May - Sierra Nevada Amateur Radio Society, Inc

CRACKLIN’ STATIC
Serving the Amateur Radio Community since April 16, 1968
http://www.snars.org
RENO, NEVADA
MAY 2015
----PRESIDENT’S VOICE----
The DMR Project has been a huge success… We put up a second repeater on the South end of the valley on
Davidson Peak to provide improved coverage in the valley and to the East and South of us. There is a third
repeater for Mt. Rose in the works to get even more coverage.
(100% of this project has been funded by donations --- There have been over 50 DMR HT’s purchased by club
members). Thank you very much!
You should have heard by now that we will take over the Western Nevada Noon Net effective June 1, 2015.
The SNARS Noon Net will be ours to operate. We need people interested in being a net control operator
and someone to be the Net Control Manager. Let me know if you are interested.
There won’t be a club meeting on May 2 --- That is the weekend of the NVCON and a lot of people will be
there working and attending. We will back at Denny’s for the June meeting.
We are getting ready for the Field Day event. Steve, KS6A is the event chair and has us booked for the
weekend of June 26-27, 2015 at the Washoe Lake State park. If you have questions or want to help or want
to participate, or all the above, contact Steve at [email protected].
From Pat, W7DED: (Winnemucca) It's up and running!! 146.670, PL 123.0. It's linked to Toulon, 146.925,
and 443.075 on Ophir.
We had coverage all the way back to Lovelock, but was noisy. You should be using Toulon when in Lovelock
anyway. Still need to see what it does going east on I80. Thanks to Jim W6US, Richard N7TGB, and John
KG7AIQ for their hard work! It was a tremendous group effort.
The club continues to grow with over 250 members now. What direction would you like to see the club
move towards? Move away from? Get involved in? Stop doing, etc. Your input is important… Please let
me know.
73, Mike N7MSK
NO SNARS meeting MAY 2!
CRACKLIN’ STATIC PUBLICATION
E-mail……………. [email protected]
Cracklin’ Static is the Newsletter of, and sponsored by the Sierra
Nevada Amateur Radio Society. Opinions expressed herein are those
of the editors and contributors and should not be considered as
official expressions of the Club Officers, Staff or Club Members, or as
endorsements by same.
Material for publication may be edited to enhance readability or to
save space. We reserve the right to use whatever font size or line
spacing may be required in order to publish this Newsletter.
Deadline for input to the newsletter is 1500 hours on the Sunday prior
to the 1st Saturday of each month.
Cracklin’ Static is e-published in Adobe PDF Format. It may be enjoyed
at the SNARS web site.
The normal SNARS Breakfast Meeting is
cancelled for May due to NVCON being in
session. Instead of Denny’s, make it to
Boomtown!
Amateur Radio License Testing 2015
SNARS, Third Saturday of February, April, June, August, October
and December. Testing will be at the REOC located at 5195
Spectrum Blvd., be there at 9 AM sharp! …... Bill Nichols… NN7K
SIERA CLUB: Silver State Charter High School, 788 Fairview Dr,
Carson City.….. 3rd Saturday of January, March, May, July,
September, and November
……Dale Anderson, [email protected]
Elko Area: Third Saturday of January, April, July, October.
11:00AM, Northeast Nevada Regional Hospital, 2001 Errecart
Boulevard, Elko, NV
……Joe Giraudo, N7JEH [email protected]
SNARS Repeater System Frequencies
SNARS, P.O. Box 7727, Reno, NV 89510
Membership: $40 Individual, $50 Family
OFFICERS 2014
President…...............Mike Katz...........................N7MSK
Vice President…….....Don Seibert……….……………..N2MOO
Trea$urer…..............Tony Marcin………….…………..N7ACM
Secretary…..……........Rob Dunbar……………………….NB6C
Director……..............Steve Johnson……………………KS6A
Director………………….John Byerly………………………..N7ROJ
Director………………….Judy Carlson……………………….KE6GIW
STAFF 2014
By Laws Review Committee……………………...…..KE7HLR
Club Public Information Officer……………………..
