Special Assignment – SCARC’s Caribbean Advanced Research Center

By N0ECT

Am missing this Saturday’s February 2012 SCARC meeting due to an Advanced Research Project, involving SWR and the Impedance Matching network involved in transmitting the maximum power from the Left to the Right Hand. The Mathematical Models involved in this project are intense as you can see. Please send more batteries for my calculator and sun tan lotion for my research assistant!  If you click on the photo below and zoom in (right hand) – you can easily see this Research Project is a matter of National Security. See you folks at next month’s meeting!

-73 N0ECT

Ski Country Amateur Radio Club meeting Saturday February 4th

Ski Country Amateur Radio Club meeting Saturday February 4th.

 

US Bank meeting room 1901 Grand Avenue Glenwood 10 AM – 12 Noon.

Technical Meeting – Standing Up for Standing Waves – Bill Hays Video

World Class Antenna & Transmission Line Demonstrations

This is an ATT-Bell Labs presentation. Theory through demos not formulas.

If you have a match box or SWR bridge, bring it to the meeting for show & tell.

Extra credit to be given to members who remember to bring their Slide-Rules and remaining unused Smith Charts.

VEC FCC testing following the presentation.  Please brush up on Maxwell’s Equations in both Diffential and Integral form for best results.

Thanks & 73 Bob – K9MWM

Mid-Winter Tune Up – Vail Mountain’s Repeater – 146.610Mhz

by N0ECT

Dateline:  Sunday, January 15th 2012

One of the (advantages?) of having an Amateur Radio Repeater on the top of Vail Mountain is that you can easily Ski there and make any mid-Winter adjustments as required.

Pictured below is Frank (N0AFO) showing Mrs. N0ECT just how it’s done.  Debbie sporting her Ms. CDOT Ski outfit, wants to know why such a small radio needs such a big room on the top of Vail Mountain - with an Air Conditioner sticking out the side of the wall…

Problem Solved?  N0ECT suggested we might just want to turn up the Link Radio’s Squelch to eliminate that pesky (occasional) noise problem we’ve been experiencing on ’61 this Winter Season.

N0ECT suggested the Squelch knob be used because that was the only Amateur Radio term he could remember – since passing his Technician Class exam – last summer.

So far it seems to be working!!!  Our Alinco Link Radio shown below for our Vail Mountain Repeater!

First SCARC Meeting in 2012

Ski Country ARC will hold its first meeting of 2012  – Saturday,  January 14, 2012 at the

US Bank Community Room – 1901 Grand Avenue

Glenwood Springs from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm.

Here is a partial meeting agenda:

- South Orkney 2011 (VP8ORK) DXpedition DVD

- Digital Photos of the Colorado Connection Blowdown on the Divide

- Phil (N0KE) Contest Rundown for the next 2 months

- Chuck (N0NHJ) Repeater Winter Update

- Bring in hardware or software for show & tell – OpenAPRS iPhone App

- Congrats to Brock (N0TAT) for 1st place in the CW Rookie Roundup (0-Call Area)

-  Club Dues – Bring a check or cash for Club Treasurer Larry – K0CL

- VE FCC testing for Tech license or upgrade

73 Bob – K9MWM

Christmas Party 2011 – Ski Country Amateur Radio Club style!

by N0ECT

No doubt about it.

Our SCARC’s Christmas Party was another big hit – held this past weekend at the Glenwood home of Bob (K9MWM) and Sue (N0DBY)

As the below photo clearly shows – the refugees from the walls of the U.S. Post Office along with their pals – the Poster Boyz – from the ‘Hair Club for Men’ were in attendance!  (Just CLICK on the Photos to enlarge them)

Bob’s especially pretty and photogenic wife Sue (N0DBY) -  made sure all the folks had a great time!  Just ask Frank (N0AFO)

SCARC President Bob (K9MWM) showed off his Presidential Rig for the newbees in the Club!

Apparently Frank hadn’t considered it…the moment of realization occurred for Frank (N0AFO) when Ted (KE0TY) explained if your hold your beer in your left hand – your right hand can be used to operate your $41.00 dollar Stocking Stuffer – Baofang Radio!

