PVRC Newsletter October 2000
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PVRC NEWSLETTER - OCTOBER 2000
PVRC CALENDAR:
Weekly Wed
BWI Regional weekly breakfast. Wednesdays 7:30 am,
Basil's Deli, Elkridge Landing Rd near BWI.
Monthly
Over-the-Hill Luncheon. TBA. See reference page.*
Oct 5 Thu
PVRC/NC meeting at Ryans.
Oct 9 Mon
Central meeting at Vienna VA location. See reference page.*
Oct 10 Tue
Central VA meeting jointly with CVCC. See reference page.*
Oct 13 Fri
Carroll Co Group meeting 7:30 pm at AK3Z, John Chesley, 749 Skyward Drive,
Westminster, MD. Talk-in on 145.410 neg split
Oct 17 Tue
Northwest meeting at Tully's Grill, Frederick. See reference page.*
Oct 17 Tue
Tidewater Colony meeting night. See reference page.*
Oct 21 Sat
Rappahannock meeting at 10:00 am at K7SV
Oct 27 - 29
CQWW SSB DX Contest. 8 PM EDT Fri to 7 PM EST Sunday (clocks change)
Nov 4 - 5
ARRL CW Sweepstakes. 4 PM EST Sat to 10 PM EST Sun
Nov 18 - 19
ARRL SSB Sweepstates 4 PM EST Sat to 10 PM EST Sun
Nov 24 - 26
CQWW CW DX Contest. 7 PM EST Fri to 7 PM EST Sun
*The reference page is included in the paper edition but is
excluded from the electronic edition. It is posted as a
separate document at www.pvrc.org
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James A. Murry, Jr., W4TKR, of Alexandria, VA suddenly and
unexpectedly became a silent key on August 5, 2000. Jim was one
of the operators at Dick Phelps' multi-op statin W4KXV. (Dick is
now N4RP in FL.) Jim did SS from his modest home station.
Info from W3AZ
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SOUTHERN VA HAMFEST MEETING, 8/5/00 by Jerry Haislip, K1SO
The SW group of PVRC signed in while visiting the Roanoke Valley
Hamfest. Signing the roster were, Mike/N4GU (sporting a new PVRC
T-shirt), John/W4JAM, Susanne/W0MAN, Anthony/WM3T (ex-KU4RG),
Shilynn/KF4OKG, Buddy/W4YE, Phil/K4EP, Gordon/K1GG, Mark/N2QT and
Jerry/K1SO. It was a great turn out for members of the PVRC from
around the area.
Phil/K4EP has photo of his trip to the NC islands where he
contested. Very interesting antenna setup was shown. Phil said
that he and some friends had a very successful contest trip and
plan to return.
At 1:30 pm the SW-PVRC held a meeting, Jerry/K1SO presided
(John/K4IQ/SW group coordinator was unable to attend).
Buddy/W4YE recommended PVRC bring Ray Crampton/AB4YZ in to our
group, since this was his qualifying meeting. Ray/AB4YZ is an
avid contester and will be an asset to the group. Shilynn/KF4OKG
seconded the recommendation. Buddy/W4YE then gave, Ray/AB4YZ,
his welcoming speech, which is always interesting.
We talked about the picnic at John/K4IQ's QTH on August 26th.
Information will be sent out via e-mail or radio.
The meeting was adjured at the request of Anthory/WM3T and
seconded by Shilynn/KF4OKG. All returned to complete a
successful day the Roanoke Valley Amateur Radio Club Hamfest and
Computer show. Welcome to Ray Crampton/AB4YZ our newest member
of PVRC.
ANNUAL FOWLFEST 8/12/00 by Brian McGinness, N3OC
The annual PVRC fowlfest was held on Saturday, August 12 at one
of the many QTHs of Marty, W3YOZ. Fowlfests are notorious for
hot and steamy weather, and somehow Marty was able to arrange the
nicest weather we've had in many years.
There was a brief PVRC meeting at 3pm.
The following members signed in:
N4ZH, K4VV, N1WR, WR3Z, N3OC, WB3AVN, W3AZ, KC3VO, W2GG, K1HTV,
N4QQ, WF3J, K3AN, W3AZD, WB3ANE, K3GV, W3MR, W3KN, K3DI, K2PLF,
W3UR, W3FRG, W3YOZ, N4MM, N3JT, KE3Q, N4MO, W3OQ, W3OU, W2YE,
W3UJ, K3ZO, W3MC, N3UM, W3LPL, W3AMY, N3OPM, and W3XE.
