Special thanks to all who helped at the SOTA(Submarines On The Air) special event exercise. It was a success even if the band conditions weren't good. It was fun and those who came enjoyed the opportunity to participate. Even some of the visitors seemed to enjoy the event and several had questions about ham radio and especially about CW. Getting the antennas set up on the roof was quite a challenge, but it worked out better than last year's effort where the steel building made the new B&W antenna less effective. But, lessons were learned and now we can move on to field day where we can test our skills again. Hope to see you and others at the next meeting on the 11th of May.

73 Jerry Turner, K9CCZ.

Operations were started on Saturday morning with the indication that propagation was going to be a major problem. Very few stations were heard on 20 meters while the other bands had nothing. Ninety eight contacts were made during the two days of operation. For the number crunchers: 83 of the contacts were on 20 meters; 3 on 15 meters; 8 on 40 meters and 4 on 2 meter simplex. Guest operators came from as far as Lynwood and Port Orchard to participate in the event. Museum visitors stopped to look around and ask questions.

Lessons learned during this operation can be applied if the need arises during an emergency or on Field Day.. Improvisation was required when installing the antennas. We had to be careful not to cause any damage or changes to the building and still work safely. Placing the antennas to minimize the possibility of interference and still provide for the best transmission was an important consideration. Patience during poor operating conditions was an important lesson learned.

Thanks to the museum staff for their cooperation and consideration. They made sure that comfortable furniture was provided and even offered to have a pot of coffee available during the entire operation. Submarines On The Air –2005 was a success even though the propagation limited the number of contacts.

The area of most concern to the Amateur Radio Community is Broadband Over Power Lines (BPL) where electric utilities are conducting tests and experiments to transmit data information over the electric power lines. Some of the Congressional members are convinced that this is a fantastic opportunity to extend broadband data transmission capabilities to the masses. Many reports of results on monitoring BPL installations indicate that large RFI fields are generated disrupting HF communications. ARRL has taken a strong stand requesting the FCC to consider the ramifications of the interference generated by BPL in granting test licenses to the power utilities.

Presently, BPL is one of the greatest threats to amateur radio operating and is a controversial subject between ARRL, lawmakers and the FCC. A most knowledgeable person of BPL and its current status is ARRL Section Manager and NKARC member Ed Bruette, N7NVP. He has devoted much of his time to make presentations to the various clubs in Western Washington. He has agreed to make a presentation about ARRL and BPL at the May 2005 presentation meeting on May 11, 2005. This is a golden opportunity to here a detailed account on what is happening with BPL and what the amateur radio operator can do to protect the amateur radio spectrum from the expected extreme RFI from BPL. To paraphrase a familiar quotation, "Now is the time for all good amateur radio operators to come to the aid of their service." Come to the meeting and be informed.

Amateur Radio is noted for providing communications in emergency situations. When disaster strikes, it seems as if the amateur radio operators just turn on their equipment and work into a synchronized operation getting information to where it is needed. Most people do not realize that this apparent smooth operation is the result of integrating amateur radio into the services provided by many disaster and relief organizations.

The American Red Cross is a predominant organization providing disaster relief support. It recognized the importance of amateur radio and has established an arm within the organization to coordinate amateur radio communications during support activities. NKARC secretary Horace, K7ORY, is active as American Red Cross liaison and coordinator in Kitsap County. Horace will be the speaker at the June presentation meeting taking us through the American Red Cross communications network and how we participate in times of disaster relief. Now we can learn how our participation in emergency communications helps in disaster relief.

May. 11th -- Presentation meeting -- 7:30 PM– Viking Park Clubhouse – Broadband Over Power Lines – ARRL Stand On – Ed Bruette, N7NVP

May 21st -- 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 $14.00. Cash only – No checks accepted. Questions please call Horace, K7ORY at 360-779-2215.

May. 25th – Business Meeting – 7:30 PM – Viking Park Clubhouse

Jun. 8th – Presentation Meeting – 7:30 PM – Viking Park Clubhouse – Emergency Communications in the American Red Cross – Horace Ory, K7ORY

Jun. 18th -- 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 $14.00. Cash only – No checks accepted. Questions please call Horace, K7ORY at 360-779-2215

Jun. 22nd – Business Meeting -- 7:30 PM – Viking Park Clubhouse

Jun. 24th – ARRL Field Day – Field Day setup – Location to be announced – 1:00 PM

Jun. 25th to 26th– ARRL Field Day – Annual Event – Location to be announced – 8:00 AM

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 2005 Armed Forces Day military/amateur crossband communications test will take place May 14-15. The US Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard are co-sponsoring the annual event in celebration of the 55^th anniversary of Armed Forces Day, which is Saturday, May 21. The Armed Forces Day radio event is scheduled a week earlier to avoid conflicts with Dayton Hamvention, May 20-22.

The annual Armed Forces Day on-the-air celebration features the traditional military-to-amateur crossband communications SSB voice test and the Secretary of Defense message-receiving test. QSL cards will be provided to those making contact with the military stations.

Special commemorative certificates will be awarded to anyone who receives and copies the digital Armed Forces Day message from the Secretary of Defense.

