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Why ASCRA?

ASCRA exists for the following six reasons.1. To facilitate our common

interest in ham radio.2. To serve our communities.3. To serve religious and

charitable organizations.4. To foster our mutual

improvement as hams.5. To conduct and encourage

scientific research.6. We are Hams doing what

Hams like to do.

Consider joining the ASCRA_Members@yahoogroups.com group.1. Become active supporting

any of the items listedabove.

2. Get a radio station on theair.

3. Learn to use yourcomputer and Echolink.

4. Learn to use yourcomputer to remotelycontrol W0SHQ.

Terry - W6LMJ

ASCRAIN-SERVICE

Being PreparedRobin, W0FEN, Page 1Mag Loop, the rest of the storyTom, AB5BJ, Page 2

ASCRA NetsErnie, WB2UJL, Page 3 Results ASCRA Election - Jim, AD0AC, Page 5

President's Notes - Robin, W0FEN, Page 6

Home Repeaters -Butch, W6DY, Page 7

Antique Radio Jim, K7NCG, Page 7Show Me Your Shack Ed, KD0MEI, Page 9 SkywavesDoug, WA0EMX, Page 9

Being Prepared - Kansas City Areaby Robin, W0FEN

Being prepared begins with knowing which threats might effect your area. The primary threats in the Kansas City area are from nature, but there are others as well.  The natural disasters are Tornadoes, Flash Floods, Lightning, and Pandemic.  The human made disasters are chemical spills/explosions, collisions between human controlled devices, mechanical failures of manufacturing or transportation.

The first group being natural in cause come in a yearly pattern.  The 'normal' tornado season runs from early spring to early fall.  This is also the season of flash floods which are precipitated by heavy rains which are often accompanied by lightning.  The main problem with recurring threats is that humankind becomes accustomed to them and does not take warnings as seriously as they should.  A pandemic of the Flu could occur because too few took preventive shots or the shots were not prepared for the imminent threat.  The Flu is an annual occurrence and 100 years has passed since it was a worldwide crisis which causes less fear.

The human caused threats are almost the opposite.  Most people are unaware of the threat or assume that since nothing has happened that the risk is extremely low and is therefore under rated.  The preparation for these is general and difficult at best.  The types of disasters I am thinking of include a riverboat taking out one or several bridges.  A large train derailment of caustic substances in a populous area.  These types of disasters if occurring at commute times could affect large numbers of people.

As Amateur Radio Operators we understand we have duty to be 'more prepared' than the average citizen.  A good friend has gone to the level of becoming an Instructor for CERT.

Continue on page 4.

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ANTENNAS ON 7.190 AND 14.287 MHZMy experimental Mag Loop Project, the rest of the story.by Tom, AB5ZJ

I started experimenting with Mag Loop antennas after encountering a Ham from Arizona, Rich - K8NDS. His signal was the only one I could here at that time on my Gap Vertical.   After the customary exchange of gear and antenna, I asked him, "what do you mean Mag Loop?" His explanation excited me to find out more.

Over the next couple months I read all kinds of ham articles relating to mag loops in general, and Helical Mag loops specifically.  Then, I took the plunge and designed on paper how I wanted to build my antenna from scratch. I  decided my antenna would cover at least the 40m to 10m bands.   I chose to use 3/4 in dia. copper tubing made into a 39 inch dia. circle based on calculations for Mag Loop design I found on the Internet.

Mag loop specs; (see pic right) main loop pipe diameter size is 3/4 copper flex tubing. Loop diameter is 39 inches. Feed loop is 7.5 inches. Loop is 3ft off ground. Capacitor is VVC 7pf - 350pf @35kv.  I Used 1 1/2 pvc pipe for rigid construction and stand support.  It is turned by a RCA VH126R TV programmable antenna rotator controller from the shack.   

My additional plans are to tune the VVC with a stepping motor controlled by an Arduino connected to my FT-5000mp.  Right now I manually tune it. The 5 gal. bucket is filled with 50lbs of sand.  When I'm out in the field doing portable I put a small stake in the ground and place the PVC pipe below the rotor on the stake.  It takes about 2 minutes to lug the antenna from my truck to the location and set it up.  another couple minutes to connect the 50ft of coax to the rig.  I pre-tune the antenna before I break it down. If I need to change frequencies I tune it on the spot with my RigExpert AA-600 analyzer.  A good antenna analyzer is a good tool for tuning this type of antenna.

