THE FEEDBACK

Volume 00 Issue 05    May 2000

THE AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLETTER

Laurel Amateur Radio Club, Inc.

P.O. Box 3039, Laurel, Maryland 20709-3039

http://larcmd.org          email: larc@larcmd.org

Meetings and Nets:

Þ 1st, 3rd, 5th Wednesdays:

On-the-air Net at 8:30pm on 147.225+ PL156.7 (no tone required during nets)

Þ 2nd Wednesday:

Informal/Social Gathering at 7:00pm – Tubby’s Restaurant; Rt. 198, 1 mile West of I-95

Þ 4th Wednesday:

Monthly Meeting at 7:30pm - The Woman’s Club of Laurel, 384 Main Street, Laurel

Þ Nightly:

Informal Net/Rag-Chew from 9-11pm on 147.540

 

 

 

 

Laurel Amateur Radio Club, Inc.

c/o John Swann (W3BUY)

8729 Birkenhead Ct.

Laurel, MD 20723.

THE LAUREL AMATEUR RADIO CLUB

Officers:

                President:                Pud Reaver              W3YD      301-498-6293          w3yd@arrl.net

                Vice-President:        Jim Cross WI3N        301-725-6829          jcross3@juno.com    Secretary:                Roger Davis             W3LM      301-776-6961                rldavis2@juno.com

                Treasurer:                John Menard           N3GXA    301-725-1641          n3gxa@arrl.net

Other LARC Positions and Contacts:

                Immediate Past President:       John Menard           N3GXA    301-725-1641          n3gxa@arrl.net

                FAR Representatives:               Dan Blasberg           KA8YPY  202-667-5780          blasberg@bellatlantic.net

                Laurel VEC:             Bob Busch               WB3KXJ  301-317-7819          rbusch@erols.com

                LARC VE Testing:    John Creel               WB3GXW 301-572-5124          wb3gxw@arrl.net

                AutoCall Reporter:   Roger Davis             W3LM      301-776-6961          rldavis2@juno.com

                T-MARC/D-MARC Rep:            Kevin Arber              W3DAD    301-725-0038          karber@smart.net

                Public Information Officer:       Pud Reaver              W3YD      301-498-6293          w3yd@arrl.net

                Youth Programs:      Mark Doore              K3RAM    301-572-2385          k3ram@arrl.net

                Education and Training:          Pud Reaver              W3YD      301-498-6293          w3yd@arrl.net

                Technical Specialist:               Kevin Arber              W3DAD    301-725-0038          karber@smart.net

                ARES/RACES Coordinators:    Jim Cross WI3N        301-725-6829          jcross3@juno.com

                Official Emergency Station:    

                Official Bulletin Station:          John Creel               WB3GXW 301-572-5124          wb3gxw@arrl.net

                Official Bulletin Station:          Pud Reaver              W3YD      301-498-6293          w3yd@arrl.net

                Official Relay Station:             Pat Gormley            KK3F       301-864-4694         

                Official Relay Station:             Pud Reaver              W3YD      301-498-6293          w3yd@arrl.net

LARC Special Interest Groups and Mentors:

Antennas                 Kevin Arber              W3DAD    301-725-0038          karber@smart.net

Packet Radio/APRS                 Mark Doore              K3RAM    301-572-2385          k3ram@arrl.net

Repeaters                                John Creel               WB3GXW 301-572-5124          wb3gxw@arrl.net

Satellite/EME

ARRL Field Organization:

                 Atlantic Division Director:        Kay Craigie              WT3P      610-993-9623          wt3p@arrl.org

                Atlantic Division Vice Director: Bernie Fuller            N3EFN     814-763-1529          w3efn@arrl.org

                MD/DC Section Manager:        Bill Howard              WB3V      410-551-6775          wb3v@erols.com

MD/DC Asst Section Manager: Jerry Gavin              NU3D       410-761-1423          k2ilq@aol.com

                MD/DC Emergency Coord:       Mike Carr WA1QAA 410-799-0403          bamcc@erols.com

                Affiliated Club Coordinator:     Tony Young             WA3YLO  301-262-1917          tonyy@juno.com

MDC Section Bulletin Manager               Al Brown  KZ3AB     301-490-3188          kz3ab@arrl.net

 

 

The Feedback is published monthly as the newsletter of the Laurel Amateur Radio Club, Inc.

