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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ARRL President Issues Call for Members to Reach Out to their Senators to Support S. 1534
posted on arrl.org July 25, 2017

ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, is calling on League members to urge their US Senators to support the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2017, S. 1534. ARRL has opened a RallyCongress page to simplify the task.

“[W]e are at a crossroad in our efforts to obtain passage of The Amateur Radio Parity Act,” Roderick said. He said the campaign to secure passage of the bill scored a major victory earlier this year when H.R. 555 passed unanimously in the US House of Representatives. Obtaining passage of the companion Senate bill, S. 1534, is the final legislative hurdle.

“Now is the time for all hams to get involved in the process!” Roderick said. “Many of you already live in deed-restricted communities, and that number grows daily.”

He urged radio amateurs now restricted by a Homeowners Association from installing effective outdoor antennas to visit the RallyCongress site and e-mail their two US Senators. He also encouraged those not now affected by deed covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs) to support their fellow radio amateurs by doing the same.

“If you want to help create an opportunity - not available before now - for Amateurs who live in deed restricted communities to install effective outdoor antennas on property that you own or lease, send these e-mails today!” Roderick said. “We need you to reach out to your Senators today. Right away.” S. 1534 was introduced in the US Senate on July 12, marking another step forward for this landmark legislation. Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) are the Senate sponsors. The measure will, for the first time, guarantee all radio amateurs living in deed-restricted communities governed by a Homeowners Association (HOA) or subject to any private land-use regulations, the right to erect and maintain effective outdoor antennas at their homes, while protecting the aesthetic concerns of HOAs.

Update on AB-1222 Amendment Bill to Distracted Driving Law

CA CVC 23123.5 / AB-1222 Hands-Free Update, by Jim Aspinwall NO1PC, posted July 30, 2017

On 11 July 17, Bob Venditti, Glen Pitts and myself, Jim Aspinwall, attended the CA Senate Transportation and Housing Committee hearing, in which AB-1222 was “being heard” and we submitted Opposition to.

Since we had front-loaded the Committee members with our opposition points, no doubt they ‘shared’ with the author, so our presence was essentially ‘token’ but not insignificant for what else we learned about processes and politics.

I introduced our issue and Bob presented its significance on our public service value. In rebuttal the author, Assemblymember Quirk and then one of his staff/supporters, offered:

• they intended to work with CHP on proper enforcement advice
• they would deal with the legal/Constitutional issue of over-/unintended-enforcement if and when appropriate Court cases came up.
• they also claimed that we had requested a specific exemption for amateur radio, which is not in evidence, plea, communication, etc. (they lied!)

We were not offered the opportunity for counter-argument. No questions were directed to us. Instead an acknowledgement of the first two points was issued, vote was taken.

The Bill is now headed to the ‘appropriations’ committee, which will pass and be forwarded as there is NO money involved in this. Then it will go to the Senate at-large for vote. Expected to pass. Then to the Governor. Rarely has anyone at any of those three levels acknowledged, amended or otherwise not passed the legislation into law.

That leaves a couple of anticipated questions and issues:

• when will AB-1222 turn into law as CVC 23123.5?
• when if at all will we see any new communications with/from CHP?
• can we create any interest in the Senate at-large?
• how do we collect evidence and case records of any violations/citations of the eventually revised CVC 23123.5?
• what do we do with what we may or may not collect of eventual case-findings?

Bottom-line:

• we did NOT lose ground (current AB-1222 will not be scrubbed, some ambiguity has been removed)
• we did not gain ground (we did not get the “not limited to” removed)
• our recourse is to establish a Constitutional precedence (leverage the “not limited to in case law)

Take-aways for ‘us’:

• obtain, print and have present a copy of the CHP enforcement memo and the current Legislative Analysis to RESPECTFULLY OFFER to any citing officer, certainly to have on-hand for any Court case
• DO NOT *push* or insist this matter at the enforcement/citation level encounter with a peace officer – they have at least one other vehicle code they can cite for instead. In California that may be the Basic Speed Law – do NOT get cited for that!
• share and advocate for this cause… “not limited to” means UNLIMITED
• DO, please DO be aware of and come forward with ANY citations for violation of 23123.5 NOT specific to cellphones/”smart devices”, etc. WE NEED CASE LAW to work with.
• we will explore and expand this effort to other ‘social’ venues as appropriate, which may or not involve forming a ‘PAC’, mustering and funding clear legal action, etc.

