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THE FEEDLINE Volume 40, Issue 1 The Voice of the Western Illinois Amateur Radio Club January 2016

[note from .ed: Mailed copies of The Feedline are limited to 8 pages. If you have e-mail and are not getting the e-mailed copy, you are missing about 50% of this edition! Please sign up for the e-mailed version…..]

From the Desk of the President I would like to start the New Year off wishing you all the best in 2016. I also want to thank you for your support in voting me in as president again this year, but I sure hope someone else is willing to serve next year. I believe the average age of our club members has gone down slightly in the past couple of years, and I feel our leadership should reflect that. That aside, I am hoping to attempt a couple of activities this year that will hopefully appeal to our younger members. At the December meeting, we voted in a slate of officers for 2016. There are a couple of new officers. Serving for 2016 will be Danny Pease, NG9R, as President, Ralph Jordan, KC9VZD, as Vice-President, Mary Garner, KC0SAY, as Secretary and Arnold Gerst, K9VXD, as treasurer. For repeater board, serving 3 year terms, NA9Q and WA9GBC were voted in. A position that is not voted on but appointed is the newsletter editor and Jim Funk, N9JF, has again agreed to continue in that role but is receptive to anyone that may be interested in learning what it entails. I want to thank all those that have served in the past, not just this past year, but in the past several years. I am looking forward to working with not only the officers, but the entire club membership in the coming year. If you have not already made reservations for our annual dinner meeting, please do so ASAP. This year we return to the Patio on Saturday January 9th, with a social time starting at 6:30 and the meal served around 7:00 PM. The menu will consist of fried chicken, roast beef, salad, potato, vegetable, dessert and coffee or tea. The cost for the meal is $15.00 per person, taxes and gratuity included. Adult beverages will be available on a cash basis. Mike Nowack, NA9Q, will be bringing a program after the meal. Everyone is welcome, you do not need to be a club member or even a ham radio operator. Feel free to bring the family. Reservations are needed by Thursday evening, January 7 and can be made with Mike Nowack, NA9Q at 217-224-8526 or via email at mnowack@comcast.net. I hope to see you all at the dinner on January 9th. Danny NG9R

Dues for 2016 are due! Dues for 2016 are due and may be paid at any meeting or by mailing to the club PO Box. The dues schedule is the same as it has been for many years, $20 for an individual or for families with more than one member living in the same household, $20 for the highest class licensee and $10 each for any other family members. The complete dues schedule can be found at: http://www.w9awe.org/WIARC%20Constitution.pdf in Article VII. Dues can be mailed to: Western Illinois ARC, PO Box 3132, Quincy, IL 62305

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Western Illinois ARC Annual Dinner Traditionally, we do not have a business meeting in January and instead we have a social meal. This year is no different and we have scheduled Saturday January 9 as the day this year. We will be back at the Patio Restaurant, 133 S. 4th in Quincy. There will be a social time starting at 6:30 and the meal will be served about 7:00 PM. On the menu will be salad, roast beef, fried chicken, potato, vegetable, dessert and coffee or tea. Cost of the meal will be $15.00 per person, taxes and gratuity included. Adult beverages will be available on a cash basis. After the meal, Mike Nowack, NA9Q, will bring us a program on one of his trips to Alaska. Please make your reservations by Thursday evening, January 7, 2016. Mike Nowack has volunteered to handle collecting reservations, so please contact Mike at mnowack@comcast.net or at 217-228-8526.

Moved and seconded Minutes of the December 2015 meeting of the Western Illinois Amateur Radio Club The meeting was called to order by President Danny Pease at 7:33 PM. In the absence of our secretary, Luan Way, KA9WAY, volunteered to take notes for the minutes. Minutes: Motion by Laura Housewright, KB9ZFG, seconded by Alden Ship, WA9WAJ, to accept the November minutes as posted in the newsletter, motion passed. Treasurer: A Treasurer’s report was not available but Arnold Gerst, K9VXD, reported he had received some dues money. Repeater Board: Ron Rose, AA9GL, reported the repeater board had met and it

