THE CODE OF THE WEST

University Amateur Radio Club

UARC Meeting

Message from the President

I'll take this opportunity to remind everyone that it is now mandatory to perform an evaluation for "Human Exposure to Radiofrequency Electromagnic Fields"on your Amateur Radio Station. There is always a resistance to change and I imagine that some of you will not like the idea of having to conform with this requirement, but it really is a simple procedure and does not take very long to complete. I look at it as chance to protect your station and yourself should the question of its radiation effect on the public ever arise. We have completed the evaluation of our club station and it is attached to this "COW" for your information.

CQ DX..., CQ DX..., an expensive endeavor? Well it's going to get worse. The cost of an IRC is now $1.75, a big jump in price. When you mail the envelope you are facing an increase in that rate as well, the stamp is now 80 cents. This means that where you sent 2 IRCs in the envelope for $2.70 before, you will now be paying $4.30. Not twice as much but close enough to notice. It sure makes "via the bureau" sound better doesn't it? Buy the way, You must be a member of the ARRL to use the bureau. I'll still work and QSL the DX, but...I wonder if there's a way to get the DX to QSL with an SASE to me....?!?

Congratulations to all the members who participated in field day. I will be showing off the plaque with our name on it that has all the winners of Field day in Wyoming on it. We will be talking about and planning this years field day soon, so keep this in mind and start thinking about sites, mode of operation etc. and get mentally up for it. If you want to see the plaque I will have it at our meeting Tuesday and we'll get some pictures of you with the Plaque. Good show everyone.

UARC Calendar

UARC Minutes for November, 2000

The meeting was called to order by President Bill AF7E at 7:30 PM in Room 130 of the Physical Sciences Building in lieu of the usual place. All officers were present; 13 members and no guests introduced themselves by call sign and a sign-in sheet was circulated.

Those in attendance were: Tony KD7TA, Max WA7B, Bob WS7C, Laura KD7KMT, Jerry N7JT, Bill AF7E, Dick KD7FHE, Mac WB7K, Glenn KD7KGB, Rhett ND7O, Wayne NQ7Q, Doug KD7W, and Bob N7OBS.

MINUTES OF LAST MEETING:

The minutes as published in the January, 2001 Code of the West (COTW), were presented. President Bill AF7E moved that the minutes of the December 5, 2000 meeting be accepted as published. The motion was seconded and passed by unanimous vote of the membership and the minutes filed accordingly.

COMMUNICATIONS:

No communications were received or offered from the floor.

TREASURER'S REPORT:
Treasurer Tony KD7TA presented the Finance Report. He reported paying a bills from the Forest Service (for yearly rental of the Beacon Hill repeater site) and a phone bill. Membership dues of $70 were collected and he reported a current balance of $818.81 as of 12/27/2000 in the club treasury. No other bills against the club were received.

Tony distributed a current list of club members with call signs, addresses, phone numbers, and Email addresses.

Additional membership cards were found and Tony will not have to print more.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

1. Beacon Hill committee report. Committee member Wayne NQ7Q reported no progress last month.
2. VE session. No report was given.

OLD/UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

No unfinished business was reported.

NEW BUSINESS:

1. Field Day 2001. President Bill AF7E recommended we start thinking about this, so planning will start in March, first with a date to work with. A Field Day Committee was appointed with Jim N7SPH chairman, Breny KC0FUP and Jerry N7JT, committee members.
2. Code of the West articles are needed by editors Wayne NQ7Q and Bill AF7E. Possible topics include mobile operations, running 2 meters while on vacation, things you have built, and experimental projects.
3. Bill reiterated points from his meeting with the Wyoming Union Director's office as reported last month. It is important for all members using the HF radio, especially UW students, to sign for the room key. UARC also needs to publicize its activities and meetings more, and maybe even get some news in the Branding Iron relating to amateur radio and UARC.

DOOR PRIZE:

Tony KD7TA won a year's subscription to World Radio magazine.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1. A hamfest will be held on February 18, 2001 in Brighton, Colorado at the Adams County Fairgrounds.
2. Wayne NQ7Q has been in contact with an amateur SO9ZN and found out that a QSL manager is wanted for Wyoming. Wayne explained what a QSL manager does and how QSL cards for an area are processed.
3. Mac WB7K announced an ARES meeting on Tuesday January 9 at 7:30 PM in the usual place, PS 130.

