F E  E  D  -  P  O  I  N  T
The Official Newsletter of the St. John Valley Amateur Radio Association

September  2001                                                       Vol.11 no.
Letter From Our President
Dear Fellow Hams,
      The year is progressing toward winter as autumn arrives on the calendar. Will Louie get his tower up at his new house before the ground freezes? Does anyone else have tower and antenna work? Now is the time before it gets too cold.
             My trip to St. Pierre-et-Miquelon was wonderful. Lots of natural beauty on the windswept islands. Puffins were numerous on Columbier Island, which is close to St. Pierre. They had a strange way of scooting across the water when the zodiac approached them. We saw a large, strange shaped dark fish with fins like a shark. It was strange even to the St. Pierre guide. It lazed in the water while we circled it. Later we found a picture of it in a book at the Ministry of Fishing offices. It was an Ocean Sunfish. They can grow to several tons. We also saw many Harbor and Gray Seals in the Grand Barashcious, a sand encircled salt water area at the southern tip of Miquelon. Wild horses roamed the beaches.
     One of many interesting historical events was that Acadiens also settled on St. Pierre. Another was the involvement of this entire French archipelago in smuggling liquor during our period of prohibition. Canada was allowed to produce liquor. The liquor went to St. Pierre and was 
smuggled to the U.S. east coast. When prohibition was repealed, the people of St. Pierre held a mock funeral. Their entire economy was tied up in smuggling. 
  I talked with FP5CJ, Jean Pierre Carrere, on .52 in St. Pierre. He was pleased. He said only a handful of hams talk on 2m. I told him that was the same in the SJ Valley.  We spent an hour together and talked about many ham related subjects. We hope to talk on 20 meters soon.
      I keyed up three repeaters from the top of Langlade but got no response, which was disappointing. 

                                                N1UYA , Gale

       Address comments, questions, or suggestions to: 
Gale Flagg  108 Franklin School RD
Fort Kent  ME 04743 
Phone: 207-834-6670
E-mail: galeflagg@sjv.net



Next Meeting:
Tuesday, Oct. 2, 6:30 PM, UMFK Grindle Conference Room

 

Schedule of Coming Events

Date
Event 
Place
Contact
Sponsor
Time
Freq
SUN
Net
NB
VE1PIN
IRG
1930
147.300
MON
Net
Fort Kent
N1UYA
SJVARA
2030
146.64
MON
Net
Presque Isle
WA1YNZ
AARA
2000
146.73

 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 2                                    Feed-Point, September, 2001
Report of September Meeting
Called to Order: 18:35
In Attendance:  N1UYA, N1PMS, N1CHF, N1CGV, N7GLR, KA7VNR
Secretary's Minutes: N7GLR made a motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes. Seconded by N1PMS. Passed.
Treasurer's Report: Not available. Balance close to $169.39

Have you paid your dues yet?

Old Business:
Rocky Mountain:The repeater is functioning without a tone necessary, but  if you don't get any results, press any single tone to activate it. 146.715-
    Has the road been cleared to the tower base yet?

146.640 Repeater: The coverage of the .64 repeater is improving.
N1CHF has removed two of the six cavities. Only 4 are required. The other two filter out out of band noise. With the two cavities removed there is a total of 1.4 DB gain, half of the gain on receive and half on transmit. N1FCV and N1CHF took to large batteries to the repeater site. The batteries came from the hospital. The battery capacity is now doubled. Also, a new 30 watt radio has been installed. (The old one was 11 watts). AS a result of these improvements, WA1YNZ checked into the net on Sept. 17 with a strong signal. (The first time since the repeater had to be moved). Thanks Steve and Gil Bourgoin for your work on the repeater. 
 

 


 

New Business: N1UYA showed a recently purchased book containing the proceeding of the ARRL National Educational Workshop. This book will be useful for any work we undertake in the schools.

