The Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin - May 2011

Bulletin

Hams involved in public-service communications have a tool that doesn't depend on repeaters or other infrastructure: HF, using near-vertical-incidence skywave, or NVIS. This presentation describes the propagation characteristics, antenna choices and band selection involved in utilizing HF for regional communication.

Marty Woll, N6VI, has been in Amateur Radio for over forty-four years and is a frequent speaker at radio clubs and conventions. A retired CPA with a major international accounting firm, he holds an Extra Class license and is a Life Member of the American Radio Relay League. Marty is serving in his second three-year term as ARRL’s Vice Director for the Southwestern Division. In addition to his Division duties, he is Assistant District Emergency Coordinator of the ARES Northwest District of the Los Angeles Section, a Battalion Communication Unit Leader and Training Officer for the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Auxiliary Communication Service, a licensing Volunteer Instructor and a Volunteer Examiner. Marty is a founding member of the Southern California Contest Club and has served as a member and chair of the ARRL’s Contest Advisory Committee. He has been President of the Southern California DX Club and chair of the Los Angeles Area Council of Radio Clubs. He participates regularly in contests from HF through 10 GHz. In over fifteen contest expeditions, Marty has set up and operated amateur radio stations on six continents.

Radio ClubThe Pasadena May 2011

Marty Woll, N6VIMay 24th Speaker

NVIS: The Ultimate Backup in Reliable Regional Communication

Our Club Provided Radio Communications for the Kaiser Permanente Pasadena Marathon

Young volunteers supporting the runners in the Kaiser Permanente Pasadena Marathon.See the story on page 2

KJ6HWL photo

The Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin - May 2011page 2

Again this year members of the Pasadena Radio Club, along with other area hams, supported the Kaiser Permanente Pasadena Marathon. Thousands of runners turned out for the May 15 events on the streets of Pasadena with the Start/Finish line again at Pasadena City College. The race featured lengths from kids’ fun runs all the way up to the full 26.2 mile marathon length. Ham Radio Net Control was set up on the campus of PCC just behind the medical tent facility staffed by

Kaiser Permanente that treated many runners during and after the various races. The net was active from 5:30 AM until about 2:30 PM and passed numerous pieces of radio traffic supporting the health and welfare of the runners. The Ham Radio network included a number of licensed radio operators from the Pasadena Radio Club that were assigned to checkpoints along the race route. The radio net was using the Telco (AT&T) and Caltech repeaters and both did a super job of radio coverage for the operators using the VHF and UHF bands. Peter KA6RJF and myself are both very thankful to all of the radio operators who participated and also the owners of the Telco (AT&T) and Caltech repeaters. All of you made it possible for us to support this important community event. Many thanks to all.73 Bruce N1BN

Sub-audibleTomes

Bruce Nolte, N1BN

Hams Support the Kaiser Permanente 2011 Pasadena Marathon

It was dark! KA6RJF and K6EJC It was cold! KA6RJF and KC6KKR

It was raining!

N1BN photo N1BN photo

KJ6HWL photo

The Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin - May 2011 page 3

Download This BulletinMark Legassie, K9MSLwill Host May 24thRefreshments www.qsl.net/w6ka/bulletins

A volunteer directs runners at the split between the half and full marathons

Cyclists are only a blur as they round the Rose Bowl loop

After the rain - Robert Hernandez, KA6RJF, K6EJC and KC6KKR

Runners recovering near Start/Finish

N1BN photo N1BN photo

WZ6FR photo

KJ6HWL photo

The Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin - May 2011page 4

The Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin - May 2011 page 5

We offer a big THANK YOU to everyone who jumped in, planning to make our Field Day fun and successful:

HF Station #1 40 SSB W6TAG & W6XXB HF Station #2 75-10 SSB KJ6NO & W6ELIHF Station #3 CW K6HTN HF Station #4 Digital KE6JI (PSK-31) (may be used on other modes, too) VHF Station AG6MBLogging Computers KJ6NOTower Crew Chiefs AC6VV & KJ6NOWelcoming Staff W6PNW, N6NCEMeals W6MESYagi refurb project WA6DZSSite Layout K6YZH

BONUS POINTS100% Emergency Power AC6VV, KJ6NO, KJ6HWL, K6HTN, K6HJMMedia Publicity KJ6HWLPublic Location N1BNMessage to ARRL SM K6HTNMessage Handling K6HTNSatellite QSO AG6MB & KI6EOSAlternate Power K6HTN & KJ6HWL (solar)Copy W1AW Bulletin ?Educational Activity WA6DZS & KE6JI (separate projects)Visit, government KJ6HWLVisit, served agency ?GOTA none - beginners are welcome at all of our stationsWeb based score reporting KJ6NO/N6LLYouth Participation (<19) ?

