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Volume XXXVII #1
January 2017 Q5
DOWNEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB
Serving Downey and the surrounding Communities since 1951
Event Date Lead
Tour de Sewer 3/18/17 Savage/Norwood
ARC Walk 4/1/17 Norwood
DARC 2017 Public Service Events
LASD Chief Scott Edson, W6EDS presents:
An introduction to the Los Ange-les Sheriff's Department (LASD); The current analog LASD Com-munications System; The new digital Los Angeles Re-gional Interoperable Communica-
tions System (LA-RICS); and the Los Angeles County Disaster Communi-cations Service.
Chief Scott Edson has over 39 years of law enforce-ment experience with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s De-partment (LASD). He is currently the Division Chief of Special Operations Division which includes the SWAT Team, Air Operations, Crime Analysis and Intelligence, Street Gang Investigators, Emergency Management, Crisis Negotiations, Arson and Explo-sives, and Mental Evaluation Teams.
Prior assignments include communications, technol-ogy, investigations, patrol and custody.
Chief Edson is a nationally recognized leader in the area of Information Sharing, Homeland Security, Communications and Technology. He participates on many Federal, State and Local committees and working groups, and is an active member of many associations, including Chair of the International Public Safety Association, Board of Directors.
He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Technolo-gy Management and an Associ-ate of Arts degree in Administra-tion of Justice.
Chief Edson became an Ama-teur Radio Operator in 1991 so he can hang out of helicopters holding a video camera connect-ed to a packet radio system! He transmitted the bird's eye view of an incident back to a command post so the incident commander could make educated decisions based on real time observations. Truth be told, growing up he built “Heathkits” and his neighbor was a ham, so it was something that he was destine to do anyway... His call sign is W6EDS (www.W6EDS.us)
Q5 Page 2
http://darcarc.wordpress.com/
THE DOWNEY
AMATEUR RADIO CLUB, INC.
P.O. Box 207
Downey, CA 90241
Q5 Staff
Editor
John Powell, KF6EOJ [email protected] Phone: (562) 862-4608 Assistant Editor
Rick Norwood, KD6KHJ Phone: (562) 865-5750 [email protected]
Proofreaders
Ken Carlson, N6SWO Mary Carlson, KC6BBJ Jon Olesen, KD6HXP Electronic Publishing
Rick Norwood,KD6KHJ Phone: (562) 865-5750 [email protected]
Permission to copy material from the Q5 is granted provided that credit is given to the “DARC Q5”.
Q5, as in: a signal that is perfectly readable, hence the name of our newsletter. We hope you agree.
Club Officers President Kent Savage, K6WCI Phone: (562) 716-6070 [email protected] First Vice President Ron Eveland, W6QM Phone: (562) 860-3623 [email protected] VP Service Rick Norwood, KD6KHJ Phone: (562) 865-5750 [email protected] VP Programs
Dave Glenn, N6TEB
Phone: (562) 928-8560
VP Membership
Bill Heather, KB6WKT
Phone: (562) 863-6607
[email protected] VP Ways and Means Steve Hartranft, KI6SUF Phone: (562) 923-0070 [email protected] Secretary John Powell, KF6EOJ Phone: (562) 862-4608 [email protected] Treasurer Frank Myllo, KC6YPV Phone: (562) 860-4045 [email protected] Director (One Year) Buck Kerns, AE6DT Phone: (562) 634-8441 [email protected] Director (TWO Years) Allen Miller, N6ORJ Phone: 714-809-8759 [email protected] Trustee, W6TOI
Bill Heather, KB6WKT
Phone: (562) 863-6607
Looking for an Elmer?
Here are a few resources that can get you going:
Bill Heather, KB6WKT, 562 863-6607 [email protected], Helping Hams, Contesting
Ivan Mikulich, KB6ATT, 562 862-4592 [email protected], Helping Hams, Field Trips
Glenn Allen, KE6HPZ, 562 928-2080 [email protected], Microwave
Harold ‘Buck’ Kerns, AE6DT, 562 634-8441 [email protected], Public Service
John Schroeder, N6QQ, 562 404-1112 [email protected], Contesting, DXing, DXCC and WAS Card Checker, QSL cards for CQ WAZ and WPX awards.
