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Inside this issue: Bishop Club

September 29, 2011

 Jon Patzer 2

 FCC on Coordination 3 From the President’s Shack Adrian Van Der Riet  Editors Notes 4

 Allstar System 5 Hard to believe it is September already. The leaves are turning, the sun is rising later and setting earlier and my morning ride to work is positively cold! Fall is upon us  Silent Keys 7 and soon the first winter Storms will visit. Where did the year go?  Rookie Roundup 8

The last few months have been busy. Since our last  Scanner Info 9 newsletter we again supported a very successful Bishop Ultra Marathon. We had Field Day at John AD6NR’s place and it was a lot of fun setting up anten-  Info 10 nae and operating as N6OV. The new structure at Silver Peak is complete, our new antenna is installed and there remain a few details to sort out before win- ter is upon us. We had fun and memorable T-hunts and I look forward to  B.A.R.C. Info 11 many more. There are several interesting ventures still in the pipeline and it remains to be seen how they turn out.

I have not had much opportunity to operate portable in the mountains this year what with being president and putting up my tower and work getting in the way. My S.O.T.A. opportunities are fast drawing to a close with winter approaching. The peaks I did activate have been both challenging and memora- ble. I managed 21 summits last year and only 8 so far this year. My homebuilt KX1 is still is still working flawlessly and the recent addition of some RG-174 co-ax (replacing the RG-59 - I can live with the extra 0.7dB loss) and SMA con- nectors (replacing the BNC’s) have reduced the weight even further. I really enjoy my S.O.T.A trips. I find it a great motivator for getting into the outdoors, seeing new places and honing new skills – specifically my snow travel and CW (which is coming on slowly). I still practice at least 5 minutes every day at work Please remember to thank and during my lunch break. support our host, the Bishop Salvation Army. The Salvation I am very pleased to have been able to put my tower up this year. It took Army has given us free use of more work than I had imagined but was well worth it. Thanks again to all those their facilities for our monthly who helped with the concrete work. My biggest thanks must go to my wife, meetings and our quarterly Gigi N6GIG. Her encouragement, enthusiasm and physical help were indispen- license exams. sable. At 65ft high and with the same 20/40 meter beam that Grant W6NTK (SK) used I can work signals I couldn’t even hear on my 80 meter loop. It has made working QRP S.O.T.A activators far easier. It is still a challenge, mind you!!! Continued on page 9 2

Former BARC President Jon Patzer… NW6C

A bit of Fall is in the air today, at least it seemed like it this morning. As “past President” it is very satis- fying to see the activities happening with BARC recently. With Adrian's leadership, Club needs have been assessed, reconnaissance of Silver peak and Mammoth Mountain radio sites has been done, priori- ties assigned, and work done to meet those priorities. John (AD6NR) and Adrian (N6VDR), often with the assistance of Gigi (N6GIG), have enlisted the help of Dennis (W6IY) and myself (NW6C) to thor- oughly sort out the Silver Peak site. Main emphasis has been put on the “backbone” 2m repeater -- 146.94.

BARC purchased a new Kenwood repeater quite a few years ago as the first step to modernizing and improving reliability of the Club's main repeater. Next on the list was improving the antenna. Bob (W7WOW) then got the Club to try a Tram home antenna with new coax. The antenna suffered, but the system made it through the Winter fully operational for the first time in years. Last winter the temporary antenna mount bent over, and then the old repeater control logic module failed on the backup repeater. So far this year, a new antenna has been tested, an antenna mounting frame has been designed and installed on the building with Mark (KI6MWI) doing a lot of the material sourcing and preparation. New coax (Heliax with connectors) is on order, and duplexer/filtering parameters are being scrutinized. Many more repair and housekeeping items have been done.

