RADIOACTIVITIES Newsletter of the Argonne Amateur Radio Club
Volume XLIII, Number 10	October, 2002

Nearly 50 people — including ARRL Los Angeles Section Manager Phineas Icenbice, W6BF, and ARRL Southeastern Division Vice Director Sandy Donahue, W4RU — attended. More information, including audio of Walsh’s presentation, is on the Heil Sound Web site http://www.heilsound.com.

“We now have over 200 Full Class A license holders authorized to operate on the five spot frequencies,” said RSGB Spectrum Director Gordon Adams, G3LEQ, who’s directing the experiment. Frequencies available in the UK are 5260, 5280, 5290, 5400 and 5405 kHz. Gordon says 5400 kHz is serving as a calling channel, but UK stations have been looking for US experimental activity on 5260 kHz. Activity in the UK has been on upper sideband.

Responding to an ARRL petition earlier this year, the FCC has proposed allocating 5250 to 5400 kHz to US amateurs on a secondary basis. US operation under the ARRL’s WA2XSY Experimental license continues on an occasional basis. Charly Harpole, K4VUD — a WA2XSY participant in Florida — reports that Paul Gaskell, G4MWO, in England confirmed reception of Harpole’s 5-MHz CW signal on August 8 at 0200 UTC.

A transatlantic two-way on 5 MHz is the next logical step, but it’s unclear if WA2XSY participants are permitted to work the UK experimenters within the scope of the WA2XSY license. The ARRL is researching that question. In the meantime, crossband contacts remain an alternative.

As propagation indicators, the UK experimenters are listening for WWCR, an international shortwave broadcaster at 5070 kHz. He advised WA2XSY experimental stations in the US to check for USB stations RAF Volmet on 5450 kHz and Shannon Volmet on 5505 kHz.

Tim Kirby, G4VXE, was one of the first UK amateurs to receive a NoV on August 5. “Within a few minutes he was on the air using a 100-W transceiver and an end-fed wire tuned for the 5-MHz band,” the RSGB reported. He worked several other stations in England and Wales on his first day of operation. The RSGB said Kirby’s first impression of 5-MHz propagation was that UK signals seem to be consistent throughout the day and evening and that signals were better on 60 meters than on 40 meters for certain paths.

For more information on the UK experimental activity on 5 MHz, visit The Fivemegs Experiment page http://www.rsgb.org/licensing/fivemegs/fivemegs.htm on the RSGB Web site.

Joe had written and e-mailed a newsletter article about the proposed constitution change (changing a Board meeting quorum from 5 to 4 members). However, Bruce had not received it so it did not make the September newsletter. Joe gave Bruce a hardcopy and will also e-mailed it again. The article will appear in the October newsletter. Therefore to provide adequate notice, the membership vote will take place at the November general meeting.

We reviewed finances and found we are able to absorb the postage rate increase with the current dues. A motion was made to retain the same dues for 2003 as for 2002 ($3 for full members and $5 for associates). The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.

We discussed the current situation regarding the repeater antenna.

Current Wording: “The By-Laws shall provide for regular club and Board of Directors meetings. At the Board of Directors meetings, five (5) Directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.”

Proposed New Wording: “The By-Laws shall provide for regular club and Board of Directors meetings. At the Board of Directors meetings, four (4) Directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.”

In line with Article VII of the Constitution regarding amendments, copies of this proposed amendment to the Constitution are published herein and will be available at the October regular club meeting. The vote to approve this amendment will be taken at the November regular club meeting.

They will join members of the DuPage Amateur Radio Club as well as the Wheaton Community Radio Amateurs at Hummer Park in Downers Grove this coming October 19th from 9a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Scouts will have demonstrated to them various aspects of amateur radio including but not limited to slow scan television, packet/APRS, morse code, HF ssb, ATV and fox hunting.

If you have the time please stop by and either help with the demonstrations or just help to explain our fascinating hobby to a great group of kids.

Reports indicated that the tornado arrived with little or no warning. “We were lucky that this hit on a holiday, when the business district was closed,” Michalski remarked. The Ladysmith tornado was one of four that touched down in the Badger State on Labor Day, but it was by far the most damaging. Gov Scott McCallum has declared a state of emergency in Rusk County. Gov McCallum toured Ladysmith on September 3.

