We visited the American Museum of Radio (in downtown Bellingham, WA,) last month to pick up an old crystal set on loan to the club for display in our Poulsbo public library exhibit. This museum has a most impressive, and well-displayed collection. XYL Nancy sez…"I sure would hate to have to be the one to dust all this stuff!"

While there is limited emphasis on ham radio, radio in general is thoroughly covered. For example, there is a complete replica of the Titanic’s radio room using actual identical gear from a sister ship. Some of the cabinetry from the older radios shows beautiful craftsmanship, as these items often were major furniture pieces in the living rooms of the day. One of my favorites was a broadcast receiver from 1928 that was the size of a spinet piano! The sound from it was quite good. Most of the items in the museum have been restored to original working condition.

One of the co-founders of the project was a collector of antique scientific gear, and has acquired many beautiful examples of vintage hand crafted instruments. Also displayed in this section were some old "scientific rejuvenation" machines, which promised all sorts of health benefits from various radio waves and Tesla coil emanations.

Enthusiastic volunteers will offer to guide you around this not-for-profit venture. You can check out the museum’s excellent website at

Maybe we could make a club day trip up there - with a stop at the Stanwood Club hamfest?

Be sure to read the article in this issue about the new club jackets.

73, N7EM

More input requested, please. The club display in the entrance of the Poulsbo library is in place. The space available is larger than our current display. As a result, the exhibit seems a bit sparse.

If we could fill in some of the blank area, we might have a better show. So please take a look at this and let me know what you think could be added or changed. Most of the material is on file in my computer and can easily be modified or added to without to much effort or change in style.

We will have a better chance of doing the exhibit another year if we can make it look good. Thanks.

N7EM

Our yellow NKARC jackets should be available by the May 28th business meeting. These will closely resemble the jacket Russ Swank, KI7PG wears faithfully to each club activity. We have ordered 25 of these in various sizes, from S to XXXL. The club is subsidizing each jacket to the tune of $10 and is paying for the silkscreen artwork. This will price them at $21, (XXL, add $3.00; XXXL, $4.00) to us.

Now here is the tricky part: Once you have chosen a jacket that fits, the supplier (Tuna Graphics here in Poulsbo) will take the jackets back and add our calls or names in the left pocket area, for $3 each in silk screening. They will embroider calls or names for $4.50 each. This means you should arrange to try on a jacket for size, preferably at the May biz meeting so that we can do the personalization work all at once.

The quantity we ordered gave us the best price break being offered by Tuna. When these jackets are sold out we can order more, but the minimum order quantity is six, and the price will be about 30 to 40% higher for the small numbers that we would likely be ordering later. So step right up folks and be quick about it!

N7EM

To celebrate the birthday of the US Navy Submarine Force, North Kitsap Amateur Radio Club ran a special event on April 26th and 27^th at the Naval Undersea Museum at Keyport. Two HF stations were on the air during the public hours of the museum -- 0800 to 1600 local. Setup was done on Friday, April 25, starting at 1200. The weather was sunny and calm –- not the rainy and blustery weather the club has experienced when setting up for special events or Field Day. A vertical antenna was mounted on the roof and an all-band dipole provided by Ed Bruette, N7NVP, was strung from the roof across the front of the museum. Warren Norman, N7SI, brought his Kenwood 2000 with all its bells and whistles.

Propagation conditions on Saturday morning led us to think that not many contacts Would be made. The 10 and 15 meter bands were virtually dead while signal conditions on 20 meters were very weak. By mid morning, however, there was a steady stream of contacts. Not much improvement on Sunday but some contacts were made. A total of 133 contacts were made in the 16 hours of operation.

Thanks to the club members and those from ARES and the Burley Amateur Radio Club that participated in the setup, operation and tear down of the stations. A good time was had by all and the experience gained in "emergency" communications operations is invaluable.

Bob, N7KTP

Ron opened the presentation by holding up a chart of the 1500 mile stretch of water from Seattle to Alaska. This was followed by a slide show presentation of scenes at various stops they made on their trip which included pictures of marine life, landscapes, towns, and animal life not normally seen by most tourists. A most memorable picture is one Nancy shot of a bear looking as if it purposely posed and looked "right into the camera." It was taken while she was in a kayak closer than would be expected to the bear.

Nancy is an excellent photographer and the quality of the pictures with the comments by her and Ron made the "trip" up North enjoyable and one to be remembered. Thanks to both for sharing their experiences with us landlubbers.

The significant amateur radio event of the year is rapidly coming upon us – Field Day 2003. 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 2003 will be held June 28-29, 2003. NKARC will operate at Vinland Elementary School located off of Finn Hill Road north of Poulsbo. Setup will start on Friday afternoon, June 27. 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.

Visit the NKARC Web Page at the URL

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.

May. 14th -- Presentation meeting at 7:30 PM– Viking Park Clubhouse – PSK-31 – Keyboard to Keyboard on HF using low bandwidth – Jaff Hasz, KS7H.

