OH-KY-IN Amateur Radio Society Inc. Our 46th Year of Service to Cincinnati in Amateur Radio A Special Service Club of the American Radio Relay League (the national association for Amateur Radio) OFFICERS & BOARD President Phil Smith KG8AP 513=771-7839 kg8ap@arrl.net Vice President Brian DeYoung K4BRI 859=635-0596 k4bri@arrl.net Cor. Secretary Carol Hugentober WA8YL 513=661-5323 wa8yl@arrl.net Rec. Secretary Susie Scott N8CGM 513=385-5201 n8cgm@arrl.net Treasurer Rick Haltermon KD4PYR 859=384-3311 kd4pyr@arrl.net Directors Ken Croll N8ASV 513=202-1208 n8asv@arrl.net Lynn Ernst WD8JAW 859=657-6161 wd8jaw@arrl.net Nathan Ciufo KA3MTT 859=586-2435 ka3mtt@arrl.net Trustee/Licensee Bob Frey WA6EZV 513=741-9953 wa6ezv@arrl.net REPEATERS K8SCH/R APRS WIDE 146.67(-) 146.625(-) 146.925(-) 442.775(+) 144.39 K8SCH-10 Web Pages www.ohkyin.org w3.one.net/~bfrey/okidx.html (DX) Link in season to OH-KY-IN Hamfest page, Permanent link to Foxhunting page Regular monthly meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month at 7:30 PM local time at the Western Hills Church of Christ, 5064 Sidney Rd. (corner of Sidney & Covedale) in Western Hills, Cincinnati. Visitors are ALWAYS welcome! For membership information contact Ken Croll N8ASV 9998 Dick Rd. Harrison OH 45030 513=202-1208 [n8asv@arrl.net] Permission is hereby granted to any amateur radio group to quote or reprint from this publication, provided proper source credit is given. The Q-FIVER is the official newsletter of OH-KY-IN ARS, edited & published monthly by the following amateurs: Susie Scott N8CGM 6351 Daleview Road 45247 513=385-5201 Editor Jack Koch KA8JFE 2135 Central Parkway 45214 513=721-1203 Publisher, Keystone Printing Co. Please send submissions for the Q-FIVER (including notice of upgrades & call changes) as well as circulation problems & address changes to Ye Ed. Susie N8CGM. These may be: > mailed to or dropped off at 6351 Daleview Rd, Cinti OH 45247 > telephoned to 513=385-5201 any time (answerer takes up to 4 min. dictation) > e-mailed to [n8cgm@arrl.net] THE Q-FIVER (kyoo fi ver) Q: A scale of amateur radio signal readability progressing from 1 (unreadable) to 5 (perfectly readable). "You're Q5" = "Your signal is perfectly readable." (ARRL Handbook, 52d ed. 1975) February 2004 Volume 46 Number 2 Next meeting The next meeting of the Oh-Ky-In Amateur Radio Society will be held on Tuesday, February 3, 2004 at Western Hills Church of Christ, 5064 Sidney Rd. I will give a presentation about the ARRL's proposal for license restructuring, and the comparison to the rest of the world. Coming west from town on Glenway Avenue, pass Ferguson Rd and turn left onto Sidney between the BP gas station and Sebastian’s Greek restaurant, just before the Frisch’s. Then turn right at the stoplight into the drive down to the church parking lot. The entrance is at the back of the building. Plenty of parking is available. 73, Brian K4BRI Minutes of members’ meeting, Tuesday, January 6, 2004 Phil KG8AP led those present in the Pledge of Allegiance at 7:34 PM and self-introductions. There were about 30 present. New calls Kevin KC8YUE, Emily DeYoung KI4DHI. No health and welfare or brag. Brian K4BRI went first in the home brew demonstrations. He built a 440 transmitter synthesized exciter that will be at the north remote. He also demonstrated an e-prom programmer kit that will read and write its own e-proms, $25 for the easy-to-assemble package. There was a polar plotter version 4 that reads TTL levels on a PIC chip. Additionally there was a 9v battery tester that all lights come on at 9.6 v. As well, an Olympic start timer whose only function is to indicate the passage of one minute. And a HTX 202 with programmable oscillator. Harry WA8LOJ displayed computer power supplies he’d built. Phil KG8AP showed off a toy robot built at the robotics group with 2 IR sensors on top, competition legal for a 3’ sumo ring. Julius Jones at Dayton advertised an audio equalizer for $175, change gain and impedance 50-3200 Hz. A square SSB tunable antenna was built from copper tubing, 440 is easier. This is horizontally and vertically polarized and is expected to find a home in the attic. Rubic’s antenna was on the website too. Bob WA6EZV demonstrated a sunroof insert he built for his spouse Pat’s car to keep the rain out while foxhunting. It has controllers for transmitters, RJ 11 jacks convert to DV 9. Q&D 80m vertical, spike to mount, built at 2 AM one day. Ken N8ASV flourished a USB flash data storage device, a small unit that plugs into a computer on which he keeps the current membership database. Program concluded at 8:02 PM, business meeting convened at 8:14. Phil thanked Jo KD4PYS and Thiessens for hospitality. Ev KC8JR moved to accept the minutes as printed in the Q-Fiver, Pete KC8BZM second, motion carried. Membership: Ken N8ASV reported there are now 90 members, including 2 lifetimes. 