SACRAMENTO VALLEY SECTION WEB RESOURCES
Section News: www.arrlsacvalley.org
Section Nets: http://sites.google.com/site/arrlsacvalley/nets
Sacramento Valley ARES: www.sacvalleyares.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ARRLSacramentoValley
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ARRL_SV
Thanks to Greg Kruckewitt KG6SJT for maintaining our Section ARES web page and assisting with our Facebook page and Twitter feed.
Thanks to Les Cobb W6TEE for maintaining the Section Net list.
ARRL Affiliated Club web resources are now listed on this web page
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The Carmichael Elks Amateur Radio Club will host a Ham Radio Swap Meet on Sunday May 27 starting at 7:00 am. at the Carmichael Elks Lodge, 5631 Cypress Ave, Carmichael, CA 95608. Coffee, donuts, water and soda type refreshments will be available for purchase during the event.
For further information go to
https://sacramento.craigslist.org/ele/6579349935.html
CalOES Visits Placer County ARES
Posted May 3, 2018
On April 28th Placer County ARES held a face to face meeting, with 21 members and guests. The guest speaker was Ben Green WD8CZP Assistant Chief Tactical Communications CaOES. Ben spoke about the role of CalOES in large disasters and events, and the role of volunteers including HAMS in these activities.
Submission and photos by Carl First, N6CKV, Placer County ARES Emergency Coordinator
The Placer County ARES group Ben Green WD8CZP Ben Green’s work SUV
Online Emergency Communication Course EC-001 on Hold
Posted May 5, 2018
ARRL has been informed that the Connecticut Distance Learning Consortium (CTDLC), the provider of the online platform though which ARRL offers its EC-001 course, is being dissolved, effective July 1, 2018. That decision was announced today by Charter Oak State College, the parent organization of CTDLC. CTDLC officials cited the fiscal challenges faced by the Connecticut State College and University System and the State of Connecticut as a whole for the decision to close the CTDLC platform.
ARRL is working on steps to address the dislocation that this decision will cause our members and others who planned to take this course. While we look at moving our course content to a new delivery mechanism, new registrations for EC-001 will be suspended effective immediately. Those who signed up for the EC-001 session starting on May 30 will receive a refund.
ARRL had already been in the process of developing new content for the EC-001 course, and now we will intensify the process of selecting a new platform on which to post this material.
More information on the new course content and new host site for the EC-001 course will be available in the near future as soon as a decision is made on an alternative delivery mechanism.
ARRL Section-Wide Net Report Thursday April 19
The ARRL SV Section-wide nets were held on Thursday, April 19. Andy Boone KJ6IYM opened the VHF net on the WD6AXM 146.085 MHz FM repeater at 7:20 pm PDT after the Yuba-Sutter ARES net signed off.
Here is the VHF net check-in list: AG6IP, AI6LZ, AJ6AR, K6DTH, K6HOM, K6MCS, KB7QWC, KD6LOK, KD6SX, KF6VFP, KG6SJT, KG6VZD, KI6IJI, KJ6PKQ, KK6SOZ, KM6MPV, KM6RIW, KO6HS, KT6KPA, and N6TBC.
In contrast to the propagation blackouts that we experienced in January and February, both 60 and 75 meters supported HF nets. At 7:39 pm, ARRL SV Section Manager Carol Milazzo, KP4MD, called the SV Section HF net on 5330.5 kHz USB where the check ins were: AF6PO, AI6LZ, K6HOM, KD6SX, KO6HS and W6GGI (from Santa Barbara). Afterwards, on 3880 kHz LSB we also checked in N5BMU and N7JIL from Modoc County who reported having heard us very faintly on 60 meters, and AJ6AR and K6GCN from El Dorado County.
