THE LOCAL OSCILLATOR - July 2004 NOTE: An HTML version is available at www.mvrc.qzxservices.com. A pdf file of the web edition is available at www.mvrc.qzxservices.com/pdf/LO0407.pdf. It will be easy to print that edition. If you do not have the free pdf reader you can get it at www.adobe.com TABLE OF CONTENTS COMING EVENTS PRESIDENT'S CORNER FIELD DAY 2004 JULY MEETINGS PSL 2, HAMS 0 BACK PAGE COMING EVENTS Week days 6 m FM net 52.540 6:00AM Mon WTRA Swap net 146.88 8 PM Wed Net 146.64 6:45PM round-table 52.525MHz 8 PM Weekdays Informal get together Mon Wed Fri Munson Center 10AM Tue Thur Wal-Mart E June 26, 27 Field Day July 4 firecracker run July 10 river run July 17 Burn Lake run Aug 7 Breakfest 8 AM Club House Aug 7 Business meeting 9:15AM Club House Aug 9 Social Meeting (2nd Mon) 6 PM Golden Corral Aug 11 1st Wed after 2nd Mon Directors at Club House 7:00PM Sep 4 Alamogordo NM Hamfest Oct 31 marathon Nov 11 Baylor Pass run PRESIDENT'S CORNER KD5SSF Field Day is this weekend. Many of our members and friends have been working long hours to make this event a success. I won't even begin to try to name everyone who has contributed to this effort because I don't know about much of the work that people have done. What I do know has left me impressed with your dedication and hard work. Amateurs seem to live by Harry Truman's quote, "It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit". We will have four radios, at least as many antennas, several recreational vehicles and a host of volunteers manning the stations around the clock. If you have not been involved in the effort yet, there is still time for you to get in on the action. Come to the parking lot east of the Pan Am Center and see what is happening. Look over the shoulders of the operators and loggers. There may even be an opportunity for you to give one of the operators a break for a while. We will be operating from noon Saturday to noon Sunday. If you want more "hands on" work we will be setting up antennas and other gear around 8 AM Saturday and tearing down after noon on Sunday. To all who are contributing to the success of Field Day, you have my heartfelt thanks. FIELD DAY 2004 Field day is coming. Set up starts Saturday at 8AM. Operating starts Saturday 12 noon Operating ends Sunday noon. Satellite contact attempt at Saturday 4 PM and 5:45PM Disassembly starts Sunday at noon. Field Day is an event at which we operate radios at a location remote from electric mains (in the field). We will set up in the gravel parking lot east of the Pan Am Center. Remote does not have to be austere so we will be operating out of several motor homes. There is plenty of fun to go around. Even if you have never been involved in a field day, come and man one of the stations for an hour or so. There will be experienced Amateurs on hand who will help you get on the air. Insomniacs are advised that we plan to operate throughout the night. This is your chance to join some other nocturnal hams. One of the biggest goals is to generate interest in amateur radio both among hams and those who have not yet discovered the joy of Amateur Radio. Bring along anyone you know of who has any tolerance at all for Amateur Radio. We are still looking for people to work the stations. We will have VHF, HF CW, HF Phone, and GET ON THE AIR (GOTA) stations. We will allow non-licensed people to make contacts from the GOTA station. We are also looking for someone else to loan us an ICOM 706. If you are willing to allow your ICOM 706 to get an extra workout or wish to man one of the stations for an hour or so, please contact Bob (KD5PPP) at 984-0995 or Cash (KD5SSJ) at 382-1917. The latest schedule of operators is at http://www.zianet.com/joe/fd2004.htm. JULY MEETINGS The MVRC directors decided to not have the regular business meeting on July 3 and also not have the directors meeting on July 14. PSL 2, HAMS 0 WA2NIJ Thursday, June 10 was the day Sheila Horan's students from Deming were to launch a balloon carrying the payload they had assembled. The payload included a pressure transducer, accelerometer, digital camera, gps and Kenwood HT. The HT sent out an APRS signal every five minutes. Steve Horan, AC5RI, could track the signals in his office. We gathered at Hatch Middle School for the launch. PSL does launches so often they operate their own helium tanker. The first balloon launched carried a payload for Steve Horan's Capstone Project. It rose at about 1000 ft/minute to 115,000 ft. +/- before bursting. It was tracked by the folks from PSL. The balloon carrying the students' payload rose to about 60,000 feet before bursting. Then the students from Deming got back on their busses and returned to Las Cruces. That left Sheila, four college students who were working with Sheila on this project, Cash Olsen, KD5SSJ, Marnie, KA2FVO, and myself to go and find the payload. We hung out at the Dairy Queen until we got the location of the balloon from Steve. It was in an area south of Caballo Lake. The PSL troops chased their balloon from the east side of the mountains from the Upham exit. We decided to chase our balloon from the west. It took forever to find a way across the river and the Interstate. We tried to cross the road over the dam at Caballo, but it was closed. the people there sent us south. We went through Derrey to the Garfield exit and then took off eastward through the mesquite, going where the gps dictated. At some point along the way, Sheila, in her low slung van, decided she could go no further without damage. Our truck with its higher clearance, was deemed the best option for continuing. Two of the students came along with us. We followed the gps until we had to quit. The "road" was too narrow. We were only 3 miles from the payload. The students got out and started hiking. They soon returned, saying they would have to climb over a mountain to get to the payload. In the meantime, I thought I had found a spot where I could turn around, and promptly got the truck stuck. The students worked prodigiously, jacking up the truck and putting rocks under the wheels ten times to get it turned around. The water we had carried in the truck was running out. We drove back to where Sheila had stopped. Cash had called Charlie Mabry, K9AQH and requested help. He brought cold water!!!! I was anxious to return home, so I took off ahead of the others and promptly got lost. Charlie found me, thus saving my life twice in one day. Meanwhile, the PSL folks recovered both balloons and payloads. BACK PAGE The newsletter is always looking for articles and notes of interest to the members of the Mesilla Valley Radio Club. Please send them to Alex. F. Burr, K5XY, Editor, MVRC Local Oscillator, 695 Stone Canyon Drive, Las Cruces, NM 88011. Small personal ads from members will also be published. It would be helpful if submissions would be made in a machine readable form. MSDOS disks are welcome. Files can also be sent to the Internet address aburr@aol.com. The club has a web site maintained by WA2NIJ at http://www.zianet.com/mvrc. OFFICERS Pres Tim Linn KD5SSF 521-0486 kd5ssf@arrl.net VPr Bob Deal KD5PPP bob-verna@zianet.com Sec Carleton Talbot KC5MRM (915)877-3538 kc5mrm@zianet.com Tres Charlie Welch W5TLU 524-3412 cwwelch@usa.net Board Communications Karl Larsen K5DI 524-3303 k5di@zianet.com Education Joe San Filippo WZ5R 521-7574 sanfilippo@zianet.com Special Events Cash Olsen KD5SSJ 382-1917 KD5SSJ@zianet.com Newsletter Alex Burr K5XY 522-2528 k5xy@arrl.net Repeaters Brad Sacca KD5SKE 382-4380 sheikyerbouty@msn.com Facilities Bob Bennett AD5LJ 382-0148 rbennett@zianet.com JOIN THE CLUB To join the Mesilla Valley Radio Club, renew your membership, or to support the repeaters, please complete the form below and send it with dues ($25 single, $35 family per year) to: Treasurer, MVRC, Box 1443, Las Cruces, NM 88004. Name: Address: Call: Class of License: Phone: E-Mail Address: ARRL Member? Yes? No?