THE AIRWAVES May 2013

SIERRA AMATEUR RADIO CLUB

An ARRL Special Service Club

RACES ARES

P O Box 1442 Ridgecrest California 93556-1442

BOARD President Hal Hazel N6HAL 371-3208 n6hal.ae@gmail.comFirst VP Paula Herr N6VGW 608-3176 n6vgw1@gmail.com

OF Second VP Dave Aubin KJ6VRV aubindav@verizon.netSecretary Bill Burns WA6QYR 375-8566 bburns@mediacombb.net

OFFICERS Treasurer Julie Stephens KI6YRA 446-3095 KI6YRA@webstephens.com

SARC OWNED AND MAINTAINED REPEATERSRandsburg WA6YBN 145.34 MHz (-), PL 100.0 Hz, Wide Area, Emergency PowerRidgecrest WA6YBN 146.64 MHz (-), Translator, No Squelch Tail, Emergency PowerRidgecrest WA6YBN 147.00 MHz (+), PL 107.2 Hz, Local, Emergency Power

SARC CommitteesTechnical Assistance: Mike, WA6ARA 375-5324 Public Relations: Paula, N6VGW 608-3176Program: Dave, KJ6VRV Airwaves Editor: Mike, WA6ARA 375-5324RF Interference: Bill, WA6QYR 375-8566 Emergency: Hal, N6HAL 371-3208

THE AIRWAVES CALENDAREvery IWV Emergency Net 730pm

WA6YBN Translator-146.64MHzMonday Visitors Welcomed!

Night 75 meter AM rag Chew Net 8 pm 3905 KCs AM

13 May 7:00pm SARC Officers Meeting

USO Building

13 May 7:30pm SARC General Meeting

USO Building

“What to do when the cell phones are down”

18 May 9am SARC T – Hunt – details inside

22, 23 June Field Day

Every Even Month, Second Saturday

8 June Volunteer License Exam SessionLocation: Guns 4 Us, basement classroom417 East Ridgecrest Blvd, Ridgecrest CANo handicapped access Pre-reg by 03 June. Limited to 9 applicants. All must register at 9 AMContact Elvy Hopkins NØLV 760-384-3589E-mail <lvrh7589@iwvisp.com>

President's ShackHello everyone. Don't know about you, but I have been busy these last few weeks. Between antenna parties, club meetings, off-road trips, other meetings, VE exams and the ever popular, SARC/BARC in the Park, it seems my Thunderbird calendar is reminding me constantly. Speaking of VE exams, at the regular VE exam on 4/13, 3 hams passed their upgrade tests. Leilani/KA8WRL from California City upgraded to General. Guy/KJ6UEO from Tehachapi upgraded to Extra and our own Eric/KJ6NYS upgraded to Extra. No one took the Technician test. We held a massive VE exam the evening of 4/25 for the Technician and Extra Class students. I am very happy to announce that we now have 9 new Technicians, 2 Generals and 7 Amateur Extra class Hams in the area. Would you believe we had 2

Hams come down from Carson City, NV?

Field Day is just around the corner. Be sure to read the Field Day article found elsewhere in this issue. We all had a GREAT time last year and we'll be holding Field Day in the same location, Horseshoe Meadow. While we are up at Horseshoe, BARC will be conducting their Field Day down in the valley at the start/end of Horseshoe Meadow road. Be sure to stop by and say Hi to them. (Maybe even interrupt their pileup HI HI).

While out off-roading around Hunter Mountain and Death Valley a few weeks ago, I came across the past BARC President, Adrian/N6AZ and his wife Gigi/KW6Y at the Hunter Mountain/Saline Valley road junction. They were both catching their breath after climbing out of the Saline Valley with their bicycles, bicycle trailers and dog. BTW, the day was pretty warm also. They appear to be really enjoying themselves on their trek across the U.S.

And finally, another SARC and BARC in the PARC is history. About a dozen of us from SARC and the California City ARC drove up scenic highway 395 on Saturday to meet with our Amateur Radio friends from up north. Excellent food consisting of donuts, pumpkin crunch, watermelon, chocko-chip cookies and I think even some healthy food dishes may have been available. As they say, "A good time was had by all."

73 de

Hal/N6HAL

Treasure's ReportBeg Balance $5,927Income $15Expense (120)End Bal $5,822

Expense is for USO rental through June

Julie Stephens

SARC TreasurerKI6YRA

Minutes from SARC April 08, 2013 meetingThe Board meeting was a discussion of the program for the May meeting.

