Club Repeaters: 147.315 (PL 107.2), 444.6 (PL107.2), 224.82 (PL107.2), 53.13 (PL107.2), 927.6 (-25Mhz, PL107.2), and 1282.600 (PL 107.2), DSTAR 145.38Mhz, 442.060, and 1284.600

PLEASE NOTE:

We will move our meeting location to the Alexandria City’s new Emergency Operations Center at 3600 Wheeler Ave,.  Thanks to Erik Parker, KG4DZA for arranging this for us.  We will still start at 7 PM.  This helps of with our ARES relationship with the City.

NEXT CLUB MEETING

Our next meeting is February 10^th at the Alexandria City’s new Emergency Operations Center at 3600 Wheeler Ave. We will meet in the Community Room on the first floor. Parking is the public lot right in front of the building.  DO NOT PARK ON THE STREET!!! At 7:00 there should be plenty of spaces.

Last months pre meeting dinner was at La Casta, This month’s will be back at ATLANTIS. Food at both places was good, but some miss the variety.

Our program will be the Virginia QSO Party.  Last year our club president and a few others went expeditionary and traveled to a county that had no amateurs to provide needed multipliers to others in the party.

JANUARY MEETING – Minutes KJ4FUU

This was our first meeting at the NEW City EOC at 3600 Wheeler Ave.

Treasurer’s Report: Checking:$563, education: $2,424 Trailer: $573, Share: $2,783, Total: $6,345 (cents not listed)

Our guest speaker, arranged by Erik, KG4DZA was Ms. Joanne Monroe, Director of Emergency Communications who gave us a tour of the new facility and some insight into how the city will more efficiently handle Police, Fire and EMS calls in the future.  In addition there was a great deal of discussion on the new radio systems that will be coming soon,  ARES is hoping that the City EMS team will come out for Field Day.

Committee Reports:

Training: Starts 3/20, with test after Dayton is over, location to be determined.(See Rich’s announcement below)

ARES:  New Police/Fire dispatch center opened this week behind the McDonald’s on Duke  & Quaker. Possibility exists for a presence for the club at the building, possibly moving the monthly meetings there. The Fire Training Center is not an option.

DSTAR: Not much new, trust server issues, new sites in Richmond, Towson upcoming. K6CLM has activated a  hotspot @ Fort Belvoir on 145.650 simplex, hooked to 25B (subject of a future program).

Repeaters: 50, 220 down, 440 card problem suspected, another unit being converted to 220. There is an issue that software for the controller is vaporware. 144, 900, 1300 all up and running.

Webmaster: Up to date, PayPal up and running

Upcoming Events: Hamfests: Winterfest, Timonium.  Volunteers needed for GW Birthday 10K run (2/18), GW Parade (2/20), Bull Run Runn (4/14)

Old Business:   None.

New Business:

Motion to investigate buying mugs for guest speakers. Carried. (Maybe hats instead?) Investigating new big sticker for the trailer identifying it. Investigating buying an HF antenna for the trailer (Tarheel?). Jeremy proposed an online store for club merchandise, hi-res scan of logo needed. Motion to buy Tarheel for the trailer ($500/$600) vs. Little Tarheel ($379) made by Jeremy KF7IJZ (withdrawn, referred to committee). Don raised concerns about height, suggested Hi-Q instead. Motion to form committee to investigate an HF antenna for the trailer (carried). Motion to remove repeater controller with non-existent software made by KF7IJZ (withdrawn, referred to Tim KT4MV, with Jeremy volunteering to start learning about the repeaters in order to be of assistance).       Motion to specifically invite Tim KT4MV for the purpose of discussion of repeater status / plans / future (passed).  Rich KA4GFY will contact him.

President’s Corner

As we welcome a new (and quite a bit milder) 2012 in, there are plenty of amateur radio activities to keep ARC members involved.  We started the new year off with a relocation of our meeting to the City of Alexandria’s new Police Department and Department of Emergency Communications (DEC) facility located at 3600 Wheeler Avenue through the efforts of ARC member Eric Parker, KG4DZA, who works in the DEC.  JoAnne Munroe, the new Director of the DEC gave us an overview of the center and took ARC members questions and answers on the new facility.  Afterwards, we  were given a tour of the new dispatch area that will become operational in the near future.  All ARC members were very appreciative of the time JoAnne gave to us, and look forward to having our ARC meetings there in the Community Room for the remainder of 2012.  On January 27th, six ARC members participated in a ARES drill at the Alexandria Inova Hospital  involving the Virginia regional hospital network.  This was a good opportunity to assess how well equipment worked in sections of the newly renovated Alexandria Inova Hospital, as well as meet and interact with Inova hospital management involved in the hospital’s security and emergency services.  Rick, our ARES coordinator, led the drill,  which ran from 9:00 until noon, and utilized both analog and DStar capabilities. On February 4, several ARC members participated in the annual trek to the Richmond Frostfest hamfest, and enjoyed the hospitality and bargains that the Richmond area hams provided.    Later in February, ARC members will be providing communications support to the organizers of the George Washington Birthday Celebration, which includes the George Washington Classic 10-K race on February 18 and the parade on February 20.  These are just a few examples of the many activities involving amateur radio that ARC members can participate throughout the year, and I look forward to seeing you at many of these and other upcoming events throughout 2012.”

73  Marshall

Future Programs

March – Tim –KT4MV –Aviation Communications (Pending)
April – HAARP – Steve Floyd W4YHD (Confirmed)
May – ARRL Dennis Bodsen W4PWF (Confirmed)
June – Field Day
July – D-Star 201 – KI4MQP (beyond the local repeater)
August -ARES/AMSAT/Other??
Sept – MCM – Howard, WD5DBC or Tom, N4ZPT (tentative)
Oct – AMRAD (tentative)
Nov – Elections
Dec – Party

Up Coming Events GW BIRTHDAY EVENTS

We need volunteers for two events.  The 10K run on February 18^th . We will meet on Eisenhower in front of the Patent Office at 0730.  Operations will be on the 147.315 repeater. Expect to be done by noon.

GW Birthday Parade February 20^th . – NEED VOLUNTEERS.  Meet at the corner of Wilkes and St Asaph Streets at 10 AM for set up. Move info on set up and assignments later.  We will use the 146.655 – PL141.3 for this  event. Expect the parade will start at 1 PM and we will be done and heading for a late lunch by 3 PM. In order to conserve parking spaces on site, we will meet at the Fire Training Center parking lot at 9AM and carpool to the start / finish area.  The Club Trailer will be at the start / finish area and we will have a team at the Reviewing stand.  If we can, I would like to have APRS trackers on the start and finish of the parade and a display at the Reviewing Stand.

Maps and info on the events are on the GW Birthday Parade website.

Let Rick, N4ASX, know if you can support.

Dayton Hamvention– The Ultimate Hamfest

The Dayton Hamvention has been described by some as “Mecca for ham radio” because if its ham radio related, it will be at Dayton. Since this is the largest hamfest in the US, if not worldwide, this is the perfect opportunity for the manufacturers to introduce their latest models.  I was there at the ICOM booth a few years ago when ICOM introduced the IC-7000 to the world. I have also seen Ten Tec bring out the Jupiter and the Orion.  I bought one of the very first ICOM IC-T81 four band handheld radios at Dayton. Every T81 sent to Dayton that year was gone the first day.  Five years ago, the entire stock of ICOM  ID-880 DSTAR radios was sold out by Saturday.  Yaesu sent a run of FT-817s the first year they were out.  Within a day, those were all sold out.  Same thing for the Kenwood TM D700 APRS radio when it was introduced.  Last year, one dealer brought in a pallet full of Chinese made HTs and they were completely sold out by Saturday morning.  Elecraft introduced their new KX-3 last year and many people were heard asking when they could buy one.  The best part is some of the manufacturers offer discounts on their equipment just for the Hamvention. You become the comparative shopper by going around to the vendors to get their best price on the equipment you want to buy.  People are lined up several deep in front of the major vendors’ booths to get the newest piece of gear.  You can also find out what the manufacturers are up to, they have people there to answer questions about the current equipment and what’s on the horizon.

If you are not in the market for the newest equipment, this has to be the largest ham radio flea market anywhere.  Everything from loose parts to entire stations is for sale.  A local surplus supplier in Dayton sets up a large tent out in back of the Hara Arena.  For those hams with a taste for nostalgia, there are rows and rows of old gear.  You need tools, there are tools to found somewhere out there.  You need antennas, somebody will have them. You need cable, its there. And the list goes on.  For that repeater project, there is plenty of surplus commercial equipment available.

For those who are not looking for equipment, the forums are a great place to learn what is going on in ham radio.  The topics range from what’s going on at the FCC and ARRL to satellites, emergency communications, DXing, kit building, QRP operating and the latest technologies are some of the more popular ones.  There are five or six forums going on at one time for all three days from the time the building opens until it closes each day.

Just about every organization connected with ham radio is there.  ARRL has a big presence, of course with their very successful EXPO.  AMSAT has a large presence as well.  The MARS organizations have displays set up.  Let’s not forget the Radio Society of Great Britain and the Japan Amateur Radio League.  In addition, many ham radio publishers are there.  “CQ” magazine, Gordon West, “Nuts and Volts” and Radio Amateur Callbook are there to name a few. When you put 20,000 plus people into a small area, and most are carrying a radio, finding a frequency to talk to your buddies on is difficult.  The first year N4ASX and I went, we could talk to each other on 70 cm with no problem.  Ten years later, we were on 23 cm because 70 cm became too crowded.  Some of the APRS guys have said the Hara Arena area is so jammed with activity that APRS doesn’t really work.  I can’t imagine why….  DSTAR on 70 cm is gaining popularity because of the narrow bandwidth.  1.25 meters is popular as well.  By the way, 23 cm still works very well.

While carrying (or wearing) that radio, you can go into a restaurant and nobody will look at you like you are weird (they are all wearing one too).  The breakfast bar at the hotel is a great place to meet up with people.  Everybody is wearing a hat, a shirt or just a nametag with their call sign on it.

For the kids, ARRL has been sponsoring kids’ activities at the Hamvention with a lounge area and forums specifically for kids.  These have been headed up by Assistant Section Managers for Youth from some of the sections that have one.  They have their own frequencies they hang out on and also their own event on Saturday night at a local restaurant.

Some of the other popular events outside the actual Hamvention, are the “unofficial” activities Friday and Saturday nights.  An open house in a hotel ballroom or dinners sponsored by DX and contest clubs are very popular.  QCWA hosts a dinner as well.  If the Hamvention also happens to be an ARRL national convention, there is the initiation ceremony into the Royal Order of the Wouff Hong.  I can’t tell you any more than that because it’s a secret society.

One of the best things about Hamvention is the people you meet.  There are people from all over the world who travel to the Hamvention.  I have seen people from China, India, Australia, Europe and all over North and South America.  KI4MWP and I met up with a ham from the UK one year and learned quite a bit about ham radio in Europe. We also decided to stop complaining about $4.00 per gallon gasoline when he told us what they pay in the UK.  While the US dollar was taking a beating on the currency markets, foreign hams came to the US to take advantage of the great deals.  So, the vendors did not see a decline in business because of a weak economy.

While gas may or may not be $4.00 per gallon this year, the best way to go is to travel with a group.  Not only does it cut costs by sharing gas, but you get people to talk to for the drive out and back.  Of course there is activity on the radio.  146.52 MHz is usually busy.  The Mid CARS and ECARS nets on 40 meters are busy.  You see lots of vehicles with call letter license plates heading west on I-70.

The biggest logistics issue with something like this is where to stay.  Most of us get reservations a year in advance.  I block out several rooms with the idea of making the trip a club activity to reduce the cost a bit.  Do you see a trend here?  Ham radio really is a fraternal activity. Sharing an experience like the Dayton Hamvention helps to bring a group of hams together that lasts long after the Hamvention is over. One of the non-ham radio activities to take in while in Dayton is located at Wright Patterson Air Force Base.  Wright Patterson AFB home to the US Air Force Museum.  Anybody with even a passing interest in aviation will find this a great place.  There are some well-known aircraft as well as one of a kind.

If you are interested in going this year, let me know ASAP.  I usually order the tickets in April so we have them in time to depart the Thursday before.  We really need people willing to drive and split the gas.  It’s about 1200 miles out and back including whatever running around we do in Dayton.

As for the cost, it works out to about $160 per person for the room.  The gas works out to about a tank of gas per person.  With three people per vehicle, that works out to be around $70, even in an SUV.  I have not seen any ticket prices yet for this year, but they have been $20 for several years, which is good for all three days.  In addition, the $8 bus pass is well worth it.  While you can park in the grass (or dirt) lots around the arena, you may need 4 wheel drive and chains to get out if it rains.  So, the cost is somewhere around $260 before you buy food and any goodies at the hamfest.  By the way, we have a running contest as to who spends the most over the weekend.  I have to admit, I won the title a couple years ago and don’t see that being broken for a while.  I keep waiting for someone to buy the high-end ICOM or Yaesu HF radios, or maybe the $20, 000 motorized, collapsible tower.  However, you’re on your own to get it home.

I tell people the Dayton Hamvention is one of the very few places you can actually see men shopping with a smile on their faces.

73,

Rich, KA4GFY

Spring Licensing Classes

The Alexandria Radio Club is sponsoring Technician and General licensing classes beginning March 20, 2012.  Class will run for 10 weeks, with exam night the last class.  The cost is still $50, which includes the book, test fee and classroom materials.

The location is 2331 Mill Road, Suite 100, through arrangements made by Roy, K4AXQ.  It’s near the Federal Courthouse and the Eisenhower METRO station.

Class starts at 7 PM and ends around 9 PM.

If you know someone looking to become licensed or upgrading, send them our way.  Signing up is easy.  Email me ka4gfy@arrl.net, phone (703) 969-6615 or sign up through the link on the club web page.  If you haven’t seen it, check out the announcement on the club’s web page.

Upcoming Hamfests

Feb 26 – Winterfest – Sponsored by the Vienna Wireless Society, located at the Annandale Campus of Northern Virginia Community College. This is the first local hamfest on the Virginia side of the river.  The club buys tables to help all of clean out those extra pieces of equipment we seem to accumulate.  If you have anything you want to sell, this is a great place to do it.

