August 1997
President's Message
June has to be the most hectic month for our club. Our most demanding public service communications event, the Willow Grove Air Show, was a great chance for us to sharpen our communicating skills and demonstrate the relevance of our hobby to the general public. With about 200 medical incidents (understandably mostly all heat related) over the two day event that had an estimated attendance of almost 500,000 people, our 30-35 operators each day played an important role in directing the resources necessary to insure prompt medical attention. It was our competent and professional use of amateur radio that allowed the military to communicate with each other and to work efficiently with civilian support services. Congratulations for a job well-done to Al Folsom (KY3T) and his Sunday "relief commander" Steve Larson (KA3ZLY) for taking on the primary leadership roles and to all those who participated in this most important exercise. WARC's version of amateur radio's premiere operating event, Field Day, was a resounding success by any measure. It was the most heavily attended by our club members in recent memory- about 20 operators stayed for almost the entire event, but even more impressive (to me) was the over 30 club members (many with their family) who showed up for set up, during the 24 hour operating period or for tear down. Many that didn't make it out to the field day site made contact with our stations and conveyed there wishes of encouragement. For all of us, it was a chance to learn things about antennas, rigs, propagation and operating practices. And most importantly, a chance to socialize- each of us having our own reasons for participating in field day and all of us appreciative to be around others who had a common interest. The weather was ideal, the food was great, conditions on most bands were decent, no equipment was damaged and no one got injured. I'm glad so many of our members were actively involved in the test and contest aspects of Field Day'97 and our club gratefully recognizes the efforts of FD'97 (and FD'98) chairperson Doc Whitticar (W3GAD), who made sure we all were going in the same direction at the same time! Those of us (about 75 members and guests) who attended the July 3 general meeting had the opportunity to hear Joe Bagnick (N3EMA) deliver an outstanding presentation on radio direction finding theory, techniques and equipment. Even if you were not intending to participate in the July 20 club (hidden transmitter) "foxhunt", you had to have a much better appreciation of RDF'ing after Joe's terrific talk and demonstration. You also had to be impressed by the enthusiasm and expertise that Joe and the other participants who brought in antennas, attenuators and locating devices have for this aspect of the hobby. The club's (hidden transmitter) foxhunt on Sunday, July 20 was a real fun event. Bob Phillips (KA3VKU) is to be congratulated for putting together a challenging and extremely well organized activity. With ideal weather (about the only thing Bob can't be given credit for!!), the teams - both experienced and doing it for the first time - all left the same location @ 9:30 am and by the time you read this, most (if not all) will have found the fox! Bob was ably assisted by Hugh Hart (N3SOQ) in putting together the event; Mark Rutowski (N3PEB) who made sure we all new what the rules were by giving us our final "briefing" before the foxhunt began; and, Steve White (WA3IAO) who provided liaison communication from KB3BOY. If there is additional interest, we can run another foxhunt this fall and decide if we want to again open it up to those outside our club (members of the Delaware Valley Radio Association joined us for this one). The club's kit building project is well underway and even if you didn't purchase one, stop by the Wilson Senior Center on a Thursday evening and learn more about it. Many of us are working towards completion for the test equipment checkout planned for the August meeting, which will give us all a chance to feel more comfortable in performing equipment testing on our own. The next few months will see the many of our members participating in message handling at the expanded 5 day Grange Fair in August and the WARC family picnic in September. These are both opportunities for us to expose our family members (and friends) to decidedly different club activities than the ones we have just put behind us. Why not plan on trying to include one or both in your summer of '97? I am pleased to report that the Al Konschak (WI3Z) has accepted an appointed directorship position at the request of the Board. Al has been the primary "elmer" for those of us in the kit building session and a frequent "documenter" of club activities as captured by his digital camera (see the WARC Field Day'97 pictures (http://www.voicenet.com/~wi3z/wfd97.htm)) on Al's WEB site. As we all know, the most precious resource we seem to have is our time. With family, career, other community and individual matters of importance all competing with each other, the amount of time any of us can spend on our amateur radio related activities is necessarily limited. I'm glad to see so many of our members investing their time in the many offerings the club presents- from attending our board and general meetings, checking into our nets, participating in club sponsored activities or just keeping in touch on the repeater. I'm especially appreciative of the additional time that the club leadership (see our growing listing of officers, directors and chairpersons) makes on behalf of the Warminster Amateur Radio Club. Please continue to let your Board know what you want out of the club-and what you are able to do to help make WARC continue to be a worthwhile organization that has real value to its members and the general community.
