The Starved Rock Radio Club
April 2002
STATIC
President: Mark Gebhardt – K9ZQ
Vice President: Jesse L. Risley – KB9TMA
Secretary: Frank Cararro – KF9NZ
Treasurer: Francis Kmetz – WB9VLW
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 in Ottawa, 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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Silent Key
It is with deep regret that we inform you of the passing
of club member Carolyn L. Beaulac, wife of Fred Beaulac, KB9UIU, who passed
away on Saturday, April 6, 2002. Carolyn had been active in the club
prior to her illness, and her warm presence at the meetings will be greatly
missed.
Former Starved Rock Radio Club member William Dunlap,
W9JID, is also a Silent Key. Bill passed away earlier last month.
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Secretary’s Report – April Meeting Notes
It was voted to buy a new dual-band FM rig for the clubhouse.
The old Kenwood clunker is getting unstable and it was decided to sell it.
We had quite a lot of discussion about the hamfest.
Table sales are picking up a little. The tickets and flyers for the
2003 hamfest are going to be printed soon. It was voted to keep the
price at $7.00/$5.00, but reduce the stubs to two on the advance tickets.
We will also drop the long-standing practice of giving ham rigs to the winners.
Instead we will give gift certificates from a ham radio dealer for $500.00,
$250.00 and $100.00 as prizes. We will also not ADVERTISE
free camping and electricity. We will try to get the clause in the
Fair Board contract requiring us to collect camping fees eliminated (again).
W9DON won the QSL contest. Next month's target is
WB0OWW, Ft. Dodge IA. The by-law allowing the Club to pay the examination
fee for any ARRL continuing education course passed. Please note:
This is the exam fee ONLY, not the cost of the whole course. Currently
the exam fee is $10.00 out of the whole $40.00 cost of the course.
This does include any future courses created by the ARRL, and you must PASS
the course to get your fee refunded. Exact wording of the by-law
will shortly appear in
the web-site by-law listing.
New door lock and repeater autopatch codes
will soon be implemented. The autopatch code is already in, and the
door code will probably be changed the weekend of the 6/7th. If you
want to know what they are, you can ask any of the Officers.
DE KF9NZ
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Repeater Happenings
In my report to the meeting I reported the following information.
At the La Salle Station drill, I talked to both Al, N9PIB and Augie, N9JNK.
Both of these gentlemen are familiar with different parts of the "Tower and
Antenna Story" at the county Etna Rd. site. I was able to supply
a minor footnote to that story to Al , but it did not directly apply to our
situation -which is as follows: About two years ago the C.A.P. removed
its packet mailbox system from Etna Rd in line with de-activation of the
whole system. The antenna remained on the tower however, and
I requested that the SRRC be able to retain and use the antenna for receive
only use. This was granted, and I went looking for the disconnected
end of coax that Augie left when he removed the equipment.
Finding a loose end of a hunk of RG-8, I tried connecting my HT to it, and
I was able to hit a couple of Chicago area repeaters! Wow! We
have a great antenna!
Then, last Fall, I tried connecting our repeater receiver
to this antenna. That didn't work too good, as we could hear the county
on our repeater better than some of their cars could. But
about the same time I got the new power amplifier working up to speed, and
found out that with it putting 50 watts into the cavity filters, too much
RF was getting into our own receiver and desensitizing it. Desense,
for those who may not know, is created when there is a lot of off-frequency
energy in the input stages of a receiver that saturates the stages and reduces
its sensitivity. We were experiencing a bad case of loss of sensitivity.
We had the option of reducing output power, or buying new cavities.
But I had another idea! I split the cavity filters into separate transmit
and receive filters. I connected the transmitter through the transmit
filter to our main antenna
at 180 feet. I then connected (what I thought was) the old
C.A.P. antenna through the receive section of the filter to our local
147.720 receiver. This is how it is working as of this date,
and has been working this way for the past three months or so.
Now, another side to the story. As most of
you who live around here know, the Sheriff has been agitating for a better
radio system since he was elected. A number of things were
changed, and some long-standing problems were fixed (interference between
primary and secondary, etc.), but it was not enough to satisfy the Sheriff.
The County Board looked into the matter, and the Radio Committee (N9PIB member)
had a contractor inventory all of the antennae and examine the tower itself.
First thing that came to light was that the tower was not properly grounded,
and the many coax lines were not installed according to proper codes.
Also, it was found that there were several "orphan" antennae on the tower.
I obtained a rough copy of the antenna inventory, and was able to correlate
this with some info I had. Surprise! The antenna we were using
for receive was ON TOP OF THE TOWER! No wonder it worked so well.
The next chapter of the story goes back to the Mar 20
drill. In conversation with N9JNK, I found that the antenna that the
C.A.P. had used was NOT the one I found. The F.B.I.
at one time had a base radio in the 160 MHz band at the county complex.
