DOUGLAS COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB NEWSLETTER Vol. 32, No. 12, December 2002 Articles and information for the News letter may be submitted up to the 20th of the month before the next meeting. Ken Blair, KCOGL, Editor 1711 West 19th Terrace Phone: 785-843-8826 Lawrence, KS 66046 e-mail: kc0gl@arrl.net This Newsletter is published monthly by the Douglas County Amateur Radio Club (DCARC). Rreprint permission is granted to other Amateur Radio-orientated publications for non-copyright material provided that credit is given to the author and source. Copyright(c) articles require permission to use from the holder of the copyright. Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the club or its officers. ******************************************************************************** December 11 Meeting Christmas "Pot Luck" Dinner 6:30 p.m. (Note time) The meat, drinks and eating utinsils will be provided. Each family is asked to bring one of the following: salad, vegetables, dessert. There is a $5.00 per person cover charge. Children under 12 are free. If you would like to participate in a gift exchange (with a twist) bring a gift with a value of $5 or less, and indicate whether it is a gift for a man or woman. RESERVATIONS REQUIRED BEFORE DECEMBER 7 Advance payment is necessary and may be sent to: Linda Randel, KCONFT, 211 Pine Cone Drive, Lawrence, KS 66046-3267 ú Ph: 749-4450 ú KC0NFT@aol.com ******************************************************************************** 2003 DUES ARE DUE Regular $25 Senior (65+) $20 Student $20 Family $30 Send dues to the Treasurer: Rex Lockwood, WOFOG 2565 Ridge Court Lawrence, KS 66046-4080 ******************************************************************************** FROM THE PRESIDENT Jim Eckler, KCØIDF Well folks, David Sumner, K1ZZ, CEO of ARRL, couldn't have said it any better-2002 has been a challenging and exciting year to say the least! I've sure enjoyed it and hope the newly elected officers will carry on the enthusiasm we all have generated this year. As I go back through my notes I see a lot of great things we've accomplished and a few we didn't. The main thing is that we're growing and have a great future. I can't wait to see what's in store for next year. I want to express my personal thanks to all of you for your help and hope you remember to keep the tourch lit and burning bright. I wish you all a safe and happy holiday season and hope to see you all at the next meeting. Thanks everyone. This is Jim, KCØIDF, out! ******************************************************************************** ACTIVITIES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE DCARC IN 2002 By Jim Eckler, KCOIDF, President * Raised the membership to 70+. * Rotated the duty on the 76 net and got new people involved. * Requested members to bring in their elmers to the meetings. * Had one of the best Field Days ever. * Had a spring picnic and fox hunt at Lonestar Lake, tks KCØIDI. * Fall tail gate and rocket launch at Critter Fox farm, tks KCØNFT. * Had a "Special Events Station" at Nowhere, KS, tks WBØAUQ. * Voted on a club logo, tks KCØGL. * Made a club brochure, tks KCØLXA. * New club meeting places, tks WAØOWH and ABØQW. * Changed the start time for meeting to 7:00 p.m. * Changed Tuesday Club Net to 7:45 p.m. * Began resurrecting the 220 repeater and will get it up and running. * Made a budget for 2003 and increased dues for 2003. * Bought General Class tapes and held a class and VE test * Revised and rewrote membership Application form and record sheets. * Updated the club website. * Brought the club sign to meetings and made an easel for it. * Made video tapes of programs and started a library for them, tks KCØIDC * Working on Club jackets and logo patches. * Had 3 new MARS stations formed, KCØIDI, ABØQW KCØIDF. * Working on a new ARES group and trying to get packet stations up and running. * Formed an ARES Net on Sunday night, tks KC4WCG. * Formed a CW practice Net on Sunday night, tks N6YR. * Paul Stump proposed to Nancy Harding at a DCARC meeting. * Attended two wedding parties: Nancy & Paul Stump and Matt & Amie Withers. I'm sure I've missed a few. All of these accomplishments could not have been done without everyone's help. I'm forever grateful and proud to be a member of the DCARC! Thanks everyone! ******************************************************************************** WBØAUQs WEB PICKS OF THE MONTH Remember a few years ago when Steve/N4RVE was the rage with his