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The Longest ARRL
Affiliated Club in Michigan
February 2021
Volume 69 Issue 2
Inside this Spark Gap …..
Code Practice ……….…….…….. 2
Repeater and Net ……………..…. 2
Club Library ……………....……. 3
Raspberry Pico ………………….. 4
Digital Radio ………….…………. 5
Area Nets ………..……………….. 6
Dayton Cancelled ………..……… 7
Morsum Magnificat …..……….… 9
On-Air Activities
MCRC 2 Meter Net:
Join us every Tuesday night at 9PM for the
Motor City Radio Club 2 Meter net on the
147.24 Wyandotte Repeater. 100 Hz tone.
or use EchoLink WY8DOT-R.
CW (QMN) Traffic Nets:
Net Name MHz Days Time
Michigan Net 3563 Sun-Sat 18:30 hrs
Michigan Net 3563 Sun-Sat 22:00 hrs
Digital Traffic Nets:
Net Name MHz Days Time/Mode
Michigan Digital 3583 Tue, 20:00 hrs
Traffic Net Thurs, Olivia
(MIDTN) Sat. 8-500
Southeast Michigan Traffic Net:
2215 hours each night on the Spirit of 76
repeater. 146.76 with a 100 Hz pl.
The February General Membership meeting will be a virtual
meeting via Google Meet.
Information on how to join the online meeting will be on the club
website. http://www.w8mrm.net/
The meeting will be February 12th starting at 1900 hours. The
chat room will open 15-20 minutes early to help anyone resolve
any audio issues.
The link to the meeting is:
https://meet.google.com/mxv-ntes-zzo
You will need a Google account to use Google Meet.
All participants must have and be logged into their Google account in order to join the meeting.
We recommend using the current version of one of the browsers listed below:
Chrome Browser. Download the latest version Mozilla Firefox. Download the latest version Microsoft Edge. Download the latest version Apple Safari.
Monitor the Tuesday Night net on the Wyandotte Repeater to keep up
to date on any changes because of the governor's social distancing
mandates.
Face to Face Meetings The club normally meets the second Friday of each month
at the Copeland Center in Wyandotte. 1900 hours. Due to
the virus, the building has not been available. Please
monitor the Tuesday night net and follow developments
on the club website. www.w8mrm.net
Attention Please: The February Banquet
has been cancelled.
P a g e | 2
Tuesday Night Code Practice Tune into the Wyandotte Repeater at 2045 hours to learn Morse Code. Every Tuesday night, 15 minutes before the Motor City Radio Club Two Meter net, Bob K8HV runs code practice. Many folks are saying this has been a great way to learn the code.
The Wyandotte Amateur Radio Repeater Association owns and operates WY8DOT The Wyandotte Repeater
The Wyandotte Repeater has been serving Southeastern Michigan in the Public Interest on 147.24 since the mid 1970s
Donations for support of the Wyandotte Repeater may be sent to the Treasurer using this form. Make checks payable to The Wyandotte Amateur Radio Repeater Association.
AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support the Motor City Radio Club every time you shop, at no
cost to you. And Amazon Smile works with Prime just the same as it does on regular Amazon. When you shop at
smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as
Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to the Motor City Radio
Club
On your first visit to AmazonSmile smile.amazon.com, you can select the MCRC to receive donations from eligible
purchases before you begin shopping. Amazon will remember your selection, and then every eligible purchase you
make at smile.amazon.com will result in a donation to the club.
The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to
the Motor City Radio Club. The club is happy to report that we have already had money donated to the club due to
purchases made on Amazon.
Next VE Session March 13th.
The next VE session is scheduled for March 13th. As with
all club events, monitor the Tuesday Night net on the
Wyandotte Repeater to keep up to date on any changes.
The board of the Motor City Radio Club ask that
everyone stay safe until we can all meet again.
P a g e | 3 Motor City Radio Club Member Library
The MCRC has a library of valuable knowledge that is available
for loan to all members. The library includes both books and
audio tapes on various ham related subjects. Members are
encouraged to take advantage of this valuable member benefit.
Below is a list of the resources currently in the library.
