News Letter -- November 2003

Volume 21, Number 10

Fall greetings to everyone. As the leaves turn and fall off the trees, it's a very good reminder that fall is here. It seems that with the returning of fall so is the returning of much less activity. We enjoy spring and summer, but sometimes become so overwhelmed with all the things going on. All the activities bring us to this time of the year where we can sit back and watch the leaves fall.

All is going well in Dickinson. The Dickinson repeater is back up and running thanks to some of our experienced HAMS. The emergency/backup repeater and controller are on their way. If anyone wants to help with Show & Tell at the Prairie Hills Mall on November 1, feel free to come and share with those that stop by. The TRARC Christmas party is also coming up the end of November so mark your calendars for that.

If there is enough interest this year, we are going to try to offer a class again. WE will have a sigh up sheet at the Show & Tell. If you know of anyone that would be interesting in the hobby and the class let him or her know. It would be great to see a good size group this year. In addition, if you would be interesting teaching one of the classes let Stan or myself know. I know it's early, but start thinking about it!

Hope this newsletter finds all of you ready for fall. If they're not already, make sure you wrap up those summer projects before that white stuff gets here! Speaking of that we don't want it to come too early and chase away our snowbirds! Have a great November.

CHECK YOUR CALENDAR

Nov 1 .....................Show & Tell @ Prairie Hills Mall

Nov 2 .....................Totten Trail Ham Fest

Nov 3 .....................TRARC Meeting @ LEC 7 PM

Nov 29....................Christmas Party @ ELKS Dickinson

Dec 20....................Deadline for News Letter

Jan 5 .....................TRARC Meeting @ LEC 7 PM

SILENT KEY

Kurt Carufel KBØKDG of Bismarck ND.

October 6, 2003

TEST SESSIONS

If you are in need of a test session, contact either Bill Bosch, KØUB or Emil Wieglenda, NØDK. Bill is associated with ARRL VEC and Emil is W5YI. They will let you know when the next test session will be held.

Bill 701-483-3869 Emil 701-483-4953

Theodore Roosevelt Amateur Radio Club

Meeting Minutes

October 6, 2003

Minutes submitted by KCØEAK, Brandon Wehner, Secretary/Treasurer.

President Curtis Freeman, KCØJVJ called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.

Introductions of members and guests followed.

The minutes of the previous meeting were approved on a motion by by Emil, KØDK, and seconded by Stan, WDØDAJ. Motion carried.

The treasurer's report was given by Brandson, KCØEAK. Motion for approval by Bill, KØUB and seconded by Emil, NØDK. Motion Carried.

Old Business:

A. Repeaters - 82: The controller is down, but the repeater is working. We may have to send the controller in. 442 is still down. All other repeaters are working.

Last meeting, a motion was made to purchase a used repeater and controller. The repeater turned out to be a UHF repeater and the RLC-2 controller is not made anymore.

A new VR-5000 repeater with internal power supply from Burghardt's is $1500. The same repeater from Link Communications without the power supply is $1400. Joe, NØQAU also got prices about controllers from Link. An RLC-Club controller has 1 superlink port and no autopatch and costs $800. An RLC-Club Deluxe II has 6 superlink ports and autopatch and cots $1089.

A motion to purchase the repeater from Burghardt's for $1500 plus shipping, or Link Communications for $1400 plus shipping if the repeater from Burghardt's is unavailable, and the RLC-Club Deluxe II for #1089 plus shipping by Bill, KØUB and seconded by Laurie KCØNHW. Motion carries.

B. Extension Cable - It is done. We still have to figure out how to store it. Now we have to work on the generator circuit breakers.

C. 2m radio for the trailer - Art, KBØVSE, is willing to donate his dual bander to the club. The purchase of a separate 2m radio has been tabled until spring.

D. Tents - The tents have been purchased and are in the trailer. Motion to get a patchwork thing made to recognize the donation by Stan, WDØDAJ and seconded by Evelyn, KCØHKR. Motion carries. Marge will take care of putting it together.

New Business

A. Show & Tell - Show & Tell is November 1 at Prairie Hills Mall. We will show anything we can get to work. We will also have a sign-up to see what the interest is for a technician class.

B. Emergency Manager - Our relationship with Stark County Emergency Management won't change with Gary Kostelecky's change of position.

