SBARC-list October 2017

sbarc-list@lists.netlojix.com

4 participants
6 discussions

ICOM IC-F4011 programming cable and software
by Ken Alker 31 Oct '17

31 Oct '17

Would anyone happen to have an Icom programming cable, and/or the software for ICOM radios (the IC-F4011 in particular, but maybe it is universal w/Icom)? If not, is there anyone you suggest I ask? Thanks! Ken

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Hammer drill
by Bill Talanian 29 Oct '17

29 Oct '17

Wanted for club task Electric Rotary Hammer drill with hammer only option, with 9-10" X 1" inch chisel bit for chipping concrete. This is for one time use at repeater site for punching through reinforced concrete back fill in concrete block wall. Contact: Bill Talanian <w1uuq(a)cox.net>

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Bob Thornburg, WB6JPI SK
by Marvin Johnston 16 Oct '17

16 Oct '17

I just got the message below a few minutes ago. Bob was very well known in the t-hunting community, and helped out a number of times at the Yuma Hamfest with the antenna building clinic and subsequent training. RIP Bob. Marvin, KE6HTS > It is with a heavy heart that I must share that Bob, WB6JPI passed away > last night. > I don't have any further details at this time. > > Bob was a true ham, always sharing his knowledge and lending a helpful hand. > I will miss him very much. > > RIP Bob. > > Tom, K6VCR

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Need help locating a rogue 70cm transmitter!
by Levi C. Maaia, K6LCM 16 Oct '17

16 Oct '17

SBARC Members, If you have skills with amateur radio direction finding, the Digital SIG and Telecommunications Services Committee have a challenge for you! SBARC has just put a newly coordinated multimode digital repeater on the air at 445.200/440.200 MHz. This club digital repeater sits atop the Mesa at the same site as the 2m FM club repeater. However, there is a potential squatter on our new input frequency 440.200 MHz. This rogue station beacons with a short (250 ms) digital burst every 11 seconds 24/7. We have analyzed and decoded the signal and believe that it is a beacon from the output of a DMR or multimode digital repeater. The beacon, however, contains no ID and no location information. Since this is an input frequency according to the SoCal band plan, this is not the appropriate frequency for such transmissions. If you have DF equipment, we could use your help to locate station transmitting the beacon as that is most likely to be the source of the interference that we are experiencing on our club system. Occasionally there are longer sustained transmissions but those could be from local users of our repeater and not the source of interference. So if you plan on helping to locate the interference, focus on the 250 ms beacon bursts that occurs at regular 11-second intervals on 440.200 MHz. Reception reports so far indicate that the station can be heard throughout Santa Barbara and Goleta. We do not have any reception reports yet from Ventura County. Reports and information can be passed along to me, K6LCM. Thanks so much for your help. LCM Levi C. Maaia, K6LCM Director at Large | Co-Chair, Telecommunications Services Committee Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club, Inc. www.levi.maaia.com +1.805.604.5384

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ARDF Practice, Nov 4 at Bonelli Regional Park
by Marvin Johnston 12 Oct '17

12 Oct '17

Note: we also have dinner at Sizzler's afterward, and all participants are invited. We generally talk ARDF related subjects including when and where the next practice will be. Thanks! Marvin, KE6HTS ********** Southern California's next on-foot transmitter hunting session will be Saturday, November 4, 2017 at Bonelli Regional Park. It is suitable for both beginner and intermediate level transmitter hunters. All ages are welcome, so bring the family. A ham radio license and/or knowledge of radio equipment are not requirements. Try your hand at some easy two-meter transmitters set by Joe Moell K0OV plus a 5-fox two-meter international-rules course of beginner-to-moderate difficulty, set by Marvin Johnston KE6HTS. One or more fox transmitters on the 80-meter band may also be set up to try. Experts will be on hand to help you. If you have receivers, scanners, directional antennas, attenuators, or other equipment suitable for on-foot RDF, be sure to bring it. Make sure all batteries are fresh. A limited amount of RDF gear will be available for loan. For those who want to build RDF gear for use with their own two-meter hand-held radios or scanners, Marvin will have kits for measuring-tape yagis and active attenuator circuit boards. There will be tools and soldering stations for building. If you're not an electronic technician, don't worry because there will be experts to help you. Send e-mail to Marvin (marvin(a)west.net) to pre-register and get more information about equipment. The building session will only take place if there are sufficient advance registrations. If you already have equipment and just want to hunt transmitters, you don't need to pre-register. If it takes place, the building session will start at 9:30 AM. Please be prompt. Beginner transmitters will be on the air at that time. The main 5-fox hunt will start about 10:30 AM. Hunters may start the courses at any time until 1 PM. Courses close at 3 PM. For the advanced 2-m eter course, electronic scoring may be used. If you have an "e-stick," be sure to bring it. Trails are primitive in some areas of the park, so wear sturdy shoes. All ages are welcome, but young children must be accompanied by an adult at all times. Bonelli Regional Park is near Raging Waters, Brackett Field, and Puddingstone Reservoir. From the 57 freeway north of I-10, take the Via Verde exit and go east through the entrance to the park. There is a per-vehicle entry fee. Go approximately 1/4 mile beyond the entrance and turn left into the parking lot for the Snack Shoppe (formerly the bike rental stand). Look for the orange-and-white orienteering flag directing you to the starting area. Talk-in is on 146.97 MHz simplex. If heavy rain is forecasted, check www.homingin.com on November 3 for possible cancellation. 73, Joe Moell K0OV