20 x annual dues is a good deal for a life membership. Treasurer Rick KD4PYR reported he’d paid the repeater council $20 to coordinate. West side merchants’ association gave us $300 for last year’s and this year’s Thanksgiving parade. ARDF account is presently $2363.63 with the bus bill still outstanding. There was no Silent Key report in Bruce N8BV’s absence. Brian K4BRI announced the Technical Committee will meet in Jan at .67, hope to have kit installed. Regular meetings of the second Tuesday will resume. Harry WA8LOJ proclaimed all gear logged and up to date. Phil KG8ASP said that with class starting Feb 19 a teacher’s meeting is needed soon. Spring class is to end Apr 29. Brian K4BRI reported good turnout of VEs for licence exams; 12-13 to take care of 14 examinees, 11 of whom passed. Dick WB4SUV reported for the last hunt for which he and Janie were the foxes. They hid on the top deck of the St Elizabeth’s garage. Ernie W8EH will hide this month. Drive-up hunts may actually draw more hounds. Ed Robbins AA9YH will do an ARDF hunt late in Jan, needs help for registration as he’ll be out in Sharon Woods setting transmitters. Foxhunt forum at Dayton is set for 9:30-10:30 AM Saturday. Bob WA6EZV announced that the ARDF site has converted to general interest from Region 2. Robotics: Phil KG8AP said they’ll meet at Brian K4BRI’s on the third Monday this month. Librarian Jim KC8PRY has 125 books inventoried to start the new year. Eric N8YC said the DXers will meet on third Tuesdays at Carol WA8YL’s. First meeting is Jan 20 to discuss ideas and pick targets. Ft Sumter is a possibility. Places are cheaper after Labour Day, Dick WB4SUV added. Harry WA8LOJ announced that the Slow Scan Net will meet tomorrow. Rick KD4PYR wondered if they’ve tried digital? K8BSM has info. ARPSC: no report. WARN: Boone Co will hold weather training shortly. Pete KC8BZM was present to report for QCEN; their next meeting will be Fri, Jan 16. The Flying Pig is under new management this year, the course will change again. It will not be held on Mother’s Day! QCEN was out on a disaster assignment yesterday for the Red Cross to do with the flooding. Dale KC8HQS has not yet updated the calendar. Old business: Brian K4BRI called for logs for the CW Proficency effort. Applications are available, please come get them. Pete KC8BZM added that Hamilton Co weather training will be Fri, Apr 2 at the Blue Ash Red Cross at 7 PM. WARN likes its volunteers to attend weather training at least every other year. Next Hamfest meeting is Feb 10. John Hughes KG4QGX is the second Life Member. New business: Rick KD4PYR would like another person to take Tech Talk on the 4th Wed. Attendance award would have gone to Stu Press KC8HQT. As he was not present, the sum will be $10 next month. Eric N8YC won $15 in split-the-pot. Nathan KA3MTT moved to adjourn at 8:40 PM, Gayle N8SVA second, motion carried. Respectfully submitted, Susie Scott N8CGM, Recording Secretary *** REMINDER *** Once again, logs are due for entries in the John Hugentober CW Proficiency Award, sponsored by the Oh-Ky-In Amateur Radio Society. Purpose: To encourage amateur radio operators to keep proficient in the art of Morse code communications. To keep with John's love, dedication and proficiency in Morse code. Dates: Any confirmed [QSL'd] CW QSO conducted between January 1st, 2003 and December 31st, 2003 is eligible. Award entries will be accepted until January 31st, 2004. (Read that, hurry up and get your entry in!) Modes: CW (A1A). The use of keyboards, software, and/or automatic CW encoders or decoders is not allowed. Exchange: The only exchange necessary for this award is the written proof of CW contact. Please submit your log including the station callsign, the date and time of the contact, and the send and received RST report. Net checkins or one-way CW copying are not eligible. Scoring: Each CW contact scores with a new station scores five (5) points. Successive contacts with the same station score one point each. Copies of QSL cards submitted with written code comments (i.e. 