Tri-County Amateur Radio Assoc.
P.O. Box 75, Claremont, CA 91711 USA
|
TCARATri-County Amateur Radio Assoc.P.O. Box 75, Claremont, CA 91711 USA |
 |
The Latest Newsletter |
TCARA is an Amateur Radio SERVICE Organization.
Anyone interested is invited to attend.
We meet on the second Monday of every month.
==== MEETING PLACE ====
The Covenant United Methodist Church
Towne Avenue and San Bernardino Road
Pomona, CA
Exit I-10 at Towne Avenue, and go one block South.
The Church is on the Northeast corner.
The meeting place is at the North end of the Church.
What comes to mind when someone mentions New Guinea? Natives in tribal dress? Birds of Paradise? 700 different languages? Stone Age culture? World War 2 battles? A rare DX country? Well, it's all that - and more!
Don't miss this month's program, as Art Goddard, W6XD, tells the story of a Southern California ham group that recently visited "PNG" and operated with the callsign P29AS. Art is a noted photographer whose slides really capture the essence of exotic places. This is a general interest program that will appeal to your family and friends. See you there!
Art Goddard, W6XD, was first licensed in 1956. He worked his way up throught the ranks from Novice to Extra class. Art enjoys on-the-air activities, including operating from exotic DX locations. He is a life member of ARRL and holds leadership appointments in the Orange Section as well as serving as your Vice Director in ARRLs Southwestern Division (Southern. California and Arizona). Art is dedicated to protecting and promoting Amateur Radio.
All are welcome to attend... member or not...
August Renewals: N6AFO, Don Toomb; WB6ASH, John Davis; KD6DKV, Bob Embrey; WN6EKZ, Alvin Banman; KE6EZW, Juana Phillipp; KF6E, Frank Westphal; KE6EZX, Carolyn Toomb; WB9FPM, Jay Jones; KI6H, Al Erwin; N6HS, Harvey Sprigg; KE6HXD, Jill Sprigg; KB6ICG, Robert Western(2 yrs); W6JJZ, Charlie Lofgren(2 yrs); KG6JT, Duke Leong; W6KNF, Lee Baird; W6LUC, Sid Blumner; KF6LZG, Megan Sprigg; KF6MNA, Jennifer Jones; KF6MVJ, Geoff Jones; N6MYW, Dan Mahnken; AJ6N, Paul Thompson; KF6NAZ, Dick Tanio; KC6NNV, Brad Rachielles; KF6NO, Joe Brennan; KD6ONU, Glenn Byron; K6PMC, Gene Hoelzle; WA6PYW, Arthur Sutton; AB6RN, Harold Heydenfeldt; WB6UFX, Joe Lyddon; KI6VE, Dean Tyler; W6WXG, George McKay Jr.; KU6X, John Hurst; N6ZAE, John Phillipp; Beverly Brennan, Phyllis Davis, Virginia Embrey.
New Members: none.
Attached to this issue of the QRM is a copy of the complete revised bylaws which the membership passed by a 2 to 1 margin at our last meeting. If you have any questions, please call or e-mail me.
Chuck - KQ6NX, kq6nx@juno.com, (800) 808-0910
Your input is needed for suggestions about our annual Christmas meeting/Party. Please call any board member with your suggestions. Time is running short for reservations.
Chuck - KQ6NX, kq6nx@juno.com, (800) 808-0910
One ticket per Club meeting attendance per paid-up member goes into a pot, along with an extra one for each "Show-N-Tell" participant, and one for each correct answer in the "Guess What". At year-end, tickets are drawn, and prizes are awarded. If NOT LISTED below (and you were there), call Joe, WB6UFX at 909-980-4563:
August 1998: N6AFO, WB6ASH, KD6AUO, WD6CLV, KD6DKV, WN6EKZ, WD6FSX, KI6H, WA6HNC, WA6LLB, KF6MKZ, KG6MN, AJ6N, KQ6NJ, KC6NNV, KQ6NX, WN6ODF, K6PMC, N6SMT, KB6SMW, KC6SSX, KK6SY, WB6UFX, W6WXG, KA6YEZ, KE6YJR, N6ZAE., and Roy Bacon.
N6AFO, WB6ASH, WA6HNC.
WB6ASH, WD6CLV, WA6LLB, KF6MKZ, KQ6NX, KK6SY, W6WXG, and N6ZAE.
