DOUGLAS COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB NEWSLETTER Vol. 32, No. 6, JUNE 2002 Articles and information for the News letter may be submitted up to the 20th of the month before the next meeting. Ken Blair, KCØGL, 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. Copyrightc articles require permission to use from the holder of the copyright. Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the club or its officers. ________________________________________________________________________________ June 12 Meeting P R O G R A M 7:00 p.m. Planning Field Day June 22-23 Our program, as usual, will entirely consist of finalizing Field Day planning and operation, and the cookout. Jim Canaday, N6YR, Program Chair THE 2002 LICENSE CLASS TESTING RESULTS Bob Drake, NØTFU The 2002 Technician license class has concluded and we had 10 members of the class receive their amateur licenses. Those who took the class and received a license are: Rex Gaumer - KCØNFP - General Carol Gaumer - KCØNFQ - Technician Gregory Gaumer - KCØNBJ - Technician Jason Gaumer - KCØNFR - Technician Adam Kidder - KCØNFN - Technician William Lashier - KCØNFM - Technician William Musick - KCØNFL - Technician Yee-Chung Ng (YC) - KCØNBE - Technician + code Mark Randel - KCØNFS - General Linda Randel - KCØNFT - Technician Congratulations to all the latest graduates of our class. I want to thank all those who helped make it successful. Especially I want to thank the following for all their help and assistance during the class: Earl Schweppe/NØKYS, Jim Canaday/N6YR, JD Linn/KCOBD, Reid Crowe/KCØIDI, Jim Eckler/KCØIDF, Will Shockley/KBØWDW, Dan Gravatt/N2PRC, Doug Heacock/AAØMS, Parker Lessig/ KØVL, Gordon Fitch/NØAB, Ken Olson/AF3RM, Steve Robertson/KU7J, Bob Kidder/ABØQW, and Jerry Vogel/ WAØOWH. Without them, it would not have been as successful as it was. At our test session on April 29 we also had two others take exams. Brian Smith drove over from Manhattan and passed his Technician exam and John Thurston/NØMEQ drove down from Omaha and passed the Extra class test. Both of these men read about the test session on the ARRL website. Thanks again...Bob Drake, NØTFU. CLUB PICNIC ANF FOX HUNT Saturday June 1 Lone Star Lake - Camp Ground Shelter 12.00 noon Overnight camping also available for the hardy. A Club Picnic will be held on June 1st at Lone Star Lake. We will be at the Shelter at the Camp Ground. The club will provide the meat and pop and every one is asked to bring a side dish to share. We will start eating at 12 p.m. the training for the Fox hunt will start around 1 p.m. and the hunt will follow soon after. Check with me for camping accommodations. Let me know if you need anymore information. -73, Reid KCØIDI AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR PRESIDENT Jim Eckler, KCØIDF We had another successful meeting and a good time was had by all. Dan Thatcher, KCOKZA brought in the twinkies and cup cakes and we all had our way with those. Thanks Dan, you did a great job with the net. Tony Shirer, WØRZF, gave a great presentation on lightning and we even had some outside help with the effects due to the storms. How fitting. Check out lightningstorm.com for a great web site. Thanks Tony. Dan Evans, KCØIDC, taped it so if you missed it you can contact me or Dan and borrow the tape. Dan is also doing a fine job with the net this month. Our new hams have received their calls and one of them, Linda Randel, KCØNFT, will be our NCS for June. She should get lots of checkins. It looks like we may have a new meeting place at the Douglas County Fair Grounds Building #1 thanks to the extra effort of Bob Kidder, ABOQW. After all the club's officers have had a chance to check it out we will announce it at the next meeting. That's a big problem solved. He also got them to waive the cost too. Good job Bob. The picnic and field day are rapidly approaching so think about how you can help out this year. Looks like a great summer is in store for us folks so let's have a ball Thanks. This is KCØIDF. Out. THE MINUTES OF MAY 8, 2002 DCARC MEETING Meeting started at 7:10 p.m. with Tony, WORZF, and Nels Shirer giving a presentation on "Lightning direction Finding." It was extremely interesting to find out what all lightning can do and how it acts and how it could be located. Our hats off to Tony and his son for all their work. In case anyone missed the metting, Daniel Evans taped it and can make copies for you. The business meeting started at 8:05 p.m. There were approximately 20 members present. Discussion included Field Day and what it will take to get set up: antennas, radios, and LOTS OF OPERATORS! See you there. The club is looking for a new meeting place as it seems we have quickly outgrown Independence Inc. Bob Kidder found that except for June, the Douglas County Fairgrounds, Bldg 1 would be a possibility. Needed a $50.00 cleaning deposit, which is refundable. This was voted on and approved. Also approved was to pay Daniel Evans $10.00 for video tapes and to pay Ken Blair for the last 2 months newsletters, $131.56. June 1st, at Lone Star Lake is the club picnic and small foxhunt. Reid Crowe, KCØIDI, will be contacting people for help as needed. Field Day is June 22 and 23, is still scheduled for Wells Overlook. The rules for field day are in the May issue of QST. The club call sign for the event will be WOUK. Please be a part of this special event. For new hams it is a chance to operate on the hf bands and see how things work. We also welcome all the newly licensed hams to our ranks. We all look forward to talking to you on the air. Club funds: $839.59 general fund; $508.40 repeater fund; Total club funds = $1347.99. WBAUQ's WEB PICKS OF THE MONTH Bob Rainbolt, WBØAUQ A good historical site on analog computers: http://dcoward.best.vwh.net/analog/ Need to calculate inductance/capacitance/frequency and can't remember the formula? This site will do it for you: http://www.keirle.fsnet.co.uk/lcf_calc.htm Or, maybe something simpler, Ohm's law: http://www.the12volt.com/ohm/page2.asp Thinking about trying QRP but not sure if you can make any contacts with low power? How about 2557 consecutive days of QSOs with QRP! K3WWP describes his success and some interesting statistics: http://www.qsl.net/k3wwp/qrp_ss_2000days.html Most hams have heard of Jean Shepherd/K20RS (sk) and his publicizing of ham radio, but may not realize that besides being a TV personality and movie actor, he was a very popular radio star. Dozens of his broadcasts are available for streaming audio and downloading here. (Caution, this site can be addictive and possibly occupy several hours of your time!) Great listening. http://shep-archives.com/ http://shep-archives.com/Listings/Browse.html This month's site of historical significance, Frederick Terman: http://www.smecc.org/frederick_terman_-_by_ed_sharpe.htm -Happy Surfin' Bob/WBOAUQ SPEND A DAY WITH THOMAS William Pendleton, NØKRI Children & Parents Ride Aboard Full-Size Thomas the Tank Engine Replica As U.S. Tour Chugs Into the Midland Railway. BALDWIN CITY, KS-March 24, 2002-Fans will have an opportunity to meet Thomas the Tank Engine when the beloved train pulls into the Midland Railway station June 6, 8, 9, 14, 15, and 16, 2000 during the first national Day Out With Thomas tour. During Day Out With Thomas, aspiring little engineers and their grown-ups bring imagination to life as they ride aboard a fully operational replica of the Number 1 engine. Under the watchful eye of Sir Topham Hatt, the kindly boss who runs the railroad where Thomas and his friends live, Thomas pulls classic coaches carrying families on a 25-minute run along his branch line. The day's festivities include a wide variety of local entertainment, story tellers, clowns, coloring, food, and hands-on activities including games, interactive train exhibits and screenings of Thomas & Friends videos. Thomas will make 12 trips daily. Tickets are on sale March 30 at Gifts & Accents, Metcalf South Center, 9605 Metcalf, Overland Park, Kansas. All tickets are $14.00 plus $1.50 per order for handling. Children under age 1 are free. Tickets are non-refundable. Scheduling a record 55-stops, Thomas will make debuts in California, Florida, Colorado, Texas, Washington, Nebraska, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Virginia, and Massachusetts, as well as returning to Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Minnesota, Kansas, Iowa, Canada, New York, Rhode Island, Alabama, Connecticut, Maryland, Tennessee, North Carolina, Ohio and Illinois. Attendance for Day Out With Thomas is expected to reach over 1.2 million this year, quadrupling the number of visitors last year. To view upcoming dates and locations, log on to www.thomasthetankengine.com and click the clock in the lower right hand corner. Since 1996, Day Out With Thomas has invited families to enter the world of Thomas & Friends while experiencing the excitement of railroading together. It also provides railroad museums with an opportunity to capture the hearts of a new generation of enthusiasts and earn much needed revenue, which many use to support restoration and preservation. For information contact the Midland Railway, (913) 381-8856. ARRL WILL PROCESS