DOWNEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB

D OWNEY AMATEUR RAD IO C LUB Q5 V O L U ME X X X V # 2 FEBRUARY 2015 SERVING DOWNEY AND THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES SINCE 1951 February Guest Speak...
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D OWNEY AMATEUR RAD IO C LUB

Q5

V O L U ME X X X V # 2 FEBRUARY 2015 SERVING DOWNEY AND THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES SINCE 1951

February Guest Speaker, Bill Scholz, W1HIJ

Our February guest speaker will be Bill Scholz, W1HIJ. He has worked at HRO Anaheim for the past several years. Bill holds an Extra Class license and was licensed originally in 1954 as WN1HIJ in Providence, Rhode Island. The topic of his talk is "Maritime Communications --the original World Wide Web". Off the air between about 1972 and 1996 he retook exams in 1996 and became AC6UH. He retrieved his original callsign and became (again!) W1HIJ. His activity is almost entirely on CW with some contesting efforts from various stations, including K6CBS at CBS Television City in LA, and as an operator at KG6OK as well as W6EMC. Noncontest activity is usually centered on 40 Meters CW in the early mornings. He's also participated in several "multi-multi" teams as well as having managed a significant contest station (W6EMC) in Riverside. On the other radio fronts, Bill is active in the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, manages an HF net that covers all the western states plus Hawaii and Alaska for the CG, and does a lot of "digital" HF radio including HF "Automatic Link Establishment" Over the years since 2000 he has been an operator with the Pina Colada Contest Club at NP4A, CO0US, and KP2AA, all in the Caribbean. KP2AA holds the Field Day Record for Class 4A BAT (QRP). He was on the air as FO0SCH from Bora Bora between about 30 October 2000 and 8 November 2000. He also holds a FCC 2nd Class Radiotelegraph Operator's License.

DARC 2015 Public Service Events

Event

Date

Lead

ARC Walk

03.21.15

Norwood

Downey Street Faire

04.11.15

Savage

Q5 THE DOWNEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB, INC. P.O. Box 207 Downey, CA 90241

PAGE 2

Editor John Powell, KF6EOJ [email protected] Phone: (562) 862-4608 Alt Phone: (562) 985-8610

http://darcarc.wordpress.com/

Affiliations: Affiliated ARRL Club Los Angeles Area Council of Amateur Radio Clubs Orange County Council of Amateur Radio Organizations Club Frequencies: Simplex: 145.595 MHz* 440 Repeater #1: 445.640 (-) PL 156.7 Hz* 440 Repeater #2: 445.640 (-) PL 88.5 Hz * See Calendar for Net Schedule

Q5, as in: a signal that is perfectly readable, hence the name of our newsletter. We hope you agree.

Club Officers

Q5 Staff

Assistant Editor Rick Norwood, KD6KHJ Phone: (562) 865-5750 [email protected] Associate Editors John Schroeder, N6QQ Jon Olesen,KD6HXP Steve Hartranft, KI6SUF Electronic Publishing Rick Norwood,KD6KHJ Phone: (562) 865-5750 [email protected]

Permission to copy material from the Q5 is granted provided that credit is given to the “DARC Q5”.

Looking for an Elmer? Here are a few resources that can get you going:

President Dave Glenn, N6TEB Phone: (562) 928-8560 [email protected] First Vice President Ron Eveland, W6QM Phone: (562) 860-3623 [email protected] VP Service Rick Norwood, KD6KHJ Phone: (562) 865-5750 [email protected] VP Membership James Nielsen, KJ6WZW Phone: [email protected] VP Programs Kent Savage, K6WCI Phone: (562) 716-6070 [email protected] VP Ways and Means Steve Hartranft, KI6SUF Phone: (562) 923-0070 [email protected] Secretary Bill Heather, KB6WKT Phone: (562) 863-6607 [email protected] Treasurer Frank Myllo, KC6YPV Phone: (562) 860-4045 [email protected]

Bill Heather, KB6WKT, 562 863-6607 [email protected], Helping Hams, Contesting Ivan Mikulich, KB6ATT, 562 862-4592 [email protected], Helping Hams, Field Trips

Director (One Year) Buck Kerns, AE6DT Phone: (562) 634-8441 [email protected]

Glenn Allen, KE6HPZ, 562 928-2080 [email protected], Microwave Harold ‘Buck’ Kerns, AE6DT, 562 634-8441 [email protected], Public Service John Schroeder, N6QQ, 562 404-1112 [email protected], Contesting, DXing, DXCC and WAS Card Checker, QSL cards for CQ WAZ and WPX awards.