How has it worked so far?   I have consistently received very good signal reports from S5 to S9 or more.  I compare it to my Gap Challenger vertical, and often find it equals or exceeds the verticals performance.  Many times durning receive I've been able to rotate the mag loop antenna to pick up a signal the vertical could not hear.  

So far I've logged calls from all around the U.S. And Canada, and Europe, such as Slovakia, Finland, Scotland, and South America. All my over seas signal reports have been S6 to S8. Whenever I mentioned I am working a ham on my experimental mag loop antenna, their comments are not unlike mine when I first worked K8NDS.  I'm finding the majority of hams I work have no idea such a antenna exists, so I always encourage them to research the subject on the Internet, as there is a surprisingly large group of hams already experimenting with them.  

I am having a lot of fun building this antenna, and plan on building others with different specs for different bands.  Because of the success I've had, I plan on making a mag loop my main antenna. But if your have restricted space, or have HOA restrictions, making and using a mag loop antenna is a wonderful way to get on the air. despite such restrictions.

Research:Mag loop calculator: http://www.66pacific.com/calculators/small_tx_loop_calc.aspxGo to QRZ.com and enter K8NDS.  He talks about Helical design mag loops. Google Mag Loop AntennaGo to YouTube and search for Mag Loop AntennaType to enter text

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ASCRA on the air and signal pathways

Net Frequencies14.287 Sunday 4:30 PM ET 7.190 Sunday 2:30 PM CTEchoLinkW0YO-R and 2 m Lamoni Sunday 7:30 PM CT

The check in February, 2015 for the following nets are below:20 M Net

AD0AC James CraftN0AIX Larry RaganKD0ARN Napoleon WilliamsKE0CFN Taylor BurnsW0DZX David AtkinsWI0F Gary TickemyerW0FEN Robin CrossKA0GFC Charles BradyKD0GYE Samir HamzicWA0IBS Andy FerrarN0KJB Harry Gurin NOJHX Gary MartinKD0LHB Gordon GensteinerKD0MEI Edward BrileyKD0MLW James Craft Sr.N0OER Eugene DouglasN0OXK Jeff WinshipKM0S Mike ThayerW0SHQ Auditorium - DougAC0UN Alan HendersonKB0UVI Kevin Leinbach

K1ATT Anthony Tullis

WA2GTM Ray KnappNG2H Kenneth KarrAC2LZ Harry HendersonKC2CYH Demetrios SkordasKA2RJM Roger KimbroughWB2UJL Ernie Miles

VE3BQH John Mac KayW3HEN John SeitherKR3G William StewartVA3RZ Raymond ElseVE3SCP Scott PriceNU3U Melek Sela'seNN3V Charles Ristorcelli

K4FBC 1st Bap. Church ClubKD4GUN Kirsten GowaskiKB4IML Rober CoxKM4IZS Stephen BrileyKK4KGE Alfred BrownKK4KHS Robert SmithK4POP Oscar DawsonKK4RDI Jerry LeonN4WTW Michael GlowaskiW4YPW Fredric Dillon

KB5EAG TJ ReddingK5EDF Robert MattsonN5LCL Paul Gates

W5WSS Wayne SandfordW5HKY Babara ReddingK5KJS Harry RishmondN5LCL Paul GatesKD5LKP Jerry ReedK5LKV Matthew MillerKE5LNT Paul PrinceKF5LSN Richard BurrAA5SC Walter Jackson KF5YNN Francis MinorKC5YYT Sarah LynnRedding

AD6CC Michael JohnsonW6DY Lawrence FlemingW6EW Denis FranklinW6HGJ Henry GoldenKE6HXF Patricia BradleyK6IW James KunischKJ6LJB John ChaparteguyW6LMJ Terry Redding

NL7CO Donald RossN7EC Edward CunninghamKA7ECY Harry HowellK7NCG Jim FishW7PK Bruce GutschmidtW7WXX Michael SherwoodN7XLT Philip ArendsKA7YHA Eric Baloun

