The Illuminator

The monthly newsletter of the Carbon Amateur Radio Club

February 1999

 

President’s Corner

It looks like the year of 1999 has got off to a good start. Even thought the weather was very poor the night of our January meeting the attendance was good. The coffee was hot and the donuts were fresh and they seemed to be enjoyed by all.

Congratulations to Andrew, KB3CWH, for winning the 50-50 drawing. It paid Andrew to be at the meeting.

I was glad to see everyone get involved in getting the by-laws fine-tuned and making many good edits of the sample that was used. With one more month of working on the by-laws at February's meeting, they should be complete and ready to be put in place. It will be an important meeting in February for this work, so please try to attend.

Let's try to keep all the positive thinking working for our radio club as the year progresses, and we will all enjoy the meetings more. Good things are in the future for CARC, so let's all be a part of it.

Also, as a reminder, 1999 club dues are due and payable. To remain on the CARC membership roster and to receive the news letter, dues must be current. To accomplish what the club wants to do, it requires the financial support of its members. We all have to pay our fair share.

Have a great month, have fun playing radio, stay warm, and we will see everyone at the meeting on February 18, 1999.

Robert Fulton, Jr., N3NOP

President

Propagation

What a way to start off the New Year, solar flux 167 ! That sure beats the 90s we lived through most of the month of January 1998. Back then, 90 was better than 78. Today 90 would be almost devastating, but don’t set up your daily or weekly skeds just yet. There are enough other factors to mess up your day. Looking at the graphs, the numbers are very encouraging with most of the month of December 1998 above the daily average of SF 134. That shows a steady improvement upward as we climb the solar cycle. Things can only get better, but why aren’t the bands hopping ?

As this is being written the last week of January, we have seen another dip in the solar flux from a high of 184 on December 26th going steadily downhill to a low of sf 110 on January 10th. The last time we reached a high of 184 was February 9, 1993 !! With it, band conditions deteriorated badly with DX disappearing and only weak stateside signals on the bands. Only the big power signals were heard on 10 meters like a year ago. Gone were the strong S9 signals we like to report on as the conditions took a week long siesta just to prove you can not judge Mother Nature. You could not predict it and there were no geomagnetic occurrences to report leaving everyone wondering how long could this last.

On January 13th, things began building again and DX started showing up on 10 meters again until just after noon local time. By 21 January, the solar flux had risen to 172 and the A - K indexes started to mellow allowing the signal levels and DX to return to near normal. With the solar flux high and the K index at 1 or 0, signal levels will return to enjoyable operating once more. Early evening band closings on 20 meters is still a problem but look for 15 meters to be active around the clock in the near future. 40 meters has been having loud DX signals up to midnight and without the summer noise this has been quite a treat. Sunspots have really been sawtoothed on the graphs the past two months and when they catch up, look for some good DX via long path over the poles. It is amazing the sound of some of them signals.

What’s ahead ? Predictions are that the solar flux will stabilize at 150 and bring the average up to the usual 134 again for the rest of January and early February. With the seasonal change and increase in daylight, we can expect the bands to be open longer with good signals. 20 meters may show the stronger DX signals but keep an eye on 15 meters and the WARC bands to produce a good bunch of DX like you haven’t seen in quite a while. I am really impressed by the number of rare DX stations showing up regularly and working all the bands, not just 20 meters.

With this, we thank Roy AD5Q from Houston, TX for his years of propagation reports from the Heartland Of the US. For 11 years Roy had written propagation reports from a DXers view from the middle of the country. We also thank K7VVV Tad Cook who has his propagation reports showing up all over the web.

73s De N3CR Larry Lilly

Foxhunt News

Well Mother nature got us this month. I imagine we all had icing problems etc. We decided to cancel the hunt for the entire month of January in hopes that February would be more accommodating. We will have our meeting for 1999 season at my QTH on Saturday 13th of February at 1:00pm. Refreshments of some sort will be served. Should the meeting be cancelled it will be held the following week after the hunt. The February hunt will be on the 20th, same time and place. See you then. NEED A VOLUNTEER.

