Volume 15, No 2 Web Site: www.w4gso.org February, 2005Editor: Tom Forrest, N4GVK E-mail: info@w4gso.org

The Official Publication of the Greensboro Amateur Radio Association

Feed LineFeed Line

Randy Bowers, KR4QH isour member profile this month.Randy has been licensed since 1994is an Extra class.

Randy is from MountainPark, NC in Sury County. A friend,Carl, KF4RJ got him interested,but he put off getting his licensefor eight years.

His shack consists of aYaesu FT-100D, with an ATAS100antenna, Yaesu FT-8800R mobile,Yeasu FT8100R mobile, Yaesu FT-90 mobile, Yaesu VX-5R handheldand an Icom W21AT. He runsvarious antennas including an oldcubical quad.

Randy Bowers, KR4QH

Randy said his favorite clubactivity is the soccer tournaments.He also enjoys “fox hunts” alongwith Ham activities of DXing,WAS, APRS, SkyWarn, MARSand ARES.

Randy is an NC Stategraduate and has completed theProgram for ManagementDevelopment at UNCG and theExecutive Program at the DardenSchool of Business at theUniversity of Virginia.

He is employed byInternational Textile Group, Inc.,formerly Cone Mills Corporationand Burlington Industries. TheCone side is still the largest denimmanufacturer in the world. Hiscareer has included engineering,technical services and support,purchasing, industrial management,real estate, process improvement,financial analysis and traffic andtransportation. He also holds a validCDL.

Randy is married to hiswife of 22 years, Susan, and theyhave one son, Alan who is 17.

He concluded, "I enjoy our cluband encourage anyone wishing tojoin a Ham radio club to considerGARA. We have a good group ofmembers that really care about thehobby."

Meet Our Members - Randy Bowers, KR4QH Next MeetingFebruary 28

The next meeting of theGreensboro Amateur RadioAssociation will be held at theGolden Corral Steak House offWendover. If you’d like to eatbe there at 6:30 with themeeting beginning at about7:15.

This month’s program will bepresented by John Hamilton,NC4JH, Area SkyWarnCoorinator.

MarchHamfest Schedule

• The 15th annual Down East Hamfest will be held Sunday March 6, 2005 at the Lenoir County Fairgrounds• Charlotte Hamfest & Computer show, March 12-13

GARA Obtains NewWeb Site Domain Name

Beginning March 1, 2005, the GARA web site will move toa new home at www.w4gso.orgThe new e-mail address for the sitewill be info@w4gso.org.

The change was needed togain more server space and allowfor use of newer technology scriptsalong with more server features.

The old site will remain inoperation and have a automaticredirect page for a few months.

Page 2 February 2005

“The Feed Line” is ©2005 by the Greensboro Amateur Radio Association and published monthly. Our address is P.O. Box7054, Greensboro, NC 27417. The purpose of the newsletter is to provide the club and prospective members informationabout the club and amateur radio in general. Material and information should reach the editor by the first Friday of the month for the next edition of the newsletter. Opinions expressed in “The Feed Line” do not necessarialy represent the views of theofficers, directors, editor or members of the Greensboro Amateur Radio Association. Material may be reproduced, providedproper credit is given to GARA.

PresidentLee Wimbs, W1MBS

Vice PresidentJohn Doggett, KI4BMS

SecretaryTom Forrest, N4GVK

TreasurerErnie Wall, NC4EWFinancial OfficerAl Allred, K4ZKQ

EngineeringJ.B. “Arch” Archinard, KT4AT

OperationsRoy Smith, N4BYUMembers At Large

Clark Doggett, KG4HOMMark Robertson, KG4STP

CirculationPaul Shepherd, WA4LGX

Webmaster & News Letter EditorTom Forrest, N4GVK

GARA Officers

Feed Line http://www.w4gso.org

From The Funds Trackers,Or, How your Club’s Funds aretracked – Ernie, NC4EW, Treasurerand Al Alred, K4ZKQ, FinancialOfficer

This is a follow up on “ANote from the President” in theJanuary Feed Line. In that noteLee urged you to consider this“your Club.” In the same vein, thedirectors treat Club funds as “yourfunds.” Your directors account for

$$ From the Financial Officers Of GARA $$Club funds in the followingmanner:

The Treasurer, (Ernie,NC4EW), has a four-part function:

1. He gets the mail fromthe post office box and separatesmembership renewals frominvoices. He also receivesmembership renewals at clubmeetings. Dues are deposited tothe Club’s checking account.Invoices are verified beforepayment.