When and where we meet:
We normally meet the first Thursday of each month at 1930 hrs in room 120 of
the First Baptist Church in Downey. The church is between 2nd and 3rd
streets, near City Hall, address is 8348 E. 3rd St. Use 2nd St, east from
Downey Ave (1 block north of Firestone Bl), adjacent to City Hall. Entrance via
double glass doors on the north side of 2nd St.
Swap Meet Information:
W6TRW Swap Meet
Northrop Grumman Parking Lot
Corner of Marine and Aviation
Manhattan Beach, CA
Held the last Saturday of each month, 0700 to 1130 hrs
Talk-In 145.320, PL 114.8
Affiliations:
Affiliated ARRL Club
Los Angeles Area Council of Amateur Radio Clubs
Orange County Council of Amateur Radio Organizations
Club Frequencies:
Simplex: 145.595 MHz*
440 Repeater #1: 445.640 (-) PL 156.7 Hz*
440 Repeater #2: 445.640 (-) PL 88.5 Hz
* See Calendar for Net Schedule
Q5 Page 3
Treasurer’s Report—Income
Treasurer’s Report— Expense
2016 - 2017 Nov 16 YEAR-TO- ANNUAL (OVER)/UNDER
ACTUAL ACTUAL BUDGET BUDGET
INCOME
Club Merchandise $0.00 $0.00
Dues $140.00 $140.00 ($140.00)
Luncheon $775.00 $775.00 ($775.00)
Misc.Income $200.00 $200.00 ($200.00)
Fund Raisers $0.00 $0.00
Total Income $1,115.00 $1,115.00 $0.00 ($1,115.00)
2017 Nov 16 (OVER)/
ACTUAL YTD ANNUAL UNDER
ACTUAL BUDGET BUDGET
EXPENDITURES
Repeater/Phone $36.51 $36.51 $36.51 $0.00
Club Merchandise $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Correspondence
Printing $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Supplies $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Postage $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Committees
Award $33.79 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Education/Awareness $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Membership $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Publicity & Public Relations $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Sunshine $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Equipment/Maintenance $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Events
Christmas Party $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Field Day $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Luncheon $922.98 $922.98 $922.98 $0.00
Fund Raisers $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Other Events $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Insurance $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Misc. Expenses $200.00 $200.00 $200.00 $0.00
Officers' Expenses
Board Members $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Treasurer $38.00 $38.00 $38.00 $0.00
Other Organizations
Dues $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
P.O. Box Rental $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Refreshments, Meetings $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
$0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Total Expenditures $1,231.28 $1,197.49 $1,197.49 $0.00
Q5 Page 4
Treasurer’s Report— Summary
Bonnie Snyder, KJ6FRW, 1st; Frank Myers, N6A-TU, 4th; Ron Eveland, W6QM, 12th; Dave Han-
nah, KK6VJH, 17th; Steve Sherman, AA6IO, 23rd; Kent Savage, K6WCI, 28th; Frank Myllo,
KC6YPV, 29th
DARC Merchandise Orders Due to many changes on the part of the supplier, all orders for DARC merchandise must be paid for up front. Attention to details regarding the member’s callsign must be made by the member as the printers are not held responsible for any errors resulting from interpretation of the handwriting. DARC makes no money on any orders. The prices are set by the supplier. Contact Steve Hartranft, KI6SUF, for any orders.