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was decided that the PL tone used to access the 146.34/146.940 repeater would change from 103.5 to 123.0 on March 1st. The reason for this change is due to another repeater on 146.940 using the same PL tone and the Adams County EMA monitors the 146.940 repeater continuously and had requested a way to stop unwanted traffic from being heard in the EMA. This change only affects the 146.940 repeater, all other WIARC repeaters will still use the 103.5 PL tone. A suggestion was made to start announcing the PL tone change on the Wednesday night nets. The other item discussed was the purchase of a second Yaesu Fusion analog/digital repeater while the Yaesu promotion is still in effect. The promotion price is $500, full retail price is almost $1700 and the promotion ends on December 31, 2015. The repeater board recommends the club purchase another repeater to use to replace the old hardware currently being used on the 147.030 repeater. Motion by Bob Mitchell, AB9DU, seconded by Ralph Jordan, KC9VZD, to purchase another repeater, motion passed. Ron Eberle, KZB9YN, asked about the status of the internet being installed to the D-STAR repeater site. Danny Pease, NG9R, reported the project was waiting on the climber, everything else was ready. Contest: Jim Funk, N9JF, reported the 2015 ILQP results was well under way and should be finished soon. Jim reported the number of logs submitted was up about 10% from last year with 252 logs submitted this year. Jim also reminded us the ARRL 150 and ARRL 10 meter contests were coming up and that the club station was available for use. Station Committee: Danny Pease, NG9R, reported he had ordered and received the connectors that were approved to purchase at the November meeting and they were in the club station. Old Business: Bill Morrison, N9UPG, has confirmed the annual dinner meeting will be January 9, 2016, at The Patio Restaurant, 133 S. 4th in Quincy. The menu would be salad, fried chicken, roast beef, potato, vegetable, dessert and coffee or tea. Cost will be $15.00, taxes and gratuity included. No program has been settled on at this time. Reservations are need and may be made with Mike Nowack, NA9Q. Reservations are needed by Thursday January 7. Election for 2016: Mike Nowack, NA9Q and Darell Taylor, N9Dt, served as the nominating committee and they presented the following slate of candidates: For President, Danny Pease, NG9R, for Vice-President, Ralph Jordan, KC9VZD, for Secretary, Mary Garner, KC0SAY, for Treasurer, Arnold Gerst, K9VXD and for two open three year repeater board positions, Mike Nowack, NA9Q, Dave Sonceck, WA9GBC and Bert Jeffery, KD9BYU. There were no nominations from the floor for any position, Mike Nowack, NA9Q, moved we approve the nominees for President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer by acclimation, seconded by Bill Morrison, N9UPG. Motion passed, all four nominees were voted in. A ballot vote decided the two open repeater board positions and Mike Nowack, NA9Q and Dave Sonceck, WA9GBC, were elected for three year terms. Newsletter: Jim Funk, N9JF, offered the newsletter job to anyone that was interested but there were no takers. Jim also noted he was always looking for submissions for the newsletter. Jim is willing to continue as newsletter but would help anyone that is willing and able to take on the task. Applications for new members: none. New Business: A discussion was held about licensing classes in 2016. Larry Lauer, WB2UFO, said the Hannibal club was planning to have a Technician class very soon and we may coordinate with them to do a class together there. There was some interest in a General class as well. Darell Taylor, N9DT, moved, seconded by Laura Housewright, KB9ZEJ, that the club donate $25 to the Red Cross, $25 to Toys for Tots, $25 to the Salvation Army and $25 to the Honor Flight. Motion passed. Net Control Stations: Jan 6, N9DT, Jan 13, N9JF, Jan 20, KB9ZEN, Jan 27. NA9Q, Feb 3, N9DT, Feb 10, KC9VZD, Feb 17, NG9R, Feb 24, KB9ZEN, Mar 2, NG9R. Motion to adjourn was made by Ron Eberle, KB9YN, seconded by Bob Mitchell, AB9DU at 8:36 PM. Motion passed. Respectfully submitted by Luan Way, KA9WAY and typed by Danny Pease, NG9R.

