Fresno Amateur Radio Club Newsletter February 2009 Volume 70, Issue 2

FARC General Meetings Are held the 2nd Friday of each month, 7 p.m. at Cedar

Lanes unless otherwise noted. There will be elmering classes at 6:30

_______________________

Happy Valentines Day!

______________________

FARC Nets

Morning Drive Time Net: Weekday mornings-7:30—

8:00 a.m.

W6TO/R 146.940

Tech Net: Wednesdays @ 7:00 pm

W6TO/R 146.940

FARC Net: Sundays @ 7:00 pm

W6TO/R 146.940

Fresno Amateur Radio Club, Inc. P.O. Box 5912, Fresno, Ca. 93755-5912

Fresno Amateur Radio Club Skip Newsletter

The Prez Sez CQ CQ,

We had a great meeting in January. Our pro-

gram was about the Queen Mary and her ra-

dios. The DVD showed the building of the

Queen Mary, the Amateur Radio equipment

and the changes that have taken place over

the years. Visitors to the Queen Mary in Long

Beach, CA can see an exhibit of this equip-

ment. Thanks to Charles W6DPD for providing

us with this DVD.

We also went over a list of projects and events for 2009. By putting

dates up this far in advance we hope more members will be able to at-

tend. We still need Chairmen and helpers so please sign up. The more

help, the bigger we can make the event.

2010 will be the 100th anniversary of the FARC. We had our beginnings

as the Wireless Association of Central California in 1910. By 1913 there

were over 200 members. In 1920 the name changed to the Fresno Radio

Club. Then in 1957 the name was changed to FARC. We discussed a

Hamfest to celebrate our 100th year birthday and need your feedback.

(Continued on page 8)

The next meeting will be February 13th, starting at 7:00 sharp! We will be

honoring our special valentines. So, bring your significant other and tell us

all how you met. Also bring a dessert such as cookies, cupcakes, choco-lates, etc. Meeting will be at Cedar Lanes, corners of Cedar and Shields.

Fresno Amateur Radio Club

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2009 FARC BOARD OF DIRECTORS FARC Officers: Tom Jarvis, Pres. - KG6KYU kg6kyu@w6to.com (559) 916-2445 12/2009

Ken Holden, V.P. - WA6OIB wa6oib@w6to.com (559) 323-6753 12/2010 Jim Erbe, Sectry - WA6NIF wa6nif@w6to.com (559) 222-7524 12/2009 Ron Hunt, Treas - N6MTS ronh@theworks.com (559) 252-3822 12/2010

Board Members: Aaron Lusk: K6USY k6usy@w6to.com (559) 313-7101 12/2010 John McGraw: AE6QR No E-Mail (559) 255-2349 12/2010

Steve Brunt: K6AAB k6aab@w6to.com (559) 696-4319 12/2009 Chuck McConnell: W6DPD w6dpd@w6to.com (559) 431-2038 12/2010 Jack Baker: AC6LT ac6lt@cvip.net (559) 297-4311 12/2010 Joseph Capell: W0PJD jtcapell@me.com (559) 225-3582 12/2009

Amateur Radio Event Calendar

Date Event Feb. 4 FARC BOD Meeting (Wednesday this month instead of Tuesday) Feb. 7 Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Delaware, Minnesota QSO Party Feb. 7 North America “Sprint” SSB

Feb. 14 World Wide RTTY WPX, YLRL YL-OM SSB, QCWA QSO Party Feb. 13 FARC Club Meeting Feb. 14 North America “Sprint” CW

Feb. 21 ARRL DX CW contest Feb. 21 FARC Amateur Radio Exam Feb . 24 QCWA Lunch meeting Feb. 27 CQ WW 160 Meter Contest, NC QSO Party, YLRL YL-OM CW Contest

Mar. 7 ARRL DX Contest Mar. 14 North America “Sprint” SSB, Wisconsin QSO Party Mar. 21 M2 Open House and BBQ Mar. 21 Virginia QSO Party, Russian DX Contest, Alaska QSO Party,

Mar. 28 CQ WW WPX Contest

Health, Welfare, Birthday & Anniversary With regret we announce the passing of Mrs. Anne

Lorraine Kipps, wife of longtime FARC member Tho-mas Kipps, KA6Z.

FARC Member Birthday’s Kristin McConnell, KI6QYD—March 6th

Karl Kramer, W6TUI —March 9th Terry Horak, KF6LXB— March 18th

FARC Member Anniversary’s Dave & Kathy Smith, W6TE—March 21st

Paul & Donna Lambert, W6WYT—March 27th

Your Fresno amateur Radio Club dues are due. Please support the club by renewing your FARC club

membership. It would be superb to go into next years 100th birthday with a 200+ membership! While renewing your dues, ask a ham radio friend to join as well.

America is a country of inventors, and the greatest of inventors are the newspaper men.

Alexander Graham Bell

Fresno Amateur Radio Club

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Danny Boy, AE6SX was the January Winner!!

Dear FARC friends.

February is the month in which Valentines day falls……. Our Vice President, Ken, WA6OIB, has a very special Valentines club meeting this month. Bring your wife or girl friend to this meeting. You

can tell us all how you met your special Valentine. Also please bring a few sweet refreshments, cook-ies, brownies, etc. It should be very interesting hearing how you met that special person of yours.

