March 2001 The annual February club auction turned out to be big success thanks to all who brought items (including money!) and our auctioneer extraordinaire Tom Michaud, WA3 TQJ. The weather cooperated (remember last year?) and the club netted over $400. Thank you all for your support. Spring is fast approaching and this is a reminder to start gearing up for our May hamfest. Preparations are well underway. The fliers have already been sent to the venders with the general mailing soon to follow. It's not too early to start thinking about what you may want to do to help out this year. The hamfest is the one major event we expect all members to help out in some fashion. Please contact our hamfest co-chairs Tony Simek, N3YNH and/or Roy Connors, K3TEN for information. Sign-ups will be available at the club meetings. Speaking of gearing-up, as the weather breaks so do our public service events. WARC is a strong supporter of the March of Dimes Walk-a-Thons. This year they will be held on the weekend of April 29th. Please plan on supporting this worthy cause and keep this weekend open to help out as a radio operator. You can contact Doc Whitticar, W3GAD for more info. Yes, there is an air show this year and yes, the Blue Angels will be there! The show has been moved this year from the traditional June date to September 8th and 9th. WARC played a crucial in providing communications during the tragic events of last year and this year should be bigger than ever with the Blue Angels headlining the show. Steve Larson, WW3Y is our liaison and organizer this year, so keep an ear to Steve and that weekend open if you plan to be a needed part of the show. Officer elections will be held at the June general meeting. Have you considered offering your personal skills, time, and talent to the directing and running of the club? I feel WARC has become one of the biggest and best amateur radio clubs in the area due to the number of members who take on active leadership roles. Is it your turn? Why not give it a try? You'll get all the support and help you need and feel good about giving something back to the club. Contact Mike Patton, 3MJP, our nominating chairperson, if you are interested in running. Don't forget to show up at the next meeting if want to see the latest and greatest in amateur radio equipment. Rick, K3TL will be showing off some goodies and talking about the retail side of amateur radio. I guarantee a very interesting program! 73, Rocky, N3FKR WARC meeting Minutes for January 4th, 2001 Meeting called to order at 7:35 by Mark N3GNW Introductions Visitors, existing members. Attendance sheet was passed around Last months minutes were published in the feedback, motion made to accept, seconded and passed by voice vote. Last meeting was our Dinner meeting Thanks to Dug, N3RJE and Berni, N3RJD. Thanks also to Burt , N3YVH for great MC job and all the work and arm-twisting he did for the Door Prizes, coupons Etc. Burt reported that the extra food and food gift certificate was given to a needy family in the Ambler area and was much appreciated. There was a round of applause for all the hard work put in order to make this dinner a success. Annual elections were held Election officials Don, N3OZO and Frank, N3UQP New Web Site The club has a new web site www.K3DN.ORG thanks to Al's efforts More space, 20 free EMAIL addresses, search feature, all for less money! Old voicenet address is auto mapped to new address. Our new domain name (ours for good for only $20 a year) is transportable! A big round of applause for Al's efforts. Comments on the VHF contest via Joe N3EMA and Brian, N3EXA. WARC can help local clubs (like packrats) get on FM SSB whatever - above all have fun. Turn in your logs next meeting! The contest is the topic of tonight's presentation February meeting is the WARC auction all money to the benefit of WARC - Tom, WA3TQJ, will be our auctioneer. Bring stuff to auction off and bring money! Tom will make sure you go home with something! April meeting will be on latest HAM equipment by Rick, K3TL. Treasures report by John, K3ZMJ - $7,907 in the BLACK. Membership report, Bud did a membership summary - 144 active/paid members 67 inactive. If you haven't received a badge see Bud. Classes - comments by George KA3WXV. General classes start January 8th , 2001. Tech classes - the entry level class - starts March 12th, 2001 Repeater - new controller is working out great! Voice announcements for meetings, etc. Thanks to Mark for the programming. Repeater moved to old police radio room - more secure and temperature controlled. Thanks to Brian, Tom and others. New tower status - in the courts - but it will happen. Public service - Car show comments via George N3HBT - 1st listed public event - more info coming soon. Races - Mike W3MJP - meeting April 6th and 23rd New officers - votes counted Directors - George N3HBT, Burt N3YBH, Secretary - Jack W3NTD. WARC Ham fest - signup sheet passes around. Things going well. Will need help with mailing 330 + vendors 1700 + buyers. Will need help also the Saturday (day before the ham