DALTON AMATEUR RADIO CLUB NEWSLETTER January 2012

DALTON AMATEUR RADIO CLUB NEWSLETTER
January 2012
A Monthly Publication by and for the Members of the Dalton Amateur Radio Club
IN THIS ISSUE
DATES OF INTEREST
Page 1 - Harold Jones, obituary
January 31, 1962 - Oscar 1 re-entered earth’s atmosphere
January 4 - ARISS-1 Re-entered earth’s atmosphere
January 21 - Ga State ARES meeting (Forsyth, Ga 9:30am)
January 23 - Next DARC Meeting
January 25 - Lunch Bunch (11:30am) Western Sizzlin)
February 25 - DARC Hamfest (Dalton, Ga Fairgrounds)
March 17 - 59th Annual Kennehoochee Hamfest (Marietta, Ga)
May 18- 20 Dayton Hamvention
Page 2 - Harold Jones, rememberances
Page 3 - 10 Meter J-Pole by WA4TIV
Page 4 - 10 Meter J-Pole photos
Page 5 - Christmas Dinner
To find a convention or hamfest near you, click here.
THIS ISSUE OF THE DARC NEWSLETTER IS DEDICATED TO HAROLD JONES, N4BD.
Harold Jones N4BD
Silent Key
December 27, 2011
Mr. Harold Wade Jones, 68, of Rocky Face passed away Tuesday December 27, 2011 at his home. He was preceded in
death by his parents Ray G. and Lucy Jones; and his father-in-law and mother-in-law, the Rev. Thad and Pauline Osborne. Harold was a loving husband and father. He worked for the City of Dalton as a supervisor and was responsible for many of the beautiful parks and fountains throughout the city. He was an avid ham radio operator and was a past president of the Dalton Amateur
Radio Club. Harold is survived by his loving wife of 48 years, Peggy Osborne Jones of Rocky Face; daughters and sons-in-law,
Wadean and Charlie Hinchey of Jacksonville, FL. and Cindy and Randy Chadwick of Rocky Face; brother and sister-in-law, Asa
and Bertice Jones; sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, Levonne and Tatum Green, Sandra and Reginald Inman and Tinzie and
Joe Spann; grandson, Justin Hinchey; nieces, nephews and cousins also survive. Funeral services will be Friday at 2:30 P.M. in
the chapel of Love Funeral Home with the Rev. Ed Pippin officiating. Burial will be in West Hill Cemetery. The family will receive
friends at Love Funeral Home Friday from 12 to 2:30 P.M. The family ask that flowers please be omitted and memorials may be
made to the American Diabetes's Association, 225 Peachtree St. N.E., Suite 550, Atlanta, Ga. 30303. Words of comfort may be
sent to the family at www.lovefuneralhomega.com. Love Funeral Home, 1402 N. Thornton Ave., Dalton (across from Hamilton
Medical Center) is in charge of arrangements.
NOTICE
Meeting Announcements
In order to save printing and mailing expenses, the newsletter is published in PDF format and delivered via email to the address on record with the club secretary. The Newsletter should be
available on the club web site. The newsletter can be mailed. Contact
the editor or the publisher (Larry, K4SST) if you have special needs.
January 23 — Club meeting 6:30 PM at 355 North Elm Street, Dalton, Georgia
January 24 - 11:30am: Lunch Bunch at Western Sizzlin, Dalton Ga
The lunch bunch meets the last Wednesday of each month. Bring a
friend!
John, N4JJK
February 25 - DARC HAMFEST
HAMFEST
HAMFEST
HAROLD JONES
I find myself today thinking about Harold
and would to share some of my memories.
Everyone has
certain people in their
lives who they remember
because they have made
a difference. I call these
persons ―heroes‖ Perhaps
it’s a teacher, co-worker, friend or neighbor. Harold
was one of these persons. I have know Harold almost 30 years.
I remember... when Harold
work for the City of
Dalton. I was not sure
what his job was but I
would see him on the
streets supervising
repairs. He told me
one of this duties was to be sure the City’s storm
water drainage system was in good order. I remember his saying he loved his work. When ask why, he
replied ―Most people have jobs which require them to
start at the bottom and work their way up. It’s just the
opposite with me.‖
I remember ... Harold’s considerable skill operating
a front end loader and
other heavy equipment. I know that he
owned some and did
personal contract work at some point in his life. He
told me that he could move a raw egg with a front
end loader without breaking the egg and without
picking up any dirt underneath the egg. He says he
was not bragging and I had no reason to doubt him.
