Big Thanks to All Who Hamfest Building an Electronic Helped Make 2013 a Wrap-up and Plans for T/R Switch Great Year for the FWRC! the Christmas Dinner

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December 2013 HamNews Volume 14 Allen County Issue 12 Fort Wayne Radio Club Fort Wayne DX Association Allen County Amateur Radio Technical Society

2013 HAMFEST WRAPS-UP

And the winner of the BaoFeng dual band HT is ... (drum roll please) Ken Uhrick, KB9YKU. Ken received the HT at the Hamfest at 11:00 am on Sunday, just after the drawing. Enjoy your new HT, Ken!!

Check out the Photos section of the FWRC web page for more Hamfest photos!

Also this month Allen County HamNews is a monthly joint publication of Hamfest Photos ...... 1, 5 Contest Callendar ...... 10 the Fort Wayne Radio Club (P.O. Box 15127, Fort Wayne, IN 46885), the Allen County Amateur Radio Technical SKYWARN Activated ...... 7 Membership Application .....10 Society (P.O. Box 10342, Fort Wayne, IN 46851), and the Foxhunt Chronicles ...... 8 Local Nets ...... 11 Fort Wayne DX Association. Classifi ed Ads ...... 10 Activities Calendar ...... 12 Please send any articles, classifi ed ads, or other information to the editor, Ken Helms, AB9ZD, at ab9zd at Internet Home Pages arrl.net. Please put “For Newsletter” in the subject line. Fort Wayne Radio Club: http://www.FWRC.info/ Most text and graphics formats are acceptable. Microsoft http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FWRC/ Word and JPEG are preferred if separate fi les are used. For those without computer access, please mail your ACARTS: http://www.acarts.com submission to either of the clubs post offi ce boxes. Fort Wayne DX Association: http://www.qsl.net/fwdxa/ ARES: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Allen_Co_IN_ARES/ The deadline for the each issue is the last day of the IN_PACKET Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IN_PACKET/ preceding month. Offi cers

President Hamsplatter Steve Nardin, W9SAN Fort Wayne Radio Club P.O. Box15127, Fort Wayne, IN 260-482-4039 w9san(at)arrl.net THE PRESIDENT’S CORNER Vice President am writing this editorial just before nice BaoFeng HT drawing poster was his Jim Pliett, K9OMA IThanksgiving, so it seems fi tting that handiwork, as has been some certifi cates 260-693-9211 I end 2013 with an expression of thanks for past special event stations. jhp16702(at)frontier.com to arguably one of the best clubs in the I cannot forget the “unoffi cial” 94 re- state. I will try my best not to forget any- peater ‘team’ of Chad, W9GGA, Secretary one, so here goes: Brian, W9BJG, and Clint, KB9LOF, Al Burke, WB9SSE Thanks to my Board Of Direc- who have taken on the job of 260-637-1989 tors! My board has helped me keeping the voice announce- aburke55(at)comcast.net to bring success to our opera- ments up to date and relevant. tions this year. Jim, K9OMA, as Having one machine that has up Treasurer VP and Repeater RF specialist, Al, WB9SSE, to the minute information is great, since it Bob Streeter, W8ST as secretary and also RF and Fox Hunt is always there when needed. 260-672-9737 chronicler. Thanks also to Paul, KA3OPZ, w8st(at)arrl.net Special thanks to the YL’s that work at who didn’t make many meetings, but did Field Day and Banquets, like Kim, KB9DOS, an outstanding job of keeping repeater, Communications Deb, KB9DEB, and Linda, W9LAN. Another Echolink, and D-STAR running smoothly Paul Prestia, KA3OPZ unseen hero of the club is Woody, KC9C- despite a busy job schedule. 260-247-2806 GN. By obtaining surplus equipment from phixher(at)gmail.com Treasurer Bob, W8ST, did his usual Raytheon, the auction and Tail Gate Ham- great job of balancing the budget and fest have been nicely profi table for the Directors keeping the club on an even keel, plus club, and that helps all of us! Tom Baker, N9TB running the auction in January. Our board So once again, I am the proudest club 260-747-2714 did their usual great job, too, so thanks to president in North East ! Our n9tb(at)arrl.net Tom, N9TB, Tom, KU8T, Jim, KB9DOT, and meetings typically draw about 30% of our Charles, KC9MUT, for all the guidance and membership (which passed the 100 mark Charles Ward, KC9MUT hard work, plus your active participation this fall) and in today’s world, that is a fan- 260-749-4824 in club activities and Fox Hunting. Also, tastic statistic. kc9mut(at)yahoo.com though not a board member in the strict sense, thanks to Carole, WB9RUS, for her Thanks too for all the members that Jim Machamer, KB9DOT work as club Trustee for the W9TE club li- support the club even though they can’t 260-485-8559 cense. make the meetings or the on the air op- jimandkim(at)juno.com erations! Your fi nancial support is critical As in Carole’s case, you do not have to to keeping the repeaters on the air and be on the BOD to be a club contributor. Tom Rupp, KU8T the club strong. Thanks to Ken, AB9ZD, for his excellent 260-672-8880 work on the Allen County Ham News, eas- I truly hope that I haven’t forgotten to gmrepair1(at)aol.com ily one of the very best newsletters in the recognize anyone that has been a posi- Hoosier (or any) state! Our website is the tive infl uence on the club. W9TE Trustee work of Jay, W9LW, who makes it one of Carole Burke, WB9RUS the best I have seen. Another is Joseph, K9RFZ, who has contributed to club op- Webmaster erations in many diff erent ways. The Jay Farlow, W9LW

