TheVHF Journal VHF SS SAT/SUN JAN, 2002

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "TheVHF Journal VHF SS SAT/SUN JAN, 2002"

Agatha Boyd
5 years ago
Views:

VHF Journal 78901234 Scientia sine art nihil est 1234567890123456789 234567890123456789 3456789012345678 Published by Rochester VHF Group 45678901234567 567890123456 78901234 http://vhfgroup.

org Club Memorial Call: W2UTH VHF SS Edition: January 2002 REGINALD FESSENDEN MONTH re was quite a lot of hoopla in the press about Marconi last month, what with the 100th anniversary of the

inventor of Continuous Wave and Amplitude modulation, he created a means of transmitting the human voice on radio waves despite being told by his boss (Thomas Edison) that it was impossible.

1 VHF Journal Scientia sine art nihil est Published by Rochester VHF Group Club Memorial Call: W2UTH VHF SS Edition: January 2002 REGINALD FESSENDEN MONTH re was quite a lot of hoopla in the press about Marconi last month, what with the 100th anniversary of the transatlantic crossing. Well, this month we celebrate the life of Reginald Fessenden- the true creator of Modern Radio. inventor of Continuous Wave and Amplitude modulation, he created a means of transmitting the human voice on radio waves despite being told by his boss (Thomas Edison) that it was impossible. 95 years ago, he made his first test broadcast: He used music from a wax cylinder recording, then he spoke into a microphone, and followed that with a violin solo of a classic seasonal tune, and ended it with a Merry Christmas. Unsuspecting radiomen in ships and shore stations receiving morse code were so alarmed by the sound coming through their headphones that it was said to be as shocking as having a tree suddenly begin talking to you. (Editors note: I can imagine people screaming, ripping the cans from their heads, and running out of the room :^) So ask yourself... Other than E=MC 2 or landing a man on the moon, when was the last time anyone invented anything that changed the world this much? Beer Nutrition Facts: If the US Government did allow the listing of nutritional content on beer labels, here s what the content of a standard Nutrition Facts chart might be for a 12-ounce bottle of a typical megabrewed US Lager: 151 calories (2/3 from alcohol) 0 grams fat 0 milligrams cholesterol 25 milligrams sodium 13.7 grams carbohydrate 1.1 grams protein Trace amounts of calcium, potassium and phosphorus, B1, B2, B12. VHF SS SAT/SUN, 2002 What s that? You re not ready for the contest! Don t make me come over there. Contest Chairman says get your contest faces on now!...and get that stinking camera out of my face, too! And now for something completely different... Contes esting for fun DE: N2JMH I find it harder and harder each year to write up something to put in the Journal as January s big contest approaches. Usually I could rant and rave about the rules, winning a gavel for the club or bark about getting on the air to give others points. I would guess that some grow tired of it so I will try a much more subtle approach and tell you why I contest with the enthusiasm that I do. Somewhere among your hectic schedule you have to find something to do that won t hurt you and that you really enjoy. I know that your job is so rewarding that you would think that would be all you need to do away from your family time. Well we all know that is not true so looks like I can turn to the next best thing. This hobby allows me to spend my time building things that if they don t work or I break it I do not have to tell the boss. Now I have a hobby of building neat little electronic devices Continued on page 3

VHFBILL Is snow, real winter weather, what was neded to get you in the mood for the January VHF SS? Well, you ve got your wish now, eh!

.. It finally seemed like winter... time for the VHF SS. So how are your preparations coming?

Pull out of that funk by putting a few hours in front of that ancient Clegg Venus or Benton-Harbour Lunch Box this January... say hi to the folks around the dial.

