Volume No. 35 Issue Number 5 December, 2004 TM THE M ONITORTM ECARS Web Page: http://www.ecars7255.com/ The official publication of the East Coast Amateur Radio Service, Inc.
From the President’s Desk The New ECARS by John Zorger, WA1STU #1489, ECARS President It sure has been an interesting year for ECARS. Terri- Management Structure: ble band conditions, interference, officers resigning, new Goodbye EC; Hello BoD officers taking charge and getting the “NET” and the or- The new ECARS Bylaws change the way in which the ganization back on track, and to top it all off we now have corporation is managed. The management structure is dif- over 1000 members in our organization. It was more than ferent than the way it was for many years, but it's straight- interesting for me; it was a great challenge and an adven- forward and, importantly, complies with the corporation's ture. I went from being a long time net member to vice Delaware Certificate of Incorporation. The former structure president for several months and then on to becoming presi- was not consistent with the provisions of the certificate. dent for the two months before formal elections. I took the Under the former system, ECARS was managed by an positions because I feel that ECARS is a great place to meet executive committee that consisted of the officers and two up with other hams, get (and give) technical information, directors elected by the members. Under the new structure, check into while mobile, and it is the best service net I have the members elect a Board of Directors (BoD), that is the ever checked into. So you can see that I have strong feel- ultimate corporate authority that governs ECARS opera- ings about how ECARS needs to be on 7255 KHz and re- tions. See ECARS Bylaws Article ("Bylaws") 2.1. There is main the best service net around. no longer an executive committee, although the board of I have been a ham for 40 years and started checking directors may, as is conventionally done in the corporate into ECARS in 1973 when I was in the USN at sea looking arena, appoint a committee consisting of board members for stations to run phone patches. After leaving the service I and officers to review and address certain management is- have had several positions and for the last 17 years I have (Continued on page 2) worked for the Voice of America as a satellite systems engi- neer in Washington, D.C. I enjoy net operations, building equipment, and public service events operations. We are now having elections of officers and I hope that each and every one of you who reads this article will take a few minutes and vote for the candidate that you think will best serve the membership of ECARS. We have over In This Issue 1000 members now and I would like to see one thousand ballots come in to the election committee. From the President’s Desk………………………. 1 Our newly elected Board of Directors (BOD) are busy The New ECARS Management Structure………. 1 making the decisions necessary to keep a large organization Be an NCS, You Won’t Regret it……..………….. 2 Amateur Radio Covered Bridge Society………… 3 running, and I hope that everyone who has suggestions E-Voting…………………………………….……... 3 about how to make ECARS a better organization gets in A Few Words From a New ECARS Director…… 4 touch with a director or officer. It takes everyone to make Signal Reporting Using the Circuit Merit System. 5 our net work and your suggestions and comments are al- HF Communications with a Screwdriver………... 5 ways welcome. Marine Corps Marathon ECARS Participation.… 6 Some of the things the BOD hopes to put in place dur- Up the Band Without a Paddle…………….…….. 8 ing the next year (with your help) are, a member-only por- ECARS Official Officers Ballot………….……….. 9
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ECARS Service - 7255 KHz - for Public Health, Safety, and Welfare
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(From the President’s Desk continued from page 1) ence fiction. That was in 1970, and I was 15 years old. tion on our website, a place where you can log into and re- Mowing lawns in Fairfax, Virginia funded my ham radio ceive and exchange information with other members, elec- hobby. tronic voting, and distributing the Monitor via email to help After listening and checking in to hours and days and save on postage fees. We would like to hear from each one months of net activity, one of the NCSs (Net Control Sta- you about other ideas to make ECARS website better. tion) asked me if I could take the net for five minutes I would like to wish each one of you a very happy while he took care of a phone call. Scared, I reluctantly holiday season. agreed. You see, I knew what to say when I was checking Please