The Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin - July 2011

Bulletin Radio ClubThe Pasadena July 2011

Tom Berne was first licensed by the FCC in 1952 as WN6SUS and is now W6TAG. He became an Extra Class operator in 1978. He has been a member of the Pasadena Radio Club, off and on, since the 1980s and steadily for the last five years. His wife, Cynthia, is also a member and a ham, N6NCE. Two of his children and two grandchildren are hams. He has operated outside the United States in England, Scotland, Australia, Cyprus, Guam and Saipan as well as Mexico. The first part of his presentation will cover amateur licensing for US hams in foreign jurisdictions such as Canada, the EU, South America and particularly the difficulties obtaining a Mexican permit for operation during a trip in the waters off Baja California. The last portion will cover the resultant trip aboard a friend's ship including the local scenery, fishing and the setting up and operation of station XF1/W6TAG maritime mobile. It will include short video clips of QSOs with Pasadena Radio Club members.

Tom Berne, W6TAG

July 26th Speaker

International (Reciprocal) Licensing and a Sea Expedition to the Sea of Cortez

Download This Bulletinwww.qsl.net/w6ka/bulletins

The Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin - July 2011

While the W6KA Field Day had a couple of technical challenges, one with the computer logging system and the other being the club's tri-band HF beam antenna, we still can call the exercise a success because of the membership participation and completing hundreds of radio contacts. I set up a 2-meter FM station powered by a deep cycle battery and fed into a J-pole antenna up on a rapid deployment motion picture lighting stand. My station made dozens on contacts in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties using this simple but effective design, by several club members. The contact I worked hardest to make was with AD6UK, mobile in San Diego. His signal had quite a bit of flutter on it at first due to his car moving but with a couple of repeat exchanges we completed the QSO and it was successfully logged. To my way of thinking, this displayed the true tactical value of Ham Radio in a simulated emergency situation. Radio communications in a simplex mode (all Field Day

contacts are simplex) of over 100 miles could be of great value during or after a disaster. And we proved it could work at the Pasadena Radio Club 2011 Field Day, from the Art Center College of Design - between Pasadena and San Diego. Many thanks to all of the members who visited and participated in Field Day 2011. At the August general meeting come and see the film of Field Day 2011.73 Bruce N1BN

FD was just like last year, only different. More things went wrong, and yet more things went right. Technically it felt like a summer theater's first dress-rehearsal where not all the lines are memorized and smooth, not all the props are tested and work, and the costumes – well, what can I say? But everyone pitches in and has a good time. The weather was perfect and thanks to Mark, W6MES, and all the folks who brought special culinary dishes, there was no shortage of food or conversation.

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Sub-audibleTomes

Bruce Nolte, N1BN

Field Day 2011

Field Day Was DifferentPaul Gordon, N6LL

Standing, from left, Mike Jones, Peter Fogg, Fred Lopez, John Minger, Mike Dinko, Bob Millard, Jutti Marsh, Ray Overman, Paul Gordon, Mary Bothwell, Eli Lazarov, Tom Mikkelsen, Carrie Greenleaf, Chris Galante, and Al Bernardino. Seated are Aliyah Jones, Phil Barnes-Roberts, -??-, Mark Seigel, and Danny Schurr.

The Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin - July 2011 page 3

OK. So the networked computer logging system blew up. You wouldn't let that stop you - nope - nor the failure of the HF yagi which didn't even work as a dummy load - no sir-ree. Just pull out a pencil and pull up a wire, and off we go!There were successes.Our satellite station team successfully completed several SSB satellite QSO's under the guidance of Mary AG6MB, and our six-meter team must have worked everyone in southern California!Jutti KJ6HWL and Kate K6HTN relayed more NTS traffic messages than ever.We met more Art Center students, in part due to Bob KE6JI setting up his waterfall display proximal to the school buildings, while on the distal side of camp we jump-started a distraught parent's car for her.Peter's pancake breakfast was a popular success with scrumptious hot cakes topped with real maple syrup, fresh strawberries and whipped cream. The HF stations each made a couple hundred contacts around the country and out to Puerto Rico. Tom W6TAG mentored several Boy Scouts at the 40-meter phone station.A quick look at the log shows the tight competition between bands. 20-meter phone was on top with 112 contacts, followed by VHF with 111, and 40-meter cw with 110 contacts. 40-meter phone brought in 98 contacts, and 20-meter cw with 90. I guess that means we were well balanced.Thank you to everyone who planned, brought, did, or showed up for Field Day. Let's do it again next year, only differently. With more participation, we can have even more successes.73 de N6LL

I only have a very short history with Field Day - this year's was my third. I know there were a bunch of technical problems, but from the overview - I think this was the best of the three. Most people milling around, most visitors, most food, most activity at night ... Those of us on the inside know what went wrong, but we should also pay attention to what went right & what generated some good enthusiasm. 73 Kate K6HTN