Vasilly, UA6AN has attended his second meeting and is eligible
for membership. He prefers to wait until he has obtained his US
callsign. Please welcome him to the USA and to PVRC.
A short president's report was given though minutes were not
taken.
PVRC/NC MEETING MINUTES 8/19/00 by Pete Soper, KS4XG
The meeting was at the K2AV residence near Apex from 3:00-6pm.
Attendees: Guy K2AV, Brian K3KO, Bob K4HA, Jim K4QPL, Henry
K4TMC, Pete KS4XG, Howie N4AF, Bert N4CW, Joe NA3T, Gary W2CS,
Joyce Olinger, Jenny and Emily Soper
Notes: There was no club business, just good food and plenty of
rag chewing this time. Thanks to K2AV and his wife Joyce for
great hospitality.
Many new towers springing up in the NC chapter this year. KI7WX
is putting up two, K2AV, K4QPL, N2NFG and W0UCE are each putting
up one (K4QPL tower is complete by now) and K4HA has just
completed a second tower at his QTH.
PVRC/NC MEETING MINUTES 9/7/00 by Pete Soper, KS4XG
The meeting was held at Ryans Family Restaurant in Cary from
5:30-8pm. We'll be at Ryans the first Thursday of the month
through April this year, special dinner meeting in May, cookout
in the Summer TBD.
Attendees. Will AA4NC, Guy K2AV, Brian K3KO, Bob K4HA, Jim K4MA,
Jim K4QPL, Mark KI7WX, Brent KO4PY, Pete KS4XG, Bob N2NFG, Dan
N3ND, Jeff N3NPQ, Bert N4CW, Jeff NX9T, Gary W2CS, Will WJ9B, and
Jim WW4M.
Membership. Membership remains at 37. We're sad to report that
Dan N3ND is moving back North to take a new job in Maryland. But
best wishes Dan!
Announcements.
1) We wish a speedy recovery for Jack W0UCE who is under the weather.
2) TAKE PART IN SWEEPSTAKES! PVRC lost the championship last year
by a small margin and there will be a hard battle to take it
back. Call the chapter members you know to attend the October
and November meetings if needed to catch up with ARRL
requirements and qualify to send points in for PCRC. For some
strategy help see AA4NC's Sweeps paper here:
http://w4atc.ncsu.edu/ss/tuneup.htm YOU can make the difference
this year!
3) Merri AB0MV (ex-KF4OAD) and Glenn AE0Q were happily married in
the Boulder Colorado area a few weeks back. We wish this "CW
couple" a happy life together.
4) N3QYE is now WW4M. Jim's new callsign is for rent, first
taker is W4ZV for WPX. Jim has done a super job on the chapter
web site and was given an ovation for his hard work. Note the
contest calendar of 5mil contest events Jim has put here:
http://www.pagesz.net/~pvrcnc/calendar.htm Also, after
attempting to set a new record for durability at NC State
University Jim completed the requirements for his masters degree
in Forestry.
5) The plain blue text version of the club badge is the one the
majority of us preferred. The badges have been ordered and will
be distributed to all NC chapter members in November.
Contributions to WW4M are welcome to fund badges for new NC
chapter members (Jim is at [email protected] ).
6) The chapter web site is moving. The plan is to move the site
to a system NA3T is bringing up if Joe can tame the wild sendmail
and if not there are other alternatives. KI7WX will be
sponsoring a domain name to point to the new site so we don't
have to squint around for the tilde keys.
For Sale.
1) N3ND has an LK500ZC for sale. There is a problem with
a 160m capacitor but it's otherwise in good shape. [email protected]
2) KS4XG has a 2el Gem Quad for sale. Excellent condition with
spare spreader and cross braces but needs new element wires.
Separate RG11 transformers and coax coil baluns for 10, 15 and
20m, remote coax switch. Also an IC735 with dual Inrad 2.1khz
filters, 250hz filter and hand mike. Also a TS830 with outboard
digital VFO and outboard speaker and CW filters. [email protected]
Chapter member news.
