THE
SPARK GAP
May 1997
Club
Information
Club meets every Saturday 10 A.M. at Queen City Truck Stop. All
visitors and new members are welcome. Some folks come early for
breakfast.
President
Report:
Hello Again: Another month has quickly passed us by. I
hope April brought more than just showers for everyone. With the
rain we had during the last weekend of April, May should bring
some big, bright, and beautiful flowers.
I’ve been hearing some of the local Hams bragging about the
below par rounds of golf they have been shooting, and some
bragging about catching more fish than they can haul in one boat.
I’m glad I know these guys pretty well, or I’d think
they were just telling more golf and fish tales.
Also, I’d like to thank all VE’s and other Hams who
participated and helped with the VE exams on April 12th. We had a
good turnout, with one upgrade to General, one new Novice, a new
Technician, one to pass their General theory, and two to pass
their Novice theory on their way to a ticket. It’s always
good to see people turn out to test and try to upgrade.
Let’s remember Field Day coming up soon and make it a
great day for hamming and family fun. 73’s Dennis
KI5FW
Vice President
Report:
Hope every one had a good month. The weather has not
been to bad, at least not for fishing. I'm teaching Wes to fish.
We need to stir up some good hamming on the repeater. Everybody
uses it as a telephone and not to ham. 73’s CP W5OQY
Secretary
Report:
Don't forget to check into the Tuesday evening 2-meter net at
7 P.M. each week on 146.700. Any announcements, emergency traffic,
or a simple hello and 73 can be passed along to others. Let us
know how you are doing.
Editor’s
note:
Please note on the Advertiser’s page that we now have
Emergency Speed Dial on our new repeater. You only have to
enter the 2 digits to receive help for a non life treating
situation. Please continue to use 911 if life is at risk.
Thank you Don WD5HLD for setting this up for us. Don also
recommends that you cut these numbers out and put them in your
billfold or tape them to your radio.
If you have any items for sell, wanted, trade, or any articles
that you would like published in The Spark Gap please call
485-7568. This is your newsletter. Your input is appreciated.
73’s Darrell W5MAV
Due to the many new members that have recently joined MARC,
it was suggested at our last business meeting that I reprint this
article first published this past July 1996.
As you are probably aware of by now, the MARC is the proud owner
of a new Yaesu Vertex repeater equipped with a Cat-300 controller.
The full features of the new system are too numerous to mention
all of them here. A couple of features we will discuss are the
Auto patch and the Reverse Auto patch.
As of this time the club has elected to run the Auto patch as an
open patch to all club members. To bring the patch up, simply
enter * and go right into your number. Do not un-key until you
have dialed your number. The repeater will read-back the number
then it will connect. At the end of your patch enter # to
disconnect. Don't forget to ID at the start and at the end of your
patch!
Our full feature auto patch also has the capability of supporting
100 speed dial slots. As of this time we have about 11 slots
assigned. If you would like one please contact WD5HLD. Most people
have their home phone number assigned to their slot. To make a
speed dial call to your slot or someone else just dial 6 plus the
2 digit speed dial slot number. As an example: If you wanted to
place a speed dial call to me you would just dial 602 and the
phone would ring at my home QTH. Notice that it does not require a
* when you are using speed dial, just the 6 and a 2 digit slot
number. Of course at the end of the call enter a # to
disconnect.
The Reverse Auto patch is another feature we have. The Reverse
Auto patch enables anyone who does not have access to a radio the
capability of being able to call you by telephone and it will ring
out on the air via the repeater. As an example: If Howard's XYL
needs to talk to him and he is out in the car somewhere, she would
call the repeater at 483-4888. After 1 ring she would hear a short
tone, she would then enter the numbers 80005# The repeater would
then announce on the air " Call for W5UTL". If Howard is listening
and hears this he would then enter from his touch tone pad the
number 800 and would be connected to the call on the phone. At the
end of the call Howard would enter the patch down code of # and
the call would be terminated. If you would notice, the last 2
numbers in the reverse auto patch code ( In Howard's case it's 05
) is Howard's speed dial slot number. PRETTY SLICK HUH ?
Please safeguard these control code numbers and don't give any of
them out on the air. Reminder - we have lots of scanner listeners
out there that could cause us a lot of problems with these
numbers.
That's about all I have time for now, I will give everyone
additional info on other features we have with this new system as
soon as I can figure them out.