President Hal, N6HAL had a minute of silence for Jim, K6PQ who passed away last month.Sandy, Dave and Jim brought snacks. Thank you. Our visitors were Dennis, W6DQ, Phyllis (no call yet) and Chris, KC6UTB.

The estate of Bob, WB6KWE is donating his ham equipment to the club. More on the equipment available at next month’s meeting. The service at the Ridgecrest Egg Hunt should have included Joe, KE6SMH in the list of participants. Several people helped out at the SARC booth at the CERT Block Party including Harry, K6HLS and Hal, N6HAL. SARC and BARC lunch and swap meet in the Lone Pine Park will be on 4 May at 11 am. The SARC Field Day (22 and 23 June) is still looking for an organizer. The Tech class of 12 people has one more meeting and then will have a VE test session. The Extra Class has 2 more meetings with its 14 people before its VE test session.

Ryan, KJ6HBY had the fox transmitter to show along with a 2 two modulator built in Manhattan style on a pc board.

Steve, N6MVX is still trying to get a city conditional use permit for having a tower higher than 35 feet. The city is trying to price the permit at $1200. Steve was looking for members to come support him at a planning department or city council meeting.

Hal, N6HAL had a green vest for communications workers at a service event. The one he had to show was the ARRL store version with plenty of pockets for things and a HT. It cost $25 plus shipping. A motion was made and seconded to purchase 10 of them for SARC use at the communications events we serve. The club voted to purchase 10 vests.

Our program was John, KI6MQN speaking on “Cheap and easy Software Defined Radios”. He got a lot of his information from a January 2013 QST article by the same name on page 30 of the magazine. The dongle John had consisted for an analog two channel front end followed by a dual channel digital signal processor along with software driving a computer with display and speaker. John’s unit used Zadig and SDR# software. The unit covered 50 to 1700 MHz at a cost of $15 to $35off EBay or Amazon. John demonstrated the dongle for us by receiving a local FM station. The spectrum display and waterfall display were interesting to watch. John also had an up-converter kit the allowed the dongle to receive 100 KHz to 50 MHz.

The attendance prize was a $25 Home Depot card which the winner turned back into SARC. Thank you. The 50/50 drawing for $15 went to Jim KI6PTA.

Submitted by Bill WA6QYR SARC Secretary

SARC May MeetingMAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY Your cellphone has no coverage. Do you know how to make an

emergency call via Amateur Radio? Be sure to attend the May club meeting to find out.

Tower Permit CostsThe city of Ridgecrest allows for antenna towers up to 35 feet. If the amateur radio operator wants to go to a higher height then they are required to obtain a conditional use permit and follow along that process. As part of this the city charges a fee of $1200 for the processing of the conditional use permit, and is not refundable if turned down. There will be a meeting before the City Planning Commission on 28 May, 6pm at the city hall to discuss the cost and possible waiver of the conditional use permit. Please make it a point to attend. Contact Steve Rainey, N6MVX, for more information.

SARC T- HuntThe next T-Hunt will be held on 18 May. This promises to be an interesting hunt as Mike, WA6ARA, plans on being the Fox. Should prove a most interesting time. At press time he was muttering something like “revenge will be mine!”. The time will start at the normal 0900 at Crest Donut. Hope to see you all there!

SARC and BARC in the Park

ARES / RACESEastern Kern County ARES/RACES members spent another busy month providing Public Support communications. Some members helped out with the annual Easter Egg Hunt on March 30th. This was the first time that SARC and ARES/RACES have helped with this event. About 3 hours into the event, KI6PTA using Tactical Callsign of "Rock Wall One" called NCS requesting medical aid for a child who had hurt himself and was having difficulty breathing. NCS was stationed just feet away from the paramedics and was able to relay the information immediately. This probably saved over 5 minutes over using 911, considering the time it would take to pass the information to 911 and to get the paramedics to respond from their normal staging area.

Other members participated in the annual CERT Emergency Awareness block party on April 6th. Members passed out ARRL handouts, took a couple of sign-ups for the next Technician class, and even talked with some Hams who had recently arrived in the valley.

I attended the California City Amateur Radio Group club meeting on 4/16 as their guest speaker. Among other things, I discussed the history of the Eastern Kern County ARES/RACES organization, the difference between each group and of course, how to join.