December 20: Please plan on joining us for the December Christmas Banquet: December 20th, 6:30 to 8:30 pm in Raasch Hall at Unless otherwise scheduled, all Good Shepherd United Methodist meetings are held at the Good Shep- Church. All are welcome, 2013 and herd United Methodist Church, 4700 new 2014 Members. Vance Avenue, Fort Wayne, IN.

Page 2 Allen County HamNews December 2013 2013 was a great year for the club. Now Articles, photographs, and classifi ed that we move into 2014, the ARRL’s 100th ads for publication in the Allen year, we are looking at yet another good County HamNews should be emailed time to a Radio Amateur! Have a wonder- to the newsletter editor at AB9ZD ful holiday season! (at) ARRL.NET before the fi rst of the 73, Steve, W9SAN month.

FWRC MEETING MINUTES he November meeting of the Ft. win the HT for the sum of one dollar per country. Those interested in participating TWayne Radio Club was held at the chance. were asked to contact Steve. Good Shepherd United Methodist Church Finally, Steve noted that the club is pur- Steve then announced that the last on 8 November, 2013. It was hosted by suing quotes from several tower climbing (November) foxhunt of the 2013 season club president Steve Nardin, W9SAN. companies to replace the failed Station would occur on Sunday, November 10th Since Carole and I were basking in Master antenna atop the tower at IPFW- starting from the usual location. Jim Pli- the warmth out in Phoenix, Arizona, we Kettler Hall that is used to implement the ett, K9OMA and Al Burke, WB9SSE will were not in attendance. So here’s a tip 146.91/.31 MHz Echo-Link repeater. serve as the fox, and the fox output will of the hat to Linda Nardin, W9LAN who be on 146.160 MHz. Following the fox- Steve also mentioned that the club graciously took notes that allowed me to hunt, everyone is invited to attend the has two adjacent tables, as usual, for the coble these minutes together. annual end-of-the-foxhunt season cook- hamfest. Members may use the table for out, blow-out and bonfi re and Jim & An- Following the Pledge of Allegiance, ev- things they wish to off er for sale provided nie Pliett’s QTH out on Wappes Rd. Annie eryone introduced themselves by name that they sign up to man (or woman) the and Carole are preparing both red and and call sign. Then Steve announced sev- table sometime during the course of the white chili, hot dogs and other goodies, eral actions taken by the Board of Direc- event. Steve had a sign-up sheet for that and with the carry-in that attendees typi- tors at the last Board meeting: purpose. cally bring, it should result in a yummy The Board voted to purchase 40, 20, 15 Steve then noted that VE exams would get-together as usual. and 10 meter LNR end-fed antennas for be proctored from 9:00 am thru 11:30 am Following the business meeting use at various club operating events. Saturday morning at the Coliseum. Charles Ward, KC9MUT provided foxhunt The Board also voted to purchase a Ft. Wayne Hamfest Chairman Jim Boy- videos he had captured during the Sep- microprocessor controlled two meter er, KB9IH likewise passed around a sign- tember hunt. This included images from microfox that can be used during club up sheet for anyone willing to help out a camera mounted on the boom of his sponsored foxhunts and for foxhunting manning various tasks during the ham- hand-held foxhunting antenna as he demonstrations. fest that would be occurring from Friday slogged through the location where the evening through Sunday of the event. fox was ensconced. Then Joseph Law- The Board voted to purchase a spare rence, KB9RFZ and Charles provided vid- NHRC Micro Repeater Controller as we Bob Streeter, W8ST, provided the Trea- eos they captured of the Ft. Wayne His- have had two of them fail lately (Jim Pli- sure’s report. As of 8 November, 2013 the torical Society’s “765” ett, K9OMA was able to repair them). They treasury’s balances were as follows: that hauled fi fteen are used in the club’s repeaters. Income, year-to-date $3,585.42 cars packed with passengers through The Board voted to purchase two tires Ft. Wayne to Lafayette, Indiana and back Expenses, year-to-date $1,741.34 for the club trailer as the existing tires over the weekend of 26-27 October. have reached end-of-life. This purchase Cash on hand $181.34 Respectfully submitted, will be put off until the spring of next year. Checking balance $902.54 Al Burke, WB9SSE The Board approved (by vote) a plan Savings balance $8,045.25 to purchase a Baofeng UV-5R dual-band Secretary, FWRC HT and off er it in a drawing at the Ft. Steve reported that the FWRC has Wayne Hamfest with the intent of bolster- been asked to participate as operators ing paid-up club memberships for 2014. for the annual Skywarn Recognition Day Say Again? Anyone who has already paid their regu- event that is coming up on Friday, De- lar or family membership CY2014 dues, or cember 6th to Saturday, December 7th “Sensible and responsible who pays their dues as a new or existing from 0000 UTC to 2359 UTC at the Nation- women do not want to vote.” club member before 11:00 am on Sunday, al Weather Service site in North Webster, 10 November will be given one chance Indiana. This is a special event station for Grover Cleveland at the drawing for the HT, and these folks the WX9IWX station at the NWS, and will U.S. President, 1905 can purchase additional opportunities to join other Skywarn SE stations around the

