I want to thank all of you that helped out at the Viking Cup Soccer event. We had about 19 operators participate during the 3-day event. With much Thanks to Gene Johnson and everyone else that helped, we were able to get our new trailer up and running for this event. We also had use of the County Emergency Services Communications Van, and that is very appreciated. While we did not have the coverage that we had originally hoped, we had operators at the three main sites, and it was a very successful event overall. If any of you have comments on how we might be able to improve things next year, or how to get more volunteers so we can cover more fields, please let me know. I will also be talking to the Viking Cup soccer people to see their view of what worked and what we can improve.

This month is Field Day! This will be a fun event, and I hope to see all of you there.

I heard a rumor that the MS 150 had been cancelled, but I called the MS Society and verified that the MS 150 is still on. What was cancelled was one of the local bike rides, The Countryside Classic. The updated list of events that have traditionally requested Ham Radio Communications support in Kitsap County are:

Trident Triple (Bicycle ride), June 19^th

Kingston 4^th of July Parade

MS 150 (bicycle ride), July 24^th

Tour de Kitsap (bicycle ride), September 4^th

Jamboree on the Air (JOTA), October

73, Marcie, KC7DAT

Adding to the comments regarding the Vikingfest, thanks to John Stilwell, KK7SV, who stepped in at the last minute to coordinate the communications for the event after Lester, AB7Y, underwent surgery. Thanks to N7ING Jim Betteley for the use of the Comm Van. Thanks to the following who participated in the event:

Gene Johnson, AB7LH Burt Boyd, W7IIT
Susan Johnson, AB7MD Bob Tomas, N7KTP
Mike Sinnett, N7IPJ Lois Tomas, N7ZAD
Monte Simpson, W7MLS Horace Ory, KB6TRG

Hugh Starkey, AB7UK Ed Pietras, KA7UJA
John Stilwell, KK7SV Lester Crawford, AB7Y
Marcie Stilwell, KC7DAT Charles Scharlau, NZ0I

Chris Mosbarger, KB7BKP Mike Vineyard, KE7XG
Curt Mosbarger, KB7RLP Gerald Vineyard, KD7COI
Nick Stichick, AL7DD

From the ARRL:

Field Day \feeld da\noun: 1) competitive event where Amateur Radio operators set up radio equipment in the field to compete for score; 2) An event to test the readiness of Amateur Radio Emergency Communications; 3) A chance to meet new friends and test the limits of your favorite hobby.

On June 25th, NKARC members and friends will meet at Vinland Elementary School on Finn Hill Road in Poulsbo at 1:00 PM to begin the setup for the event described above. On Saturday at 12 noon, we start a contact marathon with other clubs and Hams around the country for the next 24 hours. When done at noon on June 27th, the Field Day event will have satisfied the 3 parts of the definition above.

Field Day is a large undertaking requiring much coordination to set up, operate, and tear down. Bob, N7KTP, is the coordinator for the event. Gene, AB7LH, is the site manager. Bruce, N7OJ, has put together a band operating plan suggesting best times to operate on the bands available to us and coordinate the scheduling of operators. Malcom, KA6DXS, will be the equipment coordinator.

At the June 9th presentation meeting, the history and the many elements of field day will be presented and discussed. Practice QSOs in CW and phone will be conducted to show the proper technique. Logging techniques and duplicate contact checking will be discussed. Bonus points are granted for handling message traffic and tips will be given on how to make out the message form for transmission and for receipt. Suggestions and questions regarding the field day site and operations will be answered. This is a chance to learn about one of the most interesting events in Ham Radio.

Participate in some way in this event. Bring along the XYL, kids or a friend and work together. They do not have to be club members to participate. If they want to get the feel of making a contact, come in and operate for a few hours as third party operators. Control operators will be available. Don’t be concerned about your license class. We can pair the operators and loggers so that a Tech or Tech plus can make the contacts during the operating period to comply with the FCC regulations.

Come on out, push the PTT switch and "calmly" (???) say "CQ CQ CQ Field Day, KC7Z, KC7Z, " and patiently wait for the return.

Ready for Field Day? Ready or not, here it comes! June 26-27 is the last chance we'll have to participate in a Field Day this millennium. Let's make it a Field Day to remember. The sooner we get started, the smoother the event runs.

