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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Secretary’s Report – May Meeting Notes
I can't tell you what went on at the last meeting,
because I wasn't there! However, I will relay some information
on a couple of items. I wrote a repeater maintenance report to be
read at the meeting, and here is the gist of that report:
If you have been paying attention to my reports over the last few months,
you will know we are currently using three antennas at Etna Rd.
The main antenna is the one we had erected about four years ago, it is
a BIG collinear up at 180 feet. Right now we are using it only to
transmit at 147.120 MHz. Then we are using a UHF
Ringo we had
put up at 100 feet. It receives the various 430
MHz transmissions from the remote sites. Most recently
we "adopted" an unused VHF antenna, which is on top of the tower at 200
feet. We use this antenna for receiving the 147.720 MHz signals.
It works quite well, and is really the workhorse of the repeater.
The only problem is that it is not our antenna!!. I have
requested permission to use it, but have not received a yes or no - so
we are just using it on borrowed time.
Now, there are lots of things going on with the County radio system - some of which you may have seen in the local newspapers, or heard over several "grapevines" One problem which was discovered a few months back, is that the tower is not properly grounded, and the numerous coax lines not properly installed. The County is under notice from the City of Ottawa to correct the building and electrical code violations The major item is that all coax lines need to be re-terminated at a grounding panel as they enter the building. It appears as of this time that we will not be required to pay for this work on our antennas, but the sentiment is that we should not continue to use three antennas. There are several options open to us if we must go back to two antennas, and if we can retain the top antenna or not.
One of these options is to find a new site, and we are working on two possibilities at this time. I will report on these things if and when they become more likely than they are now.
Next is the matter of our remote sites. As of this writing, only one is operating - the one at K9ZQ's QTH. The Leonore site transmitter quit, and I have not been able to revive it yet. You may recall the Spectrum cross-band unit we bought a while back, and had the xtals changed and retuned. That worked at my QTH for a while, but the transmitter kept going out, and I have been unable to get that one going after quite a bit of work. It was approved to send this thing back to Spectrum Comm., but I have not done so yet, and I wonder if that is the bet thing to do. The Spectrum UHF transmitters are not worth the powder to blow them to hell - in my opinion.
I recently bought an ALINCO DR-605 TQ dual band transceiver
It has cross-band repeat, and goes down to 420 MHz transmit, which is needed
to serve as a remote site radio in our system. Mine functions
perfectly from my QTH. I don't currently have a dual-band antenna,
or even a UHF antenna that would work, but I was able to cobble
a working antenna to test it. The rig sells for
about $340.00, and I hope that we will be able to use this model for remote
sites in the future. In the meantime, if anyone has a UHF rig
capable of transmitting at 434.200 MHz you are willing to loan or sell
the club
(very cheaply) we can get the Leonore site up.
de KF9NZ
Hamfest Report – SRRC Hamfest 06/02/2002
We still need people to help in a few Time slots for parking
and tickets sales at the
gate. The following are a list of them.
Front Gate Saturday 10am-2pm. One spot remaining.
Front Gate Sunday 4am-6am. Two spots remaining.
Front Gate Sunday 6am-8am. Two spots remaining.
Front Gate Sunday 8am-10am. Three spots remaining. This is our busiest time!!!!!!!!
Front Gate Sunday 10am-12pm. One spot remaining.
Parking Sunday 6am-8am. Two spots remaining.
Parking Sunday 8am-10am. Two spots remaining.
Please work as many shifts as you can. As I have said before this is OUR hamfest!!!! Without a hamfest we would not be able to take advantage of many of the things we take for granted such as our Repeater, and relatively cheep Dues just to name a few.
After looking at the current members list we have a total
of 59 paying members and only have 25 members signed up and most only for
one shift. Some can only work one shift for various reasons and its understandable.
Our Hamfest only happens one time per
year. Lets do our best to make things run as smoothly
as possible.
If you can sign up for a time slot or additional slots please send Email through the SRRC mailman to keep everyone updated on the slots filled. Please pass this along to anyone whom may not have an Email Address and would be able to help.
Matthew Weaver KB9VZH - kb9vzh_gov@yahoo.com
Jesse Risley KB9TMA – kb9tma@yahoo.com
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Field Day 2002 - Training Report
Come join the Starved Rock Radio Club for 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.
Activities Report / Calendar of Events
***The annual multi-club amateur radio picnic and meet
is now being scheduled for August 10th at Starved Rock. Stay
tuned to the newsletter for further details about this annual summer event!!
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¨ The Illinois Valley ARC will host their annual
hamfest on Sunday, May 19, 2002 in Beardstown, Illinois. For more
information, contact Chuck Bailey, W9HUX at 1101 Clay Street in Beardstown,
IL 62618. Phone: 217-323-1243 or Email: w9hci@yahoo.com
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¨ Special Event Station - Elgin, IL: Elgin Amateur
Radio Society, W9IKN. 1300Z to 1800Z May 27. 25th Valley Foxtrot 10-Mile
Run and the 800th Club Meeting. 147.525 50.130 14.240 7.240. Certificate.
