The Prez Sez…

An interesting month for local hams! We had the April 18^th the regional earthquake drill, dxpeditions all over the place, and the NKARC Subs On The Air project.

The earthquake drill brought out at least 14 club members. Les, AB7Y, did a good job of directing traffic while members manned stations all the way from North Kitsap School District HQ in Poulsbo, various fire stations, to check-ins from the Port Orchard area. Pete Apgar, KB7TGF, manned the station at Harrison Hospital-Silverdale. This was your prez’s introduction to the county’s Alternate Communications System and I would suggest that more club members look into this very interesting public service activity. Practice makes perfect, to coin a phrase, and by running such tests, we can instill confidence in the area officials that we hams can pull our weight in an emergency.

(I hope I’m not telling secrets, but it was kinda fun too.)

Bob Tomas, N7KTP did yeoman’s duty in coordinating the Submarines On The Air (SOTA) organization. The club set up two stations at the Keyport Undersea Museum. There were about 20 other stations around the world operating from sub related facilities. Bob dragged the club’s comm. trailer to the site so we had access to all the toys therein, but the operation was a cushy version of the Field Day setup, with the warm and electrified facilities inside the museum. Ed Bruette, N7NVP brought his multiband folded dipole antenna and Bob Burback, WO7B, brought his magic telescoping mast to support the club’s triband beam.

Problem is that only about 5 percent of the club showed up to help set up, operate or tear down. Hey guys and dolls, this is fun stuff! At least drop by on such an event and see what’s going on.

My last harangue applies to field day, which is coming up very soon. You’ll see more about this elsewhere in this newsletter. If you have not participated in the set up or operation at Field Day, you are missing one of the best events in ham radio. Whether you hold a novice or antique license, be sure to check out Field Day. (June 22-23)

The club sandwich board roadside signs (intended to direct visitors and members to club events) have been painted now and by the time this paper is on the streets, we expect the lettering to be complete. I presented a prototype at the business meeting and proudly showed off how my clever reversible arrows could be used to direct traffic either left or right as the need dictated. All in attendance had the courtesy to keep quiet and not embarrass the Prez by mentioning that it would be much easier to simply turn the whole sign around. Thanx folks. 73, N7EM

73, N7EM

President Ron described the setup but he failed to mention that this was done with the rain coming down and the wind blowing.

Operations got off to a shaky start on Saturday morning when there were no responses to our CQ calls or KC7Z was "apparently" not heard responding to other stations. After about 2 hours of calling, contact was established with W1QWM operating from the USS Albacore. We were on the way to making over 100 contacts during the entire operation. This was in spite of poor propagation due to a massive solar eruption.

A special QSL card has been designed for the event. The museum has furnished an outstanding picture of the DSRV Trieste II to use on the card. The QSL carD requests are now coming in to Bob, N7KTP.

 As President Ron said, few came on aboard to help the US Navy celebrate the birthday of the "Silent Service". Thanks to those who participated. Special events are great practice for that emergency communications that will be required during the "BIG ONE." More events will be coming. PARTICPATE—

The significant amateur radio event of the year is rapidly coming upon us – Field Day 2002. The objective is to work as many stations as possible on any and all amateur bands (excluding the 30, 17, and 12-meter bands) and in doing so to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less than optimal conditions. A premium is placed on developing skills to meet the challenges of emergency preparedness as well as to acquaint the general public with the capabilities of Amateur Radio.

Field Day is always the fourth full weekend of June, beginning at 1800 UTC Saturday and ending at 2100 UTC Sunday. Field Day 2002 will be held June 22-23, 2002. NKARC will operate at Vinland Elementary School located off of Finn Hill Road north of Poulsbo. Setup will start on Friday afternoon, June 21. The club will operate 2 regular stations and a new designation of GOTA station on HF. VHF operations will be conducted if operators are available.

All club members (active and inactive) are invited to participated. Field Day Coordinator for this year is Jeff Hasz, KS7G. He is looking for volunteers to setup and for operators during the event. Step up and let him know you’re available. The coffee pot will be on. You don’t have to bring your own cup. If you are an experienced CW operator or if you know of one, let him know so that we can schedule for the operation. CW contacts are worth double points are valuable.

