The Illuminator

The monthly newsletter of the Carbon Amateur Radio Club

December 1998

QRP

Here is an excerpt from a letter I received from a ham I worked with my little "KinghtSMite" - the one that fits into a little Altoids tin: The letter

says in part,

"I was indeed on vacation near Kingston, Ontario that night we worked CW together on 3.686 Mhz. My father has a summer cottage there and I have been taking along my radio and hooking up an antenna in the trees for the past 10 years. When I received your letter saying the output of your "peanut whistle" was only 100 mw, I was astonished. Your signal in VE3 land was very strong. Had I been paying a bit more attention, I would have moved up a bit to your frequency.....I hope we get a chance to try again, now that the bands are improving, it should be much easier for you with only 100 mw."

73 de Lamar

Congratulations, Larry (formerly KA3AFY) on your new callsign, N3CR – N3 Carbon Radio !!

 

Foxhunt News

Can’t say this year’s hunts were boring. Gene (N3WMA) gave us another unusual hunt. The scheduled called for a mobile hunt and needless to say we all figured a vehicle of some sort. Well to our surprise and amazement it was a wheelbarrow. Yes, the fox moved several times thereby qualifying as being mobile.

Congratulations to Bob (N3NOP) and CAROL (N3PEK) for coming in first. Since this was a trophy hunt the trophy will be presented at the first hunt over the winter months. They were followed shortly by the second fox team 3 minutes later. Now for the crusher, the fox was only 3/4 mile from the starting point which was the park in the center of Lehighton. Cruising up and down 443 gave excellent readings but nowhere was there a vehicle to be seen. In fact the fox was in the woods on the west side adjacent to the NAPA store. Thanks again Gene for another creative hunt.

The winning team in 1998 was Mike (N3XYU) and AJ (WB2VBR). The November hunt was the last official hunt of the 1998 season but we will have further hunts over the winter on the third Saturday depending on weather conditions. As in the past we will announce the Yea/Nay on Friday night at 7:30pm over the 147.255 repeater. I want to thank all for making this years season a great success with many enjoyable Saturday mornings. PLEASE give the 1999 season some thought over the long winter months and try to come up with some new and challenging hunts. This year we had a several unusual hunts that sharpened our skills and frustrated us quite a bit. We need new and unusual hunts in 1999. The meeting for the 1999 season will be held in February and will be at my house. Date to be announced later.

The December hunt will be held on the 19th (weather permitting). We will start as usual. Breakfast at 7:45am and the hunt will begin at 9:00am sharp. It will end at 11:00am and the fox will use a BEAM ANTENNA. It seems we need to sharpen our skills when a beam is used since the signal has a very narrow path. See you then. All are welcome. If interested call AJ or drop me an email [email protected].

HAVE A GREAT HOLIDAY SEASON AND MAKE IT A SAFE ONE.

de AJ WB2VBR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From The Editor’s Desk

Greetings

As you may know, I have assumed the role of Editor of the Illuminator. I hope that I can fill the shoes of some of the veteran members who have had this responsibility in the past.

Here’s my "platform" for the "new and improved" Illuminator :

  1. The Illuminator will be a showcase for CARC, its members, and their accomplishments. It will serve as a vehicle for attracting new members as well as keeping inactive members informed of what’s going on in the club and hopefully encourage them to become active again.
  2. Publishing of the newsletter on the web. This will hopefully attract new members to the club.
  3. More material from you. I want to enhance the newsletter by soliciting material from you, the members of the club. Do you have a particular interest in the hobby ? Do you have expertise in a subject area ? Do you have a strong opinion about an issue facing ham radio operators ? How about writing an article or regular column for the Illuminator ?
  4. Have some fun. It’s been a rough year for CARC. 1999 will be a "rebuilding year" in which we need to forget our differences. Verbal darts, negativity, and personal attacks have no place in this club or newsletter. This is a hobby club, not a job, a military operation, or a 12-step program. We’re here to have fun. I want the newsletter to reflect the fun and brotherhood we experience in the club.

I am going to be posting article submission schedules on the CARC email list as well as in each newsletter. I would prefer that you email submissions to me at [email protected], however snail mail is also quite appropriate (the address is available on the address page).

73 de Goody ka3ngh

Goody’s Corner

On nearly every desktop computer in the world, Windows is the standard. But Windows isn’t the only game in town as far as operating systems go. A new operating system called Linux (pronounced Lin – ucks) is beginning to make its way onto the desktop.

Linux was created in 1991 by Linus Torvalds, then a student in the Netherlands. Linus had no intention of conquering the world with a computer, and didn’t even intend on distributing his creation. He just had some personal computing needs, so he created his own operating system.

Linux is based on UNIX, an operating system originally created by AT&T. UNIX was intended to run telephone switching systems which require a robust operating system and downtime measured in seconds per year. UNIX is in use by most large companies for everything from web sites to banking systems.

Linux is unique in that it is not owned by any one company. Most of its software is written by students, hackers, and programmers working on their own time. Linux software is known to be the strongest and most bug-free in the world since the source code is freely available and is heavily scrutinized by other hackers and programmers. Several companies package Linux in what is called a distribution, and distribute it on CD or make it available on their websites. The software is free. That’s right – it’s free. You can download it from the Internet without paying a cent.

A good portion of your work in Linux is accomplished via a command-line interface, similar to DOS. There is a "Windows like" graphical interface available for Linux called X Windows. A really nice feature of this is that you can use many different window managers for a different look and feel. Microsoft Windows comes with only one window manager, and you’re stuck with it !

