RADIO SIGNALSWC4DC

DEDICATED TO THE ART AND SCIENCE OF AMATEUR RADIOhttp://www.wc4dc.org

Monitoring: 146.57, 145.01 (24/7)Repeaters: 147.375 + PL 146.2 White Bluff

442.225 + PL 123.0 White Bluff145.330 – PL 114.8 Cumberland Furnace

Issue 66September 2016

Dickson, TNEditor NA4C

Dickson County ARC Monthly MeetingsSecond Monday Each Month

7:00 p.m. at Dickson County EOC

Dickson County ARC Monthly Meeting ProgramsAll programs subject to change

The December and May meeting are replaced by picnics!

Volunteer Examination Schedule

September 1st

November 10th

Testing session starts at 7:00 p.m.

at the Dickson County EOC

Directions provided on request

HAMS HEARD IN THE LOCAL AREAHAMS HEARD IN THE LOCAL AREA

WX4EM EOC

WC4DC Club

AF4WL Russell Vernon

AF4YL Richard Anderson

K4GWG Larry Duke

K4IYN John Ethridge

K4LFB Larry Bethke

K4RXY Bill Measures

KD4FDY Sam Brown

KF4ACQ Paul Vaughn

KF4CAU Landon Reynolds

KF4SOK John Davis

KF4ZPN Dave Bailey

KG4HDZ Jerry Lewis

KH6JPB Tom Bentley

KI4KCJ Johnathan Swanger

KK4CLQ Brenda Lewis

KK4ZSI Dudley Daniel

KM4AKC Corey Edwards

KM4ENX Jeff Barber

KM4HDV Terry Barnette

KM4HVD Jason Meek

KM4IYW Todd Baker

KM4PCS Joe Compton

KM4QYP John Donegan

KN4HL Charles Seay

KT9OM Tom Cox

KV4PU Don Tigges

KV4PV Marie Tigges

KV4ZW David Korenke

N4AAN Paul Carr

N4FOX Justin Priami

N4GRW John Beard

N4JII Glen Johnson

N4KKT Barry Turner

NA4C Vollie Miller

NI1Y Sena Frank

NM9U Jerry Frank

NN5A Tom Keil

NN5YL Wilma Keil

NY4N Jeff Clark

W4LSV Barry Fluxe

W4VTH Henry "Skipper" Delius

W4WJV Warren Vaughn

WM4Q Robert Harris

Lesson Learned - Mag Mounts, Not So MuchLesson Learned - Mag Mounts, Not So Much

I have a humorous, but notable "Lesson Learned" from last year's PPD Beach 2 Battleship (B2B) iron distance (140 miles) triathlon held in Wilmington, North Carolina. A local bicycle shop supplied the SAG (Support and Gear) vehicles and provided repair services along the 112-mile bicycle route of the triathlon. Each of the five SAG vehicles had a radio amateur assigned to help coordinate communications along the largely rural route where cell coverage was intermittent. The bike shop had rented severalFord F-150 pickup trucks to be used as the SAG vehicles. When we went to place VHF/UHF mag mount antennas on the trucks' roofs, they literally

slipped off! We learned that the new F-150 trucks have aluminum bodies! We improvised by using either temporary cowl mounts or steel cookie sheets as ground planes held in place by bungie cords. Lesson Learned: mag mounts won't work on all vehicles! -- Bill Morine, N2COP, ARRL Vice Director, Roanoke Division