take a minute and send in your ballot. , in, or “RECHECK”, or “CONTACT” or “RELAY”, or the other stuff, but this was different. It’s a lot like being at the other end of a DX pileup. All the rules seem to (New ECARS Management Structure continued from page 1) change. sues, and that committee would be an "executive" commit- Five minutes later, the previous NCS came back, and tee. Bylaws 2.14. The American Radio Relay League has I turned the net back over to him…after checking in two done this for many years. Under the new ECARS Bylaws, or three stations. any committee appointed by the board would have no inde- I was hooked. After that, I was net control dozens of pendent administrative powers: times, and had more and more fun each time. I found it No committee shall have the power to amend or repeal any most enjoyable to communicate with people in their cars. resolution or action of the Board of Directors, and no committee Remember, back in the Stone Age (1970), mobile or port- shall have the authority of the Board of Directors in reference to able operation from any kind of radio, amateur or other- (1) amending the Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws of the wise, was uncommon. Police, fire, and taxis were the only Corporation; (2) adopting a plan of merger or consolidation; (3) routine source of mobile transmissions. In contrast, listen- the sale, lease, exchange, or other disposition of all or substan- ing to my ham buddies from their cars was a blast! tially all of the property and assets of the Corporation; or (4) a I always tell people that ham radio is 100 hobbies voluntary dissolution of the Corporation or a revocation of any rolled into one. As soon as you get tired of one part of it, such voluntary dissolution. a new facet opens up and takes you away. Does your list Bylaws 2.14. look like this: AM, SSB, Mobile HF, RTTY, AMTOR, Under the new bylaws, members also elect officers, VHF, Mobile repeaters, PACTOR, PSK, Packet, SSTV, but the officers are subordinate to, and take direction from, APRS, EME? Did I miss a few? You can’t stop trying the Board of Directors. Bylaws Article III. For example, new things! although the ECARS President is the principal executive Now, fast forward to 2004. My mobile setup is officer of the corporation, who shall in general supervise working on all bands, all modes, from 40 meters to 70 cm. and control all of the business affairs of the Corporation," he I can afford that now, since I’m not mowing lawns for a or she is" subject to the supervision of the Directors. By- living. Sometimes I wish I were, but that is a tale for a laws 3.6. Typically, a corporate board of directors appoints different time! the organization's officers instead of their being elected by So what did I do with my mobile setup? I checked members or stockholders. into ECARS on the same frequency as in 1970. 7.255 ECARS did not abandon election of officers by mem- MHz. The same helpful service exists now as it did then, bers to avoid a completely radical change in the way the the same good guys and gals are there, and it is still as corporation is managed. However, in view of the growing much fun as it was before. I’ve always felt that routine expense of conducting elections, and the time and expense ham radio conversations are practice for when emergen- involved in the nominations process, the ECARS Board cies present themselves. We don’t want stage fright if or may consider moving to a more conventional structure by when (God forbid) there is another 9/11. electing only the directors, who in turn would appoint the Two weeks ago I volunteered to be NCS, for the first ECARS officers. Such a change would require a bylaws time since 1971. I have worked many, many contests and amendment, that must be approved by ECARS members. checked into many nets. I have a pretty decent station, in See Bylaws 6.1. , a very RF-quiet location. And yet I was nervous about whether my station or I would be up to the job. Surprise! Everything was great. The people who Be an NCS checked in were very accommodating; the traffic was rou- tine; even the band was cooperating. The gang knew that You Won’t Regret it I was not one of the regulars and made it easy for me. by Dave Bushong, KZ1O, Hudson NH Bottom line: there are a dozen or so regular NCS sta- Previous call WB4ODN tions, but the rest of us need to volunteer to be available, My friends and I used ECARS to find each other after just like we do for the rest of the hobby. Get into practice high school. It was a convenient place to meet, during a now. Step up to the plate, even if it is for five minutes. time when cell phones and repeaters were the stuff of sci- You will never regret it!
