Central Illinois Radio Club
Short CIRCuits
Jan 2000
From the President
The year 1999 has ended, I start my new duties
(again after several years) and we are well into the last year of
the second millennium. Where do we go from here?
As a club perhaps we can make our meetings and
other activities more interesting to more of our members. I
hope so.
December went out with several HAM activities.
Many of us took advantage of them. The 160 meter contest
was one of them. Activity on our lowest frequency
band is a real good experience and I encourage those who
have not taken advantage of it to give it a try.
Straight key night presents an opportunity for those with limited
c.w. skills to participate in contacts from S
words per minute to about 18 wpm. I worked one old, old timer at 5
wpm because his arthritis necessitated his calling
"cc skn" at 5 wpm I answered him at the same speed and
we had a most enjoyable qso. Of course our club
Christmas party was most enjoyable. We got to see and talk
to some friends that we seldom see.
January starts the HAMFEST season. The Wheaten
hamfest is on the 23rd of Jan. It is not at the Odium this
year and parking is free. ~ have brochures in
case anyone wants one.(If this reaches you before the event).
The most dramatic news (hamwise) is the announcement
by the FCC of the new rules of licensing which
should be covered elsewhere in this issue. This
came out in bulletins the last day of December.
Perhaps I'll have topics that are more interesting to mention next month,
Floyd, W9EX, President CIRC
Central Illinois Radio Club
P.O. Box 993
Bloomington, IL 61702-0993
President: Floyd Hofmann, W9EX
309-452-3612
Vice President: Rick Kempf, WD9HRU
309-828-8054
Secretary/Treasurer: Norman Huber, N9ZKS
309-378-4674
The CIRC is a not-for-profit ARRL special service
club whose purpose is to advance the
service of Amateur Radio. Located in Central
Illinois, CIRC and its members welcome all
to use the 146.94 repeater and to attend club
meetings.
Submissions for the newsletter must be received
by the 10th of the month and may be snail
or e-mailed to the editor at:
Norm Huber
19268 E. US Hwy 150
Bloomington, IL 61704-5855
e-mail nihuber@ice.net
Permission is granted to Amateur Radio-related
organizations to reproduce contents of
Short CIRCuits provided full credit is given.
January Meeting
Wednesday 26 January
WB9UKK is bringing a transmitting tube that operates at 95000 v
15 ma.
Sounds like an alligator station to me.
December Minutes
There was no formal business conducted at the
December meeting. We confined ourselves to the fellowship
and good food provided by the Ozark House at
the Christmas party.
NOTE
Anyone who becomes aware of something of interest
to the group is requested to send me an email for
forwarding. I have all the email addresses which
were entered on those applications I keep annoying you all
about in a folder and can forward mail to all
members with email with a couple of key strokes. Chuck and
probably many others who work and do not make
the coffee klatch are late to find out the news affecting the
club members.
MORTON EXAM DATES
Following is the schedule for W5YI-VEC Amateur Radio exams for the year 2000
at the Morton Public Library. Setup is from 11
to Noon. Exams begin at noon but registration is typically from
11:45 to 12:30. Questions may be directed to
Bob Davis (AA9MY) at 309-263-8620 (Day) or email to
redavis@dpc.net
Please bring two forms of identification. You must have Social Security
Number. We can not administer a test without SSN. You will need a copy of your
Current license plus any CSCE you want to apply.
Morton Public Library
315 W. Pershing
Morton, IL 61550
Dates for the year 2000 (Walk-ins are welcome)
Feb 19.
Apr 15
June 17
Aug 19
Oct 21
Dec 16
There will be VE testing at the Peoria SuperFest on Sunday September 17, 2000
Testing will begin at 10:00 A.M. Walk-ins are welcome.
Calendar of Events
Weekly 2 Meter Net
Every Tuesday evening on the 146.940-
repeater at 9:00 p.m.
