April - Anchorage Amateur Radio Club
Contents
1. following table provides some basic statistics for February 2003 and the past 12 months RUE Mths Sessions 6 53 Licenses 12 114 Granted new or upgrades Elements Elements Rate 4 4 4 4 44 44 4 4 44 44 Remember 1 Remember the Anchorage Amateur Radio Club AARC newsletter can be read online at http home gci net lawson Alaska QRP Club The QRP Club is a club interested in having fun and fostering QRP so nothing is formal with this group We have no officers no board no dues and no set program Bring your project ideas and questions to each meeting Between 12 15 QRPers have been attending this meeting and having lots of fun With over a dozen RockMites in hand this month we can expect discussions about building this excellent project at future meetings See you at the meetings at Dennys on Debarr at 7PM the 3 Friday of each month Jim AL7FS Anchorage Amateur Radio Club Board Meeting Unapproved Anchorage Amateur Radio Club Board Meeting March 18 2003 The AARC Board met Tuesday March 18 2003 at Hope Community Resources Administrative Building 540 West International Airport Road The meeting was called to order by President Randy Vallee KL7Z at 7 05 PM The following officers were in attendance President Randy Vallee KL7Z Vice President Jim Larsen AL7FS Secretary Philip Mannie KLOQW Treasurer Steve Jensen KLOVZ and Activities Manager John Lynn K2. If you ever plan to fly on a commercial aircraft this guidance may prove useful I recently traveled to Iowa and carried on my Elecraft K2 transceiver which has a 7AH gel cell battery in it I had my FCC license with me and just to be safe the documents printed off the internet that described my equipment in detail and it had pictures I had no trouble with the TSA inspectors but they did send my radio back through the x ray for a second look de AL7FS United States Department of Transportation TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION 400 Seventh Street S W Washington DC 20590 MAR 11 2003 H Hasper Dear H Hasper Thank you for your letter of January 22 2003 regarding prohibited items on Part 139 commercial aviation aircraft On February 14 the Transportation Security Administration TSA published an interpretive ruling updating its prohibited items list I am pleased to report that the updated prohibited items list does not include the communications and radio equipment that you describe in your letter such as radios battery cables and packs and wiring In the interest of customer service I would like to make two suggestions that will make traveling with radio operations equipment safer and more convenient for yourself and the members of the Anchorage Amateur Radio Club As you ask in your letter advising your members to carry their Federal Communication Commission FCC licenses while traveling with their equipment is
3. SW40 SST http www qsl net al7fs AL7FS3 html a bonus site http www qsl net aresalaska Draft Alaska Threat Level Procedures Alaska Threat Procedures in PDF format Fort Richardson The State of Alaska is currently developing procedures for use with the State Homeland Security Advisory System The draft document provides recommended actions for critical facilities state and local government as well as anticipated public responses and recommendations for citizens tt t tt tt t Mount Susitna Repeater The Mount Susitna 2 meter repeater is on the air on 147 27 with plus offset and a tone of 100 0 Hz It s really way up there so give it a try This is a KL7AA repeater that is being operated by ARES for the benefit of SouthCentral Alaska hams tt tt tt tt t Ham Stuff for Sale Elecraft K1 Transceiver 1265 is for sale with 40 20m and 30 15M bands ATU stand noise blanker and manual Complete and all tuned up Here is the list of Elecraft components K1 2 K1B40 K1B30 K1B20 KIB15 KBT1 KATI KTS1 KFL1 2 KNBI See http Awww elecraft com I am asking 550 which is less than you can buy all the components to build it Its brand new only used a couple of months and of that used very little Alan KLIHC my phone number 907 745 6482 ttt tt ttt tt t New For classified Ad page An Announcement from KL7G Sysop The KL7G webpage url http www kl7g org will be hosting a classified ads page software donat
4. directors for consideration as a FY 2003 capital project Please attend the meeting if you can and if you cannot please send us an email or have someone bring your concerns on this issue Email comments should be addressed to President Randy Vallee kl7z gci net or John Lynn johnlynn gci net Please for the convenience of everyone and to make sure nothing gets overlooked have written copies of your suggestions or comments available if they are more than a couple of sentences in length Blue KL7AA Club coats Blue KL7AA Club coats with Call signs and the Club logo embroidered on the back are being made available to club members once again The cost to the club member is 50 00 per coat So we can get an idea of how many people are interested please email KL7SP at 747sp arctic net Call Jim Larsen AL7FS at 345 3190 if no internet available if you are interested in purchasing the coat Please indicate how many you would like to order the proper spelling of your name as you would like it embroidered and your Call Sign Depending upon the response we will attempt to get a discount on the purchase The more people who want to purchase the item the less expensive it will be 73 Heather Hasper KL7SP Iditarod Notes and Comments Subject Iditarod Start Setup Staging Net Date Mon 03 Mar 2003 08 48 49 0900 From Fielder George Dowding fgdowding iceworm enterprises net Greetings all
5. now need systems that will enhance our VHF and UHF capabilities The short response to this need is to provide robust and versatile VHF UHF nodes repeaters that will tie together the individual emergency responders into a harmonious whole To this end we are proposing that the temporary demonstration system atop Mt Susitna be replaced with a permanent fully integrated VHF UHF dual crossband system including dual redundant hardware and backup control systems Once this system is fully operational we are proposing that a similar system be installed atop Grubstake Peak in the general vicinity of Hatcher Pass and Independence mine The coverage from both the Mt Susitna and Grubstake Peak sites is outstanding These two sites and these two sites alone offer virtually complete coverage of the entire Anchorage Eagle River Palmer Wasilla Big Lake Willow area Taaie g a What do we need from you as club members We need each club member to examine this proposal carefully We need to hear your suggestions criticisms comments and alternatives We plan to have at least one more likely two planning meetings that will feature this project The object of these meetings is to take advantage of as many useful ideas as we can to give the club members that s you an opportunity to raise objections to find solutions to reduce the potential for problems to the smallest value possible before spending club funds on this pro