2. He gives each membera receipt when dues are paid. Thisprovides a paper trail for theincome, identified by membername.

3. He pays the bills bycheck after invoices, or requestsfor reimbursement, are verified.

4. Each month, he sends tothe Financial Officer (Al, K4ZKQ)a list of the financial activitiesthrough the current date .Membership renewals are identifiedby name. Expenditures areidentified by check number, payee,and purpose.

• The Financial Officer, (Al,K4ZKQ), has a two-part function:

1. He prepares a forecastby month for the current year as ameans of comparing current results

with the Club’s experience for thethree or four previous years.

2. He summarizes theindividual t ransact ions byappropriate categories. These totalsare compared to the forecast in themonthly report.

Well, this Winter hascertainly proved tobe challenging fort h e N a t i o n a lWeather Serviceforecasters! Froman unexpected1/2" of snowwhich crippledRaleigh to theforecast 4 - 8"

storm which only brought smallamounts of snow, sleet and freezingrain, the complex weather patternshave certainly left many scratchingtheir heads so far this year!

While we have been luckythus far in escaping any seriouswintery precipitation, please keepin mind that we have until lateMarch before we are in the clear! With this in mind, I encourageeveryone to take time and visit the

Weather ChallengesLocal Ham OperatorsBy John Hamilton, NC4JHEmergency CoordinatorTriad Skywarn

Cont., See Weather on page 7

By Al Allred, K4ZKQ

Page 3

I have a water fountain inmy back yard. This is a modifiedold fashion hand pump with anelectric pump. The water ispumped from a bucket up throughthe hand pump and runs back intothe bucket. This makes a wonderful‘water fall’ sound, and can berelaxing just to watch.

The birds and squirrels loveto play and drink from this bucket. Even with busy schedules I findmyself standing in the kitchenlooking out at the animals gatheredaround this fountain.

B e c a u s e t h e w a t e revaporates, and the wind blowingthe water, I have to add water tothe bucket to keep the processflowing. This is not a system thatwill run forever with out a littleattention. And from time to timeSheari will add the water for me.This is an enjoyment we both liketo watch.

At our January GARAmeeting I read a list of goals Iwanted us to do for the 2005 year. These were items such as thesoccer matches, a mini hamfest, apicnic, and a trip to Mt. Mitchell. Every time I would read an itemand offer a brief description, someof you would nod your head inagreement.

I made the comment ‘let’ssee if we can do these this year’.Then someone said, ‘let’s at leastdo something’. What a wonderfulcomment. ‘Let’s at least dosomething’. Perhaps we gettogether and build a club project.Or teach new hams what awonderful hobby this is. Or have

that special covered dish dinner forthe whole family. ‘Let’s at leastdo something’.

There were a number ofsign up sheets for these events.You could sign up to help teachamateur radio. You could sign upfor the fox hunt we want to have. How about signing up to workwith the Boy Scouts in ham radio?

There was only onesignature, mine. No one took thetime to sign up to help. This isyour club. My back yard fountainworks great, unless the level ofwater gets low. The fountain needsa regular addition to work properly. Our GARA club needs regularevents to keep it interesting and towork properly. We need to worktogether to even maintain the levelwe are much less grow as a club

Take a moment to considerwhat you can do to help your clubfor it’s future existence. Pick anitem you are interested inpromoting for your club. Be avolunteer and sign up.

ANote

from thePresident

“Take a moment to consider whatyou can do to help your club for

it’s future existence.”

from Lee Wimbs, W1MBS, GARA President

Feed Line http://www.w4gso.org

This picture was discoveredrecently in a collection of "oldfamily pictures." from GeorgeBlosser, N4CPV. The photo is oneof his Dad's first stations takenaround 1930. George said he hadno idea what some of the “blackboxes” were, but they were allconstructed by his father. Note thetelephone on the desk. The onlything remaining from this picturetoday is the microphone...believeit or not, George still has it! HisDad was first licensed in Californiaas W6HBL in the late 1920's.

