Monthly Newsletter of the Central New Hampshire Amateur ... · (2) Jim Installed new UHF Kreco. We installed new brackets to the existing standoff since the new Kreco is a mast only

The Communicator June, 2015

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Next Club Meeting - Tuesday, June 2nd, 2015 at 7:00 PM Gilford Community Church, Gilford NH

The

Monthly Newsletter of the Central New Hampshire Amateur Radio Club ARRL Special Service Club

Communicator June 2015 CNHARC Web Page - www.cnharc.org

From the President’s Key ………………..………….…... Membership Renewal Time ........................................... Gunstock UHF Antenna .…………....…………….…. Adam’s Junk Box ………………………………...……. Upcoming Public Service Events ..………………….. Dayton was a Blast this Year ………………………... What Would You Do? …………………………………. SOTA From Mt. Washington ..……………………….. May Steering Committee Pictures …………………... Secretary’s Report ……………………………………..

In This Issue

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June Meeting Program

1. Tim Carter, W3ATB, will be doing a presentation of how to use ebay.com to transform all of the dust-collecting you-

don’t-need-nor-use-any-more equipment in your ham shack or garage into sweet moola – the $$ Big Green $$.

2. QSL Card Expose’ – Members are encouraged to bring in their BEST QSL cards and share why they mean so much.

Refreshments will be served! Coffee, water, and soft drinks as well as cookies will be available. Snacks and coffee provided by Peggy, KB1GQV and Dave, KA1VJU.

If you wish to present a program or have a specific subject covered please contact Cliff, N1RCQ @ 279-7763. For directions to the meeting, the talk in repeater is 146.985 PL123.

From the President’s Key By Tim, W3ATB

Summer is here. With better weather here, it's a great time to get out

and hone your outdoor radio skills. You're blessed to live in a part of the USA where

you're surrounded by fantastic natural beauty and tolerable heat and humidity.

Granted, we do have our share of insects and some

days can be beastly hot, but most of the time you can really have a splendid time outdoors.

CNHARC Field Day is happening this year. It's going to be a grand outdoor event.

Jim Brown, KB1FBQ, is now heading up this initia-

tive and will have a hard time filling the shoes of Dick Christopher who's been our Field Day coordinator for many years.

I know Jim's up to the task. His enthusiasm and objec-

tive about getting operators to show up who want to sharpen their radio skills AND have a good time with friends while making contacts is going to carry the day.

I envision our 2015 Field Day to be a clone of the Old

Man of the Mountains Special event a bunch of us did on May 3rd. It was an overwhelming success.

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Social Media and CNHARC

CNHARC has a presence on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube! Find us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/CNHARC Follow @CNHARC on Twitter. Visit the CNHARC page on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/CNHARCAmateurRadio

CNHARC Monday Night Net at 8:00 PM on 146.985 MHz

Why? We had a clear objective. You may have been

one that was there that wanted to operate outdoors, do DX, see how to setup outdoor stations and antennas AND have a great time. It was a day many will never forget.

Come to this year's Field Day and the inner spark of

radio magic may flash again. Talk to anyone who attended the Old Man event and I'll defy you to not attend Field Day.

If you want to stick your toe into outdoor radio using

just a handheld HT, then you have your choice of any num-ber of public service events. Just visit the Public Service link at the CNHARC website.

I'm proud to say that this year I'm a co-captain of one

of the two radio teams providing communications for the prestigious New England Forest Rally (NEFR). If you want to see how to set up to work a high-speed professional driv-er car race not once, not twice but THREE times in one day at different locations separated by miles, then come work with me.

The NEFR ranks right up there as one of the most de-

manding public service events because you're deep in the woods most of the time along narrow gravel roads. Your radio is your lifeline and that of the drivers. It's raw radio at its best.

The club, under the guidance and supervision of Cliff

Dickinson and Dave Megin, does a minimum of three world-class public service events on the slopes of Mt. Washing-ton.

There are hams all around the world that would pay to

work an event on Mt. Washington if they had the chance. You get to do it for free, but only a few slots are available to fill.

The WX conditions on Mt. Washington can be brutal

even in June and July. If you want to test your mettle to see if you can operate in challenging conditions, then you need to contact Cliff and Dave and get on the waiting list.

If you're a new ham that's never done public service, I

urge you to try. Contact Cliff and Dave and see if you can't just shadow someone your first and second time to see how it's done and to see how to operate in a rigid net environ-ment.

Oh, and be sure your 1750 MHz burst tone is OFF on

your radio as well as the WIRES function. You don't want to be sending out a spurious unnecessary tone each time you key up like I did on my first public service event!

Membership Renewal Time From the Treasurer

The time is here to renew your membership

for the year June 1 2015 to May 31 2016. We will be emailing reminders after May 1st to members who have not renewed as of that date. You can renew by going to the Club web site and renew thru PayPal or download the renewal form and mail your check to CNHARC, PO Box 1112, La-conia, NH 03247. If you come to the meeting in June we will be happy to take a check or cash.

