PVRC NEWSLETTER - JANUARY 1997

Newsletter by K3DI Dick Wilder

OFFICERS
 
PRESIDENT KE3Q   RICH BOYD       (301) 464-8014 [email protected]
VICE PRES K3MM   TYLER STEWART   (301) 414-5444 [email protected]
SECRETARY N3OC   BRIAN McGINNESS (301) 652-6768 [email protected]
TREASURER N3KTV  JIM HORTON      (301) 258-9731 
HISTORIAN K3SA   STEVE AFFENS    (301) 774-0558 [email protected]
 
PVRC Charter Members:    
W3GRF (SK), W3IKN, W4AAV (SK), W4KFC (SK), W4KFT, N0FFZ, W4LUE, W7YS,
VP2VI (W0DX).
 
PacketCluster Contest/DX System (MHz):
K3NA  Frederick MD  145.630                     
W3LPL Glenwood MD   145.590 441.250
KE3Q  Bowie MD      145.570 445.375       
N3RR  Rockville MD  145.510 441.325
N4OHE Mt.Weather VA 145.710 440.925       
N4SR  Woodbridge VA 145.630 *
WR3L  Baltimore MD  145.610 440.950             
K4FJ  Mt. Vernon VA 145.770 *
K3MQH S Mountain PA 145.630
The system is sponsored by the Potomac Valley DX Spotting Network except
for nodes marked with "*" are funded & operated by the Rappahannock DX
Packetcluster Group.
 
PVRC on Internet:
Visit the PVRC Home Page, courtesy of K3SA, at:
http://www.access.digex.net/~k3sa/pvrc.html
 
Dues are by donation.
The mandatory $10 dues have been discontinued. So please send your
donation - hopefully at least $10 - to Jim Horton, N3KTV, 8527 Calypso
Lane, Gaithersburg, MD 20879-1522.  Make checks payable to PVRC.  Thank
you.
 
Newsletter Editor:
Dick Wilder, K3DI, 913 Shore Acres Rd, Arnold, MD 21012-1724.  The
communication ports are:  (410) 757-6706, FAX/modem 757-6720,
[email protected], and the DXcluster.  The deadline for the February issue
is Monday, January 27.
 
The Next General Meeting is January 13th (always second Monday):
It will be at The Church of the Nativity (Episcopal), Route 5, Temple
Hills, MD at 7:30 PM.  Arrive between 5:00 and 6:30 PM and enjoy an
Italian dinner buffet (about $10) at nearby Topolino's on Old Branch Ave
about 1/4 mile south of Allentown Rd. Directions to the meeting:  Take the
Capital Beltway to Exit 7-A.  Head south on Maryland Route 5 (Branch Ave)
toward Waldorf.  Immediately after entering Branch Ave you will come to a
stoplight, which is Manchester Dr.  Turn right on Manchester Dr.  In the
middle of the block on the left hand side, you will notice the Church of
the Nativity sign next to the church entrance. Go up the drive to the top
and park in the church's parking lot.
 
PVRC Calendar:
Mon,    Jan 13  General meeting
Tue.    Jan 21  NW meeting, Legends Restr, Frederick MD at 8:00 PM
 
RANDOM COMMENTS BY DICK WILDER, K3DI
 
This issue will be a bit thin.  Just returned from a holiday trip and will
put together what I have and modem off to Jim Horton for reproduction and
distribution.  If it arrives late (that is, after the central meeting on
the 13th), you can blame Santa Claus and me. 
 
I sat with Bob, W3YY, at the Christmas party (9 Dec), and he said that he
will return to Sao Tome in late January for work at the VOA station there.
Time for operating will again be limited, but he hopes to spend some time
at S92SS or another station.
 
Jim Talens, N3JT, did not attend the Christmas party.  Though he was up
three days after undergoing laparscopic hernia surgery on the 6th, he was
not sufficiently in the "ho-ho" mood.  Jim left the FCC at the end of the
year and is now looking for suitable employment.
 
I got word that the N4SR node user frequency is now on 145.63 instead of
145.53 MHz.  Steve Rock fights a never ending battle for spectrum space
without congestion.  Also, note that WR3L has added 440.950 MHz.
 
Be sure to send your contest scores to Dave Blanchard, N3II, and to the
organization sponsoring the contest with an annotation that you are a
member of PVRC.
 
 
THE ARRL WASHINGTON OFFICE NEEDS HELP! by Dick Wilder, K3DI
 
Working part time for the ARRL Washington office since June 1994 has
provided a nice therapeutic transition into retirement, but now I would
like to decrease that activity.  My XYL has recently retired with the
result that we will be traveling more and I will not be as available.
(I'll be 6Y? in the ARRL CW contest.)  Unfortunately, this comes at a time
of increased pressure on our amateur bands which demands increased work
through the DC office.  So, I am trying to help them locate a replacement
or replacements.
 
