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Sierra Signals

At The Key of SFARC:

PRESIDENT Bob Brodovsky, K6UDA bob@whpmotorsports.com

VICE PRESIDENT Al Martin, NI2U amartin4@wavecable.com

SECRETARY Dennis Gregory, WU6X wu6x@hotmail.com

TREASURER Richard Kuepper, WA6RWS rkuepper@ymail.com

DIRECTORS Charles Baker, AE6LR Gary Martinez, N6UWQ Jim Griffith, KI6AZH

FIELD DAY CHAIRMAN Al Martin, NI2U

REPORTERS Satellites: Greg, KO6TH

History: Gary, KQ6RT

Misc Radio: Fred, K6DGW

Sunshine: Richard, WA6RWS rkuepper@ymail.com

REPEATERS 145.430 (-0.6 MHz/PL 162.2) 440.575 (+5.0 MHz/PL 94.8) 223.860 (-1.6 MHz/PL 100.0)

CLUB NET Thursdays, 7:30PM, W6EK/R 145.430

CLUB MEETINGS Second Friday of the month, 7:30PM at the Library, 350 Nevada St, Auburn CA

CLUB BREAKFAST Last Sat of the month at Susie’s Café Cirby at Riverside, Roseville – 8:00 AM

NET CONTROL OPS Dave Jenkins, WB6RBE Gary Cunningham, KQ6RT Norm Medland, W6AFR Casey McPartland, W7IB

NEWSLETTER EDITOR Barbara Anderson, W6EVA 916.624.1343 anderson51@starstream.net

WEBMASTER: Carl A Schultz, WF6J

SSiieerrrraa SSiiggnnaallss

SFARC Field Day

is coming up soon.

The location is at NYACK just

off of Interstate 80.

See page 5 for details.

Calendar:

Fri 8 June: Regular Meeting

Sat/Sun 23&24 June: Field Day

Sat 30 June: Club Breakfast

Sat 20 Oct: Cystic Fibrosis bike ride-Newcastle vicinity

Inside this issue:

President’s Report

Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

General Meeting Minutes

SFARC Field Day

From WF6J, Carl

CERA Enduro Photograph

Really Big Antennas

We encourage members to receive Sierra Signals via email to save the Club the cost of reproduction and mailing Sierra Signals is published monthly by the Sierra Foothills Amateur Radio Club for the information of its members and friends, and is distributed via E-mail and USPS mail. Opinions expressed are those of the authors. Newsletter exchanges with other clubs via E-mail are welcomed. Contact the editor to be placed on the E-mailing list. The contents of Sierra Signals are copyrighted by the Sierra Foothills Amateur Radio Club, and all rights are reserved. That said, we will gladly permit republications for non-

profit uses of all text material. Photos require the consent of all persons pictured in them, and some of our material is copyrighted by others and published by permission. You'll need to contact them for permission.

JJuunnee 22001122 hhttttpp::////ww66eekk..oorrgg iinnffoo@@ww66eekk..oorrgg

2

With a reduced racing schedule this year, I'm looking forward to packing up my motorhome and heading up to beautiful downtown Nyack to play on the radio, learn how to put up portable antennas, experience different operating modes, hear some great DX with alternative power, and eat some good grub. If you are a new ham and haven't participated in field day yet, come on out. Spend an afternoon or spend the night. I promise you'll get more out of it than the effort you'll put into it. If you ’re an old ham and you haven't gone to field day in a few years, come on out. You'll enjoy teaching the new guys, learning about some new modes you haven't used, and gorging on some great camping food. Department of corrections: I screwed up. After working on the T-shirt design, I sent it off to Dave NO6NO, and then I went on vacation. The resolution I gave him wasn't large enough and now we're behind the curve (i.e. too late to get them back in time for field day). We can either: A) Get them a little late and have them for the picnic and other events B) Save them for next year’s field day. If you've signed up for the pre-orders, please email me at K6UDA@arrl.net and let me know what your vote is. If you didn't pre-order but would like a shirt, you can email your vote too, but tell me to add you to the list. I apologize for the screw up, at least no one died as a result. Until Field Day, Bob - K6UDA

Email: WU6X@hotmail.com

www.yourmissioncontrol.com

Dennis H. Gregory

Instructor/Technici

an

Phone: 530-305-0180

Auburn, CA

Computer Repairs and Support

Reasonable rates, free consultation Placer County Business License #92311

Now that summer is here, most of us turn our attention from antenna

hanging parties and DX contests to family BBQs, vacations & the ever glorious yard work. As I flip through the pages of QST, I see all sorts of ham projects, upcoming contests, and of course Field Day. Within our club, many have experienced field day, and some many field days. For others like me, this year will be our first.

