The monthly newsletter of the Carbon Amateur Radio Club

August 1999

By N3CR

Propagation is really hopping and the big swing starts again. Six meters has had some nice openings in both Europe and US. A 6m opening on 7-26-99 provided a short but strong signal into Canada. Hello North !!! Usually, you would look for Florida or Missouri, but this was a total pleasure. Time to keep your eyes on Vhf and E's openings to Canada.

This is a good time to check out 10 meters before noon and 20 meters at dusk for some of the best DX of the season. These new (but old restored ) calls really fool me. I am not used to M0, BO0, CG, CY9, and other call areas Dxers say took 11 years to reappear on the DX bands, now on all modes.

RTTY has made a comeback of sorts among the DX stations. It is a mode they can put the important part of the exchange "in the can" and transmit it at will from one of the hot keys on their computer. Most RTTY programs can be used with an interface to most any HF rig although reduced power may be necessary. Tuning is the big secret. If your program or interface has an easy tuning device, then RTTY is fun. MFJ and Kantronics have sold many RTTY interfaces over the years and work pretty smart. I use an old "INTERFACE I" with a VIC-20 (remember them ?) and it works well although it has no memory storeage. You can save 10 short one line exchanges " in the can" using a VIC-20 or C-64. Many of these items are hamfest buys. The Dxers use RTTY because the exchange is quick and simple at 45 baud or 60 word per minute. Dxers have also tried packet but it is slower on HF than RTTY.

Tad Cook's (K7VVV) vacation must have worked ! His ARRL propagation report the end of July is right on the numbers again. A recent M2 event has kicked up the numbers again and according to Letheridge University in Canada, this area has the opportunity to create several more Proton events and one major flare. This could stir up the numbers and some geomagnetic – HF fadeout once more. For the most part the A Index should remain around 8 and look for some decent DX when the K Index is 0 - 3. The first week of August should be more average with a solar flux of 150, 140 around the August 15th, and return to 180 by August 24th again. Another flare may occur around the 20th as the 28 day cycle continues. With sunspots spending a lot of time in the 200 area, expect some exciting activity on all the bands, especially VHF. Regular skeds out to 1500 miles may need a little help (amplifier) with the signals down, but on the DX bands out to 4500 miles things are just picking up !!! This solar cycle is about to show it's stuff.

Have fun and keep reporting that DX on the clusters. It is easier to get every day.

73s de Larry N3CR

By WB3VBR

Well Gene did it to us again. The cunning fox picked a weird way of having the hounds chasing their tails. He used his extra long beam, pointed it at the Beltzville dam and had the signals bouncing all over the lake, valley and surrounding area. It has been a long time since the hounds needed clues and even then we almost blew the time limit. Even with the clues once on the right road we still had no direct signal and had to use reflections since the fox was at the shore line and we were on Route 209. Frustration YES, using our skills NO since there was nothing concrete to work with.

Mike and Danielle were the team that got to the den first; thus the winners. Amy and I arrived about 8 minutes later since I was so sure that the fox was at the south boat launching ramp when the clues were given.

The attendance at the hunts has fallen off to such an extent that I am officially CANCELING the balance of the season. If it were not for Amy & Danielle showing up there would have been one team on the hunt. Ladies and gentlemen I am also resigning as coordinator of the hunts in light of the requests I made in the previous newsletter. How can one say we have challenging hunts when there is only one or two teams on the hunt. I know that Mike and I cannot make the August hunt and judging from the attendance at the last two hunts there will be no one on the August hunt.

de WB2VBR AJ

By K3PP

At the July meeting, THREE At-large directors were elected in accordance with the new By-Laws and Constitution. These three appointments are for only one month terms until the general elections at the August meeting. Our three new Directors are W3OWP, K3CT, and K3PH.