Kate has put this quite well. And may I say, thank you so much to each of you that helped make our Field Day Event a wonderful success! Club members saw a need and responded in a positive and team manner. Not only did it help us to be successful, but it allowed us to work together and have fun in a non-stressful atmosphere. (Other than the stress of making that tough contact on the air during a pileup. :) ). Many folks helped, large and small, to bring it all together. There are too many people to name specifically, but I want each of you to know that your contributions helped to make it wonderful and are greatly appreciated by me (and I'm sure everyone that attended.) There were a few glitches, but if there weren't, what would we have to learn from our experience? After all, that is what Field Day is all about: testing your equipment away from home and coming up with solutions to problems in the field. I have been blessed with having a great board (including the previous board that sits on this one) and great committee chairs. Our Club is growing stronger each year. And that is because all of you love the hobby and want to help. Thanks again everyone,Now go get some sleep before the meeting!!! Mark Seigel -- W6MES

Friday, 5 PM, October 28 throughSunday, 5 PM, October 30, 2011Sign up at the door at our next Club meeting At present the W6KA station location for this event had not been determined. We are asking our membership to help find a functioning ham shack or a place where we could create a suitable station (access for a triband beam and space for at least a 40 meter wire antenna). If you wish to offer a place or just know of one, please let Tom Berne, W6TAG, know.

Kate Hutton, K6HTN

Thank You!Mark Seigel, W6MES

CQ World Wide DX(Phone) Contest

The Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin - July 2011page 4

Field Day Memories

The Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin - July 2011 page 5Made on a Mac

Photos were provided by Jutti Marsh, Cynthia Berne and Tom Mikkelsen

The Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin - July 2011page 6

So last month we picked a transceiver that was priced at $640 and we have arbitrarily decided that our budget for a “tabletop basic rig” (radio, sales/use tax, power supply and accessories) would be up to $1000. Let’s see how we do.A word about sales tax first. If we purchase the equipment in Los Angeles County, right now the tax would be $63.38. One way to get around the sales tax would to buy it from a dealer with no sales locations in our state. The shipping cost would be much less than California sales tax, so you would save money. Legally if you buy it out of State but plan to use it here you need to pay the state the same amount in “use tax”, and California is recently increasing its efforts to collect the tax on out-of-state mail and internet purchases. Therefore, so I don’t end up behind bars for recommending this method of tax avoidance, we will plan to buy the radio from a local amateur radio equipment dealer. There are some other advantages to doing that I have already mentioned in Crown City HF #35 (May 2011). So the sales tax now brings our total cost to $703.Now we need a power supply to make the IC-718 work. Therefore we need to know its recommended direct current input voltage and maximum current delivery specifications, which are 13.8 volts and 20 amperes. There are many power supplies available in this range. So what else do we need to consider?The biggest decision is do we want a linear (low frequency transformer) versus a switch-mode power supply? A detailed explanation of the difference in components and circuitry is not necessary to make our choice, but some understanding is necessary. A linear power supply contains a low frequency transformer to step AC at 60Hz from 110 volts to the 13.6 volts we want. Such transformers and smoothing capacitors are larger and heaver than those used in switching circuits which run at high frequencies (~10 KHz to 1 MHz). So typically a linear power supply for our IC-718 would weigh 27 lbs. and measure 5x11x11 inches while a switching power supply would weigh 4.2 lbs. and measure 2.8x7x9.4. So why would we even consider a linear over a switching power supply, since they are heavier and bulkier? Is it price? Well if you compare the two, usually they are

fairly close, maybe a little more ($10-20) for the linear supply. So that’s not why. A few years ago there was concern about RF interference from the high frequency components in switching power supplies which operate right in the ham bands, but with better filtering and shielding, that does not seem to be a problem any more. Some hams like linear over switching because they are thought to be able to tolerate more physical and electrical abuse, although I found no real proof of that. Noise from fans may also be more of a problem for switching power supplies, some more than others.So let us look at one additional consideration: whether or not to buy a power supply with built-in metering. Most of the popular amateur radio models come with or without metering. Usually there are two meters, one for current and one for voltage. There is no real reason to have them…they rarely tell you anything you need to know. Nonetheless, I like them. They look good and sometimes they are helpful. If you keep track of how much current your transmitter uses when it is working at the desired power level on each band segment you use, when something seems wrong and your other metering is not showing power output, or is confusing, check your power supply current. If is where you expect it to be you can relax: if it is low something is wrong (check drive power setting, SWR, etc.). Of course those “unnecessary meters” increase the price of the power supply, but only a surprisingly small $20. It is important that we get a “regulated” power supply because it contains a circuit, often a diode bridge rectifier, large capacitor and a voltage regulator IC, which assures a constant output voltage. If we buy our power supply new from a ham radio store, almost any model we buy will be regulated, but at a swap meet or on E-Bay, we need to check on this.As best I can tell the two brands used most by hams for this application are Astron and MFJ. The MFJs are a little cheaper. We are talking about supplies rated for 13.8 DC volts and at least 20 amperes continuous and 25 amps surge. We will be getting a metered version. I have several Astron and MFJ power supplies and I cannot tell any important difference between them but the Astrons are a little quieter (fan noise) and seem to me to be sturdier. Astron is a Southern California company, so at last we get to buy American! The Astron SS-25M, at about $140, is our choice. So we now have $160 left in our budget and we have one more essential accessory to buy, a code key. We will look at that next month.