When they discontinued it, they left it, and the C.A.P. took it over.
This antenna is at the same level as our main antenna, at 180 feet, on one
of the other legs of the tower. As of this time, I do not know
what or who formerly used the antenna we are now using for the receive antenna,
nor do I know how well, or even if, the old F.B.I./C.A.P. antenna will work
as a receive antenna. The saga continues.
In conversation with Al, he informed me that the county
has estimates from a contractor to properly ground the tower, and to install
an entrance panel for all coax lines as required by the codes.
It is the intent of the County Board to pay for the tower grounding, but
to spread the cost of the entrance panel work among the users of the tower
on a "per antenna" basis. The estimate Al had as of 3/20 was
close to $400.00 per antenna, but this was only preliminary.
In any event it will no doubt be in the area of several hundred dollars per
antenna. We are currently using three. (Transmit,
receive and UHF recv for the remote sites) Al has promised
to let me know the dates of the Board hearings on the matter, and your Club
Officers are working to minimize any impact on the Club. We may
still be required to relocate. Stay tuned.
de kf9nz
LA SALLE NUCLEAR STATION DRILL - ARES REPORT
On March 20, the La Salle County Amateur Radio Emergency
Service participated in the federally mandated, bi-annual nuclear generating
station drill. This drill entails operation from the County Emergency
Operating Center in Ottawa IL, with the EOC's in the surrounding area (Emergency
Planning Zone) being activated concurrently. A scenario is presented
to the emergency services by representatives of Nuclear Regulatory
Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the
response is evaluated by the representatives. The LaSalle
ARES's role was as backup communications to six of the EOC's in the E.P.
Zone. These include Grand Ridge, Marseilles, Seneca, Ransom,
Brookfield Township, as well as neighboring Grundy County.
The La Salle ARES established
stations at these locations, and manned the permanent station at the County
EOC in Ottawa. Voice comms were set up first for coordination,
using the 147.12 MHz W9MKS repeater. Then 1200-baud packet stations
were brought up on 145.01 MHz. The ARESPACK software was utilized,
enabling formal message traffic to be printed out at the remote EOC sites.
APRS was also deployed using "UI-View" software. This was used
only as a demonstration, and only one mobile station with a GPS receiver
was used. The other EOC stations were able to transmit their location
with a beacon message. These locations were displayed on a notebook
computer at the County EOC.
The primary method of communication
used in the drill is dial-up telephone on the public switched network.
Formal written messages are sent on facsimile. At the beginning
of the drill, the fax machine at Grand Ridge failed, and the traffic was
handled via amateur radio until the machine was repaired. There were
also a few informal messages handled on ham radio voice. Due
to a local problem (not ours) at Seneca, the traffic to that point was relayed
via voice also.
I acted as the Operator at the
County EOC, and had an opportunity to explain in some detail our operation
to both the NRC and FEMA evaluators. Unfortunately, I failed
to explain that we do not have a RACES organization in place in the county,
and we operated as the ARES. In any event, the following is quoted
from the draft version of the evaluator’s report:
"The Radio Amateur Emergency Services support group demonstrated several
methods for providing communications support during the emergency.
"The RACES representatives demonstrated how, using Global Positioning System
satellites they were able to track and display current information concerning
their unit locations. They exhibited their capability to provide text
of ongoing emergency action messages such as the Nuclear Accident Reporting
System (NARS) messages.
"Their capabilities provided excellent backup to the primary communications
system and the RACES personnel should be commended."
Here is a list of the hams that took part in the exercise:
KB9EZZ, N9OUW, N9JNK, K9ZQ, K9PHW, KA9VAU, KA9DKF, KA9HRO, KB9RKU, K9EWU,
KB9ZWJ, K9AWB, N9PLM, and KB9ZQQ. I especially want to
thank Joe, KB9EZZ for his efforts in organizing and training members, and
in
procuring and testing much of the hardware used in this event.
Frank Carraro KF9NZ, LaSalle Cty Emergency Coordinator.
--------------------------------
Thanks to:
KF9NZ, KB9UPS, K9ZQ, K9PHW, KA9VAU, KA9DKF, KA9HRO, N9OUW, N9JNK
and KB9RKU, K9EWU, KB9ZWJ, KC9AWB, N9PLM and KB9ZQQ.
And, I would like to thank KB9LSM, W9MD and KB9UKW for loaning us radios and TNCs for the exercise
The team leader from the Federal Emergency Management
Agency complemented the Amateur Radio Operators who volunteered their services
at last Wednesday's exercise. FEMA was impressed by our use of packet
and APRS.
Lets keep those emergency communication skills sharp by checking into the
ARES Sunday and SRRC Wednesday nets. Also, let's add to the ARES net a
packet check-in on 145.01 and practice sending and printing ARESPACK
messages.
