the official publication of the antelope valley amateur ... · and emergency services. ares...
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November 2016 The official publication of the Antelope Valley Amateur Radio Club
President’s Corner
Carol Humpherys AF6OV
While flying out to the East Coast
today, I started pondering issues
that amateur radio is facing. This
evening at the Embassy Suites in
Baltimore Maryland, I googled the
topic and stumbled across a short
list created by KB6NU. KB6NU
authors a Ham Radio Blog, focusing
on technician class videos and
material for prospective Technician,
General or Extra class applicants.
KB6NU’s list of Amateur radio
issues included:
Lack of on the air activity
Lack of technical expertise
Aging of amateur radio operators
Amateur radio technology
lagging state of the art
Amateur radio technology too
advanced for most hams
The high cost of amateur radio
equipment
R es t r ic t ive home owne r’ s
agreements
Wow!
A key concern is lack of interest by
the youth. It’s on a downward trend.
JOTA participation by the Scouts is
decreasing. Why should young
people play with amateur radio
when Facebook, the internet and
video games are at their fingertips?
Today talking with someone on the
other side of the world is no longer
a novelty.
What can be done? While we can’t
fully mitigate all concerns, we can
(Continued on page 3)
From The Veep Eugene Humpherys KG6SLC
Meeting Notice
http://www.avarc.club
Thursday, November 17, is the next meet-
ing of the AVARC at Antelope Valley First
Christian Church, 1702 East Avenue J, in
Lancaster. This is the same location where
the monthly VE sessions are held. Note that
the meeting this month is a week earlier
than usual, due to the Thanksgiving holi-
day. Talk-in is available on the Hauser Re-
peater (146.73 MHz. PL 100) if you need
directions. Eyeball QSO starts at 7 pm, and
the meeting starts at 7:30.
The new phone number for the club is (661)
265-6131.
Our speaker this month will be Donald
Sather. He is married to Dee and is father
to five children. Professionally he has over
30 years’ experience working with the
United States space community at The
Aerospace Corporation. The first 10 years
of his career consisted of designing, inte-
grating and testing radiation-hardened em-
bedded processing components and systems
for several different spacecraft programs.
For the last 15 years, he has been designing,
integrating, testing and upgrading individ-
ual ground systems as well as entire ground
facilities to support various satellite and
booster programs. He has served as the
Chief Engineer of the AFSCN and the
Launch Ranges. He also has experience as
a satellite operator and managed a telemetry
processing center. He is currently a Princi-
pal Scientist/Engineer in the Computers &
Software Division of The Aerospace Cor-
poration.
Donald Sather
Have you heard of “The 2017 Great
Radio Atmospheric Propagat ion
Experiment” or GRAPE?
There have been a number of experi-
ments and studies as to how radio
waves propagate. The basis for the
GRAPE experiment was conducted by
the OFCOM Radio Communications
Research Unit (RCRU) at the Ruther-
ford Appleton Laboratory in the United
Kingdom. With a partial eclipse on the
eleventh of August of 1999 they
performed a number of propagation
tests or experiments. They again
performed similar propagation tests or
experiments during another partial
eclipse that occurred on March 20,
2015. Dr Ruth Bamford and her team
summarized their findings of the 1999
eclipse in a report that is still available
today at OFCOM.ORG (the communi-
cations regulator for in the UK) as
RCRU Project 48. The Radio Society of
Great Britain (RSBG) coordinated the
activities for this event.
So, what are the experiments? Basi-
cally, Radio waves are observed and
quantified one hour prior to, during, and
up to three hours after the maximum
eclipse. For a standardized time
reference they will use the WWV or
WWVH time signal. Included in the
experiments are the following:
Experiment #1: WWV and
WWVH (2.5, 5.0, 10.o, 15.0 20.0 and
25.0 MHz
Experiment #2 WWVB (60
kHz)
Experiment #3 160 Meters
(1.800 to 2.000 MHz)
Experiment #4 80 Meters
(3.500 to 4.000 MHz)
Experiment #5 60 Meters
(5.330 to 5.403 MHz)
The Short Circuit 2
From the Secretary’s Desk AVARC General Meeting
October 27, 2016
AOpening: Carol Humpherys, AF6OV,
President
7:30 pm call to order
Flag salute
Welcome to members and visitors.
General business:
Minutes from last meeting submitted by
Dan Sherwood (W6DAS), and printed
in the Short Circuit. Any corrections?
Motion to approve as printed in Short
Circuit made by Frank N6FOD sec-
onded by Alan WB6ZYQ Approved?