10/10 Breakfast
First Saturday of every month
at 8 a.m. in the Steak and Shake at Vernon Ave. and Veterans (Just south
of College Hills
Mall).
CIRC Meeting
Fourth Wednesdays of the month
at 7:30 p.m. at the Red Cross building in Bloomington (Just north of the
airport).
The FCC has adopted new rules that simplify the
Amateur Service license structure, streamline examination
elements and reduce the emphasis on Morse Code.
The much anticipated FCC restructuring of the
U.S. Amateur Service was released on December 30. Effective
April 15, 2000 applicants will only be able to
be examined for three license classes:
Technician - the VHF/UHF entry level
General - the HF entry level
Extra - a technically-oriented senior license
After April 15th, there will be only one Morse
code examination speed at 5 words-per-minute (Element 1).
Current Novice and Advanced Class amateurs will
be able to modify and renew their licenses indefinitely,
however.
Tech-Plus amateur licenses will be renewed as
Technician class, but will retain HF operating privileges
indefinitely. The FCC elected not to change the
operating privileges of any class.
The previously mandated ten written exam topics
have been eliminated and the VECs' Question Pool
Committee (QPC) will now decide the content of
each the three written examinations. Both the Technician
Class written Element 2 and General Class written
Element 3 will contain 35 multiple choice questions. The
Extra Class written Element 4 will contain 50
questions.
There will be no automatic upgrades. Technicians
(pre-1987) with 5 wpm code and Element 3B credit qualify
for the General Class but must apply at VE session
after April 15th, showing proof of having held a Technician
license before 1987.
Current Advanced Class hams may pass Element 4B
before April 15th and then (after paying the fee) request
an Extra Class license (with CSCE) at a VE examination
session after 4/15. Likewise, current Tech-Plus radio
amateurs may pass Element 3B before April 15,
then use the CSCE to apply for General at a post-4/15 exam
session. Current no-code Techs may pass Element
3B exam before April 15, then have 1 year to pass 5 wpm
code test for General.
A copy of the entire Report and Order (FCC 99-412) is available at
<http//www.arrl.org/announce/regulatory/wt98-143ro.pdf> or at
<http//www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/1999/db991230/fc
c99412.txt>
Fred/W5YI
* Obtaining documentary proof of pre-1987 Technician
ticket: The FCC says to send
any requests for verification of a pre-March
21, 1987, Technician license in writing to
FCC, 1270 Fairfield Rd, ATTN: Amateur Section,
Gettysburg, PA 17325. The request
must include name, address, and telephone number,
date of birth, call sign issued at
that time, and when the Technician license was
granted (if exact date is not known,
give the approximate timeframe). The FCC asks
those inquiring to include any
information that may be helpful in researching
these requests, but it does not need to
know details of the examination session, such
as where the test was administered or
who gave it. "These requests must be researched
on microfiche, so they will be very
time-consuming," an FCC spokesperson said, adding
that no one should expect an
overnight response. You also may contact the
FCC contractor ITS Inc (visit
http://www.itsdocs.com/). For a fee, ITS will
research prior FCC licensing records and
should be able to provide necessary documentary
proof.--FCC
QRZ OFFERS HELP
* QRZ.com offers look-up service for pre-1987
Techs: In response to numerous recent requests by amateurs
seeking to obtain information regarding licenses
that existed before 1987, QRZ has placed a copy of the
March 1993 edition of the QRZ Ham Radio CDROM
Ver 1 on line for public access. This collection, the oldest
available from QRZ, contains listings of more
than 195,000 licenses issued between 1983 and 1987. Call sign
and name searches are available. Visit http://www.qrz.com/search1993.html
.--QRZ.com/Fred Lloyd, AA7BQ
For Sale Kenwood TS180S and matching speaker
CW filter. Runs on 12V
Wanted 6/2/432 rig.