Permission is granted to reprint from this publication provided credit is given.

Editor: John Swann, W3BUY 301-490-1212 m0buy@amsat.org

Publisher: John Creel, WB3GXW 301-572-5124 wb3gxw@arrl.net

 

 

Editor’s Bit

 

Welcome to the May issue of The Feedback.

We again have a number of interesting articles this month, with pride of place going to Jim/WI3N’s article about his new antenna, complete with pictures. This is the article that was held over from last month.

Jim has also provided the latest ARES/RACES update, and we have the usual articles from the Pres. and Sec.. I have also included an extract from the latest ARRL Letter regarding the recent delays to getting your license and also about filing your ULS applications via the Internet.

Don’t know how many of you venture onto the HF bands, but over the last few weeks, I have found them to be pretty diabolical. What with atmospherics from solar flares, the recent thunderstorms and the arrival of the heat up into the 90’s, conditions have been pretty poor. Let’s hope for an improvement over the next few weeks.

Mind you, I did finally manage to get past the figure of 89 DXCC countries with a short contest exchange with a German station on one of the Balearic Islands (EA6). Maybe I can move forward now. Hi. Don’t forget to let me have your latest figures, 1 or 91 countries/states worked, all input is equally welcome for the tables.

Don’t forget to keep the articles, jokes, reviews etc. coming in. It’s the only way that I can ensure that you all get the newsletter that YOU want.

That’s it for now. Take care of yourselves, and keep the airwaves humming.

vy 73 de John W3BUY.

 

President's Ramblings

TOPOFF: On May 5 Dave/KB3EFS, Mark/K3RAM, and Pud/W3YD journeyed to the netherworld of the new MEMA site (north of Baltimore, almost to the PA line) to attend a briefing on OPERATION TOPOFF. TOPOFF is an un-announced exercise for the "top officials" in PG County. There will be a simulated terrorist radiological event (AKA dirty car bomb) at the MCI arena; it will involve 100-200 casualties, the fire and rescue services, Red Cross, several local hospitals, and perhaps others. Its purpose is to see how well our top executives would respond to/handle a real event if it were to happen in the county. Amateur radio will be playing "behind the scene" for the controllers to expedite the scenario, if certain reactions don’t take place within a scheduled time. Jim/WI3N, the PG RACES/ARES officer was asked to supply the ham-power. We’ll get a post brief from Jim in the next FEEDBACK.

MAIN STREET: After a shaky start (someone forgot the tent, someone forgot the organization charts) Main St was a rousing success, again. Pud and Howard/K3IOG did the main coordination, Jim organized the parade, and HD/K3HDM and Dan/KA8YPY ran the information booth. Many more LARCers were caught in the middle and did the work. We tried to run a packet link between the parade HQ and the reviewing stand, but some guy named Murphy caught us on that. We’ll be better prepared next year. It was a great day for a festival, and good food and a good time were had by all.

BOARD MEETING: After the Main St. parade a short LARC Board meeting was held in the clubhouse. The main output of the meeting was that Mark and Paul/N3YOY were tasked to obtain "our very own" webpage. (By the time I got home, they had done it!) For a mere $35 we are now located at: LARCMD.ORG. See the related article elsewhere in this FEEDBACK.

BAYSOX: Last Friday was our second trip to Bowie Stadium. Since I wasn’t there, I don’t know who went, but I hope everyone takes at least one trip down there in support of this fund-raising activity. There’s enough to eat and drink, your spouse/SO is always welcome (to work, or just watch), and there’s some "break time" so you can watch part of the action. Our next outing is in July.

OLD FOGIES: Jim Reid/KD3S is starting up a tradition, especially for us old fogies in the club. He suggests that all available LARCers, and friends, come by SULLIVANS on the 1st Friday of the month for lunch, around 1130. Jim, along with Frank/K3LDE and Bill/W3AKD started this in May. All three of those gentlemen are "planks" in our club, and are major reasons we’re still around today. Come on down, meet some history, and have a good lunch!