de Bill , K3MFI 1997 Grange Fair
Our next club event is our annual participation at the Middletown Grange Fair being held from Wednesday, August 13th through Sunday, August 17th. The event will be co-chaired for the fourth year by John (KA3WDY) and Anna (KB3BAN) Fish ; please see them at the August meeting to sign up for either an on-site shift at our booth or to deliver local messages by telephone from your home. Over 20,000 people attend the Grange Fair each year, which gives WARC tremendous public exposure. In addition to handling message traffic, we get lots of inquiries about ham radio, especially license preparation classes offered by our club and others in the area. Take the family to a great country fair and help represent WARC and the amateur radio community.
UPCOMING MEETINGS
August 7 General Meeting- Workshop to check out club sponsored summer kit building project. Hands on opportunity to learn how to use test equipment under the guidance of experienced Elmers. De-bug, align, tweek and measure the performance of your project and learn the basics of how to use test equipment. contact Joe Bagnick (N3EMA) for information or by telephone (215) 997-2539 (7-9PM).September 4 General Meeting - Learning Centers demonstrating "less familiar"operating modes (tentatively planned:VHF packet, satellite, amateur TV, HF digital) THE FOX HUNT of July 97
And the Final score is THE FOX HUNTERS 5 and THE FOX 6. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TEAM OF ART_S N2AZO, JIM WB2REM, AND ROB KB2ZIZ. THEY WERE THE FIRST TEAM TO FIND THE TRANSMITTER. And they were beginners. The next hunters to finish were THE Kyle N3YYI & ED N3ZAP team, also beginners. Then came the team of Bill K3MFI, Chris N3JHR, Joe N3EMA and his son Patrick followed by Doug N3RJE & Bernie N3RJD. And last was Al KA3YCG representing the team Rocky KA3YVR, Randy N3LJE, Bill N3RAF. Congratulations to all. And next time Rocky, Don, and Tom I'll try to give you a head start so you have a better chance at making it to the finish. There was a moment when I was afraid I would have to go find all of you. I was a bit worried at the beginning that by putting the start at Plumsteadville and the Fox at High Rocks Stovers Park, everyone would just drive down the only road that took them in the direction of the signal. This would end the hunt in minutes. My worries where unfound. I don't know how many started out that way but they certainly didn't take the direct route. For all of you that didn't participate in the transmitter hunt let me explain how this one worked out. Everyone met at a shopping center in Plumsteadville and assembled their team or teams. While there, they were given an ID number for their team. While this was being done I went to a place about 4 miles away and set up the transmitter. The transmitter was a beacon, with a cw call sign about every 7 to 8 minutes. And there were cw messages sent at random to pass along some clues. ( all computer controlled ) At the same time as the transmitter was sending its beacon there was a net on an other frequency there everyone could get help if they were lost and every so often more clues. Everyone had instructions to listen to the net for up dates on how things were going. I don't think this setup could have worked out any better. I didn't hear much from anyone but they must have been listening. Because about 1 ½ hours later I started to see and hear things on the radio that let me know they were closing in. The challenge that everyone had was that the transmitter was on the other side of a stream and the only way to it was (1) a foot bridge and ¼ mile hike. Or (2) drive 2 miles up or down stream to get to a bridge to the other side. Once on the other side they could drive back to the park were they could park their car(s) and set out on foot for about 200 yards to the transmitter. But to give the hikers a little bonus for making the hike. I set the transmitter in a rock formation that from the hikers approach they could see the equipment (if they were watching the trail a head). But from the parking area approach all that was visible was