THE LOCAL OSCILLATOR - March 2007 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/LO0703.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 SUPER BOWL RUN SAR MISSION 070801 TOP BAND RECEIVE OPTIONS POWER POLE DC CONNECTORS WA5ALX SK MINUTES MONTHLY MEETING 3 FEBRUARY 2007 MINUTES MONTHLY BOARD MEETING 7 FEBRUARY 2007 INCOME/EXPENSES 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 Informal get together Wal-Mart E (Walton) 10 AM Mar 3 Breakfast 8 AM Club House Mar 3 Business meeting 9 AM Club House Mar 9 General Class Club House Mar 10 Run Old Mesilla Mar 14 Directors meeting 7 PM Club House Mar 25 Bataan Memorial Death March Apr 29 Bean Feed PRESIDENT'S CORNER KD5ZHI Hello all, as I write this article today several things come to mind. Today we are having a VE session for those that need it. I am thankful for those in our community, the ham community that help each other to be successful, further our knowledge and become part of something more than just a hobby. It amazes me how many things there are to do with this hobby and that with working and talking to each other we all become closer and caring to one another. On another note the FCC requirements for no code is now in effect. I personally am excited about this, by the end of the day I will have upgraded to General (passed written Oct 2006). For me this is very exciting and I am sure will be rewarding. I have had nothing but good and warm praises from those that have helped me get there and will be helping me to make this fun. Yes this radio stuff as Jack always says is FUN. The been feed is fast approaching. Jeff Campbell (KE5KLH)and others are working hard to make this year another successful and fun year. We are registered with ARRL and have two commercial vendors committed to making it. We have developed a schedule this year and will be making flyers for distribution. As in years past the club relies on donations of equipment to sale to support the club. If you want to make a donation please contact Jeff or my self. And lastly Tim Lynn (KD5SSF) will be holding a General class the second week of the month of March. For those that want to upgrade please contact Tim, we are hoping for a full class based on the poll we made in January. I am disappointed that we had to cancel the Tech class in February. I don't know what happened. Tim certainly got the word out in his circle and avenues but we must all make this effort. Next time if we all make a flyer and post it somewhere (church, bowling ally, work, spouses work, ect.) we may have better sucess. SUPER BOWL RUN AD5FE On Sunday morning the 4th of Feb. the MVRC supported the Mesilla Valley Track Club for their annual Super Bowel Sunday 5K Run/Walk and 10K Run. There were 113 participants taking part this year. The event was supported by George Kopp KD5OHA, Dorothy Figgins W0SWK, S. Cash Olsen KD5SSJ, Henry Schotzko AD5FE, Dave Hassall WA5DJJ, Dennis Shepan KB5TPV, Tres Campbell KD5ZHI, Chris Campbell KE5LET, Jack Lemons N5PK, Rodney Davis WK5I, Judy Davis W5JRD, and Perry Steiman KC7VHS. The participants and support personnel braved the early morning cold to make this race another successful event. Although the temperature was low to start, the sun was bright and soon made it feel very comfortable and made for a very pleasant morning. Maybe a little too pleasant, for the water point at the 5K turn-around ran out of water. Because of the runners on the course it was not possible to get more water out to the water point. But Cash KD5SSJ just happened to have “extra” water in his car so the water point was moved to Cash’s location, and the race went on. The next event on the schedule is the “Run Old Mesilla 5 & 10K Run/ 5K Fitness Walk” which takes place on March 10. The MVRC support reporting time will be determined later. We are also working on the Bataan race which is March 25.. Our goal is to have two radio operators at each water point. If you would like to come out and join the fun give Henry AD5FE or George KD5OHA a call. We can always use extra help. SAR MISSION 070801 N5PK A request for ham radio support was received at 0600 on Tuesday, 20 Feb, 2007. Incident Base was at the White Sands National Monument and Incident Commander was Ruben Gonzalez, KD5CGC. I responded at the ICB at about 0730 and set up my 25’ push up mast to get over the dunes. A dual band vertical antenna is placed on the mast and RG-8 run to the SAR radio