6. to it Conversely users of the repeater with the appropriate codes can dial up distant end stations links repeaters etc This setup is similar to Dave KL7M s repeater that was on 147 21 at the time I left last October If you have other questions about how Echo Link works you can go to their site at www echolink org They give a good explanation in easy to understand terms 73 John AAONN Columbus MS Suggested Terminal Node Controller TNC Parameters Parms From KL7IKX Doug Dickinson 12 1993 updated 3 03 Greetings to all the new packet operators that Santa helped get into this wonderful hobby as well as all the old timers operators with more than two weeks under their keyboards I d like to suggest a couple of parameter s that everyone should look at in their TNCs that will help with overall network operations as well as keep you on the GOOD PERSONS list BEACON This was a fine idea when packet was in it s young days but kinda bogs down the frequencies now If you absolutely must BEACON your station PLEASE set your BEACON to AFTER 250 This means after 250 x 10 seconds AFTER the last station is heard by your TNC you will BEACON ONCE If you have NO BEACON TEXT loaded in your TNC this will disable the BEACON option on most TNCs But to be sure please set the BEA to AFTER 250 More frequent beacons are NOT needed and just clutter up already busy frequencies If your looking to see who else is on the frequenc
7. with Remember if you have TOO SHORT a TXD the other station may not have time for the radio to fall back to receive from the transmit condition Once you unkey from a packet your radio has to turn on the receiver unsquelch it and be on frequency and waiting for the incoming packet This takes a finite amount of time it s not an immediate thing If your relay switched the relay has a mechanical time to move between contacts If your diode switched and synthesized the radio takes a shorter time but still has to synthesize the receive frequency be sure that power is removed from the transmitter and applied to the receiver In general start with TXD of 30 300ms and work UP from there till reliable communications can be maintained One final note DEVIATION Packet via VHF requires CLEAN audio to work correctly Multi path signals can absolutely kill packet in most conditions So be sure you have a good path to the station you want to communicate with Second be sure your audio drive level from the TNC to the radio is not excessive The recommended level is 3Khz deviation maximum Most of you won t have an easy way to set this so what I recommend is a second radio your handheld perhaps connect your station up listen to the frequency for that obnoxious sound of packet like love sick wasps in mating season and then transmit a packet if your level from your radio sounds equal to or slightly less than the other stations your ok IF
8. 7042 Daily 0700 1000 and 1900 2400 Alaska Time AL7N or KLST monitoring Net Purpose Formal NTS traffic via CW No Name Net 146 85 25 repeater Sundays 8 00 PM Grandson of SSB Net 144 20 USB Mondays 8 00 PM local Big City Simplex Net 146 520 446 0 amp 52 525 FM With Packet 145 01 Tuesdays 8 00 PM local ARES net 147 30 90 repeater Thursdays at 8 00 PM local PARKA net 147 30 90 Thursdays at 7 00 PM local Anchorage amp Mat Valley Area Repeaters KL7AA systems at Flattop Mt 2 200 ft 146 94 34 MHz 80 watts autopatch 141 3 Hz PL 224 94 223 34 25 watts no patch no PL 444 70 449 70 25 watts autopatch 141 3 PL 147 27 87 MHz no patch Mount Susitna 100 0 Hz KL7CC Anchorage Hillside SCRC amp QCWA 146 97 37 MHz 30 watts autopatch 103 5 Hz PL KL7M Anchorage Hillside 147 21 81 MHz on IRLP 97 4 Hz PL KL7ION at Mt Gordon Lyon PARKA 3 940 ft 147 30 90 MHz 80 watts no patch 141 3 Hz PL KL7AIR Elmendorf AFB EARS 146 67 07 107 2 Hz PL KL7JFU KGB road MARA club 146 85 25 autopatch no PL KL7DOB Alcantra Wasilla Armory 146 64 04 simplex patch no PL KL7DJE at Grubstake Peak 4 500 ft lt down gt 147 09 69 MHz 25 watts no patch 100 Hz PL 444 925 449 925 10 watts no patch 141 3 Hz PL KL3K Girdwood 146 76 16 MHz 25 watts no patch 97 3 Hz PL South Central Area Simplex Frequencies 146 52 Mhz Calling and Emergency frequency 147 57 447 57 crossband linked HF spotters am
9. 9 Operating Income 342 Operating Expenses 4 351 Gaming Income 7 000 Contributions 10 000 Gaming Funds Transferred to General Account 0 This summary does not include notes or other information which are integral part of a complete Financial Statement and should not be relied upon as a complete or accurate statement of the Club s Financial Condition 4 t 4 If it s good enough for Carnegie it s good enough for AARC Carnegie built libraries throughout the country and he put books on the shelves Now it is our chance to support the legacy and help the amateur radio community by providing radio books for libraries AARC agreed to send books to local libraries seven libraries in all As this is written ARRL is supporting this effort by providing a great bargain on the books and doing the work of shipping a collection of 16 titles to each of these seven libraries The City libraries in Wasilla and Soldotna will receive a collection of books and all branches of the Anchorage Municipal Libraries will receive collections of HAM radio titles We have asked to have the books labeled with a book plate to identify the book as a donation from AARC With success we may expand this program and extend the reach of this effort by sending books to even more libraries Steve Jensen KLOVZ HER On ue os On Own Os ttt tt tt tt t A Word to the Wise again and again once more http www google com is the place
10. April 2003 Anchorage Amateur Radio Club Next Meeting on April 4 Officers President Randy Vallee KL7Z Vice President Jim Larsen AL7FS Secretary Phil Mannie KLOQW Treasurer Steve Jensen KLOVZ Trustee Jim Feaster KL7KB Activities Chairman John Lynn KL7CY News Letter Editor Jim Larsen AL7FS Membership Chairman Fred Erickson KL7FE Past Past Past President John Lynn KL7CY Three Year Board Members Lil Marvin NL7DL Richard Block KL7RLB David Stevens KL7EB One Year Board Members Pat Wilke WL7JA Jimmy Tvrdy KL7CDG Judy Ramage WL7DX Craig Bledsoe KL4E Sue Hilton NL7AV Edie Lynn KL7EL AARC web page amp Email contact addresses Homepage http home gci net lawson Email Reflector KL7AA QTH NET Webmaster lawson gci net President KL7Z gci net Membership frederickson iname com Newsletter JimLarsen2002 alaska net News Letter Submissions Information or corrections Submissions must be received 2 weeks before meeting Email JimLarsen2002 alaska net Mail 3445 Spinnaker Drive Anchorage 99516 KL7G CODE PRACTICE SCHEDULE Schedule 7 00am 10 00am 4 00pm 7 00pm 10 00pm AK time every day on 145 35 MHz 7 wpm Nets in Alaska The following nets are active in South central Alaska Alaska Sniper s Net 3 920 MHz 6 00 PM daily Alaska Bush Net 7 093 MHz 8 00 PM daily Alaska Motley Net 3 933 MHz 9 00 PM daily Alaska Pacific Net 14 292 MHz 8 00 AM M F ACWN Alaska CW Net 3534