bicycle mobile computer lab (Behemoth)? Several write-ups in ham mags, appearances at Dayton, etc. Well, he is at it again except this time with boats. Interesting techy reading: http://www.microship.com/microship/index.html This seems like a great site for computer questions, basic to advanced: http://www.computerhope.com/index.htm Building a Telsa coil and need some help with calculations? From this site you have a multitude of calculators available, neat: http://www.csgnetwork.com/spiralcoilinduccalc.html It's time to prepare for winter-time SWLing, and Glenn Hauser is the guru for info. Here's his site, complete with streaming audio of his latest broadcast: http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio This month's Site of Significant Historical Interest concentrates mostly on electrical and radio for the period 1600 (yes, 1600) thru 1950: http://www.antique-radio.org/newsite/home.htm Happy Surfin' 73, WBØAUQ ******************************************************************************** MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 13 MEETING Rex Lockwood, WØFOG, Secretary-Treasurer The meeting started at 7:07 p.m. The program was a show and tell on what projects you were working on (or worked on). We had thirteen members show their projects. From Tony Shirer's very complex temperature dew point charting to Matt Hilt's easy to make qsl cards. From JD Linn's gigantic hf tuner to Matt Hilt's very small tnc. We had portable qrp stations, fm keyers, left handed bugs, a computerized rotator, apers station and a portable `antenna farm' for Jim Eclker's van. It was very interesting how it all these projects worked and what we as amateur radio operators could do with a little, or a lot, of imagination. The business meeting started at 8:13 p.m. The minutes of October's meeting was approved and accepted. The nominees for officers for 2003 was voted on and accepted. We had 33 members present for the voting. Voted in as the 2003 officers were: President: Bob Kidder, ABØQW; Vice President: Bill Musick, KCØNFL; Secretary: Warren Sunkel, KCØLXA; Treasurer: Rex Lockwood, WØFOG; Activities Manager: Linda Randel, KCØNFT; Emergency Coordinator: Matt May, KC4WCG; Program Manger: Mark Randel, KCØNFS; Training Managers: Bob Drake, NØTFU and Earl Schweppe, NØKYS; Newsletter: Ken Blair, KCØGL; Information Manger: Matt Hilt, KØTOY. Due to lack of early check-ins, the time for the DCARC Tuesday night net was changed back to 8:00 p.m. The 2003 club budget was also voted on and accepted. Club dues for 2003 are due now. Regular membership is $25.00, family is $30.00, Seniors (65+) and students $20.00 and newsletter only $15.00. Send or give dues to Rex Lockwood, WOFOG, the club Treasurer. Bob Kidder, ABØQW, presented the operating problems with the club repeater. It is fixed with temporary solutions right now and needs to be taken off the air to be fixed. The club voted to allow $200 to have it fixed with a repair that will have a warrantee. The company that manufactured the repeater will do the repairs. Ken Olson, AF3RM and Will Shockley, KBØWDW will be performing the work of getting the backup repeater on the air and swapping them out. We also had 8 members interested in getting the old 220 repeater working again. That is being worked on now. Also presented were club jackets. Figured a price of $36.00 plus the cost of the jacket. Had enough members interested to pursue the idea. Matt May presented information on the ARES net that meets on Sunday's at 8 p.m. He also has set up for packet training on the 7th of December from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 2518 Ridge Court, at the United Way building. He has someone from the Johnson County Club coming over to give the training. How packet works and how we can tie it all together for emergency support. The 2002 DCARC Christmas Dinner: At this time the dinner will be held at the fairgrounds on the 11th of December at 6:30 p.m. and will be a pot luck dinner with the meats catered in. Cost will be $5.00 per person, with children under 12 free. Calls will be going out to club members to get a count and to arrange what side dished to bring. Contact Ken Olson, AF3RM, or Linda Randel, KCØNFT, if you have any questions. Bob Drake, NØTFU, stated that the general license class was a success with 6 upgrades or new licensees and 3 passing test elements. He also stated that after the ARES net on Sunday nights, there is code practice for those wanting it. The club reports were accepted