The Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin - December 2009

The Pasadena Radio Club

Many thanks to all of the members who contributed to our 2009 Toys for Tots collection. The barrel of toys was turned in to the US Marine Corps station in Pasadena for their local program.Happy Holidays and 73 Bruce N1BN

BulletinDecember 2009

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Toys for Tots a Success

The Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin - December 2009

This will be the last of my “Presidential Amplifier” articles. I have enjoyed the opportunity to write about some of the things that I felt were important to the Club. We have had excellent meetings which included a wonderfully educational trip to the Cal Tech Seismological Laboratory arranged and narrated by Kate. The meetings have had great attendance, active participation and many of our members are hanging around afterwards getting in a bit of extra visiting. Last month’s Holiday potluck dinner featured delicious food and a great chance to chat. There seems to be an increasing number of members, even some younger ones, and several of our newest members have become very active participants in our events. We managed to reduce the dues yet not take much of a hit on PRC’s financial balance sheets because of reduced costs and more members. The Bulletin just keeps getting better and better, particularly if you go online and look at the color version. Having researched about 30 ham club newsletters at the beginning of the year, I can tell you that ours is one of the best, if not the best, that I have seen! This year we had a June field day with lots of action and we ran up a great score. There was also a very nice spring mini-field day. In October the Club participated in the CQ WW DX Contest and had QSOs with 52 different countries. Propagation was amazing and many novice contesters got their contesting wings! To make this all work takes some hard work but there is not enough room to acknowledge everyone who helped make this year a success. But…I must mention some of them because of the excellent jobs they did. Pamela arranged all those great general meeting programs. What’s more she filled in when I was away. Bruce backed her up, did the minutes, made badges and license plate awards and generally kept things

(like the meeting AV) humming everywhere he went. Mark kept track of the money and the membership. He also taught our Club’s FCC licensure classes which this year included a general class preparation. Those classes are the lifeblood of amateur radio and PRC. Another critical function is done by our Club’s station Trustee Paul. He is the guy who gets in trouble with the FCC if we mess up when using our W6KA call sign. Also, he, Eli and Ray were invaluable advisors for the CQWW DX contest. Mike is the one who has the responsibility to run our net on Tuesdays. Finally I really need to give kudos to John Minger for the great job he does every month putting out the Bulletin! You already know how good I think it is, we all owe him a great deal of appreciation for the many hours he puts in on that project and all the other things that he does more or less in the background of many things the club does (for instance most of the CQ WW DX contest work). The amount of work required to pull off a successful field day is prodigious and again that job was done beautifully by Peter. He deserves our gratitude for making the Club’s biggest event such a success. Finally I would like to thank those generous souls who pitched in to provide the food and drink for our meetings’ refreshment breaks. Without you we would have gone hungry! So now let’s have a happy Holiday season and a great New Year. Remember that the way to make amateur radio fun is to participate, participate and participate.

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The Presidential

by Tom Berne, W6TAG

Amplifier

Bill Fletcher, AA1OU, receiving an appreciation Plaque from President Tom Berne, W6TAG, following his November 24th presentation, “22,000 Miles on the Water with Ham Radio”

The Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin - December 2009 page 3

Travel out the 210 freeway to San Dimas and about the time you cross the 57, look to the north for a ridge of hills and locate the line of antennas. Johnstone Peak is listed at 3178 feet in elevation and has a good view of the Los Angeles basin. There are a number of Ham Radio repeaters there but as you can see by the clipping from my recent repeater map update - I list three open repeaters.W6FNO 146.820 - (no PL)This is actually a pretty famous repeater. It is in fact one of the oldest Ham repeaters, going back to the 1960s. For many years it was used by many Hams to assist with highway emergencies. Over the years it handled thousands of assists that were relayed to the CHP. Cell phones have pretty much replaced that function but this wide coverage system still covers many desert areas not open to cell phones. One of the unique aspects of this system is that it is dual site. There is a second repeater on the same frequencies on Onyx Peak, near Big Bear, at 9,000 feet in elevation. These repeaters act as one linked system with a 440 Mhz radio link moving your audio across the system. The system is only used on 2 meters. This dual site technology gives it huge coverage out to Nevada, Arizona and Mexico in many places. The system uses a 30 second timer with no courtesy beep. There is a weekly net Tuesdays at 7 PM. This system will assist

the Red Cross in the event of a major disaster. www.w6fno.orgAlso included are these two open systems on Johnstone Peak, but I have no details on them.WA6FZH 446.400- (PL 103.5)K6BFS 29.68- (PL 107.2)For more information go explore this website: www.usrepeaters.com73Bruce N1BN

Sub-audible TomesBruce Nolte, N1BN

Los Angeles is Rich in Repeater Sites

Part 3 - Johnstone Peak

The Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin - December 2009

Yet another corruption of Clement Clarke Moore's classic Christmas tale, this time distorted by Gary Pearce KN4AQ, and the Raleigh Amateur Radio Society, Raleigh, North Carolina, December 2, 1996.