The ARRL- Operating Manual For Radio
Amateurs
The ARRL- RFI Book 2nd Edition...Practical
Cures for Radio Frequency Interference
The ARRL- Ham Radio License Manual 1st
Edition Level #1Technician
The ARRL- Handbook 2008...For Radio
Communications. The comprehensive RF Engineering Reference
85th Edition
Simple, low cost Wire Antennas for Radio
Amateurs
The ARRL- Handbook 2001 78th Edition
The ARRL- Spread Spectrum Source Book
ARRL DVD Amateur Radio Today
ARVN DVD Digital Voice for Amateur Radio
HF: AOR, WinDRM, DRMDV, FDMDV
25 Minutes
VHF/UHF: D-Star P-25 35 Minutes
Troubleshooting Solid State Circuits
- George Loveday, Arthur H. Seidman
Getting started in Electronics -Forrest M. Mimms, III
National Electrical Code 2005 -International Electrical Code
Ham Antenna Construction Projects -J.A. Stanley
Beam Antenna Handbook -5th Edition Orr & Cowan
Amateur Radio Vertical Antenna Handbook -Capt. Paul H. Lee USN (ret) N6PL
Digital Interfacing with an Analog World 2nd ed -Joseph J. Carr
Cassette Tapes for General Class License study - 6 Tapes
Cassette Tapes for Morse Code Practice - 2 Tapes
CD's for Morse Code Practice - 2 CD's
Members are encouraged to contact the club librarian, Ray - KD8DPZ, to reserve any of
the materials they wish to borrow. Donations of new materials to the club library is also
appreciated.
MOTOR CITY RADIO CLUB TWO METER NET
Every Tuesday night at 2100 hours is the Motor City Radio Club
Two Meter Net. Mark your calendar to check in each week.
Net control is John N8KAM.
The net starts with announcements, then check in's are taken.
Everyone has a good time, and the net is a great place to hear of
any cancellations or postponements of club events due to the
governor's mandates.
Listen on the Wyandotte Repeater. 147.240 with a 100 Hz pl tone.
P a g e | 4
Raspberry Pi Launches Pico Board
The Raspberry Pi Pico development board features the RP2040 microcontroller, a
dual-core ARM Cortex-M0+ designed in-house by Raspberry Pi and runs at up to
133 MHz. The RP2040 is supported with both C/C++ and MicroPython cross-
platform development environments, including easy access to runtime debugging.
It has native UF2 boot and floating-point routines, and the built-in USB can act as
both device and host. The chip has 256KB RAM and 16KB ROM, and can use
external flash, allowing users to customize memory as needed.
You can find board and MCU datasheets, getting started guides, design guides,
programming guides, design files, and more on the landing page here:
https://datasheets.raspberrypi.org/pico/getting_started_with_pico.pdf.
New Amateur VLF Transatlantic Record Set
01/11/2021 - ARRL News .
Very low frequency (VLF) enthusiast Joe Craig, VO1NA, reports that Stefan Schaefer, DK7FC, copied his 50-character
message transmitted from Newfoundland on 8.271 kHz, with a radiated power of 10 mW.
“This is a new record for amateur transatlantic VLF,” Craig told ARRL. “The mode used was EbNaut by Paul Nicholson. EbNaut is a synchronous coherent BPSK mode for use at VLF and low LF. Craig’s tower supports a VLF RL (rotated L) 10-meter (33 feet) average height and 100 meters (328 feet) long. VLF is the ITU designation for radio spectrum in the range of 3 – 30 kHz, corresponding to wavelengths from 100 to 10 kilometers, respectively.
“Since VLF waves can penetrate at least 40 meters (131 feet) into saltwater, they are used for military communication with submarines,” Craig noted.
2021 AM Rally Set for First Weekend in February
01/07/2021 - ARRL News
The 2021 running of the AM Rally will take place from 0000 UTC on Saturday, February 6 to 0700 UTC
on Monday, February 8. The annual AM Rally operating event encourages all operators to explore amateur
radio’s original voice mode by showcasing the various types of amplitude modulation equipment in use
today, ranging from early vacuum-tube radios to the latest SDR-based transceivers.
“Participation in the AM Rally has continued to grow over the past 5 years, as more operators explore the
mode,” said Clark Burgard, N1BCG. “The AM Rally is a great way to beat the winter and COVID-19
blues.”
The AM Rally is open to all radio amateurs capable of operating on AM using any type of radio equipment
from vintage to modern, vacuum tube to solid state. The AM Rally will use the 160-, 80-, 40-, 20-, 15-, 10-,
and 6-meter bands.
“Those who have never tried AM mode will find plenty of help, if needed,” Burgard assured. An AM Rally
2021 promotional video is available. Contact Burgard for more information.
P a g e | 5
Digital Voice applications and Ham
Radio
Want to work the world with a handheld? It's now possible. Most hams have heard talk of P25, DMR, Fusion and D-Star. You may be wondering "What's that all about?" These are the 4 most popular digital voice used in ham radio today. All 4 utilize communications via VoIP, Voice Over Internet Protocol.