February 2005(Photo Courtesy N4CPV)

Lee, W1MBS

From the Past

Page 4

REGULAR MEETINGJanuary 24, 2005

The regular monthlymeeting of the Greensboro AmateurRadio Association was held at theGolden Corral Restaurant Mondayevening January 24 at 7:15 PMwith 28 members present.

The meeting was called toorder by President Lee Wimbs,W1MBS, who asked for a momentof silence.

President Wimbs asked ifany visitors were present. Nonewere present. It was noted that JohnShultz, K4JBS was in the hospitaland there was no new informationabout James Waldrop, KD4IRI.The minutes of the previousmeeting were approved as printedin the “Feed Line.” PresidentWimbs introduced new membersof the board and welcomed themon board.

There was no old businessreported. Committee reports werepresented. Vice President JohnDoggett, KI4BMS said he neededideas for upcoming programs.Treasurer Ernie Wall, NC4EW,reported all was in order. Al Allred,K4ZKQ, reported the financialstatus of the club was on track forthe coming year. Secretary TomForrest, N4GVK, said all was inorder. He also reported on thenewsletter, requesting articles notonly from club members, butinteresting articles about areaamateurs. The web site was beingupdated as needed.

GARA Meeting MinutesFeed Line http://www.w4gso.org

Membership renewals for 2005 aredue and may be given to theTreasurer or mailed to GARA, P.O.Box 7054, Greensboro, NC 27417.Membership is $24 for the calendaryear and is used to directly supportour two fine repeaters. Checksshould be made payable toGreensboro Amateur RadioAssociation or simply GARA.

Time To RenewGARA Membership

Engineering Committeereport was given by Arch, KT4AT.He said the tower crew hadcompleted their work for the cityand for the club with the installationof the new UHF antenna andexchanging our VHF antenna withour spare. The old VHF antennawas discovered to have a bad “N”connector and some other minordamage. The installation of theUHF antenna checked out reallygood. During the tower work, itwas discovered the city had somecables mislabeled and we had beenusing a different antenna for UHFthat we had originally thought. Thetower crew removed old cables andonce the old lines were identified,the city allowed us to use the newerof the feed lines for our antennas.Arch said he would begin work onthe UHF Mastr II repeaters soon.The old Icom repeater has no outputand was probably not worthrepairing, but could be sold forspare parts.

Operations and repeatertrustee Roy Smith, N4BYU, wasout of town and there was no report.Members-at-large, Clark Doggett,KG4HOM and Mark Robertson,KG4STP, were not present andtherefore there was no report.

President Wimbs spokebriefly about upcoming clubactivities for 2005 and welcomedany suggestions.

The program for theevening was given by Dave Collins,KE4IAF, ARES Coordinator forGuilford County. Dave gave aPowerPoint presentation explainingthe operations of ARES and its

organizational structure. He alsogave personal accounts of recenthurricanes and described theassistance Ham operators providedin Eastern North Carolina countiesw h e n p u b l i c s e r v i c ecommunications towers weredestroyed.

Dave invited all amateursto the ARES meetings held the firstMonday of each month at theEmergency Services building 1002Meadowood St. off Wendoverstarting at 7 PM. Also the weeklytraining net is held on the 145.150(100 Hz. Tone) on Thursdayevenings at 9 PM. Daveencouraged all to be prepared with“jump kits” explaining theircontents, batteries, personal effects,etc. He explained that everyonecould be actively deployed at amoments notice. The program wasenjoyed by all.

There being no furtherbusiness, the meeting wasadjourned.

Respectfully submitted,Tom Forrest, N4GVK, Secretary

February 2005

Page 5

Feed Line http://www.w4gso.org

February 2005

1)- UHF Machine: Withthe UHF antenna and feedline workcompleted in January, next priorityis to setup the UHF Mastr2's..

UHF Duplexer: The firstitem is to check/retune the Club'sUHF duplexer. It is first in linebecause it will be used benchtopto make preamp measurements.This is actually complete. Thisduplexer is a used 4 cavity Wacom.The rejections look good (around105 dB on both sides), but I amless than pleased with the passbandloss. A typical loss value for thattype is around 0.9 to 1 dB. Thisone is more like 1.5 dB. And it istraceable to the cavities, not thecabling. Due to the high cost ofthose things (around $1300 for anew one), we will get started withthis one. We may elect to revisitlater on.