The club received a request from WB2VBR that his name be withdrawn from consideration for reelection as club Treasurer, for health reasons. We all wish the best for AJ and we hope he is soon again back in tip-top shape. That opened up another position for nomination. K3PH accepted thenomination for Treasurer. Nominations for next month's elections are:

President N3CR

Vice President K3PP

Secretary KB3CWH

Treasurer K3PH

Directors W3OWP, K3CT, N3RXJ, KA3UKL

Please plan to attend the August meeting to cast your vote in this historic election. New officers will be in effect on September 1.

Gene N3WMA will give a demonstration of his new MFJ oscilloscope after the elections at the August meeting.

The Treasurer reported that the club's financial balance stands at $840.78, with no outstanding debts.

FREE ANTENNA

W3COW needs someone to take down his Cushcraft R4 multiband vertical antenna. He has generously offered this fine antenna to whoever takes it down for him. It is in good condition and covers 10, 12, 15, and 20 meters. He plans to replace it with a Gap vertical that also covers 17 meters. If you are interested, please call Ted at (570) 645-2998.

(Taken from an ARRL Propagation Bulletin;

Provided courtesy of K3CT, [email protected] )

Amateur Radio operators who use HF generally like increased sunspots because it correlates with better worldwide radio propagation. When there are more sunspots, the sun puts out radiation which charges particles in the ionosphere. Radio waves bounce off of these charged particles, and the more dense these clouds of ions the better the HF propagation. When the ionosphere is more dense, higher frequencies will reflect off of the ionosphere rather than passing through to space. This is why every 11 years or so when this activity is higher 10 meters gets exciting. It is at a high enough frequency, right near the top of the HF spectrum, that radio waves propagate very efficiently when the sunspot count is high.

Because of the wavelength, smaller antennas are very efficient on this band, so mobile stations running low power on 10 meters can communicate world wide on a daily basis when the sunspot cycle is at its peak.

The sunspot numbers used in this bulletin are calculated by counting the sunspots on the visible solar surface and also measuring their area. The solar flux is measured at an observatory in British Columbia using an antenna pointed toward the sun tuned to 2.8 GHz, which is a wavelength of 10.7 cm. Energy detected seems to correlate with sunspots and with the density of the ionosphere.

Other solar activity of concern to HF operators are solar flares and coronal holes, which emit protons. Since the charged ions in the ionosphere are negative, a blast of protons from the sun can neutralize the charge and make the ionosphere less reflective. These waves of protons can be so intense that they may trigger an event called a geomagnetic storm.

(From the QRP-L Reflector, by Paul Stroud, AA4XX; Provided by Lamar N3AT)

Last Friday while doing some work in the shack, I heard John, VE3JC, sending CQ on 7039 kHz. What got my attention was that he signed /Bike Mobile QRP!

That was just too hard to resist. John’s signal was averaging 569-579 and peaking to 599+ as he passed under some power lines. During the QSO I disconnected my receive antenna and stuck my finger in the coax, and sure enough, he was copiable.

John’s setup includes a QRP+ transceiver and an Outbacker HF antenna. He copied my solidly while I was running 900 mW.

The ability of the ionosphere to efficiently reflect such minute amounts of RF power never ceases to amaze me.

Peter Burbank, NV4V, commenting on this article wrote, "Yes, it amazes me too ! Usually run five watts and Europe is no problem. I worked John on 20 meters a few days ago. The key seems to be a decent antenna…not necessarily a gain antenna. A good ground system and proper matching."

By K3PP

A number of Carbon ARC members assembled a team for Field Day 1999 and called themselves "Berger’s Bandits" in honor of the club’s contesting elmer and team leader Jim Berger K3II. A total of 14 people participated, including some unlicensed operators who got a taste of contest operation. Maybe we’ll see some new licensees as a result! Participants included Jim K3II, John K3CT, Bill WB3IHF, John W3MF, Mat N3MYM, Goody KA3NGH, Bob K3PH, Glenn K3PP, Bruce N3RXJ, Bill KA3UKL, Lisa (KA3UKL’s YL), Bonita (K3PP’s YL), Gloria (N3RXJ’s YL), and Lisa (WB3IHF’s YL).