All Sacramento Valley Section radio amateurs are welcome to check into our Section Nets. The nets carry announcements of interest to our section and test our section-wide station communication capabilities.,
ARRL Sacramento Valley Section Nets are conducted only on the third Thursday of the month when announced, following the 7 pm Pacific Time Yuba-Sutter ARES net on the WD6AXM 146.085 MHz FM repeater, followed by the HF Section Net on 3880 kHz LSB +/- 3 kHz. During spring and summer months the HF net may be conducted on 5330.5 kHz USB as propagation permits.
Don't have an antenna or HF radio? Click a link
and Listen to our HF net on a web receiver. W6DRZ receiver at Half Moon Bay 3880 kHz No 60m W7RNA receiver in Sedona, AZ 3880 kHz 5330.5 kHz Northern Utah web receiver 3880 kHz 5330.5 kHz
W6SFM's BUG ROUNDUP - May 18-20
The Samuel F. Morse Amateur Radio Club, a Sacramento, California based CW enthusiast club wanted a special time to bring bug operators together on the air. In the same spirit as ARRL's Straight Key Night, participants are encouraged to make simple, conversational, “chewing-the-fat” QSOs using their bug type key. This is an opportunity to exercise, share and exhibit your personalized fist. This is NOT a contest. However, there is a very easy and quick required signup form found at https://w6sfm.com/bug-roundup/. Once you are registered for the event simply Call "CQ BR" so folks know you are a Bug Roundup Participant. So lets grab that bug, clean those contacts, and let’er fly! We want to hear that “Banana Boat / Lake Erie Swing" or that commercial KPH/WCC quality fist.
Reserve the date! The event begins on Friday May 18th (00:00 UTC) and concludes Sunday May 20th (23:59 UTC), 2018, that's 5:00 PM Friday evening until 4:59 PM Pacific Time (LOCAL)
For more information, to register your station, and to help assist in spotting, potentially increasing QSOs, an On-line chat window link can be found near the bottom of Bug Roundup home page located at https://w6sfm.com/bug-roundup/. We hope to hear you all on the air! 73,--W6SFM www.w6sfm.com
Volunteer Operators Needed for June 23-24 Western States Endurance Run
Posted February 3, 2018
Joe Steinmetz, K6SAT, is the HAM radio coordinator for Western States 100 mile Endurance run, sponsored by WSER, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Joe is looking for radio operator volunteers for June 23 and 24th this year. More information about the race is available here: https://www.wser.org/ Radio Volunteer Information are available here: https://www.wser.org/volunteering/communication/ There is a sign-up form link in the above URL location, or interested amateur radio operators may contact Joe directly via email at k6sat@arrl.org or radio@wser.org
Joe Steinmetz, K6SAT, WSER HAM Radio Coordinator
Official Observer Program
Update May 4, 2018 - In the light of unanticipated delays in the approval and implementation of revisions to the Official Observer program, ARRL HQ will resume accepting a limited number of Official Observer appointments under the current rules and standards. Any new OO appointments are being made with the understanding that a new program is coming, with new requirements and new standards for OOs.
Reference: ARRL Executive Committee April 21 Meeting Minutes Item 16.
The Official Observer (OO) program has been sponsored by the ARRL for more than 85 years to help Amateur Radio operators assist each other to operate their stations in compliance with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations.
Official Observer appointees have assisted thousands of Amateur Radio operators to maintain their transmitting equipment and comply with operating procedures and regulations. The object of the OO program is to notify amateurs of operating and technical irregularities before they come to the attention of the FCC and to recognize good operating practices.
The OO program serves as the first line of "eyes and ears" for the FCC. It is the backbone of the Amateur Auxiliary. OOs are certified in the Auxiliary by passing a mandatory written examination.
Club and Member News - May 2018
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
We had a great turnout for our Elmer night and several of the attenuator kits were in used for the fox hunt at the picnic which had a good turn out and great food. In May we will have Mike Aretsky, N6MQL, of RigExpertUSA will demonstrate the RigExpert Antenna Analyzer which should be good as Antenna Analyzers have become very sophisticated in the last few years
The 18 and 19 of May is The Farm and Tractor Days at the Dry Creek Ranch House, 6852 Dry Creek Rd, Rio Linda, CA. 95673. Where we have done this before we have had quite a bit of interest shown in our demonstrations.
