Issue 106 — MARCH 2002
Monthly Newsletter of the Southern Oregon Amateur Radio Club
SOARC, P.O. BOX 1164, GRANTS PASS, OREGON 97528
VISIT THE SOARC WEBSITE AT: http://www.qsl.net/soar/SOARC/
EDITOR: MIKE WRIGHT, N7GEI, 432 GRANDVIEW AVE., G. P., OR 97527
PHONE: 541-471-0440 E-MAIL:
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The President's Corner
Ok, time for club! I have been working on several projects and I hope you have as well.
The trees are starting to bud and some flowers are already in bloom. That means spring is at hand and will arrive just eight days after our meeting. That means summer is not far behind and with it come fire season, lost campers, and river events. Time to get prepared! Field day and the club picnic also will be coming fast! See you at club!
73, Jim, WA6OTP
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2002 SOARC Officers and Board
| President: Jim McNutt, WA6OTP, 479-5630 |
Vice President: Bill Tyner, WX7U, 476-2703 |
| Secretary: Sean Smithers, N7ZWU, 476-7964 |
Treasurer: Ann Randall, KB7TGO 476-2456 |
| Board of Directors: | |
| Mike Wright, N7GEI, 471-0440 |
Anita Malmstrom, KC7MGH, 476-2339 |
| Elmer Seutter, W6IGK, 955-5240 |
Bill Leiken, KC7IXX, 846-7682 |
| Warren Olney, KB7EKF, 474-3575 |
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Welcome From Your Editor
Another year is well underway and our many summer events will be here before we know it! Please plan to get involved in Boatnik and Field Day, and prepare yourself and your equipment for any seasonal emergencies that may occur.
Dues are due by the end of this month. The new roster includes all who have paid their dues. If you have paid and your name is not on the roster, contact our treasurer.
If you have a project that you are working on or are planning to build something, let everyone know what you are up to. You might be surprised at the number of suggestions you will receive from people who are interested in the same thing you are. Use the Gnus to look for ideas, parts, or solutions to your design problems.
If you have anything to submit for publication in the Gnus, see the contact information below the masthead.
73, Mike, N7GEI
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NEXT CLUB MEETING
TUESDAY, 19 MARCH
1900
SENIOR CENTER
3RD & B STREETS
GRANTS PASS
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Coming Attractions
Our next club meeting will feature an auction of remaining items from the estate of N7SVH. All proceeds go to the estate.
Here is a partial list and starting bids:
(1) RG8 A/U, 120' with connectors, US Wire .10/foot
(2-3) RG8 U, 120' with connectors, Aloha and US Wire .10/foot
(1) Belden 8214, 120' with connectors .10/foot
(3) 250' lengths of RG59U with connectors .05/foot
(1) Columbia RG8 Foam (large dia) 30" w/ conn. .15/foot
450 Ohm Ladder line, 100' roll, new, best offer
250' stranded copper wire, bright, unused about 10-12 gauge, best offer
Hustler Ant. Fiberglas pole, 4 sections (2 tops with slightly differing lengths), screw together, looks like a stacked 5/8 for a repeater or base. $10.
HyGain trapped 10/15/20m Beam on a 2" mast. Needs some repair but appears to all be there. $25.
B&W 1.8-30 mHz Folded Dipole. No tuner needed, has coil and balun plus 100 feet of RG8. Same one is in the HRO cat going for $199. Best Offer
10 ele cross polarized 2m Beam with rotor, 100'++ control cable,
100'++ RG8 and connectors (Here's your chance to do moon bounce) $30.
10 ele Yagi boomer (needs driven ele repaired. $10.
ICOM 28H (high power) 2M Transceiver $35.
Antique Hallicrafters S38B Receiver. Runs great. Very collectable. $25.
Tenna 20amp PS $15.
Palomar Model 500 Watt/SWR Meter (4" dial) $5.
Micronta Reg PS (2.5Amp) $5.
ICOM 745 Transceiver, general coverage RX is terrific but TX needs factory service. $50.
MFJ M949D Cross Needle HF Tuner (nice) $20.
Most items will be at the meeting, however, some will have to be picked up, by arrangement, at the Williams residence. Digital photos will be at the meeting of these few bulky items.
Several other items are being donated by the estate for use in the SOARC/ARES trailer, including a huge, gorgeous VOM, a new Isopole 440mHz ant. w/coax, several pieces of hardware, and small tools for trailer upkeep.
73, Bill Tyner, WX7U
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Calling All Ladies
Western Belles is a women's ham radio chat group that meets at 7:30 PM on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of every month on the 147.300 repeater. Please check in!
The ladies get together regularly for lunch and all female hams are invited to attend.
The Western Belles 2nd Anniversary Luncheon was held on February 2nd and was a big success. There were 24 attendees and fun was had by all.