11. K YOU KL7SP y H H Red Cross update Michael O Keefe KL7MD Not much new to report on the Red Cross Special thanks to David Stevens and Heather Hasper for assisting the ARC during the last big wind storm this week I got a call from Rebecca Noble who is the emergency coordinator for ARC She had stated that the antenna s on the roof of the ARC were in danger of leaving the building I got a hold of David and Heather Heather and I went up through the inside access panel while David scaled the tower We got the antenna s secured and got back inside It was neither a pleasurable or safe experience The winds were up to 60 knots when David scaled the tower When I opened the hatch from inside the wind caught it and pulled me right off the access ladder Luckily David was in a position to stop the hatch from being ripped off of the building by the wind We completed what needed to be done in record time and got back into the building as soon as we could Even then we all suffered from wind and cold But all s well that ends well Make sure you mention Big Dan KL7DR He manned the ARC EOC in Wasilla and did an outstanding job I am sure KLOQW or KL7HHO and give you more detail Dan is an extraordinary man 73 S Mike VEC Report KLST Four AARC VEC testing sessions were held in Anchorage one was held in Wasilla and one was held in Palmer during February No sessions were held in any other locations The
12. L7CY Also in attendance were Directors David Stevens KL7EB Richard Block KL7RLB Lil Marvin NL7DL Sue Hilton NL7AV Jimmy Tvrdy KL7CDG and Pat Wilke WL7JA VEC Chairman Jim Wiley KL7CC John Murray NL7WW Kyle Sandel AL7J and Heather Hasper KL7SP were also present Club members are reminded of the Special Meeting Friday March 28 2003 7 PM at the Carr Gottstein Building APU The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the proposed Susitna Grubstake repeater project Minutes from the February 18 Board meeting were reviewed and accepted Reports Treasurer s Report Steve Jensen submitted a written report stating that the Club s finances are healthy An expenditure of 300 to the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous for the Special Event station was noted Gaming Committee Report John Lynn reported that taxes have been paid and presented a copy of the state settlement for the Club archives Steve Jensen added that deposits in the amount of 17 000 and 14 000 from gaming revenue were made in January and February VHF Committee Report There was no formal report from the committee John Lynn reported that the Mt Susitna repeater was inundated with snow and that Procom reported much antenna damage at the site It is unknown if our equipment has been damaged A trip to the site is planned in the near future VEC Report Jim Wiley reported that a new Technician examination question pool would come in to effect in July AARC VEC Tech
13. My heartfelt thanks to all who participated in the Iditarod Start Saturday 28FEB2003 and especially to those amateurs and non amateurs who did such a wonderful job on the Setup Staging Net 146 46 MHz Simplex You showed a high level of professionalism as well as enthusiasm in your conduct on the air as well as on the ground There was no way at my age and physical decrepitude that I could have been of much use out there on the ground I am putting this out on the list because I may not be able to attend the March AARC meeting this coming Friday 73 and thank you fgd KL7FHX Fielder George Dowding Chief Iceworm Subject The Iditarod Special Event amp MARA Meeting Date Tue 18 Mar 2003 09 02 22 0900 From Mike Willmon lt mwillmon gci com gt Is kinda disheartening not hearing more HF traffic during the Iditarod I m not sure if the 40m and 80m freqs are still designated for Iditarod use but I know I heard no one on those freqs from the Halfway Checkpoint at Eagle Island I was however able to check into the Alaska Bush Net a few times and even the Late Net Stateside I know all too well the extent that internet and long distance phone connectivity provided by GCI makes the need for a Ham operator less necessary However as can be seen in any of the emergency situations lately it is the Radio Operators that are the most reliable and most flexible in providing those emergency communications I am wondering wha
14. a Special General Membership Meeting Set for March 28 Friday Time 7 PM at APU Carr Gottstein Building Purpose To discuss the Proposed Upgraded Repeater Plan for the Anchorage Area Details In March Newsletter or download at http home gci net lawson We will be having a special club meeting this month on Friday the 28 to discuss the possibilities of upgrading the Susitna system to full dual redundant repeater hardware and adding UHF cross band capability If you have suggestions or criticisms to offer please attend this meeting The object of this meeting is to give every interested club member a chance to voice his or her opinion on this project Once the discussion has been completed the intention is to re submit this proposal with any modifications resulting from the March 28 meeting to our board of directors for consideration as a FY 2003 capital project Please attend the meeting if you can and if you cannot please send us an email or have someone bring your concerns on this issue Email comments should be addressed to President Randy Vallee kl7z gci net or John Lynn johnlynn gci net Background Because the universe of Amateur Radio operators and equipment has changed in favor of VHF and UHF operations we have identified a requirement to strengthen our available infrastructure against future emergency and public service needs Where we once relied primarily on the HF operators and systems we
15. and confident during a crisis 1s what defines a true leader Also being able to let go of the negative and emphasize the positive The positive this year is all the volunteers who gave hundreds of hours of time and energy to assist in the race being a success once again this year David Stevens KL7EB for stepping up to an assignment that he did not want but knew could not be accomplished successfully without someone with previous experience in the title To Kathy O Keefe KL7KO for keeping HQ staffed and addressing questions and problems that continued to arise Tom Choate KL7JA and Jerry Trodden KLIHD came in daily to help organize the checkpoint boxes and the office ALIW Gordon for organizing the start and Dan O Barr KL7DR for running the restart And to the many non amateurs who spent many hours every day for the last month helping at HQ to organize the chaos Sam O Connor Bernie Fraties Diane Olson Sharon Heiny Stan Hecker Joe Murdy and Grant Jacobson are a few that come to mind Bottom line the IDITAROD is a community service event To participate in it means working with your community with the resources available You won t be able to solve all the problems but you might be able to bring a little organization into an organization full of chaos Because of your efforts the race was completed successfully again this year To all of you who came to the RESCUE of the IDITAROD and your fellow Amateurs this year THAN