Field Day is coming and we are going to do it a little differently this year. We will be treating it more like a real emergency and just set up what we bring. WE do NEED People to sign up though.
August is our show and tell of our mobile, portable and Go kits. We have had some very ingenious setups of bicycle mobile, walking mobile and very fancy setups in cars. So get your installations cleaned up and ready to show.
September we are having our homebrew night again. Last year we had some great demos. We will be giving out cash prizes again this year $50 for first place, $25 for second and $25 for an entry-level member. This is for club members only.
So we have an interesting month ahead with plenty to do.
Dave Martin WB6YLK, President Newsletter
Field Day - Gary, KC3PO and the Committee are hard at work planning out the logistics for our Field Day in Nyack, CA. See the ARRL Location webpage for detailed map.
Events - MS Walk in Folsom - Mike, KK6GLP coordinated the efforts to support the race. Photos forthcoming on week.org. Next events: Georgetown Enduro, Cyctic Fibrosis Bike Ride, and SFARC will be well represented on The Tevis Cup. Thanks to all the WS100 support.
Meetings - Monthly Members second Friday Monthly at Auburn City Hall, Rose Room. Everyone welcome. Breakfast last Saturday Monthly at Mel's off 49 in Auburn.
Nets - Thursday night at 7:30 on the K6IS repeater system is the weekly club net. Every 1st and 3rd Wednesday is the Elmer Net. Please join us.
Groups.io - Dennis, WU6X has converted us from the Yahoo Group to the Group.io. This allows a good forum for events, notices, files and database. There are now 105 members.
VE Exams - Every 1st Saturday each month at Raley's Granite Bay. Starts at 8am. Walk ins welcome. Contact is Al, NI2U at vechair2015@w6ek.org.
As with any SFARC net or meeting, we love visitors, so come on down and join the membership check out our website at: w6ek.org
Carl, WF6J, PIO Sacramento, CA
Newsletter at: http://www.w6ek.org/newsletters/Sierra_Signals_05_18.pdf
VE Report May 2018
Pending
Nevada County Amateur Radio Club members hold impromptu meetings at the Omega Rest Area on highway 20. Elevation is around 5000 ft and the views are tremendous. Our activity always draws the interest of motorists coming through the rest stop.
73, Cal McKitrick AI6MC, NCARC President 2018 Newsletter Facebook Group
Next Meeting: Monday May 14, 2018 doors open 6:30pm, meeting at 7pm
Guest Speaker for May is Open
Big Brothers/Sisters Gourmet Gravel Bike Ride is May 12th
Rotary Club Ride is May 19th
COFFEE CHAT (Ham n' Coffee)
Thursdays, 8 am at Valentina's Bistro, 841 Sutton Way, Grass Valley
Updated May 3, 2018
The SFM ARC will host its W6SFM “CQ BR” Bug Roundup event on Friday, May 18, 5:00 PM to Sunday, May 20, 5:00 PM Pacific Daylight Time (Local). The bug roundup event is held twice annually to celebrate the Bug key. Participants from all around the world come together in the same sprit as in the ARRL SKN (straight key night) event to have casual conversations with each other using their Bug style keys. If you are someone you know is interested in joining our on-air event please read more about it at https://w6sfm.com/bug-roundup/
The W6SFM Samuel F Morse Radio Club April meeting was called to order by club President Mike, N6MQL on April 5th at the Carmichael Presbyterian Church in Carmichael CA, with 13 members and no guests in attendance.