The team set up operation in K3PP’s garage with three operating positions, two for HF and one for VHF. K3PP would like to thank the team for accelerating his plans to clean the garage and pour the concrete floor, HI! Antennas were erected, the big diesel generator was fired up, and we were all set for the start of Field Day 1999! Of course, we used Jim’s famous call K3II and we entered Class 2A. The troops were well fed again thanks to KA3UKL, YL Lisa, and Bonita. The heat was brutal, but the garage remained rather cool, there was a big tarp covering the outdoor activities, and there was plenty of lemonade, iced tea and soft drinks to quench everyone’s thirst. When it was all over, the numbers were fantastic! Here is the breakdown:

BAND CW Phone

80 192 231

40 461 200

20 291 291

15 148 84

10 12 188

6 5 114

2 0 28

----------------------------------

1109 + 1136 = 2245 Total QSOs

6708 QSO Points + 600 Bonus Points = 7,308 TOTAL POINTS

This QSO total and total score was significantly higher than any operation previously done by the Carbon ARC. Even with 300 fewer bonus points and about one half the participants from last year, 1999 yielded better results. Despite some poor band conditions, the numbers are exceptional and more emphasis on CW definitely made the difference. We had over twice the QSOs on CW than Phone on 40m, 20m was dead even, and 80m was close. With twice the points for CW QSOs, such numbers can really add up.

Congratulations to all those who contributed to the success of the Berger’s Bandits team. The published results will be interesting. Last year, the Carbon ARC was the top Class 2A score in the Atlantic Division and this year was even better. This is truly an operation in which we can all take pride! More details on the operation should soon be available via the web at http://www.qsl.net/k3pp.

By K3CT

A few days before Jonathan and I went to Boy Scout Summer Camp, I built a 5/8th wave antenna for 2 meters from CPVC plastic water pipe and bare copper wire. Now that we are home and all the gear is put away, I’ve taken the time to review the design in anticipation of publishing the results in the newsletter. While the 2 meter design is functional, I discovered that the radiator is about 1" shorter than my calculations predict. So, last night I built a 5/8th wave vertical antenna for the 220 band using calculated numbers. You are probably asking why didn’t I build another 2 meter antenna? Well, the truth is that I only had enough CPVC pipe on hand to build a 220 MHz version. I’ll update the 2 meter version, publish the results, and bring both sample antennas to the next club meeting.

The antenna is made from 0.5" and 0.75" CPVC plastic water pipe, 12 gauge copper wire, a few plastic adapters, and a stainless steel hose clamp. If you have some scraps laying around, you won’t even need to make a trip to the local Home Depot store.

To build this antenna start with a 9" piece of 0.5" CPVC pipe and 45" of bare 12 gauge solid copper wire. I used a scrap piece of #12 gauge house wire with the insulation removed. Drill a hole in the plastic pipe the same diameter as the 12 gauge wire 2" from one end. Angle the drill so that it will be easy to insert the wire and poke it out of the closest open end. Put a mark on the wire 31.5" from one end. Insert the wire into the hole in the pipe up to the mark you just made. Holding the wire from moving, wrap five turns of wire without any spacing (turn against turn) on the plastic pipe to form the coil. I found that if you take the time to straighten the section of wire used for the coil, the finished coil will look better. When the coil is complete, bend a tight 90 degree angle on the wire and trim the end to 1.5". Later you will solder the coax shield to this end and then place it under the hose clamp. Next stretch the coil so that the length is 1" long. This will place about a 1/16" between each turn.

With some additional wire, make the four radials. Each radial should have a tight loop at one end and a sharp right angle with 1.5" excess to stick under the hose clamp on the other end. The completed horizontal length should be 12.5" so you’ll need to start with about 14.5" of wire. Solder the loops at the end of the wire closed. Prepare a short jumper of coax with a connector on one end and the other end carefully split into a "Y" with 7/8" ends. Solder the braid of the coax to the 90 degree bend of the coil allowing room for the hose clamp. The tap point for the center conductor is 1.75 turns from the coax shield solder point. The center conductor should be very short with the insulation trimmed to 5/16". Tin the tap point on the coil and the end of the coax center conductor then quickly solder the center conductor to the coil.