ECARS Service - 7255 KHz - for Public Health, Safety, and Welfare 2 Volume No. 35 Issue Number 5 December, 2004
On most of my covered bridge activations I work Amateur Radio Covered about 50 hams and I try to alternate between 40m and 20m. ARCBS established suggested frequencies for covered Bridge Society bridge activations, they are: by Ed, WA3WSJ, ARCBS # 1 160M, 1.825 / 1.980 MHz; 80M, 3.535 MHz; 75M It was September th 3.980 MHz, 40M, 7.035 / 7.280 MHz; 30M, 10.135 MHz; 14 , my oldest daugh- 20M, 14.035 / 14.280 MHz; 15M, 21.035 / 21.380 MHz, ter’s birthday, when the 17M, 18.080 / 18.135 MHz; 12M, 24.915 / 24.980 MHz; Amateur Radio Cov- 10M, 28.035 / 28.380 MHz. ered Bridge Society or As the leaves change colors this fall, why not activate ARCBS was born. I’ve a covered bridge and have fun too! Yes the beautiful fall been a ham for about leaves, a covered bridge and ham radio. Does it get any bet- thirty-two years now ter than this? If you are interested in covered bridges and or and just recently started ham radio why not join the ARCBS. Just go to the website to activate covered bridges here in Pennsylvania. The more and click the join ARCBS link. I hope to work you from a hams I talked to on the air about operating at a covered covered bridge soon! bridge, the more I heard that an organization should be formed to support hams and covered bridges. Many told me on the air that it was a neat idea to operate at a covered bridge. So I organized the ARCBS and today it’s a growing E-Voting society. by Dave Jordan, WA3GIN The mission of the ARCBS is to: "Electronic voting machines took an important test on No- 1.promote public awareness of covered bridges vember second and passed with flying colors," said Harris 2.preserve the heritage and history of covered bridges Miller president of the Information Technology Association 3.aid in preserving those covered bridges in danger of de- of America, an IT industry-lobbying group in Arlington, struction or decay Virginia. 4.foster camaraderie within the ham fraternity Electronic voting systems avoided the virtual meltdown that 5.provide fellowship amongst members of the Amateur Ra- some had predicted during the national elections. Over dio Covered Bridge Society 175,000 e-voting systems were utilized in this first major 6.recognize all individuals and organizations that aid in pro- test of this technology that was deployed throughout the moting public awareness of covered bridges. United States. ECARS may have its own version of e- The ARCBS now has a website with many nice links voting up and running before 2006. Stay tuned to 7255 to covered bridge sites, an ARCBS Award Program, list of KHz for future updates and pilot testing. covered bridge numbers, and much more. The URL is http://www.arcbs.org. The ARCBS is an international or- ganization although presently all members have US call signs. So far I have activated all five covered bridges in Swap and Shop Berks County, PA and two covered bridges in Lancaster Join us on 7.255 every Wednesday from 11:00 to County, PA. It’s always nice to activate a covered bridge 12:00 noon for the Swap and Shop, hosted by because the scenery is so beautiful. I usually operate from Roger, N2LAQ my truck and see many people taking pictures of these gor- geous structures. I always get asked, “ What’s the setup there?” Well here’s what works for me in my pick-up truck: radio, Ken- ECARS Pins wood TS-570D, antenna, VBWFPA or Hustler whips ECARS pins are available from club secretary/ mounted on the back bumper, power, two 100A gel cell 12- treasurer Charlie Stampf, N2CJ. These are beautiful one- volt batteries in parallel, computer, Compaq laptop powered inch diameter gold pins with by inverter fed with 40A gel cell 12-volt battery. The most the red, white, and blue important feature in the radio is the voice keyer. Yes, this ECARS insignia in a very baby really saves the vocal cords and makes the covered durable glossy finish. The bridge activation much easier to handle. I just record my price for one pin is $3.50 CQ info in the 1st message. In the second message I store plus $.60 postage. To order bridge information. I also record my QSL information in a pin, send your check made the third message. I can’t stress how much this helps me as out to ECARS for $4.10 per I can input calls etc. with the computer as the message is pin to ECARS, PO Box 5923, being transmitted. Hudson, FL 34674-5923
