Communicator - Central NH Amateur Radio Club

Monthly
Newsletter of the Central New Hampshire Amateur Radio Club
The Communicator
The
ARRL
Special Service
Club
December,
2015
Communicator
December 2015
CNHARC Web Page - www.cnharc.org
Happy Holidays to All from CNHARC
Christmas Dinner Meeting
Our December meeting is on FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11th from 4 – 8 p.m. at the Gilford Community Church
This meeting is our annual Christmas Party.
Please contact Clayton Ferry, N1VAU if you plan to attend.
You need to tell him how many are coming and what side dish you’ll be bringing.
If you wish to present a program or have a specific subject covered please contact Cliff, N1RCQ @ 279-7763.
For directions to the meeting, the talk in repeater is 146.985 PL123.
It was EA8 / OZ4WIL.
From the President’s Key
By Tim, W3ATB
That may be confusing to you. I can tell you it would
have been to me just eighteen months ago.
I established contact with the operator and discovered
he was in the Canary Islands. His name was Niels.
Because he was not operating from his home, he had
to give out the prefix identifying the Canary Islands - EA8.
After signing off, I looked him up on QRZ.com and
discovered he was a retired eye surgeon who lives in Denmark.
In This Issue
It's the season of giving.
Yes, December is that time of year.
From the President’s Key ………………..………….…...
Kids are Not the Future of Ham Radio ……………….
Adam’s Junk Box ………………………………...…….
Maintain a Strict Listening Watch .……………....…...
Trick or Trot ……………………………………………..
Upcoming NHSN Traffic and Training Event ……….
Secretary’s Report ……………...……………………...
How about giving something to yourself?
Let me tell you a true story that just happened to me
over the past week or so.
One day I was on the air and I heard a station calling
CQ.
Next Club Meeting - FRIDAY, December 11th, 2015 4 - 8:00 PM
Gilford Community Church, Gilford NH
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The Communicator
December, 2015
A few hours later Niels emailed me. He was excited to
have worked me and was wondering if we could try to do
another QSO the following day.
FOR SALE
Icom IC-38A 220 MHz rig and
Arrow yagi antenna: $100
I immediately said yes, as I had the time and his sending CW speed was just a little above mine so it would be
great practice for me.
Kenwood TW-4000A dual-band (2m/70cm) rig:
$100
Fast forward and I've done an exchange with Niels just
about every day. There was a two-day period where he was
traveling back to Denmark that we didn't have a chat.
Contact Adam at [email protected] or at
528-0678
In fact, just as I was typing this I had my most recent
QSO with Niels. He was so faint I could barely hear him. I
gave him a generous 259 signal report.
CNHARC
What's the point of the story?
Repeater Sustaining
Members
Two things.
First, I've made a new friend. I look forward to each
QSO with Niels. I believe he's happy too as he tells me so
in his follow up emails.
Second, I gave myself the gift of doing HF radio about
two years ago when I started down the pathway to learning
CW.
Now I'm at a respectable speed that it's no longer work
or a struggle. I'm having FUN.
I ask you to give yourself a gift and expand into some
part of the amateur radio hobby that is there but you've not
yet tried to do it.
Glen Aldrich
KC1AAI
Peter Jackson
K2SNW
Nate Ayotte
KC1DKE
Robert MacGuffie
K2HZN
Tim Carter
W3ATB
Bryan Medeiros
KC1DVN
Dick Christopher
N1LT
James Robinton
N1CRZ
Richard Wholey
K1OBP
Stephen Saunders
K1NET
Lee Duncan
W1LAD
Bernie Quartaroli
WI1I
Derek Fritz
KB1YTQ
Dick Sterry
KB1OCE
Bill Guinther
KC1BMM Dave Worrall
Ronald Bryson
Perhaps it's digital radio. Maybe it's trying to solder
your first component to a circuit board.
No matter what it is, there's a good chance you'll be a
happier person in 2016.
Go ahead and prove me wrong.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you!