Things that have to be decided on the 13th:

1. Who will take each month’s hunt

2. What type of hunts and what month to have them

3. The awarding of trophies and for what type of hunt

4. Whether any are interested in the offer from the Reading Club i.e. to join us in our hunts if held an hour later

5. Assessment for the kitty for trophies, stamps etc.

6. New equipment for locating fox at the site

7. Any new/old business

 

SCHEDULE:

January 20 Canceled

February 20 Winter Hunt

March 20 Season opener

April 17

May 15

June 19 Picnic Mobile

July 17

August 21

September 18 Mobile

October 16

November 20 Season ends

December 18 Winter Hunt

Let’s make all the hunts challenging. So be creative, devious, etc.

De WB2VBR AJ

FCC News and Views

by N3CR

Recently I heard a couple old timers complaining " soon everybody will be paying for a ham license, just look at all those paying for special callsigns." I thought I'd take a look. Sure enough, in December alone, the FCC issued 1468 vanity callsigns, that's $19084.00 worth of new call changes. How much do you think your current callbook is worth? I would guesstimate that since the fee changes in September from $50 a pop to $13.00 a call change, that would be ..... SO, since September 15th, that would be a total of about 5138 or nearly $67000. What a cash cow !! That surely boosted the old coffers and added a little job security in Gettysburg! But what about my callbook. You know what you can use that for !!!! Luckily, there are call locators on the web and are more up to date than this worthless CD.

I would not comment on this, but some of the vanity calls issued are absolutely the worlds worst contest / cw sending / or phonetically pleasant ones I have seen. Several web sites post the new issued callsigns. My old callsign had a swing to it. It was immediately visible on a license plate and not especially a mouthful on voice. I could send it easily but everyone else had a problem with it. Guess what, it's gone. N3CR will have to survive another 20 years! Now that is a callsign but not my first choice.

Most callsign requests fail the first choice space. Why do you think they give you 20 tries to give up your $13 ? Most calls do not stand up to the "2 year rule" filter. A call must be declared vacant for two years before it can be reissued. If you count your days right, you could end up with a call like WB3ESS (congratulations Jonathan!). Others may get lucky with a 1 x 3 call with their initials. A 1x 2 call with your two initials would be much tougher. Gaining a family members call from the past would be neat. But why would one spend $13 for the worlds worst phonetic call/ contest / or cw knucklebuster??? Thanks to computers and the NEW FCC, they are able to track them all and still go after the bootleggers. If you don't like your long, no reasonable phonetic callsign you can send in a Form 610V along with a Form 159 payment form and 20 hopeful callsigns. If they don't make it, you can file another 610V. Soon a universal communications form will be available and electronic transfer will be the way it will have to be sent. Yes, believe it or not, soon to renew your license via the Internet !

OTHER NEWS. The CIB or Commission Investigation Bureau has been freed up of some of their duties and have taken to the road. Yes, Bootleggers LOOK OUT! There are a lot of low power 10 watt AM and FM stations operating illegally. In 1986 no "Micro FM" stations were allowed to be issued. Only stations with 1000 watts or higher power of a commercial nature were issued licenses. These stations generally covered small areas not fulfilled by commercial or PBS stations. New York City has several operating. The Puerto Rican community in Philadelphia runs one. They try and retain the last of their culture through these stations, passing information in their native dialect. A station like that would really enhance what is available in Jim Thorpe and that part of Carbon County. The stations were limited to a few miles, but the word got out. One by one the FCC is putting these stations out of service and imposing huge fines.

Ham Radio Operators are not exempt. The CIB is also coming after hams and non hams who interfere with HR repeaters or other county run repeaters. There have been hams caught interfering with the FAA Traffic Control System in Georgia and Florida. Even businesses in Cherry Hill, NJ have not been saved from these activities. Those caught had their equipment confiscated and heavy fines levied against them. Some even receive jail time. The word is out, the FCC is on the road and offenders best beware.

QRP

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to assemble your own little qrp rig, get it on the air, and make contacts with it, but didn't want to spend a lot of money for a kit to make it possible? Well now you can do just that for as little as $10!!! The New Jersey QRP club has designed and "kitted" the little "Jersey Fireball 40", and is selling it for that price.

The Jersey Fireball 40 is a 40 milliwatt transmitter and the kit consists of a double-sided PC board with all the components for 40 meter operation. The board includes traces for adding a tick electronic keyer chip, and an RF power amplifier to boost the power to almost 1 watt. It also includes traces for a transmit-receive circuit to allow connection of a receiver to the same antenna as the FB 40 transmitter. You can find more info about the little rig on the NJQRP website.

