THE SPARK GAP

A monthly publication of the Meridian Amateur Radio Club March 2015

 

 Bible Verse

The Lord’s Grace to Paul / 1 Timothy 1:12-17

12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. (NIV)

 

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Next MARC Business Meeting

The next business meeting will be held at the Checker Board Restaurant on Saturday, March 7th, 2015 beginning at 10 A.M. Come join us for breakfast, coffee and fellowship.

 

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Analysis of Antennas

You are invited to see the pioneer of the Antenna Analyzer, Martin F. Jue K5FLU President of MFJ Enterprises talk about analysis of antennas at the Cspire Auditorium on March 31, 2015 at 6:30pm.

Martin Jue with MFJ

Sponsored by Central Mississippi Amateur Radio Club

 

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Magnolia Intertie

The Magnolia Intertie Inc. is a non-profit organizing an initiative to establish a network of radio links throughout the state. The program is in its second year and momentum is building. Healthcare is the primary focus for the Intertie program at present with the Mississippi Hospital Association a sponsoring partner.

There are three phases of development. First, a set of analogue FM repeaters linked in a 24/7 backbone configuration will be sited. Second, APRS digipeaters and 5GHz HamWAN will be located at each backbone location. Third, some form of digital voice/data communication will be implemented on the backbone. These phases will take several years to implement depending on the acquisition of funds.

The program is now focusing on the I-20 corridor with Phase One development. There are several repeater sites in the process of acquiring equipment and getting the site ready for repeater operation. Sites implementing the I-55 North corridor from Jackson to Memphis have been identified. The HamWAN Memphis Metro group is working with the Magnolia Intertie to prepare for Phase Two implementation of microwave links between the two cities. HamWAN provides various IP services via RF including repeater linking.

The Magnolia Intertie hosted the first annual Repeater Workshop on the Saturday afternoon of the Capital City Hamfest in January with 33 hams in attendance. Opportunities for clubs to link repeaters with the Intertie's backbone on an intermittent basis will be forthcoming once the backbone is operational. More information and a planning map of potential backbone sites is located at magnolia-intertie.com

 

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CQ WW RTTY WPX Contest

Congratulations to Jim, Debbie and Jeff for an outstanding score in the CQ WW RTTY WPX contest. See contest score below.

Call: WE5DX
Operator(s): AD5OW N5TIT KF5MEG
Station: WE5DX

Class: M/S HP
QTH: MS
Operating Time (hrs): 48

Summary: Band QSOs
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80: 168
40: 327
20: 155
15: 273
10: 162
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Total: 1085 Prefixes = 474 Total Score = 1,240,932

Club: DFW Contest Group

Comments: Great contest. Had some issues with the amplifier on 10M so only 100W but 400 on the others helps a ton over last years totals. Thanks to everyone for all of the Q's and will see you down the log.

Equipment: Radio: Icom IC-746 Amplifier: Amertron AL-811HD at 400W Antennas: Tri band at 35ft and a 40M dipole at 50ft with a 40M/80M vertical wire loaded from a chain link fence.

 

 

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Make your own dipoles with these center insulators

By Dan Romanchik, KB6NU

One of the things that always gets my goat is the price some companies charge for dipole antennas. It's not that they're charging an outrageously large sum of money, and I certainly don't begrudge them making a profit for their efforts. It's just that if hams would just buy their own wire and parts, they would not only save money over the long run, but be encouraged to experiment with antennas. That's what I started doing about ten years ago, and I've been very happy with the results.

One of the first things that I did was to purchase ten Budwig HQ-1 center insulators and ten HQ-2 end insulators (http://www.budwig.com/antenna-connector-insulators.html). I've made a bunch of antennas with these insulators, including several 40m/20m inverted vees for portable use (such as Field Day and special events), a 17m dipole, and a 10m loop antenna. These insulators are very well- made, and can easily be reused, too.

Universal Radio sells the set (http://universal-radio.com/catalog/antsup/1782.html) for $18.50. I just placed another order for ten HQ-1s and 20 HQ-2s (the minimum number that you can purchase to get a quantity discount). The price, including shipping, is $143.

There are a bunch of other center insulators on the market, including:

* The Alpha Delta Delta-C antenna hardware kit (http://universal-radio.com/catalog/antsup/0297.html) consists of a Delta-C Center Insulator, antenna connecting hardware, 1 SEP Arc-Plug™ static protector (installed in Delta-C) and 2 Delta-CIN end insulators. This is a little heavier-duty than the Budwig insulators, but it costs more, too ($30 at Universal Radio). Unless you're going to be running a kW, I don't see the need to spend nearly twice as much money on these insulators.

* The TEN-TEC ACRO-BAT Antenna Connector & Hanger (http://www.tentec.com/products/ACRO%252dBAT-Antenna-Connector-%26-Hanger.html) is an interesting product. Unlike the Budwig and Alpha-Delta insulators, this product does not have an SO-239. Instead, this insulator clamps over the coax and antenna wire, and in doing so, provides strain relief. I haven't tried this one, but it seems like a nice design. The cost is $10, directly from TEN-TEC or from Universal Radio.

* The Unadilla W2AU ANsulator (http://universal-radio.com/catalog/antsup/0913.html) is made from PCV tubing and include eyelets for terminating the antenna wire and for supporting the insulator in the middle. For $15, I think I'd rather have the Budwig insulator. Also, you should be able to make one of these insulators for less than 15 bucks.

* The Hy-Gain C-1C Center Insulator (http://www.hy-gain.com/Product.php? productid=C-1C) has a screw for tightening down the antenna wire, so you don't have to do any soldering, but overall, I don't think I like the looks of this model. And, at 30 bucks, it seems kind of pricey.

* The W8AMZ Dipole Antenna Starter Kit (http://www.w8amz.com/W8AMZ_ACC_Page.html) comes a center insulator made from PVC pipe, similar to the Unadilla W2AU ANsulator and two end insulators. It costs $18.

If none of these strikes your fancy, you can always make your own. WP4AOH has some very good instructions on how to do this using PVC pipe and fasteners that you can find at your local hardware store (http://wp4aoh.blogspot.com/2012/07/dipole-antenna-center-insulator.html).

Whatever route you take, I encourage you to keep several on hand and enough antenna wire and coax to complete the antenna. You never know when the urge will strike you to build an antenna, and if you don't have the parts you've missed an opportunity to do some experimenting.

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When not checking his stock of antenna parts, you'll find KB6NU working on updates to his "No Nonsense" study guides, blogging about amateur radio at www. kb6nu. com, or working 30m CW.

 

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MOBILE HAMFEST

APRIL 11, 2015 8 AM – 2 PM

Click Here for Hamfest Flyer

 

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Northeast Louisiana Hamfest

Mark your calendar! The Northeast Louisiana Hamfest in Monroe, Louisiana, is scheduled for April 18. More information will follow.

73, Jim Ragsdale - W5LA
Hamfest Chairman

 

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From back in the day

Sixty Years of Lafayette Radio & Catalogs

Allied Radio catalogs

Radio Shack Catalogs

 

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Carbonite

Have a great month

 

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