Place the four radials and coil end under the hose clamp and tighten so the coil length is 1". Cut a 30.5" piece of 0.5" CPVC pipe and place a pipe cap on one end and a 0.5" pipe to pipe junction on the other. You will have to remove this pipe to trim radiator length so only glue the pipe cap and one side of the pipe to pipe junction. For mounting you can glue a 0.5" to 0.75" CPVC adapter and a short length of 0.75" CPVC pipe to the bottom end of the antenna. This antenna can be easily clamped to a mast with two hose clamps.

At this point the antenna should be complete except for tuning. With the CPVC pipe in place over the radiator wire and the antenna held high away from metal objects, check the SWR at the bottom of the band and the top of the band. If the SWR is better at the bottom of the band then trim about 0.25" from the antenna and re-measure. If you find that the SWR isn’t very low at any point in the band then recheck the assembly making sure that the center conductor is 1.75 turns from the ground end of the coil and that none of the radials are shortening out turns of the coil. If necessary, loosen the hose clamp and compress or expand the matching coil by 0.25". My finished radiator length is 31", the coil length is exactly 1", and the SWR is 1:1 over most of the band. After tuning is complete, glue the last CPVC joint and place a small amount of silicon over the coax end. Don’t trim the length of the CPVC pipe because it will change the tuning of the antenna.

The gain of this antenna will exceed that of a ¼ wave ground plane, a J-pole, and a standard Ringo. Come to the next club meeting and look at my 2 meter and 224 MHz antenna samples.

From ARRL Headquarters

Newington CT July 29, 1999

To all radio amateurs

SB QST ARL ARLB048

ARLB048 FCC starts amateur ULS phase-in August 8

The FCC begins phasing in the Universal Licensing System for the Amateur Service August 8 at 4 PM Eastern Time. That's when the FCC will stop accepting batch files that contain new or upgraded licensee data from Volunteer Examiner Coordinators under the current amateur licensing system.

Being phased out under ULS is the familiar paper FCC Form 610 series. A ''universal'' Form 605--primarily designed for electronic use but also available on paper--will take its place.

An FCC Public Notice July 23 says the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau will begin use of the ULS for the Amateur Service on August 16. The existing Amateur Radio licensing data will be transferred into the ULS database during a weeklong phase-in period. During the phase-in period, the FCC will not process new or upgraded licenses.

Electronic filing of Amateur Radio license renewals using FCC Form 900 ends August 9 at 9 AM Eastern Time. Electronic filing of vanity call sign application Form 610V terminates August 13 at 5:30 PM Eastern Time. Hams should not attempt to file renewal or vanity applications until the ULS comes up August 16.

Starting August 16, hams registered in the ULS may file the new FCC Form 605 electronically at any time of day, seven days a week. FCC Form 605 will be used for license renewals, modifications, cancellations, vanity call sign application, application withdrawals and amendments, as well as requests for duplicate licenses and administrative updates (ie, a change of address or other clerical license modification). Applications for new or upgraded licenses will continue to be filed through a Volunteer Examiner Coordinator.

Automated processing of electronically filed applications will occur nightly each business day, but five days a week instead of seven. There will be no weekend processing under the ULS.

The FCC has warned that applicants should anticipate processing delays during the first couple of weeks the ULS is in effect.

The FCC will stop accepting most Form 610 applications next February 16, but club station Form 610B will continue to be valid beyond the six-month transition window to allow time for the FCC to implement new handling procedures.

One feature of the new ULS is a renewal reminder sent 90 days prior to a license's expiration date. ULS also will simplify the process of submitting fees to the FCC, and the FCC said it anticipates that the ULS will be capable of accepting credit card payments on-line in the near future.