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HAMCON report - tech talks including Dealing with Government for Amateur Radio Antennas; Attorney Jonathan Kramer W6JLK
by Ken Alker 30 Sep '17

30 Sep '17

I attended Hamcom in Torrance on September 16 and 17th. I attended tech talks all day Saturday (<http://www.hamconinc.org/tech-talks-sked.html>). One of my favorites was "Dealing with Government for Amateur Radio Antennas" given by Attorney Jonathan Kramer, W6JLK. He was very articulate, witty, and an all-around great speaker. His talk was not only very informative (he's a smart guy), but very funny. If you are interested in putting up an antenna and/or an antenna tower, check out his presentation found at: <http://w6jlk.com/arrl17/> (won't be the same without his narrative, but worth a look-see). As an aside, on Monday January 23, 2017 the US House of Representatives passed the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2017 by unanimous consent. This action now sends the bill to the US Senate for its consideration. We should all be writing to our senators regarding the Amateur Radio parity Act (HR555). If you live in a deed-restricted community (ie. HOA, etc.) this affects you, but even if it does not, we should do this to help our fellow hams who are in this situation currently (and it'll ultimately help any of us who end up in a deed-restricted community one day). Here is info on the act: <http://www.arrl.org/amateur-radio-parity-act> How to write to senator: <https://arrl.rallycongress.net/ctas/urge-us-senate-to-support-amateur-radio…> Other talks I attended: Elecraft: mostly advertising their new products (including 1500W amp), but that's what I was after - they have only 40-some-odd people working for them and ALL ARE IN THE USA - even the programmers! AND they manufacture their radios in the USA too - mostly Northern California! WOW. AREDN project: Andre Hansen, K6AH, AREDN Project Manager - good intro to the mesh network - apparently Orv Beach did a "birds of a feather" session later in the day. Lunch speaker: Ned Stearns, AA7A - DXpedition to sub Antartic South Sandwich and South George Islands - I read about this journey on their web site as it happened and tried to reach them while they were there, but my set-up just wasn't good enough. It was neat to see HIS personal pictures and video of the islands. The first island honestly looked miserable. It was amazing how they scaled rock walls while waves splashed on them to get to the island; they climbed rope ladders and pulled full-blown generators up behind them; for a week they lived on top of several feet of penguin dung (smelled foul) in tents that were constantly collapsing and getting ripped apart by incredibly high winds - these guys really rough it just so we can make cool DX contacts. New Designs for Vertical Antennas: Tom Schiller, N6BT (former owner of Force-12)- He has discovered some very interesting properties of vertical antennas that no one has documented in the past! I bought his "Array of Light" antenna book for $30. Ham Radio's Role During the Vietnam War: Dennis Vernacchia, N6KI - Gave a fantastic talk and showed pictures he took of his MARs station during the year he served. This is the only time I've seen first-hand pictures from someone who served in Vietnam. I wasn't sure I wanted to go to this talk, but it turned out to be absolutely fascinating. I overheard something about turning his presentation into a TV show - I hope he does. The Future for Ham Radio Equipment: Bob Allison, WB1GCM, ARRL Assistant Lab manager - A lot about how they test radios at ARRL, talked about many manufacturers and a lot about Flex radio. My favorite quote: maybe once all radios are SDR's, and drawing incredibly lower power, they will all be left on 24/7 and messages will regularly be relayed from one to the next. Some may scoff at this, yet, (ironically) what does ARRL stand for!? I spoke with some vendors about new light weight lithium phosphate battery technology good for backpacking (we may carry at Santa Barbara Electronics), as well as a new fold-out photovoltaic panel array for hiking (small, light, sturdy), another guy selling a 10-80M small portable loop antenna (in QST this month), Dave Bottom, WI6R, the owner of RadioSport headsets (a super smart guy with a really neat work history from San Luis Obispo; and he races on the same tracks as I :-), and many more. Our dinner speaker was space weather expert Dr. Tamitha Skov of Aerospace Corporation (federally funded R&D center for the Air Force). She was energetic, sharp, and a great speaker. Anyone interested in how the weather affects ham radio would have loved this talk. She taught us thing about weather (out in space) that I don't think I could have learned anywhere else. It was quite a weekend for someone like me who has recently gotten back into the hobby. Ken

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SBARC-list October 2017