the greensboro amateur radio association feed linefeed line

Volume 18, No. 4Web Site: www.w4gso.org

April, 2009Editor: Tom Forrest, N4GVK E-mail: [email protected]

The Greensboro Amateur Radio Association

Feed LineFeed LineProviding Amateur Radio news for the Triad

by Tom Forrest, N4GVKFeed Line Editor

Time WarnerBroadband TierPricing Halted

Read MorePage .... 6

Continued on Page 2 >

Today’s Broadcast Radio Sure Isn’t Your Dad’s Anymore

Today’s broadcast radio isn’t your Dad’sanymore. To say this is probably anunderstatement. When the first transistorradio came out in the early 50’s, everyonethought this was the most important thingsince the light bulb. It was a radio thatcould be carried with you as a portable.It was small, ran on batteries and had noheat from tubes.

Sliding through time to today, now it’sHD Radio™ broadcasting. Much hypehas been placed on DTV over the pastfew months, but little attention has beenawarded to HD Radio broadcasting. It’sfree and you can receive it with a simpleinexpensive table-top or car receiver.There are many stations in the Triad areatransmitting digital channels. All haveexcellent quality and easy reception. Justtune around and they will pop up as digitalsignals on the receiver.

What is HD Radio ™ broadcasting?Let’s look at it.

HD Radio technology is a system usedby AM and FM radio stations to digitallytransmit audio and data in conjunctionwith their analog signals. This systemenables AM and FM radio stations tosimulcast both digital and analog audiowithin the same channel (a hybridizeddigital-analog signal) as well as add newFM channels and text information.

Although HDR a d i obroadcast ing 'sc o n t e n t i ssubscription-free,listeners mustpurchase newreceivers in orderto receive thedigital portion ofthe signal. As ofM a r c h 2 0 0 9 ,1,879 stationsc o v e r i n gapproximately84% of the UnitedS t a t e s a r ebroadcasting withthis technology.More than 1,000HD2/3 multicastchannels are onthe air.

The HD Radio system, the only digitalsystem approved by the FCC for digitalAM/FM broadcasts in the United States,is officially known as NRSC-5, with thelatest version being NRSC-5B. The FCChas not indicated any intent to phase outanalog radio broadcasts as it has withanalog television broadcasts. Thus, thereis no deadline by which consumers mustbuy an HD Radio receiver.

HD Radio technology offers a digitalupgrade path to broadcasters in the

Medium Wave Amplitude Modulated(MW-AM) at 1530 – 1710 KHz and VeryHigh Frequency-Frequency Modulated(VHF-FM) at 88 – 108 MHz broadcastingbands. By employing an In-Band On-Channel (IBOC) approach, broadcastersare able to transmit digital signals alongwith analog signals in the existing allocatedspectrum. Figures 1 and 2 represent,respectively, the MF and VHF HD Radiowaveforms for hybrid operation (wheredigital and analog signals are broadcasttogether).

If digital signal reception is lost, the HDRadio receiver will revert to the analogsignal, thereby providing seamlessoperation between the newer and oldertransmission methods.

A contrast of time is illustrated here with a 1950’s vintagetransistor radio and an old ad is pictured with a today’s moderndigital HD Radio™ technology receiver. The display of thedigital radio shows a local Triad station with choices of digitalchannels. (Photo illustration by Tom Forrest)

Ham Assist During CaliforniaEmergency ............ Page 4

“Ham of the Year”.... Page 5

Pictures from the Past ..... Page 3

NEXT MEETING – April 27The next meeting of the Greensboro Amateur Radio Assoc. will be April 27, at theGolden Corral Steak House, 4404 Landview Dr, Greensboro, NC 27407, offWendover Ave. near Sam’s Club. The program will be presented by Dan Yemiola,AI8O, on The Maidenhead Locator System (otherwise known as Grid Squares)and its use in Ham Radio