Marconi Museum On Cape Breton, N.S.: N1UYA reported seeing several antennas, several rigs and an operator using morse code at the Marconi museum. It was a "flying" visit--just in, a few words with the operator regarding St. Pierre, and out again. The operator said many DX'ers set up on Miquelon during the summer.
      It was noted by one of our members that CQD used to be broadcast before SOS---as in CQ, Disaster.
 

Program: A selection of Photographs taken on
                St. Pierre and Its Islands, with commentary
 

Next meeting: TUESDAY. Oct. 4, 6:30, Grindle Conf. Rm. UMFK

Submitted by: N1UYA

In Case You Are Interested
Coming soon: LOGBOOK OF THE WORLD: Software that will allow a person to enter all QSO contacts in an evening, up load to Logbook of the world, and the next AM  check their personal Confirmation Database on the ARRL web site and find new grids  worked already confirmed. 
 Happy Birthday
Please wish the following a Happy Birthday

Gil Daigle  10-4              Leland Rioux 10-19 
Danny Marquis  10-21   Cecile Marquis 10-30


 
 
 
 
 
Page 3                                          Feed-Point, September, 2001
       SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
      What happened in New York City and Washington D.C. on September 11th, 2001 is something I am sure we all hoped would never happen. The terrorist attacks on such a large scale were something new to this country. In the face of such destruction and loss of life, and in the face of the heroic actions of rescuers, our country is now unified in a way that it has not been for a long time. Not only our country, but perhaps the world is more unified than it has been for a long time. Let us hope something positive comes out of this tragedy, such as a unifying force for world peace.
       ARRL Newsletter Vol.20 #37 said: 
    " The Amateur Radio community has been called to serve in Washington, New York, and Pennsylvania.  Some already are calling it "Amateur Radio's Finest Hour," as volunteers answer the call to assist in ongoing relief and recovery operations in New York City, Washington, DC, and western Pennsylvania in the wake of terrorist
attacks on the US September 11. The need continues for operators to assist over the long haul, however. Current estimates suggest hams may be needed for a month or longer in the New York City area, and for at least the next two weeks in Washington, DC.."
 
 
 
 
     This quote from bulletin ARLB041 gives an idea of the conditions our fellow hams have to deal with.:
      "New York City Amateur Radio volunteers must have a VHF (2-meter) or, preferably, a VHF/UHF (2-meter/70-cm) mobile radio, power supply and cables, and mobile/portable mag-mounted gain antenna. This duty requires a serious commitment and could involve working in a possibly hazardous area in war zone like conditions. Volunteers will need to supply some items of protective clothing."
 
 

  Don't forget:  Jamboree On The Air 2001

     JOTA will be held Oct. 20-21, 2001. Jota was started in 1957 and gives Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts exposure to the joys of amateur radio. They have a chance to talk to other scouts all over the world. Save the weekend and get involved. It is a good way to get young people interested in our hobby.


For Sale
Heavy duty 40' galvanized steel tower, 16" x 16" x 16". Includes mounting hardware. Best Offer. N1JHD--go check it out! 
Heil BM-10 microphone boom set   $35.
MFJ 451X  keyer  $35 Contact Charles Zafonte N1FRX  834-6273
A Bit of Humor
Terrible Typos  collected by Richard Lederer:
* Her chrysanthemums in the autumn are a subtle joy; her lips in the spring are thrilling. * The new Miss America will be drowned later before a nationwide audience. * Mr. Ballard, who has been very ill in the past week is still under the car of Dr. Goldman. * No governor for many years has been able to love on the salary paid him.

 
 
 
Page 4                                                                Feed-Point,  2001

 
FEED-POINT
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: Sandra Daigle, N1QMC
Secretary: Rotating
Treasurer: Steve Boomhower N1CHF
Public Information: Charles Ames, N7GLR
Technical Advisor: Steve Boomhower, N1CHF
Editor/Publisher/Printer
Gale  Flagg - N1UYA / Stan Flagg  834-6670 
Associate Editor/Web Edition
Steve Boomhower   N1CHF 
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. 
 

Feed-Point
RFD 3 Box 250
Fort Kent, ME  04743