Director (Two Years) Paul Metzger, K6EH Phone: (562) 900-2217 [email protected] Trustee, W6TOI Bill Heather, KB6WKT Phone: (562) 863-6607 [email protected]

When and where we meet: We normally meet the first Thursday of each month at 1930 hrs in room 120 of the First Baptist Church in Downey. The church is between 2nd and 3rd streets, near City Hall, address is 8348 E. 3rd St. Use 2nd St, east from Downey Ave (1 block north of Firestone Bl), adjacent to City Hall. Entrance via double glass doors on the north side of 2nd St.

Swap Meet Information: CHHS Electronics Swap Meet

W6TRW Swap Meet

Chino Hills High School

Northrop Grumman Parking Lot

16150 Pomona Rincon Rd

Corner of Marine and Aviation

Chino Hills, CA

Manhattan Beach, CA

Held the third Saturday of each month, 06:30 to 11:30 AM

Held the last Saturday of each month, 07:00 to 11:30 AM

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President’s Message, February 2015

Already February! This year is off to a fast start. Seems we just put away the Christmas stuff and celebrated the New Year. Club wise we are pretty quiet on the public service front yet there is plenty going on. Example; Paul, K6EH has been doing a great job working with the various city agencies to make sure all our equipment is well documented and we have a cohesive plan for communication should the need arise. He has been working with Arlene, KE6GFI and James, KJ6WZW attending the Cert and CPT meetings. Together they have put together a questionnaire asking new CERT members if they need any help acclimating to Ham Radio. Classes are being planned to assist with everything from operating skills to radio maintenance and programming. I am running a small license class for a half dozen people that assist Kent, K6WCI and my stages at Baker to Vegas. Speaking of licensing, California recently broke the 100,000 licensed amateurs mark. Many of these newly minted hams came to the hobby via the emergency service route such as Cert. It seems a natural path to introduce these hams to the Disaster Communication Service “DCS” or the Amateur Radio Emergency Service “ARES”. Other new hams came via the “Maker” movement, where ham radio is just one part of their experimental hobby. The options are almost limitless, from bouncing signals off the moon to seeing how far you can get a signal to go using the least amount of power, talking on your radio through an internet link to another country, contesting, public service, Amateur TV, Amateur Satellites, APRS, Digital modes, T hunting or just chatting with friends on the way to work. Our hobby has lots to offer. Our club is doing very well. It is because we have a great group of people who care about others and their community. This last year we added some new members to our roster, welcome. I want to encourage everyone to greet those newbies on the air. Many will make some mistakes, we all did at one time. I remember how nervous I was when I checked into the DARC net for the first time. I was working as a dispatcher at the time and used 10 codes instead of Q signals. I was quickly informed that’s not the way Ham’s do it. After I got over my initial embarrassment I continued to check into the net and started coming to meetings. So if someone corrects you, remember, this is a hobby, we are supposed to have fun. None of us were born with a complete set of operating protocols in our head, we learned them. If you find yourself correcting someone’s operating skills, do so with kindness and humility. You may make a new friend. Remember, our repeaters are open to anyone, so if you hear someone tossing out a call sign welcome them and invite them to our nets and meetings. I recently heard KD8LEV on our repeater early one morning and met who Marco lives in the South Bay and commutes to Kaiser Downey for work. We have now had a couple of nice chats while commuting. There are lots of interesting people out there, lets make sure we welcome them into our group. 73, Till next month. Dave N6TEB

