Lakes Division Northwestern Division Southeastern Division
BERNIE FULLER, N3EFN GEORGE RACE, WB8BGY GREG MILNES, W7OZ FRANK M. BUTLER JR, W4RH*
17668 Price Rd, Saegertown, PA 16433 3865 Gibbs Rd, Albion, MI 49224 740 SE 24th Ave, Hillsboro, OR 323 Elliott Rd SE, Ft Walton Beach,
(814-763-1529); (517-531-4758); 97123-7286 (503-648-6990); FL 32548 (850-244-5425);
n3efn@arrl.org wb8bgy@arrl.org w7oz@arrl.org w4rh@arrl.org
Vice Director: William C. Edgar, N3LLR, Vice Director: Gary L. Johnston, Vice Director: Jim Fenstermaker, Vice Director: Evelyn Gauzens,
22 Jackson Ave., Bradford, PA 16701 KI4LA, 3056 Hergott Dr, K9JF, 10312 NE 161st Ave, W4WYR, 2780 NW 3rd St, Miami, FL
(814-362-1250); n3llr@arrl.org Edgewood, KY 41017-3377 Vancouver, WA 98682 (360-256- 33125 (305-642-4139);
Central Division (859-341-7477); ki4la@arrl.org 1716); k9jf@arrl.org w4wyr@arrl.org
GEORGE R. ISELY, W9GIG Hudson Division Pacific Division Southwestern Division
736 Fellows Street, St Charles, IL FRANK FALLON, N2FF* JIM MAXWELL, W6CF, FRIED HEYN, WA6WZO*
60174 (630-584-3510); 30 E Williston Ave, East Williston, PO Box 473, Redwood Estates, CA 962 Cheyenne St, Costa Mesa, CA
w9gig@arrl.org NY 11596 (516-746-7652); 95044 (408-353-3911); 92626 (714-549-8516);
Vice Director: Howard S. Huntington, n2ff@arrl.org w6cf@arrl.org wa6wzo@arrl.org
K9KM, 25350 N Marilyn Ln, Hawthorn Vice Director: Stephen A. Mendelsohn, Vice Director: Bob Vallio, W6RGG, Vice Director: Art Goddard, W6XD,
Woods, IL 60047 (847-438-3452); W2ML, 318 New Milford Ave, Dumont, 18655 Sheffield Rd, Castro Valley, 2901 Palau Pl, Costa Mesa, CA
k9km@arrl.org NJ 07628 (201-384-0570); CA 94546 (510-537-6704); 92626 (714-556-4396);
Dakota Division w2ml@arrl.org w6rgg@arrl.org w6xd@arrl.org
JAY BELLOWS, K0QB Midwest Division Roanoke Division West Gulf Division
997 Portland Ave, St Paul, MN 55104 WADE WALSTROM, W0EJ DENNIS BODSON, W4PWF COY C. DAY, N5OK
(651-983-2420); k0qb@arrl.org 7431 Macon Dr, Cedar Rapids, IA 233 N Columbus St, Arlington, VA RR1, Box 254, Union City, OK
Vice Director: Twila Greenheck, N0JPH, 52411 (319-393-8982); w0ej@arrl.org 22203 (703-243-3743); 73090-9726 (405-483-5632);
3333 Owasso Heights Rd, Vice Director: Bruce Frahm, K0BJ, w4pwf@arrl.org n5ok@arrl.org
Shoreview, MN 55126 (651-483-1214); PO Box DX, Colby, KS 67701 Vice Director: Leslie Shattuck Sr, Vice Director: Dr David Woolweaver,
n0jph@arrl.org (785-462-7388); k0bj@arrl.org K4NK, 127 Henderson St, Greenville, K5RAV, 2210 S. 77 Sunshine Strip,
Delta Division New England Division SC 29611 (864-421-0732); Harlingen, TX 78550 (956-425-3128);
TOM FRENAYE, K1KI* k4nk@arrl.org k5rav@arrl.org
RICK RODERICK, K5UR
PO Box 1463, Little Rock, AR 72203 PO Box 386, West Suffield, CT 06093 Rocky Mountain Division
(501-988-2527); k5ur@arrl.org (860-668-5444); k1ki@arrl.org WALT STINSON, W0CP,
Vice Director: Henry R. Leggette, Vice Director: Mike Raisbeck, K1TWF, 999 S Logan St, Denver, CO 80209
WD4Q, 7335 Ginger Snap Cove, 85 High St, Chelmsford, MA 01824 (303-770-3926); w0cp@arrl.org As an ARRL member, you elect the
Memphis, TN 38125-4732 (978-250-1235); k1twf@arrl.org Vice Director: Warren G. “Rev” directors and vice directors who
(901-757-0444); wd4q@arrl.org Morton, WS7W, 1341 Trojan Dr, represent your division on ARRL
Casper, WY 82609 (307-235-2799); policy matters. If you have a question
ws7w@arrl.org or comment about League policies,
contact your representatives at the
*Executive Committee Member addresses shown.
10 September 2001
Get to Know Your Section Manager
The 15 divisions of the League are arranged into 71 administrative sections, each headed by an elected section manager (SM). Your section manager is the
person to contact when you have news about your activities, or those of your club. These news items could find their way into the pages of QST! If you need
assistance with a local problem, your section manager is your first point of contact. He or she can put you in touch with various ARRL volunteers who can help
(such as technical specialists).Your section manager is also the person to see if you’d like to become a section volunteer. Whatever your license class, your
SM has an appointment available. If your ARRL section has a Web site, the address can be found at http://www.arrl.org/field/org/smlist.html.
12 September 2001
DC Currents
A
L
complex recently seemed to have interests claimed that the bill would ham- amended and with a favorable report, and
brought Congressional action on per the development of Internet services in another from the House Judiciary Commit-
other telecommunications bills to a grinding small towns and inner cities, and tilt the tee where it was amended and reported
halt as lawmakers tried to sort out what the Internet scales in favor of cable companies. unfavorably. While such “sequential”
bill might actually do. The issue had all the Indeed, many of the largest telecom committee actions are not unknown, they
makings of a television drama (or was it a players weighed in against HR. 1542, and, often signal deep divisions of opinion
sitcom?) about life on Washington’s Capitol as we went to press, the bill also faced within Congress.
Hill. There was intraparty squabbling. difficulty in Congress, namely, large divi- Legislation (S.1126) on the same issue has
There was dramatic political rhetoric about sions of opinion among Senators and Rep- also been introduced in the Senate by Kansas
the interests of telecommunications giants. resentatives about how to accomplish Senator Sam Brownback, but it is now so
There was rural vs. big town politics. There broadband deregulation. In addition to different that it can scarcely be called a
was an acrimonious split between two differences of opinion between the House “companion” bill, and it has not drawn the
House Committees claiming jurisdiction and Senate, the bill also evolved in two same heated response as the House bill.
over the issue. There was a big-time adver-
tising campaign including prime time tele-
vision ads in the Beltway area to reach How About Those Bills at the Cellular Level?
Congressional minds. And, it was all sea-
soned by the fact that both proponents and • Hams around the country continue to express some concern about the proliferation of state
level legislation aimed at curbing the use of cellular telephones while driving a motor vehicle.
opponents often depicted the very survival
of the Internet as depending upon whether Last installment of “DC Currents” we reported on a federal bill that would require each state
the bill rises or falls. If you haven’t guessed to pass legislation outlawing talking on a cellular phone while operating a motor vehicle, and
by now, the bill was the so-called Tauzin- from time to time we have also reported on state legislation that does just that. As we went to
press, it appeared that in many states throughout the US (where legislatures were still in
Dingell bill (HR.1542), officially dubbed session), many such bills have been introduced. The highest estimate we’ve run across is
the “Internet Freedom and Broadband 100 bills, but that cannot be confirmed. Whatever the number, many are no longer under
Deployment Act of 2001.” “Tauzin” is, of consideration and most are not expected to survive, according to statehouse gossip.
course, House Energy and Commerce Com- Even so, some hams have been worried by anti-driving-while-cellular bills in their own
mittee Chairman, and “Dingell” is the states, wondering whether or not such legislation might also ban, or be construed to ban,
Ranking Minority Member of that commit- mobile ham operation in the process. Some hams are also perplexed by the fact that many
tee. However, the bill was actually intro- of the bills contain what seems to be an inexplicable exemption for CB radio operation. So
duced with a raft of about 74 additional far, ARRL has kept track of most of these bills, has carefully evaluated the definition of
cosponsors. “mobile telephones” or “wireless radio telephones” as they appear in the legislation, and we
The bill was described by Representative have not seen any that would seem overtly to pose a risk to Amateur Radio operators. If
Tauzin as being “broadband deregulation,” that “would seem overtly” reads as a hedge to some readers, we’re hedging because it’s
and its basic idea seemed fairly important to stress that with any such legislation that might actually pass, it would first be
simple…permit regional Bell operating subject to court interpretation before anyone could declare amateur mobile operation to be
either prohibited or 100% safe. We have also heard through the trucking industry grapevine
companies to offer Internet backbone and
(but have not confirmed) that some state legislators introducing such bills include the CB
high speed long distance data connections exemption at the request of trucking industry representatives. Some truckers argue that CB
without prior FCC approval. Many members mobile operation for truckers to keep in touch with one another on the road is a safety and
of Congress felt that this reverses a policy economic necessity. Just because there is an express exemption for CB, however, does not
established in the Telecommunications Act mean that Amateur Radio must have an exemption of its own. The real issue is the defini-
of 1996. HR 1542 would also allow them to tion of what is actually prohibited by the bill.
lease local lines to other digital subscriber Of the state bills we’ve seen, there’s at least one that shouldn’t give hams major heart-
line (DSL) services. The intent of the bill burn, and that is A.9280 which passed the New York State Legislature and was signed by
was to foster the growth of the Internet. But Governor Pataki. The bill defines “mobile telephone” as a wireless device that is used to
like many other “simple” ideas in Congress, access the public telephone network and that is provided by a commercial mobile radio
many of this bill’s economic, political and service.
technological nuances generated opposition New York hams still worried about the bill might be a little less worried to learn of a
and have created headaches for lawmakers statement we have been told was made on “Meet the Governor” on WCBS in New York
City by Governor Pataki who, when asked by a call-in listener about the bill’s impact on
who understand that simple language in a
Amateur Radio declared that he believed it would not affect amateur mobile operation.
telecommunications bill may actually con- ARRL will continue to monitor the “driving while cellular” issue, and thanks to all ARRL
tain hidden and “unexpected conse- members who took the time to bring various state bills to our attention.
quences.” While the true nature of those
September 2001 15
CC&R Project Status Report Oh No! Not Again…
A well-known and vexing problem in Amateur Radio in the US has been the proliferation
of private land use regulations (often referred to as CC&Rs). These are agreements that “DC Currents” strives for
often apply to new private residential developments or condominiums, in which the purchas- accuracy even in the murky world
ers of the property agree to certain restrictions as part of their purchase. Too often, one or of telecommunications politics.
more of those restrictions is a ban on antennas or towers, and sometimes, an explicit ban on But Idaho hams have taken me to
any form of Amateur Radio. Correcting this problem has long been an objective of ARRL. task for a “typo” that has occurred
In 1985, for example, when we filed a request for rulemaking with the FCC for the so-called at least twice in this column. In
PRB-1 ruling to require states and towns to exercise “reasonable accommodation” with the May and July “DC Currents” I
respect to Amateur Radio installations (see www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/local/ inadvertently referred to Idaho
prb-1_program.html) we also asked for a ruling affecting discriminatory CC&Rs. The Senator Michael Crapo, a long-
Commission declined at that time, and has declined several subsequent requests for rule time and strong supporter of
makings. We are still working to reverse the FCC’s posture on this issue. Amateur Radio, as being from
In an attempt to build our case, about a year ago this column requested that readers who South Dakota. This is one of those
had been adversely affected by private land use regulations send us their own ham radio situations where my typing fin-
horror story. Even though the request required sitting down and writing out your experience, gers developed a mind of their
many of you responded, and many of you went to the trouble of tracking down the actual own, and the resulting error was
CC&R language and sent a copy of that along as well. With much gratitude to those who overlooked by this writer. There’s
took the time to respond, we thought it now time to let you know what hard work for ARRL nothing wrong with being from
resulted from your original hard work! South Dakota, but I know Senator
First, given what we asked of you, the response was good, and step one as the material Crapo is from Idaho and I ought
rolled in via the mail and e-mail was simply to find a way to keep it organized and useful to get it right. The Senator intro-
before we began the inevitable statistical cross-correlations and other investigative tech- duced the “Amateur Radio Spec-
niques. Eventually, we were able to organize everything and to begin to search for patterns trum Protection Act” (S.549) and
that might help us. We have also used some of your statistics and some of your quotes from Amateur Radio is lucky to have
letters in material we have prepared for discussions with the FCC and with Congress, and him as a friend on Capitol Hill.
this has been remarkably helpful in demonstrating the nature of the problem. His Washington staff has also
While ARRL continues to press the issue of CC&Rs and their negative impact on Amateur been enormously helpful to
Radio both at the FCC and in the halls of Congress, we also will continue to study the issue. ARRL. As the owner of the typing
Our preliminary anecdotal study based on stories submitted by members indicates that the fingers that twice committed the
states where CC&Rs seem most problematic are Florida, Texas and Arizona, but of course, error (yeah, sure, blame it on the
those are states with large and rapidly growing populations. fingers), I apologize both to the
While we received a great deal of useful anecdotal information about how CC&Rs can Senator and to QST readers, espe-
actually affect the life of a ham radio operator, and are grateful for those of you who took cially those from Idaho. I have
the time to help out, one day soon we may also solicit more-detailed quantitative data to taken steps to ensure that the error
further explore the geographic dimensions of the problem (don’t send anything yet). is not repeated.—N1MZA
Thanks to everyone who has helped, or plans to help!
Media Hits
• Our thanks to Jim Houser, WA8JIM, who brought to our Chamberlin, W1PFX, Bill McIninch, KA1MOM, and Bob
attention the excellent publicity efforts of the Cambridge Salow, WA1IDA. Salow reinforced the message “hams very
(Ohio) Amateur Radio Association: CARA scored four good often are the only means of communication during an emer-
media hits in less than a week in the Daily Jeffersonian. gency.”
While CARA got plenty of good publicity, so did Amateur
Radio. Prominently featured in the stories were Evelyn
• An article in the Greater Cleveland Sun depicted having fun
during Field Day. Featured in the article were Mike Balach,
Barton, KA8NZS (CARA’s Public Information Officer) and KB8UGT, David Morley, W8IXY, Terry Pillatt, Glenn Shore,
Sonny Alfman, W8FHF. Interestingly, one of the stories was KG8MR and Tom Wayne, WB8N. The writer of the story was
an Associated Press filing datelined from Clarksville, John Kametz, KC8KYW.
Tennessee. It referred to local Tennessee hams Hank Koebler,
KF4UXR, Al Furlow, KA1FFO and Linda Rye, KG4LZX. • Many thanks are in order. Field Day continues to be the
biggest publicity maker in Amateur Radio, and we have tried
• Connecticut hams were celebrated in a Field Day story that to present a small sample of the type of stories published. But
appeared in the Stamford Advocate and named not only to describe the actual volume of clippings and other news
names, Tony Salvate, N1TKS, Ed Ashway, K3EIN, Robert coverage ARRL has received since June would be impossible!
Sambolin, WP4YJ, and Neidi Luz Collazo, but also told the Across the US, hams have been able to generate very fine and
ham radio story and expressed the true value of Field Day in positive news coverage of Amateur Radio while also having
preparing for emergency communication. fun during Field Day. Those stories do make a big difference
• Brookline (Mass.) hams received coverage in the wide- by appearing in your local news media (press, radio or TV),
circulation Boston Globe with a Field Day story that featured even if they weren’t mentioned in this month’s
Dave Hunt, WX1G, Jim Topali, N1FCR, Joe Ball, Harold “DC Currents.” Thanks again!
16 September 2001
UP FRONT IN
AL ELMORE, W4FHP
What do you do
when you move to
Florida and get a
new boat? If you
are a ham, you
name it the Sea Q.
The Junior Op, An-
drew, is the grand-
son of the boat’s
owner, George
Wagner, K5KG, and Brad Nuttall, AB7MA, of Mt Pleasant, Utah,
the son of Brian doesn’t give a hoot about birds roosting on
Wagner, N2IFF. his antennas. With a Great Horned Owl stand-
—Tnx K5RC ing guard, other avian visitors are few and far
between. No, this magnificent bird isn’t plastic—
he’s the real thing!
A monument for all amateurs. Thanks to this group of Argentinean hams, in cooperation with local entrepreneurs
(left to right: Reinaldo Szama, LU2AH; Jorge Ortiz, LU6HI; Carlos Ontivero; Julio Miranda; Daniel Gigena, LU1HK and
Luis Gomez, LU1BR), a fitting monument
to amateurs throughout the world was
unveiled last December near the city
of Albahacas.
September 2001 21
CORRESPONDENCE
Your opinions count! Send your letters to “Correspondence,” ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 006111.
You can also submit letters by fax at 860-594-0259, or via e-mail to: qst@arrl.org.
We read every letter received, but we can only publish a few each month. We reserve the right to edit your letter for clarity,
and to fit the available page space. Of course, the publishers of QST assume no responsibility for statements made by correspondents.
FINALLY ON THE AIR and listened while I opened the dryer list of six-meter awards is really quite
WITH OSCAR 40 door, held the interlock closed with my long. If you’re active in the VHF contests,
Little did I know when I wrote in QST finger and touched a grounded clip lead you can soon work 100 grid squares
about preparing my station for Phase IIID against the inside of the rotating drum. and be eligible to join the ranks of the
back in 1997 (“A Phase 3D Jump Start,” Kapow! A fat arc leaped from my clip VHF/UHF Century Club, or VUCC. Or
September 1997 QST) that it would be lead. The drum had 120 volts on it! you can opt to hunt counties rather than
almost four years before I would get a That made the problem obvious—it grid squares. I have achieved the USA
chance to test my station’s capabilities had to be a bare wire in contact with the Counties Award and now have about 900
on AO-40. But it looks like it’s been well drum. Sure enough, a plastic clip hold- counties on 6 meters.
worth the wait! ing the door-switch wires away from the Six meters, I believe, is the best band
May 9, 2001 was my first opportunity drum had come loose and one wire was for working meteor scatter. A few have
to get up on the new bird. I had a ball. rubbed bare. Luckily, it was on the down- daily schedules using sideband and oth-
The bird has good ears, and it’s not stream side of the switch, so the drum ers are using High Speed CW (HSCW)
yet operating at the efficiency levels that wasn’t hot all the time; if it had been the or a digital mode designed for meteor
we can expect if there are no further other wire, someone could have been bursts. I have made contacts using
problems. Using the combination of killed loading wet clothes. Even so, they FastHell (5X or 9X). There are other
U band (435 MHz) on the uplink and still could have gotten zapped if they ac- experimental modes that a few operators
S band (2.4 GHz) on the downlink, I en- cidentally pushed in the interlock. I cut are using. Talk about excitement! Seeing
joyed a full night’s worth of contacts, and spliced the wire and backed up the the print flow across my screen during a
both DX and domestic, that were arm- plastic clip with a tie wrap. I also plan to meteor burst is a real thrill.
chair copy. I could hear my downlink install a ground fault interrupter in the The digital revolution that is sweep-
when uplinking on L band (1.2 GHz), but laundry circuit for additional protection. ing through Amateur Radio has made
I used U band since I am currently lim- Arcing between the drum and wire as itself known on 6 meters. Contacts are
ited to 10 W on L band. But the setup it charged and discharged the drum-to- being made with PSK31 and other modes
works. I can add a small brick to the 1296 frame capacitance caused the radio static. on 50.290 MHz during band openings.
side to boost my uplink on that band if If it hadn’t been for the radio noise, the Join the fun and add 6 meters to your
needed. condition would have gone undetected station. I’ll be listening for you!—Randy
After AO-40 experienced the damag- until someone was shocked. Tipton, WA5UFH, Edna, Texas
ing “event” last winter, I was uncertain Two morals to the story: Use caution
as to how useful this new satellite would when diagnosing weird RFI problems; A LITTLE COURTESY
be to the ham community. However, and track them down promptly—even if GOES A LONG WAY
based on my experiences with AO-40 so you think you can live with the racket. My two sons (N2EGE—11 years old
far, this satellite should be a fantastic That annoying noise in your radio might and KB1GCS—10 years old) earned their
performer. As long as the command team be symptomatic of an underlying safety Technician licenses late in 2000 (thanks
does not encounter any more serious hazard.—Cliff Bader, W3NNL, West to help from Dan Miller, K3UFG, at
problems, AO-40 will be a great satellite Chester, Pennsylvania Headquarters’ Field and Educational
offering strong signals and ease of use. Services department). Within a couple
Kudos to the ARRL, AMSAT, and all who OLD AND NEW THRILLS ON 50 MHZ of months I was beginning to work on
supported this ambitious project, and spe- The excitement of a band opening is the code with them. This was at their re-
cial thanks to the designers, builders and a thrill that 6-meter operators enjoy and quest. They saw dad do it, and naturally
the command team.—Jim Kelly, KK3K, wait days, sometimes weeks for. These wanted to follow.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania operators monitor certain designated After about 3 weeks we had mastered
frequencies listening for signals on all of the characters, and within another
A CAUTIONARY TALE groundwave, meteor scatter, sporadic-E, week they were showing enough profi-
For a few months I was plagued with tropo and F2 propagation. The smart op- ciency to operate on the air. Ability and
loud static on 80 meters. The noise only erator keeps his ears tuned to the hissing courage are two different things, of
appeared when our clothes dryer was run- audio as his rig scans the band. course! It was a couple more weeks be-
ning, and it had the same rhythm as the Six meters offers many challenges. fore the courage came. Again, I think
rotating drum. My first thought was static Unlike some of the HF frequencies, the watching dad operate was the factor that
discharge across the oil film in the dryer operator must work harder and longer finally motivated them. Since the first
bearing, since I’ve encountered that be- for most awards. The Worked All States born often tends to get favored by default,
fore. (I later remembered that our award is within reach of many 6-meter I intentionally had the younger son go
Kenmore dryer drum doesn’t have a bear- enthusiasts, but it requires hours of moni- first. With me as the control operator at
ing per se—it sits on rubber rollers and toring and a certain amount of luck. It station N1EGE, KB1GCS hit the air-
is driven by a circumferential belt.) took me three years to work my WAS. waves on 40 meters. From here on out,
I finally became annoyed enough to The Worked All Continents is another our experience was everything ham
try to fix the problem. I took my Sony award that can present a substantial chal- radio should be.
portable receiver into the laundry room, lenge on 6 meters, but it can be done. The My son’s first contact was like some-
24 September 2001
thing out of a storybook. The other other non-CEPT participating countries
station was calling CQ, and we made con- that are also non-EEC countries. This in-
tact with Howard, N2CYO. Of course, cludes Canadian amateurs.
my son was going quite slow. N2CYO Due to this exception imposed by
immediately accommodated. He and my Greek authorities, US licensed amateurs
son had a brief but delightful QSO. must request a reciprocal temporary
N2CYO’s sending was slow, steady, solid operating permit. This is done by apply-
and easy to copy. Exactly what a first- ing in writing, several months in advance,
timer needs! to the Greek Ministry of Transportation
We exchanged QSL cards, as did and Communications, 2 Anastaseos St
N2CYO. Howard included a nice letter 10191, Athens, Greece. Be sure to sup-
with his QSL card, and I quote it in its ply all information including call sign,
entirety: license class, dates of your visit and the
Thanks a lot for the very enjoyable model and serial numbers of all transmit-
QSO we had the other night. I was very ting equipment you plan to transport into
glad to be able to be your first CW con- Greece. The Greek authorities do not
tact. Your first contact is always a very charge for the permit.—Mike Nowack,
memorable one, and I am proud to be a NA9Q and Arlyce Nowack, NB9Q,
part of it. Quincy, Illinois
I wish you the best in your ham radio
hobby and hope that you can continue on HAZARDOUS AND
up the ladder to Amateur Extra in the ILLEGAL USE OF RADAR
future. This will give you all the band
privileges that I know you will enjoy. There seems to be a dangerous trend
You send very good CW. It is easy occurring among our ranks regarding the
to copy and pleasant to listen to. I will indiscriminate use of marine-based and
look for you on the bands in the future land-based radar sets for storm spotting
and maybe we can chat again. in motor vehicles.
73 for now to you and your dad, and These operators have obviously failed
once again, the best of luck to you. to visit Part 80 of the FCC Rules regard-
Best regards, Howard, N2CYO ing the specifics of marine radar and are
This is the best of ham radio. I would in violation on numerous points. You must
encourage all amateurs to make this possess a General Radiotelephone opera-
storybook example an everyday affair. tor License (GROL) including a radar en-
—Steve Ege, N1EGE, Plainville, dorsement to install such a device. There
Connecticut have been some who have purchased
land-based radar systems and have sub-
A WRINKLE IN CEPT mitted the license application to the FCC
I read with great interest the June in- Wireless Division with hopes of operat-
stallment of “Washington Mailbox” by ing the radar legally. To their dismay they
John Hennessee, N1KB. My wife and I learn that their application was dismissed
are in the final stages of planning a com- because land-based radar is limited to
bination vacation and mini-DXpedition specific users with special permits such
to Greece (SV1) and the Island of Rhodes as storm-spotters from various universi-
(SV5) scheduled for June and July of this ties with special grants from NOAA.
year. We have done a great deal of re- If these operators did the RF Safety
search into the issue of operation in the formula for proximity radiation with
European area and were pleased to see their transponders at a mere 7 feet above
this issue addressed by the section of the ground level, they would discover that
article dealing with CEPT. they are not in compliance by a long shot.
The information presented was accu- Marine radar emits 4000 W of pulsed
rate as far as it went, but failed to address RF. Coupled to a high gain antenna, the
one important factor. Although there are effective radiated power of this device
34 European countries that have imple- exceeds 100,000 W. This is enough to
mented the recommendations of the CEPT cause total blindness to an unsuspecting
T/R 61-01, not all of those 34 nations rec- person nearby who is unlucky enough to
ognize the participation of the United be looking into the antenna.
States as a non-CEPT participating coun- I’ve attempted to contact some of
try. Greece is one of those countries and these individuals and warn them of the
the non-recognition is based upon the fact hazards. In most cases, however, my
that the US is not a member of the Euro- warnings have been turned away with a
pean Economic Community. There may cavalier, arrogant attitude.
be other European administrations that I have contacted the FCC about
also do not recognize the participation of the problem, but the solution really lies
the US based upon the same or similar in better awareness at the local level.
issues. Also, I believe that the same prob- —Bob Bailey, KA0MR, Moundridge,
lem exists for amateurs licensed in the Kansas
September 2001 25
By Mike Bryce, WB8VGE
E
ven though we live in an ana-
log world, we are surrounded
by digital electronics. With every-
thing going to ones and zeros, it’s possible
to pick up some bargains when it comes
to digital panel meters (DPM). I picked
up several at a local hamfest for five bucks
a pop. They will display three and a half
digits and have an input impedance of over
200 MΩ. They’re cheap, but very usable.
All you need to put these guys to use is an
isolated power supply. For you see, nearly
all surplus1 DPMs require their own sepa-
rate power source. For example, most digi-
tal panel meters can’t monitor their own
source of power. This problem can be
traced to the internal A/D converters the
digital panel meters use. So, if you want
to use two or more DPMs, then you need
to power each one by its own separate
power supply. I wanted to monitor my
Here’s the digital meter supply undergoing tests. This is one of the first PC boards.
storage batteries in the shack. One DPM
for voltage, and another to monitor cur-
rent flow out of the battery. Two meters,
two separate supplies.
Since most of the surplus digital panel supply is on a small PC board,2 and is very age regulator to suit your needs. The volt-
meters use a LCD display, their power re- inexpensive to build. In fact, a complete age regulator is bypassed for stability. An
quirements are very low. For short term por- kit of parts, including the PC board, is less LED will illuminate when power is ap-
table use, a standard 9-V battery can be than $30.3 plied to the PC board. The digital meter
used. Operating a DPM in a hand held de- supply draws about 140 mA from a power
vice is one thing; running one in the shack Here’s How It Works source. Each section requires 70 mA and
for hours on end from a 9-V battery is an- To simplify the discussion of the digi- there are two supplies on the board for a
other. Running a DPM for hours on end can tal meter supply, only one section of the total of 140 mA of current.
really eat up the batteries! digital meter supply will be explained. The digital meter supply uses a single,
To solve all of these problems and to The other is an exact copy. Its operation dual op amp, the LM358. One section of
avoid the extra cost of a separate ac power is identical. Take a look at Figure 1. the LM358 is used as an astable oscillator
supply to operate each meter, I designed There are two different ways to power for each supply. Each op-amp oscillates at
the digital meter supply. The digital meter the digital meter supply. Steering diodes about 2.5 kHz using the component val-
supply will power two separate LCD digi- D1 and D2 select from either of two dif- ues shown. The square wave output of the
tal panel meters at one time. Each digital ferent inputs. You may want to operate op-amp is then used to supply base drive
panel meter has its own separate isolated the digital meter supply from a wall wart to Q1. Resistor R6 limits the base current
power supply. Both supplies are isolated or from the unregulated side of a power while R7 guarantees that Q1 will be off
from each other as well as the input power supply or both at the same time. Diodes when the output of the oscillator ap-
supply. D1 and D2 will automatically select the proaches 0 V.
Best of all, the digital meter supply is higher voltage of either input. When Q1 is turned on, collector cur-
really easy to build. The entire DPM meter A LM7810 voltage regulator is used rent passes through R9 and R8, which
to provide the digital meter supply with limits collector current, and then through
stable operating voltage. However, as we the secondary windings of T1. Resistors
1 Notes appear on page 30. will see later, you can change the volt- R8 and R9 are rated at 2 W and are com-
28 September 2001
Figure 1—Schematic diagram of the digital meter supply. Part numbers in parentheses are from Mouser
Electronics, tel 800-346-6873.
C1, C2—0.1 µF ceramic. D1-D6—1N4001 (625-1N4001). R8, R9, R16, R17—100 Ω, 2 W
C3—220 µF electrolytic, 16 V D7, D8—1N757A (610-1N757A). (282-15-100).
(140-XRL-16V220). DS1—Red LED. R10, R18—220 Ω, 1/4 W.
C4, C8, C9, C13—0.001 µF ceramic. Q1, Q2—2N4401 (610-2N4401). T1, T2—Transformer, 200 Ω pri/8 Ω sec
C5, C10—47 µF, electrolytic, 16 V R1, R2—100 kΩ, 1/4 W. (42TU200).
(140-XRL-16V47). R3, R11—10 kΩ, 1/4 W. U1—7810 voltage regulator
C6, C11—100 µF, 16 V. R4, R12—100 kΩ. (511-L78M10CDT).
C7, C12—1000 µF, 16 V R5, R13—47 kΩ, 1/4 W. U2—LM358 (511-LM358N).
(140HTRL16V1000). R6, R14, R19—1 kΩ, /4 W.
1
Heat sink (532-576802B31).
R7, R15—27 kΩ, 1/4 W.
bined in parallel so their combined re- DPM happy, resistor R10 and Zener di- same time will not produce any inter-
sistance is 50 Ω at 4 W. ode D8 regulate the voltage down to 9 V. action between the two.
When Q1 switches off, the magnetic The values shown are for a 9-V DPM.
field collapses and induces a voltage to Some digital panel meters work at 5 V; Building the Digital Meter Supply
the primary of T1. Diodes D3 and D5 then others like to see 9 V. Really, the best way to assemble the
rectify the output. These two diodes along Since neither output of the digital digital meter supply is by using the PC
with the center tap of T1 form a full wave meter supply is tied to ground, the DPM board. However, there’s nothing carved
bridge rectifier. Capacitors C5, C6 and being powered by the digital meter sup- in stone that says you can’t perf-board the
C7 filter the output. Capacitor C4 shunts ply will accurately resolve the input volt- circuit. The PC board is just easier and
to ground any switching noise that made age applied to it. Both outputs of the much faster.
it through T1. digital meter supply are isolated from No attempt was made to make the
The rectified and filtered voltage de- the input voltage and from each other. PC board as small as possible. The PC
veloped by T1 is about 45 V. To keep our Operating two digital panel meters at the board is large enough for even the
September 2001 29
The waveform generated by the digital
meter supply. This display was generated
at the base of Q1.
30 September 2001
By Frank Gentges, K0BRA
The AMRAD
Active LF Antenna
You can tune into LF activity with this easy-to-
build and erect active antenna. As a bonus,
you get MF and HF coverage, too—not to
mention world-class performance!
T
with LOWFers (low-frequency experi- www.g3wkl.freeserve.co.uk/awards/
and Development Corporation menters) in the 1980s. 5,6 Even though 136_trans_challenge.html.
(AMRAD) is a nonprofit radio club they’re a few years old, Burhans’ articles We set out to build a transatlantic-
that specializes in cutting-edge—yet provide important information about the grade LF antenna that any ham could
fun—Amateur Radio technology. In a workings of active antennas. These anten- build with simple hand tools. We also
jump back to the future, several of us nas were a starting point in our quest for wanted our design to improve on
decided to look into low-frequency radio an improved LF active antenna. Burhans’ IMD performance to enable ur-
(LF). Many European countries now have The US Navy gave the club access to ban hams to receive the LF bands with-
an Amateur Radio allocation at 136 kHz, some large LF transmitting antennas that out dealing with spurious signals caused
and AMRAD, hoping for a future FCC were scheduled for demolition. We con- by IMD. We also wanted our antenna to
amateur allocation there—obtained an ducted a series of tests and concluded that work to 30 MHz, if possible, to make the
FCC Part 5 license to operate experimen- for LF receiving, a well-designed active antenna generally more useful. We’re
tally on those challenging low frequen- antenna in a low-noise area can perform pleased to report that this antenna exhib-
cies. Many hams wanted to listen to our as well as much larger antennas. 7 its improved IMD performance and has a
transmissions, but lacked a suitable re- useful range of 10 kHz to 30 MHz.
ceiving antenna. The antenna described This Project
here should do nicely. The active antenna described here can What is an Active Antenna?
be a powerful tool for the future LF-ac- An active antenna is an electrically and
Some Background tive ham seeking to work Europe and win physically small antenna combined with
The evolution of our present antenna the Bobek LF Transatlantic Challenge an active electronic circuit, such as an
has a proud lineage. AMRAD member (once an LF Amateur Radio band is allo- amplifier. An active antenna, like the one
Dick (WA3USG) Goodman’s Monster cated by the FCC, of course). For more described here, uses a small whipone
Loop is an excellent antenna and met our information about the Challenge, see that is a fraction of a wavelength long at
initial need.1 Another member, Bill Farmer,
W3CSW, built a loop antenna in his attic
that also performs well. 2 Low-frequency
veteran Ken Cornell, W2IMB, described
several active antennas, including his
varactor-tuned active antenna. 3 And engi-
neering whiz Andre Kesteloot, N4ICK,
presented an even better design. His
varactor-tuned active antenna has the tun-
ing stage ahead of the FET follower. 4
N4ICK’s antenna works very well, but like
the Cornell design, it must be tuned to the
desired frequency. Because of their sim-
plicity and performance, Ralph Burhans’
active-antenna designs became popular
1
Notes appear on page 37. Figure 1—Active antenna response curve.
September 2001 31
Figure 3—An interior
Figure 2—The heat sink is made from a 41/2-inch piece of 3/4-inch copper pipe cut and view of the power supply
shaped as shown. Cut pairs of 1/4-inch deep slots at the “A” points indicated. These enclosure and circuit board.
form tabs that center the pipe in the PVC tube (see text and Figure 5).
pipe cap will fit in place properly. hammer. This flattens the inside surface. for a current of 53 mA.
The transistor bias needs to be ad- Prepare the case with the connectors po- Method 2: Connect the active antenna
justed, so set the active antenna assem- sitioned near the leads that connect to to the power supply using a BNC cable.
bly aside without cementing the pipe caps them. Place the fuse and power switch as Put a voltmeter across R3 on the printed
in place at this time. far away from the rest of the circuitry to circuit board. Adjust the bias potentio-
minimize coupling capacitance. meter, R5, for a voltage of 5.3 V.
Power Supply Assemble the printed circuit board If you have the equipment necessary to
Assemble the power supply board. The into the power supply case and solder the measure second-order intermodulation
schematic is shown in Figure 7. The wires to the connectors and the ac values you can fine-tune R5 to obtain the
wideband transformer consists of 20 turns power. Note the polarity of the antenna best performance. On the four units we
of trifilar wire on an FT-50-J or FT-50-75 connector, apply power and check the tested, the optimum current was only 2 mA
Amidon ferrite core. Three pieces of #30 voltage on the antenna connector. Adjust above or below the design value of 53 mA.
wire wrapping wire are twisted together to the VOLTAGE ADJUST potentiometer This completes the setup of the active
make a trifilar winding. Again, using differ- until +24 V appears on the center pin amplifier.
ent-color wires will make finding the indi- realtive to the outer shell. Connect the active amplifier to the
vidual windings much easier to identify. This completes the power supply as- power supply with a BNC cable. Let the
Attach 2-inch leads to each of the an- sembly and checkout. amplifier warm up while checking the
tenna signal leads, RX1 and RX2, and the transistor case temperature. It should be
battery plus and minus. Attach an LED on Initial Test and Checkout only slightly warm to the touch, showing
2-inch leads to the LED pads on the PC Remove the PVC pipe from the active no more than a 10 degree F temperature
board. Once the power supply PCB is in- antenna to gain access to the bias potenti- increase over that of the heat sink. If
stalled in the case, these leads can be sol- ometer. Adjust the bias potentiometer, R5, needed, place a thin coating of heat sink
dered onto the connectors and the LED. so that the wiper is at ground potential. grease on the top of the transistor to re-
The RadioShack cases have molded Method 1: Temporarily connect the duce the thermal resistance. Use only a
card guides that interfere with the BNC active antenna to the power supply while slight amount of grease as it can become
connector mounting nuts. Remove these running the center conductor (a clip lead, fluid and drip onto the PC board and com-
card guides with a sharp wood chisel and etc) through a milliameter. Adjust the bias ponents on a hot day.
September 2001 35
junction. In a strong RF field, the cor-
roded junction creates intermodulation
between the strong signals. On a ship
The active (with its many transmitters) or in an area
antenna power with several strong AM broadcast sta-
supply enclosure
with BNC jacks tions, the intermodulation is reradiated
for the coaxial and receiving antennas, including this
cables to the active antenna, can pick it up. This prob-
active antenna lem appears as LF carriers that have two
and receivers.
sources of audio modulation. When these
carriers are tuned in with an AM receiver,
it sounds as though two stations are talk-
ing simultaneously. If this problem oc-
curs, move the antenna or find and clean
the offending joint.
A block of wood with wedges cut in it
Use small dabs of silicone sealer at the cess to the printed circuit board, peel the can be used between the antenna and a
four points where the heat sink tabs con- silicone sealer from around the edge of mast. Use a stainless steel hose clamp to
tact the PC board to secure the heat. the pipe caps and force them off the PVC secure the assembly. Avoid placing metal
Install the PVC pipe onto the amplifier. pipe by hand. hose clamps or other metal objects near
Place the 1-inch-long piece of 1/2-inch PVC Several different whips can be used on the upper half of the antenna as nearby
pipe over the wire from the printed circuit the active amplifier. Short automobile metallic objects can add to the input ca-
board. Slide a ferrite bead over the wire. replacement whips made to attach over pacitance and slightly degrade the an-
Use a short piece of insulated sleeving to the stub of a broken auto antenna can be tenna performance.
slide over the solder joint and solder to the found in most auto parts stores. One- Keep the coax run to the shack insu-
wire from the top cap. Shape the wire into meter stainless steel whips are available lated from any grounds as it wends its way
a springy coil so it will fit into the stand- from RadioShack (21-952A). The to the power supply. With such low capaci-
off tube. The top cap can now be slid over RadioShack whips have 1/4-20 studs, so a tance between the power line and the re-
1
the PVC pipe. Use the mark on the pipe to /4-20 threaded sleeve is needed to mate ceiver grounds, it’s important to minimize
make sure that the cap is fully seated and the whips to the bolt stud on the top of parasitic noise coupling in the antenna
not pinching the antenna wire. Use cau- the active amplifier. We used a stainless ground circuit by keeping the line away
tion when rotating the pipe caps during steel 1/4-20 T-nut for this purpose. from other grounds and power lines.
assembly or disassembly so the wire leads Up-to-date details on construction, Best LF performance is obtained if the
remain untwisted. assembly and testing can be found at antenna whip is higher than nearby con-
The assembly is now ready for outdoor www.amrad.org/lf/active. ducting objects. Imagine pulling a giant
testing with an attached whip. Connect a plastic sheet over your house and yard.
BNC coaxial jumper between the active Siting and Installation The whip should be above this imaginary
antenna and the antenna connector on the This small antenna can be mounted sheet. A more accurate (and much more
power supply. Caution: Connect only the almost anywhere, but an electrically quiet complex) way to think of it is to imagine
active antenna to the power supply con- site will produce the best results. Roof- a large metal sheet several hundred feet
nector. Receivers and other devices can top vent pipes work well because the PVC above your house and yard (play along).
draw excessive current and burn out L1 vent pipes and the PVC antenna housings Now imagine that the sheet is charged
or damage the connected equipment. If, camouflage one another. Thin whips also with a high dc voltage. If you were to
when connected, the choke burns out, the disappear at a distance. examine the electrostatic field around and
LED on the power supply will not light Use the ground screw next to the an- above your house and yard, you would
up. You may want to wrap a piece of col- tenna BNC connector to establish a quiet discover that those points below the plas-
ored tape near the end of the coax going ground reference for the antenna. This tic sheet are at a 0-V field potential.
to the active antenna to identify it as the ground usually works best if it’s not con- LF signals have very long wavelengths:
correct cable. Connect a receiver to the nected to any other ground. Testing vari- at 136 kHz, 1 wavelength is 7181 feet. At
RX1 or RX2 connector. ous ground rod locations while monitoring these wavelengths, the average suburban
You should hear AM broadcast and HF LF noise on the receiver can help you pin- yard is less than 1/10 wavelength across, so
signals. LF signals and noise should be point the best location for minimizing re- an electrostatic field may be used to ap-
heard when the receiver is tuned to the ceived ac power-line noise. Because of the proximate LF waves. Thus, at LF, those
LF range. When you’re satisfied that ev- low capacitance of the antenna and the areas with a zero electrostatic field will
erything is working properly you can take coupler, a 12-inch ground rod may be sat- also have a zero, or near-zero LF field
down the antenna and seal the assembly. isfactory. A sheet of chicken-wire screen- strength. The freely downloadable student
ing can be laid beneath the antenna and version of the QuickField Finite Element
Final Assembly connected to the antenna ground to stabi- Analysis program (www.quickfield.com)
Once the caps are properly seated the lize the fields around the antenna to fur- can be used to plot the electrostatic field
amplifier can be sealed using silicone. ther reduce noise coupling. Chicken-wire around a simple house and yard model. 13
Permatex Silicone Windshield and Glass screening in rooftop installations is gen- Or, as mentioned above, simply visualize
Seal is thinner and will fill joints better erally hard to see from the ground. the plastic sheet and make sure the antenna
than the more familiar silicone caulking. One source of intermodulation of isn’t mounted “underneath” the imaginary
Seal around the top bolt, the top and bot- which the US Navy is especially aware boundary…
tom cap and the ground screw. After the is the “rusty bolt” effect. When a cor-
goop hardens overnight the antenna am- roded joint exists between two pieces of Measuring Field Strength
plifier is ready to install. To regain ac- metal, the joint can act as a nonlinear This active antenna has reasonably re-
36 September 2001
producible sensitivity when the PC boards Rippel, WA4HHG, who provided key
and listed parts are used. This makes it comments and encouragement; Steve
possible for you to measure signal strength Ratzlaff, AA7U, who provided a number
in volts-per-meter, which means that the of useful suggestions on the design and
overall efficiency of an LF antenna can be conducted the antenna’s intermodulation
measured rather than estimated. testing. And finally, Dallas Lankford
Using a receiver S-meter and a signal must be recognized for providing key
generator, the signal voltage from the an- help on the design, especially the CP-666
tenna can be measured by substituting the transistor.
signal generator for the antenna and It is with sadness we note that Ralph
adjusting the signal generator to get an Burhans passed away in May 2001. He
identical S-meter reading. A selective had indicated his interest in our active
voltmeter that can directly indicate the antenna project until his death.
voltage at a received frequency is even
better. Once the antenna output voltage
is known, the field strength can be calcu- Notes
1
Dick Goodman, WA3USG, “The Monster
lated by using the antenna factor, which Loop,” QST, Sep 2000, pp 38-40.
is added to the antenna-voltage reading, 2
Bill Farmer, W3CSW, “Attic Loop Antenna,”
to give the field strength in volts-per- AMRAD Newsletter, Nov-Dec 1999, pp 4-5;
meter. When using the antenna for mea- available at the AMRAD Web site LF page,
suring field strength, avoid using any www.amrad.org/projects/lf.
3
Ken Cornell, W2IMB, “Varactor Tuned Re-
metal clamps or other metal around the A sheet of chicken-wire screening can be mote Active Antenna,” The Low and Medium
upper half of the antenna. laid beneath the antenna and connected Frequency Radio Scrap Book , 8th Edition,
If you are using dBm to express to the antenna ground to stabilize the Ken Cornell, Point Pleasant Beach, NJ,
fields around the antenna to further 1992.
voltage and dBµV/m (dBµV/m = dB reduce noise coupling. Chicken-wire 4
Andr Kesteloot, N4ICK, “A Remotely-Tuned
above 1 microvolt per meter) to express screening in rooftop installations is Active Antenna for LF,” AMRAD Newsletter ,
field strength, the antenna factor is generally hard to see from the ground. Nov-Dec 1998, p 10.
–16.5 dBµV/m. If you want volts-per- 5
Ralph Burhans, “All About VLF Active Anten-
meter, multiply the measured voltage by nas,” Radio-Electronics, March-June 1983,
6.683 to convert to volts-per-meter. This pp 63-68.
6
Ralph Burhans, “Active Antenna Preamplifi-
antenna factor is accurate (for this an- quency response. ers,” ham radio , May 1986, pp 47-54.
tenna) between 20 kHz and 26 MHz (see If connector confusion could lead to 7
Frank Gentges, K0BRA, “Annapolis Report,”
Figure 1). Keep in mind that this isn’t an connect 24 V where it shouldn’t be, sub- AMRAD Newsletter, May-Jun 1999, pp 8-10.
8
individually hand-calibrated EMC an- stitute an F, TNC or Mini-UHF connec- Private e-mail with Dr Dallas Lankford, Pro-
tenna, so use the results with care. Above tor for the antenna BNC connector. fessor, College of Engineering and Science,
Louisiana Tech University.
10 MHz, measurements become ques- The length of the PVC pipe can be 9
Frank Gentges, K0BRA, “Modifying the RX-
tionable with any E-field antenna and be- made longer and the whip contained in- 320 Receiver for LF/VLF Operation,”
come more subject to minor construction side along with the PC board. It then can AMRAD Web site LF page, www.amrad.
variations. be mounted on a windowsill and disguised org/projects/lf.
10
“Receiver Performance Tests,” The 2 00 1
as a flagpole to hide its true purpose. ARRL Handbook for Radio Amateurs , p 26.45.
Variations on a Theme If you require less capacitive coupling 11
“Hybrid Combiners for Signal Generators,”
A standard 108-inch CB whip with a to the power line, you may be interested The 2001 ARRL Handbook for Radio Ama-
3
/ 8-24 stud can be mounted to the active in knowing that we tested a Tamura teurs, p 26.40.
12
amplifier using a RadioShack “3/8-24 to 3FL30-200 transformer and found a ca- FAR Circuits, 18N640 Field Ct, Dundee, IL
60118-9269; tel 847-836-9148. Price: $8.50
Lug Mount adapter” (21-950). This large pacitance of only 14.7 pF between the two per set plus $1.50 shipping for up to four
whip needs a firmer attachment at the 120-V primary windings. If this model is boards.
top cap. Use 1 / 4 -inch-diameter brass used as an outboard isolation transformer, 13
Frank Gentges, K0BRA, “How Low is LF?”
washers on each side of the pipe cap on the combined capacitance between the AMRAD Technical Symposium 2000 ,
pp 69-79.
the 1/4-20 bolt. The bolt length may need power line and the dc supply is reduced to
to be reduced to match the thread length only 9.25 pF. This applies only if you are
inside the 3/8-20 adapter. Use plumbers using the 120-V connection. We haven’t Frank Gentges, K0BRA, was first licensed
PVC cleaner and PVC cement to firmly yet seen the need for such a low capaci- in 1956 as K0BRA. He upgraded to Extra
attach the cap to the pipe. If you later tance, but it’s comforting to know there is Class in 1964 and was later licensed as
need to access the PC board you’ll have W3FGL and AK4R, but chose to reclaim his
a solution if one is needed.
old call sign when the FCC made that pos-
to saw off the top and make another PVC
Acknowledgments sible. He became an associate member of
housing. ARRL in 1953 and became a full member in
If low-band VHF or TV Channels 2 Many people helped with this project, 1956. He graduated as an Electrical Engi-
or 3 are particularly strong in your area, and the AMRAD lunch crowd attendees neer from Kansas State University in 1965.
you may need to add two or three ferrite who eat tacos and talk Amateur Radio at After school he worked for Rixon Electron-
beads on the wire between the amplifier 12:30 each Saturday at Tippy’s Taco ics, followed by the US Navy, where he re-
and the whip. These added beads roll off House in Merrifield, Virginia, certainly tired in 1987. Frank is now president of
the response starting at about 10 MHz contributed their share. Come by and see Metavox, which develops new tactile tech-
rather than 30 MHz, providing greater us and talk about LF while chowing down nology for profoundly deaf infants. You can
attenuation at the low-VHF range. In on a basket of tacos. Thanks go to Ralph contact Frank at 9251 Wood Glade Dr, Great
place of using R1, another choke can be Burhans, who set out a clear discussion Falls, VA 22066; fgentges@mindspring.
added to further reduce the higher-fre- of active antennas in his writing; Chuck com.
September 2001 37
By Steve Ford, WB8IMY
My
friend Don, K6IPV, called me cation had us returning from Malaysia holiday—which he’d been planning for
a few months ago and sug- one day before the ARRL DX CW Con- a year—forward a week so the DX Con-
gested that I join him for a test was to begin. Whatever virtues Don test would fall in the middle of our visit.
DXpedition to the Hillview Gardens Re- may claim, being a contester clearly isn’t He said if I would promise to join him
sort in Keningau, Sabah, East Malaysia, among them. Having embraced contest- there, he’d change his plans.
to celebrate a significant birthday. Be- ing fairly late in my ham career, I was But before heading halfway around the
cause Don is an eligible bachelor, I won’t ready to evangelize. world (nearly), there were a few things I
divulge his age, but let’s just say he’s not First, I talked him into shifting his had to do. First was the question of my
exactly a spring chicken. More of a fall
chicken, actually.
And because 2001 is my 50th anniver-
sary as a ham, I was thinking about a
couple of DXpeditions anyway—to
places that have a bunch of antennas al-
ready in place and fully equipped
hamshacks perched on plateaus with
omni-directional views, pools, all meals
and exotic, tropical climates!
The dates Don suggested for our va-
The Hillview Gardens antenna farm. From left to right: a two-element 40 over a four-
element 20; stacked six-element, 6-meter beams over a tribander fixed on the States.
In the background is a C-3 tribander at 50 feet.
Dave, W6AQ/9M6AQT, operating 9M6V during the ARRL DX Lunch at the “CQ Bar” includes (left to right) Don, K6IPV/
CW contest. 9M6IPT, Phil, 9M6CT, the author and their host, Alfons, 9M6AU.
September 2001 43
Alfons (left) explains the Hillview tradition that starts with Don, K6IPV/9M6IPT, Doris, Alfons and Phil, 9M6CT, celebrate
squares of wet cement. Don and Phil’s birthdays at one of Hillview Gardens’ many
parties. There is so much partying, it is difficult to find time to
get on the air.
his Range Rover, was heart stopping, to paddle found a handy spot, as did the had a good SWR near 7.050, and the 80
say the least. Not because of the views, Logikey keyer. All of this stuff was new and 160 dipoles were flat and remarkably
which were green and spectacular, but to me and very new to Don. Our trip was quiet. But the big four-element, 20-meter
because of the race we were in. I didn’t a shakedown cruise and a learning expe- beam wouldn’t rotate, which would have
realize that a green flag had dropped rience all in one—and during a major con- been okay had it been stuck pointing north-
as we left KK (local slang for Kota test to boot. east, toward North America. Presently it
Kinabalu). Phil was out to take the check- Checking out the antennas, we found was pointed 90 degrees south of that. Yuk!
ered flag, and if that meant facing down that the Force 12 beam worked well, the Alfons told us that something was
oncoming traffic until the final second Cushcraft two-element, 40-meter beam wrong with the ring rotator and he was
before swerving out of the way of sure waiting for his “antenna guy,” Jani,
disaster, so be it. YB0US, to show up and fix it. Because
As we arrived at Hillview Gardens Our trip was a shake- Don and I had hosted Jani to a dinner in
Resort the cloud of dust that had been down cruise and a Hollywood only a week or so earlier, we
trailing us from KK finally caught our knew that he would not pop in prior to the
speeding vehicle. We slid to a stop right learning experience all contest. So who’s going up the big tower?
in front of a big banner that read, “Wel- in one—and during a As I’ve often said in my speeches to
come Don and Dave, 9M6V.” Doris and ham clubs, “I knew I was getting old
Alfons had come through with a special
major contest to boot. when the kid I hired to climb my tower
call sign for the contest! I found my pal got too old to climb my tower.”
