Coming events and updates
June 27 repeater outage
Dan, N0FPE writes:
The SARC 2 meter repeater went down on Saturday afternoon 6-27-09. On Sunday I checked it and found that the 2 meter and 10 meter remote were both nonfunctional. I contacted Brian and after some on air troubleshooting it was determined that the problem was related to the 2 meter side of the system. Brian played the yeoman and made a trip to the Stone Castle in the 105-degree heat. It was determined that the power supply for the 2 meter system has suffered a major failure. The repeater actually ran on battery for at least 2 days, maybe more! A quick run to pick up a spare MASTR II power supply was done and the replacement supply was installed and the system was brought back on line.
At this time the PS failure is suspected to be the results of the high temps in the Stone Castle. We will be putting a temp. cooling fan in the building to blow on the equipment rack. Rack mount cooling fans are being built up for installation ASAP.
It is no cake walk keeping the SARC system running. Everyone needs to thank Brian for going to the repeater site in the extreme heat so the repeater would be online for the drivetime net on Monday morning. The interior of the stone castle had to be close to 115+ even with the exhaust fan running.
Dan/N0FPE (the non dehydrated part of the tech committee)If I am tired now why do I need to RETIRE later???
Dick Reid, K7RRR, Silent Key
It is with sadness that I received word of Dick Reid, K7RRR, now a Silent Key, since last Christmas. It came in a request to have his name removed from our newsletter mailing list, which I will oversee. Dick was a regular on-air participant in our club nets and will be sorely missed. I offer our condolences to his wife and family in this time of grief.
Alive and well at 91
I just happened to think of Jane Allen, WB7FDF, a longtime Life Member of our club, whose phone number was the same one she had over in Apache Junction before she sold her home there. Gave her a phone call, and find that she still volunteers at the hospital, thougjh now it's at Banner Gateway, near Higley and 60, in the outpatient area.
Jane was president back when Dianne, KD7DJE was first licensed through the East Valley VE Team, and I can still recall the club meeting when Dianne was supposed to read a placque that she received from the VE Team, to the members present. Don't ask me to repeat the wording on that placque, I don't remember the precise wording, but it did bring some good laughter.
The club used to use Jane's acre-plus lot and her ham shack for special event station operations, and she was very active in the club in its early years, providing storage space for the club, and serving for many years on the Board.
It is good to know that one of our longtime members is still doing well. Oh. You can hear WB7FDF at 4:15 AM on the Charlie's Angels net on the 146.74 on Signal Peak in Globe. It uses a minus shift and a 162.2 Hz tone access.
NEW -- New Director Elected, open spot on Board filled
At June's meeting of the club, President Mary Simmonds, KD7ZBC reported having heard only from Terry Cross, NK7T, volunteering to fill the vacancy in the Board of Directors by the elevation of Gene Wilson to the Treasurer's seat. Nominations were opened at the June meeting, and with no takers, the membership voted Terry by acclamation to the Director's chair.
Speaking of Mary Simmonds, President, I have just updated the club Contact page with her e-mail address, a task that I did not get done last month. Her address was in the vacancy announcement here on this page of the site leading up to the June meeting.
June meeting report
Murphy Strikes Again --
Our amateur television presentation was a victim of Murphy on account of having no sound projection from the laptop to the audience. However, Ron, AE6QU, of Sun City, ran a PowerPoint presentation and answered questions. The presentation was being captured for a future 73s.org HamBrief, by an assistant to Chris, N7ICE, but I didn't get his name for this report.
Here, in 73s.org's hambrief.tv episode 28 , is Bil, K1ATV, demo-ing amateur television under the shadow of the W7ATV repeater on Shaw Butte, in the HRO parking lot on the day of the very wet DeVry Hamfest. And in Episode 33 , Bil was interviewed in his home, on the topic of ATV. And finally, the presentation given at the Radio Society of Tucson club meeting on amateur television.
Amateur television uses the same standard that broadcast television used prior to the switch to digital TV, and any analog-capable, cable-ready TV can be used to tune directly in to television signals in the 420 and 430 MHz portions of the 70cm amateur band. Amateur TV runs at much lower power, and requires use of directional antennas at both ends in order to get a clear picture across the Phoenix metro area.
