Newsletter of the Argonne Amateur Radio Club
| RADIOACTIVITIES
Newsletter of the Argonne Amateur Radio Club |
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| Volume XLI, Number 3 | March, 2000 |
With overwhelming unanimous agreement the officers and board members decided to immediately implement a plan to use this donation in the way stipulated by the donor. As it turns out some of the officers and board members have an inside track in getting the plan moving ahead.
It was also unanimously agreed amongst officers and board that we extend a warm THANK YOU to you (you know who you are) for your gift.
AARC VE SESSION NETS A NEW TECHNICIANI discovered some unusual things during the 1980’s using this antenna and my trusty FT-101B. At a total of only twenty-five feet above ground the antenna performed exceptionally well.
When the solar flux is 90 or higher, heard on a WWV report 18 minutes after the hour, place your beam pointing southeast (during spring and summer) and you can work Europe about 1100 to 1200 UTC using backscatter before the direct path opens.
When near the spring or fall equinox the direction would be due south or north. During summer use a NW/SE line in the a.m. and NE/SW in the p.m. In winter use the opposite or NE/SW in the a.m. and NW/SE in the p.m.
Signals can arrive with a displaced azimuth of 60 degrees. Pole paths can sound warbly or gravely. Lastly check the southeast path after sunset for occasional DX openings when the Solar Flux rises to 200 or above. Yes the ten-meter band can stay open 24 hours a day like 20 meters. Call CQ on usually crowded DX spots and you might get lucky. Good Hunting!
9700 S. Cass Ave. Bldg. 222 - A253, Argonne IL 60439 ————— VICE PRESIDENT Bruce Epperson KA9JXU V.P. IDAHO Bill Parmley KR8L SECRETARY Jim Klick K9FAT TREASURER Dale Travis AG9H DIRECTOR Dick Konecny K9IB DIRECTOR Fred Propper WB9VUT DIRECTOR Jim Specht W9GBL DIRECTOR Loren Thompson KB9CTJ |
MEMBERSHIP is open to all who are interested in amateur radio. This club is sponsored by Argonne National Laboratory. Employees of ANL or DOE-Chicago are eligible for Full membership. Associate membership is available to non-employees.
W9ANL/R is an open repeater, coordinated on 145.19 MHz (-600 input). The AARC repeater has been in operation on this frequency pair continuously since February 5, 1982. W9ANL Packet node runs MSYS on 145.09 MHz. CLUB NETS: 2 meter fm (1) Regular, every Monday evening at 9:00, and (2) the Night Patrol every night at 10:30, both on W9ANL/R. There is an open packet conference on W9ANL packet node every Monday evening at 8:00; type C at the BBS prompt. The Peanut Whistle Net (PWN) every Sunday at 1:30 p.m., and many evenings at 8:30 p.m. on 1932 kHz (cw/am/ssb), QRP. |
RADIOACTIVITIES is published monthly by the Argonne Amateur Radio Club as a nonprofit newsletter intended only for the use of its membership. Material appearing here does not represent the official position of Argonne National Laboratory or the U. S. Department of Energy. Please give credit to the author and to Radioactivities or the Argonne A.R.C., when using original material published here. Deadline for submissions normally is the fifteenth of the preceding month.
EDITOR Bruce Epperson KA9JXU EVENTS Lew Garrison WB9PGO SKYWARN ACTIVITIES Deni Lamoreaux W9DS PACKET RADIO Loren Thompson KB9CTJ LAST PAGE Bill Karraker W9AVE Please send club and editorial correspondence to the above address, or to baepperson@anl.gov. Please include "AARC" in the subject. |
So dream a little. Think a little. What can I do to help out during this year’s AARC Field Day? There is an old saying that goes something like "Many hands make light work". I believe it’s true. When all pitch in, no matter how much, a better time is had by all.
I don’t know about you but I can hardly wait. I’ll see you there.
The treasurer’s computer:88% of the full members and 77% of the associate members have signed up for 2000. This is about the same rate as last year. Included with this issue of the newsletter is a roster, sorted by call suffix, of the current members. It contains all of the member’s names that I show paid for 2000 as of February 24, 2000. If someone wants a roster sorted by name or any other field, just ask me for it and I’ll do my best to get it for you. Here is a rerun of the access codes for the repeater:
| *#813nn | Set code speed to nn words per minute. |
| *2580 | Send 3 minutes of random 5 letter char groups. |
| *2587 | Send 3 minutes of random words. |
Please remember that you must ID before accessing the repeater for code practice. You don’t have to say what you are going to do, just your call will do. e.g. 1) Key your transmitter, 2) wait for 3 to 4 seconds for the repeater to come up, 3) give your call, 4) issue the code to do what you want to do, & 5) unkey and listen for the acknowledgment (K).
AARC Board Meeting 2/15/00Dennis Kelly K9LJK, Bruce Epperson KA9JXU, Loren Thompson KB9CTJ, Jim Klick K9FAT, Dick Konecny K9IB, and Jim Specht W9GBL.
Bruce reported that the President of Argonne Clubs advised him that retired members can now hold office, due to a change in their by-laws. We are going to verify this, and amend our rules to match. Dale Travis his indicated that he would be willing to continue to serve as Treasurer if this is true.
Loren reported that Bill Karraker gave him 8 more membership applications and they discussed the hat and patch sales.
Bruce had a list of members that he wanted to ask to serve on the Board. Dick Konecny, as repeater licensee will be a member.
Jim Specht and Loren Thompson also agreed to serve. Bruce will be asking the others on his list. He is trying to get some "new blood" involved in Club activities.
Bruce reported that he had arranged for the model airplane field to be used for Field Day in June. He will be starting to make plans soon.
We received a sizable donation from a Club member who wishes to remain anonymous. He wants it to be given to a student who is a newly licensed Ham. Jim Klick will contact the schools in the area for help in finding candidates. If any member has someone they know who would qualify, please let a Board Member know. We are not certain just how we will make a decision on how much will go to how many students. We are in the process of determining the details.
Jim KlickOUR 9 P.M. CLUB NET IS ON EVERY MONDAY. ROGER ADAMS, WA9PUE IS DOING A FB JOB RUNNING IT. AND DO NOT FORGET ABOUT OUR 10:30 PM NITE PATROL EVERY NIGHT. PAUL, W9FNM IS ALSO DOING A FB JOB!
From a Technician to a GeneralThose who held a Technician license, now expired or otherwise, prior to March 21, 1987, may claim Element 1 (5 WPM Morse code) and new Element 3 (current Element 3B, General exam) credit.
Those who held a Technician license, now expired or otherwise, prior to February 14, 1991, may claim only Element 1 credit, as may anyone who has ever held a Novice ticket.
The FCC rules provide Element 2 credit only for individuals who are currently licensed (or within the two-year grace period for renewal) at least at the Technician level.
This means that before applying for a General license, a former amateur licensed as a Technician prior to March 21, 1987, and no longer licensed or within the two-year grace period for renewal, also must obtain Element 2 credit.
To currently qualify for the Technician license (which conveys Element 2 credit) requires passing a 65-question two-part exam (Novice and Technician). Starting April 15, Element 2 will be a single 35-question exam.