PVRC NEWSLETTER - SEPTEMBER 1996
From [email protected] Sat Aug 31 12:38:25 1996
Date: Sat, 31 Aug 1996 11:46:56 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Dick Wilder (K3DI)"
To: Steve Affens K3SA
Subject: September PVRC Newsletter
PVRC NEWSLETTER - SEPTEMBER 1996
OFFICERS:
PRESIDENT KE3Q RICH BOYD (301) 464-8014 [email protected]
VICE PRES KF3P TYLER STEWART (301) 414-5444 [email protected]
SECRETARY WA3WJD 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 145.530 *
WR3L Baltimore MD 145.610 **
K4FJ Mt. Vernon VA 145.770 *
* These nodes are separately operated and funded by the Rappahannock DX
Packetcluster Group. The others listed are sponsored by the Potomac
Valley DX Spotting Network.
** WR3L is temporally unavailable to users while being used as link to
FRC.
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 is for the September
issue is Monday, September 30th.
PVRC Meeting Calendar:
Sun, Sep 8: Gaithersburg Hamfest, meeting at 11AM
Mon, Sep 9: First main meeting of the season.
Tues, Sep 10: So-Central meeting at W4MYA
Tue, Sep 17: Regular NW meeting, Frederick.
Sat, Sep 21: Open house at WR3L in Baltimore
GAITHERSBURG HAMFEST/MEETING SEPTEMBER 8th.
The PVRC meeting at the Hamfest will be at 11:00 AM on the East side of
the main commercial building this year at the Beezer and company
tailgating spaces. In past years we have had it on the West side of the
building but we'll send a runner over to pick up those who didn't get the
change. Contact W2BZR if you need space.
MAIN MEETING MONDAY SEPTEMBER 9TH
It will be at The Church of the Nativity (Episcopal), Route 5, Temple
Hills, MD at 7:30 PM. Arrive between 5:30 and 6:00 PM and enjoy an
Italian dinner buffet at nearby Topolino's on Old Branch Ave about 1/4
mile south of Allentown Rd. A bunch of PVRC'ers will be there and you can
hear how to improve you chance on winning your next contest.
Take the Capital Beltway to Exit 7-A. Head south on Maryland Route 5
(Branch Avenue) toward Waldorf. Immediately after entering Branch Avenue
you will come to a stoplight, which is Manchester Drive. Turn right on
Manchester Drive. 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.
SOUTH-CENTRAL (RICHMOND) MEETING SEPTEMBER 10th.
There will be a meeting at the W4MYA QTH Meeting 9/10/96. Bill, N3RR,
will be driving to that meeting and has plenty of room in his van. He
will be leaving from his house at 1:00 pm on Tuesday, September 10th and
expects to return to his Rockville QTH about 10:30 PM. He has been
invited to give a presentation to them at their regular meeting that
evening. Please contact Bill at 301-424-2707.
OPEN HOUSE AT WR3L SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 21st
PVRC family open house at Dave Baugher, WR3L, in Essex on Saturday,
September 21st at 12 noon until.... Looking forward to a full house. It
is an informal get together to extend the summer season; an outing much
like the fowlfest. Not sure of the menu but there will be plenty for a
good appetite. Bring a salad or desert if you wish but by no means
necessary - just come!
VIA 95 North through the tunnel and exit on the Baltimore Beltway (695)
East to ESSEX exit 64. Get in LEFT land and exit on 702 to ESSEX (Left
exit at Golden Ring). Continue through four traffic lights on 702
(Southeast Blvd) about 2 miles. After 4th light take 2nd intersection.
Turkey Point Road to the left. If 702 is not dual lane you are too far@
Continue on Turkey Point Road to the end. Turn left on Rockaway Beach
Avenue. Continue to 615 and park my parking area or on the street if
full.
Boaters welcome. Bring bathing suits is optional. Good swimming area and
small pool weather permitting.
PVRC OVER-THE-HILL FOR AUGUST by Andy Anderson, W3XE
PVRC Over-The-Hill Gang met at the Holiday Inn, US 1 and the Beltway on
August 14th at noon. N3RR informed us about the new regulations about
power. You can't put a multi-
element beam at 6 feet and squirt 1.5 kw of RF at your neighbor. W3ABC
enlightened us about the problems on 2 meters. It was pointed out that
50% of the Hams use repeaters but yet they are supported by only 20% of
the users. HOW TRUE. K3ZO went into details about how they are cross
checking contest logs for accuracy. Surprised me. Other important
problems of the world were also solved. Attendees were: K6IR, W6QXX,
W4DM, W3TMZ, AA4XU, K3ZO, WB2BZR, N3RR, W3GN, W3XE, W3ABC, and W3CPB.