Registration in the ULS is required. Applicants should use FCC Form 606 for both electronic or manual filing. To register online, visit http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/uls/ and click on ''TIN/Call Sign Registration.'' A paper FCC Form 606 is available at http://www.fcc.gov/formpage.html or from the FCC's Forms Distribution Center, 800-418-3676.

The FCC will not process future license grants, upgrades, modifications or renewals for any applicant not registered in the ULS. Individuals eligible to hold a Social Security Number must provide this number to the FCC in order to be registered in the ULS.

A copy of the July 23, 1999 Public Notice is available at http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/uls.

(Provided courtesy of K3PH)

The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster

DX Bulletin No. 419

July 26, 1999

Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW

Provided by BARF-80 BBS Cleveland, Ohio

Online at 440-237-8208 28.8k-1200 Baud 8/N/1

Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, ARRL DXCC Desk, KF2TI, N2OO, WB2RAJ/WB2YQH & The 59(9) DXReport, W3UR & The Daily DX, AC4G, N4AA & QRZ DX, DJ5AV & DX News Letter, DL2GG/YV5, F6AJA & Les Nouvelles DX, GM0CLN, IK2QEI, JA1ELY, JF1OCQ, OK1DWJ, ON4CEL, PA3AXU, PA3GIO, PY1KS, SM0MPV, SP2BIK, SV2CWY, VK5FV, YO3FWC, ZD8V and ZS6EZ for the following DX information.

PA3EPD, PB0AIT, PE1ALV and PA0VHA will be here from September 23rd until October 10th. They will operate all HF bands on CW, SSB and RTTY. Also, maybe they will operate 2 meters EME. QSL to bureau or direct to their home callsigns.

Kunio/JA8VE and Hiro/JF1OCQ are planning an IOTA DXpedition next week to Island of Phu Quoc between July 31st and August 7th. Phu Quoc Island (GL OK10XD, IOTA AS-128) lies about 300km west of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). JA8VE and JF1OCQ obtained the permission to operate in Vietnam as 3W6KS and 3W6HM, respectively. They arrive in HCMC July 31st and depart for Phu Quoc Island August 1st to operate for four nights before returning back to HCMC for two nights. Their suggested operating frequencies:

CW - 14007, 18077, 21007, 24897, 28007, and 50120 kHz

SSB - 14197, 18147, 21270, 24937, 28470, and 50120

(No other frequencies are not permitted.)

They will operate from Kim Linh Hotel on Phu Quoc Island and Kim Do International Hotel from HCMC. QSL 3W6KS via JA8VE, Kunio Saito, 2-26-5-554 Nishitsuruma, Yamato-shi, 242-0005 Japan. QSL 3W6HM via JF1OCQ, Hiroyuki Miyake, 1-3-6 Asakura-cho, Maebashi-shi, 371-0811 Japan.

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of WWII, a number of stations from Gdansk Coast will use special callsigns from September 1st through October 2nd. Activity will be on all HF and VHF bands. Look for the following special event stations:

Call QSL Manager

3Z60H SP2FJN

3Z60O SP2HJN

3Z60P SP2AYC

3Z60W SP2BNJ

3Z0MDL SP2UUU

Gerard, PA3AXU, will once again return here. This time he will be escorted by his XYL Ria. He states he will be able to take more luggage this time. Look for 5W0GD to be re-activated from September 28th through October 14th. His operations will be on SSB/CW/ RTTY and hopefully PSK31 (Thanks to PA0HVF, his teacher). QSL via PA3AXU, G.A.M.C. Dijkers, Dokter P.A. Cornethof 3, 6669AZ Dodewaard (The Netherlands).

The "DX News Letter" reports that Tomo, JE9IKG, already known as JE9IKG/6O and 6O0A from Somaliland, is now to be active on SSB signing 5X1JA from Uganda. No QSNs have been reported. QSL via JE9IKG. Meanwhile, Joe, 5X1P (G3MRC), was spotted this past weekend on 18070 kHz around 0430z. QSL via G3MRC.

