ROME RADIO CLUB
NEWS LETTER
31 March 2003 W2OFQ Volume 2 Edition 2
Table of Contents
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(page numbers are as they appear in the printed version)
Monthly Program Preview
The April meeting will be held on the 1st Wednesday (April 2, 7pm) at the office of Stiefvater Consultants in the Griffiss Business and Technology Park. See the club web page for directions. The technical presentation will be given by Russell Brown WB2JIL. He has been working on an improved direction indicator for inexpensive 3 wire rotors such as sold at Radio Shack. These rotors can turn fairly large ham antennas, but have a tendency to turn in high winds and lose synchronization. The add-on direction indicator provides a true readout of antenna position without the use of extra wires between the control box and the rotor. At the April meeting, Russ will discuss and demonstrate the analog portion of the design. The digital electronics will be discussed at a later meeting.
73, Russ
If you have a project or topic to present at a future club meeting, please let us know!
Russell Brown, Program Director
Email: wb2jil@arrl.net
Meeting Highlights
The Feb club meeting was held on 5 Feb 2003 at the office of Stiefvater Consultants in the Griffiss Business and Technology Park. Our president, Dave Muscarella (K2YE), conducted the meeting and the minutes were recorded. The meeting included a presentation by Russ Brown on software to design filters.
The March 2003 meeting was held on the 1st Wednesday (Mar 5, 7pm) at Stiefvater Consultants in the Griffiss Business and Technology Park. The technical program was a presentation by Tony Lo Vaglio, WA2GBE. Tony brought us some interesting items from his extensive collection of radio gear.
Club Officers
PRESIDENT
Dave Muscarella K2YE 337-0790 k2ye@twcny.rr.com
VICE PRESIDENT
Tim Saladin KC2HVS 768-1523 kc2hvs@localnet.com
SECRETARY
Randy James K2UJ 865-8871 maj8156@sprynet.com
TREASURER
Dave Geiser W5IXM 737-5154 w5ixm@arrl.net
PROGRAM DIRECTOR *
Russell Brown WB2JIL 865-4390 wb2jil@arrl.net
NEWS LETTER EDITOR *
Michael Little KB2CCD 339-4308 kb2ccd@arrl.net
WEB MASTER *
Russell Brown WB2JIL 865-4390 wb2jil@arrl.net
CLUB EQUIPMENT CUSTODIAN *
Jim Needham W4BNY 337-8521
REPEATER TRUSTEE *
Bill Effland K2GVI 853-5700 k2gvi@borg.com
* Appointed Position
VEC Sessions
The Rome Radio Club VEC team conducts examinations on the first Friday of every month at the Oneida County Cooperative Extension Office located at the Oneida County airport. Sessions start at 1900. A pre-registration 5 days in advance is required. Contact Bill Effland (K2GVI) for information and registration. Any person who qualifies for a handicap waiver or needs special accommodations to be tested should contact Bill to make a special appointment. The test fee is now at $12.00.
The Madison Oneida ARC VEC conducts examinations on the third Friday of each month at the Madison Oneida BOCES complex on Spring Rd in Verona NY. Contact Bill Mayers (KG2DI) for more information.
Local Nets
All Frequencies are in MHz and Times are Local (Eastern)
NTS Nets:
OCTEN-E 145.450- 1830 Daily
OCTEN-L 145.170- 2130 Daily
CNYTN 147.300+ 2115 F-W
147.000- PL 71.9 2115 Th
NYPHONE 7.237 LSB 1300 Daily
NYPON 3.925 LSB 1700 Daily
Swap Nets:
Swap Net 147.000- PL 71.9
1900 W
Emergency Nets:
Central District Emergency Net
147.000- PL 71.9
1900 2nd Tu
OMEN (ARES)
145.170- 1915 1st Tu
SkyWarn 145.170- as needed
NYS RACES 3.9935 0900 Su
NYS ARES 3.925 as needed
Information Nets:
SWL Net 147.000- PL 71.9
2030 F
145.170- simulcast
MOARC 145.170- 2000 W
Black River Valley Service Net
146.655- 2100 Daily
NEXT MEETING April 2nd 2003 AT Stiefvater Consultants
IN ROME, SEE THE CLUB WEB PAGE FOR DIRECTIONShttp://pages.prodogy.net/romeradioclub/
Section News
Information in this section comes from our section manger’s (Scott Bauer W2LC) monthly newsletter published on the ARRL’s web page (www.arrl.org). News last updated: Sun, March 16, 2003 at 1:46 AM ET
Western New York Section News
The RDXA cave men report that congratulations are in order to Chris K2CS of the Rochester DX Association, on becoming the Atlantic Division representative to the ARRL DX advisory Committee.
