Superstition Amateur Radio Club, Inc. 147.12

February Newsletter is available {see Superstition ARC Links}

It was a blast at the Titan II ICBM Silo!

Happened on January 21, 2012

List of Upcoming events in Calendar Order:

1. Arizona turns 100: Tuesday, Feb 14, 2012 is Statehood Day.  Look for K7A from Feb 14 through Feb 28 (Tucson), and W7A from Feb 14 through Feb 19 (Sun City West).  These are the dates assigned to Arizona Centennial 1x1 call signs.  The (city) is that of the individual or club requesting the 1x1 call signs.  Source:  http://www.1x1callsigns.org/
2. Board Meeting:  has been moved to Thursday, February 16, 2012, at 6:30 PM to avoid Valentine's Day on the second Tuesday, February 14^th
3. Lost Dutchman Marathon Sunday, February 19, 2012.  Sign up http://www.mcecg.net to provide radio communications at the mile marker rest stops.
4. Lost Dutchman Days Special Events W7W (1x1 call sign application Pending)
5. General Meeting:  Third Tuesday, February 21, 2012, at 7:00 PM

Superstition ARC Links

1. About the Superstition Amateur Radio Club
   1. Download the Latest Newsletter (PDF)
   2. Ordering Club Shirts
   3. Superstition ARC Membership
   4. Superstition ARC Mailing List
   5. Superstition ARC Activities
   6. Superstition ARC Meeting Calendar
       
2. Superstition ARC Repeater System
   1. Club Nets
3. Superstition Hamfest
    
4. Member Classified Ads

Club Repeaters Overview

Arizona Repeaters

• Arizona Repeater Maps from azRepeaters.net]

Other Links of Interest

• Amateur Radio Classes
  I hear that Bob Burleson is putting on a class Feb 2012
  • Progressive Ham Test
    Test yourself!
• License Exams in Mesa
  • Find Your New Ticket
    Before it appears on QRZ!
• FCC Part 97 Rules
  • Other FCC & Regulatory Links
    Renew your license online

Radio procedures depicted on TV...

I watch Combat! and 12 O'Clock High and have found a couple peculiarities about radio procedure depicted in these World War II combat series.  A recent Combat! episode demonstrated the use of "Morse code" that was nothing but gibberish, while a recent 12 O'Clock High episode demonstrated use of actual Morse code.

On the other hand, I hear "Over and Out" in a radio sign-off in 12 O'Clock High, which is improper radio procedure.  I recall hearing use of "Out" in a Combat! episode.

I find it interesting to have good radio procedure and imitation Morse code in one program, and improper radio procedure and true Morse code in the other!

Over, Out, "Over and Out" and Proper Radio Procedure

• Over is used to indicate the end of transmission.  It also means a response is expected.
• Out is used also to end a transmission.  It also means that No response is expected.
• Over and Out is depicted as ending a communication in Hollywood film and TV productions.  It means "I am ending my transmission, and am expecting a response and am not expecting a response!"

Exercise care when using Lithium batteries!

I have a set of Eveready Energizer AAA lithium batteries. I thought these would be great for those LED flashlights that use the AAA cells.  I put a set of lithium cells in my weather station last month when the alkaline cells died, leaving me with a barometric pressure reading of 8888, and with the sun, rain and clouds showing in the forecast window.

It fired right up and seemed to work well, but a month later I am looking at a forecast of rain, clouds and sun, and upon further inspection, the barometric pressure is all 8's. "Boy, these batteries didn't last long!" I said. I pulled them out and found them to be Energizers, not a store brand.

With a fresh set of alkalines installed, I got the sun, rain and cloud, and a low battery warning. A check of battery voltages gave me the following:

• Alkaline: 1.59V, four of them would be about 6.4 volts.
• Lithium: 1.73V, four of these would be 6.9 volts!

After a month of constant operation, the device failed under the higher voltage.

Do not use in low-current devices.

International Reply Coupons

How to report abuse to Gmail

To report unwanted email from a Gmail user, one cannot send an email to abuse@gmail.com.  Instead, you fill out a form online using the "View Source" feature in your email client to retrieve the header and body information.  Open the intended message, then open your View Source (should be in the View menu) on your email client.

In the box for Email headers of the questionable message, copy everything from the top of the View Source down to the first blank line.  For the Content of the questionable message, copy from your View Source starting with the blank line and include everything after.

I report unwanted advertisements for web site promotion services and the like sent to our Membership address in particular, if the mail has nothing to do with club membership, using this form if the mail comes from Gmail or uses Gmail as a reply-to address.