THE AIRWAVES
Voice of the Sierra Amateur Radio Club
CLUB MEETING - SECOND MONDAY OF EACH MONTH AT KERR-MCGEE CENTER AT 1930
THE INDIAN WELLS VALLEY EMERGENCY NET MEETS
ON ALL OTHER MONDAYS AT 1930 ON 146.640(-) MHZ.
ALL AMATEURS ARE WELCOME
SIERRA AMATEUR CLUB PO BOX 1442 RIDGECREST, CA. 93556-1442
September/October 1995
CLUB OFFICERS:
| President | Jerry Brooks | KK6PA | 446-2228 |
| 1st VP | Dave Stone | KC6UUR | 375-1730 |
| 2nd VP | Bob Phillips | KA6PLU | 371-3540 |
| Secretary | Lloyd Brubaker | WA6KZV | 375-7245 |
| Treasurer | Thom Skeer | KD6IQJ | 446-4359 |
| Newsletter | Judith Rogow | N7TTH | 375-2521 |
| Sysop | Dave Stone | KC6UUR |
THE PRESIDENT'S REPORT
LA-MONO BIKE RIDE.-- We escorted about 75 bicycle riders August 29th
and 30th. You may have seen them on TV filling their bottles with
water from the fountain in front of the DWP building in Los Angeles.
The communications started with the arrival of riders at the bridge in
Red Rock Canyon at 0930. The group camped out at the Inyokern park
the first night. By 0830 the next morning, most of the riders were
out of the park. I was unable to find any riders who tried the
Ostrich burgers at the Little Bit Cafe. The riders camped at Diaz
Lake Wednesday night and the Bishop Club picked up the communications
the next morning. The Mammoth club took them the last two days into
Mono Lake. Mark KE6SMA, Mary Lou KA6EZA, Dave KC6UUR and Hal KM6JM
did a fantastic job. Mark, Dave and Hal took time off from work so
they could participate and Mary Lou took time away from drying her
grapes. Thanks to all of you for making it possible.
ANTENNA WORKSHOP
The workshop was mostly successful. The antennas had
acceptable SWRs in most of the band except at the top end. After
Dave, KC6UUR worked with the design on his computer program, we were
able to finalize the element dimensions. The SWR's are now running
less than 1.4:1 at the band edges and nearly 1:1 at the center. Joe,
N6FIC was able to hold a QSO through the Victorville Condor repeater
while standing in his back yard holding his 220 yagi in one hand and
his HT in the other hand. I'd say that was pretty good gain. Copies
of the drawings and instructions will be available at the October
meeting.
Jerry KK6PA
SECRETARY'S REPORT
General Meeting 11 Sept., 1995
The meeting was called to order at 1932 hours with 30 in attendance.
There were three guests: Charles Hawthorn, KE6WQR; Larry Merwin, and
?6SME. Mr. Bill Buroughs from KCET gave a very interesting talk on
"Radio From Mt. Wilson". He showed slides and a short video tape to
illustrate his talk.
- The Kern River Ham Club is giving VE sessions
every 60 days starting the 1st Wednesday of Feb. Details
forthcoming.
- It was proposed that three members of the club donate
a monthly copy of QST to the library. Several volunteered. It is
expected that at least one of the group will remember to do this each
month.
- The Desert Empire Fair Parade will take place on October
7th. They will meet at the K-Mart parking lot at "Oh Dark Thirty"
This is an excellent way for new hams to get into public service, get
some net experience, and have a lot of fun all-the-while. Any number
can play.
- The deadline for this newsletter, and all of the
subsequent ones is on or before the 20th of the month prior. (Ed
note: Check last/mailer page for exact date, please.) Here's your
chance to break into journalism - A drawing for the 50/50 fiends was
held, also some KCET hats were given away along with some other
"valuables". Meeting adjourned at 2035.