SKIP is published to the club’s webpage: www.w6to.com. Advantages of getting SKIP by

email is that you get it in vivid, LIVING COLOR, and not the boring grey tones that come with the mailed version. Also, the folks getting SKIP by email will be getting special emailings when signifi-

cant events happen. If you’re not getting SKIP by email you won’t be getting these special an-nouncements. Also, it’s expensive to send SKIP

out by mail! Here’s the cost break down: printing (5 pages double sided) is $ .82 cents and mailing cost are $ .42 cents for a grand total of $1.24 per issue. Twelve issues mailed to members will cost

the club $14.88 per year.

If you are getting SKIP by regular mail please con-sider changing to the emailed version. Let me

know and I can change you over in a jiffy. Peachey keen…. Aaron, K6USY, is the webmaster and keeps the

club’s website up and well oiled. If you want to find current and older copies of SKIP or the Board of Directors meeting minutes, you can find them on the www.w6to.com website. If you are looking

for the latest copy of the club’s bylaws they can also be found there. Other areas of interest are: Club Committees, Schedule of Amateur Testing,

Meetings & Nets, and Local Gatherings. The web-page also has links to ARES, ARRL and SJV Section news. Lastly, you’ll have fun looking at all the pho-tographs that change in random order. Go check it

out…. www.w6to.com. If you have an item of interest and would like to

share, please send it to me and I’ll include it in SKIP. Lastly, please email me with your birthday and marriage anniversaries so we can recognize you in SKIP.

73, Dave W6TE (w6te@msn.com)

EDITOR’S COMMENTS by Dave Smith W6TE

FARC CLUB WEBSITE: WWW.W6TO.COM

Happy as a clam, Craig Carter, KI6Q with his new winnings, a bag

of rubber bands.

FARC Treasurer Ron Hunt, N6MTS, diligently counting all the $$$

Fresno Amateur Radio Club

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Ham radio, like any other human endeavor, has its share of subcultures with their own customs and

traditions. One such group is FOC, which was 70 years old in 2008. At this point, you are either saying “Who?” or “Those &!^+@ elitists!” FOC is surrounded by misunderstandings, so I thought I’d

explain what it is and maybe clear some of them up. FOC stands for “First Class CW Operator’s Club”,

and the name is responsible for much of the mis-understanding. FOC was formed by several British hams in March 1938. They were irritated by poor

operating practices that they heard on the air (what else is new?) and wanted to create a UK “A1 Operators Club” to encourage good operating.

Being British, they soon started holding meetings in local pubs, and FOC became more than an award, but a social club for CW operators as well.

Since printing was expensive, they sent a ‘circular letter’ to members: someone would type a few copies and they would be passed around. For this reason, and maybe so that they would all fit in a

pub for their meetings, the membership was lim-ited to 100 members at a time. The club was interrupted by the war, but restarted

soon after. Most will recognize the call G5RV, post-war member no. 7, and some of you have met Bill Limehouse, G2FDF (SK), whose daughter lives

here in Fresno. Bill received member no. 158 in 1948. Another FOC member that we see from time to time is Bob Vallio, W6RGG.

FOC got its first American member, W1BUX in 1947. Due to lingering hard feelings, there were no Germans until 1953, but now the club has 485

members in 50 countries. Today 42% are Ameri-cans and only 25% British. Nevertheless, FOC re-mains a British club – its officers must all live in the UK, and policies and traditions are UK-centric.

I once was lucky enough to attend the FOC annual meeting, held at Lords Cricket Ground in central London; the meeting opened with the traditional toast to the Queen!

Unlike many ham radio interest groups, FOC holds

numerous social events in which the members and their families meet each other. I’ve mentioned the

annual meeting in London, and there are get-togethers throughout the year in various parts of the US, the UK and on the European continent. Members are encouraged to get to know each

other both on and off the air, if possible. Several things have contributed to the ‘elitist’ label applied to FOC. During the annual Marathon con-

test in February, you will hear the members calling CQ FOC. This members-only event is only once a year, and FOC also sponsors several QSO parties

in which non-members are encouraged to work members. As I mentioned earlier, the choice of name was

unfortunate – but they are not going to change it after 70 years. The limitation on membership – now set at 500 – is another issue; but keep in

mind that this is done to have an organization where it is possible for every member to know every other member personally. There is not and has never been the implication that these are the

‘best’ 500 CW operators in the world! In fact, the CW ability required for membership is relatively modest. Although there are some QRQ operators in the club, most FOC-FOC QSOs seem to take

place at about 28-30 wpm. FOC members are expected to be able to carry on

a conversation in CW. Although there are many contesters and DXers in the club, the ability to ragchew at least some of the time is a require-ment. There are also standards that a member is

expected to uphold in courteous operating and ethics, and members can get kicked out for violat-ing them (for example, DX cheater Don Miller did)!

In essence, FOC is a social group centered on CW. There are some great CW operators, some very nice folks and some top DXers and contesters in

FOC; and I have been privileged to get to know them. Some big DXpeditions have had multiple FOC members among the operators, and nothing makes me happier than when one of them calls me

by name in a pileup!