In closing… for myself, Glen, Bob, Al, Mike, especially in memory of Norm Lucas WB6RVR (sk) whose last words with me were “stay the course”, and many other contributors to this effort and our audience – hearty thanks and appreciation for your interest and support. We DID effect a change of law from a VERY grass roots, organic level amid very obscure “technology law.” We are indeed ‘GOOD’ with what we could get changed. We all learned A LOT. We know what to do to continue forward.

THANK YOU!!!!  Hands-free Information Site

Photo caption: Bob W6AW, Jim NO1PC and Glen K6KJQ at the CA State capitol

I wish to thank Jim Aspinwall, NO1PC, Norm Lucas, WB6RVR(SK), Glen Pitts K6KJQ and Mike Morris WA6ILQ for their diligent advocacy and work with the office of Assemblymember Bill Quirk, the California Assembly and the California Highway Patrol, and for the rank and file ARRL membership and radio amateurs throughout California who have signed on to support this effort to correct the ambiguous language in the existing law.

-Carol Milazzo, KP4MD

 

Update from Bob Wortman, WB6VYH, Section Technical Coordinator
Updated July 30, 2017

We just got back from Redding, love that heat.

We will be headed back North to the Lava Beds and Klamath Falls area soon. So if you’re in that area and need cards check just let me know, ahead of time please.

I will also be at the Lincoln swap in September. If you need cards checked for DXCC, WAS or VUCC let me know ahead of time please.

Call me and leave a message or email me, my information is on the ARRL web page.

I also will be at Pacificon 2017 for the weekend and I’m sure that NCDXC will be there too with a card checking table. Stop by and say hi.

Don’t forget the Solar Eclipse QSO Party on August 21. If you’re not into QSO party’s you might just want to see what happens at your station.

73 and good DX, Bob Wortman, WB6VYH
ARRL Pacific Division DXCC Awards Manager, Sacramento Valley Section Technical Coordinator, WAS Award Manager, VUCC Awards Manager

August 12 - Sacramento County ARES Training
Posted July 30, 2017

The next Sacramento County ARES training and meeting is scheduled for Saturday August 12, 2017 from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon at theSacramento Sheriff's Central Division, 7000 65th Street, Sacramento, CA 95823.

Vince Cracchiolo KI6NHP is the Sacramento County EC.

For more information, visit the Sacramento County ARES web site at www.saccountyares.org

Report from Modoc Emergency Radio Club
Posted July 31, 2017

On July 22, 2017 the Modoc Emergency Radio Club, K6MER, provided aid stations, SAG wagons, and communications support for the 2017 Historic Hotels Bike Ride. At 8:00 AM riders left the hotel in Fort Bidwell and traveled south through Surprise Valley enjoying views of the Hayes Mountain range to the east and the Warner Mountains to the west. At Cedarville riders turned west to climb 1650 feet on their way over Cedar Pass before heading to the finish line at the Niles Hotel in Alturas, California. This annual event is good practice for the ARES affiliated club.

Dan Stossmeister, KJ6ZUW, drove SAG 1. Jim Hertel, N6KMR, served as Repeater Tech and logistical support along the route. The Surprise Valley High School Amateur Radio Club, KK6YBB, with club members Maya Schulz, KK6TBY, Charisse Armstrong, and club call sign trustee David Schulz, WO6M, operated Winlink Express at the starting line in Fort Bidwell and called in progress of riders at Aid Station 1 in Cedarville. Aid Stations 2 and 3 were staffed by Richard Mund, KK6FBZ, and Dave Bullard, NT6K, respectively. Visiting from Sacramento, fellow ham Mark Walsh, KM6XU, drove SAG 2. Jim Linden, N7JIL, drove SAG 3 and served as the Ham Team Leader. Chad Linden, N5BMU, served as Net Control, and Deanna Smith, W6DWS, served as Alternate Net Control and Finish Line operator.

Regarding the implementation of Winlink Express, Jim Linden says that next year he will "upgrade by adding a printer in his mobile so he can print out the bib number list for the aid stations."

Net Control was able to see the location of all three SAG wagons with the use of APRS and the APRS.fi website displayed on a big screen.