Full details, including stations and frequencies, are on the ARRL Web site:

<http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/af-day/AF-Day-2005-SKED.pdf>.

The ARRL Letter - Vol. 24, No. 18 - May 6, 2005

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President Jerry tells us to prepare for the "swapfest". Keep sorting through those gadgets and help make the XYL happy. The club is responding to the request to assign one meeting as a gadget sell/exchange meeting. This is the chance to pick up those pieces needed but could not be afforded at market price. Remember—one man’s surplus ("garbage") is another man’s treasure

Right now, the meeting is scheduled for August 10th to coincide with the annual club picnic meeting. Will keep you posted if there is a change.

Need a generator to provide power in an emergency? Although the calendar says that winter officially ends on March 21^st, blustery storms can happen into April resulting in power outages.

It’s nice to have the capability to turn on the emergency generator and have the power to run the freezer and watch the storm reports. NKARC is offering for sale the 5 KW generator used to provide power during Field Day and special events. The generator has very few hours of operation on it and is very clean. The price for this piece is $300. Contact Jerry, K9CCZ, or any of the club officers

The following article was sent to me by Russ, KI7PG. I include it for those who are not on Russ' e-mail list. Don't know if Russ wants to be alerted when HOP-A-LONG is spotted.

A REWARD OF 500 MICROFARADS IS OFFERED FOR INFORMATION LEADING TO THE ARREST OF THIS DESPERATE CRIMINAL

HOP-A-LONG CAPACITY

THIS UNRECTIFIED CRIMINAL ESCAPED FROM A WESTERN PRIMARY CELL WHERE HE HAD BEEN CLAMPED IN IONS AWAITING THE GAUSS CHAMBER. HE WAS CHARGED WITH THE INDUCTION OF AN 18 TURN COIL NAMED MILLIHENRY WHO WAS FOUND CHOKED AND ROBBED OF VALUABLE JOULES. HE IS ARMED WITH A CARBON ROD AND IS A POTENTIAL KILLER. CAPACITY IS ALSO CHARGED WITH DRIVING DC MOTOR OVER A WHEATSTONE BRIDGE AND REFUSING TO LET THE BAND-PASS. IF ENCOUNTERED, HE MAY OFFER SERIES OF RESISTANCE. THE ELECTROMOTIVE FORCE SPENT THE NIGHT SEARCHING FOR HIM IN A MAGNETIC FIELD, WHERE HE HAD GONE TO EARTH. THEY HAD NO SUCCESS AND BELIEVED HE HAD RETURNED OHM VIA A SHORT CIRCUIT. HE WAS LAST SEEN RIDING A KILOCYCLE WITH HIS FRIEND EDDY CURRENT WHO WAS PLAYING A HARMONIC WHILE EATING WAFERS, CHIPS & DIPS.

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 can be sent in Word or .pdf format. Notify Bob of the format you desire.

It costs approximately 70 cents per copy to print a newsletter and postage to mail it. Receiving your newsletter electronically helps keep publishing costs down allowing the funds to be used for other club projects

In the Fall of 2004 the Washington State Amber Plan was instituted with the coordination and cooperation of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, Washington State Association of Broadcasters, Washington State Patrol, Washington Military Department, Washington Department of Transportation and the Washington State Department of Information Services.

Washington's Amber Alert system provides rapid dissemination of information not only between public safety agencies, but to the news media and community citizens who have signed up to receive alert information. Members of the Amateur Radio Service are invited to visit:

http://www.washingtonamberalert.com/

and sign up to receive Amber Alerts at their pager, cell phone or e-mail address. The process is very simple and only takes a few minutes to sign up. If anyone has questions are would like additional information please contact Monte Simpson at:
Monte.Simpson@wsp.wa.gov  or k2mls@arrl.net

Please give consideration to active participation in this program.

73, Ed, N7NVP

Help the environment by properly disposing of discharged household batteries. This includes alkaline, regular zinc carbide batteries, and batteries with heavy metals such as mercury, ni-cads and lithium ion. The Solid Waste Facility on Hansville Road accepts the batteries as part 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. There is no cost for the battery disposal because it is considered one of the items in the recycling program.

Just to inform you about the NKARC domain: http://www.nkarc.org and I hope many of you will take a look at what is there and give me your ideas as to what more you will want.

If you have any items advertised on the site and they have been sold, please let me know so I can remove them. The site is live and there will be lots of new and useful changes in the very near future.

If you have any questions you can email Bill,W7ARC at: webmaster@nkarc.org. 

Purpose: Kid's Day is intended to encourage young people (licensed or not) to enjoy Amateur Radio. It can give young people on-the-air experience so they might develop an interest in pursuing a license inthe future. It is intended to give hams a chance to share their station with children.

Date: Saturday, June 18, 2005.

Time: 1800 to 2400 UTC. No limit on operating time.

Suggested exchange: Name, age, location and favorite color. You are encouraged to work the same station again if an operator has changed. Call CQ Kid's Day.

Suggested frequencies: 28,350 to 28,400 kHz, 21,380 to 21,400, 14,270 to 14,300 kHz and 2 meter repeater frequencies with permission from your area repeater sponsor. Observe third party traffic restrictions when making DX QSOs.