2 VHFBILL Is snow, real winter weather, what was neded to get you in the mood for the January VHF SS? Well, you ve got your wish now, eh! As a mater of fact, as I write this- it s coming down at about 2 per hour on Amherst Island. I know that, for me, something twigged once the snow finally came on Christmas Eve... It finally seemed like winter... time for the VHF SS. So how are your preparations coming? I know a lot of logs that were completed for the September `test never got turned in, and I think that the November all-band Sprints entries might have suffered too. Pull out of that funk by putting a few hours in front of that ancient Clegg Venus or Benton-Harbour Lunch Box this January... say hi to the folks around the dial. Are we in a new-world order kind of funk? So where are all the submissions this month? Where s the free flow of ideas, the technical submissions, the humor we had but a short time ago? Gonna start calling this the N2JMH Journal soon, in honor of Jim s regular submissions of fodder for your publication. Some folks who should have been writing articles have been absent from these pages on a regular basis. Is the Journal redudndant now that the RVHFG has a listserver? Hmmm... I think that, if we got one or two articles out of each person on the list at the right, both the elected and appointed ones, we d have a great publication. Right now, you ll notice, we re looking pretty anemic. I ve decided to break out of the slump and have more fun. Either I can retrench and go to postcard format... or go back to the generally irreverent style I started out with- beer quotes and all. Well, the latter wins out- better to be in bad taste than none at all! And speaking of taste, well, there s that bottle of Titantic (9.0% alc) by Le Cheval Blanc of Montreal calling my name from the fridge now... Tom om VE3IEY FN14pd Rochester VHF Group * Club memorial call: W2UTH * Club Officers: Chairman: K2AXX Mark Hoffman (716) k2axx@arrl.net Vice Chairman: W2DYY, Russ Schroder w2dyy@rochester.rr.com Secretary: etary: N2JMH Jim Howard (716) n2jmh@arrl.net Treasur easurer er: N2IM Charles Barkowski, (716) n2im@juno.com Director (Even year): KB2VGH Jeff Luce (716) kb2vgh@amsat.org Director (Odd year): K2DH Dave Hallidy (716) k2dh@frontiernet.net Past Chairman: NS9E Tim Stoffel (775) lionlamb@servtech.com Appointees: Contest Chairman: N2JMH Jim Howard (716) n2jmh@arrl.net Awards manager: N2JMH Jim Howard (above) Club memorial Call Trustee rustee: N2WK Wayne King N2WK@arrl.net Banquet Chairman: WA2ZNC Len Gessin (716) wa2znc@juno.com Picnic Chairman: AA2WV Scott Ballou Journal Editor: VE3IEY Tom Richmond (613) tantonr@kingston.net Journal Publishing ublishing:n2kxs & WO2P (716) jstonehill@att.net Membership Manager,, Subscription Services vices: N2KXS (above) Internet Webmaster: K2AXX (above) Mailing list Majordomo in charge ge: KB2VGH (above) Adver ertizing tizing: VE3IEY (above) Jeff eff,, KB2VGH sez: re is only *one* mailing list [you ll ever need...] Rvhfg@vhfgroup.rochesterny.rochesterny.or.org It is set up to broadcast to all RVHFG members Spending a few days snowbound in the Buffalo area? Well, then trundle on over the Peace Bridge to Niagara Falls, Ontario and get yourself a few 24 s of To Subscribe: Send your address ess,, call, address and $15 US funds for mailed copies(or $10 US for Web downloaded copies) to: Rochester VHF Group,, PO Box 92122, Rochester,, NY,, You may elect WEB or MAIL delivery ery for the same price. You will be notified the very day it is available for download. If you elect delivery by mail, copies are in Black and White- sorry! -Commentary and articles: via to editor VE3IEY: tantonr@kingston.net. Use standard ASCII text, Corel s Word Perfect or send as regular . -Photos and drawings awings: via , and can be sent in any format that is available (JPG, GIF and TIFF are most common). EXCEPTION: We don t like MS PowerPoint (*.PPT) files! -Assistant Editor,, Printer rinter,, Membership & Data-Magician: Judy,, N2KXS -Production Czar and Supreme Downloader of the Wor ord: Fred, WO2P -Adv Adver ertising space is now available ailable in the Journal. Contact the editor for One thru Twelve month rates. Layout services are free of charge ge. -This publication is Copyrighted by the Rochester VHF Group. It has been created using Corel s Word Perfect 2000, Adobe Photoshop 6.0, Adobe Pagemaker 6.52, Adobe Image Ready 3.0, and Adobe Acrobat Distiller 5.0. It is designed to be read with Acrobat 5.0 Other NFP publications may excerpt articles herein ein provided subscrip- tion information (or www address) to the Journal is reprinted with it. THE VHF JOURNAL was compiled, edited, and typeset on Amherst Island, in Ontario,, Canada (FN14pd) It was published in Rochester,, New York, USA (FN13) World s Image Capital VHF Journal, January 1,