UHF Preamp: The choiceof the preamp used is critical tomachine performance. The keyspecs, in decreasing order ofimportance, are as follows. First,Dynamic Range will determinem a c h i n e i n t e r m o d u l a t i o nperformance. I already took a peekat what comes down the feedline.Big stuff: UHF TV broadcasts at -15 dBm, and commercial UHFstations in the 450 MHz band at -25 dBm (several of them). An HTconnected to that feedline doesNOT work, as it receives at least4 commercial stations on intermod.Preamp IP3 (Intercept point on 3rdorder intermodulation mixes) iskey. This is measured benchtopwith a complex setup involving

two generators, the duplexer tocouple them, the preamp under test,and the spectrum analyzer. We mayalso have to pre-filter a little bitwith a cavity. The second specwhich matters is Noise Figure. Thisdetermines machine sensitivity.This is measured on the NoiseFigure Analyzer. The problem hereis that generally, Noise Figure andDynamic Range go opposite toeach other. The third spec is preampinput match. A good match isrequired for the duplexer to workproperly. This is measured on theNetwork Analyzer. Finally, the rightamount of gain is desirable. Notenough gain results in inadequatequieting, too much gain results inMastr2 mixer overload. I have threedifferent preamp types ready forevaluation.

Helical filter: A 5 cavityhelical filter is used in the Mastr2receiver front-end, following thepreamp. Those helical filters agedifferently, with some becomingvery lossy. I have about 6 or 7 ofthem, and they will be cleaned up,and sorted for loss. We will use theone with the lowest loss.

Rest of Receiver: The localoscillator module has to be fittedwith the proper crystal. Themultiplier board, the IF front-end,the IF/Audio/Squelch boards, andmy Audio/Tone board have to beoperational.

Controller: We will use forthe time being the available Club'sRC-96 controller. It was used forabout 6 months on 15 in 2001. TheDTMF decoder aliases some, anddoes not work over the telephone

line. This will be fixed. The delayboard is dead, and will be replacedby an RLC delay board.

Exciter: The oscillator hasto be equipped with the propercrystal, and the exciter will beretuned and checked.

PA: The PA will be takenapart, the old thermal greaseremoved and replaced by new. Itwill be checked for proper powercontrol, spurs and harmonics.Finally it will go through an 8 hournonstop, full power transmit torturetest on load.

Machine construction:There is also a fair amount of workto be done on the cabinets (drillholes, assembly, etc...). We willstack two small Mastr2 cabinets tohouse the two UHF machines.

2)- VHF Machine: Thereis still a number of tasks left on theVHF side. Those are: (a) updatecontroller/DVR for program rev,autodial, and Bill's DVR messages,(b) grounding kits have to beinstalled on the two feedlines (VHFand UHF), (c) the feedlines in theshack have to be attached back tothe walls, and (d) there is minorwork left to do on the VHFduplexer.

By Arch, KT4ATEngineering Chairman

UHF Repeater Work Underway

Engineering Report

Do you know of anamateur in the area that’snewsworthy? They do not haveto be a member of GARA tobe eligible. Send your items tothe Feed Line newsletterEditor, Tom Forrest, N4GVKa t n 4 g v k @b e l l s o u th . n e t .

Send Us Your News

While stuck in traffic onWendover waiting for the “three-eyed-yellow-thingy” to change, alarge vehicle caught my eye. Thetruck had as its cargo a largeportable storage building. Paintedon the side was “Pack Rat” portablestorage.

Seems like some soul wasgetting a temporary place to storetheir “stuff.”

I’m probably one of thosepeople that has a lot of stuff. Mostis radio gear that I’ve accumilatedover the years. I guess I’ve becomea member of that exclusive club of“pack-rats” My problem is that I’verun out of storage space for all mycollectibles!

My collection is mostly

Hallicrafters. A first collectiblew a s a S X 4 0 0 ” C y c l o n e ”Hallicrafters tranceiver I got frommy best friend. I used it forsometime as one of my first HFrigs. Of course being all tubes, theaudio quality on transmit wasoutstanding.