The club incurs expenses to maintain and

upgrade our repeaters. It would be great to help with the expenses by making a donation to the repeater fund or joining as a Repeater Sus-taining Member for $25.00 + $15.00 dues. Club badges are also available for $12.50 each.

Go out and have some FUN this summer doing out-

door radio! You'll run into me for sure.


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CNHARC 6-Meter Thurs. Night Net 8 PM, 53.770 MHz

Gunstock UHF Antenna Work 5-25-2015

By Mark, W1DDI Jim (N1XBD) and myself went up on Gunstock and

accomplished a few things the morning of the 25th. (1) Jim removed the Diamond X-50 antenna that was

suspect. It had failed. The N connector in the base had come loose and appears to be broken off. We need to dissect the antenna some rainy evening to see what really is wrong in-side.

(2) Jim Installed new UHF Kreco. We installed new brackets to the existing standoff since the new Kreco is a mast only type antenna. It was connected with 8’ of extra cable for the next phase.

(3) Powered on and tested W1CNH B (Gunstock D-Star). Currently repeater only, no internet.

Preliminary coverage appears to be quite nice. I was

able to use my HT in the car, from Gunstock to my house in Northfield on 2.5 watts the whole trip, speaking with KB1FBQ. From my house in Northfield, on 100mw I can receive a full echo with no BER (bit error rate).

Ed, N1EO was able to hear and talk back to use from the Fischer Cats stadium in Manchester!

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CNHARC is on YouTube ! CNHARCAmateurRadio

Let’s try something a little different this month. Tim W3ATB suggested that I should do a glossary of sorts, where I list all of the various parts, components, devices, and trinkets we run across as electronics hobbyists and ama-teur radio operators. The only problem is that my mind doesn’t work like a dictionary, or even at all on most days. However, the idea is a good one and deserves an attempt, so here goes, in some unparticular order:

PL-259: A commonly used antenna connector, rough-

ly ½ inch in diameter with a large central pin. These con-nectors are a common source of long gripe sessions from hams that go on and on about “impedance bumps” but then continue to use them anyway.

SO-239: A female PL-259. No one knows why these

are referred to as SO-239s instead of simply calling them female PL-259s. I suspect that this is done to complicate things as much as possible.

Resistor: An electrical component that resists the flow

of electricity, much the same way as a child resists doing as it is asked. It just isn’t going to happen.

Capacitor: A component that stores a charge of elec-

tricity between two metal plates. These are used primarily for making sparks and a big zapping sound as the leads are shorted, but they can also be used in electronic circuitry for filtering, timing, and storing power.

Transistor: A three legged electronic component to be

used when a two-legged component is too drunk to stand upright. Also useful for amplifying small signals into larger ones.

Diode: An electronic component that only allows cur-

rent to flow in one direction, which is invariably the oppo-site direction from what you’d expect based on the circuit diagram.

ZIF Socket: A funny looking socket for integrated

circuits with a funny name and a funny handle. ZIF is an

acronym for Zero Insertion Force, which is almost always untrue.

Potentiometer: A variable resistor. It’s that special

electronic component that lets you say “pot” legitimately. They are commonly used to “crank it up to 11”, and some-times used to fine-tune circuits.

BNC: The name we use for Bayonet Neill-Councelman

connectors, because it is a lot easier to say than “Bayonet Neill-Councelman connector”. This antenna connector is believed by many hams to be superior to the PL-259, though no one knows why.

TNC: The name we use for Threaded Neill-

Councelman connectors, because it is a lot easier to say than “Threaded Neill-Councelman connector”. I bet you thought I was going to tell you about Terminal Node Controllers.

TNC: Terminal Node Controller. Packet radio in a box,

minus the radio. Radio: A device used for catching dust on a ham’s

shelves. Can also be used for communication, but most radi-os do not actually get used for this purpose.

Battery: What you are charged with if you hit someone

with a baseball bat. Can also be a device used to store chem-ical energy and convert it to electricity.

Coax: What you try to do when you want to add yet

another ham radio to the car and your spouse says no. Coax: A round antenna cable that is almost always too

short to get from the radio to the antenna. Ladder Line: A type of coax that’s not round, or even

coax. Multimeter: Any length that measures longer than one

meter. Also a name given to a voltmeter with multiple extra functions that no one ever uses.


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Powerpole: Tall wooden poles used to carry electrical, TV, and phone wiring. Oddly, it is also the name Anderson chose to call its electrical connectors, as if they actually had something in common with 40 foot long wooden shafts.

SWR: The mathematical ratio between transmitted

power and burnt out radios. SWR Meter: Pronounced “swear meter”. The device

that shows a ham how close he or she is to swearing when his or her radio goes up in smoke.