Here's an overview:
P25 is formally called APCO-25. Equipment for this mode is all commercial. Everyone uses commercial radios for P25. Motorola is the most popular. EF Johnson radio are also being used. In the Detroit area there is a P25 VHF machine at 147.330. The Detroit machine is owned by KC8LTS, and linked into a nationwide network. For more information on the QSC network please visit http://www.p25nx.net/
DMR is the most popular digital mode for hams so far. The big attraction of this mode is equipment cost. The most popular radio is the Anytone AT-D878UV. Other brands used for DMR include Connect Systems and Motorola. This is not an exclusive list, many manufacturers now make DMR radios. In the Downriver area, there is a DMR machine at 443.325, connected worldwide with other DMR users. For more information, please visit https://w8cmn.net/ and click on DMR. Another DMR repeater with good coverage Downriver is the 444.675 in Detroit, which links to the DMR-MARC network. Info on that system can be found at http://www.dmr-marc.net/
Fusion is Yaesu's flavor of digital radio. This mode is gaining on DMR. For a little while, Yaesu was offering $500 repeaters that could work both analog and digital (mixed mode) users. Many clubs and individuals bought the repeaters, and are putting them up. Unlike DMR and P25 radios, Fusion radios are front panel programmable. (One disadvantage of DMR and P25 is that radios are not FPP, you have to connect them to a computer to do any programming). Used Fusion radios can be found at swaps for under $200. There are now many Fusion repeaters in the Detroit area. Google "Michigan YSF repeaters" for a complete list. To see the radios Yaesu offers, visit their website at http://systemfusion.yaesu.com/
D-Star is Icom's flavor of digital. Like Fusion, Icom's D-Star radios are front panel programmable. There are D-Star repeaters in Westland and Livonia. Icom's different offerings of D-Star can be seen on the company's website at http://www.icomamerica.com/en/amateur/
Some of the commercial radios used by hams for
P25 from left: Kenwood TK5310, Tait TP9400,
Motorola XTS2500 and EF Johnson 5100.
AnyTone's
AT-D878UV is probably the most popular dual band DMR radio right now. It can be bought for about $220.
Yaesu FT-3DR
Dual band Fusion
handheld.
About $370.
Icom IC-5100A 2M/440 dual band
D-Star mobile. Right now the price
for this radio is around $400.
P a g e | 6
Here is a list of the various VHF/UHF nets here
in the Southeastern Michigan area:
courtesy of kb6nu.com:
Toledo Radio Amateur Club Traffic Net (also heard in Clyde): Daily at 6:30pm on 147.375+ PL 103.5, 146.610-
PL 103.5, 145.350- PL 110.9, and 442.950+ PL 103.5
Southeastern Michigan Traffic Net (Detroit): Daily at 10:15pm on 146.760- PL 100.0
Utica Shelby Emergency Communications Association Information Net: Sundays at 1pm on 147.180+ PL 100.0
University of Michigan Amateur Radio Club Net (Ann Arbor): Sundays at 8pm on 145.230- PL 100.0
South Lyon Area Amateur Radio Club Net: Sundays at 8pm on 147.040+ PL 110.9
Tin Lizzy Net (Dearborn): Sundays at 8pm on 145.270- PL 100.0
Adrian Amateur Radio Club Net: Sundays at 8pm on 145.370- PL 85.4
Utica Shelby Emergency Communications Association Traders Net: Sundays at 8pm on 147.180+ PL 100.0
Washtenaw County ARPSC Net (Ann Arbor): Sundays at 8:30pm on 145.150- PL 100.0
Toledo Mobile Radio Association Information Net: Sundays at 8:30pm on 147.270+ PL 103.5 and 442.850+ PL 103.5
Livingston Amateur Radio Klub Net (Howell): Sundays at 9pm on 146.680- PL 162.2
Hazel Park Amateur Radio Club Net (Oak Park): Sundays at 9pm on 146.640- PL 100.0
Lansing ARPSC Net: Mondays at 7pm on 145.390- PL 100.0
ARROW Communications Association Net (Ann Arbor): Mondays at 8pm on 146.960-
Clarkston Repeater Association Net: Mondays at 8pm on 146.840- PL 100.0
Michigan Specialized Communications Group ATV/Digital Net (Flint): Mondays at 8pm on 147.260+ PL 100.0
Monroe County ARPSC Net: Mondays at 8pm on 146.720- PL 100.0
Michigan VHF Traffic Net: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 9pm on 145.470- PL 114.8 for Jackson or 107.2 for Lansing
Chelsea Amateur Radio Club Net: Tuesdays at 8pm on 145.450- PL 100.0
Quarter Century Wireless Association Net (Lansing): Tuesdays at 8pm on 146.700- PL 107.2
Motor City Radio Club Information Net (Trenton): Tuesdays at 9pm on 147.240+ PL 100.0