The Skyline Amateur Radio Club provided communications for the Winterguard Band Competition at the Cortland High School, with 10 guard teams entered from as far away as Sherburne, Earlville and the Maine-Endwell schools. John
KC2FLO set up the emergency two meter net control station. Bob K3CKO, Gerald KC2EXX, Ray KC2GIL, Ron K2UZF, Barb KB2TIK, Mark KB2ODV, Michelle KB2ODU,
Andy KB2LUV, Red KC2HKB and Paul KC2DWW participated. Thank you all for being there. Info from the Skyline Exchange.
Ed K2MP and the operators at GB2KZ, Ted G3GMZ, Peter G4JNU and Vic G3SDQ completed a Narrow Band Television (NBTV) transmission from England to the
Antique Wireless Association museum in Bloomfield NY. This NBTV transmission was to commemorate the 1928 mechanical TV transmission of John Baird to
W2CVJ in Hartsdale NY, the first transatlantic television transmission in history. The NBTV transmission was made with a crystal controlled wideband AM transmitter on 21.310 MHz, in the midst of the usual 15 meter activity. The QRM paused long enough for excellent reception of the NBTV identification of GB2KZ. Visit the AWA web page. Thanks to the Rochester Amateur Radio Association RARA Rag for this information.
Contesting
ARRL DX CW: Pretty good conditions in the ARRL DX CW Contest. Yours truly W2LC, managed to work 2134 QSOs in about 34 hours of operating. I've
contested for 34 years and still enjoy getting on the air ! However it is much more difficult to operate these 48 hours non-stop contests. So now I get a few hours sleep each night, and I'm not too much of a zombie when the contest is over !
I still like the CW contests best! You can work many stations that you
simply would not be able to hear on SSB. Many QRP stations come right
through, maybe not loud, but very readable on CW. Worked a few stations with 1 and 2 watts and many station running 5 watts, in both Europe and Asia ! One guy was mobile too.
Have you operated in a contest lately. How about your club ? Let me know what activities your club is involved in !
ARRL Atlantic Division Convention, May 30, 31 & June 1
The Rochester Hamfest is coming up soon !
Please plan on attending the following forums:
12:00-1:00PM in Room A: Bernie Fuller N3EFN, ARRL Atlantic Division Director and Bill Edgar N3LLR, Vice-Director will present the latest on happenings in
Amateur Radio and the ARRL.
1:00PN-1:30PM in the Henrietta Room: Bruce KA2GJV, the WNY Section Traffic Manager (STM) will talk about the National Traffic System, immediately followed by myself Scott W2LC WNY Section Manager (SM), will present the
latest concerning the WNY Field Organization and an outline of the Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course. Any questions ? This is the time to
ask ! See you there !
2:00-4:00PM in the Henrietta Room: Bill Edgar N3LLR will host the ARRL
Atlantic Division Affiliated Club Conference, all are welcome !
The Second Region Traffic Handlers Information Net (SRTHIN) will be held every Monday immediately following the New York Public Operations Net (NYPON) which is held at 5:00PM daily. That means that the information net will begin around 5:20PM each Monday night starting January 6, 2003 and every Monday thereafter. The frequency is 3925KHz. Thanks to Bill W2MTA for the information and for providing a net for newcomers and us old timers alike to learn something new about traffic handling. I hope to see you there !