March 31 – Baltimore Hamboree and Computerfest – Sponsored by the Baltimore Amateur Radio Club, located at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium.  This is probably the largest hamfest in the area.  It features new equipment, along with indoor and outdoor flea market space.  Note, it’s only one day this year.

Contests

Feb 4 & 5 – Vermont QSO Party Feb 4 – Minnesota QSO Party
Feb 4 – British Columbia QSO Party
Feb 4 & 5 – Delaware QSO Party
Feb 5-North American Sprint, CW
Feb 11 & 12 – Louisiana QSO Party
Feb 11 & 12 – New Hampshire QSO Party
Feb 11 – Fists CW Winter Sprint
Feb 12 – North American Sprint – SSB
Feb 13 – 17 – ARRL School Club Roundup
Feb 18 & 19 – ARRL CW DX Contest
Feb 18 & 19 – AM QSO Party
Feb 25 & 26 – Mississippi QSO Party
Feb 26 & 27 – North Carolina QSO Party

Area Wide Hospital Communications’ Test – 27 January 2012

On 27 January 2012, Rick, N4ASX, Ian, N8IK, Marshall, KI4MQP, Don, KI4D and Larry KK4CBL, supported a Northern Virginia wide communications test.  This was propped by the installation of a new permanent station at one of the other hospitals.

The installation we have at INOVA Alexandria was put in place about 25 years ago with the antenna on the old roof (highest roof area on the hospital) and the coax running to the Board Room on the ground floor.  In 25 years there have been a lot of changes to the Hospital and the Board Room is no longer the emergency operations center for the hospital.  Mr. Gavin Latney is now in charge of emergency operations for the Alexandria Hospital and has built an Incident Command Center to coordinate operations in an emergency or disaster.

For this drill we could not use the installed antenna nor could we tap into the antenna used for the 6 meter repeater, so Larry came up with a dual band mag mount mobile which we placed on the A/C unit on the roof and worked the drill with that antenna.  We had good reports on simplex out to the Regional Hospital Coordination Center (RHCC) and Fairfax Hospital as well as some of the other hospitals in the area.  Repeater coverage was good on 146.91, 147.300 and 448.325. Other operators were not idle, we checked UHF handheld conductivity between the Incident Command Center and the Emergency Room, Clinic, Board Room and the roof with fair to good results.

We will need to work with the hospital to figure out a way to set up a station and get to the antenna without an impossibly long run of low loss coax.  Another suggestion was a small UHF repeater for inter-hospital communications.

ARES to do list includes; correcting Alexandria’s station problems,  re-engaging with the Alexandria Red Cross and working with the City to find space for a club station.

Social Events

Monday Night Half Price Burgers – There is a group that gets together at Shooter McGee’s (Duke and Paxton Streets) on Monday evenings at 6:15 PM. A good burger and soft drink runs about $9.00.

Visit to Udvar Hazy – Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.  Rick, N4ASX, has agreed to organize a visit to Udvar Hazy out near Dulles Airport.  Tentative date is Saturday March 3^rd .  Let’s plan to meet at the Fire Training Center parking lot and carpool to Udvar Hazy.  They don’t charge for entrance to the Museum but they charge $15 per car to park.  Rick can take three in his vehicle.

Club Repeaters: 147.315 (PL 107.2), 444.6 (PL107.2), 224.82 (PL107.2), 53.13 (PL107.2), 927.6 (-25Mhz, PL107.2), and 1282.600 (PL 107.2), DSTAR 145.38Mhz, 442.060, and 1284.600

NEXT CLUB MEETING

Our next meeting is January 13 at    the Alexandria City’s New Emergency Operations Center at 3600 Wheeler Ave.  We will meet in the Community Room on the first floor. Parking is the public lot right in front of the building.  At 7:00 there should be plenty of spaces.  If not, I believe there is also parking on Wheeler.

We hope to get an idea of what the city’s emergency plan has for Amateur Radio participation and some of the experiences with amateur radio the new Director and Deputy Director have had in the past.

DECEMBER CHRISTMAS PARTY

The December meeting was the Christmas party at Mango Mike’s.  All had a good time and a list of awards was read.  All had a great time.  All in all a great way to end the year and kick off the new year.  I hope all had a great Christmas and have a Happy and Safe New Year.

THE NEW YEAR

Now that we have had the Christmas holiday and we are into a new year.  It’s time to think about where we want our club to go this year.  2011 was a great year for the club and we have the same set of officers that made that happen.  At this time it appears that we will have good programs for all of our meetings.  But the biggest part of a successful club is the activity of it’s members.

I expect that we will kick off with the GW Birthday parade on February 20^th and we will support he 10K run along Eisenhower Ave on the 18^th.  D-Star will be a part of it but the main communications will still be with 2 meter handhelds.  If possible we may want to use handheld APRS or DPRS radios to track the progress of the parade (start and end).

Prior to the GW Parade we need to do some updates and repairs to the club’s comm. Trailer.  Rich, KA4GFY did some installations earlier last year in preparation for the Marine Corps Marathon.  A donation of a Kenwood D710A was made to allow the trailer to have APRS and PACKET and the club did pick up a newer laptop to run D-Star.

N4ASX is the lead for the Bull Run Run on April 14^th and will need all the help he can get.  This one is primarily done on 6 meters, but we can also use 2 meters and relay.

Last year a suggestion was made that club members may want to do a few field trips to non-amateur radio related places.  A few suggestions were:  The Udvar Hazy Center (National Air andSpaceMuseum–DullasAirport), The Flying Circus inBealeton,VA.(I see an aviation theme here!).  There are some electronics museums in theBaltimorearea that made a good trip.

We will also try to get Jeremy, KF7IJZ to do more coordination with Newbie’s on the Air.

January Program

Our first program was to be Mark from Vienna Wireless to talk to us about the Virginia QSO Party contest.  We received an invitation from the City to tour the new EOC and we did not want to turn it down.  Mark will attend the February meeting which will give all of us time to hear about the QSO party and be ready to have AT IT! 

Future Programs

February – VA QSO Party

March – HAARP – Steve Floyd

April – ARRL Dennis Bodsen W4PWF

Up Coming Events

Licensing Class 

The next licensing classes are scheduled to begin Tuesday, March 20 and end May 22.  Both Technician and General classes will be offered.  This is later than we normally start, but the winter weather should be cleared out by then.

If you know anybody who is looking to become licensed but is intimidated by the material, a class is a great way to get into ham radio.

HAMFESTS and CONTESTS

1/29 – PostHolidayHamfest 2012.  Sponsored by theMarylandMobileers ARC.  Location is the Odenton VFD station on Route 175.  Talk-in on 146.805 (PL 107.2)

2/4 –RichmondFrostfest.  Sponsored by theRichmondAmateur Telecommunication Society.  Location is the Richmond Raceway Complex,600 E. Laburnum AvenueinRichmond.  Talk in on 146.88 (PL 74.4).

2/26 – Winterfest – Sponsored by theViennaWireless Society.  Located at theAnnandaleCampus ofNorthern VirginiaCommunity College.  Talk in on 146.91.  Don’t forget, the Alexandria Radio Club has tables for club members to sell their unneeded items and buy more.

3/31 – GreaterBaltimoreHamboree and Computerfest.  Sponsored by theBaltimoreAmateur Radio Club.  Located at theMarylandStateFairgrounds inTimonium.  Talk in on 146.67 (PL 107.2)

5/18 – 5/20 –DaytonHamvention.  Sponsored by theDaytonAmateur Radio Association.  Located at the Hara Arena inTrotwood,OH.  It’s not too early to start thinking about going.  We have six rooms reserved.

Upcoming Contests

1/14 – North American QSO Party – CW.

1/21 – North American QSO Party – SSB

1/21 – 1/23 – ARRL VHF Sweepstakes – SSB and CW

1/27 – 1/29 – CQ WW 160 Meter Contest – CW

President’s Corner

Social Events

Monday Night Half Price Burgers – There is a group that gets together at Shooter McGee’s (Duke and Paxton Streets) on Monday evenings at 6:15 PM. A good burger and soft drink runs about $9.00.

FINAL NOTE:  For many of us DUES and DUE and we need to make some donations to D-Star for the gateway.

73 Rick

N4ASX

Club Repeaters: 147.315 (PL 107.2), 444.6 (PL107.2), 224.82 (PL107.2), 53.13 (PL107.2), 927.6 (-25Mhz, PL107.2), and 1282.600 (PL 107.2), DSTAR 145.38Mhz, 442.060, and 1284.600

NEXT CLUB MEETING

Our next meeting is DECEMBER 16th   at the MANGO MIKE’S RESTAURANT   4580 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA, 22203.  We meet at 6 – 6:30 PM.  This is the annual club holiday / Christmas party.  Ian, our VP, has asked that we all bring a gift for the gift swap.  The game is that one person picks a gift, then the next person can take that opened gift or pick something unopened.

Lots of fun.  Hope to have a few club awards (don’t forget to send your ARC-SHORTS editor some nominations!!)

Not sure of the cost this time, but last year it was $25 per person. Please RSVP to one of the club officers so that we can get a good head count.  Bring your YL/XYL and any friends.

November  MEETING MINUTES  from 11/11/11

Treasurer’s Report: Checking: 314.72, Education: 2423.60, Trailer: 572.75,
Share: 3364.26,                    Total: $6,675.33

Committee Reports:

Training: Currently about 6 members of the current class.

ARES:  New Police/Fire dispatch center opened this week behind the McDonald’s on Duke & Quaker. Possibility exists for a presence for the club at the building, possibly moving the monthly meetings there. The Fire Training Center is not an option.

DSTAR: The D-STAR QSO party is this weekend.

Repeaters: The 70cm repeater is back up for now.

Webmaster: Changes: A “Donate” button, a “members only” section, new PayPal account, new RSS feed. A  .htaccess hack occurred.

Old Business:
Marine Corps Marathon

New Business:
Motion to sponsor our two plaques for the VA QSO party — passed.
Current slate of officers renominate, re-elected by acclaimation.

Net Controls:
11/17/2011: Rich KA4GFY
11/24/2011: — Thanksgiving, No Net Planned
12/01/2011: Ian N8IK
12/08/2011: Tom KJ4FUU
12/15/2011: Rick N4ASX

Program: DX video of expedition to FT5XO

Next meeting: 12/16/2011 (Christmas Party)

Marshall’s letter to QST was circulated, taking them to task for an unfavorable reading of the Alexandria Times article about our field day.

Motion was made and seconded re – nominating all incumbent officers for next year. Passed.

Motion was made and seconded to amend the bylaws to remove the duties of meeting program planning from the Vice President and instead have an appointed program coordinator. Passed. Rick N4ASX said he would be willing to do this, at least for this year.

Motion was made and seconded to budget $250 for purchase a “new” laptop.  Passed. (Slightly used Dell D410 laptop is now in the trailer loaded with the ID-1 and Packet software.  Will load APRS display software before the Washington Birthday parade)

Trailer work scheduled for 10/15/2011. (more work needed!) but a 1.2Ghz whip was installed on the roof.

Reminder about the activities/planning for the Marine Corps Marathon.

Notice that Jim DeYoung and Saunders Moon have moved out of the area. We hope to hear from them on HF.

Recommendation to put our bylaws on the website.

Bob won the 50/50 drawing.

January Program 

Our first program of the new year will be Mark from Vienna Wireless to talk to us about the Virginia QSO Party contest.

Each year this contest gets more popular and last year Marshall, Harry, Randy and Sandy set up an expedition to a county that had no representation and operated under the club call.

The program will give lots of feedback on last year’s contest and we might want to think about another expedition this March in support of a ham deprived part of Virginia.

A LITTLE CHRISTMAS FUN 

The Night Before Christmas
‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the shack,
Not a sound was heard, not even an “aaaaacccccck”. (packet noise for all the newbies)
The club members were nestled all snug in their shacks,
With visions of handheld charging in racks.

The catalogs were hung by the chimney with care,
With hopes the new radio would soon be there.
Out came the keyer, and out came the mic,
To work the DX so late that at night.

When up on the roof, there arose such a clatter,
I thought my tri-bander had come down with a splatter.
From out of my chair I sprang with a flash,
To see what it would cost me, in cold hard cash.

The moon on the tower and the new fallen snow,
Gave a luster of daylight to the objects below.
When what to my wondering eyes did appear?
But eight tiny (?) ARC members with pizza and beer.

And the jolly man with the key, so often evident,
I knew in an instant it must be our club president.
More rapid than Morse Code his QSOs they came,
And he whistled and shouted, and called them by name:

Now Rich! Now Harry! Now Tom and Arnal!
On Roy! On Rick, On Tim and Ian!
They had a good plan and went straight to work,
Building a new station without even a quirk.

When they finished the job, and as they disappeared from sight,
And I heard them exclaim, “MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL,
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!!”

HF CONTESTING 101 by KA4GFY and N4ASX

Many new hams are not “into” contesting for a number of reasons.  One of the most common is limited antennas for HF and low power radios.  Don’t let this stop you!  While competing with the big guns on their level is out of the question because you don’t have the power or the big antenna, you have to develop superior operating skills to know how and when to answer a station

when they call CQ.   It is one of those times when the bands will have many

stations that are looking for a contact and not a long rag chew.  If you’re not sure what to talk about, a contest is a great way to collect those contacts and check out both your station’s capabilities and sharpen your skills.

The most common technique for little pistols is “Search and Pounce.”  The big guns tend to park on a frequency and stay there.  So, the little pistols move from station to station trying to work as many as they can.  Just remember to stay within the privileges of your license.  But don’t rule out parking on a frequency yourself.  Just be prepared for the possible onslaught.  If you are a little overwhelmed, search and pounce is very effective.

First, listen to the operating style of the station.  Does the operator answer the very first station, or one of the later ones to call?  Not only does that give you a chance to figure out when to call, but it allows you a chance to hear what the station’s exchange will be.  All contests have a specific exchange.  If you have the other station’s exchange ahead of time, you don’t have to ask for repeats.  It will save time and you won’t look like a rookie.  Check the contest sponsor’s website or their magazine for the contest rules.  The exchange should be in there somewhere.

