The Koolau Amateur Radio Club Newsletter for September 1998

-ANNOUNCEMENTS-

NEXT MEETING: September 12, 1998 @ 0930 at Ho"omaluhia Park Visitor's Center- Be there!

Our Guest Speaker will be KARC Member and Hawaii AMSAT Coordinator Peter Scheller. Pete will speak about Amateur Radio Satellite Operation. Come and bring your questions. A computer running a satellite prediction program and a short video tape will be presented.

Mary Oh, will be our October Guest Speaker. Mary is an experienced tour leader to mainland China. She will tell us about here recent trips and give us some insight to the region.

At the Next Meeting the Exchange Box full of magazines, catalogs, parts and books will be at this meeting. "Show and Tell" needs you to bring something from your shack to show those attending, while you tell about it. Remember, you can not win the prizes, contribute your special ideas and catch up on the latest from your ham friends if you do not attend. This week's prize donated by the Trinity Alarm Company is a Radio Shack brand HF SWR Bridge.

A notebook with Field Day '98 Pictures will be at the meeting for you to review. The KARC Photo Gallery at our Website has been expanded. WB6FZH uploaded some new pages of pictures showing Field Day '98.

VIDEOTAPE OF FIELD DAY '98

A few minutes of raw videotape shot at Field Day will be shown. See the 8th wonder of the world...AH6OZ's 30' mast and the amazing 40 meter and multiband antennas. See WB6FZH, work the AO-27 Satellite tangled in his headphone cable, Jerry, WH6BKQ cook burgers and hot dogs, observe the crack HF operators and logging of WH6CLZ, Howard. Observe other KARC members supervising and doing statistical analysis of the number of cookies and corn chips verses the number of soft drinks, divided by the number of chairs, etc.

OCTOBER MEETING- Flea Market & Auction Meeting

KARC Members are welcome to bring their junque, old rigs, parts, extra equipment to sell at the meeting. If you do not sell it, and want it auctioned we will do that too. You can also donate it to the club for sale (with money to go to the club). If you have an item that is more than $20.00 there will be limited listing space in the October KARC News. Send your Name, Call, Description & Price to the editor by mail or email. The KARC assumes no responsibility relating to equipment or purchases at this event. An Extra Table will be set up in the meeting room.

-NEWS-Features-CONTESTS-Ham Ads-MINUTES-Articles-PHOTOS-

MINUTES- August 8th Meeting 1998- What you missed!

The meeting was conducted by KARC Director Sid, AH6HH. The President, Vice President and Treasurer were all scheduled to be off island. Thanks to Sid for a great job!

Our Speaker was James Nelson, who spoke about Windows 95. He emphasized the perils aswell as the new conveniences over Windows 3.1 etc.

The Treasurer's Report: None this month, KH6NFN, Len will be back next meeting with updated information.

11 Members and Guests present. Sid proposed a receiving line for new guests to make them feel welcome.

There was a discussion of the implications of the impending changes in Ham Radio Licensing. ARRL and FCC proposals are in QST, World Radio and Other Ham Radio Magazines current issues. (http://www.arrl.org)

Howard, WH6LF, said he did not get his newsletter. Did anyone else not get theirs? (Contact Greg, WB6FZH, for your duplicate issue!)

Please contact Greg, WB6FZH, with your additions or corrections to the minutes. TNX

1999 CALENDAR OF EVENTS- Activities Incomplete/Proposed Your input needed!

CLUB ACTIVITIES- Greg Greenwood, President KARC

There are many aspects to having a Ham Radio Club. Some may not seem to be radio oriented, but are nonetheless important. Please look at this list of Club and Ham Radio Activities and see if any are of interest to you. If so please contact your KARC officers so we can develop a list of who are interested in what, and see what we can come up with. There are many ways to support your club and Amateur Radio. Being present at a club meeting, is only one way. I have been coming to club meetings for about 4 years and I have only met about 1/3rd of the members. I know that many are doing supportive things I do not even know about. Please take a look at this list, and if there is something that is not there that you think should be, please let me know. It is important to have the club reflect your interests.

There are areas listed that we are not obviously geared up today to do, perhaps things we will or should not do, but there are many things to consider and implement as we have the ability to do them. There are people already doing many things on this list. The presence of the list is to recruit additional participation, and perhaps give some people that are doing several tasks a chance to do a little less before we burn them out.

Hopefully, we will be welcoming new and returning members and assisting them to discover their farvorite parts of Amateur Radio, and the KARC. It comes as no suprise that Clubs and Organizations of all types today are having trouble surviving as our society and technology changes.