My collecting took a break for awhile until my brother-in-law,Frank, WA4FCM, really got mestarted again when I saw hismuseum of collectible radios. Theshack consists of many operatingpositions of vintage radios.If you’d like to see his shack, theURL is www.vintagehamradio.net

The first time I sawFranks’s shack, my mouth hit thefloor in awe. My thought was “nowthis is heaven for a Ham”

Since our first meetingsome 12 years ago, we’ve gottento know each other quite well.About two years ago I got awonderful Christmas present of aHallicrafters SX-28 fully restoredfrom him. There’s just somethingabout the receive audio and theglow of the tubes on these old rigs.It brings back the childhoodmemories of sitting at my uncle’shouse and listening to hisHallicrafters SX-43.

I’ve collected some reallynice memorbilia regarding vintageHam radios. Being a “pack-rat” ora vintage radio collector, has beena great reward, but does require alot of space to store all yourtreasurers.

Don’t be afraid to saveyour older radio gear, it could bevaluable someday.

Until next time, happy collecting!

Tom, N4GVK

Feed Line http://www.w4gso.org

Page 6 February 2005

FOR SALE - Palomar EngineeringHF Transceiver Pre-Amplifier.Covers 6 meters through 160.Model P310X, 110 VAC . Verygood condition. No manual or box.$35

Tempo 1, 2 Meter HT. Oldie butgoodie. 2 antennas, heavy leathercase, battery pack, charger andmanual, no box. Works fine, butno encode tone board. $35

Direction Finder. 45 to 470 MHz.Used for fox hunting, locating deadkey signals, etc. Uses 9 volt battery.No manual. With coax & BNCconnector. Commercially made.$30.

FOR SALETurner Dynamic Amplified BaseMicrophone. Volume & Tonecontrols, Built in meter reads bothaudio output & battery condition.Freq response 200-4000 Hz, lowimpedance, adjustable head, bar &lock key. With specifications &diagram. VGC $30

Sony-Mini Stereo Speaker System.For walkman, etc. Like New. $10

Micronta 28 Range FETMultitester/Volt Ohm Meter. 0-1000 volts AC & DC. 100ma to 10amps. Large meter. With box &manual. Like New. $20Call me on 145.15 or E-mail me at

N4DFA @arrl.net. Serious inquirescall my home between 10am &10pm @ 288-5595

FOR SALE - Hallicrafters SX-85in good condition,with manual.Seems to work OK, but may needan alignment. $95.00.

FREE - Office Desk by Miller, 6drawer with center drawer. Wellused but in good condition. Still inuse. This is FREE to a good home.You remove and carry. Can bepartially dissassembled.

Call Tom, N4GVK, 294-6771.

The Editor’s File

The “Pack Rat” In All Of Us

By Tom Forrest, Feed Line Editor

Feed Line http://www.w4gso.org

Ham HappeningsbriefsNEWS

Get Well WishesGet well wishes go out

to Tom Boone, W4COC, ofFriends Home West.

February 2005

www.triadskywarn.com web site,click on "Criteria" at the top of thepage, and review the informationwhich is requested by the NationalWeather Service duringthese events.

Please keep in mindthat while the NationalWeather Service is ourprimary served agency,numerous local mediao u t l e t s , e m e r g e n c ymanagement officials andthe general public monitorour activations on a regularbasis. Accurate and reliablereports from our spotterteam have earned us therespect and credibility we all enjoytoday. This was not by accident!Continuous improvement through

training, educational programs andavailable technology havepropelled Triad Skywarn to a leaderin the southeastern United States!

In the coming months,Triad Skywarn in conjunction with

the National Weather Service, willhost both Basic and AdvancedSpotter Training Classes across thearea. We also hope to host a "Radar

Interpretation" training classin the Triad area this spring.Please join us weekly at8:30 pm local time on the147.255 (Asheboro) K4ITLrepeater for the TriadSkywarn Information Net.This is where, along withwww.triadskywarn.com andour Yahoo e-group, you canstay abreast of upcomingtraining and activationnotices. Thank you for volunteeringyour time and equipment to

provide ground truth data to theNational Weather Service whenneeded.

