May, 2010    

Our next regular meeting is Tuesday, May 4, 7PM at the EOC Training Room. Please plan to attend. Tom, KA9SYP, has a number of pictures of State and Federal Mobile Communications Units that he saw at a recent State EMA Conference. Additionally, Tom, W9EEL, should have his usual thorough explanation of and predictions on the weather.

Our biggest news is that the .82 repeater antenna system has been replaced (pictures on the web site). On Monday, April 12, our Trustee Tom, KA9SYP, met with Dan from Lectro Communications and the contracted tower climbers to replace the antenna and feedline. The DB Products DB-224 multi-dipole antenna (installed 6/97) was replaced by a Telewave ANT150F6, a 6dB Fiberglas (blue color!) with all new hardware. The feedline was also replaced with 110 feet of Andrew Low-loss 7/8” foam Heliax Cable and N connectors. During the replacement it was discovered that the connector on the old antenna harness essentially “fell apart”. It was most likely the cause of the “crackling” that we often heard in signals prior to the replacement. Our tests indicate that the range of the system is not significantly improved but it should be much more reliable. We still need to retune the duplexers on the receiver side for lowest loss (TBD). EMA has paid for all of the new hardware and a portion of the installation. Our Club is paying for the remainder of the installation costs. It is slightly more than we had originally approved, so at this meeting we will be authorizing the increased cost. For your reference the total cost of this project is $3,360. Our club budget would not have been able to absorb the entire cost. I hope that you recognize that our steadfast support of EMA, StormNet and the other communications needs of our County is what can justify this investment in this critical radio network. Your continued active participation in EMA communications is needed.

At our last meeting we reviewed the test equipment that our Club has for loan to the membership. Upon testing of some of the items it was discovered that the old frequency counter and the deviation meter are both “shot”. Both are over 20 years old and aren’t worth messing with. Our Bird Wattmeter(s) and the Heath VTVM are in great shape, as is the handheld radio-direction finder. If you want to borrow this equipment contact Phil, WB9URL. By the way, our wattmeter slugs are:
5 W & 50W 200-500 MHz. (450 MHz.)
5W, 25W & 100W 100-250 MHz. (2 Meters)
100W 2-20 MHz. (Low Bands)

Our current membership is at 33, of which 23 are ARRL members. You can find the list of paid members on the web site. For those without access, our members are: WD9AES, KC9AKJ, KC9AOM, KC9BKZ, WB9BSU, WA9CWE, KD9DR, N9DR, KB9DXO, W9EEL, N9HJJ, K9IND, KC9JWO, KC9KHP,KC9LGP, KC9NCR, K9NM, KB9NTG, KC9PWR, KB9QIY, WB9RMB, N9RMZ, KB9SCC, WA9STB, KA9SYP, W9TCR, K9TZJ, WB9URL, KB9VE, KB9WI, N9ZAF, WB9ZJR, KB9ZLP. If you know of other County hams who might like to join be sure to invite them to our meeting and also invite them to submit an application if they would like.

We continue to get good reviews of the Weather Station at the EOC that our Club supports. Our Public Safety officers in the County utilize it regularly, and I hear often from county residents who look at the web site to see what’s happening with the weather. Thanks to Tim, KB9VE, for keeping such a close eye on the hardware and software of this tool.

Our web site received a message from Jim Currier, N9CVT, reporting that he had a 3 element beam (low band I assume) that “needs a new home”. If you have an interest send a message to bjcurrier@gmail.com .

Brian, KC9NCR, found a nice article on Ham Radio on the internet. You might check out: www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyid=125586086 . It talks about how ham radio is growing even in the age of the internet, smart phones, twitter, etc.

Our web site seems to continue to attract viewers. We have received a message from a ham in Virginia with relatives in Pendleton who would like to be a member. He intends to return to Pendleton in the future.

Our Club policy has been to accept membership only from hams living in our County or with very close ties to the County. This was to minimize “stealing” hams from adjacent counties and discouraging other neighboring county clubs from recruiting members from our area. Perhaps this policy is outdated and needs to be reviewed. Let’s talk about it at the meeting.

Remember to vote on Tuesday, then come out to the meeting. See you there.

73,
Steve