If you would like to do a little building and experimenting, here is your opportunity at very low cost! You can order a kit for $10 (which includes shipping) from:

George Heron, N2APB

45 Fieldstone Tr.

Sparta, NJ 07871

Give it a try - I think you'll find it a lot of fun!

72 de Lamar, N3AT

P.S. Melt solder!

From the Grapevine…

Ed KR3I has a new callsign of K3VA. Congratulations on the new call !

From The Editor’s Desk

 

Greetings

The issue of the club constitution has been brought up again, and I have to agree that it is well overdue. I believe that many disputes within the club in the past have been due to the lack of bylaws. Some thoughts :

Membership. Should CARC continue with typical annual dues or simple ask the membership for voluntary donations ? I would imagine that more revenue would be generated from voluntary donations.

Family Memberships. If CARC continues with the typical dues, family memberships (immediate family under 21) should be available for a nominal fee, perhaps $ 20 for a regular subscription, $ 25 for autopatch.

Use of the club callsign, W3HA, in all CARC sponsored events. I know this is an emotional subject for everyone -- the club callsign is a matter of pride for the club . The callsign needs to be recognizable just like K3YTL is for Murgas and W3OK is for DLARC. Exceptions could be made for special event stations if the club could procure a special callsign that relates to the event.

Protection from litigation. This is a hobby club, and I’m sure no officer or member wants his or her personal assets at stake if a lawsuit would ever occur. I’m not an attorney (although I play one on TV), but some protection in this respect is needed in my opinion. I would hate to see CARC members involved in a legal quagmire.

Paper ballots in all major votes. Yes, we’re all adults, but sometimes anonymity prevents hard feelings that can arise.

We need to create a custom club constitution which fits CARC, not a boiler-plate document. Undoubtedly on some issues we may only agree to disagree, but I believe we can compromise for the good of CARC. I’m quite confident the By-Laws Committee will draft a Club Constitution that will take this club to its 100th anniversary.

Newsletter

I’m extremely pleased with the submissions this month. I was amazed at the number of contributions after my posting on the reflector. Within 12 hours after my posting, I had more than enough articles; any more articles and I would have to start selling advertising space to cover the printing and mailing costs ! Once again, CARC members come through.

The writers are writing from the heart about their enjoyment of this great hobby. I hope this encourages others to perhaps take up QRP, Contesting, Foxhunting, and other great activities available to CARC members. Keep up the good work, guys ! It’s you who make this newsletter what it is.

de ka3ngh Goody

Contesting In Carbon

By now, the fall/winter contest season is a bit beyond the half way point. So far, it has proven to be a wild and thrilling ride for those who were fortunate enough to enjoy it.

I'll begin with a report on the PA QSO Party, held over the weekend of October 10 and 11. This is a fantastic contest where one can do well with a moderate station. Activity is always hot and the participants

The preliminary results have been posted on the PA QSO Party web site http://members.aol.com/doughdh/paqsoparty/paqso.htm, so we now know how everyone placed in the standings. All scores are still subject to some change (usually reductions) as the log checking process continues.

The Carbon ARC fared very well this year. Congratulations and thanks to those who represented the club. Two particular CARC operations stand out as remarkable achievements. The team at K3II won the multi-operator/multi-transmitter division and set a new all-time contest record! K3PH won the QRP division and placed FOURTH overall among single operators at ANY power level!

Carbon ARC Scores

Station QSOs Score

K3II 2265 404,151

K3PH 608 196,808

KB3AGZ 386 39,786

KA3AFY 312 35,914

WB2VBR 223 18,709

KO3M 200 15,600

W3MF 13 68

Total 4007 711,036

1997 Total 4373 647,478

You can see there was a tight race for second place single-operator in the club. KB3AGZ's higher QSO and multiplier numbers gave him the edge over Larry. By the way, who is KA3AFY anyway? Speaking of Jack's multipliers, he joined an elite group who captured all 67 counties! Congratulations Jack! Only 39 out of the 331 entrants were successful in doing so.

K3II also logged all counties. We were short one county when we shut down Saturday evening, but we finally worked KN4SK/M in Clarion County at 1513z on Sunday to complete the sweep. A complete sweep of all counties and all ARRL/RAC sections has never been accomplished. K3II missed four sections and K3YTL and K3ANS each missed three! This elusive goal may finally be achieved in 1999. Who knows for sure?