For more photos from the SCARC Christmas Party 2012 – See the Slide show below.  If you have and suggestions for additional (captions) for these photos – please let N0ECT know.  Don’t worry N0ECT – is represented by the law firm of Dewey, Cheatem & Howe, when necessary!  Just click on – View Slide Show link below to see all the Party photos!  If you have any issues with the Captions on the Photos in the Slide Show – please contact the above – law firm!!!!  – 73

SCARC Christmas Party 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Missed Sunday’s net? It may repeat in 47 years…

Missed Sunday’s net? It may repeat in 47 years…

Interesting article. 

47 year old television signals bouncing back to Earth

While searching deep space for extra-terrestrial signals, scientists at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico have stumbled across signals broadcast from Earth nearly half a century ago.

Complete article at: http://www.rimmell.com/bbc/news.htm

SCARC’s own N0KE enters CW contest from the Island of Curacao

by N0ECT

Now this is a Beach Break.

Dateline:  Thanksgiving weekend 2011 – SCARC’s own Phil (N0KE) headed off to the island of Curacao for CQ World Wide the biggest CW contest of the year, we’re told.

Curacao – Click Here is just southeast of Aruba and a short distance north of Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea.  The Dutch were first to settle the island in the 1600′s.  Now Curacao is an independent nation.

Why Curacao?  Because that’s where PJ2T is.

PJ2T is the club call for the ‘Caribbean Contesting Consortium’ based on Curacao.  And PJ2T (Click Here) holds some impressive CW records -

World # 1: ARRL 160 CW, DX Multi

World # 2: CQWW CW 2010 M/M

World # 1: CQWW SSB 2010 True M/M

Photo of the Antenna Array at PJ2T

Phil (N0KE) Emailed back to our club…

“Ten of us are doing a multidrop multi transmitter operation in the contest. I’ll be sharing 40m operations with Jim WI9WI from Wisconsin.

We had slightly over 1000 QSOs after two hours.

73 Phil   PJ2/N0KE  (note Phil’s call while transmitting from Curacao)

From Phil’s second EMail -

Things are going well here at PJ2T in spite of an unusual amount of rain on a desert island which has brought out an abundance of biting bugs. There is plenty to do besides operating, there is the pool at the house where I’m staying a few minute walk from the station. A few of us have been snorkeling at the former Sunshine Waters resort a few minutes the other side of the ham station by foot.

First picture is the sign at the gate 2nd photo is the three towers looking south towards Venezuela about 30 miles to our south.

N0ECT’s Comment:  Never knew until today that a bunch of CW operators know how to prepare a Turkey!

PJ2T VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Radio Days Are Back: Ham Radio Licenses at an All-Time High

by – 100%  Reprint from Fox News (SciTech) section

100% credit to Fox News and their SciTech section – web link to the original story at the bottom of their story!

Fresno, Calif. –  iPhone, beware?

The newest trend in American communication isn’t another smartphone from Apple or Google but one of the elder statesmen of communication: Ham radio licenses are at an all time high, with over 700,000 licenses in the United States, according to the Federal Communications Commission.

Ham radio first took the nation by storm nearly a hundred years ago. Last month the FCC logged 700,314 licenses, with nearly 40,000 new ones in the last five years. Compare that with 2005 when only 662,600 people hammed it up and you’ll see why the American Radio Relay League – the authority on all things ham — is calling it a “golden age.”

“Over the last five years we’ve had 20-25,000 new hams a year,” Allen Pitts, a spokesman for the group, told FoxNews.com.

The unusual slang term — a “ham” is more properly known as an amateur radio operator — described a poor operator when the first wireless operators started out in the early 1900s. At that time, government and coastal ships would have to compete with amateurs for signal time, because stations all battled for the same radio wavelength. Frustrated commercial operators called the amateurs “hams” and complained that they jammed up the signal.

People like John Pritchett have used the slang term ever since.

