KISHWAUKEE AMATEUR RADIO CLUB Club Call: WA9CJN /Repeater 146.730, -O/S, 100PL JULY 2017 NEWSLETTER Editor: Kent, KC9LIF Club Officers: Next Club Meeting: President – Tom, K9GPC July 12th, 2017 Vice President– Brian KD9BKS Location: Treasurer – Bob W9ICU Christ Community Church Secretary – Ed, KC9PMM 1200 South Malta Rd., DeKalb, IL st Club Dues due on Nov 1 *************************************** On the web: www.kish-club.org or KARC at P.O. Box 371, DeKalb, IL 60115 Monday evening 2 meter net: 8:30 PM on WA9CJN repeater, featuring ARRL audio news AREAS/RACES net: Thursday evenings 7PM on WA9CJN repeater ARC Monday Night 2M Net: New the Tuesday or Wednesday evenings held Start Time. At the Feb. Meeting it was previously. decided to start the net 1/2hr earlier each week. The Net now starts at So, please note the VE Testing days – 8:30pm local time. the third Saturday of every odd-numbered month, from 9:00 AM to 12 Noon. 80/40 METER RAG CHEW NET: Mike Important: a new Element 2 (Technician) WD9GNX reports that the net is question pool came into effect on July 1, 2014, currently on 3.780 +/-5 kHz at 8PM effective thru June 30, 2018, new Element on Thursdays and Fridays, with Mike 3 (General) question pool became effective and Paul KD0GIX and occasionally, John on July 1, 2015, effective thru June 30, K9VIS. Formerly on 160M, at 8:00pm 2019, and a new Element 4, and (Extra) every evening. Then we did have to Pool became effective on July 1, 2012, move to 7.213 +/- 5 kc, and then effective thru June 30, 2016. moved to 3.846 KHz. Unfortunately, Each question pool is only good for 4 40Ms is not doing well these days. years. Make sure you use the right study materials! VE TESTING SESSIONS in Dekalb are now by appointment only! The DeKalb, IL (W5YI-VEC) VE (Volunteer Examiner) Future dates in 2017 (all times from Team is pleased to announce the 9AM to Noon). Be there early, as we 2017 VE Testing schedule. have to finish up no later than noon): In addition, we are administering tests July 15, 2017 now on Saturday mornings, rather than Sept. 16, 2017 1 KARC NEWSLETTER—July, 2017 Nov. 18, 2017 Sunday July 30, 2017, 18-20 Volunteers needed. 5:00am to The testing site remains the same, 12:30pm Community of Christ Church, 1200 18th annual Fizz Ehler Classic Car Show, South Malta Road, DeKalb, IL 60115 which is sponsored by the Turning (see Google Maps for directions). Back Time Club, will be in downtown For some other sites in the Northern IL Sycamore, which includes the area, see: other Ham License Testing Motorcycle Show. Over 1000 show cars, Sessions w/in +/- 60 mi. of DeKalb, hot rods, and trucks, over 500 courtesy of Google Maps motorcycles. Hamfests: 07/09/2017 | Fox River Radio League Hamfest Location: Aurora, IL Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Fox River Radio League 07/16/2017 | KARSFEST Location: Peotone, IL Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Kankakee Area Radio Society Saturday August 19, 2017, 20-25 Volunteers needed. 6:00am to 08/06/2017 | Hamfesters 83rd 3:00pm Annual Hamfest Egyptian Theatre DeKalb, 100mi Bike Location: Peotone, IL Ride. RLAE (Ride like an Egyptian) Thru Type: ARRL Hamfest Eastern DeKalb and Western Kane Sponsor: Hamfesters Radio Club Counties. (W9AA) If you can help out on either or both events please let me know as soon as possible. Both of these organizations have been very generous to the KARC in past years. And it's only fair that we return the favor. Club Event Calendar: Be sure to contact Tom K9GPC for those events that you want to volunteer for. The 2 KARC NEWSLETTER—July, 2017 more the merrier. Call signs and their respective states are K2A, New York; K2B, Virginia; K2C, Rhode Island; K2D, Connecticut; K2E, Delaware; K2F, Maryland; K2G, Georgia; K2H, Massachusetts; K2I, New Jersey; K2J, North Carolina; K2K, New Hampshire; K2L, South Carolina, and K2M, Pennsylvania. Additional information is on the 13 Colonies website. 13 Colonies Special Event Returns July 1-7 06/20/2017 The ninth annual 13 Colonies Special Event will take place July 1-7, with activity starting at 1300 UTC on July 1 and continuing until 0400 on July 7 (the evening of July 6 in US time zones). Participating stations try to contact all 13 Colony Stations plus two Bonus Stations — a clean sweep, a la ARRL November Sweepstakes. Stations in each of the original 13 colonies will be on the air using 1 × 2 special event call signs. The bonus stations will be WM3PEN in Philadelphia and GB13COL in Durham, England. 