Control Operators Manager……………..……………W7DED
Cracklin’ Static Editor……………………….……........WB2AWQ
Digital SYSOP………………………………………………….K7JN
Meeting Greeters………………………………………….AE7OX
History Archivist…………………………………………….KF7KTC
Station Licensee for KR7ENO…………………………WB2AWQ
Control Operators FOR KR7ENO……………………WB2AWQ
Station Licensee for W7TA…………..………………..KE7VSR
Control Operators for W7TA………………………….KE7VSR
Tech Committee Chair..…………………………………N7ROJ
Chief VE Examiner………………………………..……….NN7K
Membership Chairman……………………………......N2MOO
Program Chairman………………………………………..
Web Master …………………………..…………………….N7ACM & KG7DLF
Facebook Page Administrator………….............N7ACM & KG7DLF
Events (ARES) Coordinator…………………..…......WA6MTY
I-80 Linked System (W7TA)
Reno, Sparks, Carson City (Ophir Peak) 146.610 - 123.0 Not
Linked, Stand alone
Reno, Sparks, Carson City (Ophir Peak) 443.075 + 123.0
Lovelock, Black Rock Desert (Toulon Peak) 146.925 - 123.0
Mt Rose Linked System (W7TA)
Reno, Sparks (Virginia Peak) 147.030 + 123.0
Carson City, Tahoe, Truckee (Mt Rose Knob) 147.150 + 123.0
Reno, Sparks, North Valleys (Peavine Peak) 147.210 + 100.0
Yerington, Wellington (Lobdelle Peak) 444.875 + 100.0
IRLP/EchoLink System (W7TA)
Reno, Sparks (GSR) 147.300 + 123.0 Connected to/Status: Idle
Standalone Systems, Ragchew Repeaters (W7TA)
Reno, Sparks 52.580 - 114.8
Reno, Sparks, Carson City, Dayton (Ophir Peak) 147.390 + 100.0
Reno, Carson, Dayton (Mt. Davidson) 444.825 + 123. Reno,
Sparks, North Valleys (Peavine Peak) 444.925 + 100.0 Off the air
Reno, Sparks 927.1125 - 114.8
Digital Systems (W7TA)
Reno, Sparks, Carson City (Ophir Peak) 145.050 - RNO Carson
City, Tahoe, Truckee (Mt Rose Knob) 145.050 - ROSE Lovelock,
Black Rock Desert (Lobdelle peak) 144.390 - TOULON
Portable Repeaters (KR7ENO)
Portable System 147.000 - 123.0 Special events only
C4FM Digital Repeater - YAESU
Reno, Carson, Dayton (Mt. Davidson) 444.825 + 123.
D-Star
Reno-Sparks (low level) 444.625 + D-Star Repeater, N7NDS
Reno-Sparks (low level) 146.405 D-Star Hot Spot
SUBURBAN SPUD GUN
The spud gun (or potato cannon, or pneumatic antenna
launcher, or whatever name you call it) is, for my money,
the most effective wire antenna putter-upper. Better
than the ubiquitous sling shot, better than a bow and
arrow, way better than a bouncing ball, and certainly
better than a hand-launched fishing weight. I’ve used
them all, for both Field Day launches, and for home
antennas. You can buy commercial spud guns, or you can
roll your own, very easily. They range from very simple to
fancy, fuel-propelled monsters.
My first spud gun (which I DO hope to get back from an
as-yet un-named SNARS member who borrowed it at
Field Day two years ago and has yet to return same), is
great: powered by compressed air and firing a copper
“bullet” well over 150 feet up, tethered to a spinning reel
with 30 lb test monofilament line. Untethered, it’ll go 300
ft + straight up. And don’t get in the way of the bullet!
But it’s nearly 6 ft long, bulky and weighs close to 10 lbs.