and the meeting adjourned about 9 p.m. We had 37 attendees for the meeting. ******************************************************************************** CLUB FUNDS NOVEMBER 13, 2002 Paid Ken Blair $98.78 for November Newsletter & "Nowhere" Certificates. Paid Farmers Insurance for 2003 club insurance; $111.00. Commercial General Liability coverage. Received $100.00 for 2003 club dues. (20% to repeater fund) Received $10.00 for club donation. General fund = $329.15 Repeater fund = $662.90 Total club fund = $992.05 --Rex Lockwood, WØFOG, Secretary-Treasurer ******************************************************************************** CONGRATULATIONS . . . GENERAL LICENSE CLASS A SUCCESS Bob Deake, NØTFU Our first General license class has come and gone. There are a few places we need to improve on, but for the most part, I think it went well. We had 12 people take tests at the license test session on November 4 and six of them earned new or upgraded licenses with three more passing the General written test. Those with upgraded licenses are: Will Shockley (KBØWDW) -- Extra; Larry Shambaugh (WBØVOM) -- General; George Learned (WDØFDI) -- Extra; Adam Kidder (KCØNFN) -- General. Linda Randel (KCØNFT); Nancy Stump (KCØGSF); and Bill Musick (KCØNFL) all passed the General written tests. Two others from the Kansas City area, Greg Golden (KCØOCC) and David Maas, earned their Technician+ HF licenses. I want to congratulate all these who worked so hard to pass the tests. I want to thank Parker Lesig (KØVL), Ken Olson (AF3RM), Dan Gravatt (N2PRC), and Steve Robertson (KU7J) for their help with the grading and running the session. I also want to thank Jim Eckler (KCØIDF) for providing coffee and brownies, and JD Linn (KCØBD) and Bob Kidder (ABØQW) for being there for support and assistance. Thanks too goes to Mark Randel (KCØNFS), Earl Schweppe (NØKYS), and Bob Kidder (ABØQW) for their help teaching and assisting in the General license class sessions. It is much appreciated. 73, Bob Drake, NØTFU. (And also a big thanks to Bob Drake, NØTFU, for his help in teaching and assisting in these sessions.--Editor) ******************************************************************************** PACKET RACKET Matt May, KC4WCG Douglas County ARES ARRL Emergence Coordinator Packet is one of the many methods of sending digital information via ham radio. using basically the same methods used to send data on hardwire, packet allows traffic to pass from one station to another quickly, error free, and can be printed out for the use of the addressee. Packet has faltered some in the past few years with the Internet taking on much of the traffic that used to be passed on the 145.01 BBS system 15 years ago. However, it has been proven to be a critical tool in supporting emergency communications. ARES members nationwide have been developing this mode, learning it's advantages and disadvantages and making the most of it. Much new software has been written in the last few years to support ARES functions. So much so that I have called on the "Pros from Dover" to help us out. Harold "Van" VanDeveen KØHCV and Bill Brinker WAØCBW, the packet Guru's of Johnson Co. KS have enthusiastically agreed to bring us up to speed. I also explained that there were those among us who have not seen so much as a single packet on their screen so they will also be putting on their famous Basic Packet class. They have taught this class several times for their home group, but now it has headed "off-Broadway". This class will take us from " what's a packet?" to "Wow-What fun!" in just a few hours. For those who have gear, bring it along because we will be setting up stations all over the building to test, make contacts, load software, and trouble shoot as required with the experts at hand. You'll need a 2 meter rig (mobile or HT) a TNC, a computer, an antenna, and required cables. If you don't think you have it all bring what you do have and will figure out what you are missing. No gear? No Problem. Come see how easy it is to get started. The class will be held on Saturday, December 7th from 0900 to 1400 +/- at 2518 Ridge Court, the United Way building, in Lawrence. Come learn how we can be better prepared to provide better service to our served agencies.-73, Matt KC4WCG ******************************************************************************** ARES REFLECTOR FOR DOUGLAS COUNTY ARES Reflector for Douglas County - For those that are in ARES or are interested I have created a reflector on Yahoo. The address is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dgares/ The list is open to anyone that has an interest in ARES in Douglas County. I hope this will help advance the readiness of ARES in Douglas County.