THE LOCAL OSCILLATOR - September 2006 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/LO0609.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 HATCH WATER WATCH SUMMER FUN RUN ALMAGORDO HAMFEST UNCLASSIFIED ADS INCOME/EXPENSES AUGUST BUSINESS MEETING AUGUST BOARD MINUTES 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 52.525 MHz 8:00PM MWF Informal get together Wal-Mart W (Valley) 10 AM TTH Informat get together Wal-Mart E (Walton) 10 AM Sept 2 Breakfast 8 AM Club House Sept 2 Business meeting 9 AM Club House Sept 2 Alamagordo Hamfest WA5UNO (505) 437-0145 Sept 9 Directors meeting 7 PM Club House Sept 8-10 Technician Class Club House Sept 23 Whole Enchilada Fiesta Run Sept 23 Deming Tailgate Oct 27-29 General Class Club House PRESIDENT'S CORNER N5PK Greetings to all, Another of our own, Steve Friis, is awaiting final decisions by care givers here on being transported to Houston TX for major surgery. As many of you know Steve has had one set back after another since the open heart surgery a short while back. It isn't known as yet whether Val will accompany Steve to Houston or not. Either way we need to keep Steve and Val in our prayers. Several of you have been assisting with the flood situation in Hatch. To those who volunteered, I say many thanks from us all. Also, I had a brief conversation with the Mayor of Hatch in which he expressed his personal gratitude for our help. There will be more of this in another article. I've been sitting and laying around trying to recover from arthroscopy surgery to my right knee on the 18th. I am doing quite well and hope to be up and going soon now. As I see and become aware of other folks problems, read of all the human suffering in our area due to the recent flooding and such, my difficulties and problems pale and become insignificant in comparison. I feel very blessed indeed! I will be appointing a nominating committee at our September meeting. If you would like to serve on this important committee see me before the meeting. The committee is responsible for bringing a full slate of officers and directors for us to consider at the November meeting. Cash tells me we are on track with our full breakfast again in September, so come and let's have a good meeting. We will be trying a change in our scheduled business meeting schedule, 09:00 instead of the usual 09:15 to allow an earlier start for the program segment. HATCH WATER WATCH KD5JSS On Saturday, 19 August, I got a call from the Mayor of Hatch, NM, a town which uring the week before had been inundated by flood waters. The mayor had made a ouple of calls and finally got directed to me, the county Races officer. Mayor Judd Nordyke was trying to put measures in place that would help alert the town if another flash flood was imminent, and hoped that these measures would relieve the jitters of the townspeople. His request was rather specific. He would like to have a pair of eyes actually go to the head of the Los Uvas arroyo and report if there was sufficient rain to cause the arroyo to flash. The person(s) going to this site would need a four wheel drive vehicle and he envisioned that they would communicate back to the command post where another ham would be in touch with the observer. I was pleased that the mayor was specific about the kind of help he would like the Mesillia Valley Radio Club to provide. I agreed to do some checking for the availability of volunteers and would get back to him relatively quickly. I got in touch with Jack (N5PK) and we came up with a short list of guys that we could think of that had a four wheel vehicle. I spoke to Bob (AD5LJ), Tres (KD5ZHI), John (WK5C), Dave (WA5DJJ), Richard (KC5EVR), Karl (K5DI), and left messages for Richard (KE5GAR), Charlie (K9AQH). Each of these hams had the requisite four wheel drive vehicle. Most of them would be available, at least one immediately, a couple not during the weekend, some not after the mid week, but now I had an idea that we might be able to support the mayor's request. I got back to the mayor and advised that we could respond to his request and told him that Tres and I would be available from 1600hours to 2000hours on Saturday evening. It turns out that Marty (N7CYY), Tres' father and his son also wanted to participate. So we gathered our getaway equipment and headed for Hatch, a 35 minute drive north of Las Cruces. When we arrived we introduced ourselves at