--Field Day was the big event for June with an excellent article in the North Kitsap Hearld just before it started. The visitors I met were noticeably impressed with what we were doing with solar power and the technical level of the operation. We had a guest operator from the Bainbridge Island Club who we hope to contact next year to see if the club would like to participate providing communications support during the 2001 Viking Cup Tournament. It’s worth a try and it would be a good exercise for both clubs.

I don't think anyone went hungry during the outing-- Bob (WO7B) saw to it that everyone had a delicious dinner Saturday evening and a nutritious breakfast Sunday morning. Saturday afternoon, Susan (AB7MD) delivered sandwiches to the participants. Ed (AK7H) brought his new fifth wheel to the cite and provided the generator again this year for the 115VAC requirements. Bob(N7KTP) and Lois (N7ZAD) not only operated, but took the responsibility to oversee the project by providing the logging materials, the article for the newspaper, and managing the submittals to the ARRL. A preliminary assessment indicates we did slightly better this year than last year. Forgive me if I haven't mentioned all who contributed to the effort.

During the June business meeting we discussed setting up a section to list items that club members have for sale or trade. As the saying goes, one person's junk may be another's treasure.

I hope everyone had a nice 4th of July

73, Burt (W7IIT)

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The ARRL Field Day was held on June 24^th to 25^th. NKARC operated at Vinland Elementary School off of Finn Hill Road northwest of Poulsbo.

On Friday afternoon, Malcolm, NF7M, (formerly KA6DSX) arrived on site with the club trailer and some of the equipment to be used in this field day. Ed, AK7H, arrived shortly thereafter with his palatial trailer and the generator for the power at the site. Bob, WO7B, brought his trailer to be used as one of the operating site and Gene, AB7LD, towed in his trailer to be used for novice and VHF communications. Malcolm positioned the trailers and work was started to raise the antennas to go along with the stations. The "spud gun" was an important device in getting the wire antennas up to a workable height for proper operations.

Anybody arriving at Vinland Elementary on Saturday morning would have thought a bunch of maniacs had taken over the area. People were on site early on Saturday morning to complete the setup. It looked like chaos in a slightly controlled situation. The beam antennas were assembled and put in place. The biggest concern was that the Sani-Kan had not arrived yet. At 1000 (one hour before the start of operations) the vital piece of equipment arrived and a sigh of relief went up in the whole area. At 1100, the operators took their positions and the call "CQ Field Day" was heard on the operating radios.

Operators changed on the stations trying their hand at operating or logging. Others greeted the visitors and answered questions regarding the hobby and took them into the stations for a look at how things are done. There was a time out for a great spaghetti meal cooked up by Bob, WO7B, with salad tossed up by Susan, AB7MD. Hams arrived throughout the night to join those who stayed all day to take up their positions and keep the marathon going. As dawn arrived, Bob came back and cooked up a delicious breakfast.

As 1100 approached, the long day began to show on those who were on site throughout the entire Field Day. When the last contact was logged, the power generator was turned off. Tear down was started and site cleanup completed. By 1200, there was no sign that simulated emergency communications were being conducted during the previous 24 hours. Time to tally the points; get the report ready for submission to the ARRL and start planning for next year.

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The results are in and the report made ready for submission to the ARRL. So how did we do?

A total of 508 contacts were made during the event in the following categories:

CW: . . . . 304

SSB . . . . 215

Novice . . . 57

Digital . . . . 4

The club operated as a 2A activity (power output at less than 150 watts on all stations) giving a multiplier of 2 on all contacts. Digital and CW contacts are multiplied by 2. Total contact points equals 1776. Bonus points were allowed for eleven categories. The club attempted to qualify in all categories. If allowed, another 1100 points will be added to the contact points giving a total entry of 2876 points.

Guest operators were on hand to provide support during the event. These hams, although not club members, contributed a great deal in setting up and making contacts. They came because they enjoy ham radio and wanted to participate in the premium event of the hobby. Many thanks to them for their participation.

Facets of amateur radio operations new to the club were tried during this field day. The PSK31 and APRS digital communication modes were tried for the first time. They proved to be interesting. Consideration will be given to setting up a station for digital operations and changing to a 3A class activity if enough members are interested in operating in the new modes.

Now that positive aspects of the NKARC Field Day have been discussed, what needs to be improved for next year? A common complaint was the mutual interference experienced between the SSB and CW stations. This was attributed to the proximity of the two beam antennas to one another. Facilities layout will consider this for operations next year. There were dead periods on the stations because there were no operators scheduled. Trying to schedule operators prior to the operation for a club the size of NKARC is difficult. One recommendation was to post a sign up sheet at the door to each of the operating stations so that all can see what times are available and sign up. This will be done next year.

The NKARC Field Day was successful because of the efforts by those who were there to do their part. It would be difficult to give individual thanks to all by name so thank you one and all for your contribution to a very successful operation. The reports are in—now let’s wait for the standings and the bragging rights.

73 es cu at Field Day 2001 -- Bob Tomas , N7KTP

Almost immediately after Field Day, 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 2000 because the club takes extra measures to make them welcome.

The various phases that make up the Hamfest have been defined and coordinators Susan (AB7MD) and Marcie (KC7DAT) are keeping track of things. Work has already been done on the long-range items. Flyers have been printed and are being distributed. Notifications are being sent to the amateur radio publishers for inclusion in their publications

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 communications trailer 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.

It’s the newest mode in amateur radio communications. Articles describe it as an interesting combination of HF propagation with digital techniques. These same article describe how contacts are made between stations whose signals can barely be heard above the noise. There is an article describing a rig with the necessary components to encode and decode the text from the computer and send it out on the airwaves using only 1 watt of rf output. What is this mode called PSK-31? What is its history? How does it work?

