Meetings are held on the third Wednesday of the month at the Cardinal Spelman Center located on School Street, in Whitman next to Holy Ghost Parish. Members gather at 6:00 p.m. to socialize. The business meeting is conducted at 6:30 p.m. Talk in will be on 147.225 +

From the editor:

All items to be submitted for the Spectrum must be received by the editor by the 19th of the month for it to be included in the next issue, send all items 
                 to::
                 Jeff Tracy N1SOM
                 240 Washington St Apt 1
                 Norwood, MA. 02062-1548

I hope everybody had a good Christmas and New Years.
Watch out for next issue, that will have complete Plimouth Plantation coverage.
All interested persons are welcome to attend any meeting

 73’s Jeff N1SOM

WHITMAN AMATEUR RADIO CLUB

SECRETARY’S NOTES OF THE MEETING OF DECEMBER 7th, 1998

OPENING: The meeting was held at Quonset Hut on Pine Street in Whitman. Members started socialized outside before the meeting. Club Treasurer, Jeff N1SOM officially opened the meeting at 7:47 p.m.

ATTENDANCE: The total attendance was 13 and included 2 of the elected officers and 3 members of the Board of Directors.
 

Jeff Tracy	N1SOM		Charlet Sherman	N1VQZ
Bruce Beaman	K1HTN		Ed Meehan	N1NTZ
George Davis	KC1FZ		Roy Logan	KB1CYV
Jeff Lehmann	N1ZZN		Tom Lehmann	N1ZZM
Bill Tracy	N1SON		Bob Johnson	WA1OFR
Bruce Hayden	NI1X		John Coombs	WQ1L
Frank Hayes	N1OGP

TREASURERS REPORT:

Jeff N1SOM read the treasurer’s report for the month of November. The beginning balance as of Nov. 1^st was $xxx.xx, with income of $xxx.xx, expenses of $xxx.xx, leaving an ending balance of $xxx.xx as of Nov 30th. Ed N1NTZ made a motion to accept the treasurer’s report as read, Frank N1OGP and John WQ1L seconded the motion, and the motion was approved.

HEALTH AND WELFARE

Frank N1OGP filled the members in on Yancee N1MHY. Whenever he can, Yancee listens in on the Sunday morning nets. If you want to send him a card, you can address it to him at

New England Sinai Hospital Center
150 York Street, Stoughton, MA 02072

George KC1FZ reported on Joe N1FEE. He sounds good and is feeling better, and will be spending some time over the winter with his daughter down south. We miss him and wish him a healthy New Year.

OLD BUSINESS

Just a reminder that the WARC pocket calendars for 1999 are available at $3.50 each.

The Bruce NI1X reports that QSL cards are still coming in from field day, he had three with him tonight. Some of the mail is still going to Bruce and Fred, besides the club post office box.

NEW BUSINESS

The next meeting will be held at the Cardinal Spelling Center, at the church in Whitman, on Wednesday, December 16. The meeting will start at 6:30 p.m., and we must be out of the room promptly at 8:00 p.m.

FOXHUNT UPDATE

George KC1FZ and The Bruce NI1X were the foxes for last weekend’s foxhunt. They were hiding in the ball fields beside the Mayflower Burkland School complex in Middleboro Center. It took about 45 minutes for the first hunters to find him. Middleboro seems to be notorious for hunters because of the many hills in the town.

The fox in the box last Sunday was hidden deep in the leaves in a field at the Whitman Hanson High School, next to a chain link fence. It was a rainy day, and participants discussed how this was the longest and hardest search they had for something that was so close. Jeff N1ZZN was the first one to find the box.

PLIMOTH PLANTATION RESULTS

The club made approximately 350 total contacts during the special event held over Thanksgiving weekend. Saturday was a much busier day then Sunday was as far as people visiting the plantation.

SCUTTLEBUTT

John WQ1L reported that he and Gil WA1GDJ visited Paul N1VTI and checked out his completed fold over mast, with a dipole and 4-element 2-meter beam. John says that Paul did a great job and the mast and antennas work well.

George KC1FZ asked if any one had any information on the MARA packet station.