This month the club began to see the effects of its old computer system with new drop outs and crashing problems. Despite this happening we did have 2 complete On-air broadcasts for our net meetings. We also enjoyed a full uninterrupted broadcast of the April In-person club meeting. The church announced a new Mesh Network for better internet. Unfortunately, Mike N6MQL didn’t have the new password for it, but was able to broadcast over his cellular telephone connection for the entire 1 hour and 45-minute meeting. One of the weekly on-air meets was skipped due to our control operator having to make the CW Class announcement at the N6NA meeting.
All On-air CW meetings are broadcast in their entirety and also posted to our W6SFM.COM website. Those videos along with Club in-person meetings can be found under the “Videos” page. Feel free to use our on-air net recordings archived for CW Practice, or just review when you are unable to view LIVE while the club is on-the-air. Please note that there may be a delay starting the live videos as it takes the YouTube server up to 2 minutes to begin the live transmission. This is done to accommodate any lag in the transmission video due to internet speeds.
Discussed was the need for a new computer for broadcasting the W6SFM live streaming of in-person and on-air meetings. It seems that the new OBS software used to do the YouTube broadcasting has exceeded the CPU and memory limit of the old computer. A will of members will look into the costs of either upgrading the current system or to replace it with a new one. A request for volunteers to help with the annual Kid's Day in the Park event to be held April 28. Other news and items of general interest were discussed by the members.
Each Year in honor of April Fool’s day the W6SFM presents its annual Bogus Story Contest. This contest is geared around finding the most entertaining "bogus story". The story should be some stretch of the truth about the member telling it, or just something completely made up. The only important thing is, it should be Ham Radio related, and Entertaining to all. Out of the 5 participants, this years' esteemed winner was Chris, AI6U with his story, "DB SPRAY". This year we were treated to something different as Husband and Wife team Bill, KK6YCO and Katy, KK6YCP read their bogus story as a duo. Other participants included John, WB6UBK, and Mike, N6MQL
Before the event began we were treated to a reading of the new W6SFM Bogus Story Contest user’s manual by last year's winner Carol, KP4MD. This is a manual that will be handed down to the winner of each year’s event. To see excerpts of the new manual, and to read Chris’s, and other past winners’ stories, please visit the Bogus Story Contest web page located on the W6SFM website under the “Club Activities” tab at the top of the page.
The new W6SFM CW Beginners Class began April 4th for 10 consecutive weeks with 13 students signed up and 1 walk-in.
At our May meeting, we will be discussing ARRL news and events. We will also have a presentation on the benefits and technology of the New Zoom series of RigExpert Antenna Analyzers. As always, we will have our Tech (show and tell) portion. Members and visitors are asked to share their Ham Radio related items they find of interest. Attend our In- Person meetings with items that you’ve purchased or were given to you that you would like to share with others in the group. Visitors are always welcome to join us at our meetings.
On-Air Net Meeting
Each Tuesday of the week 8:00 PM on 3.545 MHz the SFM ARC enjoys getting on the air with CW for our weekly Nets. You do NOT need to be a member of the SFM ARC to check into our nets and we encourage you to invite a friend to join us as well. Although our nets usually run around 13 wpm code, we are all happy to accommodate those that are slower and need us to oblige. If you are unable to copy Morse Code or need some code practice, please feel free to visit our on-line LIVE streaming broadcast of both the Audio and a CW to Text decoding of the meeting. The “LIVE FEED” link can be found on our home page of our website. With our YouTube Live streaming system, you can watch the Live Feed on your Apple IOS or Android devices. You do not need to have a YouTube account to access the feed. However, you will to subscribe to our channel. Those visiting & viewing can chat with others watching on-line as well. This of course is not mandatory, but rather just a way of making everyone feel more involved in our on-air nets. If you like, you can “check-in” using the chat window and you will be included with our On-Air Net log. Simply announce your call letters in the chat window.
Tell A Friend Do you know someone in need of a Ham Club to call home? Perhaps someone that wants to learn Morse Code, are interested in CW or already knows and uses it? The SFM ARC would love to be their new Club home. Our in-person meetings are held each 1st Thursday of the month at 7PM. Please use the rear parking lot and entry for best access to the meeting. A map and directions can also be found on our website. We hope to see you at our next meeting!