President’s Report

3

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES May 11, 2012

The May Board meeting commenced at 1800 hours at Elm Avenue Round Table Pizza in Auburn.

Officers present: President Bob Brodovsky-K6UDA; Secretary Dennis Gregory-WU6X; Treasurer Richard Kuepper-WA6RWS; Directors present were Chuck Baker-AE6LR, Gary Martinez-N6UWQ and Jim Griffith-KI6AZH. Also present were Webmaster/PIO Carl Schultz-WF6J, Dave Albright-NO6NO VE Exam Coordinator, and guests Jim Carman-K6ARR. Vice President Al Martin-NI2U was absent.

REPORTS and DISCUSSIONS

President’s Report: Bob and the Board reviewed the program for the general meeting.

Secretary’s Report: no report

VP’s Report: no report

Treasurer’s Report: Richard reported a beginning balance as of April 1st was $2,789.63. Expenses in April totaled $118.69. Deposits included membership renewals totaling $236.35. Net cash on hand end of April is $2,907.29.

Repeater Reports: Richard reported he is working on the voice tracks for the Yaesu 2m repeater.

Web/PIO Report: Carl reported on plans for upcoming PR for Field Day including all local papers and TV stations. Not sure if TV will consider it news-worthy enough to show up, but Carl concluded it was worth a try.

T-Shirt Contest: The Board reviewed the winning entry by George KG6LSB to be displayed to the membership and the need to solicit orders for T-shirts at tonight’s General meeting.

Property Officer: Richard reported the Club’s antenna analyzer is again available for lending.

Other Discussions: Dave NO6NO reported 5 new techs, 1 general and 2 extra class students passed the last exam sessions. Next exam (May 2nd) and other dates planned will be reported on the Club website.

Meeting adjourned at 1844 hours. Submitted by Dennis Gregory-WU6X, SFARC Club Secretary

4

GENERAL MEETING MINUTES May 11, 2012

The SFARC General meeting for May commenced at 1933 hours at the Placer County Library in Auburn. Present were Officers Bob Brodovsky-K6UDA, President; Dennis Gregory-WU6X, Secretary and Richard Kuepper-WA6RWS, Treasurer. Directors present were Chuck Baker-AE6LR; Gary Martinez-N6UWQ and Jim Griffith-KI6AZH. Absent was Al Martin-NI2U, VP. Also present were Carl Schultz-WF6J, PIO/Webmaster and Dave-NO6NO, VE Exam Coordinator. Bob-K6UDA led the Pledge of Allegiance. Officers, Directors, and approximately 30 members and guests were introduced. During the introduction, Ralph-W6RWL presented the Club with a $200 donation from the Western States organization in appreciation of our continued efforts to support their premier event here in the foothills.

REPORTS:

Past minutes – The April General meeting minutes, as published in the Newsletter, were unanimously approved.

VP’s Report – No report.

Treasurer’s Report – Richard-WA6RWS presented the Treasurer’s Report; a beginning balance as of April 1st was $2,789.63. Expenses in April totaled $118.69. Deposits included membership renewals totaling $236.35. Net cash on hand end of April 23rd is $2,907.29. Secretary’s Report – New members were invited to receive a “Welcome” hand-out, also available for guests, and asked anyone interested to check-in with him during the break. Repeater Report – Richard-WA6RWS gave a quick report on current status of the new repeater.

Satellite Report – No satellite report. However, Patrick AA6EG gave a quick report on moon bounce activities relative to sending JPG files to the moon and back.

VE Report – Dave-NO6NO reported students passed 5 new techs, 1 general and 2 extra class exam at the last session.

Sunshine Report – Richard-WA6RWS reminded those who might not have heard, that Bill Costa-WV6J’s grandson was KIA in Afghanistan and asked for our condolences, thoughts and prayers for his family.

Raffle and Refreshments – Gene-KG6NYH and George-KG6LSB reviewed raffle and refreshment options.

OLD BUSINESS:

T-Shirts – George-KG6LSB’s winning T-shirt design was reviewed. A sign-up sheet for Field Day T-shirts was circulated.