Club Activities
>From the RARA Rag: The Rochester Amateur Radio Association (RARA), announces the Rochester Amateur Radio Association Memorial Scholarship, in memory of Leland W2WPF, Bill W2OMV and Bill K4VOS. Available to any licensed Amateur Radio operator who is or will be pursuing any degree of Associate level or higher in any accredited college or university. The applicant must be a member of RARA and a resident of New York State. Applications are due no
later than April 15, 2003. Congratulations to the 2002 winner Kristy KC2GKE.
Scott KB2KOL of the South Towns Amateur Radio Society (STARS) reports that the Gowanda Central School ARC is on the air with an FT-847, MFJ antenna tuner and R-6000 vertical antenna. There are about 12 interested students
who are studying for their Morse code and written tests. Their station was courtesy of the ARRL's project to bring Amateur Radio and radio related curriculum to schools across the USA.
WNY Hamfests 2003
I will post new information as it becomes available. Any hamfest sponsors reading this? Please send me your information ASAP. That means today !
April 8, 2003
RAWNY Flea Market, by the Radio Association of Western New York, at the Church of the Nativity, corner of Thorncliff and Colvin Blvd in Tonawanda NY. Call Kevin WA2FKV 716-693-3917 for table reservations. $5 for a table and $1 donation get you in, and enters you for door prizes. Info courtesy of the RAWNY QSO.
12 April 2003;
Drumlins Hamfest, Drumlins Amateur Radio Club, at Newark NY.
3 May 2003;
Owego Hamfest, Binghamton Amateur Radio Association, at the Tioga County Marvin Park Fairgrounds.
30, 31 May, 1 June 2003;
Rochester Hamfest, ARRL Atlantic Division Convention, at Monroe County Fairgrounds, Route 15A and Calkins Rd.
14 June 2003;
Cortland Hamfest at the Cortland County Fairgrounds.
19 July 2003;
Batavia Hamfest, Genesee Radio Amateurs at the Alexander Fireman's Grounds in Alexander NY.
26 July 2003;
Utica Hamfest at Frankfort, Utica Amateur Radio Club.
2 August 2003
TCARC (Ithaca) HAMFEST. 7AM-2PM, at the Tompkins County Airport, Rte 13 in Ithaca, NY. Flea market, vendors, VE tests, seminars, the usual pile o' fun
with other hams and Boy Scouts making breakfast.
3 August 2003;
Greater Buffalo Summerfest, WNY Section Convention, Lancaster Amateur Radio Club, contact: Luke Calianno N2GDU, 1105 Ransom Rd., Lancaster NY 14086,
147.255, PL107.2.
TBD September 2003;
RAGS Hamfest, Pompey Hills Fire Dept.
27 September 2003;
Elmira Hamfest, Amateur Radio Association of the Southern Tier at the Chemung County Fair Grounds.
WNY Section News Submissions
This web page will allow for more in depth Section News articles and I can also include pictures. If you have an event you wish to share, please write up a short article and include pictures when you can, and email to me at W2LC@arrl.org.
Please understand that I can't promise that I will use all of the material, and I will edit the material as I deem necessary. I will do my best to put some interesting material on this web page and your help will be greatly appreciated !
Inappropriate material or items that cannot be verified when required will not be used, such as Silent Key listings. I cannot put silent key
information on the web page without having a copy of the obituary from the newspaper.
Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act Now in Both House and Senate
(Reprint from ARRL Web Site Mar 7, 2003)
The Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act of 2003 now has been introduced in both chambers of Congress. Idaho Sen Michael Crapo introduced the Senate version of the bill, S 537, on March 6. Florida Rep Michael Bilirakis put the latest House version of the bill, HR 713, into the legislative hopper on February 12. The measures, an ARRL initiative, have been introduced twice before in Congress. ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, believes this third time could be the proverbial charm.
Support Growing for Favorable 40-Meter Realignment Plans
(Reprinted from ARRL Web Site Mar 6, 2003)
With World Radio communication Conference 2003 (WRC-03) set to start in just about three months in Geneva, support is growing for two favorable proposals to create a 300-kHz worldwide 40-meter allocation. ARRL and the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) seek a return to the 300-kHz allocation that existed worldwide prior to World War II but that now exists only in the Americas. Delegates to WRC-03 will attempt to address--and possibly eliminate--the overlap on 40 meters between amateurs in the Americas (Region 2) and broadcasters elsewhere (Regions 1 and 3).