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January Board Minutes

[Note: the board meeting took place before the general meeting –ed] Kent called the meeting to order at 1903 Officers’ Reports President- Dave Glen (absent) VP – Ron (absent) Finance - Frank Myllo (defer to agenda) Service - Rick Norwood (defer to planning calendar) Ways and Means – Steve Hartranft: he will not accept any wearables orders without payment up front. Secretary – Bill Heather (absent see below) Director 2 years – Paul Metzger (defer to agenda) Director 1 year Buck Kerns (absent) Membership - James Nielsen: reported he has not been able to send newsletters out to newly licensed hams because of his inability to access the ARRL database. Kent will have Dave Glenn assist him in accessing the database Programs –Kent Savage (defer to agenda) Topics: Bill Heather: is recovering at Southland. Kent reported Bill is out of the hospital and in rehab. He could be out of service for up to three months. Rose Float Return: Kent reported all went well except for a detour down a small side street. Christmas Parade: review and changes for next time, Kent reported there will be no TV coverage next year and Maria Larkin , parade chair, is retiring after 17 years. Hamcon, Update: Need to cover Bill at the meetings. Need to find out the dates first, Kent will follow up. Appoint Budget Audit committee: a committee of Kent Savage, James Neilsen and Paul Metzger was appointed and will meet on Tuesday January 13th at Coco’s License Classes: James reported there are several open dates, nothing firmed up. Paul Metzger mentioned that an effort should be made to recruit CERT members to attend the classes. Paul questioned James on class format and materials. James stated he had nothing formal set up. Rick Norwood suggested that ARRL Power Points and class materials be used. Kent will look into that. Guest Speaker January: Kent reported that Scott Bovitz will have a presentation on T-Hunting. February speaker will be Bill from HRO. In March Gene, WB9COY, from the Qualcomm Club, will talk about digital radio. Hospital Repeater Status: Ken reported the roof is still being worked on and it could be March before it is ready. Planning Calendar: Rick reported the ARC walk is on March 21 st and the Street Faire will be held on April 11th. Continuity Yearly calendar: the proposed lighthouse tour in February is on hold until Bill Heather is up to it. Kent and Paul spoke with Andrew Steven, Downey Emergency Manager. He would like to see a relationship between DARC and CERT Develop. Meeting adjourned at 1940 Respectfully submitted by Rick Norwood, KD6KHJ.

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Float Escort Photos Each year DARC provides communication escort for the Downey Rose Float Association and its float. The float is escorted from the viewing area in Pasadena to the Embassy Suites Hotel in Downey for viewing by the public. It’s a long late night process for these volunteers.

Larry Cude, KE6EOL and Glenn, KE6HPZ

Kent Savage, K6WCI and Dave Glenn, N6TEB

The float passes by...

Escort crew follows

Photos by Ray Olesen, AD6AF

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PAGE 6 Treasurer’s Report—Income

2014 - 2015

Dec 14 YEAR-TO-DATE ANNUAL (OVER)/UNDER ACTUAL ACTUAL BUDGET BUDGET

INCOME Club Merchandise Dues Luncheon Misc.Income Fund Raisers Total Income

$0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

$0.00 $130.00 $675.00 $20.00 $0.00 $825.00

$0.00

$0.00 ($130.00) ($675.00) ($20.00) $0.00 ($825.00)

Treasurer’s Report— Expense

2015

EXPENDITURES Repeater Club Merchandise Correspondence Printing Supplies Postage Committees Award Education/Awareness Membership Publicity & Public Relations Sunshine Equipment/Maintenance Events Christmas Party Field Day Luncheon Fund Raisers Other Events Insurance Misc. Expenses Officers' Expenses Board Members Treasurer Other Organizations Dues P.O. Box Rental Refreshments, Meetings Total Expenditures

Dec 14 ACTUAL

YTD ANNUAL ACTUAL BUDGET

(OVER)/ UNDER BUDGET

$67.68 $354.68 $0.00

$422.36 $0.00

$67.68 $0.00

$0.00 $0.00 $31.88

$0.00 $0.00 $31.88

$0.00 $0.00 $0.00

$31.88 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

$31.88 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

$0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

$0.00 $0.00 $825.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

$0.00 $0.00 $825.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

$0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

$0.00 $0.00

$0.00 $0.00

$0.00 $0.00

$0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $67.68 $1,243.44 $1,311.12

$0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $67.68

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PAGE 7 Treasurer’s Report— Summary TREASURER'S REPORT Dec-14 SUMMARY CHECKING-CHASE BALANCE AS OF Nov 30, 2013 INCOME EXPENDITURES Raffle (Month) Raffle (Total Holdings) Brunch (Month) Brunch (Total Holdings) CHECKING-CHASE BALANCE AS OF Dec 31, 2013

$5,085.03 $0.00 $67.68 $0.00 $0.00 $5,017.35

John Johnson, W6NH Robert Wartenbe, WB6GJW

February Birthdays Bill Heather, KB6WKT, 7th Frank Tillmann, KN6LM, 7th Robert Wartenbe, WB6GJW, 20th Lloyd Hendrickson, K6NQY, 23rd Steve Hartranft, KI6SUF, 25th John Kountz, W01S, 28th

