The Q-Fiver for December 1999, Volume 41 Number 12 President's message First, and foremost, I thank each and every one of you who has been so supportive of the club, the Board, and of me during these past 3 years. Going into the position of president I had set some personal goals, as well as goals for the club. Through the support of some key people, several of my goals have been real- ized. Hamfest is now an annual event for OH-KY-IN. The membership can reflect with pride on its involvement in a variety of uses of amateur radio both on the personal level and commu nity level. We have seen more youth become involved over the past 3 years. This is still a vital area of interest and concern for me and I look forward to more youth involvement as time passes. Again, thank you; it was through you that I feel I acco mplished any achievements. I appreciate the opportunity to have served the club in the capacity of president and my plans are to continue working for the club. As a side issue, I noticed a short article in the paper the other day that you may find of interest as well. It seems that as of Dec 2, NASA could use the help of amateur operators as they are launching another satellite. For additional information please check the ARRL web page or go to http://science.nasa.gov. We will be wrapping up the millenium with our yearly elections and pizza party at our regular membership meeting. 73, Dick WB4SUV Next meeting The next meeting of the OH-KY-IN Amateur Radio Society will be held on TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1999 at the Western Hills Church of Christ, 5064 Sidney Road, one block from Glenway Avenue. The program will consist of election of officers and directors for 2000, followed by the annual holiday party. A few extra sweet or crunchy nibbles will be appreciated to go along with the club-provided pizza and soft drinks. To get to the club meeting, coming from town on Glenway, pass Ferguson Road and turn left on to Sidney between the BP station and Sebastian's restaurant, just before the Frisch's, then turn right at the light into the drive down to the church parking lot. The entrance is at the back of the church building. Plenty of parking is available. See you there! 73, Eric N8YCL Miss a meeting, miss a lot .... Had Ken N8ASV been at the November club meeting, he'd have won the attendance incentive of $20. Since he was not, the December sum will be $25. REMINDER !!!!!!!! The end of time to make QSOs for the 3d annual John M. Hugentober Sr. (SK) CW proficiency award competition is December 31. Don't miss out! See info and rules later in this Q-Fiver. The deadline for log submittal is January 31. 73, Eric N8YCL The Oh-Ky-In Amateur Radio Society once again presents The John M. Hugentober Sr. N8FU (SK) CW Proficiency Award The CW proficiency award plaque will be presented at the annual awards dinner, recognizing one member from each of 3 categories for the greatest number of CW contacts for each calendar year. The purpose of this award is to promote and instill proficiency in the art of CW and to also promote an incentive for practice and subsequent license upgrades, thereby fulfilling many of the goals set forward upon amateur radio. This award honors the memory of our beloved silent key N8FU, an amateur radio operator known throughout the world for his skill in CW and particularly within the local amateur community for his warm hearted spirit, always encouraging both prospective and upgrading hams to achieve their fullest. 1. Categories a. Novice & Tech Plus b. General & Advanced c. Extra 2. Award period: January 1-December 31 annually. 3. Deadline for log submittal: January 31 following year of award period. 4. Rules: a. Candidate must be a paid or student member of the Oh-Ky-In ARS. b. Minimum log entries for each counted CW QSO are: Station call, date, time & band. c. Each station may be worked once per band. d. License class held by member as of the beginning of the award period (Jan. 1) will determine for which category candidate is eligible. A member who becomes a Novice or Tech Plus during the award period becomes eligible for that category right away. The only required action of a candidate is to submit photocopies of his or her log with all contacts to be considered highlighted in a fashion so the judge can easily see and evaluate each contact as valid. After the results are tabulated & all applic- able rules have been double checked by someone other than the initial judge, the winners will be determined, announced & a plaque awarded by the judges during the annual Oh-Ky-In awards dinner. No entries submitted after the deadline will be accepted. Submit only copies of logs as they will be kept for record. Receiving judge: Carol Hugentober K8DHK Others on judging panel: Melody Curtsinger KA8LAB, Judd Sexton N8RVR