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.

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. Lead-acid batteries such as used in automobiles or tractors are excepted. 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.

We have experienced a great trauma when two airplanes filled with passengers were piloted into the World Trade Center marking the start of the War on Terrorism. This act of terrorism brought together the people of the world in a common cause to make the world safer for all. Moreover, it showed the world how the people of the United States band together to help and support those for whom tragedy has struck. Most significant are those who volunteer to participate in the gruesome job of Search and Rescue at the site of the tragedy.

On May 8^th, Tony Bennett, a Seattle firefighter and member of the Seattle Urban Search & Rescue Team has volunteered to give NKARC a presentation on the team's experience in NYC in support of the World Trade Center rescue operations. This is a most significant presentation because it brings to us a first-hand description of what exists at the site of the World Trade Center and the hardships the volunteers experienced in conducting their mission.

This is one presentation that should be attended not only by amateur radio operators but by all including family members.

Visit the NKARC Web Page at the URL

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

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

ks7h@attbi.com 

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

A cat must lay on the floor in a position that will provide the maximum obstruction to human foot traffic.

Long before the start of the space program, there has been the nagging question "Is there any other place in the universe that supports intelligent beings." During the April presentation meeting, Tom Sanders, W6QJI, provided information on a program called "Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence" (SETI). The program was initiated to search the universe using a vast array of antennas scanning the sky looking for any signals that would indicate that intelligent life did exist somewhere else in the cosmos. The program became so vast that help was solicited from the general public to do the listening and to process the information received from the scans. . Tom opened his presentation with a description of the philosophy and goals of the SETI program. He stressed that SETI is not looking for ET. (Hi-Hi) The structure of the galaxy we live in was described with pictures received from the Hubbel space telescope. He then went on to describe how a network of amateur radio operators and amateur astronomers has been developed to take the data from the antenna scans and process it for signals that would indicate the presence of other intelligence in the universe. The presentation also included information how anybody can set up a scanning system using surplus equipment available on the market.

Thanks, Tom for an interesting and informative evening.

The Kitsap County Alternate Communications System (ACS) was established to provide coordinated emergency communications when the need arises. The VHF net meets on Sunday nights on the 145.43 Mhz repeater at 1900 local. The HF net meets on 28.330 Mhz at 1900 local and packet meets at the same time on 145.01 Mhz. Check in on any or all of these nets and keep posted on what is happening in your county regarding emergency communications.

Calendar of Events:

May 8th – Presentation meeting at 7:30 PM - Viking Park Clubhouse – Tony Bennet, Seattle FD – Urban Search and Rescue at The World Trade Center in New York City.

May 18th -- 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

May 22nd – Business meeting – 7:30 PM – Viking Park Clubhouse

June 12th – Presentation meeting at 7:30 PM - Viking Park Clubhouse – To be announced

June 15th -- 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, at 360-697-9379. Contact Sue,AB7MD, at 360-697-9379

June 22nd – June 23rd – Field Day – 0800 – Vinland Elementary School

June 26th – Business meeting – 7:30 PM – Viking Park Clubhouse –

During the informal annual industry meeting of Amateur Radio manufacturers held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and hosted by AES during Superfest 2002, the industry decided to create a formalized and official industry group for dealers and manufacturers.

The American Association of Radio Enthusiasts (AARE) was formed as a non-profit corporation for the promotion of amateur radio and emergency communications into areas outside of amateur radio and To provide a conduit for dealers and manufacturers to exchange ideas, to work together on projects, to help ham radio grow and to double the number of hams in 5 years.

Members of this group will be the manufacturers and dealers of radio and emergency products. The group will be `the voice' of the manufacturers and dealers in radio, much like the American Radio Relay League is the voice of each ham radio operator. (AARE)

In the end, although the FCC dropped the "dual ladder" idea, they did incorporate many of the ARRL's ideas into future rule changes. Technicians were mainstreamed into the amateur license structure, Novices received expanded privileges, to eventually include hf & vhf phone, and the FCC, after years of restrictive proposals, finally chose the path of gradual deregulation.