FOC – WHAT IS IT? by Vic Rosenthal K2VCO

We are complying a list of members birthdays and anniversaries so our members can

be honored and recognized in SKIP. If you haven’t already done so, please e-mail your birth date and anniversary date to: w6te@msn.com

Fresno Amateur Radio Club

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Email:sales@telewave.com . http://www.telewave.com

AMATEUR OF THE MONTH, Vic Rosenthal K2VCO, by Joe Capell

In visiting the shack of this month”s featured ham, I noted that in spite of a well equipped operator position, work bench and well socked shelves, there was not a single microphone except one attached to a 2 meter rig and, I could be mistaken, but I think there were a few cobwebs on it. Vic Rosenthal maintains his old call from New York d a y s , K2VCO. He was born and raised in the City and got his first ham license, a novice, Octo-ber 30, 1956 at age 13. He passed his General Class li-cense in 1957 and got experience in CW with traffic han-dling nets in the late 50’s in their heyday. He successfully took his Amateur Extra license in 1960. He has been continually licensed since then. His amateur radio activity subsided a little with college and graduate school where he developed computer skills though his stated field was Philosophy. In 1971 he first moved to Fresno to teach at Fresno State College in the department of Philosophy. Thereafter he

worked for the City of Fresno in their computer department. He lived in the San Francisco bay area a while working in banking information technology. He moved back to the East Coast in 1974 and sort of rediscovered ham radio. From 1979, he lived in Israel on a kibbutz, a farming com-munity and operated as 4X6GP. In 1988 he came back to Fresno and has lived here since that time, setting up a station a few years later. He has worked in agricultural software and at the same time started his own company in software development where he works today. In case it wasn’t evident from my description of his shack, Vic is a CW aficionado (fan) working that mode al-most exclu-sively. He has 325 countries on CW logged. He describes telegraphy as an almost ancient mode of opera-tion but one that has been greatly enhanced by today’s technology like modern selective receivers, diversity recep-tion, and electronic keyers. These can all make it much more fun. In a way it is like sailing.

Fresno Amateur Radio Club

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NEWS AND GENERAL INTEREST

The January VHF Sweepstakes contest was held on January 17th—19th. There were seven rovers

who started the contest in Southern California and hooked up with an eighth rover at the Mojave 4 grid convergence. The stations were Wayne (N6NB), Jim (AF6O), Miguel (W6YLS), Bob

(KK6KK), Rob (KG6TOA), Carrie (KI6VZU), Dave & Glenn (N6TEB), Art (W6XD), Larry (WA6LUT) and myself, Dave (W6TE). The rovers operated in the three rover categories; limited, un-limited and clas-

sic, and operated on 6 meters through 10 GHz. A link to 100 plus photo’s are at: h ttp://p icasaweb.google.com/angrycarr i e/

J a n u a r y R a d i o C o n t e s t ?authkey=1usMYIp6DLI&feat=email#

Another New Solar Cycle 23 Sunspot Group On Tuesday January 27, 2009 yet another solar cy-cle 23 sunspot group (S738) formed near S05E40. If numbered by NOAA/SWPC it will be 11012. Solar

cycle 23 is now 12 years and 10 months long from first spot to present one, an extension of the al-ready record long solar cycle!!! KN4LF Daily Solar

Space Weather & Geomagnetic Data Archive” http://www.kn4lf.com Alpha Power Ships First 8410 Amplifier

Alpha Radio Products LLC announced today that the first production AP8410 shipped from it’s Boulder, CO facility. The AP8410 is the latest in the line of legal-limit (H.F.) tetrode amplifiers from Alpha

Power. Alpha president Molly Hardman, W0MOM, reports,

“We are excited to release this newest amplifier, to ensure its long-term affordability and maintainabil-

ity. We also include several festures to enhance op-erational performance including improved screen-grid regulation, simplified AC line-voltage tap selec-tion, and provision of a USB interface for remote

monitoring and limited control. The new amplifier retains all of the rug dependability and functionality of the familiar two-tube tetrode design that was first introduced as the Alpha 91B over 15 years

ago, but raises the feature and performance bar of t h i s c l a s s o f a m p l i f i e r w o r l d -wide.” (www.alpharadioproducts.com)

There is a new sheriff in town. The FCC has ap-pointed Laura Smith to take Riley Hollingsworth’s former position in enforcement. The FCC’s “Special

Council for Amateur Radio” slot has gone unfilled for 6 months thus she has a backlog of work ahead of her. Fortunately she is up to the task. Laura is a

seasoned FCC veteran with a broad communica-tions background at both the FCC and in the private sector.

The FCC has been slow to fill the position and for awhile we wondered if Riley’s successor would ever be named. It looks like they were waiting for the right person. Now that Laura is on the job, let’s

give her our full support. If you have an enforce-ment issue, she may be reached by e-mail at: laura.smith@fcc.gov (qrz.com)

Vickie Bassett (R), XYL of Steve, NA6G and family friend Jennie Campopiano (L) at Jan

2009 FARC Club Meeting

Seven of the eight rover stations are assem-bled and ready to go.