KD8BQN David JohnstonN8NCR Nolan RolloW8RDR Raoul Revord

KD9DST Patrick SlevinN9EGT Wayne SteuryKC9N Christian NielsenK9YV Stephen Fagan~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~40 M NetW0DZX Dave AtkinsW0FEN Robin CrossKD0MEI Edward BrileyKD0MLW James Craft Sr.N0OXK Jeff WinshipKM0S Michael ThayerAC0UN Alan HendersonWB2UJL Ernie MilesWZ4DAY Jerry DayKF5JUX Harry HendersonKF5PWG Ronald FennellKF5SLK Noel LeeW6LMJ Terry ReddingK9YV Stephen Fagan

EcholinkWA0EMX Doug ShawW0FEN Robin CrossWA2GTN Ray KnappWB2UJL Ernie MilesN2SBJ Steveb Mc Crosson

M5BOP Mark RileyW5LN Carlos HammKD9CHC Ronald Woodward

ASCRA ON THE AIR AND IN ACTIONEcholink - W0SHQ-RWith thanks to Jim Craft, AD0AC, Doug Shaw, WA0EMX, and others we now have Echolink available through W0SHQ-R. It is routinely used during the Sunday afternoon 40 meter and 20 meter nets. It can be accessed from anywhere via the Internet. Many use a free smart phone application to connect to W0SHQ-R system. Others can connect from desktop computers or via their handi-talkie, mobile or fixed site amateur radio station. In addition to smart phone applications, there are free applications for PC, Mac, or Linux which are readily available.

Echolink is available to all license classes and makes it possible for any licensed ham to join in the on the air ASCRA activities. We will be encouraging past Spectacular licensed hams to join us via Echolink if they do not have an HF station. Indeed, even if they have an HF station, Echolink allows them to connect even when the band fails to cooperate.

The recent contact with Alex, KM4DWM, in Australia is the perfect example. With Echolink and W0SHQ-R it is now possible to organize a schedule or even a net based on this amateur radio VOIP technology.

Use your two-way radio to connect to Echolink via a local repeater or download and install software on one of your computer devices. Once the software is setup and your are registered, try connecting to W0SHQ-R and calling CQ. You will be heard on the Independence, MO 146.73 repeater and may get a response from any of a dozen ASCRA hams in the Independence area. Or, try connecting to the W0YO-R system via Echolink. That will allow you to be heard in Lamoni, IA and on the Graceland University Campus.

Remote Base at W0SHQYou can now operate W0SHQ as a remote base. Jim, AD0AC, has been working hard to make W0SHQ available as a remote base. To start using W0SHQ as a remote base, download and install the W4MQ software. Once configured contact Jim, AD0AC and verify your license and coordinate for a user name, normally your call sign, and a password.

Terry +++

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Being Prepared - Kansas City Area, cont.

CERT or Community Emergency Response Team certification is a real plus as understanding how the 'system' of emergency response works.  I encourage all reading this to investigate and signup for the training.  

In the KC Metro area a overarching organization called MARC [Mid-America Regional Council] has taken on many projects for it's area that would never have happened if not for MARC.  I was working for a two-way radio company in KC while it was installing 42 911 answering systems.  That is not 42 operators but each of the 42 was between 1 and 25 operators.  I do not know the entire number of operator positions that were installed.  

As a Chief Engineer at a Radio station, I was involved with the operation and execution of the EAS weekly and monthly tests.  This requires coordination between stations and law enforcement and NOAA.  Now that Amber alerts are part of the system the Highway Patrol or State Police in most jurisdictions is responsible for originating these.  NOAA has been responsible for the weather alerts for many years.

Before I took on the responsibility for the most recent radio station, Holly and I took the SKYWARN training for tornado spotters.  I am no longer current in my certification for spotting.  Due to our location, we were able to drive to the nearest NOAA site.  There we became the liason between the Skywarn spotting nets and the Weathermen at NOAA. We were NOT the Net Control operators.  We were the Hams who passed the info from the Net Controls to NOAA forecasters.  Sometimes the NOAA folks had specific inquires for the weather spotters.  Interesting, since I knew how Radio/TV Stations handled the information at the other end.  