May. 17th -- VE testing Olympic College, Room B200 of Olympic College in Bremerton. Doors open at 9am. Picture ID, original and photocopy of current amateur radio license and pending CSCE's needed. Cost of session is $12.50. Questions please call Susan, AB7MD at 360-697-9379.

May. 28th – Business meeting at 7:30 PM - Viking Park Clubhouse

Jun 11th -- Presentation meeting at 7:30 PM– Viking Park Clubhouse – Field Day Discussions and Preparations

Jun 21st -- VE testing Olympic College, Room B200 of Olympic College in Bremerton. Doors open at 9am. Picture ID, original and photocopy of current amateur radio license and pending CSCE's needed. Cost of session is $12.50. Questions please call Susan, AB7MD at 360-697-9379.

Jun 25th – Business meeting at 7:30 PM - Viking Park Clubhouse

Jun 27th -- Field Day setup – Vinland Elementary School, Poulsbo 1200 local

Jun 28^th to 29^th -- Field Day – Vinland Elementary School Poulsbo

Oct 11^th – Hamfest – Kitsap Pavilion – 0900 local

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.

It costs approximately 60 cents per copy to print a newsletter and the postage to mail it. Receiving your newsletter electronically helps keep newsletter publishing costs down allowing the funds to be user for club projects.

At our last business meeting, the members authorized the purchase of a B & W Broadband Folded Dipole. In the past we had been borrowing Ed Bruette’s copy of this antenna for special event operations.

Ed suggested that we might want to purchase the stainless steel version of the antenna. Do any of the readers know how easy it is to handle the stainless model? Is it too springy to roll up and unroll? The basic unit costs $230 in copperweld wire, and the stainless version costs $375.

Please let us hear your input on the matter.

Help the environment by properly disposing of discharged household batteries. 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 disposal site. Lead-acid batteries are excepted. They too are accepted at the Solid Waste Facility, but it is your responsibility to dispose of them.

June 13, 14, 15 will see Seaside, Oregon alive with hams from all over the Northwest and beyond. It is time for the Northwestern Division Convention on the Oregon coast.

I'll be manning the ARRL table in the front lobby along with Jim Fenstermaker, K9JF our Vice Director. I'm sure that Kay Craigie, N3KN ARRL Vice President will also be there too. Stop by and talk. We'll also have an ARRL Forum and lots of other good forums as well.

Come look at the exhibits of new gear from the big time manufacturers and retail outlets. Be sure to come to the annual banquet Saturday night...featuring Vice President Kay Craigie, N3KN and a great Banquet Master of Ceremonies (me, Greg W7OZ). Really, I don't really think I'm so great but I will have a bunch of new jokes to tell.

All in all we'll have a good time and probably learn some good stuff too.

Greg Milnes, W7OZ

Northwestern Division Director

Web master Jeff has instituted a separate classified ads page on the NKARC Web Page. Any ad placed in Solid Copy is given a spot on this page with the advantage that photos can be included to provide a visual image of the material being offered. He has a digital camera available that can be provided to a club member to take the picture. This increases the potential of the ad and can lead to quicker sales. Have something to sell? Notify me (Bob, N7KTP) or Jeff and we’ll help you get it listed.

MODEL V-7A with RF Probe 300-C

The model V-7A VTVM was the first kit offered by Heathkit to use a printed circuit board in its design. The design is simple yet rugged with complete versatility in combining functions of many instruments in one. The included documentation provides detailed descriptions, both text and illustrations, generous shop drawings, sub-assembly illustrations schematics and parts lists.. The high input resistance of the VTVM enables much more accurate readings in high impedance circuits such as resistance coupled amplifiers, oscillator circuits and AGC. All of the original documentation is intact, including the The RF Test Probe, 309-C, (flat from 1Khz to 100Mhz) is included..

The Audio VTVM, model AV-3 is a stable meter designed to measure AC voltages over a wide range of frequencies. The sensitivity is 10 millivolts full scale on the lowest range. Good frequency response is obtained on all ranges without compensation. The instrument has ten switch selected voltage ranges from 0.01 volt to 300 volts RMS full scale; and twelve switch selected ranges from -40 to +50 db. Input impedance is 1 megohm at 1 Khz. The original Heathkit user’s manual provides detailed circuit descriptions, parts lists, schematic, also pictorial and photographic illustrations of assembly and sub-assemblies. The original test leads are included.

The SG-8 Signal Generator furnishes a source of radio frequency or modulated radio frequency by means of signal generator fundamental frequencies between 160 KHz and 100 MHz and useful harmonics of the signal generator may be used to over 200 MHz. It was especially useful for quickly isolating trouble spots in radio receivers using signal tracing techniques. Antique radio buffs will find the SG-8 highly useful in restoration of any vintage radios. The complete, original users manual includes circuit diagrams, pictorials of assemblies and sub-assemblies, parts lists and useful hints for applications of the SG-8 to actual vintage radio troubleshooting.

The AG-8 Audio Generator provides stable sine wave output of up to 10 volts +/- 1 db from 20 Hz to 400Khz. The output control on the front panel is linear and calibrated. Separate calibration of the highest range is provided to ensure superior performance even above 100Khz. The original document provides circuit diagrams, pictorials, parts lists, assembly sequences, specifications and calibration procedures and reference literature sources. The two original sets of test leads are shown in the photo and are included.

