Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Eeting D
Bergen Amateur Radio Association
BARA Bulletin December 2016
Volume 53 Number 12 www.BARA.ORG
Santa Claus on the Air 1
VE Exam Schedule 2
Public Service Information 2
Link of the Month 2
Upcoming Events 3
For Sale 4
W2PQG Repeater is Back 5
Skywarn Recognition Day 5
DX Insights 6
Member Contest Scores 6
Hamfest Photos 7
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Our 53rd Year
SANTA HUNT -- OF9X ACTIVE FROM
DECEMBER 01 THRU DECEMBER 31, 2016
SANTA RADIO, OF9X IS INTRODUCING THE
HARD WORKING TWELVE (12) ELVES
As for many years Santa is now setting up for his world tour – including Ama-
teur Radio -- and will provide your family an added pleasure for this Christ-
mas. The exciting news is that for the first time in the history of OF9X, Old-
Father-Nine-Christmas, and the elves will step forward so that you can get to
know them and their part in the Christmas scene. And better yet, you can
make an effort to find them together with your young ones whether within
your family or in your immediate neighborhood,
There are twelve elves operating OF9X and they indicate themselves with the
3-letter identity thus your maximum elf-multiplier can be twelve (12).
You should try to work them on all amateur bands and modes (CW/SSB/DIGI
from 630m to 70 cm) and each QSO would give you a one-point (1). If you
are outside of Europe your points are doubled (2). Summing up the QSO
points and multiplying them with contacted number of elves makes your Fro-
zen Santa Bag, the final score. Only 2016 QSOs are valid for the Bag.
If you miss the elf identity for whatever reason no problem as you can send
your QSO listing to Santa HQ and these elves would count them for you.
([email protected]); you can also look for your QSOs at the Club Log and
each slot may illustrate the elf you had contacted.
Santa Net on 3.916mhz
The Santa Net is on the air every night, November 25th through
December 24th at 7:30 PM Central. Check in early with the Rag
Chew Crew to make sure you get on the list!
The countdown to Christmas has begun, so lets get all those good
boys and girls on the radio to talk to Santa!
http://www.tailgatersnet.com/santa-net.html
BARA Dues
Time to pay your 2017 BARA dues.
Dues are $25 for an individual
membership.
Submit to David, K2DSL at a busi-
ness meeting or mail to him.
Make check payable to BARA.
Page 2 Bergen Amateur Radio Association
PUBLIC SERVICE
BC RACES NET 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month.
7:45 PM on the W2AKR Repeater
146.790 MHz; PL 141.3 Hz.
Net control is NJ2BC
Directed training net for all authorized
Bergen County RACES stations and
authorized liaison stations.
VE EXAM SCHEDULE
The next Ham License
test session is scheduled for:
January 20
at
Township of Washington
Senior Center
7 pm
The FCC has imposed a
Testing fee of $15.00 per
exam/retest.
Required documents:
Two forms of ID required
for all transactions.
Social Security Number
if unlicensed or FRN
Number if licensed.
Original CSCE if prior
test credit is claimed.
If license upgrade, a
signed copy of current
FCC license
Calculators are permitted, iPhones
and iPads are not permitted.
Questions may be directed to:
Don Younger, W2JEK
201-265-6583
Question Pool Revision:
The Extra exam question pool was
revised on July 1, 2016.
Current Question Pool:
Technician, Element 2-July 1, 2014
General, Element 3 - July 1, 2015
Extra, Element 4 - July 1, 2016
Practice tests and study guides available at QRZ.COM.
www.qrz.com/hamtest
Link of the Month
Solar Powered Ham Radio for
Beginners
www.hamradioreviews.eu/2016/11/24/solar-powered-ham-radio-for-beginners-video-photos/
K2BAR NETS BC RACES
Communications Unit Any licensed ham operator in Bergen
County, if not already a member, is
asked to join the BCRACES team by
sending an e-mail to:
with your name, callsign, e-mail, and
municipality.
SSB Net:
Mondays 9:00 pm
10 Meters – 28.375 MHz
Net Control: Jim, K2ZO
FM Nets:
Wednesdays 9:00 pm
2 Meters: 146.79 MHz.
PL 141.3
Net Control: Dan, WA2CLP
Thursdays 8:30 pm
70 cm: 444.100
PL 141.3
Net Control: Marco, KC2ZMA
Thursdays 9:00 pm
Technical Net
Pearl River
NJ2BS Repeater
2 Meters: 146.835 MHz. (-600 kHz)
PL 151.4
Net Control: Gordon, W2TTT
New HF Digital Net
Focused on EMCOMM
The New Jersey Narrow Band
Emergency Messaging System (NJ
-NBEMS) Net meets every Sunday
Morning at 9:30 AM on 7.073
MHz using OLIVIA-8-500. This
net is NOT affiliated with RACES
or ARES, so any Radio Amateur
with appropriate operating privileg-
es may participate.