An excerpt from an announcement by the DXCC Desk reports the upcoming FW8ZZ DXpedition is dedicated to, and in memory of, Chuck Swain, K7LMU, and Ted Thorpe, ZL2AWJ, who were lost at sea in January, 1966, aboard the ketch Marinero while returning from their DXpedition to Wallis Island as FW8ZZ. Operators FK8GM, JA1BK, OH2BE and OH2BH will activate FW8ZZ on July 30 and close down August 3rd. A special effort will be made on WARC bands, but all regular DX bands will be offered. Normal DXpedition frequencies will be used. The equipment includes Yaesu FT-1000MP and FT-900 with FinnFet amps. The complete press release by the DXCC will be sent to all OPDX InterNet Subscribers as an additional bulletin.

"The 59(9) DXReport" reports that Hide, JR5XPG, is in Thailand for 3 years as a teacher and will try to obtain a license. He will use club stations for now.

AS-008. Correction! JA1MXY/1 JA1SGU/1 and JI1SQK/1 were active from Osima Island (not Osims Island as reported in last week's bulletin).

EU-052. Stefano, IK2QEI, will be active as J48QEI from Zante Island (KM07KS) from August 5-20th. He plans to be very active during the 1999 European HF Championship (August 7th, 1000-2200z). His activity will be on 160-6meters. QSL via IK2QEI home callsign or bureau.

EU-084. Mel, SM0MPV, who was to participate in the IOTA-contest, plans to be on Vassaro Island until August 1st and will try to be as active as time permits. Look for him to sign SK0HS/5. QSL via SM0MPV (bureau). This Island belongs to Scoutdistrict of Stockholm and pictures from various camps can be viewed on:

http://www.stockholm.ssf.scout.se/eng/vo/index.htm

SA-012. Ray, DL2GG/YV5, and others will operate from the Island of Coche, which is located in front of the East Coast of Venezuela. The operation will take place from July 29th to approx. August 3rd. The callsign will be YW7C, and they will be operating on all bands (incl. 6m) on CW and SSB. QSL via W4SO. After Ray's return, he will add a YW7C-section at the following URL address:

http://www.qsl.net/dl2gg

SA-029. Operators PY1KS/Alex, PY1KB/Marco, PY1MF/Mark and PU1MPR/Marcio will be active from Gipoia Island (team is waiting for a DIB number.... First activation!!!) July 29th through August 1st. Operators will sign homecall/P. Activity will be on 80-10 meters, possibly 160m. QSL via PY1KS to the Bureau or direct P.O.Box 18123, Rio de Janeiro-RJ, 20722-970, Brasil.

SA-056. After their SA-081 5K8T (QSL via F6AJA) operation this past weekend by Gerard, F2JD/HK3JBR, and Pedro, HK3JJH, look for Gerard to go back to Bogota. Pedro will continue to the south to operate as HK3JJH/HC4 from an Ecuadorian island Monday, Tuesday and maybe Wednesday (QSL home call).

The Old Barney Amateur Radio Club will be activating N2OB celebrating "National Lighthouse Day" weekend from "OLD BARNEY", the Barnegat Lighthouse in Barnegat Light, NJ, which is on Long Beach Island (IOTA NA-111 and USI NJ001S). Operations will take place August 7-8th, from 1300-2300z each day. Suggested operating frequencies: listen in 1st 25 kHz of General phone bands (40, 20 and 15 meters) and on 28480 kHz. Some limited CW operation is possible on 30 kHz of these bands. (Also, 146.835 rpt -600 and 146.52 simplex). QSL via N2OB with regular SASE/SAE+IRC for QSL, or 9"x12" SASE with 2 units postage/IRCs for a certificate and QSL. N2OB address: Old Barney ARC, PO Box 345, Tuckerton, NJ 08087, USA.