CNHARC Nets
Monday: Two-Meter Net, 8:00 PM, 146.985
Wednesday: ARES Net, 8:00 PM, 146.985
Thursday: Six-meter Net, 8:00 PM, 53.77
N2IRO
Rick Zach
K1RJZ
Edward Curley
KC1CLA
Thomas Edwards
W1EDW
Ron Baker
N1JJW
Steve Davidson
K1SMD
Jim Brown
KB1FBQ
Bryan Letourneau
Peter Drexel
AE1T
Bruce Hamel
K1BRH
Frank Martin
NG1J
James White
KA1OEO
Frank Towle
KC1AAQ
Aleda Nichols
KC1CCU
Dana Ashton
N1WXQ
Ed Colby
N1SCJ
Jack Barbera
WA1ZDV
Bob Carollo
NHY1H
Richard Palmieri
KC1BOW Ed O’Hearn
N1EO
Dave Benson
K1SWL
N1GFD
Richard Hansen
KA1BUC
Ron Deshamais
CNHARC Monday Night Net at 8:00 PM on 146.985 MHz
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The Communicator
December, 2015
Kids are Not the Future of
Ham Radio
By Bob Witte, K0NR
You’ve heard it a million times: our kids are the future.
That statement gets applied to almost everything, including
amateur radio. How can you argue with an obvious fact like
that? But I am starting to think it is incorrect.
We’ve had really good success on creating new hams
of all ages in our Technician License Class (at the Tri-Lakes
Monument Radio Association). We’ve been doing this for a
while now and I think I am seeing a pattern emerge. We’ve
been able to attract middle schoolers to the class and help
them get their ham radio license. I’ve talked to many of
them on the air. They’ve helped out with public service
events. They seem to have fun playing with radios.
For whatever reason, it seems that most people find
themselves in a situation as an adult that causes them to say
“I want to get my ham radio license.” When asked why they
want to get their ham license, the top response is always
emergency/disaster communications, followed by backcountry communications, pursuing electronics as a hobby
and learning about radio communications. I suspect that
starting to be established in a community and having some
disposable income also play a role.
My hypothesis is that the most effective way of growing a vibrant ham radio community is to target adults ages
25 to 40.
Then this thing called high school happens. The high
school phase in the US is filled with tons of stuff to do: studying, homework, AP classes, science competitions, sports,
dating, movies, driving and after school jobs. Way too much
stuff. Ham radio starts to take a backseat to these normal
high school activities. Then we don’t see the kids at the radio club meetings or chatting on the local repeater because
they are busy doing other things. Have we lost them forever? Not sure.
This age range is more equipped and ready to be ham
radio operators and are still young enough that they will be
around for a while. Of course, we still want to work with all
age groups, including kids and retirees. We’ve all seen very
young hams get the bug for ham radio early and carry it
throughout their life. And we also see plenty of older folks
get interested in the hobby as they approach or enter retirement. We don’t want to miss out on either of those groups.
High school is often followed by college which has its
own set of challenges: a totally new environment, away
from home, a new set of people, new studies, etc. There
might be a ham radio club on campus but maybe not. If a
kid is not off to college they are (hopefully) out doing something to establish themselves in this world. Eventually they
emerge on the other side, get a job, get themselves established, sometimes with a spouse and maybe a kid or two. By
this time they are 25 to 30 years old, depending on the individual.
So that’s my read on the situation. I’ve got some data
to support my theory but I can’t really prove it. What do
you think? What are you seeing in your ham radio community?
-----------------------------------------------------------
I recently posted about the demographics of our students in the Tech License Class (http://www.k0nr.com/
wordpress/2015/10/where-are-the-new-technicians-comingfrom/). The chart below shows the age distribution of our
students from our most recent class. Hmmm, clearly most of
our students are 30 or older. (Sorry, we have not collected
age data with finer resolution.) This particular class is light
on the under 18 crowd…sometimes we have a clump of kids
in the mix.
Bob Witte, K0NR, blogs about amateur radio at
K0NR.Com. You can find this post at http://www.k0nr.com/
wordpress/2015/11/kids-not-the-future/. You can e-mail him
at [email protected]. He is also on Twitter: @K0NR.
CNHARC 6-Meter Thurs. Night Net 8 PM, 53.770 MHz
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The Communicator
December, 2015
Before we get into the meat and cheese of this month’s
article, I have a personal message to all of my dear friends
in the amateur radio community: THANK YOU!!!
that is usually constructed from a chunk of silicon that has
been doped (chemically modified) with two different chemicals so that one side has an excess of electrons and the other
side has a lack. When electricity is applied to one side of the
diode, no current will flow, but if that same voltage is applied to the other side it will flow on through with very little
loss (usually around 0.7 volts with a typical silicon diode in
a typical application). I wasn’t actually lying. This is actually how they work, minus all the important details.