Elgin ARS, PO Box 1351, Elgin, IL 60121.
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¨The Sangamon Valley RC will host their annual hamfest
in Springfield, Illinois on Sunday, June 1st 2002. For more information,
contact Ed Gaffney, Jr., KA9ETP at
13997 Frazee Road, Box 14A in Divernon, IL 62530.
Phone: 217-628-3697 or
Email: egaffney@family-net.net
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¨ Niles, IL, and Pisa, Italy: Metro Amateur Radio
Club and Pisa Amateur Radio Club, K9Y and IZ5AXT/TWR. Jun 1-2. Pisan Leaning
Tower Event/Award. 21.370 21.030 14.270 14.030. Certificate. Michael Dinelli,
N9BOR, 9423 Kolmar Ave, Skokie, IL 60076-1321. Pisa ARC at Leaning Tower
of Pisa; MARC at America's Leaning Tower in Niles. QSL for one station;
certificate for both stations. DX QSL manager is IK5ZTT. www.qsl.net/mac
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¨ REMINDER: THE SRRC HAMFEST IS SUNDAY, JUNE
2, 2002!!
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¨ The next regular meeting of the Starved Rock Radio
Club will be held on Monday, June 3rd 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, June 4th 2002 at 7:00 p.m.
at the Hennepin Town Hall in Hennepin, Illinois. Everyone is welcome
and encouraged to attend the meeting!
Effingham, Illinois. For more information, contact
Russ Thomas, WI9B at PO Box 903
Effingham, IL 62401. Phone: 217-342-3054 (Mon.-
Fri., 9 AM to 5 PM)
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¨ The ARRL June VHF QSO Party will be held June 8-10.
For a complete listing of rules, visit http://www.arrl.org/contests/calendar.html
or consult QST magazine.
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¨ The Egyptian Radio Club (http://www.w9aiu.org)
will host their annual hamfest in Granite City, Illinois on Sunday, June
9, 2002. For more information, contact Patrick Riley, W9PAT at 258
West Union Street in Edwardsville, IL 62025. Phone: 618-655-1232
or 618-650-2949 Email: w9pat@arrl.net
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¨ The Streator Amateur Radio Club will be hosting
their monthly dinner/meeting on Saturday, June 15th 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, June 14th 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 ARRL annual Kid's Day is intended to encourage
young people (licensed or not) to enjoy Amateur Radio. It can give young
people hands-on on-the-air experience so they might develop an interest
in pursuing a license in the future. It is intended to give hams a chance
to share their station with their children. Dates: June 15, 2002. Time:
1800 to 2400Z. No limit on operating time. Suggested exchange: Name, age,
location and favorite color. You are encouraged to work the same station
again if an operator has changed. Call "CQ Kid's Day." Suggested
Frequencies: 28350 to 28400 kHz, 21380 to 21400, 14270 to 14300 kHz and
2-meter repeater frequencies with permission from your area repeater sponsor.
Observe third party traffic restrictions when making DX QSOs.
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73's DE
Jesse L. Risley, KB9TMA
SRRC Activities Chairman
Around the Hobby – Stray Items Relating to Amateur Radio
ARLB028 FCC proposes two new amateur bands!
ZCZC AG28
QST de W1AW
ARRL Bulletin 28 ARLB028
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT May 10, 2002
To all radio amateurs
SB QST ARL ARLB028
ARLB028 FCC proposes two new amateur bands!
Good news for ham radio this week! FCC has proposed going
along with ARRL's request for a new domestic (US-only), secondary HF allocation
at 5.25 to 5.4 MHz. The FCC also is ready to permit operation on a 136-kHz
''sliver band'' in the low-frequency (LF) region. And, in response to a
third ARRL request, the FCC has proposed elevating
Amateur Radio to primary status at 2400 to 2402 MHz.
''I'm just as tickled as I can be,'' ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, said upon hearing the news. ''This is a classic example of our ARRL at work.''
The FCC voted unanimously May 2 to adopt the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in ET Docket 02-98. The Commission released a Public Notice May 9, and the NPRM is expected to be released soon. A comment deadline will be announced as soon as it's available.
The FCC said the new 5-MHz band would help amateurs ''better
match their choice of frequency to existing propagation conditions.'' The
band, if approved, would be the first new amateur HF allocation since World
Administrative Radio Conference 1979 gave amateurs 30, 17 and 12 meters--the
so-called ''WARC Bands.'' Assuming the 5-MHz
band eventually is authorized, it could be a few years
before it actually becomes available.