-73, Reid KCØIDI ******************************************************************************** NEW KANSAS SECTION MANAGER New Kansas Section Manager - Excerpt from the ARRL Bulletin ARLB069: "Kansas also will get a new SM on January 1. Orlan Cook, WOOYH, has announced his retirement from the Kansas Section Manager's position as of the end of this year after serving for five years. ARRL Field and Educational Services Manager Rosalie White, K1STO, has appointed Ron Cowan, KBODTI, of La Cygne to complete the year remaining in the present term of office. Cowan has been serving as an Assistant Section Manager and as Section Traffic Manager." ******************************************************************************** SOLDERING OUTSIDE Bill Twaddell, N2DH The other day I tried to install a PL259 on a piece of coax in the backyard with temperatures in the 50 deg F and a 10 mile an hour wind. Forget it. I then remembered that Radio Shack use to carry a butane powered pencil soldering devise. I got one and it works great and does a good job. Great for all those backpackers who may need to do field repairs. -W3OK Corrall Newsletter, Clarence Snyder, W3PYF, Editor ******************************************************************************** THE WAYBACK MACHINE --- ISSUES 10 & 11 By William Continelli, W2XOY (c) Copyright 2002, William Continelli, W2XOY Used with permission This is the 10th and 11th of a series of articles by Bill Continelli, W2XOY on the History of Amateur Radio. These articles first appeared in the Schenectady Museum Amateur Radio Association's Newsletter, "RF Musings" and appears here with the permission of the author. * * * In our last installment, we learned that the "UHF" spectrum above 25 Mc., which during the 1930s was populated only by amateurs, was now in the center of a battle being fought on many fronts. Amateurs wanted their 10, 5, 2-1/2, and 1-1/4 meter bands back. Major Edwin Armstrong wanted to increase the 42-50 Mc. allocation in the new FM broadcast service. General David Sarnoff of RCA wanted huge chunks of VHF space set aside for television, as well as limited spectrum for FM, a potential rival. And William Paley of CBS wanted UHF -- not VHF allocations for CBS' "color wheel" TV system, which they wanted the FCC to adopt as the television standard, in lieu of RCA's competing system. In addition to these major players, other minor characters were also clamoring for VHF frequencies -- the growing aircraft industry, police departments who were tired of the interference-prone 1700 kc. police band and wanted to use FM on VHF -- and even businesses to whom the idea of personal two-way communication was now possible. Thanks to the war and the introduction of new VHF and UHF tubes, the frequencies above 25 Mc. were now the most sought after slice of the RF spectrum. During late 1944, the FCC held hearings on post-war VHF allocations, in which there were 231 witnesses and 4200 pages of testimony. In November 1944, the first proposal on VHF/UHF allocations was released. See if you could have lived with it... 23.5-27 Mc. -- Industrial Applications 27-29 Mc. -- Amateur 11 Meter Band (yes, that's right!) 29-43 Mc. -- Police, Fire, Emergency, and Local Government 43-58 Mc. -- FM broadcasting 58-60 Mc. -- Amateur 5 Meter Band (note only 2 Mc.) 60-102 Mc. -- TV channels 1-7 (the RCA system) 102-108 Mc. -- Non-government Emergency 108-132 Mc. -- Aircraft 132-144 Mc. -- Government 144-148 Mc. -- Amateur 2 Meter Band 148-152 Mc. -- Government 152-218 Mc. -- TV Channels 8-18 (yes, up to channel 18 and again, the RCA system) 218-225 Mc. -- Amateur 1-1/4 Meter Band 225-420 Mc. -- Government 420-450 Mc. -- Amateur 70 cm Band 450-460 Mc. -- Facsimile Broadcasting 460-956 Mc. -- UHF Television using the CBS color wheel system So, under this proposal, our 10 meter band was moved down 1 Mc., we would lose 1/2 of our 5 meter band, we lose 112-116 Mc. but gain 144-148 Mc., our 1-1/4 meter band stays the same, and we gain a large chunk at 420 Mc. The FM broadcast allocation is increased by 85%, police agencies leave the crowded medium wave area for VHF-FM, aircraft has their piece of the pie, and both CBS and RCA have home turfs to battle out the TV standards war. Note also the 450-460 Mc. range allocated to "Facsimile Broadcasting." For those of you who think FAX machines are a recent invention, it may interest you to learn that 60 years ago, a reliable mechanical-electrical FAX system was in use. By the mid-1940s, it was widely believed that every home soon would have a FAX machine. During the night, as you slept, the machine would be tuned to various stations in the 450-460 Mc. range and would print out the next day's newspapers, magazines and catalogues, for you to read in the morning. Another proposal was for a "Veteran's Band", which would be a 2000 Mc.