VOLUME XXXIV #4

APRIL 2014 Q5

DOWNEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB

SERVING DOWNEY AND THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES SINCE 1951

Maker Faire is April’s Presentation Topic This month’s presentation will be by Dennis Kidder, W6DQ. Dennis has spoken be-fore at the Downey club and always provides something that is both educational and of interest. This time he will be discussing the “Maker Faire” movement. What’s the Maker Faire you say? Well, Maker Faire is an event created by “Make Magazine” to celebrate arts, crafts, engineering, science projects and the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset. Flagship Maker Faires are held in San Mateo, California, Detroit and New York. For more information on the Maker Faire coming up in May in the Bay Area, check out http://makerfaire.com/. Dennis was first licensed in 1969 as WN6NIA. That quickly changed to WA6NIA when Dennis picked up his Advanced Class license and ultimately his Amateur Extra. Den-nis recently gave up is long-time call for that of one of his High School Elmers - W6DQ. Ham radio launched him into a career in engineering, working on many different projects over the years - from pub-lishing newspapers, to building and operating concert sound systems, to systems that fly spacecraft and even build-ing airports and air traffic control systems. Dennis approaches Ham Radio in the same way -- trying to experience all that makes ham radio what it is. A big fan of boat anchor collecting, Dennis has recently fulfilled a long time desire: "Heavy Metal," operating on 75M AM using an old AM broadcast transmitter from Collins.

Event Date Lead

Street Faire May 3rd Kent Savage

Ho’olaule’a July 19th & 20th Buck Kerns

DARC 2014 Public Service Events

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THE DOWNEY

AMATEUR RADIO CLUB, INC.

P.O. Box 207

Downey, CA 90241

Q5 Staff

Editor

John Powell, KF6EOJ john.powell@csulb.edu Phone: (562) 862-4608 Alt Phone: (562) 985-8610 Assistant Editor

Rick Norwood, KD6KHJ Phone: (562) 865-5750 kd6khj@arrl.net

Associate Editors

John Schroeder, N6QQ Jon Olesen,KD6HXP Steve Hartranft, KI6SUF Electronic Publishing

Rick Norwood,KD6KHJ Phone: (562) 865-5750 kd6khj@arrl.net

Permission to copy material from the Q5 is granted provided that credit is given to the “DARC Q5”.

Q5, as in: a signal that is perfectly readable, hence the name of our newsletter. We hope you agree.

Club Officers President

Dave Glenn, N6TEB Phone: (562) 928-8560 n6teb@arrl.net

First Vice President Ron Eveland, W6QM Phone: (562) 860-3623 w6qm@msn.com

VP Service Rick Norwood, KD6KHJ Phone: (562) 865-5750 kd6khj@arrl.net VP Membership OPEN VP Programs OPEN VP Ways and Means Steve Hartranft, KI6SUF Phone: (562) 923-0070 grandpasjh@aol.com Secretary

Bill Heather, KB6WKT Phone: (562) 863-6607

kb6wkt@arrl.net Treasurer Frank Myllo, KC6YPV Phone: (562) 860-4045 kc6ypv@arrl.net Director (One Year) Kent Savage, K6WCI Phone: (562) 716-6070 k6wci@arrl.net Director (Two Years) Buck Kerns, AE6DT Phone: (562) 634-8441 ae6dt@arrl.net Trustee, W6TOI

Bill Heather, KB6WKT Phone: (562) 863-6607

kb6wkt@arrl.net

Looking for an Elmer?

Here are a few resources that can get you going: Bill Heather, KB6WKT, 562 863-6607 kb6wkt@arrl.net, Helping Hams, Contesting Ivan Mikulich, KB6ATT, 562 862-4592 kb6att@att.net, Helping Hams, Field Trips Glenn Allen, KE6HPZ, 562 928-2080 ke6hpz@ham-radio.com, Microwave Harold ‘Buck’ Kerns, AE6DT, 562 634-8441 ae6dt@arrl.net, Public Service John Schroeder, N6QQ, 562 404-1112 n6qq@msn.com, Contesting, DXing, DXCC and WAS Card Checker, QSL cards for CQ WAZ and WPX awards.