'Twas the night before Christmas,And all through 2 meters,Not a signal was keying upAny repeaters.

The antennas reached upFrom the tower, quite high,To catch the weak signalsThat bounced from the sky.

The children, Tech-Pluses,Took their H-Ts to bed,And dreamed of the dayThey'd be Extras instead.

Mom put on her headphones,I plugged in the key,And we tuned 40 metersFor that rare ZK3.

When the meter was peggedby a signal with power.It smoked a small diode,and, I swear, shook the tower.

Mom yanked off her phones,And with all she could musterLogged a spot of the signalOn the DX Packet Cluster,

While I ran to the windowAnd peered up at the sky,To see what could generateRF that high.

It was way in the distance,But the moon made it gleam.A flying sleigh, with aneight-element beam,

And a little old driverwho looked slightly mean.So I thought for a moment,That it might be Wayne Green.

But no, it was Santa,The Santa of Hams.On a mission, this Christmas,To clean up the bands.

He circled the tower,Then stopped in his track,And he slid down the coaxRight into the shack.

While Mom and I hidBehind stacks of CQ,This Santa of hammingKnew just what to do.

He cleared off the shack deskOf paper and parts,And filled out all my late QSLsFor a start.

He ran copper braid,Took a steel rod and poundedIt into the earth, tillThe station was grounded.

He tightened loose fittings,Resoldered connections,Cranked down modulation,Installed lightning protection.

He neutralized tubesIn my linear amp.(Never worked right before;Now it works like a champ).

A new, lowpass filterCleaned up the TV.He corrected the settingsIn my TNC.

He repaired the computerThat would not compute,And he backed up the hard driveAnd got it to boot.

Then, he reached really deepIn the bag that he brought,And he pulled out a big box.A new rig? I thought!

A new Kenwood? An ICOM?A Yaesu, for me?!(If he thought I'd been bad,it might be QRP!)

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A Ham’s Night Before Christmas

The Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin - December 2009

Yes! The Ultimate Station!How could I deserve this?Could it be all those hoursthat I worked Public Service?

He hooked it all upAnd in record time, quicklyWorked 100 countries,All down on 160.

I should have been happy,It was my call he sent.But the cards and the postageWill cost two month's rent!

He made final adjustments,And left a card by the key:"To Gary, from Santa Claus.73."

Then he grabbed his H-T,Looked me straight in the eye,Punched a code on the pad,And was gone with no good-bye.

I ran back to the station,And the pileup was big,But a card from St. NickWould be worth my new rig.

Oh, too late, for his finalcame over the air.It was copied all over.It was heard everywhere.

The Ham's Santa exclaimedWhat a ham might expect,"Merry Christmas to all,And to all, good DX!"

© 1996, 2009 Gary Pearce, KN4AQ Permission granted for any print or electronic reproduction, no advance approval required.

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President W6TAG Tom Berne berne at usc dot edu 323-665-6289

Vice President W6PNW Pamela Royce 626-285-8987 Secretary N1BN Bruce Nolte n1bn at charter dot net Treasurer W6MES Mark Seigel w6mes at arrl dot net 818-430-5244 Members At Large Fred Lopez KG6GTL Brian Irish WA6GLJ Ralph Williams KI6SXP

Past Officers Peter Fogg KA6RJF Bruce Nolte N1BN Harry Brumer K7IB Cynthia Berne N6NCE Education Chair W6MES Mark Seigel w6mes at arrl dot net 818-430-5244 VE Team Liaison AB6LR Merrie Suydam ab6lr at arrl dot net (626) 969-4409

Club Net KF6FEM Mike Dinko 626-797-8082 Bulletin Editor AC6VV John Minger ac6vv at arrl dot net 323-256-0046

Made on a Mac

Two new club officers for the 2010 year: Treasurer Tom Mikkelsen, WA0POD, and President Fred Lopez, KG6GTL

The Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin - December 2009page 6

Yet another new sunspot group -- number 1035 -- emerged this week, seemingly on top of group 1034, which has been visible since December 9. This sunspot group is quite active, and we may see a rise in geomagnetic activity on Sunday, December 20 with a predicted planetary A index of 15. Look for more information in the Solar Update, available on the ARRL Web site on Friday, December 18. For more information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical Information Service Propagation page. From the ARRL Letter for December 17, 2009.