The ARRL Field Day is a month away. We are planning to set up five stations on the parking lot at the Art Center College of Design. Operators will be needed

and welcome at any hour from 11 AM Saturday to 11 AM Sunday, June 25 and 26. Mark your calendars now. Volunteers are setting up three SSB stations, one CW station and one Digital station. Come by anytime to visit and help out. We need loggers as well as talkers. We especially need a few people to bring pop-up sun shades and tables for the commissary. Please volunteer to Mark W6MES or Paul N6LL so we can quit worrying about it. hi hi.

A Word From Your FD ChairmanPaul Gordon, N6LL

The Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin - May 2011page 6

Last month this column discussed the large range of HF transceivers (“rigs”) available to amateur radio operators. I indicated that we will be selecting a rig from my “table top basic” group and that it should be “economical but very functional”. What is economical will be perceived differently by each of us. So to set a frame of reference for the rigs, we will consider only those that sell at retail amateur distributors for under $1000 (e.g. Ham Radio Outlet, Amateur Electronic Supply, Universal Radio, Texas Towers. etc…in no particular order). Of course there are ways to beat these prices but in this discussion price comparisons are important and I will use a “rough average” of the above listed dealers at the time of writing this.Some other matters need to be considered. Older models sell for somewhat less as time goes on and, just like buying a car, closeout specials often provide significant savings. The bad news is, you may miss out on important features in the latest model. Also, sometimes a feature which had to be purchased separately for the previous model as an accessory is now standard and built right into a brand’s latest equivalent version at only slightly more cost.Another issue is “brand loyalty”. Some hams become attached to one brand or another, often because they have had a good luck with that brand in the past. Also, some of the knob and switch placement, names of functions (e.g.: RIT vs. clarifier), menu protocols, etc. carry over form one model to another for the same brand. However, it is usually easy to overcome these differences, and it is better to look at the capabilities of each transceiver regardless of brand. Only if there are two radios you like equally well should you consider choosing the brand you know best.I don’t really like comparing specific manufacturers and their various models. I have very little technical knowledge about these rigs. There are good technical reviews available for these radios in the major ham radio periodicals (e.g. QST, CQ). If you are planning to buy yourself a transceiver any available review (try Google) on the model of interest should be read before you making a decision on what to purchase. But unless you understand terms like MDS, dynamic range, third order intercept points, second order

dynamic range and image rejection it is likely that only the last few (summary) lines will be helpful. Also remember that what we are doing in these Crown City HF articles is put together a “virtual” station with specific cost limitations and only the capabilities needed for my often cited target group. If you are trying to use this discussion as a guide for your own purchase of equipment it would be best to follow the process of elimination spelled out below while being careful to substitute what your cost limitations are and how you intend to use the transceiver. You can find quite complete descriptions of the specifications on the websites for these radios, talk to other hams and to the salespersons at amateur radio retail stores such as the ones listed in the first paragraph. Also, I am not suggesting that a retail purchase is the best way acquire your rig, but there is an advantage to going to a store where you can see and even try out your prospective purchase and then later receive advice when things go wrong. There are many ways to make this purchase (from E-Bay to other hams) that it would be impossible to cover in the space available.Back when I started buying ham radios almost all were made in the in the USA…somewhere like Cedar Rapids Iowa or Oceanside California. I would like to be able to say we should “buy American” , but now the only U.S. manufacturers I know of (Elecraft made in Aptos, CA and Ten-Tech in Sevierville, TN), are a bit high end for our “economical” virtual station. Most are manufactured in Japan (Alinco, Kenwood, ICOM, Tokyo, Yaesu,). These radios are well known to US hams and have been excellent performers. All have at least one model in our “basic table top” category…and the Japanese need our money right now. So far, I believe, the Chinese (Wouxun, TYT) have not entered the HF market…but they will! Then it will take a while to find out if their ham radios match up the others. So, we will look only at the Japanese manufactured “table top (base) basic rigs”. Because we have decided to keep the retail price under $1000, we have eliminated two brands: Kenwood and Tokyo. This price limit also means we don’t want to pay for some things like Super-miniaturization, detachable face plates, built in antenna tuners, or 6 meters/VHF/UHF that do not fit our previously stated needs.Next month we will look at three different models of transceivers that fit our budget and needs.

