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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Silent Key
It is with deep regret that we inform you of the death of former SRRC club member and hamfest co-chairman Bruce Burton, KU9A. Bruce passed away Wednesday, July 3, 2002. A resident of Marseilles, Bruce and his wife Debbie were always very active in the club, especially by co-chairing the SRRC hamfest for several years. His presence will be missed.
Secretary’s Report – July Meeting Notes / Other Happenings
Our Treasurer,
Francis WB9VLW submitted a preliminary hamfest report. The
net profit was $4412.57, which is $963.00 below 2001. Francis says
this is not the final figure, but is very close. It is $963.00 below
2001. Of course the rain was the big problem. The repeater
was the big item of discussion of course. KF9NZ read a report,
which is summarized below. There was further discussion, and it was
voted, with one negative vote, to move the repeater to Leonore.
The Board of Directors meeting was set for July
20th. A meeting of the Repeater Maintenance Committee
will precede the B of D meeting. All members are invited to
attend both meetings, with the Rptr group set to convene at 10:00 AM.
Matt, KB9VZH and Jesse KB9TMA will again be co-chairs of the Hamfest Committee.
They will NOT continue past next year however, so members should consider
accepting this critical job.
DE KF9NZ
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Repeater Committee Report
(Due to important
changes in this area, the following is an edited and expanded version of
the report given at the meeting).
"As of this
writing, the exact status of the Etna Road site is not settled, but I can
report on the antenna situation. Three weeks ago I had done all I
could do with the top antenna. The interference from the Highway
Department was suppressed after a day or two at the expense of a loss of
sensitivity (of the UHF receivers), and I had expectation of getting
a UHF cavity filter to eliminate it entirely. However we were still
experiencing serious desense from the Sheriff's secondary transmitter,
and I was unable to mitigate this with my available resources." "At
about this time I was getting several rumors and
hints that the use of this antenna was causing increased
opposition from certain political quarters. With all of this in mind,
I decided to discontinue use of the top antenna, and did so on June 23rd."
(END of quote from 7/1 report)
It was quite apparent that while the County Board Committee voted to allow
us to remain on the Etna Rd tower, the restrictions that would be placed
on us would snatch defeat from the jaws of our "victory" to mangle a metaphor.
I made a list of advantages of moving the repeater to Leonore, and some
of them are:
1. Members will have access to the repeater by decision
of the Club – not outside parties.
2. No one can turn it off except us.
3. No one can deny us use of the site
4. Test equipment can be stored securely on the site,
and does not have to be loaded- unloaded-loaded-unloaded
for each site visit.
5. It will be much easier to train members in the maintenance
and operation of the repeater.
6. We will have a much more RF pollution-free environment.
We will have much less interference, and less possibility of causing it
to others.
7. We don't have to provide insurance to the County
And the advantages of Etna Rd:
It's at 180 ft.
On July 3, myself, KB9ZWJ, N9PLM and KB9EZZ removed
the repeater
from Etna Rd, transported it to Leonore, and had it running
within two hours. Some of us tinkered with it a little more
on Thursday, and it still needs more tinkering. There are numerous
dead spots for mobiles, but we need to get the remote sites working.
It will cover the County and adjacent areas again. I have notified
the Illinois Repeater Ass'n of the move. We will have to re-coordinate
all sites, but there is no problem that they can
see right now. In fact it makes us better as far
as interference with K8IE in Hampshire. I
have corresponded with North Central Antenna Technologies in regards to
removing our antennae from Etna Rd
de KF9NZ
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Field Day 2002
The Field Day results are 1216 QSO points, and 1000 bonus points claimed, for a total claimed score of 2216. All had a great time!!
DE, KF9NZ
Activities Report / Calendar of Events
¨ 2002 IARU HF World Championship. Eligibility:
All licensed amateurs worldwide. Object: To contact as many other
amateurs, especially IARU member society HQ stations, around the world
as possible using the 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10-meter bands. Date
and Contest Period: The second full weekend of July, beginning 1200 UTC
Saturday and ending 1200 UTC Sunday (July 13-14, 2002). Both Single and
Multi operator stations may operate the entire 24-hour period. For contest
information, contact n1nd@iaru.org or IARU HF Contest Information, PO Box
310905, Newington, CT 06111-0905, USA. Contest forms may be downloaded
at: http://www.iaru.org/contest.html.
