When I left our last presentation meeting, I felt a profound sense of pride for being a "ham." The video presentation brought back many fond memories of the services we perform, and the pleasures derived in serving. The discussion following was also interesting, and I wish more could have attended to share their thoughts and experiences of Amateur Radio.

The MS Walk and the SOTA events were well attended by our members, and the service performed was outstanding and fun. Our image to the participants was heightened and words of praise were received from many sources. I mentioned this to one of our members, and he said he didn’t know about it. Guess he never reads our "Newsletter."

Also talked to a new ham at the Museum who had received his TECH ticket, but never went any further to operate. He requested an "Elmer" to help him get more advanced in the hobby. There must be more like him waiting to be helped. I guess my head hung in shame, as I benefited years ago with help from many persons, and without them, I probably wouldn’t still be active in the hobby. As I mentioned in the last "Prez Sez", we need to reevaluate our hobby and do more to advance it in the public image. That’s where you come in, and hopefully will respond and be more active in the Club. Come and bring a friend.

It is said that there are 1300 licensed hams in Kitsap County, and I’m sure a third of them are in Central and North Kitsap. Wonder why we can’t get more than a dozen at a meeting? My friend said her "Quilting Guild" draws two hundred at a meeting. Something to think about right?

Tnx to all who helped set up/take down and operate at the SOTA, and those who participated in the MS walk. 73.

P.S. A hundred and forty five contacts were made at the SOTA event. Cheers!

Jerome "Jerry" Turner, K9CCZ.

SUBMARINES ON THE AIR:

The Submarines On The Air event was a success this year despite the poor propagation experienced on most of the Ham bands. The club trailer was towed to the Naval Undersea Museum in Keyport on Friday afternoon, April 23^rd. Those present got to work and installed the new B & W folded dipole recently purchased by the club. The vertical antenna was installed on the club trailer to give it the "Ham club" look.

Russ, KI7PG, brought his ICOM rig on Saturday morning and contacts were started on the 20 meter band. The 10, 15, 17, 40 and 80 meter bands were tested during the event, with a small number of contacts made on each. Twenty meters was the band of opportunity. On Saturday, Russ (KI7PG), Tom (W6QJI), and Jerry (K9CCZ) fired up a rig in the club trailer and worked some CW stations on the 15 meter band. Operations were shut down when the museum closed at 1600 resuming again on Sunday morning.

Saturday was also designated as E-Day (Ecology Day) which brought a significant number of visitors to the museum giving them a look at Amateur Radio.

Sunday’s operations were conducted using the NKARC Cart Station which was wheeled into the museum and put on the air for operations. The event proved that NKARC is capable of setting up for emergency communications with the club trailer if needed.

In summation, one hundred forty five contacts were made during the event with one station operating continuously and the second operating CW for one hour on Saturday afternoon. Contacts were made with stations in thirty seven states and Canada. Five of the contacts were with submarine museums. Two of the museum contacts were with Russian museums on display in the United States—one in Washington and the other in Rhode Island.

Thanks to those who participated in the event and to the Naval Undersea Museum for allowing NKARC to use the museum as the operating base. Next year will provide another opportunity for SOTA 2005. Let’s plan to be there.

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W7GIP – Silent Key

Last month, it was reported that Joe Swank, W7GIP, became a Silent Key on March 30^th, 2004. The editor suffered from finger dyslexia and published Joe’s call as W7PIG and not referred back to his notes. Apologies to Joe’s family for the mistake. Thanks to all who took the time to notify me of my mistake.

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Lighthouse Ops:

The Association of Lighthouse Keepers was formed in 1988 by a group of serving and retired keepers, with the aim of maintaining contact between its members and enthusiasts throughout the world who share an interest in lighthouses and other coastal and inland aids to navigation. Their aims are to forge links with other lighthouse associations, to act as an information exchange, to expand the growing archive on lighthouse-related material, and to establish a museum/study center to promote the growing interest in pharology. The Association is sponsoring International Lighthouse Day on August 22^nd. On this day, amateur radio operators are encouraged to set up and operate from lighthouses all over the world.

NKARC is applying to the Kitsap County Department of Parks and Facilities for permission to operate at the Point No Point lighthouse in Hansville during the Lighthouse Day. Plans are to have the club trailer on site to operate from 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM. Mark you calendars to come and have some fun working other lighthouses that will be on the air on that day..

Many of us know the newly licensed Ham who is overwhelmed with what is available and would appreciate some help to get started. I stumbled on an interesting book on the subject of new hams. It is written by a local ham (Seattle) N0AX.

Go to http://WWW.QRZ.COM  and click on "Ham Radio for Dummies" – Released April 12 2004 by n0ax. Every new ham has the "What do I do now?" feeling after passing the exam. Similarly, how can a prospective ham find out about the great things ham radio has to offer and how to participate? Addressing these issues is why I wrote "Ham Radio for Dummies."....