6789012345678901212345678901 6789012345678901212345678901 MEETING NOTICE 6789012345678901212345678901 6789012345678901212345678901 6789012345678901212345678901 6789012345678901212345678901

6789012345678901212345678901 6789012345678901212345678901 Frida riday 11 JAN 2002 6789012345678901212345678901 6789012345678901212345678901 6789012345678901212345678901 6789012345678901212345678901

Road 6789012345678901212345678901 6789012345678901212345678901 6789012345678901212345678901 6789012345678901212345678901 6789012345678901212345678901 Roc ochester hester, NY Ready to Rumble?

3 MEETING NOTICE Frida riday 11 JAN :30 PM Westf estfall Road Roc ochester hester, NY Ready to Rumble? Contest Chairman Jim Howard,, N2JMH, will be providing our January meeting program. WARNING: take your Nitro Pills before the meeting starts! Make sure you have your required 2 meetings in so you qualify for the club competition in the January VHF SS. (If VE3IEY can do it 2+ times a year from the wrong side of the border and a 4 hour drive each way, nobody that lives in Rochester has any excuse at all, considering the Hamfest and Banquet count as meetings!) High lattitude AU research kg0vl@aol.com I will be QRV from EO36dr January 4th to January 25 th conducting VHF Auroral research. QTH: Northeast Manitoba, Canada. (68 degrees North)(PACE) Will be operational UTC nightly on and Beacons also run- ning on and Hope to hear/work anyone. Additional information available at: Thank you for your time. 73, de Jeffrey, KG0VL/ VE4 Continued from page 1 that I have no idea why they work, but what am I going to do with them if they sit in my shack and just continue to work forever and ever. So I get this brainstorm, lets build a contest grade rover. This will allow me to build more little electronic devices and then take them in a vehicle and see if I can vibrate them until they do not work anymore, then I can fix them. This has to be my best idea ever. Any free time I had not used up before will definitely get used up with this plan. It reminds me of a commercial on television a few years ago. As the man is walking in circles he says I do more coke so I can work more hours so I can make more money so I can buy more coke Maybe not the greatest analogy but I think you get the picture here, right. Everything must be great now; I have successfully used up almost all of my free time in the creation of a competition grade contest rover. I am no longer a green-horn and my excuse of being new to this is all used up. I have 10 bands ready to rock and I am ready to rake in the QSO s during the contest. Reality check comes in halfway through the contest when we realize that we have not made any contacts on 5 gig and only a couple on 10 gig. How can this be so? I know exactly how many people built kits during the club projects (Did you catch that? I just squeezed a little rant in there). This is no problem though; we are having fun making QSO s on the other bands and enjoying the scenery as we travel through the countryside. Hold on a minute, I must have lost my mind for a second. This is a contest; there will be no enjoying the scenery, no stopping for a hot meal, no stopping for sleep and no anything that is not directly related to making contacts for the contest. Post-Contest pursuits: 2C39 ON THE ROCKS Fax (908) We finish another relaxing and fun contest. Now it is time to enjoy some real free time with all of the contesting out of the way. Normally I take Monday off from work to catch up on some sleep and relax. No radios, contest thoughts or rover for the whole day. Whatever, by 9AM I am going through the log and breaking it down. Why did we miss that station on that band and why did we not get this grid. My roving partner Todd has the perfect term for this, it is fester. I guess it is a cross between Uncle Fester from Adams Family and what happens to an open infected wound. It is not good either way. Things will get more fun from here on out, as Contest Chairman I will get to see everyone s log and fester over those as well. I am very fortunate to have ESP as I go through the logs because I will know what class you are operating in and whether your score counts towards the Rochester Cup scoring (Oops, that one Continued on page 4 VHF Journal, January 1,