As many of you are aware, my family an I recently
moved from our mobile home in Belmont to a mahoosive
apartment in Laconia. This could not have been accomplished without the incredible help of numerous hams who
showed up that day to lug boxes and furniture for us. The
effort and coordination put forth by the hams that day was
so amazing that the folks from my church who also came
(and who were just as helpful) were very impressed. So
impressed, in fact, that they now want some of us to come
and give a presentation on ham radio and emergency communications! This probably won’t actually take place until
some time next year, but anyone who wishes to volunteer
for that presentation should contact me via email and I’ll
see about making it work.
So how in the world can you pass AC through a diode,
a device designed and built to turn AC into DC?
Let’s think about a surprisingly common usage for
diodes, especially inside of our radios, that most people have
probably never considered or even heard of: using a diode as
a switch. What’s important here is that we are not dealing
with a large electrical voltage, but rather a small signal voltage. This signal can be anything, but for the sake of convenience and because we’re hams, let’s consider a small RF
signal being chucked around deep in the bowels of our finest
ham rigs. This signal would typically be less than 0.5 volts
peak to peak.
I also want to thank everyone who would have helped
if they could. I know a number of you have said that you
would have been there if not for prior commitments, and I
am just as thankful to all of you. The help offered and the
help given mean a lot to me. Again, to everyone: Thank
you.
Peak to peak? What are we doing, mountain-topping
now? Not quite. Any alternating current, including our little
RF signal, can be plotted out on a device called an oscilloscope. This is really just a fancy voltage meter that has a
graphical display to show what that voltage looks like over
time, though usually only tiny little chunks of time such as a
few milliseconds (thousandths of a second). A typical signal
will look something like this: (top of next column)
Last but certainly not least I want to acknowledge the
amazing amount of work my sweet, beautiful wife put in.
She did most of the work of packing our stuff into boxes
during the weeks leading up to the move, and then had us
unboxed and our apartment completely decorated in ONLY
THREE DAYS!!! Sorry, guys. She’s taken.
Okay, now down to the real reason we’re here: to
laugh at my mistakes! Or, at the very least, learn a little bit
from the occasional thing that I get right. Along those lines,
I have something of a confession to make: I am a dirty, lowdown, no-good, stinking LIAR. Way back in August of
2014, in my very first article in this series, I said in no uncertain terms that a diode only conducts in one direction,
and that a diode will not pass alternating current. This,
folks, is a lie.
The yellow line represents the signal voltage we are
looking at. The horizontal red line in the center represents
zero volts, so each time the yellow line crosses the red line,
the signal is momentarily reading zero volts. Below the red
line are negative voltages, and above it are positive voltages.
The little boxes made up of white dots represent units of
measurement. In the vertical axis, they represent voltage. In
the horizontal axis they represent time. So for instance, if the
vertical lines are 100 volts per division, the signal there
would be reading 340 volts peak to peak, or 340 volts from
the highest positive point to the lowest negative point. If our
As I said in that very first article, a diode is a device
CNHARC is on YouTube ! CNHARCAmateurRadio
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The Communicator
December, 2015
horizontal axis is set to 5 milliseconds per division, we can
deduce that this is a reading from the 120 volt AC 60 Hz
mains.
ing circuit to you, I’ll do my best to explain. All those who
don’t actually need this explanation are free to read along
anyway. On the left side we have the input pin (connector,
jack, plug, whatever) where we have our little signal that
we need to be able to switch on and off. On the right side is
an identical output pin, which is where our signal needs to
end up, but only when we want it to be able to get there.
Smack in the middle is a big, fat diode. Between the input
pin and the diode is a capacitor, and there is an identical
one in series with the output pin as well. Capacitors will
pass signals above a certain frequency, depending on the
capacitor’s specifications, but will not pass DC. This is a
characteristic that we will be taking advantage of in this
circuit. Just before the diode is a resistor feeding in our
switch voltage (picture a battery with a simple on-off
switch), which for the sake of no reason whatsoever, is five
volts. Just after the diode is an identical resistor which leads
to ground. If we were to build this circuit in real life, the
resistors chosen, along with the switching voltage, would
need to be carefully chosen to keep from cooking the
switching diode. One last thing: the diode can be pretty
much any old rectifier diode, I’m only calling it a switching
diode because that’s what it will be doing.
Wait, what? We don’t have 340 volt power outlets!
Yes, you actually do. The AC voltage measurements
we’re used to dealing with are not peak to peak, but rather
RMS (root-mean-square), which is math (evil!). An RMS
voltage sort-of represents something kind-of approximating
something almost similar to a mathematical estimation of
the average of the voltage being measured, and it’s measured above zero. So your 120 volt mains really are 120
volts, RMS. They are also 170 volts peak, and 340 volts
peak to peak. That’s why it’s so vitally important to use
properly rated components when dealing with mains power.