RJ11: A type of microphone connector that is guaran-

teed to only work properly and not break for the duration of the radio’s warranty period.

HF: High Frequency, a part of the electromagnetic

spectrum reserved exclusively for hams to discuss their age-related medical conditions.

VHF: Very High Frequency, a part of the electromag-

netic spectrum reserved exclusively for non-functional re-peaters.

Scope: A substance used to combat bad breath. Power Supply: A device for providing a precisely in-

correct voltage and insufficient current to a given electronic device.

ARRL: The source of all wisdom and knowledge relat-

ing to ham radio in America. Maybe. Computer: An electronic device designed to confuse

people into spending far more on it than it is actually worth. Charger: A muscle car produced by the Dodge Motor

Company. This can also be a device used to recharge batter-ies.

Superglue: A type of fast-setting adhesive designed to

adhere instantly to the user’s fingers and nothing else. LED: Ooooh, blinky lights! Light emitting diodes, the

50 year old technology of the future. Antenna Switch: The act of disconnecting and recon-

necting coax in an unsuccessful attempt to utilize the correct antenna. Not to be confused with an antenna swap or anten-na installation, which should only be done during inclement weather.

Antenna: Any wire or other piece of metal on your

property that will anger your neighbors and cause them to

experience TVI, no matter whether you are transmitting or not, and even if they don’t have a TV. Antennas can also be used to transmit and receive radio signals, despite what the neighbors say.

Net: A device used to catch fish and hams. The differ-

ence is that in a net, the fish will actually have something interesting to talk about.

Net Control: Any ham who suddenly loses the ability

to speak intelligibly in the presence of a microphone. It is also helpful if 10 or 12 other hams are listening and waiting for instructions.

Check-Ins: The number of hams with nothing to say

that join in to a given net. Callsign: A group of letters and numbers assigned to

individual hams, designed to be as confusing and unintelli-gible as possible. Various combinations of C, V, B, E, T, G, P, and D are preferred.

Frequency: How often a ham needs to leave the sta-

tion to use the restroom. Repeater: A system of radios designed to re-transmit

incoming signals. These devices are typically placed on a mountaintop, tower, or some other strategic inaccessible location, and then never used again.

Coordination: A system of spectrum management that

gives repeater owners everywhere something to complain about.

Kerchunk: What not to do when testing your radios. A

kerchunk is properly executed by keying up a repeater for a second or two without identifying, and then listening for the repeater’s response. This is done in an effort to determine if said repeater can receive your signal, and if you can hear its signal in turn.

Memory: Something that most hams used to have but

have since forgotten about. PTT: A button on handheld microphones that is invar-

iably placed in such a way that using it will cause you to press as many other buttons as possible, changing the ra-dio’s frequency and various other settings, usually perma-nently.

Time-Out: Punishment for naughty hams who talk for

too long while using a repeater. This can easily be circum-vented by being clumsy with the PTT.


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Microphone: A device for making a ham’s voice un-recognizable while transmitting.

Ground: A hard object best avoided while working

on a radio tower. Dummy Load: A substitute antenna for radio testing

that usually works as well or better than the real thing. Duplexer: A device used to allow a radio to be

hooked to two or more antennas, and make use of neither one.

Interface: A way of connecting two devices that

should be able to connect without an interface. Camera: A machine which is capable of recording

beautiful images and stunning video, but is then invariably used to take cat pictures.

Power Strip: A strip of power outlets that has precise-

ly one fewer outlets than you actually need. All-Band Radio: A ham radio transceiver that claims

to support operation on all bands but doesn’t even come close, and yet is somehow quite useful anyway.

Handheld Radio or HT: A miniaturized ham radio

that is too small, too weak, and too hard to hear, but is used by most hams anyway. “Can you hear me now?”

Amplifier: A powerful RF output enhancement de-

vice designed to allow people who can barely work each other hear each other say “Your signal is 59!”. It can also be a bragging point, “My amp is so powerful that it causes a rift in space-time whenever I turn it up all the way.”

Rigrunner: A $10 power strip that, for some reason,

costs over $100. Computer Speakers: Devices used to detect the pres-

ence of stray RF in the shack. Radio Shack: The longest, most protracted bankrupt-

cy in history. Analog: Any radio mode that digital enthusiasts don’t

like. Digital: Any radio mode that analog enthusiasts don’t

like. RTTY: A radio mode that no one likes.

WSPR: A radio mode that no one has even heard of. CW: A radio mode reserved for elitists that refuse to

actually talk to other hams and instead insist on beeping at them.