ADJOURNMENT:

A motion was made by Bill AF7E and seconded for adjournment, and upon unanimous vote of the membership, official business was closed at 8:00 PM.

PROGRAM:

Tony KD7TA gave an interesting, well-illustrated talk on APRS, its theory, operation, and uses.

2001 WYOMING STATE HAMFEST

This year we will have a Forum on Radio Direction Finding, also known as Hidden Transmitter, Fox or Rabbit Hunting (amateur style). After the Forum we will conduct an actual Fox Hunt. We will use a 1 watt 2 meter transmitter that will be on for 15 seconds out of every minute until found. It will be the hunters responsibility to find the frequency the fox is transmitting on then find the fox. The area of the hunt will be with in several blocks of the hamfest site. So come prepared to hunt and find the Fox. Only those participating in the hunt will eligible for one of two prizes to be given away after the hunt. The prizes are an Arrow Antenna 146-4/3 antenna with an attenuator and the other prize will be the publication "Transmitter Hunting , Radio Direction Simplified". This is a 333 page book packed with information about radio direction finding and a whole lot more.

Second on the agenda is a Home Brew contest with a prize for the best Home Brew Project as judged by those attending the Hamfest. Bring your best Home Brew project for display and judging!! A note for clarification in this case Home Brew DOES NOT INCLUDE THE LIQUID kind!

Please pass this on to as many of your club members as possible, spread the word, we are working hard to make this a GREAT Hamfest for all of you!!

WANTED OR FOR SALE

• COMPLETE CLASSIC QRP STATION including Ten Tec Argonaut 509, CW filters, X-tal calibrator, matching tuner. Plus Ten Tec microphone and keyer. An outstanding station - $500 for all. Contact AF7E Bill at 307-742-0381.

TUNING YOUR TUNER

There is more than one control setting that results in 1:1 SWR on the transmitter cable, but only one of these settings gives the best efficiency. The others result in higher circuit loss.

Start with both capacitors set at maximum capacitance.

Next adjust the "antenna" or "load" capacitor and the coil to get minimum SWR.

If this minimum is not 1:1, then reduce the capacitance of the "transmitter" or "input" capacitor and try again.

Keep doing this until you get 1:1 SWR with the "input" capacitor as large as possible.

Kurt says that following this procedure you may cut your losses in half. While 1:1 SWR is considered highly desirable, in some situations it is just not possible to achieve. Kurt and Lil have been more than happy with an SWR of 2:1 or higher - it still works.

(Taken from "Aerials" column by Kurt N. Sturba in the August, 2000 Worldradio, p.56.)

Editor's Notes

This winter has been longer than many of the recent ones, with continuous snow cover since Halloween. It's been nice for indoor projects and operating. I've made some big strides toward my 5 band WAS, QRP WAS, and QRP DXCC. I've even done a bit of antenna work. Don't let the winter leave you behind without getting on the air. I think spring is just around the corner.

As a final thought, remember to carry your HT or mobile rig with you when traveling, particularly around Laramie. The recent drifting snow has made it real easy to get stuck. A short call on the HT can make it a lot easier to get help than a long walk in the snow.

"Moderation in temper is always a virtue, but moderation in principle is always a vice."

2m repeater 146.01/.61: Transmitted power (PEP) is less than 50 watts input to the antenna, and the repeater effective radiated power (ERP) is less than 500 watts, and the lowest point of the antenna is greater than 10m above ground level (and above the nearest floor in the building). Therefore, no further evaluation is required.

2m digipeater 144.390 simplex: Transmitted power (PEP) is less than 50 watts (actually 2.5 watts) input to the antenna, and the repeater effective radiated power (ERP) is less than 500 watts. The lowest point of the antenna is greater than 10m above ground level (and above the nearest floor in the building). Therefore, no further evaluation is required.

High Frequency wire antennas including 160m dipole, 80m dipole, 40m delta loop; wires may be used on 40m, 30m, 20m, 17m, and 15m: Transmitted power is 100 watts or less on 30m through 15m, and 500 watts on 160m through 40m. Therefore, no further evaluation is required for HF operations 160m through 15m.

High Frequency wire antennas including a 10m dipole and 40m delta loop used on 12m: Transmitted power is 100 watts or less on these two bands, and the distances from either antenna to an uncontrolled space is greater than 5m. Therefore no further evaluation is required for operations on the 12m and 10m bands.