FIELD DAY: Paul and Mark have agreed to co-chair our Field Day this year. Mark June 24/25 on your calendars, and, if you have a particular concern, offer your assistance.

73/PUD

 

 

Minutes of the LARC meeting – 26 Apr 00

            1. Pud/W3YD called the meeting to order at 7:45pm at the PG EOC. There were fifteen members present. The minutes from the previous meeting were accepted.

            2. John/N3GXA reported that there was approximately $1324.00 in the bank. There had been some expenses for the copier, plaques and for VEC activities.

            3. Pud/W3YD explained that the business meeting would be brief since we wanted to have Jim/WI3N give us a tour of the EOC communications room. He mentioned that some programs being planned for future meeting may include Kevin/W3DAD, on a technical topic and Bill Howard/WB3V, MD/DC Section Mgr.

            4. Pud briefly reviewed the planning for the Montpelier Festival, Laurel Main Street Festival, the Palotti 5K Run on 3 June, and Field Day on 24-25 Jun. We still need a Field Day Chairman or co-chairman. Pud also reported that the first "fund raiser" activity with the Laurel

Women's Club at the Bowie Bay Sox stadium would be on Friday, 28 April. At this time, Pud, Jim/WI3N and Roger/W3LM were planning on going to help with the concessions. Others were encouraged to come.

            5. John/N3GXA reported that plans were continuing to help Pat/KK3F get an antenna put up. Dan/KA8YPY reported that he has been appointed FAR Exec. VP in addition to his duties as the Secretary. He indicated that the FAR Fest is still set for 24 September.

            6. Jim/WI3N gave a brief summary of the plans for putting a packet station at the Laurel Red Cross facility. He also reported on the plans for "Christmas in April" and operation "Top Off", which was being planned for 22 May 00 at the USAir Arena.

            7. Pud adjourned the meeting at approximately 8:40pm, and Jim proceeded to conduct a brief tour of the PG EOC. Respectfully Submitted: Roger/W3LM

ARES/RACES Notes

By Jim Cross WI3N – Prince Georges County EC/RO

4/30/00

ARES/RACES Article for newsletters

            Thanks to all of you who participated in the Christmas in April exercise. We learned a little more about repeater coverage, saw parts of the county we’d never seen before, and probably half the mileage came from making U-turns. Thanks to CMARC for the use of their 145.23 machine and to SMARC for the use of their 147.15 machine.

            ARES will be participating in an up coming unannounced terrorist exercise in May. Some of you may have read on page A2 of the 4/28/00 Washington Post about the exercise that was held in Cincinnati. It pointed out how unprepared they were to cope with a terrorist attack. There are six jurisdictions around the country, including Prince George’s County, who are participating in the operation. The idea is to determine just how governmental agencies from the local level right up to the President will handle a terrorist attack. Originally the plan was to use cell phones for the leader of the exercise to communicate with each of the monitors assigned to the various agencies involved. Then it occurred to him that he has a large body of manpower available with radios. Hence, our involvement with the operation.

            Messages will be originated between the command center and the monitors, will be written on each end so they can be tracked, and may have to be relayed. While we as an ARES group will not be evaluated like the police, fire and others involved, we will do our own debrief to see where we can improve. Our mission is to accurately send and receive messages. We will use carbonless multi-paged forms whose format somewhat resembles the National Traffic System format. We will include a number check for the message. That means the originating message will state a word count. The received message should also have the same word count. Our job is to pass traffic accurately between the leader of the exercise and the people monitoring the exercise. The agencies involved are expected to use their normal communication channels. The phone lines are not down for the purpose of this exercise.

            There are about 15 positions that will need to be filled by a combination of stationary operators, vehicle mobile, and pedestrian mobile units. We need to fill these positions at least two deep. Someone sitting at the command center or the EOC for instance, may not have too much problem writing down messages. However, for those walking around with HT’s shadowing key people, an additional ham to copy text will be very helpful. Having two persons at each position should eliminate missing an important message while taking an inverse coffee break. Extra fully charged HT batteries are a must. We need to have some of you capable of sticking a mag mount on the roof of an official’s car and operating with your batteries or plugged into the cigarette lighter.

