It's June, and, once again, I am not going to be at the meeting. I can't seem to work things out to stay at home the third week of the month. This month is even worse with missing Field Day too.

I would like to thank all of the SOARC members and other amateurs in the area who helped out at Boatnick. Your efforts are appreciated and I hope that you enjoyed the races.

The earthquake offshore brings to light the fact that these kinds of emergency situations will occur in the future. Maybe next week or in several years, but we need to be prepared. A large earthquake could cause loss of power and damage to the communications systems. Early emergency communications would rely on amateur radio to assist in getting help to the right areas and provide communications out of those areas where normal communications have been lost. Part of being prepared is training; just having equipment is only part of the solution. Communications operators need to be trained in procedures to minimize unneeded chatter and to communicate efficiently. If you're interested in partici- pating in emergency activities, I'm sure that Brian will be more than happy to talk with you.

This month is the opportunity for amateurs all over the country to participate in a fun emergency simulation. Field Day provides a chance to set up equipment in a short period of time and communicate with other amateurs who have also done the same in their community. This month's meeting is directed at getting prepared for the upcoming event. Volunteers will be needed to assist in a number of aspects of the Field Day event. Your help is needed and the meeting will be your chance to hold up your hand and volunteer. We will need loggers, operators who are able to work the radios, and people to assist in setting up the equipment, preparing food for the group, assisting with visitors to the Field Day site, and cleaning up.

Last year was great fun. The new location was nearly bug-free and cool with plenty of places to find some shade from the hot sun. Come on down and visit, help out, or just encourage the operators to stay awake. As I mentioned, I won't make it this time, but I want the operators to be listening for me. I'll have my FT-817 QRP rig with me and my portable long wire. I could hear you just fine down in Texas during the Oregon QSO party, but the operators up here just were not paying attention to those low power stations. Will try again, from out on the road. If you hear a weak WA5 call in the noise level, give me a holler. I may have to find some extra room and take my straight key with me this trip. I'll be looking for a local Field Day group and maybe volunteer a few hours of time to help out and get a chance to holler at you all back here in Oregon.

Things are looking good for July, so I should be at that meeting. Everyone on the various committees seems to be taking care of things, and I do appreciate their help and contribution to the club. I'll be talking to you on the radio, look for me on the .90/.30 repeater in the mornings and evenings as I make the daily run to work and back.

I'll be listening for you all from Field Day Central at the park.

73, Dennis Recla, WA5KTC

My computer crashed for the second time in five months just as I was about to finish the Gnus last month. I ended up replacing the motherboard and processor and all appears to be well at this point. I upgraded to a 2.6 GHz Celeron with onboard video and six-channel surround sound and I sure can tell the difference. It turned out the 1GHz Athlon I had in my Gateway was overheating and beginning to fail.

I had every intention of going to SeaPac this year, however, the best laid plans& For numerous reasons, I was not able to go, but there is always next year. I decided to use the money I would have spent for the trip to buy a new HF radio and antenna to console myself.

Field Day is coming up soon and I plan to be there as much as possible. My wife doesn't get back from Kentucky until the 28th, so I still have to keep an eye on my dad. I would like to see all of our newer hams come out and experience this event first-hand. It will be fun for all who attend.

Don't forget – you can list your "for sale or trade" or "wanted" items in the newsletter. Please limit them to ham or computer-related merchandise or services.

If you have anything to contribute to the Gnus, see the contact information above.