73 Don WD5HLD
Propagation Forecast
As was mentioned last month, the sunspot number is a
widely-used index of solar activity. However, it might not always
be available sufficiently promptly. Using more than 40 years of
data, we have found the empirical relationship below is useful in
using the 10.7cm flux values as a proxy for sunspot number:
N = (1.14).S - 73.21 where S is the solar flux (density) value in
solar flux units. The Radio Solar Flux density is measured in
Solar Flux, where one solar flux unit equals (10^-22
Watts)(m^-2)(Hz^-1), or 10^4 Janskys, the standard radio astronomy
unit of measurement.
The solar radio flux comprises three main components: the sudden
bursts of emission associated with flares, a slowly-varying
component, changing with the level of solar activity, and a base
level, corresponding to an absence of visible activity, called the
"quiet sun component".
The first radio astronomy observations in Canada were done in
May of 1946 by Dr Covington. He observed the 23 November partial
solar eclipse in Ottawa later that year, with what became the
first solar patrol telescope. The eclipse record shows a strong
dip in signal strength after 11:40 local time, when the Moon
covered a large sunspot on that day's very active solar disc.
Radio observations of the 23 November, 1946 solar eclipse provided
convincing proof that strong sources of microwave emission are
located in the vicinity of sunspots. The routine measurement of
the 10cm Solar Radio Flux was started then, and continues to this
day. The daily flux was measured in Ottawa [ARO] at 1700
UT until June 1991, when the program was moved to Penticton
[DRAO], three time zones west. The epoch time was changed
to 1930UT for one year, then was finalized to 2000UT as it
continues today.
ARRL CALLS ON FCC TO PRIVATIZE HANDLING OF MALICIOUS
INTERFERENCE COMPLAINTS
Citing "a substantial need to improve and increase the
quantity and quality" and timeliness of enforcement in malicious
interference complaints, the ARRL has called on the FCC to "create
a streamlined, privatized enforcement process" to handle and
adjudicate the most serious Amateur Service rules violations. In a
petition for rule making filed March 28, the League asked that the
FCC change its rules to permit members of the volunteer Amateur
Auxiliary to bring evidence of malicious interference violations
directly before the Chief Administrative Law Judge. The Chief ALJ
would be authorized to determine if the complainants have a valid
case, to issue show-cause orders, and to designate complaints for
hearing. The League recommended that the FCC capitalize on the
volunteer resources available through the Amateur Auxiliary to
relieve the evidence-gathering burden in such cases. If the rules
changes are approved, the League said it would likely assist
members of the Amateur Auxiliary in preparing and submitting
complaints and in presenting cases at administrative hearings.
"The increased use of volunteer resources would seem to be
entirely appropriate in the Amateur Service, which involves
avocational use of radio only," the ARRL concluded.
HAM RADIO EXCLUDED FROM CB ENFORCEMENT BILL
At the request of the ARRL, Amateur Radio has been
specifically exempted from a bill submitted April 17 by US Sen
Russell Feingold (D-Wisconsin) that would give states and
municipalities authority to enforce the FCC's CB regulations.
Feingold's bill, designated Senate Bill 608, originated with
efforts by the Beloit, Wisconsin, City Council--responding to
long-standing CB interference complaints--to pass an ordinance
allowing local authorities to enforce FCC regulations. The bill is
aimed at reducing radio frequency interference stemming from the
use of unauthorized equipment or frequencies by CBers.
In presenting his bill, Feingold told his Senate colleagues that
he has received RFI complaints over the past several years from
numerous Wisconsin communities "in which whole neighborhoods are
experiencing persistent radio frequency interference."
If approved by Congress, Feingold's bill would amend the
Communications Act to allow state or local governments to enforce
regulations that prohibit the use of CB equipment not authorized
by the FCC (such as high-power linear amplifiers). As it now
stands, no license is required to operate on the 11-meter Citizens
Band, but the FCC does have strict requirements on the type of
equipment that CBers can legally use. Feingold's bill would
preserve the federal preemption of all other telecommunications
matters. It excludes FCC-licensed services, including Amateur
Radio, from state or local oversight.
Also at the ARRL's request, the bill calls upon the FCC to provide
"technical guidance" to states and municipalities in detecting and
determining violations. Those affected by a state or local
enforcement decision would be able to appeal to the FCC. ARRL
asked Feingold to add this provision as final safeguard for
amateurs who might be erroneously prosecuted despite the bill's
other exemptions for amateurs. Feingold's bill also would not
preclude the FCC from enforcing its own regulations as they apply
to CB. Feingold called his bill "a common-sense solution to a very
frustrating and real problem which cannot be addressed under
existing law."
Have a great month