The Historic Hotels Bike Ride has three course options: 150 km, 100 km, and 40 km. A lunch is provided at the finish line in Alturas. More information about the event can be found at the Modoc County Parks and Recreation website: http://www.modocparksandrec.com/

Respectfully submitted, David M. Schulz - WO6M

Inside the historic Fort Bidwell Hotel with SVHS ARC members (left to right) Charisse Armstrong, Maya Schulz/KK6TBY, and David Schulz/WO6M Chad Linden/N5BMU, Net Control and Esther Linden/XYL, Logger at Niles Hotel Left to right standing, Deanna/W6DWS, Jim Hertel/N6KMR; seated left to right, Mark Walsh/KM6XU, Dan Stossmeister/KJ6ZUW, Jim Linden/N7JIL, Esther Linden/XYL, Chad Linden/N5BMU.

Club and Member News - Under Construction

Update from Amador County ARC
Posted July 30, 2017

The Amador County Amateur Radio Club has had a busy month. We started out with a joint B-B-Q with the Mother Lode Rockcrawlers. Both clubs use amateur radio and took advantage of that mutual interest to get together and improve our knowledge of each clubs activities and enjoy some fine food and fellowship. Our relationship with Red Cross was further enhances when a representative from Red Cross spoke at our July monthly club meeting. Later in the month we concluded a licensing course and every student was successful in passing the test for their Technician license. Our new repeater controller is in full operation and we had a special class to learn about its capabilities. 73, John Stettler, PIO

Update from El Dorado County ARC
Posted July 26, 2017

FROM THE PRESIDENT

We now move into the heat of summer! Is it too hot to work outside? It is always nice to work on indoor projects.

What are some of your summer projects? Do you have something you can share with the club at our monthly meeting? Let one of our officers know, so we can set aside some time for you to make a short presentation to the membership.

We will hear about the results of Field Day at our July meeting. I look forward to all of you joining us. As luck would have it, I dashed off for our family reunion and left my antenna kit (Buddipole) at home, which kept me off the air this year!

There is an article in the July issue of QST, which I used as an example of how to set up a digital station. Titled, “The Raspberry Pi Alternative for WSJT-X”, this article is an introduction to putting this little $35 computer to use in the shack. It will step you through the process of gathering necessary components and configuring your Raspberry Pi. It is based around the Pi 3 model, which provides more memory and a faster CPU than its predecessors.

Now to learn WSJT-X and start working the digital modes!

Hope to see you at the meeting!

73, Michael, K6MLE Newsletter

Update from River City ARCS
Posted July 31, 2017

August 1 Program - Ham Radio and the August 21 Solar Eclipse
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Field Day was the big event for the end of June. Some of the members performed tasks that especially aided in making this year a success event.

I gave verbal credit at the July's general meeting to those individuals, but would like to extend that "thank you" in the news letter.

July 5 Program - Antenna Fundamentals

• To Marie and Dave Martin, KB6YLK, for a great meal.
• To Kevin Hooke, KK6DCT, for the networking and fast posting of Field Day contacts to the ARRL - very fast.
• And for those who came out and braved the heat while making those contact - Well done.

On August 21, 2017, there will be a solar eclipse and if you happen to be in Portland, Oregon, around 1720 UT, you will experience a total eclipse. There are lots of articles on this event along with WARNINGS on how to observe the event. Observing incorrectly can cause permanent damage to the eyes. What's interesting to hams is the effect an eclipse has on radio wave propagation. Dr. Carol Milazzo (KP4MD), during her presentation at the club's August general meeting, will add comments on this. If you can, check out Ward Silver's (N0AX) article "The Solar Eclipse QSO Party" in August's QST edition. Ward also wrote a very good article "The Solar Eclipse and Ham Radio" in "Nuts and Volts" magazine, August edition. I found it to be very well written about ionization of the upper atmosphere and how it effects radio waves.

Also to be discussed during the August General Meeting, rules on September's "Home Brew" contest. Be sure to attend so you can know how to participate in this event. Until then,

73, Ed, WA6QYO  Newsletter  

River City ARCS Field Day Photos

Update from Yuba-Sutter ARC
Posted July 31, 2017

GENERAL MEETING

The next general meeting will be held Tuesday, August 1st at the Caltrans Building in Marysville. Photos from field day and the antenna building party will be shown.

SUTTER HIGH SCHOOL TO START AN AMATEUR RADIO CLUB

Gary Mason (KE6VUR), a teacher at Sutter High School, will be starting a ham club this fall. They are in need of some used current Technician License Manuals for the club. If you have one you’re willing to donate to them please contact Curtis (KF6VFP). About 8 more copies of the manual will be needed.