Don at the CQ Bar. He informed me that Don and I stared each other down and
he was scheduled to get a massage after he flinched first. When Don picked up
dinner, proving to me that this DXpe- Jani’s safety belt, however, the situation
dition wasn’t going to be quite like was like cutting a piece of coax after
Clipperton or Bouvet. estimating the required length. When
And then I was greeted by Alfons and placed around Don’s waist there was a
Doris, 9M6MU and 9W6DU, respectively, 4-inch gap between the end of the belt
the creators of Hillview Gardens. I say “cre- and the buckle. At hip level the gap was
ators” advisedly. After spending eight days still 3 inches!
there, it was clear to me that Alfons’ dream Only hours earlier I had insisted that
of making this place out on the edge of the big 20-meter beam was essential if
nowhere into a number one ham radio lo- we were going to make a dent on that
cation had been achieved in no small part band. I was, as they say, hoisted on my
because of Doris’ hustle. He philosophizes own petard. So, after lecturing Don about
and she makes it happen. He’s Malaysian spending some time at the Pasadena Ath-
and she’s Chinese by way of Singapore. letic Club, I put on the belt and very care-
They couldn’t be more different—and fully worked my way up the tower.
they’re perfect together. At what seemed like the 200-foot level
I discovered the problem. The feed line
Trouble in Paradise loop had gotten hung up on a tower brace,
Don and I began preparing for the con- causing the ring rotor to bind and shift
test, which was now three days away. The slightly out of alignment. The gears
Mark V replaced Alfons’ FT-990 at the weren’t meshing. I wondered whether I
main operating position; my Toshiba Dave, W6AQ/9M6AQT, at the top of the should loosen all of the bolts holding the
laptop with CT and DX4WIN replaced the “big” tower getting the four element, ring to the tower and realign it, or merely
station’s desktop computer; the Bencher 20-meter beam pointed Stateside. free up the bind and get the beam pointed
44 September 2001
him a call. At that speed 9M6V sounds like
an Uzi in a drive-by. After a pause, he sent
a question mark. After several exchanges,
ratcheting the speed down each go-around,
we finally settled at 45 WPM. I imme-
diately gave him his report at a leisurely
20 WPM. He sent “R” and QRZ with his
call sign at 45 WPM. Once a showboat,
always a showboat!
If you get the idea that Don and I don’t
take contesting too seriously, you’re right.
We’re in it for the fun. And fun it was. I
think that contesting is one aspect of ham
radio that’s going to lure some kids away
The finished cement “art,” proving that Don at least had learned a couple of from their computers, so when friends of
words of Malaysian.
mine complain about contests screwing
up the bands, I tell them to stop whining
and try 12, 17 or 30 meters. It’s quiet as
toward the States? You guessed it. I fixed about it, twice or even three times. So, if
a cemetery on those bands.
the small problem and left the major work we didn’t get your call sign right, don’t
With the contest behind us, we settled
for Jani. blame us. You didn’t correct us, as so
into the delightful, euphoric life at
For the non-contesters who have made many diligent operators did. (For the
Hillview Gardens. Eat, drink, make phone
it this far, the ARRL DX CW (and Phone) record, I joined FISTS a few years ago in
contacts, tour, swim, enjoy the balmy
contests have the rest of the world trying the hope that membership would improve
weather—you get the idea. This out-of-
to contact stations in North America. my Morse code aptitude. It didn’t. FISTS’
the-way paradise that Alfons and Doris
During the contest we faced several in- motto is something like “accuracy over
have created may just be ham radio’s elu-
controvertible realities. First, conditions speed.” Amen.)
sive Shangri-La. It’s not Club Med, nor
weren’t great for much of the contest, at Speaking of speed, as I was merrily
is it The Ritz Carlton. But it sure is com-
least in our part of the world, and second, searching and pouncing, I came across a
fortable and friendly.
Japan was between us and the United multi-op station with a showboat at the
During my morning jogs, passing cars
States. Even so, we two reluctant CW paddle. He was streaming along at about
would toot their horns and the drivers
operators worked more than 550 stations 45 WPM. Stations would call him and
would wave. Friendly. Or maybe they
(my goal was a thousand, which is why I he’d come back in a blaze of dits, dahs
were just astonished at seeing this big,
have to go back and try again) to the tune and submicroscopic spaces. The callers
crazy Anglo jogging up a hill in the hot
of about a quarter-million points. We only usually sent question marks. The show-
sun. You know what they say about mad
managed to get three “runs” going in the boat would resend his report at the same
dogs and Englishmen...
entire contest—and we sent a lot of CQs speed, which often prompted the callers
My friend Don says the trip reinvigo-
on what seemed like clear frequencies. to send more question marks—and those
rated him and renewed his interest in ham
Apparently, most NA stations don’t point who didn’t were probably guessing. Was
radio. It certainly did the same for me. I
toward the Pacific until Europe dies. that TX he sent? Or was it GA? After tak-
made a resolution that when I got home I
ing a minute to complete a 20-second
Life in the Fast Lane was going to totally renovate my ham
QSO, good old “I’d rather die than QRS”
shack. And Don is rereading OH2BH’s
Incidentally, we were zealous about al- blazed off another QRZ.
book, Where Do We Go Next?
ways sending the call sign of the stations I listened to his call 10 times before I
Wherever that is, I’m sure we’ll return
we contacted at least once after we made finally had it right. So, with an educational
to Hillview.
contact, and often, if there was any doubt bent, I cranked CT to 60 WPM and gave
Thanks
In my whirlwind efforts to prepare
for this trip, I owe special thanks to my
other Don friend, W6EEN, who tutored
me on CT, built my CW interface and
configured my computer. And I only
worked him once during the contest.
Don, I looked for you, I really did!
Thanks also go to Norm, W6ORD, for
being the QSL manager for 9M6V,
9M6AQT and 9M6IPT. Special thanks
go to Bob, N2OO/9M6OO, who is the
godfather of the Hillview Gardens Ama-
teur Radio Club, of which Don and I
are now badge-wearing members.
And for those of you to whom we gave
a multiplier or two, you’re welcome. You
didn’t enjoy it half as much as we did!
You can contact the author at 5700 Hill Oak
W6AQ/9M6AQT beside the rubber tree he adopted. If you look closely, you might notice Dr, Hollywood, CA 90068; dbellw6aq@
his call sign scratched in the bark by the little rubber plantation’s single employee. aol.com.
September 2001 45
By Greg Fields, K0OB
Priceless Communication
from the Serengeti
For some of us, ham radio is mostly a hobby. For volunteers far
from home, however, Amateur Radio can provide a critical lifeline
to the outside world—sometimes for years at a time!
1992, my friends Jim and Joann rig (which was also a good excuse for me which also had a bit of bad news. A
E
very year, new and seasoned Ama-
teur Radio operators alike partici-
pate in Jamboree on the Air
(JOTA), which provides an opportunity
for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to enjoy
the opportunity to talk with other scouts
and hams. This year’s JOTA will be Oc-
tober 20-21. It is a tradition that started
back in 1957. More than a half century
later, JOTA continues to expose young
people to the wonders of ham radio.
Bob Houf, K7ZB, of Tempe, Arizona,
recounts his JOTA 2000 adventure:
I acted as the ham advisor and sta-
tion operator for JOTA ham radio station
K7ZB/7 for the weekend camping trip
for Troop 16 of Ahwautukee, Arizona.
We went up to the high country in Ari-
zona (7000 feet ASL) and camped in the
tall Ponderosa pines. This late in Octo-
ber it starts getting cold, and it snows,
but we caught a good weekend with
highs in the 40/50s and only occasional Troop 16 scouts Patrick and Sheehan enjoy JOTA during a weekend camping trip.
sprinkles. The deteriorating weather as
Saturday progressed did not dampen the
enthusiasm, however, and the troop had Aged from 10 to 14, each of them learned
a great time. World Wide Scout Frequencies quickly to handle the mic, and then im-
The scouts of Troop 16 arrived at 9 PM (MHz) proved their skill as they talked with
Friday night, and amazed me by putting Dates: October 20-21, 2001 scouts in other states and countries, in-
up their campsite in the dark (well, with a Band Phone CW cluding British Columbia, Washington,
few Coleman gas lanterns, that is...). (Meters) Oregon, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Cali-
Several of the scouts and their Scout- 80 3.740 and 3.940 3.590 fornia and Mexico.
40 7.270 7.030
master, David, KD7KMA (a new ham) 20 14.290 14.070 The boys spoke with Girl Scouts,
immediately wanted to try out the radio, 17 18.140 18.080 Brownies, Boy Scouts and Ventures, ask-
so we commenced DXing until the Jam- 15 21.360 21.140 ing questions about their life and hob-
boree started at midnight. Our station 12 24.960 24.910 bies, whether they were camping or in a
consisted of a complete 300-W 20-meter 10 28.390 28.190 home, and other subjects.
HF station with stacked dipoles at 75 The day ended all too soon, since a
feet, a generator for a desktop linear amp In the morning, several of the scouts cold front was passing through, bring-
and my TS570D. wanted to begin making contacts imme- ing the chance for snow. We shut down
This was truly an enjoyable time ... diately on the radio. Eventually we be- the radio station around 5 PM, and after
an absolutely clear, cold, night up in the gan to rotate scouts on the microphone being treated to an amazingly well done
high country, millions of stars overhead, until 4 in the afternoon. We worked many dinner cooked in Dutch ovens over a pin-
in a cabin tent with 20 meters alive in stations in Canada, the Pacific NW and ewood fire, we set off for the city.
the middle of the peak of Sunspot Cycle Mexico as part of JOTA. The stacked di- I haven’t participated in scout activi-
23! The scouts talked to both hams and pole orientation coupled with 20-meter ties since I was a Tenderfoot myself in
scouts around the world. band conditions during the day Saturday the late 1950s, but I must say, this week-
I had to shut down the rig at 1 AM in precluded making quality contacts to the end provided a memory that will last the
order to get some sleep. Saturday morn- East Coast or Europe, but we had boom- rest of my lifetime. And, I think there
ing came with a drip, drip-drip, drip- ing signal reports up and down the West- will be a few more hams in Troop 16 be-
drip-drip... at 6 AM. (A short night and ern side of the continent. fore long!
sprinkles of rain—now this reminded me The rapid growth of these scouts’ For more information, please visit
of scouting as a kid!) communications skills was remarkable. www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/#scout
48 September 2001
The ARRL Novice
Spectrum Study Survey
In
July this survey was placed cense was introduced. Interest in the surveyed on the Members Only web site
on the ARRL Members Only Novice license waned dramatically as the as to what they think should be done with
Web site at www.arrl.org/ code-free Tech became the entry-level the frequencies.
members-only/NoviceSurvey.html. If license of choice. In 2000 the FCC an- For each HF band that includes a
you do not have access to the Members nounced that due to a lack of interest, the Novice subband, the committee offers
Only Web site you may complete and Novice license would no longer be is- an option of “no change” as well as other
send this survey (or a photocopy) to: sued. Having completed its task with dis- options. Please make any written com-
tinction, the Novice license has been ments on another sheet of paper. Or, if you
The Novice Spectrum Study Committee
retired. prefer, you may send an email to the Com-
ARRL
What impact does this have on current mittee at NoviceSurvey@arrl.org.
225 Main St
Novice licensees? There are currently
Newington, CT 06111
about 40,000 Novices in the FCC’s data- Please take a moment of your time to
The ARRL Board of Directors needs base. That number has declined by about participate in the survey and tell your rep-
your input and thoughts on what to do 6,000 a year through non-renewal and resentatives what you think should be
with the current HF Novice frequencies. upgrading. Recent studies of the Novice done with the Novice frequencies. Place
In the 1950s the FCC created the Novice portions of most HF bands show that a mark on the line corresponding to your
license as a method for people to enter those frequencies, once a hotbed of new selection. Your input is solicited!
the Amateur Radio Service. The 5 word amateurs, are not as heavily used as other
per minute code exam and a simple theory parts of the bands. 73, and thanks for your time.
test brought the new licensee a taste of At the January 2001 Annual Meeting, The Novice Spectrum Study Committee
Amateur Radio worldwide communica- the Board charged ARRL President Jim International Affairs Vice President
tion in selected portions of the 80, 40 and Haynie, W5JBP, with forming a Commit- Rod Stafford, W6ROD, Chairman
15 meter CW bands. tee to investigate “refarming” of these Vice President John Kanode, N4MM,
For 30 years this license was the pri- Novice frequencies. The Committee, led Vice Director Bruce Frahm, K0BJ
mary way people entered the Amateur by International Affairs Vice President Vice Director Twila Greenheck, N0JPH
Radio Service. Rod Stafford, W6ROD, recommended in Vice Director Steve Mendelsohn, W2ML
In 1990 the code-free Technician li- an early session that League members be Vice Director Mike Raisbeck, K1TWF
You may answer one survey only. Please do not submit this survey if you have already answered the survey
on the ARRL Members Only Web site.
1 Your name and call sign (answer optional) SSB/FM/AM?
__ 0
__ 1 to 25 percent
2 Approximately what percentage of time do you __ 26 - 50 percent
spend on the air using: __ 51 - 75 percent
CW? __ 76 - 99 percent
__ 0 __ 100 percent
__ 1 to 25 percent __ I am not active on the air
__ 26 - 50 percent
__ 51 - 75 percent 3 What is your license class?
__ 76 - 99 percent __ Novice
__ 100 percent __ Technician Plus
__ I am not active on the air __ Technician
Other digital modes? __ General
__ 0 __ Advanced
__ 1 to 25 percent __ Extra
__ 26 - 50 percent __ I am not licensed
__ 51 - 75 percent
__ 76 - 99 percent
__ 100 percent
__ I am not active on the air
September 2001 49
4 Which of these options do you prefer for 80 meters? 6 Which of these options do you prefer for 15 meters?
Option 1 - No Change Option 1 - No Change
__ No change __ No change 21,100 21,200
3675 3725
21,025 21,300
3525 3850 N,P
N,P 21,225
3775 G
G
A A
E E
Option 2
__ 3.500 – 3.525 Extra CW 3525
__ 21.000 – 21.025 Extra CW Option 2
3725 21,200
3.525 – 3.725 All license 3775 N,P
21.025 – 21.200 All license 21,025 21,275
N,P
classes (except G classes (except 21,225
G
A
Technician) CW E
Technician) CW A
E
3.725 – 3.750 Extra phone 3500 3750 4000 kHz
21.200 – 21.225 Extra Class
21,000 21,200 21,450 kHz
3.750 – 3.775 Extra/Advanced phone phone
3.775 – 4.000 Extra/Advanced and General phone 21.225 – 21.275 Extra/Advanced phone
21.275 – 21.450 Extra/Advanced/General phone
__ 3.500 – 3.525 Extra CW Option 3
3.525 – 3.700 All license 3525 3700 __ 21.000 – 21.025 Extra CW Option 3
classes (except 3800 N,P 21.025 – 21.175 All license 21,025 21,175
21,250
G
Technician) CW A
classes (except 21,200
N,P
G
3.700 – 3.725 Extra Class E Technician) CW A
Advanced phone 7000 7125 7300 kHz 8 Are you a resident of the United States?
7.175 – 7.300 Extra/Advanced phone YES or NO (answer required)
___ Yes ___ No
__ Other
future. Therefore, the Committee believes that in order to satisfy its goal of not = CW, phone and image
decreasing privileges for any licensee, any future option will include CW spectrum
= CW and phone
for Novice/Technician Plus operators (in addition to the phone privileges already
in place on 10 meters). On the 80, 40 and 15 meter bands, Novice/Technician Plus = CW only
CW band restrictions should be changed to match those of General Class CW/ N = NOVICE
RTTY/Data band segments with the caveat that Novice/Technician Plus operators P = TECHNICIAN PLUS
G = GENERAL
only use CW with a maximum power of 200 watts in those bands. On 10 meters, A = ADVANCED
CW/RTTY/Data modes are allowed for Novice/Technician Plus licensees. E = EXTRA CLASS
50 September 2001
By Lew Malchick, N2RQ
High School
KC7KFF 288288 1 904 45 51 8 40 24 12 Carl Hayden Community HS ARC Carl Hayden Community H S
W6PRB 170815 2 609 50 23 8 36 24 12 Paso Robles High School ARC
K1BBS 140304 3 444 39 30 6 47 24 22 Burr and Burton ARC Burr and Burton Academy
KB3BKW 95121 4 351 46 36 2 37 22 14 Belle Vernon HS ARC Belle Vernon High School
W2CXN 21210 5 105 33 20 2 29 11 5 Brooklyn Technical High School Brooklyn Technical High School
ARC&Soc.
W5CHS 16383 6 97 30 9 0 18 8 8 Catholic HS ARC Catholic High School
KB0SAL 16000 7 80 30 1 2 33 23 8 Waco Amateur Radio Club Waco Jr-Sr High School
N4LZJ 15360 8 96 30 18 1 22 19 6 Colonial Forge HS
KG4EDK 14700 9 100 28 21 4 18 16 8 Brooke Point High School
KC2AIF 13728 10 88 33 13 0 22 15 6 Pioneer HS ARC Pioneer High School
KC0ENB 7000 11 56 28 3 2 18 8 4 Russell High School Radio Club Russell High School
N4ZRA 3600 12 45 16 5 2 11 6 7 North Georgia Christian Home
Educators
KC0EPL 1292 13 34 16 5 1 3 12 1
W2IHA 918 14 17 10 1 0 8 2 3 IHA ARC Immaculate Heart Academy
WA7PZW 754 15 13 7 1 0 10 5 2 Mazama High School Ham-mers Mazama High School
DX High School
VE7HSS 200 1 10 8 2 0 2 3 3 Eric Hamber High School
College/University
W7ASU 348159 1 813 50 44 17 57 24 7 Amateur Radio Society at
Arizona State University
W5ASU 38925 2 225 36 10 6 23 19 10 Arkansas State Technical Institute ARC Arkansas State Univ
W9NIU 36024 3 144 35 14 4 36 16 5 NIU College of Engineering Radio Club Northern Illinois University
N5ZQ 12882 4 113 20 15 2 15 10 2 Oklahoma Christian University Oklahoma Christian University
W6YRA 8680 5 70 29 1 2 18 2 2 UCLA Amateur Radio Club Engineering IV 66-147L
K0KSU 7725 6 103 23 1 3 9 12 2 Kansas State University—Salina ARC Kansas State University—Salina
WB4TOP 7154 7 46 18 14 2 22 14 3 Wake Tech ARC
AG0EU 6441 8 57 26 3 2 16 7 1 Jack Blizzard ARC Evangel University
W2CXM 4872 9 58 20 7 1 11 8 5 Cornell University ARC Cornell University
KC5ZHF 150 10 10 4 1 0 2 2 1 U. T. A. Amateur Radio Club University of Texas at Arlington
DX College/University
ON4HTI 13430 1 138 13 35 8 3 19 4 Higher Technical Institute,
K. H. B. O.
Club
K3FBI 38135 1 142 40 6 1 43 14 4 Federal Bureau of Investigation ARA
Individual
N2IZM 6105 1 33 22 1 1 32 15 1
KC2FDQ 4687 2 42 22 3 2 16 7 1
WO8L 1782 3 18 14 0 0 17 5 1
KB3AGZ 1472 4 16 12 0 0 16 5 1
N2TDT 342 5 18 4 3 1 2 5 1
WB0WG 24 6 2 2 0 0 2 1 1
52 September 2001
By Steve Ewald, WV1X
A
RRL’s annual Simulated Emer- Management Agencies and the National Radio community must respond. All the
gency Test (SET) is coming up on Weather Service to learn first-hand what experience gained beforehand really
October 6 and 7, 2001, and that’s Amateur Radio can do to assist in emer- proves its value.
the first weekend of that month. Will gency situations. The SET event often cap-
you be ready to take part in this tures the attention of the local news media Get Involved!
nationwide exercise? The SET involves as well, so keep an eye on the chance to To get involved in this year’s SET, con-
such groups as the Amateur Radio provide public awareness. tact your local ARRL emergency coordi-
Emergency Service (ARES), the ARRL nator (EC) or net manager (NM). Need a
National Traffic System (NTS), the Radio Annual Tune Up little help in finding out whom to contact?
Amateur Civil Emergency Service ARRL Field Organization officials in Check with your Section Manager (see
(RACES), SKYWARN and many more as your section and area are making plans page 12 of QST) or log onto ARRLWeb
they work through simulated emergency for the SET weekend. Their emergency- www.arrl.org/FandES/field/org/smlist.
scenarios to test the capability of like scenarios typically require partici- html. This will lead you to a listing or ad-
operators, equipment and the overall pants to report to preassigned locations ditional links to the ARRL Field Organi-
response efforts. and operation centers with little or no zation leaders in your vicinity.
The SET is a great opportunity to lay a advanced notice. On-the-air nets are also If you’re a Field Organization official
foundation of cooperation between Ama- activated to support the communication. making plans for SET, you should be re-
teur Radio operators and community and Under the direction of a test coordina- ceiving SET guidelines and reporting
public service agencies. Simulated emer- tor, Amateur Radio equipment and repeat- forms either electronically or via the
gencies are a ready invitation for served ers are often demonstrated with emergency postal service soon. The information
agencies like the American Red Cross, the power for a certain period of time. Also, will also be posted on ARRLWeb at
Salvation Army, the Federal Emergency those operators involved will receive on- www.arrl.org/FandES/field/forms/. Al-
the-job training on various types of gear, though October 6 and 7 is the focal
antennas and modes of operation. The SET weekend for the national Simulated
creates a suitable learning environment to Emergency Test, ARRL Field Organiza-
review message-handling (traffic) skills tion leaders may conduct their exercise
and net procedures. In a real emergency,
the situation dictates how the Amateur (continued on page 55)
The Humboldt Amateur Radio Club The Humboldt Amateur Radio Club, based in Eureka, California, displayed this
operated this Field Day station, W6ZZK, “Caltrans” communications van during the San Francisco Section and Redwood
from the Humboldt County Fairgrounds Coast Amateur Radio Convention that was held on Field Day weekend in Ferndale.
in Ferndale, California. Field Day is a “Caltrans” is associated with the California Department of Transportation, and it
vivid reminder of the portable and allows the area’s radio amateurs to use this vehicle to set up a mobile command post
emergency capabilities of Amateur Radio. for emergencies and public service communications.
September 2001 53
By Steve Ford, WB8IMY
See You in
Cincinnati!
The Queen City plays host to
the 2001 ARRL/TAPR Digital
Communications Conference.
Software-defined radios like this one are with old friends, and make new ones. be a presentation on the current and fu-
among the hot topics at the Digital ture status of APRS—the Automatic Po-
Communications Conference. Not Just for the Elite sition Reporting System—with Brent
If you’ve never attended a Digital Hildebrand, KH2Z (the developer of
Communications Conference before, you APRSPLUS), Mike Musick, N0QBF (de-
probably think it is a gathering restricted veloper of PocketAPRS), and other na-
to digital gurus. The luminaries of the tionally known APRS leaders. This is
M
ost people agree that Amateur amateur digital community will indeed be your chance to gain insight into this fast-
Radio should be moving swiftly in attendance, but most of the audience growing digital aspect of amateur opera-
into the digital age, but is any- is composed of average hams like you. If tions that combines computers, packet
one really doing anything to advance the you have an interest in digital communi- radio and GPS (Global Positioning Sys-
process? The answer is “yes,” and you’ll cation, this conference will give you a rare tem). You’ll also find other helpful forums
find these digital pioneers in abundance glimpse into the details of this revolution- on topics as diverse as TCP/IP and digi-
at the 2001 ARRL/TAPR Digital Com- ary technology. The Digital Communica- tal satellite communication.
munications Conference (DCC) in Cin- tions Conference takes place in a setting The DCC banquet will be held Satur-
cinnati, Ohio September 21-23. that encourages discussion; you won’t be day night. There will be a guest speaker
Amateur digital innovators regularly just an isolated face in the crowd. after the banquet and a prize drawing
share ideas over the air and by Internet Among the many forum topics will will top the evening. The Sunday morn-
e-mail, but nothing beats the face-to-face
intimacy a conference provides. Con-
cepts are explained fully, and there is
ample time for reasoned debate. There
are also many opportunities to catch up
(continued from page 53) to also copy the county’s emergency man-
Addition to 2000 SET Results agement agency director, the Red Cross
any time between September 1 and Please note the following addition to or any served agency. Blair has done this,
November 30. the article, 2 000 Simulated Emer- and it has proved to be very helpful.
gency Test Results , in July 2001
A Real Reason for SET QST, pp 53-55. This report should A Red Cross/ARES Exercise
have been listed under ARES activity
Jim Metzler, N3BZW, ARRL District In South Carolina, Bob Good, K4BG,
of Eastern New York:
Emergency Coordinator for Western Area Reporter Points reported on how the York County ARES
Pennsylvania’s Zone S-2, shared the impor- Dutchess Co KC2DAA 308 responded to a planned exercise of the
tance of last year’s SET in Blair County. local American Red Cross chapter.
Blair County held their SET on Sep- The scenario involved a local tornado
tember 27, 2000. What was special about disaster. Three shelters were opened along
this SET was that it dealt with the certifi- cations. PEMA requested that the Blair with Red Cross headquarters, and a repre-
cation of the new Blair County Emer- EC help with expanding Amateur Radio sentative of the local emergency opera-
gency Management Agency Director. in their emergency preparedness. tions center (the York County RACES
This meant that all government agencies If you’re asking yourself, “So what?” Officer) was present. This drill was held
were present, including PEMA (Pennsyl- then picture this: Local police, state po- in conjunction with the annual certifica-
vania Emergency Management Agency), lice, emergency management, county fire tion of the Red Cross chapter. All loca-
along with local and state police agencies, departments, Red Cross, National Weather tions were staffed by radio amateurs and
fire departments, and the American Red Service, county and local governments all three disaster assessment teams. During
Cross. The Blair ARES command center at one location and having the opportunity the test, Amateur Radio provided primary
was also the 911 center, so this allowed to watch ARES at work. (For some of the communications with emergency power. A
the Blair ARES to introduce Amateur agencies, it was their first time!) These mobile HF, VHF, and UHF communica-
Radio to all agencies involved. agencies collected information on how to tions unit was on the scene. A total of
Amateur Radio became the main fo- contact the Blair ARES. twenty York County ARES members par-
cus point during the drill. The government We are important and our services are ticipated in the exercise, and all functions
agencies started monitoring the ARES needed! Making and maintaining contacts of the test were accomplished to the satis-
activities and gave supportive comments with county emergency officials is a pri- faction of the Red Cross director and per-
on ARES effectiveness and how well we ority. Don’t make the wrong judgment sonnel. A follow-up critique by the Red
performed both as communicators and as that the yearly SET is trivial. Encourage Cross was attended by representatives of
a viable source for emergency communi- your ECs, when making monthly reports, the involved ARES members.
September 2001 55
WORKBENCH
PROJECTS AND INFORMATION FOR THE ACTIVE AMATEUR
The Doctor is IN
Q When a resistor is connected to a battery, do the electrons
flow from the positive terminal of the battery through the
resistor to the negative terminal, or vice versa?
A One of the more accurate ways to measure both the
resistive and reactive components of an antenna is to use
one of the antenna-impedance analyzers. Several companies
advertise these in QST magazine.
A Electrons flow from the negative terminal to the posi-
tive terminal of a battery, without question. However,
there are two different points of view on the direction of elec-
If you know an antenna is resonant, you can use an SWR
meter to get an indication of the resistive component. If there
trical current flow, and the division between them is such that is no reactance and the SWR is 2:1, then the resistive compo-
you will even find some books written with two different ver- nent of the antenna would be either 25 Ω, or 100 Ω if the mea-
sions to accommodate both points of view. surement equipment is calibrated for 50 Ω. In the real world,
One camp prefers to discuss electrical current in terms of things aren’t usually this clean—the point of best SWR may
hole flow. So what is hole flow? When an electron leaves an contain some reactance. What really counts, though, is that
atom, it creates an electron deficit, or “hole,” thereby creating the SWR on the feedline be low enough that it isn’t too lossy
what is known as a positive ion. This change-of-state (usually about 5:1 for coax is okay, depending on the coax
progresses from one atom to another in bucket-brigade fash- type and length) and that the transmitter sees a reasonable load.
ion, which can be considered hole flow. This is most often Most rigs today will operate into a 1.5:1 to 2:1 load, although
called conventional current. some fold back power at SWRs greater than 1.5:1.
The opposite view contends that electrons do indeed flow,
not holes. The hole-flow proponents counter that free elec-
trons don’t travel fast enough in a wire to create the behavior Q Mike, K6MKF, asks, “A friend of mine asked when hertz
became the nomenclature for frequency. There are all
sorts of references on the Web to Heinrich Hertz and that Hz
we observe. On the other hand, the propagation of hole states
is extraordinarily fast. Therefore, they believe hole flow must is named for him. I’ve been licensed since the 1960s and I seem
be correct. to remember that Hz came into use in the mid-1970s.”
Valid arguments can be made on both sides as to which
concept is “correct.” I strongly suggest not taking sides, but
instead acknowledging the validity of both points of view and
A The first reference to the use of hertz in QST seems to
have been in Correspondence in the September 1930 is-
sue in which the writer, PA0ZK proposes the change. The edi-
just keep in mind which convention is being used when dis- tor responded saying that QST would continue using the old
cussing a particular circuit. convention until such time as the Committee on Standardiza-
tion of the Institute of Radio Engineers changed it.
will tend to stay outside that range. The term for this is “lock” Do you have a question or a problem? Ask the Doctor! Send
since within the range a PLL tends to stay “locked in.” your questions (no telephone calls, please) to: “The Doctor,”
On computer-controlled rigs, there is a circuit that senses ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; doctor@arrl.org;
www.arrl.org/tis/. Also see, “The Doctor is On-line” at
if the PLL is staying in lock. If the PLL unlocks, an error www.arrl.org/members-only/qst/doctor/.
message can be generated. However, I’ve only seen this on
rigs where the allowed tuning range exceeds the guaranteed
range; e.g., a 2-meter rig that includes wideband reception to
900 MHz and the tunable frequency range goes up to 999 MHz,
but the manufacturer only guarantees 930 MHz. Then, select-
ing something above 930 MHz might cause a PLL lock error.
Within the rig’s normal operating range, this should not
happen unless the PLL IC is defective, or there is a bad con-
nection on the circuit board. Given that a mechanical input
puts the PLL back in lock in your rig, I suspect the latter is
most likely the case.
Another possibility is that the HTX-202 is out of alignment.
September 2001 57
SHORT TAKES
PropMan 2000
By Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA
Rockwell Collins recently released an upgraded version of
their HF Propagation Resource Manager software. The new
upgrade is called PropMan 2000. In a nutshell, PropMan iden-
tifies and displays the best frequencies for an HF communica-
tions link in a user-friendly real-time graphical environment.
My first exposure to the PropMan series of propagation
prediction software was with Version 3.1 in 1995. This was a
DOS version that I ran on my old 386 PC. It used IONCAP
Version PC.25 for its raw data, and presented plots of Signal-
to-Noise Ratio (SNR) for the path selected. It was obvious
that its heritage was from the military market, as its list of
locations (for the receive end and transmit end of the path)
was heavily slanted toward military installations and it talked
about channels as opposed to frequencies.
New and Improved
So what’s new in this upgraded version? PropMan 2000 is Figure 1—PropMan 2000 analyzes a path between Boulder,
now a Windows program, so that makes it easy to print the Colorado and Fort Wayne, Indiana.
color-coded screens for a hard copy (that was a real task with
the DOS version). PropMan 2000 now uses VOACAP Version
99.0708W for its underlying propagation predictions and the Microsoft Internet Explorer for this Internet feature, I had no
raw VOACAP data can easily be viewed with a couple of problems using Netscape. And it is not out of the question
clicks of your mouse. And the list of locations has been re- nowadays to have PropMan continuously obtain space weather
vised extensively to move it away from its military slant. updates on a dedicated Internet line.
As you can see from the descriptions of the plots, PropMan
PropMan in Action is heavily slanted toward reporting SNR. SNR (or signal
I set up PropMan for a simple path, and took a look at what strength) is only one of the outputs of a propagation predic-
it had to offer. Once the proper parameters were entered, tion—the other is mode availability (which VOACAP calls
PropMan immediately ran predictions, and the screen looked “MUFdays”). It appears that the Best Frequency versus Time
like Figure 1. plot in PropMan addresses mode availability, as its values are
The path parameters are displayed at the top of the screen. independent of transmit power and antenna gains and are some-
The top left plot area displays one of three plots (selected via what less than the median MUF in the Frequency/SNR versus
the colored plot icons at the right end of the toolbar): Best Time plot. This suggests the Best Frequency versus Time plot
Channel for Selected Time, Best Frequency versus Time, or is somewhat akin to the FOT—the frequency that should be
Channel SNR versus Time. The bottom left plot area is the available on 90% of the days of the month.
Best Channel versus Time. The right plot area is Frequency/
SNR versus Time. Any of the five plots can be made to fill the Conclusion
entire screen by double clicking on it. Overall I found this new version of PropMan easy to use in
The Best Channel for Selected Time plot shows the pre- the Windows environment. The Help texts and Tutorials are
dicted SNR on your selected frequencies in real-time format extensive, and should allow you to navigate and use PropMan
(which means it’d be nice to have your PC set to the correct with little trouble. The information presented in all the plots
time!). The Best Frequency versus Time plot is not dependent is rather extensive, so some study will be necessary to fully
on transmit power or antenna gains, which suggests it is more comprehend what you are looking at.
of a plot of which frequency is optimum solely in terms of PropMan 2000 is available for $99 US plus tax and ship-
ionization (more on this later). The Channel SNR versus Time ping and handling. For more information, or for questions re-
plot gives the SNR for each hour on each selected frequency garding PropMan 2000, call Rockwell Collins at 319-295-5100
over a 24-hour period. The Best Channel versus Time plot takes or at 800-321-2223, e-mail Collins@collins.rockwell.com or
the data from the Channel SNR versus Time plot and shows visit their Web site at www.propman2000.com.
which frequency is best for each hour during a 24-hour pe-
riod. The Frequency/SNR versus Time plot shows the SNR
for all frequencies from 1 to 30 MHz for each hour for a
24-hour period. This last plot also includes the monthly me-
dian MUF as a thick black line for each hour.
PropMan also allows automatic input of space weather data
from Internet sources, and this feature provides two additional
and unique reports: warnings of ionospheric storms, and a table
of percent degradations for each hour to be applied to the
predicted MUFs. Although the Help menu discusses using
58 September 2001
By Andy Pfeiffer, K1KLO
In
the March 1994 QST I described in some detail how Let’s Look at the Special Spreaders
I’d managed to shrink the standard quad using linear Like my previous QST article, this is not a blow-by-blow
loading techniques (see “The Pfeiffer Quad Antenna description of how to build the 40-meter version. I’ve got a
System,” page 28). The object was to make a quad that was well-equipped machine shop, and being retired, the time to re-
more manageable to maintain despite icing and high winds, ally fuss over mechanical details. I really do make my anten-
even hurricanes. I called the resulting designs the “Maltese nas to stand up to the elements! This is an idea article and
Quad” and the “Maltese Double-Cross Quad” because the pe- should give the dedicated experimenter enough information to
rimeter of the radiating wires resembled a Maltese Cross. See get him or her going.
Figures 1 and 2 (from the original article) showing the layout I feel at this point it is imperative that the reader be fully
for these two unique element designs. knowledgeable regarding the perimeter wiring of my three ba-
I mentioned in the original article that my next project was sic Maltese designs: the four-spreader Maltese Quad, the eight-
going to be a 40-meter version. Well, here it is: the Pfeiffer Mal- spreader Maltese Double-Cross Quad and this new 16-spreader-
tese Quadruple-Cross Quad. Figure 3 is a photograph showing per-element 40-meter Maltese Quadruple-Cross Quad.
the 15-meter miniature Double Cross quad on one of my tow- Figure 4 (not drawn to scale) shows a complete four-spreader
ers. I’ve been using this miniature antenna for several years now Maltese Quad driven element. (To maintain drawing clarity,
and the performance is very satisfying. The 40-meter version is the spreaders have been omitted, but are indicated by the dashed
similar in appearance, but with twice the number of spreaders. lines.) It shows the path of the 16 separate 14-gauge copper
wires that form its perimeter.
Figure 1—The outer square represents the wire perimeter of The eight-spreader Maltese Double-Cross Quad would have
a full-sized standard quad driven element. The inner 32 wires in its perimeter, and my 40-meter Maltese Quadruple-
configuration defines the wire perimeter of the driven Cross Quad would have 64 separate perimeter wires.
element for the Maltese Upon completing an element, check with an ohmmeter to
Cross quad. It’s drawn to
the same scale, but has a be absolutely sure that there is continuity. An open element
spreader diagonal only will not function as a closed loop.
56% the size of the Figure 5 shows the perimeter of a normal quad element. . .
standard quad element. all for the same band. Part A shows the relative reduction of
For example, on the 12-
meter band, the standard the four-spreader Maltese Quad, Part B that of the eight-
quad’s diagonal spread spreader Maltese Double-
is 14 feet 2 inches, while Cross Quad and Part C the
the Maltese Cross quad’s 16-spreader Maltese Qua-
diagonal spread is 8 feet.
For a 40-meter element, druple-Cross Quad for the
the diagonal spread 40-meter band.
would be 49 feet for a
standard quad, and 27 Aluminum Tubing for
feet 8 inches for the Spreaders
Maltese Cross quad.
I realized over the last
few years since my earlier
Figure 2—The article in QST that one of the
perimeter wiring of linear loading wires could
the Maltese Double
Cross quad on the Figure 3—Photo of the
inside, compared to Double Cross 15-meter quad
a standard-sized at the top of one of K1KLO’s
quad driven element. towers, about 50 feet high.
Here the extra linear
loading reduces the Table 1
diagonal spread on
40 meter from 49 feet Comparing Standard Quad and Quadruple Cross Quad
for the standard (Dimensions shown in feet)
quad down to 20 feet Diameter Perimeter Diameter Perimeter Percentage
3 inches for the Standard Standard Quadruple Quadruple Difference
Maltese Double Quad Quad Cross Cross
Cross.
49 139 14 243 75%
September 2001 59
Figure 5—The
perimeter of a
normal quad
element—all
for the same
band. See text.
61
By H. Ward Silver, N0AX
As technology advances, the vocabulary moves right along 4. Which of the following diode symbols would you expect to
with it—not only in terms, but in the symbols that we use on see in a voltage regulator circuit?
schematics and to describe technology. Test your ability to a. c.
identify symbols, old and new.
d. Heater h. Answers
62 September 2001
HINTS & KINKS
64 September 2001
By Dave Patton, NT1N
CC&Rs Recommended ARRL 160 Meter Band nology Task Force (TTF) recommended
The long simmering issue of CC&Rs Plan (1.8 – 2.0 MHz) that the Board approve a proposed peti-
seemed to come to a boil at the Second 1.800 – 1.810 Digital modes tion to the FCC asking for an experimen-
2001 Meeting of the ARRL Board. With 1.810 CW QRP tal license waiver of Part 97 for the use
many of the Board members actively 1.800 – 2.000 CW of unattended beacons on 160. These bea-
working on the issue, combined with the cons, part of a propagation study, would
1.843 – 2.000 SSB, SSTV and other
efforts of the ARRL’s Legislative Man- be located in 1 kHz segments of the band
wideband modes
ager, Steve Mansfield, N1MZA, to col- at 1.800-1.801 MHz and 1.999-2.000
1.910 SSB QRP
lect and present over 130 real “horror MHz running low power. The TTF will
1.995 – 2.000 Experimental
stories” volunteered by members around also develop guidelines for data collec-
1.999 – 2.000 Beacons
the country, the Board was energized to tion, storage and analysis to be used for
take action. Just before the annual sum- In addition to the band plan, the Tech- this propagation study (Minute 47).
mer gathering of the ARRL’s leaders July
20-21, 2001, Bill Cross, W3TN, of the
FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bu- Summary of Major Board Actions
reau, gave the Board no encouragement Minute Purpose Disposition
that the FCC would be able to help with Organizational
the CC&R crisis facing Amateur Radio 13 ARRL to vote in favor of Pitcairn Is. ARA admission to IARU Secretary
across the country until Congress in- 22 Petition for allocation at 5.250 – 5.400 MHz Adopted
structed it to do so. Throughout the Board 25 Logbook of the World electronic awards and Approved
meeting, ARRL’s leaders harkened back confirmation system
to the subject of CC&Rs and discussed 26 One time, non-endorsable QRP DXCC award Approved
various options, tools and approaches 27 Field Day participation extended to all of Region 2 Adopted
available to them. 39 Bylaw 6 Amended
During this meeting, the Board formally 40 Bylaw 7 Amended
41 Bylaw 37 Amended
recognized the importance of work on an- 47 Petition for unattended beacons on 160 meters Adopted
tenna restrictions as equal to that of spec- 54, 55 Preservation of Amateur Radio and ARRL history Adopted
trum protection (Minute 73), and directed 57 160 meters band plan Approved
Headquarters staff to create a “How-to” 64 “How-to” guide for PRB-1 Adopted
guide that will help Amateurs implement 65 30 meter band added to DXCC and DXCC Challenge Adopted
state PRB-1 legislation and include ex- 66 Encourage free admission for kids at ARRL-sanctioned events Adopted
amples of language used successfully 67 Web site content archiving Adopted
(Minute 64). The new ARRL publication 70 Petition to expand 1×1 call sign program to include 2×1 calls Adopted
71 Article 1 Amended
by Fred Hopengarten, K1VR, Antenna 72 Study procedures and qualifications for EC
Zoning for the Radio Amateur, is another Honorary Vice President
tool that will be of great benefit to those 73 Protection from CC&Rs recognized as a major goal Adopted
with legal issues related to antennas.
Awards and Recognition
If You Have An Antenna, We Have 29 Bill Morine, N2COP, McGan Silver Antenna Award Awarded
Lots of Operating News For You 30 George Tranos, N2GA, Brier Instructor of the Year Award Awarded
31 Allan Cameron, N7UJJ, Professional educator Awarded
The 160 meter band was a popular of the Year Award
topic of conversation at this meeting. Af- 32 Richard Flanagan, W6OLD, Excellence in Recruiting Award Awarded
ter reviewing many hundreds of com- 33 Thaddeus Huff, KC0AQG, Hiram Percy Maxim Award Awarded
ments about the way the Gentleman’s 34 Steven Strauss, NY3B, Technical Service Award Awarded
Band should be used, the 160 Meter Band 35 J. P. Martinez, G3PLX, and R. S. Larkin, W7PUA, Awarded
Plan Ad Hoc Committee (created at the ARRL Technical Innovation Awards
Annual meeting in January 2001) made 36 Paul Wade, W1GHZ, Microwave Development Award Awarded
its recommendations on a band plan to the 37 Howard Teller, KH6TY, and Dave Benson, K1SWL
Doug DeMaw, W1FB, Technical Excellence Awards Awarded
Board. Here is the band plan as approved 43 Vice Director Evelyn Gauzens, W4WYR, 22 years of service Recognized
(Minute 57):
September 2001 65
2000 Awards
The Philip J. McGan Memorial Silver Antenna Award awards this year. The Lake County Amateur Radio Club of
William Morine, N2COP, of Crown Point, Indiana, cosponsored the 2000 ARRL Herb S.
Wilmington, North Carolina, is the winner Brier Instructor of the Year Award. The Lambda Amateur
of the 2000 Philip J. McGan Memorial Radio Club of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a cosponsor of
Silver Antenna Award. The annual award the 2000 ARRL Professional Educator of the Year Award.
honors an amateur who demonstrates out- The Carson Valley Radio Club of Minden, Nevada, is the
standing volunteer public relations success cosponsor of the 2000 ARRL Excellence in Recruiting
on behalf of Amateur Radio, and who best Award.
exemplifies the volunteer spirit of the
award’s namesake, journalist Philip J. Herb S. Brier Instructor of the Year Award
McGan, WA2MBQ—the first chairman of the George Tranos, N2GA, of Bellport,
ARRL’s Public Relations Committee. New York, is the 2000 Herb S. Brier In-
As an ARRL Public Information Officer structor of the Year. Tranos has been
and the PIO for the Azalea Coast Ama- organizing, recruiting, teaching and dem-
teur Radio Club, Bill Morine has contrib- onstrating ham radio since 1992. His
uted significantly to raising public awareness about ham hands-on approach to learning even
radio in his area. Since 1997, he has been racking up the includes pieces of rope to teach the ba-
media hits in television, radio and print, including guest sics of knot-tying and rigging used for
appearances on Wilmington’s morning news magazine pro- Field Day setup, and a laptop PC to dem-
grams. His PR efforts have covered emergency communica- onstrate computerized logging.
tions, public service, restructuring, training classes, Tranos is serving his third term as
educational opportunities in schools and Amateur Radio in ARRL Section Manager for the New York
scouting. City/Long Island Section, a post he’s held since April 1998.
A former news writer and producer for WCVB television in In this capacity, he has made presentations at local radio
Boston, Morine has been licensed for nearly 30 years. Aside clubs and the NYC/LI Section convention. He is also a key
from his media relations activities, he is involved with ARES, player in the success of Ham Radio University, an annual
Jamboree on the Air and the School Club Roundup. He is educational convocation that started as a two-day Techni-
also a Volunteer Examiner. cian licensing class. Tranos organized the curriculum,
classes, publicity, instructors, demonstrations, course mate-
Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award rials, amateur examination sessions, and even lunch and
A 19-year-old community college snacks.
student, Thaddeus W. Huff, KC0AQG, of While working with students either on a one-to-one basis
Clarence, Missouri, is the 2000 Hiram or in a group, his enthusiasm for the hobby is evident to
Percy Maxim Memorial Award winner. An everyone. One past student referred to his “positive attitude,
ARRL member, Thaddeus attends which promotes a you-can-do-it attitude in each student.”
Moberly Area Community College, where
he is majoring in criminal justice. ARRL 2000 Educator of the Year
The Hiram Percy Maxim Award goes Allan Cameron, N7UJJ, of Chandler, Arizona, is the 2000
each year to a radio amateur under the ARRL Educator of the Year. A teacher at the Carl Hayden
age of 21 whose accomplishments and Community High School in Arizona, Cameron co-founded
contributions are of the most exemplary the Carl Hayden Amateur Radio Club nine years ago with
nature within the framework of Amateur Alex Reyes, KC4UFM. This club regularly demonstrates
Radio activities. The award was estab- Amateur Radio to students, and many of them become
lished in 1936, and formal nominations licensed.
come from section managers. The School Club Roundup, held each February, is a
ARRL Missouri Section Manager Dale Bagley, K0KY, had favorite activity of the club, which has been the SCR high
high praise for Thaddeus Huff. “Thaddeus is a bright and school champion since 1994. Cameron starts the prepara-
hardworking young man and has earned the respect of all tions well in advance of the weeklong event.
who come to know him,” he said. From the start, the Carl Hayden ARC has worked ham
Huff is active in community development and has spear- radio into classrooms at Kyrene de La Paloma Elementary
headed several programs to benefit his community, including School. An HF station is set up at the school, and all the
an exhibit at the Clarence Community Resources Exposition students in a class talk to a ham in another state or country.
to demonstrate Amateur Radio and emergency communica- After locating their contact on a map, the youngsters design
tions. A member of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, and send QSL cards.
he has organized severe weather spotting courses for Ma- In 1992, Cameron accompanied students for a weekend
con and Shelby counties. Perhaps most important, he en- at the Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club’s Field Day site. They
courages those attending to become involved with ARES. did some operating, and enjoyed the fellowship. In 1995,
For the past two years, he’s organized and led simulated 1996 and 1997, he took the students into the mountains and
emergency tests for the past two years in three counties. set up a station. He says the kids were the exclusive opera-
In addition to his ARES activities, KC0AQG participates tors, and they loved it.
in SKYWARN, and he enjoys ARRL Field Day. He is a mem-
ber of the Macon County Amateur Radio Club. 2 000 Excellence in Recruitment Award
While also attending school, Huff holds a part-time job at Dick Flanagan, W6OLD, of Minden,
a local computer store and works on radio electronic projects Nevada, is the 2000 Excellence in Re-
related to weather satellites and VHF equipment. cruitment Award winner. An ARRL Assis-
The winner of the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award tant Section Manager, Flanagan uses
receives a cash award of $1000, an engraved plaque, and many different methods of recruitment
travel and accommodation expenses to enable the winner to for Amateur Radio classes. In one case,
attend an ARRL convention for a formal presentation. a press release to a local newspaper led
to an article in a major regional newspa-
ARRL Instruction, Education and Recruitment Awards per. In addition, his ham radio posters
The ARRL is proud to have three clubs sponsoring are colorful, creative and to the point.
66 September 2001
With more people becoming Internet-dependent, one of that circuit design work. More recently, he served as sys-
his ways to recruit students is through the Carson Valley tems engineer for a helmet-mounted display electronics for
Radio Club’s Web site, www.cvrc.net. Flanagan is the the Comanche helicopter program.
CVRC Webmaster. From the Web site, individuals, whether Benson founded Small Wonder Labs, an electronics kit
newly interested or experienced ham, can find out the latest company, in 1994 and took his venture full-time in 1996.
information on classes, VE sessions, current events, and When not laboring at this, he can be found renovating his
the ARRL. Flanagan, who helped found the CVRC, also recently purchased home. Other activities include volunteer
edits the club newsletter. work as a team leader doing home-repair in the Appala-
Flanagan also has had success recruiting new hams chians. He enjoys hiking, gardening and also fancies himself
through the Carson Valley Radio Club’s reflector as well as a guitar player. Dave Benson has contributed to a number of
on regional and local e-mail reflectors. Through these re- QRP-related periodicals and is a member of the QRP “Hall
flectors, hams and potential licensees can keep abreast of of Fame” as well as a frequent contributor to QST.
urgent or timely news and events.
“What continues to make Dick stand out is his very infec- ARRL 2000 Microwave Development Award
tious love of Amateur Radio, of helping others,” said a state- Paul Wade, W1GHZ, of Shirley,
ment from the Carson Valley Radio Club. “He works Massachusetts, is the winner of the 2000
diligently and hard for the interests and welfare of the ama- Microwave Development Award. His work
teur community locally and at large. Some may always want on antennas and parabolic dish feed sys-
recognition or something in return. Dick’s greatest gift is to tems has been documented in QEX ar-
see the success and enjoyment others get from amateur ticles as well as in his own On-line
radio.” Microwave Antenna Handbook . His de-
signs have been successfully reproduced
ARRL Professional Instructor of the Year worldwide. Wade also has done extensive
There were no nominees for the 2000 ARRL Profes- propagation work with snow and rain scat-
sional Instructor of the Year Award. ter on 10 GHz in the New England area.
He is always operational for the ARRL 10
ARRL Technical Awards GHz and Above contests, providing numerous contacts and
ARRL Doug DeMaw, W1FB, Technical Excellence Award technical assistance for newcomer and old timer alike. Wade
Dave Benson, K1SWL and Howard “Skip” Teller, KH6TY, also has written numerous programs for the Palm Pilot hand-
are the winners of the 2000 Doug DeMaw, W1FB, Technical held computer, most notably a grid-square calculation pro-
Excellence Award. “A Panoramic Transceiving System for gram that allows two stations to calculate six-digit grid
PSK31,” in June 2000 QST , was the product of their col- squares and distance and bearings between each station.
laboration. The result was a QRP (low-power) dedicated This information is extremely valuable in helping microwave
PSK31 transceiver for 20 meters. Known as the PSK20, the stations to align their antennas for communication.
transceiver sparked a surge of interest in home and por- Wade also is an avid circuit designer. His latest contribu-
table QRP operating with PSK31—a digital mode ideally tion to the amateur microwave community is a compact,
suited for the task. state-of-the-art 10 GHz transverter design that can quickly
Howard “Skip” Teller, KH6TY, became put a multi-mode 2-meter rig on 10 GHz. Wade is among the
a ham while in junior high school, passing leading organizers of the North East Weak Signal Group’s
his Novice and General exams, and annual conference. Wade has written numerous technical
spending most of his time experimenting and operating articles for other conferences, such as the
with HF and VHF circuitry. After college Central States VHF Society and Microwave Update.
General Electric’s Radio Receiver De-
partment hired him, where he eventually ARRL 2000 Technical Innovation Award
became chief engineer for multiband Two amateurs were named as winners of the ARRL 2000
radio design. After GE, he held radio Technical Innovation Award. They are Peter Martinez,
engineering manager positions for G3PLX, of England, and Bob Larkin, W7PUA, of Corvallis,
Sylvania, Hoffman Electronics and the Oregon.