QSL 2A0CCC/P, active from Isle of Tiree during the 1999 IOTA Contest weekend, via GM0ALS. Activity was by members of the Cockenzie and Port Seton Amateur Radio Club (John/MM0CCC, CambellMM1AVA, John GM7OLQ, Iain/MM1CPP, Malcolm/F5VBU, Ron/GM0NTL, Mo/GM0HLK, Colin/GM0CLN and Tony/GM3PGU). Further info and updates will be available when time allows, from:

http://www.btinternet.com/~john.innes/Tiree.html

Frank, ON4CEL (ex-C56EL, 5A21PA), reports to OPDX that all direct cards for the C56EL DXpedition (March 17-26th) have been sent out. If you don't receive your card within the next few days, you can drop an E-mail message to: [email protected]

The C56EL log search is still available at:

http://user.online.be/~frankyb/log.htm

NO OUTGOING BUREAU. Fr. Steve Dives, 3D2SJ, reports that although P.O. Box 184 is listed as the Bureau address for Fiji in various publications, this is a receive only address. There is no outward bureau operating from Fiji. Fr. Steve has received approximately 100 cards via the Bureau and to answer these cards directly would incur an unreasonable financial penalty. The QSL address for Fr Steve is: Fr. Steve Dives MSC, PO Box 1354, Suva, Fiji. This address is also the correct QSL address for his operation from Kiribati using the callsign T30ED.

QSL YB0US (Jani), who operated from Seribu Islands (OC-177) this past weekend in the IOTA Contest, via N2OO.

Ales, OK1DWJ, informs OPDX to please not send any QSLs for OK1DWJ or OK4DWJ/mm via OK1DOT. The only valid QSL route is via OK-QSL bureau or via CBA, but never via OK1DOT. He was never Ales's QSL Manager and he never asked him to do this job.

QSL J28AG (with operator J28NH/Jean) direct to: S.P. 85012, 00806 Armees, France.

Bert, PA3GIO, hopes to be active from Desroches Island in the Amirante Group, IOTA AF-033, 250 Km south of Mahe, Seychelles, September 2-14th as S79GI. Also, there will be some activity from Mahe AF-024, August 26-31st. QSL preferably by the Bureau to PA3GIO. Visit Bert's Seychelles Webpage at: http://www.xs4all.nl/~pa3gio/S79/

After being active in this past weekend's IOTA Contest, look for Norbert, LX1NO (KM6RY/LX4A/LX9EG), to be active from several areas in Iceland as TF4/5/0/1/6 /LX9EG. Look for him on the IOTA frequencies and the WARC bands. QSL via LX1NO.

Bruce, AC4G, reports to OPDX that he has begun his AC4G/V7 operation on Kwajalein Island for the next 2 years. His activity will be on 160-10 meters. Bruce has applied for the callsign V73CW which he expects to obtain soon. He has already made about 500 QSOs and plans to pay special attention to the WARC bands, 40, and 80 meters with emphasis on CW with lots of SSB. In mid-August he will receive his satellite gear and hopes to be active on OSCAR 10 Satellite. QSL to AC4G (home address w/ mail forward to Kwajalein Island or via direct (best route) to: Bruce Smith, P.O. Box 1436, APO, AP 96555. Bruce mentions that he will be ordering color QSL cards soon.

VU7, LAKSHADWEEP (LACCADIVES)

"QRZ DX" and "The Daily DX" report an operation by a team of operators will be active from here in the fall. Full details have not been released, but forthcoming.

Tom, SP5AUC (ex-YI9CW), also known as 3W7CW, has been temporarily reassigned to Cambodia. He has already obtained a license there, and his callsign is XU7AAS. He promises to be active soon, time permitting. He has acquired a new rig, a TS-570D, and hopes to put it to good use. Due to the nature of his stay, Tom has no chance to set up antennas, but he will be using a commercial log periodic, fixed to Europe. Tom is scheduled to return to Vietnam on August 15th. QSL cards for XU7AAS should be directed to: P.O.BOX 11, 02-800 Warsaw 93, Poland.