VE TEST SESSION

The next VE session will be 9:00 A.M., 2 September at 715 King Ave., Yuba City. VE’s are needed to administer the exam. The elements for Technician, General, and Extra class will be offered. If you are planning on taking an exam you will need two forms of ID, at least one of them must be a picture ID. A fee of $15.00 is required. A calculator may also be used as long as it has had all of its memories cleared and there are no built in or preprogrammed formulas.

If you are upgrading to a higher class you need to bring your license and a photocopy of the license.

If you take an exam and pass, you can take the next higher class exam for no additional cost. If you do not pass and wish to try again an additional fee will be required. Good luck to everyone taking exams.

At the July 8th VE session Gary Mason (KE6VUR) upgraded to general, Daniel Leon (KM6KVT) upgraded to Extra, and Andrew Altes (KM6LOG) and Christopher Gallion (KM6LOH) became Technicians. Congratulations to all.

For photos and comments see the clubs Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1656462021319061/.

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 orKF6FVP@arrl.net

Newsletter

Yuba Sutter ARC Field Day Photos

Sierra Foothills ARC Technical Presentation

Update from Sierra Foothills ARC
Posted July 27, 2017

SFARC Monthly Report

All's well in Auburn. After a grass fire that was threatening on the edge of town, CAL FIRE came through once again. Our sincere thanks, from all 114 of our Members, to Cal Fire for the great job they continue to do.

Mark, W8BIT, Social Media Officer, has updated our Facebook page and added a twitter account at: https://www.youtube.com/user/W6EK/ or from twitter: @SFARC_W6EK. Our thanks to Donna, W6CQX for doing our first YouTube site during these past years.

Meeting programs - We have a session that is called "Tech 4 Ten" and is a brief presentation about a subject, radio review, antennas or similar. Then after the break we begin the main program. July was two fold: HF Antenna and VHF antenna pre-build technical presentations. Greg, KO6TH has been doing videos of all our programs and posting them on our You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/W6EK/ You can also see our 2017 Field Day video there.

Shout out to President Orion, AI6JB for contacting Dave, NN1N and getting our Special Service Club status renewed. SFARC supports our Community with local communications, participation in Ham Events, VE Testing, Education and more.

VE Testing - AL, NI2U reports: We had a very successful session again. We administered 25 elements to 16 candidates. 15 earned a new or upgraded license. We have 14 new Technicians 4 new Generals.

Nets - Every Thursday at 7:30 pm, some business, reports, a Mystery Question and checkins. Then every 1st and 3rd Wednesday is our Elmer Net. Great place to find answers to all of your Ham questions.

Club Picnic - Saturday, August 19th will be the club's annual picnic for the members. Thanks to Jeremiah, W6DLO for taking the picnic under his able management. Will there be another QLF Contest? Hope so as it is entertaining.

Great thing to do - Maritime Radio Historical Society -Keep in touch with their newsletter and special events: info@radiomarine.org and http://radiomarine.org/

The Amateur Radio Parity Act - Give your support to this legislation for Amateur Radio. Go to: https://arrl.rallycongress.net/ctas/urge-us-senate-to-support-amateur-radio-parity-act and support your hobby! Every signature counts.

Eclipse - You saw it on the cover of QST. Are you ready for the QSO Party? Check with your club or read the article so you too can participate on the radio.

73, Carl, WF6J, ARRL PIO  Newsletter

Update from Elk Grove-Florin ARC - pending
Posted July 10, 2017

Field Day—June 24th -25th

We invited SHARP and ARES to join us at Davis Ranch at Sloughhouse again this year. Our crowd was small, but the food and location was great. Thanks to all who came out!

General Meeting – July 8th

Our attendance was lower than normal, but the meeting was great! Duane Wyatt, WAØMJD, was our speaker. Duane volunteers with a group that provides encouragement and services to children with disabilities. He uses Ham Radio and particularly, Morse code, in his presentations to about 60 kids per week. Duane loves CW and has found that the kids find it fun and learn it fairly quickly. So, he helps them study for their license and get equipment. We were very fortunate to have a mother and daughter visit us from Southern California. Her daughter is autistic. You see her joy in the picture below as Duane teaches her to spell out her name using Morse code. The name of the group that Duane volunteers with is called “A Touch of Understanding”. Go towww.atouchofunderstanding.org for more information.