K2AV has a tower base and first section of his Trylon T400 up.
The plan is to put a C31XR on it and perhaps a 40el yagi too.
W2CS reports all antennas survived the Summer weather adventures.
AA4NC was not as fortunate. Will reports one radio, the TIC
rotor, one 40m yagi out of action from lightning. He's planning
on repairing the yagi with a crane this time.
N3NPQ has put up an R7000 vertical to use with his TS50 and has
plans for a six meter yagi. Jeff has an FT100 in his car now.
K4QPL is enjoying his new tower and reports the 40m wire antenna
WW4M designed for him is working very well.
N2NFG is looking for a gin pole for his new tower. He plans to
put a Lighting Bolt quad up.
W9JB described an ALC problem on CW with his TS950 and sought
advice about a computer configuration problem.
KI7WX has cured concrete bases for new Rohn 55 and 25 towers with
plans for a monobander collection. Mark will be handling SSB at
the W6EEN station M/S for CQP and invites all PVRC members to
join in the fun on both modes.
K3KO sold his Titan and bought an ACOM.
KS4XG lost three PCs, stereo and telephone gear, and had his
TS850's computer interface smoked by lightning. Recovery is
almost complete and a lot of APS surge protectors are in place
now. An A4S will be going up to replace the Gem Quad on the
AB577. The C4 at 70' is playing well and the M/S setup is coming
together.
NX9T is in his new house with 2.1 acres and has a base hole dug.
He's starting work on a new station room. Jeff would appreciate
any advice about free standing towers like the Trylons.
N3ND has been enjoying PSK and beta testing the new DX4WIN
release.
N4CW will be in Maine until early October. Bert just got his
paper for 325 DXCC countries on CW.
K4HA has been doing tower work and has a second one up at his
home. It's 60'of Rohn 25G and Bob currently has VHF and UHF
yagis on it. Bob also arranged for an AB577 which he'll be
mounting on a trailer for Field Day and other events.
KO4PY cracked us up with a description of his "Single/Multi"
effort in a recent QRP CW contest. With three Wonder Labs 1w
rigs, three custom keyers, three keys and speaker audio from all
the radios going at once Brent's big challenge was ear-hand
coordination.
K4MA reports now lightning damage and noted that N4CW followed
him across all bands during NAQP. Jim said he was nipped out by
AA4NC because Will employed his then secret "Dixie Chicks
Strategy" for the contest off times, opting for watching the
girls play while Jim went for more time on the low bands, which
were not so hot this time.
Somebody mentioned Barry's Cafe at Tryon and Holy Springs Road as
having a nice quiet meeting room for future meetings were we need
this.
Next Meeting. The next meeting will be Thursday October 5th at
Ryans in Cary. Come at 5:30 for rag chewing, meeting starts at
6.
PVRC RAPPAHANNOCK MINUTES 10 SEP 00 by Larry Schimelpfenig, K7SV
Let's start with an editorial comment - It's Friday 15 Sept, the
temperature is 72 degrees with a slight breeze from the north and
low humidity. It's most appropriate that it smells and feels
like the contest season - there are no less than 7 contests
running this weekend.
In attendance: K3RV, K4ZW, K4EU, (Y)K1SE, WA4RRU, NR4M and K7SV.
The meeting was held at the QTH of Ken K4ZW. Following brief
discussion on club elections the group got right into activity
planning for the contest season.
While the Rap group has normally done a multi from NR4M in the cw
sweepstakes, K4ZW suggested that we increase the club score by
doing two multi's, one from NR4M and the other from his QTH. To
be discussed further with all of the regular ops.
Also, discussed was the current popular topic, score reduction.
Some of the NR4M scores have been substantially reduced mostly as
a result of bad calls in the log. There are any number of
reasons that a bad call has been logged and Steve doesn't want to
chastise any of the ops. On the other hand, the operators who
were present indicated that they would like to know if they are
putting bad calls in the log regardless of reason. If all ops
agree before a contest starts at NR4M, we'll use the feature in
WriteLog that allows us to put the name of the current operator
in the log and we'll let the ops know of any bad calls associated
during their time behind the key. The group then went around the
room to discuss contest plans and anything new.
