October 1999 Volume 2 Number 10

Big Doings and Pizza Too!!

By John KAØOSC Program Chair

Jay Bellows of the ARRL will present our Society with its official ARRL Affiliation Certificate.

The meeting will start a half-hour earlier, at 1 o'clock, so we can enjoy some pizza lunch together. Les is coordinating the Pizza and Pop, lunch costs $5.25

For the program, Jay will provide us with an insider's view of recent happenings at the ARRL. This should be very interesting, with such stuff as universal licensing, the FCC's increased use of electronic filing and the like now becoming a reality.

All members should make their best effort to attend this historic meeting -- we want to have a big turnout for this event. This is a great time to bring a friend or prospective member.

See you all there this Saturday!!!

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MNQRP'ers Doing Hamfest Seminar!

By Craig Johnson, AA0ZZ

Bruce Stough, AA0ED, and I will be presenting a seminar at the 1999 Hamfest Minnesota on Saturday, October 30, at the St. Paul River Centre. Our seminar entitled "Let's Build It! Amateur Radio Equipment" will be at 10:15 in Room 3.

Bruce and I are attempting to provide a little spark of encouragement to the many amateurs who are missing the thrill of using amateur radio equipment that they built themselves.

I will present Part 1. First I will discuss building kits. I will emphasize the Small Wonder Lab's SW-40+ transceiver and Elmer 101 book that explains what each part in this transceiver is used for. I will mention a number of other kits but will not discuss them in detail.

Next I will discuss building radios from scratch. I will discuss the 2N2/40 transceiver, the construction book that goes along with it, and "ugly construction" techniques in general. Then I will briefly discuss how to build circuit boards (layout and etching).

My last section will be focused on resources that are available to help hams build things. I will tell about a number of excellent books. I will point them to a number of excellent Internet resources. Then, of course, I will recommend the MN QRP Society as a place where people of like mind are available to help them in their projects.

Bruce will then present Part 2 regarding the use of PIC microprocessors in amateur radio projects. He will discuss what PIC microprocessors are, the varieties, and why they are so appropriate for use in amateur radio projects. He will discuss how to get/build a programmer. He will lay out the various steps that it takes to get code loaded into the microprocessor. Bruce will show why people don't have to be afraid of programming a microprocessor to do fun things. He will show a number of practical examples.

Bruce and I will be passing out a handout at the seminar, listing books, Internet resources, places to get parts, and places to go for help.

(By the way, if you can't make it to the seminar and are interested in the handout, we should be able to bring some to the following QRP club meeting. Otherwise I can E-mail a copy to you.)

Hope we get a good turnout. It should be a lot of fun. Maybe we will pick some enthusiastic new members.

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MNQRP Society Table at Hamfest Minnesota

By Cla Cadmus KA0GKC

Steve Jacobs KI0CL and Robert Radtke KC0EJW will be manning the MNQRP table in the "Club Corral" area of the Hamfest. Steve reports they have several QRP items to display and handouts prepared. We also hope to have a few QRP books for sale too. Everyone is welcome to come by and take part in eye-ball QSOs and maybe give our guys a break if they need it. However, please do not bring items to sell at the club table.

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The M60 Antenna System

By Tim Gordish KB9LGJ

Portable antennas have always been a pain to put up. With wire dipoles and such you are constantly looking for good trees, and then means to getting your wire into the trees. Sling shots work well, but can be very dangerous. Verticals on the other hand are easier to set up, but need their own support. One good solution is the Saint Louis Vertical made from a fiberglass-fishing pole. The problem I have with this antenna is that it requires modification of the bottom of the fishing pole to add a spike to the bottom. This modification ruined the fishing pole for its original function...fishing! Destroying a perfectly good fishing pole grated against my Minnesota instincts. Looking for a solution to the portable antenna dilemma, I came up with a simple answer. Why not attach a PVC pipe just big enough to fit into the bottom end of a fishing pole to a military ammunition can. The M60 was born.

All you need to do is combine a short section of PVC pipe, an ammo can, and a fiberglass fishing pole. Set the can on its side, pre-drill some holes and attach the pipe with two sheet rock screws on one side with the extra length sticking straight up. Unscrew the bottom of your fishing pole and drop it over the PVC pipe and the weight of the ammo can will support your antenna mast. Ad wire for the vertical and radials and you're in business.

I made mine from a M60 can, with a Shakespeare 16' pole. By rapping the extra 6' of vertical wire around the pole I have an excellent 20-meter vertical for my SST. I also added a small solar panel to the topside of the can so that I could charge my batteries in my rig. While transporting the antenna I can put my entire station into the ammo can for easy transport. The M60 can even comes with a handy handle on the top, and is waterproof. The best part is that the pole is left intact for fishing when I am not operating, and folds down into a very nice walking stick while transporting.

For a futher details out my this page on my web site:
http://mikeday.rexnet.net/kb9lgj/M60.html 73 de KB9LGJ

My homepage is: http://mikeday.rexnet.net/kb9lgj/

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Minutes of the September Meeting

By Les Bearl N0PPF

The meeting was held Saturday, September 4th. 16 members and 1 guest attended.

The Treasurer reported $59 in the treasury.

Under new Business the Mini-Fox Hunt or Gopher Hunt for short was discussed. Most members thought that propagation would be against us having it this year. The President set it aside for possible discussion next year when we the current cycle may be closer to the peak.

Craig AA0ZZ mentioned that he will be selling the 2N2/40 book, Reference Book and the Elmer Project book at the Hamfest during the design seminar. Part of the proceeds will go to the club. This sounded like a good way to raise funds. Some members will have to help with the book sale after the seminar. Craig will report back next month after talking with the book source.

No old business was discussed.

Meeting was adjourned

After a short break the members discussed equipment that they had brought for show and tell.

Club Information

*** Events and Happenings around October ***

By Mike Stapp, KE0WW

We can’t show them if we don’t know them!

Please send in upcoming events to the Mike Stapp KE0WW calendar editor.