'Nice fist' or 'Easy to copy') will score an additional 10 points. Submission: All entries for this award should be mailed to: Oh-Ky-In Amateur Radio Society C/O Brian DeYoung, K4BRI 11068 Pleasant Ridge Road Alexandria, KY 41001-9716 E-Mail entries WILL be accepted; send to K4BRI@ARRL.NET 73 - Brian, K4BRI Tally river Ernie W8EH was the fox for January. He hid in Magrish Recreation Area along the Little Miami River north of Kellogg Avenue. It was planned so the hounds would get bearings in the direction of Ft. Thomas, KY. As it turned out all the hounds were tricked and spent time in Kentucky sniffing around, some more than others. Brian was attracted to a hot spot at the purple people bridge. Dick and Bob were finding hot spots all over Ft. Thomas. First to arrive at the park were Dick and Janie. A few minutes later Bob arrived. They both starting hunting on foot for the other five transmitters. Brian and Emily arrived much later but their trip included a good deed, they gave a demonstration of fox hunting and amateur radio to a boy scout troop they ran across. The results: TIME MILEAGE WB4SUV & Janie 1:41 min. 32.6 WA6EZV 1:58 min. 26.6 K4BRI & K4MLE 3:06 min. 25.5 We hope to see everyone again next month, including those who haven't hunted in a while! Ernie W8EH, the fox. Take a Class, get a License! The Milford Amateur Radio Club will offer a Weekend Exam Preparation Class beginning Friday evening, March 12, 2004, at Milford City Building, located at Five Points in downtown Milford. The class fee is $35, which includes the purchase of the study guide published by the American Radio Relay League. The licensing exam will be given by accredited Volunteer Examiners on the following Monday evening. About a week after passing the exam, you may begin using your license as soon as the Federal Communications Commission issues your Call Sign. You can check for your new call sign simply by accessing one of many internet sites. Contact Information: send an e-mail to [Tclass2004@hotmail.com] to reserve your space, or to get more information call Lyle at 513=528-6258 DX Extras February 2004 With the new year, let's hope for some new DX. Results for DX Magazine's 2003 Most Wanted Survey are in. Here is what the top of the list looks like. 1 BS7 Scarborough 6 7O Yemen 2 VU4 Andaman 7 FR/J Juan de Nova 3 P5 North Korea 8 KP1 Navassa 4 VU7 Lakshadweep 9 KP5 Desecheo 5 3Y/P Peter 1 10 YV0 Aves Island How many do you still need?? From the ARRL desk and QRZ DX watch for the following operations: Senegal, 6W - Andy, LX1DA is QRV as 6W/LX1DA until April 8. He is running QRP Congo, 9Q - When not working Gus, will be QRV using hte ARAC Club call of 9Q0AR Burkina Faso, XT - Look for VE4JOP as XT2OP till Feb 5. Try 20M from 1200 to 1400Z. FO, Clipperton Island - March???? XF4IH, Revillagigedo - March 3 to 17 3B9C, Rodrigues - March 20 to April 14 You just missed (Last part of January) 7Q7, Malawi; Fernando de Noronha, PR0F; LU1ZA, South Orkney; FO/A, Australs DX Credit - Recent approvals for DX credit include: YA4F, Sept 03 to April 04; YA8G Dec 03 to Jan 04; 5X2A - July 2004 Cabrillo conversion tool The ARRL contest branch is pleased to announce that a web-based applet is now available for participants to us in order to generate and email ARRL contest logs in the required Cabrillo file format. The first ARRL contest for which the Web applet is available is the recent 2004 RTTY Roundup. Once new contest templates are developed, these will also become available via links from Horn's Cabrillo Web Forms page. While intended for smaller log submissions, the Web applet will work for log submissions of any size. Til next month, GUD DX Bob WA6EZV Contests February 2004 Jan 31-Feb 9 6-Meter Mileage Marathon 1 NA Sprint, CW 3 Spartan Sprint, CW 8 NA Sprint, SSB 7-10 School Club Roundup; MN QSO Party, CW & Phone; FYBO (Freeze Your Butt Off) Winter QRP Field Day, CW; Ten-Ten International Winter Phone QSO Party; VT QSO Party, all mode; XE International RTTY Contest; DE QSO Party, all mode; Classic Ex-change, CW & Phone; QRP ARCI Winter Fireside SSB Sprint 14-15 CQ WW RTTY WPX Contest; RSGB 1.8 MHz Contest, CW; Asia-Pacific Sprint, CW; FISTS CW Winter Sprint; Dutch PACC Contest, CW & SSB; OMISS QSO Party, SSB 21-22 ARRL International DX Contest, CW; YL International QSO Party, CW; CQC Winter QSO Party, CW & Phone; REF French Contest, SSB 28-Mar 