True love comes quietly, without banners or flashing lights. If you hear bells, get your ears checked. Erich Segal

Fresno Amateur Radio Club

Page 7

February 2009 This URL will give you a CQ Zone Map, http://www4.plala.or.jp/nomrax/CQ/index.html.

The local DX’ers meet on the first Saturday of the month for breakfast at Carrow’s, 4280 N. Black-stone in Fresno. The group gathers between 0700

and 0800. All are welcome. The International DX Convention is April 17-19, 2009 at the Holiday Inn at Visalia. Check

www.dxconvention.org for information. The address of the Sixth District QSL Bureau is P.

O. Box 970, Fairfax CA 94978-0970. You can send up to 10 address labels and $0.70 for each enve-lope to the address above. They will put 1 unit of First Class postage on the envelope.

Postage rates around the world are constantly chang-

ing. To see current rates go to http://www.qsl.net/w9o l/IRC_Char t . h tm where you can find the cur-

rent postal rates for most of the countries of the world. US overseas airmail is 94¢ per ounce and postage to

Canada and Mexico is 72¢ per ounce. New IRC pur-chases are $2.10 each. U.S.

Postal rates are scheduled to increase in May. Details will be announced in Febru-ary.

Canada's postal rates went up January 12th. Can-ada to U.S. postage will increase from 96 cents Ca-nadian to 98 cents. From Canada to any other

country will go from $1.60 Canadian to $1.65. Ca-nadians also pay a 13 percent tax on postage, the "GST," so their real cost to the U.S. will be $1.11 and to the rest of the world, $1.86. VE1DX notes

that if you are sending return postage to Canada, please adjust accordingly. With the current strength of the U.S. dollar, $1 USD does cover the $1.11 CDN to the USA, "but this fluctuates signifi-

cantly." He says your best bet is to somehow ac-quire Canadian stamps, "or better yet use LOTW or

the buro."

JA3DBD is running what is called the "Alphabet Sandwich Call Letter Award." You work stations where the first and third letters of their suffix are the same, such as JA1GAG, W6MVM, W6DPD,

UA3KAK and W3LPL. Go for the whole alphabet once, the Bronze award, 26 QSOs, Silver for 52 QSOs, the alphabet twice, or Gold, 78 QSOs, the alphabet three times. Special categories are all 26

in the same country, or 26 different prefixes, or 26 prefixes in 10 different countries. It's for licensed amateurs only, no time, band, or

mode limitations. Send your alphabetized list and $4US or 7 IRCs to: Souichi Miyamoto JA3DBD, 6-9-2 Hagbikigaoka, Habikino,Osaka 583, Japan

If you want help with DX, you can contact the local members of the Central California DX Club for some

assistance. Charles W6DPD

431-2038, Perry K6XJ 299-2802, or Jim WS6X 292-8353 can give you advice. The big thing about finding

DX is to tune the bands. If you don’t get a DX Bulle-tin and you belong to ARRL,

you should register on the members only web page and check the box for the

ARRL DX Bulletin. This one is emailed each Thursday.

Or you can go to the ARRL web page in the News/ Bulletin section and view the bulletins there. You

can also read the OP DX Bulletin on the web. Search OP DX Bulletin to get the URL. You can subscribe to the Daily DX, Weekly DX or QRZ DX

too. These bulletins will keep you informed of DX operations and QSL information. The proposed Sable Island (CY0) operation planned for 2009 has been postponed due to the economic

conditions. The group hopes to carry out the DXpe-dition in 2010.

The following operations are scheduled:

Marshall Islands V73NS now through 2009 and maybe 2 more years Martinique FM/F5IRO Now through Feb 2009

THE DX CORNER by Charles McConnell W6DPD

I got a Valentine's Day card from my girl. It said, 'Take my heart! Take my arms! Take my lips!' Which is just like her. Keeping the best part for herself. Robert Orben

Lee AC6WS, Perry K6XJ and Charles W6DPD

Fresno Amateur Radio Club

Page 8

The following operations are scheduled: Marion Island ZS8T May 2008 to Mar 2009

Glorioso FR/G hopefully sometime in 2009 Diego Garcia VQ9JC Dec 1, 2008 to Mar 2009 Crozet FT5WO Dec 15, 2008 to Nov 2009 Gabon TR50R Dec 15, 2008 to Jan 26, 2009

Ivory Coast TU8/F4EGS Dec 25, 08 to Feb 28, 09 Central African Republic TL0A, after Jan 1, 2009 Solomon Islands H44MS Jan 10 to Apr 28, 2009 The Gambia C56KR Jan 23 to Feb 4, 2009

West Malaysia 9M2RRS now through Feb 6, 2009 Afghanistan T6AC Now to Mar 2009 Seychelles S79JF Feb 22 to March 6, 2009

Desecheo KP5 Feb 12 to Feb 26, 2009 Tuvalu T2 Feb 17 to Mar 2, 2009 Aves Island YW0A sometime Feb to March 2009 Crete SV9/DJ7RJ Feb 25 to Mar 15, 2009

Mayotte FH/G3SWH Feb 26 to Mar 5, 2009 Bangladesh Mar 7 to Mar 12, 2009 Mozambique C9 Mar 25 to Apr 5, 2009

S. Cook E51SIX 6M and EME Mar 26 to Apr 4, 2009 Temotu H40 Mar 2 to Apr 9, 2009 Lord Howe Island, VK9LA Mar 24 to Apr 3, 2009 Mozambique C91FC Apr 9 to Apr 13, 2009

Spratly Islands sometime in 2009 Watch the DX Bulletins for up to date information. As the time for the operation is at hand, watch the

DX Summit for listings. There are a number of state QSO parties each year. Check the contestcor-ral in QST or the ARRL web page. State QSO par-

ties are a good place to collect states for your Worked All States award. ARRL Log Book of the World now supports the Worked All States Award.