Feed Line http://www.w4gso.org

April, 2009

A. The advantages of this approachinclude:1) No additional spectrum for digital radioconversion,2) The ability to support new digitalreceivers while remaining backwardcompatible with existing analog receivers,3) Affordable conversions that utilize muchof a radio station’s existing equipment andinfrastructure,4) Retention of brand equity and dialposition,5) A conversion path that is gradual forradio stations and seamless to listeners,and6) A potential migration to all-digitalservices when conditions are favorable(e.g. when digital receiver penetration issufficient). Figures 3 and 4 represent,respectively, the MW-AM and VHF-FMHD Radio waveforms for the “all digital”operation. A specific spectrum mappingchart is included to demonstrate the amountof kb/s available per mode of operation.

B. HD Radio Technology: Benefits

HD Radio technology offers broadcastersdramatically increased audio quality. Itutilizes HDC®, a state-of-the-art audiocodec designed and optimized for use withthe HD Radio system. At a throughput of48 kb/s, the VHF HDRadio system producesaudio quality that hasproven to be almostindistinguishable from FMStereo and at 96 kb/s CD-like in subjective testing.The MW-AM HD Radiosystem produces audiothat is FM stereo-likequality with a 15 kHzfrequency response at only32 kb/s. Both systems area l s o r e s i s t a n t t o

interference and channel impairments suchas multipath interference and impulse noise.These enhancements serve to increaseaudio quality and improve the listenerexperience. HD Radio technology is alsocompatible with several existing surroundsound technologies.

C. HD Radio Technology: Multicasting

The VHF HD Radio system also allowsaudio to be divided into multiple, discreteaudio channels. This “multicasting” featureenables broadcasters to offer additionalprogramming to listeners with HD Radio-compatible receivers without the need foradditional frequency allocations.

D: HD Radio Technology: ProgramService Data (PSD) and Data capability

The ability to broadcast program-associated data, including song/programtitle, artist, genre, etc., similar to RDS butwith a higher throughput, is supported forthe primary audio channels in the MW-AM and VHF-FM systems and all multicastaudio channels in the VHF system. Othertypes of “tunneled” data are also supportedin the MW-AM and VHF-FM systems. Apractical application of tunneled data isreal-time traffic information (flow rates,

accidents/events, road closures, etc.).

"HD Radio" is the trademark foriBiquity's in-band on-channel (IBOC)technology, which was selected by theFederal Communications Commission(FCC) in 2002 as a digital audiobroadcasting method for the United States.According to iBiquity's website, the "HD"is simply a brand name and has nomeaning . There is no connection withhigh-definition television (HDTV), exceptin the sense that both HDTV and HDRadio are digital formats.

Ok, now that you have the basic info,you can sit back and listen. If you’d likemore information you can visit variousweb sites, including www.hdradio.comand www. ibiquity.com.

If you don’t have a radio, you can findmany places that sell receivers. The radiofeatured in the photo can be found at thefollowing URL: http://tinyurl.com/djxx6j Others are available from various storesand mail order houses. A search of Googlecan reveal a number of such sources.

Thanks to Vicki Stearn, of iBiquity, forfor information provided in this story.

GARA Meeting MinutesRegular Meeting Minutes

March 23, 2009


The Greensboro Amateur RadioAssociation held its monthly meeting onMarch 23, 2009 at the Golden Corralrestaurant just off Wendover Ave. and I-40.

Will Ravenel, AI4VE, who presidedover the meeting for Chris Thompson,K4HC, who had a prior commitmentcalled the meeting to order at 7:15 PM.

We had our usual round of everyoneidentifying themselves.

The minutes from the last meetingswere approved.

Roy Smith, N4BYU, asked thateveryone try to help Tom Forrest, N4GVK,with articles or ideas for the Feed Line.You can reach Tom by e-mail [email protected]

Will said that Carl Fenske, KC4WGA,who teaches at Greensboro day school

has gotten several of his students interestedin amateur radio, and there are about sixthat have been licensed so far. TheseHamsters, as Carl calls them, can be heardon the repeater quite often and conductthemselves very good. Will said that weshould see about trying to attract them toGARA.There will be a discussion aboutit at an upcoming board meeting.