W7ATV Repeater operates on 421.25 MHz VSB , which can be seen on cable channel 57 when an outdoor antenna is connected, but this repeater has very little coverage of the east valley. The repeater input uses a video carrier frequency of 434 MHz, instead of the cable standard of 433.25 for channel 59, in order to keep the usually 437.75 MHz FM sound subcarrier out of the satellite band between 435 and 438 MHz. Television video power in the satellite subband from the 434 MHz transmission is minimal, because of the low density of baseband video power spread over a 4 MHz bandwidth.
Vestigial sideband (VSB) emission is full carrier AM with the full upper sideband, with only the first 1.25 MHz of the lower sideband allowed to pass. Including the low-frequency end of the lower sideband boosts video sync performance in NTSC television sets. Further advantage comes from bandwidth conservation, and allows the TV signal to fit in a 6-MHz channel. Vestigial sideband filters are quite costly, and therefore, are not widely used unless required by a frequency coordinator or an adjacent band edge.
BATC.TV is the British Amateur Television Club streaming video site where one can watch streaming video from many amateur television repeaters across the United States and Europe, with of course an emphasis on the British Isles.
Field Day in Mesa - MARA Net
The MARA Net will participate in ARRL Field Day on the NE corner of Adobe and Lindsay Rd in Mesa, in Mountain View Park, behind the fire station. Enter from Adobe.
Talk-In: 146.72(-)(100 Hz tone) in Mesa.
All interested individuals, with or without a license, are welcome to come. The call the stations will use is AC7R. For more information, please contact Gary Hinton, AC7R
Technical committee report- We need a new antenna
The technical committee reports a need for a new repeater antenna to cure the noise on the repeater when the wind blows. Brian and Dan are pitching for a commercial-grade, $2000 antenna. We are pumping 50 watts on 449.60 and another 50 watts on 147.12, into our dual-band antenna.
Amateur-grade antennas rated at 200 watts are available as direct replacements for our ailing antenna, and cost one-tenth of the price of a commercial-grade antenna, and would produce excellent results with our repeater; however, the highest gain antennas, a Comet GP-9N and Diamond X510HDN, which both have N-connectors at the feedpoint, along with their SO-239 counterparts, are rated at 90 miles per hour. Dropping to a shorter, lesser-gain Comet GP-6 raises the wind rating to 112 mph.
It is my understanding that a commercial-grade antenna would require a sturdier tower to support it, but I have not heard the projected costs for replacing the tower and the antenna. We need to hear a detailed report on the benefits and costs for choice A: continuing with replacement amateur-grade antennas and for choice C: switching to commercial-grade, so that the members can make an informed decision.
A new antenna, one way or the other, is required, to cure us of the noise on the system.
Hamfest report in June
Tickets for the Hamfest are available at every meeting, with prizes on display. CQ and QST will have our Hamfest listed. There will be one classroom for VE Testing and meetings. We used to use two classrooms to test code and theory, and when the code was done the second room was available for seminars and the ARCA meeting, while written exams went until noon if need be. We no longer offer Morse code exams, and therefore have no pressing need for the second room except for seminars and meetings.
Minutes To Appear On The Web Site
President Mary Simmonds reported at the June meeting that from now on, a copy of the Minutes will be posted on the web site. If I get 'em, I will post 'em. I expect to see them arrive perhaps a week in advance of each meeting, or thereabouts.
Learn More About Amateur Radio
You are invited to play the following two video clips to learn more about amateur radio.
skip past the video player
Ray Moore, K7RAM, SK
Ray Moore, K7RAM, served as Treasurer for the first part of 2009 for the Superstition ARC, before resigning in perhaps April. I heard him check in to the 2100 Net once or twice after his resignation became known to me. It is now my sad duty to report his recent passing from this world.
Thanks to Judy, K7JLF, I have his obituary from the East Valley Tribune :
Moore Jr., Raymond Andrews
MOORE, Raymond Andrews, Jr., 69, of Mesa, died May 22, 2009 in Mesa. Allen Funeral Home handled arrangements: 480 833-1716
Published in the East Valley Tribune on 5/31/2009
Robbie Robinson WA6MUE, SK
Judy, K7JLF, reports this sad news to us, and has followed up with a full backgrounder for me to include in this article, written in May 2009.
Robbie Robinson WA6MUE, the gentleman that was living in a Group Home is now a Silent Key. He was given an honorary membership in SARC and I have been visiting him since May 2007. He passed on May 15th. There was no obituary for him in the newspaper. He was 90 this year.