The Bruce NI1X made contact with Bill N1FRE last Thursday on 80 meters, 3.93 MHz. They also tried on 10 meters, which did not work.

Jeff N1ZZN reports that the Salem will be putting up a 6-meter repeater, probably in the spring. They will try to run a split antenna.

George KC1FZ had a Heathkit and received help from Bill W1ULJ over the air. At the foxhunt a few weeks ago, he met Bill for the first time, along with Bill W1IFX, who also turned out to be very helpful with information George needed for his radio. George was impressed on how they both went out of their way to help them, and that they were both such nice guys.

The club analyzer is currently on loan to Bob WA1OFR.

ADJOURNMENT:

Ed N1NTZ made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:17, Frank N1OGP seconded, the motion was approved and the meeting was adjourned.

WHITMAN AMATEUR RADIO CLUB, Inc.

SECRETARY’S NOTES OF THE MEETING OF DECEMBER 16th, 1998

OPENING: The meeting was held at the Cardinal Spellman Center in Whitman, Ma. Members started arriving at 6:30 p.m. Club Secretary, Charlet N1VQZ officially opened the meeting at 6:45 p.m.

ATTENDANCE: The total attendance was 8 and included 1 of the elected officers and 2 members of the Board of Directors.
 

Charlet Sherman	N1VQZ		Theodore Haskell	W1EID
George Davis	KC1FZ		Joe DiLoreto	N1FEE
Jeff Lehmann	N1ZZN		Tom Lehmann	N1ZZM
Bruce Hayden	NI1X		Bob Johnson	WA1OFR

 

TREASURERS REPORT:

There was no treasurer’s report read as the treasurer was not at the meeting.

HEALTH AND WELFARE

None.

NEW MEMBER

Tonight we had a guest, Ted W1EID. Ted was a member of one of Bob Schillinger’s class in Stoughton. He used to hold a Novice ticket in the 60’s, and just now got back into the hobby. Ted received his Tech license on December 9^th. The Bruce NI1X made a motion that we accept Ted as a new member, George KC1FZ seconded the motion, the motion was approved and Ted is our latest new member. Welcome.

OLD BUSINESS

George KC1FZ asked if anyone had any information about the MARA packet station. Discussion was held about the work that’s planned to be done to the MARA 440 equipment, and that the January MARA meeting will include a report on this by Jay N1FDX.

The WARC meetings are now on the winter schedule, which for this year will be the third Wednesday of each month at the Cardinal Spellman Center, starting at 6:30 p.m., and ending no later than 8:00 p.m.

NEW BUSINESS

Bob WA1OFR brought up that he has spoken with several members who would like to have access to equipment. Bob thought it would be a good idea to set up the club station at the Quonset Hut, using the G5RV and HW101 radio, and he volunteered to be one of the people to help the people run the radios. Discussion was tabled until a future meeting, due to the small member turnout at this meeting.

Discussion was held on the possibility of emailing the minutes of the meetings to members on line. This would require an email list of members. Charlet N1VQZ will send Jeff N1ZZN copies of the minutes he does not yet have posted on the WARC home page through the newsletters. The web page address is:

The Bruce NI1X made a motion that we give $25 to the church for use of the room, George KC1FZ seconded, and the motion passed.

FOR SALE
 

The Bruce NI1X announced that he has been contacted by Wally N1ATE of Attleboro who has some equipment for sale. There is a Rohn 25 tower, in 4 sections, 3 sections including the top are good, the fourth is cemented in the ground. He is asking $100. He also has a Wilson A3 tribander beam, 10/15/20 meters, for which he wants $75. If interested, you can contact Wally at 508-695-7265.

FOXHUNT UPDATE

George KC1FZ updated us on last Saturday’s Fox Hunt. The fox was hiding off West Meadow St in West Bridgewater. Some of the problems encountered were dirt roads, hunters in jeeps, and large puddles. Apparently John WQ1L took a spill and ended up rolling around in one of the puddles. Paul N1OTX was the first to find the fox. Later his son, Jason, found the fox while riding his bike and using a handheld. George noted that he found the fox before The Bruce NI1X.