K4ZW has been gearing up for both CQWW modes from home. Outside
he built a second 5 el yagi and stacked it below the existing 5
el on 15. He built a new operating bench using NR4M Grape Ape
construction techniques. In addition to his trusty TS940/Alpha,
he has adorned it with an FT1000MP/QRO Tech amp. When he's done
building the WriteLog board, he's almost ready for two radio
contesting. We won't discuss what happened to his bandpass
filter!
NR4M is looking at doing CW SS, CQWW, ARRL DX, and WPX multis
from his qth this year. Need to check all the antennas and do a
few minor repairs. Spent a good number of days with several of
the group at Vint Hill Station removing 540 feet of AB105 to the
70 acres near Fredericksburg VA that will be the new home to
NR4M. Also accumulating CATV cable for the new station.
K7SV rebuilt his 486 upgrade computer to a 500mhz machine and is
very pleased with how well DX4WIN and WriteLog work now. He did
it primarily to get RTTY working correctly, but after wiring the
audio for that mode found it very easy to set up the voice keyer
feature in WriteLog. Works great so, to the chagrin of Mrs.
Larry, you'll probably hear him more in rtty and fone contests.
(Y)K1SE, Kareem aka Bill says we need a summertime cw contest to
activate NR4M. He's in dire need of a cw fix! Don't know what
he's complaining about. He worked the A52 operation with 100
watts and an indoor antenna!
Visitor but very welcome member Karl K3RV will probably do ARRL
and CQ DX contests single band from VA and the CW contests from
W3LPL.
K4EU Enjoyed the IARU contest. He's preparing to put up a tower
and triband quad. More points!
KA4RRU has been very QRL with two young and wonderful children.
He's starting to get back on VHF and also did a few hours in the
CQ RTTY contest this year. Wants to make an effort in the ARRL
RTTY Roundup.
Next meeting is scheduled for Saturday 21 Oct 10:00AM at the qth
of Larry K7SV. Meeting adjourned and gang enjoyed burgers and
hot dogs. Thanks Ken and Sue for the great hospitality.
CENTRAL MEETING MINUTES 9/11/00 by Brian McGinness, N3OC, Pres.
The September meeting was called to order at 7:30 in Temple
Hills, MD by Brian N3OC, after some had dinner at Mama Stella's.
(NOTE: Topileno's is rebuilding and may be open by the November
meeting.)
The following members were in attendance: WR3L, ND3A, N3OC, N3RR,
WR3Z, KE3Q, N3RC, N3HXQ, W3LPL, W3HVQ, W3DQ, K3ZO, WK3I, K4VV,
W3TOM, W3YOZ. W3DQ's vistor was K8MN/5H3US/A22MN.
N3OC gave the president's report. The fall contest season has
begun, with the Sept VHF contest being the first 5m award event.
Many more members are earning their 5m awards this year, with 32
new plaques and 15 endorsements on order!
Sweepstakes is coming up. PVRC lost last year by one big log, or
two average logs, or three small logs, depending on how you want
to look at it. Many of us have said it was their fault for one
reason or another. Please do all you can this year, and we
should be fine. If you don't have a place to operate and would
like to, please contact your regional coordinator for help.
The holiday dinner is tentatively planned to be at the Olive
Garden in Tysons Corner again this year. I have not made any
arrangements yet, and plan on doing so this month. If you are
interested in making a slide or powerpoint presentation, please
contact me so we can work you in the planning.
Jack, K4VV gave the vice-president's report. He reports his wife
has been ill, so his time has been limited. He is working with
WX0B to bring Jay to the DC area for a presentation on stacking
at a PVRC meeting sometime next year.
Dave, WR3L presented the treasurer's report, and a balance sheet.
He asked everyone to send in their donations, and thanks everyone
who has. (We have 32 new 5m plaques to buy this year!)
Bill, N3RR gave the election manager's report and volunteered to
help again this year as the representative of the trustees. He
reported that all of the current officers indicated their desire
to continue for another year. No other nominations for officers
were received.
A discussion of the trustees was held. The by-laws require we
elect at least three, but allow for more. The past president is
usually a trustee as a courtesy. The duties of the trustees, as
defined by the by-laws, are to resolve disputes, make policy, and
nominate a slate of officers and trustees to be elected each
year.