1 CQ WW 160-meter SSB Contest; UBA Contest, CW; NC QSO Party, CW & Phone; MS QSO Party, CW & Phone Lots of good contests to while away the time until spring. Have fun. For more information see QST, CQ, or www.arrl.org 73, Dan KF4AV Oh-Ky-In spring class starts Thu, Feb 19 Salem Presbyterian Church at Mozart and Higbee, behind the Harrison-Boudinot White Castle, will once again be the place for Oh-Ky-In’s next round of code and theory classes at 7 PM Thursdays beginning Feb 19. Technician, General and Extra will be taught if there are enough students. Classes run through Apr 22 with an exam scheduled on Apr 24. If you’d like to register, please call Carol WA8YL at 513=661-5323, e-mail[WA8YL@juno.com] or Bruce N8BV at 513=251-1555, e-mail [N8BV@juno.com]. SM: Joe Phillips, K8QOE, Fairfield, (to contact me, see QST page 16); ASM-NE: Bob Winston, W2THU, Cleveland; ASM-NW: Ron Griffin, N8AEH, Findlay; ASM-Central: Bill Carpenter, AA8EY, Westerville; ASM-SW: John Haungs, W8STX, Cincinnati; ASM-SE: Connie Hamilton, N8IO, Marietta; SEC: John Chapman, WB8INY, Gahanna; ACC; Brenda Krukowski, KB8IUP, Toledo; TC: Tom Holmes. N8ZM, Tipp City; PIC: Scott Yonally, N8SY, Mansfield; OOC: Alan Cook, N7CEU, Newark; SGL: Reuben Meeks, W8GUC, Vandalia. FEBRUARY SECTION NEWS - By now you have heard the American Radio Relay League Board of Directors at the January meeting has proposed streamlining Amateur Radio Licensing. They also proposed a new Novice license with limited HF privileges. Read the proposal, complete with proposed new band plans, added at the end of this edition of Section News (following the traffic reports) for your convenience. BUT REMEMBER THIS IS ONLY A PROPOSAL TO THE FCC. An NPRM will be assigned and I'm sure there will be plenty of comments to improve these proposals before any final FCC determination. OHIO NET NEWS - Ohio Single Side Band Net has a new Net Manager. Ron West, N8OD, of Lagrange, had to resign for health reasons and William Baker, KC8OKJ, of Sebina, will finish out Ron's term. The semiannual meeting of the OSSBN will be at the 11 a.m. forum, Feb. 8 at the Mansfield Hamfest. OHIO CLUB NEWS - Affiliated Clubs Coordinator Brenda Krukowski, KB8IUP, of Monclova, has been appointed Emergency Coordinator for Lucas County (Toledo) effective immediately. Due to the extra duties as EC (along with her running the Toledo Hamfest at Maumee in March), she is asking the ACC position be reappointed. Brenda said she will remain as ACC until a successor is named. If you wish to be considered, please write the Section Manager (). New officers for the Grant Amateur Radio Club are: Pres. Jerry Silman, Sr., KB8PVY, VP: Gordon Neal, W8YGW, Secretary: Carolyn Donner, N8ST and Treas.: Dorothy Silman, KB8TQU. The 20/9 ARC Newsletter (Mahoning County) attaches photos of its officers and committee chairpersons next to written columns in each month’s edition. Helps people recognize its leadership. In Ohio about 20 per cent of club membership attend meetings regularly. These photos make the newsletter more useful to the 80 per cent who only occasionally drop into meetings. OHIO SECTION REMINDER - Check your amateur radio license. About to be expired? Time to update with the FCC. Also check your ham call automobile plates. Are these expired also? OHIO SECT CONGRATS (A) To Jim Foote, K8KSN as the recipient of the 2003 TUSCO Member of the Year award, (B) To Lucas Vega, N8VL as Mahoning Valley ARC Ham of the Year for 2003, (C) To Earnest Howard, Sr., N8EH (formerly WD8DEZ), retiring as Monroe Chief of Police after 42 year career in law enforcement including long time Assistant Chief of Middletown Police Department, (D) To Kevin Halloran, W8PKH, for story in the Kenton Times and his work in informing local civil officials about the benefits of ham radio. OHIO SECTION FEBRUARY HAMFESTS... (1) Northern Ohio ARS in Lorain OH,Web Site or contact: Clark Beckman, N8PZD, AND (8) Inter-City ARC in Mansfield, OH. Web Site or contact Jack Weeks, K8RT, at Email: . Boone County Emergency Management announces: SEVERE WEATHER SPOTTER TRAINING Presented by: The National Weather Service Wednesday February 18 at 7:00 p.m. Boone County Cooperative Extension Office At the Corner of KY 18 and Camp Ernst Rd - Burlington This training is free and open to the public Learn to recognize and identify severe weather conditions and patterns Space is limited - Call to reserve your place Boone County Emergency Management: 