As a Radio Engineer I and other Engineers had concerns about getting to transmitter or studio sites if there were to be a 'martial law' situation.

The local SBE [Society of Broadcast Engineers] Chapter joined MARC several years ago with the intent of getting them to issue ID Badges for Broadcast Engineers to be able to get to their sites in order to  ensure their stations were on and able to pass critical information.  The status of the badges is still in limbo because every first responder also desires an ID.  First responders include Doctors, Nurses, EMT/Paramedics, Law Enforcement, and many others.  Each group from sanitary sewer system operators to ICU and ER staff does need to have a ID/Badge to get to a location in a time of crisis.

The program started by MARC has evolved and Amateur Radio Operator CAN be a useful part in the Kansas City area.  Both the Red Cross and the Salvation Army now require Hams to take a very short on-line course to become a volunteer.  Depending on the courses taken the Ham becomes a Radio Operator 1, 2, or 3.  The Red Cross then knows what capabilities the Ham has and can assign them on that basis.  

Each hospital in the KC Metro has an Amateur Station installed.  There are Hams that have pledged to go to these hospitals should a crisis arise.

I encourage each ASCRA Member to investigate any activities that perk your interest.  

Robin Crossw0fen

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ASCRA needs your donations and talent. Your tax deductible donations should be sent to ASCRA, POB 73, Independence, MO 64051-0073.

In-Service in need of your talent. As a newsletter, we need to hear from you. What are you interested in? Antennas, training, other service projects? Whatever your interest in Ham Radio, please share by writing short or long articles. All of us are interested in information about operating, station configuration and antennas. Each one of us have several stories we could share. If you can write an article contact Terry, W6LMJ@arrl.net and submit an article.

Terry - W6LMJ - Editor

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Election Results

Elec%on  Results  for  the  2015-­‐2017  Board  of  Directors  class.

Nine  nominees  were  received  for  the  elec%on  of  the  2015-­‐2017  Board  of  Directors  for  six  directors.  Sixteen  ballots  were  received  and  counted  for  this  elec%on.  The  following  nominees  were  elected:

1. Doug  Shaw  WA0EMX  (incumbent)2. Chuck  Palmer  N0ONN  (incumbent)3. Robin  Cross  W0FEN  (incumbent)4. Terry  Redding  W6LMJ5. Jim  CraW  AD0AC  (incumbent)6. Ray  Knapp,  Jr.,  WA2GTM

Ballots  were  tabulated  and  verified  by  Jim  CraW,  Doug  Shaw,  and  John  Chapman.

Respec]ully  submi^ed,

Jim  CraW,  AD0ACASCRA  Secretary~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Working  on  the  Best  40  meter  Antennaby  Dave  Phillips,  KF4RO

I  have  been  working  with  a  group  on  7.168  MHz  for  about  15  years.    Now  that  I  am  in  De  Leon  Springs  with  90  foot  tall  pine  trees  I  have  been  tesFng  various  wire  antennas.    I  started  with  the  ZS6BKW  antenna  that  Mike,  KM0S  introduced  me  to.    It  has  worked  beNer  than  regular  dipoles,  43  foot  verFcals  and  more  recently,  a  full  size  1/4  wave  verFcal  hung  at  the  70  foot  level  from  one  of  my  tall  pine  trees.

In  my  group  on  forty  the  best  antennas  are  beams.    But  I  don’t  have  one  of  those  up  yet.    The  most  popular  antenna  is  a  dipole  made  out  of  coax.  Dave,  KF4RO,  provided  the  following  instrucFons  and  drawings  for  building  such  an  antenna.    I  ended  up  buying  a  Double  Bazooka  cut  for  40  meters  with  an  80  meter  trapped  component.    I  have  been  tesFng  the  antenna  for  the  past  few  days.    This  antenna  finally  beat  the  ZS6BKW.    That  is  not  surprising.    What  is  suprising  is  that  from  on  the  air  reports,  using  an  A/B  switch  with  the  antennas  hung  at  similar  heights,  the  Double  

Bazooka  antenna  was  dramaFcally  beNer  than  the  ZS6BKW  computer  modeled  G5RV.