C. International Ham Fest - There is a ham fest meeting in Rugby at 11:00 AM MDT on October 26, 2003.

D. T-shirts - If there is anyone interested in ordering new cub t-shirts, come to the November meeting or contact Irene, WDØDAW or Betty, KBØNVT.

E. Donation - The roughrider commission donated $150 to the club.

F. Forest Service Repeater - The club will get an old Forest Service Repeater from a guy that Curtis knows.

G. Christmas Party - The Christmas party is November 29, 2003. We will have the same menu as last year.

H. Totten Trail - the Totten Trail Hamfest is November 2, 2003.

Motion to adjourn by Emil, NØDK. Seconded by Betty, KBØNVT. Motion passed.

Adjourned at 7:48 PM.

Birthdays for November/December

Steve Allar NØELA
11 - 1

Hallie LaVelle NØKVH
11 - 2

Tony Amen K7TNY
11 - 3

Irene Bosch WDØDAW
11 - 6

Alex Muggli WØZTL
11 - 9

Jared Allar KBØQHX
11 -21

Cordell Booke KCØCOH
11 -21

Leon Kirscheman KØLU
11 -21

Ken Johnson W6FU
11 -28

John Enander KDØGGH
12 - 8

Kornard Burkle KBØELT
12 -11

Gary Blankenship KB8CL
12 -23

TRARC Christmas Party

The party will be at the Elks in the Sodbuster

room at 6 pm. Please RSVP by contacting either

Betty Kittleson or Irene Bosch. RSVP should be

done by November 24, 2003.

There's always something to do with an eggshell.

Almost everyone knows that eggshells are a

perfect addition to a garden "feed" or a compost

heap. But here are some other great uses. Dried

and brushed fine, they are a perfect mineral

supplement to cat or dog food. Or use half the

shell as a mini-pot to start seedlings. It's a healthy

place for them to live. Not to mention that you can

plant the "pot". You can even make a simple glue

from eggshells. Beat them in a blender with one

egg white until they form a gritty paste. Not the

world's greatest glue, but fine for paper and the

kids will love it.

==> WORLD'S BROADCASTERS JOIN ANTI-BPL CHORUS <==

A subcommittee of an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) <http://www.itu.org/> panel of technical experts responsible for terrestrial broadcasting issues has joined a growing chorus of concern about the interference potential of power line telecommunication (PLT)--better known in the US as Broadband over Power Line (BPL). ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) Sub Working Group (SWG) 6E1 expressed the view that interference produced by systems employing PLT as well as by Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) equipment and short-range devices, would compromise broadcast reception.

"SWG 6E1 is of the opinion that any increase in the amount of noise due to these systems is unacceptable," said a statement from the group's chairman to the chairman of Working Party 6E (WP 6E). "In particular, broadcast services should be protected from unwanted emissions from PLT systems," the panel asserted, "as these emissions are a byproduct of a system that is not itself a user of the radio spectrum." The panel recommended the formation of a group representing all users of the radio spectrum "to coordinate development of limits to be imposed on the radiation from these systems."

WP 6E says it will continue to study the effects of PLT/BPL, ISM equipment and short-range devices on terrestrial broadcasting and send the results to ITU-R Working Party 1A, which is responsible for spectrum engineering techniques. WP 1A is scheduled to meet in Geneva October 30 to November 5.

ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, expressed strong support and appreciation for the SWG's conclusions and the ongoing efforts of parent Working Party 6E to study the issue. "If BPL is a problem for broadcasters," Sumner said, "it's easy to see that it would be a disaster for us."

Broadcasters themselves also have exhibited increased concern about the potential of PLT/BPL to prevent their signals from reaching listeners. The Research and Development branch of the highly regarded British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has released a White Paper <http://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/whp/whp067.html> reporting on a brief trial in Scotland. The two competing PLT/BPL systems in operation in the town of Crieff both interfered with HF reception. Tests were conducted at four locations.

"The forms of access PLT that were tested in Crieff were found to have demonstrable potential to cause interference to indoor reception of broadcasting in relevant bands," the White Paper concluded. Significant interference even occurred in one residential area with an underground power distribution cable. BBC engineers described the interference as varying between "annoying" and "a level sufficient to make the broadcast completely unintelligible." Before commercially licensing PLT, the report advised, regulators need to undertake further study of other PLT systems and, among other issues, look into possible ways to make the PLT systems compatible with radio reception.