As a result of the discussion, it was decided to elect more than
three trustees this year, and that the additional trustees would
come from the outlying regions. Therefore the following
additional trustees for 2001 were nominated from the floor: N4AF
(NC), N4ZR (WV), W4ZYT (TW), W4MYA (CV), and K4IQ (SWVA) in
addition to last year's trustees N3RR, KE3Q and K3MM.
N3OC will be contacting the additional trustees to confirm their
acceptance. There was no new business, so war stories were told
the remainder of the meeting.
K4VV took a lightning hit (as did many others) and lost one
radio, some computers, and a rotor controller.
WK3I has a new IC756 pro he is trying, and has no new antennas
and no lightning.
K3ZO was on for the VHF contest, and noted the usual good
propagation just before the contest. He also reports all HF
antennas 100% ready and a new prop pitch motor has been
installed.
WR3L is putting up a new 90' tower, and looking forward to the
new contest season.
N3RR brought his "V26B Top Gun Award" plaque to show everyone.
Each year, the V26B group (N3OC is a member) gives a plaque to
the first single-op to work them on all 6 bands, and last year it
was predictably N3RR. (You would be surprised how early this
happens in the contest, always in the first or second hour.)
Bill also took a lightning hit, losing a zener diode in 4 out of
his 5 ring rotor controller boxes.
WR3Z worked the VHF contest at W3YOZ's mountain QTH in PA. He
was also involved with skywarn training in southern Maryland, and
is working on helping to extend the packet system further into
southern Maryland.
KE3Q has been busy with twins "dot" and "dash". Rich went to
WP3R for ARRL CW, and will be back there for sweepstakes. He is
also still working on his new QTH.
W3YOZ worked the VHF test from his mountain QTH in PA, which is
always under construction. This year featured all the logs being
on computer, but it also featured no 2m station (that's the
equivalent of suicide in a VHF contest!) thanks to a lightning
hit. He has also started installing HF antennas at that QTH.
N3HXQ had his third child in June, and has managed to put his new
C4SXL up anyway. It still needs some tweaking.
Dave, K8MN/A22MN lives southeast of Wheeling, commuting to
Reston, Va. He is still assembling his antenna farm, and
recently came back from 5H.
W3LPL has been finishing his 15m 6/6/6 150' rotating tower. The
tower is done, the booms are up, and the elements are about to go
up.
W3HVQ has been working on his 5m award, and has finally made it
(6.8m). He took a break from radio, cranked in his bumbershooter
and went to the state fair and fishing a few times. He is
working on getting a B-29 prop pitch motor working as his
rotator.
W3TOM has been travelling and diving. Tom has a new Force 12
antenna on the way. He has been working with WR3Z on getting the
skywarn training for the three southern Maryland counties.
W3DQ plans repairs to his tribander, and getting a permanent 160m
antenna up, as well as some receive antennas.
ND3A is back from Maui and is looking for a car, a place to live,
and looking forward to contesting from back home.
CVCC/PVRC MEETING 9/14/00 by John Youell, WA4QDM.
Our first meeting of the 2000 DX season was a nice one, with 10
or 12 for dinner at the "Greek" and 18 for the meeting. The
following were in attendance for the meeting: Ellen (KD4DRZ) and
her XYM Ronnie (WU4G), Bob (W4MYA), Bob (W4DR), Bob (NK4H), Roy
(WK4Y), Becky (KS4RX) and her XYM Tony (KC4AUF), AC (W4HJ), Barry
(KF4QQY), Jon (W4HZ), Pete (KK4VN), Tom (N4ZJ), Dennis (N4DEN),
Ralph (N4EHJ), Parke (KG4GLU) and his 12 year old son Andrew
(KG4GNL), and this author (WA4QDM).
After intros, including our new 12 year old guest DXer (! � that
counts as one meeting for contest purposes � for you too Dad-!)
there were several packet updates:
..The downed �lightning rod� in F�Burg has been replaced at
K4GMH. The 2m computer at KG4W is on it's last leg or worse �
W4MYA may have a replacement
..W4HZ node � may have a coax loss problem
..N4EHJ � sez "if all else fails" the 58 freq. Has always been a
life saver!
Bob, W4DR, briefly talked about the trip that he and I made to
the VACC in August, when Bob was the guest speaker doing the 50
years of ham radio presentation that he did for the CVCC in
January. The presentation was well received by that group � they
meet the 3rd Tuesday of the month and are a very nice bunch; so
if you happen to be in Va. Beach on that day of the week, look
them up.