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DX News and Notes de WB2UFO Hello DX’ers I have found a new outlet for DX information and would like to give it a try this month. This comes from: http://www.ng3k.com/Misc/adxo.html It has a very concise format that I like. In this Christmas holiday season I will be visiting with family in the Chicago area. The most DX I will be able to hunt will be 2 meter repeaters. I wish a merry Christmas and a happy and healthy new year to you all. See you next year. 73, Larry WB2UFO

2015 Dec22

2015 Dec29

Palau T88RY I2DMI DXNews

20151005 By I2DMI; 80-10m; RTTY

2015 Dec22

2015 Dec30

Botswana A25GR M0XUU DXNews

20151126 By M0XUU; 40-17m; CW SSB

2015 Dec23

2015 Dec26

Montserrat VP2MGT

LotW

DXNews 20151215

By N6GT; 40-10m; CW; QSL also OK via N6GT

2015 Dec23

2016 Jan10

Antigua V25LK

OM3AG

DXW.Net 20151215

By OM3AG; 20-10m; CW SSB; holiday style operation

2015 Dec24

2016 Jan07

Palau T8CW LotW DXNews

20151211

By JH0IXE fm Koror I; 80-6m; CW SSB RTTY JT65 PSK31; QSL also OK via JA0FOX Buro, JH0IXE direct, and eQSL (direct: Ryosei Aimiya, 4595 Kamikatagiri, Matsukawa, Shimoina, Nagano 399-3301, Japan)

2015 Dec26

2016 Jan01

Hawaii KH6 G4BUO DXNews

20151206 By G4BUO as KH6/G4BUO fm Maui (OC-019); HF; CW

2015 Dec26

2016 Jan12

Senegal 6W WA3DX DXW.Net 20150828

By WA3DX as 6W1/WA3DX fm Dakar, also 6W7/ fm Mbao and 6W6/ fm Kaolack and Saloum Is; 40-10; SSB; spare time operation

2015 Dec27

2016 Jan13

Vanuatu YJ4AO DL7VOA DXW.Net 20150817

By DL7VOA fm Port Vila, Efate Is (OC-035, WLOTA 1051, RH42ee); CW SSB; 500w; vertical dipoles and ground planes; local evenings and nights; holiday style operation; QSL OK via DARC Buro or direct

2015 Dec31

2016 Jan05

Cayman Is ZF2LL LotW WW4LL

20151204

By WW4LL fm Grand Cayman I; RTTY, SSB; QRV for RTTY RU (Jan 2-3); operation limited outside contest

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2016

January

2016 Jan01

2016 Jan07

Samoa 5W0UO G4BUO DXW.Net 20151207

By G4BUO; HF; CW; vertical over salt water

2016 Jan02

2016 Jan10

Vanuatu YJ0AFU LotW VK4AFU

20150910

By VK4AFU fm Port Vila; 160-6m (JT65 on 50090 Khz and SSB, CW 50160 Khz +/- 5Khz); CW SSB + digital; QSL also OK via NA5U

2016 Jan03

2016 Jan08

Sri Lanka 4S EA3BT DXW.Net 20151204

By EA3BT as 4S7JTO and EA3WL as 4S7NTS; 40-10m; SSB,some CW RTTY; will try to activate Berberyn I (AS-171); QSL OK via Buro or direct

2016 Jan04

2016 Jan07

Lesotho 7P8VR DD0VR DXW.Net 20151126

By DD0VR; 40 20 15 10m; SSB CW; QRP

2016 Jan05

2016 Jan31

Senegal 6W7SK LotW DXNews

20151008

By F6BLP fm Saly Portudal; 160-6m; CW SSB RTTY; QSL also OK via F6BLP

2016 Jan06

2016 Jan14

Antigua V25GB GW4DVB DXW.Net 20150831

By GW4DVB fm FK97bc; 40-6m; SSB

2016 Jan07

2016 Jan11

NZ SubArctic

Is ZL9A VE3LYC

DXNews 20151117

By VE3LYC VK5CE SQ8X KD1CT fm Antipodes I (OC-286, first activation); 40-10m; CW SSB; QSL OK via Buro or direct; DXCC entity formerly known as Auckland and Campbell Is

