PARS BREAKFAST MEETING THIS COMING SATURDAY
Our next meeting will be at 0900 this Saturday, May 28, at Brantley’s
Village Restaurant on Broad Street in Oriental. Please park on the side or
out back. Our meetings are held the last Saturday of each month except June
when the club participates in the annual ARRL Field Day or when in conflict
with a major holiday. We hope to see you all there. For more information
contact Pamlico Amateur Radio Society President Bill Olah, KR4LO, 249-0287
or w_olah@yahoo.com.
Expect the big item on the agenda to be participation in this year’s ARRL
Field Day. See the piece below outlining a different Field Day for both our
active and inactive hams. It is repeated from last week’s PARSgram.
A NEW APPROACH TO FIELD DAY
ARRL Field Day is coming the weekend of June 25 and 26. In the past PARS
mounted a full operation with multiple stations, temporary antennas, and
generator power. This was accompanied by good food, plenty of heat and
mosquitoes, and the occasional thunderstorm. It was all great fun. But
over the last few years participation has been waning. Last year we
struggled to get enough operators to keep two transmitters on the air for
just a few hours. After considering the amount of effort that goes into
setting up such an operation, several of our members concluded that we
wouldn’t have enough operators to justify it. So, sadly, PARS will not have
a classical Field Day operation this year.
But WAIT! Don’t scratch the event off your calendars just yet. A few of
our members have volunteered to open their stations to host guest operators,
just as we did for the North Carolina QSO party. This is an opportunity for
our members, and even ham radio wannabes, to operate a working amateur
station for an hour or two, more or less, with the assistance of an
experienced operator at their side!
Field Day is a relaxed fun event during which hams try to contact as many US
and Canadian stations as they can. As a guest operator you may even, if you
wish, use your own call sign (within the limits of your license), keeping
and submitting your own log. You can visit more than one host station to
try different radios, antennas, and modes. Single sideband? Plenty of
that. FM? Sure. Digital? Lots of PSK31 and maybe even some RTTY. Morse
code? There will be some slow speed operators and all will slow down for
you if you ask. And your host can help you with the copy. You can even try
making QRP contacts. Even experienced operators can be guest operators to
try out new stuff, or even visit the guest QTH to help the guest get on the
air with their own stuff (we call this the “traveling host”).
What a great way to do Field Day! Operate on your schedule in an air
conditioned bug free environment. Enjoy the fun of Field Day operating
without the hassle. We will have more to say about it at the next PARS
meeting on Saturday, May 28. See you there! (WM3X, N4LV, AI4WL, KJ4JK)
SOLAR NUMBERS TODAY
NOAA reported that solar activity was very low during the 24 hours ending
yesterday at 5 pm local. The most recent activity was a B3 flare at
0818Z this morning. There is but one numbered sunspot region on the disk
facing Earth–sunspot AR2546 is big but quiet. The sunspot count is 15, down
63 from the 78 reported by NOAA last week. The Solar Flux Index (SFI) was
97at noon yesterday, also down from the 108 recorded a week ago at
Penticton. According to the Space Weather Prediction Center, solar activity
is expected to be very low for the next three days with a only a chance for
C-class flares. The NOAA forecast has the SFI staying about the same at 95
through Wednesday. The 90 day trailing average is 93, the same as last week.
The Earth’s geomagnetic field was quiet to unsettled yesterday. The field is
forecast to be quiet to active today. The Earth is in a stream of solar wind
flowing from a coronal hole on the sun. On Tuesday and Wednesday it should
be quiet. The Kp-index was reported to be a quiet 2 at 8 a.m. local this
morning.
Expect good conditions on 30 and 20 Meters and fair to poor on the higher
bands. Fair day and good night conditions are expected on 80 and 40. Six
Meter activity remains light.
THIS WEEK’S DX CHALLENGE
NORFOLK ISLAND, VK9N. Tim, NL8F will be QRV as VK9NF from May 24 to
June 3. Activity will be mainly on 17 and 12 meters using SSB, RTTY
and PSK. QSL via K8NA. In addition, Jim, VK3PC will be QRV as
VK9PC from May 24 until around June 7 while attending the Wireless
Institute of Australia annual general meeting/events. Activity will
be on the HF bands using SSB. QSL to home call.
QSO CORNER
This is the place to post contacts with DXpeditions, Special Event
Stations, or special QSO’s you would like to share.
Reportedly, Bill, WM3X, has been making some quality DX contacts and at
least one all-time-new-one (ATNO) with his new big super Kenwood TS-990S.
We expect to hear more about the radio on the 10 Meter Roundtable tonight.
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 :
* 28/0000-29/2359Z May CQ WW WPX Contest, CW, 1.8-28 MHz
* 28/0800-28/2359Z May Portuguese Navy Day Contest, Dig 3.5-28
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
and the W1AW Centennial Stations are a great way to get those last states on
your Worked All States (WAS) Award list.)
HAM EQUIPMENT FOR SALE, TRADE, OR WANTED
——————————————————————–
* 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.
Heathkit HW-9 CW QRP transceiver. Covers 250 kHz of the following bands:
80, 40, 30, 20, 17, 15, 12, and 10 meters. Includes PSA-9 power supply,
HFT-9A antenna tuner, and HM-9 SWR/watt meter. I am the original
owner/builder. The transceiver circuit is original with the exception of
the replacement of two capacitors in the keying circuit to improve the
keying wave shape, as recommended by AB7MY. Using only simple wire
antennas, in the last year I have worked all states and 27 DX entities with
this rig. $400.00.
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 Omni VI HF transceiver. Includes the matching Ten Tec power
supply/speaker, the narrow filter for CW/digital modes and an Astatic D-104
microphone. This radio has outstanding audio characteristics on transmit.
$1200.00.
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.
SOLD Realistic DX-300 shortwave receiver. (20160509)
*FOR SALE — Yaesu FT-450 Transceiver, MD 100 desk mike and a Pyramid
35 amp power supply. All for $550 and the FT-450 alone for $450. All you
will need is an antenna to be on the air. Charlie Overcash, WA4GSI,
charlie@dockline.net or 252-249-1257. (20160509).
* FOR SALE — BX Free Standing Tower, rotor/controller and Mosley
Yagi Antenna
A) Tower-Mod.- BX 40Ft – 5-8Ft sections – with tilt mounting base plate and
wall mounting bracket.
B) Antenna – Mosley 3 element MOD. TA-33 JR (20-10-15)
C) Hi-gain CD-45-11 Rotor & Controller with 140+Ft control cable.
D) Mast – 7’6″ X 2″ .
E) Needs–New Thrust Bearing, suggest a Glen Martin Eng. model TB-25 (Has 6
lock down mast bolts) Grad 5 or higher – Nuts, Bolts, Washers for tower
assembly. Documentation included. Asking–$650.00 ( estimated new —
1800+ ) Contact — Dan Baker (N6XWF) @ (252) – 249-2922
(20160411)
(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:
* May 28, PARS Monthly Meeting, Saturday, 9 am, Brantley’s Village
Restaurant, Oriental, Bill Olah, KR4LO, 249-0287 or w_olah@yahoo.com.
* Jun 25-26, ARRL Field Day. PARS activity at host stations TBD.
* Jul 30, 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.
73,
Jim AI4WL