The ARRL board has approved hiring two additional full time employees, but
candidates for these career positions have not yet been identified.
Meanwhile, paid part time personnel can be used to fill the gap.
 
What is the job?  One attends various meetings in Washington that are
preparatory to establishing a US position to take to either an ITU
regional meeting or ITU world meeting.  Documents which propose changes to
the international radio regulations are distributed and discussed during
subsequent meetings. The League monitors developments and prepares counter
arguments or counter documents when our bands are threatened.
 
This is an ideal part time job for a retired person.  It can be scheduled
at a couple days per month so that it will not reduce ones Social Security
income.
 
Please contact me for more information about the task.  As a part timer, I
am a consultant to the League and not an employee.  I am in no way in the
hiring process but I can give you an idea of what the League needs for
both the full and part time positions.  By the way, they would like to
have one of the new hires fluent in Spanish.  See "Newsletter Editor" on
page one for routes to contact me.
 
THE PVRC EXCHANGE BY ED STEEBLE, K3IXD [email protected]
 
N3NT (ex-AA3HM) said 53000 QSL cards were ordered with 35 being uniques.
Included were a few DXpeditions: V26LN, KG4ML, K4YT/EL2. Twenty-three
members ordered 1000 cards, 9 ordered 2000 cards, 2 ordered 3000 cards,
and N3RR ordered 6000 cards.  Fourteen orders were from call sign changes.
For those who paid for shipping, he planned to send out the cards on 2
January and will distribute the rest at the Central and NW Regional
January meetings. If you can't make one of those meeting, help Craig out
by arranging for someone to pick up your cards.
 
To order a PVRC name badge provide your call sign, your name as it is to
appear on the badge, and $5 (or $7 if you want it mailed to you instead of
picking it up at a club meeting). Mail a check (payable to Brian
McGinness) to N3OC (ex-WA3WJD), Brian McGinness, 4618 DeRussey Pkwy, Chevy
Chase, MD 20815.
 
I am now taking orders for PVRC logo items. At the request of several club
members, this year you can get a T-shirt and golf shirt with a pocket as
well as without a pocket. On the T-shirt and golf shirt with the pocket,
the logo is over the right breast. On shirts without a pocket the logo is
over the left breast. Your call sign is embroidered on the golf shirt
above the left breast whether or not it has a pocket. Elsewhere in this
issue is an order form.  Orders must be postmarked by 28 February 1997.
(Order form follows. -editor)
 
 
*CATALOG* PVRC golf shirt, T-shirt, sweat shirt, and hat
_________________________________________________________
PVRC Embroidered golf shirt, white, Print Ons brand,
50/50 cotton/polyester, pique knit, 2 button, 3 color PVRC
logo, your call sign, and your name
without pocket ...........................................$30
or
with pocket ..............................................$33
__________________________________________________________
PVRC T-shirt, 100% cotton, Haines Beefy-T, with large 3 color
silk screened PVRC logo on the back, small 3 color PVRC logo
on the front, in white or ash (athletic grey) color,
without pocket ...........................................$13
or
with pocket ..............................................$16
___________________________________________________________
PVRC Sweat shirt, Jerzees 50/50 cotton/polyester, crew
neck, set in long sleeves with large 3 color silk screened
log on the back and small 3 color PVRC logo over the left
breast, ash (athletic grey) color,
light weight (7 oz) ......................................$21
or heavy weight (9 oz) ...................................$24
__________________________________________________________
PVRC two tone hat, royal blue visor, natural cap, 5 panel
twill top, (cooler than mesh in the summer), Yupoong brand,
with silked screened color logo, one size fits all .......$10
 
**********************************************************
ORDER FORM:
 
Embroidered Golf shirt: circle one: no pocket/pocket,
         size:____, add $3 for XXL or XXXL, call:___________,
         name:_____________, quantity:____         total=$____
 
T-Shirt: circle one: ash or white, no pocket/pocket;
         size:____, quantity:____, add $3 for XXL, total=$____
 
Sweat shirt: circle one: light weight/heavy weight,
         size:____ add $3 for XXL, quantity:____   total=$____
 
Hat: quantity:____                                 total=$____
 
You can stop by my house and pick up your items; or
pick them up at a central or NW regional PVRC meeting;
or have them sent UPS. - K3IXD
 
The S&H fee is $4 for one item, or 
$8 for two or more items.                           S&H=$____
 
Your name, call ____________________________________
street address, not PO Box _________________________
City, State, ZIP ___________________________________
 
Make check payable to Ed Steeble, not PVRC, and mail to
Ed Steeble, K3IXD, 14020 Celbridge Ct., Glenwood, MD 21738
 