Field Day pins are in!! For those of you who ordered Field Day Pins for 1999, I finally have them!! I look forward to giving them out at the next meeting -- I'll trade you the pin for 5 bucks. In case you have forgotten -- here is a list of who ordered: Doug, Gail and Jessie, K8DHK, AC4XS, KC8HQT, KB9SZS, KB8JVK, KC8MMZ, KE4HOR, N8YCL, KB8ROA, WA8STQ, N8RVR, KC8IVR, KF4UTO, WA6EZV, N8ASV and KJ8K. I hope to see you (or a good friend willing to part with $5!) at the next meeting, 73, Dana WA8M Sweepstakes: OH-KY-IN sweeps clean in a hurry! Though a bit short on operators, the OH-KY-IN Multi-Single SSB Sweepstakes team found the bands open and the packet cluster buzzing with activity. This, together with a detemined team of operators on Saturday, allowed OH-KY-IN to snag that elusive " Clean Sweep" in just over 10 hours of operation. Last on the list was Maine. According to the requests seen on the DX cluster, Maine, Quebec, and Santa Barbara were the 3 big requests. Hard to believe but the Yukon, and Alaska were listed in the first 5 QSOs. Bruce N8FWA gets credit for section 78, PQ, at 2AM Sunday. Thanks to Carol K8DHK, I get to pass on the "Mic Grab" award to her till next year. Talk about being determined to work a station! Final results: 301 QSOs and 79 sections. Thanks to those whose took time out of their busy schedules to trip over to the shack and get on the mic for a few hours. There were plenty of time slots available for additional operators. I will again be ordering pins and mugs for those who are interested. Mugs are $10 and pins $5. Call me or send me the funds ASAP. I will not be at the December meeting and must turn in the logs and money by December 12. 73, Bob WA6EZV ARRL votes in; WB8BGY, KI4LA to lead Gt Lakes Div In the Great Lakes Division, George Race WB8BGY was the victor in a 3-way race to again serve as Director. The tally showed Race -- the current Great Lakes Vice Director -- nosing out current Great Lakes Director Dave Coons WT8W by 101 votes -- 1700 to 1599. Challenger Murray Scott KE8UM garnered 1302 votes. Gary Johnston KI4LA will be the new Great Lakes Vice Director. He defeated Lawrence Solak WD8MPV 2498 to 2010. Race and Johnston will serve 3-year terms. --edited from ARLB089 Speaking of officers .... The Nominating Committee (Gene N8KOJ, Carol K8DHK and Otto AA8KK) filed its report at the November 2 meeting. On the ballot for offices will be: President Eric Neiheisel N8YCL Vice President Rick Haltermon KD4PYR Corresponding Secretary Carol Hugentober K8DHK (incumbent) Recording Secretary Susie Scott N8CGM (incumbent) Treasurer Bill Simpson KI4QJ (incumbent) On the ballot as director candidates will be: Lynn Ernst WD8JAW (incumbent) Phil Smith KG8AP Bruce Vanselow N8FWA (incumbent) Brian DeYoung KE4HOR (floor nomination) Members will elect 3 directors. DX Extras December 1999 Sweepstakes will have come and gone by the time you read this column. I hope you had a chance to participate in the club operation and join the effort to score a sweep. Look for results at the December meeting. December QST listed OH-KY-IN in the top ten percent of the 3A category (31st in the long list) and third in Ohio. Congratulations to everyone who made the event such a success! Currently QRV on the bands -- 5A Libya, 5H Tanzania, C9 Mozambique, S2 Bangladesh and KH0 Northern Marianas Upcoming operations: 3W -- Vietnam -- EA1AKM and ES1AX will operate from Saigon Dec 4th through Jan 4th. QSL via ES1AX. XU -- Cambodia -- The 3W team hopes to operate from Cambodia for two weeks following their 3W operation but arrangements have not been confirmed. VK0 -- Macquarie Island -- VK8AC hopes to be QRV from here in December or January. Look for VK0LD. PY0S -- St. Peter & Paul Rocks -- This operation is again on hold due to high tides and flooding on the island. CE0Z -- Juan Fernandez -- A DXpedition is in the works for January 6th to 16th, 2000. The callsign CE0Z has been issued. FO -- Clipperton -- This operation is way in the future. Plans are in the works for an operation for March 1st to 9th, 2000. With activity on the rise, winter operation on the low bands looks very promising. 