The Monitor

Congratulations to Glenn on receiving the award this year.
Glenn is an active member who we see most meetings and participates in our club discussions with his valuable experience and opinions. He is to be commended also for his work with the students at the W. Ross Macdonald School and he participates in most club activities. He most recently chaired the HamFest committee and ensured that it was a success again this year.
Way to go Glenn!

Our club has been busy lately and our itinerary is getting filled up quickly.
Recently we had a talk by Mike VE3BSE who spoke on the physical layout of radar and how it operated.
Bob VE3PWF spoke the following week about a choke checker he built and members were given a handout of the schematic.
Last week was a primer on the club’s emergency preparedness capability and members were given a little questionnaire to fill out regarding the type of equipment each one owns. This information will be put into a database (once completed) and will be made available only to those individuals who are the first contacts during an emergency. If you haven’t filled out a questionnaire yet, make sure you get one and complete it as soon as possible. I think there will be more meetings on emergency response and preparedness in the coming months.

In future meetings we have Mike VE3BSE giving a talk November 20th on construction techniques. November 27th is an IRLP presentation by visitor Paul Cassel VE3SY. Al Stansbury VE3MWX will be with us December 4th to speak on antennas, so come out and support these speakers. The clubs annual Christmas party is scheduled for December 18th and details will be confirmed shortly.

CQ Communications Inc. is asking all participants in CQ-sponsored Amateur Radio contests to submit their logs electronically. All logs for the CQ World Wide DX Contest, the CQ WPX Contest, the CQ World Wide 160-Meter Contest, the CQ World Wide VHF Contest and the CQ/RTTY Journal RTTY contests should be submitted via e-mail as per instructions in the
rules for each contest.

Logs received through the mail at the CQ offices will be held unopened until all potential health risks have been evaluated. They
cannot guarantee that these logs will ever be opened.Logs come from all over the world. And while the risk that Amateurs might be involved in any sort of terrorist activity is very small, mail en route may be subject to tampering. CQ cannot ask their staff members or contest committee volunteers to possibly expose themselves to dangerous packages sent through the mail when there is an alternative.

Next winter there will be a new Amateur Radio satellite launched during a cargo mission to ISS. The new satellite called Kolibir-2000, will be taken into space by a Russian Progress cargo rocket (launch approximately November 26, 2001). The
Kolibri-2000 will then stay in space attached to a remote launching port on the Progress rocket until approximately February 2002. The Kolibiri will then be remotely launched into space from the Progress rocket and fee-fall back to earth over the next 2-4 months. During the Kolibri's free-fall, it will send back telemetry and digital voice recordings. One of the downlink frequencies will be 145.825. This satellite is not a transponder so the public will only be able to listen to the voice recording and telemetry.

David Clark, KB6TAM, who is 77, is attempting to become the oldest person to sail solo around the globe. He plans to arrive back in Ft Lauderdale, Florida, on December 7. Clark has been using Amateur Radio aboard his vessel to keep in touch with his family and friends.

Accompanied by his dog, Mickey, Clark departed South Florida in December 1999 in the 44-foot steel-hulled sloop, the Mollie Milar--named for his mother. Mickey was lost and Clark himself nearly died after the vessel sank last February off the coast of South Africa. Not one to give up that easily, Clark was able to purchase another sailboat—a smaller one that he named Mickey--and resumed his quest in April. He's been sitting out the Atlantic hurricane season in Trinidad, where he arrived in July. While in Trinidad, Clark rested, restarted his book about the journey and subsidized his expenses by taking on clarinet gigs. Clark had completed about 40 percent of his book before his boat went down last winter, taking the original manuscript with it.

Clark is expected to be checking in on the 20-meter Seafarer's Net on 14.313 MHz.

The theme of the 2002 Dayton Hamvention will be emergency communications and preparedness, the Hamvention Committee announced recently in a letter to vendors and exhibitors. Hamvention said it's expecting "record attendance" at its 51st event, May 17-19, 2002, at Dayton's Hara Arena. The annual event typically draws upwards of 30,000 amateurs.

The Hamvention Committee said that it anticipates new Amateur Radio-related exhibitors as a result of its theme choice and would "limit the number of computer exhibitors at the show to only those who are related to Amateur Radio." According to the Hamvention Web site, there are some 550 indoor exhibit spaces, and exhibitors are "limited to Amateur Radio, electronic, and related items only."

On its Web site, Hamvention continues to spike the rumor that the venerable Hara Arena had been sold and would be razed, and that Hamvention would be moving to a new location next year. The committee emphasizes that Hamvention still has a contract to hold the event at Hara through 2003 and will be back at Hara next spring "just like always."