73, Mike, N7GEI

Western Belles is a women's ham radio chat group that meets at 7:30 PM on the second Tuesday 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 August 6th at China Buffet, 144 SE 7th St., Grants Pass. There will not be a luncheon in July

June 17-19 – Sea-Pac, ARRL Northwest Division Convention, Seaside, OR
http://www.seapac.org/

June 21 – 1800: SOARC Board Meeting, 1900: SOARC General Meeting

June 25-26 – ARRL Field Day, Schroeder Park, Grants Pass
http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/

June 28 – VE Testing

August 7 – JARS Picnic, Lake Selmac

September 18 – (Sunday instead of Saturday)
SOARC Picnic, Whitehorse Park, Grants Pass

October – JOTA – CROP Walk

November 15 – Nominations for SOARC officers and board

November 29 – VE Testing

December 20 – SOARC Christmas Party/Potluck/Gift Exchange, Redwood Grange, Grants Pass

SOARC entered the Oregon QSO Party on Saturday, May 7th, to have some fun, to train operators in computer logging, and to check out the trailer and equipment and start a list of things that need to be accomplished before Field Day. All of the goals were achieved.

The trailer and antennas were set up Friday afternoon at Schroeder Park, in the rain, and a good time was had by all. Burton Griffin, WB6CYK, trained several club members in computer logging, and it sure made things a lot easier on Saturday. The HF rig failed again, however, we made a trip home and rounded up a spare rig. The club's new portable tower and 3-element beam were set up and they worked great. Galen Kelm, KE7LM, brought a 5 KW generator, so we had plenty of power. On Saturday, there were 21 club members and three guests in attendance. The unofficial stats for the day are as follows:

• 35 states worked
• 2 Canadian Provinces worked
• 1 DX country worked
• 17 Oregon Counties worked

A total of 132 contacts made for 7320 points, plus 100 bonus points for working the event sponsor, for a total or 7420 points.

This should be considered a very good showing, considering the amount of training that was going on. For those folks who could not participate, make sure that you get Field Day, June 25th and 26th, with setup on Friday the 24th, on your calendar. We will have a great time.

73, Elmer Seutter, W6IGK

(SOARC has since purchased an IC-718 transceiver and an LDG-200 antenna tuner to replace our failed HF rig. This new equipment will definitely get a workout on Field Day! – Your editor.)

On Wednesday, June 15th, club members Warren Olney, KB7EKF, and Galen Kelm, KE7LM, were interviewed on radio station KAJO about Field Day and SOARC. They represented us and amateur radio well, responding to the questions and providing valuable information about our club and our hobby. Kudos and thanks for a job well done!

The Southern Oregon Amateur Radio Club is sponsoring ARRL licensing examinations for 2005 on June 28th and November 29th at the regular meeting site. ARRL has once again increased the fee for licensing from $12.00 to $14.00 per license class exam. As usual, if you take a written and code test together you only pay the single fee. Either one by itself is $14.00. Should you take two written tests to upgrade twice in one session it will cost $28.00. Even if you don't take any tests, the fee for an upgrade (in this instance, the invoking of the grandfather privilege for pre-1987 technicians) will be $14.00.

Walk-ins are dandy with no pre-registration required. If there are many of you arriving in a group, or are examinees requiring special accommodation (PWD), then please do advise me in advance so that we can best meet your needs.

Register between 6:00-6:15 PM. Exams begin at 6:30. Plan on spending from one to two hours.

Contact: Bill Tyner, WX7U, by e-mail at

goodgrendl@aol.com or leave a phone message at (541) 476-2703.

I am still trying to contact Dale Trautman to see if the Medford club has suspended exam sessions or not. He doesn't answer e-mails so I suspect he may have dropped off the Internet. I will try the old way – via land line. In any event, we have some examinees coming in and it would be good to get as many of our VE's to attend as is possible. I hope the new VE's will respond to this session as well.

If we have to do both valleys, then 10 VE's won't be too many. As most of you know, I am interested in rotating liaison duties with other VE's. There is really only one major stipulation, and that, of course, has to do with the administration of Extra exams. The liaison must be an Extra Class licensee. Even if there are a couple other VE's who are Extras administering the exams, the liaison must also be Extra Class.

So, I will be working with the first of the new liaisons at the next session. We just have to get someone to step forward and do a couple sessions before handing it off to another. Should I find that we will be doing exams for the other valley, then we may have to increase the frequency of exams to six per year. This will make the rotating liaison job and the number of VE's even more important.