            In a real emergency, the net control station would normally be established away from the area of the emergency, however, for this exercise net control will be established at the site of the incident. Portable rigs and antennas will be set up there. We will use tactical call signs. For example, from the command center we may say, "Net control to EOC." There may be three operators at the EOC, but it is not necessary for net control to know who has taken over the mike. However, our rules state that we must identify with our callsigns every ten minutes and at the end of the transmission. While you will be called by position, be sure to id with your callsign. We will be using repeaters and simplex. Each message that is sent should contain the words, "EXERCISE MESSAGE" and the repeater will have a message stating it is being used for an exercise. Unless an operator is originating a message, you should stay in the listening mode. Please don’t clutter up the frequencies with needless chatter. Other hams not involved in the exercise will hear the activity and will most certainly jump in to see what is happening. Please let the net control station take care of the explanations.

            For our part this is a controlled taste of what a real incident might be like. For the governmental agencies involved, this will be conducted as if it is a real emergency. This is a field exercise, not a tabletop drill. I hope that many of you choose to participate not only because we need at least thirty people, but also because this is the best training you will get. If you are only able to help out for part of the day, that is fine. Please email me to let me know your capability and availability. I will email back the date, time and place to meet. This must be kept secret from our friends in the police, fire, ems and anybody you know in other county and state agencies, which is why that info is not in this article. My email address is jcross3@juno.com.

            I hope to hear from you so I can get an accurate list of who will be participating. Thanks.

            73 de Jim/WI3N EC/RO

 

 

Jim’s New Antenna

by Jim/WI3N

    Some of us are blessed with living in townhouse communities with antenna restrictions. I happen to have a very dedicated architectural police committee who periodically issues warnings of huge fines if you are breaking some real or imagined architectural rule. So what is a ham to do?

            My first venture was to call Miss Utility, have the common area behind my house marked, then bury a 1 ½" piece of pvc from my house to the woods behind it. I fished some RG-58 thru it then hung a G5RV in the trees and was on HF. Eventually the guy ropes let go. I then installed a dipole that was 136’ on a side. That worked ok until it came down due to a fallen tree limb. What to do, what to do?

I didn’t have the time to do the antenna in the woods right then and I wanted to finally be heard on the Bill/KI7AO sked, so I decided to install a dipole on the roof. The pictures show the contraption I made to hold up the center of the dipole. (see Figure 1) I actually have four dipoles up. I cut pieces of 450 ohm ladder line to dipole lengths of 20M and 17M on one leg and 15M and 10M on the other leg. They are all attached to a piece of Plexiglas with the centers together (see Figure 2). I need a tuner to tweak the SWR on each band. The ladder lines are about 3’ off the roof and come down in an inverted V. The ends of the lines are attached to the roof rakeboard of each of my neighbor’s roofs. They bend and follow the rake board for about 4’. I had my wife go to the end of the parking lot and tell me when the top of the mast was just below the roofline. That’s where the center is attached and it is not visible as you drive toward my house. It is not visible from the rear either. I calculate that the center of the dipole is about 34’ above the basement floor. Each of the three floors is 8’, it is 8’ from the attic floor to the peak of the roof, and an additional 16" of floor joists for the 1st and 2nd floors. This is a half wave for the 20M antenna and even better for the other bands.

            You may notice I also have my 2M antenna on the roof also and it is slanted toward the rear of the house. If it was up straight it could be seen from the front of the house. I ran the RG-58 up behind the downspout, drilled a hole in the soffit, pulled it through the attic and out the end of my ridge vent.

            Tested it out and worked Finland and Brazil. I’ve also been able to converse normally with Bill for the last few skeds in FL, MN, and

WA. If I can ever get a satellite tracking program to work the combination 15/10M antennas will be helpful to work the RS-12/13 satellite. John, log me in for 3 countries and 4 different states.

73 de Jim/WI3N

 

Extract from the ARRL Letter – 12 May 00

SO, WHERE'S MY NEW TICKET?

