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UP-LiNK THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE CHERRYVILLE
REPEATER ASSOCIATION II, INC. “Community Service Through Communication” July 2001 |
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THANK YOU, CRAII
On behalf
of my son, Michael, and his family I wish to express our appreciation for
his being recognized recently by the CRA membership for academic achievement.
The scholarship award is certainly appreciated and will be put to very good
use. It is so great to see our youth recognized
in such a fitting way to cap off the many years of Elementary education and
spring board into the next years of higher education.
Once again, my compliments to the scholarship committee and all our CRA friends....
Thank you,
Thomas K. Lanieri
Wanted……
A few good people!
Races members,
need not to reply!!
Do you enjoy doing public service events? Do you enjoy setting up stations in remote areas, such as field day? Do you want to something beneficial to your community? Do you want to have some fun?
If you answered ‘Yes’ to any of the above questions, then you may consider giving me some help. I know most of you have checked into the local traffic net that runs on Thursday nights, and very little traffic is passed. Well, I volunteered to be the clubs ARES liaison and I need people that can put their ‘ham’ radio skills and knowledge to good use. I need you to consider joining me in a local ARES group.
Now ARES stands for Amateur Radio Emergency Service and it was set up by the ARRL to assist with storms and other disasters. And it’s very different from RACES.
What I would like to do is have a small group of people that can put their ham radio skills to good use. I want to let you know that we are also going to have a little bit of fun doing this. I got a few ideas on some projects that we can do, such as making low cost antennas, and a grab box - a basic ham radio ‘first aid kit’. In addition I want to set up some outdoor ‘emergency’ stations-just like ‘Field Day’, and maybe a contest as well.
But we will be doing some serious stuff as well, like assisting our communities in the event of an emergency. And, learning how to pass formal messages a.ka. ‘Traffic’.
If you are interested in joining, then contact me by voice or e-mail
David Kanitra WB2AZE
e-mail WB2AZE@yahoo.com
CRA PROGRAM SCHEDULE
de Denis KA2YYB
JUL 13, "New Things in Mobile Radio Trunking,
Part 1"
Frank Brickle AB2KT
AUG 10 open
Mendelsohn W2MF
OCT 12 " Mobile Radio Trunking, Part 2”
Frank Brickle AB2KT
Hamfest Calendar
de George N2VWL
Here is a list of ARRL sanctioned Hamfests in New Jersey, for the current year:
12 Aug. Jersey Shore ARS Bayville
6 Oct. Bergen ARA Hackensack
The following are those in nearby PA:
15 July Mid-Atlantic ARC Kimberton
15 Sept. Del. Lehigh Schnecksville
Public Service
de WB2NQV
It’s AFD. That’s “after Field Day” and we are all winding down from a very successful weekend. As you read this the 54th Lebanon July 4th Parade will be history so I’ll take this opportunity to thank everyone for their help, especially Justin N2QOR for securing the County’s command bus and operating the net. The confirmed dates for the rest of the year are; Bucks County Horse Park August 12, October 7 and November 10 and 11, N2VWL Coordinator N2VWL@epix.net, If you can help with any of these events contact the event coordinator or myself at WB2NQV@arrl.net.
For the latest Public Service dates log on
the CRA web site http://www.qsl.net/w2cra
EXTREME HOME BREW
Part 2
Creating the capacitor.
The problem building the set, of course, was the need to build components,
so until we could build some components there was nothing much we could do.
