SECRETARY’S NOTES OF THE MEETING OF NOVEMBER 2nd, 1998

OPENING: The meeting was held at Quonset Hut on Pine Street in Whitman. Members started socialized outside before the meeting. Club Vice President, Chris N1WWI officially opened the meeting at 7:40 p.m.

ATTENDANCE: The total attendance was 20 and included 3 of the elected officers, 3 members of the Board of Directors, and several guests.
 

Chris Tilden	N1WWI		Charlet Sherman	N1VQZ
Jeff Tracy	N1SOM		Keith Lehmann	SWL
Tom Lehmann	N1ZZM		Roy Logan	KB1CYV
Bob Schillinger	KA1PGU		George Davis	KC1FZ
Bob Johnson	WA1OFR		John Coomb	WQ1L
Loren Pimentel	N1IQI		Jeff Lehmann	N1ZZN
Bill Tracy	N1SON		Ed Meehan	N1NTZ
Joe Rozecki	KB1DIO		Pete Rozecki	KB1DIN
Jonathan Rozecki	KB1DGK		Jim Wolf	N1OIU
Bruce Hayden	NI1X		Sarah	SWL

 

TREASURERS REPORT:

Jeff N1SOM read the treasurer’s report for the month of October. The beginning balance as of Oct. 1^st was $XX.XX, with income of $XX.XX, expenses of $XX.XX, leaving an ending balance of $XXX.XX as of Oct. 31^st. Ed N1NTZ made a motion to accept the treasurer’s report as read, Bob WA1OFR seconded the motion, and the motion was approved.

HEALTH AND WELFARE

Joe N1FEE is still out of commission with his illness. Discussion was held on wanting to hear him on the air again, and having several members help to get his station set up.

Jim N1OIU heard through Frank N1OGP that Yancee is doing well, he is recovering from his operation and has returned home.

John WQ1L’s eye operation was a success, his site is very much improved. He reports that the scariest part was seeing himself in the mirror after the surgery.

The Bruce NI1X saw Alton Caldwell, K1MNO recently and reported that he is doing well, and operating on 10 meters.

OLD BUSINESS

Plimoth Plantation plans are going along well. Chris N1WWI and Jim WB2QVA tested out Jim’s Force 12 beam with a portable military mast last weekend, and will be bringing it to the special event station. Discussion was held on stations, who is bringing what, and antenna setup. Antenna setup will be Friday the 27^th, and usually starts around 10:00 am. It was suggested that you dress warmly. Any ham can get in free that weekend to operate, carrying a radio or wearing something with a call sign on it.

It was reported that Bill N1FRE has contacted the backup meeting places for the winter meetings. No schedule is set as of yet, there is a new contact he is dealing with at Heights Crossing, and he is also working on the church as a backup.

NEW BUSINESS

Chris N1WWI passed out handouts from the ARRL web page on the Amateur Radio Satellite from the Discovery, and Shuttle Chatter.

The Bruce NI1X passed around the most recent copy of the Skywarn newsletter, and reviewed again how others can get on the mailing list (see last meetings minutes for details).

FOXHUNT UPDATE

Last week, Gil WA1GDJ, Jeff N1ZZN, and Loren, N1IQI went to the Falmouth club and gave a foxhunting presentation. There were over 50 people at the meeting, and they seemed very interested. There was talk of possibly a combined hunt with them, either locally or on the Cape.

John WQ1L’s antenna number 5 showed up on the last foxhunt. It is reported to be small, compact, and very effective.

SCUTTLEBUTT

Ed N1NTZ had his 2 meter radio, and his 701 power switch repaired by Lou K1RAK, and reported on how satisfied he was with the results. For those interested, it’s Louis Savoie, L & D Electronics Co., Holbrook, 781-767-1638. Many members have used him in the past and have been happy with his work.

The Bruce NI1X, had to use the Yaesu tech support line again, and was again pleased with their tech staff. They walked him through resetting the internal computer, and Bruce had to reset all his memory settings. A discussion was held on how helpful it would be to write down your memorized frequencies, just in case you do need to reset them.