VK3CPC  reported  a  +2  S  unit  advantage  for  the  Double  Bazooka.    W4QDN,  16  miles  from  me  gave  it  a  4  S  unit  advantage.  WW3A,  two  miles  from  me  gave  it  a  +10  db  advantage.  The  ZS6BKW  antenna  was  not  even  close.

Last  week  I  compared  a  ver%cal  1/4  wave  wire  antenna  and  they  were  close,  with  the  ZS6BKW  having  a  slight,  but  consistent  advantage.    As  the  distance  to  the  repor%ng  sta%on  increased  the  ver%cal  seemed  to  do  be^er.    But  with  the  report  this  morning  from  VK3CPC  I  am  ready  to  concede  the  ZS6BKW  has  finally  been  beat  by  another  antenna.

I  will  keep  both  antennas,  using  the  ZS6BKW  as  a  reference  and  all  band  antenna,  and  the  Double  Bazooka  as  be^er  antenna  on  40  where  it  has  a  pleasant  1:1  match  and  my  only  true  80  meter  antenna  where  it  also  achieves  a  1:1  match.

Terry  -­‐  W6LMJ

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President's Notes by Robin Cross W0FEN

Having recently moved and everything in my shack is in a jumble I checked into the 20M net from my front yard this afternoon.  I decided that I

needed a better antenna to get into the 20M net so yesterday I measured out about 70ft of copper wire that had been my 160M horizontal loop antenna for the last 8 years or so.  The 70 Ft is from the formula of 1005/F.  This is for a loop antenna.  For a regular dipole it would be 468/F.  I reused the PVC sweep elbows from the loop to raise the corners into 2 trees in the front yard.   This was a fast move so I used things I had on hand to get the antenna finished.  The 4:1 Balun is one I had from a loop antenna I had purchased and later sold.  The large orange device is a DPDT knife switch I ordered from China.  I bought several of the a few years ago.  I used them to disconnect the home brew ladder line I was using to feed the 160 M Loop during thunderstorms.  I used this just so that I would have screw terminals to

clamp on the antenna wire.  The loop was to be a delta shape but was hanging too low so I hastily added another corner and made it into a sort-of rectangle.  The antenna is up but now I needed coax to feed it.  I had the leftover of a 100 Ft purchase of RG8X but with no connectors on it.  I rummaged around some more and came up with crimp-on BNC connectors for RG8X.  Now I was in business.  This is in the front yard between two fairly tall trees.  Right now my IC-746pro is in the sunroom by the back door.  But my mobile and backup rig an IC-706MKIIg is in my vehicle.  I scrounged some more and come up with 2 BNC to PL-259 adapters,  So I've got everything I need.  I stretched the coax over to the rear of the vehicle and procured a lawn chair from the rear patio and I should be all set for the 20 M ASCRA Net.  The coax was pulling the Rig so to keep it stationary I wrapped it around the hitch in the back of the vehicle.  A little after 3 CDT I called WB2UJL who gave me a reasonable signal report.  The rest is history.  

More on the order of what this column is about, someone suggested that ASCRA should have the preamble to our Nets posted on the website.  So for the last two weeks or so several of the Board of Directors have been working on this via email.  I also would like to see a published Net closing.  After taking many comments a small AD HOC Committee is working on this.  Speaking of which I as yet do not know the results of the recent Board Election.  As soon as this happens we will have our Annual Board of Directors meeting.  We have several items on the agenda already, but if you would like to attend in person or via phone or on-line, let us know.  As always Board meetings are open to ALL Members.  That is because you are the most important part of ASCRA.  

Your humble servant Robin Crossw0fenPresident, ASCRA

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It is my pleasure to introduce Larry (Butch) Fleming. He was a year ahead of me in high school and my Elmer. I built my first CW transmitter and modified an old AM broadcast receiver by adding a beat frequency oscillator for 455 KHz (BFO) in order to work him on CW from his house to my house, several blocks apart. Always a service oriented guy, Butch remains active in Ham Radio and enjoys tinkering and doing those projects others may have little interest in. Butch recently relocated from Redding, California to Kingman, Arizona. Listen for him on the 20 meter ASCRA net. This article is about one of his projects.