Admiral Corporation. In 1970 he estab- Peter Martinez, G3PLX, is well-known today as the father
Skip Teller,
lished his own radio design consulting KH6TY of PSK31, now a popular digital mode that uses phase-shift
company and shortly thereafter won a keying and a unique “varicode” to enable efficient keyboard-
worldwide competition to design radios to-keyboard conversations within a narrow bandwidth. Al-
for Algerian manufacture. though it got off to a quiet start, PSK31 appears here to stay
In 1974, Teller created the original weather alert radio, and has proven to be a valuable shot in the arm to the digital
still sold today at RadioShack stores, and moved to Taiwan side of Amateur Radio.
to build a factory to manufacture them. Ten years later, he For some hams, PSK31 has been the gateway to a new
retired to Hawaii and has recently moved back to his home- world of hamming—where the computer sound card used to
town in South Carolina. Skip Teller is the holder of four encode and decode PSK31 has become as integral a part of
electrical circuit patents, and, when not hamming, enjoys an amateur station as the traditional microphone or keyer.
playing tennis and fencing. PSK31 not only has provided many hams with their first
First licensed as WA1GMT in 1967, foray into digital radio, it has done so in a way that teaches
Dave Benson, K1SWL (ex-NN1G), was them that in today’s modern radio age, the lines between
an inveterate homebrewer from the start. software and hardware are becoming blurred. Once a ham
An electrical engineering graduate of the sets up that station capability, the use of new modes be-
University of Connecticut, he also did comes as simple as downloading new software and trying it
graduate research in ultrasound imaging out. With this software approach to ham radio, the limits of
at UConn. what hams can do have been extended.
Benson has lived in the Southwest (as Bob Larkin, W7PUA, helped introduce software defined
KU7I) and worked as an aerospace radios, or SDRs, into the Amateur Radio lexicon, with the
design engineer. He contributed a num- design and publication in QST of the DSP-10 SDR. Pioneer-
ber of digital video and serial-communi- ing hams have built these units and used them to do
cations designs used on military aircraft. Dave Benson, unimagined things like making two-way QRP moonbounce
He holds two US patents stemming from K1SWL contacts. The DSP-10 has provided a means for the ama-
September 2001 67
teur community to learn about SDRs. recognizes the contributions of an
Modern digital signal processing amateur who conducts technical forums
(DSP) technology has made extensive and demonstrations. Strauss is distin-
inroads into the domain of hard-wired guished member of the Agere Systems
components. With SDR, software gen- technical staff, a past president of the
erates radio signals, not a phase-locked Allentown Works Amateur Radio Club
loop oscillator, and DSP can generate a and trustee of K3ME. During his career
signal directly over a surprisingly large he has worked in the areas of Inte-
frequency range. Software also serves grated Services Digital Networks, audio
for filtering, automatic gain control and, and video compression, and high-
more importantly, the direct modulation speed digital modem technologies.
and demodulation of the signals used to Currently, he is a systems architect and
Bob Larkin, communicate. consultant of DSP and Modem technologies.
W7PUA In the commercial world, SDR can Strauss has written several sections of the HomePNA
be used over a range of tens of mega- specification and serves as the Study Group Chairman ad-
hertz, with operating modes from “legacy” FM to modern dressing HomePNA to ARRL liaison (RFI) activities. He has
spread spectrum. If a new mode is needed, the SDR can be written many technical contributions to the ITU-T and TR30
hooked up to a computer and the new program installed—an committees in support of home networking initiatives. He has
instant upgrade! Ham manufacturers are jumping on this also looked to minimize the affects of RFI egress and ingress
bandwagon, too. to the ARS in high-speed modem technology.
TAPR (www.tapr.org) has begun offering a DSP-10 kit. Strauss has more than a dozen patents pending in support
of his research and development activities pertaining to high-
ARRL 2000 Technical Service Award speed modem and home networking technologies. He’s also
Steven Strauss, NY3B, of Orefield, Pennsylvania, is the published 25 technical articles and frequently speaks at vari-
winner of the ARRL 2000 Technical Service Award, which ous technical and industry conferences throughout the world.
The Board authorized General Coun- own DXCC award, 30 meters will also be the importance of getting youth involved
sel Imlay and Executive Vice President added to the DXCC Challenge (Minute in Amateur Radio. He showed the Board
Sumner to complete and file a petition to 65), but the starting date will be deter- a slide presentation of a group of 20 won-
the FCC asking for a secondary domestic mined later and may not occur for as much derfully talented 7th, 8th and 9th graders
allocation at 5.250–5.400 MHz. This band as a year, so don’t send your cards in yet.
who attended an intensive two week Ama-
holds a lot of promise for filling in the President Haynie continued to stress teur Radio course—Tech Camp, held in
propagation needs in the US between 40 the Dallas area at Collin County Commu-
and 80 meters. There have been active ex- nity College (http://ftp.ccccd.edu/
perimental licensees on the band, and techcamp/). Each youngster passed the
those stations have proven the value of Amateur Extra Class license exam at the
this possible new addition (Minute 22). end of the class! The Board did their part
The Board also officially approved the during this meeting by adopting a plan to
long-anticipated Logbook of the World encourage hamfest sponsors and other
project. The system will make it much Amateur Radio-related events managers
easier for people to participate in all ARRL to allow free admission for those below
awards programs (and awards programs of the age of 16 (Minute 66).
other organizations) through the use of A very active Historical Committee
electronic confirmations within a giant asked the Board to ensure that the history
database of QSO information maintained of Amateur Radio was not forgotten. The
at ARRL Headquarters. The system will Committee counted more than 5000 arti-
Delta Division Director Rick Roderick,
use digital security methods to help ensure K5UR, receiving his DXCC Challenge plaque facts at Headquarters alone that need to
that data will be authentic, and will pro- from Dave Sumner, K1ZZ (Minute 63). be catalogued, stored and displayed. With
vide a new alternative to the use of tradi- the increasing interest in nostalgia and
tional QSL car ds, which have to be history throughout all facets of society,
collected and verified by card checkers for Amateur Radio is not alone. The Board
most awards (Minute 25). Logbook of the recognized this need and authorized staff
World will eventually be integrated to take steps to begin this large project
seamlessly into the DXCC software sys- (Minutes 54, 55). ARRLWeb also has at-
tem to make a wonderful combination that, tracted attention as a source of historical
accessed through ARRLWeb, will thor- information, and the Board directed staff
oughly modernize ARRL awards programs. to archive its contents for future archival
Everyone on the Board and on the HQ staff use (Minute 67).
is looking forward to its implementation. It was a busy meeting and much was
QRP is hot. The Board, recognizing accomplished. Please take a moment to
this rising phenomenon, authorized the look through the Summary of Major
creation of a one-time, non-endorsable Board Actions to see what else happened.
QRP DXCC award similar to the Millen- Each item has a reference to the appro-
nium award (Minute 26), which will be priate spot in the Minutes. Copies of the
available early in 2002. Also, the Board Longtime Southeastern Division Vice reports of the Board Standing Commit-
Director Evelyn Gauzens, W4WYR,
authorized the addition of the 30 meter receiving a plaque commemorating her tees, Ad-Hoc Committees and Advisory
band to the stable of DXCC awards avail- service to ARRL from President Haynie Committees will be available soon on
able to DXers. The last band without its (Minute 43). ARRLWeb.
68 September 2001
MOVED & SECONDED
2001 SECOND MEETING OF THE W3XE; Andrew A. Andros, W0LTE; Chester B. plaque, endorsed with 2000 band countries, to
ARRL BOARD OF DIRECTORS Atkins, W4CGP; Jack R. Carter, KC6WYX; Vice President Kanode (Applause.)
Walter Davis, WA6ODQ; Edward R. Doubek, 12. International Affairs Vice President
July 20-21, 2001 N9RF; Vince Farenga, K2HCP; John W. Foster, Stafford supplemented his extensive written re-
Summary Agenda W0YDX; Ronnie Gann, ex-W1FGF; Jack E. port with comments about the operational status
Goforth, K4IBP; Al Gross, W8PAL; Thomas A. of IARU Region 2 and plans for the upcoming
1. Roll Call Henderson, K4CIH; Hendrik Johannes Jesse, Region 2 meeting in Guatemala in October. He
2. Moment of Silence PA0CII; Ed Kracum, WB2COP; Javier Ledesma, also reported that the 40 meter band harmoniza-
3. Consideration of the Agenda for the meeting EA4AV; Dale Marquis, WA4EZU; J ack A. tion is going well in the Region with welcome
4. Approval of the Minutes of the 2001 Annual McCullough, ex-W6CHE; Jake McHendrix, assistance from CITEL.
Meeting WD4PBF; Bill Or r, W6SAI; Joe C. “Pat” 13. On motion of Vice President Stafford, sec-
5. Reports by the Officers Patterson, W5VY; Thomas Powell, K3YPO; onded by Mr. Fallon, it was unanimously VOTED
6. Receive Reports and Consider Recommenda- Maurice Ricks, NQ3E; Bob Rose, KW2V; Bob that the Secretary is instructed to cast a vote on
tions of the Committees Samuelson, ex-W9RAD; Francis Shepard, behalf of the ARRL in favor of IARU proposal
7. Directors’ motions W7HAH; Andrew V. Smith, W7JMW; Ross No. 232, concerning the admission of the Pitcairn
1. Pursuant to due notice, the Board of Direc- Stevens, W0XJ; Arnold Tamchin, W2HCW; Island Amateur Radio Association to the IARU.
tors of the American Radio Relay League, Inc, met Walter Taylor, K2MLT; George Thurston III, 14. Treasurer McCobb presented his report on
in annual session at the Hartford Marriott/Rocky W4MLE; Richard “Rick” Vahan, N4PBF; Joe the status of the ARRL’s investment portfolio and
Hill, Rocky Hill, Connecticut on Friday, July 20, White, K0CNV; and Taroh Yagi, JH1WIX. his observations of the stock market over the last
and Saturday, July 21, 2001. The meeting was 3. On motion of Mr. Heyn, seconded by Mr. six months. The League’s position is down at
called to order at 8:35 AM EDT, July 20, with Bodson, the agenda of the meeting was present due to the decline in the market and
President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, in the Chair and ADOPTED as presented. planned disbursements. The Board was in recess
the following Directors present: Bernie Fuller, 4. On motion of Mr. Race, seconded by Mr. from 10:05 AM until 10:25 AM.
N3EFN, Atlantic Division; George R. Isely, Milnes, the Minutes of the 2001 Annual Meeting 15. At this point the Chair thanked Mr. Cross
W9GIG, Central Division; Jay Bellows, K0QB, were ADOPTED. for addressing the Board informally on the previ-
Dakota Division; Rick Roderick, K5UR, Delta 5. Mr. Pulfer conveyed the greetings of the ous evening. Mr. Cross left the meeting. Execu-
Division; George Race, WB8BGY, Great Lakes Radio Amateurs of Canada, Inc. He thanked Mr. tive Vice President Sumner then presented his re-
Division; Frank Fallon, N2FF, Hudson Division; Haynie for attending the RAC Board meeting ear- port with comments on his satisfaction with the
Wade Walstrom, W0EJ, Midwest Division; Tom lier in the year. He also reported that RAC’s rela- functioning of staff after the recent reorganiza-
Frenaye, K1KI, New England Division; Greg tionship at present with Industry Canada is per- tion. He has focused much of his time on advo-
Milnes, W7OZ, Northwestern Division; James haps the best it has ever been. Mr. Pulfer expressed cacy efforts and on the search for a chief devel-
Maxwell, W6CF, Pacific Division; Dennis his concern with growing threats to the lower mi- opment officer.
Bodson, W4PWF, Roanoke Division; Walt crowave bands in Canada. 16. Chief Operating Officer Wilson supple-
Stinson, W0CP, Rocky Mountain Division; Frank 6. Mr. Frenaye conveyed the greetings of the mented his extensive written report with an up-
M. Butler, W4RH, Southeastern Division; Fried ARRL Foundation. He reported that the date on his activities since the headquarters reor-
Heyn, WA6WZO, Southwestern Division; Coy Foundation’s assets have climbed to the $2.1 mil- ganization including the status of the ongoing ef-
Day, N5OK, West Gulf Division. lion dollar mark, and noted that there is a new forts to complete the remaining staffing require-
Also present without vote were Joel M. fund created by the Boring Amateur Radio Club, ments.
Harrison, W5ZN, First Vice President; Kay C. the WRTC USA Youth Fund, with the purpose of 17. Chief Financial Officer Shelley discussed
Craigie, WT3P, Vice President; John Kanode, helping young contesters fund travel to future ARRL’s financial condition and related that at this
N4MM, Vice President; Rodney J. Stafford, World Radiosport Team Championship sites. point in the year the organization is slightly ahead
W6ROD, International Affairs Vice President; 7. At this point, the officers reported on their of budget projections.
James McCobb, W1LLU, Treasurer; David activities during the first half of 2001. President 18. At this point the Chair led the Board in a
Sumner, K1ZZ, Executive Vice President and Sec- Haynie began his report with his impressions of short brainstorming session in order to discuss
retary; Chief Operating Officer Mark Wilson, the many Amateur Radio gatherings he has at- various issues of concern. The Board was in re-
K1RO; and Chief Financial Officer Barry J. tended during the first six months of this year. He cess for lunch at 11:51 AM until 1:10 PM recon-
Shelley, N1VXY. visited seven divisions during this time. Mr. vening with all persons hereinbefore mentioned
Also in attendance at the invitation of the Haynie reported being very impressed with the except Mr. Cross.
Board as observers were the following Vice Di- attendance at many forums especially the ARRL 19. Mr. Mansfield, Manager of Legislative and
rectors: William Edgar, N3LLR, Atlantic Division; forums at all events. He reported that the meet- Public Affairs, supplemented his extensive writ-
Howard Huntington, K9KM, Central Division; ings in Washington DC with the Washington ten report and references with a discussion of
Twila Greenheck, N0JPH, Dakota Division; Henry Watch Group and various legislators and agency ARRL’s continuing possibilities and strategies to
Leggette, WD4Q, Delta Division; Gary Johnston, staff, have been successful and productive and that deal with the ever more serious CC&R problems.
KI4LA, Great Lakes Division; Stephen he looked forward to future meetings. The ARRL 20. Mr. Rinaldo, ARRL’s Technical Relations
Mendelsohn, W2ML, Hudson Division; Bruce has been invited to organize an “Amateur Radio Manager, delivered his report on the numerous
Frahm, K0BJ, Midwest Division; Mike Raisbeck, Day at the FCC” in September. activities of his office including work for the
K1TWF, New England Division; James 8. First Vice President Harrison supplemented IARU/ITU, WRC-2003 including 7 MHz broad-
Fenstermaker, K9JF, Northwestern Division; Rob- his written report with comments about the ARRL casting/Amateur issues, and several ITU groups.
ert Vallio, W6RGG, Pacific Division; Les field organization, his participation in meetings 21. General Counsel Imlay’s report covered
Shattuck, K4NK, Roanoke Division; “Rev” in Washington and the international convention many issues and centered on his work to facili-
Morton, WS7W, Rocky Mountain Division; in Friedrichshafen, Germany, and the good news tate the League’s interest in getting additional al-
Evelyn Gauzens, W4WYR, Southeastern Divi- about the operational capabilities of the AO40 locations at 135.7–137.8 kHz and 160-190 kHz,
sion; Art Goddard, W6XD, Southwestern Divi- satellite. a primary allocation at 2400-2402 MHz, and a do-
sion; and David Woolweaver, K5RAV, West Gulf 9. Vice President Craigie commented on the mestic allocation at 5 MHz. He also discussed
Division. Also present were General Counsel fabulous results shown from a two week inten- more issues surrounding CC&Rs. The Board was
Christopher D. Imlay, W3KD; Membership Ser- sive Amateur Radio course for kids called “Tech in recess from 2:48 PM until 3:07 PM.
vices Manager Wayne Mills, N7NG; Field and Camp” at a community college near Dallas. Each 22. On motion of Mr. Roderick, seconded by
Educational Services Manager Rosalie White, of the kids in the course passed the Extra Class Mr. Milnes, it was unanimously VOTED that the
K1STO; Technical Relations Manager Paul exam and some attended HamCom. She stressed Executive Vice President and General Counsel
Rinaldo, W4RI; Legislative and Public Affairs that all Amateurs must continue to promote the shall complete the preparation of a petition for
Manager Steve Mansfield, N1MZA; and Special idea that Ham Radio is for all age and socioeco- rule making proposing the domestic allocation on
Assistant to the Executive Vice President David nomic groups. a secondary basis of the band 5,250-5,400 kHz,
Patton, NT1N. Present as guests of the Board were 10. Vice President Kanode supplemented his and file such petition with the FCC immediately.
Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) Vice President written report with comments about the progress The petition will include the following operating
Ken Pulfer, VE3PU, and William Cross, W3TN, made in the Membership Services Committee, and parameters:
of the Federal Communications Commission. the status of the Pitcairn Island Amateur Radio 1. Full Amateur operating power.
2. The assembly observed a moment of silence Association’s application for membership in the 2. Access to the allocation by licensees
in recollection of Radio Amateurs who have IARU. holding General, Advanced, or Amateur Extra
passed away since the previous Board meting, 11. At this point Executive Vice President Class.
especially Carl Elwin “Andy” Andersen Sr, Sumner presented the new DXCC Challenge 3. All emission modes authorized for other
September 2001 69
present amateur HF bands, without creation of W1GHZ, as the recipient of the ARRL Microwave use of the Lab for testing various Part 15 devices
subbands by regulation. Development Award. (Applause.) such as Bluetooth.
23. At this point, at 3:14 PM, on motion of 37. On motion of Mr. Bodson, seconded by 45. Mr. Harrison, as Board liaison, gave the
Mr. Maxwell, seconded by Mr. Heyn, the Board Mr. Frenaye, it was unanimously VOTED that the report of the SAREX Working Group with the
VOTED to meet as a Committee of the Whole to ARRL Board of Directors selects Howard Teller, assistance of Ms. White. Ms. White reported that
discuss certain legal matters. At 3:17 PM the Com- KH6TY, and Dave Benson, K1SWL, as the recipi- NASA is pleased with the performance of the
mittee of the Whole arose and reported to the ents of the 2000 Doug DeMaw, W1FB, Technical present Amateur Radio program on the Space Sta-
Board. On motion of Mr. Harrison, seconded by Excellence Awards for their article, “A Panoramic tion, and the positive publicity that has been gen-
Mr. Isely, it was VOTED that the report from the Transceiving System for PSK31,” which appeared erated thanks to the ARISS QSOs with schools
Committee of the Whole be accepted. in the June 2000 issue of QST. (Applause.) At this around the world. The Working Group is continu-
24. Mr. Fallon, as Chairman, presented the point the Board was in recess from 4:11 PM until ing work to place additional equipment aboard the
written report of the Membership Services Com- 4:21 PM. Space Station.
mittee. He reported that the newly implemented 38. Mr. Stinson, as Chairman, presented an 46. Mr. Harrison, as Chairman, presented the
Card Checker program is very successful with extensive report on the activities of the Adminis- report of the Technology Task Force. The Com-
twenty percent of the DXCC credits presented to tration and Finance Committee. He reported that mittee has reviewed its methods for evaluating
the system coming from Card Checkers. Contest- the installation of the new computer system at nominations for ARRL technical awards. The
ing is also increasing in interest and log submis- Headquarters was moving along satisfactorily. The ARRL Technology Working Group on Digital
sions. yearly audit of ARRL revealed no problems. The Voice submitted its progress report. Other issues
25. On motion of Mr. Fallon, seconded by Mr. committee is r eviewing program spending of the TTF included producing background pa-
Stinson, it was unanimously VOTED that the throughout the universe of ARRL activities and pers regarding high speed Digital Networks and
ARRL proceed with the implementation in 2002 will submit recommendations at the 2002 Annual Multimedia (HSMM) and Software Defined Ra-
of the Logbook of the World Program to electroni- Meeting. dio (SDR), and identifying and inviting experts
cally process log data for DXCC and other awards. 39. It was moved by Mr. Stinson, seconded by in these fields to serve as members of the work-
26. On motion of Mr. Fallon, seconded by Mr. Mr. Day, that effective October 1, 2001, Bylaw 6 ing groups. The TTF also recommended pursuing
Roderick, it was unanimously VOTED that a one is amended by striking the text and substituting an organized procedure for creating a 160 meter
time non-endorsable DXCC award similar to the therefor the following: band propagation study using low power unat-
DXCC Millennium Award be offered for contacts Bylaw 6. The Executive Vice President may tended beacons.
made using QRP power levels. establish a reduced dues rate for Full members 47. On motion of Mr. Harrison, seconded by
27. On motion of Mr. Frenaye, seconded by who have not reached the age of 22 years, pro- Mr. Roderick, it was unanimously VOTED that
Mr. Isely, it was unanimously VOTED that the vided that this rate shall not be less than 50% of the following resolution is adopted:
following resolution is ADOPTED: the rate established in Bylaw 4. This rate shall WHEREAS, significant experimentation with
WHEREAS, emergency communications ca- not be available for Life membership. signal propagation is ongoing in the 160 meter
pabilities are essential to the basis and purpose of A roll call vote being required, the question amateur band; and
amateur radio worldwide, was decided in the affirmative with 14 Directors WHEREAS, beacon operation in that band is
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that ARRL voting aye and Mr. Heyn voting nay. permitted pursuant to Section 97.203 of the FCC
Field Day rules be modified to support the full 40. It was moved by Mr. Stinson, seconded rules, but only while under local or remote con-
participation of all Region 2 countries, and that by Mr. Isely, that effective October 1, 2001, By- trol; and
an invitation be extended to all Region 2 radio law 7 is amended by striking the phrase “The spe- WHEREAS, automatically controlled beacon
societies to participate in Field Day beginning in cial dues rate of $5.00 annually” and substituting operation in the 160 meter band is reasonably
2002. therefor: “A special dues rate of 20% of the an- necessary for a fixed period of time to gather ac-
28. Mr. Maxwell, as Chairman, presented the nual rate established in Bylaw 4, rounded to the curate propagation data; and
extensive written report of the Volunteer Re- nearest dollar.” A roll call vote being required, the WHEREAS, a previous request by radio ama-
sources Committee, and noted that the committee question was decided in the affirmative with 14 teurs active in such propagation research resulted
had spent considerable time reviewing the Rules Directors voting aye and Mr. Walstrom voting nay. in the ARRL Board directing, at Minute 69 of the
and Regulations of the ARRL Field Organization. 41. It was moved by Mr. Stinson, seconded by 2001 Annual Meeting, the Technology Task Force
29. On motion of Mr. Bodson, seconded by Mr. Roderick, that Bylaw 37 is amended by in- to study the matter;
Mr. Stinson, it was unanimously VOTED that the serting a new subparagraph c) reading as follows: NOW, THEREFORE, it is RESOLVED that
ARRL Board of Directors selects Bill Morine, “c. The Chief Development Officer, who shall the General Counsel shall prepare a request for
N2COP, as recipient of the 2001 Philip J. McGan have responsibility for and supervision over any an experimental license or Part 97 waiver, as ap-
Silver Antenna Award. (Applause.) and all matters relating to fundraising, including propriate, for the ARRL to conduct automatically
30. On motion of Mr. Fallon, seconded by Mr. but not limited to annual and planned giving, en- controlled beacon operations in the 160 meter
Fuller, it was unanimously VOTED that the ARRL dowments, grants, and other gifts. He shall under amateur band. These beacons shall be contained
Board of Directors selects George Tranos, N2GA, the general direction of the Executive Vice Presi- in the frequency segment 1800-1801 kHz and
as the recipient of the 2000 Herb S. Brier Instruc- dent, employ such personnel as may be necessary 1999-2000 kHz.
tor of the Year Award. (Applause.) for the effective accomplishment of the duties set It is further RESOLVED that the Technology
31. On motion of Mr. Heyn, seconded by Mr. forth in the By-Law. He shall perform such other Task Force develop standard guidelines for data
Maxwell, it was unanimously VOTED that the duties as may be assigned to him by the Execu- collection, storage and analysis to be used for this
ARRL Board of Directors selects Allan Cameron, tive Vice President. His entire time shall be de- propagation study.
N7UJJ, as the 2000 ARRL Professional Educator voted to the duties as set forth above. He shall 48. At this point, at 9:29 AM, on motion of
of the Year. (Applause.) furnish a bond satisfactory to the Board of Direc- Mr. Maxwell, seconded by Mr. Harrison, the
32. On motion of Mr. Maxwell, seconded by tors, the expense of the same to be borne by the Board VOTED to meet as a Committee of the
Mr. Heyn, it was unanimously VOTED that the League.” A roll call vote being required, the ques- Whole to discuss Field Organization personnel
ARRL Board of Directors selects Richard tion was decided in the affirmative with all Di- matters. At 10:09 AM the Committee arose and
Flanagan, W6OLD, as the winner of the 2000 rectors voting aye. reported to the Board.
ARRL Excellence in Recruiting Award. (Ap- 42. Mr. Bellows, as Chairman, presented the 49. On motion of Mr. Race, seconded by Mr.
plause.) report of the Election Committee with the empha- Roderick, it was VOTED that the report from the
33. On motion of Mr. Walstrom, seconded by sis being on the upcoming Fall elections. The Committee of the Whole be accepted. The Board
Mr. Fallon, it was unanimously VOTED that the Board was in recess from 5:37 PM, July 20, until was in recess from 10:11 AM until 10:32 AM.
ARRL Board of Directors selects Thaddeus W. 8:35 AM, July 21 reconvening with all persons 50. Mr. Bodson, as Chairman, presented de-
Huff, KC0AQG, as winner of the 2000 ARRL hereinbefore mentioned, except Mr. Cross, and tails on the activities of the RFI Task Group that
Hiram Percy Maxim Award. (Applause.) with Vice Director Gauzens in the Chair. included a report on automotive electromagnetic
34. On motion of Mr. Fuller, seconded by Mr. 43. President Haynie returned to the Chair and compatibility and the expanded capabilities of the
Bodson, it was unanimously VOTED that the presented Mrs. Gauzens with a plaque commemo- ARRL lab with regard to RFI issues.
ARRL Board of Directors selects Steven Strauss, rating her 22 years of service to the ARRL as 51. Mr. Huntington, as Board liaison, gave the
NY3B, as the recipient of the 2000 ARRL Tech- Southeastern Division Vice Director. (Applause.) report of the RF Safety Committee. He noted that
nical Service Award. (Applause.) He then reported briefly for the Executive Com- Dr. Greg Lapin, N9GL, was appointed to the
35. On motion of Mr. Milnes, seconded by Mr. mittee. FCC’s Technological Advisory Council, represent-
Stafford, it was unanimously VOTED that the 44. Mr. Harrison, as Chairman, presented the ing ARRL on that body. The committee continues
ARRL Board of Directors selects J.P. Martinez, extensive written report of the Ad-Hoc Spectrum to monitor the NCI epidemiological study of ra-
G3PLX, and R.S. Larkin, W7PUA, as winners of Strategy Committee. The report outlined the sta- dio amateurs, and assisting the investigators to
the two ARRL Technical Innovation Awards. (Ap- tus of several ongoing projects assigned to it by maintain the highest level of accuracy.
plause.) the Board at the 2001 Annual Meeting. Among 52. Mr. Johnston, as Board Liaison, reported
36. On motion of Mr. Frenaye, seconded by the major issues under study are the design and on the activities of the Public Relations Commit-
Mr. Bodson, it was unanimously VOTED that the implementation of a noise study, the sharing of tee. The Committee under the leadership of Diane
ARRL Board of Directors selects Paul Wade Amateur spectrum with Part 15 devices, and the Ortiz, K2DO, has come together as a group, with
70 September 2001
the main activity in the first half of 2001 being scanners and short wave radios. The Board was Public Relations Committee review current ARRL
the update of the ARRL public information coor- in recess from lunch at 12:20 PM until 1:12 PM materials available for presenting Amateur Radio
dinator/public information officer handbook. The reconvening with all persons hereinbefore men- to the general public and develop a plan for the
next project is an in-flight magazine article. tioned except Mr. Shattuck and Mr. Cross. expansion and improvement of these materials.
53. Mr. Frenaye, as Chairman, supplemented 60. Mr. Frenaye, as Board Liaison, presented 69. On motion of Mr. Frenaye, seconded by
the report of the Historical Committee with the the report of the Contest Advisory Committee, Mr. Harrison, it was unanimously VOTED that
results of the first attempt to determine the actual which has worked hard on its task of completely ARRL continue to work with Internet security
number of artifacts in need of cataloguing, stor- reviewing and recommending any needed changes organizations to develop and improve capabilities
age, and/or display—over 5,000 at Headquarters to the ARRL Club Competition Program. The pre- to support emergency communications needs of
alone. The Committee offered several options for liminary report recommends that the CAC con- those responsible for ensuring that the Internet has
undertaking this effort. At this point Vice Direc- tinue its work on three subareas of its study—club high reliability.
tor Shattuck left the meeting. area definitions, modification of meeting atten- 70. On motion of Mr. Stinson, seconded by
54. On motion of Mr. Maxwell, seconded by dance criteria, and allocation of single operator Mr. Heyn, it was unanimously VOTED that the
Mr. Harrison, it was unanimously VOTED that the contest scores to more than one club. League shall, at the appropriate time, file a for-
following resolution is adopted: 61. Mr. Walstrom, as Board Liaison, presented mal request that the FCC modify its 1×1 call sign
BE IT RESOLVED: The ARRL Board of Di- the report of the DX Advisory Committee, and program to accommodate the issuance of tempo-
rectors believes that the “past is prologue to the noted that the DXAC has been successful in its rary 2×1 callsigns from United States prefixes
future.” We acknowledge the linkage between work to assist Section Managers to fill vacancies designating areas which contain no bonafide mail-
Amateur Radio’s long and creative history and the in the Card Checker program. There are presently ing addresses.
development of modern communications technol- 15 vacancies remaining and the program is work- 71. It was moved by Mr. Heyn, seconded by
ogy. Such technology has made a major contribu- ing well—Card Checkers have examined over Mr. Bellows, that the word “administered” be re-
tion to modern life. Therefore, we endorse a firm 20% of the cards submitted in 2001’s DXCC pro- placed with “governed” in the last sentence of
commitment to preserving the history of Amateur gram, thus reducing the checking required at Article 1 of the ARRL Articles of Association. A
Radio and its connection and contribution to mod- Headquarters. roll call vote being required, the question was
ern technology through the preservation of ARRL 62. Mr. Haynie, on behalf of Joe Moell, K0OV, decided in the affirmative with all Directors vot-
archives, historical records and collection of his- ARRL ARDF Coordinator, presented a report on ing aye.
torical objects. By preserving the past, we are the activities involving Amateur Radio Direction 72. On motion of Ms. Craigie, seconded by
looking toward the future. This forward looking Finding. Mr. Haynie plans to attend the upcom- Mr. Kanode, it was unanimously VOTED that the
commitment is for the benefit of contemporary ing ARDF Championships in Albuquerque. Executive Committee shall study the procedures
scientific researchers, experimenters and histori- 63. At this point Executive Vice President and qualifications concerning election of Honor-
ans as well as for the Amateur Radio community Sumner presented a DXCC Challenge plaque, ary Vice Presidents. They shall report the results
itself. endorsed with 2500 band countries, to Mr. of the study, including any recommended changes,
55. On motion of Mr. Frenaye, seconded by Roderick. (Applause.) at the annual meeting in January 2002.
Mr. Bodson, it was unanimously VOTED that the 64. Before moving to consider Directors’ mo- 73. The Board was in recess from 2:58 PM
recommendation in the report of the Historical tions, Mr. Haynie opened the floor for general until 3:10 PM, at which time, on motion of Mr.
Committee be adopted as steps towards the pres- discussion. Following discussion, on motion of Bellows, seconded by Mr. Isely, it was unani-
ervation and future display of Amateur Radio his- Mr. Roderick, seconded by Mr. Isely, it was unani- mously VOTED that the following resolution is
torical artifacts, documents and photographs. mously VOTED that the Executive Vice President adopted.
56. Mr. Bellows, as Chairman, reported on the and staff develop and implement a program to WHEREAS, the ARRL Board of Directors
activities and recommendations of the Ad Hoc assemble, coordinate and disseminate to amateurs recognizes that private Covenants Conditions and
Antenna Case Assistance Committee. The Ad Hoc information to assist them in their efforts to ob- Restrictions (CC&Rs) prohibiting or preventing
Antenna Case Committee has elected to partially tain relief from state and local land use restric- the use of Amateur Radio Antennas in residential
fund the continuing antenna case of Barry and tions. This program shall include, but not be lim- areas effectively ban Amateur Radio in those ar-
Kathy Gorodetzer, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. ited to: eas; and
This case, regarding CC&Rs, meets the evalua- A “how-to” guide for amateurs seeking to WHEREAS, Covenants, Conditions and Re-
tion criteria of the Committee and if successful implement state “PRB-1 Legislation;” strictions prohibiting Amateur antennas have pro-
stands to benefit Amateurs as a legal precedent Ordinance language samples to exempt ama- liferated over the past twenty years; and
setting example. Mr. Harrison assumed the Chair teur antennas from commercial tower ordinances; WHEREAS, Congress has recognized that the
at 11:20 AM. and ability to erect and use outdoor antennas in areas
57. Mr. Roderick, as Chairman, presented the Sample ordinances applicable to amateur an- controlled by CC&Rs is essential to the viability
report and recommendations of the 160 Meters tennas and support structures. of communications services in residential areas;
Band Plan Ad Hoc Committee. A recommended 65. On motion of Mr. Kanode, seconded by and
band plan was created based upon the heavy in- Mr. Frenaye, it was unanimously VOTED that in WHEREAS, the ability of Amateurs to erect
put of Amateurs responding to the Committee’s accordance with IARU Resolution 88-2 as en- and use antennas is as essential to the existence
request. Mr. Haynie returned to the Chair at 11:40 dorsed by IARU Region 2 in 1989, the DXCC of Amateur Radio as the defense of Amateur Ra-
AM. On motion of Mr. Roderick, seconded by Mr. program be revised to allow for a single band 30 dio Spectrum, and
Frenaye, it was VOTED that the following 160 meters award and 30 meters band inclusion in the WHEREAS, the resolution of this growing
Meters band plan revisions developed by the 160 DXCC Challenge Award, to be implemented when threat to the Amateur Radio Service will require
meters band plan committee after input from hun- administrative resources permit. the long term commitment of the ARRL and its
dreds of 160 meters band users be adopted: 66. On motion of Mr. Walstrom, seconded by members;
Mr. Fallon, it was unanimously VOTED that the NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that
Recommended ARRL 160 Meters Band Plan following resolution is adopted. the ARRL Board of Directors identifies and adopts
(1.8 – 2.0 MHz)
WHEREAS, young people are the future of as a major goal of our Advocacy activities legis-
1.800 – 1.810 Digital modes Amateur Radio; and lative action granting the Amateur Radio Service
CW QRP WHEREAS, young people should be encour- this same level of protection from CC&Rs pro-
1.800 – 2.000 CW aged whenever and where ever possible to dis- hibiting or restricting Amateur Radio antennas as
1.843 – 2.000 SSB SSTV cover more about Amateur Radio; is presently available to other Services, and that a
and other wideband modes THEREFORE RESOLVED, that organizers of plan of overall strategy be developed by the Ex-
SSB QRP hamfests and conventions sanctioned by the ARRL ecutive Committee to direct and focus the efforts
1.995 – 2.000 Experimental shall be encouraged to provide free admission to of the various entities of the ARRL to achieve that
1.999 – 2.000 Beacons such sanctioned events to individuals below the goal.
58. Mr. Stafford, as Chairman, summarized the age of 16 years when those individuals are accom- 74. Those present were invited to make infor-
activities and preliminary results of the survey panied by an attendee who pays the full price of mal closing comments.
created by the Novice Spectrum Study Commit- admission to the event. 75. On motion of Mr. Heyn, seconded by the
tee. The survey will appear in the September, 2001 67. On motion of Mr. Frenaye, seconded by entire assembly, it was unanimously VOTED to
QST. Mr. Maxwell, it was unanimously VOTED that the thank Lisa Kustosik and staff for their support of
59. Mr. Goddard, as Chairman, summarized following resolution is adopted. the meeting.
the activities of the ARRL Industry Advisory WHEREAS, the amount of valuable news and 76. There being no further business, the Board
Council. The highlights of the report included the information available on the ARRL web site has adjourned sine die at 3:50 PM. (Time in session
committee’s decision that its proposed connector increased rapidly over the past few years, as a Board: 11 hours, 54 minutes; Time in session
standards be adopted and presented to the Japan RESOLVED, that steps be taken to preserve as a Committee of the Whole: 43 minutes.)
Amateur Radio Industry Association. He also re- the content for future archived historical purposes.
ported that Radio Shack plans to include Ham 68. On motion of Mr. Frenaye, seconded by David Sumner, K1ZZ
Radio promotional material in the packaging of Mr. Milnes, it was unanimously VOTED that the Secretary
September 2001 71
HAPPENINGS
Novice Spectrum Survey Draws Heavy Response
As of late July, more than 1700 ARRL alike via e-mail to novicesurvey@arrl. has passed 5 WPM. This gives the Nov-
members had expressed their opinions on org. “The written comments for the most ice/Tech Plus operators space to practice
possible ways to optimize use of the part have been thoughtful and reasoned and improve, as well as the ability to op-
present Novice and Technician Plus al- and are highly appreciated by the com- erate where there is more activity.”
locations on 80, 40, 15 and 10 meters. mittee,” said Dave Patton, NT1N, who’s Other comments recommended no
Survey results ultimately might form the Headquarters staff liaison for the panel. change or expansion in privileges for
basis of an ARRL petition for rule mak- “If you haven’t filled out your survey Novice or Technician Plus operators on
ing before the FCC, and members still yet, please take a few minutes and do so,” the affected bands—an option that the
have an opportunity to participate. A copy Patton urged. “Please make sure to read survey provides. Not all commenters
of the Novice Spectrum Study survey the entire text of the survey to help un- were happy. “By handing Novices signifi-
appears elsewhere in this issue, and it derstand some of the assumptions made cant amounts of additional bandwidth
remains available to members on the by the committee regarding what ques- ‘free of charge’ you remove one of the
ARRL Web site, www.arrl.org/mem- tions to ask and what band segments and key motivators to upgrading, namely ac-
bers-only/NoviceSurvey.html. modes to offer as predefined options.” cess to additional bandwidth!” one said
Appointed by President Jim Haynie, Generally speaking, the committee’s about the predefined choices.
W5JBP, the Novice Spectrum Study predefined options propose retaining The Novice Spectrum Committee has
Committee is chaired by ARRL Interna- Amateur Extra CW subbands on the af- said no license class would lose privi-
tional Affairs Vice President Rod fected bands, setting aside expanded CW leges under any of the proposed
Stafford, W6ROD. The panel has been reserves for all license classes except refarming schemes. The Committee has
examining the status and usage of the Technicians who have not passed Ele- suggested that Novice/Tech Plus CW
present Novice HF bands with an eye to- ment 1, and dividing the remaining spec- band restrictions on 80, 40, 15 and 10
ward determining what changes might be trum into expanded phone segments for meters be changed to match those of the
needed now that the FCC no longer is- General, Advanced and Extra operators. General class CW/RTTY/data band seg-
sues new Novice licenses. The member- Many have offered separate opinions ments, with the caveat that Novice/Tech
ship survey is part of the ARRL Board’s on the process. “Although I operate and Plus operators only run CW on 80, 40,
mandate to the committee. The panel pre- prefer CW over phone, I welcome the and 15 at up to 200 W. Novices already
sented an interim report at the July ARRL expansion of the phone bands for Extra may operate RTTY and data on 10 meters.
Board meeting. A final report is due at class operations, especially on 75 Novice refarming also would restore full
the annual meeting next January. meters,” one member wrote. privileges to higher-class operators in the
In addition to the survey responses As another respondent put it, “it seems 80, 40, and 15-meter Novice bands,
tallied, several dozen more comments logical to me to give full CW privileges where all license classes now are limited
were filed by members and nonmembers down to .025 on all bands to anyone who to 200 W output.
September 2001 73
ARRL WELCOMES NEW HQ
STAFFERS
Jan Carman, K5MA, John Phillips,
In Brief
K2QAI, and Mark Simcik, WA1VVB,
have joined the ARRL Headquarters staff. • Vote on QST Cover Plaque Award: The winners of the QST Cover Plaque
Award for June were Wes Hayward, W7ZOI, and Bob Larkin, W7PUA, for their
Carman, of W Falmouth, Massachu-
setts, is the new supervisor of the ARRL article “Simple RF-Power Measurement.” The winner of the QST Cover Plaque
Book Team. He replaces Joel Kleinman, Award for July was Ed Krome, K9EK, for his article “Getting Started with
N1BKE, now QST AMSAT-OSCAR 40.” Congratulations! The winner of the QST Cover Plaque
ARRL
managing editor. award—given to the author of the best article in each issue—is determined by a
Carman’s career vote of ARRL members. Voting takes place each month on the Cover Plaque
has spanned the fields Poll Web page, www.arrl.org/members-only/qstvote.html. As soon as your
of aerospace, oil-field copy arrives, cast a ballot for your favorite article.
equipment, industrial
control and instru-
• Dayton attendance down slightly: Dayton Hamvention General Chairman
Jim Graver, KB8PSO, reports the official attendance at the 2001 Dayton
mentation, underwa- Hamvention—the 50th event—was 26,151, down roughly 9% from last year’s
ter acoustics, commu- 28,804. Hamvention attendance peaked at 33,669 in 1993, before the change in
nication systems, date from April to May in 1996. Graver blamed rainy weather on the opening
manufacturing auto-
Jan Carman, day of the event and high gasoline prices for the attendance drop. Graver also
mation and consult- K5MA
will chair next year’s Dayton Hamvention.
ing. He holds bache-
lor’s and master’s degrees in electrical • DXCC announces 12 meter DXCC: The ARRL DXCC Desk has announced
engineering from the University of Penn- the addition of the 12-Meter Single Band DXCC. Applications will be accepted
sylvania. His Amateur Radio interests in- starting July 2, 2001. The 12-Meter DXCC certificates will be dated but not
clude contesting, DXing and VHF/UHF numbered. Twelve-meter credits will not count toward the DeSoto Cup compe-
weak-signal work. tition until October 1, 2001, but they will be included in the DXCC Challenge
Phillips, of Winsted, Connecticut, has totals. For more information, see the ARRL Web site or e-mail dxcc@arrl.org.
assumed a position
as radio frequency ARRL • Outgoing QSL Service tops one million cards for 2001: The ARRL’s Out-
interference/electro- going QSL Service Manager Martin Cook, N1FOC, reports that as of June 29,
magnetic interfer- 2001, the service had shipped 1,041,316 QSL cards. This includes cards going
ence engineer in the to US incoming bureaus and cards sorted and mailed by contractor. “This is
ARRL Lab. A native 135,456—15%—more cards than we had mailed at this time last year,” Cook
of Brooklyn, New said. The Outgoing QSL Service handled 1,868,895 cards in 2000. For more
York, Phillips holds a information, visit the ARRL Outgoing QSL Service Web site, www.arrl.org/
degree in electrical qsl/qslout.html.
engineering and has
worked in a number • KC8BFD is Newsline’s 2001 Young Ham of the Year: Patrick Clark,
John Phillips, KC8BFD, a 17-year-old ARRL member from Elkview, West Virginia, has been
of RFI/EMI related K2QAI
positions, mainly in named the 2001 Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year. Award Ad-
the military electron- ministrator Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, said Clark is heavily involved in public
ics field. He’ll focus on assisting mem- service, emergency communications and youth recruitment. The Young Ham of
bers with solutions to RFI problems and the Year Award is presented each year to a radio amateur 18 or younger who has
improving ARRL’s RFI/EMI information provided outstanding service nationally or locally or has contributed to the bet-
capabilities. An Amateur Extra licensee, terment of the state of the art in communication through Amateur Radio. A
Phillips enjoys CW. licensee since age 10, Clark comes from an all-ham family. Among those sup-
Simcik, of Bloomfield, Connecticut, porting Patrick Clark’s nomination was ARRL West Virginia Section Emergency
has joined the Electronic Publications Coordinator Mac McMillian, W8XF, who said he believes the future of ham
Branch as a Web applications program- radio is in good hands with amateurs like Patrick Clark, KC8BFD. The Young
mer. His career has been in the field of Ham of the Year Award is presented each year at the Huntsville Hamfest in
embedded software engineering and Alabama.
transaction processing. He’s a University
of Connecticut graduate with a degree in • ARRL member wins $100,000 design competition: ARRL member Indranil
cognitive science— “Kitchu” Majumdar, VU2KFR, of Calcutta, India, was the overall winner of the
ARRL
an interdisciplinary Texas Instruments Analog Design Challenge. A member of the Calcutta VHF
degree in computer Amateur Radio Society, Majumdar won the $100,000 top prize for designing a
science, linguistics railway collision-avoidance system. The competition called on engineers to come
and psychology. up with real-world designs that utilized TI devices. VU2KFR's design incorpo-
Simcik recently rated a variety of Texas Instruments’ power-management, interface, RF, logic
upgraded to General and microcontroller products. Licensed since 1984, Majumdar has been an ARRL
class and now serves member since 1989. He's also a member of the Amateur Radio Society of India
as the president of the and of IEEE. VU2KFR was active during the Orissa cyclone disaster operation
Bloomfield Amateur in 1999 and took part in the Sagar mobile operation last year, described by his
Radio Club. He is an Mark Simcik, brother, VU2HFR, in May 2001 QST.
ARRL Life Member. WA1VVB
74 September 2001
“Mister Guitar,” Chet Atkins, W4CGP, SK
One of the entertainment world’s pursue it before he became seriously
better-known radio amateurs—guitar ill,” Atkins said, adding that his uncle
picker, music legend and Amateur never upgraded for the same reason.
Radio operator Chester B. “Chet” Atkins said his uncle’s rig was
Atkins, W4CGP, of Nashville—died installed in the kitchen, where he
June 30. He was 77. Atkins report- was able to tune the bands at break-
edly died of cancer. fast and dinner. “He loved to listen in
Known as “Mister Guitar,” to the banter on 160 SSB,” Gary
Atkins—from East Tennessee— Atkins said.
began his musical career in the Chet Atkins won 14 Grammy
1930s playing fiddle. He earned his awards during his career and was
reputation as a guitarist, however, elevated to the Country Music Hall of
and went on to become the most- Fame in 1973. He was presented The late Chet Atkins, W4CGP (left) and
recorded solo instrumental musician with a Lifetime Achievement Award his nephew, Gary Atkins, W0CGR, at a
in history. Formerly WA4CZD, Atkins, in 1993 by the National Academy of Chet Atkins Appreciation Society
a General licensee, obtained the Recording Arts and Sciences. He gathering in the mid-1990s.
vanity call sign W4CGP—”certified had more than 100 albums to his
guitar picker”—in 1998. He was an credit. compete with pop music.
ARRL member. In addition to his own success as In his later years, he sometimes
To Gary Atkins, W0CGR, Chet a performer, Atkins helped launch paired up with musicians from the
Atkins was “Uncle Chester,” and he the careers of other notable perform- pop and jazz worlds and was a fre-
was never as active on ham radio as ers. He produced recording sessions quent guest on the radio program “A
he wanted to be. “He got his ticket for everyone from Elvis Presley to Prairie Home Companion.”
about the time his career as a record Perry Como as well as recording an A funeral service for Chet Atkins
producer became legend. He was album or two of his own work each was held July 3 in Nashville’s Ryman
extremely busy,” Atkins said. “He year. He is given primary credit for Auditorium, the former home of The
always wanted to be a ‘hot op’ on developing the uptown “Nashville Grand Ole Opry where Atkins per-
CW but never found the time to really Sound” that helped country music to formed for many years.
FCC News
GMRS call sign KAE1170. tempted to upgrade to Extra at the May
FCC REVOKES HAM TICKET, FINES Brewer, 46, runs a two-way radio and 10 session. “It appears that Mendez,
ALLEGED RADIO PIRATE electronics shop. He’s been the trustee of either before or during the examination,
The FCC has revoked the Amateur and several Amateur Radio repeaters in may have had access to the answer key
General Mobile Radio Service licenses of Tampa and is well-known within the used by VEs for grading Morse code
reputed pirate broadcaster Leslie D. Tampa amateur community. examinations,” Hollingsworth wrote. “In
“Doug” Brewer of Tampa, Florida, and He was given 30 days to pay the fine the alternative, his answer sheet may have
fined him $11,000—the maximum pos- or file a petition for reconsideration. been completed prior to the examina-
sible forfeiture—for “willful and re- tion.”
peated violation” of the Communications Amateur Enforcement: Hollingsworth also noted “a significant
Act. Brewer already owes the US gov- ♦ FCC probes discrepancies at number of erasures” on the answer sheet,
ernment $11,000 in forfeitures assessed ARRL VEC exam session: The FCC is to VE grading marks and to the score of
previously for similar alleged violations. auditing a May 10 ARRL VEC Amateur Mendez’ Extra class written exam. “When
“Operating unlicensed radio facilities Radio examination session after viewing correctly graded, Mendez score was 36 out
in deliberate and brazen defiance of our documents that FCC Special Counsel for of 50 rather than 40 out of 50 to which
rules cannot and will not be tolerated,” Amateur Radio Enforcement Riley you certified,” Hollingsworth said.
the FCC said in its Order of Revocation Hollingsworth said “reflect several Mendez’ Extra exam has been invali-
and of Forfeiture, released June 26. The alarming discrepancies in testing proce- dated as a result of the discrepancies,
FCC said that based on its considerable dures.” The session was held in Trumbull, Hollingsworth said. The FCC also has re-
evidence, Brewer “lacks the basic char- Connecticut. The ARRL VEC referred the quested that the ARRL VEC maintain the
acter qualifications to be and remain a test documents to the FCC as part of its VE suspensions until it completes its
Commission licensee.” responsibilities as a Volunteer Examiner probe.
FCC and other sources say Brewer op- Coordinator. The FCC letter was sent to Kevin W.
erated “The Party Pirate” on 102.1 MHz Ten volunteer examiners listed on the Cellini, N1KGM; Allen H. Silberstein,
from his home. He was among those Test Session Report as having partici- N1RWE; Andres A. Rosado, KB1FKJ;
caught up in a November 1997 sweep by pated in the Trumbull session were sus- Peter J. Keyes, N1GOJ; Arthur L. Cartier
federal agents to shut down unlicensed pended at least for the duration of the III, N1VGT; Glenn J. Krieger, N1HAW;
broadcasting operations in Tampa. The FCC inquiry. The suspensions are stan- Freddy Martin, KB1FKI; Robert E.
FCC charges that he subsequently re- dard procedure in such cases, said ARRL Moreland, KA1ZMF; Donald W. Stowe,
sumed unlicensed broadcasting and also VEC Manager Bart Jahnke, W9JJ. N1VNM; and Kenneth A. Frissora,
sold unauthorized FM broadcast transmit- In a June 28 letter addressed to the N1JKA. All are Amateur Extra licensees.
ting equipment. 10 VEs, Hollingsworth focused on dis- Hollingsworth has asked the VEs to
Earlier this year, the FCC suspended crepancies in documents submitted explain in detail their role in the May 10
Brewer’s ham ticket, KC4HAZ, for the on behalf of one applicant, Elvis exam session. He also asked each VE to
rest of its term while it initiated revoca- Mendez, KB1GPY, a Technician licensee explain the discrepancies he outlined in
tion proceedings. Brewer also held the from Revere, Massachusetts, who at- his letter.
September 2001 75
PRODUCT REVIEW
76 September 2001
Table 1
Ten-Tec Titan II, serial number 02C10070
Manufacturer’s Claimed Specifications Measured in the ARRL Lab
Frequency Range (US units): 1.8-2, 3.5-4, 7-7.3, 10.1-10.15, As specified.
14-14.35, 18.068-18.168, 21-21.45, 24.89-24.991, 28-29.71 MHz.
Power output: 1500 W continuous in SSB, CW, AMTOR/PACTOR As specified for SSB and CW.
(50% duty cycle or less); 1500 W RTTY/SSTV up to
10 minutes (160-15 meters only). 1000 W continuous
key-down, all modes and bands.
Driving power required: 80 W (typical). Typically 60 W (band dependent).
Input SWR: <2:1. Typically 1.0:1.
Spurious signal and harmonic suppression: meets or exceeds 43 dB. Meets FCC requirements.
FCC requirements.
Intermodulation distortion (IMD): Not specified. See Figure 1.
Primary power requirements: 216-252 V ac.
Size (HWD): 8.5×17×20 inches; weight, 84 lb.
1
As shipped from the factory, operation on 12 and 10 meters is disabled (see text).
