The Starved Rock Radio Club (SRRC) meets on the first Monday of every month, unless otherwise scheduled, at 7:00 p.m. at the SRRC clubhouse in Leonore, Illinois. Club nets are held on the SRRC repeater (W9MKS) every Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m. The W9MKS repeater is located at the SRRC clubhouse in Leonore, Illinois, and it operates on a frequency of 147.120 MHz (+ 103.5 PL). The Starved Rock Radio Club was organized in September of 1934, and has remained an ARRL affiliated club since 1934.

The mission of the Starved Rock Radio Club has continually been to give faithful, co-operative service and assistance for the betterment of amateur radio, in the promotion of interest in amateur radio communications, for the advancement of the radio art, for the use of amateur radio for public service and welfare, and for the maintenance of fraternalism and the promotion of good fellowship along with a high standard of conduct.  Visit us on the web at www.qsl.net/w9mks
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October Meeting Highlights
 
 We had 19 members and 5 guests present at the October meeting.  There was a brief Treasurer’s report, and no Secretary’s report was given due to Frank’s absence.  The door prize winners were as follows:  KB9ZWJ, KC9CIQ, and WB9VLW.

 The SRCA Pumpkin Pie Ride was discussed, and it was noted that participation in this exercise demonstrated both the strengths and weaknesses within the following areas:  APRS / packet, coordination of events via amateur radio (net control), teamwork and cooperation, and digital communications in public service activities.  Overall, there was a decent turnout of SRRC members willing and able to lend a hand with this event.

 It was noted that the refrigerator at the clubhouse went kaput a few weeks ago.  We are now in need of both a replacement fridge, and a storm door to lower heating costs.  If anyone is aware of such items that may be for sale at a decent price, they are asked to inform Mark, K9ZQ ASAP.

Members were again reminded that Dec 7th is the date for the NWS Skywarn Appreciation Day at Romeoville.  SRRC members are encouraged to attend, and several members may be car-pooling up to Romeoville for this special event.

DE
KB9TMA for KF9NZ (absent)
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Training Report – Upcoming VE Sessions

Tentative Schedule:
VE Session
SRRC Leonore
Saturday November 30, 2002 - this is the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  3 to 6 PM.

Why the change of date?  I forgot about:
2002 SKYWARN Recognition Day
December 7, 2002 0000 UTC - 2400 UTC

The National Weather Service and the American Radio Relay League developed SKYWARN Recognition Day in 1999. It celebrates the contributions that volunteer SKYWARN radio operators make to the National Weather Service.  During the day SKYWARN operators visit NWS offices and contact other radio operators across the world.

Please register my calling Joe at 433-2347 or kb9ezz@arrl.net
I am looking for 4 volunteer examiners to assist with this session.

VE Examination Database last updated on Fri 04-Oct-2002
3 found within approximately 50 miles of 61350

19-Nov-2002
Sponsor: FOX RIVER RADIO LEAGUE
Time: 07:30PM (Walk-ins allowed)
Contact: DOUGLAS A RENEKER
(630)355-0190
VEC: ARRL/VEC
Location: NORTHGATE SHOPPING CENTER
BASEMENT OF FORMER BANK BLDG
900 N LAKE ST
ROUTE 31
AURORA, IL 60506

21-Dec-2002
Sponsor: BOLINGBROOK ARS
Time: 12 NOON (Walk-ins allowed)
Contact: DALE J ONDERISIN
(815)723-3332
VEC: ARRL/VEC
Location: FIRE STATION #4
1111 WEST BOUGHTON ROAD
BOLINGBROOK, IL 60440

Joe Tokarz, KB9EZZ
SRRC Training Chairman
Club Member Appointed as SEC
 
 Below is a press release from earlier this week, from our ARRL Section Manager Sharon Harlan, N9SH.  Club member Pat Ryan, KC6VVT, was recently appointed as the Section EC.  Let’s offer our congratulations to pat on a job well done, and wish him luck in pursuing the duties of his new position.

 On the 15th of October there was a change in the Section Cabinet here in
Illinois.  I have appointed Pat Ryan, KC6VVT, of Tonica Illinois as the new Section Emergency Coordinator.  I am sure that Pat will do a great job here in Illinois.