W3AZ will be the Host for the September Meeting.
MINUTES FROM FOWLFEST AT W3YOZ by Rich Boyd, KE3Q
The joint Fowlfest was held on the 17th of August. Those present were:
KE3Q, N3MIL, K1HTV, K7CMZ, WR3Z and Theresa, N3ORY and Debbie and Kristen,
W2EOS, N3QYA, G0AYN and XYL, N3JT, K3ZO and Somporn, N3FZB, K3DI, W3MR,
W3LPL and Phyllis, K4JAB and XYL, KE4PSV, WG3U and daughter, N3HSA, N1KCE,
K3CHP and XYL, WB3ANE, W3AZD, W3EKT and XYL, WB2BZR, N3RR, WR3L, WA1SPT,
WV3B, W6AXX, WB3AVN, AA3KX, AA6DC and Rebecca, KA3TGY, K4VV, K3MQH and
Mary, W3YOZ, W3HVQ and Margaret, AA4EL, N3RQV, WC4B and KB4FAS.
As usual, NCDXA met jointly with PVRC, though we each held separate,
consecutive, meetings. For the NCDXA goings-on, see the NCDXA minutes.
For more info on NCDXA, send a packet message to WV3B. Thank you for
joining us in a couple of the summer meetings, NCDXA!
The W3YOZ Fowlfest affair was FB as usual. N3RR kept us in suspense for a
while as we waited for his boat, with PVRCers aboard, to come into view.
The water was a little shallow over the bar into the creek and AA6DC and
K3MQH had to go over the side to walk the boat in, the last half mile or
so! But they did eventually arrive.
The grilled chicken and beverages were abundant as usual. Plans for the
fall contests were discussed. N3RR suggested PVRC study the near field
signal intensity health hazards issue. He was promptly appointed
committee chairman. Also on the committee, to my knowledge, so far, are
WA3WJD, W3HVQ, and W3MR, each of whom has particular interest and/or
expertise in this area.
Marty gave tours of his updated station and antennas, including his 160M
vertical-supporting balloon, its hangar, and its raised radial system.
Also interesting was his "marsh tour," the site for his planned 80 meter
four square. Marty claims 6 db signal improvement at this waterfront site
over an inland site. He says what he can hear on 160 is really amazing.
After the meeting an application for membership was accepted from WG3U, to
be acted upon in the immediate future.
NW REGIONAL MEETING MINUTES 20 AUGUST by Tyler Stewart KF3P
The meeting was called to order at 8 PM at Legends Restaurant/Hampton Inn
in Frederick, MD. Members in attendance were: KF3P, N3RR, WB2BZR, K3TZV,
W9LT, K3ZNV, WB3ECU, WD3A, W3EKT, and NE3H.
During introductions, W9LT and K3ZNV related their latest tower/antenna
projects. WB3ECU has been procrastinating on digging a base for his new
tower. WD3A relayed his dilemmas with his pop-up camper during a recent
camping trip. W3EKT bought a small mobile home. NE3H put up a ring
rotator and has been dabbling in the RTTY contests. KF3P got on for both
modes of NAQP and is starting a big push to get his next tower done for
the Fall. N3RR just got his new F12 80 meter dipole up and tuned. He
reports it is working FB!
KF3P is looking for operators for the CQWW RTTY contest to do a
Multi-multi from W3LPL. W3EKT will be out of town, so he's trying to
organize the effort this year. If successful, the station will use WF1B
combined with either a HAL PCI4000 card or K6STI's new RITTY
software/Soundblaster combination on all bands, as well as the normal CT
network for logging. If interested in operating, please contact Tyler,
KF3P ASAP, on the cluster or 301-414-5444.
NE3H noted that he and W3TZV would like to join the crew.
Upcoming events noted:
8/23-25 VHF Conference in CT
(K3MQH spkr)
9/8 Gaithersburg Hamfest and
11:00 AM meeting
9/9 Regular PVRC meeting
9/10 South Central Area Meeting - contact W4MYA
9/14-16 ARRL September VHF Contest
9/28-29 CQWW RTTY
N3RR presented his uncut video tape of the raising of "Frank" (short for
Frankenstein, his nickname for the new F12 80 meter dipole). It was an
all-day job perform ed by a US Tower crew along with ground support from
AA3HM, WR3L, and WA3WJD. It's up and working with greatly increased
bandwidth over the old shorter one. Meeting adjourned.
The next Northwest meeting will be on September 17th (third Tuesday) at
the same location. We start gathering at 6PM for dinner and gab, with a
meeting at 8PM. For more info, contact Tyler, KF3P, on packetcluster,
[email protected], or 301-414-5444.