I remember ... That he built a
beautiful home mostly
by himself with materials located on his
property. He build a
saw mill, cut wood
from his trees and let
them age on site. He did the electrical and plumbing
himself. It took him may years to complete the
house. His XLL, Peggy, must have had the patience
of Job.
I remember ...
The difficulty he had with
code. Harold had a problem hearing certain
tones. He persevered
and earned his Extra
ticket.
I remember .. The 4th week of February
every year and DARC’s Hamfest. Harold leadership,
knowledge of the vendors, ability to make organize,
make decisions and resolve conflicts and will be
missed.
I remember ... Harold demonstrated the
compacting features of
City garbage truck at a
recent DARC hamfest. I
asked him if he would
show me how the compacting feature worked
and allowed me to operate it. I did so and commented to Harold that the
learning curve was quick. Harold replied that the
most difficult part was using hand signals to the
driver to back up the truck.
I remember ...
Calling Harold late at
night with a question
about an electrical issue
at my home. I asked him
if it was necessary to turn
if electricity off to do the
repair. Harold replied ―Most people do.‖.
I remember ...
Harold as net control for
the SSB Association
2011 Club Officers
President.................N4OGF
Jerome Holcomb
Vice President .......... TBE
Sec/Treasurer .........W4RSJ
Randy Jones
Editorial Staff
Publisher .................K4SST
Larry Brunson (K4SSTK4SST
Editor .......................N4JJK
John Heard (N4JJK @ OPTILINK.US)
Directors
David Stanley .......................WI4L
Rial Sloan ............................AI4ZV
Tommy Mahaney.................NS4U
Club Callsign
I remember ... When he was President of the
DARC the articles he wrote titled ―Views from the
Mountain‖.
I remember --- Harold making a concrete
tower base for the DARC .523 repeater antenna.
tower.
W4DRC
Club Website
http://w4drc.webstarts.com/
links.html
Club Resources
W4DRC................145.230- MHz
W4DRC................443.000+ MHz
Repeaters are located on Ft.
Mountain.
PL 141.3 for both repeaters. Tone
may not be active.
OTHER AREA REPEATERS
Thanks for the memories Harold. Gone
but not forgotten.
Check out new features for club web
site: listen for fire, police, nets: Also check out 443
… D Star
Anyone can gain access to the members
only page by signing up on the members page with
an email address and password. They can then
gain access to the members only page which has
codes for use on the repeater and other information only available to DARC members.
Our domains
for the site are easy to
remember:
w4drc.com
w4drc.net
daltonhamfest.com
David Stanley, WI4L
daltonhamfest.net
N4BZJ ....147.135+ MHz*
K4SSP ... 444.850+ MHz*
N4BZJ......442.175+ MHz*
N4BZJ......224.680– MHz*
N4BZJ......224.460+ MHz*
N4BZJ......224.740– MHz*
N4BZJ......444.500+ MHz**
* PL 141.3 Tone may not be active
on all repeaters.
** D-STAR repeater—must have
D-STAR capable radio.
NETS
145.230 Sunday 9:30 PM
147.135 Sunday 9:00 PM (ARES)
444.500 Sunday 9:00 PM
Page 2
10 METER J-POLE ANTENNA
Editor’s Note: The following article is taken from an interview with Gordon Erwin, WA4TIV in November 2011.
Gordon had made a 10 Meter J-Pole from “scrap” material
around his home and was gracious enough to show it to
me. Much of what he describe was over my head but I
nodded as though I understood. Gordon had his ticket
long before I got mine in the mid 80’s. You can tell by the
call sign. I know him as the “antenna man”. He loves to
construct and use homebrew antennas and is will gladly
share is his knowledge. The J-Pole is his latest project and
I’m sure not his last.
Thanks, Gordon
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The family of J-Pole antennas is
a vertical antenna designed for restricted
spaces that will cover an entire band
without radials. The J-Pole is a vertical
dipole set above a quarter wavelength
matching section composed of the same
materials as the antenna. A 50 Ohm feed
point impedance is achieved by juggling
the dipole length and the matching section length.
