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

September 2003                                                       Vol. 13 No.9
Letter From Our President
 Dear Fellow Hams:     
 
     What a glorious spell of weather we have had. From Sept. 5 to 15th was the longest stretch of weather without rain or snow this entire year. Early frosts at the end of August into September affected low lying areas. Since then the nights have been unseasonably warm.  This has been great for the gardens---all our corn has matured, and we have ripe melons and red peppers. Flowers continue to bloom gloriously.

     The good weather was great for repeater work and antenna raising. N1CHF, N1JHD, and KW1C spent a long day at Rocky Mountain on September 7th. They carried the new mast  and antenna up, along with various tools. The mast and antenna were installed. This was KW1C's first trip to the Rocky Mountain site. He was favorably impressed, but he got a lot longer time to enjoy the site than he anticipated. Thanks to you guys for that long day of effort.

    At a Can-Am Director's meeting on Sept. 8, I informed the group that a new antenna was in place and had twice the signal strength the old one did. I also mentioned that we needed new batteries but needed help to get them up the mountain. Andrew Marquis volunteered and others will help him. No one from our club offered to do it!
     
     
     

   
   
      On Sept. 12th N1HPU and his brother spent several hours clearing the trail to the tower. They only got part way up, and hope to return for more work. Thanks very much Ben and brother.

     Also on Sept. 12th N1CHF worked on 146.640.  He removed the thermistor from the solar controller and replaced it with a resistor. In the very cold weather last winter the  batteries were overcharging. N1CHF believes the thermistor was unable to function correctly in extreme cold.

     On Sept. 13th N1CHF, KA1ZOE , and KW1C put up KW1C'S new   40-meter antenna. Later N1CHF put up KA1ZOE's T-V antenna. 

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:

HARVEST SUPPER at PIZZA DELIGHT
in Edmunston, NB   Saturday, October 19th , 6:00 PM




Schedule of Coming Events

Date
Event 
Place
Contact
Sponsor
Time
Freq
SUN
Net
NB
VE1PIN
IRG
2000
145.130
MON
Net
Fort Kent
N1FG
SJVARA
1900
146.64
MON
Net
Presque Isle
WA1YNZ
AARA
2000
146.73






      
Page 2                                    Feed-Point, September, 2003
Report of September  9, 2003 Meeting

Called to
In Attendance:  N1FG, N1QMC, N1JHD, N1PMS, N1CHF, N1CGV, and KW1C
Secretary's Minutes: N1QMC motioned to waive reading of the minutes. N1PMS seconded. Passed

Treasurer's Report: August Balance     Dues $12 + Interest $1.07 = Sept.  Balance $981.27
Motion to accept by N1QMC, seconded by N1CGV, passed.

Old Business:
1. Rocky Mountain Report: N1CHF Report:
Sept. 7th was a beautiful day for mounting the mast and antenna.  KW1C said he was the supervisor and N1CHF and N1JHD
did admirable work.  N1CHF said it took an administrator to keep him and N1JHD from bumbling. There will need to be some adjustments made. Probably RF swamping the repeater. Almost like desensing, but not quite. Antenna and receiver may be too close.  Ideas to fix: Ferrite beads on battery and panel leads. Squelch circuit elimination with Pl Tone doing the muting.

2. 146.64 Report: N1FG: Tax update. If the tower was commercial, it would not be taxed!  

3. Dues DUE:  It was noted that several people have not yet paid dues. Go to www.qsl.net/ n1chf  to see if you still owe.

4. New Member: N1QMC stated that N1PMU would like to be a member of the club. We welcome Curtis to the club.




New Business:

 1. Batteries for Rocky Mountain: 2 T105 batteries will be purchased for the repeater. N1FG reported that Andy Marquis and others will  transport the batteries up to the tower and transport the old ones out. Andy offered his help at the Can-Am Directors meeting. It is very nice of him, as he has a very long work week .

2. Morse Code: FCC looking for comments. KW1C, N1QMC, and N1FG are in favor of keeping the 5 WPM. However, no formal comments will be made.

3. Lifetime Club Membership: It was the consensus of those present that the club will allow a Lifetime Membership for $500. 

 4. Harvest Supper? Various locations were discussed. 
Pizza Delight in Edmunston was chosen. Our October meeting will take place during the supper. Saturday Oct. 18th at 6:00 PM.  Let me know how many are coming.


PROGRAM:  A video entitled "Different Worlds"  covering the origin of the sun and  the planets that orbit it. It is A BBC video and well done. We saw about half of the 50 min. tape. We will view the second half at our Nov. 4 meeting.  




Adjourned: Adjourned at 20:51

Submitted by:  N1FG

In Case You Are Interested
ARRL is offering a new Amateur Extra Class Certificate.
ARRL Members --$7.50     Non-Members --$10.00
The certificate is suitable for framing. Send your name, callsign and year extra license granted to the
 Awards Branch at ARRL
       HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:
Matt Albert 11-07
Charles Zafonte  11-25
Ruth Mckinney 11-29
                         





 
Page 3                                           Feed-Point, September,  2003
         
GREETINGS FROM THE UK

     G0LDK, George, is a frequent Echolink
contact of mine.  George is an 81 year old ham from the central area of the UK. He is very active, attending club meetings and rallies.  He is still adding to his radio equipment. His most recent acquisition a Yaesu   FT 8100R dual band radio at the Leicester Rally, which he says is the largest rally in the UK. At the rally  he met the members of the RATS club (Rugby Amateur Transmitting Society).
     
     George is one of about 40 members of the HARES radio club (Hinkley Amateur Radio Electronic Society). They have weekly meetings. Each attendee pays 50 pence at the meeting, and dues are L-5.00  annually.

     George sends greetings to our club.


     
     
       

       

     

HAMS HELP TRAIL RIDERS


     
     Ten hams ensured the safe trip of horseback riders competing in the American Endurance Ride Championship. The 100 mile race is a 24 hour affair. It took place in a Kentucky National Forest and Wildlife Management area.
      Net Control was set up in a horse trailer! One of the hams had a computer to enter the information received from checkpoints on the internet. This is what we do during the dog races. Net control at Lonesome Pine gets the information about the teams from the operators at checkpoints. This is posted on the internet by Stan Flagg and Dave Hartt at Can-Am Central.
       The operators had to call the horse ambulance to evacuate horses with physical problems.

 
For Sale

Heavy duty 40' galvanized steel tower, 16" x 16" x 16". Includes mounting hardware. Best Offer.  Contact N1FRX

A Bit of Humor
Real Science Test answers from kids: * Q. What are steroids? A. Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs. * Q. Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink. A. Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep, and canoeists.  










Page 4        Feed-Point  2003

 
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 N1FG
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 - N1FG / 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
108 FRANKLIN SCHOOL RD
FORT KENT ME  04743