SSTV: Slow-Scan Television. Slow is correct, televi-

sion is not. PSK31: Phase-Shift Keying 31 baud, or texting for

hams. Yaesu: One of the big 3 Japanese amateur radio manu-

facturers. Kenwood: One of the big 3 Japanese amateur radio

manufacturers. Icom: One of the big 3 Japanese amateur radio manu-

facturers. Alinco: One of the big 3 Japanese amateur radio manu-

facturers. Ham-Fest: A flea market where amateur radio opera-

tors can get together and sell their junk to each other, and then turn around and sell it to other hams at an inflated price.

Outdoor Radio: A mode of operating where smiling

hams grab a few precious contacts before their bodies freeze into place.

Ham Shack: The place where the majority of a ham’s

radios sit, while said ham sits in his/her living room with an HT. This used to be known as a radio shack, but these days no hams want to associate themselves with that ridiculous example of how not to run a business.

J-Pole Antenna: A carefully designed, carefully cut,

and carefully made piece of metal that has been carefully tuned to exactly the wrong frequency.

Glossary: A list of definitions for parts, pieces, and

related terms, as requested by ham club presidents. I hope you’ve enjoyed this little departure from my

usual style of writing. As always, I welcome your com-ments, suggestions, ideas, insults, and death threats. I can be reached at [email protected] or most days on the 146.985 Gunstock repeater.


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Central NH ARES Frequencies

Primary: 146.985 MHz, - offset. PL123.0 Backup: 147.300 MHz, - offset, PL 88.5 Sec. backup: 147.390 MHz, - offset, PL 123.0 Simplex: 147.540 MHz NH Statewide ARES HF: 3.943 MHz

CNHARC is on Twitter - follow us @cnharc

Upcoming 2015 Public Service and Other Events

Mark Your Calendars! Amateur Radio Operators needed! There are many other events not listed here that also need safety communications help. Please con-sider volunteering your time to help at an event. Public service events make great training for emer-gency communications and are a good way to show the public what amateur radio can do. Events are open to all Hams. If you would like more information on one of the events or to sign up to help with safety communica-tions, please contact name listed after the event.

June 20th 2015 The 54nd Annual Mountain Wash-

ington Road Race, (foot race) Information contact Cliff Dickinson

at [email protected]

June 27rd & 28th 2015 Amateur Radio Field Day CNHARC Information contact Dick Christopher

at [email protected] Others Check with your local club or at http://

www.arrl.org/

July 4th 2015 Fourth of July parade in Wolfeboro Information Contact Bob,KB1DLX

at [email protected]

July 11th, 2015 Newton's Revenge Bicycle race up the Mt. Washington Auto Road.

Information contact Cliff Dickin-son at [email protected]

July 10th & 11th, 2015 The Annual Prouty Centu-

ry Bike Ride. Information http://www.kintera.org/faf/home/

default.asp?ievent=1046237

July 18th, 2015, TMCC Mt. Washington Century Ride (100 mile bicycle ride)

Information at. http://www.tinmountain.org/?page_id=1205

Ham info Luke Quigley KB1IIR con-tact [email protected]

August 15th 2015 43th Annual Mt. Washington Auto road bicycle HillClimb (Weather date Au-

gust 16th) Information contact Cliff Dickinson

at [email protected].

October 3rd 2015 The NH Marathon Bristol, NH (foot race)

Information contact Dave Megin at [email protected].

October ? 2015 Meredith Bay Trick or Trot 5K

Information contact Tim Carter at [email protected]

October 16th & 17th 2015 NEAR-Fest XVIII

Deerfield, New Hampshire http://www.near-fest.com:8084/nearfest/

Please check on the status of the event close to the date of the event for any changes or

updates. Not responsible for typographic errors. Last updated 4/9/15

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A Alfa N November

B Bravo O Oscar

C Charlie P Papa

D Delta Q Quebec

E Echo R Romeo

F Foxtrot S Sierra

G Golf T Tango

H Hotel U Uniform

I India V Victor

J Juliet W Whiskey

K Kilo X X-ray

L Lima Y Yankee

M Mike Z Zulu

The Phonetic Alphabet

Dayton was a Blast this Year

By Dan Romanchik, KB6NU A couple of weeks ago, I made my annual pilgrimage

to Dayton for the 2015 Hamvention. This year, I had even more fun than in the past, and that's saying a lot.

I started Dayton 2015on Thursday attending the QRP-

ARCI's Four Days in May (http://www.qrparci.org/fdim/) seminar. George Dobbs, G3RJV, gave a very nice talk that not only talked about circuits, but also the people he’s met over the years and the places he’s been. Paul, M0XPD, gave an interesting talk on crystal filters and using an Arduino to control a QRP rig. The final talk, by Glen, KW5GP, was also about using an Arduino to control a QRP rig. Other talks covered transmission lines and SWR and adventures in PCB making. I learned something in every single one.

That evening, I participated in Vendor's Night. I sold

quite a few copies of my CW Geek's Guide to Having Fun with Morse Code and gave out quite a few "I'm a CW Geek" buttons and "Hams Obey Ohm's Law" stickers.