December 2013 Allen County HamNews Page 3 ACARTS Offi cers State of the Arts President Dave Lindquist, W9LKH Allen County Amateur Radio Technical Society P.O. Box 10342, Fort Wayne, IN 260-485-6135 w9lkh(at)comcast.net ACARTS PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Vice President nother Hamfest has Dave Van Doorn, W9WEL, Dave Keiser, WB9UNL passed. Many thanks to has been appointed a ‘techni- A 260-244-3322 all the workers, vendors, and cal Specialist’ by the ARRL. He is wb9unl(at)yahoo.com attendees that made it pos- willing to help with any amateur sible. Special thanks to the radio problems or questions, Secretary Hamfest Chairman Jim Boyer, especially with vacuum tube

KB9IH, and Table Chairman equipment. He can be reached Howard Pletcher, N9ADS, for at dlvandoorn1(at)gmail.com or putting it all together, as well 260-432-9397. Treasurer as the Managers for their part in recruit- The December ACARTS meeting is the Howard Pletcher, N9ADS ing workers. Thanks are also extended to Christmas Dinner. The event will again be 260-747-5252 Charles Ward, KC9MUT, for his develop- held at Hall’s GuestHouse at 1313 West hrpletch(at)gmail.com ment and use of the display system. The Washington Center Road at 7:00 p.m. Hamfest was successful. The Coliseum on Tuesday December 17th. We have re- sold 48 more tickets than last year, how- ACARTS Managers served the bigger room so there will be ever, both Regular and Premium table plenty of room this year. There is a charge sales were down slightly. The Hamfest Fundraising Manager: for the room if we don’t have 25 guests, was profi table, but the fi nal fi gures have Jim Boyer, KB9IH so plan on attending so that we can reach not yet been determined. 260-489-6700 that number. We had almost that many kb9ih(at)arrl.net Congratulations to Charles Ward, KC- last year. As was done last year, the club 9MUT, for winning the Workers’ drawing. will pay for a portion of the members’ din- Station Managers (Acting) ners. Guests, which are more than wel- The ACARTS election for 2014 is over. Dave Lindquist, W9LKH come, will have to pay the full amount. Thanks to the offi cers, managers, and 260-485-6135 Plan on attending for an evening of good directors who agreed to run for another w9lkh(at)comcast.net food and fellowship. Reservations are nec- term. Thanks to Dan Soper, KB9NGM, for and Jim Boyer, KB9IH essary, so please let me know if you plan stepping up to the Secretary’s position, 260-489-6700 on attending and how many guests you and to Larry Eckerley, KF9YP, for joining kb9ih(at)arrl.net are bringing by Sunday, December 15th. the Board of Directors as a Director at I can be reached at w9lkh(at)comcast.net Large. W9INX Trustee: or 260-485-6135. Dave Lindquist, W9LKH 73, 260-485-6135 w9lkh(at)comcast.net Dave Lindquist, W9LKH Directors at Large

Bob Erb, N9PWM December 17: ACARTS Christmas 260-466-7772 Dinner will again be held at roberterb(at)hotmail.com Hall’s GuestHouse at 1313 West Washington Center Road at 7:00 Bernie Holm, K9JDF p.m. on Tuesday December 17th. 260-485-0164 Reservations are necessary, so bgholmmg(at)earthlink.net please let Dave Lindquist know if you plan on attending and how many Dan Soper, KB9NGM guests you are bringing by Sunday, 260-637-5787 December 15th. He can be reached dlsoper(at)frontier.com at w9lkh(at)comcast.net or 260-485- 6135.