MEMBERS' LICENSE RENEWALS, ADDRESS CHANGES ARRL members daunted by the FCC's Universal Licensing System http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls can ask Headquarters to file their license renewal or change-of-address applications free of charge. ARRL members wishing to take advantage of this service should download Form NCVEC 605 (that's the form used by volunteer exam coordinators) from the ARRL Web site , print it, fill it in and mail it to ARRL VEC, 225 Main Street, Newington CT 06111. The response of those wanting ARRL to process renewals has been very positive. For the first three months of 2002, ARRL handled 1,721 applications for members-up from 514 for the same period in 2001. The ARRL VEC staff now can process any member's FCC license application request, except for a vanity call sign application. Remember: Renewal applications may only be filed within 90 days of your license expiration date.-ARRL Letter, Vol. 21, Mo. 17, April 26, 2002. SILENT KEY - DALE E. CUMPSTON Dale L. Cumpston, 78, died Saturday, April 27, 2002, at the Eudora Nursing Center. He was born May 20, 1923, in Fort Dodge, Iowa, the son of Charles and Myrtle Cumpston. He moved to Lawrence in 1958. He worked for 16 years as an electrical technician at the Kansas University physics and astronomy department, and retired in 1985. He also served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 16 years, and the U.S. Air Force for eight years, retiring in 1966 as a tech sergeant. He served in World War II and the Korean War. He was a member of the First Southern Baptist Church, the Dorsey-Liberty Post No. 14 of the American Legion, the Lawrence Lodge No. 6 A.F. & A.M. and the Scottish Rite Bodies of Lawrence, where he was designated as a KCCH member. He also was a member of the Lawrence Ham Radio Club. Mr. Cumpston married Rosemary Gabel Brown on July 17, 1981. She survives of Cumpston the home. The family suggests memorials to the American Cancer Society or the church, sent in care of the mortuary. Online condolences may be sent to info@warrenmeelwain.com, subject: Cumpston. Editor's Note: Dale, NOCUY, ex WDOGBV, was a member of the Douglas County Amateur Radio Club from 1979 through 1990. ____________________________________________________________________________ CIRCUS ELEPHANTS AND LIMITATIONS An elephant, with his trunk, can easily pick up a one ton load. Have you ever visited a circus and watched those huge creatures standing quietly while tied to a wooden stake? While still young and weak, an elephant is tied by a heavy chain to an immovable iron stake. No matter how he tries, he cannot break the chain or move the stake. Then no matter how large or strong the elephant becomes he continues to believe he cannot move as long as he can see the stake in the ground beside him. Many intelligent adult humans are like the circus elephant. They are restrained in thoughts, actions and results. They never move any further than the extent of their own self-imposed limitations. If this happens to you in your life . . . resolve to uproot the stakes that hold you . . . break the chains of hindering habits. Become the person you know you can become and should become.-From QCC News, Chicago QCWA METEOROLOGY: "RADIATION" Charles A. Giannetta, W3SRQ Meteorologist Emeritus / Professor 1. The earth receives heat from the sun by radiation (the transfer of heat by wave motion. 2. Radiation from the sun is called Insolation. "Sol" being Latin for Sun. About 45% is visible as sunlight. 46% infrared. 9% ultraviolet radiation. 3. Electromagnetic radiation. This form of energy has both electrical and and magnetic properties. 4. The angle of the sun above the earth is called solar altitude. 5. Radiation from the sun travels app. 186,000 miles per second. 6. It takes about 8 minutes for the sun's radiation to reach the earth. 7. The Sun is the bases for all living things. 8. Black Bodies absorb and reflect all frequencies of radiation. 9. The sun and the earth are Black Bodies 10. White light contains all frequencies of light. 11. White reflects all light reaching it. 12. Black absorbs all light reaching it. 13. The angle of incidence equals the angle of radiation. 14. A wave is measured from crest to crest or trough to though. 15. Red light travels faster through glass than blue light, therefore, red light is bent less than blue light. 