73 and gud DX till next month, Bob WA6EZV * FCC Amateur enforcement info: The FCC Amateur Radio Enforcement Log, a digest of the latest FCC Amateur Radio enforcement news, now is available to all on ARRLWeb, http://www.arrl.org. From the ARRLWeb home page, click on "News." Then, under "Special Interest Topics," Click on "FCC Amateur Radio Enforcement Logs." This information may be republished without special permission, with credit to ARRL. -- ARRL Letter, Vol. 18 #45 Contests December 1999 and early January 2000 3-5 QRP ARCI Holiday Spirits Homebrew Sprint; ARRL 160-Meter Contest; TOPS 3.5 MHz CW Contest 11-12 ARRL 10_Meter Contest 18-19 OK DX RTTY Contest; Croatian CW Contest; RAC Winter contest; Stew Perry Top Band Distance Challenge; International Naval Contest 31 End of eligible-contacts period for John M. Hugentober Sr. (SK) CW Proficiency Award 31-Jan 1 Straight Key Night Jan 1 Kids' Day Jan 8 - 9 ARRL RTTY Round-Up Jan 22 - 24 ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes Have a Merry Christmas and other holidays, and enjoy the contests. For more info. see QST, CQ, or http://www.arrl.org/contests/ 73, Dan KF4AV Tally multiples A bright and sunny morning greeted the hounds as the fox began transmitting a repetitive MO, CW ID from Drake Park on the east side of Cincinnati, just off Old Red Bank Road on Saturday, Nov. 13. On arrival at the park, teams had to find 3 QRP transm itters located within 200 yards of the MO beacon. Dick WB4SUV lost the pack on Madison Avenue while Ernie W8EH headed up to Ault Park on the other side of I-71, on the wrong hill, for a time. Brian KE4HOR spent some time debugging his new PC-enabled polar plot software. Still, everyone managed to sniff out the fox and his cubs. Next month, come join the fun. There is always room for riders! Results: Team 1st Trans Finish Distance WB4SUV & Janie 32 min 63 min 10.8 miles W8EH & Elaine 60 min 89 min 14.0 Miles KE4HOR & Angie 84 min 108 min 34.5 Miles 73, Bob WA6EZV ZCZC AG88 QST de W1AW ARRL Bulletin 88 ARLB088 >From ARRL Headquarters Newington CT November 12, 1999 To all radio amateurs SB QST ARL ARLB088 Amateur restructuring details possible by year's end Knowledgeable sources in Washington say the amateur license restructuring issue has moved to the front burner at the FCC, and a Report & Order could be released before the end of 1999. The Amateur Radio community has been awaiting license restructuring -- known officially as the 1998 Biennial Regulatory Review of Part 97 (WT Docket 98-143) -- for nearly one year now. While no one has mentioned a hard-and-fast date to wrap up the lo ng-awaited proceeding, reports from several sources suggest that the RO draft is in its final stages and could be complete within a month or so. During a recent a visit to top FCC officials in Washington, League officials pressed again for early action on the license restructuring rulemaking. They were assured that the issue was not stalled and that the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau was "working very actively" to move restructuring along. There is no information on what the anticipated Report & Order will contain. The restructuring debate generated more than 2200 comments to the FCC, many of them from individual amateurs. Once the FCC approves the Report & Order, a Public Notice will be issued, and the actual R&O will be released probably within a few days. ARDF preparations progress Just a brief message to relay the current status of ARDF projects. As you recall, there is a hope that OH-KY-IN can stage demonstration, training, and possibly a regional ARDF event in the spring of 2000. Here is an update on preparations. Six, 80- meter transmitters with Montreal controllers are near completion. Minor programming, and debuggung on two of the units remain to be completed. Recrystalling of the homing beacon is awaiting arrival of the crystal. Two receiver kits from Australia are operational and three German designed kits are nearing completion. Orienteering flags and punches have been procured and mounting holders (for the flags and punches) have been fabricated by Judd N8RVR, along with welding skills from Al KC8FJO and Bill KC8LHQ. PiCon controllers are being ordered for two meter transmitters. Brian KE4HOR has just completed a prototype PC board for a 750 milliwatt 2 meter transmitter. We hope to begin construction of a test unit in the next month. Presentations have been completed or are scheduled for Bellbrook, Northern Kentucky and at QCEN during the winter months. ARDF is also a planned topic for the Dayton HamVentionR Forum next May. Dick and I both participated in training events in Indianapolis in July and September and in Atlanta GA in October. All the events enabled us to make valuable contacts with both orienteering people and other hams getting the bug. News is beginning to spread and interest is just starting to peak on this new and challenging form of fox hunting. We hope to be ready for an 80 meter demonstration hunt in the early spring or sooner, weather permitting. We are also examining locations for a local two meter training course, with a two meter training session planned for the spring. News from the West Coast, Montana, Indiana and Georgia all confirm that activity is increasing as other areas begin gearing up for local events. OH-KY-IN is well on its way to becoming a leader in spearheading ARDF in the tri- state and surrounding areas. As plans unfold for upcoming OH-KY-IN sponsored events, consider getting involved by lending a hand as a juror, time keeper, course monitor, or by helping set out equipment. Your involvement will make these events and OH-KY-IN a success. 