THE LOCAL OSCILLATOR - November 2005 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/LO0511.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 RACES CW GROUP CLUB HOUSE STATUS SOCORRO HAMFEST TOOLS NEW MEXICO QSO PARTY ANTENNA CREW MINUTES OF OCTOBER BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES OF OCTOBER BOARD OF DIRECTORS INCOME/EXPENSE BACK PAGE COMING EVENTS Sun CW net 7.142 MHz 4:00PM M-F 6 m FM net 52.540 6:00AM Mon YL Rise & Shine 449.9 8:30AM Mon WTRA Swap net 146.88 8:00PM Wed Net 146.64 6:45PM M-F round-table 52.525MHz 8:00PM MWF Informal get together Wal-Mart W (Valley) 10AM TTH Informat get together Wal-Mart E (Walton) 10AM Oct 29 Socorro Hamfest 8AM see http://www.socorroara.org Oct 30 Marathon race 6:45AM Nov 5 Breakfast 8:00AM Club House Nov 5 Business meeting 9:15AM Club House Nov 7 CW Group 7:00PM Club House Nov 9 1st Wed after 1st Sat Directors at Club House 7:00PM Nov 12 Baylor Pass race Nov 24 Turkey Trot race Dec 3 NM QSO Party Contact N5KEV@msn.com Dec ? Club Christmas Party Chilitos?? Jan7 Next Club Meeting PRESIDENT'S CORNER N5PK The November meeting will be our last general meeting of this year and it is an important one. We must elect our leadership for the coming year and plan for our annual Christmas banquet and discuss the possibility of acquiring a new 2 meter repeater for twin peaks. Also, I believe it is important to reflect on accomplishments of the this year and begin to plan for next year. Our first priority for the new year is to continue and improve upon the activities we are involved in currently. Those are; 1. Public Service Activity. The MVRC is involved in providing communications in support of many public and emergency activities and we do a very good job providing these services. 2. License Classes and Exams. This activity is very important to the life of our club and it's ability to provide competent communicators in support of our commitment to providing public service. With the possibility of The FCC abolishing the code requirement for all license classes, we will need to be diligent and work hard to meet the training challenges in the next few years. 3. Meeting Programs. I believe a key element to increasing attendance at our monthly meetings and greater participation in our activities is to have good programs at our meetings. Tres has done a great job this year with the scheduling of our programs. We must continue these quality presentations into the future. 4. Bean Feed. The bean feed continues to be a popular activity and just gets better with each rendition! There is hard work involved in the success of this activity but there is also an opportunity to fellowship with other amateurs around our state, clean out our closets and pass along our treasures to another, plus volunteering to work and serve others. We should continue this activity and make it better if possible. 5. Field Day. We had a very good event this year. All who attended had a great time, enjoyed the fellowship the brisket, sodas and the work of setting up antennas and taking them down. The training was valuable and the experience worth while. In the coming year we should build upon this years successes and work to get more members involved, improve our score somewhat and continue to hone our social as well as the technical skills of our hobby. I didn't intend to get so "wordy" when I started this article but there didn't seem to be a stopping place. The bottom line is this, together we've done a reasonably good job in the performance of the activities we as a club are committed to. I say, thanks to each of you for your individual and corporate efforts toward our club meeting it's goals. I believe we together can do a better job next year, don't you! See you at the meeting, first Saturday morning in November, 08:00 for breakfast, 09:15 for the meeting, RACES KD5OHA On Sunday Oct. 30TH. I still need 5 people for coverage of the Mesilla Valley Track Club.Marathon race the race starts at7A.M. At the Field of Dreams. Also on November 12 is the Baylor Pass run That is a Sat. and it starts at 10A.M. Then on Nov. 24 I will need help with the turkey trot race. This is a very short race on Thanksgiving day. Please let me know if you can help with any of these. Contact me 525-1956 or e-mail at geokd5oha@yahoo.com. CW GROUP K5DI We have been without antenna's at the Club House for 3 months and it has crimped our style. I understand the beam has serious problems and so does the 80-40 meter wire. From talking with Dave Hassall he plans to make one of his all band antennas (dipoles) for the Club House. This will be a good fix for the CW Groups needs. After a lot of thinking, what I want this Group to do is offer a complete system that gives a non-ham the desire to be a ham and use CW. Here is what is proposed. Anyone at any point in their development in Ham Radio is invited to try the fun of building your own transceiver at a cost of $55.00 for a kit of parts. This