Despite an infusion of temporary help, Volunteer Examiner Coordinators continue struggling to process the huge influx of exam session paperwork resulting from Amateur Radio "restructuring" that went into effect April 15.
As a result, license grants from post-April 15 applications are taking up to four weeks.
"How do y'all spell 'busy'?" asks ARRL-VEC Manager Bart Jahnke, W9JJ, who, along with his staff, has been putting in a lot of overtime and weekend hours lately. Jahnke jokes about imposing a moratorium on sick leave.
Fred Maia, W5YI, cites a similar situation for applications filed via his W5YI-VEC, where he's added a couple of temporary employees. "We've got mail buckets everywhere," he said this week.
Jahnke and Maia urge amateur applicants to refrain from calling or e-mailing either their respective VECs or the FCC to inquire as to the progress of individual applications. "If we respond to the phone calls and e-mails,"
Maia said, "we can't handle the processing. We're going as fast as we possibly can."
Maia believes that a lot of the impatience in the amateur community has come from those wanting to either file a vanity call sign application or to upgrade their Volunteer Examiner status. Neither can be accomplished without a license grant from the FCC reflecting the applicant's upgraded class. In a few cases, applicants are awaiting first-time amateur licenses and do not even have interim operating authority.
Boxes of applications continue arriving to be logged in at ARRL-VEC, which has added three temporary staffers. Jahnke says the ARRL-VEC now has caught up with the paperwork backlog from pre-April 15 test sessions. The ARRL-VEC served nearly 35,800 applicants between January 1 and April 14. It continues to deal with the nearly 16,000 applications logged in from April 15 through April 25, most of them from April 15 test sessions. Jahnke points out that while VE teams have 10 days to ship session paperwork to ARRL-VEC, the transit time can be as long as a week.
"At this point, Jahnke said this week, we're just wrapping up the April 18 receipts and moving on to April 19 and 20. Once keyed in and sent on electronically to the FCC, most applications are granted overnight. Jahnke says the care ARRL-VEC takes in checking VE session paperwork and applications for "completeness, accuracy and integrity" pays off in avoiding potential problems or questions from the FCC down the road. "We're still saying at least 3-1/2 weeks from exam to FCC grant," Jahnke says, "including transit time from the VEs to us."
Maia cites a similar number. He said it's taking about three weeks "from receipt to filing" and says that license grants applied for via W5YI-VEC are taking up to a month from the exam date. "Right now, we're filing sessions received at W5YI-VEC April 25," he said.
Statistics to date suggest a total of more than 13,000 new Generals and more than 10,000 new Extra class hams as a result of restructuring--and those numbers undoubtedly will continue to rise. As ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, recently put it: "Amateur Radio is on a roll!"


FCC DEBUTS ULS INTERNET FILING!

Amateurs now can file Universal Licensing System applications via the Web! With little fanfare, the FCC opened ULS to Internet filers on April 29. It formally announced the system this week.
ULS users now can file applications and notifications via the Internet for all services previously only available by dial-up connection to the Commission's Wide Area Network. To access the

new capability, visit the ULS home page http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/uls and click on "Online Filing." (Users may ignore the on-line survey.) Applicants must first be registered with ULS and use their ULS password to log onto the system.
The ULS--the FCC's interactive on-line licensing application, modification and renewal system for wireless telecommunications services--was deployed for the Amateur Service last August 16. ULS also lets users research the status of applications filed in ULS and licenses issued by the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.
WTB Chief Thomas Sugrue said this week that many ULS users had requested the ability to access ULS through the Internet in order to utilize their high speed Internet connectivity. He also addressed concerns about the security of transactions handled via the Internet.
"We now have the technology in place that assures the integrity and security of data transmitted over the Internet along with high speed connectivity," he said. "This is another step forward in the expanding functionality of ULS."
The FCC has told the ARRL that making online payments--to file a vanity call sign application and pay on line, for example--requires that users be running the 128-bit encryption version of Netscape Communicator Ver 4.73 or later. The FCC says Netscape 4.7, 4.61 and 4.51 have been tested and are compatible with the ULS. While different browsers and platforms other than Windows-based systems may work for some ULS functions, the FCC currently supports only these recent versions of Netscape for online filing tasks. Netscape 4.6 and versions earlier than 4.51 are not compatible with ULS, however.
Filers should configure browsers to enable Java and Java Script and to accept all cookies. Users also will need to download and install Adobe Acrobat Reader 3.0 or later as a plug-in to their Web browser. Netscape and Acrobat are available free via the Internet.
ULS support for other browsers and platforms, such as the Mac, is in the works and should be available shortly. The FCC will continue to provide dial-up access to the ULS. Information on making a dial-up connection is available via the ULS home page by clicking on "Connecting to ULS."