Jeff N1ZZN filled us in on the Fox in the Box hunt this past Sunday. The box was hidden under the grandstand at the Brockton Fair Grounds. It was in a bag with just the antenna sticking out. Again, Paul N1OTX was the first to find the box.

SCUTTLEBUTT

Tom N1ZZM reports that he is studying towards upgrading as his time permits.

Jeff N1ZZN worked the 10 meter contest last weekend and made about 130 contacts. Most of his contacts were from California, Texas, and Colorado.

Bob WA1OFR has been working meteor showers scatter. He also worked the 10-meter contest, and felt it was the best he’s worked in a long time. The bands were in good shape, he made approximately 19,000 points, and worked most of the states west of the Mississippi. He is also building a 10 meter colinear beam.

Joe N1FEE is studying code, and asked what methods others used to learn. He is going south to visit his daughter over the holidays, and will bring back the equipment that the movers took down there by mistake.

George KC1FZ modified a 5 element beam by removing the reflector and deflector, and is using that successfully for foxhunting. George also reports that he has won the battle with the town over the tree he uses for his antenna. The town has finished installing the fence, and it goes around the infamous tree.

George KC1FZ is running a Heathkit 2036A that his brother had assembled. It is a bit off frequency, doesn’t scan, but is putting out 10 watts, and he has received good on air reports.

Ted W1EID is looking for the Radio Shack 2 meter that has been on special lately, and has one fellow from a local store contacting all the Radio Shacks to find one for him, since all the local stores only have ones with missing parts.

ADJOURNMENT:

Bob WA1OFR made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:35 p.m., Joe N1FEE seconded, the motion was approved and the meeting was adjourned.

80-foot aluminum tower, 8 10-foot sections $200.00 or BO. Radio Shack HTX2 meter mobile transceiver $150.00. Contact Charlet N1VQZ 508-947-2176.

Also there is a Hummerland receiver that Bob WA1OFR has and wants to sell on the Internet. No word yet if it has been sold or offers made yet.

The VHF/UHF Spring Sprints--- traditionally held during April and May have been dropped from the ARRL contest schedule. ARRL Contest Branch manager Dan Henderson, N1HD, cites a lack of participation for the change. "Participation in the VHF/UHF Spring Sprints has never reached the level of a healthy national event," he said. "In 1998 only 200 individuals submitted logs spread across the seven frequency bands covered by the Sprints." Henderson said budgetary constraints were another factor. "With the soaring costs and limited space available in QST and NCJ, the 1998 Sprint results were moved and made available to all on ARRLWeb," " Henderson said. "We hate to drop the contest and would be willing to work with another group who would like to pick up sponsorship and running the sprints." But he said the league could not justify a decision to continue to devote staff time to a small event when it sponsors several other more significant VHF/UHF events.

Many VHF/UHF events remain on the ARRL Contest schedule. These include the January VHF Sweepstakes, the June VHF QSO party, the August UHF Contest, and the September VHF QSO Party, plus two 10 GHz And Up weekends in August and September and the popular EME contest weekends each fall. Also, Field Day offers opportunities for VHF/UHF participation, Henderson pointed out. For more information contact, Dan Henderson, N1ND, ARRL, 225 Main Street, Newington, CT. 06111; telephone 860-594-0232; e-mail n1nd@arrl.org.

---ARRL

The FCC in Gettysburg is working its way through the last of the 1998 vanity applications. The FCC reported January 8 that it had processed applications received through December 18. In the latest processing run, it granted 210 applications and shunted another 205 into the work – in – progress or WIPs stack. The FCC says it received 1465 vanity applications during December.

--FCC

Bob Martin, KC5LHL, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, will sit out an around – the – world balloon attempt that he was instrumental in planning. Martin, a TV science reporter and helicopter pilot, said this week that he will stay behind when the Team ReMax balloon leaves Earth. The team had planned to make some use of Amateur Radio during its effort to circle the planet. Unlike previous attempts the Team ReMax balloon will travel near the outer edges of the earth’s atmosphere at an altitude of approximately 24 miles. Martin told reporters that he originally felt the team could fly the mission safely with three people aboard. However, it was later determined that the balloon will need to carry additional ballast aboard to safely reach its cruising altitude, so one of the three crew members had to remain behind. Martin, who has worked on the project for more that a decade, elected to be the one. Weather and technical problems have delayed the launch from Australia. Still planning to make the attempt are Denver real estate developer Dave Liniger and Australian co – pilot John Wallington. The team has until approximately January 20^th to take advantage of the right wind patterns. The voyagers will ride in a pressurized capsule suspended beneath the huge balloon. The crew is equipped with spacesuits from Russia. The trip is expected to up to tree weeks. For more information on the flight, see http://www.remax.com.