859=334-2279 Cincinnati Severe Weather Spotter Training Presented by the Red Cross and Ntl Weather Service Friday, April 2 at 7 pm at Blue Ash Red Cross, 10870 Kenwood Rd This training is also free and open to the public Make your reservation at 513=792-4000 before space runs out Elementary Antenna Experiments Part 3 by Greg May W2ORO I have been looking forward to building this next entry. It is a half wavelength extendible rod antenna that uses a small coil and a variable capacitor to obtain a match. This one really caught my eye early on because it is rather unique amongst the many variations of homemade antennas, but yet is based upon proven theory. The intended purpose is noble: to replace the villainous rubber duck for those that need to use a portable radio, and give them a better chance at getting a clear signal out. The design was originally meant to imitate a well-liked HT antenna from a few years ago called the AEA Hot Rod, which allowed amateurs some gain on their portable transceivers. Winding the coil was fun and simple: four turns of 12 gauge bare solid copper wire using a half inch dowel as a temporary form. I picked up a standard replacement rod antenna at Radio Shack and extended it to the length specified in the plans. Since I had no miniature variable caps on hand, I ordered a variety from Digi-Key, an electronics supply company. They all tested great on a capacitance meter, but the more expensive ones ($2) looked so well-made, I decided to use them in my antenna testing. Tuning for minimum SWR is accomplished in two steps. First, the wire center tap that carries the RF up to the coil is moved slightly up or down the winding and resoldered. After the best position is found, the capacitor is very slightly tweaked. Being a “single-turn” variety, I found it to be extremely sensitive; very small movements evidenced a substantial change in the match. I chose to make the final adjustments in steps, without RF applied. For those who might consider trying to adjust live using low power, make sure you are using a plastic tool to tweak the capacitor! A metal blade could throw off your SWR reading. In the end, testing revealed the half wave rod to operate as claimed. It exactly matched the performance of the dual element X-beam tested last month, which is saying much for a smaller antenna. The signal strength came in just below that of a standard dipole, which is also a ½ wavelength radiator, but not nearly as portable. For those looking to build an improved replacement for their duckie, this is it. And if you would like to have increased gain for your HT but just aren’t into building your own, I am planning to address commercially available alternatives in a future article. Unfortunately, I have been told that the AEA Hot Rods are no longer being made, but there are other good extendible rods to choose from. More antenna tests are yet to come! In the next installment we will examine the DBJ-1 dual band J-Pole antenna presented in the pages of QST magazine one year ago. Until then, 73! What’s coming in February Sat, Jan 31 11:59:59 PM Submission deadline for John Hugentober CW Proficiency entries. See page 4. E-mail OK to [K4BRI@arrl.net] Tue. Feb 3 7:30 pm Club meeting at WESTERN HILLS CHURCH OF CHRIST, 5064 Sidney Rd Program: Proposed licence revisions Wed, Feb 4 7:30 PM Slow Scan ATV Net, NCS Harry WA8LOJ, 146.67 9:00 PM Tech Talk, NCS Carol WA8YL, 146.67 Fri, Feb 6 8:00 PM Hamilton Co Amateur Radio Public Svc Corps at Hamilton Co Commu- nications Ofc Conference Rm, 2377 Civic Ctr Dr. Park in Hamilton Co Bd of Education lot on N side of Civic Ctr Dr Tue, Feb 10 7:30 PM Hamfest Committee at Carol WA8YL’s Technical Committee, location TBA Wed, Feb 11 9:00 PM Tech Talk, NCS Dale KC8HQS, 146.67 Sat. Feb 14 10:00 AM Monthly fox hunt, hounds start from Mt Storm Park, talk-in to start 146.67 Mon, Feb 16 7:30 PM Robotics Group, location TBA Tue, Feb 17 7:30 PM DXers at Carol WA8YL’s Wed, Feb 18 9:00 PM Tech Talk, NCS Dennis KB8ROA, 146.67 Thu, Feb 19 7:00 PM Code and theory classes start at Salem Presbyterian Church, corner Mozart & Higbee in Westwood-Cheviot, behind Harrison-Boudinot White Castle Fri, Feb 20 8:00 PM Queen City Emergency Net at Red Cross HQ, 820 Sycamore St Wed, Feb 25 9:00 PM Tech Talk, NCS Brian K4BRI, 146.67 (new regular NCS) Thu, Feb 26 7:00 PM Code and theory classes at at Salem Presbyterian Church, corner Mozart & Higbee in Westwood-Cheviot, behind