Ralph Bellas
I noticed that I have not provided revised, current
LOCAL DX PACKET CLUSTER INFORMATION for CIRC
Short CIRCuits. We have made significant changes
( as detailed below ), so please change the information to
read as follows:
Bloomington Access and Transport node BMIDX1 (AB9M-7) 144.91 1200 baud
Bloomington PacketCluster node BMIDXC (K9CW2)
Connections to the network are made by first connecting to BMIDX1 then connecting to BMIDXC or K9CW2.
I: DX Packet Cluster changes
Over the past several weeks significant changes
have been made to the local DX Packet Cluster network.
First, Dan, N1DPT (formerly KB9PJQ) and I physically
relocated the K9CW-2 CPU to the BMIDX1 (AB9M-7)
radio site. The BMIDX1 node (running G8BPQ in
PROM) DataEngine TNC was replaced by a Kantronics
KPC-3 running in KISS mode with G8BPQ switch
code provided by a Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR)
program loaded above the K9CW-2 packet cluster
program on the K9CW-2 CPU. This removed a slow
intermediate radio link between BMIDX1 and K9CW-2
and really improved local traffic performance.
Over in the Champaign area K9AN, Steve and K9CW,
Drew were developing a new DX-PC node using
"DX-Spider" and an internet connection to other
DX PC nodes. The initial callsign for the DX-Spider was
K9USA and over the past couple of weeks, I periodically
had K9CW-2 connected to the new node with full
protocol versus the limited protocol connection
with the K9CW node. (The full protocol link passes network
information including user log in and log outs
between nodes, so there is considerable "network overhead" but
you can see how many nodes and how many users
are connected and you can "talk" to anyone you can see or
send mail to them since the local node knows
where they are.) Last Saturday the K9CW callsign was moved to
the DX-Spider and the link appears to be running
full protocol.
K9CW-2 now automatically connects to K9CW (DX-Spider
connected to the internet) with a typical
configuration of over 50 nodes and 300 users.
If you have questions about , or need any help with, DX Packet cluster, let
me know.
73 & DX,
Gary - AB9M
Useful Product
The following was found in Motorcycle Consumer
News. I was thinking of all the co-ax connections at the top of
towers that need sealed.
X-TREME TAPE
X-Treme Tape was developed for the military and
has some very unusual properties. The silicone-based tape
will stick onto to itself, and only when placed
under tension. Once wrapped around an object, it forms a
non-conductive , air-and water-tight, insulating
seal that remains flexible within a temperature range of -60° to
500° F. We just had to try it.
The directions tell you to clean the surface,
then, while stretching the tape, make a complete wrap of the tape
onto itself. After that, use half wraps until
you reach the end of the job, and finish off with another complete wrap
of tape back over itself. The tape can repositioned
within two minutes of wrapping and will start to bond
immediately upon application. A more permanent
bond will be formed after 24 hours at room temperature, or
one can accelerate the curing process by heating
the tape to as much as 350° F with a heat gun.
After Editor Parks offered to purchase a new upper
radiator hose for our Ford F150 test vehicle, the old hose
was brutally stabbed with a knife, causing a
violent leak (the engine was hot at the time!). After wiping up the
coolant and drying off the hose, the tape was
applied over the slit following the instructions. The cooling system
was refilled and we started driving. After driving
more than 300 miles, the taped up hose has not leaked a
drop. This is quite impressive as the cooling
system is under 15 psi of pressure and cycles between ambient
temperature to over 220° F. We consider the
radiator hose example an emergency repair and not a
permanent fix.
X-Treme Tape comes in black, white or gray and
is available in a 10’ roll for $5.99. We can think of a thousand
uses for the stuff.
-Tracy Martin
Vyper Products
13100 Manchester Road
St. Louis, MO 63131
(800) 817-8968
MULTI-MULTI RECORD BREAKER IN WPXCW
by Ralph Bellas, K9ZO
It would be great to operate from a station that
was always loud and came through hours after the bands were
dead. I soon found that a lot of interesting
history surrounded the development of the site. There were early
operations from tents under harsh conditions,
intense devotion to goals, and finesse in acquiring supplies to
build a competitive station in a remote location.