Those experiencing problems logging onto the ULS should contact ULS Tech Support at 202-414-1250.

 

 

Field Day Cometh!

by Paul Kirchman/N3YOY

"whiskey three lima romeo charlie"

"Roger VE3LRC you are 2 alpha Ontario"

"That’s Whiskey Three Lima Romeo Charlie!"

"Yes yes, Veee Eeee Threee LRC"

"Negative, negative, Whiskey Whiskey, Booze, The stuff you drink! THREE , LIMA, ROMEO, CHARLIE"

"Ok got it, W3LRC"

Two lousy points in the wee hours of the morning but I got them.

I confess that I am a Field Day nut. I have an extremely modest station as well as a modest time alotment for the hobby. Field Day for me is 24 hours of self-indulgence. We operate on most HF bands and there is ALWAYS somebody there to talk to. If you haven’t been to one come out this year. Everybody who wants to, operates. See what the hobby is really all about and see how a portable, off grid, international communications net can be set up at a moments notice.

Field Day for LARC will be where it was last year in the Field just North East of where Brooklyn Bridge Rd. crosses I-95. Other than that, details are sketchy at this point in time and suggestions are more than welcome. I will make a web page for current information as soon as I can but until then please e-mail me if you’re coming and want to volunteer for ANYTHING. Any suggestions on what we can do to get more folks out there and make Field Day 2000 a rousing success will also be happily entertained.

I’ve watched this crew in the past and a lot seemed to happen automatically. Here’ my recollection of the basics and Mark has filled in some names. Note – I’m new at this and relatively new to the organization. If you usually do something and I’ve left it off the list please let me know about it. If you’re down as responsible for something and can’t help this year I’ll really need to know about that.

Tent                                         Dick/N3MJA from the Lions Club

Tables/chairs                           Mark/K3RAM borrows from the West Laurel Community Building

Bucket Truck                            Pud arranges this

Antenna?                                 Jim Cross picks this up from it’s hiding place

Generator                                Charles again?

Power Cords                             ?

Rigs, tuners                              ? appeared magically last year.

laptops for logging and program? I've still got one 486 but one at each station is a must unless we want

to keep dup sheets by hand. Yuck!

Batteries One battery @ Red Cross in Laurel, other in pop-up trailer, Mark will probably haul the pop-up to the site

VHF/UHF station      ? There’s always been one there but I don’t know who’s rig/antenna. Could we piggy back a VHF/UHF antenna on the tri-bander or would that tax the mount?

Food                                        ? John/N3GXA ?

Coolers/Grill                             ?

A sign at the road telling folks what's up and maybe a few leading in?

Advertisement          Mark will try to do some press releases if properly harassed

And bug spray – lots of it.

See you out there,

Paul Kirchman   n3yoy@arrl.net

 

 

 

 

Picture Corner

 

Jim/WI3N looking very pleased with his new antenna – now all he has to do is sort out that wallpaper. Hi.

(picture provided by Roger/W3LM)

 

Club Calendar

May

3          Wed     8:30pm                         LARC Net (also 17th and 31st)                               147.225+

10         Wed     7:00pm                         LARC Social                                                      Tubby’s Restaurant

13-14                                                    CQ-M International DX Contest

20         Sat       9:00am                         VE Test Session                                                384 Main Street

15                                                         Deadline for May Feedback

24         7:30pm                                     LARC Monthly Meeting                                       384 Main Street

27-28                                                    CQ WW WPX CW Contest

June

 

7          Wed     8:30pm                         LARC Net (also 21st)                                           147.225+

    1. ARRL June VHF QSO Party

14         Wed     7:00pm                         LARC Social                                                      Tubby’s Restaurant

17         Sat       9:00am                         VE Test Session                                                384 Main Street

  1. Kid’s Day Operating Event
  2. Deadline for June Feedback

24-25                                                    ARRL Field Day

28         7:30pm                                     LARC Monthly Meeting                                       384 Main Street