Alan Bradley, KD4IUN, spoke aboutthe Wrangler soccer tournament comingup on May 23&24. Allen needs volunteersfor both days. You can reach Allen [email protected].

Roger Stou,t N4RWS, said that theballoon launch experiment by RobertKrasowski, KB2PNM, has been on holddue to weather and he hopes to launchsoon.

Ernie Wall, NC4EW, said the treasuryis better than expected because the repeaterrepair bill has not come in yet and incomehas been better.

Al Allred, K4ZKQ said the forecast islooking good and income is ahead ofschedule.

Jesse Lindley, N4BFD said that hewould swap out the repeaters soon becausethere has been some noise heard whenreceiving weaker signals.

The gateway for the D-star repeater isalmost done and Arch, KT4AT, plans todebut it at Dayton. Eccolink is workingwell and is getting some use on the twometer machine.

Will, AI4VE, gave a great presentationabout antenna modeling.

The meeting closed at 8:30PM.Respectfully submitted by:Greg Spencer, KG4UQV, Secretary

There was no board meeting in April.

April, 2009

Back in the 90’s

These photos were made circa 1993 in Greenville,NC at the Voice of America Site during a field trip bymembers of GARA. Recoginize anyone? Macon Dail,WB4PMQ, (back to camera) then an engineer withthe VOA (now an assistant station manager) talksabout the equipment.

This photo shows the control room of Site “C” that wasdecommissioned in the mid 90’s and donated to PittÇounty and East Carolina University. The BrightleafAmateur Radio Club uses a rear portion of the old faciltyfor a club station, and still allowed access to some ofthe old antenna arrays that have remained at the site.


“The Feed Line” is ©2009 by the Greensboro AmateurRadio Association and published monthly. Our addressis P.O. Box 7054, Greensboro, NC 27417. The purposeof the newsletter is to provide the club and prospective members information about the club and amateurradio in general. Material and information shouldreach the editor by the first Friday of the month forthe next edition of the newsletter. Opinions expressedin “The Feed Line” do not necessarialy represent theviews of the officers, directors, editor or members ofthe Greensboro Amateur Radio Association. Materialmay be reproduced, provided proper credit is givento GARA.

President Chris Thompson, K4HCVice-President Willl Ravenel, AI4VE

Treasurer Ernie Wall, NC4EWSecretary Greg Spencer, KG4UQV

Financial Al Allred, K4ZKQEngineering Chairman Jesse Lindley, N4BFD

Operations Roy Smith, N4BYUMember at Large Clark Doggett, KG4HOM

Member at Large Dave Touvell, KN4ZOAppointed Positions:

News letter editor and Webmaster:Tom Forrest, N4GVK

The Greensboro AmateurRadio Association

April, 2009

(ARRL-Apr 15, 2009) -- In the earlymorning, just after midnight on April 9,someone climbed down four manholes inthe San Jose, California area and cutunderground fiber optic cables. Thesabotage led to widespread disruption ofphone service -- including tens ofthousands of land lines, an undeterminednumber of cell phones, Internet accessand 911 emergency service -- in southernSanta Clara County, as well as in SantaCruz and San Benito counties. San Joseis the county seat of Santa Clara County.With the infrastructure disabled, localEmergency Management officials calledon ham radio operators in theircommunities to provide back-upcommunications. According to the SanJose Mercury News, Santa Clara Countycalled a local state of emergency, "butworst-case scenarios were successfullyavoided through use of ham radios, door-to-door checks and extra-vigilantpatrols."

In Santa Cruz County, just over theSanta Cruz Mountains from San Jose,Santa Cruz County District EmergencyCoordinator Cap Pennell, KE6AFE, wasawoken that Thursday morning just after5 AM by uniformed police at his door.Sent by Dominican Hospital PresidentNanette Mickiewicz, the police officersescorted Pennell to the hospital for a briefon this situation: The fiber optic lines that

had been cut in San Jose had affected theSanta Cruz hospital's communicationsinfrastructure, cutting off communicationsfrom the hospital to the outside world.Santa Cruz is located on the northern edgeof the Monterey Bay, about 72 miles southof San Francisco.

