Solid Copy de KC7Z

Solid Copy de KC7Z

Newsletter of the North Kitsap Amateur Radio Club

PO BOX 2268 -- Silverdale, WA 98383-2268

Web page: http://community.silverlink.net/NKARC/

September, 2001

The KC7Z Web Site has been busy this past month. The first occasion was an e-mail from KG7NS looking for a lost WWII buddy. He gave a name that was not listed in our telephone directory, and a call sign with a transposition of two letters in the suffix of his call, W7JVP vice W7JPV. I used the Callbook to locate the name and correct call. I sent a copy of the e-mail to the address in the Callbook and to my surprise, received an e-mail from his daughter who reported that her father had a memory problem and did not even recognize her. She remembered "Dan" and subsequently informed him that her father was in a nursing home and his condition.

There were two inquiries about Ham Radio classes. Both were interested in classes primarily in the South Kitsap area. One was from an individual, and the other was from a gentleman representing the Boy Scouts seeking a volunteer who would be willing to act as an advisor to a group of scouts interested in amateur radio. I extended in invitation to visit our club, and also referred them to N7HT, Dave Brooks. If anyone is interested in serving as an advisor in the Port Orchard area to a group of scouts, please call the local council (I'm sorry to state I have misplaced the phone number and have not found it in the directory).

There was also an e-mail message from KB1DCO sent to a number of club members announcing the October 20-21 the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts 44^th JOTA (Jamboree On The Air).

In one of my SASE's sent overseas for a DX QSL, I received an ad for picture post card type QSLs. The cards can be made from your slide, print, or from their selection of scenes. I am thinking of sending a print taken from Scenic Beach to be made into a QSL. Doris has been after me to get some nice cards, so it's a go from that angle. The printer is in Berlin but advertises "Free shipping to U.S.A.." The cost is $120 per 1000. I have had the small brochure over a month with the intention of ordering, but keep putting it off. That is the current pace!

October is the month the hunters come out in Kitsap County. Some go into the forest and hunt for game. Others come to the NKARC Hamfest at the Kitsap

County Fairgrounds on the second Saturday to find that piece of gear they need in the shack. There are vendors who provide the chance for the hunt and bring everything from items some consider would make great “boat anchors” to the latest in amateur radio technology. The HAMFEST is the major fund-raiser for the club and has gotten the reputation of being a well run Hamfest and Swap Meet.

Hamfest coordinators Susan (AB7MD) and Marcie (KC7DAT) are keeping track of things and coordinating the planning. Flyers have been printed and are being distributed. Notifications have been sent to the amateur radio publishers for inclusion in their publications ICOM has sent notice that they will be present. The new technology tables, i.e., amateur radio position reporting (APRS), slow scan TV on HF, and packet cluster will be set up. The Radio Club of Tacoma antique station will be operating helping to warm their corner of the area.

There are many jobs or functions that need to be filled. 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.

WANTED – Equipment or part donations. -- NKARC is again having a club table at this year's HAMFEST. We will have used equipment for sale and rely on members to staff the table. The club will accept any working equipment (new or used) and parts, tubes, accessories, etc. that you would like to donate. All proceeds help fund club activities and special events. Please bring your equipment to the President's Hall on Friday Oct. 12th during the 5pm to 10pm set up period or to the September business meeting on 9/26. Please mark it somewhere as a NKARC donation so we know which table it goes to. Thanks!

December 7^th, 2001 is the 60th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. This is a significant and historical date. NKARC will conduct a special event station at the Naval Museum at Keyport, WA to commemorate the event. The museum is open from 1000 to 1600 on that day and there will be a minimum of 2 stations set up in the museum for the event. The ability to set up more stations is dependent on the participation of the NKARC members and those in other clubs in the Puget Sound area. The museum director, Bill Galvani, has invited us to write and article describing amateur radio cooperation with the Historical Naval Ship Association Fleet. He would submit the article to be considered for publication in the association’s publication, The Anchor Watch. Mr. Galvani has given permission to set up trailers with stations in the museum parking lot to conduct operations after the museum is closed. This could become a 24-hour operation if participants and equipment is made available.