Better yet, leave it alone and get a properly trained expert
electrician to do it instead. Mains power can and will kill
you if you mess with it.
What if our vertical axis was 0.1 volts per division
instead? That would mean that our little signal would be
approximately 0.34 volts peak to peak. A typical diode
won’t even turn on until around 0.7 volts, so our signal
simply won’t get through, much less get through intact. Remember that a diode will want to rectify the positive components of our signal to DC (direct current), which would distort it and make it useless. That’s not what we want here.
We want our signal to get through the diode and out the other side without it being changed in any way.
Clear as mud? Okay, let’s continue on.
If we feed our little 0.34 volt signal into the circuit,
how far will it go? It will get past the first capacitor, and
then find itself bumping up against the diode which stubbornly refuses to turn on for such a pitiful little signal. In
fact, the signal’s voltage is simply below the diode’s threshold voltage, which as I mentioned earlier is around 0.7 volts
with most common diodes.
Now we’re coming to the fun part, where we trick a
rectifier diode into passing our AC (alternating current) signal unchanged. Before we can do this, we need to set up a
simple circuit that will allow us to add a DC component to
this signal without really changing it. In other words, we
will superimpose our little AC signal onto a DC voltage.
Here is a simple circuit that will allow us to do exactly that:
Okay, so now what?
If this looks more like a plate of spaghetti than a work-
We call in the troops. If we turn on our 5 volt switch-
CNHARC Monday Night Net at 8:00 PM on 146.985 MHz
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The Communicator
December, 2015
ing voltage, the diode will turn on, allowing the DC current
to flow through, and out to ground.
Maintain a Strict Listening
Watch
What happens to our little signal now?
From the ARRL ARES E-Letter, November 18, 2015
Here’s the magic part: The signal rides the switching
voltage as a series of ripples. So instead of the switching
voltage being a clean 5 volts, it now has our signal added to
it, so it would read as a voltage varying between 5.00 and
5.34 volts over time. Since it is always above the 0.7 volt
diode threshold, the AC signal just goes right on through
the diode, piggy-back style. On the other side of the diode,
we use another capacitor to then separate the DC component from that voltage, leaving our little signal intact on the
output pin, but only when the switch (switching voltage) is
on.
"We have two ears and one mouth and they are to be
used in proportion." - anonymous. In the days where every
ship of credibility carried a Morse code set, the radio operator was required to maintain radio silence on the international distress frequency of 500 KHz for a three minute interval,
at 15 and 45 minutes of every hour. As radiotelephone came
into being a 3 minute watch was maintained at 0 and 30
minutes. If the disaster your vessel encountered fit within
the 30 minute schedule, your weak, plaintive CQD (later,
SOS) had a good chance of being heard amidst all the commercial traffic and noise.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you put alternating
current through a rectifier diode! This little trick is used a
lot inside amateur radios, as it’s an excellent way to switch
RF signals without altering them, and without using components such as relays with much more limited lifespans.
Today, satellite communications systems have forced
these "antiquated" structures into retirement, but not entirely. A few years ago I enjoyed a tour of a huge container ship
at Boston Harbor. After pleasantries with the Captain I
asked for permission to meet his Radio Officer. "Our Engineer holds that title," he told me, "but in reality," with the
Captain putting his hands on a piece of satellite gear, "this is
our Radio Officer." Paying deference to the captain and the
high tech gear, I then headed straight for the radio room thankfully they still had one -- and was warmly greeted by a
middle-aged man of professional bearing in full white uniform. There, in a large space, were three racks, each with a
high powered HF transmitter. The wise officer revealed his
best-kept secret to safety: "Should we be going down," he
said, opening a small desk drawer, "I'm using this." A rather
sturdy Morse hand key was revealed, and there began an
understanding between us. "The satellites don't talk back,"
he told me. "This does."
I hope this article has been informative to you. This
article was inspired by a video made by Alan Wolke
W2AEW about the same subject, kudos to Alan. He has an
excellent series of videos on Youtube, and he can easily be
found simply by searching his call sign: W2AEW. I am
always looking for ideas for these articles, so please get in
touch with me if there are any subjects you would like me
to touch on. I learn as much writing these as I hope you
learn from reading them, so don’t be afraid to challenge me
with something you think I don’t know!
As always, you can find me on 146.985, 53.77, or at
my call sign at hot mail dot com.