Chances are there is a huge pileup calling all at once, particularly if it’s juicy DX.  Nobody can make anything out of that.  Once you figure out the operator’s routine, drop your call into the fracas.  The FCC is very adamant that you use your entire call.  I heard that from the former special counsel for enforcement at the FCC while at a hamfest several years ago.  Despite that, you will hear many people using just their suffix as a quick way to get the attention of the station calling CQ.  It sounds counterintuitive, but using your whole call works better.  Very often, the operator will get part of a call and will say something like “the station ending in Fox Yankee” or “the KA4.”  There could be another station with the same letters in the call, but now the field is narrowed down to something more manageable.  That’s your cue.  Repeat your call again using the proper phonetics.  Stay away from the cutesy phonetics.  Believe me, not everybody will appreciate or understand “Gone Fishing Yesterday.”  They work fine in casual QSOs.

While we are talking about identifying, many DX stations will be working contacts in rapid fire succession without identifying.  Their licensing authority may allow that, but it’s frustrating because you don’t know who it is.  In a break in the action, simply key the mike and say “Your call?”

Believe it or not, the DX station usually hears it and realizes they have been negligent in identifying.  This is very effective most of the time.

Contesting offers little pistols a BIG PLUS.  During normal operations, DX stations will be called my many, many DX hunters.  But in a DX contest, all of us are DX chasers and the pile ups can be smaller.  Further, many DX entities are put on the air by DXpeditions and your chances are much better at getting that rare one.  In some cases, this may the ONLY way these rare entities are heard.  If you are an ARRL member, subscribe to the weekly email DX and contesting updates.

If you are not ready for the “big time” of the DX contests or ARRL Sweepstakes, try a state QSO party.  Most states have them, with Virginia’s in March.  Maryland does theirs in August.  They are generally low-key affairs, so there is little pressure to sound like a big gun.

The bottom line is high power or a super sized beam antenna are not always going to net the contacts.  A poor operator running a kilowatt and a six element beam is just the loudest poor operator on the band.  They will eventually be calling CQ to the frogs and crickets because everybody else is avoiding them.  There are DXCC Honor Roll members who did it running QRP while the poor operator is still trying to finish Worked All States because nobody wants to talk to them.  Remember, it’s all about operating technique.

That’s where being a good operator gets the QSOs.

73
Rich, KA4GFY

Rick Bunn, N4ASX, put together a few SUGGESTIONS FOR CONTESTING:

1 – Courtesy is required of all of us.  It is not CB and you can take your turn and make the contact.

2 – If you can hear them then there is a very good chance that you can work them.  Most of us run the standard 100 watts into a no gain antenna. Antenna gain is a function not only your antenna but of your antenna and the other stations antenna.  So, if the other station is running a beam then you have a better chance. If you can hear the station then his antenna is pointed in your direction.

3 – Some tricks and tips include getting an idea of how the target station operates.  If the target is rapid fire, jump in with the same speed.  Sometimes you can tailgate.  Tailgating is waiting for all the fast keyers to call and them drop your call in at the end.

4 – For stateside contests,  you can hunt or you can sit on one frequency and call CQ contest.

5 – Make sure your station is properly set up.  Don’t over drive the microphone.  Yelling into the mic will not give you a better signal, but it will distort your signal.  You really, really want to be clearly understood.

6 – Drop your call only, but remember that you must also make contact by sending the other stations call sign so you and the other station know that you have made the contact.

7 – Headphones can help if your hearing is not 100% (and who over 50 has 100% hearing?

8 – Pick the band for the conditions.  On a DX contest try 20 meters. For the a QSO party you may want to try the lower bands.

9 – Stick to STANDARD ITU phonetics.  I use November 4 Alpha Sierra X-ray, Some DX stations will hear Sugar or Nancy better (older standard),  Try to stay constant so as not to confuse the DX station.

10 – English is the standard language, but remember that many DX stations have limited English, so try to be clear.

Sunspots are coming back.  DX contests bring out both good and bad ops.

Some good ops will listen for the weak stations and will use a variety of methods to give them a chance.  One is to use split. Split is transmitting on one frequency and listening in a band of frequencies.  Common would be RG8AU on 14.195 and listening up 10 to 15KHz.  Most radios have two VFOs so can pick a transmit frequency somewhere in the listening range and as the DX station runs up and down the range you have a better chance to work them.

While most contest stations rack up contacts a very fast rate, you don’t have to work that fast.  As a rule if you hear them well, then they will hear you.

The WPX contests can be interesting if you have a new call.  DX stations will have worked the W’s and K’s but a KI or KJ will give them a multiplier so they will be looking for you!

Contesting will tell you a great deal about the capabilities of your station.

The ARRL DX contest has a great following and many DX stations will be set up in rare places just for the contest.

Use a computer program to do your logging.  Paper is hard to check for duplicates and harder to send in a report.

Why do we have contests?  The reason is to get some activities on the band.  This is true of the VHF/UHF band in particular.

EVENTS IN DECEMBER 

Up Coming Events

Club programs planned for 2012

January – VA QSO party – Mark is our speaker this year and while the program does not change a great deal, its good to get an idea of what goes on with the contest and it sometimes sparks some interesting club activities for the contest.  Last year, Marshall and some others put a rare Virginia county “on the air” .  Not a bad idea again this year and maybe we can do something here in the city as well.

Other programs

Tim – KT4MV has a good program on aviation communications

Dennis – W4PWF will be asked to come to a meeting and talk about the latest and greatest on-goings at ARRL.

AMSAT and AMRAD have been asked to provide a program

The Alexandria City Emergency Services Management has some new leadership and I have asked them to visit and talk about the emergency plan and how we can best help them when needed.  They have also moved into their new EOC and we are trying to get space either in the new EOC or the old EOC for a club station.

Remember that we have gear to make a great station.

I have also asked our D-Star folks to come up with a D-Star 201 program.

The D-Star 23cm radio is very expensive but provides us with some interesting capabilities and more of us have the radio. In addition,  there are now kits that allow for cheaper D-Star operation.

If you have a topic that you would like to learn more about and it relates to our hobby, let N4ASX know and we can hunt down a speaker.

The next public service event for the club will be the Washington’s Birthday Parade and the 10K race.  We will use the trailer and D-Star, but the majority of the event will be on 2 meter handhelds.  If your not working on that holiday, please volunteer.  The club budgets funds for the pizza or burger party after the event.

HAMFESTS and CONTESTS

Contests -

Dec 10 -11 ARRL 10 Meter Contest -   This is one anybody can operate.  Much of the activity will be in the Technician Class area of 28.300 to 28.500 MHz.  The exchange is a signal report and your state.

Dec 17 -  Radio Amateurs Canada Winter Contest – The exchange is a signal report and for those of us outside Canada, a serial number.  VE stations will send a signal report and their Province.

Dec 18 -  ARRL Rookie Roundup.  This is the CW portion.  The exchange is both calls, name, check and your state.

Jan 1 – ARRL Straight Key Night.  Not really a contest, but an opportunity to practice your CW skills with a straight key.  Instead of sending an RST signal report, send “ur SKN is.” to clue other operators on what’s going on.

Hamfests -

Richmond Frostfest – February 5, 2011 -  Richmond Raceway Complex, 600 East Laburnum Avenue, Richmond, VA 23222-2253

Vienna Winterfest – Sunday, February 26, 2012 – Northern Virginia Community College Annandale Campus (club will have a few tables, come out and socialize)

Public Service events -

Washington’s Birthday 10K race – Saturday, February 19th 2011

Washington’s Birthday Parade -  Monday, February 21, 2011

President’s Corner

This has been another great year for the Alexandria Radio Club.   We started off the year with a public service event, the George Washington Birthday Parade,  did a mini DX-expedition to Buckingham county for the Virginia QSO party, had a spring Fox Hunt activity, followed by a great Field Day event at Ben Brenham park (placing 22nd nationwide of all 5A stations), went into a standby basis for ARES activation due to Hurricane Irene,  had our first ever Newbies on the Air (NOTA) event,   participated once again in the Marine Corps Marathon, and finished the year off with our annual  Holiday party.

During the year, we saw the number of licensed amateur operators nationwide pass the 700,000 mark, of which 40,000 were new licensees in just the past five years (see <http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/11/17/radio-days-are-back-ham-radio-lice> http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/11/17/radio-days-are-back-ham-radio-licenses-at-all-time-high/ ) — not too bad for an activity that has been going strong for over a century!

As we close out 2011, I would like to thank all ARC members for all the contributions that they have made this past year in creating a fun and challenging environment for club activities, and look forward to what we as a club can do in 2012.  May everyone have a safe and happy Holiday season, and I look forward to hearing you on the air in 2012!

73
Marshall

Social Events

Monday Night Half Price Burgers – There is a group that gets together at Shooter McGee’s (Duke and Paxton Streets) on Monday evenings at 6:15 PM. A good burger and soft drink runs about $9.00.

Club Repeaters (off air): 224.82 (PL107.2), 53.13 (PL107.2),

NEXT CLUB MEETING

Our next meeting is November 11th at theINOVAAlexandriaHospital in the Health Education Center (HEC) located to the west of the main visitor entrance.  The hospital address is:4320 Seminary Road, Alexandria,VA 22304.  We meet at 7 PM and must leave by 9 PM.

This month is our last regular meeting with the end of year party at Mango Mikes in December. We will elect officer’s for next year, discuss future club events and maybe we will have a program.

If you do not attend, you may find yourself nominated for an office by one of your friends.

Club Officer Election

ARC members:  At our next meeting in November, elections for club officers will be held. At this time, all of the current officers have indicated that they would be willing to serve for another year.   In addition, we can still take nominations for those who may be interested in serving in one of club’s offices.  As a reminder, the current set of officers is as follows:

President                      Marshall DeBerry        KI4MWP
Vice President              Ian Keith                      N8IK
Secretary                      Tom Kirby                   KJ4FUU
Treasurer                     Ted Einersen               W9TCE

DECEMBER CLUB DINNER

Will be at Mango Mike’s on Dec 16, probably start arriving between 6-6:30.  Not sure of the cost this time, but last year it was $25 per person.

Please RSVP to one of the club officers so that we can get a good head count.  Bring your YL/XYL and any friends.

OCTOBER  MEETING MINUTES  

Minutes from 10/14/2011
Conducting: Marshall KI4MWP

Introductions

Secretary’s Report: Nothing to report

Treasurer’s Report: All funds total $7119.16, 34 members, 1 pending
There was an impromptu discussion of internet connection costs and alternatives.  DSL Business account for the D-Star gateway cost about $57/month.  It was reaffirmed that the paperwork/overhead for the club to be 501(c) was to expensive to pursue

Committee Reports:
Training: 2 classes are complete, 6-9 members, w/3 in General class, 6 in Technician class. Class costs may have to go up from the current $50. There was discussion of outreach to area high schools to get youth involved in ham radio, but it was pointed out that the city schools are reluctant to have non-teachers on campus.  An ad hoc committee for school outreach was formed with members – Rick N4ASX and Don KI4D.

ARES:  A new manual is in the works.

DSTAR: 1C unlink problems reported.

Repeaters: 6, 220mhz repeaters being rebuilt. Tim reports the 440 repeater needs work. The 2 meter repeater has been hanging occasionally, possibly due to interference. Users were reminded about the “kerchunk” filter.

Webmaster:  Absent.

Upcoming Events:

JOTA, Iowa/Illinois QSO Parties, CQ WW Contest.

Carroll County hamfest on 10/23.

Christmas Party at Mango Mikes (3rd Friday, since the 2nd Friday is NEVER available).

Net Controls:

10/20/2011: Rich KA4GFY
10/27/2011: Rick N4ASX
11/03/2011: Jeremy KF7IJZ
11/10/2011: Tom KJ4FUU

Next meeting: 11/11/2011

Marshall’s letter to QST was circulated, taking them to task for an unfavorable reading of the Alexandria Times article about our field day.

Motion was made and seconded nominating all incumbent officers for next year. Passed.

Motion was made and seconded to amend the bylaws to remove the duties of meeting program planning from the Vice President and instead have an appointed program coordinator. Passed. Rick N4ASX said he would be willing to do this, at least for this year.

Motion was made and seconded to budget $250 for purchase of a “new” laptop. Passed.

Trailer work scheduled for 10/15/2011.

Reminder about the activities/planning for the Marine Corps Marathon.

Notice that Jim DeYoung and Saunders Moon have moved out of the area. We hope to hear from them on HF.

Recommendation to put our bylaws on the website.

Bob won the 50/50 drawing.

Ways & Means fundraising

No program. It does us good to have a business meeting occasionally.

Adjourned.

73 Tom, KJ4FUU

EVENTS IN OCTOBER

Biggest event was the Marine Corps Marathon

Expatriated Members

We have had members who have moved out of the area, but we still send them ARC-SHORTS in the hopes that they will keep in touch with the club.

Jim, N8OQ has moved to his new retirement QTH and tells us that he is working on setting up his station.  Jim, good luck on the antenna issues.

Sunders, KD4LEL recently moved to the Tidewater area.  Hopefully, Saunders will get a HF station on the air and we will hear from him soon.  His XYL should also find a local class so we can hear her on the air as well.

Gene, N4JEE had moved to Florida several years ago, but continues to keep in touch and he has been our badge maker.  If you would like a club badge send Gene a note at N4JEE@arrl.net and he can tell you what one costs and if he can make one for you.  Gene was the master craftsman behind the trailer build.

Andy, WV8AA is still in the area but hasn’t made many meetings other then Burgers on Monday.

Arnal, N9ACC had to move back to Indianapolis due to family and work considerations and now commutes to Marysville Ohio where he is now the RF GURU for Honda.  He had planned to swing by the Bob Evans on November 2^nd on his way to join his son’s ship for a tiger cruise, but the bad weather along the east coast change the Navy’s plans and he had to head for Norfolk earlier and had to miss the get together, but Arnal is up on the Navy Net on 7.245 MHz on weekends.

I’m sure I’ve missed a bunch of others, but I will ask that they send me a note letting me know how they are doing and what they are doing in amateur radio.

Maybe we should start up a 40 meter net once a month to allow our expatriated members to fill us in on life away fromAlexandria.

Marine Corps Marathon

On October 30^th, the Marine put on the 36^th annual Marine Corps Marathon.  Amateur radio is a key part of this effort!   This year they allowed 30,000 runners to sign up and expected over 22,000 to run.  Most of the operators who worked on the Virginia side of the course had to be in place by 3:45 AM! And if they were between the Virginia side of the 14^th street bridge down to Crystal City and to the end of the race they were in place for most of the day.  On top of that it was a very cold morning and a chilly day if you’re not a runner.