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Q5

PAGE 10 February 2015 DX By Mike Gauthier, K6ICS

1-14-2015

February Propagation Outlook It’s mid-winter. That means great nighttime DX contitions on 160 to 30 meters. Daytime operating conditions will remain about the same as last month. 20-15 meters, should have openings with strong signals. 10-12 meters will be open for a few hours after sunrise and for a few hours before sunset. Look for weak CB signals to indicate band openings. Also listen to the beacons (28.1-28.3MHz, mainly) for openings. If a band sounds dead, call CQ. You may find the band open, but no one is transmitting. Monitor the DX spotting services, such as DX Summit http://www.dxsummit.fi/DxSpots.aspx for current band conditions and what DX is currently on the air and where to find them. February DX "New DXer's Handbook." Four years ago K7UA, Bryce Anderson, wrote a series of short articles for his local DX club called the "New DXer's Handbook." The revised second edition is now available, "still free of charge" as a "gift to the world's new DXers", on Bryce's web site at www.k7ua.com. ANTARCTICA. I1HYW, Gianni, has compiled a list of the hams currently active from Antarctica. CE9OJZ D8A DP1POL IA/IZ2QEJ KC4AAA KC4USV & W2NAF/KC4 RA3ARY RI1ANC RI1ANP RI1ANR RI1ANT RI1ANZ RI59ANT VP8ROT 8J1RL

T.te Marsh Chilean AFB Jang Bogo Station Neumayer III Station Concordia Station Amundsen-Scott New South Pole Stn. McMurdo Station Mt. Vinson Camp Vostok Progress Novo Runway Mirny Base Progress Base, Bellingshausen Rothera (Two operators) Syowa Base

CZECH REPUBLIC, OL750CB. Special event station OL750CB is operating to celebrate the 750th anniversary of the city of Ceske Budjovice. QSL via bureau. HAITI, HH5/KC0W. Tom, KC0W will be on the air as HH5/KC0W until February 3. Activity is on 160, 80 and 40 meters using CW. QSL direct to home call. JAPAN, 8N3HC and 8N3HC/3. The Himeji Amateur Radio Club has established special event station 8N3HC to promote the Grand re-opening of the World Cultural Heritage "Himeji Castle". Both 8N3HC and 8N3HC/3 will be operating from March 1 to May 31, 2015. Activity will be on CW, SSB and the digital modes on 160 meters through 23 centimeters. Look for this special event station to be active in both the CQ WPX SSB and CW Contests. QSLs will be sent to all via the bureau. JAPAN, 8N8SSF. Special event station 8N8SSF will be on the air until February 11 during the 66th Sapporo Snow Festival. QSL via the bureau. SENEGAL, 6W7SK. Francis, F6BLP will be operating as 6W7SK from Saly Partudal until February 5. Activity will be on 160 to 10 meters using mainly CW and RTTY. QSL to home call. Con’t next page

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SPRATLY ISLANDS, DX0P. "All Systems Go" for the upcoming 6 day DXpedition to the Spratly Islands in mid-April, says DU1JP/WJ1P, Joel. DX0P will be operating from the disputed islands, which count as a separate DXCC Entity. Activity is planned for SSB, CW, RTTY and JT65 on 1.8 through 28 MHz. https://www.facebook.com/DX0P2015 TRISTAN de CUNHA AND GOUGH ISLANDS, ZD9A. David, ZS1BCE is operating as ZD9A while working as a radio technician on Gough Island, IOTA AF-030, until September. Activity is in his spare time on the HF bands using SSB and digital modes. QSL via ZS1LS. TURKEY, TC100GLB. Special event station TC100GLB is on the air until April 30 to commemorate the Battle of Gallipoli 100 years ago. Activity is on the HF bands using SSB, RTTY and PSK. QSL via TA1CM. WEST MALAYSIA, 9M2MRS. Rich, PA0RRS, is operating as 9M2MRS from Penang, IOTA AS-015, until February 4. Activity is on 30 to 10 meters using CW, RTTY and PSK. QSL to home call. DARC Member DXCC Count N6QQ - 350 Mixed, 336 SSB, 313 CW, 252 RTTY, 8-Band DXCC, 6-Band WAS, 5-Band WAZ, 3052 WPX. K6ICS – 325 Mixed, 302 Phone (AM & SSB), 166 Mixed on 40 Meters. KB6ATT - 305 Mixed, 60 CW. K6TV - 257 Mixed, 240 SSB, 126 QRP, 151 CW, 30 RTTY. W6TOI - 215 Mixed, 145 Phone, 104 CW, 100 RTTY. WA6OUD - 161 Mixed, 131 Phone on 10 Meters. KJ6YQV - 150 Mixed, 145 Mixed on 10 Meters. W3OB - 150 Mixed. AE6XC – 108 Phone. K6EH - 57 on 30 Meters CW. I am interested in receiving DX reports for this column, one contact or many. e-mail: [email protected] Ham Ad, Gear for Sale