-wide slice of the spectrum above 10,000 Mc. This proposed band would be available for war veterans (and ONLY war veterans) in any way they desired. The ARRL was quick to object to the proposed allocations. It was not acceptable to amateurs to move our 10-meter band down 1 Mc., to eliminate 50% of 5 meters, and to upset the harmonic relationship of our bands by moving us from 112 up to 144 Mc. The FCC capitulated on 10 and 5 meters, as we will see in a moment. As for the 144-148 Mc. band -- the FCC was firm. 112- 116 Mc. was going to aircraft. Furthermore, the FCC wanted our amateur bands above 100 Mc. to be next to government allocations, so that in time of war or national emergency, they could be used for the expansion of essential governmental radio services. The needs of the government, per the FCC, outweighed the need for a strict harmonic relationship between the amateur bands. Meanwhile, while the ARRL was arguing over our allocations, General Sarnoff was conducting his campaign behind the scenes. He couldn't eliminate the CBS color wheel UHF system because, at that time, CBS was producing beautiful, lifelike color pictures that impressed the FCC. But he could attack FM. A big deal was made out of the claim that FM broadcasting needed to be moved higher in the VHF range to eliminate interference caused by Sporadic-E skip. Sarnoff, of course, wanted these frequencies for TV. He never explained, and no one seemed to ask, how TV would not be affected. In fact, TV, with it's amplitude modulated video signal, would be more susceptible to "E" skip than FM with its capture effect. RCA however had power, money, and influence, and Major Armstrong found he was no match for the corporate giant. On January 15, 1945, the FCC issued a revised allocation proposal: 25-28 Mc. -- Fixed, Mobile, Industrial, Scientific and Medical 28-30 Mc. -- Amateur 10 Meter Band 30-44 Mc. -- Police, Fire, & Various Governmental Allocations 44-50 Mc. -- TV Channel 1 (now you know where it was!) 50-54 Mc. -- Amateur 6 Meter Band 54-84 Mc. -- TV Channels 2-6 84-102 Mc. -- FM Broadcasting 102-108 Mc. -- Possible Facsimile Broadcasting 108-132 Mc. -- Aircraft 132-144 Mc. -- Government 144-148 Mc. -- Amateur 2 Meters 148-152 Mc. -- Government (note 2 meters sandwiched between two government bands) 152-162 Mc. -- Police, Fire, and Other Local Government 162-170 Mc. -- Government 170-180 Mc. -- Navigational Aids 180-216 Mc. -- TV Channels 7-12 (note that TV only gets 12 channels here) 216-220 Mc. -- Government 220-225 Mc. -- Amateur 1-1/4 Meter Band 225-420 Mc. -- Government, Including Military Aircraft 420-450 Mc. -- Amateur 70 cm Band 450-460 Mc. -- Air Navigation 460-470 Mc. -- A New "Citizens' Band" (which would eventually evolve into Class A and Class B CB, then into GMRS and the new FRS) 470-480 Mc. -- Facsimile Broadcasting 480-940 Mc. -- Experimental TV (for the CBS system) Yes, this proposal sounds a lot like what we have today, but the battle was only beginning. Major Armstrong was not giving up on an FM band in the 43-58 Mc. area. He didn't want the thousands of FM receivers and dozens of stations now on the air to suddenly become obsolete. CBS was still convinced that UHF was the place for TV, and their system was the best. During the first half of 1945, the battle would rage with many more proposals to come forth. Join us next time as "The Wayback Machine" continues to watch this epic battle. * * * THE WAYBACK MACHINE - ISSUE 11 In our last installment, we saw how the FCC shifted from an initial VHF/UHF bandplan that was radically different from today's allocations, to a proposal which closely parallels the frequencies we have today. Amateurs were happier with the January 1945 plan over the November 1944 one, as it restored our ten meter band back where it belonged, and gave us a full 4 Mc at six meters. One person who was not happy with the January 1945 plan was Edwin Armstrong, inventor of the Regenerative, Superregenerative and