The League said its successful WA2XSY experiments demonstrated
that amateurs can coexist with current users and that the band is very
suitable for US-to-Caribbean paths. In comparisons with 80 and 40 meters,
the WA2XSY operation also showed the 60-meter band to be the most reliable
of the three. The ARRL also argued that a new 150-kHz
allocation at 5 MHz could relieve periodic overcrowding
on 80 and 40.
If allocated to amateurs on a secondary basis, hams would have to avoid interfering with--and accept interference from—current occupants of the spectrum, as they already do on 30 meters. The band 5.250 to 5.450 MHz now is allocated to Fixed and Mobile services on a co-primary basis in all three ITU regions.
The ARRL asked the FCC for two LF allocations in October 1998--135.7 to 137.8 kHz and 160 to 190 kHz. The FCC said its action on one part of that LF request proposes changes that would enhance the ability of amateur radio operators to conduct technical experiments, including propagation and antenna design experiments, in the 'low frequency' (LF) range of the radio spectrum.''
Several countries in Europe and elsewhere already have 136-kHz amateur allocations. The first amateur transatlantic contact on the band was recorded in February 2001.
Hams would be secondary to the Fixed and Maritime Mobile
services in the 136-kHz allocation. The League said its engineering surveys
suggest that hams could operate without causing problems to power line
carrier (PLC) systems already active in that vicinity or to government
assignments. Unallocated Part 15 PLC systems are used by
electric utilities to send control signals, data and
voice.
The FCC said its proposal to upgrade the Amateur Service allocation at 2400 to 2402 MHz to primary ''seeks to protect current amateur use of this band.'' Hams have shared their other 2.4 GHz spectrum on a secondary basis with government users.
Amateurs already are primary at 2390 to 2400 and from 2402 to 2417 MHz. The ARRL has said primary status in the intervening spectrum slice was needed ''to provide some assurances of future occupancy of the band segments for the next generation of amateur satellites.''
The ARRL has expressed its belief that hams can continue to accommodate Part 15 and Part 18 devices at 2.4 GHz.
NNNN/EX
********************************
Subject: Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2002-05-09
03:00 UTC
Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2002-05-09 03:00 UTC
The ARISS (a joint effort of AMSAT, the ARRL, NASA,
the ARISS international
partners including Canada, Russia, the European
Partners, and Japan) operations team wishes to announce the following
very tentative schedule for ARISS school contacts. This schedule
is very fluid and may change at the last minute. Remember that
amateur radio use on the ISS is considered secondary. Please
check the various AMSAT and ARISS webpages for the latest announcements.
Changes from the last announcement are noted with (***). Also,
please check MSNBC.com for possible live retransmissions
(http://www.msnbc.com/m/lv/default.asp).
Listen for the ISS on the downlink of 145.800 MHz.
ISS Expedition 4 hams:
Yuri Onufrienko RK3DUO
Carl Walz KC5TIE
Dan Bursch KD5PNU
Bordertown Primary School, Bordertown, South Australia,
Australia
1st choice 2002-05-14 11:06 UTC via ZS6BTD (***)
2nd choice 2002-05-21 08:28 UTC via WH6PN (***)
Hambright and Bordertown are scheduled to be the last
Expedition 4 schools.(***)
ARISS school contacts will be off-limits from 2002-5-26 to 2002-06-23 per NASA planners
Center for Educational Technologies, Wheeling Jesuit
University, Wheeling, WV
direct via WK8T Week of 2002-06-24 or 2002-07-01
TBD
Progymnasium Rosenfeld (Rosenfeld High School),
D-72348, Rosenfeld, Germany,
direct via DG3GBQ Week of 2002-07-01 TBD
Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum, Chicago, Illinois direct via AJ9N Week of 2002-08-12 TBD
Travis Elementary, Greenville, Texas TBD (***)
KANSAI HAM FESTIVAL 2002, Hirakata, Japan direct via 8N3ISS TBD (***)
*** New Feature***
The latest ARISS announcement and successful school
list in now available on
the ARISS web site. Several ways to get there.
http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov
click on English (sorry I don't know French)
you are now at http://www.rac.ca/ariss.htm
click on News
Currently the ARISS operations team has a list of over 40 schools that we hope will be able to have a contact during 2002. As the schedule becomes more solidified, we will be letting everyone know. Current plans call for an average of one scheduled school contact per week.
73,
Charlie Sufana AJ9N
One of the ARISS operation team mentors
Submitted by Joe Tokarz, KB9EZZ
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From the Editor’s Desk
My apologies for this edition of the newsletter being one week late. I hope to see everyone at the hamfest on June 2nd. Thanks again to everyone for the submissions, as they have helped to make the newsletter more appealing to a wide variety of amateur radio related interests/happenings.
Please let me know if there is anything I can do to better this publication or make it of more interest.
The deadline for submitting items for publication in the June edition of the newsletter will be Sunday, June 16, 2002.
Regards,
Jesse L. Risley, KB9TMA
Kb9tma@yahoo.com; 815-673-1023 (home phone)
SRRC “Static” Editor