"While I was meeting with hospitaldepartment heads, Bob Wolbert, K6XX,had started our ARES Resource Net onthe W6WLS/W6MOW linked repeaters,"Pennell told the ARRL. "During thebriefing, the hospital determined toimplement HICS/SEMS for thisemergency. There hadn't been telephonesor Internet anywhere since about 2:30AM. The hospital's phone system didwork, but only within the hospital. Theirinternal computer local area networkwasn't working either, so they wereinstantly on a 'paper system.'"

By 6:15, Pennell said they hadestablished tactical radio links on theK6BJ/KI6EH linked repeaters betweenthe Dominican Hospital EmergencyOperations Center in Santa Cruz and theWatsonville Community Hospitalemergency room; Watsonville is about 15miles south of Santa Cruz via the PacificCoast Highway. "We establishedHEARNET 155.385 simplex between bothhospital ERs and County 911; HEARNETis the Hospital Emergency Administrative

Radio Network. Once HEARNET (ERstaff) and K6BJ repeater (hams) werestaffed and operating at both hospitals, Ileft the hospital to become our initial hamoperator at the County EmergencyOperations Center and operated asARES/ACS shift supervisor from therefor the rest of the day," Pennell reported.

Throughout the day,Pennell said hams --including some in MontereyCounty who had beenworking telephones -- helpeddispatch ambulances ,conferred with the PoisonCenter on a children'spoisoning case, orderedreplacement blood suppliesfor two hospitals from SanJose Red Cross, relayed acomplex major "wholehospital" day's food order tothe supplier out of county,tracked down variousdoctors for emergencyconsultations and sharedstatus updates from our area."We did all this while inunity with the Countygovernment, public safety

agencies and California EmergencyManagement Agency's Coastal Region,"he said. "Greg Smith of Cal-EMA spentthe day in the Santa Cruz EOC with us."All service was restored by 12:15 AM onFriday, April 10.

NETCOM, the dispatch center for mostpolice and fire agencies in Santa CruzCounty, was able to receive 911 callsplaced from land lines, but could notreceive calls placed from cell phones, saidSanta Cruz County Senior DispatcherStephanie Zube. "Because the only phonenumber many land line phone ownerscould call was 911", she said the centerreceived "countless calls" regarding theblackout: "At least several peopleattempted to call 911 before drivingthemselves to the emergency room. A ladyin Gilroy fled her home when a robberbroke in, and couldn't call 911 beforefleeing to a nearby firehouse."

Vandalism Takes Out System

San Jose and San Carlos police are joined

When Vandals Strike Infrastructure, Hams Operators Assist

ARRL Graphic

Continued on next page >

in their investigation of the cut fiber opticcables -- now considered by authoritiesto be a coordinated act of sabotage -- bythe Santa Clara County Sheriff's Officeand the FBI. The investigation alsoincludes members of AT&T's securityforce, a handful of trained investigatorsworking for the company. Authorities saidon April 10 that evidence collection wascomplete, but would not elaborate on whatexactly they are examining or whethernew security measures are in place toprevent similar acts of destruction.

San Jose police reported receiving about10 tips concerning the sabotage; SanCarlos police told the San Jose MercuryNews that they are examining videosurveillance of a major intersection nearone of the four locations where AT&T'sunderground fiber-optic cables were slicedearly Thursday morning.

On April 11, AT&T issued a $100,000reward for information, but bumped upthe reward to $250,000 the next day whenit discovered that the damage was moreserious than originally thought. Accordingto the Daily Tech, some banks in the areawere forced to temporarily close, whileall service was disabled and hand-written

receipts were offered to customers. Manybusinesses also were forced to eitheraccept cash or close for a few hours, sincecredit card and ATM transactions wereunavailable.