Many of our club members are key volunteers and we had some new members jump in this year.

Rich, KA4GFY returned with a new partner and the club trailer to support Aid 4 under the Case Bridge on Ohio Drive on Haynes Point.  This position included 9600 baud packet, 1.2 GHz D-Star Digital Data, and D-Star Digital Voice as well as listening to the race nets on 2 meter FM.  Rich had a new partner this year from the Tidewater area that worked out well and provided the addition of an APRS terminal to follow the race for the aid station.

Rick, N4ASX and Jeremy KF7IJZ were assigned to the NEW Med-C aid station which is located just PAST the finish line on the way to the Runners Festival in Roslyn.  Last year this was one of the busiest medical stations, so this year they asked amateur radio to cover but the primary digital communications were covered by Navy Corpsman with laptops and air cards.  Rick and Jeremy were able to come up on both 1.2 GHz Digital Data and on both the Digital and FM voice nets. Not much was covered but Rick and Jeremy were ready, equipped and available from 03:30 to closing at 4 PM.  Long day.  Rick learned a lot about IP stuff as Jeremy is an expert and got the D-Star Digital working.

Don, KI4D, was at Water Point 12.  His signal on the net was loud and clear and he got to see the runners go by…

Ian, N8IK returned to AID 1/2 to be the amateur lead at ½ and the D-Star/Packet operator at that station.

Marshall, KI4MWP, was the liaison to DC EMS,  His job was to listen to the DV voice nets for RACE B and pass requests for medical assistance from the hams on the course to the DC fire/EMS folks.

Harry, N4CWP, was the ham at MED-B one of the new post finish aid station this year.

Cameron, K6CLM was at MED-D in the runners festival and understand he was one of the last to leave the course.  He also had to show up at 3:30AM.  Well Done!

Megan, KC7MOC,  returned as one of the ablest of net control station operators. She makes it sound easy.

Jeanne, N4ZGI, also joined in as a net control station.  As she does this as a profession, she added a new level of performance to NCS again this year. While Jeanne has not been active with the club, she was our EC for many years, the District 2 DEC and club president for a few years.

Art, KD4FBT, returned this year, his expertise was greatly appreciated

Bob, K4RKB and Bobby KK4CKJ jointed in and were heard on the Race nets. Bob is an old hand at this and Bobby is new to amateur radio, but you wouldn’t know if by listening.

I’m sure I missed a few other Alexandria Radio Club volunteers, but as all can see, we had a great turn out with over a dozen members out of a club that has about 30 active members.

From the leadership team, Well Done Alexandria Radio Club!

Communications Trailer

In preparation for the MCM, Rich, Marshall and Rick worked on cleaning up the trailer for use at Aid 4.  A donation was made to the trailer in the form of a newer Dell D410 laptop and docking station (XP Pro, MS Office 97 installed.  The computer will interface to the ID-1, and the new TM-D710A also a new donation.  The D710A will provide a packet and APRS capability to the trailer.  The older Pentium II computer can still be used for logging and for packet ops. The 6 meter Alinco that Jim, WA4CCF(SK) had donated to the trailer lost it’s CPU and could not be repaired, but we have one of the Midland 22 channel commercial radios and Tim, KT4MV has told us that he has a commercial radio that will also be available for the trailer in the future.

Rich, KA4GFY also installed a 1.2 GHz antenna mount at the forward portside antenna position for the ID-1.  He used LMR 240 cable attached to a standard NMO mount with an N type connector.  Understand it worked well at Aid 4 on MCM race day.

The next scheduled use of the trailer will be for the Washington’s Birthday Parade in February.  Last year it was an icebox!

The club also has FOUR HF rigs and if we ever get a club station in the EMS building we also have a Henry 2K amplifier with spare tubes.

ARES/RACES

Not much going on with ARES / RACES, but as we move toward the bad weather seasons, we should all be prepared, have our gear ready to go.  MCM was a great training event for those  of us who volunteer for ARES/RACES

UP COMING EVENTS

HAMFESTS 

The first hamfest of the new year in this area is the Post Holiday Hamfest in Odenton, MD.  The date is January 29, 2012.  It’s close by and a great way to cure hamfest withdrawal.  Many of us had not been to a hamfest since Shenandoah ARC Hamfest at Berryville back in August, the Columbia ARA CARAFest or the Mason Dixon Hamfest atWestminsterin October.

CONTESTS

Coming in November is the ARRL Sweepstakes.  This is a great way to work toward Worked All States.  The CW portion is the weekend of November 5 and 6, while the SSB portion is the weekend of November 19 and 20.  The exchange in this contest is a little more complicated.  It includes a serial number, an operating class, year you were first licensed and your ARRL section.  But remember, you can only work a station once, regardless of the band.  So, by Sunday afternoon, the little pistols will be in great demand because the big guns have worked each other.

The Kentucky QSO Party takes place November 12 and 13.  For those of us outsideKentucky, the object is to works as many of theKentuckycounties as possible.  The exchange is a signal report and your state.

The weekend after Thanksgiving isn’t just for football on TV.  The SSB portion of the CQ World Wide DX Contest runs November 26 and 27.  The exchange is a signal report and your CQ Zone.  We are in Zone 5.

Don’t forget the ARRL 10 Meter Contest in December.  It’s on the weekend of December 10 and 11.  The exchange is a signal report and your state or province.  DX stations will send be sending a signal report and a serial number.

As the sunspot numbers continue to rise, the upper bands have been quite busy.  10 and 15 meters are great places to work some exotic DX when the band conditions are just right.

For those of you on DSTAR, ICOM is sponsoring a DSTAR QSO party the weekend of November 11 through 13. The object is to work stations around the world through as many DSTAR repeaters as possible.

HAMFESTS and CONTESTS

PRESIDENT’S CORNER 

As ARC members close in on another year in amateur radio, this is a good time to look back on the many activities that ARC members have been involved in throughout the year.  As Rick as outlined elsewhere in this edition of ARC Shorts, one of the biggest activities that ARC members continue to be involved in is providing support for the Marine Corps Marathon.   This year, ARC members once again responded with their support in a variety of Marathon activities, ranging from “eyes on the course” to assistance at medical stations and to support at the command operations center.   And those in senior management positions within the Marathon support structure have expressed their gratitude and thanks to all those hams that were able to once again make the Marathon the success that it has become over the years.

To all those ARC members who helped in this year’sMarathon, I would like to say “thank you” for a job well done!

Our other public service activity that ARC members are actively involved with is providing communications support forAlexandria’s George Washington Birthday parade in February.   This is always a fun activity to assist in, and can sometimes be quite challenging given the time of year in which it occurs.  Two years ago, the parade was cancelled due to snow and ice conditions, and in some years the weather has been in the mid-50′s.  ARC members provide “eyes on the course” assistance the day before on a 10-K race course, and provide communications and logistics support to parade officials during the actual parade.  The floats and various groups that participate in the parade are always interesting to watch, and its events like these that makeAlexandriafeel like a small town rather than some suburb of Washington DC.   Thanks go out to all the hard work that various ARC members do in making this event work so well.

Another event that ARC members participate in each year is the Virginia QSO Party held in the third weekend of March.  This past year was one of our more active participations, with several ARC members bringing W4HFH down to Buckingham county to “activate” the area for the 2011 QSO party, resulting in one of the highest scores ever for W4HFH.  A lot of fun was had by all ARC members in this event, both locally and mobile, and participating in these types of events always helps to hone ones operating skills.

One of the most interesting, challenging, and fun events during the year is, of course, Field Day.  This year’s event was no exception, being held for the first time inBenBrenmanPark.  With the weather being perfect, we had plenty of good operating opportunities throughout the twenty four hour operating period; with plenty of good food and the presence of so many club members, all those in attendance had another great Field Day experience.

Thanks go out to all those involved with the logistics of putting the event together in making everything go so well.

In looking back, this year has been another great year to be involved in amateur radio.   I once again would like to commend and thank all those ARC members who have participated in our various events throughout the year, and I am sure we will have equally fun time with events in 2012.

73
Marshall

Social Events

Pre-meeting dinner is now at Atlantis in the BradleeShopping Center at 5:30 PM. This is also a chance to meet our guest speaker as we offer to buy dinner for them prior to the meeting.

Monday Night Half Price Burgers – There is a group that gets together at Shooter McGee’s (Duke and Paxton Streets) on Monday evenings at 6:15 PM. A good burger and soft drink runs about $9.00.

NEXT CLUB MEETING

Our next meeting is September 9^th at theINOVAAlexandriaHospital in the Health Education Center (HEC) located to the west of the main visitor entrance.  The hospital address is:4320 Seminary Road,Alexandria,VA 22304.  We meet at 7 PM and must leave by 9 PM. This month’s program will be Alexandria ARES and Amateur Radio Support to the Marine Corps Marathon.  Guest speakers have been invited.

JULY  MEETING MINUTES  from 6/10/2011

Our program in August was Jeremy’s OUTSTANDING video of our Field Day effort and more importantly and interestingly what it took for him to assemble this video.

We then played a video made by Tom Protz (SK) of the 1990 Joint Arlington / Alexandria Field Day at Ft. Ward Park.

It was interesting to look back 21 years and see some of the changes in the basic effort.  Music not withstanding It sounded like the 1990 generators were a great deal LOUDER than our Honda this last year.

EVENTS IN AUGUST

While it was generally too hot for hamfests, and other outdoor activities, Mother Nature provided both an earthquake and a hurricane for our amusement.  While the earthquake was rare and very little damage was done it was a reminder that we need to be ready should there be a disaster.   Hurricane Irene allowed us to exercise ARES, but we did not get called to do more than standby.   Good time to work on that backup power source and make sure the antennas are secure.

UP COMING EVENTS

Newbee’s On the Air (NOTA) – Jeremy KF7IJZ is our lead to set up a Field Day like station or two for new operators to practice HF operations.   We have reserved the Ben Brenman Park Field Day site for Sept 10^th from 10AM to 2 PM for this operation.  If you don’t get a chance to operate HF from your home QTH or are a bit mic shy, now is the time to come out and operate.  The radios, power and antennas are all ready to go.

September 10^th and 11^th ARRL VHF QSO party.  Lots of fun.  Mostly for those who have SSB on 6/2/220/432 and up.

September 24^th and 25^th CQ WW RTTY contest.

HAMFESTS Etc.

VA Beach hamfest is September 17.  Its at the VA Beach Pavillion which is right off I 264, a few blocks from the beach.  Its about a 3 hour drive fromAlexandria.

The Columbia ARA hamfest is October 2 at the Howard County Fairgrounds.  Its about 90 minutes from Alexandria.

The Carroll County Tailgate fest is October 23 inWestminsterMDat theCarrolCountyAgriculturalCenter.  Nice drive away from the DC area.  There really is a rural part of MD.  Not a large hamfest, but there are bargains to be had.

After October 23, there aren’t too many hamfests close to our area until the Maryland Mobileers Hamfest in January.

NEXT CLASS – SPREAD THE WORD!!!

Our next class is scheduled to start October 4 and conclude Dec 6.  It will be at the same location as the spring class, K4AXQ’s office space onMill Road.  We will teaching both Technician and General classes.  The cost will be the same, $50 which includes the book, test fee and class materials.

If you know someone who is interested in getting their license or you are looking to upgrade to General, let me know.

If there is an interest in an Extra Class study group, this can be set up to meet at the same time.

Rich, KA4GFY

HURRICANE IRENE

This last weekend we had a category 1 hurricane run by this area.  No major damage from either event, but ARES was asked to prepare to support the city after the hurricane went through.

On Sunday morning at 2 AM the Alexandria ARES EC DID receive a request from Mr. Penn,Alexandria’s EMS Manager, to activate our ARES group and he would call back with assignments.  Within an hour the EC had called those on the list that said they would be available and we were on “stand by”.

The fact is that because many ARES volunteers had requested status, Alexandria ARES established an informal net at 7 PM Saturday with 11 check-ins providing status, and we also did a simplex check.  The idea was that volunteers would keep an ear on the repeater and, if needed, we would start our activation on 147.315.

When the call came in at 2AM, the EC made the call out and as expected at that time of day, no one responded.  SO, we were back to making phone calls and waking up families.

By 2:45AM we had about a dozen volunteers up and ready to go.  Mr. Penn called back at 3 AM to inform the EC that their radio system had suffered damage due to water leaks in the building housing their equipment, but that they were still working in the fail soft mode and expected to be able to continue, but asked us to remain on standby.  If called up we would have provided operators at key locations so that message traffic could be passed between EOC, Fire, Police, Red Cross, shelters, and the Hospital.

As it turns out this looks good for ARES, but there were a great many lessons learned.

1-      The phone list the EC has is obsolete, as is the club roster

2-      Do NOT rely on a computer to keep lists like that, with power out and intermittent it becomes impossible to use. (Your EC will be putting this stuff on a laptop and a paper copy in a paper brain book.

3-      Volunteers need to have an up to date SOP (our last issue was Feb 07 and is being rewritten)

4-      We need MORE volunteers!

5-      Our training has been based on public service exercises, but that may not be sufficient.  We will have to talk about a better way to train.

ARES is the way we pay the community back for their support of amateur radio.  While most of us shun publicity, we do need to show the served agencies and the public that we are of value when needed.

1 – I will follow up with the City, Red Cross and the Hospital to make sure we have their SOPs and Points of Contact and will add them to our SOP.

2 – I will meet with our District EC to make sure that he has our SOP and we have contact info for all other EC’s within District 2.

3 – D-Star’s National Capital link was and is valuable to cover the area in this type of operations.

4 – Redundant HF capability to be able to link to the state EOC on 75 and 40 meters needs improvement.

I truly was impressed with the willingness of our ARES volunteers to put up with my 2 AM calls and to be available in spite of really nasty weather.   We are few in number and there are many who doubt the value of ARES support in the age of high speed digital communications, but it’s not the gear, but the willingness to apply what we know and what we have to the problem in an emergency.

Rick Bunn
N4ASX

Marine Corps Marathon

MCM amateur radio support requires over 120 ham radio operators.  At this time we have just over 70 volunteers and need to get the rest signed up before the end of September.  This is THE biggest amateur radio public service event in our area and one of the most complex.  You can do this if you have a 2 meter handheld and a good antenna.  Each year we have high percentage of new operators.  There will be a training session for all operators within a month of the race.  The organizational group assigns team leaders for each amateur radio function, so there is always someone to help you get ready for the race.