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will be here long into the future after I am gone. As long as A Few Words From a New we, and I mean we as an organization, keep a vigil eye on those that would like to see us fail then we can go on to ECARS Director grow, prosper and provide not only a Public Service Net but by Al Prindle, KA3UNB an organization to be envied. Riley Hollingsworth once I was elected to the Board of Directors back in Sep- made a comment one time during some of the turmoil (and I tember and started serving the membership on or about the am paraphrasing) that ECARS is too important to the ama- beginning of November. We needed to have the election of teur community not to work out its issues and continue on in Directors to meet the demands of the Charter and Delaware the great fashion that the amateur community has come to Corporate Law. It was decided by a majority of the current expect. ECARS is a staple on 40 meters as is the maritime EC and with no disapproval on my part that the Directors net on 20 meters to give a comparison. When I hear com- would take office at some time later after the September plaints on other frequencies and other bands about ECARS meeting in Williamsburg. and how long it takes to check in, supports the fact that I will tell you now, and for those that know me, I will ECARS is a busy net and people like it. Not everyone, but not sit back and let ECARS head in the wrong direction. My the vast majority do enjoy it and use the service. major goal for this year is to work together with the new I spent two years as Net Manager of ECARS and was administration in a democratic way. The By-Laws have very active the first 18 months. The last six months I had given the Board of Directors a wide scope of authority and, business commitments to keep and didn't have the time. But let me assure you that, I will always work in the best interest guess what? The net continued without a hitch. The net con- of ECARS. When I speak of a democratic way I mean a trols make the net really what it is. What happens in the teaming way. Teaming means many things to many people. background in the administration end really doesn't matter It depends on how and where you were schooled. I like to as long as it is being taken care of and is seamless to the hear what the whole team has to say, kick it around and pull general membership. Most people are only concerned about out the best ideas, and then improve on those ideas to come being able to check in and that there is a cordial Net Control up with a satisfactory resolve that all can live with. No one to check them in. I think a lot of credit needs to be given to individual can dictate to others in a democratic organization the guys running the net every day. Think about it for a min- and nor should they. The organization can and will suffer in ute...... your wife says to you, Lets take a ride to the super- the long run if this is allowed to happen. market”, and your response is, “Well I have to run the net at As with any volunteer organization, finding time to 11:00 AM today so we will have to go after that”. See what dedicate to the group can be a demanding and tiring job and I am getting at? Most of these guys are retired and both love sometimes, if one person seems to take charge the rest feel and are committed to ECARS. I guess the point that I am they can sit back and allow them to run the show especially trying to make is that we need to give these guys some lati- if they are limited to how much time they can devote or are tude while running the net and not file a complaint every limited in expertise. Well I promise you this; I will be in- time you have to wait 10 or 15 minutes during your 20 min- volved in every decision that is required on my part. ute drive to check in. The hallmark of a good ham is to lis- Although most of the hard work was done last year by ten more and talk less anyway Hi Hi. Dave Jordan and his team, (which by the way did a great job Anyway you can count on me to keep a vigil as long as moving things along and getting things accomplished) there I am around. I was instrumental in bringing things to light in is still more to do. We are now working with a new set of the last controversy. You may not hear me on the net as Bylaws, I think that we need to try them out for six months much as I would like but I will be here working in the back- to see where and if they could use improvement. I can see ground trying to make it as effortless and seamless as possi- now we are not all in agreement as to what the , if any, ble. should be. I am sure though that we will work out our issues to a satisfactory resolve and as always in the best interest of ECARS. Who knows they might be fine the way they are, only time will tell. This last year was a trying one with officers resigning and then some trying to break up the organization. What this did only made the group stronger, and that is evident in our membership rooster. As of 10/31 we signed up our 1000th The Only Official ECARS member. What also is important is that a few members have stepped up to the plate to run for office. Let me tell you that Website when there is as much controversy as there was last year most want to sit back and wait until the dust settles before they go to bat. Well guess what, the dust has settled and I’ll be proud to serve with these gentleman. ECARS has been www.ecars7255.com around longer than I have been licensed and I suspect that it