Authorities say the communicationssabotage occurred in two separateincidents, one at 1:30 AM in south SanJose and the other two hours later in SanCarlos. Several companies, such asVerizon, "piggy back" on the AT&T-owned cables. AT&T spokesman JohnBritton told the Mercury News that itappears vandals opened a manhole andclimbed down at least 8 feet to cut fouror five fiber optic cables along MontereyRoad just north of the Blossom Hill Roadexit. The second vandalism was along OldCounty Road near Bing Street in SanCarlos. San Jose police spokesmanSergeant Ronnie Lopez said the manholecovers are heavy and would take quite aneffort to lift, perhaps even requiring a tool.Investigators do not have a suspect yet,he said, but have learned "to expect theunexpected. We have some obvious cluesand can assume some things," but a motiveremains elusive.

Gilroy, the southernmost city in Santa


Clara County, was also affected. CityAdministrator/Director of EmergencyServices Thomas J. Haglund expressed histhanks to the Amateur Radio operatorswho assisted with communications support,saying, "This particular emergencysituation underscores that our reliance ontechnology should be balanced withmaintaining the very types of capabilitiesthat you provided to us. Communicationis an obvious key to adequately respondingto any emergency and the efforts of theMutual Aid Communicators and the GilroyPolice VIP's provided the necessarycommunication and public visibility in thisinstance and demonstrated just howimportant your training and skill is to ourcommunity. Thank you very much for yourdedication and expertise."

Gilroy Police Chief Denise Turner echoedHaglund's comments: "We trulyappreciated all of your help during thischallenging event! Each of you played akey role in a successful operation. I feelbetter knowing we have dedicatedvolunteers like you that will come to ouraid in time of need! Thank you!" -- Someinformation provided by The San JoseMercury News and The Daily Tech

The Dayton Hamfest has selected NC’sDanny Hampton, K4ITL, as "Amateur ofthe Year". Danny is the architect of thePiedmont Coastal Repeater Network,established in the early 1970s, which todaysports more than 40 machines in NorthCarolina.

The system is heavily used for publicservice work. Hampton has enhanced thenetwork's utility with custom audioprocessing boards and RF components.

The North Carolina Office of EmergencyManagement and SKYWARN haverecognized the network's vital role inemergency communications.

Recently, Danny helped coordinate thedevelopment of the "CARES" system - alocal hospital-based Amateur Radioemergency repeater system that ties 10facilities together.

Danny Hampton, K4ITL Is Dayton"Amateur Of The Year"

A ham since 1958, Danny is theSoutheastern Repeater Association(SERA) technical committee chairman aswell as the ARRL North Carolina SectionTechnical Coordinator.

Danny Hampton, K4ITL

(Photo Courtesy Tom Babb, WW4TLB)

North Carolina ARES members are beingasked to participate in a state emergencymanagement drill on Tuesday, June 23 andWednesday, June 24. The drill will involvea large earthquake in the Buncombe Countyarea and the resulting damage will affectstructures and communications facilitiesthat are not "earthquake resistant" with aspec ia l emphas is on ce l lphonefacilities/towers. The focus of this exerciseis on communications and interoperabilityand the scenario depicts massivecommunications infrastructure failure fromdamage and circuit overload. NCEmergency Management expects AmateurRadio to play a key role in this exercise.

We'll have more detail later, but we knowwe will need operators in Bumcombe andthe surrounding counties, at the NCEMwarehouse in Badin, at the western branchEOC in Conover and at the state EOC inRaleigh. Please contact your local EC withyour availability for this exercise.

State ARES EarthquakeDrill Set for June 23-24

April, 2009

A storm of protest against TimeWarnerCable has prompted the cable giant to re-think its new tier pricing for internetservice, placing it on hold for now untilthey “can educate the public.” The newmetered cable price plan to bill-by-the-byte could cost businesses and heavyonline users up to $150 per month for highspeed broadband service.