Good luck, tune the dial, and listen.

(The Prez Sez. Continued from page 1)

We lowered our dues to $15 this year. Please send your dues in if you haven’t done so already. I would like to thank the members who have been

sending articles in to Dave, SKIP Editor. He would like to have all of us write something for SKIP just a short article on any of your favorite ham projects would be great. The simple projects to more diffi-

cult would give our members an insight on what can be done.

We will be doing our Elmer Classes again this year. Our first one will be March 13th at Cedar Lanes at 6:30 before our regular meeting. If there is an area that you want covered please email me or see me

at the club meeting. On this same note our first ham radio class for 2009 started on Jan 29th with Dave W6TE and Dan AE6SX as instructors. If you

know of a person looking for a Technician Class have them contact Dave or Dan at w6te@msn.com Again this year our Sunshine chairmen are Jim

WA6NIF and Nora WA6BDE. Please give them a name and address when you feel a card should be sent. I was told many times last year by members and guest how much they appreciate the cards that

Jim & Nora sent out. They need your help send to Jim wa6nif@w6to.com

Yes, I read QST, Feb 2009, and it is outstanding when I find one of our members listed, 2008 ARRL UHF Contest Results, Rover, W6TE. Dave was fourth place, they only listed the top 10. Great Job.

73’s Tom

NEW SUPPLIER OF HEATHKIT MANUALS AND EVEN SOME PARTS A new source for high quality

reprints of Heathkit manuals along with some up-grades and service parts has come to the World-Wide-Web.

Data Professionals of Pleasanton, California, has purchased the copyrights and existing inventory of all legacy Heathkit product documentation from Heath Company of Benton Harbor Michigan.

Data Professionals is a new company headed up by Don Peterson. Peterson was contacted by Heathkit

and indicated that it wanted to stop supporting the manual requests they were still receiving.

After agreeing on a price Peterson says that he paid the cost to have 2.5 tons of documents shipped

from Michigan to his office in California. He says that the new company will make high quality copies of the original legacy manuals available to the mar-ketplace via its web site and through eBay and Pay-

Pal. So what will Peterson be doing with the manuals? Obviously selling copies, but at prices below that of

others on the web. As Don Peterson says, what he will charge will cover the cost of duplication plus a little margin to keep the doors open. He also says

that he and W7FG have agreed to a royalty deal so he can continue to sell the Heathkit manuals as well. (Newsline)

Fresno Amateur Radio Club

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February 2009 – January did not have any scheduled events however there were some definite land marks. I am helping Dave, W6TE, in presenting a

Technician License Class at Kaiser Hos-pital and we plan on having them ready for the February 21st testing session. Hopefully some of these will show interest in EmComm with the

Amateur Radio hobby. ARES/RACES will be hold-ing an ARECC Level 1 Course that will finish in May. During our Monthly Meeting we discussed

preparations for the March of Dimes and Baker 2 Vegas Events and we had a short presentation on 12V power distribution basics. Presentations on NVIS and NTS will be the topics at the next 2

meetings, February and March, respectively. Vol-unteers for Net Control were established. Eventu-ally I'd like to see everyone take a turn as Net

Control. We took note of a minivention for Em-Comm being held in our Section, in San Joaquin County called EmComm University. If you can not make it all the way to EmComm West, in Reno,

this may be of interest.

The next big event will be the Annual Baker to Ve-gas Race. This year we are teaming up with the Tulare County's ARES EC, Hal, KC5LUB. We

worked well last year and we can centralize our monitoring and improve efficiency. We still need volunteers so if you are interested in staying up 24 hours and have sand in your food while playing

radio; then get in touch with me and I'll bring you up to speed. Great Fun.

The ARECC Level 1 Course will be at the Salvation Army Citadel on Fulton Street. We want everyone

to have this information even if you don't plan on doing full time EmComm. Very valuable for every-one. Full of common sense items, not always con-sidered. It will begin around the first of March. I'll

have more particulars in the next “Skip”.

The ARES/RACES training meetings have been im-proved with a 20 minute presentation each month. This allows us to discuss a specific topics involving

operating techniques, principles or policies. This month's 12 Volt Power distribution recommenda-

tions sported some great information on Batteries, charging, fusing and terminations. There was even a table of voltage levels to diagnosis different power sources and charge levels. Nice to have

handy or stored in memory for that rainy day, hi. Next Month we will barely scratch the surface on NVIS Antennas (Near Vertical Incident Skywave). I think some practical experimentation might be in

order, or at least recommended.