Most Linux distributions come with tons of free software such as word processing, email, web browsers, web servers, FTP (File Transport Protocol) servers, and much, much more. Linux even has built-in support for AX.25, the protocol of packet radio. Several Packet BBS and gateway software packages for Linux are available free-of-charge. A large number of web sites and Internet Service Providers run Linux, but it rarely gets the limelight that Windows gets, it just sits in the corner and continues to work. Linux was even used to create the computer animations in the movie Titanic.

Does Linux have a place in your shack ? That depends. If you haven’t mastered DOS or Windows yet, probably not. Linux requires you to be a "hacker" to some extent. If you’ve mastered Windows and are tired of the Microsoft monopoly, or just have a old system lying around, give Linux a try. Linux is hard to learn, but easy to use, and you’ll have loads of fun learning it and making it work for you.

73 de Goody ka3ngh

DX News

DX Bulletin 47 ARLD047 From ARRL Headquarters Newington CT November 25, 1998

To all radio amateurs

This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by Tedd, KB8NW, the OPDX Bulletin, DXNL, The Daily DX, QRZ DX and Contest Corral from QST. Thanks to all.

JAMAICA, 6Y. Look for the all-time new prefix 6Y2A to be QRV during the CQ WW DX CW contest as a Multi/Multi entry. QSL via WA4WTG.

MALDIVES, 8Q. UA9CI, UA9CFF, UA9CDC, UA9CDV, UA9CLB and UA9CKP will be active using CW, SSB and RTTY as 8Q7DV until December 4. They will also participate in the CQ WW DX CW contest as a Multi/Single entry. QSL via UA9CI.

CHINA, BY. The Beijing DX Club will participate as a Multi/Multi entry during the contest as B1Z. Activity on 160 to 10 meters is planned. QSL via operator's instructions.

AZORES, CU. Dieter, DL3KDV, and Maike, DL4XS, will participate in the CQ WW DX CW contest as CU2V. They will be here until December 1. QSL via DL3KDV.

TURKMENISTAN, EZ. EZ0AB will be active on 160 to 10 meters CW and SSB, including entries in the CQ WW DX CW and ARRL 160 meter contests. QSL via UA4FAO

GALAPAGOS ISLANDS, HC8. Look for HC8DH, HC5AH and HC3FD to be QRV from Santa Cruz and Floreana Islands until December 1, mainly using digital modes and 6 meters. QSL via HC5K.

PANAMA, HP. DL2BAY and Stefan, DL5XX, will be on the air again as 3E1DX during the CQ WW DX CW contest. QSL via N0JT.

MONGOLIA, JT. The South China Sea DX Team will be QRV as JT1A as a Multi/Single entry in the CQ WW DX CW contest. QSL via OH1RX.

GUAM, KH2. The Guam Contest Club will participate in the CQ WW DX CW Contest as AH2R from IOTA OC-026. QSL via JI3ERV.

NORWAY, LA. Look for LA8W to be a Multi/Single entry in the CQ WW DX CW contest. QSL via LA4DCA.

ARUBA, P4. P40E and P40W will be Single Op/All Band entries in the contest. QSL via W3HNK and N2MM, respectively.

BRUNEI, V8. V8A will be a Single Op/All Band entry in the contest. QSL via JH7FQK

CAMBODIA, XU. Look for XU1A to be QRV from the ancient temple city of Angkor Wat from November 26 to December 4. CW, SSB and RTTY from 160 to 6 meters is expected. QSL via JH1AJT.

MACAO, XX9. Pertti, OH2PM, will activate XX9X as a Single Op entry in the contest. QSL to OH2PM.

THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO. The CQ World Wide DX CW Contest will certainly keep contesters and DXers busy this weekend. Please see November QST, page 97 for details.

(ARRL DX Bulletin provided by Bob, K3PH)

CARC Calendar

December 4 – ARRL 160 Meter Contest

December 5 – EA DX Contest

December 12 - ARRL 10 Meter Contest

December 17 19:30 – CARC Meeting – Carbon County EMA Center Rte. 93

December 19 – Foxhunt (weather permitting)

December 25 – Merry Christmas

December 27 – Illuminator Article Submission Deadline, RAC Canada Winter Contest

January 1 – Happy New Year !!!

January 2 – ARRL RTTY Roundup

 

Carbon Amateur Radio Club

1998 Officers

President – Amy Zimmerman KD3TI [email protected]

Vice-President – Larry Lilly N3CR

Secretary/Treasurer – Mel Bach N3EHY

Repeater Trustee – Bill Dale WY3K

Public Information Officer – Bill Kelley KA3UKL

Illuminator Staff

Editor – Goody KA3NGH [email protected]

Contesting – Glenn K3PP [email protected]

DX – AJ WB2VBR & Jack KB3AGZ

Foxhunting – AJ WB2VBR [email protected]

Goody’s Corner – Goody KA3NGH

Propagation – Larry N3CR [email protected]

QRP – Lamar N3AT [email protected]

Skywarn – YOUR NAME HERE !

CARC Website : http://www.cpals.com/~elitehom/carc/

Webmaster – Robert KB3BYT [email protected]

All amateur radio operators are invited to join the CARC ARES / RACES net held 21:00 local time every Wednesday on the W3HA repeater at 147.255 Mhz + offset, PL 131.8.