With more mundane projects in mind than putting a
dipole up 150 ft, and wanting to keep the cost down, I
decided to build a miniature version of the spud gun. The
new kid on the block is shorter, weighs less, costs less,
takes less time to recharge, and, like number one, is
made with nearly all big box store parts. No special
cutting, machining or tools required.
The pictures tell most of the story: the main ingredients
are twenty-four inch lengths of ¾” and 1-1/4” inch PVC
pipe and associated fittings. Standard PVC primer and
cement are used to make the joints.
The smaller gun is just over 30 inches long, slim, and
weighs only a couple of pounds, far more manageable
than the larger gun.
The finished gun with a fishing reel attached to the barrel
The bullet is made from a half inch copper union, a cast
end plug and Gorilla cyanoacrylate glue. A small amount
of Scotch tape is carefully wrapped around the bullet to
make a better fit – about .010 inch loose - between the
bullet and barrel. The idea is to have a close enough fit to
retain the pressure behind the bullet on launch, yet loose
enough to prevent the bullet from binding in the barrel.
No rocket science here, no need for close tolerances. The
line can be simply passed through a small drilled hole in
the end cap as shown, or tied to a small terminal lug
glued in the end for attaching a line. A small fishing reel
serves as the line storage and retrieval means, and a
short length of pink Mason line is used to make the bullet
easier to locate in heavy foliage.
Showing the bullet, and the Schrader valve.
Purchased pieces before assembly. The small brass
fitting at the right was replaced by a Schrader valve in
the final assembly.
The barrel is not glued into the gun, thus it is removable
to make retrieving the line with the fishing reel easier.
The “trigger” is a simple 90 degree opening PVC valve,
and a small screw near the bottom of the barrel prevents
the bullet from accidentally entering the trigger valve.
The charging port is a standard automotive replacement
Schrader type tire valve.
1-1/4 inch schedule 40 PVC (the white variety commonly
found in Home Depot etc) is rated for 1180 lbs burst, and
221 lbs operating pressure, but I only run 50 lbs max,
from a small 12V powered compressor. A bicycle pump
will work also. Clearing heights in excess of 75 ft are
easily done with even this smaller gun, and high accuracy
shots are a cinch. KB2SFS may be using the gun this year
at Washoe State Park to put up some Field Day antennas.
Now to build a pocket model for those “portable”
operations………WB2AWQ
Get ready for the SNARS Field Day 2015!
The SNARS ARRL Field Day will be held June 26 through 28 this
year, and we found a great location. Washoe Lake State Park
has a large group area with a covered pavilion and a kitchen
area with water and electricity that will be perfect for our
outing. Field Day on the air activities begin at 1800 UTC (11:00
AM local) on Saturday June 27 and end at 1800 UTC (11:00 AM
local) on Sunday June 28.
We will be operating with a class A field day designation
meaning that we will be operating as a club. We have not yet
determined how many stations we will have on the air at one
time, however all stations will operate off battery power or
generator power with no connection to commercial mains. Ed
Sloane KB7ZBN has offered to set up a GOTA station this year.
GOTA stands for ‘Get On The Air’, and rules allow this station to
be used by un-licensed persons under the supervision of
KB7ZBN or his designee. This will be a great opportunity for
any person who wants to try out ham radio to get on the air.
The pavilion at Washoe Lake State Park is a very large area with
a campfire ring in the center, and has a roof in case of rain.
Picnic tables are provided, and a cooking area is available with
water and power for preparing food. SNARS will be providing
dinner for all participants on Saturday night, so if you can only
attend for one evening that would be the time! Ample area is
available outside the pavilion for setting up tents, and the large
parking lot will accommodate RV’s of any size. A restroom with
flush toilets is available on site.
The Pavilion from the entrance
Sheltered cooking area in the pavilion
Lots of parking is available…..