Recently, Time Warner Cable added twoadditional tiers to the original meteredpricing plan - a budget plan allowing 1GB of data use for $15 per month, and a“super-tier” allowing up to 100 GB ofusage per month for $75. Each 1 GB overthe specified amount would cost $1 perGB in overage fees, with a maximumoverage cap of $75 per month. The originaltiers are 10, 20, 40 and 60 GB of datatransfer.

Users of the TWC cable high speedinternet service said they realize the battleis not over. The company can come back“when the dust settles” and after brushingusers aside, to try something later whenno one is looking. However, after this lastoutcry from users, this is not likely tohappen. Users in the Triad and inRochester, NY make up the “test” marketsidentified by Time Warner. Other testmarkets were planned and included SanAntonio and Austin, TX.

TWC’s new rate imposition relates toexpected heavy downloading of moviesto computers or to new TV sets that havethe capability. Time Warner has citedconcerns that an escalating level of heavydownload activity would reduce theoperating speed of the system. Thecompany suggests that the new pricingapproach would place the cost burden withthose heavier users.

However, the many irate customers pointquickly to greed as the company’smotivation. They express serious concernsthat the new structure would place acrippling burden on small and newbusinesses during a period of seriouseconomic stress - something akin to“kicking’em when they’re down.”

The controversy has gained both national

and local politicalattention.President Obamarecentlyannounced fundswould be madeavailablable fromhis recent stimuluspackage to providebroadband serviceto rural America. Backlash was sogreat in Rochesterthat it prompted acongressionalresponse from apair of New Yorklegislators. U.S.Senator Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) has spokenin opposition to TWC’s pricing plan,pointing out that “Access to affordableInternet and bandwidth is vital to thegrowth of small businesses, which areintegral to North Carolina’s economy andthe Greensboro community.”

Here in the Triad, Greensboro MayorYvonne Johnson said in a recent publishedreport, “I’m not a happy camper.”Comments from other county officialsechoed Mayor Johnson’s feelings. It hasprompted city representatives to investigateother possible sources for high speedbroadband service that could be broughtinto the area.

In Greensboro, picketers assembled infront of the Time Warner offices on SpringGarden St. Saturday to express their feelingtoward the broadband povider. A similarprotest was also scheduled in Rochesterat the same time. There have been otherprotests in San Antonio and Austin, aswell.

Time Warner said there is no date set toresume the trials and the company wouldreconsider implementing a test programthat charges varying rates for internetusage after renewed efforts to educatecustomers.

Protesters warn that vigilence is needed.Jonathan Hall, an organizer of theGreensboro protest, advises that, “ Weneed to make it clear to them that we don’t

need to be educated about this plan. Weunderstand what they’re doing, and ascustomers,we disagree with it.”

In the Ham radio hobby, many repeatersnow use broadband technology tointerconnect D-Star, EchoLink and IRLPrepeaters. This could have an impact onclubs and owners on a limited budget,causing some services to be lessened.Hopefully it will not deter the hobby.

April, 2009

Time Warner Broadband Tier Plan Hit Customer’s Hot Button


by Tom Forrest, N4GVKFeed Line Editor

The last three models of laserdisk playersproduced by Pioneer have beendiscontinued ending the era of the analoglaserdisk. It was a good performer.

This is certainly bad news for those whoown laserdisk players and still enjoy theirlibrary. This was once the choice formatof videophiles. In reality, the demise ofthe laserdisk came when DVDs pushedthem off store shelves.

They produced a great NTSC picture butHDTV is said to have dealt the final blowbecause Laserdisk just couldn't compete.

Laserdisk VideoFormat Discontinued

Protesters picket aganst tier pricing outside the TimeWarner offices on Spring Garden Street, April 18.

Photo by Tom Forrest, N4GVK

Be sure to check your e-mail fora separate PDF file containingthe 2009 official membershiproster of GARA. The roster isalso available in the MemberSection of www.w4gso.org.

