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THE SPECTRUM August 2007 Come one, Come ALL !
! ! The VVARC Officers for 2007:
August General Meeting: No meeting this
month. Happy vacations everybody. Sunday Night Net: Remember that every
Sunday at 7PM the Club conducts a Net on the 146.940 repeater. Get the latest
club announcements and reminders. Also, our Club needs volunteers to help run
the Net. If you are interested, please contact us. In the event that the
repeater is down, turn to 146.5350 simplex.
Clint Bradford 8/2 Eddie Collins 8/26 Paul Decker 8/7 Douglas DeJong 8/2 Robert Hall 8/16 Jeff LaGrange 8/26 David Naron 8/7 Jose Ortiz 7/13 Donna Wells 7/20 If anyone is missed, let us know. Our records
probably need to be updated.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL
Please
let Sandi DeWeert, sdeweert@verizon.net, know if you hear of any of our
members that may be under the weather or just need a little lift from
friends in the Club. In Memoriam to
Shirley King Shirley King September 26, 1930-June 12, 2007 Wife, mother, grandmother, great
grandmother and friend. Shirley, my best friend
was taken by God this morning at Skyline Manor. We will all bid her farewell
Friday evening at Her cremains will remain with me until I
can join her. Thank you all for your expressions of
love and support. God bless you all. Tom
King, a lifetime member of the Victor Valley ARC, lost his wife on June 12,
2007. Tom handled our club Christmas party for several years, an active
member of ECS (RACES), and participated in the highway cleanup program. Our
prayers are with you, Tom. God Bless Welcome to New Club Members Want to welcome some new
members to our Club, 1.
Eddie Collins 2.
Joe and Nori Allee 3.
Jeffrey and JoAnn Fort 4.
Scott Mayer 5.
Leslie Seiders 6.
Luis Mejia 7.
James Waggle Let’s all make them
feel welcome and say hello. To our new members Are you aware of the
ARRL? QST magazine? In order for our Club to
be an affiliated organization, we need to maintain 51% membership to the
ARRL. The ARRL pays our Club a commission for new and renewing memberships. If you have any
questions, feel free to contact your Board members. Club Roster Updates Roster Addition: James Waggle N6NLC (760)
241-4672 Chris Holmgren KI6CQJ (760) 961-0957 Name Tags Our Club is starting to
grow and we are getting some new members that don’t know everyone. We
have made up name tags for all our members, but need to know if we have
missed anyone. Try and wear your name tags during Club functions so everyone
can put a name with a face. If we have missed anyone or you need a
replacement, email Sandi (sdeweert@verizon.net
) and let her know. ELMERS Some of us “neebies” may not be aware what
an Elmer is. An Elmer is kind of
like a mentor for amateur radio operators. As new operators, we need the
experience, knowledge, and guidance passed on to us by those that have been
practicing for some time. Thank you to those
members that have stepped forward and volunteered to help members with
questions. Feel free to contact anyone on our ELMER list when you have
questions. If you are willing to
help and want to volunteer as an ELMER, please let me know and I will put you
on the list.
2007 Membership Drawing: Our membership drawing
only reflects 2007 members. Be sure and renew your membership and attend the
general meetings. This entitles you to a chance of winning the drawing and
receiving a copy of the Spectrum by email. The September drawing is $10.00. July’s winner was Eddie
Collins in the amount of $10.00 Thanks to those who have renewed
this year; your continued support is appreciated. If you haven’t yet
renewed, a membership form is located at the end of this issue. Additional
membership forms can also be found on our web site, www.VictorValleyARC.com. Dues for 2007 remain the
same: $18.00 for individuals, $23 for families, and $10 for youth and all new
members. Remember new HAMS get a year membership free! Volunteers Needed: YOUR
INPUT IS VITAL!!! Your Board is always looking
for volunteers to help out with Club business. Please step forward and give us a hand.
Contact any of the Board members. If you have any ideas for
programs, activities, club projects, etc. speak up. Pass your thoughts along
to the Board members. WE are open to any suggestions. Remember, without your
input, we have no idea what interests you or what you would like to do. VE Testing in the The first Saturday of
every odd-numbered month there is a GLAARG (Greater Los Angeles Amateur Radio
Group) test session in Hesperia. Tests are held at the Fire Station at the
corner of Olive and H. Registration starts at 8:30 AM. The cost is $4.00.