73,

Sharon Harlan, N9SH
Section Manager-Illinois
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Activities Report / Calendar of Upcoming Events

¨ 2002 ARRL International EME Competition will be held on the weekends of October 26-27, 2002 and November 23-24, 2002. Object: Two-way communications via the earth-moon-earth path on any authorized amateur frequency above 50 MHz. Date and Contest Period: Two full weekend 48-hour periods (0000 UTC on Saturday through 2359 UTC Sunday).   For a complete list of rules, visit http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2002/eme-rules.html
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¨ The Streator Amateur Radio Club will be hosting their monthly dinner/meeting on Saturday, November 2nd 2002 at Chippers’ Grill, route 23 North in Streator.  The dinner/meeting begins at 5:30 p.m., and everyone is welcome!!  This dinner/meeting will focus on reorganization and resurrection of the club, so everyone is encouraged to try and attend!!  If you would like to attend the monthly dinner/meeting, please make reservations no later than Friday, October 4th by contacting Jesse Risley, KB9TMA on the air, or by phone at 815-673-1023 (home) or 815-674-1059 (cell).
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¨ 2002 ARRL November Sweepstakes Rules Object: For stations in the United States and Canada (including territories and possessions) to exchange QSO information with as many other US and Canadian stations as possible on 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meter bands. Date and Contest Period: CW: First full weekend in November (November 2-4, 2002).  Phone: Third full weekend in November (November 16-18, 2002).
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¨ Special Event Station – Shiloh, IL: Scott Air Force Base Amateur Radio Society, AA9ZI. 1500Z-2100Z Nov 2. Scott AFB Radio Club's 1st Anniversary. 146.405 28.410 14.285 7.250. Certificate. Suzanne Horn, KB0OMB, 988 Jacks Rd, Troy, MO 63379.
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¨ The Davenport RAC will host their annual hamfest at Davenport, IA on Sunday, November 3rd .  For more information, contact Dave Mayfield, W9WRL at 1821 7th Street in Moline, IL 61265 Phone: 309-762-6010 or 309-781-9308 Email: hamfest@gwltd.com2002.  You may also visit http://www.gwltd.com/hamfest .
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¨ The next regular meeting of the Starved Rock Radio Club will be held on Monday, November 4th 2002 at 7:00 p.m. at the SRRC clubhouse in Leonore, Illinois.  Everyone is welcome and encourage to attend the meeting.  There is a “pre-meeting” over dinner, held prior to the regular meeting, beginning at 5:00 p.m. at Schmitty’s Grill.  Come on over for some casual chat, and enjoy the evening steak dinner special!
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¨ The Illinois Valley Radio Association (IVRA) will host their next monthly meeting on Tuesday, November 5th 2002 at 7:00 p.m. at the Hennepin Town Hall in Hennepin, Illinois.  Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend the meeting!
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¨ The Chicago Amateur Radio Club Inc. will host their annual Ham Radio Auction on Sunday, November 10th.  The auction will be held at Devry University, 3300 N. Campbell in Chicago, IL.  For more information, call Melissa at 773-908-0518 or write the CARC Inc. at P.O. Box 410535 – Chicago, IL  60641-0535.

73’s DE
Jesse L. Risley, KB9TMA (Activities Chairman)
 

Around the Hobby – Stray Items Relating to Amateur Radio

Items for Sale

1) Gas generator, asking $350.00
2) 4 x 6 trailer.  Asking $300.00.

For more information on either item, please contact Jerry Hageman, N9ZJK, at 815-538-6932.

********************************

New NOAA Weather Radio Transmitter

The National Weather Service...in cooperation with NIU'S Department of Environmental Health and Safety...added a new NOAA Weather Radio transmitter and antenna on Grant Tower on the NIU campus in Dekalb.  The 100-watt radio station’s call sign is WNG-536 and it will broadcast continuous weather information for North Central Illinois on a frequency of 162.550 MHZ.  Severe weather watches and warnings for Dekalb County and several other North Central Illinois counties will be broadcast on the new station...preceded by a tone alarm and special coding.