Git urnewzhear

Ham HappeningsbriefsNEWS


Get Well ...Tom Hatley, KF4JZD, was reported

admitted to Moses Cone Hospital after hepassed out. No further information isavailable at this time.----------------------------------------------Continuing get well wishes are offered forGARA member Charles Lyons, NT1J.Charles has returned home and willcontinue stroke rehab. Reports say Charlesis making good progress.----------------------------------------------

Bill Mauldin, WG4R, recently had kneereplacement surgery and is doing quitewell. He’ll be out walking the Corgis soon.

For SalePower, Supply & Meter

Antenna, dual band, power meter andAstron RS-20M power supply - $65; IcomIC208 dual-bander - $75; Comet CMX-3RS in-line UHF/VHF SWR and powermeter - $75. Call Fred Blackman, W4FB,at 336-841-4338.------------------------------------------------

Heath HW-101 $150.00This is the classic, top-selling Heathkittransceiver. Complete with matchingpower supply, microphone, and speaker,along with the original instruction manualand extra tubes. (I last used this rigapproximately 25 years ago. To make thisclassic transceiver operational, electrolyticcapacitors should be replaced.)Contact Pete, W8LOG, at 336-852-8791or at pkauber@triad.rr.com------------------------------------------------

Alinco 5watt vhf/uhf with highc a p a c i t y b a t t e r y , r e m o t emike/speaker/controller; charger, 1/4 wavemag mount, and vox operated head set.It is in good condition (enclosed .jpg).My interests lie elsewhere than ham radio.$130 K4CJZ, Chuck, 887-9023------------------------------------------------.

April, 2009

Al Allred, K4ZKQ and Roy Smith,N4BYU, spoke at a University of NorthCarolina at Greensboro Class April 8.

The course is named "History of Radio:Media Culture" within the Broadcast andCinema area, taught by Jack Bonney.

As it covers the history of radio, itfocuses on the numerous special interestgroups such as ham radio, pirate radio,etc. It is listed in the UNCG course catalogas BCN 323, open to all registered studentsacross all majors. The class willaccommodate up to 30 students, with 20currently enrolled. Seventeen were presenton the day of the presentation.

The presentation was to provide firsthand, "grass roots" information fromparticipants in their branch of thetechnology. It lasted about forty minutes,followed by about twenty minutes ofrelevant questions from the class.

Thanks to Roy and Al for representingHam Radio and GARA.

GARA Members SpeakAt UNC-G Class

Pioneer has announced that they are nolonger manufacturing plasma screen TVsets. Further, they will drop manufacturingof all their TV sets in 2010. Pioneer wasa leader in high performance plasma DTVsets of the top of the line up to the $5,000price range. These sets had exceptionalcontrast with shadow detail of high depthrealism.

Many videophiles will be disappointedover Pioneer’s decision in this matter.Pioneer will continue in producing top A/Vreceivers for home theater systems,including Blu-Ray players. Pioneerbelieved that if they manufactured a highquality high performance set, thatconsumers would pay a high price to getthem. Now they have realized this beliefwas in error. Their TV business has beenfalling off since 2004.

Visio's concept was to produce a valueproduct, which they did. They blame thefact that plasma screen brightness in TVstores is somewhat poorer in store lightinglevels than other types of displays, thus,customers passed them up in favor ofsomething else. Visio plans to put emphasisnow on LCD sets that will have highercontrast ratios because of LED dynamicbacklighting control. The first of the newVisio models will be on the market in July,09. Sales of sets with such backlightingcontrol were up 10.8% in 2008 and areexpected to increase by 2.9% in 2009.

Panasonic, LG and Samsung are theremaining producers of plasma screen TVsets.

Pioneer & VISIO To StopMaking Plasma Screen TV Sets

Amateur radio VE testing results forApril 2009 as follows:

Marilyn (Lyn) E. Koonce - Technician - KJ4LCB

Eddie W Norris - Upgrade to General -KI4SNB

VE Testing Results For April

------------------------------------------------

Guilford County ARES has created a list of standard VHF/UHF Freqs.

The 8800 Yaesu at the Guilford County EOC Comm Center has been programedwith these. We hope that all ARES members will set their radios the same, soin an emergency we will be standardized.