3 KARC NEWSLETTER—July, 2017 than 5W. My showing was by no means great, but I had Fun, which was my main goal! (Don’t get me started on the designation of 1B—battery! Suffice it to say, I will have a solar and /or wind power charging station next year!) After around 6 hours of casual operating, I had 74 QSOs from 34 different regions. I found the band to be a bit squirrelly with some strange QSB, but since I have not worked a contest for a while, I am not sure it was any worse than normal. QRM seemed a little better from what I remembered. All in all, it was nice to be back in a contest. My Field Day in Cary: by Kent KC9LIF I hope that everyone who participated in FD2017 had a good experience. It was a beautiful couple of days! Not getting out much these days, for various reasons, I operated a 1E (battery powered) QRP station (5W or less) at my QTH. I was particularly pleased that I managed some contacts with some of my homebuilt rigs, which put out less 4 KARC NEWSLETTER—July, 2017 Interesting build project: Two for Britain's Special Operations examples of modern day Parasets. Executive which conducted espionage and other activities behind German lines during World War II. The set, known as the Whaddon Mark VII, was used for clandestine radio communication primarily in Norway and Europe, developed at the Royal Signals Special Communications Unit workshops at Little Horwood and the workshops of Whaddon Hall, Buckinghamshire in the early stages of World War II. The equipment is known as the “Paraset” because it was dropped by parachute KD1JV Para80set Transceiver for field agents.[1][2][3] An interesting project, from QRPGuys, to build. A number of amateur radio operators build and operate replicas of the http://qrpguys.apps-1and1.com/para8040set- [4] transceiver Paraset. Bayou Jumper Here is another kit from Four Square QRP. The box can be purchased at Hobby Lobby. http://4sqrp.com/kits/Bayou%20Jumper /bayoujumper.php Both of these kits, pay homage to the famous WWII radios used by spies behind enemy lines. The Paraset was one of the first successful miniaturized radio sets 5 KARC NEWSLETTER—July, 2017 What is wrong with this picture? According to the ARRL repeater directory; A general rule, in fact law - both internationally and in areas regulated by the FCC - is that emergency transmissions always have priority. These are defined as relating to life, safety and property damage. Many years ago my Elmer provided me with the following hints as they relate to operating on the air. This applies to low band operation as well as repeater operation. Always wait a second or two before transmitting, this allows any emergency traffic to be heard or allows someone else to join in on the QSO. Do not begin to speak as soon as you have pressed the PTT button. My Elmer suggested, wait for a mental count “one” before you begin to speak. This prevents any possible clipping of your first syllables or word. This may seem unnecessary in a normal QSO but in an emergency situation it can make a big difference. If the Past Issue Wisdoms: responding station has to get you to From July, 2011 issue: repeat what you said because of clipping it wastes valuable time in an REPEATER ETIQUETTE: Mike emergency. WD9GNX submitted these observations on some poor repeater practices and My Elmer also pointed out that if you do thought that a reminder might benefit these two simple things on a regular us all. basis they will become a habit and in an emergency you will not have to think In the past few months we have had about doing them, they will be part of several new Hams join our ranks. What your normal operating practice. follows is for their benefit but some of our old timers may have forgotten these IN THE NEWS: Say Goodbye to things we learned so long ago. Sunspots? 6 KARC NEWSLETTER—July, 2017 by Phil Berardelli in Science Now from an online colloquium, is that the the July, 2011 Newsletter magnetic field strength of sunspots appears to be waning. Scientists studying sunspots for the past 2 decades have concluded that the magnetic field that triggers their formation has been steadily declining. If the current trend continues, by 2016 the sun's face may become spotless and remain that way for decades—a phenomenon that in the 17th century coincided with a prolonged period of cooling on Earth. Sunspots appear when upwellings of the sun's magnetic field trap ionized plasma—or electrically charged, superheated gas—on the surface. Weaklings. Without penumbrae, which can be seen in the yellow Normally, the gas would release its heat image, today's sunspots are weakening magnetically. Credit: William Livingston/NSO and sink back below the surface, but the magnetic field inhibits this process.