We are busy preparing for our August Meeting – August 12, 2017

Hams are known for their ability to “Fabricate”. Our August meeting will be an opportunity for Hams in region to show off their mobile installations. So, if you have and installation on you bicycle, motorcycle, or in your car, truck, RV—Whatever!! Bring it out and share it with our Hams. If you are looking for installation ideas, come see what others have done. Perhaps you or your club has a communications trailer you would like to show off. Our parking lot is the place to be. If nothing else, just come out and meet the Elk Grove-Florin club members. We are small but we like to think we are a pretty nice bunch of Hams.

The date is August 12th , the time is 7:00 pm and the location is 7000 65th Street, 95823. We will be on the parking lot of the Sacramento Sheriff’s Central Division parking lot.

73, Paul (N6DRY)

Update from Oroville ARS
Posted July 26, 2017

The OARS Monthly Breakfast will be Saturday, 29 July 2017, 9 am, at The Waffle Shop, 2107 Feather River Blvd (across the street from Applebee’s) in Oroville. Hope to see everyone there. 73, Jim, W7XZ

The monthly meeting of OARS (http://w6af.org) will take place Friday, 12 August 2017, 7 pm, at 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. Hope all can attend.

Oroville ARS Field Day Photos

Update from SOTARS/QCWA Chapter 169 - pending
Posted July 9, 2017

Our meeting this month is Wednesday, August 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 is the second half of TXFactor Episode 16, with sections on SOTABEAMS FT-817 SSB/CW filter module and theirWSPRLite beacon transmitter. I hope you find this half interesting.  Check out their other products at www.sotabeams.co.uk

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 on attending.

Update from North Hills RC
Posted July 31, 2017

The next meeting for The North Hills Radio Club will take place on Tuesday evening, August 15, 2017.

Join us at our August meeting of the North Hills Radio Club, where we will be building several transformer boxes for the End Fed Antenna.  program will be about End Fed Antennas. Maynard W6PAP will be guiding those that signed up for the workshop. Even if you haven't signed up to build a transformer box, come to the meeting, and maybe you can assist in the builds and join in the fun.

Please come and you are encouraged to bring a friend, ham or otherwise. Our meetings are open to the general public and we would like very much for you to attend. See you on August 15.

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 call sign N6NFF

Update from Nevada County ARC - pending
Posted July 9, 2017

Next Meeting Monday July 10, 2017 doors open 6:30pm, meeting at 7 pm at the Salvation Army annex building on Alta St. in Grass Valley. This month's meeting will feature a presentation by Greg Dolkas, KO6TH, "How to Make Things Work".

JUNE MEETING INFORMAL NOTES

Your intrepid reporter counted 23 attendees at the June meeting of the Nevada County Amateur Radio Club. We voted on whether to have a special Christmas drawing with prizes of a quality name-brand HT as the grand prize and an 8 watt Baofeng model as a secondary prize. Other options were presented, but the feeling was that something of this sort would be welcome to draw more interest in the drawing, the proceeds of which benefit the club.

Walt N6HNS asked whether the club felt up to full coverage of a booth for the fair as requested by the fair organizers, that is coverage from 10am to 10pm on all days of the fair. The fair runs for five days, from August 9th to the 13th this year. There is a hope that split shifts can be run of about 6 hours each, rather than very long shifts of 12 hours each.

Larry K6LRL reported to the club that QRO operation has worked out well for him. "It really works!" he said, advising those who are having trouble making contacts that they should look at adding a linear amplifier to their stations.

We watched videos by Jim W6LG from Youtube on coax and on linear amplifiers. If you haven't seen Jim's videos, they are an excellent introduction to many of the practical aspects of amateur station building and operation. You can find them by going to https://www.youtube.com/user/jimw6lg.

We had 3 go-kits presented to the group, one from Jason KJ6HNP for 2m in a "Seahorse" box that was a very practical transportable station solution. Another was Cal AI6MC's truck-based solution, with an antenna that goes from the bed of his truck up through the shell with weather protection. The third was a small kit that Richard KI6UOV built into a frame built from acrylic inside a tool bag. It uses a 5W Baofeng as the rig, an external antenna, and is a highly portable basic station.

NEVADA COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB MINUTES

No minutes submitted for the last meeting.

73, Walt, N6HNS        Newsletter

Update from Samuel F Morse ARC
Posted July 31, 2017

JULY REPORT:

The W6SFM Samuel F Morse Radio Club July meeting was called to order July 6th by club President Mike, N6MQL on June 1st at the Carmichael Presbyterian Church in Carmichael CA, with 18 members and 1 guest in attendance.