The Carbon County multi-op and single-op records, set last year by K3CT and K3PP respectively, still stand. Carbon County was won this year by a portable station (K4UK) operating from Beltsville Airport.

K3PH's score breaks the former Monroe County single-op record of 153,022 set in 1995 by N3MKZ. Incredibly, it does not break the all-time QRP record of 276,400 set by NW3C in 1994! The Monroe County multi-op record of 218,055 was set last year by Bob and brother John, using John's call, W3MF. That record obviously fell this year since K3II also lives in Monroe.

The previous all-time record of 388,066 points was set in 1991 by a multi-multi team at NE3F. The K3II operation marks a milestone as the first operation, in the 41 year history of the contest, to break 400,000 points.

Top 1998 PA QSO Party Scores

K3II Multi-Multi 404,151

K3YTL Multi-Multi 392,496 1998 Bonus Station

K3ANS Multi-Multi 330,508

AA3B Single-Op 272,349 High Power

WA3SES Single-Op 197,223 Medium Power

WA3HAE Single-Op 196,773 Medium Power

K3PH Single-Op 196,808 QRP (Amazing!)

K3PH won Monroe County single-op with a "measly" QRP signal. Oddly, second place was also a great QRP score put forth by KB3TS at 124,480. To put Bob's QRP score in perspective, here are some facts:

- Only TWO medium power guys beat him!

- ONLY ONE HIGH POWER ENTRY BEAT HIM!!!

- Last year, I was proud of my 130K point score in the medium power class. He beat me by about 51% with one-thirtieth the amount of power!

Bob, you are a freak of nature! That's about as good as I can express it!

The operators at K3II were K3II (of course), K3CT, KR3I, KA3NGH, and K3PP. I have more details about the operation on the Internet http://www.qsl.net/k3pp/pa98.htm .

Another exciting contest to report on was the CQ World Wide Phone contest. I was proud to be a member of yet another stupendous K3II multi-multi team, along with K3II (of course), K3CT and K3TEJ. Together, we netted 2607 QSOs for 5,441,600 points. I expect to put more details of this operation on the Internet (check http://www.qsl.net/k3pp/cqww98p.htm for the update). It's been a great contest season at K3II! The same team (without me) scored over 8,000,000 in the CW version of the CQWW! That's three amazing efforts in a row. Congratulations, Jim!

The two man tag team of W3MF and K3PH also landed terrific scores in the CQWW contests, but I seem to have lost their numbers. I've got a deadline to meet for this article, but I hope to get the numbers for the next issue.

Some of the better upcoming contests are:

CQ 160m (CW) : 2200z Jan 29 - 1600z Jan 31

North American Sprint (Phone) 0000z Feb 7 - 0400z Feb 7 (Saturday evening)

North American Sprint (CW) : 0000z Feb 14 - 0400z Feb 14 (Saturday evening)

ARRL DX (CW) : 0000z Feb 20 - 2400z Feb 21

CQ 160m (Phone) : 2200z Feb 26 - 1600z Feb 28

ARRL DX (Phone) : 0000z Mar 6 - 2400z Mar 7

The ARRL DX contests are two of "the biggies", along with the CQ World Wide contests. These four contests have enormous participation and the fiercest competition around. They can be a brutal battle to those who attack them to win, but anyone can do very well. They are fertile hunting grounds for DXers. Many rare DX countries are activated ONLY during these contests.

The Sprints are fun because they don't require a long-drawn commitment (they're only four hours long, thus the name). They also have an interesting QSY rule. When you call CQ, and work someone, you must then QSY, giving up the frequency to the station you just worked. Likewise, if you answer a CQ, the frequency is then yours for one more QSO. This prevents anyone from holding a run frequency and it adds a unique flavor to the contest.

The 160m contests can result is some real surprises. Even if you have no antenna for 160m, you can use almost any antenna through a tuner and the results will astound you! If you've never tried 160 meters, these contests are worth a try. You may come to love the band.

Next month, I'll give a report on my own operation in the CQWW CW contest this past November. Conditions were phenomenal and scores all over the world skyrocketed. The sunspots are back folks! Get on the HF bands and

enjoy the superb conditions while they last. The peak is expected in the late 2000 time frame, then we'll be headed back into the doldrums.