EmComm University is the brain child of David Coursey, N5FDL. He is the ARES EC for San Joa-quin County and has been very prolific in Ham

Cram courses and getting the word out on Emer-gency Communications. This is the link to his website where he has all the information:

www.n5fdl.com/emcomm-university-registration There is a registration fee, a portion of which is donated to the American Red Cross. I think it is worth the look.

Have you heard of “Olivia”, “Domino” or “MT63” as

digital operating modes? If you have you know that these are the modes chosen as a recom-mended standard for Narrow Band Emergency

Messaging System (NBEMS). I know, more alpha-bet soup, but the amazing part was a demonstra-tion that was had on a “Webinar” on the Internet. They were able to transfer data, 'radio speaker to

computer microphone', acoustically, receiving a 'computer speaker to radio microphone', trans-mission. No error correction and perfect copy. This sounds like a quick and easy fall back mode.

Remember our net on the N6HEW repeater, 147.150+ and PL 141.3 at 1930 hrs Mondays. Em-Comm and Coffee on the 3rd Fridays of the Month, next one is 20th of February, at Yosemite Falls

Cafe, Shaw and Blackstone, 0830. Training meet-ings are the 4th Thursday of the Month. Our next one is 26th February at the Salvation Army Citadel, 1854 Fulton, 1900.

ae6sx@fresnoares.com or www.fresnoares.com

ARES/RACES by Dan Pruitt AE6SX

When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a

second seems like an hour. That's relativity. Albert Einstein

Thanks to Richard Pack, KE6SHL for providing many of the photographs included in SKIP. Ed.

Fresno Amateur Radio Club

Page 10

CQ Magazine will begin accepting eQSL

(www.eqsl.cc) confirmations for their awards pro-grams. This bold move certainly “ups the ante” for the ARRL and their LoTW program. (Eham, QRZ, DX News)

VISALIA DIGITAL RADIO CLUB FORMED: A new Amateur Radio Club has been established in Visalia. Visalia Digital Radio Club / KI6VAP. Their website

is: http://vdrc.hobby-site.org

Mike Dickerson, KI6HFZ, 559-799-8669 KI6HFZ@winlink.org

Mark your calendars for every Thursday, for the

lunch gathering at the Silver Dollar Hofbrau at the corner of Hwy 41 and Shaw. It starts at 12 noon and there is a table reserved in the back room.

Also every Monday and Saturday at the Country Waffles at Blackstone and Dakota starting at 7am. Finally the last, is at Yosemite Falls at Blackstone

Monty Lamont, KD6KRY, January 2009, FARC Club meeting

Bill Bates, KG6MTG, January 2009, FARC club meeting

THE 25-25 NET—PROMOTING RAGCHEW ON 2-METERS SIDEBAND 144.230 MHZ.

The 25-25 Net provides a weekley Net for lovers of 2-meters sideband. Since March of 2007, this net has been taking place on Wednesday nights at 8:00

PM local time. The net is always held on a fre-quency of 144.230 MHz USB. The net duration is approximately 1 hour and the format includes emergency traffic, general check-ins and rag chew.

The 25-25 net has been streaming on the internet since January 2008. If you’d like to listen to the 25-25 net click on www.remotehams.com, you’ll need

to register as a user then click “Online Radios” then select WA6LIE’s Remote and LIVE SSTV.

FARC TECHNICIAN LICENSING CLASS started January 28th at the Kaiser Permanente Fresno

Medical Center. The class will be four weeks in length and will precede the Fresno FARC VE’s FCC exam session on Feburary 21th. The class will hopefully produce eight newly licensed hams and

new FARC club members. Dan Pruit, AE6SX, and Dave Smith, W6TE are the class instructors. _______________________________________ GOSAT + Six SatPals Successfully Launched

By Japan JAXA GOSAT launch site Japan has launched a satellite whose focus will be to observe the concentration distribution of

g r e e n h o u s e g a s e s f r o m space. The small satellites with Amateur Radio ca-p a b i l i t i e s l a u n c h e d w i t h t h i s satellite are SDS-1, SOHLA-1, SPRITESAT, PRISM,

K K S - 1 , S T A R S - 1 , a n d t h e KAGAYAKI. Further information, frequencies and k e p l e r i a n d a t a c a n b e

found on the AMSAT website. We have some new s t a r s t o b e p o i n t i n g t o and check the website often as more information is passed on. (AMSAT)

Fresno Amateur Radio Club

Page 11

Feenix, Ariz.

Deer Hon. ED:

Gracious to goodness, why is it that sumtimes the sim-plest things are turning around backwards and being reel tuffies? If you are believing this are not true, you should be heering of recent predicament I are having. Everything are starting when my XYL-to-be, Lil, are tell-

ing me that she are not liking to have to shout into mi-crophone when using my rig. She are saying that I ought to fix rig so can leaning back in chair and talking in nor-mal voice. This are sounding like reel easy thing to do, so Scratchi are getting to work.