Tom Ciciora, KA9QPN
Director
Sandwich, IL EMA

Submitted by Frank Carraro, KF9NZ.

********************************

WW9AE/R, NWS ham station
 

 The Plainfield Radio League in association with the Will County Emergency Management Agency put its emergency communications repeater on-air on Friday afternoon, 10/18/2002.  The repeater operates 449.550 MHz in and 444.550 MHz out.  A 114.8 Hz CTCSS tone is required to access the repeater.  The repeater is primarily for emergency communication in Will County and surrounding areas, though it is open to all
amateurs of Technician class license and higher.

 The repeater identifies with the Plainfield Radio League callsign WW9AE/R.  Located in Joliet, Illinois, this repeater has been granted coordination by the Illinois Repeater Association.  With excellent coverage, I encourage any interested amateur to check in on the repeater to the Plainfield Radio League informational net on Thursdays at 1900 local time.  Will County ARES is currently scheduling its net time along with net control stations.
 
73,

Rob Sobkoviak, N9AJA
Will County EC - Illinois ARES
RACES Officer - Will County EMA
RACES 2nd Officer - Plainfield EMA
President - Plainfield Radio League

Submitted by Frank Carraro, KF9NZ.

********************************

ARRL CENTRAL DIVISON WEBSITE LAUNCHED

15 SEP, 2002 - 1400 CDT

For those of you who have already received this message via other routes, I apologize for the duplication.

After several delays, the Central Division now has its own website at:  www.central.arrl.org   There are no pop-ups or other advertising on this site and it's a work in progress.  Many thanks to Clay Melhorn, N9IO, who has done, and continues to do, all the website work.

Plan to visit this site from time to time as the information will be changed.  You will find a director's newsletter that will contain information of specific interest to Central Division members.  I plan to publish it about four times a year - more if necessary.  There are already links to other sites such our three state's legislative websites.  More links of a
similar nature are being added.

If you have suggestions or comments, please let me know.

73 - George R. (Dick) Isely, W9GIG
Central Division Director - w9gig@arrl.org

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HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT TRAINING TO START SEPTEMBER 1

Amateur Radio emergency communications training supported by a $181,900 federal homeland security grant will begin within a few weeks instead of next year as reported initially. During its first year, the grant from the Corporation for National and community Service (CNCS) special volunteer program will reimburse the cost of Level I ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course training for up to 1700 volunteers.

"It will begin with the recruitment of additional mentors and trainers for the national program," said ARRL Chief Development Officer Mary Hobart, K1MMH. Hobart and Dan Miller, K3UFG--formerly ARRL Certification and Continuing Education Program Coordinator and now the Emergency Communications Course Manager--have been working with CNCS to expedite the grant details.

As Emergency Communications Course Manager, Miller will manage the CNCS
special volunteer program and United Technologies Corp training grants.  Replacing Miller as program coordinator August 19 will be Howard Robins, W1HSR.

The CNCS has accepted ARRL's proposal to commence the expanded emergency
training program September 1. The League was among several dozen nonprofit
organizations designated to receive some $10.3 million in federal money to boost homeland defense volunteer programs.

Miller says that since the July 18 grant announcement, interest in the subsidized training has been high. He urged those eager to participate to stand by for announcements via the ARRL Web and other League news outlets.  The first priority when the grant-supported training effort kicks into gear in September will be to recruit and train at least 200 Amateur Radio Emergency Communications course mentors/trainers. These volunteers then will help to manage and train the student load for the first year of the grant.

Anyone who has already completed the Level I course is qualified to become a mentor with some additional training. Mentor candidates should contact Miller k3ufg@arrl.org> for information on how to take part.

Students taking advantage of Level I emergency communications training under the grant program will be asked to pay for the course via credit card during the registration process. Upon successfully completing the training and certification, students will be reimbursed the $45 fee.  Miller said the goal is to dramatically improve the course completion rate
from the current 68 percent to nearly 100 percent.