4 Continued from page 3 was not very subtle, did you catch it? My backspace key does not work so I can t take it back). You have to come up with your own reasons for contesting or whatever you do to fritter away your free time. only suggestion I can make to you is you should enjoy it for your own reasons as much as I do for my reasons. What is fun for some may not be for others. Get on the air with as many bands as you can for the whole contest and work as many stations as you can and put up your personal best score and help the RVHFG win a gavel (Sorry, had to throw that in at the end. Did you catch it or what is too subtle?). Jim N2JMH (a.k.a. psycho rover ) er ) Award Sponsorship DE: N2JMH Hi everyone, your favorite moneygrubber here again. It s that time of year again for award sponsorship and I would like to try to handle it a little different this year. In past years I have sent previous sponsors a form letter to remind you that it is time to sponsor again. It s the 2000 s now and I should be able to cover everyone through the Journal and by electronic mail. All past sponsors should reply to me preferably in the form of a check for the award that you paid for last year. If you do not wish to continue let me know as soon as possible so it can be offered to others. Either way please inform me of your intentions. If you wish to sponsor and have not in the past let me know and I will tell you what is available. Contact me at n2jmh@arrl.net or in the evening at club mailbox is: RVHFG PO box Rochester NY Last year s sponsors: Unlimited Multi 1 st -RDXA Limited Multi 1 st -NS9E SOHP 1 st - WA2ZNC 2 nd -NS9E 3 rd -Andros MFG SOLP 1 st -WY2Z 2 nd -N2WVK 3 rd -N2JMH QRP 1 st -N2KXS ROVER 1 st -Andros MFG 2 nd -N2JMH 3 rd -K2TER 4 th -KB2VGH Most Improved 1 st -N2NEP Single Band 50-K2AXX 144-WO2P 222-VE3IEY 432-WA8WZG 902/1296-N2YB K2DH Price remains the same as last year $30 for 1 st place; $29 for 2 nd place; $28 for 3 rd place RVHFG December 2001 Meeting Minutes DE: N2JMH meeting started at 7:35 pm with Mark K2AXX giving a report about 6 meters being open to Europe and Alaska recently and told everyone where to find video carriers to show a possible opening. Old Business: Financial and Secretaries reports were accepted as printed in the journal by Jim KC2EBH and seconded by Judy N2KXS. issue of roving came up again with the upcoming January contest and the worries of being out on the road with the new heightened sense of caution being displayed by the average citizen towards these strange looking vehicles. New Business: Jim N2JMH talked about the RAC winter contest being held on December 29 th and suggested participation along with our northern neighbors. He also distributed a survey from the ARRL to be filled out so the information could be forwarded to the league. Anyone needing antenna work or any other help with there station needs to let Jim N2JMH know as soon as possible so a gang of volunteers could be formed to get this work done before the January contest. A practical contesting discussion was held, started out by Jim N2JMH talking about efficient band passing between the rovers and the home stations and the need to not leave the rovers in queue waiting for the microwave bands. This turned into a lively discussion amongst everyone and the decision was made amongst ourselves that for the benefit of the club score for this contest, the rovers should be first on every home stations priorities. Mark, N2YB of the N2PA contest group also agreed on this subject and promised to be a leader in this effort of getting the rovers through all the bands as timely as possible. Mark K2AXX motioned to adjourn the regular meeting at 8:50 with George N2UIO accepting and Mark KC2MGM seconding. meeting adjourned and we went on to the noise figure meter and testing of some of the new DEMI preamps. TV Metaphisics...tune in and tune out Star Trek: Trust Sulu before Chekov. Dick Van Dyke: Never rearrainge Rob and Laura s furniture. Bonanza: Never ask Hoss. Hoss doesn t know. Father Knows Best: Father knows second best. VHF Journal, January 1,