the State Police Command Post which had been located at the Department of Transportation yard in Hatch. The mayor was out making rounds but quickly arrived at the command post. Again we made our introductions and he quickly arranged for the State Police shift commander Lt. Dominic Pargas to sit down and discuss the mission with us. We emphasized that this was a trip to gather details, to determine if the road was sufficiently safe for our members to be able to safely accomplish the the task. They arranged for a city employee to lead Tres (and father and son) to the point where we were to observe the rain. It took 20-30 minutes for Tres to get on station and he was able to stay until about 2000hours and still have some daylight. On their way back they left trail markings and wrote detailed directions. We have a GPS position and bread crumb trail. The mayor has asked us to be available whenever the weather looks threatening until the monsoon season has passed. I have tried to call the hams with 4W drive and team them with guys that don't. This is a good opportunity for us to demonstrate that we can respond with special equipment above and beyond our radio gear and that we have a concern for not only our community but the neighboring communities, as well. SUMMER FUN RUN WK5C Nine MVRC members supported the annual 5k walk and 5/10 kilometer run at Buena Vida Park August 5. After an early orientation, members then proceeded to their assigned positions. Fortunately it did not rain. All racers started together about 0712 hours and the 10k winner crossed the line about 38 minutes after the starter’s gun. The race was basically uphill from the park east on University/Dripping Springs. The 5k turnaround was near the PSL wooden antenna towers and the 10k turnaround further out past the point of the mountain almost to the high voltage transmission lines. There were no emergencies and only the usual first/last runner information was needed by the race director. Thanks to Brad-KC5SKE, Henry-AD5FE, Dennis-KB5TPV, Valorie-KD5ZGY, Dave-WA5DJJ, John-N5WQ, Jack-N5PK. George-KD5OHA worked the start/finish line and John-WK5C worked the 10k turnaround. ALMAGORDO HAMFEST The Alamogordo Amateur Radio Club will hold their 22nd annual hamfest on Saturday, September 2nd, at the Otero County Fairgrounds on White Sands Boulevard on the north side of town. They have free admission and free parking. Pre-register by mail to Alamogordo Amateur Radio Club, Hamfest 2006, P.O. Box 1191, Alamogordo, NM 88310. They will have forums, VE exams, a dinner Saturday evening, and other activities. Talk-in will be on the K5LRW repeaters using 146.800 MHz (negative offset, 100 Hz tone) and 444.825 MHz (positive offset, 67 Hz tone). If you haven't been to their hamfest, you need to check it out. Contact Larry Moore WA5UNO, (505) 437-0145, or Dick Spoula, AI5F, (505) 434-4146, for more information. UNCLASSIFIED ADS FOR SALE: Yaesu FT-1000MP Mk V Field, with built-in AC power supply, NEW IN BOX. No longer made by Yaesu, this is probably your last chance to buy a new FT-1000. I bought this radio several months ago to replace my FT-990 which I lost when my entire station was destroyed by lightning. I have since decided not to rebuild the station to its former size, and will be selling several pieces of new-in-box equipment that I purchased earlier this year. Never removed from box. $1,700 plus shipping, or best offer. Bill Johnston, K5ZI, k5zi@arrl.net FOR SALE: Heathkit SB-220 linear amplifier, 2 KW PEP, 10 - 80 meters. Excellent condition, little used, then in temperature controlled storage the past 20 years. I am the original owner and constructor. Includes the original manual and original purchase invoice (December 22, 1972). $650 or best offer. Pickup only, Las Cruces area. No shipping. Bill Johnston, K5ZI. Telephone 505-382-7804. k5zi@arrl.net INCOME/EXPENSES Mesilla Valley Radio Club Income/Expense July 1 through July 31, 2006 Beginning Balances MVRC Checking Account 4640.06 MVRC Savings Account 4119.39 MVRC 1 year CD 5000.00 Education Fund Account 2491.03 Cash on Hand 50.00 Balances Total 16300.48 Income Interest Income 1.36 Total Income 1.36 Balances + Income 16301.84 Expenses PO Box 50.00 Utilities Electricity 36.72 Telephone 29.03 Water 11.38 Total Expenses 127.13 Balances on hand, July 31, 2006 16174.71 Ending Balances MVRC Checking Account 4512.93 MVRC Savings Account 4120.75 