Armed Forces Day – A member reminded the group of the upcoming Armed Forces Day event on Saturday.

(Continued on page 5)

5

GENERAL MEETING MINUTES (continued…)

NEW BUSINESS:

Marketing – Bob-K6UDA called for any members who may have information that could be used for Field Day or other publicity efforts to contact Carl-WF6J, the Club Public Information Officer.

Club Events – Gene- KG6NYH reminded those in attendance of the upcoming Western States event, and referred members to the website for more information (www.wstrail.org) and volunteering.

Field Day – Bob-K6UDA encouraged the group to invite friends to the Field Day activities, and talked about the GOTA (Get On The Air) station that will be setup to allow anyone (no ham license required) to operate a ham radio.

Announcements – Club net on Thursday’s at 7:30; Board meeting at 6pm on general meeting nights at Round Table Pizza; the General meeting schedule; Club breakfasts (last Saturday at Susie’s Café); the “Prepper Net” every other Wednesday on the 2m repeater at 7:30pm; see the Club website (W6EK.org) for more information or changing dates.

Tech-Ten – Richard-WA6RWS gave a short presentation and demonstration of repeater control codes and how members can check their audio and other functions available.

Presentation – Mike-W6BRP gave an excellent presentation on the history of digital communications, with sound samples of various modes and videos of an actual contact from his shack.

The meeting adjourned at 2130 hours. Submitted by, Dennis – WU6X, Secretary

SFARC Field Day

The plans for the SFARC Field Day are very close to the activities

of years past. The location is at NYACK just off of Interstate 80. We will have about four operating positions for a 4A Classification. This means that we will have a GOTA (Get-On-The-Air) Station and a Free VHF/UHF Position. We are also planning a dinner on Saturday Night.

There are some changes planned. WE6C has a Tri-Band Beam for 20, 15 and 10 meters and a tower to support it. The upturn in the Solar Activity should make these bands very active. To rotate the antenna, we are planning to use an Armstrong rotator. In addition, we are planning a dry run of the tower-set-up. There have been articles published for the past two years on how to use a tri-plexer and filters to actually operate three positions from one tri-band antenna. Something we could try.

(Continued on page 6)

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We have had no luck capturing the ARRL Filed Day Message. This year we are planning a two prong approach. First, I will contact Ron Murdock (W6KJ) the Sacramento Valley Section Manager and confirm what the message is and its location. For the past two years, we have copies most of the CW message without finding what I expect is the Field Day Message. In addition to confirming this suspicion, we will also set up a digital station to copy the message.

Something we have talked about in the past is planning shifts to man positions. Last year, Chuck (AE6LR) created a system of band signs and sign-up sheets. We need to continue to practice using these sheets and signs.

Summary of operations:

1. Emergency Power

2. Media Publicity

3. Public Location

4. Public Information Table

5. Send a message to the ARRL Section Manager

6. Satellite QSO

7. Copy five contacts on Alternate Power

8. Copy the ARRL Field Day Message

9. Site Visitation by an ARES supported Agency

10. GOTA Station (provides points and bonus points)

11. Submit via the WEB

12. Four positions for a 4A classification

13. VHF/UHF position (does not count as a position)

14. Provide a GOTA Coach

15. Maximum Power of 150 Watts

16. Youth bonus for operators 18 or under

Please volunteer for one of the planned operations. Remember, although this looks intimidating, we plant to have fun and enjoy each other’s company. Al Martin NI2U Vice President and Field Day Chair

SFARC Field Day (continued…)

7

Club members providing communication support at the CERA Enduro in Georgetown

Pictured from left to right: Chuck AE6LR, George KG6LSB, Robert W6RBL, Alan KI6WDV, Dennis WU6X, Chuck KG6FFK, Zack KF6ATH (and taking the picture is Richard WA6RWS)

From WF6J, Carl: Website - Dave, NO6NO has completed his first milestone on the way to our on-line Technician course and sample testing. It includes a forum for discussions. Carl had a slight setback on the wide website, but it should be operable by Field Day. A new History section has been added. Any inputs would be appreciated!

Revised Wider Website is on-line now - Looking to make some space so we can expand the utility and scope of SFARC's W6EK website, the coding is done and the site went "live" on May 30th. If you have not looked around the club website, you might want to surf the pages and become familiar with the features and what's there for your use. The member Roster is available to members via the button on the lower left side of the membership page. If you don't know how to get into see it, email WF6J.