It had very little if anything to do with ham radio Saturday, September 21, when the Dade County Amateur Radio Public Service Corps organized a group of active hams in Southern Florida to spruce up the Flight 592 Memorial. Many of the hams involved had helped provide communication in the aftermath of the 1996 ValuJet crash in the Everglades.

The amateur volunteers put in some 40 work hours pulling weeds and grubbing out their roots, killing ant colonies, applying herbicides, cutting grass, sweeping, refilling missing sand, re-leveling brick walkways and piling up the debris--mostly natural overgrowth. About a dozen hams participated in the effort.

"These folks do this kind of thing without request, but because there is a need to care," said ARRL Southeastern Division Vice Director Evelyn Gauzens, W4WYR. "This group of amateurs are very special people with hearts as big as the whole world." Family members of Flight 592 victims also expressed their appreciation for the effort.

Rob Ginkowski, WA6CW, of Hollywood, California, served as a technical adviser to The X-Files star Robert Patrick for an upcoming episode. Patrick's character, John Doggett, was in a hospital bed, paralyzed, and was required to send a Morse code message by tapping his index finger. WA6CW (who also works as an actor) taught Patrick how to tap out the message at about 5 WPM. "He was a fast learner," Ginkowski commented.

No word on what the message was, but it might be, "The truth is out there." The episode, entitled "4-D," is scheduled to air Sunday, December 9, on the Fox TV Network.

ITALY, I. Operators from ARI La Spezia will operate Special Event Station IY1SP until December 31 to commemorate Guglielmo Marconi's experiments in 1901 and 1931. IY1SP will be active during the CQ WW Contests, the Memorial Marconi VHF and the Italian 40/80 meter contests. QSL via I1FNX.

JAN MAYEN, JX. Per, LA7DFA is active as JX7DFA for the next six months.

ANTARCTICA.Chris, N3SIG is active mainly on 20, 17 and 15 meters using SSB as KC4/N3SIG from the McMurdo Station on Ross Island, IOTA AN-011, until March 2002. QSL via AI3D.

NETHERLAND ANTILLES, PJ2. Peter, PA3CNX will be QRV as PJ4/PA3CNX from November 5 to 30. Activity will be 80 to 10 meters, and possibly 6 meters, using SSB and possibly 10 FM. QSL to home call.

NEW ZEALAND, ZL.Andy, GM0NWI is QRV mainly on 40 and 20 meters CW using QRP as ZL/GM0NWI until January 24. QSL to home call.

KERMADEC ISLANDS, ZL8. Jacky, F2CW is QRV as ZM8CW until November 26 from Raoul Island, using CW, SSB,
RTTY and PSK31.

Ten excited students ranging from 11 to 18 years in age recently talked to ISS Commander Frank Culbertson from the Sanilac Career Center, some ninety miles north of Detroit, Michigan. Sanilac Career Center is a school devoted to teaching occupational skills.

Ted Davis, KF8ZO, wore two hats for the ARISS contact, serving as both the coordinating teacher and as the coordinating radio operator. Davis, an electronics instructor at the school, reports that the ISS contact lasted just over seven minutes, and allowed ten students to ask one question each.

KF8ZO reported Commander Culbertson patiently answered each question, and seemed to take delight in doing so. Culbertson has shown great interest in the ARISS program, and has requested that several contacts per week be scheduled during his tenure.

In addition to Sanilac, Kolling Elementary in Schererville, Indiana also completed a successful ARISS contact with ISS. The
control operator for the QSO was W9WY. Some 17 students had their questions answered.

Ham radio played a role in reuniting with his family a man who had been hiding in the jungles of Guatemala for over three decades. The Associated Press reported that 72-year-old Salomon Vides of El Salvador emerged from the Guatemalan jungle recently after hiding there for 32 years from a war that lasted about 100 hours. In 1969, El Salvador invaded Honduras and Vides, a migrant worker, ran into the jungle to escape retaliatory raids. The Organization of American States quickly brought the war to an end, but Vides says he never got the word. He was discovered in August by Rene Sonabo, a taxi driver and Guatemalan ham radio operator, and Sonabo’s son. After persuading Vides that no one was trying to kill him, Sonabo used his amateur station to relay the news to Vides’s stunned family in El Salvador. He has since been reunited with his brother, but the family had not been able to locate his wife and three children.

Ground controllers of the Starshine-3 satellite are seeking volunteer Amateur Radio operators and students worldwide to monitor and report telemetry from the recently launched satellite. Starshine 3 transmits 9600 bps AX.25 packet telemetry every 2 minutes on 145.825 MHz. The satellite’s primary mission is to involve and educate school children from around the world in space and radio sciences. Students should be able visually track the satellite during morning and evening passes by recording its telltale mirror flashes and reporting their observations to Project Starshine.
To report Starshine 3 telemetry or to learn more about it, please visit http://epulation.com/starshine/starshine3/.
More information about Project Starshine is available at http://www.azinet.com/starshine/.