the 6 inch rubber duck antenna sticking out of a rock at ground level. Think about it. Just your HT antenna standing on end on the ground in a forest that you've never been in before. >From the comments made to me, everyone liked this little challenge. To get back to the first line in this article, there where seven teams trying to find the foxes hiding place. There were eight but one team joined an other when their equipment failed. So only five teams found the transmitter. Of course the two teams that didn_t, had equipment failure. (Ha ha). After all, if the equipment had been working correctly they would have been the first team there. (right Rocky & Don). Add to the broken equipment, a lost set of keys, a broken down car, and all the wrong turns and you can see that although there were 5 teams that found the fox, the fox more than got even with the hunters. Now if you really want a report on how the hunt went, just ask any of the hunters. Buy the time you read this article their stories should (you could say) be more detailed. Again. Congratulations all. You will all be happy to know that you've chased the fox back in to his cage. But I think he's figured out how the cage door latch works. If he gets away again I'll let you all know. 73', Bob; KA3VKU WARC 1997 Picnic
The date and place of the Warminster Amateur Radio Club's 1997 picnic has been set. It will be held on Sunday September 7, 1997 at Core Creek Park's Pavilion 8. This is the Sunday after Labor Day. Pavilion 8 is next to the pavilion we used last year at Core Creek Park which is located in Langhorne, PA (Bucks County).
We will start the picnic at 1:00 PM. As always, the club will supply hamburgers, hot dogs, buns, soda, and condiments. We ask each family to bring a covered dish or a desert so that we can all sample your best recipes.
The WARC picnic is a great chance to get together with the other members of the club as well as their families. There are always fun discussions of things that have gone on in the past year as well as comparisons of HT's and ways to mount a rig in the car. Hopefully the Goop will make an encore appearance this year!
To help the organization of the picnic go smoothly and not leave too much work for any one person, I am looking for a few volunteers. Four or five people to pick up things like charcoal, light fluid, food and such will make the picnic a huge success. So if you would to loan me a few hours, give me a shout. You can catch me on the club's repeaters usually in the morning, give me a call at home (215-953-1493), or send me E-mail (mkempisty@gic.gi.com). Your assistance will be appreciated.
Mark Kempisty, N3GNW
AND A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL. At the Shire of Our Lady Of Czestochowa, the field is now empty. the dust has settled, the silence has returned and I can look back, perhaps with a little pride, and say this was a very good FIELD DAY. It had taken a little arm twisting to get band captains and planning to make it all happen for 24 short hours. It was successful thanks to the help of over 40 club members, family members and friends who were involved with everything from set-up through tear-down. With beautiful weather, mowed fields, and everything delivered on schedule, the day started off well. The advance party had spent Friday evening doing site preparations so the mornings efforts could focus on getting stations on the air. Everyone worked together to assemble or build antennas and get towers and masts erected.. We had 7 transmitters on the air at one time and ran all the specialty modes such as packet, solar power VHF/UHF, novice station and satellite. Chief Chef N3OZO provided one of generators, prepared most meals, played technician repairing broken equipment and did some operating too. KU3A lent his large generator so all the stations could run at least 8 hours without interruptions. N2QVU ran extra blocking getting the field mowed just before setup, running errands and lending a hand with the grunt work of setup, and tear down. KA3VKU, working with a tough family schedule, hauled all the gear from storage