Ciprian, YO3FWC, reports that the 1999 YODX HF Contest will take place on Sunday, August 1st. Any QSO is permitted, ITU zone/YO counties exchanged. There is a great chance to work as many as needed Romanian counties to get a special award issued for the "Total Solar Eclipse" (August 11th), best viewed from Romania. Don't miss YR99E on SSTV - Solar Eclipse live! For rules and more info, check out the Romanian Amateur Radio Federation web site:

http://www.qsl.net/yo3kaa

Paul, ZD8V (a.k.a. KF4OOX), is still having antenna problems. He reported to OPDX this week that his antenna "finally let go" and he will now have to take it down and fix it. The major problem is finding time to do the work since he is working during the mid-shift. He mentions that he hoped to take it down during this past weekend with some help from friends. Paul hopes to have it back up in a few days. As this bulletin was being written, we do not know if these events took place.

Deryck, ZS8D, has been refused permission to erect his tribander (donated by NCDXF) on the island after negotiations with the Prince Edward Island Management Committee. This means he will still have to use the dipole. The committee's reason of refusal seems to be the concern for birds flying into the antenna.

Larry N3CR and his wife Carol became grandparents for the first time July 23, 1999. Cody Michael weighed in at 7lbs 9.5 oz and 20 inches with long fingers, feet, a good grip and Lilly features. Cody is the son of Michael and Lisa Lilly residing in Shickshinny, Pa. Cody was born at 1843 hrs at Nesbitt Hospital in Kingston, Pa. Parents, Grandparents and son are all doing fine although a little hungover. Lisa was in labor for over 16 hrs. It is their first child. It looks like he is going to be a basketball

player.

John K3CT notes that the North American Sprints are back to their old dates, the first and second Saturdays in September (CW and SSB respectively), so re-mark your calendars with the corrected dates.

I have 3 computers that MUST go. Prices very reasonable Packet ready and SSTV available (only need interface / TNC ) Ham shack has become far too crowded !! They could become Mondays trash !!

email: [email protected]

phone (570) 325-4482

Additional N0UJR cartoons may be found

on the World Wide Web at: http://incolor.inetnebr.com/n0ujr

** denotes CARC supported or sponsored events

bold indicates items of local interest

July 31 : USI W/VE Islands Contest, Georgia QSO Party

August 1 : YO DX HF Contest

August 7 : 10-10 International Summer Contest SSB, European HF Championship, ARRL UHF Contest, North American QSO Party CW, Juniata Valley ARC Hamfest – Lewistown, PA

August 14 : WAE DX Contest CW, Maryland-DC QSO Party, Rome RC Hamfest – Westmoreland, NY

August 15 : York Hamfest – York, PA, Fingerlakes / Tompkins Co. ARC Hamfest – Ithaca, NY

August 19 : *** CARC Meeting 21:30 EMA Center, Route 93 ***

August 21 : Seanet WW DX Contest SSB, ARRL 10Ghz Cumulative Contest, North American QSO Party SSB, New Jersey QSO Party

August 22 : CQC Summer QSO Party

September 4 : All Asian DX Contest SSB, CCCC PSK31 Contest, IARU Region 1 Field Day SSB, North American

September 6 : Sprint CW, MI QRP Club Labor Day CW Sprint

Vice President – Glenn O’Donnell K3PP [email protected]

Secretary - Andrew Roomberg KB3CWH

Treasurer - AJ Spitzer WB2VBR

W3HA Callsign Trustee – Bill Dale WY3K

Public Information Officer – Bill Kelley KA3UKL

Skywarn Coordinator - Mike N3XYU

Editor – Goody KA3NGH [email protected]

Contesting – Glenn K3PP [email protected]

Foxhunting – AJ WB2VBR [email protected]

Propagation and Commentary – Larry N3CR [email protected]

QRP – Lamar N3AT [email protected]

Skywarn – Mike N3XYU [email protected]

Newsletter Printing, Folding, Mailing - Andrew KB3CWH & Robert KB3BYT

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

Webmaster – Robert KB3BYT [email protected]

Regular Membership is $15.00, Regular with Autopatch is $20.00.