16. appropriate While your members will still be subject to the full screening requirements whether or not they present an FCC license identifying themselves as a card carrying member will facilitate communication between passenger and screener As with all electronic equipment the screeners must assure themselves that the items in question are in fact what they are represented to be It would also be wise to advise your members to carry on any expensive equipment rather than pack it in their checked baggage because TSA now advises passengers to leave their bags unlocked or run the risk of having their locks forcibly opened if necessary to resolve an alarm Packing expensive or delicate equipment in a carry on bag will ensure that access to equipment by any security personnel would be limited to a hand search at the checkpoint performed in the presence of the passenger Thank you for taking the time to request clarification of TSA s prohibited items on behalf of yourself and the members of the Anchorage Amateur Radio Club I hope the information presented is helpful and useful to your organization Thomas R Blank Assistant Administrator for Security Regulation and Policy HE Kodiak Emergency Communications Vehicle Mike KL7JBV Dolph dolphone gci net From email sent to John Lynn Here s 3 more pictures of the bus project with a brief description of each Pic 1 outside rear graphics We had a local graphics company in Ko
17. arrived in Tannana he immediately tried to make communications with Headquarters only to find the phone line did not work John has been on the trail before and while he had never been to Tannana has a telecommunications background He was able to get the phone line in TANANA repaired and operational He also brought some Amateur Radio equipment with him and was fortunate to be able to link into the NENANA Amateur radio repeater and relay information as needed until the lines were fully operational This was one checkpoint only the second checkpoint in the race By the end of the race when 8 out of 15 checkpoints had phone lines that didn t work you have to wonder who or what agency should be responsible for the failure of being ready and prepared At one checkpoint the phone line was wired to the wrong building at another it was wired to the outside of the building but not inside with a jack to plug in the phone At this location if it had not been for sending another Amateur to this location MIKE HOLLAND NL7RV we would not have had landline communications and would have been completely dependent on the satellite phones and pagers for all race communications The satellite pagers rescued us this year even though they were not activated until two days into the race There were many conflicts in the communications division of the IDITAROD that could have been prevented As we evaluate the challenges overcome this year by the commu
18. ary by email or letter but do it in writing so we don t miss an important point Even if you come to a meeting in person please be prepared to submit your comments in written form again so they don t get overlooked or forgotten Then when we have all the technical planning financial and other aspects figured out please attend the board of directors meeting where this idea will be formally presented and discussed Any club member can attend any board meeting and if you have comments on an issue you may speak when recognized Email comments should be addressed to President Randy Vallee kl7z gci net or John Lynn johnlynn gci net Susitna Repeater Buried Alive Grubstake Peak only hit by falling ice Reports from the top of Mt Susitna indicate that the test repeater atop Mt Susitna has suffered the ignominy of having its VHF antenna buried under several feet of snow drift As you may remember we decided to replace the single VHF UHF antenna with separate antennas and to move the new VHF antenna outside of the silo like structure This was done to enhance the VHF signal and it certainly did that Unfortunately however the new antenna location was a bit too low on the tower and winter snows have managed to bury the antenna completely All is not lost however as many of you can attest since the repeater is still communicating just fine thank you very much albeit at somewhat reduced signal strengths Fo
19. at a cost of about 750 The motion passed unanimously There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 8 48 PM Respectfully submitted by Philip Mannie KLOQW Secretary N2CQ RP CONTEST CALENDAR April 2003 ARS Spartan Sprint CW QRP Contest Apr 8 0100z to 0300z Monday evening US Canada Rules http www natworld com ars pages spartan_sprints ss_rules ht ml QRP ARCI Spring QSO Party CW QRP Contest Apr 12 1200z to Apr 13 2400z Rules http personal palouse net rfoltz arci arcitst htm PO PS Le FS FS FS FS Le Le FS FS FS Le Le FS FS Lo ln lo OS OS FG FS PS FS Lo Leo ln OS Lo Zn ln Le Lo Lo Lo Le Lo Le Zn Le Le Zn Zn Zn ON Low Power Spring Sprint CW QRP Category Apr 21 1400z to 2000z Rules http www arrl org contests months apr html tn Le Le Le Le Le Le Le Le Lo le Le Le Lo Lo no tt Le lo Lo ln tt lo lo Le Lo Lo Le tat ln Lo Lo le Le Len Lo Zn Le Le Zn Le Le td QRP To The Field CW QRP Contest Apr 26 1500z 2400z Pick any 6 hours Rules http www norcalqrp com Thanks to SM3CER WA7BNM NOAX ARRL WB3AAL and others for assistance in compiling this calendar Ken Newman N2CQ N2CQ ARRL NET t tttt tt tt t t t Great QRP web pages http www njgrp org data links html http www qsl net al7fs QRP Getting Started Using your current rig on QRP http www qsl net al7fs AL7EFS html Elmer 101 and Low Cost QRP Transceivers
20. been totally cooperative with the radio operators for many years since obtaining other sponsors So this year when a last minute ARES meeting was called to come up with people who could volunteer to work and organize the Iditarod I said what the heck I ve got the time Little did I know that time was not the greatest asset Patience and the ability to deal with chaos and an unorganized organization would be the greatest assets of all Of the 10 people sitting in that room only two people who had never done the job volunteered Now I have a full understanding of why We then nominated probably the greatest asset of all David Stevens KL7EB to be the coordinator While to list all the challenges encountered by the communications team would take more room then the newsletter has pages let us say that to be the communicator at the Iditarod means to be the problem solver for everyone else but yourself Dealing with communication problems between checkpoints is one thing But when you get an email from a Senior GCI satellite specialist stating that they can t get their fax machine to work and is asking if you have a copy of the user manual then I question who is really doing the work for the race With a little resourcefulness as most Radio Operators have I got online and found the User Manual in pdf format on the manufacturer s website Some of the Amateurs that saved the Race this year include John Hendricks AL7OK When John