When and where we meet:

We normally meet the first Thursday of each month at 1930 hrs in room 120 of

the First Baptist Church in Downey. The church is between 2nd and 3rd

streets, near City Hall, address is 8348 E. 3rd St. Use 2nd St, east from

Downey Ave (1 block north of Firestone Bl), adjacent to City Hall. Entrance via

double glass doors on the north side of 2nd St.

Swap Meet Information:

CHHS Electronics Swap Meet

Chino Hills High School

16150 Pomona Rincon Rd

Chino Hills, CA

Held the third Saturday of each month, 06:30 to 11:30 AM

W6TRW Swap Meet

Northrop Grumman Parking Lot

Corner of Marine and Aviation

Manhattan Beach, CA

Held the last Saturday of each month, 07:00 to 11:30 AM

Affiliations:

Affiliated ARRL Club

ARRL Special Service Club

Los Angeles Area Council of Amateur Radio Clubs

Orange County Council of Amateur Radio Organizations

Club Frequencies:

Simplex: 145.595 MHz*

440 Repeater #1: 445.640 (-) PL 156.7 Hz*

440 Repeater #2: 445.640 (-) PL 88.5 Hz

* See Calendar for Net Schedule

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Presidents Message April 2014 By the time this month’s Q5 is released many of us will be recovering from Baker to Vegas 2014, This is the 30

th anniversary of the event. Several of our Downey club members par-

ticipate in the event and there really isn’t anything like it. The closest thing I would think would be a remote location Field Day. The main challenge supporting B2V is making sure we have everything we need and at least one spare of each critical item. When you are camped out on a piece of desert 40 miles from the nearest town, and that town is Baker, California, there is simply no run-ning out to pick up something you forgot. When things break, you fix them, you learn the best way to tie down easy-ups in strong winds and you come up with new ways to do bet-ter each year. This is to assure no runner gets to the hand off chute without his teammate positioned, and ready to go. Like many public service clubs and organizations, B2V needs to continually add new volunteers to keep the race running. If you ever have a chance and have never tried this event I would highly recommend it for both fun and satisfaction. On a side note, I was in a minor traffic accident this month. I was stopped at a light and someone ran into the back of my truck. My truck won. The driver took off and drove head into oncoming traffic and totaled his car and the one he hit. It turned out he was a diabetic and his insulin levels had gone way off. The interesting thing is while I was parked in the middle of the street a few of the Torrance police officers came over and asked about my B2V license plate frame. When I told them I was a Ham they shook my hand and thanked me for our service. This goes to show that our efforts are appreciated and noticed. 73, Dave N6TEB

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General Meeting Minutes March 6, 2014 President Dave Glenn N6TEB, brought the meeting to order at 19:31 there were 20 in attendance. We com-menced with the Pledge of Allegiance which was led by Larry Tinkler, K6LXT. Following the Pledge of Alle-giance introductions were done for those that were in attendance. Dave requested a motion to be made to accept the minutes as printed in the March's Q5. A motion was made and seconded and passed unanimously. Dave requested a motion to be made to accept the treasurer’s report as printed in the March's addition of the Q5. A motion was made and seconded and passed unanimously. Steve, KI6SUF, is heading up this year's ARC Walk. The walk will be held on March 22nd. The date of the event is also the same date as the annual Baker to Vegas Event, which many of the Club members will be par-ticipating in, and that event is causing a personnel shortage for the ARC walk. Steve reported that he has 5 volunteers for the event and would like to have a total of 10 volunteers for the event. Dave, N6TEB, provided a video of an internet video series called Hamnation. This series is hosted by Bob Heil, K9EID, and Gordon West, WB6NOA. Dave picked a few of topics to show the group. The topics were on CES 2014, Quartzfest 2014 and an AGC (Automatic Gain Control) demonstration with a contact on 15 meters to Japan.

