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wireless tests report
by Thorsten von Eicken 15 Sep '05

15 Sep '05

Last sunday Ansh and I did a number of long-distance wifi tests to try out some new 16dBi Vagi (dual-Yagi) antennas and we got pretty mixed results. The base station was located at my home at 2100 ft altitude near San Marcos pass with a CM-9 80mW-100mW radio and a 16dBi Vagi with horizontal polarization. The Vagi was pointed at "downtown" Santa Barbara approx 9-10mi away. Driving down Hwy 154 we made a first stop to verify that everything was working. We then proceeded to the rooftop of a parking garage in downtown (by Anacapa and de La Guerra, but we couldn't get a good line of sight and some quick tests showed no connection. We then moved to another garage (by Anacapa and Cota Streets) where we indeed had line of sight to the base station between some roofs and trees, just a few degrees above horizontal. We set-up a 2nd Vagi with the same radio and got a connection before even carefully aiming the antenna. The signal to noise ratio (SNR) was 11-12dB at the base station and around 14dB at the mobile end. Presumably the base station gets a lot more noise by pointing at downtown. In any case, using the link over SSH was quite acceptable. We then switched the radio at the mobile end to a new 400mW Ubiquiti SR2. The SNR at the base went up to 15-16dB, but the measured packet loss went up and using the link with SSH was rather unpleasant. Having read reports that some early cards have transmitter problems we're now wondering whether ours is affected... We then tried 5dBi and 9dBi omnidirectional antennas. This was a little difficult due to the horizontal polarization of the base station. After toying around for a long time, we came up empty-handed. Either the 7-11 dB less gain are enough to make a connection completely impossible, or the omnis picked up a lot more local noise thereby reducing SNR further. In any case a rather disappointing result! We're planning to do additional tests this coming sunday, this time setting up our "mobile" shop at La Vigia to make the whole thing a little easier. If anyone is interested in participating or just stopping by, please send me an email. The experience so far tells me that we really need the 50' tower on the rover if we want to set-up a mobile station "anywhere" downtown. With all the buildings and trees it's difficult to get a predictable line of sight to anywhere. Also, while a little camera mounted behind the antenna might be cute for pointing the antenna we really need a good compass-based approach. Even through last sunday was relatively clear, it was impossible to make out any details in the area of the mountain station even when using a 15x-45x field scope: the haze plus the blurring due to air movement were too strong. Thorsten - N6TVE

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September SBARC Meeting
by Marvin Johnston 15 Sep '05

15 Sep '05

Hi everyone, September is the time we start our monthly meetings again, and we have a good one to start with! Travis Wood, AE6GA, has been working on autonomous vehicle software systems for the DARPA Grand Challenge (DGC) since the DGC was first announced. For those of you who don't know, a two million dollar prize is being offered this year for the first autonomous vehicle to complete the course between Barstow, CA and Primm, NV. Travis will be talking his experiences with the DPC, about the software to do the job, and is bringing a robot to demonstrate the software he has written. Meetings are open to the public, so please invite your friends to attend as well! When: Friday, October 15, 2005 Time: 7:30 PM (Doors open at 6:45!) Location: Goleta Union Schools Admin. Board Room 401 N. Fairview Ave., Goleta

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Need Red Cross Volunteers
by Marvin Johnston 12 Sep '05

12 Sep '05

Hi everyone, The Red Cross is in need of volunteers to help answer the phones, etc. as things are quite busy down there thanks to Katrina. The available time slots are 2 hours long. There are openings for Thursday through Saturday of this week, and all next week. The only requirement is that you have taken the Red Cross orientation class. If you would like to help but haven't taken the class yet, there will be a class on Wednesday evening from 6:00PM to 8:00PM at the Red Cross. Please contact Will Teft at 448-5702 or Mike Williams at 687-1331 if you are able to help out. The Red Cross has done a great deal to help SBARC and this is one opportunity for us to say thanks!

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Plans for JOTA
by Darryl A. Widman 10 Sep '05