Fourier Transform) and “LMS” (Least The level of notch attenuation can be var- off any “alligators” that may be lurking
Mean Square) digital signal processing ied with the ADJ2 buttons and is repre- down below.
techniques. sented on a bargraph scale in the second
line of the display. The highest setting in- Digital Processing for CW
FFT variably worked best for me, but even then For CW connoisseurs, the TDF-370
The TDF-370’s “FFT” mode reduces the notching performance was not quite as serves up two varieties of DSP filters and
the high-frequency hiss associated with effective as the automatic notch filter that’s a combination stereo/bandpass filter.
typical band noise and will also help di- built into my mid-priced HF transceiver.
minish interference from more transient BPF
interference such as static crashes. Press Hi Fi Tap the BPF button in the CW group,
the FTT button, and the top line of the The TDF-370 has the ability to employ and “BPF(CW)” appears in the top line
LCD shows “FTTadaptive.” An audio its signal processing power to simulate a of the display. The second line indicates
spectrum scope appears on the second “stereo” effect on both phone and CW sig- the filter’s center frequency and the fil-
line. The ADJ1 knob is then used to con- nals. Stereo headphones—or amplified ter bandwidth. The center frequency is
trol the amount of noise reduction. stereo speakers plugged into the ’370’s adjustable in 50 Hz steps from 450 to 800
I found this system to be very effective PHONES jack—are required equipment Hz. Filter bandwidths of 300, 200 and 100
on band noise and pretty good on some (“ear bud”-type stereo earphones are in- Hz are supported. The ADJ1 knob is used
consumer-electronics generated hash cluded with the unit). The resulting audio to select the desired center frequency; the
(computer RFI in my case), but you do is considerably more pleasant to listen to ADJ2 buttons are used to step through the
have to carefully strike a balance between than unprocessed audio—band noise and three filter bandwidths.
the amount of noise reduction applied and desired signals sound spatially separated Typically, you’ll want to match the
the resultant degradation in speech intel- and the noise component is slightly re- center frequency to your transceiver’s
ligibility. If you increase the noise reduc- duced in amplitude and sounds as if it’s CW sidetone offset frequency, tune in a
tion too far, the processed speech will be- pushed into the background. The ADJ1 and target signal, and then crank down the
gin to take on a choppy sounding quality. ADJ2 can be used to refine the stereo sepa- filter bandwidth. In some instances, how-
If the level of the interfering noise is par- ration. A BYPASS button (that works in ever—particularly when the desired sig-
ticularly high, mid-level noise reduction all of the unit’s audio processing modes) nal is reasonably strong—sliding the cen-
settings will convert it into a noise floor makes it easy to compare the processed ter frequency up or down slightly can be
of rapidly changing low-level tones—a and unprocessed signal. an effective tool for further reducing in-
sound that I can only describe as “the mu- The effect of this feature is pretty dra- terference from nearby signals.
sic of processing.” In many instances, care- matic, and was responsible for attracting
ful adjustment of the audio input level— a steady stream of curious hams to a LMS
with the unit’s LEVEL control and/or TDF-370 demonstration set up at the AOR The CW version of the LMS filter be-
ATTenuator button—can help enhance the booth at this year’s Dayton Hamvention. haves much like the one that’s provided for
performance of this feature. the voice modes. It’s very effective on
BPF QRN, and—fortunately—the sound of the
LMS Pushing the BPF button in the VOICE CW signal isn’t significantly changed by
A press of the LMS button in the VOICE group brings up a “BPF(voice)” indication the higher level settings of the noise reduc-
group brings up an “LMS(voice)” mes- in the display and activates a DSP-based tion control. The automatic notch filter—
sage in the display. This feature—as is the audio bandpass filter. The Instruction for obvious reasons—is not included in the
case with FFT—works well to reduce Manual indicates that the ADJ1 knob serves CW mode implementation of this filter.
band noise, and worked better at handling as a high/low frequency slope control and
my flavor of consumer electronics hash. the ADJ2 control sets the low cut frequency. Stereo CW
The level of the LMS noise reduction is In operation though, it seems as if the ADJ1 The stereo mode for CW operation is
controlled with the ADJ1 knob. Again behaves more like a high cut control and combined with the DSP CW bandpass
though, if you apply too much noise re- ADJ2 acts as a low cut control. feature described above. The stereo ef-
duction you’ll experience a decrease in This feature works well for rejecting fect on this mode is not as pronounced as
voice clarity. interference from nearby band activity. that observed with the voice mode ver-
This feature also includes an “Auto You can adjust the passband to favor the sion of this feature, but it is noticeable.
Notch” system that does a respectable job lower frequency portion of the desired It is particularly evident when you are
of tracking and eliminating constant tones, audio signal to reduce interference from tuning across a signal—you’ll hear the
such as AM carriers and tuning stations. on high, and/or the upper portion to fight individual signals you encounter slide
September 2001 79
from one side of your headphones or through the message contents, so be sure these settings are retained in the TDF-370’s
speakers to the other as you crank on by. to keep a pencil and paper handy. memory, so you won’t have to reset these
For RTTY operation, baud rates of 45, values each time you turn the unit on.
Digital Recorder 50 and 75 and shift frequencies of 170,
The TDF-370 can record and play back 425 and 850 Hz are available. Tuning in Digital Mode Transceive
receive audio. An especially interesting RTTY signals involves listening in ste- Capabilities
aspect of this system is that the captured reo headphones or speakers and tuning In order to use the AOR TDF-370 for
audio clip will begin 6.4 seconds before back and forth across the signal until the transceiving in PSK31 and RTTY, you’ll
you hit the record button (the TDF-370 RTTY signal can be heard on both the left need to connect it to a “dumb terminal”
does have to be parked in the record and right channel. Once you are close to or a PC running terminal software. AOR
standby mode during that period of time the target signal, you can again use the supplies a cable that will connect to ei-
in order to pull this stunt off, though). The frequency offset magnitude and direction ther a DB9 or DB25 COM port. The
system will temporarily hold a total of 102 that’s shown in the top line of the dis- manual suggests that you try Windows
seconds of audio in up to eight memories. play—and the message text—to lock on. HyperTerminal software, and provides
This feature does have some limita- Tuning in RTTY signals is relatively easy. the communications parameters for con-
tions. If you are going to record multiple figuring the port. The transmit audio and
message banks, you have to do so during Plug in Your Iron PTT connections are made through the
a single recording session. Once you’ve The receive capabilities of the AOR cables described above.
entered the playback mode, switching back TDF-370 are pretty neat, but if you want Once the TDF-370 is wired up and
into the record mode—or switching into to take full advantage of what this acces- properly configured, operation is essen-
one of the unit’s other features—erases all sory has to offer, you’re going to have to tially identical to that of a multimode
of the recorded audio. Memories are also melt some solder. TNC. A “command” mode is used to set
lost when the power is shut off. AOR supplies an eight-pin microphone up the various operating parameters, and
The TDF-370 is not designed to serve jack and plug and two 3.5-mm stereo plugs then control key combinations (Ctrl+T for
as a contest voice keyer. There are no spe- for making up cables to connect your transmit, for example) are used to oper-
cific arrangements for replaying recorded transceiver’s stock microphone to the ate the system. Both transmit and re-
audio over the air. The recording system is unit’s MIC input, and the ’370’s AUX out- ceived text will be displayed on the moni-
primarily intended for capturing snippets put to the rig’s microphone jack. You’ll tor screen, and received text will also
of audio off the air for immediate analysis. need to supply a few feet of shielded wire. appear in the ’370’s display window.
The pin-outs for the TDF-370’s jacks
Digital Mode Receive Capabilities are provided in the manual. Refer to your SSTV?
The ’370 can decode PSK31 and transceiver’s owner’s manual for the mi- I was unable to explore the slow scan
RTTY signals, and will display the text crophone connector pin-outs. Pay par- television transmit and receive features
directly on its LCD display. ticular attention to the ground connec- of the TDF-370. Operation on SSTV re-
For PSK31, both the BPSK and the tions. Mike grounds and PTT grounds quires a special computer software pack-
QPSK modes are supported. There are will need to be kept separate, and this will age that has not yet been released. AOR
two filter bandwidths available: 75 and require making some connections directly reports that the software should be avail-
220 Hz. In order to capture a signal, between the two eight-pin connectors. able very soon, and will be downloadable
you’ve got to tune very slowly across the It would be extremely helpful if AOR from their Web site.
PSK31 warbles (a transceiver that pro- included specific wiring diagrams for a Information in the manual indicates
vides fine tuning steps is a must). When few of the major transceivers in the docu- that this feature will support all of the
the system detects a signal and begins to mentation that they pack with this device. popular SSTV modes.
lock onto it, you’ll hear a series of tones
that are generated internally in the ’370. The Microphone Equalizer Conclusion
Once this begins to happen, the top line The Microphone Equalizer mode deliv- With a single audio connection to your
of the display will show the direction and ers an eight-band graphic equalizer, a radio’s audio output, the AOR TDF-370
frequency amount—“−020Hz” for ex- DSP-based background noise reduction multi-media terminal delivers a nice vari-
ample—that you will need to tune in or- feature and a microphone level adjustment. ety of receive audio signal processing fea-
der to zero beat the signal. There’s even a built-in monitor for evalu- tures, along with stand-alone digital mode
Acquiring a knack for tuning in PSK ating the effect as you change the settings. reception for two of the most popular digi-
signals using this arrangement takes prac- The center frequency for each band can tal modes. Build up some adapter cables
tice. Those of us who have been spoiled be dialed up in the display by using the and position the unit in line between your
by the put-the-cursor-on-the-signal-and- ADJ1 knob. The ADJ2 buttons are then transceiver’s microphone and microphone
click sound card PSK31 programs will used to vary the individual compensation input jack, and you’ll add flexible trans-
likely initially experience some frustra- levels. The manual states that the compen- mit audio tailoring and DSP-based station
tion. (But hey, at least we know what a sation levels for each band can be varied background noise reduction. Cable it up
PSK31 signal sounds like!) between −6 and +6 dB. The ARRL Lab to a PC (or “dumb terminal”) with the in-
Once the system is properly locked on, measured this range as closer to −10 to +4 cluded COM port cable, fire up some ter-
copy will appear in the second line of dB. The numbers that appear in the dis- minal software, and you’ll enjoy full
the two-line display. Upper and lower play range from −30 to +6 dB in the bands transceive capabilities on PSK31 and
case letters and all of the usual symbols below 1000 Hz and −30 to +12 dB in the RTTY. SSTV should be coming soon!
and numbers can be depicted by the dot- bands above. Bottom line: There’s plenty Manufacturer: AOR USA Inc, 20655
matrix display. of adjustment latitude—use the displayed S Western Ave—Suite 112, Torrance, CA
One familiar PSK31 characteristic that numbers as a relative level indication only. 90501; 310-787-8615, fax 310-787-8619;
is not supported—on the built-in display, The background noise reduction level and www.aorusa.com. Manufacturer’s sug-
anyway—is the backspace feature. microphone gain adjustments are also made gested list price: $329.95. Typical current
There’s also no way to scroll back with the ADJ1 and ADJ2 controls. All of street price: $325.
80 September 2001
THE WORLD ABOVE 50 MHZ
June Contest Was Full of Surprises
The ARRL June VHF Contest is day afternoon and into the evening. Those NT1N (FN31) heard two Italians more
scheduled to take advantage of sporadic- along the northern tier of US states and than an hour later, but was unable to work
E propagation. Few June contests have southern Canada found a weak aurora in them. European propagation clearly be-
been totally devoid of 6-meter E-skip, the early evening, but many stations gan to favor those further south. By 1430,
while some have been quite spectacular, seemed completely oblivious to the new W4MYA, K8GP, K3ZO and other well-
with hours of coast-to-coast activity. On opportunity for making contacts and add- situated contest stations in Maryland, Vir-
a few occasions, sporadic-E has even ing to grid totals, especially on the higher ginia and West Virginia were in the thick
reached 144 MHz during a June contest. bands. of western Europeans. W3BO in eastern
When things are slow, meteor scatter is Activity, which was not high in most Pennsylvania worked three Spanish and
always available, especially in the early parts of the country through the early two French stations, but heard more than
morning hours. Other propagation modes evening, slowed further as local midnight half a dozen other I, ON, HB and G pre-
have also made their appearance during approached. Many operators called it fixes.
the annual June events, including tropo- quits for the night, hoping Sunday would From there, the opening seemed to
spheric ducting and aurora. bring something better. This was a pre- spread south (or perhaps southern con-
The 2001 June VHF Contest had its mature decision. Around 0500 UTC or so, testers were slower to realize what was
own unique surprise. Over the past sev- 6 meters opened across much of the coun- taking place). K4QI (FM06) was running
eral years, a handful of US stations have try for strong single and then double-hop Europeans by 1515, KN4SM (FM16) got
worked a European or two on 6 meters contacts. The band stayed open until into the fray around 1550, and by 1600,
during the contest. More often, Europe- nearly 1100. Several East Coast stations AA4ZZ (EM96) in the mountains of
ans have complained that they heard that stayed up to take advantage of the North Carolina had found them. Gene
North Americans, but they could not unusual post-midnight sporadic-E open- Zimmerman, W3ZZ, noted that K8GP
gain their attention. This was probably the ing made several hundred contacts and worked almost all their Europeans on CW
first June contest in which there was a added 50 or more grids. because signals were weak. Most of the
significant European opening, resulting other US stations had much the same ex-
in hundreds of transatlantic contacts for East Coast Works Europeans perience. KN4SM found Europeans
alert East Coast stations, primarily from The early morning opening died out strong enough to work on SSB, but the
Maryland to North Carolina. In addition, about the time the early risers were turn- pileup was quite difficult to manage.
several dozen 6-meter contacts were com- ing their rigs back on. The usual Sometime after 1800, activity began
pleted between the Pacific Northwest and midmorning openings were slow to ap- to slow and by 1830, the opening had
Western Europe—an all-time first. pear, but a few East Coast operators ended. The midatlantic contesters had
probed northeast from time to time, just made several hundred contacts into at
Aurora and Early Morning in case Europeans might just come least 15 western European countries, in-
Sporadic-E through. Then it happened. Within a few cluding EH, CT, GI, GW, G, GU, ON, PA,
The contest started slowly in most minutes of 1355, widely scattered sta- F, OZ, SM, DL, I, 9A and S5. The results
parts of the country. Sporadic-E seemed tions, including K1SIX (FN43), W3EP for mountaintoppers K8GP and AA4ZZ,
fickle and some operators reported few (FN31), W3BO (FN20), W4MYA (FM07) who were a considerable distance from
E-skip contacts through much of Satur- and K8GP (FM09), began working Span- the coast, were impressive. Typical dis-
ish stations. EH7GTF was among the tances from the mountaintop stations to
most prominent, quickly picking off one the Netherlands and Germany were 6500
This Month US contest station after another with a to 6900 km, near the limits of three-hop
Aug 31-Sep 2 Eastern VHF/UHF steady signal. A few Portuguese stations propagation. Nothing like this had ever
Conference also made an early appearance. taken place during a June contest. Table
(Enfield, Connecticut)
For most W1 and W2 call area sta- 1 provides a summary of reporting sta-
Sep 8-9 ARRL September VHF
QSO Party tions, that was the extent of Europeans. tions from north to south.
Sep 15-16 ARRL 10-GHz
Cumulative Contest
Sep 16 Excellent EME Table 1
conditions,
East Coast to Europe, June 10, 1355-1830
but new Moon
Sep 21 Transequatorial Call (grid) Time QSOs Grids Countries
propagation peaks K1SIX (FN43) 1353- 3 — 2
±2 weeks W3BO (FN20) 1408-1700 5 — 2
Sep 21-23 Western States Weak K8GP (FM09) 1358-1703 31 26 7
Signal Society (Ventura, K3ZO (FM18) 1430- 27 21 —
California) W4MYA (FM07) 1400-1800 85 52 11
KN4SM (FM16) 1550-1833 101 37 10
Sep 27-30 Microwave Update 2001 K4QI (FM06) 1515-1820 90 37 13
(Sunnyvale, California) AA4ZZ (EM96) 1600-1800 64 — 10
Emil Pocock, W3EP Box 100, Lebanon, CT 06249 (Voice 860-642-4347, fax 860-594-0259) w3ep@arrl.org
September 2001 81
Europeans into the Pacific cate contacts are not included. In total, course it can. Now that both Europeans
Northwest more than three-dozen QSOs were com- and those in the Pacific Northwest are
From the European point of view, that pleted and many other heard-only or par- believers, such openings are less likely
was not the end of the opening. As early tial contacts were reported. Perhaps the to be overlooked in the future.
as 1722, while the W4s were still running most interesting was OE3KLU (JN88),
who heard K7RAT over an impressive ON THE BANDS
western Europeans, DF9CY (JO54) heard
and then called K7RAT (CN75), who was 8800 km path. Sporadic-E dominated on-the-air activities
Most signals were from the noise level for June, as might be expected. In addition to
just then chasing VE6s and had no inkling almost daily single-hop openings, there were
that Europeans were hearing him. The to 559 and most (perhaps all) contacts
numerous multihop events across the conti-
pair were not able to complete the 8100- were made on CW. The great-circle path nent, the Atlantic and Pacific. Sporadic-E
km four-hop contact (perhaps because between the Pacific Northwest and West- propagation reached 144 MHz on at least three
DF9CY was running just 10 W to his six- ern Europe skirts the southern portion of days somewhere in the US. In contrast, there
element Yagi), but Tree (N6TR), the the auroral zone as it traverses Hudson was only one weak radio aurora (during the
Bay and southern Greenland. Some of the June contest) and no reports of unusual tro-
K7RAT operator, was suddenly alerted. pospheric ducting or anything else out of the
Tree began working Europeans, as American stations reported that signals ordinary.
DF9CY went on to copy KB7WW had a bit of a rough auroral-like note, Dates and times are all UTC. In addition
(CN85) and VE7XF (CN89). typical of HF signals that cross the polar to those mentioned in the summaries, thanks
K7RAT had the opening all to himself region, but most did not notice anything go to K1TEO, K1TOL, W2ODH, WB2AMU,
special. The propagation was undoubt- W3ZZ, K5SW, N5JHV, K7ICW, K7QXA,
before others in the area began to learn W7NBH, K9AKS, N9USZ, KA9CFD,
what was going on. K7RWT (CN85) and edly multipath sporadic-E, probably via C6AGN, G4UPS, WP4LNY, YV4DDK, the 50
VE7XF soon heard K7RAT working what four or perhaps five hops. The possible MHz DX Bulletin, along with the WWW-based
sounded like Europeans and could not influence of the aurora the evening be- DX Summit and the UKSMG Announcement
believe their ears. Others thought the fore cannot be ignored, but it was the Page, for their contributions.
packet spots were some sort of contest wrong time of day for typical auroral-E
humor, but they soon found it was true. propagation. Domestic 50 MHz
Europeans were actually coming into the Other clues can be gleaned from what It was difficult to find a single day on which
Pacific Northwest—the first time that had else stations heard or worked at about the E-skip did not appear on 6 meters somewhere
across the country. Double-hop transcontinen-
ever happened. VE7XF quickly called his same time. Tree mentioned that he did not tal conditions turned up on the evenings of June
buddies VE7SL and VE7AGG, who also know the East Coast had been working 21-22, 24-25 and 28, along with the afternoon
immediately began calling CQ toward Europeans and did not hear any East of June 25. The opening of June 21-22 was es-
Europe. By then, 20 minutes had passed Coast stations at the time. K7RAT worked pecially noteworthy for the duration of trans-
since K7RAT made his first contacts. VE6SV (DO33), just one short 1250-km continental propagation (2300-0230, at least)
and widespread coverage. Those in the West,
Eventually, eight alert contesters in hop away, just prior to his European run. from the Canadian to the Mexican borders,
British Columbia, Washington and On the other side, PA3DOL (JO22) heard worked all along the East Coast with generally
Oregon were able to complete 27 contacts TF3GC (HP49) in the midst of the open- strong signals. Many modest stations running
with unique European stations in Wales, ing to the Pacific Northwest over a 2650- 10 W and simple antennas were able to make it
England, France, Belgium and the Neth- km path, presumably via two short hops. across the continent.
Several mobile and portable stations in the
erlands during the hour the band was open If those same hops existed on the ends of West handed out rare grids that evening, in-
for them. ON4ANT and ON4GG, who the full path from Washington to the cluding K7XC. Tim heard the band open from
share the same station (four nine-element Netherlands, then two long hops across his truck while driving home near Fallon,
Yagis at 80 feet and 200 W) worked all the southern auroral zone must have been Nevada (DM09), and decided to drive north
eight of those who made it across the At- necessary to fill in the missing 4300-km into the largely uninhabited DN00. From a
hilltop at 6000 feet, K7XC/m made 38 con-
lantic. In addition, F2YT (JO10), G0LCS segment in the middle. tacts over a two-hour period, as far eastward
(IO91) and G4FUF (JO01) also com- Whether by coincidence or a related as Nova Scotia (FN74) to Florida (EL95). Tim
pleted more than one contact. Ten others, event, both the Pacific Northwest and was using his IC-706-IIG and a loop antenna
mostly in the Netherlands, made one QSO Europe worked Japan via sporadic-E over mounted on the cab.
each, all but one with K7RAT. the following two days! (Details are be- Six-meter operators scattered through the
western states also worked Hawaii and Alaska
Table 2 summarizes all confirmed low.) These openings were also over on several evenings, mostly via double-hop.
two-ways between 1720 and 1820. northerly latitudes and in the 7800 to Washington and Oregon stations reported
ON4ANT and ON4GG are counted as a 9400-km range, similar to the distance Hawaii on June 8, from 0530 to 0600, at least.
single contact in the table, even if a sta- between the Pacific Northwest and Several Alaskans worked into the Pacific
tion worked both calls. Likewise, dupli- Europe. Can this happen again? Well, of Northwest the following evening about the
same time. KL9A (BP51) also worked W5OZI
(EM00) and K0GU (DN70) after 2010 on the
eighth. KL7NO (BP64) and W6OMF (CM98)
hooked up on June 27 around 2210. No doubt
Table 2 others participated in these openings.
Pacific Northwest to Europe, June 10, 1720-1820 50-MHz Sporadic-E DX
Call (grid) Time QSOs Countries
The consistent nature of 6-meter transat-
K7RAT (CN75) 1721-1747 12 G, ON, PA, F, GW lantic summer sporadic-E openings over the
VE7SL (CN89) 1740-1755 2 ON, PA past decade has been astonishing. These an-
KB7WW (CN85) 1741-1750 3 PA, F, G nual openings have generated more activity
VE7AGG (CN89) 1743-1810 2 ON, F between North America and Europe than F-
VE7XF (CN89) 1745-1807 5 ON, PA, F, G layer propagation, and while they may be
NN7J (CN85) 1802-1811 1 ON highly variable, they do not seem to be af-
K7OFT (CN87) 1807 1 ON fected by the 11-year solar cycle. Until re-
VE7DXG (CN88) 1813 1 ON cently, many 6-meter operators assumed that
82 September 2001
the Canadian Maritime and New England Caribbean, Central and Even so, there were some surprises. Bruce
were the prime locations for spanning the South America Silverstein, K2RTH/4 (EL95), was plugging
Atlantic via sporadic-E, but the most recent away on most days from his Miami home and
experience suggests that this view needs to US stations in nearly every part of the probably had the most to show for his persis-
be modified. country (including the Pacific Northwest) had tence. In addition to the usual run of Western
The run of openings this past June may many opportunities to work into Bermuda, the Europeans (apologies to all of you west of the
not be so atypical as they first appear. Sure, Caribbean and Central America during June. Appalachians, but CT, EH, G, F, ON and PA
New England operators reported some kind Among those calls mentioned among the re- are the usual run from the East Coast), Bruce
of transatlantic activity on a dozen days dur- ports for the month were C6AIE, C6AGN, nabbed LZ1ZP and 4X1RF on the afternoon
ing the month, but those scattered throughout CO2OJ, FG5FR, HI8ROX, HP2CWB, of June 20. Roger Webb, W4MW, was also
the South, especially in Florida, found Euro- HR1BY, HR2KOS, several KP4, P43JB, able to pull out a unique string of Europeans
peans on five days when the Northeast was PZ5RA, several TI, V31TE, VP2VI, VP9ID, on the afternoon of June 17 from his new
entirely shut out of transatlantic propagation. VP9KK, YN9HAU, YS1AG, YS1RR, ZF1DC mountain house near Boone, North Carolina
Six-meter operators from Ohio, Kentucky, and ZF2MU. Needless to mention, quite a few (EM96). He made a dozen contacts with ON,
North Carolina and other states have also been US operators found new countries during the SM, DL, OK and SP stations. Not a single
discovering that Europeans are not so rare as June openings. other American station reported contacts dur-
they once seemed. Certainly, the four-hour Many of the Caribbean and Central Ameri- ing that time.
opening during the June contest, which fa- can stations are within single-hop range from The largest portion of the summaries in
vored Maryland to North Carolina and in- much of the US, but quite a number of con- Table 3 are based on the reports of just a hand-
cluded the Pacific Northwest for the first time, tacts required two or even three hops. WX7R ful of stations, including K1SIX (New Hamp-
also demonstrated that New England has no (CN85), for example, completed with shire), W3EP (Connecticut), W3BO (Mary-
monopoly over such paths. WP4KJJ (FK68) on June 22 at 0017 over a land), N4GN (Kentucky) and K2RTH
New England is closer to Europe than 5900-km path. That required at least three (Florida). It is doubtful that significant events
other parts of the US, and that may provide sporadic hops and was about the same dis- are missing, but the geographic diversity of
some advantage in spanning the Atlantic, but tance as New England to Western Europe. reporting stations does suggest that many of
it is not the full story. Sporadic-E occurs the openings may have been more widespread
somewhat more frequently over southern Europe and Africa than the table indicates. The table shows the
latitudes than northern in the North Ameri- Transatlantic 6-meter propagation ap- widest extent of each opening, but not all US
can region, perhaps by as much as a factor of peared on more than half the days of the and Canadian call areas worked all the Euro-
two. This may tend to give stations in the month, as shown in Table 3, although a ma- pean prefixes indicated. Specific states are
southeastern US an advantage that at least par- jority of the openings have become routine shown for large call areas, and prefixes in
tially compensates for their longer distances for the most active of the East Coast and West- brackets indicate stations that were only
to Europe. ern European participants. Signals were of- heard.
In addition, certain path lengths are more ten weak and inconsistent, making it difficult
likely than others. Single-hop distances near Alaska, Japan, the Pacific and Asia
for all but the best-equipped stations on both
the maximum for sporadic-E, say 1800 to
sides of the Atlantic to make contacts. Only Six-meter activity across the Pacific and
2200 km, are more likely to appear than
the June 10 opening stood out for its duration Asia quieted down considerably during June,
shorter spans. When multiplied by the three
(more than four hours total), geographic ex- but it still had some interesting openings. On
or four hops necessary to span the Atlantic,
5400 to 6600 and 7200 to 8800 km may, over tent in both North America and Europe and June 4 between 0515 and 0602, KL7IKV and
the long run, be statistically more common its often strong signals. NL7Z worked VK6JQ over a most unusual
than other distances. When these more prob-
able ranges are fit between North America and
Europe, and further considered in light of av-
erage sporadic-E occurrence, certain areas of Table 3
both continents are likely to be favored. New Transatlantic 50 MHz Activity in June
England may not necessarily be the best lo- Date Time North America*—Europe and Africa**
cation from which to work all parts of Eu-
rope, for example. 2 1900-2030 W1, W4 (KY)—EH8
In addition to the natural constraints of 3 1310-1355 W1—CU3
sporadic-E propagation, there is a human fac- 2030-2310 VE3, 9, W1, 2, 4 (KY)—EH8, EH
tor. A few keen operators with well equipped 5 1520-1630 W4 (FL), W5 (LA)—EH
stations in the Northeast (such as VE1YX, 2125-2230 W4 (GA, FL)—GI, G, ON
K1TOL, W1RA, K2ZD, K2MUB, W3JO and 6 1125-1330 W1, 3—CU3, EH8, CN, CT, EH, ON
others) have been monitoring their radios 10 1350-1820 W1-4, 8—CU3, CT, EH, F, GU, GI, GW, G, ON, PA, OZ, SM,
closely every day for years during the sum- [HB], DL, I, 9A, S5
mer months for signs of transatlantic propa- 1720-1825 VE7, W7 (OR, WA)—GW, G, ON, PA, F, [DL]
gation. It should not be surprising that they 11 2210-2250 W1—CU3, EH8
have reported the bulk of the openings as a 12 2110-2350 VE3, W1, 2, 4 (KY)—CU3, EH8, CH, G
result. Until recently, few operators in other 14 1045-1050 W1, 2—CT, DL, [4X]
parts of the country have been so assiduous, 1335-1345 W1—GW
largely perhaps because it was widely as- 1455-1515 W1—F, G
sumed that no one would work Europeans 2050-2140 W1—DL, I, 9H, S5
until the W1s reported the band was open. 16 2000-2200 W1, 3, 4 (KY, NC)—F, DL, I, 9H,
That clearly is not the case. This past sea- 2320-0000 W3—[CU3], [CT]
son, K2RTH/4 and others in Florida have been 17 1720-1800 W4 (NC)—ON, SM, DL, OK, SP
just as persistent, and they too have gotten 2130 W1, W4 (NC)—EH, [I]
amazing results. Often those in the Northeast 18 2100-2105 W1—I
have had to cool their heels listening to W4s 20 1300 W4 (FL)—EH
make transatlantic runs, while hearing noth- 2040-2245 W4 (FL)—CT, GM, [9H], S5, LZ, 4X
ing from Europe themselves. Six-meter afi- 22 1240 W2, 4 (FL)—PA
cionados in Missouri, New Mexico and other 23 1535-1545 W1—[CU3]
states have sometimes reported European TV 2205-2250 W1, W4 (NC)—EH8, [CT], EH
video (at 48.250 and 49.750 MHz) and even 24 2350 W3—[CU3]
worked across the Atlantic on 6 meters when 25 1310 W4 (FL)—EH
there were no signs at all on the East Coast. 27 1315-1510 VE1, W1—CU3, EH8, EH
The point should be clear. Trans-Atlantic E- *Letters in parentheses are US state abbreviations
skip is not just for the Northeast anymore. **Country prefixes in brackets indicate countries that were only heard
September 2001 83
path for late spring. KL7IKV went on to add extremely strong at times (as they often do 24 QSO with HC8N on 6 meters (reported last
VK6LSZ and VK6AO, while VK6JQ in turn during such events), even for modest stations. month) was the first-ever meteor-scatter con-
found K7RAT and VE7AGG. These quite un- Ken Reecy, AC4TO (EM70) made his initial tact from Costa Rica. Since then, Carlos has
precedented contacts are difficult to explain. contact with W5SFW (DM95) in northern completed a 2-meter meteor-scatter contact
The possibilities—sporadic-E, ordinary Texas while mobile, running 20 W to a quar- with W4WHN (EL94) in Florida on June 10.
F layer, and transequatorial field aligned ir- ter-wave whip. When he got home, he con- Congratulations. It is always encouraging to
regularities (TEP)—all have some difficulties tinued making contacts into Oklahoma, Ne- hear about new activity on the VHF bands.
on their own. Some combination of propaga- braska and Arkansas. Just for the fun of it, Only a few other 2-meter operators in the
tion modes seems more likely. Ken sent a CQ on 146.520 FM and was an- Caribbean and Central America, most nota-
A more familiar sporadic-E opening be- swered by KC5TTY/m (EM04), who was bly the Bahamas (C6), have made similar con-
tween Japan and the West Coast, from Brit- waiting for a train to pass at a road crossing. tacts in recent years.
ish Columbia to Southern California, took Strong sporadic-E openings are often im-
place on June 12. Between 0425 and 0610, mediately followed by field-aligned irregu- Knife-Edge Diffraction by
W7NBH (CN96) and N7DB (CN85), among larities (FAI), which behave much like aurora. Tree Leaves?
others, worked central Japan in the JA1-3 and Stations must direct their antennas northward Bill Seabreeze, W3IY, made a 35-km con-
JA0 call areas. K7JA (DM03) reported a lone toward centers of dying sporadic-E centers. tact on 24 GHz with Terry Price, K8ISK, in
JA7 contact late in the opening. Typical dis- Like aurora, FAI paths are skewed. K0GU June, while running 250 mW to a 0.5-meter
tances were 7800 to 8800 km, or at least four (DN70) in Colorado found K6AAW (CN80), dish. K8ISK ran 500 mW with a similar an-
sporadic-E hops. On June 23 about 2300, N7YM (CM88) and KJ6KO (CM98), all in tenna, but he was hampered by a thick cover
N7DB reported a much shorter duration open- northern California, via FAI just after 0355 of 100-foot trees. Even so, such a contact is
ing to Japan. on June 28. He had just finished making 17 not unusual, but K8ISK did notice that signals
Six-meter operators in southern Japan had E-skip contacts on 2 meters into Washington were about 10 dB stronger when he tilted his
more excitement than working North and Oregon, so he was aware of the FAI pos- own 0.5-meter dish up 45°. He speculated that
America. On June 14, 1200-1300, JA4-6 call sibilities. the tree leaves made fair knife-edge diffractors
area stations worked European prefixes 9A, when the antenna was pointed at the proper
HB9, OK, SP and DL. Distances were in the NOTES FROM ALL OVER angle. Has anyone else noticed microwave dif-
8300 to 9400-km range. That’s exciting fraction from leaves? Perhaps this phenomenon
enough for sporadic-E, but Hatsuo Yoshida, QRP on 6 Meters might have some practical use.
JA1VOK, believes the last time this happened When K2RTH is not chasing DX on
was in July 1992. This sporadic-E path is 6 meters, you may find him trying to snag any- Another Aurora Beacon
probably as rare as that from the Pacific one while running no more than 4 mW of
Northwest to Europe! Glen Lee, VA3ARC, r eports tha t
power. Bruce is particular about how this is
David Butler, G4ASR, reported in his VA3MBB/b (EN93de) transmits on 144.279
done. To make it a fair test (mainly of the re-
September Practical Wireless column, that MHz with 10 W to a turnstile antenna. He
ceiving operator’s ability to hear his signal!),
Europeans also worked Australia on two days, suggests that it is also a potential indicator
he claims only contacts that are entirely ran-
nearly unheard of during the summer months. for aurora, so it should be added to the list of
dom and initiated while running his milliwatt
On June 11 at 0915, stations in Eastern Eu- aurora beacons that appeared in the March
rig. There are no schedules and no use of high
rope heard VK6JQ (PH12) in Western Aus- column.
power to attract attention. Of course, Bruce
tralia and by 0945, the Australians were picks especially strong stations during spo-
working into Germany, Belgium and south- radic-E openings for these attempts. VHF/UHF/MICROWAVE NEWS
ern England. A similar opening took place on K2RTH/4 (EL95) has already made a num- Six on Six Award
the morning of June 29. GM6NX (a club sta- ber of contacts this way. One of the more in- Bob Mobile, K1SIX, offers a unique certi-
tion operated by GM4DGT) heard a weak teresting was on June 20, when N3DB (FM18) ficate for working six stations on 6 meters
VK6JQ calling CQ at 1056 and contact was answered Bruce’s CW on the first call. The with “SIX” in the suffix of their calls, such as
made shortly afterward amid considerable in- contact was over a 1458-km path. Bruce cal- W8SIX, KE4SIX and XQ3SIX. More than
band video interference. Distances during culates his power was just 90 µW at the three dozen such stations are active on the
both openings were at in the 12,000 to 13,000- time—4 mW through a 16-dB attenuator, band. Endorsements are offered for every six
km range—incredible. Sporadic-E undoubt- surely one of the lowest-power contacts over additional calls. More than a dozen numbered
edly played a role in these unusual events, but a similar distance ever reported. Bruce made certificates have already been issued. For de-
as in the Australia to Pacific Northwest case, a similar contact over a somewhat longer dis- tails, go to www.conknet.com/~b_mobile/
it is not clear whether other propagation tance the next day with W3CMP (FN10), who SSOS.html.
modes were also involved. was running just 5 W himself.
The rules for many contests and awards Extra-Terrestrial Century Club
144-MHz Sporadic-E commonly define low power (QRP) as less
The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelli-
than 5 or 10 W. QRP stations running this
Summertime propagation would not be much power, even with simple antennas, can gence (SETI) League sponsors the ETCC
complete without at least a few 2-meter make E-skip contacts with comparative ease. award for reception of distinct extra-terres-
E-skip events, and this June did not disap- If you want a challenge, try running no more trial radio emissions, including natural,
point alert VHFers. Three substantial open- than 1 W. A number of 6-meter operators have human, Moonbounce and alien. The initial
ings across different parts of the US took been pursuing VUCC and WAS while running certificate is awarded for confirmed reception
place on the late afternoons of June 16, 27 very low power. Even if QRP operating is not of five unique extra-terrestrial sources. Com-
and 28, as summarized in Table 4. Signals got quite your style, you can join in the fun by plete rules and regulations appear on the SETI
answering those weak signals. League Web page at www.setileague.org/
awards/etcc.htm.
Table 4 European 2-Meter Sporadic-E Page
144 MHz Sporadic-E Openings in June Europe seems to get more 144-MHz spo-
Date Time Path by radic-E each summer than North America. Not
States every such opening is reported in this column,
16 2145-2220 IL, KY—ME, but PE2KP maintains a Web site that does
NH, NY, CT report them all. Check “Sp-E News” at home.
planet.nl/~vhf-uhf-shf/vhfspe.htm for up-
27 2115-2220 TX, OK, KS, to-date news of European 2-meter sporadic-
NE, IA, AR— E openings, with informative color-coded
NC, FL, MS maps for each event.
28 0110-0415 WA, OR, CA,
ID—WY, CO, Meteor Scatter from Costa Rica
KS, NE, IA Carlos Diez, TI5KD, believes that his May
84 September 2001
PUBLIC SERVICE
NTS Area Staff Chairs Meet in Denver
AD0A
Over the Memorial Day weekend, the
ARRL National Traffic System Area Staff
Chairs met near Denver, Colorado, to dis-
cuss several issues. Meeting participants
included Pacific Area Staff Chair Rob
Griffin, K6YR, Eastern Area Staff
Chair Marcia Forde, KW1U, and Lynn
Hyndman, W9FC, Manager of the Ninth
Region Net, Cycle 4. Lynn was represent-
ing Central Area Staff Chair Jim Leist,
KB5W. Steve Ewald, WV1X, Public
Service Specialist in the Field and Edu- Left to Right (back row): Lynn Hyndman,
cational Services, represented ARRL W9FC; Marcia Forde, KW1U; Jeff Ryan,
N0WPA; Rob Griffin, K6YR; Mike Left to Right: Julio Ripoll, WD4JR; John
Headquarters. The group was also joined Stansberry, K0TER. Front Row: Steve McHugh, KU4GY, and Joel Kandel, KI4T.
by several invited guests including NTS Ewald, WV1X; Betsey Doane, K1EIC.
Pacific Area Staff members Jerry
VerDuft, AD0A (Transcontinental Corps WV1X
86 September 2001
HOW’S DX?
W5SJ PHOTOS
HAM-COM 2001 DXTRAVAGANZA
IS A HUGE SUCCESS
“The most successful DX program in the
history of Ham-Com,” agreed Bill, W5SJ,
Chief Director of the Lone Star DX Associa-
tion (LSDXA) and Maury, W5BGP, general
Chairman of Ham-Com 2001, held in early
June at Arlington, Texas.
Bill said “the LSDXA board made the
commitment last year to make the DX pro-
gram at Ham-Com something really special
and with a lot of hard work by K5AT, K5HW
and W5AH along with WW5L (who obtained
a record number of door prizes) and W5AX
and our members, plus the tremendous sup-
port of Ham-Com, we did it!” Martti Laine,
OH2BH, was the featured speaker at the Sat-
urday luncheon packed with DXers of every
age, including students of the DeGolyer
School, the pilot school for the ARRL’s Big Members of the Lone Star DX Association spent many months preparing for
Project. Martti spoke on the evolution of DXtravaganza at Ham-Com. Here they are at one of the many planning meetings. Left
DXpeditions from fun to missionary status. to right: W5SJ, WW5L, W5AX, K5HW, W5AH and K5AT.
88 September 2001
WASHINGTON MAILBOX
License Renewal, Changes of Address
and other Concerns
ARRL HQ receives many questions on License Identification Number will ap- it is not quite as “user friendly” for ama-
all sorts of regulatory topics, particularly pear on your FCC record. teurs as the NCVEC Form 605. This form
those on license renewal, changes of ad- must be mailed to the FCC.
dress and related licensing questions. I registered manually under ULS. How
This used to be a simple procedure—you do I specify a password so I can file Several months ago, I received a
sent the FCC a Form 610 and the license on-line? letter from the FCC that gave me my
was renewed or the address changed. It’s If you registered manually or via a Federal Registration Number related
still a simple process, especially for VEC, call the ULS Technical Support to CORES. What should I do with it?
ARRL members. With the implementa- Staff (202-414-1250; e-mail ulscomm Keep that letter! You will need it when
tion of the Universal Licensing System, @fcc.gov) to specify a ULS password. the FCC implements CORES in the Ama-
amateurs have more choices in filing ap- teur Service.
plications. Amateur applications can be What form(s) must I use when filing
filed manually using paper forms or elec- an application manually? If applying manually, where do I send
tronically over the Internet. In all cases, All of the Forms mentioned can be the form(s)?
you must first be registered with the FCC. found on the ARRL Web page. See www. Send the FCC Form 605 (excluding
Eventually, the Commission Registration arrl.org/fcc/forms.html. See Table 1 for vanity applications) to FCC, 1270
System (CORES) will replace ULS. an overview of various forms used in the Fairfield Rd, Gettysburg, PA 17325-7245.
Amateur Service. Send non-electronically filed vanity ap-
What is ULS registration? plications, which must include FCC Form
All stations must register under ULS in What is the difference between the 605 plus the Schedule D and FCC Form
order to take advantage of FCC services, NCVEC Form 605 and the FCC Form 159 with the $14 fee, to FCC, Wireless
like renewing your license, changing your 605? Bureau Applications, PO Box 358130,
address, upgrading your license and so on. If you’ve taken an amateur exam Pittsburgh, PA 15251. Send the FCC
Registration in ULS is the process of lately, you’ll be familiar with the NCVEC Form 159 along with the $14 when the
identifying your Taxpayer Information Form 605 since that is the form used by application is filed electronically to FCC,
Number, generally your Social Security all VECs for every amateur who obtains Wireless Bureau Applications, PO Box
Number, your name, address and call a new license or upgrades. Though it is 358994, Pittsburgh, PA 15251-5994. In
sign. The FCC will not process applica- not an FCC form, it is similar to the old both cases, the payment type code for the
tions unless an amateur is registered. Form 610 and it is designed to be used Form 159 is WAVR. The Form 159
When you register, you will be given a specifically for Amateur Radio purposes. Lockbox Number is the PO Box you are
License Identification Number consisting For ARRL member renewals or license mailing the forms to (eg, for non-elec-
of an eight digit number preceded by the modifications, the ARRL VEC will pro- tronically filed applications, the Lockbox
letter “L.” To file electronically on the cess this as a free membership service. is “358130”; for electronically filed ap-
Internet, go to www.fcc.gov/wtb/uls and FCC Form 605, a different form, must plications, the Lockbox is “358994”).
click on “TIN/Call Sign Registration.” be processed by the FCC. It is a multi- Send the NCVEC Form 605 to a VEC.
Important: You must have Netscape ver- purpose form and can be used in the For free processing as a membership ser-
sion 4.3 or later as a Web browser. You Amateur, Restricted and Commercial vice, ARRL members can send it to the
can also register manually by complet- Operator and General Mobile Radio Ser- ARRL VEC, 225 Main St, Newington,
ing an FCC Form 606 and mailing it to vices. Because it is a multipurpose form, CT 06111.
the FCC in Gettysburg.
Table 1
How can I check to see if I am already
Forms Used in the Amateur Service
registered?
Amateur Purpose: Form Plus Supplements:
Some amateurs may not realize that Pay Vanity Fee FCC 159 605—main form and
they are already registered if they have Schedule D
recently obtained a new license or up- Renew or Modify an amateur license FCC 605 —
graded through a VEC. VECs register Apply for a Systematic Call Sign Change FCC 605 Schedule D
amateurs, but you will need to indepen- Apply for a Vanity Call FCC 605 Schedule D and
dently specify a password to use FCC Form 159
on-line services. An easy way to deter- Obtain a Duplicate License FCC 605 —
mine if you are registered is to visit the Register under ULS FCC 606 —
FCC ULS Web site at www.fcc.gov/wtb/ New License, Upgrade, Change NCVEC 605 —
uls, click on Search Licenses, General, Address or Name, Systematic Call Change
Continue, and then enter your call sign. New or Modified Club and NCVEC 605 —
Military-Recreation Station License
If you are registered under ULS, your
Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU One Glen Ave, Wolcott CT 06716-1442 wa1lou@arrl.net, www.tapr.org/~wa1lou
92 September 2001
COMING CONVENTIONS
W9DXCC CONVENTION cal outlet $40 for both days). Contact Art
August 25 Thiemens, AA4AT, 2836 Greenwood Rd, Chesa-
September 14-15, Rolling Meadows, IL Missouri State, Columbia* peake, VA 23321; 757-484-2857 or 757-426-3378;
The W9DXCC Convention, sponsored by the North- West Virginia State, Weston* fax 757-486-0757; thiemens@pinn.net or
ern Illinois DX Assn, will be held at the Holiday Inn August 25-26 hamfest@exis.net; www.vahamfest.com.
“Holidome,” 3405 Algonquin Rd; I-90 N to Rte 53 New Mexico State, Rio Rancho*
to Algonquin Rd Exit, left at light, hotel on right. CONNECTICUT STATE CONVENTION
Doors are open for registration at 8 AM, convention September 1-2
Eastern VHF/UHF Conference, Enfield, CT* October 7, Wallingford
begins at 9 AM. Features include DXpedition pre- The Connecticut State Convention, sponsored by
sentations, programs, antennas, ARRL forum, DXCC September 7-9 the Nutmeg Hamfest Alliance, will be held at
QSL card checking, hospitality suites (Friday and Southwestern Division, Riverside, CA* Mountainside, High Hill Rd; I-91, Exit 15, E on
Saturday), banquet (7 PM, guest speaker Bob September 8 Rte 68, left on Research Pkwy, right on Carpenter
Allphin, K4UEE). Talk-in on 147.36. Admission is Kentucky State, Louisville* Ave, left on High Hill Rd to Mountainside. Doors
$50 in advance (before Sep 7), $55 at the door (con- are open for setup at 6 AM; public 9 AM to 3 PM.
vention and banquet); $28 in advance, $30 at the door September 9
Western Pennsylvania Section, Butler* Features include hamfest/computer show; large
(convention only). Contact Bill Smith, W9VA, flea market; major vendors; seminars and lectures;
1345 Linden Ave, Deerfield, IL 60015; 847-945- October 13 special guest speaker Riley Hollingsworth,
1564; w9va@aol.com; www.qth.com/w9dxcc. Hawaii State, Honolulu K4ZDH; demonstrations; VE sessions (Joel
October 19-21 Curneal, N1JEO, 203-235-6932); ample free park-
ILLINOIS STATE CONVENTION ing; refreshments. Talk-in on 147.36. Admission
Pacific Division, Concord, CA
September 14-16, Peoria is $7. Tables are $30 ($25 if reserved and paid
The Illinois State Convention (Peoria Superfest * See August QST for details. for by Sep 1), outside space $20. Contact
2001), sponsored by the Peoria Area ARC, will Mark Mokoski, WA1ZEK, 944 Killingworth
be held at the Exposition Gardens, 1601 W Rd, Higganum, CT 06441; 860-808-1275;
Northmoor Rd; I-74 to Exit 91 B, N on Univer- wa1zek@arrl.net or nutmeghamfest@qsl.net;
sity, 3.8 miles to Northmoor Rd, left to gate. Doors www.qsl.net/nutmeghamfest.
are open for flea market setup on Friday at 10 AM, the North Little Rock Community Center, 2700
Saturday and Sunday 6 AM; indoor commercial Willow St and Pershing Blvd; Exit 153A off I-40,
vendor setup Friday 2-9 PM, Saturday 6:30 AM, S to Pershing Blvd, W on Pershing to Willow St.
Sunday 7:30 AM; gates are open to the public on Doors are open 8 AM. Features include flea mar- Attention Hamfest and Convention Sponsors:
Friday from 3 PM until dark for flea market pre- ket, dealers, forums, VE sessions, refreshments. ARRL HQ maintains a date register of sched-
view, Saturday and Sunday 6 AM; commercial Talk-in on 146.94. Admission is $5. Tables are $20. uled events that may assist you in picking a
buildings are open Saturday 8 AM to 4:30 PM, Contact Scott Derden, K5SCD, Box 2893, Little suitable date for your event. You’re encour-
Sunday 8 AM to 3 PM. Features include Amateur Rock, AR 72203; 501-837-7888; k5scd@arrl.net; aged to register your event with HQ as far in
Radio/Computer/Electronics Show, flea market www.carenclub.com. advance as your planning permits. Hamfest
(reserve space in advance, $5 plus $5 admission; and convention approval procedures for ARRL
w9uvi@arrl.net), commercial dealers, manufac- VIRGINIA STATE CONVENTION sanction are separate and distinct from the
turer reps, new and used equipment and access- September 22-23, Virginia Beach date register. Registering dates with ARRL HQ
ories, computers and software, electronic parts and The Virginia State Convention, sponsored by Tide- doesn’t constitute League sanction, nor does
components, forums, DXCC card checking water Radio Conventions, will be held at the Vir- it guarantee there will not be a conflict with
(Saturday only, at the ARRL booth in the Youth ginia Beach Pavilion, 19th St; end of Hwy 264. another established event in the same area.
Building), VE sessions (Sunday only, 10 AM to Doors are open for setup Friday noon to 10 PM, We at ARRL HQ are not able to approve
1 PM), acres of free parking, refreshments. Talk- Saturday 6 AM; public Saturday 9 AM to 5 PM, dates for sanctioned hamfests and conven-
in on 147.075. Admission is $5 in advance (2 Sunday 9 AM to 2 PM. Features include hamfest tions. For hamfests, this must be done by your
stubs), $7 at the door (1 stub); good for the week- and electronics flea market; commercial dealer division director. For conventions, approval
end. Contact John Coker, N9FAM, c/o Peoria booths ($150); major manufacturers and dealers; must be made by your director and by the ex-
Superfest, Box 3508, Peoria, IL 61612-3508; 309- special guest speaker Riley Hollingsworth, ecutive committee. Application forms can be
694-3917; n9fam@bwsys.net; www.w9uvi.org. K4ZDH; tailgating ($20, advance registration rec- obtained by writing to or calling the ARRL con-
ommended); VE sessions (Saturday, 2:30-5 PM; vention program manager, tel 860-594-0262.
ARKANSAS STATE CONVENTION pre-registration by Thursday afternoon, Sep 20, Ed Note: Sponsors of large gatherings should
September 15, North Little Rock Brummer, W4RTZ, 757-898-8031); forums; field check with League HQ for an advisory on pos-
The Arkansas State Convention (“All-Arkansas checking for ARRL and CQ DX awards; free park- sible date conflicts before contracting for meet-
Hamfest”), sponsored by the Central Arkansas ing. Talk-in on 146.97. Admission is $6, under 12 ing space. Dates may be recorded at ARRL
Radio Emergency Net (CAREN), will be held at free. Tables are $30 (8-ft, good both days; electri- HQ for up to two years in advance.
HAMFEST CALENDAR
Attention: The deadline for receipt of items for Saturday 8 AM to 2 PM. Spr: Mobile ARC. Elks (Saturday, Sep 15, 3:30 PM), banquet (7:30 PM,
this column is the 1st of the second month pre- Lodge 108, 2671 Dauphin Island Pkwy; from River’s Edge Resort), special guests Gordon West,
ceding publication date. For example, your in- I-10 take Exit 22 S, go 2 miles, hamfest on left. WB6NOA (will conduct license classes) and
formation must arrive at HQ by September 1 to TI: 146.82. Adm: $5, under 12 free. Tables: $20. ARRL Northwestern Division Vice Director Jim
be listed in the November issue. Hamfest infor- Larry Early, WB4YOR, Box 8404, Mobile, AL Fenstermaker, K9JF (will conduct ARRL forum
mation is accurate as of our deadline; contact spon- 36689-0404; 334-342-7601; fax 334-342-6908; on Monday, Sep 17, 11:30 AM at the River’s Edge
sor for possible late changes. For those who send wb4yor@aol.com; www.angelfire .com/al/ Resort), special events and tours of local ham sta-
in items for Hamfest Calendar and Coming Con- marc3/festham.html. tions (including KL7RA’s contest station). TI:
ventions: Postal regulations prohibit mention in †Alaska (Fairbanks)—Sep 16, 8 AM to 4 PM. 146.28/146.88 (103.5 Hz), 444.8/449.8 (103.5 Hz).
QST of prizes or any kind of games of chance such Spr: Arctic ARC. Auto Service Co, 3285 S Adm: Free (optional donation of a can of food for
as raffles or bingo. Cushman St; turn S off Airport Rd onto Cushman the Food Bank). Tables: $10 (reserve). Jim Movius,
(Abbreviations: Spr = Sponsor, TI = Talk-in fre- St, go 16 blocks S. Swap ’n Sell ham gear, elec- KL7JM, Box 83992, Fairbanks, AK 99708; 907-
quency, Adm = Admission.) tronics, computers, vendor displays, operating HF 452-6347; fax 907-452-6349; ajmovius@gci.net;
and VHF stations, Arctic ARC Annual Meeting www.mosquitonet.com/~fbrown/
†Alabama (Mobile)—Sep 14-15; Friday 5-9 PM, 01hamfest.htm.