2016 Jan07

2016 Jan12

Panama HP3

N2ZN

DXNews 20151215

By WJ2O as HP3/WJ2O; focus on low bands

2016 Jan07

2016 Jan14

Palau T88 Home Call

DXW.Net 20150803

By JO3LVG as T88MK, JA6EGL as T88SM, JA6KYU as T88HS, JA6UBY as T88RR, JH7IPR as T88UW; 160-6m; CW SSB RTTY

2016 Jan07

2016 Jan22

Bonaire PJ4B PA8A Direct

DXW.Net 20151126

By PA8A; HF; holiday style operation; 2USD + SAE w/ QSL request

2016 Jan09

2016 Jan17

Cayman Is ZF2PG LotW DXW.Net 20151128

By K8PGJ fm Grand Cayman I; 160-10m; SSB; QSL also OK via K8PGJ direct

2016 Jan09

2016 Jan21

Belize V31

Home Call

DXNews 20151215

By DJ4KW as V31YN and DK9GG as V31GW; 160-10m

2016 2016 Palmyra Is K5P LotW DXW.Net By K9CT N2TU WB9Z K9NW

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Jan12 Jan25 20150418 K6MM W8HC W0GJ ND2T W3OA fm Cooper I; 160-10m; CW SSB + digital; 5 stations; full QSL details on Web pages, Club Log preferred

2016 Jan15

2016 Jan24

Laos XW4ZW

LotW

DXW.Net 20151216

By K4ZW; HF, focus on low bands; QSL also OK via K1SE

2016 Jan17

2016 Feb27

South Sandwich

Is VP8STI Club Log

DXW.Net 20141215

By N6PSE K3LP N2WB N6HC RA9USU JH4RHF K1LZ WD5COV K3VN K9CT K4ZLE K6TD VE7CT NA6M; 160-10m; CW SSB RTTY; 8 full days, exact dates TBA

2016 Jan19

2017 Jan26

Fernando de Noronha

PY0F PP1CZ PP1CZ

20151128 By PP1CZ as PY0F/PP1CZ; 80-10m; CW RTTY SSB

2016 Jan21

2016 Jan26

Palau T88UC JA9FIO Direct

OPDX 20151212

By JA9FIO fm Koror I (OC-009); HF

2016 Jan29

2016 Feb02

Palau T88HK JA9FIO OPDX

20151212 By JA6DND fm Koror I (OC-009); HF

Results of the CQWW Survey A recent survey of CQWW entrants revealed some not-so-surprising information.

1) Europe is the leader for contest activity

2) Contesters are getting older (wow…news flash…?)

3) There is a wide range of interest levels

4) CW is the favorite operating mode (maybe that’s a surprise?)

The question begged by #2 is, “What do we do about this?” Unless we do

something, ARRL Sweepstakes 2047 will consist of two guys with a “CK 65”

exchanging information. (I would be 98 by then, so I’m not likely to be one of the

two….). If anyone reads this posting (and I’m never sure anyone does…), I’d like

to pose the question to any of our younger and/or newer members: “What would

help you become interested in ham radio contesting?”

To make this easier (and less like an essay exam), please consider responding to

these possibilities: (mark any or all, and submit to n9jf@arrl.net)

1) The main reason I don’t participate in ham radio contests is:

a) What’s a ham radio contest?

b) No one every asked me to

c) I DO participate. Don’t you pay attention?

d) They are at inconvenient times

e) They are all on a mode I don’t operate

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f) They are all on bands I don’t operate

g) The exchanges make no sense

h) Contests are boring

i) I don’t have equipment/antennas/station suitable for contesting

j) I’m not the competitive type

k) I never win anything tangible

l) Other (please elaborate)

2) I MIGHT participate in a ham radio contest if:

a) We worked the contest from the club station

b) We worked the contest from my station (with help)

c) We worked the contest from someone else’s station

d) We had contest-related programs at the club meeting to explain what the

heck is going on

e) I had some hope of winning something

f) Other (please elaborate)

g) None of the above. Forget the whole thing!