Hobart emphasized that community involvement is key. "It's not enough to just finish the course," she said. "You're expected to join and take part in your local Amateur Radio Emergency Service organization." The grant-training program is especially interested in attracting more seniors--those 55 and older--and those for whom the course fee would mean a hardship unless they were reimbursed.  To register, you may visit
www.arrl.org/forms/cce/
 

73 and thanks,
 Joe, KB9EZZ

********************************

FCC opts for status quo at 2300 to 2305 MHz

SB QST @ ARL $ARLB063
ARLB063 FCC opts for status quo at 2300 to 2305 MHz

ZCZC AG63
QST de W1AW
ARRL Bulletin 63  ARLB063
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  October 15, 2002
To all radio amateurs

SB QST ARL ARLB063
ARLB063 FCC opts for status quo at 2300 to 2305 MHz

The FCC has dismissed an ARRL petition that sought primary status for amateurs at 2300-2305 MHz. At the same time, the Commission turned down petitions from AeroAstro and MicroTrax—commercial interests that had hoped to share the spectrum with Amateur Radio.  The action, taken October 9, maintains the status quo on the band.

"That the commercial petitions were dismissed is, of course, good news," said ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ. "We had argued for that outcome."

Sumner called the outcome of the League's petition, RM-10165, "mildly disappointing" because, as he explained, a status upgrade "would provide some measure of protection against future commercial proposals." Sumner pointed out that the FCC did not altogether rule out a future status upgrade, but he cautioned that the band "is still vulnerable."

In turning down the ARRL's petition, the FCC said that since it was also dismissing the MicroTrax and AeroAstro petitions for access to 2300-2305 MHz, "amateur operators' weak-signal communications in the 2300-2305 MHz band will be protected if the amateur allocation remains secondary." The FCC said the band "will remain in the
Commission's reserve, and the status quo in the band will be maintained until the Commission reevaluates the spectrum status for the Amateur Service that may be appropriate."

The FCC turned down the MicroTrax and AeroAstro applications in part because appropriate spectrum already was available elsewhere and neither company had demonstrated a need for an additional allocation. MicroTrax had proposed to establish a Personal Location and Monitoring Service (PLMS) at 2300-2305 MHz under FCC Part 27 rules.

The AeroAstro petition went further, proposing to share the band on a co-primary basis with the Amateur Service subject to technical and service rules. AeroAstro wanted to establish its Satellite Enabled Notification System (SENS) messaging service under the FCC's Miscellaneous Wireless Communication Service rules. The FCC also expressed concerns that NASA's Deep Space Network would not be protected by the modified out-of-band limits AeroAstro had proposed.  Internationally, the 2300-2305 MHz band is allocated to Fixed and Mobile services on a primary basis and to the Amateur Service on a secondary basis in all three International Telecommunication Union regions. The Radiolocation Service has a secondary allocation in the band in Region 1, and a primary allocation in Regions 2 and 3.

A copy of the Order is available on the FCC Web site
http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2002/db1010/DA-02-2587A1.
doc.
NNNN
/EX
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Using APRS
 
 

APRS Network

 Commonly used aliases are:  RELAY, WIDE, and GATE.  Each alias denotes a very different type of station.  A RELAY station is one with a limited range (a few miles).  Clearly mobile stations and some fixed stations fall into this category.  A WIDE station is usually a dedicated station with wide local or regional coverage.  A GATE station has a very wide coverage area (500 miles or more).  Most, if not all, GATE stations are really gateways from 2 meters to 30 meters.  If you’re monitoring your local 2-meter APRS network and suddenly see a symbol showing a station 500 miles away, chances are it is a packet relayed through a GATE.  (Depending on your station setup, it might also be a packet that reached you directly via meteor-scatter.  Yes, they’re doing APRS meteor scatter, too!