results in a working 40 meter transceiver with a good receiver and transmitter. During the building phase you can study for the General Class license if needed. During the building of this kit there will be people that can help you if there is any problem(s). We will put it on the air at the Club House and make sure it is working well. Now you are ready to build an antenna for your home. There is a lot of expertise in this field and you can do what works in your home. There will be CW nets that meet on 40 meters. You can check into mine on Sunday at 4PM on 7.142 MHz and be welcomed from Las Cruces to Alabquerque. We will start one if needed for simple code speed improvement. I hope many avail themselves of this opportunity. It is low cost but full of the fun associated with being a full active Ham. The next meeting will be at 7 PM on Nov 7 2005 or you can call Karl Larsen at 524-3303. CLUB HOUSE STATUS AD5LJ Several of us spent three days working at the clubhouse doing general clean-up and minor repairs. We accomplished the following. A. Washed and dusted most of the clubhouse. We ran out of energy and still have some dusting left to do in the main meeting room. We also need to clean the refrigerator. B. Shut down the air conditioner and started the furnace. C. Resealed all the roof penetrations. Some minor leaks had developed and have now been repaired. D. Repaired the outside lights on the meter pole. The GFI was destroyed by lightening and this prevented the outside lights from working. The GFI was bypassed so that the lights would function. We need an electrician to complete repairs and this is being arranged. The electrical receptacles on the meter pole do not work. E. The weeds on the lot were mowed and the dead tree removed. F. Both the HF antennas were damaged over the summer, probably by a lightening surge. The dipole has been taken down and a replacement dipole is being fabricated. We intend to install it as soon as possible. The beam was tested and it appears that one or more of the traps have been fried. We have no option but to take down the beam. The current plan is to refurbish a TH-6 antenna donated to the club and align it on the ground. When this is finished, we will have a workday to lower the old beam and install the replacement. It is unlikely we will be able to replace the damaged beam before January 2006. SOCORRO HAMFEST The Socorro Hamfest will be held Saturday, October 29, 2005, at the New Mexico Fire Fighters Academy in Socorro. Hours are 8:00 a.m. -- 3:00 p.m. The talk-in frequency is 146.68, negative offset, 100 Hz tone. They will have vendors, presentations, seminars, a VE session for all license classes, and a transmitter hunt. It is a good event and we look forward to seeing lots of you there. A special added attraction is a Friday, October 28, tour of the Very Large Array (VLA) at 1:00 p.m. If you haven't taken this tour, you really should try to make it. The VLA is impressive and the tour is extremely interesting and informative. They might even show you where the pond was when the movie "Contact" was shot there. The VLA is 50 miles west of Socorro, and there are signs with directions to the facility as you come into town. Also on Friday, October 28, at 7:00 p.m., there will be a Hamfest Banquet at the Backyard Barbeque, 713 South California Street. For more information contact or see . TOOLS AD5LJ During the repair sessions at the clubhouse I forget to bring tools. The fact that the MVRC does not own any tools was driven home to me, as I had to make two trips to gather the tools needed for repairs. The club needs a set of basic hand tools for use during field day and around the clubhouse for maintenance. I inventoried all our tools and found we have very few. The critical items we need are listed below. I asked for donations from club members at the 1 Oct. meeting. If you have extra serviceable tools of the following types, please consider donating them the MVRC. 1. Set of standard screwdrivers. 2. Hacksaw. 3. Set of combination wrenches (both English and metric sizes). 4. Set English size nut drivers. 5. Long nose pliers (large and small sizes). 6. Side cutting pliers (two sizes needed). 7. Heavy duty cutter for cable and steel wire. 8. Standard pliers. 