21. diak make all the graphics package for the outside of the bus The rear outside panel bears the word Communications the Fire Service Multease Cross and the ARES logo The rear door is one of two accesses into the rear storage area electronics area of the bus The Wheel Chair Lift is still fully functional We ll use it to left our diesel generator in out of the cargo area in the back When the chair lift platform is down on the ground a set of stairs will be placed into that entrance making a 2nd entrance exit for the bus at the rear Pic 2 Inside Rear Wall This wall was built just forward of the wheel chair lift thus creating a cargo storage area in the back One nook on the streetside wall opposite the chair lift door will eventually be for a toilet And on the back side of the wall is where we ll mount trunked radio amp interface complete phone switch and all phone cross connects Line 1 of the phone switch has a radio interface unit that connects it to 800mHz trunked radio phone system so we have wireless dial tone with the use of commercial radio circuits service Pic 3 Comms Countertops The professionally finished countertops make the communications radio positions in the front section of the bus pretty much ready for mounting radios Again there are 3 positions and all radios will be ICOM so it ll be a real showcase of products That s it for pics as of now We ve installed 90 of the radios as of
22. e V 2 FRack After transmitting your packet this is the time delay that your TNC waits to get back the ack that the particular packet was received before it either RESENDS the first packet or moves on to the next packet FR should be set to a minimum of 3 for VHF and a minimum of 6 for HF you may need to extend this if the frequency is particularly busy and you re seeing alot of re tries Maximum value is usually 15 though much more than FRA of 8 10 will probably never be needed FULLdup Full Duplex Should BE OFF unless your running a special modem or actually operating in full duplex mode le transmitting and receiving at the same time There is only ONE full duplex packet system in operation in Alaska that I m aware of at this time And it s a point to point link system to get KL7AA BBS to 145 05 operating on a ARRL coordinated UHF repeater pair and very low power lt 100mw FRame The maximum number of frames that your TNC will allow to be transmitted without receiving a ACK This is also the Maximum number of frames that will be sent in a continuous transmission Values of 2 4 are recommended NEVER exceed 7 This parameter works in conjunction with the PACLEN command Obviously if you have poor conditions you want to shorten up both PACLEN and MAXframe to help get your packets through without being disrupted and having to have a number of re tries RETry The number of times your TNC will try to send a packet withou
23. e new rules are posted at lt http www natworld com ars pages spartan_sprints ss_weig ht_rules_new html gt Skinny or tubby I look forward to hearing you in the March Sprint 73 de NA8M John Huffman lt hjohnc core com gt Contest Manager Adventure Radio STAADARD WIRELESS REX QRP To The Field 1999 AL7FS and AL7OK John Hendricks AL7OK and I traveled to Palmer Alaska about 55 miles north of here The station was John s new Small Wonder Labs SW20 20 meter CW Kit 2 watts http www smallwonderlabs com that he won at the Anchorage Amateur Radio Club meeting on April 2nd We diligently put up our dipole to be broadside to the Lower 48 L48 states and began to operate We weren t hearing much but since the numbers were bad for propagation we just assumed the bands did not open very well Near the end of the day I asked a local Palmer ham about compass points we were operating in unfamiliar territory and it turns out we had installed the dipole with the end dead on to the L48 Since we were using a dipole and not inverted V we heard almost nothing except Japan Contacts were equal to zero can anyone else beat that for low QSO rate Yes dipoles are directional Sigh Note to self Take a compass in future years On the bright side there was also a flea market and John and I set up the station in the middle of the activity Lots of people stopped and asked questions some sat down and played
24. ed by the FAA Amateur Radio Association KL7FAA for all hams to use also there DXCluster is up and running smoothly now on telenet to access the cluster just telenet to 24 237 4 235 port 8000 and login with your callsign The Telenet program that came with windows is lame I recommend using a free program call puTTY it is downloadable from the net just search for puTTy The 2 meter radio access is going to be back online soon A full set of instructions are online for the cluster at the KL7G webpage Also any members wishing to host a webpage on the KL7G server is welcome just drop me an e mail I will set them up with an account Accounts also come with an e mail address kl7g org 73 es have fun Frank KL7FH sysop KL7G Alaska QRP Club meets the Third Friday of every month 7 00 PM Some show for dinner at 6PM Hams with QRP low power under 5 watts and Homebrewing interests meet for a social meeting monthly Meet at Dennys in the back room on DeBarr near Bragaw Contact is Jim Larsen AL7FS JimLarsen2002 alaska net or 345 3190 Information on the QRP Club and what kits we are building can be reviewed online in the past two AARC newsletters at http home gci net lawson tt t tt ttt ttt t Anchorage Amateur Radio Club Summary of Financial Affairs Assets Gaming Account 154 344 All other current assets 125 602 Fixed assets 195 874 Boniface Bingo 19 989 Total Assets 495 809 Liabilities 0 Equity 495 80
25. he meeting or it may not be included Regular HAM Gatherings Alaska QRP Club Third Friday 7 00 PM Hams with QRP low power under 5 watts and Homebrewing interests meet for a social meeting monthly Meet at Denny s on DeBarr amp Bragaw in the back room Hungry QRPers start showing up about 6PM Info contact Jim Larsen AL7FS JimLarsen2002 alaska net or 345 3190 Tuesdays Lunch 11 30 AM to 1 00 PM Join the gang for lunch and an eyeball QSO at the Royal Fork South on Old Seward Highway Attendance varies from 8 to 24 each week Saturdays Breakfast 7 30 AM Here is a good way to get started on the week end come and meet with some of the locals and have a great breakfast at Phillips Restaurant at the corner of Arctic and International Great Fun t 4 4 THIS MONTH S EVENTS 1 Friday each month AARC general meeting 7 00 PM in the Carr Gottstein Building on the APU Campus Talk in will be on 147 30 repeater 1 Tuesday each month VE License Exam 6 30 PM at the Hope Cottage offices 540 W International Bring photo ID copy of license if any and any certificates of completion 1 Tuesday each month EARS general meeting 6 30PM in the club house shack in the basement of Denali Hall building 31 270 on Elmendorf AFB Talk in on 147 67 repeater 2 Friday each month SCRC general meeting at 7 00 PM at Denny s on Debarr amp Bragaw Talk in on 147 57 simplex 2 Satu