ECARS Service - 7255 KHz - for Public Health, Safety, and Welfare 4 Volume No. 35 Issue Number 5 December, 2004 Signal Reporting Using the HF Communications with a Circuit Merit System Screwdriver and a Tongue The antiquated R-S-T system of reporting signal qual- by Mike Stone, N1VE #1500 ity dates from the early days of radio. It gives voice opera- Greetings to ECARS members from sunny Florida. tors only a vague idea of what their signal is really like at Peg K1VE and I have been enjoying exploring the central the receiving end. RST was originally intended for Morse west coast of Florida by motorcycle and bicycle for the past code use and was later adapted for use with voice signals. several weeks. It is very difficult to imagine that the north- Contrary to popular opinion, the "T" in RST can be used in eastern states are approaching the cold, dark, drab days of voice communication, to indicate the tuning condition of the late Fall while we have been basking in the hot sunshine. sending station - though not applicable in FM, of course. I have been reluctant to mount an HF antenna on the The problem with the RST system is that it is vague, com- motorhome because I don’t want to subject the multitude of plicated and inaccurate. This is evident from listening in on sophisticated electronic devices in this moveable house to any contest, where everyone has a signal report of "5-9", the wild ravages of stray RF that sometimes can be pro- regardless of how they actually sound. The fact is, very few duced by inadequately grounded equipment, a poorly people know what "5-9" means - on either end! shielded feedline, or any one of a number of variables that The CM ("Circuit Merit") system was devised by HF need to be dealt with. radiotelephone professionals to better quantify the average To try to keep the RF away from the motorhome I de- quality of a voice signal. The letters "CM" (voiced as cided to attach the screwdriver antenna to the tongue of our "Charlie Mike") are followed by a figure from 0 to 5 - to aluminum and steel trailer that we tow behind the mo- indicate the quality of the VOICE. In addition, it can be fol- torhome. I disconnected the trailer from the motorhome and lowed by the S-meter reading to indicate objective signal strength. Example: A report of CM4 would be voiced as: "Your signal is Charlie Mike four." If the meter reading is added (CM4, S9) it becomes: "Your signal is Charlie Mike four, Sierra nine." The signal is quantified using these criteria: CM5 - Completely clear, broadcast quality. Each word is fully understood, without any objectionable interference or noise; on FM, full quieting. Always breaks squelch (*). This designator is not always earned on FM, and seldom on SSB; as conditions must be superb. CM4 - Clear with a slight amount of noise and/or in- terference. Each word is understood. Always breaks squelch. A common report for solid SSB voice conditions under very good conditions; the FM equivalent is a slight amount of "white noise" behind the transmission. CM3 - Static and/or interference is present. Bulk of transmissions are understood without having to be repeated. Usually breaks squelch. CM3 is generally considered to be at the margin of acceptable voice communications, particu- larly when using squelched FM. CM2 - The noise level very close to signal level. Static and / or interference very prevalent; words are missed, retransmissions are necessary. Won't break squelch reliably. CM2 is not acceptable and not reliable. CM1 - A signal is barely evident and words are unin- telligible. You can tell that someone is "there" but will not break squelch. CM1 is deemed unusable for voice commu- nications. CM0 - Absolutely no signal is detectable. (*) - Used for FM communications only, unless your SSB radio uses a syllabic-derived squelch such as SINAD. The portable screwdriver set up in Hernando Beach, Florida 2003 Virginia RACES, Inc. (Continued on page 6)
