Good Day! Well, there are those among us who might think hunting season is behind us. If you come to this Wednesday’s presentation, you just might leave thinking otherwise! Of course, I’m talking about foxhunting. Actually, I won’t be talking about foxhunting; Charles Scharlau, NZ0I, will be. It promises to be an interesting and informative presentation. Bring your enthusiasm and curiosity, because Charles is looking to recruit a few fellow foxhunters to do some hunts on this side of the sound. If enough folks are interested, I think the club might even consider funding some equipment in support of this venture!

Speaking of funding, the initial plans are nearing completion for a portable HF radio station. Thanks mostly to Gene Johnson AB7LH, it looks like we’ve got enough momentum to really make it happen. Here’s the supporting joke: How many hamfests does it take to build an HF station? <grin>. (I’ll let you think that one over and provide the "punch" line at Wednesday’s meeting.) We’ll pass around a drawing of the proposed station along with a cost estimate. Be sure to get a look at it so you have time to think about it. I plan on asking for a vote to fund this at the next business meeting.

And now, a word from our Hamfest chairperson… <dramatic pause>

Wait; that’s right! We don’t HAVE a hamfest chairperson! <heavy sigh>. PLEASE, PLEASE, at least consider contributing or working on the Hamfest committee. If there isn’t a critical mass of people soon, we may have to consider NOT having a hamfest this year. Think about it. Is that what you really want?

Well, enough haranguing. We’ve got a lot of good things going, and I’m looking to forward to playing with our new HF station come the next field day!

73, John, KB7MKG

The NKARC "Off-the-Wall" net started on February 4th at 7:30 PM local on 28.350 MHz as scheduled. Unfortunately, the only two stations to check in were Burt, W7IIT, and Bob, N7KTP. The signals were good, both being a 5x5. There were many CQ calls for other stations to join, but nobody was there. Burt did send some slow speed CW text for practice and I'm proud to say that I managed to copy all.

As announced in last month's newsletter, the net is intended to provide a chance to chat and hone operating skills for those who are tech-plus and above. CW practice would be available for those who want on-the-air experience and to increase their code speed. The net will be a round table and all are invited to participate. Anyone can start the net by calling "CQ CQ Off-the-Wall-net". Participants will be added to the list as they check in.

How many of you remember the NKARC Off-The Wall Certificate? The certificate was awarded to anyone who had a QSO with a NKARC member on HF. This will provide an opportunity to qualify for the certificate. Make contact with a NKARC member; bring the QSO information to the secretary at a meeting; and the certificate will be issued. If you cannot attend a club meeting, send it to the address on the newsletter header.

The net will be held on the first Wednesday of the month at 7:30 PM local. When you hear the CQ, answer. Ten meters is not DX at night, but it sure is great for local networks. As the daylight hours extend into the evening, we might have visitors from other states and it could be a great start towards that Worked-All-States certificate.

Bob, N7KTP

The NKARC board of officers moved and seconded a motion to change the club meeting schedule. The change is to move the board meeting from the first Wednesday of the month to the hour preceding the business meeting on the fourth Wednesday of the month. This will reduce the number of meetings required of the board members and allow the club members to attend and view what is happening at the board meetings. It also will bring the results of the board meetings to the membership in a much quicker time frame.

If you ain’t making waves, you ain’t kicking hard enough.

Everyone has a photographic memory -- some don’t have film.

As the club president John stated in his comments the club needs a new chairman for the NKARC 1998 Hamfest right now. Susan, AB7LH, did a fantastic job as chairman for the 1997 Hamfest, but she has indicated that she is not available to be chairman in 1998. If you are interested or can recommend somebody, please let the president or any of the board members know.

Some of the work towards the event has been started. Susan is preparing a document outlining the milestones and procedures for conducting the yearly hamfest.. The hall has been reserved for October 10th. The board members will serve on the committee as they have in previous years and Susan will also serve on the committee.

The hamfest is one of the two major club events for the year. It has been a success because the club members have participated as fully as they could under chairmen who were willing to oversee the whole function. How about one of you picking up the hammer and be the leader?

Change your address?............

Change your license class?..........

Change your call sign?...........