Over the past year a handful of guys had been devoted to
building a wonderful radio station on a site
overlooking the ocean. It was time for me to give it a try!
Plans gave way to reality, and before long seven
of us traveled to Quito, Ecuador. The group was organized by
N5KO and consisted of me, N6TV, N0JK, KM3T, K6AW,
and K1EA. We had a diverse group: an emergency
room doctor, a programmer, a management consultant,
a hardware technician, an engineering manager, and
two networking specialists. Anything could happen
and we would be ready for it.
Trey, N5KO, was already in Quito so he and Pedro,
HC1OT met me at the airport. My job had been to
transport an 80-pound amplifier and 500 ft. of
guy wire. I had a custom-made canvas bag for the amplifier box,
so it was easy to carry, and the wire was easy
to spot, but I could barely lift the carry on luggage due to the
transformer packed inside. To the customs agents
in Ecuador the word "radioaficianado" must have a special
meaning. Please let me in. I don't understand
anything. I was a "radioaficianado". And here was my USA
license. It looks official. In what appeared
to be a precision planned maneuver, I quickly made it through with
just a minimal search. Immediately I felt at
ease and quite enjoyed the cultural diversity that now surrounded
me. The armed guards in combat fatigues could
have been disconcerting, but I relished the differences
compared to our little airport in Bloomington.
Hey, we still have free parking.
We stayed at the Hotel Savoy and I found that
many famous DXers and contesters had been there before us.
The next day we were tourists and later met up
with the rest of our crew. It's easy to spot the radio guys. The
following day we took off for the Galapagos Islands,
right on the equator and directly south of Illinois. Guido,
HC8GR, who would be our host, met us at the airport.
We stopped by his house and then were on our way up a
dirt road for perhaps 10 miles to the contest
site. We brought hundreds of pounds of gear: computers, radios,
amplifiers, antennas, and wires and had to hire
an extra vehicle for that. At the sea level airport on San
Cristobal the climate is hot and dry, but the
contest site was comfortable, yet damp, foggy, and rainy due to the
elevation.
For five days we put up additional antennas and
rearranged existing antennas. I became the quartermaster
and brought order to the supplies. When we were
finished each of the four towers had a pair of yagis -- one
fixed north, and the other rotary. The 40-meter
tower was a sight to behold. It was 130 ft. tall, roughly the size of
Rohn 55, locally constructed of rebar and topped
with a 2 element yagi. It was a great support for the 80 meter
antenna. With the help of some local guys with
machetes to cut through the undergrowth I added another
beverage to bring the total to three. We checked
the backup generators, and assembled six networked
stations.
The radio shack was perfect. Actually it was an
entire house for radio! The first floor had a large kitchen and
dining area, two bedrooms and two bathrooms.
There was a central staircase leading to the second floor that
had a living room/bedroom, two bedrooms, and
two bathrooms. There was a balcony entirely surrounding the
second floor. The third floor was the radio room.
There were windows on all sides offering a splendid view and
a counter for equipment encircled the room. There
was access to the roof that held some VHF antennas. A
balcony surrounded the entire room.
After dark there was some time for operating.
The pileups were intense, and sometimes I was forced to stand
by for 9s only. Who would dare to do that! It
was great fun to work guys from the club and my hometown.
Everyone generally needed to rest so we did not
put a huge effort into activity before the contest, but with so
many well-equipped stations there was usually
one on the air. Guido's wife provided excellent meals
throughout our stay. We all particularly enjoyed
the wonderful natural fruit juices from the island.
The location may be one of the best in the world
for radio. Everyone is loud. We had excellent signals to the
heavily populated areas from Europe, the USA,
and Japan. Frequently we were called by distant and exotic
DX. The USA is straight north and the wisdom
of having fixed yagis that direction was evident. Slightly turning
the other yagi to follow the sun was all that
was needed.