Respectfully Submitted:
Lloyd, WA6KZV, Secretary
TREASURER'S REPORT
By: Thom KD6IQJ
| CHECKING | (6/30/95) |
| Beginning Balance | $1010.68 |
| SAVINGS | (6/30/95) |
| Beginning Balance | $2204.96 |
PARADE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Mark, N6BVP requests communications personnel for the DEF parade on
October 7th. Please contact Mark at 375-2521, to volunteer. Hams who
work, DEF get in free from noon until 2PM. (You can stay as long as
you wish!)
DARWIN AMATEURS
In the tiny town of Darwin, nestled in the hills to the north of China
Lake live a few rugged individuals. Darwin is what remains of one of
the once prosperous mining towns of Inyo County and dates back to
1875. Of the thirty full time residents of this tiny town, there are
five licensed amateur radio operators, making up 16.7 percent of the
population. There are many reasons for having a radio license in
Darwin, most of them obvious. The not so obvious ones have to do with
the fact of the remoteness, and the fact that people here like to
explore the desert, and need emergency communications. Cellular
phones don't work here yet. The single set of power poles coming into
town are subject to lightening strikes, and roads are occasionally
closed. Amateur radio truly is the link with the outside world in
case of an emergency.
73's KE6HFI
TELECOMMUNICATIONS REFORM AND A PROPOSAL TO ELIMINATE THE FCC:
Brad Wyatt, K6WR,
Director, Pacific Division, ARRL
Telecommunications reform is one of the key topics in Washington DC
currently as Congress returns from its August Recess. Both House and
Senate passed differing Telecommunication Reform Acts. Apparently
these bills focus on broadcast TV, cable TV, telephone service and
related matters. It appears that these bills do not affect the
Amateur Radio Service directly, but there may yet be surprises. In
September, a conference committee from both houses will try to
reconcile the differences between S. 652 and H. R. 1555. There are
also various other proposals floating around Washington DC including
proposals to eliminate the Department of Commerce and the FCC, as
examples. This latter idea comes from the "Progress and Freedom
Foundation," a "Think Tank" group consisting of folks with various
political views. The proposal, essentially, is to eliminate the FCC
and allocate the entire RF spectrum on a "property rights" basis. The
mood in Congress seems to be to enact some sort of telecommunications
reform, but just what is unclear so far. The ARRL Washington Team
continues to monitor these developments and be active on our behalf.
FUTURE EVENTS
Livermore Swap Meet - 1st Sunday of each month at Las Positas College
in Livermore, CA, 7 AM to Noon, all year. Talk in 147.045 from west,
145.35 from the east. Contact Noel Anklam, KC6QZK, (510) 447-3857
eves.
2nd National Hamfest, Oct. 6-8, 1995, at Costerisan Lake in
Bakersfield, CA. Contact the Kern Co. Central Valley ARC at P.O.
Box 743, Bakersfield CA 93302
Pacificon'95 at Concord, CA, Oct.
20-22, 1995. Contact Richard Schultze, AA6DL, at (510) 932-6125 on
the Pacificon'95 Hotline.
Baja 1000, Nov. 8-11 Contact Paula or call WB6WTE 619-868-3862
ARRL PACIFIC DIVISION UPDATE
OCTOBER, 1995
MAGNOLIA DAYS
Yes, SARC has added yet another public service event to its very busy
calendar, Inyokern's Magnolia Days parade. Three local hams helped
Inyokern be 86'ed (birthday) on Saturday, 23 September. The 10:00 am
parade started promptly at 10:37 after a scattered but persistent
search for, first, the parade Graaand Maaarshal, and then, the 1948
Buick convertible for him to ride in. The parade organizer wanted a
ham to be traffic cop and block off Brown Road at the post office.
Oooo? Un-good task with unknown legal ramifications. Fortunately, a
uniformed Kern County Reserve Deputy Sheriff driving an official
sheriff's car complete with blinking red lights arrived to perform
this task. The three public servants were, KC6YYT Bob Rose, KC6YYU
Ken Lusk and ND6Q Elvy Hopkins. KC6YYT printed some very official
looking T shirts for the three man crew. Not bad for helping a whole
town get 86'ed! Thanks Bob.