Radio Club type Activities- Inventory of Present/Future Activities

ADVERTISING KARC- 9/12/98 presentation at No Code Technician Class

Sid Sniedar, AH6HH and Greg Greenwood, WB6FZH, will go Windward CD Headquarters at Olamana and pitch KARC Membership to the students at Richard LeChance's Amateur Radio Class. KARC Member, Richard, WH6T, has offered a few minutes to tell about KARC and extended an invitation to all to visit our meetings.

A special hand-out with KARC information and the Website URL will be left with the students. (The hand-outs were not printed at club expense). Hopefully, we will be afforded an opportunity to welcome some new members and remember what it was like when we were new to radio in a room full of strangers. Our thanks to Richard for making the time availiable.

A word about Computers & KARC...

You will never have to have a computer, internet or digital anything to stay in the center of KARC activities. The Website was designed to keep KARC able to respond to a new generation that utilizes a computer, e-mail and digital electronics as a part of their life. This newsletter is in the form you are reading so it can be uploaded to the Website for people to read there from anywhere in the world. The past issues are there to show what we do, and what we are planning to do. Certainly, a lot of Amateur Radio information has migrated to the internet and we will try and utilize it where we can.

Your editor is using an old an slow notebook computer purchased used a few years ago with WIN 3.1, and the minimum to run the software to post your newsletter to the Website and generate e-mail. You may also remember that some of his favorite radios still have tubes in them, so that should tell you that KARC News will not be trying to drag everyone into cyberspace. Some clubs are eliminating newsletters and going on-line or even packet only, leaving many with no newsletter and feeling left out. Please let one of the club officers or board members know where you want KARC and KARC News to go. -73/Greg

AMATEUR RADIO RESTRUCTURING- Class A,B,C & D

The ARRL submitted a letter to the FCC. Two underlying principles guided the League's submission. No present licensee should lose privileges and present licensing standards should be maintained. The ARRL Proposal calls for combining the present 6 classes of license into 4. Quasi-Technician, General, Advanced and Extra. Full Access to the Ham bands would require 12 WPM, buy limited access at 5 WPM. The FCC is just starting to study the situation, and it has a long way to go. You can send your own ideas and opinions in general to the FCC too. Full information on the ARRL activity is located on Page 48 of the September QST Magazine.

The ARRL proposal calls for Class A,B,C, & D licenses. Class D would be the Technician pretty much as it is. Class C would be. Novice, Techplus and General would be Class C roughly the same as General with expanded phone bands on HF. Class B would be Advanced with additional HF Phone bands. Class A would be the Extra with expanded HF Phone Band. For complete information on this proposal check QST, CQ and World Radio Magazines.

CONTESTS

SEPTEMBER CONTESTS OCTOBER-

NOVEMBER- 28/29- CQ WW CW DX Contest

VE TESTING- Upcoming VEC Testing Dates

NOTE: Check the expiration date on all books and educational materials for use in Amateur Radio Testing. The question pools are deleted and new questions are used.

SWAP and SELL

WANTED- 486 Computer(Cheap), Military & Classic Radio Gear, Broadcast Radio

FREE Listing of your equipment for sale or want list in KARC NEWS, Contact the Editor!

KARC IN THE COMMUNITY

If you are interested in helping with "KARC in the Community", by visiting a school, helping someone newly interested in Amateur Radio with those first important questions or helping with an event, please contact Greg WB6FZH/KH6 or Sid, AH6HH. We do not have an organized program yet, but are looking for KARC members to participate It is easy and very rewarding to see others begin to find the magic of Amateur Radio. Remember?....

MEMORIAL GIFTS TO KARC- Your Key does not have to be silent

Please give some serious thought to remembering KARC in your will. Your gift of money or equipment to KARC would be a wonderful thing. Your wishes would be respected by the KARC board and any requests would be honored to the best of their ability. Suprise the club members and future clubmembers you leave behind, or work with the KARC Board of Directors to make a specific donation you have in mind come true. Remember, it is one way to be sure that there is a Koolalu Amateur Radio Club waiting for a future radio amateur to come along. Help continue the magic of Ham Radio. Please give this some serious thought if you have not done so already.

SPACE & Satellite NEWS

Listings on the AMSAT BBS have been made by KARC Member Peter, NH6VB, reminding satellite users that when the Hawaiian Islands are within the Ham Satellite footprints there are often KH6 stations making calls unswered to the mainland US and Alaska.