A look at the circuit diagram of a regenerative receiver indicates a number
of capacitors - about two or three are required - low capacitors
to make the oscillating part of the system work, and in fact from memory we
needed in the grid circuit at least one .01 microfarad capacitor and there
was no chance we could get this anywhere, or any other components. So we hit
upon the idea of taking some tin foil or aluminum foil from the tea chest
which the Japanese supplied with the rice rations, then by the well known
equations for calculating capacity and the relationship of the distance between
the plates and the area of the plates we built a capacitor or, at least, I built a capacitor which according to calculations should
have been about .01 microfarad. If I could put an aside here, I built
a replica of this capacitor some years ago, and it went out to Simpson barracks
where we had some friends in the testing laboratory, and with great excitement
the Warrant Officer concerned said "We will see how good your calculations
were"; so he put it on his equipment which was accurate to many decimal
points and read on his display unit .009 microfarad, so we thought we were
pretty good. I said "Touché" to him because he didn't think we could
do it. I made two or three of these, and I still have one of them that would
work if I built the receiver again, which I have been thinking about doing
but there's always something else, like a lot of other projects which one
has as one gets older. We had to
insulate the layers of [the capacitators] which we did by putting a layer
of newspaper (a few people had newspaper and various things, for other reasons
than newspaper of course, but then we had no other toilet requisites in the
party) and by soaking this in some coconut oil we could insulate each layer
after we wound it, and with a piece of this bee wire - we had something like
fifty feet of it - wound round this part of the fish plate, we made a fairly
good choke coil. And then a bigger capacitor, which was no trouble, having
had success with the small one, to just wrap as much tin foil as we could
round another sheet of newspaper which finished up about 18 inches long by
about three quarters of an inch in diameter. We didn't even try to measure
the capacitance of it, because we couldn't do anything about it anyway, except
put more wire on. And that in effect was a fairly good rectifier, a very dangerous
one because we had the 110 all right but we had a bit over that by the time
we had rectified it, and we don't know because we had no means of measuring
it.
Next month: The cinnamon resistor
THANK YOU CHERRYVILLE
Pete,
Thank you so much for sending the sympathy card on behalf of the club.
The past few days have been difficult for me and the card was most welcomed.
Each day seems to get better than the last. Today was the private burial and
then a memorial service at the church. Her old friends were out in force.
She now rests in peace. Please pass along my feelings of gratitude
to everyone.
John, W2GD
FOR SALE
Several GE Master II low band mobile rigs
One GE Master II base rig and one for spare parts
Two Mitrek low band mobile rigs
One Mitrek VHF mobile rig
Two GE Master II VHF mobile rigs
Two GE Master II UHF mobile rigs
Make Offer to Robert, KC8GPD
The Novice Gals Racking Up The
Points- FD 2001
See our website at http://www.qsl.net/w2cra for more pictures
Rules of the Road
All
members should bear in mind that there are two timers associated with the
primary machine, 147.375/975. The most critical one is the 90-second timer used
during morning and evening drive times. The reduction from three minutes to 90
seconds has a very important purpose: Those are the two times of the day that
see the highest number of users, and the primary information exchanged during
those times are road reports.
The
"375" machine also doesn’t have a "beep" such as you might
find on some other repeaters. That’s why it’s important to leave a space between
a station dropping the carrier and you picking it up. Leave the space in case
some has an emergency or just wants to check in.
In all cases, remember to keep all transmissions as
short as possible, but especially at drive time!
License Classes Scheduled
Barry Campbell, W2CGX
Education Committee Chairman
License
classes for new amateur operators are scheduled for the fall at the Somerset
County Technical Institute in Bridgewater.
This
year only the Technician class license will be presented, along with the Morse
code. Also, instead of two nights a week, classes this year will be held on
Tuesday evenings, from 6:30 until 9:30. In mid November a VE session will
be held, and hopefully at that time we’ll have several new Technician licensees
with the code element. Classes start on September 11, 2001.
By
passing Elements one and two the new licensees will be able to operate on
VHF/UHF frequencies, as well as 10 meter phone and 80, 40 and 15 meter CW.
They will be well on the way to a General class license.
If
you know people who might be interested in becoming a ham (like a spouse,
perhaps?) encourage them to sign up. The cost is only $15 (goes to the school)
and the cost of the Now You’re Talking book, $14.
A flyer is available from the club’s website, http://www.qsl.net/w2cra. They are also available
at meetings, and directly from me at bcampbell@scettc.org. SCTI is located on
Vogt Drive in Bridgewater, just east of the Commons Mall. Directions can
be obtained from the school’s website, http://www.scti.org/directions.