Some time ago, I posted this to the MRRC site:

I have always thought that ham radio contesting could be the ultimate "video game"...though it isn't "video". Of course, I grew up before video games, so what does an old guy like me know?? Now, with the advent of "point and click" interfaces with spotting networks, radios and rotators, it seems that one could program to have a large azimuth-projection map on a display interfaced with spotting and have the spots show up ON THE MAP with the call and frequency. Click on the map, and the radio goes to the frequency. Rotator points the appropriate antenna in the right direction (options to over-ride if long-path or skew path). Find the guy, verify the call, work and log him. On to the next one.....

No, I am not smart enough to do this. But I'll bet it could be done.... de N9JF

From the Illinois Section Newsletter de KA9QPN From the top... **This is how relationships become poisoned. The State of Oregon Office of Emergency Management cut ties with the EC assigned to them. There is a copy of the letter from OOEM to the EC floating around the Internet. The trigger point was listed as the EC telling ARES/RACES members that they were not to participate in a drill. I'm quite sure that there are two sides to this along with the truth. What we do know is that my counterpart out there is left scrambling trying to repair the relationship before it becomes a bigger disaster. If it was purely a matter of not participating in a drill, we need to keep in focus that the Served Agencies expect to be "served" their way. And, unless it's illegal/violates the Rules, immoral, unsafe or fattening, we should do our best to comply.

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**Left to spin out of control, this can easily become one of those "lost civilization" things. A ham group approaches a Served Agency to try and offer services, and the Agency responds with "No. We don't remember why and it was a long time ago, but you hams suck." Or words to that effect. And those are the worst situations to try and overcome, because the only thing in the institutional memory is "hams = bad". You have no idea what to fix. And more, de N9JF: We are very fortunate here in Adams County to have (what I believe is) an amiable, constructive and ongoing relationship with “served agencies”. Let’s all try to keep it that way!! Look for ways to be useful, keep egos in check, recognize “chain of command”, give some slack, practice the Golden Rule.

Upcoming Operating Events [from The ARRL Letter for Dec 24, 2015]

Two events to note that are upcoming in the next week or so are: 1) Straight Key Night No, it’s not a contest. No, I guess you don’t HAVE to use a

straight key; maybe you can send imperfect code from some other source and

pretend. Yes, it’s a lot of fun if you enjoy CW at any speed. Starting sometime on

New Year’s Eve, strap on the key and call “SKN” instead of “CQ” and hang on

tight. The CW bands will be loaded with brass pounders. If you don’t want to

transmit, you can always just tune around and listen. Conversations are usually

lengthy and informal and full of information you don’t hear on the bands just

every day. I always try to get on for a bit and am never disappointed with the

quality of the chats that are available. Send your nominations for “Best Fist” and

“Most Interesting QSO” to straightkey@arrl.org by January 31.

2) Kids’ Day. If you have kids, grandkids, neighbor kids available, this is an event

not to be missed. On Sunday, January 3, assemble the youngsters and participate

in a laid-back event designed to get them introduced to our hobby by talking to

others of similar ages throughout the country and the world (paying attention to

3rd Party Restrictions). The event starts about 1800Z and goes to 2400Z, more or

less. The “exchange” suggested is name, age, location and favorite color, but just

about anything they want to talk about is fine. The point is to get them talking!

Kids’ Day is sponsored by ARRL and the Boring ARC. The first one was held back

in the early 90’s, and MY kids (now in their 30’s) were participants. All of them

eventually got their own licenses….so there is hope! The plan here is to get one

of the grandkids on for a bit and see what happens…. To solicit contacts, call

“CQ Kids’ Day”. All participants are encouraged to post stories and photos to the

Kids Day Soapbox page and are eligible to receive a colorful certificate.

ILQP Report I’m pleased to announce that, thanks to prompt log submissions, WA9GBC’s Excel expertise and NA9Q’s processing and posting, the ILQP report should be on the web before January 1! -ed.

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[From The ARRL Letter Dec 24, 2015:]

North Korea on the Air for First Time in More Than a Decade In an unexpected turn of events, Polish DXer Dom Grzyb, 3Z9DX, who visited North Korea -- officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) -- this month in advance of a planned Amateur Radio operation early next year, showed up on the air from the most-wanted DXCC entity around 0000 on December 20. During a "demonstration" for North Korean officials, P5/3Z9DX made nearly 800 DXers -- most of them in Asia -- very happy over the couple of days he was on the air. Grzyb operated mostly on 15 meters with some excursions on 20 and 10 meters, SSB only. The P5/3Z9DX preview was the first from North Korea since the 2001-2002 operation by Ed Giorgadze, 4L4FN.