Check it out.

You can get a copy at Barnes&Nobel

Norm N7SI

Visit the NKARC Web Page at the URL

http://nkarc.home.donobi.net

and get the latest copy of the club newsletter -- "SOLID COPY. Click on the handi-talkie graphic and get a list of links to other web pages to connect including 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.

Submit your comments to Page master, Jeff at ks7h@jhasz.com and let him know what you think. If you know of any interesting links, let him know and he will look into it.

http://www.goldtesters.com/watch05.html.

One of the most challenging phases of amateur radio is communications on the VHF/UHF frequencies – 50 MHz and above. As the frequency increases, the radiation characteristics approach the same physical characteristics as visible light. Most are familiar with the fact that communications at these frequencies do not follow the same characteristics as HF where the radio wave bouces off the ionosphere and is reflected back to earth at long distances giving us the thrill of the DX contact. On the 6-meter band and above, the communications becomes more line of sight or reflections using the terrain or even the moon.

Looking for a "low" capacity hard drive – from 2 to 20 gigabytes. If you upgrade with a new hard drive, it can have a new home in a computer that will be used in the shack for digital communications. Will also consider drives of a little larger capacity.. Call Bob Tomas at 360-638-1659 or e-mail at bobtomas@sprinmail.com

NKARC Sick Call

The sick call news this month is good news. Word was received that Jack Thorton, N7OYR, is improving from the cancer reported previously. There are no signs of the tumor in his chest but he still has a hard time swallowing because of radiation treatments. His voice has improved and he is now able to talk more. He has left the recovery center and is convalescing at home. If you want to talk to Jack, you can reach him on his cell phone at 271-5663.

May. 12th -- Presentation meeting at 7:30 PM– Viking Park Clubhouse -- Ultimate Mobile VHF and UHF Communications. – Eric Smith, KB7DQH

May. 15th -- VE testing Community Room, Poulsbo Library, 700 NE Lincoln St., Poulsbo. Doors open at 9am. Picture ID, original and photocopy of current amateur radio license and pending CSCE's needed. Cost of session is $12.00. Questions please call Susan, AB7MD at 360-697-9379.

May. 26th – Business Meeting – 7:30 PM – Viking Park Clubhouse

Jun. 9th – Presentation Meeting – To be announced – 7:30 PM – Viking Park Clubhouse.

Jun. 19th – VE testing Community Room, Poulsbo Library, 700 NE Lincoln St., Poulsbo. Doors open at 9am. Picture ID, original and photocopy of current amateur radio license and pending CSCE's needed. Cost of session is $12.00. Questions please call Susan, AB7MD at 360-697-9379.

Jun. 23rd – Business Meeting – 7:30 PM – Viking Park Clubhouse. Field Day Discussions

Jun. 25th – Field Day Setup – Vinland Elementary School – 1:00 PM

Jun. 26th –27th – Field Day – Vinland Elementary School

Change Address or Call Sign?

Please notify the club secretary to update the roster if you changed your address, call sign or e-mail address. Include your phone number so that you can be contacted in case of emergency or for assistance. This will insure that you will get the latest news via the club newsletter. Either notify Horace at the meeting or drop a card to NKARC at PO Box 2268, Silverdale, WA 98383-2268. You can also send the changes via e-mail to Horace or Bob Tomas at the addresses listed in the club officers list on the mailing page.

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.

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 publishing costs down allowing the funds to be used for other club projects

Notify Bob if you need to receive your electronic copy in an ASCII or pdf format.

Want to upgrade to a General license but need help in learning the code? The club has code practice tapes available that will be available at the May 12th meeting for anyone wanting to borrow.

Help the environment by properly disposing of discharged household batteries. This includes alkaline, regular zinc carbide batteries, and batteries with heavy metals such as ni-cads and lithium ion. The Solid Waste Facility on Hansville Road accepts the batteries as past of the county-wide recycling program. Otherwise, bring them to the meeting for transfer to the disposal site.

Do not bring lead-acid batteries to the meeting for disposal. It is your responsibility to take them to the Solid Waste Facility.

Please come join us at the AMERICAN MUSEUM OF RADIO AND ELECTRICITY Saturday and Sunday July 17th and 18th for a radio equipment flea market. Find treasures and duplicate items from 30 years of collecting: parts, vacuum tubes, radios, gizmos and devices. Some old rare pieces will be available, too. Donations welcome!

MUSEUM OF RADIO AND ELECTRICITY

1312 Bay Street, Bellingham, WA 98225

360.738.3886

www.americanradiomuseum.org

This is a golden opportunity for those interested in vintage radio. The museum has collected many pieces of radio and electronic equipment no longer available in most markets. There may even be a crystal radio available. Remember when radio signals could be heard without a battery?