HAMCON 99, the ARRL Southwest Division convention, will be held on the Queen Mary in Long Beach on October 1st through 3rd, 1999. Brad, KC6NNV, will have pre-registration forms at the next TCARA meeting on September 14th. Cost of pre-registration is only $10.
For all you swapmeet fans, the DeVry swapmeet is back… well, almost. The CMRA folks who ran the DeVry swapmeet have started the CMRA Hamfest on August 15th, and every third Saturday of the month after that at Cal Poly Pomona, 7AM to 11AM. See the "Swapmeet Section" in this QRM for details.
Where is the prime meridian? What time is it in UTC (GMT, ZULU)?
The world is round, despite what some groups advocate. Since it is round and mankind tries to be rational, there has been a designation of where things are on the earth. A system of lines (Latitude and Longitude) was developed to describe locations. The Latitude is described by lateral lines around the earth based on the equator which is 0 degrees. Everything else is either north or south of that line. Since the stars circle the earth with a constant elevation at any given latitude, the sailors of old could sail and maintain a constant latitude or seek a certain latitude to arrive at a port. If your goal was to reach a certain place, you could sail to a specific location relative to the equator and then sail east or west and be quite assured you would bump into whatever it was you were seeking. Nothing sophisticated was needed. With a little experience, you could lie in the bottom of a boat, look at the stars, and determine whether you should sail more to the right or the left to stay on a certain line of Latitude.
This same approach was used in northern Africa to try to determine the size of the earth. Two cities were determined to be directly north and south of each other. Wells in those cities were used to determine the relative angle of the sun at local noon on a given day. The difference in angle and the distance between the cities determined the part of the earth which was between the cities and therefore the total earth size was determined.
Longitude was more difficult. Longitude is described by longitudinal lines around the earth from pole to pole, based on the "prime meridian" which is 0 degrees. Everything else is either east or west of that line. But longitude determination required an accurate clock. If you knew the current local time at the port you left (by your clock which you set before you left) and your position relative to the sun or the stars, which gave your local time, you could determine how many hours difference there was, which gave the degrees (or miles) you were from home. But the clocks of the day were notoriously poor time keepers, so keeping track of the current local time at your departure point was very difficult. Galileo invented the telescope and discovered the moons of Jupiter which provided a perfect "natural clock" which was visible all around the world (for most of the nights of the year). The invention of much improved mechanical clocks shortly after his discovery has kept the world from recognizing his discovery for the major breakthrough it really was. The location of the prime meridian (0 degrees Longitude) was established in the greatest seafaring nation at the time. Since the discovery of the Jupiter "clock" it was natural to place this prime longitude at the greatest observatory in that country. This was Greenwich. All longitudes are measured from this point. When the sun passes the meridian at that location (and it is surprising how accurately that measurement is done!), the local noon is measured relative to the best clocks available. The error in time is related by a shape called an analema which removes the error in sun time to mean local time. It relates the fact that the earth is not going around the sun in a circle but in an ellipse. Taking this into account, you can determine the time to better than a few seconds just by watching the shadows around noon. (Don't forget to take daylight savings time into account.)
We are located close to 120 degrees west of Greenwich. That would mean that we are about 8 hours earlier than Greenwich time (or UTC, GMT, or Zulu time). If it is daylight savings time, we move our watches AHEAD by an hour. That makes us 7 hours ahead of Greenwich. If it is 7:30 PM, then we should add 7 hours or 2:30 a.m. tomorrow in England.
A little tricky, but many of you got the right answer. Congratulations.
John Davis
WB6ASH
Now is the time to volunteer to help out with the Rose Parade December 31st, January 1st, 2nd and 3rd (if applicable). Any one or combination of dates/positions are usually open at this time of the year. Over 400 Hams are NEEDED to help out with the grand daddy of parades.
2 Meters, ATV, Packet, and APRS are the bands being advertised for use this year/next year.
You are required to attend one of the following Orientation/Credential dates:
Tuesday, December 8th (or)
Wednesday, December 16th
Both Credential Meetings are at 7:00 pm at The Tournament House, 391 S. Orange Grove Blvd. in Pasadena. (Large White House; parking is mostly on surrounding residential streets)
$5.00 dues is also required to cover all your materials you will receive at one of the above meetings.