(1:30 PM), VE sessions, FCC commercial exams
†ARRL Hamfest will be available if needed, hidden transmitter hunt †Arizona (Kingman)—Sep 29; set up 6 AM
94 September 2001
Rhode Island (Forestdale/North Smithfield)— 3 PM. Spr: Chehalis Valley ARS. Lewis County
Fairgrounds, 255 N National Ave; from I-5 take Attention All Hamfest Committees!
Sep 15. Rick Fairweather, K1KYI, 401-725-7507
(7-8 PM only). Exit 79, from N turn left, from S turn right onto Get official ARRL sanction for your event and
Chamber Way, turn left on National Ave, National receive special benefits such as free prizes,
†Tennessee (Sevierville)—Sep 28-29; Friday handouts, and other support.
5-9 PM, Saturday 9 AM to 3 PM. Spr: Ten-Tec. becomes Kresky, go 1 mile then turn left onto
Exhibitor Rd, turn left onto N National Ave. VE It’s easy to become sanctioned. Contact the
Ten-Tec Factory, 1185 Dolly Parton Pkwy, 2 miles Convention and Hamfest Branch at ARRL Head-
E of Sevierville on Hwy 411 N. TI: 146.94. Adm: sessions (by reservation). TI: 147.06, 146.46.
Adm: $3. Tables: 6-ft, advance $10 (without quarters, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111.
Free. Tables: bring your own for tailgating. Stan Or send e-mail to giannone@arrl.org.
Brock, WD0BGS, 312 Rolling Meadows Dr, power), $15 (with power); after Sep 17 $15 (with-
out power), $20 (with power). Bill Harwell, Promoting your event is guaranteed to in-
New Market, TN 37820; 865-453-7172; crease attendance. As an approved event spon-
sales@tentec.com; www.tentec.com. KC7QHJ, 362 SW Chehalis Ave, Chehalis, WA
98532; 360-748-8086; kc7qhj@arrl.net; sor, you are entitled to advertise your event in
Virginia (Virginia Beach)—Sep 22-23, Virginia QST at special rates. Make your hamfest a suc-
www.cvars.org. cess by taking advantage of this great opportu-
State Convention. See “Coming Conventions.”
Wyoming (Laramie)—Sep 7-9. Jay Ostrem, nity. Call the ARRL Advertising Department at
†Washington (Chehalis)—Sep 30, 9 AM to W7CW, 307-682-7839. 860-594-0207, or e-mail jbee@arrl.org.
radio-frequency identification devices. with out saying, “Hmm, what if I ….” The
NEW BOOKS These are the little passive (no battery)
cards and tags that are used for both retail
material here is not inclusive enough to
design from, but does show a good cross
store merchandise identification and as section of what might be used. A quick
SHORT RANGE WIRELESS
passes to allow people to go into restricted glance could well give you a few ideas.
COMMUNICATION areas in industry. The table included in the I found chapter 9, Regulations and Stan-
By Alan Bensky chapter points out that short-range devices dards, fascinating. Not that I am fond of
are currently using parts of the spectrum reading governmenteese, but I have often
Published by LLH Technology Publishing,
from 300 MHz to 2.4 GHz. Talk about the wondered “just how much power does that
3578 Old Rail Rd, Eagle Rock, VA 24085.
chances for interference and noise! remote control for my car locks use? The
tel 540-567-2000, Fax 540-567-2539;
VHF, UHF and microwave fans will be UHF garage door opener—why is it al-
www.LLH-Publishing.com. First edition,
interested in the propagation chapter. The lowed to operate on the same frequency as
2000, 282 pages including the index,
mechanism of combining direct and re- a local TV channel?”
paperback 91/4 × 7 1/4 inches, many B&W
flected signals is shown, as is knife-edge The CD-ROM included with the book
illustrations, CD-ROM included. ISBN
propagation. Ever wonder why you can contains a number of Mathcad worksheets
1-878707-53-1. $49.95
hear the repeater behind that high hill? The for various designs and formulas in the
Reviewed by Paul Danzer, N1II author points out that this effect also oc- book. The Mathcad Explorer is available
ARRL Technical Advisor curs when the knife-edge is at ground level, as a free download from Mathsoft at their
providing some interesting (and perhaps Web site, www.mathsoft.com/mathcad/
This book defines short range as “unli- unexpected) effects. explorer. A word of warning—the down-
censed radio communication” and “several One highlight of the Antennas and load is 12,418 kB (that’s 12.4 MB), so be
kilometers at the very most.” In fact, the Transmission Lines chapter is the descrip- prepared to wait a while, or go out for a
entire concept seems to have a common tion of a patch antenna. While commonly pizza, or whatever. Worksheets included
ancestor of the VHF or UHF garage door used in inexpensive wireless gadgets, be- cover the design of helical antennas,
opener in the 1970s, with its nifty (and cause it can be made by etching on the same microstrip transmission lines, patch anten-
cheap!) L-C oscillator and superregener- printed board as the transmitter circuit, this nas, loop antennas, propagation (short
ative receiver. Most of the devices dis- antenna is not often used in ham radio. range, of course!) and other handy areas.
cussed in the book have an effective range However hams with an interest in aircraft Expect, however, to put some effort into
of 5 to 50 feet—not exactly DX! could well consider the patch as the choice using these worksheets and Mathcad effec-
In addition to containing a very good for a minimally protruding antenna on the tively.
summary of basic communication tech- outside surface of a private airplane. De- The book includes a short introduction
nologies, and some interesting softwareæ sign details of this antenna are included on to information theory. It is not necessary
more about that lateræthere is another good the CD-ROM. to read or understand this subject to make
reason why you might be interested in this If you want to know how several of these use of the earlier chapters of the book. At
book, or at least the technology it discusses. short-range devices keep from interfering the end of the book is both an extensive
If you are a ham, and expect to be a ham with each other, and stay relatively immune set of references, a bibliography and a brief
for the next 5,10 or 20 years, you are go- to high-power standard transmitters, the discussion of new developments in the
ing to see some very interesting changes. chapter on communication protocols and field. These include Bluetooth, which has
As an example, take a look at computer modulation has a wide variety of examples. been the main topic of many computer in-
mice. They are starting to go wireless, and For ham purposes, it is strictly a tutorial, but dustry magazines recently, as more and
wireless connections between your rig and maybe someone reading this chapter will get more companies decide if they want to
your mike have already appeared on the an idea for yet another digital mode! make their wired communication products
market. Glancing through the chapters on trans- wireless. (Does anyone expect higher noise
Anyone who has tried to set up a wire- mitters, receivers and systems, you might levels on the ham bands as more and more
less link—or “short-range wireless com- get the impression that they are a combi- devices go wireless with ultra-wideband
munication”—knows there are many nation of 1935 and 2001 technology. The frequency hopping?)
issues and problems, including mutual in- simplicity of some of the examples suggest If you want to learn what is going on
terference, range limits, multipath, false the past, but the high technology of their now, and what you will be seeing in the
signals and others. This is exactly what this construction—often single-chip with a future, this book is a good way to get a
book deals with. minimum of external components—defi- glimpse. Perhaps you will not be able to
Chapter 1 is a general introduction, and nitely puts the designs into today. I don’t do any design directly from the material
outside of some US government patent ap- think there is a single construction-minded here, but you will get a number of ideas
plications, it is also one of the few places ham who could look at the Motorola and maybe consider a new and interesting
you can see a brief discussion of RFIDs or MC13150 or the Philips UAA3201T chips project!
September 2001 95
OLD RADIO
Thordarson 1938 100-W Transmitter
Transformer companies made their
money by selling transformers. Early on
they found that providing schematics of
well-designed transmitters using their
products increased sales. Thordarson
Electric Mfg Co was one of the most suc-
cessful. Starting in 1934 they provided a
giveaway publication called the Transmit-
ter Guide. It was loaded with great pho-
tos of ham stations and transmitters. It
also contained articles, parts lists and
schematics of transmitters from 20 W all
the way up to 1-kW.
Thordarson’s introduction of a “new”
100-W transmitter, “designed specifically
for Ham requirements,” in the Septem-
ber 1938 issue of QST caught everyone’s
attention. Their two-page ad was fol- Thordarson 100-W transmitter after
lowed with 12 additional ads from many Thordarson 100-W transmitter as found. restoration.
of the ham stores. Harvey Radio’s ad said
in part, “[It] is available in “Foundation
Unit” form with complete instructions for primarily on CW in the Antique Wireless For more information on K5CF and this
assembly and operation. Chassis, panels Association’s Old Timer contests. He transmitter, including schematics, please
and chassis brackets are supplied com- says it works great with either crystal or visit my Web page at www.eht.com/
pletely punched for easy assembly…. Ap- VFO control. oldradio/arrl/index.html.
proximate price complete including
Cabinet, but less Tubes and Crystals is
$139.50.” Collector Profile K5CF Vance Gildersleeve
The RF tube line-up is 6L6, 6L6, to a Vance says, “I first became inter-
Taylor TZ-40. The modulator line-up is a ested in radio while still in grammar
6J7, 6F6, 6F6, driving two 6L6s in push- school. I still have the little crystal set
pull. It was designed as two self-contained that my father bought me. In high school
I became a Boy Scout and learned the
units, each with a built-in power supply.
Morse code. I bought a Gross CW25 kit
The transmitter section could be used and put it together. My original receiver
alone for CW or as an exciter. The modu- was a Hallicrafters Super 7.
lator could be added later, saving an ini- “After graduating from high school in
tial outlay of cash. The modulator could May of 1937, I went immediately to Port
also be used with other transmitters. Arthur College, in Port Arthur, Texas.
Recently Vance Gildersleeve, K5CF, There I studied radio/electronic theory to
found a 100-W transmitter in need of obtain a 1st Class Radiotelephone Li-
cense and a 2nd Class Radiotelegraph
a complete restoration. It had belonged
License.”
to Louie McMurray, WA5MDK of He was first licensed as W5GST on
Plainview, Texas and was given by his October 12, 1937 and has held numer-
son to Ed Mickle, KE5OB. Ed passed it ous other calls since then, having
on to Vance. moved around the country. In 1940 he
It was really dirty from years of sit- worked as a broadcast engineer at
ting around. Vance cleaned it using KTEM, his first job. This picture was
Naval Jelly on the rust spots, and with a taken there, where he was rooming
with a family in Temple, Texas. 1940 station of W5GST. The 40-20-
lot of scrubbing using damp cloths and Now retired, Vance had an interest- 10 meter RF section at the top of the rack
Q-tips it started looking good again. He ing career in radio. From 1941 to 1949 was built around the Gross CW25 chassis.
spray painted the rust spots and the he was a Flight Radio Officer with Pan It consisted of a 6V6G tritet crystal
oscillator, an 807 buffer/doubler and a
cabinet, replaced the rusty hardware and American World Airways, flying out of Taylor T40 final. It ran 100 W on CW and
installed the missing 300 mA meter in the Brownsville, Texas, New Orleans, Los about 75 W on phone. His receiver was a
modulator. Next he went through the Angeles and San Francisco. He was a Hallicrafters SX 16.
components and replaced all the defec- Broadcast Engineer at KRON-TV, later
with Eimac as an Electronic Technician, and retired after 18 years with Ampex
tive ones.
Corporation as a Senior Field Service Engineer and Office Manager.
Now operational again, Vance uses it
John Dilks, K2TQN 125 Warf Road, Egg Harbor Township, NJ 08234-8501 k2tqn@arrl.org
96 September 2001
AT THE FOUNDATION
2001: A Successful Scholarship Odyssey
Your generous contributions have recent high school graduate or a their studies. Let’s meet the diligent
once again helped fund scholarship career-changing parent seeking a new students whose educational odysseys
awards for the best and brightest vocation, students must work as hard you’ve helped aid in a small way:
that hamdom offers. Whether it’s a as ever to find funding to complete
David A. Ziskind, Casey R. Haley, Jason E. Leslie K. Karp, Jennifer M. Watt, Andrew K. Mui,
KE4QLH AB5RG Goldsberry, N5NU KC6WZQ N1TGF K2TJ
Atlanta, GA Santa Fe, TX Douglass, TX Torrance, CA Stratford, CT Rochester, NY
The Charles Clarke The K2TEO Martin The Tom and Judith The Donald Riebhoff The General Fund The General Fund
Cordle Memorial J. Green Memorial Comstock Memorial Scholarship—$1000 Scholarship—$1000
Scholarship—$1000 Scholarship—$1000 Scholarship—$1000 Scholarship—$1000
Timothy R. Garrett, Kirk F. Williams, Daniel J. Nowacki, Jason M. Marshall, Jeffrey S. Bennett, Christine M. Losee,
AA0ZB KC5EXM N1SKW KB1CZE K1JSB KB1AVR
Lansing, KS Miami, OK Kennebunk, ME Monticello, ME Jaffrey, NH Mason, NH
The General Fund The General Fund The New England The New England The New England The New England
Scholarship—$1000 Scholarship—$1000 FEMARA FEMARA FEMARA FEMARA
Scholarship—$600 Scholarship—$600 Scholarship—$600 Scholarship—$600
Contributor’s Corner
We wish to thank the following for their generous contributions to:
STRAYS
Victor C. Clark Youth Incentive Program Ian A. Elliot, W7JMX
Fund In loving memory of DO YOU HAVE YOUR “EXTRA”
Lew & Terry Gordon, K4VX & NS0Z Bea Clousing, K7CZQ CERTIFICATE?
In fond memory of Ross Stevens, W0XJ Audrey F. Wejmar
Robert K. Grebe, W3ZZX In loving memory of ◊ Reminiscent of the original FCC Amateur
In fond memory of Richard A. Wejmar, AF6T Extra license certificate (no longer avail-
Thomas K. Doench, N7LLV Richard L. Rutledge, N8FQI able), the ARRL Amateur Extra certificate
Jackson County ARC (Mississippi) In loving memory of
In fond memory of is the perfect replacement for hams who
Harry E. Rutledge, W8BCW
Claude C. McCoy, K5TPR Peninsula ARC (Virginia) want to proudly announce their achieve-
Randy Rysavy, N0FDH In fond memory of ment. This beautifully crafted document
In loving memory of Alvah M. Blake, Jr., KE4WLW indicates the name and call sign of the
Justin Spinler, K0GNH North Jersey DX Association (New Jersey) operator, as well as the date he or she
In fond memory of Eileen Holmes, achieved this
The Eugene “Gene” Sallee, W4YFR K2AGJ; Orion M. Arnold, W2HN;
Scholarship Fund James P. Wood, W2NZG; Ted Marks, top grade. To
Kennehoochee ARC, Inc. (Georgia) W2FG; and T. Edward Berzin, W2MIG order one for
Michigan Wolverine Single Sideband Net your station,
WRTC–USA Youth Fund (NEW) (Michigan)
Tom Frenaye, K1KI simply send
In fond memory of your name,
Larry Tyree, N6TR Leon J. Clancy, N8MJC
Marguerite Beyer address and a
The General Fund In fond memory of copy of your
Montgomery County RACES/ARES Herman Neuliep, N9TUH
(Pennsylvania) Amateur Ex-
Bruce J. Frahm, K0BJ tra license
Lois and Edward Feldman In fond memory of Ross Stevens, W0XJ
In loving memory of Anthony A. Immorlica, Jr., KC2TV indicating
Eugene Langberg, WA3AKK In fond memory of the year you received it along with $7.50
John D. Donald, W7OIQ Joseph H. Swaney, W3QVX ($10 for non-League members) to the
As received and acknowledged during the months of May and June. Awards Branch at ARRL HQ, 225 Main St,
Newington, CT 06111.
98 September 2001 Next Strays
RADIOS TO GO
Pick a Pack of HF
QRP Pedestrian-To-Pedestrian sire to keep a record of long distance and
Record Trumped other portable achievements. Since then,
That headline in the ARRL Letter many HFpackers have endeavored to set
really grabbed my attention. A 17,500+ records and some have been very success-
mile QSO between Max, ZL1BK, and ful. The Hall of Fame will be expanding
Demetre, SV1UY, on foot, with no tow- to include other types of records and
ers, beams, satellites, smoke or mirrors? awards. It will become one of the high-
Yes, it’s possible! And you can do it too, lights of the new Web site. The use of e-
as part of the fast-growing movement QSLs, and a section devoted to them on
known as HFpack. HFpack, has become a very interesting
part of the culture of HFpackers.
What is HFpack?
The development of an on-the-air
HF operation in remote areas, away schedule happened after a few schedules
from commercial mains, isn’t new. And, with some of the more active HFpackers
the omnipresent HT has made portable Mike, K9JRI, ready for HF bicycle mobile
action.
developed on 15 and 10 m. The original
operation on VHF/UHF as easy as push- schedule developed into a worldwide
to-talk. But talk and walk on HF has been schedule, and calling frequencies were
somewhat rare, until now. Taking advan- HFpack Frequencies (kHz) added for the major HF bands to bring
tage of a crop of rugged and compact HFpackers together. Since then, the
Calling: 18,157; Alternate: 14,342.5
low-power rigs and mixing in some HFpack frequencies have become a water-
Worldwide: ±5; CW +1
good-old fashioned ham ingenuity, por- 14,342.5/18,157/21,437/24,977/ ing hole for portable users, especially those
table HF operators are pushing the en- 28,337 USB using the Yaesu FT-817. Operating /PM or
velope, looking for new ways and places Regional: 3688/7088, 3998/7248 /HPM has become part of HFpack’s cul-
to be QRV. Couple that with the power LSB ture very rapidly, and there is a focus on
of the Internet and the boundless energy Data: 10,137/14,097/18,107/21,107/ QSO activity within the group. Some in-
of Bonnie Crystal, KQ6XA, and you 24,927/28,107 teresting innovations in gear and methods
have the e-group known as HFpack. have developed through the synergy of so
Bonnie explains: many active operators talking about their
I started the HFpack group in experimental stuff. I’d have to say that
mid-November, 2000. I’ve been an active HFpack has been a fairly successful group,
backpack HF enthusiast since the ’60s, and it certainly looks like it is continuing
and it seemed that activity among hams to grow. Who knows what is in store? One
for lightweight portable, bicycle, and thing I do know...it is fun and exciting.
backpack HF operation was starting to
Be A Part!
gather steam. The main focus of HFpack
has been towards on-the-air practical op- What can I add? Simply, if you’ve ever
eration. Part of that is the constant de- considered portable or Pedestrian Mobile
velopment of techniques by HFpackers HF operation, you should check out the
using homebrew and off-the-shelf gear to HFpack e-group at groups.yahoo.com/
make their HFpacks lighter, smaller, and group/hfpack/. After a simple registra-
more effective. The term Pedestrian tion, you’ll be able to browse the mes-
Mobile (/PM) applies to human carried Demetre, SV1UY, working 15 meters on a sages, check out photos of HFpack
in-motion or motion-capable HF systems. Greek island beach with daughter Sophie. operators, read about modifications for
HFpack has also introduced the term some of the popular portable HF radios,
Human Powered Mobile (/HPM), which even learn where the best spots are to op-
applies to bicycle, kayak, and other types erate /PM at some airports! You’ll also be
of “vehicles” that are human powered. has made it a runaway success. Now we able to post questions, schedule contacts
There are many QRP enthusiasts in the have registered the HFpack.com/net/org or just chat with other ’packers. Even if
HFpack group; however, it is not our pri- domains and are currently putting to- you don’t have Internet access, you can
mary focus. SSB is one of the things that gether a fairly extensive Web site/system still be part of the fun by tuning to one of
differentiates HFpack’s focus from the seamlessly integrated with the e-mail list. the listed frequencies and giving a call.
“QRP only” crowd. The HFpack on-the- I originally ran the group as a “benevo-
air skeds are a mix of CW and SSB on lent dictator,” as one of my friends put it, Re: July Radios To Go
the same frequency. but now a core group of active HFpackers Inquiring minds wonder what anten-
When I first started the group, I basically forms the ad-hoc behind- nas Wade Biggs, WA7DE, is using. Credit
thought it might reach maybe 50 to 100 the-scenes informal committee for bounc- Comet for the roof-mount dual-bander
people at some point in the future. [Mem- ing ideas and formulating the growth of and Hustler for the HF antenna. Thanks
bership now numbers nearly 1000. the group. We formed the HFpack Hall to George, KR5C, et al, for pointing out
—WF4N] Needless to say, its popularity of Fame in response to the group’s de- the omission.
George Fremin III, K5TR 624 Lost Oak Trail, Johnson City, TX 78636 k5tr@arrl.org
September 2001 103
SPECIAL EVENTS
Paradise, AZ: Cochise ARA, K7RDG, 1800Z E Providence, RI 02916. Halton Radial Railway Museum, 7.230 14.240
Sept 1 to 1800Z Sept 3, operating from the ghost Benton Harbor, MI: Blossomland Amateur Ra- 28.340. Certificate. MARC, c/o Michael Brickell,
town of Paradise, 7.040 14.305 18.140 28.490. dio Association, W8KIT, 1400Z Sept 15 to 2400Z 2801 Bucklepost Cres, Mississauga, ON L5N
Certificate. Cochise ARA, PO Box 1855, Sierra Sept 16, celebrating the 75th anniversary of 1X6, Canada.
Vista, AZ 85636-1855. Heathkit, 7.250 14.260 21.360. QSL. Heathkit Beecher, IL: The Hams of Monee, W9B, 1600 to
Hebron, CT: NARL / BEARS, W1H, 0700Z Sept Educational Systems, 455 Riverview Dr - Bldg 2, 2300Z Sept 22, Welcome Home Beecher Train
6 to 1900Z Sept 9, promoting Amateur Radio, Benton Harbor, MI 49022. Depot, 7.270 14.040 14.270 28.340. Certificate.
28.430 18.130 14.280 7.250. Certificate. Ted Waterloo, AL: Muscle Shoals Amateur Radio Gene Backlin, 26811 Greenbriar Dr, Monee, IL
Ferreira, 40 Hillside St, B-5, E Hartford, CT Club, W4T, 1400Z to 2359Z Sept 15, during the 60449.
06108. Trail of Tears Commemorative Motorcycle Ride, Eldon, MO: Lake of the Ozarks ARC, W0NA,
Riverside, CA: Inland Empire Council of Ama- 7.250 14.250 21.350 28.350. Certificate. Muscle 1600 to 2200Z Sept 22, for the Early Days Gas
teur Radio Organizations, W1AW/6, 1900Z Sept Shoals Amateur Radio Club, 3412 18th Ave, Engine and Tractor Show, 7.240 14.240 21.340
7 to 1900Z Sept 9, at the ARRL Southwestern Sheffield, AL 35660. 28.440. Certificate. John Baremore, KC0CRO,
Division Convention, 28.450 21.350 14.250 182 Bear Paw Cir, Camdenton, MO 65020.
Pierre, SD: Pierre Amateur Radio Club, W0PIR,
7.030. QSL. Fred Roberts, W6TKV, 5464 Pea- Statesville, NC: Iredell County Amateur Radio
1500 to 2300Z Sept 15, for the South Dakota
cock Ln, Riverside, CA 92505. Society, KQ4O, 1930 to 2200Z Sept 23, for the
World War II Memorial Dedication, 28.390
Boulder, CO: The Boulder Amateur Radio Club 14.245 3.870. Certificate. Gary Wallace, PO Box 25th anniversary of ICARS Foundation, 146.685
Youth Auxiliary, W0W, 1700Z to 2200Z Sept 8, 1261, Pierre, SD 57501-1261. 147.045 28.468 14.310. Certificate. Matthew
celebrating Boulder area youth in Amateur Radio, O’Malley, 1101 Radio Rd, Statesville, NC 28677.
14.275 29.300. Certificate. Richard Weingarten, Fort Wayne, IN: Allen County Amateur Radio
Technical Society, KB9IBW, 1400 to 2300Z Sept Fort Prospect, KwaZula Natal, South Africa:
1133 Northridge Dr, Erie, CO 80516. Midlands Amateur Radio Club, ZS100ABW,
15, operating from the traveling Vietnam Wall Me-
Louisville, KY: Greater Louisville Hamfest morial at the Highland Park Cemetery, 7.226 14.226 1400Z Sept 22 to 1400Z Sept 23, commemorat-
Assn, KU4VG, 1400Z to 1800Z Sept 8, celebrat- 144.390 146.880. Certificate. Emery McClendon ing the Centenary of the Anglo Boer South Afri-
ing many years of commitment to Amateur Radio, Sr, 6116 Graymoor, Fort Wayne, IN 46835. can War, 40 20 meters. Certificate. Midlands
14.260 14.300 7.220 7.240. Certificate. Greater ARC, PO Box 100220, Scottsville, 3209, South
Louisville Hamfest Assn, 1312 Holsworth Ln, Atlantic City, NJ: Southern Counties Amateur
Africa.
Louisville, KY 40222. Radio Association, K2BR, 1400Z Sept 17 to
0400Z Sept 23, during the Miss America Pageant, Parsippany, NJ: Parsippany RACES, WA2UEM,
Henri-Chapelle, Belgium: GDV Group ON5PL, 7.250 14.250 21.325 28.325. QSL. SCARA, PO 1600-2200Z Sept 23, celebrating the third Kiwanis
ON4USA, 0800Z Sept 8 to 1600Z Sept 9, honoring Box 121, Linwood, NJ 08221. Club of Parsippany Fall Festival. 28.475, 14.325.
the memory of all GIs who gave their lives, 14.044 QSL. Barry Schaeffer, WA2UEM, PO Box 5157,
14.210 21.044 28.044. QSL. ON4USA, Post Office Freedom Township, OH: Portage Amateur Ra- Parsippany, NJ 07054-6157.
Box 11, Verviers 1, BE, B-4800, Belgium. dio Club, KB8UUZ, 1800Z Sept 21 to 0300Z Sept
24, for National POW/MIA Awareness week from Belleville, MI: Yankee Air Museum, W8YAF,
Flat Rock, MI: Motor City Radio Club, Freedom Township, 14.270 15 meters 10 meters 1200 to 2000Z Sept 23, commemorating the YAF
W8MRM, 1400Z Sept 8 to 2300Z Sept 9, for the 40 meters. Certificate. Tom Parkinson, 9992 State Founder’s Day open house. 7.270. Certificate.
Annual Flat Rock Riverfest, 7.044 7.244 14.044 Route 700, Mantua, OH 44255. Frank A. Nagy, N8BIB, 24315 Waltz Rd, New
14.244. Certificate. Motor City Radio Club, Boston, MI 48164-9167.
Riverfest, PO Box 337, Wyandotte, MI 48192. Corona, CA: Corona Norco Amateur Radio Club,
W6PWT, 1600 to 2400Z Sept 22, Barney Oldfield Kingwood, WV: Preston County ARC, W8B,
North Judson, IN: Starke County Amateur Ra- 1400Z Sept 27 to 0200Z Sept 30, celebrating the
Day commemorating the 1912-14 Circle City
dio Club, W9JOZ, 1500 to 2100Z Sept 8, Hoosier 60th annual Buckwheat Festival, 40 meters 20
Races, 7.250 14.250 21.380 28.450. QSL. Fred
Valley RR Museum Annual Open House, 7.240 meters 10 meters 147.000. Certificate. Richard
Roberts, W6TKV, 5464 Peacock Ln, Riverside,
7.290 14.240 14.290. QSL. Starke County Ama- Wolfe, KA8UEU, PO Box 512, Kingwood, WV
CA 92505.
teur Radio Club, 405 W Jackson St, Knox IN 26537.
46534. Greenport, NY: Peconic ARC, W2AMC, 1400 to
Fairmount, IN: Grant County Amateur Radio
Big Rock, IL: De Kalb County ARES Group, 2000Z Sept 22, Greenport Maritime Festival,
Club, W9EBN, 1500 to 2200Z Sept 29, celebrat-
W9P, 1400Z Sept 12 to 2200Z Sept 16, com- 7.270 14.270. Certificate. Peconic ARC, PO Box
ing “James Dean Country Where Cool Was Born,”
memorating the 107th Annual Big Rock Plowing 113, Peconic, NY 11958.
7.255 14.255 28.410 146.79. Certificate. L. B.
Match, 7.108 7.275 14.275 28.390. Certificate. Galion, OH: Crawford County Amateur Radio Nickerson, K9NQW, 517 N Hendricks Ave,
Bob Yurs, W9ICU, 1107 Commercial St, Sy- Club, W8BAE, 1300Z Sept 22 to 0100Z Sept 23, Marion, IN 46952.
camore, IL 60178. celebrating its 40th anniversary, 3.870 14.235 Hilton, NY: BARK / RDXA / RVHG / RARA,
Slidell, LA: Ozone Amateur Radio Club, 28.465 50.165. Certificate. Keith Moore, N8LIS, K2A, 1230Z Sept 29 to 2100Z Sept 30, for the
W5SLA, 1500 to 2300Z Sept 15, celebrating 37 331 S Market, Galion, OH 44833. 21st Annual Hilton Apple Fest, 7.250 14.250
years of community service, 14.250 7.280. QSL. Berlin, PA: Somerset County ARC, K3SMT, 21.350 28.450. Certificate. Dave Wright, 173
Michael White, 404 Holmes Dr, Slidell, LA 1700Z Sept 22 to 1700Z Sept 23, during the 8th South Ave, Hilton, NY 14468.
70460. annual Berlin Whiskey Rebellion Days, 80 meters Austin, TX: University of Texas Amateur Radio
East Providence, RI: ARASNE, Association 40 meters 20 meters 28.325. Certificate. SCARC Club, K5T, 1400Z Sept 29 to 2400Z Oct 7, cel-
of Radio Amateurs of Southern New England, c/o NJ3T J. Crowley, 135 Baxter Dr, Somerset, ebrating 80 Years of Amateur Radio at the Uni-
W1AQ, 1400Z Sept 15 to 2300Z Sept 16, for the PA 15501. versity of Texas at Austin, 14.250 21.325 28.425.
75th anniversary of ARASNE, 28.360 21.260 Milton, ON: Mississauga Amateur Radio Club, QSL. UT Amateur Radio Club, SOC #73, 100-C
14.260 7.260. Certificate. W1AQ, 54 Kelley Ave, VE3MIS, 1400Z-2000Z Sept 22 to Sept 23, at the W Dean Keeton St, Austin, TX 78712.
George Fremin III, K5TR 624 Lost Oak Trail, Johnson City, TX 78636 k5tr@arrl.org
The five-hour workshop will cover all 16 ARRL and the Web. All-day participants will
STRAYS satellites now in orbit. Topic areas will in-
clude digital satellites; FM satellites you can
earn 0.5 Continuing Education Units.
The workshop fee is $25 for ARRL mem-
work with a hand-held transceiver and hand- bers and $35 for non-members.
SATELLITE WORKSHOP SET FOR held antenna; low-earth orbit SSB/CW “Easy For more information, contact Linda
SOUTHWESTERN DIVISION Sats” on 2, 10 and 15 meters; high-altitude Mullally, 860-594-0292, at ARRL Headquar-
CONVENTION DX satellites, such as AO-40 and AO-10; and ters. The fee includes all required course ma-
◊ The ARRL Southwestern Division Conven- Amateur Radio on the International Space terials, but the instructors suggest that par-
tion will feature a satellite workshop led by Station. ticipants have a copy of The Radio Amateur’s
Steve Bible, N7HPR, and Larry Brown, Those attending will learn how to get on Satellite Handbook, published by ARRL, for
W7LB. The convention takes place Septem- AO-40, how to track satellites with your PC, reference. (ARRL item #6583, $22 plus $6
ber 7-9, at Riverside, California. The work- operating protocols for each satellite, and UPS shipping/handling from ARRL HQ; also
shop takes place Friday, September 7. sources of information, such as AMSAT, available from many dealers).
104 September 2001 Previous Strays
2001 ARRL International EME
Competition Rules
1. Object: Two-way communications via
the earth-moon-earth path on any authorized Is Your Entry Complete?
amateur frequency above 50 MHz. One of the biggest problems that arises in accurately reporting scores for
2. Date and Contest Period: Two full ARRL Contests is that participants submit incomplete or outdated summary
weekend 48-hour periods (0000 UTC on Sat- sheets. Remember: A complete entry must include an accurate summary sheet
urday through 2359 UTC Sunday). The 2001 with all information provided. If you are using copies of older summary sheets, it is
dates will be the weekends of October 13-
easy to obtain the latest versions. Official entry forms and complete rules for the
14, 2001 and November 10-11, 2001.
3. Entry Categories: 2001 ARRL International EME Competition are available electronically.
3.1. Single Operator: One person per- Forms and rules for all ARRL contests may be downloaded in either ASCII or
forms all operating and logging functions, Adobe PDF format from ARRLWeb , www.arrl.org/contests/forms/. If you don’t
equipment adjustment and antenna alignment. currently have the Adobe program, it may be downloaded for free from a link at
3.1.1. Multiband. the Contest Form page. If you aren’t online, you may drop an SASE with two units
3.1.2. Single Band: Single-band entries of postage and a note requesting the specific forms you need to ARRL, Contest
on 50, 144, 222, 432, 902 and 1296-and-up Form Request, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111.
categories will be recognized in awards of- If you are using one of the commercial logging programs, please make certain
fered. Contacts may be made on any and all that your version includes all of the required summary sheet information. Some
bands without jeopardizing single-band entry older versions of the commercial programs provide incomplete information. A
status. Such additional contacts are encour- quick check by you to verify that all required information is on your summary
aged and should be reported. Also see Rule 8, sheet will help ensure that your entry is accurately recorded and reported in QST.
Awards. Please help the Contest Branch better serve you by making sure you are using
3.2. Multioperator: Two or more persons the latest summary sheets and required log file formats. If you need additional
participate; includes neighboring amateurs information, please contact contests@arrl.org or tel 860-594-0232.
within one call area, but with EME facilities
for different bands on different team members’
premises, as long as no two are more than 50
km (30 miles) apart. Multioperator neighbor- 6.2. Contacts may be on CW or SSB. is evident. In addition, each station that suc-
hood groups may use the same call signs at Only one signal per band is permitted. cessfully completes at least one EME contact
each location if permissible under national 6.3. A transmitter, receiver or antenna during the contest period will receive a cer-
licensing rules and regulations. If not permis- used to contact one or more stations under one tificate commemorating that achievement.
sible, separate call signs may be used for the call sign may not be used subsequently under 9. Other: See “General Rules for All
multioperator neighborhood entry. When any other call sign during the contest. An ex- ARRL Contests” in November 2000 QST.
operating under this neighborhood pro- ception is made for family stations where
vision, all logs must be submitted together more than one call has been issued, and then
in a single envelope or e-mail with a single only if the second call sign is used by a dif-
summary sheet showing the combined op-
eration, designating the principal call sign
ferent operator.
6.4. There is no specified minimum ter-
FEEDBACK
for the entry. All multioperator call-signs will restrial distance for contacts, but all commu-
be shown in the results. nications must be copied over the ◊ Recently, Artur, CT2HNI, alerted me to an
3.3 Commercial equipment: Stations us- moonbounce path, regardless of how strong error in Figure 2 of my article, “The Spot
ing equipment that is not amateur (such as a (or weak) a nearby station’s terrestrial signal Grabber” (QST, June 2001, page 30). Ca-
dish antenna for lab equipment owned by an may be. pacitor C6 is shown upside down; it should
institution or government agency) will have 7. Reporting: Entries must be post- have its negative lead connected to pin 2 of
their scores listed separately. marked no later than December 11, 2001 U3. If you use the PC board available from
3.4 Only one log may be submitted per (30 days after the contest) and must include FAR Circuits, this discrepancy may go un-
call sign. complete log data as well as a complete sum-
mary sheet. Official forms are available on noticed, since the component-placement art-
4. Exchange: For a valid contact to occur,
each station must send and receive both call ARRLWeb (www.arrl.org/contests) or for an work is correct.—Paulo N. Jorge, CT1EFL
signs and a signal report in any mutually un- SASE request to the Contest Branch. Your ◊ A few errors have crept into both the sche-
derstood format, plus a complete acknowledg- summary sheet should show a band-by-band matic and parts list for the WBR Receiver
ment of the calls and report. Partial or incom- breakdown of QSOs and multipliers, and in- (August 2001 QST, Figure 1, page 35). In
plete QSOs should be indicated on your log, clude details of your station setup and a photo.
Cabrillo format is not required for elec- the parts list, Q1 is a 2N3904, and C14, C15
but not counted for contest credit. Stations
may be worked once per band for credit. tronic submission in the EME Contest, pro- and C18 are all 2.2-µF, 16-V electrolytic ca-
5. Scoring: vided the entry includes the log file and a pacitors. C22 is 0.1 µF. In the schematic
5.1. QSO Points: Count 100 points for fully completed standard summary sheet. diagram, C19 (connected between R14 and
each complete EME contact. E-mail entries should be submitted to pin 5 of U2) should be 0.01 µF. This is the
5.2. Multiplier: Each US and Canadian EMEcontest@arrl.org and paper/diskette first occurrence of C19. The second occur-
call area, plus each DXCC country (not US/ entries should be submitted to EME Contest, rence of C19 between R15 and ground
Canada) worked via EME on each band. ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. should be C20. The value is correct. R17
5.3. Final Score: Multiply QSO points 8. Awards: should be R7. In addition, Z1 should have
by sum of multipliers worked on each band 8.1. Certificates will be issued to the top
five stations worldwide in each of the entry been drawn as a 1/ 8-inch wide × 1/ 2 -inch
for your final score.
6. Miscellaneous: categories: single operator multiband; single long strip connected to the center tap of L1
6.1. Fixed or portable operation is per- operator single band (separate awards for each and grounded with a standard wire. The
mitted. Stations operating outside traditional band); and multioperator. antenna should be connected at the mid-
call areas must indicate so, identifying the call 8.2. Additional awards will be issued point of Z1, again with standard wire.
area of the operating site. where significant achievement or competition —Dan Wissell, N1BYT
September 2001 105
By Dan Henderson, N1ND
Contest Branch Manager
account of the pop culture of notable stars as Anne Heche and Patrick
No
should go to Bruce, WT4I, whose 156,480
the Twentieth Century would point total managed to break the old mark Muldoon. After a few “walk-on” appear-
be complete without a men- by several thousand while setting a new ances in RTTY contesting Randy, K5ZD,
tion of the phenomenon known as the Southeastern Division record. Division made a huge splash in what he called his
television soap opera (or daytime dramas records were also set by N9CK (Central), first serious effort into this part of the
for the aficionado of the art form). We N3SL (Midwest), N6OJ (Pacific), hobby. Having demonstrated his prowess
are well into a second and third genera- KA4RRU (Roanoke), and K0ZU (Rocky on other modes, Randy went for it all in
tion of Americans (and not just the stay- Mountain). 2001. His final score of 225,125 not only
at-home moms) that thrive on a daily One of the popular categories for Soap took top honors in the Single Operator
dose of the latest antics of their favorite Opera awards is “Outstanding New- High Power category, but also set a new
stars. Can you guess why the latest VCRs comer,” which has been won by such now- overall scoring record (as well as setting
in our living rooms have a “record M-F the New England Division record). Fin-
at this time” button of some kind as a ishing in second place with a strong
basic feature? Top Ten Scores showing was Mark, K1RO. Also setting
While its avid following is not as big, Single Operator Multioperator new Division scoring records in this cat-
the annual ARRL RTTY Roundup may W/VE—Low Power W/VE—Low Power egory were W0DC (Dakota), K5YG
AA5AU 205,239 N5ZM 116,765
sometimes resemble many of the best WT4I 156,480 W6YX 96,495 (Delta), ND5S (Great Lakes), K2NJ
soaps. Key participants are still around, KA4RRU 135,318 W4MR 82,518 (Hudson), W7NN (Northwestern),
N3SL 114,359 WV7Y 76,720
many from the earliest days of the event, N6OJ 111,588 AA9RR 74,336 K4GMH (Roanoke), W7CT (Rocky
joining in with bright, new stars on the KI6DY 109,200 KG0QG 68,276 Mountain), and K6LL (Southwestern).
W4/KL7Q 101,304 N8LRG 61,464
horizon. This combination made the 2001 N9CK 97,699 W5VZF 52,560 No Soap would be complete without
RTTY Roundup the largest ever, with a VE4COZ 87,954 K8VT 49,305 its cast of “supporting” actors and ac-
K0ZU 87,203 N0IU 44,426
total of 691 entries being received repre- tresses. While the multioperator catego-
senting a total of 803 participants. W/VE—High Power W/VE—High Power ries in the RTTY Roundup do not attract
When you couple record participation K5ZD 225,125 K9NS 177,970 large number of entries (only 7.5% of all
K1RO 172,692 K5DJ 165,816
with near-perfect band conditions, you W7NN 154,128 W0SD 159,268 entries), what they lack in quantity they
VE6JY 140,634 K1AM 145,180
would expect to find lots of records fall. K4GMH 140,283 K4WW 116,661
definitely make up for in quality, as 14
This is exactly what happened, as all four W1ZT 133,836 NN6NN 113,313 of them established new division scoring
W0DC 133,637 W7TI 112,090
US overall category records, one DX cat- K5YG 128,136 KJ7TH 105,380 records. Leading the way in the Multi-
egory record and 30 ARRL/RAC division N2WK 126,840 N8NR 98,900 operator Low Power category was the
NE3H 124,371 N0NI 92,660
records were broken in what one partici- outstanding effort from the N5ZM sta-
pant termed as the “best conditions for DX—Low Power DX—Low Power tion. Not only did they set a new Delta
RTTY ever.” PY2MNL 94,374 S53S 69,642 Division record, but also their score of
LV5V 89,540 YL7C 69,156
When it comes to RTTY contesting, CT1AOZ 82,768 9A7P 62,192 116,765 set a new overall category mark.
ON4AME 80,520 UT0H 14,950
the Macdonald Carey of the sport may LY1DS 69,871
Finishing second, while setting a new
well be Don, AA5AU. Like Carey (who PW2A 68,090 DX—High Power Pacific Division record was W6YX with
UY8IF 66,976
won honors for his movie and TV acting), EU1DX 60,840
MW2I 143,385 a score of 96,495. Also setting new divi-
UT9F 104,780
Don has been winning honors as a RTTY UZ7U 56,385 LT1F 94,128 sion records were the “supporting cast”
YU7AM 55,432 OL5Q 92,019
contester for years. In the first RTTY of operators at AA9RR (Central), N8LRG
KL7FH 89,301
Roundup of the new millennium, he DX—High Power SP5ZCC 70,180 (Great Lakes), KG0QG (Midwest),
proved once again that he still has what it UW8I 146,304 RW9C 68,377 WV7Y (Northwestern), and N7PWZ
VP5RY 134,415 SN7N 46,920
takes. All Don did in 2001 was shatter the DJ7AA 126,873 A52YL 24,674 (Southwestern).
previous record for the Single Operator PJ2/ON4CFD 124,865 KH7V 23,350 The entire ensemble—cast, crew, pro-
9A5W 107,463
Low Power category while becoming the JH4UYB 104,880 duction staff—manage to pull together
first SOLP entrant to top the 200k point S54E 104,832 to make your favorite soaps happen.
UP5P 102,924
barrier with his Delta Division record G5G 94,380 From “Days of our Lives” and “General
DJ5JK 89,548
score of 205,239. Special honors also Hospital” to “As the World Turns,” it
106 September 2001
takes all of those involved to make a
2001 Plaque Winners
show a success. The Multioperator High These are the sponsored plaques awarded to winners. Some plaques are awarded to overall high score single
Power category mirrored the work operator in the Division. Others are awarded to Division high score single operator by power level based upon
needed to be a success. Seven division the sponsor’s designation. Plaque winners marked with an asterisk (*) indicate that the second place finisher
has been awarded a sponsored plaque where the winner won an overall category award. Unsponsored
record setting scores were received from plaques for Division winners may be purchased from the ARRL Contest Branch at a cost of $60 each. Contact
participants, including the crew at K9NS. contests@arrl.org for details.
Their score of 177,970 is a new Overall Category Winner Sponsor
category score, besides being a new Cen- W/VE Single Operator Low Power NM7M Memorial AA5AU Wayne Matlock, K7WM
W/VE Single Operator High Power W7RM Plaque K5ZD Frank Fallon, N2FF
tral Division record. They edged out the DX Multi-Single Low Power S53S Doug Faunt, N6TQS
ops at K5DJ (who makes frequent star- DX Multi-Single High Power MW2I Daniel & Faith Senie, N1JEB & N1JIT
Atlantic Division Single Operator Low Power W1TY Daniel Senie, N1JEB
ring appearances in the single operator Atlantic Division Single Operator High Power N2WK Rochester DX Associaton
categories) who managed to set a new Dakota Division Single Operator High Score W0DC Lawrence Gandy, AH8LG
Delta Division Single Operator High Score K5YG* Great Lakes Dx/Contest Club K9PXV
West Gulf Division score. Round out the Great Lakes Division Single Operator High Score ND5S Amateur Radio Transmitting Society, W4CN
top W/VE division scoring record setting Hudson Division Single Operator High Score K2NJ Frank Fallon, N2FF
efforts were the cast found at W0SD (Da- Pacific Division Single Operator High Score N6OJ Lawrence Gandy, AH8LG
Southeastern Division Single Operator High Score WT4I Jim Mortensen, N2HOS
kota), N0NI (Midwest), K1AM (New En- Southwestern Division Single Operator High Power K6LL TG9VT Memorial
gland), K4WW (Pacific) and W7TI West Gulf Division Single Operator High Score N5XUS Glenn Vinson, W6OTC
Canadian Single Operator High Score VE6JY Foothills Amateur Radio Teleprinting Society
(Southwestern). PSK 31 Top Score W2UP
If you travel overseas and turn on the
television in your hotel room, you are
pretty well assured to find at least a night- egory record among DX participants. The future. Thanks to those volunteers that
time soap, such as reruns of “Dallas” or final tally of 143,385 easily outdistanced worked hard to process logs and write
“Knot’s Landing” (as the genre is not the UT9F effort by almost 40k points. software, and actually ran the logs to pro-
uniquely American). Congratulations are Rounding out the DX winners were the duce the results for publication.
in order to Wanderly, PY2MNL, who took ops at S53S. They edged out YL7C in the Comparing soap operas and the ARRL
“best foreign performer” honors in the Multioperator Low Power category RTTY Roundup really amounts to com-
Single Operator Low Power category 69,642 to 69,156 in the closest finish in paring apples and oranges. Soap opera
with a score of 94,374. He edged out sec- any category. enthusiasts need only turn on their TV or
ond place finisher Jorge, LU5VV, oper- We observed a rise in the use of PSK31 VCR to experience the thrills that popu-
ating as LV5V, by less than 5000 points. during this year’s contest. The special lar medium can instill. RTTY aficiona-
UW8I, with Nick, UT2IZ, operating PSK31 plaques, for the best submitted dos have only limited opportunities, as
took top honors in the Single Operator PSK31 score, was won by Barry, W2UP they get their kicks live, and only a few
High Power category with a score of with a final score of 26,796. Congratula- times a year. The 2002 ARRL RTTY
146.304. VP5RY, with John, WA9ALS, tions to all who participated in this spe- Roundup will be contested January 5-6.
as the operator, took second in the cat- cial “contest within the contest.” Get the station ready and test out the new
egory. DX entries accounted for nearly The 2001 Roundup was the first time software. Oh, and make sure if you are
40% of all entries in this year’s contest— the ARRL employed electronic log hooked on the soaps, you have the VCR
the most in recent years. checking for a RTTY contest, and it timer set, so you don’t miss out on any
The operators at MW2I not only won seems to have worked well. We will of your RTTY operating time. After all,
the Multioperator High Power category, broaden its scope in coming years, add- the soaps on tape can be viewed later—
but managed to set the only overall cat- ing in individual log check reports in the the Roundup doesn’t wait!
Region Leaders
Boxes list call sign, score, class (S = Single Operator, M = Multioperator), and power (A = Low Power, B = High Power).
Northeast Region Southeast Region Central Region Midwest Region West Coast Region
(New England, Hudson and (Delta, Roanoke and (Central and Great Lakes (Dakota, Midwest, Rocky (Pacific, Northwestern and
Atlantic Divisions; Maritime Southeastern Divisions) Divisions; Ontario Section) Mountain and West Gulf Southwestern Divisions;
and Quebec Sections) AA5AU 205,239 S A N9CK 97,699 S A Divisions; Manitoba and Alberta, British Columbia
WA1EHK 79,920 S A WT4I 156,480 S A NI8Z 83,376 S A Saskatchewan Sections) and NWT/Yukon Sections)
AD1C 79,640 S A KA4RRU 135,318 S A W4LC 63,856 S A N3SL 114,359 S A N6OJ 111,588 S A
W1TY 78,309 S A W4/KL7Q 101,304 S A AA9PB 48,705 S A KI6DY 109,200 S A VE6RAJ 77,169 S A
K1PY 64,288 S A KG8WB 54,964 S A W8EB 45,315 S A VE4COZ 87,954 S A N7UJJ 68,377 S A
N3FR 62,469 S A K0ZU 87,203 S A W7LD 63,279 S A
W0LSD 75,130 S A VA6MM 58,117 S A
K5ZD 225,125 S B K4GMH 140,283 S B ND5S 102,350 S B W0DC 133,637 S B W7NN 154,128 S B
K1RO 172,692 S B K5YG 128,136 S B KG9X 98,784 S B VE5CPU 96,726 S B VE6JY 140,634 S B
W1ZT 133,836 S B N4IQ 98,010 S B K9DJ 51,507 S B W7CT 91,900 S B K6LL 122,148 S B
N2WK 126,840 S B W4OX 81,290 S B N2BJ 50,568 S B WA0SXV 84,072 S B WW7OR 118,832 S B
NE3H 124,371 S B W4UK 63,600 S B N9PQU 45,192 S B KB5BOB 51,510 S B W7WW 105,872 S B
N3RN 22,407 M A N5ZM 116,765 M A AA9RR 74,336 M A KG0QG 68,276 M A W6YX 96,495 M A
N2UM 4,752 M A W4MR 82,518 M A N8LRG 61,464 M A N0IU 44,426 M A WV7Y 76,720 M A
KD3TB 1,530 M A W5VZF 52,560 M A K8VT 49,305 M A WV7T 7,215 M A N7PWZ 24,928 M A
W5YM 23,256 M A WB8YTZ 37,145 M A KD5KZG 4,100 M A
K9WJU 25,317 M A
K1AM 145,180 M B AG4W 50,400 M B K9NS 177,970 M B K5DJ 165,816 M B K4WW 116,661 M B
WB4DAH 8,235 M B N8NR 98,900 M B W0SD 159,268 M B NN6NN 113,313 M B
AE9D 84,840 M B N0NI 92,660 M B W7TI 112,090 M B
K8AA 49,086 M B K5PI 33,321 M B KJ7TH 105,380 M B
K0BX 17,600 M B KR6E 91,140 M B
NEW PRODUCTS
HAM RADIO CLIPART CD
◊ TK5NN has produced Version 3 of Ham Radio ClipArt. This CD con-
tains a “bank” of 1364 high-resolution images in black and white and
color. The images, in both vectorial (EPS) and bitmap (TIF) file formats,
include many electronic components, three styles of numbers and alpha-
bets, and printable logs for contesting and normal operating. Also included
are several QSL response templates, and many images and logos from
Amateur Radio organizations around the world. Another more humorous
section contains images that would be appropriate for newsletters, color-
ing pages, QSL cards or publicity fliers or certificates. The images are
easy to “cut and paste,” resize and format to your needs.
The image resolution has been fixed at 400 dpi, and then compressed.
The CD-ROM works on both Macintosh and PC computers. The user must
provide the software necessary for drawing or publishing, such as Adobe
Illustrator, CorelDraw, Microsoft Paint and Imaging for Windows.
