Solid Copy de KC7Z

Newsletter of the North Kitsap Amateur Radio Club

PO BOX 2268 -- Silverdale, WA 98383-2268

Web page: www.nkarc.silverlink.net

August, 2002

This chapter in the adventures of your club Prez and his Alaska voyage on the 36ft. M/V Blue Yonder finds XYL Nancy and I headed back south after reaching as far north as Juneau.

We have made it safely past Deception Pass, Grief Point, Coffin Rock, Danger Point, Island and Reef plus Deceit Rock, Desolation Sound, Mistake Island and Deadman Reach which is located in Peril Strait! As this is written, we have just crossed the boarder from Alaska to British Columbia, Canada and are anchored in a small bay near Roger, VE7AP and his boat, the Tetu. We met Roger a couple years ago through the boaters ham nets up here. The ham radio connection makes it easy to meet others with the same interests while cruising in these remote areas.

Tomorrow, we start down Principe Channel, near the outside of the inside passage. It is remote enough here that the cruising guide book's total discussion amounts to: "Principe Channel is seldom visited by recreational boaters." So you can see how comforting it is to be in contact with fellow hams and with the boater's nets.

We are in an interesting propagation transition zone here, where we are beginning to hear the 75M nets in Pt. Ludlow, WA and on Vancouver Is. in Canada, while net control Dave AL7DJ is beginning to fade on 75M. We do work him on 40M now though, whereas we were too close until a couple days ago as we head southward. We are anticipating getting back to home in Poulsbo, WA mid August.

As I mentioned last month, the club Hamfest is in full preparation. I know the usual suspects will turn up to help make the event another success. But Hamfest chairman Russ, KI7IPG can use more help and support. This is a fun event, even for the guys and gals that show up the Friday evening before, to set up. If you are thinking about missing hamfest, it will be yours and the club’s loss. Regards from the northern B. C. Coast.

The sun sets earlier in the evening indicating that the end of summer is approaching. In only 2 months (October) the NKARC Hamfest will be held at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds. This is the major fund-raiser for the club and has gotten the reputation of being a well run Hamfest and Swap Meet. Many who rented tables indicated they will return because the club takes extra measures to make them welcome.

Coordinator Russ (KI7PG) is keeping track of things for the event but he needs help desperately. Work has already been done on the long-range items. Flyers have been printed and are being distributed. Notifications have been sent to the amateur radio publishers for inclusion in their publications. Russ needs volunteers to assume some of the committee heads such as security, ticket sales, and assistance to exhibitors.

Need to reduce the equipment inventory in the shack? The Hamfest offers a great opportunity to present the surplus to a maximum number of customers. Remember there is no such thing as junk in a ham shack. Everything has a use to somebody. If it doesn’t work, somebody can fix it. Get together with another member and share a table rental. If you have doubts about how well a table rental works, contact Burt, W7IIT, and ask him about the success of his venture at last year’s Hamfest.

The club is enjoying many benefits from the proceeds of the previous Hamfests. The portable station, and 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.

NKARC president, Ron – N7EM, came to the July presentation meeting and told us about his adventures sailing to the northern latitudes. His slide presentation showed some of the beautiful scenery not normally seen in travelogue films or on a large ship cruise through the Inside Passage.

Ron’s presentation on amateur radio nets among the boaters in the waters between Canada, Alaska, and the Pacific Northwest was informative and interesting. It’s amazing on how amateur radio helps to maintain between Poulsbo and Petersburg, Alaska.

Ron has left the area to return to his boat and to start his return trek back to his homeport of Poulsbo. Smooth sailing and calm waters on your return Ron.

Instead of a presentation, the next meeting will be the annual NKARC picnic. The picnic will be on August 14th starting at 6pm. NKARC will provide hot dogs, buns and condiments for the annual picnic. Coffee and water will also be available. Members are asked to bring potluck (salads, fruit, veggies, chips, deserts) for the picnic. Spouses, guests and friends are welcome. See you at 6 PM on August 14th!

For sale: Vintage Lafayette Amateur Communications Receiver (Model HA-350) covering the 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meter bands. The 12 tube receiver employs dual conversion and can receive CW, AM voice and SSB signals. Price: $50.00 plus shipping costs if required. Bob Tomas, N7KTP – (360) 638-1659 or

U.S. Tower TX-455 for sale. 21 to 55 feet motorized. Free standing. Nine years old. 1/2 original price. $1600. Excellent condition. Contact D. Gibson at (360)692-7398 or dhgibson1@juno.com.