220 Living Room Repeater by Butch, W6DY

I had a 440 repeater in northern CA and it saw little use.  It was an exercise for me and another project

to get through a winter.  I brought the pieces with me and will re-accomplish it here this winter.It was portable and I would set it up

during field day and do a cross band repeat to the 2M club repeater back in Redding.  I would let them know at the site near Mt. Lassen and it would be used quite a bit.  The fun part was linking and always caught them off guard when the club repeater ID’d through my little portable machine.  My cross band repeater is nothing more than a Alinco DR-635 I use for comms in my travel trailer.  I would also use it while traveling with a 440 handheld in the truck and it crossbanding to 2M from the trailer.  Best distance was 150 miles simplex mobile into Oregon one

trip.  Super DX!

This 220 machine was another winter project.  It uses two Alinco DR-235 Mk III radios with a ID-O-Matic IV controller.   I used the data I/O on the radios for audio/COR/PTT.  Super simple.  I finally found a dulpexer a few weeks ago, and that was all that was holding up this project.  Now to get some of the club members to start using it.  There are several that use 220 simplex, and they are all located in/near town.  I also acquired a autopatch, so just maybe......

Never underestimate a small repeater, even it you don't have an ideal location.  I'd recommend 440 and make it suitcase/ice chest portable.  Duplexers are as small as the radios and easily available.  You can sell the idea to your local emergency services people just by setting it on a table in front of them.  If you have a hospital close by set it on the roof with a ground-plane antenna. Figure battery capacity for a few hours with the ability to plug it in included.  Piece of cake and useful too.

Butch - W6DY~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~An4que  Sta4onby  Jim,  K7NCG

The  picture  below    is  a  picture  of  my  'anFque'  staFon.    The  unit  on  the  le^  is  what  started  it  all.    A  friend  of  mine,  Bruce,  got  the  Warrior  amp  a^er  the  high  voltage  secFon  had  been  torn  out  of  it  because  the  power  transformer  was  no  good.    The  chassis,  front  panel,  and  cabinet  were  in  great  shape  and  I  couldn't  bear  to  see  it  tossed  out.    So  I  rebuilt  it  for  him  as  something  to  keep  busy.    So  a^er  it  sat  in  my  garage  for  a  few  weeks  I  brought  it  inside  and  started  cleaning  it  up.    Took  everything  off  of  the  chassis  and  removed  the  chassis  top.    I  took  it  out  to  the  garage  and  sanded  it  to  remove  all  of  the  aged  pit  marks.    A^er  pu`ng  the  final  cage  assembly  all  back  together,  it  really  looked  preNy  good.    I  started  trying  to  come  up  with  a  power  transformer  combinaFon  that  would  work  for  the  811A’s  but  everything  was  either  too  high  or  too  low  of  voltage.    

 a  Repeater  and  an  An:que  Radio  Sta:on

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Then  we  found  a  power  transformer  for  it  on  Ebay  so  Bruce  bought  it  and  I  put  everything  back  in  that  was  stock.    It  has  the  original  recFfier  tubes,  swinging  choke,  and  bleeder  resistor.    It's  all  stock

 except  I  put  in  an  antenna  switching  relay  and  low  power  relay  driver  circuit  so  it  could  be  switched  behind  any  new  rig.    Works  great  with  600  to  800  waNs  out  with  weak  811A  tubes.    

So  then  last  March,  we  take  the  Warrior  amp  to  a  local  big  swap  meet  to  try  and  sell.    Neither  Bruce  nor  I  need  another  amp.    While  there  I  was  wandering  around  looking  at  stuff  and  I  saw  the  Mohawk  receiver  si`ng  on  a  table.    It  was  turned  on  and  playing  and  looked  in  great  shape.    Very  nice  and  clean.    I  remembered  about  the  one  I  had  years  ago  and  thought  it  might  be  fun  to  have  one  again.    But  that  would  just  create  problems  because  I  would  want  a  matching  transmiNer  and  good  looking  Apache  transmiNers  are  ge`ng  hard  to  find.    Couldn’t  find  the  owner  of  the  table  for  a  while  but  kept  thinking  “I  hope  he  wants  too  much  for  that  so  I  won’t  buy  it  and  have  to  find  a  transmiNer”.    A^er  finding  the  owner  and  talking  to  him,  he  offers  it  for  $100.    I  couldn’t  pass  one  like  that  for  that  price  so  I  bought  it.    Now  I  had  the  problem  of  finding  a  matching  transmiNer.

