DELTA AMATEUR RADIO CLUB

---

SPARKS
Web Edition

SPARKS / P.O. BOX 750482 / MEMPHIS, TN 38175-0482 / VOL. 13 / FEBRUARY 2001

W 4 B S    R E P E A T E R    S Y S T E M

146.82, 147.36, 224.42, 443.2 & 145.03 Packet

PRESIDENT'S PAGE

THE W4BS BUFFET
or
WHAT DO YOU GET
FOR THIRTY BUCKS?

About an hour’s drive from our meeting site is located my favorite restaurant with a buffet.  For about twelve bucks, you get all the BBQ, BBQ ribs, BBQ chicken, catfish, catfish fillets, shrimp, fried chicken, seafood gumbo, apple fritters, BBQ beans, fried chicken, ham, hush puppies and corn-light-bread you can eat.  They have fabulous cobbler, along with the usual salad bar items and vinegar slaw to die for! (Anybody want to organize an “eatin’ expedition,” let me know – I never need much of an excuse to go there!) When I go there, I fill up on the “high-dollar” items, with a little salad on the side.  Of course, I could munch out on a lot of
the “rabbit food,” but it still would cost the same.

The annual membership for Delta Amateur Radio Club is thirty bucks (thirty-five for a family membership) and like the buffet, you have LOTS of choices and virtually unlimited use.  You can use the “high-dollar” items or you could actually utilize none of the myriad of services and opportunities available.  Let’s look at the Delta Club menu.  We have one of the best repeater systems anywhere in the South with coverage unrivaled by just about any other system.  We have an award
winning monthly newsletter that gets to most of us on time every month – (late delivery NOT the fault of the editor).  We have a nightly traffic and information net in which you can participate and thereby keep up with what is going on in Delta Club and ham radio in general, in addition to learning about proper net procedures and message traffic handling.  We have an ongoing training program to get or upgrade your license and we’ve had almost a 100% pass rate for our “graduates.”  We have an active “Elmer” program with “Elmers” knowledgeable in just about every phase of our diverse hobby.

Also on the “menu” are monthly meetings complete with good camaraderie,  fellow-ship and informative programs.  Delta Club participates in numerous public service events and SKYWARN uses our repeater in times of dangerous weather.  Delta Club puts on an incredible Field Day effort with the added bonus of LOTS of “learn by doing” opportunities.  Want to sharpen your operating skills – come to Field Day!  We have social functions including our annual “Fall Seminar,”
complete with a picnic dinner and our annual Christmas Dinner.  For dessert, we have lots of opportunities for leadership and service.

Everybody has their own personal “tastes” in what they do in ham radio.  Imagine all of the Delta Club functions laid out on a buffet table.  What are you “eating?”  Whether or not you get your money’s worth is pretty much up to you.  Sooo, step up to the table and fill up your plate, my friends!  The wonderful world of ham radio awaits you.

73,
K4TTA

P.S.  Try saving room for “dessert!!”

FEBRUARY MEETING

Bruce Campbell, KG4HLZ, and David Campbell, KD4NOQ, will be presenting a program on Amateur TV (ATV) and Packet.  They expect to have stations operational demonstrating these exciting modes and will field questions from the audience.

VE CORNER

January - a brand new year (which I find very hard to write the 01, especially hard was 01/11/01 for some reason), brand new fees, brand new cw testing arrangements AND a brand new VE. WELCOME to Frank McDowell KA4SJM, the newest member of the VE Team.

On January 9th we held our first testing session of the new year. Thank you to the following VE's who were able to help at that session: Arleen, AA5GX,
Frank, KA4SJM, John, WV5J, and Paul, WM5Q. We had 6 people take 4 elements with 3 elements being passed. I came home from the meeting that night and
finished all of the paperwork associated with the test, went back out to FedEx it to the ARRL headquarters and arrived back home about 10:00 that night. I had announced at the meeting that night that the ARRL had new software and were now able to send the test results as they were received rather than batch send them to the FCC. Little did I know that the session from Tuesday would be on the internet on Thursday. Congratulations ARRL on a mighty fine job ( this is the fastest session I have ever had processed in the 4 1/2 years of liaison for this organization).

Congratulations to the following:
Joel Craig, KG4LTD, Technician
Keith Peltier, KG4LDU, Technician
Daniel Source, KG4LDV, Technician
Brian Cosley, KA0GOY, General
Shirley Gregory, KB4GHC, General

HAMFEST IS HERE - SUPPORT THE MEMPHIS AREA CLUBS - COME SEE ALL OF THE NEW EQUIPMENT - WIN A NEW RADIO -- UPGRADE YOUR LICENSE - LEARN FROM AND ENJOY THE WONDERFUL FORUMS!!!!!!!!