The rules allow stations that do not begin set-up until the
contest starts Saturday morning to operate an additional 3
hours, however we have arranged for access to the group
pavilion at 9:00 AM local on Friday. We will begin our set-up
Friday morning at 11:00 AM will thus have a full 24 hours to set
up antennas and prepare for the event.
The ARRL describes the object of Field Day as follows:
To work as many stations as possible on any and all amateur
bands (excluding the 60, 30, 17, and 12- meter bands) and in
doing so to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less
than optimal conditions. A premium is placed on developing
skills to meet the challenges of emergency preparedness as
well as to acquaint the general public with the capabilities of
Amateur Radio.
SNARS will be paying for rental of the facility, however there is
also an entry fee of $7 per vehicle for non-Nevada residents or
$5 per vehicle for Nevada residents. If you are staying
overnight, the camping fee is $17 per vehicle per night for nonNevada residents and $15 per vehicle per night for Nevada
residents.
Washoe Lake State Park is located 18 miles south of Reno and
five miles north of Carson City. Travel on Highway 395 and take
the Eastlake Boulevard exit. Park entrances are on the west
side of Eastlake Boulevard towards the south end of Washoe
Lake.
For those interested in previewing the location to plan for setup, we will be meeting at the group area on Saturday May 23 at
2 PM. This will allow time for the QCWA members to attend
the morning QCWA meeting and still have time to meet at the
Washoe Lake group site. If the group site is reserved by then
we may have to change the inspection date so if you are
planning on attending send an email to [email protected]
and I’ll let you know of any change in plans.
Late addendum from Steve:
People can pitch tents around the pavilion area, but if
they want to camp in the campground with individual
sites they will have to compete for those with the general
public. Saturday morning will probably be a difficult time
for them to get campsites there. There are no gazebos in
the group area, just one large pavilion. There are a
couple areas that have been flattened for tenting.
Plenty of room for operations under the pavilion
I am developing a field day team list, and if you have not yet
added your name to the list please send me an email and
include your name, call sign, phone number, preferred
assignment and resources you are bringing. Drop me an email
if you have any questions or you can call Washoe Lake State
Park at 775-687-4319.
This is going to be good!
73, Steve Johnson KS6A
Blocked out tenting site near the pavilion
* *
*
*
* * * * * * * * * * *
THE NEW HAMS & INFORMATION NET
*
*
*
*
*
The New Hams Q&A Net on 147.150. The net is held weekly at 1300, every Sunday afternoon. The purpose of
this net is a Q&A and information net for newly licensed hams and all hams wishing to ask question about
different aspects of Ham Radio. It will give new hams in particular a venue for getting on the air in a controlled
net moderated by a ham with more experience. The net will be open to any interested ham. Questions will be
answered and discussed by the more experienced hams listening on the Net.
For those in the North Valleys who may be out of the range of the 147.150 (+ split, PL 123.0) try using the
443.075 (+/123). It works from Lemmon Valley.
NVCON UPDATE
Exhibitors
We have a great line up of exhibitors this year at the
state convention. Please if you are not able to attend
the other activities come out and support the
exhibitors that made the trip this year. The exhibit
hall is free for all to visit. The exhibit hall is open
Saturday 8am-6pm and Sunday from 8am-10am.
Here is a quick overview of exhibitors attending this
year.
*Elecraft - the manufacturer of K3 and KX3 Radios
*Disaster Guy - Telescoping Communication Poles
and accessories
*Ventenna - Portable and Stealthy antennas for HF,
VHF, and UHF
*Hi-Tech Liquidators - Connectors, Coax, Batteries,
misc parts, etc
*Elk Antennas - Portable Log Periodic Antennas
*Lido Mounts - No Holes Mounting Solutions For
Radios, Phones, Etc
*Q.R. Zed Engraving - Custom Badge Engraving
*Amateur Radio Club.net - Meet the team behind
this 24/7 online Elmering
*NV7X & Friends - Powerpole connectors, Wire, etc
*Quarter Century Wireless Association - Silver State
Chapter 190
*AMSAT
*Sisterhood of Amateur Radio
*Northern Nevada Prepper Group Net
*CALDMR
Non-Profit Tables
We also have a great line up of non-profit
organizations in attendance this year. This is a great
time to learn more about the clubs and
organizations that are available to amateur radio
operations in Nevada and the surrounding areas.