ARRL November Sweepstakes, Phone - 2100z 17 Nov to 0300z 19 Nov.

CQ WW DX Contest, CW - 0000z 24 Nov to 2400z 25 Nov.

RAC Winter Contest - 0000z to 2359z 29 Dec.

Goodland, KS: National Weather Service, 0000Z Nov 30 to 2400Z Dec 2, National Weather Service / ARRL SKYWARN Recognition Day. 7.250 14.280 21.350 28.480. Certificate. National Weather Service, 920 Armory Rd, Goodland, KS 67735.

Disneyland, CA: Disney Emergency Amateur Radio Service, WD6MM. 1800Z Dec 5 to 0600 Dec 6. Celebrating 100 Years of Magic--Walt Disney's 100th Birthday. 28.475 21.375 14.275 146.940. Certificate. Disney Emergency Amateur Radio Service, Attn: Will Michael, Crisis Mgmt, 800 Sonora Ave, Glendale, CA 91201.

St Johnsbury, VT: Johnsbury Academy Wireless Club, W1SJA. 1300Z to 1800Z Dec 8. Celebrating Amateur Radio in
schools. 28.400 14.230 7.250 0. Certificate. Bruce Burk, St Johnsbury Academy, 1000 Main St, St Johnsbury, VT 05819.

Vandenberg AFB, CA: Satellite Amateur Radio Club, W6AB. 1600Z Dec 8 to 0400Z Dec 10. Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the OSCAR-1 launch (Dec 12, 1961). 29.550 21.440 14.250 7.250. QSL. Satellite ARC, PO Box 5117, Vandenberg AFB, CA 93437.

CQ November 2001
80 METER DX-THE MOON EFFECT. Is it possible that the light of a full moon can enhance DX on 80 meters? Before
you laugh, go check out your logs and see if they match up with what W7DD discovered.
THE MOTORIZED CLOTHESLINE ANTENNA. Here’s an all-band, no-tune, no-trap antenna based on moving the feedpoint (with the flick of a switch) to achieve a perfect match on every band.

http://www.hamfinder.com/

Here’s a website where you can find anything about Ham Radio. It’s a massive site that currently has 311 radio related categories and contains 6,854 links and growing. It also has a search engine so that you can fine-tune the keyword you are searching. There is even a listing for our club on this site!

Just a reminder that membership fees are due and we would like to get you on our membership list that is planned for publication in December. Also, if your e-mail address has changed since last year, make sure our Treasurer gets this update when you pay your dues.

Tuesday Nov.6, 2001 - Emergency Response Preparedness.

Tuesday Nov.13, 2001 - General Business Meeting.

Tuesday Nov.20, 2001 - Speaker: Mike Barnett VE3BSE Subject: Construction Techniques.

Tuesday Nov.27, 2001 - Speaker: Paul Cassel VE3SY Subject: IRLP Presentation.

Tuesday Dec.4, 2001 - Speaker: Al Stansbury VE3MWX Subject: Antenna’s

Tuesday Dec.11, 2001 - General Business Meeting.

Tuesday Dec.18, 2001 - Annual Christmas Party. To be confirmed.

Tuesday Dec. 25, 2001 - No Meeting Merry Christmas to all.

Tuesday Jan.1, 2002 - No Meeting Happy New Year to all.

Tuesday Jan. 8, 2001 - Social Night.

This makes one think, and puts things in perspective.

Diet Snapple 16oz $1.29 = $10.32 per gallon

Lipton Ice Tea 16oz $1.19 = $9.52 per gallon

Gatorade 20oz $1.59 = $10.17 per gallon

Ocean Spray 16oz $1.25 = $10.00 per gallon

Brake Fluid 12oz $3.15 = $33.60 per gallon

Vick's Nyquil 6oz $8.35 = $178.13 per gallon

Pepto Bismol 4oz $3.85 = $123.20 per gallon

Whiteout 7oz $1.39 = $ 25.42 per gallon

Scope 1.5oz $0.99 = $84.48 per gallon

And this is the REAL KICKER......
Evian water 9oz for $1.49 = $21.19 per gallon

$21.19 FOR WATER!....and the buyers don't even know the source!

the next time you're at the pump, be glad your car doesn't run on Nyquil, or Scope, or Whiteout.

A door-to-door vacuum salesman goes to the first house in his new territory. He knocks, a lady opens the door, and before she has a chance to say anything, he runs inside and dumps horsepoop all over the carpet. He says, "Lady, if this vacuum cleaner won't do wonders cleaning up that horsepoop, I'll eat every chunk of it." She says, "You want tomato sauce on that? We just moved in and we haven't got the electricity turned on yet."