Dave Glenn, N6TEB; Amy Savage, KA6AMY; Greg Savage, K6SVG; Kent Savage, K6WCI
DOWNEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB
TREASURER'S REPORT
Nov-17
SUMMARY
CHECKING-CHASE $6,056.53
BALANCE AS OF Oct 31, 2016
INCOME $1,115.00
EXPENDITURES $1,231.28
$0.00
$0.00
Brunch (Month) $0.00
Brunch (Total Holdings) $0.00
CHECKING-CHASE
BALANCE AS OF Nov 30, 2016 $5,940.25
JANUARY
Q5 Page 5
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January 2017 DX by Mike Gauthier, K6ICS 12-14-2016
January Propagation Outlook Daytime DX conditions are poor for all daylight HF bands. Nighttime conditions are Good to Very Good. The background noise is low. 160-60 meters- Very Good nighttime DX conditions. 40-30 meters- Good nighttime DX conditions. 20-17 meters- Poor daylight DX conditions. Morning and Evening spot openings. 15-10 meters- Very Poor DX conditions. Monitor 10 meter beacons for spot openings during daylight hours. Monitor the DX spotting services, such as DX Summit http://www.dxsummit.fi/DxSpots.aspx for current band conditions, what DX is currently on the air, and where to find them. January DX ANNOBON, 3C0xx. KC0W, Tom, expects to be traveling to Equatorial Guinea, where he will apply in person for 3C and 3C0 callsigns. He is "contemplating operating only 160/80/40 meters CW, if he is granted a li-cense. QRX for more details. ANTARCTICA, DP1POL. Felix, DL5XL is on the air as DP1POL from the German Neumayer Station III, IOTA AN-016, until February 2017. Activity is on allHF bands using mainly CW and possibly some SSB and digital modes. QSL via DL1ZBO. ANTARCTICA, FT3YL. Francois, F4HLT is operating as FT3YL from the Dumont d'Urville Station on the Adelie Land group, IOTA AN-017. Activity is on 80 to 10 meters using mostly SSB. His length of stay is un-known. QSL via F6KPQ. ANTARCTICA, RI1ANA. Oleg, ZS1OIN is on the air as RI1ANA from the Molodyozhnaya research station until April 2017. Activity is on 160 to 10 meters. QSL to home call. ANTARCTICA, CE9/KC4. 8J1RL and 8J60JARE (op Yath, JG2MLI), will be operating until January 20, 2018. He will be on CW, SSB and digital modes on 40 to 10 meters. QSL direct to JG2MLI or through Japan's JARL bureau. CHINA, BG2AUE. Miao, BG2AUE, from Harbin, has been very active on 80 meters around 1200z on 3521.5 kHz. QSL via LoTW or direct. EAST TIMOR, 4Wxxx. Tack, JE1CKA is planning to celebrate the 15
th anniversary of East Timor's Independ-
ence with an operation in the May-June 2017 time frame. EQUATORIAL GUINEA, 3Cxx. KC0W, Tom, expects to be traveling to Equatorial Guinea, where he will apply in person for 3C and 3C0 callsigns. He is "contemplating operating only 160/80/40 meters CW, if he is grant-ed a license. QRX for more details. FIJI, 3D2JS. Jim, WB2TJO is on the air as 3D2JS from Taveuni Island, IOTA OC-016, until March 2017. Ac-tivity will be on the HF bands and 6 meters using CW, SSB and some digital modes. QSL to home call. GUINEA-BISSAU, J5UAP. Peter, HA3AUI plans to operate as J5UAP from January 20 to March 5, 2017. He will be operating on 20 to 10 meters using CW. QSL via HA3AUI, LoTW. HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, KH6EB. Eric, KH6EB works on the uninhabited island Kaho'olawe for 10 days each month. He will be operating during his spare time, local morning and evening hours, on 20 meters using SSB, PSK31 and JT65. QSL via KH6EB, LoTW, eQSL. MALI, TZ5ZR. Laurent, F5IXR is on the air as TZ5ZR until February 2017. He is active on 160 to 6 meters. QSL via F5MXH.
Con’t next page
Q5 Page 7
Maritime Mobile, C6ADW/MM. KG9DW, Michael, will be on the air as C6ADW/MM while operating from the S/V Serendipity II in 2017. He'll be running 5-12 watts from a KX3 on SSB and possible CW. As a reminder operations from a boat, unless permanently moored, do not count for DXCC. MARITIME MOBILE, F5MYK/MM. Frank, F5MYK/MM is operating shipboard in the Indian Ocean, aboard the R/V Marion Dufresnes 2, until January 2. He will check 40, 12 and 6 meters. He also often checks 6 meters during his lunch break from noon to 2 PM local. As a reminder operations from a boat, unless permanently moored, do not count for DXCC. MAURITANIA, 5T9VB. Vladimir, UA4WHX is on the air as 5T9VB from Nouakchott. He is active on 80 to 