Quiet Periods, Listening Watches and Amateur Radio
He knew about the quiet periods and listening watches
of old and the stories of lives lost and saved. He also knew
that the necessity of maintaining a strict listening watch has
not been lost to time and technology. In fact, it's a greater
necessity than we may have considered in our own Amateur
Radio service. The very first Amateur Radio public service
event I was responsible to organize included this concept.
"Let's keep an ear on the radio, so we might be less tied up
with getting your attention and have more time to pass actual traffic." Time and experience reveals that other problems
such as the limitations of newer digital modes are mitigated
by the maintenance of the strict listening watch.
Central NH
ARES Frequencies
Primary: 146.985 MHz, - offset. PL123.0
Backup: 147.300 MHz, - offset, PL 88.5
Sec. backup: 147.390 MHz, - offset, PL
123.0
Simplex: 147.540 MHz
NH Statewide ARES HF: 3.943 MHz
My local club, the Police Amateur Radio Team
(PART) of Westford, Massachusetts, operates a 2-meter
Check Out The CNHARC Page on Facebook!
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The Communicator
December, 2015
analog repeater that is a fantastic performer. It's reliable. It
has a wide reach. It is well maintained. Still, there are instances where the combination of interference, distance
from the repeater site, and operator technique combine adversely.
intersection, or Red Cross facility to which we are assigned.
Maintaining that strict listening watch repeatedly overcomes the limitations inherent in our technical communications method, promotes situational awareness, improves our
effectiveness to the teams we support, and in the end is a
discipline that keeps us focused on the reason we're standing underneath that silly orange hat in the first place: to
provide instant, reliable communications.
The Boston Athletic Association Boston Marathon
communications system offers excellent fodder for study.
With almost 300 communications volunteers and a few dozen unique repeaters and other radio-communication systems
all pressed to the limit within a very short time span, anything and everything that can go wrong generally does go
wrong. I have, as a volunteer (this is my 15th year), listened
in pain to dreadfully long attempts at getting a simple message between two units, which generally begin with several
unanswered calls, adding to the mess. In 2015, in a leadership capacity, I targeted the only variables within our immediate control: the operator on both ends of the circuit. Maintaining a strict listening watch became a mantra, and it will
continue as long as we hold a radio in one hand and a cup of
coffee in the other.
So maintain that strict listening watch. Your performance and overall satisfaction, and public safety at the next
public service event will be all the better for it.
-- Mark Richards, K1MGY
[Richards serves as a member of the Boston Athletic
Association Communications Committee, and is a frequent
public service event volunteer and organizer. He is employed in the technical design and product development of
hand-held environmental monitoring instrumentation].
At a public service event many of us clip our radio to
the belt. Body fading, the same physical phenomena that
aids us in Fox Hunting, attenuates what's coming in and of
course what goes out. I now encourage my Net Control Operators (NCO) to request that field units "raise the radio over
your head and try again" in the first instance where that unit
is unreadable. This solves the input problem in almost all
cases. With sufficient practice, it's hoped that awareness will
spread, and the reminders be made obsolete.
FOR SALE
Astron RS-12A power supply
I used it to power my echolink node which is
now out of service... So it should be in good
running order... $45.
The output problem - the ability to receive the repeater
output in the field - is rarely that the (stronger) repeater
transmission cannot be heard. It's simply that the operator is
not focused, not listening for the call. The operator is chatting with friends, tired and glazed, or listening to other communications. One volunteer insisted that he bring along another radio so he might "listen in on public safety." "That's
nice," I replied, "but it's not in our job description." I feared
that, while lost to more exciting radio banter, my volunteer
would lose awareness - of our situation and responsibility -so necessary to maintain. I was right. He was often difficult
to reach and generally ineffective. Hopefully it was a lesson
learned.
Two portable ground plane antennas, one for 2M
and one for 6M. I call them portable because
they are easily disassembled and assembled,
consisting of four horizontal radials and one vertical radiator. While they offer little gain, they
can easily be attached to one or more sections of
mast and put up in the air where they will provide a better signal than a mag mount on a file
cabinet. Good for emergency setups. I'm looking
for $15 for the 2M unit and $25 for the 6M antenna.