Yes
Treasurer’s Report : Gary Barr
WA6TWT: Balance $4,179.40 (Inc cash
$98.00)
Membership Report : Gary Barr
WA6TWT: Members # 101, ARRL
members 79.21 %, Members present
tonight 39.
AVARC elections result:
President: Dan Sherwood
W6DAS Vice-President : George Becker,
KC6UVM; Margie Hoffman, KG6TBR.
George withdrew, Margie VP by accla-
mation.
Secretary: Pat Okawa, KG6CGI
Treasurer: Gary Barr, WA6TWT
Master-at-Arms: Gary Mork, WA6WFC
Board Members: Larry Mock, KI6BKP;
Matt Stewart, K6MES
Matt moved elections be closed. Vote
for VP only – all others proclaimed by
acclamation.
Local activity: Amateur Radio & Emer-
gency preparedness Campout & Picnic
at Saddleback Buttes State Park, Nov 11
-13. Seminars & demonstrations on a
variety of topics.
VP report: Eugene Humpherys: Nov:
Satellite program for the US govern-
ment. Donald Sather.
Margie Hoffman: Council of Clubs re-
port: Renewal submitted.
Tax filing: Matt Stewart K6MES In
progress.
Hauser repeater (tentative)
Web site update: Dan Sherwood & John
Isles
Frank: N6FOD – General election voting
possible at AVH next two weekends.
Brian: Talked about pico balloon experi-
mentation.
FD 2017: Vote taken to move it back to
Lancaster City Park. Passed overwhelm-
ingly.
Miscellaneous:
New Business:
Announcements: Next Board Meeting, Thursday, November
3, at the Humpherys QTH. Dinner starts at
6 pm. (Okay to come early!) Meeting starts
at 7:00 pm. All club members, and espe-
cially new board members, are invited.
Next VE Session at First Christian Church
on Monday, November 7 at 7 pm Address
1702 E. Ave J across from Wal-Mart. Ses-
sion is GLAARG with a $5.00 fee.
November club meeting Thursday, Novem-
ber 17.
December club meeting Friday, December
16. (Join us for the Christmas Party!).
Meal likely 6:30PM, TBD.
Break
Anchors Away activity
50/50 drawing won by N6FOD for $12.00
Meeting adjourned at 8:31
AVARC Board Meeting
November 3, 2016
Opening: Carol Humpherys, AF6OV,
President
Call to order by Carol Humpherys
AF6OV at 7:00 pm
Minutes from last board meeting:
Adrienne Sherwood WA6YEO. Any
corrections?
Motion to approve as printed in Short
Circuit Made by: Eugene KG6SLC,
Seconded by: Paul KD6SMC. Ap-
proved? Y
Treasurer’s report: Gary Barr
WA6TWT - Checking, $4,186.40
cash $279.00 & total $4,465.40.
Membership Report: Gary Barr
WA6TWT Membership 101.
Members present tonight: Carol
Humpherys AF6OV, Eugene
Humpher ys KG6SLC, Paul
L’Heureux KD6SMC, Gary Barr
WA6TWT, Gary Mork WA6WFC,
Matt Stewart K6MES, Keith Hoyt
K6GXO, Adrienne Sherwood
WA6YEO, Margie Hoffman
KG6TBR, Betsy Haslett KK6RHN
Old Business:
Congratulations to the new board
members!
Tax filing: Matt Stewart K6MES –
in progress.
VP report: Eugene Humpherys
KG6SLC.
Nov meeting - US Satellite pro-
gram. Donald Sather. Thursday,
November 17.
Dec: Annual Christmas party: Friday De-
cember 16 - Magic show. An honorarium
of $100 will be paid to Brian Hoffman.
Club will give $250 toward prizes. Matt
and Keith will contribute toward dinner.
LA Council of Clubs rpt: Margie
Hoffman KG6TBR – No report. Web site update: No report
New Business:
Dan Sherwood’s agenda items were
discussed:
All on track for use of the church
on 12/16 for the potluck.
Need to stress cleanliness and
care of the carpeted area during meetings.
First Saturday in January after VE test
session will be date for signing signature
card at US Bank
Dan will see if he can pass the key to
Gary Barr for the January meeting.
Dan will consider using classroom for
board meetings. Eugene and Carol are
willing to host some meetings at their
house in Palmdale.
Carol will contact city about using Lan-
caster City Park for Field Day 2017.
Also, Club will look into getting K6A
callsign for the GOTA station.
(Continued on page 3)
Respectfully Submitted,
Dan Sherwood W6DAS
AVARC Secretary 2016
The Short Circuit 3
choose to focus on what is going
well and expand on our strengths.