Jim Staatz, KG9RA, reports that members of the Eau Claire Amateur Radio Club and the Tri County Repeater Association have been providing communication support for the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army.

In addition, Paul Brooten, KB9TYC, of the Tri County Repeater Association reports that the Barron County American Red Cross Amateur Radio Club and the NORWESCO ARES/RACES team from Washburn County also have been involved in assisting the relief organizations. Eau Claire County Emergency Coordinator Rob Indrebo, KB9SDF, also has been among those assisting.

The Salvation Army reports that its emergency disaster relief personnel immediately went into action following the tornado that also left hundreds without shelter and thousands without electricity. “Two Salvation Army canteens have been roving the area offering aid, including meals and crisis counseling, to residents and relief workers,” a Salvation Army news release stated. The Salvation Army said it also was providing residents with vouchers to replace prescriptions, clothing and other necessary items lost in the tornado.

The severe weather that moved across Wisconsin also spawned two tornadoes in Marathon County — one in Brokaw, near Wausau, and one near Athens — as well as in the Fond du Lac County town of Brandon. Wind damage was reported in several other communities.

Wisconsin Emergency Management reports that the tornado that hit Ladysmith cut a swath some 14 to 16 blocks long and 2 to 4 blocks wide, destroying numerous businesses and homes. There were no reports of fatalities, but some 60 people were injured. Most were treated and released. Search and rescue operations continued throughout the evening of Labor Day. Crews this week worked to restore power, and all roads were reported open.

Neither the seller nor the buyer have been identified, but ARRL member Paul Cassel, VE3SY, of Petersburg, Ontario, Canada, acted as the sale agent and posted the card on the auction site.

“The winning bidder is in California and is a very serious QSL collector,” he said after the auction closed. Cassel pledged to donate half of his sale commission to the W1AW Endowment Fund http://www.arrl.org/endoww1aw.html.

The 1AW card appears to verify reception of 9CTR on a wavelength of 193 meters rather than a two-way contact. “You were calling another 9,” Maxim wrote in the card’s “Remarks” section. Although the card proclaims “American Radio Relay League Station 1AW” across the top, the now-famous call sign was Maxim’s own personal call sign at the time, not the League’s, and Maxim operated from his home on Hartford.

Until the 1AW card sale, Cassel says the highest known price paid for a single QSL card was more than $1100 for an AC4YN QSL from the Tibet DXpedition of Sir Evan Nepean, G5YN, who died last March at age 92.

Then I thought, why isn’t there a site that has comparison pricing for ham radios? I know they have comparison shopping sites for just about everything else, so why not ham radios?

That’s when I decided to create HamShopper.com. A totally new site for people who are looking for the best price on the hottest radios.

We don’t sell any radios, we simply provide a free resource to find the best price on the net. We have a database of dealers and update prices weekly at this time. Things we are looking at doing in the future are, dealer ratings, featured dealers that make special offers for site viewers, and dealer of the month!

I hope you take a minute and visit the site, and use it to buy your next ham radio.

Please register when you visit the site, which will enable you to access the advanced features, and keep up to date with site updates, etc. Thank You,

01		W9MKJ		Bill		Darien, IL
01		WB7NHS		Doug		Idaho Falls, ID
02		K9FAT		Jim		Romeoville, IL
03		K9VIX		Vicki		Downers Grove, IL
05		K0RTF		Bruce		Decorah, IA
06		W9KJA		Clem		LaGrange Park, IL
06		N7NHF		Robin		Idaho Falls, ID
07		WA9TLT		Clarence		Villa Park, IL
08		K9JON		Ronald		Glenwood, IL
11		WB9IRH		Howard		Western Springs, IL
11		W9GBL		Jim		Yorkville, IL
13		KB9CYL		Jim		Orland Park, IL
20		WB9PGO		Lewis		Glen Ellyn, IL
22		N9TEB		Jim		Willowbrook, IL
31		N9JTV		James		Wilmington, IL

There is word around that the 440 repeater project received a large shot in the arm when several pieces of commercial UHF equipment was donated to the club.

There is also word that the two meter machine may be moved to a better location to help with the coverage problem. More on that in the future.