A couple of assembled (and tested) Ten-Tec “T-Kits”. The 1253, a 9 Band “Short Wave” suger-regen receiver. This kit receiver is about 6” on a side, runs on internal batteries or external 12V supply. Has screw terminals for a wire antenna, or adapt it for PL-259 use. Original cost nearly $100, selling for $40. The 1209, a 2 meter to 6 meter all mode Transverter (5W in, 8W out). Use with your 5W HT, or 2M all mode rig “dialed down” to 5W, for 8W out on 6 meters. This is a relatively inexpensive way to get on the “Magic Band” if you don’t have 6 meter gear. It comes with a long red/black fused pigtail power cord. PL-259 in/out connectors. No tuning, one on/off switch. Original cost nearly $160, selling for $40. Both units come with the original manuals of course. Both are clean and in “near new” condition. Contact John Powell, KF6EOJ at 562-862-4608 or [email protected] for details.

MON

2

9

16

23

SUN

1

8

15

22 DARC 440 Net 1900 hrs Club Repeater 445.640, pl 156.7 Control Op: AD6AF

24

DARC 440 Net 1900 hrs Club Repeater 445.640, pl 156.7 Control Op: N6TEB

17

DARC 440 Net 1900 hrs Club Repeater 445.640, pl 156.7 Control Op: K6EH Board Meeting

10

DARC 440 Net 1900 hrs Club Repeater 445.640, pl 156.7 Control Op: WB6JDH

3

TUE

25

18

11

4

WED

DARC 2 meter net 1915 hrs Club simplex 145.595 Control Op: KI6SUF

26

DARC 2 meter net 1915 hrs Club simplex 145.595 Control Op: K1SL

19

DARC 2 meter net 1915 hrs Club simplex 145.595 Control Op: AD6AF

12

Club Meeting 19:30 hrs, First Baptist Church, Downey

5

THU

27

20

13

6

FRI

DARC Calendar of Events February 2015

DARC Club Breakfast, 0630 hrs, Coco’s TRW Swapmeet See page 2

28

DARC Club Breakfast, 0630 hrs, Coco’s

21

CHHS Swapmeet See page 2

DARC Club Breakfast, 0630 hrs, Coco’s

14

DARC Club Breakfast, 0630 hrs, Coco’s

7

SAT Q5 PAGE 11

PLACE POSTAGE STAMP HERE

Downey Amateur Radio Club PO Box 207 Downey, CA 90240

SERVING DOWNEY AND THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES SINCE 1951

PLACE MAILING LABEL HERE darcarc.wordpress.com

VE Exams The Downey Amateur Radio Club provides VE examinations for all classes of Amateur Radio licenses on the third Saturday of each evennumbered month. Exams are held at the Downey Fire Department Headquarters EOC rear building, 12222 Paramount Boulevard, beginning at 08:30 AM.

DARC INFORMATION DARC Annual Membership Single: $20 Associate: $10 Maximum for Family: $35 Make checks payable to “DARC”, Send to: DARC Membership PO Box 207

The upcoming dates are:

Downey, CA 90240

February 21, April 18 Contact Steve or Ginny Grudzinski 951674-4699 prior to the session. The ARRL/VEC test fee is $15.00 for all tests which goes to the ARRL to cover their expenses in providing the tests and handling the applications. After the test session please wait 10 days before contacting the ARRL at (860) 5940300 or http://www.qrz.com/callsign for new license information. Please do not call the FCC directly.

Ever want to be a writer? Do you have an idea for an article for the Q5? Remember, this is OUR newsletter, about OUR hobby. Please submit articles to: John Powell, KF6EOJ, [email protected]

I

DARC

Saturday Breakfast Location 7900 Florence Ave. Downey, CA