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Bill, KB6WKT, provided the group on an update on Buck Kerns, AE6DT, who is currently in the hospital at UCLA Ronald Regan waiting for a heart transplant. Meeting was adjourned at 20:18 hours with many of the members staying after enjoying the refreshments. Respectfully Submitted Bill Heather KB6WKT Secretary

Ham Ad, Gear for Sale Selling a couple of assembled (and tested) Ten-Tec “T-Kits”. The 1253, a 9 Band “Short Wave” suger-regen receiver. This kit receiver is about 6” on a side, runs on internal batteries or external 12V supply. Has screw terminals for a wire antenna, or adapt it for PL-259 use. Original cost nearly $100, selling for $40. See: http://www.tentec.com/9-band-

sw-receiver-model-1253/ The 1209, a 2 meter to 6 meter all mode Transverter (5W in, 8W out). Use with your 5W HT, or 2M all mode rig “dialed down” to 5W, for 8W out on 6 meters. This is a relatively inexpensive way to get

on the “Magic Band” if you don’t have 6 meter gear. It comes with a long red/black fused pigtail power cord. PL-259 in/out connectors. No tuning, one on/off switch. Original cost nearly $160, selling for $40. See: http://www.tentecwiki.org/doku.php?id=1209 Both units come with the original manuals of course. Both are clean and in “near new” con-dition. Contact John Powell, KF6EOJ at 562-862-4608 or john.powell@csulb.edu for details.

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News from the ARRL Website Marconi Special Event A few dozen special event stations will take to the air April 26, 0000 UTC to 2359 UTC, to commem-orate International Marconi Day (IMD). Among them will be GB4IMD, in Cornwall, England, OE14M, in Vienna, Austria, IY0IMD in Italy, VO1AA, on Signal Hill in St Johns, Newfound-land, VK2IMD in Australia, and WA1WCC on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. All stations planning to participate are urged to register. A list of reg-istered participants is on the IMD 2014 website. International Marconi Day is a 24 hour Amateur Radio event held annually to celebrate the birth of Guglielmo Marconi on April 15, 1874. IMD is held each year on a Saturday close to Marconi’s birth-day, with Amateur Radio stations on the air from around the world, including some Award Sta-tions operating from historically significant sites. The event is not a contest; it is an opportunity for amateurs around the world to make point-to-point contact with historic Marconi sites using HF com-munications techniques similar to those used by Marconi, and to earn an award certificate for working or hearing a requisite number of Marconi stations W1AW Special Event The ARRL Centennial “W1AW WAS” operations that are taking place throughout 2014 from each of the 50 states will relocate at 0000 UTC on March 19 (the evening of March 18 in US time zones), from Arizona and Ohio to Tennessee (W1AW/4), New Mexico (W1AW/5), and Guam (W1AW/KH2). During 2014 W1AW will be on the air from every state (at least twice) and most US territories, and it will be easy to work all states solely by contacting W1AW portable operations. In conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the ARRL, the ARRL Centennial QSO Party kicked off January 1 for a year-long operating event in which participants can accumulate points and win awards. The event is open to all, although only ARRL members and appointees, elected officials, HQ staff and W1AW are worth ARRL Centennial QSO Party points. Working W1AW/x from each state is worth 5 points per contact. To earn the "Worked all States with W1AW Award," work W1AW operating portable from all

50 states. (Working W1AW or W100AW in Connecti-cut does not count for Connecticut, however. For award credit, participants must work W1AW/1 in Con-necticut.) A W1AW WAS certificate and plaque will be available (pricing not yet available). The ARRL has posted an ARRL Centennial QSO Par-ty leader board that participants can use to determine how many points they have accumulated in the Cen-tennial QSO Party and in the W1AW WAS operations. Log in using your Logbook of The World (LoTW) user name and password, and your position will appear at the top of the leader boards. Results are updated dai-ly, based on contacts entered into LoTW.

