RADIOACTIVITIES Newsletter of the Argonne Amateur Radio Club
Volume XLIV, Number 1	January, 2003

Over 1.5 million people in North and South Carolina were without power December 6 and power was not expected to be restored to many residents until after the weekend. Governor Mike Easley declared a state of emergency in North Carolina as a half-inch of ice coated central North Carolina. Four people were killed in North Carolina.

ARRL North Carolina Section Public Information Coordinator Gary Pearce, KN4AQ, said “SKYWARN nets operated overnight across the state, providing the NWS updated information on changing ground conditions.”

While the statewide ARES net was not activated Thursday, the North Carolina state EOC in Raleigh was staffed with hams helping to pass traffic between there, county EOC and the state’s 25 open shelters.

The effort was, in part, a quest for the Brendan Trophies http://www.irts.ie/brendan.htm offered by the Irish Radio Transmitters Society http://www.irts.ie.

One group was on the Irish coast, while the other operated from Society of Newfoundland Radio Amateurs (SONRA) http://www.sonra.ca club station VO1AA, located at Signal Hill National Historic Site of Canada. That’s the spot where Marconi received the first transatlantic signal almost 101 years ago.

“It’s been quite an adventure,” said Paul Piercey, VO1HE, who was at the Newfoundland end. “We never made the contact because the meteor shower didn’t seem as big as predicted, he said.” The Brendan Trophies will go to each of the operators of the two Amateur Radio stations that first establish two-way communication between Europe and North or South America on 2 meters.

The teams in Ireland and Newfoundland attempted to use the ionized meteor trails to reflect FSK441 signals across the Atlantic. A 1999 effort to complete a transatlantic 2-meter contact between Newfoundland and Scotland on CW also was unsuccessful.

The group conceded that bridging the more than 1920-mile gap between Newfoundland and Ireland via meteor scatter probably would require “an unusual kind of propagation.” — Paul Piercey, VO1HE

Well, here it is in the middle of the antenna season! Time to go out of doors and get reminded of what frostbite means!

There has been much discussion lately as to updating and strengthening our repeater system. Nothing lasts forever and that goes doubly for equipment that gets used every day (and every night!). There are constant operations behind the scenes that go on to keep it running the way that we would like. And then there is the future of the 70cm repeater and the things it needs to get into operation. The bright spot is that we do have considerable resources to get these things done.

I see by the clock on the wall that it is time to put some wood on the fire, turn on the rig, and dream of summer days. That mellow glow will have to do for sunshine while ole man winter does his worst.

The labels were made early this month, so there is likely to be a 2003 membership application form included with this newsletter even if you have signed up for 2003. Sorry about that, but that is the way things worked out this time. 33% of the full members have paid for 03, & 35% of the associate members have paid for 03.

For the ANL retired members, if you want to continue to receive the newsletter, you must either return an application or e-mail me. If I do not hear from a retired member by March 2003, I will remove your name from the mailing list.

For the ANL retired members, if you want to continue to receive the newsletter, you must either return an application or e-mail me. If I do not hear from a retired member by March, 2003, I will remove your name from the mailing list.

Bruce reported that he was unable to schedule the club’s annual Christmas Party for December 8. He was able to make arrangements at the Founder’s Club in downtown Downers Grove for December 15 at 2:00 pm.

Bruce indicated that there were no volunteers beyond the current 2002 officers to run for 2003 officers. We will include a ballot in the December newsletter. Joe will prepare the ballot. Of course the ballot will allow for write-in’s as usual.

Jim announced that he will be retiring this coming year and for us to start to plan accordingly.

Bruce said that the repeater was down this past weekend for technical reasons but is now operational. As of now, no new good sight has been found for the repeater. We need a location that allows a reasonably high antenna and a phone line for repeater control. Building 203 is too close to the packet radio node which is only 100 kHz away from the repeater frequency and so is unacceptable. We did also discuss the possibility of procuring a new controller. The current one is 20 some years old. No decisions were made but discussions will continue next month. There was also some discussion about recent progress towards a new 440 MHz repeater.

The deadline to submit items to Bruce to be printed in the January newsletter is December 17.

“We view this as a significant accomplishment,” said Smith. “Amateur Radio has long been at the forefront of technological development. It’s nice to be able to show that our legacy is alive and well.” Tests are being conducted under the auspices of ARRL’s Digital Voice Working Group, which Smith chairs. A written report on the tests is due in January.

Calling it “a major breakthrough,” a Ten-Tec news release said the two amateur stations “demonstrated the advantages of digital audio during the conversation, including noise-free, FM-like reception and the potential for simultaneous voice and data.” The feat was accomplished on 15 meters using Ten-Tec transceivers and Thales Communications Skywave 2000 digital audio software. Operating as F8KGG, Chulot spoke with Smith for several minutes over the HF digital link, operating within a 3-kHz bandwidth.