The surprise appearance of P5/3Z9DZ on the air coincided with some of the worst HF conditions in days, if not weeks, no thanks to a geomagnetic storm. Grzyb's visit to Pyongyang this month had been scheduled to iron out the details of his 2016 operation. The radio equipment he took to North Korea remained behind in government hands, as agreed beforehand. A P5/3Z9DX operation from North Korea now is poised to take place in February.

While operating from North Korea, P5/3Z9DX was running 100 W to a vertical antenna mounted on a metal fencepost some 7 feet above the ground among government high-rise buildings. He also was handicapped by high ambient noise levels. During the brief on-the-air stint, government officials came and went, apparently to keep a close watch on things. Grzyb told DX-World on December 20 that his "real" DX operation in February might take place from a different location. -- Thanks to The Daily DX and DX-World.net

Drones as Antenna-Erection Tools [This originated on the MRRC reflector courtesy KT8K. Reprinted with permission (see his note at the end. –ed] Hi everyone, I love the ham radio hobby, and I love to come up with creative ideas to "do it better". This piece is a result - enjoy the first draft (we'll see if there is ever a second). Your responses could help refine the concepts, and wouldn't it be great to see one or more MRRC-ers "surprise the competition" with a setup like this? Gee - I just realized, you could even live in a condo and have a system like this - no problem! Please read on and enjoy.

Dom Grzyb, 3Z9DX, in Pyongyang, North Korea.

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Quadcopter ("drone") Dreams Ever since I first saw my first quadcopter I have imagined using it to place antenna wires over the tops of my 90 foot trees. I imagine it lifting a spool and paying out wire, some light cord, or strong fishing line as it moves over the woods. I remember the alternative: many weekends spent casting lines and pulling ropes to put up my current 500 foot horizontal(?) loop. It was hard work and a lot of it, and the resulting antenna is not all that horizontal. Parts of it dip to only 15 feet above ground while other parts zig and zag up and down between 40 and about 70 feet, and the shape has been tortured over the years by falling branches (and whole trees) so that it is now more of a crescent moon shape than a circle. The wire loop will also probably be very difficult to take down someday. Trees and winds have already claimed some of the ropes involved, untying them and blowing them into impossible knots unreachable 20 and 30 feet above ground. I imagine at least some of that wire will reside in those trees until they fall. Still, the parallel-fed horizontal loop is an amazingly efficient and effective antenna and, as Mr. Cebik pointed out, the more wavelengths it is in wire length the lower the radiation angle. I estimate my 500 footer is at least as good as any antenna I've ever had on 10 meters, and works fine on every HF band (and even once on 2 meters). I wonder how much better it could get ... Jump ahead a few years. It's a half hour to the start of the Sweepstakes. The software is loaded and the antennas have been analyzed and charted. The equipment has been tested and the dummy load is still warm. J ust a few minutes before the contest starts t he operator turns to a second screen and opens an app, and then gives it some commands. Outside the window a humming noise begins. Interestingly, there are no towers outside the window, nor any visible wires or verticals. Then the humming gets louder and a flock of quadcopters rise above the yard, lifting antenna wires into the air. The operator decides to start out on 20m as it's just before sundown, and under software control the flock of quadcopters lift high into the air as small spools they are carrying pay out or retract the wires. Two quadcopters lift each independent wire element, one on each end, and join others in formations to quickly create the desired antenna at the desired height. This time they form the shape of a 6 element 20 meter beam 70 feet above the yard with just the feed line descending to the ground from the center of the driven element. The contest begins, and the operator uses on-screen controls, one of them looking much like a rotor control, to aim and re-aim the antenna as he operates. In the sky outside the quadcopters rearrange themselves to maintain the desired aim for the antenna. When he changes to 40 meters the quadcopters move further apart and the wires pay out of their spools until a 6 element 40 meter beam hovers over the property. When he changes to 80 meters later the quadcopters again reposition themselves, now forming a full-sized 6 element beam for 80m, and later they will do the same when he moves to 160 meters. As 80 meters goes long the operator starts another program, and at the far end of the property three quadcopters rise into the sky lifting a huge curtain array into the air. Nearby a single quadcopter lifts a wire to serve as a full size 160m transmit vertical. Not the least of the advantages of such a system is cost. One could invest $5000 in quadcopters, wires, wire spooling hardware, and software, and still save a bundle over one 70 foot 45G tower with all the trimmings. Other advantages include: easy maintenance since the antennas would only be up when in use, permitting would be not by the local building inspection department but via training and a license from the FAA, and the neighbors would have no towers to complain about. Such a system would also be quite portable. If you're into antenna experimentation polarity, for example, could be