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(HF Communications continued from page 5) drove a Phillips screwdriver into the ground. Then I placed Marine Corps Marathon the aluminum mast topped with the DK3 screwdriver an- tenna over the screwdriver handle and strapped the lower 2004 section of the mast to the trailer jack. The source of power ECARS Participation for both the screwdriver motor and the Icom 706 was a 12- by Bruce Freund, KBC7 volt battery that’s mounted on the trailer tongue for provid- The amateur radio community in the Washington DC ing power for the electric brakes in the event that the trailer metropolitan area turned out en masse on Sunday, October disconnects from the motorhome while moving. To keep 31, to provide direct support for the 29th running of the Ma- the battery topped off, I set a small solar panel in the bright rine Corps Marathon, known popularly as, “The People’s sunlight and connected it to the battery terminals. I found Marathon.” One hundred twenty four operators started their that the battery voltage immediately increased from 12.5 day long before sunrise in the Navy Annex parking lot near volts to 12.8 as soon as the solar panel was connected. the Pentagon, receiving a box lunch and data packages con- I used my trusty MFJ antenna analyzer to bring the taining identification passes and other briefing , which de- antenna into resonance (ECARS net frequency of 7.255 tailed the operating plan and procedures for the event. The MHz), and made contact with the net control station. My 124 operators then fanned out across the 26 mile, 385 yard signal report that morning was an S9 with a noise level of course to take their positions prior to the race start shortly S9, so communications were not very effective. However, before 0830. Security was especially tight given the loca- that evening on the same frequency (the Nighthawks Net) I tion in the national capital region and proximity to the na- got a signal report of 10 over S9 from Mary, N3YL in tional Election Day. Parts of the course were actually northwestern PA. She told me that I was blasting in over closed to vehicles at 4:00AM to allow completion of re- the tune, Yankee Doodle Dandy as well as music from an quired security sweeps. Participants and spectators alike Asian broadcast. Mary’s signal was 40+ over S9, a real were treated to a gloriously sunny and warm fall day. armchair copy. The amateur radio support consisted of two VHF voice Since initially setting up this portable system I have race nets tying operators at each mile marker, water stand, made a few changes. I now power the radio with the coach and food point with the Course Operations Center at the fin- circuit (four 6-volt golf cart batteries). I also ran the coax ish line at the Iwo Jima Memorial, one UHF voice net, and through the firewall and through the dash area and operate one VHF packet net tying each of the eight Aid Stations to the radio from inside the motorhome. To allow for a the Top Doc at the Main Medical station at Iwo, and one broader range of operating frequencies I feed the antenna UHF voice net tying together the APRS-equipped lead, trail, through a Dentron Super Tuner. I can now operate on the and straggler vehicles whose positions were displayed at the entire 40-meter band without physically adjusting the elec- COC and Main Med. Among the volunteers were two trical length of the antenna. The entire set up / break down ECARS members, Howard, W3CQH, (#3940) and Bruce, of the antenna and feedline system takes about 15 minutes. K7BC, (#7003). I expect that in time I will mount the antenna on the mo- Howard manned the VHF Race Net A from mile torhome to allow for operation while in motion. marker 18 on Ohio Avenue along the Potomac River on The set up is a bit cumbersome but it seems to work quite well. , (Continued on page 7)
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION The East Coast Amateur Radio Service, Inc. (E.C.A.R.S.) Call ______License Class ______Date First Licensed ______(mo./yr.) Renewal? Y/N ___ If 'Y’es please enter your ECARS number: ______Name ______Street ______City ______, State/Province ______Zip/Postal Code ______- ______Home Phone (______) ______- ______Work Phone (______) ______- ______E-mail ______Check if OK to publish ( ) Signature ______Date ______Please return this form with $7.50 check or money order (or use PayPal) to: E.C.A.R.S., PO Box 5923, Hudson, FL 34674-5923. Membership duration shall be for the period of one year and shall be renewable on the anniversary date of the member’s enrollment in ECARS.
ECARS Service - 7255 KHz - for Public Health, Safety, and Welfare 6 Volume No. 35 Issue Number 5 December, 2004
(Marine Corps Marathon continued from page 6) The fourth ECARS member involved was our new Hayne’s Point. Howard’s location was between Aid Station President, John, WA1STU, (#1489), who was on-site with 5 and Aid Station 6 and just before Water Point 9. As the the Voice of America (VOA) repeaters that provided pri- approximately 18,000 runners and wheelchair racers passed mary coverage for the VHF Race Net A voice net, and sec- his marker, Howard was available to report any racers down ondary coverage for the UHF Aid Station voice net. We all or in distress in his vicinity. learned a lesson about taking repeaters for granted when the secondary Race Net repeater failed, placing additional reli- ance on the VOA primary. Thanks to John’s efforts, Race Net A enjoyed reliable coverage throughout.
