Vol. 32, No. 3, March 2002
Articles and information for the Newsletter may be submitted up to the 20th of the month before the next meeting.
Ken Blair, KCØGL, Editor
1711 West 19th Terrace
Lawrence, KS 66046
Phone: 785-843-8826
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© articles require permission to use from the holder of the copyright. Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the club or its officers.
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Douglas County Amateur Radio Club DCARC meets the second Wednesday of the month at Independence Inc. Center, 2001 Haskell Ave. Program begins promptly at 7:30 p.m.
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Presented by Mark Brown, KCØFSG, of Scriptpro. Mark will bring a multi-media presentation about pharmacy automation robots, how they work what they do and how they communicate. Mark is a graduate of one of our tech license classes and formerly managed the Radio Shack at 6th and Kasold. Now he programs pharmacy robots with Scriptpro. Scriptpro has installations at KU Med and many area VA hospitals. Feel free to invite non-hams who might find this interesting.
-Jim Canaday N6YR program, public information manager
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Wow! What a turn out we have been having at our meetings this year. Thanks everyone, it's good to see you all taking such an interest in our wonderful hobby. We have two new members this month and one of them, KCØLXA "Warren of Shawnee," who brought some great cookies for us to eat, has volunteered to be our March NCS on the Club Net. Good for you Warren. I can't think of a better way to meet every one and get involved with our Club. I know you will do a fine job.
Our guest speaker Daniel Keane from Louisberg was great and we all learned a lot about Trunking. Thanks Dan and thanks to Jim N6YR for doing such a great job getting all these great folks to come and speak.
I didn't get to tell my funny story at the meeting so here it is (your really going to like this). It seems an older ham bought a new ICOM 2100H radio for his mobile for a trip and looked up all the repeater frequencies in the book and took 3 days programming the thing and off he goes. Well when he got to the first town he heard some traffic on it and reached down to get the mike so he could answer them and (your really going love this) guess what? He left the mike at home. HI HI . . . 73s to all. This is KCOIDF. OUT .-.-.- ¯
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The meeting started at 7:30 p.m. with the Club President, Jim Eckler, KCØIDF, welcoming everyone and then everyone introducing themselves. Jim Canaday, N6YR, introduced the program - a history of public safety radio service. Daniel V. Keane presented our program of Scanners and Trunked Systems. He gave a very good reveiw of trunked radio systems and their structure and how they relate in our area. It was an excellent presentation with many wishing they could of had a couple more hours of information.
The business meeting started at 8:48 p.m. The minutes from last meeting were approved. Jim Eckler requested that members please fill out the information sheets passed out so the Club could build a data base of members skills and abilities. It was also asked that as many as possible be at the February 18th radio classes to be Elmers to new students. The classes start the 18th of February at 6:30 p.m. Net Control for March will be Warren Sunkel, KCØLXA. In other news, Ken Blair, KCØGL, scored very high in the World Championship HF results, and Reid Crowe, KCOIDI, for contact made during Tropical Storm Barry. This was published in March's QST.
Ken Blair submitted a bill for the newsletter for $53.24. It was voted and approved to pay. The ice storm emergency showed the abilities of amateur radio operators in providing needed communication and help in Lawrence, Baldwin and Eudora. It was a great public show of our abilities in an emergency. Thanks to all that helped. Upcoming events right now is the Club Auction scheduled for the April meeting. So search out your closets for old, unused, no longer needed radio and electronic items and be there and be ready to have some fun!
The Club is looking to find a LCD projector to use for the classes. This projector must be able to accept digital and analog inputs. Also approved was a $50.00 key deposit for the Independence, Inc. building so we could get in, in case Jerry Vogel, WAØOWH, could not be present to open up for us.
ALSO NOTE: The club is looking at changing the meeting time to 7 p.m. in September. Please provide your input to Jim Eckler or Bob Kidder.
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As of February 21, 2002 there is a total of $1,236.19 on hand (General Fund $737.29; Repeater Fund $498.90).
-Respectfully submitted, Rex Lockwood, WØFOG, Secretary-Treasurer.
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Daniel Evans, KCØIDC, made a VCR tape of the trunktracking demonstration at the last meeting and I have a copy if anyone would like to borrow it? E-mail me at kc0idf@arrl.net or call after 5:00 p.m. at 843-1623. We will have a libray of these in the future so folks that miss the presentation can borrow them.