FLDIGI is the preferred sound card
software because FLAMP and
FLMSG are used for message han-
dling. This is a training net for
new users, so operator error is ex-
pected and well tolerated.
For additional information contact
Bill, KC2VUT at arrl.net, Rick,
N2PHI at comcast.net or Karl,
W2KBF at arrl.net.
Page 3 Bergen Amateur Radio Association
BARA BULLETIN
BARA RESOURCES
The BARA Bulletin is published monthly by the Bergen Amateur
Radio Association. Subscriptions are included in the annual member-ship dues. Membership is open to anyone interested in radio communi-cation.
QSL Bureau:
Warren Hager, K2UFM
Public Service:
Club Contesting:
Phil Barber, WA2LXE
VE Exams:
Don Younger, W2JEK
Donnan917’at’aol.com
Hamfests:
Jim Joyce, K2ZO
Webmasters:
wm’at’bara.org
Tony Izzo, K2AMI
David Levine, K2DSL
MEMBERSHIP
APPLICATION
Interested in learning more about amateur radio and meeting new
people? Then join the Bergen
Amateur Radio Association (BARA). Dues are $25 per year. Send your application request to:
David Levine, K2DSL
11 Mackay Ave.
Waldwick, NJ 07463
e-mail to k2dsl’at’arrl.net.
Please include your name, address, town, zip, call sign, license class, and phone number.
Upcoming Events
Dec 4 - BARA Holiday Dinner
Dec 6 - Kit Night at Senior Center
Dec 9-11 - ARRL 10 Meter Contest
Dec 13 - Kit Night at Senior Center
Dec 20 - Kit Night at Senior Center
Dec 27 - Kit Night at Senior Center
Jan 3 - Kit Night at Senior Center
Jan 7, 8 - ARRL RTTY Roundup
Jan 8 - BARA Business Meeting
Jan 14, 15 - North American QSO Party - CW
Jan 20 - FCC License Exam Session
Jan 21, 22 - ARRL VHF Contest
BARA KIT NIGHT 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM
Township of Washington Senior Center
350 Hudson Ave., Township of Washington, 07676
Build a kit related to Amateur Radio (partial BARA funding available)
Diagnose/repair a defective piece of equipment
Discuss radio and computer problems
Technical assistance available
Seek/give technical opinions
Page 4 Bergen Amateur Radio Association
At K2KJI Open House.
Photo curtesy W2HP
FOR SALE
BARA Tower Sections
Contact Jim Joyce for a very reasonable price
FOR SALE
Selling house in the spring.
V beam 2 element 6 meters - $50
MA5B 5 band 10-20 meters - $150
Ham 4 rotor + control box - $200
Refurbished by W2HP
6 meter sleeve vertical - $40
You can bring your rig and try them out be-
fore you buy. I have a 35 amp supply.
Next weekend I have friends that can take
them down and hand them to you.
Noel
201-310-0899
BARA Tower Sections.
Contact Jim Joyce for a very reasonable price.
Page 5 Bergen Amateur Radio Association
From the 10-70 Repeater Association…
W2PQG Repeater Back on the Air
We are very happy to announce that the W2PQG 2
meter Amateur Radio Repeater was returned to op-
eration during this past week after being in secure
storage for the last 16 months! It is now available
for your (open) usage 24/7/365.
All parameters for access remain the same (146.700
Mhz, Negative 600 Khz Input Offset, PL 141.3). It
continues to have a complete emergency power
backup system so even during power outages it
should (after a brief reset to switch over to emer-
gency power) be ready for your and our local pub-
lic service agencies amateur radio communication
needs. As always (and at all times) emergency
traffic, (including SKYWARN and use by local
OEMs, RACES, ARES and CERT Teams) take
precedence.
As you are aware, the W2PQG repeater system had
(for many years) one of (if not) the best geograph-
ical locations in the area for it’s antenna. Regretful-
ly that location is still under use restrictions and as
such, we’ve relocated the system, regrettably, to a
lower altitude. The antenna is now at approximately
500 feet above sea level.
We’ve made (and will continue to make) RF drive
tests to confirm what we saw on the computer gen-
erated coverage maps made prior to the move. Our
initial testing has already shown that power output
from the Repeater transmitter (even at the previous
near 1100 feet above sea level location this was
true) is not as important as the actual height of the
antenna for getting into the previous and current
null zones. We recommend you use the best anten-
na system you can (both mobile and base) and you
may find that you need to increase your Transmit
Power over what you used in the past, especially
when on the fringes of coverage. The Repeater is
well balanced (it's exactly the same setup as before)
meaning, if you can hear it, you ‘should’ be able to
access it.