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¨ The Starved Rock Radio Club will host a very important
repeater committee and Board of Directors Meeting on Sunday, July 20, 2002
at 10:00 AM. All members are encouraged to attend this meeting, as
major decisions regarding the future of the W9MKS repeater will be debated
at this meeting, and any proposals made will be presented to the club at
the general meeting in August. The Board of Directors meeting will
follow the Repeater meeting, and their agenda will involve dispersal
of funds for the fiscal year 2002-2003. We will likely head over
to Schmitty’s Grill, following the meetings, for some lunch. Again,
everyone is encouraged to attend at least the repeater committee meeting,
as very important decisions concerning the repeater will be made.
Now is your chance to voice your concerns regarding the future of the system!!!
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¨ Special Event Station - Plainfield, IL: Plainfield
Radio League, K9P. 2300Z Jul 19-2200Z Jul 20. Plainfield Fest. 146.715
50.200 28.450 14.250. Certificate. Plainfield Radio League, PO Box 682,
Plainfield, IL 60544-0682. or ww9ae@yahoo.com.
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¨ Fox River Radio League’s Hamfest will be held on
Sunday, July 21, 2002 at Waubonsee Community College, Route 47 at Waubonsee
Drive, Sugar Grove, IL (5 miles NW of Aurora. For more information,
call (815) 786-2860.
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¨ MUSEUM SHIP SPECIAL EVENT: July 20-21, 2002.
Sponsored by the USS Salem Radio Club - K1USN. Do you like to work
rare and unusual stations and DX ? Do you like to collect unique
QSL cards which have histories going back over 100 years? Certificates?
Over 70 Museum Ships and Submarines taking part Worldwide !! The
Museum Ship Special Event is the opportunity for you to work Warships,
Submarines and various Motor Vessels from W.W.II and earlier .. USA ..
Russian..German U-Boats ...Canadian... British and more......K1USN USS
Salem QSLs via K1RV ... Please with a Business Size SASE. Certificate
for working 10 or more Museum Ships requires your log listing the ships/calls
and a 9" x 12" SASE sent to KC1XI. K1USN web page for a list of Museum
Ships and operating frequencies See: http://www.qsl.net/k1usn/event.html
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¨ CQ WW VHF Contest, all modes--sponsored by CQ Magazine
from 1800Z Jul 20--2100Z Jul 21. Frequencies: 50 and 144 MHz bands, except
146.52 MHz (and other national simplex calling frequencies) and repeater
frequencies. Please avoid the DX windows and international calling frequencies.
Categories: SOAB, SOSB, MM, Rover, QRP (<25 W). Exchange: Call sign
and four-digit Maidenhead grid. Work Rover stations in each grid. QSO points:
50 MHz--1 pt, 144 MHz--2 pts. Score: QSO points × Grids counted once
per band. (Rovers count grids from each activated grid.) For more information--http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com/VHFRUl02.pdf.
Logs due Sep 1 to cqvhf@cqww.com or to CQ VHF Contest, 25 Newbridge Rd,
Hicksville, NY 11801.
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¨ The Streator Amateur Radio Club will be hosting
their monthly dinner/meeting on Saturday, August 3rd 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, August 2nd 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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¨ North American QSO Party--CW--sponsored by the
National Contest Journal, 1800Z Aug 3-0600Z Aug 4 (see Jan QST, p 107 or
http://www.ncjweb.com/).
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¨ Ten-Ten International Summer Phone QSO Party--sponsored
by Ten-Ten International 0000Z Aug 3-2400Z Aug 4, 10 meters only.
Exchange call/name/state and 10-10 number (if available). QSO Points: nonmembers--1
pt, members--2 pts. Score is total points. For more information--http://www.ten-ten.org/.
Logs due Aug 19 to Steve Rasmussen N0WY, 312 N 6th St, Plattsmouth, NE
68048-1302.
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¨ The next regular meeting of the Starved Rock Radio
Club will be held on Monday, August 5th 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, August 6th 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 annual multiple-club amateur radio picnic and
meet will be held on August 10th, 2002 at Starved Rock State Park.
This is a joint effort between the SRRC and several other clubs in the
immediate area. The picnic will be held at one of the shelters along
the south bank of the Illinois River, down in the recreation “bottoms”
or sea wall area next to the parking lot. Everyone is welcome to
attend this picnic, so please bring the family and be sure to bring a dish
to pass. If you need any additional information, tune into the nets
or e-mail kb9tma@yahoo.com. TI: 147.120 MHz (+ 103.5) and 146.520
MHz.
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¨ The Hamfesters Radio Club Hamfest will be held
on Sunday, August 11, 2002 in Peotone, Illinois. Take I-57 to Peotone
Exit 327 (East) to the fairgrounds. TI: 146.520 simplex. For
more information, tables or tickets, contact Robert Nelson-WB9WFR, 1720
Vollmer Road in Flossmoor, IL 60422. (708) 756-7984 or visit
www.hamfesters.org.