Shortly before BARC bought the Kenwood repeater for Silver Peak, Mono County Search and Rescue volunteers pooled their funds to by a Kenwood repeater for Mammoth Mountain to replace the Caltrans provided Motorola repeater that failed. These “new age” are software configured, with a huge amount of variables and functions that can be set. Both the Mammoth and Silver Peak repeaters were set up for service with a “best guess” initial programming by the installer. Except for some minor chang- es by the installer right after initialization, that original programming had remained until this year. Both repeaters have now had their original programming downloaded to Club archives. Mammoth has had a few minor revisions. John (AD6NR) has recently reviewed the whole Silver Peak program contents (with test help from Dennis, Adrian, Keith and others) and is trying out optimized parameters. If the testing on Silver works, similar parameters will be written to the Mammoth repeater.

The linking of the Mammoth and Silver Peak repeaters is still on the “things to do” list. First priority has been assessing the sites and getting the existing operation optimized.

Also in the works is the assessment of the request from the Red Cross to install an emergency communi- cations transmitter at our Silver Peak building. BARC would like to help the Red Cross, but concerns over the impacts to our already somewhat stuffed building and the Club's site permit provisions are being investigated prior to a decision. Mike (K2JME), retired head of the local Forrest Service radio communi- cations, has volunteer to make a presentation regarding this at the next Club meeting.

Transmitter hunts, Summits On The Air (SOTA) contacts, and a simplex net have also been added to the activities recently. Adrian is the man on the mountain for SOTA in this area. Other members (like me) provide some support by monitoring for the radio transmissions.

It has been an interesting year for BARC, and we should have an interesting September club meeting on the second Wednesday of the month. Jon Patzer… NW6C 3

FCC views on Amateur radio frequency coordinators 7-9-08.

Mr. Cross’s comments refer to the “D’wana Terry letter”, which was an official communication from the FCC to a Congress- man in California (on behalf of a constituent) regarding his inquiry into amateur repeater coordination. The letter was written by Bill Cross and signed by D’wana Terry, the Chief of the Public Safety and Private Division, Wireless Telecommuni- cations Bureau of the FCC. This letter very clearly states the FCC’s position on amateur repeater frequency coordination.

Excerpts of his remarks are given below: Frequency coordination in the amateur service is voluntary. Always has been. In 1987, in PR Docket No. 85-22, Re- port and Order Memorandum and Opinion and Order, the Commission decided to continue relying on voluntary coordination of amateur service repeater stations. There is no Commission rule requiring approval of a frequency coordinator before a repeater goes on the air. This is what the letter said.: Frequency coordinators are entities that are recognized in a local or regional area by amateur radio operators whose stations are eligible to be auxiliary or repeater stations. Frequency coordinators may be individuals, clubs, or informal groups. They don’t have to be hams, but they usually are.

Frequency coordinators derive their recognition from the voluntary participation of the local or regional amateur service community. We do not tell you who your frequency coordinator is. The frequency coordinator is responsi- ble to you - it is not responsible to the FCC. In a system where you voluntarily choose to put up a repeater and voluntarily recognize the coordinator, a coordinator not considering the concerns of all users of spectrum affected by repeater operation can be replaced by local amateurs choosing another frequency coordination entity. Changing coordinators is the mechanism that we anticipated you would use to replace a frequency coordinator that was not representative of all or otherwise meeting your needs.

This process does not involve the FCC. The FCC does not recognize or regulate local or regional frequency coordi- nators, per se. The list of coordinators in the ARRL Repeater Directory is there for whatever editorial or informa- tional purpose the ARRL decided this list would serve. Complaining to us about them isn’t going to do you much good—we aren’t going to send Riley after an entity we don’t recognize in the first place.

The function of an amateur service frequency coordinator is recommending transmit/receive channels and associat- ed operating and technical parameters in order to avoid or minimize potential interference. The action word is rec- ommend. You may go to your local frequency coordinator and ask about getting coordinated. The coordinator can tell you that its database shows no available channels. Or that it cannot recommend transmit/receive channels or associated operating and technical parameters for your station. There are a multitude of reasons they may not be able to. As long as you do not cause harmful interference to another station, however, you can put your repeater on the air. Section 97.205 provides the authority. The licensee of the repeater station is responsible for that station.

It may be that the standards the coordinator is using do not fit your area or that there are facts about local condi- tions that are not known to the coordinator, or that the database is out of date. A frequency coordinator does not have the authority tell any licensee that he or she may not put a repeater on the air. Telling you that would in essence, restrict what your license authorizes. Only the Commission can do that. The coordinator’s decision is to coordinate your station or to not coordinate your station.