Crown City HF

Tom Berne, W6TAG

Transceiver Accessories (1):A Power Supply

The Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin - July 2011

The Pasadena Radio Club meets the fourth Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the Kaiser Permanente Walnut Center, located at 393 East Walnut Street, at the corner of Los Robles Avenue in Pasadena. Parking is validated. Enter the parking structure at the southern Los Robles Avenue entrance. Everyone is welcome to attend. Please sign in at the front desk and security will direct you to the meeting room.Membership in the Pasadena Radio Club is open to anyone interested in Amateur Radio. Dues are $20 per year, $10 for students. Request a membership application at the club’s mailing address, or the club website, www.qsl.net/w6ka, or at a monthly meeting.The Pasadena Radio Club, W6KA, conducts a weekly net every Tuesday night, except on meeting nights, at 7:00 p.m. The frequency is 145.180 MHz (-) PL 156.7. All licensed amateurs are invited to participate. The club has a packet station on 145.630 and on 223.600 (cross-band capable) with a PBBS of W6KA-10 and a node name of MIRDOR. There is also a Yahoo Group for club members at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PRC-Club/. All members are invited to join as this allows for rapid dissemination of information to members via e-mail. Click on “Join This Group”. Members are able to update their own e-mails via the Yahoo website.The Board of Directors meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:15 PM at the Kaiser Permanente location. Meetings are open to all members.Bulletin Submissions: please submit any articles, photos, or ideas for future articles via e-mail to AC6VV@arrl.net, please include “PRC” in the Subject line. Other modes of submission may be arranged in advance on an individual basis. Submissions are due by the Friday after the board meeting.Permission is hereby granted to use articles in this issue as long as “Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin” is credited.Please submit any address or e-mail changes to the Treasurer, K7RWP.

Better Banking for Southern California123 S Marengo Ave., Pasadena

www.wescom.org

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Thank You

for your support of The Pasadena Radio Club, and Amateur Radio Hospital

Emergency Communicationswww.cmprintmail.com

President W6MES Mark Seigel w6mes@arrl.net

Vice President N6PBJ Fred Lopez fred@x2y1.com Secretary KJ6HWL Jutti Marsh kj6hwl@arrl.net Treasurer K7RWP Richard Parker rwp42@me.com Members At Large Chris Galante K6YZH Alan Denney KI6ZYW Danny Schurr W6XXB

Past Officers Fred Lopez N6PBJ Phil Barnes-Roberts WA6DZS Mary Bothwell AG6MB Tom Mikkelsen WA0POD Education Chair W6MES Mark Seigel w6mes@arrl.net 818-430-5244

VE Team Liaison AB6LR Merrie Suydam ab6lr@arrl.net 626-969-4409

Club Net KF6FEM Mike Dinko 626-797-8082 Bulletin Editor AC6VV John Minger ac6vv@arrl.net 323-256-0046

The Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin - July 2011

P.O. Box 282, Altadena, CA 91003-0282http://www.qsl.net/w6ka/

In This IssuePage 1 Speaker: Tom Berne, W6TAGPage 2-3 Sub-Audible Tomes - Field Day Commentary, CQ WW DX ContestPage 4-5 Field Day PhotosPage 6 Crown City HFPage 7 Ads, Club Information, RosterPage 8 Club Calendar

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This Month: W6TAGInternational Licensing and a Sea

Expedition to the Sea of Cortez

Pasadena Radio Club, W6KA

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

PRC Net 7:00 pmPRC BOARD 7:10 pm

PRC Net 7:00 pm145.180 - PL 156.7

PRC Net 7:00 pm145.180 - PL 156.7

PRC Club Meeting7:00 PM TRW Swap Meet

Chino Swap Meet

TRW Swap MeetPRC Club Meeting7:00 PM

NE ARES Meeting

Slow Speed CW Net28130 KHz 8:00 pm

Slow Speed CW Net

PRC Net 7:00 pm145.180 - PL 156.7

KPARN Nets

Slow Speed CW Net28130 KHz 8:00 pm

Slow Speed CW Net28130 KHz 8:00 pm

KPARN Nets

July 24 July 26 July 29July 27 July 28July 25 July 30

AC100 Post-RaceAC100

July 31 Aug 2 Aug 5Aug 3 Aug 4Aug 1 Aug 6

Aug 7 Aug 9 Aug 12Aug 10 Aug 11Aug 8 Aug 13

Aug 14 Aug 16 Aug 19Aug 17 Aug 18Aug 15 Aug 20

Aug 21 Aug 23 Aug 26Aug 24 Aug 25Aug 22 Aug 27

Aug 28 Aug 30 Sept 2Aug 31 Sept 1Aug 29 Sept 3

Slow Speed CW Net28130 KHz 8:00 pm

Slow Speed CW Net28130 KHz 8:00 pm