in my truck This provided decent coverage over the dunes. Contact was made with CAP aircraft orbiting the sands, and CAP base. A NG Helo was also in the air. They landed and picked up a SAR HT from Ruben. SP, MTD, Alamo and Mesilla Valley SAR teams, plus Alamo FD members and National Park Service personnel were in the area. Several LC hams are on the MV SAR team, including Jeff Campbell who has taken Cash’s place in the club’s kitchen. Jeff helped me put up the mast and made the job a lot quicker and safer. A quad team departed immediately and a dog team followed on foot. half hour welfare checks were made as the day progressed. The subject had wandered away from his camper the night before. Temperatures were moderate and wind was minimal. A call was received that the dog had alerted on a scent to the west of the ICB and the trackers were investigating it. About 1000 hours the subject had found US 70 and was picked up by a BP unit and brought to the ICB. The helo landed and a medic on board came over to check him out. The LC paper mentioned he was a 78 year old Australian visitor. The field teams were notified of the “find” and along with a newly arrived helo from ELP BP all were advised to Return to Base. The tracking dog was taken to the subject who was in good health and allowed to sniff him to verify, by sitting down, that was indeed the scent she had in the field, thus closing the loop on her efforts. A complete written radio log was maintained giving event times and all traffic passed. This log is turned over to the IC for his records. WA2NIJ has written a complete SAR manual with instructions on how to operate, what logs to keep, and what data is required by the IC, plus numerous contact points. The mission was completed by noon and all personnel returned to their homes. TOP BAND RECEIVE OPTIONS KI5FU This article supplements my Jan 2007 club presentation about the 160-Meter band. On the Top Band, the primary receive antenna is a 480 ft horizontal loop up 35 ft. The signals received are mixed with a noise sense signal to reduce the power line buzz and local interference. This large, nearly one wavelength loop favors 160 Meter signals arriving at a high angle. To provide another receive option, with little or no cost, was my next challenge. I decided to convert an existing 60-Meter band sloping inverted V antenna to a 160-Meter band antenna that would favor signals arriving at a low angle. I added approximately 90 ft of wire to each leg of the original antenna and bent the ends to form a triangle with equal legs. This created a sloping half wavelength open circuit loop. The low impedance feed point is at the apex, up 26 ft on the tower. The bottom leg of the triangle with the open circuit ends is about 10 ft high. This nicely fits the 70 ft of space from the tower to the East chain link fence. Each leg is now about 133 ft long. At resonance, the in shack SWR is an acceptable 1.7 to 1. A coaxial switch selects either the original horizontal or the new sloping loop. What a surprise, the theory worked! Some signals that were very weak on one antenna were much stronger on the other. Existing wire and two masts kept the material cost to zero. What could be better? Well I guess I could contact Alaska or Hawaii. My new sloping loop was finished the afternoon on Friday 9 February 2007; in the evening using the new receiving loop, I contacted KH7CC, Tom in Hawaii. The bottom line to this adventure is to have as many receive options as possible. POWER POLE DC CONNECTORS K5DI These small connectors are quite a nice way to wire up your car for HF and even VHF radios. The connectors are color coded and so you feel good when they are made properly. The one big problem with Power Pole connectors is the crimping of the wire into the terminal. I bought the worthless $15.00 pair of pliers that was supposed to work. It is a total WASTE OF Money! A friend bought the $50.00 crimper and put together several 45 Amp terminals and they were all perfect! I think a good thing the MVRC could do is buy the $50.00 crimper and a nice supply of connectors. Then when someone is doing an installation they can get the connectors and the crimper and do a good job. Then return the crimper. WA5ALX SK It was reported that WA5ALX, Rose Stewart, died in Oklaholma on February 12, 2997. Rose was a long time active amateur in Las Cruces before moving to Oklaholma. Rose served two terma as president of MVRC and was made a life-time member in recognition of her service to the club. MINUTES MONTHLY MEETING 3 FEBRUARY 2007 KE5ISD 1. President Tres Campbell (KD5ZHI) called the MVRC regular business meeting to order at 0900, Saturday, 3 February 2007. Visitors were welcomed and members introduced themselves. 