-Jim, KCØIDF
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Our Club welcomes the following as members of the 2002 Technician and Technician Plus License Class:
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Here are this month's picks:
On-line book, History of Communications-US Navy: http://www.angelfire.com/nc/whitetho/1963hw.htm
Confused about iambic keyer modes A & B (and all the explanations you've heard)? This site (.pdf format) explains it: http://home.att.net/~jacksonharbor/modeab.pdf
Interested in doing sound analysis on your PC? Try Spectrogram: http://www.visualizationsoftware.com/gram/gramdl.html
This site links to a multitude of electronic/radio/computer informational sites: http://www.epanorama.net/index.php
Univ. Washington EE Dept site provides an amazing amount of electronics links, transistor cross-references, IC info, etc., etc.: http://www.ee.washington.edu/circuit_archive/
And, this month's Site of Significant Historical Importance (early wireless apparatus, receivers, transmitters, instruments, mics, keys, etc., etc., beautiful pictures of restored items): http://www.sparkmuseum.com/RADIOS.HTM
-Happy Surfin', Bob/WBØAUQ
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CLUB AUCTION - Start setting aside all of those items you no longer need and bring them to the Club Auction on April 10. This has always been a popular event. Full details about the auction will appear in the next Newsletter.
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FOR SALE - A Zenith 19" color TV with remote; a Zenith VHS VCR. They both work fine. $100. Call Jerry Vogel, WAOOWH at 843-8538.
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WANTED - I am looking for an R390A/URR receiver. It is a military receiver, 0.5 to 32 Mhz. At one time I had four of them. Now I would like to get another for old times sake. My son said if I locate one he would like to buy it for me. It is large and fits into a 19" rack. If you or someone you know has one for sale would you please steer them my way.
Charlie Giannetta, WA2RSQ
556 Hilldale Dr.
Bath PA 18014-9143
wxdata@enter.net
Editor's Note: I have reprinted articles on weather by Charlie in our Newsletter. One of these articles appears in this issue and I have several more on hand for future issues.
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"Hello. My name is Warren Sunkel, KCØLXA, and I live in Shawnee, Kansas. I am a meteorologist who retired from a 33-year career with the National Weather Service last April. One of my goals as a retired person was to obtain an amateur radio license and become a storm spotter. I had my first introduction to ham radio in the 1950's, but involvement with radio during my working years was limited to owning several scanners. I received my technician license last December and put my base station on the air January 3. The Lawrence repeater is my favorite because conversations center around ham radio topics, advice for new operators, and the new digital modes. I'm amazed that I can reach the 76 machine from Shawnee with just five watts. Everyone has given me a warm welcome on the air, and I was honored to meet so many of my new friends at my first DCARC meeting in February. I have enrolled in the DCARC licensing class and hope to upgrade to a general license later this year."
-Warren Sunkel, KCØLXA
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The FCC has redesigned its Amateur Radio Service Web site and changed the URL http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/amateur/. The new layout makes it easier to find information on topics most requested by amateurs, including licensing, amateur exams, filing an application, changing an address or using the Universal Licensing System (ULS). The refurbished site also provides links to recent Amateur Radio-related news from the FCC.
"The new design is a part of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau's continuing effort to meet the needs of the Amateur Radio Service operators as identified in focus groups, letters, phone calls, and e-mails," the FCC said in a news release.
The new design clusters FCC public notices, news releases, and other official documents affecting Amateur Radio operators on the right side of the page. On the left side of the page, the new navigation scheme displays information on the Amateur Radio Service, the sequential call sign system, licensing and vanity call signs as well as amateur-related communications policies such as reciprocal agreements. The site also offers links to information on the limited federal preemption known as PRB-1, the Part 97 Amateur Service rules and the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and ULS sites.
The site, launched on February 20, includes a search engine for the entire FCC Web site http://www.fcc.gov/. Direct questions or comments concerning the FCC's Amateur Radio Service Web site to Bobby Brown, babrown@fcc.gov, or Jennifer Bush, jbush@fcc.gov. For information concerning the Amateur Radio Service, contact Bill Cross, bcross@fcc.gov; 202-418-0680.
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"The Sun"
The Sun is the center of our solar system and is the basis for all life on Earth.