The Bruce NI1X also reported on the weather station on Blue Hills taking over for the South Weymouth reporting station. Blue Hills gives out the wind speed and direction.

Bob KA1PGU gave an update on the current class, 3 of the attendees are already licensed (and present at today’s meeting). The after class VE exam is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec 8^th at the Stoughton High School.

Bob KA1PGU recently worked 10 meters with a guy he used to work with 30 years ago in the shipyard.

Bill’s N1FRE updated tentative schedule for weeknight contact is 8:00 on 80 meters (3.930), 10 minutes later on 10 meters voice (28.350) then if nothing there, 10 meters cw (28.140).

George KC1FZ mentioned that during last week’s Skywarn net a participant was discussing the proposed changes to code testing, and that it included no multiple choice, all fill in the blank and/or 1 minute solid copy.

John WQ1L plans on making a 2 element quad for 6 meters following the same design he used for the foxhunting antennas.

Ed N1NTZ reports that he gets his arrow notches that he uses on his foxhunting antennas from Nichols Archery, on West Street in Bridgewater. Their store is located in the back of the building.

ADJOURNMENT:

Ed N1NTZ made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:25, Tom N1ZZM seconded, the motion was approved and the meeting was adjourned

WHITMAN AMATEUR RADIO CLUB, INC.

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

OPENING: The meeting was held at Quonset Hut on Pine Street in Whitman. Members started socialized outside before the meeting. Club Vice President, Chris N1WWI officially opened the meeting at 7:34 p.m.

ATTENDANCE: The total attendance was 18 and included 3 of the elected officers and 3 members of the Board of Directors.
 

Chris Tilden	N1WWI		Charlet Sherman	N1VQZ
Bruce Beaman	K1HTN		Jeff Tracy	N1SOM
Walter Dolson	K1BZD		Ed McSweeney	KB1CYX
Jim Gilbert	W5IRW		George Davis	KC1FZ
George Kelly	N1ZZO		Jeff Lehmann	N1ZZN
Gil Follett	WA1GDJ		Bob Johnson	WA1OFR
Roy Logan	KB1CYV		Bruce Hayden	NI1X
Keith Lehmann	SWL		Tom Lehmann	N1ZZM
Bill Tracy	N1SON		John Coombs	WQ1L

TREASURERS REPORT:

Jeff N1SOM read the treasurer’s report for the first part of November. The beginning balance as of Nov. 1^st was $XXX.XX, with income of $XX.XX, expenses of $XX.XX, leaving an ending balance of $XXX.XX as of Nov 16th. Jim W5IRW made a motion to accept the treasurer’s report as read, Walt K1BZD and John WQ1L seconded the motion, and the motion was approved.

CORRECTION

A correction was made to the minutes of the last meeting which were handed out. Under Health and Welfare, Alton Caldwell’s call is K1MNO.

HEALTH AND WELFARE

George KC1FZ reports that he spoke to Joe N1FEE, and Joe sounded stronger. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him soon.

OLD BUSINESS

Plimoth Plantation Update. We are all set on stations, HF, 2 meter, and R5 Vertical will be in the Main building. A HF rig will be at the library with the Force 12 Antenna. There may be a second station here also using a Barker Williams antenna. There will also be the usual stations set up in the third building. Friday morning at 10:00 am, the antenna party will meet in the lower parking lot and set up the antennas. Chris N1WWI will bring a bow and arrow, Ed N1NTZ will have his slingshot. Anyone with extra headphones is asked to bring them along, great for those who wish to listen in or log.

George KC1FZ reported that the Barker Williams will be brought by Don Keene KA1PJX, a member of the club who due to his community service activities is usually too busy to attend meetings.

A write up on the event was seen in the last two issues of World Radio magazine, and also in QST. Some of the ads had the wrong zip code.

The Bruce NI1X reported that he had recently received QSL cards from last years Plimoth Plantation event, which he passed around at the meeting. The club currently has plenty of money on account at the bureau for future cards.

Club Winter Schedule: The meeting place is still to be announced. Walt K1BZD is working on the Holy Ghost Church, Cardinal Spelling. There has been no response to our calls to the new contact at Heights Crossing in Brockton.