on Friday night, helped set-up the tent and returned Sunday to return all the club gear to storage. N3IPM - arrived with a stationwagon full of generators and equipment - stayed through Sunday setting up, tearing down and lending a hand whenever he was needed. N3SOQ - Burned to a crisp Saturday; none the less, returned Sunday to help clean-up. Band Captains, KY3T, K3MFI, KT2B, KA3ZLY, W3ICC, KA3YCG, KA3N, K3SRO, KD3DI, NY3J, N3YOK/WD0ESL put together an impressive array of commercial and home-brew antennas, radios and operating positions from campers to screen tents. We had folks sleeping in everything from a condo tent array to the backseats of their stationwagons. We had families helping out with operating,, young folks being introduced to amateur radio and the wonders of DX, and visitors, like K3IA and his friend, that stopped in to operate giving others a break. Yes! there were problems and disappointments but what the heck - at least the weather was nice the food was good and all the radio's worked. If you were at the July meeting you know they asked me to run Field Day in '98. So lookout - I'll be looking for more help, especially Sunday when we are all tired and looking forward to going home. If you helped in 1997 you will be asked again and if we didn't hear from you mark your calendar now to reserve the time on the fourth weekend of June, 1998 so there will be no conflicts with visiting the WARC FIELD DAY. We hope to put stations on the 10, 12, 15 (2), 17, 20 (2), 40 (2), 75, and 80 meters plus all the other specialty stations and a bigger and better novice station as well. To do this we need more operators especially CW, equipment, antennas and band captains. Make this a total club event in 1998 by lending a hand and making a commitment to give a few hour of your time toward that goal. Here is a list of those I remember seeing this year K3MFI, NY3J, N2QVU, KA3VKU, KA3N, W3ICC, KA3ZLY, KD3TB, KE3BI, K3SRO, KA3YCG, N3IPM, KY3T+1, K3IA, NZ3Z, N3YVR, N3SOQ, WA4YWM, WD0ESL, WA3TQJ, N3OZO, K2TB, WA3IAO, N3XPW, N3WOE, N3YNI, N3YOK, KD3DI, N3NXT, N3ITT, N3EMA, WI3Z ,+1, ++ N3NID, KU3A, KB3BOY, N3VJM 4 OR MORE NON-HAMS WHO ALSO LENT A HAND. I am sure I have not mentioned all who helped setup, operate, lend moral support and/or equipment, and tear down but, hopefully you get the idea that if you didn't come out, you missed a great event. 73', Doc Whitticar; W3GAD
PRIVACY BILL COULD AFFECT SCANNER CERTIFICATION
A bill introduced by Rep Edward Markey of Massachusetts that's intended to add privacy protections for consumers using the nation's communication networks has caught the attention of scanner enthusiasts and some amateurs. One clause in the bill—HR 1964, the Communications Privacy and Consumer Empowerment Act—would expand electronic privacy provisions in the Communications Act from the cellular telephone service to all Commercial Mobile Radio Services (CMRS). It would do this by prohibiting FCC certification of devices capable of receiving these frequencies. The CMRS is a relative new umbrella designation of subscriber based radio services that act like telephone services. Such services include commercial paging services, commercial air-to-ground services, cellular telephone, offshore radiotelephone, personal communication services and specialized mobile radio services. The bill includes digital transmissions in those services. While the apparent purpose of the change is to ensure the privacy of "telephone" conversations, scanner enthusiasts fear that a worst-case outcome could be to inhibit, if not block completely, the further certification of scanning radios. This could include ham transceivers with out-of-band receiving capability. Such radios must receive FCC certification to be sold legally. Designing cost-effective devices to filter the proscribed frequencies could prove difficult for manufacturers. This week, the ARRL with met with Congressman Markey's staff in Washington to express Amateur Radio concerns about HR 1964. We presented information demonstrating what frequencies would be affected and the impact the bill could have on Amateur