Orders must be postmarked by 28 Feb 97, delivery in early April.
******************************************************************
 
1996 PVRC ARRL TEN METER CONTEST RESULTS BY DAVE BLANCHARD, N3II (1/2/97)
 
        CALL          QSO'S    STATES  COUNTRIES    TOTAL
SINGLE OP HIGH POWER - MIXED
        W4MYA          843        94         26   312,720
        K4ZW           762        97         23   262,320
        K3ZO           769        89         22   254,634
        K8OQL          517        74         14   132,528 
        N4AF           551        68          9   116,732
        AA4EL          360        61          7    66,368
        K4SO           343        58         12    65,240
        KE3Q            57        19          0     3,528
SINGLE OP LOW POWER - MIXED
        W3UJ           258        51          8    28,106
        WB6VGI         185        38          2    20,800
        W3CP           141        34          6    20,480
        WV3B           131        26          5    13,330
        K3HH            29        11          2     1,066
SINGLE OP QRP POWER - MIXED
        KA4RRU         118        38          0    13,224
SINGLE OP LOW POWER - PHONE
        N5OKR          615        49         17    81,800
        KC3PZ          549        40         14    65,800
        WB2BZR         543        40         12    56,472
        W3GHR          201        32          5    14,784
        WB4HFL         104        24          8     6,656
        W2EOS          109        21          2     5,014
        KS4XG           96        21          5     4,992
        N3MIL/T         21         6          0       294
SINGLE OP HIGH POWER - CW
        W3GN           429        43          8    87,720
        WU4G            96        29          0    11,136
SINGLE OP LOW POWER - CW
        KG4W           279        42          7    54,684
        W3TMZ           76        19          3     6,688
        K4UX            30        19          0     2,280
        N4CW            18         8          1       648
MULTI OP
        K3VOA          510        61         11    93,600
           Ops: K3IXD KD4QVT N3NT WB3ECU
        K3MM           301        70         13    72,210
        WK3I           320        62          0    67,084
        WR3L           252        53         17    54,320
        K4VV           224        46          6    32,012
                                      TOTAL     2,029,270
 -----------------------------------------------------------
  LAST YEAR - 1995
  -----------------                      entries  score
   UNLIMITED CATEGORY
      1. FRANKFORD RADIO CLUB (only entry) 57   1,307,489
   MEDIUM CATEGORY
      1. FLORIDA CONTEST GROUP             10     981,602
      2. POTOMAC VALLEY RADIO CLUB         19     655,086
      3. YANKEE CLIPPER CONTEST CLUB       19     420,614
As you can see, it looks like we have a change to win this year.  
Send in your scores to the ARRL. Any more scores out there ??     de N3II
 
 
1966 PVRC ARRL 160 CONTEST RESULTS BY DAVE BLANCHARD, N3II  (1/2/97)
  
    CALL                   QSO           MULTS         TOTAL
SINGLE OP HIGH POWER
    K4SO                  1150             106       262,880
    K4ZW                   975             106       233,094
    W9LT                   945             107       223,737
    K3MM                   862             107       207,580
    W4MYA                  790              92       156,676
    K3ZO                   729              96       148,608
    W3GN                   581              74        90,872
    K8OQL                  550              74        87,375
    N4AF                   598              72        86,184
    AA4EL                  213              50        22,650
    W3DAD                  224              49        22,246
    N4CW                   155              41        12,833
    K4UX                    80              39         6,591
SINGLE OP LOW POWER
    K1HTV                  777              94       153,690
    KG4W                   841              86       152,650
    K3SWZ                  303              54        33,372
    K3SA                   300              51        30,753
    WV3B                   337              43        29,111
    W3CP                   241              47        23,218
    K4VV                   163              42        14,147
    N3TG                   161              38        12,236
    WA4DAI                 113              40         9,280
    N3RR                   115              39         9,204
    K3DI                    70              32         4,480
    W4ZYT                   41              18         1,476
SINGLE OP QRP POWER
    WK3I                   637              66        84,282
    ND3F                   351              62        44,826
    KA4RRU                 155              31         9,610
MULTIOP
    W3UR +N3OSH & KE3Q    1504             122       450,790
    K3SV +N6CQ            1178             106       277,614
    N3II                   500              65        66,560
    K3SME                  180              79        35,076
    N3AM                   307              54        34,290
    W3HVQ                  217              66        31,218
    WR3L                   237              57        28,386
    K3KY                   155              57        18,867
    WA4QDM                 202              40        16,400
                                         TOTAL     3,132,862
 -----------------------------------------------------------
  LAST YEAR - 1995
  -----------------                      entries  score
   UNLIMITED CATEGORY
      1. FRANKFORD RADIO CLUB (only entry) 57   3,932,568
   MEDIUM CATEGORY
      1. YANKEE CLIPPER CONTEST CLUB       27   1,751,084
      2. MAD RIVER RADIO CLUB              12   1,655,336
      3. SOCIETY OF MIDWEST CONTESTERS      8   1,321,457
      4. NORTH COAST CONTESTERS             8     829,107
      5. POTOMAC VALLEY RADIO CLUB         18     801,554
      