5 FROM THE VAULT: NOVEMBER 1982 JANUARY 82 VHF SS DXPEDITION- AF2K/3... WPA in the midst of the Siberian Express By Dave Stark- N2CSB time is upon us to commence serious planning for the January 1983 VHF Sweepstakes, My fingers have finally thawed out enough to write about this past year s mini- DXpedition to the hills of WPA. Very early on the coldest morning on record for the date, Irv, AF2K and I departed Rochester for the site, located 13 miles SW of Wellsville, six miles west of Genesee, Potter county, Pennsylvania, some 7600 feet south or the state boundary. Our super location was 2480 ft above sea level on property owned by Mr. Lance Baxter, not a ham (yet). Our generous host kindly provided us with 120 VAC. Although my most vivid recollection of the event (ordeal?) was assembling and erecting the antennae in -22 degree F conditions (a chore that drained all heat from my fingers up to my elbows) AF2K/ 3 turned out to be a somewhat successful venture. During the setup procedure, the intense cold forced us both to seek warmth inside the vehicle at 10 minute intervals to thaw numb hands and feet. With Irv at the mic, and myself logging, we managed to rack up 60 contacts in 5 sections (WPA,EPA,WNY,ONT & OHIO) during our 3 hours of multi-op effort, including providing a new multiplier to some or our fellow contesters up north in the Rochester area. Meanwhile, the station wagon decided to do its own thing, so, with a broken water pump, we thought it wise to cease operations early and start planning how we were going to manage to depart the hill before nightfall. Thanks to an alert WA2RHR, arrangements were made for a tow into Wellsville as darkness desended. Naturally, there were no repair facilities available on a Sunday night, so we were invited to stay with Jim & Suzie, KA2AJH and KA2FGV, two kind and generous folk who provided a hot supper, sleeping accommodations- and lots of warmth. We also used their station to send messages of explanation back to the home QTH s via Western District Net. Car repairs were completed Monday morning, and we arrived back home that afternoon, about 20 hours behind schedule. Ah, the price of success! Wait till next year! 73 de N2CSB If for only on day, I could set my laser printer on stun... KBC From the vault: January 1984 THE NIGHT BEFORE CONTEST T was the night before contest, and all cross the band, VHF Group members readied for Mt. Airy s last stand. Antennas were all tuned up with the greatest of care, in hopes that an opening soon would be there. tubes were all nestled deep in their sockets, the key to the plate voltage deep in their pockets. YL with her earplugs, and I in my vest, were taking nap before the January contest. When out of the shack there rose such a clatter, I flew down the stairs to see what was the matter! As I rounded the corner I saw a great flash: My equipment was reduced to a pile of ash! moon, in its perigee, shone bright on the snow. giving luster of midday to objects below. When through the air at a great clip, came a V-8 DeSoto with a 6meter whip! Inside was a man so lively and fast, it was surely the Ghost of Contest Past! repeater turned on and gave a great squawk, when on 2 meter AM he began to talk: On Sunset, on Two er and APX-6 On Utica, on Six er and good old Knight kits! He flew to the tower with a prop pitch motor, replacing the old tired commercial rotor. Down the feedline he slid with a twinkle in his eyes, with the colors of aurora dancing in the sky. Your shack is a mess, I heard him say, but some old gear of yours can still save the day! Quick as a flash, to the garage he flew, an armload of gear from the junkbox he drew. Before I knew it, the shack was reborn with faithful old rigs that had once laid forlorn. With my chrome plated Utica and homebrew P.A., I had worked hundreds of stations in an earlier day. 80 watt Ameco, and club project converter had won me the honors before I got my transverter. My 220 handhelds the ghost pulled out of the lot, (modulated oscillators were taboo now, he forgot) With a smile he said, on 432 you ve got a varactor tripler and a skeleton slot! When I turned round, the old ghost was gone, His shadow flying crost the snow covered lawn. That weekend with my old friends seemed so glorious (especially when we emerged victorious!) old smell of bakelite again filled the shack, and the rigs kept me warm with their glow in the back.. As I read the scores in the June QST, I remembered the ghosts last words to me; You ll beat the Packrats if it s a fair fight! CQ Contest to all, and to all a good night! By: WB2IEY, WA2YTM, NA2O VHF Journal, January 1,