Either a TS570S(g) (2 years old) for $585, or a TS570D (5+yrs) for $500. I will keep the one not sold. Also Radio Shack HYA-20 2m amplifier for hand helds, $40. All excellent condition. Burt, W7IIT 692-9865.

Aug. 10th -- VE testing Olympic College, Room B-101, Lincoln Avenue, Bremerton, WA at 9:00 AM. All exams, Technician through Extra, are given. Contact Sue, AB7MD via email at

Note: This is the second weekend of the month. Exams will not be given on the third week at Olympic College,

Sept 11th – Presentation meeting at 7:30 PM - Viking Park Clubhouse – Amateur Radio and the American Red Cross – Horace Ory, K7ORY.

Sept. 21st -- VE testing Olympic College, Room B-101, Lincoln Avenue, Bremerton, WA at 9:00 AM. All exams, Technician through Extra, are given. Contact Sue, AB7MD, via email at susan.fgci@attbi.com or phone #360-697-9379.

Sept 25th – Business meeting – 7:30 PM – Viking Park Clubhouse – Hamfest needs and assignments to be discussed.

Steve, W7SG, proposed a vhf/uhf party during September to coincide with the annual vhf/uhf contest sponsored by the ARRL. Interested parties would meet at a designated site and operate on the “magic frequencies”. The group would travel to a site offering capability for communications in these bands. This could entail moving to a ridge line, mountain top, or a relatively high site with visibility to the horizon.

Steve had his equipment set up at the Field Day and showed the capabilities to carry on some interesting contacts on the bands that most people consider only capable of “local” communications. If you have suggestions for a site or would like to participate, contact Steve at : w7sg@arrl.net or Bob, N7KTP, at bobtomas@sprintmail.com

While some hams got into the radio hobby by building crystal radios, other hams never heard of a crystal radio, a galena or even a cat's whisker. A visit to The XTAL Set Society Web page will be nostalgic for the former and educational for the latter group.

The XTAL Set Society Web site is a place for folks who want to experience the pleasures of simple radio experimentation. The XTAL Set Society is dedicated to building and experimenting with radio electronics, often--but not always--using the crystal radio set. Their Web site has a wealth of information for anyone who wants to join the fun.

On-line, there are two crystal radio projects (the Quaker Oats box set and the cigar box set) that anyone can build with some simple tools, a handful of inexpensive parts and a little free time. The toughest part to find may be the high-impedance "earplug" headphone. The Web page is a source for earplug headphones and other parts for building advanced crystal radio sets.

The Crystal Radio FAQ and Science Fair Projects Tips hyperlinks are must reading for the crystal radio novice. If you build the Quaker Oats box crystal radio set, be sure to consult the Tips for additional information about building that set.

In addition to parts, the Web site sells books and back issues of The XTAL Set Society's magazine, as well as, Society memberships. Via the Web site, you can also access the crystal radio discussion groups where you can always find interesting chats on a variety of old time radio topics.

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. The Solid Waste Facility on Hansville Road accepts the batteries as past of the county-wide recycling program. Otherwise, bring them to the meeting., and they will be taken to the proper disposal site. Lead-acid batteries such as used in automobiles or tractors are excepted. They too are accepted at the Solid Waste Facility, but it is your responsibility to dispose of them.

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. Have something to sell? Classifieds is a new addition to the page. The QRZ call sign look-up form is available..

The web page master is Jeff Hasz, KS7H. Submit your comments to Page master, Jeff at

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

NKARC involvement with the Internet is becoming more extensive as time passes. The “Prez Sez” column for this month came to us via the Winlink HF email system. The system consists of key gateway stations that accept emails via the HF packet system and forward them to the addressees. Conversely, mail to the boat is addressed to n7em@winlink.org.

Connect to http://www.qsl.net/kd8mq/ihnl/ and you’ll find that Solid Copy is one of two Washington state amateur radio clubs newsletters linked on this address. INHL is a web page designed to bring together those newsletters in the US that are transmitted to their members electronically.

Want your newsletter as soon as it comes out of the word processor? Send your e-mail address to :

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.