You will be notified about other optional activities associated with Tournament of Roses Radio Amateurs (TORRA)
For additional information:
Internet-
http://www.anet.net/~torra (includes membership on-line printing)
E-mail-
torra@anet.net (Questions and Comments)
Regular Telephone- 714-533-1895 Jeannie Nordland (Membership/Merchandise Order Forms)
Net begins in August on the last Thursday of each month on 147.27 + No PL (Mt. Disappointment) at 7:27 pm (note freq. & time). Net will be weekly after Thanksgiving and nightly after Christmas. There are no check-ins just Q & A, so the net can be very short if there are only a few or no questions.
ON A PERSONAL NOTE- I have enjoyed myself for the last five consecutive years I have been there. I am not involved on the management side but just one of over 400 who has enjoyed volunteering. If you wait to sign up in December you probably will be to late like I was my first year.
Joe Morris
Health and Welfare information goes to Bob Embrey, KD6DKV, at 626-339-3402.
Second Saturday of each month. Fontana Swapmeet run by the Inland Empire ARC at A. B. Miller High School on Highland and Oleander in Fontana, 7 AM to 11:30 AM. Directions: take I-10 East to I-15 North, get off at Highland/Cherry Ave exit, and go East on Highland. A. B. Miller HS is about 2.5 miles down the road on the South side of the street. Talk-in is 145.480, down 600 kHz, PL=77.0. Note: best place to park is on the East side of the school.
Third Saturday of each month. CMRA Hamfest (the old DeVry Swapmeet) now held at Cal Poly Pomona, 3801 West Temple Avenue, Pomona (right across the freeway from the old DeVry site), in Parking Lots F8, F9, and F10. Admission and parking are free. Take the I-10 and exit Kellog Drive. For recorded information call: (714) 537-4230. Ask for Hugh or Greg at the gate.
Last Saturday of each month. The TRW Swapmeet is located in Manhattan Beach, on the Northwest corner of Marine Ave. and Aviation Blvd. South of LAX, West of the 405 Fwy. Take the 105 Fwy West to Aviation Blvd., South on Aviation 2.5 miles to Marine. Talk-in 145.32, down 600 kHz, PL=2A (114.8).
Thanks to Joe, WB6UFX, TCARA has its home page on the net The URL is: http://www.qsl.net/k6agf/
(Backup site if qsl.net is down:
http://geocities.datacellar.net/Paris/3738)
The Bulletin Board was ordered removed because of the unauthorized advertising seen there.
The Page is always changing! Take a look! Drop us a note. If you spot a neat link that you think would be nice on ours, let me know.
Email: wb6ufx@qsl.net. Happy surfing! Joe, WB6UFX.
Go to http://www.qrz.com/cgi-bin/webupd and update the records with your Email address and personal Home page (if any).
Go to: http://www.qsl.net. Sign up and get your own Home Page, and then let us know about it.
If you are a member and have a personal web page, check into the TCARA web page and Register by e-mailing Joe, WB6UFX, at wb6ufx@qsl.net! A special section will be set up on the Main Page containing the Member's Page Directory. So far we have the page of Moody Law, WQ6I, at: http://www.qsl.net/wq6i. Check it out! Nice page! He has a TUX on!
If you would like a Club Email roster, email wb6ufx@qsl.net and ask for one.
Complete working station: Consists of TS440At, 35-amp power supply, MFJ Super Keyboard, MFJ Deluxe Versa Tuner, phones, speaker, manuals for only $795 obo. Contact Roy, WA6KPY, 909-986-5553
Yaesu 2Mtr mobile transciever, Model FT 227 RA. $85.00 or make offer. Contact Clint Stone KQ6NJ at (626) 335 5777.
CUSHCRAFT R-7000 vertical antenna. 18 months old. HRO price is $349.00, will sell for $250.00. Call Chuck, KQ6NX at (800) 808-0910
Every Sunday night at 7:30 PM, on the Baldy Machine 147.21 MHz, up 600 kHz. The PL is 156.7 Hz (5A). Latest NewsLine Broadcast and Club Info.
October: "Update On 6 Meters Program, Sunspots, and Antenna Requirements with Wil Anderson, AA6DD
November: Tower and Antenna Installations and Maintenance with Skip Bolnick KJ6Y
December: Annual Christmas Party Meeting and Installation of Club Officers with Fried Heyn WA6WZO
If anyone has any ideas for programs, let Bob Embrey, KD6DKV, our Program person, know about them.