Page 4 Allen County HamNews December 2013 ACARTS NOVEMBER BOARD ACARTS NOVEMBER GENERAL MEETING MINUTES MEETING MINUTES he meeting was called to order by that the Sunday closing time be changed ave reported that E.J., KK9EJ, had sent TDave, W9LKH. to 1:00 p.m. instead of noon. him an e-mail that stated that he was D Dave announced that the December The Hamfest Worker Drawing was held. moving into a new house and would not meeting would be the Christmas Dinner The winner was Charles Ward, KC9MUT. have the APRS equipment ready for the at Hall’s Guesthouse at 7:00 p.m. on De- Hamfest, but would try to work on it over Dave Van Doorn, W9WEL, reported cember 17th and took reservations from the holidays. that he has been appointed a ‘Technical those attending. Specialist’ by the ARRL, with his main ex- Dave also stated that he had made the Jim, KB9IH, reported that ticket sales at pertise in vacuum tube electronics. arrangements for the worker lunch cou- the Hamfest were up by 48 over last year, pons with Casa’s and would drop of the The fl oor was opened for nominations and handed out a comparison spread- sample before the Hamfest. for the 2014 club offi cers, managers, and sheet showing Coliseum income and ex- directors. All of the current offi cers agreed Jim, KB9IH, said that he had had his fi - penses over the last several years. to run for another term. Dan, KB9NGM, nal meeting with the Coliseum before the Howard, N9ADS, reported that both agreed to run for Secretary instead of Di- Hamfest and that everything was set. He Regular and Premium table sales were rector at Large. Larry, KF9YP, off ered to run added that most of the workers’ packages down slightly from last year, but did not for the open Director at Large position. were mailed on Saturday. have the fi nal income/expense fi gures Bernie, K9JDF, made a motion that the No other business was discussed. yet. nominations be closed. It was seconded by Howard, N9ADS. Bernie, K9JDF, made The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 Dan, KB9NGM, stated that the forums a motion that the slate of candidates be p.m. were well attended and that there were elected by acclamation. It was seconded no glitches. Submitted by Dave Lindquist, W9LKH by Larry, KF9YP. The slate of candidates Dave, W9LKH, said that he was ap- was elected by a voice vote. proached at the Hamfest by someone The 2014 ACARTS offi cers, managers, from TekVenture, the group that holds and directors are: workshops in their “Maker Station” trail- er in the downtown library parking lot President - Dave Lindquist, W9LKH and holds the annual Maker Faire. Dave Vice President - Dave Keiser, WB9UNL said that he would see if someone from TekVenture would like to give a presen- Secretary - Dan Soper, KB9NGM tation at an ACARTS meeting to present Treasurer - Howard Pletcher, N9ADS their organization. Fund Raising (Hamfest) Manager - Bernie, K9JDF, recommended that that Jim Boyer, KB9IH door operators during setup and tear- down be part of traffi c instead of check-in, Directors at Large: and that they be equipped with HT’s on Bob Erb, N9PWM the traffi c frequency. He also suggested Bernie Holm, K9JDF Larry Eckerley, KF9YP Dave Lindquist, W9LKH, and Jim Boyer, KB9IH, are acting Station Managers The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m. More of the 2013 Hamfest Photos Submitted by Dave Lindquist, W9LKH

December 2013 Allen County HamNews Page 5 T/R switch in the old ARRL Handbook. It’s on page 254 in the 1963 Handbook. See the schematic of the switch itself, the schematic of the DC power supply, the top view of the completed unit and the bottom view of the completed unit. For ):';$ the DC power supply, I stole a schematic Fort Wayne DX Association from another project in the Handbook. In the T/R switch schematic, the RF BUILDING AN ELECTRONIC T/R SWITCH connector labeled Trans Line is really Carl Luetzelschwab K9LA a junction (my implementation used a UHF T-connector). The antenna connects he October I found YV1DP running stations on here, along with a length of coax to the Tcolumn talked 10-Meter CW at a good clip. Not only did transmitter. Here’s where this simple elec- about things I don’t I have to throw the knife switch from re- tronic T/R switch has a short-coming. In do anymore and ceive to transmit to call him and then the receive mode, the transmitter tank things I still do. One back to receive to see if I got through, I circuit (we’re talking tube transmitters of the things I did in also had to put my Knight VFO in trans- here) is in parallel with the receiver. Thus my Novice and early mit, as it had a toggle switch labeled CAL- the tank circuit will have an eff ect when General days was IBRATE – STANDBY – TRANSMIT. in receive. The distance from this junction use a manual trans- The bottom line was that by the time I to the transmitter should be as short as mit/receive (T/R) switch – a knife switch, threw the knife switch and put the VFO in possible. In my implementation, the Trans to be specifi c. I quit using a manual switch transmit, sent my call and then reversed Line connector on the T/R switch chassis when I bought my fi rst transceiver. the whole process, YV1DP had already is connected to the T-connector, and the Prior to the transceiver, I got along called someone else, sent his report and T-connector also screws into the trans- with the manual switch. It served me well was standing by for the report from the mitter output connector – that’s certainly in my Novice days as QSOs were not that station he logged. As a result, I never short. fast. But when I got my General, the pace worked him – or many other fast DX sta- I had no problem fi nding the needed of the QSOs began picking up. The traf- tions in a DX contest. parts. You should be able to get all the fi c nets (QIN, 9RN and CAN) highlighted When I resurrected my early General parts from Radio Shack and/or DigiKey. this speeding-up aspect. But what really station, I vowed to eliminate this messy So if you have some vintage equipment brought home the inadequacy of a manu- transition from receive to transmit and and need to improve the transmit/receive al T/R switch was the ARRL DX CW contest vice versa. I remembered an electronic switching, consider this simple and fun in early 1963. project.