Several of our members (and the club) were recognized for
significant contest results:
CVCC � new record in the Va. QSP Party for Club Competition!
W4MYA � multiple top 10 finishes as SOHP and M/M
KS4RX � 1999 QRP WPX SSB � 4th Call area
WU4G � 10m ARRL CW � 4th call area
W4HZ � 10m ARRL Phone � 4th call area
Not recognized, (by accident on my part), were the new PVRC 5
Million award winners: W4HJ, W4HZ, W4DR � thanks guys, for your
significant help to PVRC in the contesting effort!
Ronnie and Ellen mentioned the possibility of a Special Event
operation for the "American Cancer Society Walk for Life 2001"
with a 1x1 call. A show of hands indicated that interest is
there and they will proceed with getting a call.
The consensus of the group was that we need to move out on
getting a reservation for the Christmas Dinner. Everyone was in
favor of Jim Green making the recommendations for the group
(guess it pays to come to the meetings, Jim � hi).
AC is looking for people with HTs to help with Security and
Communications at the RIR Pork Fest (there may be a free meal
here)!
Tony, KC4AUF, has been "Elmering" several new hams and having
success and personal satisfaction with their progress. He meets
with the locals on Wednesday nights at 8pm on 145.430. Tony has
given "on-the-air" talks about kit building, antenna construction
and DXing and has provided "on the air" CW skeds. Keep up the
good work Tony!
Bob, W4MYA, brought his newest rig and gave a presentation on the
FT-1000MP Mark V for the group tonight. He liked the DSP, 200
watt output (gotta make those amplifier tubes glow, you know � no
heat in the shack!), RF gain behind AF gain control and screws on
right rear cover (for easy install of filters). He didn't like
the placement of key buttons, i.e., split, notch, etc. Stay
tuned for more reports � this rig is still a "baby" at Bob's and
hasn't seen combat.
This author, WA4QDM, did a brief slide show of the current solar
flux / sunspot situation � it looks like we may not be peaked out
yet! At least if we are at the peak, we are several months past
earlier predictions.
SOUTHERN MD MEETING 9/14/00 by Barry Shapiro, WR3Z
The Southern MD region of PVRC held a meeting on September 14 in
conjunction with the monthly Southern Patuxent ARC club meeting.
In attendance for PVRC were Wayne (N1WR), Tom (K3DSP), and Barry
(WR3Z). In this abbreviated meeting, several topics were
discussed.
N1WR provided the group an update on the Packet Cluster. Work in
process continues in establishing a node at Wayne's home in Lusby
(southern Calvert county) along with one at Marty's (W3YOZ) in
Churchton. Anticipated completion for this project is October.
K3DSP put in several hours in the VHF contest and has submitted
his score to W2GG. Tom continues to work new countries and has
added to his DXCC total. His cards will be checked at the Bowie
hamfest. Congrats Tom!
WR3Z also operated in the VHF contest, from the W3SO site by
Altoona. Despite losing 2 meter activity completely due to
antenna problems, contacts were made with the 6 and 432 antennas.
With Marty and Jack (K4VV) having purchased amplifiers for 2 and
432, things are progressing quite well with the VHF station.
Looking to purchase a Lunar Link 6M amp by December and complete
more tower and antenna additions from FN00.
All are anxiously awaiting contest season to come in full bloom
with CQWW SSB. Look forward to seeing everyone who can make it
to the Bowie Hamfest.
OVER-THE-HILL LUNCHEON 9/20/00 by Bill Leavitt, W3AZ
The Over The Hill Group met on Wednesday September 20, 2000 at
the Best Western in Oxon Hill, MD. Those attending were AA4XU,
W3XE, W3ABC. K3Z0, K3WX, AND W3AZ. Fine food and conversation
were enjoyed by all.
SIGN-IN SHEET, BOWIE FARFEST 9/24/00 via Brian McGinness, N3OC
ND3A, WR3Z W3RFC, N3OC, KV3R, K3GEG, NA1DX, W3GG, K1DQV, KF3AA,
N3KTV, W3LPL, K3UT, K6LEW, W3IKE, K2YWE, K3DSP, K3ZO, W3LEO,
W3NRS, ND3F, KA3EJJ, W2BZR, N3YDT, W3OU, KD4D, K3GV, KT3Y, W3UJ,
N3TG, N3GM, and N3VM. (W3YD, N3WKE, and N3WK also attended.
editor)
MM0LEO, SCOTLAND - 24 October - 16 November 2000.