Sure, our work can sometimes involve simply waiting
for that one call, and this can be boring. But think of how
interesting we can make our listening watch when we form a
picture in our mind of what's happening at the event overall,
and what has happened in the past, to grasp that we perform
a life or death function. 100% focus on our duty and assignment is critical to our "client" event officials being able to
secure the public's safety as best they can, at the rest stop,
Contact: [email protected]
CNHARC is on Twitter - follow us @cnharc
7
The Communicator
December, 2015
Trick or Trot
Story and photos by Glen, KC1AAI
Saturday October 31st was a great day for the Meredith Bay Trick or Trot fun run which is in it's third year. The central
New Hampshire amateur radio club provided emergency radio communications for the third year as well. It was a fun day for
all - where else can you get dressed up for trick or treating but instead run a 5K race? At the awards ceremony following the
race there were apple cider donuts and Subway subs for those who wanted them and prizes for the participants, some decent
ones at that! CNHARC works events like this almost every month and sometimes more then one event per month. Our next
event will be the Laconia sled dog derby.
CNHARC 6-Meter Thurs. Night Net 8 PM, 53.770 MHz
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The Communicator
December, 2015
Upcoming NHSN Traffic
and Training Event
FOR SALE
This 2015 Subaru Forester 2.5i Premium is in Showroom condition. Comes in a beautiful Silver exterior,
complimented by a gray/black fabric interior. MPG:
22 City/29 Hwy, 4 Cylinder, 6 Speed Manual, All
Wheel Drive, Odometer: Under 5000, Balance of
Manufacturer’s Warranty.
Top Safety Rating!
On Tuesday January 5th, 2016, NHSN will begin an
exciting event for the NewYear! A 4 week mini CW Traffic Net training course will be given, ending with one station earning a Baofeng VHF/UHF portable radio. This
event is to encourage participation for new CW Traffic
Handlers and those interested in CW Net operations.
Options include: All Weather Pkg, Hill Start Assist
Control, Traction Control, Vehicle Dynamic Control,
ABS (4-Wheel), Keyless Entry, Air Conditioning,
Power Windows, Power Door Locks, Cruise Control,
Power Steering, Tilt & Telescoping Wheel, AM/FM
Stereo, MP3 (Single Disc), Bluetooth Wireless,
Backup Camera, Dual Air Bags, Side Air Bags, F&R
Head Curtain Air Bags, Heated Seats, Power Seat,
Panorama Roof, Privacy Glass, Daytime Running
Lights, Alloy Wheels, and Fog lights.
Here's how it will work...Beginning January 5th, after
all stations have checked in (QNI), the Net Control Station
(NCS) will send 1 Radiogram containing a brief instruction
on some aspect of a CW traffic net. By checking into the
NHSN that evening and subsequent NHSN sessions
through January 29th, will earn you 1 point each time. Copying the instructive radiogram will earn you 5 points.
Should you bring a piece of traffic in radiogram form to the
Net you will gain an additional 5 points. At the end
of the 4 week mini course (January 29th) the station with
the most points will earn the Baofeng radio.
$22,495
Contact Sam, N1OVA at 603-536-3155
By the end of course, 16 instructive radiograms will
have been sent on basic CW Traffic net operations. The
station with the most points will be awarded the Baofeng
Radio at a CW Traffic and Training Symposium in Concord in February.
Check the NH ARRL or NHSN Facebook pages for
updates on the upcoming training session. You can begin
learning more about radiograms by getting a copy of FSD218 from the League's Web site. The NHSN is on the air
Tuesday - Friday at 8p local 3539khz.
Any questions please contact NH STM Joe Burke,
W1INC@[email protected]
or [email protected]
73 Pete
Peter J. Stohrer, K1PJS
ARRL NH Section Manager
9 Gladstone St.
Concord, NH 03301
603 345-1470 (cell)
[email protected]
[email protected]
http://www.nharrl.org/
W1JY Central NH Amateur Radio Club W1CNH
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December, 2015
N1VAU, Clayton will participate in coordinating the December Christmas Party (Possibly Dave M)
Jim & Cliff will provide refreshments for the meetings
Planning for 2016 meetings will be discussed in a meeting
to be called by Tim
Field Day planning should start NOW.
We need a FD coordinator. Tim will solicit volunteers at the
Nov meeting.
Need a team to coordinate various FD activities.