Mid-Michigan Information Net (Lansing): Wednesdays at 7pm on 145.390- PL 100.0
Michigan Specialized Communications Group Traffic and Training Net (Flint): Wednesdays at 8pm on 147.260+ PL 100.0
Michigan State University ARC Friends and Info Net (Lansing): Thursdays at 7pm on 145.390- PL 100.0
Livonia Amateur Radio Club Net: Thursdays at 8pm on 145.350- PL 100.0
Oakland County ARPSC Net (Pontiac): Thursdays at 8pm on 146.900- PL 100.0
Macomb County ARPSC Net (Mt. Clemens): Thursdays at 8pm on 147.200+ PL 100.0
L’Anse Creuse Amateur Radio Club Net (Sterling Heights): Thursdays at 8:30pm on 147.080+ PL 100.0
Cascades Amateur Radio Society Net (Jackson): Thursdays at 9pm on 146.880- PL 100.0
Novi Amateur Radio Club Net: Thursdays at 9pm on 444.800+ PL 110.9
Utica Shelby Emergency Communications Association Hoot Owl Net: Saturdays at 11pm on 147.180+ PL 100.0
For a list of all repeaters in the southeastern Michigan area, check out the W8SRC Repeater Guide.
P a g e | 7
Unfortunately, several setbacks in the recovery from the COVID-19
pandemic make necessary the difficult decision to cancel Hamvention 2021.
Hundreds of volunteers have been working to do everything necessary to
bring this Hamvention to the many amateur radio enthusiasts and vendors
who support the Dayton Hamvention.
Vaccine distribution both in the United States and around the world is
lagging behind what was planned. In addition, the emergence of a more
communicable form of the COVID-19 virus increases the potential for
further public health problems in the next few months. We make this
difficult decision for the safety of our guests and vendors.
Those who had their tickets, inside booths or flea market spaces deferred
last year will be deferred again. Those who purchased 2021 tickets, inside
booths or flea market spaces will also be deferred. If you desire a refund
instead please email [email protected] and we will contact you.
Stay tuned for information about a QSO party for the 2021 Hamvention
weekend. We are looking forward to the 2022 Hamvention!!!
Executive Committee, Dayton Hamvention 2021
The 2021 Hamvention
has been cancelled.
Here is the statement from the
Hamvention's website.
QSO Today
Virtual Ham
Expo
RE G I S T E R NO W
There’s no need to travel - anybody can participate in this groundbreaking, amateur radio Expo built
on a virtual reality platform.
Attendees have the opportunity to:
Listen to and engage with 60+ internationally recognized ham radio luminaries that have committed to
lead Expo sessions. For the l ist of speakers and speaker topic, cl ick here
Take part in Live virtual kit building workshops. Kits will be available for purchase and delivered to
you in time for the Expo so you can participate and build from the convenience of your home.
Walk through our virtual exhibit hall filled with popular amateur radio suppliers. Watch new product
demos and interact directly with booth staff. At this Expo we’ll introduce new video technology to
enable a better experience when engaging with exhibitors.
Prior to the Expo, take advantage of our new speaker calendar technology to download speaker times
in your local time zones to Google and Outlook calendars. This way you’ll have a complete schedule
of what sessions you want to participate in.
Return over the next 30 days to listen to speakers you missed during the Live period, explore, and re-
engage exhibitor offerings.
Coming to your desktop, laptop, and tablet:
March 13 and 14, 2021
and "on-demand" until April 12, 2021
Early Bird Ticket Sales begin January 4, 2021
https://www.qsotodayhamexpo.com/
The Magic of Six Meters https://www.k5nd.net/2020/08/capture-the-magic-of-six-meters-ebook/
P a g e | 8
Learning Materials from the ARRL at
a Discount
Club Education Coordinator Bob K8HV can get
educational materials from the league at a deep
discount compared to what the ARRL charges.
Anyone interested in license manuals, study
guides, technical books, Q&A manuals, anything
like that?
Contact Bob at [email protected] or give him a
shout during the Tuesday night net.
ARRL Printable Color Amateur Radio Band Charts: http://www.arrl.org/graphical-frequency-allocations
PSK31, RTTY and FT-8 Jim KD8HFX would like anyone
who has used PSK31, RTTY or
FT-8 on the air to please
contact him at:
or give him a shout during the
Tuesday Night Net.