73, Bob WA6EZV Hams get to help NASA with space experiment If all goes well, Amateur Radio operators will get a chance to contribute to a NASA satellite project by recording the data. The Plasma Experiment Satellite Test -- or PEST -- at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center will ride on the Joint Air Force- Weber State University Satellite, or JAWSAT, according to project scientist Nobie Stone. The launch is set for no earlier than December 2. The primary payload will be the US Air Force Academy's Falconsat. JAWSAT will serve as a bus for several deployable payloads and the attached PEST experiment. The telemetry stream from JAWSAT -- which includes data from PEST -- will be transmitted on amateur frequencies. "Hams will be able to obtain data that characterizes certain aspects of the ionosphere above the D, E, and F layers where most of their signals are reflected," said PEST Project Manager Fred Berry WA4IWY. "We're going to publish the data format in terms that everyone can understand." Data from PEST will be using either a G3RUH modem or a GMSK modem. Data rates should be as high as 38.4 kb/s. Data will be transmitted on 437.175 MHz or 2403.2 MHz. NASA will publish instructions for sending in data so the PEST team can use it. "It's an experiment," Berry said. "We're hoping that high school and college kids will get involved and learn something about the ionosphere and radio propagation." Deployable payloads aboard JAWSAT are the Orbiting Picosat Automatic Launcher -- or OPAL -- and ASUSAT provided by Arizona State University. ASUSAT itself will contain amateur packet hardware and a 2-meter/70-cm FM voice repeater. OPAL will release t hree tiny picosats -- one of them, StenSat -- will have a crossband repeater aboard that will operate much like the popular AO-27 satellite. After JAWSAT reaches its desired polar orbit at 700 km (420 mi) altitude, it will be about two weeks before PEST is first pow- ered on. PEST will acquire data for at least a two-month period. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/newhome /headlines/ast04nov99_1.htm . --NASA Space Science News via The ARRL Letter Vol. 18 #45 VE exam opportunity Sat Dec 4 at Salem Presbyterian Church, corner Mozart & Higbee on the east edge of Cheviot, sponsored by OH-KY-IN ARS. Testing starts at 12 noon. All license classes. Walk-ins OK. Info: Carol Hugentober K8DHK, 513=661-5323. Talk-in:146.67 What's coming in OH-KY-IN in December 1999 Wed Dec 1 8 PM Slow Scan ATV Net, 146.67 9 PM Tech Talk, 146.67, NCS Carol K8DHK Thu Dec 2 7 PM Final code & theory classes at Salem Presb Church, corner Mozart & Higbee Fri Dec 3 8 PM ARPSC at Hamilton Co Sheriff's Training Ctr Sat Dec 4 12 N VE sessions at Salem Presb Church, corner Mozart & Higbee Tue Dec 7 7:30 PM Club Meeting at W HILLS CHURCH OF CHRIST, 5064 Sidney Rd Election of 2000 officers & board, holiday party Wed Dec 8 8 PM Slow Scan ATV Net, 146.67 9 PM Tech Talk, 146.67, NCS Dale KC8HQS or Rob KC8HMQ Tue Dec 14 7:30 PM Technical Committee meeting if needed Wed Dec 15 8 PM Slow Scan ATV Net, 146.67 9 PM Tech Talk, 146.67, NCS Dennis KB8ROA Fri Dec 17 8 PM QCEN at Red Cross HQ, 820 Sycamore St Sat Dec 18 10 AM Monthly foxhunt, hounds start from Mt. Storm Park; talk-in to start 146.67 Wed Dec 22 8 PM Slow Scan ATV Net, 146.67 9 PM Tech Talk, 146.67, NCS Rick KD4PYR Wed Dec 29 8 PM Slow Scan ATV Net, 146.67 9 PM Tech Talk, 146.67, NCS Gene NU8U Tue Jan 4 7:30 PM Club Meeting at W HILLS CHURCH OF CHRIST, 5064 Sidney Rd Program TBA Wed Jan 5 8 PM Slow Scan ATV Net, 146.67 9 PM Tech Talk, 146.67, NCS Carol K8DHK News of members and students in recent classes Welcome to new and returning members KA3MTT Nathan R. Ciufo Members on the move KB8JVK Dennis Marvin and family, from Cheviot to Covedale Volunteer opportunity available The Q-Fiver circulation committee needs a few more members! Assembly and preparation for mailing of roughly 250 copies can usually be accomplished in 2 hours, often less. Pages are often ready by the Tuesday before the club meeting. Board meets on the 4th Tuesday evening, so that time is not available. Nor is a 5th Tuesday evening if there is a Hamfest Team meeting. Tuesday daytime or Wednesday daytime, or evening, are the next logical choices. Harry WA8LOJ has generally been willing and able to come help prepare the Q-Fiver mailings, but he'd rather like to have part of his life back (!). Clara KB8DCH is willing but not always available when the pages are. If you can help, please call (landline or on .67), e-mail or write Ye Ed/Circ Mgr Susie N8CGM and advise. Thank you! Copy deadline for Jan. 2000 issue is Friday, Dec. 17, 1999 =eof=