2. Jack Lemons (N5PK) remembered Art Block (W3YK) with a "Silent Key". 3. Bob Rossow (KE5ISD) Secretary was absent due to illness. Jeff Campbell (KE5KLH) read the minutes of the January Business Meeting which were approved as amended. 4. Marty Winkler (N9OG) Treasurer - Presented the Treasurer's Report which was approved as written. 5. Bob Bennett (AD5LJ) said that the shed is rapidly deteriorating and that Bob Deal (KD5PPP) was going to bring his tractor back to the clubhouse to help haul off the pile of cactus. 6. Jeff Campbell (KE5KLH) said that tasks for the bean feed needed to be divided up. 7. Henry Schotzko (AD5FE) Requested support for upcoming races and passed around a sign-up sheet. He especially needs help for the Bataan Death March at the end of March. 8. Dennis Shepan (KB5TPV) announced that the clubhouse had been re-keyed and that the new keys are logged out. 9. The meeting was adjourned at 1000. MINUTES MONTHLY BOARD MEETING 7 FEBRUARY 2007 KE5ISD ATTENDEES: Tres Campbell KD5ZHI President Dennis Shepan KB5TPV Vice President Marty Winkler N9OG Treasurer Bob Rossow KE5ISD Secretary Tim Linn KD5SSF Education Henry Schotzko AD5FE Communications Bob Bennett AD5LJ Alex Burr K5XY President Tres Campbell convened the meeting at 1900. 1. Tres Campbell raised two issues: a. Because of the cost of re-keying the clubhouse and replacing a window the Clubhouse budget has been overspent. The Board decided to cover the costs out of the discretionary fund. b. The Bean Feed - Set for Sunday 29 April 2007. Wanted a detailed go-to list of things for Jeff Campbell to do and contact in preparing for the Feed. Also concerned that delaying the start of selling to 0800 might irritate some people. Discussed various activities that could be done. Would start eating about 1100. Also, the price for tickets will be raised to $5.00. ARRL has been contacted. 2. Henry Schotzko said he was working on coordinating with WSMR to support the Bataan Memorial Death March. 3. Dennis Shepan raised the matter of conducting an inventory. It was decided to delay that until after the Bean Feed. 4. Bob Bennett had several issues: a. He said some VHS radios were to be donated to the club for sale at the bean feed but that they must be reprogrammed before they could be sold. b. Recommended that after the Bean Feed the shed be cleaned out and torn down. c. Recommended that we conduct a judicial cleanup after the Bean Feed and scrap what needs to be scrapped. He noted that we had many broken antennas. d. Charlie bought the tube collection and expressed interest in buying the spectrum analyzer which was agreed to. e. Recommended discussing holding a field day which raised the issue of a lighter, easy to raise and lower antenna. Decided to discuss the matter at the general meeting. 5. Alex Burr asked for contributions to the Local Oscillator and would like material in by the 20th of the month. The meeting adjourned at 2040. INCOME/EXPENSE Jan 1 through Jan 31, 2007 N9OG Beginning Balances, Dec 31, 2006 $$ MVRC Checking Account 1969.91 MVRC Savings Account MVRC 1 year CD 5000.00 Education Fund Account 2327.65 Cash on hand 50.00 Balances Total 9347.56 INCOME Interest 14.00 Breakfast & Drinks 88.00 Dues 480.00 Equipment sales 130.00 TOTAL INCOME 712.00 Balances + Income 10059.56 EXPENSES Potty Time (FD) 48.15 Breakfast Groceries 65.29 Utilities Electric 47.12 Propane Telephone 28.59 water 11.47 TOTAL EXPENSES 200.62 Balances on hand Dec. 31, 2006 9858.94 Jan. 31, 2006 Bank Accounts MVRC Checking Account 2467.29 MVRC Savings Account 0.00 MVRC 1 year CD 5000.00 Education Fund Account 2341.65 Cash on hand 50.00 TOTAL 9858.94 Martin Winkler, Treasurer 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 Tres Campbell KD5HZI 373-2008 trscam@netscape.net VPr Dennis Shepan KB5TPV 522-7466 KB5TPV@zianet.com Sec Bob Rossow KE5ISD 522-7445 fullback@zianet.com Tres Martin Winkler N9OG - winklma@comcast.net BOARD Communications Henry Schotzko AD5FE 526-1922 schotzko@comcast.net Education Tim Linn KD5SSF 521-0486 KD5SSF@arrl.net 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?