“It takes an inquisitive mind that wants the challenge to speak with the rest of the world,” Pritchett told FoxNews.com. “I meet a lot of people as a result amateur radio. It’s a fascinating experience to meet somebody who you’ve talked to for years — when you finally meet them and go, wow, that’s you.”

Pritchett has been a ham for over 35 years. He sits in his ham shack slowly turning the dial on his amateur radio and listening attentively for a voice through the high radio frequency. But he’s not looking for aliens: Pritchett is dialing in to make contact with someone around the world.

“W6JWK, This is John in Fresno, California,” he says.

Pritchett can communicate with people around the globe or even astronauts in space by talking through his microphone or using Morse code.

With more people joining the hobby, local ham radio businesses are growing as well. Amateur Electronics Supply in Las Vegas sells everything to do with ham radios, from transceivers, amplifiers and antennas to handhelds.

“We have clientele from all walks of life,” manager Luke Rohn told FoxNews.com. “We have church groups who are interested in ham radio for a viable source of communication in times of natural disaster. We have young kids that find ham radio interesting. Maybe they’ve heard about it through their father and grandfather and it’s a lot of fun for them.”

According to the American Radio Relay League, retirees and emergency groups are among the main reasons for the nearly 30,000 new hams that pick up the hobby each year.

Ham is a boon for safety as well as a fun pastime: When normal communications methods fail and cellphone towers are jammed, ham radios will still work and can help out in disaster situations, because they don’t require towers to relay the signal.

“Amateur radio came into play very much during the major earthquake in the Bay Area in 1989. The only thing I had was a little handheld radio. Nothing else worked, telephones didn’t work, cellphones didn’t work, amateur radio just kept right on working,” Pritchett said.

Looking to ham it up a bit with some friends? Try a fox hunt — the radio equivalent of ham-to-ham combat. In a fox hunt, local amateur radio clubs search for a transmitter (called the fox) using their homemade antennas.

“The fox hunting is really fun — the thrill of the chase, the competition of being the first to find the transmitter,” said Rob Mavis, president of the Clovis Amateur Radio Pioneers club in Clovis, Calif.

Ham radio is inexpensive fun, as well: All you need is a couple hundred bucks to get started and a FCC license — which is free, but requires a $10 to $12 fee to cover expenses.

So join the latest craze — no iPhone app required.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/11/17/radio-days-are-back-ham-radio-licenses-at-all-time-high/#ixzz1egWaMjMU

SCARC Stocking Stuffer? $41.00 Dual Band – Handheld

by N0ECT

It works.

At least 3 SCARC members (KE0TY, N0AFO, N0ECT) have bought and are now using this 2 Watt ultra small hand held.

You can order one of these ($41.00 yeah we said $41.00!) Baofeng UV-3R handhelds on eBay (Click Here).  They ship it from Hong Kong and you get ‘em in about 2 weeks after you order.  I had ‘em ship it to my Post Office box.  No hassles.

Since it’s such a ‘bank buster’ of a purchase you might consider buying it with a few additional accessories.  It comes with a rechargeable battery, charger for it of course, earphone/mic, belt clip, Antennas, Vinyl case, wrist strap and a CD with the programming software.  Did we mention it costs $41.00?  Plus $15.00 to ship it from Hong Kong.  If you buy the right model (I did Click Here) they throw in a USB programming cable into the box as well.

1 – Order the Radio with the USB programming cable (Click Here).  Trust me you’ll be glad you did.  You have your choice of free programming software (PC only software as far as I know) (Click Here) and/or you can use the free Chirp Software as well (Click Here).  The software lets you program the ~99 memory locations for the Radio.  You have to remember what Frequency reaches (where?) as there currently is no ‘Alpha-Numeric’ programming capability for the LCD display.  There is even a Yahoo Group devoted to exchanging information about this Radio and the Group even offers their own User Manual, much better than the translated manual that comes in the box.  The Radio also offers a Scanning capability that will scan (monitor) all preprogrammed Frequencies you’ve programed in…including the frequencies outside of the licensed HAM frequency’s.