Page 6 Allen County HamNews December 2013 SKYWARN ACTIVATES FOR UNUSUAL NOVEMBER OUTBREAK By Jay Farlow, W9LW, IMO SKYWARN • (Time not recorded): KB9WWM report- quadrant two director ed a row of utility poles down along Tillman Road, east of Hessen Cassel [email protected] Road. IMO SKYWARN quadrant two operated Given the amount of widespread in standby mode on the ACARTS 146.88 damage done by storms Nov. 17 and the MHz repeater for six hours and 41 minutes number of spotters who were monitor- during November 17’s record-breaking ing and ready, it might seem surprising Indiana tornado outbreak. You can read that more reports did not come in. But in the news media about the number of in the area around Allen County, Indiana storms and the damage they did, so this (where most participating stations were report will focus on quadrant SKYWARN located), much of the damage occurred in Storm Damage in New Haven, Indiana Photo by Charles Ward KC9MUT operations that day. fairly narrow swaths. For example, as the Nonetheless, it’s important to remember At least 36 stations in fi ve counties storm came in, KB9WWM was positioned at I-469 and Indianapolis Road but had that there are certain things that aren’t re- participated in quadrant SKYWARN op- ally important to the NWS or to SKYWARN erations (see list below). Many of those nothing to report until he began heading east on the Interstate after the storm blew spotters in the fi eld, including what the stations, having observed nothing that local TV meteorologists are reporting and met National Weather Service (NWS) re- through. The overturned trailer was only four miles from where he’d been spotting. how such broadcasts might diff er from of- porting criteria, wisely remained silent fi cial NWS statements. until check-ins were requested at the end Here’s the list of participating stations of the operation. Those stations are to be of whom we know (the ones who made We also learned the importance of pro- commended for their readiness and disci- themselves known at one time or anoth- viding accurate times of occurrence with pline. er). I have no doubt that others monitored all spotter reports and that at some point, NWS no longer needs immediate reports Counties represented included Allen the situation and were prepared to report in, so this list is very likely incomplete: of damage that occurred well after the (Ind.), Allen (Ohio), Huntington, Whitley storm has moved on. and Kosciusko (the NWS offi ce station, AA9SH, AB9PK, AC9BE, AC9EZ, KA9HLE, WX9IWX). IMO quadrant two also includes KB9BGW, KB9DEB, KB9DOS, KB9DOT, On the time of occurrence issue: If you Adams, Blackford, Jay and Wells Counties KB9OS, KB9PCF, KB9PPX, KB9YKU, KC9C- see something happen, it’s best to note in Indiana and Paulding, Putnam and Van GT, KC9INJ, KC9LOJ, KC9MOE, KC9MUT, the time that you saw it, and give that Wert Counties in Ohio. KC9THA, KC9WWM, KC9YBT, KC9ZDA, time in your report, even if it only hap- KJ4EKO, KY9I, N8WBD, N9MEL, N9UKE, pened a moment ago. For example: “This W9GGA placed the repeater in SKY- N9UWR, N9YBM, W9BGJ, W9GGA, W9INX, is W9XRY. At 4:06 p.m., wind damage, Bar- WARN standby mode at 11:21 a.m. EST, W9LW, W9SA, WB9AA and WX9IWX. This kley Road, about two miles south of Mon- after the NWS Storm Prediction Center is- list is based on the notes of SKYWARN net roeville, the entire roof of a hog barn blew sued a “particularly dangerous situation” control station W9GGA. Our apologies if off .” This is better than saying “a minute tornado watch that included the entire we missed anyone who checked in. Clear- ago” or “just now,” because the operator quadrant. ly, area hams were ready, had tornadoes at the NWS needs to write down the time. Field reports from spotters included: that struck elsewhere also threatened the Why make him look at the clock? Just say Fort Wayne and surrounding area. it. • 4:25 p.m.: KB9WWM reported a 24-foot trailer overturned and road sign dam- Lessons Learned On the other hand, if you see damage age on I-469 near State Road 1. We did learn a few things from the op- but did not see it happen, you don’t re- • 4:35 p.m.: KY9I reported trees and eration. For example, we learned the im- ally know when it happened. Don’t make power lines down on State Road 930 portance of remembering that the main assumptions, just report honestly: “This and Green Street in New Haven, fol- priority of on-air SKYWARN operations is is W9XRY. Time unknown, wind dam- lowed by numerous other reports of to gather and relay reports from spotters age, southeastern New Haven, a 2-foot damage in that area. in the fi eld to the NWS. All other commu- diameter, healthy tree has fallen onto a nication, including the sharing of NWS house.” In such cases, meteorologists will statements, is less important. IMO SKY- estimate the time of occurrence based on WARN never launched a directed net Nov. archived radar data. 17. Due to the low volume of spotter