John B. Shultz,K 4 J B S ,became a silentkey on February5, after a losinghis battle withcancer.

J o h n w a sknown for his

quick wit and good sense of humor.He participated in the “Fridaylunch bunch” group along with theSaturday morning breaksfastgroup.

John also served aspresident of the Guilford AmateurSociety for three years.

One of John’s favoriteGAS club duites was cutting grass

at the WFMY Channel 2 site wherethe GAS 145.250 repeater islocated. He also particiapated innumerous events including the TourtoTanglewood and a SAG wagon.John was also present at many ofthe venues involving Ham radio,especially ARES and the WranglerMcDonald Soccer Tournament.

John was first licensed in1995 at KE4WZO. Our thoughtsand prayers go out to John’s family.

John Shultz, K4JBS, SK

Ray Huff, NC4RH, SK

Ray Huff, NC4RH ,ofHigh Point, passed away TuesdayFebruary 8 at High Point RegionalHospital. Ray was well known forhis Ham radio outlet store, Ray'sAmateur Electronics, in High Pointfor a number of years. A residentof this area most of his life, he wasa member of Lexington AvenueBaptist Church. He opened Ray'sAmateur Electronics after retiringfrom Exxon USA. He is survivedby his wife of 43 years, the formerJudy Foust of the home.

Family Losses• Our sympathies are

extended to Carol Marks, wife ofSteve Marks, KE4FCW, in theloss of her father, Richard Conley,of Naples Florida, on February 2.

Weather, from page 2

• Condolences are offeredto Bob Schwer, K3ZGA’s wifeNancy, whose father, VernonRoberson of Greensboro, passedaway February 6.

Page 7

Greensboro Amateur Radio AssociationP.O. Box 7054Greensboro, NC 27417

FIRST CLASS MAIL

The Official Publication of GARA

Area ActivitiesFOURTH MONDAY – at 6:30 PM, the GreensboroAmateur Radio Association has their regular monthlymeeting at the Golden Corral on Landview Dr., off W.Wendover Ave. Please plan to gather at 6:30 PM fordinner. The meeting is scheduled to start at 7:15 PM

CLUB NETS:

SUNDAYS – weekly at 9 PM, the GARA News andInformation Net. This net features NewsLine and is onthe 145.150, W4GSO repeater. Roy Smith, N4BYU isalways looking for net controls. Contact him if you wouldlike to help.

THURSDAYS – The Guilford County ARES Net meetson the 145.150 repeater (100 Hz. tone) at 9 PM.

TUESDAYS – at 8 PM, the 2 Meter SSB Net meets on144.225 Mhz. USB. Chris Thompson, K4HC is the netcontrol station.

WEDNESDAYS – The Guilford Amateur Societyholds their weekly net on the 145.250, W4GG repeaterwith an 88.5 Hz. tone. Jim Hightower, W4JLH is the netcontrol.

TUESDAYS – at 8:30 PM The Triad SkyWarn Netmeets on the 147.225, K4ITL repeater, no tone required.

OTHER ACTIVITIES :

FIRST MONDAY – The Guilford County A.R.E.S.monthly meeting is held at 1002 Meadowood St. off W.Wendover Ave, in the EMS building, beginning at 7 PM.

THIRD MONDAY – at 6 PM The Guilford AmateurSociety holds their monthly meeting at the Golden Corralon Landview Dr., off W. Wendover Ave. Dinner at 6:30PM and the business meeting is slated to begin and 7 PM.

SATURDAYS – at the K&W Cafeteria on Big Tree Way,hams get together for Saturday Breakfast at 7:30 AM.Talk-in is on the 145.150, W4GSO repeater, with 100 Hz.tone.

MONDAYS & FRIDAYS – at 11 AM, Greensboro Hamsget together for lunch. On Monday they meet at theOakcrest Restaurant Battleground Ave. and on Fridaylunch is at the K&W Cafeteria off South Holden Road.Talk-in is on the 145. 150, W4GSO repeater with a 100Hz. tone.

EVERY FRIDAY – at 8 PM (approximately) GreensboroHams get together for coffee at Starbucks in Quaker villageShopping center off W. Friendly Ave.

www.w4gso.org