Harrison-Boudinot White Castle Tue, Mar 2 7:30 PM Club meeting at WESTERN HILLS CHURCH OF CHRIST, 5064 Sidney Rd Program: TBA News of members and students in recent classes New calls John Hughes AI4DA (was KG4DXG) Judy Smith W1ORO (was KI4CPQ) Greg May W2ORO (was KI4CPP) Dues are due – please pay them if you haven’t yet! Renewal form available for download from www.ohkyin.org 73, Ken N8ASV Copy deadline for March issue is Friday, Feb 13 (luckier than you think!) OH-KY-IN 2004 Committee Appointments Technical Committee Brian DeYoung K4BRI, Chair Membership Ken Croll N8ASV, Chair Education Co-Chairs Rick Haltermon KD4PYR Phil Smith KG8AP PIO Bruce Vanselow N8BV Q-Fiver Susie Scott N8CGM, Editor Special Publications Jo Haltermon KD4PYS John M Hugentober Sr Memorial CW Proficiency Award Brian DeYoung K4BRI, Chair WebMeister Dale Vanselow KC8HQS Equipment Mgr Harry Davis WA8LOJ TVI/RFI Dick Arnett WB4SUV, Chair Tech Talk Net Mgr Bruce Vanselow N8BV Silent Key Bruce Vanselow N8BV, Chair ARPSC Representative Dennis Fox KB8ROA QCEN Representative Peter J Feichtner III KC8BZM WARN Representative open Volunteer Examiners Brian DeYoung K4BRI, Chair Repeater Control Ops Mgr Bruce Vanselow N8BV Librarian James E. Keely KC8PRY Field Day Dick Arnett WB4SUV, Chair Hamfest Co-Chairs open Slow Scan TV Net Mgr Harry Davis WA8LOJ Fox Hunters Co-Chairs Dick Arnett WB4SUV Bob Frey WA6EZV Robotics Chair Dana Laurie WA8M 2004 DXpedition Coordinator Eric Neiheisel N8YC [n8yc@arrl.net] 513=598-1659 Life Members Kenneth E Wolf N8WYC John W Hughes AI4DA ARRL to Propose New Entry-Level License, Code-Free HF Access.. From the Ohio Section Manager, Joe Phillips, K8QOE NEWINGTON, CT, Jan 19, 2004--The ARRL will ask the FCC to create a new entry-level Amateur Radio license that would include HF phone privileges without requiring a Morse code test. The League also will propose consolidating all current licensees into three classes, retaining the Element 1 Morse requirement--now 5 WPM-only for the highest class. The ARRL Board of Directors overwhelmingly approved the plan January 16 during its Annual Meeting in Windsor, Connecticut. The proposals, developed by the ARRL Executive Committee following a Board instruction last July, are in response to changes made in Article 25 of the international Radio Regulations at World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC-03) and continue a process of streamlining the amateur licensing structure that the FCC began more than five years ago, but left unfinished, in Docket 98-143. "Change in the Amateur Radio Service in the US, especially license requirements and even more so when Morse is involved, has always been emotional," said ARRL First Vice President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, in presenting the Executive Committee's recommendations. "In fact, without a doubt, Morse is Amateur Radio's 'religious debate.'" The plan adopted by the Board departs only slightly from the Executive Committee's recommendations. The "New" Novice The entry-level license class--being called "Novice" for now--would require a 25 question written exam. It would offer limited HF CW/data and phone/image privileges on 80, 40, 15 and 10 meters as well as VHF and UHF privileges on 6 and 2 meters, and 222-225 and 430-450 MHz. Power output would be restricted to 100 W on 80, 40, and 15 meters and to 50 W on 10 meters and up, thus avoiding the need for the more complex RF safety questions in the Novice question pool. The Board sought to achieve balance in giving new Novice licensees the opportunity to sample a wider range of Amateur Radio activity than is available to current Technicians while retaining motivation to move up to the other two license classes. It was also seen as important to limit the scope of privileges so the exam would not have to include material that is inappropriate at the entry level. While the Novice license was a successful introduction to Amateur Radio for most of its 50-year history, the FCC has not issued new Novice licenses since April 2000, when the FCC's most recent Amateur Service license restructuring took effect. Current Novice licensees, the smallest and least active group of radio amateurs, would be grandfathered to the new entry-level class without further testing. Anticipating assertions that the new plan would "dumb down" Amateur Radio licensing, Harrison said those currently holding a ticket often perceive the level of