ARRL SACRAMENTO VALLEY SECTION NEWS—JANUARY, 2012
Just a few notes to remind you that the next School Club Roundup is approaching February 13-17. You’ll find all the information you need about this contest on our website at www.arrl.org/school-club-roundup-scr, including some valuable advice for teachers who are getting students organized to participate for the first time.
You might also want to check out a new flyer ARRL has just released telling kids about “22 Things You Can Do With Amateur Radio.” Check it out in our Forms & Media Warehouse at: www.arrl.org/shop/Ham-Radio-Youth-flyer-pack-of-25/
The schedule for 2012 Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology seminars has been announced. Go to www.arrl.org/teachers-institute-on-wireless-technology for details and to download an application. Currently, we do not have confirmation on funding for the proposed session of TI-2 on Space on the Classroom. Check the website in a few weeks for an update on status. Thanks to Debra, K1DMJ, at ARRL HQ.
The River City ARCS meeting on February 7 will feature an introduction to and a hands on demonstration of SSTV - Slow Scan Television. Several hams in the Sacramento area have been exchanging pictures on 145.51 MHz FM simplex on Wednesday nights around 8:30 pm. Anyone with a 2 meter FM radio can watch or join us by running the free MMSSTV software on a PC. Visit n6na.org for more information. Thanks to Carol, KP4MD.
On Sunday, February 12th at 5 p.m. Eastern time, (2 p.m. PST) ARRL and Al Petrunti of The New Day Group will webcast a LIVE tour of W1AW – the ARRL flagship station. Amateurs around the country (and the world) will be able to watch it at http://www.awecast.tv/channels/arrl/ . Thanks to Steve, WV1X.
El Dorado County ARC had a very successful special event operation commemorating the 174th anniversary of James Marshall's discovery of gold on the American River January 28-29. Their club station AG6AU, operated portable at the discovery site, had a long list of operators waiting to make a contact. For photos and a well written story by Charlie Basham, please see: http://www.mtdemocrat.com/featured-content/featured-stories/ham-station-commemorates-gold-discovery/ Thanks to Bob, W1RL.
Barry Barnes, KE6LW, passed away February 4. Barry was an integral part of the success of the Yuba Sutter Amateur Radio Club and active with our community in many important ways.
‘Oroville ARS, (OARS) held its January meeting on the 20th, and had well over a quorum in attendance. The main agenda item was election of 2012 officers. Given the opportunity to vote the rascals out, the general membership chose to retain them, with a change or two: President: Jim Jennings, W7XZ (with disclaimer--reelected unopposed) Vice President: Gerry Vroomman, N6GCV; Secretary: Daryl Autrey, AF6HS; Treasurer: Bob Oden, K6RCO; Board Members-at-Large: Ron Osborne, KD7UHF and Howard Fairbanks, W6AIL; John Hunt, K7XE, retains his seat on the Board as Past President for a second year. Erik Bayer, AF6EF, outgoing Vice President, relieves Daryl, ‘AF6HS, of webmaster duties for www.w6af.org, the OARS website.
There were two happenings in January that serve to underscore the value of our club websites. OARS acquired a new member, DeWitt Clay, N4QNX, recently arrived in the area from Lynchburg, VA, who found the club through the website. Also, an email received from an individual interested in getting into amateur radio resulted in a redirect to the much closer YSARC.
’The OARS Monthly Breakfast at Cassidy's on 28 January had 15 in attendance.
A short Board meeting followed, with programs for upcoming meetings as the major topic, with plans in the coming three months to cover logging
software, DXing and a look at ham equipment now considered antiques. Also discussed were upcoming events for the year, including Feather Fiesta Days (May) and Field Day.’ Thanks to Jim, W7XZ.
Sierra Foothills ARC reports: ‘Great turnout for the first meeting. Bob, K6UDA did a good job as President. Dennis, WU6X gave a demonstration of using his iPhone to remotely control his HF station at home to make contact with George, KG6LSB in the library who was running an FT-817ND. A pdf is on the website for those interested.
’Club Breakfast at Suzie's in Roseville saw 16 folks turn out for some fun, food, and conversation. Everyone is invited to join us.
’Technician Classes started January 7th at our VE testing location in Raley's Granite Bay. Also had four folks pass their tests or upgrade.
’We now have www.w6ek.org for our URL (also sf-arc.org) for the website.
’Have a link to an ARRL News Feed (RSS reader) on the homepage. You
get the latest info right from HQ. Plans for 2012 are to widen the site, add
much more content and things of interest, including on-line membership
form and payment capability. ‘SFARC is adding a new Emergency Preparedness Net at 1930, Wednesdays starting 2/1/12 on W6EK on 145.430 MHz, -06/ PL 162.2 Hz.’ Thanks to Carl, WF6J.
