RVWARS
NEWSLETTER
for
April 2003
Newsletter Archive
Published by the Rip Van Winkle Amateur Radio Society, Inc.
April, 2003 |
|
QNZ de K2WG…
Worst case scenario. How often have we heard that phrase from the news commentators and military spokes persons in the past few days? Once the authors weeded out the duct tape and plastic shield hysteria, there has been some good emergency preparedness advise on most of the web sites related to those issues. Most of the suggestions regarding necessary supplies and items are those that ham operators have been practicing for years to ensure that their families were taken care of while they might be participating in emergency communications duties. For decades, hams have practiced in their daily lives the skills and routines that would be called upon during a disaster or crisis. We have been, and continue to be, ready for the worst case scenario. That having been said, it’s important to note that hams are playing an important part on the Homeland Security committees and teams that have become active in Towns, Counties and States across the nation. RVWARS can take pride in the involvement of its members in Columbia and Greene Counties. I’m hoping that John KC2AGM will be writing an article describing activity on the West Bank, so I’ll report on activities on the East Bank. From the beginning, Don N2USM, Bob WB2DUW and Marty N2LDR have been participating in the Columbia County Homeland Security process. There is a new Emergency Management Director and three Deputy Directors for Columbia County. Unfortunately, none of them are hams, but they are all aware of the communications services that are available via ham radio when needed. As this issue of the newsletter goes to print, the process is in motion to have Bob WB2DUW appointed as RACES Radio Officer for Columbia County. Columbia County Emergency Services will be contracting with the East Chatham Fire Co., |
Inc. to use the communications capabilities of their heavy rescue/command post unit as back up for the radio dispatch functions of the 911 center. That mobile unit has been equipped with a tone encoder so that fire and rescue pagers and fire station sirens can be activated from that mobile unit. Of more importance to the readers of this newsletter is the fact that this mobile unit is also equipped with 2 meter and 70 cm capabilities. It also contains a 7.5 KW diesel generator, a refrigerator, microwave and coffee maker for long term operations. The county 911 dispatchers will be trained in the operation of this unit. Also keep in mind that three of the 911 dispatchers are hams; Rob KC2CCS, Ron KC2BTK and yours truly Wayne K2WG. When the excrement hits the cooling device, other ARES/RACES operators will be called upon to assist in the operation of this mobile unit. During the June meeting we’ll discuss a training schedule for those interested. The repeater had been experiencing a loss of receive sensitivity which could be due to receiver problems or duplexer cavity problems. Tripped circuit breakers are also suspect since the control functions are also down. The April and June meetings will be at the Athens Community Center on Montgomery Street in beautiful downtown Athens. Our May meeting will be back in Hudson with a Skywarn training session following the regular business meeting. 73 for now… AR SK de K2WG |
 Page 2 — April, 2003 |
|||
As the days get longer many of us tend to put away this hobby for the summer while we do “outdoor” things. Maybe it is time to combine a couple hobbies and do radio while getting some exercise. Mountain topping gets us out in the air and lets us operate from some very tall “towers” while enjoying some spectacular scenery. A camera, good picnic lunch and your rig of choice make for a good day. Get some friends together and do a fox hunt. Doing it on foot requires a minimum of real estate and provides great exercise. Want to do public service? Join your local search and rescue group. This is a real opportunity to enjoy this hobby and really help someone else. It isn’t hard to enjoy amateur radio throughout the year as part of other activities, just use your imagination. AND NOW THE REST OF THE STORY Paul Harvey has made this phrase famous and you can hear him tell the rest of the story about amateurs at http://www.theponyengine.com/Paul.mp3 DUCIE LOG POSTED If you worked Ducie Island you can check their log at http://www.qsl.net/wd4ngb/net7.htm
Ducie is a rare one so hope you see your call in that log.
|
QNZ DE K2WG . . .
Continued from Page One Description of the Mobile Unit There are additional antennas for low band VHF and high band VHF on 25 foot mast. The primary antennas for all radios are mounted on top of the cab. The open compartment houses the 7.5 KW diesel generator. The unit is 12 feet tall (without mast) and 35 feet long, not for the faint of heart to drive. 
Along the bottom (L to R): 100 watt low band VHF for primary fire and some highway departments; 100 watt high band VHF for primary rescue, police, some highway departments and 2 meters; cell phone; 45 watt high band VHF for secondary rescue and police, tone encoder for activating pagers and fire station sirens. In the middle: generator and electrical distribution controls; intercom to driver; anemometer and wind vane to use on mast in place of, or in addition to, antennas. Along the top: 60 watt UHF for paramedics, school buses, NYS Thruway, 70 cm; analog indicators for anemometer and wind vane. Not shown: 60 watt low band VHF for secondary fire.
| ||
Page 3 — April, 2003 |
|
|
Less TVI?
The FCC has issued a Notice of Inquiry, seeking comments on possibly requiring receiver manufacturers to build in a certain level of interference immunity. For years, amateurs have been frustrated by trying to explain to neighbors that interference problems were really the result of poor design in their TVs, stereos, cordless phones and other receivers. The FCC is seeking comments on the current immunity performance and interference tolerance of existing receivers, possibilities for improving receiver immunity, and possible approaches to achieving desired levels of receiver immunity, including the possibility of mandatory standards.
It's FCC ET Docket 03-65.
 Antennas -  - YOU!
So you paid a hundred bucks for a wire antenna and it is a dog huh? Well you got just what you deserved. That sounds tough but there are a lot of folks out there selling a couple bucks worth of wire and thirty cents worth of shrink wrap to folks who should know how to build an antenna. Sure there are special antennas that are very broad banded and I’m sure that resister that eats up the power so it appears to cover all of every band costs an extra half buck. It is a rip off of the first water. If you need a little help just jump on .21 and ask or try LB, W4RNL at: http://www.cebik.com/radio.html . This is a great page about antennas and other amateur information. Give it a try.
Wire is cheap and the black magic that makes it work is easily learned. Take the time to build your next antenna and you will learn while saving money. toward that killer rig.
Need a Yeasu Manual? Dave WA2FTI found the manuals for two of his former rigs: FT-101E and the Memorizer FT-227R. The Memorizer was sold to a local Ham at last year’s auction. Contact Dave if you’re interested. No charge to the right person. (A huge price for the wrong person!) |
No War-Time Shutdown
However, hams will need to observe FCC directives related to wartime activity and make spectrum available as needed for government use. Most amateur allocations above 225 MHz (and some below) are shared with the US government.
During the last declared war in which the US was involved -- World War II -- amateur radio was shut down for the duration.
ARRL Emergency Communications Course Offered On-Line Registration opened Monday, April 7, for the on-line Level I Emergency Communications course (EC-001). Registration remains open through the April 12-13 weekend or until all available seats have been filled--whichever comes first. Class begins Tuesday, April 22. Thanks to the federal homeland security grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service, the $45 registration fee paid upon enrollment will be reimbursed after successful completion of the course. During this registration period, approximately 200 seats are being offered to ARRL members on a first-come, first-served basis. Senior amateurs are strongly encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity.
To learn more, visit the ARRL Certification and Continuing Education Web page New RVWARS Members We welcome two new members to RVWARS this month: Hammond Fox - W2NYF and his wife, Maria - W2VNS, from Round Top, near Cairo, NY. |
|
|
|