Tim favors BYOR (Bring Your Own Radio)
Need 3 stations: HF-Phone, HF-CW, All-Band-Digital
Food: Cost to be paid in advance with a meal-ticket chit
sold before field day to support planning/purchases
Secretary’s Report
by
Rich, WF1V
CNHARC STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING - Monday, 10/12/2015
The meeting was held at the Gilford Community Church
CLUB OFFICERS ATTENDING
W3ATB
Tim Carter
KC1AAI
Glen Aldrich
Excused
K1LQN
Tom Persson
WF1V
Rich Kumpf
OTHER MEETING ATTENDEES
N1RKW
Adam Foley
N1DOU
David Weiss
Skype)
N1VAU
Clayton Ferry
Replaced Dave Megin's Term
N1CRZ
Jim Robinton
Replaced Jim Brown's Term
W1DDI
Mark Persson
Coordinator
President
Vice President
VICE PRESIDENT'S REPORT - KC1AAI, Glen A
Jamboree at Racetrack was a success.
Good participation with 6-8 members helping out.
Stations were running by 9AM
Trick or Trot - Service event in Meredith on Halloween Day
- 9AM at Lago.
Christmas Party - Clayton will take over party coordination
this year with the loss of Dave/Peggy.
Friday, December 11th
Hall Reserved: 4-9PM
Tim will send out a HELP request to the membership
Yes, we will have a Yankee Swap!
-
Treasurer
Secretary
SC Member 2016
SC Member 2017 (via
SC Member 2017 -
TREASURER'S REPORT - K1LQN, Tom P
Club Membership: 121 paid members
Received membership fee for: Conrad Ekstrom
(WB1GXM) QTH: Tilton via PayPal. Accepted for Membership
Repeater Support: 39 members to date (compared to 18 last
year), Contributions: 13 totaling: $135.50 (Sept report)
50/50 Raffle at October Meeting: $34.00 ($17.00 for club)
The 2015 Financial Profit/Loss Report Summary Year-toDate (details available on request):
Total Income:
$ 3,786.61
Total Expenses:
$ 3,214.34
Net Income/(Loss):
$ 572.27
The 2015 Financial Balance Sheet Summary on October 12,
2015:
ASSETS
Repeater Fund
$1,557.07
General Operating Fund
1,523.92
PayPal CNHARC Account
25.00
PayPal Internet Account
25.00
Petty Cash
27.00
Checking/Savings TOTAL
$3,157.99
TOTAL Current Assets $3,157.99
LIABILITIES
Opening Balance Equity
$2,072.66
Retained Earnings
513.06
Net Income
572.27
SC Member 2018 Member & Repeater
Frequent Attendees, not in attendance
N1LT
Dick Christopher SC Member 2017
N1RCQ
Cliff Dickinson SC Member 2018
KB1FBQ
Jim Brown
SC Member 2018 Resigned from SC
KA1VJU
Dave Megin
SC Member 2017 Resigned from SC on 8/10/2015
CALL TO ORDER: W3ATB, Tim called the October 2015
meeting of the CNHARC Steering Committee to order at
7:00 PM
PRESIDENT'S REPORT - W3ATB, Tim C
Tim reported on the pre-meeting planning meeting. There
needs to be 5 members.
Program Coordinators: Several members will take 1 month
and plan the meeting agenda.
W3ATB, Tim will take the November Program Agenda
Planning
W1JY Central NH Amateur Radio Club W1CNH
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The Communicator
December, 2015
TOTAL Liabilities & Equity
$3,157.99
Other:
NH Corporation Letter Received for Renewal of Non-Profit
Organization.
Five (5) Year Renewal by Jan-1, 2016
Paid Fee: $27
PUBLICITY & WEBSITE- W3ATB, Tim C
Mark has been helping on the website
OPEN DISCUSSIONS - All Members
Field Trips for Special Events Idea:
Tim would like to share a trip to Newington CT, W1AW, to
work the 'epicenter of ham radio'
A late-spring trip was discussed, with interest expressed by:
Tim, Rich, Clayton.
SECRETARY'S REPORT - WF1V, Rich K
Meeting notes were approved by motion (Clayton), seconded by Tim, and unanimous AYE vote.
Jim R asked about access to the membership list so he could
help the SC understand how many of the local hams in the
FCC database were club members. The goal is to consider a
recruitment/club-awareness campaign to bring in new members. Tim agreed to give Jim read-only access to the membership list on the Google drive.
MEETING PROGRAMS REPORT
November 2015 Program: Coordinator: W3ATB, Tim Program Listing on Club Website
Tamitha Skov, a NASA and NOAA PhD physicist, will
discuss various aspects of the sun’s activities and how it
affects propagation for amateur radio.
Jim Robinton will do a short presentation showing how to
have all your radio manuals with you in the field, but not the
real paper ones.
Rich Kumpf will present a Ham Radio News-Brief
Dayton Hamvention - New Location News – No More Hara
Arena? Speculation and Rumor?