THE PVRC EXCHANGE by Ed Steeble, K3IXD, [email protected]
Welcome to the many new members. Several have sent me packet messages
asking about purchasing a PVRC T-shirt, embroider golf shirt, name badge
and QSL cards. Unfortunately I have to order a minimum number of each item
or there is a surcharge. Therefore, I take orders for PVRC hats, T-shirts,
sweatshirts, and embroidered golf shirts once a year. Watch the January
newsletter for the order form. My objective is to have these items to you
in time for Dayton and the ensuing hamfests, gatherings.
Currently AA3HM, Craig, is taking orders for PVRC QSL cards. Look for the
order form elsewhere in the newsletter. I doubt AA3HM will do another
order before next August so stock up now. Use the PVRC cards for those
contest QSOs.
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 WA3WJD, Brian McGinness, 4618 DeRussey Pkwy, Chevy Chase, MD
20815.
ARRL WASHINGTON OFFICE EXPANDING by Paul Rinaldo, W4RI
The ARRL Washington office has an opening for an Electronics Engineer with
spectrum management experience. Spanish language would be a plus. Send
resume to: Paul Rinaldo, W4RI, ARRL, 1233 20th St NW, Washington, DC
20036, fax 202-293-1319, email [email protected]. [See next article.]
BABBLINGS BY THE EDITOR, K3DI
I am essentially retired but have been helping the League's Washington
office for the past two years. I am glad the board has approved expansion
in Washington. Last week I worked four days; that is about as much I like
to work per MONTH. Paul is hard to catch so he prefers that your initial
contact be via a resume. However, feel free to contact me (see
"Newsletter Editor" on page 1) and I can give you additional information.
I expect that there will be an announcement about the position(s) in the
November issue of QST.
KE3Q has been asked several times who is the ham with the Telrex TB5EM
tribander and big 2M yagi along the Beltway at Route 50 near New
Carrollton, MD. W6AXX reports it is AB5DR, Robert Evans.
KE3Q has dropped [email protected] and will be [email protected] as soon as it's
activated. The old standby, [email protected] is still in operation
too, he expects to shift the bulk of the traffic over to the new Erols
account.
In reply to a request for more info about what is happening at the PVRC
contest stations we have received the follow from Pete.
UPGRADES AT KEARNEYSVILLE by Pete Smith, N4ZR
This summer's efforts at N4ZR have focused on the low bands. I've
received the 40-meter conversion kit for my C-3, which mounts a separate
rotatable dipole for 40 on the C-3's boom, and will be installing it as
soon as I can get an antenna party together, because the C-3 must come
down for it to be installed. I'm also collecting the bits and pieces for
a "lazy-vee" array for 80, along the lines of K3LR's 160-meter array. The
modeling results look very good as far as gain, F/B and take-off angle,
but we'll see what real life brings. Who knows, I may even get a
160-meter inverted vee installed if the weather stays good long enough.
I'm also planning a beverage aimed at Europe, with switching so I can do
quick A/B comparisons with the EWE I installed last summer, and which I'm
not completely thrilled with.
IONOSPHERIC EXHIBITION AT NOAA by Frank Donovon, W3LPL
During the month of August, the Electric Space Exhibition, the first major
museum exhibit on plasma physics and its effects on life on earth, is on
display at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Science
Learning Center, 1301 East West Highway (near the Red Line station) in
Silver Spring, MD.
HF enthusiasts and Radio Amateurs with an interest in ionospheric physics
should take advantage of this opportunity to visit this major museum
exhibit. I hope many HF enthusiasts in the Washington DC area will take
advantage of visiting this exhibit while it is here for the month of
August.
CONVERSION OF FLUX TO SSN by Dick Wilder, K3DI
Twice this month I have seen folks on packet asking how to convert solar
flux to sunspot number for use with older propagation models. Some time
ago, I found an algorithm that agrees with a curve in the RADIO HANDBOOK
by W6SAI 23ed page 20.16. Here it is in a generic BASIC.
1 INPUT "2800 MHz Solar flux is=";SF
2 XX=.00356*(63.75-SF)
3 SQ=SQR(.53-XX)
4 SS= (SQ-.728)/.00178
5 PRINT "Sunspot number is:"
6 PRINT SS
HELP YOURSELF - HELP PVRC! by Tyler Stewart, KF3P
Stewart Communications, an authorized dealer for Industrial Communications
Engineers (ICE), PAR Electronics, and Standard Communications Products,
will save you money and help PVRC at the same time! Tyler, KF3P, is now
offering discounts of up to 20 percent on all products. In addition, PVRC
members earn a donation of up to 10 percent for the club!
ICE manufacturers high quality RF/EMI filters, EMP and grounding supplies,
broadband matching transformers, and various receive antenna supplies
including preamped/splitters, transformers, and terminations.