Be sure to notify the secretary, Burt -W7IIT- as soon as possible especially if you were fortunate enough to get that vanity call from the FCC.

Want your newsletter as soon as it comes out of the word processor? If you send your e-mail address to bobtomas@sprintmail.com,  I’m willing to mail it out right after the proof reading. Be sure to tell me if you are using an Internet browser or if you will receive the bulletin on an e-mail only account If you want it via packet radio, I’m on the N7WE bulletin board. Send a notice to N7KTP@N7WE.#WWA.WA.USA.NOAM  and I’ll send it on a mailing list. I may have to split it into two parts if it is a long one.

Who is "General Failure" and why is he reading my hard disk?

I couldn’t fix my brakes, so I made my horn louder.

NKARC sponsors VE testing at Olympic College,
Room T-114, Lincoln Avenue, Bremerton, WA
on the fourth Saturday of each month at 9:30 AM.
All exams, Novice through Extra, are given.
Contact Walt, AA7TL, at 692-8326.

Other V-E Testing cites, times and contacts.

Visit the NKARC Web Page at the URL http//www.silverlink.net/nkarc . There is a wealth of information and capabilities to anybody that checks in. After you get connected, you can get the latest copy of the club newsletter -- "SOLID COPY". A membership application is available to a friend or relative who is interested in joining the club. A description of the KC7OXC repeater and operating instructions are also available.

Click on the handi-talkie graphic and you’ll get a list of links to other web pages giving you an opportunity to connect to the ARRL, FCC, Packet Radio Home Page, AMSAT. Need the QTH of the station you just had a contact with? The QRZ call sign look-up form is available. The links also give the link to the information on the Evergreen Intertie. If you need information on what’s happening in Seattle, click on the Seattle logo. There are also links to some manufacturers including our own Jack, N7OYR, of Shoestring Antenna fame.

Submit your comments to Page master, John (KB7MKG) and let him know what you think. If you know of any interesting links, let him know and he’ll look into them. Give it a try. We are now available world wide.

President John Stilwell, KB7MKG, has volunteered to be the disposal agent for small batteries. John will collect the dead batteries at the meeting and make a periodic trip to the hazardous material disposal site in South Kitsap to deliver the material.

John will not handle old vehicle lead acid batteries. That will still be your responsibility. He will accept alkaline, zinc-carbon, NiCad, lithium, mercury batteries, and gel-cell lead batteries used as power packs for VCRs and that type. Join the crowd and help to keep Kitsap green.

Ron, N7EM has two oddball photo (camera) batteries that were purchased in error. Batts are type 2CR5 and were fairly pricey. Free to anyone with a suitable camera. Contact Ron at 360-779-5418 or email at nrsefton@telebyte.net. 

No, it’s not time to get out the black hat, red jackets, saddles and boots. It’s not the type of hunt where people get on horses and chase the critter as it is being chased by a bunch of hounds through the fields. The fox hunt we are talking about is the one where the amateur radio operators get out their portable equipment and go looking for the miniature transmitter that somebody hid in a remote location. You might have to slog through muddy fields, over stone walls and hedges to find the "critter".

This month’s social meeting will feature a presentation by Charles Scharlau, NZ0I, on this most interesting aspect of amateur radio which combines technical expertise with persistence to find a hidden transmitter. Some of you may remember Charles as the strong operator who powered his HF rig from a bicylce powere alternator at the June 97 field day.

Charles has participated in fox hunts in King and Snohomish county and is interested in starting a fox hunt group here in Kitsap. A side benefit to ham radio fox hunting experience is the knowledge gained if we were asked to participate in a hunt for a lost hiker or even a downed aircraft. The club is looking for new and interesting projects-- How about this?

"Energizer Bunny arrested...charged with battery."

I poured sport remover on my dog....now he’s gone.

Dit-Dah-Dit-Dah-Dit-Dah

You studied the "Now You're Talking" book; went over the questions and answers many times until you knew nearly all of them by heart; agonized over how you were going to keep all that information in your head without mixing ohms and MHz; took the Technician test at Olympic College; and waited that long agonizing period until the FCC (Federal Cigar Company) sent you that document with the call sign identifying you as an amateur radio operator. Now you have the paper. Out to Radio Depot to get that VHF handy-talky; get an Elmer to help you set the repeater and simplex frequencies into the memory; pick a channel; press the button and start talking. Somebody comes back and you have started your first QSO--You are a Ham Radio Operator.