The Sun is 110 times the size of Earth, and 400 times the size of the Moon.
The diameter of the Sun is 866,000 miles.
The average distance the Sun is from earth is 92,957,000 miles.
The Sun is closest to the Earth (aphelion) on or about January 3rd, when it is 91,402,000 miles away.
The Sun is farthest from Earth on or about July 4th, when it is 94,512,000 miles away.
"Electromagnetic Radiation"
The Sun emits all forms of radiation in short waves.
These short waves are called: "Electromagnetic Radiation".
"Electro" because they contain radiation with electrical properties.
"Magnetic" because they contain radiation with magnetic properties.
Radiation from the Sun travels at the speed of light, 186,000 miles per second through a vacuum (Space) and takes approximately eight minutes to reach the Earth.
"Insolation"
Radiation from the sun that the Earth receives is called: "Insolation".
"Sol" being Latin for Sun. About 45% is visible light, 46% infrared, 9% ultraviolet radiation.
"The Sun's Movements"
The Sun has two movements.
The Sun moves along through what seems to be endless space along with all the other stars, planets, etc. that make up the solar system at the speed of 43,000 mph or about 12 miles per second.
The Sun rotates which takes about 25 to 28 days.
Because the Sun is made up of gas, parts of it spin around less than others.
The equator turns the slowest.
The Sun is almost a perfect disc.
The color of the Sun is "White".
"Black Body"
The Sun is what is called a "Black Body". The Sun absorbs all radiation at every wavelength and emits all radiation at every wavelength.
The Earth is also called a "Black Body" for the same reason.
A "Black Body" (Sun and Earth) is referred to as a perfect absorber and a perfect emitter.
*(Charlie was for many years the head of the Weather Bureau at the ABE Airport and now teaches at Northampton Community College. After retiring in 1992 from the Weather Bureau he became adjunct professor at Moravian College.)
-From the Delaware-Lehigh ARC, Inc Newsletter, "W3OK Corral", Clarence Snyder, W3PYF, Editor
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As I responded for the fourth year to the ARRL's request for a contribution to their Spectrum Defense Fund, I speculated on how much we take for granted the continu-ation of the frequencies we enjoy as we communicate through Amateur Radio. I concluded that one reason we tend to ignore them is that although the entire RF spectrum available to us is absolutely huge-only the government and the armed services have comparable bandwidth. All of those frequencies are essentially invisible! Right. Can't see them (and can't really feel them, either). The most essential element in radio communications, the frequencies over which those communications occur, are out of sight; thus, out of mind. If we were to lose those frequencies to profit-driven broadcasters, where would we be then?
In 1963, well within the memory of the great majority of QCWA members, Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn starred in a classic mystery movie called "Charade." Audrey Hepburn's character comes home to Paris from a trip to Switzerland, only to find her husband murdered and their house ransacked. As the movie unfolds, she discovers her husband, along with four Army buddies, had stolen $250,000 in government funds near the end of World War II. The loot was entrusted to Audrey Hepburn's late husband for safekeeping, but it is now apparent that someone has discovered that he was the trustee of the funds, and is engaged in a major effort to not only find and take them, but to murder the other four who know of their existence.
In one significant scene, the former partners-in-crime form an uneasy alliance, during which they gather together in Audrey Hepburn's late husband's home to go over the few items left behind by the deceased (since it is clear that the murderer hasn't found the missing $250,000 yet). The deceased husband's meager belongings are contained in a single duffel bag. The bag holds clothes, some tooth powder, a hair brush, an old love letter, and a few other everyday items. None of these things seem to have any possible value-certainly nothing worth a quarter of a million dollars. Yet there must be something among these items that is a clue to the stolen treasure, which threatens the lives of these former partners and which will, ultimately cost them their lives. But the clue this hoard of cash remains invisible! Or does it?
It turns out that the postage stamps on the envelope are very, very rare and represent the missing $250,000. The stamps were in plain sight all along, but were ignored in everyone's rush to see whether or not the words of the letter inside the envelope field any clues worth knowing.