MVRC 1 year CD 5000.00 Education Fund Account 2491.03 Cash on Hand 50.00 Balances Total 16174.71 Sandra Hempfling Treasurer AUGUST BUSINESS MEETING Mesilla Valley Radio Club Minutes of August 5, 2006 Meeting KJ5Q for W5JRD The meeting was called to order by Jack Lemons N5PK at 9:10 am. A quorum was present. Guests were welcomed and members introduced themselves. Minutes of the June 3, 2006 meeting were read. They were approved as read. The treasurer’s report for June and July 2006 were presented. The balance in all accounts on July 31, 2006 was $16,174.41. The reports were filed for audit. Education chairman, Joe San Filippo WZ5R talked about the tech class scheduled for September 8, 9, and 10. An announcement is posted on the zianet.com site and press releases have been submitted to the Las Cruces Bulletin and the Sun-News. Bill Brown W5UMQ moved that the purchase of 20 ARRL tech manuals and 4 instructor manuals (if needed) be approved. Motion was seconded and passed. Tim Linn KD5SSF, Bill Brown W5UMQ, and Kermit Schauer KM5W have volunteered to be instructors. The VE team will be Karl Larsen K5DI, Joe Ostrowski KI5FJ, John Hempfling N5WQ, and Sandra Hempfling KJ5Q. The Field Coordinator indicated that club contacts for emergency call-outs are Jim Leverett WA2NIJ, John Beakley WK5C, and Charlie Mabry K9AQH. President Jack Lemons N5PK initiated a discussion about the members’ commitment to support RACES, ARES and other emergency communications groups. After much discussion, this topic was referred to the Board. Karl Larsen K5DI presented information about a group supplying amateur radio help at the American Space Center for the Up Aerospace commercial group with rocket tracking. Anyone who is interested may contact Karl at 524-3303 or K5di@arrl.net. Field Day Chairman Dave Hassall WA5DJJ thanked the 25 people who worked. The club scored a total of 2,590 points with 637 of them coming from the GOTTA station manned bu 5 young men and Jack Lemons N5PK. There was activity for the entire 24 hours and the different logging program worked very well. The meeting was adjourned at 10:09 am. A program on portable and field antennas was presented by Bob Bennett AD5LJ. Thank you Bob. AUGUST BOARD MINUTES Minutes of August 9, 2006 Board of Directors Meeting KJ5Q for W5JRD Board members in attendance were: Jack Lemons N5PK John Beakley WK5C Bob Bennett AD5LJ Alex Burr K5XY Tres Campbell KD5ZHI Steve Friis WM5Z Cash Olsen KD5SSJ Sandy Hempfling KJ5Q President Jack Lemons called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. The minutes of the previous board meeting were approved as read. The treasurer’s report was given with a balance of $16,174.71 in all accounts. A discussion about ARES and RACES and support to them was held. Cash KD5SSH and Steve WM5Z agreed to make presentations at the October club meeting. Alex Burr asked to consider changing the order of business so that the program was first and the meeting later. He thinks it is important that the speaker know when he is on and how long he should speak. Discussion followed. Starting the meeting earlier and keeping the agenda and discussion to a reasonable time frame will be tried. Bob AD5LJ presented the first set of estimates for work on the club house. More estimates will be gathered and Tres KD5ZHI will work on getting some. The group agreed that the ramps should be the first work. John WK5C reported that the Summer Fun race was very successful. The next race is ch has moved to Hadley Park. Workers are still needed. Tres KD5ZHI reported that the club now has some SWR meters. He suggested that the club get a locking cabinet for valued equipment. He is keeping the meters at the present time. He will also spray the grounds this week for weeds. Discussion about getting the 146.76 repeater up and running was held. Cash KD5SSJ has checked out the phone patch and it is ready. Tres KD5ZHI and Cash KD5SSJ will coordinate with Brad KC5SKE to do the work. Discussion was also held about how the club could give more purpose to the Wednesday night net. Meeting was adjourned at 8:15 pm. 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 judy@davis-domain.com Tres Sandra Hempfling KJ5Q 373-1166 kj5q@arrl.net BOARD Communications John Beakley WK5C 522-7078 wk5c@arrl.net 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 rpbennett1@comcast.net 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?