re- This brings us to the issue of when such ports, we stayed in standby mode, which reports no longer need to be transmit- meant all stations were welcome to use ted immediately. Here’s the issue: After a the repeater as they wished, discussing storm has blown through Fort Wayne, the Storm Damage on Barkley Road Near the topics of their choice, as long as they NWS might still be very busy with imme- S.R. 101 (south of Monroeville) left time for spotters to make reports. Photo by Jay Farlow, W9LW Continued on Page 10 December 2013 Allen County HamNews Page 7 THE FOXHUNT CHRONICLES unday, November 10, 2013 marked Sthe last foxhunt of the (2013) season. It was a crisp late Fall day with a bit of a breeze, but the sun was more or less out. The day attracted foxhunters Steve Nar- din, W9SAN, Linda Nardin, W9LAN, and their grandson Alex, the team of Charles Ward, KC9MUT, Fred Gengnagel, KC9EZP and Phil Hooper, AB9IZ, the team of Jim & Kim Machamer, KB9’s DOS & DOT, and lone hunter Robert Dean, KC9UHU. This Me”, etc. followed by Jim’s call sign) about motley crew were hole-up in the Off -Track every two and a half minutes. So in fairly Betting Parlor parking lot, as usual, anx- short order the hunters had the wood iously awaiting the bleating voice of the pile in the briar patch encircled and were fox. combing (and cussing) through the as- For this hunt the role of the fox was sortment of tree branches and thorns played by Jim Pliett, K9OMA and Al Burke, murmuring hateful and bordering on vio- WB9SSE. Their usual partners, Annie, lent threats aimed at Al (who knew noth- KA9YYI and Carole, WB9RUS were at Jim ing about the fox placement….really!). & Annie’s QTH preparing goodies for the Charles, with a thorn induced bleeding after-foxhunt cookout & bonfi re that rou- hand wound was the fi rst to locate the tinely caps-off the end of the foxhunting microfox followed immediately by Rob- season, but they were with us in spirit. ert, and then Jim & Kim and fi nally Steve Jim & Al were located deep within and Alex. the Mengerson Nature Preserve about Based upon the time-to-fi nd and mile- a half mile north of Stellhorn Rd. just off age data for each team, this hunts score Schmucker Dr. The high power fox con- Al, amidst a bunch of other tree limbs in tallies were as listed in the table on the sisted of a fi ve watt cross band HT driving a briar patch. The operative idea here is next page. a quad antenna on the roof of Jim’s van that JIM, not Al, selected the placement which was parked at the edge of the Pre- Thus Charles and Fred will serve as the of the microfox amongst those briars, and serve, and the quad antenna was pointed fox for the fi rst hunt of the 2014 season Al knew nothing of this. In fact, he’s not towards the Off -Track Betting Parlor. From next February. even sure he was even there when the deep within the woods Jim and Al could actual placement activities were going After the hunt everyone buzzed over activate the high power fox remotely on. In other words, Al knew nothing, saw to Jim & Annie Pliett’s QTH on Wappes Rd. thanks to the cross-band HT in Jim’s van. nothing,… Verstehen? for the fi nal foxhunt-of-the-year cookout and bonfi re. Between what Annie & Car- Well, promptly at 13:30 hours (local) ole had prepared and the carry-ins every- the high power fox started palavering one else brought, we dined on hot dogs, on 146.160 MHz, the input to the 146.76 both red and white chili, fried chicken, machine. Evidently everyone heard it and meat balls, chicken and noodles, chips started heading east. and of course all manner of cookies, pies Not quite an hour into the hunt as Jim and cakes. It was perfect except for the & Al sat shivering in the piney-woods they lack of deviled eggs, but nobody went noted Charles & Fred skulking through away hungry. the undergrowth quickly followed by As for the low power fox, (and this can Steve and Alex, then Robert and fi nally be substantiated from the formal report Jim & Kim. So at this point the hunters prepared by the Investigate Committee had localized the fox and began to zero-in of the Geneva Convention that someone on the microfox which was located in the (uhumm) happened to commission),…. horrifi c briar patch about 50 yards from Jim, repeat Jim, that is, NOT Al, implant- where Al & Jim were camped out (but, of ed a low power (30 milliwatt) micropro- course, of which Al knew nothing). cessor controlled microfox inside a tree branch personally selected by JIM from The microfox transmitted a one min- his back yard and then placed by JIM, not ute sequence in cw (“Catch Me”, “Catch Page 8 Allen County HamNews December 2013 Depending upon space, there may be a few pictures from this hunt and the cook- out/bonfi re on the club web page and/or inserted into the Foxhunt Chronicles. So as it turned out, the cumulative points garnered for the 2013 foxhunting season are listed in the table below. Respectfully submitted, Al Burke, WB9SSE