complexity to have been greater when they were first licensed than it actually was. "Quite frankly," he said, "if you review the questions presented in our license manuals throughout the years, you will be surprised how they compare to those of today." Technicians and Generals The middle group of licensees--Technician, Tech Plus (Technician with Element 1 credit) and General--would be consolidated into a new General license that no longer would require a Morse examination. Current Technician and Tech Plus license holders automatically would gain current General class privileges without additional testing. The current Element 3 General examination would remain in place for new applicants. Generals would gain additional phone privileges as proposed the ARRL in 2002 in its RM-10413 petition, which has not yet been acted on by the FCC. Morse Code Testing Retained for Extra At the top rung, the Board saw no need to change the requirements for an Extra class license. The ARRL plan calls on the FCC to combine the current Advanced and Amateur Extra class licensees into Amateur Extra, because the technical level of the exams passed by these licensees is very similar. New applicants for Extra would have to pass a 5 WPM Morse code examination, but the written exam would stay the same. Current Novice, Tech Plus and General class licensees would receive lifetime Element 1 (5 WPM Morse) credit. "This structure provides a true entry-level license with HF privileges to promote growth in the Amateur Service," Harrison said. "It also simplifies the FCC database by conforming to the current Universal Licensing System (ULS) structure and does not mandate any modifications to it." ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, concurred. "The Board started out by recognizing that three license classes was the right number when looking down the road 10 or 15 years," he said. "We need a new entry-level license. On the other hand, there's nothing particularly wrong with the existing Extra class license; the change in the international regulations notwithstanding, the Board felt that the highest level of accomplishment in the FCC's amateur licensing structure should include basic Morse capability." Sumner and Harrison say the current Technician entry-level ticket provides little opportunity to experience facets of ham radio beyond repeater operation. "The quality of that experience," Sumner said, "often depends on the operator's location." Among other advantages, Sumner said the plan would allow new Novices to participate in HF SSB emergency nets on 75 and 40 meters as well as on the top 100 kHz of 15 meters. The new license could get another name, Sumner said. "We're trying to recapture the magic of the old Novice license, but in a way that's appropriate for the 21st Century." Proposal Includes "Novice Refarming" Band Plan The overall proposed ARRL license restructuring plan would more smoothly integrate HF spectrum privileges across the three license classes and would incorporate the League's "Novice refarming" plan , which would alter the current HF subbands. Proposed to the FCC nearly two years ago but not yet acted upon, Novice refarming would eliminate the 80, 40 and 15-meter Novice/Technician Plus CW subbands as such and reuse that spectrum in part to expand phone/image subbands on 80 and 40 meters. Proposed Phone/Image HF Subbands (Includes Novice Refarming Proposal) 80 Meters Extra: 3.725-4.000 MHz (gain of 25 kHz) General: 3.800-4.000 MHz (gain of 50 kHz) Novice: 3.900-4.000 MHz (new) 40 meters Extra: 7.125-7.300 MHz (gain of 25 kHz) General: 7.175-7.300 MHz (gain of 50 kHz) Novice: 7.200-7.300 MHz (new) 15 meters Extra: 21.200-21.450 MHz (no change) General: 21.275-21.450 MHz (gain of 25 kHz) Novice: 21.350-21.450 MHz (new) 10 meters Extra and General: 28.300-29.700 MHz (no change) Novice: 28.300-28.500 MHz (no change) _____________________________________ Proposed CW/Data-Exclusive HF Subbands (Includes Novice Refarming Proposal) 80 meters Extra: 3.500-3.725 MHz General: 3.525-3.725 MHz Novice: 3.550-3.700 MHz 40 meters Extra: 7.000-7.125 MHz General: 7.025-7.125 MHz Novice: 7.050-7.125 MHz 15 meters Extra: 21.000-21.200 MHz General: 21.025-21.200 MHz Novice: 21.050-21.200 MHz 10 meters Extra/General: 28.000-28.300 MHz Novice: 28.050-28.300 MHz The ARRL license restructuring design calls for no changes in privileges for Extra and General class licensees on 160, 60, 30, 20, 17 or 