TK5NN’s Web site, tk5nn.free.fr/en/index.html, offers a few free
graphic samples and a selection of Frequently Asked Questions. The cost
of the CD, including shipping and handling, is $30. It can be ordered by
e-mail, fax or postal mail.—Jean Wolfgang, WB3IOS, ARRL Educational
Programs Coordinator
Previous New Products September 2001 109
By Dan Henderson, N1ND
Contest Branch Manager
311,540
Phone Only,
High Power
CT8T
(I4UFH,op)
948,660
pregnant—or the detailed and captivat- VE3KZ 475,610 PA3ELD 234,768 F6CTT 775,656
WA8RCN 405,594 K5TR 955,638 9A2EY 183,400 S57AW 696,960
ing look at a unique moment in Ameri- K0OU 396,100 W9RE 907,200 RK9KWB 180,576 GM4YXI 673,904
can history. For weeks the US and the K6XX 365,944 K1AM 857,308 Z32AF 117,602 LU1HF 670,026
W3PP 365,928 WB9Z 763,464 SP2EWQ 108,750 F6KBI 620,768
world waited to see how the drama of the K6LL 758,608
WA6FGV 297,838 G0OGN 104,218 F6KRC 618,944
presidential election would play out. On W4DEC 290,550 K3EST 743,204 JL1IHE 81,436 (F6GLH,op)
K7RI 738,948
Monday, December 12, 2000 the US Su- WT3W 288,144
K6IF 714,168
JA7ERJ 71,894 J37K 598,000
I2PJA 584,652
preme Court issued its decision, which Mixed Mode, Mixed Mode, CT3IA 560,960
resolved the immediate crisis. Low Power CW Only, QRP Low Power
K1RO 1,476,984 KG5U 402,144 WP2Z 2,301,240 CW Only, QRP
How did you spend those anxious days KG9X 1,327,104 K5AM 278,200 (AG8L,op) KP2/N3IQ 791,120
that led up to an historic moment for our NA2U 1,189,524 K9AY 276,860 LP1F 1,343,816 (ND3F,op)
W3EP 1,159,152 N0UR 266,832 SU9ZZ 1,329,300
nation? Many avid amateurs kept one eye K7ED 262,200
ZF2NT 713,160
N0AT 1,040,736 YU1AU 904,264 G4EDG 238,336
on the TV screen but escaped from the WD5K 1,004,850 (WA0RJY,op) JN3PYQ 880,152 UP6F 204,204
VA3RU 247,044
drama by participating in the 2000 ARRL N7LOX 947,968
VA3EU 241,500
JR4PMX 863,720 (UN7FZ,op)
K6RO 938,956 YU7CB 792,792 YU1KR 202,776
10-Meter Contest. Great propagation K0TT 932,062 WO2N 232,288 LU5VV 752,972 9A0C 190,376
worldwide seemed to surpass the great K0OB 828,240 AA1CA 216,140 OM6T 703,948 (9A2HI,op)
N9UC 213,796 RU3QW 641,650 F6OIE 155,232
electoral decision as a record 2875 logs Mixed Mode, (WO9S,op) OM0TT 154,336
were received—surpassing the 1999 con- High Power Mixed Mode, LZ2RS 151,240
KQ2M 2,747,164 CW Only, Low Power High Power
test as the largest ARRL contest ever. K1TO 1,094,616
OK2PYA 112,104
WC4E 2,472,804 ZS6Z 2,932,224
These logs represented a total of over W2GG 2,430,912 WE1USA 911,232 (JM1CAX,op) CW Only,
3300 participants and came from all 50 W4MYA 2,087,784 K1VUT 873,600 TK5EP 2,273,020 Low Power
K9NW 2,049,822 W5TM 796,960 CX5BW 1,964,476 NP3G 1,080,624
states, each ARRL/RAC section, and K3ZO 1,918,848 (W5AO,op) H2G 1,920,604 ZV8O 741,840
from 108 DXCC entities. N8OO 1,915,812 WD4AHZ 745,740 (5B4AGC,op) V26JT 717,824
VE6JY 1,830,168 WQ5W 711,808 OK1RI 1,786,400 IK4UPB 714,816
Great conditions and record participa- (VE7CC,op) N5DO 684,472 JH4UYB 1,423,240 5B4AGN 680,504
tion brought record-breaking perfor- N4ZC 1,742,034 K4AO 670,208 HA6NF 1,419,024 9A3VM 612,648
(K4ZA,op) N4ZI 668,160 EM3J 1,407,648
mances. All-time record scores were set W1WAI 661,436
LU1EWL 461,648
W0SD 1,725,498 (UU2JZ,op) CX9AU 451,572
in four of the ten categories. There were (W0DB,op) PY0FF 1,356,272 LZ2PL 444,600
CW Only, High Power
also a total of 39 new ARRL/RAC divi- LU2FA 1,319,472 JH9VSF 436,632
Phone Only, QRP W4ZV 1,433,952
sion records set during the event. N2NHN 112,860 W4AN 1,331,712 Phone Only, QRP CW Only,
KD2UF 109,868 (W4PA,op) KP2/WA0QII 286,790 High Power
VE3BUC 90,800 K2VV 1,278,668 LU3VD 175,208 J38DX 2,045,440
W4TD 89,232 N4BP 1,271,808 YU1KN 93,526 (K1KI,op)
NY6DX 88,000 VO1MP 1,118,880 NP2B 75,296 KH6ND 1,303,680
KI0II 75,848 N4ZZ 1,114,260 LU1VK 55,242 OD5/OK1MU1,226,136
N8MWK 68,704 K1PT 1,076,896 OK1GW 49,140 NP4Z 1,148,712
N1LW 66,640 W6EEN 1,049,472 OK2ZAW 41,168 (NP3A,op)
AB2IW 61,060 (N6RT,op) LU5EVK 38,880 RM4W 1,038,162
N3ELK 61,000 N7KU 1,002,520 JA3LFK 36,778 PY2KC 983,412
K2LE 964,540 LU2HNP 32,980 S59A 965,328
Phone Only, SP7GIQ 888,592
Low Power Multioperator Phone Only, S58A 868,552
N4OX 418,112 KC1XX 3,181,272 Low Power EA1DAV 841,784
KK2ED 359,452 K9NS 2,813,658 ZX2B 423,280
KT0DX 350,000 NX5M 2,433,380 (PY2MNL,op) Multioperator
AC0W 344,760 W4KZ 2,344,216 LU4DX 408,002 VP5K 4,091,778
N1IR 333,940 N2NT 2,316,328 G0AEV 344,960 8P9Z 3,496,262
ND8DX 306,240 N5YA 2,233,246 IK2ZVU 344,660 VP5DX 3,128,488
N1SV 303,134 KV0Q 2,198,560 F5TDK 336,824 YV4A 2,917,488
I4UFH was constantly reminded by the AA5FJ 291,868 K4JA 2,186,574 9A2RD 325,464 KH0A 2,012,350
certificates on the wall in front of him of K4UCF 277,704 K1SE 2,129,930 TI1Z 285,360 VP5Q 1,949,706
the task of excellence for which he was (KD4RWN,op) N6IG 2,070,774 (TI4ZM,op) OT0T 1,947,240
striving, and responded by taking the KS2G 269,276 CO2II 281,736 RM6A 1,889,694
CT8T station to another first-place DX AY0N 281,154 S50C 1,886,820
finish. LW7EIC 274,512 M5X 1,886,738
Medium Category
Florida Contest Group 18,824,194 31
Frankford Radio Club 18,587,022 28
Northern California Contest Club 11,741,580 26
Minnesota Wireless Assn 8,681,022 26
Southern California Contest Club 7,101,938 16
Mad River Radio Club 6,712,248 16
Tennessee Contest Group 6,466,550 22
South East Contest Club 6,119,554 8
Willamette Valley DX Club 5,574,580 8
Western Washington DX Club 4,209,216 12
Texas DX Society 3,673,124 7
Central Texas DX and Contest 3,220,716 8
Ozark Contest Club 3,135,160 5
Order of Boiled Owls of New 3,111,910 6
North Texas Contest Club 2,856,566 8
Kansas City DX Club 2,838,296 5
Grand Mesa Contesters 2,763,888 6
Southwest Ohio DX Assn 2,362,538 3
Lincoln ARC 2,180,200 4
Oklahoma DX Assn 2,164,216 5
Rochester (NY) DX Assn 1,883,032 9
North Coast Contesters 1,670,450 6
Kentucky Contest Group 1,621,004 3
Carolina DX Assn 1,345,898 8
Central Arizona DX Assn 1,071,996 5
Southern California DX Club 1,013,536 3
Bergen ARA 943,282 13
Radio Amateurs of Northern 860,114 3
Bay Area Wireless Assn 800,592 4
AK-SAR-BEN 588,630 3
Mother Lode DX/Contest Club 549,768 5
Green River Valley ARS 517,060 4
West Park Radiops 480,916 6
South Jersey Radio Assn 431,052 5
Holiday City ARC 425,610 7
Six Meter Club of Chicago 337,696 12 Oh, yes, the antennas at the K5RC station include (background: KT34XA at 80 feet,
Northrop Grumman Radio Club 285,392 4
West Allis RAC 252,816 4
2 elements at 40 meters at 70 feet, a Classic 33 at 40 feet and [foreground]: 5 elements
Worldradio Staff ARC 167,748 3 at 55 feet, 3 elements on 40 meters at 45 feet—but with a spectacular scene such as
this, who would notice?
Local Category
River City Contesters 5,968,456 6
Hudson Valley Contesters & DXers 4,629,564 5
Redmond Top Key Contest Club 2,545,000 6 KG5U, who took top domestic honors in Power overall first-place finisher. In the
West Valley ARA 1,409,102 7
Loudoun ARG 872,634 7 the category with a score of 402,144. end, once the logs were checked,
ARA of Southwest Florida 855,464 4
American Red Cross Emergency 506,844 5
Leading the way among W/VE en- Wanderly held on to edge Jay by a score
Hickory Withe DX Club 473,434 3 trants in the Phone Only Single Operator of 423,280 to 418,112. Nine different
Columbia-Montour ARC 443,536 6
Southwest Idaho Contest Club 434,456 3 QRP categories were Jack, N2NHN, with entities are found in the DX top ten box.
Athens County ARA 407,202 7 a score of 112,860 while Rod, KP2/ The CW Only Single Operator Low
Northern New York Contest Club 181,080 3
10-70 Repeater Assn 42,646 3 WA0QII took top honors among DX par- Power category saw a tight race before
ticipants with a score of 286,790. Sev- Dan, K1TO, the top W/VE scorer pulled
enty-three logs were submitted for this ahead to edge out top DX participant
This year’s contest served to highlight classification. A total of 233 logs (8.1%) Terry NP3G by 13,992 points (1,094,616
the continued emergence of QRP contest- for the contest were submitted by single to 1,080,624). Working each of the top
ing worldwide. All-time record high operator QRP stations. ten DX finishers would have netted you
scores were set in two or three worldwide Fifty four percent (1506) of all entries 10 multipliers, as each hailed from a dif-
single-operator QRP classifications. came from Single Operator Low Power ferent DXCC entity.
John, N6MU, and operating from N6NB, stations. Leading the way among the High QSO totals and high scores were
emerged as the new record holder of the Mixed Mode participants in this power seen throughout all three of the Single
Mixed Mode Single Operator QRP cat- class was the record-breaking perfor- Operator High Power categories. How-
egory with an outstanding score of mance by Dave, AG8L, who was the op- ever, a new world-record did not emerge
884,510. The top DX participant in the erator for WP2Z. Dave’s 2,301,240 points from any of the 725 entries across the
category was Akio, JP1OGL, operating led the way in a top ten box that featured three classifications. The Mixed Mode
as JA1YNE with a score of 326,360. participants from seven DXCC entities. Single Operator High Power winner was
Eight different DXCC entities placed in The W/VE high score was posted by ZS6Z, with Koji, JM1CAX, as the opera-
the top ten for DX in this category. A to- Mark, K1RO, who led the way with a tor. His score of 2,932,224 beat out top
tal of 50 entries were received global for score of 1,476,984. Four hundred eight W/VE finisher Bob, KQ2M, who posted
this category. logs were received for this class/power a final checked score of 2,747,164. Again
From among the 110 logs submitted combination. a clean sweep of working the DX top ten
for the CW Only Single Operator QRP Though not a record-setting finish, in this category would have netted you
competition Brian, ND3F, took off to there was a tight race between top DX 10 multipliers.
KP2-land and broke the old world record category entrant Wanderly, ZX2B, with Slugging it to win the Phone Only
with a score of 791,120. Entries from five PY2MNL as the operator, and high scorer Single Operator High Power category was
entities broke into the DX top ten for the among W/VE stations Jay, N4OX for the Chuck, W5PR, who took top W/VE
category. Top W/VE finisher was Dale, highest Phone Only Single Operator Low honors with a score of 1,035,702. The top
September 2001 111
Region Leaders
Boxes list call sign, score, class (A = Mixed Mode, B = Phone only, C = CW only, D = Multioperator), and power (A = QRP, B = Low Power, C = High Power).
Northeast Region W9HL 25,986 B A N7WA 301,728 C B
(New England, Hudson and Atlantic ND8DX 306,240 B B W6EEN (N6RT,op) 1,049,472 C C SP7GIQ 888,592 C C
Divisions; Maritime and Quebec N9PQU 219,456 B B N7KU 1,002,520 C C
Sections) VE3SRE 217,750 B B K6KM (K2KW,op) 891,280 C C YV4A 2,917,488 D
W9RE 907,200 B C OT0T 1,947,240 D
W3PP 365,928 A A WB9Z 763,464 B C N6IG 2,070,774 D RM6A 1,889,694 D
WT3W 288,144 A A N2BJ 697,774 B C W6YX 2,002,932 D
WB2AMU 180,880 A A WT6G 1,606,706 D
K1RO 1,476,984 A B VA3RU 247,044 C A North America
NA2U 1,189,524 A B VA3EU 241,500 C A Africa
W3EP 1,159,152 A B WP2Z (AG8L,op) 2,301,240 A B
N9UC (WO9S,op) 213,796 C A SU9ZZ 1,329,300 A B KL7RA 1,039,232 A C
KQ2M 2,747,164 A C K4AO 670,208 C B
W2GG 2,430,912 A C ZS6Z (JM1CAX,op) 2,932,224 A C
KB9S 611,520 C B KP2/WA0QII 286,790 B A
K3ZO 1,918,848 A C K9BG 401,448 C B EC8AUZ 72,600 B B NP2B 75,296 B A
N8DCJ 927,964 C C EA8AD 65,570 B B TI1Z (TI4ZM,op) 285,360 B B
N2NHN 112,860 B A N4GN 924,352 C C
KD2UF 109,868 B A CT3IA 560,960 B C CO2II 281,736 B B
W8AV 857,888 C C ZS6HO 1,804 B C KL7FAP 96,960 B B
NY6DX 88,000 B A
KK2ED 359,452 B B J37K 598,000 B C
K9NS 2,813,658 D EA8/DJ1OJ 367,536 C B V44NK 327,408 B C
N1IR 333,940 B B N8NR 1,551,240 D
N1SV 303,134 B B CN8YR 195,040 C B 8P6EX 234,080 B C
KI9A 1,479,744 D ZS5RON 84,208 C B
K1AM 857,308 B C
W1SJ 675,410 B C TZ6DX 723,840 C C KP2/N3IQ (ND3F,op) 791,120 C A
Midwest Region ZS6BRZ 459,160 C C NP3G 1,080,624 C B
N2FF 531,216 B C
(Dakota, Midwest, Rocky Mountain EA8KL 85,902 C C V26JT 717,824 C B
WO2N 232,288 C A and West Gulf Divisions; Manitoba HP1AC 288,144 C B
AA1CA 216,140 C A and Saskatchewan Sections) 3V8BB 280,686 D J38DX (K1KI,op) 2,045,440 C C
K2SM 180,940 C A K0OU 396,100 A A NP4Z (NP3A,op) 1,148,712 C C
WE1USA 911,232 C B K0PC 234,500 A A Asia KL2A 792,880 C C
K1VUT 873,600 C B WA8ZBT 211,344 A A JA1YNE 326,360 A A
W1WAI 661,436 C B N0AT 1,040,736 A B RK9KWB 180,576 A A VP5K 4,091,778 D
VO1MP 1,118,880 C C WD5K 1,004,850 A B JL1IHE 81,436 A A 8P9Z 3,496,262 D
K2LE 964,540 C C K0TT 932,062 A B JN3PYQ 880,152 A B VP5DX 3,128,488 D
KR1G 933,984 C C W0SD (W0DB,op) 1,725,498 A C JR4PMX 863,720 A B
K5XR (W5ASP,op) 1,167,696 A C JH8KYU 513,268 A B Oceania
KC1XX 3,181,272 D K5NZ 976,048 A C H2G (5B4AGC,op) 1,920,604 A C VK2APK 405,888 A B
N2NT 2,316,328 D JH4UYB 1,423,240 A C YB1KOR 62,426 A B
N2IX 2,041,170 D KI0II 75,848 B A JH5FXP 1,103,520 A C YC0LOW 36,358 A B
KK0Q 53,820 B A ZF2AH 931,588 A C
Southeast Region WA0VBW 36,820 B A JA3LFK 36,778 B A VK5GN 382,400 A C
KT0DX 350,000 B B JA1WC 12,480 B A
(Delta, Roanoke and Southeastern AC0W 344,760 B B RZ9IB 6,944 B A 4D68LER 8,512 B A
Divisions) N5XD 241,098 B B UP5P (UN5PR,op) 249,260 B B KH6CDO 3,400 B A
NA4CW 491,062 A A W5PR 1,035,702 B C JH0BDK 235,170 B B KH6GMP 175,440 B B
W4DEC 290,550 A A K5TR 955,638 B C JL3VUL 131,300 B B ZL3GA 52,200 B B
N4IG 794,200 A B VA5DX 580,832 B C JH4UTP 288,408 B C YC3IZK 30,120 B B
W4UM 702,572 A B RS0F (UA0FZ,op) 263,942 B C V73UX 451,704 B C
N4YDU 661,932 A B KG5U 402,144 C A JA2ZJW 231,072 B C ZL1ANJ 396,074 B C
WC4E 2,472,804 A C K5AM 278,200 C A VK2XZ 259,700 B C
W4MYA 2,087,784 A C N0UR 266,832 C A UP6F (UN7FZ,op) 204,204 C A
N8OO 1,915,812 A C W5TM (W5AO,op) 796,960 C B JA2IU 106,140 C A ZF2NT 713,160 C A
WQ5W 711,808 C B RV9COI 16,592 C A DU7/N7ET 78,384 C A
W4TD 89,232 B A N5DO 684,472 C B 5B4AGN 680,504 C B VK4TT 172,416 C B
N5FPW 50,676 B A K2VV 1,278,668 C C JH9VSF 436,632 C B DU1ODX 111,000 C B
KS4GW 49,280 B A AD5Q 961,848 C C JF1SQC 415,152 C B VK4XW 3,016 C B
N4OX 418,112 B B K5PI 927,360 C C OD5/OK1MU 1,226,136 C C KH6ND 1,303,680 C C
AA5FJ 291,868 B B VR2BG 833,184 C C DU3NXE 19,304 C C
K4UCF (KD4RWN,op)277,704 B B NX5M 2,433,380 D JH3AIU 743,400 C C
K4XS 1,003,932 B C N5YA 2,233,246 D KH0A 2,012,350 D
WA4TII 437,360 B C KV0Q 2,198,560 D UP0L 1,308,096 D VK4WIL 1,128,834 D
W2JJC 437,320 B C JJ3YBB 1,213,070 D WH7K 798,336 D
West Coast Region JR1ZTT 883,446 D
K9AY 276,860 C A (Pacific, Northwestern and South America
WA8WV 199,800 C A Southwestern Divisions; Alberta, Europe LP1F 1,343,816 A B
W4FMS 168,780 C A British Columbia and NWT/Yukon LZ1UQ 311,540 A A LU5VV 752,972 A B
K1TO 1,094,616 C B Sections) PA3ELD 234,768 A A YV7QP 148,352 A B
WD4AHZ 745,740 C B 9A2EY 183,400 A A CX5BW 1,964,476 A C
N4ZI 668,160 C B N6MU 884,510 A A
K6XX 365,944 A A YU1AU 904,264 A B PY0FF 1,356,272 A C
W4ZV 1,433,952 C C YU7CB 792,792 A B LU2FA 1,319,472 A C
W4AN (W4PA,op) 1,331,712 C C WA6FGV 297,838 A A
N7LOX 947,968 A B OM6T 703,948 A B
N4BP 1,271,808 C C TK5EP 2,273,020 A C LU3VD 175,208 B A
K6RO 938,956 A B
WN6K 610,450 A B OK1RI 1,786,400 A C LU1VK 55,242 B A
W4KZ 2,344,216 D HA6NF 1,419,024 A C LU5EVK 38,880 B A
K4JA 2,186,574 D VE6JY (VE7CC,op) 1,830,168 A C
K6LA 1,460,800 A C ZX2B (PY2MNL,op) 423,280 B B
K1SE 2,129,930 D YU1KN 93,526 B A LU4DX 408,002 B B
K7MI 1,320,894 A C
OK1GW 49,140 B A AY0N 281,154 B B
Central Region OK2ZAW 41,168 B A LU1HF 670,026 B C
W6CN 53,544 B A
(Central and Great Lakes Divisions; WR6WR 52,404 B A G0AEV 344,960 B B LU1NDC 484,806 B C
Ontario Section) WK6I 44,380 B A IK2ZVU 344,660 B B HK3AXY 86,240 B C
VE3KZ 475,610 A A VE7NF 250,824 B B F5TDK 336,824 B B
WA8RCN 405,594 A A AB6GS 237,286 B B CT8T 948,660 B C LW5DR 61,752 C A
W9UR 67,368 A A VE7IN 199,894 B B F6CTT 775,656 B C PY2ELG 10,140 C A
KG9X 1,327,104 A B K6LL 758,608 B C S57AW 696,960 B C ZV8O 741,840 C B
KJ9C 803,292 A B K3EST 743,204 B C LU1EWL 461,648 C B
VE3ZT 795,408 A B K7RI 738,948 B C G4EDG 238,336 C A CX9AU 451,572 C B
K9NW 2,049,822 A C YU1KR 202,776 C A PY2KC 983,412 C C
K9XD (K9PG,op) 1,646,054 A C K7ED (WA0RJY,op) 262,200 C A 9A0C (9A2HI,op) 190,376 C A P43E 689,564 C C
W9XT 1,491,456 A C W7/JR1NKN 170,100 C A IK4UPB 714,816 C B PT2/KC2BAA 356,532 C C
VE6BF 152,944 C A 9A3VM 612,648 C B
VE3BUC 90,800 B A N7OU 516,120 C B LZ2PL 444,600 C B LP5F 1,794,774 D
N8MWK 68,704 B A VE6EX 370,576 C B RM4W 1,038,162 C C LU5FB 1,601,536 D
S59A 965,328 C C L50DK 1,372,272 D
Scores
Scores are listed by DXCC Entities and ARRL/RAC Sections. Line scores list call sign, score, QSOs, multipliers, class (A = Mixed Mode, B = Phone only,
C = CW only, D = Multioperator), and power (A = QRP, B = Low Power, C = High Power).
Africa Mali 5B4AGN 680,504 1408 121 C B HL3GOB 10,584 108 49 B C JA1XRH 254,624 516 146 A B
Swaziland TZ6DX 723,840 1393 130 C C HL5UOG 111,520 328 85 C B JE1REU 222,952 499 124 A B
West Malaysia HL5AP 52,824 213 62 C B JR4GPA 193,766 473 139 A B
3DA0AD (LX1NO,op) South Africa 9M2TO 288,704 815 104 A B 7K4GUR 175,968 575 104 A B
270 11 9 C C ZS6Z (JM1CAX,op) Thailand JF3IYW 149,408 388 116 A B
2,932,224 3815 256 A C Taiwan HS4BPQ 38,016 264 36 C B
Tunisia JH5OXF 145,200 348 120 A B
ZS6HO 1,804 41 22 B C BV7FF 200,960 628 80 C C E20RRW (+E21EIC) JA2BQX 97,232 313 118 A B
3V8BB (+packet) ZS5RON 84,208 277 76 C B 341,360 726 136 D B
280,686 1141 123 D B China JA2DHL 90,480 231 116 A B
ZS6BRZ 459,160 1767 130 C C HS0AC (+packet) JH6OPP 86,600 267 100 A B
B4R 549,524 1092 158 A C
Morocco 272,734 732 121 D C JR4QZH 83,160 258 105 A B
CN8YR 195,040 530 92 C B Kyrgyzstan Japan JA1BUI 76,558 240 101 A B
Asia EX8MIO 103,600 700 74 B B JK2VOC 73,272 259 86 A B
Madeira Islands Israel EX2T 158,000 1000 79 B C
JA1YNE (JP1OGL,op) JE3UHV 49,842 182 71 A B
CT3IA 560,960 1754 160 B C 4Z5FW 30,342 204 39 A B 326,360 614 164 A A JR1LQK 45,080 189 92 A B
4X1KS 261,942 644 149 A C Tajikistan JL1IHE 81,436 299 87 A A JA1OZK 37,440 180 65 A B
Canary Islands 4Z5FL/M 7,952 71 56 B B EY8MM 161,268 532 89 A B JA7ERJ 71,894 259 103 A A JA1BBA 25,740 140 55 A B
EC8AUZ 72,600 484 75 B B 4Z5AX 195,312 627 78 C B JA2UFH 57,354 203 79 A A JA0IOF 21,168 114 56 A B
EA8AD 65,570 415 79 B B 4X/OK1DTP 219,128 559 98 C C
Turkmenistan 7K2PBB 484 15 11 A A JA1MXY 20,520 100 57 A B
EA8/DJ1OJ 367,536 806 114 C B 4X1VF 48,132 191 63 C C EZ3A (EZ8CW,op) JN3PYQ 880,152 1332 217 A B JF2SKV 15,548 108 46 A B
EA8CN 25,956 103 63 C B 14,212 209 34 B B JR4PMX 863,720 1177 220 A B JR2AWS 1,056 21 16 A B
EA8KL 85,902 417 103 C C Cyprus JH8KYU 513,268 878 161 A B JA1AAT 910 24 13 A B
H2G (5B4AGC,op)
South Korea JF2VAX 350,754 644 159 A B
Egypt DS5ACV 12,376 119 52 B B JJ2TKX 770 23 11 A B
1,920,604 2455 239 A C JA0FVU 299,880 589 153 A B JA8GTO 704 16 16 A B
SU9ZZ 1,329,300 1980 210 A B JF2QNM 288,000 598 150 A B JA6AVT 468 16 13 A B
124
More checkins are encouraged for the Novice Net on Sunday
evenings at 7 PM CST on 3700 kHz. Lark Klub is getting new
jackets. Each members pays $30 and the club pays the bal-
ance. This is an idea that maybe other clubs would like to do.
Pierre ARC operated a special event station on June 1 at the
LaFramboise Island picnic shelter. They have changed their
club meeting to the second Thursday of each month. The Ten
Net for May had 297 messages with SD represented 97% by
W6IVV and KA0KPY. The annual Wolksmarch at Crazy Horse
Mt was held June 2-3 with 7300 walkers on Saturday and
1000 on Sunday. Fourteen amateurs provided communica-
tion on the 6.2-mile walk with 4 checkpoints and a medical
tent.
SOUTH DAKOTA: SM, Roland Cory, W0YMB—The 3rd an-
nual Little House on the Prairie special event station was
aired on June 30- July 1 from DeSmet, sponsored by Huron
ARC. The Annual Mini triathlon was held at Lake Kampeska
with a 10 kilometer run. Watertown Lark furnished communi-
cations. Sioux Empire ARC at Sioux Falls now has a new HF
transceiver—a Kenwood TS-850 SAT. They operated a spe-
cial event station W0Y from the USS South Dakota Battleship
Memorial site. The new rig got a workout at the event. Pierre
ARC voted to support an effort to promote passage of a PRB-
1 type bill in the 2002 South Dakota legislature. They also
have had a Lewis and Clark special event station on the air
and they made 238 SSB contacts and 39 CW contacts for a
total of 277 contacts. They will have a special event station at
the WW2 Memorial dedication in Pierre. Pierre will have VE
testing on November 17. Black Hills ARC testing on June 9
resulted in 1 advancing to General and 2 new Techs. This
month’s public service honor goes to W6IVV and WN0Y. Total
traffic reported 355.
DELTA DIVISION
ARKANSAS (August): SM, Bob Ideker,WB5VUH – The sec-
tion leadership recently met for a one-day retreat to discuss
plans and goals for our section. Time was spent learning pro-
cesses we will follow toward being “value-important” to the
organization. I think good things came from the retreat & we’re
better prepared to help with club plans and projects. I urge
you to invite them to your club meeting for a program. The
section Web page is available. Check it out at: “all-arkansas-
hams.org”. Also, don’t forget to sign up for an email list server
at: www.qth.net. Pull down the choices on the left side of the
page and find: “All-Arkansas.” Follow the prompts, and start
receiving periodic emails reflecting current happenings in our
section – some will be on Web page & other items on list
server. Sign up for both & keep up and better yet, get involved
in all aspects of our section. During May, our HF nets had 107
sessions, with over 2900 checking in, operating over 34 hrs
collectively and 154 pieces of traffic. Individuals who lead our
section with traffic handling include: KC5TMU 58, K7ZQR 46,
K5BOC 43, W5RXU 11, AD5AM 4. Tnx to everyone who
checks into our nets regularly and hope others will continue
to do so as often as possible. You’re important to us & we
need your participation.
ARKANSAS: SM, Bob Ideker, WB5VUH—Even though I
mentioned FD activities in last months issue, let me expand
my comments. I was very pleased to have visited several of
the sites & seeing activities really up close & personal. Stops
included Pea Ridge to visit with the Benton County Radio
Organization, U of A club in Fayetteville, FSAARC in Ft. Smith,
the ARVARF in Russellville, Greenbrier to Faulkner County
ARC, and North Little Rock to visit the STARS members.
Everyone looked a little toasted due to our warmer-than-
wished wx, but everyone also looked as if they were having a
good time & making lots of contacts. My sincere appreciation
is extended to each club I visited, and to the one’s I didn’t
make this year for organizing and holding a FD site. What a
great way to solidify your club by getting all the members
together for this once a year event. For those competing,
good luck on your scores. You’ve already won just by partici-
pating. We’ve got another big event coming up in October that
will need your help & more info in the next QST will be devoted
to sharing the details. It, too, will be good fun and fellowship
should you wish to participate as a club. It’s called the Arkan-
sas QSO Party and we really need your participation. Traffic
for June includes a total of 34 hrs of net operation, passing
203 pieces of traffic, with over 2600 checking into our 4 HF
nets. Great job & keep up the good work. AR represented by
K7ZQR, K5BOC, W9YCE, W5RXU, W5HDN, KA5MGL &
AD5AM.
LOUISIANA (August): SM, Mickey Cox, K5MC— ACC:
KM5YL. OOC: WB5CXJ. PIC: K5IQ. SEC: AC5TM. SGL:
KD5KNZ. LCW NM: W4DLZ. LTN NM: WB5ZED. After many
years of dedicated service, KG5GE has decided to step down
as STM. Thanks, Chuck, for leading our section traffic nets
and your prompt monthly reports. All traffic handlers in LA
hope you will continue to be active as time permits. Matt,
KD5KNZ, has accepted the important position of State Gov-
ernment Liaison. Matt lives in Baton Rouge and will be ideally
situated to help our section keep a close watch on our state
lawmakers. Matt would also welcome Local Government Liai-
son volunteers from around the section to monitor city and
parish government actions that might affect Amateur Radio,
such as local antenna ordinances. Congratulations to K5DPG
for completing the League’s on-line emergency communica-
tions course. All ARES members and other amateurs inter-
ested in public service are encouraged to take the course.
The Jefferson Amateur Radio Club promoted our hobby by
sponsoring special event stations on the Steamboat Natchez
and the Big Easy Steam Train in April and May, respectively.
Great going, JARC! Thanks to the special efforts of K5IQZ,
Governor Foster issued a proclamation declaring Amateur
Radio Week June 17-23. Tfc: K5IQZ 147, W5CDX 131, K5MC
101, K5DPG 36, KG5GE 23, KM5YL 18, W5PY 2. PSHR:
K5DPG 134, K5IQZ 128, W5CDX 121, KM5YL 106, K5MC 97,
W5PY 70, KG5GE 53. Net Reports: sessions/QNI/QTC. LTN:
31/351/79.
LOUISIANA: SM, Mickey Cox, K5MC — Tropical Storm
Allison caused extensive flooding in much of south LA. In East
Baton Rouge Parish, ARES and RACES were activated on
June 7 and many responded to the call. K5MAN, East Baton
Rouge EC, reports that the following amateurs deserve spe-
cial recognition for their quick response and dedication during
the event: N5ADF, K4FNA, AC5SH, N5SMQ, KC5ZZ,
KC5FOJ, N5GA, K5GWR, KD5OLH, KD5HEY, KC5HMI,
126
KD5MLD KD5JZN, and N5XQS. K5MAN also reports that
many others assisted during the disaster by relaying traffic for
local residents and shelter operators. Thanks to all who par-
ticipated for providing such exemplary public service! Field
Day messages were received from the following clubs:
Acadiana Amateur Radio Association, Atchafalaya Amateur
DX Association, Southwest LA Amateur Repeater Club,
Thibodeaux ARC, and Twin City Ham Club. Which ARRL af-
filiated club will be the first to win the LA Section Top Club
Award? Stay tuned. WA5LQZ and K5WNV are the new EC’s
for Calcasieu Parish and Jefferson Davis Parish, respectively.
Alan and Dave come highly recommended for their positions
by WB5TUG, Southwest LA DEC. To all appointees, mem-
bers, and clubs, please keep sending (or start sending!) your
activity reports and newsletters in to help me write these
monthly section reports. Tfc: K5IQZ 356, K5MC 114, K5DPG
54, KM5YL 26, KG5GE 19, W5PY 4. PSHR: K5IQZ 140,
K5DPG 135, K5MC 98, KG5GE 92, KM5YL 88, W5PY 74. Net
Reports: sessions/QNI/QTC. LTN: 30/339/90. LCW: 30/175/
28.
MISSISSIPPI (August): SM, Malcolm Keown, W5XX—Sec-
tion Web Page: www.arrlmiss.org. Web Master: K5IBM at
k5ibm@arrl.net. ASM: N5EZX, W5EPW. ACC: N5JGK. SGL:
AB5WF. STM: KJ5YY. TC: N5XXX. Mississippi was well rep-
resented at the 50th Dayton Hamvention. Those seen in the
Flea Market and vendor displays were W5BLM, WD5BJT,
KC5COP, W5FI, K5FLU, K5HQV, N5JGK, KB5JNZ, K5JZ,
KD5LDT, KC5LIU, AA5MT, KC5NIS, KC5NSZ, KC5OXI,
KC5RC, KM5UH, K5VVA, W5VWV, KJ5XQ, W5XX, and
KB5YJH. A great time was had by all. Prepare for next year!
Seven hams from the Jackson ARC and Yazoo County pro-
vided communications for the ATour of Yazoo City Stage
Race. Those participating were W5GEJ, AB5WF, AC5SU,
KD5EDV, W5LEW, KC5MUV, and W5LLO. In another public
service effort the Lowndes Co ARC and Magnolia ARC pro-
vided communications for the J-3 Ranch May Horse Trials.
Those assisting with ham radio support for this cross-country
event were KJ5SI, N5LOK, AC5MR, KD5FUR, and KD5MSZ.
A big Mississippi welcome to WB5ZED, who is manager of
DRN5. Thanks to the Jackson County ARC for another great
Pascagoula Hamfest. SGL/LGL Report: AB5WF, AK5J. OO
Report: KP4RS. PIO Report: W5KWB. DEC/EC Reports:
NN5AF, KD5CKP, W5DJW, KB5DZJ, KD5EWB, N5NQ,
WB5OCD, W5OXA, KB5RQK, AB5WF, KB5ZEA. Net Re-
ports: sessions/QNI/QTC. MSPN 31/2948/39, MTN 31/118/
54, MSN 31/1250/10, PBRA 31/569/7, Jackson Co ARES/
RACES 31/475/28. West Coast MS 2M Net 13/168/2, Bluff
City ARC Em Net 6/162/1, JARCEN 5/100/4, NW MS ARES
5/22/0, LARC 4/84/0, MBHN 4/33/0, MLEN 4/93/0, Attala Co
ARES 3/38/2, Central Miss Linking Net 1/24/0. PSHR:
WB5ZED 205, KB5W 140, K5VV 129, W5XX 91, KJ5YY 80.
Traffic: WB5ZED 661 (BPL), KB5W 563 (BPL), K5VV 70,
W5LEW 18, KJ5YY 18, W5XX 4.
MISSISSIPPI: SM, Malcolm Keown, W5XX—Section Web
Site: www.arrlmiss.org—WJ5K reports that the Tupelo ARC
had another successful operation (750 QSOs) from the an-
nual Elvis Presley Festival. The Hattiesburg ARC provided
communications for the Hub City Hustle Triatholon. Congratu-
lations to KJ5YY on earning the Public Service Honor Role
Commendation Certificate. Field Day participants had great
weather but so-so radio conditions. Mississippi Clubs out in
force were: Bluff City ARC (W5KHB), Columbus/Starkville/
West Point ARCs (AA5MT), Delta ARA (K5BX), Jackson ARC
(W5PFC), Jackson Co ARC (W5WA), Hattiesburg ARC
(K5PN), Laurel ARC (W5LAR), MDXA (K5MDX), Meridian
ARC (W5FQ), Northwest Mississippi ARC (K5K), and the
Tupelo ARC (KK5K). Budding country music recording star
N5HGN has a new CD out called Hammin It Up! Check with
Dennis for a copy. The Keesler ARC provided assistance in
many areas during the Mississippi Special Olympics held at
Keesler AFB. The Jackson ARC set up communications for
the Heatwave Classic Triatholon at the Reservoir and along
the Natchez Trace. Congratulations to the Jackson County
ARC for being recognized as an ARRL affiliated Club for 25
years. Check page 53 of the July QST . Mississippi was Num-
ber 10 in overall ARES activity in the 2000 SET. We are making
progress! Regret to report the passing of N5OYY of Anguilla
and WA5POH of Vidalia, La. OO Rpt: K5XQ. PIO Rpt:
W5KWB. DEC/EC Rpt: N5NQ, KC5TYL, AB5WF, N5ZNT. Net
Reports: sessions/QNI/QTC. MSPN 30/2647/58, MTN 30/91/
66, MSN 30/1169/13, PBRA 30/579/8, West Coast MS ARES
13/132/2, SW MS ARES 6/61/0, Bluff City ARC 6/128/0, Attala
Co ARES 5/72/3, JARCEN 4/69/4, MLEN 4/72/0, MCARA 4/
53/0, MBHN 4/26/0, LARC 4/43/0, Central MS Skywarn Link-
ing Net 1/47/0, Lamar Co ARES 1/8/0. Tfc: WB5ZED 772
(BPL), KB5W 636 (BPL), K5VV 77, W5LEW 43, KJ5YY 14,
W5XX 8. Traffic statistics provided by KJ5YY, MS STM.
TENNESSEE (August): SM, O. D. Keaton, WA4GLS—ACC:
WA4GLS. ASM: WB4DYJ. SEC: WD4JJ. STM: WA4HKU. TC:
KB4LVJ. April 12 was a very busy day for a few of CARC’s
club members. Special Olympics, the Annual Scout Exhibit
and the MS Walk all were scheduled for that day. Those par-
ticipating were KD4AWO, N4MKG, KR4SL, KE4CTQ,
KE4QOC, WA4BXC, KD4HFO, N4NTX, N4RPE, KE4AGW,
AG4IE, KC4ZAG, KG4CKX, KJ4RC, KA4VMA, KA4VLZ,
KF4JOP, N4BMR, KA4MKA, KA0YDC, KF4UGT, W4AME,
KF4VBD, KG4EJF, AG4HG, KG4KIL, WD4DJW, KB4YRC
and KP4JRS, a ham from Puerto Rico the scouts got to talk to
via 10 meters. Congratulations to Charlie Ann, WG4G, and
Charlie, AD4F, on receiving the John Anthony Award for out-
standing service to the Chattanooga ARC. Thanks to the
BSFARC member W4NPL, KB4PNG, KF4ELF, W5EDQ,
KE4RKJ, KB9WQZ and WA4MWN for making the Big South
Fork trail ride a success. Thanks to NARC members for pro-
viding communications for the MS Walk-a-thon: KC4TMV,
KC4ZOA, KG4BHH & wife, KE4TQO, N4GWE, N4VHM,
KE4JWS, N4BHO, K4WME, KF4OAL & K4ANH. Net Sess/
QTC/QNI: TCWN 22/31/153; TMPN 23/32/2305; TEPN 22/
50/1765; TEMPN 23/42/777; TSCWN 28/25/78. Tfc: W4SQE
53, N4PU 50, WA4HKU 31, W4SYE 22, KE4GYR 17, WB4DYJ
12, WA4GLS 10, WD4JJ 5, WA4GZZ 1.
TENNESSEE: SM, O. D. Keaton, WA4GLS—ACC: WA4GLS.
ASM: WB4DYJ. SEC: WD4JJ. STM: WA4HKU . TC: KB4LJV.
Now that Field Day is over, I hope that every club had a high
score but most important that every ham had a great fun time.
A group of Tri-cities hams are now working to get a DX cluster
up and running again. Those involved with the DX cluster are
KG4CKV, W4FXO, W4CBX, N4DW, W4BCU, K4KU and
128
WD4JJ who is furnishing the hardware. ORARC now has its
own repeater, thanks to K4EAJ who donated his 147.150
repeater. Roaul has been a member and supporter of the club
for several years. The Mid South 2 M SSB Group, which is a
weak-signal organization, has been organized with about 30
members. Officers are N4LGY –pres; W4KGN-treas &
KA5TSL-sec. These officers are planning a charter party in
the near future. W4CJY & W4ZLW did a wonderful job orga-
nizing communications for the Special Olympics. Their assis-
tance came from 3 radio clubs: RATS, NARC & SMRC and
included the following hams: KD4CVO, N4BPT, KE4MGS,
WB4ZCQ, KF4OAL, AD4QP, NF4G, N5DTC, KC4TMV,
KC2DOY & KG4HAE. Tour de Cure Bike-a-thon was assisted
by the following NARC members: KC4TMV, N4SYJ,
WB4ZCQ, KE4TQO, KF4OAH, KG4BHH & Mrs Pitkin, W3OI,
KG4HAF, KF4MCD & K4ANH. The Nashville Hamfest was
greatly improved, mostly due to a new location and great fa-
cilities. RACK members furnished communications for the
annual 5K Run for the Deaf, and the Knoxville Track Club’s
24th Annual News Sentinel Expo: KG4HJS, KG4LEO,
KC4HMK, KG4KVP, KG4KVR, AF1P, KG4MOU & KB4FZK.
The Knoxville Hamfest was a big success as reported by
RACK Panels. DARC member won the non-commercial an-
tenna gain competition for the 423 MHz category at the S.E.
VHF Society conference held in Nashville in April. DRN-5 rpt
sess 60, msg 975. TN rep 72% by W4OGG, KE4GYR,
KB5FLC, KD4BZ. Net sess/QTC/QNI: TMPN 30/46/2127;
TCWN 20/15/135; TEMPN 21/48/660; TEPN 26/114/1757;
TSCWN 25/5/96. Tfc: WA4HKU 71, KE4GYR 62, W4SYE 22,
WD4JJ 15, WB4DYJ 13, N4PU 9, WA4GLS 8, WA4GZZ 5.
GREAT LAKES DIVISION
KENTUCKY (August): SM, John D. Meyers, NB4K—This
QST writing finds us in the section coming to grips with the
death of Ron Oller, KG4JVT, and AAT4YQ/T who was electro-
cuted Sunday, May 20, while erecting a 2-meter antenna on
his house in Irvington, Kentucky. He was 54. Silent Keys this
month: George Brown, K4CSG. The end of May saw two
emergency incidents happen with 24 hours in Southern Ken-
tucky. Jim Hicks, WB4CTX, ASM Ky, and his son Harold Hicks
(KE4HON), an EMT on the Whitley County ambulance, used
the 444.050 (KB4PTJ) repeater and their dual band antennas
to help relay information to the Whitley County 911 center.
Nice job, gentleman. The Northern Kentucky Ham-o-rama had
a nice turn out along with beautiful weather to have it.
Net QNI QTC Sess
NMKRN 598 23 23 N4AFP
KSN 249 28 31 KO4OL
KYN 304 36 31 K4AVS
KTN 2147 67 62 KF4GQ
NKEN 75 2 4 KA4MAP
NKEN 72 5 5 WD8JAW
WTEPN 43 1 5 KO4OL
TSTMN 334 29 31 KG4EAM
1ARES 52 6 10 KE4JFS
7DARN 54 4 4 WD8JAW
13ARES 22 4 4 N4CQR
K4MSU 40 3 4 K4JFD
WARN 110 7 5 KA4MAP
PSHR - KE4JFS 128, KO4OL 108, N4CQR 74. Tfc: N4CQR
66, K4AVX 44, KE4JFS 38, KO4OL 34, WB4ZDU 5.
KENTUCKY: SM, John D. Meyers, N4GNL—Field Day activ-
ity reports that have been received by me are from Murray
University ARC, Central Amateur Radio Society, Maysville
ARC, Paducah ARC, Oldham County ARC, Mammoth Cave
ARC, and Capital ARS. Nice job and thanks for the reports.
Silent Key report or June, N4WWA, Denver Eades from Bowl-
ing Green. Lexington Hamfest is next on the agenda on Au-
gust 12th at the Armory and September 8th is the Louisville
Hamfest at the Bulllit County Fairgrounds. I will be at the
Maysville ARC on August 6th, Mammoth Cave ARC meeting
on August 21st, the Murray University ARC club meeting on
October 2nd and the ARTS Louisville Club meeting on Octo-
ber the 12th.
Net QNI QTC Sess NM
KRN 536 21 21 N4AFP
KSN 201 24 30 KO4OL
KYN 300 42 30 K4AVX
KTN 1981 112 60 KF4GQN
KEN 63 0 4 KA4MAP
NKEN 50 2 4 WD8JAW
WTEPN 37 1 4 KO4OL
1ARES 58 5 9 KE4JFS
7DARN 63 1 4 WD8JAW
K4MSU 34 1 4 K4JFD
WARN 101 4 5 KA4MAP
PSHR: KE4JFS 101, KO4OL 82. Tfc: K4AVX 35, KO4OL 33,
KE4JFS 24, WB4ZDU 16, WD8JAW 11.
MICHIGAN (August): SM, Dick Mondro, W8FQT (w8fqt@arrl
.org)—ASM: Roger Edwards, WB8WJV (wb8wjv@arrl.net).
ASM: John Freeman, N8ZE (n8ze@arrl.net). SEC: Deborah
Kirkbride, KA8YKK (ka8ykk@arrl.net). STM: James Wades,
WB8SIW (wb8siw@arrl.net). ACC: Sandra Mondro, KG8HM
(kg8hm@arrl.net). OOC: Donald Sefcik, N8NJE (n8nje@arrl
.net). PIC/SNE: David Colangelo, KB8RJI (dcolangelo@
ameritech.net) SGL: Ed Hude, WA8QJE (edhude@juno
.com). TC: Dave Smith, W8YZ (w8yz@arrl.net). Youth Activi-
ties: Steve Lendzion, KC8MCQ (kc8mcq@arrl.net). BM: Tho-
mas Durfee, Jr.,WI8W (wi8w@arrl.net). I would like to wel-
come Richard McKibben, KC8KTW to our growing list of
Public Information Officers. Richard has taken over the duties
of PIO for the OACARS Club in Oakland County. If your club
does not have a Public Information Officer ask about it at your
next meeting and see if you can get someone to take on this
important responsibility of managing PR for your club. There
is lots of help available from resources provided by ARRL
Headquarters. Let me know if you are interested. How many
past or present youth workers read this column. I’m referring
130
to scout leaders, 4-H leaders, church youth group leaders,
teachers, etc. WE NEED YOU! Yes, our youth program, in the
section, is very important to us and we cannot seem to get
enough of you to volunteer some time to help in your commu-
nity. Some of you have put in a lot of time in past years and
feel that perhaps someone else will do it. It’s just not happen-
ing and I appeal to those of you that can help to please contact
me and offer your support. If you could just be a club contact
person, or if you have a little more time, you could coordinate
activities at a county level. It doesn’t pay well at all if you are
looking for dollars, but it is an investment in our youth, our
future leaders. It does pay extremely well in the rewards you
get such as a smiling face, because you care enough to de-
vote some time to “THEIR” causes, or the thanks you get
several years later when you realize that you helped to get
someone motivated to become a community leader. Grand-
parents, this is for you too. You can never lose with an invest-
ment in our future. Won’t you please help? 73, Dick W8FQT.
Traffic reports for May 2001: N8FPN 245, K8LJG 236, K8GA
235, N8EIZ 196, KB8ZYY 181, W8RTN 169, WX8Y 159,
AA8PI 126, AA8SN 95, W8RF 91, K8KV 70, K8AE 67, W8RNQ
54, WI8K 47, K3UWO 34, K8UPE 34, WA8DHB 26, KI8GR 24,
K8ZJU 21, KA8DDQ 21, N8UN 20, W8YIQ 18, K8JN 14,
N8TDE 13, K8AMR 10, KN8LD 9, WB8WJV 8, N8EXS 5.
Deadline 5th of the month. Please support the following
SECTION NETS:
Net QNI QTC Sess NM Freq Time Day
QMN no report WB8SIW 3.663 6:30&10 PM Dy
MACS no report W8RNQ 3.953 11 PM Dy
(1 PM Sun.)
MITN 432 367 31 N8FPN 3.952 7 PM Dy
UPN 922 43 35 AA8SN 3.921 5 PM Dy
(Noon Sun.)
GLETN 108 62 31 WB8ICN 3.932 8:30 PM Dy
SEMTN no report WI8K 145.330 10:15 PM Dy
WSSBN 874 34 31 K8CPW 3.935 7 PM Dy
MI-ARPSC 82 3 4 W8FQT 7.232 5 PM Sn
(Alt. 3.932)
VHF no report KB8ZYY Var. Var.
MICHIGAN: SM, Dick Mondro, W8FQT (w8fqt@arrl.org)—
WANTED, PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATORS! WHERE?
Throughout the Michigan Section WHAT? Simulated Emer-
gency Test (SET) WHEN? October 6 and 7, 2001 WHY? To
fine tune our local and statewide emergency plans and to
build solid working relationships with our served agencies
such as Red Cross, Salvation Army, National Weather Ser-
vice and local emergency services and public safety agen-
cies. If you don’t think that the services we provide are impor-
tant, you are wrong. We have had our share of unusual
weather conditions from drought to flooding and fires to haz-
ardous materials incidents on our roadways, rails and water-
ways. When a state of emergency exists due to natural or
industrial and transportation disasters we have the ability to
provide essential communications support to served agen-
cies and to our communities. We think it can’t happen to us,
but take a look around you and ask yourself what if the plane
overhead should fall from the sky or the innocent looking
tanker driving along next to us on the highway should blow a
tire and the driver should loose control? Did you know that
many tankers on our highways contain tons of dangerous
chemicals such as acids and gasoline and even hazardous
radioactive waste materials? I don’t want to scare anyone, but
we must be aware of the dangers that surround us, and if an
incident did occur, how we could help to protect our families,
property and our communities. If you are an Amateur Radio
Emergency Service (ARES) member, you should be familiar
with how they work in your community. You should have re-
ceived training in how to respond to a call up. If you’re not a
member, I urge you to seek out your local emergency coordi-
nator and get signed up. Are you a traffic handler? If you are,
our National Traffic System (NTS) plays an important role in
getting the traffic moving. You may say that we all have cell
phones and PCS devices now and they will work just fine.
Keep in mind that although these devices use radio frequen-
cies, those towers still connect you to a landline phone sys-
tem and when they are overloaded, as happens in emergency
situations, they are all but useless. Does anyone remember
all the millions of paging customers that lost their service
when a satellite went out just a few years ago? It can happen
to us! The bottom line is that our services are valuable to
others if we know how to use them and if we understand what
needs to be done. You cannot expect to walk in during an
emergency to offer your help if you are untrained. They can-
not take time to train you during an emergency. The time to do
it is now. Volunteer your services with your ARES or NTS
Traffic Nets. Most radio clubs will be able to tell you how to get
in touch with your emergency coordinator and find the NTS
Nets. If you have never handled traffic, just check in and help
will be provided to you. The next thing you can do is find out
what your local SET scenario is and plan to get involved. You
can do it from home if you like, or you can help to provide your
services in the field. I want to urge all of you to get involved
in SET this year. More information along with last years scores
appear in the July 2001 issue of QST. Hope to hear you on the
nets. 73, Dick W8FQT. Tfc (June): AA8PI 303, K8GA 284,
K8LJG 194, KB8ZYY 192, K8KV 144, N8EIZ 130, W8RTN
124, N8FPN 104, WX8Y 86, K8AE 61, W8RNQ 46, WI8K 46,
W8RF 40, WA8DHB 28, K8UPE 28, KI8GR 27, KN8LD 27,
KA8DDQ 23, W8YIQ 19, K8ZJU 13, N8TDE 12, K8AMR 11,
K8JN 8, N8UN 7, W8NGO 5. Deadline 5th of the month.
OHIO: SM: Joe Phillips, K8QOE, Fairfield, (to contact me, see
page 12 and check out the OSJ at www.maser.com)— All
Ohio Hams are invited to the Ohio Section Conference, Sat-
urday, September 15, 9 AM at the Ohio EMA HQ (Ohio 161 in
Northwest Columbus). This year the technical demonstration
is called “PSK-31 for Dummies” along with the usual tours,
awards (Newsletter Contest and Severson winners for 2001)
plus the popular pizza party for lunch. Your participation is not
only welcomed but encouraged. Ask anyone who has been
there - it is the social event of the year in the Ohio Section.
New officers for the Cambridge ARA are, W8FWF, pres;
N0KYN, veep; N8JMK, sec; and AB8JH, tres; N8IMW, editor.