While pursuing the ARRL's Public Service Handbook recently (http://www.arrl.org/shop/Amateur-Radio-Public-Service-Handbook/), I came across a chapter that talked about After Action Reports (AAR) (page 37). This would be an excellent tool for us to use after the many public service events we help out with. An AAR contains information explaining the event, participants, goals, what worked and what didn't. The AAR can be used by the Ham providing support for the first time or as a reminder to those who worked the event in the past. For instance, did you know that some horses get very skittish when going between two vehicles? Some of us learned that little fact last year at one of the horse endurance rides. We had one vehicle parked on one side of a dirt road and another vehicle parked on the other side. Although there was more than ten feet between the two vehicles, some horses didn't like it. During the Easter Egg Hunt, Amateurs wearing orange or green vests were approached by the public wanting to know what time the next event would take place or where should they go for "Pre-registration?" Although our jobs were to provide emergency and safety related communications, those of us who had printed schedules were able to answer those questions. This is all very useful information to have available to future coordinators and Ham participants. It also helps to wear an orange or green vest. It helps identify you as a member of the event rather than just another spectator.

Our ARES/RACES group is becoming more noticed within the Eastern Kern County by potential Served Agencies. Our participation providing communications support to the various events happening around town are having a positive effect. Our radio's have better audio quality and have much better range. Our skills and abilities in passing tactical traffic allow us to get the job done quickly and efficiently. People are noticing this.

We are always looking for more members. You can obtain more information at http://www.qsl.net/wa6ybn/AreaCommunicationGroups.html or send an email to me.

73 de Hal/N6HAL n6hal@arrl.net

CERT Block Party

Check out the video of the CERT block party at http://youtu.be/NiXpx8RqyHs

New Hams!We finished up both the Technician and the Extra classes with a combined test night. We had great success! Below are our new hams, if you hear them on the air, please say hello!. If they are a little shakey or unsure on the operating process, just remember we were all there once.Our new hams are:

Diane Leveille Technician KK6ECNMatt Jackson Technician KK6ECOMichael Hewitt Technician KK6ECPCharles Casperson Technician KK6ECIPhyllis Stewart Technician KK6ECL David Dean Technician KK6ECJ Randall Webber Technician KK6ECK Robert Pyke Technician KK6ECM Ike Fujiwara General KK6ECQ (Ike went from nothing to General)Jason Wood Technician KK6EEM

Jackie Redditt, KJ6OIE, upgraded to General

The following upgraded to Extra:

Keith Weisz W3ISZStanley Chassagne KJ6TJYSam Ghaleb KG6EMTRobert Redditt KJ6OIDDave Aubin KJ6VRVSandyAubin KJ6VRWPaula Gilbeault N6OQQ Eric Wilson KI6NYS (Eric was in the class but upgraded a couple weeks early)

Public Service EarphoneCan you hear me now? Providing communications support for the various activities going on in and around the IWV, I came to the realization a few years ago that just having a Speaker/Mic clipped up near my shoulder was not sufficient. When working at Base Camp for a walk-a-thon or horseride, even at full volume, my Speaker/Mic needed some help.

An earpiece seemed to be the answer. I remembered some of the earpieces I'd used in the past and I didn't want one of them. You know the kind. The earpiece would always fall out, the straight 30" cord would always get caught in your clothing, tugging and jerking the earpiece out of your ear. You know what I'm talking about.

I always thought those newscaster-type earpieces were cool looking and they seemed to be functional. So I started doing some internet surfing and I came across the OTTO earpiece. This

seemed to be the ticket. I quickly ordered it and put it to use.

As you can see in the picture, it has a short coiled cord that attaches to the interface/clothing clip and an ear piece on the other end. By clipping this cord onto the back of your vest or shirt, you can turn your head at least 90 degrees in either direction without feeling any tug on your ear. This particular model came with a mono 3.5mm plug on the end of the wire. This worked fine with my older handhelds. However, my new handheld wants a 3.5mm stereo plug. Easily done. I found one of the many unused audio cables laying around the shack, cut it for about 6" and wired up a female mono plug.

Although my OTTO model is still working fine, I don't think I'd recommend it anymore mainly due to the cost. At the time, it was

the only coiled cord earpiece I could find. Fortunately, there are other sources available today. Go to Amazon.com and search for "Maximal Power RHF." The first hit should be one you want, model RHF 617-1N, listen-only earpiece. If you're an Amazon Prime member, you can get it in 2 - 3 days with free shipping.

A similar model is made by Pryme. Check out HRO at: http://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-010460.

Hope you "hear" me at the next event.