FOXHUNT POINTS AND TOTALS FOR 2013 WB9YYI K9OMA WB9SSE WB9RUS AB9IZ KC9MUT KC9EZP KC9UHU K9NDU KB9DOS KB9DOT This Hunt 681 681 681 681 - 743 743 734 - 694 694 Total 5259.5 5259.5 5259.5 5259.5 1003.5 6628.5 6368 6304 5057.5 4922.5 4922.5 W9SAN W9LAN ALEX This Hunt 700 - 700 Total 4872 4074 4280

December 2013 Allen County HamNews Page 9 CONTEST CALENDAR Here are a few of the contests that will be held in the next few weeks. Please refer to the contest Web sites for full rules, scoring information, operating periods or time limits, and log submission information. Some of the places on-line with information on contest include: ARRL Contest Corral Web page: http://www.arrl.org/contests WA7BNM Contest Calendar: http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/ ARRL’s National Contest Journal calendar: http://www.ncjweb.com/contestcal.php Contesting On-Line: http://www.contesting.com/

HF Contest Title Ph CW Dig Exchange & Frequencies (MHz) Logs Due VHF+ Dates / Times Sponsor’s Web Site 1.8 ARRL 160-Meter Contest X RST, S/P/C, ARRL/RAC Section Jan 7 - Dec 6, 2200Z - Dec 8,1600Z www.arrl.org/contests 1.8-28 SKCC Weekend Sprintathon X RST, Name, QTH, SKCC No. (or “none”) Dec 15 50 Dec 7, 2200Z - Dec 8, 1600Z http://www.skccgroup.com/ 28 ARRL 10 Meter Contest X X RST, S/P/C, ARRL/RAC Section Jan 14 - Dec 13, 0001Z - Dec 14, 2359Z www.arrl.org/contests 2.8-28 International Naval Contest X X RS(T), Club, Member No. or Serial No. Jan 31 - Dec 15, 1600Z - Dec 16, 1559Z http://www.marinefunker.de/ 1.8-28 Lighthouse Christmas Lights QSO Party X X X RS(T), Name, Member No. or Serial No. Jan 31 - Dec 20, 0001Z - Jan 1, 2359Z arlhs.com/LCL-2013-guidelines.html 1.8-28 ARRL Rookie Roundup, CW X RST, S/P/C, ARRL/RAC Section Dec 25 50 Dec 21, 1800Z - Dec 21, 2359Z www.arrl.org/contests 2.8 AGB-Party Contest X X X RST, QSO No., Member No. Jan 17 - Dec 20, 2100Z - Dec 20, 2400Z http://www.ev5agb.com/ 2.8-14 Original QRP Contest X RST, Serial No., Power category Jan 31 - Dec 28, 1500Z - Dec 29, 1500Z http://www.qrpcc.de/

SKYWARN Continued from Page 7 2359Z Saturday, Dec. 7 (7 p.m. EST Friday Dec. 6 to 6:59 p.m. EST Saturday, Dec. 7). Classified Ads diate threats in Ohio. They need to know If you’re interested in fi nding out what Items for Sale Want to Buy what’s happening now, under the storm, it feels like to be the station a bunch of but their need to know what happened other stations want to work, this is a great 15 or 30 minutes ago, when the storm opportunity. Fort Wayne Radio Club is was much as 30 miles upstream, is not taking the lead this year for the SRD op- as pressing. I’ve asked NWS for advice on eration at the NWS of- when to transition from making immedi- fi ce near North Webster. If you’d like to ate reports of damage to holding reports operate the special event station, please of damage discovered after the storm contact Joseph Lawrence, K9RFZ (k9rfz@ for sending later via email, etc. For now, yahoo.com), Jim Moehring, KB9WWM please just keep in mind that damage ([email protected]) or Steve Nardin, If you have someting you would like to assessments are important, but not as W9SAN ([email protected]). Because this have listed in the classifi ed section then urgent to the NWS as immediate spotter happens inside the NWS offi ce, please please send an email to the newsletter reports while a storm is still present. don’t just show up hoping to operate. In- editor at ab9zd at arrl.net . SKYWARN Recognition Day stead, contact one of these three guys in advance and let them know when you are The Allen County HamNews is prepared Every year, NWS invites hams to set up using Adobe’s InDesign software along available. For the latest information, see HF special event stations at NWS offi ces the FWRC website. with PhotoShop and Acrobat on an i7 around the country for SKYWARN Recog- PC running Windows 7. nition Day. The event runs from 0000Z to Page 10 Allen County HamNews December 2013 Membership Application for  ACARTS - and/or -  FWRC Name: ______Call sign: ______License class: ______Street address: ______City: ______State: ______ZIP : ______-______Phone #: (______) ______-______Unlisted?  Yes Email address: ______ARRL Member?  Yes (ARRL membership helps your club maintain affi liation.) May we list your name, call & email address in our membership roster and on our club web site?  Yes  No Both clubs now off er this newsletter as a downloadable (Adobe Acrobat) PDF fi le, in lieu of a paper copy sent through the mail. For FWRC a mailed paper newsletter is a $20.00/yr. premium. How would you like your newsletter delivered?  by snail mail  download from web site. A.C.A.R.T.S. Dues Fort Wayne Radio Club Dues Regular membership  $12.00 / year Regular membership  $20.00 / year Additional family members 1  $6.00 / year Family membership 1  $30.00 / year Student membership 2  $6.00 / year Student membership 2  $5.00 / year Associate membership 3  $6.00 / year Associate membership 3  $20.00 / year (New Regular memberships are $1/month) Mailed newsletter premium  $20.00 / year (Memberships for Jul - Dec are 1/2 the stated amounts.)