Want to thank Steve Gocala, KB8VAO, Youngstown, for tak-
ing me to area Field Day sites. Especially the YSU site where
Dr. Gordon Frissora, KZ3W, and his students were still dup-
ing results by hand; no computer program - honest. GOBA
bicycle event crossed into 23 counties in June and the 2,000
cyclists had Ham Radio’s communications skills to thank for
132
quick medical care and emergency received throughout the ter! Congratulations to Charlie WA2YOW for revitalizing the
route. GOBA made a contribution to all ARES county organi- NLI-cw traffic net! LI-CW for June: 21 sessions, QNI: 75, QTC:
zations that participated. OHIO SECTION CONGRATS TO 47, QSP: 45, 370 minutes. Please check into NLI-cw (3630
(A) Ohio June Field day participants. The SM received 27 kHz at 1930 local time Monday through Friday). The Suffolk
messages that weekend; (B) Bellbrook ARC for its 25th anni- County VHF traffic net is on 145.210 at 8 PM local time Mon-
versary July 4th - formed in 1976 the day the nation celebrated day through Thursday with Claire WA2VZK as net control.
its 200th birthday, and (C) Jeff Slattery, N8SUZ, Athens; September Events: Sep. 2&3, Jewish Arts Festival of Long
Sonny Alfman, W8FHF, Norwich; and ASM Connie Hamilton, Island, Commack. Sep 9, Babylon Village Country Fair. For
N8IO, Marietta, for extra outstanding effort during GOBA. both events, contact Walter KA2RGI at 631-957-0218 or
SEPT OHIO HAMFESTS; (9) at Hancock County, Findlay RC; ka2rgi@arrl.net. Sep 9, MS Bike-athon, Dowling College,
(16) at Cincinnati, GCARA (new location); and (23) at Cleve- Oakdale. Contact Joe Lipton, N2IOZ at 631-273-3365 or
land for the Hamfest Assn...de K8QOE. Now for June traffic zedmail@mindspring.com. Sep 15, Great Cow Harbor 10k,
reports. Contact Chuck Hartley N2JIY at (631) 768-5242 or
Net QNI QTC QTR Sess Time Freq NM chucksnd@optonline.net. Sep. 15, DXCC card checking ses-
BN (E) 99 42 331 28 1845 3.577 WD8KFN sion by KD1F at Babylon Town Hall EOC at 10 AM. Pre-reg-
BN (L) 174 91 327 30 2200 3.577 NY8V
istration required - contact Phil N2MUN at 631-226-0698 or
OSN 93 30 415 29 1810 3.708 WB8KQJ
n2mun@arrl.net Sep. 23, Ocean to Sound Relay, starts at
Jones Beach. Contact George WA2WKV at 516-822-2659 or
OSSBN 1559 664 2583 90 1030, 1615, 1845 3.9725 N8IO georgegluck@juno.com. September hamfests: LIMARC on
Tfc: N8IO 318, WD8KFN 219, N8BV 215, W8STX 141, K8PJ Sep. 9 in Bethpage at 8:30 AM. See www.limarc.org for info.
123, WA8SSI 117, WA8EYQ 107, N8OD 99, N7CEU 95, Volunteer Exam sessions, club listings, upcoming events and
WB8KVM 94, W8PBX 89, KC8HJL 87, KA8FCC 84, N8TNV more are available on the NLI Web site - www.arrlhudson.org/
83, KD8HB 82, WB8SIQ 63, N8DD 59, KA8VWE 55, N8IBR nli. Tfc: WB2GTG 634, KB2KLH 151, AB2IZ 81, N2AKZ 80,
58, KA8CXG 56, N8CW 50, N8GP 46, NS8C 43, W8RG 40, WA2YOW 72, W2RJL 30, KA2YDW 20, KA2UEC 13,
KI8IM 38, K8QIP 38, W8RPS 36, AB8KB 34, N8YWX 33, KC2FWD 11, WA2VZK 5, N2TEE 5, KA2D 3.
WB8PMG 31, K8RC 31, NY9V 30, KC8HTP 28, KC4IYD 27, NORTHERN NEW JERSEY: SM, Bill Hudzik, W2UDT—STM:
KC8DWM 25, WD8KBW 25, KB8SIA 20, KC8PDY 17, N8RRB WB2FTX. SEC: K2MPH. ACC: N3RB. OOC: KB2JSG. SGL:
15, W8BO 13, NA8KD 13, KC8KYP 13, N8WLE 13, N8GOB K1XV. In spite of all the bad weather Field Day in NNJ was a
12, KB8TIA 10, W8VQV 10, KC8HPR 8, N8RAK 7, KB8ESY success! Many clubs preserved through the severe lightening
5, K8WC 2. and rain to turn in outstanding scores. It appears that the
Cherryville RA operating W2GD may have come close to a 4A
HUDSON DIVISION record. I did manage to visit a few clubs on Saturday: 10-70
EASTERN NEW YORK: SM, Pete Cecere, N2YJZ— STM: RA who had their Skywarn spotters working to report local
Jim Peterson, K2CSS. SEC: Ken Akasofu, KL7JCQ. ACC: flooding, the Morris RC who were testing some new RACES
Shirley Dahlgren, N2SKP. SGL: Herb Sweet, K2GBH. PIC: generators, and the Tri- County RA operating W2LI from the
John Farina, WA2QCY. BM: Ed Rubin, N2JBA. OOC: Hal Watchung Reservation. Field Day is the opportunity to show
Post, AK2E. TC: Rudy Dehn W2JVF. ASM: Tom Raffaelli, the public what Amateur is about and some clubs even invited
WB2NHC. ASM: Bob Chamberlain, N2KBC. ASM: Andrew local politicians to visit their sites to see how Amateur Radio
Schmidt, N2FTR. ASM: Richard Sandell, WK6R. ASM: Phil operators respond to emergency situations. Good idea!
Bradway, KB2HQ. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer Thanks to the Sussex RC and West Jersey DXG for including
hamming. Our Simulated Emergency Test is coming up fast. me in their FD reports. The State Legislature passed a Cell
Let’s make it a great event this year. Remember to help new Phone Bill Senate-1867 which only stated that Police are in-
amateurs all you can. 73 de Pete, N2YJZ. June - PSHR: structed to note on accident forms if a cell phone was in use
KC2DAA 160, K2CSS 156, WB2ZCM 145, N2YJZ 142, when the accident occurred. As for now there are no other cell
WA2YBM 137, KC2HUV 124, W2JHO 108, W2AKT 106. Sta- phone bills in committee. We still need to monitor our local
tion Traffic: N2YJZ 143, K2CSS 115, KC2DAA 93, WA2YBM governments for any municipal ordinances that may appear.
66, WB2ZCM 55, N2TWN 52, W2JHO 24, KC2HUV 22, Tfc: K2VX 83, KB2VRO 60, WA2MWT 40, N2OPJ 37, N2RPI
WA2WMJ 12, KC2GLD 8, WA2BSS 7, N2AWI 7, K2AVV 6, 36, N2GJ 33, K2PB 32, KC2ANN 23, W2MTO 19, W2CC 14,
W2AKT 2. Net Reports: QNI/QTC CDN 254/143. ESS 375/ K2DBK 12, N3RB 9.
152. HVN 613/303, SDN 515/219, NYPHONE 223/744.
NYPON 351/247, NYS/E 306/310, NYS/M 166/203, NYS/L MIDWEST DIVISION
284/493, NYSPTEN 322/114. IOWA: SM, Jim Lasley, N0JL—ASM: N0LDD. SEC: NA0R.
NEW YORK CITY / LONG ISLAND: SM, George Tranos, ACC: N0IJP @ KE0BX. BM: K0IIR @ W0CXX. SGL: K0KD.
N2GA—ASM: KA2D, N1XL, K2YEW, W2FX, KB2SCS. SEC: STM: KB0RUU. TSARCN is making money again. On the 4th
KA2D. ACC: N2MUN. PIC: K2DO. TC: K2LJH. BM: W2IW. of July they were out again, and have ordered coax for their
OOC: N1XL. STM: WA2YOW. SGL: N2GA. It is with regret repeater. They have also spent 98 hours on storm watch so
that I bid farewell to four NLI radio amateurs who became far this year. If you want to know how they do it call WA0AUU.
Silent Keys recently - Andy Borrok, N2TZX, Past President of GCARC is making a proposal to the ARC to install a perma-
HOSARC and EC for Queens County; John Fredericksen, nent station at their HQ. That would certainly be preferable to
KA2YMR, Past President of LIMARC and ARRL Hudson Di- the ad hoc kind. Did you participate in FD? I managed to visit
vision Assistant Director; Warren Bogin, W2GZA, Director of two of the three groups that invited me. I took my ‘secret
RCARC; and Ed Primavera, K2YAW, of Suffolk Country Ra- weapon’ along (N0SM) so we could work some serious CW!
dio Club. Each contributed greatly to our section and to Ama- Thanks to those who let us operate. I have received only three
teur Radio - they will be missed. Mark Philips, KC2ENI, of reports from FD. I’m sure others operated. FMARC reports
Astoria, NY, has been appointed as N2TZX’s successor as one result of FD is that no one went away malnourished! Sorry
EC of Queens. Congratulations and thanks to SEC Tom to note the passing of KA0GVU and WB0SNL. K0JGH and
Carrubba, KA2D, who helped pass Health and Welfare traffic N0ICF recently made a trip to Europe. So... how was the trip
for the American Red Cross during the June floods in Texas. and the DX? Looks like the OTM club will learn sooner than
Field Day was held the weekend of June 22, 23 and 24, 2001. the rest of us. I am now working on new certificates for each
Many clubs had Field Day sites and most were visited by one of the station appointees in the section. Being a computer
or more members of the NLI Section Staff. My schedule took guy, I am trying to automate the printing as much possible.
me to the Kings County Radio Club in Brooklyn, Hall of Sci- Enuf. 73 de N0JL. Newsletters were received from TSARCN,
ence Amateur Radio Club in Queens, Nassau Amateur Radio GRARC, FMARC, DARC. PSHR: KB0RUU 115, N0JL 82.
Club in East Meadow, Wantagh Amateur Radio Club in Traffic: KB0RUU 253, W0SS 115, WB0B 27, N0JL 14.
Wantagh, Long Island Mobile Amateur Radio Club in North KANSAS: SM, Orlan Cook, W0OYH—ASM/ACC/OCC: Rob-
Bellmore, Larkfield Amateur Radio Club in Huntington, Ameri- ert Summers, K0BXF. SEC: Joseph Plankinton, WD0DMV.
can Red Cross Emergency Communications Communications STM: Ron Cowan, KB0DTI. PIC: Scott Slocum, KC0DYA. I
Service in Eatons Neck, Order of Boiled Owls Contest Club in am sorry to report the passing of Wanda, the wife of Bob
Lloyds Neck and Great South Bay Amateur Radio Club in Summers, K0BXF. As you remember, Bob was our Section
North Lindenhurst. Thank you to each of these clubs, their Manager for 31 years. Please let me know if you have changed
officers and members for your hospitality. There were many your e-mail address. I am having mail come back to me. Don’t
displays of Amateur Radio ingenuity. Many clubs attempted forget the ARRL Kansas State convention at Salina August
satellite contacts. I was lucky enough to be present at Larkfield 19. The Section Meeting will begin at 10 AM with the presen-
when the International Space Station passed overhead and tation of the Ks Amateur of the year, Johnson County RAC 50
was able to hear Astronaut Susan Helms, KC7NHZ, 40 DB year ARRL affiliate certificate presentation, DEC Bob, WG0Q,
over S9, working Field Day! I also saw displays of APRS, and EC Carl, N0ORS, will cover their participation in the
SSTV, PSK-31 and other exotic modes at many sites. Al- Hoisington tornado disaster. See my KAR Newsletter for de-
though each club did Field Day differently, everyone I saw tails and a map. Check the convention’s Web site www.qsl.net/
appeared to be having a good time and accomplishing the ckarc for more. It takes $$ to put on a convention, so support
emergency preparedness that exemplifies ham radio on Field Ham Radio, the host club, and ARRL with your participation.
Day. Congratulations to all for a great Field Day! I would like May Kansas Nets: sessions/QNI/QTC, KSBN 31/899/54, KPN
to also thank my Section Staff for visiting the different club 21/292/22, KMWN 31/782/566, KWN 31/785/474, CSTN 27/
sites. Rob Todaro, N1XL (Assistant Section Manager & Offi- 1746/77, QKS 60/135/86, QKS-SS 11/21/4. SEC 58/658/27,
cial Observer Coordinator), George Gluck, WA2WKV (Dis- QNS KB0AMY, N0BTH, KC0CFL, KC0CIG, WD0DDG,
trict Emergency Coordinator Nassau County), and Sid Wolin, WD0DVM, AA0IQ, N0LKK, W0PBV, KB0WEQ, Joseph,
K2LJH (Technical Coordinator) joined with me for all or part WD0DVM, SEC. TEN 297 msg in 60 sessions Ks 74% with
of my travels. Section Amateurs helped out at the zoning AA0FO, K0PY, W0WWR, NB0Z, W0SS/Mgr.BBS, AA0HJ rec
board of appeals hearing of John Lazar, KC2FII, in Bellport 22 W1AW Bulletins 326 Personal 0 NTS. Ks tfc W0WWR 162,
village on July 10. Appearing to speak on behalf of John were W0OYH 38, KB0DTI 21, N0RZ 19, NB0Z 17, K0RY 12, W0FCL
Frank Fallon, N2FF, Norm Wesler, K2YEW, Richard Knadle, 11, N0ZIZ 2. OBS K0RY 27, WA0DTH 12.
K2RIW, Howard Liebman, W2QUV, and George Tranos, N2G.
John was appealing the village’s 30 foot height limit to put up MISSOURI: SM, Dale Bagley, K0KY—For more news, check-
a vertical antenna. Hopefully by now John has his variance, out ARRL MO Web page http://www.qsl.net/arrl-mo. MO Sec-
however, it is cases like this which created the need for the tion ARRL members and Appointees are encouraged to make
PRB-1 legislation currently pending in Albany. No amateur plans to attend the ARRL MO State Convention / CMRA
should need a variance for a vertical antenna! Hopefully, NY Hamfest in Columbia, MO Aug. 25th. There will be lots of flea
State law will soon have a provision incorporating “reason- marketers and Commercial Vendors taking part this year.
able accommodation” to prevent this necessity. There will be There will also be some excellent forums, not the least of
a Section Staff meeting on Sunday, September 30, at Babylon which is the ARRL Forum. Wade Walstrom, W0EJ, Midwest
Town Hall, North Lindenhurst at 9:30 AM. All ARRL appoin- Director will lead the forum and the featured speaker Dan
tees are welcome to attend. The monthly NLI Section e-hap- Miller, K3UFG, the Certification and Educational Programs
penings newsletter is being e-mailed to all ARRL members in Coordinator for the ARRL HQ will make a presentation. The
the section who have subscribed to Division / Section bulle- Ozark Mountain Repeater Group hosted a fine Hamfest in
tins. If you have not received this newsletter, go to the ARRL Houston, MO. Willie Adey, N0TPE, and the membership did
Web site (www.arrl.org) and update your profile. Check the a great job. This year, the weather was great and those at-
box that indicates you want Division / Section bulletins. Pre- tending had a wonderful time. An Amateur Radio Legislative
vious newsletters are available on the NLI site. Please e-mail Alert System is being developed to inform Section Amateur
me with your club’s information and I will get it in the newslet- Radio operators about bills introduced in the Missouri Legis-
134
lature that would, if they passed, benefit or harm Amateur
Radio. We need Amateurs in all Legislative Districts to sign up
for the Alert system so we as Amateurs can respond quickly
to support or challenge legislation that affects us. Send an e-
mail to k0ky@arrl.org and indicate that you wish to be added
to the list of those wishing to be kept up to date on Legislative
matters and actions are being taken or considered. The SM
attended the MARAC national convention in Hampton, VA.
MARAC is better known as the County Hunters. MARAC is a
MO Section Affiliated Club that has members from all over the
US and the world. At this year’s convention, Gene Tyree,
N4ANV, the convention chairman and Van “Pete” Peterson,
K4QFK, Convention Finance director, did an outstanding job.
Ace Jansen, N3AHA, County Hunter columnist for World
Radio and Ted Melinosky, K1BV, CQ Awards editor were
among those attended this years event. The efforts of Bill
Inkrote, K2NJ, the MARAC President and the Board made
this a great year for MARAC and County Hunting. Net Sess/
QNI/QTC: MTN 3/357/59; WAARCI 4/62/0; Rolla Billboard
30/356/8; Audrain Co ARES 4/44/2; Jackson Co ARES 5/74/
0. Tfc: KE0K 11.
NEBRASKA: SM, Bill McCollum, KE0XQ—ASM: W0KVM,
N0MT, WY0F, WB0ULH & WB0YWO. It is with deep regret to
inform you that N0OCI is a Silent Key. I am pleased to an-
nounce the following appointments: KA0BAK and KC0JRV as
Official Emergency Stations. N7GT has resigned as EC for
Scottsbluff County. Although He was EC for only a short time,
he made and impact in Western Nebraska. Greg will be re-
turning to Cheyenne, WY. Thank you for your hard work, Greg!
17 Amateurs provided communications support for the fire-
works show in Kearney. Net Reports: MIDNE ARES: QNI 268,
QTC 2 & 30 sessions. NMPN: QNI 1384, QTC 18 & 30 ses-
sions. West Nebraska Net: QNI 1416, QTC 146 & 30 Ses-
sions. Lincoln/Logan ARES: QNI 18, QTC 2 & 3 sessions.
W0IRZ Memorial Net: QNI 59, QTC 1 & 4 sessions. NE Storm
Net: QNI 697, QTC 14 & 30 sessions. NCHN: QNI 69, QTC 2
& 11 sessions. NE 40 Meter Net: QNI 270, QTC 4 & 25 ses-
sions. MARES: QNI 179, QTC 2 & 4 sessions. ENE 2 Meter
Net: QNI 430, QTC 2 & 4 sessions. Tfc: K0PTK 86, KE0XQ 20,
W0UJI 5, WA0ZCM 5, WA0ZCN 4, N0BTS 2, KA0DOC 2,
K0RRL 2, WB0ART 2, WY0F 2, W0EXK 2, KA0O 2,
KB0MTT 2.
136
soon resume their normal meeting schedules. EMA Amateurs: www.qsl.net/aresalaska/fsd157/public_service.html.
your “home work” assignment is to write or e-mail me with EASTERN WASHINGTON: SM, Kyle Pugh, KA7CSP—STM
three items or areas that the League does well, and three Don Calbick, W7GB, is stepping down as a TCC Director after
which need improvement. I will summarize in a future bulletin. holding this volunteer position for many years. Jerry, AD0A,
This SM attended the recent New England Division Cabinet will take Don’s place in the National Traffic System. The an-
meeting in Portsmouth, NH. 73 de K9HI. Tfc: W1GMF 1453, nual WARTS (WA Amateur Radio Traffic System) net picnic
KW1U 765, NG1A 441, NZ1D 170, WA1FNM 82, K1SEC 68, will be held at Lake Kachees on July 15. Over 30 hams helped
WA1LPM 48, K1BZD 43, N1IST 42, NC1X 30, N1TPU 30, with medical communications for Hoopfest in Spokane on
N1LAH 25, K8SH 24, KD1LE 22, KB1EB 11, WA1VRB 9, June 29-30. In Memoriam: Sally Casey, N7ZJY, became a
N1TDF 2. Silent Key. Hamfests: The Walla Walla hamfest scheduled for
MAINE: SM, Bill Woodhead, N1KAT—ASMs: WA1YNZ, September is cancelled. FYI section awards managers are:
KA1TKS. STM: NX1A. BM: W1JTH. SGL: W1AO. ACC: DXCC —Jay Townsend, WS7I, in Spokane; WAS — Carl
KA1RFD. OOC: KA1WRC. PIC: KD1OW. SEC: N1KGS. Asst. Strode, WA7QJY, in Pasco; VHF – Jeff Spinler N7VPN in
Dirs.: KA1TKS, K1NIT. Web Site: N1WFO. Maine Amateurs Pasco. Net Activity: WSN: QNI 868, tfc 287; Noontime Net:
put Field Day on the air with 59 and 5NN reports from Portland QNI 8917, tfc 293; WARTS: QNI 3233, tfc 78. Tfc: W7GB 183,
Head Light in the southern part to Presque Isle in the north, KA7EKL 153, K7GXZ 98, K7BFL 43, KA7CSP 20. PSHR:
as well as from the eastern shores of the Atlantic to the west- W7GB 138, K7GXZ 123.
ern mountains in Buckfield. There was also a good showing IDAHO: SM: M.P. Elliott, K7BOI — OOC: W7ZU. SEC:
from the central part of the state from the Pine State ARC in AA7VR. STM: W7GHT. The 2001 Boise River Festival is his-
Bangor, along with Augusta ARC, the WAWA and the Andy tory and an excellent ham radio demonstration was held again
ARC. Thank you all for contributing to Field Day, which is a this year by Treasure Valley area hams. Idaho was also well
real labor of love for the hobby. Other RF activity included the represented in Field Day ‘01. In addition to the fun of contacts,
Pottle Hill Road Race. Hams were on hand to keep the event Idaho hams got publicity for their efforts – TV, radio, and
running smoothly (hi, hi). Tnx to KB1EJI, KA1VZL, K1GAL, press coverage. Great job! News later on the winners of the
N1YIS, W1IF, and N1GZB. Portland radio Ops found plenty to Section Field Day trophies (individual and group). Ham radio
keep them busy with a simulated air disaster at Portland Jet- was represented at the Western Idaho Fair again this year.
port. Tnx to W1NIA, W1IF, W1ZE, N1AKP, NX1A, NX1C, Many CW messages were passed. It is September and time
N1NCC, N1GRO, K4GAG, KB1GLW, KB1GLX, KB1GLV, for club meetings to pickup again. Get out to a local meeting
KB1GLY, KB1GRU, KB1GRV, also N1REX, as an observer and be involved! 73 - Mike, K7BOI. Tfc: W7GHT-429,
for the Fire Dept., and K1GAX for all his hard work to coordi- KB7VYH-60, KB7GZU-45. PSHR: W7GHT-130, WB7VYH-
nate this event. 73, Bill, N1KAT. Tfc: W1JTH 52, KA2ZKM 50, 93. Nets: FARM-30/2434/39/W7WJH; NWTN-30/1117/59/
W1QU 48, W1JX 36, KA1RFD 24. KC7RNT; IDCD-21/385/14/WB7VYH; IMN-30/396/323/
NEW HAMPSHIRE: SM, Al Shuman, N1FIK (n1fik@arrl W6ZOH. http://id_arrl.homestead.com/mainpage.html.
.org)—NH Web site (www.nhradio.org). I am pleased to an- MONTANA: SM, Darrell Thomas, N7KOR—June was a rather
nounce the appointment of Jack Sheehy, W1JS, as OOC. busy time for Amateur Radio in the Montana Section. Three
Jack comes back into the NH Field Organization having been picnics/miniature hamfests were held with good attendance
ASM and ACC previously. Thanks, Jack, for approaching me at all three. The annual McClean Picnic hosted by WB7SWH
and offering your services. Congratulations to all of NH-ARES was held at Hardin on June 2-3, The Bartlett Creek Campout
placing 4th in last yr’s Simulated Emergency Test. NH-ARES hosted by Amateurs from the Lincoln Area was held June 9-
also placed 8th in the Section/Local Nets category in the same 10 with about 8 attendees, the annual Fathers Day Picnic/
test. A special congrats to Gary Okula, N3CLZ, who has di- Hamfest was held in Glendive on June 16-17 with sixty plus
rected the revitalization effort of ARES and being so success- in attendance. On June 7, hams, students and professors
ful since returning as SEC. As in previous years, I made my from Montana State University launched a high altitude bal-
FD trek across NH traveling over 500 miles. I have decided to loon from Big Timber, MT. The package contained a camera,
go to an A/B schedule hitting clubs every other year. Sorry I APRS, and a 70 cm repeater. After a three hour flight to 45,000
was not able to make PCARC/GBRA or the IRS/Amoskeag feet the system was recovered near Hardin, MT. On June 26,
clubs this in this yr’s trek. I have noticed an upswing in new the Yellowstone Amateur Radio Emergency Service Group of
licensees in NH. I had seen an average of 2-5 each month. Billings assisted the National Weather Service during a watch
That seems to have increased to an average of 15-20 in the and warning. About 20 Amateur stations participated in track-
past 3-4 months. Thanks to those clubs running classes and ing and reporting the position of two storms. The first pro-
to those who run Test Sessions. Thanks to those people, who duced heavy rain and hail. The second produced heavy rains,
like Jack, have contacted me in the past month asking how hail and a tornado in the Huntley area near Billings. Net/QNI/
they can help. N1QXF, I haven’t forgotten you. -73 Al. Net NM/ QTC/NM MSN 104/1 W7OW, MTN 1547/48 N7AIK, IMN 396/
Sess/QNI/QTC: GSFM N1RCQ 29/202/41; GSPN WB1GXM 323 W6ZOH. PSHR: N7AIK 120.
30/98/40; VTNH WA1JVV 30/114/126. Tfc: W1PEX 991,
N1NH 80, W1ALE 57, K1STV 45, WB1GXM 34, N1CPX 6, OREGON: SM, Bill Sawders, K7ZM—ASM: KK7CW. SEC:
WA1JVV 111. WB7NML. STM: W7IZ. SGL: N7QQU. OOC: NB7J. STC:
N7LA. ACC: K7SQ. The September deadline for QST news is
RHODE ISLAND: SM, Armand Lambert, K1FLD—As your SM July 14th. So, the Field Day weekend has just ended! Con-
is still on extended travel, I had the pleasure of touring all the gratulations to the many clubs that participated this year.
ARRL affiliated clubs’ Field Day sites that made their plans Unfortunately, the bands were terrible. 10 meters never
known to me. The enthusiasm and resourcefulness shown at opened, and 15 was alive in the afternoon. The only “good”
each site was very impressive. Who says ham radio activity band was 20 meters, and it was so crowded, the low-power
is declining? It wasn’t evident by what I saw. The Fidelity ARC stations had a real tough time getting contacts. So much for
even had a satellite TV system running to watch the Weather Cycle 23! Pretty soon, the 10 meter rigs will all be on sale, and
Channel. RI-SEC, N1JMA reports that the last of the planned “low-band” DX’ers will be back in action on 40, 80, and top-
Skywarn seminars took place on June 12th. They surely have band, 160 meters. Upcoming hamfests include the 55th an-
been kept in practice with numerous severe weather events. nual Walla Walla Valley hamfest in Walla Walla, Washington,
Keep up the great work, gang! You really do make a differ- and the BIG Swap-toberfest in Rickreall, near Salem. Check
ence! N1JMA, together with a half dozen volunteers from out the www.arrl.org Web sight for complete details to these
Massachusetts provided communications support to the and other special events planned for the rest of the year. A
Ocean State 150 bicycle race from Newport to Mystic to URI, new HF ARES net if now forming. Tune in to 3993.5 on Tues-
an American Diabetes Association fund raiser. The hams day nights at 6 PM for more details. This new net is just getting
facilitated the work of the Yagoog Valley Search & Rescue started and actual dates and times may change. Bob Boswell,
EMT’s who treated several injuries during the two-day event. W7LOU, is in charge. Anyone who knows Bob, knows this net
W3PDK and I represented RI at the Division Director’s Cabi- will be very successful for ham radio and to the entire Oregon
net meeting in NH. We learned a great deal about what ARRL Section! Don’t forget to e-mail me your new club officers’
is doing in a long list of topics, again making a difference. 73 names and call signs, for publication, here. Continue to have
and good DXing to all, W1YRC, ASM/RI. a great summer, and keep in touch. NTS traffic totals for June:
WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS: SM, William C. Voedisch, W7IZ 137, N7DRP 131, W7VSE 80, KC7SRL 77, N7YSS 56,
W1UD, w1ud@arrl.org—ASM: N1MAP. ASM (digital): KC7ZZB 50, K7NLM 37, KK1A 36, KC7SGM 6.
KD1SM. STM: NZ1D. SEC: K1VSG. OOC: WT1W. Field Day WESTERN WASHINGTON: SM, Harry Lewis, W7JWJ—
is over. Bands were not in as good condition as last year. At Please welcome two new appointees in Western Washington.
least from the top of Mt. Wachuset they weren’t. All clubs that Dan Colton, W7SMC, of Shelton, has been appointed as an
participated sent their reports to the SM and should take credit OES station, and Scott Douglas, W7XC, of Bonney Lake, is
for the extra 100 points. I’ve been looking for CW operators our newest Official Observer. The ARES team of Kirkland now
that could fill in on 1RN during the summer. Contact me via e- has a new repeater operating on 146.80 MHz with nets each
mail, and I’ll fill you in on net procedures and methods used Tuesday at 1830 hours. The Shoreline ACS have moved their
to deliver the traffic. We don’t get a lot of traffic during the net time to Thursdays at 1900 hours. Are you reporting your
summer, so you really will not have much to do. If you have traffic to STM Pati, W7ZIW? Public service activity helps jus-
been interested in traffic handling, this is a great opportunity tify our existence. Reporting via SEC N7NVP, we find ARES
to expand your skills. I realize that ham radio takes a back teams active in public events. The Trident Triple Bike Tour
seat during the summer months. While the weather is good, was supported by 10 Kitsap and Mason Co volunteers serving
it is the time to think of revamping your antenna system. as SAG vehicles where they provided emergency assistance/
Thought about that new tower or antenna. This is the time to transportation, rest area managers, relay stations and net
get the job done. Sure beats doing it in the cold and damp control stations. In all they contributed 99 hours and 619 miles.
weather or fall and winter. Tfc (May): N1WAS 225, K1TMA Cowlitz Co. Hams were busy with an MS Walk and Tour-De-
224, KD1SM 11, N1RLX 4, W1ZPB 115, W1UD 297. (June) Blast bike ride. At the end of the bike ride a person fell down
N1WAS 264, K1TMA 337, KD1SM 9, N1RLX 4, N1LZF 4, a 250 foot cliff. Randy, NU7D, relayed rescue communica-
W1ZPB, W1UD 321. tions and coordinated 3 helicopters in to the accident scene.
Total hours: 157 - Mileage 1557. Red Cross and SAR exer-
NORTHWESTERN DIVISION cises were used for training in Clark Co. And thanks to all of
ALASKA: SM, Kent Petty, KL5T — Good participation sec- you who made Field Day a success this year. Summer may be
tion-wide in this year’s Field Day. Fairbanks hams deployed time for inactivity for some, but not for members of the Clark
along Chena River to support boat race. Anchorage hams Co. ARC of Vancouver. That group supported the 4th of July
support Anchorage Mayor’s Marathon, including use of APRS celebration at Fort Vancouver and Pearson Air Museum. This
and ATV. Combined event with Field Day was big success. group has Friday brunch. For time and location monitor the
Mat-Su and Anchorage hams support Girl Scout encampment Tuesday evening ARES net at 7:00 PM on 147.24 MHz. Newly
- huge success! Juneau hams support SAR for lost hiker. HF elected president of the group is Luther Brisky, KC7KVL. 73.
Pactor stations and amateur PACSAT stations needed
throughout the section to interface communications networks PACIFIC DIVISION
between districts....can you help? Contact KL5T or AD4BL. EAST BAY: SM, Andy Oppel, N6AJO—ASMs: NJ6T,
HF nets: Sniper’s Net 3920 1800 AST, Bush Net 7093 2000 KE6QJV. SEC: KE6NVU. DECs: KE6QJV/Alameda County,
AST, Motley Group 3933 2100 AST, and Alaska Pacific Net KO6JR/Contra Costa County, WA7IND/Napa County,
14292 M-F 0830 AST. ALL HAMS - Please report communi- K6HEW/Solano County, N6UOW/Training, W6CPO/Techni-
cation drills and exercises, emergency communication acti- cal Services, KQ6TM/Section Plans and Administration.
vations, and public service activities via our online interactive OOC: KD6FFN. STM: W6DOB. ACC: NJ6T. EB Web Page:
FSD-157 (Public Service Activity Report) form at: http:// http://www.pdarrl.org/ebsec/. Webmaster is KB6MP. MDARC
138
members KI6O, KM6QX, WA6DQN, WA6JAU, KD6GLY, tor Magana, N1VM. STM: Fred Silveira, K6RAU. It is appro-
KB6KNB, KG6DER and KE6ZIW provided communications priate to recognize some of the outstanding amateurs of the
for the Mt. Diablo Spring Trailride. VVRC members KA6FDI, Section. If DXing is your forte, then I would like to remind you
KF6ZSH, WH6AB, K6HEW, N6WVF and KF6KFP provided that our Section card checker for DXCC is Chet Jensen,
communications for the Vacaville Fiesta Days Parade. W6XK. Chet, a Professor at California State University,
EBARC welcomed new member KG6GOP. NALCO ARES/ Stanislaus, has recently operated from Turks, and Caicos
RACES completed its annual training for its Berkeley Ama- Islands.To make an appointment to have your cards checked,
teur Radio Fire Patrol; ready to participate in this year’s pa- send Chet an e-mail at w6xk@arrl.net. Thanks, Chet, for your
trols are: KF6OBQ, W6CZN, KC6TGT, WA6CCF, K6APW, continued work on behalf of Amateur Radio. I know many of
W6WTI, KE6CFW, AB6WF, N6LFW, KD6WZY, KI6WF, you are working the “birds,” otherwise known as the satellites,
WA2UNP, KF6SCX, W6WXO, WB6PIV, KF6JRN, K6KX, these days which brings to mind yet another resource of infor-
KF6JRO and KG6YT. SARS mourns the lost of longtime mation in the Section. That resource is John Lee, K6YK, who
member W6WLW. New ORCA officers are: Pres/WB6NER, has been a Section pioneer in satellite work. John has even
VP/W6LL, Sec/W6THD, Tres/KE6IUE, and board members lured me into some activity in satellite communications. John
KF6UVB, K6EHQ and KB6MP. LARK congratulates W6DXO is also an accomplished weak-signal man. John’s e-mail ad-
who received his general ticket. June tfc: W6DOB 604, dress is k6yk@juno.com. Someone who has made a consid-
WB6UZX 43, KE6QR 24. PSHR: W6DOB. BPL: W6DOB. Tfc erable contribution to the Section and Amateur Radio in gen-
nets: NCN1/3630/7PM; NCN2-SLOW SESSION/3705/9 PM; eral is Charles McConnell, W6DPD. Charles has been Section
NCN-VHF/145.21/7:30 PM; RN6/3655/7:45 PM & 9:30 PM; Manager, Division Director, Volunteer Examiner, DXCC card
PAN/3651/7052/8:30 PM. Your check-ins are always wel- checker and continues to be of great help to me as Affiliated
come. Club Coordinator. Of course, I couldn’t speak of Charles with-
NEVADA:SM, Jan Welsh, NK7N—ASM, SEC: Paul, NN7B. out mentioning the Central California DX Club based here in
ASM: Dick, W6OLD. This has been a long, hot month for SJV. If you are a Dxer, I would suggest contacting Charles for
amateurs helping with communications on behalf of the Martis more information at w6dpd@arrl.org.
Fire fighters. KJ7UK, Dick Creley, submitted a report and SANTA CLARA VALLEY: SM, Glenn Thomas, WB6W – SEC:
sounds like DCART and Washoe County were able to work KM6GE. BM: WB6MRQ. TC: WA6PWW. OOC: KB6FPW.
together. Reports have been arriving about different groups SCV Homepage is http://www.pdarrl.org/scvsec - Info on li-
on their Field Day participation and there must have been cense exam sessions is also available on the SCV
more than 25 so far. I hope they submit more info as there homepage... Field day has passed. As it happens, I received
have been some really innovative methods and antenna’s but a single FD message, from W6IO, the City of San Jose
used in Nevada. We also had legislation pass again, paid Office of Emergency Services Amateur group. That I didn’t
leaves of absence for public employees when active on ARES receive a message from other FD groups doesn’t mean they
or RACES assignments, tnx to W7LWI, RUSS SHIVELY, weren’t sent - only that they weren’t delivered. This is an
Washoe County RACES officer. Our legislators seem to be interesting commentary on the state of traffic handling in
recognizing the volunteer work done by amateurs in Nevada. Amateur radio. The Foothill College Electronics Flea market
This is a busy time, an exercise 14th of July for North E. NV, is meeting again on the 2nd Saturday of each month. Turn
in which some amateurs here in S. NV will participate on your junk into cash and vice versa! The Lockheed-Martin
behalf of the American Red X, which has finally moved into club’s name is changing from LMERA ARC to “The Employee
their permanent location in the Las Vegas area. There’s an- Connection ARC” or TEC ARC. The club call will remain
tenna work ahead. Looking forward to hamfest in Reno, and WA6GFY. They have a club net every Wednesday night at 8
seeing old friends. 73 to all, Jan, nk7n@aol.com. Tfc: PM local on the linked club repeaters, WA6GFY (224.28- 100
W7VPK90, N7CPP 21, W7TC 6, NV7YL 6, K7NHP 4. Hz, 443.775+ 100 Hz, 1283.7- and 145.62 simplex). The net
PACIFIC: SM, Ron Phillips, AH6HN—KH7M reports that is simply to pass information of a formal or informal nature.
Kauai’s Field Day group made somewhere between 600 and For more info contact WB6PVU/Terry tnak@pacbell.net. The
800 QSOs during the event. But the more important item: we Santa Cruz County ARC planned a large Field Day operation
had many new operators this year! Dennis Niles, KH6XT, at the top of Empire Grade in the Santa Cruz mountains. The
reports Field Day on Maui was a success. Several Oahu op- normal club meetings are at 7:30 PM on the 3rd Friday of each
erations occurred during Field Day with groups at Bellows month at Dominican Hospital, 1515 Soquel Drive, Santa Cruz.
AFS, Waimanalo another group from Tantalis State Park over- Visit their Web site at www.k6bj.org for more info. The Foot-
looking downtown Honolulu, a group in Kaiwailoa and the hills ARS is sponsoring a license class. By the time you’re
Koolau ARC operating their antenna farm from Chinaman’s reading this, it’s already started (24Jul - 28Aug). If you are
Hat, Lee Wical reports. Expectations for this year’s conven- interested, contact Rich Stiebel, W6APZ, w6apz@arrl.net of
tion are for an attendance of at least 300+ with door prizes, check the FARS Web page www.fars.k6ya.org/classes.html.
vendors displays, tee shirt sales, a flea market and a food See you next month! 73 de Glenn, WB6W. Tfc: W6PRI 1.
bazaar for those who don’t have to pack their lunch and don’t
have to leave the premise. Their is a no-host cocktail party ROANOKE DIVISION
planned for Friday night and a possibility of a buffet dinner on NORTH CAROLINA: SM: John Covington, W4CC—SEC:
Saturday night following the convention. Dan Spears, KH6UW KE4JHJ. STM: N0SU. BM: KD4YTU. TC: K4ITL. PIC: KN4AQ.
reports in late May he was contacted Hinano Lependu of the OOC: W4ZRA. SGL: AB4W. ACC: vacant. http://www.ncarrl
Pacific Development Center. She is researching the benefit of .org. I am pleased to report that many groups participated in
Amateur Radio for the Governor of Palau. He was able assist Field Day this year. 23 groups sent Field Day messages to
Ms Lependu with her research and report back to the Gover- me, and many more participated. I borrowed an idea from
nor. It appears as though the Governor is contemplating the Gene Fegely, K3EJG, and took a marathon tour of Field Day
cost and return on investment of setting up amateur network. stations in eastern North Carolina. I could not visit them all,
SACRAMENTO VALLEY: SM, Jerry Boyd, K6BZ—It will be but I had a great time at the ones I visited. Many stations were
my pleasure to continue as Section Manager for another term. visible to the public, and all groups had a great time and
I am blessed with excellent appointees in the Section who learned a few things in the process. Great work, everyone.
keep all important aspects of Section business running We were privileged to have a special guest on the Tar Heel
smoothly. We continue to receive applications for field ap- Emergency Net (3923 kHz, 7:30 PM) on June 26. Joel Cline,
pointments particularly in the Official Observer” program and, a lead National Weather Service forecaster, talked about the
of course, the various ARES-related categories. Speaking of threats to the state from tropical weather and how we should
ARES, thanks to Steve, N6NPN, for stepping up to become respond to it. Joel stated that out of 67 deaths since 1970
Glenn/Butte EC. This is a very early reminder, but EMCOMM directly related to tropical weather, 57 of these were due pri-
2002 will be a day and a half event. It will be held at Bishop marily to rainfall and flooding. When asked how active of a
Quinn High School near Redding on April 20 (9 AM-5 PM) and hurricane season is expected this year, Joel reminded us that
Sunday April 21 from 9 AM until noon. We anticipate a dinner/ in 1992 we had only one serious storm make landfall in the
social event on Saturday evening. We have applied to ARRL United States: Hurricane Andrew. Most people in Florida
HQ for “Operating Specialty Convention” status. If that is would not consider that to be a mild season. We only need one
granted, we may have a featured speaker from ARRL HQ. bad storm to cause lots of problems for us. Make sure you
Overnight RV camping will be allowed at the EMCOMM site. have prepared to protect your family, and if possible provide
Field Day just concluded, and reports I am hearing from radio communications if we are activated due to any disaster.
around the Section indicate a high level of participation—and Newly affiliated clubs: Smith Chart Amateur Radio Society
some excellent scores. Good job on the part of many of the (Raleigh area), Aggie Amateur Radio Club (NC A&T Univer-
clubs which sponsored Field Day activities. Several of the sity). Welcome aboard! It is with great sadness that I report
Field Day sites were actually pressed into service to provide the loss of Lynn Pitegoff, KO4QH, on June 19. Lynn was a
some communications support for fire activity in the area. tireless volunteer for Amateur Radio. She was Education
Hurts the score, but doesn’t hurt the image of Amateur Radio! Director for the Raleigh ARS, assisting many folks in becom-
After all, that is part of what Field Day is all about—preparing ing hams, and was also active in promoting Amateur Radio at
to assist “in the field” when an actual emergency occurs. Our schools and museums. You probably have met Lynn if you
Section and the American Red Cross Zone 5 (northern Cali- have attended many hamfests in our state. June tfc: W4EAT
fornia) recently signed an operational agreement which speci- 679 (BPL), KB5WY 184, K4IWW 172, NC4ML 152, AB4E 128,
fies how each entity will support the other during time of AA4YW 123, KE4JHJ 122, KI4YV 120, N4AF 98, W4IRE 73,
emergency. Thanks to SECs K6SOJ & WA6SLA for their work AD4XV 55, W3HL 54, N4TAB 52, WA4SRD 41, KE4AHC 40,
on this. Until next month, 73 de K6BZ. AC4DV 34, W4CC 32, K4WKT 22, N0SU 19, NT4K 10,
SAN FRANCISCO: SM, Len Gwinn, WA6KLK—ASM: KB8VCZ 10, KE4YMA 9, AE4HJ 9, N8UTY 7, KC4PGN 7,
KH6GJV. SEC: KE6EAQ. Congratulations and THANKS to KG4MBQ 4, N4NTO 4. May tfc: N4TAB 14.
Marci, KE6IAU, and the Humbolt County Amateur Radio Clubs SOUTH CAROLINA: SM Patricia M. Hensley, N4ROS -
for a wonderful section convention in Ferndale. 425 people School activities have been in full session for almost a month.
were in attendance with vendors, swapfest, excellent hamfest Elementary and middle school teachers will be looking for
food, and great weather. Thanks to W6CF and WV1X for challenging ways to present their curricula to the students.
making the long trip and representing the Pacific Division and We amateur operators have an ideal program for this task.
ARRL Headquarters. Forums were held on propagation, What better way than for us to introduce these students to
emergency communications, ARRL, and solar power. Plan- math, science, social studies and reading through amateur
ning is underway for next year’s meeting. Remember that radio. You and your club can volunteer to assist any existing
Pacificon is coming up soon. Field Day went well in the sec- school club, and more importantly, to establish a new club in
tion, but the SM only received two messages from participat- your local school. Our ARRL education initiatives can occur
ing clubs. More practice messages are needed in the nets, during the school day, in after-school programs, and at spe-
folks. A section emergency net is on Tuesday evenings at cial events. Your service to our schools as mentors, teachers
1930 on 3915 kHz. Also at noon, the State of Jefferson net and consultants will be greatly appreciated. Please contact
meets on 7232 kHz daily. Fire season is well underway on the me if you are interested. I wish to begin our semi-annual SC
north coast and all should remain prepared as it is very dry ARRL SM seminars in October. These meetings will be held
this year. SCRA is planning a September swapfest in Santa at both the Rock Hill and Sumter Hamfests. Each club and/or
Rosa. Sorry to report that KE6WHH, Del Norte DEC and club repeater-sponsored group is requested to send a represen-
president, is a SK. tative for establishment of a state-wide Council. These semi-
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY: SM, Donald Costello, W7WN— nars will allow us to meet our SC Section officials and work
ASM: Mike Siegel, KI6PR. ASM: John Lee, K6YK. SEC: Kent together to coordinate ARRL-sponsored activities in SC. It is
LeBarts, K6IN. ACC: Charles McConnell, W6DPD. OOC: Vic- my sincere desire that we will be able to provide a foundation
for cooperation in the amateur radio community through these
140
programs. Tfc: AF4QZ 268, KA4LRM 94, KA4UIV 91, K4JMV (who I’ve known since 1948), N6LT, KC5SUW and W5GBV
74, WD4BUH 56, KG4FQG 55, K4JIF 24, K4BG 19, WB4PCS (an old Pampa, TX, friend). They will all certainly be missed!
15. PSHR: KG4FQG 144, AF4QZ 143, KA4UIV 130, KA4LRM Best 73, W5PDY.
114, K4BG 113, WD4BUH 88. UTAH: SM, Mel Parkes, AC7CP—Another summer has just
VIRGINIA: SM, Carl Clements, W4CAC—SEC: N4NW. I can- ended, and it is now time to start planning all your fall activi-
not believe that it is already September. I don’t know where ties. First, I would like to express my appreciation to all the
the summer has gone. During the summer, I have been trying club officers and members throughout Utah who have made
to meet as many of you as possible by traveling around to the the club events happen this year. If you are not involved with
various hamfests and club meetings in the section. August a club in your area, please start by attending the meetings and
saw the Roanoke and Berryville hamfests. I will be at the helping with the activities. There are many fun and interesting
Virginia Beach hamfest this month. Hamfests have long been activities you can be part of and learn to improve your ham
a tradition with Amateur Radio operators. Large or small, skills at the same time. Ask you local club officers what you
hamfests are a gathering of friends. If you have not been to can do to help. Next month is the annual Jamboree-on-the-Air
a hamfest, or have not been to one lately, you may wish to (JOTA). This has become a great way to introduce ham radio
attend just one to see what you are missing. Whether or not to younger people and have a lot of fun doing it. Many clubs
you buy anything, meeting the hams face-to-face that you have very interesting events and opportunities during the
speak with on the radio every day is well worth the cost of JOTA weekend so get out and help. If you are in an area with
admission. There is always the added bonus of possibly find- no club, let me know and I would be more than happy to help
ing that one treasure at the fest that you cannot live without. you get one started in your area. 73 de Mel, AC7CP.
If you know of a hamfest or club meeting in your area that you WYOMING: SM, Bob Williams, N7LKH—There have been
would like me to attend, please let me know. I will certainly some changes in the WY Section staff appointments, and it is
try to work it in. On another note, I would like to thank Jeff, time to summarize them. Art Edmonds, KK7BZ, TC, has re-
KV4AP, for accepting the responsibility of the Section Traffic signed to go off around the country doing good things. He is
Manager’s position. Please send all your monthly traffic re- replaced by Robert Elder, K7EMS, formerly TS
ports to Jeff. Butch, N8LE, and Chip, KB8TNU, will be taking relder5@hotmail.com. He has two main missions initially, first
the reins of the NVTN from Jeff. My thanks to these well to stay on top of packet in the Section, and second, to look into
qualified individuals for their services to the Section. If you getting WEMA grants to fund the site rental for the HERC
would like to become active in some way with the Section, repeaters. Two new ASMs have been appointed. Greg Rix,
get in touch with me. If your club or organization is having a WB7GR, wb7gr@arrl.net, is appointed ASM to represent the
special event, send me the information and I will include it in SM in the Southeast region of the section. Mary Williams,
the Section News. I can be reached at w4cac@arrl.org. I look KF7MC, kf7mc@arrl.net, is appointed ASM for Special
forward to meeting as many of you as possible, and to work- Projects (since she has been doing that anyway). She will
ing with the many dedicated amateurs in the Virginia Sec- continue to be ACC. Please welcome these new section staff
tion. 73 de Carl, W4CAC. Tfc: KV4AP 368, W3BBQ 274, appointees and give them plenty to do. Tfc: NN7H 185. PSHR:
WA4DOX 183, K4YVX 128, K0IBS 98, WB4ZNB 78, W4CAC NN7H 193.
77, K4MTX 74, KE4PAP 74, WB4UHC 51, KD4FUN 44,
WD4MIS 15, W4MWC 11, KU4MF 9, KB4CAU 9, W4JLS 7, SOUTHEASTERN DIVISION
W4YE 5, N4FNT 2, WB2KQG 2.
WEST VIRGINIA: SM, O.N.(Olie) Rinehart, WD8V— Hey a ALABAMA: SM Bill Cleveland, KR4TZ – ASMs: W4XI,
great month for Amateur Radio in WV with the WV QSO Party WB4GM, KB4KOY. SEC: W4NTI. STM: AC4CS. BM:
and ARRL Field Day. Several messages were receive by SM KA4ZXL. OOC: WB4GM. SGL: KU4PY. ACC: KV4CX. TC:
indicating a lot of participation in the FD activity. I am presi- W4OZK. PIC: KA4MGE. The Mobile Amateur Radio Club is
dent of KARC this year, so worked some with club station. I having its annual hamfest on Friday September 14 and Sat-
am receiving and sorting logs for the WV QSP and have urday September 15 at the Elks Lodges #108 on Dauphin
received logs from several stations. The Technician class Island Parkway in Mobile, Alabama. The hours of the hamfest
course material is available now in three VCR tapes, a CD are Friday from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM and Saturday from 8:00
and workbooks. Check it out @ ARRL Web site. The II phase AM to 2:00 PM. Talk-ins will be done on the 146.82 (-) MHz
of emergency course is filling up fast. Check them both out repeater. Admission is $5.00 per person while children under
with your DEC or EC. Available on line. The WVSARC spon- 12 are admitted free. For more information contact Larry Early
sored WV ARRL Convention is fast approaching. Saturday, at 334-342-7601. I hope to see you there. This Alabama QSO
Aug 25, is the date at “The Mill.” If you have not already Party will be on Saturday September 29, 2001 from 18:00
contacted Patrick, N8MIN, with your club’s demonstration UTC to 2400 UTC and is sponsored by AI4AA, The Central
project, please do so as soon as possible. Ed, N8OYY, al- Alabama HF/VHF Contesting Club. There are multiple cat-
ready has your club’s ad for program, I hope. If not, please egories for operation: AL QRP (<5W), AL Low Power (<200W),
get a (camera ready) ad to him before publishing date. Con- AL High Power (>200W), Non-AL QRP (<5W), Non-AL Low
gratulation to Patrick Clark , KC8BFD, Newsline’s Young Power (<200W), Non-AL High Power (>200W) with Single
Amateur of the Year. Good luck at the Huntsville Hamfest Operator, Multiple Operator, and Rover Operations possible.
and National Space Camp, Patrick. We know West Virginia The exchange for AL Stations is signal report and county, and
will be a little higher up on the Amateur Radio ladder because the exchange for non-AL stations is signal report and state.
of you. We are pleased and proud of you. Tfc: W8YS 297, For more information, go to http://web.dbtech.net/~dxcc/.
KA8WNO 250, WD8V 183, WD8DHC 176, WW8D 104, Field Day, 2001, was a success in Alabama this year! I would
KC8CON 64, W8WWF 58, N8BP 11, N8NMA 50. WVFN 828/ like to thank the DeKalb County ARC, South Baldwin ARC,
151/721 KC8CON. WVMDN 607/27/349 WW8D; WVN E 87/ East Alabama ARC, Eufaula ARC, Gulf Coast DX Associa-
65/184 W8WWF; WVN L 98/27/210 W8WWF; ARES/RACES tion, the South Alabama ARC, and the Montgomery ARC for
84/0/122. submitting their Field Day reports. I know everybody had a
great time, and we’re all looking forward to next year! God
ROCKY MOUNTAIN DIVISION Bless & 73, Bill Cleveland KR4TZ. Tfc: WA4GQS 581, W4ZJY
412, W4CKS 144, AC4CS 132, KC4VNO 106, WB4GM 89,
COLORADO: SM, Tim Armagost, WB0TUB— ASM: Jeff W4QAT 17, W4DGH 15, W4XI 10, W4NTI 6, WB4TVY 6.
Ryan, N0WPA. SEC: Mike Morgan, N5LPZ. STM: Mike GEORGIA: SM: Sandy Donahue, W4RU—ASM/South Ga:
Stansberry, K0TER. ACC: Ron Deutsch, NK0P. PIC: Erik Marshall Thigpen, W4IS. ASM/Legal: Jim Altman, W4UCK.