The W6SFM annual Field Day was held behind the rear parking lot in the field of the Carmichael Presbyterian Church. This location provided everyone with FREE and Easy public accessibility to the W6SFM Field Day location.

Throughout the event the club saw 24 total people show up. The club was visited by 11 guests and 13 club members. Included in those numbers were 5 Kids 18 years old or younger. Member Chuck N6UOE brought out his grandson to get a view of what Field Day was all about. Chris 12 years old, was very helpful assisting chuck and the club with the vertical antenna setup and connection. ARRL Section manager, and W6SFM member, Carol KP4MD joined us with her ‘official’ visit around 4:30 PM and stayed through dinner time.

The SFM ARC suffered a great loss with the passing of Member Norm, WB6RVR (which caused the club to have to switch to “plan-B” in our antenna setup. The club operated a modest 2 stations, all emergency powered 100-watt (or less, depending on battery voltage levels) configuration. This year’s antennas used were the club work horse “all-band” 80 meter tuned Inverted Vee, and the clubs newly repaired, rebuilt and retuned Hustler 4 band trapped vertical.

The total number of contacts was 423 along with additional bonus points. A good time was had by all.

For our main presentation, Mike, N6MQL presented a hands-on demonstration of the differences in past and current size Surface mounted devices. Mike also demonstrated some helpful tips on how to use both a soldering iron and SMD Hot air work station to remove, clean and install SMD devices. Because of the sizes involved members watched what was being done on the TV monitor feed by Mike’s Microscope placed on the table.  The club looks on as Mike compares different SMD components to a Dime.

There was no "Show and Tell".

It was announced last month that LiveStream, the provider of W6SFM’s Live Feed will no longer be providing free streaming services. As of July 11th our Livestream feed will no longer be available, nor will any of the previously recorded videos on-line.  As of the 11th the club will begin moving all of its Live Feed transmissions through our newW6SFM YouTube Channel. The Live Feed page will continue to serve live feeds, but because of the way the new software works you may be required to ‘refresh’ your Livestream browser in order to activate the live transmission once it has begun. Unlike the previous LiveStream integration, YouTube has no way to continuously update our webpage in order to let the Live transmission begin on its own. Therefore, once you have arrived on the clubs “Live Feed” page, if there is no transmission currently playing you will be required to refresh your browsers to check again for the start of the transmission. We hope to find a way past this allowing for an automatic start of the broadcast as we did in the past. Until then, if you prefer you can always go to the YouTube channel to see if we are “Live Broadcasting”. Those who subscribe to the W6SFM YouTube channel will always be notified by email when the club goes live. The W6SFM Channel can be found by simply going to YouTube.com and searching for W6SFM. Click on any of our videos and then click the Subscribe button under the video.

Our next SFM ARC in-person meeting will be held at its normal time and location August 3rd (followed by our Sep 7th meeting). The SFM ARC in-person meeting will be held in the Howard Crowley room upstairs at the Carmichael Presbyterian Church. Directions, including a Google Map are available on the W6SFM.com home page.

At our August meeting, we will be discussing news and events. We will also have a presentation on the setup and use of the WSPR net Sub-noise floor beacon, receiver communication and mapping system.

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.

-- Chris AI6U (SFMARC Secretary)

Newsletter

Samuel F Morse ARC Field Day Photos

Update from Western Placer ARC - pending
Posted July 9, 2017

Our Next Club Meetings are July 18, 2017. 5:30 – Board Meeting. 7:00 – Members Meeting. Woodcreek Oaks Golf Club, 5880 Woodcreek Oaks Blvd., Roseville, California

Scheduled Speaker and Topic: Kevin AA6KA speaking on D-STAR. D-STAR (Digital Smart Technologies for Amateur Radio) is a digital voice and data protocol specification designed specifically for Amateur Radio. Come to the meeting to learn about it.

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 Legends at Woodcreek Oaks Golf Club, 5880 Woodcreek Oaks Blvd., Roseville.

WPARC News

First Ever Club T-Shirts!

One of your fellow members is coordinating our first ever club T-Shirt order. Many expressed interest at the May meeting. The plan is to prepare an order of high quality long- and short-sleeve shirts, where a large club logo is printed on the back, and your name, call sign, and small club logo on the front. Tentative costs are in the $15-20 range. If interested in a T-shirt of your very own then bring your checkbook or cash to the June meeting.