Q-METER - MODEL QM-1

The QM-1 enables the technician to simulate conditions actually encountered in practical circuits, and measure the performance of the coil or capacitor by itself. Such measurements are made at the operating frequency actually encountered in the practical circuits The original user’s manual provides simple instructions for applying the QM-1 to the design and testing of L-C circuits and components, including the distributed capacitance of coils and inductances. The manual also includes circuit schematics, wiring diagrams, assembly and sub-assembly pictorials, parts lists and instrument performance. The original kit-provided standard inductance coil, used for calibration.

For sale: Vintage Lafayette Amateur Communications Receiver (Model HA-350) covering the 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meter bands. This 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

See the NKARC Web Page for photo and more detailed information.

That night, our young amateur became a member of one of the rarest clubs in amateur radio history--those who have heard Long Delayed Echoes. Like Flying Saucers, Long Delayed Echoes are a matter of debate. Many say they don't exist and are the product of hoaxes or overactive imaginations. Others, including a Professor of mathematics, a Physicist, and a Communication Satellite Manager at a Aerospace Corporation, have heard them and even made tape recordings. Let's take a look at the history of Long Delayed Echoes, or LDEs for short.

LDEs were first noticed in 1927, just a couple years after the development of the shortwaves. Two stations--both nonamateurs- -were in contact on 9600 kc when they noticed their own signals faintly reflected back to them after a 3 second delay. Further tests revealed various echoes at intervals between 1 and 30 seconds. Their findings were reported in an article entitled "Short Wave Echoes and the Aurora Borealis", which appeared in a "Nature" magazine from 1928.

The first QST article on LDEs appeared in August, 1934. However, followup reports were sporadic and infrequent. Then, in 1948, the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University undertook a year long study of Long Delayed Echoes. They transmitted 27,000 test signals on 13.4 and 20.6 mc. The result? Not one LDE was recorded. For many in the scientific world, the issue was now settled.

Like Flying Saucers, however, LDEs refused to die. Throughout the 1940's, 50's and 60's, dozens of amateurs heard them. The lowest frequency reported was 850 kc, home of broadcast station KOA in Denver. The highest was on the 2 meter band. LDEs appeared on all popular modes in use--AM, CW and SSB. Most reports were from the shortwave bands between 3.5 and 28 mc. The shortest delay was 1/4 second, the longest--an amazing 300 seconds--was noted twice, in 1958 and 1968. Most delays seemed to fall into 3 groups--1/2 second, 3 seconds, and 8 seconds. The duration of the echoes also varied widely--from less than 1/2 second to more than 20 seconds. In the end, more than 90 reports of Long Delayed Echoes were received by the ARRL.

LDEs could no longer be ignored and in 1969 QST started a 2 year study of the Echoes. Many possible solutions were proposed:

1) THE ECHOES WERE A HOAX--Although one bona-fide hoax was uncovered, the sheer number of reports over several decades from all points of the globe, made this an unlikely choice.

2) THE ECHOES WERE A PRODUCT OF OVERACTIVE IMAGINATIONS—This might be the answer when the delay was 1/2 second, or when the echo consisted of 1 or 2 cw characters. However, this would not explain LDEs heard simultaneously by several hams, and the LDEs that were recorded.

3) THE ECHOES INVOLVED MULTIPLE PASSES OF THE SIGNAL AROUND THE EARTH. Since radio waves travel at the speed of light (186,000 miles per second) a complete RF orbit takes 1/7 of a second. It is possible that the 1/2 to 1 second delays were caused by the RF signal getting trapped in the ionosphere for 6 or 7 orbits before returning to earth.

4) THE ECHOES ARE THE RESULT OF MOONBOUNCE. This may explain the LDEs with a 2 1/2 to 3 second delay. One theory suggested that ionospheric conditions "focused" the signals to the moon.

5) THE ECHOES WERE THE RESULT OF A COSMIC REPEATER. Yes this really was proposed. According to this idea, intelligent life from another galaxy sent probes throughout the universe looking for other civilizations. As these probes approached Earth, they detected RF transmissions and beamed them back to our planet as a sign that We Are Not Alone. Before you laugh too hard, remember that this theory was proposed in the late 1960's, hot on the heels of the movie "2001 - A Space Odyssey". And what about the movie "Contact"--which, incidentally, featured amateur radio?

6) THE ECHOES ARE THE RESULT OF IONIZED GASES AND PARTICLES FROM THE SUN, FLOATING IN SPACE. This theory could explain the 8 second delays. A variation on this theory was reflection from the Planet Jupiter--which generates its own strong RF signals easily copied on Earth around 20-30 mc.

So, what was the answer? Well, there was never a definitive conclusion. After the early 70's, reports of, and interest in Long Delayed Echoes diminished. Today, they are just a question mark in amateur radio history. After all, I've I've NEVER NEVER heard heard LDEs have you?

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Copyright 1999, 2001 by William Continelli, W2XOY. All rights reserved.