FALL MAINTANCEFALL MAINTANCE

1.As the hot summer days decline with each passing day we mustbegin to think of the next dramatic changes Mother Nature willbe sending our way, Extreme Winter Weather.2. While we still have time with good weather we need to consideroutdoor maintenance that may need our attention such as groundsystems, and antenna systems including guy wires or cables, supportlines, stand-offs, and the like. Closely inspect your systems from the top to the bottom and make sure they are in excellent conditionto withstand the harsh winter environment and conditions that youmay encounter within your area. If your systems require climbingtowers or ladders be sure to have assistants to assist in the unfortunate event something should go wrong. Have a first aid kitand cell phone close by just in case they are needed and by all means *STAY AWAY FROM POWER LINES*!!3. Another item of interest should be your source of emergency power. Generators should be checked periodically for good workingcondition and enough fuel for two or three days at least on hand.Make sure your Generators are working properly before you requiretheir service so you know you can depend on them when the time comesand we all know that time will come sooner or later.4. Upon completing your outdoor maintenance be sure to do a survey of your station indoors and be sure all equipment is operating as it should and all patch cables, audio cables, etc., are in good condition and ready for action for the winter activities. As weall know it may very well turn out to be a very active winter season. We always hope for the best of everything but prepare forthe worst case scenario! If we all do this, we will be successfulif and when the need arises. FROM A SHARES NEWSLETTER

Now You Can Spy on the Spies Using Free Web-basedShortwave Radio

Have you had just about enough of the NSA spying on all of us, to

say nothing of our own respective government agencies

gathering intelligence about our whereabouts, conversations with

friends on social media networks and everything we google?

Don't get mad, just tune in. Well, you could turn the tables and

attempt to spy on the spies instead, using shortwave radio, a

hobby popular amongst radio geeks around the world, who

realized after World War II that shortwave numbers stations had

started popping up.

Unlike regular stations with local news bulletins, music and talk

shows, numbers stations feature broadcasts where a

computerised female voice reads out endless lists of numbers or

a child recites an endless series of letters.

While seemingly unintelligible, radio enthusiasts believe that

these broadcasts are actually coded messages being sent

between government agents, an old Cold War espionage

communication tool that still exists.

Where's the proof?

Some of the substantial proof of this comes from Cuban spy trials

in 2001 and 2006, when US federal prosecutors presented

evidence in a Miami courtroom that people had been spying on

the US for Cuba and sending encrypted shortwave radio

transmissions.

The Conet Project:

Recordings of Shortwave Numbers Stations CD coverConet Project

In order to understand the message, the receiver would need to

be tuned into the right frequency at the appointed time of the

message and would need to use a device called a "one-time pad"

to decrypt it.

There's also a five-disc CD set of recordings from numbers

stations known as The Conet Project.

Based on the work by radio enthusiast Akin Fernandez, the

recordings are popular with musicians and filmmakers, who have

used samples of the sounds in many films and music albums,

such as the 2001 Tom Cruise sci-fi film Vanilla Sky.

Another famous shortwave numbers station is "The Lincolnshire

Poacher" in Cyprus, which uses bars from an English folk song

with the same title as its interval signal.

This station is rumored to be operated by MI6 and maintained by

Royal Air Force personnel at the base in Cyprus.

Listening to coded messages

There are several online communities where radio enthusiasts

track shortwave radio numbers stations and try to pinpoint who is

using them and what the messages are saying, such as

Priyom.org.

The group recently claimed it had managed to identify the

location of the radio transmitter site for some well-known number

stations which apparently belong to the Polish intelligence

service.

The group has identified a series of active stations broadcasting

in English, German, Slavic, Morse Code and noise, with names

like "The English Man", "Russian Polytone", "Chinese Robot" and

"Polish Morse".

So how do you get involved? First you need to get yourself a

shortwave radio receiver, or you can use this web-based

shortwave radio maintained for free by the University of Twente

in the Netherlands.

You can check out the number station schedule on Priyom, and

you can even chat with other enthusiasts on the group's IRC

chatroom. By Mary-Ann Russon

For sale by Don KV4PU

kv4pu@d-mdata.com 615-763-6291

ATAS-120A mobile antenna and duplexer This is designed for the Yaesu FT-857D HF/2mtr, and 70 cm. This is only 2 years old New it costs $324 plus the Comet CF-706 duplexer costs $90

I am selling both for $225

All have been tested

Working Computer CPUs with Windows XP Pro $10

with keyboards and mouse $15

Only 7 available

As of Aug 2, 2016

Yaesu FT-7900R $175

FT-7900R 2 Meter / 70 cm Dual Band FM Transceiver

(Separation Kit Not Included)

DX Engineering's Tim Duffy, K3LR: New Fairgrounds Venue "Perfectfor Hamvention"

DX Engineering Chief Operating Officer Tim Duffy, K3LR, says he's enthusiastic about the new Dayton Hamvention® venue at the Greene County Fairgrounds in Xenia, Ohio -- both as a vendor and as an individual radio amateur. DX Engineering recently produced ashort video tour of the new Hamvention location, which includes an interview with Hamvention spokesperson Mike Kalter, W8CI.