fest) 15 people done by noon. Will ask Grange/township for waver on tables fees. Highway cleanup, Jacksonville road - comments by Hugh, N3SOQ. Went well in fall - next time will be in spring. Remember the more bodies the faster it goes 1 - 2 hours. Air Show coming in fall after Labor Day - we will be providing communications - should be a great time (2 days) more info later. It was proposed the meeting be ended, it was seconded and passes at 8:45 PM Minutes submitted by George , KA3WXV Minutes of February 1,2001 Meeting: Meeting called to order at 7.30 PM by the President, Rocy N3FKR Guests and Members intorduced themselves. Preident reported on the Election. N3HBT and WA3QVU were elected Directors, W3NTD was elected Secretary The club has a new domain name, to send e-mail to any club officer, use officers call @K3DN.org. Vice President Reports: Future program is Rick of HRO in March Treasurer rported a balance of $7,367.00 in Treasury Committee Reports: Membership= 141 active..63 inactive Classes. Middle of a General Class course with 8 students. A no code tech course starts March 13th Repeater" N3EXA reports that 440 being worked on. A reminder if using repeater for a telephone call, press# key to terminate call. Hamfest 2001- Roy K3TEN will be sending letters to vendors by March 1 Mike K3MJP reported on ARES. there are now 61 members. Old Business..working on QSL cards New Business..29th April is March of Dimes event. Considering DXpedition to Delaware late summer..Field Day is end of June Good & welfare..KA3YOP is in rehab. Bad fall on ice and will be out a bout 3 months. Meeting adjourned 8/13 PM followed by the Auction Jack W3NTD Bernie Fuller Atlantic Division Director Bernie Fuller, N3EFN, recovering: ARRL Atlantic Division Director Bernie Fuller, N3EFN, is said to be doing well following bypass surgery on February 2. All indications are that he should be able to return home this week. Well wishers may contact Bernie via his home address, 17668 Price Rd, Saegertown, PA 16433.--thanks to ARRL Atlantic Division Vice Director Bill Edgar, N3LLR ==>SOLAR UPDATE Propagation guru Tad Cook, K7VVV, Seattle, Washington, reports: The quiet sun period continues, as the sunspot number dropped below 100 and solar flux went down to 137.9 on Wednesday. The last two times that solar flux values were this low were on December 9 and September 13 of last year. Average solar flux for the past average sunspot numbers were off by over five points, when compared to the previous week. The forecast for the next few days has solar flux dropping to 135 on Friday and Saturday, and bottoming out around 130 on Sunday and Monday. It is Then expected to rise rapidly from 135 to 165 February 21-23. Despite the relatively quiet sun, there was some geomagnetic activity this week. Earth entered a high-speed solar wind stream on Tuesday, and the results were planetary A indices of 19 and 17 on Tuesday and Wednesday, with planetary K indices as high as four over much of the two days. This wind stream was probably the result of a coronal mass ejection that occurred Sunday. Fortunately, the bulk of this ejected mass missed us. Conditions should be relatively settled for the ARRL International DX CW ==>MAINE HAMS OPPOSE MOBILE HAND-HELD DEVICES BILL A group of Maine amateurs, including ARRL Section Manager Bill Woodhead, 1KAT, trooped to the State House in Augusta this week to testify against bills that would make it illegal to use hand-held electronic devices such as cellphones while driving. The more stringent of the two measures, LD 95, was introduced by Rep Joseph E. Brooks. His bill would restrict the use of hand- held cellular telephones as well as "computers, Citizens Band radios, dictaphones, microphones and other electronic devices" that are not essential to the operation of a vehicle on Maine's highways. The other, less restrictive bill is sponsored by Rep Gerald E. Bouffard. Both bills would permit the use of hands-free accessories for cellular telephones used on the road. The Maine Legislature's Transportation Committee reviewed both bills during a public hearing February 12. Most of the testimony opposed the proposed restrictions, with Amateur Radio operators and cellular telephone providers most prevalent among the speakers. The state Highway Safety Bureau took "a neutral position," according to a report in the Bangor Daily News. Woodhead said Maine's amateur community was well-represented. "February 21 there will be the [legislative] workshop on LD 95, and, hopefully, it will be killed there," he said. California, Florida and Massachusetts limit cell phone use in moving vehicles, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, but no states have instituted outright bans. Several states, including Arizona, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Michigan and Pennsylvania are considering bills that would ban the use of hand-held cellphones, however, and a number of localities already have put such laws into effect. Courtesy The ARRL Newsletter ==>ARRL OFFERS NEW FIVE-YEAR MEMBERSHIP PLAN With a membership