Superheterodyne receivers, and the Father of FM. He wanted the FM Broadcast band to stay in the 42-50 Mc area: instead, he suddenly saw it transferred up to 84-102 Mc., which would make every FM station and receiver obsolete. He knew that David Sarnoff of RCA was behind this, as RCA wanted television in the frequencies now occupied by FM. Sarnoff and the RCA engineers had an interesting argument, FM they said, should be moved higher in frequency to avoid the Sporadic E skip. Armstrong fought back. He pointed out that FM, due to its capture effect, was less susceptible to skip interference than television, which used AM for the video carrier. He ran tests and submitted data showing that the skip interference to FM would be far less than imagined, and certainly a fraction of what TV would endure. The ARRL, by the way, was in favor of moving FM up to the 84-102 Mc area. To counteract the arguments that FM receivers would become obsolete by the move, QST in the May 1945 issue ran the schematic of a 1 tube converter, which Hallicrafters said they could build for $5.60. In late May, 1945, the FCC announced the three alternatives that were being considered for the disputed 44-108 Mc region. They were: ALTERNATIVE #1 44-48 Mc--Amateur (We would have a 7 meter band under this proposal) 48-50 Mc--Facsimile Broadcasting 50-54 Mc--Educational FM Broadcasting 54-68 Mc--Commercial FM Broadcasting 68-74 Mc--TV Channel 1 74-78 Mc--Aeronautical fixed and mobile 78-108 Mc--TV Channels 2-6 ALTERNATIVE #2 44-56 Mc--TV Channels 1 & 2 56-60 Mc--Amateur 5 Meter Band 60-66 Mc--TV Channel 3 66-68 Mc--Facsimile Broadcasting 68-72 Mc--Educational FM Broadcasting 72-86 Mc--Commercial FM Broadcasting 86-104 Mc--TV Channels 4-6 104-108 Mc--Non-Government fixed and mobile. ALTERNATIVE #3 44-50 Mc--TV Channel 1 50-54 Mc--Amateur 6 Meter band 54-84 Mc--TV Channels 2-6 84-88 Mc--Educational FM Broadcasting 88-102 Mc--Commercial FM Broadcasting 102-104 Mc--Facsimile Broadcasting 104-108 Mc--Non-Government fixed and mobile. Except for the 44-108 Mc region, which was still up in the air, the 25-44 and 108 Mc and higher frequencies were fairly well established at today's allocations. The only major exception was the 470-480 Mc band, which was still allocated to Facsimile Broadcasting. The FCC indicated that tests would be run through the summer months to determine which Alternative was the best. Reaction was quick to the proposals. Except for the ARRL, almost none of the major players liked Alternative 2, so the choice lay between 1 and 3. The ARRL found #2 acceptable because it preserved our 5 meter band. Of the other two alternatives, the ARRL was strongly opposed to #1. A 44-48 Mc seven meter band would have too much skip, was too close to our ten meter band, and too far from two meters. In the end, the ARRL came out in favor of Alternative #3 because, it was believed that the FM band should be as far as possible from our ham bands in order to avoid IF interference to FM receivers. Naturally, Major Armstrong was in favor of Alternative #1. He continued to make extensive tests and bombarded the FCC with the results. However, Armstrong never realized that the political clout of General Sarnoff and RCA could overcome any test results. The Major thought he had the summer to complete his tests. Instead, on June 27, 1945, the FCC decided on Alternative #3, with a few minor changes to bring the allocations in line with what we have today. FM was definitely at 88-108 Mc, and amateurs had a six meter band at 50-54 Mc, nestled snug between TV Channels 1 and 2. Armstrong was stunned, but he didn't give up. As late as 1947, he was still submitting data to the FCC in regards to the effect of skip on FM Broadcasts. But it was too late. For a period of time, there were two FM Broadcast bands, as stations in the new 88-108 Mc allocation coexisted with the older ones between 42-50 Mc, but by 1947, the old FM band was a memory, and sat waiting for TV Channel 1 to take over. However, a new controversy was brewing. With thousands of amateurs on our new six meter band, and thousands of TV's pouring out of (mostly RCA) factories, a new concept was entering the amateur language -- TVI. In our next installment, we will look at the TV wars of the 1940's and why the ARRL wanted channel 2, instead of channel 1, eliminated. So, until then, I hope your six meter QSOs aren't causing interference to the "Texaco Star Theatre." ******************************************************************************** END ¯