October 1998 issue: 9-27-98. Send news/articles to the Editor: John T. Phillipp, N6ZAE, 815 South Walnut Avenue, San Dimas, CA 91773, or send by e-mail (better!!!) to jphillip@primenet.com. Early submissions are always appreciated!!
Really simple! Allows you to: Run for an office, Annual membership prizes, Vote, Place FREE "FOR SALE" ads in the QRM, and receive the QRM monthly. Dues: Regular - $15/year. Family - $20/year.
Last Saturday of each month except December. TCARA ARRL TESTING SESSION: Next session will be Saturday, September 26, 1998 at the regular meeting place (the Covenant United Methodist Church, Towne Avenue and San Bernardino Road, in Pomona). Novice through Extra, including No-Code Technician. Call Carl Sanders, WJ6N, (909) 923-1090, for reservations: leave the class of the test you want to take, your name, address, and telephone number. Future dates will be these Saturdays: October 31, and November 28. No testing in December.
Last Monday of every month except December. W5YI VEC: Montclair: Exams only. Info: Walt Bacon, N6SMT, 909-599-5574. Reservations: 909-625-9460.
Second Saturday of each month at the Fontana Police Department. Starts at noon, after the Fontana Swapmeet. For info, call 823-6818.
Fourth Thursday of each month, the Inland Amateur Testing Team ARRL VEC: The Colton testing sessions are held at 670 Colton Ave (between D and E Streets) in Colton, CA 92324. The testing dates for the balance of 1998 are: September 24, October 22, November 19, and December 17 (All dates are on the fourth Thursday except for November and December, which are on the third Thursday because of the holidays). Testing starts at 5 PM. Bring your original license and any CSCEs plus copies, and a picture ID. Phone Harold, AB6RN, for additional information. Days: 909-825-7136 or Evenings: 909-685-6073, or e-mail halthomas@juno.com.
Don Warburg, WA6HNC, President of the local chapter of the Quarter Century Wireless Association (Inland Empire Chapter, No. 130) reports that a group of QCWA guys have done some sorting of incoming QSL cards at the 6th Call District QSL Bureau, and helped bring everything up to date.
Don says that his QCWA chapter is involved in a lot of different and interesting activities. If you were licensed at least 25 years ago - this need not be continuous license - and are interested in joining this organization, contact Perry Westrope, WA6LLB, Secretary, QCWA Chapter 130, 9857 Mills Ave., Montclair, CA 91763-2630.
Despite temperatures in the 90's, everyone seemed to have a great time at the international-style Amateur Radio foxhunt in Schabarum Regional Park of Hacienda Heights, California on Saturday, August 1. (The sport is also called radio-orienteering, foxtailing, and ARDF.) 18 persons took to the course, attempting to find six "fox" radio transmitters on the two-meter band146.565 MHz. Each one came on the air for 60 seconds at a time, one after another in numbered order.
This was an official training session for the USA's ARDF Team, which will compete at the World Championships in Nyiregyhaza, Hungary during the first week in September. Team Captain Dale Hunt WB6BYU of Yamhill, Oregon participated, as did Team Member Marvin Johnston KE6HTS and Team Trainer Dennis Schwendtner WB6OBB, both from Santa Barbara. Three other members of the US delegation to the championships were unable to attend.
Most foxhunters went out alone, but there were also a few pairs and trios. Teaming is not permitted in formal championships, but was allowed here because it is an excellent way to teach RDF techniques, especially to young people. WB6OBB was aided at this session by Jay Hennigan WB6RDV. Dennis will not be allowed to officially compete in Hungary because IARU rules presently forbid assistants for blind persons on the course.
International championship hunts have five foxes and a time limit of 100 to 140 minutes, depending on the course length, as determined beforehand by the judges. Anyone who does not return to the start/finish line within this time limit is disqualified, no matter how many foxes he or she has found. For this session, however, there were six foxes and no time limit. Hunters could stay out longer, for extra practice. They had the option to seek all six foxes if they wished.