Search and Pounce Practice vs. Sending CQ – What is Best
in Life?
December 2015 Program: Coordinator: N1VAU Clayton
Christmas Party: Games & Prizes & Swaps!
Special Events
Adam would like to see more special events run by the club,
with a certificate granted for QSOs
Tim mentioned that we held the N1H Old-Man event with
great success.
Tim encourages members to float ideas and coordinate the
operations of same
MEETING CLOSE
At 8:20 PM, a motion to close the meeting was made and
seconded. The vote was unanimous, AYE!
The Phonetic Alphabet
A
Alfa
N
November
2016 Programs:
Need to be coordinated. Tim will call a planning meeting
B
Bravo
O
Oscar
C
Charlie
P
Papa
COMMUNICATOR REPORT- KB1GNI, Lee H - No update this month
D
Delta
Q
Quebec
E
Echo
R
Romeo
FIELD COORDINATOR REPORT - Need New Field Coordinator!! Contact W3ATB for information.
F
Foxtrot
S
Sierra
G
Golf
T
Tango
REPEATERS REPORT - W1DDI, Mark P
Link set up at Farm - Need other end to be fully implemented
All repeaters operating as designed
Shared equipment list is maintained by Mark.
Dave has the club's Go-Kit
H
Hotel
U
Uniform
I
India
V
Victor
J
Juliet
W
Whiskey
K
Kilo
X
X-ray
NET CONTROL OPERATIONS - N1RKW, Adam F
Looking for alternate net control operators for times when
Adam is not available
L
Lima
Y
Yankee
M
Mike
Z
Zulu
ARES Net Wednesdays at 8:00 PM on 146.985 MHz
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The Communicator
December, 2015
Ossipee Mountain Electronics, Inc.
PROFESSIONAL 2-WAY COMMUNICATIONS
SALES &SERVICE
RR 1, BOX 396
OSSIPEE MT.ROAD
MOULTONBORO, NH 03254
TELE: (603) 476-5581
FAX: (603) 476-5587
Steering Committee
Meeting
The next steering committee meeting will be
held on Monday, December 14th at the Gilford
Community Church, at 7:00 PM.
Club Officers
The Communicator
is published monthly by the Central New Hampshire
Amateur Radio Club, a non-profit corporation and
charitable trust, affiliated with the American Radio Relay
League.
Membership in the Central New Hampshire Amateur Radio
Club is open to all who are interested in amateur radio.
Payment of annual Club dues as an individual ($15), family
($20) or as a student ($10), entitles the registrant to belong
to the club and to receive The Communicator, monthly or
when published for the remainder of the year. The Club
year starts June 1. Subscription and Membership:
CNHARC, Box 1112, Laconia, NH 03247-1112. Email:
[email protected]
Editors
Lee Hillsgrove, Sr. KB1GNI, Adam Foley N1RKW
President
Tim Carter, W3ATB
603-722-0908
603-581-2411
[email protected]
Vice President
Glenn Aldrich, KC1AAI
603-581-2411
[email protected]
Secretary
Rich Kumpf, WF1V
603-581-2411
[email protected]
Treasurer
Tom Persson, K1LQN
978-774-6351
603-581-2411
[email protected]
Publicity / Public Relations
Officer
Tim Carter, W3ATB
603-722-0908
603-581-2411
[email protected]
Program Director
Cliff Dickinson, N1RCQ
603-279-7763
603-581-2411
[email protected]
Field Coordinator
Training Officer
Dick Christopher, N1LT
603-524-6567
603-581-2411
[email protected]
The deadline for all copy and classified ads for the
Communicator is 16th of every month. Send to:
Lee Hillsgrove, Sr. KB1GNI, 203 Waukeena Lake Road,
Danbury, NH 03230 or email to [email protected]
Club Historian
Dick Christopher, N1LT
603-524-6567
603-581-2411
[email protected]
Technical Coordinator
Open
Officers’ terms are for one year per by-laws
Steering Committee
Change of Address
For a change of address, notify CNHARC at PO Box 1112,
Laconia, NH 03247-1112. Phone: 603-581-2411. Email:
[email protected]
Adam Foley, N1RKW-2016
603-528-0678
Barry Green, W1JFK
Clayton Ferry, N1VAU-2017
603-498-6018
Dick Christopher, N1LT-2017
603-524-6567
Cliff Dickinson, N1RCQ-2018
603-279-7763
Jim Robinton, N1CTZ-2018
603-556-9492
CNHARC Monday Night Net at 8:00 PM on 146.985 MHz
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