THREE opportunities to upgrade in February : 10th 11th 13th !!!!!!!

73,  Joan, KN4PM
Delta Division ARRL VE Liaison
kn4pm@arrl.net

QSL Cards and Award Checking

You can now have your QSL cards checked locally by Terry, KB4KA, for the following awards:

Worked All States
U.S. hams must be ARRL Members for all awards; no “repeater”, “ship board” or “airborn” contacts;  Alaska contacts must be dated January 3, 1959 or
later and Hawaii contacts must be dated August 21, 1959 or later.  Be sure and read the rules!

5 Band Worked All States
Only contacts January 1, 1970 and after are valid.
DXCC
All except 160 Meters, deleted countries and contacts over 10 years old.  Be sure and read the rules!

Check the ARRL web page at www.arrl.org and follow the links to the awards pages for additional details and forms.  All submissions will be checked per the letter of the existing rules. Terry may be able to provide some of the forms on request.  QSL card checking is available at Delta Club meetings, hamfests and by contacting Terry for an individual session.  Good luck in “chasing your wallpaper”!

Terry Cox, KB4KA

Memphis/ Shelby County Emergency Management Agency A.R.E.S./ R.A.C.E.S.
Outdoor Warning Siren System Testing (OWSST)
Volunteers 1999-2000

The following list consists of people who are to be recognized for their participation in the siren testing project during 1999-2000:

Project Coordinator & Net Controller:
Robin McConnell, KE4GPR

Assistant Coordinator & Net Controller:
Bobby Jamerson, KG4CMA

Other Volunteers:
Mary Jamerson
Arlene Cline, AA5GX
Paul Cline, WM5Q,
Michelle Cline, KG4IZZ
Andrew Cline
Tim Morrow, AB4NH
Jim Maxwell, K4KTP
Tom Richardson, K4TTA
Ned Savage, KA4BLL
David Campbell, KD4NOQ,
Keith Butler, KD4GTS
Mark Kapley, KD5ARO,
Barbara Abrams, KE4BUU
Joseph Donahue, KE4JFN
Betty Donahue
Pam Christensen, KF4NDD
David Smith, KF4PFY
Austin Onek, KG4GKE
Paul Lemieux III, KG4GYV
Michael Dawoud, KG4ILB
Scott Gordon, KG4IRF
Joan Thorne, KN4PM
Gerry Bailey, N9SCJ
Joe Lowenthal, WA4OVO
Ernest Christensen, WA6KOC
Robert T. Thompson Sr., WB4ZXT
Mike Pandolf, KE4OKL,
Ben Barth, AF4TV
Eloise Barth AF4TW
Steve Campbell, KF4LUR

Delta Club Representatives
Kathy Troughton, KE4UYU
Melinda Thompson, KE4DXN
Tommy Thompson, KD4TJO
Bob Holdford, KF4NDH
Freddy Bratton, KF4ZGJ
Bill Hancock, WA4MJM
Tom Richardson, K4TTA
Ken Gregg, K4DIT
Paul Cline, WM5Q

CQ FIELD DAY

With only minimal arm twisting, threats and bribery, Paul – WM5Q – and J.D. – K4USN – have agreed to head up Delta Club’s 2001 Field Day effort.  Paul
will serve as Field Day Chairman and J.D. will be the Co-Chairman.  Paul brings a wealth of electronic and operating experience and expertise, being an RF engineer and holding an Amateur Extra license.  J.D., a Master Chief Petty Officer in the Navy, while being in amateur radio for less than a year but already holding a General license, brings a wealth of organizational experience and great enthusiasm to our effort.  For the three years that I have been a Delta Club member, Field Day has been one of my favorite club experiences.  Last year, W4BS, was in the top ten per cent of the 3A category – even despite a few visits from Uncle Murphy and several of his in-laws!

Start making your plans to be a part of Field Day 2001, June 23rd and 24th.

73, Tom, K4TTA

Digital Update

PSK31 continues to grow in popularity, as is evidenced by the increase in activity on the bands, especially on 20 meters.  The “new” MFSK mode is also gaining in popularity, although it is not yet as well known as PSK31.  For those of you curious about how the modes compare, the ARRL made some test runs on January 13.  For these tests, they transmitted text at 1 watt, 10 watts, and 100 watts on 80, 30, 20, and 10 meters using PSK31 and then MFSK16.  Although I have not yet seen any official results from that test, Dale, KF4SIR, in Orlando, Florida, conducted testing and posted his results on his Internet site. He surmised that, due to high QRM at the time of the test, there was no appreciable difference in the two modes at his QTH, which is located about 1,100 miles from W1AW.  This is surprising, since MFSK is touted to be better for high-QRM situations.  You can review Dale’s findings at: http://psk31relay.net/temp1.html.