Ham crossword puzzle debuts on ARRL Web site
(Reprinted from ARRL Web Site Mar 3, 2003)
That puzzle man of pages past, Ward Silver, N0AX, has something new for the digital age. The Amateur Radio Crossword Puzzler debuted February 28 with a puzzle titled "Waiting for Baudot," emphasizing the digital amateur modes. The Web puzzles--free for the printing--can be found on the ARRL web site. Once every two weeks, Silver will post puzzles to confound the cranium with titles such as "Above the MUF" and "The Printed Page." Anything and everything in the wide world of Amateur Radio is fair game.
Public Service
Our club has a long history of being a special service club. In the past, we have supported the Honor America Days Parade, the Drums Along the Mohawk, the race in Westmoreland, and the Pumpkin Patrol (just to name a few).
ARES is supporting a walk for MS on April 6th.
ARES will be supporting the Honor America Days Parade in July (more to follow.
EC Corner
If you are not an ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) member, please consider joining. ARES is our front line in any communication emergency. For more information, or to get an application to join, contact our Oneida-Madison Counties Emergency Coordinator (EC), Frank Reynolds (N2FHR), or his Assistant EC, Michael Little (KB2CCD).
The OMEN net night has changed. The net will be held the 1st Tuesday of the month at 7:15 P.M. on the 145.17 repeater. Please check in as things will be happening and you will be needed.
The Oneida Madison ARES membership database stands at 78 members and 47 e-mail addresses. Maintenance of this database continues. We will continue emailing and calling the membership list.
On 26 March the Utica Club ran a simplex test on 146.580. There were a total of 17 check-ins. It was well demonstrated that a HT with a rubber-ducky antenna was fairly useless. Those operating with that equipment were only heard by a few stations while those operating with a gain antenna were heard by all, even at low power settings.
(ED - Don’t forget to check into both the Oneida/Madison Emergency Net (OMEN) and the Central District Emergency Net (CDEN). These are good places to practice your emergency skills and to gain new ones that may help save lives in the future.)
New York Reintroduces Ham Radio Antenna Bills
(Reprinted from ARRL Web Site Feb 21, 2003)
For the third year in a row, Amateur Radio antenna legislation has again been introduced in the New York Legislature. ARRL Hudson Division Director Frank Fallon, N2FF, says the text for the bills--one in the General Assembly and the other in the Senate--is identical to previous measures. Last year's bill passed in the State Senate but died in the Assembly's Rules Committee.
A Joint Message from the ARRL Directors of the Atlantic Division and the Hudson Division Bernie Fuller, N3EFN and Frank Fallon, N2FF
Please Write a Letter(s) and Help Move A 2662 in the New York State Assembly
While not all of us may be in a position to serve in MARS, ARES or RACES we can all help Amateur Radio by contacting our state and federal representatives about important Amateur Radio legislation.
While the Senate version of our bill is again close to passage the Assembly version of the bill, A 2662l, has still not moved out of the Assembly Local Government Committee. To assure that it gets moving we met with Assemblyman
Sweeney of Lindenhurst last Friday in his district office. At the meeting
were Phil Lewis, N2MUN, Hudson Division AD; George Tranos N2GA, the NLI SM, Diane Ortiz Tranos, K2DO, NLI PIO, and Walter Wenzel, KA2RGI, President of the Great South Bay ARC and a former NLI SM. All are constituents in the
assemblyman's district. We thank them for taking the time out of their busy lives to attend the meeting. Also in attendance was Hudson Division Director, Frank Fallon, N2FF. Assemblyman Sweeney was very receptive and said he wanted to report the bill out of his committee adding that he felt it would be a good idea to contact the other members of the committee to
assure that action.