So  later  I’m  walking  around  the  swap  meet  and  in  one  of  the  cubicals  I  see  a  big  Heathkit  green  box.    At  first  I  thought  it  was  one  of  the  VHF  transmiNers  and  walked  on.    Later  I  decided  to  invesFgate  more  closely.    As  I  approached  the  unit,  I  soon  realized  that  it  was  a  Marauder  transmiNer.    It  had  a  price  sFcker  on  it  that  said  $275.    I’ve  always  wanted  to  play  with  a  Marauder  for  some  reason.    It  was  Heathkits  most  difficult  kit  to  build  with  over  300  hours  of  assembly  Fme  if  I  remember  correctly.    This  thing  looked  preNy  decent.    I  asked  the  guy  standing  in  the  booth  about  it  and  he  said,  “Well,  the  owner  is  out  to  lunch  right  now  but  he  doesn’t  want  to  haul  it  back  home.    Check  back  in  a  liNle  bit.”    So  I’m  thinking  to  myself,  if  

he  doesn’t  want  to  haul  it  home,  the  price  is  at  least  down  to  $200  in  my  mind.    A^er  making  several  trips  back  and  the  owner  sFll  out  to  lunch,  the  other  guy  says  “he’ll  let  you  have  it  for  $150.”    I  couldn’t  get  my  wallet  open  fast  enough.    I  brought  the  receiver  and  transmiNer  home.    Bruce  insisted  that  I  also  take  the  amp.    I  connected  the  Marauder  up  to  my  variac  and  powered  it  up  slowly.    While  doing  that  I  took  a  paint  brush  and  started  sweeping  the  dust  off  of  the  chassis.    It  was  starFng  to  look  really  nice.    A^er  about  20  minutes,  I  was  up  to  the  nominal  voltage  and  saw  that  I  had  high  voltage  and  everything  was  looking  good.    I  plugged  it  into  the  wall,  connected  a  dummy  load,  and  tuned  it  up.    I  had  about  120  waNs  out.    This  thing  was  working!    I  later  took  all  the  knobs  off  and  cleaned  them  up.    I  cleaned  the  front  panel  and  put  the  cleaned  knobs  back  on  and  it  looked  like  new.    Further  cleaning  revealed  that  all  of  the  tubes  except  the  finals  sFll  had  a  clear  label  of  Daystrom  on  them.    A^er  a  minor  alignment  of  40  meters,  this  thing  work  great.    And  Bruce  decided  to  sell  me  the  amp  for  what  he  had  into  it  which  was  the  power  transformer  and  3  tubes.

 I  soon  discovered  that  the  receiver  had  some  very  serious  design  problems  in  it.  The  AVC  circuit  had  no  delay  to  it  and  had  no  adjustments.    You  could  hear  background  staFc  noise  between  dots  and  dashes.    So  it  got  modified.    The  ANL  circuit  only  caused  distorFon  on  AM  so  it  needed  changing.    And  the  product  detector  was  as  much  a  distorFon  generator  as  it  was  a  detector.    All  of  the  modifica%ons  were  pre^y  easy  and  greatly  improved  the  performance.    I  decided  to  just  live  with  the  driW.

 So  there's  my  an%que  sta%on….about  232  lbs.  of  Heathkit  boat  anchor.    But  it’s  been  fun  working  on  it  and  using  it.

Jim  -­‐  K7NCG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I  believe  I  s%ll  have  a  Lysco  500  CW  only  transmi^er  from  about  1952.    It  is  the  oldest  opera%onal  piece  of  gear  I  own.    I  use  to  use  it  during  my  Ham  Radio  classes  at  the  Great  Plains  Voca%onal  and  Technical  School  in  Lawton,  Oklahoma.

Terry  -­‐  W6LMJ

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Show Me Your Shackby  Ed Briley,  KD0MEI

I work the ASCRA Nets on HF,  No Echolink.  My station set up is pretty basic.  I like to keep things simple.