PIO/PR - Made the rounds to local TV and Print trying to get some PSA and Field Day press release activity. Appears that if it isn't breaking news (crime) or political, it is unlikely that the Nyack Field Day Site will get any coverage other than in the Auburn Journal. It would be good to post a video from the Field Day event via our W6EK Channel on “YouTube”.

Field Day possibles - Bob, WE6C, might bring a beam (thanks to NHRC for the beam) and his tower to FD; he hopes a "big" signal might spark some more CW contacts. Will try satellite operations and SSB on 2 meters again. Maybe an ICOM Transceiver will be available as an extra station thanks to a recent donation from an SK Estate.

8

MISCELLANEOUS RADIO

Really Big Antennas

This spring Tom, K5RC, invited me to join his Multi-two operation in the 7QP [7th

Call Area QSO Party] as one of the CW

OPS. Tom's station is located about 5 miles west of Virginia City NV, in Storey County, and it is truly a dream to operate it. He has two separate SO2R operating positions, each with two K3's. There are six Emtron 1.5 KW amplifiers built into the wall, and everything is controlled by touch-screen monitors and software. It is a memorial station to several SK's from his NASA Houston days and we used the station call W7RN [“Radio Nevada”]. While the electronics are impressive, you have no idea what it is like to operate full power with “real antennas” connected to the radios!☺ He's got six vertical towers, with two more steel monopoles horizontal on the ground waiting to be installed. The towers mount stacks of yagi's for all bands [including 80 meters], and all the switching is automatic.

Needless to say, I had a really great time with Tom, wife Midge, K7AFO, Carl, AI6V/P40V, Sue K6YL/P40YL, Stu, K7STU, and Todd, KH2TJ. I saw CW rates over 200 at my position alone and our combined CW/SSB rate at times approached 350 QSO's/hour. Antennas do make a difference. Tom also lives on 10 acres at about 6,500 feet. What prompts this Misc Radio however was a collection of wire hanging between two of the 120' towers. I looked at it and said to Tom, “That looks like a mini-Sterba Curtain array.” He said, “It is … for 10 meters.” Ten never opened for us very well, and he had put it up as an experiment, but I hadn't thought of sterbas in a very long time.

Sterbas are one of a class of RBA's [Really Big Antennas] that were/are used extensively in HF broadcasting and point-to-point HF radiotelegraph and RTTY circuits. The radiotelegraph circuits are gone, the RTTY remain. So, for this issue, we'll look at a few RBA's we can only dream of ever having or using.

This is a photo of several of the Radio New Zealand Sterba Curtain antennae. The elements may not show up well in the printed version, but there are 10 sterbas in the photo in two directions for 5 SW broadcast bands. As the sub-title of this issue says, “Really Big Antennas.” Tom's for 10m would easily fit on the rope between my 70' tower and a 60' oak tree, as I said, a mini-Sterba.

So, what exactly is a “Sterba Curtain” and why is it called a “curtain?” The answer lies in the arrangement of the elements. Unlike the horizontally polarized elements of a yagi we all know and love, they are stacked one on top of the other on either side of the feed point, and in large arrays, they hang like curtains from the top support structure [that's the two parallel wires with the spreader

visible in the photo at the top of the towers].

All the elements [usually wires but not always] are driven … that is, they get power. Radiation is almost always broadside to the “curtain”. They're not terribly high gain, but they have a very low angle of radiation which is what SW broadcasters want of course. They're also fairly narrow in bandwidth, not a problem for SW broadcasters, but can be for us.

The Sterba Curtain Antenna is named after Earnest J. Sterba who developed it for Bell Labs in the 30's. They have a modest [at best] gain-bandwidth product but their expandability in size and low angle of

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radiation makes them attractive for some applications. A basic 2 x 1 Sterba is shown in the diagram. Note that everything is a driven element and that outer elements are fed from the ends of the inner elements in what is termed “series feed.” This configuration can be “stacked” vertically and extended horizontally. Sterbas can be fed at any balanced point in the array; commonly they're fed in the center since losses will lower the currents in the longer sides of the array and swing the main lobe off of broadside. Sterba's are not common in ham radio, but W8JI has one for 160 and K5RC has one for 10 although I'm not sure his survived the thunderstorms we had last week.