Leo, W3LEO, will once again be active from Portpatrick in
southwest Scotland from about 24 October - 16 March 2000.
However, Leo states that this is again a vacation and not a
DXpedition and "time on the air will depend on the antennas, on
propagation, and on when the nearby pubs are open, HI..." He
will use his new Scottish callsign MM0LEO and plans to be in the
CQWW SSB Contest. He will use an Icom 706 (100 watts]), an R-5
vertical [10, 12, 15, 17, 20 meters], and a Cheltenham
Communications HFV-1 helical wound vertical for 40 & 80 with 5
slinky radials. He "may" try and get on PSK-31. QSL via his CBA
(with SASE) or via bureau.
IOTA: EU-005 [Great Britain]; CQ Zone: 14; ITU Zone: 27; Grid
Square: IO-74ku; WAB Square: NW-95.
Notes: The nearby pub is 27 steps from the front door of the
cottage. Some URLs: Cheltenham Communications:
http://www.chelcom.com/html/hfv1.html, Moir Cottage [MM0LEO's
QTH]: http://www.moir-cottage.co.uk/, Harbour House [the pub's
location]: http://www.harbourhouse.co.uk/
TWO RFI PROBLEMS SOLVED by Pete Soper, KS4XG
(Edited from a PVRC reflector post of 8/12. editor)
1. Over the weekend I picked up a little 12v halogen light kit
from Home Depot that provides three disk-shaped 12v AC 20w lights
that were going to be perfect to put under a shelf to shine down
on the workbench in my hamshack. I was listening on 15 meter
phone as I plugged these lights in. There was a BLAST of pink
noise out of my radio that completely wiped out the guy I was
listening to.
2. Last Fall while preparing for a CQWW effort over at N4AF I
was slapping together some switches for manually selecting
Dunestar bandpass filters. In an overly clever moment I wired in
blinking LED's that were intended to be an indicator meaning
"notice that you've got a bandpass filter inline, stupid" (i.e.
until I could arrange automatic switching). As a last minute
test of everything before packing the car I hooked it all up and
got engrossed in K1DG in the Caribean working JAs. Suddenly, I
noticed this obnoxious noise meandering through the passband.
Then it came back. Further testing showed that I had something
generating terrible RFI that was "sweeping" through most of the
HF bands over and over. I suspected one of the new wall wart
power supplies but a half hour later I had found the culprit: the
blinking LEDs! I haven't revisited this to see if the RFI can be
easily filtered or not. But frankly, I haven't been tempted to
design a blinking LED into anything since then.
SLOW PROGRESS AT K3DI M/M by Dick Wilder, K3DI
The Annapolis Crew of PVRC was formed to increase interest in
contesting in Anne Arundel county, help build stations, and help
with staffing M/M stations in this area. In February, K2YWE,
W3OQ, K3NY, N3UM, K3AN, W3OU, and WA0QII attended a Crew meeting
while W3ICM, W3UL, W3MC, and N3WZR expressed interest. Progress
has been slow in upgrading K3DI from a single position station to
a three position multi-multi.
A third tower (100 feet of Rohn 45) for a new Force 12 C-31XR is
not up because of two issues.
1) I had wanted to put one set of guys onto an undeveloped
wooded lot behind us but the owner (an elderly woman who hasn't
seen her 7 lots in 20 years) has been approached by a developer
who can put in a road with the result her earlier "maybe" has
migrated to a "no." As a result, I recently identified a
location to place the third tower though it will need to use
short spaced (63%) guying to squeeze onto our lot and be closer
to the #2 tower than I would like.
2) Last month, while landscaping (which included installation of
a fish pond for the XYL, Martha) was being done, I installed 60
feet of 4" Sch-40 PVC pipe to carry cables under gardens and
lawns to the first tower from where the cables will go over land
to wire antennas and towers #2 and #3. The pipe has spare RG-
14/U runs.