The Redding ARRL VE Team has been requested to host an extra VE session in early February, in addition to our regularly scheduled sessions. We will be hosting a VE session on Saturday February 4th at BloodSource in Redding. We have VE sessions scheduled in odd-numbered months as well. More information can be found at www.reddingve.com or by contacting Steve, K6KS at sjmosconi@gmail.com .
‘The Samuel F. Morse Amateur Radio Club is now official. We have written our official Club By-laws, Elected our leaders, and acquired our FCC Club license. Our W6SFM call letters are now official. Our club is based on the following objectives:
a. To provide leadership experiences through amateur radio.
b. To promote education for persons interested in telecommunications.
c. To disseminate information about scientific discoveries and
progress in the field.
d. To train communicators for public service and emergency communications.
e. To assist those who are interested in obtaining or upgrading their
license.
f. To teach and promote the use of A1, CW Mode on the Amateur
radio bands.
g. To provide support to the community in times of need.
h. To participate in community activities such as Field Day in order
to help educate the public about amateur radio. The SFMARC has an emphasis on CW mode, and is actively looking for other members in the region that would like to join our club. We do NOT discriminate against SSB or Digital mode ops, they are just as welcome to join our group. As matter of fact, the SFMARC encourage those that only work other modes now, who may be interested in learning and operating CW to join us.
Our dues are reasonable, and annual. They are collected mainly to cover our expenses on our Field Day operations, and any other activities that we set forth throughout the year.
At this time we are only doing Net Meetings on Tuesday nights at 7PM on 3.535 MHz. and are not meeting in person. Once the group grows a little larger, and we have the facilities to conduct a proper in face meeting, we will remain on-air CW mode only. For those members that do not have access to the 80 meter band, but would like to listen in to our club net, they are welcome to tune in via a live web stream of the audio (10 second delayed). E-mail Michael, N6MQL@arrl.net for more information on both the club, and the Net meetings. Thanks to Michael Aretsky, N6MQL,Vice President SFMARC Sacramento Valley, and Mark Marholin, K6JJR, President SFMARC Sacramento Valley.’ This just in: Some of you who don't have the 80 meter band capability have asked how and where they can listen to the W6SFM Club net meetings on Tuesday nights at 7:30PM (Note the new time) For those that are interested, or know someone else that may be, the new Club web information address is as follows:
http://www.qrz.com/db/W6SFM/
Also, Please be sure to share this web address with your friends, and others that you come across on-air to let them know more about the Samuel F Morse Amateur Radio club. Announcements and other information will periodically be uploaded to this site, so be sure to check back from time to time.
In addition to our Douglas County Amateur Radio Team (DCART) weekly nets and monthly meeting, KA7UIS (LeRoy) and KA7AJQ (Sheila) attended the HamLink training in Reno, then assisted Carson Valley Medical Center in Gardnerville with the installation of their radio and computer equipment. The HamLink training is associated with the Nevada Hospital Association grants to all Nevada hospitals for the installation of ham radio equipment. There is a lot to this process and hams Bob Miller, WA6MTY, and Andre Munoz, KD7ZEV, of Reno and others are key to the development of assembling the equipment and the training for this project. Carson City, EC (and DCART member), Dave Law, N7TNX, will help Sierra Surgery of Carson with their fine tuning and programming of that installation. (LeRoy and Sheila helped Bob with that initial installation.) Dave and Bob Miller also have helped with the HamLink installation for one of the medical facilities at Incline Village. KV7S, Dale Anderson, has been overseeing a solution to the Alpine County Sheriff's Dispatch interference to our ham radio station such as we experienced during the July annual Tour of the California Alps (Death Ride) event. Dale now has a radio with a special filter that we will try. We will contact the Alpine Sheriff's Office to find a good time to test. KJ6IX, our Douglas County EC, Dale Yanz, and Nevada ADEC, Dick Creley, continue to support and encourage Packet Radio operations along with KV7J, Otto Tune, of NV Div of Emergency Management, and DCART. KJ6IX also assists with the Carson Valley Medical Center HamLink installation and programming. Thanks to Sheila Clement, KA7AJQ
‘The Citrus Heights VE Team had a HAM-CRAM session for the Tech class license on January 21, 2012 in Orangevale. ‘We do not have a HAM-CRAM session for General or Extra class licenses it requires more study than we have time to present. ‘There were seven applicants that attended the Ham-Cram session where four passed the written Technician Exam. Robert Gardner Black (KJ6QJR) was successful in upgrading to General with little to no effort. He was the only upgrade applicant to attempt an upgrade. It’s starting to appear there is less interest now days for amateurs to obtain a higher class license. We need to start some sort of a program to create an interest for people to move on to High Frequency operation. ‘Our next Technician HAM-CRAM and exam session will be on March 17th at the LDS Church located at 7950 Hazel Ave. in Orangevale. The HAM-CRAM for the Tech license will begin at 8:30AM and the exam session will start at 1:00PM for all classes of Amateur Radio licenses. We also require a photo ID of all applicants that wish to participate. ‘If you are upgrading please bring a copy of your current Amateur Radio License to the exam session so it can go in with the other paper work to the FCC. ‘If you are upgrading please bring a copy of your current Amateur Radio License to the exam session it has to go in with the other paper work ‘If anyone is interested in participating in the HAM-CRAM or up-grading, contact Joe Cardoza (KA6ROM) by email at: cardozas@comcast.net to register or to obtain information about the session. ‘Additional note: In the area of Auburn Blvd. and Van Maren Ave. in Citrus Heights we had 3 2/3 inches of rain from the last storm that came through with two fronts.’ Thanks to Joe, KA6ROM.