A strong link has been forged
between Amateur Radio operators
and emergency services. ARES
actively supports local hospital
communications in the event of a
telephone failure. ARES enables
hospitals to request supplies,
medicine and blood when
communications are down, thereby
avoiding a potential disaster.
CERT educates individuals on
disaster preparedness and trains
them on basic disaster response
skills, such as team organization
and disaster medical operations.
CERT individuals recognize
amateur radio as a critical part of
their communication toolkit. Both
ARES and CERT live the motto,
‘When all else fails - Amateur
Radio!’
HOAs have been notoriously
restrictive towards amateur radio.
That is changing. The amateur
Radio Parity Act is Federal
legislation that will ‘ensure that
every ham in the US, regardless of
the community they live in, will
have the opportunity to practice their avocation from their own
homes without breaking any rules
or fear of reprisal.’ In September
2016, the bill passed in the House
of Representatives and moved on
the Senate. This is a step forward.
What else can we do? We can
focus on the FUN of amateur radio.
(Continued from page 1)
Possibility of a club campout in April
or May.
Each board member to prepare a task
list.
Announcements:
Short Circuit Articles due Sunday, No-
vember 6.
Next Club Meeting: November 17 at
the First Christian Church. Address
1702 E. Ave J – Across from Wal-Mart.
Next Board Meeting, Thursday, De-
cember 1, location TBA. Meeting starts
at 7:00 pm. All club members are in-
vited.
Next VE Session at First Christian
Church on Monday, November 7 at 7
pm Address 1702 E. Ave J across from
Wal-Mart. Session is GLAARG with a
$5.00 fee.
November club meeting Thursday, No-
vember 17. December club meeting
Friday, December 16. Setup at
5:30PM. 6:30 meal served..
Meeting adjourned at 8:48 PM.
(Continued from page 2)
Secretary’s Desk…
Respectfully Submitted,
Adrienne Sherwood WA6YEO
President…
Let’s enjoy it! And invite others to
enjoy it with us.
This year the AVARC had a top
notch roster of speakers on topics
ranging from electronic warfare, to a
d e mo n s t r a t i o n o f a n t e n n a
propagation, to discussions of
amateur radio in Burma. Which was
your favorite? The presentations
were informative, engaging and
engrossing.
What could be more fun than an
amateur radio convention the desert?
In January 2017, the ARRL is
hosting QuartFest, a week long
specialty convention in the Sonoran
Desert just south of Quartzsite,
Arizona. From January 22-28,
individuals camp for free and
participate in a ‘one-of a kind ham
radio, camping, learning and living
event.’ Activities range from rock
hounding, to studying advanced
radio theory, to living off the grid
under the stars. Why not plan to
participate this coming year?
Let’s make the most of our hobby
and invite others to join us. Enjoy!
Nov: Satellite program for the US government
Dec: Annual Christmas party
The Short Circuit 4
QST QST QST QST
HAMCON 2017
LOGO DESIGN CONTEST
Sharpen your colored pencils, put new points on your favorite crayons, hone your computer graphic
skills, clean your watercolor brushes
Members of the 12 Clubs Participating in the Convention
Organization are Eligible to Enter ONE or MORE Logo De-
signs.
Winner Will Receive Acknowledgement, Free Admission
to Convention & Saturday Banquet Dinner Ticket
Logo Contest Rules: 1. Design must include the ARRL Logo (download from ARRL web site).
2. Convey Convention Theme “Radio for Everyone”.
(DXer, Emergency Communications, Microwave or Repeater Enthusiast, Experi-
menter, Antenna Designs etc.).
3. ANY shape is OK! (round, square, triangle, irregular).
4. Limit design to 6 colors (black and white are colors).
5. Avoid fine detail (design will be used on convention pin 1.5” dia. or 1.5” height &
width max).
6. Use only “sans serif” fonts (Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, etc.).
7. All entries must be submitted on 8-1/2” X 11” white paper as an E–mail attach-
ment.
8. All entries will become the property of HAMCON 2017 and can be used at the
discretion of the Convention Planning Committee.
9. Deadline for ALL entries is December 15, 2016.
Submit design to Convention Secretary, Brad Rachielles, as an E-mail
attachment to: [email protected]
The Short Circuit 5
Swap Shop
CUSHCRAFT BEAM FOR SALE
Cushcraft A-3 Three Element Beam -
New in the Box
10/15/20 Meters
Asking $400.00
Contact Frank Fedor N6SRZ
661-733-0789
The regular exam location is the First Christian Church of the Antelope Valley.