6 THE LATEST CORDLESS TECHNOLOGY & OTHER BITS...Battery advice from WW Grainger s online catalogue. When you think of technology s cutting edge, a cordless drill may not be the first thing that comes to mind. But like virtually everything else, cordless drill technology is evolving quickly. And whether your job requires a state-of-the-art drill or not, here are some things to consider when buying and maintaining your cordless drill. A Delicate Balance: Power ower,, Run-Time and Weight Most users want lots of power and lots of run-time. That means lots of battery power. problem is, batteries are heavy. You can choose from 12-volt, 14.4-volt or 18-volt battery packs. Obviously, the higher the voltage, the more your drill weighs. If your work doesn t require the torque provided by an 18-volt model, you ll probably appreciate not having to heft the extra weight. Newer drill designs incorporate some design tricks to help maximize power. Permanent magnets don t require current to set up their magnetic field, so all your battery power goes to the armature. You can choose Alnico or Rare-Earth magnets. Rare-Earth magnets are slightly stronger but more expensive. More efficient motors and gearing also help reduce power loss from friction to squeeze more torque and run-time from your batteries. Finally, new-generation high-capacity batteries can produce the same level of power for longer periods (more amp-hours). A few years ago, 1.4 amp-hour ratings were typical. Today, the number has risen as high as 2.0. Other tool batteries are up to 2.5, but these batteries are generally still too expensive to be found in most drill/drivers. You may have heard about a new technology called lithium-ion batteries. se batteries pack much more power and run-time per ounce- but they cost about 10 times as much as NiCad batteries. Again, they won t be found in tools until the price comes down. Unplugging Myths About Battery Charging In early NiCad charging systems, damaging excessive heat could be generated if a battery fully recharged before the charging cycle was finished. However, newer systems incorporate feedback systems to prevent overheating - so it is perfectly safe to top off a battery that is only 50% discharged. Another myth is that you must drain a battery completely before you recharge it. A NiCad battery has a flat discharge profile: torque produced when it s full is the same as when it s nearly empty. Only when the charge is down to 2 or 3% does the power drop off. This is the time to recharge - you don t need to completely drain it. In fact, repeatedly discharging a battery to zero can disrupt the chemical reaction that allows it to hold a charge - ruining the battery for good. Stay Cool most important thing you can do to maintain your NiCad battery is to keep it from getting hot. This includes heat from overwork, excessive charging, even sitting on your dashboard on a sunny day. Meeting Notice: FRIDAY 11 JAN 2002, 7:30 PM 111 Westfall Road, Rochester,, NY VHF Jour J ournal Roc R ochester VHF Group Gr PO Box Bo Roc ochester hester, NY USA

TheVHF Journal. Holiday Edition: December UW activity days. The Leonid Meteor Shower of 2001

TheVHF Journal. Holiday Edition: December UW activity days. The Leonid Meteor Shower of 2001 TheVHF Journal 78901234 Scientia sine art nihil est 1234567890123456789 234567890123456789 3456789012345678 Published by The Rochester VHF Group 45678901234567 567890123456 78901234 http:vhfgroup.rochesterny.org