For security reasons, all volunteers must be in the database by the end of September.  Don’t procrastinate.

To volunteer, go to www.marinemarathon.com and sign up as a “Ham Radio” volunteer.  You will get an e-mail back asking you to go to another website to provide specifics on your abilities and your equipment.  This information and your preferences will determine your assignment on the course.  You will get an assignment and detailed briefing materials long before race day.

Please volunteer.
73 Rick, N4ASX

HAMFESTS and CONTESTS

President’s Corner

In my last month’s notes section, I mentioned the need for ARC members to be prepared, and the last few weeks in August have driven that home.  We here inNorthern Virginiahave had a rare earthquake as well as sustained impacts from Hurricane Irene.   In addition, those Virginians in the Tidewater area have been putting up with reduced visibility from the smoky haze of an ongoing fire in the Great Dismal Swamp, so it’s safe to say that the Commonwealth has been visited by effects of earth, water, wind and fire all within a few short weeks.   And, as mentioned elsewhere in this edition of ARC Shorts, ARES members were contacted by the City of Alexandria  early Sunday morning to possibly assist with communications due to the effects of Hurricane Irene on the city’s communications infrastructure.   All this reemphasizes the need for ARC members to make sure that they have developed a preparedness checklist so that when an event happens, you at least have some knowledge of best steps to take to ensure that you and your family are ready to handle the event in a systematic manner.    From a radio perspective, remember that electricity may not be available, so do you have auxiliary power available in the event you need to communicate with others to obtain critical information?  If your current antenna has been damaged, have you thought about how you could put up a quick J-Pole or dipole to send or receive information?  If you are involved with ARES, have you put together a “Go kit” that you pick up and utilize quickly?   I’ve found that being the “radio guy” in my neighborhood,  fellow neighbors sometimes come to me after an event to ask if I have any information that might be of help to them, and I’ve tried to ensure that I have my equipment setup in such a way that I can obtain information as appropriate.   We in this area are generally pretty well prepared for weather events such as hurricanes;   it’s the surprise things, such as the earthquake, that make the point how fragile our communications infrastructure can be.   I once again encourage ARC members to assess their level of preparedness in the coming months so as to ensure they and their families are able to handle the unexpected gracefully.

73
Marshall

 Ten Tec Jupiter

The Alexandria Radio Club recently became the proud owner of a Ten Tec Model 538, better known as the Jupiter.  I have owned one for 11 years and it has been a real workhorse in my station.  That doesn’t make it old by any means.  When it was designed, Ten Tec built in a feature to allow for upgrades right over the internet.  So, as new features were added to the operating system, you could download the new firmware from the Ten Tec website and transfer it to your radio.  Within a minute, you have the latest features.  No need to buy another radio to get the latest and greatest.  Ten Tec is still the leader on this.

With the free software, the Jupiter is fully capable of integrating with your station computer.  You don’t need any type of interface between the radio and computer to get them to talk with each other.  I use Win EQF logging software at my station and the software reads the frequency and mode right from the radio.

The Jupiter is a medium and high frequency radio, operating from 100 kHz to 30 MHz.  It does do all the common modes found on HF, such as SSB, CW, AM, FM and RTTY.  Power output is rated at 100 watts for all modes except AM, which is 25 watts.  Ten Tec suggests reducing power to save the final amplifier.

Operating the Jupiter is about as simple as it gets.  Many of the functions are adjustable through buttons and knobs on the front panel.  Changing operating mode and band are as simple as pushing the appropriate button until you get to where you want to be.  Other settings are basically “set and forget” in the menus.

The Jupiter is a great portable operation radio.  It is very tolerant of voltage variations.  As long as the supply voltage is between 11.5 and 16 volts, the Jupiter will operate as designed.  The optimal voltage is the 13.8 volts from the power supply, which will produce full power out.  So, operating on the battery power in the trailer will not be the issue as on other HF radios the club previously owned.

Rich Adamy, KA4GFY

Social Events

Pre-meeting dinner is now at Atlantis in the BradleeShopping Centerat 5:30 PM. This is also a chance to meet our guest speaker as we offer to buy dinner for them prior to the meeting.

Monday Night Half Price Burgers – There is a group that gets together at Shooter McGee’s (Duke and Paxton Streets) on Monday evenings at 6:15 PM. A good burger and soft drink runs about $9.00.

NEXT CLUB MEETING

Our next meeting is August 12th  at the INOVA Alexandria Hospital in the Health Education Center (HEC) located to the west of the main visitor entrance.  The hospital address is: 4320 Seminary Road, Alexandria, VA 22304.  We meet at 7 PM and must leave by 9 PM. This month’s program will be Jeremy’s Field Day video and maybe a video from a long ago Field Day.  In addition we will have our Field Day after action review.

July  MEETING MINUTES  from 6/10/2011

Our program in July was Mark Braunstein WA4KFZ. His presentation was on D-Star.  While our club is more heavily involved with D-Star then maybe any other club in Northern Virginia, Mark’s presentation was very good and he answered may questions for those of us who have not experienced D-Star.

Marks’s presentation can be viewed at:
http://wiki.ncrdstar.org/index.php/File:ARRL_DSTAR_Webinar_Session_1.pdf

D-Star has many advantages.  The primary advantage is that all signals whether carrying voice or data are .  Mark pointed out that a D-Star signal can be resent over the internet or via other links with no loss of signal quality.  Digital “1″s and “0″s can be recreated.  Another advantage is the ability to direct traffic to one or many operators.  Mark pointed out that D-Star is digital and packetized at the source.  The VHF and UHF D-Star protocols provide a 2400 bps audio input with 1200 bps of error correction (a very robust schema) and a 1200 bps digital channel for GPS or other digital transmissions.

While the internet allows connection all over the world relays can be used without the internet as long as the relays have the IP protocols to send and receive the information.

Mark pointed out that D-Star uses spectrum more efficiently then our standard FM signal and until the signal is degraded to the point where error correction fails will faithfully reproduce a 100% signal.

D-Stars 1.2GHz system provide both digital voice and a separate 128KBps digital channel that allows it to act like a high power wireless router.

This is what we have been using at the Marine Corps Marathon for runner information at the aid stations.

Mark’s program covered other ways to use D-Star such as hot spots, DV Dongles and some other developments.  It was a very interesting program.

With a good percentage of our members present owning D-Star capable radios, our guest had to adapt a bit, but it was a good time to bring up the advantages of D-Star and to highlight the work done by Marshall in building our D-Star “stack”.

Editors Note:  The ability of D-Star to automatically do what ECHO LINK and IRLP can do is one aspect that adds a new dimension to amateur radio.  The ability to use a VHF link to any other D-Star stack in the world provides us a unique ability to pass traffic where HF capability would rely on a series of nets and the condition of the ionosphere.  D-Star does have its drawbacks, but like all aspects of our hobby it is one more technical avenue for us as radio hobbyists to explore and one more tool we can use to support emergency communications when needed.

EVENTS IN AUGUST

The 61st Berryville Hamfest was held on August 7th.  As in the past it was a great day to be under the trees.  Lots of boat anchors were bought and sold.

The club took up a great deal of AH6GI’s estate and sold most of it.  A great deal of the equipment was Heathkit gear in various states of repair and disrepair.  With help of Harry, N4CWP,  Larry KK4CBL, Warren Wylupski KA2BWU, and Tim KT4MV we were able to pick up the gear and move it to the N4ASX garage and Larry and I moved what we figured we could sell to Berryville.

Much of the Heathkit gear went for a song, but in the time we had, it could not be tested so we could not guarantee what work or did not work.  I did check out the 8  SB-303 receivers  and they worked on two bands generally.

All of the Heathkit gear will need some TLC.  We also sold three more modern HF radios.  We parted with the clubs ICOM IC-701 which had been a great club radio for over 10 years, but fear not.  We have replaced it with a Ten-Tec Jupiter.  The club also sold AH6GI’s IC 720A and IC725 to new hams that will make great use of these radios.  We also got rid of a few items left over from other estates.  All in all, the club made $1900 with the sales.  Cory’s widow has asked that we apply these funds to new amateur radio operator education.   Rich, our chief instructor, has some ideas for the next meeting.

Berryville was also a great time to meet with other hams we don’t see at meetings, promote the club and for those members who came out, I think we all had a great time.

Our trailer clean up day and Newbies on the Air are on hold until cooler weather.

Up Coming Events

See our president’s notes on the Virginia Beach Hamfest.

Boat Anchors cheap performance

One of our new members Bobby, KK4CKL turns out to be a bit of an old radio collector and restorer.  While we were selling off Old Heathkit gear and talking about other old radios it dawned on me that in an age of solid state DSP HF radios with hundreds of memories and all kinds of functions,  the old rigs still perform the primary functions and do it very well.

I got started in HF with a Heathkit DX-60A CW/AM transmitter and a Lafayette HA-700A general coverage receiver in 1971.  I did not do very well with the pair and only made 5 or so QSO’s, but that was not the fault of the gear, but lack of knowledge on antennas.  I was one very ignorant Novice. (now you know why we no longer have a novice license).  I got back into the hobby in

1978 and at that time Heathkit had a store on US 1 just about 3 miles south of the beltway.  I purchased the HW-2036A 2 meter synthesized mobile and built in a week.  I then purchased an HW-101 kit for over $300 and the power supply for an additional $100 or so.  It took me 60 hours to build the rig and 6 months.  Why 6 months? Well I had this VHF radio and turn it on just as I was sitting down to work on the HW-101.

Selling AH6GH’s collection of Heathkit gear brought back memories of how well the HW-101 worked.  No these radios do not have DSP, a digital read out, AGC control, RIT, dual VFOs and it needs a separate power supply to run it.  It needs to be tuned to THE frequency you want to operate on (tune the receiver front end and the finals for transmit every time.  But these radios have good sensitivity, very good selectivity and when was the last time you told someone on HF to meet you at 14.308264 MHz or when did you log a DX contact as 14.194523 MHz?

What these old tube type and even some of the older solid state radios have is the ability to transmit and receive as well as the newer radios for a great deal less cost than a new high end radio.  A new Ten-Tec Jupiter has ALL the bells and whistles but at a new cost of $1900.  For $150 dollars and some elbow grease you can put an old Heathkit HW-101, or SB-102, or other 1960-1970s radio on the air and generally you will have a power output over

100 watts, a clean SSB signal, and while not a contest radio a very respectable receiver.  If you have $300 – $400 to spend, the 1980s/1990s radio are all over the hamfests.  Kenwood TS-430s, TS-440s, ICOM 701s, 720s, 725s, Yeasu FT-747s,757s.  All area great solid state radios without DSP, but will run on 12 Volts and generally perform very well.

So, next time someone tells you that the hobby is just too expensive, pass the word

Marine Corps Marathon

MCM amateur radio support requires over 120 ham radio operators.  This is THE biggest amateur radio public service event in our area and one of the most complex.  You can do this if you have a 2 meter handheld and a good antenna.  Each year we have high percentage new operators.  There will be a training session for all operators within a month of the race.  The organizational group assigns team leaders for each amateur radio function, so there is always someone to help you get ready for the race.

For security reasons, all volunteers must be in the database by the end of September.  Don’t procrastinate.

To volunteer, go to www.marinemarathon.com and sign up as a “Ham Radio”

volunteer.  You will get an e-mail back asking you to go to another website to provide specifics on your abilities and your equipment.  This information and your preferences will determine your assignment on the course.  You will get an assignment and detailed briefing materials long before race day.

Please volunteer.
73 Rick, N4ASX

HAMFESTS

Virginia Beach Sept 17th.

President’s Corner

We’ve just gone through the hottest July on record here in the DC area, and the first Atlantic tropical depression that may turn into a hurricane has formed in the northeastern Caribbean.   As many ARC members are aware, weather plays a big role throughout our Mid-Atlantic area.   For those ARC members who are interested in being prepared for intense weather situations, there are a number of  resources that you can tap into.   During this time of year, SKYWARN runs a VoIP Hurricane Preparation Net on Echolink Conference *WX_TALK* Echolink Conference Node: 7203/IRLP Reflector 9219,  at 0000 UTC Sunday (Saturday evening at 8 PM ET).    For those who are using DStar, Reflector 34A has the Florida Hurricane net at 2100 EST each Monday night, which is used to provide training for ARES members;  more information  can be obtained at http://www.florida-dstar.info/fla.-hurricane-net .   The National Capital Area’s  SKYWARN support group also provides a web site with a variety of useful weather related links, located at  http://www.wx4lwx.org <http://www.wx4lwx.org/>  .  Now is the time to check your equipment and home to make sure that you and your family are prepared for any intense weather situations that may develop in the coming months.   Rick Bunn, our ARES coordinator, can also provide information for those ARC members who may be interested in joining ARES so as  to assist local community officials as needed and directed during weather events.   While waiting for the cool Fall weather to arrive, I encourage ARC members to be prepared for any weather events that may develop over the next several months.

73 Marshall

Also from our President

The Virginia Beach Hamfest will be held on September 17, 2011 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center, 1000 19th St., Va. Beach, Va. 23451. Early Bird admission will be at 8AM and general admission will be at 9AM.

The attached flyer provides basic information and our web site www.vbhamfest.com  https://webmail.east.cox.net/do/redirect?url=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.vbhamfest.com>  ) has more information.

Scheduled forums include Solar Cycle 24 HF propagation and HF antennas for DXers and Contesters with Frank Donovan, W3LPL. These forums are a must for all PVRCers, DXers and contesters.  Also we will have Forums on QCWA, Antennas for new hams, ARRL, DX/LOTW, and more. For a complete listing with times, go to www.vbhamfest.com. <https://webmail.east.cox.net/do/redirect?url=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.vbhamfest.com.>  Also we will have DX card checking and Exams.

The VADXCC will host a DX banquet on September 17th at 6:30pm at Buffet City Hibachi Grill, 3877 Holland Road #416, Virginia Beach, Va.  This is an outstanding all you can eat buffet.  The all inclusive price is $15.  Please make reservations with Charlie Chapman, w1wtg@arrl.net <https://webmail.east.cox.net/do/mail/message/mailto?to=w1wtg%40arrl.net> .