Dyce, W0ERX. OOC: Karen Schultz, KA0CDN & Glenn Asst SM/IT: Mike Boatright, KO4WX, SEC: Lowry Rouse,
Schultz, W0IJR. SGL: Mark Baker, KG0PA. TC: Bob KM4Z. STM: Jim Hanna, AF4NS. SGL: Charles Griffin,
Armstrong, AE0B. BM: Jerry Cassidy, N0MYY. What a fabu- WB4UVW. BM: Eddie Kosobucki, K4JNL. ACC: Susan
lous Field Day. Camping in the Colorado mountains-with ham Swiderski, AF4FO. OOC: Mike, Swiderski, K4HBI. TC: Fred
radio thrown in for free! I was at the PPRAA/MARC site near Runkle, K4KAZ. PIC: Matt Cook, KG4CAA. Website:
Woodland Park. The WX and scenery were spectacular and www.qsl.net/arrl-ga. Field Day was another gastronomic suc-
the company couldn’t be beat. XYL Gloria, N0ZFX, and I cess. Those who know me know that I consider FD just an-
invited a non-ham friend to camp with us. Her observation: other excuse to eat, so I tour several Atlanta area sites to visit
What a great, down-to-earth bunch of people. Thanks, and chat and eat. This year Kennehoochee, N. Fulton,
Maura, for visiting Field Day and we’re glad you had a good Gwinnett and Alford ARCs suffered a visit from me on Satur-
time. Maybe next year we’ll get you on the air! SM Tim, day. Early Sunday I visited the Paulding ARS for breakfast
WB0TUB, reports Field Day messages as follows: Al, K0FRP and a preview of their site for the Paulding hamfest on Sept
reports the Colo. QRP club at their Aloha site on Rampart 15. Thanks to all the clubs who tolerated my visits. Everything
Range southwest of Denver at Sedalia (or did they operate went as planned except for Alford ARC where no-one saved
two sites?); Pikes Peak and Mountain ARC reported at Sour- a piece of promised strawberry pie, and I had to settle for
dough Valley near Woodland Park by Mike, K0TER; Pueblo pecan pie instead. New officers in the Southeastern DX Club.
Ham Club operated from City Park in Pueblo, by Alan, Pres K4PI, V Pres W3WL, Sec. K4HGG, Treas W4TE. The
KB0TLS; Park County RC operated from Deer Creek Elemen- club says thanks and farewell to Nancy, NK4U, who was trea-
tary, report by Padre, W0WPD; W0DZ reports from West of surer for six years. Congrats to Andy Funk, KB7UV, who won
Loveland (group?): Arapaho County District 22 operating another EMMY award for rival WAGA-TV. When you read
from Lockheed Martin, from Ben, KB0UBZ: Montrose ARC this, I should be retired after 20 years at WGCL-Channel 46.
operated from Sunset Mesa near Montrose, sent by Royce, I was supposed to leave July 1, but I was asked to stay on a
AA0JD. Did we miss anyone? The annual Colorado 14er few weeks because a replacement couldn’t be found. 73,
event is August 26, 2001. Contact Bob, KB0CY, for info or go Sandy. Tfc (June): WB4GGS 234, W4WXA 203, AF4NS 157,
to www.Colorado14erEvent.org. Excellent job, as usual, from KG4FXG 80, K1FP 45, K4ZC 39, K4BEH 37, WB4BIK 31,
everyone supporting the annual Pikes Peak Hill Climb. K4WKT 29, KA4HHE 22.
Congrats also to the Boulder-area hams on their out-of-this-
world contact with the International Space Station under the NORTHERN FLORIDA: SM, Rudy Hubbard, WA4PUP—
ARISS program. Gloria and I are off to the RM convention in ACC: WA4B. BM: N4GMU. OOC: KD4NLV. PIC: KF4HFC.
Bryce Canyon, so I’ll miss the MS-150 this year. More next SEC: WA4NDA. SGL: KC4N. STM: WX4H. TC: KO4TT.
month. If you have items for this column, please e-mail me at Packet: N4GMU. The following participated in Field Day, and
n0wpa@arrl.net. 73 de N0WPA. seems everyone enjoyed it to the fullest. Villages Amateur
Radio Club, 15 members, including 11 ARES, Hernando City
NEW MEXICO: SM, Joe T. Knight, W5PDY—ASM: K5IBS, Amateur Radio Assoc with 10 members including two ARES
N5ART. SEC: K6YEJ. STM: N7IOM. NMs: WA5UNO, Reps, North Florida Amateur Radio Society with 35 operators
W5UWY. TC: W8GY. ACC: N5ART. Roadrunner Net handled including 30 ARES members, Cary Amateur Radio Club,
209 msgs with 1289 checkins. Breakfast Club handled 342 Tallahassee Amateur Radio Assoc., Orange Park Amateur
msgs with 952 checkins. Yucca Net handled 23 msgs with 540 Radio Club, Brandon Amateur Radio Society, Five Flays
checkins. Caravan Club Net handled 3 msgs with 57 checkins. Amateur Radio Society including 23 operators and ARES
SCAT Net handled 9 msgs with 360 checkins. Four Corners members. The antenna support structure bill is in draft form,
Net handled 31 msgs with 400 checkins. GARS Net handled and was circulated to all ARRL members with call
7 msgs with 28 checkins. Rusty’s Net handled 94 msgs with GOTOBUTTON BM_1_ sign@arrl.net. Several comments
823 checkins (with FB assistance of KA5EMH & K5TCU and have been received and will be shared with the other two
others. Rusty, KD5SY, passed away on June 5…May he rest Section Managers. The next process will be to approach a
in peace.) Valencia County Net handled 11 msgs with 39 legislator to sponsor the bill. The writing of the bill will be left
checkins. Deming ARC Net handled 11 msgs with 71 checkins. with the legislator as it requires language acceptable to the
Field Day was a great success with everyone making record committees, etc. This is a highly specialized field and we
scores! The Alamogordo Hamfest is Saturday, Sept 1. See want to be certain of our intent to get support from both
you there! The Socorro Hamfest is scheduled for Oct 27. So
sorry to report the passing of Rusty, KD5SY, and W5IH
144
Houses of Congress. Your comments of the draft should be different agencies attended their FD with their gear as well
addressed to me, as the three Section Managers want to be including 2 helicopters. They also had arranged for excellent
sure all amateurs in the state will be covered. de 73 Rudy, media coverage. Well done. (Visit the section’s web site for
WA4PUP. Tfc: WX4H 1644, AG4DL 183, KE4DNO 167, NR2F more information.) NA4AR ASM, KE4BXF and myself logged
152, WD4GDB 138, N9MN 113, W8IM 89, KF4WIJ 101, W4KIX 747 miles and visited 21 FD sites this year. Kudos to all on
95, AF4PU 79, K1JPG 53, W5MEN 53, K4DMH 45, KM4WC 42, a very fine FD in the rain. N4PK reports Pinellas ARES co-
K4JTD 36, AB4PG 35, WA1VOP 33, KG4LZQ 29, KB4DCR 25, ordinated communications for the Kiwanis Dunedin Midnight
KJ4HS 19, N4EC 11, WB2IMO 9, WX4J 6, WA4EYU 6, WD4ILF Run on the evening of July 3. 21 hams participated as com-
4, WB9GIU 4, W4ZEJ 4, KF4INJ 2. municators. SEC KD4E reports a increase of 6 ARES mem-
PUERTO RICO: SM, Víctor Madera, KP4PQ —Logramos un bers for a new total of 426. In June there were 48 Nets, 21
acuerdo con el ARRL para ofrecer el curso de Comunicaciones Ops, 3 public service events, 15 drills and 3 emergencies.
de Emergencia en español. Este curso es parte del programa The total man hours reported for June is an impressive
de educación continuada que esta desarrollando el ARRL y 1,937.8 hours. June Net report is available on the section’s
conlleva estudios y preparación formal para aprobar un exa- Web page. June PSHR: K4SCL 147, K4RBR 143, KF4KSN
men que cualifica a los radioaficionados para ser certificados 127, AA4HT 122, KT4TD 109, WB2LEZ 106, AE4MR 99,
por el American Radio Relay League. Será ofrecido a la IARU KF4OPT 89, KE4VBA 86, W4AUN 73. SAR: K4SCL 254,
para uso internacionalmente y es posible que las agencias AA4HT 146, AB4XK 88, KF4KSN 50, KT4TD 49, K4RBR 45,
requieran esta certificación a todos los que participen en KF4OPT 32, AE4MR 26, AA4WJ 22, KE4VBA 18, W4AUN
programas de comunicaciones de emergencia dentro de las 17, WB2LEZ 6, K9EHP 6. 73, Dave, AE4MR.
agencias. Tan pronto se completen las traducciones se
anunciará el comienzo del curso. Esperamos poder ofrecer más SOUTHWESTERN DIVISION
cursos de capacitación según el ARRL los vaya completando. ARIZONA: SM, Clifford Hauser, KD6XH—Field Day has
Estamos dentro de la temporada de huracanes en el Caribe. come and gone and here in Arizona it was a big success.
Sigue preparándose un grupo de operadores dentro del Many individual people and club stations participated in all
programa de ARES. Esperamos que se organice una red local portions of the Amateur Radio frequency spectrums includ-
en cada distrito en la bada de 2 metros “simples”. Esta vendrá ing ATV, APRS, etc. I was able to visit only three (3) clubs
a complementar la red en HF entre distritos. Sigue adelante el this year due to work schedule, but my assistants visited
programa de Observadores Oficiales, los próximos talleres several other clubs set-ups and they reported everyone do-
serán en Ponce, Mayagüez y posiblemente Fajardo. Los ing well and having a good time. I did something unusual this
candidatos que logren su acreditación estarán en posición de year in that I took the time to sit down and operate 15-meters
ayudar a los radioaficionados en asuntos de cumplimiento con for over an hour. The Lake Havasu City Mayor and several
el propósito de reducir o eliminar las violaciones en el aire. El members of the City council visited the London Bridge Radio
PRARL está publicando traducciones en español de segmentos Association field day site. The idea was to show the local
importantes de la Parte 97 en la Revista ¡EUREKA! esto government that amateur radio can be counted upon to help
ayudará a mejorar el cumplimiento. Se hacen preparativos para out with local emergencies. The mayor and his council were
celebrar el “Lighthouse Weekend”, hasta ahora la FRA y el very impressed and an article was printed in the local news-
PRARL han anunciado su participación en esa actividad. Los paper. Received Field Day messages from Radio Society of
interesados en participar en los distintos seminarios y talleres Tucson, Catalina ARC, IBM ARC, Old Pueblo ARC, London
comuníquense con el Section Manager por correo regular, Bridge ARC, Eastern Arizona ARC (solar power from Mount
teléfono, o vía email a kp4pq@arrl.org. Graham), Arizona Radio Association, Central DX Associa-
SOUTHERN FLORIDA: SM, Phyllisan West, KA4FZI—SEC: tion, and Yavapai ARC. Very good representation for this
W4SS. STM: KJ4N. ACC: WA4AW. PIC: W4STB. OOC: K4GP. state. Don’t forget to checkout the state web site at
BM: KC4ZHF. SGL: KC4N. DEC/ASM: N4LEM, WB9SHT, www.qsl.net/arrlaz/. This site has all the latest state informa-
AA4BN, KD4GR. WEB PAGE: http://www.sflarrl .org. Thanks tion and links to many clubs. Thanks Tom, WB7NXH, for
to the South Brevard, Dade, Ft Myers, Indian River, Orlando, keeping this Web site updated. This is the month for the
Vero Beach, Wellington Clubs, and ECs for newsletters and Southwestern Division Convention, 7-9 September, in River-
activity info. Amateur Radio made big news in “The Miami side, California. I hope you have made the necessary reser-
Herald” this month. The June 19 article highlighted the impor- vations. If not, go to their Web site at www.qsl.net/arrl-
tance of weather information sent from boats and ships at sea. 2001swdc. AMSAT has scheduled a conference for Friday
The June 24 article painted a Field Day picture and brought starting at 1300 hours. The Southwestern Division Section
out the general communication and fun aspects, as well as Managers have also scheduled several talks for the various
other areas of public service. When your ham radio activities volunteers starting at 1300 hours. If you need additional in-
are highlighted in any news media, please let ARRL know. formation, call me at home and I will point you in the right
Last month, I put out a plea for someone who spoke French direction. Looking forward to seeing many of Arizona people
and would be willing to help a French ham now residing in at this convention. The Hualapai Amateur Radio Association
France but moving to Lee County. The section news had barely will hold it annual fall hamfest on 29 September 2001 at the
been re-sent from ARRL HQ when I got the first of 6 replies. Mohave Community College in Kingman starting at 0600
Thank you. COMING: JOTA !! Scouting’s Jamboree On The hours. I plan on attending and hope you will also support this
Air…our chance to bring new, young life into the hobby. If you organization. 73, Clifford Hauser, KD6XH. ATEN QNI 833,
are willing to help please let coordinator, Sal Ippolito, know (e- QTC 36, sess 30. Tfc: W7EP 101.
mail N4YQU@arrl.net). The South Brevard ARC earned 600 LOS ANGELES: SM, Phineas J. Icenbice, Jr., W6BF—
FD points in bonuses. The Indian River ARC reports the ap- Propagation has been very good at times especially on 20
pointment of KF4XB as ARRL Awards Manager for WAS card meters. One very nice gentleman called CQ and repeated
checking for the club and surrounding area. Congrats to the following several times “oh two bad”, “oh two bad”, this
KN4JN and NA4CW for high scores in the ARRL CW sweep- was followed by,” well I am not really bad, I am a Lutheran
stakes. The Dade ARC teamed up with the South FL FM Assoc. minister in Finland”. He had an outstanding signal and a
and EOC for Field Day this year. ARRL welcomes back the great sense of humor. Give him a call when you hear him. -
America Radio Club in Miami! Lee County FD was held in At the TRW swap meet last week an active ham from the
Lehigh Acres. It was covered by CBS and NBC TV. It’s storm Pasadena area asked me why my column was so short lately.
season. Read of KE4UEI’s lightning strike experience on http:/ I told him that HQ must have done some editing. As you
/www.lightningsafety.noaa .gov. Osceola had 6 Skywarn acti- know, HQ always reduces the print size so that only younger
vations including an f-0 tornado that touched down. They hams can read it! He said OH! So goes life in the big city. -
welcome a new Public Safety Dept. Director and look forward Spud, K6KH, our LAACARC, officer and guru has fabricated
to continued good relations. Palm Beach Co. ARES a great letter to all Clubs in this area. It seems that clubs
(PBCARES) EC, N4QPM, with assistance, licensed over a change officers too often and the new ones don’t get indoc-
dozen Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office Explorer Scouts in trinated to the important thing in club life; like attending the
the Belle Glade area. They will man the West County Shelters LA Council meetings. This Council sponsors conventions in
during hurricane season. Way to go! The “Palm Beach Post” the area and has money to help do other very good things for
featured an exciting FD article about activities at the Boca the Amateur Radio cause. Spud’s letter should be answered
Raton ARA/FAU site and Wellington site. The Jupiter- by sending a representative to the LA Council meetings.
Tequesta Group and PBC ARES also enjoyed active FD sites. Many conversations on the bands ask about the price of
The Port St. Lucie ARA hamfest application for Nov. 10 has gasoline. One radio station in Texas said that gas was $1.18/
been approved by Director Butler. Best wishes for a success- gallon; the Los Angeles price was $1.78/gallon. On 15
ful hamfest. June Traffic: WA9VND 524, KA4FZI 167, KD4GR meters, the band was almost dead except for 9K1GS. I gave
154, KD4HGU 86, KC4ZHF 79, KE4WBI 64, WA2YL 62, him a call, and he said hi Phineas. He gave me a 5/7 and I
WA4EIC 60, W6VIF 53, AA4BN 48, K4VMC 47, WA4CSQ 43, gave him the same, but I forgot to ask him the price of gaso-
KD4JMV 40, WB4PAM 31, KT4XK 29, KG4MLD 14, line. Some one popped in and said that gasoline was prob-
KG4CHW14, KG4GZL 13, KG4MLC 11, K4OVC 11, W4WYR ably free if you have a limousine. You never know what you
9, KF4OMB 9, KQ4TR 6, AF4NR 6, W3JI 5. will hear on the Ham bands these days when it is hot weather.
VIRGIN ISLANDS: SM, John Ellis, NP2B, St. Croix—ASM: Vy 73, de W6BF, Phineas.
Drew, NP2E, St. Thomas. ASM: Mal, NP2L, St. John. Section ORANGE: SM, Joe Brown, W6UBQ, 909 687 8394— ASM
Internet Mgr (SIM): Jeanette, NP2C, St. Croix. SEC: Duane, Riv. Co: Brett 780 346 9291. ASM Orange Co: Art W6XD, 714
NP2CY, St. Thomas. PIC: Lou KV4JC, St. Croix. ACC: 556 4396. ASM: S.B Co: Jeff, KD6NXD. 909 886 3453. Field
Debbie, NP2DJ, St. Thomas. NM: Bob, VP2VI/W0DX, Tortola. Day 2001 was a happy event. Mister Murphy was at his best.
St. John Club active on FD this year from the Nat’l Park Bio- One club had a van fire and the club generator started putting
sphere. Murphy did a number on NP2L’s laptop, 300 Qs were out 220 AC where 110 AC was supposed to be. You can guess
lost. Ouch. Participating were Doug, NP2CQ, Paul, NP2JF, what happened to a lot of equipment. All in all, reports indicate
Sam, NP2FO, Tony, KP2Z, George, KP2G, and Mal, NP2L. the food was great. Congratulations to the Downey ARC on
Next year, St. Croix will be on! Jimmy, KP2BH, and Roberto, the 50th Anniversary. The club was revitalized by a proposed
NP2JV, are active on 6 meters. Look for them on 50.110 MHz. antenna ordinance in the 1970s. Bob Wartenbe, WB6GJW,
Good showing for Director Butlet’s visit, especially on St. John was DARC president at that time. The city officials were so
and St. Thomas! Lou, KV4JC, sporting almost new Nissan impressed by the professionalism and the presentation that
Sentra – nice 2M mobile installation, Lou. A reminder that the the present antenna ordinance was enacted. The Amateur
Intercontinental Amateur Traffic Net and the Maritime Mobile Radio community was the winner. A fair resolution to an issue
Service Net are active on 14.300 every day from 7 AM to 10 that could have had a disastrous effect on Amateur Radio.
PM Eastern Time. Good place to meet for schedules and to The City of Downey has a law that Amateur Radio can live with
get latest severe weather reports, also the Hurricane Watch (From Q5 DARC). The AD6IJ Mountain Toppers were at it
Net on 14.325 when the “goin’ gets rough”! V.I. Section Web again for the VHF and up ARRL Contest. The tally total was
site www.viaccess.net/~jellis. 73 all, John, NP2B. 6,634 points. (From The Modulator). The ARRL on line Emer-
WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA: SM, Dave Armbrust, AE4MR, gency Communications Course has something for everyone.
ae4mr@arrl.org, http://www.wcfarrl.org—ASM: NA4AR. It will enhance your knowledge by providing in-depth look an
ASM-Web: N4PK. ASM-Legal: K4LAW. SEC: KD4E. TC: emergency communications. Among the many topics are
KT4WX. BM: KE4WU. STM: AB4XK. SGL: KC4N. ACC: Working with Volunteers, Human Resource Aspects for NCS,
AC4MK. PIC: WX1JAD. Please join me in welcoming Jack Net Manager Duties and Qualifications, Mutual Assistance
Dole, WX1JAD, as the new Public Information Coordinator for and ARES MAT Concept. FCC Emergency. (The Modulator).
WCF. The Manatee ARC has won the Section Manager’s Field If your ARRL membership is up for renewal, use your ARC to
Day Trophy with their joint Ground Zero 2001/FD exercise renew. The cost is the same, but ARRL will rebate to the club
with the Sheriff office. During FD, they had done radio classes, $2.00 on renewal and $5.00 for new member. In most clubs,
ICS classes, 2 VE test session and a SKYWARN class. Many membership officer or the treasurer will take your check. Dr.
146
Steve Graboff is the Emergency Services Office’s Selection fund. If you don’t have access, let me know and I’ll get that
for Volunteer of the Month. He is the Chief Radio Officer information to you. I’ve received many comments from hams
(President) of the RACES unit. (CERT Newsletter). For the around the state expressing their grief. From the eulogy of one
CW, every Sunday 1700Z, 1000 local and 2300Z, 1500 local of Bennett’s long time friends Martin McCormick, W5AGZ, “That
on 21.158 plus or minus. It’s a place for slower CW operators spirit, while it can’t be replaced, can live on. We’ve seen the
to meet and operate (FISTS). Orange County RACES has a example and now it is up to us to carry on.” 73, Charlie. Tfc:
very informative (SSTV) or (ATV) presentation with live dem- N5IKN 946, WB5NKC 428, KF5A 392, WB5NKD 227, WA5OUV
onstrations that are available to any City Organization. Call 180, K5KXL 138, KE5JE 75, K5CXP 73, KM5VA 64, KI5LQ 60,
714 704 7919 Robert. (NET CONTROL). Tfc: KC6SKK 241, KK5GY 56, WA5IMO 26, W5REC 25, N5FM 2.
K6IUI 196, W6QZ 93,W6JPH 47. W6QZ NTS BBS 284. PSHR SOUTH TEXAS: SM, Ray Taylor, N5NAV—ASMs: KS5V,
W6QZ 151,KC6SKK 129, W6JPH 97, K6IUI 84. SCN/V NET N5WSW, W5GKH, K5DG, N5LYG, WA5UZB, KK5CA, K5EJL,
MGR W6JPH reports 20 sessions. QNI 111, QTC 81, AVG W5ZX, WA5TUM, KB5AWM, WA5JYK, K5PFE, K5PNV,
Net time 22 minutes. K5SBU. STM: W5GKH. SEC: W5ZX. ACC: N5WSW. TC:
SAN DIEGO: SM, Tuck Miller, NZ6T—619-434-4211; Just a KJ5YN. BM: W5KLV. OOC: W5JAM. SGL: K5PNV. Despite all
few days left before we head off to the 2001 Southwest Divi- the scientific advancements in communications today, ham
sion Convention. This year it is being held in Riverside, CA, radio is still the only resource available in times of a severe
at the Holiday Inn Convention Center. I am sure we will all disaster. Cell phones, the Web, police, and fire communica-
have a great time. On Friday afternoon, we will have several tions are so often the first to go down. One thing I would like to
Field activity sessions. At 4 PM, we will have an ARES forum, stress is we are there to furnish communications. We are not
and Jack Hunter from Santa Barbara will be conducting the policeman or fireman. This seems to be one of the problems
session. We will be talking about various ARES topics, includ- that have caused some agencies to reject or services during an
ing possible mutual aid. Want to know more about ARES. This emergency. Whether it was in fact hams or another organiza-
is the place to be. As stated previously in another article, tion that looked a lot like hams that caused the problems is yet
Warren Dilley, KT6A, had resigned as Section Traffic man- to be determined. We have been asked on occasion to do other
ager, a position he held for many years. Stepping up to the jobs, and we do if it doesn’t take us away from our post while
plate as the new STM is Tom Caudle, KC6NXZ. Tom has been performing our duties as a communicator. To interfere with one
very active in San Diego ham activities for many years, and of the agency’s job is not becoming of a ham operator. We do
will be for many years to come. We wish Tom good luck, and not use red lights or siren, we do not have badges made up that
thanks for stepping up. Unfortunately our Official Observer looks like a Texas Ranger badge. The only badges we use are
Coordinator, Bill Sallee, K6TWO, had to resign, and I will be the ones made up for ARRL positions of DEC or EC, etc. We do
looking for a replacement for Bill. Bill has done a great job, have some law enforcement people that are in these positions
and is world renowned for finding the “ditter.” July 8th was a that do have red lights and sirens on their personal vehicles.
sad date in San Diego. Over 25 hams were helping out with This kind of action will have you removed from your position as
the ILACSD beach cleanup. Walt Davis WA6ODQ, became a soon as the paper work can be completed. We’ve had such a
Silent Key while at Dog Beach. We will sure miss him. We are case here in South Texas. We’re still looking for pictures of the
always looking for many volunteers, and we will be having Houston flood that do not have a copyright attached. We really
another beach cleanup during the month of September, and need some from the business and housing area. Shelter pic-
hope you can help. Just a reminder that the ARES Alert is now tures would be great. We had two SKs on July 8. N5XJS be-
available on the San Diego Web site. Please keep me up- came a SK after undergoing open-heart surgery a week before.
dated on your club activities, and I will try to get them in my Ed will be missed on the 2 meter nets. W5TBV fell from the top
weekly Internet newsletter. You say, you are not getting the of his 80 foot tower. Since his belt was disconnected, we think
newsletters. Well, if you have Internet capability, and are a he might have started down. Always use your belt, and I think
League member, sign up for the members only section at you should have someone there with you in case of problems.
www.arrl.org. You can sign up for the section news, and also Bob will be missed by all. Field Day was a great success this
obtain an arrl.net e-mail alias. Is your call about to expire? If year. Each year I get more radiograms than the year before.
you need help, let me know, and we will help anyway we can. This year it almost doubled. I’m glad to see that more groups are
That’s it for this month. See you at Riverside!! Until next learning how to make a radiogram, and also it’s worth that extra
month... Remember, Helping Others......Always Worthwhile!! 100 points. Some of the pictures that I’ve seen indicate you
73, Tuck, NZ6T. found some shade and had plenty of fans to move the hot air
SANTA BARBARA: SM, Robert Griffin, K6YR, (k6yr@arrl.org around. Everyone have a great September. God Bless. Tfc:
or k6yr@arrl.net)—SEC: Jack Hunter, KD6HHG (kd6hhg@ W5SEG 1969, KA5KLU 365, W5TUK 214, W5ZX 211, W5KLV
arrl.net). STM: Ed Shaw, KF6SHU (kf6shu@arrl.net). SGL: 153, N5OUJ 123, N5NAV 110, W5GKH 82, W5ZIN 40, K0YNW
Paul Lonnquist, NS6V (paul@dock.net). ACC: Michael 34, KD5GM 20, WD5AAH 12.
Atmore, KE6DKU (ke6dku@aol.com). OOC: Howard
Coleman, N6VDV (N6VDV@arrl.net). PIC: Jeff Reinhardt,
AA6JR (jreinh@ix.netcom.com). TC: Warren Glenn, KM6RZ
(wglennrz@ix.netcom.com). ASMs: Ventura, Don Milbury,
W6YN (w6yn@arrl.net); Santa Barbara, Marvin Johnston,
KE6HTS (ke6hts@sbarc.org); San Luis Obisipo, Bill
Palmerston, K6BWJ, (bpalmers@fix.net) & for Internet, Jack
Bankson, AD6AD (ad6ad@arrl.net); & DECs: Santa Barb-
Dave Lamb, WA6BRW (wa6brw@arrl.net); SLO-Bill Peirce,
KE6FKS (ke6fks@arrl.net) & Ven-Dave Gilmore, AA6VH
(aa6vh@arrl.net). RIGHT NOW, WRITE your Congressional
Representatives to urge co-sponsorship of The Amateur
Radio Spectrum Protection Act (HR 817 and S 549). Make
plans to attend the 2001 SW Division Convention coming up
on Sept 7-9 in Riverside, CA. Contact: w6ybs@arrl.net. FREE
instant Section news updates? Join the SB Reflector! E-mail
majordomo@qth.net the message subscribe arrlsb. SB Sec
Web: www.qsl.net/arrlsb/. Join in our Section NTS traffic nets:
SCN slow speed NTS Net, M-F, at 1915 local on 3598 kHz &
SCN/SB at 2100 local on 147.000+(131.8), 224.90- (131.8) &
449.300-(131.8). Thats 30 in memory of SK, W6HW.
148
Ham Ads
JOIN the Lambda Amateur Radio Club (LARC)
since 1975, the only open and visible public service-
oriented ham club for gay and lesbian hams. Monthly
newsletter, HF skeds, internet listserv and IRC,
l) Advertising must pertain to products and hamfest meetings, chapters, DXpeditions. Write
services which are related to Amateur Radio.
2) The Ham-Ad rate for commercial firms LARC, POB 56069, Philadelphia, PA 19130-6069 or
offering products or services for sale is $1.25 per word. e-mail: lambda-arc@geocities.com
Individuals selling or buying personal equipment: MARCO: Medical Amateur Radio Council,
ARRL member 65¢ per word. Non-ARRL member $1
per word. Bolding is available for $1.75 a word. You operates daily and Sunday nets. Grand Rounds:
may pay by check payable to the ARRL and sent to: 14.308 MHz Sunday mornings at 10:00 am
Ham Ads, ARRL, 225 Main St., Newington, CT 06111. Eastern time. Medically-oriented amateurs
Or, you may pay by credit card sending the informa- (physicians, dentists, veterinarians, nurses,
tion by fax to 860-594-0259 or via e-mail to therapists, etc.) invited to join. Inquiries to:
hamads@arrl.org. The credit card information we need
is: the type of credit card, the exact name that appears MARCO, 2650 Head of The Tide Rd, RR 4,
on the credit card, the credit card number, the expira- Belfast, Maine 04915-9624.
tion date, and the credit card billing address. Web:http://www.smbs.buffalo.edu/med/marco/
3) Remittance in full must accompany copy since
Ham-Ads are not carried on our books. Each word, QCWA—Quarter Century Wireless Association. If
abbreviation, model number, and group of numbers you were first licensed 25 years ago and
counts as one word. Entire telephone numbers count currently licensed you are eligible. Be one of us!
as one word. No charge for postal Zip code. No cash or Write Dept. T, 159 E 16th Ave, Eugene, OR
contract discounts or agency commission will be al-
lowed. Tear sheets or proofs of Ham Ads cannot be 97401-4017. Call 541-683-0987.
supplied. Submitted ads should be typed or printed SATELLITE TELEPHONES new and used. Indium,
clearly on an 8 1/2" X 11" sheet of paper. Globalstar and Inmarsat: voice and data service
4) Closing date for Ham-Ads is the 15th of the
second month preceding publication date. No cancel- worldwide don@skyhelp.net 703-330-9028.
lations or changes will be accepted after this closing THE ARRL LETTER — The League’s news
date. Example: Ads received September 16th through digest for active amateurs, professionally
October 15th will appear in December QST. If the 15th
falls on a weekend or holiday, the Ham-Ad deadline is produced and edited and now available in a
the previous working day. Please contact the Advertis- weekly electronic edition via the World Wide
ing Department at 860-594-0231 or hamads@arrl.org Web at http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter
for further information.
5) No Ham-Ad may use more than 100 words. No THE Veteran Wireless Operators Association, a 74-
advertiser may use more than two ads in one issue. A year old, non-profit organization of communications
last name or call must appear in each ad. Mention of professionals invites your inquiries and application
lotteries, prize drawings, games of chance, etc. is not for membership. Write VWOA, Edward Pleuler, Jr.,
permitted in QST advertising. Secretary, 46 Murdock Street, Fords, NJ 08863. Visit
6) New firms or individuals offering products or
services for sale must check with us to determine if a our web site for activities, history, membership:
production sample (which will be returned) should be http://www.vwoa.org
submitted for examination. Dealers are exempted, un- PROPERTY/VACATION/RENTALS
less the product is unknown to us. Check with us if you
are in doubt. You must stand by and support all claims A BERMUDA ham QTH awaits you. Email
and specifications mentioned in your advertising. edkelly@ibl.bm or phone VP9GE 1-441-293-2525.
The publisher of QST will vouch for the integrity
of advertisers who are obviously commercial in BAHAMAS RENTAL: Abaco villa w/station.
character, and for the grade or character of their N4JQQ, 407-894-2519 or strutledge@aol.com
products and services. Individual advertisers are not
subject to scrutiny. BAHAMAS, Treasure Cay Resort. Beach house/
The American Radio Relay League does not contest station rental. Many world records.
discriminate in its advertising on the basis of race, 3 BR/2 Bath. KC4SZE, 256-734-7300 or
color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital kennethh@hiwaay.net
status, or national origin.
The League reserves the right to decline or BLUE RIDGE MT. of VA. - Build your vacation QTH on
discontinue advertising for any other reason. a beautiful mountain top near Blue Ridge Parkway -
Floyd, VA. Info www.public.usit.net/dlarsen or
QST HAM ADS ON THE WEB — UPDATED MONTHLY www.va-mountainland.com E-mail: kk4ww@fairs.org.
http://www.arrl.org/ads/ham-ads.html Dave, KK4WW, phone 540-763-2321.
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ANTs & Bed. Yonezuka, JA2EZD.
SELL YOUR RADIO TODAY! Check out
RADIOS ON-LINE on the ARRL web site: URL://qth.com/dxshack. DXshack@wwdx.net
http://www.arrl.org/ads/RadiosOnline/ KH6SQ - http://www.seaqmaui.com
LAKES REGION New Hampshire. Restored 19
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or three bedrooms and his and her shacks.
Guest house (Shack?). Tower, tri bander and
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kitchen, large deck, two proches wht combination
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CLUBS/HAMFESTS/NETS (603) 279-5589 or w1lid@arrl.net
COUNTY HUNTERS: Worked All Texas Award MONSTERRAT DXPedition Villa Rental. Email
Beautiful Certificate. Temple Amateur Radio Club w4wx@bellsouth.net for details.
P.O. Box 616, Temple, TX 76503 www.tarc.org
ORLANDO-Comfort 4/3 Home with perfect
FREE Ham Radio Auction Site: facilities for Ham Studio and Office. See brochure:
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Free Links. Free Image Hosting.
P49V/AI6V’s ARUBA Cottage for rent; 2
FRIEND OF BILL W.?? - Join HAAM net bedrooms, rig and antennas. For info write: Carl
Saturdays at 12:30 Eastern on 14.290; Sundays Cook, 2191 Empire Ave., Brentwood, CA 94513.
at 09:00 Pacific on 7.283.5; Sundays at 09:30
Pacific on 14.340/2. K6LX, e-mail: k6lx@arrl.net TURKS AND CAICOS “HAM-LET” VACATION:
House with station located Providenciales hillside
Join “No Code = No Theory” today! above ocean. Jody Millspaugh, 649-946-4436 or
http://www.neteze.com/radions/amateur.htm Box 694800, Miami, Florida 33269 USA. E-mail:
or write to: WB6TMY at Zip Code 95402-4694 jody@tciway.tc
for literature.
154
VP5B Contest Station; North Caicos Beach
Front. 3BR/2BA; RIGS, AMPS, Antennas Deluxe
Accomodations, www.qth.com/vp5.
Email: K4ISV@KIH.NET; 270-259-4530.
ANTIQUE/VINTAGE/CLASSIC
ANTENNA FARM: Leetonia, Ohio (Northeast
Ohio) Twelve room restored 1867 Italiante two
story brick home with 17.5 acre antenna farm
consisting of 160M full size 4-square, 160M full
wave loop, telrex beams on 75M, 40M, 20M, 15M,
10M, 6M, 2M. Fourteen antenna supports from 60
feet to 199 feet, 2-car garage, air conditioned
radio room, 30x60 pole building, etc. Appraised
$250,000. 1915-20 Vibroplex Blue Racer Bug in
original box, $600. K8CCV, (330) 427-2303, P.O.
Box 231, Leetonia, Ohio 44431-0231
ANTIQUE RADIO CLASSIFIED. Free sample
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ANTIQUE WIRELESS ASSOCIATION. The
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BULLETIN, covering vintage ham gear, keys,
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world-famous historical radio-electronics
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BROADCAST MICROPHONES and accessories
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ICOM IC-738 $750. YAESU FT-902DM $495.
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WANTED: Western Electric Audio Equipment,
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156
QSL CARDS/CALLSIGN NOVELTIES ANTIQUE QSL’s Free Ham Classifieds:
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model. Harbach Electronics, WA4DRU, 2318 S.
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GOLF CAPS with name/call $9.95* white,khaki,lt
ATV Video Test Pattern Generators with
blue & green Aluminum License Plates $11.95*
Character ID, composite and S-video outputs,
Vinyl Call Letters *Postpaid (includes S&H) send
audio tone. Many options. Other video products
check or money order to: QRV Imprints—P.O.
and kits also available. Tom Gould, WB6P,
Box 335411 North Las Vegas,NV 89033-0007.
GEKCO Labs, Issaquah, WA. 888-435-7221.
Order online at:www.qrvusa.com E-Mail:
www.gekco.com
goldie@qrvusa.com
AVVid is an authorized Kenwood and Icom
QSL CARDS: Fast quality service. Samples $1
service center for warranty and non-warranty
(refundable with order ). WordWise Services, 107
repairs. Reasonable rates and fast turnaround.
Giles Court, Newark, DE 19702.
E-Mail to clif@avvid.com or call 800-214-5779.
QSL CARDS Many styles. Top quality. Order Risk AVVid, 222 N. Story Road, Suite 128, Irving, TX
Free. Plastic cardholders, T-shirts, Personalized 75061.
caps, mugs, shirts. Other ham shack accessories.
BATTERY: Sealed lead acid/gel cell and NiMH at
Free Call. Free samples. Rusprint, 800-962-5783/
wholesale price. 0.5AH to 100AH, Nexcell NiMH
913-491-6689, fax 913-491-3732.
AA 1400mah $2, AAA 600mah $2. 626-286-0118;
http://www.rusprint.com
www.aventrade.com
QSL SAMPLES $1 refundable, Bud Smith, Box
BEAM HEADINGS $5.00 PROPAGATION
1948, Blaine, WA 98231.
SOFTWARE $20.00 Engineering Systems Inc.,
QSLKIT at home micro-perf printing on your ink P.O. Box 1934, Middleburg, Virginia 20118-1934
jet printer. CardBox filing systems, index cards w4het@aol.com
and more. www.HamStuff.com by W7NN.
BEST BUYS by Paddlette Co. Miniature paddle
QUALITY QSLs By WX9X from $18.95. See our keys and keyers. See our website at
display ad in this issue. www.paddlette.com Bob, K17VY 425-743-1429.
www.callstuff.com CASH FOR COLLINS. SM-1, 2, 3; 312A-1, 2;
GENERAL 55G-1; 399C-1; KWM-380; 62S-1; KWM-1; 302C-
#1 CALLSIGN CD-ROM. “HamCall” contains U.S. and 3; 51S-1; 75S-3C; 32S-3A; buy any Collins
International callsigns with lat/long, grid square, e-mail equipment. Leo, KJ6HI, ph/fax 310-670-6969.
addresses and more. Updated monthly. Check/Visa/ radioleo@earthlink.net
MC. $50, $5 ship/handling. Buckmaster, 6196 Jefferson Computer Terminals Free Lear ADM3A Few
Hwy., Mineral, VA 23117. 800-282-5628 or Worn Keys SOROC Q120 W3GMK
http://www.buck.com/haminfo.html CONTESTER laminated keyboard overlays, QSL
2 Atlas, 2 10X - Both need repair $250. WB0HQI return envelopes, DX Edge and more.
- 952-935-5010 www.HamStuff.com by W7NN.
ALUMINUM CHASSIS AND CABINET KITS. CUSTOM 3M REFLECTIVE Decals with YOUR
UHF-VHF Antenna Parts, Catalog E-mail: CALLSIGN. laus556@arrl.net
k3iwk@flash.net or http://www.flash.net/~k3iwk DWM COMMUNICATIONS-Neat Stuff! SASE
Amateur Radio Paints @ Service Total Electronics brings catalog! POB 87-L, Hanover, MI, 49241.
800-372-4287 http://www.nctotalelectronics.com ELECTRIC RADIO Magazine in our twelfth year.
Ameritron AL-80A Mid-condition $700 or best Articles on vintage ham and military gear, repair/
offer W2PEZ. 718-981-5450 restoration, history, and AM operation. Large
ANTENNA COMPARISON REPORT: HF VERTICALS classified section. $3 for a sample copy, ER,
K7LXC and N0AX test Cushcraft, Butternut, MFJ, Force 14643 County Road G, Cortez, CO 81321.
12, Diamond, Hustler and Gap verticals. It’s 64 pages of Electronics compnonents, kits, test equipment,
protocol, data sets and summaries. Presented at the antenna supplies, books, and tools. Many hard to
2000 Dayton Hamvention. 888-833-3104 find items like variable capacitors, verneir dials
www.championradio.com and drives, coil forms, magnet wire, toroids,
ANTENNA HARDWARE - S.S. “U” bolts, aluminum more. Visit Ocean State Electronics at
saddles, element and boom plates, S.S. hose clamps. www.oselectonics.com
Write for list to Harbach Electronics, WA4DRU, 2318 S. ESTATES PURCHASED/CONSIGNED-
Country Club Road, Melbourne, FL 32901-5809. www.recycledradio.com
http://www.harbach.com
158
“EVERYTHING FOR THE MORSE ENTHUSIAST.”
Morse Express. Keys, keyers, kits, books.
303-752-3382. http://www.MorseX.com
Exotic 2002 Caribbean Hamboree — Join us in
meeting with Caribbean Hams, Visiting interesting
Georgetown, Guyana, operating from great DX
location. March 29-31/02 information contact
KK4WW, 8R1WD or www.public.usit.net/dlarsen.
Finally, it is here! A single Any Band Antenna
System Offering oversized results while ideal For
limited space applications! SPYDERCONE
ANTENNA www.coneantenna.com Toll Free
877-890-CONE (2663)
FOR SALE: 60 Foot Dish with full Azimuth and
Elevation drives. Situated on 11 acres in
Southeastern Colorado. Price $150,000.00. First
mortgage available with 50% down payment. Call
owner: W2PLL. Tel. 631-287-6133
For Sale: Atwater Kent 649, 500kc 18mc. Valiant,
New g.e. matched finals $1000. W0GZW
FOR SALE: Kenwood TS870, $1,395; James
Millen 92200 antenna tuner, $150; EF Johnson
KW Match Box, $175; RF Power Maxi Tune
Antenna Tuner, $150. Harold Curry 913-649-1671.
For Sale: One Johnson Viking II sender and receiver
with accessories. $100. Call Bert 760-388-4206
FOR SALE: Vacuum tubes-all kinds. Over 90,000
On hand. Send want list & SASE for prompt
response. Tom Ivas, 2932 W. 99th St., Evergreen
Park, IL 60805. Ph/Fax 708-423-0528 or email:
tivas@xnet.com
FREE!!! Ham Radio and other CD-Roms &
Software disk catalog. MOM ‘N’ POP’S
SOFTWARE, P. O. Box 15003-HA, Springhill, FL
34604-0111. 1-352-688-9108.
momnpop@momnpopsware.com
FREE: Ham Radio Gospel Tracts, SASE. KW3A,
265 West Ave., Springfield, PA 19064.
From Estate of W9MEO: Henry 3KD Premier
Series AMP in original box w/ manual $1500.
Shipped in wooden crate - Buyer ships. Marcus
Frisch WA9IXP Box 25 Altoona, WI 54720-0025
(715) 552-8399 anytime.
HEATHKIT AMATEUR RADIO REPAIR by RTO
Electronics, 7280 Territorial Road, Benton
Harbor, MI 49022. 616-468-7780. E-mail:
hamtech@rtoham.com. www.rtoham.com
Heathkit. Unassembled AT-1. Ebay auction
begins on or about September 8.
www.w8kzw.homestead.com for details
HEATHKIT WANTED: GC1000 unassembled kit.
Carlos, 305-285-0318.
HEATHKITS WANTED: Top dollar paid for
unassembled kits. Michael Seedman, 847-831-8823
eve., or mseedman@interaccess.com
HEATHKITS WANTED: Unassembled kits,
catalogs, manuals and older gear. Bill, WA8CDU,
616-375-7978. billrobb@net-link.net
High Quality Low Cost Straight Keys,
www.qsl.net/kc0afx - KC0AFX
HY POWER ANTENNA COMPANY
www.angelfire.com/electronics/hypower/
I need the knob assembly that is used at the “PA
TUNING” position on a KWM-2 or 32S-1 or 32S-3. It is 5
sided plus has a pointer that moves seperately.
k9csm@earthlink.net or Strasburg, CO 80136
ICOM repair most ICOM radios by ex-ICOM tech,
COMTEK http://www.w7jv.com w7jv@aol.com,
360-779-9730,
INTERNATIONAL RADIO (Service Division) offers
kits that add new features to your rig! Also repairs,
alignments of Kenwood, Icom, Yaesu, Atlas
equipment. 1118 Raymond Ave., Fort Pierce, FL
34950. intlradio@juno.com or 561-489-6302.
http://www.qth.com/irsd
162
K8CX Ham Gallery http://hamgallery.com
KENWOOD Factory Authorized Service. Also repair
ICOM, YAESU and others. GROTON ELECTRONICS
(508)541-0067. http://www.grotonelectronics.com
LEARN CODE by Hypnosis, www.success-is-
easy.com 800-425-2552.
MACINTOSH ham logging program on CD-ROM.
http://www.peachtree-solutions.com
MORSE 0-20 WPM 90 days guaranteed!
Codemaster V for IBM compatible PC $29.95. Morse
Express, 800-238-8205. http://www.MorseX.com
NEW! NEW! NEW! THE BEST MATCH MASTER
HIGH POWER ANTENNA TUNERS ARE NOW AT
HTTP://TOMSTUBES.COM - THE FINEST TUNER
MADE...BAR NONE!
New Rohn Towers - Cheap. Check us out.
www.coxantenna.com
Original owner 1937 National HRO SR with all coils
including broadcast coils excellent condition $1000
or best offer. Duxbury MA W1MWQ 781-582-9542.
PACE Soldering / Desoldering: Replacement
parts, tips, new systems for SMT and Thru-hole
PCB repair are in stock! Also a stocking
distributor of a wide assortment of solders,
fluxes, cutters and hand tools. Technimark, Inc.
847-639-4756 www.technimark-inc.com
QRP Baluns, Antennas and antenna kits for the
QRPer. http://www.cds1.net/k6zwb
ROSS $$$$ New Specials: Astron, RM-35A, $175.00;
Kenwood, TM-261A, $165.00; Yaesu, FT-811, $260.00;
Icom, IC-2800H, $455.50 Alinco, DJ-195T, $145.00;
DR-1200T, $190.00; Prices with Coupons. Call or visit
our Web page for complete list and more Specials
http://www.rossdist.com, Phone (208)852-0830 All
prices Cash FOB Preston, Ross Distributing Company,
Preston, Idaho 83263
SATTELLITE TV - Large selection of items at
reasonable prices. We specialize in Big Dish
TVRO C & Ku Band equipment. Check us out at
www.daveswebshop.com
SX88 HALLICRAFTERS receiver wanted. Jim,
W6OU, 714-528-5652.
TELEGRAPH KEYS wanted by collector. Bugs
and unusual or unique straight keys or sounders,
and tube electronic keyers. Also pre1950
callbooks. Vince Thompson, K5VT, 3410 N. 4th
Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85013. 602-840-2653.
TRIBANDER COMPARISON REPORT: Find out
the real lowdown on HF antenna performance.
K7LXC & NØAX test the KT34XA, TH7, TH11, C-3
Skyhawk and more. Over 60 pages. $17 + $3 s/h.
CHAMPION RADIO PRODUCTS,
www.championradio.com, 888-833-3104.
TRYLON SELF-SUPPORTING TOWERS: Steel
towers available up to 96 feet. Terrific value and
reliabilty. The popular T-200 is 96 feet and is
only $1974. CHAMPION RADIO PRODUCTS,
www.championradio.com, 888-833-3104.
WANTED: Antenna DX-One-Pro, DRAKE R7A
with cable for TR7. Tel: 212-532-5845 or
HJBLATTER@AOL.COM
WANTED: FT-243 crystals for CW bands. Tom
Webb 3533 Teakwood Plano, TX 75075
Sam9lives@msn.com
WANTED: Johnson Viking Desk, Globe Scout,
Collins 32V, KB0W, (916) 635-4994;
frankdellechaie@sprintmail.com
WANTED: Tubes. Nobody pays more or faster
than us! Mike Forman, 1472 MacArthur Blvd,
Oakland, CA 94602, 510-530-8840.
WB4AEJ - http://www.hamsearch.com
YAESU Complete ham radio station in excellent
condition. FT-301D 160 thru 10 meter HF transceiver,
FP-301D AC Power Supply with clock and CW
identifier, FV-301 External VFO, YO-301 Monitor Scope,
FC-301 Antenna Tuner. (408) 736-0339 e-mail:
scellato@ix.netcom.com
164
Index of Advertisers
ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT STAFF
John Bee, N1GNV, Advertising Manager
Hanan Rayyashi, KB1AFX, Sales Representative
Melissa Yrayta, Advertising Traffic Coordinator
Direct Line: 860-594-0207 Fax: 860-594-0259
e-mail: ads@arrl.org http://www.arrl.org/ads
Active Electronics: 144 Lightning Bolt Antennas: 140
ADI Communications: 8 L.I. MARC: 160
Advanced Battery Systems, Inc: 145 Logic: 125
Advanced Specialties: 142 Lyons, Ed: 142
AEA: 144 M & S Computer Products Inc: 142
Alinco: 11 M2 Antenna Systems: 159
All Electronics Corp: 169 Maha Communications & Elec.: 2
Alpha Delta Communications: 126, 128 Metal & Cable Corp: 146
Alpha Power/Crosslink: 165 MFJ Enterprises: 129, 131, 133, 135, 137, 139
Amateur Electronic Supply LLC: 153, 155, 157 Micro Computer Concepts: 156
Am-Com: 170 Mike's Electronics: 142, 148
ARRL: 26, 27, 132, 142, 147, 157, 161, 164, 170, Military Sealift Command: 13
172, 173 Miracle Antenna: 148
Ameritron: 166 Mosley Electronics: 169
Antique Radio Classified: 147 Mountain-Ops Communications: 152
AOR: 11 Mr. NiCd: 174
Associated Radio Communication: 162 National RF, Inc.: 165
Atomic Time: 130 North Ohio Amateur Radio: 142
Austin Amateur Radio Supply: 127 ONV Safety Belt Co.: 169
Autek Research: 132 Pactor: 134
Better RF Co., The: 165 Palomar Engineers: 124
Bilal Co: 159 PC Electronics: 150
Buckmaster Publishing: 125, 146 Peet Bros. Company: 149
Burghardt Amateur Center, Inc: 134 Personal Database Applications: 125
C & S Sales: 168 Police Call 2002: 151
Cable X-Perts: 141 Premier Communications: 8
Cable and Connectors: 136 PROLOG: 148
Cellular Specialties: 165 QRO Technologies, Inc: 159
Chicago FM Club Radio Expo: 150 QSLs By W4MPY: 159
Circuit Specialists, Inc: 148 R & L Electronics: 171
Code Quick: 169 Radio Bookstore: 136
Command Technologies, Inc.: 134 Radio City: 127
Communication Concepts Inc.: 126 Radio Club Of J.H.S. 22 NYC: 138
Communication Headquarters, Inc.: 132 Radio Depot: 142
Communication Products: 152 Radio Era Archives: 140
Crank Up Towers: 165 Radio Works: 143
Creative Services Software, Inc.: 152, 160 Ramsey Electronics: 145
Cubex Company Inc: 124 Ranger Communications, Inc.: 6
Cushcraft: 125 Rapidan Data Systems: 147
Cutting Edge: 124, 150, 165 RF Parts Co: 14, 25
Datamatrix: 148 Rohn: 170
Diamond Antennas: 14 Ross Distributing Co: 165
Digital Comm. Inc.: 124 SGC: 152
DX Tracker: 142 SSB Electronics: 168
Elecraft: 159 Star Printing: 156
EQF Software: 140 Surplus Sales of Nebraska: 130
E-Z Hang, Inc.: 140 T.G.M. Communications: 125
Farallon Electronics: 134 Tele-Tech: 158
Forrest Communications: 148 Ten-Tec Inc: 18, 154
Gap Antenna Products Inc.: 145, 147, 149, 151 Tennadyne: 168
Glen Martin Engineering: 136 Texas Towers: 175, 176
Ham Central: 142 Tigertronics: 152
HamKit: 169 Tom's Tubes: 148
Ham Radio Outlet: 120, 121, 122, 123 Tower * Jack: 162
Ham Station, The: 142 Traffie Technology: 154
Hamtronics: 151 Universal Manufacturing Co.: 149
High Sierra Antenna: 162 Universal Radio, Inc.: 127
Hy-Gain: 17, 163 Vectronics: 167
ICOM America, Inc: Cover II, 1, 3 Vintage Radios of N.E. Texas: 156
Idiom Press: 150 Virginia Beach HamFest: 136
IIX Equipment Ltd.: 146, 152 W & W Manufacturing Co: 143
Intuitive Circuits LLC: 150 W2IHY Technologies: 125
Jun’s Electronics: 160 W4RT Electronics: 149
K2AW’s “Silicon Alley”: 168 W5YI: 124, 148, 149
K-Y Filter Co.: 150 W7FG Vintage Manuals: 128
Kanga US: 146 W8KZW: 160
Kangaroo: 142 W9INN Antennas: 162
Kenwood USA Corp: Cover IV, 7 Warren Gregoire & Associates: 150
KJI Electronics: 142 West Mountain Radio: 147
KK7TV Communications: 134 Wheeler Applied Research Lab: 169
Kraft, Clifford K6UAS: 148 Wireman: 150
LDG Electronics: 164 Wireless Industry Association: 148
Lakeview Company: 156 Yaesu U.S.A.: Cover III, 22, 23
Lentini Communications: 127 Yost & Co., E.H.: 174
Lewallen, Roy W., W7EL: 156
If your company provides products or services of interest to our Members, please contact the
ARRL Advertising Department today for information on building your business.
Your customers are reading.....QST!
October Issue: Deadline: August 18 , 2001 Ships Mid September 2001
November Issue: Deadline: September 18 , 2001 Ships Mid October 2001
174