The special event can be considered to be a field day event in a location other than our own QTH. The event has been divided into various tasks to be performed from now until the end on December 8^th. The tasks have been placed into major categories to be assumed by designated team leaders. Some club members will be approached and asked to become team leaders in this project. Members of other clubs in the Puget Sound area will be approached if the response from NKARC members is not sufficient to fill the need. I have been invited by the Mike and Key Club of Seattle to present club event information at their meeting on September 15^. We hope to do the same for the Radio Club of Tacoma.

Want your newsletter as soon as it comes out of the word processor? Want to help the club keep the cost of the bulletin at as low as we can by minimizing the costs of printing and postage? Send your e-mail address to :

and it will be posted 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.

The annual NKARC picnic on August 8^th was a great time to come together and enjoy some great food, share experiences and have some pleasant conversation. Gene, AB7LH, proved to be the master chef manning the grill and making sure that the hamburgers and hot dogs were broiled to the guests’ orders. Salads, side dishes and deserts were provided by the club members, (I should say the members’ XYL) and there were a wide selections of drinks to wash down the solids.

There were some significant highlights to the event. Those present got the opportunity to welcome the return of Steve Hyman, KB7YWY, and his XYL Lynn, KB7YWZ, back to the Pacific Northwest from his previous tour of duty in the Bahamas. Forrest Butler, W7EKK, was bid a safe journey on his upcoming trip to his “winter quarters” in Parhump, NV. Sandy Kolb graciously answered many questions about her unique experiences about the USCGS Healy on its shakedown cruise in the Arctic.

Thanks to Susan, AB7MD, and to those who assisted her in putting this event together.

The NKARC presentation meeting in September will be real treat for those who will attend. Sandy Kolb, NE7V, will present a talk on her experiences during the shakedown cruise of the USCGS Healy in the Arctic Ocean.

Sandy was invited to participate in the cruise during the Spring 2000. Being a teacher with over twenty years of experience, she viewed this as a golden opportunity to gather material for a teaching project and kept a meticulous journal with numerous slides and photographs. This material has been compiled into an informative and entertaining presentation on life aboard an icebreaker describing how the awesome ship performs the jobs it is required to do in the polar regions. She also provides an extensive look at life in the Arctic – one of the earth’s least explored areas.

Sandy has made this presentation to numerous groups, both locally and nationally, and has received many accolades for it. I had the opportunity to hear the presentation in April and guarantee that you will not be disappointed. Come and see what life is like at the top of the world

Sept. 12th – Presentation meeting at 7:30 PM - Viking Park Clubhouse – Teaching From an Icebreaker, Sandy Kolb, NE7V

Sept. 15th -- VE testing – The Heninger Room at the Central Branch of the Kitsap Regional Library, 1301 Sylvan Way, Bremerton, WA. Doors open at 9:30 am. All exams, Technician through Extra

Oct. 10th – Presentation meeting at 7:30 PM - Viking Park Clubhouse –. Sound Card Interface Design Presentation for Ham Clubs – Clint Hurd

Oct. 13th – Hamfest, President’s Hall, Kitsap County Fairgrounds. Doors open at 9:00 AM. General Admission -- $5.

Oct. 20th -- VE testing Olympic College, Room T-111, Lincoln Avenue, Bremerton, WA at 9:00 AM. All exams, Technician through Extra, are given. Contact Sue, AB7MD, at 360-697-9379. Contact Sue,AB7MD, at 360-697-9379

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 as part of the county-wide recycling project.

The NKARC Hamfest and Swap Meet in the President’s Hall at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds. Date—Oct. 13 –Time: 9:00 AM Local – General Admission: $5.00

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 page master is Malcolm Mannan, NF7M Submit your comments to Page master, Malcolm at

and let him know what you think. If you know of any interesting links, let him know and he will look into them.

The FCC says the fee for a new or renewed Amateur Radio vanity call sign will drop to $12 on September 10. Applications received on or after that date will be subject to the new fee. The current vanity call sign fee is $14.

The FCC proposed the lower fee last March in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for FY 2001. The FCC has estimated that 8000 applicants will apply for vanity call signs in the current fiscal year.

Earlier this year, the FCC also put paper and electronic vanity call sign applications on an equal footing in terms of processing priority. The FCC used to give priority to electronic applications for vanity call signs.

FCC rules stipulate refunds for applicants who inadvertently overpay a regulatory fee. Applicants who determine that they overpaid a vanity fee may request a refund in writing. Requests seeking a ''Vanity Fee Overpayment Refund'' go to FCC, 1270 Fairfield Rd, Gettysburg PA 17325-7245. Refund requests should indicate the date of application, the total fee paid, and the total refund owed.