K7BC/3 40M portable station
My assignment was the packet station reporting activ- ity at Aid Station 2 in Rock Creek Park back to Main Med. The course follows the divided Rock Creek Parkway north from mile marker 5 to mile 7 and then runs down the south side to mile 9, so Aid 2 saw the runners between markers 6 and 7 then again between 7 and 8. Even though this area was relatively early on the course, Aid 2 provided a lot of assistance – mostly Tylenol™ and Mole-skin™ to dozens of runners. Ultimately, two runners were evacuated by ambu- Dick Harman, WA4USB, Aid Station 2 Voice Net operator con- tacts net control. lance to local hospitals from Aid 2 for precautionary treat- ment. While you might not have considered the Marine While waiting for the first racers to arrive, I was able Corps Marathon an ECARS supported event, we did have to check into the ECARS net using a portable dipole fabri- members materially contributing to the amateur radio opera- cated from two Hustler whips mounted back-to-back and a tions, which made the event a success. battery powered Yaesu FT-757GXII running 100 watts feeding the dipole through a MFJ 949C tuner. Net Control, Dave, WA3GIN, (#3243) was treated to some ‘real-time’ race coverage as the first wheelchair racers passed the Aid Station while I reported in. As the pack of runners neared the 40M operations had to give way to packet. Be Sure of Your Ordinances While two ECARS members were operating “out In David Jordan's (WA3GIN) slingshot article, one front,” two more ECARS members were involved “behind thing was not mentioned. Some municipalities consider a the scenes.” It was no accident that Dave, WA3GIN, had slingshot a firearm and prohibit their use within village, the ECARS net up and running early Sunday. Given the town, or city limits. Discharging firearms in an urban area security concerns surrounding the event, Dave wanted to can carry some stiff penalties. ensure that ECARS was ready to provide direct support Paul M Schmitter, K2PMS, ECARS # 20096 should a wider incident have occurred. Thankfully, the day remained a beautiful, peaceful Sunday.
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modifications. After all is assembled and soldered (only 3 Up the Band Without places for dits, dahs, and center for ground) adjust for the proper feel. A drop of super-glue on each of the power con- a Paddle? nectors will keep everything from getting out of adjustment. by Bob Popella, N3OO Match up the 3-conductor wire to the configuration of the Are you tired of operating SSB? Do bad band condi- plug required for your radio. tions have you down? Or, maybe that rare DX station only I use this paddle for all my portable QRP work with operates CW and has no intention of operating SSB. How my FT817 and I also have one permanently installed in my about trying a little CW? Or maybe you already are a CW car on the emergency brake handle for operating mobile operator and need a good set of paddles but don’t want to CW as shown in the third photo. The feel and touch of this spend over $100 for a paddle. paddle is great; really better than some costing over $200. Make a set and enjoy some CW.
The few parts for the simple paddle.
Well you can make your own paddle for just pennies. Paddle mounted on the parking brake lever The first photo shows the required materials: a small block of wood (1-1/2” x 1-3/4”), binder paper clip, three screws, a piece of rubber hose or a piece of elastic, and power connec- tor clips. The assembly as shown in the second photo is very easy. Just install the three screws with their hardware. Of course you can use your own imagination and make ECARS Patch This beautifully embroidered ECARS patches will look great on your hat, jacket, or sewn to your favorite article of clothing. The cost for the patch is $5.00. Send your payment to: ECARS, PO Box 5923, Hudson, FL 34674.
The completed tiny paddle
ECARS Service - 7255 KHz - for Public Health, Safety, and Welfare 8 Volume No. 35 Issue Number 5 December, 2004 Official ECARS ECARS Jacket Voting If you would like to pur- chase an ECARS jacket / Instructions windbreaker, they are avail- ECARS members, please able from one of the nation’s vote for the candidates of your premier public safety supply choice. Cut out the form below and mail it (postmarked no later companies, Galls, Inc. To than December 30th 2004) to: purchase an official ECARS jacket, fill out the order form ECARS ECARS Thisbelow and space send it intentioalong with nally left blank. P.O. Box 150232 the required payment to Alexandria, VA ECARS, PO Box 5923, Hud- 22315 son, FL 34674. Pricing varies depending on jacket size and logo options selected. Official ECARS embroi- dered patch is on the front and back of the jacket.