Walk-ins are welcome. Testing is available for all classes of license. All
candidates must bring a picture ID, and if you are upgrading, you need the
original and a copy of your amateur license and any CSCEs you hold. For more
information, you can contact Jim MacRay, KW6V, at 244-1396. Directions to
test site: From I-15 take Also, the Inland ARC tests
on the 4th Thursday of each month, at 5 PM at Web Site Update If you have any
suggestions on what you would like to see, feel free to let Steve know, steve.ostrander@dcma.mil. From the ARRL: Address
or phone number change??? “The
FCC requires you to maintain a valid current mailing address in their
database at all times. This is so that they can contact you by mail if
needed. If you move or even change Don’t forget if you need to renew your
membership or join the ARRL, contact Sandi DeWeert (sdeweert@verizon.net) and pay your
dues through the Club. VVARC receives a commission for each renewal or new
joining fee. Clean out your
junk drawers! Since
2006, Larry Kendall, KD7ZDG, has been teaching an Integrated Technology class
at Currently,
there are 20 different modules including, but not limited to, lasers,
woodworking, plastics, forensic science, alternative energy, audio and video
production, digital music, computer graphics & animation, flight,
electricity & electronics, virtual architecture, CAD, and flight
technology. In all, there are 19 different modules. New modules are being
developed and existing ones are being improved very year. This
year, Larry is “beefing up” the Electricity & Electronics workstation
by adding a pair of professional-level soldering workstations so that
students can learn basic soldering techniques. Students will have the option
of purchasing small kits to build, complete with parts and PC boards, but he
is in need of surplus components and boards for practice and for students who
don't purchase kits. Students also do Design Challenge projects, which may involve
soldering circuits. With 160 7th and 8th graders each year, they go through a
lot of materials! Here's a list of surplus
items that they are looking for: -
Small PC-mount
components (resistors, diodes, capacitors, transistors, ICs, etc - no vacuum
tubes or bulky parts, please!) Surface mount parts are OK -
Switches,
knobs, plugs, jacks, battery clips/holders, relays, pots, meters, etc. Sorry,
he can't use old "stuffed and soldered” PC boards because they are
a relatively "lead-free" shop and aren't supposed to be
disassembling old lead-soldered boards. -
Empty (but
drilled) PC boards. Even large ones are ok. They can be cut into smaller
boards for practice. -
Hand and power
tools in good and safe working condition, test equipment, hardwood scraps, Plexiglas
scraps, etc. -
Keyboard
(piano) stands and stools (2 sturdy ones needed) If
you are able to donate any of these items or anything else you think they
might be able to use, contact Larry at larrykendall@charter.net or (760)887-5433.
Tax credit forms are available on request. Being a Volunteer I
just figured out that I have been a licensed HAM for 28 years. I guess there comes a point in life when
you start counting your blessings. I
still remember the excitement of my first contact on HF using Morse
code. My ELMER sat beside me and
coached me through the process. What
an effect that volunteer had on me. I got excited about the hobby! I
joined the local club so I could learn more and to be around my Elmer. He liked to do contests. Sure he kept the scores and turned them
in. But, he always invited the newest HAMs
to participate. I learned about how to
set up remote HF and VHF stations for contests. When
we checked out one VHF contest site the roadside was covered with rattle
snakes sunning themselves in the springtime heat. Every once and awhile we would hear a
rattle and a thud on the side of the car.
There was no question what that was.
We kept the windows rolled up. I
made friends with many of the seasoned HAMs through those experiences. The club meetings were always
informative. Once we learned from an
FBI agent about counterfeiting schemes.
He brought in examples of counterfeit 10’s and 20’s. Another guest speaker talked about what the
railroad does in the event of a derailment of toxic- chemical type cars. So
what does this have to do with volunteering?
It gave me a sense of belonging to something bigger than me. I learned about many aspects of the hobby
by being involved in the club and its events.
I learned about people and places all over the world. I
actually heard the famous conversation between two HAMs back in the
1980’s. A Russian HAM was
talking to an Alaskan HAM. There were
stiff restrictions on HAMs in the In
the beginning I volunteered to be the “go-fer”. I’d
go for taking the trash out after club meetings. At contest sites I put gas in the
generators. I’d help put up
antennas at people’s homes. I
was a telephone pole climber in the military so I became the club pole
climber at the repeater site. In
return I was asked to come to different places and learn. Through
the Long Beach Radio Club I volunteered for 7 years (4
hrs/mo.). I operated the HAM
radios in the Queen Mary radio room with my dad. In turn I was given an ID that allowed me
to explore all areas of the ship. I
was there the day that the Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose was taken out of
the protective dome and put on a barge in Ever
have a T-hunt on the Queen Mary or climb up the center stack to the
observation platform hidden inside? When
you volunteer you never know what can happen.