NEW BUSINESS

A new price list has been made up for the club wire, and will be posted in the Quonset Hut.

Pocket Calendars for 1999 are ready for sale at $3.50 a piece. Bruce K1HTN was the first one to purchase his.

FOXHUNT UPDATE

Gil WA1GDJ gave an update on foxhunting, there have been lots of new toys seen on the hunts. The fox box is out every Sunday, usually in the Whitman, Abington area. The usual hiding spot is in a school or ball field.

George KC1FZ reported that he and The Bruce NI1X were not the last ones to find the fox on the most recent hunt.

NET CONTROL

Walt K1BZD asked for net control operators for the remainder of November and into December.

Nov 22^nd Charlet N1VQZ

Nov 29^th 10:00 from Plimoth Plantation.

Dec 6^th Jeff N1ZZN

Dec 13^th The Bruce NI1X

Dec 20^th open

Dec 27^th open

FIELD DAY RESULTS

The Bruce NI1X reported on field day results, which were posted in QST magazine. WARC had 450 contacts, 22 ops, with 1816 points scored. QST reported a total of 2055 stations logged from the US and Canada. By class, there were 32 clubs with 6 stations, and the majority of the clubs were logged with 2 or 3 stations.

SCUTTLEBUTT

Charlet N1VQZ passed the General Theory exam, so is now a General Class.

Jeff N1ZZN reported on last weekend’s flea market. He bought a set of headphones that only one side works. Others seen at the flea market included: Jim W5IRW, Jeff N1ZZN, Tom N1ZZM, The Bruce NI1X, Charlet N1VQZ, Mike N1FRV, Chris N1WWI, Bill N1FRE, John WQ1L, Paul N1VTI, Art N1VEG, Roy KB1CYV, and Bob WA1OFR. Paul N1VTI and Art N1VEG were seen walking out with new goodies.

Bruce K1HTN brought between 65 to 75 old issues of QST magazine, for members to take home if they wished.

Bob WA1OFR mentioned that he had a full set of several years of QST in the club library, of which some are missing. He asks that if you have borrowed issues at home that you are done with, that they be brought back to the Quonset Hut.

The club analyzer is currently on loan to Bob WA1OFR.

A conversation took place on squirrels. Bruce K1HTN reported on squirrels making a home in his neighbor’s shingles on Lake Ossipee. As the man was making repairs to the shingles, the squirrel came out of the nest right next to his face, almost knocking him off the ladder. John WQ1L then told his story on how he zapped a squirrel with his equipment in his yard.

ADJOURNMENT:

John WQ1L made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:05, Jim W5IRW seconded, the motion was approved and the meeting was adjourned

Russian cosmonauts launched a second mini – Sputnik satellite November 10 during a spacewalk from the Mir space station. The launch of Sputnik 41 – also being called RS – comes just over a year after the launch of Sputnik 40, which commemorated the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite by the USSR in 1957.

Among the first in the US to report hearing the new satellite was Ken Carlstrom, N1WED, in New Hampshire. He reported hearing Sputnik 41 from approximately 0604 to 0609 UTC on November 11 at 145.8145 MHz.

The newest Sputnik was tossed by hand at the start of the spacewalk by cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Avdeyev. According to an AP report, Padalka told Avdeyeyev to "toss it gently toward the moon." Sputnik 41, which arrived on Mir aboard a Progress supply rocket late last month, was financed by the Aeroclub de France to mark its centennial. Two Sputnik 40 models were transported to Mir last year, but only one was launched. The other remains aboard the space station.

Like its predecessor, Sputnik 41 is just under 8 inches in diameter and weighs almost 9 pounds. It carries a 200mW transmitter that transmits on or about 145.812 MHz (+ _ 5 kHz and Doppler shift.) The spacecraft has no solar cells. Its expected operational lifetime is approximately 30 days. Sputnik 41 broadcasts pre-recorded voice greetings in three languages, French, English, and Russian. The Russian – accented English greetings say, " 1988 was the International Year of Air and Space" and " International Space School Sputnik Program." The French and Russian messages convey the same greetings. The new spacecraft provides a "bip – bip" beacon. The frequency of the audio tone indicates that satellite’s internal temperature. The tone is transmitted every 90 seconds. Sputnik 41 reception reports go to AMSAT – France, QSL Sputnik 41, 14 bisrue des Gourlis, F – 925000 Rueil – Malmaison, FRANCE. The 1988 International Year of Air And Space page is at http://www.ccr.jussieu.fr/physio/Satedu/sputnik41.html.