Or call
757-681-4190.  The $15 will be collected at the door in cash or check only. We are indeed fortunate to have Frank Donovan, W3LPL, who will narrate a video of his 2011, W3LPL open-house.  This is a must for all DX and contest dreamers.

Please pass this information to all your ham friends and ask your various club Points of Contact to forward this email to their distribution list.

Virginia Beach is the largest resort city in the world, over 300 square miles.  We have Yorktown, Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Busch Gardens a short distance away.  We have the USS Wisconsin Battleship available  to tour in Norfolk. And of course will have lots of sand and sun on the beach.  The Neptune Festival is the end of September and the Blue Angels are in town on September 24 and 25.  So lots to do and see.  Hope to see you in Virginia Beach on September 17.

73  Charlie W1WTG    w1wtg@arrl.net
<https://webmail.east.cox.net/do/mail/message/mailto?to=w1wtg%40arrl.net>

Social Events

Pre-meeting dinner is now at Atlantis in the Bradlee Shopping Center at 5:30 PM. This is also a chance to meet our guest speaker as we offer to buy dinner for them prior to the meeting.

Monday Night Half Price Burgers – There is a group that gets together at Shooter McGee’s (Duke and Paxton Streets) on Monday evenings at 6:15 PM. A good burger and soft drink runs about $9.00.

NEXT CLUB MEETING

Our next meeting is July 8th at the INOVA Alexandria Hospital in the Health Education Center (HEC) located to the west of the main visitor entrance.

The hospital address is: 4320 Seminary Road, Alexandria, VA  22304.  We meet at 7 PM and must leave by 9 PM. This month’s program will be on D-Star.  In addition we will have our Field Day after action review.

JUNE MEETING MINUTES  from 6/10/2011

Officer’s Reports – All going well, club is solvent,

Committee Reports:

Training: Rich KA4GFY reports that exams took place, with 5 new technicians, 1 new general, and 1 new extra, out of 15 candidates and 14 tests. [If I got this wrong, I will correct the minutes]

ARES: Not much.

DSTAR: Nothing.

Repeaters: 440 up and running now.

Webmaster: Roy was not present.

Upcoming Events:

ARRL VHF QSO Party

Field Day, 6/25-6/26

Manassas Ham Fest 06/12

ARC Christmas Party will be at Mango Mikes, 12/16

Foxhunt by KT4MV 06/18

Net Controls:

6/16/2011: Saunders KD4LEL

6/23/2011: Rich KA4GFY

6/30/2011: Rick N4ASX

7/07/2011: Harry N4CWP

Next meeting: 7/08/2011

Program:

Photos from Dayton Hamfest

Field Day Planning:
Location is Ben Brenman Park (come in through Cameron Station, not Duke Street)   Signup sheet for food/snacks/sides/tableware/ice

Toilet arranged by Jack K5OTZ, key will be kept on something to keep it from being pocketed

Ian N8IK will make parking passes

Copies of permit will be posted

Rick N4ASX will work on antennae

We will have a GOTA station

We will run on generators, not batteries

Rick N4ASX was the winner of the 50/50 drawing.

Adjourned.

EVENTS IN JULY

Jeremy, KF7IJZ has suggested that we have a new operator session in one of the parks in the area to allow our new operators some more time to play on HF.  He has a portable HF station and one other member will also set up a station.  All those who do not normally get to play on HF are more than welcome to come out and get on the air.  Details will be worked out at the July meeting.

FOX HUNTING

Tim, KT4MV has held two hunts so far and all are learning about VHF propagation and while it is line of sight it can also be line of sight as reflected.  Thanks to Tim for getting this effort off the ground.  More on this at the next meeting.

Up Coming Events

Marine Corps Marathon

This is the first call for volunteers for the 36th Marine Corps Marathon.

The Alexandria Radio Club has been a big supporter or this event.  The marathon will be on October 30th, 2011.  This is an ALL DAY event with some folks being required to show up as early as 4 AM and some will be on the course until 5 PM.

This is amateur radio’s most visible public service.

Amateur radio provides:

1 – Eyes on the course, with operators at every mile and some places at half mile intervals, to provide assistance to injured runners.

2 – Voice and Data communications at the 10 or so aid stations along the course and from the three finish area medical support positions.

3 – Link between five zone commanders and the Iwo Jima operations center and provide the zone commanders with information on the progress of the race.

4 – ARPS for the lead runner and the end of the race.

To perform these functions we will need over 120 ham radio operators.  You can do this if you have a 2 meter handheld and a good antenna.  Each year we have high percentage new operators.  There will be a training session for all operators within a month of the race.  The organizational group assigns team leaders for each amateur radio function, so there is always someone to help you get ready for the race.

To volunteer,  go to www.marinemarathon.com and sign up as a “Ham Radio” volunteer.  You will get an e-mail back asking you to go to another website to provide specifics on your abilities and your equipment.  This information and your preferences will determine your assignment on the course.  You will get an assignment and detailed briefing materials long before race day.

Please volunteer.

73 Rick, N4ASX

HAMFESTS

Berryville is always the first Sunday in August, this year it’s August 7th.

The club will have a few tail gate spots, so bring a chair and whatever you want to sell.  You can also drop off your purchases.  The club will have some estate items to sell to fund the next comm trailer upgrade.

Berryville is one of the nicer hamfests.  In the trees, not too large and the gear for sale covers all the kinds of stuff you’re likely to want to buy.

Club talk around will be 147.315 simplex (PL 107.2 is optional)

President’s Corner

I am writing this following our very successful Field Day that was held June 25 and 26 in Ben Brenham park.   I want to thank Rick, N4ASX, and his wife Karen, for putting together all the logistics involving site selection, placement and setup of the various radio stations and ensuring that all participants and visitors were well fed.    I would also like to thank all our band captains:  Jay, KV3W, Ian, N4ASX, Rich, KA4GFY, Kevin, KF4BBT, Jack, K5OTZ,  and Don, KI4D for a great job in manning the stations and making our many contacts.  Our GOTA station was helmed by Larry, KF7IJZ, who had just recently made Extra and did a great job handling the 10 meter traffic.   Special thanks also go out to Jack who secured one of the key items for any successful Field Day:  proper sanitation facilities, i.e., the porta-potty.  We were also fortunate to have Mark Penn, the City of Alexandria Emergency Management Coordinator, stop by and observe our operating activities, along with  Danielle Douez, a reporter from the Alexandria Times.   With great food and perfect weather,  I believe all the participants and visitors had a great experience in seeing what Amateur Radio can do for the local community.    Thanks to all those who participated in our 2011 Field Day activities, and I hope everyone has a great summer with plenty of band openings that finally gets you that rare DX you’ve been wanting for years!

73
Marshall/KI4MWP

Field Day

June 25th and 26th

The club should be very proud of its Field Day this year.  With the help of new members and a great overall turn out we had one of, if not, THE best Field Day event in the history of the club.

As always the organization was minimal, all pitched in and with many members stepping up to get things done, all items were covered.  Our President, Marshall, KI4MWP, kept everything on course. Tom KJ4FUU, our secretary, did a great job with publicity and we had a reporter from the Alexandria Times spend many hours with us and hopefully, we will see a good article on what we do.

Karen Bunn, did an outstanding job as our food chairperson this year, and I say this not because she in my XYL, but because everyone seemed to be have sufficient food, I heard no complaints about quality or sufficiency.  In fact, we had lunch and dinner on Saturday and breakfast (with help from Don KI4D. Don also provided lighting for the pavilion which made the evening much more enjoyable.

We tried some new things this year; the most telling was the use of two stations for CW.  In the past we would set up one CW station and four phone stations with 10 and 15 covered by one station.  This was because for the last 6 or so years the sunspots made 10 and 15 somewhat of a loss.  This year the sunspots were back and our set up took advantage of that.

Our 10/15/20 CW station was managed by Kevin KF4BBT; he may get the award for most time in front of a radio. Ian N8IK covered 80/40 CW and was also at it with some help.   Tim, KT4MV, our repeater and fox hunting guru jumped in and made a great deal of contacts on CW as well.  Our guest CW operator was Mark (a 2×1 call that I forgot).

Our 40/75 phone operation was managed by Rich, KA4GFY, our chief instructor.

Rich used this station to encourage some of our new hams to jump into the effort.  Mark KF1V who is new to the area and heard about our effort via our publicity efforts. Mark is an incredible contester and knocked off over 350 contacts on 40 meters.  Our 75 meter vertical did not work quite as well as I had hoped but we did manage 50 contacts or so.  Christina KJ4UYC made a few SSB contacts on the 40 meter station.  Great way to learn about HF radio. I expect that she will be even more active on our next event!  Joe KJ4UYH also got in on operating at a few stations.

Jay KV3W took on 15 and 10 meter phone, but due to lack of antennas and antennas space, gave up the 10 meter antenna to the Get on the Air Station, but this did not stop Jay and Jeremy KF7IJZ from racking up a record 400 plus contacts on 15m!

Our Get on the Air station was managed by Larry, KK4CBL, who for his first Field Day did a great job.  The idea of the GOTA station is to give new operators a chance to learn.  With some clubs who are into contesting this type of station allows new operators to learn without costing the contest club a station (It’s free). Our club is not a contest club so we were happy to have new operators at ANY station.  Larry did a great job and next year he will not be able to manage the GOTA station as he will by then be too long in the hobby to qualify as a new operator.

Jack, K5OTZ and past president, brought out his super radio to run the 20 meter phone station and I understand they did a great job of racking up the contracts. Jack was also responsible for the porta-potty.

The weather was the best it could have been, not super hot like last year, low humidity and no rain!

We did not do as well on 75/80 or 10 meters this year, but maybe next year we will get a location more conducive to a few larger antennas.

We will hold an after action meeting sometime soon.  Next year will be more fun, but topping this year will be difficult.

Summary of submission Bonus Points: Emerg Pwr = 500, Publicity, Media, Public Place, Info Booth, FD msg, SM message, Site Visit = 100 each, Web submit =50 —-> Total is 1,150 POINTS

Contacts
SSB 10Mtr = 4, 15Mtr = 445, 20Mtr = 174, 40Mtr 326, 75 = 51
CW 10Mtr = 14, 15Mtr = 97, 20Mtr =181, 40Mtr = 79, 80Mtr = 0
Total Score for Contacts = 1,763

Total SCORE = 3,526

Social Events

Pre-meeting dinner is now at Atlantis in the Bradlee Shopping Center at 5:30 PM. This is also a chance to meet our guest speaker as we offer to buy dinner for them prior to the meeting.

Monday Night Half Price Burgers – There is a group that gets together at Shooter McGee’s (Duke and Paxton Streets) on Monday evenings at 6:15 PM. A good burger and soft drink runs about $9.00.
_____

All,

Attached is our PRELIMINARY Field Day submission.  I need to get the paperwork for the FD Message and our SM message and send by e-mail

Will so that later, when I find them.

73 Rick

73 Rick N4ASX

‘ARC-SHORTS June 2011 Club Repeaters: 53.13, 147.315, 224.820, 444.600, 927.6 (-25Mhz) and 1282.600 (All PL 107.2) DSTAR 145.38, 442.060, 1284.600

NEXT CLUB MEETING

Our next meeting is June 10th at Alexandria Hospital at 7PM.    Our next
program will be Field Day!

MAY  MEETING

Minutes from 5/13/2011

Marshall, KI4MWP ran the meeting.  Rich, KA4GFY, reported that week 7 of our Tech / General license classes are complete with a few dropouts.  Marshall reports that duplicate registration entries have been purged.  Tim,  planned a second fox hunt for the next month.

Did anyone work the Armed Forces Crossband Test?  If so, we would like to hear more about the operation for a better attempt next year.

Rick was not able to make the meeting, but Field Day planning continues with Jeremy, KF7IJZ,  “volunteered” to be the Safety Officer.  Jeremy, being the videographer of QSO party fame, will also document Field Day when he’s not operating.

Jeremy also lead a discussion of alternative logging software for Field Day. This year we will continue to use WIN-EQF and look at a networked solution for next year.        Interference issues were discussed

An anonymous donor donated commemorative bricks for the ARRL terrace for Jim Switz and Tommy Lucas

Guest speaker was Dennis Bodson presenting the state of the ARRL, pending legislation (HR 607 is dead). Dennis also answered questions from the floor about the court case in California, and the interference to GPS systems by high-powered land-based transmitters, which were originally supposed to be low-powered from satellites.

The Christmas Party will be 3rd Friday in December @ Mango Mike’s

Net Controls:

5/19/2011: Tom KJ4FUU

5/26/2011: Ian N8IK

6/02/2011: Rich KA4GFY

6/09/2011: Hal KC4ZYP

Next meeting: 6/10/2011

Hal KC4ZYP was the winner of the 50/50 drawing.

TECH AND GENERAL CLASS (Update)

The Technician and General classes wrapped up on May 24 with an exam session.  Fourteen people took a total of eighteen elements.  We ended up with five new Technicians, four new Generals and one new Extra.  Listen for some new calls on the air!  I have not spotted the new calls yet on the FCC website as of the time I am writing this.

I want to thank N4ASX, N4CWP, KT4MV, W9TCE, KI4D, KI4MWP and N8IK for all their help in teaching the class and helping with the exam session.  Also, a big thanks to K4AXQ for making his office space available to us for teaching the class.

73, Rich, KA4GFY

DAYTON HAMVENTION

Dayton Hamvention is the biggest event.  Funny how we travel for 10 hours to buy gear, look at stuff and meet friends who live less than an hour from us.

Seriously, it’s a good time and you will see all aspects of ham radio and all the new gear coming out this year will be unveiled at Hamvention.

This year’s pilgrimage to Dayton was attended by KA4GFY, N4CWP, AF2D, KI4MWP, W3RST, N4ASX, N8IK, W9TCE and KI3O.

The big news in new equipment was from Elecraft, who introduced the KX-3 transceiver.  It’s a 160 through 6 meter all mode transceiver about the size of a brick (without the weight) and the output is a respectable 10 watts.

It was such a hit that the lines in front of the Elecraft booth were several deep at any one time.  Like their other radios, this one promises to be a winner.

Alinco  rolled out a couple of prototype radios.  One was a new 2 meter HT.