I received an award from the President of the Submitted
by Randy Hatfield, AG6RH Working Satellite AO-51 A few club meetings ago we
had a talk about communicating via the AMSAT satellites. In particular we talked about AO-51. Here’s my experience in working that
satellite. IT’S FUN! At first I downloaded a
freeware tracking program called Orbitron. I set up the program for AO-51, AO-27,
SO-50, and the International Space Station.
The first 3 are 2 foot square cubes orbiting about 500 miles above the
Earth. The three track over the The ISS is tracked to
check the times it flies over just after sunset. During the Shuttle mission in mid-June
Lori, KD7GNC, and I saw first the ISS fly over and then trailing it on a
slightly different track was the Shuttle.
The Shuttle was scheduled to come down the next day at Edwards Air
Force Base. When Orbitron shows
AO-51 is coming overhead at 45 degrees or higher I could use a handheld with
a 19” rubber duck to hear the satellite. I had a tape-measure 3 element beam and I
hooked it up to the handheld. I could
track the satellite down to 35 degrees and hear the FM signals much
clearer. I purchased an Arrow antenna
and could hear down to the horizon with full quieting above 20 degrees. Using a
handheld and long rubber duck,
the best time to communicate (send and receive) using a handheld is on
weekday mornings when the satellite tracks over the The Arrow antenna is
really neat. I made my first attempt
and contact while at a beach party in AO-27 is on a similar
orbit but operates on less power. However, it is only turned on when the pass
is between 26 degrees North latitude and the Canadian border. It requires
more skill to make contacts. SO-50 is a Saudi HAM
satellite and operates on a different orbit. It isn’t a polar
orbit. It also has a different
operating configuration. To work any of these
satellites you should do an internet search and learn about them. You could start with; http://homepage.mac.com/clintbradford/.Public/satbro.doc http://www.amsat.org/amsat/intro/ao27faq.html http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/index.php
. Have Fun! This hobby is really something when you
think about it. There are so many
areas to explore and share with others. 73 Randy
Hatfield AG6RH Field Day 2007 Field Day this year was a
little different than we have had in the past. It was held in conjunction
with Victorville Emergency Services and was set up at the county fair
grounds. The location was beneficial to the public and we had a lot more
traffic than in past years. Setting up the 20 meter
antenna was a little easier this year, but still took the skills of many of
our dedicated members to set it up. As usual, glitches
happened, but our members rose to the occasion and our radio operation
prevailed. Our club even got points
for ATV and Packet. Testing was held that day
and many of the new HAMs were able to make their first contact on HF. It was
really exciting seeing their expressions contacting HAMs across the We also had several
youths try their hand. Future HAMs maybe???? Our own Robert Barton of
Victorville CERT furnished dinner on Saturday night. What a nice treat.
THANKS ROBERT!!!!! We learned a lot and will
be setting up next years Field Day committee soon. Think about volunteering
for the committee. You learn a lot and there is always stuff that needs to be
done. The more people helping,
the less work for everyone. Annual BBQ Social June was a busy month for the Club. Our annual BBQ
was held again this year at the Hall’s residence. Lots of good food!! Lots
of good friends!!! Everyone
seemed to have a great time. We missed everyone that couldn’t make it.
Hope to see you next year. Route 66 on the Air This year the dates of Route
66 on the Air will be Sept 8 – 16.
We need to line up HAMs who are willing to operate. You operate out of our own home during any
hours you want. We need to have people
up on the radio part of every day of the event. Recommended frequencies
are in the QST magazine. This is a
popular annual special event and it’s fun to
chat with the HAMs out there trying to get all of the different groups
operating along the old Route 66. This
year our club will have the special event call W6D; calls start with W6A in The only requirement is that you stay in the bands
that your license covers and that you keep a log. The log should record the date and time in
UTC. After the event, your log needs
to be given to the Halls. They take
care of the QSL cards that come in, sending out a reply to those who send us
a stamped self-addressed envelope. If asked, the club mailing address is VVARC, Calendar
of Events August 6 - Board Meeting: 6:30 p.m., August 14 – No meeting this due to vacations September 3 - Board Meeting: 6:30 p.m., September 11 - General Meeting: 7:00 p.m. October 1 - Board Meeting: 6:30 p.m., October 9 – General Meeting: 7:00 p.m. November 5 - Board Meeting: 6:30 p.m., November 13 – General Meeting: 7:00 p.m. December 3 - Board Meeting: 6:30 p.m., December 11 –
Installation Dinner Radio We have an event in September One that you all may remember. Route 66 on the Air It’s time to
prepare. All hams can help, old and tender. Submitted
by Virginia Hall, KD6YLT Sharpen your wits and your pencils and write
one. E-mail to |
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