De ND6Q
PICNIC AT THE PARK
Eighth Annual Ridgecrest to Kernville Metric Century Bicycle Ride SARC
assisted the High Sierra Cyclists bicycle club of Ridgecrest in
conducting it's sixty-two mile ride on Sunday, 24 September by
providing communications, mechanical assistance and safety follow-up
after the last rider. Starting at 6:30 AM in Leroy Jackson Park in
Ridgecrest, we kept track of all fifty six riders (and six
bootleggers) until the last one rode into Kern River Park in Kernville
at 3:44 PM. All seven check points were supported with two way
communications using the SARC WA6YBN translator on the east side of
Walker Pass. The SARC portable repeater, set up by WA7IRW and his two
sons, was used on the west side of the pass and into Kernville. The
breeze was cool on top of Walker Pass and the sun was hot in Onyx
Hollow. Sandwiches and soft drinks were enjoyed by all at Kernville -
and also a cookie or two stolen at checkpoints. Some hams took the
opportunity to shop in Kernville, have a leisurely dinner and still
stop at the Onyx Store to purchase fresh, home made, yum-yum-and-yum
sausage on the way home. SARC members providing this public service
were: WA6ARA Mike Herr, KE6DWM Jim Kusznir, W6EPD Tom Ingram, WA7IRW
Greg Roush, KM6JM Hal Hazel, ND6Q Elvy Hopkins, WA6QYR Bill Burns,
KC6UTF Judy Burns, KC6UUR Dave Stone, N6VGW Paula Herr. Many bicycle
riders and the ride organizers expressed their thanks for our work.
KC6UUR and WA7IRW had handheld-to-mobile crossband equipment working
flawlessly. This method of operation is valuable when a check point
is in an area of poor repeater coverage. The higher power mobile
radio can be located remotely where repeater access is available and
the hand held operator can stay at the point of action.
Well done gals and guys.
de ND6Q
 | | | |
Greg, WA7IRW, and
the portable repeater
| Mike, WA6ARA, Paula,
N6VGW, and their son
| Judy, KC6UTF and
Bill, WA6QYR
| Elvy, ND6Q at check point #1 |
FROM THE RACES OFFICER
By Lloyd, WA6KZV
The small earthquakes that have been occurring in the valley are not a
part of the RO's drills. He claims no responsibility at all! However
on this years Simulated Emergency Test we plan on conducting an
out-of-the-valley contact drill. We hope to contact the OES
communications facilities in Bakersfield and Fresno via both VHF and
HF. This is our weak point in emergency communications and it needs
to be worked. As usual prior preparation is not encouraged but you
may do the planning you should do anyhow for normal preparedness.
More about this, and the SET date, will be announced later.
HURRICANE LUIS
Taken from the Packet version of Newsline, thanks to Jack, NL7SX,
and Jerry, KK6PA.
Hams throughout the Caribbean are on alert and providing
communications as Hurricane Luis makes its way toward the United
States. The storm, the largest and most powerful of the 1995
hurricane season has already passed over several islands. On the air
reports indicate that Dominica suffered damage along its North coast,
Stations on St. Martin report extensive destruction in the waterfront
area. It's 15:00 zulu Tuesday, September 5th. Signing PJ8/G3UWQ,
transmitting he said from his boat anchored in Simpson Lagoon, Dutch
St. Martin. Luis was thundering towards the island. The winds
building. Pulling on the anchor that stood between G3UWQ and rocks.
"George here. Maximum gusts of 100 knots ..." G3UWQ It's 14.268 Mhz.
The United Nations Radio Readiness Net. Stations from all over the
Caribbean have one life line now. Ham Radio. 18:12 zulu time. G3UWQ
can no longer be copied in Florida. Another station relays the
dramatic, frightening words. Abandon Ship. "PJ8/G3UWQ in Simpson Bay
was abandoning ship at 18:12 times up, he was getting thrown into the
rocks so he was departing, over." At dawn, Wednesday the 6th. J87CC
reported 90 vessels lost in and around St. Martin. At deadline there
was no word on G3UWQ's fate. Only our prayers he will be found alive
and well. A hurricane watch net is active on 14.325 MHz, with
additional activities on 14.268 and 14.250 Mhz. Hams are asked to
monitor storm related net frequencies, but are asked not to transmit
unless requested by a net control operator. This is a major storm.
Ham radio is playing a vital part in hurricane related
communications.
NOMINATION COMMITTEE
The nomination committee: Judith, N7TTH, Rlee, W6BST, and Mark KE6SMA
are requesting suggestions for President, and two Vice-presidents. We
already have a victim . . . Er, nominee for Treasurer, and Lloyd
will remain as Secretary (biiiig sigh of relief!) If you are
interested in serving, please contact one of us.
REMEMBER, IF YOU DON'T SERVE AS AN OFFICER, OR ON A COMMITTEE, YOU
LOSE ALL YOUR COMPLAINING, GRIPING, CARPING, GROUSING, AND *ITCHING
PRIVILEGES!
FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK
By: Judith, N7TTH
Sometimes, no matter what you do, things just do not turn out the way
you had planned! This newsletter has been a prime example. Due to
some family problems, and being over extended with my Reporters job
(and several other activities), I didn't get around to putting the
newsletter together until the last minute. Then, wouldn't you know!,
there was only enough material to fill two pages!
Elvy, Ken and Jack came through with some really great articles -
THANKS GUYS!, and I took a day off to whip the whole thing into
shape.
Rlee, Lloyd, and Mark have done yeoman work in getting this ready to
mail - without them, this would never get to you. Again, THANKS
GUYS!
Those who get this electronically - either through the World Wide Web or by
packet, owe debts of THANKS to Erik, KC6UUT (WWW) and Mark Ball
(Packet). Have you seen our WWW page yet?
http://www.ridgecrest.ca.us/wa6ybn/
I'll try to get The Airwaves out earlier next month - but you have to do
your part... Keep those articles and photographs coming! Does
anyone do cartoons? Please contact me!
73/de Judith, N7TTH
HAM CLASS ANNOUNCED
Our next Ham Class will be October 27-29, 1995. We have 15 hours of
class work to explain, review and study, and find the soft spots. The
students then have a week to prepare and harden up the soft spots so
that they will be confident going in to the VE session the following
Saturday, Nov. 4th. The pattern that we follow is to give a practice
exam, correct it, then discuss the weak spots and clear them up, then
do it again with another practice exam. About six exams provide the
drill. This is done without any code practice. It may well be that
code practice would be a part of the higher license preparation
although most of this preparation must be on the studentsU own time.
Please give Lloyd, WA6KZV, a call to let him know if you are
interested. The class will be offered through the Adult Education
program with the Sierra Sands school district
NEEDED - ARTICLES FOR THE AIRWAVES
PLEASE CONTACT THE NEWSLETTER EDITOR
THE DEADLINE ON SUBMISSIONS FOR THE
NEXT ISSUE IS OCTOBER 15, 1995
NEXT MEETING, NOVEMBER 13, 1995
REMEMBER - IN CASE OF IMMINENT OR IMMEDIATE EMERGENCY
Monitor the 146.64(-) translator, call Lloyd on the 146.64 translator to
let him know you are available, and be ready to leave when needed. An
E-Pack should contain your radios/batteries/charger, a water jug,
(with at least a 2.5 gal container in the trunk of your car), Paper
and pens, a clip board, flashlights, a watch or small clock, clothing
& a hat, extra glasses, sun glasses, any meds you take regularly, some
basic first aid items and your medical history (in case you get
injured), and some non-perishable snacks (like hard candy) Always have
extra batteries handy, if you don't need them, someone else sure
will! Keep water and a sleeping bag in the trunk of your car.