On Sunday February 7, 2021 from
1200Z -2359Z, Amateur Radio Station
KD2FSI will be operating as a Special
Event Station using a variety of vintage
Heathkit gear to commemorate the life and legacy of
Howard E. Anthony, the father of the Heathkit brand of
electronic kits. Starting in the morning with 75 meter SSB,
we will work our way up through the 40, 20, 15 and 10
meter bands and then back down again towards the
evening. We hope all amateur radio operators with any
type of equipment (new or old) will join us as we
commemorate Mr. Anthony, the person responsible for
starting Heathkit, the finest electronic kit company ever.
For 2021, the State QSO Party Group is offering
exciting awards for the State QSO Party
Challenge
The annual State QSO Party Challenge recognizes all radio amateurs’ participation in the U.S. State and
Canadian Province QSO parties. It is open to any radio amateur who participates in any of the approved
State QSO Parties (SQPs). Participants must simply submit their scores to 3830Scores.com to be included
in the Challenge. For more info on this contest, visit : http://stateqsoparty.com/
Here is a link to when every state QSO party is:
https://contestcalendar.com/stateparties.html
The first SQPs of most years are the Vermont, Minnesota and British Columbia QSO Parties on the first weekend of
February.
Several club members are on 28.330
upper sideband throughout the day.
They mostly ragchew back and forth.
Sometimes the band opens up for
some great DX. Everyone welcome
to get on 10 meters and talk around
the block, or around the world.
P a g e | 9
MCRC Officers President
John Russman W8BJZ
Vice President
Bruce Menning AC8KD
Secretary
Mike Antio W8MRA
Treasurer
Dale Poblenz WA8FRD
Custodian
John Roberts N8KAM
Trustee(s)
Jim Baksa KD8HFX for W8MRM
John Roberts N8KAM for W8GTZ
Parliamentarian
Bob Cunningham W8RFC
Committee Chairs
V.E. Liaison
‘Woody’ Kirkman N8MWQ
Net Manager
John Roberts N8KAM
Education
Bob Lawrence K8HV
QSL Manager
Jim Baksa KD8HFX
Webmaster
Jim Baksa KD8HFX
Associate Webmaster
‘Woody’ Kirkman N8MWQ
Spark Gap Editor
Mike Antio W8MRA
The English language edition of Morsum Magnificat,
the Morse Magazine, otherwise known as “MM”,
contained a vast amount of information and
illustrations of interest to Morse operators, key
collectors, historians, researchers and other Morse
enthusiasts. Published from 1986 to 2004, in 89 issues,
with readers and contributors around the world, it
covered every conceivable aspect of Morse
telegraphy, past, present and future, in a truly
international way.
With the permission of the copyright holder, Zyg
Nilski, G3OKD, this vast resource is now available for
download in PDF format, free of charge, thanks to the
generosity of Lynn Burlingame N7CFO who was a
reader of, and contributor to, MM. Included in the
downloads is an updated and revised version of the
MM 54-page Key WT 8 Amp Worldwide Survey which
has proved to be of great interest to both users and
collectors of the many versions of this famous pre-
war, wartime and post-war military Morse key.
Original readers of MM who have copies missing from
their collection can now fill the gap with a digital
download. Today’s newcomers, and those who missed
it first time round, now have the opportunity to
discover what this unique publication has to offer
them.
Free downloads of MM are available for personal use
only from:
http://www.n7cfo.com/tgph/Dwnlds/mm/mm.htm
Copies of MM may not be downloaded or distributed
for any commercial purpose. Any website offering
digital downloads of Morsum Magnificat or the Key
WT 8 Amp Worldwide Survey for payment is doing so
without copyright permission.
Morsum Magnificat now available for free download
P a g e | 10
Coming Events
February 4th Board Meeting via Google Meet at 1930 hours. For more information on using Google Meet, see
the info on joining the general membership meeting on Page One of this month's Spark Gap. Everyone is invited
to all board meetings. Even the virtual ones. You don't need to be on the board.
February 12th General Membership meeting will be a virtual meeting using Google Meet. For more
information on the meeting, see page one of this month's Spark Gap. Meeting will start at 1900 hours. You can
join the room 15 to 20 minutes early.
February 13th Yearly Banquet Cancelled due to Covid concerns.
February 18th Board Meeting via Google Meet at 1930 hours. For more information on using Google Meet, see
the info on joining the general membership meeting on Page One of this month's Spark Gap. Everyone is invited
to all board meetings. Even the virtual ones. You don't need to be on the board.
February 20th Club Breakfast at 0900 hours. Leo's Coney Island, 19230 Fort St, Riverview MI
At the corner of Sibley and Fort.
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