1. Please list all names and calls on an attached sheet. 2. K-12 or full time student 3. Unlicensed member

Please attach a check (number _____) for the appropriate amount and bring to a club meeting or mail to: ACARTS Fort Wayne Radio Club. PO Box 10342 PO Box 15127 Fort Wayne, IN 46851 Fort Wayne, IN 46885 For dual membership, send a check to each club for your respective membership. Payment by check is strongly encouraged! ACARTS Voice Repeaters Daily Indiana Traffi c Net: 3.910 @ 8:30 a.m. & 3.940 @ 6:00 p.m. 146.880 (-) General use / Skywarn priority local times. 147.255 (+) General use Daily (QIN) Indiana Section CW net: 3.535 @ 8:00 a.m. & 443.800 (+) General use 8:00 p.m. local times. (For autopatch 88 has only speed dial emergency #’s.) Miscellaneous Nets ACARTS Digital Repeaters (digipeaters) Allen Co. ARES Training Net: Tue. at 9:00 p.m. on 146.94- 144.390 (s) APRS - wide Huntington ARES: Sat. at 8:00 p.m. on 146.685- 145.530 (s) W9INX-1 Digipeater and Node Whitley Co. ARES: Wed. at 8:00 p.m. on 145.270 Fort Wayne Radio Club Repeaters (Note 131.8 PL disabled for all nets) Voice: Whitley Co. Sunday: Sun. at 8:00 p.m. on 444.550+, 131.8 PL 146.76 (-) General use “No-Name” Net: 8:30 pm Sunday and Wednesday nights. 1.965 146.94 (-) General use with autopatch MHz or cross band on the 146.91 repeater. 146.91 (-) EchoLink connection repeater Little Red Barn Net: Weekdays @ 8:30 a.m. on 3820 kHz. Node number 519521 Northeast Indiana Packet Net: Sunday at 9:00 p.m. on 444.875 (+) General use 145.530 @ 1200 baud. We use unconnected converse mode to ATV: 439.25 In, 910.250 Out, 144.340 Audio & control communicate for a roundtable net setting. Use your “UNPROTO” D-STAR command or equivalent to set Digi path(s) through the 442.99375, Off set + 5.0 MHz, W9TE _ _ _ B, W9TE _ _ _ G strongest station(s) needed between you and your destination. Indiana D-STAR net, 1st and 3rd Thursday, 7:30 - 8:30, Only use those that are necessary! Have all your “Monitor” Refl ector REF024B settings on so you can see everyone. Area Traffi c Nets FWRC YL Net: Wed. 7:00 p.m. on 146.76- (please submit any changes or corrections to the editor) FWRC 6 Meter Net: Tue. 8:00 p.m. on 50.580 USB IMO: meets nightly at 6:30 p.m. on 146.88- 6 Meter AM Net: Thurs. 8:00 p.m. on 50.580 AM Tri State Two Meter Net: meets daily at 7:00 p.m. on 147.015+ FW Area Student Net: Wed. 9:00 p.m. on 146.91- 21 Repeater Group: Wed. at 7:30 p.m. on 147.150 Help and Swap Net: Mon. at 9:00 p.m. 146.94(-) December 2013 Allen County HamNews Page 11 Allen County HamNews P.O. Box 10342 Fort Wayne, IN 46851-0342 STAMP

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Activities Calendar

Date Time Event Place 12/10/2013 7:00 PM FWRC Board Meeting GSUMC 12/10/2013 7:00 PM ACARTS Board Meeting Salvation Army Facility 12/17/2013 7:00 PM ACARTS Christmas Dinner Hall’s GuestHouse, Washington Cntr Rd 12/20/2013 6:30 PM FWRC Christmas Banquet GSUMC

11/15/2014 9 AM - 4 PM 2014 Fort Wayne Hamfest Allen County War Memorial Coliseum 11/16/2014 9 AM - Noon 2014 Fort Wayne Hamfest Allen County War Memorial Coliseum

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Page 12 Allen County HamNews December 2013