Here are the short-form results of individuals/teams that found at least one fox.
| NAME | CALLSIGN | FOXES | TIME |
| Scott Bovitz | N6MI | 4 | 2:15:25 |
| Dale Hunt | WB6BYU | 4 | 2:17:45 |
| Marvin Johnston | KE6HTS | 4 | 3:41:12 |
| Scot Barth | KA6UDZ | 4 | 4:07:15 |
| Dennis Schwendtner | WB6OBB+1 | 3 | 2:08:46 |
| Glenn Allen | KE6HPZ | 3 | 2:28:04 |
| David Corsiglia | WA6TWF+2 | 2 | 2:23:00 |
| Dick Palmer | WB6JDH | 1 | 2:27:00 |
| Shawn Ewald | 1 | 2:49:40 |
Nobody found all six foxes, but that's not as bad as it sounds. The goal was to have two easy ones, two intermediate, and two that were really difficult. T2 and T5 were easily accessible from trails, but they were near hilltops in the Powder Canyon Wilderness. The horse trails are long and the foot trails are steep. Getting to all six foxes and back in two hours would have required the speed and stamina of an experienced long-distance runner. Unfortunately, no marathoners showed up.
Under IARU rules, participants in all divisions except Senior (males 18 to 40) are required to seek only four foxes. (Seniors must seek five.) So it's an important part of strategy at the championships for competitors to carefully choose which one(s) NOT to look for. All of the people on this hunt wisely chose not to go after T2 and T5.
A no-mistakes circuit from start to each of the four lowlands foxes to the finish was about 4 kilometers, making maximum use of the horse and foot trails.
Many thanks to LAOC for making its excellent maps available.
More detailed results, plus locations of all the foxes, explanation of age/sex divisions, info on the high scorers, marked maps and photos have been posted at the "Homing In" Web site. URL is:
http://members.aol.com/homingin/
Don't forget the forward slash at the end.
Joe Moell
USA ARDF Coordinator
homingin@aol.com
This message was posted to the SOCAL orienteers and Joe has suggested that he could come to give us a program on this subject. WB6ASH
Baldy Peaks 50K will be run just before the next meeting. This QRM should arrive just before we assemble on the hill for the tenth time. I am looking forward to seeing all of those who told me they were interested. It should be a great day. We have a few brand new people learning how to do the communications and a few who really know how important it is to the race director for safety and to the runners who would like to know how fast they did certain sections.
You will need to contact me soon on Angeles Crest. The logistics on getting hams in to the needed spots is a little more complex. I am responding to some folks for this race already.
You are encouraged to contact John Davis (909-626-7965), if you have the time on race day, to help out on any of the following runs. Often the race director will give a reward to you for helping. There is usually food provided for the effort, also. The time donated could be all day or any portion of it. Just come on out and have some fun. (The longer the run, the more time is available for your help.)
9/12/98 Baldy Peaks 50K, Mt. Baldy (Tenth presentation).
9/26/98 Angeles Crest 100 Mile Run, Many places.
10/25/98 San Juan Trail 50 Mile, Blue Jay Camp-ground.
Hope you find some of these dates to your liking.
John Davis WB6ASH
The newly revived DX Reflector is now run by the North Jersey DX Association (http://www.njdxa.org). DX-NEWS is a mailing list (reflector) devoted to the discussion of DX.
If you want to subscribe, send a message to listserv@jerseycape.net and place subscribe dx-news in the body of your message. If you have any questions or problems send a message to Steve Adell, KF2TI (KF2TI@planet.net).
To post a message to the reflector, DX related items only, send a message to dx-news@jerseycape.net
To those who do not know whether a single US Green Stamp is sufficient to cover return postage when sending direct QSLs, Dick Wolf, N6FF (ex KL7H) suggests to check out the currency exchange rate at http://www.dna.lth.se/cgi-bin/kurt/rates/
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the membership for the passage of the most sweeping bylaw changes since the club's inception. I know there was some controversy about these changes - we had over 30 people at the August meeting. Passage was a 2 to 1 vote of the membership. These changes will carry our club into the new century. And most important, YOUR VOTE DID MATTER !!!!!!!
I am looking forward to the great programs for the rest of the year. Art Goddard, Will Anderson and let's not forget Santa is not that far away (it is tough writing that sentence- it is 104 degrees outside).
As Brad, KC6NNV, said during the discussion, now is the time to get involved with club. Even if you can't get to a meeting, try helping with our Sunday Net, get newsline for the Net, volunteer for Field Day, help with health & welfare. As I have said many times over the past year - This is YOUR club. Help make it the best. Until next month...
Chuck - KQ6NX
e-mail: kq6nx@juno.com
phone: (800) 808-0910
Return to TCARA Home page