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March 1999 Vol.9 no.3 |
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Happy Spring to All! Spring has arrived on the calendar. We can hear birds starting to sing their spring songs. Winter must be on the way out. Sometime soon the snow will be gone, the first flowers blooming, and we won't have to put heavy boots on when we go out. As you know, elections were held at the March meeting. As your president for another year, I hope that we can develop an emergency plan, that everyone can become familiar and comfortable with receiving and passing traffic, and that we can make headway with a school project to get more young people interested in Ham Radio. The Rocky Mountain Repeater was a huge success for the Can-Am Sled Dog Race Communications. At Maibec Checkpoint we no longer needed to go through the tedious process of setting up a mast or tower section topped by a 14-element beam, and then struggling with guy ropes to get the beam headed in just the right direction. Dean Wiggins, N1HSQ, and Dick Higgins, K1HEL, mounted a j-pole on the side of the building, brought the coax in the window, and set a radio on top of a power supply. It didn't take more than 15 minutes. There was then immediate contact with net control. No cross-banding between building and vehicle, as was previously done. Thanks to the help of so many of you, the communications were the best we have had yet. Director Scott Guimond said he found the hams at control center very helpful and he enjoyed working with them.
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Thanks to
N8VJM and N1CGV for their leading roles in the technical and
operator schedule areas. Thanks to N1CHF for technical aid,
and KC1SE for the use of his "shack" for the crossband radio that
linked control center and Rocky Mountain. Thanks to Susan Cline for
computer assistance. Many thanks
to all the following for their hours spent in operating: Control
Center: N1CGV, N7GLR, N8VJM, KW1C,
NIPMS, N1ZBY (also stationed for many hours in the Violette
Settlement.) Portage Checkpoint: WA1YNZ, KA1CQX. Rocky Brook Checkpoint: KC1SE, N1ZHP. Maibec Checkpoint: N1HSQ, K1HEL. Allagash Checkpoint and 30-mile race start: N1QMC, N1RDE, N1ZHQ, N1ZBX, N1JHD. Wallagrass Lake Checkpoint: N1LOT. Start of 250 and 60: N1UYA. 73/ N1UYA Gale Gale Flagg R.F.D.#3 Box 250 Fort Kent ME 04743 Phone: 207-834-6670 E-mail: sgflagg@shire.sjv.net
Next Meeting: Monday, April 5 at 6:30 PM Grindle Conference Room – UMFK Can-Am Stories: Please bring your interesting or funny stories. Field Day and Rocky Mountain Map
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| Page 2 Feed-Point, March 1999 |
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Called to Order: 18:45 EST by N1UYA. Election: 18 Ballots returned. Results on pg.3 In Attendance: N1UYA, N1CGV, KW1C,
N1JHT, N1JHD, N1QMC, Secretary's Minutes: motion to dispense with reading of minutes by N1PMS, second by N7GLR, passed. Treasurer's Report (N1CGV for N1CHF): previous balance reported as $255.95; +$.50 (interest) = $256.45 (current balance). Motion to accept by N1PMS, second by N1QMC, passed. Old Business: A report was given by N1CGV on the operator schedule for the Can-Am Dog Race Communications. There was also a discussion of the setup of the radios, and an explanation of why a cross-band radio was needed between control center and Rocky Mountain. (Downtown Fort Kent still has a hard time getting into or receiving the repeater. This will be remedied in the future.) The cross-band radio will be on the hill at KC1SE's shack. Log and
time sheets developed by N1CHF and copied by N1UYA were handed out at the
meeting with some to be taken to the checkpoint boxes at the Musher's
Meeting. |
New Business: Rotating
emergency net control suggested by N1PMS. We will try to do this from time
to time.
KW1C brought in multiple copies of the club by-laws. (Thanks, Marty). After a brief discussion, it was the consensus that the by laws are very good. Program: Operating In the Cold This was a short presentation by N1UYA from QST Magazine. The most important thing is to avoid the formation of condensation. Keeping your radio under your jacket and then taking it out in the cold will cause condensation that may cause frequency shift, and may turn your radio on when you think it is off, thus draining the battery. Batteries should be kept warm, but warm batteries in a cold radio might cause condensation. A TCXO (temperature compensated crystal oscillator) used for the reference oscillator will help cold weather performance. Also tantalum parts in electrolytic capacitors will get you to -40F! Next meeting will be MON 5 April 99 18:30 EST at UMFK, room TBA. Adjourned @ 19:47 EST by N1UYA with no objection from the floor. Submitted by N1CGV filling in for N8VJM.(With a few additions by N1UYA). |
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17-18 CQ VHF Nat'l Foxhunting Weekend 25 Good EME Conditions |
Please wish the following a Happy Birthday: Jim Grandmaison 4-4 Wilburn Scott 4-25 Marty Bernstein 4-12 Charles Ames 4-29 Finn
Dumond
4-16 |
| Page 3 Feed-Point,March 1999 |
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This is to let you know
what's happening and what's going to happen with the Rocky Mountain
Repeater. Average voltage: 13.70 Average Temperature 24.5 F The lowest voltage was recorded during the Can-Am race, which saw little sun. Even though the repeater was on low power during the entire race, no stations had trouble using it, with the occasional exception of Portage. The new repeater,
which will replace the one that's up there now, is coming along. It's
crystaled up, and we're presently modifying it to draw as little current
as possible. So far, we've got the standby current down from 171 milliamps
to 90 milliamps. |
The duplexers and the antenna are still in the experimental stage. We hope
to begin work up there in early May. First on the list will be to clear
trees and brush from the road and trail, followed by hauling the paint and
tools back up there to finish what we started last year. Once it's warm
enough, we'll fix our antenna problem, which should give our repeater the
coverage we expected.
We hope you will help us on this project this year, as many of you did last year. Finally, a
topographical map of Rocky Mountain and the surrounding area will be
available for viewing at the April meeting. See you there.
Election Results President: Gale Flagg
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Heavy duty 40' galvanized steel tower, 16" x
16" x 16". Includes mounting hardware. Pair of stacked 7-element beams for 10 meters. Best Offer. Heil BM-10 microphone boom set $35. MFJ 451X keyer $35 Contact Charles Zafonte N1FRX
834-6273 |
You will notice from the minutes that the treasury is getting low. Donations are always welcome. We may need to consider a fundraiser. A car wash was suggested at the March meeting.
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| Page 4 Feed-Point,March,1999 |
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Published by the St. John Valley Amateur Radio Association and distributed free to members and friends of Amateur Radio. Officers President: Gale Flagg N1UYA Vice President: Miles L. Clouston N8VJM Secretary: Miles L. Clouston N8VJM Treasurer: Steve Boomhower N1CHF Public Information: Peter Pelletier N1PMS Technical Advisor: Steve Boomhower, N1CHF Editor/Publisher/Printer Gale Flagg - N1UYA / Stan Flagg 834-6670 Associate Editor/Web Edition Miles L. Clouston - N8VJM 834-6866 Membership Information (Annual Dues): Regular Membership $ 12 Associate Membership $ 6 Articles: Articles may be submitted by anyone with a good idea, and may be re-printed only in their entirety and with credit going to this newsletter.
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Feed-Point
RFD 3 Box 250
Fort Kent, ME
04743