73 ES QRZ TEST DE Glenn, K3PP

 

DX News

FK8, NEW CALEDONIA. The "LNDX" reports that Philippe, ex-TU2FH, has received the callsign FK8VHU. He will stay there until August, 1999. He was heard this past week around 0000z on 10 meters (around 28500 kHz).

AS-041. Look for Oki Island (Shimane-Ken) to be activate by Yuji/ JA3CMY, Fumio/JE4CIL and Takeshi/JI3DST between March 20th (0700z) through December 21st (2200z). Activity will be on 80/75/40/20/17/ 15/12/10 meters with operation on CW/SSB/SSTV. QSL via the following"

JA3CMY - Yuki Iwata, 3-13-3 Kaneda-Cho Moriguchi-City, Osaka 570-0011 Japan

JE4CIL - Fumio Suzuki, P.O.Box 3 Hamamura Ketaka-Cho, Ketaka-Gun Tottori 689-0331 Japan

JI3DST - Takeshi Funaki, 2-18-26 Hannan-Cho Abeno-Ku, Osaka-City Osaka 545-0021 Japan -- E-Mail: [email protected]

PACIFIC TRIP. Simon, IV3NVN, reports to OPDX that from February 16-20th, he will be in Honolulu and probably active as KH6/IV3NVN. From February 21st to March 3rd, Simon will be active as KH4/IV3NVN from Midway Island. His activity will be on SSB and CW. His equipment includes the following: Yaesu FT-890, maybe a linear from Sommerkamp FL-2277B, a 5 element Log-periodic by TITANEX (for 10/12/15/17/20 meters), a home made vertical for 30/40/80 meters and maybe an inverted L for 160 meters. If Simon can find a 6 meters rig, he will also be active on this band. His QSL Manager will be Flavio IV3TMV, direct or via Bureau.

SAN ANDRES 1999 DXPEDITION. The Woodbridge Wireless (WWI) from Woodbridge, Virginia is pleased to announce its 4th DXpedition. This DXpedition will be to San Andres Island (HK0, NA 033) and will coincide with the 1999 ARRL DX Phone Contest. Their callsign is yet to be assigned (it may turn out to be HK0/W4DC). They plan to operate from March 2-9th, including the contest, when two transmitters will be on the air. Operations before and after the contest will emphasize RTTY, CW, and WARC bands. All contest QSOs will be confirmed automatically with a photo QSL via the bureau. You can send an SASE to W4DC if you need one quicker, or for QSOs outside the contest. The TEAM SAN ANDRES members are W4DC, K5OF, AA3KX, WB4ZNH, WN4FVU (if you need a YL contact), N2PP, and WZ8P. Check out their Home Page for the latest news and log checking at: http://www.pwcweb.com/wwi/DXpedition/ Questions and comments before and after the Dxpedition should be directed to Denis, W4DC ([email protected]). During the operation, please contact Mike, KA4RRU ([email protected]).

V3, BELIZE. Art/NN7A and Mike/NG7S will be active January 31st through February 6th as V31JZ and V31RL. They will operate from Turneffe Island. Their activity will be mainly CW, but there will be some SSB. QSL via their home callsigns.

ZD8, ASCENSION ISLAND. "The 59(9) DXReport" states that Jim/N6TJ and Glenn/K6NA will be active as ZD8Z and ZD8A, February 2-10th. QSL ZD8Z via VE3HO and ZD8A via K6NA.

FK8, NEW CALEDONIA. The "LNDX" reports that Philippe, ex-TU2FH, has received the callsign FK8VHU. He will stay there until August, 1999. He was heard this past week around 0000z on 10 meters (around 28500 kHz).

C21, NAURU. A CW operation from the Republic of Nauru in the Central Pacific will take place from February 27th until March 7th. Bob, G3ZEM, will sign C21ZM and Roger, G3SXW, will sign C21SX. Priority will be given to Europe where C21 is most needed and to WARC bands. The operation will be with beams and linear amplifiers. Check frequencies ending in "3", listening up 1-3 KHz. Please QSL to home call.

HP, PANAMA (IOTAs to be activated). Joel, F5PAC, will be on holiday here but plans to fit in some radio time as HP?/F5PAC from February 5-25th. He will try to be active from Isla Grande (NA-202), Isla Colon (NA-088), Cebaco (NA-071) and maybe Iguana (NA-203). Remember, his holiday is first and radio after. QSL via bureau.