16. The closest star to the earth is: Alpha Centauri, 4.3 light years away. 17. One light year is: 186,000 mps X 60 Seconds X 60 minutes X 24 hours X 365 days. 18. Sirius is the brightest star in the heavens. It is one of the nearest stars to the earth, however, the light from it takes 8.6 light years to reach earth. THE BIRTH OF EIMAC Bill Goddard, W6AKQ This article was written by Bill Goddard-W6AKQ, now a SK. It first appeared in the November 1995 issue of the "GEARS Newsletter", of the Golden Empire Amateur Radio Society, Bill Pope-W6TKE Editor. The evolution of companies and organizations is interesting - sometimes painful. I don't think that was true in the formation of EIMAC. Much of what follows came from the late Ralph Heintz-W6RH, through personal conversations I had with him. In the early years of radio there were scrambles to get into the business, not unlike the computer business of the last quarter century. The RCA company held many important radio-related patents in addition to the three element tube patent. Technically based organizations sought ways to "get around" the RCA patents. Ralph Heintz graduated from Stanford as a chemical engineer (petroleum) and began his career with an oil company. Shortly he decided to pursue a career in radio, his first love. With a partner, Kaufman, he formed a company to develop marine radio equipment free from the RCA patents. This was financed with capital from one of the steamship companies. Thus came about Heintz and Kaufman. One of the first developments was the H-K Gamatron. This tube was unique, in that it had a third element that controlled the plate current, but was not a grid. The third element was another "plate" close to the filament, but on the opposite side from the "plate", thus exercising more control over the plate current than the plate voltage. This device could, and was used in circuits not greatly different from those using the grid controlled tube, covered by patents. The Gamatron was put in use by various commercial stations until the forties. As time went on, other devices were developed that were unique. To connect the outside world to the electrodes in the tube, it was necessary to do this through the glass envelope with a connector support that had the same thermal expansion as the glass envelope. The material evolved over the years and was a crucial problem to be solved. And it was solved. Other challenges were met and overcome. A step in tube making involved what was known as the "getter" which is still used in the manufacture of many tubes today. When the tube is assembled a small "chunk" of magnesium is enclosed in a thin metal capsule attached to the internal structure. After the envelope was sealed, the assembled tube was heated by a strong RF field. The magnesium evaporated from the capsule, absorbing chemically any active gas, and preventing that gas from interfering with the thermionic processes. To build a tube not requiring the getter was an accomplishment, and an advantage. The H-K tubes (and later EIMAC tubes) were made using tantalum for the elements, which absorbs gas when heated. In the manufacture of tubes of the getter-free variety, the tube heated up its own plate dissipation until the elements glowed cherry red and the tube elements become their own very effective getter. Later, I would like to tie the above into the EIMAC story. As far as I know, the relationship between H-K and EIMAC had no frictional problems. Eitel and McCullough appear on the scene. As I have indicated, the H-K company got underway making tubes of unusual design. One day a young man came to see Heintz, to apply for a job. That was Eitel, who had been delivering milk. He brought around his friend McCullough who also wanted a job. He was hired and so the EIMAC future was set in place. Apparently the two new hires were ambitious and began to plan the manufacturing of tubes using what they had learned from the H-K experience. However, they had no facilities and they used the H-K facilities. The first EIMAC tubes were made using H-K dies to form the elements in the first EIMAC tubes. Other H-K techniques were also employed. So, a line of tubes came out-first the 50T and the 150T (introduced in QST, November 1934), followed by the popular 35T, 75T, 100T, 100TH, etc. These tubes were welcomed by both hams and commercial users. As time went by and the military demands increased, the line of tubes expanded. In the middle 60's I attended a meeting of the IEEE historical committee and Bill Eitel showed up with a water-cooled power tube, which he gave to Ralph Heintz, saying "here, try this one!" There is a lot more to tell about the tube romances-perhaps another time. A note about the author: Bill Goddard, W6AKQ, had the distinction of being co-holder along with the late John Lynott of the Goddard-Lynott patent No. 3,503,603, covering