Two years ago, a lady from Hospice called Brian [KC5CAY] and asked if someone from the club could visit with Robbie. Brian called me. I started going over there to visit Robbie. The club voted to make him an Honorary member. He was 88 and in very bad heath so he never got to a meeting. I spent many, many hours visiting with him and doing errands for him.
When I first met him, his license was expiring in 3 months and he only had a 2 meter radio, not hooked up and he hadn't even touched it in years. His final wish was to get back into Amateur Radio so he could contact his friends in California. I enlisted the aid of Gene K8WQ to help Robbie choose a radio as I was new in radio and hadn't a clue as what would be the best one.
Robbie was just about blind, in a wheelchair and lived in a bedroom in a group home. Just being there with him, letting him talk about his life, having someone to share his thoughts with gave him a new outlook on life. They took him off of Hospice soon after I started visiting him. Most of our talks were not about radio but about his life. He just needed a friend.
Because of different reasons, his dreams of having an outside antenna and contacting his friends in California never came true. He was 90 when he passed on May 15th; he was cremated.
Tuesday Night PSK31 Net review
The PSK31 ten meter net will be on every Tuesday starting at 7:30 PM, except for the club meeting night on the third Tuesday of the month. The net meets on 28.120 MHz. You can transmit PSK31 using your computer and an SSB transceiver running in USB mode.
The first net consisted of N1LQJ, Vincent, as Net Control, in Mesa; N0FPE, Dan, in Chandler; AA7QK, Nick, in Mesa; AC6N, Claude, in Reno, NV; KD7FPK, Dave, in Gardnerville, NV; and K7VG, Mike, in Mesa. Best Distance was Claude, AC6N, at a distance of 985 km, or 611 miles. Second-best was Dave, KD7FPK, from the Carson City area, at 929 km, or 577 miles.
Vincent will be out of town on June 2nd, and Dan, N0FPE, will assume Net Control duties that day, if nothing turns up. Contact N1LQJ via e-mail for more information about the Tuesday night net.
Short Repeater Videos
I have more pictures from the club repeater, which I put into Windows Movie Maker, creating a slide-show presentation. Thanks to Dan, N0FPE, for the pictures, some with captions. I created the title and credits frames in the movie before submitting it to the video server.
The new movie has no sound, but is followed by the voiced video clip Dan sent me earlier showing the installation.
skip past the video player
Repeater system review, updated from May meeting
The 147.12 and 449.60 went off the air on Saturday at 6:00 AM, and was back in service at 12:15 PM Sunday, on the weekend of April 25-26, with a brand new, more sensitive 147.12, and near-perfect audio settings.
Both the 147.12 and the 449.60 transmit a CTCSS tone for users who have the capability to use tone squelch for listening to the repeater. Tone squelch permits listening without hearing intermod and other interference when the repeater is not transmitting. Our 0.5 kHz deviation CTCSS tone is adequate for some decoders, but many older radios may experience reception drop-outs or no reception at all, if tone decoding is attempted. The solution for the older radios would be to raise the tone level from the repeater, but this is not going to happen, according to the Technical Committee. The tone from the repeater cannot be raised. This leaves the options of not attempting tone-decode or replacing (or repairing) your transceiver in order to tone-decode the club repeater.
With the new 147.12 working better than ever, please feel free to use the repeater system and enjoy!
Saturday Breakfast Splits Into Two Locations
The Ahwahtukee Saturday Morning Breakfast is now meeting at two different Crackers & Co. Cafes, every Saturday morning at 8:00 AM. One group now meets at Crackers & Co Cafe, on 535 W Iron Drive, 11 /2 blocks west of Country Club just south of the US 60 freeway, in Mesa, while the other meets at Crackers Cafe, 1285 W Elliot, Tempe, east of Priest.
Iron Drive is between the Holiday Inn and The Home Depot, just south of the freeway.
ARRL Field Day 4th Weekend in June, Oak Flat Campground, Superior
The Superstition ARC has been invited to attend the Scottsdale ARC Field Day in Chino Valley, but we have our own site just east of Superior, at Oak Flat Campground. It is located out US 60, 11 /4 miles east of the tunnel on the right, and when you get there, just follow the signs.
Our plans for an Apache Junction indoor Field Day at the old City Hall fell through, as reported at the May meeting.
Field Day runs from 11 AM Saturday through 2 PM Sunday, and if you begin setting up at 11 AM Saturday, you may operate the full 27 hours, or if you begin setup before 11 AM, you may only operate 24 consecutive hours out of the 27 available.