Gain control are wide open, which meaning need more power from speech amp. So are using condenser input on power supply to raise plate voltages. After two rectifier toobs are getting bad case of curled-up toes Scratchi are deciding this scheme are not practical. Obivious answer at this point are to put more voltage on modulator toobs. Quick check with voltmeter are showing that modulator

toobs already having a thousand more volts than rated, so Scratchi are quick-like deciding to use bigger tubes. Brother Itchi are coming to rescue and driving into town and getting nice big pair of toobs for modulator. As a matter of factly, toobs are little too big. Won’t fit into same sockets. Are fixing this then finding that toobs are

so tall that are hitting undersides of next-on-top chassis. This are looking like 1/c problem, until Itchi are suggest-ing that I move each unit up on relay rack and saw top of antenna tuner panel off about two inches. Hon. Ed., are you ever trying to saw through relay rack panel with hacksaw? If so, I are respectively suggesting that you

are laying in big stock of hacksaw blades, and bandages. Having big vise are also handy. Not having same, panel are looking more like beaver with active thyroid are knawing at it. I are spending couple of hours with a file, and finally it looking ok, except are having slite list to starbored.

New modulator toobs are now fitting in like peachy, and it are only taking Itchi and Scratchi another cupple of hours to putting rest of racks in panel. Are you knowing why they using so many screws to fasten on panels? And why are screws made so you are always dropping them twice before they starting in hole? This is particularly im-portant when you are holding seventy-eleven pounds of

equipment one-handedly. New toobs, no luck. In fact, are now having to holler louder to getting even less outputs. So, I are doing what any able-bodied ham are doing—I are raising the plate voltage. This are very simple, as I are having autotrans-

former which are doubling voltage to modulator toobs.

They are now drawing current like sixty. In fact, drawing current like sixty-five, as sixty ampre fuses are quickly telling me. Number 12 wire are serving as nice fuse until

Itchi are running into town again and getting more bat- teries for bias for modulator toobs. After taking pile of old magazines out of corner and putting batteries there modulator toobs are calming down so new fuses are holding.

At this point Scratchi are sure that having enough modu-lator power to making final toobs jump out of socket. This are not strictly true. Now, Scratchi are not even able to make plate current meter in modulator stage wiggle. This are most disturbing, so I are putting fingers in mouth and making stupendous whistle, right into micro-

fone. Hot diggedity, meter are moving! Are about to repeet same when noticed smoke are coming from be-hind rig. Closer inspection shows modulation transformer are cause of same. Are also noticing that rectifier toobs are much bluer than usual. I are reaching for plate switch when sixty ampere fuses are beating me to it. As long as power are off are checking modulation transformer.

Transformer are now having built-in short from secon-dary to core. This are making Scratchi bluer than rectifier toobs. Two days later, after uncrating new and bigger modula-tion transformer, are discovering that it won’t fitting in rack. By this time I are not even phasing, but are just

putting it under operating table and running leads to rig. Just as you are suspecting, Hon. Ed., this are not curing trouble. In fact, Scratchi are not even making meter wig-gle when whistling. Why are transmitter audio depart-ment losing power faster than Scratchi can pouring it in? Bad leak somewhere.

Itchi are coming over and asking if he can helping. I are

explaining hole business in details, after which he are

asking me why not putting little surplus audio amplifier

between mike and speech amp. This are sounding so

foolishness. Hokendoke! It are working! Mike are reel

sensitive, and modulation plate current are super-

supendous. Who would be thinking it!

So, things are about backing to normal, although Lil are

now complaining that it are no fun to being able to lean

back in chair to talk into mike, as with modulation trans-

former under table are having no place to putting feets.

So, will be having to move transformer to sum other

spot. In fact, will do that right after I putting new con-

denser in final tank circuit to replacing old one which are

all-time arcing over.

Respectively yours, Hashafisti Scratchi

Reprinted from July 1949 CQ Magazine

Fresno Amateur Radio Club

Page 12

One morning, while chatting with several friends

on 75 Meters, we got to talking about how nice it

would be to have a wireless audio interface with

our HF transceivers. It would provide freedom to

wander around the shack, or go refill our coffee

cup in the kitchen, without having to miss any-

thing. Isn't it amazing that none of the transceiver

manufacturers are providing a wireless interface?

After searching on the "Net", Ed, K6ED found the

Jabra A-210, which is an "off-the-shelf" Bluetooth

interface, designed to provide Bluetooth capability

for non-Bluetooth equipped cell phones. They are

readily available, but the best price was found on

Ebay (Typically $10-$15).

We initially tried a couple different conventional

cell phone headsets; the ones that have a small

microphone that rests alongside your cheek. They

worked OK, but seemed to pick up a lot of room

noise, and sound a little "boomy". Digging a little

further, we found the VXI Blue Parrott B-150,

which resembled a more conventional headset,

had an adjustable boom microphone, and was

equipped with an effective noise canceling circuit.

Several reviews indicated that it's performance

and audio quality, were very good, so Ed, K6ED

and I decided to bite the bullet, and order them.

For the A-210 to IC-756 Pro III adapter, I pur-

chased an 8-Pin Microphone connector and 3/32"

stereo jack from Radio Shack for about $7. Refer

to you transceiver's instruction manual, and wire

the Mic Input, Rcvr audio output, and ground leads

to the 3/32 jack, so the Jabra A-210 can be

plugged into it. I used some heatshrink to dress

things up a little.

The 3/32" Plug on the Jabra A-210 is wired as fol-

lows:

Tip = Bluetooth Audio Out (Goes to Xcvr Mic Input

- Pin 1 on IC-756 Mic connector)

Ring = Bluetooth Audio In (Goes to Xcvr Audio out

- Pin 8 on IC-756 Mic connector)

Sleeve = Ground. (Pin 7 on IC-756 Mic connector)

After assembling your adapter, Plug the A210 into

the 3/32" jack, and plug the 8-Pin connector into

your radio. "Pair" the A210 with your Bluetooth

headset, put your radio in VOX Mode, and adjust

the VOX Gain, Anti-Trip, and Delay to suit your

operating style.

There is a small 3-position switch at one end of the

Jabra A-210, which controls the audio output level

towards your transceiver. I found that Position 2

worked great for the IC-756 Pro III & IC-7000. Po-

sition 1 is less and Position 3 is more. Put your ra-

dio in VOX mode, and you're ready to go. Adjust

the AF gain on your radio from a comfortable lis-

tening level.

How does it work?

From initial tests, this arrangement works well up

to 50 feet from the transceiver. . The noise cancel-

ing works amazingly well. Stations I was talking

with were unable to detect any background noise

at all. There was a slight difference in transmit au-

dio between the desk microphone and a wired Heil

headset, but not enough to require any compensa-

tion.

This afternoon, I connected the Bluetooth adapter

to my mobile rig (an IC-7000). It is installed in a

4-wheel drive 1999 Dodge diesel pickup, which is

a relatively noisy environment. I called a local

friend, Forrest, K7OCR for some on-the-air tests.

Sitting in the driveway with both windows open,

and engine idling, he was unable to hear any en-

gine noise whatsoever. He said the audio quality

was as good as if I was inside the house sitting in

front of my IC-756 Pro III.

Reprinted with permission from Frank Dziurda,

K7SFN http://www.k7sfn.com/

A SIMPLE HAM RADIO BLUETOOTH INTERFACE by Frank Dziurda K7SFN

Experience is the knowledge that enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.

Fresno Amateur Radio Club

Page 13

2009 AMATEUR RADIO EXAMS

UNLICENSED THRU EXTRA CLASS Sponsored By the FRESNO Volunteer Exam (VE) TEAM

And The FRESNO AMATEUR RADIO CLUB, INC. AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE

Exams for all Amateur license classes will be conducted on the following dates in Fresno California. All exams are given on Saturday and begin at 9:30 AM. February 21 May 16 August 15 November 21

LOCATION: ....Bonaventure Mobile Home Park, 1724 Minnewawa Ave Clovis CA 93612-2545. Exams are held in the community room. DIRECTIONS: From Highway 99 South of Fresno, exit Clovis Ave. Go north to Shaw and turn left on

Shaw to Minnewawa. Turn right on Minnewawa and then left to the Mobile Home Park.. From Highway 41 or Highway 99 North of Fresno, take Shaw Ave. exit, turn right (East), to Minnewawa Ave and turn left. Then turn left into the Mobile Home Park.

Theory exams are multiple choice. Priority mail is used to send paperwork to ARRL, who sends data to FCC via electronic mail, thus assuring the fastest possible service on new licenses, which typically arrive in about two weeks.

BRING. Two ID’s, one with photo. Taxpayer ID Number (Social Security Number), or FCC Registration Number (preferred). Fee $15.00 per test session. Bring Exact change. Original and copy of Amateur

License and CSCE’s if upgrading. Talk in on 146.94 repeater. Walk in’s only, no pre-registration.

More Info?? Contact Charles, (559) 431-2038

4364 E. Ashlan Ave. * Fresno Ca. 93726

Phone (559) 227-2986

Shop at SPARKY’S for all your electronic needs. Everything in electronics for:

HOBBYIST

DO-IT-YOURSELFER EXPERIMENTER

Professional and Amateur Radio publications,

Since 1963

Shortwave radios-Parts-Tools

Computer Accessories-LAN-Data Comm. Cables and wire.

Fresno Amateur Radio Club

Page 14

F.A.R.C. DUES ARE $15.00 PER YEAR FOR FULL MEMBER-SHIP. Additional family members in the same household

are $5.00 each per year. Make checks payable to F.A.R.C. and send to:

P.O. Box 5912, Fresno, Ca. 93755-5912. Upcoming 2009

Fresno Amateur Radio

Club Activities and Events

Feb 3th -Board Meeting

Feb 13th - Club Meeting

2009 Fresno Amateur Radio Club Application

Date ____________

Name ________________________________ Callsign __________ Address _____________________________ State ____ Zip _______

Home Phone _________________ Business Phone _______________ Occupation _______________________ Birth date ______________

Spouses Name _______________ Anniversary Date ______________ License Class ________________ First Year Licensed _____________

I am interested in servicing on one of the committees. Please contact me with more details. ____

FARC — PO BOX 5912, FRESNO, CA 93755-5912

FRESNO AMATEUR RADIO CLUB, INC. P.O. Box 5912 Fresno, CA 93755-5912

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