Please make contact with one (1) or more of the committee members listed below even if your assembly representative is not on the list. Pick members who live near you and let them know how important the bill is to you. Write, fax, telephone or email in that order. Letters are the most effective. See page 46 of the April 2003 QST "Communicating with Congress" article about contacting your representative. While written for contact
with your federal representatives nearly all of the advice also applies to state representatives. Members of the Local Government Committee need to know of our interest in the bill. If you are not in the district, you may want to get friends or relatives who do live there to write also.
Odds & Ends
From Our Neighbors
This section is available to our neighboring clubs and any other organization that would like to pass on information that would be of general interest to our club’s membership.
- MORAC meets on the last Tuesday
each month at 7:30 PM at the Oneida/Madison BOCES on Spring Rd in Verona, NY. All are welcome. Listen to their club repeater the 145.17 for periodic announcements. Their web site is: http://members.bugetsurf.net/scehonski@bsn1.net/moarc.htm
- Fort Herkimer Amateur Radio Association meetings are the 2nd Wednesday of the month at the Herkimer County BOCESS starting at 7 PM.
- Utica ARC club meetings (ED - looking for info to publish)
- Boonville Club meetings (ED -looking for info to publish)
- RAGS club meets on the second Thursday of each month (except July and August) at 7:30 PM at the Onondaga Hill Masonic Club Building. Their web site is www.pagesz.net/~rags
Club Calendar
April 2 - Club meeting
May 7 - Club meeting
June 4 - Club meeting
June 28/29 - Field Day
July 2 - Club meeting
August 6 - Club meeting
August 9 - RRC Hamfest
From the Editor
Please continue to give me feedback on the newsletter. Last month’s edition had a number of typos and errors. Most of the errors were corrected on the copy that was posted on the club web page.
As you should have noticed by now, we changed our meeting location in Jan. I hope you all give Kenny Stiefvater a big thank you. He is not a Ham (yet – we are working on him), but is a long time friend of Russ (WB2JIL), Tony (WA2GBE), and myself. He heard of our need and volunteered his facility for our meetings.
Sorry I did not get a Feb Newsletter out.
73, Mike KB2CCD
WEB Page Links
http://
home.twcny.rr.com/datahold/WNY
www.arrl.org
www.tigertronics.com
www.ldgelectronics.com/qstldglink.htm
www.artscipub.com/repeaters
www.ac6v.com
www.findu.com
http://pages.prodigy.net/romeradioclub
Local Repeaters
|
FREQ |
PL |
NOTES |
CALL |
LOCATION |
|
|
53.050 |
71.9 |
Auburn, NY |
|||
|
145.110 |
- |
167.9 |
5P |
N2ZWO |
Jordanville, NY |
|
145.170 |
- |
1,5P |
KA2NIL |
Stockbridge NY |
|
|
145.230 |
- |
W2SEU |
Stamford NY |
||
|
145.310 |
- |
151.4 |
|||
|
145.390 |
- |
AE2K |
Syracuse, NY |
||
|
145.430 |
- |
141.3 |
|||
|
145.450 |
- |
5S |
W2JIT |
Deerfield NY |
|
|
146.610 |
- |
123.0 |
WA2ZWM |
Cobleskill, NY |
|
|
146.625 |
- |
103.5 |
|||
|
146.655 |
- |
WA2OFK |
Boonville NY |
||
|
146.670 |
- |
151.5 |
AK2K |
Sempronis NY |
|
|
146.685 |
- |
WA2EYH |
Bainbridge, NY |
||
|
146.715 |
- |
||||
|
146.760 |
- |
W2JIT |
Deerfield NY |
||
|
146.850 |
- |
167.9 |
W2SEU |
Oneonta NY |
|
|
146.880 |
