My appologies to the club on missing a few newsletters but I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth.
I am now working 2nd shift and with the holidays I had no time to put together a news letter. I will try to fill this one with all the missing information from the past few months.
You can help by submitting articles for me to put in the newsletter. This would be a great help on my end.
I don’t care if it is a joke, ham story, story about a member, or technical story. Any or all would be appreciated.
Maybe you heard a good story about duct tape, or someone who put something together and it worked that they would like to share.
I know many of the membership is listening to the repeater and there are funny stories to be told.
Lets use our imagination.
Let me also thank Tom N3VIX, Bill KB8PZY, Jan N8TNK, and Chuck KC8IUO for keeping our Tuesday night nets active. They are all fairly new to running nets and all did a great job on the nets.
I think we owe them a round of applause at the next meeting for taking on the challenge and doing such a great job!!!!!!

OK So this is the first newsletter!

February 2000

Bay Area Amateur Radio Club

Christmas Dinner

THANK YOU ALL
I would like to personally thank everyone for the great turn out we had for
the Christmas party that we had.
A great time was had by all, and the Christmas spirit was felt through the
whole room. We had 42 people present which was a great feeling, to see
everyone together, having a good time. We especially like to thank Chuck
AA8IY for all the ENTERTAINMENT? Just kidding. Thank you again everyone
for the great turn out. If anyone can think of anything the club could do as
a group, please contact me at n8tnk@concentric.net and I will do my best
to see if I can make it happen.
Thanks again
Jan N8TNK V.P.

Bay Area Amateur Radio Club

Bay Area Amateur Radio Club

Minuets of the January BAARC Meeting

Page #

Bay Area Amateur Radio Club

Page #

Bay Area Amateur Radio Club

Page #

Bay Area Amateur Radio Club

Page #

Bay Area Amateur Radio Club

President
Jeff Lake---K8JSL
k8jsl@voyager.net
Vice President
Jan Sharrow---N8TNK
n8tnk@concentric.net
Secretary
Charles Sharrow---KC8IUO
n8tnk@concentric.net
Treasurer
Joe Ignatowski---KC8GTZ
kc8gtz@arrl.net
Technical Advisor
Gary Ingersoll---WB8ICU
kb8yur@qsl.net
Repeater Trustee
Bob Cuthbert---N8BBR
kb8yur@qsl.net
1 Year Trustee
Bob Shepard---KC8AHP
kc8ahp@concentric.net
2 Year Trustee
Steve Coats---KB8YTC
kb8ytc@juno.com
3 Year Trustee
Paul Filiczkowski--KC8ELQ
kc8elq@worldnet.att.net
Newsletter Co-Editor
Jeff Lake---K8JSL
k8jsl@voyager.net
Newsletter Co-Editor
Joe Ignatowski---KC8GTZ
kc8gtz@arrl.net
Newsletter Co-Editor
Debbie Kirkbride---KA8YKK
ka8ykk@concentric.net

The November meeting of the BAARC will take place as scheduled on February 8th at 7:30 PM.
Happy Valentines Day to all our members!

The meeting was called to order by Jeff at 7.35 p,m,
Treasures report was read by Jan n8tnk. It was accepted by John n8ze,
seconded by Dave n8reb.
Secretaries report was given and accepted by Paul kc8elq, and seconded by
Dean kc8bgk.
Voice chips for the 31 , have been purchased but not installed yet.
The 440 repeater is going to be fixed and up and running by next week.
Whether we will be able to purchase the newer repeater or not is up in
the air as of now. If not , we will have to purchase a new one.
Jeff would like everyone to check the b.a.a.r.c. web site for updates that
have been done by Jeff.
Field day was discussed, and we will need to find a spot to hold it. John
said that we could use his property if we would like. We will be hosting field day.
John n8ze will be having his teaching compute this year. Tentative dates are
July 5.6.7.and 8th. He will need help organizing this year. He would like someone
to take care of the finances for him.
Bay area campout this year will be July 27, 28 and 29th . It will be held at the
Finn road campground again this year.
Net controls
Jan 16 - Jan n8tnk
Jan 23 - Chuck kc8iuo
Jan 30 - Bill kb8pzy
Feb 6 - Tom n3vix
DUES ARE NOW DUE. PLEASE PAY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
20 dollars per person. 10 dollars per senior citizen. 35 dollars per family
Meeting was adjourned at 8:35. Motion made by Paul seconded by Jeff.