10 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. His length of stay is unknown. QSL to home call. MAURITIUS, 3B8JB. Johnny, SM6JBC is now active as 3B8JB. His length of stay is unknown. Activity is on 40 to 10 meters using RTTY, PSK and some SSB. QSL via his home call sign, direct or by the Bureau. NIGERIA, 5N40TG. Look for Tom, PA3TG (5N/PA3TG), he will be active using the special call sign 5N40TG from Lagos starting January 1, 2017. Activity will be on 20 meters using CW and SSB. QSL via home call. PRINCE EDWARD AND MARION ISLANDS, ZS8Z. David, ZS1BCE is operating as ZS8Z from Marion Is-land, IOTA AF-021, until May 2018 while working as a communications technician. Activity is on the HF bands using SSB and various digital modes when time permits. QSL direct to ZS1LS. Rwanda, 9X2AW. DF2WO (XT2AW), Harald, is in Kigali and will be on the air as 9X2AW. The dates are Feb-ruary 3 to March 11, 2017. QSL only direct or using OQRS (http://www.m0oxo.com/oqrs/logsearch.php) for M0OXO. Bureau QSLs will not be answered SENEGAL, 6W2SC. Peter, HA3AUI plans to operate as 6W2SC from January 20 to March 5, 2017. He will be operating on 20 to 10 meters using CW. QSL via HA3AUI, LoTW. SLOVENIA, S509PMC. Special event station S509PMC will be active during January to call attention to the Peace Messenger City program. QSL via S59DCD. TONGA, A31MM. Hiro, JA6WFM is operating as A31MM from Nuku'alofa until early 2017. Activity is on 160 to 6 meters. QSL via EA5GL. WEST KIRIBATI, T30TM. Jack, T30TM is a permanent resident on Tarawa, IOTA OC-017, and is currently active on the HF bands. QSL direct to VK1TX. DARC Member DXCC Count N6QQ - 350 Mixed, 336 SSB, 313 CW, 252 RTTY, 8-Band DXCC, 6-Band WAS,
5-Band WAZ, 3052 WPX. K6ICS – 327 Mixed, 302 Phone (AM & SSB), 166 Mixed on 40 Meters. KB6ATT - 305 Mixed, 60 CW. K6TV - 257 Mixed, 240 SSB, 126 QRP, 151 CW, 30 RTTY. W6TOI - 215 Mixed, 145 Phone, 104 CW, 100 RTTY. W3OB – 200+ Mixed WA6OUD - 170 Mixed, 133 Phone on 10 Meters. KJ6YQV - 166 Mixed, 160 Mixed on 10 Meters. AE6XC – 108 Phone. K6EH - 57 on 30 Meters CW. I am interested in receiving DX reports for this column, one contact or many. e-mail: [email protected]
From page 6
Q5 Page 8
Board Minutes, December 6, 2016 President Kent Savage, K6WCI, called the meeting to order at 1900 hrs in the EOC of the Downey Fire Sta-tion #1. The only other officers present were Frank Myllo, John Powell, Rick Norwood and Allen Miller. As this did not represent a quorum it was decided that this would only be an informational meeting. As there was no quorum the Minutes from the last meeting were not approved at this time. Officers’ Reports President, Kent Savage, K6WCI: reported that he and Dave Glenn assisted Bill Heather to move the equip-
ment that the Boy Scouts wanted the Club to evaluate. Kent commented that a lot of the equipment was not
in good condition.
First VP Ron Eveland, W6QM: absent
VP Service, Rick Norwood, KD6KHJ: deferred to the Planning Calendar portion
VP Membership, Bill Heather, KB6WKT: absent
VP Programs, Dave Glenn, N6TEB: absent
VP Ways and Means, Steve Hartranft, KI6UF: absent
Secretary, John Powell, KF6EOJ: nothing to report
Treasurer, Frank Myllo, KC6YPV: nothing to report
Director 1 year, Allen Miller, N6ORJ: nothing to report
Director 2 years, Buck Kerns, AE6DT: absent
Topics Boy Scouts equipment: as noted above.
January meeting: no comments noted
Downey Christmas Parade: a short recap by Kent regarding the rented radios, and that only a couple of tech-
nical glitches were noted.
Planning Calendar, 2017 January: Rose Float Return: Allen Miller might join Kent and Dave for the return. Kent recapped what the pro-
cess was.
February: nothing yet
March: Tour de Sewer (not date noted); Baker to Vegas (no date noted); no guest speaker yet
April: ARC walk on April 1st; no guest speaker yet
May: possible street faire; Ride ‘N Stride on the 7th
June: Field Day, 24th & 25th
July: Hawaiian Days, 15th & 16th
August: ice cream social?
September: appoint nominating committee; Hamcon 16th & 17th
October: Officers’ election
November: audit committee of Dave, Ron and Allen are planning to be on the committee; a budget committee
is to be decided; Club luncheon. ARRL Phone Sweepstakes contest (?)