On the Road
 
For mobile use, we are still typically concerned with three parameters:  BTEXT, BEACON, and UNPROTO.  If the TCC is configured properly, it will take the information provided by the GPS (latitude, longitude, time) and automatically use that as the beacon text.  The beacon rate should be set to one-minute intervals, since we are now moving and need to update our position more frequently.  Lastly, the UNPROTO path was set to APRS VIA WIDE, WIDE.  For more applications it is common practice to add the digipeater RELAY so that our final path is:  APRS VIA RELAY, WIDE, WIDE
Configuring Your TNC and Software

 In one of the popular APRS software programs, (UI-VIEW), have you ever wondered what the “UI” stood for?  If you have, you’ve asked a good question and should know the answer.
 The APRS protocol relies on Unnumbered Information (UI) packet frames to transmit location information.  If you have previously used packet radio, you have used UI frames when you called CQ or activated your beacon function.  For APRS work, all that is required is changing your beacon text, beacon rate, and path.  On most TNC’S these parameters are BTEXT, BEACON, and UNPROTO, respectively.  In practice, there may be a few other parameters needing initialization, but these three are particularly important.
 Setting the beacon rate requires a little understanding of the APRS network.  Technically, there is no reason you can’t transmit a location as often as you like.  In practice, however, fixed stations (e.g., home stations), should not transmit more frequently than every 30 minutes.  There is a good reason for this:  APRS is an unconnected broadcast protocol.  This means there is no acknowledgement between stations when a packet has been received.  Therefore, if packets collide, there is no retransmission and the information is lost.  This is significantly different than the normal AX.25 connected protocol that assures error-free transmission.  So, to reduce collisions, the rate between transmissions should be extended to assure a high probability that the channel is available.
 The beacon text is the second important parameter that needs to be initialized.  Because we’re only talking about a fixed APRS station, there is no need for a GPS device.  All you need to know is your location.  With that information, you can set up your BTEXT.
For example:
 /120800z4107.35N/8849.53W-PHG2230/Steve in Streator, IL.
An alternate beacon text, if you don’t know your latitude and longitude, or if you don’t want to tell the world your exact location, would be:
 /120800z[EN51od]-PHG2230/Steve in Streator, IL

 At this point I should explain what PHG is. The Power Height Gain (PHG) field contains four digits that represent the power of the transmitter, the height, gain and radiating pattern of the antenna.  For our example, 2230 represents a transmitting power of 4W, the antenna is 40 feet high with 3db gain, with an omnidirectional radiating pattern.  If this has you scratching your head in bewilderment, don’t worry!  The APRS documentation (see PROTOCOL.TXT in the APRS software bundle) explains in detail.
The hyphen (-), which indicates that you are a fixed station at your home.  There are nearly 200 symbols (characters) available that will designate your station as being in anything from an ambulance to an airplane!
APRS On The WEB

Kansas City APRS            http://www.kcaprs/org/.
Tucson Amateur Packet Radio (TAPR)      http://www.tapr.org/tapr/html/sigs.html
Bob Bruninga, home page                      http://web.usna.navy.mil/~bruninga/aprs.html
APRS digipeaters nation wide          http://web.usna.navy.mil/~bruninga/digis.html

      Software
Keith Sproul, WU2Z            http://aprs.rutgers.edu/index.html
Mark Sproul, KB2ICI                   http://msproul.rutgers.edu/APRS/MacAPRS.htm
Northern Illinois APRS           http://tbcnet.com/~jleonard/n9vjq.htm
APRS & GPS             http://web.usna.navy.mil/~bruninga/aprs.html
Gary Wells, N3HCP            http://users.nb.net/~gwells

(FAQ)        http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/ku0g/APRSFAQ/HTM
APRS mailing list               Listserv@tapr.org     subscribe aprssin [FirstName LastName]
Contents from June 1997 QST.
From the desk of KB9UPS

From the Editor’s Desk

I do offer my sincere apologies for the newsletter being one week late this month.  However, I had some commitments that interfered with the timely publication of the newsletter this month.  As always, keep those submissions coming my way.  I think we have had a very successful year in establishing a means of communication for each member of the Starved Rock Radio Club to keep informed of local, national, and international amateur radio happenings.

The deadline for submitting items for publication in the November edition of the newsletter will be Sunday, November 11th, 2002.

Regards,
Jesse L. Risley, KB9TMA
Kb9tma@yahoo.com; 815-673-1023 (home phone)
SRRC “Static” Editor