PAR Electronics makes notch filters for 2m and 70cm bands specifically
designed for rejection of paging intermodulation. These filters are a
compact, passive, and reasonable cost alternative to bandpass filters, and
are available for mobile or portable use, up to 50 watts of power. Custom
tunings and cascaded filter sets are available for special applications.
Standard Communications / Horizon manufactures quality business and marine
radio equipment.
Here's your discount and donation to PVRC:
ICE products: 15% off 10% donation
PAR products: 5% off 5% donation
Stdrd/Horizon: 20% off 5% donation
TERMS:
You must prepay your order by cash or check. PAR filters are usually in
stock and will be available at meetings. Most ICE items are not and are
built to order resulting in approximately 4 weeks delivery time. All
orders subject to a $5 shipping and handling fee unless picked up. MD
sales tax is collected if applicable. For detailed information, call
301-253-5256, internet email [email protected], or see Tyler at a meeting.
SEPTEMBER FEATURES:
PAR VHFDN152 2 meter notch filter - 50 watts - (in-stock):
List: $62. PVRC: $58.90 Donation: $3.10
For your 2 radio/single op. or MS station the hot ticket is a ICE Model
419 - Multi-band Bandpass Filter - 6 bands, 160/10 meters rated for 200
watts ICS, relay selected, with built-in manual switch/override. More
versatile and less expensive than Dunestar unit.
List: $208.00 PVRC:$176.80 Donation: $20.80
-------------------------------------------------------------
Prepared by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center
May 1, 1996 SEC REGRESSION MODEL PREDICTED SMOOTHED SUNSPOT NUMBER
Based on APR 1996 Observed Data
(Years edited to two digets to stop word wrap. ed)
-- ---------------------------------------------------------------------
YR JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
-- ---------------------------------------------------------------------
95 24 23 22 23 19 18 17 15 13 12 12 11
(***) (***) (***) (***) (***) (***) (***) (***) (***) (***) ( 2) (4)
96 10 9 8 6 6 6 7 7 8 9 10 11
( 6) ( 7) ( 9) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) (2)
97 12 13 15 17 19 21 24 27 30 34 37 41
( 3) ( 3) ( 3) ( 4) ( 4) ( 5) ( 5) ( 6) ( 7) ( 7) ( 8) (9)
98 45 49 53 57 61 64 68 71 74 77 80 83
( 9) ( 10) ( 11) ( 12) ( 13) ( 14) ( 15) ( 15) ( 16) ( 16) ( 17) (18)
99 87 90 92 95 98 100 101 103 104 106 106 107
( 18) ( 19) ( 20) ( 21) ( 21) ( 22) ( 22) ( 22) ( 23) ( 23) ( 22) (21)
00 108 108 108 108 107 107 107 107 107 107 106 106
( 21) ( 20) ( 20) ( 20) ( 19) ( 18) ( 18) ( 18) ( 17) ( 17) (18) (18)
01 105 104 104 103 102 101 100 99 97 96 94 91
( 17) ( 17) ( 16) ( 15) ( 15) ( 15) ( 16) ( 15) ( 15) ( 14) ( 14) (13)
02 89 86 84 82 79 76 74 71 69 67 64 62
( 13) ( 13) ( 12) ( 12) ( 11) ( 10) ( 9) ( 8) ( 8) ( 8) ( 7) ( 7)
03 61 59 57 55 53 52 51 50 49 48 46 45
( 7) ( 7) ( 7) ( 6) ( 6) ( 7) ( 7) ( 8) ( 8) ( 8) ( 8) ( 7)
04 43 41 39 38 37 35 34 32 31 30 28 27
( 7) ( 7) ( 7) ( 7) ( 8) ( 7) ( 7) ( 7) ( 7) ( 7) ( 7) ( 6)
05 26 25 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 ** **
( 6) ( 6) ( 6) ( 6) ( 6) ( 5) ( 5) ( 6) ( 6) ( 6) (**) (**)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Top line is predicted value, second line (in parenthesis) is confidence
limit.
===========================================================
Note to readers via the PVRC/K3SA web page:
The paper version may have either/neither/both the above sunspot
table and an order form for QSL cards. I think it may have both.
I modem the final edited WP-5.1 file to N3KTV who gets labels
from WA3WJD and takes care of printing it, reproduction, and mailing.
Works great except that there is a difference in our printers and,
as yet, I have not figured just how much to send. We also have a
difference in paper weight for my draft pages then he adds the 14"
cover sheet with advertising so there is some question about weight.
This month, I asked Jim to append either/neither/both the sunspot
and QSL order form as allowed within the one ounce weight limit.
It is interesting to get my copy in the mail and see the great
job Jim has done with the finishing touches.
73, Dick, editor