dues increase going into effect July 1, 2001, the ARRL is offering a special five-year membership plan until then, so members can lock in at the current, lower dues rates. Effective immediately, current or prospective ARRL members in the US and US possessions can obtain a five-year renewal or membership for $146 ($122 for those 65 or older)--a saving of $24 ($18 for those 65 or older) from the cost of year-to-year renewal at current rates! Due to postal considerations, this offer cannot be extended to those living in other countries. The special five-year membership offer expires June 30, 2001, the last day the present dues schedule is in effect. After that, annual dues will increase to $39 for individuals ($34 for those 65 and older). Another option is to apply for an ARRL Life Membership for $850. Special discounts apply to senior and visually impaired applicants. A complete rate schedule and application form is available on ARRLWeb, http://www.arrl.org/join.html . Indian Earthquake Ham radio earthquake response winds down in India: Raj Kumar, VU2ZAP, in Bangalore, reports that Amateur Radio's role in the disaster response is nearly over. "Ham radio's part, in my opinion, is done," he said. He said some members of the Bangalore Amateur Radio Club, which had posted several members to the Gujarat quake zone, already had returned to Bangalore. The January 26 earthquake killed more than 50,000 people, injured many others and left upwards of 1 million homeless. In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, Amateur Radio provided the only reliable communication with the outside world. Telecommunications systems have been at least partially restored to the stricken region. Salvation Army Team Emergency Network Coordinator Pat McPherson, WW9E, says his organization will provide care for up to 100 children from the Bhuj area orphaned or disabled by the quake. Contest this weekend, and with the days getting a little longer, we should see a little more spring-like propagation on HF. A story on the Science@NASA Web site at http://science.msfc.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast15feb_1.htm concerns the sun's magnetic poles' reversing during the peak of every solar cycle. The article says that the switch has already happened and that this is a good indication that the peak of the solar cycle is here or perhaps has passed. Sunspot numbers for February 8 through 14 were 168, 179, 172, 169, 106, 113 and 99, with a mean of 143.7. The 10.7-cm flux was 156.5, 162.4, 160.7, 51.3, 144.6, 141.3 and 137.9, with a mean of 150.7. The estimated planetary A indices were 6, 4, 5, 7, 4, 19 and 17 with a mean of 8.9. Courtesy The ARRL Newsletter ==>AO-40 FUTURE RESTS ON REDUCING SPIN, REGAINING ATTITUDE CONTROL The key to a successful AO-40 recovery continues to be a matter of reducing spin and regaining the ability to adjust AO-40's attitude from the ground. AMSAT says the current problem is a lack of accurate AO-40 attitude data. Only when ground controllers can accurately determine the satellite's attitude will it be possible to change it and correctly aim AO-40's high-gain antennas for optimal reception on Earth. Ground controllers have had no luck hearing AO-40's transmitters on the omnidirectional antennas on 2 meters, 70 cm or 1.2 GHz. Since the satellite's computer was reset and telemetry resumed December 25, the AO-40 ground team has been analyzing telemetry sent via the 2.4 GHz beacon--the only transmitter now operating. In its latest dispatch on AO-40, AMSAT-Germany waxed nearly poetic in describing the satellite's present situation. "AO-40 is currently like a ship that's lying on a sandbar in the fog at low tide," an update on the AMSAT-DL Web site declared. AMSAT-DL said AO-40 was "in the fog" because its high angle with respect to the sun temporarily prevents the sun sensors from providing attitude data. It's "at low tide" because the steep solar angle means less illumination of the solar panels and less energy produced. And it's "on a sandbar" because the satellite can't be set free from its present situation without some effort. Ground controllers have been hoping that a previously announced "de-spinner" programming routine could permit AO-40 spin control without having to rely on the sun sensors. But even if the programming fix fails, by April, controllers reason, the satellites sensors will again see the sun and "thanks to magnetorquing, spin and attitude can be actively improved upon the rising tide." Once the spin is reduced, sun angle improved, and antennas pointed, testing can resume. Still outstanding are tests of the VHF and UHF transmitters, the arc-jet motor, and the reaction wheels, among others. Both AMSAT-DL President and AO-40 Project Leader Karl Meinzer, DJ4ZC, and AMSAT-NA President Robin Haighton, VE3FRH, have continued to be optimistic that AO-40 will have a useful life of Amateur Radio service. AMSAT-DL says the recovery effort has been slowed somewhat because of limited access time on the part of the command team, due to AO-40's current orbital parameters. BACK