Downey Street Faire

May 3rd is the day for the annu-al Downey Street Faire.

This year we will again be in charge of the radios for the Street Faire com-mittee members and also the parking lot just north of the police sta-

tion. It is going to be used by the bands and enter-

tainment.

I need volunteers to staff both sites from 6:00 AM to about 5:30 PM. Please let me know by email if you are available. My email address is k6wci@arrl.net or call me at 562-716-6070. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Kent Savage, K6WCI

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Board Minutes March 11, 2014 President Dave Glenn, N6TEB; brought the meeting to order at 19:03 hours in the Emergency Operations Center at the Downey Fire Station #1. Besides Dave, other board members present were: First Vice President, Ron Eveland, W6QM; VP Service Rick Norwood, KD6KHJ; VP-Ways Means, Steve Hartranft, KI6SUF; Secre-tary Bill Heather, KB6WKT; Treasurer Frank Myllo, KC6YPV. Absent: Director 1 year Kent Savage, K6WCI; Director 2 years Buck Kerns, AE6DT; VP Programs, Open; VP Membership Open. Additions to the Agenda: 2014 Budget Committee 2014 Audit Committee Approval of Board Minutes: Dave requested for a motion to accept the Board minutes as printed in the March addition of the Q5. The motion was made and seconded and passed. OFFICERS REPORT First Vice President: Ron, W6QM. Nothing to report at this time Treasurer: Frank, KC6YPV. Nothing to report at this time. VP Service: Rick, KD6KHJ. Refer to the agenda. VP Ways & Means: Steve, KI6SUF. Nothing to report at this time. Secretary: Bill, KB6WKT. Nothing to report at this time. Director 1 Year: Kent, K6WCI. Absent. Director 2 Years: Buck, AE6DT. Absent VP Membership - Vacant VP Programs - Vacant Planning Calendar - ARC Walk; Steve reported that he only has 5 volunteers signed up for the event. As a re-sult of only five signing up for the event, discussion amongst various Board members took place regarding canceling support for the event. After a considerable discussion it was determined that the event could be done with a least 6 volunteers. Dave and Rick will work together to help Steve find at least 1 more person. Street Faire - Kent N6WCI, was absent and no report was available for the meeting Field Day - Dave commented that Bill KB6WKT is the assumed Field Day Chairman. After a short discussion Bill will set a meeting in the near future for the Field Day Committee. April Guest Speaker - Dave reported that April's guest speaker will be Dennis Kiddler. His topic will be The Maker Faire. Club Affiliation - Dave reported that he has worked on the Club's affiliation with the ARRL. He reported that the ARRL has a new form that needs to be filled out for the affiliation. Dave also reported that our VE sessions are not showing up on the ARRL website. Rick commented that the Club is listed. Dave will look into the listing. Downey Community Hospital Affiliation - Club member Bob Wartenbe, WB6GJW, has inquired with Dave, N6TEB, about our Emergency plan including the hospital. After a brief discussion amongst various Board members it was determined that we do not have a current plan of any kind with the hospital and do not have one planned in the near future. Dave informed the Board that he will contact Bob and inform him. Cerritos Faire Booth - Club member David Brackett, KE6OPK, inquired of the Board about the Club having a

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booth at the faire to promote the Club and amateur radio. The faire will be held on April 25-27. After a short discussion David will look into the particulars regarding what it will take for the Club to have a booth and will report back to the Board at next month's meeting. Display of Club Banners - Dave reported that he has heard back from the B2V organizers and the Club has permission to hang Club banners only at the radio area. 2014 Budget Committee - Rick reported that we have not set the Budget for 2014. It is the President's respon-sibility to appoint the committee to set the budget. Dave appointed Rick, Ron, and Steve as committee mem-bers for the 2014 budget. 2013 Audit Committee - Rick pointed out to the Board that the audit has not been done. According to the Club's By-Laws the past President is to appoint the Audit Committee. Rick appointed Ron, Steve and Kent for 2013 audit committee. Meeting adjourned at 19:43 hours. Respectfully Submitted Bill Heather KB6WKT, Secretary