1702 East Ave. J., Lancaster, CA (Across the street from the Eastside Wall Mart).
Please enter parking lot off the end of the cul-de-sac 17th Street East, enter the class-
room annex, and look for the "FCC Exams" sign outside the correct classroom. Mon-
day Nights: Please do not disturb the A.A. group or other groups that may be using
the facilities.
Dates/times may be subject to change.
12/3/2016 Saturday 9am. ARRL
Experiment #6 4 0 M e t e r s
(7.000 50 7,300 MHz)
Experiment #7 3 0 M e t e r s
(10,100 to 10.150 MHz)
Experiment #8 2 0 M e t e r s
(14.000 to 14,350 MHz)
Experiment #9 1 7 M e t e r s
(18,068 to 18.168 MHz)
Experiment #10 1 5 M e t e r s
(21.000 to 21.450 MHz)
Experiment #11 12 Meters (24.890 to
24.990 MHz)
Experiment #12 10 Meters (28.000 to
29.700 MHz)
Experiment #13 6 Meters (50.000 to
54.000 MHz)
Experiment #14 2 Meters (144.000 to
148.000 MHz)
Experiment #15 1.25 Meters (219,000 to
225.000 MHz)
Experiment #16 70 cm (420.000 to
450.000 MHz)
Experiment #17 33 cm (902.000 to
928.000 MHz)
Experiment #18 23 cm (1240.000 to
13.000 MHz)
Experiment #19 Radio Flux
(245, 410, 610, 1415, 2695,
2 8 0 0 , 4 9 9 5 ,
8800, 15400 MHz)
Experiment #20 Geomagnetic Field (H,
D, Z, & F Components)
Experiment #21 S p a c e W e a t h e r
Conditions (Satellite Altitude Observa-
tions)
Experiment #22 R e v e r s e
Beacon Network (Point to Point Trans-
missions)
Experiment #23 Fixed Position Beacon
Network (Point to Point Observations)
Experiment #24 W S P R
Network (Point to Point Transmissions)
In each of the above, monitoring sites will
manually record the signal strength and
quality in one minute intervals unless
another protocol has been defined. RTTY
and data signals will be logged as either
usable or unusable. Voice signals will be
defined as either readable or unreadable.
Signal strength will be measured in db or
percent of full scale as indicated by the
receiver. Transmitter site power and
(Continued from page 1)
From the VEEP...
percent of modulation will also be
recorded at one-minute intervals.
Throughout the experiment the same
transmitter and receiver operators/
personnel will be used. There are also
receive only stations that will monitor
and record signal strength and quality
from their specific location throughout
the event timeline.
The project will combine data and
observations from the above experiments
to produce a final report that describes
the events as they occur in time sequence
and the measured effects upon radio
propagation before, during, and after the
2017 Eclipse.
For those that are interested you can learn
more about this project at sweoc.org. The
website has a pdf file (http://
w w w . s w e o c . o r g /
GRAPE_Experiment_Descriptions.pdf)
that identifies parameters for each of the
above experiments. It also states this
experiment condition is ideal for radio
clubs, schools, and new radio operators.
They further state that of particular
interest are communications between
stations with one station in the zone of
totality and one located outside the North
American Continent.
The eclipse discussed begins August 21,
2017 at 16:04:33.0 UT so there is still
plenty of time to decide if you want to
find out more about this project. The
website pdf file also contains other data
such as map detail as well as the start of
total eclipse, maximum eclipse and
when the total eclipse ends and when the
partial ends.
There really is something in amateur
radio for everyone... It’s great to be a
ham.
The Short Circuit 6
Place
Postage
Here
To ARS:
Amateur Radio is a National Resource FIRST CLASS
The Antelope Valley Amateur Radio Club K6OX
Post Office Box 1011
Lancaster, CA 93584-1011
AVARC board meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month. All mem-
bers are welcome to attend, although they should let the president or another offi-
cer know that they are planning to attend, as the meetings usually include a pot-
luck dinner at the home of one of the officers.
The club net is on Wednesdays at 8:00, on the Hauser repeater (146.73 MHz PL
100). The net includes Amateur Radio Newsline, and all members and guests are
invited to check in.
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Master-At-Arms
Board Member
Board Member
Trustee
Ex Officio
Carol Humpherys
Eugene Humpherys
Dan Sherwood
Gary Barr
Gary Mork
Matt Stewart
Paul L’Heureux
Keith Hoyt
Margie Hoffman
AF6OV
KG6SLC
W6DAS
WA6TWT
WA6WFC
K6MES
KD6SMC
K6GXO
KG6TBR
722-4616
722-4616
264-1863
946-2717
948-8317
264-4629
305-1838
533-4025
297-6567
Antelope Valley Amateur Radio Club 2016 Officers