- |
W2OFQ |
Lee NY |
||
|
146.910 |
- |
WA2KFW |
Pompey NY |
||
|
146.940 |
- |
1 |
K2GVI |
Westmoreland NY |
|
|
146.960 |
- |
||||
|
147.000 |
- |
71.9 |
W2QYT |
Auburn NY |
|
|
147.045 |
+ |
167.9 |
5S |
N2ZWO-2 |
Salisbury, NY |
|
147.060 |
+ |
N2CWA |
Syracuse, NY |
||
|
147.045 |
+ |
151.4 |
K2UCO |
Oneida, NY |
|
|
147.090 |
+ |
W2JIT |
Mohawk, NY |
||
|
147.120 |
+ |
WB2HVE |
Rome, NY |
||
|
147.150 |
+ |
103.5 |
KW2M |
Fulton, NY |
|
|
147.195 |
+ |
WB2FDF |
Elbridge, NY |
||
|
147.210 |
+ |
KB2TLD |
Syracuse NY |
||
|
147.240 |
+ |
1, 2 |
K2BRH |
Rome NY |
|
|
147.255 |
+ |
151.4 |
Watertown, NY |
||
|
147.270 |
+ |
Auburn, NY |
|||
|
147.285 |
+ |
136.5 |
1 |
WA2ZXS |
Rome NY |
|
147.300 |
+ |
N2ACQ |
Syracuse NY |
||
|
147.375 |
+ |
151.4 |
Watertown, NY |
||
|
224.260 |
- |
KA2NIL |
Stockbridge NY |
||
|
442.100 |
+ |
KA2UWD |
Utica, NY |
||
|
442.300 |
Syracuse, NY |
||||
|
443.200 |
3 |
Syracuse, NY |
|||
|
443.500 |
4 |
Syracuse, NY |
|||
|
443.650 |
- |
KA2NIL |
Stockbridge NY |
||
|
444.100 |
110.9 |
WA2U |
Clay, NY |
||
|
444.300 |
103.5 |
Liverpool, NY |
|||
|
444.400 |
+ |
N2FBB |
Ilion, NY |
||
|
444.650 |
Auburn, NY |
||||
|
444.850 |
+ |
W2JIT |
Utica, NY |
||
|
444.900 |
+ |
K2GVI |
Westmoreland, NY |
Notes: 1 - Auto-Patch; 2 - off the air; 3 - linked to 10m; 4 - linked to 6m; 5 - ARES/RACES repeater (P - primary, S - secondary)
Listing compiled from multiple sources; including KC2HSU, KB4CMF, nf2g.com, KB2CCD - corrections and additions should be directed to the editor
ROME RADIO CLUB
APPLICATION/RENEWAL MEMBERSHIP FORM
Addl. Mbr. Name:_________________________________Callsign:____________
Address:_______________________________________________________________
City:________________________________State:________Zip Code:__________
Phone: (____)_____-__________ Amateur Class:________ Addl Mbr:________
Month/Day of Birth: _____/_____, Addl. Member: _____/_____
E-mail Address(s):______________________________________________________
Are you a member of:
American Radio Relay League (ARRL): Yes____ N0____
Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES): Yes____ N0____
Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES): Yes____ N0____
Another Amateur Radio Club(s) Yes____ N0____
If Yes, Please List______________________________________________________
Renewal [ ] New Member [ ] Life Member [ ] Application Date:__________
I, the undersigned, hereby agree to abide by the Constitution and By-laws, as well as all other rules of the Rome Radio Club, Inc.
Signature(s):________________________________________________________________
Interest and Capabilities Survey:
| HF (160m-10m): |
CW [ ] |
SSB [ ] |
FM [ ] |
Digital [ ] |
|
VHF (6m - 1.25m): |
CW [ ] |
SSB [ ] |
FM [ ] |
Digital [ ] |
|
UHF (70cm and above): |
CW [ ] |
SSB [ ] |
FM [ ] |
Digital [ ] |
| [ ] Traffic |
[ ] Packet |
[ ] Satellites |
[ ] RTTY |
|
[ ] EME |
[ ] Ragchews |
[ ] APRS |
[ ] Antennas |
|
[ ] QRP |
[ ] CW |
[ ] Phone |
[ ] Experimenting |
|
[ ] Field Day |
[ ] Contesting |
[ ] DX |
[ ] Public Service |
|
[ ] SSTV |
[ ] ATV |
[ ] Other_______ |
__________________ |
| Print and mail to: |
Dave Geiser W5IXM 3790 Snowden Hill Rd. New Hartford, NY 13413-5137 |
Dues are $10/year, additional family members are $5/year.
Make Checks Payable to: Rome Radio Club, Inc.