Thank you. ---- Chris AI6U (SFM ARC Secretary) Newsletter
Greetings from the Western Placer Amateur Radio Club:
Our Next Club Meeting is Saturday, May 17, 2018. 7:00 PM
Location: Round Table Pizza, 1020 Pleasant Grove Blvd #170, Roseville, CA
Scheduled Speaker and Topic: To Be Determined
Tour de Lincoln Volunteers Needed - Saturday May 12
Tour de Lincoln is a premiere bicycling event starting from McBean Park in Lincoln. Multiple courses are laid out into the foothills surrounding Lincoln. Cyclists come from all over to ride the event. A new director and organization is taking the reins this year. WPARC is looking for a few of our seasoned pros and apprentice pros to volunteer as radio operators at aid stations or in your vehicle as a SAG wagon patrolling a portion of the course. If you'd like to try hamming at an event but don't want to solo just yet then ask to be paired up with someone to experience the fun. Email Roger K6OU to express interest.
Regular Club Meeting Location: WPARC conducts board and member meetings on third Tuesdays of each month. Members and guests with business to bring before the board are welcome to attend board meetings. Join us at Round Table Pizza, 1020 Pleasant Grove Blvd #170, Roseville. This location faces Roseville Parkway at the northeast corner of the complex. View map and directions in link above. Come out to enjoy some camaraderie, food, beverage, and tales of the radios! Round Table offers a pizza and salad bar buffet dinner on Tuesday evenings for about $10/person.
WPARC Repeater New Tone 67.0 Hz. Our old subaudible tone of 179.9 Hz was becoming audible on newer radios presenting a hum. On Friday October 27 a team treked up to the repeater to change the tone from 179.9 Hz to 67.0 Hz. Ensure that you change all of your radios to use the new PL tone. The old tone won't be recognized by the repeater.
WPARC Repeater Abuses. Repeater Trustee Michael K6BUK received comments on a few repeater users abusing repeater etiquette. Please review Ethics and Operating Procedure for the Radio Amateur as a refresher.
Ham Radio License/Volunteer Examiner (VE) Tests. WPARC offers Ham Radio License testing on the first Wednesday of each month at 6:00 pm at the Round Table Pizza, 1020 Pleasant Grove Blvd #170, Roseville CA. For more information please email Chuck at: kk6doa (at) gmail (dot) com.
Club T-Shirts. Club T-shirts have been a huge hit, and club members wanted more! Our vendor will soon have a web site offering more colors and shirt options. New orders are suspended until the new web site is available.
K6PAC Repeater Yaesu DR-2x Upgrades Completed. Upgrades to new Yaesu DR-2X are completed. A new FVS-2 Voice Module will add new features to leave messages, record and review your transmission, along with announcements. Stay tuned for more details.
The club website, http://wparc.us/index.html, has a new look and new information. Jey KQ6DK is now club web master and is updating the the site on a regular basis. Thanks to Jey for all his work on the website.
Don’t forget about our WPARC Facebook page. It is at: https://www.facebook.com/WPARC
Want more? We now have a Twitter account! Just search for @k6pac (the club repeater call sign with the “@” symbol). We are following the ARRL, the ARRL Sacramento Valley Section, Kenwood, and Yaesu and a few others. If you think of someone we should follow, please email me. I know there are a few local clubs with Twitter accounts and I will add them.
73, Michael Buck. K6BUK
WPARC on Facebook and Twitter
Check us out on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter (@k6pac)
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Greetings, we will attempt to have a meeting this month. It looks like we may have to deal with some weather again during the meeting but now it looks the snow level will be above Placerville. There is a chance of thunderstorms on Thursday and you never know what they could drop.
The weather was the reason we had to cancel the meeting for February. The Federated Church where we hold our meetings as you know sits on the top of a hill in Placerville. We didn’t feel it would be safe for most us to make the drive to the meeting and then back home again with the low snow. To inform every one of the meeting cancelation we used email and announcements over the 2m and 6m repeaters. We did our best to try and reach everyone before they unnecessarily made the drive to Placerville. If you’re not able to monitor the club repeater most of the time there are a few times you should try to listen to the repeater for important information. First is during the weekly club net on Tuesdays at 8:00pm. You don’t have to check-in if you’re busy but you should listen in to hear any important bits of information that may be discussed. Second is on club meeting Thursdays. If we have any last-minute changes to the meeting the repeater will be our primary way to communicate those changes. A hand-held radio sitting on the car seat should let you hear any vital information. If time permits we will also send out a notice on the email reflector. If anyone else has some innovative ideas on how to get information out the membership let the board know so we can discuss the idea and maybe try it out.
Spring will be here this Tuesday and the days are getting longer. After this much- needed rain stops, all of us should be able to get outside and start working on our outdoor projects. I know I have a few antenna things to work on. Also, there is always yard work to do. Don’t forget about your defensible space around your property. I hope to see everyone at the meeting on Thursday and please drive safely.
73, Jay, KE6GLA Newsletter
Club Meeting Location Change
Starting June 2018 the general membership meeting location will move to the Marysville United Methodist Church Assembly Hall at 730 D Street, Marysville.
The Mini-Field Day at Live Oak High School on April 28th was a success. to see pictures of the event visit the club's Facebook Page. If you are not a member of our Facebook Group, just request membership and Kevin or Chris will add you to the group, or, go to this photo page.
EDITORS COMMENTS
✓YSARC’s new web page is: www.ysarc.net - click on the upper right-hand icon on the homepage to join the club’s Facebook page. Past issue’s of the VHN are available on our new website.
✓Send your ham related articles and pictures to share in your VHN. Pictures of ham shacks, antenna projects, antenna parties, etc. are appreciated KI6CSN@arrl.net or KF6FVP@arrl.net
Newsletter
Update from Oroville ARS
Updated May 3, 2018
OARS Monthly Meeting Reminder
The monthly meeting of OARS will take place Friday, May 11, 2018, 7 pm, in St. Paul’s Parish Hall, 1430 Pine Street, in Oroville. The doors will open at 6 pm for a social hour prior to the meeting.
Membership dues for 2018 ($20) are due at this time. The OARS Club mailbox location is unexpectedly being shut down. Until further notice, all club correspondence including dues paid by mail should be sent to: OARS, c/o Ted Cochran, 47 Orchardcrest Dr, Oroville, CA 95965.
Ted Cochran, N6TBC, President, Butte County ARES AEC, N6TBC@WINLINK.ORG N6TBC@arrl.net
OARS Monthly Breakfast--New Place
This month’s OARS Breakfast will take place this Saturday, 28 April 2018, 9 am, at Tabletop Restaurant & Catering, 109 Table Mountain Blvd (where Hof Brau used to be) in Oroville. Hope all can attend. 73, Jim W7XZ
Our meeting this month is Wednesday, May 9th. You can choose Lunch or Breakfast. (Denny's serves breakfast all day.) Breakfast (or lunch) starts at eleven and the meeting will start at noon.
The program for this month is TXFactor episode 20: "Welcome to our new look for 2018! In this episode we conclude our coverage from Hamfest 2017 with an overview of the Yaesu Fusion Repeater DR2, SOTAbeam’s ‘Click2Tune for Icom’, BHI’s ParaPro EQ20 DSP, and SDRplay’s newly launched RSP1A SDR receiver. Bob gives and overview on getting started with SDR using an inexpensive RTL-based USB dongle and SDRSharp, but we bring you the chance to win the more comprehensive RSP1A SDR receiver from SDRplay, coupled with the best-selling book on the subject, SDR by Andrew Barron ZL3DW" Due to the length of the program, part of it may be reserved for next month.
The meeting as usual at: Denny's Restaurant, 7900 College Town Drive, Sacramento. Phone (916) 383-7071, Located at the southwest corner of Howe Ave. and College Town Drive one block North of Highway 50.
Please plan to attend.
Update from North Hills RC
Posted May 5, 2018
The next meeting of the North Hills Radio Club will take place on Tuesday May 15. This month's presentation will be on Software defined radios (SDR) and Digital modes. This month is a continuation of last months topic, including the new FT-8 digital mode, which has become really popular.
Club meetings are always held on the third Tuesday of every month, at the former (SMUD) building located at 5026 Don Julio Blvd, at the northeast corner of Don Julio and Elkhorn Blvds. The board meeting begins at 6:00 P.M., followed by the general membership meeting at 7:30 P.M.
See you there! From Doug Emerson, Vice-President, North Hills Radio Club. Amateur callsign N6NFF
Update from Glenn ARS
Posted May 5, 2018
Prez Says for May 2018
Welcome home Dorothy and John. We trust you folks found everything in order when you returned and that you are now caught up with chores, email, and phone messages. You were sorely missed!
The ARRL has posted the new rules for this years’ Field Day, 2018. I have downloaded a copy and will have it at our next membership meeting for all to peruse. We will be discussing this event and formalizing plans during the membership meeting. We have been granted access again this year to the Providence Christian Center site on Highway 32, just east of Orland.
The ‘Run Your Tail Off 2018 5K/10K’ event which was held on 14th of April, 2018, at the Buckhorn Camp ground, Black Butte lake, was a success. We had the Disaster Response Trailer (DTR) on site to use as the net control station, and to show it off to all event participants. The DTR was operated in battery mode using one of its new Anytone 5888UV III Tri-band FM transceivers and one of the new antennas. This all worked out very well! We also had several participants visit and walk through the DTR so the visibility the DTR had was a true success.
Last month at the GARS membership meeting I had a new NANO-SPOT operating and preformed a short demonstration. The NANO-SPOT is a completely self-contained digital hot spot that supports DMR, Dstar, P25 and System Fusion communications. Fully assembled and tested in a rugged extruded aluminum enclosure. All that's required for operation is a power source and a WiFi based internet connection.
This month I will also will have the NANO-SPOT at the meeting for another demo. I have not had much time to play with it but it holds much promise in future communication work. Also it is hopped Albert, N6YCK, will be present to talk to us about his adventures using new digital technologies and how he plans to interface them to the analog repeater world.
From now through the month of September we as a club will be busy planning for various happenings. As mentioned above, next month, there is the ARRL Field Day event. Then we have this years Steakbake in September (September 8th). Finalized plans are to hold this event at the Lutheran Fellowship Hall and or its adjoining park in Artois, CA. Start time we are embracing is around 12 noon.
A raffle prize has been donated to the club. We will begin selling raffle tickets during our membership meeting this month. Tickets are one for $5.00 or 5 tickets for $20.00. The donated prize is the AnyTone AT-D868UV, Digital DMR / Analog Radio. Will have the radio for all to see at this months meeting.
At this time I thank all for their support at the Run Your Tail Off event and look forward to your continued support and help in advancing the art of radio.
We will be meeting at the Artois Lutheran Fellowship Hall at 6:30pm, on Thursday, the 10th of May. Late arrivals and guests are always welcome. So be safe in all you do and may you all have many blessings in the days ahead!
Mike Ellithorpe, KF6OBI President, GARS kilofox6obi@yandex.com 530-518-3730 Newsletter
The Prez' Says:
So much to talk about, both future, present and past events!