26. ject If you think this is a bad idea then please come to a meeting and tell us why and offer your suggestions or at least your reasons for objecting Do you object to some particular portion of the plan Let us know Do you think you have a better idea Let us know Do you think the whole concept is too expensive impractical in some way or should just be scrapped Again let us know Do you on the other hand think this is a good idea Do you see some possibilities we have overlooked Can you help us get the hardware assembled and ready to use Then again let us know Show up at the meeting to add your support to learn more about the project to get to know those involved Projects like this start with just a few people and all too often good ideas and cost saving alternatives are not heard until it is too late There are sure to be some considerations that we few who have assembled this report have overlooked And please if you object to some portion of the plan be prepared to offer at least one alternative idea We as the initial planners are certain of one thing if nothing else We aren t the only ones with ideas to offer Your ideas might well be better than ours but we need to hear them so that everyone can hear all points of view and make the best decision This is your invitation to be part of the planning process to offer your input and ideas If you cannot attend one of the special meetings then send us your comment
27. last week but I haven t taken any pics of those yet I ll get some to you soon Hope you re enjoying the storyboard and pictures 73 s Mike KL7JBV HHEEETHEEE TEETH H tt 444 MiteyMouse RockMite20 Rig is on the air Mike Caughran KL7R lt kl7r yahoo com gt I built it yesterday The surface mount part was missing from the kit but Dave sent me a new one and I my Rockmite 20 meter CW transceiver costing 25 up and working this morning The first CQ I made after I completely rewired got me a QSO under geomagnetic storm conditions Here it is MiteyMouse http www geocities com kl7r files miteymouse jpg http www geocities com kl7r files mitey guts jpg http www smallwonderlabs com Rig details Mike Note the mouse buttons are use as the paddles for the Rockmite internal keyer An entire 20 meter CW transceiver in a Mouse HHHH Spartan Sprint Weight Rules Revised Gang Starting in March we began using a somewhat revised or clarified definition of the weight rules for the Spartan Sprints There have been a number of questions over the last few months about what counts and what doesn t The goal here is to clarify the rules so that we have a fairly level playing field This should be especially helpful for those who are pushing the envelope when it comes to developing low weight trail ready rigs We ll try these for a while and see where it goes from there Your feedback is always welcome Th
28. nications team we try to balance prevention of future problems as well In order to prevent some of the chaos and problems of this year and the past I have with the approval of the Race Director and the ARES Section Manager drafted a STATEMENT OF UNDERSTANDING SOU between the ITC and ARES The SOU requires that should the IDITAROD TRAIL Committee want Amateur Radio Services in any component of the race they must contact the District Representative by the close of business of the first week of January of the year of the race An ARES representative must be allowed to attend planning meetings and work side by side with the Communications sponsor to ensure a safe and efficient use of our communication resources and volunteer community Some might question why an ARES person should be contacted because this is not an EMERGENCY SERVICES event It only becomes an Emergency every year due to the lack of planning on behalf of ITC and lack of allowing involvement by the Amateur Community Hopefully the SOU would prevent this from happening in the future For those of you who have worked this race for many years and have other suggestions please feel free to submit them to me If not for the purpose of making the race easier to operate then simply for the next volunteer who chooses to take on the communications challenges of the Spirit of the Last Great Race One of the key principles of leadership is confidence under fire To be clear concise
29. nician exams will be reprinted next month The remote testing web site is on line for testing purposes Remote testing methodology and rationale will be posted on the Club web site ARES Report Richard Block reported on February ARES public service events most of which were canceled due to the weather thanked Iditarod volunteers and reported on the first emergency use of the CCV He noted that local emergency responders were now aware of its utility as a mobile incident command post and suggested that the remaining communications equipment be installed as soon as possible David Stevens reported briefly on the Iditarod There were many last minute changes due to the weather and the commercial communications systems were generally unreliable HAM fest David Stevens again reported no confirmations yet on ARRL speakers Jim Wiley reported that Riley Hollingsworth will be unable to attend Suggestions were taken for other speakers and Board members were delegated to make contacts It was noted that the MARA HAM fest is scheduled for Saturday May 17 Old Business Randy Vallee reported that the Alyeska repeater now KL3K 146 76MHz 97 4Hz tone has been moved to its new location and has been frequency coordinated The MoU between the Club and Dave Cloyd KL7M has been signed and a copy will be filed in the Club archives Steve Jensen reported that ARRL Library sets have been purchased for Wasilla Soldotna and Anchorage public librarie
30. p chat 103 5 HZ PL 146 49 Mhz Anchorage area simplex chat 146 43 MHz Mat Valley simplex chat 147 42MHz Peninsula simplex chat Internet Links the favorites from our readers QRP and Hombrew Links http www njqrp org data links html http www qsl net al7fs AARC http home gci net lawson SCRC _ http www KL7G org EARS _ http www qsl net kl7air MARA www kl7jfu com Moose Horn ARC _http www alaksa net kl7fg ARES _ http www qsl net aresalaska KL7J http www alaska net buchholz Fairbanks AARC http www kl7kc com Yukon Amateur Radio Association http www klondike com yara index html HAARP Project http www haarp alaska edu Amateur Radio Reference Library http www area ham org library libindex html Hamradio http www hamrad com Solar Terrestrial Activity http 209 130 27 95 solar ARRL _ http www arrl org Propagation Report Recording 566 1819 Please let us know if there are other clubs pages or good starting points that should appear here Report dead links or bad info to JimLarsen2002 alaska net NEWSLETTER ARTICLES All articles from members and interested persons are very welcome If you wish to submit any articles jokes cartoons please have it typed or neatly handwritten It can be submitted by mail computer disk or E mail to the newsletter editor at the address listed above Submissions must be in the hands of the editor no later than the 14 days prior to t
31. pass traffic around our networks will fracture a packet of more than 200 characters this is because their software needs the 201 255 character range to add error correction and other information the Nodes need to move your traffic efficiently A packet length of more than 200 means that the Nodes will have to fracture and store your packets for a longer time in order to move them across the network This results in slower times for all users PERSIST ON Usually referred to as PP ON This parameter is STRONGLY recommended for all stations All the Node and BBS Node stations use Persist and Slot time for efficient use of the frequency So in order to assist this orderly use of the frequency I recommend you also use these commands PERsist This is part of the timing sequence used by your TNC when PP is ON PERSIST OF NO MORE THAN 128 Values down to PERSIST OF 64 are strongly recommended Along with Persist is the command SLOT SLOT is the other part of the PERSIST command SLOT values of 1 to 10 are recommended IF you are running the suggested PP ON and SLOT then PLEASE SET YOUR DW Delay Wait TO 0 BE SURE YOUR TNC IS SET TO AX25V2 THE VERSION 2 IS THE LATEST RELEASE IF YOUR TNC IS RUNNING V 1 SOFTWARE YOU MAY HAVE PROBLEMS PASSING TRAFFIC THROUGH THE NETWORK MAYBE IT S TIME FOR SANTA TO MAKE ANOTHER VISIT TO YOUR SHACK There are to my knowledge very few TNCs left that still have V I as their only option IF you have a choice us