Only one of the three operating positions is reasonably equipped
as a contest station using an IC-737A, Alpha 87A, TH-7DX and 40-
CD2 on separate 80 foot towers, and wires for 80 and 160. The
two expansion positions are equipped with modist radios that can
be frequency controlled by CT9 (I'm using Caribbean DXpeditions
radios: IC-735, FT-900cat, and TS-50) though perhaps they can be
augmented by guest rigs. These two positions are equipped with
Heath SB-221 amplifiers and share wires and trap verticals. The
plan is to use four computers (all running MS-DOS 6.22 and CT9+);
the extra computer will be for management, training, and feeding
packet to the network.
The two expansion positions are not really ready for aggressive
contesting but may be sufficient for members to get up to speed
with CT and the mechanics of a M/M operation while generating
more points for PVRC. Operators at any experience level are
wanted for M/M (M/S in SS) operation in all HF contests listed on
the "Reference Page" from now through the March ARRL DX 'phone.
The only requirement is to be a member and have attended two
meetings prior your operating. An outdoor smoking area will be
provided. [email protected] 410-757-6706
NOTES FROM THE EDITOR
The Columbia Amateur Radio Association (CARA) will present the
24th annual Howard County Hamfest on October 8th from 8am to
3:30pm at the Howard County Fairgounds on Route 144 in West
Friendship MD. Talk-In: 147.135+ http://www.qsl.net/cara
S C O R E S by Bob Dannals, W2GG
-----------------------------
Changes/additions/deletions
via [email protected] only
-----------------------------
### = missing information
ARRL September VHF QSO PARTY RESULTS (#3 09.25.2000)
CALL B/P QSO MULTS TOTAL
SINGLE OPERATOR
W4RX 9/H 677 172 172,000
K3DNE 6/H 588 175 149,450
K2UOP 7/H 430 154 99,946
K3ZO 2/H 420 82 34,440
K3IXD 5/L 252 62 20,088
N3II 2/L 246 52 12,792
N4MM 2/L 135 40 5,400
W3MR 2/L 102 33 3,366
K3DSP 2/L 35 18 630
W3OU 1/L 28 9 252
ROVER
MULTI-OP
K3MQH 4/H 1587 271 545,523
11 LOGS TOTAL 1,043,887
Operators:
K3MQH K3RA N3ZTZ AI3M W2GG N3EYB
--------------------------
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PVRC QSL Order Form
Time for another order of the popular PVRC QSL Cards!
Accepting orders starting now to place the order in November,
with cards available in early January. Need to receive enough
orders for 20000 cards to receive the pricing below.
Cards are a white postcard stock with blue lettering except for
the callsign which is red. The logo is red, white, and blue.
The QSO entry block is in a lighter blue to reduce showing through
when using labels. Use the order form below to get your order in -
must be received by 11/19.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Available Fonts for Callsign:
Helvetica, Times New Roman, Castellarmt, and SquareSerif
(The font samples are in the paper edition of this Newsletter.)
Notes: Do not use Helvetica font if you have an "I" on either side
of your call number. BrushScript looks good with some calls and
horrible with others.
-----------------------------------------------------------
************** QSL CARD ORDER FORM ***************
CALL __________________________________
CALL FONT (see above)_______________________________
NAME __________________________________
NICKNAME (73, ______________________)
ADDRESS _____________________________________________
COUNTY ___________________________
CITY _______________________________
STATE ________ ZIP ____________ COUNTRY ______________
"BRAG" LINE (2 lines of 35 characters each max.)
________________________________________________________________
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ITU ZONE ______
CQ ZONE ______
GRID SQUARE (if desired) _________
ARRL LOGO? (Y/N) _______
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QTY DESIRED _________ PRICE _________
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2000 $91 $10 $20
3000+ $44/1000 $5/1000 $10/1000
SHIPPING & HANDLING* _________
TOTAL ENCLOSED _________
* Only include if you want the cards mailed.
They may be picked up for no charge at the Central or
NW regional club meetings. Make check payable to Craig Lee,
and mail check and order form to:
Craig Lee N3NT, 8136 Tamar Dr., Columbia, MD 21045
Any questions?
Call me at (410)379-0288 or Packet Cluster or [email protected]
THIS MONTH, REFERENCE PAGE CAN BE FOUND AT:
WWW.PVRC.ORG/REFERENCE