JT, MONGOLIA. Stateside, keep an eye on 40 and 80 meters for JT1BH during the following times: 2000-2300z on 3510 (+/- QRM) and 2300-0000z on 7010 (+/- QRM). QSL via JT1BH: S.Surenjav, P.O.Box 125, Ulaanbaatar-13, Mongolia.

VQ9, CHAGOS ISLANDS. Ron, AA5DX, reports to OPDX he will be returning to Diego Garcia on January 24th. He states that he should be active by the end of this month with his old callsign VQ9DX. This tour will last 4 months, but he doesn't know at this time if the entire 4 months will be spent on VQ9. QSL via his home callsign, AA5DX. Ron won't be back in the States until the end of May, so cards will not start going out until June.

De WB2VBR AJ

 

Solid Copy Old Man

I was trolling the novice bands one night looking for a quick Qso and Qsl card. Novices are usually pretty good Qslers. Finally, settling to 40 meters among the broadcast stations I jumped on a hot shot calling Cq at about 15 Wpm. I went back to him and much to my surprise he answered. Most are using memory keyers or the like and can not receive as fast as they send. There it was " N3CR ur 599 solid copy OM". I thought this was just great, a novice who really is into CW. It didn't take long to realize he was using an electronic keyer and could handle it fairly well, numbers and all.

We exchanged a couple transmissions with names, signals, and rigs. I figured next transmission if I got the chance I would ask why if he was so good with CW why was he still a novice. Suddenly silence. Then his signal, "missed ur Qth OM, pse send agn." I sent my message and ask why he missed my transmission. He said it wasn't my signal. "I was copying fine until my code reader battery died !" What is this world coming to? Keyboard CW and code readers!! It is considered a digital mode. We worked a week later using straight keys. What a different world. He could copy about 10 wpm without the code reader. Received his card this week, he passed the general. Maybe now he will only need the code reader on contest weekends!!

73s De N3CR Larry Lilly

The 1999 dues for the Carbon Amateur Radio Club are due. Please send your check to prior to the February Meeting if you cannot

attend:

A J SPITZER WB2VBR

308 BIRCHWOOD DRIVE

LEHIGHTON, PA 18235

Thanks AJ

 

CARC Calendar

 

 

January 29 – CQ 160 Meter Contest - CW

February 6 – New Hampshire QSO Party, Delaware QSO Party, Vermont QSO Party, 10-10 Int. Winter Contest, YL-OM Contest – CW, Minnesota QSO Party (what a hot weekend –ed)

February 7 – North American Sprint – Phone

February 8 – ARRL School Roundup

February 13 – Asia-Pacific Sprint – CW, YL-OM Contest – Phone, RSGB 1.8 Mhz Contest – CW

February 14 – North American Sprint – CW

February 18 – ***CARC Meeting***

February 20 – *** Foxhunt ***, ARRL International DX Contest – CW

February 26 – CQ 160 Meter Contest – Phone

February 27 – North Carolina QSO Party

February 28 – High Speed Club CW Contest, CQC Winter QRP QSO Party

March 6 – ARRL International DX Contest - Phone

** denotes CARC supported or sponsored events

bold indicates items of local interest

Carbon Amateur Radio Club

1999 Officers

President - Robert Fulton N3NOP [email protected]

Vice Pres/Treasurer - A J Spitzer WB2VBR [email protected]

Secretary - Andrew Roomberg KB3CWH

Repeater Trustee – Bill Dale WY3K

Public Information Officer – Bill Kelley KA3UKL

Illuminator Staff

Editor – Goody KA3NGH [email protected]

Contesting – Glenn K3PP [email protected]

DX – AJ WB2VBR [email protected]

Foxhunting – AJ WB2VBR [email protected]

Propagation – Larry N3CR [email protected]

QRP – Lamar N3AT [email protected]

Skywarn – Mike N3XYU [email protected]

CARC Website : http://www.cpals.com/~elitehom/carc/

Webmaster – Robert KB3BYT [email protected]

All amateur radio operators are invited to join the CARC ARES / RACES net held 21:00 local time every Wednesday on the W3HA repeater at 147.255 Mhz + offset, PL 131.8.