2 – If really small size is important to you – order the super short stubby (Dual Band) $7.07 antenna for it too see above photo (Click Here).  It works fine for me on and around Vail Mountain – which is the home of the clubs 146.610Mhz repeater.  So far, 2 Watts seems to work fine while Skiing.  The radio also comes with 2 antennas in the box, obviously one for each Band (VHF/UHF).

Programming.  If you’re a fan of the ancient Chinese water torture – don’t buy the USB Programming cable.  The Radio doesn’t have a keyboard so you have to ‘pull-up’ the single knob, then twist it to the number (frequency) you want.  TX, RX, Offset, PL all input via the Twist knob, then you get to place it in a single memory bank if you remember to do that.

I prefer my computer keyboard and a software program (that looks most like a spreadsheet) to input the Frequency/Memory locations.  A simple press of the “upload” button in the program, and hours of frustration and knob twisting disappear.

One of my goals was to have a very small handheld (that really works) that I can carry in my Ski Jacket pocket.  To deal with long ski lift lines, I also programmed in the Ski Patrol Radio frequencies that are in use on Vail Mountain so when I get board, I can also listen to what is happening on the Mountain.  Photo with wife Debbie from top of Vail Mountain, Saturday, November 20th 2011.

Wife Debbie could hardly believe the number of folks we ran into on Vail Mountain this past weekend that new long time Vail Ski Instructor and SCARC member Phil (N0KE).

I recommend Phil – you don’t leave home and don’t go Skiing without it.  For the money, I don’t think you can beat this new little Chinese Ham Radio.

SCARC – November 5th 2011 – Meeting

by N0ECT

November 5th 2011 – Saturday’s meeting was held in the usual spot at the U.S. Bank Building in Glenwood, Springs.  Click on the Photo to enlarge it.  The next SCARC monthly meeting will be the clubs annual Christmas Party – Saturday, December 17th at Bob (K9MWM) and Sue’s (N0DBY) home in Glenwood Springs (Click Here) for directions and more information.

This months meeting was led by Pat Fitzgerald KV0K – (sounding just like Pat of course – but looking more like Telly Savalas) gave a brief pitch on Emergency Power as it relates to Amateur Radio.

Club Business – After some discussion a vote was taken to see if the membership wanted a new monthly customer.  Turns out a local Glenwood Springs (paging company – yes, some folks still use those things) wanted to rent some space in the Club’s shack on Sunlight, the same physical location as the Club’s 146.880Mhz Repeater.

After Chuck (N0NHJ) assured the membership that we had the space and sufficient power (no additional summer heat issues) the group (voted yes) to draw up a contract (monthly payments in advance) and present it to the new prospective tenant for their signature.

Pat also passed around a nice wallet size SCARC local Repeater guide.

(Click Here) to download a PDF copy of the SCARC local Repeater Guide.  N0ECT edited the guide (see above) to update the P/L for the club’s newest (now fully operational) Repeater – Anvil Point (147.240Mhz, P/L 107.2)

Pat also gave a demo of some ARRL software called – TravelPlus for Repeaters (Click Here) available from the ARRL.Org online store for $39.95  In short (it does a lot of stuff) you can use the Software’s Map function to plan an automobile travel route (from here to there) and the software will show you a list of known/available Repeaters along your route.  The information can then be Exported from TravelPlus and then Imported into the software you use to program your Radio.

RT Systems software (Click Here) was also shown at the meeting by Pat as an easy to use software/programming choice for your radio.  Make sure to buy the correct cable (PC to Radio) for your brand Radio when purchasing RT Systems software.

Tony (NA0US) also gave a brief pitch on who/what is the Colorado Council of Amateur Radio Clubs is.  (Click Here)  This (mostly front range) organization does a lot of organization work – aimed at cataloging known/lost/working/no longer available Repeaters in Colorado.

CLUB MEMBERS ARE ENCOURAGED  to leave a comment on our Blog Site here to update (and add) any additional Club News – that members who missed November’s meeting will be interested in.

New Topics for upcoming Club Meetings?  How about Setting up your own IRLP Computer/Radio system?