KARC members AH6HH, NH6VB, & WB6FZH/KH6 (& hopefully others soon) have been standing by on AO-27 passes to give calling stations two grid squares at one time. KO6TH, Greg, in Alburn, CA was the first BL-01 & BL-11 QSO & Contact in 15 seconds.

Greg, WB6FZH/KH6, recently on AO-27 contacted 3 states in about as many minutes. Chuck, KI0AG, was on 14,000ft Mt.Lincoln (CO) with 2 watts, Chris, N2YQP, with 2 watts on the 3rd floor landing of his apartment house in Albequrque, NM, W4NML, Bill, in Blackfoot, Idaho and a couple other unidentified stations.

QRP COLUMN- OK I don't working everything I hear with QRP!- WB6FZH/KH6

As I start to write the QRP Column, I am listening to the 30 meter CW Band. I hear signals from England, The Netherlands, New Zealand, The UK, Mexico, California, Michigan, Italy and Washington State. I was amazed to hear so many signals from so many places in the world within a few minutes of one another at about 7:30 to 8:30 pm local time. These signals were coming from Small Wonder Labs QRP CW Transceiver built from a kit that has traveled the world with me. Yes, I could not resist calling one or two of them with this one watt ouput radio. No, I did not contact anyone! I still had fun calling.

Yesterday evening at this same time on 20 meters SSB (100W & Vertical) I was chatting with Derrick, ZD7CTO, on St.Helena Island off the West African Coast. He was talking of problems with his computer logging software and missing his "mates" in Austrailia. We were both using radios built by Yaesu in the 1970s that we both marveled at how long and well they have worked for us. The band was full of stations from Europe a little earlier, but the band had folded and Derrick and I seemed to be the only ones exchanging "S-8" signals with little if any noise. It was much the same an hour earlier (I went to Safeway in search of desert inbetween contacts...Apple Pie was the choice!) I heard several European stations coming through on SSB and a familiar voice and call drew my attention, OE6MBG, Mike in Graz, Austria. I called Mike, and he came right back and appologized for not remembering my name, as my call was familiar. I told him the same and we chatted for a few minutes. During this QSO I was able to do something I aways wanted to do!

I asked Mike if his logging computer was on the internet. He said "Yes", and why he asked? I asked if he would like to see my backyard, Kaneohe Bay on my website. He said "Sure". For the first time I sent my Internet Website address phonetically a couple of times and moments later he was looking North Across Kaneohe Bay.(http://members.aol.com/greg6fzh/) The picture was now complete. He is talking to me on SSB while looking at the Location, Operator and very equipment in use at the click of a mouse! I had imagined this as one of the possible uses but never had tried to use it on HF Radio.

I see by the counter on my website that my page has been accessed several hundred times, but by who and how they arrived there I can only guess. Sometimes a visitor will leave me an email message or comment on something we have in common. Much the same way that visitors to the KARC Website see the pictures of our Field Day other Club Activities. You may already be famous on the other side of the world and just do not know it!

This Month's FreeCatalog recommendations- RAMSEY-Electronic Hobby & Amateur Radio Kits (800-446-2295), HALTED Specialties Company (HSC) Parts, MFJ, Computer, Surplus, Misc(800-4-HALTED), DC Electronics-Parts, Boxes, Plugs, IC/Xstr,etc (800 467-7736), MECI- Electronics Parts, Surplus, Books, Misc.(800-344-6324).

This Month's $1.00 Catalog: KANGA US, 3521 Spring Lake Drive, Findlay, OH 45840 (419-423-4604) or for free...view at-http://qrp.cc.nd.edu/kanga/ This is a source of QRP projects of many kinds many from the UK.

When was the last time you built something? Did you cut yourself or burn something with some solder or the iron? Show the scars at "Show and Tell", Put something over your XYL's favorite table top nextime you build, unless you want to be operating from the doghouse! 72/73 -Greg

KOOLAU AMATEUR RADIO CLUB INFORMATION

Your Club Officers

DIRECTORS

PROGRAM CHAIRMAN- Howard, WH6LF 247-0775

NEWSLETTER

CLUB MEETINGS

MEMBERSHIP/FIELD DAY CHAIRMAN- Jerry Mulherin, WH6BKQ, 235-3042, email:jerham@aloha.net

MAILING ADDRESS- KARC c/o J.Mulherin, 45-145 Mikihilina St., Kaneohe, HI 96744

VEC TESTING

2 METER ACTIVITY

KARC WEBSITE