Bob Tomas, N7KTP

After Field Day is over, the NKARC Hamfest comes in October. This is the major fund-raiser for the club and has gotten the reputation of being a well run Hamfest and Swap Meet. Many of the vendors and people who rented tables indicated they will return in 1999 because the club takes extra measures to make them welcome. The "Old-Time Ham Station" operated by the Radio Club of Tacoma will return to demonstrate how it was done in the old days when vacuum tubes were used to get the signal out and to warm the shack at the same time.

The various phases that make up the Hamfest have been defined and a coordinator is needed to keep track of things and report to the board on progress and problems. Work has already been done on the long-range items. The club has a number of members who are willing workers and that is a great asset. It also needs leaders who are willing to manage this important project.

The club is enjoying many benefits from the proceeds of the previous Hamfests. The portable station, DX node, ant the trailer station are projects resulting from these funds. Think about where you can participate. Talk to the board members and they will describe the mini-projects for the event. The involvement of each and every member is required if this year’s Hamfest is going to continue its run of successes from previous years and provide us with the funds to continue supporting these projects and to initiate others.

Many amateur operators rely on the Hamfest to find that "thingamabob" they need to finish that ingenious "whatchamacallit" they have been working on in the garage.

DON'T CALL THEM BOAT ANCHORS! THE MAY PRESENTATION RECEIVED "GLOWING" REVIEWS

Worth Gurley (W7WG), Morel Guyot (W6LIX), and Mac Parks (W6NBD) and several other representatives from the Radio Club of Tacoma brought a taste of the golden age of amateur radio to the May NKARC meeting. Worth and company shared stories and demonstrated equipment dating from the 1930's onward. The stories and the equipment lit up the room figuratively, and literally. "The Old Oak Rig," which was donated to RCT with the help of NKARC club members Bob Tomas and John Stilwell, did not make the trip. But Worth brought some pictures that showed that the not-so-mobile rig has been restored to health, and is gracing the RCT radio museum.

NKARC members were extended a special invitation to visit the RCT Radio Museum, and to participate in RCT events. The best wishes of the Radio Club of Tacoma were warmly extended, along with their wishes to establish closer ties with NKARC.

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 Sue, AB7MD, at 360-697-9379 for more information and/or directions to the test site.

Don’t forget to dispose of those discharged household batteries in a way that helps our environment. Bring them to the meeting., and provisions will be made to transport them to the disposal site in South Kitsap County. Lead acid batteries are excluded. The disposal site on Hansville Road will accept lead acid batteries without a charge

 THE FOX'S DEN

If you are interested in taking part in a local hunt, contact me in person, by phone, or by e-mail:

There will be Sunday afternoon radio direction finding training sessions in Portland, Oregon on the following dates: June 13, June 27, July 11, and July 25. These are excellent opportunities to try international-style foxhunting on foot. No experience necessary! Extra hunting equipment will be available for participants who do not have their own.

The hunts will run from 1pm to 4pm; arriving late or leaving early is permitted. The site for the hunts is Memorial Park in Wilsonville, OR. Go 1/2 mile East from Interstate 5 Exit 283, just south of Portland. Watch for a sign on the right at about the 2nd stoplight. Talk-in will be on 145.41-, or listen for the fox transmitters on 146.565.

With any kind of luck the SFI will increase during the vernal equinox (21 June) about one week ahead of FD. If the SFI reaches 190 we can expect some good openings on 15 Meters during some hours of darkness as well as during daylight.

You may file your application for renewal of you amateur operator electronically using FCC Form 900, Application for Electronic Renewal of Wireless Radio Services Authorization. You can only use Form 900 during a 120 day renewal window preceding the expiration date shown on you license grant. You cannot use FCC Form 900 to renew an expired license grant even if the grace period has not expired. It cannot be used for a new or modified licenses grant. When you electronically file your application for renewal, however, you may also request necessary modification to your name and mailing address. FCC Form 900 may only be submitted electronically. No FCC form 900 Do0cument applications will be accepted.

The link will also be available on the NKARC Web page.

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"..

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 and many others. 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.

The new page master is Charles Scharlau, NZ0I.