The FCC has shut down four unauthorized HF broadcasters in Massachusetts, Illinois, Texas, and California. The stations all transmitted on 6955 kHz. Two of the operators are radio amateurs, according to an FCC spokesperson, who said the ham licenses " are definitely in jeopardy." The two hams were identified as 41 – year – old Richard F. Jurrens, KC5RGK, a Technician licensee who lives in Katy, Texas, and 46 – year – old Henry Lee "Hank" Landsberg, WB6MEU, an Advanced class licensee who lives in Sierra Madre, California. The names of the others cited were being withheld pending further official action.

In making the busts, the FCC’s Columbia, Maryland, Operations Center coordinated and provided information to FCC agents from the Boston, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles offices. FCC inspectors from those offices then performed on – site visits to the unauthorized stations.

With the exception of certain low – power Part 15 devices, broadcasting on the HF bands is not authorized with a station license. Under the Communications Act, Violators may be subject to penalties up to $11,000 and the equipment used may be seized and forfeited by court order. Unlicensed operators also face criminal fines of up to $100,000 and/or imprisonment for up to one year, or both, for a first time offense.

R.L. Drake Company has announced it no longer will provide factory service for most of its older Amateur Radio and marine equipment. The list includes much – but not all – of the popular 4 – line equipment.

Veteran Drake Service Manager Bill Frost, WD8DFP, says it’s getting harder to get parts for the older Drake units. "The big switches, you can’t buy those things anymore," he said this week. "The big electrolytics are not available." Frost, who’s been with Drake for 32 years, said his department has "reached a point where we cannot service the older products in the manner to which our customers have become accustomed." Technicians familiar with older, mostly tube – type gear also are in short supply these days. "Our technical expertise on the older equipment has gradually been diminished by the loss of long – time employees due to retirement, " Frost said. He also said the cost of repairs could easily exceed the cost of the equipment.

The company has posted a list on its Web site at http://www.rldrake.com/tech/Outofservice.html of items that it no longer can service. The list includes the R – 4 and R – 4A receivers, the popular T – 4X, XB, and XC HF transmitters, and the TR – 3 and TR – 4 transceivers, as well as the most of the power supplies for those units, the SSR – 1 receiver, and the TR – 22, 22C and TR – 33C 2 – meter transceivers. Items on the list and sent to Drake for repair will be returned to the sender unrepaired accompanied by a bill for shipping, handling, and applicable COD fees. Frost said Drake is still servicing "to an extent" the R – 4B and R – 4C receivers as well as the TR – 5 and TR – 7 transceivers. The company also still will provide factory repair service for the L – 4, L – 4B and L – 7 linear amplifiers.

Drake says its supply of unique parts is limited, but it still might be able to supply individual owners with needed parts for do-it-yourself repairs. Frost encouraged Drake owners to call or write if they have any questions about repair or service of a particular piece of equipment – even if it’s already on the list. Call Frost at 513-746-4556 or e-mail him at Bill_Frost@rldrake.com. Frost’s mailing address is Bill Frost, R.L. Drake Co., Service Dept, 230 Industrial Dr., Franklin, OH. 45005.

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.

The Plimouth Plantation special event station was a great success. Over 300 contacts were made during the weekend including an aeronautical mobile contact on 20 meters. At press time (December 9^th) I haven’t received the final count of contacts, that will be published in the next newsletter. In the meantime here are some pictures of the special event station. --- the editor Jeff N1SOM

 Now that 1998 is ending it is time to look back at some events of the year like Field Day, Mt. Washington Special event station, the Flea Markets, and Plimouth Plantation special event station.