But the "dual ladder" story was not the only event of 1975. When amateurs weren't arguing over the evils of the "Communicator" Class, they were blasting the idea of Class E CB. What was it? In summary, the Electronic Industry Association, or EIA, proposed taking away up to 2 Mhz of our 220 band, and turning it over to a new CB service. With 25 khz spacing between channels, the new EIA Class E CB could have as many as 80 channels. The EIA claimed that the 23 channel CB Band at 27 Mhz was impossibly crowded, and worthless for local communication among legitimate users. Remember, this was at the time of the gas crisis and the "CB Boom". The EIA argued that a skip free area was needed for CB, and that the 220 band was underutilized by hams. The EIA's proposals, in fact were quite stringent and, had it not been for their unfortunate choice of frequencies, they may have received the support of the ARRL.

But, the EIA was trying to mix matter and anti-matter--in this case, amateur frequencies and CB. This had happened once before, in 1958, when Class D CB was created out of "our" 11 meter band. "Never Again" was the cry from hams. The explosion of protest from the amateur community was palatable. Amateurs pointed out that CB wouldn't be such a mess if everyone obeyed the Part 95 rules, and the FCC took some enforcement action. The ARRL stated that CB'ers themselves were opposed to 220 Mhz CB—which was only partly true. The only CB operators surveyed were those who read hobby type magazines, such as S-9. They were opposed to anything that would take them away from the skip and dx zone into a tightly regulated land of local communications. Lost in the emotional shuffle was the logical point that CB did not belong in the HF spectrum.

In the end, with the strong opposition of the ARRL, and the indifferent support of cb'ers who really wanted to stay on HF, the FCC dropped the idea. Instead, in late 1976, the FCC expanded the CB band from 23 to 40 channels, and prohibited the sale of the older 23 channel units. This created a mini bonanza for hams, who snapped up the "obsolete" 23 channel units at fire sale prices, and converted them to 10 meters.

As a postscript, amateurs did lose 2 MHz of our 220 band in the early 90's. These frequencies are now in a no man's land, unused. Which is better--to lose 2 MHz to a service that hams and their families could use productively, or to lose it to something that is inaccessible--and doesn't even exist yet?

In May of 1970, with the Vietnam War in full swing, the United States invaded Cambodia for the purpose of rooting out the Communists using that country as a base of operations. This led to protests at College campuses across the nation, and the deaths of four students at Kent State University in Ohio. At this point, the demonstrations exploded on virtually every major campus nationwide.

One problem facing the leaders of these protests was how to exchange news and information with their collegiate brothers and sisters on other campuses. The internet was in it's embryonic stage, and available to only the military and a few select universities; network news and wire services were not to be trusted (after all, they were run by people over the age of 30); the mail was too slow, and in a shambles after the recent postal strike; and long distance telephone calls were too expensive for students surviving on part time jobs and Care Packages from their parents. Thus, they turned to an institution that was prevalent at that time on almost every college campus--Amateur Radio. The Student Information Net was born.

The net appeared on 7260 kHz and 14.294 MHz in the 40 and 20 meter bands. Net Controls included K1WGM, at Brandeis University in Waltham, MA, and W2UC, at Union College in Schenectady, NY. At first, the net was used solely for the purpose of gathering and exchanging information as to what was happening on the various campuses nationwide. The net was so good at this, as a matter of fact, that they began to feed news to the wire services and the major networks.

However, the net soon expanded in scope, and that's where the trouble began. Dialog was encouraged among the various participants on the merits of the war, and what type of protests should be used. News bulletins were passed as traffic, to be rebroadcast on the college radio stations. Funds were solicited for the continuation of the student strike activities. Traffic was passed encouraging students to send their draft cards to Washington D.C. for a massive bonfire. A boycott of Coca Cola was discussed, as well as a demonstration to be held at Fort Dix on May 16. W2UC and W3EAX exchanged information on the demonstration at the University of Maryland and the attempt to block U.S. Route 1. W2UC claimed that they were forwarding all information received to a "clearing center", the location of which was not specified.

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Copyright 1998 by Bill Continelli, W2XOY. All rights reserved