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.

Our next luncheon will be at 11:30 on Saturday, May 8th, at Hart’s Café, 112 NE Morgan Lane, across from Denny’s Restaurant, in Grants Pass. This luncheon will be a week later than usual because the Magical Merlin Parade is the first Saturday in May and some of the Belles will be working at the parade.

The SOARC VE test sessions for the rest of this year will be held on July 30th and November 26th.

The exams are conducted at 1830 on the last Friday of the month in the Senior Center cafeteria (our regular meeting place). Volunteer examiners should be there at 1800.

The exam costs $12.00 and is available to all, first come, first served, with no reservation necessary.

73, Bill Tyner, WX7U, VE Liaison

I think it’s time for me to explain 220 and why it is so different from 110-volt service. First of all, it's twice as big. Secondly, it'll shock you more. Outside of that, 220 is really two 110-volt lines coming to your house from different parts of the globe.

The up and down 110 comes from the northern hemisphere, and the down and up version comes from below the equator.

Without trying to get technical, it all boils down to the direction water flows when it goes down the drain. In the top of the earth, it goes clockwise, while on the bottom of the earth it goes counterclockwise. Since most electricity is made from hydroelectric dams, the clockwise flow gives you an up and down sine wave, while the counterclockwise version gives you a down and up sine wave. Between the two, you have 220 volts, while either individual side only gives you 110 volts.

This is particularly important to know when buying power tools--which side of the globe did they come from? If you get an Australian saw, for instance, it will turn backwards if connected to a US-generated 110-volt source. Sure, you can buy backwards blades for it, but that is an unnecessary burden. Other appliances, like toasters, cannot be converted from Australian electricity to American electricity without horrible results. I knew one person who bought an Australian toaster by mistake and it froze the slices of bread she put in it.

If you wire your shop with 220 and accidentally get two US-generated 110-volt lines run in by accident, you can get 220 by using a trick I learned from an old electrician. Just put each source into its own fuse box and then turn one of the boxes upside down. That'll invert one of the two up and down sine waves to down and up, giving you 220. DO NOT just turn the box sideways, since that'll give you 165 volts and you'll be limited to just using Canadian tools with it.

(This was intended as pure humor.)

By Herbert Lennartz, Radio News, August 1936

At the Radio Operator's Desk

At the extreme left is the short-wave transmitter with the short-wave receiver alongside. At the extreme right is the long-wave transmitter and the long-vave receiver.

Successful two-way radio communication with Chatham, Mass., was maintained by the latest Zeppelin, LZ129 on its second trial flight. This meant bridging a distance of 4375 miles by radio. Readers will no doubt be interested in the type of equipment employed on this latest airship. There are two transmitters, one for long waves and one for short waves, and two all-wave receivers. The aids to navigation consist of three sets of direction-finding apparatus.

The Transmitters

The long-wave transmitter can be tuned to any wavelength between 575 and 2,700 meters if 525 to 11 kc. plate circuit modulation is employed. The power in the antenna is 200 watts for c.w. and 125 watts for telephony. The radiator consists of a two-wire antenna, 120 meters in length which can be unreeled by motor-winch. The receiver and transmitter employ the same antenna, equipped with an automatic device which switches it over when one speaks into the microphone. As soon as the speech stops for more than half a second, the installation automatically returns to receiving conditions.

The short-wave transmitter has the same power as the long-wave transmitter and can tune from 17 to 70 meters (17,700 to 4,280 kc). This range is divided into two overlapping bands. The antenna consists of a quarter-wave trailing wire, which is reeled out to the required length for the frequency in use.

The necessary power is supplied by an internal combustion motor and a generator which furnishes the electrical power for lighting of the ship, the power for the radio equipment, and the heating current for the electric kitchen. The filament and plate supplies are obtained by means of the usual transformers. The necessary filters are placed in the lines in order to eliminate interference.

Two all-wave receivers are employed for reception, one to be used in conjunction with each transmitter. They are four-tube receivers employing two tuned r.f. circuits with a frequency range from 15 to 20,000 kc. subdivided into 10 bands. Switching from one band to another can be done quickly because all coils are mounted on the edge of a disk which can be rotated by hand.

The power supply for the receivers consists of a storage battery for both A and B supply. These batteries can be charged during the flight.

Radio Compass

Three different direction-finding receivers are employed on board the airship. The first one serves for the navigation during the flight, to find the location of the ship by means of cross bearings and to follow a course indicated by beam transmitters. It has a wave-length range from 300 to 1,800 meters. Two other directional receivers are employed for landing in bad weather.

A large loop is connected to two of these receivers by means of a transformer. A small loop is coupled to the third directional receiver.

The output of the three receivers is connected to two indication instruments. Each instrument has three pointers and each pointer is controlled by one of the three receivers. When the airship lands, the ground crew of the airport operates three radio transmitters which give complete directions for grounding the ship, releasing the grab-lines, etc.

Bob Reed, W2CE

Toms River, NJ 08757

The FCC is working on at least two fronts to eliminate unlicensed operation from the 10-meter band. In January, FCC Special Counsel Riley Hollingsworth sent warning notices to two shipping companies regarding reports to the Commission that some of the companies' vehicles may be the source of illegal radio transmissions on the amateur band. One of the companies, UPS, has offered its full cooperation.

"Many truckers use CB radio, which does not require a license," Hollingsworth pointed out in letters to UPS offices in Ohio and Indiana and to R&L Transfer, Inc. of Ohio. "However, any person using a radio transmitter on the Amateur Radio bands must possess a station and operator license." Hollingsworth asked the over-the-road shippers to advise their drivers that such radio operation could subject them to heavy fines and seizure of their radio equipment.

UPS Attorney Daniel N. Tenfelde responded to assure Hollingsworth that his company was taking its Warning Notice seriously and has launched a full investigation. "We discovered that some employees had obtained CB radios that contained a mechanism allowing them to switch frequencies into the 10-meter Amateur Radio band," he told Hollingsworth in a January 28 letter. "It is not UPS policy to allow equipment such as this to be used in our vehicles." He said UPS' contract with the Teamsters Union allows only for CB radios.

Tenfelde said UPS is working with its transportation and labor groups to let drivers know that such unlicensed operation violates both UPS policy and FCC regulations.

In a parallel development, the FCC issued a Citation to Jonathan Edward Stone, doing business as Omnitronics/Pacetronics for alleged violation of §302(b) of the Communications Act and §2.803(a)(1) of the Commission's rules. An investigation by the FCC's Dallas field office led the Commission to allege that Omnitronics/Pacetronics was offering more than two dozen uncertificated "Citizens Band" transceivers via its website.

The FCC says Omnitronics/Pacetronics was marketing the units as Amateur Radio equipment, which does not require FCC certification (formerly known as "type acceptance").

"The Commission has evaluated radio frequency devices similar to those listed and concluded that the devices at issue are not only amateur radios but can easily be altered for use as Citizens Band devices as well," said the FCC Citation from FCC Dallas District Director James D. Wells. The FCC said it concluded that the devices fall within the definition of CB transmitters that "cannot legally be imported or marketed in the United States." That would include so-called "export" models, the Citation said, pointing to a 2000 revision of §2.1204(a)(5) of its rules.