The FCC’s longstanding policy of permitting amateur radio operators to collectively self-regulate your repeater co- ordinators has generally been a resounding success. This policy has allowed you to determine for yourself how to meet your needs. There are no Commission rules governing the selection of a coordinator or the procedures for coordination. The technical standards a coordinator uses such as distance separation, propagation models, channels spacing etc are not FCC standards are not in the rules. If the standards a coordinator is using are “wrong” in some sense, tell the coordinator. Continued on page 4 4

FCC views on Amateur radio frequency coordinators 7-9-08. Continued from page ????

I assure you that different coordinators around the country use different standards. Amateur radio operators and coordinators have the flexibility to make and change these standards at the local and regional level. If the coordi- nator doesn’t listen, find someone to better perform this function. Coordination is an option to serve your needs. Voluntary coordination and the flexibility that goes with it has allowed you to respond to local situa- tions in a manner that meets your needs. For example, a coordinator in the New York City area folded up his tent some years ago. Amateur service repeaters continued to operate. Later, licensees in the Tri-State area decided they wanted to try coordination again, but they carved up the area differently: a new coordinator did some of the area and a coordinator in Connecticut does some of the Long Island counties, as I recall. Some areas have no co- ordination entity.

The local hams can do this because the rules do not hamper them. The process need not involve us, does not in- volve us, and it should not involve us. I have the greatest confidence that you can do a better job collectively solv- ing your local or regional problem than the FCC ever could.

Frequency coordination is taken without the involvement of the FCC. This approach keeps coordination at the local level, where people who more readily have knowledge of the facts can respond to the situations expeditious- ly and where the coordinator is directly answerable to the local amateur community.

If you want, you can have multiple coordinators in a state or on a band, part of a state coordinated (like the urban parts) and other parts not, some bands coordinated (the congested ones I suppose) and some bands not coordi- nated. If one of these models fits your needs, then use it. There are a lot of other models, too.

The Commission has never selected or approved any entity as a local or regional amateur service frequency coor- dinator, or reviewed the coordination decisions of a particular amateur service frequency coordinator. In the few geographical areas where the local or regional amateur service community has decided to have multiple frequency coordinators, we expect that the coordinators will cooperate with each other.

If they don’t, you the users will not be able to use your channels. The requirement that licensees may make the most effective use of amateur service frequencies, is still there and the fact that multiple coordinators may be in- volved does not absolve licensees of this responsibility.” Note: previous text was provided by the W5YI Report and as stipulated in the original copy: "May be reproduced providing credit is given the W5YI Report." We wish to thank The W5YI Report for providing this information.

Editor’s Notes

Thanks to Adrian, Jon, Walt, Steve Rodgers & Jackie Bramlette for their newsletter arti- cles. Articles are always appreciated and welcome anytime.

Recently I have been using Steve Rodgers Allstar System on Silver peak. I have found it to be a very good system and I have put some information from Steve about how to use the system in this newsletter . Give it a try and check it out for yourself.

Thanks go out to Greg Stahlman for his $100.00 donation to the club.

Bob, N7RAP 5

444.800 Silver Peak User DTMF Command List And User Instructions

This is a list of user DTMF functions available from the 444.800 Silver Peak repeater in Bishop, California. The 444.800 repeater requires a CTCSS access tone of 88.5Hz and is accessible externally as Allstar number 2011 and Echolink node number 401033. For a list of other allstar node numbers, please visit http:// stats.allstarlink.org. For a list of Echolink node numbers, please visit http://echolink.org

Issuing DTMF commands

To successfully issue DTMF commands, key your radio, wait ½ second, ID with your callsign, then issue the com- mand. This accomplishes two things: The link takes time to completely come up, and also lets the control opera- tors know who is sending commands to the system.

All DTMF commands begin with a star (*).