The first hour of the competition gave us an indication
of just how good things were. We contacted 570
stations, exchanging signal reports and serial
numbers. The next ten hours averaged over 450 per hour. It was
amazing the experience 24-hour conditions on
10, 15, and 20 and watch the contact total grow. By the end we
had contacted 12,600 stations in every corner
of the world and set a new world record in the multiple
transmitter category.
I had been assigned to 80 meters at night and
offered relief to the other operators during the day. The big
stations from Europe were audible soon after
the contest started, but it took over an hour before they could be
worked. That Midwest search and pounce training
proved its worth on the low bands though. The static was
high, and the conditions did not sparkle, but
there were still plenty of interesting stations to work. I took a brief
nap in the middle of the night during the transition
time between Europe and the USA. Activity was a bit low,
but with constant CQing the rate was OK. The
JAs and Pacific trickled in during the first morning. Nearly one
and a half-hours before sunrise the band went
completely dead. I had not experienced this before. From the
Midwest we can usually work a few minutes past
daybreak, but not from here. The second night mirrored the
first, however I did not nap. I was prepared
for the beginning of the JA run and had a good solid hour of split
operation that enabled me to work many weak guys.
Again the band died an hour and a half before sunrise.
After the contest we quickly disassembled the
stations to prepare for our morning flight. I must confess that I
still had not had enough of radio and after everyone
had gone to bed I took a radio off the shelf and set it up on
20 meters SSB. After 500 QSOs I was convinced
that this really was a dream QTH. The pileup was easy to
control so I could work it down to a lot of weak
stations and I was happy to pass out just a few more K9ZO/HC8
contacts. It was hard to turn off the switch,
but I finally gave out a couple of CQs without takers and time was
short. I reluctantly went QRT and took a nap
for a couple of hours before we left. I sure needed some rest, but it
was hard sleeping on the plane just thinking
about what had happened over the last few days.
Back in Ecuador Pedro again took care of our arrangements
and we were fortunate to be able to have a meal
with him and his wife before returning to the
hotel. The morning came quite quickly as we all left for early flights
to the States. It was hard to imagine that tomorrow
I would be back at work. Actually, it became increasingly
harder to imagine getting home after being delayed
in Miami for 6 hours due to storms. Eventually I called my
wife at midnight to have her meet me in Peoria
-- the closest place to home that still had late flights. After all
these years she still supports my avocation.
I feel fortunate to have been included in such a world class group
and to have developed such good friendships.
Our hosts were outstanding. Thanks to everyone who stopped
by to give us contacts during the contest.
In response to his abilities The SOCIETY OF MIDWEST CONTESTERS has selected Ralph Bellas -
K9ZO, of Bloomington, Illinois as one of the USA WRTC2000 team leaders.
Ralph is a long time member of SMC and will be
announcing his team mate shortly.
A HAM'S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
'Twas the night before Christmas,
And all through 2 meters,
Not a signal was keying up
Any repeaters.
The antennas reached up
From the tower, quite high,
To catch the weak signals
That bounced from the sky.
The children, Tech-Pluses,
Took their H-Ts to bed,
And dreamed of the day
They'd be Extras instead.
Mom put on her headphones,
I plugged in the key,
And we tuned 40 meters
For that rare ZK3.
When the meter was pegged
by a signal with power.
It smoked a small diode,
and, I swear, shook the tower.
Mom yanked off her phones,
And with all she could muster
Logged a spot of the signal
On the DX Packet Cluster,
While I ran to the window
And peered up at the sky,
To see what could generate
RF that high.
It was way in the distance,
But the moon made it gleam.
A flying sleigh, with an
eight-element beam,
And a little old driver
who looked slightly mean.
So I thought for a moment,
That it might be Wayne Green.
But no, it was Santa,
The Santa of Hams.
On a mission, this Christmas,
To clean up the bands.