Ian Turnbull, AF6OA in Capay sent the following for us to consider.
’Now that winter weather has arrived I would like to take this opportunity
to make you aware of a research project that my office has been working on in conjunction with the Western Transportation Institute and the Division
of Research and Innovation. It is a regional Traveler Information website
called One Stop Shop and it seamlessly covers California, Oregon,
Washington and Nevada.
’The One Stop Shop (OSS) project collects ITS field element data that both
private and commercial travelers are interested in and integrates it in a
convenient, easy to use website that covers the four western states region.
These elements include Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras, Changeable Message Signs (CMS), Roadway Weather Information Systems (RWIS) and other information, such as chain controls, incidents, construction lane closures, traffic speed data, commercial vehicle restrictions, rest areas, truck scale locations and summits. OSS is Google Map based and offers all of the map functionality such as zoom, satellite imagery and terrain information that is normally associated with the product. In addition to the inclusion of all the roadside field element data and other information mentioned above, current weather conditions and forecast weather conditions are overlaid on the entire region. A route planner feature is also provided.
It allows the user to indicate the start and end points of their trip and
uses the Google routing algorithm to find an efficient route. An elevation
profile of the route is also shown and graphics that tie the elevation to a
specific point on the route are shown.
’You can access One Stop Shop at (FireFox and Google Chrome browsers work best): http://oss.weathershare.org/
’If you would like more information on the project itself you can visit: http://www.westernstates.org/Projects/OSS/default.html
‘The Nevada County Amateur Radio Club has started a ‘ham & pizza’ meeting for new hams several years ago. Getting a new ham to get on the air during the 7:00 pm net has been a great ice breaker. Starting January 31 at 6:30 pm the ham & pizza will start up again. Future ham & pizza meetings are set for the 4th Tuesday of each month. NCARC members are encouraged to bring new techs or friends that are interested in a great hobby. Join us at Round Table Pizza in the Brunswick Plaza. NCARC has been gathering on Thursday mornings each week for a great rag chewing and coffee event. Stimulating ham radio conversation happens Thursday mornings at 8 am, Sierra Coffee Roasters on Maltman Drive in Grass Valley, tin foil hats optional! 73, Richard Miller, PIO, Nevada County Amateur Radio Club.’
Chuck, KG6FFK, our EC in Placer County, and Jan Woldseth, KB6FMZ, our DEC for the fourth district, sent narratives of the 10 hour communications outage which occurred in Nevada County January 21. Bill, KG6BAJ, our Sierra/Nevada County EC, says, ‘A major telecommunications fiber-optic cable was cut knocking out phone service, 911, and Internet service to the greater western Nevada county area, as well as parts of Sierra county and a slight portion of Placer county.’ Thirteen amateur operators were involved in the support. Notification of the outage came via scanner reception of a report that a fiber optic line had been cut in Nevada County. Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital, Mercy San Juan, and the Sheriff’s Offices in both Nevada and Placer Counties were supported by Amateur Radio operators who stepped up to provide emergency communications links. The honor roll of those responding: KI6AZH, Jim Griffith; KB6FMZ, Jan Woldseth; KG6GMV, Shawn Gillogly; N6MED, Jim Piper; KB6NYB, Paul Alford; K0TAN, Charles Kotan; NI2U, Al Martin; KI6UOV, Richard Miller; AE6ZM, Wes Bunker; K6UDA, Robert Brodovsky; KJ6SVS, Tom Thornton; N6BRP, Mike Simpson; and KG6LSB, George Simmons, Placer AEC. Additional kudos to the ops of the N6NMZ repeater and W6EK supporting our end.
Also thanks to Frank, N6SNO, DEC for the third district, for preparing to back us if we ran short. Our hat is off to Bill, KG6BAJ, our Nevada County EC for pulling it all together and John, AB6LI, for technical support. ‘The eye opener happened when sheriff dispatch was required to locate a specific doctor for cardiac care: Careful pursuit of a clear understanding of the message was necessary to provide to the sheriff dispatch before passing the traffic. That is where practice and participation glows. Special thanks here to N6MED, Jim Piper.’