The other was something not seen before, an HT with the 220 AND 900 MHz bands on it.  If you have been interested in trying 900 MHz, you know the only option right now is converted commercial gear.  Not that its all bad, but commercial gear does not have the ability to change frequencies and other parameters on the fly like we have become accustomed to.  While the radio is not for sale yet, Alinco anticipates a release date of later this year.

GRE America introduced their new PSR-800 scanner.  This one is capable of decoding the TDMA format some public safety agencies are adopting.  At first glance, it looks like the price will be in the neighborhood of the other digital scanners.

Just outside the gate, several Emergency Communications groups were displaying their equipment.  The displays ranged from a box with equipment that can be deployed quickly in a hospital or shelter all the way up to a complete trailer with a dedicated vehicle to pull it.  This is a great way to share ideas with other groups on what works best.

EVENTS IN JUNE

June 11 and 12 – ARRL June VHF QSO Party.  This is a great opportunity to try out the CW and SSB modes on 6 and 2 meters and 70 cm on your HF through UHF radio.  Most of the activity is in the lower portion of the bands.   For CW, most of the activity will be between 50.000 and 50.100 MHz, 144.000 and 144.100 MHz.  For SSB, listen between 50.100 and 50.200 MHz and between 144.100 and 144.230 MHz.  Keep in mind the calling frequencies of 50.125 and 144.200 MHz.  You should hear some activity around those frequencies.  On 70 cm, most activity centers around 432.100 MHz.  You will be amazed at how far VHF and UHF CW/SSB travels.

EVENTS IN JUNE

June 11 and 12 – ARRL June VHF QSO Party.  This is a great opportunity to try out the CW and SSB modes on 6 and 2 meters and 70 cm on your HF through UHF radio.  Most of the activity is in the lower portion of the bands.   For CW, most of the activity will be between 50.000 and 50.100 MHz, 144.000 and 144.100 MHz.  For SSB, listen between 50.100 and 50.200 MHz and between 144.100 and 144.230 MHz.  Keep in mind the calling frequencies of 50.125 and 144.200 MHz.  You should hear some activity around those frequencies.  On 70 cm, most activity centers around 432.100 MHz.  You will be amazed at how far VHF and UHF CW/SSB travels.

Up Coming Events

HAMFESTS

June 12 – Old Virginia Hams Hamfest at the Prince William County fairgrounds in Manassas.  This is a good hamfest close to home, so there is no excuse for missing this one.  It features indoor and outdoor flea market space.  If you participated in the VA QSO Party, the Sterling Park ARC hands out awards and certificates to participants.

July 17 – Baltimore Radio Amateur Television Society Hamfest at the Howard County Fairgrounds in West Friendship, MD at Route 144 and 32, just off Interstate 70.  This is a good hamfest to locate parts for that construction project.

August 7 – Berryville Hamfest sponsored by the Shenandoah Valley ARC.  This hamfest is home to the Ruritan’s BBQ.  Its worth a short drive to the country.  Its also one of the last in the DC, Northwestern VA, West VA, Central MD area for the year, so people looking to clean out their basement or garage often bring their “surplus” items to sell.

President’s Corner

One of the great things about amateur radio is the willingness and generosity of  amateurs in providing service to their communities as well as other individuals.   This was recently on display through the generosity of an anonymous ARC member in their remembrance  of W4TBL, Tommy Lucas, and WA4CCF, Jim Schwitz, by honoring their memory through the ARRL Diamond Terrace program.   For those who may not be aware, the Diamond Terrace offers amateurs a way of permanently honoring radio amateurs by placing an inscribed brick In the ARRL headquarters Diamond Terrace area.   In addition, a companion Lucite brick can be made available for presentation to the family or friends.  I recently presented to the representatives of  Jim and Tommy’s family the Lucite bricks, much to their surprise and appreciation.   They wanted me to make sure to convey to ARC members their sincere thanks and appreciation for all the help and assistance that ARC members had provided to Jim and Tommy over the years, as well as to the families.    It is through such generous  acts  that I  believe our service has such a high positive recognition with the public, and this positive attribute is something I feel confident that our club will be able to maintain in the coming years.   As mentioned elsewhere in this issue, Field Day planning is now in high gear.   I am sure  that we will be able to provide the public with another great example of the capabilities of what the Amateur radio service can provide during this event, and   I look forward to seeing  ARC members  there in force June 25-26 at Ben Brenman park.

73  Marshall

Field Day

Team captain’s meeting will be at 1300 on June 12th and June 19th.    Team captains are responsible for all aspects of their stations, but ALL members and friends of members are encouraged to come out and operate.

Field Day will take place on June 25th and 26th .

This year’s Field Day will be at Ben Brenman Park off Duke Street just west of 4600 Duke.  Our location will be to the south part of the park behind the tree line and accessible over foot bridge.  We will run a 5A station with a free Get on the Air (GOTA) station and VHF/UHF station.  Two stations will be dedicated to CW ops and the remaining three to SSB.

SET UP at 10 AM Saturday

OPERATING Starts at 2 PM Saturday

OPERATING Ends at 2 PM Sunday

CLEAN UP, PACK UP and turn in logs by 4 PM Sunday.

This year we will use generators for power, so far we have four 2KW generators available to us.

Karen Bunn (703)317-9305 is our food chairperson this year.  The club will provide the hamburgers, hot dogs, BBQ but expect that others will bring the side dishes, and other stuff.  Please coordinate your contribution with Karen.  You can also let me know at the next meeting.

There will be a meeting at the park for team captains and others who are interested on June 18th  at 10AM to review set up plans and make sure all team captains have all they need.

All members past and current are encouraged to come out and operate.

Friends are also invited to participate.  Students and young folks who might be interested should also be invited.

If you have an interest in CW operation our two CW team captains want to help you out.

If you want to try out your own radio, antenna or other piece of gear, we ask that you do not set up a separate station but work with one of the 5 stations, the GOTA station or VHF/UHF station to substitute your piece of gear, so we don’t have interference or rules issues.

You do NOT have to be on site for the duration of field day,  drop in when you can and operate when you can and have fun.  BUT, Don’t miss dinner!

Usually, we break for dinner about 6 or so, but we not too formal about it.

If you have any questions call Rick, N4ASX, our Field Day chairman this year

(703) 317-9305.

Social Events

Pre-meeting dinner is now at Atlantis in the Bradlee Shopping Center at 5:30 PM. This is also a chance to meet our guest speaker as we offer to buy dinner for them prior to the meeting.

Monday Night Half Price Burgers – There is a group that gets together at Shooter McGee’s (Duke and Paxton Streets) on Monday evenings at 6:30 PM. A good burger and soft drink runs about $9.00.

NEXT CLUB MEETING
Our next meeting is May 13th at Alexandria Hospital at 7PM. Our next program will be Dr. Dennis Bodson, W4PWF, Please send your questions to our V.P. Ian, N8IK, so he can provide them to Dennis.

APRIL MEETING
The April meeting, Tim, KT4MV gave a great talk on transmitter hunting. He reviewed the various methods used to get a bearing on a station from directional antennas to the various methods used commercially including time of arrival and doppler systems. We hope to schedule a simple transmitter hunt exercise later in the year. Tim pointed out that you need to know precisely where you are before you can get an idea of where the target is. Further he pointed out that your target may be moving or using techniques that make tracking difficult. There are several kits and systems available and it would be interesting to see how the members approach this problem.

We reviewed our Field Day preparations. Rick, N4ASX is the Field Day chair. Field Day is our nation wide emergency preparedness test sponsored by ARRL and the goal is to operate without the support of permanently installed antennas or commercial power. Field Day is a nationwide event running from June 25 to 26th. This year we will be at the south end of Ben Brenman Park. There is a small pavilion and access is via two foot bridges. We may or may not be able to get our trailer back to the site. The event kicks off at 10AM with setup at the site. We will be 5A this year running two CW stations and three phone stations, but we get a FREE VHF/UHF station and if we can find someone with less then a year in the hobby or who is just getting active again, we will set up a “Get on the Air Station” The GOTA station runs under the new call sign but adds points to our effort. Field Day is also a contest, but the goal is to see how well we operate in the field. The club has one 2KW generator and three members will also bring out 2KW Honda generators, so we should have plenty of power. Station Captains have volunteered, but EVERY MEMBER OF THE CLUB should participate for part of the event. You do NOT have to stay for the entire event, but PLEASE plan to come out to help set up, enjoy the Saturday evening dinner (Club pays for the main course and all who attend are asked to bring something to share). It would be a good idea if you sent our Food Chairperson Karen Bunn (RRBunn@cox.net) a note with what you plan to provide so she can coordinate. Come out and operate. You do not have to be a contester to have a good time. The club has HF radios. If you have an idea for an antenna or want to check out your gear, you welcome to bring it out. If you do want to use your own HF radio, plan to bring an AC supply or your own 12 Volt power and plan to set up at one of the existing stations. We must stay within our 5A limits. While we do not set up a hard operating schedule, if there is a time period you want to operate in and a give band, please let me know and I will advise that Station Captain.

Marshall, our president and expedition manager provided a short program on the VA QSO part W4HFH expedition to Buchanan Co. They had a great time, a great place to operate and made a fantastic score for W4HFH in the QSO party. The photography was first rate and the history was also a plus.

73 Rick
N4ASX / RRBunn@cox.net

Licensing Class Started on April 5

Our latest licensing class started April 5 with eight students in the Technician class and five in the General class. This is one of the largest classes we have seen a long time. For the first time in several sessions, we have access to two rooms, allowing for the two separate classes.

This is also a shortened class. With only eight weeks from start to finish, the pace is fairly quick. So far, we haven’t lost anybody. The exam is scheduled for May 24, just before Memorial Day and just in time for some of the newly licensed and upgraded operators to participate in Field Day. If you are interested in taking attest with us on May 24, let me know ahead of time. Space is limited.

In the next edition of ARC Shorts, we should have the results with the new callsigns.

Many thanks to our very own Roy, K4AXQ, for procuring the space in his office for our use.

73,
Rich, KA4GFY

Upcoming Hamfests –

May 20 though 22 – Dayton Hamvention in Dayton, OH. Space is still available for someone willing to drive and buying their own tickets. There are two rooms left if somebody is interested in going. Let Rich know by the club meeting so he can cancel the unneeded rooms.

May 29 – Maryland FM Association Hamfest at the Howard County Fairgrounds

June 12 – Olde Virginia Hams Hamfest at the Prince William County Fairgrounds in Manassas. The club usually reserves a tailgate spot for members to sell equipment. We will probably have the club trailer out there as well.

Upcoming Contests and On Air Events –

May 7 – 7th area QSO Party
May 7 & 8 – Indiana QSO Party
May 7 – New England QSO Party
May 14 – Nevada Mustang Roundup
May 28 – CQ World Wide WPX Contest (CW)

May 14 & 15 – Annual Armed Forces Day Communications Test. This is the one time each year we get to communicate with military radio stations. Many military ops are hams themselves and are very good about sending QSLs. We listen for them on military frequencies outside the ham bands and they listen for us inside the ham bands. See www.netcom.army.mil/mars for the schedule.

From Eric, KG4DZA

JUNE 5th American Diabetes Association Tour De Cure Bike Run
Hi Everyone – It’s that time of year again!
I’m looking for volunteers for the 2011 ADA Tour de Cure, which will be a little earlier this year – Sunday, June 5th. You’re getting this email because you either helped out or expressed an interest in 2009 or 2010. Let me know if you don’t want to hear from me and I’ll remove you from the 2011 email list.

The ride will be similar to last year. I have setup a web page for the amateur radio volunteers:
URL: http://mysite.verizon.net/erparker/

Click on “2011 ADA Tour de Cure” and enter “Hams” for the email address and “ForDiabetes” for the password. I believe it is case-sensitive. I still have last year’s information on the web site. If you want a particular assignment, just let me know. Dan Groper, KC4OCG, already has Purcellville and Jim Patton, N3SAU, has already signed up as a motorcycle marshal. I will update the web site as I start to collect information on this year’s ride.

Thanks & 73′s,
Eric, KG4DZA

President’s Corner

As you’ve read elsewhere in this edition of ARC Shorts, preparations are shaping up nicely for our June 25-26 Field Day activities that will be held this year in Ben Brenman Park. Rick, N4ASX, is leading the effort for our Field Day activities, and is working with the various band captains to ensure we have the proper equipment, antennas and all the other miscellaneous items to make sure we have another great Field Day for 2011. Please feel free to contact Rick or any of the band captains if you want to work a particular station and let them know so that we can ensure everyone that wants to get on the air will have an opportunity to do so. We want to make sure that all ARC members have an opportunity to come out and participate on the bands, but we also want everyone to enjoy themselves, relax, and participate in the fun that amateur radio can bring. In addition, if you know someone who is not licensed but has expressed an interest in learning more about ham radio, please feel free to bring them out so that they can see what ham radio is all about. All of us our looking forward to this year’s Field Day activities, and we want you to mark June 25-26 on your calendar to enjoy the fun as well!”
73,
Marshall
KI4MWP

Social Events
We expect to be meeting at the Alexandria Hospital from now until our ”who knows” meeting, so the pre-meeting dinner is now at Atlantis in the Bradlee Shopping Center at 5:30 PM. This is also a chance to meet our guest speaker as we offer to buy dinner for them prior to the meeting.
Monday Night Half Price Burgers – There is a group that gets together at Shooter McGee’s (Duke and Paxton Streets) on Monday evenings at 6:30 PM. A good burger and soft drink runs about $9.00.

Club Repeaters: 53.13 (PL107.2),  147.315 (PL 107.2), (224.82(PL107.2), 444.6 (107.2)
927.6 (-25Mhz, 107.2 PL) and 1282.600 (PL 107.2) DSTAR 145.38Mhz, 442.060, 1284.600 News letter and meeting announcement for the Alexandria Radio Club.

Club repeaters and detailed info can be found at www.w4hfh.org

Club Net: 147.315 (-600Khz, PL107.2) on Thursday’s at 8 PM local time Club Meetings: Second Friday of each month at 7:30PM at the Alexandria Fire Training Center.

Minutes of the last meeting.

Our March  meeting program was presented by our V.P. Ian, N8IK and gave us some valuable lessons and some history on amateur use of Morse Code.  CW.  Obviously, there are many ways to learn CW, but most of them cause problems when you try to build your speed.  Ian’s talk covered some great tips on leaning CW the right way.  While CW is no longer required for an amateur license, Ian pointed out that CW is 13 dbm  better at getting a signal out due to the digital nature and the narrow bandwidth required for a CW signal.