Sign at a number of military bases: Restricted to Unauthorized Personnel

From the ARRL Newsletter of 4 June, 1999

With the approach of Field Day, the following is included for information purposes:

SOLAR UPDATE

Solar shaman Tad Cook, K7VVV, Seattle, Washington, reports: Sunspot counts and solar flux rose this past week, with the average daily sunspot number up nearly 46 points and flux values up nearly 19 points, compared to the previous week. The big day was June 2, when the sunspot number was 214, a big jump.

Contesters were elated when the poor conditions predicted for last weekend's WPX contest did not materialize. A coronal mass ejection sent charged particles our way, but they missed Earth, and conditions were excellent last weekend. Instead of a high A index, the planetary A index for Saturday and Sunday was only six and five, and the mid-latitude numbers, which affect most of the readers of this bulletin, were even better at three and three. In the mid-latitudes, there were many periods when the K index was zero, which is very stable.

Expect more good conditions this weekend, with solar flux June 4-6 predicted at 175, 170 and 170, and the planetary A index at 8, 7 and 7.

Beyond the weekend look for solar flux to drift down to 150 by June 10, bottom out around 140 from June 18-20, then rise to 165 toward the end of June. Unsettled geomagnetic conditions could return on June 9, with active conditions June 14, and unsettled to active conditions around June 21.

Earlier in the week there were several wire service stories about the predicted peak of solar cycle 23 next year, and how solar flares could disrupt various communication systems and even the power grid. One article quoted Richard Altrock of the Air Force Research Laboratory in Sunspot, New Mexico, saying that this cycle should peak between January and April of next year. He also said that the number of sunspots at the peak should roughly equal the activity during the peaks of the two previous cycles.

Sunspot numbers for May 27 through June 2 were 154, 146, 151, 169, 157, 190 and 214 with a mean of 168.7. The 10.7 cm flux was 155.2, 152.1, 148.6, 156.8, 165.4, 176 and 173.1, with a mean of 161. The estimated planetary A indices were 10, 9, 6, 5, 4, 8 and 11, with a mean of 7.6.

__________________________________

Hams checking the prestigious Wall Street Journal for the latest business news and stock quotes June 2 also found some Amateur Radio news--smack in the middle of page 1 and above the fold. A story by Staff Reporter Lee Gomes headlined "TO HAM OPERATORS, MORSE CODE TEST IS LIKE LATIN EXAM; Does It Keep the Barbarians At Bay, or Is It Fueling The Decline of a Culture?" discusses the current code versus no-code debate in Amateur Radio.
"Morse Code is a dying language in the Digital Age, but it's still required reading for amateur radio buffs," Gomes' story begins. His report outlines the broad strokes of the controversy and the impending FCC streamlining that is expected to address future Morse code requirements for amateurs. It also quotes the FCC's Bill Cross, W3TN, as "the FCC's lead staff person on the question," and reports that the FCC "is contemplating relaxing the Morse Code requirement."

Gomes cites Bruce Perens, K6BP, of No Code International, who--in Gomes words--considers Morse code "an antiquated technology" and "a turnoff for young people." "Perens is in the minority," Gomes asserts. "Most licensees don't want any change in the requirement--especially since they have already passed the test themselves."

Taking the opposite viewpoint in Gomes' article is Nancy Kott, WZ8C, of FISTS, which Gomes describes as a "militant pro-Morse group." Gomes says Kott "all but accuses the no-coders of taking bribes from ham radio makers" and claims they want the code requirements dropped to attract more hams and sell more equipment.

Gomes reports that FISTS members fear a lot of bad, on-air behavior "without the screening provided by the Morse Code requirement." Perens, Gomes says, is not concerned about a "post-Morse ham world inhabited by barbarians." Perens points out for the article that applicants still will have to pass "rigorous tests" to get a ticket. Besides, Gomes quotes Perens as saying, "The riffraff have no reason to leave the Internet."

The article is silent on the issue of ITU regulations requiring a demonstration of Morse proficiency for HF operation and on the fact that a codeless class of Amateur Radio license already exists. And, at one point it refers to Morse code as "dits and duhs."

In the course of researching his article, Gomes contacted the ARRL for background information. The complete article is available via the Web for a fee to registered users of the Wall Street Journal's interactive page, http://www.wsj.com.