There are always lots of operating event opportunities in Winter:
- February 3 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
- February 4 -- Minnesota QSO Party; FYBO Winter QRP Sprint; AGCW Straight Key Party
- February 4-5 -- Vermont QSO Party; Delaware QSO Party; British Columbia QSO Party; Mexico RTTY International Contest; 10-10 International Winter Contest (SSB); YL-ISSB QSO Party (CW); Black Sea Cup International; EPC WW DX Contest
- February 5 -- North American Sprint (CW)
Check http://www.arrl.org/contests for all the details.
- And while not an operating event as such, February 17-18 -- ARRL Southwestern Division Convention, Yuma, Arizona, will get my attention this year. We have been going down to the Yuma Ham Fest for the last three years. No pressure, lots of good opportunities to visit with old and new friends, and a good all around fun time.
Our Section Net has been suspended due to low turnout. It looks as if Thursday evening is not so loaded with local net schedules, so if Thursday evening once a month would fit your schedule better than the old second Wednesday evening time, please let me know at W6KJ@ARRL.ORG . It will probably be the second Thursday if we hear from enough people to do that.
Postage went up—again, making it 32 cents to send a QSL card at the post card rate. I remember my grandfather and uncle playing chess via USPS for a penny a move. My first QSL card was received in 1967 and bears a 4 cent stamp. The letter rate is up to 45 cents. Makes you think Log Book of the World is a pretty good idea. Of course I will still send QSL cards. And I intend to continue using the Outgoing QSL service at ARRL HQ. Review this service for ARRL members at: http://www.arrl.org/outgoing-qsl-service
On January 29, W6KJ was the recipient of a lot help from Lonnie, KI6ZYY, Bennett, K6CEL, and moral support from lots of the members of the Yuba Sutter ARC. A Yaesu rotator, which was used when I got it, failed, tearing up the coaxial feed line as the 4 element, 5 band HF quad rotated freely in the wind. While I was able to change to a substitute antenna, using a 40 meter full wave loop retuned to 20 and 12 meters, the difference was appalling. We were able to repair the rotor shelf and install the new rotator before it was completely dark. My thanks to Lonnie and Bennett for their talent, time, and enthusiasm on my big windmill. Here is Lonnie’s, KI6ZYY’s perspective on the task. ‘Ron Murdock (W6KJ) was kind enough to allow members of the Yuba Sutter ARC to hold a tower party at his QTH 29-Jan-2012. We gathered at 09:00 & began with a safety meeting & helmets all around. What we thought would be replacing up to 4 bolts on the base of the rotator turned into replacing the rotator, removing/installing the tower rotor mount plate (mount tabs were broken), changing the barrel plug for the rotator & taking several feet off the end of the coax feeding Ron’s massive HF Quad Antenna. Thanks to all that came to help and advise. Special thanks to Bennett (K6CEL) for his welding expertise and his willingness to stay with us all day. It was a long day for us and I’m sure Ron was happy when I came down tower the last time. Especially since it was dark by then. We value these opportunities to come together, learn and help each other. Respectfully submitted. Lonnie (KI6ZYY), President - Yuba Sutter Amateur Radio Club.’ Video at: http://youtu.be/LwtCIq6sekU
‘There is no current proposal to our knowledge (or to the FCC’s – yes I checked) to institute a quiet zone around Beale AFB, there is no proposal to stop 70cm operations in Northern California.’ This is the statement from Dan Henderson, N1ND, at ARRL HQ, December 15, 2011.
Once again we have a nice full report because of all of our fine contributors. Thank you. If your club, activity or accomplishments are not reported here, please consider reporting to me at: w6kj@arrl.org and I will do the rest. Links of interest:
Our Sacramento Valley ARRL web site, the home of SV Section News:
http://www.arrl.org/Groups/view/sacramento-valley
ARRL product reviews on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/ARRLHQ
VHF nets within Sacramento Valley Section are listed here:
http://www.k6is.org/nets.html Thanks to ASM, Les, W6TEE.
Looking for a specific HF net to check into? This is the website! Check out AC6V: http://www.ac6v.com/nets.htm Thanks to Gary, K7VY.
Here is a link to the World Clock, with lots of regularly updated, unverifiable statistics. http://www.poodwaddle.com/clocks/worldclock/
AH0A, Joe Speroni, of Honolulu, keeps a website that presents the latest Amateur Radio licensee statistics. You can check out his website at www.AH0A.org for these stats and a whole lot of useful Ham Radio information. According to Joe’s website, we had nearly 9700 hams licensed in Sacramento Valley Section as of 30 September 2011.
All satellite enthusiasts: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/