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shifted quickly, and sophisticated antenna combinations and configurations could be tried "on the fly". Of course, there are disadvantages: such a system would have a wind speed limit beyond which the quadcopters couldn't maintain their positions. Battery life would be a concern, too, but an antenna might only be needed for the duration of a band opening, A single band contest would require the same antenna to be in the air for many hours at a time, of course, but batteries could be swapped during the inevitable breaks. We tried putting up a 160m balloon vertical one year at Field Day, but the wind was just strong enough to keep it flying at about 45 degrees and it didn't do well (though ground radial losses probably accounted for our biggest lack of performance). Quadcopters might do it all better, and they would be a lot more controllable. So ... what do you think of a station comprised largely or entirely of quadcopter-suspended antennas? I realize that such a system could be grounded by winds above, say, 30 mph, but maybe someone will solve that problem, too (more powerful quadcopters?). Personally I can't wait to operate QRP through a full-sized 6 element 160 meter beam up 200 feet. Best reception and 72 to all. Think critically and creatively! -- Tim, KT8K PS - I think Hank needs one of these setups to replace his current "only slightly better than a wire buried 6 feet underground" antenna. Hi Jim, I'm so glad you enjoyed it, and I would be happy to have anyone publish it anywhere as long as you attribute it to me and maybe added a link to my youtube song video "I Want a Big Tower". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNWZjzrzgwA I gave up trying to "make it" in music in March of 1975, and since then I've been having a blast, but especially with youtube. I LIVE for those hits! I think this quadcopter concept has merit, and I look forward to seeing how people might make it even better. For instance, living in an in-town subdivision using 18 gauge magnet wire for antennas (invisible from 15 feet away), I long dreamed of a quadcopter laying a big wire loop of that invisible wire over the top of all the trees on the extensions, all the way around the block, which was actually about 2 blocks square with a court in the middle. That would have yielded a horizontal loop a couple of thousand feet in length (how many wavelengths is that on 160? More is better!). Imagine a high efficiency antenna with a low radiation angle on 160m instead of the usual cloud-warmer or noisy vertical! This concept of forming beam antennas from quadcopter-suspended wires came to me last night and I'm having a blast thinking and writing about it. I hope others will join into this creative fun and, wow, would I be "gassed" to try out a full sized beam on 160m and then see it taken down (landed) and the pieces put into a suitcase. Mountain topping, island activation, and dxpeditioning could get a lot better! Best rx & 72/73 de kt8k - Tim

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W9AWE – W90AB The Western Illinois Amateur Radio Club, Inc.

WIARC homepage: http://www.w9awe.org e-mail to w9awe@qsl.net WIARC email reflector: wiarc@mailman.qth.net

Sponsors of

Voice repeater W9AWE/R on 147.630/.030 Quincy Voice repeater W9AWE/R on 146.340/.940 Quincy

Voice repeater W9AWE/R on 448.900/443.900Quincy All voice repeaters use 103.5 sub-audible tone D-STAR repeater W9AWE on 147.795/.195

ILLINOIS QSO PARTY

Newsletter input due by the 20th of the preceding month Editor Jim Funk N9JF

jfunk@fossnorthamerica.com or n9jf@arrl.net

Western Il. Amateur Radio Club

PO Box 3132

Quincy, IL 62305-3132

January dinner meeting: Saturday Jan 9, 2016 6:30 (social) 7:00 (dinner) The Patio 133 S 4th Quincy IL Dues for 2016 are due!!