Friday Saturday all about the Hamvention. As far as

new products go, there were a couple of interesting an-nouncements. Elecraft introduced the K3S, an updated and upgraded K3 HF Transceiver, and FlexRadio introduced the Maestro, a "front end" with knobs, dials, and LCD screen for their software-driven radios. Apparently, hams like knobs and dials after all.

It seemed to me that there were more people at this

year's Hamvention. There were certainly more sellers out in the flea market. And deals were to be had. I picked up a Bencher BY-1 for only $50. I also found a Hallicrafters HA-1 T.O. Keyer

(http://www.ai4fr.com/main/page_ham_radio_hallicrafters_ha1.html), which I believe to be the first commercially-available electronic keyer. Pro-duced in the 1960s, it uses tubes to generate dots and dash-es.

Dayton usually has a great lineup of forums, but aside

from perhaps the TAPR forum, the Antennas forum, and maybe the ATV forum, none of them really called to me. Also, I was really busy talking to people I know, meeting readers, and trying to get the dealers to carry my books, so I didn't get to a single one.

Being the CW geek that I am, I'm hoping to hold a

CW forum at next year's Hamvention. I've already contact-ed the forum people, and while they haven't committed to giving me time, I did get a very positive response. C U THR?

=================================== When he's not attending the Dayton Hamvention, Dan,

KB6NU enjoys working CW on the HF bands and teaching ham radio classes. For more information about his operat-ing activities and his "No-Nonsense" series of amateur radio license study guides, go to KB6NU.Com or e-mail [email protected]


What Would You Do? By Dan Romanchik, KB6NU

For the past three or four years, I’ve been threatening to buy a new radio to replace my ICOM IC-746PRO. The IC-746PRO is a great rig, though, and I’ve had trouble pull-ing the trigger on a $3k – $5k or more purchase. The radio that I’ve had my eye on is the Elecraft K3. Without a doubt the K3 is a better rig than the 746PRO, and it's certainly worth the price that Elecraft is asking. The question I keep asking myself, though, is, “Am I going to have $5,000 more fun with a K3?”


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CNHARC Repeater Sustaining Members

2015 / 2016 Glen Aldrich KC1AAI Peter Jackson K2SNW

Nate Ayotte KC1DKE Robert MacGuffie K2HZN

Tim Carter W3ATB Bryan Medeiroa KC1DVN

Dick Christopher N1LT James Robinton N1CRZ

Richard Wholey K1OBP Stephen Saunders K1NET

Lee Duncan W1LAD Bernie Quartaroli WI1I

Derek Fritz KB1YTQ Dick Sterry KB1OCE

Bill Guinther KC1BMM Dave Worrall N2IRO

Ronald Bryson Rick Zach K1RJZ

Edward Curley KC1CLA Thomas Edwards W1EDW

Ron Baker N1JJW Jack Barbera WA1ZDV

Jim Brown KB1FBQ Bryan Letourneau

Peter Drexel AE1T Bruce Hamel K1BRH

Frank Martin NG1J James White KA1OEO

W1JY Central NH Amateur Radio Club W1CNH

To put it another way, the question is, assuming that I have a $5,000 budget to spend on amateur radio gear over the next year or two or three, what’s the best way to spend it? How can I maximize my purchases so that I have the most fun?

At this point, I think that I’ve decided not to buy that

new rig and instead buy equipment that will help me make my own rigs. Some of the items that I have my eye on in-clude:

Aoyue 968A+ SMD Digital Hot Air Rework Sta-tion (I have actually already purchased this unit.)

* Rigol DS1102E 100MHz, Dual Channel, 1 GSa/s Digital Oscilloscope

Rigol DSA815-TG Spectrum Analyzer * A more professional workbench to replace the

folding table that I'm currently using. * Peaberry SDR V2 Kit * More keys! I’d love to get a fancy Begali or

N3ZN paddle, and the other day someone told me about the UR5CDX keys, which look like great deals. Even if I purchased everything on this list, I'll have spent less than $5,000.

One consequence of going this route is that I'll have

less time for operating. I'm betting (hoping?) that the extra time spent on tinkering will be just as much fun, or even more fun than I’m having now.

It also means that I’ll be going to Dayton with a much

different mindset than I have the past couple of years. In-stead of spending my time configuring the perfect K3 in my head, I'll be looking for kits and scouring the flea market looking for parts.

I may be overthinking this, but like most amateurs, I

have a limited budget to spend on amateur radio. That being the case, making conscious decisions about how to spend that money should help me have more fun with ham radio, and that's the goal, isn't it?

What do you think? Is this the right way to go, or am I

going to regret this decision? If you've made a similar deci-sion, I'd love to hear from you.