73 and thanks!!
Joe Tokarz, KB9EZZ
Activities Report / Calendar of Events
¨ The Area Amateur Radio Operators will host their annual hamfest at
the National Guard Armory in Galva, Illinois on Sunday, April 28, 2002.
For more information, Contact: Matt Bullock, KB9TIO at 419 East College Street
in Kewanee, IL 61443. Phone: 309-856-7111 or Email: mbullock@bwsys.net
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¨ The Kishwaukee ARC will host their annual “Dekalb Hamfest” at the fairgrounds
in Sandwich, Illinois on Sunday, May 5, 2002. Visit http://www.w9icu.com/flyer.html
for more information, or Contact: Bob Yurs, W9ICU at 1107 Commercial Street
in Sycamore, IL 60178. Phone: 815-895-3310 or Email: bob@w9icu.com.
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¨ The Streator Amateur Radio Club will be hosting their monthly dinner/meeting
on Saturday, May 4th 2002 at Chippers’ Grill, route 23 North in Streator.
The dinner/meeting begins at 5:30 p.m., and everyone is welcome and encouraged
to attend!! If you would like to attend the monthly dinner/meeting,
please make reservations no later than Friday, May 3rd 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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¨ The next regular monthly meeting of the Starved Rock Radio Club will
be held on Monday, May 6th 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, May 7th 2002 at 7:00 p.m. at the Hennepin Town Hall in
Hennepin, Illinois. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend the
meeting!
73's DE
Jesse L. Risley, KB9TMA
SRRC Activities Chairman
Around the Hobby – Stray Items Relating to Amateur Radio
SWAOG Group
Item of Possible Interest to SRRC Members:
Club members who have an interest in observational astronomy might consider
looking into the activities of the Southwest Astronomy Observers Group (SWAOG).
The SWAOG consists of a group (not a club) of dedicated astronomy enthusiasts
who also happen to be Hams who really enjoy the combination of the two hobbies.
Ably led by Mark, KB9WLX and Jeff, WD9GVU the group meets each Thursday evening
at 9:00 pm for a net on the 147.33 MHz repeater (+600 offset, no PL) operated
by the Bolingbrook Amateur Radio Society (BARS). In addition, Jeff maintains
an excellent informative web site at http://hometown.aol.com/WD9GVU/SWAOG.html
that includes a link to Mark’s “Dark Site” web page as well as links to several
other sites of interest. The web site displays complete information about
Group activities and the content of the net program.
If you are curious about what is happening in our night skies, or if you
are now an active observer or perhaps you want to be active as an observer,
then the SWAOG might be just what you’re looking for. By all means check
it out.
de KA9HRO
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Amateur Radio in the News
From The Times-Press, Streator, Illinois (11/28/00)
“Glimpses of Yesteryear: 1950 – Ham radio operator Ben Gilbert, Route
2, helped arrange a chat on short-wave radio between Mrs. Andrew Patton of
Streator and her sister, Mrs. Kenneth Dillon, whose husband is stationed
at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.”
Submitted by Francis Kmetz, WB9VLW
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SaudiSat 1-A (SO-41) Satellite
Here is yet another satellite anyone can use with minimal equipment!
SaudiSat 1-A (SO-41) now is reported open for Amateur Radio communication.
According to information received by AMSAT-NA President Robin Haighton, VE3FRH,
SO-41 has been configured for FM voice repeater operation.
Turki Al Saud, director of the Space Research Institute in Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia--the satellite's sponsoring agency--told AMSAT-NA that SO-41 will
automatically enable its UHF transmitter over Saudi Arabia and the US for
approximately 20 minutes each pass. The spacecraft reportedly is configured
for Mode J, with a VHF uplink of 145.850 MHz and a UHF downlink of 436.775
MHz. The spacecraft will operate in this mode intermittently, as power and
spacecraft experiments permit, the announcement said.
SO-41's downlink RF power is 1 W with left-hand circular polarization. The
uplink antenna--located atop the spacecraft—is linear in polarization. Experiments
and software development continue with SaudiSat 1-B (SO-42), and that satellite
is not yet available to amateurs.
SaudiSat 1A and 1B were launched along with TIUNGSAT-1 on September 26, 2000,
from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, aboard a converted Soviet ballistic missile.
Both satellites have been in various stages of commissioning since then.
Submitted by Mark Gebhardt, K9ZQ
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FCC PROCEEDING PUTS NEW PRESSURE ON AMATEUR MICROWAVE BAND
The FCC has again targeted Amateur Radio's primary allocation at 2390 to
2400 MHz for possible sharing or use by other radio services. A Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (WT Docket 02-55)--released in mid-March but not yet
available for public comment--invites comments on either sharing the band
with public safety services being displaced from 800 MHz or moving amateurs
elsewhere. The ARRL plans to file comments in the proceeding.