Reno Ham Swap
Lastly we will be holding a ham swap on Saturday
morning at 6am! A great time to sell, swap and buy
used amateur radio and related gear. This popular
event has grown each year and is sure to be bigger
this year!
*Nevada Section ARRL
*Sierra Intermountain Emergency Radio Association
(SIERA)
*Sierra Nevada Amateur Radio Society (SNARS)
*Reno QRP
Join us at Boomtown, Reno - May 1, 2 & 3rd
http://nvcon.org
IMPORTANT NOTICES
There are two items that I want to report to you: First is the cancellation of the SNARS monthly
meeting scheduled for May 2, 2015 at the Denny’s restaurant.
This is being done because that weekend is also the weekend of the Nevada State Convention
(NVCON) at the Boomtown Hotel and casino.
This is being done due to a large number of the membership attending NVCON, starting with the
swap meet at 0600 on Saturday and culminating with the banquet Saturday evening. It was felt
that the turnout would be small and that all the club leadership will be in attendance at the
NVCON from early Saturday thru the day.
The June scheduled meeting (06/06) will be held at the Denny’s location.
The second item: Tony, W7XM was at a meeting where a number of the ARES leadership was in
attendance. There was a point at which the topic of the Western Nevada Noon Net was discussed.
Many of you are aware that the net has been going on for over 13 years and has been affiliated
with the ARES function. As a result of the discussion, the ARES leadership has approved the net be
turned over to SNARS to be run as a non-ARES net.
At the SNARS Board of Directors meeting held 04/15, the Board voted to accept the transfer and
control of the net to SNARS to be operated and administered by the club.
The official changeover date will be June 01, 2015. Changes…
1. The SNARS Noon Net will continue to be held every day at 1200-local.
2. The SNARS Board will appoint a Net Manager who will be responsible for the day to day
functions of the net.
3. The net manager will recruit and train the Net Control Operators.
4. The net will not be part of an ARES function (they have two other nets operating at this time) so
the format will change slightly.
5. The net will operate from Monday through Saturday – On Sunday at 1200, the SNARS Noon Net
will be replaced by the SNARS New Hams and Information Net, as it currently exists – moving from
the 1300 time slot to the 1200 time slot.
TOM TAORMINA, K5RC
SAVE THE DATE
THE WEST COAST CW ENTHUSIASTS’ CONFAB
May 1-3, 2015 Boomtown Hotel Casino Reno NV
In conjunction with the ARRL Nevada State Convention, NVCON 2015, we are sponsoring a
weekend event for all CW enthusiasts. It is especially dedicated to the members of FOC and CWOPS, but it is also an opportunity to introduce another 400+ hams to the fun of CW.
The events are being held at the Boomtown Hotel Casino. It is on the Nevada/California border
on I-80. See http://nvcon.org/ and http://boomtownreno.com/
Tentative Agenda
 Friday
o CW Enthusiasts’ Dinner
 Saturday
o Special Event CW-Only On-Site Station K7RC for the 7QP Contest (Washoe County)
www.7qp.org
o Track Presentations
 CW – You Are Missing Fun On the Air – Tom Taormina, K5RC
 Free dB’s – The World of Wire Antennas, Hank Garretson, W6SX
 Field Day – The Gateway to Live Contesting, Hank Garretson, W6SX
o 7QP Multiop at W7RN in Virginia City (Storey County)
 Sunday
o Open House at the Comstock Memorial Station, W7RN www.w7rn.com
Registration will be via the NVCON Web Site. Stay tuned for that announcement. As a preview,
Boomtown has given us room rates of $29.98 and $49.98. KOA has an RV park on site.