73's DE
Jesse L. Risley, KB9TMA
SRRC Activities Chairman
Around the Hobby – Stray Items Relating to Amateur Radio
VE Session
The SRRC will sponsor an exam session on Saturday August 24, 2002 from 10:00-12:00. The session will be at the Leonore clubhouse.
So we have enough exams, please register by calling Joe at 815.433-2347 or at kb9ezz@hotmail.com. Leave your name, phone number and exams you will be taking. There is a $10 exam fee payable to the ARRL.
********************************
Laptop Sale
Exelon is having their 6th annual laptop pc sale Saturday
August 3, 2002. I will and help with the sale. If you
are interested in purchasing a laptop, send me a check, made out to
Joe Tokarz. It must be postmarked by July 15th.
§ Thinkpad 560 E 150 MHz 32 mb ram 2.1 gb hard drive
28.8 k modem - $195
§ Thinkpad 560Z p2/233mhz 64mb ram 4 gb hard drive
56 k modem - $330
§ Thinkpad 570 P2/333mhz 64 mb ram 4 gb hard drive
56 k modem cdrom - $455
§ Dell Latitude cpi p2/366mhz 128mb ram 6.2gb hard
drive 56 k modem cdrom - $500
§ Win 98, manuals and a 90 day warranty included
All laptops have ac adapter and chargeable batteries;
All sales are final!!!
PC sale hotline is 630.319-1891
Joe Tokarz, KB9EZZ
881 Knottingham Dr
Ottawa, IL
61350-4223
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SRCA “Pumpkin Pie Ride” 2002
The Starved Rock Cycling Association has requested our assistance for the Sunday, October 6th Pumpkin Pie Ride. The ride starts at 8am and runs until 3pm, but helping during any 4 hour block of time would be must appreciated.
Last year, members of SRRC showed more than 400 bike riders just what ham radio can do. We give excellent voice coverage and tracked the SAG (biker safety/repair) vehicles using GPS. UI-View really wow'd and dazzled the riders. PPR 2002 will start at the Ottawa YMCA with rest areas in Seneca, Utica, Sheridan and the Streator YMCA. Hams will be needed to ride and or drive the SAG vehicles and operate the radios/computers at the rest areas. If you would like to drive your truck/van, as an official SAG, please let me know as soon as possible.
I would like to get a list of volunteer hams to SRCA by
the first of September. Please let me know how you would like to
help as a:
SAG driver (mobile vhf & GPS is needed)
SAG rider (mobile vhf & GSP is needed)
Ottawa YMCA rest area; Sheridan rest area; Seneca rest
area; Utica rest area; Streator YMCA rest area
Also, what is your shirt size (free T-shirt for all volunteers)?
The hams at Purdue want to sell their packet gear...let me know what you want and how much you would pay and I will visit them the third Sunday in July for a pick-up.
2 Kantronics KPC 3's with box and manual. One box
says that it is a KPC-3 Plus
1 Kantronic 9612 (I'm pretty sure that we still have
the box and manual). 1 PacComm Spirit 2 9600 Baud TNC. Brand
new still in the box. 1 Kantronic D4-10 9600 Baud Data Radio (Crystaled
on 430.55). I have the cable that goes between the 9612 and
D4-10.
73 and thanks,
Joe, KB9EZZ
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La Salle County Sheriff’s Departments New Radio System
In case anybody is interested, the new sheriff radio system
will transmit from the Com Ed tower at LaSalle station, 21st road on 859.4375
and 859.9625 They will simultaneously
transmit from the Serena Tower on Rte 52 on 857.2375 and 860.4875.
Don't know which freq is their main and which is their secondary.
It appears that the mobiles will scan or have dual receive on these freq's.
Lots of other 800 MHz
freq's used for mobiles, portables and mobile extenders,
and new jail system. If you are interested, go to FCC web site, click on
SEARCH and go down to General Menu Reports.
Frankf9nz
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From the Editor’s Desk
I do not have anything of significance, at least concerning
the newsletter, to report on this month. However, keep those submissions
coming my way!! I sincerely hope everyone finds time to attend the
special meetings at the SRRC on Saturday, July 20. Also, I hope everyone
is planning to attend the multi-club amateur radio picnic on Saturday,
August 10 (see activity report) – see you there.
The deadline for submitting items for publication in
the July edition of the newsletter will be Sunday, August 11, 2002.
Regards,
Jesse L. Risley, KB9TMA
Kb9tma@yahoo.com; 815-673-1023 (home phone)
SRRC “Static” Editor