There are variations on the Sterba that make it physically easier for hams to erect them. The Lazy-H is one. The diagram is from Tom, W8JI. The concept is very simple; it's just two stacked doublets. The equal lengths of line connecting them mean they are fed in-phase. Varying the stacking distance will modify the elevation angle of maximum radiation which is broadside and bi-directional [i.e. into and out of the page], and the gain.

Note that there is no requirement that the two center-fed dipoles are resonant, and typically, they are extended double-Zepps [~1.3 λ total]. You can use ladder line for the open wire lines, and with a well designed antenna tuner in

the shack, you can get good results over a 2.5-3.0:1 frequency range.

Like the Sterba, the above diagram is really a “base unit,” sometimes termed a “cell.” Cells can be stacked vertically and horizontally and connected with any transmission line, so long everything is of equal length … all elements are fed in-phase.

Sterbas, once the workhorse antenna of HF broadcast, have given way to HRS arrays in most cases. In fact, I believe that the VOA never used sterbas. The HRS array is basically a multi-cell [vertically and horizontally] array of dipoles similar to the Lazy H, backed by a reflecting screen, the “R” in the acronym. The reflecting screen makes the azmiuth radiation pattern unidirectional, and thus increases the forward gain.

The “S” denotes steerable. Steering the forward lobe can be accomplished by adjusting the phasing of the dipole feeds, or, as shown in the photo, rotating the entire array! ☺ Steering via phasing has some constraints as to how far you can move the forward lobe from side to side without destroying the forward gain of the antenna. The rotating array does not have that limitation, although it will deplete your bank account much faster.

While pretty much out of reach of 99.99% of hams, you may have seen the 160 and 80 meter beams at Radio Arcala, OH8X. They actually have 7 towers ranging up to 80 meters high, with multiple stacked yagis. The antennas are impressive of course, but would be even more impressive performers at lower latitudes.

The last “Big Antenna” we'll look at is the Rhombic. It is diagrammed below. Some very impressive gains can be achieved with a rhombic antenna at very low elevation angles, and they were very common in the point-to-point HF radiotelegraph circuits of the mid-20

th century. They have very narrow beam-widths in

the azimuth plane and, while great for long distance point-to-point work, they were not used much on

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maritime circuits since ships could be most anywhere on the ocean.

The diagram is from Wikipedia. The antenna is non-resonant and basically two very long wires [usually 2 – 4 wavelengths] in the shape of a rhombus [squashed rectangle]. It is usually supported on poles at the vertices of the rhombus a wavelength or more high.

The rhombic is normally operated as a terminated antenna. The termination resistor, around 600 ohms or so, needs to be fairly big since it will absorb half of the transmitter power. You can omit the resistor and just connect the far ends of the wires, and the antenna will become bi-directional.

The rhombic is a non-resonant traveling wave antenna, similar to the Beverage for receiving, only way more efficient. 4 wavelengths at 160 meters is 2,000 feet, at 80 meters, it's a thousand feet. Rhombics take a lot of space, especially if you want more than one!☺ They're not common in ham circles, however the legendary Don Wallace, W6AM, was sufficiently wealthy to own about 120 acres in Rolling Hills [Palos Verde Estates] on the coast in So. Cal. On these acres, he had 14 rhombics supported on 60+ 120 foot telephone poles, originally a Collins KW1 AM/CW transmitter for each band, and an uncountable number of Collins 74A4, 51J4, and R-388/R-390 receivers. Don was at the top of the DXCC Honor Roll permanently.☺ He died at 86 in 1985.

The aerial photo has the rhombics superimposed on it. North is up. They are of different sizes for the various bands, and you can see how he had them arrayed to cover the normal DX directions from southern California. Many of the support poles do double and triple duty. As far as I know, the land was sold in the late 80's and developed into luxury homes. I had a QSL card from W6AM for an 80 meter CW QSO as a Novice in early 1954.

And small world: When I first met Tom, K5RC, at his home, Andrea noticed he had the same NASA certificates on the wall that I have. It turns out my office in Bldg 30 [Mission Control] on the 3rd floor was directly above his on the 2nd floor. We do not remember meeting although we're sure we did during the Apollo program. We also never contacted on the radio, although he knows a great number of the friends I made while there at the end of the 60's.

73,

Fred K6DGW

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SIERRA FOOTHILLS AMATEUR RADIO CLUB

P.O. Box 1005, Newcastle, CA 95658

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