As you may know, we had a PSK31 station active during Field Day 2000.  Although the mode may not lend itself well to the rapid turnaround needed for Field Day contacts, there were, nevertheless, plenty of other PSK31 stations active during that event.  Although there have been RTTY contests for years, you may have noticed in the “Contest Calendar” section of the newletter that there are beginning to be occasional contests for PSK and other digital modes.

Software for these two modes, as well as several other digital modes continues to get better every day.  If you have Internet access, you have the capability to download a number of free programs.  Equipped with one or more of these programs, a modest computer with a soundcard, and a simple rig interface, you can be on the air digitally in no time! Although a good stable rig is a necessity, minimal power and a simple antenna are all that is required for lots of exciting DX!  If you haven’t joined in yet, you’re missing a lot of fun!

The highly popular PSK31 program Digipan just got better with a new release, available at: http://members.home.com/hteller/digipan/

I’ve been using Digipan, as well as two other programs: Stream and Hamscope.  While Digipan is PSK only, Stream and Hamscope both do MFSK as
well as PSK.

Stream is available at: http://iz8bly.sysonline.it/Stream/

Hamscope is available at:  http//www.btinternet.com/~g3vfp/download.html

Tom, K4TTA, and I will be presenting a digital forum at DixieFest on Sunday, February 11, at 1 P.M.  Stop by and see what the new digital modes
are all about!

Here’s a few Internet links on this subject:

http://www.psk31.com
http://aintel.bi.ehu.es/psk31.html
http://psk31relay.net/ham_links.html

73, Ken Gregg, K4DIT
 

What is MURS and why should you, as a HAM care?  MURS is a new CB service
which could challenge Ham Radio.  Find out about it at:
http://www.qrz.com/articles/00/10/15/1215251.shtml

PACKET UPDATE

One of the newest digital modes is PSK31 . This mode allows computer keyboard to keyboard communications on HF radio. The mode uses a computer with a Sound Blaster sound card along with special software to run. West Mountain Radio has come out with an interface which connects the radio and the computer together for PSK31 operation. It has isolation hardware and all cables to hook up between the radio and the computer sound card. It allows you to leave your microphone connected to switch back to voice mode. Also the package includes a software CD with the software needed for operation. At under $80 this package has all the cables for plug and play operation and software get you up an running quickly. If you are looking for a fast way to get into PSK31 check out the RIGblaster from West Mountain Radio.

James Butler, KB4LJV

AMATEUR HARDWARE UPDATE

Many times we have to use our HTs for base use. It might be our main radio or just an emergency rig during power outages. One accessory I have never seen for an HT is a desk microphone. This month's project is the HT DESK MICROPHONE. It uses a PC mount microphone element ( Radio Shack part number 270-090B ) for the remote microphone. The housing can be any deskstand microphone housing or can be home built. I used an old PC camera housing to mount the element in. I also included two types of switches to make operation easier. A momentary switch for normal push to talk and a toggle switch to lock the radio on transmit for extended operation. The circuit is easy to build and adds to the versatility of your HT for base operation. I will have the HT DESK MICROPHONE at the meeting to show and answer questions on for those who wish to build up their own unit.

SEE YOU AT THE MEETING ......

James Butler
KB4LJV

THE W4BS ELMER SHACK

Please feel free to contact any of our ELMERS to help you enhance your amateur skills.  Anyone wishing to be added to the Elmer list please contact Arlene at aa5gx@aol.com or 385-0995.

K4TTA (Extra) Tom Richardson 386-6268 k4tta@arrl.net (1,3,4,6,8,9,13,14)

KA4BLL (Gen) Ned Savage 363-9607 nssavage@juno.com (1,5,8,14, MARS,
ARES/RACES, net control, traffic handling, emergency service)

KB4LJV (Extra) James Butler 294-2540 (2,7,9,11,13,14)

KD4NOQ (Adv) David Campbell 388-6166 kd4noq@juno.com (1,2,3,5,9,10,14, slow scan TV, ATV minor)

KU4AW (Extra) Ben Troughton 372-8031 bktrough@mem.quik.com (2,4,8)

N9ACQ (Extra) Bill Kuechler 368-0532 wkuechl1@midsouth.rr.com (1,8,13)

WA2IQC (Gen) Gary Blinckmann 794-5289 garyblin@midsouth.rr.com (1,7,10,14)

WA4MJM (Extra) Bill Hancock 853-7192 billwa4mjm@aol.com (1,2,8, emergency communications, ARES,MARS)

WM5Q (Extra) Paul Cline 385-0995 wm5q@arrl.net (7,8,10,14, RF safety, spread spectrum, trouble shooting, soldering, electromagnetic compatibility, CFR47 rules/regs.)