12 meters. Novice licensees would have no access to those bands. Elementary Antenna Experiments Part 3 by Greg May W2ORO I have been looking forward to building this next entry. It is a half wavelength extendible rod antenna that uses a small coil and a variable capacitor to obtain a match. This one really caught my eye early on because it is rather unique amongst the many variations of homemade antennas, but yet is based upon proven theory. The intended purpose is noble: to replace the villainous rubber duck for those that need to use a portable radio, and give them a better chance at getting a clear signal out. The design was originally meant to imitate a well-liked HT antenna from a few years ago called the AEA Hot Rod, which allowed amateurs some gain on their portable transceivers. Winding the coil was fun and simple: four turns of 12 gauge bare solid copper wire using a half inch dowel as a temporary form. I picked up a standard replacement rod antenna at Radio Shack and extended it to the length specified in the plans. Since I had no miniature variable caps on hand, I ordered a variety from Digi-Key, an electronics supply company. They all tested great on a capacitance meter, but the more expensive ones ($2) looked so well-made, I decided to use them in my antenna testing. Tuning for minimum SWR is accomplished in two steps. First, the wire center tap that carries the RF up to the coil is moved slightly up or down the winding and resoldered. After the best position is found, the capacitor is very slightly tweaked. Being a “single-turn” variety, I found it to be extremely sensitive; very small movements evidenced a substantial change in the match. I chose to make the final adjustments in steps, without RF applied. For those who might consider trying to adjust live using low power, make sure you are using a plastic tool to tweak the capacitor! A metal blade could throw off your SWR reading. In the end, testing revealed the half wave rod to operate as claimed. It exactly matched the performance of the dual element X-beam tested last month, which is saying much for a smaller antenna. The signal strength came in just below that of a standard dipole, which is also a ½ wavelength radiator, but not nearly as portable. For those looking to build an improved replacement for their duckie, this is it. And if you would like to have increased gain for your HT but just aren’t into building your own, I am planning to address commercially available alternatives in a future article. Unfortunately, I have been told that the AEA Hot Rods are no longer being made, but there are other good extendible rods to choose from. More antenna tests are yet to come! In the next installment we will examine the DBJ-1 dual band J-Pole antenna presented in the pages of QST magazine one year ago. Until then, 73! Greg W2ORO VE exam opportunities February 2004 Sat. Feb. 7 at Hartwell Presbyterian Church, Parkway & Woodbine Avs, sponsored by CRA. Registration 8:30 AM; walk-ins only! Info: Herb Blasberg WA8PBW, 513=891-7556 Mon. Feb. 9 at Turkeyfoot Middle School, 3230 Turkeyfoot Rd, Edgewood KY, sponsored by NKARC. 6-8 PM. Pre-registration encouraged, but walk-ins will be accepted. No photocopying on site; please bring everything you need! Info: 859=472-6690 or 859=356-5460. Sat. Feb. 14 at the Butler Co VHF Communications Centre in the D Russel Lee Vocational School, 3603 Hamilton-Middletown Rd (Rt 4), suburban Hamilton, sponsored by Butler Co VHF Assn. Registration 8:30 AM. School's talk-in: I-75 to M Fox Hwy (SR 129), follow 129 to Bypass 4 to Rt 4 .2 mi on the right, 1st drive. 4-way stop & a yield, beyond which is new addition with lots of glass; you're there.. Info: Ted Wilson K8TCR, 513=868-7012. Talk-in 146.97 Mon., Mar. 15 at Milford City Bldg, 5 Points in downtown Milford, sponsored by Milford ARC. (evening). Follows Weekend Exam Prep class. Info: Lyle 513=528-6258 IN ALL CASES 2 IDs (at least 1 with photo), originals (bring to exam) & photocopies (enclose with preregistration or bring to exam to file with NCVEC Form 605, of license & CSCEs), blue or black pen for answers & form filling are required. Headphones for the CW element and photocopying available at Oh-Ky-In exams but not at most other testing locations (call for info). Pre-registration encouraged where available (see specific exam info for where to send, enclose SASE for confirmation and NCVEC 605). $12 is the current ARRL/VEC exam fee.