Field Day 2017 is in the Logs

Gary Talent WA6IKE hosted the club at his QTH high atop the foothills overlooking Lincoln and the valley to staff five radios this year. It was hot and sunny during the day which kept a few away. Join us at our July club meeting for an update on successes this year. New pictures below.

WPARC 2017 Hamfest - Sep 16

WPARC 2017 Hamfest will be Saturday, Sep 16. Start setting your ham radio treasures aside for their next owners, and plan to attend this annual event. Be thinking about volunteering a few hours to make this year another success!

Tour de Rocklin - Sep 30

Bill KJ6YCO announces that the Tour de Rocklin will return this year on Saturday, Sep 30. This is another premier cycling event in our area and WPARC will be there to support it. Save the date to provide support at net control, as SAG in your vehicle, or at a check point along the route.

WPARC on Facebook and Twitter

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Update from Glenn ARS - pending
Posted July 3, 2017

Here's a graphic of the contacts made during Field Day.

It was fun having the DRT to use as the station control. Unfortunately the AC isn't scheduled to arrive until this coming Tuesday, so the 107° was a bit overwhelming but we prevailed until about 6 PM on Saturday. Drank quite a bit of water.

Also enjoyed much freshly brewed coffee using the coffee maker. Phil freshly ground some Starbucks French Roast. Food was provided by a Thrivent Action Team.

Sunday the band conditions didn't provide the ability to make any contacts. Phil arrived about 5:45 AM and Mike and Phil began breaking down the station shortly before noon. By 1 PM the QTH was back to its normal configuration.

Hope to see you at the club meeting 7/13 meeting where we will be able to share more detail.

73, Phil, GARS Sect'y/Treas  Newsletter

Update from Golden Empire ARS - pending
Posted July 6, 2017

The Prez' Says

QST de KA6GND

Thank you very much to Michael N6FAV and Kathy K6FAV for securing the wonderful location for our Field Day this year at the Masonic Family Center. Also thank you to the others who helped set up, operate and attend to have a fun time! I wish that I could have been there but I was out of town for the week.

Have you bought any raffle tickets yet to try to win the antenna analyzer that the club is raffling off? You just never know when you might need one.

When I put up my tower in late 2015 I used new coax and connectors to the antennas, all was secured very well and all has survived 2 winters very well. Then suddenly last month, long after winter, 2 of my uhf/vhf antennas have a problem. I normally check the swr from time to time, but an analyzer can tell you so much more.

See Rick KI6VOS for tickets.

I hope to see you at our July meeting on the 21st!

73 for now, Larry Marcum, KA6GND, GEARS Club President, ka6gnd@gmail.com, 530-345-5399  Newsletter

G.E.A.R.S. Special Program Friday July 21, 2017 - 7 PM
Digital Based Solutions for Declining Propagation Environments

Presented by John Bush - KH6DLK / V63JB Yap, Federated States of Micronesia

Extra Class licensee John Bush, visiting from Yap, Micronesia, will present digital based solutions due to decreasing solar activity that reduces radio wave propagation.

• How declines in propagation are causing us as hams to rethink how we’ll communicate in the future.
• What communications options are available
• What digital modes are available
• Can these modes be used for VHF, UHF, and with repeaters?
• What are the criteria for picking a digital mode?
• The importance of ARQ (automatic repeat request) and FEC (forward error correction) in high accuracy digital modes
• What are some of the more popular modes?
• What are the pros and cons of the most popular modes?
• What do we need to build a digital station?

Golden Empire Amateur Radio Society, Butte County Search and Rescue Building, 3965 Morrow Lane, Chico, CA 95926

All visitors are welcome to attend. For information email: ka6gnd@gmail.com

Field Day Photo Collage from Shingletown ARC
Submitted by Dr. Shelli Joye, K6SRJ, posted July 30, 2017

Shingletown Amateur Radio Club (STARC)
The struggle to raise one of our antennas on Field Day in Viola, 9 miles east of Shingletown at 4500 feet. Note the llamas watching!

Posted by Dr. Shelli Joye, K6SRJ

Clarence Nevis, KF6YTQ SILENT KEY
Posted July 6, 2017

Clarence Nevis, KF6YTQ- Club Member for a long long time.. became a Silent Key the weekend of June 16th-17th. There will be no service.