SPONSORED BY
ONE DAY TECHNICIAN FASTCLASS at NVCON
Buy the Book and Save the Date!
Long-time Ham Radio instructor David Book KD7YIM will be teaching a one day Technician Class Amateur Radio FastClass
in Reno on Saturday, May 2. This is an easy way to get your “Ham” license in just one day instead of going to 6 or 7
weeks of classes. No Morse Code is needed and it’s a 35 question test at an 8 th grade level!
This class will be part of a Reno Amateur Radio Convention, NVCON 2015, being held at Boomtown Hotel Casino.
David says “all 18 students in my January class passed their Technician test the first time so I must be doing something
right. I’ve done 15 or 20 of these classes and usually have a 95% pass rate for people who’ve read the book ahead of
time.” For full info on the class and to sign up go to http://nvcon.org/class
David adds “I’ve been getting a lot of 4WD fans in my classes lately since Ham radio is so far superior to CB radio. But
the new hams have to keep their CB radios so they can talk to the people who don’t have their ham license yet!”
(Editor’s note: This class is limited to 40 people, and registration is closed. However, there
may be space available. If you are interested in doing the FastClass, visit the website above
ASAP for costs and full details!)
EVENTS REQUIRING COMMUNICATIONS
(click on the appropriate contact if you can help or would like more info)
MIKE’S MISSIVES CHAPTER SEVEN
PART 97 ---- Frequently asked questions & answers
Q.
As a public service, the local TV station wants to set up an amateur radio spotting network that it would use to
supplement their weather reporting during severe weather situations. Is this legal?
A.
Simply put, no. According to Part 97.113, Amateur Radio is prohibited from gathering news for broadcast
purposes. While the TV station can monitor the Amateur Radio net, it is not allowed to actively participate and use the
amateur station for their broadcasts. The exception would be if there was no other means of dissemination of the
information to the public and the information is important for the immediate protection of life and property.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
NAME THESE RIGS
Technical Committee Meeting - SNARS
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM PDT
Washoe County Regional Emergency Operations Center,
5195 Spectrum Blvd Reno, Nevada 89512
Board of Director's Meeting - SNARS
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM PDT
Washoe County Regional Emergency Operations Center,
5195 Spectrum Blvd Reno, Nevada 89512
Welcome to the these New SNARS
Members for May!
Ron Bardarson
Tom Arnold
Mark Tadlock
W7FIA
WA6OVP
KE6AGD
(thanks to Tony W7XM for compiling this info)
ARES NEWS
(Answers on pg 10)
SNARS CALENDAR
NVCON - Nevada State ConventionFriday, May 1, 2015 All Day to Sunday, May 3, 2015 - All Day
Boomtown Casino Hotel 2100 Garson Road, Verdi,
Nevada 89439
New Hams Workshop
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM PDT
Washoe County Regional Emergency Operations Center,
5195 Spectrum Blvd Reno, Nevada 89512
Saturday, May 9th at 10am there will be an All
Hazards Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation in
Nevada Fair. America’s Prepare-A-Thon, Nevada’s
Prepare-A-Thon, and Ready Washoe. All Hazards
Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation Fair at Great
Western Marketplace at the old K-Mart Bldg on
Summit Ridge Rd.
May 16th is a One Day Ham Cram at the Regional
EOC on Spectrum Blvd. This will be my last review of
the General questions before the new test comes
out on July 1.
Mark your calendar if you like to camp out and
operate a portable station, I can use your help with
communications support.
July 18 and 19 is the Tahoe Rim Trail race
September 11-15th is the Tahoe 200 back country
race.