Neat, huh? Sometimes the best place to hide something is in plain sight. People become so used to looking at familiar objects that they assume them to have no great value, and pay little or no attention to them. I am reminded of two other famous stories with a similar message: an Agatha Christie mystery in which the missing diamonds ("ice" in underworld vernacular) are hidden among the ice cubes in a glass-sided ice chest, in plain sight but difficult to distinguish from the ice cubes themselves, and the famous Purloined Letter story from the writings of Edgar Allen Poe which featured the great Auguste Dupin, whose deductive powers were required to solve the mystery of the "purloined letter," which was also in plain sight, sitting undisturbed along with other letters in the mailbox.
But perhaps a better example of our all-too-human tendency to undervalue the common and familiar comes from history itself. In 1911, Leonardo da Vinci's great masterpiece, the Mona Lisa, was stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris. For a little over two years its whereabouts remained unknown. But during that time, an interesting phenomenon occurred. Museum records between 1911 and 1913 show that during the two years the painting was missing, more people came to the museum to stare at the blank spot on the wall where the Mona Lisa had previously hung, than had ever visited that painting over the previous 12 years! The moral of that real story is this: the true value of many things remains hidden and invisible until after they are gone-and then we appreciate their true worth.
I suspect that virtually thousands of Amateur Radio licensees have likewise become blas‚, about the frequencies we have been assigned. The assumption is they will be there forever, and we therefore can take them for granted. Not so, I say. Just because they are out of sight doesn't mean they should remain out of mind. So while you are organizing to take on your local homeowners' association and its CC&Rs, restrictions limiting your antenna options, please don't forget that without our frequencies, CC&Rs are a moot issue. We must also have our frequencies and, in my humble opinion, no price is too high to retain them.
Another true story, as it came to me from Sil Galvan, who tells of a young husband who had muscular dystrophy. His young wife was pregnant with a baby her husband might never live to see, so one day he decided that no matter what it took in the way of energy or struggle, he would somehow write a letter to that unborn child in order that the child might know more about its parents. This is the letter he wrote:
"Your mother is very special. Few men know what it is to receive appreciation for taking their wives out to dinner when doing so entails what it does for us. It means that she has to dress me, shave me, brush my teeth, comb my hair, wheel me out of the house and down the ramp, open the garage and put me in the car, then take the pedals off of the chair, stand me up, sit me in the seat of the car, twist me around so that I am comfortable, fold the wheelchair, put it in the car, go around to the other side of the car, start it up, back it out of the garage, get back out or the car, pull down the garage door, get back into the car, and drive off to the restaurant.
"And then, it starts all over again. She gets out of the car, unfolds the wheelchair, opens the door, spins me around, stands me up, seats me in the wheelchair, pushes the pedals out, closes and locks the car, wheels me into the restaurant, then takes the pedals off of the wheelchair so I won't be uncomfortable when she pushes me up close to the table.
"Then we have dinner and she has to feed me throughout the entire meal. And when it is over, she pays the bill, pushes the wheelchair out to the car again, and repeats the entire routine. And when it is finally over, finished and done, and we are back home, she says-with real warmth in her voice: `Honey, thank you for taking me out to dinner.' And you know what? I never ever quite know just how to answer."
If you have ever appreciated unconditional love, then you'll know what this man felt, and what he was trying to tell his unborn child.
If you have never really appreciated what all of those amateurs whose efforts in the past have preserved and protected and sometimes even expanded the frequencies we all enjoy, now is the time to be grateful. Now is the time to think deeply about our heritage from those who have gone before.
The members of the Quarter Century Wireless Association, that unique group who claim to be the inheritors of Amateur Radio's best and most distinguished epochs, know that. For we are the proud, the many, and the elite; we are the QCWA! Now let's show the amateur community what that really means, along with excellent operating skills, always courteous behavior no matter the provocation, helpful assistance to those who need to know what our experience and history have taught us, and full support of every organized effort to preserve our frequencies, remove those hateful (yes, I said "hateful") CC&Rs, and move this wonderful hobby of ours into the second year of this millennium. Let us take nothing for granted, but instead cherish and protect our invisible necessities.
Visit us on our QCWA web page at: www.qcwa.org, where you find membership applications and other goodies you can download, including a list of our members around tile world. Meanwhile, my best wishes for a good year, free of terror and full of increased prosperity and appreciation for all we have as Americans. Until next time, 73, Alan, KJ9N
-Alan Pickering, KJ9N, can be reached by sending mail to: 31860 Taylor Grande Rd., Duette, FL 33834.
-This article appeared originally in "Worldradio", March 2002
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