32. r most users this is not an issue as they can still access the repeater just fine Only those users in fringe areas have noticed that they have to take extra steps more power directional antennas etc to access the system Most of us in the Anchorage Palmer Wasilla are have not noticed any difference at all And of course every cloud has the proverbial silver lining In this case since the antenna is completely buried that means it is also completely protected against wind damage and falling ice There has been some discussion as to whether we should try to move the antennas into a more in the clear spot higher on the tower or just leave them the way they are As a related side issue it is interesting to note that the KL7CC VHF UHF cross band system 147 570 447 570 located atop Grubstake Peak near Hatcher Pass suffered an antenna failure when falling ice from a higher antenna smashed into the venerable Diamond X 50N antenna and wrenched it off its mounts and smashed the fiberglass radome This happened during the recent hurricane force winds that swept the area and did so much damage to various structures Now the antenna elements are flopping in the breeze and occasionally users hear static noises as the antenna shorts against the tower Structure However the system still remains operational with a replacement antenna scheduled for installation as soon as a crew can access the site This episode and the bu
33. rday each month VE License Exams at 2 00 PM at Hope Cottage 540 W International Be sure to bring photo ID copy of license 1f any and any certificates of completion 2 Saturday each month PARKA Meeting at 11 00 AM at Peggy s across from Merrill Field 3 Tuesday each month AARC Board meeting at 7 00 PM at Hope Cottage 540 W International All are invited and encouraged to attend 3 Friday each month Alaska QRP Club 7 00PM at Denny s on DeBarr in the back room Info Jim Larsen 345 3190 Bring projects to share with the group Some show up at 6 00PM to eat 3 Saturday each month ARES General meeting 9 30AM to 12 00 PM Call Dick Block at 277 7260 for questions The last Friday each month MARA meeting at 7PM in the MTA business office in Palmer The last Saturday each month at 11 00 AM Quarter Century Wireless Assoc QCWA at the Royal Fork South of Dimond on Old Seward Highway You need not be a QCWA member to attend Elmendorf AFB Radio Club EARS Ears meets the first Tuesday of the month at 6 30pm in the club house shack in the basement of Denali Hall building 31 270 on Elmendorf AFB Talk in on 147 67 repeater EARS has a club shack with two HF operating positions one packet position and a VHF position For more information contact John Murray NL7WW at nl7ww corecom net John is the current club President sae ale A Proposed Upgraded Repeater Plan for the Anchorage Are
34. ried antenna at Mt Susitna both serve to illustrate just how good these sites are Both systems even thought they have suffered situations that would silence lesser systems remain on the air In fact during initial installation the Grubstake Peak cross band system started working and could carry traffic even before the antenna was connected Not good for the transmitter to be sure but what an eye opener for those responsible for getting the system up and running With the coming of summer both sites will be visited and spruced up as necessary To date we have been able to accomplish all repairs replacements and other required maintenance at no additional cost due to the generosity of other users or the site owners in making available free fides or offering to perform the needed on site tasks gratis as a side activity to their other professional visits We will be having a special club meeting this month on Friday the 28 to discuss the possibilities of upgrading the Susitna system to full dual redundant repeater hardware and adding UHF cross band capability If you have suggestions or criticisms to offer please attend this meeting The object of this meeting is to give every interested club member a chance to voice his or her opinion on this project Once the discussion has been completed the intention is to re submit this proposal with any modifications resulting from the March 28 meeting to our board of
35. s and book plates indicating the Club s donation will be affixed to the books He added that the donation was well received by library officials and the Club may wish to add libraries to the project New Business Jim Larsen reported that the Hope Community Resources grant request has been submitted to the Grant Committee The Committee anticipates coming to a decision in the next month Heather Hasper presented a proposal to purchase AARC coats A motion was made to make the coats available to members for 50 each with the Club defraying additional costs which vary with coat size and embroidery Club expenses should not exceed 40 20 per coat The motion passed with Richard Block casting the dissenting vote Randy Vallee presented a proposal to activate the KL7AA org domain It is to be operated as a virtual domain on an existing server Corliss Kimmel has volunteered to code the web site Expenses would be 10 per month for a static IP address The motion passed unanimously John Lynn proposed that the Club expend no more than 1000 to acquire a laptop PC for VEC morse code testing The motion passed unanimously John Lynn proposed that the Club expend 300 per year to join the Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau for the purpose of disseminating our literature in various tourist spots The motion passed unanimously Jim Wiley proposed that the Club acquire 100 code practice oscillator kits for this year s Girl Scout encampment
36. t getting an ACK back Recommended value is 10 for VHF you may want to extend this to 15 for poor conditions on HF DO NOT SET THIS VALUE TO 0 TXDelay This is probably the most critical parameter in your TNC This parameter is the time delay AFTER your TNC keys your radio BEFORE the packet is sent from the TNC to the RADIO A TXD of 30 which equates to 300 milliseconds is RECOMMENDED There are several variables to this however IF you are using an external amplifier you will need to stretch this out to about 40 to 45 400 450ms This is because after your TNC keys your radio your RF then keys the Amplifier and there is a finite time needed for everything to come up stabilize and be ready to send the packet IF you make your TXD too SHORT the first part of your packet will be clipped off you will probably never get a connect or if you do you may not be able to get farther than the first connect sequence IF you make your TXD too LONG nothing bad will happen however your using up more time on the frequency than you really need to In general crystal controlled radio s with diode switching don t need much time synthesized rigs need time for the Phase Locked Loop to lock on the correct transmit frequency and allow RF to be generated from the radio Radio s with mechanical switching relays need even more time for the physical movement of the relay This value will also vary depending on the particular station your communicating
37. t it would take to get the interest back up in getting Hams back out on the trail even as a backup resource A person could easily secure a spot as a volunteer by wearing two hats as a regular Comms Volunteer and Ham Radio operator Providing essential communications is the most important goal of the Iditarod Comms Volunteer a job well suited to most Hams in our community What would you think of trying to get enough dedicated involvement to run a contest during the Iditarod Maybe an award of Worked All Checkpoints could be achieved if we could get operators to ALL the checkpoints I d like to see increased involvement next year I know a well run HF net could rival the internet and long distance phone service in relaying essential race traffic It would also be good practice for Hams to operate away from home in the Bush under Alaskan Winter conditions in a coordinated fashion What do you say If you re interested in next years event let me know I can put you in touch with the people that can put you on the trail Mike Willmon ALID Eagle Island Comms for Iditarod 2003 t4 t4 t 4 4 4 4 4 44 nt fe eae ION CHOWDER HOU The SPIRIT of the IDITAROD 2003 Heather Hasper KL7SP Well once again Amateur Radio came to the rescue of the Last Great Race A year ago I inquired to many long time Anchorage radio operators why the Iditarod was so hectic and unorganized I was given the typical response that the Iditarod had not
38. to go for help in finding almost anything Google is a great search engine and if you go to the advanced search you can search for exact phrases Give it a try with your callsign or name AL7FS F ttttttttt ttttttt4 ai me ai Technical Committee this month in review Doug Dickinson KL7IKX Short VHF report The KL7AA VHF UHEF 220 repeater system survived the wind storm Winds were measured at 107 MPH average with peaks above the measurable point 149 mph on Site Summit home of KL7ION Repeater for several hours during the high winds in the local area However all packet and voice equipment under KL7AA callsign remained on the air Nothing much else to report Still trying to work out the packet gateway problem I ve got some idea s which I need to go over with NL7NC the gateway operator when his schedule and mine mesh KL7IKX Elmendorf ARS Repeater 1s Now Linked John Wolfe lt aaOnn arrl net gt Folks Just a heads up that the KL7AIR repeater on Elmendorf AFB is now linked via Echo Link using Voice over Internet Protocol technology The KL7AIR repeater frequency is 146 67 with a 107 2 Hz subaudible tone Rick KLONE has graciously offered to park his Echo Link interfaced base station on the base repeater frequency attempting to breathe new life into a little used repeater While the link will not be hot all the time to a specific location the link will enable Echo Link users all over the world to connect
39. with the tiny 20 meter rig and some told their own QRP story I also gave the Why QRP talk thanks to N2APB and all others who made that presentation possible http www njgrp org whyqrp whygrp htm to about a dozen more hams In all I have talked with about 85 hams about QRP in the month of April spread out over three presentations Saturday was a good day Pictured below are AL7FS AL7OK and the SW20 station Note the use of the Microsoft Mouse as a paddle for the keyer 73 Jim Larsen AL7FS The Anchorage Amateur Radio Club News Anchorage Amateur Radio Club Inc PRSRT STD Post Office Box 101987 U S Postage Anchorage Alaska 99510 1987 PAID Anchorage AK Permit No 223 1 5 R t E ANTENNAS ESS mb cr REALLY WINDY DAYS WHEN RAVENS ARE NEST BUILDING
40. y use your MHeard list to see who you ve heard Bulletin board stations beacon more often they usually beacon what mail their holding for certain stations This is an acceptable use of the BEACON command Also you may see a BEACON running from a Node or hi profile Digi site to announce a particular event scheduled outage or meeting These will almost always be set to BEACON AFTER 250 so as not to add QRM to the frequency ID If your TNC has the option to send a ID at a pre set time please set this to AFTER 250 also AND BE SURE your ID does NOT use CW There is NO reason to ever send a CW ID on packet The FCC recognizes packet as a valid ID In each and EVERY packet you send your callsign is part of the packet the FCC recognizes this as a valid way to IDENTIFY your station Please be sure if your TNC or TNC program has the ID function that the CW ID portion is disabled The disable usually takes the form of CW AFTER 0 or CW EVERY 0 Be sure that your CWlIdtext line is blank to be safe PacLen Packet Length How many characters will be included in each packet For HF operations a PacLen of 32 64 is most often used The longer the Paclen on HF the better chance of it being disrupted before the receiving station gets it Which means lots and lots of re tries On VHF a paclen of NO MORE THAN 200 is recommended Most stations however use a PACLEN of 128 or less The limit on 200 helps the network the Nodes used to direct and
41. you are LOUDER than the other stations turn your audio drive level from the TNC to the radio DOWN and try it again As a final test connect to yourself using another station use your MH list to find a station your hearing then Connect to yourself yourcallsign via other callsign If you can reliably move packets to and from your station then your deviation level is close If however you can t seem to get packets to flow reliably and see lots of re tries or your TX light keeps flashing but the STA light stays lit which means that the packets are not moving out then adjust your deviation and keep trying to send yourself a packet TOO LOW is MUCH BETTER than TOO HIGH While the human ear can make out voices in a multipath condition and the human brain much better usually than the fastest computer ever made can fill in what the multi path takes out or distorts digital tones on the other hand are not so easily copied by the TNC Any distortion be it from over deviation or multi path can seriously compromise your ability to communicate The faster the packet speed the worse multipath or distortion will be for reliable communications I hope these suggestions help you out Please read your manuals that come with your TNCs BE SURE you use SHIELDED cable for your AUDIO to the RADIO and if you get into a problem that just doesn t seem to make sense ask for help 73 Doug KL7IKX KL7AA HHHH Words of Wisdom from the TSA
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