Topics to be presented:Saturday, December 19, 2009, 9:00 AM"Go Kits" What to include in short term 'jump kits' and longer term 'go kits'Dennis Oszuscik, KI6UNC, Northeast District Emergency Coordinator, ARES-LAXSaturday, January 9, 2010, 9:00 AM"Choosing the Right Coax"Marty Woll, N6VI, Vice Director, ARRL Southwestern DivisionLocation:Huntington Memorial Hospital100 W. California Blvd.PasadenaThe meeting is in the Wingate Building, main floor Conference Room E. Friends, guests and visitors are always welcome.TNX and 73,Russ, KI6WIR DEC, Northeast District, ARES-LAXki6wir at arrl dot net

Sunspots! Meeting Updates for Northeast District ARES-LAX

November 24th Pot Luck

The Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin - December 2009

The Pasadena Radio Club meets the fourth Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the Kaiser Permanente Walnut Center, located at 393 East Walnut Street, at the corner of Los Robles Avenue in Pasadena. Enter the parking structure at the Los Robles Avenue entrance and mention “Pasadena Radio Club”. Everyone is welcome to attend. Please sign in at the front desk and security will direct you to the meeting room.

Membership in the Pasadena Radio Club is open to anyone interested in Amateur Radio. Dues are $20 per year, $10 for students. Request a membership application at the club’s mailing address, on the club website, www.qsl.net/w6ka, or in person at the monthly meeting.

The Pasadena Radio Club, W6KA, conducts a weekly net every Tuesday night, except on meeting nights, at 7:00 p.m. The frequency is 145.180 MHz (-) PL 156.7. All licensed amateurs are invited to participate.

The club has a packet station on 145.630 and on 223.600 (cross-band capable) with a PBBS of W6KA-10 and a node name of MIRDOR.

There is an unofficial Yahoo Group for club members at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PRC-Club/. All members are invited to join as this allows for rapid dissemination of information to members via e-mail.

Bulletin Submissions: please submit any articles, photos, or ideas for future articles via e-mail to AC6VV at arrl dot net, please include “PRC” in the Subject line. Other modes of submission may be arranged in advance on an individual basis. Submissions are due by the Friday after the board meeting.

Permission is granted to use articles in this issue as long as “Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin” is credited.

Please submit any address or e-mail changes to the Treasurer.

Better Banking for Southern California123 S Marengo Ave., Pasadena

http://www.wescom.org/

page 7

Thank You

for your support of The Pasadena Radio Club, and amateur radio hospital

emergency communications

511 S. Fair Oaks Ave.Pasadena

626-744-3200

Over 30 Years of Customer SatisfactionWe Know Self Storage!

PRC Bulletins Onlinehttp://www.qsl.net/w6ka/

Ho, Ho, Ho!

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The Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin - December 2009

Pasadena Radio Club, W6KAP.O. Box 282, Altadena, CA 91003-0282

http://www.qsl.net/w6ka/

In This IssuePage 1 Toys for Tots a SuccessPage 2 The Presidential AmplifierPage 3 Sub-Audible TomesPage 4 A Hamʼs Night Before ChristmasPage 5 PRC Board RosterPage 6 Sunspots!, ARES-LAX UpdatePage 7 Ads, Club Information, etc.Page 8 Club CalendarPage 9 Meeting Minutes

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SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

PRC Net 7:00 pmPRC BOARD 7:30 pm

PRC Net 7:00 pm145.180 - PL 156.7

PRC Net 7:00 pm145.180 - PL 156.7

PRC Net 7:00 pm145.180 - PL 156.7

January 26th Speaker: Theo ten Brummelaar,KF6VGK, on the CHARA Array at Mount Wilson