The following article was sent to me by Tom, W6QJI, as an e-mail message in response to a discussion about the early days of amateur radio. Tom's descriptions of his early experiences gives some insight into what it was like in the Good Old Days (or were they?) If you have anything to add, send it to the editor and get it published. It's important to know some of the history of amateur radio. How can we know where we're going if we don't know where we've been?

“Those were the good old days ----.” At least that’s what the “Old Timers” tell us. I was thinking about the way things were before WWII when rigs were simple, antennas were random pieces of wire, and nobody cared about SWR or even knew what it was. I’m Tom, W6QJI, and I got my ticket on Sept. 17, 1937. Bob Tomas and I got to reminiscing a bit, and here are a few of the things I remember about those days.

Coils wound on oatmeal boxes – parts scavenged from old AM radios bought from Good Will for a buck --- self-excited oscillators, the original VFOs, with keying chirp and a trace of 120 cycle hum – amplifiers built on pieces of 1 x 12 pine – high voltage transformers – pole pigs – bought from the Edison salvage yards for a buck and rewound for higher voltage – and, mercury vapor rectifiers that flashed on and off with the keying – filter capacitors built from wax paper and the foil from cigarette packages - the first DX contact – staying up all hours of the night to work that new one – working WAS then DXCC all with 35 watts. And, license exams at the FCC office with essay questions like “Draw the schematic diagram of a Class C RF amplifier and briefly explain its operation.” And 13 words per minute solid copy only – no multiple choice – no fill in the blanks - just solid copy --- for 5 minutes! And, the black truck with the loop antenna and Federal Communications Commission painted on the side – days when the Radio Inspector – the dreaded RI - came knocking on your door when you operated off the band edge.

And VHF --- 5 meters, not 6 --- 2 tube transceivers and off-center fed hertz antennas – DX was 20 miles – working San Diego from the top of Mt Wilson north of Los Angeles when nobody down town could hear him – tropo, but nobody knew what it was – and the first crystal controlled rig and high power – 50 watts.

Then came WWII and that fateful message: “QST QST QST de W1AW ALL AMATEUR RADIO ACTIVITY IS TO CEASE IMMEDIATELY” And, after the war, an incredible treasure throve of war surplus RF components to build the dream “Calif. KW” for no more than $50.00 and KW amplifiers built on breadboard – running a pair of 304TLs, the indestructible radar switching tubes, red hot in a wild chase for the first WAZ certificate – and, that KW amplifier that sat about 5 feet from my head unshielded – guess what, I’m still here and still chasing the DX. (Maybe that explains some things about me!!)

Those breadboard rigs really worked, and were simple to build. I hope I can take time next summer to build some of that gear again and take it around to local clubs to give every one a taste of “the Good old days.”

Yea, those were the “good old days.” Days when things were simple and the shack was heated by the soft glow of those big war surplus triodes. Those days were fun --- but then there’s not a thing wrong with these days – is there?

The 2001 version of the popular Washington State Salmon Run Contest (our version of a state QSO Party) will be held the weekend of September 15-16. The rules are unchanged from last year and are available at http://www.wwdxc.org/salmonrun. The contest is sponsored by the Western Washington DX Club.

This is the contest that awards packages of smoked salmon to the top scores in each US call area and each DX country (plus lots of other categories - check out http://www.wwdxc.org/salmonrun/prizes.htm).

To avoid spreading computer viruses introduced by e-mail attachments to your address book, create a contact in your email address book with the name: !0000 with no email address in the details. This contact will then show up as your first contact. If a virus attempts to do a "send all" on your contact list, your PC will put up an error message saying that: "The Message could not be sent. One or more recipients do not have an e-mail address. Please check your Address Book and make sure all the recipients have a valid e-mail address." You click on OK and the offending (virus) message would not have been sent to anyone. Of course no changes have been made to your original contacts list. The offending (virus) message may then be automatically stored in your "Drafts" or "Outbox" folder. Go in there and delete the offending message. Problem is solved and virus is not spread. Try this and pass on to your email contacts.

Don’t forget to contact Susan, AB7MD, at 360-697-9379 and let her know how you want to volunteer for the NKARC Hamfest. NKARC NEEDS YOU!!!