Presently: & most immediate…GEARS annual Ham Auction, conducted every year at the May meeting, is this month (surprise) on May 18. Those members who wish to do so, please bring in to sell or donate any Ham radio equipment you no longer use. Hams are constantly upgrading their systems, and one of the things we often do is merely set aside the older item, just to collect dust! But many Hams look for older used units, sometimes for parts, sometimes to just collect, sometimes because they are relatively new to Amateur radio and cannot afford the newest. Give them an opportunity to capitalize on your choices.
We have some truly fine items already donated for our auction, among them the radio equipment of KN6JS-Chuck Alldrin-Silent Key. Our deepest appreciation of his family for this generous gesture, we all know how difficult a decision this has been for them.
NEW FOR THIS YEAR: GEARS has initiated a payment program through PayPal, so we will be accepting payments via pay pal with your credit card, or of course by personal check and CASH always reigns supreme!
FUTURE: JUNE; FIELD DAY; Last full weekend of June! Also, at the Club’s December 21st meeting, our yearly raffle event with a First prize of an Au-to Tuner, LDG electronics, an AT-100 Pro II, 125 watts, new! Second prize: a 2 Meter hand held.
PAST: GEARS members again assisted during CHICO WILDFLOWER event – KUDOS to all Hams who were again on board this year. Kathy Favor’s report is on page 2 of this newsletter. Thank you ALL.
Our Board has set a price increase on Caps and Badges: $15.00 each. Also, Gene Wright is putting together a sign up sheet for Gears Club Shirts. Members can sign up for a shirt with or without pockets (the pocket shirt will cost more). I don’t have the price for shirts, Gene is on the hook for that information.
Tom Rider W6JS, President GEARS rustyboyrider@aol.com Newsletter
Member Updates and Feedback
Update from Jim Heath, W6LG
posted May 3, 2018
At the request of the Radioaficionados de España (the Spanish version of the ARRL), Deme Pastor, EA5IPC in Valencia Spain and Jim Heath, W6LG in Grass Valley are recording a series of YouTube videos showing typical QSO's in English and Spanish. The purpose of the videos is to teach common phrases in Spanish and English.
Jim Heath's YouTube Channel is Ham Radio Basics. The Channel has about 12,000 subscribers in the last couple of years and about 750,000 views. Jim has been in Grass Valley for almost 40 years. Jim is recovering from a series of Pulmonary Embolisms and related heart damage.
Western Placer ARC Member Clay Abrams, K6AEP, Silent Key
posted May 3, 2018
It is with great sadness that I report the passing of Clay Abrams, K6AEP. Clay was a long time member of the WPARC and was licensed as a ham for over 65 years. Clay served as a Board Member for several years and was a stalwart on our Field Day events.
Clay was an electrical engineer and worked for IBM for many years. He was involved in the invention of the floppy and hard drives, including those used in modern PCs. In earlier years he was active in a computer club in Silicon Valley and was friends with many innovators including Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. He worked on the development of slow-scan TV for ham radio and is credited with the first trans-oceanic transmission which was to the Japanese government and is well documented on youtube and other internet sites.
Clay loved the latest technology and always had the latest hot goodies. However, he didn’t buy things because they were the hot item – he used all his gear actively and could be seen on PSK Reporter for hours every day. He loved CW and was the club CW star every Field Day.
Clay earned his EE degree from a small, mid-Western university and was very appreciative of the education he received there and the opportunities it gave him in life. He did very well investing in the stock market and was able to give a large endowment to the university to show his gratitude. He also set up a ham station/lab at the university to help further our hobby and to encourage students to become involved ham radio.
Clay and his wife traveled extensively throughout the world. Ellen was a travel agent and booked them on numerous trips to dozens of countries. Following her passing several years ago, Clay continued to take cruises to many exotic locations. He always took a portable rig with him and created some big pileups when he transmitted from Easter Island and other rare DX locations.
Clay was a ham through and through and loved the hobby. He was a pioneer, an innovator, and a friend. His passing is a loss to the ham community.
Sincerely, Michael Buck, WPARC Secretary