Baker to Vegas ‘14

N6TEB Photography

N6TEB Photography KD6KHJ Photography

KD6KHJ Photography

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Treasurer’s Report—Income

Treasurer’s Report— Expense

2014 (OVER)/

Feb 14 YTD ANNUAL UNDER

ACTUAL ACTUAL BUDGET BUDGET

EXPENDITURES

Repeater $33.94 $129.94 $227.81 $97.87

Club Merchandise $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Correspondence

Printing $0.00 $60.00 $60.00

Supplies $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Postage $66.00 $132.00 $66.00

Committees

Award $94.28 $94.28 $0.00

Education/Awareness $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Membership $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Publicity & Public Relations $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Sunshine $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Equipment/Maintenance $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Events

Christmas Party $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Field Day $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Luncheon $800.00 $800.00 $0.00

Fund Raisers $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Other Events $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Insurance $325.00 $650.00 $325.00

Misc. Expenses $180.00 $180.00 $0.00

Officers' Expenses

Board Members $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Treasurer $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Other Organizations

Dues $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

P.O. Box Rental $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Refreshments, Meetings $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

$0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Total Expenditures $33.94 $1,595.22 $2,144.09 $548.87

2013 - 2014 Feb 14 YEAR-TO-DATE ANNUAL (OVER)/UNDER

INCOME ACTUAL ACTUAL BUDGET BUDGET

Club Merchandise $0.00 $0.00

Dues $40.00 $315.00 ($315.00)

Luncheon $212.50 ($212.50)

Misc.Income $0.00 $0.00

Fund Raisers $0.00 $0.00

Total Income $40.00 $527.50 $0.00 ($527.50)

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Treasurer’s Report— Summary

April Birthdays

Richard Hodge, KJ6GHW, 18th

Jack Jones, W3OB, 28th

Llyod Hendrickson, K6NQY

Rick Norwood, KD6KHJ

DOWNEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB

TREASURER'S REPORT

Feb-14

SUMMARY

CHECKING-CHASE $5,959.36

BALANCE AS OF Jan 31, 2014

INCOME $40.00

EXPENDITURES $33.94

Raffle (Month)

Raffle (Total Holdings) $0.00

Brunch (Month)

Brunch (Total Holdings) $0.00

CHECKING-CHASE

BALANCE AS OF Feb 28, 2014 $5,965.42

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March Meeting Photos

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DARC Annual Membership

Single: $20 Associate: $10

Maximum for Family: $35

Make checks payable to “DARC”,

Send to: DARC Membership

PO Box 207

Downey, CA 90240

Ever want to be a writer?

Do you have an idea for an article for the Q5? Remember, this is OUR newsletter, about OUR hobby. Please submit articles to: John Pow-

ell, KF6EOJ, john.powell@csulb.edu

DARC INFORMATION

VE Exams

The Downey Ama-teur Radio Club provides VE exami-nations for all clas-ses of Amateur Radio licenses on

the third Saturday of each even-numbered month. Exams are held at the Downey Fire Department Headquar-ters EOC rear building, 12222 Paramount Boulevard, beginning at 08:30 AM.

The upcoming dates are:

April 19, June 21

Contact Steve or Ginny Grudzinski 951-674-4699 prior to the session.

The ARRL/VEC test fee is $15.00 for all tests which goes to the ARRL to cover their expenses in providing the tests and handling the applications.

After the test session please wait 10 days before contacting the ARRL at (860) 594-0300 or http://www.qrz.com/callsign for new license information. Please do not call the FCC directly.

SERVING DOWNEY AND THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES

SINCE 1951

Downey Amateur Radio Club PO Box 207 Downey, CA 90240

PLACE MAILING LABEL HERE

PLACE POSTAGE

STAMP HERE

Saturday Breakfast Location

7900 Florence Ave.

Downey, CA

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