Crown City HF

Tom Berne, W6TAG

Choosing Our Rig, #2

Made on a Mac

The Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin - May 2011

The Pasadena Radio Club meets the fourth Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the Kaiser Permanente Walnut Center, located at 393 East Walnut Street, at the corner of Los Robles Avenue in Pasadena. Parking is validated. Enter the parking structure at the southern Los Robles Avenue entrance. Everyone is welcome to attend. Please sign in at the front desk and security will direct you to the meeting room.Membership in the Pasadena Radio Club is open to anyone interested in Amateur Radio. Dues are $20 per year, $10 for students. Request a membership application at the club’s mailing address, or the club website, www.qsl.net/w6ka, or at a monthly meeting.The Pasadena Radio Club, W6KA, conducts a weekly net every Tuesday night, except on meeting nights, at 7:00 p.m. The frequency is 145.180 MHz (-) PL 156.7. All licensed amateurs are invited to participate. The club has a packet station on 145.630 and on 223.600 (cross-band capable) with a PBBS of W6KA-10 and a node name of MIRDOR. There is also a Yahoo Group for club members at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PRC-Club/. All members are invited to join as this allows for rapid dissemination of information to members via e-mail. Click on “Join This Group”. Members are able to update their own e-mails via the Yahoo website.The Board of Directors meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:15 PM at the Kaiser Permanente location. Meetings are open to all members.Bulletin Submissions: please submit any articles, photos, or ideas for future articles via e-mail to AC6VV at arrl dot net, please include “PRC” in the Subject line. Other modes of submission may be arranged in advance on an individual basis. Submissions are due by the Friday after the board meeting.Permission is hereby granted to use articles in this issue as long as “Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin” is credited.Please submit any address or e-mail changes to the Treasurer, K7RWP.

Better Banking for Southern California123 S Marengo Ave., Pasadena

www.wescom.org

page 7

Thank You

for your support of The Pasadena Radio Club, and amateur radio hospital

emergency communicationswww.cmprintmail.com

President W6MES Mark Seigel w6mes at arrl dot net

Vice President N6PBJ Fred Lopez fred at x2y1 dot com Secretary KJ6HWL Jutti Marsh kj6hwl at arrl dot net Treasurer K7RWP Richard Parker rwp42 at me dot com Members At Large Chris Galante K6YZH Alan Denney KI6ZYW Danny Schurr W6XXB

Past Officers Fred Lopez N6PBJ Phil Barnes-Roberts WA6DZS Mary Bothwell AG6MB Tom Mikkelsen WA0POD Education Chair W6MES Mark Seigel w6mes at arrl dot net 818-430-5244

VE Team Liaison AB6LR Merrie Suydam ab6lr at arrl dot net 626-969-4409

Club Net KF6FEM Mike Dinko 626-797-8082 Bulletin Editor AC6VV John Minger ac6vv at arrl dot net 323-256-0046

The Pasadena Radio Club Bulletin - May 2011

P.O. Box 282, Altadena, CA 91003-0282http://www.qsl.net/w6ka/

In This Issue

Page 1 Speaker: N6VI on NVIS, MarathonPage 2 Sub-Audible Tomes: Kaiser Permanente Pasadena MarathonPage 4 ARRL Field Day is June 25-26Page 6 Crown City HFPage 7 Ads, Club Information, RosterPage 8 Club Calendar

page 8

This Month: NVISThe Ultimate Backup in Reliable

Regional Communication

Pasadena Radio Club, W6KA

May 22 May 24 May 27May 25 May 26May 23 May 28SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

PRC Net 7:00 pmPRC BOARD 7:10 pm

PRC Net 7:00 pm145.180 - PL 156.7

PRC Net 7:00 pm145.180 - PL 156.7

PRC Club Meeting7:00 PM

TRW Swap Meet

Chino Swap Meet

TRW Swap Meet

PRC Club Meeting7:00 PM

NE ARES Meeting

Slow Speed CW Net28130 KHz 8:00 pm

Slow Speed CW Net28130 KHz 8:00 pm

Slow Speed CW Net

May 29 May 31 June 3June 1 June 2May 30 June 4

PRC Net 7:00 pm145.180 - PL 156.7

Memorial Day

CQWW WPX/CW

Slow Speed CW Net

June 5 June 7 June 10June 8 June 9June 6 June 11

June 12 June 14 June 17June 15 June 16June 13 June 18

June 19 June 21 June 24June 22 June 23June 20 June 25

June 26 June 28 July 1June 29 June 30June 27 July 2

Field Day

Field Day

AC100 MeetingAC100 Packet Tuneup

KPARN Nets

Slow Speed CW Net28130 KHz 8:00 pm

Slow Speed CW Net28130 KHz 8:00 pm

KPARN Nets

Father’s Day

Flag Day

Marathon Status Board