==================================== When not making crucial decisions about his amateur

radio career, you'll find KB6NU working on updates to his "No Nonsense" study guides, teaching one-day Tech classes, or blogging about amateur radio at www.kb6nu.com.

The view from the Gunstock chairlift Photo by Mark, W1DDI

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CNHARC Nets Monday: Two-Meter Net, 8:00 PM, 146.985 Wednesday: ARES Net, 8:00 PM, 146.985 Thursday: Six-meter Net, 8:00 PM, 53.77

Check Out The CNHARC Page on Facebook!

SOTA from Mt. Washington Cliff, N1RCQ took a trip up the Auto Road shortly

after the last of the snow was cleared and the road was opened to the summit for the 2015 season. Temperature on the summit was 41°F, but with the wind chill it was in the 30s.

May Steering Committee Meeting Pictures

The Club’s new 440 antenna:

Tim, W3ATB uses it to dub our new Field Day Coordinator...

...and, our new Near-Fest Tables Coordinator:


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Secretary’s Report

Rich, WF1V

by

CNHARC STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING - Mon-day, 4/13/2015 ATTENDEES (SC Members and Honored Members): W3ATB Tim Carter President KB1GNI Lee Hillsgrove Vice President - Ex-cused K1LQN Tom Persson Treasurer WF1V Rich Kumpf Secretary KB1FBQ Jim Brown Member 2015 N1RCQ Cliff Dickenson Member 2015 N1RKW Adam Foley Member 2015 N1LT Dick Christopher Member 2017 KA1VJU Dave Megin Member 2017 N1DOU David Weiss Member 2017 KB1GQV Peggy Brown Member N1CRZ Jim Robinton Member W1DDI Mark Persson Member N1NYI Bill McAllister Member N1HD Chris Read Member KC1CVG Karen Appleyard Member KA1DPZ Curtis Appleyard Member VENUE The meeting was held at the Gilford Community Church. MEETING OPENING - Tim Carter, President Tim Carter called the April 2015 meeting of the Central NH Amateur Radio Club to order at 7:00 PM MEETING NOTES - Acceptance A motion was made and seconded to accept the Meeting notes from the March 9th 2015 meeting. The motion carried unanimously. PRESIDENT'S REPORT - Tim Carter, W3ATB OLD MAN EVENT: Tim showed the group the N1H QSL Card. Location: Bruce Hammel, will provide his 'camp' QTH near Littleton. Signups are very good. More than 10-12 operators will be present. The group will be asked to bring miscellaneous food items. DX: Tim just received a DX call sign from Antigua.

While there, he's planning on working DX, and possibly write an article for the Communicator. Elections are coming up. They will be held at the May meeting. Candidate requests have gone out. Lee H is stepping down as VP, so we need candidate(s) to vote on! Cliff & Jim: Steering Committee memberships expire this month. Nominating Committee Chairman: Cliff volunteered to hold the position. Need 2 more members. Tim will work with Cliff to create a slate for the meeting elections. All officer positions are OPEN for a 1 year Term. VICE PRESIDENT REPORT - Lee H Hillsgrove, KB1GNI Not Present to give a report. TREASURER'S REPORT - Tom Persson, K1LQN Franklin Lease due by May 1st. Tom witnessed. Ready to deliver. Tom will deliver to City Hall Lease: $1/year. Membership Renewals - Ready in QuickBooks. Will be mailed out after the May meeting. Hope to push RSM Repeater Fund Membership Report: 1 New member joined this month, Total Membership=126. SECRETARY'S REPORT - Rich Kumpf, WF1V Minutes: The March Minutes were approved and uploaded to the Google drive Suggestion: The secretary provides the initial agenda items for the next meeting to the President to review and modify. WEBSITE/EMAIL REPORT - Tim Carter, W3ATB Mark & Tim are working on making the new website go live. Hoping that the website will go live within 2 weeks. (need some visual improvements) The new email process seems to be working fine. (uses Da-Da mail plugin) from the website. MEETING PROGRAM COORDINATOR REPORT - Cliff Dickinson, N1RCQ Cliff mentioned that $44 was retained from 50/50 raffle Last meeting attendance: 51 May Meeting Program Plan (almost final): - PUT IN THE AGENDA PROPOSAL !! 50/50 Raffle: Idea: Have the tickets available when folks drop in.