Time passes and the itch for more comes back. There must be more to Amateur Radio than to have conversations with the "locals" on simplex and on the repeaters. You here discussions about ham radio using satellites. You look into it but decide that it is too costly for your meager pocketbook and it is just too technical for your limited knowledge. Somebody comes along and suggests an upgrade to get more privileges. That's great but I have to learn Morse Code and I know that this is like learning another language. I can barely handle the English language, let alone learn something like the Morse code with its dits and dahs. Anyway, the military and many of the commercial activities that depended on Morse Code have dropped it as a means of communication. It won't be long before Morse Code will be dropped as a requirement for HF priviliges in amateur radio. WRONG--WRONG--WRONG!!!!

The International Radio and Telegraph Union (IRTU) is an organization whose members represent the countries of the world and by treaty have the responsibility to set the frequency allocations and requirements for broadcast communication throughout the world. One section of the organization is devoted entirely to world-wide amateur radio communications. It is this organization that set requirement that all amateur radio operators have the capability to use Morse Code on frequencies below 50 Mhz. A resolution was introduced to eliminate the requirement at the IRTU meeting in 1997, but the members voted to study the resolution for consideration at the next meeting in 1999. This means it will be a long time before any changes will be made in the requirement. If you want to use HF and increase your coverage, you must learn Morse Code.

"I can't learn Morse Code. It's just too hard." The interesting thing about the North Kitsap Amateur Radio Club is that many of its members joined as technicians and have upgraded to the higher class licenses -- General to Extra -- after they joined. They range in age from 13 to 65. They learned the "code", got up to speed, and built up their confidence to take the test. Granted that you cannot learn Morse Code by just sitting and listening to it. You didn't learn how to speak English by just listening to it. You had to listen, associate words with meanings and practice with other people. You didn't get the communication speed immediately. That was developed with practice. The same is true of mastering the Morse Code.

Fortunately, you don't have to be a code whiz to get on HF. The entry level for Morse Code on HF is 5 words per minute (wpm). This will give you CW privileges on 10, 15, 40 and 80 meters. It will also give you phone privileges on 10 meters. How can you learn the code? There are a number of methods and techniques. If you own a computer, there are a number of Morse Code programs that will take you through the process. One of the most popular is Super Morse. It assumes that you have no previous knowledge of Morse Code and goes through the steps from teaching the code sounds to building up the speed. The program even generates practice QSOs to that you have the feeling of what to anticipate at the test session. The program is freeware and can be run on any computer with MS-DOD. It is available on most any amateur radio web page or bulletin board. If you do not have a modem to connect to the Internet or a bulletin board. let me know at 360-638-1659 and a copy will be made available.

Another way to learn the code is to find a station that sends out code practice at different speeds. The ARRL station, W1AW, sends out code practice on designated frequencies on a published schedule. The schedule is published in QST magazine. If you are not an ARRL member, ask one of the club members to get you the schedule. Gene, AB7LD, conducted Code practice sessions on VHF last year on a weekly basis. He said he will resume these sessions once he has finished moving to his new QTH in Poulsbo. There are thoughts of establishing a code practice transmission schedule for Kitsap county on 10 meters. If it is instituted, word will be published later.

The entry level code speed is not difficult. Most of the people who learned the code using the instruction programs got to that level within 2 weeks devoting 30 minutes per day to the practice. Some have surpassed that and passed the 13 wpm code test expecting only to pass the 5wpm test.

Another good thing about CW communications is that you don’t need to take a mortgage to get the equipment to get on the air. CW transmitters are economical and if you want to try they are easy to build. One of the most interesting and challenging aspects of amateur radio is QRP where the operators get on the air with no more than 5 watts of output power and try to work the world.

Give it a try. There is a great satisfaction when the examiner comes up to you and says "Congratulations, you made it." We'll all be listening for that first "Dah Dit Dah Dit Dah Dah Dit Dah" from you.

de Bob, N7KTP