Squelch Burst Newsletter Stamfo

Squelch Burst Newsletter
Stamford Amateur Radio Association
November 2004 www.qsl.net/w1ee/ Issue Number Eleven
—————————————————————————————————————–

-------------------- Happy Thanksgiving -------------------

Repeaters: W1EE 146.655 Out 146.055 In PL-100Hz. W1EE 447.125 Out 442.125 In PL-114.8Hz.

Unless noted, meetings are held on the first Thursday of every month in the Mural room of the Senior Center, at the Stamford Government Center, Tresser & Washington B'lvds., Stamford, CT. Meeting starts at 8:00 P.M. Directions / Map

Next meeting: Thursday November 4th. 8:00pm at the Mural Room, Stamford Senior Center Located at the Stamford Government Center.

Program: Joel Hallas, W1ZR writer of Product Reviews for QST magazine.

President: Fred Cunningham K1FC, 322-8274. Vice President: Bill Librandi KB1IFY, 353-8131. Secretary: John Sabini WB1GRB and SARA web site, 353-8422. Treasurer: Dick Finn WA1VUU, 323-0982. and Trustee of the Repeater; James Marcus N1ZFS.

Dues are $20.00 for regular members and families,

$15.00 for retirees and $10.00 for students and those living 100 miles or more from the repeater.

Send Your Dues To:

Stamford Amateur Radio Association ~ Post Office Box 112833 ~ Stamford, CT. 06911-2833.

SARA SUNDAY NIGHT NET. We encourage all of the SARA members to join in the informal net on the Stamford Repeater every Sunday night at 8 PM. After about a half hour of friendly discussion, we play the “Amateur Radio Newsline” with the latest happenings in amateur radio. Make yourself heard, join the net.

Squelch Burst: “We need new articles. This is your newsletter so why not write an article related to Amateur Radio. Try to write an article that you feel other members would be interested in. We need someone to continue ”Ask Elmer Column” . Any articles or correspondence contact Dick WA1VUU.

E-Mail Squelch Burst: We are asking SARA members to give their E-mail addresses to Dick, WA1VUU so that the club newsletter can be sent by E-mail thus saving postage!. Your address will not be published and will be kept confidential. Please make sure Dicks e-mail address is not blocked. Postal rates are going up next year. Contact Dick at <WA1VUU @ arrl.net>

We need your ideas and input. What activities would you like the club to participate in? We also need your help in organizing these activities as well as participating in them. How would you increase club membership? Communicate your ideas and comments to any of the board members or to the editors of the Squelch Burst. Your input is very important to the continuing health of the club.

V E SESSION - Saturday, November 13, 2004.At the Government Center, 4th. Floor Cafeteria. Bring a payment ( Check preferred to ARRL-VEC) of $12.00 –exact change please! Also your current license and a photocopy thereof. Also personal ID and any previous evidence of exams passed. Registration at 9:30am and tests at 10:00am. VE’s are needed!

You can find up to date information at: www.qsl.net/wb1grb/VEtest.htm

SARA Holiday Party

We will be holding our usual Holiday ‘pot luck’ Party December 2nd. Details in the next issue.

------------------------------------------ October Newsletter ----------------------------------

SARA Minutes of the Meeting 9/2/04

Fred K1FC began the meeting at 8:00pm.

Fred reminded everyone that our most key core member has passed away,. Marv, N1AWJ. Now SARA is faced with a new direction.. We are going to start thinking about what we are going to do in the future as a club. We have lost an important member who was the heart of the club.

We are going to continue to have speakers at our club meetings In the future we may cooperate with Norwalk (GNARC) in perhaps having some joint meetings as far as getting speakers. Nothing has been discussed yet and we will be taking up the subject with Norwalk.

Andy, K1SLG has volunteered to be chairman of the Activities Committee. The purpose would be to come up with new activities for the club. We hope we can continue with Field Day. In the last few years we have been heading in a new direction from the traditional Field Day . This is using battery power and QRP. Three years ago we earned 900 points, last year we earned 1900 and this year over 2500 points. Public Service is another area we would like to expand and continue in the future.

Repeater: Ernest, KA1NNG and myself are going to the repeater site. We would like to get the 440 repeater on the air before the snow falls. The hospital has changed the locks so we had to get new keys made.

Dick, WA1VUU will be the new contact VE. Next VE session is November 13th. At the Government Center, 4th. Floor Cafeteria. Test takers must bring a photo ID, $12.00 exact change (a check to ARRL/VE is preferred) original and a photocopy of your current license and any CFCE’s that apply. Check-in at 9:30am, tests begin at 10:00am. You can check the latest schedule at: www.qsl.net/wb1grb/Vetest.htm .

Fred reminded everyone that we had a simulated emergency test on Saturday, October 2. The Norwalk club had a large compliance on the 147.390 repeater. I opened our net from 9:00 to 9:30. We had 5 people check in and I made a contact on 80 meters to the state net.

Stan, WA2NRV then reminded everyone that we need to get young people interested in Amateur Radio. “We are not bringing in many young people. We should go to the schools and promote ham radio. If we don’t excite them now it will be gone.” This important subject will be discussed at future meetings and at the SARA board meetings.

Fred then introduced our speaker, Dan Gravereaux, N1ZZ (Left Photo) who spoke on operating a contest station from the island of Curacao.

***************************************************************************************

The 2004 GNARC Annual Holiday Party

SARA members are invited to the GNARC Holiday Party.

Will be held on Wednesday, December 8th, 2004 at the Sons of Italy, 162 New Canaan Ave. RTE 123, Norwalk, CT. Please mail this completed Form. Directions & Map. More Holiday Information.

Social hour from 6:30PM - 7:30PM - Dinner will be served at 7:30 PM. Cash Bar available. - Soda, Coffee, Tea, & Water served with dinner. Choice of two Entrees, Roast Sirloin of Beef Au Jus or Chicken & Broccoli.
Entrees come with Salad, Pasta, Vegetables and DESERT.

Fees are $30.00 for one person or $55.00 for a couple. Grand Prize of the Raffle - Alinco DJ-596 Dual Band Radio. Plus Lots of Door Prizes including an Icom IC-2100 VHF Mobil Radio.
and . . . A GIFT FOR EVERYONE ! ! !

Talk in will be available on both GNARC repeaters
K1UHF 448.075- PL 114.8 and K1OF 147.39+ No PL.

***************************************************************************************

ASK ELMER

Dear Elmer: I am setting up a Novice station and I don’t know what kind of antenna to put up. I cannot spend more than $50.00.

On the antenna and I would like to be able to operate on all the Novice bands. I would like to get on the air as soon a possible .
What do I do now? Signed , Anxious.

Dear Anxious: There are many ways to erect multi-band antennas at a reasonable cost. I will try to cover some of them.

The most common multi-band antenna is the “End fed Herz” or long wire antenna. The basic idea is to get as long a piece of wire as you can as high up as you can and use a simple ‘Transmatch” to match the feed line to the radio. This is one of the earliest forms of antennas used and is quite effective. Since this antenna is a non-resonant antenna, its impedance varies and is generally greater than 300 ohms. A transmatch is required to convert the antenna’s impedance to the 50 ohms required by your radio. An advantage of this antenna is that it can be of any reasonable length and it will still operate. A disadvantage is that there will be a high level of RF in the shack, since the feed line is part of the antenna.. Low cost Transmatches such as those made by MFJ are available from your local Ham equipment dealer.

The next type of antenna is the “Multi-Band Resonant Dipoles” using good quality 300 ohm TV Twin Lead. Notice I used the plural in the name of the antenna. This is because it consists of 4 separate resonant dipoles connected in parallel The antenna is fed with 50 or 75 ohm coaxial cable. Rather than trying to describe the antenna in words, the diagram which follows shows the method of construction and the approximate lengths of the elements.

The ends of the twin lead should be separated from each other by several inches. The plastic insulators can be made of any form Plexiglas , polystyrene or other good insulator. Wood is not recommended , since it will absorb moisture and lose any insulating properties. Once the basic antenna is constructed , you must tune the elements. This is done by trimming a pair of wires on their specific band until the VSWR at the transmitter is less than 2:1. This procedure may take some time, but once done does not have to be repeated. To trim the wire, simply notch the twin lead taking care not to cut too deeply into the insulation separating the two parallel wires. Doing this will ensure good mechanical strength of the twin lead. Trim in 1/2 inch increments so as not to overshoot the resonant point of the antenna. It may take a few minutes longer but the results are worth it. When properly tuned, the antenna does not need a Transmatch, and since it is fed with coaxial cable, there is no RF in the shack. The disadvantage of this antenna is that you need at least 110 feet of space to cover 80 meters, since it is a full dipole, shortened only by the dielectric material surrounding the wire. Note: when tuning this antenna, you tune the 10 meter portion first, and then the succeeding lower bands. A variation of this type of antenna is marketed by MoreGain, but if you construct it yourself you will save a considerable sum of money .

The last type of antenna I will discuss is the “Trapped Dipole”. I will not attempt to go into all of the details of it’s construction, but I will refer you to the ARRL Antenna Handbook as well as the Radio Amateurs Handbook.

Basically, the “Trapped Dipole” is a resonant dipole which is segmented or cut up by using resonant traps. These traps look like high impedance points (read insulators) at their resonant frequencies and as inductors at frequencies below their resonance. Inserting these resonant traps set to 10 meters, 15 meters and 40 meters at the appropriate points in the dipole makes the antenna look like separate antennas on each band. A second advantage is that they shorten the overall length of the antenna because of the inductance of the traps. A disadvantage is that they narrow the bandwidth of the antenna, but they will be more than wide enough to cover the entire Novice portion of the band. A diagram of a typical “Trapped Dipole” follows:

0————————–UUUU—————UUUU———–0 0—————–UUUU————–UUUU———————–0
Ins. 40M 15M Ins. 15M 40M Ins

Well, anxious, I hope this helped you in your search for a low cost multi band antenna.
73, ELMER.
(This is one of the first Ask Elmer articles that Marv, N1AWJ wrote)

*******************************************************************************************************

TREASURER’S REPORT AS OF 15 OCTOBER, 2004

INCOME EXPENSE

         Dues 20.00             Postage 37.00
          Int.       2.12             Phone    24.79
               _______                    ________
Totals     $22.12                          $61.79

Balances: Checking-$1,205.35. Savings- $2,597.90

de WA1VUU

Ham Radio Message Board Classified Ads Service. News, announcements, events, for sale and more. This Board Hosted For FREE By ProBoards

For Sale

HD-73 ROTOR w/CONTROL & CABLE, $50; Cushcraft 10-40M Vert. Ant., $15; Heathkit Station Monitor Mod. 614, $50. 2 South Bend 7.5 HP Go-Cart Engines. Call for Info. Call Irv, N1ATS, 348-3425. Posted by: WB1GRB

ESTATE SALE (N1CML) Yaesu FT-980 HF Xcvr, $475; Yaesu FT 726R 2M all mode Xcvr $325; Yaesu YS-60 SWR-Pwr Mtr, $50; MFJ Versatuner II (300W), $100; Tram Reflect meter, $15; Azden PCS3000 2M Mobile w/o Mic, $25; HP5301 10 MHz Freq Ctr. $25; Eldorado 1615 30 MHz Freq Ctr., $25; AEA PK-88 Packet TNC, $35; Leader LAC 897 2M Transmatch, $20.

Icom 706mkIIG, no box, in excellent condition, have all the small connectors it came with, asking 650$ or Best offer. 203 748 7143.

FT-8100B 2M/70cm Tranceiver with factory CTCSS encode/decode, separation kit, and includes all schematics and manual. Recent o/haul at Yaesu - Installed new style transmitter board and complete alignment. Works and looks as new. $200.00 plus shipping - 203-975-8014 eves.

ICOM IC-735 HF 10-160 meters. Great starter radio. $200.00 Chris N1YNO 203-359-0570

If above items are sold contact me. Questions. John WB1GRB (203) - 353 - 8422.

Next meeting: Thursday November 4th. 8:00pm at the Mural Room, Stamford Senior Center Located at the Stamford Government Center.

Program: Joel Hallas, W1ZR writer of Product Reviews for QST magazin.

Photos of October Meeting.

Photos of September Meeting

Stan, WA2NRV (Left Photo) who talked about transmitter hunting and his experience with the Civil Air Patrol.

WEB BROWSERS: This web site has been validated to operate properly with the following browsers:
MS-Internet Explorer thru 6.0 and Netscape 6.2 thru 7.1 and has been checked for errors. If you are having trouble accessing any part of this site please contact Webmaster, John WB1GRG. Best viewed at, 600x800.

J/S WB1GRB

Thursday, October 28, 2004