MORE AMATEUR RADIO SITES ON THE INTERNET
COMPILED BY LEO BOBERSCHMIDT - KA3TGY [[email protected]]
 
Here is another collection of URLs related to the various aspects of ham
radio. A bit of focus this month of some of the many things available from
the ARRL on the Internet.  As usual, if there is some ham radio area that
is of particular interest to you, let me know at the above e-mail address;
I may already have a site bookmarked.
 
1. ARRL Focus:
ARRL: 1996 Video Series:
        http://www.arrl.org/ead/videos.html
 
ARRL: Atlantic Division:
        http://www.arrl.org/divisions/atlantic.html
 
ARRL Atlantic Division Links:
        http://www.arrl.org/divisions/atlantic/nl9602/links.html
 
ARRL: Operating Permit Information by Country:
        http://www.arrl.org/field/regulations/io/recip-country.html
 
ARRL: Part 97 - Amateur Radio Service Regulations:
        http://www.arrl.org/field/regulations/news/part97/
 
ARRL Infoserve: Index of 110 Different QST Article Bibliographies:
        http://ftp.barc.org:8080/pub/hamradio/arrl/infoserv/bibliog/
 
QST Kenwood Equipment and Mods Bibliography:

http://ftp.barc.org:8080/pub/hamradio/arrl/infoserv/bibliog/kenwood.txt
 
QST Phone Patch Bibliography:

http://ftp.barc.org:8080/pub/hamradio/arrl/infoserv/bibliog/fonpatch.txt
 
QST Product Review Bibliography:

http://ftp.barc.org:8080/pub/hamradio/arrl/infoserv/tech/prodrev.txt
 
2. Clubs, Individuals, Organizations:
Antique Wireless Association, Inc. [Electronic Communication Museum]:
        http://www.ggw.org/freenet/a/awa/
 
Quarter Century Wireless Association, Inc:
        http://www.teleport.com/~qcwa/
 
Rhein Ruhr DX Association - RRDXA [Hmmmm, their logo looks a lot like
NCDXA's]:
        http://members.aol.com/RRDXA/index.html
 
VE8RCS and VO1XA/VE8:
        http://www3.nf.sympatico.ca/gunslinger/ve8rcs.htm
 
Virginia Tech Amateur Radio Association [K4KDJ]:
        http://fbox.vt.edu:10021/org/vtara/vtara.html
 
VO1XA Home Page:
        http://www3.nf.sympatico.ca/gunslinger/
 
VP9ID's Bermuda Onion:
        http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/7848/index.html
3. DXpeditions:
FP DXpedition Page [St. Pierre and Miquelon Islands]:
        http://www.cris.com/~Jackhamm/FP.html
 
4. Ham Miscellaneous:
Amateur Radio Clip Art [140 images for QSL cards, newsletters, etc.]:
        http://www.eolas.co.uk/ag/hamclip.htm
 
Amateur Radio Operator On-Line:
        http://www.amateurradio.com/
 
Baygen Wind-Up Portable Radio [Power is provided by an internal
spring-driven generator]:
        http://www.mcs.com/~ralph/html/naswa/issues/1096/equip1096.html
 
Beginners Guide to Ham Radio [by AA2MZ]:
        http://www.irony.com/ham-howto.html
 
Ham Humor [don't blame me if you don't think it's funny]:
        http://www.getnet.com/~davidh/dxfun.html
 
HR Showcase - The Amateur Radio Website [lots of links]:
        http://www.accessnv.com/hrshow/hrmain.html
 
Index of /pub/ham/info/mods/ [about 300 files on modifications]:
        http://www.funet.fi/pub/ham/info/mods/
 
Kenwood Home Page:
        http://www.kenwood.net/amateur.html#Explore
 
Kenwood Report November/December 96:
        http://www.kenwood.net/kwreport/ken-15/ken-15.html
 
Newcomer's Guide to Amateur Radio [by Vince Yakamavich, AA4MY]:
        http://www.acs.ncsu.edu/HamRadio/FAQ/Newcomers.html
 
"Seek You" by the Ham Band [ham music (??) featuring such "great" hits as
"On the Monday Evening Greyline" and "I'm Not Climbing Up the Tower Any
More"]:
        http://www.lastres.com/ajhuddle/hamband.html
 
Six Meter News [On-line Six Meter Magazine]:
        http://user.itl.net/~equinox/50dx.html
 
Why Collect Old Transistors?
        http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Andrew_Wylie/why.htm