K4DIT (Gen) Ken Gregg 853-7384 k4dit@arrl.net (4,6,8,11)

W4GMM (Extra) Ham Hilliard 372-2337 hamh@bellsouth.net (All categories)

Codes:
1. Antennas
2. APRS
3. Contesting
4. CW Operating
5. Direction Finding(fox hunting) 6. DXing
7. Experimenting/Circuits/etc. 8. .HF Phone
9. Packet
10. Repeater Operation
11. QRP
12. Satellite
13. RTTY
14. VHF

Here are some of the contests coming up in the next few weeks...

North American Sprint, phone, sponsored by NCJ, 0000-0400Z Feb 4 (local time, Feb 3); CW is 0000-0400Z Feb 11 (local time, Feb 10). http://www.ncjweb.com/.

FYBO Winter QRP Field Day, sponsored by the Arizona ScQRPions, 1400Z February 3 to 0200Z February 4. www.extremezone.com/~nk7m/fybo01.htm/.

Ten Ten International Net Winter Phone QSO Party, from 0000Z Feb 3 until 2400Z Feb 4.

YL-OM Contest, CW, sponsored by YLRL, 1400Z Feb 3 to 0200Z Feb 5. (Phone: 1400Z, Feb 12 to 0200Z, Feb 14.) www.qsl .net/~ylrl/ylcontst.html/.

Spring Classic Radio Exchange, CW and phone, Sponsored by CX Newsletter. 2000Z Feb 4 to 0500Z Feb 5. odsteph@acs.eku.edu

Mexico RTTY International Contest, sponsored by the Federacion Mexicana de Radio-experimentadores, AC. RTTY only. 1800Z Feb 3 to 2400Z Feb 4.
www.fmre.org.mx/concursos/eng-rtty/rules.html.

CQ World-Wide RTTY WPX Contest, sponsored by CQ Magazine and The New RTTY Journal, 0000Z Feb 10 to 2400Z Feb 11. www.rttyjournal.com/rules/wpx.html.

Novice Round-Up, sponsored by FISTS CW Club, CW only, 0000Z Feb 12 to 2400Z Feb 13. www.fists .org/~fists/novice.html.

ARRL International DX Contest, CW. Feb 17-18. See Dec 2000 QST, page 110

CQ WW 160-meter SSB Contest. Feb 24-25. See Jan QST page 100.

REF French Contest, phone. Feb 24-25. See Jan QST page 100.

UBA Contest, CW. Feb 24-25. See Jan QST p. 100.

North Carolina QSO Party, sponsored by the Alamance ARC, from 1200-2400Z Feb 26 and 1200-2400Z Feb 27. www.netpath.net/~n4mio/qsoparty.htm

For more information on these and other contests in January, please visit the ARRL contest page on the internet at: www.arrl.org/contests/months/feb.html
 
 

Don't forget the monthly Volunteer Examiner testing session. Registration begins at 5:30p.m. and testing begins promptly at 6:00p.m. Please remember to bring two forms of identification the original and copies of any existing licenses or CSCE’s you might have. Please be on time for registration, as you will not be allowed to enter the testing session after 6:00 p.m., so our volunteer VE team can finish in time to attend the club meeting. Call Joan Thorne 366-9722, if special testing arrangements are required.

                                                                             VE Liaison                                 Membership Chairpersons
                                                                             Joan Thorne, KN4PM                 Ben Barth, AF4TV
                                                                             737-5795                                    Eloise Barth, AF4TW
                                                                             joant@mem.net                            eloiseb@aol.com
 
 

Tom Richardson...........................................................President.......................................................k4tta@arrl.net

Terry Cox...................................................................Vice President ...............................................tacox@concentric.net

Ben Troughton...... ......................................................Secretary.......................................................bktrough@bellsouth.net

Whit Crowley..............................................................Treasurer ......................................................wcrowley@magibox.net

Freddy Bratton............................................................Dir. of Training...............................................ftbratton@lycos.com

Ken Gregg..................................................................Dir. of Publications.........................................k4dit@arrl.net

Gary Blinkman............................................................Dir. of Programs ............................................garyb@midsouth.rr.com

Arlene Cline................................................................Dir. of Meetings & Special Events...................aa5gx@aol.com

Bill Hancock...........................................................…Repeater Trustee ...........................................billwa4mjm@aol.com

Kathy Troughton.........................................................Past President................................................ktrou@nb.utmem.edu

  Back to the SPARKS page