In other 1938 news, the amateur population was stabilized at 50,000, after years of growth. This was partly due to the increase in the code speed, from 10 to 13 wpm in 1937. With regenerative receivers and crystal controlled transmitters (which meant that two stations having a QSO would probably be on two separate frequencies), many hams felt that 50,000 was the saturation point for our bands.

On October 4, 1938, the FCC issued complete new amateur regulations. Included in the package were two new ham bands at 112 and 224 mc. What could hams do up there? Try amateur television. An all electronic form of television was replacing the mechanical "spinning disc", and QST carried several articles discussing the theory and construction of an amateur TV station. W6XAO was an experimental TV station in LA, which would soon be followed by other TV pioneers such as W2XBS. (Where have I heard that call before?).

On September 2, 1938, the new Maxim Memorial Station, W1AW, was dedicated at 225 Main Street in Newington, Ct.. The Station was in memory of Hiram Percy Maxim, the Founder and first President of the ARRL, who died in February 1936. Less than one month after Maxim's death, floods roared through the Connecticut River valley, and destroyed W1MK, which had been the League's Station. Later in 1936, the ARRL Board of Directors allocated $18,000 to build a Memorial Station to honor W1AW, as well as to replace W1MK. The station would stand alone on Main St., in Newington, until joined in 1963 by the ARRL/QST Offices, which moved from West Hartford.

On September 13, 1938, Ross Hull, Editor of QST, died after being electrocuted in his home. He had been working on a homebrew TV receiver. Ross was a native of Australia and held the call 3JU while living "down under". He did not hold a U.S. license because his citizenship application was not finalized. Despite his lack of American Amateur privileges, Ross Hull was instrumental in early VHF/UHF developments. He designed practical and inexpensive 5 meter stations, and greatly contributed to the knowledge of VHF/UHF propagation. His death dramatically pointed out the dangers of working on live circuits and, for months thereafter, QST ran articles on how to "switch to safety".

No discussion of 1938 would be complete without including the Great Hurricane. In the fourth week of September, New England and Long Island, already soaked by previous rainstorms, were pounded by the unnamed Hurricane, which was completely unexpected. Over 600 people died, and damage was $500 million in 1938 dollars. The new W1AW Memorial Station, just 3 weeks old, survived without any damage, although power was lost for 36 hours. Hundreds of amateurs grabbed whatever generators and batteries they could find, and set up emergency stations on 5 meters AM, and 160, 80 and 40 cw. Amateurs were the only source of communication for dozens of communities and handled everything from health and welfare traffic to police communications. It was a superb demonstration of public service at its best.

World War II started on September 1, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland. By May, 1940, Germany had conquered much of Europe, and had her sights on Britain. Although the United States was officially neutral, it was obvious that our sympathies were with the Allies. In addition, it was clear to a few perceptive Americans that we would be drawn into the conflict.

Amateur Radio Operators, like most Americans, began to gear up for War. On June 4, 1940, the FCC issued Order #72, which prohibited amateurs from engaging in foreign communications, or from establishing contact with any or all points outside the continental U.S. and its possessions. The FCC was quite serious about this--they revoked the licenses of several hams who had contact with foreign stations. The "How's DX" column was jokingly referred to as "Where's DX"--so many foreign hams, including our neighbors in Canada, had been off the air since September, 1939.

Throughout 1940 and 1941, the face of amateur radio changed with the darkening war cloud. The War Department sent out a questionnaire to all hams to obtain data on equipment, experience, physical fitness, and availability for service. Columns devoted to the military began to appear, such as "Army-Amateur Radio System Activities", which included the schedule of station WAR on 4025 and 6990 Kc. Other columns were "Naval Communication Reserve Notes"; "In the Services", which listed amateurs now in military service; and "USA Calling", which published requests from the Navy, Marines, Army, Army Air Corps, Signal Corps, Merchant Marine, and even the FBI for amateurs proficient as radio operators, electronic specialists, electrical engineers and Communications Officers. In the summer of 1940, the British used the "USA Calling" column to issue an urgent appeal for radio servicemen and amateurs for their Civilian Technical Corps. Up to 25,000 Americans were requested by the British.

Solid Copy de KC7Z

Newsletter of the North Kitsap Amateur Radio Club

NKARC Classified