9. Heavy duty soldering gun or iron. 10. ¼ inch electric drill with set of drill bits. NEW MEXICO QSO PARTY Kevin, N5KEV,is gearing up for a New Mexico QSO Party. This will run from 0000Z until 2359Z, December 3, 2005, CW and phone, 160 to 10 Meters. Contact Kevin at for detailed information about power, points, multipliers, etc. ANTENNA CREW AD5LJ About two months ago, I volunteered to assist George, KD5OHA, during field day by taking charge of erecting and taking down antennas. I need a crew of five or six able-bodied people to assist me. If you would like to be a member of the field day antenna crew, please drop me an email at rbennett@zianet.com. As soon as the crew is assembled, I intend to hold one or two practice sessions. The practice sessions will probably be in February or March. MINUTES OF OCTOBER BUSINESS MEETING W5JRD The MVRC met at the club house on October 6, 2005 for the regular business meeting. The meeting was called to order by president Tres Campbell (KD5ZHI) at 9:00 am. Reports: Sandra Hempfling (KJ5Q) - Treasurer's Report - There is a total of $9,977.11 in all accounts. Motion to approve was made by Jim Leverett (WA2NIJ) and seconded by Bob Bennett (KD5LJ). The motion passed. Judy Davis - Minutes of previous meeting - Minutes of the September meeting were read. Motion to approve was made by Jim Leverett and seconded by Melonie Jack (KD5UZF). The motion passed. Rodney Davis (WK5I) - Nominating Committee Report - All officers and directors have agreed to return for another term. If anyone wishes to run for an office, please call Rodney at 522-6833. Elections will be held at the November meeting. Cash Olsen (KD5SSJ) - Special events report - The parts for the active attenuators to be used in the fox hunt events will be ready for the events scheduled for Wednesday, October 12 at 6:30 pm at the club house. He also reported on his recent trip to Houston as a Red Cross Volunteer. George Kopp (KD5OHA) - Communications report - The annual marathon race is set for October 30 at 8:00 am. starting at the Field of Dreams. Volunteers are needed. It was decided that due to the late date, the club will not take part in the X Prize games. Bob Bennett (AD5LJ) - Club House report - Reported on clean-up day. Inside cleanup and some outside cleanup was accomplished. Additional outside work and a roof repair are still to be done. Anyone having tools they can donate to replenish the club house tool box are requested to do so. We need tools for accomplishing minor repairs. Tres Campbell - Vice-President A prototype club logo shirt was shown. Price is about $25.00. Anyone interested should call Tres at 373-2008. Following adjournment of the meeting, a program on the assembly of emergency radio kits was presented by Dave Hassall (WA5DJJ). MINUTES OF OCTOBER BOARD OF DIRECTORS KJ5Q for W5JRD Board members in attendance were: Jack Lemons – N5PK Tres Campbell – KD5ZHI Sandra Hempfling – KJ5Q Bob Bennett – AD5LJ Alex Burr – K5XY George Kopp – KD5OHA Cash Olsen – KD5SSJ President Jack Lemons called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. The minutes were approved as printed in the Local Oscillator. The treasurer’s report was given by Sandra Hempfling. The Club has $9979.79 in all accounts as of September 30, 2005. The report was approved as read. Reports: 1. Bob Bennett presented a list of clubhouse projects for consideration. Some of the repairs need to be completed ASAP. Tools are needed to complete the kit at the club house. 2. Cash Olsen will explore possible places for the Christmas dinner. Suggested were Chilitos and J.W. Flours. He presented a plaque from the NM Department of Health. A project group will meet on October 12 to work on antennas and attenuators. 3. Alex Burr set October 20 as the deadline for information for the Local Oscillator. 4. Tres Campbell presented a design shirt for the club. Shirts will sell for $22.50 and club members will have the opportunity or place orders. 5. George Kopp is looking for more helpers for the Marathon on October 30. He also reported that Charlie Welch has a diesel generator that could be used for Field Day. 6. After discussion, the board determined that the board positions presently held by Bob Bennett, Alex Burr, and Brad Sacca should appear on the ballot. The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 pm. INCOME/EXPENSE KJ5C Mesilla Valley Radio Club Income/Expense September 1 through September 30, 2005 Beginning Balances MVRC Checking Account 3420.19 MVRC Savings Account 4104.88 Education Fund Account 2523.13 Cash on Hand 49.47 Balances Total 10097.67 Income Interest Income 1.37 Total Income 1.37 Balances + Income 10099.04 Expenses Newsletter 9.62 Postage 45.14 Utilities Electricity 29.11 Telephone 26.32 Water 11.06 Total Expenses 121.25 Balances on hand, Sept 30, 2005 9977.79 Ending Balances MVRC Checking Account 3298.94 MVRC Savings Account 4106.25 Education Fund Account 2523.13 Cash on Hand 49.47 Balances Total 9977.79 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 k5xy@arrl.net. The club has a web site maintained by WA2NIJ at http://www.zianet.com/mvrc. OFFICERS Pres Jack Lemons N5PK 526-9428 n5pk@zianet.com VPr Tres Campbell KD5HZI 373-2008 trscam@netscape.net Sec Judy Davis W5JRD 522-6833 jhughes@nmsu.edu Tres Sandra Hempfling KJ5Q 373-1166 kj5q@arrl.net BOARD Communications George Kopp KD5OHA 525-1956 geokd5oha@yahoo.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 Clubhouse Bob Bennett AD5LJ 382-0148 rbennett@zianet.com Repeaters Brad Sacca KC5SKE 382-4380 shiekyerbouty@msn.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 ($35 single, $45 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?