These questions will be answered at the presentation meeting on July 14^th at 7:30 PM at the Viking Park Clubhouse. Malcolm, NF7M, and John, KK7SV, will set up a station and show us how its done. Be there for an introduction to an interesting mode of communications

The annual NKARC picnic is scheduled on Aug. 9^th at the Viking Park clubhouse gazebo. This will be done as the presentation meeting for the month. Mark your calendar to save that date.

There are indications that the PacketCluster stations on the east side of Puget Sound are going off the air. Some of the operators from that area have been in contact with Bruce, N7OJ, discussing possible ways of working with KC7Z to establish a new node path for the information. Bruce has been on an extended trip back east. He will be in touch with them after he returns to discuss alternatives. No commitments will be made without presentation to the club membership for consideration.

On another front, the club has received an offer of packet radio equipment from John, K3JZ. John lives near Vinland Elementary and visited the Field Day site with his children and their friends. We discussed the club and its operations with him. It was then that he made the offer through a message on the KC7Z message list. A message was sent to him asking him to hold on to the equipment until the club has had a chance to consider the offer.

July 12th – Presentation meeting at 7:30 PM – Viking Park Clubhouse – Two Wheeling on 2 Meters – Marcie Stilwell, KC7DAT

July 22nd – VE testing – VE testing - Olympic College, Room T-114, Lincoln Avenue, Bremerton, WA at 9:30 AM. All exams, Technician through Extra, are given. Contact Sue,AB7MD, at 360-697-9379.

July 26th – Regular meeting at 7:30 PM – Viking Park Clubhouse, Poulsbo

Aug 9th – Annual Club Picnc at 6:30 PM –Viking Park Clubhouse Gazebo –

Aug. 23rd – Business meeting at 7:30 PM – Viking Park Clubhouse, Poulsbo

Aug 26th -- VE testing – VE testing - Olympic College, Room T-114, Lincoln Avenue, Bremerton, WA at 9:30 AM. All exams, Technician through Extra, are given. Contact Sue,AB7MD, at 360-697-9379.

Want your newsletter as soon as it comes out of the word processor? Send your e-mail address to : bobtomas@sprintmail.com, and it will be mailed out right after the proof reading. Be sure to tell if you are using an Internet browser or an e-mail only account in order to get the right format. Most e-mail only accounts only accept ASCII text format and we oblige with a text only format for them.

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 page master is Marcie Stilwell, KC7DAT. Submit your comments to Page master, Marcie at nkarc@yahoo.com and let her know what you think. If you know of any interesting links, let her know and she will look into them. Give it a try.

Don’t forget to dispose of those discharged household batteries in a way that helps our environment. This includes alkaline, ni-cad, and regular zinc carbide batteries. Bring them to the meeting., and provisions will be made to transport them to the proper disposal site in Kitsap County.

Lead acid batteries are excluded from this collection. The disposal site on Hansville Road will accept lead acid batteries without a charge

If most accidents happen within five miles of home, why not move 10 miles away?

Keep an open mind, but not so open that your brain falls out.

For Sale:
1) a 17' 1977 Taurus Travel Trailer. A good starter trailer. Good Shape. Great for hunting, fishing, RVing, star gazing, and Field Day. Manuals and other trailer supplies are available. Need a refrig. $1000.00 OBO.

2) Hygain 4 elem. tribander beam (10,15,20) for $100.00 BO. Manual available. Putting up a 2 elem. 5 band Gem Quad.

3) Queen size mattress from new 5th Alpenlite Trailer. Come And Get It. OBO(hihi).

Ed Saftich, AK7H, 360-297-2846, e-mail :ak7h@prodigy.net

Back issues of CQ magazine available at no cost.
Contact; John Burgess, K7SST, at 360-373-3892.

ARLB028 FCC says ''no'' to SSB, digital modes in VHF CW subbandsThe FCC has turned down a request asking it to permit SSB and digital modes in the 6 and 2-meter CW-only subbands. The petition, filed last August by the California Six Meter Club, was assigned rulemaking number RM-9806 by the FCC.

The CSMC said it requested the additional emission types because its survey of weak-signal operations indicated that the segments were hardly used. The club said most DX and weak signal work took place on frequencies above the CW subbands.

In denying the request, the FCC said it did not believe the requested revisions were necessary or had support of the amateur community. The FCC concluded that authorizing additional emission types in the 6-meter and 2-meter CW subbands ''could have an adverse impact on the operating activities of other licensees.'' Additionally, the FCC said, CSMC did not show that any improvement in communications capabilities would result if the 100 kHz of spectrum was opened up for other emission types, which the FCC said were ''adequately accommodated'' under present rules.

The FCC said it was ''not persuaded that there is a lack of spectrum in the 6 and 2-meter amateur service bands for transmission of data and phone emission types'' and concluded that any changes to the rules were unnecessary.

The FCC action was released June 28.

NNNN

/EX

Is anybody interested in setting up a VHF QSO party? The idea is to get a group together and head out for a high hill or mountain side to set up some equipment and look for some VHF DX. Pack the gear into the back of the car and head up the road. Set up for 2 meters and 440 and have a go at it. If anybody has some 6 meter portable equipment, bring it along too. Contact Steve Gates, W7SG, at the club meetings or at 360-697-4991 to discuss future plans.

The BC DX Club and the Fraser Valley DX Club announce the DX2000 DX Convention in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They’ve changed the venue to make this event as fun and interesting for your spouse (and children0 as it is for you. The are working on a fresh program and will be inviting many of your friends from the DX, QRP and Contest world.

 Saturday 9 Am – 5 PM DX2000 Programs

 Saturday 7PM – 10 PM Dinner