In preparation for the next session please review Ch 4 of the "blue book". Chapter 4 has to do with the forms and filling them out. In just a few pages it has everything that must occur, the forms to be used, and how they are submitted. It's really very easy. The hard part has always been keeping track of who has corrected what, where did that form go (?) and has everyone signed all of the forms (?).
http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/vemanual/VEman-ch4.pdf

73, Bill Tyner, WX7U

VE Liaison

The kickoff for the 2005 ARRL Field Day is rapidly approaching. Set-up in Schroeder Park is scheduled for Friday, June 24th, at 5:00 p.m. Operations start on Saturday, June 25th, at 11:00 a.m. and end at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 26th.

We had our first organizational meeting at the site on Tuesday, May 24th, and formed committees. I am in charge of arrangements for the potluck that will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. If you are willing to serve on this committee, please contact me at 479-7888. Anyone planning to come out for the potluck please bring a covered dish, table service, and drinks of your choice. Coffee will be available. Those willing to help set up antennas please come out on Friday at 5 p.m.

We are encouraging everyone, including unlicensed individuals to come out and operate. We will have an new Icom IC-718 and SDG Autotuner on the GOTA station, so all you Techs are especially encouraged to get in some time on the lower HF bands and work some new states and countries. Everyone interested in operating one of our two stations please respond to me at this address br_griffin@yahoo.com and state your preference of time and day.

We had a great time last year in our new cool and green location, so come on out for the food and fun.

73, Burton Griffin, WB6CYK

Free: Several dozen "wire grips" for 1/4-inch guy wire. This is the type used by power pole guys. Also have a number of pieces of relatively short 1/4-inch guy wire. Contact Jim Woods, W7PUP, 956-5287, or woods@grantspass.com.

Wanted: Eight-conductor rotor wire. Would ideally like 100 feet or more. Also need 52 ohm coax, RG-8 or similar. Contact Jim Woods, W7PUP, 956-5287, or woods@grantspass.com.

Take a look at other radio club newsletters at:
http://www.w9smc.com/newsletters.htm and http://www.nccc.cc/newsletter.html

Everything you want to know about baluns:
http://eznec.com/Amateur/Articles/Baluns.pdf

For builders and tinkerers check out:
http://slate.com/id/2115922/

Looking for engineering terms? See:
http://www.maxim-ic.com/glossary

HELPFUL TIPS AND HINTS FOR CW BEGINNERS AND EXPERIENCED OPERATORS

NW7U's Morse Code Radio Center:
http://cw.hfradio.org

Beginner's guide to making contacts by WB8FSV:
http://www.netwalk.com/~fsvCWguide.htm

CW tips from W9EM:
http://www.qsl.net/w9em/cw_tips.html

CW and net tips from KI8DU:
http://www.qsl.net/ki8du/

Morse code study tips from around the world:
http://www.morsecode.dutch.nl/hints.html

PA3BWK's Ultimate morse code website:
http://www.morsecodedutch.nl/index2.html

CW and QRP from K3WWP:
http://home.allel.net/johnshan/

Morsum Magnificent, the Morse magazine:
http://www.morsum.demon.co.uk/learners.html

Do you need a DOS freeware program to determine true north, antenna bearings, distance, latitude and longitude? See:
http://home.earthlink.net/~remcc

Need a spreadsheet program for use with transmission lines, transformers, lumped components, and use in plotting Smith Charts? Check out:
http://www.qsl.net/ac6la/xlzizl.html

For a freeware DOS program for antenna and transmission line analysis see: http://www.btinternet.com/~g4fgq.regp

Also see HAMCALC at CQ Magazine web page:
http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com

Interested in predicting earthquakes? Check out:
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/1aug_earthquakes.htm

For those of you who have travel plans, or are just interested in the weather, here are some websites to check out:

Highway conditions for Southern Oregon:
http://www.tripcheck.com

Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) road weather cams:
http://www.tripcheck.com/RoadCams/roadcams.htm

Medford weather channel:
http://www.weather.comweather/local/usor0215

Medford weather underground:
http://www.wunderground.com/US/OR/Medford.html

National Weather Service radar:
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/radar/latest/DS.p19r0/si.kmax.shmtl

Pacific Ocean Weather Satellite:
http://www.weather.com/maps/maptype/satelliteworld/pacificoceansatellite_large.html

National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency radio frequencies.