Hamvention spokesman Mike Kalter, W8CI (left), chats on cam-era with DX Engineering COO Tim Duffy, K3LR. [DX Engineering video]

"I can tell you that I have been hearing from all over the world a sigh of relief after [peo-ple] see the video we did at the Fairgrounds," Duffy told ARRL. "The new venue is huge,and it is clean -- it will be perfect for Hamvention." Duffy said he likes the Greene County Fairgrounds so much that he thinks that Hamvention will be even better at its newsite than it had been for the past 10 years or so at Hara Arena in Trotwood, Ohio.

Duffy, who is also ARRL Western Pennsylvania Section Manager, encouraged the Ama-teur Radio community to support and encourage Hamvention's sponsor -- the Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) as it makes the myriad arrangements for the big show. "This is a very tough job for an all-volunteer staff," he added.

Hamvention's new home: The Greene County Fairgrounds in Xe-nia, Ohio. [DX Engineering video]

In the approximately 8-minute video, Kalter, who is DARA's treasurer, said he was happy that Duffy, as a Hamvention vendor, could see the new venue firsthand. "We con-sider this a collaboration," Kalter told Duffy. "We want everybody to be happy."

For his part, Duffy was enthusiastic about the size of the new site. "This place is so big!" he said. The Fairgrounds covers more than 100 acres, and Duffy said he checked out ev-ery building. He told Kalter that he was impressed to see DARA volunteers showing up at the new Hamvention site every day as they prepare for their Xenia debut in 2017.

"What I saw here today -- I think you're well on your way," Duffy told Kalter. "Things are on the right track."

Kalter expressed the hope that DARA will be able to take Hamvention to "a whole new level" at its new location. ARRL NEWSLETTER

Minutes of the August 8, 2016 Dickson County Amateur Radio Club

The August 8, 2016 meeting was called to order by Don Tigges (KV4PU) at 1900. Invocation was given by Dudley Daniel (KK4ZSI) followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Recognized visitors: Introductions of present members were made. A number of Guests were in attendance. A total of sixteen (16) people were present. (Please refer to sign-in sheet for names.) Minutes of the July 2016 meeting were read and accepted. Treasures Report: Richard Anderson (AF4YL) gave the Financial Report. The General Fund currently holds $166.98. He also discussed the amount received from the sale(s) of various equip-ment. Old Business:

Jamboree On The Air: Saturday (Oct 15). The time was agreed to be from 0900 to 1400 hrs. Volunteers will be needed to help in this event.

Field Day: Richard Anderson (AF4YL) reported the results of the June 25/26 Event. A total of1028 points were earned. A copy of the report will be posted on the Club Website.

Tennessee QSO Party: Will be Sept 3rd from 1300 to 2200 hrs. Vollie Miller (NA4C) dis-cussed various aspects of actions during this activity.

New Business: The Huntsville HamFest (Aug 20) and the Cedars of Lebanon (Aug 27) were discussed. Sena Frank (NI1Y) ask for clarification of actions/procedures to be followed if someone initiates an emergency call during the weekly Tuesday night Net Check-in.

Procedure will be: the current Net Controller will take the lead and gather as much informationas possible to relay to Emergency Services.

Vollie Miller (NA4C) told of the storm last week and the lighting damage to his equipment. Told of the insurance coverage offered thru ARRL and the costs / benefits of their policy. Vollie Miller (NA4C) gave a class and demonstration on the Coaxial Dipole antenna. Provided handouts of the information covered. Request for future meeting programs were made. September - Jerry Frank (NM9U) - Basis Electricity October - Richard Anderson (AF4YL) - Turners A V.E. Session will be held at the EOC on Sept 1, 2016 at 1900hrs. The meeting was adjourned at 1944 hrs. Respectfully submitted, Dudley E. Daniel, KK4ZSI

Looking for a HomeJason, KM4HVD, has a good Sencore tube tester that needs a new home.Contact Jason for additional information an availably, jason.meek1364@att.net(This is a rare item no longer available and very limited numbers available at hamfests. NA4C)

ADDITIONAL LESSONS LEARNED IN AUGUSTADDITIONAL LESSONS LEARNED IN AUGUST!!

August 6th started out as a normal Saturday, everything nice and quiet. Nice and sunny with no weather anywhere on radar. Was I ever wrong! Around 5:30 p.m. I had allHF antennas disconnected, for the severe thunderstorms in the area. The lightning was less than a mile away. No big deal, no HF antennas in line. Time to grab another cup of coffee. A small pop was heard in the radio room. A static discharge on an HF antenna, no problem! Rotator control cable disconnected, no problem. A fast squall was passing thru. While I was out of the shack, a close lightning strike because I heard the thunder less than a second later. Then another lightning strike so close it seems like it was just next door!! A very strong static discharge resulted in two very loud pops from the radio shack. No big deal, one of the HF antennas again. WRONG. I had neglected one small issue for the shack, two VHF/UHF antennas had not been disconnected. For the first time in a long time the VHF/UHF antennas were in mortal danger, well not the antennas but something else. A survey of the damage revealed an expensive HF radio, an expensive VHF/UHF and a lap top computer were DOA. The condition of the equipmentwas determined by technicians at Office Depot and Richard, AF4YL. Losing equipment is always bad news. The good news, all equipment has been replaced and covered by ARRL insurance. Lessons learned 1. Disconnect ALL antennas during adverse weather; 2) have ARRL insurance. More on ARRL insurance in the next issue.

DE NA4C

N E T R E P O R T

For August 2016

In August we had a total of 46 check-ins. This month was better than the last couple ofmonths. I know many are back from vacations, baseball games, and school has started.But when you can please check-in. We need to keep up the communications. Thank youall for checking in. We welcome all hams to check in. A special thank you to all of you

doing net control duty. I appreciate it very much. 73 KV4PU

The net is going good. We have five who volunteered to take net control on a rotational basis. Marie is been out temporarily. We need more volunteers. We need 2 or 3 more people. You don’t have to be good at it. Just do it! We have a net control script to use as a guide line so you don’t have to make something up to say. To volunteer send me an emailwith your name, call sign and email address. Don Tigges kv4pu@d-mdata.com I will then add you to the calendar which can be seen on www.wc4dc.org along with the net script.

Thanks.

Don Tigges KV4PU

Mark you calendars! Ever wanted to be sought after? In the Tennessee QSO Party you are the DX! Everyone wants to work you! Not a contest operator? No one expects you to be. Although competition is encour-aged, QSO parties are for fun and allow you the opportunity to represent our State and your County. Have some free time next Sunday afternoon? Even for short periods, please join us one week from today in the Tennessee QSO Party 2016.

When: 1800z Sunday, September 4 until 0300z Monday, September 5, 2016 (1 PM to

10 PM CST)

Where: All amateur bands except 60, 30, 17 and 12 meters are valid.

Modes: Phone (no repeater QSOs), CW, Digital (RTTY, PSK31, FSK441, JT6M, etc.)

Rules can be found here: http://tnqp.org/rules/ Awards for all categories, including those who make 100 QSOs or more.

Active Counties can be found here: http://tnqp.org/counties-active/ Please activate your station prior, so participants will know to look for you.

You need not be a member of a club or contest group to participate. Any and all stationsare encourage to operate, even for just a short time. Email logs to: logs@tnqp.org Please submit a log, even if you are not competing.

*Share this with your friends and feel free to email with questions regarding the Tennes-see QSO Party.