the basic principle of the computer magnetic disk drive. THE WAYBACK MACHINE - ISSUE 4 By William Continelli, W2XOY (c) Copyright 2002, William Continelli, W2XOY Used with permission. This is the 4th 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. * * * * * * * * By the time World War I ended in November, 1918, almost 5000 amateurs had served in uniform, with many giving their lives overseas. Amateurs had proven themselves to be invaluable to the war effort. The Army and Navy were faced with an absolute lack of trained radio officers, instructors, operators, and even state of the art equipment. Amateurs stepped in and provided the knowledge, men and sometimes even the equipment necessary to help win the war. An interesting example of this was the case of Alessandro Fabbri, a wealthy yachtsman and radio amateur, who had top notch stations on board his yacht and on Mount Desert Island, Maine. The Navy commandeered the stations (and the yacht), made Fabbri an ensign, and placed him in command. Largely with his own money, he expanded his operation and improved his equipment. Fabbri's station was used to pass most of the official communications between the battlefronts in Europe and Washington. The traffic often amounted to 20,000 words a day, most of them in cipher. Captain (later Major) Edwin Armstrong, whose regenerative receiver was being used worldwide, was in charge of the Signal Corps' Radio Laboratory in Paris, where he developed the superheterodyne receiver. Thousands of amateurs served as Navy radiomen and Signal Corps operators. It would seem from the information above that amateurs had conclusively proven their worth and that the Navy would return the amateurs' frequencies back to them once the war had ended. Sadly, this was not the case. A string of events conspired against the amateur and almost eliminated all privately owned stations. The villain in this play was the Secretary of the Navy, Josephus Daniels, a puritanical landlubber and teetotaler, whose opinions often got him into trouble. He was the type of individual that H. L. Mencken and Sinclair Lewis satirized as "one who is terrified that somewhere, someone is having fun". For years, he had demanded that the Navy have exclusive control of the radio spectrum. Now, it appeared, he had his chance. The effects of the first modern global war, along with the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, had temporarily turned the country extremely conservative. It was in this mindset that the Espionage Act of 1918 and Prohibition were passed. Hundreds of suspected communists and anarchists were deported in the "Red Scare". Even the great Socialist Eugene V. Debs was imprisoned for disagreeing with the government. Seizing the opportunity, Secretary Daniels urged the passage of legislation giving the Navy a monopoly on radio communications. As a result, the Poindexter Bill was introduced in the Senate, and the Alexander Bill in the House. Political observers gave both bills an excellent chance of passing. Back at the ARRL, things looked bleak. All memberships had lapsed (along with all amateur licenses), 80% of the amateurs were still overseas, "QST" had ceased publication, the unpaid printing bill was $4700, and there was $33 in the treasury. However, action was needed immediately to defeat these bills. Hiram Percy Maxim and the other board members dug into their own personal funds and sent out a "blue card appeal" to all known amateurs or their families asking them to write their Congressman and urge defeat of these bills. It worked. Thousands of letters poured into Washington from amateurs or (more often than not) their family members asking that amateur radio be saved. Congressmen who opposed a military monopoly of the airwaves also joined in, lending their support to amateur radio. Overwhelmed by this grassroots opposition to Naval control of the radio spectrum, Congress killed the bills in committee. This 1919 letter writing campaign had a profound historical impact on all of radio, for, had these bills passed, not only would amateur radio have disappeared forever, but all private communication activities (such as broadcasting, business radio, CB, GMRS, Cellular, etc.) either never would have evolved, or would have been delayed by years or even decades. With the bills defeated, Maxim and the ARRL Board of Directors issued $7500 worth of bonds to League members to get "QST" going again. At the same time, pressure was brought on Washington to lift the radio ban and allow amateurs back on the air. Partial success was achieved on April 12, 1919, when the Navy removed