The FCC says increasing incidents of harmful interference to public safety
systems in the 800-MHz band prompted the proceeding, "Improving Public Safety
Communications in the 800 MHz Band." To alleviate the problem, the Commission
now is looking into restructuring the 800 MHz band and moving some occupants
elsewhere.
"In this proceeding, if commenting parties believe that incumbent amateur
services cannot co-exist with relocated 800 MHz services," the FCC said,
"we seek comment on whether incumbent amateur services could be relocated,
what spectrum could be used for their relocation, and what procedures would
apply to such relocation." The FCC NPRM identifies 2390-2400 MHz as an "Unlicensed
PCS Band." Unlicensed, asynchronous PCS devices were authorized there in
1995, but Amateur Radio remains primary.
The FCC also will seek comments on whether existing UPCS operations could
continue in the band or be forced to cease. It also wants input on "the suitability
of the 2390-2400 MHz band as replacement spectrum and whether there are other
band segments with which this band could be paired." The FCC noted that the
adjacent 2385-2390 MHz segment already is slated for auction.
The FCC said its discussion of 2390-2400 MHz and other segments in terms
of replacement spectrum was intended to be "illustrative rather than exclusive"
and that other bands "may also merit consideration."
Just last summer, the FCC invited comments on its proposals to reallocate
some spectrum in the 2390 to 2400 MHz amateur segment--as well as in the
non-amateur 1.9 and 2.1 GHz bands--for possible use by unspecified mobile
and fixed services. The Commission has proposed 2390 to 2400 MHz and other
bands to support the introduction of advanced wireless systems, including
so-called third-generation (3G) mobile systems. The FCC also has asked for
comments on whether amateurs could share the band with government users.
The complete NPRM is available via the FCC Web site <http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-02-81A1.doc>.
The
FCC will officially invite comments for 30 days after the NPRM is published
in the Federal Register. Reply comments will be due 60 days following publication
in the Federal Register.
Excerpted from The ARRL Letter - Vol. 21, No.14 for April 5, 2002
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Field Day 2002
Where:
Shabona Park (IL 23 North to N 42nd Rd. Left (West) on N 42nd Rd to the
park.
When:
Saturday-Sunday June 22-23. Setup starts at 8am Saturday June 22 and Field
begins at 1 PM and runs for 24 hours.
Why:
The momentous events of September 11, 2001 served to once again affirm that
amateur radio plays an important role when our communities are in need. If
you ask those amateurs that served with great pride during those first trying
days after the attack, a common theme would be echoed. The training and skills
the volunteers acquired by participating in emergency preparedness tests
and drills paid off when they were called to service.
From its inception in 1933, ARRL Field Day has held a place of prominence
among the amateur radio community. This operating event, arguably the most
popular on-the-air event among hams, challenges us to test our preparations
and learn valuable skills that can hold up to the challenge when "real life"
interfaces with our hobby.
Two rule changes go into effect with Field Day 2002 that will take us a step
further as we strive to test ourselves in these respects. The old Novice/Technician
station from previous years has been replaced by a GET ON THE AIR (GOTA)
station. The GOTA station will allow Novice, Technicians, and generally inactive
hams a chance to GET ON THE AIR to help the group's Field Day effort. Non-licensed
persons may also participate in the GOTA station, under the direct supervision
of an appropriate control operator. You may
complete up to 400 QSOs to your group's score with the GOTA station. In addition,
any group that meets the 400 QSO goal from the GOTA station will also gain
an additional 100-point bonus. This is the only change that affects Field
Day scoring.
We have always been able to work DX stations during Field Day. Field Day
2002 now has expanded the opportunity for DX stations to more fully participate.
DX stations from across Region 2 - encompassing North and South America -
are now invited to fully participate and submit scores to the ARRL for inclusion
in the results. DX stations should give as their sent exchange their entry
category (just like W/VE participants) as well as the designation "DX" -
in lieu of an ARRL section. Also, remember that third-party agreements must
be observed.
The strength of Field Day does not lay in the score that you post or the
number of transmitters you put on the air. It lies in the number of operators
who actually participate and gain valuable operating experience.
Submitted by Joe Tokarz, KB9EZZ
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From the Editor’s Desk
My apologies for the late publication of “Static” this month. I do
not have anything of interest to report. Thanks again to Mark, K9ZQ,
for agreeing to handle the snail mail side of distributing the newsletter.
Keep those submissions coming my way, and remember to THINK SPRING!!!
The deadline for submitting items for publication in the May edition of the newsletter will be Sunday, May 12, 2002.
Regards,
Jesse L. Risley, KB9TMA
Kb9tma@yahoo.com; 815-673-1023 (home phone)
SRRC “Static” Editor