1. 145.15 - 600 tone 100 Hz. tone

2. 145.25 - 600 tone 88.5 Hz. Tone

3. 147.555 Simplex

4. 145.150 Simplex no tone

5. 146.52 Simplex no tone

6. 147.255 +600 82.5 Hz. tone

These six are. hopefully for all. The next four will just about cover the State andare in the Comm Center Radio..

7. 146.88 - 600 Raleigh no tone (east)

8. 442.15 + 600 Chapel Hill 131.8 Hz tone (north east)

9. 145.35 - 600 Charlotte (Southwest)

10. 145.47 -600 Sauratown Mtn. 100 Hz. tone (Northwest)

The Comm center can talk from past Charlotte to almost the beach.

Gui

lford

County ARE

S

A BIG THANKYOU!

To all renewingmembers of

GARA.

Location: #3 Centerview Dr, HickoryBuilding, Greensboro, NC 27407

Time: 9:00 A.M.

Contact: Glenda NicholsonPhone: 336-674-3810

E-mail: [email protected]

The W4VEC TestingSchedule May to Dec.

2009

Area Activities

Greensboro Amateur Radio AssociationP.O. Box 7054Greensboro, NC 27417

The Official Publication of GARA

Web:www.w4gso.org

FIRST CLASS MAIL

OTHER ACTIVITIES :

FIRST MONDAY – The Guilford County A.R.E.S.monthly meeting is held at 1002 Meadowood St. off W.Wendover Ave, in the EMS building, beginning at 7 PM.

THIRD MONDAY – at 6:15 PM The Guilford AmateurSociety holds their monthly meeting at Tex & Shirley’sRestaurant in Fiendly Shopping Center. Eat at 6:15 PMand the business meeting begins at 7 PM.

THURSDAY – at 11:15 AM, Greensboro Hams gettogether for lunch. Thursday lunch group is meeting atthe K&W Cafeteria, 300 Forum VI Mall at FriendlyShopping Center. Talk-in is on the 145. 150, W4GSOrepeater with a 100 Hz. tone.

EVERY FRIDAY – at 8 PM (approximately) GreensboroHams get together for coffee at Guilford College (summerlocation till Daylight Savings time changes)

CLUB NETS:

SUNDAYS – weekly at 9 PM, the GARA News andInformation Net. This net features NewsLine and is onthe 145.150, W4GSO repeater. Roy Smith, N4BYU isalways looking for net controls. Contact him if you wouldlike to help.

THURSDAYS – The Guilford County ARES Net meetson the 145.150 repeater (100 Hz. tone) at 9 PM.

TUESDAYS – at 8 PM, the 2 Meter SSB Net meets on144.225 Mhz. USB. Chris Thompson, K4HC is the netcontrol station. (Not operational present time)

WEDNESDAYS – The Guilford Amateur Societyholds their weekly net on the 145.250, W4GG repeaterwith an 88.5 Hz. tone. Jim Hightower, W4JLH is the netcontrol.

TUESDAYS – at 8:30 PM The Triad SkyWarn Netmeets on the 147.225, K4ITL repeater, no tone required.

FOURTH MONDAY – at 6:30 PM, the Greensboro Amateur Radio Association have theirregular monthly meeting at the Golden Corral, 4404 Landview Dr, Greensboro, NC 27407,off Wendover Ave, near Sam’s Club. Please plan to gather at 6:30 PM for dinner. The meetingis scheduled to start at 7:15 PM

Technical Forum Sundays at 7:30 - 145.15 repeater

Save The DateThe annual Doggett cook-out

will be Sept. 26, 2009.Save the date and plan to

attend for some yummy BBQMore information to come.

May 9, 2009June 13, 2009July 11, 2009August 8, 2009September 12, 2009October 10, 2009November 14, 2009December 12, 2009

GARA REPEATERS145.150 Mhz - minus offset

100 Hz. Tone

442.8625 Mhz. + offsetDigital D-Star

the greensboro amateur radio association feed linefeed line

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