Many of us in the club remember when you needed 5 WPM to get the Novice license or Technician License, 13 WPM for the General and Advanced class licenses and 20 WPM for Amateur Extra.  For many of us at the meeting we were wondering where all this advice was when we were doing it wrong and struggling.

CW is a skill that is very useful not just in contesting or DXing, but a very valuable asset when all the new technology goes away and your left with the barest of equipment,  Sending CW can be as simple as keying and unkeying your radio (FM included).  If you microphone fails you still can do CW!

Thanks Ian for a very interesting and informative program!

Next Meeting

Our next meeting will be on April  8th at the Alexandria Hospital at 7 PM.  For all of the regulars, need to note that we NOW start at 7PM NOT 7:30 as we need to done by 9 PM.

Our program will be Tim KT4MV, Rick, N4ASX, and Rich, KA4GFY covering the fine art of  transmitter hunting.   This was for a while a major activity with the club and with agile interfering transmitters; it’s a good skill to work on.  Tim will be talking about various methods where groups can hunt down an offending mobile transmitter.

If the club is interested, a transmitter hunt may be planned for the club and later a multi-club event may be in the offing.

TECHNICAL AND GENERAL  CLASS LICENSE CLASSES 

After missing a semester or so, the club is again running our Technical and General class license classes.  The classes will be fast paced (only 8 sessions) with one or two Saturday get together sessions. (not mandatory).  Rich, KA4GFY is once again our Chief Instructor and coordinator.  He will be assisted by a cadre of able and willing club members as instructors who will teach their specialties.

LOCATION:  2331 Mill Road, suite 100.  It’s between the courthouse and Eisenhower Ave.

DATES:  APRIL 5th every Tuesday to May 24th

TIME: 7 PM until 9 PM or so.

COST: $20 plus books. (covers the ARRL testing fees / materials We have a very high pass rate with our classes.  If you need or know someone who would like to be an amateur radio operator, this is one of the better ways to get the knowledge needed to pass those exams.

You can call Rich, KA4GFY at (703)960-4096 As this is short notice PLEASE pass the word to anyone you think might be interested.  This will be a short class but we hope to add a few weekend activities to make it more interesting.  If you’ve missed the first class or know someone who did, they can catch up on the 12th.  Don’t let the short notice stop you!

VA QSO PARTY

A group of four ARC members, Randy, KI4MWQ, Sandee, KI4QNG, Harry, N4CWP, and Marshall, KI4MWP, participated in the Virginia QSO party by setting up a multi-multi operating station in Buckingham County at the James River State Park.   Using the station call of W4HFH, preliminary log results indicate that the group made 557 contacts,  picked up ninety counties and cities within Virginia, forty-one states, twenty-two foreign countries, and made contact with station K4NVA for the bonus 500 points.   Every state East of the Mississippi was logged for a contact, ranging from Maine to Florida, resulting in an overall preliminary score of 91,841 points.   The group utilized a variety of equipment and antennas, using several vertical, dipole and NVIS configurations in making the contacts.  Looking forward to 2012, strategizing has already begun on how to enhance the number of contacts and how to deploy new antenna configurations.   But for this QSO party, everyone agreed that the weather was great, the operating conditions were optimal, and everyone had FUN participating in the 2011 Virginia QSO Party! ”

73 Marshall / KI4MWP

Editor’s Note:  For those who operated in the QSO party,  we need to make sure that the CLUB information “Alexandria Radio Club” is in your Cabrillo report to Gordon.

NEW GEAR REVIEW

The Uniden HomePatrol Scanner: My Experiences & Tips Since I had money coming in from my tax refund, I decided to get a new digital scanner, since I used to like to listen to the police, fire and whatever channels, but I haven’t been able to listen to them since they started using trunked and digital trunked systems. While there are a few models I could have picked, I narrowed the choice down to two: The Uniden HomePatrol and the GRECOM PSR-800. I ended up picking the HomePatrol due to my perception that it was easier to set up, which may or may not have been correct. I don’t think you would kick yourself for either choice, although your significant other might, when they find out how much you paid for it.

The first thing I noticed when unpacking the box that there was no user’s manual, only a quick reference card. Apparently, the full blown manual is on the scanner in PDF format, for you to save and/or print. This was slightly inconvenient for me, since I like to read paper manuals, and my printer is currently not working. The quick reference card is well written, and covers the basics, though. A wall wart and a cigarette lighter DC power cord are included, along with four rechargeable batteries. Some people have questioned Uniden’s choice of the SMA connector rather than the BNC, but this shouldn’t make too much of a difference, since we’re a careful bunch, and really, this scanner is more at home as a base station. In comparison, the GRECOM scanner is meant to be a handheld portable and uses a BNC connector.

If you want a scanner to clip on your belt, you would need to buy an aftermarket case like the ones I’ve seen on eBay, and it would still be sort of bulky and clumsy, but this was not one of my deciding criteria. In normal operation, the scanner sits in a plastic cradle (provided). The review in QST says that during normal operation, the rechargeable batteries will last about four hours or so, noting that the unit is somewhat of a battery hog.

The scanner prompts you to install the Sentinel software, which is on the scanner, so I went ahead and plugged in the USB cable (included). A quick note, the USB cable is short, so if you have your PC on the floor, and don’t have a USB hub on the desktop, this can be awkward. Once plugged in, the scanner appears to be another disc/flash drive. I followed the instructions and  executed the setup.exe program, and the first inconvenience I hit was the fact that it had to install Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 (my PC is old, and still runs XP). This took a few minutes. When I ran the Sentinel program, I chose the option to look for updates. It took another few minutes to download the updates (firmware and database) and rebuild the database. Other aftermarket software is available that offers more features and options than Sentinel, but the review in QST said to use them with caution, since it MIGHT be possible to put the scanner in a state that it couldn’t be reset. You don’t have to install Sentinel, but it’s a good idea, since you won’t be able to update the database and/or the firmware without it (or one of the third party software programs available for the HomePatrol).

Since the concept of channels and banks of channels does not exist on the HomePatrol, I decided to create some “Favorites Lists” to replace that functionality. It’s actually a good thing that I did, since when I set up the scanner by entering my ZIP code, it found thousands of frequencies to scan, even though I hadn’t selected some services, and no scanner is going to scan that many frequencies very rapidly (and the HomePatrol did prompt me about this). By selecting one of the Favorites Lists (there can be up to 256, I think), I only search a few frequencies/services. It took some fiddling around to figure out how to create a Favorites List. Once I figured that out, I found that while I was expecting to copy/paste frequencies from the database into the Favorites List, as is normal, that that isn’t the case at all with Sentinel. I had to select frequencies/blocks of frequencies, hit the “Insert” key (which I would have thought would have inserted entries into the database), and then Sentinel prompted me for which list to add them into. That figured out, it was painless to write this new setup information back to the HomePatrol.

There was one glitch I encountered in creating the Favorites Lists: I wanted to add the frequencies for Alexandria Hospital in with the list containing Alexandria Fire/EMS, but since they were in different services in the database, but identical sub-item names (“Alexandria”),  Apparently they could not co-exist in the list. This is a minor inconvenience, but I don’t know what I can do about it. I will probably join the HomePatrol forum and post a question about it. Also, a lot of Fairfax County frequencies are listed under the “statewide” heading rather than under the county services. I didn’t experience any problems with the county, though.

After setup, rather than scan the thousands of frequencies in our area, I picked one of the Favorites Lists, and started to listen. The scanner works great, even with the little short stock antenna. I did buy a Diamond 789 (a hinged, adjustable height antenna), and it works nicely, and will improve reception, especially in the VHF range. Occasionally, when one of the digital signals is weak, you will get just a little of what D-Star users call “R2D2″, but so far, I haven’t noticed this happening a whole lot. In one case I had a problem copying the transmission, but then, so did the dispatcher, who asked for a retransmission. If you don’t use a Favorites List, you will probably be “avoiding” (the terminology used for what we used to call “locking out”) a lot of frequencies. Before kicking in the Favorites List, my scanner stopped on what appeared to be an open carrier or noise from one of the Prince Georges County frequencies. Undoubtedly, in this area, you would be “avoiding” hundreds of the choices, and this would add considerable time to the setup. You can setup the scanner to only look for certain services, but I found the Favorites List, which by the way is far easier to set up in Sentinel than on the scanner itself, to be the most convenient way to do things.

The display shows three lines. For example, when I’m listening to the Favorites List I set up for Fairfax County, consisting of the Police, Fire/EMS, and Corrections frequencies, the top line says “Fairfax County Public Service”. If my Favorites List consisted of more than that, I could tap that line and only listen to the frequencies of that category. The second line in my example would read Fairfax County Police, Fairfax County Fire/EMS, etc. If a big incident was going on, for example a major accident, I could tap that line on the display and only hear the frequencies assigned to that service. Or, I could lock on an individual frequency by tapping that line on the display. To unlock, simply tap the line again. You can also record the action into memory for later offload and replay, but I haven’t tried this yet. I have used the Replay feature to repeat something I didn’t quite catch the last time. The Replay can be configured from 30 seconds to 4 minutes.

In summary, my likes, dislikes, and tips:

LIKES

Informative display, in color, Easy to lock/unlock on an interesting frequency, sub-service, or service, Replay feature, to repeat something you just heard, Good receiver coverage DISLIKES Sentinel software not very intuitive,  Short USB cable, No manual in the box ,Database glitch as reported above, No carrying case or clip included TIPS

In this area, at least one Favorites List is a must.  Don’t try to update the radio if the batteries are nearly exhausted unless using AC power.   Consider another antenna for better reception, such as the Diamond SRH-789.

In conclusion, my dislikes are just inconveniences, and I can’t guarantee that the other scanners don’t suffer from these same issues. I like the scanner, and I don’t regret buying it, and even though there are a few extra features on the GRECOM PSR-800, that I would be any happier with that unit, since the features I saw in their literature weren’t ones I would use on a regular basis. Your mileage may vary, but I would have no problem at all recommending the HomePatrol to anyone. And, while it covers most ham VHF/UHF frequencies, it won’t cover the 23cm band, as the highest frequency it covers is 960Mhz.

73,

Tom KJ4FUU, with assistance from Marshall KI4MWP  DAYTON HAMVENTION Rich, KA4GFY is the coordinator for the Dayton, OH. Hamvention.  This is, for new hams, the LARGEST hamfest in the world.  Somewhere around 20 to 30 THOUSAND people attend.  All of the major manufacturers,  radio stores as well as small manufacturers will be there.  Additionally, if you cannot find it in the flea market you don’t need it.  Hamvention is May 20- 22nd.

EVENTS IN APRIL

MO and QCWA Spring QSO Party April 2nd

GA, MT and NM QSO Parties April 9th

MI and Ontario QSO Parties April 16th

FL and NE QSO Parties April 30th

ARRL Rookie Roundup April 17th

This is an opportunity for all Rookies to compete with each other on SSB.  The Old Pros are allowed to participate and help out the new operators by contacting them on the air or helping out in person.  QSOs are limited to the phone portions of 80, 40, 15, 10 and 6 meters.

Second annual “Cruise In” sponsored by the Albemarle Amateur Radio Club, Charlottesville, VA.  It’s not an on air event or hamfest, but an opportunity to show off your mobile installation and spend some time in the park with other hams.  Pack a cooler and bring your lunch.  It was a big hit last year.

BULL RUN RUN – APRIL 9th

Art Pond III is the coordinator for the amateur support of the Bull Run Run.  For several years now amateurs in the area have supported this race.  The big difference is that it a 50 mile race along the Occoquan Reservoir through many of the parks that line the Fairfax County side of the river.  Two meters does not do it unless you tie up a repeater and even then you’re in the woods and signals are greatly attenuated.  For the last few years the primary amateur frequency has been a 6 meter FM simplex frequency.  This year Art has asked that some stations bring along 40 meter SSB using Near Vertical Incident Sky wave (NVIS) antennas.  I know that Rich, KA4GFY and Rick, N4ASX will be working the event.  If you would like to join in, call send Art an e-mail at KD4FBT@arrl.net .  As the club has a six meter FM repeater, this is a good time to try out your gear.

PRESIDENT’S NOTES

As the days grow longer and the temperature edges ever higher, the risk for severe weather also grows higher.  We all hear the public service announcements from the National Weather Service that encourage us to be prepared for severe weather and what steps to take in the event a severe weather event happens.   In a similar manner, it pays for us as amateur radio operators to “be prepared” as well.   If the need arose for you to be able to communicate urgent information using your radio equipment, would you be able to do so in the event of a complete loss of power for an extended period of time?   If you have a set a backup batteries, have you checked them recently to be sure that they have adequate charge that can sustain a period of radio use that might last more than 24 hours?  Have you explored using simplex communications instead of depending on the repeater to see how far you would be able to communicate?   Now is the time to think through and check out your equipment and explore how to get information out in the event the need may arise.   Some helpful publications that ARRL has put out that may be useful to review include Emergency Power for Radio Communications and The ARRL Emergency Communication Handbook .  In addition, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) also serves as a great resource in helping amateurs learn more about being prepared for the unexpected and how they can assist others in the event of severe environmental conditions.   Please contact Rick Bunn, N4ASX, who serves ARC’s local ARES point of contact, for more information if you want to get involved with ARES.

73,  Marshall / KI4MWP

HAMFESTS

Chesapeake Amateur Radio Service Springfest, Cheasapeake, VA, April 3rd 56th Annual York Hamfest,  York, PA, April 9th Delmarva Amateur Radio and Electronics Expo, Georgetown, DE, April 16 North Carolina State Convention, Raleigh, NC, April 23rd Great Hagerstown Hamfest, Boonsboro, MD, April 30th

SOCIAL EVENTS

We expect to be meeting at the Alexandria Hospital from now until our “who knows” meeting, so the pre-meeting dinner is now at Atlantis in the Bradlee Shopping Center at 5:30 PM. This is also a chance to meet our guest speaker as we offer to buy dinner for them prior to the meeting.

Monday Night Half Price Burgers – There is a group that gets together at Shooter McGee’s (Duke and Paxton Streets) on Monday evenings at 6:30 PM. A good burger and soft drink runs about $9.00.

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