Most Field Day activity occurs during the first 24 hours, with the bands returning largely to normal after 11 AM Sunday. There is some scattered Field Day activity still ongoing until 2 PM.
ARRL Field Day is often said to be on the last full weekend of June, but this is not always true. Field Day is always on the fourth weekend of June, which as it turns out, is sometimes the last weekend.
Planning ahead: Williams Hamfest July 17, 18, 19, 2009
I see ARCA has redone their web site, and one no longer needs to click here to enter. ARCA is the Amateur Radio Council of Arizona . ARCA sponsors the Williams Hamfest and ARRL Arizona State Convention.
Superstition Amateur
Superstition ARC:
Join the Mailing List
Club Mailing List
We have a mailing list that we encourage
all members
to join. It serves as the monthly e-mail reminder of upcoming
club events and meetings. Go over to the Mailing
List Page and check it out.
Club Information summary
Superstition ARC Meetings
Next Meeting: Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The next meeting of the Superstition ARC
will be Tuesday, July 21, 2009
at 7:00 pm.
Our meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month, from January
through November at the City of Mesa Utilities Office, located at 640
North Mesa Drive. There is no meeting in December, as instead
we
meet at a restaurant for our Christmas Party.
As always, our meeting is open to visitors.
Visitors are welcome and encouraged to attend.
Driving Directions to the Meeting:
Take Mesa Drive north 2.5 miles from the Superstition Freeway (Exit
180) and cross University Drive. Correction:
The
office is 0.3 miles north of University on the left, almost directly
across from Royal Palms Drive (previously mislabeled here as 8th
Street). See the map courtesy
of Google Maps.
Club Breakfasts
Ham Breakfasts every Thursday at Linda's
Hoosier Cafe and every Saturday at two Crackers Cafes
Thursday
A Ham Radio Breakfast at the new Hoosier
Cafe meets every Thursday in Mesa since May 24th, 2007.
Steve, KY7W shot this
picture ,
from the north end of the table row instead of from the front door in
September 2007. He had somewhat better fortune with the sun,
though he reports there were only 13 at this breakfast. There
are
11 heads in this view that I could count, and with one behind the
camera, that leaves just one other unaccounted for!
It's at the Northwest corner of University and Higley, just West of the
Gas Station at that corner. Entrance is on University
Drive.
There are now two start times, one being the official 7 AM
start time that migrated to 5:45 AM and a new start time at 7:00 AM
sharp. This second shift was required to accommodate all the
people showing up in 2008.
Saturday
The Saturday breakfast is now in two places, one in Mesa, at Crackers & Company Cafe, 535 W Iron Drive, 11 /2 blocks west of Country Club Drive in Mesa, just south of the Superstition Freeway. Iron Drive is between Holiday Inn and The Home Depot. Breakfast starts at 8:00 AM.
The second location is Crackers Cafe, 1285 W Elliot in Tempe, east of Priest Drive, in the Costco Plaza. Breakfast starts at 8 AM. This location is closer to Ahwahtukee. The original intent of the Saturday Breakfast was for the Ahwahtukee-area hams to get together, and through several restaurant changes, the breakfast location has migrated eastward into Mesa.
According to the company web site, www.CrackersAndCompanyCafe.com, there is a third Crackers & Co. Cafe on north Greenfield in Mesa.
Superstition ARC Repeaters On the Air
Linked Club Repeaters and Remote Base
147.12 MHz (+) (162.2Hz tone access - Technician Class or higher) WB7TJD/R
449.60 MHz (-) (100.0Hz tone access - Technician Class or higher) WB7TJD/R
29.65 MHz Simplex (100.0Hz tone access - General Class or above) WB7TJD Remote
449.20 MHz (-) (100.0Hz tone access) at Sky Harbor Airport, Phoenix is owned and operated by KC5CAY, and is linked via 900 MHz simplex into the club repeaters.
The 147.12 and 449.60
WB7TJD Repeaters in northeast Mesa cover Mesa, Gilbert, Queen Creek and
Apache Junction, with extended coverage into Chandler, Tempe,
Scottsdale and Phoenix.
Handheld coverage is relatively solid from ground locations in Mesa
within 10 miles of the repeater on a rubber duck, if you are operating
from an open location. A one-watt signal will be fairly solid
into the repeater if using a mobile whip antenna with a good
counterpoise for a distance of 15 to 20 miles, further if in the clear.