As always, George, W2RIJ and Roberto, K2PA will be teaching the code, and
several club members will be offering the lectures. Anyone interested in
teaching is welcome to contact W2CGX at bcampbell@scettc.org.
AMATEUR MORSE TESTING CHANGES EFFECTIVE 7/1/01
New Morse code exam standards go into effect Sunday, July
1, for all Volunteer Examiner Coordinators. The new standards call for Farnsworth
character speed in the 13-to-15 WPM range and the end of multiple-choice
questions for routine Morse code exams.
The National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators voted last July
to set up the revised standards for the administration of Morse code examinations
in the US after amateur restructuring established 5 WPM as the sole Amateur
Radio Morse code requirement.
ARRL VEC Manager Bart Jahnke, W9JJ, points out the required change to the
Farnsworth protocol replaces the 18-WPM character speed ARRL VEC has used
since 1989. "Standard 5 WPM messages with 5 WPM characters are available
as an accommodation," he said. "Standard (non-Farnsworth) speed
messages are available upon special request from the ARRL VEC for ARRL VE
teams." In addition, the Morse exam audio frequency range should be
between 700 and 1000 Hz for routine exams.
Consistent with the revised standards, Jahnke said, ARRL VEC has set 15-WPM
characters as its Farnsworth setting and 750 Hz as its audio-frequency standard.
Code practice transmissions from Maxim Memorial Station W1AW will reflect
the new Farnsworth standard. W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, says
transmissions using the new protocol will begin Monday, July 2. "Any
of our code transmissions at speeds below 18 WPM will drop from 18 WPM to
15 WPM character speed," he said. "We will maintain the standard
method at speeds above 18 WPM--20 WPM at 20, 25 WPM at 25, etc."
Carcia said the W1AW Web code practice files http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/morse.html
also will be changed to mirror the W1AW transmission protocol. ARRL's Your
Introduction to Morse Code cassette tapes and audio CDs also have adopted
the new standards.
The new Morse examination standards also affect test administration. After
July 1, Morse examinees will have to supply fill-in-the-blank answers for
the 10-question Element 1 quiz. Multiple-choice type examinations no longer
will be acceptable. Under the new testing regime, Morse code examinees must
either correctly answer seven of the ten fill-in-the-blank questions or
correctly copy 25 consecutive characters.
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
de WB2AZE
This is directed to some of the hams that just got their tickets. Although it doesn’t look it, I’ve been a ham now for 25 years and I would like to pass some of my experience around. Today I am going to talk about some of the tools that a ham should (or might want) to have in their shack. Before going out and buying a whole tool box full of neat stuff, most of it you will never use, check to see what you can afford to purchase, and remember, you don’t have to buy everything at once.
A basic tool kit should have the following:
1. Wire cutters.
2. Wire strippers.
3. Needle nosed pliers.
4. Screw drivers, both flat and phillips head, at least one of 2 different sizes of each.
5. Soldering Iron, at least 30 watts.
6. Solder, rosin core.
7. Holder for soldering iron, so you don’t burn yourself!
8. Multi meter- AC/DC volts, current and Ohms.
9. Electrical tape
10. Safety knife or Swiss Army type knife.
11. Adjustable wrench (6 inches minimum)
12. A C-clamp.
13. A small container of nuts, bolts, washers, tie wraps.
A more advanced kit could substitute a Soldering Gun for the iron. It should include the items from the basic kit, plus…. more screwdrivers, sockets and ratchet, small vise (instead of the c clamp), metal file, drill with bits, flashlight, magnifying glass, jewelers screwdriver set, Tweezers, allen wrenches, Vise Grips, wrenches ( 7/16 in, 9/16 in, ½ in, ¾ in, ) Hammer, a bigger Hammer, can of WD-40, Leatherman tool, and some heat sinks too.
As far as buying ready-made tool kits, I’ve found that you only ever use one or two items and the rest is just junk. And for a soldering iron holder, get the coiled spring type, as it has a sponge to keep the tip clean and you cannot accidentally touch the hot iron as you can with the cheaper ones (especially true for the Radio Shack models, get their model 64-2078 to be safe!!)