December: present audit report, notify Downey Fire Department of Board meeting schedule
The meeting was adjourned at 1942 hrs Respectfully submitted, John Powell, KF6EOJ, Secretary
Q5 Page 9
12.17.16 VE Session, one person earned their Technician License.
The next scheduled session will be on February 18, 2017.
Q5 Page 10
General Meeting Minutes, December 1, 2016 President Kent Savage, K6WCI, called the meeting to order at 1930 hrs. Dave Glenn, N6TEB, led the mem-bers in the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by the members introducing themselves (about 22 in attendance). A short business portion followed, with approval of the past general meeting minutes and the Treasurer’s Re-port. As there were no announcements or a guest speaker, the meeting adjourned at 1935 hrs. so the members could enjoy the refreshments that fellow members brought. Respectfully submitted, John Powell, KF6EOJ Secretary
What’s That Odd Noise? Or a Case of the Mysterious RFI After a recent 440 net, a conversation among several of us regarding hearing odd noises prompted me to write up a short article on RFI. Ironically in the November issue of the “QST” magazine the CEO of the ARRL, Tom Gallagher, NY2RF, wrote an editorial regarding “The Noise Frontier” as he called it, the seemingly ever increas-ing RFI noise floor that affects radio communications of all sorts. Those who have been Hams for decades remember all sorts of causes of RFI, like spark plug noise, and ways to mitigate those noises, but others new to the hobby/service might need a few simple hints. One of the people on the repeater had what I recognized as “Intermod” (intermodulation) noise and I found at least one webpage that discussed this: http://www.dci.ca/?Section=Products&SubSection=Amateur-FAQ I too was bothered by this with my first HT, a Yaesu FT-530, which I still own. It seems that this venerable old radio has a “hot” front end, designed for best use with a “Rubber Duck” antenna. When I used it on an outside antenna with more gain I was bombarded with all kinds of buzzing and tone noises. Turns out that I was hear-ing pager services on frequencies close to the 2M and 440 Ham bands. The solution? Thanks to the folks at ARRL’s Technical Information Services ([email protected]) I was able to build an inline filter that notched out the in-terfering signals. Base station radios have all kinds of built in features that negate the noises commonly heard on HTs using gain antennas, so a bit of detective work is needed to eliminate bothersome noises. For example, if noise increases with a gain antenna then some in-line filters may be need. Noises from the car are harder to attenuate. Most newer cars a free from spark plug or alternator noise as modern car navigation and computer system demand cleaner power. For those with “classic cars” the old solutions of Ferrite cores on the alternator and/or battery leads might help, as well as the classic “resistor” spark plug wires. So if you are bothered by odd noises on the repeater, or even on simplex, there are sources out there that can help you. 73 John Powell KF6EOJ, Editor
Vintage Ham Radio Answers
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Q5 Page 11
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DARC Annual Membership
Single: $20 Associate: $10
Maximum for Family: $35
Make checks payable to “DARC”,
Send to: DARC Membership
PO Box 207
Downey, CA 90240
Ever want to be a writer?
Do you have an idea for an article for the Q5? Remember, this is OUR newsletter, about OUR hobby. Please submit articles to: John Pow-ell, KF6EOJ, [email protected]
DARC INFORMATION
VE Exams
The Downey Amateur Radio Club provides VE examinations for all clas-ses of Amateur Radio licenses on the third Saturday of each even-numbered month. Ex-
ams are held at the Downey Fire Depart-ment Headquarters EOC (rear building), at 1222 Paramount Boulevard, beginning at 8:30 AM. The upcoming dates are:
February 18 Contact Steve or Ginny Grudzinski 951-674-4699 prior to the session. The ARRL/VEC test fee is $15.00 for all tests which goes to the ARRL to cover their expenses in providing the tests and handling the applications. After the test session please wait 10 days before contacting the ARRL at (860) 594-0300 or http://www.qrz.com/callsign for new license information. Please do not call the FCC directly.
Serving Downey and the Surrounding Communities
since 1951
Downey Amateur Radio Club PO Box 207 Downey, CA 90240
place mailing label here
place postage stamp here
Saturday Breakfast Location
7900 Florence Ave.
Downey, CA
0630 hrs
www.darcarc.wordpress.com