KPARN Nets 12:15 pm448.280 Mhz ,

52.700 Mhz, 7.228 Mhz

Chino Swap Meet

TRW Swap Meet

Dec 20 Dec 22 Dec 25Dec 23 Dec 24Dec 21 Dec 26

Dec 27 Dec 29 Jan 1Dec 30 Dec 31Dec 28 Jan 2

Christmas

New Year’s Day

PRC Net 7:00 pm

NO PRC MEETING Kwanzaa Begins

TRW Swap Meet

Jan 3 Jan 5 Jan 8Jan 6 Jan 7Jan 4 Jan 9

Jan 10 Jan 12 Jan 15Jan 13 Jan 14Jan 11 Jan 16

Jan 17 Jan 19 Jan 22Jan 20 Jan 21Jan 18 Jan 23

Jan 24 Jan 26 Jan 29Jan 27 Jan 28Jan 25 Jan 30

PRC MEETING

Straight-Key Night

No Am QSO Party

Kid's Day

VHF Sweepstakes

There will be no club meeting in December. The Club Bulletin will not be mailed, but this one is available for downloading on the club’s website.

No December Meeting

7:00 PM @ Kaiser

The spread (already demolished)

The Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin - December 2009

Potluck Meal hosted by membersAnnouncementsMontrose Christmas Parade Needs Radio support on December 5Marie Callender’s Restaurant Gathering on December 4 at 7 PMNew Hams, Upgrade and Visitor announcementsPamela Royce and Tom Berne introduce our speaker.Bill Fletcher AA1OU and his enjoyable presentation about his boat The Meander. His talk "22,000 miles on the Water with Ham Radio" explained the workings of the craft and its voyages.Business Meeting:Election of 2010 OfficersThe floor opened for new nominations, nothing heard.This slate of officers is read to the membership.President: Fred Lopez KG6GTLVice-President: Phil Barnes-Roberts WA6DZSSecretary: Mary Bothwell AG6MBTreasurer: Tom Mikkelsen WA0PODMember at Large: Kate Hutton KD6HTNMember at Large: John Minger AC6VVMember at Large: Gene Roske AE6GRA show of hands by the membership elected the slate as listed.VP report: first speaker is from JPL Theo ten Brummelaar in January.Bruce Nolte thanks the members for contributing to the Toys for Tots drive.Treasurer report: "we are solvent". Mark Seigel suggests that members pay their 2010 dues by the end of this coming January.You can go to the club website for the membership form. Mark Seigel is putting together a group to build CW keyers and asks if others are interested in build these keyers. He will order the parts.Pamela Royce thanks the membership for support the Potluck meal and is thankful for the great speakers we had this year.Meeting ends at 9 PM

In attendance: Bruce Nolte, Tom Berne, Peter Fogg, Kate Hutton, Cynthia Berne, Mary Bothwell, Paul Gordon, Pamela Royce, Tom Mikkelsen, Phil Barnes-Roberts, Gene RoskeMeeting starts at: 7:35Tom thanks all of the new board members. Discussion about the needs of the club and the direction of the club in 2010. Minutes from the November meeting are approved by all. Treasurer: $4789. at the beginning of year with sixty members we currently have $4547. A loss of about 200 dollars. Currently mailing out 61 members. Bulletin: John Minger is not at the meeting but he is planning to be a short electronic only version for December. When are we going to have the next club contest? Discussion ensued.A discussion about doing more Mini Field Days ensued. A discussion about Public Relations ensued. Mary Bothwell offered to contact the Star News for more PR in 2010.A discussion about the By-Laws and the language of removal of officers and membership dues ensued. A discussion of the document "Policy, Procedures and Precedents - 1993" ensued and how it relates to the By-laws. Bruce Nolte suggests to make the club Trustee a voting member of the board. Tom Berne suggested that there is interest in having the Bulletin editor be a voting member of the board. A committee to review the By-laws is forming with Pamela Royce, Gene Roske, Tom Berne and Paul Gordon. Tom Berne discusses ARES and how the club could be involved. Discussion about the yearly tasks needed for the year ensued. A discussion about the operation of our P.O. box ensued. A discussion about the Newsline donation ensued. A discussion about becoming a not-for-profit corporation ensued. VP report: first speaker is from JPL Theo ten Brummelaar in January.A discussion about the "Tickler" document and club events during the year ensued. A discussion about the LA Council of Radio Club ensued. Meeting ended at 8:55 PM

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Pasadena Radio Club General Meeting Minutes - 11/24/2009

submitted by Secretary, Bruce Nolte, N1BN

Pasadena Radio Club Board Meeting Minutes - 12/08/2009

submitted by Secretary, Bruce Nolte, N1BN(Not yet approved by the board)