Radio public service activities. "We learned several things," said Steve Mansfield, the League's Legislative and Public Affairs Manager. "First, our suspicions were confirmed that, as a Democratic bill referred to the Republican controlled Commerce Committee, the bill has very little chance of passage in its present form." Mansfield said the League contingent also found out that members of Congress do pay attention. "We explained that, in addressing privacy concerns, the bill casts too wide a net and could hurt Amateur Radio interests," he said. "Rep Markey's staff listened attentively to our concerns and invited us to help them craft language to address the problems we outlined, which we are doing." Since provisions within the bill could still be picked up and put in other bills in this or subsequent sessions of Congress, we felt the bill still required changes. According to Colin Crowell, Markey's Legislative Assistant for telecommunication issues, the provision in question was intended to provide some privacy protections for fee-based "telephone" type services (especially the new PCS service) between now and the time that providers are able to develop robust digital and encryption technologies to ensure privacy.—Steve Mansfield, N1MZAMir back on the air:
As US astronaut Mike Foale, KB5UAC, bides his time aboard the troubled Mir space station, he has been active on 2-meter packet and FM voice. Harry Mueller, KC5TRB, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, reports working Foale July 21 on 145.985 MHz FM voice. KC5TRB responded to KB5UAC's CQ. Mueller reports that Foale said he was disappointed that this crew would not get to make the needed Mir repairs, but that he was in "good spirits." Mueller said that Foale "sends his best wishes and a big thank you to the Amateur Radio community" for its support during the Mir crises. From Melbourne, Australia, Chris Edmondson, VK3CE, reports connecting with the R0MIR packet system July 22 on 145.985 MHz and "good copy for the entire high pass of almost 14 minutes." Foale told MIREX CEO Dave Larsen, N6CO, on July 21 that he was having frequent power problems with the TNC and losing messages. "Sorry. No supply store is near at hand," Foale quipped, adding that he was getting ready for the next Mir crew to arrive on August 7. (Note: Mir also uses 145.800/200 MHz—Ed.) thanks to Rosalie White, WA1STO Courtesy The ARRL Letter
Send a "Get Well QSL" Two of our club members are recovering from recent health problems. Let them know of your wishes for a speedy recovery by sending your QSL card to:
W3MXN
LAVERNE J TAYLOR 475 LEAH DR FORT WASHINGTON PA 19034KA3BBU
John Egoville, a former club member, has been in and out of the hospital for the last several months. I am sure he would appreciate a note from WARC members.
John Egoville, KA3BBU 324 Valley Road Oreland, PA 19075For Sale
Drake MN-2000 Antenna tuner with SWR/Power meter. Will handle full legal power. $200 Firm 6JB6 tubes (the finals for the Drake T-4XB) $12 each ICOM 2AT HT with BP-2 battery pack also DC converter for use with 12 volt power source, BC-30 battery charger $150 OBO Heath 2 meter Amp 2 in 10 out $15 OBO Butternut Vertical 12AVQ-S 10-15-20 meters never used $100 OBO Butternut Vertical l4AVQ/WB-S 10-40 meters. $ 150 OBO Contact Marty Squicciarini, NR3Z at (215) 393-1492 evening or (610) 354-4507 day.Tower for sale. Good Condition Rohn 25G 4 ten foot sections 1 nine foot top section. Flat roof base (can be bolted to concrete pad) 4 foot side arm for vertical or small beam.All stainless hardware included. $200 firm Call Al Konschak, WI3Z;215-491-9941
Free Stuff
Collection of QST magazines from 1975 to 1996
See Gene, NO3N, 322-62447
UPCOMING WARC PUBLIC SERVICE EVENTS
MIDDLETOWN GRANGE FAIR - Wednesday through Sunday, August 13-17 (Wednesday and Thursday 4 PM to 10 PM [6 ops needed each day]; Friday 10 PM to 11PM [16 ops needed]; Saturday 10 AM to 10 PM [16 ops needed]; Sunday 10 AM to 5 PM [8 ops needed]) Contact: Anna (KB3BAN) or John (KA3WDY) at fishes@voicenet.com or by calling 862-3251
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