73 BOB MILLER WA6MTY
Washoe County Emergency Coordinator
Amateur Radio emergency Service (ARES)
www.wcares.us
[email protected]
[email protected]
775 843-5952
SNARS LADIES
We had 9 ladies this month for our luncheon at the
Red Robin. Next month we will be meeting at
Kimmie's restaurant on the 13th. (May)
Yvonne W7YMM
7QP SEVENTH CALL AREA QSO PARTY
In case you missed the announcement in the NVCON info
previously, NVCON happens to coincide with the Seventh
Area QSO Party! It’s a relatively short contest, just 18
hours long. If you are at NVCON you can work through
K7RC, or in Virginia City at K5RC, or if you can’t make
NVCON, do it from your own station. Here’s some info on
7QP from the WS7N website:
7th Call Area QSO Party -- May 2-3, 2015 1300
UTC Saturday to 0700 UTC Sunday (6 AM to
midnight PDT the first Saturday in May). 7th call
area stations work everyone, others work 7th
area stations only. Work stations once per
band/mode. 7th area mobiles (and those
participating in other concurrent QSO parties or
contests) may be worked again as they enter new
counties.
Find full details, exchange, rules etc. at:
http://ws7n.net/7QP/new/Page.asp?content=rul
es
NAME THESE RIGS (from pg 9)
The “Tuna-Tin 2” transmitter, first appearing in the May
1976 issue of QST magazine is possibly the most-often
duplicated homebrewed transmitter construction project
ever. Using 2 very inexpensive 2N2222 transistors
(available today for pennies each), parts readily available
(at the time) from Radio Shack, delivering a whopping
500 milliwatts output and built into a used (and, I hope,
washed out!) tuna fish can, the legendary Doug DeMaw
W1FB (SK) designed and built the Tuna-Tin 2, and quickly
worked all US call areas on 40M CW with it. The New
Jersey QRP Club offered it’s own version of the Tuna Tin
transmitter in kit form for over 7 years until 2006, and
QRP enthusiasts the world over have been building their
own Tuna Tins ever since 1976. Yours truly built his own
version, although not in a tuna can, in the mid 80s and
worked out to the West Coast from New Jersey on
several occasions with it, in one case lowering power out
to just 100 milliwatts.
Such was the popularity of the Tuna Tin that in 1978
DeMaw came up with the “Sardine Sender” (can you
smell a trend here?), a similarly uncomplicated QRP
transmitter for 80 meters, only delivering 750 milliwatts,
using many of the same readily available parts. While not
as popular as the Tuna Tin, it nevertheless enjoyed a long
run with the QRP crowd. An updated version of the
“sender” from 2001 is depicted here.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Weekly nets on the SNARS repeater systems
Western Nevada Noon net (daily, 12:00 PM)
147.150 + 123.0, 147.210 + 100.0, 147.030 + 123.0, 444.875 +
100.0
The Morning Net (Monday – Friday at 10:00 AM)
147.300 + 123.0
Bishops Storehouse Net (Monday nights at 9:15 PM)
147.150 + 123.0, 147.210 + 100.0, 147.030 + 123.0, 444.875 +
100.0
North Western Nevada ARES Net (Tuesday nights at 7:00
PM)
147.150 + 123.0, 147.210 + 100.0, 147.030 + 123.0, 444.875 +
100.0
State SATERN Net (Tuesday nights at 8:00 PM)
147.300 + 123.0
State SKYWARN Net (Wednesday nights at 7:00 PM)
147.150 + 123.0, 147.210 + 100.0, 147.030 + 123.0, 444.875 +
100.0
Northern Nevada Preppers Group Net (Wednesday nights at
8:00 PM)
147.150 + 123.0, 147.210 + 100.0, 147.030 + 123.0, 444.875 +
100.0
State ARES Net (Thursday nights at 7:00 PM)
147.300 + 123.0
SNARS New Ham Net (Sunday afternoons at 1:00 PM)
147.150 + 123.0, 443.075 + 123.0, 146.925 – 123.0
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
WINNEMUCCA ON THE AIR!
W7DED and W6US Getting the antenna ready
KG7AIQ and W7DED setting up the repeater rack
The completed repeater rack under test
W7DED working on the antenna installation
Winnemucca photos by Rich Nehrbass N7TGB
Sierra Nevada Amateur Radio Society
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
REOC, Wednesday, April 15, 2015
I.