Interference Report (received this one in the mail and found it of interest!)
March 22, 2000
My name is Jake Gier, N7VIV. The following is a factual log of a recent interference problem in Boise, Idaho. I located the signal using standard DF'ing procedures.
On March 20, 2000, a carrier appeared on 147.000 MHz at or about 9:00 to 9:15 P.M. MST in Boise, Idaho. This particular frequency is the repeater frequency for Mt. Harrison repeater located 200 miles SE of Boise. But the signal wasn't coming from Mt. Harrison.
It was a low power signal coming from Boise, Idaho. I located the signal coming from a house. AC7BF, came at my request and also DF'd the transmitter to make sure I was correct on the location. There wasn't anyone home so I went home and did some searching on the internet.
There isn't a ham license registered at that address. I then went and searched the Ada County tax records for that property. This gave me the name of the registered owner of the property. I then located some recent real-estate listings for this property. The real-estate listings listed the property owners work phone #. Armed with this phone # I called and asked for Ben, the owner of the property. I introduced myself to Ben and asked, "had he recently got an amateur radio license." He told me, "no do I need one?" I then explained to him that I had tracked a radio signal and it appeared to be coming from his residence. I asked him if maybe he had recently got a new piece of electronic equipment that might possibly be transmitting accidentally in the amateur bands? He said the only thing he had, was a cordless phone but he didn't have a radio. I mentioned the antenna I could see up on top of the patio roof. He said that was the antenna for the cordless phone. He said it was a "NOKIA" and it had a five ( 5 ) mile range. I had never heard of a cordless phone with a five ( 5 ) mile range. Ben invited me to his home that evening at 9:00 P.M. MST to look at the cordless phone and check it out. I accepted.
Well as it turned out the cordless phone was indeed transmitting in the two ( 2 ) meter band. Myself, N7VIV and KB7SYC both had our frequency counters with us when we showed up to look at the cordless phone. The cordless phone was transmitting a constant signal on 147.003 MHz. according to the frequency counters. We asked if we could unplug the base unit to check it out. When we did the signal disappeared on 147.003 MHz. Notice in the pictures that the plug in is one of those built for foreign countries. They had it plugged into a Radio Shack power adapter. It had been in constant transmit for twenty four (24) hours. The base unit was cool to the touch and didn't have a visible fan. Over the twenty four (24) hour transmit period the signal kept coming up as though it was gaining in power output. W7ZRQ could receive it anywhere in the Boise area. KB7SYC could receive it twenty (20) miles to the west near the Caldwell, ID airport.
Heather, the lady of the house explained that they had bought this phone off of "ebay". She was upset at the sellers for not telling them that this unit was illegal in the United States. She also explained that they had $300.00 per month cellular bills until they bought this cordless phone. That's what interested their friends. So we may see more of these in the Boise area. Heather said they paid about $1000.00 for this unit.
As you can see from the pictures this unit doesn't have any stickers on it showing FCC approval.
Lately here in Boise we have been having problems with carriers on our local repeaters. When I was DF'ing this signal I talked with Larry Smith, W7ZRQ, about this particular situation. Larry is the local frequency coordinator. Also he is an engineer at a local TV station. He has a great amount of knowledge which I wanted to draw upon.
Continued on page 5
Continued from page 4
After I discovered this transmitter, Larry came up with a theory. He thinks that maybe this unit is built like a trunking system. And that would explain why we have been getting carriers on a lot of local frequencies.
We are still negotiating with the people to see if we can buy the unit or possibly trade with them. That way we can get the unit to do some testing into a dummy load of course.
Larry also said there had been an article in a past "QST" magazine about these units being built in foreign
countries. And there was a warning about them appearing in the US.
Also the owners of this unit told us that they had a lot of friends that wanted to buy these units. We may not have seen the last of this yet. And here is the reason. Ben & his wife Heather own a pawn shop. They told us they sell a lot of CB's and assorted electronics. This may be the way these units are being imported. I don't know for sure. But keep your eyes and ears open.

.Minuets of the November BAARC Meeting
The meeting was called to order at 7:33 P.M. by Jeff k8jsl. There was no treasurers
report given. Secretary gave the minutes. They were read by Chuck kc8iou and
accepted by Bob kc8ahp, seconded by Paul kc8elq.
Jeff discussed having the tower climbed every two years. It was discussed and decided
that it was not necessary. The club will be purchasing a M.T.R. 2000
by next spring. Many thanks to the person who donated 6,500 dollars
for the project. It will either be a new one or a used one, with a factory
guarantee.
The club won second place in a contest for the movie frequency.
Many thanks to Debbie ka8ykk, Chuck aa8iy, and Dean kc8bgk.
Second prize was and antenna. It was decided that Debbie will
sell the antenna, for the best price she can. Money will be put into
the club fund.
Val gave an award to Debbie and Dean for outstanding service.
Chuck will receive his shortly. He also discussed putting digital in
the State Police Post.
CHRISTMAS PARTY DECEMBER 2,2000. GET YOUR RESERVATION
IN TO JAN. N8TNK@CONCENTRIC.NET OR PHONE 752-9209.
The party will be at kryziaks, at 7:30 p.m. on Sat. Dec. 2,2000.
50/50 was won by Paul kc8elq. There were 10 members and 2
guests.
Net controls
Nov 14 Dean kc8bgk, Nov. 21 Jeff k8jsl, Nov. 28 Chuck aa8iy ,Dec. 6 Tom n3vix
Dean kc8bgk is going to find people for the rest of the month.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:25 P. M. Motion was made by Paul kc8elq and seconded by Tom n3vix.

QUESTION
If man evolved from monkeys & apes ........ why do we still have monkeys & apes???? Bonus Round - If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill himself ....... is it considered a hostage situation?????

WHY I LOVE MICHIGAN When it's Christmas time in Michigan And the gentle breezes blow, About seventy miles an hour And it's fifty-two below. You can tell you're in Michigan 'cause the snow's up to your butt, And you take a breath of Christmas air And your nose holes both freeze shut. The weather here is wonderful, So I guess I'll hang around; I could NEVER leave Michigan My feet are frozen to the ground!

From: sam@colossus (Sam Goldwasser) Newsgroups: sci.electronics Subject: Re: Jacob's Ladder Date: 10 Aug 1995 13:19:47 GMT
In article <40b70l$lo4@ixnews3.ix.netcom.com> LDBarret@ix.netcom.com (Loren Barrett) writes:
> Can anyone provide plans to build the lightning generator called Jacob's
> Ladder? I want to make a small one for classroom experiments. Please
> e-mail to LDBarret@Netcom.com or fax to 702-294-3072. Thanks
You will need 12K-15K volts AC (50/60) Hz at say 20-30 mA. A neon sign (luminous tube) transformer is the usual source though an oil burner ignition transformer will work in a pinch (some say better and cheaper) or you could build an inverter type power supply.
Take a pair of thick wires - the steel wire from old metal coat hangers works pretty well - straighten them out and mount them with a gap of about 1/4 inch at the bottom and 1-3 inches at the top. Of course, all on an insulated non-flammable material! Connect the high tension output of the transformer to the two wires and you should be all set. Some adjustment of the spacing may be required (but do so with power off!). Depending on the voltage and power rating of your high voltage souce, these dimensions may vary considerably.
__ 1-3"
^ \ /
2-3 feet \ /
or more | \ /
v --| |--
1/4"
A jacob's ladder works on the principle that the ionized air in the arc is a lower resistance than the air around it and heated air rises. The arc strikes at the point of lowest breakdown voltage - the small gap at the bottom. The heated plasma rises and even when it is an inch or more in width is an easier path for the current to follow. Eventually, the gap becomes two wide, the arc extinguishes and is reestablished at the bottom. For best results, shield the whole thing from drafts but don't use anything that can catch fire!
Safety:
Make sure that no one can come in contact with this - particularly curious onlookers. Separating the potential victims from any possible contact with the high voltage is really the only foolproof way of protecting against fools or the unaware - and you from a lawsuit. People not familiar with high voltage phenomina (or aware only through C grade sci-fi movies) can be incredibly naive.
A GFI (ground fault interrupter) is of no use in protecting against HV contact since the secondary of a neon sign transformer is isolated from the line but its centertap is usually connected to the case - which should be grounded. However, a GFI would be a good idea in any case when you are working with line connected equipment.
12,000 volts will jump approximately 1/2-3/4 inch in dry air - more under humid conditions. Don't forget that 12,000 VAC is approximately 17,000 V peak. Neon sign transformers have current limited outputs - 30 mA is typical - but that is still highly dangerous - lethal under the wrong conditions.
You can build a small Jacob's Ladder using a high voltage transformer of lower capacity or a DC-AC inverter using a TV flyback transformer. While these would be less dangerous, there is little room for carelessness when working with high voltage. Even if there is no resistive path, the stray capacitance can permit enough AC current to flow to give you a painful experience!
Do not work alone.
Always keep one hand in your pocket when anywhere around a powered line-connected or high voltage system.
Wear rubber bottom shoes or sneakers.
Don't wear any jewelery or other articles that could accidently contact circuitry and conduct current.
Use an isolation transformer if there is any chance of contacting line connected circuits.
Don't make adjustments with power on.
Finally, never assume anything without checking it out for yourself! Don't take shortcuts!
--- sam