As always, your mileage may vary.
Operating on the repeaters
The 449.60 and 147.12 are linked, and transmit what they hear on their inputs over both outputs. They both have three-minute timeout timers, limiting user input to 3 minutes without a break. They reset after one second and transmit a reset/courtesy tone following each user transmission.
The 449.20 repeater is linked via a single-frequency link, and in order to allow users of the 449.2 to communicate with users of the 147.12 system, all users must let the carrier drop out for a full second at the end of each transmission to allow the link to reverse direction. Some users also employ crossband remotes to permit the flexibility of using a handheld radio with the power of a base. These users must also wait for repeaters to drop off the air before they can join As well, ten meter simplex operators must wait for the remote base to drop before they can join the conversation on the repeater system.
Please be considerate, and allow the repeater a full drop-off for one second, especially during nets.
For more details and pictures please turn to our repeater page .
Club Nets
Weekday Mornings
From 7 AM till 8 AM Monday through Friday, join us during your commute
as we tickle your knowledge of obscure facts and trivia. Net
runs
on the 147.12/449.60/449.20 linked system.
Tuesday Night PSK31 Net, 7:30 PM MST
Every Tuesday, except between the 15th and 21st of the month, (third Tuesday of the month), on 28.120 MHz PSK31 -- Use upper sideband mode and feed PSK31 tones into the mic jack. Vincent, N1LQJ (Mesa, AZ), is your net host. This net stared on May 12, 2009.
Wednesday Night Net 8 PM
Check in for the latest club discussion and Amateur
Radio Newsline on the 147.12/449.60/449.20 linked
system. John, KD8PC also carries the net over
EchoLink. Look for KG7FA-L (which will be KD8PC-L once his new call is authenticated with EchoLink),
which lists as "446.525 Simplex" on the station list. John is
always looking for new victims — ahh — check-ins.
Thursday Night 10 Meter Net 7:30 PM
28.470 MHz SSB
Jeff, N7JJK conducts the Ten Meter Net on 28.470 MHz
SSB and is open to check-ins from across the country if propagation
permits. Check-in and Discussion for an hour on many topics. There are typically three rounds of comments.
This net began in 1986 on 28.712 MHz , and moved to 28.470 in 1987 as a crossband net
when the Novice band was opened on ten meters.
Superstition ARC Tax Status, 501 (c) 3 NonProfit Organization
Superstition Amateur Radio Club, Inc. has
been
approved by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)3 tax-exempt
nonprofit organization, effective with our initial incorporation in
July 1977. Our filing was approved in July 2006.
Officers and Board of Directors
2009 Officers and Board
President: Mary Simmonds, KD7ZBC
Vice-Pres: Jeff Kokovitch, N7JJK
Secretary: Michelle Powas, AB7NS
Treasurer: Gene Wilson, K8WQ (Appointed in May)
Directors
Jo Wilson
Paul Powas, KD7GWD
Judy Ferrara, K7JLF
Tony Ferrara, K7AJF
Brian Romine, KC5CAY
Terry Cross, NK7T (Elected in June)
Fred Bollinger, AB7JF
These are the people in charge of the
day-to-day
business affairs of the club. It is customary for the prior
President to sit on the Board in an advisory capacity.
Elections are in November at the General Meeting, but things
begin
to heat up along about September. Typically, a nomination
committee is formed in September to draw up a slate of candidates to be
presented at the October meeting. Nominations are taken from
the
floor in October, closed, and the ballot is presented in
November. New officers are installed at the December
Christmas
Party that takes the place of a December membership meeting.
Committees
ARCA Delegate: Randy Hatfield, AG6RH
ARCA Alternate: Myrna Cross, KN7M
Editor: Vacant
Technical Committee: Brian Romine, KC5CAY
Trustee, WB7TJD: Larry Kuck, WB7CRK
Trustee, WG7VA: Rick Willis, K2DLZ
Web site maintenance: Larry Kuck, WB7CRK
For Contact information, please visit:
Board Meeting Time and Location:
The JB's Restaurant, northeast corner of
Power and Main, Mesa, 6:30 PM on the Second Tuesday of each month,
between the 8th and 14th of the month. The
location change took effect with the February 2007 meeting.
This meeting is open to all members of the club who wish to sit in on
the Board actions.