Smith said he and F5MJN used unmodified Ten-Tec transceivers in upper-sideband mode, although AM or FM mode also would work. No additional hardware was required beyond the cables connecting the transceiver and the microphone to the PC sound card. Smith said audio quality was roughly the same as a conventional telephone circuit. An Amateur Radio version of the Thales system is expected to appear on the market early next year. “At this stage, the system is experimental-only for ham radio, but it looks like it’s going to take off,” Smith predicted.

In terms of Amateur Radio, Alinco was the first manufacturer to come out with a digital voice option for some of its transceivers. ICOM debuted its D-Star digital “concept radio” system last May at the Dayton Hamvention — where Smith chaired the Digital Voice Forum — and demonstrated it at the ARRL-TAPR Digital Communications Conference in September. The unit, which operates on 1.2 GHz, was scheduled to hit the ham radio market this fall.

Technical details of the Thales system will appear in an article “International Digital Audio Broadcasting Standards: Voice Coding and Amateur Radio Applications” in the January/February issue of QEX, which he edits. The article is available on the ARRL Web site http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/x0301049.pdf. He also has authored two articles on digital voice in QST: “Digital Voice: The Next New Mode?” http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/0201028.pdf in the January 2002 issue, and “Digital Voice: An Update and Forecast” http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/0202038.pdf in the February 2002 issue.

Additional images and background are available on the TAPR Web site http://www.tapr.org. Look for the Digital Voice Forum page and the presentation by Cdric Demeure. — Ten-Tec news release; — Doug Smith, KF6DX

One of its experimental payloads is an Amateur Radio telemetry beacon that has been christened RS-20. Mozhayets orbits at an altitude of 720 km, completing a turn around Earth every 99 minutes.

The Keplerian elements for RS-20 are: 1 27560U 02054B   02332.86497891 -.00019965 00000-0 -47472-2 0    37; 2 27560  98.2411 217.5728 0044302  75.5447   285.0613  14.53325574    86.

RS-20 is transmitting CW telemetry on 145.818 and 435.319 MHz. According to information provided by Alexander Zaitzev, RW3DZ, each telemetry frame begins and ends with the beacon call sign, RS-20. E-mail reports are welcomed at plis@kaluga.ru.

ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, expressed his gratitude for Walsh’s dedication and support to The Big Project’s goals and aims. “I am particularly pleased with Joe’s donation, as it emphasizes his belief in our school project and more importantly, investing in the future of Amateur Radio,” Haynie said. “The additional schools that will be brought into the program as a result of this donation represent a big step in increasing the number of students participating in the ARRL Science and Technology program.”

Walsh, best known as a guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter with The Eagles and The James Gang, has been an active Amateur Radio operator for more than 37 years. He’s also an avid collector of Collins Radio gear. The amount of his donation was not made public.

The Big Project — as the program is popularly known — highlights Amateur Radio as a significant resource for teachers in classrooms as well as for enrichment and after-school programs. The 40 pilot schools now in the program receive a complete Amateur Radio station, technical library and a curriculum that makes technology fun and relevant for the participating students.

Walsh’s contribution was one of 3500 made by ARRL members, who — together — have raised more $225,000 to fund the Education & Technology Program in 2003.

04		KA9PVD		Paul		Downers Grove, IL
07		KB9DBC		Gregg		Carol Stream, IL
08		N9WJI		Raymond		Naperville, IL
09		W9VWS		Steve		Clarendon Hills, IL
09		W9VCR		Vernon		Bourbonnais, IL
12		N0GVY		Bill		Estes Park, CO
14		WA9ZPM		Mike		Crestwood, IL
21		K9YHH		Bill		Downers Grove, IL
21		KA9BIO		Charles		Darien, IL
22		N9GF		Gus		Melrose Park, IL
28		AB9DL		Bill		Darien, IL

PLEASE NOTE THE  NEW  LOCATION

The sheriff of the small town pulled over a Porsche that was doing 75 miles per hour in a 35-mile an hour zone. The wealthy man behind the wheel was steaming.

When he was finally brought before the local magistrate, he exploded, “I can’t believe you stopped me. This town must be the butthole of the world!”

The magistrate looked at him and replied, “And you must be what’s passing through.”

In a plane that’s about to crash, there are three passengers: the wisest man on earth, a student, and a politician.

When they find out that the plane is about to go down and there is only one parachute between the three of them, they debate about who would sacrifice his life for the country and who will jump to safety.

The politician says he’s responsible for running the country, so of course, he should be the one to jump.

The wise man says he’s got to serve mankind, so he should be the one who jumps.

The student says he is the future, and he should be the recipient of the parachute.

As the kid speaks, the wise man grabs the bag and leaps wildly out of the plane.

The politician is astounded, but the student remains calm.

“Why are you so calm? We’re both about to die!” exclaims the politician.

The student replies, “Well wisdom just leapt out with my school bag, so the future can hang on to politics and feel safe.”