73 de Hal / N6HAL

ARRL Field Day 2013It’s starting to warm up and that means that Field Day can’t be too far away. This year’s ARRL Field Day will take place on 22 – 23 June. The Sierra Amateur Radio Club will be conducting its Field Day up at Horseshoe Meadow again this year. If you haven’t been there before, it is located in the Eastern Sierras about an 1 hour, 45 minutes from Ridgecrest.

Just in case you don’t know about Field Day, the goal of Field Day is to make as many contacts as possible by not using commercial power and permanently installed stations and antennas. The idea is to operate as if under emergency conditions. There are categories for operating using batteries only (5 watts output maximum), commercial power and non-commercial power. You can operate as an individual, club or non-club group. You can operate out in the field, in a parking lot, park, or even in your home station. Another goal of Field Day is to make the public aware of how Amateur Radio can help out during times of emergency.

Field Day is an excellent time for our new Technician Class hams to get on the High Frequency bands and possibly talk “around the world.” We’ll also have some hard core contesters available to help you learn how to make contacts during contests and pile-ups.

We will be operating as a Class 7A station (club). We’ll have SSB transmitters on the air for 10, 15, 20 and 40, two CW transmitters and hopefully one Digital (PSK/RTTY) transmitter. All transmitters/receivers will be powered by batteries, solar panels, or both. No generators or commercial power will be used. There are many Antenna Support Structures (a.k.a. trees) located throughout the day use area of Horseshoe Meadows so wire dipole antennas can be easily strung up for each station. I’m sure Ron/KE6KIK will have his fish pole antenna launcher available. Ron did an outstanding job last year getting wire antennas up in the upper reaches of the Pine trees.

Although Field Day starts at 11:00 A.M. Saturday and ends at 2:00 P.M. on Sunday, we will be participating from 11:00 A.M. until sometime around 5:00 P.M. Saturday. While you’re welcomed to come to the Field Day site whenever you want, many of us will be departing Ridgecrest around 8:00 A.M. and caravanning up to the site. This will give us about an hour to set up equipment.

And, if operating is not enough, there will be burgers and dogs cooked by Dave/AI6S, veggie baked beans, maybe some homemade ice cream and solar cooked cookies, and the ever-necessary, energy providing, Red Vines licorice.

Send me an email at n6hal@arrl.net if you can commit to participating.

Oh, and DON’T FORGET some type of Deet product (Off™, Skinsations™, REPEL™ Wipes, etc.). Those pesky mosquitoes were mysteriously absent last year, but if they come back, they can be vicious!

Hope to see you there.

73XXXde Hal/N6HAL

Looking for WorkI am looking for some odd jobs or yard work to earn some money. If you have any work you would like done please contact Ryan Richard, KJ6HBY, at (760) 377 – 4757

(from the editor: I've employed Ryan for some heavy yard work. He is a hard worker and you will definitely get your money's worth. I whole heartily endorse him)

For SaleMotorola GTX 900 MHz FM Transceiver. Already programmed for usual 900 MHz freqs. Comes with NMO-style mobile antenna. Good condition. $45.

W4RRY 23A Battery Booster. Most modern ham radio equipment requires 13.8VDC +/- 15%. When operating your equipment directly from a battery, when your battery voltage drops below that range (11.73 volts) your radio may power down, not transmit full rated power, refuse to transmit, or exhibit some other strange issue (distorted transmit audio, etc). The booster boosts your battery’s low voltage back up to 13.8VDC (adjustable) to keep your radio happy so you can enjoy operating longer. Good condition. $60Contact Hal, N6HAL.ae@gmail.com (760) 371-3208

Also For SaleButter-nut 4 band vertical $20Homemade 6 meter j-pole ½ inch copper pipe $152 meter 13 element beam $15TVRO dishes 10 ft, 6 ft, and 5 ft free2 motor home motorized Az/el 5ft TVRO dishes $10 each6 ft and 5 ft 19 inch racks $5 eachGuy wire 3 strand #12 copper plated steel by the reel freeMisc steel plate, pipe and rod freeBill WA6QYR 247 Rebel Road Ridgecrest 760-375-8566 bburns@mediacombb.net

Estate SaleRadio Shack scanner, model POR-2050One U.S. Towers 38' crank-up-tilt-over tower, with a Cushcraft A-3 beam, and a Yaesu rotator (model number unknown at this time). Everything is in pristine condition. Price is $750. I have the invoice for the tower, and it,alone, went for $1800.Contact John W6IBL (661) 281-5554

SARC Club Items for Sale

These have been donated from various

estates

All proceeds go to SARC

Alpha 89 Amplifier – This is the big, solid amplifier. Will produce full power continuously. New price was $4,000, they go for $3000 used. Asking $2500 and will include the Nye Viking MB-V-A Tuner at no cost.