Here at KD0MEI we run 100 watts, usually out of an ICOM IC-7200, but sometimes we use at ICOM IC-718.The antenna tuner is an MFJ Versa Tuner II (MFJ-949D).  The antenna is usually a 31 foot vertical.  A piece of pipe was driven into the ground so that about 18 inches is still above ground.  A four foot Army surplus fiberglass tent pole was then placed over the pipe.  Hose clamps hold an MFJ 31 foot telescoping mast to the tent pole.  

A 32 foot piece of 16 gauge speaker wire is attached to the telescoping mast.  A DX Engineering radial plate is on the ground under the tent pole with sixteen radials of varying lengths on the ground held in place by landscaping staples. The vertical radiator is fed through a 4 to 1 balun which is also attached to the tent pole. It seems to work quite well on 80 thru 10 meters.  

I also like to experiment with various antenna ideas.  I have a 17 foot telescoping stainless steel whip which is fed through an Alpha Match from Alpha Antenna of Greenwood, MO.  I used one of those jaw type of mounts to attach it in various

places.  I had it mounted 4 feet above ground on another of those Army surplus tent poles with four 17 foot above ground radials as a counter poise. That worked very well from 20 through 10 meters WITHOUT the Alpha Match.  With the Alpha Match if did pretty well from 40 thru 10 meters. It also performed well mounted on a tripod that extends to about six and a half feet in height. Those same four radials made up the counterpoise when I used the tripod. 

Next experiment will be to rotate the jaw mount 90 degrees and mount the whip on the top rail of a four foot cyclone fence. I'm hoping the fence will act as a counterpoise.

A few years ago I ran coax to a downspout and drove the gutters as an antenna.  I worked both the 40 meter and 20 meter ASCRA nets that way for a while. 

One of the guys in the Raytown (MO) Amateur Radio Club seems to be able to work the South Pole on 160 meters with a paper clip as an antenna.  He is W0AO and he must get the credit for the gutters as an antenna idea!  At the Raytown club's hamfest in 2012 he set up a rig just outside the entrance, used a fishing pole to hold one end of a wire 25 feet or so up in the air and ran the other end of the wire directly to his tuner.  Within minutes he was working stations in Europe!

Here's hoping you can use some of this for your In Service artlces.

Ed Briley KD0MEI Independence, MO

Skywaves - by Doug Shaw WA0EMXMy Skywaves contribution is very brief this issue so Robin can share his new antenna farm experiments. We will begin to address the June 2016 USA and World Conference and any related pre-conference meetings planning in my Skywaves column and other articles in the coming issues of IN SERVICE. We will be needing many volunteers if ASCRA is to have a visible presence at these gatherings. Please send any suggestions, questions or concerns to me by Email or give me a call on my land line 816.358.6856. Please send me preferences for time and day of week for an ASCRA stand-alone Echolink Net, and if you would like to help as net control/facilitator for it or for our HF Shadow nets on Sunday.

Lots of good content this issue. Thanks to all who contributed.

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Please send comments or suggestions regarding ASCRA policies or programs to the Executive Director c/o wa0emx@arrl.net. Send revisions to the membership data base (license upgrades, postal or Email addresses, phone numbers, acceptance of newsletter delivery via email, etc.) to the Secretary... c/o P.O. Box 73, or via emailc/o jrcraft79@yahoo.com.

Send comments, suggestions, and material proposed for future issues to:

Terry Redding W6LMJ IN SERVICE Editor 1825 Glenwood Oaks Lane

Deland, FL 32720 Email: w6lmj@arrl.net

IN-SERVICEA publication of The Association of Saints Church

Radio Amateurs, Inc.P.O. Box 73Independence, MO 64051-0073

http://www.ascra.org

Editor: Terry Redding W6LMJ

President: Robin Cross, WØFENSecretary: Jim Craft, ADØ0ACTreasurer: Chuck Palmer, NØONNExecutive Director: Doug Shaw, WAØEMX(Officers E-mail addresses available on the website)

Association of Saints Church Radio AmateursP.O. Box 73Independence, MO 64051-0073