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W1JY Central NH Amateur Radio Club W1CNH

Tim suggested to have the last chance to purchase tickets, then announce the winner before the 2nd topic. Door Prizes - This would involve purchasing tickets: Tim thought that some members may be interested in donat-ing door prizes. Tim thought that the VP could take on this responsibility. May/June: Planning Team (Jim & Rich & Cliff): Cliff will call a meeting to create schedules for May/June July/August: Will there be a club meeting? YES! Summer Cookout in July. This is separate from the club meetings. Another idea: May Meeting: Announcements, Club Elections, Field Day Update, Break, Emergency Power, ...COPY FROM EMAIL June Meeting Planning: Cliff reported that he is working on the June Meeting - Ship Wireless/Radio History. May run 1 hour. Need 2nd Topic. COMMUNICATOR - Lee Hillsgrove, KB1GNI CERT Training was - CANCELLED A new training sessions is being planned. - Dick C will pro-vide Lee with info for the Communicator. FIELD DAY COORDINATOR - Dick Christopher, N1LT Dick reported on the planning meeting held at the LRGH Cafeteria. We decided on a traditional Field Day at the Belknap Fair-grounds. Close mowing will precede the event. Tent: Need to check that it is serviceable. Stakes/Rope/Coax/Antennas: Need an Inventory W1JY will be the basic call. W1CNH will be the call for the GOTA station. Jim Cluett will provide the USB logging sticks (Squirl) - Windows PC needed. Program is on the USB stick. ...practice before the event. Requesting RVs & Lighting & Chairs. Tim has tables & chairs. Can move picnic tables if needed. Dave will bring fold-up tables. There will be a ham-radio learning activity (ex: Soldering, Videos, etc.) Need CW & Phone operators. Also digital & satellite. VHF & David can bring his Go-Kit for a learning activity. A mesh network could be used to tie together the logging computers Letters need to be sent to first-responders in local towns (Police/Fire/Red-Cross/etc.)

Photographers: Rich & Tim Food: Jim will coordinate food. David suggested eggs for Sunday breakfast. Dave/Peggy often provide food for Saturday-Dinner. Signup Sheets: Jim mentioned that a sign-up sheet is need-ed. Tim will blast it out before the next club meeting. Security: Jim/Dave/Peggy will be at the site 24/7 Publicity: Tim can get articles for: Weirs Times, etc. CERT newletter has email addresses of public safety officers. Table will be set up. Signage: Dick mentioned that we need these! Tim has them in his shed. GOTA Station: Bob McGuffie will coordinate this activity. Does not count in the contest points. ...members will be encouraged to show visitors what ham radio is all about. OTHER DISCUSSION ITEMS INCLUDING EVENT PLANS A. CNARC Support for 2 local walks Dick reported status for two walks which were voted to be club events at the last SC meeting: Laconia Walk - Was Cancelled. Ashland Walk - Adaptive Handicapped - Scheduled for May 31st. - Was Cancelled B. BBQ: Planned for July - Dave/Peggy/Clayton are Chair-ing this. Clayton acknowledged 2 weekends in July would work for him. Date: Peggy Reported that the last weekend would work. Saturday July 25th is a tentative date. Venue: Possibly use the Gilford Church property. Grill: Outside, Pot Luck: Club: Hot Dogs & Hamburgers C. Boy Scouts Jamboree at NH Speedway (October 10-11, Columbus Day Weekend): Tim has contact info. Dick volunteered to work with: Curtis KA1DPZ & Karen KC1CVG Motor Speedway Requirements - Need: Tent, Antennas, etc. Site Visit Needed: Planning Group will assign locations for the event. Wonalancet Division. Contact Person: Bob Waterman Time: 9AM-4PM on Saturday Oct 10th. D. Boy Scout Ham Shack - Plan to re-activate the shack Troop 68 in Laconia - St. Joseph Catholic Church Troop 43 in Gilford also interested in club contact. E. Elections: - Cliff will create an Election Slate for the May meeting. Positions Opening: 4 Officers, 2 SC members


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FOR SALE

Astron RS-12A power supply I used it to power my echolink node which is now out of service... So it should be in good

running order... $45.

Two portable ground plane antennas, one for 2M and one for 6M. I call them portable be-

cause they are easily disassembled and assem-bled, consisting of four horizontal radials and one vertical radiator. While they offer little

gain, they can easily be attached to one or more sections of mast and put up in the air where they will provide a better signal than a mag

mount on a file cabinet. Good for emergency setups. I'm looking for $15 for the 2M unit and

$25 for the 6M antenna.

Contact: [email protected]