the ban on receiving, but not transmitting. Thousands of amateurs and other listeners removed the seals from their receivers (which had been placed there by Government Radio Inspectors), strung up their antennas and warmed their filaments with the sounds of the government stations. But they wanted more. Their fingers fondled their telegraph keys as they waited for the lifting of the transmitting ban. Finally, in November 1919, after a Joint Resolution had been introduced in Congress demanding that the Secretary of the Navy remove the restrictions on amateur radio, the transmitting ban was lifted, licenses were reissued, and amateurs were back on the air. Now began the "second war", Spark vs. CW. Remember that amateurs were allowed, in effect, just one frequency - 200 Meters. A spark station on 200 meters actually generated a signal from 150 to 250 meters. With the sensitive regenerative receivers now in use, the practical range was several hundred miles. Transcontinental relays now took less than five minutes. The number of licensed amateur operators stood at 5719 in 1920, 10,809 in 1921, and 14,179 in 1922. And all were operating on 200 meters! To quote Arthur Lyle Budlong in "The Story of the American Radio Relay League", it was "Interference, Lord, what interference! Bedlam!". Something had to be done. And it was. Various transatlantic tests were conducted from 1921 to 1923. The results overwhelmingly showed CW was far superior to spark. Postwar vacuum tube production was at its peak. In 1921, an RCA 5 watt tube cost $8, and, as a single tube CW transmitter, could outperform a 500 watt spark station. A 50 watt tube cost $30, and was five times more effective than the best 1 kW spark station. Since CW took only a fraction of the bandwidth that spark did, over 50 CW stations in the same area could occupy the 150 to 250 meter range, vs. one spark station. The transatlantic tests also revealed some other interesting facts. Due to the excessive interference on 200 meters, some stations had dropped down to 100 meters where, to their surprise, they found conditions much better. Throughout the 1922-24 period, hundreds of tests and casual contacts were made on the 100 meter wavelength which conclusively showed not only CW's superiority over spark, but increased range on the shorter wavelengths. Once again, the scientists came forward and said that long distances on 100 meters were mathematically impossible, and once again, the amateurs proved them wrong. During 1924, several CW contacts were made at distances exceeding 6000 miles. On October 19, 1924, a station in England worked New Zealand, a distance of almost 12,000 miles. Amateur communications had now reached halfway around the world. Although it would take a few years to discover the role that the ionosphere played in shortwave communications, there is no doubt that amateurs pioneered the practical uses of shortwave. The phenomenal success of CW convinced the vast majority of amateurs to buy that vacuum tube. A few still clung to their spark sets, screaming "spark forever", but by 1924, spark was almost extinct. The 150 to 250 meter region was now orderly, filled with thousands of CW stations living in peaceful coexistence with each other (and the occasional spark renegade). Legally, however, amateurs could not go below 150 meters. True, many were already on 100 meters without a problem, but amateurs wanted a slice of the shortwave spectrum allocated to them. After all, it was amateurs who discovered the short waves. Now, with world wide interest being shown here, they wanted protection. Negotiations were ongoing with the Department of Commerce to give the amateurs specific frequencies. On July 24, 1924, the Department of Commerce authorized new amateur frequency bands. They were 150 to 200 meters (1500 to 2000 kc), 75 to 80 meters (3500 to 4000 kc), 40 to 43 meters (7000 to 7500 kc), 20 to 22 meters (13,600 to 15,000 kc), and 4 to 5 meters (60,000 to 75,000 kc). Except for a portion of the 150 to 200 meter band, spark was prohibited. Spark would survive in the hands of a few rebels until 1927 when it was banned altogether. CW was here to stay. By January, 1925, the 80, 40, and 20 meter bands were filling up with amateurs, drawn by the promise of transcontinental, daylight DX. "The Wayback Machine" is going to hover over the 1920's for one more edition, checking out an amateur with the call 8XK, and his activities on the night of November 2, 1920. In the meantime, take a sip of that Prohibition bootleg gin, check out those new SW bands, and join us next time on board "The Wayback Machine." END