--- ARRL

ARRL members soon will be able to announce their ARRL membership through their e – mail address. Starting February 1, 1999, a new membership service will be available for those wishing to have an ARRL e – mail address, and you won’t have to switch e – mail services to do it. Not only that, but it will be free – of – charge to League members! The new, personalized League e – mail address will consist of the member’s call sign @arrl.net. Electronic mail sent to the address automatically will be forwarded to any e – mail account you chose. As long as you remain an ARRL member, you’ll never have to notify people of address change – even if you change Internet service providers. As soon as the service becomes available, members will be able to sign up quickly and easily through the ARRL Members Only Web Site. If you are not already registered for the Members Only Web Site, you can do so at http://www.arrl.org/members/.

--- ARRL

Elecraft has announced that it will start taking orders for its K2 HF transceiver kit starting January 25^th. The K2 debuted at the 1998 Dayton Hamvention to the delight of many in the QRP community. Elecraft says it will post an order form on its Web page (http://www.elecraft.com) that buyers can either mail or fax. Customers on our Priority List will receive product first, followed by new orders, Elecraft said. Two factory- assembled " beta" units have been circulating among hams to smooth out any wrinkles. Another 100 K2 kits were to go out to field testers last year. The Elecraft K2 transceiver is expected to sell for $549.00 for the basic CW unit. Adding SSB capability will cost another $79.00.

--- ARRL

Ham radio numbers may be off, but DX QSLs are up, probably due to improved propagation. The QSL Service reports it handled 1,596,740 QSLs during 1988, including cards to incoming US bureaus. This is a 15% increase (218,500 cards) from the 1997 total.

--- ARRL

Ron N1PXX has been off the air lately due to a small accident. We hope Ron is doing better and wish him a speedy recovery, and back on the air and attending the meetings.

  HAM TEST, 1998 (courtesy from Wavelength June 1998 Genesis Club)

In the last several years, a number of "adjustments" have been made to the testing requirements. If this trend continues, there will be a radically different test at the end of the century. This is intended to help you prepare for this test.

1. Enter your name here: ________________________________

scoring +5 points for each correct letter, -2 for each wrong letter.

2. If someone says something on the air that offends you, the correct response for you is:

1. Hunt him down and hurt him.
2. Overpower him with your mobile, 1500 Watt, 2 meter linear.
3. Throw him out of your radio club.
4. Wait a little while so on – one will suspect you of getting even.

3. What is the length of a half –wave dipole for 21.150 MHz?

1. Who cares, I’ve got a tuner.
2. Who cares, I’m only getting my license for the VHF/UHF privileges.
3. Who cares, I’ll buy a dipole if a need one.
4. Approximately 22 feet.

4. What does the term "MAYDAY" signify?

1. It’s time to celebrate the Russian New Year.
2. It’s a new candy bar by Hershey’s
3. It is to be used for emergencies only
4. It is a convenient way to get noticed on the repeater.

5. What do the prosigns AR, KN, and BT have in common?

1. You’ve got to be kidding
2. They are all initials of former L.A. Lakergirls
3. They have something to do with Morse Code
4. Put them all together and they spell ARKNBT

Final scoring:

Question 1 total---------------------(unlimited points)

Question 2 total----------------------- (+25 maximum)

Question 3 total----------------------- (+10 maximum)

Question 4 total----------------------- (+10 maximum)

Question 5 total----------------------- (+25 maximum)

Bonus for finding the test session……(+50 points) 

Minimum necessary to pass = 70 points

Note: Any extra points may be given to someone who couldn’t pass. After all, we’re looking to improve the average.