He circled the tower,
Then stopped in his track,
And he slid down the coax
Right into the shack.
While Mom and I hid
Behind stacks of CQ,
This Santa of hamming
Knew just what to do.
He cleared off the shack desk
Of paper and parts,
And filled out all my late QSLs
For a start.
He ran copper braid,
Took a steel rod and pounded
It into the earth, till
The station was grounded.
He tightened loose fittings,
Resoldered connections,
Cranked down modulation,
Installed lightning protection.
He neutralized tubes
In my linear amp.
(Never worked right before;
Now it works like a champ).
A new, lowpass filter
Cleaned up the TV.
He corrected the settings
In my TNC.
He repaired the computer
That would not compute,
And he backed up the hard drive
And got it to boot.
Then, he reached really deep
In the bag that he brought,
And he pulled out a big box.
A new rig? I thought!
A new Kenwood? An ICOM?
A Yaesu, for me?!
(If he thought I'd been bad,
it might be QRP!)
Yes! The Ultimate Station!
How could I deserve this?
Could it be all those hours
that I worked Public Service?
He hooked it all up
And in record time, quickly
Worked 100 countries,
All down on 160.
I should have been happy,
It was my call he sent.
But the cards and the postage
Will cost two months' rent!
He made final adjustments,
And left a card by the key:
"To Gary, from Santa Claus.
73."
Then he grabbed his H-T,
Looked me straight in the eye,
Punched a code on the pad,
And was gone with no good-bye.
I ran back to the station,
And the pileup was big,
But a card from St. Nick
Would be worth my new rig.
Oh, too late, for his final
came over the air.
It was copied all over.
It was heard everywhere.
The Ham's Santa exclaimed
What a ham might expect,
"Merry Christmas to all,
And to all, good DX!"
(c)1996 Gary Pearce, KN4AQ
Permission granted for any print or electronic reproduction.
e-mail kn4aq@ipass.net
If you haven't paid your dues OR YOU KNOW A PROSPECTIVE MEMBER here is a membership application.
Central Illinois Radio Club Membership Application
Membership dues are $10 per person or $15 per
family (multiple members at one address). You do not need to be a licensed
amateur radio
operator to join CIRC. Please pay particular
attention to the shaded areas to help us keep our membership roster up
to date.
NAME:_____________________________________________________________ CALL: ___________________
First MI Last
ADDRESS: __________________________________________________________________________________
Street / RR etc.
CITY: _____________________________________ STATE: ________ ZIP: _____________________________
Home Phone ( _ _ _ ) _ _ _ - _ _ _ _ Work ( _ _ _ ) _ _ _ - _ _ _ _
E-Mail -______________________________________ LICENSE CLASS:_______________________________
Snowbirds ATTENTION! Please list alternate address and when to use it.
ADDRESS: _________________________________________________________ From ___________________
Street / RR etc.
CITY: ______________________________ STATE: ________ ZIP: ________________ To ________________
Demographic Information: Parts of hobby you are active in.
Are you a member of other Central
IL clubs? ____________
If so, which ones? ________________________________________________________________________
Are you a member of any of
the following?
ARRL _____ McLean County ESDA:
_____ Local ARES: ______ Other ARES Group ______
If a member of any other ARES
group, where, for how long , what specific role(s) did you play and are
you interested in becoming
involved here?
________________________________________________________________________________________
What are your specific interests within the hobby?
Š HF Š Satellite Communications
Š VHF/UHF Š Administering Exams (VE)
Š QRP Š Public Service Events
Š Emergency Communications Š DF
Š Fox Hunting Š Contesting
Š ATV Š Construction
Š Packet Radio Š Youth Activities
Other ______________________________________________________________________________________
What would you like to do at meetings? ___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
What activities do you think the club should participate in or sponsor? ___________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
You can turn in your membership application at
club meetings (4th Wednesdays at the Red Cross building in Bloomington)
or mail it and a
check payable to the Central Illinois Radio Club
to: