Hi John, Attached is the August Squelch Burst for the web site. 73, Marv  

August 2003 THE SQUELCH BURST a monthly publication of the STAMFORD AMATEUR RADIO ASSOCIATION

2 Repeaters: W1EE/R........ 146.055 in; 146.655 out (PL. 1Z, 100Hz) W1EE/R.... 442.125 in; 447.125 out (PL. 2A, 114.8Hz) Internet Home Page at http://www.qsl.net/ctsara  Yearly membership $20.00 ($ 15.00 for retirees, senior members over 62, $10.00 for full time students, members under 16 years of age and members living over 100 miles from Stamford; $20.00 for family memberships.) This includes a copy of the club bulletin and a copy of the club roster. Send your dues, membership applications, etc. to the club Treasurer, Dick Finn, WA1VUU, 27 Ivy St., Stamford CT 06902. Non-commercial ads are printed in the SQUELCH BURST on a no charge basis, club members only. Send your ads for Ye Olde Jonque Boxxx and articles for the SQUELCH BURST to Marv Fleischman, N1AWJ, P.O. Box 113, Ridgefield, CT 06877-0113, or e-mail.  Unless noted, meetings are held on the first Thursday of every month in the 4th floor cafeteria of the Stamford Government Center, Tresser and Washington B'lvds., Stamford, CT. Meetings start at 8:00 P.M. Free parking in the Government Center garage with the entrance on Washington B'lvd. The Stamford Amateur Radio Association is a tax exempt organization under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue code.

EMPIRE SLOW SPEED NET Join the Empire Slow Speed CW Net every evening on 3590 KHz at 6PM local time. CW speed is between 6 and 8 wpm. A great way to improve your CW proficiency and learn net operation. Joe, W1LUH is one of the rotating Net Control stations.

TREASURER'S REPORT AS OF 12 JULY, 2003 INCOME EXPENSE Int. 2.93 Postage 74.00 Reptr.Pwr.Supp. 219.90 Field Day 204.09 Phone 24.90 ________ _________ Totals $2.93 $522.89 Balances: Checking-$628.88 Savings-$3,004.77 de WA1VUU

MEETING MINUTES

There was a bit of difficulty getting into the Government Center on Thursday evening as there was some fire apparatus blocking the entrance. It appears that there was a false alarm on the upper floor of the Government Center. At the same time the rock group ABBA was giving a concert in the park a block away from the center.

The meeting held on Thursday, July 10 was poorly attended. No formal meeting was held. Fred, K1FC briefly outlined the our results for Field Day. The Field Day exercise was a success even with the unexpected delays in setting up the site. This year our unofficial score was calculated to be about 3 times greater than our previous years score. Somewhere in the order of 1800 points. He will be submitting the official results to the ARRL shortly. The event had very good coverage in the June 30 edition of the Stamford Advocate and Greenwich Time. The site was visited by a representative of the Red Cross and Stamford FD, Betsey Doane, K1EIR our ARRL SM and Bill Barrett, W1WJB, the ARRL EC for our area. We did show that an entire Field Day operation can be run from a totally Solar Powered system. We wish to thank Solar Dynamics of Hartford, CT for the loan of their Harvester model Portable Solar Power System. Pam Grosechner, XYL of Mike, KB1DXC passed around some photographs she took at Field Day. John, WB1GRB mentioned that he had posted many photographs of the Field day on the SARA website. Andy, KA1SLG is back in the hospital, hopefully for some minor problem. We all wish him a speedy recovery. Marv, N1AWJ had a sign-up sheet for the Stamford Denmark Friendship sail race which will be on Sunday Sept. 7, 2003. Volunteers should contact Jeanine, KY1Q at (203) 324-6865 to sign up. Marv also announced that we are having VE Exams on August 9 at the Government Center. We do need VE to attend the session. The informal meeting broke up around 9 PM.

Marv, N1AWJ

MESSAGE FROM OUR WEB SITE ADMINISTRATOR

I have removed the SARA Membership List on the web site. A Officers page is the one of two areas that has any information. Officers Page. Title, First Name, Call Sign and E-mail Address. The other is the monthly news letter which I will remove the information each month and add a link to: "The Officers Page." I Have a new page on the web site.

John Sabin Jr.

AMATEUR RADIO LICENCE EXAMINATIONS

The next scheduled SARA VE Examinations will be held on Saturday, August 9, 2003. They are held in the 4th floor cafeteria of the Stamford Government Center. The Government Center is located on the corner of Tresser and Washington B'lvds. Check-in is at 9:30 AM and the exams start at 10 AM. The fee for the test session is $12. We would appreciate the test fee be in the form of a check made out to the ARRL/VEC (we accept cash, but a check is easier for us to handle). Those upgrading must bring their current license as well as a photocopy of their current license to be attached to the NVEC 605 form and any CSCE certificates showing completed test elements not covered by their current license. For all applicants, two forms of ID are required, one is a photo id such as a drivers license. Free parking is available in the ground floor garage at the Government Center. Entrance to the parking is on Washington B'lvd.

ASK ELMER

Dear Elmer: When working with wire antennas, is a simple SWR meter sufficient to tune the antenna or do I need something else? Signed, Wired Up.

Dear Wired Over the years there have been many tools (instruments) pressed into service by the amateur community in the setup and testing of wire antennas. I do have to comment, albeit tongue in cheek, that there are as many different antennas as there are amateur operators. Most anything that can radiate an electromagnetic signal can be used as an antenna, and over the years, probably has been. There are many instruments being used to test out antennas, from noise bridges and grid dip oscillators to network analyzers and dedicated antenna measurement systems (one specifically made by Agilent, ie HP). The function of an SWR meter is to determine if the transmission line and the termination (load, antenna, etc.) match each other and possibly the impedance of the generator. I am making the assumption that the SWR meter you are using is one which has its own built in generator such as the MFJ units. For setting up simple resonant antennas which were designed to be matched to 50 or 75 ohms, you can generally use these SWR meters to aid in trimming these antennas to resonance. If, on the other hand, you are attempting to set up an antenna using a random wire or other non resonant antenna, the SWR meter will not be of much use, and instruments such as noise bridges or those which measure the antennas impedance directly and report its resistive and reactive components will be of greater use. Another word on resonant antennas. An instrument that has been around for many years, the “Grid Dip Meter” can be used to trim an antenna to resonance irregardless of the antennas characteristic impedance. I am saddened to say that this versatile instrument has fallen out of favor in recent years, but for the amateur radio operator it can be a highly effective measuring instrument for antennas and other resonance measurements. MFJ offers an adapter for its SWR meters converting them into a “Dip Meter”. Were I given a choice of basic instruments for antenna setup, I would choose a Grid Dip Oscillator first, a Noise Bridge (or other impedance measuring device) second and the SWR meter third. I trust that this will get you all strung out. 73, Elmer Send all your questions to “ASK ELMER”, c/o Marv Fleischman, N1AWJ, PO Box 113, Ridgefield, CT 06877 or e-mail.

EDITORS NOTES AND COMMENTS

I have been a long time subscriber to the oldest amateur radio newsletters, Fred Maia's W5YI Report. I was saddened to learn that the newsletter will cease publication with the July 15, 2003 issue. Having sold his company, Fred agreed to continue his newsletter for 3 years. That time has passed as is the newsletter. Fred, as a long time reader I'm sorry to see you go, but enjoy your retirement. It is well deserved. On Sunday, July 13 I attended the Sussex County ARC hamfest in Augusta, NJ. I had specifically went to hear the ARRL Lab Supervisor, Ed Hare, W1RFI, talk about the FCC's “Broadband Over Power Line” (BPL) proposal. Briefly, BPL is a system to deliver high speed digital signals to homes and businesses using the high voltage transmission lines and the local power distribution systems as the conduit. The band proposed is from 2 to 80 MHz. The potential for increasing the noise level due to a radiated signal is extremely high. There can be as much as a 60 dB increase in the noise level at your radio. This is like having a constant S4 background noise no matter where you tune on your radio. The ARRL has submitted a 140 page technical document opposing BPL. Japan and several European governments have shelved plans to use BPL due to the interference and noise problems. Currently the FCC is asking for comments on this proposal. Read about it and get involved. Ed's talk was very illuminating (no pun intended). As one of the editors, it is very difficult to fill the pages of the Squelch Burst each month. We need your input! Undoubtedly you have had an interesting experience as an Amateur Radio operator. Why don't you share it with your fellow club members. Write an article for the Squelch Burst. Become a published author (of course you won't make any money but think of the fame). Along the same lines, ASK ELMER needs questions. The cupboard is bare. Without questions, there can be no answers other than “42”, which according to The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams is the answer to Life, The Universe and Everything. On Sunday, September 9, the Stamford Yacht Club will be holding its Stamford Denmark Friendship Sailboat Race. SARA has provided communications for this event for more than 10 years, and will be providing it for this years race. We need volunteers aboard the boats. Those who have helped out in previous years have had a great time on the water. To volunteer contact Jeanine, KY1Q at 203 324-6865. We need your participation to make this a successful event. 73, Marv, N1AWJ

YE OLDE JONQUE BOXXX

ICOM IC-2AT 2m HT w/Charger, Batty., & SS-32MP micro-min. CTCSS Encoder kit, VGC, $100; Simpson 260 VOM, VGC, $50. Call Geoff, N1CAT, (203) 966-7444 evenings

HALLICRAFTER SX-28A RECEIVER, recapped, $275. Works good. Call Joe, N1GWO, (203) 322-4061 Evenings

PARTS GALORE- Xerox 3000 Word Processor (antique) w/transformer, p/s, etc., connection to Diablo printer. FOR FREE!!! Take it away! Call Mike, KA1VWP, (203) 838-8089

AOR 1000 XLT, 1000 Channel HH Scanner, 5KHz to 1.3 GHz cont. coverage. Exc. cond. $ 275. Call Rick, N1LYK, (203) 531-1756

YAESU FT-757 GXII, HF Rig, FP 757 HD Power Supply, FC 757 AT Tuner and MD 1B8 Desk Mike. Call George, N1HIX, (203) 357-1879

Mac Laserwriter printer, best offer. Call Jeanine, KY1Q, (203) 324-6865

FOR PARTS..Olevetti Accounting Machine. FREE!!!!! Take it away!!! Call Marv, N1AWJ, (203) 438-7889

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 or e-mail

2M 30W AMPLIFIER, $25; 6M Amplifier, 10W in 150W out, $175: AM6155 2M SSB Amplifier, 8930 Tube based, Cavity Tuned, 400 W Out (not cont. duty) $325. Call Andy, KA1SLG, (203) 531-9493

MFJ ANTENNA TUNER A-1 Cond. $100; Cushcraft R4 Ant , New, $25; ¼ ? Mag. Mt. Ant., $12; ? ? Mag. Mt. Ant, $15, ? ? Trunk Mt. Ant., $10; Measurements Grid Dip Meter, $25; HP Signal Gen.; $15; Code Pract. Mach., $15 Call Milt, K1DLT, (203) 324-2723

MICROTEK SCANMAKER, Flat Bed Scanner Mod. E3 w/cables, software and ISA SCSI card. FREE to a good home Call Dick, WA1VUU, (203) 323-0982

COMET CX-333, 3 Band Vert., 2M, 220 & 440, Like New, No Tuning Req'd., $ 100. Triplexer for use w/Comet Ant w/Leads $60; Icom T8A HT w/slow charger & 2 extra Batt's., $150; Radio Shack HTX 242 2m 10/45W Mobile w/o mounting bkt., $85 Call Chris, N1YNO at (203) 359-0570 evenings

HYGAIN CD 45-II Rotator Control w/cable and manual. Call Frank, KA1NTG at (203) 655-7378

ESTATE SALE (N1CML) Yaesu FT-980 HF Xcvr, $475; Yaesu FT 726R 2M all mode Xcvr $325; Yaesu YS-60 SWR-Pwr Mtr, $50; Yaesu MD-1 Desk Mic, $45; MFJ Versatuner II (300W), $100; Heathkit Memory Keyer $25; Tram Reflectometer, $15; Many other items, call for listing. Call Marv, N1AWJ, (203) 438-7889 or e-mail.

Send all your ad's for YE OLDE JONQUE BOXXX to Marv Fleischman, N1AWJ, PO Box 113, Ridgefield, CT 06877. E-mail. Ad's must be in by the meeting night of the month prior to the publication. (December meeting for January publication)