ECARS Jacket Order Form Name: Call:
Name and mailing address:
Men’s sizes, circle one M L XL XXL XXXL 38—40 42—44 46—48 50—52 54—56 ($19.99) ($19.99) ($19.99) ($23.99) ($27.99)
Women’s sizes, circle one M L XL XXL XXXL 8—10 12—14 16—18 20—22 24—26 ($19.99) ($19.99) ($19.99) ($23.99) ($27.99)
Color, circle one Navy Red Black Royal
Circle all desired Large ECARS Logo-Back ($24.99) ECARS Logo Front Left ($9.99) Front right Name/Call ($5.99), 15 characters., 2 lines Name or Call only: ($3.99) Shipping: $10.00 Set up fee: $5.00 Total order: $______Jackets will be dropped shipped by the manufacturer directly to you. Any overpayments in shipping will be applied to the set-up fee. Order issues should be addressed directly with the Galls, Inc. Make checks payable to: ECARS PO Box 5923
ECARS Service - 7255 KHz - for Public Health, Safety, and Welfare
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Volume No. 35 Issue Number 5 December, 2004
ECARS Monitor PO Box 5923 Hudson, FL 34674-5923
The ECARS Monitor is published by the East Coast 2004 ECARS Officers Amateur Radio Service Inc., for the benefit of its members. President Vice President Full permission to quote from the Monitor is granted, John Zorger, WA1STU Fred Thumhard, KB2IXT provided a credit line is used. Members' for sale 5711 Artemus Rd. 5 Old Oxe Rd.. advertisements are run free of charge. Credit card size Gainsville, VA 20155-1542 Delmar, NY 12054 commercial ads are accepted at a cost of $15.00 per issue or Email: [email protected] $45.00 per year. Send advertisement information to the editor. The Monitor and ECARS do not assume any Secretary/Treasurer responsibility for items offered for sale. Your Monitor mailing Charles Stampf, N2CJ Net Manager label will show your ECARS number and the year of 11646 Wayside Willow Court Joseph S. Reppert WY3T, membership expiration. Hudson, FL 34667 Email: [email protected] Items for the Monitor should be sent to the editor in Email: [email protected] Microsoft Word or text format, if possible. The deadline for submissions is the 15th of the month preceding the month of ECARS 2004 Board of Directors publication, subject to change by the Editor. Publication is in Feb., June, Oct., and Dec. The Editor reserves the right to Joseph Blithe, WB3GVD, Email: [email protected] reject, edit, or modify submitted material as necessary. Dave Jordan, WA3GIN, Email: [email protected] Membership renewals, address changes, call sign Al Prindle, KA3UNB, Email: [email protected] changes, and new applications should be sent to: ECARS, PO Box 5923, Hudson, FL 34674-5923. Membership dues are $7.50 per year. Make checks payable to ECARS, and Webmaster: Paul Colin, WA2GRB, Email: [email protected] put your call sign and member number on the check memo. Multi-year renewals are appreciated. Renewals of three Public Relations Manager: Mary Popella, N3YL years or more will receive a laminated card at no charge. All Email: [email protected] membership subscriptions begin upon receipt of dues and terminate on December 31st. Swap and Shop Manager: ECARS decals are available for $1.50 each, and pins for Roger Schroder, N2LAQ $3.50 each plus $.60 postage per pin. Send your payment to: ECARS, PO Box 5923, Hudson, FL 34674-5923. Monitor Editors: Mike Stone, N1VE, Peggy Burns, K1VE 32 Carriage Road, Gilford, NH 03246 Email: [email protected] ECARS Service - 7255 KHz - for Public Health, Safety, and Welfare 10