Command Description Notes *1nodenum Disconnect from a node Refer to: “Connecting to and Disconnecting from Allstar and Echolink Node numbers” below. *3nodenum Connect to a node Refer to: “Connecting to and Disconnecting from Allstar and Echolink Node numbers” below. *7 Query nodes connected locally Reads back the node numbers of all nodes connected to the repeater locally *87 Query nodes system-wide Reads back all node numbers currently connected everywhere. *81 Read back local time of day *80 Force system ID *6 Autopatch up Refer to “Autopatch calls” below *0 Autopatch down Refer to “Autopatch calls” below *51 Disconnect all links Force repeater into standalone operation *52 Site Normal Puts repeater into default link configuration *53 Restore Links Reconnect all links disconnected with *51

Connecting to and Disconnecting from Allstar and Echolink Node numbers

All Allstar link node numbers begin with 2 and are 4 to 5 digits in length. Here are some examples:

The DTMF command to connect to Allstar node number 2345 would be *3 + 2345 The DTMF command to disconnect from Allstar node number 2345 would be *1 + 2345

Continued on page ???? 6

444.800 Silver Peak User DTMF Command List And User Instructions Continued from page ???

Echolink node numbers begin with 3 and are followed by a Echolink node number padded out to 6 digits with lead- ing zeroes. Here are some examples:

The DTMF command to connect to a 6 digit Echolink node number 123456 would be *3+3+123456. The DTMF command to connect to a 4 digit Echolink node number 5678 would be *3 + 3 + 00 + 5678. The DTMF command to disconnect from a 6 digit Echolink node number 123456 would be *1 + 3 + 123456

Connections will last until either party disconnects, or connectivity is lost.

If you want to restore the default linking configuration when you are finished using the system, issue the “site nor- mal” command *52. This will disconnect any connections you made to other nodes, and reconnect the nodes which should be connected by default.

Courtesy Tones

If the system is not linked to anything, a dual tone of 660hz and 880hz will be heard as the courtesy beep.

If the system is linked to some other node or nodes then a 1633Hz tone followed by a 1209Hz tone will be heard as the courtesy beep.

Autopatch Calls

The autopatch is accessed by dialing *6 followed by the 7 or 10 digit phone number you wish to dial. The au- topatch call is terminated by dialing *0. Calls can be made to any location in the or Canada except for certain special area codes and prefixes such as 819, 900, 976, 800 etc. Please note: There is no 911 service available from the autopatch. as it uses a VOIP service provider to connect to the network. Please keep a list of 7 digit numbers handy for emergency services. Per minute for the calls is currently being paid for by Steve, WA6ZFT, and at 1.4 cents per minute, as long as the used minutes are less than a few dollars per month, there will be no changes to the way the autopatch is administered.

The autopatch will automatically disconnect in 3 minutes, or when the called party hangs up.

If the system is linked and you want to make an autopatch call, It is best to go completely off-link before making an autopatch call, then restoring the original link configuration when you are done. Use the *51 command to take the system off-link, make your autopatch call as described above, then restore the link configuration by dialing *53. 7

2011 2010 2006 Marvin “Marty” Bramlette Ted Shelander - AE6YM Kris Dean - KC7ICH KE6VVB Charlie Specht - W6VOO Don Stansifer - N6RU Paul Williams - W6LHY

2009 2005 Grant Storey – W6NTK Gary Belda - K6ENS

Elva Storey - Grants XYL Sam LaLande - W6OXX

2008 C.J. Fischer - KE6REL

Val Cameron - KG6FCJ Bill Millegan - W6DQR

Dave Davis - KG6WSD Alethea Miller - KA6RFM

2007 2004 Terry Downey - W6TD Frances Stansifer - N6KGX

Jay Fansler - KI6CAA Gertie Williams - WB6JMA Len Sluyter -W6BNO

Marvin “Marty” Bramlette 1931 – 2011 Marty was a big man, but gentle in his ways. He was a man you could always depend upon. His word was his bond. If he told you he would do something, you could depend upon his doing it. And he took you at your word too.

He was an avid sportsman who loved hunting and fishing. Each deer season he and Jackie his wife would make their annual two week camp out in the back country and spend each day tracking out a buck. Many a day they walked miles without ever seeing any game, but by the end of the season they usually each got their deer.