The next luncheon will be at 11:30 on Saturday, April 6th, at Torero?s Family Mexican Restaurant, 531 NE E St., Grants Pass.
73, Wilma, W1LMA, and Anita, KC7MGH
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2002 VE Exams
Here are the remaining dates for SOARC-sponsored ARRL VE license exams for 2002. Walk-ins are welcome.
May 31
August 30
November 29
All exam sessions will be held at 6:30 PM at the Senior Center where we meet. Don't forget to bring a copy of your license, any CSCE's you hold, a photo ID, and $10.
Come by and test your code speed. SOARC still offers code speed certification tests rewarded by a very attractive certificate to attest to your Morse prowess.
73, Bill Tyner, WX7U
VE Liaison
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Goodbye, Sam? Thanks For The Dots And Dashes
What God hath wrought, you said
Let no man put asunder.
And then your dots and dashes
Hit the world like thunder.
Bakelite and brass shine with sun
The sounder clacks and clicks.
The green-shaded operator wrists his key
To keep the trains on time.
No place is isolated any more
Not Papua, Aden, nor Cawnpore
The deft telegraphist keeps his rhythm
The message must get through.
Ships and aircraft
Polar snows
Jungles deep
Mountain peaks
Town post offices
Waterless plains
Stormy lighthouse
The message must get through.
A century-and-a-half, it's gone
No more the fervent listeners
Craning for SOS from stricken ship.
No more the traffic lists,
The calling tape, the flight reports.
No more the green shade
And the skillful swing of the key.
Above the equator
Shiny plastic boxes
Keep watch and
Keep the world in touch.
On the cobwebbed polished bench
The manipulator longs
For the loving touch
Of her long gone master.
The distress, urgency, and safety calls
Hang in the salty air like wraiths
And the cries of the saved
Are stifled by the mighty microwaves.
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Negative Frequencies And The Radio Amateur
It is a well-known fact that when using beat frequency oscillators in radio receiver circuitry these oscillators may be set to either a positive or negative frequency. This phenomenon, by logical extension, can be applied to the transmission and reception of radio frequency energy (RFE).
It is not commonly appreciated that almost all phase-locked loop controlled receivers and transmitters have a negative frequency tuning capability. This can be accessed by carefully unlocking the phase, using a rubber hammer, and allowing the frequency to drift slowly downwards until it just reaches zero kilohertz. At just below zero, the LCD or LED frequency display will show a minus sign on the left-hand side.
Using communications equipment in negative mode automatically switches in different components on the main circuit boards. For example, the capacitors used do not contain any plates or dielectric. They are made of either solid iron or synthesized cork, but, for reasons of health and safety, these two elements must not be contained in the same outer casing. Resistors must be of negative resistance construction and are normally fabricated from rare earth elements which can only be mined from a 200-square-meter area in the north of Albania. Transistors used must be constructed so that the emitter, base, and collector are all negative with respect to each other and to earth.
Any intermediate frequency transformers used in associated circuitry must be wound anti-clockwise on pseudo-convective platinum dust cores.
As may be suspected, different techniques are necessary when experimenting with negative frequency signals. Instead of these signals being refracted from the ionosphere as in normal communications, they actually suck out pieces of the refracting layer, leaving gaps. These gaps are received as holes in the negative frequency spectrum and thus have to be transmuted into positive signals by use of a double-helix audio frequency converter.
It is not strictly correct to state that negative frequency signals use the ionosphere. In reality these signals utilize a hitherto unknown component of the Heaviside layer known colloquially as the Suicide layer.
From the antenna aspect, the reception and transmission of negative frequency signals is simplicity itself. Because the signals consist of holes, they will be naturally lossy and it will be immediately apparent that, the more inefficient the antenna, the better the non-signal. It is possible to build a completely useless antenna for, say, 160 meters by using two elastic bands in a dipole configuration. Not only would these not radiate, but they would also have super-efficient non-polar diagrams which would enhance the overall sucking effect. Care must be taken to ensure that the earth connection is not a double earth, which would result in the ground being positive with respect to itself.
Another advantage of using negative frequency techniques, which is perhaps not so obvious to the layman, is that it is not necessary to plug the equipment into a power supply. (Remember - the poorer the signal that is available, the better the results.) This means that receivers and transmitters used in this mode actually create power from the holes that are used and it is often possible when receiving a strong non-signal to generate some spare power which could be utilized to run a small chainsaw or coffeemaker. (Up to a maximum of three amps - Ed.)
Investigation into negative frequency techniques is being carried out at a frenzied rate throughout the world. The obvious advantage is the recovery of an entirely new HF spectrum which covers from minus 1 Hz to minus 30 MHz. In time, this will take all the pressure off of users trying desperately to find gaps between interfering signals in the positive spectrum.
Technology marches on!
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