Nye Viking MB-V-A Tuner – big 3kw rating tuner - $200

AEA PK-232MBX $25

MA-40 Tower + rotor + beam – This is a 40 foot, crankup tubular tower. It does need to be supported and we do not have the ground mounting. The beam appears to be a triband, 10 – 15 – 20 meter beam similar to A3S. Rotor appears to be in good shape and strong enough for the job. $800 for the entire assembly.

Yaesu FRG-7 shortwave receiver – this is a classic! - $25

Contact Mike, WA6ARA (760) 375-5324 or wa6ara@gmail.com

www.qsl.net/wa6ybn/

SARC OWNED AND MAINTAINED REPEATERSClick the Freqs for Coverage Map of Repeater

Status Location Call Freq in MHz Tone Notes Distance

Up Randsburg WA6YBN 145.340 (-) CT 100.0 Wide Area, Emergency Power S 18.6 Mi

Up Ridgecrest WA6YBN 146.640 (-) - Translator, No Squelch Tail, Emergency Power S 2.5 Mi

Up Ridgecrest WA6YBN 147.000 (+) CT 107.2 W 2.5 Mi

Up Ridgecrest YBNBBSWA6YBN

145.050 - Bulletin Board, 1200 Baud

Open Area RepeatersStatus Location Call Freq in MHz Tone Notes Distance

UP Randsburg WA6YBN 145.340 (-) 100.0 Wide Area, Emergency Power S 18.6 Mi

UP Ridgecrest WA6YBN 146.640 (-) S 2.5 Mi

UP Ridgecrest WA6YBN 147.000 (+) 107.2 W 2.5 Mi

Standby Ridgecrest WA6YBN 147.060 (+) 100.0 Club Portable Repeater, used only for events SW 1 Mi

UP Randsburg N6BKL 52.680 (-) 82.5 S 18.6 Mi

UP El Paso Pk WI6RE-2 145.050 Packet Node (ELPASO) S 10 Mi

Ridgecrest WA6YBN-10 145.05 RMS Packet - WINLINK 2000 S 2 Mi

Ridgecrest AI6S-10 145.05 RMS Packet - WINLINK 2000 S 2 Mi

Calif City KG6COM-10 145.05 RMS Packet - WINLINK 2000

UP El Paso Pk WI6RE 144.390 APRS W1 Digi, iwvaprs.net – KI6PSP@gmail.com S 10 Mi

UP El Paso Pk WI6RE 147.975 (-) 100.0 Allstar Node usually on WINSYSTEM S 10 Mi

UP

Trona K6YYJ 146.970 (-) 123.0

E 15.9 Mi

UP Little Lake W6TD 147.210 (+) RF Linked to Mazourka Peak NW 24.9 Mi

UP Bird Springs KF6FM 146.085 (+) 141.3 Wide coverage of Indian Wells Valley - swrrc.org WSW 27 Mi

UP Mazourka Pk W6TD 146.760 (-) RF Linked to Little Lake N 96.5 Mi

UP Hauser Pk K6OX 146.730 (-) 100.0 Near Palmdale, Wide coverage of Antelope Valley SSW 80 Mi

UP Keller Pk KE6RYZ 146.385 (+) 146.2 kpra.net - Near Big Bear, Wide SoCal Coverage SSE 104 Mi

UP Ridgecrest W5HMV 447.020 (-) 123.0 RF Linked to 146.970. Input is about -4 KHz off. SE 2.6 Mi

UP Ridgecrest WI6RE 446.500 100.0 IRLP-3741, contact tiplerek@iwvisp.com for codes W 2.8 Mi

UP El Paso Pk WI6RE 448.800 (-) 100.0 IRLP-3877 - WinSystem.org S 10 Mi

UP Ridgecrest NC9RS 927.0125 (-) 88.5 Input: 902.0125 – Linked to others - NC9RS SW 2.0 Mi

Email to wa6ybn@gmail.com to report invalid data.

Translator, No Squelch Tail, Emergency Power

IWV Emergency Net Mondays @ 7:30 PM

Allstar #27178, Echolink #518309, Info *510

ARRL Audio News on Mondays @ 7 PM

Linked to other 6m repeaters in SoCal. Net

Thursdays @ 6:30 PM

RF Linked to 447.020. 6m Remote Base on FM call frequency 52.525 MHz - Controls: Rx 61, Tx 62, Off 63

Last Update: Feb 11th 2013