Marty worked for the Mono County Road Dept. and loved heavy equipment. He specialized in the motor grad- er. While living in Lee Vining he did a lot of snow removal which included the town of June Lake and survived the winter of 69. He did a lot of fishing in the June Lake Loop area and some of the high elevation lakes in the Mono County area. They spent 8 years there before moving back to Benton Hot Springs. Some of Marty’s happiest memories were trolling Grant Lake and catching those beautiful trout.

Continued on page 8 8

Marvin “Marty” Bramlette Continued from page ???

He became interested in amateur radio and got his ham ticket. He met a lot of radio friends and joined a couple of clubs. He was directly involved in starting up the RARA amateur radio club which spanned Nevada and Calif. He also installed his radio repeaters at two mountain sites which were powered by solar. He was always interested in using solar power for different projects.

He and Jackie did a lot of traveling by motorcycle and sidecar belonging to a group called The Brother- hood of Motorcycle Campers. They and their cat Scooby, who always rode in a carrier on top of the trunk until they got the sidecar, pulled a tent trailer and made trips as far away as Yellowstone National Park and as low as Death Valley National Park. They always made a lot of friends and enjoyed their life together.

He developed an interest in shooting black powder rifles and pistols. They would travel to Fallon Neva- da and shoot against others in a club over there. He and Jackie got the urge to build their own rifles and spent much time helping one another to complete their projects. He was a member of the Eastern Sierra Muzzle Stuffers and enjoyed the competition of shooting against one another.

After moving to Bishop in the late 90’s, he decided to get a “vacation” place in Arizona where he could go fishing on the Colorado River. In 2006 he purchased two lots in Dolan Springs and set up a manu- factured home. His heavy equipment experience came in handy for landscaping the place with his trac- tor. He managed to get in some fishing and caught some bass and stripers along with some catfish. A wonderful experience for him was when he caught a 13 pound catfish off a boat dock and trying to get it to fit into his net while not breaking his 8 lb. line. 9

In Case of a Scanner Frequencies

Local Emergency

Bishop PD: “In case of an impending or current emergency, moni- tor the BARC repeater on 146.940- MHz (PL 103.5). 154.8750 - Bishop PD In case the repeater is down and/or repeater backup batteries run down, the simplex frequency of 146.940 155.0100 - Bishop PD used some MHz will be used.”

On the right you will see our local scanner frequencies listed. These frequencies will come in handy in case of Mammoth PD: an emergency. 155.5950 - Mammoth PD Simplex Net: The Bishop Amateur Radio Club has

started a new Simplex Net. It will be a short net on the first Wednesday night of the month at 7:30 p.m. (19:30) BLM & USFS: on 146.940 simplex and will precede the 8 p.m. nightly 166.3750 - BLM

net. The purpose of the net is to learn and practice Em- 168.1250 - USFS (Inyo National Forest Comm skills in the event of an extended power outage 170.5250 - USFS (Air Tankers) resulting in the repeaters running out of battery power. Check-in on emergency power if you can, i.e. a handheld, mobile or fixed radio connected to battery or Fire Districts: generator power. Learn the capabilities of your station 153.8750 - Fire Dispatch County Wide by finding out who you can and can’t work simplex and relay if necessary. 154.3100 - EMS Dispatch County Wide 151.3550 - California Department of Forestry

154.4300 - Bishop Dispatch Fire #1 From the President’s Shack 154.3700 - Independence Continued from page 1 154.4000 - Olancha

153.7700 - Olancha Thanks to all who volunteered their time, energy and fi- nances to the various projects this year. My thanks also to 154.2200 - Big Pine the officers and directors. I think that we have achieved a lot this year and can be proud of what we have accom- plished. Inyo County Law Enforcement:

154.7250 - Primary I look forward to seeing you all at the meeting on th Wednesday 12 October. It is that time of year again and I 155.5350 - Sheriff Car to Car will be accepting nominations for new officers for 2012. We will be voting on those nominations at the November 154.9200 - CLEMARS Car to Car meeting. 155.1600 - S&R, Inyo Sheriff

155.2200 - S&R, China Lake Mountain Res- 73, cue Adrian N6vdR. 10

Local Repeater Information

Frequency PL Call Location Sponsor Notes

147.330+ 100.0 Leviathan Open

146.655- 131.8 Leviathan Mono S.O. Open

146.970 131.8 Antelope Mono S.O. Open

146.880- 131.8 Conway Summit Mono S.O. Open

146.730- 100.0 NW6C Mono County, Mammoth Lakes B.A.R.C. Open

144.390 K6BDI Inyo County, Silver Peak APRS K6BDI Open

146.940- 103.5 N6OV Inyo County, Silver Peak B.A.R.C. Open

* 146.910- 103.5 W6IY Inyo County, Silver Peak W6IY Open

**146.760- None W6TD Inyo County, Mazourka Peak S.I.A.R.A. Open

**147.210+ None W6TD Inyo County, Little Lake S.I.A.R.A. Open

146.640- None Ridgecrest S.A.R.C. Open

145.340- 100 Government Peak S.A.R.C. Open

146.640- 123.0 Tonopah, NV Open

****146.790- Corey Peak Open

Frequency PL Call Location Sponsor Notes

***420.950+ 192.8 K6BDI Inyo County, Silver Peak K6BDI

444.600+ 100.0 W6IY Inyo County, Silver Peak Win System Open

**444.400+ 103.5 W6TD Inyo County, Silver Peak S.I.A.R.A. Open

**442.300+ 131.8 W6TD Inyo County, Mazourka Peak S.I.A.R.A. Open

**447.160- 131.8 W6TD Inyo County, Little Lake S.I.A.R.A. Open

444.800+ 88.5 WA6ZFT Inyo County, Silver Peak AllStarSys Open

448.800- 100.0 WI6RE Kern County, El Paso Peak Win System Open

Frequency PL Call Location Sponsor Notes

224.140- 103.5 W6IY Silver Peak W6IY Open

224.760- 103.5 W6SCE EARN Closed

* Notes: 146.910 is switchable to 146.940 if BARC repeater fails

** The 2 meter repeaters are linked. The 70cm repeaters are also linked together.

*** Linked to Las Vegas and Reno

**** Linked to 8 other repeaters, no tone for local Repeater. Requires a 192.8 tone to talk back into the “link”. 11

Mailing Address: B.A.R.C. Financial Report B.A.R.C. As of Sept 14, 2011 to Sept 29, 2011

P.O. Box 1024 Bishop, CA 93515-1024 Checking:

Beginning Balance: $1,814.17 B.A.R.C. Web Page: Nightly Net: Income: $100.00 Stahlman Donation Expenses: $0.00 www.n6ov.com 9:00 p.m. on 146.940- PL 103.5 Ending Balance: $1,914.17

BARC Meetings... Our meetings our held at the Bishop Salvation Army, 621 W. Line St., Savings: Bishop, Ca. Meetings are held at 7:00 pm on Beginning Balance: $1,011.36 the 2nd Wednesday of every month. Deposits: $0.00 Interest Income: $0.00 2011 B.A.R.C. Membership: Ending Balance: $1,011.36

It is that time of year again to renew our BARC membership. Membership remains at $20.00 annually for individuals and $5.00 for a second family member. Please continue to support the Bishop Amateur Radio Club with your annual “One neighbor endlessly bangs his head against Membership. the wall, while another screams all night.”

“How do you put up with it?”

“I just ignore them and play my bagpipes.” B.A.R.C. Officers

President: Adrian van der Riet: [email protected] Vice Pres.: Mike Fitzsimmons: [email protected] Secretary: John Shepherd: [email protected] Treasurer: Bob Payne: [email protected]

Board of Directors Bob Moss: [email protected] Kurt Pauer: [email protected] Everett Storey: No E-mail

B.A.R.C. License Exams Nov 5, 2011 February 4, 2012 May 5, 2012 August 4, 2012 - .... .- - .----. ... / .- .-.. .- November 3, 2012 .. / ..-. --- .-.. -.- ...