ARES Net Wednesdays at 8:00 PM on 146.985 MHz

Notes: SC members are on a 3-year rotation. Officers are elected every year. Elections will be held at the May Meeting. Changeover begins in June. Tim will send out an email soliciting candidates for officers F. Club Badges brought up by David Club will offer picture badges. This will be mentioned on the Renewal Forms - To be sent out soon by Tom. Requires PayPal Update? Tim will put the Badge Info on the Club's website. G. NEARFEST - May 1-2 Do we want to set up a club table? Contact Dick N1LT if a combined effort is wanted. REPEATERS REPORT - Mark Persson, W1DDI Fusion Repeater is on Steele Hill. See Below. D-Star service available on Gunstock. Need to address an-tenna problem on Gunstock. Next Step: Climb tower. UHF Kreco Antenna Replacement: $120 with shipping - Provide Good Service. Unity Gain on UHF. Motion was made to purchase this antenna. Motion was Seconded. Vote Results: AYE was unanimous. Yaesu Training: Firmware Upgrades for the DR-1X are forthcoming. We have 1 running now, and will soon have 2. Website: Tim is now working on the new website. Wordpress site got moved into the root directory & blew up the forums & the mailing lists. Status: Tim will take responsibility for getting the website working. Forums: Now back online. Members need to re-join. Website is now working. Forum with Wordpress will be integrated. Other Items: > The 146.985 repeater didn't respond to a 'turn-off' com-mand. Repeater was rebooted. Still needs to be tested on the next site visit. > Suggestion: Club minutes should be posted on the website Tim will take approved minutes in PDF and post them. Post-Meeting Repeater Updates from Mark:

> We brought online the NE1DS C D-Star repeater at N1HD’s house. The frequency is 145.480 and it works quite well. > Saturday we brought online the DR1X (our first DR1X) on Steele Hill. The frequency is 146.670 minus PL 123.0hz. Jim, Ed and I did some quick tests while Jim drove to Bristol and it worked pretty much like you can see in this picture…(it didn’t once he made his way through New Hampton into Bristol) The repeater is in AMS mode so analog FM is on as well as digital DN and VW modes. > I sent back the CO-156AN that we discovered was man-ufactured to the wrong frequency today to Kreco (we re-placed this last summer) and placed the order for the new UHF CO-461A. PUBLICITY - Tim Carter, President No additional topics were brought up. MEETING CLOSE - Tim Carter, President The Secretary suggested to the President that with no more topics, we vote to close the meeting. . With no more topics to discuss, Tim called for a motion and vote to end the meeting. So moved and seconded. A motion to close the meeting was made and seconded. Vote was unanimous AYE at 8:55 PM.

14



Ossipee Mountain Electronics, Inc.

PROFESSIONAL 2-WAY COMMUNICATIONS SALES &SERVICE

RR 1, BOX 396 OSSIPEE MT.ROAD

MOULTONBORO, NH 03254

TELE: (603) 476-5581 FAX: (603) 476-5587

Dick Christopher, N1LT-2017 603-524-6567 Cliff Dickinson, N1RCQ-2018 603-279-7763 Jim Brown, KB1FBQ-2018 603-581-2411

Adam Foley, N1RKW-2016 603-528-0678 Dave Megin, KA1VJU-2017 603-398-3667 603-581-2411 David Weiss, N1DOU-2017 603-545-1278

Steering Committee

Officers’ terms are for one year per by-laws

Club Officers Vice President

Glenn Aldrich, KC1AAI 603-581-2411

[email protected]

Treasurer Tom Persson, K1LQN

978-774-6351 603-581-2411

[email protected]

Program Director Cliff Dickinson, N1RCQ

603-279-7763 603-581-2411

[email protected]

President Tim Carter, W3ATB

603-722-0908 603-581-2411

[email protected]

Secretary Rich Kumpf, WF1V

603-581-2411 [email protected]

Club Historian Dick Christopher, N1LT

603-524-6567 603-581-2411

[email protected]

Publicity / Public Relations Officer

Tim Carter, W3ATB 603-722-0908 603-581-2411

[email protected]

Field Coordinator Training Officer

Dick Christopher, N1LT 603-524-6567 603-581-2411

[email protected]

Technical Coordinator Open

The Communicator

is published monthly by the Central New Hampshire Amateur Radio Club, a non-profit corporation and charitable trust, affiliated with the American Radio Relay League.

Membership in the Central New Hampshire Amateur Radio Club is open to all who are interested in amateur radio. Payment of annual Club dues as an individual ($15), family ($20) or as a student ($10), entitles the registrant to belong to the club and to receive The Communicator, monthly or when published for the remainder of the year. The Club year starts June 1. Subscription and Membership: CNHARC, Box 1112, Laconia, NH 03247-1112. Email: [email protected]

Editor Lee Hillsgrove, Sr. KB1GNI

The deadline for all copy and classified ads for the Communicator is 16th of every month. Send to: Lee Hillsgrove, Sr. KB1GNI, 203 Waukeena Lake Road, Danbury, NH 03230 or email to [email protected]

Change of Address For a change of address, notify CNHARC at PO Box 1112, Laconia, NH 03247-1112. Phone: 603-581-2411. Email: [email protected]

Steering Committee Meeting

The next steering committee meeting will be held on Monday, June 8th at the Gilford Com-munity Church, at 7:00 PM.

Documents

Monthly Newsletter of the Central New Hampshire Amateur ... · (2) Jim Installed new UHF Kreco. We installed new brackets to the existing standoff since the new Kreco is a mast only