He was a very strong guy for a long time considering what difficulties he had... very intelligent and really an 'expert' on many subjects... of course Amateur Radio but also an accomplished Machinist as a hobbyist.. Engineer by vocation and worked for Cal Trans.

Submitted by Larry Fibich AF6LF

Dr. Thomas A. York, N6DFL SILENT KEY
Posted July 22, 2017

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Dr. Thomas A. York, the Ham Radio Operator of the N6DFL station.

I am his adult grandson, some of my fondest memories from my childhood involved joining him in his "Nets", learning about the operation of his station, and morse code. One of the final messages I communicated to him was a greeting in morse code that he taught me 25 years ago.

I thank you all for the contributions of friendship you provided to my grandfather, it meant a great deal to him, and to his family.

N6DFL is SK.

- Christopher J. Baker, Grandson of Dr. Thomas A. York N6DFL

Visits with Caribbean ARRL Section Officials
Submitted by Carol Milazzo, KP4MD, posted July 6, 2017

While on our KP4MD/P Holiday style Suitcase DXpedition at our vacation condo in Puerto Rico, Roger KI6FYF and I took a 6/30-7/1 weekend trip to St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. ARRL VI Section Manager Fred Kleber NP2X and his wife Lisa W4LIS treated us to a tour of the island, a visit to their lofty hilltop contest-class station, a visit to the boardwalk and souvenir shopping in downtown Christiansted, St. Croix, and the monthly meeting of the St. Croix Amateur Radio Club. In spite of their few numbers and limited infrastructure, the Virgin Islands ARES group has been quite resourceful in networking with the National Guard, FEMA and the territory government for disaster preparedness.

On July 6, we enjoyed a dinner meeting at the Hacienda Muñoz (a restaurant in a traditional mountainside coffee plantation setting) in San Lorenzo, PR with ARRL Puerto Rico Section Manager Oscar Resto, KP4RF, Asst. Section Manager Jose "Otis" Vicens, NP4G, Sacramento Valley Asst. Section Manager Roger Cain, KI6FYF, and SV Section Manager Carol Milazzo, KP4MD. We enjoyed legendary Puerto Rican hospitality, ambience and exquisite cuisine while discussing issues that amateur radio faces in our respective sections.

Photo Album

Equipment Grounding Problems
Submitted by Carol Milazzo, KP4MD, posted July 9, 2017

At the April meeting of the W6SFM Samuel F. Morse ARC, John Geyer, WB6UBK, who is a professional electrician, presented a talk on electrical safety and grounding. Over the past year or so I had noticed increasing noise floors on HF and inconsistent SWR readings. While operating on the 80 meter CW net, RF appeared on our household appliances and triggered touch lamps. Suspecting a grounding problem, John very kindly assisted me in tying the station ground rod to the Ufer ground at the electrical service entrance with 4 AWG wire, but the problem persisted.

Then suspecting a problem in the equipment ground connections (a rat's nest of coax braids secured where the ground wire enters the station) I found that over the years a common tie point screw had come loose and instead of zero ohms the equipment chassis measured 13 ohms to ground.

Rather than just tightening the loose screw, I decided to replace the rat's nest of coaxial braids with a proper grounding bus. I replaced the braid from the ground rod with a short direct length of copper plated hanging tapesecurely attached to an 18 inch copper plated plumbing bracket as a bus bar behind the station equipment.

I mounted my Powerpole distribution box securely to the bracket and ran short lengths of braid from the bracket to each equipment chassis.  See photo album.

I may solder the joints in the future, but for now I have confirmed a good low resistance ground to all station equipment and have resolved much of the receiver noise, erratic SWR readings and RF that had appeared on the home wiring.

Thanks to John Geyer for his talk on proper grounding!

Carol KP4MD

Norm Wilson N6JV Completes 10 Band DXCC
Submitted by Norm Wilson, N6JV, July 24, 2017

Just today I worked ZS4TX using EME on 6 meters and finally completed 6 Meter DXCC and 10 band DXCC.

That's hard from Sacramento Valley.

Norm, N6JV@N6JV.com

http://N6JV.com (Tube Museum)

Norm was Sacramento Valley Section Manager from 1982 to 1983 and maintains an impressive web site with photos of his amateur radio station since first licensed in 1960. - Carol KP4MD E-mail compliments, suggestions and submissions for inclusion in our Section News to kp4md (at) arrl.org
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