We are committed to making improvements (if and)
when we can to get the best possible coverage un-
der the current (and any future) site restrictions. We
are also working with the local Repeater Frequency
Coordination body (Metrocor) to insure that the
relocation conforms to their guidelines. As a guide-
line for your own antenna alignment, the Repeater
antenna is now located in Northeastern New Jersey,
near Mahwah, just South of the New Jersey/New York
stateline, slightly East Northeast of where it was.
If you have any questions, etc let me know via email at:
Joyce Birmingham - KA2ANF
Trustee for W2PQG
SKYWARN Recognition Day
The annual SKYWARN Recognition Day will take place
Saturday, December 3, from 0000 until 2400 UTC.
SKYWARN Recognition Day was developed in 1999 by
the National Weather Service and ARRL to honor the con-
tributions that SKYWARN volunteers make to the NWS
mission - the protection of life and property during threat-
ening weather. During the SKYWARN Special Event,
hams will operate from several NWS offices. W1AW will
take part in the event.
The object of the event is for all participating Amateur Ra-
dio stations to exchange contact information with as many
NWS stations as possible on 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6, and 2
meters plus 70 centimeters. Contacts via repeaters are per-
mitted.
Stations will exchange call signs, signal reports, locations,
and a one or two-word description of the weather at their
respective locations (e.g., "sunny," "rainy," "partly cloudy,"
"windy"). NWS stations will use various modes, including
SSB, FM, AM, RTTY, CW, and PSK31. While using digi-
tal modes, special event stations will append "NWS" to
their call signs (e.g., N0A/NWS).
Event certificates will be electronic and printable from the
main website after the conclusion of SRD. An online sub-
mission form is available to submit your log summary for
SRD at, http://www.arrl.org/srd-form.
Page 6 Bergen Amateur Radio Association
DX Insights
TRINDADE AND MARTIN VAZ PPØ-PYØT
#26 on the DXCC MOST WANTED LIST
Trindade and Martin Vaz are islands and rocks located 730 mi. east of Brazil in the Southern Atlantic Ocean. They belong to the State of Espirito Santo, South-ern Brazil. The islands have a total of 4 sq .mi. and the only population is a small Brazilian Navy garrison of 32 personal.
Trindade is the largest island which is volcanic in origin with rugged terrain and mostly barren. The highest point on the island is 2,030 ft. Wild-life consist of green sea turtles, frigate birds, and Humpback whales who use the area off shore for a nursery.
The last DXpedition on Trindade was in April 2015 for only a 2 day period which left many dxers still in need of a new one. As of this posting a DXpedition is being planned for 2018 by a group using the call sign ZZØT.
Full details to follow in due course.
73 and Good Hunting,
Harry, W2FT
MEMBER REPORTED CONTEST SCORES
SUBMITTED
FOR AGGREGATE CLUB SCORE
CQ WW DX Contest - CW
Power QSOs Pts. Zones DXCC Score
K2TWI Low 330 918 45 153 181,746
WA2ALY* Low 114 16,770
W2JEK QRP 37 81 14 29 3,483
* Operated single band, 20 meters.
ARRL Sweepstakes - CW
Power QSOs Points Sections Score
WA2ALY* Low 101 202 47 9,494
* Operated single band, 20 meters.
ARRL Sweepstakes - SSB
Power QSOs Points Sections Score
K2AMI Low 80 160 47 7,520
WA2ALY * Low 46 92 31 2,852
W2JEK QRP 42 84 27 2,268
* Single band, 40 meters.
Page 7 Bergen Amateur Radio Association
BARA Hamfest
October 2016
Photos curtesy of
KC2VRY
Page 8 Bergen Amateur Radio Association
Bergen Amateur Radio Association
169 Woodland Ave.
Westwood, NJ 07675
President
Jim Joyce, K2ZO
K2ZO ‘at’ ARRL.NET
Vice-President
Tony Izzo, K2AMI
K2AMI ’at’ ARRL.NET
Secretary
Bill Montague, KB2OCJ
KB2OCJ ’at’ AOL.COM
Treasurer
David Levine, K2DSL
11 Mackay Ave.
Waldwick, NJ 07463
K2DSL ‘at’ ARRL.NET
Trustees
Bennett Norell, KO2OK
KO2OK ’at’ ARRL.NET
Gordon Beattie, W2TTT
W2TTT ’at’ ATT.NET
Chuck Lemken, KC2SST
CLEMKEN ’at’ HOTMAIL.COM
BARA Bulletin
Phil Barber, WA2LXE, Editor
WA2LXE ’at’ ARRL.NET
Next Business Meeting
Sunday, January 9th
at the
Twp. Of Washington
Senior Center
Presidents Emeritus
Bill James, WA2QHL - SK
Dominick Interdonato, NB2F - SK
Steve Mendelsohn, W2ML - SK