Call to Order (N7MSK)
Time: 1800L
1. Board Members Present:
SNARS: N7ROJ, KS6A, N2MOO, KE6GIW, N7MSK, W7XM, NB6C
2 . Guests present:
KA7F00, W6US, KG7PDC
II.
Adoption of Agenda
1. Vote to adopt: NB6C Second: N7ROJ
III.
Reports
1. Chair: (N7MSK) – directed to other reports.
2. Secretary: (NB6C):
a. Current membership – 250
3. Treasurer: (W7XM):
a. Bank Balances: Checking $11,619.20
Savings $3,238.89
PayPal $7,566.54
b. The above balances include money collected for convention. Next month the balance
will be lower after SNARS pay the bills for the up coming convention.
IV.
Committee Reports
1. Tech Committee (N7ROJ) Tech Committee
a. Steve K. has repaired the Kenwood repeater and it will be heading to Winnemucca.
b. The new Fusion repeater is back from Davidson and programmed for 146.610. The
other new fusion repeater is programmed for 443.075. Both new repeaters will be
installed at Ophir. Adapters cables for connecting RC4 to Yaesu repeaters need to be
c. Tony brought up that we need to coordinate the new frequency for 443.925 to be used
for the new DMR machine.
d. We need to work with CARCON to coordinate a single log in for our frequency
coordination.
e. We have secured a little used DMR box at a discount price with warranty.
2. Education (W7XM)
a. On 4/22 will be a DMR workshop/training for new users
b. Still need to work on Extra class. This won’t until after the convention
4. Events – (KS6A)
a. Field Day will be located at Washoe Lake State Park June 27-28. 22 participants have
signed up. Setup will start on Friday June 26. KS6A will have a meeting at the park to
coordinate site logistics.
VI.
Report on NVCON – N7MSK and W7XM
a. Staff shirts will be ordered soon. Shirts for purchase with registration will close tonight.
b. On-line registration will close on April 26
c. Convention room rates will close on April 20
d. 130 room nights have been reserved to date
e. Planning committee will meet next week
VII.
New Business / Other Business
a. DMR Project- N6IB is selling us an extra repeater he had planned on using but can’t. This
repeater is $1600, which is cheaper than previous purchases. The frequency will be
443.925. N7ROJ will tune the duplexers ahead of time. The current donations are sufficient
to purchase this repeater. The repeater will be on display at the convention. We are hosting
a DMR net on Tuesday nights. We are experimenting on linking with California for a couple
of nets.
b. SNARS will take over the Noon Net effective June 1, 2015. ARES started the Noon Net. The
net was a NTS net and the process for handling traffic was lost when management of the
net was handed off to a non-ARES member. KA7FOO offered to help train a new net
manager.
1.
SNARS will be looking for a member to take over the Noon Net. The net will
be run Monday through Saturday. A new preamble will be written dropping ARES
and NTS from the net. On Sunday the New Ham Net will be held at 12:00pm. N7ROJ
made a motion stating SNARS should take over the operation and managing the
Noon Net starting June 1. Motioned seconded by NB6C, motioned carried.
c. KS6A discussed that Boomtown would like to put together a package to provide our
meeting needs. Consensus is we will look at this after the convention.
d. Tom Barnes N7OVC has requested to use lower Peavine for his personal repeater. N7OVC
has submitted an application which has been reviewed by the Tech Committee. N7OVC
repeater will be 224.800 with a pl 103.5 outputting 12 watts into a Telewave 2 bay folded
dipole. N2MOO motioned to approve N7OVC application to rent a space on SNARS Lower
Peavine repeater site. N7ROJ abstained from the vote. Motion seconded by KS6A. Motioned
passed
VII.
Motion to Adjourn: By: NB6C Second: KS6A Motion Carried: Meeting adjourned. Time: 1905L