Many 10 meter operators live in
restricted spaces calling for a vertical
antenna. Sometimes, the roof-top is not
accessible for s simple monopole with
radials. However, the alternatives may
also be unattractive for the situation. A
vertical dipole calls for an elevated feed
point with the feedline carried away at
right angles to avoid RF pickup on the
outside of the line.
Aside from space considerations, the J-pole has another advantage.
The main radiation from the antenna
begins where the dipole portion is above
the two-legged matching section. The
main current is about half-way up the free
and clear dipole section. The effect is the
same as placing a ground-plaine monopole 1/2 wavelength height in terms of
added signal strength.
Gordon’s antenna is constructed from scrap aluminum tubing.
Tuning Up the antenna is a
matter of juggling the matching section
leg links and the overall length of the
antenna. Increasing the leg links while
keeping the overall height to raise both
the resistance and the reactance at the
feed point. Raising the total antenna
height while keeping the matching legs
consistent raises reactance but lowers
the resistance. Hence, by juggling the
leg length and the total height, we can
create an SWR curve that is less than
2:1 across the entire 10 meter band.
Contact Gordon Erwin for
additional information. See page 4 for
photos on Gordon’s antenna.
---------------------------------------The above story was taken from information provided by Gordon Erwin,
WA4TIV and L.B. Cook, W4RNL, from
an article in 10-10 International News
10 METER NET ALERT
Please note that a ―local‖ 10
meter net known as the Laryngitis Net
meets each Thursday on 28.390 at 8:00
pm. The net is informal and most of the
check-ins are from the Whitfield/Murray/
Gordon County area.
Definitions for common terms used in
Ham radio.
"IMOKINCALLBK" -- An expression used in a
The J-Pole pattern is omnidirectional with only a very small offset
created by the double-leg matching sections.
CW QSO, to say: "you send me your QSL card
The major disadvantage with
the 10 meter J-Pole is it’s length (or
height to our Ga Tech graduates).
Gordon’s antenna is about 25 feet, however It does not have much side-to-side
dimension.
antenna system, which means: "Savings-to-
first, turkey, and then I'll send you mine".
S.W.R. -- A term, applied to any part of the
Watt Ratio". Based on the inverse relationship
of dollars in the bank and effective radiated
power.
The above drawing is courtesy of
Gordon Erwin, WA4TIV.
Page 3
GORDON ERWIN, WA4TIV
10 METER J-POLE
Microsoft Office Outlook.lnk
Gordon has found a unique way of
grounding his J-Pole.
What is this and how does it relate to a J-Pole? Ask
Gordon. Hint: It’s high tech.
Page 4
DARC ANNUAL CHRISTMAS DINNER
December 21, 2011
Dalton, GA
The DARC annual Christmas dinner, eye-ball QSO party and informal business meeting was held on December 21 at the Western
Sizzlin restaurant in Dalton. DARC members, spouses, family members and guests attended. The dinner is a popular activity of the club
members. David Freiberg, KK4EGW, won the MFJ antenna analyzer door prize. The following members attended: Heidi Jones KF4JPN,
Jessie Jones KK4BBQ, Bill Henderson KU4DO, Lydia Henderson KG4GQZ, David McDonald KC4YVV, Eugena Cavender KJ4QAZ, Bill
Cavender WB4STQ, David Stanley WI4L and Debbie Stanley, James Coker N4XUM, John Heard N4JJK, Rial Sloan AI4ZV and Jan Sloan,
Bert Coker N4BZJ, Anthony Brown KJ4JJX, Felton Floyd AF4DN, Gena Floyd W4GLF, David Freiberg KK4EGW, John Winters KC4UVD,
Wanda Winters, Margaret McKamey KC4ITX, David McKamey KJ4CGS and Larry Brunson K4SSP.
---------------------------------------------------Editor’s Note: I may have left someone out of the list of attendees or listed a call sign incorrectly. If so, I apologize in advance.
Page 5
DALTON AMATEUR RADIO CLUB,
INC
P.O. Box 211
Dalton, GA 30722-0211
TO: