PAMLICO AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY (PARS) July 30, 2016 MEETING NOTES
* Twenty-three PARS members and guests attended the breakfast meeting chaired by President Bill Olah, KR4LO, at Brantleys’ Village Restaurant .
* Mike Hurm, K4HPS, our Pamlico County ARES EC, reported 5 Pamlico Emergency Nets in June for 20.05 man-hours and 4 sessions in July for 7.4 man-hours.
* In the VHF report, I (AI4WL) related that DXmaps has been showing daily VHF 6 Meter E layer skip openings. The Northeast has been particularly favored with openings into Europe. Even here in the Southeast we have experienced double hop propagation to the west coast during the month.
* Dave, N4ENE, and I offered our observations–lessons learned–from recent lightning strikes.
* Bill, WM3X, reported on our members participation in “Field Day From Home”, operating either as Class D (grid) or Class E (off-grid) stations. He noted that this low-key comfort-friendly operation was intended to get new and infrequent HF operators on the air at host mentor stations. Pete’s 10 Meter Monday night “Swamp Net” was an earlier and still on-going activity toward the same goal.
* In this same light, Bill described “Team/ Club Contesting” as introduced in an article by N3FJP in this month’s QST issue [pg. 61]. He proposed getting started with several two-person teams in the North American QSO Party on August 20th, a 12 hour event… paper logs, competition within PARS [see article below].
* Dave Purifoy, N4ENE, reported making the DXCC Honor Roll.
* Tom Finta, K8TF, announced that communications help has been requested for the Dragonboat Races on Saturday, August 13th, three hams with handhelds. Contact Tom (249-9838) or Bill Olah if you can help for a couple of hours at River Dunes.
* After the business meeting, Bill Olah auctioned a donated HDTV, antennas, and antenna accessories with all proceeds going to the club bank account.
DOUBLES ANYONE?
Doubles, anyone? The August issue of QST has an article on team contesting as a way to stimulate on the air activity in your club. After reading it I thought it was a good idea for large clubs with a lot of experienced active members. Having been there and done that I can tell you it can get pretty intense. PARS, on the other hand, is a low intensity relaxed group that seems to favor the social as opposed to the competitive aspects of the hobby. But a little friendly competition internal to the club can be a lot of fun. Think foxhunts. So here is an idea that I’d like to try in the realm of radiosport. Participating club members form into teams of two. The team members operate separately in a contest. They then send me their logs for processing. You only compete with teams in your own club. At the next PARS meeting (and PARSgram) I will post the results. Now for some details. Teams ideally will consist of one more and one less experienced operators. In the days leading up to the contest the more experienced may help the less experienced be sure the radio and antenna are working, the less experienced knows how to operate the radio and the contest, how to keep the log, etc. They may even have a few on the air QSO’s between them to be sure everything is working. Set a goal to make, say, 50 or 100 contacts, easily done in an hour or two, so you are not burning the whole day. The contest will be the North American SSB QSO Party, August 20, starting at 2:00 PM EDST. Use only the 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meter bands. Maximum power 100 watts. Work North American stations, once per band. Exchange name and state or province. Keep track of your operating time. For full rules and log forms you can print out go to www.ncjweb.com. Feel free to call or write me with your questions. Bill Michne, WM3X, 252-249-1175 or billmichne@embarqmail.com. See you in the contest!
NOAA reported solar activity has been at very low levels during the 24 hours ending yesterday at 5 pm local. The most recent activity was a C1 flare at 0910Z this morning. After several spotless days earlier in the week, there is one small quiet sunspot region on the disk facing Earth. The sunspot number (SSN) is 12 this morning. The Solar Flux Index (SFI) was 72 at noon yesterday, down from the 82 recorded at Penticton Sunday a week ago. According to the Space Weather Prediction Center, solar activity is expected to be very low for the next three days with almost no chance for flares. The NOAA forecast has the SFI staying the same through Wednesday. The 90 day trailing average is down two to 87.
The Earth’s geomagnetic field has been quiet over the weekend. The field is forecast to be quiet to active today, be unsettled reaching major storm levels Tuesday and then be quiet rising to minor storm levels Wednesday. A CME is expected to strike the Earth’s magnetic field on Tuesday, with solar winds behind. The Kp-index was reported to be a quiet 1 at 5 a.m. local this morning.
Expect fair conditions on 30 and 20 Meters, poor on the higher bands. Fair day and good nighttime conditions are expected on 80 and 40. Here in the Southeast, we are seeing daily openings on 6 Meters. The times vary. Gary, NC3Z, reported working stations on 6M from Seattle down to CA at 1930 local Saturday night. DXmaps showed contacts being made from the South into the Northwest coast at 10 pm local last night.
THIS WEEK’S DX CHALLENGE
ST. PIERRE AND MIQUELON, FP. Special event station TO200SPM is QRV until August 6 to mark the 200 years since French sovereignty over the islands was resolved. Activity is on the HF bands, mainly on 40, 20 and 15 meters using CW and SSB. QSL via F5TJP.
QSO CORNER
This is the place to post contacts with DXpeditions, Special Event Stations, or special QSO’s you would like to share.
No reports this week.
OTHER ACTIVITY ON THE RADIO:
This info is extracted from the ARRL Letter, from the WA7BNM Contest Calendar, the ARRL Contest Update or the ARRL Contest Corral. You can receive the Letter weekly via email as a member of ARRL :
* 06/0001-07/2359ZAug 28 MHz 10-10 International Summer Contest, Ph
* 06/1200-06/2359ZAug 1.8-28 European HF Championship, CW Ph
* 06/1800-07/0559ZAug 1.8-28 North American QSO Party, CW
See the ARRL Contest Branch page <http://www.arrl.org/contests/>, the ARRL Contest Update http://www.arrl.org/The-ARRL-Contest-Update/ and the WA7BNM Contest Calendar <http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for more info. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out the ARRL Special Event Station Web page<http://www.arrl.org/special-events>. For a LIST OF STATE QSO PARTIES, see http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/stateparties.html. (State QSO parties are a great way to get those last states on your Worked All States (WAS) Award list.)
HAM EQUIPMENT FOR SALE, TRADE, OR WANTED
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* FREE– 9 Years of QST Magazine (2006-2014) missing only the January ’06 issue. All in excellent condition. Take one year or all. Either pick up at my house or at the August PARS meeting. Advise if you want any year(s) or all by August 5th or they all go into the recycle bin. Jim, AI4WL, jth350@embarqmail.com or 249-1984. (20160801)
* FOR SALE–Hy-Gain AV-680 Patriot-Plus HF Vertical Antenna, covers
6,10,12,15,17,20,30,40 and 80 meters. Requires no ground radials, comes
with it’s own counterpoise. About 2 years old, this was my temporary
antenna during my move, I now am putting up more dedicated antennas.
I built a simple mounting system that allows me to raise and lower by
myself if ever needed. It will remain operational here if you are
interested in seeing it’s performance.
I am open to offers, trades, etc.
Gary Mitchelson, NC3Z/4, 252-745-0655 or n3cz@arrl.net (20160620)
* FOR SALE–
The following equipment is being sold because I no longer have the time to
use it or the space to store it. Unless otherwise noted, all units are
fully functional at or above their manufacturer specifications.
Cosmetically they are 9+ out of 10, showing only signs of routine use.
Asking prices are based on the average of recent completed transactions for
the same or similar units on eBay, or are approximately one half of the
original price, and are believed to represent the current market value.
Pictures are available on request. Shipping if necessary is not included.
Local pickup is preferred. All sales are final. Contact Bill Michne at
252-249-1175 or billmichne@embarqmail.com. (20160509)
Yaesu FT-897 HF/VHF/UHF all mode transceiver. Maximum power outputs are:
160-6 meter, 100 W; 2 meters, 50 W; 70 cm, 25 W. Includes the FC-30
automatic antenna tuner, YF-122C narrow filter for CW/digital modes, and
MMB-80 mounting bracket. Does not include the internal batteries for
portable operation as I never purchased them. $700.00.
Ten Tec Titan 425 legal limit linear amplifier. This unit consists of a
lightweight desktop RF deck containing the two 3CX800A7 ceramic tubes and a
separate remote power supply with hypersil transformer. The RF deck can be
switched between HV ranges, the higher one for full legal limit output, and
the lower one for high duty cycle modes such as RTTY. The unit features an
overdrive limit circuit to protect the tubes, and a rapid switching circuit
for preventing “hot switching” during QSK and VOX operation. $1200.00.
Kenwood TS-830S ham band transceiver. Includes the matching SP-230 speaker,
the VFO-230 digital VFO, and the MC-50 microphone. The unit has a full
complement of Fox Tango filters for both CW/RTTY and SSB operation
installed. These filters have very steep skirts to provide exquisite
selectivity. This is a hybrid radio, mostly solid state, but with tubes in
the driver and final amplifier stages. The sale includes two sets of
replacement tubes. I recently had the radio professionally restored to full
original specifications. $800.00.
Kenwood TS-940S solid state 160-10 meters transceiver and general coverage
receiver. This radio does not transmit, and has limited receive function.
If the transmit function can be reestablished it is probably worth
repairing. Otherwise it is good for parts. $75.00.
(Send me your amateur radio related items for sale, trade, or wanted for
listing in the PARSgram. PLEASE let me know if your listing is no longer
needed. ITEMS listed will EXPIRE AFTER 90 DAYS unless I hear
otherwise.–Jim).
UPCOMING REGIONAL HAMFESTS:
A complete list can be found on your PARS Website, www.n4prs.org
PARS CALENDAR:
* Aug 20-21, PARS Club Contest–North America QSO Party, Saturday, 2 pm- Sunday, 2am, Bill Michne, WM3X,
252-249-1175 or billmichne@embarqmail.com.
* Aug 27, PARS Monthly Meeting, Saturday, 9 am, Brantley’s Village Restaurant, Oriental, Bill Olah, KR4LO, 249-0287 or w_olah@yahoo.com.
* Sep 24, PARS Monthly Meeting, Saturday, 9 am, Brantley’s Village Restaurant, Oriental, Bill Olah, KR4LO, 249-0287 or w_olah@yahoo.com.
PARS NETS:
* Mondays, Pete’s “Swamp Talk” roundtable, around 8:15 pm local, 28.463 MHz plus or minus, USB. This is an informal forum originally established to assist our new Hams. The frequency is in the 10M voice segment open to technician licensees and above. Radio related topics/questions/issues welcomed.
* Wednesdays, Pamlico Emergency Net Practice and Rag Chew, 7:30 pm, Oriental Repeater, 147.210 + (PL151.4).
PARS WEB SITE:
https://www.n4prs.org/
* Chief Editor and Administrator is Greg Wadsworth KM4DZM, 252-322-1033 or gwadsworth1@ yahoo.com
* Web Master is Larry Wall, KK4SEO, wallmailbox@yahoo.com.
PARSgram ITEMS
We are always looking for items of interest to PARS members to put in the PARSgram. If you run across a timely item or think of something you believe would interest our folks, please send it to me. Thanks.