10 Sep '05

JOTA Weekend October 15 and 16, 2005 We of the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club are planning on utilizing our new Rover van for the JOTA (Jamboree-on-the-Air), an international Boy Scout/Amateur Radio joint affair. We will drive it to the Boy Scouts of America Los Padres Council Camp Allegre located along Highway 154 near the entrance to Lake Cachuma. We will position it in the open area near the flagpoles. From that vantage point, propogation to all directions except south should be possible. From that exact location, I was able to contact Japan ten years ago during the Webelos Scout campout. So far, the ideas shaping up for JOTA include the following activities: (1) JOTA HF radio contacts with Scouts talking over our radios in the Rover van with other Scouts far away. We are planning on fastening a large map of the US (thanks to Will Teft, KG6GHK) to the side of the van whereby the Scouts can place a magnet with their name on it on that point on the map to show their buddies where they made that radio contact. (2) Transmitter hunting with, possibly, ARDF (map and compass work). Several transmitters can be running in timed sequence. Marvin Johnston, KE6HTS, and possibly Joe Moell, K0OV, will help set up an outstanding course for the boys, along with personalized instruction. Helpers are encouraged to come out and lend a hand. Be an Elmer! (3) Morse Code practice oscillator kit construction (including soldering) as a superb souvenier of the JOTA weekend. You can bet the Scouts will be encouraged to learn the code and begin studying for their first ham license. Use of hand tools will be shown. (4) Amateur Television with Rod Fritz, WB9KMO, demonstrating several modes. Sending video from various campsites to a receiver at the Rover van will be very fascinating. Possibility of Slow Scan has been discussed. If possible, a relay setup to be able to link into the ATV net in Southern California will be examined. (5) Campfire with skits and singing, awarding JOTA patches for excelling in above activities. Mike Jogoleff, WA6MBZ, ordered 12 @$4 ea along with 200 wallet-sized cards -- one per Scout. The Scout units will control the campfire. (6) Above cards to be presented to Scouts and colored stickum stars to be affixed for completing each activity as the weekend progresses. (7) Radio Merit Badge work. We will need those willing to become merit badge counselors. Merit badge pamphlets and cards will be needed. The Scout office is excited about this whole event. Scout leaders are in the loop already and are looking forward to JOTA. You can bet they will be talking it up with their boys. They have planning to do, such as meals/cooking, preparing their campsites, transportation, what to pack, etc. If any of you has another idea for an activity, please get in touch with me. We will be needing at least 25 hams present to keep things moving. Please be one of them! Thank you and 73, Darryl Widman, KF6DI 805-969-2326 auditron(a)juno.com

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Red Cross needs help
by Lou Dartanner 07 Sep '05

07 Sep '05

Dear communicators, The American Red Cross Santa Barbara Chapter needs your assistance in answering phones and doing similar tasks at their headquarters on State Street. The two-hour long shifts start at 8 a.m. and run until about 4 p.m. (or later if needed). You can take one shift or several and don't necessarily need to come in at exactly the start time but can overlap. The Red Cross will provide a short training session for you. Mike Williams, KC6DSH, is coordinating the effort and you can call him at the Red Cross at 687-1331 extension 35, or call him on the 146.79 repeater. This assignment may go on for quite some time and is an excellent opportunity for SBARC to show our gratitude to the Red Cross for their generosity in allowing us to use their facility for our activities for many years. I hope you can help. 73, Lou

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Wall-Wart Needed!
by AD6EZ 03 Sep '05

03 Sep '05

Hi Gang - I am looking for a wall-wart with a positive center with a 5v at 2.5A output. Any help with this would be very much appreciated. Tnx - 73 de Denny AD6EZ<>< Dennis H. Morales, AD6EZ<>< Goleta, CA 93117

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KeyKlix Deadline
by Marvin Johnston 03 Sep '05

03 Sep '05

Hi everyone, Just a reminder that Monday, September 5, is the deadline for the September issue of KeyKlix. Articles can be sent to Bill Smathers, at WillZ789(a)cs.com. Thanks! Marvin

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Saturday Morning Breakfast
by Marvin Johnston 02 Sep '05

02 Sep '05

Hi everyone, Tomorrow is the first Saturday of the month and you are welcome to join us for breakfast. If you plan on attending, please send an email to Dennis (WB6OBB) at dennis(a)west.net to confirm. Thanks! Marvin, KE6HTS P.S. - I didn't forget the time and location, just figured I'd put it at the end :). We will be meeting at Cody's Restaurant near the corner of Turnpike and Hollister at 8:00AM.

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Ham Radio in Katrina Rescue Efforts link
by kc6nah＠juno.com 30 Aug '05

30 Aug '05

This is from 8-30-05: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4824598 ___________________________________________________________________ Try Juno Platinum for Free! Then, only $9.95/month! Unlimited Internet Access with 250MB of Email Storage. Visit http://www.juno.com/value to sign up today!

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Transmitter hunts at ARRL Convention
by Marvin Johnston 30 Aug '05

30 Aug '05

Transmitter hunting will be a prominent part of the ARRL Southwestern Division Convention, September 9 - 11, 2005 at the Riverside Convention Center in Riverside, California. Joe Moell K0OV presents "What's New in Radio Direction Finding?" on Saturday at 1:00 PM in the Citrus Heritage room. Included will be photos and stories of the USA and IARU Region 2 ARDF Championships in Albuquerque at the beginning of August. Jay Thompson W6JAY will speak about "Getting Started in ARDF" on Saturday at 8:30 AM. Hear him tell about his trips to the World Championships. Marvin Johnston KE6HTS will lead a pair of two-hour workshops where you can build your own tape-measure RDF yagi for two meters or another VHF/UHF band. You can also learn about offset attenuators there. If you can't attend his workshop on Saturday at 9:30 AM, there will be another at the same time on Sunday. All of the above presentations will be in the Citrus Heritage room. The official convention transmitter hunt will be an all-on-foot one-fox event on Saturday at 5:30 PM, put on by the Citrus Belt Amateur Radio Club. Will there also be some unofficial hunts? Keep an ear on 146.565 MHz. See you there. Convention information is at http://arrlswdconv.org 73, Joe Moell K0OV

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