A report prepared by the Australian Communications Authority (ACA), Broadband Powerline Communications Systems--A Background Brief <http://www.aca.gov.au/radcomm/frequency_planning/spps/0311spp.pdf>, concluded that "a potential risk to HF radiocommunications services from the widespread use of broadband powerline communications systems" appeared to exist. Citing BPL trials in the US, Europe and Asia, the ACA brief said, "The results of these trials have not alleviated concerns over the potential interference risk to radiocommunications."

ARRL's comments <http://www.arrl.org/announce/regulatory/et03-104/>, reply comments <http://www.arrl.org/announce/regulatory/et03-104/reply-comments-index.htm l > and technical exhibits filed with the FCC in response to the Commission's Notice of Inquiry (ET Docket ET 03-104) are available on the ARRL Web site. See also the article "BPL is a Pandora's Box of Unprecedented Proportions, ARRL Tells FCC" <http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2003/07/08/1/>. Additional information and video clips are on the ARRL "Power Line Communications (PLC) and Amateur Radio" page <http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/>.

To support the League's efforts in the BPL fight, visit the ARRL's secure BPL Web site <https://www.arrl.org/forms/development/donations/bpl/>.

==>ARRL "LOGBOOK OF THE WORLD" IS OFF LIKE A ROCKET<==

Logbook of the World" (LoTW) <http://www.arrl.org/lotw>--the League's new QSL-cardless awards and contact credit system--has proven to be a huge hit with the amateur community. Since opening September 15, LoTW has acquired more than 2200 registered participants. Another 2400 or so applications are pending, and the QSO database of 4900 uploaded logs had topped 8 million contacts at week's end.

"Certainly the number of Qs that we've gotten is well above what we expected at this point," said ARRL Membership Services Manager Wayne Mills, N7NG, who has been sharing duties with Assistant to the CEO David Patton, NN1N, as point man for LoTW. ARRL Web and Software Development Department Manager Jon Bloom, KE3Z, has been handling software development and updating for LoTW.

LoTW is open to all, and applying for a digital certificate is the first step toward taking advantage of the system. The digital certificate authenticates the user's identity.

ARRL will maintain the ballooning repository of log data from casual operators, DXers, contesters and major DXpeditions. LoTW will be able to provide quick QSO credit for awards programs by identifying contact matches within submitted log data. There have been 51,000 such matches to date. Registered participants then will be able to apply LoTW-confirmed QSO credits toward ARRL awards, such as DXCC, WAS and VUCC.

Work continues on the last major LoTW component--the Web pages to apply LoTW confirmations toward ARRL-sponsored awards. Mills expects that LoTW also will one day provide contact credits for non-ARRL programs. "Major award sponsors have expressed interest in using LoTW records, and details are pending," he said.

The key to the ultimate success of LoTW is for users to upload as much log data as possible. The more contacts in the database, the better the chances of a QSO match.

LoTW eventually will be able to search users' DXCC records and find new credits automatically. The program also will provide full viewing of users' DXCC records, automatically alert users to new awards achieved and offer comprehensive support for many other awards.

Mills cautioned new users that LoTW permits just one digital certificate request per call sign. He advised that once users apply for a certificate, they should not attempt to alter it or create another request. Any errors, he points out, can be corrected later. For US users, the first certificate has to be for a current call sign that's in the FCC database. After you get the certificate, you can request additional certificates for formerly held call signs.

While the digital certificate is free, LoTW will charge on a per-credit basis to apply credits toward awards. "Logbook of the World is an alternative to collecting QSL cards by mail," Mills said. Fees <http://www.arrl.org/lotw/fees> range from 25 cents for a single credit to 15 cents per credit in lots of 500. Users may purchase credits in advance, but LoTW fees do not also cover award fees.

"It turns out that this is a much cheaper way to collect credits for DXCC," Mills asserted. "Overall, we are very happy with the progress and user acceptance."

This week, EchoLink <http://www.echolink.org/> announced that it would accept ARRL's LoTW's digital certificates to authenticate new users as an alternative to providing a copy of their amateur license.

News and announcements will be posted to the Logbook of the World Web site <http://www.arrl.org/lotw/>.