Deja Vous All Over Again
de Barry Campbell, W2CGX
Not long ago, a couple of us were talking with Al, N2DUG on the repeater. He started getting a little concerned because someone was trying to flag him down while they were doing 65 on Route 78! A woman driving the other car had her window down, and kept motioning him to stop.
Al said he was the curious type anyway, thought she looked familiar but couldn’t place her, so he pulled over.
The repeater was silent for quite a few minutes. Finally Al came back on the air, and relayed to us that this was the woman who was stuck on Route 78 just behind Al’s car along with several hundred others one winter day a year or so back. Traffic didn’t move on the snow and ice covered road for some three hours, or more, and Al said he and the woman in the other car had made a snowman in the median that day. It seems she had recognized his car and him as they traveled on Route 78, and wanted to say hello.
What a reunion! I guess no one minds that kind of stop on an interstate!
Kerchunk!
de N2OCW
Kerchunk:
Either a verb or a noun, but usually a verb.
From the German * kerchunken * ; to kerchunk a repeater.
A good kerchunk tells you many things:
1. Your transmitter is working.
2. Your receiver is working.
3. Your antenna is working.
4. The repeater is there.
5. The repeater Receiver is working.
6. The repeater transmitter is working.
7. The repeater antenna(s) is/are working.
8. The call of the repeater.
"I love the smell of kerchunk in the morning.
Sometimes my kerchunk is answered by an anonymous kerchunk. But it seems my
kerchunk is always of a higher quality than his kerchunk.
MFJ will soon market a Kerchunk Detector which will printout each month the
date, time and call for each and every kerchunk. This will result in the FCC
charging 25 cents per kerchunk.
National Kerchunk Day will be established by congress next year. On this day
ONLY kerchunking will be allowed on repeaters. Anyone actually engaging in
a conversation will lose his kerchunking privileges for a period not to
exceed 90 days.
When I operate on six meters, I sometimes kerchunk my neighbor's TV.
Recently, kerchunkers have been heard on 20 and 75 meters. Is this a trend?
The ARRL will soon issue a new award, KAS.
Have you kerchunked YOUR repeater today?
ACHTUNG! Kerchunken ist verboten am .375 und .015!
– ed.
CRA II CLUB INFORMATION
The Cherryville Repeater Association II, Inc. is a non-profit New Jersey Corporation dedicated to Community Service Through Communication. Meetings are held on the second Friday of each month at 7:30 PM at the Flemington Baptist Church unless otherwise announced. Visitors are always welcome! Also, everyone is welcome on the Thursday Night Traffic Net, at 8 PM every Thursday, followed at 9:30 by the Swap-Net, and the ARES-RACES net at 8:30 PM on the first Thursday each month (immediately following the traffic net), all on the 147.375 repeater.
UPLiNK
A CRA II Publication
Editors
Articles & Info:
WA2EPY, Bruce Cunningham – bcc@interpow.net
KA2YYB, Denis Albisser – KA2YYB@arrl.net
Interviews:
K2PA, Roberto Matos – K2PA@arrl.net
Roster & Mailing:
W2CG, Marty Grozinski __ W2CG@arrl.net
Many thanks to all those who have contributed articles or information for this publication, including: WB2NQV, N2VWL, NU2W, KA2YYB, N5RA, N2OCW, WB2AZE, W2CGX, W2CG, the ARRL, The Center for the History of Defense Electronics Museum, Ham Radio Online and all not mentioned for their help.
This newsletter is an open forum for the Cherryville Repeater Association, II Inc. and its members, of general interest Club and ham radio related interest items. The opinions contained herein are those of the authors who have contributed their work. The officers and members of the CRA II Inc. are not liable for its contents.
Articles
and information are always welcome, and may sometimes be edited for content,
punctuation, grammar, and newsletter space.
Deadline for submission for all issues is two weeks prior to the Board meetings.
"Imagination
is the only weapon in the war against reality.”
Jules
de Gautier