73, Elmer Seutter, W6IGK

We also received the following from Carter Rose, KD6GN:

Here is an excellent shortwave listener's list of all those countries that are broadcasting to North America in English, that may be of interest to some club members:
http://www.swl.nu

The ARRL and the United States Power Squadrons (USPS), a national boating and educational organization, will formally ratify a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on June 4. The MoU spells out areas where the two organizations can work together in educational activities of overlapping or mutual interest to their respective memberships.

"ARRL and USPS have long and distinguished histories, both dating back to 1914, but both organizations have their focus on the future," said ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ. "It is a pleasure to be working together."

Among other things, the MoU calls for the League and USPS to assist each other in marketing, developing and promoting educational materials specific to the dual interests of the recreational boater and the Amateur Radio operator. In addition, the two organizations have agreed to collaborate in the development and distribution of promotional materials and to develop products to serve boaters who are also Amateur Radio licensees.

With a mission of promoting safe boating through education, USPS – "America's Boating Club" – has more than 50,000 members organized into 450 squadrons across the continental US, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Japan. Local squadrons offer public boating safety courses on a regular basis. Successfully completing a USPS boating course qualifies boaters to meet the educational requirement for boat licensing and operation in most states. It's also a requirement to become a local Power Squadron member.

Organized in 1914 as a non-profit boating organization, USPS is a world leader in speaking out for and promoting the needs of all recreational boaters. USPS teaches classes in seamanship and navigation to help our members improve their boating skills, confidence and performance on the water. In addition, through a cooperative program with the US Coast Guard, squadron members conduct vessel safety checks to make sure boaters have all Coast Guard-required equipment aboard.

USPS on-the-water events often are coordinated using Amateur Radio, so the match of boating and Amateur Radio operations is a good fit.

"It's also a great way to introduce boaters to Amateur Radio," said ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP. "Time and again hams have shown that Amateur Radio gets emergency messages through when other systems fail or are overloaded. The ability to have such a resource on board would make any skipper safer and better able to render aid if needed."

A new Amateur Radio Learning Guide for boaters – a cooperative effort by USPS and ARRL – has just been released. The publication will be available from USPS and ARRL as well as through major book retailers. "This new publication is a great reference for anyone interested in ham radio operation, ashore or on the water," said Darrell Allison of USPS. He cited GPS, APRS, radar and marine electronics among the common interests between hams and boaters.

US Power Squadrons representatives were a part of ARRL EXPO 2005 at Dayton Hamvention in May. A copy of the MoU is available on the ARRL Web site: http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/mou/ARRLmouUSPS.pdf

The USPS/CPS Amateur Radio Net meets Saturdays, 1700 UTC, on 14.287 MHz. A once-a-month 10-meter net takes place on the first Saturday of each month at 1800 UTC on 28.357 MHz.

The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) and ARRL have signed a Memorandum of Agreement which spells out guidelines for CAP – the US Air Force Auxiliary, and ARRL – the national association for Amateur Radio, to better use and integrate their resources during communication exercises and emergencies.

Radio communication plays a major role in all of CAP's operations, including homeland security, damage assessment, search and rescue, and disaster relief. It was key in CAP's impact assessment missions during last year's hurricanes in Florida, ice storms in Arkansas and New York, and floods in Missouri.

During the course of many emergency response situations, Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), and other Amateur Radio emergency groups find themselves working side by side with CAP members.

CAP maintains a dedicated nationwide HF and VHF network on federal government frequencies. They operate over 550 VHF repeaters spread across the country as well as HF, tactical VHF/UHF, data, and satellite, 24/7.